#i feel like this could be more eloquently put especially if i was better at writing but oh well

[kitorin]

sweet dreams.

in which, nanami kento finally goes on a long overdue vacation

contents. nanami kento x gn!reader, 2.965k words, fluff but then heavy angst (mcd and hurt no comfort), mentions of murder (true crime stuff) but no detail of it, reader is a coward and really can't handle horror (sorry that's just me projecting)

"What did you do?"

Guilt makes your lips purse, tongue swiping over them out of habit. You didn't want to call him, to interrupt him during the night shift he ever so loathes, contributing to the things he has to do.

But with demons lurking in the dark and the sense of impending doom beginning to latch onto you, it felt necessary, especially when fear decided to be quite clingy.

"I got scared."

A tired sigh comes from the phone. "How many times do I have to tell you not to watch anything disturbing at night?"

"This documentary got really interesting. I wanted to know what happened next..." Explicit content was fine, with Kento there to cling onto and his never-ending reassurance. Your husband watched these intense shows and documentaries without so much of a flinch, unfazed by quite literally everything displayed on the screen.

You, on the other hand, was a completely different case.

The slightest raise in volume managed to steal a scream from you, and jump scares had you flinching just a bit too hard. The mere build up and suspense of the music had your heart racing, even if nothing happened and it served as a little trick.

"I'm so sorry Ken, I'll hang up so you can focus on work." You're an adult, you shouldn't be so cowardly towards a mere genre of entertainment, and you should know better not to consume it.

Your thumb reaches for the red button, and your emotions hold you back, while rationality argues not to.

"No. Neither of us are going to be hanging up."

One part of you celebrates quietly, while another insists. "But you're working. Overtime nonetheless, and I know you hate those shifts. It's best to get everything done as soon as possible and get out of there."

His voice is raspy, garnished by a sultry tone. "Love, I belong to you, not my job. I do appreciate your thoughts, but you're more important than a mere paycheck."

Fuck. There it is, his eloquent, smooth way with words.

"Still. I can wait." That was a lie, though one you were willing to utter if it meant he'd prioritise his job. "Besides, what about that higher up you mentioned? The irritating one that's childish and overtalkative?"

Kento chuckles. "He's here, but he takes his job seriously and is highly capable. I'm on break anyways. Talk to me. If you can."

"I read about the Sapporo murder case. I still feel like the culprits from the case is going to sneak up on me. Or one of the zombies from Happiness." You adored the show and its cast, but god forbid you sit through another one of its jump scares.

"That's fine, it's normal. The point of this type of media is so scare. A lot of effort is put into making sure they elicit emotion." You cling onto every word he speaks, the world around you still there, only a bit blurry now. "Breathe in through your nose for four second, pause for two. Then breathe out through your mout for another eight."

Have you brushed your teeth?"

Kento hums as a response when you answer yes.

"Where are you right now?"

"In bed, but I need to clean up and turn off some lights before I sleep."

"Ignore it. I'll do it when I'm home."

"Are you sure?" There was no point in asking that, not when you'd rather not move away from the security of the doona. "You're going to be exhausted by the time you're home."

"Doesn't matter to me." Genuine indifference to the matter displays itself in Kento's tone. "I took a nap earlier, had a coffee or two as well. I'm going to be alright—" Something in the background echoes, though you could barely decipher what you were hearing, the furious tone of the voice concerned you.

"Who was that...? Is your boss mad at you? Wait but it doesn't make sense for a boss to give you a nickname—"

For a moment or two, Kento remained silent. "No, just an enthusiastic intern. He's talkative and sometimes loud but he's a good kid."

Your former worry dissipates, so quick that it almost seemed like it was never there in the first place. "Nanamin, was it?"

He sighs, the two of you know damn well that you'll refuse to forget that one.

"It's cute! Nanamin. I like how it sounds."

Voice softening, he replies with a chuckle. "I feel like you'd get along well."

"You should invite him over then. He must adore you if he's calling out to you that much."

"If that's true then I'd say the feeling is quite mutual." All you have is his voice, yet you can say without a doubt that he's beaming, a subtlety only you'll ever know— one of the many which compose the love between the two of you.

"Keep working." You whisper as a yawn claws out of your throat.

"Are you sure? Are you okay now?"

You nod, though he can't see it. "I am. Just listening to you helps a lot."

"I'm glad."

"Do your best at work, okay? And make sure you stay safe on the way home?" You hold back a grin, even though you're alone in your shared bedroom. "I have a surprise for you when you get home."

Kento piques with curiosity. "Really?"

"Yup, I think you'll love it." You stare at your bedside table, where tickets to Malaysia were stored. "I hope you do, at least."

"If it's coming from you of course I'll love it sweetheart." It's miraculous really, how you've been together for so long yet you have to suppress the urge to squeal over his sweet words. "My boss is going to start making me work again, good night darling. Sweet dreams, love."

You fall asleep with ease that night, this time with welcomed thoughts of spending time with Kento on the shore of Kuantan, running around whilst cherishing the cold, salty water licking at your ankles; rather than the intrusive thoughts from earlier.

"You could've kept talking to them. I wouldn't've told anyone even if it took a lot of time."

Fushiguro Megumi is examining the sharpness of his blade when he reassures his teacher Nanami Kento, not looking up from his weapon, seated by the railing of the bridge.

"I appreciate that, but it'd be wrong of you." He moves his shoulders in circles, loosening his tie to wrap it around his knuckles. "I can teach you other methods."

"Pardon?"

Nanami crouches in front of Megumi. "Your breathing changed when I told them how to." The student doesn't respond. "It varies from person to person, I've tested out a lot."

Megumi still doesn't answer, averting his gaze towards the weapon that he held down.

"Fushiguro - kun. Are you scared?"

The younger finally speaks once more. "... I guess." Hesitation presents itself in his words, barely stable and his reluctance to maintain eye contact. "I won't let that stop me from completing my tasks—"

"It's okay. You're merely sixteen, you're not even old enough to drink, nor get your driver's licence."

Megumi returns to silence.

"Look at me." And so Megumi does. "To be a child is not a sin. I'm perfectly fine with withdrawing you from this operation if it's too much."

"Wouldn't that get you in trouble?"

Indeed he would. He'd tolerate plenty of discipline and anger from the higher ups. But Nanami Kento knows too well what it's like to risk you and your peers for a 'greater good', at nonetheless a ridiculously young age too—an age where you're supposed to go to regular school and be regular, stupid kids figuring themselves out; not witnessing the death of the ones dear to your heart with the sight of their corpses forever imprinted into your mind, nor have the stench of blood memorised meticulously instead of historical dates or mathematical formulas.

If it were up to him, he'd prohibit such exploitation of children. None should be performing such tasks, even if born with an advantageous cursed technique.

If the higher ups adopted the same philosophy as him, Haibara would be alive and well, and Nanami wouldn't feel his stomach lurch whenever he sees a bowl of rice, nor flinch whenever he hears the mention of Geto Suguru. 

'I don't mind if it means you'll be at ease. Gojo can protect me, and if I'm unable to extract you from this operation then I'll handle everything."

Megumi takes a deep breath. "I shouldn't run away. I'll do my best. I have Tsumiki I need to return to. We should go find Itadori now."

“If you say so then, but it’s still my duty to protect you.” With a final, strong tug he tightens his tie around his knuckles. “I can't guarantee any results, not in this instable world and career. What I can promise, is that I will protect you with my life."

A determined nod from Megumi is all he needs.

Quick and efficient; that's the plan. Shibuya was already a mess, and all he wanted was the security of your arms within the four walls he calls 'home'.

"Thank you for having us."

Megumi, the one with the messy, black hair speaks coldly, though very politely, his manners were courteous and so was Yuuji. They'd come to your door and introduced themselves as interns at Kento's company. Now, they were seated in your living room, on your couch.

"Don't mention it, Ken's always been fond of the interns." You already miss him, he must've stayed overnight at the company again. "Are you okay with first names?"

Both nod.

You smile. "So, Yuuji, Megumi, what have you come here for?"

Yuuji speaks first. "It's about Nanamin, I mean Nanami—"

Without malicious attempt you cut him off. "Nanamin is fine, I overheard you calling him that last night. He was fond of it, it was quite cute after all." You chuckle to yourself at it. 

The boy swallows, appearing apprehensive. He sounded so enthusiastic last night, perhaps he was the type who needed to warm up towards people first.

"Well, um."

You don't say anything, giving him time to respond comfortably.

"Nanami sensei passed away last night." Megumi finishes what Yuuji couldn't.

Your heart drops.

Temptation to make an accusation of a prank attempts to claw out of your throat, but with how their expressions scream nausea and discomfort, it'd be rude to do so.

That explained why he never kept his promise of finishing up on chores, knowing Kento he would’ve done everything to make sure he made it home to do as he said he would. 

