#this has nothing to do with me rewriting/editing the prologue and starting chapter one

[fallen-if]

I’m bored. Tell me about the Lucifer you are going to be playing (and what personality options you would really like to see).

#this has nothing to do with me rewriting/editing the prologue and starting chapter one #I’m still coding obviously but I’ve switched back to writing for a bit #also would you like weekly updates? would that be helpful? #I don’t want to assume any of you actually care 😅 #fallen if #eden speaks

[bluestripedspeedo]

Indiscreet – 00. Prologue Pairing: Writer/Producer!Javi Gutierrez x you (Hollywood AU) SERIES MASTERLIST

Image credit

Series summary: Fresh off the success of his project with Nic Cage, Javi dived fully into his true passion, screenwriting. A few more hits later, his best friend is making his directorial debut with his script. Trouble comes in the form of you, a beautiful young new actress brought on to the project… and there’s an impending threat of quarantine, too.

Chapter summary: The director, Óscar Morales, invites you to dinner.  Chapter warning: Nothing spicy yet, but there’s only one bed and an age gap. For those fasting or sober, there are mentions of food and alcohol here. Words: 2,8k

Playlist: Fireplace burning through the night

Author’s note: Thank you so much to everyone who liked, reblogged, and asked to be tagged! I’m excited to finally share this baby that I’d been dreaming up for almost a year now. I'm dropping you smack dab in the middle of the timeline, but you'll get to see how they initially met on the next chapter in a few days. Special thanks to @dontshouthisnamelikehesathing @just-here-for-the-moment​ @beaucannon​ for being my first readers. Enjoy and happy TUWOMT release weekend!

Edit 14/10 - Disclaimer: I feel the need to address this concern. Óscar (Morales) isn't an RPF of Oscar Isaac. While I borrowed Isaac's first name because I couldn’t think of anything else that fit, Morales is not inspired by and does not bear any resemblance to Isaac. I initially had Isaac's look in Dune in mind when I started writing him, but in some scenes I also envisioned Edgar Ramirez. But if you imagine their looks differently than I do, go ahead and keep it that way! Cast anyone you want.

✧✧✧

FEBRUARY

“CUT!”

You stand there exasperated across your co-star who looks like he’s had enough. That was the fourteenth take. For some reason, today you just couldn’t get anything right. Lacing your shaky fingers together on your front, you wait for the crew to set up the scene - again - but the same voice announces, “Take five, everyone!”

You let out a sigh you didn’t notice you were holding and you see the director walking towards you and motioning you to another room. Here goes, you think. He’s gonna rewrite my role and I’ll barely have any lines and he’s gonna think I’m not serious enough about this and oh my god he’s gonna regret this—

“What’s up with you today? Did something happen?” Óscar Morales, the director who's personally responsible for you being here, runs his hand over his thick and graying beard.

Something happened, all right, but nothing you should know.

“Uh, no. I just couldn’t get into her headspace today, you know, it’s been really overwhelming, this is all still new for me, and you know I have trouble remembering lines sometimes, and–”

“I thought you said you’ve been practicing with Javi?”

Fuck. “Yeah. Yeah. It’s just… I don’t know. It’s just a weird day today. I don’t even have excuses. Sorry.”

“Seriously, are you okay? Do you need a break?” He asks softly.

“I’m good. Really. Just… give me 5 more minutes?”

“Okay. Sure thing. But get it right this time. We’re gonna lose the light soon. You got this, kid.” Óscar squeezes your arm and leaves you alone with your thoughts. Get it together. Do not disappoint him.

You decide to walk around the massive library to calm your jitters. Books adorn all four walls surrounding you. Curious, you pick up a leatherbound and open it to a random page. Blank. Ha! Should’ve known. You’ve heard about people buying blank books in leather spines by the foot just to decorate their “home library”. What a scam. Why bother! Everyone should have a personalized collection. Filled with books that mean something to them. Hardcovers and paperbacks stacked on top of each other without rhyme or reason. No alphabetization or color coding. Dog ears and doodles and an old bar receipt in place of a bookmark between pages… No, don’t think about him right now. Focus. 

Focus. FOCUS. What’s that line you keep forgetting? A wistful Spanish quote, then a goodbye. Fuck, you’re not even sure what it means. There goes your two on and off years of Duolingo. Javi was supposed to teach you how to say it correctly, tone and all.

“Hey, you ready?” A PA interrupts your running thoughts with a loud opening of the door.

“Yeah, sure. Oh, could you tell Óscar I’m going to the bathroom and I’ll be there in like, two minutes? Th–” The PA doesn't even let you finish your gratitude before slamming the door carelessly. Get it together. Get this one take right. Get this right and you’ll be back in your plush hotel suite, having a nice long bath with a bottle of wine, before…

✧✧

TWO NIGHTS AGO

““I loved her, and sometimes she loved me too. Yo la quise, y a veces ella también me quiso,”” Javi’s warm, smooth voice reads the text from his phone. It's cliché. But you sound so adorable following his intonations that he could look past it. That part isn't going to be in your scene, but he's a hardliner for tone and insists that you fully understand the entire poem to deliver the dialogue.

“I like it better when you say it,” you giggle. Spread on his sofa and three glasses in (or four?), you can feel the words coming out before you fully think it through. “Not my favorite part, though.”

“You have a favorite part? Esto es muy triste,” he says, tilting his head up to you from the floor he’s sitting on, one arm now dangerously close to your leg.

“Nope… es muy romántico, Javi.”

“Ugh, you’re such a sad person,” he says in fake mocking.

“Excuse me!” you lift your head laughing.

“You know what I mean! Everything you like is so sad. Cheer up.” Javi laughs.

“Seriously, it’s romantic. He still loves her, even way after… well.”

“How does this fit into the scene anyway? And why wasn’t I consulted?” He'd come home to revisions in his emails and was about to tell Óscar to axe it all, until he read that it was your suggestion in the fine print.

“Because Óscar loves me and trusts me,” you say with a sweet smile. “And I’m gonna add my favorite line after the goodbye to my ‘boyfriend’ with your great big speech...”

“Which is?”

“”Love is so short, forgetting is so long.”” You stand up and walk towards his kitchen for your fourth (fifth?) refill.

“Oh, that’s cheesy. Cheer up,” Javi says, laughing at your consistency and cliché. He has never let anyone tweak his script in any of his previous works, no matter how big their star power is. But, whatever makes you happy.

✧✧

“See? That wasn’t hard.” Óscar says good-naturedly with a big grin. “I knew you’d nail it. That’s a wrap for today, everyone! See you all tomorrow!”

You're about to dash for your dressing room to finally change into your own clothes and go home when Óscar reaches for your elbow.

“Hey, why don’t you have dinner with us tonight?”

“I don’t know, Óscar. I’m a little tired…”

“Come on, it’s still early. We’re just gonna be at home. Give me half an hour and then we’ll go, alright?”

And how could you say no? You wouldn’t even be here if not for Óscar taking matters into his own hands when you needed someone, anyone, to pull you out of your mundane life. And you wouldn’t have even met him if not for Óscar either. Caving in, you start to do the math in your head. Maybe I’d still make it if I only stayed for an hour.

✧

Óscar notices you’re looking out the window into the vast views of rolling hills throughout the entire drive, far lost in your thoughts that he doesn’t bother to make small talk. He finally speaks up when you follow him to the front door.

“Sorry to make you do this. But we know you’re alone and probably sick of room service, so... Ava insists. I’ll drive you back after, of course. Or you could stay the night if you’re too tired later.”

“I really don’t want to burden you, Óscar.” And I wouldn’t be alone.

“I promised to take care of you. It’s really nothing.”

Óscar’s place, his rented residence for the time being, is a cottage half an hour away from the city surrounded by tall trees and seemingly endless fields of green - well, white now. When you first came here weeks ago, Ava said it’s good for the kids; they could be outside all day and Óscar wouldn’t have to worry about privacy. Javi said Óscar’s not even famous enough to worry about that - which earned him a wet willy into his ear. You thought you could see yourself living in it if you’re ever sick of the busy city life. You fell in love at first sight with the indoor-outdoor dining area with vines overhead. It reminded you of home.

“We’re here!” Óscar announces as you both take off your coat and shoes by the door when you notice a pair of men’s sneakers too large to be Óscar’s. You’ve seen the same pair on the floor of your room last week. Your breath catches in your throat.

“We’re in the living room!” answers Ava.

Following her voice, you find a familiar sight: Lightning McQueen on TV, toys scattered around the carpeted floors, and Óscar’s eldest child passed out on his favorite tío’s lap. It’s so cute. Then, as if on cue, Javi looks up at you and gives you his signature smirk before he catches himself and averts his attention to Óscar.

“He wouldn’t go to his room until you’re home.” Ava says to Óscar.

“Is that right?” he says to his sleeping son before picking him up from Javi’s lap. “Come on, buddy. Let’s get you into bed.”

“Hey honey, how are you?” Ava gets up to kiss your cheeks in greeting.

“I'm good. Thanks so much for having me. I know it’s last minute…”

“Don’t worry! Javi brought us pasta and it’s too much for just us three,” she laughs. “I’m gonna tuck him in. Go ahead and dig in. You must be so hungry.”

Javi gets up and leads you into the kitchen. It's now too cold for the outdoor dining table so the island would have to do. You look at the unopened paper bags – Padella.

“I got you your favorite,” you hear Javi’s familiar, velvety voice.

“I was going to te–” you start.

“I tried ca–” he says at the same time. “Yeah, I was going to let you know I’d have to be here.”

“What for?”

“Script revisions. Might be too late for it now, though.”

“Yeah... that’s kind of my fault.” You give him a sheepish grin.

“Something happened?”

“No, I… Well, I forgot my lines... a lot. But it’s okay now... I hope.”

“You’ll be fine. We could fix it in post.”

You clear your throat, changing the subject. “So, now that we’re both here… Was this your plan? Takeout pasta for dinner?”

Javi meets your eyes and chuckles as he starts to plate the food. “More like satisfying my girl’s cravings, one way or another…” he says with a wink. My girl. You bite your lip at that, the endearment making you blush. “No, actually, I’d already booked out Daphne’s when Óscar called. He said you were coming here too, so… this is the best I could do. I’ll make it up to you, promise.”

You feel mushy that he remembers your blurb about loving that place and dying for pasta on set a few days ago. He’d refused to let you know where you’d be going, only that he’d pick you up at your hotel. But buying the place out for a whole night, for a date? That’s another level.

“I don’t mind this,” you tell him, gesturing to the containers. The takeaway is your go-to whenever you need a delicious, no-dress-code-required pasta fix in town. He had looked at you in bewilderment when you told him you used to line up for at least an hour just for it. How he managed to get all of these in a short time, you could guess.

He’s busy twisting the noodles to perfection, so you continue. “Well, I was planning on pampering myself and then putting on this lacy thing and slip dress I just bought, and asking you if we could just stay in,” you tease with a wicked glint in your eyes. At that, he stops his motions and his eyes immediately drop to your torso, even though nothing is showing through your sweater.

“Yeah, you do that. Tomorrow night.”

“You’re not taking me to Daphne’s anymore?”

“I mean… if that’s still what you want? We’ll need to fuel up anyway,” he says before rounding the corner and standing next to you to put a hand on your hip and caress it. “And if that’s really what you’re gonna wear, I want it off on the ride back home,” he whispers in your ear. His hand moves to your lower back and up your spine under your sweater. You close your eyes and hope you don’t whine. “I won’t let you leave my bed, so we’re gonna have to come up w–” 

“It’s my house so dibs on the ragù!” Óscar’s voice approaching from the living room startles you both, making Javi jump away from you. You cough and pretend to reach for the water pitcher, hoping you don’t appear too flushed.

“There’s only one and it’s for her.”

“Dammit. Fine.”

✧

Both you and Javi are going to win an Oscar (ha) one day for the stellar performance you put on tonight. Neither Óscar nor Ava suspect anything throughout dinner. Not when Javi stares at you a little too long. Not when he attentively refills your wine glass and switches to water without asking for your okay - like he already knows you. You laugh at stories he tells them as if you haven’t heard them before while he was massaging your tired feet on your bed weeks ago. He listens to you intently and asks you questions about your life as if you didn’t tell him the exact same things over cocktails in the past month. As far as your two hosts are concerned, neither of you knows what the other is doing in your daily life outside of the set. 

Time flies and suddenly it’s already close to midnight. “I have a morning start tomorrow, mind if you just stay here, we’ll work on the script first thing?” Óscar asks Javi.

“Sure, yeah. You don’t mind, Ava?”

“Of course not,” Ava replies immediately, as if that’s even something to consider. Then she turns to you. “Why don’t you stay too? You’re going to set tomorrow anyway, right?”

The invitation sounds sincere, and it is, but you know it’s because she doesn’t want her husband to drive you to the city and back this late. It’s been a long and tiring day. “No, but… sure. If you don’t mind too, of course.” 

“If you don’t mind sleeping on the sofa bed. And if Javi doesn’t mind sleeping on the floor,” Óscar says.

“Damn. Can’t I just cuddle between you two?” Javi asks Óscar in mock disappointment.

“You’re a dumbass.”

“No, you.”

You look at them back and forth in fascination. Their banter is always entertaining - be it in private, on set, on interviews (and yes, you’ve seen them all). It’s the real playful Javi and Óscar that you know, not the calm and collected mask you sometimes see them put on for other people.

“At least my back still survives going up the stairs,” Óscar says before sleepily getting up from the stool. 

“I’ll do the dishes.” You quickly say before Óscar and Ava could even reach for their empty ones.

“By the way, turn the fireplace up high, you don’t wanna wake up freezing your dick off,” Óscar says to Javi who rises up to his feet to help you.

“Why don’t I set everything up then I’ll help you dry these?” Javi says to you as you start to roll up your sleeves.

“No, go ahead, I’ll be done in no time.” He nods and you get to work, missing the brief look on Ava’s face as she looks between the two of you before you all say your goodnights.

✧

You find Javi back in the living room, still setting up the massive sofa bed in front of the roaring fireplace. It basks the surrounding in a warm glow, making the scene unintentionally romantic. You look down to a pathetic stack of pillows on the floor, not even on the reading nook by the window.

“We could just share, you know. It’s big enough.”

“I don’t know,” he says. “Not here. I don’t know if I could… if I could keep my hands to myself. After what you said.”

“Me? What about what you said?” You take a sip of your drink, a glass of hot tea with lemon slices you just made as you settle into the corner of the makeshift bed. “Come on. I can’t let you fuck up your back. And not when you have an early start tomorrow. Just put a pillow between us.”

Javi contemplates for a moment before giving in. He picks up his pillows off the floor and slips under the blankets next to you.

“I wish we were back at yours.”

“Uh huh.“

You put your glass on the coffee table and crawl closer to him, your nose touching his, fingers tugging on the hem of his shirt. “So I could sleep on you.”

Javi wraps an arm around your waist and squeezes, as he lets out a sigh. “Behave, baby. Please.”

“If you say so,” you say playfully. You move back to your side of the bed and take your jeans off. Your sweater follows to reveal a thin tank top underneath. You look at his stunned face and make a show of covering yourself up with the blanket to your neck. You turn so that your back is facing him and you look over your shoulder to say, “Goodnight.” 

What you don’t know is that it takes Javi ten minutes to readjust his composure (and himself) while looking at your sleeping form. That it takes every bit of his willpower to not throw the pillows separating you from him to the floor to drape his body over yours, bury his face in your neck, slip his hand under your top and your panties... Eventually he closes his eyes and reminds himself that Óscar would happily replace the fireplace logs with him if you get caught. He wishes the two of you were back at his house, too.

✧✧✧

Taglist: @just-here-for-the-moment @dontshouthisnamelikehesathing @beaucannon @sherala007 @littlemisspascal @harriedandharassed @wardenparker @queridopascal @saintcooper @lovesbiggerthanpride @druigswh0ree @peaches-roses-sins @thereisaplaceintheheart @spideysimpossiblegirl

#fic: indiscreet #pedro pascal #pedro pascal fanfiction #pedro pascal x you #pedro pascal x reader #tuwomt #the unbearable weight of massive talent #javi gutierrez fanfiction #javi g fanfiction #javi gutierrez x reader #javi gutierrez x you #javi g x reader #javi g x you #pedrostories #hollywood au

[dallonm-archive]

REVELATIONS, REVELATIONS | UPDATE #1

Hello y’all! I refuse to believe it’s been 3 and a half months since I last made an update post for this novel because time is not real :) whoops! This has actually been sat in my drafts for like a month though 

A rundown of things that happened: 

We have a new title! I already went into the meta and possible interpretations (it’s ~ambiguous~), so if you want you can read about that HERE.

I did 3 weeks of Nano and wrote 15k words! On the site I recorded 15053 but I think it was more 15.5k? I’ve edited the original doc now so idk but I’m v happy with that!

After that I took a break and a lot of Life Things happened re a certain pandemic that is taking :) all my motivation :) so I didn’t return to drafting until January. I also really struggled to progress with the story and decided the best thing was to revisit what I already had and work on that

It’s not that the original chapters weren’t working, I was just trying to understand the story for the first time and also Nano was such a hazy blur and I’m 99% sure November didn’t happen. I probably won’t revisit a section this intensely again until I’ve finished the draft but at this stage it really helped because the more I worked on it, the more I understood where it had to go next - I know the structure (for now), the basics for the middle and how the story ends :) hehe :) and I don’t think I’d had those revelations (aha) without revisiting this first part. I got to fall in love with the story all over again and I’m very happy with where it’s going!

This intro is already getting so long so I’m just going to jump straight into it because this update is LONG. I’m talking about all the chapters today even though not all of them are new, but since I’ve learnt a lot about them and this is officially update #1 post-nano, it makes sense to talk about all of them! I’m also going to do a new taglist because I see this as a new set of updates also I am awful at keeping up with taglists so! I’m just tagging friends who have already expressed interest + mutuals who I’m like 99% sure want to stay on so! please let me know if you’d like to be added or removed! 

@kowlazovdi​ @isherwoodj​ @avi-burton-writing​ @pamsdrabbles​ @ryns-ramblings​ @kitblogsthings​ @svpphicwrites​ @aetherwrites​ @radiomacbeth​ @bijouxs​ @writerlywonders​ @haldimilks​ @alicewestwater​ @piyawrites​ @coffeeandcalligraphy​ @shaelinwrites​

usual content warnings for religious trauma and cult discussion, specific CWs will come before excerpts!

So I’m currently working with four parts, and I’ve extended the timeline from one year to four years. This suits the story much better BUT pretty much everything here was written before that decision and I do not have the energy to restructure all of it right now :) Each part is split into two sections, one for each POV. So four parts, 8 sections, Felix and Dorothy get four sections each. I let the structure grow with the story but this one is working very well!

