#Also I'm the one everyone always goes to when asking for help with revising so now how the turn tables as they say

[scribble-dee-vee]

Writeblr Intro circa 2024

Hi writeblr!! Sooo, I've been around here since about 2014. (Yes, I am ancient.) However, I've been dormant for the past 4-5 years. Blame college and a brief stint on Twitter. Now that I'm active again, I thought I should make an updated writeblr intro so ppl know my Deal. Basically, I want to engage with other folks who write fiction (esp original SF), and that's a little easier if I have a clear post that outlines what I do. Here to make connections and hear about your blorbos :)

About me

Hi, I'm Vee! They/them, 23, 💖 🤍 🧡

I do journalism/comms in western New York

My literary jam is feminist/adult SF and gothic lit (OG or modern) 🥀 ⚔️ 🌙

Enthusiastic about gay people, body horror, and sociopolitical allegories

I cook, run, play tabletop games, and occasionally draw. Other than that, I'm mostly writing (for work and for fun)

If you were on pre-2020 writeblr, you likely know me from my eight billion daily tag games. (I still like tag games and appreciate u for tagging me. I have also gained adult responsibilities and better mental health, so I respond very slowly now. <3)

Always happy to get asks or dms, tho as I've noted: I may reply slowly.

Sometimes open to beta read! I only read one longer project at a time, but it's always super fun :)

I tag very consistently – happy to tag triggers for followers/moots

Fun fact: I love mushroom hunting and worked as a mycology TA. #cottagecoreera 🍄 🧚‍♀️ 🌱

About my creative writing

I write,,,, feminist/adult SF with gothic leanings (surprise!)

Longform and short! Trying to do more short writing this year, and I'll likely share a bit on Tumblr. It's easier to clip a short story than a 150k novel, god bless.

The Aesthetic: moral g(r)ays, Victoriana, androids/cyborgs, Women™, monstrous femininity, incessant Hamlet/Frankenstein motifs, extremely boring socioeconomic worldbuilding, evil queens and/or dilfs, psychosexual witchcraft, probably a cat. Also, an ominous, plot-relevant letter laced with anthrax from your unhinged and brilliant ex-wife. Open if you dare.

Major projects

I'm going to be writing some short work this year, but these are the longer projects that I have going in the background. If I reblog blorbo-related text posts, they probably have something to do with these.

Let me know if you want to be added to any project-specific taglists 😎

Heart of Lead – Series

The big one

Perpetually evolving

Never ceasing

Pls send help I can't stop adding shit

5-book gothic fantasy epic that I'll definitely publish one day but probably no time soon! My bastard child, my wicked firstborn, my greatest love <3

Character-oriented political drama set in a pseudo-Victorian, dystopian oligarchy where everyone's heart is made out of metal. It's about coming of age and discovering queer identity in a world that is absolutely fucked. God is an extraterrestrial lesbian who gives ppl very traumatizing magic powers. There are cyborgs, shapeshifters, and morally gray women in STEM. It's tight as fuck idk what else what to tell u.

Book 1 is about achillean monarchists, and book 2 is about sapphic anarchists. There are only two genders, I guess.

At this point, I've drafted most of the books at least once. Working to refine a lot of raw material atm!

Tag: "heart of lead tag" or "hol tag"

Lost Letters – Book

Aka the current active HoL WIP, and book one in the revised series structure

Length: 80k as of now; around 120-140k when the first draft is finished, I presume.

Genre: adult fantasy, gothic, noir detective drama?? um?? If you want me to frame it in BookTok terms (why?) it's a dark academia villain x villain tragic romantasy. Hrgh.

Summary: Cyborg soldier goes to college, joins a shady socialite frat, and falls in love with the jilted heir-apparent to the throne. Hilarity ensues.

(By "hilarity," I mean a militant revolutionary faction and a tragedy of Greek proportions.)

POV characters: Charles (the cyborg), Dale (the heir), and Cecelia (Charles' sister, a junior detective, the love of my life and potentially the Chosen One???)

This book is twisty and dark and immensely fun to write.

I'm about halfway through the first full draft! Hoping to share snippets and vaguepost about my children here.

Tag: "lost letters tag" (also "hol tag," tho that one's less specific)

The Last of Mortal Tourists – Book

The next longform project on the docket!

Length: a standalone work that will hopefully fall on the shorter novel/novella spectrum.

Genre: literary SF, cyberqueer, psychological space quest

Summary: The consciousness of a dead coding genius, trapped inside a spaceship, seeks a new planet to sustain their sister, the last surviving human, after the destruction of Earth.

If you're here to get wildly philosophical about gender and the myth of essential self, this is the story for you! That's why I'm writing it, lol. 🏳️‍⚧️ 🚀 🤖

This one started out as a short story (100% finished) which I want to expand.

POV: Archer Alto, the coder. Spaceship? Human? Soul?

Supporting Cast: Pandora, the last human, and Abby, a holographic impression of Archer's childhood consciousness

Tag: "the last of mortal tourists tag" or "tlomt tag"

If you read all this way, you get a whole bouquet of flowers that are certainly NOT poisonous: 🌸 🌹 💐 🥀 🌺

<3

#writeblr #writing #writeblr intro #for my mutuals #scribble-dee-vee #project intro #hi writeblr! #original post #hol tag #heart of lead tag #lost letters tag #tlomt tag #pls feel free to tell me abt u in tags/replies!! #would love to expand my active writeblr connections #and yah like I said lmk about those tag lists #I def want to post more snippets/tags this year

[kaylinalexanderbooks]

2 & 13 for the writing asks!

Hey! Thanks for the ask! (From this writers ask game)

2.     Are you a pantser or plotter?

I self-identify as more of a Plantser. I delve in both, understand both, practice both.

I used to be more of a Pantser, but I lean more toward Plotter/Planner. It's helped me so much to have an outline, to do background world building, to plan a chapter before I write it. I do, however, need to write to figure some things out. I also do the world building as needed sometimes. Same goes for characters.

So yeah, bit of both, but I've shifted over time.

13.  Describe your writing process from idea to polished

Hm, this seems tricky. My writing process is very strange. I'm still polishing.

Linked in my pinned post on TSP is the backstory of how I got to where I am. It's hard to explain, but I'll try.

I got the idea for TSP from this story I acted out with my stuffed animals when I was young. I don't know why 10 y/o me decided to write an adaptation of this for a school project, but I became obsessed with it. I rewrote it multiple times, staying in each version for a while, revising as I went, until I settled on something that was finally close to what it is today at around 14.

I rewrote it because I got stuck and didn't plan. I didn't have a lot of this draft planned, but I did start to develop one as I went on. This version of TSP lasted a while until I realized I needed to massively overhaul it. Change the timeline, add about half a book of new content, cut unnecessary things, focus more on characters, etc. I started over again.

Throughout this draft, I've taken multiple breaks of overhauling one key aspect. Characters were huge. I needed to make everyone distinct, so I focused on personality, emotions, how they express that, etc. Every time I think of a new thing each character should have, I focused on that for a while. I am currently working on world building the magic system, which will take a while.

I have gone through TSP multiple times, rereading for specific revisions, like character ticks or using Ctrl+F for unnecessary words and phrasing. Last time I was revising I got stuck, so that's why I've decided to world build.

My process of outlining now is quite complicated. I have a master "brainstorming document" as I call it. I have it more organized now though. Sections where I make broad comments on characters and their dynamics, plot ideas for various story threads organized by the part they're in, notes on revision ideas, etc. I also made a brief outline for Part Two listing all the chapters I need to make happen.

I then take those vague outlines and focus more on what I need for the entirety of Part Two. I cross-reference them with my brainstorming ideas to pair together characters and scene ideas. As each chapter comes up, I look at what I have and expand even more on what needs to happen in this chapter. As I go on, I note when I can cut a chapter from the outline because it turns out it became unnecessary. Changing the outline is not a big deal for me at all. I had an idea, but part of writing is the discovery, hence why I'm part Pantser.

When this draft of Part Two is complete, I'll do similar revision sweeps as I did with Part One. I also am writing down ideas for revisions as I go. Sometimes, if something is small, I'll go back and change something immediately. If it's a little bigger, I tend to wait to revise it.

Now Part One is in beta reading stages. What I do is I read over the comments the reader left me and think critically about each of them. What I'm doing right, what I need to work on. I take every comment seriously whenever they make a suggestion or criticism. Their word is not gospel, but their insight is important. I decide if I like their input, then implement it. Most of the time I do listen, at least partially, because a second opinion is always helpful.

Hope these were good answers :)

TSP intro

TSP tag list (ask to be +/-): @thepeculiarbird @illarian-rambling @televisionjester @finchwrites

#the secret portal #tsp #teaspoon #behind the scenes #writing process #writing ask game #writers on tumblr #writing community #writers of tumblr #writing on tumblr #writeblr #writeblr community #ask answered

[hasarjunadoneanythingwrong]

Sakurai's writing oftentimes feels like I'm reading a fanfic. That isn't always a bad thing, because Shimousa was alright (save for getting wordy in places), there were things I liked about Lostbelt 2 I liked (Napoleon was a major focus but at least he was a lot of fun!), and so far Heian-kyo is reading like *good* fanfic. I actually like how it touches on things like Nursery Rhyme's shapeshifting and having a specific form for this chapter, for example. The repetitive-ness and over-explaining is still her biggest problem in my book, and I feel if someone could critique/edit her scripts she could revise them to be less so.

On the other hand, everyone complains about the Edmond Dantes cameos but as for me, I don't care. Heck, I kind of enjoy them. Sincerely I want Edmond Dantes to appear randomly in everything Sakurai writes from now on. I'm hoping he just randomly shows up in Heian-kyo for no reason at all. He just walks on set and calls Limbo a little bitch and then leaves.

gonna be 100% honest i dont even clock her as being more wordy than other fate writers like why would we play the fate game if words werent something we could handle. i agree editing would help but it really isnt just for her. like has anyone who thinks she 'goes on and on' or whatever read any other chapter when the writer gets really into a bit they have An Opinion on. or are being dramatic. or chuuni. or horny. like ??????????

and honestly if shes the only one whos gonna use dantes then fucking let her. it harms no one and i like seeing him show up for 30 seconds to give us a thumbs up its not like it messes up immersion to say 'the guy that lives in your head sometimes....shows up in your head' especially when its like a dream sequence like why are we mad at that. does that not make sense. i thought people got mad when stuff happens to the mc mentally and none of the servants who are allegedly watching out for that sort of thing do anything if anything we should be asking why tf beni enma and merlin and any of the other servants who can dreamwalk arent also there helping out.

