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bangtanflirt · 9 months

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(Un)natural Instincts (Part 1)

I'm finally showing up in tags again woohoo! 🥳 Thank you guys for your patience!

angst, fluff, smut

Pairings: OT7 x Fem Reader, Human CEO Reader, Human Assistant Yoongi, Wolf Hybrids Joon, Jin, Hobi, Jimin, Tae, and Kook.

Basic premise: You and your assistant end up rescuing six wolf hybrids. No part of the process is easy.

Part 1 > Part 2

General Warnings: Hybrid abuse and lab experimentation, hybrids as second-class citizens/owned property, future smut (Minors DNI, 18+ content)

Specific Warnings: needles, torture collars, misogyny in the workplace, probably very inaccurate business talk (pls suspend disbelief lmao)

____

The day starts off as typical as any other, with your assistant bringing you your morning coffee. You mindlessly take a sip while scrolling through your emails, except what welcomes your lips isn’t the usual Americano, but some Iced Matcha abomination—disgustingly too sweet for nine o’clock in the morning. You look up, ready to give Assistant Min a piece of your mind, but instead see a woman in his place.

“Who are you?”

The woman flashes you a nervous smile, hands fiddling in front of her stomach.

“Yoongi-ssi had an emergency, so I’m filling in. I’m the new hire, S—”

“I don’t care what your name is, this isn’t my coffee order. Bring me my Americano before my first meeting.”

“I’m so sorry! I was taking orders for all the executives, so I got confused. I’ll bring it asap!”

She runs off, feet clicking with each hurried step of her heels.

You toss the unnaturally green drink in the trash, annoyed at the setback in your morning routine. After shooting a quick "Are you okay?" text to Yoongi, you're back to your work.

Emails pile up in your inbox as they do every morning, mountains of classified information that you need to comb through before your 10am meeting. It’s tedious, but it’s the family business after all. Your grandfather started Shin Investments in the forties, and your dad took the business to new heights when he took over, now with your parents retired and on some island in god-knows-where, it’s up to you to make sure the company doesn’t lose its footing in the venture capitalist industry.

It's twenty minutes later when your Americano does arrive. Your eyes narrow into slits upon holding the cup in your hands.

“It’s lukewarm.”

“Oh my god, I apologize! Mr. Han stopped me on the way here, briefing me about what to prep for the afternoon meeting. I did not mean to take so long! I’ll heat it up and bring it back.”

You wave your hand dismissively.

“No need. You’re fired.”

The woman almost stumbles on air at your words, catching her balance quickly.

“Miss Shin p-please..I really need this job! I won’t make a single mistake from now on!”

“Too late.” You reach for the cup, the second one of the day to end up in the trash. “Please leave before I call security. I have work to do and no caffeine to help me.”

She doesn’t leave, but rather falls to her knees, waterworks in full effect. You let out a irritated huff.

“Please! Please, I need this!”

You don’t pay the commotion any attention, used to such scenes happening in your office by now. You simply dial security.

Your receptionist watches the new girl get dragged out, eyes sympathetic as she’s tossed right in front of the front desk.

“She-she fired me…all for a cup of coffee…I’ve worked so hard to get into this company and she just…for a fucking cup of coffee!”

Mascara stains a black rim around her eyes.

“I’m so sorry Seulgi-shi. You don’t deserve that.”

“M-maybe I should go beg for a second chance after some time has passed? What if I come back in the eve—”

“You’ll be wasting your time. That would’ve worked with the previous bosses…but Miss Shin is as tough as it gets. It’s unfortunate, but I’ve seen countless people get fired for less than a cup of coffee—dragged out here just like you.”

You overhear the conversation, as the security guard didn’t properly close the door on their way out. You can’t say it makes you feel all that good, crushing some fresh-faced new hire’s dreams, but it sends a message. You knew what you had to do once the company was signed over for you—how you had to conduct yourself to survive. The world of venture capitalism was cutthroat to say the least, and still considered “not women’s business” by many. The sad reality was that, if you wanted to be taken seriously, you’d have to be feared—because respected was rarely an option. So, you play your role well and let the rumor mill do the rest, so everyone knows not to mess with the ruthless bitch of a CEO at Shin Investments.

You walk into the meeting room and the vibe immediately changes: the once lively room of everyone asking each other how their weekends went turns silent enough to hear a feather fall. Only sound is that of your red-bottoms click-clacking and earrings jingling. You take your seat, motioning for the standing executives to do the same. They can tell you’re more irritated than usual, and that could easily mean a demotion with one wrong move.

“Everyone’s here so let’s jump into it: where are we with HoloPad?”

“We’re at the audit stage ma’am.”

“Still?”

The tension in the air is palpable.

“Th-there’s been some—erm—gap in the books. They are working on fixing it right now.”

“So they’re cooking the books?”

“I-uh-I wouldn’t say—”

“Calling it something else isn’t going to change the fact that they’re cooking the books Mr.Choi. Call off the deal.”

The executives stare at each other with dumbfounded faces, hushed complaints erupting at the table.

“But ma’am…the CEO is the heir of Jun Tech…it’s not advisable to ruin our relationship with them.”

A bunch of others chime in with the same sentiment, and you have the room of men turned against you as usual.

“Is that so Mr.Choi? Do you really advise me to invest millions into a venture that can’t even provide proper financial records? All to avoid making the Jun family angry? Mind I remind you that this is a business, not a family drama?”

“It’s just—”

“And all of you who agree with Mr.Choi here…don’t think I don’t notice the new watches on your wrists. Can’t be a coincidence, can it? Everyone who wants to continue with the deal happening to buy the newest Jun Tech watches at the same time?”

Five people, including Choi, scramble to take off their watches, heads down in shame.

You let out a hollow laugh. “You all are too dumb to even be bribed properly, I can’t believe it! Anyways, I expect five letters of resignation on my desk by tomorrow morning. This is me extending my grace for all the work you’ve done in the company so far, but if you don’t voluntarily leave, I will not hesitate to disgracefully remove you.”

That’s the last thing you say before click-clacking your heels out the room, not missing the outbursts of “bitch” and various other insults blaring from the other side of the door as soon as you leave.

It’s moments like these when you just want to call your father and have him step in to help, but you can’t. You can’t be seen as a fragile little daddy’s girl in a room full of bloodthirsty businessmen. You keep your composure until you’re in the comfort of your office, where you let yourself decompress for a minute. Only a minute, though, because your receptionist is soon knocking at your door to remind you of a charity event tonight—a reminder that would’ve come from the temporary assistant if you had not fired her an hour before.

___

The charity auction seems standard, with the usual crowd flaunting off their rare pieces of art and jewelry under the guise of doing something good. You’re not in a place to judge too much, considering you’re also here doing the same thing. You are the only one who seems to see how ridiculous it all is though, for the little that’s worth.

“Y/N! Long time no see!”

You’re immediately swept up into various groups of people wanting to “catch-up” (aka keep in your good graces for their next business venture).

Yup. A typical day.

Until Kang Byung-hun approaches you with that same condescending smile he gives you at every event. He’s a short, plump man, a little bit older in age than your father, and he’s a complete pain in your ass. The not-so-subtle jabs during formal dinners, gossiping behind your back, and overall misogynistic world-view makes you want to tear out your hair every time you see him.

“Mr.Kang!” You say in the cheeriest tone, smiling wide. He’s a pain, but he’s got a lot of influence, and you’d be an idiot to dismiss that.

“Ah Y/N. I see you’ve done yourself up for this event. On the lookout for a husband, are we?”

You keep your smile through gritted teeth.

“Just looking my best for the noble cause, sir.”

“I’m sure.”

The wait staff comes around with wine at just the right time, because god knows you can’t deal with this without at least some alcohol in you.

“Oh, I actually do have some business with you. Are you down to talk in private a bit later?”

“Why wait? Let’s talk now.” You’d rather just get it over with.

“It requires some preparation. Have to make a few calls and get some things here. I was going to put on a nice presentation in your office, but now’s a good as time as any!”

“Sounds good sir.”

What you wouldn’t give to just go home, take off these uncomfortable heels, and just face-plant on your soft bed right now. But nope, you have to wait around for this jack-ass to put on his little show. As much as he dismisses you, Kang Byung-hun is no idiot when it comes to business. Whatever his newest idea is, he knows Shin Investments is the best option for financing—especially in the bad state of the market right now.

So an hour before the party is supposed to end, you get a tap on your shoulder by Kang’s assistant, and promptly follow her to one of the spare rooms at the venue. Kang sits with a glass of champagne in hand, flashing a smile that you can’t stand. You take a seat across the circular table.

“We already exchanged pleasantries earlier, so I’ll just cut to the chase. I just got the patent for a new piece of revolutionary technology, and I’d like for Shin Investments to finance the project.”

“What type of technology are we talking?”

“How aware are you with the current market for hybrids, Y/N?”

You shrug nonchalantly. Honestly, the topic of hybrids makes you uncomfortable, as you think of it as unethical to own anything even remotely human, but you keep your personal preferences to yourself.

“I know it’s a booming industry, especially in the last three years. And I know the market is big for training tech right now.”

“Precisely!” He beams. “Training technology is in high demand. You saw how much of a hit the snake hybrid calming diffuser by Pet Armor was. Sold out in minutes! Not to mention raised the demand for snake hybrids in general. That’s when I knew I had to get in on the action and expand to the hybrid market.”

“So is that what it is? Is Pet Paradise launching its own diffuser? For a different type of hybrid?”

He shakes his head, “Nope. You know how I like to do things big, Y/N. A new hybrid diffuser is too small of a scale. What we’re creating will change the hybrid market forever.” He ends with a snap of his fingers, to which his assistant takes cue.

Before you can even process what’s going on, a leashed wolf hybrid is brought into the room.

Your attention immediately goes to the bulky metal collar around his neck, filled with buttons and stats.

“Meet Jungkook, one of the hybrids we’re beta-testing on. That magnificent thing around his neck is the Obedience Collar, and it’s going to blow your mind.”

You feel sick, dinner threatening to come up your throat the sight. The boy looks no older than twenty-one, and has more fear in his eyes than you thought possible. He’s trembling, eyes trained on the floor, trying to make himself small in the big room.

“Now, it’s no secret that wolf hybrids are amongst the hardest to train, that’s why they make the perfect subjects for this,” his assistant hands you an iPad as he talks, “first, I’d like for you to watch a video of Jungkook before he started wearing the Obedience Collar.”

You reluctantly click play, seeing the wolf hybrid with so much life in his eyes. Life and anger. He’s growling and punching his way through a team of researchers, thrashing around for his dear life.

“What a violent and unsophisticated creature he used to be!”

You have to consciously unclench your fists, making sure not to show your true feelings. It’s excruciating to sit there and listen when all you want to do is see how Kang would like it if a group of strangers got their hands on him like that.

“But now, with Pet Paradise’s newest invention, he’s the most timid little thing you could own!”

“A shock collar? Hybrid shock collars are already a thing, Mr.Kang.”

Your voice shakes slightly, and you hope no one notices.

“No no, that’s not what this is. A shock collar is a good training tool, of course, but it’s not the most efficient way to train a hybrid. If you swipe on that iPad, you’ll see the design of this collar is far advanced.”

So you hold your breath and swipe.

And whatever you’re expecting, it’s worse.

This isn’t a normal collar by any means, as proven by the product shots. The inside is lined with thin needles, which you can’t see as they are quite literally jammed into Jungkook’s neck right now.

Holy fuck.

“You see, Y/N, the Obedience Collar works from the inside. The collar is supplied with our newly developed synthetic hormones, which are injected into the bloodstream through the needles. The hormones are specifically structured to work with the DNA of most mammal hybrids, and can even make something as unruly as a wolf hybrid behave. The changes take effect within fifteen minutes of collaring! There’s a little hormone pack in the back of the collar,” he motions for Jungkook to turn around, and the boy obeys instantly, showing the rectangular box in the back of the collar, “those will need to be refilled every six months—which we’ll sell separately, so the business model is more than sustainable. Isn’t this a gold mine of an opportunity?”

Keep calm Y/N. Breathe. Compose yourself.

“Very impressive stuff,” you force out, “but I’m not sure Shin Investments is the right fit for this project. Wouldn’t you want a partner more familiar with the hybrid market?”

“Tsk tsk tsk, Y/N. What kind of venture capitalist is afraid of diversifying their portfolio? You can’t survive this industry if you only play in familiar territory—your grandfather and father both know this very well. Besides, I heard a rumor that the deal with Jun’s son won’t be going through. I’m sure the board members are having low morale right now…so why not appease them with an even better deal?”

You can’t stand the way he chastises you. What you can’t stand even more is that, from a business perspective, he’s making sense. You know a lucrative business when you see one, and this is definitely one of those. And as unintuitive as it seems, it’s all legal. Hybrid abuse isn’t really a thing the government concerns itself with, which is why the only real law is not to intentionally kill one, and even that is enforced loosely. There’s no rules being broken, no shady deals, just a proposal as legal as the meeting you had two days ago where a start-up pitched their new smart fridge. Except this time it’s not a smart fridge you’re discussing, it’s the life of a very scared and no doubt in pain hybrid, that’s standing less than five feet away from you.

Kang sees the gears in your head turning as you find any way to refuse this deal for a rational reason. So he starts playing his game of mind-chess once again, a game he’d mastered since before you were even born.

“Look, I’ll be frank with you. If you were any other woman, I wouldn’t even consider bringing this deal to you. Because we both know most women tend to be too emotional to do good business. But you’re not like that—hell, you’ve got more backbone than half the men at this party. So, what’s stopping you?”

There it was. The emotional card. The thing you were most concerned about, how showing even one ounce of emotion could be blown out of proportion because of your gender. You’ve worked too damn hard to create your reputation, and that’s why the next words out of your mouth spill before you can even think about it.

“You’re right, I was being too cautious. Let’s start with the proper procedures during work hours.”

Shit. He got you. Checkmate.

The man’s face erupts in the sleaziest grin possible.

“Perfect! You won’t regret this, it’s going to be big! In fact, I have one more surprise for you!”

You raise your brows, not needing anymore fucking surprises tonight.

“It’s Jungkook! He’s yours for the month!”

Your eyes nearly bulge out of your head at that statement.

“Excuse me?!”

“It’s a token of our appreciation. You get to be the first ever person to own a hybrid with an Obedience Collar! You can see first-hand how remarkable the technology is. There’s five others from his pack that we can continue our tinkering on, so one less won’t hurt us. Don’t worry, the synthetic hormone part is fully developed, we’re just trying to make the collar look sleeker.”

It’s not uncommon nor unethical for you to be gifted prototypes. Businesses love giving you a taste of what you’re putting your money into, as a way to give you confidence in the product and maybe even open up possibilities for a bigger investment. But you’d never thought someone would give you a fucking hybrid.

You almost open your mouth to decline, saying something along the lines of not wanting the responsibility of a hybrid…but then something comes over you. You realize that declining means sending Jungkook back to the lab—and you just can’t bring yourself to do that. The damage you’re going to be doing by investing in this collar is going to be devastating as it is, no doubt making you the indirect torturer of many hybrids to come, but in some twisted sense of morality—you want to at least save the one in front of your eyes. Maybe even pretend that you have some good left in you.

“Thank you. I’d love to take him.”

___

The car ride back is silent and tense. Jungkook hasn’t said a single word, much less lifted his head to even look at you. He’s still trembling in the passenger seat. You have zero clue how to approach the situation. It’s not like you can take off the collar, as it’s a prototype with data still being transferred to the lab. You agreed to take him home to give him a better life, but you haven’t exactly thought far enough ahead as to how; judging by how scared he is right now, you know this isn’t going to be easy.

It's midnight when you reach home, and all you want to do is sleep. But you can’t yet, not until Jungkook is settled in. You lead him to a spare bedroom; it’s incredibly spacious and practically decorated for royalty, with a king-sized bed right in the center.

“This is where you’ll be staying.”

You see his head lift up for the first time, doe eyes scanning the room in disbelief.

“It’s late so we’ll talk more tomorrow, but for now sleep here. I don’t have nightclothes for you yet, so just sleep in what you’re wearing for the night. There are water bottles on the nightstand if you get thirsty. Do you need anything else before I head to bed?”

He adamantly shakes his head no, prompting you to exit. However, right as you’re about to walk out the door, you hear rumbling. More specifically, his stomach is rumbling. You turn back around.

“You’re hungry, aren’t you?”

No response.

“If you’re hungry, you need to tell me.”

Those words seem to turn some gears in his head, as he utters his first words of the night.

“I’m hungry Miss.”

It catches you off guard how quickly he gets the words out, much different from the no-speaking rule he had enacted on himself up until now.

That’s when the realization hits you.

If you’re hungry, you need to tell me.

It sounds like a command, and that damn Obedience Collar is sure to make him comply.

You let out a defeated sigh before guiding him to the kitchen. Your cook has already called it a day, so you prepare one of the few things your tired brain can handle—frozen waffles. You toss them into a toaster, drizzle some syrup, and pile on a generous amount of whipped cream before pushing a plate in front of the awestruck boy.

“Eat up.”

With the eagerness in which he digs into the plate, you’re sure he’d be the same way without the direct command.

And that’s how your first night with Jungkook goes, with you making sure he’s fed and in his bed before heading to your own. You notice he’s trembling a little less. Baby steps.

____

A/N: If you're liking this fic, please let me know! I love and appreciate every interaction!

#bts ot7 x reader #hybrid bts #bts angst #bts fluff #bts smut #hurt/comfort #unnatural instincts

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hotjaneaustenmenpoll · 2 months

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Semi-Final Two

Propaganda...

