#about the pacing the flow

[stellamancer]

between the moon’s divide (satoru gojo x reader)

notes: uh. a week ago i thought to myself ‘oh i want to write a kiss scene’ thinking it would take me a day or two but no it took a week of me agonizing over... everything lmao.

contains: gender neutral reader, gojo is taller than the reader (as usual), some kind of tension, and finally kissing!!

wc: 2.1k

It’s sometime past midnight when you run across Satoru Gojo standing in the school’s courtyard. 

Unable to sleep, you’d taken to the halls. It’d become a habit by now, wandering the corridors like a restless ghost until sleep could evade you no longer. You’d actually been heading back to your room when you’d seen him, statuesque as he bathed in moonlight. You’d been vaguely aware that Gojo was not much of a sleeper, but you’d never run into him on one of your nighttime strolls. 

You come to a stop, observing Gojo as he stares up at the moon. It’s very odd for him; to be still, to be silent. 

Naturally, it doesn’t last for long.

“Finally here for our romantic moonlight rendezvous?” he asks, his tone playful, his gaze still fixed on the moon above. 

You can’t help but feel mildly annoyed that he’s noticed you at this distance. “As if. I was just wondering if maybe you were thinking about returning to your home planet.”

Gojo hums as you step out onto the courtyard, approaching him. "And leave you here? You'd be lonely without me.” 

You wait until you and Gojo are standing side by side to respond, not sparing him a glance as you retort, “Actually, I think you’d be the lonely one.”

At first, you don’t think much of the words that come out of your mouth. It’s habit to take anything Gojo throws at you and hurl it right back at him. The words play back in your mind as you tilt your head up to gaze up at the moon. It dominates the midnight sky, larger and brighter than anything else in the expanse above. Something about it reminds you of Gojo, strong, brilliant, and—

Lonely.

“You think?” he asks, sounding almost amused, as if you’d said something funny. 

“Probably?” you answer. "Though, I don't know, maybe your home planet is full of more Satoru Gojos and you would all be one happy collective, feeding into each other's egos and all that."

The thought of more than one Satoru Gojo, much less a whole planet full of them is enough to make your head throb with pain. The world has enough problems with one alone.

"...and what if there's no one else there?" 

You blink, and turn your head just slightly toward Gojo. He's still looking up at the moon, his expression almost melancholic. Something in your chest aches at the sight and you look back at the moon as if that will ease the pain.

It makes sense for him to think like that, to think his home planet would be deserted— all your lives you've been told how he's unique, how he's special, how he's the one and only Satoru Gojo. The thought, the notion that there could be another like him is near incomprehensible.

(There was one, someone, who came close and he—)

"Then don't go."

The words are barely audible, escaping your mouth like a whisper in the breeze. You're not even sure if you actually said them because under normal circumstances you'd keep such words to yourself, bury them deep inside your heart like a well-kept secret because in Satoru Gojo's hands those three words are little more than ammunition.  

And as much as you loathe the thought of giving him something else he can weaponize against you, you think he needs it right now. Even with the weight of the world on his shoulders, his hands remain ever empty, ready and willing to take on more burden. If you're going to give him something to hold, it might as well be something he can find some measure of joy in. 

You expect Gojo to cut to the chase and start teasing you. Hesitation is a foreign concept to him, especially with the prospect of something new to play with, but he is uncharacteristically silent. Against your better judgment, you turn your head back toward him and find that he is no longer looking up at the moon.

He’s looking at you. 

Your breath stills in your chest. The bright gleam of Gojo’s eyes is a curse in of itself, rooting you to the core. You’ve never been good at dealing with Gojo like this. Stupid as that blindfold of his looks on him, it acts as a buffer, as a shield. You want to look away. You have to look away before the shocking hue of his gaze pulls you in, traps you, ensnares you with no hope of escape.

Gojo moves, shifting into a position that brings him down to your height, facing you fully as he unleashes the full power of his stupidly brilliant blue eyes on you. He leans just the slightest bit in your direction. Your heart rate climbs higher and higher as he inches closer. A voice in the back of your mind tries to remind you, to reassure you: this isn’t the first time that Satoru Gojo has pulled this kind of trick on you, and it won’t be the last. He’ll creep closer and closer toward you, taunting you, teasing you, but the space between you will forever remain infinite. 

But then he presses his forehead to yours and all bets are off. 

You need to get away from him. Now. You take a step back, to put some space in between you. It might be finite, but some space is better than none. But even though you’ve taken a step back you find that you are no further than Gojo than you were before, your foreheads still pressed together.

What in the world? You swear you took a step back.

Something in your peripheral shifts and your eyes flicker down for just a second, catching the corner of his mouth twitch. He knows exactly what he’s doing. Then it clicks. You’re so used to seeing him using his technique to push everything away, to make himself untouchable, that you often forget that it’s not the only thing he can do. HIs power doesn’t only repel.

