#and i'm trying to work on being less of a perfectionist with writing

[tea-earl-grey]

I mentioned a bit ago that I was working on a post-s1 Picard fic (centered on Seven and Raffi but with other characters too) and it's getting a bit Out of Hand (affectionate) and will probably end up being around 25k at the very least. I don't want to post (and edit) it as a long one shot and I've never posted a multi-chapter fic that doesn't have very clearly defined chapters before so I wanted to see if people had opinions. It's more of a character study/missing scenes fic so there aren't many strong plot beats to base chapter pacing off of and I'm not really leaning one way or the other.

Also keep in mind that the shorter chapters means more/faster updates! If I post one or two scenes at a time I'd be able to manage weekly updates pretty easily versus a 10k chapter would take a few weeks at least.

#lol remember when i said that i'd post this a week ago.... #it was meant to be literally three scenes and now i have (checks document) at least 16 planned (and some finished!) #and i finally have a title so i'm excited to start posting fanfic again soon! i've missed it very much the past year #but the brain fog has been foggy #and i'm trying to work on being less of a perfectionist with writing #star trek picard #writing woes #my posts

[overandundertarot]

How can you release this anger?

Recently, I've come to the realisation that I hold quite a lot of pent up anger without even knowing how to release it. I think this reading could be helpful to people who may be in a similar position, or just experiencing pent up emotions and are unsure how they could release this or start that process of transforming those emotions, if they want to.

Piles 1-4(left to right)

Pile 1

Cards; 6 of wands, Knight of swords.

Believe in yourself pile one! There is self doubt here, and pride brought about by trying to conceal insecurity. Act on your thoughts. A lot of this anger is towards yourself. I feel like you are perfectionists, and you dont like when you are not perfect according to your standards. Well, there's nothing you can do about that. You either have to develop yourself till you feel you're perfect enough( which will take quite a while and you may never reach your lofty aspirations for yourself) or take action now on whatever it is you want to do. I'm getting that it's not even related to the material world, but your personality or creative interests. You may feel like you are not the person that you should be, but instead of practicing any self development activities, you just spend alot of time having self deprecating thoughts. You may not be where you want to be, but that does not mean that you can never get there. Appreciate yourself for what you have and what you can do and allow yourself to indulge in your hobbies/ interests with less judgement.

Pile 2

Cards; The Sun, 2 of Swords, Page of Pentacles.

In any case pile 2, youre not supposed to be making a decison right now. Good things and opportunities are coming to you now but its overwhelming. I think that is where this anger is coming from, because you can't allow yourself to fully enjoy the present moment and be connected to your spirituality. So you are angered because you have a lot but it is still not enough. You have to force yourself to enjoy what you have right now pile 2, because all of the planning and deciding and moving forward is being used as a distraction. Of course, take this with a grain of salt and don't put your life on hold to try and attempt this. Start small, think about things in your daily life and what use they provide for you, do you appreciate them enough? Be in the present moment and appreciate what you have worked for. Some of you are also angered by the fact that you might not be able to find a direction in life. It will come in time; try to be connected with your desires and intentions so when the opportunity arises, you can make a decision that will trully make you happy.

Pile 3

Cards; The Emperor reversed, King of cups.

Your anger may stem from the fact that you may have never fit into society, particularly that you may have been too sensitive for other peoples tastes. Some of you may be a part of the lgbtq community as well. The way you express yourself garnered much criticism and you may care about issues that society doesn't like to face such as animal rights, environmentalism and child abuse. Emotional issues, childhood trauma. A lot of the people in this pile have heavily feminine energy, regardless of their gender. The way for pile 3 to release their anger would be to develop ways of managing their emotions. Unfortunately, the world is unlikely to change but we can find ways to regulate our emotions and work through our traumas so that we can be less affected by the harshness of society. Also, try to channel your anger and pain into creative pursuits such as writing, and even consuming more media concerning these issues that affect you. It may help you feel seen and understood.

Pile 4

Cards; The Tower reversed, Justice.

Pile 4 you have been resisting change for a while. By not allowing it to crumble, you have become a prisoner of the tower. Your anger is brought about by you not allowing yourself to feel your emotions fully. You're not letting go of something that happened in the past, or you're trying to keep a steady hold on your life right now, but it's failing. You can't control everything. To release this anger, accept what happened and move on. Take responsibility for your actions, what happened was a result of past actions and you can't change those. You either accept what happened, move on and try to create a better future for yourself, or stay in that tower and torment yourself forever. That sounded a bit dramatic but the messages coming through are quite firm, whatever happened you have to accept it and move on.

***

Thank you for participating in this Pick a Card reading!

I hope it gave you some insight for your situation. Please dont hesistate to give any feedback you may have regarding this reading!

#tarot pick a card #tarot reading #tarotblr #tarot #pick a card reading #pick a picture #pick a card #pac #divination #intuitive reading #free readings #free tarot reading #pick a pile #tarot pick a pile

[collegetennisoriginstory]

I wanted to throw in my opinion on the Trans MC if you want it! Option 3 would be a lot of extra writing and coding, so I get that it wouldn't be a decision made lightly and it would be added pressure to get it right and it's a sensitive topic for sure. I will say that if you chose to go this route tho, it would make a huge difference and mean a lot to us. I'm a trans athlete, and the lack of representation can be really discouraging. It's time like these where we are receiving so much hate, especially when it comes to sports, that allies could really step up and make a difference. Reading can really open people's minds! It may be difficult and uncomfortable, and take extra work, but that's our everyday tbh. We out here living on hard mode 😂 that's just my thoughts on the matter but I will respect you and read your story either way. Much love 🏳️‍⚧️♥️

Hey! Thank you so much for sending this! This gets long, forgive my wordiness.

First off, I really feel your statement to the bone, the part about how allies could step up and make a difference, and how positive rep in media, games etc. is insanely important.

So many stories, TV shows, movies have shaped my experience of being queer and POC, and while some of them have been nice just so I could see someone like myself being represented, the ones that really made an impact are of course the ones where these identities were explored in a sensitive, thoughtful way. (When I watched Saving Face for the first time at 17, about a queer Chinese American doctor, I bawled my eyes out and dont think I've been the same since).

I would absolutely love if CT:OS/my IFs could do this for trans athletes too.

I've seen/heard so many worrying statements about trans athletes (both in real life and in the media)—and it makes me so sad.

Some that really get me really riled up are: The idea that a trans athlete's accomplishments mean nothing because they "have an unfair advantage" (or putting it down to "just hormones" or whatever instead of recognizing the hardwork, skill, and dedication behind EVERY successul athlete, trans or not). Or the idea that trans athletes shouldn't get to choose to be trans if they want to be athletes. Or the idea of policing trans athletes' bodies or forcing them to undergo surgery in order for them to be "valid"...

Well, FUCK THAT. FUCK those people.

If my IF can help celebrate trans athletes, and combat/shut down the really harmful (and ignorant) rhetoric out there? I'd love to do that.

But since I am not trans myself, it feels doubly, triply important that I wade really carefully here. I'd really need to spend time making sure I like and can stand behind what I'm putting out. I don't think it'd be responsible representation, otherwise!

I'm not really a perfectionist about my writing and that's how I make progress on my IFs while working a full time job. I'm more the... "slap shit tgt, get it out there, get feedback and edit if I feel like it" kind of writer. And I don't think I'd be able to finish CT:OS / Merry Crisis any other way. But when it comes to race, gender, and sexual identity? I really. Really. Wanna get things right.

(I rewrote that Rayyan convo about being a POC athlete with Deepal so many times haha and it was already marginally less scary, since I am a POC athlete.)

I guess what I'm trying to say is, I agree it's so goddamn important to have trans stories, and rep, especially in sports, where views are often so toxic and polarized.

But I don't think I know yet whether I see my IF being more a simple "yay, trans rep" kind of space or an actual deeper exploration of what it means to be a trans athlete. I was quite prepared to add the option to be trans (+ any accompanying scenes etc.) when I have the complete CT:OS 1st draft, but I was also toying with the idea of just putting something imperfect into the game earlier.

Faced with indecision, I've opted for: procrastination. I am still waffling, but it was helpful to hear what you guys think. Thank you so much for your message.

Lots of love, keep being awesome ❤️

#ct:os #college tennis: origin story #if #interactive fiction #asks

[catchyhuh]

Well part 6 made it obvious that besides French and Japanese Lupin can talk at least in English, Italian, Russian, Spanish, German, Turkish, Korean and Dutch (gosh, he's good, I'm jelly).

