#wow tumblr forced the new post editor finally

[elluvians]

[unmaskedagain]

Happy Birthday, Miss Bustier

Every year, Bustier looked forward to her birthday. All the teachers got together for drinks after school, and Bustier go show off all the wonderful presents her students got her. One gift in particular always was sure to wow.

However, the school year had been different than the previous ones. It had been a difficult year. The class seemed to be in a civil war. Marinette’s side versus everyone else. Caline was forced to expel Marinette after she was caught cheating. Only for it be revealed that she never cheated and Lila had a terrible disease that caused her to lie. The explosion was reversed and Bustier chalked it up to the students as terrible mistake.

Though the look Marinette had given her when she returned to class sent shivers up her spine.

Marinette resign as class president not long after. Lila took over but the sweet girl was so busy that the Alya and a few others were volunteered to step up and help out. Everything the class seemed to do or planned turn into a catastrophe.

An embarrassing one.

Caline started to avoid the teacher’s lounge after a bake sale ended up poisoning several of the students. Two of her students accidently started fires at another fundraiser. And the dance the class planned ended up with several students and two chaperones in the hospital because Lila ordered the gym floor to be waxed just before the dance.

She couldn’t take the snickering.

Plus, the other teachers had frequently needed to step in to sort out some of her students’ behavioral problems. Alya erupt in anger whenever she thought anyone had done anything wrong to her or her friends, got told off and given detentions many times before she finally learned her lesson. Alix had been caught tripping Marinette multiple times and had got suspended after the third incident. Lila had be verbally ordered by Mendeleiev to stop touching a clearly uncomfortable Adrien without his consent several times before she finally got the message. Mostly because Mendeleiev contact Adrien’s father and got a restraining order officially issued. Lila had to stay at least ten feet away from Adrien at all time when in class; fifty feet outside of it.

Which Caline thought was a bit harsh. She remembered what it was like to be a young girl in love. Emotions just overcome you at that age.

Normally, she would count on Marinette to rein the rest of the students in but girl had taken a step back from the other students. Or maybe they had taken a step back from her.

Marinette, Chloe, Adrien, Nathaniel, Juleka and Rose seemed at odds with the rest of the students in class. And for the life of Caline’s she couldn’t figure out why. The small group never went to any fundraiser, vocally letting the class know they would not being going on any trips with them. They didn’t go to the dance, and Marinette made it clear she wouldn’t be helping decorate it. The costumes for the school play had been abysmal and not the usually quality they were; then Mylene informed Bustier that they couldn’t get their last costume designer to help out. Their last costume designer was Marinette.

The year had been rough but Bustier still looked forward to her birthday. Last year, she got a gorgeous cashmere scarf, the year before that an entire assortment of different chocolate pastries; every year, every all the gifts were amazing. She come on the morning of her birthday and find her entire classroom amazingly decorated, her students’ adoring faces looking at her, and a pile of presents on her desk.

This year was no different… technically.

The classroom was decorated but not nearly as well as it had been the previous years. It looked like the cheap decorations the other teachers were used to; not her. A majority of the students were smiling at her; but a few, Marinette and her team, just looked bored. There were presents on her desk but they all looked… basic.

Still Caline smiled happily and thanked her wonderful students for their thoughtful surprise and gifts. Only when they left for lunch, did she finally take time to examine them.

There were the usually gift cards, a box or two of cheap chocolates, some flowers, lovely handmade cards, some perfumes, and a gift basket full of amazing smelling various bath products, which was by far the best gift by far. But nothing outstanding like she usually got. Nothing she could show off to the other teachers as proof that her student adored her. It was the same type of gifts all the teachers got. Nothing extraordinary.

And it soured Caline’s cheerful mood a bit. She couldn’t understand it.

She still went out for drinks that night with the other teachers, still showed off her gift basket but saw none of the envious looks she was used to. When she got home, she looked over the presents again.

Bustier saw that each gift had was from a different student. Chloe and Adrien got her perfume. Rose got her gift card for a mani-pedi. Alya got her chocolates. She saw Marinette got her the gift basket and nodded, unsurprised; the girl always got her the best presents…

Caline paused. Marinette? Marinette got her the scarf from the year before; she made it. She also remember that Marinette was the one who gave her the delicious assortment of chocolate pastries from her parents’ bakery, the teacher supposed. In fact, as Caline thought back, Marinette always was one to get her the best gifts; whether it was for her birthday, Christmas, or teacher’s appreciation day.