"What happened?" It doesn't feel right— and it isn't at all, but you have to figure out the truth, even if this all doesn't seem real.

"There was a fire." Yuuji whispers, barely loud enough and coherent with the tremble of his voice. "And he didn't make it out in time."

You remain silent, so does Megumi. Yuuji bites his lip, suppressing what seemed to be a sob.

"I see."

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. If only—" It drowns out in his bawling. "It was my fault. He—"

He completely lacked incoherency now, hiccuping as tears rolled down his cheeks.

"He helped us first." Megumi once again continues Yuuji's words. "But they recovered his body, we brought you his ashes."

He pulls out a package from his shoulder bag, wrapping it to reveal a pale blue funerary urn. Megumi places it onto the table.

"I'm sorry. If I had been capable of protecting myself he wouldn't've died saving me."

Your gaze meets Megumi’s, you're too afraid to properly acknowledge the urn, where your boyfriend was supposedly resting.

Silence permeates the air, Yuuji bites his sleeve to suppress his crying and Megumi breathes shakily.

"Don't apologise. You have no reason to. Neither of you." You've barely known the two, but the way Yuuji was sobbing broke your heart, and how both seemed to genuinely believe they caused Kento's passing. "It's not your fault. I don't think it is, and he would agree with him. He made the choice to help you, because he cared deeply for both of you. You can cry freely, I won't stop you." You muster a smile, hoping it'll be comforting in some sort of way. They're only kids, they can't be blaming themselves for the death of another they didn't cause.

Yuuji's teeth release the sleeve of his hoodie, hiccuping out what sounded like a thank you. You push a tissue box towards him, to which he accepts the offer.

"You idiot…” Megumi sniffles a bit.

“It’s okay, you’re going to be fine.” You pat him on the back, rubbing it too. You give him your phone, opening a new contact. “I’d like to invite you two to the funeral, can I have your contact details? In the meantime I’ll make some tea.”

You earn a nod, and are quick to retreat into the kitchen, hand holding your mouth shut as you slowly cry, pleading for Yuuji and Megumi to be unable to hear. 

"Kento! We're here, at Kuantan!"

After a long flight and travel, you finally arrived at your destination, you had dropped your luggage off at the accommodation, the urn Megumi had given you was held up against your chest.

I've always wanted to go to Kuantan, in Malaysia. One day I'd like to build a house on a secluded beach and live there. Of course with you, if you were okay with it.

You take off your sandals, tossing them away as you approach the shoreline, the coolness of the water catching you off guard. You continue walking, until it reaches halfway up your calves.

Off goes the lid of the urn, and you toss the ashes into the beach, watching the waves swallow Kento whole. It's not long before the urn is empty, you've never had to scatter someone's ashes, yet it felt like something was missing.

In all honesty, you have no idea if Kento wanted to be cremated, you've never touched on the subject of death, probably because the two of you were so young.

But something tells you this is the right decision. Kuantan's beautiful, and he wanted to go when work and money permitted him to do so. He'd loved to read a book under the shade of that large tree over there, and would've wanted to try fishing at the rock ledge nearby. It was just the two of you here, even better.

Fuck.

As you watch him swim into the ocean, you notice the tears threatening to spill. You don't bother trying to avoid it, not that you would've been able to.

"It's not fair!" You yell, out into the ocean. You don't blame Yuuji, or Megumi, or anyone, but you're still livid. "I miss you, I miss you so much that it gets hard to breathe."

The ring box feels heavy in your pocket.

"If you had to leave this world early you could've done it later." Your cry becomes a sob. "Just one month, then I could've fucking proposed. I don't need a honeymoon or marriage, I just want your fucking answer."

In an ideal world, you'd like to think that he would've accepted without hesitation, but that fantasy doesn't compare to the pain of remaining oblivious to his answer forever.

"Who's going to comfort me now? Who am I going to spend the rest of my life with? Who am I going to cook dinner with? What about Yuuji and Megumi? They had to finish their internships without you. Do you know how hard Yuuji cried when he came to tell me you passed away?"

By no means are you mad at Kento, you could never. But anger that slowly accumulated in your heart for the past few months, and had erupted. The empty coldness of your bed stings, and the amount of cutlery required being halved overwhelms you with misery. You can’t even laugh at his high school photos anymore, the amusement from his ridiculous haircut can’t triumph over the fact that he had passed away a mere ten years later. 

You’d much rather store it all away, each and every possession and photo of the man. The sight of his favourite mug serves as a harsh reminder that morning coffee with him will never happen. Listening to old voice mails seemed reassuring and almost lulled you to sleep, until you had to come to terms that he was truly gone once more. 

But at least sound can be captured.

What about his scent? Eventually his clothes would lose their scent, they probably were already on that course, even with your refusal to wash them. Touch can’t be preserved, you can cling onto the memory of your skin against his for as long as you want, but you’ll never truly experience it again.

“Goodbye Kento!” Despite your miserable state you pull yourself together just enough so you can see him off with a smile. “I love you, so so much. More than anything in the world, I always will! Thank you, for being there. Th-thank you for loving me.”

You've lost the energy to yell, throat now hoarse. You venture deeper into the shore, not caring about your clothes getting wet, as your face gets soaked with your own tears.

Who's fault is it? Was it the culprit of the fire (if there was one)? Or perhaps yours, for not proposing earlier. Maybe then he would've been safe and sound in Kuantan, after taking leave. Perchance it was the heavens deciding they’d rather just not authorise him to spend the rest of his name.

Whoever it was, it doesn't matter. Nothing could bring back the warmth of Nanami Kento. 

taglist (send ask to be added) : @yuzurins, @pokkomi, @chigirizzz

© kitorin : do not repost, plagiarize, change, or translate

#nanami my beloved #nanami kento #jjk nanami #nanami x reader #jujutsu nanami #kento nanami #jujutsu kaisen #jjk x reader #nanami kento x reader #jjk #nanamin #jujustu kaisen #fluff #angst #nanami angst #nanami fluff #kento nanami x reader #nanami x you #nanami kento fluff

[writingseaslugs]

Octavinelle: When You're Sick

Favorite dorm here we go! This was fun to write and hmmmm I really wanna be taken care of by the Octrio. They can be good at it, I swear! As always, the intro is the same as Heartlabyul and Savanaclaw, so feel free to skip it if you’ve already read those parts.

Disclaimer: All characters in this series are aged up. For more information about my version of this world and the type of reader you can expect, please click the “Au Information” below!

Request Information | Masterlist | Au Information

Octavinelle: When You’re Sick

The worst thing to ever happen to you while attending Night Raven College had to be, hands down, getting sick. You were alone in the dorm with only ghosts and Grim to keep you company, and as much as you loved them, they couldn’t take care of you when you became sick. This meant you had to make do and hope that everything was alright. Normally if you were under the weather, you’d just suck it up and go to class so as to not worry anyone. This time however, that wasn’t an option.

You woke up with every muscle in your body feeling sore and aching with even the slightest movement. Your stomach churned something fearsome and you had a runny nose and cough to boot. You had no idea what illness you had fallen to. Having so many symptoms…you could only assume it was the flu or something akin to that.

Still, there was no way you were making it to class like this. So begrudgingly you told Grim you weren’t feeling good and needed to rest, and to go to class and get your homework so you could do it later. The demon cat was grumpy about not having his henchman, but eventually gave in, leaving you alone to rest in your room and hope that whatever you had would go away.

Azul Ashengrotto

Azul is going to be concerned the moment he hears from Floyd and Jade that you’re home sick. He knows you tend to take care of others and neglect your own health, at least in the time he’s known you at the college, so he’s automatically assuming the worst. So he’s going to excuse himself from his own work at the lounge, pack up all his paperwork, and head over to your dorm. He needs to make sure his best customer, and sometimes best worker when you were strapped for cash, was okay and not actually dying, as Floyd so eloquently put it.

He’s not half bad at taking care of others oddly enough, though he is lacking in experience. It’s one of the many things he studied in his free time, so he at least knows what he’s doing. He’ll be calling the nurse anyway just to check in on you and make sure it’s nothing too serious. Once he gets that out of the way, he’s going to do his best in following directions and making sure you recover in the most timely manner possible.

Thankfully he does care for you, so he won’t be making any comments about how helping you out will come with a price later, like picking up shifts at the lounge. In fact, he’s very gentle with you and asks questions in a softer voice than normal. He even orders food from the lounge to be delivered so you can have something warm to eat that’s also delicious. He will be doing work on the side, especially the moment you fall asleep, so don’t be surprised if you wake up to pages turning.

Once you’re better it’s like a weight is lifted off his shoulders. He’ll be in a chipper mood as well, something the twins will notice right away. If you bring up wanting to repay him, he’ll just inform you that if he ever falls sick, you’ll be the one nursing him back to health. A good compromise in the end, and something you were already planning on doing for him.

