#worst part is i'm getting ideas for edits but i can't do them just yet

[virsancte]

POV from this google doc

[suzyq31]

Thanks for the tag @kay-elle-cee! I feel like such an imposter lately since I can't seem to bring myself to write lately, at least outside of journaling.

AO3 Username: Elastic_Heart31

1. How many works do you have on A03? 15, but 2 more are hidden for now.

2. What’s your total Ao3 word count? 765,116

3. What fandoms do you write for? So far just Harry Potter. If I was braver I would write the Before Sunrise idea I have or attempt to write a fleabag fanfic. I'm also experimenting with more original writing.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

Maybe Tomorrow

Iris

It Had To Be You

Found (though currently hidden)

In Between (also hidden 😅)

Those are all Harmony, but my top Jily fic is:

At The Beginning

5. Do you respond to comments? I try my best with my ADHD brain. I truly appreciate when people take the time to let me know their thoughts.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Hmm. Not sure since some haven't ended some of them yet. Maybe Plans? Since we know what happens in canon.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Probably It Had To Be You with it's two part epilogue of fluff.

8. Do you get hate on fics? Sigh. Yes. One of the many reasons I've lost my enthusiasm for writing Harry and Hermione fanfics.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? Yes, though often against my better judgement haha. I have no idea what to classify it as. Maybe I'll borrow Kelsey's word and say vanilla.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written? Nope!

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not sure.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? Maybe? I've had people ask, but unsure if they are posted.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? Yes, hopefully will get back to it someday!

14. What’s your all time favorite ship? Hmmm I've had so many over the years. The only ones I've attempted to write though have been Harmony and Jily. They've also been consistent since childhood.

Special shout out to my teenage love of Pacey and Joey from Dawson's Creek, even though adult me thinks he deserves better and that show is terrible.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? At this point it feels like all of them 🙈

16. What are your writing strengths? No clue. I've been told I write emotion well. I've also been complimented on my ability to write children realistically.

17. What are your writing weaknesses? Probably grammar and sentence structure, I still feel lost a lot of the time when it comes to all of that. I earned to write in English after learning French though it's my native language, and I see how it still impacts me. Also, I tend to be the worst with over writing and then having to edit the hell out everything!

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

If it makes sense in the story. I've seen it work well in a lot of literary books I've read. And one scene in particular from UaS (if you know, you know).

19. First fandom you wrote for? Harry Potter. One and only (so far).

20. Favourite fic you’ve written? Hmm I'm probably proudest of Maybe Tomorrow. It's one that feels personal in ways that are hard to explain. I also think I grew a lot as a writer while working on it.

In terms of Jily, I've really enjoyed my drabbles that aren't on archive. I do hope to expand on some of them someday.

Tagging: @myst867 @annonymouslyblonde @cordovabox @nodirectionhome-ao3 @glitterwitch1

Also if you feel like joining considering yourself tagged!

[yanderes-galore]

Can I ask for a Yandere Alphabet for Kai from Ninjago please? 😳

I'd love to! I'm not done with the first series yet so I'm sorry if something's wrong. Either way, I hope I managed to get a take at least similar to his character, pfft. I'll take feedback and edit things if I have to.

Alphabet Found Here

Yandere Alphabet - Kai

Pairing: Romantic

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Overprotective behavior, Burns, Kidnapping, Isolation, Stalking, Obsessive flirting, Punishment, Temperamental behavior, Forced relationship.

Affection: How do they show their love and affection? How intense would it get?

Kai seems a bit self-absorbed at times. He's overly confident in his skills, including flirting. Most of the main ninja except Lloyd and Zane try flirting, but Kai is probably the most confident.

Alot of his affection towards his darling is displayed through flirting. He lays it on thick and is rather passionate. He's also a bit impulsive and may make moves on you. His obsession is indeed like his element, burning with passion.

He's intense and likes to hold his darling in his arms when he can.

Blood: How messy are they willing to get when it comes to their darling?

Kai prefers not to due to his moral code, but he'd get messy for you. Probably in order to protect you or in a fit of jealousy... he may shake loose his morals and get a little dirty for you.

Cruelty: How would they treat their darling once abducted? Would they mock them?

He likes teasing but doesn't want to mock you. He'd try to treat you well once he abducts you. Kai's selfish but he does try to help you adjust to abduction. He says he's protecting you and that he loves you. He'll still give you affection... even if you hate him after this.

Darling: Aside from abduction, would they do anything against their darling’s will?

He's determined, impulsive, and a bit too passionate at times. Despite this, he would try not to do anything against your will too often. He isn't as deluded like Jay and gives you space when you need it.

He may force a few affectionate gestures for the most part. Other than that... he tries not to scare you off.

Exposed: How much of their heart do they bare to their darling? How vulnerable are they when it comes to their darling?

He bares quite a bit. Not as much as Jay but certainly a good amount. Kai can be vulnerable towards you which is why he considers the idea of hiding you away. His vulnerability towards you is what makes him so overprotective and obsessive over you.

Fight: How would they feel if their darling fought back?

He'd try to stop it. Kai's stubborn and may just end up fighting you to get you to stop. He's hotheaded so you may set him off and you both are yeling at each other.

Game: Is this a game to them? How much would they enjoy watching their darling try to escape?

This is not a game to him. He doesn't want you to eacape due to how dangerous Ninjago is. Surely you understand this, right?

Hell: What would be their darling’s worst experience with them?

His temper most likely leads to the worst experience. Maybe Kai was getting too stressed and was pushed too far. Either way, seeing Kai burn someone due to a meltdown was probably the worst other than abduction. Even more so if he burned you without meaning to.

Ideals: What kind of future do they have in mind for/with their darling?

He wants a family. He likes it being just the two of you but he can't help but think of you and Nya being closer friends. He just wants you all to be happy. He wants to be stronger so he can protect those he loves most. Overall, he just likes to think of a future where you're safe.

Jealousy: Do they get jealous? Do they lash out or find a way to cope?

His obsession is as dangerous as the fire he wields. Kai does get jealous and he'd lash out. He'd either lash out at others or try to harness those feelings into his training to cool off.

Kisses: How do they act around or with their darling?

He tries to be affectionate. He's usually around you and often likes to flirt. He loves seeing your face as red as his outfit. He adores you and is upfront with it. His confidence and impulsive behavior may lead to PDA. Although Kai just likes to follow you closely at times when not affectionate.

Love letters: How would they go about courting or approaching their darling?

Stalking and flirting. He's intense with it, too. Nya finds this behavior troubling. Kai is not usually one for gifts, he makes his attraction known by a well placed touch and soft word.

Mask: Are their true colors drastically different from the way they act around everyone else?

Kai's in the middle. He gets flirty and overall is the same according to the others. It's the new obsessive persona towards you that's weird.

Naughty: How would they punish their darling?

Burning and isolation. Mostly isolation as he likes the idea of you coming to him for help, like a hero. If he's angry? Burning. He'll scar patterns into your skin to show you what you did was wrong. Be it escape or "cheating"....

Oppression: How many rights would they take away from their darling?

He tries to take none until after he abducts you! If he did then he'd simply isolate you until he feels you have the right to talk to others again.

Patience: How patient are they with their darling?

Not the most patient person in the world... but patient enough.

Quit: If their darling dies, leaves, or successfully escapes, would they ever be able to move on?

Probably not. He'd try to deny the situation and only then would he be delusional. Speaking specifically if you died, he'd be in denial. If you left, then he'd never get over it and hopes to find you again

Regret: Would they ever feel guilty about abducting their darling? Would they ever let their darling go?

Somewhat and maybe. Only if you proved to him you did love him and wished to be his would he let you go.

Stigma: What brought about this side of them (childhood, curiosity, etc)?

Not really sure. There's a chance it could be due to how passionate he is and his childhood?

Tears: How do they feel about seeing their darling scream, cry, and/or isolate themselves?

He does his best to comfort you. He doesn't want you upset, he isn't heartless.

Unique: Would they do anything different from the classic yandere?

Probably. He is a ninja that wields fire and has a temper. He stalks, uses violence for jealousy, and kidnaps. He's similar, but has his differences.

Vice: What weakness can their darling exploit in order to escape?

Giving in to him just enough to escape. With Kai it's a bit difficult but you may pull it off. Also, friends with Nya? She'll help you for sure.

Wit’s end: Would they ever hurt their darling?

Yes, but he tries not to.

Xoanon: How much would they revere or worship their darling? To what length would they go to win their darling over?

He'd go to great lengths to have you. He doesn't worship you a ton, but he shows it while flirting sometimes.

Yearn: How long do they pine after their darling before they snap?

Hm... give him... eight months to a year and a half? Maybe shorter.

Zenith: Would they ever break their darling?

Unintentionally.

[writingwithfolklore]

I feel horrible for using paraphraser tools to enhance my writing. If i don't use it then i kinda hate my writing. Please help.

Hi there.

I'm so sorry you feel this way! The first thing you should do is take a step back and breathe. You're not a bad writer, and you're not a bad person for using AI tools. Read that over until you begin to believe it.

