ifyouwereamelodymeg

[ifyouwereamelodymeg]

the "came back wrong" trope except like... they didnt. like this mad scientists wife died, and so he studied necromancy, brought her back, and she came back and it all worked. like she came back exactly the same as she was before with literally no difference. but the scientist guy is like "oh no... what have i done.... shes Different now!!!! she came back Wrong!!!!" and shes just like. chilling. reading a book. cooking dinner. shes just so so normal but in the guys mind hes like "oh shes soooo weird" but shes just normal

#writing

[ifyouwereamelodymeg]

Fanfic tiktok is wild... I see so many people saying shit like "I could never read anything below 60k!!", or "What story can you even tell in under 5k words?" or "A oneshot below 10k isn't even a story!" or "I always filter completed fics by 100k< only!"

And I'm like...

A) which fandoms are you reading fics for where you have this kind of offerings on the regular?

B) have you heard of short stories? If you truly think every story NEEDS to be longform to connect with people, I sincerely feel sorry for you.

C) Average novel length is between 50k to 100k. I'm sorry, but CONSISTENTLY demanding fic writers to push out fics of that length is insane. Just think about it: YOU DEMAND AUTHORS TO PUT OUT FICS THAT COMPARE TO COMMERCIAL NOVELS IN LENGTH (AND QUALITY) AS A BASELINE.

Yall are wilding.

#fanfiction #writing #“recs 100k+ only” is like nails on a chalkboard

[ifyouwereamelodymeg]

Toph should have been homeless.

A lone wanderer traveling across the Earth Kingdom. She would have taught metalbending to anyone who wished to learn. Beating up bullies and helping small towns recover and rebuild. Occasionally blackmailing one of the MANY world leaders who owe her into letting her crash at their place and eat all their food.

As she gets older she gets wiser. Becoming the Uncle Iroh to the younger generations. She's never as gentle as he was, but she remembers him fondly and never hesitates to dispense some cryptic wisdom on some hot-headed kid.

As years pass she stops wandering quite so far. Instead she stays for long months in the Fire nation or on Kyoshi Island. Occasionally she drops in on that new town/nation that Zuko and Aang are building. But she never stays for long.

She never marries. Never has kids. The rest of the Gaangs kids refer to her as Auntie Toph, and she loves them. But she decided long ago that she didn't want to be a mother.

She's there when Aang dies, holds Katara like Katara has always held her. Whispers to her that twinkle toes isn't gone. Not forever. He'll be back. He's the avatar after all.

She's there when Suki dies. Unable to save her in the heat of battle, unable to heal her afterwards. Sokka takes a few months to join her on her travels. She protects him, even as he fights with a recklessness that scares her. Suki would want him to survive.

Sokka calms down, goes home to his sister and his people and the white lotus. Toph keeps traveling.

She hears of her parents death. She spends the next week helping a lost child find his parents. And she visits the Boulder on her next trip through town. He much to old to be fighting her, but they rematch on the ring anyways. He mocks her the same way he always does and never says a word about her parents.

She gives him her parents wealth, he runs an animal shelter now and could use the funds.

She isn't there when Mai dies. Far on the eastern edge of the Earth Kingdom when the news of the Fireladies death reaches her. She takes Zuko on fieldtrip when she gets back to the Fire Nation. He owed her anyways.

They find Dragons.

The new Avatar emerges. A hot-headed young girl from the Southern Water Tribe.

She nothing like Twinkle Toes.

She's so much like Aang it hurts.

Katara is getting old. She hides it well but she's slower now. Not quite as fierce. Calming down as the years slip by.

Sokka dies and it rips Toph apart. He was her big brother. He died to save the world. She spends a few months with the sand benders. Spends a few more months deep in a swamp where occasionally she can still hear his voice. Once she hears Aang, sounding as young as the day they met.

Katare is so quiet now. She teaches the young avatar to heal. But not to fight. Saying that honor belongs to a younger teacher.

Honor make Toph think of Zuko.

She's there when he steps down and gives the throne to his daughter. It's a lovely ceremony. Afterwards they go on another fieldtrip. They find sky bison. Living wild and free in small island chains far from the mainland. Toph tells Katara who tells her children. And Airbenders fly with Sky Bison once more.

Katara passes peacefully in her sleep. Toph cries.

She goes on fieldtrips with Zuko every year now. Sometimes they find things. Sometimes they fight people. Sometimes they visit places that echo with memories.

The war was a horrible thing. Toph knows this. But a small dark shard of her heart is eternally grateful for Sozins greed. Without it she would never have known her friends.