Also I started setting my pages to light green and it was LIFE CHANGING. Much kinder on the eyes and just looks so nice?? Calming?? This post is your sign to set your page colour to light green like LOOK

So we have a prologue now!! The story made a lot more sense once I added this because originally the information we learn was just shoehorned into Chapter 1 in a flashback when really we needed to know this information going into it. That being said I struggled with this for a bit just because to justify a prologue I need that information to be conveyed in a way that is completely unique to the rest of the narrative so I didn’t want to just write this as a flashback. I ended up writing it in 2nd person and it came out in a way where it’s not clear which twins POV it is? Like it’s more of a fusion of both of them where neither of them have their own individual identity beyond “the twins” yet. I can’t tell if this is my funky POV peak or a clarity nightmare but I like it! I want it to only be ~500 words so we can take the risk.

In this they’re fourteen and they do a “blood pact” as a way to symbolically cut themselves from their family (aka: their father) whilst they’re still tethered to it. I really love it because not only is it exactly what these slightly unhinged-but-havent-tapped-into-it-yet, co-dependent-and-dont-realise-it kids would do but it immediately brings up the question of family and what family actually is. I’ve also realised a huge idea in this story is the idea of the tangible and for them, the concept of family and blood isn’t tangible so they struggle to recognise its significance (not that it. has any for them in the first place.) but their relationship, seeing each other bleed and pressing the cuts together is. The writing itself is kinda wonky because of the whole funky clarity nightmare POV but here’s a little taste of the ending:

cw: blood

You’ll slink back into your family room to clean and plaster each other’s hands and you’ll ask yourselves: which bloodstains came from who? Who bled the most and who stopped first? Who will come up with the story for the cuts on your palms and who will dispose the bloodied towel? Who is Dorothy without Felix and who is Felix without Dorothy?

Shiny new first chapter! Originally this was in Dorothy’s POV but now it’s switched to Felix and instead of just showing their reunion (which turns out is....very anticlimactic and not appropriate for an opening lol??) we actually explore Felix’s thoughts an actions after he decides to escape the cult, which was a very impulsive decision and spans about a day and a half. This one is definitely gonna take a few drafts to get right because it’s such a delicate but intense event to write and I’m content with the fact that it’s not There Yet but the prose is! I had a lot of fun writing this chapter and it really helped me get back into the swing of loving this story. There’s something very delicate about it but also very troubling under the surface. The opening gave me a lot of trouble, but the first line hits!

The day Felix decides to leave the sun glows the same, and the pine trees breathe the same, and the chapel cross stabs the sky the same. 

Ironically, a good chunk of the chapter happens outside the cult, as Felix decides to spend his final day taking Lola - a woman his age who is literally the only person he likes lmao - to one of the nearby towns. Whilst the main function of the chapter is to introduce the cult itself, it’s also to show how normalised leaving actually is - it’s just every time he’s left has been temporary, and every time he has left, he still feel separated from this “outside world”. They go to a candy store and a thrift store - where Felix lies about his mom (who he hasn’t seen in 20 years) being in hospital so he can use a phone :) Lola is a new character so I don’t have much to say on her, but all I can say is they are wlw and mlm solidarity but also she knows how to read him 

“I don’t know why Dotty and I loved this place so much - we always got  toothaches.”

“You’re leaving, aren’t you?”

“These apple ones are nice, but I think the lime is my favourite. Do you think the apple or the lime is nicer?”

“I think you’re leaving, but I also think you’re scared, so you’re pretending that I’m going to leave with you and that’s why you wanted to go to town. You chose the candy shop because this is where you went the first time you left, but this time you’re not coming back. Does that scare you, Fel?”

And here is my favourite paragraph in the whole chapter because <3 what the fuck <3 and if pine trees are a key Felix symbol no they aren’t 👁️ yes they are

cw: falling out a window? pushing yourself out a window? description of bones breaking

The day Felix decides the leave, when the clouds bleed amber, he pushes the scratched mahogany dresser so it lines with the windowsill, lies on top and hangs his head out. It’s never comfortable, but it’s always peaceful: sometimes cars murmur on nearby backroads, sometimes a wind chime flutters, sometimes brush rabbits rustle in shrubbery and they all breathe the same oxygen as him. He closes his eyes, inhales the pine air, and plays God: pushes himself further out, an inch at a time, until his shoulders cross the line and he wonders what bones would break if he fell. Would he break both arms or one, both legs or one? Would he break his spine? Which vertebra would crack, and how many? Would he feel them all in one big strike, or all the individual bones burst like popping candy? Evening breeze whispers against his face and he could do it right now, leap out the window and if he didn’t break his legs or back he could run to the bushes, to the pine trees, to the road, the town over East or West, the county line.

If Felix hit the ground, would it be because of a freak fall, or because he pushed himself out?

We have to laugh because I’m pretty sure I said in my Nano update that this chapter was the strongest so far besides one scene but when I looked back that scene <3 took up 80% of the fucking chapter <3 So I just said fuck it I’ll rewrite the whole thing for fun!!!! And I love it!!! It’s so jarring compared to Chapter One and that’s the point!! Everything is so over saturated and originally that was just to convey the absolute shock Felix gets from the Major Impulsive Life Decision He Just Made, but now I think it’s intentional on his part and it goes back to the idea of the tangible: whilst he didn’t grow up totally isolated this is still a new life for him, and he has nothing to latch onto, so he looks to his surroundings and hyper-focuses and latches onto it because it’s something that’s now tangible and accessible to him so he sees it in this very bright, romanticised way (the romanticisation of San Francisco is very amusing to me but it’s also very relevant). But even with that he still distances himself from this environment still - the same way he did whilst living in the cult. He has no idea how he wants to exist in this world and he doesn’t even know how to exist yet.

And so it became clockwork: eyes burst open at two, three, four in morning, doesn’t bother trying to fall back to sleep. Lurk into the kitchen, make a coffee or water or whiskey. Sit under the fritzing lightbulb with no shade, think about everything and nothing and everything and nothing. Or go for a smoke, inhale the vapours until it hurts his chest, breathe in the cool air until it hurts his teeth, wander around the block until it hurts his feet. Sneak back into a room that doesn’t belong to him in an apartment that doesn’t belong to him in a city that doesn’t belong to him. Count the bumps in the popcorn ceiling until footsteps sneak down the hall – Dorothy leaving a room that doesn’t belong to her. Join his sister back at the kitchen, she complains that they need to replace the lightbulb. Over pulpy orange juice and scrambled eggs on toast, she retells her dream and lists the possible meanings and he lists his plans for that day on how to immerse in the outside world, familiarise himself with the city until it belongs to him. Travel by trolley for the first time, eat seafood at the waterfront for the first time. Bump into a cherry-headed conure parrot by chance. Climb Twin Peaks and gaze at the new view of home. Trace the outline of translucent mountains in the air and pretend you’ll ever hike them; trace the outline of high rises in the air and pretend you know the people in them. He asks Dorothy when he’ll stop feeling like a tourist – she has no answer for him.

(context: Dorothy’s roommate, Jolie, is out of town at this point, so Dorothy tells Felix to take her room whilst she takes Jolie’s and they’ll sort it out later. Dorothy has no problem sleeping in Jolie’s bed because her and Jolie are Very Good Friends)

I also realised that, in the nicest way possible to November me, that this chapter was so damn boring because it’s very dialogue heavy but in every dialogue moment they are literally just 🧍 doing nothing. So I wrote a scene as a half-joke of Just Met Like Three Hours Ago Beau and Felix going to the arcade and it saved this chapter. It is SO fun but it also comes straight after this very emotionally intense moment and it’s really interesting to see that reach its zenith and then just. fizzle out but linger in the background? I love this scene but I also can’t take it too seriously because they play Frogger and @aetherwrites​ joked that the game’s a metaphor for Felix leaving the cult and I love her and hate her because she is so right I can picture the LIT1000 seminar where that analysis would be made unironically and it’d be ME who makes it and I am so close to just running with that for real. Also these two aren’t love at first sight but the chemistry is so loud like did you two meet today or have you been married for eight years and own five dogs together what’s the truth? Anyway here’s Felix murdering Beau on sight 

“You know, you could’ve warned me that you’d be that good,” Beau says.

“It’s not that difficult, you could’ve warned me that you’d be that bad.”

Beau leans across to shuffle through cassette tapes in the glove compartment. “I’m not, you just got lucky. I let you win.”

“But it’s not even competitive. You just died seven times in a row.”

I’m a little unsure of the pacing for this chapter now because its effectiveness lies in the fact it takes place a week after the previous, and my job with this section post-draft is to stretch it out longer since it only spans three weeks. I’m hoping I can make it work where there’s little time between Chapter 1 & 2 but still cover more time in chapters 3-5 because I think that’d be jarring in the best way? Like the absolute intensity of that initial week quickly dissolving and suddenly he’s been living this life for months he didn’t notice go by. Again <3 a problem for post draft me <3

I don’t have much to say about this one because in Nano I didn’t even finish it, and now I have but it’s still <3 giving me trouble <3 - however I’ve realised this is probably the most important chapter at this stage of the novel because it’s the first full chapter with just the twins, trying to have a bonding moment and catch up but only learning that they a) love each other b) can’t stand each other whilst not realising just yet that they are c) extremely co-dependent. I like to call this novel multiple plot threads in a trench coat and that’s definitely it, the twins have their own individual plot threads separate to one another, but if there’s a central plot (and there kinda is?? its a surprise :) ) at its essence is them realising how fucked up their relationship is, but wanting to rectify that and trying to understand the difference between a tangled and toxic relationship. 

This chapter introduces that each character has a key symbol that’s attached to the world somehow and Felix has chapters like these in his arc where he tries to navigate the state of their relationship (so there’s one later on titled “Ocean (Beau)”) and his associations with them. We have to laugh here because I was really like “oh Dorothy is sapphic so I’ll make her obsessed with the moon” but then it became a major symbol in the story <3 Dorothy IS obsessed with the moon, and Felix is frustrated because he can’t see it the way she does and he feels like part of him is missing because of that, when it’s just a different perspective but nooo these two need to have unhealthy co-dependency and then get mad when they’re unhealthily co-dependent on each other :/ Anyway I’d just like to talk about how Felix’s need to be like his sister in this chapter is demonstrated through a symbol that’s attached way more to her than it is to him even though in the prose he describes the moon as this fragile, breakable thing which is the complete opposite as how Dorothy would and lets talk about the blade mirroring the prologue!!!!

He closed an eye and pointed the blade at the moon. If he could, it’d be so easy: surgeons precision, swift wrist flick, carved and plucked from the sky. Laid out on his palm like tissue paper, half translucent and as breakable as skin - a birthday present for Dorothy, if he doesn’t tear it. He’ll try not to, but it’d be so easy.

In further development of the Moon Imagery, I’ve started using a lot of Star Imagery with Felix and a lot of general space imagery in both of their POVs and I’m delighted to say I have no idea what the meta means with that but I like it!! It fits the story very well and they’re probably mirroring each other or something!

This little chapter taught me that I need to be flexible with form <3 this was originally meant to be the final scene of the last chapter, and I was so hyped because it was one of the first scenes I conceptualised, but then it ~sucked~. However I didn’t realise until recently that it sucked because I was writing it in a traditional storytelling form - which most of this book benefits from, but this moment certainly does! not! I’m really glad because I think this book is the perfect playground for experimental form - although here it’s relatively simple though, most of the setup for this happens at the end of the previous chapter and then this is just all the information condensed as much as possible. This chapter is focused on memories so it really works for it to be cut off from the previous which is in the fictive present, and Felix’s perception of memories right now are ~a little jarring~

The final scene of Moon (Dotty) depicts Felix and Dorothy breaking into a park at 4am, promptly having an argument that results in Dorothy leaving, and Felix sat next to a fountain picking pennies out of it and trying to associate a memory with the year on the back - this chapter is those memories and this introduces the fluid relationship characters have with their past. For Felix, he’s seeing the last 20+ years from a bird eyes view in a very sporadic way and it’s starting to sink in that those 20+ years actually Happened. Some of the memories are very distanced, others are as intense as flashbacks, and some are a mixture of the two. This one is very interesting to me because he completely separates himself from the memory halfway through Fel do you wanna talk about this (unfortunately I cannot drop the name because of plot <3)

cw: light/implied homophobia

IN GOD WE TRUST / 1978

The first time Felix held a boys hand was in 1978 in the back pew at morning service. It was the first time [redacted]’s father preached and they got stuck in the back because they arrived late, because they laid in the grass together, wearing each other’s identical pecan coloured blazers as sunrise peeled back the night, and they slunk into the back of service like ghosts everyone could see and maybe they knew why they were late. [Redacted]’s father had a razor voice and he made sure every word sliced into his son and his son interlocked fingers with the boy next to him. His son didn’t look at the boy he held hands with the same way he’ll pretend his blazer is his and not the boys and the same way he didn’t look at the boy the first time they kissed behind the chapel building and the same way he didn’t look at the boy during Bible study for the week after.

Whilst I’d say in Chapter 2 the chemistry between Beau and Felix is as clear as day this is the first instance where Felix’s queerness is explicitly introduced and I’m taking this chance to say this book gets more queer every fucking week. Like I think in the last updates I was like ohhh sexuality doesn’t play much into Felix’s arc and know it’s like 99% of his damn arc and we LOVE it. But at this point he doesn’t realise like when I tell you guys this man is so repressed

I am literally only putting this here because I talk about all the other chapters and it’s weird to me to leave one out. Also because the graphic and title is pretty. Not gonna lie I love making these posts and that is 10% to ramble about meta 90% making pretty graphics that is literally just cropping photos on Unsplash and putting Garamond text over them <3

Anyway this was originally Lessons in Holy and when I revisited that chapter I realised it was so fucking messy and I tried to fix it but it didn’t really work and I’ve been scared to touch it since. However the meta is top notch so here we are - it mirrors Chapter One, Everything Holy, which explores Felix’s decision to leave the cult and with that, leave God. Everything Holy / In San Francisco explores his relationship (or lack thereof) with God and how much Felix’s life has changed since he left - and how “holy” it is. It definitely goes back to the idea of the tangible because the holiness preached to him growing up was not something tangible to him, whereas with this he looks at real life experiences, so he tries to find holiness in that. It also ties with Cyan City and the romanticisation of San Francisco as something tangible and something he can find holiness in, which a) he needs to learn that things don’t have to be “holy” to be valuable and b) it would be a shame if :) he centred everything good about his life around SF and then :) something bad were to happen whilst living in SF :) the way he and Dorothy both do this

My plan for this is basically: Condense The Shit Out Of It. The hardest part about this chapter is it is very thematic and you know as a lit major (derogatory) I love that but with more theme centric chapters the line between subtle and Too Much can be verrryyy thin, but I think focusing on character exploration over theme will fix that pretty easily. I’d also like to separate the Isaias introduction into its own chapter because it’s such an important moment and November me just? Latched it on at the end? And that plus Felix’s crisis in the same chapter is just too much. This chapter is gonna get changed A Lot but for now here’s Felix’s very chill and relaxed ending to his POV section :)

cw: drowning, drug mention

Felix didn’t speak to God for three weeks and everything unholy became holy: the coffee scorching his throat, the kaleidoscopic t-shirts and high waisted jeans, the punk rock they play at the record store – loud and electric. It’s unholy, but he sleeps through the night now, he folds coloured card into butterflies at breakfast and scribbles biro eyes over the newspaper's sudoku on his lunch break. He earns money and he spends a pinch of it on himself: on new wave records and playing cards and earrings he can’t wear yet. Sometimes he buys marijuana it’s not a sin because marijuana means he only smokes tobacco twice a day now – one at breakfast, one before bed. He bar hops with Beau on Saturdays and hikes with Dorothy on Sundays and he tells strangers he studies American Literature and he smiles with his eyes more and nobody notices that somebody’s holding his head underwater. And he doesn’t know whose hand it is, but it knows how to grip tight. And he doesn’t know how to swim, but he knows how to swallow water. And he doesn’t know if this is the punishment or the sin because the water stings his eyes but he chooses to keep them open, and the water will tangle in his lungs but he chooses to keep his mouth open. And hellfire can’t touch him under here, so he’ll keep swallowing water and it’ll burn him in a different way, and he’ll like how it scorches his throat.

(Once again context I didn’t share because I don’t like the writing that talks about it: Felix has a deep fear of drowning from past trauma, but he’s also very obsessive about it and often imagines himself drowning.)

(also the way these excerpts are just showing off my love for repetition my Intro to Creative Writing Tutor that called repetition lazy is seething rn!!!!)

Overall though, I’m v happy with how this section came out now that I actually know what the story is! As I’ve finished drafting it, I have noticed where the missing plot beats are and this is what I expected because I Do Not have a lot of experience with novels (I’ve never passed 15k on a novel before so we’re in new territory now) and generally struggle to see beats before I finish a draft. I’m thinking there’s at least one chapter missing and maybe a shorter one, like MSATBOTF, but I won’t be touching this section again until I finish the draft. Most of all I learnt a lot about the story’s form and I’m excited to play with that and be a bit more flexible! 

I’m currently drafting Indigo, the first chapter in Dorothy’s POV, and I was going to talk more about it but this post is too long and the next update will be <3 all about her <3. But the chapter introduces her and Jolie’s tumultuous relationship and here’s a lil peak! 

Me, a sapphic, capable of writing happy sapphic relationships: 

Me instead: 

cw: light/implied homophobia

If she didn’t display the ticket on the bedside table - like she had something to prove - she could have easily been in Dallas, in New York, London, Cannes, Moscow, Tokyo, Cairo, Sydney. But wherever she went, Dorothy and Jolie have had four airport reunions before today - four times they’ve had to soften themselves, disguise themselves. Old high school friend flying in to be her maid of honour, college roommates who don’t see each other as a day past eighteen, pen pals reuniting for the first time since the seventies, business trip colleagues in casualwear. The fifth time, there’s nothing to hide, and as they walk to the car, Dorothy has to wonder: if they were seen by nobody, would Jolie have hugged her with both arms? Would she have kissed her? Would Dorothy kiss back?

I’m midway through this chapter, so I’ll keep the rest of it for the next update! That I promise won’t be in three months!

If you read through all of this then I am in love with you <3 

#i'd say im sorry this is so long but it was so fun to write so i'm not! #also pls be proud i cut 2k words from this bc i RAMBLED #atlastracking #writeblr #writing update #revelations revelations

[cosmicfurby]

ding dong back by unpopular demand... it's a ~fic update~

i think i might be *almost* ready to start putting together the first chapter, which is exciting! it is taking AGES it's been a whole MONTH since i started plotting this fic but exams came and screwed my plans over, so there's that

I'm planning to start the first chapter with a letter as kind of prologue: a letter from kazuma to ryunosuke that will hopefully start setting the scene for these two. it will also include narration from trucy finding the first box in the attic, which is coming along nicely despite obvious pacing problems I'm gonna pretend i do not see and a bit of trouble characterizing kay.

how's this for an introductory letter huh

"My dear friend,

Though your letter may have come as a surprise, it was a surprise that was welcome. There was nothing I could have ever hoped to hear more than that your family is well, and that you will be staying in Tokyo for the time being. Your safety comes as a relief that almost reconciles me with the fact we must be, once again, separated by such lengths.