I want you to feel happy and proud of your writing as it is, so let's work on that piece.

I don't think there's many writers out there that are completely happy with their work. I have times when I'm writing that I think I must be the worst writer in the world. Writing is so contained and individual--it's not like getting better at basketball until you can almost always guarantee a basket. There's nothing to really tell you you're getting better, or that your writing is 'good'.

That makes it difficult--it also means we have to rely on our own intuition to give us the answers, and your brain is always going to be so much harder on your work than anyone else.

So even if you can't yet say 'it's good', try saying 'it's not as bad as I think'. And remember that no matter how 'bad' you think it is, it can always get better--every draft you do will be better.

For more practical suggestions on feeling more confident in your work, I have to suggest something scary: share it with others--but with others you trust, who you know will support you. As scary as it is, sharing my drafts with others helps me feel much prouder of it, and also gives me agency in making it better. As well, if you trade work with other writers around your experience level, you can see how writing differs--and how that doesn't make one better or worse.

My writing friend and I have been writing for about the same amount of time and have been trading work for over a decade now. She's so ingrained in my writing journey, and yet we write wildly different things in wildly different styles. Her work isn't better or worse than mine, just different.

My other suggestion is to write what you love, and to not put any pressure on it. Write for fun, for yourself. Write like no one will ever read it, and then share it anyway. Write like the ideas are more important than the words. Try not to analyze it to death, just let it breathe, and let it be what it is. There will be time later for editing and scaling back if you want. Or not. Up to you.

Then, acknowledge the parts of your writing that you really love--the things you know you've got down. Celebrate the sentences that come out good, and forgive the sentences you don't love as much. Sometimes it helps me to pretend my writing is another living thing--like a child or a beloved pet, so you can look at it in all its flaws and still think it's the greatest thing you've ever done.

Writing does not have to be perfect to be good--it just has to exist and be loved.

And for now, if leaving your writing as it is without using tools makes you feel horrible enough to give up--keep using the tools. Work on using them a little bit less and less with every piece. Remember what I said about telling yourself it isn't as bad as your brain says it is--then graduate to: 'it's decent', 'it's getting there', 'it's good,' 'it's amazing'.

And let me know how it goes. (If you ever want/need to share your work with someone positive and supportive, you can always share it with me--just send me a DM)

Good luck!

[thiswaycomessomethingwicked]

So I was thinking about modern AU!Grima, and I had the idea of him having a secret fondness for trash TV courtroom shows; he loves the bickering and the drama and just the overall schadenfreude of it all, and I wanted to get your opinion: In a modern setting, what genres/films/shows do you think Grima would enjoy?

love modern AU!Grima - he's a hot mess no matter what but now he has access to Twitter.

(oh no, the worst person you know has access to twitter [affectionate])

I can totally see him being into things like Law & Order, Run Away Jury (lol) and so on, but also Judge Judy and bad day-time television of that ilk. There's a part of me that also thinks he'd be into bad reality television like Love Island because he likes the interpersonal drama and chaos. He also is aware that they cut and edit for the greatest dramatic effect so likes to try and guess what was actually happening before the crew spliced it to make it Melodramatic.

He'd enjoy his political dramas like House of Cards (both UK and US versions), the Goodwife, Vice, Designated Survivor, Kingmaker etc.

We all know he watched Succession - I can't tell if he would be into it or mildly annoyed by it. The lack of real consequences might get to him after a while (like, 'oh no, they lost this $9million deal, what a shame. Too fucking bad it's just pocket change and doesn't mean anything to them' [grumpily eats pasta and complains to Eomer. idk, they're always together no matter the world or iteration I have going in my head]).

However, I can see him totally invested in their interpersonal dramas and how they're all utterly despicable people just living their lives (just like him). He'd have a Thing for Shiv. Literally just watches the show so he can see her in well-tailored trousers perching on a counter top or something. Eomer is like, 'Really?' and Grima's like, 'what?? I'm only human.'

I can't see him being into Game of Thrones or other shows and films of that nature because the politics are so unrealistic and nothing works Like That.

Eomer would be like, 'That's not the point. The point is terrible yet sexy people doing horrible things but also dragons and battle scenes.'

And Grima is like, 'so first off, the political machinations make no sense. Also "power is power" fuck that. That's not---ugh never mind. Second off, Ramsy Bolton's people would have lynched him. He's a quasi-Gilles de Raiss and they hanged and burned that bitch. Third off--'

Eomer, 'it's fine babe, you've made your point.'

Grima, 'I'm not done. I have a List.'

Because he likes puzzles, I can see him being into the slow, melancholic murder mysteries like Happy Valley, Three Pines, Bletchley Circle, Karen Pirie etc.

In general, I don't think he's a fantasy or sci-fi person. He likes his political dramas, biopics, some thrillers (but he's picky), some historical dramas (again, picky), some mysteries etc. He'd for sure be a bit of a pedant when watching shows or movies - but only about really specific things. Otherwise, he's fine if shows just follow Rule of Funny or Rule of Conflict/Chaos.

---

Thank you for the ask! <3 <3

[ultra-kek]

I'm sorry, is it anarkiddie cringe to make your own medicine now??? Do you really think people make medicine on their own entirely out of a childish want to Stick It To The Man? That there is no other reasoning behind it, practical or material? That anyone doing this is just a stupid idiot for not just buying hundred dollar medications, which costs so much not because its difficult to make but specifically just because the companies producing them chose to make it so to the detriment of those unable to afford it?

I honestly shouldn't be as mad as I am right now because I've seen hundreds of posts like this at this point but there's something so vacuous yet cruel about asserting that anyone who makes or otherwise uses DIY medication is just an idiot who couldn't possibly understand the so complex idea that this isn't necessarily the best way to make medicine, especially concerning the fact that you're explicitly talking about insulin, a lifesaving yet increasingly unaffordable medication whose inaccessibility is infamous at this point. What the fuck do you want people to do, then? It's not like there's a communist alternative to buying it. Hell, is it capitalist ideology to do DIY HRT because professionally made medication is preferable?

You can read as much marx and mao and gramsci or whatever as you want but you're all unmatched in your incapability of understanding any other position whatsoever, so much that your only way of even comprehending anarchists is to Make Up A Guy in your heads, because you just can't possibly imagine anyone coming to the conclusion that, the state is bad? Not like any communist theory has ever come close to think that, none even comes to mind. No, every anarchist in history of the world, dead or alive, was just some idiot that decided they don't like people having complete, total control over their lives completely arbitrarily. Not a single one has EVER sat down to think "gee, I guess we better figure out how medicine will work if we're not going to be part of the capitalist state"? Do you think that there is no such thing as authoritarianism and that the USSR and the like were miraculous paradises that can never be even slightly criticized? Do you think that no single poor, working, homeless, ostracized, etc. lower class person could ever come to the conclusion that they don't particularly like the state?

But sure, only well-off, privileged capitalists could be so desperate as to try to get together to make their own medicine that they literally need to live even though they don't know shit about it, I'm sure you think you're a genius for coming to that conclusion, no need to even actually go as far as to think about the material conditions surrounding this or even around anarchism as a whole. Why even consider how much sense it would make for apparently middle-class business owners to use the worst equipment in the world when such individuals should be capable of at least affording better? Or consider the capitalist influences on the institution of medicine as a whole? And don't even think about the intertwined history of communism and anarchism, or about the fact that almost no anarchist is in favor of libertarianism, except for the ones that no other anarchists respect. No, the only respectable choice is to spite anyone who tries to act against the capitalist state in a way you don't agree with, and instead be completely obedient to our capitalist overlords until the day comes that they're communist overlords or whatever i guess. You disgust me. EDIT: hey fuck you, I see you hid my later replies but not this one so that you can still try to act like I'm the stupid one here. Here it is:

I dont have the first reply i made to this comment so i'll just make another:

Your "reasons" are bullshit, and nothing that you have said about anarchism holds up to any scrutiny. Even a cursory glance at the wikipedia page for anarchism can easily disprove everything you've said. Your entire argument is based around nothing but just what your personal imagination of anarchists is. Marx himself was anti-state (hence the goals of a communist society being both classlessness and statelessness) but you're just going to ignore that because your actual comprehension of leftist theory is just not as important as your main priority of shitting on anyone else who has any degree of disagreement over what leftist action should entail. Again, please make a real criticism instead of just bullshitting reasons to make fun of people for, again, trying to obtain literally life-saving medicine.

why do usamerican anarchists even want to cook bathtub insulin like regulations on drug manufacturing just arent exploitative relationships

the only reason anyone ever does anything incorrectly is the profit motive. if you took away all safety regulations and threw a bunch of random people into a machine shop and asked them to build medical equipment they'd do so perfectly safely and correctly, because why would they Want to do otherwise?

i joke, obviously, but that's the thought process - it's fundamentally an extension of idealism: for a politics that otherwise completely ignores the material necessities and restrictions placed on political organisation and the measures they require to apply to the real world, in favour of, essentially 'if everyone just agrees with us our ideas will win', it shouldn't be that surprising that that extends to production.

