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sam-glade · 4 months

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hey sam, happy STS!

you have a lot of really good worldbuilding resources and do a lot for your stories - do you have a go-to strategy when it comes to research (especially for something you haven't looked into before), or is it a bit different every time?

my own strategies atm are very uhhh scattershot tbh TT_TT

(--@space-writes)

Hi Space! Happy STS💜

Now that I've created two (and a half) settings - two worlds, one of which has two stories set in different eras - I'd say I have a consistent strategy, and sure, I'm happy to share it, but I make no promises it'll work for anyone else😅 'Scattershot' is a pretty good description.

I usually start with some elements of the setting that make me want to put a story in it. In Days of Dusk it's the metaphysics, with the superpowered weapons and long lifespan. In The Fulcrum, it's the larger than life structures inhabited by a sentient species that couldn't have possibly built it. I treat these ideas as axioms, and take them as given. I only need a handful of those, and the rest is exploring the consequences.

There are three parts to it:

Trust your intuition

Tl;dr: put down whatever comes to mind, explain it later, if needed.

It starts with how I draft stories. I'll come up with a location or two and describe it in detail in the first few chapters. As I draft them, I try to avoid the notes in square brackets to fill in the details later. Instead, I trust my intuition and put down the first thing that comes to mind that would make this particular place and scene unique. If I'm really unsure about it, I might make an editing note for later to check it, but 9 out of 10 times, it sticks.

I'm talking about the little, localised things that make the place/character/ritual distinct and memorable. Accents, talismans, decorative vessels on the shelves in the house, etc. Basically, whenever a description starts sounding too bland and generic, I'll come up with something - anything - on the spot. It's a first draft, it doesn't have to be perfect.

I'll use Gifts of Fate as an example. The first scene-setting description is this:

The downpour started when they were half way to Beetletun. The ground turned to mud, and the leaves of the bushes that crawled up the sides of the causeway drooped heavy with water. No wonder that there was nobody else in sight, on the road or in the orchards and fields stretching to either side of it.

For the plot, I needed it to be on an empty road and with rain, but otherwise, it could have been just fields - that's boring. Ok, fields and copses of trees to break the monotony? Still not distinctive enough to stick in the reader's memory. So, on a whim I arrived at orchards.

So now Aritia, the region where Lissan's from, is known for its orchards; they're an ubiquitous element of the landscape.

Causes and Consequences

I've come up with a detail, now I'd like to explain it, so that it's consistent with adjacent elements. I usually do that when I'm passing time irl, e.g. in a queue or on public transport, not looking at the document. I'll pick at a detail and keep asking why it is this way and what else it affects.

This is loosely based on the Five Whys method though quite often I won't go as deep with the questioning, and expand in the direction of consequences.

To take the orchards from the previous section, what does it entail? Quite a few of Lissan's neighbours work in the orchards. Let's weave this in then - a person Lissan runs into in the pub is a son of one of the local apple growers. Also, there's plenty of apples to go around, so in the beginning of the second book, Lissan and Marta (his sister) talk at home as they do chores - turning what's left of the late apple harvest after winter into jam.

At no point I'spell out that apples are the primary goods produced in this region.

This is also where going down research rabbit holes and chains of Wikipedia articles comes in handy. I'll look up especially the technologies that I put in on a whim, to make sure what are the prerequisites for them and that they're reasonable with the level of development of the society. I'm not talking about modelling how science and technology developed in your setting on history, but rather understanding why it happened IRL and translating it to the priorities and values of your setting.

For example, in the setting of Days of Dusk, people turn to ash in the moment of their death. That's one of the rules of the setting which I don't want to change. As a consequence, you can't perform autopsies, and that stunts the development of medical sciences. Ouch.

Another example: I wanted lamps lighting the streets in the main city featured in the story. Ok, so what sort of fuel was used in early gas lamps? Where did it come from? Coal is one of the options. Ok, so let's say this region is coal-rich, and there are mines. Why are they mining it extensively in the first place? What are they using it up for? Factories - so let's say we're at the very beginning of the Industrial Revolution. Let's add a factory to the cityscape.

Of course this could have gone in a different direction - gas can be obtained from other sources, like wood or peat, and each option would have different consequences. E.g. on the landscape - wood comes from forests, peat from moors.

Either way, if the overall appearance of the setting was pre-modern, I'd have much more trouble explaining it, but it's still doable! Are they fuelled by magic? Where does the magical energy come from? And so on.

You can keep asking these questions forever, but the last part is:

Be lazy

It's very easy to go too far with following the threads of cause and effect, and I'm afraid it's one of the cases where your mileage may vary. Most people won't notice or at least won't be pulled out of the story by anachronisms, some will. How egregious they need to be to break immersion, will vary.

My rule of thumb is to pick one main thing about the location and add no more than 2-3 relevant details per scene in which it features. Hence, Aritia is Lissan's home and we return there quite often, so it's a lot more fleshed out than a village where Lissan stays for two chapters, recuperating, and doesn't really leave his host's house. In the latter, I've no idea who the local lord is or what's the main export of this area. It doesn't matter.

I only come up with the details when they're needed. A very obvious example would be hypothetical methods of space travel which the society will reach in a millennium, when right now it's an early-modern setting.

I didn't name the lord to whom Lissan's home village belongs until 2/3 of the way through the book, when Marta was talking about the lord at length, filling Lissan in on what he'd missed. I vaguely knew that there are the five princedoms, but only two of the princes feature in Gifts of Fate, so I didn't even come up with the names of the others until I reached a scene in the later books, when they all make an appearance.

I also don't put the names of the cities, rivers, or regions on the map until they come up in the story. Then and only then I note them down so that they'll be consistent.

Finally, you'll see extensive worldbuilding questions lists, which are overwhelming and frankly, I find them incredibly unhelpful. They're usually divided into sections like climate, government, religion, culture, etc., and sure, it's good to be aware that these aspects of the setting are a thing, but I don't believe that they're all important in every story. Most of the categories can be described in vague terms, and adjusted as needed.