Do not fear, partner: I will make sure to continue our correspondence. Though my prospects are not of armed combat, there are lonely days ahead and there is nothing that would soothe my loneliness more than hearing from you.

Soon I shall be parting from London to the Micronesia to aid the occupation of German islands. It is not a mission of violence, I made sure of that: you know well I swore I would never wield a weapon again. It is a mission of strategy and a matter of control.

Furthermore, I do not believe this war will be the widespread, dreadful conflict some are already predicting it will be. In my opinion, it shall be short-lived and, in a matter of months, the grievances of the different countries involved will have been resolved. This is not a prosecutor's opinion, of course. It is rather a hope, a wish for the future.

I look forward to read you soon, Naruhodo. How has your sweet mother been doing? Had Japan changed since we left it behind? Are there any news of our beloved friends in London? Please, write to me. There is nothing I enjoy more than your voice, perhaps I might imagine it as I read your words in paper.

Take care of yourself. Be careful, as uncertain times lie ahead, and remember you can rely on me for any need you might have. Despite the physical distance between us, our hearts have always been close to each other.

Regards, your loyal partner,

A.K."

(this is the bones for it I will obviously rewrite this same text eleven times before I'm at least 50% satisfied)

i think i have captured the old-timey sound of it as much as I can, as well as set the tone and kazuma's character a bit. again, this is not meant to be a well written fanfic it's an entirely self-indulgent one lmao i'm happy and that's what counts

this is the first time in CENTURIES i have been this inspired to write omg asoryuu has truly taken control of me like remy in ratatouille i just have gay lawyers: dead edition instead of a rat

anyway, I'm hoping to have the first chapter uploaded sometime in the next two weeks! I'm so EXCITED YOU GUYS HAVE NO IDEA

sunny out 😎

#my fic #the great ace attorney #asoryuu #i have lost it entirely

[theinvisibledreamergirl]

MASTERLIST (OH & ROD)

In progress...

My MC’s Biography

My MC’s appreciation posts

Wishes for holidays

My MC’s application at Edenbrook and her ID Badge

Vogue Magazine

My MC’s astrological sign and facts

My MC’s passport

OPEN HEART & RIDE OR DIE (AU + rewrites) in a chronological order

*Available on Wattpad too!*

FACE CLAIMS (these include everyone who is in the AU’s)

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Series

“Fighting through hell” AU ?

A phone call from Boston Massachusetts to London changes forever the life of the 21 year old medical student Klaudia Helena Craig who has to fight the most inevitable thing: the mafia and the gangsters. With the help of her father’s colleague Detective Jason Shaw she travels to Los Angeles to track down a criminal band called The Mercy Park Crew with its chief: Teppei Kaneko. But is revenge the solve of everything and will she find the truth behind her parents and brother’s death?

Open Heart Book 1 AU

Klaudia (Klaw) Helena Craig is now a 25 year old freshly graduated medical student who starts her path in medicine and surgery at Edenbrook Hospital under the eyes of the 35 year old diagnostician Dr. Ethan Ramsey. But her quest of finding the doctor who destroyed her life when she was only 16 still continues. With her past events will she make it to the top besides her three times PTSD experiences? And will she believe in love again?

Prologue : “My Love Will Never Die”

Chapter 1: “The Beginning of Everything”

Chapter 2: “First Impressions”

Chapter 3: “Born to be a Rebel”

Chapter 4: “People’s needs”

Chapter 5: “Endless Fury”

Spin off (Chap. 5): “Already Broken”

Chapter 6: “Some secrets remain secrets”

Chapter 7: “An unexpected support”

Spin off (Chap. 7): “Reflecting”

A.N: The remaining fics are private for a while ‘cause they need to be rewritten again! Sorry for anyone who might be new to this!

Chapter 8: “Friendship questioned”

Chapter 9: TBA

Chapter 10: TBA

Chapter 11: TBA

“Before everything was revealed” AU ? (events after OH Book 1 AU)

In southern states of two different continents two doctors try to find themselves in two frontal battles: the Cholera in South America and the Civil War in South Africa. But how long will they resist and are their lives at stake?

Open Heart Book 2 AU ?

The first year of residency begins for the doctors of Edenbrook Hospital with new challenges, new interns and new life problems- friendship and love. Also what has happened to a British fellow friend that has everyone concern about her?

Mini Series

A Triangle of Love

What if MC didn’t get her place at Edenbrook Hospital at first but her boyfriend did? And what happens if she comes in the 2nd year of residency as a surgeon? *work in progress*

Part 1: “Sweet dreams, TN” (NSWF)

Part 2: “She’s thunderstorms”

Part 3: “Do Me a Favour” *coming soon*

One shots

The Grinch Girl

(Someone doesn’t like Christmas and it’s not who you think it is)

Words from an attending

(Ethan writes his feelings for MC in a diary)

Has everything changed?

Part one | Part two

(A rewrite of episode one of OH Book 3)

Late Night Talks

(When MC feels insecure about her board’s exams and Ethan does a wicked little plan to get her to sleep.)

The scars she left to me

(Which is the worst wound: a boy’s or a girl’s? A ROD fic.)

Hopeless

(A photo posted on Instagram that led to a deep conversation. After PITA patient encounter.)

Waves of sadness

(Bryce confesses his feelings to MC but the latter doesn’t feel the same way. Bryce x MC fic.)

From hell with love

(Now she’s convinced more than ever that she f***ed everything up.)

Prompt requests

#79. I don’t care what anyone else thinks.

#49. Who hurt you? #50. Nothing is wrong with you.

#3. Please don’t walk out of that door.

#60. You look like you could use a hug. #72. You need sleep.

Heart cookies *newest*

Drabbles (or nonsense things)

Maybe...

Nonsense

Klaw’s thoughts

Ig posts, edits and SMS texts

Instagram post (1)

Instagram post (2)

Instagram post (3)

Instagram post (4)

Instagram post (5)

Instagram post (6)

Instagram chats (1)

SMS text (1)

P.S : I’ve put question marks because as I’ve already said my mind is full of different variables for these and a little reminder:  English is not my first language. Masterlist will be updated when fics are uploaded.

Perma tag: @starrystarrytrouble​​ / @schnitzelbutterfingers / @shewillreadyou / @maurine07 / @miss-smrxtiee / @hopelessromantics4life / @nikki-2406 /

OH AU tag list: @drariellevalentine / @zeniamiii / @shanzay44 / @jooous / @udishaman / @takemyopenheart

One shots tag list: @romereadingshop

Let me know if anyone else wants to be tagged! ❤️

#open heart #open heart choices #ride or die choices #open heart fan fiction #ride or die fan fiction #my fanfic ideas #my open heart mc #and #my ride or die mc #klaw craig #open heart fan fic #open heart face claims #ride or die face claims #ethan ramsey #ethan ramsey x mc #colt kaneko x mc #my masterlist #im such a mess #my writing #rookie writer

[luminecho]

Show Me What You’re Proud Of

RULES: It’s time to love yourselves! choose your 5 (ish) favorite works you created in the past year (fics, art, edits, etc.) and link them below to reflect on the amazing things you brought  into the world in 2020. Tag as many writers/artists/etc. as you want  (fan or original) so we can spread the love and link each other to  awesome works.

@sister-dear did this and tagged all their mutuals who create things! Took me a moment before the realization hit me that, oh shit, I’m a mutual who creates things. Sooo here we go! Super nervous for some reason jdkjkqwdm.

I haven’t posted a lot of stuff publicly, let alone actually made things in general, and as far as writing goes I don’t have anything finished yet, but I used this opportunity to create a new art & writing blog (@echoing-creations) so I can hopefully start posting some WIPs and short snippets of stuff there from now on! ^^ Otherwise, I’m just gonna try my best to show what I have.

WRITING:

Again, I don’t really have anything posted or even finished yet (at least that I’m proud of). But I’ll share two WIPs/sneak peeks of the LU longfic that I’ve been working on these past couple of months. Because I’m pretty proud of some of the scenes that I have written so far! Unfortunately I’m limited in my choice of what I can include, because spoilers, but here’s what I’ve got. (They’re still very subject to change.)

- “Everything Goes Away” - Prologue

He was in control now. Not some selfish deity or petty goddess. For once, his destiny didn’t have to be set in stone. He could rewrite his story, re-weave the strings of fate. And it all started with a single thread.

Forgive me.

- EGA - Chapter 3

A cacophony of sound broke out around them as the other heroes’ reactions grew muddled together and incoherent. All the while, Legend and Warriors didn’t move, didn’t blink. The world was a swirling vortex of noise around them, a raging whirlwind of confusion and betrayal, and the two heroes stood in the center of it all, the eye of a hurricane, frozen in time. Frantic colors and voices spun around them like a cyclone in motion, tasting of forgotten courage and broken promises.

But all storms came to an end. As the tempest of sound and color died down into a suffocating silence and the world stopped spinning and lulled to a halt, a single whisper rang out louder than a gunshot, piercing the air and finally forcing Legend to break eye contact with Warriors.

“Why?”

ART:

- BotW Link - Wow, the only thing on this list that I actually have a link for! This post never kicked off, which kinda sucks, because I can’t even begin to describe how ridiculously proud of it I was (and still am). It took me ages and I put in so much more effort than I thought I would going into it. But I don’t really mind that nobody saw it, because I love it and that’s all that matters! It was all a big experiment (particularly with drawing humans) but I’m very happy with the outcome :)

Ummm I’m not really that proud of anything else I’ve posted, and there’s a lot of stuff I’ve drawn that I’m not ready to share with people yet cause I’m kinda self conscious, BUT I do have a couple of drawings that I still really like!

- First one is a ref for a Warrior Cats OC that I’ve had for... ah, almost as long as I’ve been drawing, actually. She’s a favorite between my and my irl friend, and she’s gone through so many redesigns I can’t even keep track, lol. This is definitely my favorite design of her by far, though, and is probably gonna stick for quite a while.

- Second one is just a random doodle of my catsona. Honestly not much to say about it. It was done for my part of an animation meme collab for a friend’s birthday a while back, and I kept the drawing because I really liked how it turned out. I honestly kind of want to redraw it soon with an updated version of my sona’s design and use it as my tumblr icon? Maybe? 👀 I’ve been wanting draw my own banner for a while now, so maybe this can be part of my blog makeover, lol.

And that’s that! Not much, I know. I spent all evening trying to pull together scraps of stuff I could maybe share, but chickened out of showing most of it in the end. I’m kind of shocked at how little I actually created this year. I feel like my art has been at an all time low recently. I just haven’t really been drawing as much. Hopefully giving myself time and distance from it will help me to gather the motivation to pick it up again soon and be able to look at it without judging myself too harshly. As for my writing... I’ve definitely written more frequently this year than I have for a long time, even if I have nothing to show for it. I’ve been finding myself using my writing as an outlet a lot more recently than I did in the past, and I’ve been getting better at writing things down rather than just daydreaming them and letting the scenes float away into the void of my mind, lol.

Tagging all of my own mutuals (and followers!) who are creators!! Share what you’re proud of, even if it’s small <3

#I’m so nervous posting this for whatever reason??? lmao #but i want to #this was kinda fun going back and reflecting on what I’ve made though #even if there’s not much #I’m an art baby lmao #I’ve been drawing my whole life but only started getting serious about it around 5 years ago...? ish? not even #i’ve loved writing for so long i can’t even remember but before this year i didn’t really practice all that often #so my improvement has been slow #but hey. it’s something #everything is a learning experience and I’m sure I’ll have improved twice as much by the end of this year! #// #long post #echo draws #echo writes #tag meme #i mean technically i wasn’t tagged #i was but i wasn’t #you know what i mean

[dreadnought-dear-captain]

Happy (Slightly Belated) Birthday, Baghdad Waltz!

*CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR BAGHDAD WALTZ UP TO CHAPTER 37*

I know these are stressful times right now, but I wanted to post a little something for BW’s third birthday on 3/13/2020 (and I’m a little late because I had a lot to say). THREE!! I cannot believe it. Truly, I cannot, but here we are. I know there are still a few stragglers hanging around from when I first started posting this story (extra hearts to you all), so many people who have come and gone and sometimes return again, and so many new people joining this crazy journey all the time. 

You are all so great, and you make it possible for me to keep writing this. I probably would have quit a long time ago without your support, because this shit has been quite hard to sustain sometimes. I know I am very bad at keeping up with comments and things, and I’m so sorry.  I am terrible with social media, too. People IRL will say the same thing about me. I am super old school and still talk on the phone with my friends. I KNOW. 

(Heyyyy Bayside High)

I’ve prepared a couple of things for BW’s birthday. First, a few statistics I thought I’d whip up. Then a few questions and answers about BW, both from myself and from my beloved beta, @pitchforkcentral86​. And I’m still trucking away diligently at chapter 38! I just have a few scenes to go. 

 -- BW Statistics -- 

---------------------------------------------

Words to date: 526,011

Chapters to date: 37

Shortest chapter: 3,821 words (Prologue)

Longest chapter: 31,395 words (Chapter 33)

Number of words per chapter: 12,530 (median), 14,257 (average) (note: the median is probably a better measure, since this is such an abnormal distribution - see below for the changes in chapter length over time)

Estimated total work to date: 2,890-3,120 hours (approx 18-20 hours/week). This includes writing, rewriting, editing, research, conversations with beta, outlining, and a small portion of the brainstorming. This is a conservative estimate and only includes a fraction of the ambient thinking I do about this story. And God, I do so much processing when I sleep! Perhaps I will be a BW “expert” -- estimated at around 10,000 hours I guess? -- by the time I am done with the story and all my revisions hahahahaaaaaa D: 

Money spent to date (estimated): $600-700. This includes books on various subject matter and writing craft, video access to therapy education resources, and other educational materials. This does not include the incalculable sum in lost productivity from thinking about BW when I’m supposed to be doing other things!

Most of you probably don’t know this, but @pitchforkcentral86​ is not just a beta reader. She is my partner in crime with BW. She knows my characters as well as I do, sometimes better. She helps me troubleshoot scenes, she tells me when my writing sucks, when my I’m not being true to my characters, when I’m not being real enough (sometimes when I’m being TOO real). She gives me porn inspiration and listens to me bitch and calls my bullshit and makes this story what it is. I really mean it - this story would not be nearly as good without her, and you can see how much better it gets once she starts to get involved around chapter 17. 

So I decided I would answer some silly little questions about BW. Just my own personal opinions about stuff! And asked @pitchforkcentral86​ to contribute as well. See below. 

What are my favorite scenes in BW and why? 

In no particular order: 

The 9/11 memory (Chapter 26): When Steve is in therapy with Hope remembering when Bucky returns from Ground Zero. This was one of the first times I experimented with writing in a sort of stream-of-consciousness way (though certainly not the last!). I have done several tweaks to it since the original version, texturing it more. It’s so rich in detail, visceral detail, little details about their relationship, pieces of Bucky’s past, clues about his alcoholism, the way he handles stress, his difficulties letting Steve in, the love Steve has for him, Bucky’s need to be loved and cared for and his aversion for it, it’s so, so rich. Gah. I love it. (GUH and @buckydunpun​’s ART - just murder me. Thanks.)

The Thor “breakup” scene (Chapter 28): This is the moment I think that many people realized Bucky is not a reliable narrator. Maybe they suspected it before, but this is when it’s very obviously apparent. His entire interpretation of his relationship with Thor is thrown into question. He built a rich fantasy about what they were, holding hands in the grass, all this bullshit, and he could actually say they were boyfriends, which makes complete sense because there were never any stakes. It was always surface. There was never any intimacy except as veteran/soldier friends who had sex, which is about as deep as Bucky can go anyway without getting utterly terrified. 

This is in such stark contrast to Steve, where there is actual intimacy, ongoing demand for more intimacy, and this relationship feels VERY real to Bucky, and it’s very frightening to him. And that’s why he runs from the term “boyfriend” with Steve. It’s all so real. It’s easy to engage with a fake boyfriend. But still, he didn’t deliberately realize he was doing this, so it was devastating to find out the truth of his own self-deception. And to hear that he’s not the kind of guy you settle with, he’s the guy you fuck… wow. But how can you really hate Thor? (I’m sure some of you can but…) He’s a nice guy. Even Bucky knows it. So he’s run from something good and real (Steve) to something good but false (Thor) and then he gets rejected from both. It’s horrible and so self-defeating and so quintessentially Bucky. I love it. 

A Close Second (Spent Brass fic): This whole side fic came together like a glorious dream. I love everything about it. It’s such a wonderful look into their relationship, into their dynamics, into their individual personalities, their idiosyncrasies, so much push-pull between them. Whispers of things that have happened to Bucky in the past, a lack of understanding from Steve, a desire to know, so much affection. Some good sex. I love this SB. But I love all the Spent Brass fics. They are so close to my heart. 

Honorable mention: Bucky’s masturbation scene during his bender (Chapter 32). I had an absolute BLAST writing this. Thanks to @pitchforkcentral86​ for proposing that Bucky’s core sexual/romantic desire is just to be kissed. Dayum. It all unfolded from there. 

Who is the character I think about the most? Bucky. I think because he’s got the most complex history and the most complicated psychology. He’s actually fairly rule-bound in terms of how he operates, but he’s got a lot of back story that explains how he became the way he is, and I spend a lot of time considering what happened to him and how he developed his self-image, his coping strategies, and his ideas about others and the world. I think a lot about his relationship with his parents. I think a LOT about bby Jamie. It’s not because Steve is not important or any less complex. But Bucky’s childhood experiences have shaped him in very specific ways, and I want to make sure that I represent them very thoughtfully. 

Who is my favorite character to write? Bucky. His voice and thought processes come to me more easily than Steve’s. Perhaps in part because of my personal penchant for the word “fuck.” I love writing his perspective, his preferences, his interpretations of situations. I love imagining the way he imagines the world. 

Who is my favorite supporting character? Winnie. I know she’s a very polarizing character, but I have so much affection for her. I think she’s a badass. She joined the military as a female officer back in the 1970s, which is incredible and rough. She kept her maiden name. This is a Southern conservative woman, an Air Force brat, raised by very conservative Southern people in a very conservative Pentecostal church, but she has always had an irrepressible rebellious, feminist badass streak in her even before she knew what feminism was. She might not even define herself as a feminist now. She has always done the best she can under very difficult circumstances, and she loves her kids, even though she sometimes sucks quite badly at mothering them. I love her for her imperfections. 

Favorite topic to research this year: I’ve been really enjoying researching emotionally focused couples therapy, which was developed by Sue Johnson, EdD. I’ve been watching therapy videos of couples going through this and having a wonderful time imaging Bucky and Steve going through something similar with Claire. I don’t think Claire is the strictest adherent to EFT, but I think she’s informed by it. It’s tough, because I’m very used to cognitive behavioral type therapies, so this one has been different to think about writing. I’ve also been really getting into reading about childhood sexual abuse and its effects on boys and men. It’s greatly helped my conceptualization of Bucky and Bucky and Steve’s relationship. I mean, it’s a grim topic, but there have been some fascinating threads in terms of understanding one’s self perception of sexual orientation, etc. and thinking about how Bucky would consider and contextualize his experiences. 

