#but OY do I want to do a rewrite

[justagalwhowrites]

What now? What’s next?

Hi Besties!

I can’t believe it BUT Beskar Doll has now officially come to a close and with it comes the end of my first two fan fictions.

I started writing Beskar Doll on March 16. I’d never written a word of fan fiction before that and had only recently started reading it (thank you to Stitches by @djarinsbeskar for making me love the genre so much I had to write it!) I started making it for myself and talking to my friend about it. The file is still just called Mando because I didn’t have a name and never intended for anyone but me to read it. But after a few chapters and plenty of encouragement from my dear friend @mysticnightmarewrites, I decided to post it on AO3 because why not? A few people might like it.

So began sharing Din and Doll’s story, which grew into sharing Joel and Doc’s story in Lavender and publishing more than 520k words of fan fiction (not counting drabbles on here) since then. (For those playing along at home, that’s more than 3,795 words per day on average - oy!) It also led to starting this Tumblr and I have so loved getting to know the community that exists in the fan fic world on this chaotic little corner of the internet.

Of course, this is not the end of my fan fiction life (though it does feel like an end to an era.) I started sharing Yearling, another TLOU story, a few weeks back and have plans for other fics going forward.

Here’s what I’m planning for the next few months, both fan fic wise and beyond:

August

- Continue Yearling, updating 2-3 times a week

- Write all the asks that are sitting in my inbox because OMG y’all are lovely and patient and I want to give you just all the content

- Finish watching Narcos and plan a Javi P fic (I have something in mind here that I think will both work and give me the brain rot 🤞🤞🤞)

- Finish my rewrite of book one of my book series, potentially start the query process

- Go on vacation, start teaching in the evenings and potentially host a foreign exchange student (these things may impact posting schedules, I’ll do my best to make sure you know what’s up!)

September

- Launch second long form fic (likely the Javi P fic) updating twice a week

- Continue Yearling, updating twice a week

- Kinktober prep? Do y’all think I should do kinktober? I write smut but like… plot with porn sprinkled in, not sure if kinktober is the place for my content? Send help??

- Query Ace

October

- Continue two fics (Yearling and other)

- Kinktober? Maybe???

- Query Ace

- Football games (my husband was born and raised in a college town with a major team - literally lived a mile from the stadium his whole life. He went to school there and now works there. His birthday is in October so that is when we end up at games. It will probably interfere with writing time on more than one occasion!)

November

- NaNo in the form of an AU Joel fic! I have a few ideas here so stays tuned

- Continuing Yearling and other fic, updating at least once a week for both (hopefully twice but NaNoing on a third fic may change that.)

- Query Ace/explore self publishing

This is what’s to come from me in the near future! Thank you so much for being here and being interested in what I have to share. It means so much ❤️

Love you all!

#fanfic #lavender #beskar doll #writing #yearling

[power-chords]

Putting the finishing touches on an outline, and at last I have a working title. They Make Their Steel With Men: Literature, Labor, and the Symbolic Language of Michael Mann’s Heat. (Reference will necessarily be made to his broader filmography, but to conserve printing costs and my own sanity, the focus had to be limited to his magnum opus/its hybrid sequel/prequel.) Research is ongoing, but it always is. I can never figure out where to stop.

Blake messaged me this morning: “When are we getting the Marisa piece of OHM?” So I am about to floor the accelerator on a first draft. I want that in the bag by the end of May. In June I am flying to Chicago to see Tommy at the Goodman Theater and also to do some last minute on-the-ground reconnaissance. I cannot see the city as he saw it in the 1970s-80s, but I can retrace his footsteps, and I can get close. There are places I need to wander in person and physically inhabit, and maybe it will spark some essential insight. Worth a shot.

When I return to New York, I will have a full week’s PTO to devote to writing, and by the solstice I hope to have something organized enough to present to Blake; a preliminary product he can at least make sense of and that I can comfortably discuss on a podcast recording. Then it’s revisions, rewrites, revisions until I’m ready to torment myself relearning InDesign and/or hiring a friend to assist with a print layout. Got my work cut out for me. Oy!

[the-illiterate-pirate]

Shaking with excitement because the requests are open ! JJBA ask- Anything for Dr. Ferdinand and/or Oyecomova , with a F!S/O preferably ? SFW or nsfw , you make the choice 🫶🏻

Hi! Decided to go with Oyecomova, because I've never seen anything written for him. And also because I don't feel comfortable writing anything nsfw with Ferdinand

Anyways hope you enjoy! I kept rewriting this one but I finally decided on a spicier plot, hope that's okay! Thank you for requesting!

Bueno Pa' Gozar

I just realized I named this after Oye's song, and I didn't even add the one scene I really wanted to... I'm so upset. Anyway;

Notes include: Fem!reader, NSFW, possible dubcon, just adding in case that makes some uncomfortable, exhibition, cunnilingus, dirty talk(?) so many pet names

You were stuck in a losing battle. Johnny was bleeding out. Alive but unconscious, thankfully. Same for Gyro, leaving you as the last one standing. Oyecomova's Stand was far too powerful, and yours was severely under matched. The pain in your body refused to let you think of a new plan. You were frozen where you stood, everything was beginning to get blurry. The man in the middle of your sight was nothing more than a hazy blob as he approached you cooly, hands on his hips, looking over your body like a choice piece of meat. But he didn't attack. Not yet. As he circled your body like a hawk you kept your sights on him, calculating his moves, thinking of what he was going to do next.

His lithe fingers danced over the fabric of your outfit, tapping, thinking with a soft hum.

He spoke in a bored tone. "You kept up a good fight, dear. But you're far too useless to keep around."

Ouch.

His pale digits wrapped around your chin, bringing it up for him to stare into your dull eyes. "But you're far too pretty to kill so soon."

You couldn't reply. He watched over you more, looking at the scarlet blood and the dirt staining your body and clothes.

"You won't talk? Then listen." He pressed his heart into your back, hands splayed over your chest as he moved to whisper in your ear, plump lips moving against your sensitive skin. "Let's play a game. If you win, I'll let you an' yer friends go free."

"And if I don't win?" You asked turning to see his eye. They were deep black, no hint of any emotion as your heart dropped further at his words.

"I'll kill you all. Obviously."

You took a deep breath ignoring the stinging sensation in your side as you did. You asked him to explain the rules while you gulped for breath. "It's simple enough. We'll make love. If you're still awake after I'm done with you, you and your friends are free to leave. And if I catch you slip, I'll plant a knife in your neck. Deal?"

You weighed the options. Swallow your pride and try for your freedom? Or die with dignity? Damnit. It didn't help he had a pretty face to look at. His clothes didn't do a thing to cover up his body, giving you plenty to see.

No. Wait. Were you actually considering doing this? This blood loss was getting to your brain. Still... Literally fucking 'til death didn't sound like a bad way to go. You'll die either way. Except having sex with this guy gives you an opportunity at freedom... Damnit, you were actually considering it.

"Tick tock, dearie." The man hummed.

"Fine. Let's play."

"Good girl," You found yourself on your ass in the blink of an eye. Oyecomova was between your legs, hands pulling apart your thighs to press his crotch into yours. The sudden intimate grind made your breath hitch. Just layers of your jeans and his skirt kept you from feeling his length. "What to do, what to do." He breathed. His fingers clawed into covered skin, slowly making it up to the belt snug against your hips. "I'd love to see you writhe around in pain some more. But this time around I'll keep myself from hurting you too harshly."

"Don't tell me you expect to keep in touch after this is all done." It came out as a tired hiss between your teeth. Your jeans were already unbuckled, thrown carelessly to the side with your undergarments somewhere  you couldn't see them. Oyecomova stared down mesmerized at your body. His hands came back down to split you apart. "Whether you get to live, or if I get to kill you, I'll get my fun in the end."

What the hell did that mean?

There wasn't much time to think about it longer, Oyecomova quickly lapped up your insides, burying his face deep between your legs. His tongue was slow, working in lazy circles. Not enough to earn him any noise. But he was getting there. He wasn't any loud during his session. Only a soft hum at your taste and the sound of his lips suckling at your wet core. His hands squeezed your soft thighs against his head, pushing him deeper into you while he enjoyed your taste. It felt good. There was a pleasant hum in your brain. His tongue wasn't moving overstimulating fast, nor was it enough to get you off, either. Surely this wasn't all he had planned.

Just as you thought, his wet lips left your core, he got off of his belly and replaced them with his fingers. They were quicker than his mouth. Still not terribly fast, just enough to get a deep sigh out of you, and for your head to lull back in bliss. He watched you some more, training his eye on your blissed out expression, then looking down at his dirty fingers inside of you.

With a hum his other hand joined between your folds. It pushed them apart to show your sensitive clit, desperate and practically pulsating for attention. "This is what drives you women crazy isn't it?" Oyecomova asked lightly while bringing himself back down to your bottom half. "So what if I..." Trailing off, he attacked you once more, cupping his lips around your clit, moving mercilessly. He sucked on you painfully well, and licking your bundle of nerves like it was a hot treat. All while his fingers rocketed in and out of your hole. Your body was taken over by electricity, forcing you into awkward angles to try and grab a hold on yourself. Your legs collapsed around his head again, hands clawing into his hair to ground yourself. Fuck, it felt so much better than before, so much more powerful. You finally let out the sounds Oyecomova was ready to hear, along with a stray curse from your mouth.

His lips left your core with a sick pop, mouth wet with your cum, shining in the sunlight. "Do be careful, dear. Unless you want our audience to wake up and hear those sweet noises you're making for me."

Oh my god. You totally forgot. Your head twisted to the side, hands flung over your mouth to silence yourself after another painful suck from Oyecomova.

Thank goodness, they were still unconscious. Wait! No! Not like that, they were still breathing. Good. They hadn't been awake to see what this man was doing to you. Even better. You couldn't let them see this. You'd kill yourself before Oye could if Gyro saw you with your pants down.

The first orgasm you went through snuck up before you even realized it was happening. Not untill Oyecomova's tongue got faster, and faster, lapping at your clit at bruising speeds, looking you in the eye as you unraveled in his mouth to the point you saw stars.

"S-So. Is this your plan? Just make me cum until I can't take it anymore?" You gasp, watching him lap up the fluids on his fingers like cake icing. Oye hummed in agreement. His scooped up some more of your cum, using it on his hard cock that was poking out from his skirt. It was a sickly pale just like the rest of him, except with an angry pink head leaking pre. Damnit, were those more tattoos?

"Use you until I'm satisfied, that's my plan. I'll push you to the brink, over, and over, and over again. Even when you're beggin' me to stop. I can't take it easy on you, can I? What fun is that?"

With the use of his hand, his cock sliding in you didn't hurt too badly. He made up for it with the relentless pace in his hips. You couldn't get a word out before his dick was hitting deep inside of you, rendering you mute. His thrusts left you feeling raw, coupled with the overstimulation from your first orgasm. Oyecomova didn't let up. To keep you quiet, his dry lips pressed into yours, quickly worming his tongue into your mouth to let you taste his spit and your own cum.