Jade Leech

Jade won’t have too much of a reaction to finding out that you’re sick, other than a frown being placed on his lips. He finds out through Floyd when he’s complaining that his Shrimpy couldn’t come out and have fun since they were dying at home from some horrible, debilitating disease. Jade knows his brother is playing things up, but this does give Jade the little push he needs to go in and visit you to make sure you’re okay.

Thankfully Jade is one of the more competent boys when it comes to taking care of others. He’s already figured out exactly what was wrong with you and is grabbing some of the best medication from Sam’s, since the stuff the nurse has is “mediocre at best”. Since Jade is normally the one having to take care of Floyd when he’s sick, he knows all the things to do if you happen to be stubborn, especially with taking medication. 

He’s just very soft with you, showing you a genuine smile as you eat the soup he brings you, and playing with your hair. He doesn’t need to do much when taking care of you, trusting the medication to do all the work, but that doesn’t mean he’s going to want to leave your side. Just expect Floyd to be paying you a visit as well, even if you’re asleep, and waking you up. Where you have one twin, chances are you have both of them, but it’s all good since they’re both amazing at making you smile. Jade stays even after Floyd gets bored and heads back though, and he’s without a doubt skipping his shift at the lounge that night.

Jade is in a noticeably better mood once you’re better, but don’t be fooled. He’s going to be using this against you in an attempt to have you join him on one of his hikes. Saying something about the fresh air and moving your body will be good for you. He won’t force you, but he’s definitely going to be playing up that he’s so hurt if you decline. Just go with him, if you get tired the string bean of a man can and will carry you up a mountain.

Floyd Leech

Floyd doesn't even know how to react when he discovers you’re sick. He’s both mad and sad, all at the same time. People are going to be parting like the red sea the moment they see him walking down the hall with a scowl on his face. His shrimpy couldn’t possibly be sick, it wasn’t fair. He had so much planned to do with you today and now you couldn’t even leave your bed? He won’t stand for this and after pouting for half the day, Jade comments that he can simply visit you and maybe help you feel better. There goes the switch and suddenly Floyd is in an amazing mood as he ditches the rest of his classes and work just to go and visit you. 

Floyd isn’t half bad with taking care of others if he’s in the mood to do it. He is the one who takes care of Jade when he’s sick (which normally Jade gets sick right after Floyd). He’s not going to be talking to you in a super gentle voice, or babying you unless he finds it fun to do so. If you happen to get flustered by him doing so, then he’ll be more inclined to literally spoon feed you.

Floyd is just going to raid your medicine cabinets rather than going out anywhere, since it’s just the flu he assumes it’s not too bad. He’s also using your kitchen to cook you some meals and bringing them to you. He’ll be smiling brightly when you’re eating the food he made, and whenever you take the medicine. He feels so accomplished knowing that you’re getting better due to his efforts. There is a good chance he won’t be spending the entire day by your bed, since he’ll get bored, but he will be there on and off the entire time you’re sick.

You’re getting a good, healthy squeeze the moment you’re all better. Floyd is just over the moon and already telling you about all the things he has planned now that you’re no longer dying. Be nice and humor him, he has been going through a lot of emotions the entire time you’ve been sick. He just managed not to show you, but anytime he left the dorm, he was back to being grumpy and irritable, to suddenly depressed and closed off. He was really only smiling when taking care of you, so he deserves to squeeze you for a good while now that you’re no longer sick.

#Twisted Wonderland #Twisted Wonderland x Reader #TWST #TWST x Reader #TWST Wonderland #Twisted Wonderland Disney #TWST Disney #Azul Ashengrotto #Azul Ashengrotto x Reader #Azul x Reader #Jade Leech #Jade Leech x Reader #Jade x Reader #Floyd Leech #Floyd Leech x Reader #Floyd x Reader

[rs-hawk]

Do you have any writing tips? Even if it’s not necessarily for smut?

I won’t be touching on tips for smut at all on this post but I can make a separate post for it if y’all want.

My Top 10 Writing Tips

Love all your characters. Yes, even your antagonists. Hell, especially your antagonists. Even if they’re evil for the sake of being evil, if you want a 3 dimensional character, you have to acknowledge that they’re more than just evil to someone. Their mother. Their friends. Their dog. You have to think of their motivations, and honestly?-acknowledge that every character you write has a part of you in them. Maybe just your anger, your fear, your trauma, but love them for that, and it’ll shape them and your works in ways you never thought of.

Don’t reread your work too often! It’s hard (so very very hard) but when you have to crank out 2k words a day every day of the month but 2 it gets easier. Lol. Fr though just keep chugging along. You can reread later. You can edit later. Just get it done.

Don’t edit too much while you’re still actively writing. I know that’s hard, I really do, but if you keep rewriting, you’ll never be able to finish. You’ll keep writing a handful of scenes over and over again until you hate it, your book and yourself for “giving up”. You can edit later.

Write for yourself. It doesn’t matter how good of a writer you are, how beautiful or eloquent your style, if you hate it with every fiber of your being, it’ll turn to dust in your hands. I consider writing work, and when people enjoy themselves at work, not only do they do better, but the consumer enjoys it more. Think about it. If you’re at a restaurant and the workers are laughing and smiling with each other and seem genuinely happy, you’re more likely to go back than if they’re miserable, on the verge of tears and seem to hate being there, right? The same is true for your writing. Readers will enjoy it more if they can feel how much you enjoyed creating it.

Don’t just write. Listen to music. Get up and go for a walk. Text/call a friend. Watch a TV show. Pet your cat. Experience something. It helps you write but it also reminds you that hey, you’ve been here like eight hours. Get something to drink. Take a screen break. Go outside.

Be comfortable while you write. I’m not going to lecture you on posture because I’m currently laying down with my legs drawn up under me, my upper body turned and my phone in the air because I’m trying to put enough pressure on my lower back to pop it. Anyway, even if you can’t stay in one position long, switch. Listen to your body. A “proper” posture can end up hurting you if you don’t ever relax or if you’re putting too much pressure on your lower spine. It’s okay to lean. It’s okay to lay down. It’s okay to sit cross-legged. Just not at the expense of your body. Be aware, and don’t forget to get up and stretch!

Take breaks. Eat. Drink. Stretch. Go to the bathroom. Some people need them scheduled, and that’s fine, but also listen to your body. If you need to use the toilet but you don’t have another break scheduled for an hour, just go. Pause your timer or delay your alarm if you want, but take care of yourself.

Don’t be too rigid with your “starting” plot. We know most of us have that one scene or one character in mind we want to write, so we create a plot around them. That’s fine and I love it, but your writing is like a living creature. You might change while writing it. Your characters and ideas might change while writing it. Let them change. Let you change! You can edit later.

Remember it’s not a race. Just because you see some people dropping 3 novels a year, or 5 Tumblr posts every day doesn’t mean you’re not good enough. No one can write what you write. No one can create what you can create. Your work deserves to exist and be judged on its own merit. Not compared to anyone else’s, even if it’s you five years ago who could crank out multiple posts daily. It’s okay.

Don’t expect anything. Start writing because you love it. It makes you happy. It itches that part of your brain that no other hobby does. That no other love does. I’ve been writing for about 15 years now. I don’t know who I am without it. I have tried giving it up, moving past it, doing other things, but I always come back. Nothing else makes me feel the way writing does. I have gone years without writing, but when I start writing again, it’s like a high. I can go for hours, and I have! I have been lucky to be able to monetize my work, but it took 10+ years and was only because I got goofy about werewolves on a PTR app. You can’t go into the arts and expect to make money right away, or ever. You can hope, and do your best, but don’t only do it because you think you’ll make a living. It’s a sad but real fact. Capitalism makes us think we should only do stuff we can make money off of, but that’s a lie. You can AND SHOULD create just to create. Humans are meant to make art, and if writing is your canvas like it is mine, write to create. Fuck capitalism. Your art existing is enough reason to create it.

#writers on tumblr #writing #author #queer writers #my writing #writers and poets #writerscommunity #writing tips #top 10 writing tips #top 10 #tips #writer things #writer problems #writers block #authors #i wrote this #i wrote something #stuff i wrote #i wrote some words #hope this helps #helpful #helpful tips #idk how to tag this #just trying to help #sorry it took so long #sorry this is so long

[sumeruin]

♫♪: minor writing smut, dni if uncomfortable!!

♫♪: pairing: pantalone x secretary! reader

♫♪: warnings: written by a minor, noncon/dubcon, was written to be yandere but could be read without, power imbalance, pet play, lots and lots of cum play, like seriously this is mostly cum play read at your own risk, collaring (but not the actual proper kind), slight blackmail, humiliation, brief exhibitionism, lingerie, i think that’s it, but if i missed anything please let me know!!

♫♪: a/n: part two to this drabble from a while ago!!