#my asks #sorry im going insane guys <3 i have all this art i didnt finish and i keep getting stressed out like an animal that gets stressed

[junypr-camus]

Writer Questions Tag

Thanks for the tags, @eccaiia and @saltysupercomputer!

Tagging (softly) @dogmomwrites, @blind-the-winds, @timetobuttonmash, @aloeverawrites, and @mayonnaisepudding!

Questions:

What is your absolute all-time favourite idea you've ever had?

Is there a question you've been asked in the past that really stands out to you and you still think about sometimes?

What is your favourite part of being a writer? What parts could you take or leave?

What is your greatest motivation to write/create?

What is the best piece of advice you've ever read or been given as a writer?

What do you wish you knew when you were first starting out writing?

What is your favourite story you've written TO COMPLETION? Link it if you'd like and can!

What is your favourite out-of-the-box quote?

Which of your characters would you say has the most controversial mindset? Why do you say so and how do you personally feel about their ideals?

If you when you first started writing met you now, what would younger you think?

1. What is your absolute all-time favourite idea you've ever had?

This is pretty hard, but I think maybe the scene with the animate mannequins in The Great Mall Mirage. Because I managed to creep everyone out with the thought of plastic mannequins chasing them to the edge of an elevator shaft.

2. Is there a question you've been asked in the past that really stands out to you and you still think about sometimes?

A friend and I have always been the kind of people others go to for help (him more than me because I have harder limits than he does). I remember asking him "Do you feel that you're the one everyone goes to for help..." and he finished my thought exactly with "but when you need help there's no one to go to?" That felt like it summed up a lot of my life.

3. What is your favourite part of being a writer? What parts could you take or leave?

I love coming up with ideas, sharing them with people, and seeing how they interpret the worlds I create. I would perhaps leave the actual writing of things like info dump conversations because they can get somewhat boring.

4. What is your greatest motivation to write/create?

To explore. I realize more about myself and about the world with a pencil in my hand than anytime else.

5. What is the best piece of advice you've ever read or been given as a writer?

You can't revise a blank page. First drafts are always horrendous, but they make second drafts so much better and so much easier, because now you know what you want to say, and you can lift out the good stuff and rework everything else.

6. What do you wish you knew when you were first starting out writing?

The pacing of sentences plays a big part in conveying emotion. I used to think that I could craft the perfect scene by just choosing a few good adjectives, maybe a bit of figurative language, but it's so much more than that. It's what you say and when you say it, and also what you don't say.

7. What is your favourite story you've written TO COMPLETION? Link it if you'd like and can!

To completion? Nah.

8. What is your favourite out-of-the-box quote?

"Don't be lasagna." (I'm going to be really happy if anyone recognizes that.

9. Which of your characters would you say has the most controversial mindset? Why do you say so and how do you personally feel about their ideals?

Terry Silver. She's somewhat single-minded and a bit idealistic: she believes there's hope for a utopia and will do anything --- even letting loved ones die --- for it. Considering Seranid's about the price of change, Terry was meant to be an exploration of how far someone would be willing to go to create the world they wanted. It's up to the reader to decide if they think she's justified, but personally I think she makes her choices having weighed all the possibilities and deciding to take the risk.

10. If you when you first started writing met you now, what would younger you think?

"What the hell happened to you?" (affectionate but concerned)

#writeblr #tag game #junypr berries

[12am-motivation]

Hey mo I know you like to play enstars, so do I so can I get your opinions on which unit each individual obey me boy would be in? I know for a fact Lucifer would be Valkyrie, mammon crazy b and Luke rabbits but everyone else... Can we get that pls 🥺🥺🥺

Heya @darkflowerav! Funny you should ask, remember that one Eichi and Solomon doodle I posted back then? I once reblogged it with some personal headcanons on which unit each Obey Me! character would be in but I eventually set it on private since I didn't know much about Enstars back then.

Now that I'm a bit more cultured *cracks knuckles* I'll revise that old list.

Note: We don't have much information about Thirteen, Mephisto, and Raphael to classify them yet so I didn't include them in this list.

(Credits to @minhyunsdick for helping me with this!)

Lucifer - Valkyrie

I remember you once commenting that Lucifer was like Shu (and even mentioned that "angel who defied god" line from Miwaku Geki / Enthralling Theatre).

Valkyrie is a unit that showcases artistic forms and is more distanced from its fans compared to the others. Lucifer also has this sense of class and nobility with his music taste and would also strive for perfection like Shu does due to his pride. But despite their arrogance, it is shown that Lucifer cares for his brothers like how Shu cares for Mika.

Mammon - Crazy:B

He has huge Rinne vibes in terms of his risk-taking / gambling addiction that often gets everyone around him into trouble, and his role as a caring older brother. No further explanation. (His personality goes much deeper than that, though.)

Leviathan - RYUSEITAI or Switch

We all know Levi's a huge geek, an absolute dork (affectionate), and a gamer so I'm sure he'd blend in with our favorite heroes and magicians. The "negative" side of his personality also has something in common with the backgrounds of these units, if you know what I mean.

Satan - Double Face

The main characteristic of the unit is in its name; it represents the duality of the unit's members. The current Satan has his gentlemanly facade to hide the wrath that lies within.

Asmodeus - Eden (Eve)

Pretty much Asmo = Hiyori; Eden's style and choreography are known to be flashy and dramatic and Asmo would be more than willing to give fanservice.

Beelzebub - UNDEAD (or Butou-kai)

He's like Adonis as a gentle giant. Taking his character song into consideration, I think Beel's voice suits UNDEAD. If shuffle units count, his physical strength could classify him under Butou-kai. (I mean just imagine Beel in FIST OF SOUL)

Belphegor - Knights (or La Mort)

I associate Belphie with Ritsu and his overall character, including his intelligence and lethargy. His soothing voice also suits those units. Not to mention they both dislike their older brothers and things between them were different in the past.

Diavolo - Eden (Adam)

Diavolo is somewhat like Nagisa in terms of character with both of them having lived in seclusion for some time. While he is the next in line to the throne and asserts authority when necessary, he also has a youthful and energetic side to him that is hidden from the general public.

Barbatos - Valkyrie or AKATSUKI (or XXVeil)

Barbatos is a demon of class and always observes proper discipline and etiquette, not to mention he's an ever-quintessential butler. AKATSUKI's traditional Japanese theme also somewhat suits him. I'd assign him to fine but he doesn't really suit the heavenly theme.

Luke - Ra*bits or fine (or Branco)

Pre-character development Luke is more like Tori and his strictness classifies him more in a unit of authority plus, his status as an angel lines up with fine's theme. But if we're talking about his character song and his overall cuteness, he'd most likely be in Ra*bits or Branco.

Simeon - fine or Knights

If Luke is Tori, Simeon would be Yuzuru. Simeon is a representative from the Celestial Realm but also has a terrifying side to him when it comes to his concealed wrath. His protective role as an angel could also line up with Knights' chivalry.

Solomon - Double Face

Cat group as Double Face; similar reason to Satan's. Solomon may be kind and is often shown to be calm and collected with a smile, but there are a lot of dark mysteries about him that we have yet to uncover. (Too bad he can't cook like Mama does)

#hope you like these! #crossovers aren't really my thing anymore but this was pretty fun to do #obey me one master to rule them all #obey me shall we date #obey me swd #obey me #おべいみー #mo rambles into the void #queued

[boyfhees]

Just read your Ayato fic and I'm in love with it! Do you have any tips for writing longer works? Thankyou!

hi omg thank you for reading that thing help. also i may not be the best person to ask for tips regarding long fics but let's try :

1. PLANNING — even if you want to freewheel your way through the fic, having an outline actually helps, or if it won't help then it certainly wouldn't ruin things either. you don't need to have a super detailed analysis, just bullet points about important events is enough ( unless you're willing to elaborate, of course ) even if you don't have an outline, at least make sure you have a clear picture of what you're trying to write, especially an end and a major event that joins the beginning and end ( that is, an event that, when narrated with the beginning and the ending, can sum up the whole plot )

2. WRITING ORDER — everyone who claims that having an order is necessary has gone crazy. you don't need to follow any order. start with beginning, jump to your favourite scene, then to scene two— whatever you like. however, writing an ending first makes it easier to write the rest of the story ( since you have a goal in your hand, you just need to make your way towards it ) writing dialogues first without any context boosts up word counts ( because when you write the raw plot, say approx 10k, your dialogues will take around 1-2k. now keep on adding, deleting and refining ) writing in chronological order offers a clearer view of where your plot is going, except this one is pretty hard to follow through as your words count increases. you can have your own order, no need to follow the ones i mentioned

3. MULTIPLE REVISIONS — the long in long fics stands for long drawn process of writing. usually, lengthy works are a combination of multiple scenes and it's important that all of them have a transient flow, even after substituted with time skips / breaks / dividers. which is why, you should read the previous scene everytime you start writing a new one and go through the whole thing once you're done adding 2-4 new scenes. try to write the whole thing in three steps : rough draft, editing sheet, final draft. rough draft is your raw plot, editing sheet is the stage where your draft will go under heavy editing and plot changes, final draft is your final product and is usually up for beta-reading to get a reader's opinions on your fic. as always, you're allowed to run these at your pace. you don't need to make 3 drafts but it's usually helpful when writing something above 10k

4. TIME — longer works are supposed to take time so don't fret if you're taking 2 months to write something. it's fine, that's how it works. give it some time, don't force yourself to write, things will gradually fall into place. if you feel the motivation inside you leaving, listen to songs that fit the theme of your work. read poetry, research topics, make mood boards, do everything that can help you get back into the writing process

5. OMISSIONS & EXPANSION : one thing about long fics is that you should know what to keep and what to delete. writing 250k will do no good if the readers feel that you're dragging the plot with little to no development. on the other hand, writing 3k is enough if you're showing the progress. it's hard to maintain this as the word count goes up and that's is why you should revise your draft multiple times. anything that doesn't contribute to the plot, directly or indirectly, is irrelevant and needs to be deleted. the same way, you can expand certain points that you feel may contribute to the key points in your plot ( for example, someone's relationship, look into someone's life before a particular incident happened, etc. ) again, the only way you can recognise the relevance of a point is through reading and re-reading

BONUS : if you have someone who can listen to your rambles about the fic, reach them out and make their life a living hell. pester them with all the ideas you have and y'all can brainstorm together. don't worry about getting on their nerves because usually, the writer and their closest writer / reader friend are at the same level on insanity scale

this is all i can think of rn help. good luck if you're planning to write !!

#—help menu. #visitor. — anon.

[fanfiction-artist-prototype]

Nothing better than having end of year exams and asking the group chat how the fuck anybody’s studying a particular subject and just receiving ‘seen’ until one brave soul pipes up with a ‘I don’t know’. My friend I love you, but this is not helping.