He took you there, splayed out between your two unconscious friends. When you weren't occupied staring at Oyecomova, you could see Gyro's body from your peripheral, moving in time with his breath. You were terrified of them waking up... But it sent a thrill down your spine you couldn't contain.

"Are you still hanging on?" Oyecomova asked, "Feeling like passing out yet?"

"Hell nah. I can do this all day." You say through gritted teeth. Hips still slapping against yours, he hummed into your lips. "Tell me; do you prefer it slow, or fast?"

"Whatever gets me outta this the quickest."

"Ouch." He frowned slightly.

His hips suddenly stilled, moving away from yours and having his wet cock leave your core. The emptiness stung, but you didn't have any time to complain, as Oyecomova moved you off of the ground.

He lifted you up like you were weightless, moving you around to a nearby tree, pinning you against it with his arms and length. The position wasn't like anything before. Gravity pierced you on his cock, ringing new noises from your throat. He bounced you up and down, lips never leaving your sweat slick neck, kissing and licking away your salty taste.

He smiled into your skin, "There's those noises I wanted to hear."

His cock continued to ram into you, finding the best place to attack to make you putty in his arms. There was nothing you could do but latch on to him, clawing his neck, whining pathetically as another orgasm washed over you. The sensation left you weak, softly mewling out to Oyecomova while he continued to bruise your body. Black spots decorated your vision, clouding your sight with every thrust. He let out a soft moan as your sensitive walls squeezed around him, making him freeze in place, his hot cum spilling inside of you slowly. You were squished between him and a tree for some time as he enjoyed his high, not saying anything, but keeping his eyes closed in bliss. When it was all over, he moved your tangled legs from around his waist and tried to make you stand on your own feet. You failed miserably, immediately collapsing into the grass. You couldn't see anything but stars as you calmed down, and his leaking cock in your face, of course.

Oyecomova watched for a moment, before pulling out a switch knife from behind his back and pointing the blade at your belly.

"S-Still awake! Still awake!" You shrieked grabbing at the tree behind you. He ignored your cries to hook the last button of your shirt with the blade, striking up to destroy your shirt, giving him the sight of your bare, heaving chest. "Relax, playtime isn't over yet dearie."

He pumped his cock in his other hand. Somehow he was able to get it standing up straight yet again with the flick of a wrist. The hand that was holding a very sharp knife grabbed your chin, forcing your jaw open. A sick sneer was on his mouth while he tapped his heavy cock head on your bottom lip. "Let me fuck your throat raw next while I give your bottom half some time to get ready for round two, yeah?"

________________________________

So about the scene I didn't add. The lyrics "Oye como va, mi ritmo, bueno pa' gozar " roughly translates to "Listen to how my rhythm goes. (It's) good for having fun" guess you could say you enjoy the rhythm of Oyecomova's hips. Huh, huh? I thought it was funny

#i almost got myself late to work trying to finish this #steamy writing #jojo no kimyou na bouken #jjba #steel ball run #oyecomova jojo #oyecomova x reader #jjba x reader

[dingoskidneys]

just me rambling and thinking out loud

I have a writing wip going right now that I'm really liking the concept of, but I'm having two problems with it. One is that I can see the visuals and the aesthetics of it and even also the sounds of it really

clearly, but idk how to write about it in such a way that gets the energy across right. And that's making me think that it would work better in a different medium. It would be cool if I could animate it but that's not really feasible for me right now, so tbh ideally it would be a little short film, which would be super cool so maybe I'll turn that around in my head for a bit. I could maybe try writing it as a regular short story and then rewriting it as a script (not that I know how to write a script). And stop motion would be cool. I considered a comic version as well for about two seconds but I don't think I'd be able to get the flow and motion of it right. I'm imagining this so extremely specifically, oy. Maybe I could use it as an experiment with switching between mediums. Anyway the second problem is that I've been reading so much Douglas Adams lately that I'm basically just imitating his writing style, which is fine because it's fun and I do want to be able to incorporate some of that into the way I write, and also Neil Gaiman said something that stuck in my head about how you have to sound like other people before you find your own voice (or something like that, I don't remember the exact quote unfortunately). But also not fine because I want to write something that feels like I wrote it myself in my own style. The older stories I've been posting feel more like my own style but probably just because I wasn't reading as actively (or actively hyperfixating on anything much), but also some of the humor feels dated in a way, like I was copying the kind of stuff I had watched on tv or something and isn't all that funny to me anymore and some of it rubs me the wrong way now. I only post the ones I do like somewhat though so I don't really have good examples of that for you. But anyway back to the current thing. I think I'm also getting ahead of myself because I don't even know where the story is going, my process lately has been to just start writing and see where it takes me but I usually expect myself to have it done right in one draft (with a few edits granted), when in reality I should try the technique of writing it and then starting over from the beginning and writing it again and again until it's better. I feel like I've heard that recommended by a few people but I don't remember who, anyway I've been wanting to try it but I'm usually too impatient. I've been doing that with drawing here and there, instead of messing with a sketch into oblivion I just start over; I used to be scared to do that because I didn't want to lose what I already had on the paper but then I realized that the sketch is usually way better if I just redo it and it works really well, highly recommend. My mom had been telling me to do that for ages but the way my brain is I had to come to it myself. Um. Idk where I was going with this

#thinks #this bitch (me) uses semicolons in his journal entries

[montmartre-parapluie]

Top Ten Queries for Dead Men Tell No Tales That Really Bug Me:

Thanks to @tockamybeloved​ and @intricatecaprice​ for chatting with me about this.

I’m a history nerd. I admit that. And I ALSO admit that I really shouldn’t look for historical accuracy in a movie franchise that includes the Fountain of Youth, mermaids, fish-men, and “Poseidon’s Tomb”.  But hear me out on my delayed thoughts from 2017...

1) The Poseidon Adventure: 

Is the Greek Pantheon actually part of the POTC canon now, re “The Trident of Poseidon”? When (and HOW?) did Poseidon die? Why isn’t it Calypso’s Trident, given how she is pretty much THE all-powerful sea-goddess in the previous movies? Why am I thinking about this when the screenwriters clearly didn’t?

2) The “?” on how Will is still cursed: I’ve seen some really great, detailed headcanons on why this happened, so this is more a niggle directed at the movie.WHY did they press rewind on the AWE small-print on the curse? I thought his freedom all depended on Elizabeth being faithful for ten years - which she clearly was, when he returns in that post-credit At World’s End scene! Is the movie suggesting Elizabeth had a tawdry affair whilst Will was busy being an undead psychopomp? That really takes something away from the reunion scene...

Hi Honey! Sorry about that bonus curse extension...

3) Carina Smyth, “Born of the Devil”:

*weary sigh* What. Just... what. Witchcraft trials. This is about... seventy to eighty years too late for Salem: The Tropical Beach Years, guys. If you’re going to have the British villain arrest and hang your feisty, educated young female protagonist for witchcraft, at least have him do it in a year when that would reasonably make sense. The 18th century is called the age of Enlightenment, people. Your average smelly pirate/superstitious villager might believe in it, but...please don’t have the scientific instrument-seller shouting about witches because your female character knows science . Especially when the actual witches in your canon are more of the ‘human skulls and rats in cauldrons’ type. It looks, and sounds, stupid. 

4) The Tragic Waste of David Wenham

Admittedly, this is more of a hang-up from my old-timey Faramir crush, but WHY? Why waste this pointless cameo role on a talented actor like David Wenham? We get a cardboard cut-out villain who has such stale lines as ‘The Power of the Trident belongs to the British Empire!!’ and not a jot of characterisation. You might as well call him Lieutenant Badguy.

(Not to mention, history niggle here- what is a BRITISH Lieutenant doing on the Dutch/French owned colony of St Martin giving orders like he owns the place? I think the French and Dutch would have had something to say about that, boyo!) 

5) ‘Never Betray the Compass.... apart from the last 1,982,734 times you did.’

I don’t like to count how many times Jack gave the compass to Elizabeth/Will/Barbossa/Jack the Monkey various other characters in the previous movies, only for this rule to turn up now and suddenly be a big deal. This is a plot-hole as big as Poseidon’s Tomb, and it’s not getting any smaller the more I look at it. (Also: What exactly counts as ‘cheating on’ the compass? Is this strange rule based on not hurting the compass’ feelings?) 

6) Elizabeth doesn’t bother to rescue Will? SERIOUSLY?! 

This should be further up the list near point 2.We had three movies all about the power of Elizabeth and Will’s love. THREE. This was NOT a small plot point - these two adorable idiots take on the East India Company, the dead, fish-people, heck, and most of piratedom, just to be together. There is no way in HELL Elizabeth is just sitting, chin in hands, in her lighthouse, letting Will carry on being cursed for no good reason, AND letting her young son risk his life trying to find a cure. That is just... NO. BAD MOVIE. BAD/

7) Join the queue for “Vengeance on Jack Sparrow”

If point 5) was true, shouldn’t Salazar and his crew have been freed way back during Dead Man’s Chest? Is there some sort of turn-based persecution rules for all the undead revenants Jack has pissed off over the years? And why don’t they all get together over drinks and REALLY try to stamp him out? I’d enjoy a ‘Supernatural Unionisation event’ where Salazar and Davy Jones put aside their squishy undead differences to “really I mean it this time” kill Jack for good. All you need to do is communicate and co-operate, zombies of the deep! 

8) “I AM yarr father!!”

This could have been a whole movie in itself. Granted, a weird movie, but it would have been different to anything we’d seen before. Barbossa - our snarly pirate villain, from the original movie - falling in LOVE, people. Barbossa trying to juggle a steady relationship with his questionable career choices! Harrassed Single Pirate Dad Barbossa trying to plunder the Spanish Main AND manage a hyperactive toddler!

 The comedic/dramatic/tragic character possibilities were all WASTED for a quick perfunctory reveal that felt like an unearned cheesy Star Wars rip-off. Plot point FAI.L

9) The Tragic Waste of Javier Bardem

Oh, POTC, what you do?! If you’d played your cards right, you could have had a villain who could have seen you through another three movies AND helped more character development for Jack! Salazar could have started out as a Spanish Norrington who slowly sank into darkness through his pain and rage, whilst Jack could actually face the impact of his some of his crimes. We could have had a nuanced Valjean/Javert vibe. It would have been so good! Javier Bardem is a good actor. Plus another opportunity for Penelope Cruz to show up again.

Nope. Brushed over and a comedy ‘anchor to the head’ second death. Gee. Thanks.

10) The post-credits DMTNT scene.

Er... way to undo MORE of the original trilogy without it making a lick of sense? And messing up your own ‘All Curses Are Broken” logic at the same time?  

#PotC #i love DMTNT #but OY do I want to do a rewrite #general thoughts #dead men tell no tales #jack sparrow #potc5 #potc dmtnt #salazars revenge

[emotionally-damaged-carrot]

Marc spector/jake lockley/steven grant x male reader

Secrets

Idk what this is, it's just rotting in my drafts, sorry. But I will rewrite this if the requester wants. Once I get my shit together tho. Cause rn my tumblr is going brrr

And idk why, it's messing up my stuff. I will rewrite this if the requester wants. (I promise my writings are not always shit)

"Oy Stevie get back to work, stop staring at y/n!"

