#previous copywriter

[vyva-melinkolya]

we all agree that the push towards short form, vertical video (tiktok/reels/shorts) is ruining fucking everything right? Tiktok has been useful for the dissemination of political information (e.g Gaza) i’ll give it that, but that feels moreso a result of meta and twitters algorithms being just a little *more*’evil and censor happy. And i want to make it very clear that my hatred for tiktok has nothing to do with the fact that it was a product of a Chinese company, because i see a lot of critiques relying on some sort of sinophobic conspiracy. On the contrary, it’s what tiktok has become in the vacuum of western popular culture and marketing that makes me fearful.

I know that every generation faces a new, polarizing technology and inevitably, there are those among said generation who will critique it. That is the nature of things. However, there is also something to be said about how, with the acceleration of technology (running parallel to the acceleration of capitalism, acceleration towards collapse etc), each coming generation faces an increasingly more malevolent “advancement”. TLDR, i’m going to talk my shit.

I’m going to speak on the aspect that is most relavent to me, as a musician. I am petrified by what short form video is doing to music and to musicians. I think that tiktok provides the illusion of making music and being a musician more “accessible” while actually pouring gasoline on the fire that the pop music machine had already started. Standards for what popular culture “expects” from music are being doubled and tripled. Let’s talk about song length. Success and marketability favoring shorter songs is not something new, it has been the trend for decades. But with short form video, it goes even further. You’re not just hearing the same song over and over on the radio, you’re hearing the same 15-30 seconds of the same song over and over again. This in-turn, starts to influence the way people write music, persuading people to make songs that *could* have that 15 second appeal. There is an art to pop music, there is an art to writing a catchy hook—this is something else. We weren’t meant to hear or understand music like that. There are so many songs from reels that i found annoying, until i heard them in their full context. It’s insidious. It makes everything feel like a fucking commercial, even if nothing is being advertised.

I’m going to pull directly from someone else’s experiences, someone who’s music seems to be everywhere on short form videos. The ambient musician My Head Is Empty has a hundred million streams on the song “i was only temporary”. Despite that exposure, they experience “never ending copywrite issues” and have “received death threats” by people who refuse to credit them when using their song. Pulling a quote here, from a comment on their own post

“vyva_melinkolya unfortunately it just gets worse. i saw a bot content page that steals pod cast footage and spams dozens of videos with my song stolen, comment on a "motivation" spam content , who actually made a post telling people the name of my song, and the previous page i mentioned, the pod cast spam commented on that video saying "Bro stop don't give out the sauce. this audio helps me pull numbers brooo" - so people are actively INTENTIONALLY stealing it and telling people to not credit me. like. u can't make this stuff up”

Beyond this, My Head Is Empty feels frustrated that despite all this exposure, the rest of their work (nine albums) as a musician remains under appreciated, and i think that frustration is 100% valid. People cannot fully appreciate music, or even understand it as a work of art created by another human, when it’s taken so far out of its context. Again, the soul being sucked out of art by “the machine” isn’t anything new but, this is a whole other level. Being a musician is more expensive than ever, streaming earns you fractions of a cent etc, it all feeds into itself.

When a song or a musician i love deeply finds its way on to tiktok (let’s use Duster’s “Stars Will Fall”, one of my favorite songs ever as an example)I am not upset that i cant “gatekeep” it anymore. I’m not upset by the idea of something I love and hold dearly finding a larger audience. I AM upset in the manner in which it is being disseminated. I’m upset with art I hold dear to me being chopped up and used as “trending audio”. When I saw Duster in concert recently, lStars Will Fall” was the song I was most looking forward to hearing. It was the last song they played, and it was the song seemly everyone chose to talk loudly over. The audience was mostly people my age and younger. This complaint might come off as petty or pretentious or cliche, i frankly do not give a shit.

Let’s talk about how musicians are expected to promote music on tiktok/reels. This is a matter of opinion, at the risk of sounding very pretentious: the “POV we are x band from x” “My label says i need x followers before x” “posting this video until c musician notices me”. I understand that some of it is in jest but, what the fuck? When did this become the norm? I do not blame anyone for promoting their music like this, but we should want more for ourselves. I’ve always said being a musician is deeply embarassing, inherently. If being a musician is inherently embarassing then what is this? I dont have a solution for this, and the music industry has always been ugly and bloodthirsty and seldom fruitful— but i feel like the very small amount of dignity we had as artists is now lost and I cant fucking stand it. Artists seem to promote the same single with dozens of reels over the course of months, hoping that something sticks. I dont want to sound like i’m shaming or, again, sound like i can provide a solution. I’m just very fucking sorry that it seems like this is “the way”. And personally, i’m scared that if i dont “get with the program”, im going to fail.

Again, all of this speaks to larger trends in entertainment industry and even larger trends in capitalism. But i’m just airing specifics right now because frankly? I cant take it anymore.

[yanderenightmare]

helpdesk! How do you go about writing a story? like, regarding plot points and climax and all that. i know you covered it a bit in a previous helpdesk, but i'd be really interested in a full walkthrough if you're feeling up to it!

i know these helpdesk posts must take a lot of time, so thank you so much, they're really interesting and helpful!!

On The Recipe of a Good Story

Thank you, and terrific question!

♡ The Recipe of a Good Story!

There are a million ways to write a story. 

Good stories, however, usually follow a recipe. 

Now, there are plenty of different versions of this recipe, some may include a few more steps than others that only stick to the core acts, but they’re all more or less the same.

The recipe I’m about to divulge is one I've made for myself. It consists of several of these recipes, all of which I studied over the years while getting my bachelor's degree in copywriting.

ACT ONE—we’re chilling mostly…

♡ Foreshadowing!

In Foreshadowing, there will either be a sneak peek of the future or a scene from the past. This is one of the few optional steps, which I'll explain later, but first,

Examples:

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring:

Galadriel explains the story of The Ring.

I’m including this here for reference. The book doesn’t start this way, but with Exposition/Introduction, which we’ll cover next.  

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone:

Dumbledore is standing outside the Dursleys' with McGonagall. Hagrid arrives, and they drop baby Harry off on the Dursleys' doorstep.

Again, I’m including this here for reference. The book doesn’t start this way, but with Exposition/Introduction.

Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith:

The classic Star Wars newsletter rolls down the screen, telling us how Sith Lord Count Dooku and General Grievous have kidnapped Chancellor Palpatine, and how two Jedi Knights are leading a mission to rescue him. 

Despicable Me:

“Someone” has stolen the Great Pyramid of Giza and replaced it with a blow-up fake.

Again, this works in the film, but it would be hard to have made it work in a book.

Bad start, but honestly, I wouldn’t recommend starting with foreshadowing. A flashback or a glimpse of the final act may sound meta and cool, but having one in the very beginning can throw the reader off, so I’d advise against it unless you know exactly what you’re doing.

I’d say it works better in movies and series, such as the examples above. 

That’s not to say flashbacks should never be included in books, but I think they’re better off being added later in the story where they can provide context while also being supported by context.

♡ Exposition/Introduction!

Here, the MC and their current situation are introduced. The audience is shown what the MC cares about, and something valuable that can be put at stake is created, thus giving a glimpse of the MC’s fears. This is how most books and movies start.

Examples:

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring:

Gandalf arrives in The Shire, and we meet Frodo and Bilbo. The Shire is setting up for Bilbo’s 111th birthday. Bilbo tells Gandalf that he plans to leave and that he’s passing The Ring on to Frodo. Bilbo explicitly says that Frodo loves and wants to grow old in the Shire, so having to leave the Shire or anything that puts the Shire at risk would be Frodo’s biggest fear.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone:

We meet Harry Potter, who lives with his aunt, uncle, and cousin, who treat him poorly. It’s hinted and shown that Harry has magical powers. In contrast to Frodo, Harry doesn’t have a place he cares about. Here, the fear is staying with the Dursleys. And his wants are to have friends and a real family.

Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith:

We know from Episode II. Anakin, like never before, is itchy to be fully let off the leash and is annoyed with the Jedi Council for not recognizing him as the chosen one. He and Obi-Wan are like brothers. Anakin and Padme are married in secret—another reason behind his annoyance with the Jedi, given that they don't allow Jedi Knights to have personal commitments. Anakin has developed respect for Chancellor Palpatine, with whom he shares another personal commitment.

The Avengers:

The Avengers are introduced one by one. Cap tells Nick Fury that they should have left the Tessaract in the Ocean, hinting at his fears of history repeating itself. Banner expresses a fear of becoming the Hulk. Tony wants to spend time with Pepper, meaning not putting on the suit for a while. Natasha fears losing Hawkeye. Thor fears Loki causing havoc on Earth and wants to bring him home to Asgard.

Despicable Me:

Gru is introduced, and we get to see his despicable personality. He has minions and an old man named Doctor Nefarious living in his basement. He’s giving a slide show of everything they’ve managed to steal in the last years. It’s made clear that he didn’t steal the pyramid, which also shows his fears, given that his reputation as the best villain of all time is at risk. To fix this, he says that he plans to steal the Moon with a little help from the bank.

In short, who the character is, what they want, and what they fear should be established here in the Expo/Intro.

♡ Inciting Incident!

A happening that gives the MC a new goal, motivation, opportunity, or that triggers their fear, thus setting the plot in motion. In other words, either something valuable is put at stake, or something valuable is now achievable.

Examples:

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring:

With some hesitance, Bilbo leaves The Ring to Frodo. 

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone:

Harry receives a letter inviting him to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith:

Chancellor Palpatine gets kidnapped by Count Dooku.

The Avengers:

Loki arrives through the Tesseract. He takes control of Hawkeye and Erik and runs away with them and the Tesseract.

Despicable Me:

The Inciting Incident here is actually in the opening sequence, where Vector has stolen the Great Pyramid of Giza. This has already made Gru anxious to one-up him, even though he doesn’t know who this other villain is.

♡ Plot Point One!

As a result of the Inciting Incident, a new development ensues.

Examples:

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring:

Gandalf discovers it’s the One Ring and tells Frodo that Sauron’s Ringwraiths will come for it, triggering Frodo’s fear that the Shire will be destroyed. Gandalf explains how he can’t take the ring himself, and that Frodo must keep it and journey with it to the Prancing Pony, where he’ll meet him after he’s visited his old mentor. Sam, who was caught eavesdropping, joins Frodo, and they leave the Shire together.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone:

When Harry doesn’t reply to any of the letters, Hagrid comes and collects him, then helps him get ready for school. Meanwhile, we learn more about Harry, Voldemort, and the wizarding world.

Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith:

The Jedi Council dispatches Anakin and Obi-Wan to save Palpatine.

The Avengers:

Cap, Stark, and Widow go after Loki. They’re not working as a team yet, but they manage to capture him nonetheless. Then, Thor comes and they all have a mini-fight, during which Loki does not seize the opportunity to escape.

Despicable Me:

Gru goes to the bank to have his plan of stealing the moon sponsored, but the bank tells him to come back when he has the Shrink Ray.

♡ Fun & Games!

These events don’t have to be fun or include any games, but act as a bridge where the MC goes from A to B, either literally or figuratively. There’s usually a mini-plot going on here where the MC is investigating, searching for, or journeying towards something.

Examples:

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring:

Frodo and Sam begin travelling to the Prancing Pony. They get intercepted by Merry and Pippin, who end up joining them in a turbulent turn of events. Once they get to the Prancing Pony, Gandalf isn’t there, so they decide to wait for him.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone:

Harry attends Hogwarts and meets Ron, Hermione, and Malfoy. He gets sorted into Gryffindor. Harry has fun at Hogwarts—attends classes, learns to fly, and saves Hermione from the dungeon troll; they’re all good friends now. He also gets the cloak of invisibility for Christmas. Harry and company are investigating the Philosopher’s Stone and start suspecting Snape of wanting to steal the Stone.

Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith:

Suspicions about Chancellor Palpatine are rising within the Jedi Council. Anakin, who has been groomed by Palpatine, becomes even more annoyed with the Jedi Council.

The Avengers:

Many convos are held on the hellicarrier. Stark is infiltrating SHIELD’s system, trying to get to the bottom of what they were using the Tesseract for. Inspired by Stark, Cap investigates on foot. Widow goes to interrogate Loki. Banner is studying Loki’s scepter, with Stark’s help.

Despicable Me:

Gru tries to steal the Shrink Ray, but Vector beats him to it. Gru then tries to steal the Shrink Ray from Vector, but fails. Gru develops a plan to steal the Shrink Ray using the Girl Scouts as a distraction, and so he adopts them. By using the girls as a distraction, Gru manages to steal the Shrink Ray, and he and the girls go to Super Silly Fun Land.

♡ Rising Suspense!

This is where the plot usually thickens and tends to happen simultaneously with Fun & Games. Things are becoming increasingly more dangerous, risky, convoluted, or secretive—tensions and suspense are rising. Here, the MC will try to solve or escape their problem, exploiting opportunities and falling for temptations, thus increasing the risk factor.

Examples:

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring:

Frodo struggles to resist the call of The Ring while the crew gets hunted by the Ringwraiths. And by accidentally using the ring, Frodo leads the Ringwraiths right to them. Enter Aragorn, who helps them.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone:

Harry finds the Mirror of Erised while exploring the castle, using it to fill the gap made by his dead parents. Also, due to their dislike of Snape, Harry and company rule out the possibility of there being any other culprit.

Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith:

Palpatine keeps whispering in Anakin’s ear, further sowing his doubts and turning him against the Jedi.

The Avengers:

Stark and Cap uncover that SHIELD was using the Tesseract as a power source to make weapons. Widow discovers that Loki plans on unleashing the Hulk. None of the Avengers are cooperating. They’re all being secretive and arrogant, thus blind to the fact that Loki is successfully manipulating them all.

Despicable Me:

During his efforts to steal the Shrink Ray, Gru has grown attached to the Girls. He even wants to postpone stealing the moon so as not to miss the girls’ ballet recital. Doctor Nefarious has expressed concerns about this, but Gru is being wishy-washy both about the girls and the moon operation.

