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shivasdarknight · 9 months

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Hi, sorry for this but you are a writer, so umm.. I was hoping you could give me some tips/advice on how to write?

tbh the way I got into writing is a bit insane, but I do have some advice that can help. gonna put it under a cut just because it got kinda long

honest to god, one of the best pieces of advice is something you're already doing because reading can genuinely help you with becoming a better writer. stepping outside of your usual genres or authors can help expand your viewpoint and introduce you to more narrative styles so you can play around and see what works for you. eg. if you mostly read first person, give second person a shot. or if you're an omniscient third person, try limited third person. or even retrospective first person, because i often see people complain about first person pov when it's married with a present tense story. if you have a first person narrator talking about events in the past as if talking to you, or a journal it often takes an entirely different angle and it's something I've played with in Homestuck fics because that fandom tends to be more open to narrative experimentation. Writing is honestly a lot of looking at stuff you like (much like art) and smooshing it all together. Personally, I've gotten a lot of my writing style from stuff like The Locked Tomb, admittedly Lovecraft was foundational (but this is a great example of why to always remain critical considering his bullshit), so was Homestuck and Rick Riordan's stuff. I'm never trying to copy them wholesale, but I am looking at aspects I like - such as Riordan's humor intertwining with the narrative and narration, or the deeply unreliable narrators that Muir writes, or even how Homestuck balances purple prose with gut wrenching conciseness when it counts. A lot of modern day fast food fiction takes out a lot of the stuff that actually builds a story - pacing, playing with narration and technical writing - so you need to be conscious of what you're looking for in things. Often more established authors get to do weirder stuff than new authors, but don't discredit new ones because that would be leaving out folks like Xiran Jay Zhao and their phenomenal prose.

Another thing that helps greatly is reading writing critique. Video essays on books or even more critical thought pieces on writing, tropes, etc. can help you learn more about why something works. Lots of different channels on YouTube dedicated to dissecting media, absolutely recommend stuff like Hello Future Me, Overly Sarcastic Productions (real world ties + mythology, great basis to build things on), Zoe Bee (writer + commentary), Nerdwriter1 (media analysis + commentary), Just Write, and Tale Foundry. For adjacent suggestions that can help build up alternate perspectives that aren't directly about writing but are about critical thinking with stories (which is frankly an important skill to have), I definitely recommend Princess Weekes, Accented Cinema, Now You See It, Dominic Noble, The Storyteller, and Pop Culture Detective. A lot of this is discussing film (save Dominic Noble, who also talks about books a Lot), but the core essence of storytelling is helpful regardless of what angle it comes in - be it video game, movie, tv, or book reviews and analyses.

Actual writing. Varies on the person on if they do outlines or not and how, but I still recommend trying to do an outline when you're first starting out. One habit to immediately knock yourself out of is writing things chronologically. If you're working on a big piece and have more energy to write something in the middle? Put that in a new doc and leave a placeholder for where you're at. Legitimately, getting words on the paper is more important than those words being good. Because you can always come back and edit things to make sense.

Always edit what you write. I hate the "no beta we die like real men" attitude because people will dunk on editing but then praise stories for having "firm and satisfying" connections which can only really be built through editing. Your first draft is your rough idea. Your second one is when you read through and have it make sense. Three is making that make sense, and maybe 4 is more just grammar and spelling errors. Edit as many times necessary to make sure you like it.

Always work in broad strokes, then move in finer like with anything. Do a general idea for a story, then your main story beats, then how you connect them together, and then the nitty gritty of each. Keep lots of notes - do not rely on your head solely for everything - and just also be willing to let things go if they change.

What I tend to do when I write is I want a good flow. I often get that from reading my writing out loud to hear how it sounds, but I'm looking for a good beat to read along. Because even if the sentence is grammatically correct and structurally sound, it may not be very interesting to read. Like you could say someone feigned a polite expression to not let the other person know that they didn't feel comfortable with a topic, or you could go the angle I went with recently of "she painted herself an interested expression to wear as dread began to gnaw at her gut." Sometimes the more colorful or out there the language is, the better it sounds when you read it. Like instead of saying "that's just how things go for them" you could say, "but Fate had a funny way of making her disdain known for (X character)". And this is where reading other peoples' work comes in real handy because you can get a lot of examples of how people write things.

I also try and reflect themes of the story into the writing itself, like this section of a draft:

Still nothing. Seemed he wasn’t going to bother with a glass, instead just ripping the top off of some bottle of gin and tipping it back with little regard for himself. Still that chronometer ticked on; still that taught tension like another arrow had been drawn. A million and more things flooded Ysayle’s mind, itching to loose them at Estinien, yet found herself stuck in indecision as she stared daggers into him - ever her opposite as he just seemed despondent. The gin bottle hit the extended shelf loudly; one hand a fist around the bottle, the other balled up on the surface - knuckles as white as bone. Still, Estinien said naught. Still, the chronometer ticked on. Still, Ysayle’s heart roared in her ears - poisonous words damming up her throat.

The theme of this story is avoiding the mistakes of the past. How things often can wind up cyclical, and the goal is to break from those cycles and repeats. So naturally, several points of the narration itself repeat itself. This isn't standard writing style, but it gets that point across by repeating "Still" as the scene crawls on. I also use a lot of alliteration in my writing because I personally find it fun? So "a maddening matter made most malign", for example.

It also helps to change up how you write or what descriptors you use based on the character whose head you're in, even if it's third person. Third person can have a voice and I often use it to speak aloud a character's thoughts instead of relying on italicized dialogue-thoughts. It makes the dialogue-thoughts appearing hit more when they do instead of just having to be subjected to internal ramblings constantly. Like in this fic I just published:

“...Can we talk about it on the morn?” “What for?” You don’t know what it is you ask of me. “Tired,” Estinien said with a shrug. “We’ve morning patrol, remember?”