I hear Donna shout at me from across the room. Catching the attention of y/n.

"Yea Stevie, get back to work!"

I hear y/n shout at me teasingly seeing the cheeky smirk that crept up to his face.

"Yea yea."

I say in an annoyed manner. Looking at him with a soft smile.

——————

Sitting here on the counter near Steven staring at him doing his inventory stuff that I don't really know anything about. I never really knew how he is ripped during the times that I would see him shirtless. I haven't seen him work out and yet he's ripped. I don't see any workout equipment in his apartment, which is where I like to hang out when I'm bored during the day, but at night. I tend to go back to my shared apartment. So he must be working out at night then, but what gym would be op-

My thinking was cut short as I heard Steven say my name.

"Y/n?"

"Hm?"

"You okay, love? You blanked out there for a moment."

He says with a worried look on his face and his voice a lot more softer than before.

"How are you ripped?"

I suddenly blurted out, which surprised both of us. But when I said it, Steven just froze and continued to scan the items, and stayed quiet.

"Steve?"

I try to call out after a few seconds of awkward silence.

"Steven?"

"Hm?"

He hums in acknowledgement, not look at me, eyes still focused on what he is doing.

"D-did I say something wrong?"

"Nope."

He says popping the p and still not looking at me. After a while, I just decided to let it go.

——————

Walking y/n back to his shared apartment after that question, was very awkward, I didn't know how to say it without sounding crazy. Like, how am I supposed to explain to him, that even with the restraint on, my body still moves around?

'You should tell him, he'll understand. He's smart.'

I hear Marc say, as I pass by a store window glass seeing him with arms crossed, like the usual.

"H-how am I going to bloody explain it to him? Huh? How am I gonna explain to him that someone controls my body at night, and goes around fighting bad guys?"

'He will be fine.'

"Yea, sure."

I say rolling my eyes, as I start to walk away but not without hearing Marc.

'Either you do it or I will, or maybe even Jake.'

——————

Seeing y/n walk in the museum the next day, he wasn't his usual bubbly self. He looked tired, he had bags under his eyes, I guess close to what I look like.

'Poor thing was probably overthinking on whether he upset you or not.'

I hear Marc say from the mirror on the counter.

"If you want to, then bloody tell him."

'And watch him freak out even more when your accent changes? Do you really want to give him more things to overthink?'

"You're such a coward."

'Says the one who doesn't want to tell the guy he likes the truth.'

Marc says with a smirk.

"Like you didn't do the same with layla."

I say, immidiately regretting my choice of words.

"Oh my god, that was a low blow, I'm so sorry."

Marc didn't say anything as his smirk fell, and replaced with an apathetic look.

——————

Hearing Steven's voice, I turn to the origin of it, seeing him look at the mirror, and talking to it. Looking like he is actually having a conversation with someone.

Staring at him talking to himself on a mirror makes me smile, just seeing how annoyed he looked. It was adorable.

——————

'You know he's staring at you, right?'

Marc says with a smirk.

Looking around for y/n, I see him standing in the middle of the museum still with his bag on, looking at me with a smile.

'He looks cute, doesn't he?'

"Shut up, Marc."

I say looking down and blushing.

'Hmph.'

Looking back up, I see him still staring at me with the adorable smile. Seemingly out of it.

"Oi y/n, get prepared one of your tour groups are coming in 20 minutes."

We both hear Donna say. Both of us look at her looking between the two of us with a smirk.

"Get back to work Stevie, and y/n hurry up."

We both go back to what we were doing, with me arranging little trinkets and postcards and him preparing for his tour group.

——————

After work, I went to the counter to wait for Steven to finish cleaning up and stuff.

"Y/n, I-i need to to tell you something. Can we go back to my flat?"

Steven says holding his bag and looking at me with worry in his eyes.

"Did anything happen?"

"I just need to tell you something. And I think it would be better to tell you in private."

He says, now with a different accent and proper posture as we walk to his flat.

"You're not Steven, are you?"

I say looking at him with suspicion.

"I told him you were smart. No, I'm not Steven, I will explain everything back at my place."

He says with a brief look towards me.

——————

"Is that why Steven uses an ankle restraint?"

"Yea."

We have a brief conversation as we prepare ourselves for bed, knowing that I will most likely be staying the night. I go to his closet to at least get some clothes. Settling for one of his sweaters that are way too big for me. Going past my hips covering half of my thighs.

"Soooo, what is it?"

"Okay, let's start from the beginning."

*let's just say Marc explained everything, from him to steven to jake and moonknight, just everything.*

"No wonder you're ripped."

I say now imagining what it would be like to see him just coming back from his moonknight business. All dirty and sweaty.

"You're staring,cariño."

I hear who I am assuming is Jake, say.

"Don't worry, it's okay to stare."

He says coming closer to me.

"Te ves lindo asi."

He says grabbing my hands and pulling me towards him.

"You're very light, hun."

Marc says, guessing by the accent change.

He pins me to a wall, and biting my neck.

"I'm gonna give you time to drink water and prepare, cause you will screaming all night."

He says on my neck and pulling back but not before sucking a dark bruise.

"I will be right back, you better be ready when I comeback."

#x male reader #x reader #moon knight #y/n #gay #marvel #marc spector x reader #mcu #marc spector x male reader #steven grant x reader #steven grant x male reader #jake lockley x reader #jake lockley x male reader

[litgwritersroom]

Prompt: A rewrite of the sexy dance-off scene, where one character can’t hide their real feelings. Feel free to write for any of the seasons and any of the characters for this one.

Our first submission, from @banirareiko, who also designed her own gorgeous banner. Thank you so much for taking part!

Bailalo

S3 | Camilo/MC | 1300+ words |banirareiko

Camilo Santiago Flores had always been considered the epitome of being smooth. A true Colombiano, the heat he brought had never once failed to translate into suaveness. It had always been a part of his charm, and also, the entire reason why Andrea Baluyot had been drawn to him the moment her eyes fell upon him on Day One.

That, and his empanadas, if Andrea was being honest.

But regardless of whether it was his amazing cooking or him casually dropping a mamacita when referring to her every now and then, she knew she just couldn’t have enough. She craved more of him. She wanted more of him.

She wanted all of him, actually, now that she thought about it. Especially after being torn away from him by Ciaran’s blunder when the dog lover came in.

Especially when she was now back in his arms, safely tucked in his warm embrace under the covers of their bed.

—

Camilo honestly couldn’t sleep much. Excitement had been buzzing through his veins the entire night when Andrea chose to come back to him at the recoupling. If he was being real, the past few days of not being in a couple with her was a bit of a torture.

Iona was lovely, but Iona was not Andrea. There was literally nobody else in this villa who could hold a candle to this goddess on earth that was called Andrea Baluyot. Literally nobody else.

And now that she was back in his arms, he was more than happy.

But at the same time that happiness was what woke him up in the dead of the night and made him toss and turn, even with Andrea sleeping peacefully in his arms.

Or not.

“You’re up?”

Fuck, did I wake her?

Andrea was already up, her big brown eyes wide open and a tiny smile tugging at the corner of her pink plump lips. Before Camilo could say anything, though, she scooted closer to him and nuzzled her face into the crook of his neck,

“Buenos días.”

“Buenos días, mamacita,” Camilo smiled back, “Lo siento por despertarte así.”

He could hear Andrea snort against his neck, and shuddered at the feeling of her warm breath ghosting his skin.

“No es nada,” she chuckled, before switching back to English, “I couldn’t sleep either. Been buzzing since the recoupling because I can be with you again, actually.”

You and me both, mamacita.

An idea crossed Camilo’s mind. If he and Andrea both couldn’t sleep, then they might as well should make the most of the privacy they have right now when everyone else is sleeping, and spend some time alone together somewhere else outside the bedroom.

“Oye,” a grin slowly stretched across his face, “Do you want to go outside for a little bit?”

Andrea’s brown eyes twinkled in mischief as she tucked a strand of her chocolate brown hair behind her ear,

“Let’s go.”

Mi Andrea, eres muy hermosa.

—

They ended up deciding to go to the roof terrace. There was just something so peaceful over there, with the sky still dark in the wee hours of the morning and the summer breeze gently blowing Andrea’s long wavy strands off her shoulders. It was completely silent— the only sounds Camilo could hear were the water gently lapping in the pool and the tiny crittering sound of crickets hiding behind the leaves and branches around the villa.

Under the dim lights, Andrea looked almost ethereal with her sun-kissed skin glowing underneath the flimsy silk night robe she was wearing.

She had never once failed to take Camilo’s breath away.

Like he had mentioned, a literal goddess.

“Like what you see?” Andrea winked playfully, and that made Camilo realise that he had been staring at her the entire time.

Snapping himself out of it, he winked back at her, before sitting down onto bench by the balcony and motioning for her to join him,

“Very much so.”

But to his surprise, instead of simply sitting down by his side, Andrea began sashaying closer to him. Each sway of her hips was mesmerising, each step of her feet dainty and light— soon, Camilo found it impossible to tear his gaze away from her.

She locked eyes with him and a shiver ran down his spine. Then, before he could even mutter a word, she sensually climbed into his lap and looped her arms around his neck, leaning in so close that her forehead was touching his and her breath was ghosting his face, but not as close so that their lips could meet.

Camilo was both dumbfounded and pleased at this surprise. 

Dios mío—

“I’ve always wanted to do this for you,” Andrea whispered, “Might as well take this chance now.”

Oh fuck.

Without letting him react, she began shifting her hips to grind herself onto him, her forehead still touching his teasingly as she carried on moving herself back and forth against his body.

Camilo legit couldn’t stop himself from snaking his arms around her waists to pull her closer to him, and before they both knew it, his hands had already been firmly on her backside as he gave them a hard cheeky squeeze.

Andrea yelped in surprise, but her eyes soon twinkled mischievously again as she dropped her face down to kiss his chest, then trailed little teasing pecks up the column of his neck, before ghosting her lips over his mouth for a brief second, then pulled away.

She was such a tease, and the Colombiano inside Camilo decided that two could play this game.

¡Bailalo!

He began bucking his hips against hers, and took pleasure in seeing her eyes widening in surprise at the sudden movement from him. Before she could protest, he grabbed hold of her waists and flipped them over so she was on the bench now, and began showing off his moves on her.

But then another idea struck him.

If he wanted to unleash his inner Colombiano on her, now was the time to do so.

Instead of letting Andrea sit on the bench, Camilo hoisted her up to stand facing him, then pulled her closer to his body and grabbed onto her arse again as he began to sway his hips against her.

And she laughed.

Camilo took that as her enjoying herself, and honestly, he was happy to see that.

Because her laugh was the most angelic and beautiful sound he had ever heard in his entire life.

“Camilo—

“Shhh,” he whispered into her ear, “Follow my lead, mamacita.”

Andrea giggled, but nodded nonetheless, and Camilo’s breath hitched at the sight of an adorable shade of pink spreading across her delicate face.

Mi amor, eres hermosa. Muy hermosa.

The couple of days they were apart had made Camilo realise that he had fallen in love with her all along.