It attracts too. 

Your heartbeat grows erratic at the realization that the once infinite space between you is now all but obsolete. Like this, you’re far too aware of him; aware of his hair, brushing softly against your face, aware of his breathing, echoing loud in your ears, aware of his lips—

“...what are you doing?” you finally manage to whisper after what feels like an eternity. 

As soon as the words leave your mouth, you nearly regret them. The question is begging for trouble, inviting it and the inevitable teasing from Gojo. But still you ask— you have to, you need to. It feels counterintuitive, but you need the distraction of his answer and the annoyance it’s sure to bring to cut through the thoughts, the feelings that are threatening to swallow you whole. 

You expect his response to come instantly like it always does, but… it doesn't. Something stutters in your chest at the change in routine. Is he being purposely silent? Or is he actually thinking about his words before they come out of his mouth for once? 

Finally, finally, he speaks, his voice low and teasing for sure, but there's something else there, diluting his tone, laced in his words. It's subtle, but whatever it is throws you completely off balance. "I thought you said 'don't go.'" 

Your mouth opens. You start to speak. But no words come out, instead they are lodged in your throat— honesty and reluctance mangled together in one huge lump. The thought occurs to you to just leave them there, unspoken. But, you wouldn't put it past Gojo to try and rip them free; with that in mind you pull at the words, unraveling them before releasing them into the night air. "…I did." 

It's official now: you've gone off script and you both know it. 

Gojo pulls back, just enough for you to see his face clearly. You think he's going to tease you for your admission, but instead, he studies you, his eyes probing, searching. You don’t know what for, but with no buffer, no infinity between you, it feels almost as if you are laid bare before the hypnotic glow of his eyes. 

Try as you might, you cannot even bring yourself to look away. You are charmed, captivated, enchanted by the spell of his eyes. Any hope for escape is gone and the only things that remain are you and the limitless blue.

Something shifts in Gojo’s expression and you wonder, distantly, if he’s found whatever it was he was looking for. 

He surges forward, pressing his forehead to yours once more, angling himself, positioning himself, and his mouth, his lips—

They’re barely there. Hovering as close as they possibly can without even touching. You can feel his breath, warm and intoxicating and it’s suddenly so hard to move, to think, to even breathe with the threat of Satoru Gojo imminent and about to swallow you whole.

He could, if he wanted and you both know it, and yet…

“Not even gonna try and deny it?” he asks, and you can practically feel his lips moving with each word he speaks. His tone is amused still, teasing still, but there's something more to it. It's like a secret, a plea even, interwoven into his words and actions, loud and unsubtle in a way that screams Satoru Gojo.

You don't know why he doesn't just say what he wants right now. Maybe he thinks it's more fun to try and be coy about it. Or maybe he thinks if he actually says it, you'll refuse like you always do, because you never think he really means it when he says it.

But right now, you think Gojo might.

You think he might really want to kiss you. 

This is your last chance, you think, your lips parting, your response heavy in your mouth. Whatever happens from here on out hinges entirely on what you say next. It’s not just about trying to deny what you said anymore; it's about denying whatever the hell is actually going on between you and Gojo. All this time, you've been turning a blind eye to things, adamant that there's nothing there— that Gojo is just a colleague and nothing more. And despite that, despite everything, he pushed and shoved his way into your heart like it's where he's belonged all along. Those three little words are undeniable proof that there's something between the two of you and it's awfully kind of him to let you try and deny it. 

But can you?

"...no." 

The realization settles in your chest, heavy yet liberating as you breathe the word into the air. You can’t— you won’t deny it, deny him.

Not any more.

Gojo’s entire body goes still, but then his hands are cupping your face, long fingers splayed across your cheeks. He’s holding you like a treasure, his touch reverent. Gojo presses his forehead to yours once more; his breath caresses you once more and you think that maybe, for the first time in his life, Satoru Gojo knows hesitation, feels it running through his veins as the space between your lips and his grows more and more infinitesimally small. 

You like to pretend that you'd never given much thought to how your first kiss with Gojo would go, but you never would have thought that it would be like this— gentle and sweet. But despite that, it feels almost like your chest is going to burst as he fills your lungs, your veins, your entire being.

For just a moment, you think he’s about to pull away, and your body reacts of its own accord, reaching out for him, keeping him close. It’s at this moment that the kiss shifts into something more hungry, more desperate. Gojo’s lips part, his tongue swiping against your lips, begging you to do the same. 

You do not deny him. 

Eventually, eventually you pull away, dazed and out of breath, but Gojo doesn’t let you go too far, his arms wrapping around you. A silence settles around the two of you as you stand there, bathing in moonlight. 

Of course, it doesn’t last for long. 

“You’re really down bad for me, huh,” Gojo remarks, his voice infuriatingly smug.

