#either way it’s a good writing exercise to get the character voices

[chloefraazers]

#horizon forbidden west #hfw fanfic #horizon fanfic #*aloy voice* might regret this #or could be fun! #either way it’s a good writing exercise to get the character voices #for ‘other’ i will say that i will not be writing aloy/tilda. i won’t go into it. please respect my decision.

[3d-wifey]

NSFT Alphabet: MK1 Johnny Cage Edition

A/N: Wrote this to hold you Johnny girls (gender neutral) over until I finish that smut 😙 Plus, I find writing these Alphabets for a character in preparation to write full-fledged smut for them is very helpful in capturing accurate characterization. It's almost like a writing exercise. I've written three different ones so far and I tried to keep them in character, if that makes sense. Like, I tried putting their personality and language in it. Okay, enjoy.

A = Aftercare (What they’re like after sex)

Talking. So much talking. But, honestly, did you expect anything else? As he’s pulling out, as he’s carrying you to the shower, as you’re washing his hair. And when it inevitably leads to shower sex, he’s talking then too. You’ll never meet a man who loves the sound of his own voice more than Johnny Cage.

B = Body Part (Their favorite body part of theirs and also their partners)

Uh, how ‘bout the artillery canons strapped to his arms? C’mon, I mean, who wouldn’t want a ticket to the gun show? 

Face. Is saying your face too cliche? Hear him out! You want specifics? He can do specifics! He likes the dimples that pop in your cheeks when he finally gets you to laugh at one of his jokes, the little crease you get between your eyebrows when he’s pissed you off, the adorable way your nose scrunches up when he does that one thing with his tongue that drives you crazy. See? Specifics!

C = Cum (Anything to do with cum, basically)

Pull out game…very weak. Embarrassingly weak, actually. He swears he’s never had this problem before. His ability to pull out in the nick of time has always been something he’s prided himself on. However, he vastly underestimated just how good you’d feel. He’s clean, you’re clean, and, hey! You both prefer the feeling of hitting it raw, the way nature intended it. However, your pussy’s like wet kryptonite. And he’s only a man. A very awesome man, but a man nonetheless. So birth control it is! Or, if you’re turned off by all the side effects, he can be talked into a vasectomy. It’s either that or give up the sweet, sweet embrace of your walls when he’s balls deep. 

On second thought, that vasectomy sounds pretty tempting. It is reversible, right?

D = Dirty Secret (Pretty self-explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

Johnny would leak his own sex tape. Plain and simple. He’d leak it from a burner account and watch the chaos ensue. There’s no shame in his game. Hey, it’s ranked the Number 1 Celebrity sex tape for a reason.

E = Experience (How experienced are they? Do they know what they’re doing?)

Is this even a question? Actors, singers, models, directors, producers. He’s THE Johnny Cage, Hollywood royalty. He’s fucked actual royalty. You’re in good hands—as long as he cares about you. If you’re a random hookup, then he’s not really working for your pleasure here. You’ll definitely cum, but it’s mainly a pit stop on his way to the finish line. 

F = Favorite Position (This goes without saying)

Reverse cowgirl. Johnny’s an ass man, through and through. He loves fucking up into you and watching your ass ripple with both of your movements. And he loves holding onto you. Big hands grabbing your waist, hips, thighs, and especially your ass. He also loves seeing you both in action. So reverse cowgirl + some artfully placed full-length mirrors = Him wrapping his arms around your stomach, rubbing at your clit, and forcing you to watch yourself as you desperately grind against him, AKA Heaven. 

G = Goofy (Are they more serious in the moment? Are they humorous? etc.)

Oh, c’mon. It isn’t like him to be serious in any situation. He’s gotta slip a joke in every now and then. Get it? Slip a joke in?

H = Hair (How well-groomed are they? Does the carpet match the drapes? etc.)

Wax on, wax off, baby. Smoother than a seal. Or, uh, some other sexy, hairless animal. You mourn when he waxes his happy trail. 

I = Intimacy (How are they during the moment? The romantic aspect.)

You’ll be surprised by how charming he can be. It’s not all jokes and great orgasms. It’s also loving touches, reverent compliments, and amazing orgasms.

J = Jack off (Masturbation Headcanon)

He’s got a healthy libido and a pretty stacked schedule, so sometimes a quick introduction between his hand and mini Johnny can’t be helped. But he’s also got a smoking hot girlfriend (you), so jerking off by himself is a rare occurrence. 

K = Kink (One or more of their kinks)

Exhibitionism. What can he say? He’s a performer at heart and he loves an audience. But nothing crazy, just your average celebrity having sex on a yacht that’s in full view of the paparazzi. Or the occasional jerking off with you telling him how fast or slow to go. Oh, and you can’t forget about the sex tapes. Man, with the amount of videos he has of the two of you going at it, he could start an archive. You two have definitely ended up on the cover of TMZ and the front page of Twitter.

Voyeurism. But only for you. He’s enthralled by anything you do, including how many of your much smaller fingers will you stuff inside yourself to replicate the feeling of him stretching you wide. It usually leads to you begging for him to touch you, something else he’s in love with. Nothing wrong with a little hands-on audience participation.

Dirty talk. Normally, dirty talk is kind of basic to any old romp in the hay, but Johnny, being Johnny, puts his own Cage flair on it. Those corny oneliners somehow translate to the perfect thing to say to get you hot. He’s like Shakespear, if Shakespear was good-looking and not a virgin. You know what they say: everything sounds better when you’re horny. Who says that? Uh…

Fighting/Sparing which always leads to blood play. Winning a match gets Johnny’s blood pumping. The adrenaline of escaping death and the crowd hyping him up. And the crux of it all is you who happens to get especially wet when he comes to you covered in blood, grinning with a glint in his eyes that’s poorly hidden behind his blood-speckled sunglasses (a glint that many may describe as mania). And it certainly goes the other way. Watching you kick ass makes him harder than a diamond. Sparing together is a no-brainer that leads to fucking on his gym floor, or, honestly, wherever you two fall. Lui Kang must regret making you two his champions in this timeline with how often he’s walked in on you two. Offering to let him join probably doesn’t soften the blow, but, hey, it’s only polite.

L = Location (Favorite places to do the do)

In his mansion. In one of his lavish beds, or pressed up against the wall-length windows. In his Bentley or in the back of his limo. He’s a big fan of fingering you under the table at an award show and then fucking you in a bathroom at said award show when he should definitely be on stage presenting. For whatever reason, walking the red carpet always gets him worked up. And going to the club together always ends with you riding him in the VIP section.

M = Motivation (What turns them on, gets them going)

Such a complex question for a man with complex taste. I’m joking, Johnny is so easy. It’s actually ridiculous how easily you turn him on. Laugh at his joke, hard. Complement his acting or fighting, hard. Running your fingers through his hair/scratching his scalp, hard. Feel him up/tease him in any context, hard. You’re covered in blood after a win, hard, hard, rock hard.

“Are you King Midas? Cuz you make me hard with just one touch.”

“That one was actually kinda clever.” 

N = No (Something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)

Nothing too gross. He’s all for sloppy, messy sex, but he has to draw the line somewhere. There’s nasty 👁🫦👁 and there’s n a s t y 👁👄👁. 

He likes to tease/do the opposite of what you say, but if you’re not 100% on board with what he’s doing, then he’s stopping it then and there. Remember: there’s nothing sexier than explicit consent!

O = Oral (preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc.)

Preferred to receive before he started dating you, and only ever had the urge to go down on someone if he had been drinking before. After you started dating, he definitely loved it whenever you gave him head, but he didn’t realize how much pleasure he could get from giving you pleasure. 

He loves sloppy head, giving and receiving, so if you weren’t wet before, you definitely will be after he gets his mouth on you. 

P = Pace (Are they fast and rough? Slow and sensual? etc.)

Depends on when and where you’re doing it. And if you two are “allowed” to be doing it in said place.

Q = Quickie (Their opinions on quickies, how often, etc.)

Big fan of the guy who came up with the idea of quickies, enough said. 

R = Risk (Are they game to experiment? Do they take risks? etc.)

C’mon. He’s the leading source of your sex tapes getting leaked. I mean, how do you think the paps keep finding you in compromising positions? A little tip-off to them while you take his tip, ha!

S = Stamina (How many rounds can they go for? How long do they last?)

It’s like he runs off horsepower, good God. If you’re trying to go until he’s tired out, it’s gonna be a couple of rounds until then.

T = Toys (Do they own toys? Do they use them? On a partner or themselves?)

He’s a fan of dildos. Specifically, watching you fuck yourself with one. “Go ahead, baby. Show me how bad you want me.” And show him, you do. God, you know how to put on a show. But you shouldn’t have to settle for some random dildo. You’re with the Cage man, and he would get a mold of his dick made for you. And they say he’s not romantic. 