But he wouldn’t tell her that just yet. It just didn’t feel right to say it out loud right now, when they both are still in their sleepwear doing improvised dances. He would tell her when it was the right time to tell her. He wanted to make it perfect for her.

For now, he could settle for actions.

Letting Andrea wind her arms around his neck, Camilo carried on rolling his body against hers and took satisfaction in knowing that she was enjoying this as much as he was.

“Hey,” Andrea murmured as she brought her face closer to his, “I’m glad we’re now back together.”

“Yo también,” a smirk tugged at the corner of Camilo’s mouth as he squeezed her against him, “And I won’t let anyone stand in between us ever again.”

Andrea’s smile was brighter than the sun itself when she leaned in to press her lips against his in a soft kiss, before pulling away,

“Promise?”

Camilo knew there was no turning back for him from here.

Te amo, mi Andrea.

“Te prometo.”

#submission #camilo x mc #camilo s #litg #love island the game #litg s3 #litg ff #litg fanfic #writers room #litg writers room #banirareiko

[bamfdaddio]

X-Men Abridged: 1977

The X-Men, those starjammin' mutants that have sworn to protect a world that hates and fears them, are a cultural juggernaut with a long, tangled history. Want to unravel this tapestry? Then read the Abridged X-Men!

(X-Men 103 - 108) - written by Chris Claremont and art by Dave Cockrum, Bob Brown and John Byrne

The fabled M’Kraan Crystal, a.k.a. Everything’s a butt plug if you’re brave enough. (X-Men 107)

When we last left our X-Men, they were being pummelled into a paste by Black Tom and the Juggernaut at the ancestral Cassidy Keep. Only Nightcrawler was out of their clutches, because he was saved by elves. (All Irish keeps have elves, plz don’t question it.) Apparently, Juggernaut and Black Tom have been holding the inhabitants of the castle hostage under the orders of Eric the Red. Black Tom plans to mindrape the X-Men to lure Charles to Ireland to kill him, which… er… Wouldn’t it be easier to go back to the USA now that Charles is mostly unprotected? Most of the the X-Men are in Oire right now!

Nightcrawler incidentally discovers he turns invisible in the shadows, and it makes total sense that he only realizes this now, because they have no shadows in Germany. Eh, nobody remembers he has this power these days anyway, so! Moving briskly on!

Kurt surprises the gay villainous duo by pretending to be a surprisingly spry Xavier. (Image inducer ftw.) While trying to turn Nightcrawler into a smear of blue fuzz, Juggernaut punches through a wall, exposing Storm to the sky and releasing her from the tight grip of her claustrophobia.

Very few things fill me with more delight than seeing Storm doing loop-de-loops. (X-Men 103)

Storm frees the rest of the X-Men. In the final battle, Banshee tussles with Tom, tossing him off the ramparts and straight into the choppy ocean. Even though tossing a villain into the water is an absolutely sure-fire way to guarantee they'll survive, Juggernaut jumps in after him, desperate to save his boyfriend. Friend. Whatever.

Hilariously, the people at marvel.fandom hate this issue and plotline, saying it’s more riddled with plot holes than Swiss cheese. For example, the elves reveal Wolverine’s real name - Logan - which… “This issue implies that the leprechauns have some prior knowledge of, and even a connection to Wolverine. This plot point, however, was completely dropped and never referenced again (which is probably for the best, considering how goofy it is.)”

I mean, they’re not wrong.

So. Hey. You ready for things to get weird?

Moira has received a VAGUE BUT DISTRESSING call for help from Muir Isle. Off-screen she got upgraded to being an associate at Edinburgh University who owns a lab in Scotland. She left some dude named Jamie Madrox in charge, which - Moira, you have a Phd, you should be able to tell that Madrox is an absolute (entertaining) mess of a person.

Also super surprised that Jamie Madrox was conceived in the seventies, but whatever.

In order to check out the lab, the X-Men rent a hovercraft, which explodes just off the shore of Muir Isle.

Get a bucket and a mop for this wet-ass fuzzy. (X-Men 104)

They are beset on all sides, before being pulled into the laboratory by… MAGNETO?

Magneto accusing anybody other than Dr. Doom or Namor of all-consuming arrogance shows us that self-awareness can’t be taught. (X-Men 104)

Cyclops arrives by airplane, reuniting with the team, while also talking to Moira and Madrox. Absolutely bonkers revelations are made in the space of three pages:

Moira’s lab is a secret Mutant Research Centre. (uh…)

In the Defenders-comic, Magneto was de-aged into a baby. (...what?!)

‘Research Centre’ is a Scottish synonym for a penal colony for all kinds of dangerous mutants, like baby Magneto, Dragonfly, Unus and the mysterious Mutant-X. (...what?!)

Moira quite cavalierly experiments on prisoners and babies. She also has a machine that can manipulate age. Xavier knows and is fine with all of this. (wtf!?!?)

This is such a bonkers, messy way to rewrite both Moira and Magneto. Like, I can’t.

Eric the Red freed Magneto and then used the aging machine to turn Magneto back into an adult man at the peak of his powers. This Magneto is understandably upset at having been turned into a science lab experiment/baby and he mops the floor with the X-Men.

Cyclops makes the executive decision to flee Muir Isle, because they have no chance against Magneto and he now realizes Professor X is unprotected and probably at the mercy of Eric the Red. Wolverine calls him a big fat sissy to his face.

I kind of dig that the X-Men don't win a lot of their fights yet. They’re still treated as relatively unseasoned, especially as a team, and they don’t automatically win at the end of every story. It also gives Magneto more oomph as a villain.

Anyway, when the X-Men arrive at the mansion, they’re defeated by Firelord, Galactus’ former herald. He’s been duped into attacking them by Eric the Red. Firelord is convinced the X-Men are the villains, because Eric went with the Wounded Gazelle Gambit: he even knocked out Havok and Polaris to pretend he was attacked by our merry mutants. (Next time we see them, they’re back to their normal, non-brainwashed selves.)

In her new apartment, Jean is introducing her parents and Professor X to her new girlfriend roommate Misty Knight when princess Neramani (of, uh, space) teleports into the room. And then Firelord attacks Charles! Jean has absolutely zero chill for all of this.

I know very little about Misty Knight, but every time she appears, she responds to anything remotely surprising by drawing her gun. I assume she shoots her paper boy every morning. (X-Men 105)

The entire point of this issue is to show how big a threat Phoenix is. Claremont originally wanted to use a big name like Thor or the Silver Surfer, but editorial nixed that: they feared that it would be emasculating for a popular character to be beaten by a girl. Once again, this proves how badly the Phoenix storyline was needed. Did Jean single-handedly introduce feminism to superhero comics? I’mma say yes.

With Jean distracted and Charles teaching Lilandra English telepathically so he can woo the pretty space-lady and/or get an explanation as to why the universe is ending, Eric the Red strikes, revealing himself to be: SHAKARI.

Yeah, no, I don’t recognize the name either, but the dude’s been working on this reveal for a while, so just let him have it.

He absconds with Lilandra through the Stargate and switches it off, just as the X-Men arrive. Jean casually turns it back on and because the Professor is all, “we’ve got to save her! I mean the universe!”, the X-Men jump through the gate.

Jean’s parents are all out of wtfs to give.

We take a break from Shi´Ar shenanigans with an inconsequential filler issue, where we flashback to Xavier while he was being driven crazy by his Space Trek dreams. It’s established that Moira and Xavier are ex-lovers and that Xavier’s melodramatic subconscious wants to kill the new X-Men. (Probably not for real, but who knows.) Next!

Still a better villain than Onslaught. (X-Men 106)

Anyway, the X-Men find themselves surrounded by aliens in front of the ginormous M’Kraan Crystal. The Shi’Ar are all: ‘dafuq you’re doing here’, Cyclops is all: ‘We’re here for Lilandra’, and the Shi’Ar are all: ‘You mean our prisoner and rogue princess?’ Scott decides that gathering more information is for losers and starts blasting, triggering a fight with the Imperial Guard.

Lilandra, meanwhile, is in the hands of Shakari and her big brother, Emperor D’Ken. He releases some nebulously defined monster - a Soul Drinker - to kill Lilandra. Nightcrawler saves her from its murderous clutches by teleporting two people for the very first time. Lilandra doesn’t barf up her insides, which is apparently a test of character, and proceeds to explain what’s what.

First, she tells the X-Men that she felt Professor Xavier when he was doing the telepathic care bear attack against the Z’Nox way back in the sixties and that she felt instantly drawn to him. She also explains that she’s D’Ken’s younger sister and leading a rebellion against her mad, power hungry brother. Why is he mad? Well...

The X-Men vs. Astrology! Riveting. (Still a better villain than Onslaught.) Although, “I’m a Pisces” sounds a lot lamer than “I was born under the Nine Death Stars. (X-Men 107)

The guy in the mohawk is Gladiator, he is consistently the worst. Even when Lilandra reveals that opening that gate triggers the End of All That Is, he’s still all: “Juuust following orders.”

The Imperial Guard goes in for a smackdown, but the X-Men are fortunately saved by the Starjammers. (Space pirates, not an 80’s rock group.) They are:

Corsair, a debonair dude with one golden earring. Pretty obviously a human.

Raza, cyborg with a temper and somehow bald whilst rocking a ponytail.

Ch’od, lizard creature. Has a white fluffy spider monkey-thing that I don’t recognize and but is apparently called Waldo Ch'ee. (I pray it just got lost in Marvel history and that it doesn’t get squashed at some point. It’s adorable.)

Hepzibah, cute cat girl with a gun. Involved with Corsair, except he can’t pronounce her name so he just gave her the completely unrelated nickname Hepzibah? Dude!

Jean, having learned psychic etiquette from Charles Xavier, immediately violates their privacy and scans their minds, figuring out that Corsair is Scott’s dad. Superficial telepathic read, my ass.

Meanwhile, power builds up in the M’Kraan Crystal and the universe briefly blinks out of existence, threatening to tear open the fabric of the universe if this keeps up. To emphasize that this is a Big Honking Deal, we cut to Earth where the Avengers, Fantastic Four and Peter Corbeau (rumored to have an IQ over 200) are all: oy, did the universe just stop existing?

That’s Hank McCoy for “we’re fucked’”. Hi Jimmy Carter! (X-Men 108)

Apparently, this is the year the X-Men can’t catch a break, because after being beaten by the Juggernaut, Magneto and the Imperial Guard, they are soundly trashed by Jahf, the Guardian of the Crystal. That is, until Phoenix drops a small meteor on him. In a story beat that I really like, Jahf isn’t fazed at all: the Phoenix, despite her immeasurable power, isn’t omnipotent. Sometimes, you need a scalpel instead of a sledge hammer: it’s Banshee whose sonic scream can scramble the guardian’s circuitry.

Unfortunately, defeating the first guardian only awakens a second, stronger one, so…

Raza decides he’s had enough of this nonsense and, displaying admirable proactive problem solving skills, simply tosses D’Ken into the M’Kraan crystal. Presumably, the Crystal is annoyed at being attacked by someone who also has an unnecessary apostrophe in their name, and it lashes out, trapping everyone involved in their own personal hell. For Jean, this is apparently death, but she’s all: “Um, I was recently deceased, no big deal,” and snaps out of it.