What languages do the others know? I have some headcanons about Goe, but I'm curious about your ones!

well, the short of it, for all of em really, is: “do i need to learn this language to continue living for the next month? yes? ok let’s learn some conjugation.” so it’s less about which specific languages and just HOW many they know so much as how do they go about the process of learning/how do they USE the language once they’ve learned it so. IT’S A LOT

and uh also they all tend to default to japanese but you probably knew that LET’S GET INTO THE LOT

jigen:

jigen knows the least out of all of them, mostly because he. does not talk to many people. he’s an unintentional perfectionist about it in just that one sense; if he’s communicating, he wants to be SURE he’s understood, no room for misunderstanding

of course, that doesn’t mean he’s a slouch. i’m sure he can still speak, listen to, read AND write at least ten more languages than you and i can, minimum. BUT STILL, he just doesn’t want any room for misinterpretation, none whatsoever. so usually, he lets someone else do the talking, or he attempts to get by with whatever he and the other party can understand. it’s kind of funny because his stubbornness with this means a lot of times the gang will purposefully leave him to flounder, because THAT’S WHAT HE GETS FOR NOT WANTING TO REMEMBER SOMETHING AS SIMPLE AS “no ice in my drink please”

because of this, he’s most proficient in READING in other languages. there’s no need for input on his end, and he can get a hang of sentence structure AND the words themselves, so there’s no embarrassment later. so particular about these things

fujiko:

the only one who can speak a language better than she can understand it being spoken to her. like jigen, she mostly learns by just reading it, (sometimes by rereading a book she already knows, so she already has an easy guide to go off of) so trying to decipher someone TALK talking at a conversational speed is. a different beast

uses the whole multilingual thing as more of a novelty than a necessity. like it’s a party trick to her. like she's a translation dictionary in the flesh! ask her how to say purple in danish! wanna know the word for cookie in malay? if you want to know how to say “penis” in 30 languages, fujiko will frown and go “c’mon. grow up." ...but she'll still answer since it’s actually still just ‘penis’ in like five different languages anyway,

this is mostly because she weaponizes the “you don’t think i can understand x language, but yes, i can, and i can hear you calling me stupid while i’m standing right fucking next to you. you will regret this in time”

goemon:

absorbs foreign languages the fastest, which is hilarious because he’s always the most stubborn about wanting to just speak his first language. i mean it’s goemon, you probably saw this coming! 

has since softened on the concept, not because of a “loosening of his personal principles,” but rather, he saw how damn DIFFICULT it made things for the average person he interacts with for two seconds of his life. it was initially easy to hold onto it, until he saw the poor waitress grin apologetically and say she was so sorry she didn’t understand. then he softened. a BIT. if you know even a smidge of japanese he’s expecting it from you. 

wore a t-shirt that said COOL GUY in big, obnoxiously american letters once for a disguise. burnt it when the operation was over. lupin has five pictures of it. goemon allows the records to exist because he is, objectively, a COOL GUY

zenigata:

the funny thing is you’d ask him about it and he’d get kind of sheepish. like, yeah, he knows (he pauses to count on his fingers for a second) 23 languages but he’s not REALLY good at most of them it’s just like a thing for WORK it’s not like he’s REALLY got them down--

again, it’s the fault of that freakish hypercompetence that comes up for rule of funny. if he’s just getting off the plane and he realizes he’s left his gloves at home and is desperately trying to find a pair, no, he can’t get through in the slightest. but if it’s LUPIN involved, oh buddy if there is an ELEMENT of DANGER AND/OR LUPIN, he just breaks out entire sentences with almost perfect pronunciation and everything, to the point the other people in the room wonder if he was faking his issues earlier. and the answer is no, he wasn’t, he just didn’t have the proper motivation. NOW he does, and NOW he can speak fucking perfect indonesian, just because!

also kind of sort of treats it as a party trick the way lupin and fujiko do if he’s in a good enough mood (but you actually do get hints of that in the show, like that one little part 3 bit!) so that’s fun

#these people are insane. need to do a scientific study of how their brains work for real #lupin iii #lupin the third #jigen #fujiko #goemon #zenigata #asks

[jelliezellie]

pLEASE give more haikyuu content!! maybe angsty atsumu?

OR ANYTHING TO DO WITH SAKUSA OR SUNA

thx ^ ^

oh? angst? I can do that for sure >:) But I also always have to put a little bit of comfort because I'm a sucker for a happy ending I literally cannot write for Tsumu atm (I will soon) so I wrote a Sakusa angst!

Prompt: "Why are you shutting me out?!" CW: mentions of parental issues on his side, he's a lil mean and moody, kind of reverse comfort? Uhh he's kinda pathetic in this tbh but that's okay, even a girlboss has her weak moments

Sakusa

Sakusa isn't known for trusting people. You knew that, even as you let yourself fall in love with him. You thought of yourself as pushing and shoving your way into his life, but he liked it. You gave him space when he asked and respected his boundaries, no matter how extreme they were. Recently, though, he had been colder than usual. His face was completely stoic under his mask, not even smiling as you shouted and made fun of Atsumu. "Yoomi, are you okay?" You asked one night as he got out of the shower. He nodded, putting a shirt on and sitting on the bed. "Are you sure?" You sat up. "Yeah," He replied, laying on the very edge of the bed. You frowned, looking down at him. "Usually you talk a little more," You said, furrowing your brows. His eyes narrowed at you. "And usually you let me dry your hair after showers," You added. "And-" "Usually, you aren't so fucking annoying," He interrupted. You scoffed. "I'm not trying to be annoying. I'm worried about you, Omi." "There's no reason to be. I'm fine." "No, you're not. What's the matter? You can tell me." He sat up, a frown visible on his face. "Leave me alone. I don't want to talk with you right now." "Why are you shutting me out again?" You shot back, getting off the bed. Kiyoomi sighed at the sight of a frustrated tear running down your cheek. "I thought you trusted me." He felt his heart ache as you glared at him angrily. You were right, of course, he had been moody lately. Through no fault of your own, he had been screwing up more and more at practices and it made him furious. If he wasn't good enough, he wouldn't be able to forgive himself. Although his parents worked a lot as a kid, if his mother saw that he wasn't performing perfectly in everything, he wasn't worthy of much. That may have been where he got his perfectionist attitude. "I need to be alone," He said, getting out of bed and walking to the couch. "No! Omi, don't shut me out. Don't ignore me," You said. He looked at you, disappointed at himself for not being able to tell you the problem. Perhaps he was embarrassed. Maybe he couldn't stand the thought of you, who was so proud of him, being disappointed that he wasn't as good as he usually was. Whatever it was, he was terrified of your reaction. "Sakusa," You called. He flinched - the only thing scarier than you being disappointed in his volleyball skills was you being disappointed in him in general. Still, he sat on the couch and you confined yourself to the bedroom for five minutes. Your eyes widened as you heard sniffling coming from the couch. You stood, hurrying into the living room of your shared apartment. He was curled up on the couch, almost looking pathetic as he wiped tears away. He raised his head to look at you, an embarrassed pout on his face. You sat next to him, your eyes narrowing. "Tell me what's going on. I love you. I want to listen." His lips trembled as he eyed your face. "I... I've been terrible," He admitted. He confessed how he had been screwing up for months and how he was scared you'd be angry or think less of him so he stayed quiet. "Yoomi," You gasped, a soft smile appearing on your face, "I'm not going to think any less of you because you're going through a rough spot." He sighed, this time in relief, and pulled you close. "Everyone goes through something like this," you assured. "I love you," He whispered, barely audible. "I love you, too. Now, can we please go back to bed?"

#sakusa kiyoomi #sakusa headcanons #kiyoomi sakusa #sakusa x reader #haikyuu sakusa #sakusa scenarios #sakusa angst #reverse comfort #haikyuu fanfiction #haikyuu scenarios #sakusa #sakusa x y/n

[starshine-wagner]

Distracted (part one)

Pairing: Danny Wagner x F!Reader

Summary: Danny has been distracted ever since you joined the touring crew and it's starting to cause issues. How will he fix it?

Word Count: 2.4k

Warnings: swearing, alcohol, blood, Rose Kiszka

Author's Note: It's been a minute since I posted anything I've written. I apologize if it feels all over the place or not up to par. I'm trying to become less of a perfectionist! As always, enjoy and feel free to send me feedback, comments, or suggestions <3

Also, I got a bit carried away in the details and accidentally kept writing. I'm slow, ok? BUT I wanted to post something tonight before I lose my momentum. SO, I'll post a more in the days to come! Sorry to tease.

An echoed clap brought Danny back to earth. His gaze left the back of your head to find his frustrated bandmates.

“Daniel. He asked if that would work,” Jake repeated impatiently. Sitting up straight and repositioning himself on his stool, Danny tried to make it seem as though he hadn’t just been drifting off… but it was no use. He could see the warning in Sam’s face. Don’t bother.

“Sorry. One more time?” Danny asked rubbing his hands on his thighs and clearing his throat.

Josh repeated, “I asked if you could pull back a bit on the cymbals for that one section of Jake’s solo. I want to save it for-” 

Danny mentally caught back up to the conversation - “Yeah yeah yeah, no. I can do that. Sorry.” You turned from your spot on the side stage where you'd been taping up some wires to eavesdrop a bit on the conversation. Just as you looked to Danny's spot, his eyes, aimed in your direction, darted back to find his drumsticks. Feeling caught, you scurried off backstage.