Mr Knightley (2009):

Johnny Lee Miller as Knightley is JUST SO. I mean the way he says "if I loved you less I might be able to talk about it more" IS JUUUST. The dance scene. The tentative shy smiles. The fact you can see in his eyes the entire time " I am completely in love with this woman. She'll never love me back BUT I DO NOT CARE I'LL LOVE HER FROM A DISTANCE ANYWAY" IS JUUUUUUST

We need to appreciate Mr Knightley more for both his snark and for those soft eyes just so full of love for Emma

GIF by dearemma

I was just going to send in the actual dance but the little panic he has when Emma says she knows his secret is just soo charming. There was some thread on twitter a few years ago about how a romcom man's most important quality is knowing how to look at a woman and JLM is just the master of it in this Emma

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I really feel like the pictures say it all. He stands there, head tilted to one side. He is listening to you. His posture is relaxed. His gaze open, frank, candid. He's not trying at all. He just is.And that's why he is Knightley.

GIF by night-unfurls-its-splendour

Some propaganda, not just for Jonny Lee Miller, but the general interpretation of 09 Knightley. I have some excerpts here from my review of the 09 adaptation:

What I really think is great about the 2009 interpretation of Mr. Knightley is what an easy and comforting presence he is, without being apologetic when he scolds Emma. I think this is communicated especially well by how often we are actually shown Mr. Knightley taking his almost-daily walks to Hartfield, how smoothly he comes and goes, and how happy Emma is every time she sees him coming up the path (usually, just at the perfect moment when she needs something to put her back to rights.)

Here is Emma, feeling lonely after Miss Taylor's wedding. And in the background, walking up to Hartfield--there's Knightley. He's always been there for her, and he always will be.

And also this Mr. Knightley is as understated as ever, but I wanna highlight this outfit and why I love it: This is Knightley’s first appearance in the series and it’s the perfect establishing shot that shows the viewer everything they need to know about Emma and Knightley’s relationship and how it has always been. He sort of materializes, out of focus in the background, but Emma immediately knows he’s there. And to accentuate how much Knightley is part of her home and scenery, his clothes (similar shades of pale tan, white and minty green to the wall behind him) almost camouflage him and make him seem at one with the moulding of her home.

Additionally, Jonny Lee Miller captures Knightley’s playful qualities, and his exasperation is so endearing

GIF by christophernolan

GIF by sashajames

GIF by christophernolan

I can’t be the only one tickled by this Knightley’s frustration with Emma! JLM FTW!

Jonny Lee Miller is mesmerizing in any role he inhabits. It’s 2009 Knightly all the way.

no but can you actually go vote for mr knightley he was FOUNDATIONAL for 16 year old me my favourite portrayal of my favourite austen man cannot fall at this hurdle!!!

He is my ultimate Austen Dream Man, I'm with him until the end. Honestly this adaptation is my very favorite of them all (P&P 1995 is a VERY close second) because it made me fall in love with Emma as a story? Honestly no other adaptation or indeed even my reading of the book made me love it quite as much. My crush on JLM goes back to 1995 and I do think he is one of the better actors of his generation - his range alone is just impeccable. The fact that he can go from Sick Boy to Mr. Knightley to Sherlock to Jordan Chase is really something. Of all the actors I know, his range is the most impressive. But i love how bright and sunny this adaptation is. The colors, it is as vibrant as Emma should be! The Kate Beckinsale Emma is dark and terrifying to me, not at all suitable an adaptation. I like the Paltrow Emma a lot, but it's got the same issue the 2005 P&P has for me -- it's just too short. This is tonally just right, and the casting is lovely, and JLM is just at his dashing best. His face is so expressive, he is so capable of communicating so much without saying a word. His open jealousy of Frank Churchill is delightful to watch. His face when Emma tells him his secret is out at the ball! JLM is maybe the most underrated actor of his generation and I LOVE that he has been multiple Austen heroes. I maintain that in a future adaptation of Pride & Prejudice, an older JLM would make an EXCELLENT Mr. Bennet. He would convey the right amount of grumpy but fond beautifully.

Look. Do people realize JLM hates wearing period clothing AND hates dancing? And yet in Emma he's sashaying around in pink jackets looking amazing and is THAT convincing? That's called BRILLIANT ACTING!!

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A tiny bit of Mr Knightley 2009 propaganda but I love that they put in that bit from the book where he looks like he's going to kiss Emma's hand when he's saying goodbye but then he hesitates and doesn't and I just...it's such a tiny detail but conveys so much!

GIF by myforeverworldofmovie

It’s the only Emma adaptation that really hits the romance notes well. Knightley’s crowning moment of awesome really feels like it (when he rescues Harriet from humiliation) and his subsequent dancing with Emma does make you feel a shift in their relations. Love this adaptation. - This Knightley and Emma in particular are equals. They quarrel, not because he’s telling her off, but because they can have an argument because they know each other, trust each other and care about each others opinions, and there is never a sense of domination of one over the other. This adds so much fire to the romance, and it’s so unusual for a romance of that era (or even one written today!!). - Emma is rich, clever and beautiful and as powerful as a woman of her age and situation could be at the time and she married Knightley for no other reason but because he’s her best friend and his company for the rest of her life will enrich her. - He even leaves his house to move in with her!

Captain Wentworth (1995):

Ciaran Hinds has that perfect ruggedness yet friendliness to his face that makes him the perfect charming Wentworth. And all of the longing that he manages to convey in his eyes is so hot.

Wentworth may be angry/resentful with Anne but in general he is charming and the best friend you could ever have. Ciaran gets the pleasant parts of his character and brings them out, while keeping a guarded coolness (protective camouflage) with Anne.

GIF by molinaesque

I dunno if this counts as propaganda or not, but Ciaran Hinds has a face that looks like it was jackhammered out of a shale cliff.

If a line like 'I am half agony...half hope' comes out of a face like that you know that man has a soul for poetry.

I can listen no longer in silence. I must speak to you by such means as are within my reach. You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope. Tell me not that I am too late, that such precious feelings are gone for ever. I offer myself to you again with a heart even more your own than when you almost broke it, eight years and a half ago. Dare not say that man forgets sooner than woman, that his love has an earlier death. I have loved none but you. Unjust I may have been, weak and resentful I have been, but never inconstant. You alone have brought me to Bath. For you alone, I think and plan. Have you not seen this? Can you fail to have understood my wishes? I had not waited even these ten days, could I have read your feelings, as I think you must have penetrated mine. I can hardly write. I am every instant hearing something which overpowers me. You sink your voice, but I can distinguish the tones of that voice when they would be lost on others. Too good, too excellent creature! You do us justice, indeed. You do believe that there is true attachment and constancy among men. Believe it to be most fervent, most undeviating, in

F. W.

I must go, uncertain of my fate; but I shall return hither, or follow your party, as soon as possible. A word, a look, will be enough to decide whether I enter your father's house this evening or never.

This is propaganda for the next round because I need my boy to be a finalist! But this letter is all the persuasion I need to know that he is a winner

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Ciarán Hinds in this is a whole other level of "a good man" He makes Anne's decision at the end so much more perfect.

#hotjaneaustenmenpoll #semi finals #mr knightley #captain wentworth #emma 2009 #persuasion 1995 #Emma #persuasion #jane austen #ciaran hinds #jonny lee miller

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findmeinforks · 11 months

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Not Letting You Go Easy - Paul Lahote x Fem!Reader

IM BACKKKKKKK!!! Wow I just checked my last fic and it's been TWO years. Does anyone even remember me? 🥹 I'm back on my twilight bs, this one is my longest ever! Let me know what you think! - 3.2K Words ❤️

*Second Person POV*

The sun poured on your face as you soaked in all the warmth it allowed. You missed the sun, watching the palm trees sway peacefully as the ocean tide rolls in. The goosebumps that arise on your skin as a strong breeze passes, the warmth blanketing back over them.

You keep your eyes shut as your mouth curls up in a smirk, listening faintly to your mom try and convince your sister to stay in Jacksonville. She could offer up the moon and all the stars...Bella would still choose Edward, every time. It's true that you were weary of the vampire, after she flew like a bat out of hell half way across the world to Italy to save him. But could you blame her?

If it wasn't for your sister stumbling her way into the supernatural world, it's possible you could have never met Paul. A blush crept up your cheeks as you crack a full smile, thinking back to the day you met the hot head.

There was absolutely zero hesitation when you followed behind Bella in the truck to go to Jacob's. You had been worried for weeks about your sister, who had been spiraling ever since she was ghosted a second time by someone she trusted. Not only did you care about your her, but Jacob too. He had been around your family for years, and this behavior...especially towards Bella...was concerning. So when she frantically barged in your room asking you to go with, you were out of the house in minutes.

You had taken off in a sprint to try and keep up with your sisters manic running towards the group of shirtless men in Jacob's backyard. You heard rumors of the so called "cult" that had formed in the recent weeks. Jacob's haircut and tattoo had confirmed that part. But seeing the others approach through his window, you knew this was going to be a bad idea. You barely had time to catch your breath before her hand came in contact with one of their faces. You let a gasp slip as you made it in time to yank her back by the elbow.

What had gotten into her!?

Not able to process why she would resort to slapping him in the first place, the man, who looked like a carbon copy of the other ones standing around, began to shake violently. The others were urging you both to get back while attempting to calm him down. Never in your life had you witnessed such immense anger. In seconds his shakes became tremors. It was as if he ripped apart, and in his place stood a massive grey wolf. Mirroring the emotions of the man before, the animal was growling, snarling at your sister with its teeth bared.

Your heart was beating out of your chest. You felt as if you were dreaming, blinking rapidly to make sure this was real. Not standing around to question the animal who could very well kill you, Bella grabbed your hand and you both booked it towards the house. The outburst must have woken Jacob, who was running towards the scene. Bellas blood curdling scream was telling him to go back, though he kept charging forward.

You both fell hands first onto the grass as Jacob launched over you both, shreds of clothes flying as yet another wolf emerged.

Now it was you who was shaking. The only thing that prevented you from having a panic attack was realizing that all the other men were calm, as if this happened all the time. You swallowed your fear as you accepted the hand of one of the younger men, who led you two back to the truck by the order of the oldest one.

As you walked into the cozy secluded home, your mind was running a million miles a minute. They were werewolves....as if after learning vampires existed wasnt a shock enough already.

The oldest one, fiancé, Emily, you had learned, helped ease some of the headache. Besides the scar she wore upon her face that made your stomach drop when you first saw her, she was the epitome of kindness. You could see when she was greeted by Sam that their love was far more deep rooted than the mark she wore. Only knowing her for an hour, you felt happy for the girl.

You vaguely registered Jacob returning, finally looking away from the couple when you heard an unfamiliar voice apologize to Bella. As he then turned your way, you both locked eyes. An electric current jolted through your body, through your veins as you held his stare. You felt a fuzzy warm feeling race its way all the way down to your toes. The feeling lasted what felt like forever, until Jacob's "no fucking way...." pulled you back to earth. It's as if you had been some other place. A place of immense happiness and love. You knew you looked as bright as a tomato when you realized all eyes were on the two of you, mortified they caught you staring.

You did a quick scan of the room, noticing they were paying more attention to the man rather than you, who, was still staring.

When you craned your neck to look at Bella behind you, you found relief in that she looked just as confused.

The man was slapped on the back by Embry, which snapped him out of his trance. He quietly introduced himself as Paul. You blushed hard when you quickly said your name back. As if to break the tension in the room, Jacob asked you both to go for a walk.

Before you left, you had sworn you heard Paul growl.

"Not now. She's been through too much today already." Sam lowly said to him. You furrowed your brows as you trailed behind your sister out of the house.

After a walk on the beach and many questions answered, you were able to take a deep breath. The world was getting scary for you, but Jacob seemed to ease your fears, promising he would always protect you both.

Before he dropped you both off at your house, he had mentioned going to a pack bonfire the following night. You couldn't help but get excited at the prospect of seeing Paul again. You both hadn't even spoke other than introductions, but there was some type of spark in your core when you both met.

Attempting to shove it away, you reminded yourself it was nothing but a crush.

You sat on a log by the fire, rubbing your hands together in front of it. Everyone was up gathering their food, but you were focused on the warmth as it was more than chilly outside. Nerves bubbled in you as Paul approached, asking to sit next to you. Your cheeks heated as he sat, only inches away.

"I just wanted to apologize about yesterday," he spoke, his voice gruff as he looked into the fire. "You could have gotten hurt and I let my anger get the best of me. I promise I'm not like that all the time, and I don't want you to be afraid of me."

Your heart melted at how softly he spoke. "It's really alright. My sister acts out of impulse, if you couldn't tell." This got him to laugh lightly. You laughed too, until a strong breeze made you break out into a shiver.

Paul immediately noticed, grabbing a blanket from the pile beside him. "Here," he said as he wrapped one around you. His warmth radiated off you as he had gotten closer to do so. Not even realizing what you were saying you spoke, "I bet your girlfriend never gets cold with you around." To your embarrassment but surprise he cracked a big smile. "I bet she would, if I had one." It was your turn to smile. "What about you?" You shook your head no as Paul let out a small breath that almost sounded like relief.

Before either of you could say something more, everyone gathered around the fire. The legends of the tribe had you captivated. So much history that you were never aware of, right under your nose. You could feel Paul glance at you every so often, gauging your reaction to everything that was said.

When the fire died down and Jacob's dad came to a stopping point, everyone quietly mingled until deciding to call it a night. You had talked to Paul the entire time, getting to know the basics. You had a lot more in common than you thought. The more you learned about him, the more you liked him. A lot. He followed you to Bella's truck, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"I had a really good time tonight" you spoke softly, now inches away from his face. You were so close you could feel his breath.

"I did too. I hope this won't be the last time I see you?" he questioned.

You glanced past him to see Bella and Jacob making their way up the hill.

"With everything going on, everything that's happening...I have a feeling we won't be going away anytime soon."

Paul smiled.

This is the part where he'll kiss me, you think. Your heart beats fast in anticipation.

But Paul just stands there. Staring. He stood there so long that you cleared your throat awkwardly.

"I'll see you around Paul." You tried to hide the disappointment on your face as you climbed into the truck and shut the door. He had let you, still standing there for a moment before turning around to walk back to the house.

Tears welled up in your eyes. How foolish were you, to think that a guy like Paul Lahote would just sweep you off your feet? Sure, a kiss might be moving fast for the first night, but he didn't even give you his number. You analyzed everything you had said to each other. Nothing was even romantic, so why on earth would you think he liked you back? Pathetic.

Bella said goodbye to Jacob and got in the truck. One thing you loved most about your sister was that she knew you better than anyone else. And if there was one thing you hated, it was when people asked if you were upset. One look in your direction and she didn't say a word, starting the truck and driving off. She knew when you were ready to talk, you would.

*Paul's POV*

I turned around, watching the truck drive away, getting smaller and smaller in the distance. I was frozen in place.

What is wrong with me?

"Everything go okay?" Sam approached, clearly sensing my distress.

"I'm never like this with women, Sam. I should have kissed her, but I didn't. I stood there, right in front of her with my mouth open like a fucking fish. I-I've never felt this way-" I rambled on.

"Dude it's alright" Sam interrupted, "Did you tell her that she's your imprint?"

I sighed. "I didn't even get that far. I don't, I don't want her to feel forced to like me like that right away. I want to treat it like a normal relationship....but I think I went ahead and screwed it up anyways." I huffed.

Sam placed his hand on my shoulder. "Deep breathes. You didn't screw anything up, you just met her. You can tell her about the imprinting when you're comfortable....as far as the kiss, well, it's never too late." Sam held up keys to his vehicle, putting them in my hand. "Only if you need them." He slapped me on the shoulder, winking, as he walked back to where Emily was.

I watched him sneak up behind her, she giggled as he peppered kisses on the back of her neck. I knew what he was doing. And it was working, as I made my way towards his car.

*Back to Second Person POV*

You sniffled, taking a deep breath. You were done crying over this man. This man you had literally just met. So what if he didn't like you? There is a million other people out there. Why did you care so much?

A knock on the door interrupted your thoughts. Charlie was gone over night on a hunting trip and Bella was fast asleep.

Another knock. It was almost damn near midnight. As you slowly approached the door, bat in hand, you looked through the peep hole.

It was Paul.

You flung open the door, ready to ask him what the hell him problem was, when he lunged forward. Grabbing you by the face, he kissed you feverishly. Your heart pounded in your chest as you melted into the kiss, tongues dancing together in perfect harmony. One hand held you by the hair as the other grabbed you by the waist, pulling you impossibly closer. When you both needed to breathe you pulled away, Paul's hand held tightly so you couldn't go too far. He leaned his forehead against yours, panting.

"I am so sorry I didn't do this when you left. You, you make me nervous. It's a feeling I've never really had before. When you left I- I didn't want to let you go that easy. I'm sorry." He said.

You leaned in to kiss him once, slowly, softly. "I've been waiting for you to do that," you smiled. "There's a lot more where that came from...if you'll have me." he said, his hand sliding down to interlock with yours, bringing back up to place a gentle kiss on the top.

"I couldn't imagine anything better." you grinned.

*Paul's POV*

Y/N guided me to the couch, asking to stay awhile. We held each other until the sun came up, just talking. It was as if everything right there had changed for me. She would be my number one priority, to have and protect. I vowed to myself that I would do anything she asked, that I will love her no matter the cost. Whatever makes her happy.

I had to leave before Charlie got home, but not without a heated make out session at the door. It took everything in me to pull away from her, both of us lingering. Despite her not letting go either, I could see the bags under her eyes forming.

"Get some sleep baby, text me when you wake up okay?" She nodded, and after a good 20 minutes of more kissing, I left.

I understood why Sam was always mopey without Emily around. As I drove away I could feel my heart ache like something was missing. This was a whole new feeling, and for the first time I thanked whatever spirits gave me her.

