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#multiple povs
writingwithfolklore · 9 months
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What advice would you have with a story that doesn’t necessarily have one set main character, but rather a group of important characters that influence the world around them? Is one set main character necessary?
Hi, thank you for the question!
Managing Multiple Main Characters
One main character is definitely not necessary. However, it depends how you define a main character. Are main characters just characters that have their own POV and arc? Or are they the point of the story telling? How significant does their impact on the world need to be?
Typically, even stories with multiple main characters (characters with POV and their own major arc), still has one main arc to follow that the others work with.
To make this point clearer, imagine a story with two main characters--one is a ballerina trying to land the main role of the show. The other is an astrophysicist discovering new things about our universe. At the end of the story, the ballerina lands the role, and the astrophysicist lands their promotion. One might wonder why these stories couldn't have each been their own novel, right?
So imagine instead, a ballerina is trying to land their dream role, and an astrophysicist is discovering new things about the universe. The theme for the upcoming ballet is space, so the ballerina goes to the astrophysicist for inspiration--leading to a blending of discovery, dance and science that leads the ballerina to landing the role and the physicist to opening their perspective on the universe.
Two main characters, but one 'story' that draws them together.
This is the most important part about writing multiple MCs. Readers typically expect--at some point--for the arcs of the MCs to intersect and work together. That's to say, if you have two characters who are both going through their own individual arcs completely separate from each other (such as the ballerina and physicist), at some point, they will have to interact or impact each other, and typically finish the story together, strengthened by their connection.
In cases of more than two main characters, it gets a bit more difficult. The more arcs and MCs your story has, the longer and more complicated it becomes.
To help with this, you can do a few things:
1. Have several arcs work together
Just like with two MCs, you can combine several of your MCs to going through arcs together. They may have the same objective (maybe for different reasons/motivations/goals, but the same 'end-game'), or otherwise they have to help each other or bounce off each other to get to their goal.
Romantic subplots are a really easy example of this. Two characters have an arc that both contribute to the same thing: the relationship.
2. Make some arcs 'weigh' more than others
The project I'm working on right now has five major characters who all have arcs and POV chapters. Character A and B are the protagonists, but character A is the 'more main' character out of the two of them. Then characters C, D, and E still have arcs, but theirs are much smaller than A and B. They still take the entirety of the story to fulfill their arc, but require less chapters and scenes to do it.
Thus, the breakdown in amount of time spent with characters is easy:
A - 40%, B - 30%, C - 15%, D - 10%, E - 5%
It's a bit less common to find a story with a lot of main characters that are all equal in their main character-ness. They may all impact the world and the story, but they aren't necessarily equal in doing so.
3. If all your characters are equal, they probably all have the same objective
Now, characters all having the same objective doesn't mean they're all going through the same arc. Objective may just be 'save the world from evil', but character A wants to save it for their family, character B wants to save it to have some control over it, character C wants to save it to promote their podcast, etc. etc. Their goals (or what they want out of achieving the objective) will be different, but they can band together to accomplish the same objective.
This keeps your astrophysicist and your ballerina together. Your characters' stories have meaning to each other, and a point to being put in the same novel.
Good luck!
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occasionallyprosie · 2 months
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Here's a snippet from that child fic...
He latched onto Wind. Something about him--it wasn’t even that he was the Hero of Winds--was just… more familiar than anyone else. It was like... like they were brothers in their cores, like he had taken every step of his life with him, like their hearts and minds aligned, like they shared stories and lives. It was like they'd always known each other. It was hard to explain, how his spirit sang in familiarity to Wind's, but it was something he couldn’t help but latch onto.
Take it as you will
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antipinkkitten · 1 month
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I’m so close to the end of my fic and I had to change comments to “Registered Users only” due to some of the feedback. I’m not saying I can’t handle negative feedback, because I definitely can… but I find the fandom is a bit too aggressive on some things and it was distracting me from finishing my planned story.