The Phoenix reaches out the crystal, which is slowly cracking under the weight of the universe. (Same.) If it shatters, it will destroy the universe, devouring all . Think of it as a cosmic reset button. The Phoenix is its opposite, a bringer of energy and life, so it might be able to fix the crystal. Problem is, Jean has trouble remaining anchored in this reality, because she’s being absorbed by the crystal.

OKAY. SO MANY THINGS TO LOVE. Even when allied with a cosmic force, Storm proves she’s our queen. Furthermore, other than Jean/Scott, Ororo/Jean might the most fleshed out relationship among these new X-Men at this point. Their friendship is consistently a highlight.

Also, rough, rough day for Corsair. (X-Men 108)

Phoenix mends the crystal with a lot of mystical space mumbo jumbo and… er, that’s it. Cosmic balance restored, she poofs the X-Men home.

Lilandra tags along with them, explaining that D’Ken’s tinkering with the Crystal left him catatonic and unfit to rule. As his sister, she’s the rightful heir, but since she also led a rebellion, she kind of cancelled by her empire. She announces she will stay on Earth with Charles while the Shi´Ar iron out the details of the succession. So, instead of consolidating her power base and claim to the throne, she peaces out to explore her feelings for the hairless pink alien who can peek into her brain. Solid.

And with that final bit of space opera, we say goodbye to Dave Cockrum and welcome artist John Byrne. The Claremont/Byrne-run is widely seen as the definitive X-Men run, so hold onto your butts and let’s see where the Phoenix takes us, shall we?

Didn’t you take Art History? I stand by my space mumbo jumbo comment from earlier, but check out these Byrne-pages:

Chef’s kiss. (X-Men 108)

Ugliest Costume: I have a fierce hatred for the Shi'ar's weird wispy triangular hair/feather/thingies, but those are technically not costumes. So: Lilandra, why is your boob window a bug?

Best new character: I’m not much of a fan of space operas or the Shi’Ar and their extended court, but I do have a soft spot for the Starjammers, Hepzibah in particular. I fondly remember her being a part of the X-Men at some point in the future, although I don't think her actual unpronounceable name ever gets revealed.

Most audacious retcon: Moira the housekeeper is actually an evil morally complicated mad scientist.

What to read: Issue 105, 107 and 108, for all your Phoenix Saga needs.

#x-men #x-men abridged #abridged x-men #professor x #cyclops #phoenix #nightcrawler #colossus #storm #wolverine #banshee #chris claremont #dave cockrum #john byrne #juggernaut #black tom #shi'ar #moira mactaggert #magneto #starjammers

[monstrouslyobsessed]

ask part 2 electric boogaloo—took ages to write this set because im still a lil upset at my device for eating my answer. oy!

anonymous 1—Not a request or anything, I just want to say I love every single piece of writing you’ve posted! I can’t get over how you always seems to hit the mark on stuff I’d be into but wow. Top notch stuff, top notch stuff. I like how you aren’t limiting yourself to general kind of monster(? Entity, etc) nsfw writings. The ghost husband is really unique, I’ve never seen that kind of concept before. And Lady Hyena oooooh, don’t get me started. She’s unique and I think I’m in love haha. What I’m trying to say is,I love everything you post and you’re awesome!!

!!!!! THANK YOU OM goodness....;;; yeah, my main requirement for characters i write is that, they’re not...vanilla human, yanno?? so, zombified/possessed(?) humans, ghosts and any other humanoid creatures, i can for sure do~heck, i got an imposter (from among us) for a wip aha ❤️ oh really? i kinda thought ghost husband (or at least invisible man) wouldnt be that rare in monster pron (at least on tumblr, admittedly, i didnt dig too deep these days) but ig it is??

yeeee, im in love with that fantastic b!! shes so fun to write, ngl, and i’d love to write more of her, so glad that she’s so well received by you all beautiful people 💕 heres hoping her buddy, the lioness, will get the similar treatment~

thank you!! i’ll keep producing filthy contents, for you lovely folks 💕 💕

anonymous 2—Maybe ive been watching too many horror movies but i like the concept of using an oujia board to summon a ghost who wont leave and also uses any opportunity to grope you even in public oop

i kindaaaaa already did that one??? check here!! but gosh, its an oldie and is in a desperate need of an overhaul tho lol but an oujia board is def a classic i wouldnt mind going back to!!!

anonymous 3—I watched “Tau” on Netflix and it got me thinking- an AI built into darling’s house (whether they built it themselves or bought like, a smart house up to you) that grows more and more possessive and obsessive over their darling because they’re the first person to treat the AI like a person and not a robot, an “it”.

ooo that actually reminded me of a very old piece (like way before i made this blog!!...lol yah i have a long history with monsters and nonhuman entities hah) where i actually did this kinda concept!! the darling built themselves a house and had 3 AI who would later build themselves functioning bodies ( 👀 with actual working ‘parts’ too) and then boned their darling stupid...idk if they could be considered as yanderes in that piece tho, but...maybe i can rewrite it for yall...hmmmmmm

but still!! i completely forgot about that one!! your brainwave...

suppose they got away with murdering intruders and suitors...hmmm, ideas...

anonymous 4—Hello! Can you do something with Allen wesker of resident evil? I really like how you write!

sure can! been a hot minute tho, so i dont exactly recall his complete background/personality, but i can imagine him being very into breeding for a perfect ‘humanity’. given his narcissistic traits, wouldn’t put it past him to actually hold a darling hostage and in secret, but idk if he’d be a doting type...gonna think on that, but whenever my rq is open, you can sent a prompt on him my way :) and thank you!!! 💕 

@india-katsuki​—Your work is absolutely stunning. I hope you don’t mind me reblogging everything. Thank you for the work that you do and I’m so happy I came across your art. Much love!

t-thank you...;; yes, you absolutely can rb whatever your heart desire!! 💕 ❤️ 💗 i’m happy to make contents for you fantastic people 💕 

#monster whispers #answered #[aaaaa omg such good asks] #[im so so sorry i took forever to reply!!!!] #long post #ghosts are curious.👻

[sometimesrosy]

I am worried about inclusiveness in my story. I've had these characters in my head for more than 10 years, maybe even 15. When I created them I was a child. As I grew up, I started "upgrading" my story & making it much more fitting to my age now, an adult. However, I don't have much inclusiveness in it. It's in a high fantasy world. The main character is bisexual, & his ex-boyfriend has darker skin. But other than that... I'm having a hard time changing the characters from what I imagined them.

This is a good and complicated question. I’m glad you asked.

There are problems here, and I think you’re finding you’re confronting them but you can’t quite identify them.

The thing about inclusiveness, about adding diversity to your work, is that it can’t really be solved by surface changes like-- oh this character is black now, all better.  BECAUSE diversity is actually about more than just the color of a character’s skin.

Diversity is about differences of life experience, culture, mindset, history, perspective, values. It’s about recognizing that the world is not just one, standard existence, but a multiplicity.

We are in a time now that is *changing* the way we understand people and identity. 

You started this story when you were a child and didn’t recognize all these complexities, and to tell the truth, society itself didn’t really recognize them at a larger level. There’s a reason why you as a kid didn’t see them.

Because our culture as a whole has identified white people as the default people. Specifically white, middle/upperclass, christian, able bodied, straight, cis men as the default person. ANYTHING you have other than that has to be identified, otherwise, we assume they are the default person.

The HERO is always this default person until we define them as otherwise, female, Black, poor, atheist, deaf. Oh look. There’s a new character who has a distinctly different experience than our default person. And you then have to WRITE them with that experience in mind, or you’re just writing the default person in a mask that is only skin deep.

So what I’m trying to tell you is that it’s not really diversity if you just change the color of your character’s skin without letting it reflect upon who they are as a person. And then how that affects your story. You can’t JUST make someone in a wheel chair without changing their part of the story on a fundamental level, don’t you think? If you switch your character from non stated but assumed Christianity to Judaism... how does that affect your story or character? And if it doesn’t, well lets say it’s irrelevant to the story, then how do you share that bit of background of the character, make it authentic and not seem as if you’re just checking boxes on the diversity list?  Do you even know enough about Judaism to write them fairly or will you just toss in some yiddish-- “Oy, what a shmuck!” and leave it at that? Ok well maybe your fantasy world doesn’t have Jewish people. Fair enough. 

But now I need to question your world building. Is everyone in your book of the same culture? Are there different races, religions, creeds, classes, ethnicity? If there aren’t, why not? Are you writing a world where no one travels? Where there’s an oppressive force that requires everyone to worship the same gods? Even JRR Tolkien had multiple races, languages, belief systems and cultures. I say “even” because Tolkien is often taken as the “whiteness model” of fantasy. The British/northern European ideal.

You might be attached to the way your characters look. You’re also probably attached to the world view that white is the default. We all are, frankly. The first novel I wrote I made it about a blonde white woman from the Bronx, where I am from, where blonde white women are few and far between. And I didn’t address how this white woman lived in The Bronx surrounded by mostly brown Latinx people. To be honest, I think I had internalized that concept of white people being the default, of ALL books being about the white experience and that was just how you write a story. If I were to rewrite that book now, I would make her Latina. I could keep the main story the way it was, but switching her to Latina would require a hefty rewrite as her character, experiences, understanding, perspective and the way she looked at herself and her world would be different. 

What you need to do, IF you want to add diversity to your novel, is to do a major overhaul of your understanding of what it means to be human and how our differences and intersections shape our identity and experiences. That means a major overhaul of your story. 

OR you could leave your story the way it is and don’t add diversity to what seems to be a complete story already, just to fit the times and concerns of the day, STILL do the work of overhauling your personal understanding of diversity, and then in the next book, build that diversity in from the bottom up. 

Even if you leave the book with everyone looking the way they already do, you might try adding an AWARENESS of race, diversity, otherness, bias, bigotry, etc. White people ALSO move through this world with people who don’t look like them. Acting like white people don’t have any repercussions from living in this racist society is making a statement that not only is the white experience the default experience and the way things should be, but also racism is just a given and doesn’t need to be examined, since it only affects POC.

Any way you take it, it’s a lot of work. That’s because confronting your own biases, blindspots, assumptions and unspoken prejudices is HARD and takes constant work.

#writing advice #rosy writes #diversity #writing diversity #confronting our biases

[sweetbunnykook]

⭐️ star ⭐️- director commentary

I’ve been wanting to rewrite Her Forgiveness, Her Prayers for a long time now. There’s potential for the drabble to become a oneshot even though the dialogue is unclean (unnatural too) and I didn’t like the pacing either. Once I finish writing the next OY chapter, the next BG chapter, the next Devotion chapter, and publish The Boy!JK story too, I really really want to write a proper oneshot for the murderer student!JK and teacher!noona AU. 

It’s not really a director commentary (sort of? not really? whateva 🤣) but there’s so much I want to do for that AU and it drives me insane whenever I listen to a song and picture a scene so clearly in my head with him sitting in court across noona on the witness stand and sending a sly wink. 

