#50 word stor

[cluz1babe]

“Issa Laesi Naejot Drāmagon Tolvȳn Bona Tolvȳn Issa Prūmia Daor”(‘Open My Eyes to Everything that Closes My Heart’)

(Limited use of Y/N)

PLOT :

You were a Belaerys, with the Blood of Old Valyria in your veins, future Queen of Sothoryos. Up until eight years before the Dance of Dragons, everyone thought the Belaerys family was gone after the Doom. You were well-respected by everyone except most of the Greens. Despite that, you were officially given a seat on the new High Council. The Hand, Otto Hightower, was trying to bring more countries to their aid, but his excuse was to bring peace between countries. Planning to wed you to Daeron, the Small Council of the Greens are shocked when Aemond refuses to offer you Daeron in order to take you for himself.

TAKES PLACE BETWEEN 129-133 AC

THIS IS YOU

This is for an Aemond fic I’m writing. It will not have the AFAB reader (she/her) referred to as “Y/N” often. If you want me to make her look like you, lmk what you look like through asks or replies. I can do very fair to very dark skin tone. I can maybe make her 30lbs more than the generic version I chose. ☹️ I just chose her look as a generic base.

Excerpts:

“You had been wearing a hood and mask to protect your face while flying, but you had removed it. You were getting off of your dragon when he finally approached.”

“Your dragon was named Molcajete. She was black with dark purple markings. She was at least 20% bigger than Vhagar.”

“Your eyes were lined with an enchanted coal (to keep your eyes clear of debris) and they were an exquisite shade of purple with flecks of gold. They sparkled in the afternoon sunlight like so many stars in the night sky. He thought he was in love with you already.”

Notes & Trigger Warnings under the cut.

NOTES

I am 90% sure I am neurodivergent because I miss a lot of social cues (among 9/10 other things that can diagnose someone as ND), if my writing seems stiff, please lmk.

Guys, this is very Alys-coded, but I didn’t even know about Alys Rivers (because I have not yet read the book, I just did a lot of show watching and reading of Westeros Wiki) until I practically finished writing. Also, any time you see a picture of a dragon I made, please note the software doesn’t actually have dragons, so I had to make velociraptors with bird wings. 😢 Sorry, but it’s very sad for me.

Also, this is very AU, but still in whatever fake medieval time period this is based on. However, things are very slow and don’t only take place within two years for certain plot things to work. It starts shortly before Lucerys’ death, which will take place at some point during the story.

I try to make as many visuals as possible, as I’m that type of person. For my ridiculously expansive “country/continent” of Sothoryos, I got really bored and for some reason painted major bodies of water in the islands. I know Sothoryos is inspired by Africa, but I am Hispanic (Aztec) and wanted to give it a hispanic flair. Some of the Islands and cities are made up names, but others are named Nahuatl things.

I do not speak Nahuatl or High Valyrian (well), but I did look up words for things from multiple sources. I know words might be out of order because verbs are supposed to go last in High Valyrian.

Very Canon-Divergent, mostly because I don’t want the dragons to die. I’m changing Aemond’s characterization a little bit, but with a reason - LOVE. I also am not good at writing the proper way they speak on the show. I have re-read 50 times, so I’m sorry if I messed up somewhere, but I tried. BTW, if you’d be interested in being a beta reader, lmk.

I’m going to try my hardest not to specify reader’s color, but I kind of imagine myself (obviously) and I might accidentally write something referring to light skin. If I do something like that, please lmk. I don’t want to exclude anyone. I would like to write gender neutral, but that’s really hard for me because I’m AFAB and cis and I don’t want to upset anyone by not understanding that struggle.

BACK TO STORY MASTERLIST

TRIGGER WARNINGS

TW FULL STORY :

Talk of Abortion, Emotionally Abusive Relationships (Aegon x Everyone), Alcohol, Blood, Branding, Bullying, Childbirth, Death, Drugs, Fire, Hallucinations, Incest, Marriage, Miscarriage/Stillbirth, Misogyny, Murder, Pregnancy, Profanity, Sexism, Slut Shaming, Smut, Violence, War, P in V, Sex, Fingering, F in A, Assplay, Prostate Massage, No Cheating, MDNI, 18+ , enm, ethical non-monogamy, Breeding Kink

Reader is only Sunshine! for Aemond. To everyone else, she is usually kind and even-tempered, unless she is disrespected. Aemond is only soft and gentle toward reader.

#aemond #aemond targaryen #aemond smut #aemond x reader #aemond one eye #hotd aemond #aemond fanfiction #prince aemond #aemond fic #aemond x you #little use of Y/n #no use of y/n #belaerys #belaerys reader #daemon x reader #daemon targaryen #daemon #daemon x rhaenyra #daemon targeryan #hotd daemon #daemon targeryen x reader #daemon x you #limited use of y/n

[episodicnostalgia]

Star Trek: The Next Generation, 115 (Feb. 6, 1988) - “Too Short a Season”

Teleplay by: Michael Michaelian & D.C. Fontanta Story by: Michael Michaelian Directed by: Rob Bowman

The Breakdown

A Federation ambassador and their team have been taken hostage on Persephone V by alleged terrorists who refuse to talk to their planetary leader, Karnas.  So who WILL they talk to?  None other than the legendary Admiral Mark Jameson, who successfully negotiated a hostage situation on Persephone V, some 45 years ago.  Though his aging body has been ravaged by an incurable degenerative illness (confining him to a wheel chair), his mind is still sharp, and therefore has been given command of the mission with the aid of Picard and the Enterprise.  However, as the Enterprise makes its way to Persephone, our boy Mark begins to regain his strength and virility! This on its own should be impossible, but when the Admiral starts to rapidly grow younger it raises more than a few eyebrows. We discover that Jameson has been taking an alien de-aging treatment, which is extremely risky for most species.  With his new mission, Jameson apparently felt that he would take two full doses of the treatment all at once (instead of one dose slowly over years), so that he could be in his physical prime and ready for action. 

So why the urgent need for his restored youth?  Well, it turns out that Jameson may not have used the most ethical of tactics in that hostage situation all those years ago. You see, back in the day Karnas’ house was just one of several families fighting for planetary dominance, and he was also the dude holding the hostages that Jameson originally “negotiated to freedom.” Karnas had demanded an exchange of weapons for the lives of his hostages, so that he could gain the upper hand in his fight for political dominance.  Giving weapons to aid a non-federation civil war is strictly prohibited by the prime-directive, but seeing no other way out, Jameson opted for super neat loophole; He gave Karnas his weapons, and then once the hostages were safe, also provided all of Karnas’ enemies the same weapons, resulting in a 40 year war that killed millions (which TECHNICALLY doesn’t violate the prime directive, I guess).  Jameson then lied about all this in his report, and the federation evidently never bothered to corroborate any of it (which doesn’t speak to larger cover-up at all).

Not being the forgiving sort, Karnas has now taken the present-day federation delegates hostage in exchange for Jameson’s life (the alleged terrorists never existed).  In the mean time, that treatment that's restored Jameson’s youth has gone too far, as his health rapidly declines from his organs imploding.  Realizing this is the end of the line, Jameson gives himself over to Karnas who ultimately satisfies himself with watching Jameson die painfully in front of him.  Since he did technically get what he wanted, Karnas agrees to honour his terms, and allows the hostages to go free. 

The moral of the story: If an a guest Admiral boards your ship to command an away mission, prepare yourself for some morally dubious goings-on.

The Verdict

My biggest criticism is how little starfleet seems to hold their commanding officers accountable.  Even accepting that Karnas kept Jameson’s secret, I find it hard to believe that between all the other warring factions, that word wouldn’t have gotten back to Starfleet command/the Federation about their inadvertent sponsorship of a planetary war.  I also think that realistically Picard should have just contacted Starfleet as soon as their assigned Admiral started de-aging 50 years immediately before heading up a vital mission.  The same could be said for Jameson’s sudden decision to switch from negotiations to a surprise offensive (which fails miserably), but then I guess that would make for a short episode.  Needless to say, Picard is going to have one hell of a report to submit.

All that aside, I otherwise quite enjoyed this episode.  The story nicely sets up the reveal of Jameson’s past misdeeds, showing us that our heroes are often not what we imagine them to be.  Jameson’s actions initially feel irrational and contrived, until we understand he’s just a desperate man running from his past out of guilt and shame.  It makes for a mostly-relevant observation of the way our own political and military leadership alter history to the benefit their legacy, while avoiding accountability for their actions. Very Shakespearean stuff.

3 stars (out of 5)

Additional Observations

Power Corrupts Starfleet Admirals:  This is the first corrupt 24th century Admiral that we’ll run into, but it’s a trope that I believe goes all the way back to the TOS era. It makes sense given that Starfleet apparently has no follow-up process with commanding officers after major missions.

Jameson armed multiple hostile factions in a global dispute, ostensibly without Starfleet’s knowledge or approval; which leads me to wonder where he procured the weapons that he gave away?  Am I to believe that he used his ship’s replicators to provide enough artillery to fuel a world war?  Wouldn’t that raise a few eyebrows amongst his crew, some of whom must have had their reservations over such a questionable bargain?  As much as I enjoy Star Trek, there are some mental gymnastics one must perform in order to ignore the otherwise-fairly-obvious signs of widespread corruption within Starfleet’s upper echelons.

Although Picard and Crusher are probably the most featured main-cast members of the episode, the story is predominantly driven by Mark Jameson.  Unlike future evil-admirals who will function as proper villains, this episode comes closer to framing Jameson as the protagonist, making him more of an anti-hero.

#star trek the next generation #tng season 1 #too short a season #star trek review #retro review #tv review #power corrupts starfleet admirals #power corrupts #Admiral Mark Jameson #80s tv series #80s tv shows #tv show review #star trek #scifi #star trek tng #fountain of youth #starfleet uniform #starfleet #starfleet admiral #tv shows #episodic nostalgia #Michael Michaelian #dc fontana #rob bowman

[sophiebernadotte]

H.R.H. The Crown Princess's speech at the reception for Swedish people in San Francisco

Herr statsråd, Herr ambassadör, Fru generalkonsul, Herr församlingsherde, Mina damer och herrar, Kära barn och ungdomar, Dear friends of Sweden!

I know that some of you don’t fully master the Swedish language – yet! –, so let me begin by saying a few words in English.

For Prince Daniel and me it is a great joy to once again be back in California and the Bay area. Having the opportunity to visit the USA – a close partner and friend of Sweden – which we share deep historical, cultural, and personal ties with is always exciting and educational. Thank you for receiving us!

Mina damer och herrar!

Kalifornien ligger som sagt min make och mig varmt om hjärtat. Vi har flera gånger tidigare varit här i både officiella och privata sammanhang. Men jag tror aldrig att vi har följts av en så pass stor delegation som denna gång.

Med oss på resan är nämligen representanter för regering, myndigheter, akademi och näringsliv. Den stora gruppen visar på vilken unik och viktig plats Kalifornien är för Sverige.

Sverige och USA är båda globala ledare inom innovation. Och just Kalifornien är en unik samlingsplats för innovation och teknisk utveckling. Denna plats har en framstående roll i den gröna omställningen – som är så viktig och betydelsefull för oss alla.

Mina damer och herrar!

Under denna resa har jag också den stora glädjen att officiellt inviga Sveriges nya generalkonsulat i San Francisco. Jag vet att denna nya utlandsmyndighet är mycket efterlängtad av många av er. Generalkonsul Anna Lekvall och hennes team kommer att vara mycket viktiga – inte bara i att utfärda passhandlingar till tusentals svenskar i området – utan att i stort stärka det svensk-amerikanska samarbetet ytterligare. Vi önskar dem stort lycka till i arbetet!

Mina damer och herrar!

I denna kyrka har svenskar firat gudstjänst sedan 50-talet. Det är inte svårt att förstå varför många av er har valt att göra soliga Kalifornien till ert hem. Men det känns samtidigt tryggt att ni har denna mötesplats för att kunna ”komma hem” – trots att ni är långt hemifrån.

När Prins Daniel och jag genomför officiella besök i utlandet sätter vi särskilt stort värde på att få träffa den lokala svenskkolonin. Ni utlandssvenskar är alla ambassadörer för vårt land och ni är alla viktiga pusselbitar i arbetet att stärka banden länder emellan.

Det är också min förhoppning att denna mottagning genererar kära återseenden och att några av er kanske får möjlighet att knyta nya vänskapsband.

Ladies and gentlemen,

With these words I would like to thank you once again for the very warm welcome we have received here today.

Tack!

Speech held by H.R.H. Crown Princess Victoria at the Norwegian Sailor Church, San Fransisco, USA, on Feb. 20, 2024.

#swedish royal family #kronprinsessparet #crown princess victoria #speeches #usa visit #240220

[csp-ethicaldilemma]

Part 2: Company Introduction

This is part of a school assignment on ethical dilemmas in business. It is for educational purposes only.

part 1 | part 3 | part 4 | part 5

According to Clip Studio Paint's website, development began in around 2010. The software's name is derived from the words "Creator," "Link," and "Platform," with the main idea being to link creators together from around the world. A separate website seeming to belong to Clip Studio Paint's parent company, CELSYS, does claim the existence of a "Comic Studio" or "Manga Studio" created around 2004-2006, which could be a translation error or merely an inconsistency across websites.

From its launch in 2012, CSP had global ambitions, selling an English version (at the time called Manga Studio) in North America and Europe. Over the following years, more languages were added, and, as of 2022, the software supports seven languages.

The company released continual updates, adding features such as free 3D models and smartphone previews to aid in manga and webcomic creation, and, in 2015, the animation suite was introduced, enabling users to experiment with a craft that would otherwise be limited to professionals. Eventually an iPad-compatible version was released, followed by an iPhone-compatible version. In 2020, the software was updated to be compatible across all devices, and, in 2021, the program reached 15 million users.

As of today, CSP has more than 25 million users (or 40 million, according to the CELSYS site) since the launch of the app. It has top sales and market share in the graphics software market according to calculated sales by mass retailers. It is a widely trusted software, coming pre-installed on many Android tablets and bundled with pen tablets such as Wacom, as well as being used at over 50 universities.

The website describes the software as "Your go-to art studio for illustration, animation, manga, & webtoons." There isn't much information about the company's operations save that the team started out small (5-6 people) and has since grown to more than 20 members and 30 product testers.

