sun-spark

[sun-spark]

In case you writers ever wondered. Made by Carrie Patrick on Facebook.

[sun-spark]

By LabradoriteKing on Pinterest

[sun-spark]

site that you can type in the definition of a word and get the word

site for when you can only remember part of a word/its definition 

site that gives you words that rhyme with a word

site that gives you synonyms and antonyms

[sun-spark]

That moment when the unrelated scenes you've been writing for two weeks both somehow connect (i have no idea how this happened)

[sun-spark]

Hey! Are there blacksmiths in your story? I'm a hobbyist blacksmith and I'm here to help!

Blacksmithing is one of those things that a lot of people get wrong because they don't realize it stuck around past the advent of the assembly line. Here's a list of some common misconceptions I see and what to do instead!

Not all blacksmiths are gigantic terrifying muscly guys with beards and deep voices. I am 5'8, skinny as a twig, have the muscle mass of wet bread, and exist on Tumblr. Anybody who is strong enough to pick up a hammer and understands fire safety can be a blacksmith.

You can make more than just swords with blacksmithing. Though swords are undeniably practical, they're not the only things that can be made. I've made candle holders, wall hooks, kebab skewers, fire pokers, and more. Look up things other people have made, it's really amazing what can be done.

"Red-hot" is actually not that hot by blacksmith terms. when heated up, the metal goes from black, to red, to orange, to yellow, to white. (for temperature reference, I got a second degree burn from picking up a piece of metal on black heat) The ideal color to work with the metal is yellow. White is not ideal at all, because the metal starts sparking and gets all weird and lumpy when it cools. (At no point in this process does the metal get even close to melting. It gets soft enough to work with, but I have never once seen metal become a liquid.)

Blacksmithing takes fucking forever. Not even taking into account starting the forge, selecting and preparing metal, etc. etc. it takes me around an hour to make one (1) fancy skewer. The metals blacksmiths work with heat up and cool down incredibly fast. When the forge is going good, it only takes like 20 seconds to get your metal hot enough to work with, but it takes about the same time for it to cool down, sometimes even less.

As long as you are careful, it is actually stupidly easy to not get hurt while blacksmithing. When I picked up this hobby I was like "okay, cool! I'm gonna make stuff, and I'm gonna end up in the hospital at some point!" Thus far, the latter has yet to occur. I've been doing this for nearly a year. I have earned myself a new scar from the aforementioned second degree burn, and one singe mark on my jeans. I don't even wear gloves half the time. Literally just eye protection, common sense, and fast reflexes and you'll probably be fine. (Accidents still happen of course, but I have found adequate safety weirdly easy to achieve with this hobby)

A forge is not a fire. The forge is the thing blacksmiths put their metal in to heat it up. It starts as a small fire, usually with newspaper or something else that's relatively small and burns easily, which we then put in the forge itself, which is sort of a fireplace-esque thing (there's a lot of different types of forge, look into it and try to figure out what sort of forge would make the most sense for the context you're writing about) and we cover it with coal, which then catches fire and heats up. The forge gets really hot, and sometimes really bright. Sometimes when I stare at the forge for too long it's like staring into the sun. The forge is also not a waterfall of lava, Steven Universe. It doesn't work like that, Steven Universe.

Welding and blacksmithing are not the same thing. They often go hand-in-hand, but you cannot connected two pieces of metal with traditional blacksmithing alone. There is something called forge welding, where you heat your metal, sprinkle borax (or the in-universe equivalent) on it to prevent the metal from oxidizing/being non-weldable, and hammer the pieces together very quickly. Forge welding also sends sparks flying everywhere, and if you're working in a small space with other blacksmiths, you usually want to announce that you're welding before you do, so that everyone in a five-foot radius can get out of that five-foot radius. You also cannot just stuck some random pebbles into the forge and get a decent piece of metal that you can actually make something with, Steven Universe. It doesn't work like that, Steven Universe.

Anvils are really fucking heavy. Nothing else to add here.

Making jewelry is not a blacksmithing thing unless you want jewelry made of steel. And it will be very ugly if you try. Blacksmithing wasn't invented to make small things.

If there's anything here I didn't mention, just ask and I'll do my best to answer.

[sun-spark]

Dutch Melrose's song RUNRUNRUN is about Theo Raeken and no I will not be taking counter arguments on this fact.

[sun-spark]

You know what would have been really cool about cross-element bending? Like lava-bending or mud-bending? Having to use the opposite bending style.

Like, if you're a fire bender who can sense lava, you have to use earth bending style. You can naturally connect with the fire half, but have to use earth style bending to connect with the earth half and direct the whole.

Fire bender + earth bending style = lava

Earth bender + fire bending style = lava

Earth bender + water bending style = mud

ETC.

Like, it would fit so well with Iroh's whole learning from all sources of wisdom/all bending techniques lesson.

[sun-spark]

Thiam WIP - Resurrected Bonds Chp. 18

Theo stared blankly ahead, ignoring the three sets of eyes watching him with concern. When he spoke his voice was flat and hollow - a dispassionate tone acting as a guardian, blocking them all from the haunted, bloodied boy shielded in carefully crafted emptiness.

“I was twelve when a second Chimera survived. He was one of many who were like siblings to me. Others were younger, too young. The doctors started keeping experiments alive for days or weeks to see what would happen, but they didn’t take care of them. I did. And every single one I was forced to kill, experiment on, or watch die before disposing of their bodies.”

[sun-spark]

Resurrected Bonds Chp. 17

Holy sh*t. It's been eighty-four years. Well, two, but that's way too long.

Link

[sun-spark]

Thiam WIP

Liam had been missing for four days and now, somehow, this tiny ball of golden fluff that he’d found while searching and taken to Deaton, had followed him home.

His mate was missing. He did not have time to be responsible for a trouble-magnet puppy.

[sun-spark]

For anyone following Resurrected Bonds on A03 - it's been a long time of writers block, but I'm on the last few paragraphs of the next chapter.

[sun-spark]

[sun-spark]

i hope anyone who decides to read my shit knows that it's all a big mess in my head and it's probably going to be a mess written down too. i'm fine with that. read at ur own risk :)

[sun-spark]

Alright y’all. I need Thiam fics where Hikari is no. 1 Thiam shipper.

Bonus points (not required)

-Hikari and Liam have a cute friendship

-Theo and Liam were always together post season 6 / went to college together and started dating

-Hikari and Theo friendship

-Pack mistakenly thinks Hikari and Liam are together and shenanigans ensue

-Mates Theo and Liam

[sun-spark]

I’m just going to leave this here…

[sun-spark]

THIAM WRITERS. STOP WITH THE AMBIGUOUS/OPEN ENDINGS!!! YOU ARE KILLING ME!!

[sun-spark]

Stiles: What'cha got there Theo?

Theo: *holding a bored and bemused Liam up, off the ground, with his arms wrapped around his waist from behind*

Theo: A Puppy.

Liam: *exasperated* Arf.