I get it, a love triangle trope with two different ships doesn’t meet everyone’s criteria. That’s why I’m writing it. I hope others enjoy it once it’s done, but it definitely got taxing after a bit.
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incompleteninny · 1 year
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The seventy-second free, unedited chapter of my upcoming book, “The Heist at Cordia Aquarium” is now available on its website (or click here to read from the beginning).
Salt winds between Waylon's feet like a snow-covered mountain range. Stride steady, his heart pounds against his rib cage. Over and over. Footstep, crash, footstep, crash. The sound is inside his head. Deep, quaking, and painful. Veins bulge at his temples: thin, wiry things that pulse in tandem with his heart's thunder.
It'll work out. This job didn't, but I have plenty of time to work through something else. Plenty.
Following the trail of salt, he whips around a corner. Light pierces through the darkness ahead. Two doors sit ajar in-line, one leading to the other: the tank maintenance area from earlier and the Hall of Discovery beyond it.
Striding past tables laden with spare tanks, air pumps, and whatever else, Waylon yanks at his hair band. Strips of black unfurl from the bun atop his head and fall to his shoulders. Heavy — damp with sweat. I'll get to the truck, get home, then I'll figure out what's next. She'll manage until then.
She has to.
[...]
Here’s this gay boy’s character concept sheet
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weiying-lanzhan-fics · 2 months
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transmuter by WithLoweredVoices
What a beautiful story in a grandiose and different setting. I enjoyed everything about it - the pain and anguish as well as the hope and mending.
Wonderful prose and characters ❤️❤️❤️❤️
(Therapeutic for me!)
Quotes:
Wei Ying stares at the boy now standing awkwardly in the middle of the café.  It’s like looking through time into some kind of twisted mirror.
The kid holds his hands like he doesn’t know what to do with them – like he’s been deposited within a new set of limbs and has yet to figure out how to use them. He’s sixteen at most, though he looks to be younger. He’s skinny and horribly pale, pale as milk, his lips the same ghastly color as his face. There is eyeliner smeared over his eyes with an unsteady hand, but it isn’t enough to hide the crimson shade of his eyelids.
The boy might be the youngest necromancer Wei Ying’s ever seen.
He’s just a baby – he’s not even full grown yet, not even a single hint of stubble at his face. There’s a chance he might never grow beyond this slender, small frame. You can only dip your fingers into death so many times before it starts to dip its fingers into you – and Wei Ying can smell the death on this boy.
Wei Ying lets out a long, shaky breath. He sets his mocha down and wraps the fingers of his right hand over his left wrist – a grounding trick he learned from his therapist.
‘Hiya,’ says Wei Ying brightly. ‘Welcome to Yiling Gardens. What can I get you?’
————
‘Wei Ying,’ says Lan Zhan. ‘I do not have to stay.’
He lifts a hand towards Wei Ying, then hesitates. He closes his hand into a fist, flexes it once, and then folds his fist behind his back. The hem shifts, revealing the sword hanging low from his belt.
Wei Ying’s traitorous brain feeds him a reel of memories: Lan Zhan, angrily raining a flurry of blows down upon Wei Ying in the training ring; Lan Zhan, wiping sweat from his face as he takes a break between drills, pointedly ignoring Wei Ying’s chatter; Lan Zhan, turning with the gold medal in his hand, not quite smiling, but triumphant all the same as he seeks out Wei Ying’s face in the crowd.
Wei Ying feels something like heartbreak clutter up in his throat. He looks down at the scuff-marks on his old shoes. He thinks about mountain ranges. He thinks about a kitchen table where nobody eats with him.
He thinks about a hand on his wrist, about the drone of Sentinels pushing close and, come back to Gusu with me.
Wei Ying summons his last ounce of bravery and looks up at Lan Zhan. ‘I don’t want you to leave.’
‘Mn,’ nods Lan Zhan. ‘I will not.’ His gaze flashes up towards the menu on the chalkboard. ‘I would like a matcha latte please. With soy milk. It is not a seasonal special,’ he adds, with an apologetic tilt of his head that is Lan Zhan’s equivalent of a shrug.
