#fiction is just trying to sell a lie right
Note
my apologies if this is too simple or juvenile or personal a question but HOW did you become such a proficient writer? and do you have any tips or pointers to keep in mind? i know you must do a lot of reading and a lot of writing, but your skill is just incredible to me. your prose!! your cadence!! when we get around to talking about it is genuinely one of the best things i've ever read and i'd eat it if i could!!!
this ask was so sweet thank you!! rly made my day when i needed a boost. Hope you don’t mind i took a couple days to think about it cause no one’s ever asked me for writing advice before
idk how i became a “proficient” writer bc I really don’t write that much. something about my fic gave me brainworms and i went into overdrive but that’s…not my usual MO. which is why it’s weird for me too. admittedly i am studying english/creative writing as my second major at uni, but i haven’t learned anything in any of my classes you couldn’t learn by just reading and writing on your own. honestly i should’ve stuck with my IR major instead, i find structured cw classes a complete waste of time. but here are some little tips i thought of that would’ve helped ME:
This is more a “do as I say not as I do” because I’m really bad at habits like this, but keep a diary. You can write about the big events (went to the store, did homework, got laid etc.) but that’s boring—focus on the details (watched someone at west side market throw a glass bottle of olives at a rat, broke a pen and permanently stained my dorm desk and won’t get my deposit back which pissed me off because I move out in a week, this guy’s breath smelled like lemon pledge and it made me wonder if he drank window cleaner before kissing me etc.). Real life is really interesting! How can you write about interesting real life in an interesting way? It’s a good way to practice. You don’t have to do a big reflection at the end of the day or anything. It’s okay to jot down something you saw & then immediately forget about it. It’s the act of figuring out how to translate life into words that’s important
If you type, learn how to type FAST. This is just my experience, but I think typing faster makes your cadence, clause length, dialogue, IDEAS flow better/more naturally. We think in words/sentences, not letters.
This is a super lame tip that’ll make you roll your eyes, but read poetry. Poetry is all about how words/ideas/images sound and interact with each other. Don’t get hung up on one poet—im not really recommending any for precisely this reason—read poetry you love (for me, Ada Limón, Jack Kerouac, Frank O’Hara, ghazals etc) AND read poetry you hate (for me, Rupi Kaur, Emily Dickinson, Whitman, etc)! Read all genres you can get your hands on. (I think there are like “great poetry anthologies” you can find for free online if u don’t know where to start. Also you can’t go wrong with subscribing to/reading a variety magazine like the NYer. It’s pretentious but it exposes you to all kinds of weird topics, ways of writing about them, etc.) Figure out how certain combinations of words and punctuations make you FEEL, and why, and why the writer chose (or not) to make you feel that way. Figure out which literary sounds you like and which ones you don’t. For me, i figured out that I REALLY like alliteration, comma splices, zeugmas, the rule of three, and
“he’s [verb]ing again… yeah compacflt’s characters are [verb]ing again… big shocker”
If you have an idea for a piece, figure out what it is you really want to get out of it—to say something? to experiment with a different style? to see your fav characters do something? to have fun?—and then figure out how, on a technical level, you should write to match that goal (this is where the poetry training comes in handy). If you’re just writing to have fun, don’t listen to any writing advice (incl. mine), because most of it is bullshit and over-generalized and will make you feel bad about yourself. Just take the advice that you think will work for what YOURE trying to write.
But if you’re writing to explore some political idea, then you should think about HOW to best write about that idea. What would be a convincing story/allegory/scene to engage with this idea vs. not convincing. I talk on this blog all the time about how disappointed I am that my very-adult-grown-up attempt to deal with the dynamic of “immovable internalized homophobia vs unstoppable falling in love anyway” is rendered a little childish/immature by some pretty unconvincing plot points like the characters buying a house together—I really should have considered how that plot point would interact with the characterizations I’d built already (hint: poorly). You can think of writing as kind of a military structure if that helps—you have strategy on the overarching campaign (plot/character growth/allegory/theme) level, the battle (scene that advances the above) level, and the tactical (sentence-level construction/syntax/wording) level. They all have to work together. If a scene is failing to properly engage with the idea you’re trying to convey, you’re losing a battle that will weaken the overarching campaign. Same thing if you choose a weird word in a sentence/write in a style or tone that’s weirdly out of place with your idea—it makes your engagement with the theme/idea less convincing. just try to be purposeful and consider your strategy on all levels of your work as you’re writing it!! At the very least it’ll make editing easier lol.
But then again when I read my own writing from just a couple months ago I cringe out of my skin, so like—just also accept that it’s a process and we’re all just making it up as we go along. Be proud of being embarrassed of your old work, because it means you’re growing. Own that shit. When I finished writing WWGATTAI i thought it was the best thing I’d ever written, and maybe it was. But since the day I finished working on it, it’s the worst thing I’ve written since then. That’s a great feeling. Not to be like writing grindset obviously bc it’s supposed to be fun—but if what you want is to get better at writing, the strategy is to WRITE a whole bunch of shit, and then own your embarrassment about how much you’ve grown since you started. And know you’re still always growing and learning. there should never be any “goals” where skills are concerned 👍🏽
#fake it till u make it#the good part about fiction is all you’re really doing is makin shit up#no rules!!!#fiction is just trying to sell a lie right#so it’s all on a sliding scale of convincability (at least that’s how i judge fiction)#and figuring out how to convince people of your lie is where the art is#anyway.#not top gun#asks#writing tips#idk how to tag this#also i love ao3 because trying to get published traditionally genuinely made me hate writing/MY writing#i have indeed had the cliche 100+ form rejection letters experience#unfortunately writing is also one of those things where you can see it as a competition so easily#(admittedly a small part of why i don’t read other TG fics—i don’t wanna read people doing it better than me😭)#BUT you tailor your experience to have a healthy life. it’s not a competition if you don’t make it one. put yourself first
81 notes
·
View notes
Text
Very fun thing actually about Jin Guangyao is he spent so much time and energy passing himself off as normal. The Normalest Guy, Look How Normal I Am. The Very Best And Most Skilled At Normal Things, Like Being Normal And Having Normal Opinions.
Which is great because on the one hand it reflects how he was kind of aware he absolutely was not. (And that by default this isolated him and this was Very Unsafe.) But on the other you see, with all the times he falls into the typical mind fallacy under stress and projects weird shit onto people, he also on some level believed everyone was doing this.
That being a Normal Person who had Normal Reactions to things, like being appalled by brutal violence, was an elaborate social lie everyone had to maintain to keep up the facade of civil society, and actually everyone was basically the same as him deep down. He was just better at it, and also the smartest.
Which is a very long way to say his character arc is heavily tied up with his evolving relationship with and skills at masking. I'm not gonna armchair diagnose him because that's beside the point, the point is that he is trying so fucking hard to be normal, but without a particularly well-developed definition of what's abnormal about him to begin with, resulting in some misfires.
And then you contrast him to some other characters and it gets more fun. One of his direct foils is Nie Mingjue, who literally does not know how to mask at all, not the slightest bit, but is fortunate enough to have been born the exact kind of weirdo his position in life demands, with special interests in 'saber training' and 'destroying evil.'
(He explicitly, per narration from wwx being inside his head, has no other interests and doesn't really understand the idea of having more than one activity you care about, do not tell me Nie Mingjue is walking around with a normal brain.)
So he is (jgy has a point about this, although he actually makes it about the luxury of having moral compunctions) free to totally embrace the conviction that everyone should basically be their authentic selves at all times, and just not do evil things about it.
On the other hand, and this really illuminates their relationship for me, Lan Xichen is absolutely trying to be normal. Like, he does try to excel, he wants to be best and he knows he's good, but as a person he is also trying to be as normal as circumstances allow.
He understands 'being normal about things' as a goal not in jgy's terms as an elaborate social fiction but as aspirational shaping of the self; if everyone is normal about everything then there won't be needless conflict. Living as normally as possible will optimize your mental health and your respect for others, and it's just a good baseline from which to be good.
Which is fine as far as it goes, but means harmless eccentricity (including gay) is to be tolerated and swept under the rug rather than really supported, and prejudices him to instinctively side with Jin Guangyao and anyone else who is pushing for Let's Be Normal About This, even when the people being weird are in the right.
(This is also to a non-zero degree a trauma response behavior; what Lan Xichen experienced as the largest existential threat to him growing up was something along the lines of being perceived as a selfish disruptor of norms, like his father.)
And then contrast that to Jiang Cheng and Lan Wangji, who are both very concerned at least initially with how things and people and they themselves are supposed to be, and feel some responsibility for ensuring this supposed-to is reflected in reality.
But neither of them makes any particular attempt to be normal about it.
And then ofc Wei Wuxian, another jgy narrative foil, never attempts to pass himself off as normal. He will sell 'I'm better than everyone ever' and 'I'm scum of the earth' in the same breath before he will try for normal.
Except that he genuinely seems to think his most virtuous traits, his throw-himself-between-victim-and-weapon impulses, are basically normal. If not everyone (who isn't a total shithead) does it, it's because not everyone has his insane confidence they can pull it off.
Which in a good mood he would say is fair, because he is in fact awesome and really good at winning. (In a worse state of mind he would definitely hate on all the selfish cowards.)
Nie Huaisang is probably the most genuinely normal human being in the main cast, probably even more normal than Jiang Yanli, and he's very happy to play that up and present himself as actually even more normal and average than he is, in order to keep expectations down.
Up until his whole life gets fucked and this little pretense turns into the most elaborate and successful mask in the entire book.
#hoc est meum#characterization#meta#masking#mdzs#everyone makes my posts about jgy anyway so i'm just starting with him out the gate#he's such a fun characterization study ngl#jin zixuan is more normal than nhs but i can't honestly call him a main character
548 notes
·
View notes
Text
Also, most people forget that the average person is a normie. They are not looking at photos of Loundon County, Virginia:
And thinking this is a suburban hellscape standing in symbolically for the alienation of the American spirit from its body politic, overcome with anemoia for an interconnected urban milieu they will never know. They don't care that this level of undensity precludes me from ever sustainably establishing my dream manga cafe with a second-floor weekend bootleg anime screenings indie theatre, or someone else from running a basement music venue alternating between hosting Scandinavian post-rock groups and BDSM dungeon parties, or a store inexplicably selling accordions, just accordions, and accordion repair and maybe accordion events and that is all they have done for 40 years now and it just doesn't make sense but its there!! It must makes sense right?? 40 years don't lie, what, its a drug front? Accordions???