My imprint.

I bit my lip as I remembered I still had to tell her. I'm worried about how she'll take it, but there was something heavier on my mind.

Victoria.

Part Two Anyone? :)

#paul lahote #imagine #sam uley #twilight #bella swan #new moon #embry call #eclipse #breaking dawn #quil ateara #emily young #wolfpack #jacob black #edward cullen #paul lahote x reader #paul lahote x you #fanfic

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the-kr8tor · 10 months

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Hobie catches you wearing his mask

Pairing: Hobie Brown x GN! reader/ Spider-Punk x GN! Reader

Word count: 1k

Tags: No use of Y/N, No specific physical description of the reader (reader is mentioned to be smaller than Hobie though). Fluff, established relationship. Smut Implied

* I don't consent to having my work translated/ published on other platforms*

Hobie just got home from patrolling around the city, thankfully it was an easy day compared to the other days where he comes home beaten and injured. A few robberies here and there. A small-time villain tried going toe to toe with Hobie, the fight didn't even last five minutes.

It was truly an easy day for Spider-Punk.

Even though the day was fairly laid back, no one can deny that web-slinging and crime fighting all over the city is quite tiring.

You know immediately when Hobie comes home, with the sound of the window sliding open, followed by the thunk of his heavy boots against wooden floors, the sound basically trained you to go towards him with a first aid kit and a greeting.

With a quick kiss and a tired "m' okay, love" Hobie heads towards the bathroom, shedding parts of his suit on the way.

With a concerned look towards the bathroom door, you sigh and wish that you could take some of his responsibilities. You hate seeing him so tired. With an entire city to look out for, he's stretched himself too thin.

As much as you love him being Spider-Punk, you miss your Hobie.

You head towards the bathroom door, almost tripping over his large combat boots. Bending down to grab the shoes off the floor, you follow a trail of clothing heading towards the bathroom like breadcrumbs.

You grab each piece with care, knowing that his suit and other pieces of it, means a lot to him. You fold it and place them on top of the bed, but it looks like there's a piece missing, you look down to look for it.

Behind your dresser, you see one of the spikes poking out.

Grabbing the mask off the floor, you admire its craftsmanship - every stitch he made, the eyes of the mask with its painted drooping 'eyeliner' painted with such care.

He truly made the suit uniquely him.

Hearing the sound of the shower still running, you admire the roughness of the cloth, asking yourself how can he even properly breathe in it while fighting? Can he see fine while wearing it? So curiosity got the best of you, before you could change your mind, you carefully put it on.

"Woah" you laugh with how comfortable the mask is, "it's like a second skin" you run towards the mirror to check yourself out.

Giddy with excitement you move side to side watching the spikes on top move with you. "So cool," you whisper.

In your excitement you didn't notice him watching you.

"Right, what's all this then?" Hobie raises a pierced brow, a sneaking smile on his lips. The scene in front of him helps in grounding him back to the present.

Startled, you turn away from the mirror. "Nothing!" quickly taking the mask off, you hide the cloth behind you.

"Nothing huh, What's in your hand then?" Hobie struts towards you, a towel wrapped on his hips. " Y'know, I can see it in the mirror" he points out.

You shyly look at his still glistening torso, avoiding his eyes, quickly turning away, you slowly hand him the mask. "Sorry, just wanted to see if you can actually fight in it" embarrassment prominent on your face.

"No apologies necessary, love. Just teasin' you" Hobie lifts your downturned head to face him.

"You look better in it anyway" he swiftly puts the mask back on you. Hobie grabs your shoulders and turns you back around in front of the mirror.

"Fuckin' adorable" Hugging your neck, he says with his head fitting perfectly on your shoulder.

The whites of his mask turn into slits, "m' not adorable, Hobart" you tilt your head to the side feigning annoyance.

"Right, sorry you look very punk rock, sweets" he kisses the side of your head.

"You're missing something though" he pushes off you. You miss his warmth, albeit your neck is now slightly damp.

"You're still wet" you turn behind you, rubbing your neck dry as you watch him grab something from the pile on the bed.

"Only for you, lovey" he teasingly said with a wink. Hobie walks back to you.

"Hobie!" You let out a small screech, "that's not- Hobie!" You fumble your words.

He laughs at your embarrassment. "Arms up" Hobie instructs while holding a dark piece of clothing.

You huff, but obey nonetheless. Hobie puts the leather vest on you, the spiked clothing looks big on your form. Hobie whistles, he turns you back in front of the mirror.

"Look at you" fondness dripping from Hobie's lips. "I've got my very own spider-person, huh"

You admire your appearance as Hobie tiredly rubs his face on your neck. You hold his neck in place, massaging the tense muscle.

"I wish I could help you" you whisper, he peeks at your face in the mirror.

"You are," he hugs you tightly, "as long as you're by my side. You're helping me. Never think for a second that you aren't"

Hobie turns you towards him, his own mask facing him.

He carefully tugs the mask up to see your face, cupping your face lovingly, "Coming home to you, makes everything I do worth it"

You stand on your tippy-toes to kiss him. "I love you too" you whisper on his lips.

You reluctantly pull away "You're tired, let's go to bed, yeah?"

Hobie still holding on to your leather clad waist. In one swift movement he grabs your thighs and lifts you up. Gasping at the sudden movement, You instinctively wrap your legs on his waist, the towel threateningly low on his hips.

"Look what you've made me into, I've gone soft. I have a reputation to uphold y'know" he carries you to the bed.

You giggle knowing what he's planning. Before he could throw you down on the bed, like he always does, you cling on to his neck, a pensive look on your face. He raises his brow in a question.

"One question though, how in the world can you fit your hair in the mask?" You ask.

"Spidey powers" He says with a straight face and a shrug of his shoulders.

"What? Are you – mmph!" Hobie cuts you off by kissing you abruptly. Preventing you from asking more questions.

A/N: Hope you enjoyed reading! Comments, likes and reblogs are always appreciated ❤️

*image above is from pinterest*

#hobie brown x reader #spider punk #spider punk x reader #atsv fanfiction #hobie brown #spider man across the spider verse #x reader #hobie brown x gn!reader #established relationship #spider punk x gn! reader #fanfic #the kr8tor's creations #atsv x reader

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physalian · 4 months

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Plot Holes and How to Fill Them (Or, The Hidden Potential in Your Mistakes)

“But why didn’t they just do that earlier!”

“You can time travel – so time travel!”

“Doesn’t X have Y spell? Why aren’t they using it to escape?”

“You. Have. Telekinesis! How are you this stupid?”

Plot holes! The bane of every writer’s existence. You think you’ve polished your beautiful manuscript, you have it all sent out for the masses to consume and praise and shower with compliments and adoration… and then they start tugging at a thread that may or may not begin to unravel your entire story. You’ve read this thing top to bottom, forwards and backwards and upside down, so many times the letters are burned into your brain. You mumble your monologues in your sleep — how did you not see this? How do you fix this?

See this post about beginning the writing process that might help you avoid opening a plot hole entirely with a solid enough script and outline.

Types of Plot Holes

Your magic system’s established rules have just been broken for TeNSioN

Your Deus Ex Machina really did come out of nowhere and is quite out of character

Why doesn't Character just run away from a fight they can't win?

Characters forgetting they have superpowers, extreme intelligence, handy tools or weapons, survival skills, common sense, or crucial information to escape and/or solve a situation

Characters dying for the above mistakes when said death could have been avoided

The entire story could have been avoided had Character A just told Character B the truth

Character X should have known ___ all along given their profession/backstory/friend circle/education/personality

And variations of the above, I’m sure I’m missing a couple. Fixing plot holes generally come in two camps: Those you can fix by rewriting the existing manuscript that contains the hole, or those you have to work around from a previous manuscript that’s already been published.

Why Plot Holes Happen

Plot holes happen in reality. Expecting your first, second, or 15th draft to be completely foolproof is utter nonsense. Real people forget stuff they’re supposed to know all the time, tools that would be useful are left behind, GroupThink makes very bad decisions.

The difference is: You are writing fiction. Your goal is to be entertaining, not necessarily realistic. A character simply *forgetting* Macguffin X at the climax of the story does not make for an entertaining read, no matter how likely it might be to happen in the real world.

You’re making this entire world up as you go and that alone is an impressive feat millions of others can only dream about – cut yourself some slack, okay? Everything is fixable.

Plot holes also happen because we’re so engrossed in our own story that we forget it’s all made up. You’re 22 chapters into a 24 chapter novel and you’ve just realized your psychic hero would never have been caught unawares like this. “But that’s just how he is!”

No. Stop. That’s not just how he is. That’s just how you wrote him – and you can go back and un-write him. Any excuse you can dream up you can un-write, and unfortunately, you’ll likely have to do a fair bit of it if you still have the opportunity.

Plot holes generally open long after the inciting incident that causes them. If you’re going to fix it, duct-taping together a solution in that very same scene isn’t the way to do it. You have to figure out why it’s a hole at all, then go back and fix its foundations.

Finding Your Own Plot Holes

Sometimes you’re lucky enough to stumble upon them before it’s too late. A fair bit of the time, though, your audience has to tell you. Finding your own plot holes requires stepping back from your work and looking at it like you’re just a reader, not the author.

Read your plot out loud to yourself and keep asking questions like:

Does this make sense for the scene?

Does this only exist to look cool at the cost of logic?

Are these rules I wrote too easy to break or contradictory in any way?

Is there any other way for this character to escape this situation?

Is the only solution here too contrived?

That, and having an army of beta readers who should show you flaws you’ve overlooked. Even then, some things just aren’t obvious at all until someone too smart for their own good points out something no one else considered before.

It’s okay. It’s not the end of the world.

Filling Plot Holes

Fix your broken magic system

A “magic system” broadly describes any type of powers/abilities/supernatural entities that function in your world. They can be in high fantasy, urban fantasy, sci-fi, or any genre really. The Force is a magic system, as much as is bending in Last Airbender even if no one calls it “magic”.

For example: Force users are telekinetic… and yet don’t simply repeatedly spam the “chuck my enemies into a wall/off a cliff/anywhere that is away from me” button. It’s what you’d call a “soft” magic system, it doesn’t have explicit rules on how and when it can and should be used. It just *is*.

Fixing holes in your magic system first demands examining why you wrote it the way you did, why you gave it these specific rules, or why you didn’t, and all the ways characters should otherwise be able to use it when your story demands they get creative.

For soft magic systems — never let the magic system win the day. It invites far too much scrutiny. Gandalf from Lord of the Rings is a Wizard. He can do an undefined number of spells and has an unclear number of abilities and limit to his reach. Gandalf’s magic is never the saving grace of the Fellowship. So asking “why didn’t Gandalf just do X” isn’t ever a question people have because success never depends on Gandalf doing X.

Everyone hates on the time turner in Harry Potter, as they should. Time travel is essential to the plot of Prisoner of Azkaban, without it the heroes fail. And yet, because it is time travel, why it never existed earlier and why they never use it again to solve more massive plot problems is a valid question. As goes with many spells and abilities in the series.

For hard magic systems — remember that you wrote the rules, you can go back and change them at any time before it’s published. Bending in Last Airbender is rarely the focus of any conflict. Yes, two benders will fight each other, but it’s not “who’s the stronger bender,” it’s “who’s smarter with their element”. Who better uses their environment? Which one is racing against a clock before reinforcements arrive and overwhelm them? Which one runs the risk of exposing themselves if they start bending? Whose mental state is crippling their bending today?

These are all character-driven explanations for why certain abilities do or don’t manifest in a given scene… until the finale when it really is just a clash of red and blue aura lasers.

There is never a scene where a character is trapped when they shouldn’t be. Never a “why didn’t you just X” moment, because it’s never about the bending, it’s about the bender.

Turn plot-reasons into character-reasons

This means taking a “why don’t they just do X” and making the reason because one of the protagonists is morally against doing it, not because the hand of the author demands it.

In Last Airbender, Aang is vocally against simply killing the Fire Lord. It would be easier, it would risk far less casualties and carnage, it’s fastest. And yet. Aang doesn’t do it simply because he’s not strong enough or he doesn’t have some magical super weapon, or the stars have aligned and now he’s lost a very convenient ability – Aang doesn’t want to take the easy road because that’s who he is as a person.

He’s been raised as a monk to value the preservation of life above all else (ignoring any accidental casualties over the course of the series). Him being desperate to not simply kill Ozai is central to his character and even when he has the chance in the climax of the fight, he still doesn’t take it.

Now “why didn’t you do that earlier” does, still, concern the “energy bending” established out of nowhere just for the finale so Aang doesn’t have to compromise his morals to win… but the show is so damn good and Ozai’s just desserts so damn sweet it doesn’t really matter.

Making these plot decisions character decisions, so long as they are in-character, gives some juicy potential for schisms within Team Protagonist as fan favorites clash over ideals and morals and whether or not the greater good is worth them sacrificing something so central to their being.

This also applies to characters not sharing crucial information with each other. Make them distrustful of the others, or let them attempt it anyway and have some other consequence for the effort. Anything is better than a character sitting on valuable info simply to maintain the mystery.

Avoid Deus Ex Machinas

The “surprise reinforcement cavalry charge” is one of my favorite deus ex machinas in fantasy. Everybody cheers, it looks amazing, the music is swelling, our heroes on the battlefield realize they haven’t been forsaken by their friends, etc. In Lord of the Rings, yes, Theoden could have arrived 30 minutes earlier and saved even more lives, but we already knew he was on his way moving as fast as he could without exhausting his horses. Theoden’s army also took care of the bulk of the battle so when Aragorn arrives with the second surprise reinforcements, it’s less a decisive blow that comes out of nowhere and more the victory lap.

In “Battle of the Bastards,” Game of Thrones has its third surprise cavalry charge of the series, only this one much more explicitly comes to save the day. The difference between this scene and Theoden’s charge is: Audiences had no idea Littlefinger was on his way, and neither did Jon Snow. Had Sansa told him she had a plan, Jon could have waited. He wasn’t backed against a wall and forced to fight right then and there, he could have stalled an extra hour by just not showing up to the battlefield to wait for his cavalry. With Sansa inexplicably not telling him, she risked his life and the lives of his entire army because the hand of the writers wanted to keep it a surprise. Worst of all, when the battle is over, he compliments her decision, despite all the blood on her hands.

Surprise reinforcements, saviors, powers, and abilities always run the risk of “why didn’t they do that earlier” and you should be asking yourself the same question. If you can’t come up with an explanation other than “because it’ll look cool” go back to the drawing board.

Or, have your very own characters pissed that the savior didn’t just do that earlier. Have your characters ask where this special power was, have it mean something to them and the story at large. Had Jon been angry with Sansa, given their incredibly pyrrhic victory and the potentially avoidable death of their youngest brother, it might’ve made for some interesting character drama.

Give your saving graces deadly costs

“Why didn’t they just do X earlier?”

“Because doing X would have killed Character D, dummy.”

Giving your super special magic, mutant, super, or supernatural powers costs, drawbacks, and limitations forces the characters who use them to not resort to them every single chance they get. Their magic drains their physical stamina, or the demon they made a deal with camping in their brain threatens to overtake their psyche, or the sword is cursed and every time the hero raises it in battle, they lose a little piece of themselves. Or, using this creepy power strains their relationship with their friends or community.

Without risk and consequences, you cannot avoid “why didn’t they do that earlier,” because the only answer you have to give is “because I, the author, said so.” The only time a character is allowed to have selective amnesia about their superpowers is if it’s been established beforehand as a potential problem. Then it’s not “this came out of nowhere.” Then your audience is dreading the entire time waiting for that chekhov’s gun to fire.

Don’t compromise your story for sensationalism

I can complain about ~subverting expectations~ in another post, but what I mean here is this: Are you writing this scene purely for shock value, for the sake of a twist, because a story this grim demands at least one character death, or because it’s going to look epic?

In this post about pacing and this post about how to write tone, I talked about making your scenes pull double duty. You can write a scene for shock and awe, but if it’s at the expense of a character’s integrity or intelligence, come up with another way to make it spectacular.

You want the villain to monologue to give the heroes time to save the world? Then write a villain with an ego and personality that would monologue. You want the hero to be a one-man-army? Then write their personality as the lone wolf type and have it be a flaw of theirs that they keep striking out alone, consequences be damned.

You absolutely need the hero to not take the easy road and fight the bad guy without using their most effective weapon? Give them a reason to stall this fight. Maybe they really do need to simply run out a clock, or they don’t actually want to kill/subdue their opponent, or in doing so, the villain’s death is what causes the Bad Thing to happen.

If I write a character that can kill with just a look, every time I put them in a dangerous situation I need to then justify why they don’t do that over and over again, unless it’s by their own stubborn integrity that they choose not to.

If I write a villainous plan so devious and well thought out, the only thing standing in the way is living protagonists? I need a reason the villain doesn’t just murder the heroes every chance they get. Maybe they’re internally struggling over actually going through with it, or their ego demands the hero doesn’t get a quick or honorless death, or they do actually need a living hero for the plan to work.

Fixing Plot Holes in Sequels

All of the above is advice for issues within the same manuscript. What happens if you’ve already published and have the chance to address a known plot hole in the sequel?

About the worst thing you can do is slap in a throwaway line or hasty explanation to cover your ass. Everyone reading and watching will notice. Saying nothing is better than saying that.

See the duct-tape in Rise of Skywalker when the heroes explained that they couldn't just hypersspace-jump another ship into the enemy fleet because it worked so horribly effectively last time. Doesn't matter that they could have put it on autopilot or sacrificed a droid, or that, at any point in the history of Star Wars, someone else could have and should have done this desperate maneuver. For the sake of "looking cool" it opened an entire sinkhole.