Strap-on. That’s it. And he takes it well ;).

Remote-controlled vibrators, for you and him. Hell, let’s make a game out of it. See who can last the longest in public, there are no losers! 

U = Unfair (How much they like to tease)

His version of teasing is doing the opposite of what you said to do. You want him to speed up? He’s slowing down and making sure you feel every inch inside you. Oh, keep his hands above his head? You gonna make him? He’s a total brat, but you knew what you were getting yourself into when you agreed to date him.

V = Volume (How loud they are, what sounds they make, etc.)

Heh, yeahhh. He’s real loud. Moans, groans, screams, whimpers. You name it, he’s doing it. It’s the performer in him. And because he knows you like how he sounds.

W = Wild Card (A random headcanon for the character)

Tattoos? Sexy as hell. If you were to ever get his name tattooed on you (preferably a tramp stamp), then you might as well start planning what flowers you want in your bouquet. I could see him getting your name tattooed on him too. Probably on his pelvis, in the middle of his v-line. In case anyone ever needs a reminder of who his dick belongs to.  

Type of guy to dedicate a Mortal Kombat match to you, and then lose. Ah, I’m joking. He’d beat his opponent’s ass all because you promised him victory sex if he won and he doesn’t take victory sex lightly.

X = X-ray (Let’s see what’s going on under those clothes)

He’s got an 8.5–8.9 inch hog, shower not a grower. Little Johnny isn’t so little. There’s a reason he’s alright with doing full-frontal nudity if the scene calls for it. They’ve had to CG out his bulge in post-production in every Ninja Mime movie. It’s not his fault spandex happens to be the clingiest material known to man.

Y = Yearning (How high is their sex drive?)

Higher than Mount Fuji. He’s a stallion in his prime with a gorgeous girlfriend. His spare time is filled with filling you. And you both tend to feed off of each other, so all it takes is for one of you to be the tiniest bit turned on, and then, boom! You’re both desperately grinding against each other in a supply closet. Ain’t that just the way?

Z = Zzz (How quickly they fall asleep afterward)

Depends. He’s kind of like a dog that needs to tire himself out before he can sleep. 

Click for a Johnny Cage-shaped surprise👀👀

#johnny cage #johnny cage x reader #mk1 johnny cage #johnny cage smut #johnny cage mortal kombat #mk 2023 #mk smut #mortalkombat #mortal kombat 1 #nsft alphabet #realized i needed to change that W to a T in the title if i wanted this to get any traffic lmao

[inkdemonapologist]

Ok. A hypothetical scenario if you'll indulge me. You are a casting director on the movie. You are familiar with the material and you are asked to present some actors to the crew- *besides JK Simmons who everybody thinks should play Joey I guess?* who do you suggest and for what role?

I don't know any actors other than The Guy With The Cool Lips Who Played Scarecrow That One Time, so setting me up as casting director would be a questionable decision! I feel like the very tiny amount we know about this movie also makes this difficult; like, am I casting Sammy in 1932, Sammy in 1946, Ink Sammy, all three?

So, rather than picking specific famous people, some broader thoughts on what elements to prioritise?? as hypothetical casting director. For sake of this exercise we're going to take this all very seriously and pretend that the writing for this movie is already great lmao.

Joey: Ironically for the first BatIM character to get a canon human appearance, I think Joey's acting chops are more important than his looks; as long as makeup can do a decent moustache and the voice is good, the energy is what will really sell him. Joey Drew is both VERY important to get right and also the most complex character in the Bendy Franchise, but he's also really really easy to turn into a stereotype, and I feel like this implication of "obviously he should be played by the guy who played J Jonah Jameson" kinda speaks to how easy it is to see just one side of him. Joey is simultaneously ruthless but also disarmingly charming, likeable but also punchable, confident but also pathetically insecure, genuine but also manipulative -- it seems like a tricky energy to nail. If he doesn't have a sharpness to him, that Curiosity Where Empathy Should Be element, you've erased a really important part of the man behind so many nightmares; if he's a cartoon evil capitalist, then everyone who believes in his dreams looks stupid for falling for something so obvious. Whoever plays him has to be able to get in his head AND ALSO convey that nuance. But if you have the luxury of nitpicking appearance after that, I think it's worth noting that Joey doesn't look the way he's trying to look. I keep saying I'm obsessed with his overbite in BatDR, but like:

See? Henry's the one with that aggressive strong jaw facial structure. Compared to him, even this less-aged Joey has facial structure more like mine, with a weaker chin that gives the impression of an overbite and a shorter face (which, to be clear, are attractive traits, but they are definitely not the Stereotypical Energy for this character archetype) -- he just knows how to carry himself to give off that j jonah jameson energy. I think attention to that kind of detail would also help him be his own fascinating character instead of just shoving him into an existing archetype.

Henry: If it's Ink Henry, his vibes are the most important. This character is famously non-emotive, often to an inappropriate extent, and frankly I think whoever plays him should keep that as part of his character. Henry strikes me as someone who wants to be kind but he's so, so tired, and just looking at this guy needs to sell that because Henry's actual behaviour and dialogue won't.

If it's Actually Worked In The Studio Henry, then I think his voice and appearance need to be SPOT. ON. so that they can play him a little differently and it still works rather than just not feeling like Henry. If he sounds like a perfect Henry but he has more energy, he's still quiet but he's more confident, he's not the follower Joey tried to sell him as... that would be such a neat thing to leave as an implied reveal for fans -- that the Henry we know is either a dishonest representation, or changed by his experiences, and is actually a bit different from the man Joey worked with.

Susie: they won't do this because they're cowards, but I personally think Susie would be such a good candidate for protagonist of a Bendy movie..... anyway if human Susie is in it, she doesn't have a canon appearance so you have a lot of freedom here. Most important thing is that She Has The Range; she needs to be able to be both believably naive and starry-eyed in a likeable way rather than coming across as desperate or annoying, and she ALSO needs to have a ruthless energy in her so that her later Womens Wrongs don't come out of nowhere. If Twisted Alice AND Susie both make appearances, I'm torn on whether they should be played by the same person... it could be cool if they were, since then you could see a lot of Susie in Alice even when she's behaving VERY DIFFERENTLY, which I think would humanise Alice in a good way (and also humanise Susie as more than just a Sweet Naive Girl Who Was Tricked)

Either way Twisted Alice NEEDS TO BE HOT. IM NOT JOKING I THINK THIS IS THE PRIORITY. Yes yes half her face is melting, but her vibes are UNIRONICALLY "hot and evil and wants to vivisect someone." Like, it would also be nice to get someone who can play her with dimension, with an implication that she has reason to be a cartoon evil sexy person who flies into a shrieking rage beyond just women be crazy (which is kind of what she is in the games), but also, she IS a cartoon evil sexy person and you CAN'T lose that; she needs to be able to pull off EVIL AND HOT with half her face gone without it feeling like a parody. Lesbians in the audience need to fan themselves. ITS VERY IMPORTANT.

I don't have a ton of thoughts about Allison. We have a pretty specific physical description of her human self. She needs to have enough ethereal poise to justify the lovesick way she is described in every novel lmao. Allison Angel, though, is where I would put a priority of Needs A Character Actor i think; she's a fairly major character but it's so hard to get a good handle on what she actually like..... wants or feels beyond Helping The Protagonist and Being A Good Person, but if she could really sell the bits and pieces so well you believe it, so that she really seems like she's been harshened by the brutal world she lives in but genuinely values a hope she won't let go of, it could make the character really good.

Sammy.............. Well, it's hard to not be biased. But human Sammy has no canon appearance, so I think you can't go wrong there as long as you pick someone who could conceivably be described as "pointy", and I PERSONALLY think based on the little crumbs of description we've gotten that a human Sammy should be fairly distinctive and intense, attractive in a Strange way - but I think the really really important thing for Sammy (ink or human) is his vocal performance. This is a character who took off in popularity in large part because of a couple of really compellingly delivered monologues; Sammy's voice NEEDS to be right, especially when he's speaking quietly. I think physicality in the sense of How He Moves is ALSO really important for him; Sammy's wiggle-fingers in game and constantly odd descriptions in the novels and complete lack of personal space in both all imply that he moves Strangely, and I do think he should have an unsettling Renfield energy, but it's also so easy for Character Who Is Losing His Mind to get portrayed so over-the-top that it becomes goofy or unbelievable or weird for the sake of being "creepy". Sammy's energy shouldn't be Insane Batman Villain, it should be Doomed Guy In A Lovecraft Story -- it's just that nobody but him is in a lovecraft story.

there are other characters but I think these are all the ones i have thoughts on

#also in an ideal world human sammy's actor would be autistic #its not important but sammys so defined by Not Fitting and Not Being Understood #that i think that insight could rly add some intangible humanity to him #anyway #i know you have questions you always do

[moodymisty]

Hello, this is a request only if you are interested, I understand if you don't wanna do it. It's really hurt/comfort stuff with the intention of softness and comfort at the end. It's meant to be a Samael x s/o drabble. So basically, Lilith kidnapps s/o (seeing them as the horsemen's pet) and winds up torturing them so she can give them as a gift to Samael, not knowing how he really feels about s/o. (You don't have to be descriptive of what Lilith does, the overall premise is blood, pain, tears, and stuff. She's a mean bitch). Samael is given his s/o in really bad shape (not dead). It's up to you how it plays out, but I imagined he shows s/o a gentleness that's only for them as he tries to help them and take care of and assess their injuries. Lilith meanwhile is either jealous or disgusted by the show of mercy, (not what she expected). Maybe Samael flies into a rage upon seeing the human in such a pitiful way or he plays it cool and waits for an opening to be alone with them so he can help. It's up to you, I just wanna see Samael be all soft and gentle and show he cares about s/o. Thank you again for your generosity. I also have a different more smutty idea if you don't wanna do this one. Completely separate from this one.