So, e.g. in Gifts of Fate, there's a conspiracy within the army and the plot relies on military technology being misused, so I'm exploring the magic system in detail, as well as the military. There's a single chapter of courtly intrigue (I couldn't resist a ball), so I completely skipped etiquette and customs among the upper class, only describing fancy outfits. Also, there's nothing about political factions and tensions between the different princedoms. It's not relevant. The religion also is a very background thing, so a couple of rites are mentioned in vague terms, but at no point I mention a pantheon of gods (there isn't one) or a creation myth.

I hope that helps😊

#writeblr #writing advice #worldbuilding #sts #ask and i shall answer #days of dusk

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rondo-of-blog · 2 years

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Cool Comics I Read - 11/28/2022 Edition

Today on DC Universe Infinite I read DC Comics Presents #41, Catwoman (Vol. 2) #54, and Harley Quinn (Vol. 1) #11!

DC Comics Presents #41 (written by Martin Pasko) is part of an old comic series that's essentially just "Superman teams up with XYZ!" (and other letters of the alphabet, but I'd be here all day listing them all), and in this issue he teams up with... The Joker?!

The cover is absolutely irresistible, with Joker gleefully plummeting to his doom as Superman is faced with the dilemma of saving The Joker or saving Perry White (Superman's Friend Jimmy Olsen's Boss). I skimmed through some of it, but highlights include how very very Queer Joker is in all of it. :)

Catwoman (Vol. 2) #54 is what I believe to be the first issue in that volume that was written by one Devin Grayson. I haven't read a whole lot of her work, buuut I've heard nothing but good things about her from my beloved Cluster. If this issue is anything to go by, that reputation of hers is well-earned!

It's got this adorable story of Selina stealing a gem and then becoming very bored of it, only to quickly turn her ire from the gem to the ungrateful museum that didn't do enough to protect it! So, she puts it back... and steals it again... then puts it back... steals it again... and so on, leading to massive ramping up of the security and (as we later learn) the insurance policy for it.

Nothing really happens in the comic besides Selina bamboozling greedy museum dudes, but Devin makes it such a delight. I'm definitely considering reading further issues she wrote for this volume of Catwoman! (By the way, if you like Catwoman, I recommend the current run that Tini Howard's doing!)

Speaking of series I'm considering reading more of... that brings us to Harley Quinn (Vol. 1) #11, written by Karl Kesel! I cannot say enough good about this issue, every page I read of it was almost constant bliss. I'm not familiar with the name Karl Kesel, but for some reason I wasn't expecting much based on it! Oh how wrong I was!

What drew me to it was the hijinks-laden cover, featuring Harley Quinn on a motorbike with Robin (Tim Drake) and Batgirl (Cassandra Wayne), riding off a rooftop with Nightwing just barely holding on! What followed truly did not disappoint.

Despite a kind of trite beginning featuring a retread of the scene from The Killing Joke where Barbara is shot by The Joker, the comic basically immediately recovers with some of the most charming banter I've ever read between Babs and Dick. Dick in particular is in monumentally good form, I was reeling from the charm he had on the entire time.

Harley is an absolute chaos gremlin the entire issue, and it suits her! Speaking of things that suit her, that brings us to Barbara's old Batgirl costume! Harley's wearing it, this issue! "No one else was," she memorably states in the comic.

Tim and Cassie are also here, with Tim being pretty cute and Cassie being a darling I loved to see on every page she graced with her presence. There's this really fun visual note where Cassie's making a heart with her hands while watching Dick & Babs argue.

I'm very curious to read more - especially considering this comic predates the Arkham series and the New 52 so Harley's in her original get-up! I never get tired of seeing it, and hey! If this issue's anything to go off of, apparently I've been missing on a lot of fun Harley comics! I'm definitely considering reading more of it, but that'll have to wait another day.

It's 11:38 PM (CST) as I write this, and I'm all comic'd out for the day. Finding these hidden gems on DC Universe Infinite was a treat, and really served to justify my membership yet again. Looking forward to when I get back to y'all, whenever I feel like sharing about what I've read!

#superman #the joker #catwoman #harley quinn #cassie cain #dc comics

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tomorrcwz · 3 months

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✰ HELPING HANDS, LANDOSCAR

in which fem!reader is helping out oscar's puppy love on his teammate lando without realising the consequences

tw: landoscar is real, swear words, sex hinted, time jump 🗝 . . previous part & next part

two idiots and their saving grace

you

i see you got on very well last night. i'd appreciate a word put in for a promotion or a trip to somewhere warm with beaches, hot men, yadayada you get me

havent expected you be such a dirty man lan, but then oscari has probably ruined your dick by the looks lol

lan

girl, he destroyed me, he's made to be a lover, lemme tell you that. took me like a champ

you shallowed too?

lan every last drop, took my breath away and sucked me dry

anyways, thank you for this little one, we definitely own you a thing or two 🤍

oscari

yup 100%, believe we'd dance around each other for months if it was for you cupid.

enjoyed the video?

you wasnt bad to look at, bit shaky but oscari those hands work fast wowsa. you'll take good care of the man just don't fuck when we work, yes? then i might leave you for another team

"i bet little y/n took care of her sweet pussy, look when she saw the video and when she replied", lando giggled as he shoved down a bite of the fruit salad he shared with his lover in bed, smartphone laying on oscar's lap.

they had enjoyed soft kisses and equally soft sex under the white coversheet, taking in a memorable place in their love filled hearts — for some their thing, whatever they should name it, might be running fast but then they waited patiently for a year to realise their feelings and now there was no coming back, just straight up truth, desire and love, because this was love, pure and soft, fast yet romantic. they were two peas in a pot but they also noticed their lust for oscar's girl for everything, you.

you weren't just a woman with a hot, curvy body, no, you had the personality too, bold and headstrong, taking no fucks — neither oscar nor lando knew how they wanted you in this but to a threesome, they wouldn't say no.