#personal #sorry just - exams for media are fucking me over because of how stupid the content is that we're revising like bc of COVID i wasn't in for #some of it and there's minimal resources online for it that make little to no sense without the context of the inperson lesson #Also I'm the one everyone always goes to when asking for help with revising so now how the turn tables as they say

[lnlywar-god]

additional request just in case your inbox is empty - mb some headcanons with your favorite genshin women(sagau or not, choose it yourself) - how would they react to reader proposing to them/planning to propose and them findind out in advance :3

 A PLEASANTLY SPOILED SURPRISE

poruchik (may i call you that?) i cannot thank you enough for giving me great prompts to work on. good for the brainrot. ilysm /p. ANYWAYS, i'm always happy to write for my women! these are my top two per nation btw! this also isn't sagau because i sort of needed to get used to writing outside of sagau too on tumblr ^^ this can be viewed as both canon or modern au!

includes : jean, eula, keqing, ganyu, raiden ei, ayaka

cw : none! pure fluff!

sypnosis : you're planning a great surprise for your favorite woman in the whole world only to find that they already knew about it.

work under the cut!

JEAN

It’ll be a usual day for Jean, more work as acting grandmaster and trying to keep Klee out of trouble at the same time. Somehow a bit of a stress reliever comes to her when a little birdie (it’s either Kaeya or Lisa or Klee for the reason that i know Kaeya and Lisa would be a lil playful at hinting it and Klee would just let it slip) drops a bit of information to her.

“Someone’s going to get married soon and it’s going to be ___~” would be the line closest to the kind of hint the three would drop.

Jean immediately figures its you and laughs. She definitely finds the idea endearing and is definitely going to be happy for the rest of the week.

When you propose, right after she gives you her answer, she’s going to tell you that she knew from Klee/Kaeya/Lisa and is going to laugh at you for a bit :’)

EULA

Eula finds out because you were probably talking about it and she was somewhere near and happened to hear it. You just didn’t know she was nearby so you kept going at it.

Eula doesn’t really know how to react but one thing’s for sure, she’s definitely going to be steeling herself for when you do propose and what’s she’s going to answer to you.

May or may not ask some help from Amber on the matter and Amber will merely laugh it off and tell her to go with her gut.

When you propose, she’s made up her mind after several practices and revisions on her script on how she will answer you. She won’t say that she did hear you talking about it unless you bring up how scripted her lines sound like and then she might just tell you (she can’t break you out of your little happy bubble when you look so giddy and cute).

KEQING

She knows from either one of her co-workers in the Qixing or something similar to Eula where you talk about it but didn’t know she was nearby.

Keqing is going to be in denial. Girlie isn’t going to believe you’re actually going to propose to her and goes on with her work as the Yuheng. 

She does cave and tell Ganyu about it even if she wants to keep it to herself, and Ganyu just tries to be a good friend and help her process it (albeit the need to tease her for it)

She’s going to shyly tell you her answer when you finally do propose. You’re not gonna know that she actually knew until Ganyu or someone else who knows tells you of it

GANYU

She probably got told by one of the Qixing or by Keqing and she was so painfully oblivious about it.

She’s the most flustered out of everyone here. She’d probably try to pretend she doesn’t know about it, a.k.a be in denial but Keqing’s teasing doesn’t stop so she’s never gonna forget it and she might every now and then look dazed while she’s working

One day when she finally accepts the information, similar to how Keqing asked Ganyu, Ganyu asks Keqing. Keqing offers some advice, although she’s also slightly inexperienced, so it’s just laughs afterwards (i love the two’s dynamic so much it’s ridiculous).

She will also shyly tell you her answer, she’s going to admit that she knew because she felt guilty, my poor baby. Console her alright?

EI

In any case, realistically, she wouldn’t know since she’s stuck in her Plane of Euthymia but for the sake of plot, let’s just say Yae Miko came around to tease her about it.

She’s baffled. She hasn’t the slightest clue on why would you propose to her. For archons sake, she’s literally holing up in her Plane of Euthymia and she’s literally trying to reach Eternity.

She doesn’t ask for advice. At all. And Yae has to give her the talk which does lead her to actually think about it instead of meditating as she always does. 

She won’t give you a direct answer and you’re probably going to have to reassure her that whatever answer she gives, you’ll be fine with it, because you understand. She just has some things that she can’t let go. One of these days, you’ll be part of them. 

AYAKA

Thoma would snitch. Or Ayato, or Yoimiya. Perhaps all of them all at the same time. 

Flustered, definitely doesn’t know what the hell she’s going to do with this information. She tries to act normal infront of you but it slips every now and then when she covers her reddening face with her fan. 

Yeah she’s not gonna ask for advice. Ayato, Thoma and Yoimiya respect that and leave her to her devices. They know she’ll figure it out in time and they understand that it’s a her thing she really has to think about by herself.

When she gives you an answer, she’ll give it you straight. Most likely she’ll say that she won’t say it again if you ask for her to say it again while you’re in shock. She won’t say that Thoma, Ayato or Yoimiya snitched but it’s sort of evident that they did by the way they’re all behind a tree listening to you two. I feel that she’s lowkey a tsundere so that’s how it goes hehe.

BONUS 

Lisa is Jean’s maid of honor, Amber is Eula’s. Klee is Jean’s flower girl, Diona is Eula’s (they both pull a prank on Diluc later, which is according to Diona, an honorary rite to be performed) 

Keqing and Ganyu would be each other’s maids of honor. Qiqi is their flower girl because they certainly have a soft spot for her. Ningguang is a guest of honor as Keqing and Ganyu feel that she’s a figure in their lives that they care for but can’t separate from being their higher-up. Ningguang will probably be a godmother in the future, who knows? 

Ei has Yae Miko as her maid of honor and Yae convinces Sayu to become their flower girl because Ei certainly doesn’t know any other children to be her flower girl. Ayaka has Yoimiya and Sayu. Ayato and Thoma are in tears when Ayato hands her off to you that Yoimiya has to comfort the two.

#〝☕order up! #genshin headcanons #eula x reader #jean x reader #keqing x reader #ganyu x reader #ei x reader #baal x reader #ayaka x reader #this should've came out earlier but due to an INTERRUPTION in my damn schedule it came out late #i'll apologize for that #somehow not proofread its 12am so yeah #fluff #eula #ganyu #keqing #ei #baal #ayaka #jean

[fairyoftbz]

it's never too late... | b. jacob

🏀 pairing: crush! basketball player! jacob x fem!reader 🏀 genre: high school!au, fluff, (sort of) strangers/acquaintances-to-lovers 🏀 word count: 5.2k 🏀 tw: very cliché 😳 and it goes kinda fast lmaoo 🏀 a/n: lisa I'm sorry I took this long to do your request, but I hope you'll like it nonetheless!! ALSO: to my fellow Americans, here football = soccer!! 🏀 requested: yes! thank you lisa!! @skrtbabe

╰☆☆☆☆╮

You had waited for this time since the beginning of your academic journey there. Graduating from high school was two months away, and it felt just as exciting as weird.

It felt like you had started your first year last week, but the amount of work and time spent in those dull buildings makes you feel like you’ve been there for at least five years.

It was exhausting to attend classes and see the same people every single day of the year, with repetitive subjects, annoying or cool teachers depending on your luck and everything that followed. The homework, the assignments, the small -or not so small- fights between classes or groups of people, you were praying that university wouldn’t sound like that.

However, at the same time, you were almost starting to feel nostalgic for this time. The last years where you could remain a bit silly before entering the adult world, being in your last teen years with people that you appreciated and met there. You chose to do this before letting them go and live your own lives, memories that will disappear if you don’t cherish them enough.

So, with Soyeon, your best friend, you decided to enjoy the time that you had left to do things together while still studying and revising for the exams, which was sometimes not easy to do. Yes, you shared classes, but personal and private activities sometimes came in the way and prevented you from hanging out.

“It’s life after all,” she said one night over the phone as you shared your opinion on this topic, “it’s good that we can be together almost 24/7, but sometimes, things don’t allow us to be together. It might be for the best, we never know,” she said, trying to be positive no matter the situation she was in, but you knew her well. As much as she wants to appear strong, you had found her many times crying on her own. But it was her personality, and no matter how hard you tried to change her, what's bred in the bone comes out in the flesh.

Soyeon wasn’t your only friend, you were getting along well with most of your girl classmates, as well as the boys that weren’t suffocating under the number of pick-me-girls that were populating your school and your class.

Sadly for you, you’ve been eyeing the most popular (and prettiest) boy in your whole school since you crossed gaze with him at the very beginning of your first year there. Jacob, your crush, was also the star basketball player of your school, and constantly surrounded and attracting cheerleaders or rich, random, good-looking girls, which had a knack for getting on your nerves. He was always spending time together with his pals and teammates, but other people as well. Everyone wanted to be his friend because you know, he had a promising career ahead of him, so it was always nice to be friends with a potential future celebrity.

As defeated as you were, there was still a small voice in your head telling you to do something before he left to go back to his home country, South Korea, where he had a career already planned and traced out.

You were confused as it was almost impossible for you to get a chance with him since you were not one of those girls and you simply couldn’t compete against them, but Soyeon and her boyfriend Sunwoo were always there to praise you and reassure you about your potential chances of dating him. Never convinced by your friends’ words, you had tried many times to get him out of your head and focus on someone else, but it never worked. Everything came back to him. He was unique and oh so nice, everything reminded you of him, and it was sickening at this point.

“He won't get out of my head, it’s getting on my nerves,” you shared your thoughts to your best friend as you braced your head in your hands, slapping your cheeks as if it were going to change anything and help you throw Jacob out of your brain.

“Why do I keep this stupid boy in my head when I know I don’t stand a single chance against those girls,” you slapped your cheeks harder and whined as Soyeon’s hand landed on your wrist.

“Y/N, stop your nonsense. You are perfect, you don’t need to change anything for him!”

“It’s easier said than done, you pulled the football star player!” you exclaimed, and she rolled her eyes, shifting closer to whisper.

“He pulled me because he knew that I am pretty, and that wouldn’t change a single thing for him. If he’s not happy with who I am, he can leave,” she shrugs, signalling you to do the same if you dated Jacob.

Sunwoo was also among the popular boys, but your friend remained the same, not even trying to fit in with the popular girls. She claimed that Sunwoo fell in love with her for her true self, so she didn’t see the point of changing to please other people. And you wished you had her confidence and her strength, admiring her for not changing anything about herself to please others.

Back to the present.

You felt stuck, desperately in love with an unapproachable boy who was too popular and way out of your league to be lucky to have his eyes sparing you any sort of attention. Even if he was a sweet young man, he was always surrounded by popular people, who were trying to hook up or use him for his school fame and sharp features.