♫♪: minor writing smut, dni if uncomfortable!!

this is absolutely humiliating.

you thought you’d be able to handle it, a 10% raise on top of your already obscenely high salary for a secretary would give you enough money to move out of your apartment and get a house, maybe even in one of the nicer parts of snezhnaya, and you figured he’d be at least a little bit nicer since you were cooperative.

oh how wrong you were.

you hadn’t realized how much pantalone would enjoy prolonging your torment. every morning when you get to work ever since you agreed to the uniform change, he’s made you strip out of all your clothes, (in front of him, of course, because, as he so eloquently put it, your body already belongs to him, of course he’d want to watch his property change.) put on the skimpiest, most humiliating lingerie, kneel in front of him while he attaches your leash to your collar, and sit perfectly still while he cums all over your face, multiple times, usually, unless he’s feeling particularly merciful.

he never lets you take off the collar, either. not that you could if he did, there’s a lock on it and you watched him destroy the only key after he placed it on you. today, he seems to be feeling especially cruel, the lingerie he picked out for you is much more revealing than usual, and he decided to cum on your face three times this morning, forcing you to wear a huge amount of his release for the entire day. he chose a set today, with dark blue, see through lace over the entire thing and some leather straps that dig uncomfortably into your skin.

the worst part, though, is definitely the panties. even ignoring the fact that they’re completely see through, only covered by very thin lace, they’re crotchless, and pantalone has taken to randomly pressing this buzzing device he got from fontaine against your clit when you’re walking past him. well, he doesn’t let you walk anymore, good pets only crawl, but you don’t really have any room to protest.

today, he seems to be enjoying humiliating you a little more than usual, he’s been making you kneel on the ground next to his desk with your legs spread for the last two hours, giving anyone who opens the door a perfect view of just how depraved he’s made you look. and oh, do people open the door. he’s been ordering anyone who he has superiority over to come to his office. he even made all his recruits do their reports in his office instead of at the training ground like usual, just so that he can torment you even more. you’re just grateful he at least gave you the mercy of a cushion to kneel on, your knees definitely wouldn’t have been able to take kneeling on his hardwood floors for this long.

you’re quickly snapped out of your thoughts by pantalone’s voice, dripping with amusement and condescension and oh so mocking. he gives your leash a little tug as he speaks, effectively pulling you closer to him by the neck, and once you take the hint and crawl over to him, he grips your chin, chuckling quietly to himself at your appearance as he tilts your head side to side, thoroughly examining you. “well, my dear, how do you like your uniform? i can’t imagine that much cum is comfortable to wear on your face, especially when it’s dried like this…”

you know better than to agree with him, he’s baiting you, trying to get you to complain about your uniform so that he has an excuse to punish you. you fell for it the first couple times, but you’re slowly learning his manipulative ways. your voice rings out, so sweet and clear, knowing that he can’t stand it when you mumble. “it’s not an issue, sir.”

pantalone raises an eyebrow, smirking at you as he coos softly, his hand that isn’t holding your chin moving to stroke your hair. “aw, is that so? do you enjoy wearing my cum on your face, my dear?”

you pause a little at that. it’s obviously a trick question, your only options are to tell him that you don’t and risk being punished, or tell him that you do and risk him trying to make things worse for you. you only have one option, really, you can’t take another one of his punishments, so you speak, swallowing a little bit as embarrassment floods your body. “yes, sir, i enjoy it.”

he gets this gleam in his eyes, and you feel dread slowly clawing it’s way up your spine. he only ever looks like that when he’s planning something terrible.

“that’s good to know, darling… if you enjoy it so much, why don’t i give you more then?” he pauses, letting out a small laugh as he sees the mess he’s already made of your face. “though, i’m afraid there isn’t much room on your face… ah, i know, why don’t you tell me where you want more of my cum, dear? you surely must have a few ideas, since you enjoy it so.” he tilts his head to the side, giving you that he always does when he knows he’s won.

you gulp, thinking for a minute before you settle on your hands. it’s not like you use them for much at work anyways, and it’s a much better option than anything else. “u-um… i’d like your cum on my hands, please, sir.” you pray he can’t tell how reluctant you are as you speak, trying your hardest to mask the dread in your voice.

pantalone gives you a mocking smile, his voice so condescending when he speaks, talking down to you like a dog. “oh? you’d like to have my cum on your hands, would you? i suppose that would work… though you’ll have to clean up any mess you make, of course.” he gives your leash another tug, pulling you in between his legs as he slowly pulls his cock out. “now, pet, cup your hands underneath the tip. and why don’t you give it a kiss, hm?”

you reluctantly oblige, leaning in to press a kiss to the tip of his hard cock, cringing just barely when his precum coats your lips. luckily for you, he doesn’t seem to notice your slip up, too busy loosing himself in the feel of your soft lips on such a sensitive area. he sighs with pleasure, one of his hands tangling itself in your hair as he brings his other one down to stroke his cock, keeping his eyes locked on you the entire time. he’s quickly approaching his peak, and he speaks just before he cums. “beg me for it. beg me to cum on you, pet.”

you feel your humiliation and shame rising yet again, but you know you have no choice when his grip in your hair tightens ever so slightly. you take a deep breath, and then you speak, begging him so obediently, making sure you put some faux enthusiasm into your voice. “please, sir, please cum on me, i w-want it so badly, i n-need your cum, please, sir!”

with a loud, and as much as you hate to admit it? pretty sounding moan, pantalone finally cums. though, only some of it ends up in your cupped hands, most of it shoots out uncontrollably and coats your chest and stomach, the warm liquid covering you thoroughly as you cringe internally at the feeling. he sighs, leaning back in his chair as he grips your leash once again, his hand falling from your hair as he puts his cock away.

he pulls your leash taut, lifting up your body by your neck as he forces you to stand in front of him, his head getting closer to your ear as he leans in, his hot breath fanning over your skin as he speaks words that only serve to make your embarrassment worse, proving that you weren’t fooling him one bit with your little act.

“thank you for humoring me, dear. i know how unenjoyable you find the feeling of my cum.”

♫♪: tags: @mirangel, @drooluwu

#⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾ angel’s creations ⋆⁺₊⋆ ☁︎ #yandere genshin #yandere genshin impact #genshin impact #genshin fanfic #genshin impact x reader #genshin smut #genshin x you #genshin x reader #genshin x reader smut #yandere genshin x reader #genshin impact x reader smut #pantalone smut #yandere pantalone x reader #yandere pantalone #pantalone x reader smut

[milktian]

Fontaine 4.2 archon quest spoilers below <3

I'm so like,,,,, emotional rn like???

First of all, I'm torn on how to feel about Focalor. On one hand, ultimately what she did saved countless people in Fontaine. On the other, she condemned Furina to 500 years of solitude, playing a role that, personally, I think she got tired of very, very quickly. I haven't played her story quest yet, so I'm not sure how Furina feels about it, but even just knowing that she abdicated her position and then left the Court of Fontaine/The Opera entirely is telling.

Also,,, could you imagine being Neuvillete? Your friend brought you into the human world and for 500 years, you've gained compassion and love for them. Then to find out that it was a calculated move by your friend, who as it turns out, has been essentially putting on an act for literally everyone INCLUDING the gods of gods (heavenly principals) like. thats gotta hurt.

again, it was foe the greater good; ultimately an entire nation was saved because of this but they doesn't automatically make all the messy complicated emotions go away.

genuinely, the team did amazing with this quest and ngl this is an example of a 'grey' hero being done right. like, I can already hear the "focalor was icky and mean v focalor did nothing wrong Actually" debate coming up, both sides refusing to acknowledge that, yes, it was a bitch move to not tell anyone - ESPECIALLY the person you are condemning to 500 years of basically loneliness cause if she slips ones ur whole plan is fucked - and on the other, it feels like a necessary evil? it's not good, but it's not wholly bad you get me? someone more eloquent could probably put this into better words.

I just.

#genshin impact #genshin 4.2 #focalor #furina #genshin spoilers #neuvillette #genshin archon quest #🥛ramble #genshin gayming

[steppingonyourshadow]

Selected excerpts from Marie Claire January 2024

It's difficult to miss Xiao Zhan's strong sense of boundaries. When being interviewed, he will constantly say, "if I may put it that way", either as a question or confirmation for himself. He's also constantly reflecting on himself.

For example, constantly reminding himself not to perform from habit, as becoming too accustomed was a slippery slope to the dreaded state of inertia. Like the way he constantly emphasises that he has no interest in putting on an air of mystery, there were many things he had yet to learn, and he was merely sharing his honest, everyday feelings. And like his response to hearing a crew member say he was tireless in pursuit of excellence - that he had yet to reach "excellence" and was only pursuing "better".

Xiao Zhan doesn't speak rapidly, but with fluid eloquence, not with an explosive, fiery temperament. Like pleasant idle chit-chat, with a bit of the classical air of a learned Confucian gentleman.

And he's not even a little tense. Willing to talk about every topic under the sun, and when he's particularly satisfied, he leans back in the chair, holding his right leg loosely with both hands. The conversation ranges from the always resonant emotion contained in classic songs, to AI, our view of humanity, and his experiences in life and acting.