in reality, of course, there are factors outside direct human control, and the implementation of safety regulations and inspections are an incredibly obvious and necessary measure - *but*, once you accept that, the question is then 'what good are safety regulations without any form of enforcement?', which, for anyone concerned with simply the task of bettering life for the working class, would prompt a response of 'oh, you're right, we'll need some form of enforcement, then.' for a lot of people, that's the end of their relationship with anarchism.

however, the underlying motives that generate these politics - as, in general, idealist political philosophies disconnected from reality don't simply spring up by themselves - aren't about the task of bettering life for the working class. fundamentally, the interests of these worldviews are those of the small-producer, the middle class: they promote a utopia where everyone is a small business owner (whether in a commune or a 'free market'), and, providing no real method to achieve these utopias, function mainly to drive these middle classes away from their character as labourers, and towards their privileges. the question of 'authority', a nebulous concept, has always been specifically the existence of any authority *over the small-producer's enterprise*. it's for *that* reason that, when the idea of 'authority' comes into contradiction with the task of improving the lives of the working people, some *do* decide that 'authority' is more important.

there is no such thing as a definite 'left' and 'right wing' - there are left wings and right wings of individual classes, but they both share more in class interest than they often do with their counterparts of other classes. libertarianism, in all its forms, is a middle class ideology, and shares its flaws - any jab against libertarians works just as well, 'who'll build the roads', 'would you need a driver's license', 'how will you ensure medicine is produced safely', etc.

when faced with these problems, people not married to the need to avoid 'authority' will simply accept the ideology is flawed - there are people who are pre-emptively 'anti-state', but fundamentally, their opponents are not 'pro-state', just practical. the anarchists are the only people coming to the table with a pre-existing, overriding position about 'authority' and the role of the state, and they're willing to abandon all practicalities to support it. functional regulations on medicine production *have* to be considered authoritarian, because that's the point of the ideology.

[heyyyharry]

Happier

(inspired by happier by Olivia Rodrigo)

Word count: 2.4k

I'm selfish, I know, I can't let you go So find someone great, but don't find no one better I hope you're happy, but don't be happier

Part 1: Drivers License

Part 2: Deja Vu

A/N: I edited the original lyrics to match the POV :)

.

.

.

Harry had come up with a thousand scenarios of how this day would play out. Actually, he���d been thinking of this day since the moment he’d received the news. He didn’t dare to hope that she’d say yes to coming back for a sequel. He’d been sure that they would write her character off, give a lame excuse for how his love interest could not make a return and make his character forget about her completely to move on with a new girl in town. It would have been great if it was that easy in real life. Once someone was written off the script, they were gone for good. Real-life relationships were not that simple. Goodbye didn’t mean ‘never see you again’. You would still share the same friend circle and social bubbles, and it was worse when you two worked in the same industry. Harry didn’t know how he’d lasted a year without running into her, not since the Grammys.

“Didn’t you two date?”

“No.” Harry shook his head, but his eyes stayed glued on Y/N from across the room. She wasn’t looking his way, too busy saying hello to everyone else. “No,” he repeated, more to himself than to his co-star. “We didn’t.”

“But she wrote an entire album about you,” said the other twin. What was her name again? Lulu?

“Luna!” cried her sister, Lex. “You can’t ask him that!”

“No, it’s okay,” Harry said with a tight smile, slightly annoyed by the blonde twins, but he didn’t want to seem like an ass on the first day of filming. “And I don’t know if it was for me. You should ask Y/N.”

“Ask me what?”

Harry flinched when he looked up and saw Y/N padding towards them. She hugged the twins, who seemed way too excited. Harry guessed they were Y/N’s fans. They gave off crazy fangirl vibes, probably just pretending not to know the drama to interrogate him. He couldn’t blame them for assuming he was the villain and definitely could not blame Y/N for portraying him as one. It was more important that he knew who he was and how much he had changed since his last relationship. Maybe they could finally be friends.

“Were they bothering you?” Y/N asked him once the twins had left.

Harry nodded. “They’re your friends?”

“Oh, I met them last year on tour. I’m surprised you don’t know them. They were on Disney.”

“I don’t watch Disney,” Harry admitted with a smile. “Well, not today’s Disney.”

“Understandable.” Y/N nodded and bit her lip. She seemed guarded with her straight back and hands hidden behind her. She eyed him up and down, quite subtle yet noticeable. “How have you been?”

“Pretty good,” he said, nodding slowly. “You?”

“Yeah, but mostly tired because of tour.”

“You’re done?”

“Yup, last night was the last show.”

“Nice.”

Y/N raised an eyebrow. “Nice?”

Harry blinked. “Did I say something wrong?”

“No.” Y/N giggled. “You still sound very...you.”

“Well, shouldn’t I?”

“Yeah, you should. But it’s been a year so…I mean, you haven’t changed much.”

“Right,” he said lowly, his eyes falling to his feet. Harry supposed he should say something else, perhaps bringing up another random topic to discuss, but all he could think about was what had happened between them. Things had been messy, hadn’t they? How could they go back to before that? Before her first song about him. Before he’d chosen someone else over her.

Or he could talk about her new relationship. She’d been in a happy relationship for almost six months, right? No wait, hadn’t they broke up two weeks ago? He wasn’t sure because he hadn’t been catching up. If they’d broken up, he’d sound like an ass to even mention her ex’s name. He should just stay quiet.

“I’ll see you later?” she said, gesturing at her stylist who was waiting by the door.

Harry could ask her right now -- the reason she’d agreed to film the sequel to their first movie together. He’d heard from a very reliable source that she’d specifically asked her agent to decline any project that he was in. So did this mean they were good? That she didn’t hate him anymore? He could have gathered his courage and got the answer right then…

“Yeah, see you.”

...but he didn’t.

And so she gave him a smile and a little wave, then happily returned to her stylist.

.

.

.

“See you tomorrow, Y/N!”

“See you, Annie!” Y/N said as she put the rest of her things into her tote bag. Her new driver had got her schedule mixed up, and so she had to wait here for another half an hour. She was in no rush. It had been a light first day, and she’d had a fun time getting to know the new cast members and catching up with old friends.

She sat on the sofa in the lobby, legs crossed, texting her best friend about her day. She’d purposely left out the short off-screen conversation with Harry, and her best friend didn’t even bother to ask. In their world, he didn’t exist, and his name was censored in every conversation like a curse word that was even worse than ‘cunt’. Nevertheless, she didn’t hate him anymore. She was doing just fine on her own, being busy with her career, and she’d been in a happy relationship after her fall out with him.

She and the guy, a model, had broken up two weeks ago due to long distance and some differences that they could not change. They had ended on good terms and decided to stay friends. They said you could only stay friends with your ex when you still had feelings for each other, or you had never loved each other that much in the first place. For her, it was probably the latter. Her previous relationship had been more platonic than romantic, apparently. So she had nothing but the best to say about him.

As she was going through her camera roll, just reminiscing about the past, she heard footsteps approaching and looked up to find Harry. He offered a smile and gestured to the spot beside her on the sofa. “May I sit here? My ride is late.”

“Yeah, sure.” She hurriedly scooted over.

“Good job today,” he said. “You were great.”

“Thanks, so were you.” She smiled, and they both looked away at the same time. This was so awkward. She hated small talk. She’d never had to have small talk with Harry. Conversations with him used to be so easy and natural and silly. Whatever this was, it wasn’t them.

“Can we just be normal?”

At first, Y/N thought she’d been the one who’d said it, so when she realised it’d been Harry, she was speechless.

He swallowed and sat a bit straighter, still not looking at her. “I don’t want us to be weird and awkward.”

“Okay,” she said.

He cleared his throat. “Wanna try again?”

“Yeah, sure.”

“Okay, not to sound like an ass but when Joey kept forgetting his lines, I was so pissed off, I could throw a chair at the wall.”

“Right?!” exclaimed Y/N, feeling free to have finally broken out of her shell. “Like, he doesn’t even have many lines. I know he’s new but damn...you can’t get far if you don’t learn your goddamn lines.”

Harry shook with laughter. “Oh God, we sound like dicks, don’t we?”

“Maybe.” Y/N laughed, covering her mouth. “But you know what? We can’t be nice in this industry. It’s impossible.”

“Shhh, if someone heard this, we would be into big trouble.”

“Oh please, I’ve had worse articles written about me than ‘Y/N speaks facts about her lazy co-star’.”

Harry tossed his head back and cackled. “The worst one I’ve got this week was ‘Harry Styles hates therapists.’”

“What?!” Y/N gasped. “No way! That’s so stupid!”

“Right?” Harry rolled his eyes. “I could get all my therapists to speak up for me but I’m kinda immune to bullshit now.”

“Therapists? Like plural?”

“Yeah, one in every city.”

“Damn.”

“Yeah.”

Y/N rubbed her hands onto her legs. “Rough year?”