Marinette was also one who always decorated the classroom, she recalled.

Marinette who had claimed to be too busy to be class president, to be on the decorating committee, to help fund raise, to make costumes for the school play, to be the good example for the class Caline needed her to be, and apparently too busy to get the fabulous gifts for her teacher like she used to.

Clearly, her student needed to be talked to. Caline would have to stress the importance of being an active presence in the class. Marinette needed to be a good leader so the other students could model after her. Her friends counted on her for help, no one should be too busy for that.

The following Monday, Caline Bustier finally got around to asking Marinette to stay after class.

“Marinette,” Caline started. “I’ve noticed you’ve become rather… distant lately with the other students in class.”

           Marinette fought the urge not to roll her eyes, “We’ve had a falling out,” she said innocently. Not bothering to mention that it was Lila’s doing. “It’s fine. Things change. Friends go apart.”

“They don’t have to,” Bustier smiled. “You were such a wonderful class president; the entire class counted on you. Don’t you think you were a bit hasty in resigning… in that regard.”

“There was no avoiding it,” Marinette stated. Most of the class at that point at turned against her. And every time she tried to make plans or come up with ideas to fund raise she was shut down. “I’m interning with Wilhelmina Slater. She’s currently editor and chief for Mode Paris. I couldn’t turn that down. On top of that I’m overflowing with commission request; some come in by the website I launched, others from recommendations from my other clients. Also Jagged Stone and Clara Nightingale, if you remember, both announced three months ago that I was their personal stylist. I’ve been getting swamped with work ever since.”

Caline did remember. She had been shocked when she saw her student’s face on the news announcing her as up-and-coming Fashion design MDC. A number of celebrities tweeted that they had commissioned work from the teen; a dress here, a suit there, costumes. The announcement had only caused more derision in class towards Marinette, “But don’t you think helping your friends is more important than making money?”

Marinette blinked. “I am helping my friends.”

“Alya needed your help with the fundraising,” Bustier said. “Lila needed help with the dance. Mylene needed costumes for the play. Nino needed someone to design his set for a gig of his. You were too busy. How do you think that made them feel?”

“First of all, they never asked me for help,” Marinette quickly said. “Second-”

           Caline cut her off, “Maybe they didn’t ask because they knew you’d be too busy.”

           Marinette looked the teacher up and down and continued what she was saying, “Secondly, I have very few friends in class; and you didn’t name any of them. Lila is not my friend. Alya is not my friend. Neither is Nino, Mylene, Ivan, Max, Kim, or Alix for the record.”

           Bustier reared back; shocked at the unexpected tone from Marinette.

           Marinette crossed her arms. “I am helping my friends. Chloe is my PR manager, which is giving her amazing experience. Juleka and Rose model for me, and frequently get poached to model for other designers. Adrien gets to sit back and relax for once. Claude meets all the directors and actors I work with. He ended up getting an internship at WB. Nathaniel and Marc’s Ladybug comic got exposer after I used some of his designs of her on my clothing line. Images comics is picking up their comic to turn it into an entire series. Aurore is my personal assistant but that’s only to give her a clear reason to be there so she can interview any celebrities, I’m working with, that are willing to talk with her. She posted an interview with David Tennant about a cameo in Doctor; with him, Rose, and their kid. An hour later the website: Tumblr crashed. I do help my friends.”

Bustier sighed, “You’re having an argument. You didn’t stop being friends.” Honestly kids could be so dramatic sometimes. “Once you apologize everything will go back to normal.”

“And why should I apologize,” Marinette asked. “I didn’t do anything wrong.”

“We talked about the Marinettes of the world, remember?” Caline smiled. “You have to be the bigger person; be an example for the other students. Show them the right way to act.”

“No.”

           It was said so firmly but so quickly that the teacher nearly missed it as she opened her mouth to continue her speech but closed it as she processed what Marinette said, “No? What do you mean no.”

