#i have no idea how people juggle doing actual multiple things at one time

[soloroomies]

lifemate (Chapter 1/ Sakusa x f!reader)

summary: how did it all start? word count. 1.9k cw. marriage pact au, potential mature content a/n. this is my first time writing fic! hope you all enjoy this story! (♡ n pls let me know if you do enjoy them ♡) Masterlist

Every month, Motoya Komori, Sakusa Kiyoomi, and you meet up to catch up and enjoy each other's company. Surprisingly, despite the passage of time and the changes in your lives, you have managed to maintain your friendship well since high school. Your bond remains strong, bolstered by frequent chats in your group chat, where you exchange life updates.

Now you’re all in your late 20s, with you and Sakusa the same age, 27 years old, and Motoya a year older. Each of you is navigating your own unique path in life. Motoya Komori, always the cheerful one, shares his latest thoughts and plans. "Nothing much," he says with a grin, "just thinking about coaching some kids in my block." Then, he adds, "Mia thinks that’s a good idea too," his eyes light up when he talks about his wife, his smile widening. It's been a year since their wedding, and he’s never been happier. He met his wife during an open trip to Europe in his early 20s, a serendipitous encounter that changed his life forever.

Sakusa, on the other hand, often brings up his ongoing struggle with his fame. "I keep trying to decline gifts from fans," he admits, a hint of frustration in his voice. Despite his attempts to maintain some semblance of normalcy, his popularity often complicates things. 

It’s no wonder you think that Kiyoomi is popular among women. A single, talented man who looks dedicated to his career is bound to attract attention. People on the internet often compliment his looks too. Standing at 6’4” with a lean build, his black wavy hair adds to his appeal. You can imagine his struggle a bit—balancing his demanding career with the expectations and attention from fans and potential romantic interests alike.

As for you, you share your own challenges of juggling your main job with multiple side jobs. It’s a constant balancing act, trying to manage everything without letting anything fall through the cracks. Yet, despite the hectic schedule, you find solace in these monthly meet-ups, a reminder of the enduring friendship that has weathered the storms of life.

“Why do you have to do several jobs?” Komori asks, a hint of worry in his voice.

You chuckle lightly and start explaining the reality of life outside the athletic world. “Well, life actually works a bit differently for non-athletes,” you say with a smile, trying to lighten the mood. You go on to explain that you're still early in your career, and your current job is only a mid-paying one. “I need some more money to cover my living costs and to send some to my retiring parents,” you add, your tone growing more serious.

Komori listens intently, nodding in understanding. He realizes that while his career path as a professional athlete offers certain financial stability and perks, your situation requires juggling multiple jobs to make ends meet and support your family.

Komori agrees with your statement about the high living costs, even for him. You continue, “Well, now that I think about it, in this economy, for average people, I think marriage helps a lot in a financial way. I mean, by having two incomes in the household. If we didn’t put children into the equation, though, maybe.”

Komori agrees, “Well, maybe that’s true. But I don’t know much about that since my wife stays at home. But financials aside, having someone to come home to… I don’t know how to put it. But it’s less lonely and, y’know? Feels like someone always has my back no matter what.”

Sakusa interjects, “But you don’t have to get married, you know? You can just move in with your girlfriend.”

Komori shakes his head, “I don’t know, man. It’s a different sense of security.”

You chime in, “Ooh, I get it. Maybe it’s kinda like… all these paperwork you sign? So, it feels verrrry official?” You raise your eyebrow, prompting Komori to laugh.

“Maybe? I don’t know. I’m just happy and secure. That’s all I feel,” he says with a contented smile.

You sigh and slam your hand on the table, “Man, I don’t even think about that. I just think it’s nice to split rent and chores with someone.”

Komori hums at your statement, then turns to Sakusa. “What do you think, Omi?”

Sakusa shrugs, “I just think being married makes it more convenient for me to politely decline some of the persistent and creepy fans.”

You chuckle, “Ha. Ha. Okayyy starboy. Totally not relatable.”

Komori adds thoughtfully, “Hey, in a sense, that applies to you as well in terms of being more secure when walking at night. Ward off some creepy men, y’know?”

You nod, a wry smile on your face, “Hey! That’s so fucking true. Pfft, I hate the world that we live in.” You sip on your drink, finding a moment of solidarity in the shared laughter and understanding.

“Okay. Now this conversation made me want to get married. But I can’t even afford a relationship right now. Trying to start a relationship is too urgh,” you say, scrunching your nose. “Too many steps to deal with. And don’t even talk about the emotional roller coaster! It’s just too tiring!”

You used to be a hopeless romantic at heart, dreaming of the day you would meet that one person, your prince charming. Falling in love so hard that your head feels dizzy, experiencing all those cute butterflies in your stomach, and seeing the world through rose-tinted glasses due to the happiness of love.

However, the idea seems more and more impossible as you grow older. Reality has hit you hard. Maybe it’s just bad luck, but you’ve never been lucky in your romantic life. It’s not like no one wants you; there are men who approach you. But the ones who do either don’t meet your standards or turn out to be douchebags when you try to get to know them better and pursue more, leading to frustrating situationships. It’s exhausting to be attached to them and constantly ride an emotional roller coaster.

Moreover, you can’t think of anyone or any way to meet someone new at the moment. You’re not keen on the idea of dating apps either, as you feel like you’re not that fun in chat, and it just feels too unnatural to meet someone new that way. Especially a potential lover. Damn all these standards you’ve set for yourself!

Sakusa speaks up, “I get that, and I don’t understand what girls want either.” Sakusa doesn’t usually talk much during your discussions, but he enjoys listening to you and Komori's thoughts. Right now, he finds himself agreeing with you on the topic. Everyone knows that Sakusa isn’t the most socially adept person. He doesn’t easily make new friends, despite knowing many people from all the training, practices, and matches he has been involved in. However, he can't exactly call them friends. That's why he treasures this friend group, even though one of its members is literally his cousin. It’s something he can describe as “cousins by blood but friends by choice.”

Given this, it’s not hard to understand why it’s not easy for him to have a romantic relationship either. He can be attracted to someone—he experienced it several times during his school days, having little “relationships” that lasted only a few months. But these days, it’s getting harder to form meaningful connections. Lots of girls try to approach him, fans and acquaintances alike. Some have piqued his interest, but nothing has gone beyond a few dates. So, he truly gets it when you say it’s tiring.

“What?! So you don’t understand me?” you exclaim.

Sakusa rolls his eyes. “No, I understand you. It’s different. We’ve known each other since high school.”

“Ha. Right,” you reply with a hint of sarcasm.

Komori is silent, looking at both of you intently. He clears his throat, “Hey, you know, right? There’s something called platonic marriage?”

Sakusa stares blankly. “What’s that?”

“I know!” you chime in. “It’s like you’re married, but you’re not actually involved romantically.”

“Oh. I’ve heard of them. Interesting, I guess,” Sakusa responds.

“Yeah. It’s like you can get the marriage benefits without having to deal with all the emotional roller coasters that relationships give you,” you explain.

“True. But it’s too creepy and risky, right? To marry some random strangers?” Komori folds his arms and laughs.

You give a distasteful expression and respond quickly, “Of course! I wouldn’t dream of it. If I ever wanted to do a platonic marriage, it would be with someone that I know quite well.”

The three of you suddenly become silent. Komori smirks at you and Sakusa.

“What are you even implying?!” you demand.

“Hey! It’s not crazy, though! You mentioned it yourself.” He makes quotation marks with his fingers. “It would be with someone that I know quite well.”

You widen your eyes. He’s right, you think. But still, it’s borderline crazy and something that never crossed your mind. Sakusa? And you?! Sure, you think he looks good. But then again, you’ve never considered any of your friends ugly! Moreover, you’ve always seen him as your friend since the beginning. Which… is actually the definition of platonic. It’s perfect! Shit… But Sakusa would never agree with this kind of thing… right?

You steal glances at him. Fuck. He actually looks like he’s thinking about it. It’s not the usual indifferent face he’s making. He’s thinking. Wow. Years of friendship really do give you the ability to differentiate his micro-expressions.

“Look. It’s just… an idea. A good idea, can I say?” Komori wiggles his eyebrows and smiles proudly. “Given you guys’ predicaments. It’s like the stars aligned, y’know? I’ll definitely support you guys. There. You guys have my blessing,” he laughs.

You and Sakusa exchange quick glances. He shows a lack of repulsiveness. Now that you think about it, this thing actually fits him. But does he really think it is a good idea?

“Some friends do make marriage pacts or whatever it’s called,” Komori adds.

Oh, right. You definitely have heard about that. Something like if we’re not married by the age of… we should marry each other.