“Alright," Josh looked around to the other guys. "Let’s go back to the start of the second chorus.” He made a mental note to check in with Danny after rehearsal. It wasn’t like him to zone out like that.

But, then again, it also wasn’t like Danny to have his mind on you.

--*--

Ever since you’d joined the production crew as an assistant, Danny seemed distracted. At first, you thought it was that he was just incredibly shy. It seemed like he'd avoid walking in your path backstage. He barely managed a quick hello and smile in the hallway. He even struggled keeping eye contact the few times you had to pull him aside for a conversation regarding his schedule. It was intimidating enough joining an already closely-knit team. So, to have one of the band members seem off-put by your presence was unnerving. You'd talked to the production manager about it, finding her to be a good confidant and mentor in the few months you'd been working with them. When you voiced your concern about Danny, she only chuckled.

"Oh please, Y/N. Do not let him worry you. I'm serious. He's just a shy guy," she promised. "Give it a few more weeks and I'm sure you'll be just fine with him."

You gave it a few weeks. And a few more for good measure. Still, you didn't seem to be getting anywhere. You chalked it up to him simply being a reserved person and tried to let it go. But it still nagged at you from time to time.

Were you too bossy? Did he think you were annoying? Maybe your tone was off? After all, many men don't like being told what to do, especially by a woman. And especially when they're famous and rich and perhaps self-important. But he didn't seem like that type...

The questions stirred round and round in your mind until one night it all came tumbling out to Sammy. Ever the entertainer, he'd been quick to embrace you into the Greta-family. He made you feel like you'd been friends for a thousand years, and it was a welcome relief. With a lot of the tour crew being older, you didn't have many people your age on the road. There was something about Sam that set you at ease and made your guard come down.

So, slightly tipsy and burning with curiosity, you broached the subject with him one night. With a free night off in whatever random ass city you were in that week, a few of you had taken refuge in the warmth of a bar.

"Just, be honest," you prepared him, your arm reaching to grab his elbow just to let him know how serious you were. "Does he hate me?" Over the rim of his glass, you could see Sammy's eyebrows knit together. After a heavy swallow, he replied, bewildered.

"... Who?"

"Danny!" You leaned onto the bar-top with your head resting in your right hand, scared to look into Sammy's eyes lest he give you the answer you've been dreading.

"Wagner?" he asked, looking genuinely confused.

"Sammy. Stop. Obviously that's who I'm talking about," you replied, exasperated.

"Okay well it wasn't obvious to me! Hates you?" He had fully shoved his pint aside and turned to face you directly. "Why the fuck would you think that? What could've made him hate you? Of course he doesn't." He still looked surprised by your question, but your heart rate calmed a little bit at his reply.

Sammy's shock made you feel a bit shy. Were you being too self-conscious? Over-thinking? You pressed on. "I don't know. I just feel like he hasn't been as, like... friendly with me?"

"Listen. Y/N. Love. He absolutely doesn't hate you. That's kinda just... how he is? It takes him a minute to warm up to people. He's always been like that," he reassured you with a pat to your knee.

"A minute? Sammy it's been like two months."

"Damn. Has it really? Wait so you got here..." He seemed to go off into his head to calculate just how long you'd been working for them, fingers tracing a map of their tour and eyebrows knit to do the math.

You huffed a frustrated groan before sinking even lower onto the bar-top. Recognizing your distress, Sam stopped himself.

"I promise he doesn't hate you. Okay? I'm his best friend. He would've told me if he did."

You peeked back up at him. "Really?"

"Yes. Really. I mean he fucking despises Todd. And he's not a huge fan of Valerie. Trust me. If he disliked you, he would've told me by now," he shrugged.

Though you weren't fully convinced, Sam had said enough to quell your anxieties for the night. And, even if Danny didn't like you, what did it matter? Tour would be over in two more months anyway and you'd never have to see him again.

--*--

The next afternoon, the guys had arrived at the arena and set up shop in the dressing room. It was one of the few spots, besides the stage and their bunks, where they felt most at-home while away. It was a place that had some form of consistency. The same patterned area rug was always bound to be on the floor. The same snacks and drinks were provided in each location. And, most importantly, the same brothers inhabited it.

After sound-checking and snooping around catering to see what was for lunch, the guys split to do their various pre-show tasks. For Jake, that meant checking in with his guitar tech to go over some technicalities. For Josh, it meant finding a quiet spot to do some journaling. But for Danny and Sammy, it meant playtime with Rose.

Sam had been trying to teach her a command to find her dog bed and stay there, but she wasn't cooperating as well as he'd hoped. So, Danny decided to step in. He was no dog-whisperer, but he liked to consider himself to be Rose's fun-uncle. Surely she'd listen to him, right?

"No. No! Rose not the- Fuck." In his attempt to get her to spin, the table filled with glass bottles of kombucha toppled onto the floor. Immediately Danny was rushing over to the sink to grab paper towels. Sammy was guiding Rose away from the mess so her paws didn't get cut with any of the glass. She was oblivious to her mistake, still smiling and drooling, waiting for a treat.

Having heard the crash from the production office next-door, you came into the room to see what mess you'd inevitably have to clean up.

"Is everybody oka- oh," you stopped in your tracks.

"Yeah..." Sammy winced, rubbing the back of his neck. Danny's head snapped up from his spot on the floor to see you standing in the doorway. His breath hitched, just for a quick moment. It was barely noticeable, but you saw it in the way his jaw clenched at your arrival.

He spoke up, "I think I've got it. There must be more paper towels under the sink right Sam?" He'd barely even looked up at you.

"No, absolutely not." You dropped the box you'd been carrying on the bench by the door and made your way over to Danny. You almost grabbed him by the shoulders in an effort to usher him over to the couch, but thought twice of it. "What I'm seeing right now is the drummer trying to handle a shit ton of broken glass. With his hands. On show day. That's a no-go from me." If you hadn't already been annoyed by his seemingly rude disregard, you were pissed at his lack of judgement.

"Y/N I swear it's fine. You don't need to-"

"It's my job to make sure these kinds of things are taken care of. Really." Arms crossed, you weren't backing down.

With a sigh, he retreated and tossed the wet towels he'd used in the trash can. Once you gathered the necessary materials to get it cleaned up, you told the guys it would only be a few minutes before they could have the space to themselves again. Danny hesitantly moved over to the couch where Sam was holding back Rose. As you worked, they started to chat about something you didn't really follow. But, only a couple minutes in, Rose escaped Sammy's grasp and ran over to investigate the mess she'd made.

You went to fend her off when your hand suddenly collided with Danny's forearm. He jumped over to wrangle her back, but not without a fight from the pup. He was a little sweaty, but soft, and, wait- why were you thinking about how soft his freckled arm was...? In reaching for her collar, his thigh pressed into your shoulder from where you knelt, and you instantly felt hot. Like, physically warm. He managed to drag her back over to the couch where Sam leashed her and guided her outside.

"I think it's time my Rosie took a pee break... huh, Rose? My good girl..." he said in his dog-dad voice, leaving just you and Danny in the room rolling your eyes. "'Good girl' my ass," you both thought.

"Sorry about that," he mumbled with a shy smile. Oh. So he can speak to you...

"Oh. Yeah no, don't worry. Thanks for helping. She'd kinda wild," you admitted, dumping the last shards of glass into the trash bin.

"I think Sam is kinda oblivious to how much havoc she wreaks. But it is kinda nice having a dog around, you know?" he wrung out his hands and watched you move to the sink to wash up.

"He absolutely is. It's kinda cute though- shit!" A tiny bit of glass had snuck its way between your fingers and cut your middle finger as you washed your hands.

Danny's head cocked to the side as he tried to see what made you curse. Meanwhile, you ducked down below the sink to see if there was any sort of first aid kit.

"Danny, can you go see if Todd has any bandaids around?" You chuckled a bit internally with your new secret knowledge that Danny didn't like Todd.

"Dammit. Y/N, did you cut yourself?" he sat up immediately making his way over to your side. You put your finger back under the stream of the water to wash away the bits of blood that were starting to pool on your skin.

"Yes, but it's no big deal. I promise. Ask him for me?"

"Yeah, yeah. I'll be right back," he nodded quickly and set off next door. When he returned he came with options.

"Blue race cars, or basic tan?" He held up your two band-aid options.

"Oh. Race cars for sure," you smirked. Your unharmed hand went to go reach for it, but Danny had already turned away. He ripped off a towel from the dispenser and waited for you to take your hand out from under the water.

"Thank you! I got it from here," you said reaching for the towel. He yanked it back.

"Nope. You wouldn't let me clean the mess I made and now you're bleeding for it. At least let me help you out."

Since when was he being so friendly to you? You decided to embrace it while you could and banter along. Progress.

"The mess you made? I'm pretty sure it was Rose who threw herself into the table..."