The house on Ember Island lays in ruins now. The house Zukos family uses nowadays is smaller, more inconspicuous, a friendly little cottage.

They stay at the old house. Laughing when they find the rooms burned from when Zuko chased Aang. There's a small spot outside where the earthbent remains of Melon Lord stands. Toph can still remember Sokka's voice planning, Suki's light footsteps. Katara's fierce fighting and Aang hesitating before the final blow.

Zuko can't.

Zuko forgets more and more. Until the only thing they do on fieldtrips is go places. To remember. He asks where Uncle Iroh is. Thinks Mai is with them. Doesn't remember that his daughter is the Firelord now, not him.

A new threat arises. Zuko dies defending his nation and family. The world's mourns Firelord Zuko the great peace bringer. Toph mourns Zuko the awkward friend.

The new avatar dies. And Toph realizes that she doesn't know her own age.

The world is different now. There's so many new inventions. Toph thinks that Sokka would have loved to see this modern age.

A celebration for a hundred years of peace helps her remember her age for a few years.

Theres a new New avatar. A young boy from the sandbenders. His voice reminds her of Aang when she teaches him metalbending.

The next she hears of him is his marriage to some fire bending girl.

She spends time in the swamp, helps the swamp bender fight against those who would destroy the land. She gives council to the Sandbenders, as they seek independence from the rest of the Earth Kingdom.

She visits the house on Ember Island. It's part of a protected forest now.

She nearly kills a man on Kyoshi Island. He was telling a story of the end of the hundred year war. But he got it all wrong.

The four nations are no more. There are more than ten nations now. The Water Tribes split long ago. Three distinct Air Temples operate separately and with different principles and beliefs. The Republic continues to grow. The Sandbenders and Swampbenders are still sorting thing out, but they'll both be independent soon.

The two hundredth year of peace bring war. As tensions break and new weapons are being used. Bending is no longer the most powerful weapon out there.

The two hundredth year of peace bring war. But Toph is not there to see it.

Three years earlier she sits in a cave. She had spent the summer teaching some kids metalbending, and even just basic Earthbending.

It had been... nice.

But she's so tired now. She sits in the cave. There are no other people for miles around. But she's not alone. The memories of her friends, her family, weigh on her shoulders and echo in her her ears.

As she sits in the darkness she hears a sound. A quiet shuffling and then a loud crash! As walls are reshaped and her oldest friends find her.

Badgermoles live for centuries. And these Badgermoles remember her. They remember a small, scared little girl who was just like them.

In the darkness the Badgermoles snuggle close. Keeping her warm. Keeping her company.

Toph sits in a cave surrounded by Badgermoles cuddling her. Slowly she falls asleep.

She does not wake up.

Above the world goes on. War leads to peace leads to war leads to peace once again. The avatar lives and dies and is reborn, over and over again. History stretches larger and larger. Until the truth becomes legends.

Firelord Zuko, Avatar Aang, Chief Sokka and Warrior Suki, Master Katara the Mother of the Southern Benders. These names are preserved, remembered. Their stories become legends. Passed down from generation to generation. Written of in both fables and historical records alike.

The first ship to leave orbit is called Aang. To be a sokka is to be inventive. Hundred of girls fighting groups are named after Katara and Suki.

Zuko the Tenth oversees the signing of a new peace treaty as the neutral party.

Only a few footnotes remember the Forgotten member of the ancient Team Avatar. The earthbender. A girl named Toph who disappeared from records shortly after the Hundred Year War, though rumors of her were recorded for nearly two centuries afterwards. Her story is a rather farfetched one. More likely she either died in the war or soon after. Perhaps, some optimists say, she settled down and lived a normal life afterwards.

Many centuries later a mining company makes a wonderful discovery. The ancient burial caves of the now extinct Badgermoles. But a mystery awaits within this archeological marvel. For nestled within the hundreds of Badgermole skeletons there lies a single Human skeleton.

She lies there alone, surrounded by Badgermoles. Almost as if she was one of them. Almost as if they respected her, honored her.

Loved her.

And in a small town, a blind boy hears a legend. A legend that inspires him. A legend of a girl named Toph.

#atla #toph finally gets her field trip #toph beifong #avatar the last airbender #bookdragonideas #❤️❤️❤️

[ifyouwereamelodymeg]

(source)

Unsplash -  photography, illustration, & art

Pixabay - same as unsplash

Pexels - stock photos and videos

Getty Images - photography & illustration

Veceezy - vectors and clipart

Gumroad - photoshop brushes (and more)

StockSnap.io - stock photos

Canva - needs login but has lots of templates

Library of Congress - historical posters and photos

NASA - you guessed it

Creative Commons - all kinds of stuff, homie

Even Adobe has some free images

There are so many ways to make moodboards, bookcovers, and icons without plagiarizing! As artists, authors, and other creatives, we need to be especially careful not to use someone else’s work and pass it off as our own. 