You rip yourself from his grasp... or, at least, you try to. What you manage to do is free yourself enough so that you can look at his face. Naturally he’s beaming, all too pleased by everything that’s going on, his eyes shining brighter than any star in the sky. 

The words you normally say, the words you usually say, try to force their way out of your mouth, but you catch them before they do. You’ve decided, you remind yourself, you won’t deny him any more. 

“...guess I am,” you answer, as casually as possible, then you add, as a cheeky afterthought, “And what about you?”

The grin on Gojo’s face widens as he leans in and that’s how your second kiss begins.

#gojo x reader #gojo x you #satoru gojo x reader #satoru gojo x you #jjk x reader #nikuniku fics #i am not joking about how i agonized over this #agonized about the tension #about the pacing the flow #agonized about the tonal shift #i literally wrote and rewrote sentences over and over trying to get them to work out right #another whole writerussy into it work lmao #so god i hope someone likes it #i could have written a more passionate kiss oh well next time #i did not abuse italics this time and thank fucking god lmaoooo #the cross post will be so much easier #infinite loop!verse

[helpimstuckinafandom]

I'M FUCKING CRYING LMAOOO

#as someone who doesn't actually hate her music/a decent amount of her music i gotta say it's accurate #the thousand words crammed into one line and difficult flow/pacing #was about to tag this taylor swift and realized i wanna live #anti taylor swift #i guess??????? #taylor swift critical #i suppose??????

[lem-argentum]

i *DID* like end.walker, but playing it has just made me want to talk more about the strengths of shadow.bringers because it highlights them evenm more. help!.!!!!!

#lem text #xivposting #ITS ABOUT THE.THE FLOW. THE PACING. HOW THE EMOTIONAL WEIGHT OF THE INCITING INCIDENT NEVER LOSES MOMENTUM #ew focuses on the final days but you jump around to so many places that are far away from each other and have suchj different situations #and that kind of progression is similar to how the expansions work too #but THE ENTIRE. PREMISE. SETS UP SHB TO PROGRESS IN A WAY WHERE EVERYTHING SEEMS RELEVANT AND ENHANCES GHE MAIN POINT #AND AND SND. i’m too scatterbrained to word it hfnksjzfk YOU KNOW..!!.!/!!!! #ITS LITERALLY ALL ABOUT THE SETUP. FROM THE CRYSTAL TOWER SIDEQUESTS TO THE WARRIORS OF DARKNESS PLOTLINE IN POST-HW #TO WHEN ALL OF YOUR FRIENDS START COLLAPSING AND YOU FIND OUT THEY’RE BEING SUMMONED TO SOME UNKNOWN WORLD. #****AND THAT PART!!!!!**** IS ESSENTIAL BECAUSE. THE FACT THATJ THE SCIONS SPEND YEARS ON THE FIRST. GIVES **THEM** ALL SPECIFIC REASONS TO- #CARE ABOUT THE PEOPLE. AND THE EVENTS. AND THE PLACES. WHICH IN TURN GIVES *YOU* THE SAME REASONS FOR INVESTMENT. AKNFHDKFJ #because OK. you meet alphi and he tells you about how much of himself he sees in eulmore. how to him it is a mirror of his past failings #and so you care about ITS development because you care about HIM and then it does the same witg ALI.SAIE #who cares so sosososo deeply about the people in the inn at journey’s head and how they’ve been affected by the flood #the scions all feel a connection to the first for a unique reason. introducing you to each bit of the worldbuilding alongside them #AND THAT PATTERN. IS SO MUCH MORE EFFECTIVE THAN IF EVERYONE WAS NEW TO THE EVENTS. INSTEAD YOU ARE LED TO CARE THROUGH THEIR FAMILIARITY……. #efkdjzn ​i could word this better on a better day. it’s the setup it’s the setup…….. ahgkdnjf 💛💛💛

[orbdotexe]

A new Lightbearer breathes his first panicked breaths, throwing the blanket off his resting place, and finds himself in a world that instead takes pity on him—Much to his displeasure. But he’s been having strange dreams, and everyone warns him away from some strange… person? As more time goes on, and the warnings compound—he’s less and less sure of that notion, or if they even exist.

The brainworms said "what about Crow pre-Vanguard?? he was never in Spider's 'employ' in TFE!" and so here's some Salty Crow and the start of him being determined to figure out who killed him!

Mind: the divide is a time skip, to when Crow is out of the Dreaming City-- and this is the armor I use for the YW, since I don't give much detail. Anyway, Crow's Rez, "Bury Me Shallow":

— — —

“Who was buried up there?”

“I’m sorry?”

“I mean- No offense. Just… he seemed important.”

“...You don’t know?” The Corsair eyes him, wary.

“Know what?”

