#idk this is stupid but sometimes i hate all my writing and all my stories and think they aren;t good enough and today is one of those days

[the-modern-typewriter]

Hello this is a question that came about from watching the new Fallout TV show and a character named Maximus. He’s a relatively neutral character and his arc is very wonderful coming from a writer and big book reader but I noticed that the average viewer doesn’t understand his character and actually hates him… my question is as an author is it okay to make your story more digestible to people who lack perception since it’s the general audience for mainstream media and how do you do that without losing your story? Idk this was probably too complex and a stupid question 💔

Not a stupid question! There are no stupid questions.

Going to unpack this a bit though. (I haven't seen the show.) First some general points, but then some advice on balancing complexity in a story.

So. Some things to get out of the way:

You don't know what the average viewer is thinking. Just because their opinion on a character is different to yours, doesn't mean they lack perception. Do we sometimes have an issue with critical thinking in the modern age? Yes. But we also live in an age where people bring a vast array of different insights and experiences into the stories they read/watch. 99% of the time a story doesn't have just one right interpretation, especially if it is a more complex narrative.

You CAN try to write a story that is more digestible to a general audience, but if you do have concerns about the media literacy of the general population, focusing on providing unchallenging stories is not the fix to that. People learn through engaging with interesting work and having discussions about them - e.g. when they are given the opportunity to. Perception, like anything, is a skill trained with practice. No one's born with it. There's no inherent us/them that can't be changed.

Will you be happy and fulfilled as a writer writing stories that you feel are dumbed or watered down? I know I wouldn't end up writing the versions of stories that I want. Similarly, you probably won't then attract the readers/audience that most resonate with your ideas, because you don't give them the chance.

Generally speaking, people hate being talked down to. As a reader/lover of stories, if I thought a writer was talking down to me and thought I was an idiot who couldn't understand the themes/plot, I wouldn't want to have anything to do with their stuff. It's a horrible feeling, isn't it? It's like being written off before you even leave the gate.

Okay, now some advice: Amazing children's books are a great example of stories that are simplified to appeal and meet the audience where they are at, without losing the richness that makes them resonate and engage readers/audience. However, there are adult examples too. They share some qualities.

These often have:

Clear structure (there are a myriad story structures that you can use to make a story hit beats the reader expects and create a sense of satisfaction, while still giving you room to play.)

High concept story idea/plot (so, stories that can be explained/pitched in a line. E.g. children are forced to fight in televised death matches (Hunger Games), a famous author is imprisoned by a dangerous fan who doesn't approve of his new work (Misery), 'it's jaws in outer space!'). These stories have simple premises that often have wide-appeal, but the stories themselves can be complex.

Engaging main character(s) with a clear goal/agenda. They don't have to all be morally pure, but for an easy win, your character should be likeable/easy to root for. In a children's book, e.g. at the simplest level, these are often also high concept. (E.g. a mouse wants to be heard so is convinced it needs a lion's roar to be loved - The Lion Inside by Rachel Bright)

There are, of course, exceptions to every rule. Game of Thrones was phenomenally popular, for example, but I don't think it's an easy to sink into world/simple set of characters.

Watering down an existing story to fit a different target audience is often not going to lead you to write the best story. This is because it's like trying to fit a triangle into a circle, or make a banana bread into a savoury scone. However, there are plenty of stories with mass-appeal that offer readers a variety of different levels to engage with them, so it is very possible to write a brilliant story with mass appeal. But you work from the foundations up, not from the finished product down.

I hope this helps!

#writing advice #writing talk #writing tips #creative writing #fiction writing #writing #on writing

[ellecdc]

okay so I just wanted to start by saying I love you're moonwater stories so much.

Ive been thinking about this like paring ig for a bit and your recent moonwater story when r gets home from girls night just made me think of it more so if you're interested id love for you to do it.

Basically its like poly moonwater plus Barty ive been calling it moonwaterkiller in my head (idk if its already a ship or already has a name but I haven't been able to find anything) but basically I feel like r and Barty would be like a chaotic duo and reg and rem would just be like wtf a lot idk... I just think it has some potential and I just love your writing so fucking much.

(I also just love how you write Barty)

so if you're interested I think it would be cool

much love :)

I love the way your mind works babes. thanks for your request! (it's almost two am where I am so please forgive any awkward sentences or spelling mistakes). also, if I didn't completely lose everyone with my DeathStar fics - this may very well do it. && this was written with the help of our fabulous @unstablereader

poly!moonwater x chaotic fem!reader + Barty Crouch Junior

Regulus didn’t know whether to be concerned or slightly aroused at the slightly deranged way that Remus was stalking the halls in search of you and Barty. 

You and Regulus had both at one point or another been in a friends-with-benefits situation with Barty (albeit separately) during your time in school, before you and Regulus went and fell in love with a Gryffindor. 

Regulus still wasn’t quite over the humiliation; both of falling in love and falling in love with a Gryffindor.

Of course, you and Regulus both stayed friends with Barty; Regulus mostly because he couldn’t shake him (ignoring the fact that Regulus really was quite fond of his maniacal friend), and you because the two of you really were sort of two sides of the same hyperactive galleon. 

And though Remus (and sometimes Regulus) liked to pretend that yours and Barty’s friendship caused them grief, they couldn’t deny how much they valued Barty’s loyalty and devotion to his friends; specifically you. 

Regulus’ new favourite thing was easily Remus’ new found appreciation for Barty. 

Up until this point, Barty had been his notoriously flirty and salacious self when it came to the likes of Remus, who wasn’t yet accustomed to Barty’s unique…personality.

However, once Remus realised the history between his two partners and the other Slytherin boy, he quickly came to appreciate the kind of pull Barty could have on people.

So, Remus had started flirting back.

Barty hated it.

Regulus loved it.

You started keeping track of the number of times Remus reduced Barty to a blushing and stuttering mess in your notebook. 

Barty hated that too.

It was nearing curfew and Remus and Regulus hadn’t seen you all afternoon. 

Usually that was fine, considering you were a bit of a free spirit. What was concerning, however, was that they hadn’t seen Barty either.

Regulus watched as Remus checked the stupid map that his brother and their friends had created when his brows furrowed in confusion.

“What? Don’t tell me they’re in the middle of the Black Lake again?” Regulus asked quickly, moving to stand over Remus’ shoulder to peer at the map.

“Again?”

“Don’t ask.” Regulus muttered.

“But…doesn’t Barty not know how to swim?”

“I said don’t ask.”

Seeming to know better, Remus turned back and pointed towards the Ravenclaw common room on the map. “It says they’re up in Ravenclaw tower?”

“For fuck’s sake.” Regulus muttered, dragging a hand over his face.

“How’d two Slytherin’s manage to get into Ravenclaw tower?” Remus asked bemusedly, earning him an unimpressed glare from Regulus. 

“Remus, I love you, but that was perhaps the dumbest question you’ve ever asked me.”

Remus rolled his eyes as he closed the map and tucked it back into his trunk.

“Come on, we might be able to catch up to Pandora on her way up and have her help us in.” 

They had indeed caught up to Pandora, and Pandora had indeed helped them in, though it seemed to be for naught. 

“I thought your stupid map said they were here.” Regulus muttered as he surveyed the common room, unable to spot a single lick of green and silver.

“It’s not stupid and they are in here.” Remus muttered back, moving to stand in the dead centre of the room. 

“How do you know they’re here if you can’t see them?”

Remus glared at Regulus before looking around to ensure no one could hear them. “I can smell them.” He whispered.

Well Regulus just didn’t know what good these wolfy senses were if they were still out two Slytherin’s. 

“Shit.” Regulus heard whispered suddenly as a quill fell from the air and landed beside his foot.

Remus and Regulus both looked up to see you and Barty casually lounging in the chandelier above them.

“Are you sodding kidding me!?” Regulus shouted.

“I think our cover’s been blown.” You said simply to Barty as if you didn’t have two fuming and fretting boyfriends standing nearly forty feet give or take below you.

“Pity.” Barty responded as he peered down. “This was a nice refuge.”

“How’d you even get up there?” Remus cried, pacing like he was getting ready to catch you should you fall.

“Magic.” Barty taunted from above.

“Junior, so help me gods if that witch falls I-”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, Lupin. I resent the insinuation that I would ever let anything happen to our sweet angel baby.” Barty bit back immediately.

“Okay, okay. Fair enough.” Remus acquiesced as if he were negotiating a hostage situation. “Why don’t you both just come down here, nice and slow, okay?”

Both you and Barty leaned forward to look down at the two boys, causing the chandelier to swing precariously.

“Fucking hells! Stop moving!” Remus shrieked, causing the attention of the few Ravenclaws sitting in the common room to look over.

“Such a worrier.” Barty muttered as he stood and started manoeuvring himself to the edge of the chandelier - you following him over and causing the chandelier to tip to a nearly 90 degree angle. 

“I’m going to be sick, I’m actually going to throw up right here.” Regulus muttered mostly to himself whilst Remus tried to stand directly underneath you lest you need to be caught. 

To Remus and Regulus’ absolute horror, Barty launched himself away from the chandelier, grabbing at the billowy banners hanging from the ceiling causing the chandelier to swing away from him like a pendulum. 

“JUNIOR!” Remus shouted, causing Barty to momentarily look shamefaced as he looked below him. 

As the chandelier swung towards the opposite wall, you too launched yourself at one of the billowy banners hanging from the ceiling and began monkey climbing down them.

“Can you make sure she doesn’t fall, please.” Remus barked at Regulus as he made his way towards Barty.

Barty let out a high pitched screech and began hastily making his way down the wall. “Run Treasure! Save yourself!” He shouted dramatically.

You turned quickly at that and saw Regulus making his way to you.

You let out a surprised squeak and hurried down, and before Regulus realised what you were doing, you had used your wand to open one of the windows and were shimmying out.

“Oi! What the-” but before Regulus could even shove his torso out the window, you’d managed to shift into your animagus form - a mink, which Regulus felt was very fitting considering what a sodding cheeky minx you were being right now - and began scaling your way down the side of the building.

Regulus was interrupted by the sound of a squeal - Remus’ squeal - and turned to see Remus hanging halfway out of the window in much the same fashion that Regulus had been.

Unlike Regulus, however, Remus had been successful in his capture of Barty and had him hanging from the tallest tower at Hogwarts by one of his arms.

“Junior! Are you trying to sodding kill me!?” Remus barked angrily at him, trying to pull Barty up without any help from Barty himself.

Barty looked up at Remus with all the innocence he could muster (read: none) and winked. 

“Catch me if you can, Mr. Wolf.”

And Barty shrunk into his own animagus form - an osprey - and let out a cry before swooping down to pick up something that looked suspiciously like a mink from the eaves of one of the lower towers and took off towards the grounds. 

“Fucking son of a bitch.” Remus cursed as he tried catching his breath, still sitting half out of the Ravenclaw window. “Why do we put up with those two?”

Regulus shrugged with all the nonchalance he could muster. “‘Cause they’re cute?”

Remus sighed and hit his head against the windowsill. “They’re so sodding lucky that they are…”

“Come on.” Regulus said, offering Remus a hand and helping him out of the window. “Unfortunately, I know exactly where they went.”

Barty loved nothing more than the feeling of his feet sinking into the sediment of the Black Lake below his feet. He also loved the feeling of being near you, his Treasure. He also loved the idea of two handsome men frantically searching for you, and him by proxy.

All this to say, Barty was having a really nice night.

“Junior!”

Barty’s face morphed into a Cheshire cat grin as he turned towards the voice of the man and his boyfriend as they stormed towards the waters edge.

“Well hello, Lupin. How nice of you to join us; care for a dip?”

“Get out of the water.” Regulus drawled in a bored tone.

“Why would I do such a thing? The water’s lovely, I’m in wonderful company, and we’re going to feed the Giant Squid.” He argued.