Please add on if you know any more resources for free images <3

#stock photos #mood boards #writing inspo

[ifyouwereamelodymeg]

Speechless

#dnd #bard things #music #this is fucking awesome

[ifyouwereamelodymeg]

Top-Tier Villain Motivations

They will be safe. It doesn't matter who else or what else burns as long as They will be safe.

I will be safe. The hunger and the cold will never touch me again.

Fuck any bitch who's prettier(/cooler/better-liked/better at making dumplings) than me.

Yes, Master

Love me. Love me. Love me. Love me. LOVE ME!

I know the terrible things these so-called "heroes" will do if I don't stop them (<- is absolutely wrong)

I don't want a better future, I want a better past!

No other way to get performance art funded these days

#writing

[ifyouwereamelodymeg]

I think some people (myself included) think that 100k is short because we are used to reading fic of more than 250k but you are right. I know that 100k is a lot of work and effort but that does not mean that because of our very twisted way of seeing things, we do not value every word that writers share with us (or at least that is my case)

hmm i’ve seen people say “i won’t read a fic if it’s less than 300k because it’s not worth my time,” and i’ve seen people demand more more more more despite a writer giving them a 80-100k story (a literal book). so i get that reading fic of more than 250k might skew perception, but even 20k, 40, 80k — that’s a lot of work. time. effort. thought. care. not all writers have the time or energy to write 800k epics. it doesn’t make their work any less worth praise and love, which is what i’d really like this fandom to wrap its head around.

#writing #fanfic things

[ifyouwereamelodymeg]

Good Traits Gone Bad

Exploring good traits gone bad in a novel can add depth and complexity to your characters. Here are a few examples of good traits that can take a negative turn:

1. Empathy turning into manipulation: A character with a strong sense of empathy may use it to manipulate others' emotions and gain an advantage.

2. Confidence becoming arrogance: Excessive confidence can lead to arrogance, where a character belittles others and dismisses their opinions.

3. Ambition turning into obsession: A character's ambition can transform into an unhealthy obsession, causing them to prioritize success at any cost, including sacrificing relationships and moral values.

4. Loyalty becoming blind devotion: Initially loyal, a character may become blindly devoted to a cause or person, disregarding their own well-being and critical thinking.

5. Courage turning into recklessness: A character's courage can morph into reckless behavior, endangering themselves and others due to an overestimation of their abilities.

6. Determination becoming stubbornness: Excessive determination can lead to stubbornness, where a character refuses to consider alternative perspectives or change their course of action, even when it's detrimental.

7. Optimism becoming naivety: Unwavering optimism can transform into naivety, causing a character to overlook dangers or be easily deceived.

8. Protectiveness turning into possessiveness: A character's protective nature can evolve into possessiveness, where they become overly controlling and jealous in relationships.

9. Altruism becoming self-neglect: A character's selflessness may lead to neglecting their own needs and well-being, to the point of self-sacrifice and burnout.

10. Honesty becoming brutal bluntness: A character's commitment to honesty can turn into brutal bluntness, hurting others with harsh and tactless remarks.

These examples demonstrate how even admirable traits can have negative consequences when taken to extremes or used improperly. By exploring the complexities of these traits, you can create compelling and multi-dimensional characters in your novel.

Happy writing!

#writing

[ifyouwereamelodymeg]

I want to write a book called “your character dies in the woods” that details all the pitfalls and dangers of being out on the road & in the wild for people without outdoors/wilderness experience bc I cannot keep reading narratives brush over life threatening conditions like nothing is happening.

I just read a book by one of my favorite authors whose plots are essentially airtight, but the MC was walking on a country road on a cold winter night and she was knocked down and fell into a drainage ditch covered in ice, broke through and got covered in icy mud and water.

Then she had a “miserable” 3 more miles to walk to the inn.

Babes she would not MAKE it to that inn.

#writing

[ifyouwereamelodymeg]

I’m OBSESSED with i fear/no fate. Can’t wait to see the epilogue

Thank you so much! 🥰 I know it's been some time since it updated, but it is very much still in progress. I'm getting a little done each day, so here -- have some proof of life!