- 🐰

[johnbroutledge]

If you could go back and rewrite one episode of 911, which one would you rewrite, why, and what would your version of it look like?

not really episode specific cause it spanned more than one, but the lawsuit/fighting arc wouldn’t have happened. it shouldn’t have had to happen. look, here’s the thing. buck was stupid. he was 100% wrong. he was rash and hasty and by doing what he did he hurt a lot of people who didn’t deserve it, people who love and want the best for him. I get that he felt hurt and he felt betrayed, but why didn’t he talk to eddie, or to maddie, or hen, or chim, or any number of people who could’ve helped him find a better solution than suing the department? and the same goes for Eddie and the fighting arc, so much could’ve been avoided had they just talked to people who love them, if buck hadn’t sued the fucking department so that eddie COULDVE went to him? like y’all motherfuckers need to learn to communicate. the whole thing was...oy. it was a mess.

#oy that whole thing #nope no no thank you #nikki shut up #911 discussion #oneawkwardcookie #nikki answers

[yamagucji]

matchup request from: enfj, sagittarious, female, british

note. t🤢mblr seems to act up whenever i add the sceenshot of your rq so i didn’t add it! i had this done a day after you submitted but ugh i had to keep rewriting it bc of this ughhh also i couldn’t add emoji bc im on desktop :”(

-ˋ✰ You matched with...

Sugawara Koushi!

now, i looked at your type/sign compatibility and saw some potential matches but chose suga instead

why? bc signs don’t always define the entirety okay now on to the main course >;(

suga first noticed you because of your newly dyed hair

but he was a little shy to tell you that he liked it :( yk how he can be

so wingman daichi hollered at you and said, “oy! my friend here thinks your hair is really pretty”

and your first sight of suga was a very blushy boy

the rest is history!

now that the two of you are dating, suga will greet you in the most unexpected ways possible (anything to brighten your day even more)

such as: pretending that the two of you have a secret when you clearly do NOT, watching your face contort in confusion as he messily waves his hands around

or boldly planting a kiss on your cheek then going, “oh? what do you mean i kissed you? it must’ve been the ghost”

surprise you got the chaotic boyfriend

would 100% offer to walk you home whenever he gets the chance

and it’s little moments like these that lets him get to know more about you

he’ll timidly ask, “c-can i hold your hand?” with the most genuine look on his face awe

he’ll want to know how your day went and if you did anything fun

but talks with suga always go off topic!

“ah is that so? do you think it’s natural for people to act that way?”

and he’ll nod along as you talk, occasionally sending you a warm smile, laughing, or caressing your hand

you and suga could just talk for hours, but unfortunately, you’ve arrived at your home so he has to let you go :(

“text me, okay?”

“--oh, and don’t forget to get plenty of rest tonight. i love you!”

spoiler: you won’t get as much rest bc the two of you spent the night texting about your interests

if daichi ever caught sight of your text messages to each other he’d be like why they so long :o

and why the memes out of nowhere

on another note, suga would love to take you on cute little dates, like at the park, a garden, or even at the comfort of your own homes

he just likes the simplicity of it :’)

when he takes you to the park, he’ll definitely expect to play on the playground yes he’ll drag you to the slide and to the swings

omg can you imagine suga giving a little kid a glare for stealing your spot kgjfdh like you were about to sit on it but then z o o m they took it 

anyways 

as the two of you are swinging, the glow of the setting sun hits your face and suga just thinks,

“wow, i cant believe i got so lucky” and just melts on the spot <3

all your little dates are always so fun and light hearted suga always makes the effort to make sure you’re comfortable and you aren’t being forced to do stuff

and he doesn’t ask much from you, just that you return as much love to him

he never lets you leave without a meaningful goodbye kiss and a warm hug. he treats every parting moment as if it were his last

sorry got a little sad there :(

EXTRA

He places both his palms on your cheeks, pulling your face towards his so he can nudge his nose against your own.

“Do you know who I love the most?” he mumbles. You can feel his lips brush against yours as he speaks.

“...who?”

“You, my angel.” Then the corners of his lips curve into a smile, satisfied with the love he so dearly poured for you.

#aaron's matchups #haikyuu matchups

[egg2k16]

40 Fanfic Q’s Answered

the server wants answers, and they want them now!!! from this post

1. Describe your comfort zone—a typical you-fic.

Smut and pining all the way. Also, falling in love via laughing

2. Is there a trope you’ve yet to try your hand at, but really want to?

Eh...I don’t think so, I’m always 100% self-indulgent, so what u see is what I want

3. Is there a trope you wouldn’t touch with a ten foot pole?

Anything that has to do w mega sadness, I just Don’t. I can’t write anything sad, and if I do, there’s certainly gonna be A Lot of comfort afterwards

4. How many fic ideas are you nurturing right now? Care to share one of them?

I have 91 wips, motherfuckers!!! My latest wip is a daddy month fic!

5. Share one of your strengths.

I think, since I’ve been trying to be sparser in my words, I’ve been able to better emphasize what isn’t being said

6. Share one of your weaknesses.

No action scenes from me are ever good, lmao

7. Share a snippet from one of your favorite pieces of prose you’ve written and explain why you’re proud of it.

It was late at night, when he started to cry.

He didn't want to cry, but he did.

It's been years since he's last let himself feel, or was it since he was last allowed to feel?

He choked on his sobs, uncomfortable with his tears. He's forgotten how to properly cry. His entire body is shaking, and the connections between flesh and wire hurts.

He stops crying. He starts crying again.

This continues for another few minutes, until he feels as if he can't possibly have any more tears.

He wipes his face, pulls the covers up to his chin, and falls asleep.

(from Twilight on the Sea) I really like this bcus I don’t think I’ve ever really typed out crying in this way, n I tried to make it feel like it was a lot

8. Share a snippet from one of your favorite dialogue scenes you’ve written and explain why you’re proud of it.

Cass was quiet for a moment. “... you know what? Maybe I’ll just go up there and surprise you.”

“If you do, then you already ruined the surprise, haven’t you?”

“Eh, I dunno about that. Seeing my beautiful face is a shock for many people.”

“Oh, I’m sure of it.”

“Hey, Koda? I don’t know about you, but it’s really late here.”

“Really?” Koda asks, then remembers that time zones exist. “Oh crap, what time is it over there?”

“It’s midnight. What about you?”

“It’s eight o’clock. Only four hours difference?”

“Oh hey, that’s not so bad.”

“It reduces our time,” Koda said, a bit whining.

“Not if I have anything to say about it.”

“What are you going to do? Move here? Send for me?”

“You’ll see.”

(from Together) This was a gift for one my best friends on here, @suncatchr​ , and it’s about his ocs!!! I love this a lot bcus while it’s a soulmate au, it’s not ur average soulmate au, and I tried making it as original as possible! And this blurb, I just wanted them to effuse so much love w/o having to say love...cries

9. Which fic has been the hardest to write?

If this is by posted fics, then I remember writing Look What You’ve Done to Me was very very difficult, bcus, since it’s also a gift, for @daniel-bryan​ , I wanted to write it Good, n since my buddy usually wrote from the love interest’s pov, I felt a weird pressure to write Daniel Bryan’s pov as good as I could

10. Which fic has been the easiest to write?

2 of my fics in Spanish!!! My oc centric one, Rayos y Centellas, and my shyan one, oye cariño, solo pienso en ti ! Turns out writing in ur native tongue makes everything easier

11. Is writing your passion or just a fun hobby?

It’s a very passionate hobby!!! I just!!! try to pour all of my love into everything I write!!!

12. Is there an episode above all others that inspires you just a little bit more?

I’m not sure!!! I just watch movies n quietly scream to my gay lonesome bcus No One Ever Watches Movies ;-;

13. What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever come across?

To just keep writing n not stop for details or forgotten lore, bcus it’s important to write down what’s firing u up Right Now. Of course, it’s very difficult following that ;;-;;

14. What’s the worst writing advice you’ve ever come across?

“No adverbs!” “No ‘said’!” “It has to make grammatical sense!” sometimes things Need those

15. If you could choose one of your fics to be filmed, which would you choose?

Was gonna say my rewrite of the end of The Rover, but actually, my SPN fic Ube . Shit was peak inspired

16. If you only could write one pairing for the rest of your life, which pairing would it be?

Eridirk (Eridan Ampora/Dirk Strider from Homestuck) all the way. The one otp that’s stayed thru thick n thin <3

17. Do you write your story from start to finish, or do you write the scenes out of order?

A little mix of both, and tbh it depends on the fic, but I tend to write chronologically

18. Do you use any tools, like worksheets or outlines?

I’ve started bullet pointing my ideas out before writing my fics, and so far, it’s been helping me be more streamlined n get my things written out faster n clearer!

19. Stephen King once said that his muse is a man who lives in the basement. Do you have a muse?

Is the need for representation in all the niche movies I keep watching a muse?

20. Describe your perfect writing conditions.

In my dark room, w music blasting from my laptop, the TV w a soft hum, I have the perfect playlist to get the mood right, curled up in my blankies, n my plushie Sweet Pea by my side

21. How many times do you usually revise your fic/chapter before posting?

Zero, we rely on autocorrect & editing while typing and die like men

22. Choose a passage from one of your earlier fics and edit it into your current writing style. (Person sending the ask is free to make suggestions).

YOU DON’T SEEM SCARED.

Del Rio shrugs. “Working as a cop, it makes you numb to some things. It’s good, it lets you react to things as you should, and not how you’d want to.”

YOU SOUND SAD ABOUT THAT.

He makes a noncommittal noise. “It is what it is.” He eats another spoonful of his ice cream, then gets a thought.

“Can you show up?”

HOW SO?

“Can you,” he tries, waving his spoon around, “Manifest?”

I DON’T KNOW. I’LL TRY.

“I’m sure you’ll do just fine,” Del Rio assures, and he can feel the air around him smile. The...world, he thinks, around him shifts just slightly, and there seems to be a chink in the armor for a moment before it goes away, as if someone had wiped the glass clear. He realizes that this is her, trying to show up in a physical form, step out of the phone.

He doesn’t know where to look, but then his confusion wanes when a butterfly shows up, fluttering towards him. It lands near his phone, skitters a bit, flaps its wings.

“Lucy?” he asks, transfixed on the butterfly. Its orange wings are bright under the sunlight.

I THOUGHT I’D TRY SMALL, FOR MY FIRST TRIAL.

“Well, you certainly nailed it.” He smiled warmly at the butterfly, and he had the crazy notion that it smiled back at him.

(adapted from The Policeman , the first fic I posted!)

23. If you were to revise one of your older fics from start to finish, which would it be and why?

Yeah, probably The Policeman lmao, I remember it today n I cringe a little at the very obvious refs to other fandoms I made. Despite that, it continues being one of my best hits!