“Yeah, I think I’ve heard something like that. But isn’t it complicated?” you ask.

“What would be complicated? It’s all for convenience, right?” Komori replies.

“That’s just insane, though…” you mutter.

You all go silent for a bit but then you try to change the topic and continue to talk about other trivial life updates. Other things that aren’t awkward and, again, crazy to think about. Your mind isn’t ready to handle the full visualization, especially with Sakusa right in front of you.

After another hour, you and the other two decide to head home. You still have to work tomorrow, after all. Urgh, the work thoughts on Sunday are the worst. These meet-ups with Sakusa and Komori always prove to be very recharging to your mental battery. You’re so glad to have this monthly meet-up with your two precious friends.

On your way home, you replay the conversation you had earlier about the platonic marriage and can’t help but think of how good of an idea it is. The words “financial” and “someone to come home to” ring in your head. Shit. You do often feel lonely in your apartment nowadays.

If you ever agree to do something like a platonic marriage, the idea of being married to Omi doesn’t sound bad at all. Your very dear friend since high school. Someone you’ve known for more than 10 years. Someone who knows your antics and vice versa. He can be a pain in the ass a lot of times, insensitive at times. But the good thing is that you can be blunt with him. He might be an ass, but he does always listen whenever you scold him for anything insensitive he does.

But anyway, it’s just an idea. It will be forgotten, right?

Spoiler: No, it’s not.

[hoe4sports]

The receipt

Alexia Putellas ft Mapi Leon x Reader

A/N: I’m discovering a new found obsession with Alexia.

Triggers: nothing, google translate Spanish.

You were casually placing up the newest curtains that you had got in earlier that morning. It was so peaceful to work in an interior design store especially during the morning shifts. You got to spend time walking around touching soft materials, looking at new bedsheet covers and blankets. You got to talk to so many new kind people within one day. It was the perfect job for you.It was Monday morning, and the awaited new items had come in a bit late. You were struggling with the big boxes being everywhere in the litte shop, but regardless you loved seeing what things were in trend and what had just arrived.

A hand suddenly tapped your shoulder leaving you terrified as you were busy daydreaming about what my future appartment was gonna look like. You turned around and it was the sweetest old man. “Good morning, is there anything I could do to assist you today?” You said as you smiled while climbing down from the little latter you had been using to hang the curtains.

“Good morning Miss, actually yes, my wife is celebrating her 90th birthday this week and I want to get her something special.” The old man replied as he smiled. You nodded and looked around you for inspiration. “Is there anything you had in mind or do you want some help?” You said as you smiled knowing exactly what you wanted to recommend to him. “I could really use some help, she has so many things!” He exclaimed as he zipped his jacket down. The store was always very hot, so you definitely understood him. “I have the perfect idea! What about a robe? We have multiple kinds. We have thicker materials, silk, cotton or even have linen.” You said as you walked towards the bathroom department of the store where we had the robes. I pulled out the rack of robes and showed him the colors. “Wow” he said as he touched them. “She likes pink and she is a cold person” he said as he furrowed his brows into a thinking position. “Perhaps this pink one thats double layered, then” you said as you pulled it out of the rack. “That will do!” He said as he smiled widely clearly satisfied with himself. “Does she like good smells, soaps, towels?” You asked as the man nodded rapidly. “I suggest this pink soap bottle with a rosy smell, this complementing room spray and this matching towel” you said as you put them together to portray what they would look like. The old man nodded as he smiled widely. “Ring me up Miss!” he insisted as you made you way to the desk. You rang him up, he paid and you wrapped the gift in a cute giftbox adding a variety of ribbons and a tag. You did your very best to make the gift look special and the older man was visibly pleased. “Here, for your wife sir!” You said as you handed him the beautifully wrapped box. The man thanked you multiple times and told me how he was always happy to shop with you because of your very thoughtful customer service. You thanked him and waved him goodbye as he walked out.

This was the part of your job that you loved. You loved seeing customers get just what they want, have their visions come to life and be pleased to find something they have looked for. You walked over to the pile of boxes and pulled out some candle holders in crystal. They were something that every rich hausfrau would need. You kept unpacking the latest news and got to the bedding section. There were tons of new styles coming in synch with the season changing from winter to spring. You grabbed the higher latter from the back and climbed up to place the bedding. The bedding was heavy and you were juggling them back and forth between places to find the perfect spot for the new arrival.

“Hola, Do you work here yes?” A voice said behind you as it tapped my hip. You turned around and there was a woman standing next to the latter looking up at me. She was quite attractive, and you felt slightly embarrassed by the fact that your ass was in the same height of as head since you were up on the latter. You jumped down, and smiled. “Good morning mrs, is there anything I can do to help you this morning?” You said as a put down the items I had tried to place before getting interrupted. Her friend came around the isle and she had funny a look on her face. “Si bonita, yo necesito una..” she was stopped by a smack in the back of her head. “Tonto! Tienes que hablar Inglés!” the other woman exclaimed. “Dios mío! Cállate por favor!” the attractive woman said back. You smiled knowing that you could speak perfectly Spanish as your step father was Spanish. He had been brought into your life as a toddler and he insisted in spaking Spanish with you claiming that it would help your learning abilities. “Sorry, yes, I need some clothes for the bed.” She said in a clearly Spanish accent. You giggled “Clothes for the bed?Sheets? You need sheets?” You said as she blushed.

“Dios mío! Estupido de mierda. Nos estás avergonzando a los dos delante de la cura.” the woman said as she shook her head. You giggled again as you started walking. “Follow me please”. You came to the baskets with sheets and you looked at the pair. The blonde woman was still red and the brown haired woman looked like she was gonna piss herself laughing. “Cotton or satin, what do you prefer?” You asked as you touched the sheets in front of you. The blonde woman’s eyes widened. You smiled and explained.

“Cotton is cheaper. It stretches but I also gets wrinkly. Satin is more expensive, more silky but it dosent pill and it dosent wrinkle. Both have the fitted sheet look.” You said as a reached out for one of each for her to touch. She touched the sheets and looked confused. “What is your preference?” She asked. “Oh, I use the satin ones! They feeling cooling on the skin and they are way more durable than the cotton ones.” You said as she nodded. “I’ll take the satin then” she said as she winked. Did she just flirt with me? You shook the thought of quickly. “Now, what color do you prefer? We have navy, black, grey, white and cream” you said as you pointed to the different types. “Dios mio! Realmente necesito encontrar una novia.” the brunette said as she playfully slapped the blonde’s toned bicep.

“The navy and black sheets dosent work well with blonde hair or fur. The white or cream sheets dosent work if you have a partner with black hair or black pet fur.” You said as you smiled while you were silently hoping that there was no partner. “I’ll go with crème then, no partner.” she said as she smiled shyly and looked at your blonde hair. You were doing everything you could to not blush.

You beeped the sheet and looked at her. “It’s 49 punds. Are you a member?” You asked as you were focusing on the screen in front of me. She shook her head. “Do you wanna be a member? I would just need your phone number.” You said as you smiled hoping you could sign her up as a member because it would mean that you got extra bonuses. “Si, dale tu numero!” the brunette whispered and nudged her. “Yes, +34 914 36 38 40, you can write my name as Alexia Putellas.” she said and you happily obliged. “Quieres una bolsa para ello o lo tomas como estás?” You smirked as the blonde blushed and the brunette bend down hysterically laughing. “Ella puede entender español, mierda estúpida” she wheezed out. “I’ll take a bag.” The blonde muttered while looking down at the bank terminal. She paid for it and you handed her the sheet in a bag with the recite. “Thank you, and goodbye!” You said as the pair started walking out. You got back into working on bedding placement when after a while, a hand tapped my knee. Jesus, you thought to yourself, not one moment to finish the wall. “Good morning, how ca-“ you stopped as you saw the blonde woman again handing you a reciet. “You dropped it.” She said as she disappeared out of the store. You opened the receipt to see who had lost it so you could keep it if they came back. The recite had pen marks on it and when you looked closer it was a message.

“If you ever want coffee, +34 914 36 38 40.

-Alexia “

[666writingcafe]

An Interview With Lucifer

Part Three of A New Series

Question One: How do your friends describe you in a word?

Cranky.

Question Two: Who would you want to be stuck with on an island?

If I was limited to just one person, then MC. If there were multiple people, I'd add Mammon and Barbatos.

Question Three: What are you hiding now?

Treats from Cerberus. Not because he isn't a good dog, but because he's found their original hiding place and has been digging into them constantly, and the treats I give Cerberus are rather expensive, so I can't exactly afford to buy them every day and ensure that other stuff gets paid for.

Question Four: Do you prefer mountains or beaches?