‘Okay,’ says Wei Ying.
He taps matcha powder into a mug and measures hot water into it with a few presses of a button on the coffee machine. I should say sorry, he thinks. He pulls the carton of soy milk out of the fridge and pours it into a cold pitcher. I should ask him how he’s been, he thinks. He froths the milk and taps out the bubbles. I should thank him for Burial Mounds, he thinks. He pours milk into the mug, forming a delicate fern leaf at the top.
‘Soy matcha latte,’ says Wei Ying as he hands the drink over, instead of sorry or are you well or thank you for not handing me over to Inquisition thirteen years ago.
Lan Zhan cups the mug in one long-fingered hand, while he keeps the other clasped behind his back. ‘Thank you,’ he says, and then, with a strange, wondering tone: ‘You used my favorite brand of soy milk.’
Wei Ying hates his magpie tendencies. It’s embarrassing, the way he collects facets of the people he loves, the people who once loved him, as though they could ever prevent people from leaving him.
Not Rated, 113k
Summary:
Wei Ying gave up necromancy years ago. He should be done with hauntings, but here in his café, here in this quiet city at the edge of the world, there stands a ghost dressed in mourning white with eyes like warm honey at the bottom of the pot.
(The one where it's a café AU - only it's not.)
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swaps55 · 2 months
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Swaps! Master of povs. Any advice on writing multiple pov-fics? I'm working on a multi chapter fic that would thrive if it was written in multi povs, alas, that's hard and I don't know where to start. Any thoughts about the process, or any chance you have already answered such an ask before and can link me that? (as always: love your writing. It's gold. Thank you for letting us be part of your journey.)
Oh, yesssssss, I live for multiple POVs! Thank you for the kind words!
Now, keep in mind, I wheel and deal in multiple POVs. For me there is no such thing as too many, which I am sure a lot of others would disagree with, and I don’t think you see it used and abused in published work the way I do it. But hey, I’m writing for free, and my fic in particular is predicated on the idea that every POV is on the table except for the main character, and I will use whatever POV I need to center the one POV I can’t have.
What a lot of sensible people will do is settle on a fixed number of POVs, say, 2-4, they’re willing to rotate through and try and distribute them somewhat equally. The Expanse series does this, for example. So one way to do it is to think about the story you want to tell and select your POV carousel based on who you think you will get the most mileage out of. If you have a story taking place in different locations simultaneously, you probably need a POV character for each. If you are looking at two different sides to the same story, you probably need POVs that are antagonistic to each other.
Or you can be like me and use whatever POV seems most useful at the time, no matter how many it winds up being in the end.
With the caveat that rules are made to be broken, and I am writing this as more of a peek into what I do vs a treatise on the right and wrong ways to do it, this is a breakdown of some of the exercises I work through when choosing and working in multiple POVs.
Be thoughtful about whose POV you want and why. One of the benefits of multiple POVs is that you can get wildly different perspectives on the same series of events. Different characters see the world differently. They notice different things. They interact with their world differently. These are things you can use to your advantage, and act as tools to tell your story. One of my favorite things to do is use the POV of a character who absolutely would not clock the important takeaway I’m after in a scene, but the things they notice and observe make the reader able to clock it. What that character experiences might be very different from what the reader experiences. I’ll often ask myself, ‘what does this character give me that another character wouldn’t in this scene, and why is that important?’
Spend time sitting between the ears of your chosen POV character to get a feel for how they see the world. I usually wind up marinating in a character’s head for a while before I dive into their POV for the first time. What state of mind are they in when we meet them? What’s important to them? What are they thinking about? What drives them? How can you use those drivers to connect back to your central narrative? You'll see a character you think you already know in a whole different light if you spend the time you need to really think about these questions, how to answer them, and what that means for the story. You’ll be really glad you did it.