Normies instead think houses in Loundon County have nice lawns where they can play soccer with their 1.7 children (the majority of Americans will have kids in their lives still, remember that!) and drive to the grocery store once a week and visit that collection of restaurants on Fridays for date night. They will work as a lawyer, feel comfortable with their cushy savings account, and go hiking on all the great nature trails easily accessible by car in the NOVA area, one of its big appeals. They don't care, at all, about your weird shit, only you do. That is why they are there and not in a studio in East Flatbrush writing on spec for Gawker's malformed children or a flophouse in rural Maine trying to make their hentai Patreon hustle pay the bills.
This is not an insult to any single one of these factions. The idea that they are coherent factions at all is simply a convenient fiction, everyone has their own shit going on. But if you want understand the world you must kill the Typical Mind Fallacy your brain loves to cuddle up against: They Are Not You.
71 notes
·
View notes
Text
Polarity
Teaser -Chapter One - Chapter Two - Chapter Three - Chapter Four
characters: mafia boss! Yuta Nakamoto x innocent! florist! reader
summary: While running away, you seemed to be moving closer to the man you were avoiding. Are you even heading to the right direction?
chapter word count: 2.5 k words
chapter genre: suggestive, a little fluff, a little angst
chapter warning: descriptive dirty thoughts (MC is down bad), alcohol, nightclub, a little jealousy? (but you didn't hear it from me)
a/n: Posting early because of the Yuta cover from Cut Magazine. I don't know where this is going but I hope you'll like this chapter.
There are a lot of triggers that don't sit well with minors so please keep in mind that some scenes are disturbing and purely fictional. Inspired by Koi to Dangan.
taglist: @sourirensoleille @kyuprincess @nuoyipeach @anonjyxd @a-bts-world @a-place-filled-with-random @smolbeanieee @yumilovesavocado @imnotsureokay @dhaly-g @spicyryujin @doodoodove @blueeyedlove-blog1 @kosmoreads @joepomonerof @calipsou @yutadae @juungvely @hangyeomcult @cherrphoenix @itsyntt
“Y/N,”
He whispered against your ear causing the hairs behind your neck to rise up in goosebumps. His lips hovering above you, his breathing hot and rugged. “Y/N…” You didn’t know your name could sound that erotic.
His scent engulfs your senses: the mixture of musky cologne, sweat, and the pungent smell of blood. The feel of his tongue on the side of your neck ignited a fire inside of you. His fingertips against your skin feel so hot that it burns where he touches you.
“Y/N, I want you.”
You opened your eyes followed by a loud gasp as if your breathing was knocked out of you. You feel feverishly hot, sweat soaking your body. What was that about? You breathed heavily at the vivid image of the mafia boss from your dreams. His black hair, his piercing eyes, his red lips, his tongue. Wait, hold up. Do not think of that last thing, Y/N.
But it feels so real.
You glanced at the spot on the back of your hand, the spot where he licked the salt from before, and felt it pulsating. Why does your skin still remember how soft his tongue is?
And when you close your eyes, you can see his smile and hear his laugh. The ringing of his voice calling your name kept repeating in your ear as if it were an illusion.
This is so crazy. He’s making you crazy.
This is bad. So bad.
“You look bad,” You stared at Sophie in surprise. Is it that obvious that you had a sleepless night because of Yuta? You sighed, maybe it is. “Are you not comfortable with working in the club?”
Frantically, you shook your head. It was the opposite, rather. You were never that close with a lot of girls before. The waitresses were so kind to you, always complimenting and saying that you’re doing a great job. The hostesses were also friendly to you, except for Lexi who seemed to hate you so much. But then, like what Aeri claims, she does hate everyone. “I’m just too occupied lately.“
“Is it a guy?” Yes. “A customer in the club?” Yes. And he’s a mafia boss. “Don’t tell me it’s your dad again.”
You smiled then nodded. Another white lie. Ever since you met Yuta, you have been lying a lot.
And you were reminded of him once again.
A sigh escaped your lips as you shook your head, trying to focus and desperately staying away from the thought of him.
You might have the power of attraction. First, when you considered selling yourself, you were almost kidnapped and sold. Second, when you needed a high-paying job, you found Sophie’s friend which is Aeri.
Then, there’s Yuta Nakamoto.
You were so guilty of the dirty intrusive thoughts forming in your mind that you cannot look him in the eye. Why is he even here today? Normally Mark will accompany the young girl or the kind middle-aged lady who you saw with her back in the mansion. Why is the mafia boss with her today?
Sophie was the one entertaining them and you were just standing by the counter, trying your very best to not look at him.
But how can you do that when he’s wearing an all-black ensemble with his leather jacket and a tight-fit shirt that highlights his chest? How can he look so good in those clothes?
He’s just a typical customer, Y/N. He’s not the guy you were dreaming about.
But you’re having a hard time convincing yourself when he turned to you holding jasmines and lavenders. It’s not the clothes, you thought. He does look good. Too good.
Focus, Y/N.
Your eyes wandered to the little girl looking at you with a beaming smile on her face. If only you can speak to her. Immediately, you took a piece of paper and wrote ‘Hi, do you want to pack the flowers with me?’ and then showed it to her. You noticed that during the first three times she entered the shop, she watched you carefully pack the flowers she ordered. The next time, with the help of Mark, she was resting her elbows on the counter where you were working.
The young girl looked at the man she was with then smiled when he nodded at her. Excitedly, she ran to your side and you prepared a small chair for her to stand on. You didn’t actually know her name but it would be weird to ask for it. All of them, Mark and the older woman who sometimes come with her, just refer to her as ‘young lady’. So maybe you’ll just settle on that. Besides, you’re not in the position to ask about it anyways.
You gestured at the wrapping papers, wanting to ask for her choice of color but she only gave you a confused look. It would be nice if you speak the same language. Quickly, you scribbled on the paper asking her what color she wanted for the paper and the ribbon. She chose a light pink wrapping paper and white ribbon which perfectly compliments the combination of violet and white flowers they chose. A smile escaped your lips as you watched her little fingers put the ribbon around the bouquet. These are very fragrant flowers and the color fits so well with her white dress.
“You look so pretty.” You pat the top of her head gently, smiling at her. A wide smile can be seen on her lips and you were reminded of how much she looked like Yuta when smiling. You blinked in realization. They always address her as ‘young lady’ and she looked like Yuta. She must be Yuta’s child. Then that means he is married. Why are you thinking erotically of a married man?
Your eyes diverted to Yuta’s fingers. If he truly is married, there should be a ring on his finger. But there were multiple rings on his finger that made you gulp. How would those cold metal feel against your skin as he touches you?
“Y/N.” Sophie called that snapped you back to your senses. Your eyes went to Yuta’s who was looking at his fingers and then at you while cocking his head to the side, an eyebrow raised as if asking you a question. He caught you staring at him. This is bad. “Are you still sleepy?”
You shook your head then started the cash register, telling Yuta the price of the flowers. He handed you a black card and you marveled at the veins along the back of his hand and his dark leather watch. The visual looks so good that you can just imagine him touching you roughly. You want that leather watch on his wrist as he touches the sensitive parts of your body. “Are you working tonight?” Once again, your senses came back. You should really stop daydreaming like this. You only nodded, not fully understanding his question, before returning his card. “I’ll see you tonight.”
The young girl waved her hands excitedly as the two left the shop and you were just as dumbfounded as earlier. “What was that?” Sophie asked as you let out a heavy sigh. What is wrong with you? It’s affecting your job. You wouldn’t be surprised that Sophie will be mad that you messed up this customer’s order. “You and Mr. Nakamoto…” Wait, she knows him? “Are you together?”
What? “No.”
“Then what was that? 'I’ll see you tonight'? Do you know each other?”
Maybe this is your chance to come clean to your friend. A chance to lessen the white lies you have been saying to others. So you shared how your father owed money to him and that it was the reason why you asked to work in the club. You even shared that he’s a VVIP in the club and that he saw you there once. Although you missed a few details, it felt good that you somewhat told someone about this.
“Then why is he looking at you like that?”
“Like what?”
“He looks at you like he wants you.”
You shrugged. “He wants to kill me, that’s why.”
Sophie chuckled. “No, Y/N.” She started with a haughty smile. “From the way he looks at you, I think he wants you. Period.”
No. You shook your head. That is impossible.
Yuta is a married man. Yuta has a child. He frequents the club which even earned him the VVIP status. He’s a player. And most of all, Yuta is a mafia boss.
Why would someone like him want someone like you?
You laughed at the idea. That was so stupid. The funniest thing you heard in your life.
Then why are you so disappointed that the VIP room where you’re assigned is for a different customer? He isn’t that bad. A businessman who often travels abroad and is just looking for someone to brag about his journeys to. His story of how pristine the waters are in the Maldives and how majestic the mountains of the Alps make you want to travel the world as well. But for now, you’ll settle on just listening to stories of actual people who can afford to go to those places.
You desperately try to listen to his stories and laugh at his jokes. But all that was running through your mind is the term 'I’ll see you tonight'. Why would he say that if he wouldn’t come tonight? Is he here already? Maybe in the special VIP room? And with his favorite hostess, Lexi.
Should you consider being a hostess and charm Yuta?
The assigned hostess came to your customer and he thanked you for keeping him company, giving you some cash while tapping your shoulder. To your surprise, Mama greeted you outside the hallway. “Mr. Nakamoto is requesting for you.” You bit your lip to stop yourself from smiling too wide. “And he requested the special room with the comfiest bed as well.” What? The statement made you blink in surprise. Why would he do that?
Mama was just smiling as she walked you to the VIP room. She gently knocked on the door and came Yuta’s voice telling her to come in. “Good luck, Y/N. You’ll need it.”
Your palms felt sweaty as you greeted the mafia boss who was seated on the couch. His leather jacket from early the day was discarded on the handrest beside him and you gaped at the black muscle tee he is wearing. “Please sit down.” He gestured for the space beside him. “Busy night?”
You shook your head. It’s still kind of early so the customers aren’t coming in yet. “Mama said it’s the comfiest bed. Take a rest if you need to.” Take a rest? Why? “Earlier, your boss said that you’re sleepy. You should sleep now.”
Wait, that’s why he asked for the comfiest bed? Of course, Y/N, what were you thinking? Are you expecting for something more? “I’m fine. I’m still clocked in for work so I can’t…”
“If you’re worried about Mama, I can assure you that she won't get mad at you.” He claimed then drank some of the liquid in his glass. From the looks of it, he settled on Brandy tonight. “Besides, it’s me who requested that you rest.”