"You know what I mean! Hand it over," he insisted, holding his hand out for you to place yours in. "No pun intended," he jested. You didn't realize how fluttery your tummy was until your damp palm was in his and he was wiping off each finger for you. It was weirdly intimate for someone you'd barely spoken to. To distract yourself from the strange gesture, you prodded him.

"I told you so."

"Told me what?" he asked, genuinely curious, as he started unwrapping the band-aid with care. You couldn't help but stop to notice how his slender fingers moved so gracefully. They were somehow, pretty? And his big hands...

"... told me what?" he repeated, peeking up to your face with concern. You breathed in, finally remembering that he'd asked you a question.

"This is exactly why I didn't want you cleaning it up. You'd be the one with a cut on your hand."

"Better me than you," he frowned.

"Uhhh, no. Thousands of adoring fans are depending on your hands. And your brothers. I'm just saying. Told ya."

"Ha! Y/N, I've played through a lot more than a tiny little cut" he responded. "I'm talking like, horrendous gashes and blisters. Oozing, gushing, nasty-"

"Ah! Ok, ok! I get it. Gross," you cut him off, not wanting to hear any more details.

"Just saying," he said with his eyebrows raised, "I know your job is to take care of us or whatever, but I'm more capable than you think." He finished securing the bandage over your finger and let you know by giving the top of your hand a tap. Inspecting his work, you let your left hand graze over the spot before displaying his work for him. You flipped him off, race car band-aid proudly displayed in the air before him.

"Thanks, Danny. Looks great," you admitted.

"Anytime, Y/N. Now you can flip people off with some pizzazz." He wiggled his fingers and shot you a dazzling little smile to which you could feel yourself blush.

Maybe this was this stupid kombucha-induced injury was just what you needed to kick off a friendship with Danny...

(to be continued)

#Danny Wagner #Danny gvf #gvf #greta van fleet #Danny Wagner fic #Danny gvf fic #gvf fic #Greta Van fleet fic #Danny wagner fluff #fanfiction #imagine #blurb

[van-yangyin]

Get to Know Me - Sims Edition

Thank you @honeybeenrw and @stargazer-sims for tagging me 🙇💕

If it seems like a lot of text, don't force yourself to read it, you can simply ignore it. Sometimes I write too much, I know.

1.- What’s your favorite sims death? Sims eaten by cowplants, although there is an anecdote from when I was little that is very funny because I had a little "trauma" with that death. When I first played The Sims Take the Street on PS2 (the first sims game I played for the first time in my life) together with Lea, we made sims from Fushigi Yugi and we put them to live in a house… They all ended up being eaten by mutant plant (a plant similar to cowplant in that time), being the last one Amiboshi just after his twin brother Suboshi… It was one of our first games so adding a mutant plant was like, "What is this? Let's put it in, it sounds fun" and it ended up being a bit of a shock since at that time we had no internet, no guides or anything and everything was new, from that time for me at the end, after that experience it's ended up being fun, so being eaten by a (cow)plant it's one of my favorites sims death.

2.- Alpha CC or Maxis Match? Maxis Mix, I absolutly like more Maxis Match for hair, but with clothes I usually use both Maxis Match and/or Alpha, same with makeup or skin details, so yes, I'm consider myself Maxis Mix more towards Maxis Match.

3.- Do you cheat when your sims gain weight? Why? When it comes to my/our OCs (Lea's and mine) we leave them as they wish to be, because they've gained or lost it by themselves because they have so wished, in fact one of our OCs, Carla, when gained more weight even became much more beautiful than when she had less weight, at least from our point of view.

4.- Do you use move objects? Yes, quite a lot when I have to place a lot of clutter together or I have to place in a special way the constructions to do what I want and look for.

5.- Favorite mod? I would say MCCC, but there are many times it causes me a headache.

6.- First expansion/game/stuff pack you got? Get to Work on realease. (Lea bought it, not me, but he likes to share, I mean it's stupid to buy the same thing twice when in gameplay we play together)

7.- Do you pronounce “live mode” like aLIVE or LIVing? I pronounce "Modo Vivir", but if it's in English then like aLIVE.

8.- Who’s your favorite sim that you’ve made? I have quite a few… They're all my cute babies, Ryuuya, Luka, Aris, Jack, Kyle, Kyla, Noah, Icaro, Carla. Lux, Kaoru, Ainosuke, Rin, Haruka, and many more but the list would go on and on... Sorry I can't choose... (And yeah we have a lot of original sims that we don't show here yet 😆)

9.- Have you made a simself? I did it once, when toddlers came out, I made myself into a toddler for a contest, but I have never done it again, and that simself no longer exists.

10.- What sim traits did you give yourself? With pack Growing Together that came out I can officially add more than three, right? Creative, Socially awkward, Ambitious, Music lover, Geek and Perfectionist. (The limit is 3 more traits, so I can't put Cat fan, Dog fan and Animal enthusiast [although these three should be considered more likes and dislikes, I don't understand how it can still be in traits], so I have them present but didn't add them, because I consider more as likes and dislikes).

11.- What is your favorite EA hair color? Red. I like black, but it changes and varies so much between different hairs and many of them look gray or bluish that they're no longer my favorite.

12.- Favorite EA hair? The two hairs that were added when Incheon Arrivals Kit came out and the hair from Snowy Escape that has two little clips on it.

13.- Favorite life stage? I don't have any favorite life stage, because all life stages are special in one way or another and I try to create sims of all kinds of ages, although maybe the ones I have the most are teenagers/young adults because I usually create a lot of sims based on video games/anime/shows if that makes sense, so people may consider those to be my favorite kind of stages.

14.- Are you a builder or are you in it for the gameplay? Let's see, I would consider myself mixed, or versatile. During the day from time to time I would consider myself a builder, especially when I make constructions with references that help me to locate myself (although there are times that I also make them without a base, but it takes me a long time to finish them and I consider myself a noob, Kitta's house, Dope Sketch I look at all of you just now). On the other hand, during the night before going to sleep and after dinner I'm more of a gameplay person and I have a lot of fun playing together with Lea.

15.- Are you a CC creator? Yes, I love to create CAS CC (hair, clothes, shoes, accessories, etc…), construction CC (furniture, clutter, whatever I need depending on the moment), small modifications in the sims, I'm usually very versatile, I do recolors and frankmeshing too although most of the things I love to do are from scratch (with references that aren't mine or concept arts that I draw previously which are usually mine) to learn even more, so I usually take a lot of time but I have a lot of fun. Although around here what I usually share with everyone, are hairs made from scratch, some other skin details, poses and conversions from other games.

16.- Do you have any simblr friends/a sim squad? Not that I know of. The person I interact with the most around here is Lea but that's because we are family/best friends and spend a lot of time together, so for me it's like day to day. I would love to be able to have a constant energy and mood so I can interact more to make and keep friends around here. I write from time to time with people and would like to consider them friends but since we don't interact much or very constantly, I don't know if they consider me friends or if they would just consider me mutuals. I know of some people that we consider each other friends but we don't talk much either lately because I'm in my stage of writing little with people. But I don't refuse anyone or anyone who wants to interact with me and in the future something might come out of those interactions (friendship or... what's a squad? srsly I don't know it), I'm quite social/asocial and insecure, sometimes I write a lot and sometimes I write very little with people, so I don't know what they currently think of me.

17.- What’s your favorite game? Have a lot, Kingdom Hearts (yes, I went through the time when you needed different consoles to play the whole saga), Final Fantasy series, The Sims series, Life is Strange series, Resident Evil series, Tomb Raider series, Tales of Zestiria, Arc the Lad series, Minecraft, Spyro series, Crash Bandicoot series, Genshin Impact and I'm sure there are many more games that I haven't tried yet that I could add to the list in the future.

18.- Do you have any Sims merch? Nothing.

19.- Do you have a YouTube for sims? I don't have one, but I would love to, although I don't think anyone would be interested. I mean if you share something it's for someone else to see it and if no one would be interested then it would be like exposing yourself to the world but without being seen. I don't know if I make myself clear. I know that stories of your own sims/anything you do in the community have more room for other people when you do it as video, because when you talk they feel more empathetic with your stories/what you explain but my English is not very good and talking in general/talking to my sims is not my forte (that's something Lea is better at)

20.- How has your “sim style” changed throughout your years of playing? Pictures speak louder than words. I don't have sims screenshots I took in The Sims 2 and The Sims 3 because I can't access the external USB drive were on, so I'll limit myself to The Sims 4 screenshots.

A written summary would be that I currently use more sliders and presets, use 3D eyelashes and natural nails for all my sims and use eye makeup to give more volume to the "eyelashes" and give them more "life". And try to make more different types of noses, faces, eye shapes, etc…. Besides adding natural lips as "make up" (when they don't wear makeup) to make them more "realistic" within my sims realism.

21.- What’s your Origin ID? I don't have anything shared, so I don't know if it's really important to say.

