#which would mean that I'd have to take my own ideas and projects seriously though

[raina-at]

My fic year in review

Total number of completed stories: 6

Total word count: about 90 k, give or take. (Published, that is, you don't want to see my WIP graveyard...)

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? More, because I didn't expect to turn Nothing Gold Can Stay into a series, and three of my six finished fics were in that series. Also, I participated in the May challenge even though it was hell at work around that time, so I'm doubly proud that I produced 28k worth of ficlets.

What’s your own favorite story of the year? Hm, it's a tie between Lying in Winter, because I wrote it in two days in sort of a dreamy haze between New Year's and going back to work and it was lovely, and Guess Who's Coming to Christmas Dinner because it was a hoot to write from start to finish.

Did you take any writing risks this year? I wrote a series of fics that build on each other, which I've learned leads to diminishing returns the more fics into the series you are, but I'll continue this until I run out of ideas or every last one of you is sick of that series, whatever happens first ;-)

Do you have any fanfic or profic goals for the new year? I've recently started working on a big, gigantic monster of a Mystery Project, lovingly nicknamed The Monster(TM). I'd love to stick with this one and finish it, because I think it could be really good. So keep your fingers crossed for me. I also want to finish and post the next fic in the Nothing Gold series.

Most popular story of the year? Guess Who's Coming for Christmas Dinner, you guys apparently love my Unilock fake relationship dorks.

Story of mine most under-appreciated by the universe, in my opinion: See above, if you write a series, the individual stories will have diminishing return because you lose the casuals. But what you lose in quanitity, you win in quality ;-)

Most fun story to write: Guess Who's Coming for Christmas Dinner. I had so much fun with their banter, it was almost indecent. It's also super low stakes, and I needed that at the time.

Most unintentionally telling story: I honestly don't know this year. How fucking long it took me to come up with a good solution for the plot of the new Nothing Gold fic, in that it tells me I suck at plot?

Seriously, The Light Gets In is about the healing powers of time, forgiveness and Yoga, and that's something I've experienced myself. I love Yoga and I think it shows in this fic.

Biggest disappointment: Oh my god, you guys, you cannot imagine how many abandoned drafts titled Yoga Sherlock I have in my WIP folder. It's embarrassing if I tell you how many fics I started, made decent progress with, and abandoned because they just weren't right. And then I went back to my original idea to make it a post Reichenbach story... Sigh. Only I switched to John POV and BAM. I had my story. The classic embodiment of the German saying "Warum einfach wenn's umständlich auch geht", which means basically why do something easy when you can do something complicated.

Biggest surprise: That you guys continue to like my fics. Seriously, the kindness, generosity and welcoming spirit of this fandom shouldn't surprise me anymore, but it gives me great joy. The fic exchange in May and the fic club were such highlights this year, an outpouring of fandom generosity and creativity. So my highlight this year is you, Sherlock fandom.

Tagging whoever wants to do this.

Happy new year, my dears. May we continue to rock in 2025, and may we continue being each others' lights in an uncertain time.

[alfredojesta]

Hiiiiiii👋👋

Sorry for the strange ask, but......ipotetically.....how was the scene when Candy and Jason have created Corpse?....😅

HELLOOO NOT A STRANGE QUESTION AT ALL I'D LOVE TO ANSWER STUFF ABOUT THE FANKID AU

the simple answer is: it was like an art project!!!

it started with them drawing up designs and concepts (like they were collaborating on an oc). then, once they had something to work with, it was over to the workshop to actually create her! Candy Pop provided the soul; Jason built the doll itself!

Candy Pop kept chiming in while Jason was in the process of building her. he would try and help, but mess up in the process. for example: Corpse has one eye that's blue with red swirls; the other is red with blue swirls.

He was trusted with the left eye while Jason did the right... but he mixed up the colours... Jason didn't let him help again. Candy Pop told him the heterochromia added a charm to her design. Jason just sighed and said sure.

basically: Jason was meticulous about it while Candy Pop kept him company! but yeah that's the tldr!!! here's my more detailed answer:

i have to say this au takes place like. 10~ years after Candy Pop and Jason become a couple. they move out Jason's flat and into a house!!! which insinuates they're becoming permanent hehe ^_^

so! the creation of Corpse is both a fun project and a transition into parenting.

Candy Pop never got to see his kids—more like Night Terrors' kids—grow up. so on the surface level, he suggested making Corpse for fun—to take a step in their relationship by doing smth together! AND WHILE THAT IS A REASON, the deeper meaning is Candy Pop's want to raise a child from the beginning :) because he's always either lost all his children or never got to see them at all.

he tells Jason all about how they could use one of Candy Pop's souls (he never consumes child souls, but consequently has some) for a doll that would resemble their daughter.

Jason is initially put off by the idea of having a daughter because he isn't sure how well THEY could handle her. firstly, neither of them have any experience raising a child from beginning to end. secondly, Candy Pop's extreme mood swings can be a hazard. thirdly!!! it just seems a little silly!!! really? a doll daughter? well... it's not like they could have a child another way. it takes some convincing from Candy Pop before Jason finally agrees. it's not just Candy Pop though. a small part of Jason did always want to be a father—only to show up his own—but he never thought he could do it.

Candy Pop's sketches up some designs; Jason gives his feedback. it's Jason who decides corpse should begin at age six—because he doesn't trust their ability to raise infants/toddlers.

the early stages of Corpse's development was fun and laidback with both them joking around about how they can't give her five arms or wtv. very lighthearted. occasionally Candy Pop gets emotional, crying uncontrollably bc Jason and him are about to start a family. Jason is just happy that Candy Pop is happy. he does get emotional himself... but he doesn't sob like Candy Pop does.

Candy Pop is more focused on that transition into parent-hood, while Jason treats it like an art project—because that's what he's so used to. the creation of a living doll takes time, and Jason takes his craft seriously.

Jason makes Corpse as authentic as possible. which is a bit ironic given her name is Corpse. but anyway. Corpse has the ability to feel pain (which she grows to HAAATE, then learns to accept), empathy, self-awareness, nostalgia, compassion, etc. she's given a standard set of traits to begin with, but she develops overtime. Jason is very proud of himself, as he always is.

when they finally put the soul into the vessel, it takes some time for the soul to get used to its body. soul magic isn't immediate—souls don't always connect. sometimes it rejects the body, so rlly it's a process of trial and error. but, that didn't happen with Corpse thankfully!!! :)

Candy Pop is so fucking excited he's basically running around their house jumping up and down and bouncing off furniture. he pulls Jason along and now they're both running through the house. HOWEVER. they quickly realise that they focused way too hard on creating the doll and didn't focus at all on preparing the house for a child.

they do a lot of shopping for a kids' bedroom. by that i mean they buy materials to make furniture because Jason is annoying as fuck and refuses to use low quality furniture. anyway. Candy Pop does get some silly decor to put in Corpse's room. he paints her walls purple, hangs up cute lights, child-proofs the house, and makes sure Jason doesn't fucking die sawing wood on 0 hours of sleep. when it's all done, they step back and look at Corpse's room. and Jason's like huh. we're really having a child. and then they make out or something idk

after a week or so the soul linked with her doll body!!!

CORPSE IS OBVIOUSLY CONFUSED... she has to adapt to her surroundings first of all. Candy Pop runs and hugs her. Jason almost tells him to be careful, but he stops himself. Instead, he watches his partner hug their daughter, and he feels. Different. it's a good kind of different he just can't pin-point right then. Jason joins the hug!!! and then they get to familiarising Corpse with her surroundings.

THAT SUMS UP HER CREATION!!! here's some little bits:

jason designed the clothes. they went for a circus theme because both of them have a fondness for circuses (jason's comes from him always wanting to visit one in london but never having the chance to)

candy pop gave her the genyr ears and purple skin. they WOULD have kept her a little more human-looking, but candy pop was adamant that this was the better choice. and honestly... yeah it was.

don't worry she doesn't entirely look like a candy pop daughter, because her facial features are a bit closer to jason's (straight nose, narrow eyes, thin eyebrows).

they debated giving her red or blue hair for a long time before candy pop went "WAIT. you have red hair. i have blue hair. she can be PURPLE." jason was like "purple AGAIN ARE YOU INSANE SHE'S GOING TO LOOK LIKE A PLUM CANDY POP" "IT CAN BE A MAGENTA"

corpse offers to help build her future models (again, she ages through models), but jason doesn't allow her to. HOWEVER jason DOES teach her the art of toymaking so that one day she CAN help.

[kokusfluffyhair]

I might delete this later, but I need to vent and at least this Tumblr is anonymous instead of IG or other social media. I'm very overwhelmed with my writing project and even though I once thought it was good or marketable, I'm having severe second thoughts. I still think I've got some good use of emotion in some scenes, but all in all I don't think any reader would stick with the story. It is massively long. I wrote it with the intention of being a "manga series in a novel form" with shorter adventures for the mcs to conquer on their path to "defeating the final boss" and solving the problem of the plot. I'm not done with it yet after working on it for 11 months (but I'm close to the end, finally). I've been doing some wc tests and I've hashed out over 250k words of crap.

While researching what publishers and agents require for manuscripts, they go for 75k max (100k max in fantasy), especially for new writers who don't have a name to them. I first thought, no problem I'll break my thing down into a series of 2 or 3 books. But then I've found that publishers and agents want you to have your first (and probably second too) to be "self-standing with the potential for a series". This is really crushing because I can't really make a self-standing book out of it. Well, technically I can but it wouldn't really be the same story. I know that if I happened to get an agent and they/the editor told me I had to change things that I'd have to, regardless of if I liked it or not.

What makes this worse is that if I didn't have to write in English (or really any language that isn't Japanese and maybe Korean or Chinese), I might be able to go with my "adventure" plot spanning over 5-6 books of 30-40k words each. I feel my project could thrive being marketed as an LN (light novel) series, and really it would be my dream to be able to sell it as that and if I'm lucky for it to be adapted into a full-out manga or an anime. But many people, including thes subreddit for LN, limit this type of writing to Japanese people only. There are some OELN (original english light novels), but they are quite rare to come by and most of them except for a lucky few are self-published. There's one publishing house out of Canada that I know of that will consider taking OELN manuscripts. I swear, at this point I'm wondering if I should finish the series, edit it, and have it translated into Japanese and work with it from there -- which is a ridiculous idea because I speak N5 Japanese at best. I don't think that I'd be taken seriously, or I'd have to hire a translator to work with me during all kinds of communication, which is impractical. I don't really want to self-publish, and part of it is from my own submitting to hearing how people don't take self-publishing seriously and that only the "rejects" from traditional publishers do it. From a practical standpoint, I don't think I can take on the marketing aspect, not just because of the marketing itself but because I'd have to rely on my personality to appeal to others. Honestly, I think that by hearing me make a TT on my book to market it that seeing and hearing me would make readers not give my book a chance, rather than get interested.

The other part of it, I admit, is my own greed and financial desparation. I'm mentally convinced that traditional publishing has a better chance of making money, even though I know that most writers don't make much money, regardless of how they publish. I didn't start writing my project with the idea of making money, but like anyone, I would like to make money off of it after finishing it.

I know that my writing needs work. The manuscript does need to be cut in places, whether it's unnecessary dialogue, other parts that are drawn-out, and even getting rid of a couple arcs that don't serve much extra to the story as a whole. I don't mean to write all of this to say that my work is perfect or that I don't need to do any effort besides hashing together a plot from conflict to resolutioon. I know that this is tough -- honestly maybe even tougher than the other creative industry I'm in (acting). But it really doesn't give me any consolation or boost in confidence or love when I look at my own work.

I wish I had the love for my work that I used to. And I guess it's not that I don't still love it. I still love the characters and the story of my imagination, it's my writing that I no longer love.

I guess all I can say is that if anyone read though this rant and it resonates with you and your own artistic struggles, know that you aren't alone. I hope, even though I might find misery in the situation I find myself in, that maybe it will make someone else feel better to know that it's not "just them" who feels like shit about what they create and see nothing but a bleak future ahead for it.

[maskedemerald]

Writer Q&A Tag

Took a while but thanks @pb-dot for the tag! It got a little long but I really enjoyed doing this!

What motivates you to write?

My mind is nearly always churning with ideas and stories. If I left them there they would stage a rebellion. No but really I'm motivated to write because I love telling stories. I want to share those stories with others where I can. I'm always my first target audience and if I like it then there is sure to be someone else out there.

A line/short snippet of your writing that you are most proud/happy of. If not maybe share a line of someone else's work that you love (just please credit them)

Picking a bit of my writing is hard. I have scenes that I really like in all of my WIPs but its hard to choose something. Right now with my focus on A Curiosity Piqued the bit I would like to share most is my opening. I just feel it really sets well the frame of mind Aelfraed is in at the start.

Aelfraed had been hearing the snapping of the metaphorical thread for weeks, the weight of years of pressure pulling on him. Stretching fibres fraying. He was about to break.

Which OC makes you smile every time you think/talk about them and what are they like?

I must betray Aelfraed right now, he isn't the character that makes me feel like this. It depends depends on the story. For A Curiosity Piqued it would be Ari but they don't show up for some time so Shhh... secrets. As for Magic Act I'd say it's Night. I love the mysterious over enthusiastic fae. I love how sinister they are without meaning to be and trying so hard to understand humans. Specifically Magician who they are currently helping to hide.

What process of writing do you enjoy the most?