Harry’s eyes rolled to the back of his head as he leaned back. “You have no idea.” Then he swept his hair out of his eyes, sucked in a breath, and finally looked at her. “I wish I could have talked to you, though.”

She bit her tongue, knowing what she was about to say next would disappoint her best friend so much, but she had to. “So do I.”

Harry looked taken aback before his lips curled into a smile. “It’s silly, isn’t it? I haven’t talked to you in a year, and I feel like I know everything that’s happened to you except that I don’t.”

What he’d just said might make no sense for most people, but Y/N knew exactly what he meant. She nodded and wetted her lip. “You only know as much as everyone else does.”

“Yeah, I got updates on you from the news and our friends.”

“Same.” Y/N smiled back. “I hate how they write articles about your new haircut but not mine.”

“I like your new hair colour.”

“Thanks. I like your new car.”

Then they both burst out laughing. It was fun and also a little bit strange that Y/N didn’t feel the same anxiety talking to him as she used to. It must be because they had grown and were now meeting again as better people.

“Damn, my ride's here,” Y/N said as she read the text from her driver. “I gotta go now.”

“Oh, okay.” Harry stood up and followed Y/N to the entrance. “Hey, just wondering--”

“Yeah?”

“Am I...am I still blocked?” He looked a bit flustered as she tilted her head and squinted her eyes. “On your phone. Because I remember you having my number blocked--”

“I unblocked you on your birthday.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah.” Y/N shrugged. “I should’ve sent you a happy birthday text but...I didn’t want your girlfriend to get the wrong ideas.”

“My ex.”

“Yeah, I know.”

They smiled at each other one last time before saying goodbye. Y/N knew it was silly, but she was hoping he would go after her.

Ding.

A notification popped up when she was in the car. She was almost home, and it was from Harry’s number. He’d sent her a link with a message that said, “Hope you like it :)”.

Curious, she tapped on it and was directed to an audio file titled ‘Track 5’. The upload date was last year. About two weeks after their short conversation at the Grammys.

Hurriedly, she fumbled inside her bag for her iPods and put it on before she pressed play.

“Hey, Jeff, I couldn’t sleep so I wrote this song. Listen and let me know if it should go on the album.”

Then came the piano intro. It sounded good, so Y/N wondered how it hadn’t ended up on his last album.

But when he started to sing...

We ended a while ago Your friends are mine, you know, I know You've moved on, found someone new One more guy who brings out the better in you

And I thought my heart was detached From all the sunlight of our past But he’s so nice, he’s so funny Does he mean you forgot about me?

Oh, I hope you're happy But not like how you were with me I'm selfish, I know, I can't let you go So find someone great, but don't find no one better I hope you're happy, but don't be happier

And does he tell you you’re the most beautiful girl he’s ever seen? An eternal love bullshit he might not even mean Remember when you were with me I meant it when you heard it first from me

And now I'm pickin' him apart Like cuttin' him down will make you miss my wretched heart But he’s charming, he looks kind He probably gives you butterflies

I hope you're happy But not like how you were with me I'm selfish, I know, I can't let you go So find someone great, but don't find no one better

I hope you're happy I wish you all the best, really Say you love him, baby Just not like you loved me And think of me fondly when your hands are on him I hope you're happy, but don't be happier

The song was for her. He’d written it when her new relationship had gone public. Y/N sat there, staring blankly ahead until the honking of a car tore open her inner peace, and reality came crashing back in. The driver dropped her off at her house. Instead of going inside, she stood on her front steps and replayed the song one more time. When it ended, she decided to text him: Why didn’t this make it to the album?

She didn’t know where he was now, but it showed ‘typing’ in less than a second, as if he’d been waiting in their chat since he’d sent that link.

You would’ve hated me, Y/N.

True, she replied. Still, I would’ve loved the song lowkey. And added, I love it btw.

He took so long to type that it was driving her crazy. She flopped down on the concrete stair with her phone clutched in her hands, her heart thundering against her ribcage. Anxiety popped like a balloon when his message appeared: Were you happier?

She reread it again and again.

No.

I wasn’t either, he responded. I kept getting deja vu.

Ha, nice reference.

That song is my guilty pleasure. Love listening to you roasting me on loop.

That last message made Y/N bury her face into her palm and giggle like a fool. She thought for a second and wrote: I could come roast you in person now if that’s what you prefer. I think we’ve never had a proper roasting.

Can we meet, Y/N? Or are you busy now?

No, not busy.

Great, I’ll pick you up.

Just tell me where, she responded with a smile on her face. I got my drivers license now :)

[ellatholmes]

hi, hm can you help me?

So, I am a newbie writer and I am writing for my friends. Like, besides not being a fluent English speaker, I don't know how to write, develop paragraphs (besides some mistakes with commas, periods, etc), create titles and summaries. The plot is there, it's in my head, and I don't know how to get my hands on it.

Also, I want to write a mystery, the problem (besides the many cited above) is that it seems to be very obvious who the murderer is. In my story, the murderer is a girl obsessed by her beauty and kills other girls for "threatening" her throne, but, I don't know, it seems too obvious.

Any hints?

Hey there!

It's gonna be a little long, but I hope something in my answer helps you.

I don't know how to write, develop paragraphs (besides some mistakes with commas, periods, etc), create titles and summaries.

In my personal experience, the best way to learn these things is to try them (I know, I know, but hear me out.) It might be useful to you to interrogate why you feel you "don't know how" to do these things. When you say you don't know how to write, what do you feel is really in your way?

Is it that the thought of the process overwhelms you, or seems very complicated?

Is it that you can do it, but the real problem is that you lack confidence?

Is it that you don't know where to begin?

Is it that you know what you have to do, but aren't sure how best to do it?

If it's really that you lack the knowledge how to, then my best advice would be to seek out some of the many amazing and free resources available online.

When it comes to titles, I may actually be The Worst. I think titles are cool opportunities to incite excitement, intrigue, or even be used as a tool within the text (for example by adding meaning or reframing the text by the end of the story), but I often have a lot of trouble naming my work. My problem is that I'm always trying to be clever, and I don't know how to be! 😂 Most of my works end up being titled after imagery or themes within the story.

Summaries are my worst enemy. I hate them with a passion. If you don't want a four-hour lecture on the ins and outs and intricacies of my story, you don't deserve anything jokessssss but seriously. I'm sorry I can't offer much advice on this!

The plot is there, it's in my head, and I don't know how to get my hands on it.

Sometimes I feel like this too. For me, it usually means the idea isn't quite ready or tangible yet. Sometimes it needs more time to simmer and cook into something I can spoon out of my brain and onto a page.

Some things that help me with this (other than waiting) are:

Free-writing: I sit down and write non-stop, no thinking, no erasing, no editing, for five to ten minutes at a time. If I have an idea, I keep that in mind and begin the free-write by describing it like I would if I had an audience of people who really l loved me and were desperate to hear each and every detail.

Outline: Not to ignite the whole plotters vs pantsers debate, but sometimes there's merit in writing down all of your ideas just as they come. You don't even need to jot down the ideas in order. Just put pen to page and write them down and see if it sparks anything.

Interrogation: This is the part where I look at my ideas/points/free write and ask myself "why" to everything. "Why would character A do this?" "Why would the object be stolen?" "Why does character B care about character c?" and it helps me come up with the connective tissue to make a plot.

Inspiration: Sometimes when I have a goal but I'm not sure how to do it, I look to other writers and books for inspiration on how they did the same thing. For example, you say you want to write a mystery -- I'd either read some mystery books and take notes on how the writer crafted the mystery, and or watch some video essays and analyses online to see how other people interpreted the work.

Also, I want to write a mystery, the problem (besides the many cited above) is that it seems to be very obvious who the murderer is. In my story, the murderer is a girl obsessed by her beauty and kills other girls for "threatening" her throne, but, I don't know, it seems too obvious.

I've never written a mystery, though I think there's some element of mystery in most plots. When I think about ways I've introduced large plot questions to my stories/novels, I usually complicate the answers and make it more difficult for people to guess the right answers by:

Introducing an element that seems more likely to be the answer.

Making the guilty party look super guilty, so readers think it couldn't possibly be them (just make sure to set it up in a way that doesn't leave readers feeling disappointed that it was "super obvious!".) There's a quote somewhere by someone who said something about the first guess usually being the right one. You could research that?

Offer some information that makes it seem impossible that your killer could be the killer, but when it's revealed they're the killer, that information (in hindsight) never actually gave them an alibi.

Complicate the mystery by adding conflict. If people are fighting amongst themselves, it can introduce complexity to the "blame game".

My biggest piece of advice would be to read and watch mysteries, and really pay attention to how they set up the crime(s), how each part of the story directs you as the consumer to blame one person over another at any given time, how they reveal the real answer in the end, and how they explain it was possible.

I hope some of this is helpful to you! If you have any more questions, please don't hesitate to ask ♥

[rphelperblog]

Jessica Jones Rp Meme

Part one- randomly chosen-Inspired by @brutalpunch - feel free to change pronouns or edit for rp purposes

"Would you put day drinking under experience or special abilities?"