Am I more of a Steve or a Bucky? Hmm. I don’t strongly relate to either, but I think if I had to choose, I’m a bit more of a Steve. I’m pretty expressive of my affection and positive emotions, and I’ll complain about daily life things enough. However, when it comes to major life events that really bother me, I tend to err on the side of not processing them and turning my feelings into headaches and other physical afflictions. In other words, I’m a suppressor of major emotions and events. It’s FINE. I’m FINE. Nothing to see here. But I am definitely not as tidy as Steve, nor as smart, and definitely not as buff or hot. So that’s where most of our similarities end lol. I do eat a lot of tofu though. 

Who would I want to hang out with for a day? I initially thought Rikki, but like @pitchforkcentral86​, think she’s actually too cool and smart for me, and I would probably just make an ass out of myself. I think probably Elektra. I know, this is a left field answer, but it’s one day! To do whatever with anyone! I want to choose someone who’s going to make it worth my while. So many of the characters are either too busy, too rigid, too anxious, too conventional, etc. I would want to run around NYC with Elektra for the day and have drinks with her and Matt afterwards at some weird-ass underground bar. My more infield answer would probably be Hank. I want him to tell me gay stories about gay things. I want to see his apartment. I want to drink coffee with him. I want him to tell me about what the AIDS crisis was like for him. I want to hear about his relationship with Howard. I want all the shit that Bucky takes for granted every day. He can be my fairy godmother any day. 

Who would I want to be friends with? Probably Sharon. She’s one of the most reliable, loyal, and level-headed people in this world. She’s smart, she’s flexible, she rolls with things pretty well but also doesn’t take a ton of bullshit. She also has a good sense of humor about things. I feel like she’s someone I could call with my Zack Morris phone and talk with for hours about all sorts of things. We could also split a bottle of wine and talk some real shit. 

Wait - Why not Bucky or Steve? I don’t think these two are entirely likable, to be honest. They’re good humans, they mean well, but I don’t think they’re very well equipped in the friendship department.  I care about them very deeply (I hope that’s clear), but I don’t know if I’d want to be particularly close to either of them at this point in their lives. They’re both lacking in the skill and perspective to be good friends and partners, which is a major reason why they are in therapy. 

Who would I want to be my therapist - Hope, Bruce, Scott, or Claire? Claire. Given how much I suck at talking about the things that are really deeply bothering me, I think I would need an emotionally focused therapist who is going to dig in there and really get me to focus on all the emotions I’m trying to shove away. I would probably try to over-intellectualize everything and deflect, and I don’t think she’d let me get away with that. 

Okay, on to @pitchforkcentral86​~~~~~

What are my favorite scenes in BW and why? 

Oh boy. Well, this is a difficult question to answer since it feels like every chapter becomes a new favorite simply due to sheer amount of time spent planning and composing and revising and whining and complaining. And also my memory sucks. BUT, with that said, I think I would like to mention three scenes specifically:

1)      Bucky on deployment, cleaning a Humvee (Chapter 7), Steve standing nearby. This scene conveyed the tension of deployment and between Steve and Bucky so well, and, perhaps more importantly, built my respect towards Bucky as a competent, caring NCO (to that effect, the small scene in which we see Bucky the NCO on film telling all the little grunts to eat so they can become big and strong is another favorite).

2)      Beautiful Boy (Spent Brass), Steve’s memory from childhood with Sarah at the park, naming animals. I really don’t have a good reason other than that scene was so clear to me in my mind and was especially tender.

3)      Steve sleeping with Sharon in DC (Chapter 33). Honestly, it was just a great scene, and we had a really good time planning it out.

I can include many more, and certainly the ones Dread mentioned are favorites too, but I have to stop or this will just be a squeee fest.

Who is my favorite supporting character?

 Hank. His particular brand of honesty is extremely appealing to me, and I think Bucky secretly, or not so secretly, loves him too. And also Quill, just for shits and giggles because he is reliably there as an ice breaker, that lovable Mountain-Dew-drinking goof.  

Favorite topic to research this year: 

Well, I don’t do the research myself, but I spend many, many m-a-n-y hours listening to and conversing with Dread about all the things he’s delved into for this fic. So I guess maybe I’ll turn this question into favorite topic to discuss/conceptualize. In that respect, Bucky’s and Jack’s relationship has been by far the most intriguing, grueling, fascinating and difficult aspect of this fic to conceptualize – those were some of the best talks in the process. [Dreadnought edit: You will see much more of this in future chapters, folks!] And for a fun answer, planning out sex scenes is hilarious.

Am I more of a Steve or Bucky?

Bucky, no doubt. Sometimes it feels like Dread has climbed into my brain, found a horrible nugget of truth about me, and then put it into words coming out of Bucky’s mouth. Those moments are both wonderful and terrible in equal measure.

Who would I want to hang out with for a day?

For a whole day? Can it maybe be a coffee or, like, a quick lunch? I honestly don’t know… Neither Steve nor Bucky will be very good company, I think. Not in their current versions, anyways. Rikki is hella cool but she intimidates me, so, not her. Um.. Huh. Nope, don’t have an answer.

Who would I want to be friends with?

Probably Hank, again. He has a really good attitude. I’m starting to feel like not picking Steve/Bucky is selfish because it’s like “oh, they have too many issues and it won’t be fun”. But it’s also true! Friendship is reciprocal, and I really don’t think that’s where they’re at. (But I would have totally been dying to be friends with Steve in his bookshop days). 

Who would I want to be my therapist - Hope, Bruce, Scott, or Claire?

Hope or Claire. Both are no-nonsense competent therapists. But I think maybe Hope will be too put-together for me. So, yeah, probably Claire. 

-----------------------------

Okay, everyone. Back to the grind. I’ll update as soon as I can!  Remember to wash your hands with the fastidiousness of BW Steve Rogers. (And also remember to sing the “happy birthday fucking everyone” song, which should actually be sung TWICE or resentfully enough that it lasts 20 seconds.)

#baghdad waltz #happy birthday #fucking everyone #I love you

[neoatiny]

Ateez!pirate au (Horizon)

Snippet: Eunsung

Word count: 286

Synopsis: A little thing I wrote before Horizon discontinued.

Masterlist

—

Eunsung can feel herself slipping away.

Her head is pounding and it feels like someone is deliberately stabbing inside her brain. Her thrashing means nothing compared to the hold around her body and the tears slipping from her eyes are useless as they mix into the salty water she’s submerged in.

She watches as the witch’s tentacle tenses even tighter and even more air is knocked out of her lungs. She should have never have come. Eunsung should have never had come to the island.

“Stop struggling,” the witch commanded. The witch’s mouth never moves as her voice echoes in Eunsung’s head, “It’ll all be over soon.”

The pain is hot and fiery as the tugging in her brain grows harsher. All her screams are muffled by the water and they only turn into large bubbles as they float to the surface.

The witch finally finds what she’s looking for and the last tug relieves Eunsung of her misery. She’s too tired to fight and too tired to scream and she watches as whatever she tugged out of her brain, flashes through different colors. Eunsung sees a familiar face, and her body wrecks with sobs and choked apologies.

The witch holds the memory softly in her hands. “A deal is a deal, Miss Moon. What I am doing for you now is merely out of pity.” She hovers her hands around the memory, creating a transparent bubble and she watches as it floats away.

And bursts into nothing.

She swims closer to Eunsung and cups both her hands around her tear-streaked face. She gives her a soft smile and the grip around her waist loosens.

“It’s time to rise.”

—

When Eunsung finally awakens, and the heat of the sand is scorching beneath her skin, it doesn’t take her much time to realize that she isn’t home.

I’m sorry that Horizon has been on-hold for a long time, but I think this may be the last Horizon post before it’s discontinued. There were a lot of things that I was unhappy with in the mere three chapters that I wrote. I felt like the pacing was too rushed and I struggled to make the characters, especially Eunsung, have proper chracterization and dialogue. I originally planned to post the fourth chapter a month after the third chapter was posted, but I kept on rewriting it to the point where the personality I gave Wooyoung was beginning to annoy me (no hate to real-life woo though) and how flat Eunsung felt.

I found this sitting in my drafts and it says I had last edited it at the start of June. It was supposed to be the prologue. I guess it was a last attempt at rewriting the story, which now that I’ve realized it, I shouldn’t have done. I hope I can begin to write stories that I’ll have the capability to continue. I know not a lot of people read Horizon before it stopped, but I still wanted to apologize. To the people who did read Horizon, thank you for the likes and reblogs that you gave to my first ever story. I really, really appreicated every single one. I know Eunsung’s story ended abrubtly, but I hope one of these days I may come back to it and write for her again.

#ateez #ateez horizon #I know this won’t gain any attention but I just wanted to apologize #I hope I’ll be able to write better stories #neoatiny #neoatiny horizon #ateez hongjoong #ateez jongho #ateez mingi #ateez san #ateez seonghwa #ateez wooyoung #ateez yeosang #ateez yunho

[a-third-attempt]

Raising Bell (pt. 1)

 * * *

Defamation, Libel. 8 cts: First Presbyterian, Chittenden County &c. (see Appendix C)

 * * *

“We’ve got her”, I said.

“Jason. I’ve told you a million times not to barge in here after— Who?”

The boss’s desk is big, but he makes it look small. Tall and fat, he always wears a dark brown coat that somehow makes him an even more imposing presence. You'd never catch him during working hours without a cigar in his mouth, and even then you’d never catch him for more than a couple seconds at a time. He wasn't the easiest guy to get along with, but the only reason this operation was still in the black was because that man worked around the clock to make it go. At the moment he was busy with paperwork, a task that he never started until 7:00 at the earliest, because “the real work goes on when the sun is up, kid!”

“Dorothy,” I said.

“Dorothy McAdams?”

“Dorothy McAdams.”

His eyebrows raise and he offers a breathless “Dorothy McAdams...” in reply. “How the hell did you manage that?”

“She came to town because of her brother, and the word on the street is that she’s sticking around for a year or two. Besides that,” I smile broadly, “I suppose it’s just to your credit for hiring such a charming talent agent, that got her to call you back before St. Anthony.”

He grunts. That was a little too showy for any other day, but with Dorothy in my pocket he’d damn well better cut me some slack.

“How much did it cost me?”

“Well, sir...”

“Snap it out Jason, I haven’t got all night.”

“Sorry, sir. Salary isn’t worth writing home about, double what the other four-in-handers get. And no signing bonus, just a condition.” I pause. He removes the cigar from his mouth and waves it in a circle, annoyed that I'm talking so slow. “We have to take on a kid named Timothy Courtson.”

“Who the hell is Timothy Courtson?”

“Does it matter?” I say, confidently.

“It might,” he snaps back. I guess he's right. Could be an arsonist, he always says. That sure would be bad for business, you know. I glance down at the file in my hand, and swallow hard.

“It doesn’t.”

“He any good?”

I’m sure the millisecond of silence was answer enough, but I answered him. “He can play C and D4.”

He puts the cigar back in his mouth and smirks. “So, no.”

“Positively dire, sir. But it’s no bonus with the kid; 2.5 without.” A second of silence is all it takes to get the words spilling out of my mouth. I spent too much money on her and if I lost the cash back… “Look, we just double up Karen and shift down the bass. The kid can sound like a dying cat and nobody’s going to know the difference down there. Garrett can teach him to mart properly and he’ll get the rest in the extra lessons from Tanya.”

He waves away my explanation. “Yeah, yeah, Jason. You made the right call. Good work.”

I bow my head, and take the opportunity to collect myself, knowing that the goodwill won’t last long. “There— sorry, there’s another thing. Louis told me to give you this.”

I hold the file out to him, and he recoils. “Does it look like I've got the time to read this thing?”

“Please, boss. It's important.”

He snatches the file in one hand, and with the other he grabs a pair of comically undersized glasses. Plopping them on his nose, he opens it and starts reading. It takes about three seconds for the color to drain from his face and his mouth to twist into a bitter scowl.

“What the SAM HELL is this, Jason?” I shrug. Could have been worse, if we're being honest.

“Just a list of notes that Louis kept when he had her, and everything he could find about her past behavior.”

He starts to shout at me again, but thinks better of it and rubs his temples. “Jesus Christ.”

“Language.” It’s instinct, but I know it’s a bad idea from the instant the word comes out of my mouth.

“Jesus Christ have mercy on this woman’s soul,” he snaps back. “But judging by this rap sheet, there’s not much chance of that.”

“She’s a genius. Every genius has some quirks.”

“Hell with quirks, Jason. This is a problem.”

The words hang silently in the smokey air of his office. He tosses the folder to the side and turns away from me, looking out the window at the view of nothing, just a few yellow streetlamps and the broad side of the next concrete building.

“You still want her, though, right?”

He’s quiet, still facing away from me, but there’s no hesitation. “Yes.”

“We’ll just have to keep a tighter leash than Louis did.”

“Take your good-for-nothing file and get out of here,” he grunts softly, and I oblige. As frightening as Boss can be when he’s a swirling rage, I know he’s much scarier when he gets that quiet.

 * * *

A/N: As usual, you can see the entire writing process below the break.

==========

==========

Second Draft

See savefile-1 for suggested edits. I don’t think we need to do a full rewrite of this, but if you get inspired, this would be the draft to do it. I think the original was pretty inspired, though, and it went though a lot of revision with all the retellings.

 * * *

Okay, I’m just going to let this one go through on the second draft. It’s fine and I’m too drunk to do real edits. Maybe if I can stay sober for a whole night I’ll make it work, but fuck Coronavirus, amirite?

==========

First Thoughts

Okay, let’s do the first person thing.

What does Jason notice in their narration? They notice Boss, first and foremost. Boss is tempermental and demanding, so this is a survival mechanism. And with such sensitive information that he’s bringing, he needs to be hypervigilant. 

What does he miss? Emotions, for anyone except Boss— and even then, only as they’re written in his face and serve as tells toward his behavior in the immediate future, or things that he does(n’t) want to hear.

Also, it’s not that he misses it, but he’s not going to wax too poetic about the office; he works there, and he works long hours too.

From all these outbursts, especially with Boss— forgivable because of the situation, but not ideal— we can tell that Jason doesn’t have much impulse control. Even though I don’t like the ‘not even for’ line, this characterization might not quite come through without it. Play around.

Dropping the F bomb feels just a little off. It's not about the “Language” outbust (that's part of what makes the joke); it's just that Boss is someone who commands enough respect that they don’t have to lash out to get what they want. And yes, this McAdams’ rap sheet is pretty wild but it just seems like he would say it a tad more eloquently.

You should probably, at some point, actually draft this rap sheet. For the extended version I can easily see each chapter starting with an item from the sheet, when the chapter is about shenanigans in that regard.

If we’re going to call this Chap 1 instead of Prologue, I could easily see the line item here being:

Defamation, Libel. 8 cts: First Presbyterian, Chittenden County &c. (see Appendix C)

I mean obviously I’m making this citation style up wholesale, which is okay because the real citations are in the appendix, duhhhhh. Also obviously I don’t need it to be Chittenden County, Vermont; but wherever it is, is presumably where Louis runs his empire.

==========

First Draft (written over multiple sessions)

“We’ve got her”, I said.

“Jason I’ve told you a million times not to barge in here with— Who?”

[Exposition]

“Dorothy,” I said.

“Dorothy McAdams?”

“Dorothy McAdams.”

His eyebrows raise and he offers a breathless “Dorothy McAdams...” in reply. He looks up at nothing in particular, visions of fame and fortune surely filling his head. “How the hell did you manage that?”

“She came to town because of her brother, and the word on the street is that she’s sticking around for a year or two. Besides that,” I smile broadly, “I suppose it’s just to your credit for hiring such a charming talent agent, that got her to call you back before St. Anthony.”

He grunts. That was a little too showy for any other day, but with Dorothy in my pocket he’d damn well better cut me some slack.

“How much did it cost me?”

“Well, sir...”

“Snap it out Jason, I haven’t got all night.”

“Not even for Dorothy McAdams?” Probably shouldn’t have said that; my wit got the better of me. He glares.

“No.”

“Sorry, sir. Salary isn’t worth writing home about, double what the other 4-in-handers get. And no signing bonus, just a condition.” I pause. He removes the cigar from his mouth with his hand, that he then waves in a circle, annoyed at my slowness. “We have to take on a kid named Timothy Courtson.”

“Who the hell is Timothy Courtson?”

“Does it matter?” I say, knowingly.

“It might,” he snaps back. I guess he’s right. He always is.

“It doesn’t.”

“He any good?”

I’m sure the millisecond of silence was answer enough, but he’s clearly not in the mood for games. “He can play C and D4.”

He puts the cigar back in his mouth and smirks. “So, no.”

“Positively dire, sir. But it’s either 0 bucks with the kid, or 2.5 without.” He doesn’t answer, and my words start spilling out. “Look, we just double up Karen and shift down the bass. The kid can sound like a cat on meth and nobody’s going to know the difference down there. Garrett can teach him to mart properly and he’ll get the rest in the extra lessons from Tanya.”

He waves away my explanation. “Yeah, yeah, Jason. You made the right call. Good work.”

I swallow, knowing that the goodwill won’t last long. “There—there’s another thing. Louis told me to give you this.”

I pass over the file. He grabs a pair of comically undersized glasses, glaring sarcastically at me. Putting them on, he opens it and starts reading. It takes about three seconds for the color to drain from his face and his mouth to twist into a bitter scowl.

“What the SAM HELL is this, Jason?”

“Just a list of notes that Louis kept when he had her, and everything he could find about her past behavior.”

He starts to shout at me again, but thinks better of it and rubs his temples. “Jesus Christ.”

“Language.” It’s instinct, but I know it’s a bad idea from the instant I say it.

“Jesus Christ have mercy on this woman’s soul,” he snaps back. “But judging by this rap sheet, there’s not much chance of that.”

“She’s a genius. Every genius has some quirks.”

“These aren’t some fucking quirks, Jason.”

The words hang silently in the smokey air of his office. He tosses the folder to the side and turns away from me, looking out the window at the view of nothing, just a few yellow streetlamps and the broad side of the next concrete building. I look at him. He doesn’t move.

“You still want her, though, right?”

He’s quiet, but there’s no hesitation. “Yes.”

“We’ll just have to keep a tighter leash than Louis did.”

“Get the hell out of here,” he grunts softly, and I oblige. As frightening as Boss can be when he’s a swirling rage, I know he’s much scarier when he gets that quiet.

==========

Who needs Brainstorming or Freewriting?

What actually is happening here is that I wrote this almost four months ago so the writing process looks a lot different than I’m trying to do now. But I really wanted to get this polished up a bit, so I committed to posting it soon.