Author's Note: I've never actually written for Samael at all before, I love his character but I'd never considered it, so this was a fun exercise. This is my first time writing Samael, so please excuse anything that may seem a little OOC while I get the hang of his character.

Summary: Samael saves his little songbird from the mouth of a cat.

Relationships: Samael/Fem!Reader

Warnings: Canon typical violence, Bruises, illuding to torture but no actual torture, Stockholm syndrome??? I guess, Fluff, Some brief references towards the Darksiders book 'The Abomination Vault' which is good go read it,

"Well now,"

His voice carries through the stone laden room, a booming deepness that even when he's only speaking casually, sounds almost as if he's addressing a group.

Samael.

You know the name; Lilith has mentioned it more than once when she talks to her servants and lesser demons. Those few snippets pale in comparison to seeing him, seeing how he towers larger than almost every other demon you've seen; Though still maintains a humanoid-esque shape.

You were apparently- in a way- his gift.

Lilith had cooed it to you more than once before, though she'd mostly been talking at you, as if an ornament. Rarely does she give things that don't amuse her the time of day; And simply chattering to a being she considers far inferior without inflicting some sort of suffering doesn't qualify.

It's the better of many other potential outcomes, at least. You'll take it. It isn't as if there's a choice anyhow.

Samael briefly glances in your direction, one large finger presses on the bottom of the cage that confines you as if to stop it's slow swaying, before his eyes turn back to Lilith. You've noticed her watching with intent, clearly focused on his reaction. If you had to guess, she wants something, and is hoping this will be the ticket towards pulling that favor.

"Where did you get this?"

The links of her chain belt 'tink' against each other, as she walks closer, glancing up towards the larger demon for but a moment.

"Just a little bit of sport; I know you've always been interested in Humanities, goings on."

Lilith finds it all dreadfully boring; At least anything that doesn't benefit or at least amuse her in one way or another. The demon lord takes another glance in your direction, the sharp points of the teeth visible behind his just barely parted lips.

Samael would've been quite interested in knowing how she managed such a feat, especially around the Council's watch, but Lilith seems too disinterested in the human she's captured to answer. She's much more interested in his reaction, or whatever she can get out of it. Even as boundary pushing as Samael can be, he isn't too eager to have the Council hot on his back. As well as the Horsemen; They are quite eager to keep Humanity protected, and are more than willing to obliterate anyone who goes against The Council's rulings.

Samael isn't too eager to deal with the mess of that; Particularly if it involves the youngest.

"You can do whatever you wish with it," Lilith says, her tone lightening and stringing the second half of her sentence with an almost singing tone. "Consider it a gift."

Her eyes move from the large openings in the wall revealing the dreadful hellish sky, an unreadable expression on her face. One might assume it's sultry, and that wouldn't be entirely wrong, but there is far more there; And it goes far deeper.

"You should come by more often. I have far more interesting pets than little humans." Samael's gaze turns from you to her.

"That, I am already well aware of." She seems unhappy with his response, though it seems positive on pure words alone. Maybe there's an undertone that exists only between them.

When she's departed, it's impossible not to feel the way your heart drops in your chest when you see Samael's full attention turn to you. It's just his head turned your way at first, before he fully turns and with loud, thundering steps against broken cobblestone, does he make his way towards you. The cuts and scrapes on your hands hurt as you support your weight, but the pain pushed to the back of your mind in place of fear.

The last time you had a demon's full attention was Lilith, and she isn't one who's attention you want.

"Tell me,"

You don't miss the way his tone of voice seems to change a bit now that he's speaking directly to you; Though it's easy to just assume it's purely manipulative.

"Do you sing, little songbird?"

You don't answer, mouth and throat dry. Fear is a permeant emotion to you now, and you feel it rising up more and more as you feel his glowing eyes focus on you. The way your heart hammers on your collarbone, breath short and ragged. Your jaw hurts from how tense it's been for ages, lips split and cracked.

Samael gives the cage a soft 'bonk' with one knuckle, just enough to send it shaking back and forth. It wobbles and forces you to hang on, watching him as he watches you stumble about. He can see the perpetual fear in your eyes, the way your body is slowly giving away to the amount of hazards it's been through. He's not sure how long you've been here, but it couldn't be that long, if you still have your wits about you.

Lilith always did enjoying playing with her toys until they broke.

Samael has never really made sense of it. In all of his centuries he's always operated with a goal in mind, doing whatever he could to get to it. Lilith's motives sometimes seem, short-sighted. Maybe even a little dull.

But this, now this is interesting.

Samael hasn't seen a human in many years, and while the clothing you wear is different, humanity still maintains the form the Creator originally shaped them in.

That form is, soft.

He can see the tops of your hands and wrists are dirty, covered in small bruises, the same sort running along your neck and cheeks. Your eyes are wide, darting over every inch of him in fear.

Samael stops.

Maybe it's boredom. Maybe it's the desire for something a little bit different.

Samael is old. Far older than your realm, and anything that's been built on it. But in all of those years, Earth has remained a tantalizingly forbidden fruit. The Council forbade access centuries ago, and as such, Samael has been restricted to hearing of Humanity's accomplishments and fumbling through stolen artifacts and hushed whispers.

So he's, curious.

Everything he's ever heard of humanity has been what they lack in strength they make up for in ingenuity, and creativity. And depravity; Depending on the demon you ask.

The long, clawed hand that had just rapped against the cage's bars now holds the lock, fiddling with it before he snaps it between his fingers. When the shattered pieces fall to the ground, the cage's door slowly creaks open. You eye the giant demon, as he seems look at you expectantly. There's no shortage of amusement on his face, either.

"What, you think I won't try to run?" Samael laughs, a deep baritone you can feel in your chest.

"By all means, go right ahead. Whatever you run into out there will be far less inviting than myself." He can see the thought run through your little head, until you make a choice.

You move closer towards him, hedging a bet that he'll be better than Lilith, and whatever she had in store for you.

You've seen that throne of Lilith, and her pets. Her creativity knows no bounds. Whatever end you might meet with Samael, is far better than that.

You let the larger demon take you, leaving one unknown for another.

It might've been easy for someone to scold you on not hearing him coming up behind you, but in your defense, it's easy to miss; Especially when one is distracted.

His footfall is softer than one might expect, though one probably wouldn't exactly call it soft at all. It's his voice you end up hearing first anyways, looking over your shoulder the minute it hits your ears.

"So this is where you've been off to."

You turn around, looking up as Samael approaches. His wings are casually half-folded, watching as you fiddle with a large decorative vase.

Samael's palace is huge. Enough so that it's quite easy to get completely lost.

Far better than a cage; At least in your opinion.

You don't know exactly how long it's been since you left Lilith, but it's not been enough time. The improvement has been astronomical, and you no longer feel the constant, heart pounding fear that had been permanent for so long.

Samael is, oddly nice. You'd expected it to be mostly a ploy, but while you know he's a demon, one capable many, many things, he hasn't tried anything yet.

And so you find yourself almost enjoying his company, and the idea of leaving him now almost seems like a negative. You'd miss him.

"I just wanted to take a look around."

You don't think it would qualify as a 'treasure room', but the large open space is littered with a variety of things; From broken weapons to odd pieces of art that seem clearly inhuman. Most seem to be stolen from battlefields judging by the overall wear and tear, but it' hard to be sure. Some seems like it almost hails from Hell itself, much to your surprise.

Who would've thought demons would be so artistic.

"There is far more worth seeing than whatever rubbish you were throwing around. Let me show you." He kneels just enough to gesture towards you with his hand, and you know what he's asking you to do.

As step closer Samael's eyes rake over your body, taking note of the way most of the bruises and cuts have faded away. What's left is a much more fresh face, one that isn't battered and showing of fear and fatigue.