ACT TWO — shit’s about to get real!

♡ Pinch One — Conflict!

The accumulated suspense leads to trouble, confrontation, or the MC hitting a snag.

Examples:

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring:

The Witch-King stabs Frodo with a Morgul Blade. Arwen and Frodo are getting chased by the Ringwraiths, but she handles it. Still, Frodo nearly dies, but thanks to Arwen and Lord Elrond, he wakes up in Rivendell, only to see that Gandalf is there. Gandalf tells his story about Saruman’s betrayal and his grand escape.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone:

Harry and crew are caught outside the castle after dark and get sent to detention with Malfoy.

Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith:

Padme is pregnant. Which is complicated given that Jedi aren’t allowed to have relationships. Also, Anakin keeps having dreams of Padme dying during childbirth. Palpatine tells Anakin that he knows of a way to save Padme.

The Avengers:

Loki’s scepter is causing everyone to bicker, keeping them distracted and disorganized. Everything is going according to his plan.

Despicable Me:

Doctor Nefarious decides to give the girls up as they’re distracting Gru from his goals.

♡ Midpoint!

A turning point where the premise changes—a big event that makes it harder for the MC to keep their fears at bay. Either things take a turn for the worse, the Bad Guy becomes stronger or closer, or things prove more difficult than what was once believed.

Examples:

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring:

Because no one is fit for the job, Frodo volunteers to take the ring to Mordor. The Fellowship of the Ring is formed, and they set out on their journey.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone:

Harry meets Voldemort in the Forbidden Forest, but is saved by Firenze, the Centaur.

Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith:

Because of his conflicting loyalties between the Jedi and the Chancellor, as well as his own selfish desires, Anakin is denied the rank of Master, further turning him against the Jedi.

The Avengers:

A brainwashed Hawkeye attacks the helicarrier, and the unprepared and disorganized Avengers are thrust into even more chaos.

Despicable Me:

Gru goes to space and steals the moon, only to realize that the girls are more important to him.

♡ Pinch Two — Conflict!

Following the Midpoint, there’s even more trouble or something the MC has to do.

Examples:

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring:

The Fellowship is struggling to cross the Misty Mountains because of Saruman's hexing. Frodo decides they’ll go through Moria, where they get attacked by goblins and a Balrog. Gandalf battles the Balrog.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone:

There’s a Quidditch Game. “Snape” is hexing the broom and thus is proven to be the bad guy, as the trio has suspected all along.

Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith:

Mace Windu confronts Palpatine. Palpatine is shown as a full-blown Sith lord. Anakin arrives at the scene.

The Avengers:

Widow has to run away from an unleashed Hulk. Thor comes to the rescue, and they fight. Widow finds Hawkeye, and they fight. Meanwhile, Stark and Cap are working on fixing the turbines.

Despicable Me:

Gru has to hurry back to Earth to get to the ballet recital on time.

♡ Plot Point Two!

The conflict ends with a big bang!

Examples:

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring:

Gandalf gets snagged by the Balrog's whip, telling the others to run before he’s pulled down, falling to his “death”.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone:

Harry and company go to tell Dumbledore that Snape was the one hexing Harry’s broom, but he tells them not to worry.

Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith:

In order to protect Palpatine, Anakin “kills” Mace Windu.

The Avengers:

Loki “kills” Agent Coulson and escapes.

Despicable Me:

Gru’s too late, the ballet recital is already over.

♡ Low Point!

This is the part where the story comes to a pause. All action is at a standstill. Suffering from the last defeat or lured into a false sense of safety, the MC is swimming in his feelings, not yet having decided what he should do next.

Examples:

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring:

The Fellowship mourns Gandalf and is dealt a massive blow in morale. Frodo is doubting whether he can do this, and even tries pawning The Ring off to Galadriel.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone:

Harry and company are left at a loss as no one believes them about Snape, Voldemort, and the danger the Philosopher's Stone is in.

Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith:

Head spiraling, Anakin is still torn between the Jedi and Palpatine, second-guessing his decision to have murdered Mace Windu.

The Avengers:

The Avengers mourn the “death” of Agent Coulson and are dealing with doubts and shame over their poor actions.

Despicable Me:

Dejected, Gru sits down on the seat that was saved for him, holding a note left there by the girls, only to find out that Vector has taken them.

ACT THREE — THE FINAL ACT — this is it, guys!

♡ New Plan!

The MC pulls themselves together and makes a new plan.

Examples:

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring:

Instead of taking The Ring, Lady Galadriel restores Frodo's conviction, and the Fellowship continues its journey.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone:

Harry and crew decide to stop Voldemort and “Snape” on their own.

Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith:

Prompted by his promise to save Padme, Anakin decides to side with Palpatine.

The Avengers:

The Avengers suit up.

Despicable Me:

Gru goes to get the girls back.

♡ Point of No Return!

The MC is backed into a corner and forced to make a hard choice, either to face his biggest fear or run away. This is where a character either achieves True Self or falls to the Dark Side. Meaning: they either conquer their fears or succumb to them.

Examples:

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring:

After Boromir tries to steal The Ring, Frodo understands that he can’t trust that the others won’t be affected by its powers, and plans to go off on his own.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone:

The chess game leaves Ron injured with Hermione staying behind to help him, and Harry comes to terms with the fact that he and he alone has to continue.

Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith:

“Execute Order 66.” Anakin slaughters the young padawans and everyone else in the Jedi temple, fully embracing the Dark Side.

The Avengers:

Loki succeeds in opening the portal, and things go from a skirmish to a full-blown alien invasion, forcing the Avengers to work as a team.

Despicable Me:

Gru gives up the moon in exchange for the girls, proving that they’re more important to him.

♡ Pinch Three — Crisis!

The final conflict ensues, the biggest pinch yet. It’s a full-on crisis. 

Examples:

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring:

The Orcs catch up to the Fellowship. Boromir is killed, and Merry and Pippin get taken.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone:

Harry arrives at the scene without any fucking plan.

Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith:

Obi-Wan lands his ship to confront Anakin, and they argue.

The Avengers:

While fighting the Chitauri, the Avengers are desperately trying to figure out a way to close the portal.

Despicable Me:

Vector keeps the girls anyway, and Gru must continue the chase to get them back.

♡ Plot Twist!

Something extra to keep the excitement. This is not always necessary.

Examples:

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring:

Sam follows Frodo, but can’t fucking swim.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone:

It was never Snape, but Professor Quirrell. Voldemort was underneath his headpiece all along. The Stone is in Harry’s pocket.

Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith:

Anakin chokes Padme with the power of the dark side, accusing her of siding with Obi-Wan.

The Avengers:

On top of everything, there’s a fucking bomb on the way to New York City.

Despicable Me:

The effects of the Shrink Ray are temporary, and the bigger the objects are, the faster they go back to their real size, meaning it’s only a matter of time before the moon reverts back to normal.

♡ Climax!

The stakes have never been higher. The MC must figure something out quickly.

Examples:

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring:

Sam is about to drown.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone:

Professor Quirrell attacks Harry.

Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith:

Anakin chases Obi-Wan, but comes up short as Obi-Wan has the high ground.

The Avengers:

After a failed call to Pepper, Stark decides to fly the nuke up through the portal anyway. Wanting to wait for Stark to come back, Cap makes a tough call and orders Widow to close the portal before the bomb blows.

Despicable Me:

Edith and Agnes have jumped. Gru tells Margo to jump, promising her that he’ll never let them go again.

♡ Finale!

The final outcome of the MC's decisions.

Examples:

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring:

Frodo saves Sam and allows him to join him.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone:

Harry defeats Quirrel and Voldemort for now and passes out.

Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith:

Anakin loses to Obi-Wan, getting his legs cut off, then is left for dead in the lava.

The Avengers:

New York is saved! The Chitauri all die when the nuke blows up their mothership. And despite the odds, Stark makes it through the portal before it closes.

Despicable Me:

Edith jumps, and Gru catches her. They watch the moon climb the sky up to its rightful place.

♡ Celebration/Funeral!

It’s a wrap! Here, there might be a celebration, a grim funeral, or something like that.

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring:

Sam and Frodo continue their journey to Mount Doom while Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli go after Merry and Pippin.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone:

Harry and Dumbledore talk when Harry wakes up. Ron and Hermione are shown safe and sound. Points are dealt, Gryffindor wins, and the banners change. They all go home for the summer break.

The Avengers:

The news shows people's reaction to the Avengers. The remaining A on Stark Tower is symbolic of their triumph.

Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith:

Padme dies from heartbreak while giving birth to Luke and Leia. Anakin becomes Darth Vader, and Palpatine tells him that he killed his wife in his rage.

Despicable Me:

Gru, the girls, the minions, Doctor Nefarious, and Gru’s mom all celebrate under the moonshine.

♡ The Final Kick!

Especially in a franchise, there’s a set-up for the bigger oncoming story, there might be one last little plot twist, someone we thought died, actually survived, someone we thought survived is revealed to be wounded or sick with something, or just any old regular cliffhanger or teaser. Other times, there’s one last little funny scene.

Examples:

The Avengers:

The Avengers eat Shwarma as a team.

Despicable Me:

Vector is shown in space with a bubble helmet.

But, as with the optional Sneak Peek of the Future or Past Events, this one also works better in movies, and is another one of the few steps that are optional.

♡ Messy Recipe…

Now that we've covered the full Recipe of a Story, it's time to get cooking. Meaning, there’s room for a bit of switching up the order without it completely fucking up the final outcome.

As in Despicable Me’s example, the Inciting Incident happens before the Expo/Intro. Similarly, as was stated, Fun&Games tends to happen simultaneously with Rising Suspense, while other times Fun&Games slowly merge with Rising Suspense, or they’ll come across as two clearly separated parts of the story.

Also, regarding Foreshadowing. In movies, this can happen at the start before anything else, like in the examples. But as I mentioned, this doesn’t usually happen in books. Foreshadowing in books, in the form of flashbacks or flashforwards, tends to happen after we’ve gotten to know the characters better, where either will be supported by context and supply context.

Then, there’s the case of identifying the Low Point. As was listed, this can be anything from a sense that all hope is lost, where the MC seems to have given up, or that the MC is lured into a false sense of peace and safety, where things seem to have gone back to normal, a calm before the storm, only for something to prompt them back into action.

For example, in a romance, this is the point where the MC seems to have accepted that they just weren’t meant to be, only to be reminded of their love somehow, and thus being inspired to take action.

But there’s an important definition here that I must stress; the Low Point is defined by a lack of action, a standstill where the rest of the story is uncertain, not the MC being sad. That being said, however, it usually does entail the MC being sad and feeling defeated, but that isn’t the distinction. 

For example, in The Batman, with Robert Pattinson, the Low Point comes after the Riddler has been locked up in Arkham. The bad guy has been captured, the action comes to a stop, and Batman is thinking it’s all over, there’s a false sense of safety, only for Riddler’s real plan to be revealed, forcing Batman to make a New Plan.

Another thing to discuss is the Point of No Return. This is the part of the story when the MC makes that defining decision, achieving True Self, or failing and falling to the Dark Side. Meaning, they either face their biggest fear or succumb to it.

This is, of course, referred to as the True Self and the Dark Side because of Anakin’s story in Revenge of the Sith. Usually, we see characters achieve their True Self, triumphing over their fears, but in the Tragedy, we see them fail to do this. For example, if Anakin had turned against Palpatine after understanding that he was Sith, then he would have achieved True Self, as we see him do in episode six, Return of the Jedi, when he decides to help Luke. 

Not me nerding out, but before watching the movie, we think the title Return of the Jedi refers to the Jedi as a whole. However, given that Anakin returns from the dark side to the light, becoming a Jedi again, it gives a hidden meaning to the title, referring to Anakin specifically. This would then make the title itself one huge foreshadowing spoiler.

I mean, as a storyteller, you gotta love Star Wars.

However, back to the significance of the Point of No Return, and whether MC achieves their True Self or falls to the Dark Side.

As I said, MC falling to the Dark Side is very uncommon. That being said, though we see it in Revenge of the Sith, we actually also see it in The Lord of the Rings as well, where in the final movie, Return of the King, Frodo falls to the Dark Side when he decides to keep The Ring for himself. If it weren’t for Sam, or ultimately Smeagol, the entire story would have been a Tragedy.

But yes, anyway, in most stories we see the MC achieve True Self, not falling to the Dark Side. However, I should make clear that the Dark Side, though sounding very evil, doesn’t have to be evil in a literal sense.

In a romance, for example, the MC’s issue is usually a fear of commitment. Here, achieving True Self happens when they conquer that fear and choose love. The Dark Side would be them giving in to that fear and letting the love go.

And so, the True Self and the Dark Side don’t refer to good and evil, but to the MC either conquering their fears or letting their fear win.

Moving on! Following the Point of No Return comes the Crisis. Then the Climax and then the Finale.

Short stories and novellas, however, don’t always follow the recipe all the way to the Finale. Sometimes they'll drop off right after the Crisis or the Plot Twist, and let the rest be up to the reader to decide. Otherwise, the outcome of the Crisis will be hinted at, therefore leaving no need for the final Climax and Finale.

But most of the time, I’d say no matter how short the story is, it should and will follow this recipe.

Take, for example, one of my short stories: Sex Therapist Nanami:

ACT ONE — we’re chilling, mostly…

Expo/Intro: The reader’s fear of sex and intimacy is causing her issues, which she wants to fix.

Inciting Incident: To fix her issues, the reader starts seeing Doctor Nanami.

Plot Point One: Nanami diagnoses the reader with Virgin Anxiety.

Fun & Games: Nanami “helps” the reader to overcome her anxiety.

Rising Suspense: Nanami’s “help” turns out to be sketchy as fuck.

ACT TWO — shit’s about to get real!