"maybe but let's focus on us this month before adding sweets to the mix in any kind of form yeah?", the younger man said, hand grasping lan's to press a kiss on it.

his partner hummed in agreement, happily munching on the breakfast as they exchanged ideas for possible date ideas; paddle, golf as well as pottery, trying every local cuisine once ( we'll just leave the fish alone, right, babe?") and whatnot — typical things couples tried to depend the bond and enjoy their partners company. you'd for sure cover for them somehow to let it look like they're only teammates, having a good time being single.

and so the mclaren men went on all kinds of dates, some great, a few alright and two of them weren't very much enjoyable (the aussie rated the gold date as the most boring thing he had to do but because he liked lan alot, he'd come back whenever the older one would win above him in a race).

you were their saving grace, saving them from noisy reporters and brewing scandals with some greedy models and who not, giving them an ultimate hiding place for their blossoming romance. to add a cherry on top, you suggested more date ideas for their second and third month, putting a professional love doc to shame. where you got the ideas from was more or less a mystery to them but other couples on the grid like alex and lily, george and carmen, and kika and pierre rated your skills to heaven. it was a skill set of yours, the only thing no one got behind is, how you didn't have a partner by yourside, though no one wanted to get on your bad side and kept their mouth shut; you liked to say that your love life was dead and that's it.

"how are my birdies doing this fine morning? ready to talk some racing?", you entered the room and began to talk, lips coloured in a bright red, complimenting your all black fit and red-orange necklace, oscar had gotten you from when you both started to work at mclaren over a year ago. oscar returned to his position next to lando on the bed, leaving you to stand in front of them, cheeking your nails before continuing. "remember to shut down the rumours with that instagram model, lando, and oscari, for you I have nothing on my agenda. you're just too wholesome to people, so they dont wanna ruin your imagine it seems."

lando moaned, face in his hands, letting his boyfriend kiss his neck. "i don't do anything but be a doting boyfriend, little y/n. i don't even know who that woman is." "I know, i know, just say something along the line of who? or talk about not knowing why those silly bitches get connected to you. state your truth, honey. and now get decent, it reeks of steamy sex in here."

"yes ma'am", you heard. "are you coming on track with us or driving separately?", your friend wanted to know, as he put on a maroon silky shirt lando had gifted him on their stay in the latter ones flat. shame, the aussie hid his muscles behind the shirt tho but he didn't close all the buttons and left his collarbone for show, were a dainty golden necklace rested, a promise ring of sorts that mclaren number four also wore in form of an actual ring, blending in quite nicely with his collection of jewelry. that's taste.

"i'm driving with you, i'll sit in back, if thats okay with you, boys?"

they didn't reply, packing up their stuff and gently pushed you out off the door, osc's hand resting heavily against the small of your back.

hopefully I don't blush like virgin Mary, you thought.

they guided you to the car, a beautiful mclaren in a sleek navy blue. lando opened the door for you and waited until you settled to shut it again, walking around the car to drive it as oscar had decided on being the passenger prince for the day (he was also very sleeping looking and had the desire to control the music today). "have you eaten something or should we grab you a bite on the way, sweets?"

a moan left your painted lips, now being able what you forgot this morning when you rushed through your hotel room. fluttering with your lashes, a cute smile danced on your lips. "some food would be fantastic, thanks for the reminder, daddy." you then proceed to chance your attention to your vibrating phone, seeing a couple of messages of people trying to get hold on osc, who, if you looked up into the mirror, blushed hard at the nickname.

"oi where's my sexy nickname, little one? you just can't call him daddy in front of me, the boyfriend of months and don't gift me one too, you hear me?", lando pouted, resting his right hand behind oscars head rest when parking the car in front of a small café. "Don't have one for you, it seems", you grinned like a cashire cat and closed the door to get yourself a snack.

oscar broke the comfortable silence between them, laughter bubbling over the music. "she could call you sir too, treasure. i know you like it. imagine her on her knees, waiting for our command — she'd look so good taking you, us."

"you shit, want me to hide a bulge?", the other male whinned, hand joining his lover's in the middle console of the car.

"don't act like a cry baby, it doesn't suit you."

POLY/MULTI DRIVERS — SINGULAR DRIVERS

wanna be tagged in the next part of helping hand? comment below :)

🗝 . . . tag list [open] — @d3kstar @hiireadstuff @vellicora @jupiter-je-taime @denisebeee @jaehyunluvcult @chezmardybum @koalalafications @thebook-bitch @ln4norizz @entr4p3 @67-angelofthelordme-67

#landoscar #f1 imagine #f1 x reader #oscar piastri imagine #oscar piastri x reader #lando norris x reader #lando norris imagine #f1 smau

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harpyloon · 3 years

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“ginny, i always want to sleep with you” // hinny

Pairing: Harry Potter x Ginny Weasley

W.C: 2.5k+

Summary: Harry Potter is always a blubbering mess when it comes to Ginerva Weasley.

Warnings: pure fluff! sprinkles of angsty angst, squint and you’ll find mentions of war/battle and death. everybody lives AU!

A/N: A fic written for the @harryandginuary Ginuary gift challenge. Happy Ginuary @/gins-potter 😍😍😍I hope you ENJOY!!!

Read on AO3

Harry didn't think this through.

After defeating the Dark Lord and winning a wizarding war, he assumed he'd never have to think about anything ever again—at least not for a while. But gazing at her small blinking dot for almost half a year on a rotten piece of parchment apparently made him delusional, because at the moment—months after the battle of Hogwarts—sitting in the kitchen at the Burrow, his longing stare almost bore a hole through Ginny Weasley's face.

His Ginny.

Wincing to himself, Harry prodded on the peas in his plate. His subconscious when it came to Ginny was his greatest enemy and his biggest embarrassment. If anyone even came close to guessing what kind of dreams he had when it came to her... well... He breathed away the flush threatening to creep up his neck.