It depends on my mood. If I don't want anyone to find me, then definitely mountains, but if I'm feeling a bit romantic, then I'd hit the beach.

Question Five: What is your hidden talent?

I can juggle. And I don't mean that in the metaphorical sense--although I can do that too--but in the literal sense, like a circus clown. It's one of the ways I relieve stress, because I can just shut my brain off and focus on keeping the objects I'm juggling up in the air.

Question Six: What makes you laugh?

You'll get a satisfied chuckle out of me whenever someone I dislike gets what they deserve, but if you want to hear a true, unrestrained laugh, either get me drunk on Demonus or put me in a room with MC when they're in a good mood.

Question Seven: If you were a thing, what would you be?

A metronome.

Question Eight: If you have no GPS, how would you find your destination?

I'd print out directions. (But what if you were unable to do that?) Then I'd ask the locals where I need to go. I may be the Avatar of Pride, but that doesn't mean I'm not willing to admit when I'm lost. (someone yells out, "that's a lie, and you know it!") And if all else fails, then I'll get to my destination through sheer determination.

Question Nine: Describe your three best qualities.

Apparently I'm patient, kind, and loving. (Why do you phrase it like that?) Because I wouldn't necessarily call myself any of those things, but I trust that the person who did wouldn't lie to me about such things. (And who might that person be?) MC.

Question Ten: Would you consider yourself a cool person?

I'm going to lean towards no. I'm far from being a trendy person. Just ask any of my brothers. (What about MC?) You'll have to ask them. I know they like spending time with me, but I honestly don't know why. Usually I'm busy with paperwork, and it's not like that's terribly interesting.

Question Eleven: What is a skill you want to master?

Baking.

Question Twelve: What would you do first if you won a human world jackpot?

Pay off any debts MC may have.

Question Thirteen: What one aspect of the human world would you change if you could?

I'd make it legal to punish animal and child abusers by inflicting the same types of torture onto them as they did on their victims. (That's rather serious, Lucifer.) So is abusing those that are unable to understand why their supposed family is hurting them.

Question Fourteen: What is your preferred card or board game?

Let's just say that I'm not allowed to play any tabletop fantasy games unless I can ensure that all of my work is complete. (Why's that?) You've met Levi, yes? (I have.) Now, imagine me behaving like him, and you'll have your answer.

Question Fifteen: What is your current favorite app on your phone?

Don't make fun of me, but there's this app where you can send messages to people and it shows up on their phone in a cartoony heart. (Are you talking about the viral Candy Heart app?) ...yes. (That's actually quite sweet.) It was MC's idea, and I initially did downloaded it just to amuse them, but I've come to enjoy using it as time has gone on.

Question Sixteen: Would you go to space if you could?

I'm content with merely looking at pictures of space.

Question Seventeen: What kind of museum or exhibit do you prefer?

I like learning about the history of different objects. Looking at their evolution fascinates me.

Question Eighteen: What kind of humor do you prefer?

I'll throw you a curve ball: I enjoy a nice pun from time to time, even if it would be classified as a "dad joke".

Question Nineteen: Do you prefer driving a car, a motorcycle, or a bicycle?

Oh, a motorcycle, by far.

Question Twenty: When was the last time you climbed a tree?

This is going to really show my age, but the last time I climbed a tree was when I was a young angel. *pauses* Thinking about it is making me want to do it now. Being up in the branches is quite peaceful.

Question Twenty-One: What is your strangest habit?

There are times where the only way I'm able to fall asleep is to hang upside-down like a bat.

Question Twenty-Two: What is your weirdest fantasy?

I'll give you an oddly specific one: if I'm ever able to retire, I'd like to buy a farm somewhere in the human world countryside and raise livestock and plant fruits and vegetables with MC. (You've brought them up several times in this interview.) You could say that I have a soft spot for them. (Or that you love them.) Well, obviously. They're a wonderful person to be around. I'd like to spend the rest of my life with them if I could. (You mean, their life.) Listen, I don't choose my words lightly. What I say is what I mean, one hundred percent.

Question Twenty-Three: Here's something a bit more light-hearted: would you rather fight a shark or wrestle a lion?

The lion. I can't swim nearly as well as Levi can.

Question Twenty-Four: How do you want the world to end?

By my hand.

Question Twenty-Five: Would you like to be shorter or taller?

I like my height just the way it is. (What if you had to choose one or the other?) Then I suppose taller. I don't feel I'd be able to intimidate people as well if I was shorter.

Question Twenty-Six: Who is the annoying person you want to get rid of in your life?

I don't necessarily want to get rid of anyone, but I'd like to seriously alter the behaviors of Solomon and Mephistopheles.

Question Twenty-Seven: Which artist and/or song dominates your human world music playlist?

I'll give you both: Metallica and "Adore You" by Harry Styles.

Question Twenty-Eight: If you had to go to prison, what would be the reason?

Treason.

Question Twenty-Nine: What is the most critical trait you seek in a friend?

They have to be able to keep secrets.

Taglist: @lost-in-time-wanderer, @fuzztacular, @dianedancer18, @sweetbrier2908, @flare-love, @completelyshatteredbrokenmschf, @thunderlightning351, @l3v1chan, @anxious-chick, @5mary5, @expressionless-fr

[kingwuko]

so, random writer question. how do you manage writing so many multi chapter fics at the same time? i feel like you update them all pretty frequently. any tips for writing multiple fics at once?

Hello anon! Wow!! I am really flattered that you sent me this! For one thing, thank you for saying it feels like I update all my fics pretty frequently! I sometimes feel like I'm not updating often enough, so hearing someone say that actually makes me feel good about the frequency I update.

As for the question, how do I manage it and if I have any tips, I will definitely try to share what has been working for me so far. It's long. I'm sorry 🤣

First of all, I really need to credit a different fic writer from a different fandom. @pikapeppa is a fanfic author that I really look up to in terms of her writing style, her update consistency, and for finishing multi chaptered longfics. When I was trying to steel myself for writing Secret, I sent her a asks and she gave helpful advice! She has writing tutorials if you want to check them out.

I also posed a similar question to her about juggling multiple fics at once, and she gave some really kind advice about not giving in to hustle culture and just writing what makes me excited instead of worrying about update frequency!

So, for me, these are the things that help me with juggling all these fics:

1. Taking care of my mental health

I have always love writing, but when I'm in a bad place mentally, it's not happening. I've come a long way and figured out what I needed. When my mental health is well managed, I find joy in writing which is crucial for me to, well, write!

2. Organization

Okay I feel like there might be a better word because I'm like, the least organized person in the world. But, what I really mean is, I keep all my fics separated and labeled in my Google drive. I have folders nested inside folders and do my best to label all my folders and docs. That way I can keep things together that I need for each fic, and I can easily open and reference anything I need.

For example:

This is mostly because I have different back stories and headcanons for each fic, so this helps me keep it all straight. It also makes it quick and easy to look stuff up. I have transcripts saved and an outline and an idea dump where I can look if I need help.

3. Deciding which fic to focus on

This is tricky because I feel like I'm still figuring this out myself. At first I was forcing myself to to rotate them in order, now (at the advice of @pikapeppa ) I write whichever fic I'm most excited about. This is working better for me. I need to shift my mindset when I work on a different fic, because my fics have different tones. If I force myself to shift mindsets, it's trickier. If I just do what I'm most excited about, it feels more natural to get into the right mindset and I write faster! That includes my one shots. Sometimes I'm not working on the next chapter. Sometimes a one shot has my attention.

Comments, asks, and discussions in my discord group actually influence what I'm excited about quite a bit! So if you notice it's been a while since I've updated something, and you comment on it, there's a good chance it'll give me that dopamine rush to naturally shift back to that fic haha.

I also don't reply to comments on the latest chapter until I've posted the next one. It's kind of a carrot on a stick for myself. If I make myself wait to reply til I post the next chapter, it's another incentive that helps me get excited!

4. Writing

I'm so sorry to say this. But in order to write fics, you have to. Well. Write. I know this is very upsetting for me to hear sometimes. 🤣

Theres tons of posts out there about how to write if you're struggling or you're stuck. I'm sure they have better advice than I do. But what works for me are the following things:

Outline, then write the chapters in order. Some people prefer to write out of order, to write the scenes they're excited first. But for me, writing in order gives me something to look forward to. It's easier to get through the less exciting but crucial scenes and chapters if I know I have a really fun scene right around the corner.

Write badly. My first drafts are pretty rough. There's lots of cringe. Terrible grammar. Incomprehensible sentences. Weird ideas that sounded good in my head but just do not work in writing. Sometimes I don't even know what I want to say, and I just throw some brackets in: [transition here]. For dialogue I'll write it in script form first before adding dialogue tags. Honestly once you get past the uncomfortableness of writing badly, it gets easy. It's word vomit. But guess what, no one has to see it but me!