She takes a moment to study his face, though it’s shadowed by his hood and the sharp light behind him. It feels like she’s trying to flip through torn out pages and looks like she cut her fingers open on the shreds— He resists drawing any further in on himself.

“...Nevermind.” She scans his disheveled outfit, “You’re a Guardian?”

“Not sure what it means, but that seems to be the consensus,” he replies, mentally bristling at the judgmental tone. How can someone tell by just the clothing? Why would he be buried in this if it was that bad?

…Oh. Right. He was buried in it.

Well, maybe buried wasn’t the right word—There was just a blanket thrown over him, laying on some stone slab. 

Not much of a burial. Could just be how the dead are treated, though.

“You haven’t spoken to any of your… lot, yet, either?” The corsair asks, some disdain in her words. He’s been hearing that tone a lot on the subject of Guardians, though not at him. If he’s one of them, shouldn’t she be disgusted by him, as well?

“Ah… no. I’ve seen some around, but haven’t gotten to speak to any. They seem awfully busy.” It’s not exactly a lie, but he hasn’t exactly tried to speak to them at all.

The thought of approaching one makes him nervous.

She snorts, “Busy is one way to put it.” There’s that resentment again.

He doesn’t think he will ever understand why. It seems the Guardians are trying to help, so why does almost everyone he talks to seem to hate them? Well, there have been a few Corsairs that seemed more thankful for the help, but… Most aren’t.

In the ensuing awkward silence, the Corsair seems to get a call in her helmet, turning away from him and murmuring into nothing. He can’t pick any of it up, though it sounds urgent, and she shoulders her rifle.

He can’t help but sigh quietly, knowing that meant no real conversations for another week or so.

She huffs after a few more moments, and sighs. “Well, I hate to cut this short, but the Crows’ feather falls that there’s enemy movement around.” She pauses, mouth pulling into a grimace, before continuing, “Your… abilities, might be… useful.”

“Oh.” She’s asking for his help, isn’t she? Even the Corsairs who didn’t mind Guardians hadn’t asked him to. He… hasn’t done this before—Helped from afar, sure, but not in the thick of it. 

She eyes him, with some mix of anxiousness and detesting having asked. “Well, I’m… happy to help.” He smiles, despite the nervous knot in his gut. “Just lead the way.”

He swears there’s a glint of familiarity in her eyes as he says it, and she relaxes some before clearing her throat. “Let’s get going, then.”

— — —

“Sooo… Don’t remember nothin’?” The shadowed figure asks from the thick branch it’s laying on, a deep and modulated voice carrying just loud enough to reach him.

He has to crane his neck to see the ominous red glow of what he assumes is its eyes. “Uhm… no. Didn’t think I was meant to.”

“Yer Ghost tell you nothing, either?” The figure adjusts some, legs now dangling. Seems he’s interesting enough for its full attention.

“Was he supposed to?”

“...Guess not.” It drops down, not a sound leaving them as they right themself, and their face comes into view. Grey metal plates and red dots for eyes greet him. ”Any idea who ya are? Where ya woke up?”

“Looked like…a cathedral, I think.” He takes a half-step back, savouring his personal space, “He must’ve been highly respected. Did you know him?” The apparently metal man—not that he hasn’t heard of Exos (because he has, if only some), but hearing of and seeing are two different things—eyes him for a moment. 

“Not personally, but knew of ‘im. An’way, strict Vanguard policy n all, can’t tell ya much.” The exo turns on his heel and starts walking, waving a hand for him to follow.

“...Riight.” He peers around the trees and rocky terrain before deciding to go along with it. “Actually, what’s with that? A few people have told me that already.” 

“S’posedly, knowing obscures judgment… or som’thin along those lines. Never bothered to listen ver’ much. Got better things to do than listen to some raving mad Warlock’s lecture.”

“And… I’m supposed to be a… a Hunter?”

“Look it to me. Cape, dirty look,”—Dirty? Now that’s rude—“Things like that. Got that stature, too, and the slouch.” 

“Ah. You’re…”—Brutal—“forthcoming.”

“You asked. An’way, got a name for yerself yet? Like to keep track of who I meet.”

A name. His Ghost talked about those; he had seemed excited to pick them.

“...No, not yet.”

“Could give ya some suggestions, if ya like. Though, you’d prob’ly like to do that wit yer Ghost, rather than a stranger.”

“Yeah… he’s been nagging me about it. Seems important to him.”

“Might wanna get on wit it, then! Unhappy Ghost makes a’ unhappy Guardian, y’know. In the meantime, got a preference? Any topics in partic’ you like? Might wanna fly with ‘ose.”

He thinks for a moment, and the black feather on the Hunter’s hood catches his eye. “Well… What’s yours? Might give me some ideas,” he shrugs.

“Rancher!” The other Hunter announces, wholly confident.

“Rancher,” he deadpans back, deciding that whatever he picked would have to be better than that.