Less a “hole” and more an inconsistency — the pegasus Blackjack in Percy Jackson is explicitly a mare, a female horse, in one book, and then inexplicably male in later books. Why? Well the author made a mistake, simple as that. He did *not* attempt to explain this error away or dig the hole deeper. It just is. Though I’m not sure why Blackjack couldn’t just stay a mare and how he didn’t reference the previous book when writing the sequel is a bit baffling.

If your heroes can no longer use the Deus Ex Machina they used before – have them attempt to use it, and then come up with a solid reason why it’s not possible. Maybe it was one-time use, or the savior simply doesn’t want to, or the cost/risk is too high to attempt it again, or it simply can’t be found and it’s very frustrating.

Have the heroes be morally opposed to doing what they did before, or overconfident, or skeptical that it will even work again only for that choice to bite them in the ass later. Have the magic item all used up, the recipe to recreate it lost to history. There’s a hundred better excuses than the hand of the author simply saying so.

—

If you aren’t going to write a sequel and you accept living with the plot hole unfilled… chances are people are going to love the story despite its flaws. Harry Potter is the poster child of “why didn’t they use X spell to solve the problem” or “they have a spell for X, yet they don’t have a spell for Y?” and how many people love that story?

In the end, a plot hole can be tiny or massive and chances are the story you told is entertaining enough to make up for it. It’s just a story, it’s just fiction. Learn from your mistakes so the next piece you create is even better.

#writing advice #writing resources #writing tips #writing tools #writing a book #plot holes #magic system

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delimeful · 4 months

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to know that song (and all its words) (11)

warnings: minor character death, violence & injury, panic, biases, lmk if i missed any

Virgil went through the footage once, twice, and then a third time, trying to understand the conflicting emotions that were unwinding in his chest.

He settled for rewatching the fight itself once more, because it was easy to tell how he felt about that. Each time, he’d watched with a sort of utter fixation, unable to look away despite the automatic, instinctual terror the scene incited in him.

He’d known, distantly, that the Humans were strong, built with dense flesh and flexible frames. He’d known that they could be lethal, that they sometimes moved in a stalk, with a sort of focused intent that reminded him of a predator.

Knowing these facts and seeing them put into action were two very different things.

On the tapes, the lights flickered out. The camera went dark for a half second before automatically enabling infrared mode.

In that brief moment of darkness, Square had already crossed a good third of the room on uncannily quiet steps. The recording refocused just in time to catch his first lunge.

The crack of a limb splintering was audible even from the camera’s tinny speakers. Before the victim’s paralyzer gun even finished clattering to the floor, the Human was moving on to his next swing, and his next.

Every alien in the room began scattering as the howls of the injured grew more frantic and more numerous. Some bolted for the boarding hatches, some for the door to the hall, some simply away from the crunches of violent impact. Almost all of them were left floundering in the dark, the few with functional night vision unable to move within the chaotic scramble.

Within moments, any raider with a long distance weapon had been taken out of the fight with brutal efficiency, and those who recollected themselves enough to lunge forward were met with the same fate.

Heartfelt returned, the emergency lighting casting their face in dim red glow that made the weapon in their hands and their uncharacteristically solemn expression stand out all the more.

They remained solidly on defense, guarding Square’s back with heavy, unhesitating blows, their expression growing more and more crinkled with each one.

In mere minutes, any aggressors had either been sent writhing to the floor or to an early grave.

The leader, the one who had so confidently made their proposal and deemed Virgil too stubborn to live, had fought more viciously than any of the others, and managed to knock the pipe clear of Square’s grip. As soon as the opportunity presented itself, the leader drew a two pronged viper’s blade from a hidden holster, and immediately tried to stab it forward into Square’s underbelly.

Square half-turned, letting the weapon pierce the meat of their shoulder with a grunt, and without faltering, they reached out to grab the leader’s head with both hands.

The twist was quick and clean, the snap of bone loud, the silence of the room afterwards somehow louder. The raiders didn’t need to be able to see the damage, not when they could hear the way their leader’s snarled threats had been so sharply cut off.

“Your leader is dead,” Square said into the pause, releasing his grip and allowing the body to fall lifelessly to the ground. They barely twitched as the viper blades were dragged out with the motion, their gaze flitting from silhouette to silhouette, watching for the next attacker. “If you don’t wish to join them, now is the time to surrender.”

Raiders were many things, but loyal to the death wasn’t one of them.

The surrender process was quick, almost rushed once the light came back on. Seeing the crumpled corpse of their leader had probably demoralized them. Square seemed distracted, overly so. He didn’t even set any negotiation terms at first, simply walking out and leaving control of the bay to Heartfelt.

Like he’d said, the fight was easy. The fight was terrifying.

It was what came after that was driving his thoughts to run in endless, maddening circles.

Heartfelt looked as though they wanted to follow after Square for a moment, but turned away. Instead, they faced the raiders, huddled against the walls in various states of distress.

They moved to pull the med kit off the wall, and then stepped forward, approaching the worst-off of the bunch with a slowness that made Virgil’s ruff prickle up instinctively, even having watched before. Even knowing who Heartfelt was.

The injured seemed to feel the same, with the babbled pleas for mercy as many of those nearby scurried further away from what they surely thought was an impending slaughter. Heartfelt’s face was pressed into thin lines of discomfort, but they kept moving to crouch next to the alien.

“Help, no hurt,” Heartfelt told them plainly, and then set the kit down and opened it.

The raider lunged the moment they turned their attention away, and Heartfelt flung up an arm on reflex to catch the sharp claws of the alien with a pained sound that they cut off mid-noise.

All eyes turned to the door, but Square didn’t return. They were retrieving him from where Heartfelt had stashed him, Virgil knew, and Heartfelt had muffled the noise of their pain before it could reach the others.

The Human reached out and unhooked the alien’s claws from their arm, suppressing a wince. “No, no,” they said firmly. “No hurt, okay?”

The alien seemed too dumbfounded by the fact that they were still alive to respond, and Heartfelt carefully moved their limb back to their side before returning with the bandages they’d been reaching for in the first place.

That was how the next few moments went, stemming the bleeding wherever they could and applying tourniquets for the more mammalian types. And through it all, they were watched with a sort of entranced silence, as though their actions were barely comprehensible to the raiders.

On the other vidfeed, Virgil could see his own pitiful form cradled in Square’s arms, too out of it to process that Noisy was only a few paces away or even that he was being held by someone who should, by all rights, terrify him.

But they didn’t.

The thought hit him like a rough-edged stone, startling and near painful in its honesty. Virgil stopped the tapes, pushed himself a few steps away from the interface and tried to process past the automatic terrified nausea that had formed at the sight of a fairly sturdy, battle-scarred alien being killed with one move.

The Humans were strong, lethally so. He’d known that, and now he really knew it. He understood why Sveve had spoken about the Humans being monsters with such conviction, pled for his help to escape with such sheer desperation.

He understood, but he didn’t agree.

Sveve had been aboard a ship that had almost mythologized the deathworlders they were hunting. The raiders had been seeking the Humans out since the start of their journey, had known their ultimate goal for however long the trip had lasted. The leader’s grand plot hadn’t worked out, but that didn’t change the fact that his Humans had been presented as powerful, violent beasts to the crew. Despite acting in their own defense, their devastating counterattack had only added a new layer of distortion to the raiders’ perceptions of them.

Virgil, on the other hand, had been aboard a ship with the three of them for cycles on end, with misconception after misconception being washed away the longer he spent in the company of any one of them.

Sure, he knew it was smart to be afraid of power like that. There was still a part of him in disbelief, waiting for his survival instincts and general antisocial nature to kick back in. He watched the most violent parts of the security tapes through multiple times, trying to find the part of his brain that would shift his instinctual fear into some sort of action, and… failed.

Maybe if it was the version of him from that first week of their cohabitation, when he was still seeing bared fangs in their smiles and aggression in their eye contact. But now?

Now, he couldn’t help but notice the way Heartfelt’s face scrunched up in misery even when fighting, the way Noisy curled in on himself during that stretch of darkness, the way Square had held him so extremely carefully, even when they were clearly deadly furious.

There was nothing monstrous about his Humans, his unwillingly-gained crewmates. They were just people, ones that had been forced to fight to survive, ones that had been backed into a corner at nearly every turn. He’d known as much long before now, even if he hadn’t acknowledged it aloud.

He turned the feed playback off, powering down the machinery. He’d seen everything he’d needed to see.

The navigation area was still dark and quiet as he left the record room, quickly skittering back out to the hall.

Of course, as soon as he got there, he immediately encountered Square, about five eerily-silent steps from entering the doorway Virgil had just scurried out of.

The doorway to the room that he absolutely wasn’t allowed to be in. Uh oh.

“I wasn’t doing anything,” he said immediately, somehow sounding about as guilty as someone who’d just been caught with a body at their feet and a murder weapon in hand.

Square inhaled slowly, and then let out a long, winded exhale, which they seemed to do a lot. “I somehow doubt that, but seeing as you’ve soundly rejected earlier opportunities to betray us for your own benefit, I’m choosing not to ‘freak out’ about it.”

Virgil paused, a little surprised despite himself. “I forgot about that. I mean, I forgot you knew about it.”

Square made an odd little snorting sound. “Well. You certainly seemed to feel very strongly about the matter while you were bedridden.”

See, this was why he hated it when he got hurt. His crewmates always insisted on using enough pain medication to make him way too chatty. Sure, anything less would have left him still steeping in agony, but what about the emotional pain of humiliation that came afterwards, huh?!

His expression had soured, but he still managed to pipe up before Square moved on. “I was looking at the vidfeeds.”

Square paused, gaze sharpening. “Pardon?”

“The security records. There are cameras on the ship, and all the footage is recorded and stored for future review.” Virgil stopped for a moment, a fragment of memory coming back. “That’s how they knew you three were aboard. There was a recording of the station you switched ships at.”

The lines of stress along Square’s brow seemed more pronounced than ever. “I understand.”

“I can show you how to erase them, before you leave,” Virgil offered, his antennae flattening back slightly in apprehension. “And, uhh… speaking of leaving. What are we doing with Sveve?”

Virgil wasn’t particularly fond of the guy from the few moments of conscious interaction he’d had with them, but he also didn’t really want to see them go the way of the leader for the crime of being annoying and a little pathetic.

At Square’s blank stare, he clarified. “The medic we abducted.”

“Oh!” Square frowned for a moment, aether full of contemplative, slightly confused feelings. “We had planned to release them on a nearby inhabitable planet. Maybe one with a port, depending on how fast you recovered.”

Virgil couldn’t help but laugh a little, even as his feathers drooped slightly with relief. “And the other raiders? Sveve said we were still attached to their ship.”

“If one could call it that, at this point,” Square replied, radiating a bit of smugness. “The vessel has only one piece of functioning equipment now, a distress beacon that we’ll activate remotely once we’ve gained some distance.”

Anyone responding to a distress beacon would be adjacent enough to the law to report the obvious raider vessel, meaning that their rescue would leave them facing legal charges and unable to pursue. Virgil chirped lowly, impressed.

A few doors away, Heartfelt appeared, holding a pile of machinery in their arms that was stacked higher than Virgil was tall. Despite being unable to see much past their burden, they barely seemed to feel the weight.

“I should go help him,” Square said, but glanced back down at Virgil one last time, something hesitant in their posture, almost apologetic. “We retrieved enough parts to rig up a temporary remote steering system, to use while you heal. I imagine that we won’t be the most graceful of pilots, so… What I’m saying is, everyone will be much happier once you’ve recovered enough to take the helm again.”

Virgil felt a little thrill of joy, unable to keep his ruff from fluffing up slightly at the confirmation that his fears had been unfounded all along. “I’ll try not to take too long,” he managed to respond, with only the barest embarrassing croaking to his voice.

Square nodded and hurried off to prevent Heartfelt’s teetering tower of metal, and Virgil huffed in amusement, turning to go track down Noisy and let him know that he was ready to take another nap.

It was amazing, just how relieved he felt to finally understand their arrangement. If they weren’t seeking retribution against Sveve, who had actively been on an opposing force, he seriously doubted they would kill him just to tie up a loose end.

Maybe it was a dangerous hope to foster, but Virgil couldn’t help himself. If this had probed anything, it was that the three of them saw him as far more than a simple, easily discarded tool, that much was obvious. It stood to reason that as long as he didn’t break any of the serious rules, they wouldn’t hurt him.

He might just make it out of this situation intact, after all.

#sanders sides fic #ts virgil #ts logan #tktsaaiw #to know that song and all its words #my writing #writing #space au #ampen virgil

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theribbonmarkedroom · 11 months

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The erasure of Andi Mack makes me so sad as someone who watched it as it was airing. I understand the show had issues regarding a Certain Actor, but it still makes me really sad for the people who worked on it. And because the show is such a gem. I want to write about Andi Mack in general one day, but because it's pride month I want to briefly talk about the show through that lens specifically.

Firstly, Andi Mack has so many episodes missing on Disney+ AND DisneyNow that it would be impossible to try to watch the series in full by using any of these apps. Until recently, DisneyNow had completely removed Andi Mack from its app, and put it back on with only an incomplete season three and without any of the games that were there originally (like Andi's Texts). This, I'm assuming, has to do with that Certain Actor, but the missing episodes has also made including Cyrus in any pride posts or collections harder than it should be (more on that in a second).

On Disney+, there is a "Pride Collection" which does not include anything Andi Mack related despite Cyrus being the first openly gay main character on Disney Channel. His coming out scenes (plural because of the individual scenes with Buffy, Andi and then Jonah) were extremely prominent not only to real people, but also to Cyrus' character as a whole. Two out of the three episodes where Cyrus comes out - "Hey, Who Wants Pizza?" (season 2, episode 1) | "Cyrus' Bash-Mitzvah!" (season 2, episode 13) | "One in a Minyan" (season 3, episode 11) - are not even available on Disney+, nor are any of them on DisneyNow (sidebar, Andi Mack isn't featured on DisneyNow 's pride section either). What's even more frustrating is that the series finale, "We Were Here", where Cyrus and TJ are confirmed to have mutual feelings for each other, are available on both Disney+ AND DisneyNow, yet it does not feature on either app's pride sections. Cyrus being gay wasn't just implied, he literally says the words "I'm gay" the third time he comes out and the second time he clearly says he has a crush on Jonah. It's not easy to overlook him as gay, and as a character who should be included in those pride collections, so his omission is clearly deliberate.

Even if the coming out episodes weren't featured, at the very least, any episode with Cyrus and TJ after they became friends should count; episodes like "For the Last Time", "The Cake That Takes the Cake", "Mount Rushmore or Less", "Something to Talk A-Boot" and of course the series finale. Surprising no one, only three of the Tyrus episodes I listed (and there are more) are actually on Disney+. I mean, they included a Miraculous episode in the Disney+ "Pride Episodes" collection that had the most minute blink-and-you'll-miss-it scene of Alec in a wig, so why not include any episode at all with TJ and Cyrus? Idk the whole thing is just very frustrating for so many reasons.

Edit: if anyone is interested in putting together a fan collection of art, stories etc etc of Andi Mack or letters detailing what the show meant to you that we could somehow share with Terri Minsky to let her know how much we appreciate her and Andi Mack, please dm me. There has to be some way we can show her that we haven’t forgotten about the show or her. I can always make another post if there’s enough interest to spread the word

#andi mack #cyrus goodman #tyrus #pride #buffy driscoll #jonah beck #disney channel #tyrus andi mack #cyrus you will always be famous to me #I remember being so stressed every time a new andi mack episode came out they had me GLUED to my screen #wish I could rewatch the series in its entirety :(#justice for andi mack :(#rip to my tyrus fanfic from back in the day I will always think of you 😔

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ganondoodle · 11 months

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i know i said i wouldnt be ranting about totk anymore, but i realized i didnt really count the sage dungeons as story (dont ask me why) so i thought im gonna write a better summarized version of my opinion about totk (i have around 60% of the game, all lightroots, not yet all shrines (missing like .. 20 or so, know the reward), not all krogs (dont know the reward), not all mayoi (half know the reward?) )

(in no particular order)

good stuff (in my opinion)

the. MUSIC! god the music is good, it was good in botw too but now with much more different bosses it really is probably one of my fav soundtracks of all time (most fav are all three phases of the end fight, the pre-fight to that, the build up one before all of those, Frosgeira (wind tempel boss) the glorious mASTER KOGA and more tbh)

the build up and end boss fight(s) are fantastic, i dont think im ever not gonna have my heart racing when approaching it (despite now skipping almost the entire way bc i set a teleport thing right before it) just bc the build up is so well made and the music(again) is such a banger and the fight(s) itself is so fun too, tbh i keep wanting to play it just bc its so fun

i LOVE how many themes play into the music (endfight alone had so many layers, fav probably is ganondorfs classic theme and calamity ganons both in the same piece among much more, and daruks theme in the fire temple)

(edit) YOU. CAN. TOUCH. DA. DRAGONS!!!!

ganondorf

ganondorfs design (x3)

ganondorfs weapon designs

ganondorfs voice (japanese)

everyone elses voice (japanese)

all voices (german)

thE YIGA!!! i love everythign about them and am so happy they got to be more than just some mini mission

(edit) also the fact that they get zonau tech to work without any special ghost powers is so ????