Write whenever the mood strikes (as long as it's safe to do so). I figured out pretty quick that if I didn't jot ideas down when they hit me, they'll be gone later. If I waited to write until I had the perfect environment, I would never get any writing done (I have four kids and job, my environment is never perfect for writing 😅). This is why I write in Google docs. I can write on my computer (which I prefer) but I can also write ANYWHERE on my phone. I tend to do quite a bit of micro writing throughout the day. Between clients at work. Waiting in the school pickup line. Laying in bed before I fall asleep. Taking a walk (carefully and in a low/no car traffic path!) any moments throughout the day that I get a few minutes of peace and quiet. Just don't write when you're driving obviously 🤣

Edit when I am feeling good. All those brackets I throw in have to get resolved eventually. If I go through and edit when I'm feeling really good and focused, it's much easier. If I try to edit when I'm distracted or having a bad day, it's probably not gonna be great or I'll probably get stuck and struggle.

Use a beta reader. Okay. Listen. There are a million fics out there that aren't beta read. Obviously tons of writers do great without them. Not me. In addition to the fact that having a beta reader just makes my work more polished and understandable, it also gives me some external accountability. My beta reader, @badgermolebender, doesn't even really do anything extra to encourage me to write, it's just KNOWING that they're there, for some reason, helps me to write. And there are plenty of people out there who will beta read and also gently nudge you to write by checking in occasionally. 'hey how's the next chapter coming along? Need to bounce some ideas around? Let me know!' (psst if you want a beta reader for a Wuko fic, or any Lok fic, I'm available!!!! Even other fandoms if I know them!)

5. Be kind to myself.

Writing fanfic is a hobby. It's supposed to be enjoyable, for the most part! We can't hold ourselves to the same standards as people who write novels for a living. They have editors, they get paid for publishing, they have deadlines pushing them forward; and I'm sure other things I don't know about because I don't write novels for a living!!! We just have our fandom community and our free time. So we aren't going to be churning out novel length fics as quickly as R.L. Stine. You'll have gaps where life got in the way and a fic gets put on hold. It's fine. Just pick it back up when you can.

I have no idea if any of that is helpful, but that's my writing method these days. Look, I'm just a boring thirty-something trying to live my best life after neglecting myself in my twenties. I don't know what I'm doing, but I'm having fun!

[not-poignant]

Question! You juggle so many projects at once, and I think that's awesome. Do you have any advice for how you stay motivated (and/or organized) to work on so many different things? If I'm inspired by something, I want to focus on That Thing and Only That Thing — I have a really hard time pulling my brain away to work on other projects.

I'm wondering if a schedule would help? How do you even set your schedule?

This is a lot of questions packed into one ask, I realize — I guess I'm just in awe of your NaNoWriMo progress (you are insane (affectionate)) and want to pick your brain about your process a little.

Hope you have a lovely day!

Honestly anon, we all have our ways of writing, and it's best if you stick to what actually works for you instead of forcing yourself to do something different.

I'd recommend looking into some of the coaching / videos / podcasts by Becca Syme. A lot of it is simply based around accepting who you are, instead of forcing yourself to write like other people. Part of that is finding your strengths, but some of it is simply...being like 'okay, I'm like this as a writer.'

I don't write lots of projects because I taught myself to, but because I love doing it. I write more when I work on more projects. If I forced myself to only focus on one thing I'd feel stifled and held back, I'd write slower, and I actually think my writing would be muddier and less good.

Other people do best and write fastest when they're focusing on only one project at a time.

And which kind of person you are anon is something you'll figure out over time. Though it sounds like you might already know.

If you wanted to try working on multiple projects, I'd look at adding just one more into the rotation and seeing how it feels. Does it make you write more? Does it make you want to write more? Is it pulling focus? Is it making you lose inspiration on the other story? It's not so much a scheduling issue as it is simply...which one gets the words out?

The goal isn't to become like me as a writer, just like my goal isn't to become like other writers. The goal is to get your words out in the way that works best for you. If that's slowly, that's amazing. If that's fast, that's great, and while there are techniques you can try, it should always be with a view to respecting your organic process.

Many writers quit, or burnout, as soon as they stop respecting that process, or when they start feeling ashamed of their natural process and put pressure on themselves to do it another way.

Also I'll be honest, I'm working on too many projects right now and even though I'm loving it, I know it's too many. Like, I've deprioritised Underline the Red for my own sanity, and I am actually really looking forward to clearing a couple of stories from the schedule so I can focus on other things. About 3-4 stories is my sweet spot.

I don't exactly 'stay organised' anon. I actively want to work on all of these stories. And tonally they're all different, so if I feel like something more wholesome, or something darker, or something more pornographic, I have options. I do have a monthly kind of idea of what I should be working on (i.e. based on the upcoming schedule), but I can only really do that thanks to ADHD meds and I'm cautious of recommending techniques that I personally can only access and make use of because medication has fixed some of my executive dysfunction issues. If you're playing with any kind of unmedicated ADHD, there are tools that won't be as useful without tangible medical or therapeutic support. D:

I set my writing schedule via a mix of the writing that makes me money, alongside extra writing that I enjoy that doesn't make me money. Ideally I enjoy all of it and it's all fun. But the stuff that makes me money has to come first, because of like...life reasons. Idk where you're at professionally, or even if you want to do this professionally, and that would profoundly influence how I'd even suggest scheduling. If you don't have to schedule your writing, don't do it! If you don't have to make decisions like this, then don't make them!

Also, if I hated any of these stories, I'd put the story on hiatus. I don't believe in writing stuff I hate or resent writing. I know other people can make themselves do this and I'm glad that works for them, but I can't do it and I just...yeah. I have to love the story and enjoy it and not resent it to see it through, it's probably why there's so much drama happening all the time, and angst, I'm keeping my dumb hurt/comfort brain engaged lmao.

Never underestimate the power of also just 'I've been doing this for 10 years and I'm very practiced at stuff that other people will only learn with years of practice.' Some of this stuff doesn't have shortcuts, it just had a lot of time and 5 million words sunk into it. When I first started writing on AO3 I wrote one story at a time (though I did quickly become bored of that and moved to two). I wasn't making money. I didn't have a schedule for 9 years. I didn't want one.

The things I've learned... my wordcounts are reliable because I've just had a lot of practice writing. Unfortunately there's no trick to that, beyond sitting down and writing. The more you do, the more you learn about your own process and respect it, the more you write the stories you love, the better you'll get. And I've had times where I've burnt out, times where I've needed long breaks, times where I pushed too hard or forced myself to be like other writers and ended up wondering if I'd quit.

I want to give you easy answers, but the easiest one I have is - which way of writing brings you the most joy? Which way makes the words flow? Is it just one story at a time? That's great - that's your way. That might change in time, but don't force it to. You can experiment like a scientist and try different things, but be compassionate and accepting of whatever your innate way of doing things is.

I struggled so much with the fact that serials is just my way in a world of novelists. I cannot tell you how much misery it has brought me, trying to force myself to be a dedicated novelist when I always just wanted to write sequential stories live. And I really thought I was doing things wrong and you know, other authors thought I was doing things wrong.

It turned out I wasn't, but self-acceptance of my own methods and style went a long way in that process.

You might not like this response anon, and I apologise for not actually just lining up a schedule for you to try (I don't listen to my own schedules), but...it's okay to be someone who works on one story at a time. Or two stories only. I actually think it's awesome, and my writer-friend in my writer's group whose work I've been helping beta for years is a 'single project at a time' writer and a *rewriter* (no one wishes they could change their process as much as rewriters imho) and her writing is amazing. Like, incredibly good. (That's Stephanie Gunn by the way, for anyone who wants to read some cool science fiction / gothic fantasy).

So that's her process, and it's an amazing one, because it creates the writing that it does. Whatever your natural process is, anon, it's okay to write that way, trust me.

[basedkikuenjoyer]

More Like a Wibbly-Wobbly Timey-Wimey Egg

1093 is a pretty action heavy chapter, so it leaves a lot less to ruminate on. The Kizaru fight is oodles of fun. The Dawn Stamp to all the illusions after getting them lined up is a classic, reminds me a little of Kuwabara vs. Byakko from YYH. And I love how much Luffy looks like a lil gremlin when he goes big. He'll always be just a lil guy to me. We'll also see a lot more of Egghead as we jump around and sadly nothing that bolsters the idea this was Toki's island. We even add a new Egghead-specific vegetation in some happy lil Diablo cacti. I think we've seen them already but you know...hard to remember every plant you see. And now I kinda want to take this break to talk foliage on various islands. Remember the spotted flowers would be the golden hint.