"I don't flirt. I just say what I want."

"If you even touch me, I'll tell the world about you. There'll be nowhere to hide."

"Am I the only one left who doesn't know karate?"

"If you grab me like that again, I'll punch you so hard, you'll see."

"Well you can't let him live, he's too dangerous."

"Can you punch through a wall? Can you stop a moving car?"

"A slow moving car."

"You are a hard-drinking, short-fused, mess of a woman, but you are not a piece of shit."

"You look like an asshole."

"It's your scarf."

"Are those pork?"

"No, they're shrimp. Oh, this guy's got pork."

"God, your weird."

"Okay, you are the most full of shit lawyer I've ever met, and I think we should stop and appreciate the magnitude of that statement."

"Pain is always a surprise. I try to avoid landmines. Avoid caring. I can even see it coming. But until it hits, you have no idea what pain is."

"That quack that had me reciting street names from back home?"

"A proven method for managing PTSD."

"I could kill you right here and right now."

"But you won't, because you don't know what will happen when I die."

"Two hundred bucks for "Birch Street, Cobalt Lane, Bullshit Drive.""

"You look bad."

"I need money."

"You can have my TV."

"Thanks, Malcolm. You keep it."

"I stole it."

"Yeah and I'm gonna... gonna kill him but she just keeps getting in the way."

"Any other day you would have won this, it's your ribs isn't it?"

"You're on something, you're messed up."

"You could have killed him a dozen times, I'm just doing what has to be done, someone has to."

"I figured."

"You became a private eye."

"You've been keeping tabs on me?"

"Making sure you weren't dead, since you never called."

"In my line of work, you gotta know when to walk away. But some cases just won't let you go."

"It's people like you that give people like you a bad name."

"You're coming across as paranoid."

She's either an idiot in love, or she's being conned. Which amount to pretty much the same thing."

 "Everyone keeps saying that, it's like a conspiracy."

"I am not going to beg you for a case...I will ask you, though, VERY strongly."

"What are you doing in my apartment?"

"This is my apartment."

"Hard day at the office?"

"They're all hard."

"You're still the person who tried to do something."

"Tried and failed. That's what started this. I was never the hero that you wanted me to be."

"Pops always said, if you don't feel good going to work, you should find new work."

"God didn't do this. The Devil did. And I'm going to find him."

"They say everyone's born a hero. But if you let it, life will push you over the line until you're the villain. Problem is, you don't always know that you've crossed that line. Maybe it's enough that the world thinks I'm a hero."

"The big part of the job is looking for the worst in people. Turns out I excel at that. Clients hire me to find dirt. And I find it, which shouldn't surprise them, but it does."

"Looks like you stripped your screws."

"Knowing it's real means you gotta make a decision. One, keep denying it... "

"I just meant if...If he was on our side."

"What side would that be? The side that uses people? Treats them like animals? Just to throw them away like they're garbage? The side that rips your life apart and destroys you from the inside out? Whose side exactly would that be?"

"Do I look like I'm hiding? No. You wanna know why? Because no one wants to know. They want to feel safe. They'd rather call you crazy than admit that I can lift this car, or that I can melt your insides with my laser eyes... which won't leave a trace."

 "Wouldn't be the first time.”

"I don't give a bag of d*cks what kinky sh*t you're into. Just be into it quietly."

"I don't want to shoot you. He said it's not your time."

"You use sarcasm to distance people."

"You know somebody else like us?" "No. Not like us."

 "And yet you're still here."

"Knowing it's real means you gotta make a decision. One, keep denying it. Or two... do something about it."

"Rumors among my new partners? She has her sights on the mayor's office."

"Track, track, more track. Jesus, more track."

"A hero would have you locked up for soliciting murder. A vigilante would beat the shit out of you. Now which one am I?"

"This is my shocked face."

"You think you're the only ones who've lost people? You think you're the only ones with pain? You think you can take your sh*t and dump it on me? You don't get to do that! So you take your God damned pain and you live with it, assholes!"

"You should kill yourself."

"Probably. But I'm the only one that knows you're innocent."

"I know. It's yours. He said you left him there to die. You should have stayed to make sure."

"I hired a private investigator a while ago to start digging. She was worth every penny when she was sober."

"So he's mad. He wants to make me suffer."

"Mmm-hmm. Like he suffered."

"Got anything for me?"

"Thought you didn't like, or trust, me."

"Oh come on, I meant lawyers in general."

"Scumbag henchmen for corporate America."

"We just hired a full-time investigator."

"Whoever he is, he's not as good as me."

"Hence me having offered you the job, which you rejected."

"Wasn't personal, I just prefer a freelance; no ties."

"So you said - with an impressive string of expletives."

"Okay, is being drunk an excuse?"

"You know, it's really about professionalism. You are erratic and you are volatile..." "Effective."

"Every corner I turn, I don't know what's on the other side. I don't know who's on the other side. It could be the cabbie who's gonna drive me into the East River, okay? It could be the FedEx woman. It could be a talk show host who was my best friend."

"Are you a good jumper?"

"Why?"

"He made me jump... for hours, as high as I could. That was one of my events at school. Long jump. I was number two in the state. He said I was never as good as you."

"That accident didn't kill him, but he took a hit. I find his weakness, I find him."

"So you find him. Then what?"

"I don't know. I find him, I prove that girl's innocent, he goes away."

"Or he controls you again."

"I'll die before I let that happen."

"I've never done it with someone else who has, you know..."

"Gifts?"

"Yes, well, you are very gifted."

"Likewise."

"So just how unbreakable are you?"

"On a scale of "I don't know" to... "I'd rather not find out"?"

"So if I were to bite your finger with all of my considerable strength..."

"Depends on how considerable. So don't go getting any ideas about my extremities."

"Jewel is a stripper's name. A really slutty stripper, and if I wear that thing you're going to have to call me Camel Toe."

"Dart gun is accurate up to twenty feet."

"He'll always keep back to a wall, he'll see you coming."

"He won't see me."

"I'll take you out."

"I was going to say dartgun me but sure, shoot me in the head."

"Same here."

"You have often needed protection from your vagina."

"It's insane that that deranged murderer is teaching little kids."

"Insane. Sickening. Rage-inducing. [...] But we found what we needed upstate. We got him."

"All right. Been waiting to hear some good news. When they bringing him in?"

"Not soon enough." "We just keep eyes on him until then." "'We'? Dont you have a job?" "There is what I have to do to maintain a life, and what I want to do, and I need both to stay sane."

"You said your rebound chick took a shotgun at point-blank range pointed it under your chin, and pulled the trigger."

"I still get the occasional headache."

"You probably don't remember me, do you? Your girlfriend had me take care of you when you were brought into the hospital? In Hell's Kitchen?"

"That woman over in Hell's Kitchen snapped a man's neck because he was mind-controlling her."

"Oh my God, this is the dumbest."

"Let's go, Ironclad."

"It's Iron Fist."

"I know."

[shinogi-xx]

ARC 2! what's the worst that can happen!

ch 8 (Learning to Fall) hehe oh my god I love this chapter. I just love firstly when small lines from some previous chapter come BACK like--- wow look at me actually weaving tiny subplots into the story?? look at me with my continuity?? if only i could do that more often LOL but more importantly, i think this chapter does a good job of like, really showcasing the SHIFT that their relationship just took after this traumatic event. Suddenly that man is nicer to her because he's becoming more protective. Kidnappings are kind of a traumatic reoccurring event in his life (RIP to him I'm so sorry) and he's pissed it happened to her, feels bad for her, and is starting to really take his "favor" more seriously. On Kei's side-- she's subconsciously linked the feeling of being "okay" and being "safe" with him now. He was the first familiar face she saw after experiencing a horrifyingly traumatic EVENT, he was the one who technically saved her from it, he was the one who comforted her, and because she feels like she needs to keep the whole hit a secret, it feels like he's the only person she can confide in right now. It's not that she's really falling in love, she's kind of incapable of doing that right now, she's so swallowed in grief that she can't process much of anything well-- she's attaching these positive feelings to him and mislabeling them. She's in love with the idea of him, with him as a concept, with him as a sturdy set of hands, with him as he presents himself to her. She can't truly love him until after she takes a step back to reevaluate. Anyway this chapter is also really fun and cute

ch 9 (Circles) HEHE... this one has some bigger issues than 8 but I still like it. It could use some quality of life updates (I just did a little bit, but a more intensive editing session for sure). It's one of those ones that pick up immediately from the previous chapter, and I think it's handled well. There's some good movement and overall I think Kei's emotions & more importantly, her reasoning is coming across the way I want it to? The big thing about this chapter is of course, her deciding to continue with the job despite not being sure anymore if she actually wants the Red Snake to be killed. She knows the only real reason why she wanted it in the first place was because revenge was something she could still do for Nikko, it was something to fixate her raw, angry grief on-- the Red Snake was something to blame. It was something holding her together, making her strong. But the trauma of being so close to a shooting, of seeing the blood up close, turned thinking about the Red Snake being killed from something like relief, into something triggering. It just reminded her of her experiences. So instead of fixating on revenge, now she's fixating on him. She's going through with it because she doesn't want to part from him yet. This is the beginning of Kei's progression into her new coping mechanism-- everyone's favorite, Denial! She forces herself not to think about the hit, and about Nikko really being gone. Instead it's just a matter of keeping herself close to the person she's become attached to. Also the "always, I think" line will get my ass every time, forever.