#bells #handbells #music #handbell choir #noir #i think? #cornering the handbell noir market #fiction #prompt response #from a real life friend #the pt. 1 in the title is what we call... aspirational #still not really in the mood to do longform fiction #but this absolutely needs a continuation #not sure about the title #i really want it to just be like the name of the church #or one of those cheesy band names #'Dorothy and the Carillons' #i have literally no idea how long it took to write this #it's been on and off for like four months

[kingofthewilderwest]

Don't worry, I take over my sleep time to read and write fanfictions. I wouldn't have time otherwise! I have an entire Word page with only links to fanfictions I still have to read! And it's all right to not read fanfictions if you don't want to. It's just an hobby among others. Anyway, you wrote fanfictions?? Now I'm curious, could I have a link, if you don't mind? Have a good night too and sorry for my grammar mistakes, english isn't my first language (btw, thank you for the likes

From this. Sorry I’m slow replying!! thanks for your wonderful messages! :)

No worries about grammar! Your English is great, and even if it weren’t, that’s no bother to me either. :) The fact that you’re communicating in a language that isn’t your first… just means you have extra skills and are even more awesome! :) 

I love how dedicated you are to looking at others’ fanfictions, even creating a Word document page to make sure you remember them. That’s beautiful and cool. And I’m getting curious about what you’ve written, too! 

Thanks so much for asking about my fics - this touches me! Sure, I’m happy to share! I tend to post all fics on tumblr and FFN, with FFN being my primary hub. On tumblr I use the tag #my fanfiction and tag all stories by their title. My FFN profile is kingofthewilderwest.

I’m so so so so so SO touched when anyone reads or interacts with my fics (though since I write casually, I ask no constructive criticism

THE VIGILANTE’S WAR

HTTYD. YEAR: 2014. LENGTH: 57,110 WORDS. A mysterious, antagonistic dragon rider dubbed “the Vigilante” crosses paths with Hiccup, and her increasingly violent actions appear to be leading to war against Berk. 

He tightened his hands, loosened them again. Breathed in, breathed out. He could feel himself stooped in the dirt, his shoulders hunched over his head, his knees buried in the ground and tucked underneath his torso. His neck was bent low close to the earth, providing him a good view of his hands and the ground and nothing else.

Well, and the blood.

That can’t possibly be all mine.

- PROLOGUE: FROM OUT OF THE HAZE

HTTYD 2′s original drafts had Valka as the main antagonist. I found this so interesting that I decided to rewrite HTTYD 2 - with a few of my own spins - on this concept. One of my most well-known fics, “The Vigilante’s War” is where I’ve gotten the most thorough reviews and most emotional reactions.

THE VIGILANTE’S LEGACY 

HTTYD. YEARS: 2014-2016. LENGTH: 20,546 WORDS. There’s been four years of war between three factions. Drago’s army. The Vigilante and her dragons. Berk and their allies. But now, Chief Hiccup believes there’s a way to end the conflict. Sequel to “The Vigilante’s War.”

Hiccup spoke up. Cleared his voice. Tapped his pointer finger apprehensively on the cell’s iron door. “You said we were making a mistake.” Might as well speak straight to the point of his visit. “Something about ‘you and every one of your warriors are making a mistake’ or – or something like that.”

For a moment Hiccup wondered if Valka actually would reply. The calculating gaze she gave him from the corner of her prison certainly did not seem a positive sign. However, then, with a steady, lilting cadence to her voice, she succinctly affirmed, “I did.” Just those two words. Nothing more.

- VIII. THE MISTAKES OF WAR

It’s unfinished; I haven’t updated because I ran out of steam and didn’t receive enough reader feedback encouraging me to continue. Though I did have a very vivid final chapter in mind… that I still love… which I never got to…?

MEMOIRS

HTTYD. YEARS: 2015-2016. LENGTH: 44,289 WORDS. My ongoing collection of drabbles for HTTYD. Angst, pain, comfort, humor, crossovers, crack, it’s all there. Favorites include “Family Portrait,” “Stubble,” “Buffcup the Brawny,” and “Remember When.”

He held her hand softly, one wrinkled hand laid gently on top of another. It was just her and him now in the house all alone – for their children had left on a voyage with the grandkids, and would not be back for a week yet, if even two. It evoked the quietness of the old days, back before they were old, back during the times when they were newlyweds and younger even than their grandchildren were today. Oh, but the smell of her hair was just as refreshing now as when it was blonde.

- REMEMBER WHEN

DINNER AT DRAGON’S EDGE 

HTTYD. YEAR: 2015. LENGTH: 5,452 WORDS. The gang’s settling in at Dragon’s Edge. To make sure everything operates smoothly, Hiccup suggests a chore rotation system. That means everyone has to do their fair share of the cooking… but it doesn’t mean everyone is a fair cook.

“Oh my gods, is this dinner or what the rats threw away?” Snotlout exclaimed, terrified at the Unidentified Edible Object before him.

Tuffnut picked it up with one experimental hand and held it out before him at a safe distance. People would have held poisonous snakes or bloodied torture devices more cheerily. Squinting his eyes and peering carefully at the peculiar specimen pinched between his fingers, rubbing under his chin with his other, free hand, Tuffnut remarked, “Looks something like what Barf and Belch poop out after they get sick and…”

- 1. ASSIGNING JOBS

This humorous fic I think is where I do best capturing HTTYD character personalities and interactions.

[SUPER]HERO THE HARD WAY 

HTTYD. YEARS: 2014-2017. LENGTH: 86,566 WORDS. In a modern world where Berk is full of superheroes battling the League of Outcasts, power-less Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third struggles to receive appreciation for who he is. Through his crime-fighting journey, Hiccup learns that, while he might not have powers, he can become a Hero the Hard Way.

“I wasn’t born with anything. Don’t have anything. I’m the son of Chief Stoick “Skullcrusher” and I don’t have anything. Not even a superpower to turn objects purple. Which frankly would be completely pointless but at least it would have been something.“

He realized he was babbling and promptly shut his mouth. He looked over at Fishlegs, who appeared to be wordlessly processing the information. The teenager appeared baffled moreso than anything else, which at least meant he was not outright rejecting him.

“So you’re going to train to be a superhero… and you don’t have any powers? I got that right?”

“You got that right.”

“Wow.” Fishlegs said.

Hiccup waited for more.

“That’s actually really cool.”

- CHAPTER THREE: SIDEKICKED

This started as me intending to write one crack chapter. It turned into me envisioning a ROB / DOB modern AU where all characters were superheroes. The final product became a retelling of HTTYD 1′s basic concept: Hiccup gaining his peers’ approval despite being different. Somehow, despite me 70% adlibbing by the seat of my pants (should I be admitting this?), I had great fun. And it brought in the most reviews, follows, and favorites of any of my posted stories! Thanks for the reads and support, everyone!!!

RESET OR RESUME 

UT. YEAR: 2016-2017. LENGTH: 85,841 WORDS. Gaster’s research unlocks the secret of time travel. After the Royal Scientist’s untimely end, one of Gaster’s colleagues - Sans - finds himself with the power to Reset. Confronted with unpleasant timelines and dangerous choices, Sans must decide how to navigate through time… if it’s worth resetting for a better future, continuing with hope for the present, or simply giving up.

No longer timid and silent, the human happily babbled all sorts of nonsense to Sans, everything from how to bake snow pies to how weird Sans’ skull looked to how beautiful the ribbon in their hair was to their opinions of Papyrus’ ‘battle body’ to how their mom didn’t like the color black to their personal opinion of ferrets to a long narrative of their encounter with a snail-loving old lady they met on the other side of the Ruins door. Everything could be the topic of a conversation. There was no filter and even less sense of restraint for this child.

“How are you a SKELETON?” their happy little high-pitched voice squeaked. They flew gallantly over a twig that rested, flat, on the surface of the snow. Powder flew everywhere as they landed heavily into the snowbank. “That means – that means you should be DEAD, you know!”

“who says i’m not dead?” Sans trolled with a wink.

With a shrieking giggle, they exclaimed, “Don’t be silly! Only ghosts are dead!”

“i could be a skeleton ghost.”

“No you – no you can’t.” The human seemed to be quite confident about their knowledge in paranormal metaphysics. “You can be a skeleton. You can be a ghost. But nobody – NOBODY – can be a skeleton ghost.”

“is that so?”

“YES so! You CAN’T be both. That would be wrong.” Maybe the human mentally categorized skeletons and ghosts as separate Halloween creatures, ensuring they were mutually exclusive concepts. It was always challenging to comprehend a child’s train of logic. “Except…” and now the child paused, leaning down and tugging at the sleeve of their sweater. Something thoughtful – at least as much as one so young could be thoughtful – passed over their eyes. They cocked their head to the side and stared at Sans. In the same sort of innocence with which they had talked about ferrets, the human inquired, “…can ghosts also be dust?”

- 5. KNOCKS [[File 5.2 IH-20150701-3-3]]

I have particular fondness for this fic. I spent more energy and care with this than any other I’ve posted. Drenched it through with UT lore. Edited and revised thoroughly. Had two beta readers examine my ASL for accurate representation. I wrote extensive outlines that were several page long color-coded charts, had all this meticulous structuring going on…

The problem was, this was an impossibly ambitious project. Life got in the way, too. The 85,841 words here aren’t close to the end of Part 1. The final two Parts were going to explain the weirdness within Part 1 (the story doesn’t begin in chronological order - it gets pieced together like a puzzle). What I planned to write would have included a complex characterization arc for Sans, every human child that’s visited the underground, and multiple resets containing main character deaths… until the story would end with Sans confronting Frisk in the Genocide Route.

Hopefully, despite the incompleteness, this is enjoyable from its comedy to its angst! I would at least encourage people to read the first few chapters! Or “Socks” - an entire chapter devoted to Sans and Gaster pulling sock pranks on each other.

SOMEHOW THEY’RE STILL OFFICERS

FMAB. YEAR: 2018-2019. LENGTH: 6,036 WORDS. Ahhhhhh yes. Team Mustang. The hand-selected, elite group of military officers who effectively spend their time… doing nonsense. 

Everyone was scrambling at once. Mustang rushed forward to greet their guest, perfect composure only broken by the fast pace at which he moved. In fact the colonel’s posture was almost a proud enough display to make his lack of shirt go unnoticed. But Falman chucked his cards away at the same time he tried to salute; Breda was ducking from Falman’s sudden card shower; Fuery was launching pants and underwear in Havoc’s face; and Lieutenant Hawkeye, obviously abashed to be in this room at all, was covering her eyes with her hand in what was either her life’s longest sigh, or a pathetic attempt to hide her face and identity.

- WE WERE JUST PLAYING CARDS

My collection of FMA drabbles, particularly stories of Team Mustang shenanigans. Prompts / requests welcome for more adventures!

I have a few other drabbles posted, too. I also have unfinished chapters of Voltron fanfictions on my computer that I could share, too? Maybe I should? I’m currently working on several Royai fanfictions, other FMA drabbles, and a longer Deponia fanfiction.

Thank you again for being so nice and connecting with me over fanfiction and fandom and FMA and more. You’re a really wonderful and cool person and you made my day.

#maski1 #long post #my fanfiction #my stuff #my writing #fanfiction #httyd #How to Train Your Dragon #UT #Undertale #rtte #Race to the Edge #FMA #FMAB #Fullmetal Alchemist #Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood #Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood #writing #drabble #ask #ask me #thank you so much #you are a wonderful and really cool person???? <3 #you really are #Deponia #Voltron #yeah I have SO MANY unfinished Voltron fics I should post those

[notlucy]

Fic Update #64

Words Written This Week: 15,445 (Marking a 10% uptick from last week, though I think this is about to slow considerably, with the amount of time it’s taking me to do merBucky line edits.)

11,499 on my RBB fic sunbeams are never made like me. I think this one has about five chapters left in it, depending on how things shake out. With any luck, I can finish it up by the end of the first week in April.

3,946 on MerBucky rewrites, which means I’m done with merBucky rewrites, woo-hoo! I’ve moved onto line editing. I had a naive hope I’d be able to get through 5 chapters a day, but it’s taking me approximately two hours to get through three chapters, so...yeah. I’m gonna have to be a bit more realistic about that one. Still, that means 15 days to get the whole story edited, at which point I can start compiling notes and submitting to my three lovely betas.

Did I Make My Goals?

Edit chapters 41-43 of merBucky and then LEAVE IT for a minute :D Yes! And then I line-edited Prologue-2

Chapters 9-10 of RBB Actually, yes!

WIP Updates/Goals for Next Week:

To Write & Edit:

Chapters 11-13 of RBB

Line edit Chapters 3-23 of merBucky

To Publish:

Nothing

Things that are likely to fuck with my progress:

I’m doing stuff this weekend

My back is screwing with me again and I might need to go back to PT

Work might be busy. IDK it comes and goes.

Gif of the week (because her new album just came out and I’m seeing her live next week):

#notlucy's stupid process #notlucy gets personal #wips #wip update

[rosecorcoranwrites]

Editing Advice Part 3: Rewriting

Last time, we discussed how to address plot holes and keep world building internally consistent. Today, I will share my thoughts on rewriting, specifically on when you should rewrite, and when you should stop. I should mention, though, that parts 1, 2, and 3 of this series can and should be done simultaneously. That is, while you're rewriting, you can fix plot holes and issues with timing, and when you're looking at some inconsistencies in world building, you might find a section you need to rewrite. So the first answer to "when should I rewrite" is "when you have to fix the problems with continuity, world building, and plot".

But what about in general? First of all, what do I mean by rewriting? I'm not talking about tweaking a sentence here or there, or find/replacing a character's name, nor am I talking about changing the details of how a certain magical creature looks or wether the moon should be waxing or waning in one scene. I'm talking about full on changes to scenes, chapters, or entire books. This is hardcore stuff. Fun, but hardcore. First, let's talk about dealing with different drafts.

My Draft Philosophy

While some writers will tell you to completely scrap each old draft and literally rewrite each new one from scratch, I think this is utter madness. First of all—

and I realize I am only one of five writers ever to say this—your first draft is good! If it wasn't, then you shouldn't bother rewriting it and should move on to some other project. Is it perfect? Heck no! That's why we're shiny-ing it up. But it's good. There are good sentences, good turns of phrase, good exchanges and flow. What's more, there is heart; when you wrote it, you were feeling certain things that you won't be feeling if you completely rewrite it. Don't forget that, and don't throw it away.

Well, now that that's out of the way, what should you do with your first, or second, or third draft (did I mention I rewrote my third book four and a half times?). Save them each as a separate document! You never want to write over an old draft, because you might, even years down the line, think back on something that you can reuse from one of those old drafts. I'm speaking from experience here. Just as there are parts of your old drafts that you dislike, there will be parts of your new drafts that you end up not liking as much as what you had previously written. Computer memory is cheap, and writing time isn't. Save everything!

I'll even save each chapter of a to-be-rewritten/edited draft as its own document. This helps me break rewriting into chunks and, occasionally, rethink structure. Maybe the story would flow better if I moved this chapter before that one? Maybe I should break this long one into two short ones (separate documents will more easily show you the word count of each chapter). I'll even do this for particularly tricky scenes, saving only the scene into it's own document so I can really play around with it without fear of altering the rest of the chapter. When I'm done with the scene or chapter, I copy/paste it back into the larger draft of the whole book.

When to Rewrite

But how does one know when a scene or chapter should be rewritten, instead of changed a little. The simple answer is, when you don't love it. When you're reading through your book, happy as a clam, and suddenly there's a part that irks you, or feels off, or is kind of boring. That part needs to be rewritten rather than sent out into the world in a subpar fashion.

Obviously, you'll need to rewrite scenes that contain large continuity errors, internal inconsistencies, or plot holes, but there might be scenes that are perfectly serviceable that still don't sit right with you. They're not as good as they could be, and you know it. Rewriting, to me, is a very personal thing; you might even have beta readers who think your story is fine, but if you don't think it is, then it isn't.

Given the personal nature of the beast, it's hard to talk about it in generalities, so I'll instead deal with examples. I'll use my own writing, since I've done my share of rewrites for a number of different reasons.

Miscast Spells had it's major changes when I went from planning to drafting, so I didn't have too many rewrites, but I did significantly change the prologue; it was actually the last scene of that book that I wrote. Why did I rewrite it? Well, it was boring, so I spiffed it up, added more characterization, and actually showed Emmaline getting cursed during it (yes, that very important scene was not in the first draft!).

I would say I went through about three drafts of Outcast Shadows. The first one existed before I wrote Recast Light, and I didn't know how the trilogy ended. Sebastian had a bit of a different motivation for his actions ( he actually wanted to destroy Chiaroscuro! Yikes!), but when I started writing Recast Light and looking at Sebastian's character, this motive didn't ring true to who he was. This meant I had to do a major overhaul of his storyline, but it was obviously for the best. In the final draft, I rewrote particular scenes—when Sebastian first speaks to Millie in Chiaroscuro, when he explains about the threat facing the city, what happens between him and Alistair in the courtyard—in order to really emphasize character relationships and feelings. I wouldn't say the old versions of those scenes were bad, but they weren't what I wanted for the story overall. I didn't love them, and now I do.

And then there is Recast Light, the problem child. When I say I rewrote it four and a half times, I mean I basically changed half of what happens in the book, significantly, four times, and then tweaked the rest here and there (that's where the half comes from!). For example, in the first two drafts, there was an entire subplot involving Chiaroscuran anarchists; if you've read the book, you'll know that that is no longer a thing (though two of their members, Augustus and the Empress, remained in the story). Why did I cut it? It was random and added nothing to the story; I didn't love it.

Then there was Sebastian, my problem child within a problem child. In the first draft, he slept through most of the book (no, really!), and in the second draft, he was awake, but hardly interacted with the rest of the main characters (he was hanging out with the anarchists). It wasn't until the third draft that he finally joined everyone else like a proper main character. Why did I change it? A better question would be, why did I write it so poorly the first two times. It was so weird and not at all what I wanted that I couldn't let it stand.

Then, I overhauled the entire second half of the book between the third and fourth drafts (everything after chapter seven, for those of you who have read it). None of that was there before the final draft. I'm still shocked by this, and I'm the author! Why did I rewrite it? Several reasons. First, the way the main cast dealt with Alcea in the first drafts was totally deus ex machina. Gross! Second, none of it tied in enough with the first two books. It wasn't narratively satisfying, instead feeling thrown together. Sure, the story ended, but it wasn't how that story should have ended, given everything that came before it. I wanted to bring back elements from the other books so that the trilogy would feel like a cohesive whole.

As a side note, the above example is also a reason not to kill your darlings. I had always wanted a ballroom scene in my books, but could never find a place to put it that made sense. As I was writing my fourth draft, flailing around for a way to fix it, I shrugged my shoulders and said, "Eh, why not?", figuring that a ball scene couldn't hurt what was already massively suffering. So I wrote the scene, and suddenly everything fell into place: how Sebastian could naturally meet-up with the rest of the cast, what Alcea's endgame would be, and from there, what the characters would need to do to deal with her. It all fit, and all because I had a silly little pet project of cramming a ballroom scene into the book. Don't kill your darlings; use them.

When to Stop

Hopefully those examples can give you a feel for how to go about choosing when to rewrite, but then there is the opposite question: when should you stop?