But you didn't need to. You didn’t want to. You wanted to spend some more time with him. “I’m fine, really.”
He leaned on the couch, giving you a side glance. “Suit yourself.” He finished the remaining of his drink and you were quick to refill it with the liquid he was drinking. “How was the job here? Is it tiring?” You wondered why he’s curious about that. And what exactly are you going to say to him? That you are getting paid to listen to those men who wanted to brag about themselves?
You only shook your head then smiled. “It is a nice experience,” you mumbled, “I’ve always thought of hostesses and what they do in a negative light but I realize how important they are. They’re like therapists.” You grinned then remembered what Aeri told you, “Half-naked therapists.” A chuckle can be heard beside you, the side of Yuta’s lips curled up. “They’re really cool in that aspect.”
“So you wanted to be one?”
You shook your head, laughing. “I’m not fit to be a hostess. Have you seen how pretty they are? Lexi even looks like a Greecian Goddess…”
Yuta snorted which made you look at him. What was that reaction? “Every girl is pretty in their own way, Y/N.” You noticed how he reached for the glass using his right hand then hissed before quickly changing it to his left hand. “Every girl is pretty half-naked.”
But you didn’t even hear that statement and reached out for his right hand. Earlier, he was wearing the leather watch on that wrist but now it's gone. “What happened to your wrist?” It looks so swollen that it's almost purple in color. You took a block of ice from the bucket before placing it on his right wrist. It looks so painful.
“A wrong punch to someone’s face.” You hissed. That must really hurt a lot. “It’s nothing, Y/N.”
“Did you at least let Jaehyun see this? You should ask him to check…”
“Do you like Jaehyun?”
You looked up in surprise but were startled that you were almost near his face. His eyes were sparkling. It must be the lights. His eyes are normally piercing, deadly. But why does it look so soft as he looks at you?
You lightly coughed, feeling the cold ice melting on your fingertips. “Jaehyun?” You laughed then shook your head, removing the melted ice and replacing it with another block of ice. “He knows the right words to say, I’m convinced he’s a playboy.” Yuta drank the brandy in his glass in one shot, not reacting to what you said. “And my dad would kill me if I ever get associated with the mafia.” You stopped, realizing what you just said. That is so offensive that you quickly regret spewing those words.
“Of course,” Yuta claimed in a soft voice, “Fathers don’t want their daughters to be associated with the mafia.”
Your mind was swirling. Yuta is married. Yuta is a dad. Yuta is a mafia boss. His daughter is associated with the mafia.
You just stepped way beyond the line. “Could you check if Lexi is done with her VIP?” You just angered the mafia boss. You only nodded, stood up then bowed at him.
Why are you so stupid, Y/N?
The Greecian Goddess came in her tight-fitting black mini dress and red stilettos. Lexi really looked so pretty. She fits so well with Yuta. “You’re becoming Mr. Nakamoto’s favorite,” she claimed. You just stared at her. What should you even tell her? “But I should warn you that Yuta is always like that to newbies.” Of course. It’s not like you’re expecting for more.
Right?
“Besides, he had never moved on from his first love.”
The door opened and you got a glimpse of the piercing look from Yuta.
Yuta is married. Yuta is a dad. Yuta might be cheating on his wife with Lexi. Yuta is a playboy. Yuta is a dangerous man. There are a lot of red flags that you can associate with the man.
But the reddest of all red flags is him being the mafia leader.
Chapter Five
131 notes
·
View notes
Text
Round 1 of preliminaries, group 3
The first two places get a place on the bracket
Little reminder: there will be 2 more rounds of preliminaries, the losing blorbos of this poll still have 2 chances of getting in the official bracket
Propaganda under the cut
Conner Bailey (The Land of Stories)
"He falls asleep in class and never hands in his work and gets bad grades but has lots of friends and a big imagination. Likes to write fantasy and science fiction (and maybe other genres as well), and bases a lot of his stories on his own adventures with his sister."
Lucy Honeychurch (A Room With A View)
"trapped in a relationship they feel obligated to maintain ? meanwhile meeting this weirdo who makes question marks out of his dinner and stuff? yeah this was so me and one point and literally helped me break up with my shitty ex. i love lucy honeychurch so much, she just wants to play dumb games with her brother and not be suffocated and live"
Greg Heffley (Diary of a Wimpy Kid)
"Let's be honest, most of us in middle school were a whiny self-centric bitches, and he's a prefect example of this. He will make snarky comments and wonder why a small child cired becuase of them, find his older brother annoying, be disgusted by his younger sib, make mean jokes towards his closest friend and just KNOW that one day he'll be rich and do nothing"
Gideon Nav (The Locked Tomb)
"She's a cocky butch lesbian who can't pull, and I would bet real money she's adhd. Incredibly unreliable narrator, partially because she tunes out of anything uninteresting to her (like the plot), partially because she's not on speaking terms with her own feelings.
Deep down she's angry, and lonely, and convinced she's not good enough, and she's terrified to look it all in the eye. She'll keep all her feelings right here and then someday she'll die joking about it."
Akaashi Keiji (Haikyuu!!)
"Outwardly chill 99% of the time but a serial overthinker. Once screamed into his hands when stressed and acted like nothing was wrong right after (see: Image link)."
Burgerpants (Undertale)
"My propaganda is his game dialogue:
- "(WHY IS THIS PERSON TRYING TO SELL ME SOMETHING THIS IS A HAMBURGER RESTAURANT I'M JUST TRYING TO SURVIVE)"
- "What? Why do you keep trying to talk to me?
I'll get in trouble if I get chummy with the customers.
Sorry.
...
SO, I wanted to be an ACTOR-."
- "You've still got time. Don't live like me.
I'm 19 years old and I've already wasted my entire life."
- "Listen. I like you, little buddy. So I'm gonna save you a lot of trouble.
Never interact with attractive people."
- "Future? WHAT future? Nothing down here EVER changes.
I'll probably be trapped at this stupid job forever.
- "Ah... my boss. I love that guy.
And by that I mean I hate him so, so much."
- "Here's a trick, little buddy: Lie to yourself all the time. It makes you feel better."
- "Even if it was just working this awful job...
I think I did something!
I don't know if it's true, but I'll believe it anyway!"
- "Huh? Everyone else is DEAD?
...
Does that mean I don't have to work today?
God. That it were true, little weirdo. That it were true."
- "I can't go to hell. I'm all out of vacation days." "
#tumblr polls#tumblr tournament#character bracket#character tournament#preliminaries#conner bailey#the land of stories#lucy honeychurch#a room with a view#greg heffley#diary of a wimpy kid#gideon nav#the locked tomb#akaashi keiji#haikyuu#burgerpants#undertale
16 notes
·
View notes
Text
The Bloody-Handed and The Anguish of Loving Them - Chapter 5.
Summary: Almost a year has passed since Eddie Munson died and it feels like the only person that isn't moving on is Steve.
After spending the night studying a Dungeons and Dragons handbook, Steve is convinced he's figured out how to defeat Vecna once and for all. Not only that, but bring Eddie back too. Now he just has to prove it.
Pairings: Steve Harrington x Eddie Munson
Masterlist: Here.
Chapter: 5 of 10.
Chapter WC: 3538.
CW: Swearing.
A/N: (see end of chapter for notes.)
This story can also be found on AO3 here.
Taglist: @ohmeg 🖤
March 24th, 1987.
Steve had always thought that the phrase “they locked eyes and it was as though time had stood still” was bullshit, nothing more than a heavily recycled trope used by romance authors to sell their readers on the ideology of ‘true love’ - a lie, a fable, pure fiction. Yet there he was, with Eddie Munson’s fiery, red eyes locked on his while the world around them stilled.
“Eddie?” he asked, cautiously. The party spun around, a well-earned number of muffled “what the fuck?!”s and shocked gasps escaping from their lips as they too set sights on the winged man staring down at them. The younger members of the party all began asking their questions at the same time, rambling over one another in a wave of emotion. Steve couldn’t form a coherent sentence, his mouth opening and closing comically like a fish as he tried to find words. Eddie remained silent, his eyes still locked on Steve’s as the rapid-fire questions kept coming at him.
“How did you get out of the grave?”
“Why didn’t you come back through the gate?”
“I can’t believe you’re actually alive.”
“Did the bats turn you into a vampire?”
“Do you drink blood now?”
“Does this mean you can be our Dungeon Master again?”
“Wait until we tell Jeff and Gareth.”
“Wait until we tell Wayne, he’s going to be ecstatic.”
“What’s the wingspan on those bad boys?”
“Are you going to help us kill Vecna?”
Eddie didn’t answer, his eyes still locked on Steve’s with his expression blank. Dustin stepped forward to approach Eddie and his babysitting instincts leapt into overdrive. Steve’s hand shot out and clasped onto Dustin’s shoulder before he could think about what he was doing, eagerly pulling him back to the group despite his protests. “Get off me, Steve. He’s right there. Eddie’s right there,” he pleaded.
“That’s not Eddie,” Steve replied in a hushed whisper, his eyes narrowing.
“What are you talking about?”
Steve felt his stomach drop as he watched the corners of Eddie’s mouth twist into a wicked, devilish grin.
“Little Stevie is right, boys and girls,” Eddie announced, his large, bat-like wings beating rhythmically to keep him suspended in the air looking down at them. “No Eddie here.”
“I’m looking right at you, man. What the hell are you talking about?” Dustin asked.
“You left Eddie Munson to rot, in that hole right there,” Eddie spat, pointing to the ground behind them. His eyes darkened. “He sacrificed himself for you, for everyone, and you left him.”
“We-”
“Don’t try to fucking justify it!” Eddie yelled. “You couldn’t even give him the decency of taking his body back through the gate. You left him in another fucking dimension!”
“I’m sorry, Eddie. We couldn’t-” Dustin began.
“Enough!” he bellowed, silencing Dustin in an instant. “Your pitiful excuses mean nothing to me.”
The party said nothing, waiting with bated breath for him to speak again and fill the eerie silence. Steve felt Robin slip her hand into his and give it a reassuring squeeze.
“Do you know how long it takes to claw your way out of a six-foot-deep hole?” Eddie asked, his voice growing more maniacal with each syllable that ushered from his lips. “Days. It took him fucking days to get out of that stupid hole and who should he find waiting for him as soon as he gets out? Vecna. Turned out he had a little proposition for dear old Eddie. Go back to rotting in the hole or join him. Eddie refused, of course. Said Vecna was “out of his goddamn mind” if he thought for one second that Eddie would join him. Swore blind he’d never betray his friends. Didn’t need all that much convincing in the end.”