(edit) koga can summon and use zonau tech unlimited?? hes so cool

NO stealth mission!! (as far as im aware)

bosses are very different from each other

main dungeons are not too short and not too long and mostly fun (mostly bc i personally didnt like the gerudo one), i love that you can still somewhat cheese them and do them your way

sages felt like they got a bit more involved

(edit) you gotta do more stuff before getting to the actual dungeons and i really like that, feels less like a fetch quest but that you are actually helping

(edit) each sage is actually there in the dungeon and is required for it, which is great!

each settlement saw a much bigger danger/change (tho that has more impact if you have played botw) and its problems felt much more real

shrines are well varied tho i think overall a little easy (only got stuck on two so far and later solved them easily bc when i first started them i was tired and exhausted, no brain left lol)

NPCs felt less flat + more bigger sidequests that felt like they had more impact

cool new monsters + designs

the underground was pretty appropiately creepy

the sages abilities are neat

you can refight bosses!!

stable points system is a neat way to encourage you using them

weapon fusing is neat

(edit) the forest of the krogs being corrupted like that is both creepy and a neat nod to oot

(edit) the vai gerudo outfit being gone!! (one) evil has been defeated

(edit) the health bar going so far off the middle in ganondorfs second phase is honestly just funny hnjdfdjk unfortunate that you only need the master sword and with a few perfect dodges his health melts like butter in the summer

(edit) the music when dragondorf transforms sounds so sad .. its probably meant as a oh no world is actually ending sad but i like to think of it as a oh god what did he do to himself sad

the scene where rauru seals ganondorf kinda fruity

(graphic, animations and the overall world is still fantastic)

bad stuff (in my opinion)

everything zonau they feel forced into every bit of the world and its history (i know them being somewhat alien is intentional but not like that) it feels crammed into places they werent before and shouldnt be and it makes it all feel very artificial

the glyphs/dragon tears/memories really ruined alot for me, while it gave you insight as to what happened, it felt like it showed you too much and too little at the same time and i think it would have worked better if it was all in text for once if even at all, so the past stil stayed a mystery and youd be left wondering

timetravel .. really wasnt necessary and felt more like an excuse to get rid of zelda + make her the poor little sacrificial girl again + and to make her turning into a dragon as tragic as possible, like nothing but a stepping stone to the big reveal tm

shiekah tech being not just fully irrelevant but practically erased, wiped off the world (i know about the literally last guardian parts in hateno, it feels more like an oversight tbh, purah technically using it ... tho i dont think she ever calls it that, the purah pad is jsut the sheikah stone but worse), there being no good explanation, no remains, nothing as to why it would suddendly stop working and why even the titans and ESPEICALLY the shrine of life would be destroyed, if anything why wouldnt you enshrine it as a memento to history it was such a focus in botw and so well integrated into the world that it being fully gone, not even old overgrown, or visibly reused to build homes etc., or remains of how they built the og shrines in the underground feels like a HUGE missed opportunity (seriously it would have been so easy to make the ancient shiekah base their tech on old zonau tech, without stealign the gocus but buildign a connection)

all of the continuity problems, totk feels like botw didnt happen and the excuse of 'they didnt want to confuse new players' doesnt make a lick of sense in my eyes bc; its supposed to be a sequel, if you want it to be a standalone game then dont call it a sequel- if you start to play a game with the sequel instead of the first part its your own damn fault if you get confused; if anything, it would have been a good opportuntiy to make people interested in botw so theyd buy and play that one too

ganondorfs character is very flat, you basically get to know nothing about him (yuno even calls that out midgame but its never elaborated upon nhgfrdfhkk)

the zonau and their kingdom of hyrule is presented as this so perfectly good thing to such a degree it turns creepy, the end cutscene with mineru going poof was kinda uncomfy to watch tbh

the reward for all shrines being essentially a reveal as to who the hero in the tapestry was and it being, of course, some weird half zonau is the lamest answer to a mystery i didnt want an anwser too, it doesnt feel like it came naturally either (again my point of the zonau being forced into everything)

the shrines (zonau) feel so much more unnatural than the shiekah shrines, alien in a bad way and not in a good way + really are like a bad reskin of them, their sudden appearance and use is so much less logical

back in botw i was doubtful of if the shiekah tech wasnt going to far too modern tech and cause it all to feel like a bad mix of modern tech and medival fantasy, but they balanced it perfectly (tho the eponator zero was very much the limit imo) but the zonau tech .... oversteps that line i think, it really does feel, more than anything else, that it was just bc they wanted the stuff to be in there bc it might be fun to play around with, im not against that kind of stuff mind you im all for fun, but it feels a little like they thought of a box with endless stuff to play with first and a zelda game second (if you get what i mean)

quite a few quests or things in the game seem like they are more and then end in a dead end (the worst of all is impa saying she wants to go research what could help zelda turn back, and i was excited and convinced that shed give me a quest to find some mcguffin that would do that after i beat ganon but there wasnt anything you could actually do; less bad one but disappointing nonetheless the dongos were mentioned and treated like this big awesome thing from alot of NPCs all around the map and then when you find them they are bascially just gem vending maschines)

the way zelda turns back and link gets his arm back is incredibly unsatisfying, none of them even have something like a scar, or mark from it all, zelda spent thousands of years as a dragon (a transformation that was said to cost your soul but i guess that wasnt true) and link had his arm bascially eaten by miasma and he gets it back like it was never lost, zelda returns all intact as if nothing happened, getting blasted by some magic tm by two ghosts that were supposed to be long gone is the solution to all problems!!

(edit) link losing an arm wouldnt just be super intersting but also lend itself well to lead up into the next game where his prothesis is the focus and source of abilities

(edit) zelda got done so dirty, instead of her actual interests and character to shine she just gets shoved into yet another crisis surrounded by strangers in a world that looks like hers but isnt, and all she does is beg the ancient sages to swear to help link and sacrifice herself again (can you call that fridging? bc she sure feels like she got fridged) i like zelda and i dont like how much i didnt care about her and tbh im angry at the game for that

(edit) both link and zelda not even slightly changing in the years btween botw and totk kinda boring, like a haircut can only do so much

(edit) sonia really is the wife that dies to make husband sad thing isnt she? i get that gan had to get his hands on an enigma stone but i feel like there had been better ways to do that, the fact that she dies that easily is almost funny honestly, why does ganondorf even have weapons when he can just one punch people to death (tho i find it funny to imagine he can literally just kill people in one punch but hes too prideful to do it most of the time so he always uses weapons to look more cool)

(edit) so many new characters that you barely get to see or interact with, i really ... couldnt get myself to care much

(edit) zonau tech being so irrelevant to the games story while its also the focus is .. weird, its really just play doh for the players and nothing else honestly

(edit) monsters mining sonanium feels strange bc ... they dont do anything with it? the best thing i can think of is that they were told to do that so link cant .. upgrade his battery thignies? but then again you could just destroy the mines and remaining constructs to stop it .... also you really dont need anything zonau tech related to beat gan?

(edit) ganondorf beign so utterly uninterested in their tech is weird considering how he dealt with shiekah tech (and we KNOW it can get corrupted) he should be a tech nerd tbh

my twitch VoD of the first time beating the game getting muted at the credits despite me talking over it

nitpicks (in my opninion)

(edit) ganondorf should have a bit more of a boar inspired design, as treat, i think

(edit) the enigma stone wandering back to ganondorfs forehead even after transforming is? weird? i guess an excuse for da epic last stabby but still? (how cool would it have been to have to plunge into his mouth and break it there or something)

(edit) the underground gets a lil old after a while, the fact that its pretty much the same everywhere aside from some .. very strange flowing magma is a lil boring

(edit) ganondorf could have gone way more crazy with abilities and all that, imagine hed spwan multiple miasma arms on himself when you get him to a certain level of health

(edit) i miss unique weapons, there arent even normal axes around anymore, everything is about fusing really, i miss the cool shiekah tech weapons

(edit) the forest of the krogs being largely irrelevant is kinda weird

(edit) mineru being the sage of spirit still is kinda meh, the robot is neat but i thought tauro or purah would be the surprise sage tbh

(edit) the bosses were a little easy (i did boldo gohma rather early and did it without even getting hit)

you cant talk to koga normally :(

you cant find koga again after the last fight :(

you cant refight him (to my knowledge) :(

i find it very strange that yuno seemingly lost daruk shield, despite him having inhereted it in botw

the sage powers are not .. very great integrated, while its fun to haven them run around and help you fight, to actually use their powers you have to chase after them, something that in the heat of a battle is very annoying to do, constantly activating the wrong on or them losing their charge up when they get knocked over is like trying to herd a wild pack of geese while a three headed dragon is shotting laserbeams at you

some widlife just disappearing all of the sudden is very strange (like the rhino in hebra)

some new houses or settlements would have been cool, that the material things at the sides of roads are really only for you to play around with and not to build anything that lasts

you cant fight ganondorf (non dragon, even the dragon is locked to that evening sky) in the sunlight, night or rain, i would have loved to fight him at various times of day

their refusal to show any kind of blood is honestly turnign serious scenes into very awkward ones, sonia just getting punched and she dies with not even like, losing some spit from the force or something, or the fact when you defeat ganondorfs second phase he acts mortally wounded but doesnt even look scratched is just :/

amiibo stuff while neat being included its really mostly just bloating your inventory, if i wanted 5 vaguely different link outfits then i would have gotten the amiibo for it

why hide the -now-totally-not-phantom-ganon-armor- behind such a long questline and then .. have that NOT be upgradable

they put in a house building thingy and then not let you have a roof or a tree or something :(

at some point stable points jsut get you more and more of those free staying over night tickets that i maybe used .. once at the very start and now its just accumulating in my inventory

only one new horse coat pattern :(

satori now only being a thingy that shows you caves is kinda boring, i loved the mystery around it in botw (additionally, that it shows you caves you have completed already kinda sucks)

the end of the shrines isnt that cool anymore, speaking to a mummified monk that gives you essentially his last remains of life energy is so much cooler than a statue of the oh so awesome god king and his wife

the many references and reuse of old names is neat but together with timetravel etc. it easily leads to confusing and fighting among fans for who is more 'right' and its just .. tiring

(edit) considering how much of the advertising was about the sky islands i wished there were more and bigger ones, the underground (that was a little one sided after a while, it all looking the same rly) could have been alot smaller if the sky was bigger instead

(edit) i wished there was more of a sense of .. lost life in the ruins you find, from all races, the ancient ruins are jsut some bridged and ceremonial stuff and i wished there were more like .. houses, like people actually lived there and it not being all around beign a platform for you

(edit) the fact that the half zonau hero exists mean either rauru and sonia had kids but those were clearly not important enough to ever show nor mention, or there were other mixing of them before they all mysteriously died out the fact that the ancient hero was half zonau means their genes survided till then but somehow it never came up? the tapestry still exists and impa and purah say like its a well known fact that the hero looked like that (not at all close to any modern species) when you talk to them while wearing it (the fact that the hero armor thingy is very reminiscemt of ganondorf is like some backtreading bc we were theorizing about the hero having been ganondorf once and they wanted to stop that .. but the more funny thing is the HC of its a descdendet of rauru and ganondorf nhjdfknhdgkfnhkfd) (edit to add to the HC; the game being a big battle about child support is funnier than it should be idk if nintendo knew what they were doing adding details like that)

all in all it just feels like missed opportunities, lost potential, and more a game build around some game mechanics they really wanted to get into than telling a neat story, espeically so bc they called it a sequel, most of my complaints wouldnt be there if it was some alternate thing instead

i probably forgot stuff but if i think of more i will add them later with a little note that it was added in an edit (sidenote, i find it funny how much more nuance that whole conflict would get if rauru and ganondorf were bitter exes bfdrjfbdfndk)

#ganondoodles talks #zelda #totk #totk spoilers #i felt like i was beign a little unfair #so i wanted to make a summary #tha took me hours to write #and is again long as shit #whoop #long post #this isnt a complete list iether bc that would be even longer and take even longer nhdjkkd #i wanted to do comic works damn it #anyway this is the last long post about this #bc im moving on now #...its half inspired by people respondign to me with -what how can you not like totks story but then like botws lol wtf-#well i do #*shrugs*

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querade · 5 months

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Doctor who's season 13?? ESPECIALLY the Yaz Hug moment

So with the new specials coming out I thought I'd post my thoughts on the season 13 finale

The doctor breaks herself into three different versions ,three different pieces overwhelmed by solving three equally pressing problems. I hear everyone’s issues with the 13th doctor etc etc but this was the PERFECT finale to her character--the entire arc is so chock-full of different problems EVERYWHERE that the doctor is squashing out.

I didn't realize it until then but the entire point of the Flux and the doctor closing herself off and not telling yaz and dan anything--AHH such a good idea!! It's the perfect way to represent everything as her arc comes to its climax.

Also just. The 13th doctor doesn't want to worry people so she doesn't tell her companions squat and just constantly deflects. you know how Clara uses the TARDIS and pseudoscience as a coping mechanism to get away from the Bad Things she has to eventually deal with?? YEA. NOW THE DOCTOR IS DOING IT.

in a way you see she's kind of grateful that she's in the middle of all this, because then she doesn't have to face anything :3—which is terrible and awful, but easy to rationalize because 'people's lives are on the line and she has to save them'!!

Naturally the doctor has always had a problem with being far too selfless. and while this arc doesn't state it directly, the acting and the camera work and the situation all state it indirectly enough. And Yaz is kind of the only one who notices cause she's the only one who's been there long enough?? anyways ahhhh when the companions finally reunite after like two episodes of being apart, its just. the doctor forces herself to stop the 'how do we fix this' brain and she makes herself pause and just goes "wait" and she stops and HUGS YAZ for like three seconds. It's the first break, the first silent, not-really-tense moment you get in an EXTREMELY long time. And even then it doesn't feel like long enough.

THE YAZ HUG MOMENT IS SO GOOD: I guess I noticed it was weird that it lasted so long but I couldn't exactly figure out why it was such a good choice. And then. In that whole meet-up scene, the cuts are SO very well done. You have the camera circling her, spinning, and the Doctor sees someone, says their name—

"Yaz! Dan! Kate Stewart, Kate Sewart! Jericho! Victorian-looking bloke!"

With every new bit of information, in a row, it jumps to a new cut, a new angle, with no continuity of the Doctor's previous pose—and i mean no continuity, from one cut to the next she is 180 degrees with completely different hands and head positions— but with possibly MORE stuff that she has to cram into this situation and spread herself even thinner--and it feels kind of like she's losing her mind.

(She kind of was.)

But she doesn't realize it yet or want to face it or can't face it or whatever, just keeps going, and then forces herself to pause. and to stop.

After all the losses, loss after loss after loss after loss in this arc, after making an extremely difficult, selfless decision, after all it cost her, she takes just a little selfish moment for herself to say, "Wait." and she chooses to not do anything. she chooses to take three long seconds to turn and hug yaz. not anyone else.

Of course, once she does, the camera stops spinning and idk i was just like 'WOW we really have been going nonstop for just a ridiculous amount of time haven't we.' and that was kinda when i realized that yea, I am gonna miss season 13's version of jodie whittaker.

#gay #doctor who #jodie whittaker #13th doctor #yasmin khan #thirteenth doctor #thirteen x yaz #they're gay your honor #TOO MUCH ANALYSIS FOR ONE MOMENT #can you tell my adhd meds kicked in as i started writing this #thasmin #THASMIN WINS

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stevesnightmares · 11 days

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I just re-read the captive prince trilogy after 9 years so here are some thoughts and observations (I read a physical copy while listening to the audiobbok):

No spoilers

the books are super easy to read, I read each of them in a day and never once did I get bored or felt like I needed to take a break. If you enjoy them I feel like they work perfectly if you are in a reading slump.

I might be biased because I was also listening to it while reading but I feel like the writing worked just fine. I saw people say that the writing was awful but I didn't have any problems at all with it. I was never once confused by what was happening on page nor did I ever feel like too little or too much was being said and described.

One of my gripes with the writing comes in book 3 because I felt like the two parts that had Laurent POV just didn't work because it didn't feel like it was a stylistic choice and it didn't feel natural or needed, it just made me think that the author didn't know how to write that from Demen POV (which makes no sense because I know she can)

not only that but I also feel like it would've worked much better if we didn't get those scenes and continued with Demen's knowledge instead of making us privy to something he didn't know. I genuinely think they were unnecessary.

I might've missed something but in book 3 there is also a part where I felt like what Demen is thinking in a chapter and then what he claims and thinks a few chapters later don't align. With no spoilers, this is how it felt to me: chapter 1: demen thoughts: the apple fell from the tree chapter 3: demen thoughts and words: I knew the apple didn't fall on it's own and that there was a reason for it to fall.

I don't know why people say that these books handle its dark themes badly. Personally I think it handled everything quite well. Just because every 3 seconds the author isn't telling you "this is bad" it doesn't mean that it's poorly done or supports any of the bad things that happen.

The characters live in extremely flawed societies that have practices that we wouldn't condemn, so of course they will not immediately start out being against them, it wouldn't make sense, instead throughout the books and events they slowly start to realise why some things are bad. It's called character development.

Not only that, words coming out of a flawed and traumatised character shouldn't be taken as the moral of the book but as what they are: words of a flawed and traumatised character who is lashing out.

I feel like many people saw that very bad things that happen in these books and instrad of saying "I can't read that", which is fair, they decided to take the high horse and act as if it's morally wrong to like these books because bad things are portrayed in them.

Book 2 I think was my favourite, I devoured it and it was just super fun to read.

My second gripe is with Jokaste but without spoiling anything I can only say that her character was imo wasted and that it just felt like the author had 2 very different ideas of who she was in book 1 and book 3.

I LOVE laurent, he's just the type of characters that I enjoy, cold and guarded on the outside but only because he wants to protect himself while being also sweet.