Pinch One — Conflict: Nanami tells the reader that her anxiety is due to never having seen a real cock before.

Midpoint: Nanami shows the reader his dick.

Pinch Two — Conflict: Feeling uncomfortable, the reader wonders if Nanami is right.

Plot Point Two: The reader listens to Nanami and touches his cock.

Low Point: There's a false sense of safety before more of Nanami’s real intentions are revealed.

ACT THREE — THE FINAL ACT — this is it, boys!

New Plan: The reader realizes she doesn’t want this anymore.

Point of No Return: The reader tells Nanami to stop.

Pinch Three — Crisis: Nanami ignores the reader.

Plot  Twist: The reader sort of enjoys it.

Climax: Nanami puts the reader in a full nelson and gives her the real thing.

Finale: Nanami finishes in the reader’s mouth.

Celebration/Funeral: The reader feels violated and terrified.

The Final Kick: Nanami divulges the rest of his plan to institutionalize the reader.

♡ The Seven Basic Plots by Booker

This is also something interesting you can look into. 

After having read many, many, many great works, Christopher Booker came to the simple conclusion that there only existed seven plots in which a story can unfold.

But that can’t be true, you might say, and you’d be right. “I was waiting for the bus, and then the bus came,” is also a story, and a plot not accounted for in The Seven Basic Plots.

However, it would be safe to say that “I waited for the bus, then the bus came,” is not a very good story, as it doesn't follow the Recipe of a Good Story.

Booker argues something similar, that every great story ever written falls into one of these seven basic plots:

♡ Overcoming the Monster

The protagonist sets out to defeat an antagonistic force, most often evil, that threatens the protagonist, the protagonist's homeland, or both.

Examples:

The Avengers and Harry Potter are examples of this. Another good example is Jaws.

♡ Rags To Riches

The poor protagonist acquires power, wealth, a mate, or all of the above, loses it all, then gains it back, growing as a person as a result.

Examples:

Many children's stories follow this plot, but I think the best example is Bruce Almighty. 

♡ The Quest

The protagonist and company set out to acquire an important object or to get to a location. They face temptations and other obstacles along the way.

Examples:

The Lord of the Rings belongs here. And, I’ll be brave and say that most heist movies fall into this category as well.

♡ Voyage and Return

The protagonist goes to a strange land and, after overcoming the threats it poses or learning important lessons unique to that location, returns with experience.

Examples:

The Hobbit, and all your favorite children’s stories, such as Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, and Narnia, also belong in this category, as well as Back to the Future.

♡ Comedy

Comedy features a light and humorous MC with a happy or cheerful ending. But comedy is about more than just humor. It refers to a pattern where the conflict becomes increasingly chaotic, with many confusions, misunderstandings, and awkward moments, but is finally made plain in a single clarifying event. Here, the MC’s triumph in the plot is highlighted.

Examples:

The majority of romance films fall into this category, such as Just Go With It, Forgetting Sarah Marshal, Bridget Jones Diary, and My Big Fat Greek Wedding.

♡ Tragedy

The protagonist is a hero with a major character flaw or commits a great mistake, which is ultimately their undoing. The protagonist's unfortunate end is especially tragic because it’s the fall of a fundamentally good character.

Examples:

Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith is the best example of this. But there’s also Bonnie and Clyde, Hamilton, The Picture of Dorian Gray, and The Great Gatsby.

♡ Rebirth

An event forces the protagonist to change their ways and often become a better person.

Examples:

Despicable Me and A Christmas Carol are the best examples, but there’s also The Beauty and the Beast, as well as The Secret Garden. And Even Almighty.

A Combination of All Seven!

Of course, many great stories end up combining a bunch of these. 

Take, for example, The Lord of the Rings:

From Frodo’s POV, it’s a Quest to destroy The Ring in Mount Doom. You might argue he’s Overcoming the Monster, but given he’s not actually fighting The Monster, i.e., Sauron head-on, it’s not fulfilling the requirements of that trope.

Aragorn, on the other hand, is Overcoming the Monster, by fighting the Orc army. He was also meant to be fighting the actual Sauron in the final battle, but they switched him out with a big troll. Which sucks—it would have been so epic if he fought Sauron.

Then, from Saruman's POV, it’s a Tragedy. As we see in The Hobbit, Saruman was morally good, but unfortunately, he was consumed by his fears and fell to the dark side, then paid the price.

This is also the case for Smeagol, who fell under the power of The Ring. And, as mentioned earlier, it was or would have been the case for Frodo as well. If it weren’t for Sam, the entire story would have been a Tragedy.

We can also look at The Hobbit for further reference:

From Bilbo’s POV, it’s a classic Voyage and Return. But from the dwarves' POV, it’s a Quest to take back their Homeland. The Pale Orc has the same Quest, also wanting the Lonely Mountain as a strategic stronghold for a returning Sauron. Bard the Bowman of Laketown is Overcoming the Monster, i.e., Smaug the Dragon. And from Legolas' POV, it’s actually a Rebirth—where he starts off acting like his father, and ends up becoming more like the Legolas we know and love from The Lord of the Rings.

I’m a huge nerd when it comes to all of this, and think it’s really fun looking at movies or reading books and categorizing them.

However, from an objective POV, I’d say The Seven Basic Plots are less important than The Recipe of a Good Story, as whatever story you end up writing, it will naturally fall into one of Booker’s seven tropes no matter what. It’s more or less inevitable.

But that’s not the case with the recipe. As with good food, if the recipe is poorly followed, then the story has a high chance of failing.

♡ How Do I Cook?

I’d say this recipe often comes naturally for writers who’ve been writing for a while. Even without ever having seen the recipe, they already follow it intuitively. This is, of course, because after having seen or read hundreds of movies, series, and books, this recipe has already integrated itself into the way we want a story to unfold, making us subconsciously follow it without even realizing it.

And so, no, I don’t start all my stories with plotting in all these points from Expo/Intro to Inciting Incident and the Finale—as that sort of just happens by itself.

However, any time I see one of my stories not scratching the itch for some reason, I’ll use this recipe to see where it is that I’m lacking. And so, it’s definitely not a bad exercise.

I also think there’s a lot of merit in doing this exercise with movies or books you really enjoyed, as the answer to why that story was so satisfying is most likely hidden in how they followed the recipe.

So, I’d definitely recommend trying it out!

♡ NIGHTMARE'S HELPDESK

[pleasantphantomhologram]

Pairing: Jason Todd x Y/N 

Warning: NONE, PURELY FLUFF <3

Summary: Adulting as a girl in this shitty world means that every single bare minimum thing that your soon to be boyfriend/crush did is such a treasure for you. You easily impress by this type of man because all men in your life including your dad are very shitty. But, with Jason Todd, your new boyfriend, everything has changed and HE teaches you more than that. 

A/n: hey bare minimum gurl, how is your day lately? Yes, i am still on my holiday, and I want to write this things that happened around me. Yes, many of my girlfriends are having a boyfriend, but they are easily impressed by all this bare minimum act that their boyfriends did. All i could say is… please don’t ever settle for bare minimum, gurl. You deserved so much more 🥰 

Being a girl is hard. That’s the only fact that you know since you are in school and now an adult working woman who has lived in Gotham city for almost 3 years. Yes, you are working so hard to be here, and now all of your hard work is paying off. You are a copywriter for some big agency here. It’s not that you are having this ‘Sex and The City’ dream, at some point you hate your job, but at least, the pay is not bad and you can afford this small studio apartment with your furry pet, a british shorthair cat named Zach. 

It seems that your life is perfectly fine, but, of course it’s not because you are just a girl. You love reading romance novels, it’s like an escapism of your sometimes shitty boss. You have this certain type of favorite trope and dream boy, but, in real life you are very easy to impress by the bare minimum thing that every bumble match guy does to you.

You have many ex-(shitty)boyfriends, and there are also shitty crushes and it seems you never learnt from your previous relationship. But, when you meet this 28 year old man named Jason Todd from one of the parties that your friends held, everything seems different.

He is not just asking about how’s your day, or how he is always checking you out (and you are not even in a relationship yet!), but every once a week he send you a bouquet of your favorite flowers (He asked you this when you two were on your first date). 

On your second date, Jason, who initiated everything, he researched the most favorite cafe to go on a date and made a list of what to do after that. He did bring you to your favorite book store and said he knew this information because he saw your Instagram story gushing over new books here. 

“ To be honest, I know that you like this place because I saw your IG story a week ago.”

“You remember that?” Y/N asked with a disbelief tone. It surprised you that this man remembered the nonsense IG story that you made sometimes.  

“..Shit, am I wrong? So, sorry I don't know if it made you uncomfortable.” he said. 

“No.., no, it is fine. It is just… No one besides my friends is paying attention to my nonsense IG story.” You said. 

“It is not nonsense, I think you are just being you and that’s cute.” You blushed at his words. Damn you Todd, she cursed in her heart. 

At the end of the date, Jason Todd took you to the front of your apartment and said that he is so happy to spend time with you and surprise-surprise he said…

“Hei, Y/N i.. uhh, i like the way our conversation goes from the first time we’ve chatted, and… uhh, can we take this to another level. i … I like you. a lot, actually. and this is my first time that i felt this. And.. I don't know what’s the best time to ask you to be my girlfriend? shit, is it too soon?”

You can’t help but giggle a bit, oh my why he is so cute. 

 “Jay…, I like you too.” You confessed to him.

“Really? But, I think I just did the bare minimum things the guy did. You deserve more than this. Okay, I will show you how a man should treat his partner  more than bare minimum.” 

From the moment he told you that, you two were in a boyfriend/girlfriend relationship. Every weekend he visits your apartment and bring your favorite snack and food, and snacks for Mr. Zach! The first time he visited your apartment, he even steals Mr. Zach attention with his charming smile. For your information, Mr. Zach is not like you, he is hard to impress by humans, but with Jason, everything seems easy for him. 

“Hello, who is this gentleman? Wow, he is so majestic.” Said Jason. 

“His name is Zach.. he is..” You are stunned a bit when Mr Zach is already on Jason’s lap purring over him. 

“Oh my God. he never does that to any stranger.”

“Well, I think Mr Zach approved of me as your boyfriend? Right, Mr. Zach?” Zach kept purring on his lap. 

If your cat approved of this man, how can you not melt on his hand then? You thought, you will fallin so hard to this man, and you don’t even know if you will recover if you two break up.

 True to his word, he always shows youi how much he care about this relationship. He posted about you on his instagram and never try to hide his relationship with you. he is fuckin smitten with you. When he is at your apartment he always listens to your rambling like…

“Guess what..” you said

“What is it babe?”

“You remember Samantha, the project manager that I told you about..”

“The girl you said is so useless and not very helping.”

“Yes….  Today someone found out  she is the mistress of our Art Director.” Jason gasped with an excited tone.

“No waaaaayyyy..”

“Yes waaaaaay.. I can't believe that the tea is boiling.” you chuckled. Jason smiles at you.

It feels so natural the way this dynamic with Jason, he always listens to what you say, he genuinely cares about you, and you just realize that this is how it feels to be loved by someone.

---- 

He likes to spoil you rotten, you are totally his queen and he doesn’t stop to show how much he loves you. Every little things he did always made you melt, like for example that time when the weather is getting cold, he always remind you to wear your jacket and when he pick you up from your office, he always make sure that you wear your jacket neatly so that you don’t get cool when he takes you on his motorbike. 

“Wait, let me fix your jacket first.” he said. 

“It is already good.”

“It doesn’t hurt to check again.” he smiled at you. Ugh, you love him so much. 

When you two are officially one year together, He asked you if you want to move in with him to this apartment that he newly bought. It’s an apartment with three bedrooms and one of the room he designed to be your mini library and cozy place to read with a big sofa on the corner. 

HONESTLY, YOU WANTED TO SCREAM AT THIS POINT, IS IT A DREAM? 

“You are lying right?” You asked with a disbelief tone. 

“No baby, it is the truth. I am so sorry if this is too sudden. I.. I just want to be with you and wake up next to you every single day of my life. But, if you are still not ready yet, it’s okay baby, you can just visit it whenever you like.” He said while caressing your face. Now, you are totally crying. 

“Oh my God, Jaybird you are totally peace of shit,” and then you kiss him and hug him. 

“Okay.. I will move in with you.” when he heard the yes, he is smililng widely and kiss her again. 

“Thank you, Y/N. Thank you for bring so much happiness to my life.”

“Jaybird, I love you too.”

[gallus-rising]

going thru that previous post and blocking every single person. DISNEY IS NOT YOUR FRIEND COPYWRITE LAW IS NOT YOUR FRIEND FAN WORKS ALREADY EXIST IN A DEEPLY LEGALLY GRAY AREA AND IN FACT CORPS STEAL FROM AND THEN SUE ORIGINAL ARTISTS/WRITERS/CREATORS ALL THE TIME AND WE CAN DO FUCK ALL ABOUT IT BECAUSE IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT THE LAW SAYS IT MATTER WHO HAS MONEY FOR BETTER LAWYERS OH MY GOD

[justagalwhowrites]

New in Town - Ch. 3: First Family Dinner

Sarah comes to visit and has questions for Joel. A continuation of New in Town chapters 1-2 found on Tumblr here.

Pairing: Best Friend's Dad!Joel Miller x Female Reader

CW: Smut :D Yeah, they're horny, OK? Just expect a lot of smut in this fic. No use of Y/N. Age gap (reader is 35 Joel is 47, not a focus of the fic). Minors DNI, 18+ only

Length: 5.1k

AO3 | First Chapter | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

Joel actually felt pretty damn smart when he got to his house. He stopped at the trash bin that sat outside the garage and dropped his now empty coffee cup into it, just in case Sarah asked why he’d gone to the place with the name stamped on the side of the cup. 

He didn’t have a good fucking reason to be at a coffee shop by your apartment besides being at your apartment. And he knew he wasn’t ready to tell his daughter about the fact that you two were… whatever the fuck you were. 