“Yuep.” He opts not to question how the Exo popped the P without lips. “M’ Ghost, Iridant, wouldn’t let me jus’ keep Hunter.”

“You were going to name yourself Hunter?”

“Well, it was before I knew ‘bout the Vanguard an’ their classes thing! Iri took ‘er sweet time telling me, an’ I knew I liked huntin’, so…” 

The first statement gives him pause.

Are there… are there Guardians outside of the Vanguard? Well, are not all Ghosts with the Vanguard, at least? 

“Huh.”

So it’s not just him, then. Maybe Rancher’s Ghost kept him away from the Vanguard for awhile for the same reason his Ghost does… Whatever that reason is, anyway.

As the pair come up on an uphill, littered with stone piles and boulders, Rancher kicks some gravel rocks aside. “Soo, heh, how long ‘ave you been up ‘n about?” 

He eyes the patch of gravel for a moment, watching them resettle, “Not too long. Spent some months in the Dreaming City, but only been out here for a few weeks, I think.”

“Ahh, so yer a new Newlight, then! Yeah. Yeah! I imagine those Awoken’re a bit weird, ey?” A barking, modulated laugh brings his gaze back up, finding Rancher to be stood at the top of some larger boulder at the top of the hill now, “How’s that place, an’way? ‘aven’t had the chance to go quite yet.”

Weird was one way to put the Corsairs. So much disdain for Guardians, and yet they seemed fine with him—among other things. “Well, it’s… It’s pretty, when you aren’t under fire.” He could paint pictures of that sky, but… What were the pale things called? Scorn? “The uh… the ones with crossbows were trouble.”

Rancher laughs, again—now more entertained, rather than antagonistic, “Ooooh, big man too good for Taken? The ozone smell don’t bother you? Might jus’ be a’ Exo thing, that, but I ‘ear it makes some a bit nauseous.”

The memory of spinning around, mid combat, to be met with a Taken Knight towering over him moments before waking up—with a few Corsairs gathered around him—springs to the front of his mind. He opts to hum in agreement rather than debate it, climbing up on another slab across from the other Hunter.

The hill below drops-off into what looks to be a patched together base of sorts, old enough to have a dusting of moss and vines over it, but recently lived in and the vines cut back over computer panels and exits. 

He catches Rancher stretching (though, he doubts Exos have any need to do so) out the corner of his eye as the other Hunter sighs, “Ahhh, ‘ere’s my stop.”

“Your… stop?” Despite the lived-in look to the base, he can’t see any proof of the occupants anywhere nearby. Or was Rancher here to reclaim it? He had heard Hunters were largely meant to be scouts. Supposedly.

“Yuep!” The Exo pops the end, again. “Got an op to run out ‘ere. That base down there? ‘posed to hold some pests, an’ I’m on exterminator duty!”

And there goes the scout theory. If he went to the Vanguard, would he be put on these missions, too?

“Ooh,” Rancher stops and turns back, “‘fore I go—Careful if you see a Hunter in red an—ahh, no, that’s… That’s not specific at all. Hm.”

He’s heard this warning before. No one ever tells him why, or what that Hunter did, just to stay far away. Every. Time. Other than the vague warnings, he’s not even sure what he’s looking out for.

And it doesn’t help that “red and black Hunter” is a good seventy percent of Hunters he’s seen.

“Why? What did they do?” He tries to put force into his voice, but Rancher skips over the question.

“Just- ah. Complicated. I’ll send yer Ghost a picture, heh?” Rancher’s Ghost—a foil-textured, pink colored, and green eyed… mini Servitor?—appeared with a series of trills. “You’ll want to avoid–” The Ghost projected an image, “–that one.”

He could barely study the figure before there was a blast followed by the sound of Pikes somewhere nearby, to which both Rancher and his Ghost snapped to attention, projection fading. 

“Ah!” Rancher sounded excited as his Ghost dematerialized, “That’s my que! Pleasure t’ meet ya, blueberry, but I gotta run.”

“Wh- Blue–? Hold on, what does that—” but the other Hunter is already plowing through the woods on a still-materializing sparrow, giving him one last wave, “—mean…”

He sighs, but can’t help but stare, dumbfounded, after Rancher, yet—

One thing stuck in his mind; That single, holographic, orange eye. 

The same one in his dreams.

What happened to his past life?