The drafting process. I like the flow and creativity that is involved. I'm distinctly less fond of editing and unfortunately editing is where I am at the moment with the first A Curiosity Piqued novella. Maybe I can change hating editing this time!

What part of writing do you think you are the best at? (Yes stroke your own ego it's okay)

I think the thing I do best when I'm writing is getting in the heads of characters. I find when I get really into a character's head for a scene the writing flows. My favorite though are the existential crises, if I haven't given a protagonist one its more I haven't given them one yet!

What is something in the writeblr community is most enjoyable?

Honestly the tag games and asks. I love getting a tag or a question. It reminds me to talk about my project rather than just hide in a corner and write. It also sometimes has me thinking about things I hadn't considered before for a project!

Seriously I'll always be happy to see an ask or tag even if it takes me a while to get to it!

A writing tool/device you use that helps you with writing? (It could be speech to text, a writing program etc)

I know a lot of people here will be mentioning Scrivener. Scrivener is great and I love using it but I really want to talk about the notebooks I use for discovery drafts. When it comes to the very very first draft of a story before I even have a proper outline I like to pick out a nice notebook that has something about it that feels inspiring for the story. Basically pretty notebooks inspire me and give me some feel for the mood of the story too. It also means I write with a certain level of no taking back what I have written which is great for fighting through that first draft. Once I've got that go with the flow stage done things get digital for making a proper outlined first draft.

A piece of worldbuilding that you like in your own story? (It could be the magic system, a particular place in the story, a law etc)

The thing is I love world building, I could probably answer this for all the WIPs I have shoved under the rug in the corner that I have to keep sweeping back under if I want to focus on my main ones.

For A Curiosity Piqued it would have to be the magic system. I wanted a system with hard rules about what can be done and how, while still having a sense of mystery. That comes from treating it as a science. The society is experimenting and learning how magic works while also learning how other sciences work so that they can use that in their magic. The rule at its most basic is you have to have an understanding of how it works to do it magically. Traditional healing magic can seal a cut because they've seen it happen over time and know what helps. More advanced healing magic needs knowledge of the science of how the body heals that deeper or larger injury what the blood does, what the cells do, etc.

What piece of advice would you say to encourage others to write if they are having a rough patch?

Don't be afraid to take breaks if you need them, burning out will not help.

Pick something in your project that makes you smile and write that next. Not got any. Drabble with your characters with tropes that make you smile. Like found family? Write a fluffy scene of your characters all together. It doesn't have to be something you use later just something to get you smiling about your project again. Get creativity flowing and the like.

It won't work for everyone but this it what helps for me when I'm struggling to find the motivation to write for a specific project.

Tag some people whose works you love/have been your biggest supporters

I smile when I see posts from @pb-dot , @scribe-of-stories , @jasperygrace , @card-queen and @squarebracket-trick I love reading about their work, the snippets they post and the talk about the writing process. I would recommend checking out their blogs and dropping them a follow!

Gently no pressure tagging the people above if they haven't already done this. I'd always love to hear more about what you are creating and the process! Also to anyone else that wants to do this!

[hanahaki-cure]

YOUR NYO PRUK!!!! God, so incredible!! Really Amazing!! I'd love to hear hcs and how they are with each others kids!! Like I feel julchen would love Leon , mathew and NZ(no idea his canon name) as they would be so reserved like lil Ludwig while struggling with Jack and Alfred cause of all the energy (plus the idea that Alice has all these kids she would never think someone would wanna be with her but Julchen likes her and god

Oh my, thank you for the enthusiastic and sweet reply! Actually, the ship is a bit niche, F/F ships (even Nyo!versions) are even more niche in this fandom, so receiving a reply in the first place makes it a highly unexpected therefore even more pleasant surprise. (❁´◡`❁)

Alright, there're so many HCs going into their Nyo! + parenting dynamics, I need some preface: A lot of Alice's ineraction with her kids is based on @historia-vitae-magistras work about Arthur and his ilk, many HCs about Maria and Ludwig are based on @kisamesopelagic and me gushing over Gilbert's and Ludwig's dynamic. An entire HC vomit going on under the cut.

For Alice, I imagine her to be quiet similar in character to Arthur although more temperamental and prickly since in some periods her being the incarnation of a large empire was strongly questioned which let's her temper flare up. She has to though. Master of hidden quips, insults, and observation of social circles. Now to Maria Julia Beilschmidt, nicknamed "Julchen" only by close friends. (I'm aware that Julchen is Nyo!Prussia's popular fanon name although in German it's a diminutive nickname form for the male name "Julian", rarely for it's female versions. Therefore I accept it mostly as nickname for her middle name, maybe from the times when Elizaveta or Roderich talked to her dismissively to undermine her authority.) Thanks to Nicky's HC, Gilbert's copious mode to work in spite of 23 layers of religious repression is artificially inflating his ego and developing a bit of megalomania, Maria has more self-confidence is actual self confidence. She was handed nothing because of her gender. If she wasn't fighting anyone else, she had to fight within her own ranks for respect to keep her head above water, having learnt that brashness and unapologetically standing your ground keeps her afloat.

In my HC Maria is surprisingly good with kids, to everyone's surprise, even to her own surprise. Ludwig wasn't an accident, he very much was a Prussian project yet Maria couldn't help but to slowly adore that frail, desoriented kid (which increasingly talks for hours about trains). That doesn't mean that Maria is the best parent, she seriously lacks in sensitivity, opens, and emotions. Or to put it differently: "The way to hell is paved with good intentions." A lot of her own expectations on how and who Ludwig should be is packed in her education, all the tools she got for her developement are pushed into Ludwig's hands as a "one size fits all" and "This is how I got big and strong so that must work for you!", no questioning of her methods possible. Fact is, Ludwig is an earnest, hard-working kid yet only in his adult years he realizes that he would've needed the emotional tools of reflection. At the same time, Maria can be really fun. During training she's encouraging, believing that her sibling or kid is the best thing that happened in her life. Oh, and Maria can be child-like. Since she didn't have a childhood (being a military order), playing pranks, fooling around, encouragement for arts and crafts (excuses it with: "This creativity and fine mechanical skills are good for your future career as engineer!") is something she will part-take in. Defends her loved ones like lioness who got previously stepped onto her tail. And does like to listen to children talk, partly because children's tales are so imaginative and fun, partly because she takes kids seriously although not the best at handling any situation which can't be solved with replies like "there, there" or "well, here's the five step way to succeed out of this mess". Alright, now finally, Alice and Maria with their kids: Alice did this to herself, she chose to take on so many projects, she favours, she expects her children to make it on their own. The most sore kid-parent-relationships are probably with Leon and Harry (Singapore). Both, Yao and Shadiq (Malaysia) are furious about Alice deliberately taking in Harry and Leon, leading to weird co-parenting scenarios which make especially Harry, as he's the youngest, quiet nervous. When Maria got involved with Alice was kinda trying to clean up Alice's messes. Not like Alice actually had any non-political messes in her lives, Maria just assumed so because Alice's living style wasn't up to Prussian householding guidelines. (The fights they got into because Maria tried to Kondo Alice's main residence without asking for permission first whereas Alice secretly stashes a lot of memories of her kids.) One of the few welcome additions was Maria setting up entire folders of spreadsheets of appointments, meal plans, and activities for the kids though. At some point Alice and Maria both agree that they can privately interact with each other's kids but any political involvement is taboo. Private interaction include arts and crafts, excursions (Alice always organizes these, the last one Maria lead was a eight hour "Spaziergang" including tents, hiking boots, and some mountain climbing), reading stories, eating together. Whereas Ludwig remains fiercely within Maria's care, things got a bit more relaxed for Alice since Maria has a lot of energy (also the unshakable will) to organize the household as well structuring their daily life properly so the two women have some time left for themselves in spite of all the work. (I could go on for longer what their relationship looks like but this post is already long enough. @____@)

Since the actual parenting situation for Harry and Leon is Alice's personal problem, Maria has a lot of opinions but Alice drew a strict line to not involve a foul-mouthed, "isn't diplomacy another military verbal tactic?!" girlfriend in it too. So, they don't interact much with Maria yet Ludwig can join them on playdates whenever they're in Alice's house at the same time. (@hetahonda and I like to joke how across sea and land Singaporeans and Swiss people are so strinkingly similiar. Is Switzerland the Singapore of Europe, is Singapore the Switzerland of SEA? In any case, hence the reason reason Ludwig gets along well with Harry, he reminds him a lot of cousin Zwingli.) Ludwig and Harry, on the few occasions they meet, are getting along without talking much. They go on exploration walks for bug hunts or play train, all very chill.

Zee, Eleanor, isn't only Alice's favourite, Maria took a strong liking to her too. It might be a bit of a gendered thing since both see themselves in a a resiliant, resourceful, defiant girl (although irony that Alice is the one occupying her). Eleanor, as she only meets Maria on private occassions, considers Maria to be a person lacking in tact or seriousness so she's reluctant to interact with her. This frustrates Maria who tries to explicitly have girl-activities (horse riding, archery, shooting range, what a great girls day!) together. Eleanor developed a strategy to surround herself with her fellow siblings whenever Maria's announced to visit. Funny enough, Eleanor learns from Alfred that Maria is a fearsome foe on the battlefield, leading her troops under an iron-hard regiment. Fun fact, for a while Prussia supported the US-independence movement. So, I would argue that Maria can handle Alfred who stills sees her as former teacher. In return Alfred will for very long time remain a greenhorn thinking too early of himself as a hotshot. Together they love to tease Alice although Maria sometimes reminds Alfred that she considers herself in a higher social rank than him. Considering how Alfred has a Golden Retriever personality, he's a bit hurt that his military idol doesn't think as highly of him as he thinks of her. In any case, after having learnt about Maria's other nature, Eleanor reluctantly respects Maria, even asks her about battle strategy. In a moment of enthusiasm Eleanor babbles about the proud warriors among her people. Ludwig and Alfred get along well. Both get involved in model building, planning to craft crazy machines. It's a cute sight both being busy building intricate machinations, Alfred talking, Ludwig giving barely any response. Anyhow, Ludwig describes Alfred: "Really good bud."

Ok, Jack and Matt. Jack is actually someone with whom Maria struggles. He has a head of his own, attracts accidents and wildlife like a reverse lotus flower. Whereas Alfred seems to be born cafeeinated, he sometimes sees a point in structure. Jack on the other hand could be left entirely on his own, he would end up best friends with any animal meeting him, not getting why everybody's raving so much about social constructs like punctuality, organigrams, or q-tips. While Alice forbade Maria to interact with her education except for helping out with householding chores as well as setting up admittedly helpful daily plans, Maria's impulse is heavily tested whenever she sits next to Jack who tells her all about his wild ravings. Sometimes Jack comes along with Harry and Ludwig for bughunts. Very handy, since within five minutes even the rarest critters run over Jack's hands. Towards Matt Maria is similarly gentle for the same reason she's gentle to Ludwig. Matt is well-raised (something Maria considers very important) while capable surviving the coldest winters, sometimes on his own. Matthew likes to stick to Alfred or Eleanor whenever Maria's in the house yet enjoys her company when she reads fairy tales to the kids, or, unlike Alice, asks about his latest life events.

[goldie90]

4 Fun Facts about my marriage💞

Pillow talk

Imagine this: I'm laying in Nubbins' arms, we just made love and now we're all snuggled up together, exhausted but so happy. I just told him how much I love him, he runs his fingers through my hair as he holds me close to him, makes me feel so safe and protected.... And then he opens his mouth and says something like "Hey, did you ever wonder why male black widows still have sex, if they know very well that the female will try to kill them afterwards?" or "Don't you think it's weird that hippos are so fat, even though they only eat plants?" "If you had to choose, would you rather burn to death or drown?" "Do you think anteaters know how ridiculous they look?" To say it's odd would be an understatement, also I gotta be honest, questions like this do kinda ruin the mood (something my dear husband is apparently not even aware of), yet I'm used to it and therefore I'm not paying much attention to it anymore. I just smile and nod and say something like "Yeah you're right, it's really weird." or "I don't know, darling - never thought about it before." and then I just accept the fact that I have to spend the next 15 minutes with having one of the weirdest conversations ever. You know, until he get's bored of it and moves on to the next (and most likely just as odd) topic.😅

Why did I even marry you?

You surely know the good old "I hate my spouse" jokes? Let me tell you, me and darling are pros at it. In fact you could think we invented them, considering how we both make them ALL THE TIME.😄 We do it in private, we do it around our families, as well as around complete strangers, doesn't matter. There's simply not a single day in which the two of us didn't make at least one of these jokes. What can I say, we have a very similar humor and we love to make fun of each other. We would both say things like "You know, I have no idea how I did end up with you" "I must have been out of my mind when I said "yes" to you." "Why the fuck did I even marry you?" "Can't believe I'm stuck with YOU out of all men/women out there." Nubbins also loves to point out how he only married me because I "at least know how to cook" while I like to tell him the only useful thing about him are the 6 inches between his legs (plus demonstrative rolling my eyes at him when he responds by once again trying to claim it's 7🙄) What can I say, we just can't help it - it's just too much fun. Also, due to the fact that we share the same kind of humor, we both know that it's just fun and don't take it seriously. It's just something we like to do, nothing more nothing less.🤷‍♀️

A very special location

If you ask my dear husband about his favorite place, he wouldn't need to think long about his answer, because his favorite place is undoubtedly the graveyard. He loves to spend time there, going graverobbing, looking for new materials for his art work, taking pictures or.... taking his little wife on a surprise date. Yes that's right, Nubbins' idea of a romantic surprise is to take me out on a midnight picnic in the graveyard. Then we would sit there on a blanket, surrounded by the gravestones and watching the stars while drinking beer and enjoying some snacks. I admit it is a rather unusual thing to do, yet I would lie if I'd say it isn't romantic, because in it's very own way it is. It's nice to spend time with him there, especially because I know how much this place means to him and that in his opinion it is indeed the most romantic place he could take me. And how could I not appreciate this?🥰

Such a naughty girl

I can't even describe how much I love getting spanked by darling from time to time and much better than simply asking for it, is to give him a reason to punish me by misbehaving and going on his nerves as much as I can, to let him know exactly what I want from him.😏 I will keep him from working on his art projects by sitting down next to him and repeatedly tapping his shoulder while he tries to focus on his work, stealing his tools and running away with them and when he's chasing after me, throwing them into the trash right in front of his eyes. I will bring him coffee with a big tablespoon salt in it and then laugh at him once he takes a sip and grimaces at the taste, or sometimes I will simply sneak up on him while he's working and pour some flour on his head. All of this until he finally has enough and takes me over his knee, to give his naughty girl the spanking she deserves.😏 It became such a routine between us and it's a game we both absolutely love.