“Come on, man. What is this? Some sick joke?” muttered Mike.
“Does it sound like a fucking joke to you?!” Eddie spat furiously. “Vecna can be quite convincing, you see? He told poor, little Eddie all about how his sacrifice was useless. How he died for nothing because his precious friends failed to get the job done. How you all left him to rot while you went about your lives, letting everyone believe that Eddie Munson was the satanic cult-leading freak who killed a bunch of Hawkins High students. But Vecna could help. Vecna could make it all worthwhile. He could change him, give him power - enough power to make all those who had wronged him pay.”
Eddie’s wings slowed as he flew lower, allowing the party to get a closer look at him in the dim light. His skin was pale, almost white, void of all colour and signs of life. His once deep brown irises were now blood red, the skin around his eyes dark and sunken. The corners of his mouth twitched into another cruel smile, revealing a long, pointy pair of fangs where his canines used to be.
“Eddie Munson is gone,” he began, “and I am what remains.”
“Bullshit!” Steve cried, unaware he was about to speak until the words had already left his mouth. Robin’s grip on his hand tightened.
“No bullshit, Stevie.”
“Eddie wouldn’t do that. He’d never become a monster, he’d never join his team. I know he wouldn’t do that to us, to me,” he argued, choking on his words a little, fully aware of how in denial he sounded.
“The Eddie you knew was a scared, pathetic child who ran away at the first sign of trouble. All bark but no bite. I am not.”
“You’re Kas, aren’t you?” Dustin asked nervously.
“You always were the sharpest tool in the metaphorical shed,” he replied, gesturing to the rest of the group.
“Just answer the question.”
“Kas the Bloody-Handed, the Lich King’s Lieutenant, at your service.”
Kas flew higher into the air before lowering himself into a taunting bow. Steve let out a stifled sob, his stomach dropping further than he ever thought possible.
“Everything you’ve done so far, every choice you’ve made, every battle you’ve fought - it was all for this. This was his grand plan all along. It was me who sent the army of the undead to greet you at Karlach’s cave. Me who gave the orders to finish you all off. I’ll admit, you’ve all gotten a little tougher since last year but it’s no bother. That was just a small taste of what’s in store for you all - I’ll get you next time. We’ll be seeing each other again soon.”
And with that final taunt, Kas flew off into the dark sky and out of sight, leaving the party to ruminate on the events that had just unfolded.
Fifteen minutes passed in utter silence before Lucas finally spoke. “We’ve got to kill him too, right?”
Steve felt sick to his stomach. He couldn’t do it, couldn’t sit there and listen to them debate on whether or not they were going to kill Eddie. Eddie who they’d all come back here to save. Steve excused himself and rushed into the trailer, making a beeline for the bedroom and slamming the door shut behind him.
Steve collapsed against the door, sliding down it and landing in an exhausted heap on the floor. Tears began flooding out of him like a burst dam, far too strong for him to keep contained. His throat burned as he wretched and choked on his sobs, his watery eyes locked on a rather distressed-looking Hellfire Club shirt strewn on the floor. He felt like he was losing Eddie all over again. Every word that Kas had taunted them with was just another knife to Steve’s heart, shattering more and more with each syllable.
“Hey, man, you okay?” came Jonathan’s voice from the other side of the door, trying the handle as he spoke.
“Go away,” Steve croaked.
“Talk to me, man. You can’t hide in here forever.”
“I said go away, I don’t want to talk to you.”
“Steve, open the fucking door.”
Steve pried himself off the ground and sat on the bed, looking like a child that had just been scolded by its parents, waiting for Jonathan to enter the room.
“You know,” Jonathan began, sitting next to Steve on the bed. “It’s okay if you’re not okay.”
“I’m fine. Just… a bit rattled, I guess?”
“Cut the crap, Steve. You’re a recovering alcoholic who just found out the love of his life is a fucking vampire, but not only that, a vampire that tried to kill us all.”
“He’s not the love of-”
“I know. Before he started with all that ‘Kas’ crap, you were looking at him the same way Will looks at Mike.”
“Oh. Does Nance know?”
“No, she just thinks you’re having a mental breakdown, and I’m about ninety percent certain most of the kids still think you’re doing this for Dustin. Will might have an inkling, though.”
“Robin figured it out too. It was only a matter of time.”
“So, are you okay?” Jonathan asked sincerely.
“No,” Steve admitted, the tears from earlier trying desperately to make a reappearance.
Jonathan pulled Steve into a hug, holding him whilst Steve let his tears fall freely once more. A couple of minutes later, Steve pulled away.
“It’s just not fair, you know?”
“I know.”
“He was supposed to graduate, he was supposed to get a record deal and go on tour but then he fucking died, and I thought I’d figured out how to bring him back but now he’s a vampire. What the fuck am I supposed to do with that? It sounds crazy. It is crazy. He’s a vampire,” Steve rambled, his left foot bobbing up and down on the spot. “A fucking vampire, Jonathan. How do you cure vampirism? Can it be cured?”
“Steve-”
“Maybe Lucas was right. Maybe we are going to have to kill him. We could take the spears apart and shave them down - stake to the heart and whatnot. Does silver work on vampires? Or is that just werewolves?”
“Steve, stop,” Jonathan interjected, his hand covering Steve’s mouth. “You’re spiralling.”
The door to the trailer opened and Jonathan scrambled to his feet, ready to jump into action for another unwelcome surprise. He visibly relaxed, letting out a deep sigh when he heard Robin’s voice calling from the living room.
“Guys, Will thinks he’s found something.”
Steve sprang into full babysitting mode when he exited the trailer, opting to ignore the knowing look Robin gave Jonathan when she’d seen Steve’s puffy eyes, and began laying down the first few steps of their new plan.
“Before Will says anything, I think we need to get out of here. I don’t know about anyone else but I need a shower and a hot meal before I can do any more thinking. I reckon we go back through the gate and meet up at my place. We’ll take showers, order food, start our new plan, and get some sleep. You little ones best call your parents too, so they don’t panic. Sound good?”
“We’re sixteen, you asshole. Stop with the little ones crap.”
“Sounds like Dusty-Bun needs a nap.”
-
Steve was the last of the party to make it back to his house. They’d filtered out of Eddie’s trailer one by one; it was too risky to travel as a group until they’d showered. The sheer amount of blood, sweat, and tears that were caked onto every one of them was bound to draw unwanted attention. He wasn’t sure just how long it had taken them, but as he hung his car key onto its hook he realised it was long enough for the ‘happy families’ charade they were all putting on to break.
“What did I miss?” Steve asked in a hushed tone as he took a seat next to Dustin and Will at the breakfast bar.
“They’ve been at it for the last fifteen minutes.”
“You don’t get to tell me what to do, Mike. Nobody does. Not anymore,” El yelled.
“I’m not trying to tell you what to do, I’m just saying-”
“You’re just saying what you think I should do and not listening to anything else anyone has to say!”
“It’s too risky.”
“What other choice is there?”
“We’ll come up with something.”
“There isn’t enough time!”
“Would you please help me out here?” Mike prompted, turning to them.
“I think-” Steve began.
“Don’t drag them into this!”
“I think,” Steve repeated with a little more authority, “everyone needs to take ten minutes and calm down a little bit. Mike, go outside and cool off.”
“I’m not a fucking dog,” Mike grumbled, making his way to the back door.
“You okay, El?” Dustin asked. She stormed upstairs and slammed the door behind her without saying a word.
“I’ll go check on her,” announced Will, already halfway out of the room.
Steve folded his arms on the table and dropped his head into them, both mentally and psychically exhausted. “What’s gotten into her?” Robin asked, pointing to the stairs behind her as she entered the kitchen.
“Mike doesn’t want her to face Vecna again,” Dustin answered, finally giving Steve some context clues to go off.
“Well, none of us want her to but we might not have another choice,” answered Robin.
“That’s what El said but Mike isn’t listening to her.”
“That boy is in for a harsh reality check. Anyway, the shower in Steve’s bathroom is free.”
“Dibs,” Steve interjected before Dustin could even open his mouth. “There’s some cash in the kitchen, order pizzas.”
It was the best shower he’d ever had in his entire life. Hot but not scolding and very, very long. Steve scrubbed his skin red raw until he finally felt clean and then he just stood there, letting the hot water rain down on him in the hopes that it would wash away his sadness too.
“Sadness comes in waves. If you’re scared of the wave, you can run away and wait for it to go back out - never really knowing what the ocean feels like. But if you’re brave, you can ride it out and let the wave wash over you. The water will pass and the calm will follow, as will another wave - but you’ll probably find that it won’t be so scary next time,” Robin told him. “Something my Grandpa used to tell me when I was feeling down as a kid.”
Steve’s sadness didn’t feel like dipping his toes into the ebbs and flows of a gentle wave. It felt like he was out in the middle of the ocean, treading water like his life depended on it, with no signs of land in sight.
A series of quick knocks and a muffled yell of “food!” grabbed Steve’s attention who, in turn, inhaled deeply, put on some clean clothes, and went downstairs with as much of a grin as he could muster. Perhaps he would drown those sorrows later.
-
The ten of them, significantly less cranky now they had full stomachs, gathered around the crackling fireplace in Steve’s living room, books out and ready to plan.
“Who wants to go first?” Nancy began.
“Things have gotten a lot more complicated than just killing Vecna. Kas gave us a warning and I think we need to make that our priority. If we’re going to kill Vecna, we’re going to have to kill Kas first,” Lucas answered.
“Well I think we need to cure Kas before we fight Vecna. It’ll be a hell of a lot easier to defeat Vecna with Eddie on our side than it will be to defeat Vecna and Kas at the same time,” Dustin interjected. “Any objections?”
“Sounds simple when you put it like that but what would that actually entail?” asked Jonathan.
“Most of the folklore ends in killing the vampire to cure it,” Robin answered, earning a scorned glare from Dustin.
“‘You touch a creature that has been dead for no longer than 200 years and that died for any reason except old age. If the creature’s soul is free and willing, the creature is restored to life with all its hit points.’ True Resurrection,” Will read aloud, not looking up from his handbook. “Cleric, level nine. Nancy could cast this on him.”
“Okay, now we’re getting somewhere,” Dustin grinned, clapping his hands together.
“One small problem,” said Erica, all eyes landing on her. “The book said ‘if the creature’s soul is free and willing’ so that would mean, for the spell to work, Kas has to want to be cured. Sounds to me like he’s pretty set on being a vampire and killing us.”