Sources

[dusklxght]

JORDAN ASLANI // vampire

“i follow your steps with my feet, i walk on the road that you started. i need you to know that i heard you, every word. i've waited way too long to say everything you mean to me.” – in case you don’t live forever by ben platt

{aria shahghasemi; cis man; he/him} hey isn’t that JORDAN ASLANI? the 25/50 year old VAMPIRE with the ability of AEROKINESIS and a song that plays when you see them is IN CASE YOU DON’T LIVE FOREVER by BEN PLATT. They are known to be BENEVOLENT and INSECURE. They have been in VALDEZ for ONE YEAR and always remind me of tangled up earphones hanging out of a backpack, worn out pair of sneakers, flipping through old comic books, and always trying to be a good person. what secrets will they discover? [livvy, 26, cst, she/her, n/a]

name: jordan aslani name meaning: descend nickname: jordy face claim: aria shahghasemi pronouns & gender: he/him & cis man physical age: 25 actual age: 50 height: five foot eight hair color: black eye color: brown

birthdate: march 18th zodiac sign: pisces orientation: bisexual, biromantic occupation: archangel attic employee (thrift store) species: vampire powers: aerokinesis and normal vampire abilities

moral alignment: lawful good vice & virtue: envy & kindness hogwarts house: hufflepuff character inspo(s): peter parker (spider-man), will byers (stranger things), benji applebaum (pitch perfect), bambi (bambi) languages: english, some persian traits: benevolent, artsy, trusting, awkward, insecure, naïve

history (tw death, heart attack)

Born in Brooklyn, New York in the early 70s, Jordan was raised in an orphanage for much of his childhood alongside his older brother, who was a few years older. Their mother left them there when they were both very young, so the brothers really only had each other as family.

The brother, however, was always the brave one, the bold one, the one who wanted more than just the walls of the orphanage. And he wanted to do so with Jordan. So, the brother hatched a plan and they escaped one night, out into the world.

And they were off on their own, growing up on the road, the brother ‘borrowing’ some cars on and off or even snagging some food from gas stations. Over the years, they even stayed a while in random towns, getting odd jobs and the like.

But it wasn’t always going to be easy, and they found that out when Jordan was twenty-five. Someone with black eyes and fangs attacked him and ended up killing him. Yet the end, it was not. Jordan came back to life. Well, undead, but alive.

Both were shocked, but it was the brother who brought up the suggestion that it could’ve been a vampire who attacked, having read about stuff like that but Jordan always thought it was just baseless myths.

Well, apparently it wasn’t. The supernatural world turned out to be real. Navigating newfound vampirism was the hardest thing Jordan ever had to do, and it was quite a scary thing too. It was hard to swallow, but he had to learn to since that was his life now.

His brother was with him every step of the way. They kept studying up on vampires and other species, even talked with a few others here and there to get advice.

The years went by, with the brother growing older while Jordan stayed the same. And it was quite a mundane way to go, really. His brother had a heart attack before, got lucky, but not this time. This time, fate came to take him from the world, and from Jordan.

The loss hit him hard, as one could imagine. It took a little while, but Jordan knew he had to keep pushing forward, keeping living his life and find happiness like his brother would’ve wanted.

Valdez was a town that his brother spoke of before, for they had heard it was some supernatural hub. Jordan figured that maybe that would be a good place to go, to be around others who, well, understood.

Jordan hasn’t been there for long, only about a year, but he feels comfortable there for the most part. He’s met some good people, even got a job at the thrift store. And he’s just trying to do his best, every day.

tl;dr 

Jordan was born in Brooklyn, New York and grew up in an orphanage with his brother

Brother ended up hatching an escape plan, wanting to see more of the world and wanted to do so with Jordan

They traveled together for years before a vampire attacked Jordan and killed him

He came back to life, and the brother had the idea that it was a vampire since he had read about stuff like that

It was a shock to realize that vampires and the supernatural existed, but it was true, and Jordan became a vampire

A few decades went by before his brother passed from a heart attack, leaving Jordan alone

He came to Valdez around a year ago

headcanons

Jordan’s been a vampire for around two decades but that doesn’t mean he’s experienced, so his control around blood shows that. He just pretends he’s queasy around it, and attempts to just get out of there quickly

When it comes to drinking blood, he tends to go with either animal blood, or blood bags if his only option is human blood. He doesn’t like feeding on people because his experience with compulsion is very low but also because he doesn’t want to hurt anyone

Loves art, like sketching and painting. He’s also a nerd, and loves comic books and different movie franchises, and there are plenty where he must act like he wasn’t around back then when they first came out

Gives awkward, baby deer energy but means well and is a very sweet person who loves his friends

some inspo songs

in case you don’t live forever – ben platt

waving through a window – ben platt

childhood bedroom – ben platt

superheroes – the script

idle town – conan gray

#JORDAN / introduction #death tw #valdezhqsintro

[sephhaa]

AO3 GUIDE II

Hihi! I’m here with another ao3 guide but this time I’ll be talking about some more editing features for your html writing and a little more in-depth guide on how to navigate ao3 as a reader! I’ll also be touching on the new ao3 update and how it affects your tags! If all of that interests you, keep reading!

So far after doing my first guide I was able to include everything about the ao3 html formatting and all the common errors you might run into when publishing on ao3! 

But I ran into one text feature I couldn’t quite figure out/I didn’t even know what this feature was even called:

As you can see, there’s a border almost beside this group of text and this border alone has been the cause of extensive research of how the actual fuck do I put that in my writing!??

Well now I know wtf this border is even called and what it’s many purposes are. 

Ladies and gentlemen (and my beloved non-binary hoes) this border is called:

(Did I actually type that out and screenshot it with sparkle emojis? Yes. Yes I did.) 

Blockquote is a text feature used often on ao3 to indicate to your readers that 

a) They’re speaking on the internet 

 b) Texting 

and:

 c) To make your summaries look a little more refined (that’s at least how I interpret it and how many others have according to my research.) 

There isn’t one way—or a correct way to use blockquotes (if we're talking about novel writing/journalism than that’s a whole different story.) But the premise is, here’s the coding format to implement blockquote to your text.

<blockquote> TEXT </blockquote>

It’s going to look a little something like this in your Holy Grail Google Docs page:

But there’s a catch.

For some reason, the holy grail google docs website I first recommended to you guys in the first guide, doesn’t register the blockquote text. Therefore, you’d have to manually implement it into your writing. 

Now, this doesn’t mean you cannot do blockquote on your text (adding the border on your own) onto your word doc. (Google docs, to my knowledge, does not have a border option that will just feature itself to the left of your text but they do have a citation feature. The only issue with that is, that you’d have to implement an actual source to that text.)

But anyway, that is how to blockquote your writing! If there’s a new update to the little blockquoting code to the holy grail docs (which I highly doubt it but eh) then I’ll be sure to make a new guide and include it there! 

Alright! I’m not sure if any of you were aware of this but—ao3 updated!!

There wasn’t extreme changes, just ao3 fixing any glitches or cleaning up some formatting but the one change that I would say is extreme and has affected me as a writer—is the tagging system.

As you can see above (I’m going to use @ edema_ruh fic as an example)(if you haven’t read her stuff I HIGHLY recommend, she’s a phenomenal writer!)  she has a very long tag list for this particular story. 

That’s because before the ao3 update, the tagging system for your story was almost infinite? (I’m pretty sure there was a limit) but the point is that you as the writer can put as many tags on your story as much as you want. If you wanted 100 plus tags underneath your story, go for it! If you want a solid 50, you can do that too! 

Of course, when you find a story with too many tags, it usually pushes readers not to click on that story because it hurts their eyes trying to track all the tags or because you’re telling too much of your story through the tags without letting the reader experience it through reading the actual story. Tags also had a way of taking up too much screen space, hence, when your stories are uploaded to the fandom page where people can find it in the explore section of ao3 (the front page of your fandom tag) those long tags can take up almost the whole page making other stories move onto the next tab. 

Which comes to my theory that ao3 had placed a limit to how many tags a story can have so that all stories can be featured on the front page of a fandom tag without just ONE story taking up so much space. I also believe ao3 placed a limit to the tagging system so it doesn’t affect tags for stories within a series and tags within your bookmarks. 

The current limit to how many tags you can have for your story is 75. And this is including placing character tags, relationship tags, and additional tags. There has to be 75 in total in order for you to publish that story. 

While I believe ao3 updating the tagging system is a good thing (to avoid redundant tags) I do believe they should have placed the limit to the character tag section and the relationship section. For additional tags, I believe the 100 tag system worked for me, especially with works that were on a larger scale (like stories with huge world-building elements) and just for us as writers to write a comment here and there (those are always fun to do!) but alas, I’m not really mad about the update on the tagging system and it gives you space as the writer to think hard on how to simplify your tags to tell your readers what your story includes then just telling them what’s its about. 

I also want to preface this by saying that stories that were already published with those long tags won’t be removed! It’s only if you’re editing through that work and changing the tags around that you’d have to abide by the new update to have 75 tags to be able to publish that work again!

Since my first ao3 guide, I didn’t entirely go into navigating ao3 as a reader! While this may be straight-forward for some of you, it’s not that straight-forward for new readers going onto read on ao3 for the first time! Or maybe even seasoned writers and readers on ao3 who don’t bother to go the extra mile to look for a story that might have specific things they want to read but don’t bother looking! 

So! This is what my fic explore page looks like on ao3. (I’m just going to go on the MHA fandom tag since that’s what I’ve been reading a lot lately)

As you can see, there’s a separate box (gray box) listing a bunch of things you can do to filter through stories. 

In this box is where you can customize your search for specific fics that you’re itching to read. I’m just going to go through how I filter my tags when I’m itching to find a new story and give you an idea of what you might want to look for when filtering through stories. 

First! I always filter through the “Date Updated” tag. By default ao3 has everyone’s search page surf through stories that have either been published that same day or a couple of days from the date that you are searching through stories. I always click on the drop down menu and select, “Hits,” or, “Kudos,” and sometimes, “bookmarks.” For today tho, I’m just going to click on “Hits.” 

Once Hits is selected, I start to scroll down to the Ratings drop down menu. 

Now ratings are important to me! My personal favorite ratings are either Explicit or Mature. And that’s primarily because I find writers that are adults like me (or much older) and I just personally find that they write the story in a very realistic way or semi-realistic way. (Also I find that I love reading smut with heavy plot, like I enjoy reading smut but I can’t just read smut)(my ace ass can’t I’m sorry LOL I mean—I don’t mind one good smut oneshot but lord) 

Anyway, here you can click on a rating that’s best suited to your tastes and if you’re unsure just go through all the ratings and see if you find a story that fits to what you’re looking for!

Now let’s move onto the relationships tag:

Now the relationships tag is just a long list of popular ships within the fandom. If you’re looking for a specific ship I believe you have to use the search engine to find stories within that ship. Either way, if the ship that you’re looking for is within this list, click on it and then move onto the next tag!

Here we are with the additional tags! This is the list of common additional tags many writers use for readers to find their stories very easily and for you as the reader to find a story with a very specific feature to it. For example, I tend to click on the Angst tag or the Hurt/Comfort. Sometimes I switch it up and just click on any of the tags and look through the stories there to see if there’s stories I like within that tag. A lot of the time, this list doesn’t always have an additional tag I want so I’ll use the search bar underneath the additional tag listing:

Here I would put a tag that I can’t find on the listing above! Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t, it’s very hit or miss but it’s worth a shot in the event that you do end up finding a story you really enjoy!

More options is a tag listing that I don’t find myself using often but I can see why someone would! 

Personally, I’ve only used it for the “Completion Status,” tag listings because sometimes I don’t want to keep waiting for updates and just reading works that are still updating (though the best fics are usually still ongoing) 

So here I’ll go ahead and click “Completed Works Only,” and then after go right on ahead to “Sort and Filter.” 

Now here is what my explore page on ao3 underneath all the tags I had personally placed start to appear. 

Fair warning: sometimes there will be a story or two that have nothing to do with the tags that you placed in your sort and filter listing. It just happens. If you’re really picky about it, I suggest going to the “Exclude,” box and marking off things you don’t want in a fic. Again, this is a hit or miss but I do see that it does work to a certain extent, especially after going through at least the second to third tabs on ao3.

^ This what your Exclude tag box should look like and ranges from the exact rating you don’t want to read to other additional tags you don’t want to include in your search for a fic. You can even type out a certain tag you don’t want included in your search as well!

Bookmarks is pretty self-explanatory but I’m here to dive deeper into the realm of bookmarks (and then collections right after this)

This is what my bookmarks currently looks like. Now, bookmarks can be separated into two different “tags.” By tags I mean you can either place the story that you’re bookmarking in into a “rec” tab or into a “private” tab. 

By default, everyone I know puts their stories in the “rec” tab. And as you can see, when you bookmark the story you can also add a reader’s note or place it into your collections folder. You can also add tags of your own that are very specific to you as a reader that the author didn’t include. For example, “Izuku is super whiny in this” or something like that. I find that a lot of readers say a lot of cute/super nice things when they bookmark a story they like! 

Yes, we writers can see what you write in your bookmarks and a lot of the time I just find myself blushing at what y’all be saying in those bookmarks, yall cute for that. 

Here you also have the option to add the story into a private bookmark, this way other readers and writers won’t be able to read the stories you like/added to your bookmarks. I think a lot of ppl use this tag so that others don’t judge them for the stories they like or they read a bit of a controversial ship or concept. 

As you saw above, when you click on your bookmarks tab you’re able to see another filtering system there too! This is primarily if you’re a more avid reader and you find yourself adding a whole bunch of stories, you can filter through them by searching the specific tags that that fic had. 

You can also find this filtering system when you click on other readers/writers bookmarks and you can filter through their bookmarks to see if they happen to have a story that you may like. Which is another thing I want to get into:

I’m not sure if this is hugely common but I believe it is if ao3 has you searching through bookmarks on the main fandom explore page. 

Now typically I don’t tend to find stories through the bookmark tag on the fandom explore page but it is an option and I’m sure a lot of you can find stories you personally like by using this little system. I personally just search through all my favorite writers bookmarks or I go onto readers pages and see what they’ve added to see if there’s a story there that I like. Mainly because I can find a story better suited to my interests if I search through another reader’s bookmarks knowing they’ve bookmarked the same story as me. Or I go onto my favorite writer’s bookmarks because if they write all this amazing material, I should be able to find a story that they took inspiration from or enjoy by all the tags that they write. (Sometimes that’s not always the case but it’s always worth a shot in my book.)

Anyway, this is how to find stories using the bookmark method!

Collections, in my opinion, is the best way to find really amazing stories!

I call it a level up from bookmarks.