Still, I wouldn't toss that idea just yet. We only saw one bay on Toki's unnamed island. The placement still adds up, as does the timeline for Vegapunk getting started on his projects.

We did play with this area another way though, since Bonney incidentally gave us a detail about the timeline. And this is the big gun from this chapter. I've backed off of pointing out shared themes because it was getting repetitive, but this is a huge one. Type of thing where even non-obsessive weirdoes like me are catching on. We strongly imply Bonney's actual age is younger than first assumed. This is why you never horndog about people with skewed time. I do see people stumbling on this so keep in mind Bonney could be a "young girl" and like...14. This would all make sense.

That makes Bonney a humongous tie with Momonosuke as well as Kiku & Yamato who play with that theme in different ways. So tomorrow we're having a fun Tale of Two Hannya about that. Ooh, and while we're at it lovely Thriller Bark callback in Luffy thinking of Perona's ghosts with Kizaru's illusions. It's a long crescendo but the type of stuff we've been looking at all along is still escalating.

Sentomaru looking cool as hell here, and I'll say Vegapunk's reckless abandon rushing to save Bonney is reminding me of Usopp in the Raid. Good on him actually, he's seemed to be a little careless about allies all arc and knowing Bonney is actually a child makes a lot of sense out of how he treats her.

Last thing I'll say here is this. These have been some big chapters fleshing out Jewelry Bonney. We've been keeping an eye on her all Egghead because of her basic setup lending itself well to picking up Kiku's thread. Just remember...we took a lot of arc to get here. We've done the same so far with Stussy and Sentomaru and Vivi in the cutaway. Bonney being an actual child pushes her more towards ending up in a "family" structure as an ending. Happy end for Kuma, Vegapunk taking responsibility, something like that. If it were just her in all these side story spots I'd be over it, because I like Jewelry Bonney a lot actually...but when it's juggling multiple stories like this that play with established Wano themes, you can't ignore when someone who threads the needle on all of them was the one with the strange ending.

[shcmook]

I think the story and worldbuilding of TOTK would be overall much better if more of the champion successors had NOT been Sages. As it is, 3 of the main characters of the game end up with this problem where it feels like they’re the only useful person in their entire respective races, and the game seems to be implying they HAVE to perform their multiple roles within their cultures due to their bloodlines.

Tulin stands out as the GOAT of the four main sages for several reasons. One is just that his ability is so constantly useful that I dread going back to BOTW bc I’ll miss those gusts. But also his story is the only one that feels unique to this game. It’s not a sequel to a story in BOTW it’s focusing on a minor character from that game who doesn’t have to now juggle multiple roles in his society. The older members of his tribe are struggling just to get food and take care of the village. Teba can’t take time away from his duties as chief to be the sage. Tulin stepping up and going through his arc feels SO natural and works so well both as a story on its own and as a follow up to the Revali / Teba storyline.

Sidon may be an exception to bc my thesis. It’d seem incredibly out of character and ruin a good arc if this guy didn’t feel in his heart that his place is joining the fight alongside link. It would probably eliminate the queer subtext of sidons inner conflict as well but we’d still headcanon it no matter how it was written. But as is it’s still weird that he feels so torn between being king and being Sage and being with Yona and purifying the water for the domain and helping Link and part of him still mourning Mipha when like. Why can’t Yona do some of those things for him? The idea that he’s worried about losing Yona like he lost Mipha would be much stronger if she was the one going to the temple with Link and Sidon wasn’t ok with it. Yona being the Sage would also still have the three of them had to work through this complicated relationship, and probably just add more layers to a poly reading of that dynamic. Idk. I just think it’s weird that they went to the trouble of creating Yona so that she could be the wife of a guy who is a sage and a king and the Hero’s best friend instead of her having an actual identity or a role of her own. I lied when I said Sidon was an exception, Yona should have been the Sage.

The Gerudo having a weird heirarchy and multiple leader figures within their culture is part of why I love the Gerudo so much in other games. In OOT, Twinrova, the leader you fight in the Fortress, Nabooru, and Ganondorf all fill leadership roles in their society. So why is Riju chief AND sage? Why not make Buliara the sage? Rijus main thing in the other games was her sandseal, she didn’t have thunder powers before this game. Buliara is literally a Guard so it’d give failing the town defense missions more emotional stakes if you losing means she fails her duty. I love Riju but. It’s make more sense for her, as Chief, to be busy managing her tribe’s underground affairs while Buliara feels ashamed at not being able to defend her Chief from the Gibdo threat and then *she* gains lightning abilities while training in the ruins.

I’ll be honest I haven’t actually played the Goron quest yet. But was anyone really hoping for more yunobo after the first game? I like the idea of him getting corrupted by Ganon I like the whole marbled rock roast concept. But why not introduce a new Goron who helps us free Yunobo from Ganon’s influence? And then that bro becomes the Sage instead? Doing this relieves us of having the bit in the story where the Sage of fire kind of ruins the lives of a bunch of his own people, and then still gets to be their Hero. It’s waved away too easily and I don’t like it and also I just don’t like Yunobo. If any of the Champions’ successors should’ve been replaced it’s him.

In conclusion: Tulin’s story I s the BEST, and more of the Sage quests should have been based and Tulin pilled.

[randomoranges]

amnesia au part 196

Of course, on the morning of their date, Étienne woke up feeling completely off both mentally and physically. He thought and hoped it would pass, but the more the day went on, the more the idea of being out literally anywhere made his stomach turn. He felt even worse thinking Edward would be annoyed at him for having to cancel, however eventually, he had no choice but to text him.

“I can always come over and make us dinner at yours, if you’d prefer and feel up to it.” Edward texted back without a trace of anger Étienne had for sure thought would be there. (Then again, some small voice dared to remind him, Edward had always stuck around when he’d had a bad day in the past and had never been nasty about it, why would that have changed?)

It wasn’t that Étienne didn’t want Edward over. On the one hand, the idea of spending another evening alone made his skin crawl, but on the other, the idea of his “first” date with Edward being at his apartment because he was having a terrible day and Edward having to take care of him made him feel just as bad.

“But this was supposed to be a date; I don’t want you to be bored or have to take care of me when we were meant to go out.”

“Ok, how’s this: I’ll bring a book and we can just hang out. I’ll still make dinner and we can just spend time together doing our own thing. I don’t mind. Promise.”

He knew Edward’s message was supposed to make him feel better, but somehow it only made him feel even worse that on one day he was meant to function like a normal human being, his body and mind had decided to rebel against him.

“If you really don’t feel up to it, it’s okay and I understand, but I really don’t mind a quiet evening together just chilling.” Edward reiterated after some time had passed.

Biting his lip, Étienne sent out a quick reply before he could change his mind or overthink it too much. “Ok you can come. I do actually want to see you despite everything else.” He also tried to convince himself that Edward wouldn’t have insisted if he didn’t actually want to come over. Once to be polite maybe, but not multiple times.

“Great. I’ll stop by my place to grab some things for dinner and then I’ll drive over as planned. Let me know if you change your mind/if anything comes up x”

Étienne stared at that x for longer than necessary before he promised him that he would and then went to hope that he’d feel somewhat better by the time Edward would come over.

Of course, the universe had forsaken him and so, when his doorbell rang a few hours later, he still felt like garbage, but the prospect of seeing Edward and spending some time with him did make him feel somewhat better – or, at the very least, he didn’t feel like sheltering under a multitude of blankets.

He held Mercury back as he opened the door and was immediately handed a bag as a form of greeting.

He juggled the logistics of groceries and excited puppy as he let Edward in without letting Mercury out and somehow or other, the groceries, dog and human all managed to remain in one piece and on the appropriate side of the door.

“Sorry about all of that; I’m still training her not to jump on people when the doorbell rings; she gets a little too excited.”

Edward made a motion with his hands to let him know that it was fine and crouched low to properly greet Mercury, who was more than happy to see another person, while Étienne brought the first bag to his kitchen.

When he returned to his entrance, Edward was standing once more and so he did the one thing he’d been looking forward to all day and went to greet Edward properly with a long hug. At least, even after many years, Edward’s hugs were still as warm and comforting as they had always been and Étienne let himself be held.

“Thank you for letting me come over; how d’you feel?”

Étienne shrugged from inside the embrace. He’d had worse days, sure, and he’d managed to force himself to take Mercury out for a walk and wash himself before Edward arrived, but that was where his list of accomplishments ended.

“I’ll live; thank you for being accommodating.”

“Of course.”

Étienne led him to the kitchen and showed Edward where the pots and pans were, before he went to sit at the kitchen table, his leg being a rightful pain.