What were you doing with him? What did you want with him? Why was it so hard to know and why was he so fucking afraid to ask? 

Didn’t matter now. The morning Sarah showed up to surprise him with a visit was not the morning to be having this discussion. 

“Baby Girl?” Joel called as he closed the door behind him, dropping his keys on the table in his entry way. 

“Dad!” Sarah flew around the corner and launched herself at him, just like she’d done when she was a kid. He caught her, the air knocked out of him, laughing as he caught his breath. “I missed you, old man!” 

“Missed you too, Baby Girl,” he said, setting her down and stretching out his back. “But you’re gonna have to cut me a break, think my back is gettin’ too old to be catchin’ you like that.” 

“How am I supposed to properly shower you in affection if I can’t just throw my whole body at you?” She smirked. “But fine, I guess if it’s for the sake of your health…” 

He rolled his eyes and tugged her against his side, kissing her temple. 

“Just gotta have you move back closer to home,” he gave her a squeeze. “Wouldn’t need to tackle me if I just saw you more.” 

“Yeah, I’m working on that,” she smiled. “Trying to get promoted from junior copywriter to intermediate so I can come to the Austin office sooner rather than later…” 

“That’s amazing Baby Girl!” Joel gave her another squeeze before leading her to the living room and settling on the couch. “I’m sure you’re close, they know how good you are.”

“Speaking of my grand plan,” she said. “I see you’ve been hanging out with my work wife.” 

Joel coughed to try to hide his surprise. 

“What?” He asked after a moment. 

“Well I know you didn’t do the Seattle Zombie 5K last Halloween,” she nodded at his shirt. Joel felt his stomach drop. “But I know we did.” 

Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck. 

“Not doing a walk of shame are you?” She asked, her eyebrows raised. 

“You ever known me to be the walk of shame type?” He asked, scrambling for a reason that he’d have your shirt. “I just fixed her garbage disposal for her a few weeks ago, got soaked. She was nice enough to give me a clean shirt so I wasn’t drippin’ wet on the drive home. Didn’t realize it’d made it into my dresser is all. I’ll have to wash it again, give it back…” 

“But you are hanging out with her then?” She asked. “I mean, you said give it back like you were going to see her again so…”

“We went out once since I helped with the sink and shit,” he said, telling himself that it wasn’t a lie, not really. You’d only successfully made it out of the house together once. Sarah scrunched her nose. “What, Baby Girl?” 

“Nothing,” she sighed. “I was just hoping you guys would be friends is all. You’re both kind of alone down here, you know? I worry. I don’t want you doing nothing but sitting in the house doing… whatever weird old man stuff you do.” 

“I don’t do weird old man stuff…” 

“And leave her alone too long and the next thing you know she’s on the dating apps and she ends up going out with some total idiots,” she said, ignoring Joel’s protest entirely. “Really, Dad, her taste in men is shit and I’m not here to keep her busy, I was kind of counting on you here.” 

Joel frowned. 

“Not on you to protect her,” he said. Though, from what little he knew, Sarah was right. Your taste in men was shit. “And I’m sure she’s got better things to do than hang out with someone who does ‘old man things…’” 

That was something that Joel had been thinking about a lot over the past two weeks. Yes, you seemed to be about as insatiable for him as he was for you and he didn’t have any damn clue as to why. But he could think of plenty of reasons why you shouldn’t be. How long was it going to be before you realized that he didn’t offer you much? He couldn’t take you to fancy restaurants every week or on nice trips. He wasn’t interested in another child and you were still young enough that you might want to be a mother. His body was often sore and worn after decades of damn near breaking himself to make a living. How much longer would you be wanting to pull him into restaurant bathrooms and make yourself come on his leg because you just couldn’t bear to wait anymore? How much longer could he text you to bitch about work while on a break at a job site and have you respond with a gif from Sharknado because you knew it would make him laugh? How much longer could he look at the selfies you sent him and think to himself “that’s my girl,” even though you weren’t even his girl now let alone in the future?

He was already in too deep with you, way too damn deep. Someone was going to have to pry you out of him, you’d already settled inside his skin and he liked it that way. Liked thinking of you first thing in the morning and just before he fell asleep, liked that you were the first thing on his mind when he got lunch at a food truck and he stumbled on something really good, liked that you showed up with his favorite beer and some obscure snack food when you came over to his place because you said you saw it and thought of him.

“Her taste in men isn’t dangerously bad,” Sarah waved him off. “Just… she tends to go for guys who definitely don’t deserve her, you know?” 

“Yeah,” Joel sighed. “I know.” 

Fuck, did he know.

“Anyway,” she said with a dramatic eye roll that reminded him of when she was a teenager. He smiled a little. “I’m in town until Wednesday! I know you’ll have to work…” 

“I can take a few days off,” he said quickly. “Get Uncle Tommy to make sure shit doesn’t go sideways…” 

“Awesome!” She perked up at that. “Because I think there are at least two Curtis and Vipers I haven’t gotten around to seeing yet and I’m going to require a handcrafted Dad burger - preferably grilled - while I’m in town. My apartment doesn’t let me have a grill on my balcony, it’s so dumb.” 

“Probably a fire code thing, Baby Girl,” he smiled. “But I think we can swing some movies and a cookout while you’re here. Tommy’d love to see ya, Maria too.” 

“Can we start by jumping in the pool?” She asked. “Because I haven’t gotten to swim in months.” 

“Might be a bit cold…” 

“Please,” she scoffed. “This is mid-summer weather in Seattle, plenty warm enough for a swim.” 

Joel smiled. 

“Whatever you want, Baby Girl.” 

The water was definitely colder than Joel would normally jump into but, for Sarah, he’d do just about anything. 

He was still getting used to drinking with his daughter, the two of them floating around the water with beers most of the day. Joel got out for a bit to make sandwiches - he put potato chips on Sarah’s just like he had when she was a kid - and he just listened to what she’d been up to, hanging on her every word. 

Joel had always felt incredibly lucky to have Sarah as his daughter. There were the obvious reasons, of course. She was kind and thoughtful, she was smart as a whip and loved to do well in school to the point that he almost never had to tell her to do her homework, she actually liked spending time with him. But she never had a problem being open with him about damn near anything. 

It wasn’t always the most pleasant experience - hearing about boy problems when he couldn’t actually intervene was harder than Joel had expected it to be - but he was grateful for it. He never had to wonder what his daughter was up to, she just told him. 

Part of it, he was sure, was because he’d asked her to grow up too fast. He hadn’t meant to, of course, but it seemed to come with the territory of single parenthood. There was no one there to back him up when he had to work late, no one there to take over the child rearing when he was sick or just so exhausted from work that he slept through his damn alarm. Sarah fell into the role of second parent, sometimes raising herself as much as Joel had. 

He was just happy she didn’t resent him for it. She seemed to recognize how hard he’d tried to give her everything, do everything he possibly could to make her happy and give her a good life. Even if it hadn’t always worked, he’d always tried. The fact that she’d made it to college on scholarship, that she’d finished towards the top of her class, that she’d gotten a good paying job doing something she liked to do, the fact that she was happy and doing something with her mind instead of breaking her body down like Joel was every damn day of his life was the proudest he’d ever been of anything. 

Could he really risk his relationship with her for you? Yes, you made him happy. So fucking happy. You were the first thing in years that he felt like he really, truly wanted. And it had hit him hard, so fucking hard. It was like he’d saved up all his longing just for you, like it had been waiting for something powerful enough to show up and unleash it all and it had knocked him off his damn feet. 

But you were Sarah’s best friend. 

“So one thing that’s seriously lacking in the Pacific Northwest is good TexMex,” Sarah said, lounging on a pool float, her face tilted toward the sun, eyes closed. “Think we can go out for dinner tonight? I need enchiladas and tamales and I need them sooner rather than later.” 

“Only if you don’t get mad that I ask for the real spicy salsa,” Joel said. 

“How did I end up so cursed that my two favorite people love to melt their tongues off as a hobby?” Sarah sighed. “But fine, order the miserable stuff. I’ll just get the regular salsa like a normal person.” 

Joel scoffed. 

“The normal ship has sailed with you, Baby Girl. Me and Tommy around you so much? Never stood a chance.” 

Just an hour later, he and Sarah were headed into her favorite Austin restaurant. Joel added it to his mental list of places to take you. It was Sarah’s favorite for a reason, after all. 

“Table for two,” Joel held up two fingers to the hostess but Sarah cut him off. 

“It’s three, actually,” she smiled, not looking at him. 

“Three?” He frowned. She ignored him and just held up three fingers to the hostess. It took him until they were at the table to really put it together. “Sarah…” 

“I’m here to see you but I really want to see her, too,” she said as she slid into the booth. “And I do think you guys will really get along if you actually give it a shot. Please, Dad? Give her a chance?” 

A chance wasn’t the only thing he’d given you. 

“Baby Girl, I’m sure she’d rather do something besides…” 

“Besides what?” Your voice appeared over his shoulder, Joel turning toward the sound so fast it made his head spin. You smiled a little sheepishly. 

“Hi.” 

***

Well Joel clearly hadn’t been expecting you. 

That boded just so well. 

“Hey Bestie!” Sarah squealed and got out of the booth to throw her arms around your neck. You laughed and hugged her back. “Ugh, I miss you! The office sucks without you there. So does the rest of Seattle, honestly.” 

You laughed. 

“I miss you too,” you gave her a squeeze before the two of you separated. “I keep trying to convince the VP at this branch that I absolutely unequivocally need a junior copywriter on my team. He hasn’t bought it yet but I think if I just keep asking him I’ll wear him down and he’ll cave to my annoying tendencies and just give me whatever I want.”

“Oh so you’re playing hardball,” Sarah teased as she got back in the booth and you slid in beside her. 

“Clearly yes,” you nodded sagely. “I read ‘The Art of War’ and just bothering people until they give up is the best battle tactic in the world…” 

You turned to look at Joel who was watching you intently. 

You hadn’t expected Joel to show up tonight anymore than he’d expected you. Sarah was playing you both like a goddamn fiddle. You’d worn a strappy, silky slip dress with a denim jacket over it thinking you were going out with your best friend, not going to be stuck trying to keep from staring at your who-the-fuck-knows-what sitting across from you. 

Who also happened to be your best friend’s dad. 

You tried not to think about that part. 

“Figured I’d force you two to get to know each other better over margaritas,” Sarah said brightly. “I can’t let you both just sit and stare at a wall all by yourselves until I can move back to town…” 

“I don’t stare at walls!” You protested. Sarah ignored you. 

“So you can at least keep each other company,” she finished. 

“Good to see you again, Joel,” you said, trying as hard as you could to not picture him naked across the table. 

Which was really fucking hard. 

His dark button down was rolled up to his elbows and fit his damn broad shoulders so perfectly all you could think about was the way he looked as he fucked into you, the way his muscles rippled through his chest and you had to fight to not bite down on them. His hair was tamed without being sculpted or overly styled and you wanted to run your fingers through it and sink your grip into his scalp as he ate you. 

“You too,” he said. 

You’d never had this visceral of a reaction to a man you’d fucked before, never, not even when you were a stupid teenager. Of course, you’d never tried to hide your relationship before, either. 

But you had the feeling that wouldn’t matter with Joel. You’d feel this intensity toward him whether Sarah was beside you or not, whether you could be open about your affection for him or not. 

And now you were going to have to sit across from him when he looked that damn good all through dinner. 

The second the server came to the table you ordered a margarita. You had a feeling you were going to need the tequila. 

It took conscious effort to pay attention to what Sarah was saying as she tried to bring up things she thought you and Joel had in common. Almost like she was trying to launch an ad campaign for each of you. 

It felt like forever but you were sure you’d only been seated a few minutes when you gave up on not touching Joel. You carefully slid your foot out of your pump and started sliding it up his inner leg, starting near his ankle. Joel jumped a little in his chair at the contact, his eyes darting to you. You just raised your eyebrows at him as you took a drink from your margarita and slid your foot up his leg to his knee. He shifted in his seat, his eyes steadily on Sarah but you could tell he had to focus on her now, actively work to give her attention. You smirked a bit at that. 

You kept the pattern up as the three of you waited for your food, Joel’s eyes always going a little wide when your toes made it to his inner thigh. 

“Ugh, I’m starving,” Sarah groaned as a tray of sizzling fajitas passed your table. “Here, scootch out, I’m going to the bathroom. That’ll make the food come.” 

“It always does,” you agreed, quickly shoving your foot back into your shoe and getting out of the booth. 

You both watched as Sarah made her way across the restaurant, turning to Joel the second you knew she was out of earshot. 

“Did you say anything?” You were whispering anyway. 

“No,” he replied. “We hadn’t talked about it, didn’t seem like the time… Did you say somethin’?” 

“Not a word,” you said. 

“I really need you to cool it over there, Beautiful,” Joel said. Any other time, you’d think he was teasing you but his eyes looked open and earnest now. “We can’t just go into a bathroom right now and it’s already a fucking miracle I haven’t tried to rip that goddamn dress off you, Jesus Christ, you can’t just show up places lookin’ that damn good…” “You’re one to talk!” You replied, incredulous, as you looked down at his exposed, tan, muscled forearms and back up at his face. “Fucking hell, Joel!” 

He smirked a little. 

“That’s all it takes with you, huh?” He teased, leaning across the table toward you. “Just a little bit of skin and you’re outta control?”

“Oh fuck off,” you rolled your eyes but grinned a little all the same. “I know you know what the rolled up sleeves thing does to women.” 

“I promise I do not,” he said, watching over your shoulder now. “But you’ll have to enlighten me later…” 

Sarah came back to the table and her face fell. 

“Shit, that usually works,” she sighed. “Alright, scoot in, we can just trade spots.” 

You obeyed and slid over, purposely leaning over the table as you did, giving Joel full view of your bra below your dress as you did. He was all but glaring at you as you sat back in the booth. 