“Barty.” Remus barked with all the severity he could manage. “You don’t know how to swim.”

Barty scoffed indignantly. “Yeah, well…neither can Reggie!”

“That’s why I’m standing on the shore you absolute bell-end.” Regulus countered quickly.

Remus turned his furious gaze into a bemused one as he took in Regulus. “Do you really not know how to swim either?”

“None of us can!” You shouted from your disturbingly deeper place within the lake as the gentle waves nearly lapped against your skirt.

“Oh, for the love of- you know what? This summer, everyone’s getting swimming lessons.” Remus proclaimed.

“Ou, does that mean I get to see you in your swim trunks, Lupin?” Barty called.

Remus, without missing a beat, started towards Barty, walking into the lake in his shoes and all. “You could see me right now, in less, for free, Junior. You only had to ask.”

Barty let out a screech and tried running towards you, albeit in slow motion on account of the water’s resistance. “Y/N! Treasure! Help! Make him stop!”

“No can do, bubs.” You called back in monotone, still throwing chunks of bread towards the middle of the Lake in hopes of eliciting the company of one Giant Squid. 

“Dove, you’re going to catch a cold; get out of the water.” Remus called to you, pants soaked up to his knees after giving up on chasing Barty in the water.

“We’re trying to make friends!” You whined.

“You cannot make friends with a squid, amour. He will eat you.” Regulus explained from the shore. 

“He wouldn’t eat his friend.” You scoffed. 

“Dove.” Remus barked again.

“I want to see the the big water kitty!” You whined again, turning towards the boys and offering the most pathetic pout you could muster.

Regulus scoffed from his place, still dry on the shore, Remus let out a pained sigh, and Barty all but skipped towards you. 

“A valiant death it will be!” He cheered before he felt the fabric of his jumper being summoned by an accio, dragging him unceremoniously through the water towards Remus.

“No! Ah! AH! STRANGER DANGER. STRANGER DANGER!” He shrieked as Remus threw him over his shoulder.

“Okay, well, now you’re just showing off, Lupin.” He muttered, crossing his arm petulantly as Remus held his free hand out to you.

“Dove, please? Come inside with me?”

You looked distressed at this and moved obediently towards Remus. “Are you mad at me?” You asked timidly.

Barty could actually feel Remus’ body soften beneath him as he allowed some of his tension to dissipate. “Of course not, dovey. I love you.”

You leaned over and pecked a kiss to the corner of his mouth before turning into your animagus mink and swimming to the shore, crawling up Regulus’ pant leg (who admonished you in faux contempt for ruining his trousers), and allowed him to carry you back to the castle. 

Barty was feeling petulant about the whole matter of being chased and chastised so decided then that he was going to force Remus to carry him all the way back to the castle in silence.

Unfortunately for Barty, he hated silence.

He was at least proud he’d made it to the dungeons before giving up on his vow of silence.

“You’re really not upset with her?” Barty asked quietly from his current prison. He could feel Remus’ head tilt in confusion, though his steps never faltered.

“Of course not?” He responded as a question.

“Hmmm.” Barty said, racking his brain for something to upset or fluster this man.

“Oh! What about me having slept with both your boyfriend and your girlfriend?”

“What about it?” Remus asked plainly. 

“Well…aren’t you upset about that?”

Remus scoffed and adjusted his grip on Barty, hand’s migrating none too innocently up the back of his thighs. “Junior. The only thing I’m upset about is that you haven’t slept with all three of us. I don’t like feeling left out, you know?”

Barty made a strangled sound as he struggled in Remus’ grip to no avail, causing you and Regulus to chuckle from a few strides ahead as you all stepped into the Slytherin common room.

“We told you he was smooth, Barty.” You chuckled.

“You should hear him in bed.” Regulus taunted, reaching over to pinch Barty’s arse, causing him to yelp and start cursing at him.

Remus relented and put Barty down, who immediately made for Regulus’ throat.

“Easy, Junior.” Remus chuckled, pulling him back by the shoulder. “You wanna keep Reg around, don’t you?”

Barty harrumphed and crossed his arms indignantly.

“We’d like to keep you around.” Remus continued.

Barty grumbled again and let out a quiet. “Fine.”

Remus beamed at him, which was very alarming if you asked Barty, as they stepped into his and Regulus’ shared dorm; Rosier and Avery were already asleep in their beds with their curtains drawn.

“Yeah? You’ll let us keep you?” Remus asked.

“I said fine, Lupin.” He bit back.

“Great. So we’re in a relationship then.” He explained simply, causing Barty to level him with a severe glare. “How dare you, Lupin. Never say such vile things to me again.” He spat before storming towards the boy’s bathroom.

Regulus groaned and grabbed his own toiletries before making his way to the washroom behind him. “I’ll go make sure he doesn’t try to drown himself in the shower again.”

Remus shook his head and changed into his pyjamas before climbing into Regulus’ bed and pulling you towards him.

“So, explain this to me, Dove. Why is Barty the way he is?”

You snorted a laugh and turned to face him. “You’re going to have to be way more specific, love.”

Remus chuckled and ran his hands up and down your back. “He likes Reg. He loves you. He seems sweet on me. We invite him to be ours and he accepts - but runs when we make it mean something?”

You smiled up at your boyfriend and booped his nose with a perfectly manicured finger - which Remus found very confusing considering you spend your spare time scaling the rafters of grand ceilings and enticing Giant Squids from their hiding places. “Barty doesn’t understand, Rem. He wouldn’t know love if it punched him right in the face.”

Remus could feel his brows furrow and he pulled you in tighter to his chest. “Dove…love doesn’t punch you in the face?”

Apparently that had been the wrong thing to say as you rolled your eyes in exasperation and threw your head back onto the pillow. “You see? That’s the kind of thing someone who grew up loved would know.”

It’s not that Remus ever really forgot to worry about you per se, but he sometimes really worried about you Purebloods. 

At some point in the night, you had apparently decided Remus and Regulus’ bed was too hot and moved to Barty’s. Remus would have been slightly more petulant about the matter if he hadn’t thought you looked absolutely precious with Barty resting his head on your chest.

He looked so innocent in his sleep.

Sleep clearly didn’t know him very well.

Remus was shocked when the four of you entered the Great Hall for breakfast and Barty actually followed you three to the Gryffindor table. Though Remus was trying to play it cool, he couldn’t help but feel a flutter of hope surge within him at what that might mean for the three four of you.

Remus was just about to bite into his toast when a sultry voice sounded from behind Barty.

“Hello, Bartemus.” Amelia Bones sing-songed as she trailed a finger up Barty’s arm.

His brows furrowed almost comically from above the rim of his coffee cup before he slowly lowered it and turned to consider the Hufflepuff.

“Bones. Can I help you?” He asked, punctuating the word help as he plucked her fingers from his being between his two fingers as if he’d found something really quite disgusting on his person.

“I was thinking, you could help me, perhaps tonight?”

Barty turned to look at her incredulously.

“Help with what, Amelia? I’m really quite busy.” He spat, gesturing wildly to his cup of coffee. 

“An orgasm or two? Gods, you’re pissy in the mornings.”

Barty scoffed, sounding completely scandalised as he clutched at non-existent pearls adorning his neck. “I am sitting here with my beloveds, Amelia. For shame. You see this lot? I’m theirs, capiche?” 

Amelia looked bemusedly at the group of you before shaking her head in confusion. “Whatever you say, Junior.”

She moseyed on away, and Barty turned back towards his cup of coffee. “The gall of some people, honestly.” He said in exasperation, downing the rest of his still hot coffee and standing unceremoniously.

“Well, I best be off. Things to fuck up, people to scare. Tah-tah.” He called, pressing a quick kiss to your hair as he left the Great Hall.

Suddenly, realisation dawned on Remus.

“Ah, I see. So no to a relationship, but he is ours.”

You and Regulus chorused a hum of acknowledgement. 

“That’s just how Barty operates. You’ll get used to it.” You explained, still not looking up from the Daily Prophet you had been reading all this time.

Remus didn’t mind getting used to that; not if it meant he managed to get everything he wanted.

#ask elle #marauders era #marauders au #marauders fanfiction #reader insert #self insert #remus lupin #remus lupin x reader #remus lupin x you #regulus black #regulus black x reader #regulus black x you #moonwater #poly!moonwater #poly!moonwater x reader #poly!moonwater x you #bartylus #poly!bartylus #barty crouch jr x reader #barty crouch jr x you #barty crouch jr #these ships are getting too hard to tag #figure it out #ellecdc fics

[cryingisnecessaryfanfics]

PART TWO

Its 2am have more scar headcannons/imagines

Characters: Razor(platonic), Kaeya, Xiao, Tighnari

Sorry these are probs subpar cuz my writing style varies depending on the bpd mood lmao. Bear with the redundancy of these, there are only so many ways to write the same action.

If youre the anon who sent me an ask im replying to your ask with the inverse you talked about. Stay tuned <3 (its probably gonna take another 6 months but welp)

Not spell checked or proof read sorry lol

Razor (platonic)

Wolf boy has a lot of scars as we can all tell. I feel like he probably doesnt get the point of lotion. Probably says it smells bad, like chemicals. His scars are all really improperly healed. Probably has keloid scars (overproduction of scar tissue). The sheer size of the ones on his arms lead me to believe he never got stitches or bandages of any sort, which makes sense considering his story. Regardless, that shit looks painful lmao. (Lighthearted imagine to start us off)

“Razor!” You yell, damn that kid was way faster than you. You nearly trip over a log as you run after him.

“Razor, stop running dammit.” You continue to shout after him, hoping anything you say might just make him slow down. Lord knows you could never catch up to him.

“It's just lotion. It'll make you feel better!” Your lungs start to sting from the chase and your legs drag behind you. You stop to catch your breath and Razor slows down in front of you.

He approaches you slowly like he's afraid you’ll catch him if he gets too close. “Smells bad,” he says and you all but roll your eyes.

“Sometimes things that are good for us smell bad.” You explain. Razor waits for your breathing to even out before he gets within arms reach of you.

“Like soap?” He says and you laugh at the memory of trying to get him to wash himself with soap instead of the occasional dip in the river.

“Yes, like soap.” You sigh and he frowns. Tentatively he holds out his arm, he looks at you expectantly.

“Finally.” You say under your breath and open the bottle of lotion. You can practically feel Razor's eyes watch your hands cautiously. He doesn't move as you spread some against the skin of his arm.

“Cold.” He comments and you huff a little laugh.

“See.” You say when you finish. “Feels better right?”

Razor finally relaxes and smiles at you. “Yes.”

You're just glad he stopped running.

Kaeya

Not gonna go the obvious way and say his eyepatch because I'm different lmao. I think his knuckles are scarred. I think kaeya seems like the type to cope with his feelings through violence. I think kaeya probably hates himself. When everything gets to be too much he just starts coming out swinging. The kind of person who punches a wall without really thinking about it. But yeah I think he used his fists too much when he was younger and now he wears the fingerless gloves to protect/cover the scars. (Sorry if this is weird or seems ooc, it just makes sense to me idk why)

You first see them when he gets the new outfit in sumeru. Everyone around you seems to disregard them, or maybe just not notice. But you can sense the way he subtly hides the scars, the way he walks with a hand behind his back, one covering the other. Its easy to not notice if you arent always watching closely. Maybe the only reason you noticed was because you seemed to always be staring at him. Kaeya catches you looking more than once and in typical kaeya fashion he deflects with flirting or jokes.

Later, when youve returned home to mondstat you ask him about it and he explains after some persistence.

“Its nothing to be shameful of.” You murmur, a hand holding his, looking at the dry scar tissue.

“Its one thing to have scars from braving a battle, a complete other thing to have them from your own stupidity.” He looks away from you and the eye you can see seems far away. Like he’s recalling something from his past.