"More peas, Harry dear?"

Mrs. Weasley peered at him from the head of the table, a frown on her freckled face, "You've hardly eaten anything. Don't think I've noticed how skinny you've been getting again. I'd be having a word with Alastor about your Auror training. Ever since he got back he's been more insufferable—"

Snatching the dish of treacle tart in front of him, Harry filled his plate with a slice.

"I'm up for dessert now actually, Mrs. Weasley, thanks."

This seemed to satisfy her well enough. "Well, I whipped that up just for you so eat up."

He felt a nudge on his knee as Ron leaned in to whisper once Mrs. Weasley was out of earshot, "Save me some, will you? She goes barmy when we touch your treacle tart."

Harry smiled and nodded. Meals at the Burrow he was used to but he knew he'd never get tired of. His Auror training held him back a ton of weekends in the past few months, and being home felt splendid. Of course, he was never one to wear his heart on his sleeve, but Harry hoped Mr. & Mrs. Weasley knew how grateful he was.

Risking a glance across the table once again, Harry saw Ginny serving herself second helpings of mash. Her favorite, Harry thought. He remembered her hating Madame Pudifoodt's Tea Shop for its lack of savory spreads, the one time they attempted a visit during his sixth year. It ended up turning into a laugh as she snorted at all the snogging instead of actually drinking tea.

"So this is your kind of place, huh?" Ginny teased as she sifted through the menu.

Harry blushed, "Er—you don't like it? I kind of reckoned girls like this place..."

He chuckled nervously as she gave him a pointed look.

"Really, Potter?"

Breathing out a sigh of relief, he snatched the menu away from her, already standing.

"Three Broomsticks then?"

He knew he'd buy her all the Butterbeers in the world for the smile he earned.

A foot prodded Harry back to the present.

"What, Ron?" he grumbled.

Ron frowned at him. "What'd you mean 'what'"?

"You just—"

Someone coughed loudly across from them.

Both turning, they saw Ginny heaving over her mash, a fist in her mouth. Fred was rubbing her back soothingly beside her.

Harry blinked. It was her. She kicked him.

"Alright there, Gin?" Fred mused. "I told you to take it easy on the potatoes, you crazy woman."

"Do the Harpies know what kind of stomach they'll be feeding once they sign you in?" said George. "I bet you they'll break a sweat once they find out your appetite."

Ginny threw George a withering look after downing a glass of water. "Don't jinx it, you idiot."

"Have you heard back yet, Gin?" Ron asked over a mouth full of pudding.

"More like they haven't heard from Ginny," chuckled Hermione.

All the Weasley brothers gaped. Even Harry.

"What?" sputtered George, "You're making the Holyhead Harpies wait?"

The youngest Weasley scoffed. "I'm not making anyone wait. I was just standing by for the holidays before I give a reply."

"Well, it's the holidays now."

Ginny rolled her eyes and Harry's gut clenched. The mad part of his brain loved it when she did that.

"I am well aware," she said, "If you all are so eager, does anyone want to take my place then?"

Her brothers merely grumbled while Hermione laughed. It's been the talk of the town for a while now, after Ginny received a letter from the Harpies a few months after the beginning of her seventh year. The whole house went completely ballistic, even Hogwarts as well—or so Harry heard.

It took a month to bury the dead from battle and a whole summer to rebuild Hogwarts from the rubble; the Ministry was still in the process of rehabilitation, and the whole wizarding community was yet to heal, licking the wounds that Voldemort left behind. Ginny's Quidditch scouting was the first good news they'd received in a long time.

He didn't get back together with Ginny after the war, and there was no reunion like he'd always imagined in those long nights without her, in search for the Horcruxes. It wasn't as if they both avoided it, there just wasn't any time—time to talk, time alone, time for anything. Everyone had their hands full following the battle, and when things started to fall back into place, they've simply slipped through each other's fingers; Ginny whisked away by the Hogwarts Express, and Harry to the Ministry to begin his training as an Auror.

He considered moving on, especially on days when he'd think about her roaming the halls of Hogwarts, her fiery red hair blazing after her. She'd find someone, he thought bitterly. If she hasn't already.

But they'd written to each other, sparingly, although they did still. Short snippets of their day, what they ate for breakfast, the new set of professors at school, Mad-Eye's torturous lessons; Harry was the first person outside the castle to find out about her Harpies letter.

He caught her eye from across the table and she raised a brow at him as if to say What, Potter?

Chuckling under his breath, Harry shook his head and tapped the bowl of uneaten mash beside his plate. He saved it for her.

Ginny's gaze landed on it and her face lit up. If Harry didn't know any better, her hair seemed to glow even redder. His imagination loved to exaggerate his visuals when it came to her.

He felt a tiny poke on his toe as if to warn him not to react violently—she gave him a look and he pursed his lips, looking back down at his peas and moving them around once again. Then slowly, an ankle wrapped itself around one of his own and rested there.

Harry exhaled slowly, willing his pulse to calm.

He was not over Ginny Weasley at all. Not one bit.

----------✿----------

Creeping quietly down the steps, Harry tried his best to avoid the noisy floorboards (that he still didn't memorize to save his life). His two best friends didn't mention anything, but he knew they wanted some alone time. And he certainly didn't want to be around once the candles dimmed and Ron and Hermione started making eyes at each other.

He was almost at the first landing when the door to his left creaked open.

"Hermione?"

"Sorry. It’s me."

Ginny opened the door wider, gazing up at Harry, her face bemused. She was dressed for bed. "They kicked you out already?"

Laughing quietly, he said, “You know they’d never. I volunteered.”

She smiled knowingly. “Of course you did. Well, come on in then.”

Harry stared at her retreating form, clearly confused.

In? In where? In her room? Just the two of them?

Ginny disappeared inside but the door remained open.