Consciously, you knew you shouldn’t be pushing him like this. For starters, this was not how you wanted Sarah to find out. Assuming she was ever going to find out. 

But you shouldn’t be trying to frustrate Joel. Not like this, not so early on in your… whatever the fuck this was. 

You had a tendency to do this, to bend things until they broke the second something was looking like it could get serious, the second that it looked like it’d be worth the time and the effort. You were starting to think it was something your subconscious did on purpose. If you sabotaged the relationship early, there wasn’t the same kind of risk. Push the guy too far and he’d break things off with you and you could return to the relative emotional safety of dating apps and bars. Only ever go out with someone for a few weeks and it wouldn’t hurt that bad if they left. 

And they would leave. They always left. You might be worth the time for a bit but you weren’t worth the trouble for anything real, that much had been made clear to you in the years you’d spent dating around. It had gotten you hurt when you were young and stupid, back when you were Sarah’s age. Now, you fucking knew better. 

You knew better than to get anywhere close to what you were starting to feel with Joel. 

And here you were, doing it anyway, with your best friend’s dad. 

So of course your first reaction was to push him. Push, push, push. It’s what you did. 

You stirred your melting margarita. 

You’d never been more relieved to have food brought to your table. 

“Thanks so much for coming out tonight!” Sarah hugged you goodbye in the parking lot, the awkward, hesitant conversation at the table through dinner still tense over you. 

“It was so great to see you!” You hugged her back and kissed her cheek. “Seriously, I’m wearing the bosses down, start packing now because I miss you too much.” 

She laughed. 

“I’ll be on the first plane out once I get a job offer,” she said. “Either way, I’ll be back for the holidays, we have to hang out then. Just us girls at least once, promise.” 

You smiled a little, hoping Sarah would still want to talk to you at the holidays. 

“Sounds perfect.” 

Joel gave you a tight smile and a nod. 

“Talk to you soon?” He said, his voice too open and honest to fit the shared awkwardness of your position feet apart in the parking lot. 

“Yeah,” you smiled. “Text me?” 

“Sure,” he smiled back. 

You poured yourself a glass of wine the second you were in the door, only pausing to take your shoes off as you made your way to the kitchen. You settled in on the couch without bothering to change, carrying the bottle of wine with you, and you put on some shitty Netflix reality show you could zone out and barely pay attention to. 

You were four episodes deep when your phone lit up. 

“Fuck that was hard,” Joel texted. 

You smiled a little. 

“Was that hard or were you hard?” You texted back. 

“Both,” he replied almost immediately. Your smile grew and you downed the last of the wine. 

You hadn’t had enough to drink to be drunk but you’d had enough that it made you feel… bold. Like you wanted to try something new. 

You took off your jacket and slid the straps of your dress down so your cleavage was spilling over the top of it, your breasts barely contained by it. You took a selfie, a needy look on your face, and sent him the picture. 

“Need help with that?” You asked. 

“Jesus Christ,” he texted back almost immediately. “Good thing Sarah just went to call some boy she started seeing back in Washington, can’t just send a guy shit like that and expect him to sit still.” 

You bit your lip for a second, getting an idea. You headed for your room and shimmied out of the dress before you put on the sexiest bra you owned and switched to the matching panties. You posed in the full length mirror in the corner of your room, one leg out, a hand on your hip. 

“What about shit like this?” You asked as you sent the picture along. 

“Really fucking mean for you to send that when you know I can’t come take it off you,” he texted back. 

You flopped down on your stomach on your bed, reminded of how you felt texting guys when you were younger and you had to make sure you didn’t go over your texting limit for the month. 

“You can always fight back you know,” you said. “I can’t come rip your clothes off either.” 

“You trying to get me to sext with you?” He asked. 

“Maybe.” 

It took a few minutes before he sent you a picture. He was in his room, stripped down to his boxer briefs. He fisted his cock through the fabric of them, the veins on his hand prominent. 

“Something like this?” He asked. 

You groaned, your hand sliding to your clit before you even thought about it. You rolled onto your back and took a picture of your hand slipping into your panties before sending it on. 

“Just like that,” you replied. 

“Fuck.” 

The one word was all he sent for a minute before he followed it up with a picture of his cock in his hand. You moaned at the sight of him, a pearl of pre-come leaking from his swollen head. You wanted to swallow it up, lick up and down his thick shaft, take all of him in your mouth until you were choking on him and he spilled down your throat. 

“Tried to make this last but you’re too fucking much for me,” he texted. “Couldn’t wait.” 

You took off your bra and tossed it to the floor before taking a handful of your breast in your hand, holding the phone high over your head, high enough that it could capture your needy expression and the way you were touching yourself. 

“Neither could I.” 

Usually, when you fucked yourself, you used toys. You had a few that you’d become partial to over the years of cycling through men and relationships, the fake dicks in your life lasting a whole hell of a lot longer than the real ones. 

Tonight, you didn’t need one. Didn’t think you could pull yourself away from touching your own body long enough to pull one out, not with Joel’s face and body and cock on the brain. You slid your hand down your chest, your stomach, back to your pussy. You rubbed your clit in little circles with your index finger as you stretched your middle finger down, down, down toward your dripping hole. 

When his next message came through, you dropped your phone in your rush to open it and you scrambled to pick it up with one hand, your other one too occupied to want to do anything else. 

This time, it was a video. His large hand was working his thick length, his cock still looking big even in his grasp that dwarfed your own. He worked his cock slowly, his thumb sweeping over the head and collecting the pre-come before he slid it firmly down with quiet moan. 

“Fuck, I need you,” his voice was soft, a whisper. “Need to feel that perfect fuckin’ pussy…” 

You were about to rewatch the video, your mouth watering, when he texted again. 

“Can I call you?” 

You didn’t respond. Instead, you just called him, putting the phone to speaker and setting it on your chest between your breasts. 

He answered on the first ring. 

“Hey beautiful,” he said, voice low and dark and needy. “Fuck, I gotta be quiet…” 

“I know,” you said, whispering back even though you didn’t have a reason to. “Don’t care, as long as I can hear you.” 

“Tell me what you’re doin’ to yourself,” he was almost panting. “What you’re thinkin’ about…” 

“I’m rubbing my clit,” you moaned. “Got one finger inside of myself, thinking about you eating me out last night…” 

“Fuck you tasted so good,” his voice became a little more strained. “Wanna taste you right now.” 

You moaned and fucked yourself a little harder, a little faster, your eyes closed in pleasure. 

“Add another finger,” he said. “Want you to work up to this cock, want you thinking about me deep in you when you come.” 

“Fuck Joel,” you were panting now, too, as you added another finger. 

“Tell me what you’re thinking now,” he whispered. 

“You pushing into me,” you groaned it. “Opening me up for you…” 

“Fuck, Beautiful, you’re gonna fuckin’ kill me.” 

You heard the pace of his hand increase on the other end of the phone and you worked your pussy a little harder and faster, too, whimpering as you did. 

“Can you fit a third finger?” He panted. 

“Yes,” you managed, getting desperate, your body starting to feel tight, all the heat of you drawing deep into yourself. 

“Add it,” he groaned. “Fuck yourself deep, hard. Fuck yourself like I fucked you last night, how I’d fuck you right now if I were there.” 

You obeyed, thrusting your fingers in as deep as you could reach, whimpering at the stretch that you knew had nothing on his thick cock. 

“You were so fucking deep,” your legs were restless, the tightness extending so far down that you knew your orgasm was going to make your whole body quake. “Fuck, you’re so goddamn big, Joel…” 

“And you take me so fucking well,” he panted. “Take me like you were made to take this cock, fuck!” 

“I was made to take you,” you whimpered, desperate and aching. “Made to make you come, need you to fucking come, please Joel, please come for me…” 

“Fuck, fuck, I’m coming!” It was a choking, strangled whisper and you heard him muffle his moaning in a pillow, the sound of his pleasure sending you over the edge. 

It was the hardest you’d ever come from your own hand, harder than you’d ever come with a vibrator, almost as hard as you came with Joel deep inside you the night before. Your body throbbed with it, so much that it felt like your fingers might break as they stuffed your overwrought pussy full. You all but sobbed as you kept working your clit, even as it was too much, fucking yourself through your own orgasm the way you knew Joel would if he were buried inside you instead of in his own fist. Once it was over, you slowly, gently, pulled your hand away from your dripping slit. 

“Fucking hell, Beautiful,” he said after a minute, still trying to catch his breath. You smiled and laughed a little. “Christ, I hope Sarah didn’t hear that.” 

“You stayed a lot quieter than me,” you were whispering again. It was fun to whisper into the phone with him, like you were going behind your parents’ backs with it. 

“Still,” he said before he sighed. “I gotta go clean up, you made me make a hell of a mess.” 

“You’re one to talk,” you smirked a little, looking at the slick gathered on your fingers. 

“Can I text you tomorrow while you’re at work?” He asked quietly. “Something tells me I’m gonna miss you like crazy.” 

“Course,” you smiled, settling down into your mattress. “Text me whenever you want, I always want to hear from you.” 

Maybe it was the post-orgasm haze but you didn’t care that it sounded desperate. 

“Good,” he said. “Because hearin’ from you always makes my damn day.” 

You smiled at that. 

“Miss you, Beautiful.” 

You smiled bigger. 

“Miss you, too.” 

Next Chapter

A/N: Awww doubt is creeping in and they're still fucking each other's brains out from afar.

We love to see it!

Thank you so much for following along with this story! These two are so fun to write and I hope you're enjoying their journey. Love you all!

[creativitycache]

My other post was getting very unwieldy, so I'm making a simplified version of what we know about lore.fm's legal setup. This information does NOT come from any TikTok posted by unravel.me.now (the apps creator). I am ONLY using the information posted on lore.fm's official website and their page on the app store.

My previous posts included information Reddit had compiled from unravel.me.now's TikTok account. I found conflicting information on their official sources, and so I am making this post only using what she has posted officially and not just on her TikTok.

It advertises itself explicitly for AO3

2. There is no way that any of the in-app-store screenshots have shown that allows its users to leave comments, kudos, or any feedback on the original work.

3. It does NOT have a way for fanfic writers to opt out. It DOES say in their TOS that if you are a copywrite holder and you know your information is on the app you can file a DMCA request by emailing team@lore.fm with your full name, phone number, and email address.

4. They will turn over all your data including your IP address to authorities upon subpoena, and are governed by United States Law, specifically the State of New York.

5. If you use the app at all you have bound yourself to an arbitration agreement and cannot sue them. You must go through arbitration in New York County (Manhattan), New York. You can still use pre-litigation or small claims court.

6. The screenshots provided in the app store do not show any mechanism for sharing, but the TOS does make explicit mention of what you can and cannot share via the app so that leads me to believe sharing will be a function.

7. The data taken from the link the users provide the app to generate an audio file is converted to an audio file that is stored both locally on your device and on their servers. It is unclear how much other data from the source they hold onto.

[idiototheinternet]

Y'all I have a horrible idea for a farming game

Your character is a swordsman, who's tired of fighting, so you and your party members make a deal to start a town together. The catch? A bet is made that if you can do everything you've agreed to do for your work, only using your sword, for a year, then they'll throw a huge celebration for you and the town.

The work includes:

Farming(digging, and later tilling and such, and you use the sword to splash water at it to water them)

Digging for cool stuff

Chopping down trees

Raising monsters to produce food and such(you don't butcher your own monsters, but sorta like rabbits' feet in stardew, if they are happy enough, you can let them around the town and they'll come back with different types of monster meat. Your character will have a funny reaction to this, and will say "I'm just going to ignore this...") (The fifth time a monster gets something, another one of them will be dragging a passed-out character to your doorstep, and they'll become your roommate until you build them a house.)

Fishing. The fishing minigame is pretty much just tying a string to the end of your sword. The fish include: Fish, bigger fish, smaller fish, not a fish, and a potato.

Mining. You stab rocks with a sword until they explode comically

Building buildings and structures and paths by hitting them with your sword

Making a train station

Crafting things

Blacksmithing is one of your party member's jobs, as to not melt your sword.

The buildings can be mixed and matched to customize them

You can gain friendship with people who decide to visit your town, as well as building on it with your previous party members, and if you show off your ☆cool sword skillz☆ and offer to build them a home, some of them will open businesses, and a few of them will get together after a few different families with school-age children move in, to open a library and a school, and the cleric who was in your party becomes a doctor, and their small friend who they meet up with becomes the town menace(and banker, they are good at their job)

The friendship system is less focused on romance, and more focused on friendships formed, although romance is an option.

The sorcerer from before your party settled down also discovers her grandmother lives there and so together, they decide to prank you by either turning a single one of your floorboards into a slightly darker shade of wood than the rest of the floor, or by turning one of your ground tiles into a tile that will always grow a potato.

although i feel like it would get copywrited, I really wanna make the name townsword

[motsimages]

I'm a freelancer and I'm a bit tired of this bullshit of using social media to sell yourself.

Traditionally, other freelancers left their cards or brochures in people's mailboxes. They hang posters on the streets. They go around the neighborhood with a speaker informing you of their services. Well, that's what the "poor" freelancers do. The painters, furniture repairs, builders, electricians, hairdressers, etc. do.

Often, and maybe more "luxury" freelancers like lawyers or medical specialists, would go to conferences and meet others.

Those are achivable things. You do it for a couple of days every once in a while, try to let people know about your job and trust your colleagues or previous clients will recommend you to their clients or contacts if needed.

I don't think doing the job of three other freelancers (such as graphic designer, photographer and copywriter) is the job of anyone online. Yet here we are. How are you expected to find clients if not spending as much time writing your blog, posting on instagram or facebook and developping classes to get passive income?

I have never really put much effort there and over the years I have decided that I'd rather invest my time and effort somewhere else. I already work with a computer, why not going to workshops, classes and conferences?

I am a translator. I'm not a marketing specialist and I should not be expected to be one. I should not be expected to study any and all social media to get clients (and I have managed not to and I live very well like this). If I wanted to be a community manager, I would be one.