22.- Who’s your favorite CC creator? I have a few and they're the ones I use the most in my gameplays shared with Lea in our sims. They're all amazing so allé voy, @/pralinesims, @/simandy, @/happy-misanthropist (although is currently retired), @/obscurus-sims, @/raccoonium, @/falsogod, @/iowaisms, @/saruin, @/xxxtaiyaki, @/kijiko-sims, @/acha-sims, @/simmireen, @/lea-heartscxiv (yeah is with whom I share my sims game and he makes recolors mainly for me and him) and myself (self-esteem should never be lacking).

23.- How long have you had a simblr? Since last year, end of April 2022.

24.- How do you edit your pictures? So far the only things I use are Photoshop and Clip Studio, but I don't retouch pictures so much, I just "improved" problems with scratches that appear in some parts of sims, eyelashes that are displayed wrong, etc… And then I put one or two tonal change filters in Photoshop, but out of CC I use on sims, it's pretty vanilla the final pictures. If I were to do something else at some point, I would probably put unretouched edit under the cut line to see the differences.

25.- What expansion/game/stuff pack is your favorite so far? If I had to say one for how the world is shown, CAS, objects and gameplay I would say Snowy Escape.

26.- What expansion/game/stuff pack do you want next? Seriously writing, refreshes. I would like to see refreshes and improvements of base game, an impossible dream, I know. Especially refreshes of Realm of Magic and Get To Work. Since Lea and I were forced to switch to EAAppsh*t we haven't bought anything from them anymore.

I know. It's only 26 questions and I've almost written a book just answering them, sometimes I get too excited writing when I know what I'm talking about 💦 Now time for the tags:

I'm tagging @lea-heartscxiv, @falsogod, @freedomending, @pralinesims, @saruin, @the-daydream-archives and @dizzyrobinsims

If you already done it, please ignore and if you have it handy tag me in the one you already did so I can see it, because maybe I missed it or wasn't connected the day you did it. If you don't feel like doing it, you can just skip it. And to anyone who wants to do so, feel free to tag me. If you share as a favorite death the cowplant one, don't wonder anymore if you should or shouldn't do it, do it, for all the sims who have fallen eaten by cowplants.

#van do games #non sims #but about sims

[the-bloody-sadist]

Hello, sorry if this ask is awkward. I've come upon many of your works and they've always pulled me in. Thinking it over, I realize that I bleed my perfectionist issues into my writing and make all my characters OP or stereotypical or generally boring. How can I stop being scared of writing "human" characters? Is there a way to do that?

You don't have to answer this. You can delete this ask if I'm being weird here. Thank you for taking your time to read this, though.

From Juni.

This is not awkward in the least!!! I'm very happy to hear the questions, especially on writing! That's something I know a lot about, even if I don't believe myself capable of applying all of my knowledge in the best ways possible for some of my own works. Still, character psychology is my favorite topic.

What I would say is the most important thing (and I'm a perfectionist as well) is to realize that the more flaws a character has, the more relatable they are. The less flaws they have, the more unrealistic they are - thus unlikable or un-relatable.

To address the certain types you mentioned specifically, I'll try and use examples. For instance, if you have an OP character, the best way to make them interesting is to give them an emotional weakness. If it's Saitama from Once Punch Man, who can literally defeat any threat in a single punch, give him a friend, and then make that friend the threat, that friend the villain, whether the friend is a traitor or an unwilling participant to another villain's plans. What's he gonna do, then? Not be OP and kill him in one punch.

For OP characters, the trick is generally to make the conflict more complicated and emotional. Since I'm character-focused as a writer, the way I might do an OP character is to give him a fragile personality type. Extreme contrast to his OP-ness is interesting, it adds a direct opposite.

Opposites are the best trick to making any character complex.

If you have issues with stereotypical characters, you can use this same method. Did you make a jock character? The kind that stereotypically bullies the weak kids, has multiple girlfriends, is a player, etc? Make him a crybaby. Make him sensitive. Make him a bully of kids that remind him of himself. Maybe he can't keep girls because they expect him to be tough and cool, but then he has a breakdown over something small and they laugh at him. Cheerleader stereotype? Usually vain, obsessed with being a ringleader? Give her self-hatred so extreme that she can't even look at herself if she's not wearing layers of makeup. She hates being popular, but does it out of necessity for her own survival in the school, or else she'd be bullied, and she can't deal with that.

Typically the problem with stereotypes is that we've seen them so much (thus the label) that we no longer care about them when we see them. If you give us something that we can empathize with, relate to, or feel bad for them over, you've made progress!

Being worried about writing 'human' characters is usually a reflection of your own fear of your own flaws. You have to allow a certain amount of vulnerability with yourself when you write, including trying to let characters adopt traits from you. Almost every one of my own characters has something (many things) related to me that they deal with, whether habits or trauma types or fears or mental illnesses. That's why I'm able to write them that way! So honestly, if you're a perfectionist, try writing a character who's also perfectionist. If they want to be perfect so badly that they show none of their flaws, give them an arc where it bottles up so much that it eventually bursts out somehow.

In the end, there are quite a few ways to spice up a character. For me, I most often go to trauma. It's my passion, obviously, but it holds a lot of weight. When a character has past trauma, it shapes everything that they are in the present.

I have books I use that indicate common traits of different traumas or backstory events if I struggle with some (The Emotional Wound Thesaurus by Becca Puglisi and Angela Ackerman is the best, and I recommend all of their other thesauruses as well). This helps me if I get stuck, though I've used it so much that it's old hat by now, and my own experiences most often inform my characters'.

If you want deeper thoughts on the matter, feel free to ask me any other questions you have, or take a look at the Positive and Negative Traits Thesauruses from those authors! They have sections in the beginning of all of their books that give the most excellent breakdowns of how to create a perfectly flawed character and how to make the audience care.

Thank you so much for the ask - much love to you!! <3

#sadist’s answered asks #writing advice

[mars-ipan]

overcoming anxiety (through practicing the things that scare you) is so interesting. i used to be horrified of taking up space or alerting other people of my presence. now i'm compelled to tell strangers i like their outfits or hair or earrings- on bad days i tell maybe a quarter of them. do i still overthink it? absolutely. but i call attention to myself to tell someone else my opinion. and with the way they tend to smile and tell me "thank you!" i'm pretty sure it's taken to heart.

i used to be horrified of making phone calls as well. this is one i'm still getting over- i just Don't Like Doing It. i used to have a phone call routine that i still joke about- realize i need to call someone, cry, avoid it for a few days, suck it up, write a script, memorize the script, cry again, final script read, make the call with the script in front of me. and i would be Exhausted by the end of it. i don't cry when i need to call people anymore. i'm even needing scripts less and less- i've found out that people actually won't kill me if i talk a little too fast or stumble on my words. i doubt i'll ever like making phone calls- i especially hate robots (i'm afraid they'll mishear me and direct me wrong or a person will suddenly show up and i won't be prepared)- but i can make them now.

i get overwhelmed really easy. just a thing that happens to me. my brain is really really good at taking one task and breaking it up into thousands of little tasks and it feels like i'm drowning. if i try to make it fewer larger tasks then it starts to feel insurmountable. i was completely lost on how to deal with this (other than avoid until you get that panic attack and can do work in the post-catharsis calm until 6:00 AM) until one night when my dad (who i often meet late at night due to overlapping mental illness symptoms) asked me how to eat an elephant. i looked at him, confused, and he said "one bite at a time." that was way more effective than any other analogy i've seen has been. "light at the end of a tunnel"- i don't feel like i'm moving forward, i feel like i'm scaling a wall. "steps on a trail"- i can see my destination, but it feels impossible to move forward. but eating an elephant? that sums it up perfectly. this huge task which seems impossible at a glance. but it must be done. so you eat the elephant, a bite at a time. every time i'm overwhelmed i repeat that phrase to myself. it hasn't made any major changes yet, but it keeps me calm enough to start before i hit the panic attack, which i'll take.

i was such a perfectionist growing up- i actually thought it was a good thing (school always taught me to strive for perfection). but it made me scared to try new things- if i wasn't immediately good at them, then it clearly wasn't for me. i'm still not great at starting new hobbies, but i try a lot of new things within the hobbies i already have. i test out different ways of making art, i try new puzzle games i don't understand, etc. and the feeling of steady improvement reminds me that i don't need to be good right away. some of the most satisfying moments don't come from immediately being good- they come from achieving that skill over time. i'd like to try to learn to sew soon.

idk it's interesting. i rewire my own brain's fear response by doing the Horrifying Thing enough times for me to understand that no i will not die. and while i'm doing it it feels like nothing is changing. i get so stressed every time- it can actually take a lot out of me (turns out fight-or-flight burns a lot of energy). but i look back at then vs. now and i realize how far i've come, and i can't help but think "huh. neat"