Compared to this fic:

“Yes, confusingly.” Her tone was flat as she leaned once again on Surkukteni’s shoulder, thankfully on the uninjured side. “I fear I may have been wrong, though I truly doubt it. To deny me twice, then throw a fit? I wonder — why didn’t you go through with it?” Not even Surkukteni had that answer. For the umpteenth time during that conversation, she refused to look at Her Darkness. That desire — twisted and poisoned as it was — was one that still surfaced from time to time, yet like clockwork made her ill and was banished from her thoughts. Why was that? She felt scorned back then, wishing the universe would correct this error in sparing him but taking Ysayle — but was she not the one who helped save him? Who helped tear those eyes from his armor? She easily could — and had previously — bluffed that it was to destroy the eyes and be rid of the threat, but given her hesitancy now? Why?

All of Surkukteni's thoughts are condensed into the narration so that I can separate out her thought dialogue from idle musings since she - specifically - has a connection with something that can talk telepathically. This thing comments on the literal narration of the story, so when she's directly addressing this thing it's thought-dialogue. But her actual thoughts become narration to avoid spending too much time with that, as I find it's better used sparingly.

Motivation for writing is probably the hardest thing, and best I can advise is to get really into critiquing the stuff you like because you wind up finding a lot of material in fix-it stuff, or just wanting to see more of stuff like you. It's part of what drives my xiv stuff due to how they treat female characters, and I really just wanna see more sapphic bi4bi. So considering it's something I've been stuck in for a very long time now and really like the ambient lore and wish it would do better, it's fueling my desire to write. And from there, there are so many other angles to take - like building ocs, building lore. Finding a sandbox is genuinely one of the best ways to do it. Again, like. You'd be surprised at how much is there because of spite. LOTR has Eowyn because Tolkien didn't like that the "can be killed by no man" thing in Macbeth was resolved with a character born by c-section, so he instead wrote Eowyn, the woman who killed the Witch-King of Angmar. C.S. Lewis didn't like the fact that Tolkien believed that modern technology - or slightly less modern technology - didn't believe in fantasy and he explicitly cited lampposts. And this is why there's just a random light post in the middle of nowhere in the Narnia books.

Critique is good and healthy. I'm critical with the stuff I like and my own things so I can work on them and myself. It's fine to like something that you don't wholly agree with, especially if you're using it to inform how you build on it or build your own things. Like I dunno, I looked at Dante from Devil May Cry and went "what if he was trans" and now I've got Rhombi, a character who has stepped really far away from the OG Dante mould, but you can still see hints of it as I used what I wanted to see out of DMC to build this bisexual disaster of a guy. I was disappointed by Elsword not really committing to some of their character concepts, so I kinda just took Eve (and admittedly Add) and made them into Celes and Neilos and took them to their logical conclusions. All three of them were originally fantrolls at some point, so most of the heavy lifting was done when I was back in Homestuck and all I had to do was scrub the barcodes off of them to build them up in an original verse.

Chemistry is also crucial. If characters aren't vibing, move on. Do not force it. Good chemistry can save a bad story (eg. FFXV) and bad chemistry can ruin a good story. Often it's the characters that drive a story so you need to do a lot of plotting and planning. Most writing is honestly just planning before putting the words down.

And I'm very much so rambling by now but my main points are these (+ others I'm realizing while typing):

Plot a Lot and keep lots of notes, and also organize those notes. The contents don't have to be pretty, but you'll thank yourself in advance if you at least sort them by core idea

Getting words down is more important than getting them down correctly. You can always come back and edit it when you have an idea of how to make it work

You can always place a [insert scene here] tag so you can keep your flow and don't get caught on something.

You also don't have to write chronologically - you wanna write the big confession scene before the intro? do it! just jump right into it!

also don't be afraid to delete stuff or remove it from your draft. save things for later to see if they work elsewhere, because maybe it could be a better spinoff.

dont listen to the advice of "if it really matters, you'll remember it in the morning" that advice was given by neurotypicals who don't have memory issues. make notes of EVERYTHING and then delete the ones that don't work

sometimes writing by hand vs computer can really make a difference in how you think. handwriting is slower and makes you think about stuff, so you may want to keep journals for random snippets or ideas like how doodling is good for building up your habit of drawing

Outlines can help but how you outline is up to you. Try a few styles out and go with what works best.

I cannot stress enough that having something like a marker board to write out your broad stroke story ideas is really really nice

Broad strokes first, then narrow it further and further down. Don't get wrapped up in the nitty gritty details

Chemistry is crucial and can often save a piece you're not fully feeling.

Read your stuff out loud while editing because it can help point out stuff that's not jiving! I find it helps a lot with dialogue

Read a lot. Listen to critique. Be more critical. Also don't limit your idea of stories to just books - expand the media you consume and you'll find really interesting stories that can help with yours

Don't be afraid to use tropes, but also don't super rely on them to where you're just checking off boxes instead of coming up with natural scenarios built on chemistry (eg. having the nerdy goth girl is fine, but the way the trope ends in most media ("fixing" her or just having her be a quirky cynical critic) may not fit with your story and it may be better to see how the story plays out rather than forcing it into something it's not)

Iron Widow is a good example here: the relationship between Zetian and Yizhi is pre-established and comes off as sort of "boy next door" vibes, or at least the very dedicated childhood friend. It quickly becomes apparent that he's as much a co-conspirator in her plans as Shimin is. The guy can be ruthless when given the chance, and that's how Yizhi goes beyond the initial trope and defines himself outside of it. Same with the contextualization of Shimin's seeming "aggression" as the "bad boy" and figuring out where that problem/persona actually stems from, and then the shift of viewing it as less aggression and more retaliation and self preservation.

Find something you do really want to write about, like filling a void in a piece of media you like or doing a take on media that made you mad or disappointed. Jane Eyre is technically fanfiction because the author wanted to see more of Jane and didn't get that. The Divine Comedy is self insert fanfiction of Dante Alighieri as he does worldbuilding with Christian mythos regarding heaven and hell. The Riordan verse is his interest in mythology crossed with a desire to give his son a protag that was like him (specifically ADHD and dyslexic), which then became wanting to let kids see themselves in the different halfbloods in the series.