Treat the POV character as the hero of their own story. One of the struggles and rewards of working in multiple POVs, especially POVs who are not a main character, is that those POVs have to work on two levels: they have to further the plot/character arcs of the main characters while honoring the motivations and goals of the POV character. It can be really difficult to find the right way to line both these things up, but it’s worth doing. If you just write a POV character in service of the main character/plot, it falls flat. (This is honestly true of any character, POV character or not, but for the sake of this post we’re focused on POV.) I’ve done a lot of agonizing over how to center a POV’s character’s own narrative within a larger context. Your character doesn’t know they are in a story. They don’t know they aren’t necessarily the main character. That’s where multiple POVs can really shine: by letting that character have their own agency within a bigger narrative, you can add a lot of depth.  
Make your POV shifts clear and easy to follow. This can mean sticking to a single POV per chapter, or using a clear scene break if you’re switching within a chapter. Establish your new POV as quickly as possible so your reader doesn’t get lost or confused. I could go into a whole other discussion about head hopping and multiple POVs vs. omniscient POV, but that’s getting off track.
Have fun and be creative! If you’re wheeling and dealing like I am, sometimes POVs you never would have considered otherwise can offer you a totally new perspective. My “No Main Character POV Rule” led me to try the POV of a character I never would have otherwise tried, and it has dramatically shaped the story in some really powerful ways. Don’t be afraid to try something off the beaten path!
I hope any of that helps. I love multiple POVs. The kaleidoscope of perspectives it offers is such a fantastic tool that I really love using, and I hope you have a lot of fun with it!!!!!!
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jessread-s · 1 month
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✩⚔️🏰Series Review:
⋆ Adventure and suspense ⋆ Political intrigue ⋆ Romance ⋆ Multiple pov
What started out as a twist on Robin Hood turned into an action-packed, high-stakes adventure with brooding pirates, power-hungry consuls, and warring kingdoms that I could not put down. With each book in the series, I grew closer to Kemmerer’s characters and further immersed myself in the world they inhabited. All the tears I shed were worth it in the end and I look forward to reading Kemmerer’s next project. 
Cross-posted to: Instagram | Amazon | Goodreads | StoryGraph
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lorcandidlucienwill · 6 months
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With Sarah J Maas books there's a clear difference between people who read the story as Sarah wants you to read the story and those people who see past her gaslighting and read the story how it's actually written. You can tell by which characters they love/hate. Sarah should really stick to multiple POVs because she is unable to write a story from one POV without the facts becoming incredibly skewed. I think this is one of the main reasons why TOG was so much better than ACOTAR. Even CC is so much better than ACOTAR.
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solemnswearings · 5 months
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It is my GRAND pleasure to say, ch7 of "Wings of Wax and Feathers" (my marauders at camp half-blood au) is FINALLY updated!!
I know it's a month overdue, but after sitting down with my little free time cradled in the palm of my hand, I managed to finish it and GET IT OUUUUT!!! I'm genuinely so excited.
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triplehmunson · 1 year
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𝑷𝑶𝑽: As CM Punk's dirty strategy to beat Dominik at Summer Slam, he interrupts his speech and shows a video of you with your current partner Pedro, which causes Dominik's jealousy and anger.
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personasdestinyy · 1 month
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Sorrowful Love | Ch#2 | JJK
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↳ 𝐬𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬; All he desires is vengeance.
⇢ 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: thriller, angst, love at first sight, au! sexting
⇢ 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠: jungkook x Sena oc!
⇢ 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: This story contains explicit language, graphic violence(murders, blood etc), and other mature content, If you are easily affected by such themes, it might be best to avoid reading it.
⇢ 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 0.9k+
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𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 | 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐱 | 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭⇢
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Sena's Pov:
The sound of my alarm clock rudely interrupts my peaceful slumber, signaling the start of another dreadful Monday. Reluctantly, I drag myself out of bed, my hair in disarray, and I force myself to sit up. With a groggy mind, my first instinct is to silence the annoying alarm. Once the noise is finally gone, I slip on my slippers and make my way to the bathroom.