“I wasn’t expecting anything from you. That wasn’t the reason, it wasn’t like that. But I couldn’t keep putting Pansy or myself through the disservice of staying together anymore. It wasn’t until today, just now, really, that I even started to think maybe— Because you were with Krum, and then Eddie, and I thought you were happy like that. It didn’t occur to me that you might want...” He looks at her like she’s incomprehensible safe harbour. A light on a ravaged horizon. “I mean, you were just reassuring me that everything with Pansy would be okay.”

For all she’s battled to avoid succumbing to destiny, she sure has run right into her own form of fatalism, hasn’t she? 

“How could I have done anything other than that?” she asks him, she asks herself. “I was trying to be supportive. You told me the two of you were trying to work things out.”

#dramione #dramione fanfiction #i fear/no fate

[ifyouwereamelodymeg]

Further reblog to say that all the plagiarised fics have now been either deleted or orphaned from firefairylights' profile, but they've apparently got another profile under the name skull_and_bones and have reposted one of the plagiarised fics already.

Watch out for this one -- they're bloody stubborn, it seems.

2023.09.30

Complete fics posted on AO3 this day

1. The Brightest Constellations of Our Souls by @thecouchsofa [E, 256k]

►Harry doesn’t know how to cope after the War. The only things that make him feel even remotely normal again are taking risks while flying and fighting with Malfoy. It’s not likely to end well. Or, Draco becomes obsessed with ‘Wonderwall’, reads Muggle books, and drives a campervan, while Harry slowly falls in love with Draco. A story about travelling around the British Isles in the late 90s while healing deep scars.

2. caught in the web by nightwalkers [T, 4k]

►Harry has a sneaking suspicion that Draco Malfoy is his new Villain of The Week.

3. A Dreadful Invasion (of the Feline Persuasion) by @xanthippe74 [G, 6k]

►Most of the time, it’s easy for Harry to forget that Draco Malfoy is his next-door neighbour—until the night Malfoy seemingly goes round the twist in his back garden. Of course Harry has to investigate.

4. stars around my scars by firefairylights [E, 2k]

►“Are you just going to stand there staring, or are you going to join me, Malfoy?” Harry asked, his elbows leaning over the edge of the tub in the Prefect’s bathroom.

—

Fest/Exchange

1. will you stay right here (shake this frost off of my bones) by @nv-md [E, 10k]

►The first time Draco and Harry see each other after the War, they don’t speak. The second time they see each other after the War, they fight. And the third time they see each other after the War, neither of them is human anymore. ★ HP Law of Attraction Fest | @hp-lawofattraction-fest

#plagiarism #dramione fanfiction #drarry fanfiction #what are they actually hoping to achieve??

[ifyouwereamelodymeg]

Reblogging to point out that the fic attributed to firefairylights in this list was plagiarised from a Dramione fic by @shellyshelby called hearts that intertwine.

Firefairylights has plagiarised multiple Dramione fics and turned them into Drarrys, including one of my own. They have been reported already, but please make sure you go onto their works list and look for fics you recognise from Dramione (or other fandoms!) so we can identify as many of their stolen works as possible.

2023.09.30

Complete fics posted on AO3 this day

1. The Brightest Constellations of Our Souls by @thecouchsofa [E, 256k]

►Harry doesn’t know how to cope after the War. The only things that make him feel even remotely normal again are taking risks while flying and fighting with Malfoy. It’s not likely to end well. Or, Draco becomes obsessed with ‘Wonderwall’, reads Muggle books, and drives a campervan, while Harry slowly falls in love with Draco. A story about travelling around the British Isles in the late 90s while healing deep scars.

2. caught in the web by nightwalkers [T, 4k]

►Harry has a sneaking suspicion that Draco Malfoy is his new Villain of The Week.

3. A Dreadful Invasion (of the Feline Persuasion) by @xanthippe74 [G, 6k]

►Most of the time, it’s easy for Harry to forget that Draco Malfoy is his next-door neighbour—until the night Malfoy seemingly goes round the twist in his back garden. Of course Harry has to investigate.

4. stars around my scars by firefairylights [E, 2k]

►“Are you just going to stand there staring, or are you going to join me, Malfoy?” Harry asked, his elbows leaning over the edge of the tub in the Prefect’s bathroom.

—

Fest/Exchange

1. will you stay right here (shake this frost off of my bones) by @nv-md [E, 10k]

►The first time Draco and Harry see each other after the War, they don’t speak. The second time they see each other after the War, they fight. And the third time they see each other after the War, neither of them is human anymore. ★ HP Law of Attraction Fest | @hp-lawofattraction-fest

#dramione fanfiction #drarry fanfiction #plagiarism #please don't plagiarise #dramione #drarry

[ifyouwereamelodymeg]

It's the most wonderful time of the year!!!