He lets you up onto his shoulders with a gentle boost, and you take roost quickly. He can feel the gentle touch of your hands on his scale-like skin, as you hold on. He'll show you sights that Humanity has yet to see, or hasn't in millennia.

Glancing up towards you he sees the way you're eagerly waiting, and begins walking.

#samael x reader #darksiders x reader #reader insert #reader #mywriting

[merakiui]

the idea of rollo staying at NRC in ramshackle will forever remain soooo fun to me especially with all the other characters freaking out about it HAHA thank you for blessing my dashboard with it <3 it's incredible. maybe one day i'll write a little drabble abt that idea but i'm currently 18.000 words into a rollo/reader longfic (and not even halfway done yet. yippee! what burden did i put on my own shoulders... OTL) and i don't wanna write anything else until i have this monstrosity finished LMAO but if you have any other rollo at nrc ideas pspspspsppspsp thank you

Good luck with your Rollo fic, anon! I know how it feels to subject oneself to long fics, so I wish you all the best with your writing process!!!

As for Rollo at NRC, allow me to share a few thoughts:

✧ Rollo braving the busy cafeteria line when they’re selling the bakery goods once every month. He insists on doing this because he doesn’t want you to get trampled by ignorant mages who don’t know how to be respectful! He always returns with your favorite, sometimes even forgoing the chance to get his own favorite item because you’re way more important to him than a croissant.

✧ PE class with Rollo, but he offers to do the same exercise routine Vargas has created for you since you can’t exactly fly on a broom. He’ll run laps on the track with you (even though he’d rather not) just to be beside you so you won’t feel left out. The two of you slack on sit-ups and push-ups when Vargas isn’t looking, usually just sitting cross-legged in the field and talking about anything and everything.

✧ Since you’re comfortable with letting Rollo stay and sleep in your bed, the two of you will lie on your sides and occasionally whisper to each other through the darkness, mumbling about simple things like tomorrow’s weather, or the next alchemy exam, or how you should both spend this upcoming weekend. Grim usually has to get up and lie between the both of you so you’ll stop talking, but with each nightly conversation Rollo loosens up a little and even seems friendlier and warmer to you and Grim. You think you might’ve heard a genuine chuckle when Grim had gotten up and moved between you, all while sleepily complaining about how neither of you will shut up. Rollo won’t admit it outright, but ever since he started sleeping beside you he’s found that sleep comes much easier now.

✧ Rollo doesn’t like mages, but he’s deemed himself the only mage safe and capable enough to be around you. So when you’re dejected that you can’t experience what it must feel like to fly on a broom he offers to show you without thinking. But then Ace and Deuce are offering, and now Rollo really has to commit to his promise. Ace is too carefree with his flying and Deuce gets too nervous sometimes, so they’re definitely not suited to take you up into the air. Rollo never really thought that something so normal as flying on a broom would appeal to someone who’s never seen or heard of such a thing before, but once he’s in the air with you—and you’re wrapping your arms firmly around him to hold on—he hears the breathy excitement in your voice as you wave and yell down to your friends below. Rollo almost confesses to you right then and there because the sky is the only place private enough for a sudden confession, but he holds his tongue and smiles softly instead. You’re cute when you’re happy.

✧ Rollo likes to study in the library with you, either in one of the alcoves or at a table in the very corner. The two of you might get interrupted by whoever happens to stumble upon you, and it’s annoying when you ask the intruder to stay and study alongside the both of you. But he’s always rewarded after every moment spent with you when you get sleepy and lean against his shoulder, using it as a pillow. Your relationship has become really friendly and casual lately, which is a bond Rollo thought he’d never be able to have. But oh the pride he feels when he looks at Ace or Azul or even Riddle and can see them withholding an envious comment.

✧ When you first took Rollo into the town alongside some friends, wanting to show him around in the same fashion you’d been shown around many months ago, he finds himself thinking about all of the places here that could serve as good date sites. Naturally, taking a walk through the town could be a date in itself, but he sees the cutest restaurants and cafés and shops. And he makes a mental note to return with you next time so that he can properly immerse himself in the atmosphere and pretend it’s a date with only you.

✧ Rollo is there for you if you ever get homesick, much like how you’re there for him when he recalls his past and has to fight tears and sadness so he won’t burden you with such feelings. Rollo doesn’t experience hugs often, but ever since he transferred to NRC you’ve always offered a hug when he looked tired or lonely or saddened. Rollo had pushed you away each time, but when he’s particularly emotionally vulnerable he’ll pull you into him and never let go, holding tightly and burying his face in the crook of your neck.

✧ Stargazing with Rollo when neither of you can fall asleep. Maybe you’re plagued with confusing dreams, maybe it’s his insomnia, or maybe the both of you are kept up by Grim’s loud snoring. Either way, you’ll meet each other in the hall and just silently agree to watch the stars in hopes of getting sleepy. Sometimes you’ll sit at the window; if it’s not too chilly outside you’ll grab a blanket and sit out there, the both of you wrapped up, your gazes turned skyward. Sometimes you’ll talk about deep topics. Sometimes you’ll just wordlessly admire the sky. Sometimes Rollo thinks of telling you he loves you, of reaching out to turn your head towards him so you can taste the confession on his lips. But instead he chooses to admire the brightest star in his world: you.

#twisted chit chat

[djarins-cyare]

Get to Know Me (tag game)

Thanks @burntheedges and @sydneyinacoma for the tags! 💖

I guess I don’t post much about myself on here, so behold the mystery of Jyar’ika revealed under the cut (because I waffle and didn't wanna take up y’all’s dashes)…

Ahh space to include GIFs (*is happy*)...

1. Were you named after anyone? Hmm, that’s a sneaky way to get a name reveal outta me. Alright, I don’t mind… apparently one of the hosts on Blue Peter (the longest-running children’s TV show in the world - you’re not getting an age reveal outta me too!) had a baby just before I was born. Why my parents were watching a children’s TV show I have no idea, but this host evidently wrote/sang some kinda song on air about calling her baby daughter Jemma with a J not Gemma with a G. So I was named after a terribly trite and obscure TV reference that nobody will ever remember. You may call me Jem if you wish, my friends all do, and if you’re bothering to read this then you’re in that category.

(If you're wondering about the GIF, the show was always broadcast live and they had several pets. The outtakes are numerous.)

2. When was the last time you cried? I think I’m weird… I don’t tend to cry? Or only if I’m really really upset. Maybe I’m Cameron Diaz in The Holiday? So yeah, I can’t actually remember 🤔.

3. Do you have kids? Nope, although it’s a fairly recent decision to not have them. I spent much of my life assuming I wanted kids until I realised I had been conditioned by society to think I did. Since I started considering what I genuinely want and need in my life, I’ve never been happier! I'd make an exception to adopt a certain little green guy, though.

4. What sports do you play/have played? Ugh, I hate questions like this. Nope, I’m a lazy asshole and now you all know it 🫣. I mean, I activity-hopped throughout my school years (gymnastics, karate, soccer), but these days I live in front of a computer. My exercise is lugging 24 bottles of water up 4 flights of stairs twice a week.

5. Do you use sarcasm? I’m British. Sarcasm is my mother tongue.

6. What’s the first thing you notice about people? I’m the least observant person ever! So voices a lot of the time, I think. Pretty sure that’s why something clicked inside me as soon as Din Djarin spoke his first on-screen words.

7. What’s your eye color? Depends on the light, but somewhere between dark blue and grey.

8. Scary movies or happy endings? I’m an absolute wuss when it comes to scary movies, so I don’t put myself through that. Also, the literature student in me desperately wants to point out that these things are not mutually exclusive, as you can have scary movies with happy endings, so a more appropriate ‘either/or’ scenario would be tragedies or happy endings. But either way, I will say no to the former and yes to the latter. I dislike making myself feel scared or sad – I consume fiction (in all formats) to feel good, so I’ll always look for the positive. I’m currently experimenting to see if I can write a massively angsty fic, and it was supposed to be done by the New Year, but I’m struggling. I will also have to include one of those open-ended ‘maybe it could work out after all’ epilogues. I just can’t leave my characters in pain.

9. Any talents? Not sure what constitutes a talent… I can sing, play guitar, write a longass Din Djarin fanfic that people seem quite keen on, uh… cook, I guess (though I rarely bother), understand quite a few languages (less proficient at speaking them). I’m sort of a jack of all trades, master of none. I would say I have a talent for procrastination – I can complete a whole workday and get barely anything of substance done!

10. Where were you born? In a village outside a town in Surrey, England. It's only about 30 miles from London. Lots of trees. Very dull. I left as soon as I could.

11. What are your hobbies? Writing is my main obsession, specifically Din Djarin-related, of course. Also reading (same genre). Throughout my entire life I’ve enjoyed stories in all formats – reading, writing, watching, listening, proofreading the fuck out of them – so if it’s a good yarn, I’ll have a good time.