As I approach the bathroom door, a sudden shadow catches my eye, sending a jolt of fear through my body. For a split second, I feel as if my soul is about to escape my trembling form. But soon enough, I realize that the shadow is none other than my own reflection.
"Fuck me," I curse myself, closing the door behind me with a frustrated kick.
After a refreshing shower, I stand in front of my wardrobe, towel wrapped around me, contemplating what to wear for the day. My fashion sense has always been lacking.
And I can't help but mutter under my breath, "I don't think I'm good at anything." After creating a chaotic mess, I settle on a white top, baggy blue jeans, and white joggers. Once dressed, I quickly brush my hair and apply some makeup.
With my morning routine complete, I head to the kitchen to prepare a simple breakfast of apple juice and a sandwich. As I leisurely eat, I grab my phone from the kitchen counter and my eyes widen as I glance at the time. Hastily finishing my meal, I grab my camera from the closet and my car keys from the bedroom drawer before rushing out of my apartment to make it to work on time.
My name is Sena, as all of you know, the slacker person in the whole world. I work as a photographer at Mg company.
Photography started as a mere hobby when I was 16, but it was my friend Mai who discovered my talent at the age of 18.
Unfortunately.
She couldn't keep it to herself and showed my photos to her father, who offered me a job at his company. I started working there at the age of 20, and it's been eight months since I've been working there.
And so, this is my life. Busy.
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After a long and tiring day at work, I finally make it back to my apartment, feeling completely drained. I walk through the door and immediately place my camera and car key in their designated spots before making a beeline for the bathroom to freshen up.
Once I've changed into more comfortable clothes, I make my way to the bedroom and retrieve my phone from my bag. As I settle into the soft and inviting bed, a notification suddenly appears, causing my heart to skip a beat. Curiosity gets the better of me, and I quickly glance at the notification.
To my surprise, it's a message from my brother, someone I haven't heard from in ages. Without wasting a second, I swipe the notification away without even reading the contents of the message. My mind is too preoccupied with other thoughts to fully process what he might have said.
Leaving my phone on the bed, I head to the kitchen to quench my thirst with a glass of water. Taking a deep breath, I try to let go of all the emotions that have built up throughout the day, allowing the cool water to help calm my racing heartbeat. Once I feel more composed, I return to the bedroom, retrieve my phone from the nightstand, and settle back onto the comfortable bed.
As I mindlessly scroll through Instagram for past forty minutes, an art page catches my eye. Intrigued, I decide to read the artist's biography, which turns out to be incredibly fascinating. His work is centered around capturing the emotions of others, which instantly captivates me. Without hesitation, I jot down the contact number provided on Instagram and dial it.
After two rings, a sleepy voice answers the phone with a simple "hello."
Trying to sound composed.
"Um hi, I want to place an order-", I quickly state. However, before I can finish my sentence, the person on the other end abruptly ends the call, leaving me bewildered. I stare at my phone screen, unsure of what just happened. "Well, that was strange," I mutter to myself.
Five minutes later, my phone rings again, and I answer, fully prepared to confront the person about their odd behavior.
But he was quick to speak up,
"I am sorry, my friend posted my number on Instagram without my knowledge. When you called, I was asleep and confused, so I ended the call abruptly. I'm so sorry for my odd behavior."
Taking in his explanation, and understanding that it was an honest mistake, I didn't dwell on the inconvenience caused by the untimely call.
"You don't have to be sorry, it's alright." I reassured him.
"And I'll give you his number, but please reach out to him after a week," the man on the other end of the line informed me before we bid farewell and ended the call.
In just a minute, he sends me a number labeled 'Jungkook'. As I glance at it, my heart inexplicably quickens its pace. Uncertain of the reason behind this reaction, I attempt to dismiss the feeling and store his contact details.
Feeling overwhelmed, I decide to let go of all my feelings and simply focus on getting some rest. The weight of the world seems to lift off my shoulders as I release all my worries and anxieties into the universe. Placing my phone down on the table, I take a deep breath and allow myself to drift off into the world of dreams. The soft hum of the air coming from windows lulls me into a peaceful slumber.