[fairycosmos]

how did you start getting work as a freelancer without previous experience or a related degree? nobody wants to give me a chance, chloe 😭

i built up a portfolio of pieces literally just on google docs that basically exemplified that i could write decently well for any brand/tone and that i was able to conduct in-depth research, and i just kept applying to all these freelance agencies and sending my work across to them and doing test articles for them. usually i wouldn't get any paid work esp at first but sometimes they would have me for an interview and then send me a few projects. but the thing that really helped with me getting freelance work was the internship (of sorts) i did at a web design company before this current job i have - when my contract at that office ran out, it was easier to get freelance work because i had some genuine experience i could put on my cv, no matter how little. it's definitely a lot of effort for very little payoff for a long time, and you have to keep pushing forward with it (which i know is super hard bc it's the most disheartening experience ever to keep getting pushed back like i was incredibly burnt out throughout all of this.) and i have to say i got very very lucky with my current job irt them hiring me without a degree. but yeah if there's any copywriting (or digital marketing or anything related) courses or internships going on around you that you're able to check out, i'd definitely recommend that bc thats what really helped me get work x

[fivewholeminutes]

I have no fear until I think about RCA forcing or pushing Vessel into writing more "mainstream" or "marketable" music and then i have one fear.

Granted, I know fuckall about how record labels work, so I may very well be worrying over nothing. But the severe increase in the... idk how to word it... "consumerism"?? Of the band since RCA took over makes me a bit nervous. Or maybe I'm just inherently distrustful of giant companies. Who knows.

Yeah, well put with this meme, anon. I am not well versed in how the industry works too, however, i think rca would want to have more "insight" into their creative process than previous labels. Because they are big enough to dictate conditions.

But!! I think the band and its management knew what they're getting into. Maybe the label won't interfere too much, because they see how profitable the band became doing their own thing (again. Don't know if and how much the previous labels interfered, but the trilogy looks very coherent, even though handled by two different labels; also things like a lot of 6+ minutes songs in the last album shows they weren't pushed too much to be more marketable). And hey, maybe they have a clause in contract preventing rca from interfering too much. (God, i hope they do.)

The problem is. Vessel can write literally any kind of music and make it a banger and the label would probably love to utilise that... We just have to wait and see and hope for the best.

As for other aspects of the band, the ones that are not related to producing music, it is a shitshow currently. I hope people responsible for choosing sumerian as a printing house feel at least sorry for it. I hope people from sumerian that handle the graphic novel logistics and people responsible for neverending merch drops are sleeping on a thousand lego pieces everyday. I hope the faux leather jacket idea person sleeps and steps on lego pieces everyday. I hope the sensless obtains will stop, because this really makes the band look very bad and cheap. The mystique of emails with "obtain" disappears if you get them 3 times per week and the quality and designs of the stuff are terrible. It also creates a very bad image of the band itself for many people. Like, when you see an actor that is actually very good at what they do, but because they are literally everywhere, you grow to hate their face and every movie they play in.

Tbh, the consummerism started a bit before they announced signing with rca. But yeah, rca went way above with the commercial aspect of the band. It might not pay off in the future.

Not even starting on the issue of how they discouraged the artists to create in the fandom. Like sure, i understand that they can have a problem with artists that sell art with copywrited logos, but the witch hunt on socials is uncalled for.

[allastoredeer]

"Considering Pentagram City is boxed in by mountains, and the Ring doesn't expand past those mountains (well, as far as we've seen), I can't see there being more to the Pride Ring beyond what we've already been shown. I feel like if that were the case, it would've been alluded to in either Hazbin Hotel or Helluva Boss by now."

I'm not so sure about that. Wasn't one of the main reasons for having two shows set in the same universe supposed to be so each show could explore different parts of hell? Like, Helluva Boss is meant to explore the other six rings while Hazbin Hotel is meant to focus on the Pride Ring?

Yes, the main characters of HB all live/do business in Pride, but it's rare that we see any Pride Ring locations in Helluva Boss outside of the I.M.P office and Stolas' palace.

Sure, we've gotten brief glimpses of other places,

-Blitzø and Loona's apartment

-The M&M's apartment

-The fancy cafe, the abandoned mine, and Andrealphus' palace in Western Energy

-And the various locations Millie and Sallie May visited in the Hell's Belles short

But aside from the main characters' apartments (which are most likely in Imp City) it's very nebulous WHERE in the Pride Ring the other locations are. We can't even be certain where in Pride STOLAS lives. Helluva Boss isn't meant to explore the Pride Ring, that's supposed to be Hazbin Hotel's job. The other circles just haven't been as relevant to HB's plot as the other Rings have been.

Unfortunately, Hazbin Hotel also hasn't gotten to really explore the circles due to season one only getting eight episodes. There was no time to for any in depth world building that wasn't vital for telling the main story HH wanted to tell. It seems to be the same for even small background Easter eggs. All visual Easter eggs being reserved for either giving clues about Hazbin character lore or vaguely referencing the other Rings/Sins in ways that won't break copyright.

That's something else you have to take into consideration. Copyright.

I think it's safe to say that there will never be a Helluva Boss episode where the I.M.P. gang visit the Hazbin hotel. And I doubt we're ever going to see Charlie and Vaggie go on a date to the Lust Ring. Any location featured in detail in one show is automatically off the table for the other.

Since the I.M.P. gang and Hazbin crew all live in Pride, the Spindlehorse crew would have to be careful deciding which show gets to focus on which Circle. If an episode of Hazbin Hotel takes place primarily in, say, the Third Circle, that would eliminate any opportunity for Helluva Boss to have an episode that also visits the Third Circle, wouldn't it?

Yeah, I know the copyright thing will get in the way of what can and can be put in Helluva Boss and Hazbin Hotel, but there have been instances where the same thing/characters have shown up, like Katie Killjoy, who shows up in Hazbin Hotel and a billboard in Helluva Boss. I don't know if that just slipped under the copywrites nose, but it's there LOL

But to refute the concept of I.M.P being in Imp City, and Imp City being a circle outside of the Pride Ring, a comment on one of my previous asks (thank you @tomboy014) brought up the fact that I.M.P has to be in the Pride Ring because their job is reliant on Sinners. They're whole marketing scheme is killing people on Earth that Sinners still have beef with. Furthermore, we've seen clients in their office building, like Martha Mayberry and Loopty.

I.M.P (and thus Imp City, where I.M.P is canonically set in) HAS to be set up in Pentagram City for Blitz, Moxxie, Millie, and Loona to even get clients, which then implies that the 2nd Circle is there too.

Additionally, we see that Pentagram City is boxed in by mountains, and when Stryker kidnapped Stolas, we saw those very same mountains. So either they were in Pentagram City, or every other Circle is also surrounded by mountains (perhaps as a means of keeping them separated if that is the case).

If we look at Andre's castle, that theory could hold up, unless his castle is merely set up somewhere within the mountain ranges surrounding Pentagram City.

I mean, the area around the castles does look barren as fuck. There are no other buildings, no people outside of Andre and Stella (not even any servants while they're having tea), and no hint of life whatsoever. It could be that since snow is just a drastic change from Hell's normally blistering hot temperature (or, at least, the Pride Rings hot temperature), he had to distance his castle from everyone else, which could explain why it looks so isolated and empty.

But even disregarding all of that, there are more ways to world-build outside of the characters explicitly going somewhere or saying something. Like the sign for Imp City telling us it's in Circle 2, no one outright said that, it's just a background detail that was there and then gone. There are plenty of opportunities to show us more about the world, and the 9 Circles, even if its something as simple as a poster on the wall.

I also disagree that it's Hazbin Hotel's job to be the one to explore the Pride Ring, but that's only in the case that the 9 Circles actually exist. I can't see the Circles coming up as often, considering most of the characters we meet are Sinners and they aren't allowed outside of Pentagram City, thus there's no reason for it to come up as its not even an option they can explore.

(I know the rule is that Sinners can't leave the Pride Ring, but if the other Circles do exist, and are part of the Pride Ring - and thus places the Sinners are allowed to go - there's no reason they couldn't have explored the other Circles while we were in Hazbin Hotel, even a little. Even if it was a passing glance. A split second blink and you'll miss it moment.)

Charlie and Lucifer would be the perfect characters to explore it for us, but they never do. Our first introduction to Lucifer would've been a fantastic place to sneak in the information that Lucifer lives in one of the other Circles, not Pentagram City. It could've been something as simple as a passing comment or a note on his desk.

But that never happened.

Helluva Boss, however, is the perfect place to explore the 9 Circles especially because their main base of operation is in the Pride Ring. Not only that, but they're the ones who have the freedom to move around and travel to different areas of Hell. They are the audiences' ticket to seeing more of the world, which has worked, because they're the reason we've seen more of the Rings at all. Blitz and Co are the perfect choice to explore the Circles, especially if they've already visited the other Circles.

But they never expand on it which leads me to doubt that the Pride Ring is made up of all 9 Circles, otherwise, why not expand on or allude to it???

[curapickt]

ok well I actually just saw someone confuse copywriting and copyrighting and it pissed me off so much that I retract the satirical subtext of my previous post. we need to bring back dictionaries

[beauty-and-passion]

FSS3 Episode 6: Being a villain

Things cannot go well, not like this.

Updates every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

What is FFS3 - Introduction - Season 2 finale - previous episode - next episode

AO3 link for this episode

DISCLAIMER: As said in the introductory post, Fanders Sides Season 3 (season 2 finale included) could have triggering themes/scenes. Please keep that in mind before reading.

_______________________________

Thomas is driving to Nico’s bar to pick him up after the end of his shift. The plan is to go together to his place, play some more songs, plan a new video, and have dinner together. Possibly, not in this order.

But when Thomas arrives, he sees Nico is already outside, talking with a handsome man. Thomas is a bit surprised: he gets out of his car and walks to them, then he asks Nico if everything’s okay and he’s good to go.

Nico is surprised by his sudden appearance, but he still looks calm. He greets Thomas, asks how he is doing, then introduces him to the other man as “his friend”.

Thomas is hurt by this and he instinctively replies that he’s not his friend, but his boyfriend.

The other man looks a bit surprised: he didn’t know Nico was gay, he says. Nico replies that he hopes this won’t change anything.

The handsome man reassures him and tells him he will call next week. Then, he gets in his car and leaves.

As soon as the man disappears, Nico turns around and confronts Thomas: what was he thinking? Why did he introduce himself like that? 

His words hurt Thomas even more: what was the problem with him introducing himself as Nico’s boyfriend? He is his boyfriend. They are a couple. They shared their stories, talked about their feelings for each other, kissed and now Nico is all nice and friendly with that handsome guy. Thomas is the one who should be pissed, not him!

Nico sighs. The guy was an old friend, who recently became the head of administration of a publishing house. He was telling Nico about a newly available position as a copywriter and Nico was interested, because the working hours and the salary are much better, compared to his bartender job. They were just planning a job interview for him, before Thomas jumped in and introduced himself like a jealous, weird boyfriend.

Thomas feels a bit ashamed now. He apologizes: hopefully he didn’t mess up too much, didn’t he?

But Nico is still a bit frustrated. This is not the first time he acts like a jealous, possessive boyfriend, he retorts.

Well, they’re boyfriends, of course Thomas is a bit jealous!, he replies. He cares about Nico! He wants and needs him!

Instead of reassuring him, these words worry Nico: he’s not Thomas’ property and Thomas is not his property. They are a couple, sure, but not joined at the hip. They have their own lives to live.

Thomas knows that, but what’s the problem if he worries a little? Nico introduced him to this new guy as a friend, as if he wanted to hide him! Why? What was the problem? Is Nico not happy with him? Is Thomas not enough for him?

Nico replies that he barely knows the guy and he knows absolutely nothing about the company. Is it a problem if he wants to keep his relationship a secret from people he doesn’t know? It’s his personal life, he has all the right to keep it hidden. He’s not as quick as Thomas, in divulging his personal life around: heck, he revealed their relationship to everyone on the Internet, kissed him after a couple of dates, dropped a love confession, offered him to work together… it’s been a few months since they’re a couple, but it seems like Thomas is speedrunning their relationship! Even though Nico asked him to take things slower! What will the next thing be? Suggesting him to move to Thomas’ house and live together?

What would the problem be?, Thomas asks. We’re happy together, we love each other…

Nico stops him. They’ve been together for four months. Four. Months. It’s too early to truly know each other. He doesn’t really know Thomas and Thomas doesn’t really know him.

Thomas’ voice sounds even more hurt.  They don’t know each other?! Thomas told him about his old job, his family, his friends and his current job! How can Nico say that they don’t know each other? He knows basically everything about him!

Nico is perplexed now. Is Thomas joking or what? Knowing each other is something that requires years, not days, and definitely not four months.

Oh, so that’s what you think?, Thomas asks. In that case, since you do not know me, then have a nice day and go home by yourself.

And after that, he gets into his car and drives back home.

°

Once Thomas slams the door closed behind him, Roman appears and starts accusing him, with a hysterical tone: what the hell is he doing? Is he insane? What was all of that?!

Thomas apologizes, the last remnants of anger disappear from his expression: he doesn’t know. He was just too angry, he lost control…

He can’t even finish the sentence, because he notices someone on his couch: it’s a black and orange figure, sitting sideways, his punk boots against the armrest. He’s examining his gloves, when he asks Thomas: “Gone wrong?”.

Roman notices him and rolls his eyes: he really, really doesn’t like this guy. Zero style.

You’re not that good either, Anger says to Roman and he gets from him the most offended expression ever.

Thomas steps in: so it was Anger who made him so pissed at Nico! He made a mess! What if things go bad now? What if they break up? He must call Nico immediately!

Anger scoffs. Sure, come back crawling to the same guy who friend-zoned you in front of his friend/possible future boss. You don’t have a shred of self-respect.