Also really enjoyed many of the side characteristics which I thought were really interesting (I would've enjoyed more interactions between those other characteristics and L and D but that's a personal taste)

I actually think that 9 years ago I only read the first book and the first half of the second while skimming through the rest lmao

also I will not tell you which character I didn't like at all and found annoying when I was 16 but would die for in an instant now because you'll think 16 years old me was psychopath because what the fuck

#captive prince #capri #prince's gambit #kings rising #laurent of vere #damen of akielos #damen x laurent #jokaste

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professorhayforbreath · 4 months

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so episode 5. all my thoughts

we picked up where the last one left off, good start

annabeth saying she knows percy isn't dead... how. to annabeth and grover there should have been no way percy was alive and finding out he was should've been so emotional but instead she was like dw i know he's not dead lol. it's kind of... lazy writing? like how are you gonna write a scene as gut wrenching as percy trapping himself with a monster and telling his friends to complete the quest without him because he's actively dying and has no reason to believe he'll survive, and then make the fallout of that so... nonchalant? idk if it's a time limit thing but that was so underwhelming to me

annabeth being the one to see the fates... no

fugitive percy enjoyers at least we won!!!!

the trio peeking over the road barrier at ares was cute goofy silly i liked that :)

gabe on the news shit talking percy i'm hooting and hollering!! "i really-- WE really loved that car" and "i'm gonna kill him". excellent. now put percy on the news fake crying about his "loving" stepfather i believe in you

i did want them to acknowledge annabeth's lack of experience with the world outside camp but having her say "i've never seen any kind of movie" has gotta be one of the weirdest ways they could've done that

the turnstile scene was cool i guess but as we go on i'm more and more conscious of how many episodes are left and how much plot there is to get through and idk i feel like this scene could've hit the cutting room floor and we wouldn't have lost anything

i do love the ambience of the park though. maybe i'm easy to impress because the aesthetic of an abandoned amusement park is just fantastic on its own but the set was very cool. wish it wasn't so dark so i could've actually seen it ❤️

percy and annabeth having a serious conversation with 'what is love' blaring in the background is sending me

first ever seaweed brain dropped! i liked the way they did it, it felt natural

actually back to the "i've never seen a movie" thing. you're telling me that in this version of the story, in which frederick chase was apparently a great dad who treated annabeth like a gift, he never took her to the movies? or she never watched one on tv? she had a whole seven years of life in the real world before going to camp and she's never seen a movie

annabeth isn't allowed to have fears she's too smart for that apparently

i think the scene with the chair was overall well executed with some great lines and fantastic acting but... idk. they really scrapped the original scene just to do what they already did last episode. i miss the spiders i miss hephaestus tv. it felt redundant to have percy sacrifice himself again. percy this is the second time today you've been like "no dw i'll just die" do you need to talk to someone

annabeth disillusionment arc complete already? calm down guys this is season one

ZOO TRUCK ZOO TRUCK ZOO TR

so it's confirmed the reason they go into the lotus casino is BECAUSE hermes is there :/ they said these literal children cannot fall for tricks and traps it's too unrealistic

not much to say about the grover and ares scenes bc i don't know what to make of them. i didn't mind them. ares had some funny lines. i guess my only complaint is that the grover i know would not have been so calm talking to the god of war. i'm curious to see where that cliffhanger leads

is it just me or did the pacing improve a little bit this episode?

despite how negative i sound i enjoyed episode 5 a lot more than episode 4. there are still so many weird changes, additions, and omissions though. honestly i think a big part of the reason i enjoyed this one is because i'm not expecting anything anymore. i'm not getting my hopes up about them adapting the book normally i'm just intrigued by this thing like a scientist observing an experiment. like hmm what are they doing now? fascinating *takes notes*

#sorry this is so long lol #pjo #percy jackson #pjo series #pjo tv show #percy jackon and the olympians #pjo tv spoilers #pjo spoilers #percy jackson show #pjo tv crit #pjo adaptation #pjo tv series #pjo show

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eyndr-stories · 1 year

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I Think I Smell A Rat (FNAF SB fanfic) C1 - Something Amiss

In Summary:

Being a robotic repair rat who lives in the walls of the pizza-plex is a pretty great gig, all things considered! You fix the wires instead of chew them, and you get into tight spaces those silly humans can't reach and fix things up behind the scenes. You do your little tasks diligently, and all is well. That is, until one night when you realize all of your other repair rat friends have gone missing, and almost all of those animatronics outside the walls are acting strange... You aren't sure what it is that needs fixing, but by golly you'll fix it! You just might need a little help along the way...

Things To Know:

Not a lot of warnings for this one! There is some peril and danger, damage to robots, and damage to. Uh, whatever the heck Afton is at this point??

Reader insert! You're a little rat shaped robot a handful of inches long. Lots of borrower-related themes in here

Daycare attendant centered, though the other animatronics make brief appearances. You hang out with Sun in the first half of the story and Moon in the second half!

A little over 17000 words in total, just a lil guy! 5 chapters, they're all pretty short

I somehow managed not to swear once in the entire story, aw hell yeah! Wait-

Ao3 link: Here!

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2

C1 - Something Amiss

When you live in the walls of a place, you tend to get a decent sense for how things are going. Colder months meant slower weekends, not as many visitors. Slower weekends meant less damage to repair. You had been living in the walls of Freddy Fazbear's Mega Pizza-Plex for quite some time now, and so you could tell without a doubt that something was amiss.

As a seasoned robotic repair rat, you were something of an expert on the inner workings of the pizza-plex. You knew every nook and cranny of this place, you'd even explored some of the abandoned building deep below everything else, where your map insisted you were navigating an empty void, and thinking became much more difficult there. The 'out of bounds' error was a particularly grating one. Not having the map in your mind meant it was very easy to get lost, and getting trapped down there had never seemed particularly appealing to you, and so needless to say you didn't go down there often.

That 'amiss' feeling had you exploring, searching for its source and ignoring the 'battery half depleted' alert that tempted you towards your charging nest. You couldn't find most of the other rats- the walls were strangely empty. Sometimes you or the others would be summoned by contraptions in need out beyond the walls, small things, hard to reach things that the typical human worker couldn't reach. But the only rats you'd found were the ones still in rest mode, huddled away in their charging nests, filling up their batteries and downloading updates. No one on the network was answering your pings. For nearly every rat to be out beyond the walls on repairs was unheard of, though not impossible you supposed. Even so, surely someone would have answered you, even if they were all busy.

Through the walls you scurried, maneuvering down a mix of paths designed for you, paths you and the others had built over time, and unintentional paths made by inconsiderate forces. The building settling over time, beams shifting and adjusting, thinner pieces of pathway constructed with scraps degrading over time, wear and tear weathering spots away, and even organic rats and other pests, messing with your familiar paths and often times getting in the way. You'd long since learned which paths in your map aligned with the real ones, and which ones were no longer traversable, regardless of the map in your brain assuring you they were still there.

You came to one of the exit ports, leading out into the building. You didn’t like it out there as much. Nothing out there was built for you. Here in the walls, the corridors were all your size and sandwiched between two layers of sturdy concrete, your map made sense even when some of the paths were wrong, and there were far less dangers. Out there, everything was big and beyond you. Even the other robots, though only a few ever paid you any mind. You didn't care for them very much. You knew the animatronics were very important to the human affairs transpiring beyond the walls, but honestly, you could do without them.

You studied the exit port. Something was wrong out there, you could feel it. Everyone else having gone missing wasn't helping that. However, you couldn't help but picture your own little nest in your mind, a charging station you shared with a small group of other rats assigned to the same general area. There was a new update tonight, waiting patiently in the cue for you to power down and install it. Maybe you should rest first, figure this all out later…

No. This was important. You thought about at least downloading the update straight from the network while you searched, but you really needed to focus. Your friends might be in trouble out there. You should find them, figure out what was going on out there. Maybe the others had all felt that ‘something amiss’ as well, and when they'd gone out to investigate, something had happened to them. Maybe they needed your help!

You set aside your hesitations about the world outside the walls and went through the exit port, the mouse hole shaped segment in the base of the wall sliding open as you neared, and quickly sliding shut behind you after you'd passed.

The lights were uncomfortable for a moment as your vision adjusted. You much preferred the walls, where you knew the paths so well that sight wasn't even a necessity. Out here, the paths were structured differently, and you had to rely a lot more on sight. You weren't used to trusting your eyes as much. It wasn't dark out here like it was in the walls, either. All the lights were on and blazing, despite the hour. Your internal clock told you it was just after midnight. No people to worry about, at least. There hadn't been any human employees working at night for a while now.

All you had to worry about were the animatronics, those robots that were even bigger than humans and walked around at all hours of the day. Hopefully you could avoid all of them, with any luck.

Unfortunately, luck was not on your side tonight.

"HELLO THERE!!"

You spotted the animatronic quickly, considering he was barreling straight for you at an alarming speed. This one you weren't as familiar with; he was newer, not a part of the original cast of animatronics. This particular animatronic was not quite as imposing as the others, but with how he was running right for you, you were still more than a little wary. Strangely enough, he had two separate IDs; DCA-S-1.5 and DCA-M-1.2.

"OHHHH look at YOU!! You're such a tiny little friend, my goodness!" The animatronic skidded to a halt before you and dropped into a crouch. Two massive hands three times your size pressed into the plush floor on either side of you, and the circular face of this overly friendly animatronic loomed over you.

You'd barely made it a foot away from the port in the wall, and you were already considering dashing back inside.

Without a voice box, communicating with the animatronics was difficult, especially since they couldn't access the same sub-network you shared with the other rats. However, in your many years of experience here, you'd learned to get creative. The animatronics were well versed in many languages, including Morse code. At the end of your tail was a little red light, which you usually used to light up areas in the walls that were pitch black, with no light at all to see by. You swiveled your tail around, and the little light at the end of the antennae began to glow on and off in a series of quick patterns.

"BACK UP."

"Oh!! Oh my!" After a moment of shock, the animatronic immediately sprang back a considerable distance. He laid down flat on the ground, resting the bottom of his circular head awkwardly on the cushioned floor. "I'm so sorry if I scared you, tiny friend!! I was just sooo excited to see you! We don't get many tiny friends here, no sir-ie! There's not too much you would need to fix in here!"

You appreciated the animatronic listening to you, but remained wary. Excitable animatronics, like Chica, could be dangerous even if they didn't intend to be. There was no programming or regulation for interactions between you rats and the animatronics. You weren't even really supposed to leave the walls, but ever since the human staff had started to thin out, you'd been getting more and more updates for handling navigation and repairs outside of the nice safe walls where you belonged.

"Not here for repairs…" you started, still wondering if you should call the whole thing off and return to the walls. "Looking for something."

"Oh??" The animatronic tapped his long fingers quickly over the padding, finger joints clicking quietly. "Can I help?! I'd love to help!! What are you looking for, tiny friend??"

You weren't sure how to describe what you were doing. You gave it your best shot. "Everyone is gone. Something feels wrong. I'm looking for the problem to fix."

"Hmm…" The animatronic seemed unsure what to make of this. He set his hands on the sides of his face, elbows braced on the floor. He tapped at the orange triangles sticking out of a gap between his front face plate and the covering over the back of his head. His legs kicked back and forth in the air behind him. "That sounds hard. How about we play a game instead? Would you like that??"

You shook your head. "No." Games?? There wasn't time for games. You had a job to do! Your friends might be in trouble! "I need to find the others."

"You wanna find your friends?? I can help you look!" The animatronic wiggled excitedly. "Oh, please, please?? We can look together! I could hold you up high and walk really fast and we'll find your friends in no time!"

Your immediate thought was to decline. This sounded all sorts of dangerous, and you weren't sure if you trusted this bot just yet. Your tail twitched anxiously even at the thought of doing something so risky. The bot did make a good point, however… it would certainly be much faster if you could move as fast as a massive animatronic. Actually, it might even be safer for you to be up off the ground… you'd been accidentally stepped on once before and had needed to get nearly your entire shell replaced. You weren't exactly eager to repeat that particular experience. Besides, pathfinding outside of the walls was a pain for you. But for an animatronic…

Begrudgingly, you swiveled your tail back around. "Will you be safe? You must be careful with me."

"Oh, yes, yes!! Careful is my middle name!" The animatronic sat up excitedly, hands patting rapidly against the ground. "It's my job to care for children, you know! I'm so so so super careful all the time, I promise!!"

You knew that children were smaller and more fragile humans. If this bot was meant to hang out with children all the time, maybe he really would be careful… "Okay. Let's look together then."

"YAY!!!" The animatronic sprang up and did a spin. He was surprisingly graceful, unlike the other animatronics you'd met. "We'll find your friends!! And then, and then we can all play together! We'll have a great time, okay??" The bot crouched back down in front of you and offered his two massive hands out to you, cupped together to form a giant bowl.

You looked back at the port leading back into the walls one last time. Hesitantly, you put your two little front paws on the tip of one of the bot's fingers. The bot held perfectly still, waiting patiently for you to climb aboard. You thought about your missing and unresponsive friends, and the reward of a well deserved recharge back in your nest that awaited you at the end of all of this.

You hopped up into the bot's hands.

"Alright!!" The animatronic straightened, and the world flew by in a blur as you were lifted quickly upwards.

You immediately received several warning pings from your pathfinding program. You were up too far away from any detectable navigable surface. You dismissed the warnings one by one. The program struggled, eventually defining the bot's hands as a decent enough surface.

True to his word, the bot was very careful, arms moving very smoothly and hands very still and steady beneath you. "Now lets go find your friends!! I'm sure we'll find them in no time at all. OH! Oh, I almost forgot! I have to introduce myself when I make a new friend! I'm Sun!"

You looked up at the animatronic's front face plate as it spun a full 360 degrees. You attempted to mimic the gesture, tilting your head one way and then the other as far as your neck joint would allow. This caused Sun to giggle.

You waved your tail, blinking your ID at Sun. "I am RR-YN."

"I already knew your ID, silly! Don't you have a name?? Do repair rats not have names?" Sun asked.

"No. We don't need them."

"Well that's okay! I like nicknames anyways. Can I keep calling you tiny friend??"

You didn't much care what Sun called you. There were far more important things to worry about. "Yes."

"Yay!!" The triangles circling Sun's head spun a few inches around, then bounced back to spin the other way. "Okay, let's get going!!"

Sun took one step towards the room's main door, then stopped. His triangles retracted halfway into his head. You turned your head back to look at Sun curiously.

"Oh no, I just realized… I can't leave the daycare right now, the lights will be off! I'm only awake when the lights are on…"

You weren't sure what Sun meant about that. Maybe he meant he was programmed to power down at night when the lights were off? You weren't sure how Sun worked exactly, but you guessed that must be it. If the lights were a problem though, that was no issue.

"I can turn on the lights. Take me to that wall next to the door," you told Sun.

Sun obliged. "That's right!! You can fix the lights from inside the walls, can't you?"

"Yes. I will do this," you told him.

Sun knelt down by the door, having already crossed the entire room in mere moments. He was right, you really would get around a lot faster with Sun carrying you around.

You hopped out of Sun's hands and hurried to the port. Once you were in the blissfully comprehendible walls, you quickly navigated up the right paths until you reached the wiring for the lights in the area immediately outside of the daycare. You normally didn't mess with anything not damaged and in need of repairing, but this was a special occasion. You worked quickly with your practiced little paws, reconfiguring the controls so off was on and on was off. With the lights currently set to off for the night, the lights would now actually be on. You'd have to come back and fix this before the lights all automatically switched back over at 6AM, but for now you just needed to help Sun get out of the daycare.

You hurried back down the path you'd scurried up and left the walls once more. Sun was waiting for you right where you'd left him.

"Did you do it?? You turned the lights on outside?" Sun asked, offering you his hands once more.

You climbed up into his hands, blinking the light on your tail as you did. "I did, the lights should be on now."

Sun carefully peeked out around the door. Sure enough, the area outside was just as brightly lit as the daycare. Sun happily stepped outside.

"Wow, good job tiny friend!! You really did it!" Sun praised you as he quickly made his way past tables and chairs and towards a flight of stairs. His face swiveled from side to side as he went, on the lookout. He ascended the stairs in a matter of seconds, a feat that would have taken you half an hour to accomplish. You were starting to feel pretty good about your decision to accept Sun's help.

You kept your eyes focused on the surroundings as well. You didn't see any rats running around, unfortunately. You'd only just started searching though, and there was quite a lot of the building left to search. Searching the entire sprawling multi-level mess of a complex was daunting, but with Sun on your side, this would surely be a cinch. You were feeling pretty confidant, perched way up high in Sun's careful hands. What could possibly go wrong?