“But it wasnt stupid, it was a way to cope. How can anyone think of something like that as not brave?” He doesnt answer you, only frowns slightly, a face youve never seen him make. “Do you atleast take care of them?”

He still doesnt respond. You sigh, exasperated, and pull out your endless bag of goods to find a lotion to help with the dryness.

“What are you doing?” He asks, and you all but cringe at the thought of him not knowing you have to moisturize scars.

“I’m helping you.” You half expect him to make a witty comment but the situation proves to be too heavy and he goes back to staying silent. The whole act goes without words, you spread the lotion over his knuckles, rub it in gently. He doesnt say anything until you slide his gloves back on.

“Thank you.” He says and before you can say anything back he adds, “For your actions and your words.”

You press a kiss to one of his gloved hands. “Your welcome.” You thnk you see his cheeks tint the slightest shade of red before hes back to normal again.

“And here I thought I was the romantic.”

Xiao

I always liked the images of the karmic binds/shackles so I like to imagine his wrists are scarred from straining(?) those too much. I mean considering Xiao is an Adeptus physical wounds wouldn't leave a scar so maybe these more mental-type wounds would. Like the more karmic debt he has the worse the scars get in condition, the less debt the more they fade. Maybe the lotion helps soothe the debt more than anything. Maybe the act of something so comforting and intimate with you lessens the pain. Food for thought I guess.

Every morning, at dawn, Xiao enters a room in Wangshu Inn so his lover can put lotion on his scars. This morning is no different.

“Good morning, Xiao.” You say like always, same pretty smile on your face every day.

“Morning,” Xiao mumbles and frowns as if this isn't his favorite part of the day. He avoids your eyes as he takes off his gloves. As many times as youve seen his wrists, he still gets insecure about them. It's no secret Xiao hates being vulnerable, even around his most trusted companion.

“I saw zhongli yesterday.” You say quietly as he sits down on the bed next to you, lotion in hand. “He was with that harbinger.”

“Tch. Useless scum.” Xiao comments and you laugh.

“He seemed happy, Xiao. Try to be tolerant of his friend.” Xiao just rolls his eyes and rests his arm in your hand. You continue to talk about your day as you open the bottle of lotion and start to spread it out against his wrist.

Xiao stays quiet during this, as he always does. You think he must enjoy your voice because he's always been intent on listening to you speak even if he usually prefers silence. He absorbs your words so soaked in affection and the ache in his body seems to lessen. Pain becomes distant, horrible and intense feelings become easier to push away.

It's over before he realizes it, you've put the lotion away simply holding his hand now, savoring the feeling of his skin against yours. He leans against you and you hum in content.

Maybe this is healing for the both of you. Mutual comfort.

Tighnari

I know a lot of people like the idea of him having scars from getting struck by lightning so i'm just gonna play off of that. Lighting very rarely leaves scars but the scars it does leave are burns. The electricity also causes nerve damage so you'd have to be very gentle and careful when handling tighnari’s scars. They're probably on his neck/back so itd take a lot of trust for him to let you see him so vulnerable. He probably already has lotion he puts on himself but its very hard to reach your own back so eventually he asks you for help.

You've seen him put lotion on his scars many times, watched him wince at the pain of it. You refrain from asking him if he wants your help. Tighnari is independent, he doesn't need anyone's help. But maybe itd be less painful if he didn't have to strain his muscles to reach the scars.

He doesn't say much when he asks the first time. Just tells you to be careful. He starts to list the ingredients of the lotion he's made. How he found it, what the weather was like that day.

No matter how gentle you were he’d still pause in the middle of sentences, and with his back to you, you never saw his winces but you knew they were there.

“Okay,” you say when you've finished and you know he's relieved it's over even if it was a more pleasant experience than him doing it himself.

But he thanks you anyway, and he’ll ask you to do it again the next day.

#genshin #genshin fanfic #genshin impact #gender neutral reader #genshin imagines #genshin fluff #genshin impact x reader #genshin x reader #xiao x reader #kaeya x reader #razor gi #razor genshin impact #tighnari #tighnari x reader #genshin xiao #genshin kaeya #genshin tighnari

[ronniaugust]

How To Write Good Dialogue (Part 1)

I'm gonna start this by saying I'm not trying to sound like a know-it-all. I am just tired of posts like these being absolutely fucking useless. I am aware this is basically me screaming into a void and I’m more than okay with that.

This guide is meant for intermediate screenwriters, but beginners are also absolutely welcome. :)

(about me)

-♠︎-♠︎-♠︎-♠︎-

I've noticed a rise in film students who want to make films that have no dialogue. Probably after your professor showed you Doodlebug, right? Fuck that.

I'll make another post about writing a short film, but all you need to know is: Don't waste the audience’s time. Most of these no-dialogue shorts have very little substance and take way too long to tell the shortest possible story. Not a good idea.

Useless Dialogue

Plain and simple, don't write useless dialogue. Useless dialogue is dialogue that just doesn't fucking matter. Dialogue matters by having ✨subtext.✨

What is subtext? Subtext is the meaning behind the action. That's it.

If I tell you that I love you and I got big doe eyes while I say it, it means I love you. If I tell you I love you through a clenched jaw without looking at you, I don't necessarily love you right now.

Simple, right? Great.

Now think about the subtext behind every line. Does your character mean what they're saying? Are they doing it to get what they want? What is going through their mind as they say it? As long as you know your character, you’ll have these answers ready to go. If you don’t, you’ll figure it out eventually. Just keep writing.

When you write your character walking into a Starbucks and saying, "One venti iced coffee," does that do something? Why do I need to see someone's boring Starbucks order? Do I need to know that your character's boring? Why are you writing a boring character? [Of course, in the rare situation where this is some revealing clue to the massive crime investigation, then it makes sense.]

Useless dialogue is any dialogue that has no meaning or purpose in your script. Delete and move on. You don't need to write entire conversations or scenes that bore us, just write what we care about.

I took a class once where my professor called a version of this "trimming the fat." Get us into your scene and out of your scene in as little time as it takes to have it achieve its full purpose in the script.

[P.S. You don’t “inject” subtext into your lines. Idk who started that vernacular in subtext teachings but I hate it.]

Show vs. Tell

I remember a glorious fight I got into with a Redditor last year about show vs. tell… TL;DR: Dialogue is “show” if you write it with intention and subtext. If someone says that dialogue is inherently “tell,” they’re wrong and can go fuck themselves.

Dialogue that is “tell” is expositional dialogue. But, hot take: Exposition isn't just in dialogue. It’s also those annoying clichés that make you roll your eyes in the theater (which we just call clichés and not exposition). I’m sure every professor I’ve had will disagree with this and then get me into a long conversation about it, but let’s ignore that for right now.

Have you ever seen a movie where a character rubs an old, worn-out photo of a young girl while looking depressed? That's exposition. That character has a dead daughter. No shit.

Clichés are incredibly annoying. We all know that. Assume that any cliché you see - in this context - is exposition and try your best not to write it. (Tropes are different and sometimes necessary, so I’m not talking about that.)

Point blank: When you have subtext in your lines, they are "show,” not “tell.”

Before moving on, I'll bring up that while technically the dead daughter photo is subtextual, it is as close to the character saying “My daughter is dead,” as you can get. Don't treat the audience like we're fucking stupid.

The First 15

If you don’t know what the Inciting Incident is, please look up “3 Act Structure” before reading this.

The first 15 pages of your script is the part that comes before the Inciting Incident. This is the part you want to get right because, although people probably won’t leave the theater, they will absolutely find something else on the streaming service they’re using. The people making said movie will also just toss your script in the trash before it’s even produced, so it's best to get it right.

Dialogue in the first 15 generally follows the same rules, but carries a heftier additional rule. All dialogue in the first 15 minutes must, must, must tell us something about your character.

Remember when I talked about that boring Starbucks order? Why is your character boring? Don’t write that. Don’t write nice characters. Or pleasant characters. Or friendly characters. No one cares.

You want empathy. This does not mean “relatable.” It means “empathetic.” There is a difference.

I personally relate to Vi in Arcane, but I empathize with Theo in Children of Men. Both are excellent, but one personally resonates a bit more with me. You cannot write a character that deeply resonates with every single person, it is impossible.

With each line of dialogue, you must be saying something about your character that generates the empathy. Instead of telling you how to do this, I’ll direct you to a movie that will do better than an explanation: Casablanca.

Watch how Rick interacts with the world. What kind of man is Rick? Watch what he does, what he says, and how he treats people and himself. Watch that empty glass on the table. Watch his contradictions. Everything. Those things matter and it’s what makes you want to watch Rick for the entire duration of Casablanca.

“Realism”

This is maybe more directorial, but make your characters human enough, not too human.

Too human is when you’ve tried your best to capture all those little life-like speech patterns. You know, the ones that no one fucking cares about.

If your character coughs, they’re sick. If they clear they’re throat, they’re uncomfortable. If a bruise isn’t going away, they’re going to die. Simple.

Every moment on screen matters. Everything the audience sees is meant to lead them to a conclusion. Not the conclusion, just a conclusion.

The realism you want is in the choices your character makes, not how many times they say “Uh,” in a sentence.

Conclusion

Dialogue matters and should not be treated lightly or without care. Once you have this all engrained in your mind, dialogue should become effortless.

If you want an excellent way to think about this, Robert McKee's Story has an excellent chapter that helped clarify this all for me. Here's an excerpt and the context.

Warning, spoilers for Chinatown.

"If I were Gittes at this moment, what would I do?"

Letting your imagination roam, the answer comes:

"Rehearse. I always rehearse in my head before taking on life's big confrontations."

Now work deeper into Gittes's emotions and psyche:

Hands white-knuckled on the steering wheel, thoughts racing: "She killed him, then used me. She lied to me, came on to me. Man, I fell for her. My guts are in a knot, but I'll be cool. I'll stroll to the door, step in and accuse her. She lies. I send for the cops. She plays innocent, a few tears. But I stay ice cold, show her Mulwray's glasses, then lay out how she did it, step by step, as if I was there. She con-fesses. I turn her over to Escobar; I'm off the hook."

EXT. BUNGALOW-SANTA MONICA

Gittes' car speeds into the driveway.

You continue working from inside Gittes' pov, thinking:

"I'll be cool, I'll be cool ..." Suddenly, with the sight of her house, an image of Evelyn flashes in your imagination. A rush of anger. A gap cracks open between your cool resolve and your fury.

The Buick SCREECHES to a halt. Gittes jumps out.

"To hell with her!"

Gittes SLAMS the car door and bolts up the steps.

Story by Robert McKee, pg 156

The context of this page is McKee's way of explaining how to write characters. I found it very helpful.

-♠︎-♠︎-♠︎-♠︎-

Thanks for reading! I probably forgot something, so I made this a “part 1.”

I hope this helps someone since I’m really tired of finding short films on YouTube that are all fucking silent. The few who have done it well have been copied to death, so please write some dialogue. I promise you it’s so much better if you do.

Asks are open! :)

#ronni august #ronni's writing tips #writing #writing tips #screenwriter #screenwriting #writing inspiration #writing ideas #writing inspo #writing advice #writing help #writing resources #how to write #writing tools #fiction writing #screenplay #writing motivation #writers of tumblr #♤ronniaugustwriting♤ #I know Casablanca is black and white but I colorized it with PS so it would look more cohesive in the header #196 #r/196

[whiskey-tango-matcha]

FOH/BOH pt 1/2 (M, cold)

I'm splitting this in two because it's going to be 2 fairly distinct parts. In this one, Elijah is sick - but I'll be honest, a lot of it is just Mark being introspective. I wanted to write out a little of his story, since my last story had a good amount of Matt's inner thoughts. Idk what else to say about this one, lol other than Elijah catches something from the servers and is his usual pissed off self about it. Next part will hopefully be out soon-ish. Hope you all like it :)

CW: male, cold, fever, light mess, contagion, coughing. 2.7k words.