Should he knock and ask her what she meant? Should he just go inside? It's not like he hasn't before.

Suddenly, the most recent memory of Ginny's room flashed through his consciousness—his 17th birthday.

"Something to remember me by."

Harry's ears grew hot. He refused to let that specific recollection surface when he wasn't alone, or in the confines of his own quarters. It made his brain go fuzzy.

"Harry?" he heard Ginny's faint voice from inside, then footsteps. She appeared by the door once again. When she saw his face, her brows furrowed. "What happened?"

Harry attempted to clear his throat without sounding like a retching toad. "Er—I'm—" he was sure his face was now as red as her hair, "I was going to take the couch actually," he managed weakly.

"The couch," Ginny said flatly.

He swallowed. "Y-yeah. Downstairs."

The silence was deafening and it stretched on for minutes. Or at least that's what it felt like in Harry's rowdy head. He needed to meditate. Merlin. He was losing it.

Finally, she said, "Okay. Goodnight then."

She gave him a strained smile then quietly shut the door before he could reply.

Harry stood there, mouth hanging open slightly.

Ginny Weasley just invited him inside her bedroom and he refused. He refused. Of all the things in the world that made him a blubbering idiot, it was his best friend's little sister. He always seemed to be dumbfounded whenever she was in the vicinity of his space.

"Idiot," he muttered to himself as he descended the stairs, no longer bothering to mask his footsteps. "Idiot, idiot, idiot."

Harry sulked his way to the living room, his mood most definitely dismal. Girls were a nightmare. He had no idea how their brains ever worked and every time he felt like he finally had a grasp at a situation, he was suddenly ten steps back.

He waved his wand mindlessly over the Weasley's tweed couch and leaned by the fireplace as he watched it transform into a small sofa bed.

Would he wake anyone if he flooed Sirius at this hour? He knew his godfather would still be up at Grimmauld Place, and would doubtlessly jinx him between the eyes if he found out what Harry had just done.

"You're just like James," he heard Sirius' voice say in his head. He never seemed to let this fact go, even when he knew that Harry was well aware of how he was a spitting image of his father. Sirius especially loved to point this out when it came to matters about Ginny.

"Dad actually ended up with Mum didn't he, Sirius," Harry growled under his breath as he settled on his makeshift bed, patting his pillow down with more force than necessary. He was in the mood for a petty fight and he wished his godfather was around for one.

Suddenly, he heard footsteps thumping down the stairs. Harry jostled into a sleeping position at once and took off his glasses, planting himself still in the awful case that Mrs. Weasley found him huddled on their living room couch. She wouldn't have the heart to wake him would she? He didn't want her causing a scene with Ron and Hermione. Harry tried as best as he could to look as wasted as possible, even attempting at a snore.

The footsteps came nearer, and he felt them stop by the door of the living room. He tried to even his breathing.

"Really?"

His eyes shot open.

Sitting up suddenly, he found Ginny standing by the doorway, her arms crossed. Only the dim moonlight illuminated the room, and Harry had to squint before he remembered he took off his glasses. His hands fumbled as he perched them back on, his eyes meeting Ginny's vexed gaze.

"Ginny," he said lamely.

"Are you seeing someone?"

"What?"

Her hair glowed in the dark space, like a warm halo around her head.

"You heard me."

Harry's pulse seemed to be skyrocketing. "Seeing someone? I don— no. No. I'm not seeing anybody at all."

Ginny looked skeptical. "Right."

Almost tripping over his own slippers, Harry barely managed to scramble to his feet in front of the only girl who plagued his dreams. He wanted to embrace her. Could he do that? Was he allowed to, still?

"Ginerva," he was breathless. "You have no idea..." Harry tried to calm his racing heart. Just get the words out, idiot. "You have no idea how much I think about you."

Her eyes gave nothing away as she looked up at him, and only her crossed arms kept the space between them. Harry saw tendrils of her hair stir as he exhaled. He wanted to kiss her.

When she said nothing, he lifted his hand experimentally, waiting for her to flinch or back away. Not sensing rejection yet, Harry trailed his fingers through the wisps of hair by her ear. He could smell her. He held himself from inhaling too deeply.

"Different shampoo?" he murmured.

Ginny sniffed, "Mum tried a different witch brand."

"Hmmm. Jasmine was my favorite."

She rolled her eyes. "I know."

Harry threaded his fingers through her hair, brushing her scalp now, and Ginny leaned into his touch.

He smiled. "But I like this one too."

"We should just share shampoos."

"Good idea."

They were silent for a moment. Just listening to each other breathing while Harry combed his fingers through Ginny's soft hair. The ends were still damp, he noticed.

"I missed you," she said suddenly, quietly. Her eyes were roaming all over his face as if gauging his reaction.

"I missed you too."

"But you don't want to sleep with me."

Harry's cheeks turned pink in the dark as he breathed out a laughed. "Ginny, I always want to sleep with you."

"I meant sleep sleep, you perv!" she pinched his stomach.

Trying to stifle his chuckle so as not to wake the rest of the house, he drew her in, finally bracketing her in his arms. "Ah, well, I mean that too, I guess."

Ginny huffed but melted with his touch. "I will have you know that I've turned down suitors for you, Harry Potter. So if you won't stake your claim, then I'd better take one of them up on their offers."

Harry's gaze narrowed. "Will you, now?"

"Watch me. Apparently, I'm quite popular with the Hufflepuffs—"

He leaned in lightning-quick, aiming for her luscious mouth. She expected it because her eyes closed in instinct, waiting for him to seal the connection. But Harry hovered. He felt the feathered touch of her lips on his but he stayed there, eyes open—trailing over her closed lids, the bridge of her nose, and the aggressive spread of freckles over the expanse of her cheeks.

"May I kiss you?" he asked against her lips.

Ginny's eyes blinked open but she didn't pull away. "Since when have you started asking?"