“Eddie’s still in there,” answer Dustin, calmly.
“Bull. Shit.”
“We all heard him give the same speech, right?” Dustin asked, receiving a couple of nods in response. “He was talking about himself, Eddie, in the third person - as though they’re two different people. If that was the case, he wouldn’t have Eddie’s memories or anything like that, would he? He’s just a little… brainwashed. All we have to do is convince him that he wants to be cured.”
“You have a really bad habit of making complicated things sound way too simple, you know that right? He’s more likely to attack on sight rather than stand there and listen to us. We’re going to have to trap him or something,” Steve added.
“I can help with that,” El told him. “I can use the vines to restrain him.”
“Brilliant. So how do we kill Vecna?” asked Nancy.
“Will, didn’t you think of something earlier?” asked Robin.
“So,” Will began, snapping his book closed. “It was more like a three birds, one stone kind of plan. When a wizard dies any magic he cast will die along with him. So, in theory, if we kill Vecna the spell he used to turn Eddie into Kas will be null and void.”
“That’s only two birds, what’s the third?” asked Robin, stifling a yawn.
“Max.”
“How do we kill him?” asked Lucas, a look of determination spread across his face.
“It has to be me,” El announced.
“No,” Mike argued instantaneously.
“You’ve been awfully quiet so far, Mike. I don’t see you coming up with anything better,” defended Jonathan. “El’s tough, she can do it.”
“And she won’t be alone this time. She’ll have Will’s powers and the rest of us as backup,” added Steve.
“No,” repeated Mike, rushing out of the room.
“Mike, come back! I can help her,” yelled Will, following Mike from the room.
“I guess we vote, right? To make things fair?” Steve shrugged. “Nance?”
“I’m on board.”
“Jonathan?”
“Me too.”
“Rob? Robin?” Steve asked, not gaining a response. He turned to face her and found her drifting off to sleep, her head on her shoulder. “Right, everyone go to bed. We’ll carry this on tomorrow.”
-
March 25th, 1987.
Steve waited until he was sure everyone was asleep and tiptoed to the entryway, grabbed his car keys off the hook, and very cautiously closed the front door behind him. He’d tried to sleep, really he had, but the image of Kas glaring his fangs burned into his mind was too much for Steve to bear. He had only one destination in mind when he turned the key in the ignition - the twenty-four-hour gas station.
“Well, hello handsome. Hair cut suits you,” greeted the Clerk, the bell above the door diverting her attention from the magazine she had been reading at the desk. “Not seen you for a while.”
“Thanks,” smiled Steve, making his way over to the shelves. “I’ve cut back.”
He grabbed the first bottle of vodka he saw, not caring about the brand or price as long as it got him to sleep. He placed the bottle on the desk and searched his pockets for his wallet.
“Any smokes tonight, darling?”
“No, I’m good,” Steve answered. He produced a few bills from his wallet and tucked the vodka into his inside pocket before muttering his goodbyes to the woman behind the counter.
Steve argued with himself the whole way home.
He knew he shouldn’t, but what use was he to anyone if he didn’t get any sleep? He could miss something. Mess up an important part of the plan. Yes, it was vital that Steve got some sleep - even if that meant having a drink to do so. Or was it? What if he drank too much? It was hard to have ‘just the one’ these days. No, no. He’d be fine. He’d have one (maybe two) shots and go straight to sleep, wake up feeling slightly less zombie-like, and be ready when it came time to face Kas again.
With the front door locked and his keys hung up, Steve turned to make his way upstairs for a night of blissful sleep - instead, he almost jumped out of his skin. “Will? What are you doing up?” he asked in a whisper, gaining no response. “Will? Hello? You sleepwalking or something?”
He reached out and grasped Will by the shoulder, turning him around so that they were face to face.
“I’ve been waiting for you, Stevie,” Will growled, the voice coming from his lips not his own. His eyes rolled upwards, eyelids fluttering violently as he was placed under Vecna’s trance.
Author's Note: There’s a lot of dialogue in this chapter but I felt like we really needed to bond with the characters as well as have them bond with each other (and give Steve a hug, jfc) after that battle.
-
I can’t believe we’re halfway through already! Four more chapters and an epilogue to go. 😲
Just want to drop in and say a huge thank you to everyone who’s been reading, liking, reblogging, and commenting thus far. It’s super appreciated and I love finding out your thoughts on the fic. You’re all amazing.
#eddie munson#eddie munson fanfic#steve harrington#steve harrington fanfic#steve x eddie#steve harrington x eddie munson#eddie x steve#eddie munson x steve harrington#post canon#fix it fic#angst#angst with a happy ending#alcoholic steve harrington#steve harrington has ptsd#kas the bloody handed#vampire eddie munson#dont look at the d&d lore too closely#steddie#hurt/comfort#ironic use of pet names#steve harrington needs a hug
9 notes
·
View notes
Text
Some suggestions based on seriously awful advice I've seen repeatedly floating around online. I've posted this before but I just saw some of these again and argh.
When interviewing for a job, applying for a job, or doing anything job related, don't lie. If you think your resume is unimpressive or you are unsure about your skills, go to the library. They have resources to specifically aid in job hunting and to help prep you for interviews. It isn't "sticking it to the man." It is fucking yourself over because you are lying on legal documents and contracts and it can get you fired when you are actually a good fit for the job.
When interviewing, always remember that every question is just delving into one big question: "Why should we hire you?" Everything is connected to that big question, so all of your answers to their smaller questions should somehow relate to that. You're selling yourself here. Focus on being positive. Be honest. Do not insult anyone or anything even if they prompt/encourage/leave you an opening for you to do so. Take some time to practice with friends or in front of a mirror so the answers come more naturally.
This works in fiction and in real life: strengths and weaknesses are different sides to the same coin. You don't want to insult yourself in an interview (or in general, really), so when anything about your struggles or weaknesses come up, use that technique. For example, I'm a passionate person (I'm subtle about it, I know). When it comes time to ask about strength/weakness, I can bring that up. If they ask for a strength first, I can control the conversation before they even bring up the "weakness" question. A nice, positive, non-self-degrading or self-deprecating answer.
Also also also, always do your research and be prepared with questions, too. This isn't just them interviewing you: you should be interviewing them. Will this job be a good fit for you? What can you expect going forward? What do they like about it? If you ask them that last question and they give you a generic answer, be wary.
Keep your resume updated. Ask your librarian for help reviewing it. Be honest and positive but never forget that these people aren't your friends. Be professional. Is this a job you need right now so you can't be too picky about it? Is it a job you're sure is going to be short-term? Then make sure to still view it as a resource. Still work hard and cover your bases while you're hunting for something better. If possible, leave on good terms so you can still put it down on your resume and possibly even snag some references. If it's shitty and you get a new job, you don't need to give them notice. It's a courtesy and also helpful if they can possibly act as references. If you can't use them as a reference and they don't deserve any courtesy, well, fuck them. Two weeks' notice is never mandatory, even if some businesses try to insist they are. Nope! It's illegal for them to try and push it.
But seriously: always cover your bases. It doesn't matter how shitty or unethical or whatever they are. Always take care of you. Be careful in what you sow and be prepared to reap it. If you do need to lie, for fuck's sake, be careful, be thorough, and don't post it on social media!
#random#employment advice#seriously people#stop encouraging it#and definitely stop encouraging it on social media#please
21 notes
·
View notes
Text
Fight Club and Imposter Syndrome
Chewing the Fat; To chat in a leisurely and prolonged way.
"we were chewing the fat, telling stories about the old days"
"We were selling their own fat asses back them" -- Jack talking about his side hustle of making Soap from infectious human waste. (From a lipo suction clinic.)
[Paper Street Soap Company] A paper street is a road, or street that is included on a map, but was never built; or never intended to be built. Or; a fabricated address entirely.
This is where I'm going to take a logical leap, and apply some assumptions;
A Paper Street, in a fictional context is every street. Any street that exists in a book is therefore a "paper street". The soap they make from "fat" is the stories people tell about themselves; fact or fiction.
And the lady at the counter "This is the best soap I've ever seen." She was obviously a fan; but I've heard the phrase before... I may have even said something similar.
Durden: "Of course it is; because it's your fat ass lady."
Palahniuk/Fincher: "Of course it is; because it's your story."
This part is an ode to the story writing process. You collect stories; from newspapers, from people, from "chewing the Fat".
You then take that information; add a little *lie* to obfuscate certain details, you boil it out, and render the fat. Skim the tallow, mix a dash of sawdust (filler) with the glycerine in the right parts of the story and you have Nitroglycerin; the climax of the story.
"Anybody could do this job; we're just selling their own story back to them." - The duality of being a writer. Even a master writer (a master baiter) must feel this. Of course; they've done the work they transformed the source material, wherever they derive their inspiration from into something unrecognizable from the source.
But they still remember the very beginning;
"Yes. I'm selling some clothes." - Marla after stealing some clothes from a laundry mat to a pawn shop across the street.
Depicting the feeling of taking somebody else's image, and selling it for a profit; for other people to wear like used clothes bought from a consignment shop.
"This is a bridesmaid's dress, somebody loved this intensely for one day; then poof... I got it for a dollar." - That same Marla trying out other people's stories for herself; completely forgetting exactly how those clothes must've ended up in consignment...
The Good; Soap makes things clean.
The Bad; God Complex, Stealing
The Ugly; It's all lye.
Geddit? Because the first line in any writing is called "The Hook" so they're "Master Baiters"?
10 notes
·
View notes
Text
I am currently open for freelance editing projects :)
Hey y’all! If anyone needs an editor, I have bandwidth right now and have opened back up for editing work. I’m down for anything, “anything” defined here as:
Developmental edits. This includes some manuscript comments, but largely focuses on a comprehensive edit letter comprising notes on plot, character, style, voice, and theme.
Line edits. Feeling good about the bones of your story, but worried that you’re bogged down by inefficient language, indistinct dialogue, or the odd wandering character arc? The line edit may be for you.
Copyedits. Grammar, usage, spelling, etc. Every nit picked. Fair warning: I don’t use a style guide, because I find that imposing e.g. the Chicago Manual of Style on fiction messes with things like “voice” and “fun.” My emphasis will fall on clarity, and on tone: does it feel right?
Query letter edits. Pitches are hell, but weirdly, I love them. Rate: $35 flat fee for a query, $50 for a synopsis. $10 for each revision pass thereafter (I will, of course, not charge you if my response to a revision is “This slaps!”).