           Marinette picked up her school bag and walked to the classroom door, “I mean, I won’t do it. I’m no one’s shining example. And in this situation, I refuse to be the bigger person. I have no intention of apologizing whatsoever.” She opened the door about to walk out. “Especially to people who you allowed to verbally harass me in class, trip me right in front of you, and disinvite me and my friends on class trips. I don’t care how it made them feel. I don’t care about them at all.” “Marinette,” Bustier started.

           Marinette cut her off, “It is not responsibility to teach my classmates the right way to behave; it’s their parents’, it’s yours.” She said fiercely.

           Bustier straighten herself up to her full height. She refused to allow any student of hers to speak to her like that. “I see. I will have to contact your parents to discuss your lack of participation in class.”

           Marinette snorted, “Okay. You should do it soon, though. I and a number of other students sent in complaints to the school board about my wrongful expulsion, this class, the way you run it, and Damocles; with video evidence. Bourgeois and Agreste lawyers are leading the charge. Chloe out of sheer spite. Gabriel because of the clear case of sexual harassment you allowed Adrien to deal with from Lila. He’s out for blood.”

           Caline Bustier paled. She couldn’t feel her legs. The school board? “Nothing is as bad as you say. You are overdramatizing everything.”

“My lawyer say different,” The bluenette shrugged. “If anything, they think I’m not understating things. Much like when I tell them, you’re a bad teacher.”

“I will not be spoke to like that!”

“What are you going to do?” Marinette asked with a single eyebrow raised, “Expel me?”

           There was only silence to answer her question. Marinette just shook her head and left.

           Leaving Caline Bustier wondering just how she let things get so out of hand. And more importantly, if she would even have a job come the new school year.

[magpiefngrl]

17) if you could give your fledgling author self any advice, what would it be?

Thanks for the ask! 

What people want to do with their writing differs. Some write for fun, to have a laugh with the rest of the fandom/community; it’s a hobby. Some are trying to see if they’ve got what it takes to become professional writers; some just like the ship and have no interest beyond that. They’re all valid reasons to write. My advice is to the kind of fledgling author I used to be, the one who wanted to be a professional and wanted their writing to be decent, and it’s this:

Read a lot

Write a lot

Step out of your comfort zone

Attend workshops/read writing guides/be open to critique 

[discussion under the cut ‘cause it’s looooooong]

1. Read a lot

It goes without saying; reading is what feeds a writer. I did a travel writing workshop once and the editor told us that he could always tell from someone’s writing what they’d been reading. What one reads the most comes through in one’s writing whether they intend it or not. This “or not” is why I’ve been vigilant ever since to avoid reading anything that I don’t want to be influenced by: gossip mags, for instance, or run-of-the-mill urban fantasy.

As for fic writers, I’d suggest reading the best examples of writing in your fandom. Read them often and try to see what it is about them that you love and you’d like to emulate: is it the banter? The prose? The UST and emotions? The plot? How did the author do it? Tip #4 below helps with that.

I’d also strongly advise resisting the temptation to read only fic. Like the editor above, now I can usually tell if an author has been consuming only fanfic, because the sentences sound familiar. Fanfic can be restrictive when it’s the only thing you consume. People like to rail against published books on tumblr, but as someone who actually wants to be published one day, that attitude irritates me. It’s also false. There’s a ton of marvellous stuff out there, books from people from all over the world, books with great prose or great plot, books from marginalised authors, classics that are classics for a reason, new authors doing incredible stuff. 

tl;dr: read the best writing you can get your hands on (incl. published books) as often as you can

2. Write a lot

This also goes without saying. Writing is a skill; the more you practice, the better you become at it. Fic is amazing for it! You practice writing plot, dialogue, characterisation, description. You might insert on original character or two.

At the beginning, a new writer’s output might not be as amazing as what they’d like it to be, but recognising that it’s not there yet is actually a huge step in improving. So write loads, and don’t be afraid to write things no one will see. Set a word count target (you could join a community such as @gywo​) and try to reach that target. It could be 300 words a day or 2k words every weekend or a total of 12k a month, whatever works for you. Make writing a habit. Ask people here to prompt you, write off-the-cuff. Some of it won’t be great – to you. But there’ll always be a reader who loves the quick drabble you wrote. And even if the post goes unnoticed, move on. Write the next drabble/fic, and then the next. Just keep writing and keep making it the best you can.

tl;dr: write your arse off

3. Step out of your comfort zone

This tip isn’t one you usually see in these kinds of lists, but to me it’s an important one. What I mean is that complacency can be a writer’s biggest enemy. Say you’ve reached a decent writing level, you’ve got some readers, you’re having fun writing your fics. They’re becoming popular so you think you’re doing something right and write some more in the same vein. This is all good, but it might also lead to stagnation.