There's a lot of ways you can get started writing, but the best way is to just write goofy stuff for yourself. Get out stuff that may look bad at first, but you go back and read it and critique it. Just getting yourself into the habit of writing helps a lot, because again: it matters less about the quality, and more getting it on the page and actually having something. You can always fine-tune writing, after all.

My first FFXIV fic isn't actually even published. It was just me writing something rambly about my Warrior of Light when I was starting to figure her character out. It looks nothing like what I'm doing now in part because that fanfiction became a launching point for me to work on others. I've got a lot of drafts that will never see the light of day because these were proto-concepts that became the stuff I wound up publishing. It's fine to have drafts that remain drafts because you can take that as practice, and practice is good. Anything that you write has value because you can use it to let your technical writing skills mature.

Also, don't be afraid to look for help. There are beta services on tumblr (or at least used to be when I was a teenager), plenty of writing guides or places set up to ask questions, plenty of youtubers that give prompts for you to work with. The hardest part is always getting started. But once you get past the awkwardness of the start, everything just falls into place and gets easier the longer you go at it.

You definitely have the desire for it because I've seen your very deep love of literature through the Bi-Library, so you can definitely become a strong writer if you put your mind to it 🫶 Find something to fix or address, and that usually is what gets the ball rolling. Worldbuilding is fun and can lead to something, but you can't have a well built world without a story to explore it.

Characters drive story, story is how you explore themes and the world itself, and the world itself is built on your experiences and interests. Embrace the fact that this is coming from your lens and experiences, because no media is truly void of the author and its other creators. Embrace that fact and use it as an extension of yourself. But really, just write. Literally anything. Just get into the habit of writing, and it'll progress from there!

#original #asks #answered #bisexual-coala #writing tips #long post #this is very rambly but getting into writing isnt the most straightforward thing #a lot of the time it really is just finding something that clicks and not caring about what goes on the page for the first draft #ive been writing fanfiction for...over a decade now? + a lot of rp (also over a decade) and now some p serious original stuff #my fanfiction has also gotten way more involved than it used to be #genuinely i got started writing by keeping a lot of journals and writing every idea i had even if im now embarrassed by it #what matters is just getting into the habit first and then looking at your stuff more critically once the habit is formed #it's hard to build a habit if you're immediately critical #but it's hard to maintain a habit or hobby if you're not - especially if you feel you can build on something #if you do feel it you oughta pursue it and see where it takes you #perfectly fine to not be critical with hobbies but being Constructively critical is how you improve and mature #constructive is key here. because being down on your own writing or being self deprecating is how you lose a hobby #like let's say you don't like your dialogue #go read scripts or books of stuff you like the dialogue from. analyze why they work in contrast to why you feel like yours doesnt work #maybe someone else has a solution for why it feels off #sometimes it's just as simple as taking a step back and looking at it as a whole or even just sleeping on it and coming back w fresh eyes #always approach something you don't like about your work with the attitude of ''how can i improve so i do like it''#like ''i need to be better at fight scenes. ill be sure to include more in my next piece to focus on it and maybe read some action books''#lotta ways to do it!! theres no one right way just a way that fits best for you!!!#just absolutely ignore the ''if it's a good idea you'll remember it in the morning'' stuff.#it doesn't account for people w memory issues and will screw you over #you do not have to wait until you're good at writing to start working on something. you need something to work on to improve #you can always come back to an idea as many times as you need as you grow as a writer #so just write until you build a habit and base style then analyze and move from there #fanfic is honestly really good for practicing style and technique - the characters and world are already ther so why not use em?

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howtofightwrite · 5 months

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What do you think of the squishy wizard trope? Shouldn’t people that travel around and go “adventuring” have some baseline of athleticism?

So, we're back to a game design discussion, again.

The short version is, if it doesn't make sense to you, don't use it.

Squishy wizards are almost more of a gameplay consideration. If you have a game, and you're balancing ranged damage against melee damage, if your ranged damage units do enough damage, you can create a situation where melee damage straight up doesn't work. It's not viable. The 40k meme about the Tau comes to mind: “Sure, they suck in melee; too bad you'll never get there.”

If you tone down ranged unit's damage, that can easily create a situation where they become the ones who are irrelevant. Such was the experience of every level 1 Wizard in AD&D. Once in awhile, you can get into the perfect situation to end an encounter, but most of the time you're just biding your time until you get to level 5 and can learn to accidentally fireball your party's front line, but that is a long time from now.

If ranged units can do a lot of damage, they need to be fragile enough that you can remove them from the board. And the Tau comparison comes back to mind once again.

All of this combines to create a board environment, where melee fighters need to be tanky enough to get into combat and stay there. Ranged units need to be fragile enough that they can remove each other, deal enough damage to harass the melee units, without doing so much damage as to render them completely irrelevant to the board.

And, while you can build a story around that structure, you don't need to.

Gandalf isn't a fragile wizard. He's not some “book nerd,” who spent high school getting shoved into lockers. When the time comes, he goes toe to toe with a Balrog (or, the Balrog, whichever), and doesn't immediately die. He clearly manages to hold his own, in melee combat, with a massive monster. (In fairness, he's also not human. I mean, none of Tolkien's, “the race of men,” are conventionally human, but Middle Earth's Wizards are an entirely different race of beings.)

In a lot of games, solution is to give the frontline fighters a ridiculous amount of health. Now, I'm going to trash on D&D for a second, but consider that a 10th level Fighter should have somewhere around 94 - 114hp. Remember that critical hits represent some kind of significant injury. These are not just blows that connect with your armor and will leave a bruise, this is someone ran you through. Someone could crit on your fighter, with a long sword, and stab them in vital places at least 4, and probably 5 times, before it actually kills them. That's a comical amount of damage someone to suffer. (Now, granted, a 10th level character in D&D is basically a superhero. If you're thinking of Boromir's death in Jackson's Fellowship of the Rings, that is what it takes to put down a relatively high level fighter in D&D. Which is to say, hilarious amounts of abuse.)