FOH/BOH

As far as Matt was concerned, there were two types of people in this world: front of house, and back of house.

Matt didn’t believe in astrology; he thought the enneagram was stupid, hated personality tests, and nearly scoffed in Elijah’s face when he told the management team at Elliot’s they’d be analyzing management styles using one of those what-color-is-your-parachute tests during the slow season this year. He did, however, believe firmly, almost spiritually, in the FOH/BOH divide.

The differences, Matt knew, could be subtle or obvious, but they were always distinct.

“Elijahhh!” Greyson called from the kitchen at the top of his lungs. “We can all hear you from in here!”

The cooks whooped with laughter from their prep stations behind the line, and Matt bit his cheek to keep from joining them. Greyson turned towards him, a smirk painted on his face, and secured his hair at the top of his head with a sharpie while they waited for Elijah’s inevitable trudge into the kitchen.

When Elijah pushed through the kitchen doors, the cooks forced themselves into submission and strapped in for the dressing-down they knew was coming their chef’s way. Elijah walked straight to the prep table in the middle of the kitchen and made livid eye contact with Greyson, obviously ready to go to blows. Matt, entirely too close for comfort, took a tentative step towards the line to keep out of the path of destruction.

“Do you thingk,” Elijah said, his voice low and cracking, “that you could fucking cool it with the theatrics, just this once? Just for today? For mbe – hh – hhITZCH-ue! HTSHH-uh! HRRTSHH-ue! Hh-!”

Elijah was stuck in a sort of pre-sneeze purgatory for longer than Greyson had the patience for, apparently. “By all means,” Greyson said, leaning on the prep table with his head in one hand, “don’t stop on my behalf.”

The GM colored and lowered his arm from his face, casting daggers at the chef. “Do you really thingk it’s appropriate for us to fuckigg squabble around your staff?” Elijah asked, quiet enough that only Greyson and Matt could hear it. Greyson smiled, stood to his full height, and placed a hand on Elijah’s shoulder.

“I do,” he said at full volume. “They’re not our real kids, it’s okay if they see mommy and daddy duke it out.”

The cooks roared once again, and Elijah flushed, clearly annoyed. “Fine,” he said, clearing his throat. “You’re on one today. Whatever. I have to go findish helping the servers set up for the night. Leave mbe out of your stupid little mood.”

“I’m on one because you have the server’s fuckin’ flu and you should be at home, not continuing the spread,” Greyson said to Elijah’s back as his boss started out the kitchen doors. “Mark is coming in in twenty minutes and you are leaving.”

Elijah didn’t turn back around, just flashed the kitchen the finger as he walked out into the dining room. Greyson turned towards his sous and rolled his eyes.

“Passive aggressive fuck,” Greyson said, picking his knife up and turning towards the line cooks behind him. “Don’t worry, guys, we still love you all, mommy and daddy just get frustrated with one another sometimes.”

Another round of laughter from the cooks. Matt shook his head, smiling until they all heard Elijah once again from the dining room – “HRRESHHH-ue!”

Greyson smiled devilishly at Matt, then his cooks, and held up his hand. “One, two,” he mouthed to the cooks, holding up the corresponding fingers. When he got to three, he pointed to the swinging doors that lead to the dining room. The whole kitchen, in tandem, called towards them.

“Bless you, Elijah.”

Within seconds, Elijah’s strained voice answered. “Oh, fuck off all of you.”

This time, the line cooks nearly collapsed with laughter. Greyson turned towards Matt, grinning ear to ear. “Think he heard us?” he asked. Matt couldn’t help but join in on the laughter this time.

***

At first, Mark hadn’t been sure that he bought Matt’s whole front of house person/back of house person bullshit.

“People have layers, babe,” Mark had said, coursing his fingers through Matt’s hair while they ignored the movie that was playing on TV. “No one is just… some caricature of ‘kitchen’ or ‘dining room’. This isn’t The Bear.”

“But that’s the thing, baby, it kind of is The Bear,” Matt said, sitting up straight and looking his boyfriend in the eye. “Did you not relate to The Bear? I don’t think this is going to work if you didn’t relate to The Bear, I’m not gonna lie to you.”

“I mean, yeah, I did but… I don’t know. I want to be more than just my job, y’know?” Mark pulled Matt back to laying on his lap – Matt allowed himself to be pulled.

“This isn’t about your job, it’s about your personality,” Matt explained. “Not everyone has worked in a restaurant, but that doesn’t mean they’re not a front or back of house person.”

“I’m so lost, honey. I thought this was about restaurants.”

“No, it’s about people.”

“Maybe you should look into getting your GED,” Mark said, elbowing Matt playfully. “So you can go to college for, like, sociology or something.”

“Oh fuck you,” Matt said, not unkindly. “You have to know what I mean. C’mon. You’re telling me you’ve never met someone and gone, ‘oh, that person’s totally a kitchen person’.”

“I can genuinely say I have not,” Mark said, placing a kiss on the top of Matt’s head. “Your mind is an enigma.”

They’d dropped it at that point, but Mark hadn’t stopped thinking about it all week. He’d thought about it when he’d talked to his dad on the phone and he asked Mark whether he’d gotten his oil changed lately, but didn’t say ‘I love you’ when they hung up – man, he’s such a back of house guy. He’d thought about it when he’d bought a coffee and the barista asked him about the entirety of his college career in England while a line formed out the door behind him – never met such a front of house person in my life. He’d especially thought about it at work, where the servers and bussers loudly complained all week about being sick.

“Maaaark,” Riley, their lead server, whined to him one day. “I feel like fuckin shiiiit.”

“Well, the shift is 85% over,” Mark replied as he replaced the silverware on an empty table. “Do you think you can make it another hour?”

Riley had pouted, sniffled, and shrugged. “I guess,” she said, opening her server book. “But, like, I’ve already made my money tonight, can’t you just cut me early?”

Typical front of house, Mark had thought to himself. So maybe Matt had been right; maybe there were just two types of people in this world. The problem was, despite having been ‘front of house’ most of his adult life, he didn’t know if he really… belonged there.

Mark had, essentially, fallen into working in restaurants; he’d been an English major in college – which basically guaranteed your life to veer towards serving tables or shaking cocktails – and when he’d graduated, he hadn’t felt the pull towards teaching or grad school or any of the typical ‘English major’ careers his friends had chosen. Instead, he kept his serving job; eventually, the resort that he worked at offered him a banquet captain position, which he did until he realized catering made him want to stab both eyes out with a cocktail fork. When he moved to New York on a whim, Mark had been sure he’d apply to grad school, or look for a copy-writing position, or apply to be a publisher’s assistant – but he didn’t. Instead, he found himself dialing the number on a flyer in the window of a soon-to-be-opened restaurant near the apartment he shared with four other recent college grads.

“Future home of Elliot’s restaurant, this is Elijah speaking,” the voice on the other end of the number answered on the first ring.

“Hi,” Mark had said. “I was wondering if you were hiring any front of house positions?”

It turned out that Mark was the first person to call Elijah in search of a job. Despite his only being twenty-one at the time, and despite the fact that he had no managerial experience, Elijah hired him on the spot to be the front of house manager.

“You have a good vibe,” Elijah said when they met at a coffee shop for Mark’s interview. “That’s all I really care about.”

And then suddenly, somehow, seven years had passed. He’d never found a good enough reason to leave Elliot’s; he was paid well, Elijah let him take tips when he had to cover for servers or bartenders, and the work, while demanding, felt mostly fun. He’d never felt like a front of house person, he was just… a person who worked in the front of house. Sometimes, Mark thought, he didn’t know what kind of person he was at all. A person who things just happened around. A background person. A person that no one could say much about, other than he had a good vibe.

That is, until Matt.

“Hi honey,” Matt said as Mark pushed through the back doors into the kitchen. Mark smiled wide when he saw that Matt was alone in the back kitchen; he pulled his boyfriend in for a long kiss, which Matt returned greedily.

“Hi,” Mark said, finally pulling away. “How have things been here this morning?”

Before Matt could answer, they heard a huge, “HRRTSHH-ue!” from the front kitchen. Mark whipped his head towards the sound, then back to Matt.

“Please tell me that isn’t what I think it is,” Mark said. Matt pressed his lips together, unwilling to be the bearer of bad news.

“Mbark,” Elijah said, rounding the corner with a hand held over the bottom half of his face, “you’re here, great.” The GM yanked a paper towel from the holder on the wall next to Matt and used it to wipe his nose before gesturing Mark to follow him, “Let’s go over the ndight, mbeet me in the office.”

“Right behind you,” Mark murmured to Elijah’s back. Before he followed his boss, he threw Matt a pained look, which his boyfriend returned with a mouthed, I’m sorry.

When the servers were sick, they were annoying because they complained constantly. They called out at the slightest provocation, they glommed onto one another and spread their illnesses like wildfire, and they always ended up sending their shit into the kitchen when one of them inevitably slept with a cook after a long night of drinking. When Elijah was sick, though, it was annoying for a whole other set of reasons.

Mostly, if he was honest, it was the blatant denial that he found obnoxious. “So, tondight shouldn’t be too heinous,” Elijah said, rubbing his nose on the back of his hand as he sat at the shared desk. “It’s tomborrow we really have to – tuh… hhITZSHH-ue! HTSHH-ue!” Elijah folded in on himself to sneeze away from Mark, blearily rubbed his eyes behind his glasses, and attempted to continue. “To worry about,” he finished, coughing into the back of his hand.

“Uh huh,” Mark said, taking in the state of his boss. Elijah had been quiet yesterday, and quick to annoyance, but despite knowing the man for almost a decade, Mark still wasn’t able to decipher between ‘quiet, easily annoyed’ Elijah and ‘getting sick’ Elijah. The two were indecipherable from one another.

“Don’t sit too close, Mark,” Greyson’s voice called from the prep station near the line. Both Mark and Elijah looked over at the chef, who was butchering New York’s and smirking to himself. “He’s sick as a dog.”

“Greyson,” Elijah called, his voice cracking on the word. “Could you combe in here for a minute, please?”

Greyson rolled his eyes, but put down his knife and walked toward the office all the same. “Yes, dear?” he asked, toweling off his hands and leaning on the office’s door frame. “How can I help you? Some tea, maybe, or perhaps a drive home?”

Elijah stood, pulled Greyson into the office, and shut the door. “Stop fuckigg patronizing mbe in front of the staff,” he growled, poking a finger into the chef’s chest. Greyson huffed out a little laugh and slapped a hand on Elijah’s forehead.

“I’ll stop,” he said, “when you no longer have a hundred-and-two fever.”

There they stood, the two ultimate testaments to Matt’s theory, duking it out in front of a clearly-forgotten Mark. Greyson, the gregarious, heart on his sleeve, back-of-house guy who would just as soon scream at you as he would give you the shirt off his back, and Elijah, the subdued stay-together-for-the-kids front of house man, who knew everything about everyone and cared so hard he couldn’t see anyone else caring about him in return. Yin and yang. Front and back. Which are you, Mark? he thought to himself as the standoff continued.

“Mark,” Greyson said, breaking the spell, “can you handle tonight by yourself out front?”

Mark blinked, first at his boss, then at Greyson, and finally found his voice. “Y-yeah, I mean, of course I can,” he said.

“It’s a busy ndight, Grey, I don’t waahhh – ETSCHH-zue! HhhNGTSHH-uhh!” Elijah wrenched to the side to keep from sneezing in Greyson’s face – much to the detriment of Mark.

“Yikes,” Greyson muttered, watching Mark cringe against the spray Elijah directed, unknowingly, into his face. His boss flushed bright red when he realized what he’d done.

“Fuckigg shit,” Elijah murmured, yanking a tissue out of the box and handing it, lamely, to Mark. “Fugck, Mbark I’mb so sorry I didn’t meee – ETSCHH-zue!” This time, Elijah tented both hands over his face to keep from having a repeat of that incident. Greyson took his hand back then, shrunk away from the GM.