ch 10 Handle This I've always had weird feelings about this chapter but the bigger issue is that, it's just really uninteresting. Like... nothing happens. and I don't know how to fix nothing happening. It's boring if you're not obsessed with these tiny interactions like I am, and there's nothing that furthers the plot... the entire chapter just serves as a little more of a peek into Kei's grief and her deepening reliance on that man for comfort. This one is gonna need some serious work for me to ever be satisfied with it. The only important thing to take away is the you can trust me line.

ch 11 Broken lol THIS chapter has a plot hole alright.... how did Jyuchan get into the apartment building when you're supposed to put a code in huh?? is there just some kind of police override ?? (joke) Maybe that man watched Kei do it and then told him lol idk, that should probably be fixed. Also how passage of time (?) also spelling mistake again wtf For good notes, I DO really like the ending where Kei mentally shifts through who to call. I like how she chooses him without even really thinking about or realizing it. I like how obvious it's gotten in this chapter in particular, how much she feels like she needs him to be okay. I've also always really liked the snippets of SaKe growing closer, I think the small jumps in time went over well and they feel like good representatives of how their relationship is progressing. They are playful and they make each other smile

ch 12 Staring at the Sun me everytime i read the opening of this chapter i WISH i could write the whole damn story like this. why did I pop off. the imagery, the scene snapping, the dialogue, the lighthouse metaphor I think about them like this so much also the thought of that man softly humming along to a song on the radio at night has in me a chokehold for the rest of my life The rest of this one is pretty good too, I don't really have any issues with it. It's always been near the top of the list. The Post chapters always hit idk!! The title is so important to this one. Like, might be THE most important title to any chapter-- it just explains SO much about Kei right now.

ch 13 Riptide SPELLING?? ERROR???? I think this one does a good job bringing Kei's confliction to light. I always get nervous and wonder if these sorts of feelings that I plant the seeds of actually come across, but I always forget that I do eventually make it more plain once they get to this point and are really strong. Which is good, because they're something I wanted to be pretty clear... I always worry that the story just sounds like Kei forgets everything to fall in love, because that's really far from the case fdjks and I wanna keep making it clear in the latest chapters, that their relationship doesn't start off very healthy at all, for either of them!! even if there are sweet and genuine moments (the things that keep them together), neither of them are in the headspace for a relationship, and it becomes something they really have to work on

ch 14 Fade Away hehe.... this chapter makes me blush fjksdg (everyone knows how i feel about this one by now)

ch 15 Something's Gotta Give my experience reading this chapter is 5 minutes of laughter followed by the most somber, silent sadness (I don't have any real notes on this one I think?? It's fine... it does its job. The admittance goes over pretty well I think? But I've always been really really curious if it actually hits? /sob Like... is it shocking? Is it satisfying? It's impossible for me to know, and part of me does worry there's not enough context? Is the admittance confusing? Are the dots I've laid out able to be connected up to this point?) Maybe I'll make a map of the various microplot points connecting LOL that would've been fucking useful while actually writing, doing it now would just be for funsies

ARC 2 END!

yearly SaKe re-read post

because I've finally been working on chapter 21's outline again, and my last full read through was over a year ago and didn't include 19 & 20. If I'm going to attempt to start 21's document, I'm gonna need to get everything really fresh again first. Which also means: I dissect shit again, and blog about it. (I swear it helps with the process) (but it also just scratches my brain really nice) Also to note, I'm gonna be editing again. Maybe even tackling some of the bigger issues with the story that have bugged me but would be a project in itself. We'll see.

Notes from last time (for ease of access): here

[aio-rya]

Silver Chef Uniform — SR Card Story

Part 1

Let's make beef stew 1 ~Silver Edition~

Silver: Beef stew... Of all things, a stewed dish? I hope it doesn't fail.

Ghost Chef: "Of all things"? Is there something wrong?

Silver: Actually... I have the habit of suddenly falling asleep.

Even while cooking food there is no exception. I have fallen asleep on the way and failed many times.

Ghost Chef: I heard it and I understand your motives, I really have the habit of falling asleep...

Riddle: It's extremelly dangerous to fall asleep while cooking. Haven't you ever catched fire?

Silver: On the Valley of Thorns is very common cooking by using magic. And fire is also created by using magical power.

If you fall asleep and you magical power is cut off, the fire will go out, so there's almos no danger of fire even for me.

Ghost chef: Hahaha. Naturally, it became a prevention function.

Silver: Besides, when I couldn'r use magic yet, father was in charge of the magical fire.

Even when I fell asleep, father adjusted the fire so I can finish cooking... No, he finished cooking.

But when I was younger, I didn't realized father protected me. So, I thought it wouldn't be a problem for me, alone...

While father was away, I tried once cooking by myself by making a fire from firewood. It was very cold that morning... I tried to cook some pot-a-feu¹ for father. I put the cut ingredients in a pan without any problem, until I seasoned it... I may have relaxed there, so I fell asleep with the pot on the fire.

Riddle: Ah, that was so dangerous! That wasn't magical fire, was it? Then what happened?

Silver: I managed to wake up before the fire. But for that time, water was completely gone...

I tried to hurry and add water to the pot, but the burnt part of the ingredients melted and the soup turned completely black.

Cooking failed. Inside the house, it smelled burnt. And when I was at loss about what happened, father arrived home.

Riddle: ........ Were you scolded?

Silver: No. He just laughed and said "If you're not hurt, is fine. You can use your mistakes to improve next time".

Moreover, he started eating that charred black pot-a-feu without complaint.

"It's delicious", father said. Actually... it was not really a very edible thing.

Riddle: ...... Your father is so kind.

Silver: Oh, my proud father.

Riddle: Did you ever learnt to cook from your father?

Silver: He can handle swords and magical weapons, but... regarding cooking, the materials, procedures, everything depends on the mood of the moment.

Anyway, seasoning is unique... Tough Father's method was hardly helpful.

Thtat's why cooking is made self-styled. However, the idea was that it sould be edible for me.

I cut meat and vegetables and add salt and roots to make risotto, sometimes I cook it with leftlovers.

Riddle: It's just wonderful that there's a "self-style" in the cooking method, I haven't even prepared my own meals.

Ghost Chef: Now, you two! Move your hands!

Riddle: Ah, I'm sorry...

First, I cut vegetables.

Silver: I'll peel the carrots.

Ghost chef: Oh~ he's skilled.

Silver: I am used to handling cutlery.

Next is onions.

Riddle: Silver, I will also use onions, can you tell me how to peel them?

Chef Ghost・Silver: ..... ?

Riddle: W-Why did you look at me like that? Did I asked such a strange question?

Silver: If it's just the skin, you can peel it by hand.

Riddle: It's not the means... I can't tell how much skin it is.

Silver: Is that it? The skin is the brown thin part at the top, the white part is the edible part.

Ghost Chef: If the part that turned brown gets mixed, you can cut it with a knife later.

Riddle: Remove only the brown part... I can't help it but feel strange with this unnatural dents.

Ghost Chef: Oh, Riddle is doing very well!

Silver: It's fine. At worst, even if skin remains, you can eat it just by sticking it inside.

Ghost Chef: And Silver is rough for his appereance!

Silver: All right, I've finish cutting the vegetables and meat. Now melt butter on a hot pan...

Get a grilled color on the meat.

Now it's time to add the vegetables... Usuall here I sprinkle salt and roots, I'm going to take it in one item...

Ghost Chef: That's the best treat for steak meat. Stewing shin meat and tendon meat is better~

Silver: Do you use different meat parts depending on the dish?

I didn't really think about that before.

...... Chef! Onion has turned transparent, should it be strange?

Chef ghost: Oh, it's fine! Let's just add water and simmer.

Silver: Is it finally the stew work problem left? I'm worried I could fall asleep...

Ghost Chef: Fufufu~ I will give you a special item to solve your trouble...

Silver: A special item?

1 — Silver mentioned "Pot-au-feu", it is something like beef broth with vegetables.

「Part 2 here」

[byulsgrease]

inextricably tie-d

The tie around your neck feels ever-so-slightly tighter.

(moonbyul/solar... kind of? x gender neutral reader, ~900 words)

cw: angst

a/n: ok when I was first trying to write the last byul fluff it was pretty late at night (for me) so it started veering into angst instead and this was the result

edit: I just got the WORST idea for a possible next part... we'll see if I have the courage to write it (okay I kinda did? not full-fledged though)

[prev]

Staring at your underwear-clad body in the mirror, your eyes drift to the suit on the hanger, spotless and pressed, folded perfectly. Your hands steady the hanger while slipping the pants off of it, the fabric almost cool in your fingers. Gingerly stepping into each leg as to not ruin the pleat, you zip and button them up - an action you haven't done in forever. It takes you a second to get the button through the slit, the movement nearly foreign.