Essay, article, or cover letter proofing. For ethical reasons I won’t review academic material, and for national security reasons I won't review classified CIA documents :( Rate: $15 flat fee, plus 2¢/word.
I don't do authenticity editing on its own, because it makes me feel weird. That said, if you happen to have a protagonist who’s bi or pan or Chinese-American or multiracial and you’re like, “Oh no, have I messed this up horribly,” feel free to request that I take a look from that angle. Same for characters with depression, anxiety, or relatively mild ADHD.
Also: I have no reading triggers or content aversions. I'm fine with any kind of material, disturbing, upsetting, or very very sexy though it may be.
My rates for fiction editing vary based on project length and status. With something under 10k words, I feel relatively comfortable ballparking around 2¢/word for developmental/line and 1.5¢/word for copyediting, but beyond that, I’d want to test-edit a sample. Occasionally I’ll swap to an hourly rate thereafter, because what if you send over the next Hunger Games, and I tear through it in three hours, but at 2¢/word it’s supposed to cost $1,600? Ridiculous. I hate editing rates.
You can message me here on tumblr or email me directly at [email protected] if you’d like to hire me. If you have a question, don't be shy about reaching out to ask. I am not a salesperson and will never try to hard-sell you.
If you know anybody looking for an editor, please do pass them this post! On this hellsite I know I am just another weirdo, but in real life, I have the qualifications to provide writers with high-quality editing backed up by years of experience in the publishing industry. Per The Official Bio:
Let’s take your fiction to the next level!
I'm the author of four novels: Alone Out Here, published by Disney-Hyperion; and Seven Ways We Lie, Noteworthy, and Final Draft, published by Abrams Books. My books have been published on four continents, optioned for film and TV, given seven starred reviews from critics, and named to Best-of-the-Year lists by Kirkus Reviews, Booklist, and the New York Public Library. Besides editing my own fiction, I've also done editorial work for authors whose books are published at Scholastic, HarperCollins, Penguin Random House, and more.
As an editor, I dive in with an underlying enthusiasm for every project. I'm not interested in trying to alter others' work to my tastes, but in recognizing what story a writer wants to tell and helping them reach that destination, whether with a developmental edit or a final polish.
I'm happy to edit works of any length and genre, though my specialty is in fiction, and particularly in children's and YA fiction.
Reblogs would be greatly, greatly appreciated! xo
Riley
#editing#the post is back and more comprehensive now!#maybe i should. idk. set up a page on my website for this or something#writing
42 notes
·
View notes
Note
6, 10, 11, 37 and 40 for the book asks? :) Sorry for asking 5 at once, I love to read your book posting ♡
Oh don't be sorry, thank you for indulging me so much!
6. Which book was the last one you really, really loved?
Another book that I quite enjoyed reading this past year was:
Paradise Rot by Jenny Hval
Some people refer to this as "the lesbian piss book" hahaha - and I am not gonna lie, there is definitely a moderate amount of piss (and also maybe some lesbianism) to be found within! I don't even really know how to sell or explain this book except that the oppressive atmosphere and the eerie vibes and the lush and poetic writing style really drew me in a hypnotic sort of way. The way the protagonist describes her lonely awkward alienation trying to adjust to living in a new country and the sticky, visceral descriptions of the strange building she ends up living in and her relationship with her roomie just really got under my skin and fascinated me and kept me on the edge of my seat.
10. Sci-fi or fantasy? Why?
I haven't actually read a ton of either genre yet, but right now I'd probably say fantasy! I feel like sci-fi is often just a bit too thought experiment-ish and cerebral and lacking in complex interesting characters for me to really get invested in it sometimes. Definitely still open to having my mind changed about that in the future, though.
11. Classic or modern? Why?
Classics! I'm big into reading famous/influential books that I've heard a lot about and doing things like going through lists of books you have to read before you die, that sort of thing. I also find a lot of brand new books just not really up my alley most times. I kinda like to wait for the hype around something to die down and see if it stands the test of time a bit, or still remains something people are thinking and talking about regularly, before I decide to really dig into it myself.
37. How many books are actually in your bookshelf/shelves right now?
I have my books spread across two places right now so I can't give you an exact number, but I'd estimate I own somewhere between 150-250 physical books. Buying books before you read them can always be a bit of a gamble, and they're not exactly cheap brand new, so I find most of my physical books at thrift stores and second-hand bookstores, usually!
40. Name one of your favourite books from your teenage years.
THE favourite book of my teenage years by far was Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice:
I was just obsessed with this book when I was 15-16 years old, hahaha. I related so much to Louis at the time (his guilt and angst and tortured loneliness over being a vampire = my guilt and angst and tortured loneliness over being secretly gay, ofc). I eventually grew out of it a bit and started seeing it as a little sillier when I revisited it again older, but I still have a soft spot for that series and think the first few of the books in the Vampire Chronicles are certainly worth a read. I know there's stuff in them you can easily laugh or turn your nose up at or point out as being problematic and whatnot as well, but I do think they're also super creative and interesting and entertaining and quite deep reads. And still the best/only vampire lore and world-building to me as well. I just never like the rules that any other fictional vampires follow nearly as much as I do the ones that Anne Rice invented for her world!
[bookish asks]
3 notes
·
View notes
Text
Scatter-brained...
I traded my coworker some of her grandma's tamales for my brown butter salted caramel chocolate chip cookies. Every time I remember I have some in the freezer, I get happy all over again.
My friends really want me to start dating again. I want a partner, but uh... when it comes to the getting to know somebody part... I just can't stress enough how uninterested I am in having to "sell" somebody on the concept of me. And nothing makes my ass itch more than trying to carry on a conversation with somebody who puts no effort into conversing.
I'm PMSing right before Valentine's Day and this shit is for the birds. This holiday doesn't usually leave me feeling too lonely, but it's February 7th and I can't lie and say I haven't felt a pang of the lonely here and there, especially since one of my favorite things to do is see Black people getting loved up on and appreciated by their partners.
Did this man leak a dick pic to get folks to stop talking about the shots he caught on "Hiss"? I'm just saying, the timing is mighty suspicious, Aubrey... mighty suspicious.
Watching this Meg and Nicki beef unfold while living with a roommate who is a Barb is some funny shit, let me tell you.
Finished Castlevania and Castlevania: Nocturne. Wow. I pressed play on Nocturne, hoping I would like it as much as I liked the original, and NIGGA. Enjoyed it even more. But also... I really wanted a better ending for Annette.
I know I'm nerdy, but sometimes I be forgetting just how much of a nerd I am. For instance, I was recently reminded of how much I used to be into fan fiction. Harry Potter and Degrassi: The Next Generation, to be specific 😅 I still have the notebooks I wrote them in before I started posting and continuing the stories on forum sites.
My biggest hit was a Dramione (listen man... niggas was young) fanfic called Opposites Attract. Had the forum girlies going crazy over that one, you hear me?
...So, naturally, I restored my fanfiction.net account and may or may not be re-visiting my favorite stories from the early 2000s. The girls were really out here writing writing. I've always admired the ability of fanfic writers to really emulate the author's voice and pick up on the tones they use for their characters. Is it easier than creating your own world from scratch? Yes, but at the same time, it's difficult in different ways.
Yeah... I might be a trick a lil bit. Just a lil bit. Or... just more generous than I originally thought I was. I've said it before, if you're my partner, I want you to experience ease as often as possible. My love language has never been gifts, but all about that acts of service? If I can help you out or get you something that I know will make your life easier? It's yours.
The fact that I've made it to my big age without needing rain boots just to move to southern California and have to buy my first pair is wild. There are songs, multiple songs about it never raining here. Global warming is some shit.
3 notes
·
View notes
Text
Rebecca Ferguson: The first to ask questions in the intview
Ferguson calls via videocall from London and takes the interview in her own hands.
Rebecca Ferguson: Before we start I'd like to ask whats there behind you on the table. Sorry, I like to see through zoom-interviews the rooms of my intviewers.
ICONIST: What particular are you interested in?
Ferguson: The first book in the pile, for example.
ICONIST: I have to take a look for myself now. Here, "Bill Gates. How the prevent the next pandemic."
Ferguson: Oh. Does Bill have some good advice in it?
ICONIST: It's complicated. Gates had already warned of the dangers of such pandemics before the Covid outbreak. He later received death threats because one of his quotes, taken out of context, was used to create the grotesque fake news that he wanted to use the corona virus to microchip all of humanity. With that, we could now seamlessly move on to the conspiracies in your new series, Silo, in which no one knows which stories about human threats are true and which are fabricated.
Ferguson: *laughs* You are right.
ICONIST: The world has been destroyed, 10,000 people have survived in an underground silo, locked up there, isolated from the outside world. Nobody knows what really happened outside. You're not entirely wrong to take this as a depressing parable of the pandemic, are you?
Ferguson: There are certainly many parallels to events that happened not so long ago - the horror of the Covid lockdowns, governments wanting to control their environment, scarcity of resources and the need to recycle in order to survive. Only the novels on which the series is based have been published since 2011. And as an actress, what interests me most is the quality of the storytelling and the characters. When I was working on this role, I didn't think too much about whether the future society in the film had anything to do with today's society. To be honest, I don't want to think about the future of the world because sometimes it gets me pretty depressed. I am aware that I lead a very privileged life and that I am very fortunate. Don't get me wrong: it's important to me to speak my mind, for example I'm fighting for equality at every level. I accept those battles that I am convinced I must fight. Other than that, I just try to be friendly to others.
ICONIST: Your series about the silo society offers less action-packed science fiction escapism, instead it relies more on dialogue. It is reminiscent of Samuel Beckett's end-time visions in his play "Happy Days" - with two actors who are stuck in a mound of earth after an apocalypse, sink into it and console themselves with purposeful optimism about their hopeless situation.
Ferguson: I love your reference to Samuel Beckett *laughs* Makes perfect sense. I've done a lot of research on depression and trauma to better understand the loneliness, grief, and loss that weighs on my character. And I like philosophy. The theses of Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Thomas Hobbes, for example, both of which assume the natural equality of human beings, i.e. that humans are good by nature and only become evil through society. It was interesting to transfer such thoughts to the film, to ask oneself: What happens when you condense this thesis and show what happens when many people are isolated in a room closed off from the outside world? And when down there one lie about the alleged causes of the catastrophe is followed by another. Do people rebel against lies? Regardless of the penalties they face? Those were the basic questions that fascinated me about this series.