If you signed up for that, cool. I'm not going to stop you. I'm not even going to tell you it's wrong. If you want to tear down a super-humanly powerful character through prolonged combat sequences, or due to attrition of multiple fights in quick succession, that works. I mean, hell, that's how DC killed Batman in the 90s.

If your wizard power fantasy is that a wispy intellectual gains cosmic power through hard academic study, cool. Again, that's entirely valid, and as I mentioned, it even fits into a power fantasy. If you were bullied as a teenager for your atypical interests, and habit of reading, here's a character that studies strange and esoteric subjects, and has real power as a result.

At the same time, it's entirely reasonable to have an averagely healthy mage, whether they study magic academically, or have some ingrained talent that they've honed, plop them down next to a veteran swordmaster who's fought in wars on nine continents with the scars to prove it, and while they may look a bit anemic in comparison to their buddy, is still in better shape than the average villager they interact with on a daily basis.

That's where I tend to land in all of this.

When you're creating characters for your writing, it can be helpful to assign them attributes. Now, I don't mean this in the literal RPG stat blocks. (I've tried that a few times, it doesn't really work for me.) But, just a few text descriptors (which, does sound like Fudge, come to think of it.) You might describe your mage as Smart, or Intellectual, Wise (or Absent Minded), Willful. You know, “wizard stuff.” If you describe your warrior as, Strong, Tough, Tenacious, and Cunning, you're not making the wizard squishy, you're making another character less squishy. A lot of the time, we set the base line by what other people are doing. It's reasonable to say your mage is less durable than your soldier. (Unless your mage has a reason to be that tough. Maybe they're from some frozen wasteland, and are just absolutely jacked from surviving in a hostile environment.) But, that comparison doesn't mean that your mage is deficient.

Now, on the other hand, frail characters can be interesting. You're taking out their ability to fight conventionally, so when they do start decisively ending situations, whether that's through their own creativity and guile, or sheer magical power, it can be very gratifying. And, to be clear, I am very fond of flawed characters, especially when they have to work within the framework of their flaws to find solutions, rather than just overcoming them through the power of love, friendship and mescaline.

When handled well, flaws are about creating limitations for how your characters can solve problems. These can also make your story more interesting. If you say, my character can't fight, (and you don't back down from that and just let them cheat so they can fight, because they're so goddamn special), they're going to need to find other solutions. That can result in a better, more interesting, and less predictable story.

-Starke

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#writing reference #writing advice #writing tips #how to fight write #starke answers

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lexa-lives-in-us · 3 years

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Hiya! If you're still free for asks, might I request a bitnof cobalt ruby, an undercover au of sorts where they meet while one of them is undercover for their organization? 😄

Dairon can’t fucking believe it.

They’re special ops, for the love of God. They’ve trained with the best of the best, they’ve done missions no one else could’ve done. They’ve trained some of the best CIA, FBI and SEAL agents the world has ever seen. (Not that they’ll ever tell Beauregard that). They’re not babysitters.

Dairon doesn’t mind undercover, really. They’re sweet assignments, where they can pretend to be someone they’re not without actual consequences. It’s a job with no beginnings, no middles and no ends: once they’re done with a character, they toss it and build another one for a different mission. They can live and die with that persona and to hell with it.

But there are some assignments they really can’t fucking stand. They thought it was over, they really weren’t going to go on any more of those dumb as fuck missions, that they were rookie jobs. Stalking some celebrity because of potential high risk information and possible corruption? Fuck that shit.

But no, the CIA had requested for them specifically, and Dairon has yet to understand why. They have the horrible suspicion Agent Lionett is behind all this, because Dairon knows she has contact within her assignment.

But a job is a job, and Dairon stares up at the five star hotel “The Lavish Chateau” with a critical eye. They’ve studied their piece, they know their backstory, they know the language. All they have to do is lounge at the hotel for a couple of weeks, collect intel and disappear. They are quite literally supposed to pretend to be a tourist in Paris. How hard can it be?

Dairon clutches their suitcase, smoothing out their button down with their free hand. They can’t remember the last time they’ve worn jeans, but here we go.

Deep breath, and Dairon walks in.

The place lives it up to the name. Dairon has seen two inches of the foyer of this hotel and it’s stupidly lavish, sumptuously rich and ridiculously elegant.

They are greeted within five seconds of walking in, and as they get to their room they find themselves thinking that at least, at least... It can be a nice spot for a vacation. *** Dairon starts roaming the hotel immediately. No time to lose, and it’s not like they have anything else to do anyway. They slip through the emergency exit door, finding stairs. Up or down?

Dairon shrugs to themselves and starts heading up.

They count seventeen floors of nothing before a small laugh makes them jump out of their own skin.

Dairon whips around, almost going for the gun in their hidden holster, and looks behind them. No one. Only darkness. Only...

From the obscured corner of another emergency exit door, a puff of smoke comes rolling out. A cigarette falls to the floor, and a heeled foot presses it down onto the cement.

Dairon stares, as a tall, absolutely stunning woman walks out of the shadow.

“I apologize.” the woman says, and if Dairon didn’t know she was gay before, she certainly knows now, because that accent... “It is not a habit I indulge often. But some days are more trying than others.”

Dairon blinks. They are a good height themselves, but this woman is tall.

Long, tanned legs, loosely draped by the gown of a red dress that hugs curvy hips and soft breasts, with a cleavage that leaves very little to the imagination. But Dairon is a gentleperson, and they stare up at the woman’s face, which is probably worse, because fuck, she is beautiful. Red hair encircling magnificent features and soft lips. And her eyes... They are brown, but with a tint of reddish-purple, something Dairon has never seen.

But she has a gentleness, to her, something that takes Dairon completely by surprise.

“I don’t think you’re supposed to smoke either way in this place.” Dairon responds, automatically. “The Hotel doesn’t allow smokers.”

The woman looks surprised for a moment, then she recoils and offers her hand.

“I don’t think I got your name, handsome.” she asks with a fascinated whisper.