This is actually an important question, because some writers never stop, and if you never stop, you'll never publish. Worse, still, are certain writers (usually poets) who continue to rewrite works that they've published! I feel like this is a case of the perfect being an enemy of the good, in that it is almost impossible to actually create a perfect story (there are, in fact, only four in existence: Fullmetal Alchemist, Coco, Erased, and Ghost Trick). What you need to realize is that you aren't going to send a perfect story out into the world and should instead aim to send out the best version of your story.

Thus, if the answer to "When should I rewrite something?" is "When you don't love it" then the answer to "When should I stop rewriting something" is "When you love it". When you read what you've written, or rewritten, and it makes you smile, or get excited. When you no longer feel annoyance or boredom or dissatisfaction at reading that scene or chapter. Again, this is pretty personal, so there aren't any specifics I can give you. Just pay attention to how you feel about your own writing; if you really love it, you probably don't need to rewrite it any further (though you might need two tweak it for continuity and world building and such).

A Few Other Tips and Tricks

Everyone has their own style of taking on the rewriting process. Some people use Track Changes, or different colors of font and highlights. Some people print their documents and make changes on the paper itself with a red pen. I would say to find whatever works for you.

My process is: I usually read each chapter through, changing what I can and marking other things for later review, usually using Track Changes. I will leave myself notes, like, "Check for continuity with Chapter 5" or "Is this clear?". If it's something that irks me, but I'm not sure why, I'll usually highlight the whole section for later review and rewriting. I will then move on to the next chapter and do the same thing, then return to my notes after going through the rest of the book.

When it comes to how to rewrite a scene, I will usually outline my thoughts on paper. I might chart out two possible scenarios and see which one works best, or enumerate how changing one thing will effect the rest of the events in the story. I like writing on paper because it's quick, impermanent, and easily scrapped. There's also something about moving my hands, using different colored ink, and seeing my ideas written out spatially that helps me think. It's a way of seeing the story from a different perspective that I find helpful.

And that's it for rewriting. We've covered the main chunk of the editing process, the hard part, if you will. All that's left is copyediting. See you next time!

#writing resources #writing resource #editing #editing advice #writing advice #rewriting advice #writelr #writeblr #rewrites #rewriting #writer resources #writer resource #editing process #writing process #writing help #writing blog #writer blog #author advice #writing community #writers

[mbcorvo-author]

Works in Progress Masterpost

Sci Fi Wip: Otherverse

This is my longest work in progress ever, also it’s my joy and my damnation in many ways. And the fact that my writer’s block started while I was working on this, made everything more painful. The only thing I haven’t changed in all these years is the title.

I started working on this WiP around the end of 2012 and first months of 2013 as a setting for an homebrew sci-fi/cyberpunk rpg. Project that was set aside after realizing that it’s not that simple making a role-playing game.I liked the general idea I gave to the setting, so around 2014 I took that project and I started to edit it so it could fit a novel and I continued gathering lots of resources to write it and I started the first chapter around 2016. Then, I completely changed it during summer 2017. I wanted to keep the far future sci-fi part of the idea, but I wanted that the technology and such used in the story were something plausible, so I needed to fix some plot holes and rewrite a bunch of things. I was happy with the edits and the new plot and I started drafting the prologue and the generic route that the story should follow to reach the ending I planned. This lead to this year, 2018, where I noticed a really big bad plot hole. Fixing that plot hole (thank you Interstellar to make me notice it) sadly made all the new story planned the year before completely nonsense. It collapsed on its own. I’m really sad about this but I’m even more determined to complete this novel. It’s like my little kid…a rather rebellious kid that doesn’t want to do what I want. But I love it. If nothing will work, it already have its backstory jotted down and I could fall back to that. I’m not sure, though.

TL;DR version: My oldest wip that is also a pain in the butt working on it, but one day I’ll be able to fix it. Far future sci-fi with plausible technology and completely new worlds.

I made a post for this wip to group all the links about it and also in case I'll return working on it! You can find it here

The WiP in few points:

Sci-Fi with some cyberpunk shades

Far future setting

Plausibile technology (I’m researching a lot for this)

Hard science kind of sci-fi

Realistic feel of the worlds: climate, flora&fauna, aliens, whatever are thought in detail. (other intense researches)

Urban Fantasy WiP: Beyond the Veil

After struggling a lot with my sci-fi, I decided that maybe I should try writing something different from it so my mind would have some time to rest a bit and let all the ideas soak for some time. So I thought about returning to the “origins” and go for something fantasy. Except that I didn’t want something like classic high fantasy and the likes, so I decided to go for an urban fantasy that was different from the urban fantasy I’m used to see in bookstores (here all the shelf are filled with Twilight-styles novels. Nothing against them, but I feel that the love triangle with supernatural beings is a tad bit overused).

The characters are born before the plot. Like, they literally spawned in my mind while reading some writing prompts and because of that, this wip is more like a weird blob of scenes without a fixed plot to connect them.

After thinking for some time, I think that I may have found the plot that “clicks” and that is simple and perfect to connect all the scenes and ideas that I have for this story.

I’ll send you to my wip page at this link where you’ll find a sythetic plot, something about the characters and links to the excerpts/snippets I shared here.

What I’m planning for this WiP:

A nice blend of creatures and other things from different mythologies and folklores (well, at least I’ll try)

Lots of LGBT+ and poc characters

Genies/Djinns

Faeries

Sirens (not merfolk, but something that looks like classic greek sirens)

Supernatural beings mixed with humans (well, most of them)

A revisitation of witches/wizards

Werebeasts. Not your common werewolves.

Wip 3 - Collection of shorts stories

In these years I found a bunch of scenes, ideas for some stories and similar things set aside in a folder in my laptop or in a notebook in my room. I liked some of them so I thought that I could rewrite the ones I liked and shape them into short stories that I could put togheter in a single collection.

At the moment, I have the first short story on in its third draft and it’s going through the latest edits before completion while the others are still in their “embryonic” phase.

Biblical Horror - In the Pits of Hell

It was quite some time since I had this idea in the backburner, since when the staff in the rpg I was playing started to ruin nice plots to show off their over powered characters and ruining the game for the other players...or maybe even before that, since I found old notes about a horror-themed story with devils, fallen angels, Hell and other things like that.

So, in the end, I decided to start jotting down something and trying to find the right plot that works between the ideas I have floating in my mind.

You can find this wip's page with the links to excerpts/snippets/ect here

What I'd like to put in this WiP:

Biblical stuff like angels, fallen angels, devils/demons, Hell, Heaven, and so on

Horror stuff, so there will be some blood&gore I think. But not too much because I personally dislike gratuitous gore.

War between Heaven and Hell

A plot

One of the ideas had something about the Apocalypse, but I still have to see how to make it work with the other ideas.

Another idea was to try to make the plot fit at least few parts of the plots used for some quests that got ruined in the already mentioned rpg.

Not sure if the title will stay there or not, but as for now it fits.

If I'll change the title, this one will be used as chapter title.

[Italian version under the cut! / Versione in italiano a seguire!]

Sci-Fi WiP: Oltreverso

Questo è il più lungo dei miei work in progress, inoltre è anche la mia gioia e dannazione in svariati modi. E il fatto che il mio blocco dello scrittore è iniziato mentre stavo lavorando a questo progetto, mi ha causato un po’ di sofferenza. L'unica cosa che non gli ho cambiato in tutti questi anni è il titolo.

Ho iniziato a lavorare a questo progetto attorno alla fine del 2012 e i primi mesi del 2013 come ambientazione per un GdR di fantascienza/cyberpunk che volevo realizzare. Progetto che poi accantonai quando mi resi conto che non è poi così semplice realizzare un gioco di ruolo. Mi piaceva l'idea generale che avevo messo dietro quell'ambientazione, così nel 2014 ripresi il progetto e iniziai a modificarlo così che si potesse adattare a un romanzo e da allora continuai a raccogliere informazioni e risorse varie per poterlo scrivere e scrissi la bozza del primo capitolo nel 2016. Poi lo cambiai completamente nell'estate del 2017. Volevo mantenere la parte del “fantascienza ambientata in un futuro lontano”, ma volevo che la tecnologia e quant'altro presenti nella storia fossero qualcosa di plausibile e realistico, così ho dovuto correggere alcuni buchi nella trama e riscrivere un po’ di cose. Ero felice delle modifiche e della nuova trama e scrissi anche la bozza del prologo così come il percorso che in generale avrebbe dovuto seguire la storia per raggiungere la conclusione che avevo ideato. Questo ci conduce a quest'anno, 2018, in cui ho notato un un brutto grosso buco nella trama. Sistemata quella falla (grazie Interstellar per avermelo fatto notare) purtroppo tutta la storia che avevo progettato l'anno prima ha perso senso. È collassata su sé stessa. Sono molto dispiaciuto per questo, ma sono anche molto determinato a completare questo romanzo. È come se fosse il mio bambino…un bambino piuttosto ribelle che non vuole fare quello che voglio io. Ma lo amo comunque. Se niente funzionerà, ho la storia precedente ai fatti del romanzo appuntata e potrei provare a ripiegare su quello. Non ne sono sicuro però.

Riassumendo: Il mio progetto più vecchio che è una spina al fianco lavorarci, ma un giorno sarò in grado di sistemarlo. Fantascientifico ambientato in un lontano futuro, con tecnologia plausibile e mondi completamente nuovi.

Ho creato un post dedicato a questo progetto per raggruppare tutti i link a riguardo e anche in caso io decidessi di tornare a lavorarci! Potete trovarlo qui

Il progetto in pochi punti:

Fantascientifico con qualche sfumatura cyberpunk

Ambientazione in un futuro lontano

Tecnologia plausibile (sto facendo molte ricerche per questo)

Mondi dall'aria realistica: clima, flora&fauna, alieni e che altro sono tutti studiati nel dettaglio. (anche qua svariate intense ricerche)

Urban Fantasy WiP: Oltre il Velo

Dopo aver avuto difficoltà con il romanzo di fantascienza, ho deciso che forse avrei dovuto provare a scrivere qualcosa di differente così che la mia mente avesse il tempo di riposare un po’ e lasciare le idee a “macerare” per qualche tempo. Pensai così di tornare alle origini e puntare su di un'ambientazione fantasy. Dato che non volevo un'ambientazione classica high-fantasy (es. il Signore degli Anelli), ho deciso di provare a puntare su un'ambientazione moderna urban fantasy seppur diversa da quelle in cui mi è capitato di incappare svariate volte nelle librerie (dalle mie parti gli scaffali delle librerie sono zeppi di romanzi con storie stile Twilight. Non ho nulla contro di loro, ma trovo che il triangolo amoroso con creature sovrannaturali sia un tantino troppo usato).

Sono nati prima i personaggi della trama. Sono tipo letteralmente comparsi all'improvviso nella mia mente mentre leggevo alcuni writing prompts qui su Tumblr. Forse è per questo che al momento il progetto è più simile a un informe ammasso di scene senza una precisa trama a collegarle.

Dopo qualche tempo di riflessione, finalmente credo di essere riuscito a “ingranare” una trama semplice e adatta a collegare insieme le scene che avevo già abbozzato così come le idee che avevo già in mente. Vi rimando alla pagina wip che potete trovare a questo link per avere un'idea migliore riguardo la trama, i personaggi e trovare i link agli estratti e frammenti che ho condiviso qua.

Cosa sto pianificando per questo progetto:

Un piacevole miscela di creature e altre cose provenienti da diverse mitologie e folklori (beh, almeno ci proverò a ottenere un bel risultato)

Molti personaggi LGBT+ e POC

Geni/Djinni

Fate

Sirene (ma non quelle che vi immaginate, bensì qualcosa di più simile alle sirene della mitologia greca)

Creature sovrannaturali mescolate tra gli umani (almeno, la maggior parte di loro)

Una rivisitazione di streghe e stregoni

Mannari. Non i soliti comuni lupi mannari.

WiP 3 - Raccolta di Racconti

In questi anni ho trovato un mucchio di scene, idee per storie e cose simili messe da parte in una cartella del mio portatile o in un quaderno dimenticato in camera mia. Alcune di loro mi piacevano e così ho pensato che potrei riscrivere sotto forma di racconto breve quelle che mi piacevano di più, così da raccoglierle tutte insieme in un'unica raccolta.

Al momento, ho il primo racconto breve alla terza scrittura e vi sto facendo le - spero - ultime correzioni prima del completamento definitivo mentre gli altri racconti sono ancora in “fase embrionale”.

Horror Biblico - Nelle Profondità dell'Inferno

Era ormai un po' di tempo che avevo questa idea che mi ronzava in testa, da quando nel gdr dove giocavo lo staff aveva iniziato a rovinare le belle trame per sfoggiare i loro personaggi overpowered e rovinando il gioco agli altri giocatori...or forse anche da prima, dato che ho trovato vecchi appunti per una storia dell'orrore con diavoli, angeli caduti, Inferno e altre cose affini.

Quindi, allafine, ho deciso di iniziare ad abbozzare qualcosa e provare a cercare la giusta trama che funzioni tra tutte le idee che mi svolazzano per la mente.

A questo link trovate il post dedicato a questo progetto, con i link di tutti gli estratti e i frammenti che ho condiviso nel mio blog.

Cosa mi piacerebbe inserire in questo progetto:

Roba biblica come angeli, angeli caduti, diavoli/demoni, Inferno, Paradiso, e così via.

Cose horror, quindi ci sarà un po' di sangue e gore credo. Non sarà esagerato, anche perché io personalmente disprezzo il gore gratuito.

Guerra tra Paradiso e Inferno

Una trama

Una delle idee riguardava l'Apocalisse, ma devo ancora vedere come farlo funzionare con le altre idee.

Un'altra idea era di provare a cercare di inserire nella trama almeno qualche piccola parte delle trame che usarono in alcune quest e che furono rovinate nel sopracitato gdr.

Non sono sicuro se il titolo rimarrà così o meno, ma per ora ci azzecca. Anche se preferisco la versione inglese!

Se cambierò il titolo, questo lo utilizzerò come titolo di uno dei capitoli

#mgcorvo-author works in progress #mgcorvo-author wips #corvoonthephone #mgcorvo-author

[star-crossedfidelity]

Hisoka's Black Tale: Chapter 1

Mun!Yuki: The time has come. For today is the second anniversary of this blog, I present to you all the first chapter of Hisoka’s story. ^_^ I apologize for the wait, but I can say I’m rather happy with this. It took a lot of rewriting and editing, so I hope you all enjoy it!

If you have not read the prologue of the story, please click here first! ^_^

Now without further adieu, I present to you all Chapter one of Hisoka’s Black Tale! Enjoy!!! 💙💙💙💙💙💙

“Mukami Ruki, I am in your hands; So, please take proper care of me.”

“Hm.” Ruki’s eyes lowered slightly, “Wise choice; In that case, you will be given proper discipline; Do keep that in mind, Inu.” The cold look within the eldest Mukami’s eyes made Hisoka shudder a bit. “F-fine, whatever..” Before she could turn to grab her luggage, Hisoka was astonished when it disappeared. “Wait, what happened to my luggage?” She questioned. ‘I didn't sense anybody there..! So how the hell..?!’

“A familiar has already gotten it~” Kou answered, before laughing a bit. Hisoka became even more surprised. ‘A familiar..?’ “A-Alright then…”

“Now that you will be living with us, you will follow the rules of this mansion.” Ruki instructed, “And you will be given proper training in order to fix your ill-temper and learn your place.” Hisoka almost scoffed. She can already tell this one was going to be the one she’ll not stand the most out of the four. Perhaps she made the wrong choice?

“Very well; I would like to listen to your household rules, as it will help me adjust what I know what to do and not to do.” Hisoka wasn't stupid to escape with any excuses. She was tired from the ride and worrying over Yui’s safety, the brunette couldn't find time to rest. Chances are she will do something foolish like sleep after putting everything away if she promised to hear the rules after packing. And who knows what the consequences would be for that.

From then on, Hisoka was lectured about the rules of the mansion. The other three vampires has left once the lecture began. The lecturing felt like hours, honestly. There was a mental sigh when Hisoka realized the lecturing was done. “Those rules won’t be much of a problem to me, so I can follow them to the best of my abilities. Now that we are done here, may you please be kind enough to show me to my room?” She questioned, “I want to start unpacking first, and take a short nap; I did not sleep well on the way here.” Proper she may act, the brunette just wanted to puke. It's already bad enough that she might have made the wrong choice choosing the eldest Mukami, she doesn't want to stay anywhere near leeches.

“Ill-mannered. I can't believe he allowed you here..” ‘Okay who the hell is ‘He’?!’ Hisoka angrily growled in her mind, while she continued to act stoic and listen to the eldest Mukami. “Fine then; Come with me.” As Ruki walked to the destination, Hisoka followed; Although the others didn't, it still didn't make Hisoka feel any better now since the eldest was right beside her. It was because of his aura; It honestly made her want to run.

Once they made it to the room, Hisoka peeked inside. It was pastel pink and white. Not exactly her kind of colors, but at least it's still better than having to sleep in the same room as a leech. “This will be your room temporarily.” Ruki told her. “‘Temporarily’?” The brunette questioned. “Your arrival was a short notice, and this room was going to be Eve’s; Until a room for you is prepared and until we pick up Eve, this will be the room you will be staying in.” He explained. ‘So this will be Yui’s room? It suits her..’ Hisoka almost smiled a bit from the thought of her beloved friend, but refrained as she was still in the presence of leeches.

“I see; It’s better than nothing, so I’m okay with the arrangement.” The brunette admitted. “I will also mention: Like Livestock, you will not be given any mercy. You were not in any way part to be here or any way involved with our plan, so I will not hesitate to kill you if you fail your assigned role as a watchdog and go with the original plan. Punishment will be in order, and you will follow the rules and do as you are told without question; Understood?”

Hisoka looked over to Ruki, ‘Like livestock..?’ Dismissing the thought for a later time, The brunette nodded, “Understood.”

After thanking him for taking the time to direct her to the room she’ll be staying in for the time being, Hisoka waited until Ruki left the room; Once he did and walked away from the door, The brunette sighed in annoyance as she placed the book that was still her in her hand aside and begun to unpack the things she needed unpacked, such as her hairbrush, her casual clothes, and other things. ‘Weapons and Huntress outfit are secured; They’re inside the luggage in the secret compartment.’ She thought in her mind, ‘The scent of them were disguised and should be dismissed from their smell, so there is no way for them to know.’

Hisoka knew better than to actually speak out her thoughts. Vampires had excellent hearing. She wasn't stupid, so she refuses let herself speak out her mind around the presence of leeches.

However, once she has completed her task in unpacking the simple stuff, Hisoka placed her suitcase under the bed and grabbed her book. As she reached out for It, the brunette stopped pulled her hand back to see her paper cut, to see it beginning to heal. ‘So it's still healing..? Why the hell wasn't I being careful..?!’ The Huntress sighed in frustration. Because of that, she felt scared when she saw the fangs and eyes of those leeches. ‘Reminded me of…’ Before she could think anymore, Hisoka shook her head violently. “Ahhh, jeez, stop thinking about stupid things, Hisoka you stupid idiot!" She scolded herself, before jumping onto the bed with her arms gripping onto the book tightly to her chest.