#the forsaken exile #destiny 2 #destiny 2 crow #and i need it to be known. outside of the content box. that the title isnt as poetic as you might think #i am entirely poking fun at Uldren's burial. and Crow is so salty about it #also. ''The Crows' feather falls that ___'' is basically saying ''word has it ___'' and is also in reference to the Crows being spies-- #(i have. so many little headcanons lmao. we'll see how many i can fit in TFE) #thinking that Rancher will be the Hunter in Impromptu Arsenal Check (egregore) but not sure if i'll do anything with him past it #he was very fun to write though! #anyway-- versus the Drifter chapter/short. i think the pacing and dialogue of this flows so so much better #a few qualms here and there but overall. very happy with it #and i KNOW i was supposed to finish like... the angsty cayde hug. or fluffy crow walk. or the fungi wolf fight. but this took over my brain #it took me over so badly #but also that start/summary format. dont like. i think i just talk too much LMAO the ao3 format works so much better for #my overly talkative ass #got a place for the summary. opening notes. and even CLOSING notes. and i can even hide shit in tags at the START instead?? #ough #i have no idea what to tag this with though so i will... add the link to it here when i get that done lmao

[oloreaa]

Can u guys believe that I wrote like 10k of ven in the last two days alone

#im getting BACK BABEYYYYY #like honestly i feel the spark returning #ive been writing nonstop #so its not the next chapter (im sorry) but im currently working on the s2 chapters rn #im almost through with the first three eps of s2 #meaning when we arrive at that point the updates are going to be very regular :D #im going to try finish s2 now #gimme about two weeks if the current pace keeps up #then i will continue where we left <3 #it just feels very good to have a frame while writing which i dont reallg have with the current storyline rn #and im using that to get back into the flow hehe #basically rea is back on her writing game and hopefully there will be some more regular ven in a few months :D #rea rambles

[vhstown]

i feel like such a pretentious dickhead whenever i think of giving writing advice 😭 and also i have no idea how to explain anything i write either

#one of the important things for me about my writing is how it sounds to read #like i know nobodys gonna read it aloud but #i need sentences to flow yanno have that momentum and not sound clunky #i havent been able to do that much recently cause it takes time to edit 😭 #but yeah i studied a lot of poetry and found that its important to communicate relative pace (of scenes feelings etc) #by controlling your sentence length and using fricatives assonance sibilance alliteration etc #thats the main thing for me #i read out my writing a lot to see if it sounds weird #vee chats

[reliand]

Writing Patterns

I was tagged by the lovely @dear-massacre <3 <3 <3

Rules: list the first line of your last 10 (posted) fics and see if there's a pattern!

I'm going to break the rules immediately and skip a couple of my last posted fics bc there's extremely triggering content. omg these are old jfc. I haven't posted a fic in a decade.

Prepuce | Stiles/Derek | 748 words | Explicit:

“Is it too much to ask for someone to just have sex with me already?” Stiles asks.

Hold 'em Down, Breath 'em In | Stiles/Derek | 748 words| Explicit:

“Sorry,” Stiles says, head not lifting from Derek’s pillow. “I couldn’t sleep at my own house. Felt weird.”

RED | Allison/Lydia, Allison/multiple | 706 words | Explicit:

Ally A has gone away, where no one can quite find her.

Amplexus | Stiles/Derek | 1174 words | Explicit:

Stiles wanders from bed to bed these days.

Signal in the Sky | Stiles/Derek | 38k | Explicit:

Getting accepted into Beacon Preparatory is basically a no brainer if your parents are super.

Dark and Dreamless | Stiles/Derek, Stiles/OCs | 4k | Explicit:

He doesn’t even know the guy.

The First Day of the Rest of My Life | Gen | 393 | G:

Isaac can admit that Derek isn’t the most fun person to be around. He’s standoffish and growly at the best of times.

and because most of my shit is fucked, here's some unpublished bc I only reached 7:

Falling, Fallen | Harry/Draco | 74k | explicit:

Depending on where you started the story, it began with love.

Untitled | Harry/Draco | 2k | explicit:

Draco is bony and abrasive and a bad idea.

Well, my patterns...I usually have short opening sentences and I often jump straight into the action. If I could get away with it, I'd use alliteration in every opener because it's my favorite. I've often used it too much and remember actually changing some of these opening sentences because I think I was using it as a crutch. I think my writing has gotten stronger than it was a decade ago, but bc I haven't posted anything it's difficult to tell lol

I'm not going to tag, but If you feel like playing, go ahead :)

#my fics #god idk man #some of my writing im like yeah this all clicks and is flowing nicely #and then i look back and im like why is the pacing so weird #why is this scene even here? #Im constantly on the verge of nuking my teen wolf fic bc i know i can do better #my skyhigh teen wolf AU was really clicking with me and then I just lost the will to write it about 2/3rds of the way through #so that final portion is kind of a dumpster fire

[fortyfive-forty]

now here's a question do i do a super short chapter quicker or a super long chapter slower