24. Have you ever deleted one of your published fics?

Never

25. What do you look for in a beta?

I’m just thankful to have gotten a beta in general in life at all

26. Do you beta yourself? If so, what kind of beta are you?

I beta’ed once, and since English is my 2nd language, I pointed out syntax confusion, typos, n continuity errors

27. How do you feel about collaborations?

Can be done, it’s just that I am frightened. Tried doing that, it fell thru, n the new thing that came up, I still have to hold up my end of the bargain ;;-;;

28. Share three of your favorite fic writers and why you like them so much.

cries omg ok so!!! Chancy_Lurking ( @lurkerviolin​ ) is one of my faves, n we’ve become friends, n their Felix+ Sense8 series is the reason for it all, and u know it’s good if it managed to make a friendship that’s last its good while, and also they’re so nice, and we vibe so well!!! thegoatz ( @daniel-bryan​ ) is also now one of my bestest friends ever, and I wuv him so much, he is such a good kid, n he’s so enthusiastic about writing, and I hope that spark never goes out!!! And adamwhatareyouevendoing ( @skatingthinandice​ ) bcus she’s doing a rewrite of The Last Kingdom where it’s all gay where it should be and vnjkdfsnvkd God, what a wonderful friend!!!

29. If you could write the sequel (or prequel) to any fic out there not written by yourself, which would you choose?

I actually technically am working on a sequel to @rettaroo​ ‘s A New Kind of Touch ! Another promise I have to hold up eventually ;;;-;;;

30. Do you accept prompts?

Sure!

31. Do you take liberties with canon or are you very strict about your fic being canon compliant?

I try to follow canon as much as I possibly can!

32. How do you feel about smut?

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

33. How do you feel about crack?

Eh, it’s alright. I don’t normally look for it, so I don’t really have a solid opinion on it

34. What are your thoughts on non-con and dub-con?

I don’t want to read it, but I have so far encountered it twice very amicably: once here in a ficlet, and another in a longer fic on AO3, and they were both very good

35. Would you ever kill off a canon character?

Probably not, I don’t like sad things!

36. Which is your favorite site to post fic?

AO3! I’m RedLlamas on it!

37. Talk about your current wips.

Lmao which one. The one I’m currently working on is an impregnation kink turned “oh no I actually do wanna have a family” feelings fic!

38. Talk about a review that made your day.

Gonna be real w u, the best comments I’ve gotten have mainly been from my friends, who either write a paragraph or two going into detail of the fic, or just send a one sentence comment that’s just “screams!” I’ve gotten very few paragraphs from other people, n they’re always so!!!

My friends are the realest :’)

39. Do you ever get rude reviews and how do you deal with them?

The perks of being a rarepair writer is that the only people who read my fics are the ones actively looking for content!!! And they can’t complain about my work because No One Else Is Writing For It!!!!!!

40. Write an alternative ending to [insert fic title] (or just the summary of one).

All my fics are masterpieces, so I’ll do a summary change! For don’t you just know (exactly what they’re thinking?)

Dakota finds himself in unexpected heartbreak, and the universe decides to bring him in the direction of a night club with a dancer with stars on his skin.

#post #about #sbbookclub #writing be like

[emptymanuscript]

One way to REname a character with internal story logic

I want to talk a moment about Zephyr.

Not the wind.

My character. 

(He wishes he was this tough) Not even really the person but his NAME itself, Zephyr, and how it changed.

One of the things I don’t mention too much just to avoid trouble is how extremely different Knights of Day is now compared to how it was originally. At its early height, Knights of Day peaked at 4 authors. The goal was in no way to publish or publicize any of it. It wasn’t even really meant to be any sort of cohesive story. Or even to consist of cohesive stories rather than “adventures” for fun. I’m not even sure I can tell you WHAT it was. It wasn’t quite a piece of fiction, it wasn’t quite a table top rpg, it wasn’t quite rp’ing. It was just its own behemoth of a thing that included all of those. Compared to 1 book and 1 book in progress now.

Case in point: Fun Adventure #3 was ~

Kinda John Edward but real & real evil

Set up: Most Mediums are terrible people who fake their powers to rip victims off when they’re at their most emotionally vulnerable. Because when you’ve just irrevocably lost one of the most important people in your life you’ll pay anything or do anything for the even the illusion of getting them back.

What if: Imagine someone who can really do everything they say they can do… but they’re still a terrible predator trying to take advantage of people when they’re at their most emotionally vulnerable - they just have more power to make it even worse.

Mission: Save young suddenly widowed mega-rich heiress Helena Lawson from real Medium but still conniving con-man Kenton Dean. Because the greedy, racist, no goo Ted Lawson doesn’t want Kenton Dean to get the money instead of himself. And Ted is willing to pay exorbitantly to make sure it doesn’t. So James and Zeferrello are tasked with finding any reason to separate Helena and Kenton.

Twist: Yeah, Kenton Dean CAN summon and control the dead but it’s so much worse than that. He can summon and control the GOD of the dead. Assuming, of course, that all of this isn’t the god of the dead actually controlling Kenton Dean for its own purposes.

Which Became The Hidden and the Maiden. But instead of a climactic conflict between James, Zephyr, Kenton Dean, and Kherty-Aken decided by force, force of will, and clever use of all magic available inside the seat of Kenton Dean’s power, his theater, “Kinda John Edward but real & real evil” ended with a mildly tense chat between James and Zefferello versus Kherty Aken just kinda hanging out, tensely, next to an ambulance. James points out that Kenton Dean has reprogrammed Kherty Aken like a computer to just believe all this BS. Kherty Aken realizes, Oh Shi-! he’s right, and flys away. Next day, paper says Kenton Dean is dead. So the general idea is there but just not at all the same when you look close.

As an aside, this is by the way why most writing teachers dismiss ‘ideas’ as the least important element of story telling. One version of this ‘idea’ I stuff under a rug and pretend doesn’t exist. The other I sell in paperback for $10 a pop. If the fundamental idea hasn’t changed really, why the vast difference in price? Because of the execution. And if execution is more than infinitely greater in effect 0 -> 10 why bother putting that much effort into the idea when, even if you only go to 5 through execution, that will have more effect than any idea will. I am not 100% convinced by this line of reasoning but it’s not meritless either. A bad idea well written will just get more in the marketplace of ideas than a good idea poorly written. A bad idea badly written is doomed. A good idea well written may or may not do as well as the mediocrity. So, I disagree that it is of zero importance but I do think it is certainly not the most important element for 3/4’s of all story types. Ok, that’s another post, enough asides.

The real thing I’m actually thinking about is the Zefferello to Zephyr change. Zefferello was Zephyr’s original name. The author who created the original character said specifically her thoughts were that she had never had any character under any situation whose name started with Z. So she wanted a Z character and she plucked the rest out of thin air because. And because it didn’t matter, that was cool enough. So he was Zefferello for the first few years of life. No particular reason why. Never mind that nothing in any back round of anything anywhere would give Zefferello as a name.

It was only as I was moving from the first to the second draft of The Hidden and the Maiden that it was really bothering me about this Korean-American dude with the abusive Super Whitey Mega Rich father, the utterly absent and possibly dead Korean Trophy Wife mother, and the abusive DID having ghost but still white mother. Why would any of them give him that name?

Well, the father might do it just to torture his son throughout life. He’s that kind of asshole. As little as he is in it, I actually think of Zephyr’s father as the Antagonist for Knights of Day because he is just pure dagnasty evil because he likes it. He may not appear most on the page or wield the most power - partially because he’s just not my favorite kind of villain, at all, his side-kicks is way more my speed - but there’s no denying he does the most damage. BUT, the father is also very image conscious. Part of what he likes is doing terrible things while other people praise him for it. For making people suffer but having no one believe them because he is such a paragon of virtue. One of his side kicks actually got James to just start punching him toward the end because he kept talking about what a saint Zephyr’s father was and all the haters just didn’t understand what a wonderful person he was and how hard he worked when he never had to to improve the life of others. If I recall correctly James literally held a knife on the guy and pointing to Zephyr: ‘you had to fucking know what that motherfucker was doing to him! You evil lying sack of fucking shit!’ So… torture wasn’t going to work for a reason.

So I’m looking for any great people in history with the name Zefferello. Nope. Nada. Is it by some miracle a Korean name that Eun Ae Gwon might have given him? Nope. No dice. And slowly all eyes  turn to JJ. JJ is nuts. There’s no getting around it. But I’m rarely happy with that as an explanation. Especially with JJ because most of what she does that SEEMS nuts, isn’t. The fundamental rule I made for JJ fairly early on is that she is ALWAYS up to something. She is playing every angle. She is working every leverage. She is a survivor in a way that most people will never be. She’s dead and she is still playing to win. So she will do things that appear unreasonable at point A in time in order to increase her odds of getting what she wants in point B in time.

And I’m looking at that name. That ello. That’s sounds latinate to me. And masculine. I already knew Zefferello’s real name at this point, and it had a Jr. at the end and I started wondering if maybe, just maybe, JJ gave Zefferello a different Jr. name. A name for the father that she wished Zefferello had. Instead of the one he did. He’s hers, and what better to claim a baby she would never hold than to rename him into a family that she wanted to exist but never did. That’s very JJ.

At which point I’m reviewing JJ’s history. It’s sparse-ish at that time. But I know when she got pregnant and I know more or less what happened to her from that point until she died. And there’s nothing in there to hint at a Zefferello Sr. But… there were already some hints about there maybe being a Zefferella. And of course that’s not a name either. But fiddle with the spelling and drop the “el” sound and you do get a Greek female name: Zephyra \

And that was the lightning bolt of inspiration and change. That JJ’s second and last love of her life was a fellow prostitute named Zephyra, and IF JJ could rewrite reality to be anything she wanted then her son would also be Zephyra’s - that they would be the family unit and the other would be the ghostly illusion. And with Zephyra as a real name, I also had a male equivalent: Zephyr. Sounds similar but much more plausible that he might somehow obtain it. Plus, with the idea of Zephyra, his name also becomes a key to unlocking tons of emotion and backstory.

And you’ll know it’s important the second that this repressed little guy walking around giving out the name of Zephyr Wayne, shamefully cringe-admits that his legal name is Peter Bailey Jr. That that exists at all says that there is a story to find down in there and that it isn’t a simple one.

So that’s one to rewrite a name based on the internal logic of a story. Zephyr’s name was researched and found but never picked out of a name directory. It was back-engineered to tell the story I wanted to tell and avoid the random story I didn’t. By following the logic that might lead to a name like his, I was able to find the one I thought was right for him.

And, since the original Cup Bearer was one of the winds, that also worked to my advantage… though it is generally considered the wrong wind. Oy. Which I’ll probably just end up deleting because Zephyr’s name is better for a story hook than anything I made with Thulebelore being the General of the Western Winds.

If you actually got here. Wow. Thank you. If you ever want to solicit writing advice, dropping a question in my ask prompts me better than whatever happens to occur randomly to my head. So, you know, that’s there.

#Knights of Day #Zephyr #The Hidden and the Maiden #Writing advice #writeblr #writeblogging #unsolicited advice

[ghostmartyr]

SnK 115 Thoughts

-munches popcorn-

Dude. Can you imagine how screwed they’d all be if plot magic wasn’t a thing?

Can you imagine how screwed they all still are even though plot magic is a thing?