What I tend to see when it comes to collections, if your story ends up in multiple collections, it’s a huge compliment because not only does one reader think your story is worth being in it’s separate folder but multiple readers think the same thing. Here I’ll be explaining to you how to create your own collection and what to look for when searching for stories through a collection folder.

As you can see on the left side, you’d find collections right below bookmarks. This is just a short list of collections that I have separated by fandoms. On the top right, you’re going to click onto “New collection.” 

Just like when you’re getting ready to either publish a new story or add a new chapter, the window for the collections page is formatted in a similar way.

Collection name and Display Titles are very important here. Since collections are very common, naming said collections are very common. Therefore, if you want to name your collections a specific thing, 9 times out of 10 that name is already taken. I just wanted to warn you guys in advance so that when you’re making your own collections that you’re not married to a name. 

Everything else to edit through on the collections page is self-explantory but I wanted to highlight the preferences window for a bit because I find that this is important to readers and how they would like to manage their collections. 

Commonly, collections are a public and a moderated affair. Meaning, almost anyone (guests and users alike) can go onto your collections and pick a story from there, filter through them, (I believe leave comments as well?? Not too sure about this one so take it with a grain of salt) and just openly surf through your collections page. Others can also become members of your collections page and moderate it to their liking with permission. 

Another common occurrence is having to be invited into a collection page you believe will have stories you think will suit your reading needs! Usually I find that the moderators or owners of the collections are good with accepting invitations but there is a bit of a wait time in order to access said collection. If you’re not impatient, I suggest this option to you if you find a collection page you really like. 

Now, when adding a story to your collections page, you need to type out (word for word) the title of your collection page. This is primarily because there are so many collection pages that might have the same name that you don’t wanna risk adding your story into the wrong collection page. 

Now that your favorite story is added to your collections folder, you can start adding a bunch of other stories onto that same collections page or make different collection pages for specific fandoms that you read from!

Fair warning!!! 

If you’re adding stories too quickly onto your collections page or just cleaning out your bookmarks (deleting stories you never ended up reading etc) just know that ao3 will crash on you! 

This is mainly because ao3 is trying to adjust to those new changes as quickly as it can but it needs some time to adjust to those changes! So what I recommend is, after adding 3 to 5 stories onto your collections or removing them from your bookmarks, allow a 5 minute break for ao3 to adjust to those changes so it doesn’t crash on you’d end up waiting a solid 10 minutes just to load back your ao3 page!

I believe this is obvious but—! You need to have an ao3 account in order to add stories to your bookmarks or collections! If you are a guest reader, you unfortunately cannot make bookmarks or add stories to collections/make collections. 

To make an ao3 account is very easy, you just have sign up like how you would with any other website. The only unique thing about ao3 is that unlike other websites, ao3 isn’t an instant account making machine. Your sign up needs to be approved beforehand in order to be an avid reader/writer of ao3 and usually takes up to 2 weeks to get an invitation into ao3 with an official account. 

I find that you don’t end up waiting 2 weeks but instead like a couple of days (a solid 2-5 days) after you sign up. Make sure to look through your junk mail and stuff to know if you were approved or not!  I hope this little explanation helps and doesn’t deter you from making account and joining ao3! If it helps, you can still read on ao3 even after making an account and waiting to get approved!

I hope you guys enjoyed this little guide! I appreciate all of you who came from my first ao3 guide and reblogged and tagged it with comments telling me how you found this very useful and informative! 

I’m not sure why so many people like to gate-keep information, especially important information like this but I’m here to tell you how to navigate a pretty complicated (albeit amazing) platform that I believe everyone should have access to. Especially as a writer and a reader. I hope you find this just as useful as the first one and if there’s anything that you’re curious about or can’t exactly find the answers to, don’t mind reaching out to me through my ask box here on tumblr! I’m always ready to spread some knowledge or go through endless articles, videos and tirades of information to give you all and my readers the best reading experience possible!

That’s all for this guide! If you didn’t know, I am a fanfic writer and novelist! I’m currently writing for fandoms like MHA, Voltron and BTS! If you liked this guide and enjoyed me as a writer, go on ahead and follow my tumblr here and check out some of my work on ao3! 

Above you can see a couple of my links and my new ko-fi! (I finally made a ko-fi lmaoo) so if you want to support me on an even deeper level, you can now buy me a coffee 💗

You can reach out to me through my twitter and tumblr if you have any questions or just want to chill and talk to me! Twitter is the best way to find me and get updates to my stories! 

It’d be super helpful if you reblog this and spread the this information around, you never know when a fellow writer or reader needs it! 

Again, thank you to those of you who came from my first guide and found it very useful and helpful! I hope to keep creating content that can help other writers and readers in the near future!

Until my next guide! ✨

#ao3 #ao3guide #archieveofourown #writerguide #blockquote #blockquotingonao3 #socialmediaborderao3 #ao3textborder #textborderhtmlao3 #ao3filter&sort #ao3collections #ao3bookmarks #ao3update #ao3tagsupdate #ao3tags #ao3taglimit #ao3tutorial #how to: ao3 #how to: blockquote #How to Customize Your AO3 HTML Writing Format/Navigate AO3 #how to navigate ao3 as a reader #ao3 html format #tips and tricks

[chorusfm]

Ben Copperhead – “Franny and the Songbirds” (Video Premiere)

Today is a great day to share the latest single and music video from indie-folk songwriter Ben Copperhead. On this eclectic new song called “Franny & The Songbirds,” Copperhead channels his love of other indie-folk artists like Father John Misty, Leonard Cohen, and Surfjan Stevens into his own unique psychedelic package. The song comes from Copperhead’s new LP, Wailing Viridescence, out everywhere music is sold on April 28th. I was also able to catch up with this talented artist for a brief interview below. How does “Franny & The Songbirds” fit into your general vision as a creative, and what made you choose it as the second single to help introduce your new LP? I’ve been writing string trio arrangements for many of my songs since 2015. Composing a string arrangement for “Franny” allowed me to dive deeper into the harmonic and rhythmic possibilities. This song let me expand my creativity by arranging a quartet instead of just a trio. The strings complimented the song without getting in the way of the vocals and I was very pleased about the recording quality.  “Franny” has a catchy melodic hook and one of my favorite bridges, which I wrote with my nylon string guitar. It offers a different kind of listening experience than other songs on the record. It was cool that the music video director, Jonathan Levy, really wanted to do this song. There were so many right reasons to make this song my second single. Alongside your previous single “Copperhead Vagabond” how would you say “Franny & The Songbirds” fits into the general theme spread across your new LP? Sonically and thematically, where did you take inspiration from? Franny and the Songbirds is a different type of song than Copperhead Vagabond. It’s a song that is about my cat Franny-Kaede. It’s somewhat thematic, because there’s another song, Feline Feminine, on the album that is about my other cat, Hanamaru. My cat friends are an inspiration and keep me connected to something unexplainable in words. Sonically, I took inspiration from older folk, pop, and jazz records with strings, like the Beatles, Nick Drake, or Jimmy Scott’s ‘The Source’. But I also love Ligeti and other modern and classic composers like Ravel and Debussy. Having studied how some of my favorite records were recorded and produced in the late 50s and 60s gave me inspiration to try something different. When crafting the forthcoming LP, where did the creative process begin? How does this LP differ from your previous Baby Copperhead work? The process began by writing new songs that I was excited about and having a desire to record most of it on my own. I’d been learning how to record with a reel to reel tape recorder and really loved the results I got, especially with vocals and acoustic instruments. I like the process of recording while playing my instrument and singing at the same time. There’s also the challenge of recording in my bedroom because there’s an above ground subway directly across the street.  I have approx 5 minutes to get an entire take before the walls start shaking. Not an ideal setting for recording, but it makes me really focus, since time is of the essence. It’s about setting parameters, which is different from the way I’ve done previous albums. I put myself in charge this time, and thru trial and error figured out how to get the sounds that I wanted. For previous Baby Copperhead records, I’ve had to rely solely on another engineer to make those decisions. That can be nice when you want to just focus on the music, but maybe the results are not what you want. It’s important to be self reliant,  but you still need that objectivity about your own work or it could become self indulgent. Kramer helped finalize the album by taking out a few tracks that didn’t fit and recommended adding a few older gems. He’s got a lot of experience and knows how to make great records. --- Please consider becoming a member so we can keep bringing you stories like this one. ◎ https://chorus.fm/features/ben-copperhead-franny-and-the-songbirds-video-premiere/

[little-pisces-dreaming]

I posted 924 times in 2022

That's 213 more posts than 2021!

203 posts created (22%)

721 posts reblogged (78%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@fouryearsofshades

@bebewrites

@queerical

@marzipanandminutiae

@wqnxs

I tagged 894 of my posts in 2022

Only 3% of my posts had no tags

#inspiration - 104 posts

#gif - 81 posts

#video - 79 posts

#the writer speaks - 62 posts

#words - 53 posts

#historical fashion - 50 posts

#character inspiration - 48 posts

#chinese historical fashion - 47 posts

#dusk rewrite - 45 posts

#history - 39 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#dusk is still a priority but i still haven't cleared fucking [] after it scooped up the fifty pdfs i downloaded so i don't have the gd stor

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

after watching c*alamity - the absolute best gdamn thing i've ever seen - it inspired me to start writing a wee thing of my own. it's planned to be serialised eventually on my writing blog, Tales of Devran and Others.

The scream that rent the mountains would in time have spawned cryptids and legends if it had survived the day. Instead the canyon left in its wake was fled. A whisper of sinners and a surge of cults were its legacy. Terror of the Gods and their whims scarred hearts across generations and the wild places of the world were abandoned for fear of offending some primordial power. But there was nowhere safe from the fury of the Earth Mother.

1 note - Posted June 17, 2022

#4

2 notes - Posted March 17, 2022

#3

panicking in not having made more progress with publishing has somehow turned me to poetry which i do not know how to write but i think these words are pretty

2 notes - Posted February 20, 2022

#2

I've been drifting that way for a while but who knew it'd be cr that finally got me to start drafting an orc romance.

2 notes - Posted January 7, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

images @/oweni and @/bjorns

The House of....

NaNoWriMo '22

Ness arrives alone at her great uncle's home as her family congregates, expecting his death and awaiting the reading of his will. Surrounded by strangers with her surname, and deeply insecure about her place in the family, she finds relief in halls long abandoned, and a beautiful painting hung in its loneliest hall.

key words

xianxia inspired fantasy . romance . sino main character . adoptee main character . adult .

2 notes - Posted November 4, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review

[rebrandtdebibls]

Kursrooimelkhout boom

Aangesien elke foto die punt van die sirkel vorentoe versier het, sal soos gewoonlik 'n kandelaar vir die gesin wees, hierdie wonderlike rooi melkboom uit die bos amper 'n koors: Kusrooimelkhout; Nog 'n familielid wat hy uitbeeld, roep baie tot die gedagte van ons Christus en aan die martelaar Saint Stephen, so ek bied 'n paar resepte vir 'n partytjie vir 50 mense tipies van ons boere. 1 huisie kmiffel, pekap

250

Je mostert (droit)

Ik paprika

It peper, razem

150 g bruinker

11 kWorcestershiresous

1 tamatiesous 311 water

Metode

Braai vleis, uie en knoffel in vit. Veg al die ander bestanddele by en stor in be hier vir 21-3 uur. Verdik vloeistof

van gereg met 300 g mellom imet 11 koue water gemeng)..

Bedien oor 2 kg bren noedels (kook en

water af).

1 Porsie: kghoelasj; knoedels.

Stowe

Stowe of kasserolgeregte is van die gewildste geregte om aan 'n groot groep persone voor te sit. Die basiese resp

kan op velerlei maniere afgewissel word. Die vleis word gegeur met sout en peper, en in meel gerol indien verlang. Die vleis word in vet of olie in 'n swaarboomkastrol gebraai; daarna word 'n klein hoeveelheid vloeistof bygevoeg. bv. water, vleissous of -konsentraat, tamatiesap, suurroom, kerriesous. Mank dit toe met 'n styfpassende deksel en stowe stadig tot sag. Groente word later bygevoeg anders kook dit te pap moet ook naby die bedieningstyd byge Wyn

voeg of aangevul word, aangesien dit maklik wegkook.

Metude

Meng bestanddele. Vong in 5 brood pannetjies.

Bak vir 14 ane lg 150 C 300 F 1 Porsie: 129

Vervang die bevinis met kalf en i vark.

Kalfeleisbroodjie

Vervang die besleis met kalf. Groentebroodjie

Voeg by (groente gemaal

2 k tamatiesous

500 g nou wortels

500gui

500 g soidery

120 groente

Giet 'n bietjie tamatiesap oor elke broodjie voordat dit gehak word.

Suurrooms leisbroodjie

Voeg Ik gekapte olywe by slemenpel

Vorg 14 Inuurroom or bojies dat

dit gebak word.

Kalfsvleis in suurroom

Bestanddele

50 kalfrjops

150g meelblum

21 peper

650 g warm olie of vet

211 water

Metode

Sny vleis in skywe of in blokkies en meng met meel, sout en peper. Braai

vleis in smeer en voeg water by. Maak dig toe met deksel vir 1 uur by

180 C (350 F). Elke porsie: 150 g

Variasies

Spaanse beesvleisgereg

Vorg Spaanse sous by in plaas van water,

(Sien bl, 89.) Beesvleis en groente

Voeg 1 k gekapte uie en 2k gehapte

seldery by.

Beeselgis en uie

Voeg 1.5 kg lig gebraaide uieringe 31 vleissons in plaas van water by.

Bief Stroganoff

Vorg 241suurroom by in plaas van water.

Hongaarse ghelasj Bestanddele

5 kg bevleis in

750 g nie, geken

" Vleisbroodjie dantreklik vormit

Bestanddele

4kg gemaalle beesvleis 1 kg gemuualle varkvleis

300 g broodkrummel

12 geklitste eiers

I melk

Ik

6)gue (fgekap) 11 peper

RESEPTE VIR 50 PERSONE

Stowe-beesvleisgereg Bestanddele 8 kg beesvleis

500 g meel k sout

Knipple per 21. I walk of

1kg hoeder gek out in blekkin

Sny Joenders in katte en bra e tot bruin in ver Pal in 'n enkellig in lirasip en

el at ss deur die wat die bestodele i seng en t verhit. Benders vir 55 40 manate

by 100 C (350 gles elke 15

Mask weloon wit neel sterkte Virg milk/hoendering en hoenderblokkies by

Variasies

Appelkourglas

Lk appelkoskonfyt Hrrupteup

1k bruinsuiker, 1 1 droë mosterd en

1 kasyn Lemuenglaseersel

1k lemoenmarmelade en klemenp Heuningglaserel 1 k heuning. 4k bruker enk

vrugtesap

Hoender Maryland Bestanddele

17 kg (8x2-21 kg) hoenders 2e sout

2e gemengde krie 360 g meelblom

500 g warm wel

31 1 dun room

Metode Sny hoenders in porsies, rol in meek

mengsel (sout, kruie, meelblom) en hraai in vet. Giet room oor en bak vir

21-3 uur by 160 C(325 F).