#normally i would always go for long rather than short #but because it's already been over a month since i've update there's a part of me that just wants to get that initial update out of the way #and i could probably do it within the next few days if that was the case #but it would be significantly shorter than all the other chapters i've writter #i don't really care about length overall but for the sake of pacing i don't like making chapters too different in length #esp if it's been consistent more or less throughout #on the other hand if i go long then i will go really long #and it will maybe take two weeks or so to get it out #which feels really bad #and the next two chapters have some stuff in them that i really really want to get right #so i don't want to rush it #but also i don't want to split it up anyway! #because it's supposed to be contiguous and i don't want to lose that flow of this 'chunk' of plot by arbitrarily splitting up the chapter #but if i do split it up then i can flesh out both parts of it to a greater extent #and maybe that would even improve the flow??? #god i don't know #the thing is though usually when i finish a chapter #i finish it at let's say 2300 words #and then by the time i've gone over it and fixed all the things i want to fix (usually flow/transitions/choppy writing) #it ends up being like 2800 #so maybe i should just assume the super short chapters will become only regular short chapters if i run them through my brain a couple time #blah blah blah #nonsense

[depresseddepot]

holy SHIT the scene with the hijra fighting in the lobby is SO cool

#the metal music and the jingling of the metals and jewels on their clothing #fucking incredible #the pacing and the beat and the lighting #so cool. SO COOL AAAAA #this movie has me in a fucking chokehold #the attention to detail and subtleties in the acting and the filming angles and the pacing!!!!! #ALL OF IT #kid beating rana to death with wide unblinking eyes. he doesn't want to miss a second of it #the framing of the red elevator #the way kid says so few lines and each of them are so so intense #the sound of the birds and a whispered prayer after everyone is dead #the ''directed by dev patel story by dev patel produced by dev patel kid played by dev patel'' #UGH WHAT A MOVIE #the peace at the end. violence and violence and violence and justice and then peace. #i guess i should've specified. this is about monkey man #knowing what i know abt how many bones dev patel broke and how many artistic liberties they had to take bc of filming issues #so cool #i cannot get the scene in the lobby out of my head #the flowing and grace and color mixed with the horrible violence and blood everywhere and sweat and tears #I LOVE IT AAA

[shirkers2018dirsanditan]

i’m tryna prepare myself for my own sexual renaissance but i don’t know anything about bc (virgin lol) like do i need to get some before i start hooking up or can i just wing it? I’m also really terrified of getting stds like is it ok to ask your partner if they’ve been tested. How do you even know they’re telling the truth

oh i’ve never had sex either. i’m very inexperienced i just went in and was just upfront about it and the things i want. i plan to do that tomorrow evening too. also of course it’s okay to ask, but in the end being intimate means giving a lot of trust to people you only know so much. it’s a decision you have to make really. i’m always nervous at the prospect of a hookup (in my limited experience thus far) because it’s always a risk we’re taking! that’s just kind of how it is. wishing you the best!!!!

#what helps me is to think about it ahead of time #to have a plan so to speak #like here’s how i want it to go this is what i know i like i want x pace #well if he does x or tries y here’s what i’ll say and what i’ll do #and setting a hard boundary like i only want to go this far tonight and i won’t do x and y is a total no no for me #and instead of being too in your head you instead have a clarity of body and mind #and you can prepare yourself to speak up #while also going with the flow #if that makes sense #anon

[duskstarzz]

writer ,mutuals , do you have tips for writing i have no clue what i'm doing

#idk how to do pacing i feel like my writing doesnt flow that well but idk how to fix thjat #del later #i've never written a full length fic #but i'm trying to and i'm just picking out a direction and going that way blind #the plot is thought out already i just ough maybe its just me being self conscious about it since i dont do it often but RAGHH #i feel like i'm stumbling around in the dark #posts

[inkykeiji]

your latest dabi fic was incredible 😭 you’re such an amazing writer too the way you describe things is just so good, i can picture everything and the pacing is great!!! i can’t form a sentence good enough to tell you how much i enjoyed reading it but i really did!! thank you for sharing your work with us <3333

oh my gosh anon thank you so so much for this!!!!! i appreciate your words more than i can say, this is so special to me <3 i’m beyond happy to hear that you enjoyed that piece, i worked so hard on it and i really tried to put all of my passion and love for dabi into it, so to hear that someone liked it so much is really incredible (人*´∀｀)+ﾟ:｡*ﾟ+

thank YOU for reading my work and for taking a moment to send me such a beautiful little ask!! <3

#ily!!!!!!!!! oh my gosh!!!!!! #i’m just so happy people liked it and i’m rly glad it’s hitting the right way emotionally #you saying that the pacing is good has my whole heart so so happy because i was rly worried about that!!!!!! #like flow n things!!! so thank you so much <3 #i hope you’re having a fabulous weekend bb #pls stay safe and don’t forget to drink water!! #inky.bb #clari gets mail

[blujayonthewing]

every time I go and do something in a social context that thing should last twice as long for just me so I can also hang out by myself for hours without missing out on anything or offending anybody

#I should be able to go for a walk with my brother AND go for the same walk and actually stop for ten minutes at every cool bug #I should get to spend all weekend doing things with my beloved husband AND spend the whole time sitting on the beach looking for rocks #it's not that I don't like socializing it's just that I ALSO like VIBING and the latter is at a different pace than anyone else #I need a parallel play sketchbook buddy I can just sit on the ground with for however long without feeling like I'm wasting their time :') #OR-- I need the flow of time to affect me differently please thank you #about me

[twilight-zoned-out]

I kind of wish Enola Holmes 2 did more with Tewkesbury being left-handed, and also think it would have been neat if there was a scene between just Tewkesbury and Sherlock. I feel like both of those things could have happened in the same scene.