One day, while studying with your best friend at the library, Sunwoo and one of his friends, Hyunjae, the football captain, burst into the library and come not so quietly to your table.

“For the love of God, can you both be quiet for once?” Soyeon whispered-yelled but her voice got toned down by Sunwoo vividly pressing his lips on hers, an arm wrapping around her shoulders. Hyunjae laughed but quickly gagged as they didn’t stop the kiss as quickly as the captain wished.

“Gosh, please, get a room,” he mumbled before hugging you, your knee resting against his as his arms pressed you against his chest.

Your friendship with Hyunjae felt more like siblings, he was genuinely nice and caring with you, making sure that you were okay and that you had enough of everything before allowing you to go home. Despite all the teasing and a few rumours going around school, you were not dating and didn’t have any romantic feelings for each other. He simply checked that you had an older brother figure since you were the first-born child, and it felt relieving.

The thing you did not know was that Jacob and a few of his basketball teammates, Juyeon, Eric and Younghoon, were a few tables away from yours, your back facing them, the future star looking at you and Hyunjae from the corner of his eyes. He nodded at his friend at your table, who gave him a wink as an answer, Jacob’s eyes burning holes into your back as Hyunjae was close to you. Too close to you for the basketball player not to feel something churn in his stomach.

Two long, manicured fingers snapped in front of his eyes to get him out of his reverie, lazily looking at the girl that sat across from him, who he was supposed to get help from.

“Jacob please, pay attention to meeeeee,” she whined and pouted, giving him puppy eyes that he couldn’t give a single fuck about, too busy in his mind to hear what she had to say.

She had volunteered to help him study History, but she wasn’t any better, probably worse than he was. It was already the third time Juyeon corrected her basic knowledge without being an expert himself, not even caring about the death glares she kept sending him. It only made him smirk as he knew it irked her dearly yet amused the rest of the table a lot.

They all sighed as she finally took the hint and left their table, Jacob bitterly chuckling as Hyunjae rolled his eyes when she walked past your table, his demeanour making you laugh.

╰☆╮

“Bro, do you think I should ask Y/N for help? Isn’t that a bit… lame?” Jacob sat on one of the soccer balls, hands joined and panting as Sunwoo practised his dribbling skills before shooting the ball in the cages, aiming for the up-right corner. He trotted to his friend and collapsed on the grass next to him, the last rays of sunshine offering his skin a wonderful, honey glow. He ruffled his hair after plopping down, checking his phone for any message before answering.

“If you need help, you shouldn’t be afraid to ask her. I mean, she’s super smart in every subject, but she’s just the boss in History. Her presentations are always golden, and she explains things a lot better than some of the teachers.”

“I got Smith as a teacher,” the basketball player grimaced, his left hand holding his right wrist as his gaze wandered in the grass.

“We’ve got Antal, and I can tell you that she’s always mad when Y/N does a presentation because they honestly just sound better than her lessons,” Sunwoo chuckled as Jacob pondered his friend’s words, the gears of his mind working at full speed.

How is he going to be able to approach you and get to talk to you?

╰☆╮

“Bestie, no. I swear I saw that in the other book,” you said as you found yourself back in the library the following week, bending over the table to grab the book your best friend was resting hers on. You started flipping some pages when a loud, masculine chortle followed by some whispers of annoyance drawing your attention.

“Hi, babe! Hi Hyunj- Oh hi Jacob!” your neck almost snapped as you abruptly lifted your head up at the mention of your crush’s name, a small, embarrassed smile making its way on your mouth. You were a bit sad that your brother best friend was not here with Sunwoo, but you weren’t going to complain to have your crush instead.

“Can I sit here?” the basketball player asked in a soft voice while pointing at the empty spot next to you, making you quickly nod and gather your stuff to make him some space.

You resumed searching for the precious paragraph you were searching for your project as if it were nothing, trying to ignore your stammering heart in your chest and the couple eating each other's mouths. The only thing you hoped was that Jacob couldn’t hear the loud, irregular beats in your ribcage because it would give in your attraction to him.

“Hum, Y/N?” the voice next to you made you flinch, surprised that he knew your name and that he said it aloud.

“Y-Yes?” you said, cursing in your head as you stuttered.

“I heard that you were the Ace when it came to History,” Jacob started, and you couldn’t look at him in the eyes, fire spreading in your chest up to your face.

“I can’t really say that I’m the Ace, but I really love that subject, so yeah I have some… knowledge,” words tripped over your tongue, and your best friend pulled away from Sunwoo and scoffed.

“Some knowledge? Are you kidding?” she said, Sunwoo placing a hand on her mouth as she was louder than intended. She removed his palm and furrowed her brows at him, before turning her head back at you with the same angry expression.

“She knows so fucking much that Antal hates her because she feels humiliated compared to Y/N. So let me tell you one thing, Cobbie, if you need help, you’ve come to the right person. Y/N is just a living encyclopaedia,” your best friend proudly smirked as you glowered at her, Sunwoo chuckling at his girlfriend’s behaviour before immediately stopping.

“Wait, did you call him Cobbie? How come you call him like that when I get nothing other than babe or baby?” Sunwoo argued while pouting, and your best friend sighed, ruffling his hair before pressing her lips against his one more time, making you slightly grimace as envy flooded your veins.

You sighed and dared to look at Jacob, who was reading the beginning of your essay written on your computer, leaving Sunwoo and your best friend bicker like the cute couple they were.

“Do you have this project too?” you asked, and he shook his head, eyes remaining glued on the computer screen.

“It’s so interesting what you wrote, I like your way of writing and explaining stuff,” he offered a small smile as he looked at you, clearing his throat. For someone that was super popular and constantly surrounded by friends or people at parties, he behaved and sounded quite like an introvert.

“W-Well, thank you,” you said with a smile and turned your head to the side for a second, taking a deep breath before looking back at him, opening a new tab on your computer after he gestured to you that he was done reading.

“What do you need help with?”

╰☆╮

You were astonished at how quick-minded Jacob was. Behind his fit, muscular appearance and obsession with basketball, he had the soul of a thinker and grasped the knowledge of historical concepts quite easily and rapidly. He just wasn’t good with the way Smith was teaching, the method not suiting him.

“You retain things well for someone who hates History,” you joked, and he shyly smiled, scratching his neck. His smile looked gorgeous, and you were pleasantly surprised at how much of a genuine person he was.

“Well, History is not my cup of tea, but it might be a bit more thanks to you,” he said, and you tried to stifle a smile, thankful that your best friend was no longer sitting across from you because she wouldn’t have let you two live.

“It’s nothing. You can come back to me if you need help, I really don’t mind. I actually like explaining things,” you said, and he nodded, clicking your pen close before placing it in your pouch.

“Thank you, really. Sunwoo was actually the one that told me about you, so I have to thank him as well,” you stood up and slowly started to pack your stuff, shutting down your computer with a smile.

“I’m glad he did so, I just hope it was positive,” you giggled, and he quickly joined you, twirling his pen in between his fingers as he cleared his throat.

“You know, it’s Sunwoo. It can only be nice and positive,” you genuinely smiled at him and fall in silence, throwing glances at each other from time to time as the conversation was slowly starting to die down.

“And... How’s basketball going by the way? Is everything going well?” you asked, and his heart skipped a beat at your question as it took him off guard.

“I-It’s going pretty well, I’m excited to finish high school to be able to focus on basketball. I’m gonna have to take some of my last finals in South Korea because the season and the training start pretty early in Summer so…” his voice trailed as his eyes widened, a hand slapping his mouth as you both stood up.

“What?” you quizzed, confused by his sudden change of behaviour.

“I… was meant to keep this a secret,” his voice trailed, the end of his sentence falling in a whisper as he started panicking. “Can we pretend you didn’t hear what I said?” he asked as you placed your bag strap on your shoulder, taking your sweater before pushing the chair against the table.

“Said what?” you replied with a smile, and Jacob sighed in relief, somehow feeling like his secret was safe with you, even if you’ve talked to him for the first time at the beginning of the afternoon.

╰☆╮

The rest of the month rolled off smoothly, yet the stress and the revisions became more intense as the days went by. You didn’t hear anything back from Jacob, but you’ve caught him staring at you a few times, offering him an awkward wave and a smile as not to get noticed by some of his “fan girls”, as they called themselves.

You still had a whole month left before finals, and you felt blessed as summer decided to start a bit earlier this year. It was only the beginning of May, but you were already able to wear shorts and dresses. It felt good to see the blue sky and being surrounded by the warmth of the sun hitting your exposed skin after the cold, lonely winter and spring you’ve just got out of. Everything looked prettier and warmer, and it did nothing but make you happier and brighter, despite the stress of the finals piling up on your shoulders.

So, to get rid of this pressure, you decided to leave town with Hyunjae and let him drive to one of the lakes that surrounded your town, knowing that the beach and parks would get crowded in no time. It was a place that you used to go to with your parents when you were still a child, memories that you shared with your friend coming back flooding in your mind.

Hyunjae and his family tagged along to give you some company and take care of you as your parents were busy looking after your newborn twin sisters, Hyunjae and his younger brother acting like elder siblings to you.

After driving for a few dozens of minutes, you settled your stuff in the shade, right under a weeping willow that offered you freshness throughout the entire day. Your best friend napped almost the entire time you were there, hand lingering on his abs while the other plucked out some grass until he dozed off, trying to store as many hours of rest as possible before finals. By his side was you, reading a book and enjoying the chilly water to cool down from the hot temperatures of early Summer, playfully nudging the young man next to you each time he was starting to snore.

It’s near the middle of the afternoon that you heard another car pulling up near the lake, a bunch of excited teenagers coming out of a van. You didn’t pay much attention to them, only sighing as your peace was about to get ruined, their screams when they jumped in the water woke your best friend up.

He abruptly sat up next to you and rubbed his eyes, some sleeping marks lingering on his face, making you giggle. Being the short-sighted idiot that he was, he squinted to try and recognise some people, but he didn’t have to.

A young woman screamed and started jumping up and down, waving her arms above her head in your direction, hearing her scream something towards you.

You looked at each other with Hyunjae, confusion painted on your faces, hearing your phone buzz in your small bag hidden by your folded clothes.

“Hello?” you said as Hyunjae’s phone started vibrating too, picking up the call as well.

“Y/N, it’s us! We’re on the opposite side of the lake! Come and join us!” you heard your best friend yell in your ear, hearing her as well through Hyunjae’s phone, who picked up a call from her boyfriend.

“Okay, we’re coming!” you excitingly said as you hung up, waving at your best friend from your spot as you started packing your stuff to get back in the car and meet up with your friends.