“I’m sorry I can’t do more to help.”

“Don’t worry about it. You stay there and if I need anything I’ll ask.”

He did just that and soon through their conversation, Edward had his kitchen smelling delicious.

Étienne had done his best to stay hydrated and eat during the day and he knew he had to get his weight back up if he ever wanted to get the surgery for his leg, but all his efforts had been put in managing his pain and taking care of Mercury.  Therefore, he had been overwhelmed with the mere idea of making something and thus, he’d snacked here and there when he needed to take his medication, nothing more.

Now, the smell of Edward’s cooking made his mouth water.

“Are you – are you making borscht?” He asked as he made his careful way back to the kitchen. He peered over Edward’s shoulder and observed the pot that was on the stove as well as other odds and ends that were set out.

“Yeah; I made borscht the other day and had some in the freezer. I figured soup would be good if you were feeling a little off. I got some pierogies as well.”

He swallowed thickly in anticipation.

“That sounds amazing, actually; I’ll set the table.”

Étienne could have wept. On top of everything else he had missed from living with Edward, his cooking was way up there. Edward had never called himself a chef and he never made what he considered to be complicated dishes (unless he was set on duplicating some fancy pastry or cake he thought was ridiculously expensive and overpriced), but Étienne had always loved his cooking from the very beginning. Whatever his trick was, Étienne had been sold from day one.

Edward had tried teaching Étienne how to make some dishes over the many years they had lived together, but he’d always been a lost cause. Even the soup had given him trouble and no matter what he did or didn’t do, it never tasted quite as good as Edward’s, even when he had helped him out.

He shook his head, quietly amused by his memory and reached over for the dishes before he slowly made his way towards the table, feeling just a little bit better for the first time that day, the idea of a warm meal made by Edward already warming his insides.

--

PREVIOUS: CXCV CURRENT: CXCVI NEXT: CXCVII

[narastories]

Hi Nara, I hope you had a good day!

For Fanfic Writer Friday, do you want to tell me what you're working on (if you are on something currently)?

And if you've got time, I'd love to hear your opinion about the use of the past or present tense in fanfic, because it always gives me so much trouble. I don't really have a logic for using one or the other, so I'd like to know yours.

Thank you <3

Hi! Yes, thank you, I had a great day <3

Ooh, these are two very interesting questions.

1.

I'm sort of working on something... By working, I mean writing notes in my notebook and trying to figure out how to tackle this idea ^^" I really want to write a Dresden Files/FPA crossover! (Let's see if by announcing it publicly I can successfully shame me into going through with it... I doubt it, but we'll try it...)

I've never actually written a crossover, so that's already a bit daunting. Having to juggle twice as many characters/ships as I would normally is also a challenge... Currently, I'm trying to decide what POV/s to use, and how not to make this too long. But I think it would be fun to draw some parallels between the characters, and it would also be fun to bring two of the fandoms I like together like this.

Another, perhaps silly consideration is that I now have 99 fics on AO3... To make the 100th one a little bit special would be cool. (Okay, that might not happen because I have already uploaded my Yuletide fic, and I'm not actually sure where AO3 will put it in the order of fics once the authors are revealed on Jan 1st...)

Anyway, wish me luck, I can tell you that Philes would very much be on the menu ;) 2.

You're asking me this because of the tags on my last fic, right? xD

Oh dear, where do I even start? I actually wouldn't say I have a well-developed opinion on this. And I think maybe it's better if we split it into two categories: what I think of past/present tense, and how I would decide what to use.

Just from vibes alone, I would say past tense is very comfy. It sort of "disappears" because we're so used to it. No one will be turned off by you using the past tense. You can do anything with it.

Present tense, on the other hand, feels a bit more intimate to me. It can work well for a more poetic tone. It has an urgency to it like you don't know what's going to happen. But it will also very much turn some people off ^^"

I will also add that if I'm talking about multiple layers of past events, the English past tenses can give me a bit of a hard time, so using the present tense can gloriously simplify that lol

I do like reading either btw, but how do I decide what to use when writing?

I use past tense 99% of the time. (I mean, literally. I think I have 98 fics written in the past tense, wrote one in present, and I'm pretty sure the next one will be in the past tense as well lol) So I’m no expert here, although I do have some WIPs where I also used present tense and I would totally consider experimenting with it more.

To be honest, there is only one scenario where I would opt for the present tense always, and it’s the 2nd person "you" fics... Dare I say: *whispers* reader-insert. Which is a whole different can of worms altogether that we are now opening.

Personally, in my opinion, if you think old forum role playing was cool but you think self-insert fic is cringe, that’s a *skill issue*. Luckily, I have mastered my destiny and overcame feelings of cringe lmao (I'm joking, you only read what you want, of course.)

What I mean is, I find it very charming how self-insert or reader-insert fic specifically about RPG games kind of circles back around to the roots of the “role-playing” in RPG. I might not read certain types of reader-insert fics, but I think they have their rightful place in fandom.

Now, getting back to the topic of present tense lol To me, sometimes certain things will just fit better for a fic. For example, when I started writing my first Dresden Files fic, I started writing it in 3rd person, because 1st person felt intimidating. But the canon is in 1st person, and something in me knew that it just had to be done that way for the right tone, you know? (It doesn’t mean you have to stick to the way canon is written, of course. It’s more about what fits better with the mood you are going for and what effect you want to achieve.)

Same thing with my last fic: the fandom I wrote it for uses present tense and uses 2nd person for the main character. Yeah, sure you can write an OC and write 3rd person, but the right vibe I was going for was begging me to use the present tense. So yeah, in a sense it was me wanting to stick more with the canon vibe, even if that challenged me. Which is interesting because usually it’s the other way around, no?

That is a really long way of saying I tend to stick to what is closes to canon. But I think you should always listen to your gut and just write how you like it better.

Thank you for the thought-provoking questions and sorry for the long ramble.

[ghostflowerhotpotch]

whats a hotch pot?

Well, at one point someone was going to ask, this is really about the blog and myself rather than any ghostflower stuff related, so feel free to scroll down if you are here only for that content.

Short answer is: Author is a bit of a dumbass, and Dyslexic.

Long answer after the cut.

You see, when I decided to make this sideblog (After deciding it was probably better to spare my few followers on main because I knew I was going to become insufferable with this movie,) I wasn't entirely show what it would be about, or how to name it.

I mostly do fanfics in my spare time, headcanons posts from time to time in my main, analysis in a few occasions (nothing close to my frame analysis tho, this is really new development.) I was thinking of going back to drawing, but it wasn't sure.

Because I already knew I wanted to do frame analysis, I wasn't sure how to name the sideblog, this type of post is not something you see that often in tumblr, or at least not in the fandoms I had been. The fact that I wasn't even sure the entire lists of things I wanted to do with the blog didn't help.

I also didn't want something too generic, mostly in case the name could sound similar to another tumblr blog out there that could exist.

So looking around for possible words, I came across this one

This seemed like a good approach; it was definitely not a word you would usually use for a sideblog, and a mixture of things certainly seemed like the right description for this.

Now, here is an interesting fact about me: I am actually Dyslexic.

I try to not talk too much about me in this sideblog, but the rest of this story doesn't make sense without that context in mind.

Now, while juggling for different ideas for a name in another page, for whatever reason, the site I used register hodgepodge as a real word, I probably typed it wrong without realizing, however rather than correcting to hodgepodge, it corrected to hotchpotch.

Since I wasn't familiar with that word, I looked it up in the dictionary.

Now I thought this was funny.

Hodgepodge was technically the appropriate word to use for this blog, but I thought using food would be funnier. Is technically related because is still a mix of things in one pot, but using food make the blog seem less serious and more silly, which I thought would be better.

Now, remember how I am mention that I am a bit of a dumbass, and also dyslexic?

Well, rather than just copying and pasting the word right there, I saw that the synonyms word was HotchPot, and decided to use that one because it seemed simpler.

And what does my dyslexic brain end up retaining and typing down?

Hot Potch, because somehow that made sense for me.

At this point I had debated over the name so long and seeing so similarly worded words, that my brain didn't register any issues, and when the grammar on my website told me the word was wrong, I just didn't think much of it because I thought perhaps it was just unfamiliar with that word in particular (that has happened to me before really.)

By the time I realized of the mistake, a lot of people had reblogged and liked the blog, and I know if I change the name not only all the people who reblogged previously will have the post with the grammar mistake on it, but also will probably break the links since if you change your url things fall apart.

And ultimately, I decided to leave the mistake and admit on it on the account on one thing: This feels on brand with me.

Overthink stuff, looking for things over and over again, and still make a careless mistake because my brain has multiple crossed wires in multiple levels. I decided to leave the mistake because the title basically reflects what you are about to see.