Wow, they're perfect.

The hem stops just at the tops of your feet and they fit perfectly everywhere else. Her assertion rings through your mind: "Trust me. Don't underestimate the value of a tailor, the extra expense is absolutely worth it." Your teeth close in on your bottom lip at the recollection.

I guess she was right.

Strangely motivated to put on the rest, the white button-up swishes off the hanger, your fingers making quick work of the buttons. The jacket soon follows. You shuffle back a couple steps on the carpet to get a better look in the mirror. The shirt and jacket fit perfectly, much like the pants, laying nicely in all the right places with no wildly-long sleeves or bunchy areas. The whole ensemble reminds you of the color of the sky on the various nights spent stargazing together - midnight navy.

"Maybe you'll look almost as good as me."

The last element hangs limp around the hanger hook - a dirt-cheap black tie from Daiso. You own a tailored suit. How is that damn thing still in your possession?

"Button your shirt up all the way for the tie to sit right around the collar."

You whip the tie off the hanger to slip it behind your upturned shirt collar.

The skinny end starts off higher than the other.

It essentially ties itself. Your thumb and index finger slide up the length of the rough fabric to place the knot at the base of your neck. In the mirror, you can't help but stare at the gentle pinch holding the tie, hand lingering there at the top button of your dress shirt.

"Now this... is my favorite part."

It's like she's in the room. The warmth of her front pressed into your back, hands enveloping your waist. The low yet melodic tone of her voice in your ear, praising you for trying but still managing to laugh playfully at your frustration.

Why is this so difficult?

But those sweet moments were now long gone. A few too many laughs had turned the corner to mockery, which turned to hurt feelings and miscommunication. She always told you to let it go and take a joke, but your stubbornness constantly ate that reassurance away. Your claim to work on that apparently fell through - in tandem with your relationship.

You wouldn't be saying these things if there wasn’t an element of truth in them.

She let you keep the suit, though. It was obviously tailor-made, much like she was for you. Or, well, how you at least imagined she was.

Did I ask for too much? Was I not enough? If I was, would she have stayed?

The thought spirals and a stream of what-ifs fill your mind, subjects of many-a-journal-entry over the last year. This hadn’t happened in a while.

Why did she leave?

Snapping out of your own mind, your hands grasp the flaps of the suit jacket and tug down assuredly, fingers tucked inside. Confidence, your brain tells you. You look damn good.

“Kidding, kidding.”

Reaching into the closet for your dress shoes, you slip a hand into your pocket to check your phone one last time. Kim Yongsun - that was all you knew about this blind date. Her name.

Does she still think about me?

She’s obviously still on your mind, you’re sporting the very suit she bought for you.

It’s been a year, stop kidding yourself.

Bottom making contact with the hard plastic seat, you head out on the train, the lights outside the window blurring in the dark tunnel. You anxiously fidget with your tie, unconsciously fiddling with the split ends of the unraveling seams.

Am I ready for this? No. But is anyone ever?

The determination to evict her from your mind finds fuel from bitter stubbornness as your dress shoes pound the pavement of the train platform. You need this to end. It's been far too long. As you step into the restaurant, you spot someone fervently scanning the room. A timidly awkward introduction follows but her bright smile shines through it all as your legs slip underneath the tablecloth to take a seat.

"Um, maybe I'm being too forward since we literally just met," leaning forward with her hands in her lap, "but your outfit... daamn."

Don't you dare mention her. First date sacrilege!

You tune out the inner monologue with a mild-mannered smile. "Thanks. An old friend picked it out for me." Hopefully your words came out in a tone not too cold. The tie around your neck feels ever-so-slightly tighter. Your thumb swipes the condensation off the side of your water class before grabbing it to take a sip, trying to wash away the lump that formed in your throat with that tangential mention of her, tinged with unwarranted longing.

What the hell am I doing here?

She might not be in your life anymore, but you can’t deny you’re inextricably tied, much like the tight fabric knot resting at the base of your throat.

[next] cw: suggestive

[suzyq31]

Do you edit as you go or do you finish the chapter/scene then edit? I find myself rereading my work after I read and thinking it sucks and stopping it. Do you edit your work? I feel as though I compare myself to writers believing they write so well they don’t edit and that I must suck if i edit so much. So sorry if i’m rambling 😭. Writing is hard.

Hi! Thanks for asking this question. Every writer I've met has a different process. For myself, I can't edit too much as I go, or else I'll never finish anything. I often hate my first drafts, I've worked really hard to see them simply as a rough sketch of what I want the piece to eventually be. So yes I edit the hell out of my work!

My process shifts, but mostly consists of brainstorming, then writing with sprints just to get it out. This is often a mash up of dialogue, action and thoughts of the characters. I'm then left with a big giant mess, which to me is where the magic happens. I go back over it again and again, adding things, going over the prose, watching for mistakes and inconsistencies, focusing on showing versus telling. I edit the chapter until I'm happy with it. If I'm working with a beta, they give me notes/fix things and then I go over it yet again after.

Anon, I would just find whatever works for you and makes the process fun. For me it's having a big mug of tea, music, and candles (or treating myself to a coffee shop day) and just letting myself word vomit without my inner critic at full blast. I'm a huge advocate for sprinting, turn off the editor part of your brain and see where your story goes. So much can be fixed later, but you can't edit a blank page.

Also every writer I've talked to hates their work at least some of the time. We are our own worst critics. I have a tendency to compare as well, and wish I had a solution for that! I just try to remember the only person I should try to write better than is myself in my last story. I read somewhere that we've never seen the first drafts of our favorite books, so we have no idea what they were like without professional editors! And this makes me feel a whole lot better. A great example is if you love Harry Potter, is to re-read the first chapter of book one, then compare it to the the first chapter of the later books. I noticed when re-reading to my cousin just how much better the prose gets with time (and clearly lots and lots more practice).

Hope this was helpful ❤️

[laraleecupcake]

A while ago, I sent a problem concerning TV Tropes to a Tumblr user called @bootsforthebootgod, and they used their TV Tropes account, Boots, to send the problem to Ask the Tropers.  Unfortunately, the conversation was nuked before I could read it, so I have no idea what was said.

Boots believes that the problem is resolved, but it's not! I'm still unable to participate in forums (that also includes the Edit Banned/Suspended thread), edit or create pages, read, send, or get messages, write reviews, upload videos, or use the Wishlist, Ask the Tropers, Trope Finder, You Know that Show, the Trope Launch Pad, the Cut List, or Submit a Bug.  Worse yet, I can't even change the email address I'm using on my account, so I can't create another account.  Because I never had a chance to read the conversation, I have no idea why nothing was done, or if anyone even tried to do anything.  I'd delete my account if I could, but that will only make my account permanently inaccessible, so I'll still not be able to use my email address for another account.  The Contact Us function is useless to me as well because the only people who can respond to email messages are the mods and the staff, and they will not respond to my messages.  None of this would be a problem if I had access to another email address, but I don't.

Want to know the worst part?  I've had people tell all this to Boots, but Boots keeps insisting the problem is resolved.  I don't know what they mean (or think they mean) when they say that, but their definition of "resolved" is clearly not the same as mine.  I'm starting to suspect that they didn't even actually read the message; they probably read only "the problem has not been resolved" and automatically assumed I haven't actually tried using my account.  Worse yet, Boots seems to think I want them to appeal a ban, but I don't; all I want is to know how the conversation went so I can find out what went wrong and what to do.  By not telling me how the conversation went, they are only worsening my problem!  Could you contact Boots on their TV Tropes account or on their Tumblr account, @bootsforthebootgod?  If you have to, ping them on Tumblr and tell them to actually read this whole message, or better yet, go to their inbox (I could submit the link to you so you can go straight from there) and send them this message (preferably on mobile).  You can even DM them.  Have them know that this message is urgent and that they should leave not a single word of it unread.  I want them to properly understand my problem and help me to solve it.  Could you tell them to send you screenshots of the conversation (every single post), and then, could you post it on your blog so I can read it and know what to do?

I thought you were gonna ask me like... something about that one OFMD episode I was talking about

Cuz

wow

Look, kid, my advice to you is to Let This Go.

I don't know the user you're talking about, I've never even interacted with them (that I know/remember about)... Also that user is a minor so IDK what kind of pull you think they have???

Also I don't even have a TV Tropes account. I just like analyzing my gay pirate show once in a blue moon.

I understand you're frustrated. But maybe find a different hobby to destress with for right now.

PS: Upon further inspection, I think your problem could be resolved by simply creating another email address? Do kids not do this anymore? I had like 4 by the time I was 17 for no other reason than I came up with a new cool name...