“Maybe, uh, give us a signal next time?” Greyson said, an attempt to break the tension. Mark would’ve laughed if he didn’t feel so thoroughly...infected.

“Would’ve if I could’ve,” Elijah grumbled, pulling another tissue out and blowing his nose. “Mbark, I’m so -”

“It’s fine, boss,” Mark said, standing. “But, um, I do think Chef is right – maybe you should go home, sleep it off?”

Elijah swallowed, pain evident on his face, and finally gave up the charade. “Alright,” he said, curt. “Finde. I’ll go.” He turned back towards Mark. “You’re sure you’ve got this?”

“Of course, boss,” Mark said. Elijah nodded.

“Okay,” he said. “Take sombe Emergen-C or something, okay?”

“Okay, boss,” Mark said. Elijah coughed painfully into the sleeve of his shirt, grabbed his backpack, and signed out of the computer.

“I’ll drive you home,” Greyson offered, but Elijah shook his head.

“Thanks, mother, but I think I can handle a five-mbinute drive with a cold,” he said, rolling his eyes. “Just mbake sure your guys are ready for tomorrow ndight – it’s going to be a doozy.”

“And that’s how we know it’s really time for you to leave, when you start using words like ‘doozy’,” Greyson said, pushing Elijah out the door. “Go. You’ve infected enough people today.”

Finally, Elijah did as he was told and left. Mark and Greyson stood in the office avoiding eye contact with each other for what felt like a long moment.

“You wanna run to the store and get some Emergen-C?” Greyson asked, breaking the awkward silence. Mark laughed a little.

“Yeah,” he said, pulling a hand down his face, “I guess I probably should.”

On his way out the back door, Matt caught the back of Mark’s shirt. “The fuck is going on up there?” he asked, confusion written all over his face. “Where are you going? Did Elijah go home?”

Mark turned and embraced Matt, then pulled back to offer a small smile. “Elijah went home,” he said. “And I’ll be right back.”

“Where are you going?” Matt asked again. Mark just sighed and gave his boyfriend a defeated look.

“I’m going to try and ward off the stupid fucking front of house flu.”

#whiskeyswriting #snz #sickfic #snzfic #coldfic #snzblr #snez #male cold #male snz #contagion #sneezeblr

[erikasnothungry]

story time! (it's just me complaining about my life, I'll put a cut below here )

there's a boy in my class. actually there's 12 boys in my class but yk, I'm talking about this specific boy.

his locker is next to mine and because we all know I'm a lazy fuck, sometimes I don't lock my lock because it sticks all the time and who's going to take my things anyways? plus it looks like the other locks just not closed. well, the teacher assistant goes around and checks them because my school is pretty sketchy and one day I left my lock unlocked, and we went for lunch bla bla. came back and it got locked upside down (idk how to explain it but the spinny part was facing the locker) and I couldn't get it open again. my little knight in shining armor was getting his shit, and offered to help me. obviously I'm a socially anxious a$$h0le so I swore at him (may or may not have called him mentally defective) even though he was trying to help and I still hate myself for it <3 anyways I gave him my combination (it's 34-12-38 if you're curious but if you go to my school and/or know me irl no it's not) and he opened it, etc etc etc. that's basically all I've said to him directly. oh, and one time he was kicking the back of my chair (not in a vi0lent way, just cause he's a brain dead teenage boy) and I turned around and was like "that's fucking annoying." (yes I have a habit of saying insensitive stupid shit and regretting it afterwards, no I never learn). but he looked down and apologized?!?!? idk man he's cute af (I mean, I think he is. my friends think he looks like a dried up banana, their words not mine) and they tell me he likes me and he told his friends and they told my bsf. in theory, I could ask him out. in that same theory, he'd say yes.

fun little description of him, he's somewhat tall. as in, a few inches taller than me so just shy of six foot. he's kinda chubby (I hate that word sm idk how to say it, like hard af to understand but it's in like a muscly way, just enough that it's not icky) and his hair is dark blond and iekekejeje and he has glasses but it's SO CUTEE and everything just works for him idk, even though it sounds dorky ik.

so in theory, I could have asked him out today. in that same theory, it has been confirmed he'd say yes.

this sounds stupid even to myself as I write this but I don't think I'm sick enough to date him. I'm not rècovéręd or just not sick either, I'm still right in that in between where I feel myself slipping into èd, but most days I keep normal eating habits. (not really but wtv) and I don't want to do something else stupid. I know I will though. but wtv

if you got to the end of this (even if you scrolled past all that and are currently reading these words ily! here's a cookie 🍪 caløries on me.

#ana trigger #th1nsp1ration #ed behaviour tw #i wanna ⭐️ve #pro a4a #th1gh g@p #anorexcya #ed not ed sheeran #i need to ⭐️ve #thiinsp0 #erikas internal monologue #tw ed diet #tw 3d vent #@na vent #ed vent #i wanna lose weight #i need to be weightless #disordered eating thoughts #tw disordered eating #ed disorder #ed bullshit #ed dairy #ed ednotsheeran restriction #ed not sheeren #ed relapse #tw ed but not sheeran #tw ed sheeran #tw restrictive ed #ed advice #ana rant

[suguruverse]

hi! idk if it’s being requested already or in the works but could i request being best friends with mattsun and makki?

— BEING BEST FRIENDS WITH MATTSUN AND MAKKI

authors note - hey yall.. long time no see. don’t expect me to come back yall i just wanted to clear my drafts a lil bit since this has been sitting in the drafts for like a year 🫣🫣

fem!reader

- lemme tell you this friendship hands down definitely has the most platonic flirting EVER

- AND THEY'RE SO BAD WITH IT AS WELL

- they unironically call you mamas or bae/baby girl

- but they are the best to have at parties and shit OH MY GOD

- they can tell with one look if you're uncomfortable and will be by your side immediately

- unlike the others, they actually encourage you to talk to other people

- but that doesn't mean that they won't wear terrible disguises while following you on dates

- you can bet your ass that they will throw it back on you every chance they get and they expect for you to catch it EVERYTIME

- they LIVE for making you flustered and purposefully try to make to mad

- they say stuff like "ohh you wanna kiss me so bad" or "oh yeah" bc yk hot boy shit

- nah bc you and mattsun definitely used to hate each other before makki locked you guys in a room together to talk things out and it resulted in you both HYSTERICALLY crying and hugging each other

- you guys have done the thing where you guys go out super dressed up and go to mcdonalds or something

- these stupid bitches pull your bra straps and let go when it snaps you, they think they’re so funny

- they also have no boundaries with you whatsoever for example they will walk into the bathroom while you’re showering and have a full blown conversation with you or walk in while you’re literally on the toilet

- they also say stuff like ‘how often do you shave your pubes?’ or ‘can you check if i have an ingrown hair on my ass’

- sometimes they purposefully dress down so you look extra sexy

- when olivia rodrigo's album came out, you guys all went to makki's place and definitely cried in each others arms

- for some reason they love commenting weird things under your posts like "let me be your best friends to lovers trope" "ur so hot pls be my sugar mommy" "i would hide a body for you" or "i've told my therapist about your ass"

- mattsun's bio on his twitter and instagram is literally "property of y/n"

- makki's bio is "y/n's sugar babie <3"

- PLS YOU ALL THIRST OVER IWAIZUMI TOGETHER AND HE'S SO SICK OF YALL

- also mattsun has a milf of a mother and she's the only reason you and makki come over

- MATTSUN SWEARS UNDERNEATH HIS BREATH AND IT'S SO HOT AHHH

- he also has intense road rage and it's hilarious bc he's the designated driver

- WHENEVER YOU GUYS FACETIME, THEY MAKE IT THEIR DUTY TO TAKE THE UGLIEST SCREENSHOTS OF YOU AND THEY THREATEN TO SEND IT TO IWAIZUMI WHENEVER YOU PISS THEM OFF BC THEY KNOW ABOUT YOUR FAT CRUSH ON HIM <//3

- okay so i feel like makki has obsessions with the most random anime characters and cries over them weekly

- HE IS AN UGLY CRIER AS WELL DO YOU FEEL SO BAD WHENEVER YOU LAUGH AT HIM CRYING

- they love going on wattpad and reading cringey smut stories and depending on how bored they are, they would have competitions on how well they can write their own

- on your birthday, makki sent you a link and it was a you x iwaizumi fanfic

- they love leaning on u for some reason???

- y’all definitely go to playgrounds at like 3 am just because and then just watch makki fly off the swings

- they very much have a ‘what’s yours is mine’ mentality like you cannot eat or own something without them taking it

- they unintentionally yet intentionally grab ur boobs </3 i’m sorry

#haikyuu!! #haikyuu #haikyuu headcanons #haikyuu hcs #haikyuu x reader #haikyuu x you #haikyuu x y/n #hq x reader #hq headcanons #haikyuu matsukawa #matsukawa x reader #matsukawa x you #matsukawa x y/n #matsukawa fluff #haikyuu fluff #matsukawa imagines #matsukawa scenarios #matsukawa issei #matsukawa hcs #matsukawa headcanons #haikyuu hanamaki #hanamaki takahiro #hanamaki headcanons #hanamaki hcs #hanamaki fluff #hanamaki imagines #hanamaki scenarios #hanamaki x reader #hanamaki x you #hanamaki x y/n

[dreamtydraw]

Hi from fishbowl this isn’t a red flag but I just thought of another ick I get from otome games/vn’s that I wanted to share and ramble about!!

When the male love interests all have the same stupid washboard abs, SPECIFICALLY AND ESPECIALLY when it makes no sense for the character to be built like that. Like, I know a lot of people find abs hot, but I always lowkey hate it when I see it. Unless it makes total sense for the character to be built with a six pack I’m just like immediately no </3

Idk what it is but there’s something about abs that just… doesn’t attract me, in fact it kinda deters me lmao. It is kinda funny though since there will be times where there’s a scene where the guy’s shirtless or something with his abs all out in the open and it’s obvious that the game is trying to get you to be like “Ooh la la~” meanwhile I’m sitting there like “Oh… Mmkay……” (I have a specific game in mind when I’m saying this cause there was a game that I played a while back that I remember did this all the goddamn time and it would immediately take me out of my immersion so it’s like personal beef at this point lol)

Sorry this doesn’t really align with your question at all I just spontaneously thought of the ick and wanted to share-

-🐟

Hello again fishy !

I think what I dislike about this trope is how shallow it is.

Usually giving M Li abs when they shouldn't have is a result of unnecessary fanservice that sometimes goes directly against characterization and for me ruins the narrative experience. Also usualy since they want to have abs but not too many muscles most of the LI with abs looks like they are behond deshydrated.

I think the only game where shirtless fanservice abs worked for me was Roadkill which btw is funny because they did it right for one of the Li and totally ruined their good writing by giving them second M li also abs...

But why does Howie's fanservice work on me ? Because it make sense.

The game gives you a reason as to why he has abs: He did sports with the only goal to have a musculature that would make people stop picking on him for being a theater kid.

the game's use of fanservice is a part of the story: Roadkill is a big love letter to horror movies and the entire premise is that your life turns into a horror movie that is cliché. The fact this guy undress in the middle of a snowy road to give you his shirt ( is not only cute- ) but also understandable because HE'S THE CHARICATURE OF A HIMBO !

That a good way to impliment fanservice in my opinion. I know it's not a must, not all game needs to have perfect writing but it would be nice if it became a standard that fanservice (both for men and women ) was written in a way that makes sense to the story and dosen't feel like a pity grab of attention for horniness.

Also as an ace folk having a game that doesn't force you into fanservice is always a nice touch. LET ME CHOOSE IF I WANT TO SEE BOOBS OR NOT !

Anyway live, life, laugh, and play roadkill I swear it's a funny game.