Ghostflower stuff, a mixture of many things, the author of the blog making mixing shit up in ways you kind of wonder how they did it.

I thought leaving the grammar mistake made this blog title a bit more unique too, seriously how many people would had end up with this name? It went to so many twists and turns I can't believe this could happen to someone else.

And I think leaving that mistakes also reinforces another thing: Don't take me too seriously.

Like everybody, I had my own biases, I miss stuff, and ultimately this blogs relies heavily in my opinion and way to see the world. I encourage everyone to not just see the frames I put, but feel free to look up those scenes and draw their own conclusions.

Sorry for the long response, but I think I needed to show a bit of the journey as to how I ended up having this name.

Thanks for reading!

[asterhaze]

This or That

As always, thank you @doublegoblin for the tag.

historical or futuristic

When I read historical fiction and don't understand things, I feel uneducated. When I read futuristic fiction and I don't understand things, I can pretend like it's because I'm from the past and, while technically still a stupid little dumb dumb, pretend like I'd be just as smart if I was born in that futuristic world. I would read more books and get more smarter-er but non-fiction is so...non-fiction.

the opening or closing chapter

I get just as sad writing a closing chapter as I do reading one. I really want to live with my characters forever and writing the end of a story feels like I'm writing the obituary for an entire world. Writing the opening is much more exciting and less like giving birth to a whole new world or story and much more like writing a death warrant that I don't have to carry out.

light+fluffy or dark+gritty

I already live a light and fluffy life. My spouse and I are so gloriously in love that it would make Aphrodite weep tears of joy. My theyfriend is very much the light of my life and the sun can kiss my ass. Both of them are total ABSOLUTE fools that like me despite my total jackassery and idiocy. I love them both but I am absolutely bamboozled that they think I'm worth anything other than a soggy donut.

So give me the truly dark so I can hold the light closer to me. Give me the truly gritty so I am reminded that I am lucky for the fluff.

animal companion or found family

I don't typically like either of these but I find found family to be something I tolerate better when done well. I will also die with the animal companion if they, well, die. I only have so many lives left.

horror or romance

I genuinely love horror more than any other genre in any media. Horror brings me comfort. Bad things happen to good people for reasons beyond their control. People make tiny mistakes that have horrific cosmic consequences. However, I am not immune to a love story where Jeremy sacrifices his mind, heart, and soul to an eldritch horror that turns insides into outsides at the bottom of a blood ocean just to get a real good smooch from Timothy.

hard magic system or soft magic system

I actually don't like magic in stories and if I'm going to read magic, I want it to be very structured so I can pretend it's just "how science works here" or something along those lines. However, I love supernatural creatures and I'm not skilled enough to have a particularly hard magic system without too much exposition or explanation. I usually get around this by having a character that is just as disinterested in magic as I am and classifies at as "[insert supernatural creature type] nonsense".

standalone or series

My favorite books are standalones so I have to pick this one despite not caring too much either way. The thing I hate most of all is a standalone that ends too soon and rushes the plot along.

one project at a time or always juggling 2+

This might be a lie since I find myself currently in a loophole. I usually have multiple ideas going, might scribble the important bits down, but as far as working on a project I try to just do one at a time. Not this time! Masterpiece is the first in a 3 (hopefully) book series. All three are highly connected with subplots culminating in the conclusion. In order to make sure that I don't forget something drastically important, I am writing all of these books at the same time because I hate myself. So technically 3 projects? Maybe?

I've had a blast doing this so I fear this won't be the only multi-project endeavor in my future.

one award winner or one bestseller

I think I've answered this before but I will again. While awards and bestsellers are a dream for a lot of writers I know, it's not one of mine. I'd love for as many people as possible to read my work and enjoy it. I'd enjoy making money off of my art. But really, truly and deep down, I want something much simpler.

I want someone to finish reading something of mine and think 'This is my favorite thing I have ever read.' It doesn't have to be the best thing they've ever read, it doesn't have to be the most profound, just their favorite. Even if it's just for a moment.

fantasy or sci-fi

Please give your fantasy to someone who will appreciate it. Sci-fi is the way to my heart and horror is how you get to stay there.

character description or setting description

My characters are hot and my settings are horrifying. Describing character reactions to the disgusting situations I put them in brings me great joy.

first draft or final draft

Both are near and dear to my heart but I cannot stress to you enough how awful all of my first drafts are. They are genuinely a soul of what I'd like to make. Everything has to be reworked. The second draft is actually where I give the soul everything it needs. After a second draft the rest is just minor editing, moving points around, figuring out when things should end, etc.

I think I enjoy the journey more than I enjoy the final draft. But the final draft is the ultimate goal point.

love triangle in everything or no romantic arcs

I can't stand reading or watching romance. It's like everyone got together and decided "Let's just never communicate a single thing and have no consequences for how unbelievably stupid the main character and their partner(s) are." Most romance is so full of toxicity and red flags I wonder if the writers for this genre of media are colorblind. Love triangles are a competition of which two points of the triangle or horseshoe will put up with MCs nonsense for the sake of brain chemicals.

It is 100% my neurodivergence. I enjoy writing a romantic arc that no one likes to read because my characters communicate, solve issues before they start, and choose to work with each other and love each other despite (and sometimes because of) their issues. I expect this in my relationships but it doesn't fit the genre expectations.

constant sandstorm or rainstorm

My spouse has narcolepsy so if it rained constantly, they would never wake up.

[seeingteacupsindragons]

For the ''drop me an ask about writing opinions'' thing— what do you find easier to write: long-length stories (such as a series), medium-length (novel), short (novella-length), or extra-short (short stories)?

Easiest: Short stories or flash fic. They just take less time and they don't need to have multiple subplots going, they have limited characters to juggle, etc. A lot of people have trouble condensing their ideas down into short form, but I've always been good and being concise and succinct.

Hardest: Novellas. It's just a weird length that I don't naturally hit very easily. I have...a couple. But most of the are on the edge of long short stories, novellettes, or short-ish novels. Long enough that you need subplots, short enough that they can't be important ones. Too short to break into Arcs, but long enough that it can't just be about one thing. It's just weird and hard and I don't like it.

Most Fun: Series. I have written very few "Multiple books on the same saga," for a variety of a reasons, but I do have a few Second Books out there, and I've often thought up ideas for trilogies or duologies or sagas that I wanted to write and never got around to for any of a number of reasons. It's a lot of fun to play with long form and all the different Arcs you can bring in when each book is an arc of its own. And I do write series of short stories, or novels with a whole bridge of short stories or novellas attached.

Least Fun: Novellas are hard, okay???

Most Common: Short stories, because they were what we had to write in all my writing classes ever because they had no interest in teaching you how to write a novel. Honestly, I don't think any of those teachers had an idea how to do that, anyway, and several were convinced if you learned how to be concise in a short story you could totally write a good novel, and that is one of the most absurd concepts...But I have double-digit novels in some draft or another lying around. And most of my early writing was always done with the intention of being a novel.

Least Common: Series, for the reasons I outlined above. There's a lot that goes into dedicating yourself to a long series, and when you're aiming for trad pub, actually drafting multiple novels in advance is actually rarely a good thing: you will have to make changes that cascade through the rest of the series, and you've put a lot of time and energy into One Thing when the first book might not even sell. Sure, the other new ideas might not, either, but you can't sell book two without book one, so there's a whole novel you can't even try with.

[wuxiaphoenix]

Worldbuilding: Portal Limits

I love teleportation portals. They are awesome. Sparkly. Amazing, and incredibly useful if you want to get your characters from point A to point B without worrying about spacecraft, beasts of burden, boring months of sail, or bad in-flight movies. I knew, when I started putting together ideas for Colors of Another Sky, that I wanted a cultivator who made portals.

But the awesomeness also means portals can be an incredibly broken power, wrecking the rest of an interesting plot. Particularly because I believe in treating magic in-story as a field of knowledge, with multiple people making advances and a whole lot more people who can either use it at a basic level or at least know the general rules of how it works and how it can be defended against. So there have to be more people than just one main character using it, and it has to have limits.

First limit, you have to be able to use magic to make a portal. This is not an insignificant barrier. Most people can’t use magic, and those who do have to take care of themselves or risk Bad Things happening. (Still working out exact levels of badness, but it ranges from “allergic misery” to “post-marathon crash” to “did you want to stay human?” to “just die.”)

Second limit, you can only go to someplace you can clearly visualize. This should usually (possibly not always) mean you have to have been there. So you have to have gotten there another way first. Either a mundane way, or - if you can persuade them - someone else who has been there takes you by their portal.