“Sleep… that's what you need..” Hisoka closed her eyes as she whispers to herself, “You’re tired.. you haven't slept at all.. so sleep…” ‘You were worried about Yui and anxious this whole time to get here. You weren't able to sleep at all last night nor on the road.. so take this opportunity to sleep..’

After resting her eyes for what felt like a couple of minutes, They were shot open after a memory came back to her. ‘Wait.. I should probably contact headquarters and confirm my arrival..’ The brunette trailed off as she recalled the cold, blue eyes of the eldest Mukami. His aura was really intimidating; It was as intimidating as hers.

After she yawned and felt her eyes getting heavy, Hisoka shrugged and rested her head upon the pillow. ‘Oh well.. whatever.. they’ll probably know by now…’

And with that in mind, Hisoka slowly drifted away into dreamland.

“Mama! Papa! Wookie, Wookie~!!” A small girl, around the age of four, with long, slightly wavy blonde hair and round, sapphire blue eyes, smiled brightly as she picked up a seed head dandelion, “It’s a wishing fwower!” She wore a long, knee-length, white dress under a white buttoned-up shirt, under a light blue vest, and a pair of white Mary-Jane shoes.

A beautiful woman, about the age of 25 with long, slightly-curly blond hair and round, caribbean-blue eyes, turned to the small child and giggled. She wore a white summer dress, a pair of white sandals, and a sunflower hair-piece in her hair. “It's called a ‘Dandelion’, sweetie; Can you say ‘Dandelion’?” She asked, which made the girl blink twice in confusion before nodding. “Umm.. Da.. Dann..de..wi..on.. Dannde..Wion..” The child nodded and smiled wider, “Dandewion!”

“Good job!” The woman giggled again, clapping for the small child, “Now try saying ’Taraxacum’!” She teased with a grin, before earning herself a light pitch and pull on her left cheek. Beside her was a man, about the age of 26, with slick back, black hair and narrowed, light ocean blue eyes; He wore a black jacket with a short-sleeved shirt under it, a pair of white pants with a brown belt, and a pair of black leather shoes. He looked at her blankly before scolding, “Oi, Hisoka’s only four years old, Katsumi.” He released his hand from the woman’s cheek, who puffed out her cheeks. “Ow! That hurts, Mamo-chan! That’s no way to do that to your wife!” The woman, Katsumi, hugged the girl, “I was only kidding! I know Hisoka-chan will learn when she’s old enough.”

The man shook his head and chuckled, “Dummy, how many times have I told you? Just call me Mamoru.” Petting the child’s head, He smiled. “So, are you going to be making a wish?” He questioned. Hisoka tilted her head in confusion, which made Mamoru explain. “Well you know if you blow on it and wish hard enough, then your wish will come true, right?”

Hisoka then smiled and nodded. “Uh-huh! So I gets to make a wish? Okay!” She giggled as she closed her eyes for a moment as she thought what to wish for, making Katsumi to release her daughter from her arms and watch with her husband. After a moment, Hisoka blew onto the dandelion, making the seed heads fly along the wind. Katsumi and Mamoru smiled softly at this. This was so pure and innocent. So was the child’s smile as she finished making her wish.

“Hisoka-chan, what did you wish for?” Asked her mother, which made Hisoka think and giggle. “I wemember! I can't say it or ewse it won't come twue? Wight, Mama?” Hisoka smiled. Katsumi placed a hand upon her mouth and gasped before giggling along, “That's right! How could I?! You’re very right, Dear.”

Smiling at this, Mamoru turned to Hisoka and asked, “Hisoka, do you want a piggyback ride from Papa?” Making the small blonde nod and her eyes sparkle from excitement. “Yes~!” Almost immediately, the child ran to her father’s back and wrapped her arms around his neck as he grabbed hold of her legs. “Papa expwess!!!” Hisoka cheered happily, making her mother laugh. Mamoru looked to his wife and smiled, “She's got that twinkle in her eyes whenever she gets excited from you.” He commented. “And she got your stubbornness; Let's just hope she isn't an emotional drunk like you when she's older.” Katsumi jokes. “Hey, don't mention that in front of Hisoka, her mind is still developing, remember?” Mamoru scolded, making his wife sweatdrop. “I'm sorry, I’m sorry! I still have my habits from back home in Russia!” Katsumi laughed nervously. Suddenly a growl was heard, making them stop and look to Hisoka, where the source of the growl seems to be coming from.

“Papa, I’m hungwy.. Can we eat now?” Asked the small blonde. This lead to another growl being heard, making her father chuckle as it didn't come from Hisoka again. “Of course, I’m pretty sure your mother would agree with you too.” Mamoru teased, making his wife blush. “H-Hey!” The blonde woman pouted, making the raven-haired man chuckle more at the sight of his wife being adorable. Making Hisoka laugh along.

That day, I remember it well…

We went out to a field of flowers for a picnic…

Dad told me I would be able to make a wish if I wished hard enough, so I did…

However, in truth, I didn't really ask for anything…

Like a new toy, new clothes, or anything else like that…

Because I..

.. I already had everything I could ever ask for…

.. Both Mom and Dad..

My Mom was ditzy and boisterous but generous, and My Dad was composed and stubborn but kind-hearted…

They gave me nothing but love, warmth and affection…

They spoiled me rotten to a point where I haven't showed how much I was grateful for what they have done for me...

I guess that's why my wish was meaningless… or maybe because I just wasn't wishing hard enough…

Then, one year later, there was…

“Hisoka! Get out of here now!!”

“HISOKA-CHAN!!! RUN!!!”

From the moment her eyes opened, Hisoka gasped for air and breathed heavily.

‘Fuck..!’ The brunette placed a hand on her face as she closed her eyes tightly and trembled, ‘Again…?! Really…?! Why, of all times, now..?!’

After turning to the window, Hisoka saw it was already dark and started to take deep and steady breaths, placing her right hand on her chest as she tried to calm down her heart. “Coffee… I need coffee…” She mumbled. Once she felt her heart calmed, Hisoka stood up straight with her book still within her arms. She looked down to it, debating whether to leave it inside the room or take it with her. ‘It's best not to take it with me.. It's too important..’ The brunette placed the book under the pillow, before getting off the bed and left the room.

‘Please god, let there be coffee.. if I don't have some right now, I’m seriously going to die…’ Hisoka has been exploring around to find the kitchen. ‘I don't care what they have, I’ll literally take any..’

Taking advantage of this time of silence, the brunette began to think, ‘Alright then, let me see.. ‘Eve’.. Were they talking referring to the one from the story “Adam and Eve”..? Because I highly doubt vampires would even give a single care about Christmas Eve...’ Her eyes narrowed, ‘But more importantly, where the hell did they get all that information about me..? The only person that knows is Yuuichi, but talking about other hunters and their private lives to outsiders are strictly prohibited; And ge's one of the most loyal people anybody could ever know, so it's impossible for him to snitch.. And it's impossible for someone to eavesdrop, the walls inside Tsurara’s office is entirely soundproof.’

For a while, the Huntress continued to think; However, there was nothing she thought of as a possibility, frustrating her even more as her patience ran thin. ‘Where the hell is the kitchen?!!!’ It wasn't long until she found the kitchen, which made her sigh in relief. “Thank god..” The brunette walked inside and begun to look through the cabinets shelves for coffee desperately, pleading there would be at least some sign of coffee beans or coffee grounds.

“Come on, come on…” If there was one thing Hisoka loved as much as she loved reading, it was coffee. If she doesn't drink coffee at least one per day, her irritability will get worse.

At last, once the brunette had found a jar with a familiar-looking logo, her eyes sparkle in excitement as she recognized the jar, and what it contained inside. “Yes…!” She cheered quietly in excitement; As a coffee-lover, she could recognize any coffee brand within an instant. “The coffee itself is even the instant kind, which will be quicker.. At least they know what good coffee is.” The huntress commented. Taking out the coffee from the cabinet, Hisoka quickly opened the lid before she decided to search the other cabinets for cups. ‘Where are the cups? Where are the cups..?’

“Oi.”

Hisoka immediately turned to see the face of the eldest Mukami. ‘Mukami Ruki, right?’ Hisoka turned her body around to face him, “Yes?” She questioned. “You have just started living with us, and now you plan to make a mess here in the kitchen?” The huntress was about to roll her eyes and dismiss him until she felt herself freeze under his cold, grayish-blue eyes. “I.. I was only looking for coffee; And it’s only instant, so I highly doubt it would make any mess.” Hisoka responded calmly, “Am I not allowed to have a drink? I’ve had a long day already.”

Right when she was about to turn around to prepare the coffee, a hand grabbed hold of her chin to forcibly turn her head back and face Ruki. The eldest Mukami had a look of anger and displeasure, the hunters took note of as her eyes locked with his blue orbs. “Just because you were sent here by the church and are only allowed here because of that man’s orders, doesn't mean you can do as you please; Since you chose me and obviously don't understand your place, It would seem that proper training must be in order.” Ruki glared down at the brunette, making her freeze up a bit. ‘What the.. what the hell is going on here..? Why can't I move…?’ The huntress questioned herself.

“L-let me go…!” She growled. Why was she feeling scared for? This was just another vampire. One she could kill right now. Within a moment, she found herself backed up again the counter and the grip upon her chin tightened, making her wince. “Shut up.” Ruki ordered, making the brunette shudder from the icy tone, “You have been nothing but ill-mannered since your arrival, and there will no tolerance for it here.” The eldest Mukami harden his glare at the brunette. “If you continue this behavior, I won't hesitate to kill you; You were not needed for the plan at all in the very beginning, so it wouldn’t be a waste.”

Ruki’s eyes showed no hesitation once he said those words; Even Hisoka could tell that the vampire was very serious. ‘Of course I wasn't needed, this whole mission thing was arranged not too long ago!’

Gritting her teeth, Hisoka tried to glare back and fight back from Hunter’s instinct; However, familiar words echoed in her mind.

“These vampires are somewhat different from the ones Komori Yui is currently staying with..”

“Despite the difference, they are not naive so keep your guard up, especially around the eldest…”

‘Keep.. your guard.. up..’

An image of Yui and her smile flashed in the brunette’s mind.

The beautiful smile that shine so brightly, it can even make the sun look so dull.

‘For her…’

Slowly, the huntress stopped resisting and looked up to the vampire’s eyes, returning to attempt remaining looking stoic once she has swallowed her pride. “Very well; I sincerely apologize for my forgetfulness. It will not happen again; This time, I am serious about listening to the rules here.” As much as she hated to having to give in, The entire purpose of being here was to rescue Yui. What point would there be if the huntress got herself killed because of her hatred for Vampires, before getting to achieve what she came here to do?

“Heh..” Before she could do anything, Ruki suddenly released his grip, with a smirk on his face. “It’s not bad to see you struggling like this. Don’t you realize it’s obvious that you are trying too hard?” He points out. “W-wha-?” Hisoka stuttered, eyes widen with confusion. “It’s obvious that you want to fight back, but you remembered the situation you’re in; So you are holding back because you remembered your place.” Ruki said, as he continued to smirk. “Did you really think you can hide it from me?”

“Hide what?! I don’t know what you’re talking about..!” The brunette lied, before turning back to the coffee. “I only want coffee.” The vampire only stared at the back of the human’s head, with the smirk upon his face. It was pointless. This girl was just trying too hard. However, if he remembers correctly...

“So the information about you having a coffee addiction were right.” He said, watching as the girl froze, “You are only useful if you drink coffee to have a good mindset and do as your told; Resources told us you once went on a rampage in middle school and almost got expelled for it, just because you didn’t have a cup of coffee; That something to be expected of a vicious dog like you.”

The huntress’s eyes became wide in shock. How did he know about that? Once returned back to reality from being called a ‘Vicious dog’, Hisoka’s teeth gritted, ‘W-Why does he know that…?!’ She thought, now irritated from both lack of caffeine and from this unbearable leech.

From what Hisoka remembers, there has been incidents that occurred once she has developed her coffee addiction. During a mission, She ended up completing it quicker than expected; However, due to irritation from lack of caffeine, the huntress blew her cover and ended up killing all of her targets. There was even an incident where Hisoka herself was responsible for a lot of property damage during her training. There was also that incident in Middle School where the brunette ended up destroying an entire classroom because a group of girls that bullied Yui ruined her coffee when Hisoka confronted them; Luckily, Tsurara was able to pay for the damage and get the school to pardon her actions.

It is to say that having coffee is always a requirement for each day. And That is why the huntress was given her own coffee machine and gifted unlimited amounts of coffee and sugar.

“I-I don’t know what else you were told about me, but all I want is just coffee…” The brunette spoke as calmly as she could, “You want me to be an obedient watchdog, right? And if you know about that, then….”

“If you want it, you’re going to have to ask for it.” Ruki said. The huntress looked almost horrified by this. “W.. What…?” She managed to spit out from her moment of shock. “You’re ill-mannered; Like I said, there is no tolerance of that here.”

Hisoka stopped. There was a disgusting feeling in her stomach, it almost made her want to puke. She would rather just die than to do something shameful such as that.

But she knew what she must do. Even if it was sickening.

‘For Yui… For her…’

Taking a deep breathe, Hisoka bowed her head respectfully and managed to say, “May I… please.. have coffee, Ruki-sama..?”

Yup that’s it. 

After this, Hisoka is going straight to the bathroom. Her mouth and throat feel raw after saying that. 

At this point, the brunette would rather dive and drown into a pool of holy water in order to feel cleansed. 

This was humiliating. Utterly shameful. 

Just let her die already.

Ruki can only stare down at her. She was quite stubborn and prideful. “I’ll allow it this once..” His eyes narrowed, “But just remember: Out of all of us, You chose me; So as long as you live with us, you will continue to act as the watchdog for Eve and follow our rules.” He turns his body and glanced at her from the corner of his eye, making the girl freeze up, “Whether you act disobediently or try to run away from here, There will be consequences for your actions.”

And with that, He left.

It only took a moment after the vampire left for the brunette to realize she was slightly trembling.

‘W.. why?’ Her thoughts were still processing. Why was she so afraid? He wasn’t her grandmother. She has killed countless of vampires in so many different ways. Why was the brunette trembling over him? ‘Oh god… this must be how Yui is feeling right now?’ Panic overwhelmed her from the thought of Yui with a frightened expression and covered in bites dripping down her own blood. “C-coffee…!” Hisoka quickly turned to the coffee and started to make some as her trembling slowly increased.

‘Come on, Come on, Come on..!!!’ Hisoka thought as she looked through to find a coffee mug, to keep her busy was the coffee was being made. As soon as she found it, Hisoka saw that the coffee was finished being made. Quickly pouring the coffee into the mug, Hisoka did her best to blow it as fast as she could to cool it down before drinking it whole. Whether it was with sugar and cream or just plain black, Hisoka didn’t care. If it was coffee, that’s her drug.

As she continued to drink it and her mind is fogged with the feeling of anxiety, Hisoka didn’t realize a pair of Heterochromia eyes, blue and red, watching her before disappearing.

‘Yui…! Please wait for me..! I’m coming to get you..! I’ll save you...!’

~

Meanwhile, Ruki was alone in his room, reading his book. Upon turning the page, there was a knock upon the door. “Come in.”

The door opened and revealed to be Kou. “Hey Ruki-kun.” He enters the room before closing it behind him. “What is it?” The eldest questioned, gluing his eyes to his book. “I know that we’re letting Koneko-chan here as a watchdog under orders; But why are we not pushing on who she really is?” Kou asked, “She’s hiding something, and we weren’t even told everything about her; We both know she isn’t normal, no matter how hard she tries to make us think.”

There was a moment of silence before Ruki closed his book and got up. “Kou, It was that man’s orders; I highly doubt he would send us someone who is of any danger to us; She’s a human, We’ve vampires; Why would he allow a human capable of interfering with the plan?”

“But..” Kou tried to resort, but realized his brother had a good point. She wasn’t Eve. She is only alive because she is a good tool to use, from what they were told.

“She picked me as the one to watch her; But she’s only a watchdog. Nothing more than a tool.” Ruki walks over to the window and looked out, “She’s not Eve; So drinking her blood isn’t necessary.”

“Once one of us becomes Adam, that’s when Inu will no longer be of any use to us anymore; If she tries to interfere, that’s when she’ll be punished.”

While it was strange for someone like the brunette to show up in such an unexpected time..

Regardless, they mustn’t question the person who provided them the information; Nor doubt them.

As long as things go according to plan,

That is all that really matters.

~END OF CHAPTER ONE~

#hisoka's black tale

[nobuyukia]

Amongst the Angels (Takeda Shingen x MC) Chapter 2 Reupload/Rewrite.

Commentary: Because I am stupid and deleted the original Chapter 2 by accident. Thanks to @noomsu for helping my lethargic self with this. Will edit some stuff later. And yeah a bit different from the original.

Summary: 500 years couldn’t kill his love for her. He broke his promise centuries ago and he now searches the faces in the crowds for her. She has no reason to be there but he still has hope no matter how much it fades day by day. She’s haunted by dreams of a red haired samurai and his faceless lover, she doesn’t know why they’ve been in her head for years. Maybe she knows but she doesn’t remember.

Prologue  Chapter 1

Fear clung to her body, before her stood the Devil’s Hand and his men. His ruthless gunmetal eyes sent shivers of fear through her body. She feared for her and her baby’s life. If they did not kill her, there were other unpleasant tortures she could be a victim of, nevertheless, she had to try something. She had to save him, she needed to save him.

“ Please.” Her cracked voice echoed throughout the night, the desperation to save him, to save the father of her unborn baby was the only reason she was able to stand.

“Spare his life, Lord Nobunaga! Please! I beg of you!” a single tear spilled down her cheeks.

The Lord in front of her scowled, he seemed to pity her for a mere second before his eyes were again cold as icicles. Icicles that were determined to stab the heart out of her chest The coldness numbed her skin, raising prickles of flesh across her arm. Her throat closed up on her, she couldn’t breathe and she knew why they called him the lord of hell. Dripping in blood, his merciless gaze was glued to her, waiting patiently for her, the filthy wife of his rival to speak.

“Please. One life won’t make a difference..please let him live.” Her tears flowed freely, she held them back for too long.

But the red haired lord smiled darkly.

“ Are you talking about Takeda, woman?”

Unable to speak, she nodded. Her hands clutched the fabric of her kimono so hard, her knuckles were white and trembling. Lord Oda’s smile widened as he walked closer , curious to get a better look. Was that trembling little wench supposed to be the rumors called the Tigress of Kai? He wanted to laugh. She was just a little girl.

Kneeling in front of her, he traced the curve of her jaw, relishing in the way she flinched and how her brown eyes fought not to make eye contact.

“Give me what I want and maybe I’ll grant your wish.” The bloody fingers ran down her neck, staining her skin. “Poor girl doesn’t know it’s the blood of her Tiger.” His retainers chuckled behind him and he wanted to burst out laughing too. Oh she was so naïve. They were going to enjoy toying with this girl.