12. Do you have any pets? Not currently, my landlord won’t allow it. I used to own 3 rats who were the most adorable boys and so smart – they knew their names, responded to commands, liked to snuggle. When I can finally buy my own place I’ll probably get a dog, as I like pets that listen to you, even if only sporadically. I had a very non-communicative chameleon once. He was called Minion. He was not a good minion.

13. How tall are you? 5’4. Not tiny, but sometimes I have to go up on my tippytoes to reach stuff.

14. Favorite subject in school? English literature (see hobbies question above). When I got to university and enrolled on an English lit/lang degree, I tried to take as many literature courses and avoid the language ones. It wasn’t until years after graduating when I started proofing/editing and writing more seriously that I developed a respect for all the mandatory language courses I had to do. I also liked media studies and film studies; you can guess why. Psychology was interesting too, it’s good to understand human nature if you want to write realistic characters.

15. Dream job? I wish I could write novels for a living. It’s a goal as well as a dream. I know a couple of authors who’ve self-published via Kindle Direct Publishing (I proofread/edited for one of them), and they were successful enough to turn that into their careers. They keep encouraging me to try, although I’m currently in my ‘obsessed with Din Djarin so just writing fanfic to develop my authorial voice’ era. When my obsession wanes, as obsessions inevitably do, I’ll hopefully feel ready to write something original and take my shot. But I’m not pressuring myself, and right now I’m happy attempting to entertain the Mandalorian fan community. I feel safe here 💖

Now I know I’m supposed to tag people since that’s the point of a tag game… but I’m that autistic kid in the corner who is too shy and worried about tagging people who might not reply. So I’m foregoing tags today. But, if you’ve bothered to read this and you haven't already played: TAG YOU’RE IT! That’s me tagging you, please take it seriously and thank me for your tag in your own post (I will be genuinely thrilled if anybody does this, and I’m sending advance love to anyone who does – you don’t know how much it means to someone autistic to have the decision-making element dealt with for them). So go on, now it’s your turn!

#about myself #tag game #ask game #tag you're it #ask me anything #tag yourself

[fightaers]

KNOWING YOUR PARTNER WELL CAN POTENTIALLY MAKE WRITING TOGETHER A LOT EASIER.

REPOST DO NOT REBLOG !!

NAME: bellaaaaaaaaaa. bella for short

PRONOUNS : she/her but they/them if ure unsure is also coolio

PREFERENCE OF COMMUNICATION : bad on all front, but discord slightly less so

NAME OF MUSE(s) : god, i have so many. feel free to browse <3

BEST EXPERIENCE : when i first entered the animanga rpc i had a really, really good time from the get-go ngl. for a while, right until my revival in 2024, i was sort of more into the 'western / live action' side of the rp media, and i kept remembering how much of a good time i had in the animanga rpc, which triggered my interest in returning.

my other best experience is basically when i learn from my dearest mutuals then how not to be afraid to project ur muses' voices into their narration, which allowed me to have incredible fun with exercising different mindset and speech patterns and/or different dialects since!

RP PET PEEVES / DEALBREAKERS : uhhh this is pretty specific to my experience and quite particular — thus i hope to elaborate it well — but i highly dislike when writing partners tried crafting our threads into only benefiting / leveraging their own muse(s) rather than it being a collaborative effort for both our muses' character development. this happened to me only ... twice so far ? so it's quite rare considering i've been writing for ten years, but i'm suuuuper sensitive about this.

so for example right, what usually happens is me and my writing partner would talk about our muses and we see common ground and where we could expand on a point of conflict. both our muses then benefit from this point of thread because the narrative we've written ought to challenge their perspective, and this can be driven with angst, drama, whatever genre this can be explored in etc.

now what i'm pointing out specifically is when the writing partner would only try to have their own muse's emotions and challenges on the forefront of the plot, with no consideration to mine, which i think defeated the purpose of roleplaying in entirety because roleplaying especially is supposed to be a collaborative effort for all writers involved. but no, it's their muse's pain that's significant. it's only their suffering that outweighed everyone else's, and my character typically is became an "affirmation" or a "booster" to their muses' experience.

i have a few turn-off's but this one is definitely one of the highest.

MUSE PREFERENCES: oh maaaan, i've written characters from sooo many ranges. typically it's whoever tickled my brain at the moment <333 but lately i do realise i'm often drawn to

(1) outwardly soft-looking people (2) have crazy dedication value; sometimes absurdly loyal to a cause / person (3) most of the time they're brown-haired and/or dark-haired (4) a lot of them give earthy and/or green vibe

and if it's the opposite, it's either someone struggling with their temper and/or have their viewpoint challenged or exploited. don't believe me, check out my western multi as well to see where i'm ticking the boxes. ( i'm on hiatus there but still. look at the muses. )

PLOTS OR MEMES : fuuuuuuck. i'm super bad with first-time plotting not gonna lieeeee. listen, my attention span's crap. my method is usually this: we plot minimally ( usually to establish the timeline and/or where our muses stand ) and then i prefer winging the first thread, usually to gauge the pace of the writing, ur muses' thoughts and/or reactions so mine could bounce off of yours, and then i'd rain in your IM / discord to yap my way into ur heart 🫶 i looove when my mutuals would yap at me right back. i love substances, and i love context. i love knowing what my partners want to achieve or what they're satisfied / dissatisfied with so we can work around that. so yes, thread > plot > memes.

LONG OR SHORT REPLIES : wish i'm a short-replier. born a long-replier. working on making my paragraphs more concise though. that's on my 2024 writing bingo for sure!

BEST TIME TO WRITE : when i want to 💀  and i have no idea when. usually when i'm rested enough so if i'm dead tired on friday, there's a chance i'll still be ghosting the dash on saturday. i try not to........ push myself so hard on my availability, which is why it's important i stress out how i am a low-activitiy blog, because i know that even if i push myself when i don't want to, it won't work. my brain would dead-ass refuse to cooperate.

ARE YOU LIKE YOUR MUSE(S) : i'm definitely flawed, which is something i like exploring with my muses, because i think i've tried so hard since i was 15 to be perfect. that isn't to say my characters and i share the same flaw, but unlike in real life, exploring my characters' area of weaknesses and how that can have its consequences is perhaps a catharsis for me since i could safely navigate it within a narrative i could ( somewhat ) control. it's freeing. writing has always been freeing in that sense.

tagged: @dynmghts and @ingen1um ( u sexy people muaah <3 ) tagging: @fighterbound , @bladedhunter , @kiigan , @senjufound and whoever that wants to it !!!!!

#my pet peeve are that specific and idk why #and thats just ONE #who hurt me #gen: dash games.

[sapphire-weapon]

How would you recommend someone to get into canon character analysis? Like how did you start, how did you improve? honestly so impressed by all ur takes

oh god that is a

hell of a question

I been doing this for so long, man... I don't even know.

I mean, I had an unfair advantage over a lot of people in fandom. I was taught how to do a lot of this in school and from a very early age. Like, we're talking second grade. We had entire lessons dedicated to identifying cause and effect in stories. Open-ended critical thinking questions were on every test for every story I read in elementary and middle school. They were also part of the ITBS, which I don't believe is still in use in public schools -- but, in my generation, to pass the standardized tests that we had, we had entire sections of the English/literature portions of that test that were just blank pages to write an essay-like response to an analytical question about a story.

So, I guess I would probably start there. And I would start with something short and simple that has very strong, distinct character voices. Resident Evil is huge and labyrinthine and contradicts itself constantly.

In fact, start with movies. I would actually probably start with Disney movies. And I don't say that to be patronizing to you; I say that to be complimentary to Disney movies. Films like The Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Lion King, and Tangled have really, really strong themes, really distinct and layered characters, and a lot of very adult motivations to their villains especially.

The two big questions that you're going to want to start with are: What is the theme of the story? and What is the character I'm analzying's overall goal?

In a good story, those two answers will either be identical or very closely related. So, to use Tangled as an example: the theme of that movie is "the freedom to pursue/live your dream" and Rapunzel's overall goal is "freedom so that she can pursue her dream of seeing the floating lights." (side note: A good villain should have their goal be the photo negative of the hero's. So, Rapunzel's goal is freedom, whereas Mother Gothel's goal is confinement.)

And once you have those two things established, you can look at the actions that a character takes and see how those actions help move that character closer to achieving their goal. And this is where you can run cause and effect exercises.

Pull out an action that a character takes. Any action. Look at it, and go, "What caused this to happen?" and then ask, "What is the effect that this action has on the story/the other characters/the character themselves? What happens as a result of this?"

And just. Do that. Constantly. Run exercises like that until you want to fucking throw up because the questions seem so simple to you that you don't understand why you're bothering to ask them anymore. I distinctly remember reaching that point in school; eventually cause and effect questions on tests just pissed me off because it just seemed so self-evident.