Harry was glad they were so close that she wouldn't be able to see his neck flush. "Since I let you go once."

This time, she did pull away, but only a tiny fraction. Just enough for him to witness her wrinkle her nose. "So saving the world has made you a complete sap."

She was teasing.

He shrugged, but grinned sheepishly nonetheless, "For you, yeah. I always have been though, haven't I?"

Twirling her arms around his neck and brushing her fingers through his unruly hair, Ginny pressed herself against Harry fully, her face shining with emotion.

"Then snog the living daylights out of me, Harry Potter."

#by gabi #hinny #hinny fic #hinny fluff #harry potter x ginny weasley #hinny post-war

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kurinhimenezu · 4 years

Text

===First Kiss===

~~~Shinso Hitoshi~~~

==KurinH==

The clock read 2.30am

You've been working non stop for almost 6 hours now. Your eye were dull; not really seeing anything as your fingers move on their own accord, mod plans already memorized in your head. A mis-clip of a wire sends the whole mod sparking uselessly in your hands.

You yelped in pain at the sting of the zap and with a cry of indignation; threw the whole thing in a pile of more broken mods. Ignoring the pain and the possible blisters, you slumped against the work bench in defeat. You spied your phone still on the last message your aunt has given you.

*You're still there at UA right? When are you going to make some money out of your tinkering toys?*

'They're not toys..they're support items for heroes!'

*I cannot believe you didn't end up in the hero course! That's where the money is really at*

'Heroes need support too auntie..'

*your mother should've know better..sending you to an expensive school with your weak quirk and you didn't even end up a hero! What a waste*

*Did you know that Inko's kid got into the hero course?? And HE'S QUIRKLESS*

You buried your face in your arms, eyes shut; refusing to let the tears fall. 'Why can't she let me be..? I don't even live with her anymore..I didn't even pay for this school..I got in on a support tech recommendation..!' You couldn't help but let out a small whimper.

'Still..is it true..is this all just a waste..?' The girl straightened her protective goggles and looked at all her pending blueprints..all the unfinished mods and WIP prints. 'My efforts..my ideas..' Then looked towards Mei's workbench and saw all her completed 'babies' as she called them.

'I..am..I..?'

"...(y/n)?"

You slowly turned your head at a wide eyed brainwasher. "Shinso..kun..? What..how did you even get in here? This mechanic room is for support students and their heroes-in-progress only.."

"I couldn't sleep and I got bored-hey..your hand.." Shinso strolled inside the workroom and frowned, seeing her red, blistering hands.

Pulling out a soothing salve from his pocket, he kneeled down before her and takes her hands in his before applying the cream; making sure to get every inch. You were too exhausted to even care how gentle he was being.

"How did you even know I'd get injured like this?"

Lavender eyes looked up at her briefly before giving the other a Cheshire grin. "Let's just say I've taken to carrying medical supplies whenever I'm around you and your crazy group of friends..I guess it got to the point that it became a habit to carry supplies around".

Closing the container, Shinso frowned, now noticing how her eyes lost their shine. Even when she's having an off day, her eyes were still expressive. It was the first thing he noticed the first time they met in middle school. She was never scared to talk to him, her eyes so open to everyone she talks to and now..now they look almost dead. It gave him chills.

"Did..something happen..?"

The girl sighed and took off her goggles. Fingers fumbling with the frames.

"Shinso..can you..brainwash me..?"

He froze at the request. He could never..not her..never to her.

You sensed his hesitation and grabbed at his wrists in desperation. "Please ! Just this once! I'm tired of feeling like I can never contribute to anything! Friends..family..academics..its never enough!"

You couldn't help the tears that flowed as you lowered your head. "Just this once..tell me to not feel like this..please.."

Shinso's heart shattered seeing her so broken like this. He wasn't a stranger to feeling like he wasn't enough. His childhood was more or less the epitome of the feeling. He bit his lip before eyeing the opened messages on the table.

The boy frowned, a sudden urge to protect coursed through him as he stood up and wrapped his arms around his girl. 'That hag...!' He tightened his grip around her, an arm around her shoulder and a hand at the back of her head. He knew how much she loves the feeling of getting petted.

"Brain washing is not the answer kitten..you know this.." he gave her a soft chuckle when she mumbled something about quirk evolution and memory alteration. How can she not see how smart she is? How her friends look up at her intellect? He even overheard the teachers praising how innovative her mods are for non-combative quirks! Shinso pulled back slightly, not letting her out of his embrace as he wiped her eyes.

"Don't you dare listen to that woman. You are smart enough to get in here..make amazing weapons and not even for physical quirks..Principal Nezu is eyeing you to even intern under him and you think your aunt knows what she's talking about?" Shinso snorted, making you let out a watery laugh.

He smiled softly and pulled her head back into him. Pressing his cheek against her temple. "You're amazing..more amazing than anyone I've ever known..you throw out ideas and theories like it's nothing..people would kill to have a brain and drive like yours..don't ever doubt yourself..and even if you do, know that I'm here..cheering you on and believing in our capabilities for the both of us"

You closed your eyes as he talked. You always did lovethe sound of his voice. Quiet and deep. So soothing. You're convinced that his relaxing voice is part of his quirk.

You can feel your despair ebb away at each word that comes out of his mouth. Letting out a long exhale, you buried your face against his body, finally relaxing. "Thank you..so much Hitoshi..you've.." you sucked your bottom lip in hesitation.

Shinso chuckled and tilted her chin up to look up at his face. "Anything for you..my kitty~"

Your face flushed red as you shut your eyes tight. He couldn't stop himself in time before leaning down and kissing her on the forehead.

You gasped, eyes popping open.

The boy pulled back slowly and cupped your cheeks; gently stroking your face. "Was that okay..?"

You smiled happily as you nodded your head. Shinso smiled back in relief and brought you into his arms again.

"..."

"Toshi..?"

"Yes kitten..?"

"You're my hero"

Hugging you tighter, his eyes watered as he smiled against your hair.

The clock read 3am.

Tags!

@thedreadthread @quirkless-fics @sadistiks @savnofilter @tooloudarts U3U

Message me if you want to be tagged ! ^3^ trying to get my writing out there ! A little self indulgent but-

#kurinwrites #hitoshi shinso #shinso hitoshi #bnha imagines #bnha #shinso hitoshi imagines #hitoshi shinsou #shinsou x reader #bnha fic #boku no hero academia #reblogs are highly appreciated