Your best friend excitingly jumped in your arms as soon as you got out of the car,

“Tt’s crazy how we’re so connected! Did you also think that the beach would be crowded?” she asked, and you nodded with a smile, happy to see her this joyful to see you.

The inseparable duo was here, as well as Younghoon, Jacob, Eric, Juyeon and Sangyeon, the striker of the football team. They all engulfed you in a tight hug, Jacob staying in the background the entire time.

“Hi Jacob!” you brightly said and wrapped your arms around his neck, hugging him close. “Hi Y/N,” his answer vibrated in his chest and had repercussions in yours, sending your heart flying in your ribcage.

You looked so good being this carefree, it was thankfully a sight that he managed to imprint in his mind despite the shortness of the moment. Being surrounded by all your friends felt so good that you forgot to be awkward and worry about the stupidest things, and Jacob adored seeing you this natural and smiling in the company of your friends. He was a bit sad that he wasn’t fully the reason for your smile though, but he still managed to enjoy the rest of the day with you and your mutual friends, whether you were on the ground or in the water.

Sangyeon, Younghoon and Juyeon copied Hyunjae and joined him in a restoring nap, while Eric, Sunwoo, Jacob, Soyeon and you played different games in the water, improvising a volleyball match with an imaginary net and the ball Sunwoo took with him as the volleyball, but it did the job. It was just a bit hurtful for the liberos since it wasn’t as soft and bouncy as a volleyball, but the joy of the moment allowed any type of pain to become bearable.

The evening eventually started to settle in, and you all got out of the water, drying yourselves before deciding to spend a part of the night here. You helped Sangyeon build a bonfire in the safe area by bringing some different branches, the eldest placing them correctly before lighting them with his pocket lighter.

“Hyung! I didn’t know you were a boy-scout,” Sunwoo exclaimed and made everyone laughed as you all were sliding some marshmallows on a stick, Sangyeon smiling with modesty at everyone.

“Ya, don’t say this,” Sangyeon mumbled, and you smile, rubbing his upper back as he sat down next to you, thanking him when you handed him over his marshmallow stick.

“Oh no! Mine burnt,” Soyeon pouted when she retrieved her snack from the flames, and her boyfriend was quick to give her his sweets, Eric cooing at the gesture of affection.

“Give it to me, I like them burnt,” he mumbled as he bit in the fluffy texture, immediately regretting it as it was boiling. His girlfriend handed him water as he stood up, bouncing up and down to try and reduce what felt like flames in his mouth.

“Oh my, thanks babe,” he muttered with his mouth stuffed when he gulped down everything with a pained expression on his face. Eric’s eyes filled with boredom locked into yours and you both chuckled, your friend shaking his head.

“When is it gonna be my turn,” he huffed and Sunwoo hit him playfully in the back as you all laughed around the bonfire, relating to your friend.

“When you’ll stop being obsessed with football and mango juice,” Eric grunted and folded his arms over his chest as Sangyeon called him out, making you coo and playfully run to him, holding him against you as he fake-cried on your chest while everyone was laughing at him.

Except for Jacob, who only offered a weak smile, but you didn’t catch it, too busy having fun and being light-hearted with your friends.

After your stomachs were filled with sweets and soda, Sunwoo pulled out his guitar and strummed a soft melody until some became heavy-eyed or fell asleep against the other, his girlfriend succumbing to his musical talents first. Jacob looked exhausted as well but forced his eyes open, finding him even hotter with hooded eyelids and his hair slightly curling with the humidity of the air and the lake water.

When it was time to go home, Hyunjae, as well as Younghoon, Sunwoo, Soyeon and Eric decided to jump into Hyunjae’s car to go to the beach, feeling the urge and the thrill of going skinny-dipping. On the other hand, you and the rest of the boys were too exhausted and modest to do this, only wanting to go home and get some good rest.

Just like they had arrived, Sangyeon was behind the wheel while the rest was either next to him or in the back seat. And you didn’t know how it happened, but you got stuck between the window and Jacob, who was struggling to keep his eyes open.

“You good?” you asked, and he turned his head towards you before offering you a tired yet sweet smile, moving his head up and down.

“I'm just exhausted, tonight was simply amazing,” he mumbled, and you expressed your agreement by a happy hum and a nod, bringing your attention to your eldest friend.

“Are you sure you’re awake enough to drive?” you enquired on the current situation and Sangyeon looks at you through the inner rear-view mirror, eyes forming two crescent moons as he smiled.

“I just jumped in the water, I’m nothing but awake,” he clapped in his hands to motivate himself and started the engine, your best friend’s car already gone.

Jacob rested his head against the headrest and closed his eyes, his head rolling to the side each time Sangyeon took a turn. You settled yourself on the window and let the vibrations of the car lull you to sleep, the small talk that Sangyeon and Juyeon were having in the front seats acted like a background noise, which helped you dozing off.

However, when the car pulled up in front of your house, they didn’t expect you to have your head resting against Jacob’s shoulder, his hand on your knee. The two men smiled at each other before Sangyeon got out of the vehicle, drawing the door open. As he was about to carry you to your doorstep, Jacob’s arm was quick to wrap itself around your waist, keeping you close to him.

You woke up confused, blinking a few times as you saw the striker standing next to you with a wide smile on his face. He removed a limb around your body, and you felt someone groan under your right shoulder, noticing in dread that you snuggled up to Jacob for some warmth in your sleep.

“You gotta go before the beast wakes up,” Sangyeon joked and winked as he helped you get out of the car, closing the door behind you. It opened again a few seconds later, Jacob looking just as confused as you were.

“Come on, lovebirds, we don’t have the night.”

“Lovebirds?” Jacob and you asked in unison, the basketball player rubbing his eye with the back of his hand. He jumped out of the van and gestured to Sangyeon to get back in.

“You can go, I live just around the corner,” he drowsily said as he vaguely gestured behind him.

“You sure? Your house is on my way back home, I can drop you off,” Sangyeon suggested but he refused, offering a handshake to the striker before letting him go.

Being more awake now, you waved at your friends driving away before turning to your crush, who looked even more adorable as he was super sleepy and just woke up.

“Are you sure you’re gonna be okay? You look really tired,” you asked, voice still laced with sleep yet sounding caring, which made Jacob’s heartbeat fasten. He nodded and weakly smiled, taking a step closer to you. His attitude was a bolt from the blue as he wrapped his arms around your waist, pulling you to him, nuzzling his face in your neck.

“You felt so warm during the ride, it’s almost like I could get used to this,” he tiredly said with a smile, gently pulling away to stare at you, his fingers leaving your back to come and slide a wild piece of hair behind your ear. Your whole body stiffened at his words as he stared at you in the eyes, noticing a small, washed-out smirk plastered on his face.

“Don’t you think it’s a bit... late to start something with someone? I mean, we have finals and then y-you’re le-leaving for South Korea and-” you started stammering as his thumb gently stroked your cheek, loving watching you lose your composure at his display of affection.

“It’s never too late when you love someone,” he whispered, feeling his warm breath tickling your lips in such a delicious manner that you have to resist the urge to move forward and press your lips against his.

His words punched the air out of your lungs, leaving you breathless as he kissed your cheek, mouth slowly moving to the side until it reached your lips. The kiss was soft yet a bit on the rougher side as if he wanted you to understand every feeling he had for you. Instinctively, your arms wrapped around his shoulders, and you kissed him harder, deeper, his hands on your lower back pulling you flush against him.

You had dreamt, wondered about what it was like kissing Jacob, but it never felt as good as you were experiencing it now. Fireworks and butterflies were erupting in your stomach, leaving you dizzy with love and passion as one of his hands came and cupped your cheek, the pad of his thumb gently caressing the skin.

Once you pulled away for oxygen, you held onto his shoulders for your dear life and he chuckled, his mouth slowly travelling down to your neck.

“I-I think my… my- oh my god, my parents will worry,” you gently pushed him away and he stared at you with a smile before diving in to capture your lips in another soft kiss.

“I'm only letting you go if you're free tomorrow. Let's put that off to tomorrow, shall we?” he asked, and your eyes widened at his suggestion.

“We can go back to the lake if you want, but only if we’re alone,” he said, his hand caressing your cheek while the other was busy stroking your upper back up and down.

“I want to enjoy this with you and you only,” he added, mumbling against your mouth and this time, you’re the one pulling him for a kiss.

“Come and pick me up at 10, then,” you said as you pulled away.

“I’ll be there, I promise,” he answered and started walking towards your house, closing the front gate behind you, waving at him with a smile.

He sent you a flying kiss with a smile and you waved at him one last time before closing the main door of your house behind you, both sighing with a huge smile and warmth painted on your faces.

You peeled the clothes off your skin and went straight to the bathroom to take a shower, shaking your head left to right while chuckling as you recalled what just happened in your last month of high school.

Nothing was making sense, you didn’t know how you got there, but you were happy.

And that’s what mattered the most.

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[maki-my-beloved]

I don't think Mikey will actually die at the end of tr

Like, there is always someone to save in the future, something to change in the past. It's kind of the whole point of the manga.

At first, it was just Hina (and Naoto was colateral, I suppose). Then it was Akkun. And as he spent more time in the past, Takemichi met many new people and made new friends and they were added to the list. He ended up wanting to save everyone (and he's awesome for that, let's not even get talking about how he actually manages to pull through it by will alone)

And many people have died. Takemichi did know about some of their deaths and tried to prevent them, he did his best. But it was not enough. He didn't really know most of them that well and the information he had on their deaths was not enough for him to successfully save them.

After many tries and several traumatic events, he manages to ensure a good future for everyone but one person. We know Takemichi does not give up and of course he goes back to save his friend. I think what really makes the difference here is that Mikey wants to be saved. He wouldn't have been able to travel back if that hadn't been the case.

Mikey is a complex character. I believe there is a tiny bit more about his story that we have yet to find out. He is incredibly strong and also very traumatized. He recognizes his "dark impulses" early on in his life and kind of asks Takemichi for help. He depended a lot on his family and friends to keep him in line, in a way. And then many of them die (in circumstances that he probably blames himself for, even if it is most certainly not his fault) and he finds out that if he keeps the remaining people around, everyone he loves will suffer for staying with him and decides to cut himself off. (And these dark impulses are something he just. Accepts. Embraces. He doesn't fight them, which I think is the reason why this future Mikey is able to shoot Takemichi, while Manila Mikey isn't. Even after killing all of his other friends, he doesn't even take the safety thingy off his gun*)

*Very eloquent description of how guns work, I know

So, why is Mikey different from any of the other characters that died?

Shinchiro: his death happened before 2005 so Takemichi couldn't have tried to save him

Baji: This is the first character Takemichi tries to save. He fails, unfortunately. At the time, he was only working with Naoto, he was alone with his mission in the past. And the information he possessed was not enough for him to successfully stop this death.