[fernsehn]

do you ever think “what if I invested all that energy and time I put into my job into my own projects?”

[marmorafarms]

The Phone Call pt 2

Sebastian x Cis female reader

Hey everyone, and welcome to the second part of my three part Sebastian x Reader fic! The last installment will be coming soon! You can find the first part here!

Summary: Sebastian has been acting strange with you on the phone lately. When you figure out he's been jacking off while talking to you, you decide to take matters into your own hands.

18+ ONLY

Word count: 2,085 words

Warnings/content: Weed use, masturbation, mutual masturbation, phone sex, cis female reader

You liked to think you were an observant person. That nothing could slip by you. And you especially liked to believe that was true when it came to Sebastian. He had quickly become one of your best friends, and you knew him inside and out. Which was why it was such a shock when you learned his secret.

Three phone calls. It had taken three phone calls after your late night call about Clint to realize what was happening.

Each time you called, it had accidentally lined up with him posting a picture of him smoking a joint on his private snap chat or Instagram story. The picture was never about him smoking, the joint was just there. And when you called, the conversation was always…off.

Sebastian was never great on the phone, but after every call, you couldn't help but wonder what was going on. It wasn't that he was high. You knew what he was like when smoking, and it wasn't this.

He was typically giggly, relaxed, and if you were with him, cuddly. But recently he'd been having trouble focusing, and stringing together a coherent sentence was a challenge for him. Not to mention how out of breath he sounded, and how he always would drop his phone and hang up right after.

Something was up.

You wanted to call Sebastian tonight, even though you knew he was exhausted from his latest project. You kept meaning to ask him how much the gaming computer you had kind of asked him to build you would cost.

Sebastian had mentioned he knew how to build gaming computers, and you had said you would love to have one. Now that you were sure you really wanted one, you needed to see how far it would set you back.

You dialed his number, and to your great surprise, he answered on the first ring.

"Hey," he said, sounding a bit dazed. He was definitely high.

"Hey yourself," you said. "I had a quick question for you. Are you good to chat?"

"Oh uh…y-yeah I'm good," he said, sounding a bit nervous. Your eyes narrowed, but you chose to ignore it.

"So, remember how we were talking about how you can build computers? And how I want a gaming one? I was wondering how much it would cost if I asked you to build one for me."

"You uh…you want one? And want to pay for it?" he asked.

"Of course!" You said, flabbergasted. "I can't let you do that for free!"

"You're my friend," he said. "I won't charge you."

"I want to pay you," you insisted. "I'd feel like human trash if I had you build a whole ass computer for free."

"Your money isn't good here," he said firmly.

"Well, if I can't pay with money, how else can I pay?" You asked. And to your great surprise, he whined.

And not just any whine. This was a sound you recognized. Not from him, but from others. A whine you had only ever heard used in the bedroom while teasing your partner.

Was he turned on?

The idea that he was getting hot under the collar at the idea of you paying in "some other way" was shocking. Mostly because that idea seemed like something straight out of a low budget porno, and not something anyone would seriously suggest.

You were shaken out of this train of thought by the unmistakable click sound of a cap being opened. The sound wouldn't have grabbed your attention if it hadn't been immediately followed by the sound of fabric rustling.

Wait.

Wait hold the fuck up.

Was that a lube cap you heard? Was he pulling down his pants? You shook the idea from your mind as he responded, but honestly you had no idea what he had just said. Mentally chastising yourself, you tried to get your thoughts out of the gutter. Jumping to the immediate conclusion that Sebastian was about to get off while talking to you over the phone was a stupid idea. But oddly, you found yourself wishing it was true.

Abigail had approached you about a month ago, and bluntly asked if you had a crush on Sebastian. You hated saying you had a crush, it felt so grade school. But you admitted that you did. Abigail had nodded slowly, and told you that if you hurt him, she would curb stomp you at the bus station and have zero regrets. Knowing Abigail, she was dead serious, so you promised that if Sebastian ever returned your feelings, you would treat him right.

But there had never been anything to suggest that he thought of you as anything but a friend. At least not until right this very second, assuming you were correct about what was going on. You knew that you would be up all night wondering what that click and rustling had been about, so you needed to get to the bottom of this.

The obvious way to go about it would be to just ask what the noises had been. But that would leave him room to lie, and you couldn't have that. You would be left wondering if he had been honest, and you didn't want to spend your night obsessing over that either.

No, you would have to be crafty. A small plan was forming in the back of your mind, a plan that could land you in a lot of trouble if you weren't careful about it. But what was life without a little risk, right?

"Sorry, I zoned out for a second. What did you say?" you asked.

"Oh um, just that you could help my mom in the shop or something." Sebastian said. His voice was pretty steady, but you felt that there was still potential for you to be correct about the situation.

"Hmm…the shop?" you asked, sounding pensive. "I've never been good at customer service. But I could help with building stuff or chopping wood. I enjoy getting…physical."

The pause you left before saying "physical" was truly cringe worthy in your opinion. But the slight hitch in Sebastian's breath told you that your sentence had hit as intended.

"I wouldn't want you to do more work…" Sebastian said slowly.

"Oh it's no trouble," you said casually. "Getting hot and sweaty doesn't bother me. A tank top and shorts would keep me plenty cool while working."

You could hear Sebastian breathing, but he didn't respond, so you continued speaking.

"I could even bring a whole change of clothes," you said. "After a hard day of work I have to change everything. You know, I should probably change into my pj's now. Get into something comfortable."

This was a total lie. You had changed into your pj's an hour ago. But Sebastian didn't need to know that.

"D-do you need me to…hang up?" Sebastian breathed, and you grinned. He sounded like he was in the middle of a heavy workout.

"No, no, don't worry," you said. "I'll put you on speaker. God, it's so hot in my cabin, I really need to get an A/C installed. I think it might be better just to sleep in my underwear," you said, heart pounding. You hoped this line would land, and not have Sebastian telling you off for saying too much.

"You…what?" Sebastian said. The boy wasn't being slick, you could hear him panting. He must be way higher than you thought. Time to up the ante.

"I was thinking about just wearing my bra and panties to bed. No shirt or pants." You were trying to sound calm and casual, as though you two talked like this all the time. You hoped it was working.

"Well uh…if…if you want to…" he said, valiantly trying to keep it together.

"I do want to," you said. "I think I'll strip now." You paused a few beats before speaking again, pretending you had actually taken your clothes off.

"Much better," you said. "You're lucky to be in the basement, it must be cool down there. You could probably wear as much or as little as you want."

Sebastian wasn't talking now. You were almost positive he was reaching his peak. Time to see if this was actually the case.

"I mean, you're probably not wearing much right now. Maybe your hoodie, but your jeans and boxers are on the floor, aren't they?"

"Excuse me?" Sebastian said, panic in his voice. He had been caught, and you knew he was going to try and wiggle his way out of this one.

"The way you're breathing is giving you away kitten," you said, tossing in a pet name to see what would happen. A slight choking sound on the other end led you to believe it had done something for him.

"Whatever you think is happening is…it's not. It's not happening, I–"

"You don't have to lie, Sebby," you said softly. "I know you're touching yourself while we talk. I just want you to know….I don't mind."

There was a pause.

"You don't?" Sebastian said, sounding very nervous. "You don't…it's not weird?"

"Oh it's definitely weird," you said with a chuckle, "Especially since I'm pretty sure this isn't the first time this has happened. But it's hot. I like it."

"I'm sorry," Sebastian blurted out, and you laughed.

"Don't be! I just said I liked it. And I was kind of hoping you could keep going. Maybe let me hear any sounds you've been muffling."

"What? Why?" Sebastian said, panic back in his voice.

"Because it's hot! So hot that I think I'll join in on the fun if that's okay," you said, lowering your voice slightly.

A full on moan escaped Sebastian's lips, and you could feel the heat pooling in between your legs.

"Sound good to you?" you asked in a breathy tone.

"Mmhmm," Sebastian mumbled.

You quickly kicked off your shorts and ran your fingers over your clothed pussy. You let out a pleased sound.

"My panties are soaked Seb," you said. "So wet just from thinking about you stroking your perfect cock."

There was a small whine from the other end, but nothing else. You guessed you would have to carry this conversation, but that was fine.

"Better take these off," you said, sliding your panties down your thighs and kicking them to the side. You wet your fingers with some of your slick and began rubbing your clit.

"Fuck…Sebastian it feels so good," you said, closing your eyes. "Wish it was your hand on me. Wish your fingers were rubbing me, going inside me…"

"Holy shit…" Sebastian gasped.

"Mmm maybe I should grab my dildo and use that," you panted. "I'd pretend it was your cock in me. God Seb, you'd fill me up so good…"

"Fuck I wish I was there," Sebastian moaned out.

"How would you fuck me if you were here?" you asked, rubbing your clit a bit faster. "Tell me Sebastian, how would you take me?"

"On top," Sebastian said. "Wanna see your tits bounce…wanna see your face when you cum."

"Oh baby yes, I wanna ride you so bad. Have you sit back and let me do all the work. I want it bareback Seb, I wanna really feel you. Want you to cum in me. You want that?"

"Fuck yes I want–oh shit I'm…I'm close…" Sebastian said, breath ragged.

"Me too, Sebby, me too," you panted. "I wanna hear you cum, please let me hear you cum!" You begged.

"'Kay," Sebastian mumbled. A few moments later you heard him swear, a long drawn out moan following behind.

You were in disbelief that you had just heard Sebastian cum. The sound was enough to push you over the edge, and you heard him swear again as you cried out his name.

For a few moments the only sound was the two of you panting as you came down from your highs. You sighed happily, and Sebastian hummed in response.

"That was…damn," Sebastian said.

"Yeah," you agreed.

"We should do that again," he said, and you chuckled.

"Yeah, but I want it to be in person next time."

"Doing anything tomorrow night?" Sebastian asked tentatively.

"Yes," you said. "This hot guy named Sebastian is coming over to rail me. I'm pretty excited."

Sebastian laughed lightly. "I'll be over at 8, yeah?"

"Sounds perfect."

The two of you hang up, and you set your phone to the side. You can't believe that just happened, but fuck are you glad it did.

[fansofvow]

Interview with Eve Golden Woods!

Many of you know who is Eve is. She's a writer and artist, a part of Dreamfeel studios whose beautiful game If Found won Best LGBTQ Narrative and Best LGBTQ Indie game at the first ever Gayming Awards presented by EA games. I am really excited I had the chance to ask Eve some questions about herself, her time at Lovestruck and her creative process.

Congratulations on the two Gayming Awards (Best LGBTQ Narrative, Best LGBTQ Indie Game) for "If Found" from your game studio, Dreamfeel. What was the inspiration behind making the game?

If Found... was a game that emerged out of a collaboration between Llaura McGee, the founder of Dreamfeel, and artist Liadh Young. Liadh's background is as a comic artist, and so when they started working together Llaura had the idea of showing off Liadh's art by making a diary game, and using an erasing mechanic she had previously developed to let the player move through the diary in a fun way. By the time I came on board at the start of 2019, the game had already been in development for a while, so in some ways my work on that game was similar to the work I did for Voltage, because it was taking existing characters and concepts and writing a lot of scripts for them. Unlike Voltage, though, my work for Dreamfeel was a lot more collaborative and I had a lot more creative input. I really enjoy taking something and helping to make it the best version of itself that it can possibly be, but I was also really happy that I got to reflect a lot of my own experiences in If Found. Llaura and I both grew up on the west coast of Ireland, and although If Found... isn't autobiographical for either of us, it was definitely really meaningful to be able to tell a story that reflected our own experiences of growing up as queer teens in a similar kind of environment. Since the game came out we've had fans reach out to us and tell us that they also connected to the experiences of the main characters, and as far as I'm concerned, that makes me feel like I achieved everything I wanted to.

You are a writer and a visual artist. Does one come easier to you than the other?

I used to think of art and writing as talents, and I always felt like my art was at a very mediocre level (that's probably still true, lol). So when I was younger I focused a lot more on writing. It was only later that I started genuinely trying to improve as an artist, but when I did, I think I had a much healthier mindset, and approached it as a skill I could learn with patience and effort. Because of that, even though I still have a lot more confidence in my writing, I find art more fun and relaxing, and I don't stress about it as much.