#marzi speaks #this post has no point. i am simply thinking out loud #i think understanding the root of where the anxiety comes from helps a lot too #like. my mom feels most secure when she's in control #she doesn't like situations in which she can't control how she responds or what happens when she does #it makes her feel helpless. and that's how her GAD affects her #it's also why her fear response is 'fight'- she stress-cleans and expresses authority because those are things she can control #it's a self-soothing technique #but for me it's different. i'm most at ease when i know where i am and what's going on #this could be for plenty of reasons. i'm bad at directions and time blind so i feel lost easily #i had to learn to do a lot of things by myself growing up because my brother needed a bit of extra attention #my parents used to sometimes forget to tell me about things- i wouldn't know we were going somewhere until they asked me if i was ready #or even just that i was always surrounded by so much information and i love learning with my whole heart #when i can't know what will happen next or why something's happening in the first place i get disoriented and frightened #i don't need to have a say in what will happen. i just need to know. then i can roll with the punches #this is why MY fear responses are flight and freeze #i self-isolate because i know environments like my room and my mind #other people are unpredictable. i know what i will do #i like puzzles because they're something i can learn and figure out. once i understand it's a matter of patterns #and they take my mind off of the unknown i'm worried about #my mom will engage in a lot of conflict behavior. i engage in a lot of avoidant behavior #yes this caused arguments growing up lmao. i'd be freaking out abt smth and she'd be confused as to why i wasn't just going and fixing it #or she'd be freaking out abt smth and i'd be confused as to why she didn't try to just get all the facts #but we're better communicators abt that now teehee #it's interesting though. we have the same illness (generalized anxiety disorder) and are similar in a lot of ways #but because our root fears are different our responses to them are different #this could also be learned #my mom grew up poor and didn't get to do a lot- she worked her ass off to have financial freedom #i grew up comfortable with every question i asked entertained by two very smart parents. when a question can't be answered i feel dissonant #it's probably a bit of both in some cyclical manner. still nifty to think about

[justlittleguysims]

OC Introduction: Part 1 -The Protagonists

Before we get to posting random little guys, let me introduce you to the leads of my two main writing projects: Kristina-Renée Battle from Project: FCi3 and Derek Moore from my newest, currently untitled project that I'll be tagging under Project: WIP for now. Figured I'd post about them here together in one post since I couldn't decide who to post about first. Two birds, one stone and all that. They're both my babies, okay.

Both stories exist in our universe, each set in their own time period: FCi3 begins on July 20th of 2013 and WIP begins on December 18th of 2021. FCi3 is a cozy, slice of life, ensemble character comedy, while WIP is more of a slow burn, romantic drama with a side of more cozy, down to earth, slice of life elements I love and crave in most realistic fiction.

Kris Battle (She/Her)

Age: 29 || Birthday: Feb. 14th ♒ || Traits: Geek, Perfectionist, Genius, Ambitious || Height: 6'2"ft || Sexuality: Heterosexual ||Occupation: Unemployed Accountant || ethnicity/nationality: African-American

Less than a year after transferring from Hartford, Connecticut, to the Durham, North Carolina branch of the accounting firm she was working for, Kris finds herself out of work for the first time in five years due to company-wide downsizing and outsourcing. Struggling to find another accounting job near her, and running low on savings, she falls into a downward spiral, questioning her abilities, schooling, and life while falling behind on bills, student loan payments, and rent.

With the threat of eviction nearing too close for comfort, and a quick pep talk from her polar opposite, little sister, Serena, Kris bites the bullet and tries to find a roommate to move in with, realizing —for the first time in her life—that she simply can’t make her way through this on her own... but there's just one problem. Years of being the ivy league, model student, who was married to her job, while on a constant grind towards wealth and excellence, has left her hundreds of miles away from home, in a town she's neglected to plant roots in. She doesn't have any REAL friends she can rely on.

"Fortunes Come in Threes" follows Kris as she moves in with a generous stranger, who not only offers her a room to stay in, but also welcomes her into their friend group, finally allowing her the time to rediscover old hobbies, while relearning how to have guilt-free fun again. Sure, she still has her reservations about having to put her accounting degree on the back burner as she works at her local pizza joint to get by, but she's adapting... slowly. (She's totally not bitter about the situation at all~✨)

Derek Moore (He/Him)

Age: 33 || Birthday: July. 8th ♋ || Traits: Romantic, Loyal, Family Oriented, Gym Rat, Loves Outdoors || Height: 5'11"ft || Sexuality: Heterosexual? || Occupation: "Security" || ethnicity/nationality: Irish/Italian-American

Note: Derek is a newer character that I'm still developing. He started off as a simple "throw away" sim that I was using to test out new cc before using it to revamp my old FCi3 characters after getting back into the game over the pandemic. I don't know what happened, I just ended up liking this random guy enough to give him a cute little house, and then a cute teenage daughter, and everything sort of started to grow from there. So, here's what I have for Derek's character so far:

Derek is a widowed, single father to his only child, Angie who has just turned 17 back in November. He's currently working in the criminal career as the Muscle for a local branch of the Italian Mafia, trying his best to clear his late father's gambling debts. Angie doesn't know about the mafia loan sharks that control her father, all she knows is that he works in security and that he sometimes comes home a little banged up because of it.

After a year and a half without leaving his house to work with the mob during the pandemic, the world suddenly started to open up in April, meaning Derek has to go back to work as a rich man's pawn again. Being spoiled by nightly movie nights and impromptu at-home spa days with Angie, Derek's renewed itch to escape the mob has only grown stronger, but there is very little he can do on his own... that is until he makes the bold decision to take in an unhoused trans woman, named Morgan, during a snowstorm.

Making a promise to get her back on her feet, Derek soon realizes that he and his new house guest have a lot in common, including ties to one local political lobbyists who is seemingly hellbent on turning their town into a fascist safe haven... but together, Derek and Morgan, are working to bring him and his cronies down.

Oh... and somehow Angie is none the wiser about the entire thing. Shit's wild!

FUN FACT: Kris is actually taller than Derek. She's 6'2"ft (187.96 cm) to his 5'11"ft (180.34 cm). This fact is completely pointless, because they'll never meet and live several states away from each other, but it's whatever, yippee!

If you've reached this point of the post, THANK YOU for reading and please feel free to drop an ask about either of these characters. I hope to have more character updates in the coming weeks for you all. Please follow and yell at me to get shit done! Okay, thanks, BYE! 💜✨

Further Reading: OC Intros Pt. 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 || Pizza Gang Pt. 1 | 2 | 3 || Family Intros Pt. 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 || The Henchmen Pt. 1 | 2 || Multiverse Characters Pt. 1 || Monti’s Secret Pt. 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

#justlittleguy posting #my ocs #new sims blog #new simblr #new simmer #project: WIP #FCi3: Kris #Project WIP: Derek #simblr #the sims 4 #ts4 male sims #ts4 cas #show us your sims #showusyoursims #ts4 simblr #project: fci3

[justsome-di]

How have you managed to update neud every week?

It's a combination of a lot of things!

How To Manage Schedules for Long Project

Advice by me, someone who has done this once and is totally an expert (/sarcasm)

Write in advance

Get a lot of the writing done before you start posting anything. For NEUD, I wrote the whole of draft one, then edited it to get to draft two which meant filling out every section that was incomplete, adding/removing chapters to make the plot move fairly well. Draft three is what's available now. I spent a week working on a chapter and then it gets posted on Friday (I worked ahead to get all of draft three up on Patreon early, so I'm not in this editing process anymore, but this is what it was like for a while). It's not impossible to write a chapter from scratch before each upload if you're on a weekly schedule, but you'll probably be battling burnout and you won't be giving yourself much of a safety net for any issues with the plot/writer's block/etc. This advice might seem kinda obvious, but I did try writing as I was uploading on a now-abandoned project, and it wasn't great! This also helps you stay motivated even if you're not getting notes/comments at first (and you may not). You'll have it all written out and all you have to do is press post.

Be okay with it not being perfect

There are a lot of parts of NEUD that I'm not happy with. But if I had waited for NEUD to be up to a grand, golden standard--it would have never made it online. Publishing a web novel, imo, allows for more amateur mistakes. You don't have an editing team like you would at a publishing house. Especially with a project like NEUD--a romance novel--I felt a little less pressure. I wasn't writing War and Peace. I want it to be good, but I tried not to be too much of a perfectionist. And the thing is, you're going to be unhappy with parts that other people really like. You're seeing your work in a different way than your readers. There are parts of NEUD that I honestly don't like, but it's one of those things that it just has to be done. A bad chapter doesn't make a bad book. Just try making sure there are as few grammatical errors or spelling mistakes as possible. You can use software like Grammarly to help catch mistakes you're inevitably going to miss.

Plan ahead and pace yourself

Make out your schedule before you start posting. Think about what days work best for you. Write down what dates you'll post on a little in advance and don't try tackling your schedule in one night. It'll take time to plan how you want to execute everything. I made a mistake here! I wish I hadn't chosen Fridays to post! I work every other Friday, and my homework is always due on Fridays. There would be other days that worked better for me, and in the future, I'm going to consider that for upcoming projects. You can also use queues or scheduled posts to ease the workload if you have chapters ready in advance.