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© 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐬𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐲𝐲 (𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐝)
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antipinkkitten · 1 month
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Day 10 Prompt: Theories
Chapter 41: Deals with devils
Summary: Azriel finds out about the deal, Rhys makes a plan, the wards are cleaved again as Elain finds out what to do. Plus, an ultra sweet Gwyn and Azriel scene.
A Court of Blooms and Blades (123331 words) by antipinkkitten Chapters: 42/50 Fandom: A Court of Thorns and Roses Series - Sarah J. Maas, Crescent City Series - Sarah J. Maas, Throne of Glass Series - Sarah J. Maas Rating: Mature Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Elain Archeron/Lucien Vanserra, Elain Archeron/Azriel, Feyre Archeron/Rhysand, Nesta Archeron/Cassian, Azriel/Gwyneth Berdara Characters: Elain Archeron, Lucien Vanserra, Azriel (A Court of Thorns and Roses), Rhysand (A Court of Thorns and Roses), Feyre Archeron, Gwyneth Berdara Additional Tags: Slow Burn, Love Triangle, Rejection, Eventual Smut, POV Multiple, Mating Bond, Heartbreak, Break Up, Healing, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Therapy
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For those of us with multi-POV WIPs...
I'm curious. Do you switch between the POVs at a relatively even rate, or do you just follow whichever POV you feel is better for the scene with different POVs getting different amounts of 'screentime'?
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incompleteninny · 2 years
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The forty-seventh free, unedited chapter of my upcoming book, “The Heist at Cordia Aquarium” is now available on its website (or click here to read from the beginning).
I have no grand words for this week other than: Ow, my body, my chest. Let Me Breath. Anyways, thank you for looking.
The door to Valerie's office clicks closed, then Avery is alone. Exhaustion weighs on her shoulders and mind, and static sparkles throughout her thoughts. Why am I so restless? She's just another person like me, why did I fall all over myself like that?
Her thoughts seem to reverberate around the empty hallway.
Only ten seconds since and already her heart twists, her body cringes, and her face flushes red. Acted just like a little kid meeting a hero for the first time. Embarrassing.
She forces herself to start walking.
Past the breakroom, past a maintenance hallway, until only a set of double doors stand between her and the rest of the aquarium. She leans in, ready to push through, but the door swings inwards. Her head plonks off the steel and swarming fireflies explode into a frenzy behind clenching eyelids. She slumps against a wall, clutching her head. "Gah! Ooh, ow, ow, ow, ow."
A voice calls out through the expanse of stars. "I'm sorry about that. Are you alright there, lass?"
Avery massages the top of her head; a raw spot, a slowly forming lump now only the size of a marble. "Fine. Fine. I'm, fine." She says.
[...]
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iggyalfi2319 · 18 hours
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Growing Thoughts
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I can't art but I still I wanted to try to cross two POVs during a growth scene.
Both Jayden's and Daniel's POV a few minutes before the "Giant Growth"
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I don't know what's up with Daniel lately...
I feel like something is off as recently...
For some reasons, he looks different...
I don't feel like myself...
Should I be concerned?
I don't want to worry Jayden, though...
I hate feeling helplessly small and young. I want to help him.
He's so small and young. I don't want to burden him.
No to mention it feels like Daniel keeps growing taller every time I look at him.
Did Jayden get smaller recently?
Cranning my head higher and higher to look at him.
Lowering further down my head to look at him.
Why does it feel like the distance between us keeps growing...
He's getting farther away...
He looks so big...
He is so small...
I'm scared...
He must be scared...
...of being unable to keep up with him...
...of me hurting him...
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♥️ Like
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elleseekeepdriv · 5 months
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💫 Let's(not)get married 💫
OUT NOW
Harry and Louis are supposed to get married but Harry wakes up with a fever. Will they end the day as husbands?
Established relationship,fluff, humour,no smut,multiple povs.
10k
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