And then, every so often, while you're doing that, ask why. "So, X happened because Y character did Z. But why did Y character do Z in the first place?" This is a more abstract form of cause and effect, where you have to then go back in the script and identify "Well... B thing happened earlier, which caused Y character to feel this way or learn this thing... so they probably did Z because of the B thing."

It's basically the literary version of

If A + B = C, then C - A = B

or

If A = B and B = C, then A = C

Read into the concept of catharsis in stories and how things are set up in order to pay off later, and that will help you with these exercises.

And once you have that down, read up on the difference between character arcs -- identify a positive arc, a negative arc, and a flat arc. Determine what kind of arc the character goes through. Characters can sometimes have multiple arcs. Look into character archetypes and see how that archetype informs the character's behavior (how many times have I yelled about Leon being "The Protector" archetype?).

If you're interested, here's a whole video of me and @friedesgreatscythe mapping out Rufus Shinra's multiple character arcs, to give you an idea of how that all shakes out.

Once you are able to actually build that outline/map in that video, that's where the actual analysis part starts. Because that's what I'm really doing in all these posts. I'm just applying all that shit ^^^ simultaneously to create these posts. Like this is a really easy to see example of me using those skills from those exercises in order to create an analysis of one part of Leon's character.

And when you get really really advanced at all that shit, then you can start looking into things like symbolism and imagery and camerawork and unreliable narrators, and all that other fucking shit that goes into telling a story.

It's a lot. You're basically going to have to teach yourself several years' worth of skills that school just never taught you. And that fucking sucks. But if that's something you're really interested in doing, I think you should do it. It's never too late to learn a new skill.

[cursedcommutethoughts]

Random Crossover Thoughts

There are ideas I play with and ideas I write. The following is an example of an idea I play with:

Jason Todd, Luo Binghe, and Mo Ran/Taxian Jun and how they would interact. Because they all have similarities... until they don't. (I am not into... I believe the term is batscest. And BIngmei would be creeped out by Taxian. Bingge would take notes). But I think it would be neat to watch Jason's reaction at the moment where he realizes their... different perspectives, and different types of revenges on their mentors.

And then I had to wonder at how he would feel about their interactions with his own mentor/father figure after that. 'Cause if I had a mentor/father figure, I would be distinctly uncomfortable leaving any of these guys alone with him. But how uncomfortable? Which would I be like, I wish they wouldn't, versus which I would immediately drop everything to intercede, if I were in Jason's boots.

I think it breaks down like this:

1.) Luo Binghe from SVSSS, also known as Bingmei. Most comfortable. Basically no threat of harming Bats or anyone really without good reason or purely because they have been a shitty mentor (at times). Would understand the perspective of loving someone with whom you have a complex relationship with underlying tones of guilt, betrayal, and pride. (Familial versus Romantic, but the base is there). Could actually be a sweet scene with either character, until the reveal. Might even be funny in how uncomfortable he would make Bats.

2.) Taxian Jun/Mo Ran would be unsettling, but not like an emergency, get to them immediately. I get the vibe he's a little like the Joker at times, but as long as he's got a reason to keep someone alive he will. I think if he and Jason were working together for whatever reason, he'd leave Bats alone except for being verbally abusive. I get the sense in terms of other abuses, Chu Wanning is the one most in danger at any given time. Same goes for other timeline versions of this character.

3.) Luo Binghe from PIDW also known as Bingge. Instantly get to them as fast as possible. Should probably not be left unsupervised with anyone, but especially not Bats. Bingge should never be left alone with someone who resembles a mentor/father figure, let alone one who has occasionally been shitty. Best case scenario he does the blood thing and bides his time to take revenge. Worst case he doesn't wait, and assumes he can talk his way out of consequences.

It remains an idea I will not write though, as I can think of no plot that could create a solid storyline. That, and I do not have a fully solid understanding of Jason Todd's voice/character that I feel comfortable writing him. But it remains a fun thought exercise to get me through my commute.

#not batcest #jason todd #batman #luo binghe #luo bingge #svsss #svsss au #pidw #taxian jun #the husky and his white cat shizun #danmei #comics #Weird Crossovers #what if #Writing ideas that I never follow through with #But upon reflection #I really do think Bingmei and Batfam would be sweet up until he mentioned the whole marriage thing #They'd be vibing and then they'd be freaking out. But quietly.

[stealthnoodle]

Genuine question, how do you improve your fanfiction writing skills? I got a new special interest recently and I want to write about it. I haven't worked on anything in a decade and it feels like my skills have regressed. I miss writing fanfiction (especially femslash) so much and I want to get back into it.

There are probably as many different approaches to this are there are people who write, but here's what works for me!

One thing I do think is universally true is that the only way to get better is to keep putting words down, even if you're frustrated by the quality of them. (And it is so frustrating to come back to writing after a long break and feel like you've forgotten how to string words together. I have been there! It's the worst!) So Step One, I think, is to figure out what you need to do to make it easier to brain dump. Skip over scenes you're not in the mood to write. Use placeholders like "[Witty reply]" or "[does something to show she's angry]" if you get stuck. Don't worry about using too many adverbs or repeating yourself.

If you're someone who struggles with anxiety when you sit down to write (hi, it's me), take steps to relax yourself so that your brain's filter won't get in the way too much. Maybe you put on some motivating music. Maybe you exercise your way into some endorphins first. Maybe you're me and you've mastered getting high enough to chill out without chilling out so hard you end up staring at the ceiling for an hour. "Write drunk, edit sober" doesn't have to be literal advice, but I like the spirit of it.

Once you've got a bunch of words to work with, pat yourself on the back! Maybe later you can revise your brain dump into something you want to show other people. Maybe you hate it and just want to do an autopsy to understand why. Either way, you've done something valuable just by getting those words out. Go through them and make notes, even if your notes are as vague as "This character's voice sounds a little off" or "This scene doesn't fit here." I like to highlight chunks of text I feel especially iffy about in green. And on the flip side, even the biggest mess is probably going to have something you like enough to repurpose somewhere else. I write in Scrivener, and all of my projects have a "Bits and Scraps" file for this purpose. 10/10, would recommend.

Speaking of which, "Kill your darlings" is terrible advice. Stash your darlings away for later. I have written a truly ridiculous number of words that never ended up turning into a story I could be satisfied with, and being able to reframe my thinking from "Ugh, what a waste of effort" to "Wow, that was a lot of great practice, and now I've got a document full of turns of phrase and jokes and plot points I can recycle" has made a huge difference for me.

My other tip is to spend time deconstructing other people's writing in your brain to understand why it works. Some people don't enjoy doing this when they're reading for fun, and they're probably better off trying this on a reread; I am the kind of weirdo who will stop in delight when I come across something I find effective and rotate it in my mind like a 3-D Tetris block. (As a messy bitch who loves writing out of sequence, I'm always on the lookout for especially smooth pacing and transitions that I can try to emulate.) When you read fics with characterizations that you like, try comparing the characters' speech and actions to their canon selves and see if you can trace how the author extrapolated from them; when you read fics with characterizations you don't like, see if you can articulate to yourself why they feel off to you.

Hopefully at least some of that wall of text is helpful, lol. Good luck, anon! I am rooting for you to make the girls kiss!

#writing #and most of all: write what you want to read! #write self-indulgent stories and post them so other people can indulge too #that's the joy of fanfiction #bonus tip: sex scenes and fight scenes are fundamentally the same kind of scene and if you can write one you can write the other! #i was going to say the biggest difference is how likely the participants are to be having a good time but that's VERY character-dependent

[lorkai]

Lilia as your dad

A/N: Head empty, just this gremlin screaming and running around until I finally write this down. So come get your gremlin if you like him and fluff combined lol.

Lilia naturally has a way with children. They are always funny and honest, and they make him feel a peace he never thought he would feel when he was on the battlefield. He saw a lot that traumatized him, a lot of blood and bodies, so being surrounded by kids and their antics helped him find himself when he had nightmares and war trauma. He will never forget how he took care of Malleus since he was just an egg ready to hatch, how he crawled out and breathed in for the first time was the most beautiful sight he had ever seen. Holding him in his arms gave him a sense of belonging and made him realize he wanted more children, little ones that he could raise and help.

Regardless of whether you are his adopted or biological child, human or fae, Lilia will treat you very well. Obviously he has his mistakes as a father and as an fae but he is always working to make up for those mistakes and apologizes when he is wrong. He is naturally a busy fae, but he can easily be found going to your imaginary tea parties, playing with you, teaching you to fight, or just taking you to work with him.

Lilia says he's proud of every little achievement you've achieved and offers you good hugs. Plus, he takes you and Silver out to the fanciest and most expensive restaurant every now and then to celebrate something important. And it is customary for him to put you to bed and cover you with a warm blanket, kissing your forehead.