Cupping her cheek, forcing her to look at him, he inched his faced closer, as his other hand ghosted over the neckline of her robes. “I’m curious about what made Takeda Shingen look at you. I want to take you to my bed to see? If you spend the night with me I will spare his life.

She clutched her kimono even harder, the humiliation of those words brought immense shame to her body. Was it worth it? Was it? This was the only way to spare her lover’s life? Would he still do it after discovering she was with child?”

The dark grin never left his lips as he held her in place. It made her tremble slightly. Taking a deep breath.

“If I say yes, will you really spare him?” she sniffled.

This time he roared with laughter. His retainers joining him, all of them enjoying the stupid girl at their mercy. Her naivety was a lovely show. If only she knew, the thought made him laugh more, scaring the crows from the trees.

“He promised you that he would come back? How sweet.” Lord Nobunaga mocked her “ I never thought Takeda was such an emotional man. But well people can change. However did you change?” Shaking his head “Look at you, you’re only a kid, a weak little girl who made a fool of Takeda. Now you are crying over a man, who sooner or later would have broken his precious little promise.”

Her heart stopped in that second.

“You should have stayed at home. Married a normal guy instead of being someone you clearly are not.” His voice lost all mocking, it was ice cold and full of pity that she hung her head, ashamed.

“If you’re the Tigress of Kai, no wonder that fool thought he could have won against the Oda army. He was just as naïve as you, wasn’t he?”

The world stopped for her, all she could hear was laughter , mocking her, making fun of her attempt to save her love. She didn’t notice if they were leaving or surrounding her to kill her.

“I’m sorry Shingen. I failed to save you. I failed you and I failed your child.” Was the only thought in her head.

——————

He never liked the thought of war. He wanted to save lives not spill blood, kill countless men and leave families heartbroken. Mitsuhide sighed, maybe he wasn’t made to be a samurai after all. Unable to help himself, after making sure his clan had gone ahead, he knelt infront of her.

Her eyes widened in fear, he could see the blood draining from her face, leaving her ashen. He smiled at her wiping her tears away gently with his thumb, so soft was his movements because he was afraid of hurting her even more.

She was guilty of nothing, just falling in love. She was guilty of loving a man so much all she could do was beg for him to be saved not knowing he had been killed already.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

She cried harder, being spoken to so kindly after being humiliated, hurt. She felt vulnerable to this man.

I’m alright.” She sobbed not daring to tell him about her baby.

“Why don’t you go back to your parents’ place or where you grew up. The place before your life in Kai. And start over again, forget, heal…”

She never replied and he feared that she was too terrified of him but no. She was in pain because this man did not look at her with scorn or pity but with true kindness and concern. He was the only man who acted human with her. The only man who seemed to have some humanity left in him even after going to war.

——————

“What’s your name? Let me guess, it must be after a flower since you are so pretty?” She could imagine that closed eye smiled he gave to her on so many occasions when they lived together.

“Oooh.”

“Oh? Is that your name? Peculiar but still pretty.”

The girl in the kitchen wanted to hit her head on the door, on the oans, on the tables whatever could make the second hand embarrassment go away.

“U…u…u…u..umeko.”

“Umeko, my friend you are an idiot.” she rolled her eyes listening to Akechi flirt with her. The same Akechi who told her to stop using his name because he had a new woman he intended to  marry.

“So now you are a polite gentleman huh?”

“Umeko is such a beautiful name, like the blossoms that will be here soon.”

“Ahh..h.. oh.” the pathetic girl could not even speak, she became a rambling fool choking on her words. A man could tell Umeko that she looked as lovely as the overcast sky and she’d be tumbling down the stairs, dreaming of her babies with that said man.

“Now tell me pretty lady, what kind of onigiri do you serve?”

“Myyyntaiko.

Eee..ku…ra

Bo bo nito.”

“Great! I’d like to have Bonito!”

“One minute my….uh sir!”

“Oh god here she comes.” mustering a smile to her face by sheer will power by the time the door opened.

“Eeeeeeeeeeeeee. Don’t you see him? He is so quiet and polite, he looks like a teacher and those gorgeous blue eyes, so calm like the ocean His voice omg his voice so low and smooth. Can’t you hear him my friend?.” Umeko squealed shaking her shoulders before doing a twirl. “He’s so cute. He asked me for my number!”

“I didn’t hear that part of the conversation.” she said brushing Umeko’s hands roughly off

“Besides he’s average,plain and boring.” she said. “You’re trying to find fault with him cause he left you.’ she thought

“Whatever, I doubt you ever dated or anything, what would you know snow queen.”   Umeko pouted. “Do you have my darling’s onigiri.”

“You’ve only met him for less than 20 minutes and all of a sudden he’s your darling?

“I can dream you know.”

“At least have realistic ones.”

“I can’t deal with your put downs, I don’t know why Mari had to leave and have you this grumpy grouch as this replacement.”

“You better get back in here to serve your darling his onigiri. My break is in a bit.”

“Of course, like I’d let you scare him away.”

XxxxxxxxX

“Sir, why do you stand there like tragic romance hero”.

The blonde gaikokujin’s stare read “crazy guy who escaped from an asylum.”

The other’s read “ Romeo o Romeo where thou art.” Shingen thought he was safer off asking the round spectacle one.

“Hello.” he greeted them in a English voice clutching the bouquet. Boiled eyes became the two men’s eyes.

“He can speak to us!. round spectacles nearly tripped over his feet.

“Don’t worry he sometimes forget that not only him can speak more than one languages.” the nodded to Shingen.

“W..which part of America are you from?” the stunned man asked. “I’m not from there, I lived there for some years teaching among some other stuff.”

“Oh no wonder your english is broad like those hunk..”

“Francisco.” glared the other worker who turned back to him with a smile. “What can we help you with sir? You seem to be on a date?”

“DATE?” Francisco’s eyes shot up scanning the cafe. “There’s no good looking girl in here.” Luiz held his head in his hands.

“Ah these two never changed.” Shingen chuckled running a hand through his short hair. It wasn’t unusual for his looks to attract both male and female suitors. Sultry voluptuous women and toned men lay naked on his bed, on his sheets, sometimes he’d have both ravishing his body but all of that would stop today, if he found her.

“I had some lovely Kinako mochi from this establishment. I’d like to get more but I have no idea since I’m not seeing those in the cases.”

“So you mean those flowers are for me?” tears formed instantly in Francisco’s eyes, shining as they ran down his cheeks. “Oh you shouldn’t have I was right when I hired the right girl to make them.”

“Girl?” his heart beat faster, “She’s here.”

“The Japanese sweets are upstairs.”

Before his body gave the command, he was already up the stairs.

“What is wrong with you?” Luiz hissed. “You can’t go doing that with customers.” “Leave me alone heathen, I can dream about broad shoulders like that , he must be a model or something.” “Well whatever he is, he isn’t meant for you.” Fransico just sniffed.

His feet couldn’t stop moving, he practically raced up the stairs, to him no matter how fast he was going it took forever, his breathe stuck in his chest, The cafe was well ventilated but he couldn’t breathe,

“Did she still have her long brown, luscious hair?”

“Was she normal or stylish like the young girls of the era?”

“Would she remember me and all of our times together?” he wondered rubbing the birthmark on his neck.

xXx

Fingers played down her naked body as if it were a fine instrument but she made no sound. Hot breath fanned her lips as her husband’s tongue flicked inside of her mouth. She felt like a robot lying there among the sheets of Akechi’s bed. Opening her mouth, faking her moans and her pleasure. It wasn’t his fault. Something was wrong with her, as her husband continued to pleasure her, she felt nothing just a couple organs sticking themselves inside of her body and poking around. Today she couldn’t even bring herself to arch her back.

Molding the balls of rice together she cursed beneath her breath. Her skin still knew how his fingers felt on those intimate nights. She wanted to scrape herself raw again. Here she was making onigiri for the man she hated more than anything. “It was my fault we are nothing now but I still hate him.”

“urgh.” she smashed on of the rice balls. Shaking she wanted nothing more than to march out there and throw the rice in Akechi’s face. He didn’t deserve her effort, he deserved nothing from her after all.

In her anger, she kicked something under the table. Rubbing her toe against the fabric, she could tell it was a sack but a sack of what? Curiously she peered beneath the table, no smell came from it and the way it felt on her foot felt like there was fruit inside. Tugging open the string, a red sort of fruit with a slightly pungent smell made her wrinkle her nose.

“Carolina Reaper. Holds the world record for the most hottest pepper in the world. Heh must be one of Fran’s weird stuff from all around the world.’ Closing the bag to prepare the onigiri again,

“World’s hottest eh?” she smiled, taking out the sack again.

XxX

In his mind’s eye, she’d be  wearing pink, happily serving customers, smiling cause making desserts was what she’d love to do for his retainers. She’d meet his eyes, time would freeze and she’ll run into his arms, holding him tightly, She’d call him her husband. “I missed you Milord.” “ You look beautiful.” he desperately wanted to say to her. Maybe if there were not much people there he could mark her as his once again. His chest felt light at the words “I’ve finally come home to you while holding her securely in his arms.

Reaching to the top of the stairs, only a few customers were seated, no happy waitress in pink with brown hair just a brown haired girl in white blushing at at a customer, the romantic time freeze couldn’t happen if the one he loved wasn’t there to see him. He wasn’t about to become a husband right now. A few customers sneered at him and his flowers. This wasn’t the reunion he hoped for.

Scanning the cafe, he couldn’t see even an ant that looked like his wife. The turquoise windowsills and beige tills might have well been grey now to his eyes, everything was dark like the dark winter nights, the stars died like the night Takeda Shingen died.

“Leave.” his mind said. “Get the kinako.” his feet objected instead.

"Hello Umeko.” the name of his old maid slipped out before he could catch himself. Both her and the customer’s eyes widened.

"H..how do you know my name?”

she squeaked. “You were my dutiful maid once.” he thought.

“I heard your name from the the men downstairs when I inquired about the kinako mochi. I would very much like to have some if there’s any.”

The blush on her cheek was so bright, he laughed inwardly, that was the effect he had on women and he couldn’t say he was ashamed of it.

His only shame was the the flowers in his hand meant for a wife that didn’t exist.

“Hold on I’ll see if there’s any, sir.” Umeko practically ran to the back.

Seating himself near the counter, he checked his watch hoping, the preparations were going well for the exhibit. “I can’t focus on the exhibit when I failed.” The hammering in his ribs didn’t give away yet, he needed to sit down, the disappointment bashing it’s way in

and the excitement he once held simmered down to zero. “I thought it was hers. I could have sworn it was hers…why? Why am I always so close but yet so far?” “How dare you.” the man next to him spoke turning to face him. Centuries ago he briefly saw this man in  ravishing silver armor standing beside his lord before a rain of bullets fell like a hurricane, killing his men one by one. “Are you talking to me Akechi.” “Who else is here Takeda?”

Surprise turned into a glares.

“How dare you leave that poor girl on the side of the nasty road, caked in dirt, screaming for you while our men laughed and spit at her? Weren’t you the Mighty Tiger of Kai, but then again, animals are nothing against bullets.”

“I’m glad to see you with all your limbs attached, Akechi.”

Akechi frowned. “At least I did best for her.”

“What do you mean?” the predatory look returned to his amber eyes. “I married her and in the modern day too.”  She’s mine Takeda.”

In an instant, a desperate Shingen had Mitsuhide was up by his collar who pushed him off, Shingen’s voice rising above the music in the cafe. “LET ME SEE HER.” the other customers were staring but Shingen didn’t care.

The other sneered  His face turned red, how dare another man touch his wife, the woman he looked for, for centuries, Akechi never looked for her for so long, why was Shingen so idiotic? Why didn’t he think harder, look harder. Did they have sex? Did he have children with his wife, oh his mind went wild, again he gripped Mitsuhide even harder, like a tiger he intended to rip him apart.

“What man lets his wife see another man?” “What is wrong to you ?”

I need to apologize to her.”

“My sweet wife doesn’t remember you or anyone from her past so don’t waste her time or mine. She has no need for a kitten.” roughly the dark haired man pushed him again, knocking over a stool.

"What’s going on here?” Francisco raced upstairs,

"Please don’t argue.” a small, timid voice asked voice asked. Umeko returned carrying the onigiri, frozen at the sight of two bigger men scowling at each other.

"Thank you dear.” Akechi paid and thanked her.

"You’ve lost Takeda, you lost back then and you’ve lost now.” taking a bite of his onigiri. “Stay away from my …*cough* *cough*.” Clutching his throat,

“Ha ha ha ha” he held his chest.

"Wh..ts. in this onigiri.” Akechi wheezed coughing even harder. “Is he choking?” one customer asked fearfully. “Burning…throat burns.” he breathed hunched over. “My chest…*cough*

"I’ll get him water.” Francisco dashed behind the counter. “ I didn’t do I swear, I don’t even know what’s in the onigiri.” the girl panicked as the man hacked away. The red haired man made no effort to help, still bitter that another man got his hands on his wife first.

He promised and promised that he’s find her, she begged him to find her but someone else found her.

While Francisco handed out ice cubes and water, Umeko handed him his kinako mochi. Instantly his body rejected the snack, he didn’t want to see it, the peanut like smell made him sick. Sliding some bills and handing the flowers to his former maid, “I don’t want it anymore.” with that he left without a glance behind. “I’ll ask Matsuko to order sea cucumber mea or something when I get back.”

xXx

You told Yukimura, that we’d be perfect for each other.                                  Similar in age and sexual status. I never forgot you retainer’s blush.                    Evil of me but I never wanted him. He didn’t have your strong arms.                  He didn’t have your experience. I always wanted you, Milord.

The nasty flavor of the sea cucumber faded with every loving,stroke of his tongue in her mouth. His own unique taste, flooded the buds of her tongue. She couldn’t tell made it so pleasant. Her hazy mind, the strong arms gripping her shoulders, Yukimura’s reddening face and her pounding heart. Round and round and round, the room spun but gravity only stopped for the two of them and his wild kisses.“You’re a trusted friend, I know you wouldn’t poison me?” “Do friends kiss each other like this or is this just his nature? Are we lovers? Is the sea cucumber just an excuse for him? He’s a Lord, he can take any woman, am I just another of his conquests?

“Ah!” he bit her tongue, deepening the kiss in her moment of weakness. Wild, hungry and desperate.How long would he keep this up? She heard he drove the women he  pleasured to exhaustion. The Lord didn’t touch her body as yet in that manner and she found herself feeling sorry for those women. “ He’s a wild animal.” Cold hit caressed her lips, her delirious merry go round finally rode to a stop.“This tastes good.” he swallowed. “Or is it just you?” Now it was her turn to join Yukimura.

She jerked herself out of the dream again. She didn’t want to stick around to see her former husband in a coughing fit so she left through the back door in the kitchen and spent her lunch break at one of the nicer restaurants in the neighborhood. Picking up a chicken salad, she sat at the window watching the city go by. So many happy people, happy relationships but her. Akechi coming by hurt her. Of all the places, did he even know she worked there? Why couldn’t he just disappear and leave her to be miserable in peace.

Taking a bite. “Agh.” something a disgusting aftertaste spread across her tongue. It gave her chills, her throat wanted to close up

“What the hell..this doesn’t taste like chicken?!”

In a haste she spit it out, taking a huge gulp out of her drink.

A sea cucumber, lay on her napkin.

#samurai love ballad party #voltage fanfic #takeda shingen #slbp #voltage fandom #otome #voltage inc

[summerstede]

okay so once upon a time i used to write fanfiction (college happens and i've got a pretty abysmal attention span sometimes) but i kinda want to get back into it thanks to yoi but i'm not sure i know how anymore and what i'm really wanting to do is possibly something multi-chapter (something i was never that good at in the first place but i'm hoping i'm older and a better writer and can actually plan shit out in advance so i don't get half done and then get stuck) any advice? in general is fine

Hi anon,

First off I’m dying that you came to me for advice because believe me I’m no expert, but I’m happy to share some of my own experiences/habits if it might help you out!  Until YOI I had also had a writing dry spell (starting grad school will do that to you) but Victuuri got me so excited that the stories just started pouring out again.  That’s usually how my writing goes (and why I write so many AUs lol).  An idea will start buzzing around in my head (spurred on by some secondary inspiration i.e. another movie/TV show/book that might become an inspiration for an AU) until I just have to open up the google doc and start typing it out.  Sometimes the idea doesn’t get any farther than a few lines and that can be super frustrating but it’s okay!  But other times I’ll suddenly find that I’ve got a story coming together.  And for me personally, once I get going I tend to write very quickly.  I still get stuck but usually it all ends up done in a couple of weeks.  In fact the times I’ve ended up abandoning a fic has been because I got frustrated and walked away and let my momentum die.  Again, this is just be and isn’t the same for everybody!  As far as general advice, I’ve found a few things helpful:

- Find a doc buddy: I write in google docs, which is really easy to share.  One of the best ways to keep your momentum going if you’re looking for a little feedback on something that isn’t ready for posting is to find a friend/fellow writer to share your WIP with!  This isn’t a beta or anything, just somebody you trust, and won’t mind an “I’m really excited about this scene, will you give it a look and tell me what you think?” from time to time.  If your buddy is another writer that’s even better because then you can do the same for them!  A little encouragement/friendly critique can help you make progress when you’re still a ways from being ready to post.

-write out of order!:  This is another strategy I have for building up a longer fic, and I find it helps me from writing myself into a corner, so to speak.  Usually when ideas come I can visualize a few key scenes, and while I’m fired up I write those down, even if it’s just a few lines of dialogue.  For me it’s usually an opening scene/prologue, a major romantic moment/plot twist, and the conclusion.  If I can get those down on paper than I just start to build up on those scenes until I have most of a plot and the work to be done is mostly just filling the gaps in order so I can start posting.  When I’m in the middle of posting I sometimes have to write an entire scene from scratch, or rewrite a scene to adjust a shift in characterization, but knowing that I’ve got footholds waiting in later chapters is very helpful for me personally.   

-join a bang/fic exchange: Ok this is a strategy that is not for everyone, including myself.  I’ve had a great experience with the Destiel BB but overall I’ve found the process not to be the most congruent with my writing/posting habits.  That being said, if you’re eager to get back into writing longer fic and you’re looking for some accountability/a deadline, than a Big Bang is a great solution.  I get more motivation out of being able to publish chapters one at a time, and get encouraging feedback as my story is in progress, at the risk of having some typos or leaving a WIP for a long time.  However many writers find more confidence in multiple edits and a final posting with the complete fic.  Big Bangs are good for this because they both promote your fic and provide a network of betas, artists, and fellow authors who are hopefully all looking to encourage each other as you work toward a posting goal.

Wow, this got long, but I’ll end on one last piece of advice that I learned after a few years writing: write what you like and how you like. If you want to write long fic then great, but also there’s nothing wrong with loving ficlets, coda fics, or one shots if that’s what comes naturally and lets you interact with the characters and stories that you love.  I’d love to write a 100k epic, but most of my stories tend to organically wrap up at 30k or less and I’m fine with that as long as I’m having fun with the writing and i’m telling the story I wanted to tell.  

I hope this was helpful!  Happy writing!