Porsie: 90 g

Pursie: 1 kwart hoesler.

Geroomde hender Bestanddele

500g meel

hoenderkonsentraat (warm)

Panie: 150 g

Variasi el King

Vong by: 12 hardgekookte gekapte

Tjoge is deinit at met grot sariais patgemaak kan word

3 e sout 11 peper

750 g vet, warm 24 I suurroom

211 water

Metode

Rol die tjops in die meelblom, sout en

peper. Braai in warm vet, vorg dir water en suurroom ly en bok 2 uur by

150 € (300° F). Porsie: 150 g.

Geglaseerde ham Bestanddele

10 kg ham, heel en gerook

250 g bruinsuiker 2 e mielieblom

Ik stroop

2e pynappelsap

Metode Plaas ham met verlaag boontoe in

Paulet Riti (gelmatile boiler)

braaipan vir 4 uur by 160 C (325 F).

Indien ham reeds gaar is, kan direk na die volgende stap oorgegaan word.) Haal ham uit oond ongeveer 'n uur voordat dit gaar is. Goal set af en sny die vetkant in diamante. Versier met heel naeltjies. Meng die ander bestand dele goed en giet oor vleis. Plaas terug in oond vir 30 min. by 200 C 400 F).

Hoender met lemoensons

Bestanddele

17 kg (13 x 1-16 kg), hers

360 g vet

11 gekonsentreerde bevrore lemnen

sap

500g botter of margarien

2e gemmer (fyn) 2 e sojasous. RaBrand.

#dutchblr #afrikaans #dutch language #poeta #original poem #woorden #vangelo #duna #nederland #do revenge #ich liebe dich #literatura #liefde #RaBrand

[drunkscythmaster]

Year of STRQ: Variant

“Even the Grimm in this frozen hellscape are covered in ice,” Qrow growled. “Looks that way,” Summer said. “Maybe they’ll melt if we set them on fire…” “We don’t have a flamethrower.” “Give me five minutes, Omen, and some fire dust.” Raven looked over. “No.” “Please?” “No.” Summer sighed, disappointed.

#Year of STRQ #Summer Rose #qrow branwen #raven branwen #weapons geek Summer #Day 180 #Variant #50 word stor

[book-of-baba-fett]

Happy Celebration:) for a request; can we get the full story of the time Talia and Fives made out?

Thank you sweet anon! And yes of course you absolutely can!

Description: Fives feels overconfident with his new promotion to ARC Trooper, so Jesse challenges him to a bet to see if it’s really as much of the chick magnet that Fives thinks it is. The bet? Try and pick up the Jedi who happens to be in the bar.

For folks that don't know - this is a minor backstory in my OC fic Illicit Affairs. But you don’t need to read the fic to understand this. Also this is canonical in the universe of the fic, but I got some other requests for Talia and Fives that aren’t 😉

Warnings: drinking, some public, drunk making out and an ass grab.

Book-of-Baba-Fett's Celebration

“I swear, this armor works wonders!” Fives grinned unabashedly, the pink lipstick from the civvie who just kissed him still stained on his lips. “it’s like a magnet - I’m irresistible.”

His statement earned a slap on the back of his head by his brother and now fellow ARC Trooper Echo. Fives rubbed the back of his head but still kept his grin up as he grabbed another shot; 79s wasn’t too crowded that night, but enough clones on leave filled in the dark spaces and tables of the bar. Fives, Echo, Jesse, Kix and Hardcase filled one such table, a mixture of empty and filled glasses littering the tables.

“Oh really?” Jesse asked sarcastically, grabbing his own shot and pouring it back. “Some of us don’t need fancy armor to get us action.”

Jesse earned his own smack on the back of the head by Kix, but maintained his cocky grin, side-eying Fives from across the table. Fives narrowed his eyes at Jesse, his lips pursing as he leaned back.

“I’ll prove it to you – point out any girl in this room and I can bet I can get her to kiss me,” Fives challenged, his pearly white teeth gleaming.

Jesse perked up in his seat across the booth from Fives, his eyes scanning the room. He focused on a spot behind Fives and his eyes gleamed before flicking back to his brother. “Any girl here?”

“Any girl here,” Fives affirmed.

“Alright then,” Jesse started, crossing his arms and leaning back in the booth. He tilted his chin in the direction behind Fives, “50 credits if you can pick her up.”

The entire booth’s heads flipped around to see the target of Jesse’s bet; a chorus of laughs leaving the men as they saw Talia Riva, the Jedi Knight sitting with a group of clones in black and gold plastoid from the 412th. Donning a light grey set of Jedi robes and her hair pulled tightly up, she was deep in conversation with Captain Storm, her ranking clone officer. Fives eyes narrowed at the Jedi as she sat oblivious to the conversation revolving around her, then he shot a grin back at Jesse.

“You’re on.”

“No, you’re going to get demoted; or worse court martialed,” Echo groaned, placing his head in his hands and unable to watch the interaction about to unfold.

Fives strode over to Talia’s booth, a smooth smirk plastered on his face from his liquor emboldened state. As he approached. Talia’s head flipped around, her eyes narrowing but a grin forming at the approach of the ARC Trooper.

“General Riva, you’re looking beautiful as ever this evening,” Fives said with a wink, causing the troops at the table with Talia to tense and her own brows to shoot up. Fives ignored the harsh response to his words and continued, “Can I buy you a drink?”

Storm’s face grimaced in irritation, his jaw tensing as his eyes flashed at Fives ready to reprimand the ARC Trooper, but Talia waved a hand at him, curiosity taking the better of her, “I don’t see why not.”

Fives shot her a grin and signaled behind him to a service droid. The droid rolled over, filling two empty glasses with ale for Fives and Talia; Fives raised his glass to her and took a sip. Talia drank from her own ale, an amused expression on her face as she watched the ARC Trooper slide into the booth next to her. The clones already at the booth narrowed their eyes at Fives, Storm wearing the most wary expression; it’s not that they didn’t like Fives, they just weren’t sure how comfortable they were with one of their brothers blatantly flirting with their General.

“So what brings you around tonight?” Fives asked sliding his arm behind Talia on the booth, her eyebrows shooting all the way up on her forehead.

“Having drinks after a long campaign,” she answered, gesturing to the men around her. She tilted her head at the booth of 501st boys across the way, still obviously watching the interaction. “I hear you boys just got back from Kamino?”

“Yep, and I got promoted,” Fives answered nonchalantly, his grin still plastered as he waved his hand at his new armor. “You’re looking at an ARC Trooper.”

“Congratulations then!“ Talia clinked her glass to Fives and turned her head back to the conversation her men were having. Fives frowned, not wanting to be shut down so quickly.

“You know I meant it, you look amazing tonight,” Fives bent his head in to whisper in Talia’s ear.

“I’m wearing what I always do,” Talia rolled her eyes and tilted her head back to Fives.

“Well there’s something just glowing about you tonight. Is is something different with your hair?”

“Fives, what are you up to?” Talia asked bluntly, rotating in her seat to face him.

“What, a guy can’t be friendly?” Fives replied indignantly, gesturing between them. “Come on, we’ve been on a few missions together now; I think we can chat like friends.”

“Like friends? There’s no ulterior motive here?”

“Well I wouldn’t say no if you’re offering.”

Talia’s lips parted just for her to tightly press them shut again, her cheeks flushing pink. Fives grin grew as his amber eyes scanned her face. He leaned in closer and whispered to her, “I’ll be nice though because you’re obviously inexperienced with this.”

Talia opened her mouth to respond but Fives pressed a finger to her lips, shushing Talia as her eyes widened. Her heart was pounding from the simple touch, but she tried to steel her face to hide her reaction, something Fives noticed as his lips curved so slightly.

“So yes, I am flirting with you,” Fives admitted with a shrug as Talia felt her cheeks flaming. “I just think since I got promoted, I deserve an additional reward; one a few ladies here have already obliged me in.”

“And what would that be?” Talia asked, cocking a brow.

“Just a single kiss,” Fives responded, pointing to his lips. “As a reward for my heroic actions.”

“Is that all then?” Talia asked lowly, her hand raising so she could trace her pointer finger down the side of Fives face, and down his jawline. She tilted her head up, fixed him with a sweet smile and leaned towards Fives as she continued, “Well in that case…”

Fives smirked and bent his head down, his eyes fluttering closed as their lips were inches apart. Talia paused as their lips were about to touch and lifted her hand up, pressing her palm towards Fives and pushing him back with the Force so he fell out of the booth.

Guffaws of laughter roared from the booth as the 412th boys watched Fives push himself off the ground. Talia shrugged and picked up her glass from the table, cheersing to Fives with her eyes sparkling, "Thanks for the drink, but you'll have to try better than that."

The rejected Fives strolled back to his own table, met with the looks of his brothers trying to hold their own laughter in as he slid back into his seat. Jesse sported particular cocky grin, his palm outstretched to Fives.

“Pay up,” Jesse said, arching his brow at Fives.

Fives shook his head, grabbing a shot from the table and pouring it back. He glanced back at Talia’s table, grinning when he saw her eyes flick in his direction, “I’m not out of the game just yet.”

Never one to back down from a challenge; Fives' pursuit was relentless during the evening. He started off simple, catching Talia's eye throughout out the night and gesturing to himself, clutching his 'broken heart' dramatically whenever she would shake her head at him. He commandeered one of the serving droids to deliver another round to Talia, relaying the message of 'Give Fives a Kiss' , which Talia responded to by rolling her eyes and pecking the droid.

Then Fives got a little more obnoxious, like purposely sliding into Talia's eyeline when she was standing at the bar to flirt with other girls their, using his line of 'kiss me, I just got promoted' to surprising success. When he pulled the latest girl in, he kept his eyes open and shot Talia a wink as her jaw clenched.

The final straw for Talia came when a bill was delivered to her of drinks she had never ordered, with a note reading 'Thanks General' Cursing, Talia gripped the bill and rose from her seat, storming over to where Fives lounged in his booth, holding a set of sabacc cards. His head lifted up once Echo nudged him at Talia's approach, a self assured grin plastered on his face.

“So you’re finally coming around the- HEY!” His confident toned transformed into a yell when Talia used the Force to scatter his hand of cards, revealing them to the others at the table.

“You’re not going to leave me alone, are you?” Talia demanded, crossing her arms and frowning at Fives.

He pursed his lips and scrunched up his face in fake consideration, before smiling and dropping a blunt, “No.”

“Fine!” Talia exclaimed, slamming the bill on the table.

“Fine!” She repeated as she slid into booth next to him, Fives’ eyes going wide as she lifted one of her legs over his lap to straddle him. Her hands planted on his shoulders between his pauldrons as she said again, “Fine.”

Talia leaned down, her lips meeting Fives’. His eyes widened then fluttered closed, his hands wrapping around Talia’s hips. Talia attempted to push her self away, her small semblance of a plan with her actions being just to hold her lips against his for a few seconds but Fives grip held her against him. His tongue peaked along her lips, and it was her turn for her eyes to widen in shock, not thinking he would actually be that forward. Her moment of surprise was enough for Fives to surge forward, his tongue meeting hers as their lips continued to clash.

Maybe it was the alcohol influencing her, but Talia completely melted into the kiss. She had only done this twice before, but never like this. Never in a crowded room filled with people who could see, and never had she had so much fun doing it. Her hands glided up, running through the silky curls on Fives’ head as he groaned into her mouth. Fives hand lowered to her behind, squeezing her ass as her hips rotated against his, the hardness of his codpiece brushing against her core, sending shocks at her spine from the contact against her covered clit.

Talia pushed back, suddenly overly aware of where she was and what she was doing. Fives eyelids were heavy as he opened them, a hazy look in his amber eyes. Talia’s cheeks burned but she steeled her expression and slid off Fives’ lap, slapping him lightly in the cheek for good measure.

Fives shook his head out, his expression dazed and confused with now wide eyes. Talia glanced at the men at the table around them, and would have thought their reactions were more hilarious if she weren’t so embarrassed. The front of Echo’s armor had ale dripping down his front, as if he had done a spit take. Kix and Hardcase wore matching dumbfounded expressions, their decks of cards splayed out in front of them. Jesse’s jaw was dropped wide open, his hand in front of him as if it were still clenching the glass that now lay shattered in front of him.

“Just…pay your own damn bill,” Talia murmured, straightening her robes and standing up. She nodded once at the men, her cheeks a bright shade of red as she turned on her heel and bolted to the exit.

The men watched her, Fives look of shock not wiping from his face as much as he tried to collect himself. Echo finally coughed out, wiping the front of his armor with a napkin and shouted, “what the FUCK just happened?”

Illicit Affairs Taglist here just for fun:

@djarrex @canesjedi31 @justanothersadperson93 @paige6768 @saltywintersoldat @clonecyare @dinner-djarin @whore4rex @raven--queen @swlover2187 @collectoroffics @grimhood9 @pinkiemme @shuttlelauncher81 @fivesarctrooper @twistedstitcher27 @frietiemeloen

#400 follower celebration #book of baba fett's celebration #arc trooper fives #arc trooper fives x oc #illicit affairs fanfic #the clone wars #ia fanfic #tcw fanfiction #tcw fanfic #clone wars jesse #arc trooper echo #original female character

[turtle-paced]

A:tLA Re-Watch: Fine-Toothed Comb Edition

The warning for the last episode was genocide. The warning for this episode is second-hand embarrassment.

Book 1, Chapter 4 - The Warriors of Kyoshi

(0:55) Previously on Avatar, Aang announced that he has Serious Business to attend to before learning waterbending. Zuko made a new enemy in Admiral Zhao on top of his existing problems with his dad, now revealed to have kicked him out of home pending Avatar-capture. Aang learned he really is the last airbender.

(1:48) Zuko’s room still has those broadswords on the wall, in case anyone was wondering.

(2:08) Today we’re focusing on Zuko’s scarred side while he talks about his single-minded dedication to catching the Avatar. In the context of the previous episode and the previously-on, I think this is the scar as the symbol of Zuko’s supposed obligations to his family, rather than scar = bad guy. Which is more obvious on the re-watch.