ICONIST: The series is based on Hugh Howey's internationally successful best-selling trilogy "Wool", which is adored by fans. Did you feel pressure to live up to expectations? There are enough examples of film adaptations of fantasy and science fiction novels that have been torn apart by fans.
Ferguson: No, I didn't feel any pressure. It's great that this book series was so successful and has so many fans. I can only do my best. If people don't like it, that's unfortunate, but then there's nothing you can do about it. However, before I engage more intensely with such a role, I always do a lot of research on fan sites. I spend hours reading all sorts of things there.
ICONIST: Why are you doing that?
Ferguson: Because I often discover interesting details on these sites. For example, if a fan writes, "I love how the author describes how Juliette keeps her hand in a pocket the whole time." That's a small but significant detail. I said to myself, "Great, I'm going to do this the whole time through the shoot."
ICONIST: You say you don't like to think about the future too often. In a podcast "Spark Hunter" published in 2022, you dealt with the currently much discussed topic of the future of artificial intelligence. Actress Trudie Styler, wife of Sting, directed. What appealed to you about recording a podcast – actually more of a radio play – in addition to all your film commitments?
Ferguson: I like Trudie very much. When she called me one day and asked, "Do you want to do a radio play with actor Mark Rylance?" I immediately said, "If Mark Rylance is in, I'll be in, no matter what it is." Then sent me the scripts and I got scared at first.
ICONIST: Why?
Ferguson: Because it was pretty complicated stuff, with a lot of details about AI. It was just hard to understand at first. Mark Rylance voicing the inventor of a female artificial intelligence robot whom I speak. And then suddenly this robot starts to develop feelings, it takes pleasure in provocation and in questioning society. And reveals morbid feelings about human life - it's brilliant.
ICONIST: Sting also has a small speaking role in the podcast. In 1984 he had an unforgettable scene as an actor in David Lynch's film adaptation of "Dune - the desert planet" as the villain Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen. There he stands with an oiled naked body, only wearing a futuristic loincloth, which he himself once described as the "first example of flying underpants".
(Rebecca Ferguson is laughing)
You can be seen as Lady Jessica in Dennis Villeneuve's remake of Dune. While working on the podcast, did you and Sting talk a bit about how sci-fi staging has changed over the past 40 years?
Ferguson: We actually did. I remember sitting with him and his wife at a table in their beautiful home at their winery in Tuscany. At one of our long dinners, I asked him, "Do you know what I'm filming?" "No," he said, "what?" Then I revealed to him that we were remaking Dune. And then his eyes suddenly lit up and we went on a long journey in our conversation, talking about what it was like shooting the first film back then, compared to the new one.
ICONIST: And the flying underpants?
Ferguson: (laughs) I won't give you any details, that's between Sting and me.
ICONIST: In winter comes the second part of the Dune film adaptation, in which you again play Lady Jessica, the mother of the young hero Paul Atreides. In the summer you can also be seen again as MI6 agent Ilsa Faust alongside Tom Cruise in "Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning" - and already in the ten parts of the Apple TV series "Silo". it doesn't get any better. Aren't you afraid of overexposure?
Ferguson: No. This is going to be a big year for me, with three very different film productions that I'm very proud of. Things like that don't happen all the time. I don't worry too much about it. I'm damn happy it turned out that way. You never know if something like this will happen again. Actors often come into the limelight very quickly, but then just as quickly go out of fashion. Age is often not helpful either. In that sense, I feel like I'm in a good place right now. I've been very lucky.
ICONIST: It is your third appearance in the Mission: Impossible series and your second in Dune. Is it also important for you to have something like consistency in big blockbusters, in times of intensifying competition between film studios and streaming providers with an unprecedented oversupply of films, in which there are also rows and rows of flops?
Ferguson: It's actually nice that I now know my role in "Mission: Impossible" well, because working on the set is complicated because we often don't have finished scripts. Working on the Mission: Impossible movies is so different from other movies. But that's what makes it so exciting. I know my role, but I'm always getting to know new actors who are in for the first time. In their eyes, I can immediately see what they're thinking when they're on set for the first time: "What the hell…?" Then I just think to myself: "I know that, I felt the same way at first." Then it's nice, when you are already familiar with your role. Lady Jessica in "Dune" is also a cool woman. In the second part, however, she is changed. I won't reveal any details now. Just this much: Your performances in the second part are so different from those in the first that it felt like I was playing a new person.
ICONIST: What does it do to you when you switch from one large-scale production to the next?
Ferguson: Well, while I was shooting Silo, I got a message that I had to do some reshoots on the Mission: Impossible movie. I love that kind of thing yeah You always think you need breaks. Until it suddenly: "We need you for four days in June to reshoot scenes for 'Mission: Impossible'." Then you're suddenly sucked in again. I love that because I love the roles too. It sure would be bad if I had to work on set in a terrible environment. That's not the case. It is great.
translated from German by @edwardslovelyelizabeth exclusively for @rebeccalouisaferguson
#rebecca ferguson#interview#silo interview#dune interview#mi7 interview#spark hunter#dune part two interview
11 notes
·
View notes
Text
I think (I THINK) I have caught up on most of the commentary on The Promise, episode 6, which I was behind on yesterday because WEDNESDAYS ARE HARD RIGHT NOW, THANKS THE EIGHTH SENSE (I have decided to skip the Our Skyy 2 episodes of the series that I didn’t watch, and binge ‘em later). I’m especially following @respectthepetty‘s tag and @heretherebedork‘s tag (I didn’t realize @dribs-and-drabbles was watching this, and I’ll peep your tag when you catch up next week!)
I’m especially influenced this week by @bengiyo’s excellent critical commentary -- very necessary commentary for a cishet gal like me to read -- about what Phu represents from a queer culture perspective, and how Our Dating Sim did this same paradigm far more successfully and succinctly. The running away, the disappearing, the coming back, and what it all means.
I think one ground rule I’m operating on for The Promise now is that Khom Kongkiat/Uncle Tong really needs to sell this skincare shit, so it’s a long-ass series, and we just didn’t need to deal with that as much in KinnPorsche because there was SO MUCH GOING ON in K/P/Vegas/Pete/Kim/Khun/general mafia world. And I wonder if Uncle Tong is struggling a tad to sell these products while needing to fill static air.
All that said. I’m an old biddy whose family hails from a similar kampung/village situation as Nan and Phu. I really still like this show.
I happen to like the slow and quiet pace! I’m always a defender of a slow trudge towards change. Because...
These guys are what, in their early 30s?
Every decade of getting older makes making behavioral change happen a little bit easier. (I certainly entered my early middle-age season with a lot less fucks to give, for damn sure -- but I had to live my previous decades to get there.)
Phu disappeared for 10 YEARS, after college, so all of his twenties and a little of his thirties. Then he comes back to Bangkok, to Nan. One would hope: Phu’s come back older and wiser. Sure, maybe. Kinda not. Kinda sorta.
Even after 10 years, I’m not going to expect someone who RAN THE HELL AWAY to know what to do, to know what to say, to Nan, and to manage his (Phu’s) own feelings of fear. Phu’s solution in his 20s was to run away. In his early 30s, he’s inched back, but doesn’t know how to cross that finish line -- YET. I don’t see how Phu lived a life during that time that would have given him an answer of how to deal with his situation with Nan. He still doesn’t know! He’s still paralyzed by fear. Your 20s are a really confusing time! You’re working through all the shit of your childhood and teenage years.
Imagine smoking your entire life, and trying to quit. Trying all sorts of shit. Changing that behavior is REALLY HARD. It can feel IMPOSSIBLE. Same with dieting, same with exercise. It is REALLY HARD TO CHANGE BEHAVIORS AND PARADIGMS.
Phu, in his 20s, on the eve of graduation, really gave into his desires that night in the dorm room. That was a hell of a kiss -- that was the longest version of the kiss that we’ve seen. And Nan fell backwards, drunk, only with the words, “You promised never to leave me,” and passed out. Phu didn’t know what to do or what to say -- how to tie that knot again, outside of the specter of getting drunk and releasing inhibitions. That wasn’t a part of his paradigm back then.
So as an old biddy, a social worker, a sympathizing mom: I unfortunately still feel for Phu. Because at least in my real life, I’m surrounded by people who haven’t been able to surmount big emotional obstacles for their entire long-ass lives, and I see that as real-real reality. People who can’t work because of their fear of failure. People with agorophobia who can’t leave their rooms or houses.
I sure hope this fictional skincare commercial resolves differently. I think it will. Granny’s picked up on what’s going on. She’ll put together why Phu asked her to lie to Nan all those years, if she hadn’t already way back when. She’ll flirt it up with Nan to get on Nan’s good side. Nan’s STILL poking about Melbourne. He’s not going to drop it. He’s got support from Party and Gigi. Party’s ready to catch Nan if Nan finally decides to cut ties.
But: Nan sees Phu in pain. I know the majority read on that nightmare scene is -- why should we sympathize with Phu? I totally get it.
From Nan’s perspective, I think it’s more complicated. It’s not black or white. Nan grew up with Phu.... so Nan might have a better sense than all of us that Phu might just really suck at solving problems, and is paralyzed by fear. Even Granny confirmed it, and asked Nan to be there for Phu.
Right? Phu does suck at solving problems. It was Nan who needed to close the deal on the coffee shop joint. It’s Nan that had to help Phu get over his fear of crowds to shoot a successful campaign.
I think these dudes are balancing each other out. I see it right now as VERY imbalanced in Phu’s favor, holding Nan hostage, and my heart is with Nan. Nan has needs, too.
But Nan... can’t help but continue to be there for Phu, to hold Phu, to let Phu hold Nan. Nan can’t help his shit, either. I’m not going to judge or blame him, because he has his needs, too. We’ve all been in his shoes.
Two dudes who can’t help their shit, who keep coming back to each other. The old gal in me -- maybe like Granny! -- says, let them figure their shit out. This unnecessary crap pain they’re feeling: they need to make their mistakes in order to get to their happiness. I’m not ever going to push anyone to behave perfectly, either in real life or in dramas, except when the scripts utterly suck (cough cough UMG cough).
Sell the stem cell shit, Uncle Tong, keep doing your thing for your funding. The series is a little too long for us to hold out THIS LONG for Phu, but I think, for all the obstacles this series is facing, that Khom is treating these two with as much compassion as the script can handle at this moment. It CAN’T LAST FOR THAT MUCH LONGER. Phu has GOT to start barking. If it lasts past the next episode, then I think we lose patience and timing altogether.