Xiao Chunsheng of "Where Dreams Begin" was a role that felt fresh, because he was so obviously different from Xiao Zhan's own character.

Xiao Chunsheng is a young man from the 70s, whose environment and upbringing could not be more distinct from Xiao Zhan's own. Military coats, "two-eight" bicycles, the ice rink of Shichahai, growing from a callow youth into a middle-aged leader of industry, none of this was familiar to Xiao Zhan.

Even now, traces of Xiao Chunsheng can still be found in Xiao Zhan. When speaking of one of the characters, Chen Hongjun, he kept using "Hongjun-er". That's the Beijing accent he learned for the role: using "er" at the end, "aiyowei" and "huo" as exclamations - these were once a constant refrain for Xiao Zhan.

Language and the time setting aside, the biggest difference between Xiao Zhan and Xiao Chunsheng is in personality. Xiao Zhan is an introvert who enjoys being alone, and Xiao Chunsheng is the complete opposite - he makes friends everywhere and loves to make things happen. Using today's standards, this kind of enthusiasm often translates to a person with a poor sense of boundaries.

"Times change more and more rapidly; today's youth all live fast-placed lives, and won't casually breach each other's boundaries," Xiao Zhan remarked. "But Xiao Chunsheng is a total busybody, which means he can easily cause offence."

When he first read the script, Xiao Zhan was pretty worried about this and felt that it would be hard to make Xiao Chunsheng likable. But after his initial hesitation, it occurred to him that what we need might well be hidden within the traits we mind to the most.

"Vivid", that's how Xiao Zhan describes Xiao Chunsheng and others of his generation. "Unabashed about what they can't stand, what they like. Don't you think they're especially vivid in all their colours and shades?" he asked. Even now, when he thinks of some of the scenes in Where Dreams Begins, the characters still have a vibrant, brilliant glow to them.

Playing Xiao Chunsheng, whose values were some distance from those of today, was rewarding for Xiao Zhan in another way: he learned not to be afraid of making mistakes. He says, "a truly likable character isn't perfect."

During filming he asked the director whether a busybody like Xiao Chunsheng would come across as really annoying. The director told him that this annoying tendency is what makes Xiao Chunsheng, and what makes him an appealing character.

The director's words made Xiao Zhan recognise the trap of wanting to avoid or correct imperfections in his characters. "When you do this, you rob the character of their appeal," Xiao Zhan says, "So I think when getting to know a character there's no need to be afraid, if they're over-enthusiastic then let them be, if they're a boundary-pusher then go with that. If you get stuck on a character's flaws and what might happen when the audience bashes you for it, that makes it impossible to do the job." Because an actor should be playing a character, not an assigned persona.

Not being afraid of flaws can also mean the courage and ability to seek challenges. Sunshine By My Side was Xiao Zhan's first time performing in an urban profession drama. The reason he took this role was simple: modern dramas are very close to reality, since they're about everyday life. That actually makes it harder to deliver a believable performance. Because he had no assurance of success, he became convinced that if he could do it, it would be a valuable learning experience. That's how Sheng Yang came to be.

In filming Sunshine By My Side, Xiao Zhan learned that urban dramas are really reliant on how well the actors work together. Because they're more down to earth, nothing is set in stone, and both dialogue and performances are subject to adjustment.

"We're all living beings, we don't exist to maintain some persona. What we do, what we say, the emotions we express, it's all natural, logical, fluid. If you change something, my performance will change to match," Xiao Zhan says. This creative coupling meant that the actors could not be pedantic and mechanical, so it became a new and fun experience.

Whether modern or costume, Xiao Zhan has always had a clear-headed perspective on choosing scripts and characters. "Quality is always rare. That's why everyone says you can't look for it, it finds you," he says, based on what he's observed in the last while. "Some scripts, the industry might view them highly, but when the show airs the market response might not be that positive. How are we defining 'good'? Is it popularity, or acclaim? It's hard to say."

So all he can do is fall back on his own understanding and instincts, to choose what he thinks is best. As for what he wants to try, Xiao Zhan says, "I've been saying it for years, a lovable and charming rogue*, if there is an opportunity."

*["lovable and charming rogue" is a Chinese internet meme, originating from a line spoken by Tojiro/James of Team Rocket when introducing himself in the Pokemon anime.]

Xiao Zhan says he's a homebody. If he has free time, other than resting, he'll work out or watch a movie. He's never seen watching movies as a chore and will watch anything regardless of genre, whether it's a blockbuster or arthouse film. Recently, he watched Anatomy of a Fall which won the Palme d'Or at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival.

He often rewatches Love Actually around new year's, about once every three years or so. The reason is simple - the familial and romantic love and friendships are wonderful and heart-warming.

As for his hopes for himself, Xiao Zhan had an even simpler answer: "I did a pretty good job in 2023. Hopefully I can keep that up." After a bit more thought, he added: "in 2024, I'd like to love myself a bit more, and give more space to my own feelings and thoughts. That's not only my own resolution - that's my hope for everyone else too."

For Xiao Zhan, the "him" on screen is distinct from his own life. In private, he doesn't spend a lot of time dolling himself up, or wear any spectacular, eye-catching clothes. In everything he reaches toward what is natural and truthful.

"Like for our conversation, just maintaining this kind of comfortable state. I'm not going to put on another face, play another person," Xiao Zhan says. "That would be exhausting. Exhausting." He says it twice.

Like the poet wrote, "my heart may encompass the entire universe." Outside Xiao Zhan's boundaries, there's the delineation of borders, and the wide expanse of the universe.

#Xiao Zhan #text translations

[amewinterswriting]

Things I've learnt from writing fanfiction

Done is better than perfect. We all love our ideas (at least at first) and want them to be as good as they can possibly be and we're brimming with excitement over the shiny new idea. But then we get bogged down in the weeds of actually writing the damn thing and practicality sets in. Fanfiction really taught me to lower my own personal standards and get the story out there. Even if that story is different to the original idea. And sometimes - not always, but often enough - it actually morphs into something I feel is better than the original idea, or at least different in a good way. All of my ideas respond to the characters and what they want to do, and that often winds up drastically different to the original expectation. Learning to embrace that and write it regardless helped me to actually make some progress in my ever expanding WIP folder.

Feedback will not always take the form you want/if you want to get a critique you're happy with, you might have to do it yourself. Fanfiction is great for getting eyes on your work - there is a pre-existing fandom waiting for content and if you throw it up online, especially on a platform like AO3, you will almost certainly have eyes on it within 24 hours. What you cannot guarantee is if someone will like it, kudos it, comment on it or give it any kind of meaningful feedback beyond "this is great, I really liked it". I know a lot of people throw fanfic up for external validation...I don't. It's always nice if I get feedback that points out an element that the reader loved, or gently points out a typo, but I don't actually expect engagement of any kind. Which makes every single kudos feel like a gift, and every single comment is a priceless treasure. If I want more detailed analysis, I purposely seek out my trusted friends in the fandom, with the idea that they know the level of feedback I'm after and know I'll take critiques in the spirit that they're intended. But that's a relationship built on trust and mutual respect and takes time to cultivate. If you want immediate analysis, you need to put on your critical hat and do it yourself. You are always going to be your own worst critic - you know what you intended and how you might have fallen short of the mark. So be kind with yourself and let yourself embrace the things you did do well, too. Look out for the happy accidents.

Taking risks and writing outside your comfort zone. When writing original fiction, you might shy away from writing styles or scenes you have never written before. Commonly, things like smut scenes, action scenes and experimental sentence structures feel too 'risky' to attempt for the first time with your own original ideas. But fanfiction can be a great vehicle for experimenting with unconventional writing choices in a lower stakes way. Fanfiction gave me the confidence to write smut (and I'm damn good at it, if I do say so myself) but also a reason to write a football match (never again, way too many moving parts and characters, would literally rather write an orgy). I wrote a first person descent into immortal madness that started eloquently and ended with the character only able to form single, simple words. I could experiment with writing in first person, in third person with an omniscient narrator and in third person with a close perspective and work out the pros and cons of each for the stories I wanted to tell.

Learning to analyse characters and subtext. One of my biggest strengths when writing preexisting characters (in my opinion) is being able to nail the character voice and motivations. I'd love to say there's a trick to it, but it's just a lot of analysis of the original media and reading between the lines. Working out what we actually know about the character, then what we can assume or guess based on the interpretation of that knowledge. An adult character who adopted a surrogate father figure in adulthood and never speaks of their birth family probably didn't have a great childhood, though the exact reason why might be conjecture (and a great idea for a fic!). A forgotten hero who willingly succumbs to a curse in order to go somewhere familiar must be quite lonely, and is simply seeking to return home, even if it destroys him. Once you understand why a character has done a thing, it's quite easy to find reasons why they might do any number of other things. As long as you can justify why, you can push a character quite a bit further than you might imagine.