#fish anon #anon ask #dreamty's ramble #ask answer #visual novel #roadkill fictif #roadkill howie

[planefood]

hi. i might be going crazy but if i'm not and i recall correctly; a couple months back or so you made a post talking about why you chose the city you did for your ocs and why it didn't take place in america. as a non american who fell into the weirdly common thing of making ocs that are american i really resonated with that post, i've been looking around for it and i can't find it. so i wanted to ask if you deleted it? it's 100% fine if you did i get it. i just want to know if its gone or i should keep looking around for it because of infamous tumblr search broken. thanks :-)

Okay this is tough because my tumblr has a tendency to just, hide posts of mine in the archive or tags (grrr) but I also delete posts a lot if I feel like I was overly emotional in them or if its just stupid tagging garbage but I might've deleted it because I wrote that when I was really upset, I know a lot of people related to it though so i'm really sorry to you guys! I might rewrite it more succinctly if I have the energy but the point in that old post still stands I suppose Sometimes I worry I come across as too patriotic or even, god forbid... "kiwiana" kitsch which would be a NIGHTMARE for me even if most of my followers wouldn't notice something like that. I also don't wanna give off the impression that my work is only for a small population or that I "hate americans" if I don't word it well enough. I probably only feel an obligation to write how I do because I fought so hard feeling recognised for my background after I moved here that feeling it happen again when I speak to people outside of NZ stresses me out. I'm glad other people resonated with it! But me getting so emotional over it isn't what I'd call a typical reaction idk. Really its more out of frustration, I feel like I'll never truly feel at home in any part of the world for multiple reasons, somewhere where I can feel comfortable relating to people just because we're from the same area but that's not really true. I was an outsider in Japan and I felt like an outsider living here. Moving to a bigger city didn't provide me much comfort as I still feel like I'm not apart of the "in group". I know people who haven't even moved countries like me will probably feel this (esp if you follow me cause no regular person would follow me tbh) thats the frustration I try to capture with my writing that I hope more people to can attach to than just "this is Aotearoa bitch!!!!!!!!!". I feel love and also a lot of rage for this country. My stories are less of a love letter for it and just auto biographical, some parts are cozy and nice but a lot is pretty rough and stressful. There's still the kid in me screaming "I WANT TO GO HOME!" all the time while I live here, back then "home" would've just been back in Japan but now I don't really know what that "home" is. I find solice in my characters trying to figure that out too

#ask #my stories rarely feel like they capture authentic nz to me sometimes but idek what that is really #I was gonna go on a rant about how much I hated this country growing up because of how ppl treated me + everything being different #but that can be for another day

[blonde-and-cat-suc]

I really wanna start an anti catradora blog since there are so few but idk where to start, can you please give me some tips?

Well! First of, I'm very excited that this side of fandom will be getting another participant, and second of all, I'm very flattered that this question is going to me! I'm always happy to give some support xoxo!

All of my tips are going to be from personal experience both from my time generally engaging with fandom, and running this particular blog.

/ / / /

1 ) Try to be polite.

Yes, you will get people who disagree with you. The very existence of anti-fandom implies that we are not the norm. The majority of our main fandom already disagrees with us. And they might be assholes about it. Don't tolerate rudeness, but also, try not to feed into it, either. Not only is it terrible for mental health as the blogger, but it perpetuates this idea that the blogger in question reacts to negative attention. Which, if you've been on the Internet long enough, you know very well how quickly negativity breeds if it's allowed. Positivity breeds too, so I think it's in anyone's best interest to simply... Not be an asshole. Even if it means being the bigger person for a moment.

2 ) Pick and choose your battles.

"Battles" is a melodramatic way to put it, but I'm only using it because it's a well known saying. Anyway, this part is from the first part. So... the thing about being "the bigger person" is that... it doesn't always happen. I definitely don't let everything go by me without snapping at it sometimes. Well, I just think it's funny. I used to think it was way funnier in the past, too. Sometimes anon hate/fandom takes are really stupid and it's hilarious to share. But if it's not funny, insightful, or you simply don't want to engage... Don't engage.

3 ) Connect!

Anti-fandom is still fandom, and I personally treat it as such! There's still art to enjoy, stories to read, discussions to be shared. Community is not necessary, but when I was first putting out anti-c//a posts it really helped me to know that there were people that like, didn't think I was insane for pointing out things that bothered me! Especially since my choice in writing anti-c//a/crit fics is not an easy medium and well, to be honest, sort of requires that I know someone out there enjoys the fruit of my labor.

Yes, spop antis are limited, but go say 'hi' to the people that are open to engagement! We're mostly pretty friendly, and in my opinion, open-minded.

4 ) You are required to have an "on the nose" blog name.

NO, okay, I'm being totally facetious! Obviously, name the blog whatever you want, I just laugh when I see a new anti blog and it's something like "catra-needs-jail-time" or "catradora-is-dogshit". They're a handful of bloggers like that, if you want more to follow (the two I just named are jokes... As far as I know).

The real advice to be clear that your blog is anti-catradora/critical; or whatever other stances you'll talk about often. Nothing personal if that's not what you want, but make it easily found that you're not open to certain things, or you are open to certain things. I.e. I think that C//a are pretty obviously adopted sisters canon, and that point is very purposefully the first post on my blog (has been for two years), so no one is surprised when I start ranting about sister!c//a in particular.

5 ) It is never, EVER that deep.

Part of anti/crit blogging is that there's salt involved. Ranting, sharing things that frustrate us, being annoyed with canon... But also, it's really not that deep.

If I would have got this question two years before, I would have not added this part. But yeah, no. Part of why I run this blog still is because I know it's simply not that serious... People will steadily find my blog and the others in this community, and they will come around to their own conclusions on their own time. There is no trying to convince someone else on a POV that they simply don't want to see. There is no war against anti fandom and main fandom (though, some will have you believe otherwise).

The bloggers that are still active and open about unpopular opinions in 2023 are not people that stress themselves out or respond to every braindead take, they're not people who get attacked/overwhelmed by stans very often, they're not rude, they're not close-minded-- actually, I would go as far as to say that they're extremely fucking chill about this hobby. Passionate and dedicated, but self aware and self-respecting of mental capital/health.

And so, that'd have to be my last piece of advice.. Chill. It's just not that deep. And if it ever becomes "deep"... take a million steps back, and give yourself that space to recuperate. Your mental state is infinitely more important than an anti-blog, and no one will judge you for taking breaks or anything as you'll need them.

/ / / /

#*exhales* i hope this was coherent and helpful to you #this is all partially me lovingly and tenderly talking to *myself* and wishing I had these tips two years ago #i hope this conveys well #asks / answers #please have fun with it and tag me when/if you start the blog!

[primewritessmut]

Maybe this is a better question to ask once your done with songs for the zombie apocalypse but I don’t get why a unhappy ending is inevitable in this story. I see other people in your comments agreeing so maybe I’m just too stupid to see what ur putting down lol. Is it because Peter hates that Deadpool has killed so many people? Idk if you would want to answer this question, and I can ask it again at the end of the series if I still don’t get it if you’d prefer, but I really don’t get it and I would love to understand your intentions of the story because clearly you are trying to put down this inevitably ends in a tragic end, but I just don’t see it. I know Deadpool has said it ends in Peter’s death a few times, but I also don’t get that. Like why doesn’t he just keep Peter forever like he intends? Or was Deadpool saying that Peter’s only options are being kept by Deadpool or death if he tries to escape? I just feel lost lol. So ya I would love to see what u we’re trying to combat in previous chapters like when you read cliff notes and they explain that the writer wrote the curtains were red because the character was angry because as of now I’m just like I dontttt seee it lol

First of all, let me just say that I consider it a compliment that you are so invested in this doomed pair. So thank you!

Annnnnd, I think I can answer this question without getting too into the weeds on the specifics of SFTZA. That being said, you can always come back and ask again once the fic is officially over.

The simplest answer is that I set out to write something without a happy ending.

I’m a romance writer at heart. The things I write usually end up having some version of a happy ending whether I intend them to or not. (And sometimes I don’t, and they fight me, and it suuuucks. Looking especially at you, she’s not going to die today. 👀)

But I’m also someone that likes to stretch my writing muscles. Most of my fics are written by the seat of my pants (no plot, just vibes) but I always, always have a writing goal in mind when I start. With SFTZA it was (1) work within a limited word count (An idea I got after talking wonderingly to @periodically-puzzled about how he did it.) and (2) give those bitches a BAD ending.

I could go into the specifics of the relationship I wrote for Wade and Peter but let’s just say it: Wade is abusive. (I mean, their relationship is always abusive to some extent when I write it but…) Wade lies to Peter, isolates Peter, makes Peter rely on him, manipulates Peter, and the relationship is fundamentally changing the kind of person Peter sees himself as.

It’s an allegory for interpersonal abuse hidden under the guise of two dudes surviving a zombie apocalypse.

The fact that some people want or can still see a happy ending for them is kind of part and parcel of that.

READ THE FIC

#inbox #songs for the zombie apocalypse

[pasteleclectic]

hii, I've been reading your fanfic the lawyer's secretary for a while now, and I was just wondering if you were planning to keep writing it or not. I don't want this to sound demanding I'm just curious because I reaaally llike the story. Sorry for bothering you :)) 💗💗

Hii! No I appreciate you checking in on it🤍

I feel bad bc I know some people have been waiting on an update. I have been working on it slowly but I sometimes get insecure with my stories and feel like I’ve taken on too much. Like I know I left y’all on a big cliff hanger and I still really wanna finish the story as a whole but sometimes I’m like “is this stupid? Too melodramatic? Are people gonna be disappointed with the ending?”

I did need a break after writing over 80k words for this story but I never intended on it being this long. It’s also hard bc gege hates us and has barely given us anymore higu in over a year now 😭 it goes back to my insecurities cuz what if we learn more about him in the manga and I completely mischaracterized him? Idk I just get in my head too often. BUT I do have about 10k words down for this chapter already (it’s probably gonna be close to 20 by the end😩) but since you’ve been so patient and kind I will add a snippet of the beginning of chapter 11 here. I hope it will help for now!

———-

Tw: physical assault, guns, kidnapping

The sound of your rapid pulse was drumming in your ears, nearly drowning out all your other senses until the phone in the stranger's hand rang again. He groaned before leaning over to press the button on the door handle right beside you, the tinted window rolling down to reveal the city streets. They were completely desolate at this hour, giving the man across from you the perfect opportunity to chuck the phone out the window without any hesitation. The vehicle was moving too fast for you to hear it, but based on the sheer power he put behind his throw, you knew that the phone was as good as gone. Watching him rolling up the window right after felt like your last tie to Hiromi being severed - along with your freedom.

You could’ve tried screaming while the window was open, but there was no point when Toji was casually holding a gun behind your head. Instead of pressing the end of the barrel against you like he had in the parking lot behind the temple, he leaned back in his seat lazily with an arm outstretched over the bench seat, the gun resting somewhere close behind your head. He couldn’t be bothered putting up a defense towards you, that's how weak you were to him.

And he wasn’t necessarily wrong. Like many other women, you’ve imagined before what you would do in tense situations like this. You always thought that you’d might be braver, fighting till the bitter end in hopes of making it out alive. But it was easy to feel a sense of control when it was only ever a fantasy. Here in the real world, you knew that any fight you put up would probably come back to you tenfold. They haven't hurt you yet, but that only made you more nervous for what's to come.

“Switch seats with me.”

The man across from you was speaking to Toji, and the taller man stood as far as the vehicle's roof would let him before the other man slipped in his place. Now he was right beside you, much closer than Toji had been. And though you couldn’t see him brandishing a weapon like his now seated partner was, that didn’t mean you weren’t any less terrified of him. You pressed your back up against the car door as you looked him up and down with frightened eyes. In the absence of words that couldn’t escape your dry throat, you used your body language to signal to him to not come any closer. Yet something to that lit a fire behind his eyes, like he had spotted a long awaited prey he was hunting for sport.