Stepping out of your comfort zone shakes things up. This advice relates to the other tips. First, read something that you normally avoid, esp. if people are saying it’s a fantastic piece of writing. My thinking is that if X fic has rave reviews but happens to be mpreg (which I loathe), the benefits of being exposed to the great writing outweigh the mpreg–and I can always skim through that part. Do consider your triggers if you have any and look after yourself, but also don’t confuse them with dislikes. 

Reading outside your genre is a great way to shake things up: if you’re into Eighth-Year drarry, read them as fifty-year-olds. If you only read Auror case fics, read a smoking-hot PWP or an achingly-cute domestic drarry. If the books you buy are all adult sci-fi, try this contemporary YA everyone’s been raving about. Read poetry, if you don’t! Even if you don’t get it. Just read it, consider the word choices and put it aside. You don’t have to read outside your comfort zone all the time, but try to do it with some regularity and make sure you choose great quality works. 

Same with writing: if you write in one genre, try writing a story in another. Maybe you’ll fuck it up. No one needs to see it. At least you’ve tried. This is where workshops or writing exercises come in handy. Recently I took part in one where some drarry authors wrote a paragraph with sentences up to seven words, and another that was only one sentence. Imagine writing a 200-word sentence! You’ll probably never use it in your life, but it’s such a great way to practise sentence structure and see the effect it has on tone and pacing. Prompts can help as well: some of the AU prompts I received were things I longed to write, but others were harder. Some I fucked up. But I wrote a flower shop fic for a friend, which is something I’d never in my life write willingly lol, and it turned out wonderful and it’s actually become very popular. I’m currently writing a historical AU, which is def outside my comfort zone, and it’s taking me ages, but it also forces me to examine it from all angles to find how to make it work for me, and that means I get to learn a bit more about writer-me. 

Writing outside your comfort zone is also about writing things that might make you emotional. Natalie Goldberg’s writing book (mentioned above) was one of the first I read and it’s influenced me a great deal: she says that when you feel choked up or upset or emotional while writing a scene, keep writing. You’ve tapped into a vein. Digging deep in a character’s psyche might make you uncomfortable, sure; it means digging deep inside yourself and some dark parts of you that you might not necessarily like. Keep going. For me, that’s what pushes someone’s writing from good to amazing. It’s why some fics stand out, get recced loads and are lauded, even if they don’t have a huge amount of kudos.

tl;dr: read books outside your genre, do writing exercises and write things that make you emotional 

4. Attend workshops/read writing guides/be open to critique

Let me repeat that this is advice for people who want their writing to be better and who possibly want to go pro. If you’re writing as a hobby, you needn’t pay attention to this. For the rest: learning the technical aspects of the craft can make a huge difference in your writing.

At first, you might enjoy a fic and not know why. Workshops and writing guides can help you identify what it is you liked. You’ll be able to examine a novel with a different eye when you’re familiar with the 3-act structure rather than go “wow, the pacing was amazing, I couldn’t put this down, but I don’t know why”.

There are dozens of writing guides out there. After reading more than thirty, I can confirm they get repetitive after a while. But read a couple of them, at the very least. Check if your library has: Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg, Steering the Craft by Ursula Le Guin (though I wouldn’t rec this one if you’re completely new), On Writing by King, Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott (which is also really funny). 

Attending a workshop/accepting critique is the hardest to arrange. It requires other people, you can’t read it or borrow it from your library. Now, I’ve heard from people who attended creative writing seminars that they were in class with a bunch of idiots who had strong opinions as to what’s literature and what’s not. If that’s something you’d rather not face, then there are creative writing MOOCs around where people are kinder and more supportive. I’ve taken several and am a huge advocate of them. You can audit a MOOC (watch the video with the lecture, do the reading, skip the assignment) but participating will help the most. You might get 1-2 or even 15 people commenting on your work, telling you what worked and what didn’t. Some common elements will arise: perhaps everyone liked the dialogue, but many felt the description was lacking. It’s not a pleasant feeling, but you’ll have a clearer idea of what works and what doesn’t. Examining each piece of critique and seeing if you agree or not with it is a big step in improving.