Writing for an audience might surprise you. Most of my fics are in very small fandoms. Or a very small niche in a larger fandom. (I genuinely think I have one of the longest fics in a given fandom. Which admittedly only consists of about 30 people worldwide.) So I never really expect much attention and it's just a nice happy accident when I do get anything as simple as a kudos. That said, some of my fics get patterns of kudos that are really interesting. I will often get kudos out of the blue from the same person on everything I have written for a specific rare pair (so rare in fact that I believe I'm one of 2-3 people to ever publish anything for it) - likely a curiosity click that turned into 'wait, I actually ship this now, dammit'. I have a couple of stories with a specific pairing that consistently gets new attention every time there is a big bang or mini bang for that pairing, despite me not being involved in either of those events. Lately, I've had a single guest kudos per day on a little OT3 piece consistently for the last few weeks. Which probably either means someone keeps coming back with different IP addresses every day (which is really flattering) or that this fic is being shared around a friend group, one link at a time (which I love the idea of, someone reading it and then knowing exactly who else would love to read it and it continues to be passed around).

Formatting for ease of reading. Different mediums are read in different ways. Fanfiction is predominantly read on smartphone screens, in my experience. So learning best practices for formatting web text is useful: frequent line breaks, allow text to be dynamically readjusted by the web browser, if you are embedding images make sure they can also dynamically adjust otherwise readers are zoomed into the top corner of the image and have to scroll left and right to piece together the entire work, etc. But fanfiction (and web-based media as a whole) also lets you experiment with things that wouldn't be seen as acceptable in a novel. I've recently published fic that changes fonts to indicate the text written in a letter, and managed to assign different characters their own font to imply characteristics visually (if you do this, try to limit yourself to the most common webfonts around as these are only visible if the reader's browser has these fonts installed). I'm toying with the idea of a future fic - which is all entirely written via the medium of letters between characters - to be entirely visual renditions of the letters to include interesting environmental details like blood stains or scratched out words or torn edges, but I would definitely want to include image ID for people who use screenreaders or struggle with certain fonts.

Pst, if you enjoyed this and want to throw a few coins at my Ko-Fi, that would be very nice and would support me rambling on about other writing topics or getting more of the actual writing done!

#ame talks #writing advice #fanfiction #writing #writblr #fanfic #my writing

[lakecountylibrary]

Hi hi! I'm getting so tired of people trying to make arguments against libraries saying that by using a library you're failing to support the authors (monetarily). Like... do they think libraries are just stealing all these books without paying for them?? Any suggestions on how to set the record straight for these confused booklovers?

You betcha!

Point the First: As you rightly point out, libraries purchase these books that we are lending out.

What's more, we purchase them for more than what you pay when you purchase them from the retailer of your choice (especially if that retailer is Amazon.) We pay extra for library binding and then when the books fall apart after too much use, we pay again to buy replacement copies. And don't even get me started on the extortionate highway robbery er, *rather high* prices libraries pay for ebooks and e-audiobooks we lend out.

Point the Second: Well, maybe I'm biased. I'm a library after all. Let's ask the authors whose pockets we're supposedly picking.

Here's over 1000 authors who signed a petition supporting libraries when publishers and trade associations, in an attempt to defend their behavior toward libraries, tried to make a very similar argument to the one you mentioned.

(And, I know he doesn't have any social media and doesn't speak for all authors, but sometimes a specific example is better than a mob of over 1000: @neil-gaiman has long been vocal about his support of libraries. Here he is in The Guardian, far more eloquent than I have thus far been, on why libraries are deserving of your support as well.)

Point the Third: Libraries serve as points of discovery.

Maybe you don't want to take a risk on a new author. You can pick up the book at your library, discover you love it, and buy the entire rest of the 19-book series, and tell all your friends and your book club to read it, too. That supports an author far more than if you never read the book in the first place because you didn't want to pay for something you might hate.

(But LCPL, you say, I could just pirate it and eliminate the risk that way! Oh straw man, I say, did you not read point #1 in this excessively long response?)

(But LCPL, you moan, You don't have every book I want to read! Oh straw man, get thee to the purchase request page. If a library doesn't have the book, they'll have a way to get it. We here at LCPL can fill requests ~99% of the time, and that certainly puts more money in the pocket of an author than pirating the book.)

Anyhow. This answer has gone on quite long enough, and I thank you for reading this far. Here's the tl;dr: If you can buy a book and want to do so, fantastic! Do it! But don't feel guilty about using your library.

#public libraries #anonymous #LCPL reply #anon #long post #LCPL recs

[twilight-good-yall-dumb]

I just rewatched The Hunger Games with my friends, and it was a good time as always (especially with all the connections I could make after reading ABOSAS), but it got me thinking. The Hunger Games movies are each objectively well made movies. They all did well in the box office, they have surprisingly high critic scores (for movies in the YA genre), and they are all fairly well liked and respected by the general population. And yes, a part of this certainly is the fact that the source material is quality work with meaningful and thought provoking themes and characters, but what really stood out to me was the craftsmanship and care that clearly went into the movie.

Call it following market trends (they saw how well Twilight and Harry Potter did and put forth their resources, invested in the project), but even if they had put all the money in the world into the project, it wouldn't have been good unless the people making it cared. It's so clear that the creatives involved took the concept seriously, that they put in the work to create a convincing world with actors, sets, camerawork, costumes, and editing, that they saw something worth while in the story. I mean think of all the prolific actors involved (Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Lenny Kravitz, Stanley Tucci, Donald Sutherland), respected actors who would have had to agree to the project, who probably saw a real promise in it.

And because of that, they created something so incredible, a series of movies that both book readers and movie watchers could enjoy thoroughly, that people of all ages and genders could take seriously. And this made me wonder how much potential there was in other YA movie adaptations, how if only the source was taken seriously, how they could have thrived. Sure, some just didn't have the potential, the source material didn't offer enough, but for the ones that offered so much more than the movies ever could, I still reminisce on how much better they could have been. And yeah, maybe Twilight isn't the best example of this. There are YA works with far greater potential and genuinely eloquent writing, but to think of how much more Twilight could have been only proves this point, the point that YA novels are goldmines of good material, that if they were taken more seriously by Hollywood (and filmgoers), they would have endless of supplies of good material.

Because think of the Twilight we could have had, a Twilight with the budget of the later movies, but with the care and passion that Catherine Hardwicke had for the first. And this isn't to say that I 100% agree with the route Hardwicke took, but it's so clear that she respected the material, that she wanted to create something revolutionary, something real and raw. It's so hard to feel that in the later movies. I think New Moon was our only real taste of that, of a director who respected the source, of a budget that supported his vision, and of a team of creatives that made it all come true. Imagine if we'd had a four movie series of that. Imagine how much ridicule it could have potentially been spared. Instead, the Twilight movies (and its fans) were left the laughing stock, left to be ridiculed by the masses because the creatives behind the series as a whole never took it seriously in the first place. It became a money making tool for them, and they didn't care how badly it was done, as long as it raked in the young female fans who would spend their allowance to see it.

The Hunger Games did something different though. It took advantage of the gritty nature of the story and it used it to its advantage. It made something that could be respected by any audience, that could be taken seriously as an art form, as blockbuster film, but not one just for teenage girls, one for everyone. Now when are more directors and studios going to take this approach?

#The Hunger Games #Twilight #ya books #film

[skepticalarrie]

Harry knew what he was doing yesterday, he just doesn't give a shit about that movie. He will pour his heart and soul into MP promo and I can't wait to see the difference. The movie is stunning - The chemistry!! - The heartache. Beautiful. As for dwd, they are not even kissing in the "sexy" scene.

As much as I think Harry really doesn’t give a shit about DWD at this point anymore - and he had no fucking clue what he was signing up to when he and his team thought the movie and the stunt were a good idea - I don’t think that this is the kind of situation he just gave up halfway through and was giving those answers because he didn’t care. A lot of people put a lot of money and time into this entire thing, especially the stunt. So ultimately I think we have two options when it comes to Harry’s behaviour and messy answers: 1) They didn’t prep him. He’s obviously not used to these kinds of situations and he was very nervous and uncomfortable about it, and it’s well-known that Harry doesn’t do well or is very eloquent when he’s feeling pressured. He usually just gets away with being cheeky and avoiding answering anything, but that wasn’t enough for a press conference of a movie that was already this messy. He was busy with the tour and his team should have known better.

Or 2) playing dumb and “I don’t know what I’m doing when it comes to acting” was some sort of strategy. And I’m only mentioning this because I remembered his answers on that Rolling Stone article where he was kind of playing down the entire acting thing like he didn’t have a contract with Marvel for god knows how long. That was so weird, he was clearly full of shit and I think the way he was being too broad with his words was leaving too much room for interpretation so people would obviously misinterpret what he was trying to say. Not sure if that could be some sort of strategy because they already knew his acting wasn’t that great on DWD (and the reviews of his cameo on Eternals weren’t great either) so trying to play it down like he had no idea what he was doing in the first place would come across better than if he was actually serious about trying to pursue a career on acting. I’m still very much inclined to believe the first option, where he was simply not ready for it and nervous, but I thought this another point of view was worth mentioning.