Did you always know you would follow a creative path?

Kind of? Both my parents are artists, and I grew up surrounded by artists and writers, so it was something that was always very familiar and accessible to me. On the other hand, I didn't exactly have a clear idea of how to make it into a career, or what kind of work would be involved. But there's never been a point in my life where I wasn't doing something creative, even if it was only writing fanfiction.

What did your path to working professionally as a writer/artist look like?

I did a creative writing masters in college, but after that I spent years teaching English as a second language. That was really fun and I got to live abroad, but it was so busy and tiring that I didn't have time to do any writing outside of the occasional fanfic. I only started to take art seriously again when I became interested in games and comics as ways of telling stories. I did some critical writing, which led me to speak at a few local events and get involved in zine fairs. That was how I met Llaura, the director and lead of the Dreamfeel studio, and it's also what gave me the confidence to start applying for actual writing jobs.

Is there any work of art, visual or written, that you look to for inspiration?

So many! I try to read and watch as widely as I can, although there are touchstones I always return to, like the works of Ursula Le Guin and Terry Pratchett. Right now I feel very passionate about the actual play podcast Friends at the Table, which manages to combine really thoughtful worldbuilding and storytelling with cool, fun characters and great action scenes. I'm also reading a book called The Memory Police by Youko Ogawa, which has extremely beautiful prose.

Do you have a favorite piece of your own art, whether it is something you’ve drawn, a screenshot of something you’ve written or something else?

My favourite piece of art is usually whatever I finished most recently (I think that's true for a lot of people). Especially with visual art, once a bit of time has gone by you look back on it and start to notice all your mistakes, which is very annoying. But actually I do still really like the first piece of Fiona fanart I did last year. I managed to use some effects to give it a kind of nineties anime quality that I find really fun, and I think it conveys an emotion pretty effectively. That's always one of the hardest things to predict with visual art, whether the different parts will come together to create the exact mood you're looking for.

I also really like the compass I did for Bycatch. Krissy (@xekstrin) was the one who suggested filling it with fingernails, which was such a good, gross idea! As soon as I heard that I knew it was perfect and that I had to try and draw it.

Many people who read this blog know you as a writer for Lovestruck. When you look back on your time there, what stands out in your mind?

Lovestruck was very important to me when I first started because it was my first ongoing, regular, paid writing work. It gave me a lot of confidence and helped me to get into the habit of writing consistently and rapidly, which is a really useful skill to have. I know I was right to leave when I did, though, because I am just brimming with energy to work on my own projects, and channeling that power into something that you can't control will always end up disappointing you. Also, I made a ton of incredible friends, through Lovestruck itself but then even more so through VOW (@vowtogether), and that is more than worth all the difficult parts.

Is there any character that you would have liked a crack at writing?

Oh gosh, what a fun question! There are so many, but one I do sometimes think about is Axia, just because I know there are a bunch of fans who want her route, and because I had fun writing her as a villain in Zain's route. I can see in my head the shadow of a storyline that takes place after Zain's route is over, where she's in prison and trying to understand how she lost the battle with Zain and MC. I think there's, like, a gap there, where you could see her downfall forcing her to reconsider her assumptions about power, and that could build into a very interesting redemption story. But maybe it's for the best I never got to do that, because I would have wanted full creative control over it, and also I think the story in my head is very different to the sexy, in control, menacing version of Axia that her fans enjoy.

Do you have any upcoming projects you can talk about?

Most of my current work is under NDA, but I will say that I'm doing something very exciting with other VOW members that we should be able to talk about soon(ish). Maybe I can even give a little teaser... It's not a game, but it is something you can read, and my part involves cakes, swamps, and a museum.

Do you have a favorite quote or song lyric?

It's a big long, but there's a section from The Dispossessed by Ursula le Guin that has stayed with me ever since I read it:

"For we each of us deserve everything, every luxury that was ever piled in the tombs of the dead kings, and we each of us deserve nothing, not a mouthful of bread in hunger. Have we not eaten while another starved? Will you punish us for that? Will you reward us for the virtue of starving while others ate? No man earns punishment, no man earns reward. Free your mind of the idea of deserving, the idea of earning, and you will begin to be able to think."

It's such a profoundly radical way of imagining the world, so different to everything I was raised with, but whenever I think about it I feel like I can see something very beautiful and powerful that I hope to come closer to understanding some day.

And of course, "Solidarity forever, the union makes us strong."

I was a big fan of the show Inside the Actor’s Studio. Host James Lipton asked every single guest the same 10 concluding questions. I’ve picked 3 of them:

-What is your favorite word?

My favourite word: for sound, I like words you can really roll around on your tongue. Chthonic, alabaster, insinuation. For meaning, I think simple words that encapsulate big concepts have a kind of power to them. We use them so often we forget how big they are, how much weight they really have, but they give us the space to imagine new possibilities. Love. Freedom. Revolution.

-What is your least favorite word?

I've heard that "moist" is a lot of people's least favourite word but it doesn't actually bother me. My least favourite word is probably one where I feel like the sound doesn't match the meaning. One of the Irish words for rain is báisteach, which I feel has a much weightier and more onomatopoeic sound than rain. Rain is just very flat and uninteresting.

-What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?

Oh, so many! I love history, and I think being a historian/archaeologist would be fascinating. Or something that had a physical component to it, like being a potter or a carpenter. I don't think I'd be any good, but I'd love to take the time to learn.

What would be your advice to anyone who wants to pursue a creative career?

All the work you do matters. Even the failed experiments, the things you hate when they're finished. It all helps to make you better. Also, creative career paths are often really unexpected, so chase any opportunity that seems remotely interesting. Don't work for free for anyone who can afford to pay, but work for yourself and put it somewhere. On a blog, twitter, whatever. You'd be amazed how many people get noticed and get offered opportunities because of something they made in their spare time. You'll probably have to work another job for a long time, so don't be hard on yourself if you're too tired to devote much energy to creative work. Try to make art consistently, but don't feel like that has to mean every day. Don't chase after celebrities. Make friends with your peers.

[whenisitenoughtrees]

Platonic loceit, 26- “Hold on. You’re telling me that you want to go out to the creepy woods in the middle of the night on a full moon? Really? Really?” I'd really love if you did something fluffy, but do whatever takes your fancy!! And congrats on 500 followers!!

@halfordshysteria dsflaskdf i love this prompt so here, have some urban fantasy and/or high school au

Title: the woods are just trees

Word Count: 2,031

Content Warnings: ment. of not-great parents

(fic masterpost)

Janus is woken by a gentle, persistent tapping on his window.

At first, he tries to ignore it, tries to roll back over and go back to sleep, but the tapping continues undeterred, and finally, he sits up in bed, rubbing his eyes. His phone helpfully informs him that it is 2:16 in the morning, which might not be so terrible if he had stayed awake to get here, but to be woken up at this time is absolutely egregious.

So, he does the only rational thing and stomps across the room, flinging open his curtains, ready to rip into the genius that thought this was a good idea.

And then pauses.

From the other side of the windowpane, the genius that thought this was a good idea gives a little wave, motioning for him to open the window, and Janus glares even as he acquiesces.

“Logan,” he hisses, “what the hell?”

Logan blinks at him owlishly, as if it’s not the darkest hours of the morning, as if this is a regular occurrence, as if Janus’ parents won’t kill him if they find out that he’s speaking to his friend through his window at this time of night. And Janus wants so badly to be angry, and he is, but some part of him is intrigued, wants to know what could possibly be so urgent as to prompt a clandestine meeting of this sort.

“Good morning,” Logan says, infuriatingly casual. “Would you like to come harvesting with me?”

Janus stares, dumbfounded. That… does not sound urgent.

“Logan,” he says, “are you aware that it’s two in the morning?”

“Of course,” Logan says. “Two eighteen, to be precise. I would have been here sooner, but this was the earliest I could slip out.”

He says all of this matter-of-factly, as if this meeting was entirely expected, just delayed. Logan does this sometimes, forgets that the rest of the world doesn’t move on his speed. What is obvious to him is not always obvious to everyone else, and while Janus is sure that Logan believes he has a good reason for being here, he is also sure that Logan has entirely overlooked the fact that he needs to elaborate on just what that reason is, rather than expecting Janus to know.

“It’s two in the morning,” he reiterates, deciding that he can’t possibly put too fine a point on this fact, “which is typically when people like to be asleep, Logan. Just what do you want to go harvest that can’t wait until a more reasonable hour, or for that matter, that you can’t do with someone who doesn’t mind being sleep deprived?”

Logan completely ignores his acerbic tone, which is typical of him. He unslings his bag from his shoulder and goes digging inside of it, coming up with a weathered brown notebook. Janus recognizes it easily, and recognizes the contents as Logan flips through it, the meticulously drawn diagrams, the notes written in cramped, slanting handwriting. Logan takes his studies more seriously than most of the practicing alchemists Janus has met, and this notebook contains years’ worth of research. He guards it zealously, and the fact that he trusts Janus enough to allow him to see it never fails to astound him.

“Here,” he says, and holds the page out for Janus’ inspection. Janus takes the book gingerly, eyes flicking over the entry that Logan indicated. The illustration is a delicate depiction of a tangle of vines, thin and curling and glowing pale blue. Infused Moon Ivy, it says, and Janus frowns as he reads the description.

“Grows only on fall nights with the wind blowing from the east and a blue moon in the sky,” he says doubtfully, and looks up to meet Logan’s eyes. “These conditions are met?”

Logan smirks at him, pointing upward. Janus follows the direction of his finger, and sees the moon hanging in the air above them, shining bright and full.

“There is a strong easterly wind tonight,” Logan informs him. “And though midnight is the most traditional hour for gathering components such as this, three o’clock should serve nearly as well. If I can find some, its properties should successfully balance out the sunflower essence in my memory enhancement project.” His voice rises with his excitement, and Janus nervously casts a glance behind him, as if the additional noise will summon his parents. It’s unlikely, but still, he would really rather not have to try to explain this to them.

“Your notes also say that it only grows in dark, damp places,” he points out, letting his weariness bleed into his voice. “We’d have to go out into the woods.”

Logan nods. “Well, yes, it would be a bit of a walk, but if we left now, we would arrive in plenty of time to begin a search.”

“That’s not my point,” he replies, and resists the urge to sigh. “Just, hold on. You’re telling me that you want to go out to the creepy woods in the middle of the night during a full moon? Really? Really? You don’t know what kinds of things might be out there. What if we run into a werewolf?” He pauses. “Gods below, I sound like Virgil. But you get my point, right?”

Logan frowns at him, adjusting his spectacles. “Well, yes,” he says. “However, I believe the chances of running into a werewolf at all to be slim, much less one that would wish us harm. And in the case of other creature, magical or otherwise, I have brought precautions.” He shakes his bag, as if to make his point. “The usual preparations, silver and iron and salt and the like. But I hardly believe that the fae will be waiting to ambush us in the local park. In fact, I’m not sure that your standards of ‘creepiness’ match mine at all, if you believe that the woods there are unsettling.”

Janus breathes out through his nose. Logan has a point, as usual, and truly, he doesn’t believe they’ll be at much risk. It’s only that this is very much not how he wants to spend the rest of his night. Especially not on a school night; on weekends, it’s a fifty-fifty chance as to whether his parents will let him sleep in, but the option is out of the question on weeknights. And he won’t be able to claim sickness to get out of school attendance either; he’s fairly certain that his parents would force him to go even if he was actually dying.

But looking at Logan, at the slight flush in his cheeks and the barely restrained motion as he rocks back and forth on his heels, he is tempted. Improving the standard memory enhancement potion has been Logan’s passion project for months, and he looks as if he truly believes that this will be a breakthrough.

And Logan came to him. Not any of their other friends. Him.

“You wouldn’t rather somebody else go along?” he checks. “Virgil, perhaps? He has an odd knack for tracking down magic.”

Logan’s brow furrows. “I am aware,” he says. “But Virgil is not the one who has been supporting me as I work on this. If it’s going to be anyone, it should be you.”

Something in his stomach does a little flip at that, a delighted twirl. He has known Logan for more than three years now, since the moment they were alchemy lab partners their freshman year of high school. Janus had expected him to react the same way everyone else does upon meeting him, to stare at the left side of his face at the very least, the side that has been covered in thick yellow scales since the moment he was born. Most people recoil, and some even scream; school up to that point had been a lesson in ostracization. From the very start, his peers labeled him disgusting and unclean, no matter how many times he tried to explain that his curse is not contagious, that he was born with its effects already in place, that he never did anything to deserve it.

Even his own parents dislike him, though they try to disguise it. They push him constantly to do better, to be better, as if academic achievement will make up for the fact that in their eyes, their son is permanently disfigured.

He expected his high school years to be no different than the rest of his schooling. Expected to end up alone once again. He’d even persuaded himself that he didn’t mind, prepared himself for the bullying, for the name-calling, prepared himself to hear snake and freak and monster. That is, if anyone bothered to acknowledge his presence at all.

But then, Logan looked at him as if he was a person. As if he was no different from anyone else. And Janus spent their first few lab sessions on edge, waiting for the other shoe to drop, for the disgust or the fear to come, because surely, surely it had to be there. But aside from a few questions about his curse and the way it worked, worded clumsily and asked awkwardly, but startlingly genuine, there was nothing.

And for the first time in his life, Janus had a friend. Someone who liked him, who wanted to get to know him. Someone he could talk to, rely on, be with without having to stay on his guard.

To this day, he’s not certain that Logan understands how much that meant to him. Still means to him.