Dairon feels a shiver down their spine. Oh, this woman is trouble. They know the woman probably expects for them to shake her hand, but Dairon takes a page out of Beauregard’s book and goes for it. Fucking assignment, they might as well have some fun.

They grab the woman’s hand in theirs, then press a kiss on the soft, silky skin of her knuckles.

“Skylar.” they say, and they hate this stupid name, but don’t hate this mission so much anymore.

The woman’s eyes spark in amusement, and she giggles as Dairon places a kiss on her hand. She doesn’t let go. Instead, she takes a step forward, almost pressing her body to Dairon, who blinks rapidly.

The woman uses her free hand to place a finger on Dairon’s jaw. Their eyes meet, cobalt blue finding dark ruby.

“Well, Skylar.” the woman says . “Maybe you’ll find my actual name once I find out yours. À bientôt.”

Then the woman drops her hands, and disappears through the same dark corner she’d emerged from before, followed by a soft smell of roses. Fucking poetic.

Dairon is left staring, the only noise in the stairwell being the violent drumming of her heart.

#cobalt ruby #my work #fanfiction #prompts #prompt day #shadowcrow #critical role #Undercover AU

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jeankelly · 3 years

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The Beginners Guide to Improving Your Credit Score

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(4) Be an Authorized User on a Credit Card

If you're lucky enough to have a good credit score, it can be tempting to want to use your card for all your needs and wants. However, that's not always the best idea if you don't have an emergency fund set aside. It is important when using a credit card as an authorized user to make sure they have their own savings account or money stashed away in case things go wrong with their spending habits.

Many people have a hard time getting approved for a credit card. This can be because of their poor credit history, or they may not have enough income to show that they could responsibly make payments on the account. The best way to get around this is to become an authorized user on someone else’s account, which will allow you to build your own credit score and increase your chances of being approved in the future.

Read More: https://www.creditrepairinmyarea.com/blog/the-beginners-guide-to-improving-your-credit-score/

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d0rkarella · 4 years

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Tarot of the Day: Temperance

Upright Meaning Meanings: Balance, peace, patience, moderation, inner calm, perspective, tranquillity, harmonious relationships, soulmates.

General meaning and interpretation (Upright)

In a general context, the Temperance Tarot card signifies balance, peace, patience and moderation. This Major Arcana card indicates that you have found your inner calm and have a good perspective on things. It is a sign that the relationships in your life are harmonious. You have learned not to allow yourself to be dragged into other people’s conflict or to let minor issues knock you off balance. Instead you adapt to the situations with a clear mind and calm heart and keep your balance. Temperance can also signify that you have found peace and tranquillity and you are feeling content. Temperance indicates that you are truly in touch with who you are inside, what you value and your own moral compass and you are finding it easier to figure out your aspirations and set yourself goals.

Love & Relationships (Upright)

In a love Tarot reading, if you are in a relationship, the Temperance Tarot card is one of the best cards you can get. It signifies a harmonious relationship where you and your partner find the perfect balance of love, commitment and respect. It is also a signifier of soulmates. If you have been having relationship problems, Temperance is an indicator that you will both resolve whatever issues have been holding your relationship back in order to move forward together. If you are single, Temperance is an indicator that you will be learning to balance the other areas of your life in order to make room for a loving partner to come into your life. Once you have done this you will attract the right partner to you.

Money & Career (Upright)

In a career context, Temperance tells you that now, is a great time to set goals as you have the patience and persistence to achieve what you want. Your hard work and dedication will be noticed with Temperance upright in your Tarot spread. If you are hoping for a promotion or career advancement, Temperance tells you to be patient and not to jump at the first opportunity if there is a chance for something better further down the line. In a financial context, things should be going well as you should have balanced finances. However, be careful to practice moderation in relation to money as now is a time to maintain the balance and build your savings up at a steady pace rather than take risks with money or make risky investments.

Health (Upright)

In a health context, the Temperance Tarot card indicates that moderation is the key to good health so if you need to get any unhealthy habits under control, you will find that now is a great time to do it. If you have been experiencing any health issues, look to the areas of your life or health where you have been overdoing it or under-doing it. Bringing balance these areas may give you the healing boost you need.

Spirituality (Upright)

In a spiritual context, Temperance tells you to listen to your inner guidance and is an indicator that your spirit guides are all around you. Temperance can also signify that you are finding the right balance between your mind, body and spirit. Remember to have patience as you follow your spiritual path and know that everything is happening at the pace it is meant to.

Temperance Reversed Meanings: Imbalance, self-indulgence, excess, clashing, lack of perspective, discord, antagonism, recklessness, hastiness.

General meaning and interpretation (Reversed)

In a general context, Temperance reversed indicates imbalance or overindulgence. This Major Arcana card can be an indicator that you are behaving in a hasty or reckless fashion. It can be a signifier of many issues with excessive or harmful indulgences such as drinking, drug use, gambling, overeating, shopping and the list goes on. The Temperance Tarot card in a reversed position may be telling you that you have lost touch with your own inner calm and tranquillity which can lead you to seek gratification in risky, harmful ways. Temperance reversed can also indicate a lack of harmony with the people in your life so you may find yourself clashing with those closest to you or allowing yourself to be dragged into other people’s drama. You may be lacking perspective and not looking at the bigger picture. You would do well to take a step back and take a look at how you are behaving, examine the root causes and work on resolving them.

Love & Relationships (Reversed)

In a love Tarot spread, if you are in a relationship, Temperance reversed can indicate conflict and clashes caused by an imbalance in the relationship. This may be a result if one of you feeling like you care more than the other or feeling like the love and respect you show your partner is not reciprocated. There is a lack of harmony in the relationship and you may find that you are arguing with each other, that you’re not willing to listen to each other. You may also find yourselves being outright antagonistic with each other and trying to point score rather than working together to resolve your issues. Try to calm the situation down and find your own inner balance so that you can better cope with the issues you are facing and make yourself more open to finding solutions. If you are single, Temperance reversed can indicate that you are giving too much of yourself too soon to the people you’re interested in. This can be simply that you’re trying too hard or coming across as too eager or it can indicate promiscuity or coming across as completely desperate! Try to be patient if you’re looking for love. Don’t be hasty or try to force a relationship before you’ve gotten to know someone properly. Just relax, try to find your own inner balance and let any new romance develop at its own pace.