[thegeminisage]

what do you think are some of the biggest pieces of evidence for cas being ace? i've watched so much of the show in the past month that it all blurs together, lol, so i can't remember many specific scenes. i do remember "i'm utterly indifferent to sexual orientation" (though that wasn't about his own orientation) and cas' discomfort at idea of sleeping with women at the bordello in 5.03... anything else you can think of? I'd be interested to hear your thoughts!

rubs my hands together okay a List yeah i can do a list

wait actually first i wanna say that the biggest reason is because i’m asexual and i said so 0:) like i know that sounds a joke and it is a little bit but SERIOUSLY it’s just a general Aura or what the fuck ever about people. you know how sometimes a friend group formed in teenage years will one by one realize they’re all queers and they just grouped together organically? ace people are like that too. many of my closest friends have been aspec and i didnt even know that when i met them, THEY didn’t even know. but like if you asked me to list the ten people i was closest to over my life the huge majority would be aspec like me. we find each other In The Wild. so when i say he’s ace because i said so like i’m saying I’m Ace And I Can See Him. He Is Ace Because I Said So. my ace-dar is EXCELLENT

okay anyway with that out of the way here’s your actual list. obviously much of this can be a point in favor of many different readings of cas (and i’m not saying those can’t be true at the same time as ace cas!), but i’m ace and he’s ace and that’s what this post is about so i’m focusing on the ace parts. thank you.

list of ace cas evidence:

in general cas has a lot of trouble connecting with humanity at first which is an ENORMOUS ace mood

when dean cracks in the 4.01 deleted scene “yeah i have that problem with women” (after cas talks about the difficult in finding a vessel that can contain him) cas absolutely does not get that joke. we were having ace cas moments right from the get-go

it’s shown as early as 4.02 that cas doesn’t understand personal space. this is him not getting one single thing about human intimacy works and that he’s overstepping a boundary. it’s not just that he’s an angel (though that’s some of it) he just doesn’t intuitively understand physical stuff like that

that dean/anna kiss in 4.10. LOOK AT HIS FACE. that’s a face that says “i had no idea this is how humans were intimate with each other” and also “do i want to try that?” answer: maybe. dean’s very pretty. but something about it just feels like he’s going “whoa i never even CONSIDERED that” - like that to be sexy with the humans he’s into just didn’t occur to him

i know you said so already but WOW 5.03 brothel scene. THEEE ace cas moment

i’d also like to take a moment to tip my hat to 5.04. almost every aspec will have had a period of frustration and self-loathing where they thought at least once about maybe just having sex they weren’t into as a way to be “fixed” or to prove something. when aspecs are at their lowest and most broken, they are having sex they do not want to have. and when cas is at his lowest and most broken (in 5.04 AND 9.03, thank you), what is he doing? having sex! it’s just Interesting to me that the only times cas fucks is when he’s literally in the absolute worst points in his entire life 

also, i’m getting out of order here, but that thing in 9.03 was absolutely rape. the way he talked about it after was THEEE most comphet bullshit i’ve ever seen. “that was nice.” “she was...sooo hot.” dean winchester can’t fool me and neither can cas thee tiel. 

i know everyone was uncomfortable with the cherub in 5.14 but cas was SUPER uncomfortable. “no one likes it” yeah that’s cause he’s not a big touchy-feely dude 

i actually really hate that porn scene in 6.10, but it is a classic “i don’t get it” moment + a side of “monkey see monkey do” later when he decides to mimic it and kiss meg. she started it - he’s just going “oh yeah i remember watching that on TV - like this, right?” he’s pleased with himself for correctly mastering a form of human interaction, he’s not, like, horny. 

didn’t get the erectile dysfunction joke in 6.19

obviously, godstiel’s utter indifference to sexual orientation

strongly implied to be in a chaste marriage with his “wife” daphne when he was an amesniac

being repeatedly lobotomized in season 8 is its own can of worms. they were trying to make him straight. alas, it cannot be done

meg propositions him in season 8 and it takes him a bit to catch on. i don’t think accepting means he’s not ace, just that he’s interested in stuff humans do. would have been nice for his first time not to be with a psycho reaper who got him to trade his virginity for a pb&j :/

cas seemed REALLY nervous at the prospect of the date in 9.06, almost like it was something he had to steel himself to do - yet another weird part of human life he was resigning himself to, especially after metatron told him “go find a wife and have some babies” when his grace was taken

cas in season 10 is UTTERLY oblivious to hannah’s advances, even the ones that include nudity (and his own nudity at one point lol), and when he finally catches on he lets her down in the most awkward way possible

in season 11 he says he’s gonna take dean’s temperature and doesn’t see how that’s weird lol

he never got to truly speak to dean about his weird “””attraction””” to amara but i like to think he would have been equally confused

in season 12 in the hotel room where an orgy had clearly just taken place dean snickers and picks up the panties but cas is totally oblivious

ALSO completely oblivious when the waitress hits on him in season 12

this is a little bit of a stretch, but despite being named as jack’s “real” father, his relationship with kelly, his ostensible baby mama by proxy, seemed INCREDIBLY platonic to me. like they were such good buds! but he never had any of that romantic chemistry with her - there were no lingering notes or touches or whatever. he just wasn’t interested in that same way. 

exasperated with gabriel and talking about porn stars in season 13 lol

canonically, castiel spent seasons 4-?? falling in love with dean, but he never made a move on him physically - yeah yeah the CW is homophobic but i like to think that most of castiel’s Urges where dean is involved are not in fact of a sexual nature. he wants to be close to him and important to him more than he wants to fuck him. you can long for someone in the ace way without longing for them sexually yk

this is part of why i actually really liked the 15.18 confession - the happiness was in the being, or whatever. he was already WITH dean in almost every way that mattered (i wrote a fic about this). they shared secrets, they shared burdens, they lived together, they fought and worked together, they even raised a fucking kid together! cas was convinced he couldn’t have more than that but also he didn’t really NEED much more than that and thinking about how he had been with dean all along was what made him happy enough to literally die. yeah there’s a version of that scene where the reciprocation was enough to do it but they accidentally hacked it into an ace love scene so i will TAKE it

this concludes my list! i bet it’s a lot longer than u were expecting

[spn masterpost]

edit: a few updates

[stardustedknuckles]

Wait wait so I was just reading through your Asami/Korra posts (which btw are a lovely read) and saw that you're aro/ace!! I'm trying to figure out where exactly I fall on the spectrum. Hypothetically, I like the idea of sex, romance, a relationship etc, but in real life it just doesn't click. I want all of these things having to do with a relationship and love, but I just don't get them y'know. I know the most important thing to do is just not really worry about it, but I was just wondering if you have any experiences or insight or anything you'd be willing to share about being aro/ace?

Btw i love your blog and hope you are having a good day! :)

Oh hi!! So if you go a little further you'll see I technically fall under aro/demi but it's shorter to go with aroace than aroaspec etc.

Anyway! Insights and experience.

Hmm...you know how when people ask your favorite book and you just forget every word you've ever read? I don't have ready-made insights but I can point you to a few wlw fics that might be from a different fandom but which were written specifically to explore the demi/gray ace identity and experience (promise I'm not pumping myself up, a huge number of my fics examine all kinds of stuff I've been through and I get lucky enough to have readers that connect in different ways!)

I will say that so much of what I write when it comes to vulnerability and trust has nothing to do with romance - in fact, the idea of writing romance gets me feeling all kinds of weird and wrong. It's just that to people who do experience attraction, my writing tends to look like their experiences of romance.

But the secret is that I've not really had that trust yet either. And I don't know if I can. I write vulnerability because I understand how it works on paper and I know I want it for myself, but I genuinely don't know how to let myself fall and trust that anyone will catch me. All my energy is spent not falling in the first place. Fic is wish fulfillment for the most part. I do have someone in my life who has seen me at my very worst and I trust her more easily than others with my bad parts because I can't get worse than when we were first friends (and neither can she). There's a kind of security that comes from seeing the darkest part of someone and vice versa, knowing years later that you made it work after that and you can make it work through anything. I'm not sure it's the same thing as learning to trust though. It's like a cheat code that came with a whole lot of strife I'm glad to be past.

Anyway the fics linked here will deal more with the sexual attraction side of things (or lack thereof) since the ship fandom I live in primarily has so much emphasis on trust and vulnerability and will (and therefore looks a lot like romance) but hopefully there's something in there that connects with you! Stay tuned, I might even go there a bit with korrasami depending on how long I stay fixated on them. :)

Fic 1: Discussions of asexuality/attraction and experience with a friendly third party (rated T)

Fic 2: Demi/gray sex and discussions of the experience thereof (rated E)

Fic 3: Demigray character confesses she feels like she might be broken, doesn’t have the terminology for what she feels but makes a pretty nice explanation nonetheless. (rated T)

Hope you enjoy, no pressure to read!

Edit: important note - I categorize her as demigray specifically because it’s one thing to develop attraction after a deep bond has formed (demi) and quite another for that attraction to still be fickle and unreliable in when and how often it shows up (gray).