“I understand if you don’t wish to accompany me,” Logan says. He tries to sound nonchalant, but Janus picks up on the minute slump of his shoulders. “I… do realize that it is rather late. My apologies, I don’t believe I thought this through all the way.”

Janus sighs, feeling a reluctant smile tug at the corners of his mouth.

“Well, I’m awake now, aren’t I?” he says. “This is absolutely how I wanted to spend my night, but you know, I wouldn’t be surprised if I let you go by yourself and you ended up trapped in a faerie circle or something equally embarrassing, and we can’t have that.”

Logan makes an offended sound, but he, too, has begun to smile, the light returning to his eyes. “I’ve never been trapped in a faerie circle in my life,” he says. “I know better than that.”

He rolls his eyes. “Right, because you’re always so good at remembering to watch where you’re going,” he says. “Give me a moment, let me grab a jacket and shoes.”

Logan waits patiently for him as he tugs on a few layers to ward off the fall chill. When he’s sufficiently bundled, he clambers over the windowsill, landing softly in the grass by his friend’s side.

“I expect you to have me back before my alarm goes off,” he says. “I shouldn’t have to tell you that my parents will murder me if they find out I’m doing this.”

And Logan grins, and somehow, that makes Janus feel worlds better. “Of course,” he agrees. “I imagine my parents would as well. Perhaps they would bury me next to you.”

“How poetic,” he quips. “We’ll have to have Moon Ivy planted on our graves. Lead the way.”

He gestures, and Logan takes the lead, and together, they set out. It feels a bit like an adventure, like the world is just made up of the two of them and everything else is silent and still under the cover of night, only the moon to light their way.

It takes half an hour to get to the park, and twice that long to find any ivy at all, and by that time, Janus is cold and more than a little bit miserable. But looking at Logan’s face, elated and filled with wonder as he takes the first clipping, tiny and glowing blue in his palm, Janus can’t help but think that this was worth it.

Especially when Logan turns to him, staring at him with that same look of wonder, of excitement.

Yes, Janus thinks. Definitely worth it. And really, that’s all there is to it.

General Taglist: @just-perhaps @the-real-comically-insane @jerrysicle-tree @glitchybina @psodtqueer @mrbubbajones @snek-boii @severelylackinginquality @aceawkwardunicorn @gayerplease @elizabutgayer @dwbh888 @thatoneloudowl @sanderssides-angst @gayboopnoodle

[cynical-amphisbaenia]

yes hello amygda i've been lurking here for quite some time and it's lovely but honestly i don't feel like saying the usual wOw YoUr BlOg Is 100% GuD and i AdOrE iT stuff. i mean your blog actually is and i do but it almost feels obligatory when every single ClasspectMe ask does that. and le oops, i spilled it - it'd be nice to hear your ideas about my Mythological Role! i've been searching for the right one for some time now. i trust your knowledge, though.

anyway personality is the first thing i want to describe. and the hardest one as well. you see, a common thing in my life is that i can't remember anything. like literally i remember less than 1% of everything that happened to me, ever. it's easier to describe what i was feeling than what actually happened. it's a genetic thing iirc because my mom has that too, but that's beside the point. i'm quite a talkative person and i tend to do the thing i did like a sentence before a lot. i used to be described as "impulsive and agressive" but that isn't true anymore, i can contain myself. that's probably the thing that led to my emotions being kind of, uh, separate from my mind. by that i mean i actually know i felt something a little bit after the fact, i just, i dunno, ignore it so hard i don't even acknowledge the feeling. that led to me joking about "selling my soul to a demon" as an explanation and the joke is still running

i kind of roleplay an arrogant piece of shit? not as a Knight-type persona but like for fun and not actually annoying anyone too much, and basically everyone knows i do. no self-worth problems though

surprisingly i don't have any problems typical for people my age and my family isn't a bunch of assholes, which has both led me to living a life in "easy mode" and to me being spoiled enough not to give a shit about basically anything. it's not a depressed thing: there are little to none things that motivate me besides "i have to" and "i'll literally die if i won't", and even the ones that exist don't seem to have any relation to one another. i'd say i'm an ambivert, but that would imply that i get energy from both being alone and from being with people, and i don't get it at all. i'd also say i'm a pessimist, but honestly i'm just an optimist that tries really hard to be pessimistic and it really shows sometimes, like when i tell my friends some edgy sarcastic shit and then help someone for no reason or give a stranger a chocolate bar or something. i do that a lot for my actual friends though and i actually have no problem making friendos and opening up to anyone

i use mutedHypocrisy as my chumhandle-ish nickname because 1. i don't really judge anyone out loud? i have are a lot of bUdDiEs with DEBATABLE opinions but i just don't discuss it almost ever, keeping to myself. not really a reason for this. and 2. because of my extremely unique memory i usually dont havr or don't remember any opinions of my own except for some really important ones, which had led me to saying two opposite takes on the same thing to a single person, them going "what the fuck", and that happened more than a single time.

on to symbols. well, the tarot cards mark me as The Star and my fate as a fate of The Fool. which is shown by me being, well, talented enough and having a lot of freedom but not enough ambition to really use it, making me basically useless. also the star thing? its number is 17 and the one before is 16, which is the Tower, which is a fucking cataclysm, and the thing is me being a few hours away from being born under "the tower" is also reflected in the situation in which i was born. i won't elaborate though cuz thats personal shit.

i guess fate kind of likes playing with me? in a friendly way. like i'm always in the best circumstances possible BUT i get trolled by luck along the way. like that friend who pranks you a lot but is actually a nice person and is fun to be around, the world around me feels, as i already said, "easy mode". a lot of people have it worse. i feel bad because i've got everything one could ever want but zero motivation and ambition to do things. and it's not even a "willpower" problem, because that thing helps me do A LOT and is the only reason i'm still functional.

i seem to have an affinity for the things i hate, even though this sounds stupid as fuck. i may despise something completely but i'll be like the meme about a guy who says "disgusting" and keeps looking anyway.

i perceive things as a play, making myself a fourth-wall-breaker type of character. i don't think i take it too seriously but that's kinda fun. i think it started when i noticed that my life and the projects i participate in have some patterns that don't change at all. it's not a thing about some situations always being the same, it's some specific things -- the beginnings and endings of ppl's relationships in the friend group, their roles there and my relationships with the people on em, for example. that's some conspiracy theorist shit right there though.

i don't think i can describe my arcs? i don't remember them. like i mean i was literally babied throughout my whole life, even if not in a way i hate or in an overbearing/limiting way. i had some anger issues and despised rules, but that's a teenager thing mostly -- i respect them now for the most part.

if there's anything important i forgot please tell me!!! can't describe my own ass right if i don't remember 95% of my life. love your work anyway.

Well, as much as it's appreciated, it's definitely not obligatory! And I hope no one feels that it is. Now, there's a few possible options. The main things to consider are Rogue or Mage of Heart and Heir or Maid of Mind, though you may also want to consider Void or Breath as the aspects.

You lack Heart in various ways, though not completely. You still try to take on various opinions or roles. This could be due to being a Rogue of Heart. Rogues tend to lack their aspects, and the taking on of opinions/roles could be stealing Heart. You do seem to focus on things like emotions and relationships, and especially your lack of motivation. Mages can also lack their aspect, but this tends to cause them to suffer - you don’t appear to focus on suffering too much, so it’s not as likely as Rogue. However, if you feel that you attempt to experience Heart to learn about it rather than simply just taking it on, then you might want to consider it. 

Alternatively, you could be an Heir of Mind - this is less likely as you only seem to have focus on the roles and adaptability of Mind while you focus on many more parts of Heart. However, if you were so caught up in those things like an Heir could be, it might explain why you ignore those things and lack parts of Heart as well. A Maid is also likely to get caught up serving only particular parts of their aspect - again, this is less likely than Heir as you seem to change Mind rather than create it, but you might feel differently on this. 

To decide between the Heart or Mind would depend on how you define things like your roleplay - does it feel like an exploration and taking (or experiencing) of Heart or does it feel like a changing/creating of roles which would suit Mind?

You could also consider Void if it feels like the circumstances of your life causes you to live in confusion and if it feels like your lack of memory is the main focus rather than it causing you to miss parts of Heart. Reading what you gave me it doesn’t seem to be the case, but you could decide otherwise. In a similar way, Breath could be an option if you feel disconnected from things, especially as you do focus a bit on freedom. For both of these aspects you could consider Heir, Maid or Mage as an option, especially as with Breath you’re clearly not connected to parts of it like motivation.

Hopefully this helps! Sorry it’s a lot of options, so feel free to ask me anything to help you narrow it down. ^^

[defdaily]

[TRANSLATION] Praew Magazine April 2019 issue x JUS2: time for 2

Ahgase! Right here!

Thailand's summer heat wouldn't be able to compete with hotness from the duo brothers, "JB & Yugyeom of GOT7. In the newfound unit, JUS2, they released a new single- "FoCus On Me- that makes the fans scream with interest to add this new single to their collection. In this issue, Praew took a flight to South Korea to collect photos of these 2 hotties for you before we took the chance to have a chat with them. Chatting with them in South Korea is really something. JB took the seat at the head of the table, followed by Yugyeom who greeted Praew staff around the table in Thai style with Wai and the word "Sawaddee Krub"

First of all, we would like to ask you how the leader of GOT7 and the youngest brother of the group form this new unit (a special Korean song project created by specific members), JUS2, together.

“In concerts, the two of us often sing together. So, we often talk about which kind of unit we would form next. In parties after concerts, the higher-ups would often talk about this idea as well and they thought having the two of us work together on a new song would be fun. So, the idea was developed from that point and became this duo unit today." JB replied.

"We also share similar favorite song genres, and we want to represent our characters with the music style which is totally different from GOT7. So, we took part in the production of every song in this project. We created some of the songs together, and created the others separately. For the promo song, we got help from a song writer named Cosmic Boy. We hope that everyone would love our songs." Yugyeom explained.

Can the fans expect something special from this unit?

"The first special thing that the fans can expect from us is stage performance. The second thing is the music which is going to be something that the fans have never seen from GOT7. We try to focus more on expressing emotions through the music in this unit, and we tried our best to present our characters through the MVs and the music style." JB answered.

You mentioned that you share similar favorite song genres. Which genre are they?

“I like R&B and Hip-Hop. So, I tend to go with these music styles when I write a new song. I mostly go for R&B, and mix Trap beats into the song sometimes. Do you know Trap music? It's a type of Hip-Hop which we can mix it with R&B. If you ask me who is my favorite singer, I’d say Chris Brown (R&B singer) and Travis Scott, a Hip-Hop singer" (smile). Yugyeom answered first.

“For me, I don't particularly fond of any genre. If it's a good song, then I like it. Same goes for when I sing. If I like the song and it's the song that can express my feelings with good music, then I can sing it regardless of its genre. If I have to pick my favorite singer, I'd say D'Angelo is my idol. It doesn't mean that I want to make my songs like his though (smile). I also like to listen to Toro y Moi and Kaytranada's songs lately." JB shared his thoughts.

What are the secrets or tips you use to write a song that can impress everyone?

"There's no secret in my work process. It just needs a lot of thought. I mostly find inspiration from my own experience or the stories I can find around me such as movies, songs, or books. I also have my past like everyone, my love experience or others, which I can take to present in my song. It's the same as making a movie (Scenario)." JB replied immediately

“I also get new inspiration from my surroundings as well, from my point of view on different things in my daily life. For example, when I saw a couple on the other side of the road, I would imagine what they're talking about, how happy they are. Or when I saw people living their life, I would ask myself what is their happiness, where do they find it, maybe their happiness is family or children at home."

“For me, Hmm...I don't think I do anything special. I just want to have fun with it. I may put my life experience and my imagination into the lyrics, but I mostly just create a good result if I enjoy the process and are happy with it." Yugyeom shared his thoughts.

It seems your processes are quite different.

"Actually, we share the same trait which is that we both like to work freely and have fun with it. The difference might be our standpoint. Yugyeom wouldn't think too much and tend to be easy-going, but I would focus on the point. If we have to make a decision, I make a clear decision while Yugyeom is struggled to choose" (smile). JB denied our mention.

Yugyeom gave JB a dirty look. "I’m not like that anymore! Like JB said, and as we mentioned about the way we work, you'd see that our thoughts are quite different (smile). However, this difference is what makes JB a good consultant since he can point out something I couldn't think of which is a great help to me.

"Another difference would be our preference for food. We aren't picky, but JB would prefer Korean or seafood dishes. He also likes Thai food as well. ("Tom Yum Kung is my favorite, and I also love Gaeng Keow Wan Gai" JB mentioned.) However, I would prefer western dishes and red meat. For Thai food, ld say Khao Pad is the best."

Since you've been working together for a long time, have you had any conflict?

“Never. We do have our different thoughts, but if it's my responsibility, Yugyeom would respect my decision. And if it's his responsibility, I would respect his decision as well. In terms of group decision, we mostly agree with each other. I think he has grown up. Looking at how he conducts himself nowadays, I can say that he has become more responsible. I can't tell you the detail since it's his private life though" (smile). JB said with confidence.

So, has the big brother JB done anything that makes him look like a kid?

Yugyeom looked at JB before bursting a laugh. "Sure! Everyone would say that he's like a very naughty kid when he pulls a prank."

Since you are in this industry for 7-8 years already, do you remember the goal you had on the first day you entered this industry? And how far is your progress toward it now?