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aboleth-eye · 5 years

Note

Hello! Would you have any advice for new DMs/things you wish you had been told when you started DMing? I'd like to try it myself, but I've only ever been a player, and just figuring out where to start is a bit overwhelming! Thank you in advance!

Great Question! Here are my Lessons Learned from when I ran a game for the first time!

There are Four Lessons I wish I’d known when I got started: Have Your Resources Handy, Start Small (3 Parts), Things Go Awry, and Have Fun Together! ((This is going to be a very long post, so I’ll cap it a little less than halfway down))

1.) Have Your Resources Handy!

If this is your first time running a Tabletop RPG system, even if you’ve been playing for years, HAVE THE BOOK(S), WEBSITE(S) AND/OR PDF(S) NEARBY! I’m serious about this, guys! Playing a game or watching someone else play is a totally different monster to running it!

When you first declare to the group that you’d like to host a game, I recommend you read the rules over at least two or three times before hand–start with a deep read first to get it all in your head, and then you can choose to speed read once you’ve had some time to digest the rules.

But even if reading ttrpgs is your thing, have the resources within easy reach. Either have your laptop available with open tabs to any pdfs/scans of the game source material and any relevant websites (like standard reference document pages), and/or have a physical copy of the game book with you. If you are running certain monsters or encounters, I also recommend you copy down any stats and information to a separate text document (on laptop or printed) so you won’t have to page through stuff during the game.

2A.) Start Small: The Setting

If this is your first time or fiftieth time running a tabletop roleplaying game, and you are running a new system for the first time, limit the scope of project to start. Writing campaign and world settings can be very intense, and it is very easy to write something too specific and railroad people into your lore and world.

For instance, don’t create a massive world with a continent of named cities and landmarks! Don’t plan out every inch of your world, or else it’ll turn into a “fill-in-the-blank exploration” story instead of an organic world you can change as your group learns and grows!

My first campaign started in a very specifically written city on the edge of a vast magical desert. I planned out a timetable of events that would catapult the players into the “open-world”. The players noticed this and didn’t appreciate it.

Also, do not bog your players down with Lore! I’ve gone into campaigns where you need to know information “for backstory”! This is your first campaign, it’s good to know what to introduce and when! A group of starting adventurers typically doesn’t need to know your world’s entire array of deities, pages and pages of history, and legends “that shaped the world”! You can introduce these things at character creation IF THE PLAYERS ASK, and then slowly dish things out as the characters live in your world.

It’s also good to not ties yourself down to specific placement of towns, countries, cities, landmarks, etc. Leave the map blank save for the starting area, and any broadly defined areas such as forests and mountains. Once characters finish their first missions and adventures, they’ll explore! With all the “white space” of your world, you can insert places and things as you journey with the group!

One of my favorite encounters when I was very new to D&D was when we accidentally burned down a forest. We were fighting a massive tiger with a pixie NPC in a forest, and the pixie just trapped everyone (tiger included) in entangling vines. Our pyromancer in the party tried to set the beast on fire, and they rolled a critical failure.

The beast was set on fire and died! And so did the pixie! And now there’s a raging forest fire we have to run from! We get an oxcart running and we take shifts to outrun the magical fire–FOR THREE DAYS! It was an incredibly tense situation, and it was fun to add “an entire forest” to the pyromancer player’s list of things they set on fire.

You know what would have made all that suck? If the DM had decided: “Okay, you pass through this location which is a lich’s hideout and have to face that; then the next day you’ll have to ford a river with the tired oxes. Finally, you’ll be passing through this county’s border…”

We just burned down a placeholder forest, and all the consequences that came with it came AFTER we were finally safe! The DM didn’t bog us down with heavy lore and their maps during a tense situation; they kept the focus on the action at hand.

Prioritize the players’ story before your own! That’s the lesson I want to make absolutely clear. You aren’t telling your story with friends as the characters; the Dungeon Master/Game Master/Storyteller is the worldbuilder who tells the character groups’ story as they interact with the world.

2B) Start Small: The First Encounters

Another item I want to bring up is Do Not Start Your Campaign with a “Unique Encounter”! Start your campaign setting with a simple task for the players to face. Here are the kinds of challenges I mean: defeat a bunch of zombies in a graveyard for a reward, go into a mine full of bats to retrieve a homing beacon, follow a simple mystery to find a girl’s lost dog, etc. The Players’ should be introduced to your world with something simple to follow–that way they can make their marks and introduce how they roleplay to the story.

Do Not try something you’ve “never seen before”! Don’t have the characters whisked off to another plane or world while they slept! Don’t have the players face fifteen or so mooks at once during an ambush! Don’t have your characters struggle to tread water or leap floating platforms while fighting a monster! These kinds of encounters instantly put players on guard and feel railroaded! Give them the chance to decide how they integrate themselves into the adventure.

My first campaign violated this rule. When the players left the city to enter the desert, they were suddenly beset by 12 monstrous scorpions! And me, in my ambitious tunnel-vision, thought it’d be interesting to have each scorpion have its own turn. I rolled twelve Initiatives for the scorpions and it was a LONG combat when it clearly didn’t have to be.

It all looked so good in my head, but when you get players involved you can tell how grueling and boring something like that could be. I learned a lot that session.

That combat ended the campaign for me. I decided to go back to the drawing board because that kind of thinking was not going to fly for me and my friends.

Instead, give your players a task that could easily be solved in one or two sessions! Do not give your players “only one way” to solve this! For instance, if your first challenge is to get past some guards, let the players come up with the solution themselves. They might decide to fight the guards, use magic/science to teleport past them, go off on a side quest to become guards so they can infiltrate them, or even walk up and attempt to socialize with them. You as the storyteller/DM merely narrate the results of whatever the characters do; just bridge the gaps and think of consequences from the players’ actions.