Take breaks

Go on hiatus every now and again. Take time to relax and work on other hobbies. This is important especially if you have other commitments like school or a job that gets busy at certain times of the year. If you're using Patreon, you can suspend payments a month at a time.

Don't get discouraged

Disclaimer: not that many people have read NEUD. But I really am appreciative of every single person who has let me know they read it because I really wasn't expecting anyone to look at it at all! Projects posted online are often overlooked and get buried under the mountain of WIPs everyone is working on. Having someone read your project is a big honor because they're volunteering their time and attention! And everyone is busy, so really even if one person is leaving a like--that's a huge accomplishment! I don't buy into the "likes don't do anything" mantra that started being spread on this site. Likes are important! They're cool! Enjoy your likes! Reblogs don't guarantee that more people are going to look at your thing, honestly. Of course, reblogs are neat because they do raise the chances of your project being seen, but I also don't think anyone is entitled to having their project reblogged. People can post whatever they want on their blogs. If they don't want my amateur project there, that's fine! But I also understand when you've poured hours into something and you get about three notes. It feels bad. But don't let it get you down. Sometimes it just takes a while for people to find your project or find the time to read it. You never know if someone has the link open in a new tab on their laptop or is following your blog, waiting for more chapters to be uploaded so they can read a substantial chunk later. Just because something didn't get notes in the first hour that you posted doesn't mean it'll never be seen by anyone ever again. I know a lot of times that's how social media is made out to be, but you should never feel like you've lost an audience because you posted when people are sleeping/working/just not on their phones.

That's all I can really say :) Just stay positive and think ahead. It's not an easy thing to do but if you just set aside time once you're done writing and get your ducks in a row, you should be able to manage it bit-by-bit.

And mini self-promo, you can check out Nobody Ends Up Dead in a Bathtub, Everyone Keeps Their Organs every Friday on this blog, on Wattpad, AO3, or my Patreon (where chapters are made public every week).

Check it out if you'd be interested in a romance about a sex worker and a client who met through a prank, now fake-dating as revenge against the men who set them up.

#writblr #writeblr #writing advice #original writing #creative writing #web novels

[procrastinatorproject]

(Procrastinated) Home Projects

So, I have been meaning to blog more, but I find it really difficult. I have so many half-finished blog posts, mapping things, a whole new sideblog for Star Trek: La Sirena... So many things that never see the light of day because I'm a perfectionist and want everything to be perfect before putting it out into the world. But because perfection is impossible and I run out of steam before satisfying my exacting standards, I end up never posting anything at all.

I did a little bit of daily blogging in December, with my writing accountability, but then I got Covid and uni got crazy and I couldn't integrate the daily writing into my schedule properly. So that peetered out fairly quickly. But I really want to get better at Just Writing/Blogging Things, so I'm gonna make a conscious effort! And I'm gonna start with something fairly low-stakes (i.e. not my beloved fandom things that I hang so much of my heart on that it's much more difficult to overcome the perfectionist tendencies)

Introducing:

The Procrastinator's Home Improvement Blogging Adventures

For the first time in at least a decade, I have some time ahead of me in which I won't have anything I "should be doing". No term papers to write, no exams to study for, no job I'm behind on work for... I want to dedicate most of that free time to rest, recovery, and fandom stuff, but I also want to tackle a few home improvement projects that have been bouncing around the back of my brain for a good long while.

In the autumn of 2021, I started a Konmari clean of my flat. I got pretty far, actually, but then my health declined dramatically and I had to abandon it. A few days ago, I re-read the first Marie Kondo book and made a plan to take another run at this. It's not going as quickly as I might have hoped, but part of the project of the next few weeks is to not have such high expectations of myself. So this is one place where I can practice that - and chronical the journey a bit.

The second Big Project is that I'm getting a new kitchen. I'll go into detail in a later post, but my flat isn't rented with a kitchen, so if I want new appliances and furniture (which I really do), I have to organize those myself. And this summer/autumn, it's finally happening! After many, many months of thinking and dreaming and saying I'll do it but never actually sitting down and Doing The Thing.

I was at IKEA yesterday and things are finally actually in motion! Lots to do and decide, still, and a lot of stuff will require long wait times for deliveries and things. So we'll see how that goes - and I'll try to blog about it a bit here!

(Blåhaj-san sends his greetings from the IKEA shelf!)

And finally, there are a bunch of smaller things, like repairs to my laptop and Lory, my vespa, some sewing projects... All very good candidates for "just write about it instead of fretting for weeks and months!"

So, that's the idea for the next few weeks. Try to get into a habit of Just Writing Things, even if they're too long and could have been phrased better and should have been proofread and aren't as Coherent and Polished and Perfect as part of me desperately wants them to be.

Maybe this'll go well, or it'll end up being a couple of posts and then nothing else, we'll see. But it's definitely going to be an adventure, and I'm quite excited about that! Here's to a new project - and potentially a little less procrastination :D

#lili's personal adventures #(i *knew* i had a tag for stuff like this homewhere) #procrastinator's home projects

[astriiformes]

18, 22, and 29 for the fic asks, please!

18 - Do you title your fics before, during, or after the writing process? How do you come up with titles?

Oh this so, so depends on the fic, in part because every once and a while an excellent title descends upon me early in the process and also if I'm working on a fic for a while I have more time to think.

Usually my fics start out with placeholder titles that are whatever came to mind when I first saved the document; I'm yet to have one of those graduate to being a final title but that's partially because they're all things like this:

...and are often tonally different than what I'm actually going for.

As far as where my titles end up actually coming from, poems are a common culprit; I've got one or two song lyric ones, and some inspired by various other cultural references (ranging from like... pop cultural to Biblical). I tend to try to work in some wordplay, irony, or symbolism where I can, and love a title with layers.

Breaking down a couple recent ones:

Beharren ist eine Kunst -- German for "Persistence is an art," stemming from the longer proverb "Anfangen ist leicht, Beharren eine Kunst" (Beginning is easy, persistence an art), works particularly well for a story about an artist where "Kunst" doubles as a bit of a play on words.

Stemma Codicum -- A textual criticism term referring to the chart that can be drawn of different manuscripts relationship to each other (what was copied from what, where changes entered into the manuscript transmission process, and etc). Worked really well for a Pentiment fic about three "alternate timelines" all branching from a single change at a specific point in canon -- manuscript transmission as a metaphor for those critical points in people's lives that manage to change everything!

Long Upon the Land -- A tongue-in-cheek reference to Exodus 20:12, which reads ""Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee"," as a title for a fic in which a character with an overbearing abusive father contemplates art and things that can outlast us across generations. Really loved the irony with this one, it's one of my favorites I've come up with in a while.

Needless to say they draw from all over the places, but I feel like between them it's pretty easy to get a feel for what I like in titles.

22 - Are there certain types of writing you won’t do? (style, pov, genre, tropes, etc)

I don't want to say there's for sure something I won't do, just because it seems like there's exceptions to everything (Pentiment wrung a "Major Character Death" warning tag out of me which is a new one!), but in general I am pretty allergic to most romance tropes. I'll write romantic relationships -- although my fics rarely center on them, but that's one of those things I'd be willing to assume might have an exception one day -- but when I do, they tend not to be particularly trope-y. There's just a lot of amatonormativity steeped into ideas like soulmates, fake dating, etc, and I'm not interested enough in them to consider ways to rehabilitate them in my own writing. I am but a tired aro and while it means I'll never write the most popular fic in any fandom I'm in, I get by perfectly fine in my little gen niche.

I'm also not a big fan of writing in first person (reading can go either way! I'm less into it in fic unless the canon itself is in first person, but fine with it in original fiction), but even that one has an exception on the horizon! If and when I finally write my TOH Sherlock Holmes pastiche, it'll probably be in first person, to mimic the original source material. So really that's a great example of why I have a pretty solidly "never say never" stance on most non-romantic tropes and devices.

29 - What’s your revision or editing process like?

I have a horrible confession to make. I edit as I go. My terrible perfectionist brain struggles to make peace with messy first drafts, and while I'll often give things a final, editor's eye read-through once I've finished writing, the bulk of my editing happens on repeated re-readings of the material throughout the writing process.

This is not a good way of doing things and I would love to break the habit, particularly since I think it would result in me writing more and faster. Do as I say, not as I do, everyone.

#[hides my face behind my hands] #in theory i am a decent writer but i have some BAD HABITS #my writing #ask meme

[cinamun]

I don't think either of them are ready. If Jayce's easy button answer to "I'm scared" is basically "there, there" and not an attempt to get Hope to articulate her fear so they can work through it without her throwing herself at him, then he's not taking her recovery seriously enough. No matter what she's ultimately scared about, its hard enough for "well-adjusted" folks to even speak those words, but for someone working through what she is, saying such a thing can sometimes feel like they aren't making progress. I know he wasn't intentionally being dismissive. I don't doubt that cares and wants the best for her, for himself, and for them, but maybe he's assuming too much about the pace of her recovery. And considering everything, I think he needs to live a little longer as a legally bound partner before taking on fatherhood.