"My dream is still the same, which is to be a dance singer. To this day, I still have a long way to go, for both dancing, singing, and stage performance. I think I could keep getting better if I keep practicing." Yugyeom answered clearly.

“I’ve never had a goal. I used to be a b-boy dancer and I want to have a full experience with b-boy and Hip-Hop culture, but I have never set a goal to become a famous singer. If I get famous, that's good for me. I just want to dance the way I like and write songs freely. I didn't do it to get famous. All I want is just to give my all to make good songs." JB said.

“I still think that I need to produce more quality songs. Further than that, I want to keep working on it every day. Not to repeat the same thing over and over, but to explore something new to improve myself and widen my world with the new lessons and discoveries I could find along the way."

Looks like you two have come so far. What makes you become who you are today?

"I think it's diligence. As time passes by, I grow more diligent because I often think of the past which makes me feel that I could do things better but I didn't. That makes me try my best to keep getting better at my work so that I have no regret. It's to the point that everyone sees me as a very diligent and determined person." JB replied immediately. Yugyeom agreed to JB. "Like what he said, we just try our best and keep it up every day."

Have you ever been depressed or struggled because of your work? And how do you deal with it?

"Generally, it's my physical condition like when I'm tired or lack of sleep. Sometimes, I sit alone on a sofa and ask myself, what am I doing or why do I have to do it, which I believe that everyone has moments like this no matter what kind of job they do. However, I'm quite optimistic and easy to forget. When I start asking those questions, I'd just ask them and stop thinking further (laugh). Yugyeom shares his experience.

"My problem is that I think too much. I would overthink things over and over until it sinks into my heart which makes me feel very bad to the point that I can't sleep sometimes So, I normally try to sleep it off. If I feel very down, I will go out and meet my friends so that I can forget about it. When I have something on my mind,I will not tell the others. I usually try to figure it out myself. I may tell my parents about the problem on my mind, but that's only when they ask. If they don't ask, I don't talk" JB told us seriously. “But if we talk about physical tiredness like when I’m tired from work, I will think of when we released the song Never Ever. It was very cold back then. The time we finished our work and got into a warm place was the best. This memory could help me Cure my tiredness.”

Yugyeom took this chance to conclude. "I think we just need to be positive because no matter what's the problem, we can go through it"

What about the good time? Is there any good memory you get from work?

"I love to perform on the stage. Doing concerts is the best time in my working life." Yugyeom answered first.

"I do like to do concerts like him and I like the time we release a new album as well, but I would be happier when I get good feedback from my work. When GOT7 returned from the Eyes On You World Tour and received a lot of praise from the company or when I wrote You Are and got a praise message directly from the company's president at night, I was very happy. It makes me feel like every effort I put into my work pays off the good result." JB shared his memories

May you give some advice to the people who dream to be a popular and successful singer like you please?

"First of all, you must understand yourselves the most you can. Ask yourselves if this is really the job you want. You need to think carefully because you might regret and lose your way if this job turns out different from what you expect, but if you're sure about it, then you must give it your all to make a success of your dream. Do your best every day, and don't cower before any obstacle." JB, as the group leader, gave his advice

You have visited Thailand so many times and you will pay a visit again in the near future. Is there anything in Thailand that impresses you?

“I really love Thai food, especially seafood with a lot of shrimps. For traveling, I like Phuket the most. I saw a lot of advertising about Phuket, then I travelled there and found that it's a really great place. (Yugyeom nodded and agreed with JB. "Exactly, Phuket is the best. ") Oh! There's another place I want to visit. It’s Phi Phi Islands which I heard that we need to take a boat from Phuket to go there." JB answered with a smile.

"If we talk about Thailand, I would think of Thai fans. Every time we visit Thailand, Ahgases would treat us very well. The event that impressed me the most would be during the Eyes On You World Tour in Bangkok. The fans on the 3rd floor arranged pink glow signs to form the word GOT7 Saranghae (We love GOT7)" Yugyeom answered excitedly.

"That's right. I remember that Bambam would report the number of audiences to us before the concert excitedly. He said, You know that this is Thailand, right? All the 12,000 seats are packed full, you know? (laugh) Our Thai fans treat us very warmly. If it's American or westerner fans, they would enjoy the concert with us, but Thai fans would give us their all." JB confirmed Yugyeom's opinion.

Is there anything you want to say to Thai fans? JB pleaded with the fans first. "We are JUS2, the special unit from GOT7. We hope that you would like and enjoy our new release, Focus On Me. We put our feelings into this song. And I want to thank everyone for supporting us all this time. Thailand would be really hot right now. So, please take care of your health" (smile)

"Everyone would have been waiting for us for so long. I do want to meet everyone soon as well. Please support us in unit JUS2. We made the song and created new moves for this unit ourselves and we hope that you would love it." Yugyeom pleaded the fans with cuter tone. “Rak na…“ (love you.)

Scans by ‪coconutverbena‬

For more pictures check out: https://twitter.com/coconutverbena/status/1113992114176528384

[skeletorific]

I'd like to ask the same as a previous anon, about how the boys would react to figuring out they develop a crush on a regular that comes in. This is directed at the sanses including the HT sans and Papyrus.

Me, upon realizing that I forgot to do Crooks for that last ask:

UT!Sans: Honestly, he’s fairly similar to Stretch in that he’ll be doing his best to chat them up, but Sans’ version of flirting is a lot more dialed back and easier to pass off as just being friendly. Your friends might insist that he likes you but chances are you’ll shrug it off that he’s just a nice guy. And Sans is… honestly pretty ok with that. Sure, a date would be nice, but he doesn’t mind taking things slower, lay the groundwork on the friendship a bit until he gets the nerve to straightforwardly asking you out. Of course, given Sans’ utter lack of desire to put in emotional labor….could be months. This goes out the window if Papyrus finds out. He’ll become convinced that his brother is pining in misery and decide to help “move things along”. You start finding love notes on your table that are very obviously Papyrus’ handwriting and speaking patterns but are all signed “SANS”. He tosses heart shaped sprinkles on any drink Sans makes for you. Sans is pleading with him, please fuck, stop, and Papyrus agrees….on one condition. Next time you’re in the store, Sans is his usual self, maybe a little bluer faced than usual. He hands you your drink, and as you walk out the door, you check the side for his usual joke. “You must be trash, cause I want to take you out….no, seriously”. And then his number.

UF!Sans: Turns up the flirtation to a nine…..and struggles to actually seal the deal. Red’s mastery is the one night stand, the quick sheet tango before leaving it off as just mildly awkward friends. Maybe he’ll get the DLC and end up with friends with benefits. But this…feels different. He doesn’t just want to get laid. He wants to like…go out. Hold hands and junk. It’s disgusting and he has no idea how to give off that vibe. All of his flirting goes immediately into somewhat raunchier territory out of habit. And even if that’s your thing, he’s having a hard time getting you to connect the dots on the fact that he really does like you as a person, not just as another pretty thing. Honestly, just take him up on that date. He’ll figure it out as he goes along. Turns into an absolute possessive barista boy, he has exclusive rights to making your drinks and no one else better try.

US!Sans: As I mentioned Blue has a cult following of hopeless romantics convinced he’s their Prince Charming in an apron. He’s playful with all of these guests but you’re the one he takes a genuine interest in. Honestly Blue has the least trouble landing his crush in this scenario. He mixes just enough of Papyrus’ genuine compliments and cares for your well-being with Sans’ under the radar flirtation that seems natural and perfect when you’re in the moment but makes you turn bright red later. He asks you out as soon as he starts receiving hints that you’d enjoy that. Look forward to whipped cream hearts in your future. 

SF!Sans: At least Edge had the cover of a manager looking into his customers. Black is the bouncer. From a professional standpoint, the only reason he’d have to look into you is if you’re causing trouble and being generally an irredeemable prick. His moment of opportunity comes when you happen to intersect your visit with that of a local variety of asshole. For you it’s an unfortunate encounter. You’re innocently standing in line, studying the menu for your morning caffeine dose, and this motherfucker in front of you starts making a scene. Something about the black coffee being too bitter. Which….honestly what did they expect. The barista is clearly trying to defuse it, but they’re inconsolable. Finally, they get pissed enough to fling their half-full coffee cup. The barista teleports out of the way but you weren’t gifted with those magic powers. The coffee isn’t hot enough to do real damage anymore but that doesn’t mean it was a pleasant experience to catch a faceful. Before you can blink, though, the asshole has been promptly escorted out and you find a slightly purple-faced skeleton handing you a stack of napkins.

Yeah, he can work with this

HT!Sans: He’s not the most sociable and he can come off a bit strong but when he’s motivated he can make a definite impression. Whether you respond or not is kind of up to you, but you won’t be able to forget him for a while. Oddly enough he refuses to have a date with them in the coffee shop. He has no interest in sharing that part of himself with the others. Still, the shop is a nice place to watch humans. He’s got a thing for the ones that stare off into space a lot,  that kind of seem only half on earth at any given moment. Maybe he can relate or maybe they just seem more thoughtful. It has the added bonus of making it a challenge to catch their attention, but watching the man fix stuff is its own kind of hypnotism, and he is not above using it to get the attention that he wants.

HT!Papyrus: My poor hopeless son. Chances are you only met because you were working late on a project and ended up staying right up until closing time when he usually comes to start cleaning for the night. He’s delighted to have someone new there and immediately wants to talk to you. He’s awkward, his self-confidence is shot to pieces, but he wants friends and will cling to any kind of positive attention. After a couple of really nice encounters, he’s hopelessly smitten with no idea of how to go about it. He decides not to tell his brother until its more of a certain possibility, but he will try to sound out the others for advice. Most specifically Papyrus and Blue, because they’re the most similar to him. They teach him how to make some espresso art and he hands it to you on another of your late nights, stammering something out about a date, his face red but hopeful past the snaggle teeth. Be gentle with him. He buys flowers on the first date and is always thrilled to see you while he’s working. 

[childofsolace-write-ups]

Arc 01: REUNION

::THOMAS::

"What do you think sunlight feels like?"

I look up and see Nina coming through the right hand tunnel entrance, not even saying hello first. That usually means she was deep in thought on her way here again.

"I really don't remember." I tell her, setting down the book I'd been pretending to read.

It was something about the new things they expected to be able to do with machines. I didn't really have a reason to be fond of those stupid things. It's not exactly a picnic, depending on the machines for everyday living. It'd be awfully hard to breathe underground without them, for one thing. And—insert sarcastic tone here—how on earth would ordinary people survive without fucking reading lights. Seriously, with the number of issues that needs addressing, they give us extra lighting in bunkers, of all things?

Personally, I'd rather take my chances with whatever's up there on ground level. If Trey, Kytes, and the others survived...

That's kinda the thing, though. After all these years, I have no way of knowing if they DID survive or WHAT they survived as. The atmosphere was said to do awfully strange things to ordinary people. I miss my little brother, though. And I hope Trey was doing okay, too. He was my best friend growing up after all.

"Do you?"

Nina clicks on the kitchen lamp. It's pretty cramped up in our compartment bunker, so she'd probably do fine with the little reading light I'm using but she looks at it for a moment and sighed. "It's been too long," she says. "I wonder if they even still have sunlight up there. You know, considering all that's happened."

"Oh, they probably do."

I click off the reading light. No need to be careless with the energy we had. No matter how much they wanted us to believe the machines supplied boundless electricity. I couldn't, not with the reason they sent away Kytes and Trey with a whole bunch of other orphans being the worry for lack of resources. Not with Nina working there everyday. We depended on qualified individuals now for our energy supply. As in, people. Humans, to produce energy, if that makes sense as if they were hamsters running repeatedly in wheels for a Science project. It makes me feel queasy just thinking about it. I don't know how Nina can let them. She's a lot braver than I could be, that's for sure. Maybe a lot more reckless, too. Well, Trey was her brother.

He rubbed off on her...

Then again, I haven't even seen the guy the last eight years, so how would I know that? Nina was all I really had left in memory of him and my own brother. You died younger down here than you would when people lived above when it was still up there. Both Nina's parents are gone, mine died in a fire accident years before the radiation up there first hit. My Uncle, who made it possible for me and my brother to still live here whenever they had to send out orphans, died a year after I turned thirteen. Then, in one Release before I turned thirteen, my brother opted to take Nina's place instead because she's been sick that time and she wouldn't have lasted an hour up there even with Trey's help, who had just been ten then. But I never held it against Trey or resent Nina. We knew each other even before all this, Trey was my best friend just as long as Nina was Kytes's. And I would've done the same if it had been Trey.

Although, I laugh at the idea of Kytes staying down here with him. It might be him who had to watch over the damn lummox.

Now with Nina's parents gone and my Uncle passing away, I was old enough to stand as her guardian until she turned thirteen herself next week. Not that it mattered cause she won't be moving out and I'm not kicking her out either. But on the event I died after her birthday, she wouldn't have to be sent away. So now we shared a cramped compartment on a fairly low level, which was good. The lower you are, the farther you are from the dangers of Ground level.

Level 01 had some data gathering stations for researches and old residence cells. They were Orphanages every now and then, until those who weren't adopted were sent out anyway, the cells were used for residence bunkers to the Poor class.

Level 02 to 30 had the residence cells according to social status of the Middle-class. Point blunt.