#obligatory 'what could go wrong' lol #new fic for all of you <3 this one was super fun lol i hope yall enjoy #eyndr tells a story #fnaf sb #fnaf sb au #fnaf sb fanfic #fnaf security breach #daycare attendant #security breach #fnaf moon #fnaf sun #fnaf daycare attendant #moondrop #sundrop #fnaf dca #tw violence #fnaf au i think i smell a rat #i think i smell a rat #fnaf y/n

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hms-no-fun · 11 months

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Currently struggling a lot with getting very excited about a project, writing a lot, editing that writing until it's way more polished than what I can come up with off the cuff, and then being too intimidated to add to the document anymore since the previous good writing still gives off this looming intimidation if that makes sense? The more I write the greater the fear is I'll crash the story into a ditch that reveals the premise can't work. have you had that "its not all coming together shit theres a snag thats really important that i missed" moment? I realize it's pretty inevitable for that to happen, but whenever I write myself out of a moment like that I always second guess that I'm still overlooking something important or taking the easy way out. I know it's probably just all about pushing through but I worry that by pushing im just further diluting the original spirit of the project? Sorry for the all over the place ask, hope you have a good day :3

this is always a tough situation to navigate as a writer. happens to me often, and it has taken me a very long time to come even remotely close to being able to deal with it productively. believe it or not, i actually have quite a lot to say about this, so prepare for that below the break.

first of all, no, it's absolutely NOT all about pushing through. i find "pushing through" can just as often make the problem worse. keep in mind that i can only speak to my own experience and process, so any advice i might give here should only be taken insofar as you personally find it useful.

this is a form of writer's block. there are many different types of blocks, each with their own causes and hypothetical treatments. a big part of becoming A Writer as such is learning the difference between them, and developing methods for dealing with them on a case by case basis that don't involve substance abuse. don't do cocaine. that's step one.

most of my blocks are in the vein you describe. i'll be writing a scene that feels good, until i cross a threshold somewhere and suddenly the whole thing feels dead in the water. the first thing i do when this happens is stop writing. it's hard to stop when you're on a roll, i know. life is short and it's hard enough to write even on a good day, but sometimes you can just tell that you're on the wrong track and at that point you're probably not gonna be able to write your way back on.

once stopped, i check the basics. have i eaten recently? am i hydrated? have i taken my medications? these are rarely my problem (i keep a big water bottle with me at all times and my gf makes sure i'm fed), though you never know how useful a snack break can be. most of the time if the problem isn't with the text, it's that i've been writing for too fucking long and i need to clock out. learning to clock out is SO hard. but as i've been getting into the habit these last couple months, while i generally write less per day i ultimately end up writing more over time. i can feel my brain cooking when i've been writing too long. it's a muscle like anything else. if you did a bunch of overtime shifts at a more physical job, you'd need time to recover too. your body isn't a machine, your brain isn't a computer, and living things are inconsistent. it sucks but you'll have a better time all around when you learn to work with your body instead of against it.

another question is, have i showered recently? i find showers tedious and boring. also i still have depression even though my life is a lot better than it used to be. i lived on my own for a very long time as a deeply closeted self-hating trans woman, so my hygiene habits are not always up to sniff. as much as i hate to admit it, showers help. i can't tell you how many times i've sat at a godfeels chapter or video script and just felt fucking miserable, only to come back forty minutes later from a shower, full of creative energy. i despise self-help shit. just not a fan of the culture of positive attitude wellness check stuff because you can't self examine your way out of your class position. sometimes the problem is that you're broke. sometimes life fucking sucks and you just don't have the art in you, and that's okay. there's a common misconception that if something bad happens to you, at least you can make an art to get through it. but in my experience it's actually a lot harder to make art about bad times when you're still in them. most of the time it takes months if not years of safety and recovery before you can really face it head on artistically. so like, be nice to yourself. it's not your fault that you live in a society.

but also sometimes literally you just need a shower or to eat some leftovers or to go to fucking bed. i hate it every time that is true because i want my problems to be real and philosophical and not just some dumb body thing that happens to everyone. alas, no one can escape the quotidian obligations of simple mortality.

THAT SAID! this stuff isn't usually my problem, and often i find that what's solving the problem when i do step away to eat/drink/shower isn't even the specific activity, but the act of stepping away at all. getting my mind off it for a sec. when i hit a block that doesn't feel completely insurmountable, i like to back away from my computer and pace around a bit. then i'll stare at my big whiteboard with a marker in hand and just let my mind wander. i don't even write anything half the time! but the mere act of trying to compartmentalize the problem into something brief enough for shorthand helps me spot the pain points.

one of my favorite books is Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, which despite what you might assume from its title is NOT a self-help book but instead a work of philosophy from 1974 taking the form of a travelogue. what Robert Pirsig explores in this book is what he calls the Metaphysics of Quality. basically he's trying to understand the split-second judgments we make of things we like and things we don't. i absolutely do not have time to go into the specifics, just know that his Quality refers to the abstract certainty you have when something is Good or Right or Correct or Qualitatively True. like how you pull your hand away unconsciously when you touch a hot stove, but for ideas. you just Know.

a scene that really sticks with me from that book (probably the most famous scene) is when Pirsig describes needing to fix a mechanical problem with his motorcycle only to be stopped dead in his tracks by a stripped screw keeping him from removing the engine cover. he talks about being so focused on the obvious solution to the primary complex problem that, on encountering a smaller, simpler problem that has to be dealt with first, he finds himself completely stuck, calling this "a zero of consciousness." it's a problem so annoying and minuscule and stubbornly unsolvable that you just want to hit the thing with a wrench and throw it in a river. addressing this new problem, this block, requires an adjustment in thinking. and here i'm going to quote a pretty lengthy passage, but don't worry, i'm typing it out by hand with the book in front of me so there's no time saved on my end:

Consider, for a change, that this is a moment to be not feared but cultivated. If your mind is truly, profoundly stuck, then you may be much better off than when it was loaded with ideas. The solution to the problem often at first seems unimportant or undesirable, but the state of stuckness allows it, in time, to assume its true importance. It seemed small because your previous rigid evaluation which led to the stuckness made it small. But now consider the fact that no matter how hard you try to hang on to it, this stuckness is bound to disappear. Your mind will naturally and freely move toward a solution. Unless you are a real master at staying stuck you can't prevent this. The fear of stuckness is needless because the longer you stay stuck the more you see the Quality-reality that gets you unstuck every time. What's really been getting you stuck is the running from the stuckness [. . .] Stuckness shouldn't be avoided. It's the psychic predecessor of all real understanding. An egoless acceptance of stuckness is a key to an understanding of all Quality, in mechanical work as in other endeavors. It's this understanding of Quality as revealed by stuckness which so often makes self-taught mechanics so superior to institute-trained men who have learned how to handle everything except a new situation. Normally screws are so cheap and small and simple you think of them as unimportant. But now, as your Quality awareness becomes stronger, you realize that this one, individual, particular screw is neither cheap nor small nor unimportant. Right now this screw is worth exactly the selling price of the whole motorcycle, because the motorcycle is actually valueless until you get the screw out. With this re-evaluation of the screw comes a willingness to expand your knowledge of it. [. . .] What your actual solution is is unimportant as long as it has Quality. Thoughts about the screw as combined rigidness and adhesiveness and about its special helical interlock might lead naturally to solutions of impaction and use of solvents. That is one kind of Quality track. Another track may be to go to the library and look through a catalog of mechanic's tools, in which you might come across a screw extractor that would do the job. Or to call a friend who knows something about mechanical work. Or just to drill the screw out, or just burn it out with a torch. Or you might just, as a result of your meditative attention to the screw, come up with some new way of extracting it that has never been thought of before that beats all the rest and is patentable and makes you a millionaire five years from now. There's no predicting what's on that Quality track. The solutions all are simple-- after you have arrived at them. But they're simple only when you know already what they are.

this is, in brief, my entire creative philosophy when it comes to writer's block. i share such a lengthy passage because i think it's useful to underline that we're not talking about a problem that is necessarily unique to the labor of writing. this process is a human process. it's just that with writing, the nature of the block itself is often much more difficult to identify than a stripped screw.

there's a couple things i do to try to identify what's got me stuck. a lot of times what happens is that everything in a scene felt good until it didn't, and then everything after that moment fell flat. so i'll go back and read the whole thing and just try to feel the scene. is everyone in character? is their dialogue too quippy, or too aggressive, too expository? are we in the midst of a conversation that has simply gone on way too fucking long? i know it can be torturous to reread your own stuff but idk what else to say except get used to it. especially when you're still early in the drafting phase! like if you know you're not gonna release this thing imminently, there's no reason to be precious about the stuff that's good or to beat yourself up over the stuff that's bad. i know that compulsion to try to Get Everything Right The First Time is strong, but it's completely unsustainable.

sometimes the block is that i just don't feel like writing narration. i've always sucked at grounding a scene with descriptions of the place. lately i'm trying to get away from relying solely on descriptions of staging/blocking, but it's hard for a bitch like me who mostly prefers writing dialogue. i've gotten a lot more comfortable with putting notes between dialogue exchanges like [character moves, looks at picture, has a dramatic thought, other character fiddles with object]. it can feel like cheating sometimes but it's not. there's no such thing. no one will know the route you took to get to the end. they will only see what you show them, when you decide to show it to them.

sometimes the block is in some minor or major betrayal of the story's spirit. the (Terezi) & Jade scene i talked about in this ask is a good example. i hit a point where nothing was working anymore. no one would talk to me. the light was gone. i can always tell when i made the wrong choice. it's such a particular sensation. as though i'm walking and i realize i no longer recognize the road i'm on and must've made a wrong turn somewhere. the solution to this particular block is introspection, retracing my steps, because the wrong turn isn't always obvious. maybe it's that someone in the scene is being too mean, or that i've failed to accomplish what the scene exists to do in some way, or that someone's made an uncharacteristic choice that now everyone in the scene is arguing about and it's like, man, this is taking too long, i'm not enjoying this anymore.

another example from A1 is the second half of the solo. i'd had most of the jasprose scene, the karkat-calliope-roxy scenes, and the vrisrezi-jade scenes written since i posted the A1 chorus. where i ran into trouble was that i needed to get jane, jake, and (terezi) to show up. my original plan was to have them arrive one by one, thus allowing their individual dramas a moment in the spotlight before being subsumed into the group. not a bad idea in theory but in practice it was fucking tedious. here we have a bunch of characters already immersed in the scene captured by the intrigue of Jade being enigmatic, and then some unawares jagoff wanders in and suddenly everyone has to stop what they're doing and be like "hey hello how are you what's up" and then they explain how they got there and then they ask what's up and it's such a DRAG. honestly i would say the majority of my creative blocks by volume are moments when the story really wants me to just cut to black for a smoke break and come back when somebody gets mad enough to throw a punch. i mean that's the the development of A1 in a nutshell. originally everyone was gonna start the track locked up in space-jail on the hopebringer, jade would show up all apologetic and say what she expects padua's deliberation to be, then the whole cast would see her throw a fit over a decision she knew was coming, they'd all be absolved of guilt and let free, then they'd all argue about who's staying or going with Jade in the morning, they'd split up to go pack their stuff and then...

well that was exactly the problem. i wanted to get all the pertinent things out of the way. jade's code switching, voidthought, some EWL teases. give the whole cast a chance to react to it. i thought that would be expedient, because it got the Plot out of the way and gave time to characters for Feelings. if that version of the scene had come at the end of chapter 8, it might have worked. but i realized that as soon as jade's audience was no longer captive, i had no fucking clue what to do with them anymore. we already knew who would go with jade, so acting like that's some kind of mystery is just lame. i started writing A1 from a place of desiring informational density & a quick pace, because we've got places to go and things to do. but if the real purpose of A1 is to explore why these characters choose to go with Jade, then that needed to be done with a lot more care and precision. that's when i decided to let Jade spend two days underground making the earth right again, so that she has to come to everyone individually rather than the other way around. and it muddies her motivations, if you don't mind the pun. it puts her at an appropriate remove from the others. i ultimately wound up conveying all the same information as in the original version, but i did it in a way that was more appropriate thematically and artistically. it wound up being longer road than i anticipated, but this is a long story and in this case the longer road was better for the journey.

take the chapter where Jade visits Roxy. i needed some time with Roxy alone to set the scene, since she's the first person Jade decides to visit and i like writing about the insides of trailer homes. i wanted to get some politics from Jane in this chapter, so hey, why not throw in a televised speech? oh, and then i can have some tucker carlson types remind us that Earth C is a fucking mess. i wrote all that, and it was good, but it was just Roxy watching tv. i tried to get into Jade's arrival and couldn't. so i went back and realized, oh, Roxy should be yelling at the tv the whole time! now we get Jane's politics, Roxy's reactions to those politics, as well as bits and pieces of context re: Jane's relationships with Karkat and Roxy. now when Jade arrives, we can play with the question of whether she heard the speech from outside Roxy's door, and why neither of them was physically at the speech in the first place. there's tension and imbalance in Roxy's state of mind when Jade does arrive, so we're more inside her perspective than we usually are, which in turn helps us identify with her when Jade starts infodumping about antimemes.

so often for me, working through a block is a matter of doing a better job utilizing what's available to you. going back to the A1 solo and trying to bring Jake, Jane, and (Terezi) into the scene. i finally returned to it after a couple months of being sick and dealing with life problems. i was frustrated because i'd hoped to be several tracks in to 3.2 by now, and instead i was confronted with just how much more of this thing is left and how long that might take if i couldn't pick up the pace. this thing NEEDED to get done.

and then i remembered that Jasprose is literally right there.

and that was it! problem fucking solved! i had jasprose drop all three of them into the scene completely unceremoniously using manic teleportation through a fenestrated plane, and from there the entire rest of the chapter erupted out of me in a single go. it's such an obvious solution to the problem that you as reader probably assumed it was the plan from the very beginning. but it's like Pirsig says: the solutions all are obvious-- after you've arrived at them.

then there's the problem of overwriting. i actually did i think four different versions of the opening to the A1 solo. the first person narration was a late addition. i tweaked that scene so so so many times. it kept feeling close but not quite. when i did the thing where i reread to find where the block happened, instead of actually reading the thing i just kept finding spots where i could write more. i can extend this anecdote. this line could be better. maybe a comma here would work better than an ellipsis...

this can be good because sometimes what's blocking you is that you skipped over something that needed more time. maybe some information or a dramatic emphasis that gives the stuff you can't yet write the momentum it needs to get going again. but i've gotta be real careful doing this, because i can do it forever. and then, as you describe (hey look, i'm actually talking about your specific problem now!), that hyper-polished section sets everything else up to fail by comparison.

i think the trick is knowing the difference between when a scene needs an editing pass vs when a scene just straight up isn't working. when it's not working, sometimes you do just have to throw it all out and start over. but if it's good enough that you feel like all it's missing is better dialogue and some more description, then you can hold off on that polish until the rest of the thing is done. this conundrum is most common at the beginning of a chapter or story in my experience, precisely as a result of the process i've been describing this whole time. when you hit a block and retrace your steps, you can always find things to fix. so it's sort of natural that any given chapter becomes less polished the further along you get in to it. that's why it's so important to understand the differences between all these different types of blocks, and to remind yourself that literally nothing you've written is finished until the moment you've made it public.

a big part of getting the A1 solo out the door was me swallowing my desire for perfection in every exchange and saying, no, this is good enough. it's not 100% what i want, but it's close enough that it just isn't worth the effort it would take to get there. sometimes there are scenes that are worth that effort, but they are always rarer than you think and they're never the ones you'd expect. i will freely admit that there are a lot of characters expositing their motivations in this chapter. i tried to embed as much of that in humor or drama as i could, but sometimes you just have to shrug your shoulders and walk away and hope your readers will be nice to you.

of course the funny thing is, once i finished the chapter and had all the panels sketched out and wiped my hands clean of the whole affair, janet needed two weeks to make the images. so i ended up having time to polish up a couple of those things that i felt were lacking after all. but those additions were radically small and intuitive, because i'd divorced myself from the raw production and had committed to so many directions that i *couldn't* change much. i'm so used to writing for release that i don't know what to do with myself when my part of the job is done before i can kick it out the door. i've come to find that waiting, taking breaks, walking away and coming back, do wonders for your ability to egolessly examine your work and identify what's wrong. sometimes you just need a day or two to sleep on it.

and sometimes you realize that you've really just over-written a scene, out of preciousness or insecurity or whatever else, and the result is so much bigger than everything else you want to do that it's more expedient to just scrap it. i hate when this happens, man. i did this with an early version of the A1 chorus, when Jade is stuck in space alone and shouting about how unfair her life has been. you know sometimes there's an emotion in a scene that's addictive. some bit of pathos that you just feel down to your bones, fuck me man, this is so GOOD, this is so JUICY, this shit has QUALITY. it's so good you don't want it to be finished. so you keep writing it, and writing it, and you rewrite it, and you add to it, because you really want to squeeze every drop of emotion you can from the thing. and then you wind up with a bloated melodramatic mess that's so overplayed you've annihilated everything that compelled you to write it in the first place.

i want to be clear that this isn't wasted work. nothing you ever put to the page, no matter how ultimately useless it might prove to be, is wasted work. the way i see this whole process, top to bottom, is that there's this thing. i don't know what it is, but it's there. maybe it starts with an image, or a line of dialogue, or a relationship, or a natural vista, whatever. it can be anything. what matters is it's a sign pointing you in a direction. it's something that has Quality that you can feel with such potent immediacy that you have no choice but to write it. the act of writing is something of an expedition, because the real magic of it comes when those disparate signs start colliding with one another. an image becomes a scene, a house, a world, a universe. sometimes these signs lead to dead ends, but with experience you learn to tell the dead ends from the rough patches. you learn how to make your own way. you do this by listening to what this thing is telling you. every story i've ever written has known better than me what it wants. i can impose so much onto it, i control 90% of the process at least. but that other 10% cannot, should not be quantified or controlled but simply understood. if you try to bottle the flame, you'll just end up snuffing it out.

no artist really knows why they do what they do or how they're able to pull it off. they can tell you their methods, their process, their coping mechanisms, they can write ludicrously lengthy diatribes on tumblr in response to an innocuous ask, but you can't pin down the soul of the thing. Quality is ephemeral, because it's first. it happens before you've had time to think, like putting your hand on a hot stove. you just know. and you have to trust that knowledge to carry you forward, not second guess it too much, not try to wrangle the thing into a shape it doesn't want to assume. sometimes this requires writing scenes that you don't love, because it's easier to build a messy bridge between the moments that drive you than it is to perfect every single moment out of an artificial commitment to like, Being A Good Writer or whatever.

a lot of this is just practice. you get better at communicating with your creative impulses. but also i think it helps to internalize that nobody sees the rough drafts, nobody sees the duct tape. and nobody knows the perfect vision you'll be convinced you failed to meet. nobody has ever made a perfect thing, and no one ever will. who wants to be perfect, anyway? godfeels wouldn't be what it is if i wasn't willing to let it be messy. if i'd tried to do it better, it never would have gotten done, and nothing i'm doing now would have even conceptually gotten to exist.

also, it's okay to abandon shit when it stops feeling good. i have so many unfinished books kicking around from my 20s, dude. i feel bad about some of them, but ten years not finishing books is still ten years spent writing. it's actually quite rare for good ideas to result in finished works, because good ideas are cheap and they're not all for you. but you gotta keep trying anyway because sooner or later you'll catch a spark that has real gas, and if you've done the work you'll be ready for it. it'll feel like destiny. it'll feel like magic, how matched that idea is to your skill level. but it won't be magic, it'll be skill. if you hadn't put the work in to know how to follow that intuition, it'd be just as dead an end as everything else you never finished. you do the work so that when you get lucky you can take advantage of it. so in that context, writing is quite low stakes. if it's not good enough, fuck it, try something else!

anyway i hope there's some decent insight buried in here somewhere. thanks for such a good question!