Hope still has a lot of healing to do. She has a lot going on. Workaholic/Perfectionist--She was forced to dial back on work. Guilt-ridden--Though misplaced, it still dwells in her. Newlywed--Life-affirming exercises aside, she still doesn't know Jayce that well as a legally bound partner. Consider that by the time she advances to one session every two weeks, the baby will be singing I'm Coming Out. Will she actually have had enough time to stabilize a new normal? Will she have had enough time to feel like the self she wants to be? Will she have had enough time to fully honor her responsibility to herself before taking on the responsibility of someone else?

But as Dr. Ian Malcolm says, life finds a way. So ready or not, if there is a baby on the way and she chooses to carry to term, then this is where my greatest concern lies. Hope has to be fully conscious of that fact that she is in a position to be the first to break the cycle of less than ideal parenting circumstances. If she still has things that have not been resolved, then, try as she might, those issues will continue to manifest until dealt with. And I think that she would set her recovery aside or significantly slow the pace--basically, grin and bear it, maybe actually believing that she'll dust off that work at the first opportunity--so that in the present she can be the best parent and partner in parenting she could be, though doing so may unfortunately bring about the opposite results.

My other concern is that if she happens to miscarry while early in her recovery, it may set them both back a great deal.

There are so many possibilities that come with an untimely period! I suppose my question would be, and you bring up great points, how long should they wait and how ready *IS* ready, anyway? Their plan was to get married, travel for their honeymoon, come home and have babies and love on each other. Elliot snatched all of that away so imagine Jay (I would say he wasn't dismissive, moreso, that's kinda their communication style. Remember when he had to be super direct with her during the whole Kenji Debachle™?), continuing to put his brand new life on hold for the actions of a man who almost killed his wife and ultimately any future children he'd have with her.

So how long should they wait?

Jay said at the cathedral that they were leaving to finish what they started across the street at the chapel and Hope (after some hesitation) got in that limo and dipped out. We know Hope, she's strong willed. She would have told him about himself if she didn't also want to leave.

Another example:

Jay also said "All I've ever BEEN is patient" during that argument about her "college friends". And he wasn't wrong, right? He's always very patient with her. So the nudging he's doing is how he helps her along. Hope, as an overachiever, needs a lot of reassurance. Jay comes in clutch with that and that is what we see him doing.

Last thing because I realize I'm writing a novel here lol

Hope is acutely aware of where she stands in the line to break generational curses. She was aware of it when she ran away as a teenager and even before that when she honored her grandmother by teaching her auntie to respect sex work. One thing we don't have to worry about with Hope is her repeating anything her grandmother did as a mother. Indya and Darren's parenting broke an entire generation of curses because look at how they are raising/ed their children! Hope is 2nd in line to break curses, not the first and its a beautiful thing to have witnessed.

Yes everyone is still in therapy after a major traumatic event a couple months ago. Yes they just became legally bound but I fear they'll be waiting forever if they wait for simulated life to give them perfection.

#story stuff #we're on it y'all! #babygate is upon us

[strwbmei]

"Does anyone else just have an inherent belief that they are a bad person?.."

•

Literally. I had this little thing from a few years ago that I managed to somewhat push down. It's weird and I don't know how to feel about it. It's like- I sometimes overthink too much and sabotage myself, thinking something in the lines of; "I am not attractive/good/successful enough to be happy alongside my friends/family" (and it's something simple like laughing together or just hanging out around them)

[It got so bad that I dedicated 2 years into 'fixing' my nose bump that was (and kind of still is) my biggest insecurity, and ended up breaking my nose, damaging some internal shit that made it fill with liquid, not to mention the pain, and now I am left with a permanent red scar on my nose bridge, but at least I got over it and changed my view of it - it's something so little and so insignificant but it somehow makes me feel like less than other people.]

In my case it's mostly based off appearance but I also feel like I should be as productive as an adult while I am actually just a depressed teenager (16). I feel like I am wasting my time with anything that I don't get a clear result out of. I have really high standards for myself. Being a perfectionist also doesn't help my case. So a 'solution' to this is my new schedule that I hold myself strict to - getting up at 5 am, doing all sorts of things while still having most of my time go to school, doing a specific sport 3 times a week for my dad (nevermind that I still have my own goals and work out separately), actively trying to get better at art and writing, as well as pick up new hobbies, and still aiming to get around 8 full hours of quality sleep.

What I'm trying to say is that I subconsciously and consciously think that I will become a failure if I don't excell in every aspect of my life - education/hobbies/skills/social life.. etc. And that gives me the twisted thought that I don't deserve happiness before I actually achieve something significant.

I kind of went on a bit of a ramble here but your post awoken a memory that I needed to write down (to maybe get my head cleared)

One thing that has really helped me, and continues to, is MBTI. But the deeper version of it that's more than just the immaculate, 'for fun' test - the actual trying to understand the way that different people's brains work.

I am no expert on it but I am getting the hang of it. Enough to find out my MBTI - ENTJ (8w9). Knowing my strengths and weaknesses, and the thought process I go through have really helped me better understand and eventually better myself, I also find it quite fun.

So yeah, I feel like a 'bad' person quite a lot.

I'm sorry if my post made you uncomfortable in any way. I can't say that I've ever gone to the same extent, but I definitely empathize with the feeling that I don't deserve to be happy unless I do something that others deem remarkable and worthy of attention. I don't know you personally, but I'm sure that you aren't a bad person!

On the more positive side, mad respect to you for somehow being able to balance all of that stuff! I can barely keep up with having 3 hobbies, ahaha... I'm glad you found a healthy way to cope with what you're feeling, though.

#・❥・strwb inbox

[seancamerons]

I love coloring, designing, and writing so much.

Doing these things keeps my mood so good, and happy. I 💖 it. I love being a creative! It's awesome. While I do get critical of my designs and writing, but I've made progress, and I can be super dedicated and passionate and happy accidents are reframed from what id normally view as a mistakes or id criticize it to where its no longer fun and happy.

I'm so thankful I was able to overcome and press onwards on my creativity journey, especially after i suffered with perfectionist times and burn out for the better part of 8 years. Only a decade ago I focused primarily on writing and creating passion projects as opposed to other things and I've become more driven and find myself loving and trusting the processes to come what may and everyday little chips away at the negatives and looking at the good and the positives. It's awesome I was able to do that and look at things differently. Even older projects I am less critical and look at it as it is, a journey, where the destination is eventually a thing but in the moment the present I'm focusing on the big picture and not getting overwhelmed. Although occasionally the little things make it worthwhile too, they're big parts of the puzzle of hodgepodge I call life. Like a variety pack of chocolates ,you never know. If anyone is feeling down or ultra critical just know that you never know until you start. Whatever you do my asvkce is to never criticize straight out the gate or downtqlk or downplay your dreams and ideas, even if they're mostly fantastical or unrealistic to you or others. You can find joy in that. It might not even look good to you at first but don't discount yourself, just get up and try again and maybe revisit and come back there is no shame in trying.

That being said, you ever said kind words about my creative projects and supported me on my various projects over the years, that is great, here is a giant thank you. It means so much, and I appreciate those words and positivity and support generally. ✨️

Also many thanks tumblr too for existing and giving me a place to be sharing and working with like minded folks. To me it's not a hellsite, but a outlet for me and others like me, or different from me to grow for the past decade plus and hopefully for many years to come. It took me a long time to get to this place, it took fails, false starts, therapy, comforting myself and kind words and even high spirited cracks qnd self criticisms to let go of my sometimes high expectations and standards I'd unrealistically set for myself. I was goddamn hard on myself. I was miserable and not even confident, and sometimes I'd discount myself and my skills or feel down or feel something was ugly even if it got notes or recognition I thought it was pity or a joke. I used to be and still can be sensitive too, that went hand in hand with my low esteem for myself and pettaining to myself. Idk why I thought it could be easy, a life in the creative realm but it's a double edged sword. The way I saw it I was preparing myself for crits. Hard-core crits that decimated my dreams initially and turned me into what I was. No more. I don't really like who I was then. I want to instil that to my friends here that failure isn't a measure of you as a human, you give up too easily or procrastinate? You are setting yourself up to feel the same on other things too.

Fot instance, I forced myself to uphold comparisons to help me, when it only hindered, and now I am at peace, finally. I wish I knew what I knew before, years ago in college fighting so hard, that one day I'd be at peace with myself, decisions, just because I failed once it's not my destiny or destination, it ain't over until it's over and to me it's only just begun.

Love always, Brimi

💗😊💙💖😊💙😊💙💗

#words #about me #happy creativity #design #art #coloring #coloring books #writing #writing tag #criticism #reviews #comments #support #positivity #motivation #thoughts