Virgil appears and immediately attacks Anger: what is he doing here? Is he on his way to ruin Thomas’ life? Well, not anymore: if he wants to keep doing it, he will have to go through Virgil first.

Once he sees Virgil, Anger gets up. Oh, look who’s here!, he welcomes him with open arms. Virgil! The Side who was a fighter, confident, proud of himself and his job! And look what he’s now: a barking little dog that doesn’t scare anyone anymore.

Anger gets closer, until he’s standing in front of Virgil. He’s livid. You were cocky, you were strong, he says. Now you’re nothing.

Before Virgil can reply, Patton appears and asks them to please, calm down and be kind to each other. They can talk and have a proper discussion about what happened and what to do next.

Anger dismisses Patton’s request: he doesn’t take orders from him, he says.

Virgil, on the other hand, accuses Patton again: now that he’s bestie with Janus, even Anger is good! First he approved Remus, now he approves Anger. What a hypocrite.

Look who’s talking, Anger accuses him. You were our brother! We were a family! And then, you decided you didn’t like us anymore and threw us away like trash.

The tension rises, Janus appears. He firmly orders them to calm down and take a step back and they both do it.

Anger turns to Janus and says he was just doing his job. (His tone is calmer and more polite while talking with him.)

Virgil accuses Anger: that’s bullshit! He was ruining Thomas’ life!

Anger immediately grows frustrated again: sure, now we’re the bad guys, aren’t we? Now you’re the perfect hero and we’re the enemies to defeat. Is this why you dumped us? To play the hero with Remus’ stupid brother?

(Hey!, Roman protests)

It’s because I couldn’t stand your attitude anymore!, Virgil yells. You were always so proud to be villains, so confident in your idea that being horrible was right and good!

Why, what’s wrong with that?, Remus asks. He’s eating a bag of cockroaches, sprawled on the couch. Good and bad are just made-up nonsense, after all.

It is wrong!, Virgil insists. Because it sucks to not be appreciated! But of course you don’t understand, you don’t care about anything! And you (pointing at Anger) don’t care either. You just want to bring chaos and do whatever you want.

Anger shrugs and rolls his eyes. Oh please, don’t be so melodramatic, he tells Virgil. And don’t act as if no one ever appreciated you.

Janus diverts his gaze. Virgil notices it and shuts up.

Thomas notices and asks what’s going on. In return, Janus changes the subject: Virgil knows why Anger is necessary and he knows why they need him around.

Well, Roman intervenes, Anger can’t be that useful, if he ruins Thomas and Nico’s relationship. He made Thomas too jealous over nothing!

He makes everything funnier, Remus replies. He lifts a hand and Anger gives him a high five.

Patton cautiously admits Anger is useful and gets a dirty look both from him and Virgil.

Virgil scoffs: he insists that this is all stupid and Patton is a huge hypocrite. Anger laughs, then gives him a pitiful look: it really sucks when even the hypocrite is better than him, mh?

Virgil is on the verge of jumping at his throat, but before he can do it, Logan appears. He steps in, stops Virgil from getting closer, and says that Anger is fundamental and what he’s doing is good.

Silence falls after his words. Virgil and Roman are both shocked.

Roman asks how is that possible: what utility would this Side bring, if the first thing he does is mess up a perfectly good relationship with jealousy and impulsive actions?

Virgil, on the other hand, turns to Janus immediately. What a manipulator, he accuses him. All the private conversations he had with Logan… did Janus think no one noticed? Well, Virgil noticed. He knows they met in private. And he knows Janus used those moments to manipulate Logan into thinking Anger was good.

That wasn’t manipulation, Janus defends himself. Logan is just clever enough to understand we need to work all together. Anger included.

Logan himself takes a step back and looks at Virgil with an outraged expression: does Virgil really think he’s this gullible? He’s goddamn Logic, not the first stupid, impressionable Side! He can perfectly think by himself! He’s grounded in reality, he’s the most clever Side! He’s not as volatile as the emotional Sides or Creativity!

Hey!, Roman protests again 

It’s the truth, Logan replies, pointing at Roman. Sometimes you’re here, sometimes you’re not, you do everything as you please and we should all be at your disposal! But once you see a new Side you don’t like, you immediately start complaining.

Roman is offended: he doesn’t act like that!

You did the exact same thing with Virgil, Janus and Remus!, Logan replies.

Roman admits that fine, he was stupid in the past, but now he has all the reasons to mistrust Anger, considering the problems he just caused between Thomas and Nico!

It’s because you can’t see past what benefits you only, Anger replies. And that’s probably why you and Virgil bonded so well: you are both huge egoists who just think about yourselves.

Virgil points a finger at him, accusing him of being the egoist, while protecting Roman. On the other hand, Logan stands between Virgil and Anger and he accuses them of not being rational. Their voices overlap, Patton intervenes to ask everyone to calm down, but his voice gets drowned: the other four Sides keep discussing, their voices get louder and louder, insults overlap until there’s nothing but chaos all around Thomas, chaos that pushes him down, weak in front of his Sides arguing.

They become so much, so overwhelming, so huge to fill the whole house. And all Thomas can do is turn around and run outside.

°

Thomas parks in front of Nico’s house and runs out of his car. He repeats what he wants to tell him: that he’s sorry, he was stupid, he will be better, everything will be okay.

He pushes the door’s handle down and, to his surprise, the door is open.

When he opens it, he sees Nico smiling and laughing with Hugo, who has an arm wrapped around his shoulders.

A sudden rush of jealousy blinds Thomas, anger gets the best of him: Thomas runs in, grabs Hugo’s shoulder, forces him to turn around, and punches him right in the face.

Hugo falls to the ground with a cry and Thomas snaps back: he immediately realizes what he did and falls next to him, checking if he’s okay. He apologizes, he says he didn’t mean that, he wasn’t thinking, he apologizes even more.

Hugo says it’s okay, he clearly mistook him for someone else: that’s fine, he’s good.

But Nico intervenes. He asks Hugo to sit in the living room for a little while, then he turns around, grabs Thomas by the arm and accompanies him outside, then closes the door behind them both.

Thomas keeps apologizing: he really didn’t want to, he just… lost control. But now he knows why and he will solve the problem. So it’s okay, it’s nothing actually, he’s fine now and everything will be…

Nico lifts a hand and stops him. One thing is if you want to introduce yourself as my boyfriend to strangers, he says. Another thing is you punching my friend because you think he was hitting on me. Hugo isn’t even gay, so your jealousy makes no sense.

Thomas apologizes again. He knows, that was such a stupid move! It was just a little bit of jealousy, nothing too serious. It’s just that he cares about Nico so much…

And that’s why we need some time alone, Nico says. Thomas cannot be so dependent on him. He needs to gain his own balance. Only then, they will be a proper couple.

But I need you, Thomas insists. He has so many things going on in his mind, he needs someone who makes him feel better and he feels so better with him… Nico can make everything better.

But Nico shakes his head. Thomas is the only one who can help himself, not Nico. Thomas should take some time to think about himself, explore his emotions and learn how to be self-sufficient. Only then, they can talk again and move things forward with their relationship.

Thomas nods. Sure, he can do it, he can do everything Nico asks him to do. But please, he begs, stay with me. I cannot deal with myself all alone. It’s too much. It’s too overwhelming. It’s too confusing. There are so many conflicting feelings… I need you. I need you to be happy.

But Nico, again, shakes his head. He cannot give Thomas the peace of mind he needs. Only Thomas can solve Thomas’ problem.

And so, he asks him to leave: he needs to take care of his friend.

All Thomas can do is stay outside, while Nico comes back into his house and closes the door behind him.

_______________________________

END CARD

Roman is crying, sitting in the field of his room. Janus approaches him and sits next to him, in silence. Roman keeps sobbing for a little while, then he asks Janus if it’s really his fault, like Virgil said. Did Janus want to introduce Anger, to mess everything up in Thomas’ life?

Janus explains that things are a bit more complicated than that. So Roman asks him to explain.

Janus looks around: he fumbles that it might be too complicated for him to understand, but Roman interrupts him, still with tears on his face, but a determined expression in his eyes. Janus told him he wanted to prove to Roman that he’s better than he seemed. Well, now it’s time to do it.

Janus sighs: he explains that growing up is a painful process. It requires a shift in perspective and a shift in behavior. And changing all those things you’ve grown up with and have taken for granted for all of your life isn’t easy.

Roman confirms: it’s not easy at all. He himself is still trying to understand who he is and who he should be.

Thomas is doing the same, Janus explains. The only difference is that his process takes longer, because while we’re single aspects of him, he’s a multifaceted human being. So it’s like your personal growth but multiplied by ten.

Roman ponders Janus’ words: he thinks he can understand a little bit better. Still, why should Anger mess everything up like that?

Because it’s necessary, Janus says. Just like it was for your change.

Roman thinks about it: he can understand. But that’s painful. Does it have to be this painful?

Janus nods. That’s life, he says. You have to go through some pain.

Like a battle, Roman says. You have to do bad, before doing good.

Janus confirms that yes, it’s a bit like that.

Roman wipes his tears. He can understand better now. Still, he has one question: is Janus really sure Anger cares about Thomas? Is he really sure he’s not just an evil villain?

Janus turns to Roman. Was any of them a villain?

Roman shakes his head and gets up. Then, he thanks Janus for talking to him: maybe he really is better than he seems, he jokes.

Janus gets up as well and holds one hand: he promises Roman he will do everything he can to improve Thomas’ relationship with Nico.

Roman is a bit surprised: wasn’t Janus the Side who didn’t care about Thomas’ relationships at all?

I don’t, Janus replies. But you care about it and if you care, that means it’s important for Thomas. So I will do my best to take care of it as well.

Roman thanks him with a smile and shakes his hand.

_______________________________

AUTHOR’S NOTE

Oh well, time to start messing things around <3

First of all, Anger and Virgil: until now, none of the dark Sides ever said anything. Janus is just very sarcastic (and clearly hides something), Remus doesn’t hold any grudges. We need someone to look at Virgil and tell him he’s a hypocrite and a traitor. Why? Because a story without drama is boring and because if no one ever brings up Virgil’s past, how are we supposed to know more about it?

About Thomas and Nico’s relationship: these two needed a pause. I purposely enhanced Thomas’ canonical reasons to start this relationship (his need to have someone in his life because he doesn’t want to deal with his own shit), to reach this point. Why? Because with another person around, Thomas will never truly face his own shit. With Nico, he always has an excuse to run away and postpone.

Now it’s time to take that excuse away from him. There is a lot of stuff going on and Thomas must deal with it. Also because with Anger, as you noticed, there’s no way to postpone stuff: it’s an instant fight.

About the endcard: Janus and Roman needed a post-season-2-finale moment. First, to show again Janus’ character growth. He needs to learn how to cooperate with others and talking to Roman instead of keeping him in the dark is a good start.

And then, to show how Roman is growing as a character. He’s still thinking about love, he still needs it, he’s still Ego. But also, he can better understand what’s happening and why. And thanks to the awareness he reached in episodes 1 & 2, he can even give the benefit of the doubt to Anger, even if he’s still far from trusting him.

( Support me on Ko-fi )

_______________________________

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[fandomworld9728]

I don't just write fanfics. I also make AMVs! My previous account got deleted because YouTube didn't give me enough time to take down the videos, they had copywrite struck. So that's why the names don't much up with the name of my Tumblr.

I did a lot of MHA AMVs but now I'm doing Hazbin Hotel and Helluva Boss ones. Come check them out if you're interested.

[prince-rowan-of-the-forest]

To Make a Heaven of Hell (6/?)

----

After messing up cooking canned soup, Virgil decides maybe he'll try his luck going to a restaurant with some of the others instead.

----

| <- Previous | First | Next -> |

Chapter warnings: None as far as I'm aware.

Notes:

It feels like it's been ages - I'm not sure if it actually has or not, or if I'm just imagining time passing again, but hey.

Chapter 6! We're getting new characters next chapter baybee

Just for copywrite sake btw, unless I specify otherwise I did not come up with any place names in this fic lmao. All credit to that goes to Jaysea.

“So,” Emile said sitting Virgil down on a nearby bench, “How’re you finding the Hellp Desk?”

“Oh- uhm- it’s pretty good?” Virgil said, frowning, they hadn’t quite been expecting an interrogation when they got down here, then again, maybe Emile was just curious? “I mean - they’re all really nice? And I’m glad I’m allowed to stay with them - gives me something to do.”

“That’s great! Keeping busy is such fun, and I’ve heard the desk is great for some catharsis too,” Emile winked, Virgil was pretty sure that was referring to beating up pedophiles with spiked bats, but he couldn’t be certain.

“Yeah,” Virgil nodded, “Judy makes great snacks too.”

“Oh her pies are just the best aren’t they?” Emile laughed, “She shares them with us sometimes - oh! So whats your paradise like? Assuming you have one, of course?”

“Oh-” Virgil said, trying to keep himself from visibly recoiling at the question, but already he felt that sick feeling pool back into his stomach, what would Emile think? When he found out that Virgil was still to much of a coward to even approach his door? “I…”

Emile watched him for a moment, face falling, “Oh… are you like Ruggy? A hell-bound soul working for the desk?”

“No- no, I have a paradise I just…” Virgil quickly corrected, before mumbling, “Can’t accept it…”

The demon’s frown turned into something a lot more sympathetic as he patted Virgil on the shoulder - giving him a second to move away before doing so. Virgil accepted the touch just a little stiffly.

“I see, well - we have a lot of souls come through here, ones sent and ones who have paradise,” Emile said, “You’re more thna welcome to come down here to chat whenever you’d like.”

“Really?”

“Sure as sugar’s sweet!” Emile grinned, standing back up, “I gotta get back to work, but I'll see you round?”

“Sure,” Virgil shrugged, Emile winked at him before walking away, tail swaying behind him. 

Well. That was something that just happened. 