Level 31 to 35 had the commerce centers, radio stations and whatever establishments that had existed back and is possible to continue down here. There are movie halls, too, but obviously no one makes movies anymore. We watched the films that was brought down here with us during the evacuation. Before I thought it was pretty cool, now I think of how stupid it is. Of all the other important things they could have brought down, they settled for movies. Anyway, those levels are what you can consider the central city, if you can call it that since there are hardly any Skyscrapers anymore. Not that they would've fit down here, anyway.

Level 35 to 49 have residence cells for Elites and Government officials, the Councillors and the Techs with their family, if any. Since Nina is a Machine tech, we are privileged to be in Level 35.

The better people, the Councillors, get Level 37 to 49 according to importance of Office.

I don't really know what Level 50 holds, which is the lowest of the low. But some rumors I heard assumes it's a laboratory of sorts. Still, while we have it good as much as we could down here, I wonder about life in the surface.

"What makes you think so?" Nina snaps me back to reality. That perceptive brown-eyed gaze on me, a startling sense of knowing. "For all we know, it's getting worse up there. There's no way of knowing."

I snort. "No one bothers to check. Even if they did, there's no report. For all we know," I mimick her tone. "everything's back to normal, like in the Disney movie with the Garbage Robot going to outer space. We'd never know it, down here. They think we've got everything but it's all stupid..."

"Thomas," she studies me for a moment. "Are you still planning to go up there?"

"Soon."

I say the same thing everyday, but when have I ever acted on my words? I'm caught in a cycle just like every other moron in this stupid Underground settlement. And I know I'm still afraid to see how much things changed up there even as I'm dying to know at the same time.

"I want to see my brother," I continue. "How he and Trey are doing... If they're still alive, that is."

"Do you think they're still alive?" Nina asks, as if we don't talk about this everyday. Like she expects a different answer or something. It's been years and she still asks. "Well, do you?"

I can't give it to her though, "I don't know, maybe." The first few times she cried. Now, she simply nods.

"When are we going?"

I sigh at her persistence. It's not like it was easy, we can't just walk straight to the guards by the exit of the city and say, Hey we're leaving this dump so later losers! Without being questioned.

"Whenever it seems like a good time."

Naturally, I say this every time she asks. I think she's starting to think that it will never be a good time. I've begun to wonder about that myself. Actually, I want to go and see my brother. I want to go and see Nina's brother. It's tough finding a friend like him. Only Trey's been able to break down the walls I built ever since mom and dad died. He made me play soccer, even when I was never into sports. We'd go wild in the service tunnels, I break a lady's vase and we're both in trouble. Him at the Orphanage and me with my Uncle. But those were the good old days. I want to get back living above the ground, breathing for myself, instead of relying on machines to help me do it and rotting away in a metal cave some thirty feet or so below it. But thinking about something and actually doing it are two different matters.

Nina tilts her head then surprises me a bit by breaking our odd little mantra. Instead of agreeing and starting lunch, she asks a new question. "Thomas, do you think we could leave before the week is up?"

I stare at her in wonder. "Well, sure thing!" I mock-enthuse, "Let me call the guys at the Radio station to reschedule my shift this week. Oh. And have someone replace me as Head Chef for the Wedding Catering next month."

"Thomas," Nina pouts. "I'm being serious."

I'm still surprised but now also curious. "Why the sudden eagerness?"

"I met this girl in work today. Her name was Lindsay Caghan. Do you know her?"

I shake my head. I've never heard the name. But then, that doesn't mean a thing. I use my name when Live on air during Radio broadcasts so there could be a bunch of people who know me without me returning the favor.

"Well, she knows you. She knows you work at the station three days a week and as a chef during the Weekends." Now that's something. I usually stay at the kitchen so no one would guess I'm a Chef but my co-workers. I don't even have lots of friends anymore to be told about to others. Nina sinks slowly into the couch beside me. It was also my bed since I've offered the real bed to her. "I didn't say a word, Thomas. I don't know how she knows, but she does. And that's not the half of it. She knows our desire to leave."

Well, I wouldn't really call it a desire. "So?" I raise a brow. "What can she do? It's not like they'd actually care if we left. They'd be glad for the extra space."

"She doesn't want to stop us, Thomas." Nina explains, halting my instinctive string of defensive cynical arguments. "Far from it actually."

"Then what does she want?"

"You won't like it."

Oh jeez, I had to laugh at that. "There's a lot of things I don't like," I remind her. "I don't like these metal cages they call homes, I don't like those machines that use people as energy sources. And I definitely don't like how they sent our brothers and a whole group of other orphans yearly to the surface as a solution to minimizing shortages and leaving them to deal with whatever dangers the surface has to offer." I threw my arm behind her, mostly to stretch than anything else. "Now tell me, what else am I adding to this very long list?"

"All right," Nina smiles a little. "Lindsay brought up the subject in private. And she had a request for you. There's someone she wants us to take up to the surface when we go."

I stare at her for a second, wondering if she was joking. The expression on her face tells me she's not. "No way, nope. No." I say. I haven't even fully decided whether I, myself, wanted to go. I'm not all for including others. Before long, we'd have a whole army with us. "I do not like that one bit."

Nina rolls her eyes. "I expected as much." She sighs. "I'm not certain who she wants to send with us, but she seemed fairly urgent about it." She tells me, a strange look on her face. She looks like that whenever she's truly serious about something. That can't be good for me. Then there will be no refusing her.

"Urgent how?"

"Well," She hesitates. "she seemed nervous. As if what she's planning is something that could get her in trouble. I think we should at least hear her out."

"Nina," I rub my forehead. "you don't think that the person she wants us to take is herself, do you? If she's run into some kind of trouble with the law..." I don't finish that. I'm not a huge fan of the Councillors, but even I'm not cynical enough to get on their bad side so boldly enough to break the law. "you know I'd rather this doesn't turn into an escape propaganda."

Nina shakes her head, looking thoughtful. "No, I think it's bigger than that. I don't think she's doing this for her own safety. I think she's risking her safety and it's making her scared. But she really seems desperate to have us agree."

"I don't know Nina, it doesn't seem like a very good idea, including others." I hope I can make her see where I'm coming from. She's a teenager now, and I know I am too, but I expect the moodiness of a teenage girl to be something too much to handle. And if I give her a no... Well, just because Nina's never thrown a tantrum doesn't mean she couldn't start now. "we could end up with a lot of company and not all of them welcome."

"I don't think so, Thomas. The way she acted, I think this is a private problem. It was like she didn't want anyone else to know. But she seems pretty concerned. If it's illegal, it's illegal in a good way." she looks at me with bright eyes. "Know what I mean?"

I sigh. No, I really don't but what I do know is that there was no talking her out of this. "You mean some kind of Noble act? Like a Holy crusade or..."

"No, but it'd be something humane. Or she wouldn't bother," Nina retorts. "I think we should listen to her. It's probably important."

I groan, holding my hands up in surrender. "All right," I exhale, giving in, because who can function in the face of that kind of persistence?

Women complicated things. Uncle would always say. And he's right.

Nina had already made up her mind and it's futile to get her to give up. She's Trey's sister all right. "Fine. We'll talk to her. Why don't you try and get her to tell you exactly what she wants from us? I'm not making any promises until I know what we're getting into."

"Thank you, Thomas." Nina gives me a soft smile, the kind that gets just about anyone to do whatever she wants. I'm a victim of that countless of times. "I have a feeling that this is the right thing to do."

But not necessarily the smartest, I think to myself. "Great."

Nina shrugs and smothers a yawn. She's tired. But then again, she's always tired now. Working with machines is a strain. I pretend not to see the dark circles under her eyes, but I think it's wearing on her. That's just one more reason to take her away from this place. I know she's strong enough to handle it but I don't want her to have to.

"Make sure you ask the right questions." I remind her. "I don't want this Lindy girl tricking us to agreeing to more than we want. Be careful."

"It's Lindsay." Nina corrects before smiling. "And I have a better idea than that, Thomas." she says. "how would you like it if I arranged it so that you could meet her?"

"... No."

We argue again, even though I know Nina will eventually get her way nevertheless.

[ofcloudsandstars]

Hello, dear! A little fae told me that you live in NJ. I do as well! I wanted to ask for your recommendations on magical places to go/see in the NJ/NY area! I have a day of next Monday and my friend who i'm chilling with said she'll go anywhere I want and I'm so overwhelmed at the possibility! I normally work, so this is a rare opportunity that I cannot pass up! I'd really appreciate the suggestions! ~May good energies surround you!~

I have mentioned a number of times on this blog that I live in NJ! That’s cool you live here too, NJ is pretty special in it’s own way!

For NJ there are tons of cool abandoned places that feel like a strange liminal space. NJ is notorious for legends of strange creatures living in these spaces so like whether or not you believe in that be careful cause that tends to attract a sketchy type of crowd. In a natural reservation by my house for example it’s advised people don’t go alone cause weird people do strange rituals there and malicious energy shit cause they thrive off those type of sinister legends. It’s also like Fort Tyron in NYC which is my favorite park ever, it’s INTENSE with magical energy, ghosts and entities but there’s some parts of the park that has a very dense and somewhat negative vibe and you don’t want to linger there for too long. It’s still an incredible place though!

So NJ has A lot of abandoned places as you may know. These abandoned places have tons of energy and history to them and are pretty magical in their own way. I will link some sites to them too.

Abandoned Railroad station-Like there are a million abandoned NJ railroad graveyards and stations but this one might be easier for you to access. It’s by Jersey City. Be careful that some abandoned places are not protected by some law cause sometimes you can end up trespassing and you don’t want police to be all up in your grill

Ashbury Park-Honestly my favorite beach in the north east. It’s beautiful, clean and very classy NJ Americana with all the wonderful boardwalk treats like saltwater taffy and orange creamsicle soft serve, but it has a lot of fascinating energy too, the nicest waves and sea shells and sand. They also have a Paranormal museum and shop that holds tours there and a lot of abandoned shit like shipwrecks a haunted paramount theatre and Asbury Lanes. Great to go for a summer day trip!

Clifton’s Gates of Hell-I’m not far from Clifton but this place is incredibly dangerous. I’m just letting you know about it since you asked but its like.. dangerous.. lol. A lot of kids from my high school would come here for the thrill but would leave kind of disturbed. Like if the NJ devil is real he would be chillin here. It’s like a series of storm drains and there has been cults doing weird magic inside. I would suggest you go with someone and be armed or something but also this is totally a bad idea and like how horror films start. A lot of kids in my school knew about weird haunted abandoned places in NJ like there is an abandoned asylum that still has electric chairs intact and an abandoned mansion but the stories they told always sounded really creepy and really dangerous. Like aside from being very empathetic and probably feeling the trauma the ghosts went through their waking lives there, I am moreso always concerned about living people and what they’re capable of. I think it’s cool to know about The Gates of Hell but I am giving you a long ass disclaimer about going there haha. (btw the asylum was called Greystone Psychiatric Hospital in case you are interested lol. My friends said that they still have medical records and everything in tact. Its like they had to evacuate one day and never cleaned up anything). Also like mentioned above if you do go- I think at least for Greystone it’s a halfass protected historical site. Halfass meaning it has a cheap metal chain fence around it but police might be snooping around so you want to be careful because I am assuming that for the hospital you could be trespassing if you enter anyway. (Clifton Gates I don’t think it’s protected at all)

Pine Barrens-Also for more creepy places I would suggest you should avoid but should know about are Pine Barrens. I feel like everyone that needs to know anything witch-history related and paranormal and weird about NJ should know about Pine Barrens. Like Pine Barrens is the heart of the bizarre of this state lol. Supposedly witches used to live there on some long ago colony and they summoned or gave birth to The Jersey Devil that still lingers in this land. That’s basically where the beast was born. The Pine Barrens is very ‘The Blair Witch Project’ in vibe. People go there and leave weird shit on purpose. Witches probably go there and do some dank magic. It’s a giant swamp so the energy is kind of dank anyway.

Even though Weird NJ might seem like a super corny and kitschy magazine, in it’s very childishness presentation it kind of does hold a guide to the paranormal and bizarre of the state. It’s cute in a goosebumps-ish way where most people wouldn’t take the magazine seriously but if you really go on the adventures it suggests you will probably end up on a hell ride haha.

There are also a lot of waterfalls in NJ. Like NJ is known for waterfalls. Check out this link. Also just google NJ waterfalls or top 10 waterfalls in NJ or whatever it will give you some great advice since the best are often listed everywhere but tend to be far and out of the way. 

For towns there are a few that are nice. Montclair is a beautiful artistic town. There are a lot of magical shops there too like Blu Lotus that sells a lot of magical tools and items and is beautiful. I posted a few pictures of it before. There are more magical stores up and down bloomfield ave which is where the downtown stores are centered around. There is also Parcel further up bloomfield ave that sells really nice stationary and has an Amelie, whimsical faerie-like feel. There is an incredible crystal shop also on Bloomfield Ave called Rocky’s Crystals & Minerals. There’s a new magic tool and spiritual shop further down bloomfield ave called Mystic Spirit Metaphysical Shoppe. I’ve never been there yet. If you want to hang around Bloomfield Ave in downtown Montclair I’d suggest for lunch go to Raymonds which is a super cute classic Americana restaurant that sells great Egg Creams and Burgers. That’s like their specialty don’t get anything else haha. If you are vegetarian/vegan there is a great vegan restaurant on that same street (Church ave where Blu Lotus is) and there is a smoothie acai bowl shop on that street too for dessert. Other than downtown Montclair has a lot of beautiful parks and a really nice reservation called Eagle Rock. Eagle Rock can be a little sketchy so check it out with a friend but overall its a cool place. Oh yeah and there is the Van Vleck house which is a mansion with beautiful gardens open to the public. It is MAJESTIC in the summertime. Sooo fucking gorgeous. Its worth checking out. There are wild bunnies that run across the garden too. It has a very french style to it (montclair has a large french community).