You 100% have inside jokes and a secret handshake.

Also, Lilia loves to read you stories. He is the best narrator and manages to make the dialogues funnier with the voices he imitates. Books may vary. Fantasy, mystery and if you like, horror. There are also movie nights where you, Malleus, Silver, Sebek and your dad get together to watch silly movies. He's also the type of person who talks to the character all the time, Silver is already used to but Sebek always complains about it while you and Malleus find this funny.

It's common for Malleus to find you in a pillow fort in Lilia's room, where you spend a lot of time reading manga and watching anime, debating about the strongest characters from and eating junk food. Not that you know but these debates are said so that your observation and perception are more keen than that of other people, so that you are able to perceive if a person and their intentions are good, because he will not always be there to protect you and that's why he gives you mental exercises like this. Besides, you always end up sleeping in the comfort of the fort, warm and between a mess of arms and legs. It's lovely to see.

  He's a busy parent as mentioned as he's preparing Malleus to ascend the throne, but he also always has time to talk to Silver and you about your respective issues. With him you can talk about your feelings and he always talks about how valid they are so you don't repress them and end up with some emotional block. He also gives the best advice when you're having a hard time or just went after him because of a nightmare, either way he always ends up pulling you down onto his chest and feeling combing gently on your scalp, singing the same lullaby that put Malleus and Silver to sleep. 

While everyone accepts you in their little family, they also have to accept that you and Lilia are constantly in a war to see who can prank them the most. Malleus is pretty hard to fall for your pranks, but he always plays along so you don't feel bad. And Silver doesn't even care since half the time he's sleeping. But Sebek, poor crocodile, is running around being surprised by you and your father with equally sadistic smiles, his words, not mine. And when he starts chasing the two of you to scold you about how you've been bothering Waka-sama, the two of you have fun hiding in the castle. The place is huge and Sebek doesn't even know half of the hiding places shared between you and Lilia.

Finally, Lilia probably teaches you some magic tricks. In addition to training and fighting with you, with weapons like a sword or bow or just with your fists, he wants you to be strong physically and mentally so that you know how to defend yourself when he can't be there in time. This is a fear of his that you may not be able to understand, but as a general he has many known enemies and spies always trying to get close to him and his only weaknesses are his children.

     At the end of the night he always says I love you before he goes to sleep and makes sure you're comfortable and warm in your covers. He always tries to be a good father to you and his brother Silver.

#disney twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland #twst #twst lilia vanrouge #twst lilia #lilia vanrouge #child!reader #child!mc

[sparks-chaotic-cove]

Doing a bit of a writing exercise here! focused on descriptions! Using our dear old Fable characters as the characters I'm writing from-

(Aax!:)

As Aax crept down the wooden staircase, a waft of chilly air met them. The breeze ruffled their hair, blowing strands very softly in different directions. A few steps down, and the comforting sound of trickling water could be heard. A small smile crept across his face as he took a deep breath, absorbing the familiarity of this cave environment he was stepping into. A board creaked as he made his way onto the bridge, settling against the rough wooden railings to peer at the stream of water below. Also below, was a bench. And that bench was perfect. Wool blankets were draped over the wood, colored to each person they represented. He couldn't help but smile at that; Rae had organized them, like he always did with everything else. It was endearing. Eventually, Aax trailed down the stairs, dragging his hand across the cold and damp stone wall, his fingers bumping up an down over the grooves and patches of moss. The moss at the bottom made a slight crunching sound almost reminiscent of snow when he stepped off the stairway. The humid yet cold air of cave was stronger down here, next to the winding stream. He took his spot on the bench, sitting in the little magenta square of fabric, curling their legs up and getting cozy, just looking out onto the flowing water, which was dotted with different plants. The reflection of glowberries, the large dripleaves, the lilypads. It was all perfect. It felt like home. And it was built by a person who felt like home- and that made it all the better.

(Rae!: )

The clacking of his boots and slightly heavy breaths filled the air as he twirled his way down the winding stairs. The rest of the silence was filled by a quiet melodic hum, recalling the notes of a song he remembered from long ago, although he neglected to remember exactly where it was from. His book of notes tapped against his thigh with every step, swinging back and forth. With a few more turns, he felt the cold cave air rustle his cape. The smell reminded him of his partner, Aax; who was also the man who he'd decorated this for... well, one of them, at least. The cold air was almost refreshing after being cooped up in his study all evening; it banished the growing indifference from his mind. Best of all, it felt easier to breath. His boots were not loud, but they weren't exactly what one would call quiet, either. As he made his way across the bridge, he heard a soothing, calm voice ask, "Rae?". The scientist jumped a bit- he hadn't expected anyone to be down here. Usually Aax was at the dock, and Caspian in his workshop. Both would return at night, Caspian's shirt stained by grease and hair as tangled as when he first awoke; and Aax's hands smelling of fish. He had grown used to the smell of fish, along with the lingering taste of rotten flesh. It didn't bother him anymore- in fact, it reminded him of Aax, and that was good enough for him. That didn't mean he'd eat rotten flesh of his own choice, though. "Aax?" he chirped back warily, peering around the corner of the post. Warm black eyes stared into his, half obscured by small red glasses. A sharp-toothed smile spread across the olm's face, and Rae quickened his pace down the stairs, barely noticing the increase in humidity and chill, as well as the growing noise of the stream flowing through the area. His fisherman rose to greet him, wrapping his cold arms around the taller man's torso. Rae brushed the mop of white hair away for a moment to place a quick kiss on the smaller man's forehead, wrapping his own arms around the other's shoulders. "Come sit!" Aax chirped, pulling away and leading Rae by the hand to the bench, patting the seat with a soft laugh.

"We've not gotten to sit for a while, have we?" Rae asked, crawling up onto the bench. Aax shook their head, nestling into his side and taking one of Rae's hands in his two, playing with his ink-stained fingers and comparing the differences in the size.

"We can fix that now, though!" Aax assured, looking up to meet Rae's now green eyes. "so, baby, what've you been studying?"

#And thats where I'm ending that #Wooooo #I think this probably counts as a sort of first fanfic? #Raax #fablesmp aax #fablesmp rae #rae morningstar #fablesmp #fsmp #fsmpblr #fablesmpblr #sparkwrites

[ackermanbloodline]

Thanks for answering my ask. Here's my request (I'm sorry in advance if it's gonna be long but plz take ur time with writing it 😊):

The timeline's around the RtS arc but later follows the future events in the story. Reader has always been madly in love with Levi but she's been holding back in fear of rejection. Finally the night before the Shinganshina battle she decides to come clear and tell Levi how she feels indirectly because she might die the next day. To her fear Levi rejects her, somehow in anger, given they have other things to worry about. Reader survives RtS with a lot of injuries. Levi doesn't pay too much attention to her. She wants to comfort him for losing his dear friend but Levi shuts her down.

Fast forward to 5 years later, when Levi gets injured, she's accompanying Hanji to find Zeke along with Floch and his team bcz she's worried about Levi so she insisted on going with them. Upon encoutering Levi's badly injured body she somehow loses it and when Floch makes remarks on the fact their N.1 threat aka Levi is out of their way, she tries to attack Floch but gets shot by him. Heavily wounded almost near her heart, she still tries to protect Levi along with Hanji when they both throw themselves into the water. She's unconscious by the time Levi wakes up due to blood loss but Hanji tells Levi to what lengths reader went for him. She basically wakes up mutteeing Levi's name while he's listening.

She fights alongside the team in the final battle while being heavily injured to protect Levi.

They get together after the battle of heaven & Earth, but I would looove to read an ANGST+ future FLUFF. Sorry again if it turned out long and thank you in advance! ❤️🙏🏻

I might receive some flack for this, but I have to be honest and straightforward as this is a pretty unique circumstance.

I appreciate the level of thought and depth that you have put into this request. I really do. This sounds like such a great story that I would personally like to read myself.

However… this does not give me much room to be creative and to exercise my own judgment. Fulfilling this request would make me feel like I have a bunch of boxes to tick off, so to speak. Usually people send in a couple sentences for a fic, which leaves me to exercise my own vision for the story and what goes down. Some writers on here prefer this kind of detail in a request and to each their own, but this has made me realize that’s not how I operate.

This is nothing against you, you have every right to request what you want to see in a fic, but there are times in your request where Levi acts out of character, at least to me. This would put a mental obstacle in my writing process. To add, the Battle of Heaven and Earth, as we all know, is a very intense sequence. It is something I’m not comfortable with writing around either.

I’m very sorry, Anon, but I’m going to have to pass on this one. I hope you don’t take it personally. It is undoubtedly clear you have a very creative mind. A storyteller’s voice. I personally challenge you to write this. I would be the first to read it.

Good luck, and thank you again!