ALSO! Have a time limit for your first session, or plan breaks for food/drink/stretching. This activity of DMing can be very stressful, and you might need a break to take stock of what problems and choices occurred during play.

2C.) Start Small: The Players

Have your players build starting or low-level characters (I typically start with 3rd level for D&D). The low levels will mean most powergaming and gamebreaking attempts by certain types of players will be nipped in the bud right from the start. It will also typically limit the powers and abilities of your group (so you won’t have to memorize or look up high-level stuff until much later).

Another thing I highly recommend is that you are present during character creation! Do not let people determine/roll character abilities and stats without you. Either be physically present when dice get rolled and abilities get determined, or be present digitally in a chatroom, discord or roll20 when electronic character sheets get filled in!

My first campaign I allowed one of the players to bring a character from a friend’s campaign into it. The original DM ended the campaign; and even though I had played in that campaign alongside this character I had no clue what they could do. This made things challenging because this character “suddenly” remembered they could fly–so I had to add aerial combat onto my plate during the first fight of the campaign.

It made the situation tense, especially with my bad early encounters (see the 12 Scorpions combat above).

3.) Things Go Awry

If you’ve come this far, there’s one last piece of advice I want to give you. Your first campaign is gonna suck in one way or another.

I don’t mean that to be disheartening; I want you to think of it as a learning experience. Whenever a person learns a new skill or engages in a new activity for the first time, it’s always gonna suck. (Even if someone has a “natural talent”). You as the DM/Storyteller are going to notice problems crop up left and right; especially if you don’t take the advice I offered above. For instance, if you start learning to paint with a new medium or start a sport you’ve never tried; you need to practice with the tools and techniques you’ve prepared to see what works for your style of learning.

Running a roleplaying game is a very unique mashup of activities. There’s typically a math element you need to consider behind every action the players take. You need to workout your improvisation skills to bridge connections and gaps your players make. You need to get in front of a group of people (sometimes more or less experienced than you) and tell a story that keeps their attention. It’s a stressful mix of being an improv actor, a storyteller and the physical laws of your world.

Hopefully your players will understand when things get crazy and overwhelming. Gametime might come to a halt because you need to look up a specific rule or wording that you aren’t familiar with. It’s okay. Until you get to know how your game world runs with your players in it, it is totally fine to take a breath and think things through. Oftentimes you can ask your players for help in making a determination or house-ruling.

Last note on this topic: Get Feedback! At the end of the session, be bold and ask your players if they enjoyed the session, what they liked and what they didn’t like. Feedback is how DMs get insight on how the game is playing out. While you’re DMing, your mind is on a million different topics; let the players tell you how they felt during gameplay, so you know what made them feel good or bad on the other side of the curtain.

4.) Have Fun Together!

This is something that needs to be said, if I’m honest. Running a game can be a stressful activity that “ruins” some things about it now that you are “behind the curtain”. This is your first session, in what you hope to be a series of games where you and your friends make all sorts of memories.

However, some DMs get incredibly discouraged and no-nonsense when they run a game for their first few times. That is understandable, especially if being the “mastermind” is a challenge you haven’t prepared for. A few sessions in and you might find the game isn’t fun for you and/or your players. That might be a sign that you need to take a break from hosting–use that time to think how you can make the game fun for everyone, or if this campaign just needs to be scrapped!

The priority of the DM is to bring people together. If a game system, campaign concept or player actions aren’t making the group (you included) happy; it’s better to stop things and take stock before things go too far. It is never fun to admit your game isn’t viable or enjoyable, but hopefully you’ll have new experience you can take with you the next time you try your game.

And heck, if you find you prefer playing at this time, that’s fine! Even if this attempt didn’t have the results you expected, there is nothing to stop you from trying again later if you wanted. But now that you know how it is behind the curtain, you are naturally more observant to how your own DM/GM runs their games and you can learn from it.

Remember how good the game system/lore/etc made you feel! It’s why you wanted to DM in the first place; you recognized you had a story you wanted to tell, and this ttrpg had the tools to bring it to life! No matter what problems arise when you’re behind the curtain, the game should still bring you enjoyment whether you play or manage the game. Do not give up on the game just because of one bad session or two!

When I decided to end my campaign, it really was a painful decision. I loved the world as it was in my mind, but I was not executing it well so that my players enjoyed it. I got feedback after that terrible 12 Scorpions combat, and decided to take some time to think about everything. Our group went back to our original DM, with other members trying to DM in that time; and honestly I didn’t DM until I started a small separate group months later.

During that gap in DMing I digested what I liked and didn’t like about my campaign, and had more time to reflect on the rules. I decided to take a few steps back and learn from my mistakes. I still made mistakes the second and third times I DMed, I make mistakes even to this day.

But at the heart of it all, I love games so much that I want to constantly make my stories and worlds even better, even to this day.

I take the struggles of DMing as learning experiences, rather than let them define me as a writer, storyteller and game master. I use them as stepping stones so I don’t fall through the gaps again. I may have started out with a bad first campaign, but I would never take those mistakes away.

I hope these lessons were helpful! I love D&D and tabletop roleplaying games so much, and love giving out advice on how to make the experience your own. I hope this helps a lot of new people bring their stories to life! Also, I hope I helped everyone’s expectations into the right state of mind.

Good luck and happy gaming everyone!! Much love!

– Aboleth-Eye

#aboleth eye #d&d ask #d&d resources #dm resources #lessons learned #tabletop games #tabletop resources #dm inspiration #tabletop inspiration #game night #tabletop story

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