Nominations are now open for the 2023 D/Hr Advent! Nominate up to 20 of your favorite Dramione authors and artists for this year’s fest!

Fill out this form! https://forms.gle/bo1oXhTzwvmNvcLZ7

Due to limitations of the form and the necessity of ensuring one nomination set per user, a Google or Gmail account sign-in is required. Nominations will be anonymized/randomized; emails will not be kept.

Nominations will remain open until 11:59PM EDT (-4UTC) on Sunday October 1.

FAQs: https://dhr-advent.tumblr.com/post/663858211548479488/some-faqs-about-advent-a-lot-of-new-dramione

Timeline: September 24 to October 1: Nominations collected October 2 to October 8: Invitations sent October 9 to November 20: Fic and art created December 1 to December 24: Works revealed!

Questions can be sent to [email protected]. Response time is typically within 24 hours.

#dhradvent #dhr advent 2023 #dramione

[ifyouwereamelodymeg]

Isn't this the one and only vibe, though

ok what if, and hear me out, what if it's been so long since i wrote something new that i've completely lost the skill and no longer know how to do it? this is a reasonable concern, yes?

#writing woes

[ifyouwereamelodymeg]

I love first-person because it’s about what the narrator chooses to tell. What do they focus on? What do they leave out? What can you learn from reading between the lines? Are they lying to you? Are they lying to themself? It’s great for unreliable narrators and for epistolary storytelling! It’s intimate but there’s still a distance because you aren’t really seeing the narrator’s thoughts–you’re just seeing the story that they’ve constructed.

I love second-person because it’s a conversation. Does “you” mean a broad, indefinite “you”? Does “you” really mean “I” but with plausible deniability? Does “you” mean one specific person? Can they hear the narrator? Do they know the narrator? What is the relationship here? Who’s talking? Who’s listening?

I love third-person limited because it’s focused and intimate. What does the world look like from inside this character’s head? What are they seeing? What are they feeling? It doesn’t grant them the privacy that first-person does; the narrative isn’t something they’ve chosen, it’s invisible and inescapable. As a reader you’re not watching so much as astral projecting.

(I love singular point of view because of how much it leans into that limitation. You’re not getting the whole story; you’re not seeing anything unless this character sees it. How do you embrace that? What do you do with the gaps around the edges? How does that define–or warp–the events that they’re experiencing?

I love multiple points of view because of how it broadens your understanding of the story and the world. If two point-of-view characters react in opposite ways to the same thing, what does that tell you about them? About the world? How does it feel to spend time inside a character’s head and then see them from someone’s else’s point of view? How do all of these viewpoints work together?) 

I love third-person omniscient because the narrative is a character. It’s great for stories that know they’re stories! It allows for a camaraderie between the narrator and the reader! It allows for wider and more cinematic descriptions because you’re not limited to what a specific person can see! It lets you look at the characters from outside while still giving you the option to delve into their heads because you have full control over what you’re focusing on!

And I love authors who can combine viewpoints in ways you wouldn’t think would work but manage to pull it off! Stories with multiple point-of-view characters where one is first-person and the others are third! Stories that combine first- and second-person! Stories where the omniscient narrator suddenly refers to themself in the first person! Stories where you realize halfway through that you were wrong about who was narrating it!

Isn’t it fantastic that there are so many different ways to tell stories!!!!

[ifyouwereamelodymeg]

Difficult not to take November 24th as a sign and try for a new chapter of Forged in Flames by that date. Let’s see if I can get my ass in gear  😖 🤞

;) Save the dates!

#zutara #zutara fanfiction #ZKW 2023 #zutara week 2023 #forged in flames

[ifyouwereamelodymeg]

i just feel like the world would be a safer and kinder place if people in general knew that you can think someone/something is weird or annoying without advocating for the eradication of them. you’re allowed to think smth is weird just don’t get so whipped up about it that you become a fascist damn

#likewise it's okay for someone to express they're not into something #so long as they aren't trying to stop anyone else from being into it #or specifically targeting/harassing people who are into it #saying you don't like something is not a personal attack on the people who do like it #and sometimes it seems as though people can take it as though it is #everyone's entitled to their opinions #just be respectful about how you voice them #and acknowledge that there are always going to be people who feel differently #not everything needs to be an all-out war #not everyone who voices disagreement with you is a Bad Guy #we can discuss our differences in a civil way #even celebrate them!