But maybe, maybe, I trust in Khom to get us past Phu’s confession, because we’ll only have three episodes after that to witness what Nan decides. And Nan CERTAINLY deserves ALL THE FUCKING TIME HE NEEDS to decide how he’ll deal with Phu to the end of the series.
FINGERS. CROSSED. It’s on you, Uncle Tong! Get the timing right, otherwise, yes, we will have to peace tf out.
****
SIDE NOTE: I LOVE PARTY AND GIGI. I LOVE WHAT THEY’RE WEARING, I LOVE THAT THEY LOVE NAN. I LOVE THEM! I want Party’s pants and Gigi’s jewelry. They’re great. I think they get squeezed out by the skincare promotions. I want more of them.
#the promise#the promise meta#nan x phu#phu x nan#khom kongkiat#uncle tong does not have much time left to resolve all this but i trust him#kinnporsche wasn't perfect either but it was certainly compelling
8 notes
·
View notes
Note
I've been wondering, do you have any ocs (other than fnaf ocs)? I've never seen you talk about them, do you have an orignal story that involves them? If so, do you have a favourite oc? I'd love to hear about them :0 (If you don't have any ocs, feel free to ignore this, I just assumed so because of the post you recently reblogged, haha TTwTT)
I do have a bunch of other ocs outside of fnaf! I'm just so deep in fnaf brainrot right now that I've probably only ever mentioned my other ocs like once or twice ever on this blog, but rest assured, they do exist
Currently I have three original stories in the making; each with their own set of wonderful characters. I have a somewhat dystopian story that has two main characters named Hunter and Trixx. Hunter is basically an assassin, and she only does it in order to protect her younger brother. Her reputation keeps them safe and all that. Trixx is really good at reading people. Or rather, he got good at reading people after his family was betrayed, leaving him to assume his entire family is dead. Despite the betrayals he's had in the past, Trixx is very reliable to those he considers trustworthy. The story itself centralizes around Hunter's younger brother getting kidnapped. She and Trixx team up to rescue him.
The second big story I have involves a somewhat realistic scenario. It exists more to help me practice normal interactions, while also helping me practice my restraint (because Lord knows how bad I am at not killing off characters). It focuses on four main characters: Max, Dakota, Coraline, and Sam. Max is the legal guardian of Dakota and Caroline (twin sisters), and he finds Sam out in the rain one day and just brings him home. It's hard to explain in a more general post like this, but I might be able to find my old notes somewhere and just post them on Tumblr at some point. The main storyline is mostly Sam trying to figure out where he fits into the world, without the pressures his parents kept trying to place on him. Sam ran away from home and was homeless until Max and his family took him in.
The third story hasn't had much proper work done to it yet. It's a science-fiction sort of thing, with a mix of fantasy thrown in there. The main character is an alien from another planet just trying to learn more about the planet he landed on. Problem is, one of the species that lives there does not trust the idea of aliens (human parallel, since we never tend to like unexpected new things). He ends up spending time in the forest with nymphs, and this whole situation starts a war. The main ocs from this one are Peregrine and Amaya. Peregrine being the alien explorer who now needs to find a way home, and Amaya being the main guide who helps him survive his experiences on the unfamiliar planet.
I am very much one to pick favorites when it comes to characters, especially when creating a new story. I'd say Trixx, Sam, and Amaya are my favorites from the aforementioned stories above, so I'll try to go more in-depth about them.
Trixx is not actually named Trixx. He determined rather quickly after his older sister Kristen was kidnapped (and is now presumed dead), that knowing something that intimate is dangerous. Trixx is actually named James. He decided on the name Trixx as an alias, so that the main gang controlling the city wouldn't realize he was the same kid whose older sister was a member of a rebellion of sorts. He worked hard on his ability to pick up on tiny gestures and expressions people would make in conversation, learning to read people like open books. Trixx uses this skill in his chosen field, selling information and secrets to anyone interested in the information. He develops a fondness for Hunter when she starts using him consistently as a source for information, and the fact that she never tries to cheat him doesn't hurt either. Trixx is sometimes known to outright lie about information if he believes he's being manipulated or scammed, so people do their best to stay in his good graces. Even then, he knows how to read their body language, and he'll end up scraping information out of the people he's selling information to.
Sam is the younger of two children. His mother is a well-off dentist, and his father is a high-paid lawyer. His older sister Emma is a doctor, and his family expects him to follow in their footsteps. Sam does not know what he wants to do with his life. He's used to all these expectations, so he tries different activities. Sam learns to cook, draw, play the guitar, sing, act, and all sorts of different skills. None of these are things that his parents believe he should continue doing in a career, however. So, a few days after he turns 18, Sam packs up some of his things and runs away. He ends up on the streets, avoiding everyone he possibly can. His parents have reported him missing, and Sam does not want to be trapped into a life he doesn't want, so he hides, eventually making his way out of the city and finding his way somewhere else. After a run-in with a thief, Sam meets Max, who offers him a place to stay after covering for him with the police. Sam tries to leave several times before realizing that he's better off with Max and his sisters. They don't have high expectations from him, and he already helps them so much with his wide range of skills and knowledge. He doesn't realize it right away, but he's meant for a career in family life, which is why nothing seemed to click before.
Amaya is a water nymph. Her whole existence comes with a multitude of expectations. Amaya's species reproduces asexually, meaning she's essentially a little copy of her mother. Her mother trained her to hone her various abilities, and now Amaya is expected to balance human relations along with all of her usual responsibilities in the village. She makes rain fall, calling thunderstorms on occasion, and sometimes she's called in on request to manipulate the weather for certain days of the year. Her priorities as a water nymph mean that she cannot travel very far. Little nymph villages are sprinkled all over the planet, and if she leaves to explore, it means all the expectations are fully placed on her mother. So, until Peregrine arrives, Amaya has not experienced the world at all. Of course, when the humans find out that they're harboring an alien, all their peace agreements go out the window, and suddenly Amaya is on her own, stuck with adventuring, despite knowing nothing about it.
#cloud speaks#thanks for the ask!#I rarely talk about my ocs#probably because they're not as well-received as some of my other content#they still exist though!#I haven't entirely abandoned them!#I'll probably focus in on them more during college tbh#since I stubbornly refuse to let fnaf take over my entire life#and I'll base as much of my classwork on my three main pet projects#as I can#because I need the excuse to work on them again#I need the excuse to do something other than fanwork#but yeah!#I can't really pick a favorite oc#I love to coddle them all#The other mentioned ocs are favorites as well#but this would've gotten too long if I'd explained them all in detail#especially since nobody really has any of the context to go with them#oc stuff#writing
3 notes
·
View notes
Note
do some people not realize that flirting doesn't always always mean it leads to anything romantic..... friends playfully flirt with friends yall. like i personally do think eddie was flirting a bit, he pretty much asked her out lmao, but i think people can acknowledge that he was kinda flirting in that woods scene and still not ship him and chrissy if they don't want to
You’re so right! Flirting doesn’t always lead to relationships, it can lead to friendships and if people enjoy seeing Eddie and Chrissy as besties instead of a couple then flirting can still happen between friends, it can be innocent and playful and not lead to anything if both parties are fully aware that’s all it is and no one is getting lead on.
But idk who people are trying to convince when they say that the interaction between Eddie and Chrissy in the woods is nothing but Eddie “being nice” to her because he “just wanted to sell her the drugs.” You mean the same man who offered to leave and forget about the whole thing? The same man who offered her a discount simply because she “flattered him” and literally all she did was laugh and smile as he basically rolled around on the floor and punched a tree. He was acting weird. He was practically twirling his hair around his finger. You know what makes us act awkward and do weird things? Being around people we find attractive. Then he offered her to come see him play with his band, he wanted to see her again. It can lead to whatever people want in their headcanons, a beautiful friendship, a romantic relationship.
But downplaying such a beautiful moment between two characters as nothing but a guy trying to sell some drugs to make some quick money, is not only a blatant lie because thousands, if not millions of viewers fell in love with Eddie during that scene for. a. reason. but it also discredits Joe Quinn’s excellent performance, which was largely improvised.
Maybe in that original script it was just a drug deal, but Joe made it so much more and he deserves his due credit for that, instead of people trying to suck what made that scene special out of it bc they’re mad a few people are enjoying a fictional pairing they don’t like.
50 notes
·
View notes
Photo
Come watch this episode with us. (Vector by pink1ejack)
The episode begins with Filthy Rich picking up a supply of Apple Cider. Yes, Apple Cider because Apple Bloom packed them in the same kind of boxes as the Zap Apple Jam and lied hoping she could fix it before anyone notices. Luckily, the older Apple Siblings found out and Filthy Rich returned them without a second thought. He knows he shouldn’t get on Granny Smith’s bad side. AJ is upset that Apple Bloom lied about it and when she says it only leads to trouble, Apple Bloom said AJ doesn’t know that since she never lied in her life. Cue story of Apple Kids.
Many Moons ago, because they keep track of time for their fiction as well as I do mine, Applejack and a more talkative Big Mac argue which one of them will run the farm when Granny Smith retires. It’s Applejack with her ideas Vs Big Mac with his size. And a whole lot of talking. I’m pretty sure he talks more in this episode than a normal season. And one of AJ’s big ideas is to let Filthy Rich, who is currently running the story, to sell Apple Cider. Sadly, it's a promise she can’t keep and instead of telling the truth, she lies that Granny Smith is sick.
Of course, since Filthy Rich is an actual nice person, she comes to visit. But Applejack continues to lie and lie until everyone ends up in the hospital and Big Mac is one moment away from becoming a tripedal creature after Granny Smith cuts off a leg. Luckily for him, Applejack tells the truth and Granny Smith fixes the problem. The episode ends with the reveal of who really runs the farm: Granny Smith.
Overall, it is sadly a weak episode for me. Mostly because her lying isn’t really that fun compared to Apple Cord we’ll get later. And this is also the reason Big Mac doesn’t do a lot of talking. He claims it's because he spent more time talking than listening, but the thing is he did listen and he was right. He kept trying to get Applejack to tell the truth and she just kept making things worse and worse. And because he nearly got his leg cut off, he is now afraid to speak his mind.
Great job Applejack. Click here to see the original review. But even though in the rewrite I have Filthy Rich being the storyteller, I may go back on this and change a few things to make it feel better to me.
3 notes
·
View notes
Last Seen Blogs
badwolfwrites-sometimes
life is a dream
puckluckie
puckluckie
benjiwyatt
idk, fuckin'... love?
ldrfanatic
Meet Me in the Pale Moonlight