Money & Career (Reversed)

In a career context, the Temperance Tarot card reversed can signify an imbalance or conflict in a work situation. You may be working too hard or not working hard enough or you could be clashing with your co-workers. It can also indicate that you are ignoring or reacting negatively to constructive criticism. Whatever the issue, you need to look inward to re-balance your own energy in order to resolve this situation. Financially, if you are having issues you need to nip them in the bud immediately. Watch out for impulsive spending as you find yourself looking for instant gratification to distract you from the imbalance you're feeling inside. You need to slow down and reconnect with yourself to find peace. Excessive spending will bring you debt, not inner tranquillity!

Health (Reversed)

Temperance reversed in a health context is a very strong indicator that you are out of balance in some areas of your life that are having a knock on effect on your health. The Temperance Tarot card reversed can also be a sign of unhealthy or harmful excesses when it appears in a Tarot spread so be mindful of what you are putting into your body at this time. You need to connect to how you are feeling, figure out what issues may be causing you to seek comfort in unhealthy ways and resolve those issues to bring your balance back.

Spirituality (Reversed)

In spiritual terms, Temperance reversed tells you that you are spiritually imbalanced. You may feel like you have lost your connection to your inner guidance or your spirit guides. It is also an indicator of an imbalance between mind, body and soul. You should consider doing some energy work and meditation to bring you back into balance. You may want to consider seeking the help of a professional, if you are finding self-balancing is not working for you at the moment.

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sakurablossomstorm-blog · 7 years

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3. "Stay with me," 12. "Despite what you think, I am completely capable of taking care of myself," 24. "You're so fucking hot when you're mad," and/or 39. "Please come home; I miss you." 😊

Here you go! 24 has been asked by someone else so I’ve done the rest!

~~~~

3. ‘Stay with me.’ (Set in the ‘Those Who Teach’ universe.)

The sunlight streamed into the bedroom through the crack in the curtains, onto Leslie’s face. She grunted in discomfort and turned away from the harsh light, right into the arms of her super, sexy boyfriend.

She peered at the clock on his bedside table. 6:36. Wow, she slept in today. Usually she was up and ready to go by about 5:30 every morning without fail.

She tried to lie in bed and concentrate on everything that she could do today once Ben decided to wake. They could make cookies, watch some history channel documentaries, maybe go for a walk, visit Ramsett Park; holy crap there was so much to do today. And she was wasting the day away lying in bed.

Ever so carefully, she tried to peel herself away from Ben’s arms, who had snaked them around her waist without her knowing. But the movements shifted him, causing him to wake up and nuzzle into his pillow.

“What time’sit?” Ben grunted.

“Time to get up” Leslie answered.

Ben smirked, his eyes still closed. “Is that Leslie Knope time to get up or actual time to get up?”

Leslie blushed. “Um…it’s my time to get up.”

“No” Ben said adamantly, tightened his grip on her. “Stay with me. S’too early.”

Leslie knew he was right, and he wasn’t the first to tell her that. In her dorm, Leslie was always the first one to wake up, and would wake up so early that sometimes she would see people coming back from a night at the student bar, still wasted and giggly.

Ann used to tell her that a morning relaxing in bed never hurt anyone. But Leslie used to reply with ‘the early bird catches the worm.’

Ben had to adjust to Leslie’s habits. He loved sleep, and since getting together with Leslie and her spending more nights at his, he had to try and break her terrible sleeping pattern. He made her go to sleep at a reasonable hour and stay in bed until at least 8am.

“You’re suffocating me,” Leslie gasped dramatically as she flopped back down next to Ben.

He angled her so that she was lying on his chest. “Stay there. Go sleep” he mumbled exhaustedly.

Leslie couldn’t hide her blush as Ben lay her back down on his chest, stroking her hair as he drifted back off to sleep. She knew she’d never go back to sleep, but at least she could daydream about their day together while she snuggled into his warm chest.

~~~~

12. “Despite what you think, I am completely capable of taking care of myself,” (Set in the ‘Apartment 7C universe.)

“We are starting with these” Ben said, gesturing to the multiple birdhouses on Leslie’s dining table. “We live in an apartment building. On the seventh floor. You do not need birdhouses.”

“They aren’t for me. They’re for the City Hall” Leslie pouted; trying to defend all the hard work she had put in making the birdhouses. “I want to put them out in the courtyard so that we get more birds there, rather than all the pigeons that currently gather there.”

Ben rolled his eyes. “Alright. Can we move them to storage at City Hall?”

“I guess” Leslie mumbled. “But I like looking at them.”

“I know” Ben replied. “But we are supposed to be cleaning up your apartment, so you don’t get another health code violation.”

Leslie winced. “Ron told you about that huh?”

“He asked if he knew what I was getting myself in to by helping you” Ben smirked. “To be honest, I’ve spent enough time over here to see for myself.”

He chuckled when he saw Leslie’s face drop, and she folded her arms and stomped her foot like an adorably grumpy toddler. “Despite what you think I am completely capable of looking after myself.”

“Oh, I have not doubts in that, I mean a regular person couldn’t survive in this. But it’s also not healthy to live like this” Ben told her, as he picked up stacks of magazines that were dated 1998. “Now, are you going to stand there and pout or are you going to help me?”

“I’m not pouting.”

“You’re pouting a little” Ben commented, and the immediately dodged a pillow Leslie threw at his head.

“Come on” he said to her. “The sooner we get this done, the sooner you’ll have a nice clean, hazard free apartment.”

Leslie sighed and picked up a box in the corner and started packing up the birdhouses. “Fine. But I like you a lot less, Wyatt.”