(2:17) “Uncle, you taught me that keeping a level head is a sign of a great leader.” He’s trying. Not very successfully right now, since he’s got capital I Issues, but he’s trying. 

Moreover, it’s a pretty consistent thread with Zuko that he definitely wants to run the Fire Nation and does things to a) secure that outcome and b) prepare himself for the job so he can do it well. It’s an understated but profound contrast with both Aang, who’s already stated outright that he doesn’t want to be the Avatar, as well as with the blind, destructive ambitions of Ozai and Zhao. The latter is something I’ll definitely talk about more later, probably when the show digs into firebending philosophy. For the moment, however, Zuko’s overt desire for the Fire Nation throne hits a lot of genre biases about the evils of ambition. The show puts that out there now…so we can talk about it better, later.

(2:26) Zuko’s anger manifests in overactive candles; Iroh gently reprimands him for the effect (the heat, telling him to open a window), rather than for being angry.

(2:38) “He’s clearly a master of evasive maneuvering,” Zuko says, despairing of ever tracking down the Avatar. Aside from the cut to Aang’s actual methods right now, this one’s a bit of an awwwww moment when you think of the series finale, where the universal response to “we can’t find Aang” is for everyone to look to Zuko, trusting he’ll have some ideas. How things change.

Over in the A-plot, Sokka has the maps. This will also be consistent.

(2:50) Aang stares up at Katara, who’s focused on her mending, and tries and fails to get her undivided attention. This episode makes some important progress in Aang and Katara’s relationship. Now that they’ve decided to be in each other’s lives, now that the novelty’s wearing off, what are things going to look like when the other is an everyday feature? Katara’s got stuff to do and can’t look up every time Aang wants any of her attention. Aang can’t always be after attention, either.

(3:15) Sokka’s sexism is very obviously brought up here. Gotta love Katara hauling him up on it by withdrawing the benefit he gets from her work, leaving him scrambling to apologise. And for his pants.

(3:46) Goal-oriented Sokka wants to keep flying. Aang wants to stop and enjoy travelling. This time, Katara agrees with her brother, pretty understandable given her investment in learning waterbending. Always interesting keeping track of how often the main characters disagree with each other, even over little things - it’s actually pretty often. This is a good thing for the story! Arguing characters are showing the viewers what they want, how much they want it, and how they want to get it.

In terms of timeline, we’re still solidly in winter, and Katara’s projecting arrival in the Northern Water Tribe close to spring.

(3:55) Bad habits from Aang; he doesn’t defend his desire to stay here on its merits, but uses Appa as an excuse. He avoids even this little argument.

(4:15) Plus his insistence that Katara watch him ride the elephant-koi (which sound terrifying). Same thing as the marbles just then, but with the danger level scaled up.

(5:14) This sort of miscommunication, where Katara and Sokka are stuck on shore yelling for Aang to get out of the water and being dramatically misinterpreted, could only happen this early in the series. Much past this point, and Katara in particular would be confident enough to charge in herself and do some rescuing, especially on open water.

(5:48) Having narrowly escaped sea monsters, the gAang get ambushed by a group of mysterious warriors. And taken out quite effectively, too. Again not the sort of thing that would be possible later in the series.

We intentionally don’t get a good look at the ambushers at this point.

(6:13) Not that we’re left hanging for long, as the voice of the person in uniform is clearly female. Three seconds later, Sokka’s blindfold is torn off to reveal - ta-da - an organised, professional team of female warriors defending their home island. We can get the organised and professional thing from the fact that they’ve got uniforms and Suki’s headband clearly being a marker of rank.

In case it wasn’t already apparent that this episode is going to smack Sokka out of the very worst of his sexist ideas about women in combat, Sokka puts his foot in his mouth by asking where the men who ambushed the party are. Nowhere, mate, they don’t exist.

(6:41) Since Sokka can’t stop being sexist for thirty seconds, it’s left to Katara and Aang to talk their way out. Neither of them seem to share Sokka’s patriarchal notions; we’ve already seen that Katara’s an outspoken feminist in her patriarchal society. Aang just hasn’t commented. He simply doesn’t say anything about women in combat, and through his silence conveys that it’s just not all that remarkable to him.

(6:46) Kyoshi Island might be formally neutral and staying out of direct conflicts, but it’s still Earth Kingdom - they’re not worried about generic spies or generic partisans, but specifically Fire Nation spies.

(7:01) Exposition and timeline. Avatar Kyoshi, for whom Kyoshi Island was named, born 400 years ago. Helps us see the enduring legend of some past Avatars, despite the disrepair her statue is in. This is before we got the information about typical Avatar lifespans and who, specifically, came before Roku. Thinking that there were five Avatars between Aang and Kyoshi wouldn’t have been too out there a conclusion.

(7:07) Aang reveals himself as the Avatar of his own volition. Right now it’s just to get himself out of a jam with local authorities, but as we’ll see over the course of the episode, it’s got consequences other than people wanting to kill him.

(7:22) Another example of airbending being proof positive that Aang must be the Avatar. This goes to show just how thoroughly the Fire Nation wiped out the Air Nomads. Airbending is so vanishingly rare in this setting now that people think it’s more likely the kid airbender is the Avatar than a random descendant of a random survivor.

(7:38) Can’t say I like the running joke of the guy foaming at the mouth. But this kicks off the counterpoint to how Aang’s relationship with Katara is settling. The people of Kyoshi immediately give Aang attention. Lots of it. Lots and lots of positive attention. The Avatar is a celebrity.

Aang, for his part, is completely fine with being the centre of attention. He likes the spotlight. This won’t be the last time we see him seek it out, not by a long shot. This episode does some character work for him in this regard.

(7:47) In something of a continuation of last episode’s giant spiritual announcement that the Avatar is back, this montage shows us word spreading throughout ordinary people in the southern Earth Kingdom. From one person to another and eventually to people who’d see Aang captured. Love how the colour palette changes and the Fire Nation horn comes in through the music over that quick montage.

(7:58) Here’s another way Zuko’s season one treatment differs from your Zhaos and your season two Azulas - you see him and Iroh in little domestic moments like this. Zuko’s not in armour, he’s sitting down for a meal with his uncle, he leaves the scene insisting he’s saving his meal for later. He and Iroh are depicted as having lives outside messing with the protagonists. (Villain domesticity gets a different twist in season three, which is heavily into exploring how the war’s messed up the Fire Nation at home, in all senses of ‘at home’.)

Broadsword status: still there. Seriously, the animators left them in for a single shot where they’re only partly in view behind Zuko’s head. They were extremely careful with that particular detail, given that not one but two plot points hang on Zuko having and displaying those swords.

(8:13) Cut to the statue of Kyoshi being cleaned and repainted, showing how the people of Kyoshi are honouring the Avatar. Appa is also getting the spa treatment, lucky Appa.

(8:32) Aang immediately identifies the food set out in front of him as a dessert not usually served at breakfast and starts scarfing it down; Katara looks at it more dubiously. She’s never left the South Pole before, so she’s not familiar with Earth Kingdom cuisine. Aang’s travelled pretty extensively, so he is. Have I mentioned recently how much I love the attention to detail in this show?

(8:41) Sokka, meanwhile, is sulking in a corner. His sexism is depicted here as petty and as more self-inflicted misery, pathetic and self-sabotaging.

(9:15) Again, the pattern. Katara says ‘we’re probably going to have a problem if we stay here too long’, looking at future issues, Aang says ‘nah, we’re fine for the moment!’ Another thing he learns a lesson about by the end of the episode - and he doesn’t repeat that specific mistake.

It’s also noticeable that even as Aang’s clearly glutting on the attention, it’s important to him that he’s making the town happy. He wants the people around him to be happy, even just casual contacts.

(9:25) Katara spells out the moral of Aang’s story this episode. The attention is going to Aang’s head, and he needs to get a grip. 

(9:33) Even here in episode four, Katara is noticeably annoyed at girls around Aang’s age fangirling over him, and at how positively Aang reacts to it. Not going anywhere but Kataang, just a question of maturity.

Cue montage of Aang being very popular and doing a bit of showing off (airbending push-ups! An exercise in lifting one’s own body weight with airbending, with sufficient control not to physics oneself flying backwards!), while Katara prepared to move on and looks rather unimpressed.

(10:34) Sokka, who as I mentioned back in episode one, is teenage insecure, walks up to the Kyoshi Warriors’ training area with the clear intention of proving something to himself, I mean, to them. When he approaches, we see the Kyoshi Warriors are moving in unison, again showing us their discipline and professionalism.

(10:42) Incidentally, Sokka totally knows what he’s doing by calling the Kyoshi Warriors’ practice a “little dance lesson”. Condescension guaranteed to raise blood pressure.

(10:50) Suki, who is way more gracious than Sokka deserves right now, apologises for arresting Sokka and friends on suspicion of being Fire Nation spies. Not because arresting suspected Fire Nation spies without a lick of proof is bad, mind you, but because the assumption turned out to be wrong. Compare with Sokka and Gran-Gran wanting to kick Aang out of the South Pole village and into the antarctic wastes without so much as a snack or a blanket. We’ll see this more in the next few episodes, but the Fire Nation’s war damages the ability of Water Tribes and Earth Kingdom to trust any stranger.

(11:01) Suki’s patience is not infinite. When Sokka doubles down on being a dickhead, she gets ready to smack him down. This doesn’t seem like her first experience dealing with men talking down to her and her group, either. 

Over the course of the series we’ll see some Earth Kingdom women in some bureaucratic positions with varying levels of power (never a top job), but aside from Toph, I don’t think I can recall seeing any Earth Kingdom women in active combat situations. As a whole, the setting as of the time of the main series seems to be patriarchal. The Earth Kingdom seems to settle into a place between the Water Tribes and the Fire Nation, with sexism being a little less obvious than the Water Tribes’ outright “stay in the kitchen,” and the glass ceilings firmly in place.

(11:31) As you’d expect, the teenager who’s had the opportunity to train their martial skills regularly with other warriors handily defeats the teenager who hasn’t. It’s not even close.

(12:11) In contrast to Sokka’s sexism, Aang’s hanging out with the younger girls of Kyoshi Island, happily showing off the fact that he was a woman in a past life, and not batting an eyelid when one of the girls says Aang was very pretty in that past life.

(12:20) Katara asks Aang to help out with the shopping for provisions; Aang refuses because he booked himself having fun with other people. He still wants Katara to come along, though. Ah, different attitudes to work. Katara picks up responsibilities without being asked, Aang puts the work off. Katara also uses her words to say “watching you show off isn’t fun for me” - she wants to be Aang’s friend, rather than his audience, while Aang’s having a bit of trouble distinguishing the two.

Aang’s issues with attention are also rendered a bit more painful on the rewatch. On first viewing, it’s immaturity, plain and simple. And there’s a lot of immaturity involved here, it’s true. The first impression isn’t entirely inaccurate. With knowledge of ‘The Storm’, the viewer also knows that the reveal that Aang’s the Avatar threw a wrench into his peer relationships, which he never had a chance to rebuild or readjust. The girls of Kyoshi aren’t exactly Aang’s friends, but they are providing companionship and strings-free fun, something which Aang was feeling pretty short of prior to running away. The issue’s more complex than just the attention going to Aang’s head.

For his part, Aang also accurately assesses that Katara’s jealous. She doesn’t want to just sit back and watch Aang, she’s said as much, but it’s true that she also wants Aang’s attention in return. The context of Katara and Sokka’s social decisions in this episode is them trying to work out how to relate to people around their own age, something neither has had to do before. So while Katara doesn’t want to be Aang’s audience, like she said, and she’s not willing to put her goals on the backburner just to keep Aang happy, she’s also on new social ground and not the smoothest about it.

(13:18) Outside the Kyoshi Warriors’ HQ, Sokka is kicking rocks and clearly thinking about something.

(13:35) And here Sokka starts to prove his worth. When evidence and facts conflicted with his worldview, Sokka went with the evidence and the facts - Suki and company are better at fighting than he is. So to improve his own skills, he respectfully requests that Suki teach him.

Realistically, this does not instantly make Sokka the perfect feminist ally, as we’ll see. Even here he’s gone for the “if I insulted you earlier” apology, though I’d tend to be a bit more tolerant when that’s followed up with the blunt “I was wrong,” as Sokka does. Suki, who’s well within her rights to be annoyed at a guy coming back to ask her a favour after insulting her like that, tests Sokka’s commitment by insisting he train in their traditional dress and facepaint.

(14:10) Suki’s explanation further makes it clear that any humiliation Sokka might feel is a Sokka problem, as opposed to her inflicting women’s clothing on Sokka specifically for humiliation value. Her uniform was tailored for women, and it’s also a warrior’s uniform. Nothing to be ashamed of. So if Sokka wants to train as a Kyoshi Warrior, he dresses for it.

(14:17) Like I said, getting the bulk of the point doesn’t instantly make Sokka a perfect feminist - when Aang says “nice dress,” he still can’t hang on to Suki’s point that dressing “like a girl” isn’t inherently insulting.

(14:26) Katara just quietly practicing waterbending in a free moment, nothing flashy, just manipulating small amounts of water.

(14:34) In a transparent attempt to get Katara’s attention, Aang says he’s going to go do something silly and dangerous. Katara’s not indulging these particular antics. It’s a brief fight and definitely a kid fight.

(15:05) Sokka’s fumbling with a new routine and new weapon in new armour is accentuated by the off-key music.

(15:29) The way that Sokka manages to knock Suki down with exactly the technique she was talking about shows how quick a study he can be when he actually tries to learn. They’re probably both right in their little spat here, too - Sokka did get her, Suki probably did let her guard down more than she usually would since Sokka is such a beginner.

(15:45) Back over in Aang’s storyline, Aang’s fanclub is getting bored with the lack of sea monster action.

(16:04) But as the fanclub wanders off, Katara arrives. And there’s the point for Aang this episode. Katara’s not Aang’s fangirl, she won’t always agree with him, they’ll occasionally fight - but she means it when she says she wants what’s best for him, and she’s not going to wander off on him because she got bored.

(16:24) So they end it by mutually acknowledging what they did wrong and apologising to each other. What is this communicating business? Who does that in an episodic drama? And what sort of sea monster attacks after our protagonists have got their emotional act together?

(17:27) This is a lackluster action sequence by this series’ standards, because it’s basically Aang getting whipped backwards and forwards by a giant eel, while Katara stands on shore. The creativity isn’t there. Fortunately, this part of the action sequence is brief.