Having your work betaed is of course the number one thing you can do to improve, and having a good beta is invaluable–and not always easy to find. Try to find a good beta. Finally, If you’re in a fandom community, see if you can arrange a workshop thing with your friends. Just make sure that you’re all on board with critiquing each other’s writing with kindness, but also not just squeeing. Squeeing can take place with critiquing, it’s not mutually exclusive. 

tl;dr: learn the technical aspects of the craft and learn to accept critique

Thanks for the ask! I hope you don’t mind such a detailed answer :))

[aang-shadowhunters]

The wonderous, yet odd, evolution of the Shadowhunters fandom.

So the reasoning behind this post is to show my amazement at how much our ever-growing fandom has evolved in just three years. I officially joined the fandom in the Fall/Summer of 2015. Now, I didn't join the fandom on Tumblr until the beginning of this year, but you didn't necessarily need to be on Tumblr to watch the fandom explode! From "studiously denying page 511", and "who is Brother Zachariah?" to "Matthew Daddario is too hot to play Alec Lightwood!" and "forever loyal to the movie cast!" We all saw it happen no matter at what point we joined the fandom. Let's just take this moment to reminisce, and to laugh, cry, cringe, and scream at the evolution of this wonder of a fandom we are a part of (just so you know, this list of things are in no particular order :-))

- Remember how everyone pre-City of Glass had the internal debate of "Is it ok to ship Clace?” 

- Remember how we all tried to studiously deny that page 511 of COLS never happened, and everyone started writing fanfics where Malec never fought and we're always happy?

- Remember how we all thought it was hilarious that Jace just happened to bring a condom with him into Edom in COHF?

- Remember the debates as to who Brother Zachariah really was?

- Remember when the official announcement that The Mortal Instruments would be made into a tv show, and that's when everyone realized that the City of Bones movie was a flop?

- Remember how everyone desperately wanted the movie cast to be brought in for the tv show cast?

- Remember when the Shadowhunters cast was officially casted, and a lot of people were outraged that certain characters were casted as people of color?

- Remember how some people felt the need to pick out little insignificant things about the cast to hate? "Matthew Daddario is too hot!" "Katherine McNamera's hair is not even red!" "Dominic Sherwood's hair isn't blonde enough!"

- Remember the fandom war between the people who were "loyal to the movie cast"  and those who were for the new cast?

- Remember how Cassie had to leave Twitter for three days because people were forcing her to pick sides?

- Remember the "Give Izzy Her Ruby Necklace" petition?

- Remember when the casts panel at NYCC 2015 finally eased the tension in the fandom?

- Remember January 12, 2016, the series premier, and so many people judged it when it was only the first episode? (I'm still pretty annoyed about this) Yet, it was still the beginning of an amazing journey for this fandom.

- Remember how annoyed everyone was at the arranged marriage plot for Alec?

- Remember how on March 29, 2016, one kiss broke the Internet and the fandom?

- Remember how thrilled everyone was to be awake at 8:00am to learn that Shadowhunters was to be renewed for a second season?

- Remember how that one fan witnessed the Malec hug from 2x10 during filming, and it was all anyone was talking about pretty much until we witnessed it happen on screen?

- Remember the "Alec dropped is stele" line from the first table read, and everyone was loosing their minds trying to figure out what that meant?

  - Remember the outrage at "the incident" from 2x07?

- Remember how people pointlessly got mad at the actors for things that were out of their control, but were actually the faults of the writers, editors, and show runners?

- Remember how we thought that wining a silly internet poll would confirm the validity of a ship, but then we saw that seeing out ship say "I love you" to each other was more of a win than any poll?

- Remember when we found out that season 2B would be premiering on June 5th, but then we realized that it meant that we would have to wait three months?

Wow, that's a lot of reminiscing for one day! Be sure to reblog this for fandom positivity, and to add anything to the list that I might have missed. :-)