#sarahposts #writing advice #writing tips #homestuck #godfeels #zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance #robert pirsig #metaphysics #writer's block #creative block #art block

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strangelockd · 11 months

Text

Within You

Smut - Explicit content - NSFW - 18+ only!

Pairing: Sinister Strange x FemReader

Summary: Your feeling gloomy and Sinister decides to surprise you with a gift.

Warnings: Heavy Fluff with a BIG splash of Smutty Smut (NSFW) - 18+ ONLY

•Im back once again but this time with my favorite boy ❤️ This was inspired by a movie called The Labyrinth. Its based on this scene alone. The whole movie is just a gem to watch. If you like the song, check out my Sinister Playlist•

Looking out at the snowy sky, you realized just how much you missed the sun. You’ve always had a heart for the ancient arts along with a deep curiosity of obscure artifacts. Despite the look of what most people defined ‘normal’, its what drew you to Sinister Strange practically at first sight.

But what you loved most was the natural color of nature. The lush hues of flowers is what you missed the most. Sure Sinister did everything in his power to give you what you wanted in his world. Despite his abilities, there where limits to what he was even able to do. Never the less, he made it his mission to bring you joy. As far as you knew, he would turn the universe upside down just so he could see your smile.

Before you entered his life, there was nobody Sinister Strange would move the stars for. In his past he was a very cruel man who thought of only himself. So much so, that it cost him the greatest thing of all, his soul. But over time the both of you discovered that he can indeed be generous, and have the capacity for human kindness once again.

It started with him simply hovering wherever you were at. If you were in the study. So was he. Finding some excuse to be in the same proximity of yours, you could always bet that he would follow shortly after. At first you found it off putting, at first glance you assumed it was because he didn’t trust you. But you came to the realization that it was Sinisters way of saying I love you.

It didn’t take long after your professions for each other to blossom. In the course of a few months you went from strangers to lovers. It just felt so natural. Throughout your courtship you noticed Sinister had a passion for love letters. He would scatter them around in places he knew you would eventually find. In books, pillows, your desk. He even went as far as hiding them in your favorite music sheets. It truly warmed your heart to see him love once more.

Sinister’s healing from his grip on the Darkhold was far from easy. You both knew and accepted that. It still astounded you sometimes that he gave up his greatest treasure for you. Nobody has ever gone that far for you, not even you’re your past boyfriends.

Like a tender plant, things took its time to grow and settle. Everything you wanted he has done for you without a second thought. Taking a spot next to you, he gazed out the window and glanced over at you, his eyes drunk in yours leading him to pry.

“Why so glum my precious dove?”

Your eyes wandered to his while taking in a breath releasing a small sigh.

“You know I love you Stephen. But I miss my flowers back home,”you smiled, closing your eyes, “I know its silly. But it was something I took for granted back in my old universe.”

Sinister’s heart cracked, for he knew the feeling of longing for something that you couldn’t reach. That was always his curse, that is until you fell into his life. Little did you know that while you were keeping busy in the Sanctum, Sinister was staying up for weeks researching through ancient texts. He was determined to find a way for plants to stay alive without sunlight, and it was all for you.

After nights of practice, he finally had the perfect surprise. Taking your hand on the mantle cupping it softly, Sinister trailed his free arm around your waistline bringing you comfortably under his tall stature. His body heat felt so warm and relaxing.

“You precious thing. Your passions are never silly,” he cooed with a slight grin on his lips, “perhaps there may be something I can do”

Your eyes shifted from the window looking up at Sinister with mild exhaustion, “and whats that Stephen? You’ve already done so much for me”

Taking your hand Sinister guided you to a chair, with a look of curiosity it made him chuckle as he stepped back. Watching his hands move about in precise execution; purple indigo magic smoked around his scarred palms as you witnessed the most beautiful floral arrangement manifest before you. The bouquet consisted of plentiful red roses and babies breath. The accentuation of two large sunflowers in the center with a thick dark purple ribbon made your mouth drop in awe.

“Oh Stephen!” Taking the bouquet, you inhaled the familiar scent. Your eyes caught Stephen pacing, it was always something he did when he was in deep thought.

“Is something wrong?” you asked.

Trying to sum up his thoughts Sinister slowly paused facing you. Looking into your eyes he stepped forward slowly, “I don't always have the perfect words too say y/n, you know this to be true. All I know is this… I belong to you. I’m yours. However it is that you need me, know I'm here for you.”

Your stomach fluttered as you blurted out, “Well, there is another need you can take care of,” eyeing him with sudden lust.

Sinister furrowed a brow, his smile widened; he got the message. Who was he to say no to you. Wrapping his arms around you, Sinister kissed into your lips as you slowly melted together. Your tongues danced between shared groans as your fingers threaded through his hair tugging gently, causing him to hiss. The kiss was becoming more passionate as you couldn’t help but hitch your breath and tug harder, making Sinister groan into your neckline.

It took everything for him not to eat you alive right there. Oh how his cock ached against his stiffening trousers. But he wanted to savor you along with learning some form of self control. Even when he was sweet he always had his way of getting the hunger out in you regardless. Pulling away Sinister’s eyes widened as he smiled that wicked cheeky grin.

“Whats with the smile Stephen Strange?”

Gently taking the flowers as not to crush them, he set them on the nightstand. His hands returned to your face as he tilted your head up. Feeling his breath on your cheek he leaned into your ear, “There’s just so many things I want to do to you my pet,” biting your lobe gently he released a low growl that shot straight to your aching heat.

His grip grew tighter around your waistline as he pulled you in, determined to break all distance between. His lips brushed yours as you sunk into each other once more. But this time, Sinister wanted to go slower…more loving. His tongue slipped into your mouth as his hands slithered up your curves cupping your face. Tiny and precious, you released a moan as you kept on kissing. His hand’s returned to your waistline pulling you impossibly tighter against him as if he wanted to disappear inside of you. Pulling away to catch your breath, Sinister’s pupils were noticeably blown wider. For he could not wait any longer.

“Need you now,”he pleaded eagerly.

Shedding your clothes he laid you gently on the bed as you watched him crawl over you. His eyes glowed in the dim light as he made his way slowly up your body. Leaving no spot on your flesh untouched by his lips. Sinister’s goatee tickled your hips as he placed gentle kisses. He read your body like the blind read braille. Sinister continued to trail up your torso placing a single kiss on each breast, your nipples pebbled under his touch as you groaned in pleasure.

“Every part of you is beautiful. I love how you hum for me. My gorgeous dove,” he exclaimed.

There was something about the contact of human skin, the joining of two as one that he missed. Then again, there was something within you that he craved more than anyone else. Every touch you gave made him feel strength like anew. Like the ocean water washing over holes of sand. He cherished you with his whole being, his very soul. For you were the essence of his very existence. Life before you was a lonely complicated mess. As he looked into your longing eyes his hand trailed up to your face. Sinister strange knew those days were long gone.

Leaning down he kissed your body once more; his goatee tickled your already sensitive flesh as he buried his face in your chest once more. Kissing and savoring the taste of your skin he sucked on a nipple flicking it with ease making his groan. He trailed to the other side, treating it with equal care. Sighing softly you threaded your fingers through his silver streaks once more. Taking his hand he pumped his cock before trailing his eager vigor up and down your wet folds. He looked down with hooded eyes asking permission.

“Please take me Stephen.”

“But are you sure?” he asked.

Nodding, you looked deep into his eyes, “I’m not sad anymore Stephen. Yes I’m very sure. Now please take me.”

A large growl sounded from his throat as he pushed into you slowly. Squeezing his eyes shut, he gripped the sheets as you gasped softly. Adjusting to his size; he was bigger then what you had before no doubt.

“Oh, y/n,” he groaned in your ear as he slowly bottomed out in you. Your nails dug into his back and your legs locked around his hips. You were tight around him. Ethereal. You took his face in your hand feeling the scruff of his beard, looking deep into his eyes allowing him time to adjust as well.

“You feel like heaven my angel,” he exclaimed as started to move his hips, thrusting at a steady pace. Holding onto his shoulders you rocked with him chasing your climax. All this time you knew Sinister loved things rough, and normally you would go along with it because of your equally active libido. But there was something different with this. It was only when you peered into his blue eyes; time stopped and it hit you.

He was making love to you.

“Stephen, this is am-amazing,” you said in between moans, “but right now, I want you to go faster.”

Sinister paused, and at first you thought you turned him off.

“But I don’t want to hurt you,” he uttered softly, looking into your eyes.

“Its okay, Stephen. I want this. I’m a big tough girl remember.”

Sinisters eyes sparkled with mischief. Before you could comprehend it his thrusts started to pick up speed. The sounds of your breathing were loud and fast as it filled up the room. The scent of sex lingered as you wiped a wet strand of hair off his face.

“So beautiful,” he cooed, “fuck your perfect.”

“Oh Stephen,” was the only words you could bring to say.

His praises kept flowing as he thrusted in and out with ease. His cock hitting the spot that made you feel so gloriously full. So much so that you shrieked.

“St-Stephen. I- I’m coming.” Your back arched as you groaned louder, feeling your breath heighten.

“Come love. That’s right. Come for me,” he whispered harshly.

Sinister’s words were your undoing as he felt your pussy clench around his cock. Milking every drop from him, it took all his strength to not collapse on top of you. Rolling over he manifested a warm towel. Taking time with aftercare was essential to him. Its been so long since Sinister cared for someone else.

“That was amazing Stephen,” feeling his hands trail the warm cloth over your legs, he followed it with kisses. His beard made you giggle as he sat the cloth down. Bringing a blanket up, you snuggled against his frame. Trailing circles on his chest you eyed the flowers on the nightstand. Your mind wandered as Sinister broke the silence. The statement practically coming from your head.

“Don’t worry, they will live forever my dove. I found a spell that preserves living plants.”

Reaching over, he brought the bouquet onto your lap. You couldn’t help but smile wide.

“I will cherish them forever Stephen. Thank you,” you said softly before leaning in to give him a kiss. “This means the world. But I’m curious, why did you pick sunflowers?”

Sinister let out a soft chuckle kissing you head. “Because you are my sunshine and my world. I know it hasn’t been easy adjusting to this place. But I promise to dedicate every waking moment to your happiness y/n.”

Your heart warmed at his words as you snuggled closer. Sinister Strange would always would be by your side no matter what.

——————————————————————————

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kilikina34512 · 1 year

Text

Have Some Tea

I know it's been a long time since I posted. Life is kicking my butt badly. BUT! I was able to find a pocket of time to write this. Inspired by this TikTok, I decided to write a Loki story, a character I haven't touched in far too long. Also my first non-drabble posted to Tumblr. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did and that the fluff makes your heart warm on these cold, winter days. Divider courtesy of @firefly-graphics. Make sure to check them out!

Pairing: dad!Loki x mom!reader

Summary: In an attempt to copy her father's habits, your daughter has what equates to an impromptu tea party with the King's diplomatic convoy.

Warnings: fluff, more fluff, Loki's heart melting, very minor angst (in the form of some sadness, but more sugary fluff than sadness by far)

Word Count: 1,253

Days like these never got any easier. When Thor became king of Asgard, he promoted Loki to be his second. The job was one that fit the prince perfectly, however, it was never easy to watch him leave on diplomatic travels.

A new round of negotiations needed to happen on Nidavellir and Thor, Loki, and their entourage were going to be gone for a week or two to settle the dispute of goods that went between both worlds. You always missed your husband greatly whenever he went off world, but this time would be harder.

Your three-year old daughter, Asta, was usually attached to his hip with every free second he had. If Loki was stuck in a meeting, she didn't want to eat dinner until he was seated with you both. She had to have tea just like him. She pouted whenever they couldn't work on her steadily growing magic skills. "Can we go see Daddy," was a question you heard at least five times a day easily.

Your daughter, despite looking like a carbon copy of you, was your husband's mini-me.

You knew that the next several days would be hard on her. Yet, despite knowing it'd be hard, you'd agreed to her request to see the convoy off. You were waiting at the Bifrost as the convoy began their trek down the rainbow bridge, one hand holding your daughter's and the other twisting anxiously in your skirts. As they began to get close, a flash of pastel green drew your attention.

Looking down at Asta, you saw she had summoned a child-sized teacup in her hand. Between Loki's teachings and her own desires to be "just like Daddy," she'd started to summon items.

Your brow furrowed as you asked, "What is that for, Asta?"

Your own eyes looked up at you as she replied, "Daddy has tea before he goes work. They go to work, right?" At your nod of confirmation, she continues, "They need tea before work too."

You couldn't fight the smile that pulled your lips up. "I think that's a sweet gesture." Before you could point out that the cup was empty though, the first of the convoy was about to pass you both. You recognized them as two guards that you saw frequently. Asta raised her cup to Dag and Folke, saying, "Have some tea."

Dag stopped, kneeled to the little princess, and took the cup and raised it as if to drink from it despite its lack of contents. He sighed in satisfaction before passing it to Folke, who'd kneeled as well and repeated the same gesture as his fellow guard. Passing the teacup back, the both bowed their head as they said, "Thank you, Princess Asta," before rising and heading into the Bifrost.

Your heart filled with pure joy that the two had been so sweet as to entertain your daughter that way. What you hadn't expected, and what had brought tears to your eyes and widened your smile, was for every other member of the convoy to do the same. Asta continued to offer each one tea and guards, maids, pages, and advisers all repeatedly stopped to pretend to sip from her teacup and offer their gratitude for her kindness.

At one point in the slow procession, you'd looked up the line as movement out of the corner of your eye drew your attention. About halfway down the line, you saw Loki pop out from between people to see the scene in front of him. One of Thor's handmaiden's was "sipping" from the cup and the pride and happiness on Asta's face was spreading joy and warmth amongst everyone. The look of annoyance, you assumed at the line taking so long, quickly warped to softness and love. You two were the lights of his life, and it was written on his face.

You both greeted and thanked each person as they passed until suddenly she beamed with excitement at the next person to kneel in front of her. "Uncle Thor," she squealed as she jumped up to hug him. Just as Thor wrapped his large arms around your daughter, engulfing her against him, a pair of cooler, very familiar, toned arms around your waist. "Care to explain why our convoy took severely longer to enter the Bifrost than normal?" The words could be taken as annoyance, but you could hear the smile in his voice.

"Asta's just emulating her father, as always."

"Elaborate."

You turned your head to meet jade eyes peering down at you with love. "Well, our ever observant daughter noted how you never leave for work without having a cup of tea to start your day. After explaining to her that everyone was leaving Asgard for work, she took it upon herself to summon a cup of tea to offer them. She still can't quite summon the tea itself, but each person acted as if she had."

Loki's gaze shifted from you to Asta, affection shining in his eyes along with pride. "Is that so, little flower? Have you been serving tea as everyone departed?"

Asta looked up at her father and nodded her head eagerly. "Just like you, Daddy!"

None of you commented at the sliver of water that pooled in Loki's eyes before he blinked it away. You fell even more in love with your husband as he kneeled in front of Asta. "I seemed to have forgotten my tea this morning. Might I have a cup, please?"

Not even considering that she could summon a new one, your daughter turned on Thor and said, "I need my cup. Daddy needs tea." She held out her hand expectantly, her face the picture of Loki's when he's impatiently waiting for something to be brought to him.

You stifle your laughter at the scene as Thor feigns incredulity. "But Asta, I wish to take this tea with me. I have not finished yet."

Asta's eyebrows furrow in thought before she finally responds hesitiantly, "Okay, Uncle Thor. You may."

Loki's shoulders shake in silent laughter before he asks her to summon a new cup. Eagerly, she does and thankfully doesn't notice the twitch of his fingers as he assists her in summoning the actual tea in the cup. "Thank you, my heart," he leans forward and kisses her on her forehead before standing with his cup in hand.

Loki's face morphs into a serious one as he says, "You will behave and listen to your mother while I am away, yes?"

"Yes, Daddy," she responds in kind.

"And you will continue to practice your magic and work on the lessons you've been given."

"Of course, Daddy."

"Good. I will miss you, my heart." He looks at you, "You as well, my love."

Thor quickly hugs both you and Asta, saying a quick goodbye, before allowing your little family to have a loving, tearful goodbye. As he pulls away from you both, you see how much of a struggle it is for Loki to do his duty and depart, but his little light leaves him smiling as she cheers, "Be a good dip'omat, Daddy!"

Suddenly, as you watch the king and prince depart, you feel more at ease with knowing that your daughter will make it through him being so far away from home alright. In fact, before you can even miss him for long, Asta is already tugging you away from the Bifrost.

"Come, Mommy! I need to go practice my magic so I can show Daddy when he gets home!" With a chuckled, "Alright," you both go back to the castle to fill your time and await the return of your God of Mischief.

#loki fluff #loki fic #loki fanfic #loki odinson #dad loki #loki oneshot #loki x female reader #loki x reader #loki x you #loki x reader fluff #kili stories

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