(17:42) When Katara does manage to intervene, again we can see that she’s not practiced in a fight. Her waterbending does want she wants it to do, blast her and Aang back towards shore and away from the Unagi, but damn that’s a simple and straightforward use of the art. Note also that waterbending was her last resort - she waded out to Aang rather than any waterbending that would let her maintain speed and maneuverability.

(17:56) Zuko shows up here, because the fight scene needed a boost.

(18:10) Where’d he get the komodo-rhinos? Who knows.

(18:35) Katara’s earlier practice drawing water out of a basic bowl here gets a more lifesaving use, as she waterbends the water right out of Aang’s windpipe. The show didn’t make a big deal of Katara’s earlier practice, but here it is, same move!

(18:51) It’s sunset, and Sokka and Suki are still training together. This has clearly not been a miserable experience for either of them.

(19:09) Another instance of Zuko rocking up to a location and just shouting “Avatar! Where are you, Avatar!” No intro. No niceties. Just single-minded shouting.

(19:18) When, shockingly, the Avatar does not show his face at such an eloquent plea to come out and get kidnapped, Zuko orders his men to search the village. Bad things for bad reasons, just trampling over people’s homes and peace of mind for his objective.

(19:40) The Kyoshi Warriors are a match for non-benders, but have a bit more trouble with Zuko, especially when he’s on a komodo-rhino (and apparently knows how to use that fact).

(20:07) In the brief exchange between Zuko and his soldiers and the Kyoshi Warriors, Zuko does not personally set any building on fire. He doesn’t do what Zhao does later this season and trash everything his fire touches. That doesn’t negate the fact that he showed up to terrorise people until the Avatar showed up, assaulted a bunch of people, and that his subordinates weren’t as careful about the buildings as Zuko was.

(20:38) Aang uses some dropped fans to blast Zuko right through a wall, and we get a reaction shot afterwards to note that he’s not happy. Aang doesn’t like fighting and tries not to hit back.

(20:45) Aang glides over the village and gets a look at the destruction, including a look back at the statue of Kyoshi in flames.

(21:10) Aang blames himself for the village getting burned down. Katara says it’s not his fault. Again, it’s a deceptively complex ethical issue for a kids’ show. Arson is on the arsonists, but what are Aang’s responsibilities to random villagers in living in indefensible, flammable locations, when they don’t know Aang’s being chased and Aang does? As a matter of sheer practicality, Aang can flee a lot more easily than most villagers can fight back against the Fire Nation.

There aren’t good, totally fair answers to this. But after this point, if the gAang decides to stop in one place for a while, it’s either a decent-sized population centre, or somewhere out of the way. Not a village.

(21:19) Katara says she reckons Zuko will leave Kyoshi Island alone to chase them, and resigned, Aang says he’ll call Appa. Goodbye, any hope of normal travel! This looks to me like the point where Aang internalised that yes, in the dystopian future he woke up in, being the Avatar means being hunted down by the Fire Nation.

(21:33) Sokka apologises for treating Suki like a girl when he should have treated her like a warrior. Suki gives us the galaxy brain take - there’s no contradiction, she can be both.

(21:52) Appa takes off and Katara’s prediction is borne out. Zuko drops everything to chase them.

(22:11) Aang isn’t happy with just running, though. He feels obliged to do something else to defend Kyoshi when it’s already burning. So he dives back into the ocean and lures the Unagi back out to spray water all over the village.

(22:38) The look on Zuko’s face at being drenched is priceless.

(22:58) Katara gives Aang a hug for risking himself to help others, and the group flies off into the sunset to end the episode.

So, on the whole. This episode doesn’t do anything radical in terms of the plot, but it does provide some character development that needed to happen early. Aang needed to come to terms with being the centre of attention, whether the attention was shallow adoration or a serious desire to harm him without much regard for collateral damage. Katara and Aang both needed to work on maintaining a long-term friendship not based on novelty value. Sokka needed to snap out of that particular form sexism, because the rest of the series isn’t going to be short on female combatants.

#a:tla #fine toothed comb edition

[scribeofmorpheus]

Reflections by the Water

Paring: Newt x Plus Size Reader

For the SPOOKTOBER 2018 Competition

Requested by @gruffle1 :  Could you please write 50: “ We’d make such a cute couple. ” with Newt (from The Maze Runner) x reader? Also if it’s not too much trouble could you please make them plus size? Thank you in advance.    

Words: 3125

Warnings: None

A/N:  Writing a story for a plus size reader was very much a new endeavour for me (which I thank you for requesting because it helped me learn new things). I read a few articles and other people’s fics in order to get a feel for Do’s and Don’ts. I’m not skinny but I’m also not plus size (and simply being friends with plus size people doesn’t make me an expert so I refused to slap on an ‘Oh I know someone like xyz’ and then write something stereotypical) so that’s why this piece was late. But also, I’m still learning, so your criticism would be greatly appreciated to make sure I know what worked and what didn’t with this fic!

Prompts in Bold-Italics.

You woke up early that morning to prepare for your supply run with Minho. Supplies were getting low and he had made a subtle comment about not wanting to be stuck for hours in the wasteland with Brenda's permanent sour expression and dry sense of humour, so you took that as his unofficial way of asking you to come with. You always enjoyed Minho's humour and he always said he felt safer with you watching his back.

As you snaked your arms into your favourite leather jacket, you noticed the layers beginning to peel and the seams loosen with age. You'd have to replace it soon, a notion you weren't all too thrilled about. Finding supplies and clothes weren't easy lately. You had asked Newt to teach you how to sew so you could easily mend any tears because it was easier than trying to find new clothes that were comfortable and not tight.

As you made your way over to the beat-up vehicle you noticed Newt give something to Brenda before she headed towards a sleepy/eyed Minho. Newt ran up beside you, a big open smile on his face, his sandy blond hair ruffled by the wind. The smell of the saltwater clinging to the morning air.

"Hey, Y/N! Hold up..." He called after you as he hobbled slightly at a faster pace than his leg was comfortable with.

You turned towards him, squinting from the morning sun, "Hey Newt, what are you doing up so early?"

Newt let out a gentle laugh as he shyly rubbed the hairs on his nape, "Uh, Minho said the three of you were going on a run..."

When he didn't immediately finish his sentence, you tried to help him along, "Did you want us to keep an eye out for something?"

"Not exactly," he looked up at you a little uncertain. "I just wanted to say be careful, is all."

You found his concern sweet. It was no secret the two of you got along. In fact, you had always had a soft spot for Newt, but he was always a little shy when left alone with you for long periods of time. He’d fumble for words and always give you that charming, squinty, half-smile.

"Always," you reassuringly caressed his lithe arm, running up and down the length of his biceps.

"See you when you get back, yeah."

"For sure," you waved goodbye and then headed to join Minho and a very cranky looking Brenda.

***

While in a desolate old-world building, you, Minho and Brenda went searching for supplies.

"Okay, I'll run ahead, do a quick search of things. Meet back in ten?" Minho asked.

"Uh huh, yeah sure." Was all Brenda said after she pocketed that list from before and hauled her body on top of some fallen debris onto the second floor.

"Be careful, and remember: stay quiet," Minho nodded at you as he ran down a corner and out of sight.

You worked your way through desolate rooms that held damaged manikins and destroyed artefacts of all kinds, keeping an eye out for essentials. About a few minutes past the agreed-upon rendezvous time, you carried your haul to the vehicle, the sound of Brenda's shrill scream pumped adrenaline straight into your veins like it was an intravenous transfusion. You grabbed your trusty metal bat and ran back to the building. When you finally got there, you noticed an abundant number of infected screeching and heading towards a struggling Brenda who was pushing the dead weight of one such infected from her body.

Brenda looked over at you, relieved to see someone, anyone, that wasn't infected. After a moment of letting the ice in your veins freeze your muscles, Brenda shouted with a slight hint of agitation: "A… little… help… for fuck's sake!"

You regained your senses and looked around for a way to get up to her level quickly. You spotted the stairs on the other end of the building and made a break for it, bashing your bat against any infect body that tried to claw its way to you. When you got to Brenda you had to practically wrestle the infected off her and use as much of your strength as you could to throw it off the ledge. Its body landed with a crunching thud, missing Minho by inches as he yelped from being startled.

Brenda dusted at her jacket before her eyes went wide in horror, "Oh shit!"

"Uhh, guys," Minho looked frazzled. "Better get down here quick!"

You looked in the direction Brenda and Minho were staring and saw a hoard of infected clamouring over each other in a seething rage and practically foaming at the mouth.

"Fuck!" You swore.

"Quick, through here!" Brenda shouted after you as she slid under a crack in the wall that led to the lower levels.

"You kidding, I can't fit through there!" You said with annoyance. You rolled up your sleeves and looked back to the smaller hoard you had previously struck down to get to Brenda. "Guess, back into the killer hoard I go!"

You focused more on making a break for it than using your energy for your mean swing. As you ran, you were annoyed by how haphazardly your tits bounced about against the weak bindings of your bra. It was a bit of a hindrance, especially given the life or death situation you were in. You would have to make a note to fix the straps or maybe make a new one altogether.

When you finally met up with the others, you made your way out of the building, making sure to barricade the door shut.

As Minho held his knees and tried to catch his breath, Brenda rested against the door which rattled from the bombarding hits from the infected on the other side.

"That's the last time I do Newt any favours," she said apprehensively.

"Favours?" You asked.

She just looked at you and shook her head, "It's not important. Let's get out of here."

As you walked back to the vehicle, you noticed a tear running across the length of your arm.

"Shit!" You mourned your jacket. "No amount of needle and thread will fix this!"

"Don't be so dramatic. Anything can be patched back together!" Minho gave you a heartfelt smile.

"It's a lateral tear!" You whined.

Brenda sighed, "I'm sure you'll be able to replace it."

You closed your eyes and sighed into your hands, "Easy for you to say." You whispered too low for anyone to hear.

***

When you got back to camp, you decided to go and lay by the beach for a moment. You'd be lying if you said all this excitement hadn't left you a little winded. Hell, you could see Minho grabbing an impromptu nap on a hammock he set up with Thomas the other day. You also noticed Brenda take something to Newt's workshop by the edge of the beach strip. Newt noticed you staring at their exchanged and beamed a bright smile at you as he awkwardly gave you a quick wave before disappearing into his workshop.

A part of you wondered what exactly Newt asked her to get. Another part was irritated he asked Brenda instead of you. The two of you were closer for starters. At least he always gave you that impression.

As you lay by the ocean, hearing the waves lap, Thomas jogged to your side.

"Y/N, hey!" he said.

"Hey, Tommy. What's up?" You asked as you noticed a group of people collecting by the heart of the camp and stacking firewood.

"Hey, a few of us are gonna have a little bonfire. Trade scary stories. You in?"

You mulled his invite over for a bit, weighing your fatigue against your need to socialise. Your gaze shifted to a now snoring -and drooling- Minho swinging on the hammock. He was dangerously close to falling over. "I think I'm going to follow Minho's lead and get some shut-eye before meal time."

You stood up off the ground, dusting sand off your trousers.

"I hear you guys had quite the exciting day?" Thomas remarked.

You huffed, "A little too exciting if you ask me!" Your eyes Thomas for a moment and then asked skittishly: "Hey you mind if I ask you something?"

"Shoot."

"Have you noticed anything weird between Newt and Brenda lately?"

You question made Thomas shift his stance. You didn't know whether that was a tell or not. You chose to ignore it when he guffawed and slung his arm casually around your shoulders, "I have it under good authority that Newt and Brenda are strictly friends. Maybe friends is pushing it… More like friendly."

Thomas smiled at you as though he knew something you didn't.

"I'll see you later tonight?" Thomas asked as he walked back to the ever-growing fire pit.

"If I don't sleep like the dead… Or Minho!" you jested as you made your way over to your shack.

***

Everyone around the campfire was tense. Bated breath and bulging eyes all set on Gally. His eyes lingered on you for a moment before he clapped his hands and made screeching noise.

"And then, just like that, they never saw her again. Some say her haunting screams can still be heard if you wander too close," Gally muttered with a sinister edge hanging to each vowel. His eyes wild and unnerving as he finished telling his ghost story to the rest of the crowd.

Thomas's eyes were elsewhere, staring blankly at the flames. Newt held a similar expression from time to time, his attention bouncing back and forth between reminiscing and being in the present. Brenda didn't care much for the story and spent much of her time with her head to the stars. Minho was joking around with a bunch of boys who had decided Gally's storytelling skills were not to their liking.

Aris seemed particularly unhinged, his face downturned in discomfort.

"I think that's enough horror stories for one night," you spoke gently to the crowd. Aris noticed your eyes linger on him when you said that. He gave you a look of appreciation in exchange. You smiled warmly. Just then you noticed Newt come out of his stupor and look across from the fire to where you sat. His blue eyes reflecting the flames like clear mirrors. His gaze was intense, but his features soft and almost filled with a look of intimacy you'd never seen before. Or maybe you just never looked in his direction when he did.

You blood flushed hot and you were unsettled by how quickly your heart began to feel heavy and full against the butterflies manifesting within your stomach. From the heat of the flames to the heat emanating off your body, everything was becoming a little overwhelming.

You excused yourself from the group and made your way to the banks where you let the cold waves lap and splash across your bare feet. The moon was full, providing ample light for your reflection to be cast upon the water easily. Inching closer to yours was Newt's reflection, becoming larger and larger until you could all but feel his frame blocking the wind beside you.

"It's a beautiful night isn't it?" He asked casually, as though you'd been talking for hours before this moment.

Your eyes were glued to your reflections shimmering and distorting with the waves. The starlight appearing as speckles on the dark water. Newt's eyes were set on the horizon, glancing at another marvellous view from your own.

"The stars are unusually bright for this time of year," you agreed.

The longer you stared at your reflections, the more you began to wonder what exactly it was that made you so close. Newt had been adamant to get to know you in the beginning. To be honest, he wasn't always trusting of new people since he left the glade. At least that's the impression he gave you from all his stories and how cautious he was around new people. There was a certain irony to him being one of the few people you felt close too.

Your personalities couldn't be further from compatible. He was stoic and level headed, but there was a latent temper that simmered under his cool eyes born from the harshness of this world and what he had to endure. You could be a little hot-headed and a bit more open when it came to expressing yourself. You were like to sides to a coin. Even his small stature and deceptively slender arms contrasted to your larger build and more visibly formed muscles. And yet, the two of you couldn't have looked more normal, more fitting, standing side by side.

"On nights like tonight, I always find it calming to come out here and watch how the light casts a silver layer just where the horizon meets the sea." Newt pointed out to where his eyes were set.