#Neither of them are technically necessary but it would have made a great deleted scene #enola holmes #enola holmes 2 #tewkesbury #Tewksbury #viscount tewksbury #sherlock holmes #enola holmes sherlock #enola holmes tewkesbury #enola holmes thoughts #I did appreciate that the moment where he catches it was emphasized #I watched it with some people and they pointed it out when it happened #which was pretty neat #but I feel like the significance wasn't super emphasized unless you're looking for it #Sherlock definitely noticed it #the guy Tewkesbury was sword-fighting with noticed it #it felt like there could have been a scene afterwards #but also when thinking about the flow it wouldn't have been a good insert pacing wise and also wasn't super necessary #more of an easter egg because in the book the whole left handed emphasis was mostly described through Enola's narration #rather than physically being emphasized #hence it felt like something that might have been done and then deleted #twilight-zoned-out #case of the drafts

[queen-scribbles]

So I finished the Night Before Critmas oneshot, and one of the suggested videos on the side was Grog’s oneshot. Since there’s no current-campaign CR this week, I went ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ “Sure why not, it’s fun”. 

Twenty minutes in and I have some thoughts.

First, I’d forgotten HOW fun. Also forgotten the Fjord/Jester cameo Travis stuck in there. And the hint toward Laura being pregnant. 👀 I have laughed to the point of tears once already and I know it’s only going to get worse better. 

Second, there’s someone in the comments saying the more they watch the show, the more they’re convinced Travis is a genius and, yeah, HARD agree. All you have to do is watch the Screw Job oneshot to see that. He’s TERRIFYING with a high int(I think it was 18 or something for that one) character. And it does show more easily with Fjord and Chetney since they have higher int scores, but it also shows through with Grog. There’s multiple times you can see Travis get an idea/thought from how the story’s progressing, a couple minutes pass, and then Grog comments. It might be phrased in a way that sounds “dumb” bc int 6 barbarian, but the thought itself is a really good one.

 An example: after they killed Thordak, and Raishan fled, and they’re trapped under Emon by the magical barrier, the others(+ Gilmore) try a few things to get out that don’t work. Grog suggests something that sounds simple, and is phrased like the thought process fits an intelligence score of 6, but is actually such a good idea that Keyleth and Percy immediately go “Shockingly, I agree with Grog, he makes a good point”. That ability to take a smart idea and basically translate it/the thought process behind it down to sound in-character for a low-int character while still sounding like a good idea is amazing. And he knows when to lean into Grog’s being dumb for comedic effect(Talking to Cravenedge in an outhouse? Getting Percy to title him? Getting cheated while supply shopping just to drive Laura nuts? GOLD) and when to pull back and just let “Intelligence of 6″ mean he’s no good with subtly and thus straightforward about his thoughts.

And even the Grog’s oneshot, having GROG dm for (part of) Vox Machina so Travis could fuck around with the rules and fudge stuff and not worry about getting everything “right” is genius. And it works so well in part bc they’re all such good friends irl, but just the idea is a stroke of genius.

Now back to watching :3

#queen rambles #sorry that got long #and turned into me fangirling travis willingham a lil bit #i'm not sorry about that part #i love the way he plays dnd he always finds ways to destroy me #(the campaign one relisten has stalled in large part bc they're about to go after raishan and i am not ready for ''fix him. FIX HIM.'') #ALSO: so psyched it looks like they're doing the cravenedge subplot in tlovm #i was a bit worried it would get cut for pacing/flow reasons but it seems like it's gonna happen and i CANNOT WAIT

[felikatze]

replaying tristrat and my only thought throughout continues to be "man the writing is good"

#feli speaks #sibling in the room so i can rant abt how the game critiques religion as an oppressive institution without demonizing belief in god #or how the repurcussions the worldbuilding has on politics are both accurate and fascinating #or how much i love the decision system and story flow and pacing and character arcs and #this is a welcome break for them because i am for once talking abt literally anything except fe #so OF COURSE i'm talking about a different srpg #though the two games are incredibly different in story structure and many many gameplay decisions #with tristrat also featuring three dimensional terrain and height advantages and backstab mechanics and more buffs and status ailments and #you get the point. they play very differently