All the sudden he grabbed your face roughly in one hand, pulling it forward till your hands had to grip the leather seat between you just so you wouldn’t fall over. He turned your face from side to side, inspecting you closely. Any attempt to pull away from his grasp only made his grip grow tighter. He only let go after he squeezed your cheeks together till your lips were scrunched up, chuckling deeply at how humiliated you looked. It was so dehumanizing that you didn’t even want to give him the satisfaction of another reaction, returning his sharp grin with a blank stare. That seemed to only amuse him more, a laugh falling from his lips as he said, “Oh you’re fun, aren’t you?”

From this up close, you could see the ink lines traced all over his face. They gave him an even scarier disposition, but there was also something familiar about him. It was hard to tell what shade his hair truly was under the car’s dim interior lights, but flashes of streetlamps showed shades of dusty rose over a dark undercut. Either than that, everything about this man was new to you. You tried to think back if maybe he was a client of Hiromi’s in the past, but nothing came to light. He had a smaller stature than Toji but was far from frail. You could see the outlines of his veins beneath his skin from where the sleeves of his dress shirt were rolled up. But before you could look at him any further, the car pulled up to the front of a tall gate. It seemed to border some kind of private property, and your anxiety only got worse as you watched the gates close behind you once the car drove past a group of security guards operating the gate.

When it finally came to a stop, it was within seconds that the door opened up beside you and you were greeted with the sight of an unfriendly face that belonged to what had to be another one of this guy's henchmen. Without a single word, he grabbed you roughly by your forearm and yanked you out of the car so hard that you nearly fell on your knees. He pulled you up before they could hit the ground, but you winced as a shooting pain went up your arm, his blunt nails digging into your flesh. You turned your head back to shoot him a look from over your shoulder, but just when you had, you felt the man’s hand slip away as a loud thud sound could be heard against the side of the car. Your eyes widened as you turned to see the tattooed man holding up the offender by the neck, his elbow digging into his jugular. The man gave desperate apologies through thick coughs, but that was all ignored as the other said, “Remind me when I said you could touch her?”

The man was incapable of responding, gargling getting progressively worse as his face turned bright red. Though you hadn’t appreciated what he’d done, you didn’t want anyone to get hurt because of you. Finally finding your voice, you were about to speak up when a large form stood between you and the two men, nearly obstructing your entire view.

“It’s nearly daybreak. We should get her inside.”

It was Toji, and though his back was turned to you, you got the sense that he was trying to diffuse the situation. Though you couldn’t see his face from where you were standing, the angry man loosened his grip just enough for the man’s feet to touch the ground again. Without ever taking his eyes off the man - who was now taking in gulps of precious air - he addressed Toji in a hauntingly apathetic tone, “You know where to take her.”

And with that, you were being escorted by your once friendly acquaintance towards a large building. You didn’t want to follow him per se, but you also didn’t want to be near this maniac any longer. It was still dark out, but even now you could tell that this place was massive. The bordering gates that surrounded the place were so long that they disappeared past your line of sight. Not knowing what was inside the house felt almost as intimidating as not knowing what lay outside. How big was this place exactly? Were all the fences spiked? Did your capture own all of it? These thoughts and more flooded your brain at lightning speed till they were interrupted by the sounds of fists meeting flesh.

It was all happening behind you, right where you and Toji had left the two men. You stopped in your tracks but a hand on your back guided you to move forward. Over and over the man’s coughs and pleas were cut short by the sound of connecting flesh. There was a crunching noise that sent a shiver up your spine, and you shut your eyes tightly as tears started to well in them. With Toji now a few steps ahead of you, you started to pick up your pace just to get away from the scene sooner. Once you were beside him, you almost ventured a look behind you, but he must’ve noticed your watery eyes and said with a straight face, “It’s better if you don’t look.”

Taking his advice, you silently plead for anything out there to stop what was happening. But the nightmare persisted till a loud, wet thud sound rang out before the sound of a weight falling to the ground could be heard. Grave silence followed, and you held back a sob as you reluctantly stepped inside the house.

#pastel asks #jjk #writing #fanfic #ao3 #jjk x reader #my fic #higuruma hiromi x reader #sukuna x reader #toji x reader

[solar-halos]

do u ever think about the way olivia rodrigo invented music

just kidding i know the emotions she sings about have existed since the beginning of time but im just now realizing that if i was born in the taylor swift era i would 100% be a swiftie bc i was thinking abt olivia rodrigo’s music the other day and unironically had the thought “wow she literally invented having emotions” before i managed to catch myself. but honestly i think it’s crazy how accurately she captures all these feelings of insecurity and heartbreak (and now joy!) so perfectly!!

“lacy” and “pretty isn’t pretty” seem so similar on the surface, but i feel like lacy is more of a gradual realization that no matter what u do—or how ur actually perceived—you will never feel as feminine as u want to. there will always be people (aka Lacy) who are gonna be effortlessly elegant and beautiful and feminine and feeling jealous of that is so fuckin stupid but that doesn’t stop u from caring. and then i like “pretty isn’t pretty” bc i feel like that’s the aftermath of Lacy. idk the part abt her trying every shade of lipstick really hit bc when i was first experimenting w makeup i remember feeling so insecure that none of them seemed “my” color. also i really like the gradual buildup of “it’s in my phone/head/magazines/the boys i bring to bed” bc i feel like that describes the pipeline so well

anyway now let’s get into the new songs she released. i’m actually not sure if they’re new bc when i searched it up after it popped up on my spotify google said she released this back in 2023? so idk. but her youtube channel literally has this all released within the last few days. but my favorite thing about these songs is how im in the same era she’s in rn. that happened to me with “sour” and “guts” reopened a lot of those old wounds, so i absolutely love the healing theme (? i know that’s not the right word but it’s hard to think rn) this album has. let’s start off with obsessed since that popped up for me first

obsessed? yeah, obsessed with this fucking song. seriously. “if you knew how much i thought about her you’d think i was in love” already starting off on a banger. also i watched the mv and i loved it. this song literally couldn’t have came at a more perfect time, yall ever just randomly remember that ur s/o has dated ppl that aren’t u before? chilling realization, really

scared of my guitar? “i can’t lie to it the same way i like to you”? “i lay in your arms and pretend that it’s love”? “i’d rather be tied to someone even if they’re wrong”? oh my god. i was literally thinking about this the other day. like, being in a relationship bc u want to be or if it’s bc you’re scared of being by yourself. and i also like the fact that it’s insinuating that the other person is the better half. bc sometimes it does feel like literally just loving someone when you struggle so much with the thoughts i mentioned is just the same as stringing them along. but then also i think it’s nice to pretend you’re in love bc obviously at the beginning of a relationship you have no idea if it’s ever going to go that far, so i think we often fall in love with the idea of being loved. which sounds a bit corny when i put it like that, but scared of my guitar made *me* feel like a tortured poet bc i used to be like “im chill ! :o)” and then open up ao3 and write a billy taupe/lucy gray story like girl…. that’s not the same as olivia rodrigo being folksy and cute

speaking of being folksy and cute, “girl i’ve always been” is so folksy and cute! i literally hate country music so fucking much (i’m sorry… one time this guy in hs played God’s Country in front of the class for a presentation and he stood there kinda ominously so ever since then i’ve kinda hated it) but this song was nice i liked it! i like the confidence it exudes, someone already mentioned this in the comments but it really is giving off lucy gray vibes, especially “with venom on my tongue u ask me who i’ve become” like okayyy someone needs to write a billy taupe/ lucy gray inspired story abt that line immediately. i don’t really have much more to say since this one was the one i found the least personally relatable, but i love the sassiness of it all!!

stranger. this one was a FUCKING banger, this was the sort of era i was in when guts released so im so glad miss olivia rodrigo could put the feeling of realizing u don’t *need* someone u thought u literally couldn’t live without into words. “i always thought it was some comforting lie ppl told” literally. also the call back to “enough for you” by saying “if im not enough for you then you’re not enough for me either” :,). i think growing up is quite nice

so american. fav! <3 <3 <3. “he’s like a poem i wish i wrote” hands down my favorite lyric fucking ever. i LOVE this song. like i said with “lacy” and “pretty isn’t pretty” bleeding into each other, i think the same applies w this song and “scared of my guitar.” like after u get over ur fear of ur guitar u realize that ur so american and suddenly wanting to get married and be in love doesn’t seem so selfish anymore. i really, really love this song (if i haven’t already mentioned that)

sorry, i know this was a long post! stranger had me bursting into tears so i told Boyfriend i needed to write in my “notes app” abt it so everyone say hi Boyfriend. but seriously im feeling so american rn i literally was like “leave me alone and don’t touch me im feeling explosively emotional” and he was like ok! here’s some fruit. and then now im writing on my phone about songs i love. like is there any better feeling??

#i wrote all that and realized it’s not a new album it’s literally guts extended 😭😭 #so little did i know me and her albums have always been in the same era #but seriously i love olivia rodrigo’s music so fucking much #i hope i get to see her in concert someday that would be so cool #anyway olivia rodrigo fans what did we think abt the songs #long post #dear diary

[dracoandthehounds]

For the fic ask -- either question 11 or 12 for hounds of love? Or you can choose any fic from the series if you're inclined to answer :D

Oooooh okay!!!

11. What do you like best about this fic?

I'd say... My favorite part of this fic/series is getting a chance to develop out complex characters that didn't get as much attention in the canon. Like developing Draco's motivations so he's less of like a Heel character. Or the plans I have for Pansy specifically feel really exciting. And, of course, Nell :) It means so much to me that people like her!!! Because she's entered a world of characters that people have known forever and cared about forever so it means a lot to me that people are liking her too :)))

And more specifically...... there are a handful of scenes coming up at the start of the next installment that I am very excited for. My hint is that these scenes will take place before Harry gets attacked by the dementors, and then after his move to the order headquarters but before his trial :)

12. What do you like least about this fic?

The fact that it won't write itself hahahaha lmao.

I'd say...... I like the least when I have to stick to certain canon moments in order for the plot to develop how I want it to. So, like, I wish I could find a way to exonerate Sirius in the books because I feel like his reintroduction to the wizarding world and how that sort of shakes things up could be sooooooo good but if I did that, then Harry wouldn't be at Privet Drive pre-OOTP, which would throw off the dementor & expulsion plot-lines which are really important to the story and things I *do* want to incorporate.

Oh and the other thing I like least is having to fix a lot of Rowling's plot-holes lol. Like... having characters be smart and come up with intelligent responses to their problems is something that is really important to me as a writer, so sometimes I come across things in the canon that just make no sense lol. (like, for example, in the second book--- why weren't the petrified students sent to St. Mungo's, and why couldn't Hogwarts idk order out for some Mandrakes??? Like why are they dependent on the mandrakes that the *second-year students* are growing??????

So I made up some casual mention by Ron about a wizarding flu that used up all the mandrakes in the series lol.