Ben just shook his head and smiled.

~~~~

39. “Please come home; I miss you.” (Set in the ‘Apartment 7C universe.)

‘Please come home. I miss you.’

Ben could only grin as he read the text on his phone. Leslie had been texting him every hour on the hour, telling him to come home. He would, soon enough. But for the moment he was in his old place in D.C, packing up his apartment so he could move back.

To Pawnee, to home.

“I promised myself I wouldn’t cry today” His roommate, Chris said as he packed away Ben’s extensive DVD collection “but I have already broken that five times today.”

Ben patted Chris on the back. Chris was thrilled for his friend, but was going to miss him as a roommate. And Ben would miss Chris too, other than his need for forcing Ben to take vitamins all the time.

“You can come visit. I know Leslie would be happy to meet you” Ben told Chris, and he smiled.

“That would literally make me the happiest man ever” Chris beamed at him, and then promptly burst into tears, collapsing into Ben’s arms and hiccupping loudly.

“Oh…there, there, buddy. Let it out” Ben mumbled as he awkwardly comforted Chris.

“You’re back!” Leslie squealed as she darted through the crowds at the airport, pouncing on top of Ben and nearly knocking him over.

“I missed you so much” Leslie cried as she hugged Ben with all the strength she could muster. “Why did you have to take so long to pack up an apartment?”

“I’m sorry, babydoll. But I’m here now” He said, kissing her passionately, not caring that there were about thirty eyes on them right now.

He told Leslie about Chris on the drive back to the apartment block. How Chris cried in total about fourteen times, and how he had recently been in therapy for manic depression, and felt a little alone, and how Ben leaving wasn’t exactly the best thing.

Leslie sighed as she pulled into the parking lot. “Now I feel bad for telling you to come back, you should have taken a week there and made sure he was ok.”

“He’ll be fine” Ben reassured her. “He’s got plenty of friends out in D.C, and I told him he could come and visit.”

“He’s more than welcome any time,” Leslie said. “But not all the time, because I want to be able to jump your bones whenever I want and not be interrupted by your friend.”

They climbed out of the car and Ben dragged his suitcase out, while Leslie took his carry on bag for him. All his other stuff would come by moving van tomorrow.

As they climbed out of the elevator once it arrived at the seventh floor, Leslie told him how Ann had been on a string of dates and nothing seemed to work out. There had been several guys that hit on her during a girls night out, but they were all weird, one guy even said that Ann was pretty, but not as pretty as his sister.

It wasn’t until after they got into Ben’ apartment, and clothes were ripped off and bodies pressed together when it came to him.

“Hey” He said, nudging Leslie slightly. They were lying in the middle of his bed after amazing welcome back sex and Leslie was dropping in and out of sleep.

“Mm?” Leslie mumbled, looking up at him with one eye open.

“What do you think about setting Ann and Chris up?” Ben asked.

Leslie sat up a little and pursed her lips. “Do you think they’ll like each other?”

“Why not? They’re both good looking, and they have two great best friends, and one of those best friends has an adorable face and a great rack.” Ben grinned as he buried his face into Leslie’s bare chest, causing her to cackle loudly.

“It could work” Leslie mused, after she managed to push Ben away. “But he still lives in D.C.”

“We could invite him to stay, and take him out with us and Ann. And then we’ll subtly nudge them together from there.”

Leslie smiled at Ben and kissed his lips. “I like that idea. And if Chris is anything like what you’ve said, I think he’d be great for Ann. But I’m going to be critical. We need to make sure he really is the perfect guy for the wonderful Ann Meredith Perkins.”

“Of course, if you approve, we’ll hook them up” Ben said, kissing the top of her head and pulling her closer.

#parks and rec fic #supervanillabear31

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moonchilddd36963 · 5 years

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Chapter One

Park Jimin- Anorexia

♥Smut Warning♥

Namjoon watched as Park Jimin walked alone down the empty hallway.

It was after school hours and Jimin still had some extra studio time. Namjoon, however, was only there to watch the younger male. Observe the way he acted before building up enough courage to speak to him. Namjoon would seem like a psychopath if an outsider had seen him.

He had the school’s file on Park Jimin in hand, watching from the darker end of the hallway waiting for the boy to finish dancing. Only now was a bit different than any other time.

Now, Namjoon was noticing how small the boy really was. Okay, he was always really small, but his weight. He’s only 39 kilograms! That is not at all healthy. He looked through the glass and saw the younger with tight shorts on and no shirt. This child was thin as all hell and Namjoon knew the boy would only get smaller.

If he didn't do anything to stop it now, Jimin would only get worse and eventually die. Namjoon knows this, but he was still waiting.

Waiting for what? Jesus, he doesn't even know.

Namjoon, while building his confidence, began dozing off. This was not good on either end. Jimin could find him, the file could be spotted by a janitor. So many things could happen. But Namjoon had stayed up all night writing.

Namjoon woke up to a loud noise. When he checked to see if Jimin was okay, he saw the boy laying on the ground. Zero movement. Shit. Namjoon called an ambulance and rode to the hospital with Jimin.

“Relation?”

“Acquaintances…”

Namjoon wanted to say friends, but he's never spoken to the boy. But I guess now would be a great time, yeah? Namjoon walked down the hallway in search of room 1013.

1009, 1011, 1013!

He opened the door and found Jimin awake.

“You the guy who found me?”

Namjoon walked in, closing the door with his foot.

“Yeah-erm-yeah I am.”

To say he was nervous would be an understatement for Namjoon. He observed the younger male from afar for months trying to plan how exactly he would approach him, what he would say and when he'd say it. All of it is ruined because he fell asleep.

“Why did you call an ambulance? You go to my school so you know how often this happens. No hospital was needed. What's your name?” Jimin sounded sad, maybe sick.

“Uh, Na-Nam-Namjoon. Namjoon.”