Either way, it backfired. And it doesn’t look good. I’m worried for MP because - again, bringing back that RS article - the very little he had to say about MP wasn’t perceived very well. People are already paying really close attention to it because he’s being accused of queerbaiting for ages, and he keeps trying to play both sides. And the DWD press is definitely not playing on his favor now when it comes to take him seriously. So. He’s cornered from anywhere you look at it. So yes I think MP is going to be a great movie and he will be much more confidant and passionate with the entire thing and comfortable with the cast. But if I were his team I’d be making sure he gets his answers right as we speak.

#ask #harry’s image #dwd press conference

[ohmightydevviepuu]

the part of a swan / chapter eight

It should be clear that Emma did not, by any means, regret her ruination.  She did not miss the person she had been before that night; the eager, naive girl, brought up always to behave a certain way, to speak softly, to do as she was bidden, to be what she was told.

Emma no longer believed in allowing people to tell her who she could be.

But Killian Jones is not concerned with who she was–he’s interested in who she is. And he might be the only one smart enough to uncover the truth.

chapter one | chapter two | chapter three | chapter four | chapter five | chapter six | chapter seven [cover art by @snowbellewells ]

--

“So the Honorable Neal Gold finally discovered honor,” Regina said.  “I suppose that has the ring of a happy ending to it.”  She sniffed, and took a sip of her drink.  “You said yes, I take it?  We can put all of this ridiculousness behind us?”

Emma sat by the fireplace, in front of a pile of documents that had never seemed so engrossing.  In truth, it was no small project—a number of club members owed The Swan more than they could afford in cash, and the ownership needed to decide what to accept in lieu of money—but it was not a task that required her immediate attention, especially since it was Robin who typically undertook this review.  Rather, she did not want to answer Regina.

And she did not want to look at her sister-in-law.

“Lord deliver me from men’s wives,” she muttered.

Regina sniffed again, the disdain audible and eloquent in the small sound.  “Careful, Emma.  Do not forget your plot to join our ranks.  Or have you come to your senses on that front after all?”

Emma looked up.  “I don’t think it’s that simple.”

“Isn’t it?”  There was the hint of a smirk, an arch of her eyebrow.  “Does this mean that Jones—“

“No.”

“Pity,” Regina murmured.  She turned serious.  “Emma, I know there is nothing you would not do for your son.  But you know—you must know—that all of us who love him feel as you do.  Is that not so, Mary Margaret?”

“I have a better question for you.  Sister.”  Emma turned her attention toward the silent duchess.  “How long have you known?”

“Emma—“

“Answer me.  Please.”  She meant it to sound like a command rather than a plea; drained, tired, and still waiting for Scarlet, Emma was not sure she succeeded.

“Known what?” Regina put the drink down.  Her eyes darted between Mary Margaret and Emma.

Her sister-in-law looked miserable.  “Since last night,” she said.  “David spoke to me about it when he returned to Dorset House.”

Emma stood, pushing her chair back with enough force nearly to knock it over.  She walked to the side table to pour herself a drink.  “It was my brother who prevented Neal from coming to me.  From courting me, all of those years ago.  And he did it at the behest of Lord Boyle.”  She said this to the window overlooking the darkened casino floor rather than to Mary Margaret or Regina.

“He did you a favor, then,” Regina said.

continue reading on AO3

#cs fic #cshistfic #regency au

[johnnysuedejr]

BLADE RUNNER 2049 (2017): REVIEW

I am a huge fan of the original Blade Runner film (to clarify I mean the Final Cut anytime i refer to "the original"). I couldn't see this in theaters during its initial run and in some ways avoided the film because I didn't want to be potentially disappointed. The marketing at the time was (rightfully) vague and I wasn't sure if Denis Villeneuve had the chops to pull it off. But after seeing Dune in theaters in 2021 I knew I needed to finally give this one a shot but continued putting it off. My brother brought it up this week while I was visiting family and I agreed we should watch it while I was there... well, I am happy to say that I absolutely am impressed and floored by the sheer magnitude of this film and the only thing that would have made it better is to watch it on the IMAX screen it was clearly intended for.

For a film like Blade Runner to get a "legacy" sequel at all is honestly wild to me, but for it to work in the way it does is fucking insane. It pairs perfectly with the first film and doesn't try to recreate the magic of it but instead building upon what was already established while forging its own tone and pacing. Villeneuve's approach to capturing the visuals of that universe is so eloquently executed that it's hard to imagine anyone else (even Ridley Scott himself) being able to bring that universe back to life in a way that feels organic and real, especially 35 years after the fact.

The story is so fucking clever and it's inspiring to see a legacy sequel not rest on the laurels of the past but instead organically take it to an interesting place that doesn't feel forced or unwarranted. They also could have easily phoned it in, easily could have made Harrison Ford a focal point instead of letting Gosling lead the story, they could have easily just made a beat for beat remake of the original film. But they didn't. They took risks, they subverted expectation, and we got an incredibly inspired film because of that.

Gosling is phenomenal here. He's phenomenal in anything he does but his performance here is so grounded and real. He has the chops to have one on one scenes with a legend like Harrison Ford and seem comparable to him. The entire cast is brilliant and I'll even hand it to Jared Leto in that he was selling the sinister nature of his character without overselling it, which I feel can be more of a testament to Villeneuve's direction more than anything but still. Sylvia Hoeks... Ana de Armas... That is all.

My only gripe is the pacing of a few scenes just feeling a tad too slow in the moment of my first watch but I think I can chalk that up to pure anticipation with the story. Outside of that? This is a perfect sequel to a film I already love to death. Can't wait to watch them both back to back someday soon. Truly blown away and happy. Also happy that this film has somehow never been spoiled for me, I was genuinely taken aback at times and I would have been pissed if any of what I saw was spoiled for me before tonight. Bravo.

5/5

#blade runner #blade runner 2049 #movies #film #denis villeneuve #ryan gosling #harrison ford #film review #forever

[elmainlcye]

Do you really think there is a chance of stancy being endgame? Steve's scene watching Nancy and Jonathan's reunion feels like closure to me and...

"Season 5 is going to start pedal to the metal. We're not going to do the ramp-up. There's no time. There's no normalcy, obviously, once you've reached the end of four. That's not like there's going to be time to explore our characters' love life, and how is Steve’s dating going? There's going to be none of that, it's just going to be going 100 miles an hour from the beginning."

i mean the Duffers made it very clear that season 5 is going to be action from minute 1 and the specification that there is not going to be time to explore the love lives of the characters especially Steve makes it look like they are going to leave things as they are on the romantic stuff (jancy, Mileven, jopper endgame).

It's the last season and they have to tie up a lot of loose ends in regards to the overall plot literally they are not going to have more time to delve into the characters love life and that kind of drama like they said.

It's going to be 8 episodes of the length of 45 minutes, that seems to me little time even just for the supernatural plot so....

Also sorry for my bad English!

hi there! in the same interview you're citing, the brothers say this when discussing character arcs in season 5:

"...and again, that's sort of setting up sort of us coming full-circle back to Season 1, and I think you'll see that with a couple of character arcs, not just with Will, but also with Steve and Nancy, and her relationship with Jonathan where things are not fully resolved. The characters have maybe made steps like in the case of Will, but that journey isn't over yet and all of that is going to play a huge role as we try to wrap this thing up next season." (x) so no, the camera panning to steve walking dejectedly away while robin rubs his back was not meant to be seen as closure. and regarding the "how steve’s dating is going" comment, that was the db saying that unlike season 4, where the first two episodes were spent establishing what the characters have been up to for the past year, with little given to the main conflict before all the characters come together when they realize Something's Wrong, season 5 is going to be pedal to the metal. they are picking up right where they left off, no wasting time with What Are They Up To Now b-plots, which is how they've started each season previously. there's going to be no 'how nancy's time heading the school newspaper is going,' 'how eleven's been adjusting to her new high school,' etc. steve dating around to try and find love is an equally easy way to illustrate that point.

beyond that... yes, i do think all of this is to set-up steve and nancy ending the series together. the...12? sdhjk intellectuals in stancy hive have reflected on this much better than i have the bandwidth for, and have eloquently brought attention to themes, motifs, etc. but in essence, they not only brought back romantic tension between steve and nancy, but had dustin and robin, the two people who know steve best and mean the most to him comment on it and advocate for it, had eddie, the now wise-ghost quasi-omniscient plot device characterize it as true love, had vecna take nancy through her unresolved trauma about barb and interspersed that with memories of her and steve’s first time, had her wake up from that trance in steve’s arms, had steve and nancy connect about the future, had steve confess his dreams of a future with nancy that was interrupted before she could respond, and topped it all off with jonathan lying to her about college and what he sees as their miserable future together. and that’s just season 4. and to your point that there’s no time for this in season 5, well, they already did all the work. we just have to hear from nancy.

sometimes you kind of like.. just have to pick up what they’re putting down, you know? there’s a lot in this show that relies on theory. romance has never been that.