Virgil didn’t move from that bench for a long moment - long enough for another one of the demons to stop and ask if he was alright - but eventually he stsod up, ran himself through one of the breathing exercises an old friend had taught him back in the mortal world and walked out of level one as confidently as he could possibly manage.

—-

Another night, a few days later, Virgil had been left alone in Lily’s house once again. She had left a couple things out in the kitchen that he could make up for dinner - and she’d also given him the names of a few decent restaurants and pubs he could go to instead the second night he had stayed with her. 

It was odd, Virgil thought as he attempted to cook up a can of soup using the stove, how quickly he’d adapted to this lifestyle. He wasn’t even so scared of going near the oven now. 

But it was strange, too, because Virgil hadn’t had a parental figure in his life for… a few years, and even when his parents were around they weren’t… good.

They wondered if the relationship they seemed to be gaining with Lily was something like what a parent was supposed to be. At least to a teenager. 

There was no reference point - nothing in his previous life was at all similar to this, especially not his own parents. So this was uncharted territory. Virgil felt a little bit like he was wading through the ocean wearing a blindfold, he had no clue which step would end up with a rock through his foot. 

And he knew he was being overly cautious. Lily wouldn’t hurt him, he knew that now. The old fear was just still there nagging at the back of his mind. 

The soup was… disappointing. Virgil didn’t think you should be able to fuck up canned soup - especially not in paradise, literally all he needed to do was heat it up, but somehow he’d messed it up anyway. They sighed and got rid of the disgusting soup before looking - for the first proper time - at the list of restaurants Lily had stuck to the fridge. 

None of the names were familiar to him - maybe one or two he had heard in passing, but he hadn’t yet been anywhere other than Common Grounds. Going out somewhere would mean good food, but it would also mean eating alone around strangers and potentially getting lost. So, for obvious reasons, Virgil didn’t really want to do that. 

Maybe he didn’t have to go alone, though.

Pulling out their phone, Virgil opened up the groupchat Lily had added him to and contemplated sending a message. 

The groupchat consisted of everyone they knew at the Hellp Desk - as well as a number of users he didn’t know the identities of. He was fairly certain that one of them was Remus’ twin brother, specifically the one with a Disney profile picture with the nickname ‘Your Prince Charming’ who constantly talked about theatre and insulted Remus. Two of the chat members had matching profile pictures (of the angel and demon characters from that one show he’d seen all over tumblr a few months before they died but had never gotten round to watching) and Virgil was fairly certain they were Emile and his husband now that he’d met the demon. 

There were a few users who he couldn’t guess the identities of, though, he assumed they were just more of Lily’s friends and family and tried his best not to throw his phone whenever one of them talked to him. He was used to interacting with people online, it wasn’t that different if he had the very real chance of meeting these people he kept sending dumb memes to in person at some point. 

Currently there were no conversations going on - but it was rare for the groupchat to be quiet for long. Virgil wouldn’t be interrupting anyone if they sent a message, so why were they so nervous about it? Maybe because he’d never been the first to start a conversation here before? Maybe it’s because he was making a request this time, and not just sending a reactive meme or responding to a conversation. 

Virgil took a deep breath and let it out with a shake of their head, this was a non-issue, barely even a problem, not something to be stressed about, just send the damn message. 

<xx4llpanic-nod!scoxx> Hey guys - is anyone around? I wanna get something to eat but don’t wanna go alone ._.

<xx4llpanic-nod!sc0xx> Just wondering if anyone wanted to come with maybe - haven’t decided where yet or anything

<xx4llpanic-nod!sc0xx> I don’t want to get lost

<xx4llpanic-nod!sc0xx> or stared at, yknow. But it’s fine if not no pressure. 

<xx4llpanic-nod!sc0xx> Sorry I’m spamming - i’ll shut up.

Virgil paused in their word vomit, trying to take deep breaths, they’d sent something now and that was great. Now he just had to wait for a response - oh, and he should probably apologise about the smell in Lily’s kitchen. 

<xx4llpanic-nod!sc0xx> Oh, wanted to say sorry abt the smell in ur kitchen @Nearamir I fucked up canned soup. 

<TacoTime> How do you fuck up canned soup??

<Your Prince Charming> I’ve done it.

<TacoTime> Yeah but you’re you, I’m asking how baby V fucked up canned soup.

<xx4llpanic-nod!sc0xx> Literally no idea man idk what to tell u.

<Nickel> Greg and I are spending tonight in my paradise - sorry V! I hope someone will go with you <3 (also, are you okay?)

<xx4llpanic-nod!sc0xx> Other than the crushing weight of eternal existence? I’m fien, soups not tho.

Virgil sighed, unsure if he’d even get a response at this point. They all seemed distracted by the soup disaster, but hey-! Only one person had actually said they couldn’t go so far. Of course, he knew that meant Greg couldn’t either, Lily and Bel were all out doing something too, so they wouldn’t be able to either, which left…. Not many people. Now that he thought about it. 

<TheMonsterUnderUrBed> HEy emo u wanna come w/ me and the front deathk nerd we were gonna register for trivia at luckyleaf if u wanna come n get smth 2 eat??

Virgil sighed in relief, okay, maybe it was Remus - who he wasn’t sure he was comfortable eating around - but Logan would be there too. Seeing him again would be pretty cool, he still needed to say thank you properly for the help when Virgil first arrived. Besides, Logan seemed nice, he wouldn’t mind seeing if they could be friends… Lily had said eternity was better the more friends you made. Virgil thought it would be worth a shot. 

<xx4llpanic-nod!sc0xx> K cool! I’ll tag along - where should I meet u?”

<TheMonsterUnderUrBed> yk tir na nog? meet us in 15?

Virgil sent back a hasty thumbs up before rushing back to his bedroom to find something to wear more appropriate for generally being outside than what he was currently wearing (a cat t-shirt and sweatpants, to be exact). He was fairly certain the gate to Tír na nÓg was just along a hallway he passed on the way to Hell. He just hoped he was remembering right. 

Once he’d changed into something far more appropriate for leaving Lily’s house and fixed his hair, he rushed back out - nearly disturbing Max - and grabbed a bag too, just in case. 

After checking themself over in the mirror, Virgil headed out into the paradise realm. 

Fifteen minutes after seeing Remus’ message, nearly on the dot, Virgil found himself stood waiting outside of the gate to Tír na nÓg, he could actually see the pub Remus had mentioned a little further down the hall, but he’d been told to wait here, so wait here he would. As Virgil waited for Remus to arrive with Logan, he began to wonder if he had actually missed them, or read the message wrong - or gone to the wrong place, maybe. But almost ten minutes later, Remus arrived, bouncing along the corridor with a disgruntled and ruffled looking Logan in tow. 

“Hi!” Remus grinned once they’d stopped in front of him, “Logan, emo, emo, Logan.”

“We’ve met,” Logan said, straightening the tie he wore under a blue diamond patterned sweater vest. Virgil wilted a little at Logan’s harsh tone, did he not want to be here? - or did he not want Virgil here?

“Hi,” Virgil said weakly.

“Hello, Virgil, I’m glad to see you made it out on the right side,” Logan said, tone immediately becoming less harsh, though it still had that same professional air about it - Virgil wondered if Logan was just like that. 

“Yup, I’m glad I’m here too,” Virgil chuckled, “Um…”

“I heard you had taken up a position with Hell’s help desk,” Logan prompted as they began to walk, Remus seemed happy to walk alongside them, humming along to some tune and swinging Logan’s hand - which Logan either hadn’t noticed that bay’d grabbed or didn’t care about. 

“Oh yeah - I uh- Judy introduced me to them and Lily sorta… adopted me, I think,” Virgil chuckled, “Oh wait- Remus?”

“Yesss?” Remus said, letting go of Logan’s hand and turning to walk backwards so xa could look at Virgil, “What’s up?”

“You mentioned signing up for trivia-” Virgil started, before being cut off.

“Oh yeah! I almost forgot! Me and Lo are signing up a team for the trivia!” Remus giggled.

“Yes,” Logan nodded, before noting Virgil’s confusion, “Every month Luckyleaf hosts a large trivia night, in which varied teams will compete, Remus has convinced me to enter a team with him and a few others this month.”

“Oh cool, sounds fun,” Virgil said, smiling, “Who’s on your team?”

“Me, the nerd, obviously, the shark, the intern,” Remus listed off on fizz fingers, “Oh, pinkie-pie and the coffee angel, though we’re one person short.”

Virgil stared in confusion as Remus raised an eyebrow, Logan sighed.

“Remus and I, Sharkie, Dantillian, Emile and his husband Remy, our team is called ‘Logan and the nincompoops.’ which I personally find distasteful but Remus is certain it’s humorous.”

Virgil snorted, “You said you were one person short?”

“Yeahh - we can’t find anyone else who’s chill with just doing this for fun, they’re all too competitive, and I heard Jan was on the Roman deity’s team again so we’re gonna get crushed anyway.”

“I am only doing this because Remus believes it will be funny.” Logan said, “Especially if we somehow do decently.”

“Remus is right, that is funny,” Virgil laughed, “Is anyone allowed to participate?”

“Yeah! Anyone!,” Remus nodded, “Why, d’you wanna?”

Virgil couldn’t help how he blushed and went quiet. He did want to join, a trivia tournament where he wasn’t actually expected to be super smart sounded like a lot of fun, they’d know everyone there - except Emile’s husband, they wondered what he was like - but if Remus didn’t want them…

“You’re welcome to be part of our team, if you would like to join,” Logan followed up on Remus’ comment, “We’d be glad to have you.”

“I’m no good at trivia,” Virgil said, before frowning, “Well - I suppose unless ‘Tumblr trends and holidays’ comes up as a topic.”

Remus snorted, “I mean, maybe, we’ve had some weird shit in there before, but yea, it’s chill - we’re called ‘Logan and the Nincompoops’ for a reason, y’know.”

“Right,” Virgil said, looking around at both of them, Remus looked to be vibrating out of eir skin with excitement, while Logan was more subdued, Virgil could see the hopeful glint in his eyes, “Yeah, sure, I’d love to join.”

----

General tags: @full-of-roman-angst-trash @reptilianrapscallion420 @your-local-random-dino @cutebisexualmess @glacierruler @roseianxiety @bella-bugatti-frogetti-baguetti (if anyone wants to be added, let me know!)

Hell's Belles AU tags: @awitchbravestheverge @twoalpacas @goldnskyart @anxious-mess19 @doteddestroyer :)

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[madhukumarc]

How to find clients for copywriting?

Finding clients for copywriting can be a challenge today, especially in an AI-dominated era. But with the right strategies and a little persistence, you can build a successful client base.

Yes, let's dig deeper to provide you with more information.

Finding Clients for Copywriting:

Here are experts' seven proven tips to help you find clients for your copywriting services:

1. Build an Online Presence:

In today's digital age, having a strong online presence is essential.

Create a professional website or blog that showcases your portfolio, highlights your expertise, and includes testimonials from satisfied clients.

Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, X (Twitter), and Facebook to connect with potential clients and share your work.

Focus on quality business groups and communities (avoid spammy types), offering valuable guidance and strategies to connect and engage effectively. Send a DM if needed.

“posting consistently is not only important for improving your copywriting skills, but it’s also important if you want to succeed on any social media platform” – copyblogger

2. Network with other Professionals:

Networking is a powerful and evergreen way of finding clients.

Attend industry events, and conferences, join professional organizations, where you can meet potential clients and establish relationships with them.

Offer valuable insights and advice to position yourself as an expert and build trust with potential clients. Seek referrals based on engagement and trust.

3. Offer Free Samples or Trials:

One way to attract clients is by offering free samples or trials of your work. This allows potential clients to see the quality of your writing firsthand and gives them a taste of what you can do for them.

Be selective in offering free samples to ensure that you are targeting the right audience and attracting clients who are genuinely interested in your services.

4. Utilize Freelance Platforms:

Freelance platforms like Upwork, Fiverr, PeoplePerHour, and Legiit can be a great way to find clients for your copywriting services. But today, there is a huge competition here.

Create a compelling profile that highlights your skills and experience, and actively explore opportunities.

Enhance your profile by drawing inspiration from individuals who offer similar services, and adjust your approach accordingly.

Be sure to showcase your unique selling points (USP) and provide examples of your previous work to stand out from the competition.

You can also utilize LinkedIn's jobs section to explore a variety of work prospects sought from businesses of all sizes from across the world.

5. Collaborate with other Professionals:

Partnering with other professionals in related fields can be mutually beneficial.

For example, if you specialize in writing website copy, connect with web designers or developers who may need your services for their clients. Examine more possibilities.

By collaborating with others, you can expand your network and gain access to new potential clients. Aim for a win-win situation.

6. Cold Emailing and Prospecting:

While it may not be the most glamorous approach, cold emailing, and prospecting still works to find clients.

Identify businesses or individuals who could benefit from your copywriting services and reach out to them with a personalized email pitch.

Make sure your email is concise, compelling, and tailored to their specific needs. If necessary, do a follow-up to close the deal.

7. Build a Personal Brand:

Developing yourself as a personal brand in the market can make attracting clients easier, but it requires years of dedicated work and effort to achieve that level.

Follow your favorite mentors to learn their tips, techniques, and strategies for leading a successful journey. X (Twitter) social media platform is best in this case.

“Trust is harder to come by but more powerful when earned. This is where content shines. Persuasive copywriting and high-impact content campaigns have built trust, reputation, connections, and brands for centuries” – Search Engine Journal

Pro-Tips: Having multiple skills is essential, so learn SEO, data analytics, and other in-demand skills to enhance your prospects of attracting clients.

Gather testimonials and reviews from clients to build social proof and display them on your various online platforms to drive attention and engagement.

In conclusion, finding clients for copywriting takes time and effort. It is not so easy today.

Be proactive in promoting your services, continuously improving your skills, and providing exceptional value to your clients.

With persistence and dedication, you can build a thriving client base and establish yourself as a trusted copywriter in the industry.

Here's related information that you may also find helpful – Does Copywriting Pay Well?