*He was able to stop Kazutora's death by talking with Mikey since he had a little bit more detail about his death. He was also able to stop Taiju's death because he had someone to help him in the past (Chifuyu)

Emma: He is unable to save her because he only realizes that he never knew about her future when it's too late. Lack of information

Izana: He knew very little of him and had no information from the future. Takemichi was also distracted from him by other pressing matters like Emma's death and Kisaki.

Kisaki: Also unaware of it. He was planning on killing him anyways (whether he would have actually done it or not, we will never know)

(I think those were all the deceased, please let me know if there are more)

Back to Mikey

He is the reason Toman exists. The leader that goes bad and creates an empire of chaos and despair. Without him, Kisaki wouldn't have been able to kill Hina and make Akkun push Takemichi in front of a train. There would be no story. He also has an unique past, that connects everyone. And his actions and decisions influence the future of all the characters in the story.

We usually forget, but these are all incredibly traumatized children. And Mikey being able to accept help and fight these "dark impulses", getting him a happy ending (as happy as it can be with so many people he loved dead, of course) would be a beautiful way to finish his story (maybe I'm too hopeful, but I want them to be happy).

The whole story seems to have been leading us here (I love that Wakui's writing is so consistent, it seems he planed it all out beforehand).

It's different because Takemichi's relationship with Mikey is different. They are close friends. They trust each other and Mikey knows about the time travelling. And he wants to be saved. He just lost faith in it being possible after hearing about the possible futures and what he would have done in those. He doomed himself by believing he had already lost. Here is when Takemichi comes in. And hopefully, everyone else will follow. This is not something that can be immediately fixed. It's a long process he is going to have to go through. And he will need help and support. (I'm talking about Mikey here, but if you think about it, Takemichi will need it as well)

I think the whole story has been going in the "save Mikey" direction all along. Please Wakui don't kill him it will make me sad

This manga is kind of dark. It does not shy away from ugly themes. But I'm not sure the end is going to be tragic. It might be bitter sweet.

Of course I could be wrong and Mikey could die. Takemichi could die. Maybe both of them. Or any of their friends, as colateral damage, as a way of showing actions have consequences and going back to the past was not a good decision but not necessarily a bad one either. Idk, tr deals with a lot of gray areas.

There is a possibility that they might somehow save other characters like Baji or Emma. I don't think this one is as likely but I would truly love to see it.

Here is a Mikey pic to make up for this long post that might not make sense:

I'm so sorry this is so messy and disorganized but I do not have the attention span to revise it more than once. Just wanted to get this off my mind and see if someone has anything to say

#actually if i had to choose one character to revive from tr #i would choose Shinchiro #if he hadn't died everything would probably be fine #or at leat better #i hope this makes at least some sense #idk just my thoughts #tokyo revengers #tokyo revengers manga #tokyorev #tokyorev spoilers #tokyo revengers izana #tokyo manji gang #mikey deserved better #mikey tokyo revengers #tokyo revengers sano manjiro #manjiro sano #takemicchy best boy #tokyo revengers takemichi #takemichi hanagaki #tokyo revengers emma #tokyo revengers kisaki

[visit-ba-sing-se]

How do you think the story would change if lu ten survived? His death seemed to be the starting point of a lot of major events in the series, so I'm curious as to how they might've changed (for worse or better, if they even happened at all) if he didn't die

Okay so I thought about this a lot and basically came up with 2 alternative universes. Starting point for both is the assumption that if you Ten had not died, Iroh would have continued the siege and emerged victorious, returning to the fire nation as the conqueror of Ba Sing Se (it is very important here that we have to keep in mind that this is not grand master of the white Lotus Iroh. This is “You should visit Ba Sing Se before I burn it to the ground Iroh.) Ozai, on the other hand, sees his chances to become fire lord being vaporised and decides to take action (in the from of poison in Iroh’s tea). From here, there are two alternatives:

1.) Ozai succeeds and becomes fire lord as planned. He still banished Zuko, who only now is accompanied by Lu Ten who refuses to believe the official story behind his fathers death (which was that Iroh had accidentally killed himself by making tea from a poisonous plant)

Zuko is hell bent on finding the avatar, Lu Ten the the older one and experienced soldier kind of acts as his impulse control

Lu Ten gets more and more suspicious about the circumstances of his fathers death, especially after meeting Zhao who drops some hints (since he is Zhao who you really should not entrust with things. Not even if you are fire lord. Especially not if you are fire lord)

It all falls into place for him when Zhao tries to have Zuko killed

This is in fact his “damn maybe the fire nation is not so great” moment

He has another of those moments during the siege on the north, where he sees Zuko who he sees as his little brother nearly killing himself just to please his cruel father

Also during this siege he is able to see all the pain and destruction meanwhile during the Siege on Ba Sing Se he basically just saw the glory for him, his father and his nation

Book 2 would  of course be already more different due to the fact that Ba Sing Se already is fire nation territory but the sub plot for Lu Ten and Zuko would still be two royal fire nation kids learn that imperialism is bad

Lu Ten actually struggles a lot with the image of himself and his father which he has to completely revise but end of book 2 is ready and willing to make up for what he did and all the harm he caused (even though he knows that he never fully could)

He decides to fight the fire nation now openly and asks Zuko to side with him, but Zuko decides to return home with Azula instead

Book three kind of stays the same, Lu Ten escapes to find the masters of the white lotus who he had picked something up about during his travels now more then determined than ever to fight

He eventually helps to free Ba Sing Se (”I cannot make up for what I did here in the past, but I can fight to give these people back their future)

2.) Ozai fails and is found out. He is either executed for his crimes or dies after a dramatic Agni Kai against Iroh. Iroh shows the rest of his family mercy, but of course the kids, especially the fire bending prodigy Azula, are a burden. So he offers them a way to restore their and there fathers honour: bringing him the Avatar 

Of course both would be determined to do so (Zuko also probably still has a scar from when Lu Ten mockingly challenged Azula to an Agni over the same matter. Zuko stepped in for her, not because he did not trust in his sisters skills, but because he knew that Lu Ten had always had a tendency to cheat. His instincts proved to be right)

It would take them a while but they would actually grow closer to each other during their search since Ozai would not be there to push them against each other anymore 

Zuko still tries to protect his younger sister as well as he can (from the knowledge of what their mission truly means, from the people they encounter and the hopelessness that just increases more and more. Prodigy or not, she is his little sister, and some things are bad and can’t be fought with bending, not even lightning) 

Azula on the other hand has sworn to end this mission successfully and afterwards make Zuko the next fire lord instead of Lu Ten 

I feel like under this circumstances their tipping point for “maybe the fire nation sucks” would come quite early, for Zuko it would probably be Zhao blowing up their ship with Azula still on it (”they say we are without honour and they are the honourable ones, but how much honour can a man have who can’t even look the girl he wants to murder in the eye when he does?). For Azula it is when Zuko nearly dies during the siege on the north (he had held onto the mission despite not believing in it any more until then since he knew how much it meant to her and how important it was to have a goal to focus on and a hope to kling to)

Which leads to a very awkward “yeah we were chasing you before but we are just unlearning everything we got indoctrinated with and want to be good now so...can we join your team maybe?” either of the end of book 1 or beginning of book 2 (I feel like they would probably fight everyone before making that announcement. Azula bends lightning into a tree just to use the moment of surprise to talk)

After some back and forth, the gaang accepts them in 

Iroh might not be planning to use Sozin’ comet the way Ozai did but someone still had to kick the fire nation out of the earth kingdom so the quest goes on but I am really unsure on how expect for that Mai and Ty Lee should be involved 

Maybe Iroh can be reasoned with after meeting the actual avatar?Or after seeing his own niece and nephew turning against their own nation so fiercely? Or maybe he just becomes the fire lord he was meant to be after his father and loses all traces of good qualities he had along the way 

 Of course way more theories are of course possible but I found those two quite interesting and I hope you did, too, lovely anon! 

#zuko #azula #iroh #lu ten #avatar #avatar the last airbender #atla #a:tla #atla au #anon love #i got some more amazing asks in my in my box but I really want to do things right #alos full disclosure I struggle with my self esteem a lot rn which makes it hard to put up og content

[sienna-writes]

Butterfly Blood || novel update

chapter three

I initially had a lot of trouble with this chapter. It’s been through about three drafts and it’s still nowhere near perfect, but I’m working on just moving forward with the novel now and am trying to quit obsessing over revising because... it’s unrealistic to expect a first draft to be perfect. 

The first draft of this particular chapter, though, was basically all dialogue, and all very poorly executed dialogue. (Dialogue is absolutely the weakest aspect of my writing but I’m working on it.) On my second attempt at the chapter I initially attempted to create an outline, thinking this would help me find a direction. However, in my next writing session I ended up totally ignoring the outline and just winging it, and the second draft was formed. I really liked the events in the chapter now but still wasn’t happy with some of the individual scenes so I reworked it yesterday morning. The argument between Rowan and Karmen still needed revision  because Karmen’s character within it was totally inconsistent to his usual disposition. So! The final (for now..) draft is a more stripped back, since Karmen is too disassociated to get as angry as he did as quickly as he did, and I think the tension and the build up is a lot better timed and more... muted? It’s less overt, more subtext heavy, and I'm relieved because that is what I had been trying to achieve all along.

Again, it’s not perfect, but it has evolved and it is definitely better than before. 

The chapter is just over 3000 words now, but I am only going to be sharing the main, gritty extract. The other scenes are less exciting, but I also suspect they need the same amount of work till they're even remotely sharable. (I was going through a bad writing slump in this chapter lol.) I really hope you enjoy it? I'm ultimately quite proud of how it turned out in the end :)

excerpt:

[Rowan has missed her GP appointment + her dad uses it as an oppurtunity to also be angry about her slacking in school]

    “I’ve booked another for tomorrow morning. You’ll miss some school, but I figured that’d be an incentive since you don’t seem to care about that anymore.” There is now an edge to his voice that hadn't been there before.

    Rowan visibly flinches, digging her fingernails into the supple skin of her palms. The dents purple then fill with blood. She locks eyes with her father, searching for the reason for his sudden anger. He has struck a nerve and he knows it.

    “Miss Phelps called.”

    She pushes her toes into the dirt, white sneakers now blotted with dust. “Oh.”

    He doesn’t ask for an explanation, simply straightens his back like an ancient scroll unravelling itself and meets her gaze finally. Karmen stands with his chest puffed out and his chin pointed forward. It is apparent that he won't ask her side of things. He’s heard enough, and has his made up his mind about her already.