#apologies anon this is completely incoherent but i have zero time for tumblr the next week so. #i do not blame you if you don't want to read this so to answer your question: yes indeedydoo #stancy #asks

[pennyserenade]

this is my essay on the rapture if you were ever interested in reading <33 one of my top 4 movies of all time!!

first off mikaela, i just want to say this to you: you are delightfully big brained, and its a treasure to be able to walk through a movie this brilliant with you. you have a fantastic knack for analysis (one that i envy and i hope all of your english teachers complimented you on), with an eloquence that makes you an easy voice to follow.

secondly, i just want to say: you really captured what drew me to this movie, and described it beautifully along the way. this paragraph especially:

Where The Rapture thrives is in its dichotomous approach to religion as both maniacal desperation and delicate salve, as something that harms and something that you just can’t help but cling to. When talk of being called to Heaven began, it was in visions of rivers and pearls. At its culmination, it’s in inability to cope with grief, about wanting to see a loved one that’s been lost. By the time Sharon stands in a tent with her dirty and starving baby girl, jumping at any sound, waiting to be called to God, you start to feel she might’ve been better off taking her chances with the heroin.

i'm an english major, but on my way to getting that degree i've taken a fair share of religious classes too. it fascinates to me learn about religion as someone who was once really good friends with it, and now feels sorta at odds with it at all times. one of the classes i most enjoyed taking posited the idea that religion, along with all things, is a complex organization, neither completely good or completely bad as a whole. we had an entire unit on the benefits of organized religion -- how it offered a sense family, and a sense belonging to immigrants when they came to america; how it played into the civil rights movement; how it put women in novel positions of power (allowing them to organize events before they were allowed their own bank accounts). other classes i took, like latin american history and native american literature, showed the ways that religion allows for preservation of native cultures, even as they are being threatened. catholicism in mexico is saint-heavy and the religious holidays align with indigenous ones, because the indigenous people refused to commit to a religion that resembled nothing they understood to be true. the catholic priests had to adapt and now mexican catholicism is a blend of what was and what came to be. in america, there's so many different strands of catholicism, each a little different, because people who came from ireland and people who came from italy both needed something different, something wholly familiar.

what i'm trying to get at, and what you probably already know is: religion can be great. it can be visions of rivers and pearls - a delicate salve, as you put it - but it can also be horrid, desperate, needy. the rapture does a good job at representing this, and its probably why i like it so much. i haven't honestly sat down and collected all my thoughts on this film before today. i watched it late one night and have continued to be haunted by it, but until reading your essay i never really pinpointed why it has followed me like it has. i think the paragraph before your concluding one offers me up an explanation:

In the end, having given up her daughter out of hope in God, it’s that very loss that breaks the faith that Sharon has filled her emptiness with. Tolkin could have grounded his theme in Sharon’s theological accuracy, and told a story about a woman who was resolute in her convictions, and rewarded with being correct. Instead, he leaves the audience with something much more resonant, and cruel: what if you were right, and it didn’t matter?

what if you were right, and it didn't matter? i think this is a fear that follows both those who follow the church of god and those who subscribe to nothing at all, and maybe that's why its such a terrible gut punch. what happens when do everything you were meant to do, and you come to the other side and find it all doesn't matter? its a terrible, daunting notion that has been stuck in my throat until today, when i read this.

thank you so much for sitting down and writing this essay, and also for taking the time to send it to me. it was a delight to read and i'm so happy to find someone else who enjoys this movie as much as a i do.

#waiting-for-the-day #this is so long i'm sorry #but that essay was insanely GOOD #misc.

[hopelesslyromanticshark]

hey cove! as a poc moot I feel like maybe I should pitch in also?

first of all anyone who's been accusing you of being intentionally uninclusive needs to understand that trying to guilt someone who has expressed a real interest in changing things instead of advising them will not solve the issue, just exacerbate it. they aren't offering any meaningful criticism, they're just yelling at you without offering any suggestions, which serves 0 purpose

I also get why you're hesitant about not wanting to go too far in the other direction and end up stereotyping in the name of inclusion! you value your work and don't want to give it the hallmark treatment, which is very fair of you and a much better way of writing than just resorting to tired tropes for the sake of points

I also understand why the original anon was frustrated, and I'm happy you came to an agreement with them, because you made it clear that you can see what they were talking about and didn't dismiss anyone out of hand. secondary poc ask that mentioned preferring a nonspecific reader over tropey writing hit the nail on the head in my opinion actually!

what people need to understand is that trying to be inclusive by pulling out tropes is still alienating, just in a different way? alienation by omission is what happens when you're constantly left out, which is why people like og anon feel like they're not presented equally.... but on the other hand, stereotypical writing also frustrates us because it feels almost careless, that you're treated as an afterthought who can settle for anything.

and you're aware of this, which the hissing gollum anon needed to understand! you know how disrespectful that would be so you hesitated, and the phrasing was enough to set them off, which is ridiculous because they weren't civil with you themselves.

all told I feel like your need for a break is valid, and you need the rest from tumblr for a bit to gather your thoughts. I also feel like most of your poc audience agrees that more nonspecific descriptions are the way to go, especially because you don't feel like you can suddenly switch up your writing, and you acknowledging that and wanting to try is good, whether bridge troll anon thinks so or not

i know this is very long and a bit rambly, but I feel like you deserve a more mature response than what some people have been plying you with lately (also, some of the characters you are writing for literally are poc themselves....? they're acting you've done nothing and it's so strange.)

anyway, I hope your break treats you well! and remember, it is an option to turn off anon asks if you feel like it. stay safe out there and good luck with the sem!

— aru

firstly, i appreciate you voicing your opinion!! there is nothing more comforting than to hear from those who are actually in the community!!

something that i LOVE that you pointed out that i didn't even realize is the fact that they added NOTHING TO THE CONVERSATION!! all they did was criticize me without backing up your claims or even voicing your opinions in a constructive way. i learned nothing, except that youre a dickwad.

i do regret the way i phrased it, but i was legit trying to keep the mood light because that ask had been stressing me out for a few days...like, dry heaving shaking and just completely frazzled. so, i acknowledge that there were better ways i could have phrased it, but i was like two days deep into the most stressed i'd ever been in my entire life, so im cutting myself a little slack lmao.

everything you said in this is perfect, perfect, perfect. so eloquently put while also tearing those shitty ass anons down.

ive def thought about turning anons off but i feel it would be unfair to those who use it in a respectful manner for their own peace of mind. but its def something i've been considering bc ALL the trouble i have is with anons, from illegal requests to all this junk now. but idk idk

#return to sender ౨ৎ #all my love ౨ৎ

[justanotherghostwriter]

I have, of course, heard the "kill your darlings" writing advice before. But I just realised, through some long-overdue freewriting, why I find it so difficult to write things I love and care about.

It's because I love and care about them. And I know, logically, that it's impossible for the writing that is produced to do all the things I long for it to do. I want my written work to explain my heart eloquently and, in so doing, to help me reach catharsis on certain topics. (Or, at least, temporary peace.)

Most of all, though, I want my writing to give to the people who read it. I long for them to adore my writing not because they'll think I'm great for writing it, but because it will feed them, comfort them, delight them, excite them, lovingly distract them, give them hope...

Nothing I write can do that to the extent/degree that I want. I'm not sure anything any human can write can do that perfectly, and I'm certainly not "high up there". Especially not with fanfiction, though I'll never belittle the genre's ability to impact "as much as original fiction".

I know that my writing is going to fall short of what I want it to be (the potential I fully believe it has, theoretically). So I just don't write it. Because I'd much rather it live with the potential it has in my head and heart than set it down and have to acknowledge that the potential is never going to be reached. Putting it down makes it a solid thing that, yes, may be edited, but exists all the same as an actual, flawed thing and not a much-better potential in my head. Writing the darlings means killing my darlings, and I don't like grieving/mourning what it could have been if...

I dunno. If I was a better writer. If somebody else wrote it. If I'd just researched more or held onto it more or or or or.

I feel a bit like a parent desperate for their kid to get excellent grades while also learning five instruments and six languages. Because I believe they have the potential to be extraordinary. Because I love them. I gotta let the kid be what it is.

I gotta put the story down, and grieve what it will never be, as much as I hate feelings of mourning.

#Writing Life #possibly delete later: I just had to say it again in different words #Recently realised how strong the “responsibility theme” is with me and that made my writing life make a lot more sense lmao