Verona also has a magical shop called Goddess in Eden. The owner used to work in Blu Lotus in Montclair but branched off into her own shop. She is wiccan and works with the fae and is often in her own head so she’s hard to kind of have a conversation with haha. The store is facing Verona park which is beautiful and has always been one of my favorite parks.

Edgewater NJ is pretty special. In that area of NJ there are a lot of Japanese Americans and there is a huge supermarket and restaurant that the area is known for that caters to Japanese culture but aside from that Edgewater has these incredible trails I discovered with an intimate partner there. There are raspberry bushes growing all over the trail and the most TRETCHEROUS FUCKING STONE STAIRS leading AS STEEP AS POSSIBLE down to the river. Its beautiful and at one point you will feel like you are in a fort or castle at some time but its kind of intense tbh.

Also Nj has the most CUTEST industrial towns along the delaware river. I have yet to explore there but I’ve been wanting to go.

Anyway for NYC there is:Manhattan- 9th street between ave 1 and A is like the most magical street in Manhattan. You have Flower Power which is a great apothecary/herb shop and the people in there are amazing. It looks like a store out of harry potter with cute green library shelves filled with herbs. Then there is Enchantments which is NYC’s oldest witchcraft shop. The staff might be kind of unwelcoming but the cats are worth it. There is also Good Beer which is a craft beer place that sells seasonal ciders and beers and is partially a bar. I think if you like beer, cider and drinking its worth checking out. There is also a vegan confectionery on that same street. There is also a crystal shop and a psychic place but I haven’t been to the psychic there. There is also a cat shelter on that block that lets you come in for free to hug and pet the cats.

Fort Tyron Park- basically 181 off the A and above. The park is a long park on the north west side of Manhattan’s island and is gorgeous. It faces the river and has a lot of rocky mountainous cliffs and hills and old stone bridges, walls and structures. It’s well known for the Cloisters which is a kind of castle built from old pieces of old monasteries from Europe. It’s a medieval museum apart of the MET that does wine tastings in the summer and hosts a renaissance fair. There are parts of the park that are super mysterious and can get creepy. You would have old stone stairs leading down into an overgrown growth of vines that grows into a forest by the foot of the stairs. You have a lot of walkways that descend into stone tunnels that are super dark in the middle. There are a lot of strange liminal spaces there. It’s relatively safe so you can be fine alone but you should be able to pick up weird vibes if something too strange is afoot. Also if you are around 181 there’s a fantastic Irish bar called Le Cheile that has this very whimsical feel and a great cider and beer selection. It would be cool to drink there after checking out the park!

North Woods Central Park-Some forest that is easier to get to and not too out of the way is the north woods on the upper left side of Central Park. It’s beautiful and intense and drowns out the whole city. You can get very much lost in it and some of the path has been devoured by the earth and overtaken by weeds and dirt. I love walking through this forest in winter. There are old brown stone troll-like bridges in there and a lot of beautiful streams everywhere. You might want to be with a partner while going through because for central manhattan it can be a bit troubling to be alone in the woods and some sketchy types threaten you. I’ve never been bothered but I try not to chance myself too much. I find the ramble safer but wayy more populated but ok to be alone in. (The ramble is a smaller woods in the more central area of central park).

Lillies by Union Square-Its not really magical, but it’s super charming and I love it, especially around christmas when they decorate the fuck out of it. It’s super whimsical and has a very old classic NYC vibe

Abracadabra-On west 19th street. It’s not that magical as it is kind of creepy, paranormal and a spooky goosebumps adventure. If you’re ever in NYC it’s worth going in and laughing at.

BrooklynOff Morgan on the L line is Catland which is Brooklyn’s witchcraft store and community. They CONSTANTLY have witchy events there, from parties to rituals to symposiums. I’m going to a discussion with a witchy friend there this Saturday to talk about Death, the afterlife, channeling spirits, ouija boards and contacting ancestors. They have parties like queer witch prom and its a very queer witch friendly space as it’s run by queer witches

I know there are definitely places in the Bronx but I honestly do not know the Bronx well enough to write a lot on it.

Governor’s Island-OHBOY HOW DID I FORGET THIS ONE, everyone knows this place cause they hold music festivals there but governor’s island is the most liminal space ass place I’ve ever been to. It’s beautiful but littered with haunted feeling houses that some artists have taken to making into even more haunted vibe art studios. Check out the HoloCenter which is an art center for laser art and holographs. Its literally like an old creepy decaying house filled with black portrait spaces that when you walk too close a fucking holograph face pops out at you. It’s super beautiful, cool and creepy tech art that for some reason never was popular enough to take off so it feels really alternative.

I hope some of these places are interesting to you! Stay safe! Especially in NJ’s more paranormal spaces they feel very Blair Witchy meaning that it’s not always so friendly so it’s good not to be alone, but of course there are a lot of wonderful places too! I hope you guys have fun!!! 

[thehollowworldofficial]

Elise’s Pitch Wars Welcome!

Hello! My name is Elise Longden, and I’m writing this little introduction because I have written a manuscript and I’m planning to submit it to Pitch Wars, the mentoring programme!

Whilst this little blog is where I record my thoughts about my writing, I’ve never really introduced myself - mostly because I believed I would never let anyone see it. However, the Pitch Wars form has room for a website, and I would rather link this blog as opposed to my Twitter (which is inactive) or my Instagram (which is just full of cosplay and dog photos). 

To clarify, I have written a book called “The Hollow World”. 

Okay so, here’s some stuff about me:

Submission related stuff that potential mentors may be interested in:

In 2017 I won the UK National Flash Fiction Competition run by the University of Chester and was published in an anthology that had also once featured Margaret Atwood (SQUEE!). My piece entitled “Flotsam” can be found here:

 http://www.chester.ac.uk/sites/files/chester/Longden%20Elise%20-%20Flotsam%20FINAL.pdf

I got an A* A-Level grade (It’s not to big myself up...just in case anyone not British doesn’t know what that means!!!!) in Creative Writing, and my coursework, which was 70% of my grade, was the first 30,000 words of my Pitch Wars manuscript.

The idea for “The Hollow World” came to me in a Film Studies class at college. After trying /(and failing) to come up for an idea to base a project around, my teacher gave me an exercise to generate some ideas. She took a few traits typical of Hollywood films, and told me to flip them on their head. Thus, “The Hollow World”, or at least a basis for it, was born, and three (ish) years later, I still can’t get it out of my head. 

Basically the idea of Ashe came from my bizarre urge to see a tiny little girl violently killing things in a film. I thought I was being super original, but the film Logan beat me to it. I can’t even be mad, because Dafne Keen is so incredible?!

The reason why I’m submitting to Pitch Wars, is because I need help. That’s the bottom line. I have edited my manucript the best I can, but I need someone who can take what I’ve written and look at it from a fresh, and new perspective. I am new to the idea of getting my manucript published (though I have always dreamed I would), and navigating the crazy world of publishing and agents and general make-your-writing-an-actual-book stuff....is scary. And I really, really, need your help. I need someone who is honest who can tell me what needs to be done. I’ve done the best I can, and now I need someone who is better than me.

I draw, so here’s some pictures of the characters from the “The Hollow World”, that may hopefully pique your interest:

ASHE 

MAGPIE

NADIA

CASSIDY

SOME FACES

SOME MORE FACES

Whilst these were drawn about a year ago and aren’t my best work, I’m hoping they entice potential mentors, just a ‘lil bit more! :)

Some general stuff about me:

I am a pretty happy and positive person, who loves to work hard. If I have a task or idea inside my head, I will hyperfixate on it until it’s done. For example...this manuscript was unfinished (by about 20,000 words) on the 1st of August. It was my first draft that I hadn’t read through, it was unformatted, it was riddled with errors and inconsistancies, but after meeting the lovely Tomi Adeyemi and talking to her about Pitch Wars, I decided to enter. So I took my jumbled mess, I put my butt into gear, and I spent day after day writing, writing, writing, until I felt happy enought to submit it. I also had to learn what I query letter was, because I am a publishing term noob. My point is, I am willing to push myself, and go all out at 110% percent, if that somehow helps me achieve what I want to achieve.

I am 19 and I live in the UK (specifically near Liverpool). 

I cosplay as well! I’ve been Rey, Leia, and a generic Jedi from Star Wars, Margaery Tyrell and Daenerys Targaryen from Game of Thrones, Pirate King Elizabeth Swann from Pirates of the Caribbean, and I spend 70% of my time in my 13th Doctor costume.

I love Hamilton, and can rap all of it. I love musicals in general tbh.

I have an unhealthy obsession with Moriarty from Sherlock Holmes.

Have I mentioned that the 13th Doctor is the best thing ever to happen to me?

I have a dinosaur hat that I wear whenever I’m sad, because it’s pretty impossible to be sad with a giant T-Rex on your head. And by “hat” I mean this thing:

Pretty majestic, right?

ANYWAY

I’m ace/aro, which is why my book features no romance.

I love my dog Rocky more than anything. He looks like this: 

As well as a mentor who can teach me writer-y things, I’m also looking for a friend, so here’s some stuff I like:

TV Shows: 

Merlin (the love of my life, tbh, and it broke my heart), DOCTOR WHO (especially the 13th Doctor, even though she hasn’t aired yet), Hannibal, Orphan Black, Sense 8, iZombie, TOP GEAR (Yes, the car show. I’m obsessed), Game of Thrones, Parks and Recreation, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Jessica Jones/any Netflix Marvel show, the 100 (early seasons because Lexa), RuPauls Drag Race, Queer Eye, Brooklyn 99, Stranger Things, Sherlock, Agent Carter...I’ve watched a lot okay?

Movies: 

My ultimate favourite movie of all time is What We Do in the Shadows. Even if you’re not going to choose me as a mentee, then please what this dumb film. I love it. I LOVE IT. It’s dark comedy genius, and a real gem. 

Other favourite films are: Wonder Woman, Ghostbusters (2017 version), Ocean’s 8 (will Cate Blanchett adopt me as her ace/aro child?), Marvel Films (particulary Thor: Ragnarok), Star Wars Films, Kingsman Films, John Wick Films, Pirates of the Carribbean Films, Harry Potter Films,Mad Max: Fury Road, Peter Pan Goes Wrong (if you pick me I’ll force you to watch it at some point, sorry), Disney Films (Mulan, Up!, and Hercules are my faves).

Books: 

Some that don’t need an explanation: Harry Potter, A Song of Ice and Fire, His Dark Materials, Lord of the Rings. Anything by Neil Gaiman, Margaret Atwood, or Stephen King.

My favourite series, and arguably my “Harry Potter” is the Skulduggery Pleasant series by Derek Landy. I’ve met Derek multiple times, and his books are just hilarious, soul-destorying, and MAGIC. I love them.

A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers - Seriously, this Sci-Fi book is one of the most striking books I’ve ever read, mostly because it surprised me with it’s tender story, honest representations of real people, and general WOW-ness. I love it, and its flashbacks heavily influenced my own manuscript. You know when you love a book so much that you wish you could eat it? This is that book for me.

Moriarty by Antony Horowitz. My favourite villain of all time in a book that blew my mind? Yes please.

The Girl in 6E by A.R.Torre. I picked up this book for a quid in the supermarket, and it utterly suprised me. It’s about a sex-worker murder-obsessed cam girl who is asked to act out something on camera that’s a little too disturbing, so she tracks down the man who asked her in order to save a little girl from a vile act. Think Maestra meets The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. It’s not the most sophisticated reading with all of the bizarre sexual stuff, but the wit and exasperation of the main character makes up for it. I love anything that surprises me, and this book was something I'd never seen before.

Anything (memoir or fiction) by Carrie Fisher. As a Star Wars nerd I knew I would love her work, but when I read them I was blown away by how poignant, poetic, and wonderous Carrie Fisher’s writing is. She seems to find the perfect balance between humour and emotion, and reading them was a genuine joy. Each funny sentence makes me laugh out loud, but each serious sentence is heavy, poised, and so amazingly crafted and emotional. 

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi. I was lucky enough to meet Tomi on her UK tour, and I gave her my very long letter and a portfolio of art. I love the book, and I love even more what it stands for, and there’s not much else I can really say.

Other books I loved in no order: The Power by Naomi Alderman, The Cursed Prince by Holly Black, The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins, the Chaos Walking series by Patrick Ness, the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan, Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas, The Time Traveller’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger, the Gone series by Michael Grant, The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, The Martian and Artemis by Andy Weir, Lost Stars by Claudia Gray, Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, Room by Emma Donoghue, Wicked by Gregory Maguire....and a helluva lot more....

And just so you know, here’s what I look like:

(I’m the human dressed as the 13th Doctor)

Hopefully this gives you an idea about me and my personality! I’m sorry this is so long, I just wanted to make sure I came across in an okay way! If any potential mentors are reading this, thank you for taking the time to! 

If you want to read the notes/journal entries I kept on this blog when I was writing and editing my manucript, just search the tag #update! 

My Twitter is: https://twitter.com/EliseLongden 

My Instagram is:  instagram.com/elise.longden/ (here you will find a lot of cosplay and dog pictures, and I’m not sorry)

If you have any questions or anything else you want to know, please feel free to shoot me an ask! Or just say hi!