    Rowan pushes past him to get inside. Karmen doesn’t shift as she squeezes by his statuesque stance. His face twitches like a camera shutter, so fast she can barely believe the change in his expression. She convinces herself it didn’t happen and throws her bag onto the couch, almost tempting another lecture. A tamer one. Something he could murmur through his daydream fog before slipping back into his silence and letting everything remain undiscussed. Like it normally is. Her slipping grades. Her laziness in class. Not writing a single word in an entire school day. Talking back for little to no reason.

    He turns as her rucksack lands, his footsteps looming behind her. Something sharpens the air between them, but she can’t tell what. The elephant is in the room and it is wrecking the place. They watch the destruction mutely, each waiting for the other to intervene and consequently letting the walls crumble into ruin. The old house audibly creaks, it is so quiet. Finally, Karmen speaks. “What’s the matter with you?”

    Rowan runs through all the excuses she can think of. I was dropped as a child. I was a premature baby, so my brain must be under-developed. The content is so easy it feels obsolete. I’m being bullied. I’m just not as smart as you thought, dad, sorry. Teachers are liars and we both should have known this.  “There’s just too much.” She says instead, through gritted teeth, moving into the kitchen. “I can’t focus on school and have to be there for everyone.” It is limp and she knows it. It flops between them weakly like a helpless fish. She takes a glass from the cabinet and closes it softly.

   He consumes the lie like a starved ghost, though. Proving he doesn’t know her. Doesn’t know how absent a friend she has been of late. How she has become her father at school, numb and quiet. How, secretly, she enjoys the façade because people avoid her, don’t ask difficult questions, don’t tackle her with unnecessary comments about her long-lost mother. “Then stop being there.” He says simply.

Rowan scoffs. “I do enough of that at home.” She studies her dad’s face—clenched jaw and squinting eyes—as if it hurts to look at her. “Everyone’s always telling everything how things must be. I must participate, I must be smart not emotional, I must not slack for exams I know I will pass without a glance at my books”—suddenly an urge to twist the knife into his gut overwhelms her, she draws out the moment as she fills the glass with a thread of water from the tap—"I must deal with a stranger for a Dad and a god knows what for a mother. A shrieking banshee? An abusive fugitive? She’s probably become a social worker just to scorn us.”

    He rolls his lips, lowers his gaze and chews on the inside of his cheek, sucking it in. Rowan’s breath catches in her throat. In this moment he looks shockingly hollow. Did she empty him? Wind him with her blows? Spoon out his entrails with an ice cream scoop? Carve him like the roasted corpse of some great beast? Karmen puts two hands on the back of the chair opposite her, clutching it as if he might just fall over. His stare is cold and unsympathetic when he raises it toward her. “Don’t you want to make something of yourself?”

Yes. “What?” She laughs bitterly, placing the tumbler on the counter with a satisfying thud. “Like how you made something of yourself?” There is a terrible moment where he sits in the midst of the cruelty, shrinks into himself as if absorbing it, before his mouth creaks open and he lets out a broken shriek.

“GOD DAMMIT ROWAN!” Rowan flies back, arms sheltering her head instinctively as he reaches for the glass she placed on the counter, spins, and throws it at the wall. One big horrific movement. A cutting arc of his arm through the air and then the shattering. “Are you ever even listening?”

    Millions of glittering fragments of her life laid out before her, encircling her bare feet. She thinks of the sneakers she slipped off at the door, wishing she had them now.  Something about naked feet look so naïve, so vulnerable. Her toes shrink, curling inward. Her breath quickens and her hands begin to tremble. All this broken glass. All these fragments like a lifeline stretched between them. Her eyes blink away tears in different shards, her reflection is fragmented, her features lost and bobbing about as if at sea.

    “Are you, dad?” Rowan asks in an empty voice, staring at him till he flinches. He stares at the glass on the floor in shock.

    “I...” He crouches, sifting through it with his bare, shuddering, and unsure hands. “I don’t know why I did that...”

    Rowan gets a sudden urge to have the last word. Except she doesn’t speak. Her eyes settle on the glass and the idea flourishes like a flame in her mind, burning everything rational, everything he might think. To hell with appropriate. To hell with acceptable. One unsteady step. She expects a crunch or a crackle, but instead there is a damp muffle and squelch. Her spine rattles and her teeth prickle in response. A sunrise in her chest warms her throat but she presses against it with her palms, forcing it down. It is a scorching, molten pain. Third degree burns and all she swallows rays of light till she is drowning, gorging. Slipping through furnace tongue flames. Rowan gags. Bile and acid boils her tongue and the bright, burnt out orb slips into her stomach. She gulp, gulp, gulps every atom of the blaze that consumes her. Till she is heavy. She walks across the broken glass as he yells out. Let there be outrage. Let the sky fall. Its clouds embrace her limbs, draining everything fluid from her, letting her grow limp. Letting her rain. Heavy. As she moves away from the kitchen, she feels her footsteps peeling from the floor, warm and wet. And she is so, so heavy. Then she stumbles, splintered feet unable to keep her up—her legs can no longer hold her and her lava—as the pain erupts within her fierce and sharp and sudden. Flashing its ugly teeth. Catching one last glimpse before her vision goes dark, she sees a red ocean seeping into the living room. How could one body hold so much? Fast and gushing the rapids wash her dregs of consciousness away. It was just a few steps...

soo... yeah. Rowan walks on glass because, oh lord that girl has no impulse controls. 

I'm not going to lie, although it was a pain to get this scene to the stage I have just shared, I think it's one of my favourites in the book so far. I'm proud of how much it's grown. Also, I love me some dramatic descriptions of pain and characters being nasty... :”)

I hope you enjoyed this update! (if you did, reblogs really help me out, but absolutely no pressure <3) I’m also still looking for people to add to the tag list, so if any of this interested you, feel free to send me an ask, message or comment. :)

Tag list under cut (ask to be added or removed):

@alicewestwater @elaz-ivero @coffeeandcalligraphy @hanwatchingmovies @sirfitzroys @chloeswords @nev-953

#butterfly blood #butterfly blood novel #my novel #novel update #novel wip #writing wip #writing #writing project #writing update #chapter update #writer #writeblr #writing process #novel writing #excerpts #novel excerpt #writing excerpt #excerpts from my novel #excerpts from my writing

[concerningwolves]

Hey, I'm generally new to planning out my writing ahead of time. It's basically really hard for me to get my ideas on a page and organize them, as well as develop a solid plot I think people will like. I've finished my world building and I know my characters but I need an outline so I don't end up with something I never finish. Do you have any tips for doing outlines? (I'm really sorry for asking, you're just my favourite writing blog so, your advice is better than others.)

There’s no need to be sorry, Anon, I’m happy to help where I can! (and also went all mushy at “you’re my favourite writing blog”. tysm! x ) 

I am... not The Best at outlining, I must admit. But I am getting better at it, so here’re a few things that are working for me: 

 → Starting vague, getting more detailed later on. 

This one is basically what it says on the tin. I’ll make a loose diagram — sometimes a mindmap, or a weird mess of arrows, or... whatever I’m in the mood for really —and then write with that. I enjoy doing this because it gives me certain milestones, but also leaves me with freedom to alter stuff (I am, at heart, an incorrigible pantser). 

Whenever I encounter a block, I’ll make a miniature outline for that scene or arc and brainstorm a bit before referring back to my original outline to make sure it’ll fit. Sometimes it doesn’t fit but I like what I’ve come up with, so I’ll write it anyway and then fix it during revisions. I just find outlining so much easier when it’s done in vague, nebulous chunks rather than all at once. 

→ Changing with the drafts. 

I always keep that initial diagram for reference because it’s the raw, unrefined inspiration, but I don’t stick to it religiously. I know that for some people the rigid outline is a comfort, but that’s not how it goes for me. I need breathing room. 

My preferred method is to take stock of the plot and any changes it needs once I’ve completed one draft. I’ll then refine the outline a bit and carry on with the next draft, rinsing and repeating until I end up with a solid plot and a very detailed outline to help me through revisions. My writing process goes from “chaotic uncontrolled spill that bursts free from all attempts to outline” to “carefully planned and refined until it ages like fine wine” (I can actually pass for a proper planner at this stage). It feels like levelling-up in a video game which is very cool and makes the writing process even more enjoyable. 

 → Practise! (And start small).

Doing a whole novel with an outline if you’ve never done it before is exhausting work. You’re much better to start off with short stories or fanfic oneshots, using them as a place to figure out your favourite method. I’ve said it already, but it bears repeating — this is only what works for me. And it took me a long time to find a method I liked. Everyone has different ways of thinking, particularly with their writing habits. All the writing advice posts in the world won’t help you unless you a) listen to what your brain wants to do, and b) put those things into practise. 

Good luck with your outlines, Nonny, and don’t beat yourself up if you can’t find a method that works for you right away.

(If anyone else has any more ideas, add them on!)

#writing advice #outlines #writeblr #only queue #Anonymous

[themagiciansreccenter]

The Great Blank Spot: Greywash

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

Tell us about your current project.

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

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

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

What is your current word count?

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

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

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

What was the inspiration for this fic?

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

How do you stay motivated between chapters/stories?

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

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

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

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

Do you typically write ahead or post as you go?

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

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

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

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

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

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

Teaser

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Well," Alice says. "Basically—yes."

There is a long moment of silence.

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

The Great Blank Spot is an in-depth spotlight focusing on the writing process and previewing in-progress fics for our fandom. It is meant to be an organic, ever-evolving feature. Previously interviewed fic writers can reach out to us here, to have a specific work featured. If you’d like to have a work featured but haven’t done the author spotlight, reach out to us to get started. If you have suggestions for questions you’d like to see answered, shoot us an ask!

#the magicians #the magicians rec center #the great blank spot #author spotlight #author spotlight: greywash

[biamondpickaxe]

hey any tips for someone starting to write fanfic? I'm inspired but have no idea where to start or what to do lol

Jeydon’s Official Underqualified Fanfiction Writing Tips - Chock Full of Dry Humor And Brutal Honesty:

First off don’t write on your phone. It fucks up any shred of formatting possible, you have a higher chance of making typos and it’s just all around a bad idea.

Speaking of typos - never upload your work (if you plan on sharing it anywhere) the same day you write it. Write what you can and then take a break. Come back later that day to revise and edit but sleep on it before you publish it so you can read over it with fresh eyes. I don’t always follow my own advice and when I don’t you can tell because there are lots of typos but that’s okay because I am king of the Romans and above grammar.

Or if you want to avoid all that you could just ask someone to beta your fics.

Okay all of that was kind of obvious so now you’ve got to get honest with yourself:

Do you sometimes start projects but never finish them? Are you easily overwhelmed by big loads of work? Do you compare yourself to others a lot? Do you look up to successful fanfic writers?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, don’t try to write a whole multi-chapter fic!! Do not! Start with oneshots because you get used to writing fanfic but you don’t have to develop a plot or anything. And shooting for a 10k+ word fic that’s as good as really experienced writer’s work is just unrealistic. Allow yourself time to grow and improve and don’t be too hard on yourself.