You lifted your head and followed his direction.

"I've noticed." You said freely.

Newt turned to you. You simply shrugged and nudged him with your elbow.

"Just because I don't brood as you do, doesn't mean I don't notice things too."

There was a brief pause filled by the sound of the waves. Newt's left hand trailed down to his leg where he squeezed the muscles as though trying to will them to heal better. You returned your eyes to the horizon.

"When Minho told me what happened, I was worried," Newt admitted.

You glanced over at him, "Hey, you know I always make it back."

You placed a hand on his shoulder. He looked over to where your palm connected to his shoulder and gave a fond smile.

"I know. But it doesn't change the fact that I always worry. Not just for Minho, but…" Newt looked into your eyes this time. "For you."

"Newt," you said softly.

"I kept waiting for the right moment to say something, but I forgot that in this life the right moments are moments like these. When it's peaceful and you do get a chance to say something when the people you care for come back despite all the dangers they faced."

Newt turned to you, placing a hand over yours that was still connected to his shoulder.

You tried to speak but you were tongue-tied. This was most definitely a first.

"Y/N, I feel something for you. And whatever it is, it's more than friendship."

You cocked your head gently to the side, the breeze blowing your hair into your eyes. Newt removed his hand from yours and tucked those stray strands back behind your ear. The contact of his calloused fingers against your soft cheeks felt indescribable.

Before you knew what words were surfacing, you absentmindedly asked, "Why me?"

Newt smirked and shrugged, "Why not?"

You giggled to yourself, finding something comical in this sweet moment.

"What?" Newt asked surprised.

You shook your head, "It's nothing. It's just… Well, I always thought we’d make such a cute couple."

Newt gave a low grumble in agreement, "How does Thomas put it: Me with my stubborn broody nature and you with your warm smile."

Suddenly, it made sense why Thomas had looked at you strangely earlier.

"Thomas huh? Is he the reason for this confession?" You teased.

"He may have mentioned that you thought something was going on between me and Brenda. I didn't want you to get any wrong ideas about her and me so I figured I'd show you."

"Show me what?"

"You'll have to trust me," he held out his hand for you.

You placed your hand in his and let him lead you towards his workshop.

Once inside, Newt began moving things around as he lit a few lamps along the way.

"A while back, I heard this story about a past time from before. During the time of year when trees shed their browning leaves and it rained for days, they used to decorate their towns and streets with carvings and other frightening things." Newt mentioned as he bent down to retrieve something from a handmade box.

"That sounds… odd," You remarked.

"I thought the same thing. Apparently, they'd exchange gifts," Newt handed you something wrapped in a thin sheet.

You hadn't expected him to hand you a gift. A part of you felt a little bad for not having one to give him. "I--"

"Before you say anything, just open it," he encouraged.

You set the parcel on the table and unwrapped it. You gasped.

"Newt, it's..." You searched for the right words as you lifted the newly sewn together jacket and held it up against the light. It was pieced together with several different pieces of leather. Red, tan brown and even darker black patched gave it an authentic if not complementary colour scheme. You ran your fingers over the careful stitches made from thin thread to the slightly more noticeable ones made from what seemed to be twine.

"I noticed your old one was getting a little worse for wear and I figured it since I can't be with you on all your scavenging trips..."

"It's perfect." Your voice croaked slightly, pushing back tears as you motioned to set the jacket down and wrap your arms around Newt.

He staggered ever so slightly, not expecting you to hug him so quickly but when he regained his ground Newt returned your hug with just as much enthusiasm. A beaming smile tugging at his lips.

When you broke away, your eyes locked for a long minute and the amber light from the lamps cast a golden sheen upon the two of you. And then your lips met in a tender and novelty kiss.

"I have imagined doing this a lot of times. I have to admit, the reality is a thousand times better," Newt said.

You failed to suppress your blush, "That's one thing we have in common."

"Just wait until Thomas finds out. He's been pestering me about admitting how I feel for months now."

"And now you can shout it from rooftops."

"Our roofs aren't that high, or sturdy."

You laughed, "You're right. Bad idea."

"Besides, I'd like to keep this between us for now. See where we go from here. Save Gally from inevitable heartbreak."

You looked at him quizzically, "Gally?"

Newt scrunched his nose in disbelief, "What you didn't know? He was being quite obvious about it."

Your mouth upturned into a half moon, "Maybe I don't notice everything."

"You noticed me," Newt said before placing a kiss to your cheek.

"How could I not?" You placed your forehead to his. "Let's go back and look at the stars."

***

Note: The bra thing was something I got from my own experience being someone who gets assaulted by her own boobies if I even think of running without a sports bra. I hope it didn’t come across as crass.

#newt #the maze runner #newt x reader #next x plus size reader #plus size reader #newt imagines #newt x ps reader #the scorch trials #the death cure AU #where Newt survived the last book #thomas brodie-sangster characters #spooktober #scribescribbles #fic request

[temptressgothica]

Words i did learn

amiss - fel

fervent - ivrig

ironclad - jättehård

chide - skälla

contemptuously - föraktfullt

depreciation - minskning i värde

decry - nedvärdera

pier-glass - stor spegel

imputation - anklagelse

parsimony - snålhet

subside - sänka sig

vestibule - förhall

agile - rörlig

magus - vis man

flippantly - oseriöst

cosmopolite - en person som känner sig hemma varsomhest

nary - inte en enda

abode - hem

hem - omringa sig själv

acrimony - bitterhet

fig - fikon

flit - flytta

perfunctory - oengagerat

pseudo - oäkta

hospitality - gästfrihet

haggard - trött

hectic - busy

gleams - glimmer

brocade - material

upholstery - stoppning

billow - puffa upp sig

zephyrs - milda vindar

strode - marscherade

broth - buljong

dunderhead - dumhuvud

den - lya (billigt hem under marken)

derision - hån

swate - sweet

traversing - att förflytta sig själv

pewter - tenn

pharmacopœia -en bok som beskriver droger och deras biverkningar

gnarled - knotiga

acute -fruktansvärd

valise - lite väska

phonograph - grammofon

divvy - del

clamorously - högljutt

redolent - godluktande

gillie - en pojke som följer med och är med när folk ska på jakt

pugilist - boxare

magistrate - en polois hand om mindre allvarliga fall och förhör

epicurean - van vid lyx

averted - undvek ett samtalsämne eller en kris

haste - brådska

commonest - vanligaste

hallard - den vanligaste typen av anka

refuge - skydd

spifflicated - hanterade hårt

lodgers - inneboende

lambrequins - stycken av tyg som hängs över riddarhjälmar eller dörrar

vivacious - feminin livlighet

aerial - något som existerar i luften, luft…

Forswear - När man bryter ett löfte

epicedian - ett löfte till ett dött kreatur

pendulum - en situation som ändras från en extrem till en annan

municipal - något som relaterar till en stad

metamorphosed - växte

muculent - kletig

predigital - något före digitaliseringen

saliency - uppenbara viktighet

succinct - kortfattat

terse - att svara väldigt kortfattat

dissent - meningsskiljaktighet

recompense - att kompensera efter att andra partiet har blivit skadat

interpolate - att lägga in något som inte hör till ämnet i konversationen

locusts - en stor gräshoppa

to decant - att hälla vätska från en behållare till en annan

sediment - någon som flutit ned från ytan till havsbottnen

improvident - tanklöst

scrape - en anläggningsmaskin som kombinerar dragen från andra anläggningsmaskiner

conscience - samvete

drag - en person som gör progressen svårare, börda personifierat.

jarg - fake

lar - den vanligaste typen av gibbonerarten.

antwacky - omodernt

fey - synsk

adown - neråt till en lägre belägen plats

adamant - orubblig

enamel - emalj

limey - en britt

paramour - otillåten älskare

cully - en lättlurad människa

sweven - dröm

mercenary - en person som bara gör jobbet för pengar

quean - hora

 ye - the, you

nim - gripa tag i

quethe - dikta

ordalium - gudsdom

winly - glad och älskvärd

nought - noll

rawgabbit en person som pratar väldigt informellt om ett ämne som han är fullständigt aningslös i

Vinomadefied - när man dämpas ned av vin

Uhtceare - när man ligger uppe före solen ha kommit upp och grubblar

Expergefactor - något som väcker dig

ditty - en kort låt

thwart - ett planerat dåd att förhindra något

brabble - att argumentera om saker som inte är av något värd

elflock - hår som är vildt

groke - att stirra hårt och länge på någons mat för att förhoppningsvis få smaka

snollygoster - en person med intelligens men inga moraler

Quipp - att göra ett (ord)skämt

Snide - hycklande

Culf - fjädrar från en kudde

Nawpy - en ny penna

Quaaltagh - den första personen som ser dig efter att du har kommit ut ur huset

Clomph - att gå i för stora skor

Amptycock - en intelligent och rolig

anorak - en person som har ett intresse i ett mycket specifikt ämne

 ordinal number - ett nummer som definierar hur saker är graderade (första andra tredje)

 odyssey - en tur där din lycka går i kurvor

mortuary - en sal där man bevarar döda kroppar till begravningen

postmortem - något som händer efter döden

necropsy - en utredning av ett lik för att förstå varför kreaturet dog

murrain - en sjukdom som sprids från djur till djur

 mumps - påssjuka

slighted - tillbakasatt

croup - krupp

brawl - slagsmål

jive - en livlig typ av dans från 50-talet

orc - ett fult kreatur som bara finns i sagor 3-3

arc - båge

ovate - ovala

tally - poäng eller uträkning

dovetail - att passa bra ihop eller planer för att saker ska passa ihop

mortise - ett hål i en bit som finns där för att sammanfogningen ska fungera

quadrate - överensstämma

auxiliary - offrar eller ger hjälp

intonation - ett begrepp som berättar om hur tonhöjd och betoning används i tal

inquisitive - frågvis

pry - intränga in på privat mark

crannied - med ett litet hack

chink - spricka

ransom - utlösnings-pengar

ransack - plundra

dew - vätska som kommer i små omgångar

dewar - en metall flaska som håller gaser i flytande form

ingenuous - barnslig

hew - hugga

ingress - inträde

gilt - förgyllning

jorum - en stor dryckesbehållare eller det som finns i den

wanton - hänsynslös

coltish -stimmig och okunnig

fickle - osammanhängande

macabre - kuslig

maul - trähammare

embrue - fläck

[theticklishpear]

You always have the best advice, so query? I'm starting in on a story that's been bugging me for five years now, but I'm having a bit of trouble with it. Basically it's about a girl (young woman? 19yo) who inherits a decrepit old house from her murdered grandmother. The catch is the house is in an small college town in the rural south and it's populated solely by preternatural beings. Witches, werewolves, fae, kappa, etc. and she doesn't know. By small town I mean 40-70,000, so smallish. (A)

and the college is entirely preternatural beings as well. But MC doesn’t know anything about this because her grandmother married a human and got the hell out of dodge, basically. Anyways the house has a ghost who is not loving the roommate life, and MC just figures she’s got a small kid breaking in and tries to make friends with what is basically an angsty Victorian dude who died young and is bitter* about it and fashion. Anyways I’m struggling with the whole town bit since I grew up in a city and I only lived near a small town once while in a tiny ass college in Indiana for a year. I know I want them to be pretty set in their ways, since a lot of them are super old, and kinda racist in a ‘human?!?!!?’ type way. But beyond that I’m fairly lost? Also plot is killing me. I have a lot of subplots (tea witch? Tea witch!) but no real major plot. Super rambly sorry, but any advice you’ve got would be greatly appreciated!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

so like, I realize 40,000 is not what most consider a small town, but I’m basing this off the town near where I went to school. So Madison, Indiana? Which has an amazing downtown totally visit worthy. Thanks again though!!

Or…12,000 people. Where on Earth did I get 40,000??? Sorry ignore that last one. 40,000…. wow.

Thanks for the kind words! I do my best–and don’t worry about rambly. I tend to get rambly, too. Let’s see what I can jump-start for you.

I’m going to start with finding plot in your setting and how to deal with your subplot ideas first and then move on to That Small Town Feeling™ under a cut, if that’s okay.

Finding Plot

Plot is all about finding the story, and the story is sorting out what you want to talk to the audience about. If you’re just looking to show off the town and the scenarios the character has to deal with as she learns where she’s moved to, then you’re probably not looking for a huge, high-stakes, world-changing kind of story–you might be looking for smaller things to showcase the supernatural abilities and characteristics of the people around her.

It might help to think of this more in terms of shorter story arcs that overlap to create a larger picture of her life in this new, strange place. The old SyFy show Eureka is probably a good place to start looking to get a feel for the way these kinds of shorter-arcs-to-paint-a-larger-picture look.

Think about what her goals are in this new place. Why did she come? What is she trying to do? Is she trying to make new friends so she can feel more like she belongs? Is she trying to fix up the house so she can sell it? Is she looking for a job so she can actually afford to live here?

What kinds of conflicts do these goals create with the people in town? Are there folks who are actively opposed to her being in town? How do they react toward her? How do they keep standing in her way? Are there others who welcome her and go out of their way to give her opportunities, thus creating a bit of inter-town tension?

Some of the best initial conflict is going to be with the ghost in the house, obviously. So think about what his goals are and what he wants. How does he go about trying to accomplish those goals? Does he have friends that help him? This doesn’t have to be the whole story arc; at some point she’ll have to find out the nature of the town she’s arrived in, and the arc of dealing with a ghost rather than rowdy kids won’t be so important or intriguing. So how does their relationship change once she finds out his nature? Does he ever help her with anything?

What kinds of conflicts do the creatures’ natures provide for your character? Does she accept their mythic natures well? Does she take it poorly? How do these new identities change how she sees the town or how she interacts with it.

Struggling with “the story you want to tell” but not worldbuildingConcept Is Not PlotFrom Concept to PlotGetting Started with Your Story from @plotlinehotlineThe GOTE MethodHow to Transform Raw Inspiration Into a Solid Novel Plan from David Safford20 Basic Plots from @thewritershandbookNaNo Overview Week: Conflict Resources from @writeblrconnectionsBuilding Tension with the Six Key Components from @hollyhamwrites5 Moral Dilemmas That Make Characters and Stories Even Better

Handling the Ideas

For the ideas about other real Characters™ in town like your tea witch and whatnot, these are perfect characters for scenes! You can explore them through your character’s curiosity without having the weight of building an entire complex plot out for them. If, as you’re writing, they become a recurring character, then consider what they’re doing in the time they’re not “on-screen” with the main story. What are they pursuing? What are they trying to accomplish with their life? What kinds of troubles are they going through?