Like these things are probably things that don't matter to readers since it's just part of canon but I like... cannot move past them lol. It makes it hard to write if I feel like there's an inconsistency, especially since I'm writing in Nell's story to include stuff like Death Eaters and the Unforgiveable Curses since the first book, which don't actually appear until the fourth book in the original canon. So it's a lot to sort of keep up with in my head and to be prepared to have a logical explanation for certain things.

like.... here are some things that I have/will need to adjust bc their explanation doesn't really work in canon or i hate the way Rowling did it bc it was bigoted or stupid lmao:

why the trio didn't have food during the horcrux hunt

why harry can't move out of privet drive

the seven potters plan (okay this one just never made sense to me like i really feel like it could be fixed so much.......... but i have come up with a fix for it that i'm extremely excited about lmao. it's made my annoyance at this plot point go away.)

prev. mentioned mandrake issue

the time-turners

the goblet of fire (why can't harry just not try hard at the tasks....)

the house-elves

werewolves

giants

centaurs

veela

transfiguration of (for example) rats into goblets? / transfiguration in general.

whyyyyyyyyy tf they brought the literal most aggressive breed of dragon to be used in the first task????

the animagus ritual / why more characters don't do it

love potions (ughghhghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhghghhhh)

how harmful the memory-wiping charm is in actuality

fixing characters who are one-note ways for Rowling to hate on groups of people.... (i.e. the Dursleys are bad, and a large part of that is bc Vernon and Dudley are really fat????? wtf???) (or like.... Lockhart and Karkaroff are feminine men.... SURPRISE they're evil and creepy!!!! or Lavender Brown likes girly things.... she sucks. the best girls are Hermione and Ginny bc they are Not Like Other Girls. And Lupin who is a werewolf [as a metaphor for AIDS - explicitly stated by JKR] is 100% straight and now married to a woman nearly twenty years younger than him.... like Jo. You used the historically-used method for gay coding trope of lycanthropy and then got mad when people read it as gay...... so you hetero'd him off into a weird shoved together marriage???) sorry that's just my JKR rant lmao.

I hope these answers were interesting!!!!!! Thank you for sending in the ask <3

#asks #anon

[yuukei-yikes]

What’s your opinion on Harushin (Haruka and Shintaro)? Can be either platonic or romantic

i love that u had to clarify who they are LMAOOO

hmm well i don't like them romantically. when it comes to the yuukei quartet ships I'd put them at the bottom 💔 mostly cuz i just dont ship haruka with anyone other than takane (but for some reason i pass takane around like a blunt) and also it means a lot to me that the reason haruka recognizes he loves takane is bc he defines shintaro as a friend but feels sad putting takane in the same category bc of the different feelings she entails.

and I HAVE THIS PET PEEVE that is a bit silly and nuanced. and it implies a lil bit of jin bashing so TOTAL AND COMPLETE DISCLAIMER i love jin's work and his characters and i immensely respect everything he's done for this franchise he shares with us and clearly loves. that said fuck his misogynistic fucking writing

i could go on and on and on abt that but to answer this ask specifically, i just HATE that shintaro is so nice to haruka and he's just a total ass to ayano and takane for no goddamn reason. takane was SO nice to him at first, could u imagine the good buddies they would've been if shintaro was fucking normal. and shintaro LITERALLY stands in a 2 hour line at the festival just to insult her😭😭😭 he didn't even KNOW her. he's like "u act like this big shot bc all these ppl fawn over you" as if takane hadn't been literally sobbing miserably the whole afternoon precisely bc people were fawning over her and she found it mortifying. bc ofc he didnt know that!! LIKE WHAT WAS THE DAMN REASON HE DID THIS HES CRAZY i will never know what was going thru jin's mind writing that bit but ig all i can do is imagine shintaro was like GIRLS CANT PLAY GAMES *SHAKING* i know im always talking abt shintaro and takane's friendship and how much i love them but god the writing in the hs days is just inexcusable like shintaro is so damn unlikable. i hate when they put him and takane in the same level of irrational arguers bc truly takane is just fucking defending herself. how would u treat a person who didnt even give u a damn chance and just says all that shit to u first meeting. and she's also speaking for ayano too cuz her ass wont defend herself. and also haruka wont say anything. like takanes fighting for her life in here i 10000% support her actions as ene cuz man fuck that guy i find it insane she still cared for him anyway

and it pisses me off that then we see him in novel 6 being totally capable of being a decent fucking person to haruka. like seriously what's his damage. also idk japanese but i THINK shintaro speaks in a polite manner to haruka and not to ayano and takane. obligatory joke im gay not bc i like men but bc i hate women etc etc etc

i could rly go on abt how much it annoys me haruka and shintaro's friendship is super developed opposed to ayano and takane's pathetic dynamic that doesnt pass the already stupid bechdel test (i actually ranted a lil bit abt it on my side twitter a few days ago if you wanna read it LMAO) (it starts as a thread abt harutaka but then i get sidetracked cuz...yeah) BUT THIS IS ABT HARUKA AND SHINTARO SO. yeah u could excuse it with shintaro being the protag and ofc getting a lot more focus on his relationships but still. i kinda resent this aspect of their dynamic so i don't like the ship teehee i just... i think haruka is way too good for him sorry shintaro my man. i say this while shipping shinaya i know but to be fair i make them go through hell in my mind before they can properly be happy together if at all. bc when i start going off abt all this stuff i also start resenting shinaya LMAOOO sometimes i say i like it out of nostalgia but then their whole story together and how theyre literally always destined to find each other (holds head) ok. thats aside the point. i have a complicated relationship to shinaya. it's all abt drawing the line between author and creation and how much u can say augh author is being annoying and augh character is just an ass on purpose. and compared to the pov of all the other kagepro characters, u can indeed see that sexism shit in all of it (i could whip out examples in a second)but on shintaro it is noticeably worse LOL

and again im not blaming fictional characters for author's misogyny, like someone is writing this duuuh which is why haruka never points it out but FROM MY insane perspective i interpret it as haruka recognizing the pattern but he's so damn spineless he can't bring himself to stand up for ayano and takane. he probably makes some comments that shintaro just dimisses and haruka is too nervous to bring them up again *me going off abt the internalized misogyny of fictional characters headcanoned based on the author being misogynistic*

ERM. ANOTHER REMINDER I LOVE KAGEPRO AND I RESPECT JIN FOREVER BC HE IS THE CREATOR OF ALL MY FAVORITE CHARACTERS. but also lol. doesn't mean i cant point out some of this stuff yknooooow

uhhh soooo platonic wise i love them. but its also not my favorite dynamic to explore, id repeat some of the stuff ive already written, it does bother me shintaro is Normal to haruka and not to ayano and takane and haruka acts like nothing. it's just a big thing that annoys me generally abt them lol and i find it tough to separate from author like i normally would with these weird things he includes because this bit is just a whole dynamic you know?? i could.... go on abt this but um. sorry ive been talking for a while. its definitely something im kinda bitter about in the writing.

but still they're definitely sweet, and i understand the appeal completely!!! these are just My thoughts i think its 2023 and i wont get death threats for not liking a ship anymore but also haruka is shintaro's bisexual awakening that is for damn sure. i like entertaining the onesided concept. shintaro being like hahahaha what if we kisssed like ayano and takane apparently did and haruka is like No thanks.

#ask tag #you: what do u think of this ship #me: SHINTARO HATES WOMEN BRO #its funny except when it isnt #i love exploring his dynamics but then i start going abt this and im like fuck the yuukei quartet its a trio now #throw shintaro in a river #sorry. i dont meant that. i love you shintaro. #most of the time at least. #kagenalysis

[trickstarbrave]

20 Questions for Writers

i got tagged by @throughtrialbyfire !!! idk who wants to be tagged though so if you see it. you can do it too :]

ill also answer under a read more

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

24!

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

572,669. i have a disease that makes me incapable of shutting up

3. What fandoms do you write for?

i write for TES right now tbh but i've also written for yugioh and fire emblem three houses

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

Consequences (fe3h) 1,483 Our Den (fe3h) 1,244 The Secrets We Share to Those We Love (MHA) 946 The World Eater's Eyrie (skyrim) 666 (LMAOOOOO nice) Alduin's Bane (skyrim) 569 (also nice)

5. Do you respond to comments?

god i try to. i love getting comments i just sometimes dont know what to say. i try to stay on top of reading them and responding if i can. if i havent replied to ur comment. i am stupid.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

most of my fics dont have endings tbh. i have either never finished them or they are just nice little one shots. however Siblings (fe3h) with twin byleths where one kills the other was pretty angsty ngl

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

uhhhhhh this is a problem yet again where most of mine are just happy little one shots or are unfinished. but i think To Walk the World with You Again (morrowind) is very happy. it hurts a lot in the beginning but ends with a happy loving reunion :>

8. Do you get hate on fics?

the closest i got was someone saying on Consequences (fe3h) that it shouldnt be tagged as M/M and instead M/F bc byleth was trans but other ppl ripped into them. i havent gotten rly terrible hate since fanfiction.net

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

all the time. i think i am primarily a smut author if im being honest. i just wanna watch my blorbos bone. as for what kind uhhhhh theres multiple kinds????

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

i dont think i have. i am just boring tbh

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

not that i know of

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

again not that i know of but if anyone wants to i wouldnt be against it

13. Have you ever co-written a fic?

YES the cannibal au for 5ds with my lil bro. i still think abt that au all the time tbh. it was angsty. it was dramatic. it was complicated. it was filled with hard moral dilemmas and gods with non-human morality and a lot of mythology shit. sad we never finished it tbh but life was getting hectic.

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

i dont know. rn i think its nerevoryn but trickstarshipping (where i got my url namesake from) still holds a special place in my heart <3)

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Ghosts of the Past (svsss). i really do like the story and had a bunch of it planned out mentally. qinghua's father was going to disown him when qinghua was going to tell him he was dating mobei and refused to hear qinghua out, there was gonna be drama with qinghua's family too where his dad says he firmly believes qinghua is actually the son of his identical twin brother who had an affair with qinghua's mother (his father was already cheating on his mom and she was wrong to do that, but no he is in fact the child of his bio-dad even being disowned). they then spend a summer vacation living together getting an apartment, go visit his uncle, and qinghua learns to enjoy his creative passions while finishing his degree with mobei and shen yuan's help, etc etc

the ending was going to be at a christmas party where qinghua's father catches a glimpse of qinghua at a company party. his wife (qinghua's former step-mother and the revealed mother of qinghua's half siblings rather than step siblings like qinghua grew up believing) thinks hes here to crash the party only for them to see he's there as mobei's boyfriend. his dad then tries to get in good with mobei who just brushes him off with "ah right, i know you. you're qinghua's uncle (since he refused to believe he is actually qinghua's father and it must be his twin brother he resented for being artistic and sensitive). i didnt think you were that close, why are you bothering me?"

qinghua goes on to be an accountant at the company, pretty high up too, and his father ends up quitting out of embarrassment and mobei being especially hard on him once he takes over for the company. he also continues to write his trashy novel while he and mobei plan to get married.

but tbh. i have morrowind brainworms. idk if i will ever finish it. sucks that one of the few stories i had all planned out with cdrama levels of bullshit i was really looking forward to going ham on i lost my motivation for when my hyperfixation changed.

i also wanna finish alduin's bane. i have a lot planned for that i could also spend an insane amount of time explaining. im hoping that the motivation for that one comes back though rather than me simply saying i probably wont finish it

16. What are your writing strengths?

i dont know 🧍‍♂️ if anyone wants to tell me i would appreciate it. i think it is like. i am primarily a romance author so i like working on dialogue, character interaction, stuff like that. ive also gotten compliments on my world building but idk if thats just my ideas or how i write them into the world.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

i feel like i struggle with pacing and motivation. as well as stuff like war tactics and full on battles. again i write mostly romance i dont know why i torture myself with stories about war

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

its very hard. ive seen ppl do it well but i find it difficult to read bc i am stupid. even with notes and flicking back and forth i feel like its a struggle to understand even if the goal was to obfuscate the meaning from the audience as well. usually i just do another language in bold font and make it clear the characters are speaking another language. but honestly do whatever you want forever

19. First fandom you wrote for?

i think it was in fact yugioh. i had ocs and daydreamed up storylines but i dont think i really sat down to write a fic until i was 12-13 and was writing a tendershipping fic in one of my notebooks at school lol

20. Favorite fic you've written?

tie between Alduin's Bane and Moon and Star. i love my long ass TES fics where i just go ham and play around with the world building and mythology. its a lot of fun and i feel like ive gotten to be very creative in the setting and make something unique and fun with the storylines given in both skyrim and morrowind

thanks for the tag <3 this was a lot of fun and thank u for reading if you did

#writing #tag #sorry for the fe3h jumpscares