Also if you do plan on putting your fics on the Internet here’s the tiers of the platforms you can upload fanfic onto:

Bottom Tier: fanfiction.net

Nobody really uses this anymore so it’s a safe bet if you don’t want any feedback at all

Mid-Bottom Tier: Wattpad

The bar is set pretty low for Wattpad fics so literally anything goes.

Mid-Top Tier: Tumblr

Tumblr fic writers are slightly more advanced but don’t be intimidated! It’s a really nice community with lots of resources and almost everyone is willing to help you out if you have questions. I was really confused about masterlists for the first like 7 months I wrote fanfic so watch out for the confusing mess that is linking and organizing your fics. (Also writing and linking a multi-chapter fic to Tumblr is fucking painful so I would avoid that personally.)

Top Tier: Archive Of Our Own

I don’t know how to explain it but people on ao3 just have an air of confidence and professionalism about them that’s slightly intimidating. Only my best and most creative works go on ao3. You can upload oneshots here but most people use it to read longer fics.

I know you said you’re feeling inspired but trust me: ✨that won’t last!✨ If you need inspiration, you can search for prompts on Tumblr or try writing fics based off of songs. As cheesy as it sounds, some words are better than no words so don’t let yourself get overwhelmed with word count or word goals.

Also! Generally I advise against comparing your fic stats (notes, hits, kudos, comments etc.) to other people’s fics but let’s be real. We all do it. If you do do it, just note that smut almost always gets more praise and attention than other forms of writing so comparing normal fics to those ones would just be inaccurate as well as disheartening.

Hmm okay that’s all I got for now. Don’t be afraid to ask people to help because I promise feeling a little bit embarrassed about asking someone is nothing compared to the feelings of frustration and confusion you’ll have if you never ask questions. If you want some good references and tips from people who actually know what they’re doing and aren’t total dumbasses like I am, I’d scroll through the blog @phanficsanonymous because they post a bunch of super helpful stuff.

Good luck, Emily! I believe in you!

#askaroni and cheese #coop-the-doop #i'm sorry if this makes no sense my brain is jfhsdkj ya know??

[astromedea]

Times Like These

⚝ Synopsis: A student transfers to Aliraei K’s school and claims to his classmates to be interested in her.

⚝ Genre: romance

⚝ Note! (synopsis needs revision)

<<previous | chapter 2 | next>>

I'm getting nervous each step I near their classroom...

I stopped in front of the door to their classroom. I can hear their voices faintly in the background. They seem to be in the middle of classes with sir. Is it really okay to just stop the lecture...? Nah this is just me wanting to hand out the papers to sir when he gets out.

Okay, Ali. Just knock, open the door, excuse yourself and hand out the papers. Easy. It's also good that sir is in the middle of lecturing because if that's so, he wouldn't have time to chit chat and would probably just tell me to put the papers on the desk. Yes, that's right. Okay. Don't worry now. Here goes nothing...

I knocked the door thrice, I observed immediately how everyone had gone quiet, and I opened the door, peering myself in.

"Um sir? Here are the papers you asked for yesterday." I showed to him the 5 sheets of paper I have on my hand.

"Ah Ali! Thank you, you can put the papers on the table please."

I opened the door fully and head straight to the table. I didn't know what would make me uncomfortable more, the unexpected utter quietness I was receiving from the class right now or the loud bunch of teasing.

Before I could step outside, sir calls out to me once again.

"By the way, Ali, are you feeling better now? Lia said you weren't feeling so good yesterday."

"Ah I'm fine now sir. Lia gave me medicine yesterday and I took a day off in the afternoon to get some rest."

"Oh that's good to hear! Do you think you're available later then? After your classes I mean."

"...I think so." I don't like where this is going.

"That's great then, do you mind if you could tour around one my students in the campus then? He's a transfer student here so he might need a guide to familiarize around the place."

I KNEW IT WASN'T GOING TO BE GOOD.

He pointed at someone in the class with a smile. I tried my best a while ago not to look at anyone in the class but now that sir was pointing, it should mean I had to and so I did.

I looked at where he was pointing at, and it was a guy with equally dark hair and eyes who were looking directly at me. I felt my heart skipped a beat from that little eye contact we had before he broke it up immediately and looked up to sir instead.

"That's Warren, he's what I was referring to. So, is it okay? I can't ask any of my students because after classes, they have to tend to the garden for a clean up."

"Wait we do??"

"Ah no! I had plans today!"

"Sirrrr whyyy ahh"

"Oh sorry, I forgot to mention that to all of you." The class whines more and sir directs his attention to me again. "So, is it okay?"

No it's not sir, definitely not.... *sigh* it's not like I have a choice.

"Yes sir, so after classes? When will it be after classes for them, sir? We might have different after class schedules."

"Ah you guys have the same schedule so it's fine. You're just going to wait for each other. So, who amongst you will go to which building—"

"I'll do it sir." I answered that way too quickly. "Our buildings are a bit far from each other so he might get lost on his way there, so I'll be the one to go here and wait instead."

It would be bad if he went to our building, then people even in my strand would tease the heck out of us.

"Okay, is that fine with you, Warren?"

"Yes, sir."

"Well, that's settled then. Thank you for accepting, Ali. You can go back to your class now."

"No problem, sir. I'll be going now then."

I finally stepped outside and right after I closed the door, I could hear the loud cheers coming from the room. Well at least they weren't like that to my face.

-> -> ->

"No way?? And you accepted?? I knew you'd be interested in him too! Finally my best friend's going to have a boyfriend ahh!"

"Geez why are you guys so eager for me to have one when you guys don't even have one yourselves."

Everyone looked away. It's not like they didn't have one before though. Ke liked someone who was in a different school, they dated for a while but recently they had broken up. Rhie was dating someone before too, the relationship lasted longer than Ke's and by longer, I meant a whole year. They had to break it off because he went to a different country this year. She loved him dearly but even so, she'd still have crushes with random guys now and then. While Pryce had ended his only this summer.

I swear these people are having no luck with relationships this school year.

"*sigh* It's not like what you think. I only accepted because I didn't have a choice. Sir was the one who asked me."

"Well, just good luck with that then. By the way, should we just go on ahead without you after classes?"

"Wow some friends are you... yeah whatever. I can take care of my own."

-> -> ->

As what we've planned, I went straight towards the Arts and Design building. I didn't really mind going here last time since I only have to pass something but now that I'd be here waiting after classes, that just meant that the students here will all be out of their classrooms seeing an unfamiliar face hanging around their building!

Ugh this is such a drag but whatever. I just hope their classes end sooner so we could get this over with—

"Hey."

I looked at my side to see Warren approach me. I don't know if it was just me but he looked a bit uncomfortable.

"Hey, so let's go? Let's start at the left and just go around from there to back here. We could also stop by the gate in the end if you want."

"Ah no, I'm going back here."

"Oh okay." Hmmm. "Let's go then."

Just as we had planned, we went around campus and I told him all of what places are. Although it was after classes already, there were still students around and every time we would walk by them, they'd always turn their heads and look at the unfamiliar student.

"Woah I've never seen him before." "A transferee? His uniform looks like from senior high." "Oh yeah! Arts and Design! I recognize it." "He's a senior then? Oh my gosh he looks so good."

Although their voices would whisper, I could understand exactly what they were saying. I noticed that he didn't seem to mind what the people were saying, huh, must be used to it.

"And this is our building, STEM. You see, it's a bit far from your building." No one's here, right?

"Huh isn't there a nearby clinic here? It's pretty far away, although it's near our building and a couple more. This section of the area still has lots of students, do you guys always have to rush all the way over from here to there?"

Huh, I didn't know that would be any of his concern.

"Well, they are planning to put a clinic actually. It'll be by the faculty building or could also be by this STEM building, I'm not too sure though, if you want the correct info of that, I can contact someone to ask."

"Ah no, that's fine. I was just curious."

"Are you interested in the school's layout?" He is in the arts and design strand so that could be the reason why he was curious.

"Oh uh actually I just noticed. I asked my classmate where the clinic was yesterday so it just brought up in my mind again today."

"Were you sick? Or do you worry to not find any nearby clinics because you're in need of a check up at all times?"

Why am I so curious...?

...Why is she so curious?

"Ahaha... I'll come clean after all. Well I heard from your classmates yesterday that you were sick and was about on their way to go to the clinic right after they passed your group's project. I asked my classmate where the clinic was and seeing as how far it was from your building, I uh... was curious how the students were handled if they were sick yeah! Haha... that's just all there was to it."

"Oh I see." If I didn't know, I would have assumed you were worried about me, what with that expression you have on your face right now. "Well it is a pain for a bunch of students who are in this section to be far away from the clinic but we can manage the difficulties. Sometimes the teachers even help the students with their motorcycles if they were around."

"Hmm okay, that's a bit reassuring to hear."

"So, shall we proceed then?"

"Sure."

🡢 🡢 🡢

"We're near the gates now, the campus isn't too big but it is considered to be spacious. Was the tour tiring for you?"

"No, it's fine."

"Okay, you won't really get lost here if you were to walk around alone. Advice if you did forget where you walked, just follow the path then you'll eventually get back where you came from. You can see from afar where the edges of the paths anyway and the campus is just like one big oval, where the path just wraps around it. So you'll be fine."

"You sound really experienced in touring people. Are you normally the one that tours the new students around the place?"

"Nah believe me when I say this is my first time. I guess I just went in this school for so long that I know what exactly to say right now haha."

"Alright, you're going back to your building, yeah? I'll be going now—"

"Wait!"

"Hm?"

"...I wanted to talk to you about something... Do you mind if I talk to you for a bit?"

...

"Sure, what is it?"

"Oh uh, I was wondering if we could talk about it some place else... I don't want anyone hearing about this this so..."

...

"No problem! It's not too far from here but there should be a vending machine and a place to sit peacefully, we could grab a drink while we're there too."

"O-okay."

"What do you like to drink? My treat for the new student."

"Oh no, it's fine. I'll just buy my own."

"Okay."

I stepped back from the vending machine and waited when he was getting his drink. When he was done buying his, we sat down on the seats that I talked about earlier.

"So um...—"

"Hold on. I have something to say to you as well actually. If you don't mind me asking first."

"? Go ahead."

"You... How did you know my name? You don't actually like me, right?"

⁑ Enjoyed reading? Continue to the next chapter or go back if you missed something here! ⁑

⚝ Ch 1 <- Ch 2 -> Ch 3

⚝ Masterlist