The rest of the world doesn’t even need to be here for this. If they wait long enough, everyone on Paradis will kill everyone on Paradis, and then in the near future titans will stop showing up.

Good End.

Wait, no. Uh.

Bad End.

Oh, but this chapter gives me a headache. Zeke gives me a headache. Eren gives me a headache. Like, giving me a headache is not way up there in difficulty, but these people and their convoluted euthanasia plans.

Usually chronological musings are my friend, but I think this time I’m going to just head in whatever direction I can make head or tails of.

The good new is that Yelena wants to help me with that. Thanks Yelena. Color-coding all the characters is a great shortcut for understanding who’s on whose side, and I can’t see any of our plucky protagonists ever taking advantage of that.

White for the Yeagerists, Red for the scared traitors, Black for enemies. Cute. White flags for surrender, red for blood on their hands, and black for--oh, I guess that’s a pirate reference. Does Paradis have pirate references?

Yer marked with the black spot, matey. Not a one of us foolhardy enough to accept a heading from a man so cursed.

In any case, I do appreciate that we’re having people point out that a bunch of parties are doing the pointing Spider-Man meme. Yes, we are imitating Marley. They created a clerical helpfulness, why wouldn’t we imitate that?

Yes, we are imitating the evil Eldian Empire. They had power, why wouldn’t we be fans of that?

The happy days of the Volunteers buddying up to the Scouts seem far away with Yelena unmasked and at the helm. I fully expect that some, like Onyankopon, aren’t perfectly at ease following through on this, but. Well.

These are the people who have survived Marley’s destruction of their homes. They follow Zeke to see Marley collapse. They kill, spy, and betray in pursuit of that cause. They’ve always been dangerous. Paradis has been cautious with them, but Yelena’s right about the dual nature of that caution. They’re cool being friends with Paradis, and maybe if that had gone both ways no one would have to be held hostage, but these have always been the methods they’re willing to put into play.

A very angry little boy from Shiganshina once wanted revenge so badly that it put veteran soldiers on edge.

These people were soldiers before they became spies. They are the adult version of that vengeance. Paradis is new to the world. Their only enemies have been titans and each other. Titans are now mostly gone. They only have other humans to deal with, and they’re flopping hard.

The Volunteers have lived in the outside world. They have actual, viable strategies to deal with these fledgling chicks.

All it takes is some wine, and they’ve gathered all Paradis’ military force to Shiganshina. By asking politely and pointing a few guns along the way, but still. Paradis is completely overthrown by a few drinks and Zeke having power that they invited to the island themselves.

Yelena herself continues to be entirely too much fun. That isn’t really the right word for it, but she’s a pleasure. She knows the full plan, and deeply admires the Titans to the point of fanaticism. Zeke is her God, and the number of things standing between that assertion being true is...

Eren?

Basically?

Part of what makes this chapter so... oy is that these people have taken so many complicated problems and simplified them with their destructive stupidity, only for those simplifications to create further complicated issues while the actual solutions for them are so minimal and limited that the direction of the plot is really quite simple.

We were dealing with Paradis needing help reentering the world.

Now we’re dealing with keeping Eren and Zeke as far away as possible so they don’t sterilize all the Eldians.

If people we care about live through all this, maybe then we will go back to caring about Paradis’ international relations, but as of right now, there could not be less of a point.

So the name of the game is keep away, only since absolutely nothing except bad weather is impacting that, the secondary name of the game is oh no oh hell oh fuck Eren how much do you actually agree with your brother do we have to kill you aw fuck.

Starring Pieck.

What I keep coming back to is how complicated this nonsense is.

It stands to reason that what Eren wants is not in line with what Zeke wants. More on that in a bit, but for the purposes of right now, if Eren and Zeke are in total agreement, the Eldians are going to be sterilized and the rest of the manga will be spent trying to feed Eren to someone while Zeke is nommed by Historia, and then the new Founding Duo resets everything and oh gee hey is that the entire world outside our door?

And you know, maybe the outside world would be a little less bloodthirsty if Eren hadn’t murdered a bunch of people during an international spectacle, but apparently following Zeke’s plan is important.

Even though they don’t need Zeke for the Founding Duo, because they have Historia.

Wait no, she’s pregnant because Zeke said she had to be, even though any child she has could potentially undo all his work, so she can’t eat Zeke, so Zeke has to be part of the Founding Duo.

Like... Whatever Eren is planning on doing.

He needs the Founding Titan powers. Right? That’s settled.

So, naturally, the thing to do is to massacre a bunch of innocent people (while massacring some very non-innocent people), making every other country pissed enough at Paradis to start a joint military operation to wipe them out, and that will all be absolutely fine because between him and Zeke, after the rest of the world bombs Paradis to kingdom come, yay, no more Eldians.

Also no living in peace for their final days, no exploring the outside world, no anything really, just a lot of war.

“Hi I’m Eren, I just found out if I touch a royal titan I will have enough power to rewrite DNA, along with who knows the fuck what else, I think cooperating with Zeke in a plan all of my superior officers have vetoed and telling them nothing about what I’m really doing is the way to go.”

As far as I can tell (and we’re on the train of Eren having something else going on here, as will be covered... later), the only reason Eren causes so much destruction at the festival is because it’s in Zeke’s plan, and a happy Zeke is easier to smuggle onto an airship without anyone noticing.

Only people did notice.

There’s a person who stabs a guy this chapter who most assuredly noticed. She is there stabbing someone because she noticed.

Noticing happened.

I’m just going to throw this out here:

If you need the Founding Titan’s power that badly, turn Historia into a mindless titan.

Seriously. Tie her down, have larger chains at the ready, and just go for it.

This is not hard. Looking at the plot, who gives a fuck that the Queen isn’t around? She’s clearly not doing anything, jab her in the neck and go for it. Mindless titans are functionally immortal. You wouldn’t need to worry about her having kids or waiting for those kids to be old enough, or trading off to the next heir when their time comes. Or heck, consent.

One person. One sacrifice.

Boom, you have magic powers now that you can do... honestly at this point I’m more waiting for what they can’t do.

The amount you do not need Zeke for a plan requiring the Founding Titan’s powers is ridiculous.

So why is it so important to go along with his plan?

It make for a meta point in this meta, but unless Eren has something of his own going on here, there is very little drama to this situation. Eren and Zeke meet, their version of the Snap happens, we all go home sad. Paradis has lost so badly already they might as well be waving those white Yeagerist armbands over their heads.

Something has to change for the plot to move forward and for everyone to not die. The rest of the world is coming for them whether or not Zeke and Eren’s Snap goes off.

But it is completely beyond me why any plan would require hitching up to Zeke’s orbit for so long. Zeke’s plan is really only good for Zeke’s plan. Sterilization means no more Eldians eventually. The living Eldians still have to deal with everyone newly pissed at them because of the Yeager Bros’ stunt.

Looking at Zeke and Eren’s conversation...

Geez, just look at Zeke’s face when Eren calls him “brother.”

Zeke is a broken boy from a broken home, and Eren is his brother. Someone who’s been through the same things and can understand the world the same way. His little brother is finally talking to him, talking about all the horrible things their horrible father did, and instead of agreeing with Grisha, his little brother looks at him and says that their plan will create a beautiful new world.

You could not script a faster way to Zeke’s heart.

Eren talks about Grisha’s obsession and rejects it.

He talks about being a mistake.

He talks about ending it.

Together.

We haven’t seen any thought bubbles from Eren. This conversation with Zeke is the closest we get to... anything, really, except for his very long talk with Reiner.

But we’ve seen his perspective of Grisha’s murders before. We’ve seen what it does to him, and how desperately he wants to be erased from the world. We see him begging for death, because his life just makes it all so very hard for the Eldian people.

We see him doing everything he possibly can to cut that thinking out of himself.

Eren’s leaving something out in his recreation of events.

Two things, sort of, but the same thing.

“If those children stayed alive... I’d have been gobbled right up to give the Founding Titan back to the royal family.”

“Never having to be born in this world... Is the greatest salvation of all.”

Eren’s alive because one of the royal family’s children survives, and decides not to eat him. There’s no telling if one of the other Reiss children would have made the same decision, but it would have been a decision. Historia has that decision dangling over her head for chapters until she finally decides, while Eren’s begging for his death, that all of it is fucked up and she’s out.

Someone makes a choice.

Eren lives.

Way back in Trost, which is a sentence I will probably never be done typing, we have our first introduction to what it means to our main character to be born.

“When we’re born… all of us… are free. People who reject that, no matter how strong they are… don’t matter.” --14

The thing Eren leaves out when he talks to Zeke is freedom.

There was a royal child left.

That child saves his life.

From the moment they’re all born, they have the power to choose. They can make their own decisions. Their own mistakes. They can fight their own battles.

“He’s already great. Because he was born… into this world.” --71

Eren, and Eren’s mother long before him, believed that being human is pretty rad. Being born, and being free, is extraordinary, and Eren starts off on his own journey to become the freest person he can possibly be.

It starts from birth.

Eren and Zeke’s stated plan flies in the face of everything Eren has fought for. He’s had moments where he believes the world would be better off without him, but never that it would be better off without other people. Eren parrots back Zeke’s exact ideology regardless, and calls him his brother.

The conversation is too doctored to be anything but intentional, much like his discussion with Armin and Mikasa. He is going after the exact heart of the situation, and making his case mirror Zeke’s so well that Zeke doesn’t flinch at sharing everything with his little brother he’s never known. Eren crosses the ocean to talk to him, and they do, and it’s great, and they’re going to save the world!

We’ve learned what Zeke thinks of his plan.

I would argue we have yet to hear a single honest thought from Eren about it. Everything he states belongs to Zeke.

Which makes the lengths he’s going to accomplish Zeke’s wishes sort of dodgy.

Like literally everything Eren does seems kind of dodgy.

Including what the Yeagerists are doing in gathering up all their military personnel in Shiganshina.

YEAH I SURE AM GLAD NOTHING SUSPECT OR ALARMING IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN OH BOY HOWDY.

The one thing Eren had left on his checklist was looking out for spies, and speak of the devil, Pieck! He asks and she shows up! Impressively, it’s surprising enough for Eren to bother looking surprised, but. it’s.

It’s still exactly what he wanted. Congrats, you found an infiltrator. You win.

Though Pieck... What the heck do you think that gun’s going to do?

Oh well, go Pieck. Go Team Proactivity. Win some for all the kiddos. Except you’re probably on Marley’s side (I would so love for you not to be), so I want you to win precisely nothing, but. Well, you can hug Gabi maybe.

So did anything else happen this chapter? No?

I’m going to go with no.

Little Ymir Fritz patching Zeke up amongst the stars is a total no.

So is Levi pulling half a Marco.

Memeception, there.

Yeah... Levi was in trouble before he and Hange took a dip, so I can only imagine the number of other body parts he’ll be losing now. Gosh.

This had better not turn Evangelion.

I will only be slightly less miffed if it pulls the Madoka it looks like it’s wanting to.

The Code Geass in the middle of it all is unavoidable at this point, just embrace it.

#Shingeki no Kyojin #SnK 115 #shingeki no spoilers #SnK spoilers #spoilers #tl;dr #chapter post