#answered #anonymous

[leighlew3]

Hi Leigh, friendly neighborhood blob here. I come with a very specific question about writing or creation and all that jazz. I have told you before how you and the fandom have inspired me to create more. And I've been working on something incredibly personal to me, diligently, for some months now. And as I delve deeper into it, the more personal it gets. At this point it almost feels like I'm writing a diary for all to see. And the idea of putting it out there is making me a bit uneasy about it all. (To give some background, this project started as something else entirely, and now it has morphed into my own understandings about my life, and all the complicated stuff I had to deal with when it came to my family, the people I'm supposed to love and all that) This has gotten away from me at this point. But I can't stop either. I'm clearly processing something with it. And I'm really pouring everything into it. You know how personal art could get at times. You must have gone through some uneasy and probably very painful creative feelings like these too. How do we get past it? How do we be brave enough to show people something so very personal to us like that. Because at this point I can't even hide behind characters. I know this is very raw, whatever I've conjured up. Generally I'm just ashamed and scared.

Anyway, enough about all that. I hope you're doing alright. I hope you do get some softer moments in between. Convey my love to your cats as well. Take care of yourself Leigh, much love. 💜

It’s okay to be scared.

But I’d like to shake ya to say PLEASE don’t feel shame. Being ashamed for your art, your story, for who you are — I just make sure you’re on worst enemy, so please try to move past that. Please try to let any feeling of being ashamed go.

Sometimes the best character work comes out when they become super organic and start writing themselves because you’ve infused such personality into them and even if that’s your personality or your story, or your history, or your traumas or whatever… that’s just gonna make it all the more rich and realistic, hopefully.

Just keep going, churn it out. And then take a beat and decide what you wanna do with it after you sit with it for a sec.

If you one day share it with the world, great! It sounds like people are in for something that’s very authentic and meaningful. And it may speak to somebody in a way that they need to feel less alone.

Alternatively, if you just keep it to yourself for the rest of your life, that’s fine too because if nothing else it was an exercise in sort of self therapy and cathartic and getting some stuff out that you clearly needed to get out. If all it does is help you bring something out of yourself that you needed to give voice to in someway, that’s a good thing!

Keep going. You’ve got this. 💜

#writing #life

[coal15]

**whew** so after a long day of basically nonstop writing and editing, I've got Ch.7 of All Roads Lead Back posted. The Chapter is titled No Other Gods Before Me, and here's a small teaser:

Aziraphale paces back and forth waiting for the massive amphitheater to fill up. Delegations of several hundred Angels from each department, all subdepartment managers or management teams as well as another several hundred voluntary attendees from the lower ranks. It adds up to a crowd of well over a thousand. The Supreme Archangel makes a great show of eager impatience as everyone files in and shuffles about in search of a place to sit. When it seems everyone has settled in he waits a few more minutes to account for stragglers before doing a miracle to amplify his voice and begin his speech. 

Please let this go according to plan, he prays to a God who may or may not be able to hear him. Either way, the prayer calms his nerves. As it always does. The way a small human child will cling to their favourite stuffed toy or blanket in times of stress, prayer plays a similar role in Aziraphale’s life. Right, no more gadding about. Time to do this . . .

“Is everyone seated? Comfortable? Lovely. So I am sure you’re all wondering why I’ve called you here to such a large assembly. Well my Angels, I have been getting reports of rumblings, quiet frustrations in our ranks. And questions.” (not one such question had been reported to him by anyone but Muriel of course, but he, they, and Crowley agreed it was a smart bet to assume Muriel was not alone in harbouring such sinful curiosities) “As such, I thought this would be a good time for a . . . well, I suppose you could call it a pep rally!” He says with a wide, cheery smile. “To make sure we’re all on the same page and fired up about the Great Plan. We should be excited! But we also must remember our roles and serve faithfully each and every day. And to work in harmony. As a team. Now then, for our first team building exercise we-”

Crowley storms in through the stage entrance just to Aziraphale's left dragging Muriel along by the arm. "SUPREME ARCHANGEL!" He rages.

Aziraphale spins around in mock surprise. Magnificent! He thinks. Both of his co-conspirators are thus far doing an amazing job with their end of the show. Crowley seething with anger and Muriel looking for all the world like they are struggling to remain defiant in the face of terrible fear. 

“Sorry to interrupt your thing but this is urgent. And quite frankly they-” he gives Muriel’s arm a hard jerk- “deserve a good public shaming for what they've done before you discorporate them.”

“A shaming? Discorporate?” Aziraphale hopes his play at bafflement is up to par. “There must be some sort of mistake, Muriel is one of our most loyal servants. Not terribly important, but loyal.”

“Oh really?” Crowley yanks a crumpled piece of paper out of his pocket and waves in the air. “I found this in their quarters when I popped by for a visit. Seeing as they vouched for my good character when we returned to Heaven I thought we were close.” He glares down at Muriel and says with a bitter snarl, “I thought we were friends!” He shoves the paper into Aziraphale’s chest and steps back, still tugging Muriel along for the ride.

Aziraphale gasps, looking from the paper to the audience and back again. It is important for all to sense his shock and horror. “It’s a whole list of, of-”

“Questions!” Crowley cuts him off.  “Exactly. And some of them are outright treasonous.” 

“Oh dear. Oh dear, dear, dear.” Aziraphale shakes his head mournfully. Perhaps I missed my calling as an actor . . .  

“Look at the ninth question down!”

Aziraphale clears his throat and reads aloud: ‘does God make mistakes or have regrets?’”

Gasps and mutterings ripple through the packed amphitheater. 

*******To read from the beginning, go HERE

#aziracrow #ineffeble husbands #good omens #david tennant #michael sheen #neil gaiman #in which Muriel continues to badass like a badass #and the ineffable husbands are the best team EVER #I LOVE WRITING THIS FIC!!!!!

[brehaaorgana]

24 and 26 for the weird questions for writers meme

24. How much prep work do you put into your stories? What does that look like for you? Do you enjoy this part or do you just want to get on with it?

Oooh this is one of those things where like, I'm not sure? I think some of my most successful writing has been done with a plan and outline and I certainly did some research, but I tend to have the writer's flaw of spending too much time planning and prepping and not enough actually writing.

Or rather, I do the wrong kinds of in-depth prep like "oh I'm going to download 30 articles/stories/books related to x or y topic that is going to appear in this story," instead of like...writing an outline and gameplan, and then maybe choosing one or two things to reference to start and THEN going and writing the rough draft so that I can decide if I really need to keep prepping or worldbuilding or whatever.

It's very dangerous! I'm definitely the kind of person who can pick up dozens or hundreds of books/articles/etc and maybe write a paragraph which is actually detrimental to the actual writing. Lol.

26. How do you get into your character’s head? How do you get out? Do you ever regret going in there in the first place?

I think it's important to spend time thinking about how other (real) people think/react/navigate life and then try to understand how/why they did something or said something. It doesn't have to be a full psychoanalysis or anything like that, but like, looking at people around you and seeing what they value or don't, how they tick — that's how you can approach exercising your character writing skills.

It's also a good way to...how do I put it ...? — it's good to look at other people (especially strangers) in the world and consciously acknowledge their humanity to yourself, and consider what shaped them. They're not just a cast extra or a backdrop in your life for 5 minutes! They have massive internal worlds too. It's a sense of people-mindfulness. In the same way it's good to like, go out in nature and contemplate some real nice flowers or hear a birdsong and be fully in the moment, it's also good to casually people watch and be aware of fellow humans. (Not all of them will be great people. Sometimes someone is a total jerk in public and you gotta be like "what made them do THAT?" Lol)

And then once you've just observed people only by as they present themselves, you can go ahead and imagine more details about them, changing things as you go to practice character building. I think about central values & motives, but also speech style and how they carry themselves. I don't base original characters entirely on any person I've seen, but I use the same thought process as the exercise to flesh a character out. Y'know what is obvious about this character they show to the world? What is buried more deeply? Why do they act the way they do?

Once you have some of those ideas, then you use that to guide your character writing to "get in their head." Whatever their internal logic is, that should guide the character's actions. If you struggle with getting out of their head, it's usually a) you're writing a different character and need to better understand their internal compass/differentiate it more clearly, or, more frustrating, b) you might need to think about your own internal compass / how you tick and think more. I think knowing yourself helps you "get out," — I'm sure actors have probably written and made great advice for character bleed for this reason.

I don't tend to have the second problem though (where I'm unable to get away from a character's head). I don't think I've ever regretted a character headspace either. Maybe it's because I'm already used to thinking things that I know I don't actually feel or that I distance myself from? Like "that's not me, that's my Anxiety Brain talking. That's depression voice. I don't really feel x or y, that's an intrusive thought, and I can acknowledge I wouldn't do that thing." Lots of boundaries in my brain already, the fiction doesn't hold much ground lol.