“Thanks Namjoon. I mean, I would have been fine. I am going to hear the same as I do at home.” He cleared his voice, “You need to eat more. You’re too thin! Are people's judgement getting to you?!” Namjoon listened. He listened to the younger male rant. About his home life, his own thoughts, struggles. Everything. “I mean do they ever stop to think I'm doing all of this for myself?” Jimin was now in tears and Namjoon didn't know how to comfort him.

“I dont, I don't think they do. All they, all they see is you lose,losing the weight. Nothing, nothing else.” Namjoon mentally degraded himself for stuttering so much.

“You kind of have a point there, I guess. You know what else gets on my nerves? Okay so you see how small I am. My fucking thighs and ass won't get small like the rest of me. I mean if I were a dominant gay man, I'd fuck me. But like, I'm not dominant and I just want it to go away. Don't get me wrong, I'm in love with my ass. But my thighs make me feel fat.” This obviously flustered Namjoon.

Being a dominant gay male he had to admit, he would fuck Jimin hard. I mean sure he came off as a soft dom, but push him to that limit and holy shit.

“I know you've been watching me…” Jimin started. Namjoon almost died of embarrassment. “Everyday after school, I can see you. I don't just dance like a stripper, okay? I do contemporary story telling. I dance like that because I can see you. The way you look at me. A few times I can hear you when you're…busy.” Jimin looked between Namjoon's legs and then back up at the afformentioned male's eyes. Namjoon cleared his throat, “Listen Jimin. You are fucking perfect. I encourage you to gain a few pounds, though. Is there anything I can do to uhm...help?”

At this point Jimin was purposely trying to tease Namjoon. He likes having power. Likes having control over people like that. He wants to make Namjoon flustered.

“I mean...I can think of tons of things that can help me. One in particular is grasping my attention.” Jimin scooted to the edge of the bed, making sure the hospital gown was moving up his thighs.

“Joonie can you help me please?” Jimin said in a fairly innocent voice. His hand was over the general area of his crotch.

Now if Namjoon didn't died of embarrassment before, holy shit he was now.

“Chim, erm, Jimin...I don't think you're acting yourself. You don't know me, know me.” Namjoon was screaming internally. Park Jimin is hot and asking Namjoon...no. No no no.

“Joonie can you fuck me? Pretty please?” Jimin was now horny himself. He wanted this, correction, needed this. For Namjoon to fuck him. Namjoon shook his head. Maybe he was dreaming?

“Daddy, fuck me please.” Jimin was now whining. It's been a year since he last had sex. Everyone had left him because of his continuous weight loss.

“Fuck.” Namjoon whispered. Jimin probably had no clue he had a daddy kink but Namjoon can't help but feel exposed.

This is taking a weird turn….

Namjoon pulled Jimin up by the wrists and pulled him into the nearest bathroom.

“Listen here you fucking beautiful piece of shit. I'll fuck you if you let me help you mentally. Let me take care of you, but you can't be loud.”

Jimin smirked. He's about to get exactly what the fuck he wanted in the first place.

He sank to his knees almost immediately.

Namjoon held his breath as the younger started to palm him through his jeans.

Timeskip -

After their rendezvous, Jimin had no real choice but to get better. Namjoon had put him in therapy for a few weeks. That didn’t turn out too great stating Jimin refused to talk to someone who, in his words, “Only listens and tries to help for money. They don’t care, not really.”

This broke Namjoon’s heart. He wanted Jimin to get better, to be healthy. And he know he can’t force it. As smart as he is, he feels helpless when it comes to Jimin. He has no idea how to help. Even if he did, he wouldn’t know where to start.

Jimin basically lived with Namjoon at this point. Refusing to sleep at his own house in fear of his parents. Constantly criticizing him, his weight, his eating habits. Namjoon wants to just kill a man whenever Jimin comes to his house. Because he knows he ran from his home to find a safe place.

And Namjoon concluded, once Jimin’s eating habits were a bit more stable, that they need a place. A place to meet when things go south. A place to meet when they need comfort. I mean, hell, he has five other people he needs to help.

Now you may be wondering how Namjoon helped exactly.

Well you see, every day Namjoon remembered to shower Jimin with love and affection. To remind Jimin that he is perfect the way he is. And if there is a person who can’t see that, the person doesn’t really matter. Because if they did, they would support him no matter what.

“Namjoon can we order takeout tonight? I’m starving…”

And Namjoon was happy to hear those words. Jimin was literally starving 3 months ago and here he was just exaggerating his hunger. “Sure what do you want?” “I don’t really care. I just don’t want to have to leave this cozy apartment of yours. Ooh, can we get hot chocolate and watch A Christmas Story?” Jimin pleaded.

“Do you just want me to go to the store for you? I can buy you a stuffed animal too.”

Jimin smiled and nodded. He really wished Namjoon were his and only his…

“Before you go I have a secret to tell you...come here.” Namjoon obeyed.

“I like you. I really really like you.”

Namjoon didn’t really have time to process this as Jimin was pushing him out of the door.

Upon his return Jimin was waiting at the door, kind of like a puppy.

Speaking of puppies…

“So Joonie...I kind of have a surprise.” Jimin awkwardly smiled.

“I got a puppy! Do you like it? His name is Monie. Do you like him? Do ya, do ya?”

Namjoon was pissed. First Jimin says he likes him, then he bus a puppy?! “Yes I love it.” Namjoon had no choice but to mask his anger. If he upset the younger, who would comfort him? “I like you…” Namjoon whispered. And this calmed both Jimin and Monie. “Namjoon had his back to Jimin and heard silence. Which terrified him, he began to shake uncontrollably. Not now, dear god. Please not now. Namjoon felt arms around his waist, “Joonie, it’s okay. I’m here, I’m always here. Please just calm down, okay? I’m here.” Jimin’s voice was so comforting to the older, but his mind kept twisting Jimin’s words.

Namjoon turned in Jimin’s arms and leaned so his head was in the crook of Jimin’s neck. He inhaled Jimin’s scent as the younger rubbed his back. Or, what he could reach of it.

“Don’t cry Namjoon. I love you, I’m right here.”

Namjoon’s shaking calmed a little bit, but now Jimin needs a plan.

I need to help Namjoon.

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