Not all of their story has to go on the page, but throwing in moments where a character may see them on the street exiting a store, or wearing a new pendant they were given by a partner, or cleaning up a mess made in an attempt at magic (or something) will help to give depth to the character and a feeling that the town continues to live and move and breathe while you take your audience away from them for scenes elsewhere.

If you’re feeling particularly ambitious, think about how these various smaller side characters and ideas interact with what your main character is trying to achieve. Can you build threads of other things going on that your main character only sees parts of that later become the main character’s focus once she’s started to settle in to the weirdness of the town.

If a selkie’s backyard above-ground pool springs a leak and collapses, blocking off the street out of the character’s neighborhood, you’ve not only created an obstacle toward your main character’s goals, but also provided a hook for your character to go do something with that character. Or maybe several side characters are working together toward something, and while you follow the main character’s struggle with a fae contractor’s refusal to install wrought iron railings in the antique staircase, the side characters’ plan fails and things happen in town that the main character has to handle or is impacted by later when she’s out trying to accomplish something else.

Small Town Feeling

Okay, so Madison, IN is just shy of 12,000 people, like you said. In your initial ask, though, you mention the town for your story being approximately 40-70,000 people, which is a rather large difference. So I’m not entirely sure if you mean to base your story off 12,000 or ~55,000, but I assume you’re going for kind of the smaller end of things, maybe 30-45,000.

I grew up moving every two years, and I’ve lived in two towns of the size you’re talking about, and in fact, one of those two towns is where I’m living now, so I’m fairly well equipped to talk to you about some things about towns that size. (One was ~60,000; where I live now is ~55,000 centered around a university, with a small add-on town that’s growing into this one that’s ~14,500.) My grandparents also live in a small university town that’s a little over 30,000 whom I visit on a regular basis. Unfortunately, none of these were in the south–they’ve all been in the west–so while I’ve been in the south, I’m not entirely sure how some of these things change for that locality. Obviously, these are generalizations; they can be twisted, bent, exaggerated, ignored, whatever you want to fit your story. It’s all believable here.

Everybody knows where everything is in town, and they forget that new folks don’t know that the Brass Rail restaurant used to be an old train station. This means that people always say things like, “Oh, it’s down where [a non-existent store] used to be.” And that means nothing to the new person. “Great. What’s around it now?” Or, “Have you been to that new place where the [non-existent thing] was?” …. “Maybe?? Where is it?”

There are a couple of “main drags” in town, and at least two of them involve the street names “Main” and/or “Center.” The rest are named after location-relevant historical people or places. There’s usually the commercial drag, the old downtown drag, and the university drag. (I mention this one particularly because you mentioned there’s a college in this town. There are distinctly different amenities around the university than around the rest of the town.) They vary in how nice they are and take pride in either their ability to maintain the facilities (in the commercial districts) or in how long they’ve survived in the town (in the old downtown districts).

Changes at the university are the Talk of the Town forever and people who work at the university never get to hear of anything else because everyone wants your opinion on the latest department name changes and the removal of the extremely-dangerous-but-extremely-nostalgic landmark on campus. Universities and colleges employ a lot of people, so parking hang-tags are a common sight around town, and can be a hot-ticket item for car theft. If someone new moves to town, it’s safe to assume they’re either a student, a university employee, or working at one of the packing plants (or in our case, the semi-conductor plant) in town. People will talk about those changes for years past when anyone cares.

Stores tend to be a mix of mainstream and homegrown. Where I live right now is about 50/50, but the smaller it gets, the more homegrown stores there’ll be. And a lot of those homegrown stores will have strange stock lists. You’ll get a yarn store with hardware in the corner, and an old-fashioned candy store attached to a specialty clothing boutique attached to a seasonal decorations store. It can get weird and quirky.

Going to other nearby towns/cities isn’t a big deal. Everybody has to go at some point for something, because there just isn’t a shop for everything in town. Driving an hour (probably closer in the south, tbqh; the west is very far-flung) to the next town isn’t new, and it’s not treated as anything special. You just do it.

Roads are not in great condition and they never will be. Smaller towns do not have the monetary infrastructure to be able to keep the roads nice even within town, and that means all over town, not just isolated to poorer communities within town. The main drags may have pot holes or sink holes open up that are enough to take out your car, and it may take months for the city to fix them. And even then? The fix was pouring road surfacing into the hole until it looked level, but that road surfacing isn’t concrete and it sinks and compresses over time. That pot hole will be back in a matter of days, weeks, or months if you’re lucky. It won’t be as bad, but it sure will dip your car.

The streets don’t make sense sometimes. Some sections do–some are convenient grids, particularly around the university–but some sections are weirdly meandering. Some parts of town seem to be where the state decided to dump all their one-way signs, which results in either a lot of backtracking or out-of-towners driving the wrong way. Stop signs are common. Stop lights are reserved for major drags and intersections, otherwise it’s a 4-way stop. But it does seem like the city is always evaluating whether they need a stop light–the long black wires stretched across a street to gauge how many cars drive through are very common–regardless of whether one actually gets put in. Where sections of town grew into each other wind up with really weird junctions, and sometimes they get nicknamed. “It’s in that complex of buildings down by the wiggly bit” is a legit direction to give someone. Don’t worry about your town layout being perfect. Downtowns are particularly notorious for poor layout.

Special note: My town is where the state comes to test new road layouts, interchanges, and junctions, so we have a lot of weirdness going on. When I say don’t worry about your layout, I freaking mean it. Towns are weird.

Roads are 2-lanes most of the time, by which I mean 1 lane each way. Main drags are usually 4 (2 both ways) with a middle turn lane for a total of 5. That’s it. It doesn’t usually get bigger than that, and that’s usually at the commercial drag.

Outside city limits isn’t that far away, and while it’s mostly farms and whatnot, there are reasons to head out that way. Sometimes it’s faster to go out to the back roads to get home than it is to go down the main drags.

There’s an absurd amount of pride for something trivial about the town. There’s a festival each year for something weird. There’s events around town for things that would never happen elsewhere. The farmer’s market is A Destination (it’s nothing particularly special, but folks talk about it like it is). The rotary club is a visible entity (and it’s a little weird just how visible they are).

There’s a definite culture about the town. Attire for certain events heightens or relaxes depending on not only the size of town but the location within the country. There are expectations about How Things Are Done that don’t change. Holding on to the past is how they know they’ve survived, so they cling to it. There’s a prevailing slant of political opinions and religious practice, with a small smattering of other minorities that most folk ignore. Some of those minorities are LOUD, though, and that can grate on folks. In a university town, they tend to be a bit more accepting of other ways of life and belief, but mostly because “accepting” can just be “ignoring without actively disliking.” Don’t rock the boat and we won’t rock you.

You are known. This obviously isn’t a thing isolated to small towns, but it’s noticeable. People in towns this size all mingle in the same places–everybody has habits and routines, and you become a part of that with time. You wind up with relationships with your serving staff at restaurants and you know when certain grocery store clerks have their shifts. Heck, I don’t go in to the Perkins here in town that often, but the manager knows me and comes to talk, and when I need to reserve space for our NaNo group every November, I don’t even have to say anything. When I come in in October, she just sits down at my table with her book to schedule the group in. I left a scarf there and when I came in three days later, she just handed it to me over the counter without me having to see if they’d seen it. People know you, and the world is small: They know everybody else, too.

There are a few well-known figures in town that maybe not everyone has met, but they all know who they are. The McKee family runs the pet store and plant nursery on the main drag, and they’ve been running it so long that when you say you’re a McKee, everyone asks you about the store. Gloria Howell is the best real estate agent in town and everybody got their house from her. Tom runs one of the coffee shops downtown but he’s also the in-town LGBTQIA+ front-man, so to speak. Everybody knows him and everybody’s got their opinions.

If there’s anything more specific you’re looking for advice on in regards to your town, please let me know. These are just basic generics since the question wasn’t very specific. Good luck and have fun! -Pear

#writing #writing tips #posts by pear #plot #set design #anonymous #pear responds

[duhkooks]

I’M BORED

Gay people of tumblr. It's time. It's time for me to make a list of gay thangs that I’ve watched, and will watch bc they’re not out yet. These are the shows I personally like and not like because do I have a choice? Diz shyt r limited. I’ll add more if I ... can recall other thangs that I’ve watched.

Movies:

1. The Handmaiden

2. Imagine Me and You

3. Kyss Mig / Kiss Me

4. Gia

5. Loving Anabelle

6. Water Lillies

7. Boys Don’t Cry

8. I Can’t Think Straight

9. Thelma

10. The World Unseen

11. The Four Faced Liar

12. Lost and Delirious

13. Bloomington

14. Cracks

15. Saving Face

16. When Night is Falling

17. My Summer of Love

18. The Gymnast

19. The Chinese Botanist’s Daughter

20. The Truth About Jane

21. Show Me Love

22. D.E.B.S

23. A Marine Story

24. Viola Di Mare/ The Sea Purple

25. Rome and Juliet

26. Farewell, My Queen

27. Yes or No (Part 1, 2, 3)

28. Fingersmith

29. Tipping the Velvet

30. Elena Undone

31. Blue Is The Warmest Colour

32. Girltrash: All Night Long

33. Ambrosia

34. Anatomy of a Love Seen

35. Chinese Puzzle

36. Camila the Movie

37. Princess Cyd

38. All About E

39. Bare

40. Jennifer’s Body

41. Life is Peachy / Ashamed

42. Liz in September

43. AWOL

44. Me, Myself and Her (x)

45. Blush

46. The First Girl I Loved

50. Edie & Thea

51. Summer Time

52. Margarita with a Straw

53. The Girl King

54. Circumstance

55. Concussion

56. Kissing Jessica Stein

57. Breaking the Girls (x)

58. Bound

59. Camp Takota

60. Of Girls and Horses

61. Contracted

62. Room in Rome

63. Jenny’s Wedding

65. Heavenly Creatures

66. Desert Hearts

67. Jack and Diane

68. Gray Matters

69. Better Than Chocolate

70. Tru Love

71. The Intervention

72. When Night Is Falling

73. Love My Life

74. Baka Bukas / Maybe Tomorrow

75. The Summer of Sangalie

76. Monster

77. The Duke of Burgundy

78. Spider Lillies

79. The Secret Diaries of Ms. Anne Lister

80. Girl With Dragon Tattoo

81. Fire (x)

82. Black Swan

83. Mullholand Drive

84. Foxfire

85. Boy Meets Girl

86. High Art

87. The Fish Child

88. The Runaways

89. The Secrets / Ha-Sadot

90. Aimee and Jaguar

91. Freeheld

92. But I’m a Cheerleader

93. Carol

94. Professor Marston and the Wonder Women

95. Atomic Blonde

96. Carmilla: The Movie

97. Based on a True Story

98. Kiss Me! / Embrasse Moi

99. Siebzhen / Seventeen

100. The Miseducation of Cameron Post

101. My Days of Mercy

102. Passion

103. Once A Time With You (x)

104. Disobedience

105. Below Her Mouth

106. Its in the Water

107. Addicted to Fresno

108. Almost Adults

109. Running on Empty Dreams

110. Warmish (x)

111. A Date For Mad Mary

112. Becks

113. The Truth About Emanuel

114. Empty Sky (x)

115. The Firefly

116. White Lily

117. Our Love Story (Korean)

118. Liberty’s Secret

119. Raven’s Touch 

120. Alto (x)

121. 1448 Love Among Us (x)

122. Fear of Water

123. Eloise’s Lover

124. Affinity

125. The Greatest Love

126. Je te Mangerais

127. Fried Green Tomatoes

128. She: Their Love Story

Anime:

Blue Drop

Kannazuki no Miko 

Maria Watches Over Us 

Simoun 

Strawberry Panic

Sasameki Koto 

Citrus

Sakura Trick

Kuzu no Honkai

Candy Boy

Aoi Hana

Kuttsukiboshi

Konohana Kitan

A Centaur’s Life

Kase-san

Netsuzou Trap

Slow Start

Kobayashi San Chi No Maid Dragon

Legend of Korra

Shuumatsu no Izetta

Akuma no Riddle

Manga (I love them all):

Citrus

Lilith (Sirius)

Yagate Kimi Ni Naru

What Does The Fox Say

Tamen De Gushi

Fluttering / Exciting Feelings

The Love Doctor

Pulse

Netsuzou Trap

The Third Party

Serenade

It Would Be Great If Yoh Didn’t Exist

Lily Love

She Who’s Most Special To Me

2 Lives 1 House

Yuri Kuma Arashi

Watashi no Muchi na Watashi no Michi

Slightly Sour Secret

Love Data

Third Party

Series:

Glee

Lost Girl

Las Aparicio

The L Word

Pretty Little Liars (N)

Los Hombres De Paco

Orphan Black

Orange is the New Black (N)

Skins (N)

10. Coronation Street

Tierra De Lobo

Verbotene Liebe

Rookie Blue

Faking It

East Los High

Chasing Life

Hormones The Series

Everything Sucks (N)

Arrow

Transit Girls

Edge of Normal

Stop XOXO

Girlfriend

Club Friday The Series 8

The “Other” Love

Gypsy (N)

Wynonna Earp (Netflix)

The Runaways

How to Get Away with Murder (N)

One Day at a Time (N)

Daughters of Club Bilitis

The 100 (N)

Taagad

South of Nowhere

Sense8 (N)

Bomb Girls

The Bold Type

SKAM

Jane the Virgin (N)

Black Lightning (N)

Heartless (N)

Godless (N)

Mary Kills People

The Underwear

Grey’s Anatomy (N)

Supergirl (N)

Fresh Off the Boat

I Bastardi di Pizzofalcone

Stitchers

Unfortunatly Ashly (1, 2)

Las Estrellas

Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten

The Shannara Chronicles

Barbelle (Y)

The Rich Man’s Daughter

Futari Monologue

Lip Service

StartUp

Saving Hope

We Are Gamily

Black Mirror

Person of Interest

Na Wspolnes

Seis Hermanas

Palermo Oggi

 Defiance

The O.C.

 Buffy the Vampire Slayer (N)

 Starting From Now (Y)

 Disengaged

 Til Lease Do Us (Y)

 Lily Fever (Y)

Carmilla (Y)

 Anyone But Me (Y)

 Brooklyn Nine-Nine (N)

Legend:

(N) - Netflix

(Y) - Youtube

Bold - me like

If you have money, please support them and buy/rent whatever you’re planning to watch.

#personal #lesbianshows #lgbtq #lesbian movies