I can see that being a significant part of any master-apprentice relationship in portal magic. You probably need to go through a few wormholes to get the right feel for the energies moving; why not have them take you useful places? Such as various trading stops so you can move a load of oranges north, wheat south, salt from the mines, or fish in from the shore. Anytime you can move goods faster than someone else, you can make a profit, and I’d bet portal mages have to. Scrolls and maps don’t pay for themselves!

Which leads to a third limit, since I know most transport in this world is still mundane. Distance. Most portals can’t go very far. The visible horizon is about three miles away; portal distances of ten to twenty miles might be common. That may not sound like much, but if you can get fish twenty miles in from shore in minutes while most people need a whole day and ways to keep the fish cold and fresh, you would have many eager markets. And that doesn’t even scratch the surface of military applications.

Military usefulness implies a fourth limit. There are probably not that many people who know this branch of magic, and any government tries to keep an eye on those who do. Yet any kingdom would likely want as many portal-capable people working for them as possible, so the “limited knowledge” aspect might be less “secret lore” and more “so how many complex numbers can you juggle in your head?” Because the plotbunnies are convinced that opening wormholes involves some measure of calculating where you are and where you’re going. You might not need a lot of numbers if you’re going a short way. Head around the curve of Earth, though, and your margin of error gets slimmer. Portal a hundred feet above your chosen spot, or fifty feet below....

Granted, the way I envision the portals you’d be able to see you’d missed your target. But you’d still be out that time and energy. And if someone’s chasing you, you might not have better options.

I have a few other limits in mind, and I plan to be consistent. (You have to be consistent to show how a character breaks expectations without breaking how the world actually works.) But this is a start. Thoughts?

[semi-imaginary-place]

ffxiv the loches to the end of 4.0

exploring the loches and fates its clear that ala mhigo has a very strong history of monarchy, stronger than what is shown for doma. a parallel is that both doma and ala mhigo are nationalistic and seek independence from garlemand, and they are both nations that are historically monarchies. doma rallies around the idea of a king, the king as a representation of a nation, and after a period without a monarch seeks to reinstate the monarchy. ala mhigo is also kingless but seems to be moving away from the idea of a king.

damn this man has been hiding out in the salt monastery, get him some food and water.

thanks for the convenient plot device to beat fordola urianger. i haven't seen you all expansion. speaking of people who haven't shown up what are the acsians up to didn't see them much in 3.0 either. ffxiv has had a long standing problem of juggling multiple plots the main ones set up in arr are the ascians light vs dark and the garleans global polimilitary conflict.

the salt lake is giant, it takes half the horizontal surface area of the map and there's an entire city down here

there's no way the player character knows how to operate garlean technology. this is sora at the computer.

the ala mhigan quarter has so many alleys. this map is useless. why does gyr abania have the special ishgardian black chocobos?

and now after 9 levels omega is back. uriange using us in his double blind experiments.

I think the writers forgot that limsa lomisa is a lalafellin name because they seem to be under the impression that its a seawolf city.

oooh they added yelling intot he background noises. nice touch

hien really did fly across a continent. ah on yolback. i was wondering why they didn't run into the same problems we faced going to doma in that moving an army across imperial controlled waters is going to spark a war. but if he only brought a few people that makes more sense. although i dont see any of the mol or xaela. when did yugiri get a yol. the doman forces might have been more effective drawing garleans forces to doma and away from ala mhigo. that door, it would have been so much easier just to unlock it but that would also have been much harder and riskier.

the story is obviously not going that way its just not how its written but raubahn could have been the new ala mhigo leader. conrad says that he wanted someone who has lived outside of garlean occupation and was more widely traveled than himself and raubhn fits the bill. politically speaking lyse is the family of two famous revolutionaries but raubahn is even more famous as the bull of ala mhigo and general of the immortal flames. he also has the proven battle and leadership record that lyse lacks. additionally here in the battle for ala mhigo he's made pipin lead general and is fighting not as a general but just as a soldier so he is willing to give up command and the flames would be fine without him. but on a personal level i see why it makes sense in character for him not to. now that illberd is dead his strongest ties are in ul'dah with nanamo and pipin. most importantly is that 4.0 isn't raubahn's story, its lyse's. She's the main character here and most things are written in service of her character arc instead of what would actually make sense.

I've said it earlier but I do really like how 4.0 centers the stories of women. I didn't even realized how bereft heavenward was of lead female characters until I got to 4.0 and it was the lyse, yugiri, and alisae show. basically until hien gets introduced on the azim steppe, lyse, yugiri, and alisae are the ones driving the plot they're the main characters and I do like that.

duty support for ala mhigo is interesting. you got tank arenvald, dps raubahn and lyse, and healer alphinaud so you cannot have everyone at once. of the 4 alphinaud is the least plot relavent but i refuse to play healer. not after it took me 5 attempts to clear battem's mettle. I may run this a couple times to see what dialogue I get.

my ilevel is so low i shoule not have run this as tank. wow the the dungeon end scene's really evolved used to be final fantasy victory music and then the pc jump excitedly and now its just a camera pan

jp zenos voice actor is doing a job. zenos usually sound soooo bored and now he's excited and deranged. did zenos just compare the wol to the primal he's trapped in a cage, illberd's primal.

localizations this time round have been pretty good. but i noticed this line is a bit different, i wasn't listening too closely but it was something like "I've never had so much fun".

zenos seems lonely. desperate for a connection and not accustomed to having one. also lol got him monologue-ing. he offers the hand of friend and wants to be rejected what a messed up little man. zenos has never had a friend. reminds me of those chronically online people with no friends but who are desperately lonely and they're doing these mental gymnastics and justifications for nothing. damn zenos is projecting HARD onto the player character. like pc is just standing there while zenos rants about how they must be the same.

wait wait did zenos just call the wol yuuitsu tomo like his one and only friend or the only friend for him. bruh you've never even had a full conversation with this person. ok wow a lot of lines are different I'm going to have to go look up the japanese version later.

zenos fused with a primal. how does that even work? probably more aether bs.

wow the game forces a sunset for this part of the game

seriously, last duty of 4.0 and not a single ascian this entire patch. devs really did give up on explaining why every boss fight is now on a platform in the void

see he's showing blood that's how you know he's scripted to die. suicide? edgy.

the price of freedom

THE FUCKING EYES ARE STILL THERE. and now the ascians show up after not seeing them since 3.x. what has y'shtola been doing since she was injured? uuuuuuugggg zenos said he used omega's power to trap shinryuu... so where's omega? the cidnero divorce saga continues! they were business associates

empires, occupation, communities diaspora

lyse is the main character. foil is hien. both monarchies kingship symbol of what doma lost.

zenos is under utilized his most interesting part is his final scene. but he also had to kill himself there because now that he has reached the meaning of his existence there was nothing left but the void again. miserable pathetic loser. having an existential crisis faced with the reality that his life his empty he continues to seek the only thing that can make him feel anything, the innate fear of death when he is on the brink of it.

[bordysbae]

As someone who used to write fanfics a lot on here and had to juggle tons of requests, I actually ended up setting up a google form for people to fill out.

I know it sounds a bit overboard but it helped keep things super organized because you can set up one question as multiple choice for who they want it about which allows you to list all the guys you write for as well as adding a section for people to fill in and type what their actual request is. I also used to add a optional section for people to leave their usernames incase I had questions about their requests. There are more sections I used add for mine but of course that’s up to each person and what info they need to write the request. But with this way I found that my inbox didn’t get flooded as bad.

You can also “close” your form temporarily by locking it so that it doesn’t accept any new answers until you’re ready for more.

Hopefully that helps give you another idea on how to organize because I know it can be overwhelming at times and it doesn’t feel good to delete requests. If you have any other questions please feel free to ask and I’ll do my best to explain through these anon messages!!

- 🪼 anon

omg this is SO smart ugh WHY ARE YOU GUYS SO SMART. i’ll definitely keep this in mind as well!! thank you sm :)

[fuckyeahgemmathompson]

2022 – How was it for you? #4: Gemma Thompson

From a-n, December 2022

a-n member Gemma Thompson discusses her 2022 highlights including receiving the Working Drawing Award in the Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize, and balancing motherhood with artistic practice.

Multidisciplinary artist and a-n member Gemma Thompson works across drawing, print and sound to record the sonic experience of place. Reimagining sound as a physical presence, her printmaking explores the potential of multiplicity and the opportunity to enlarge drawn marks to create immersive spaces through traditional and digital techniques.

A graduate of Camberwell College of Arts, earlier this year Thompson was the recipient of the £2,000 Working Drawing Award as part of the Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize. She also took part in London Grads Now 21 at Saatchi Gallery, as well as Flux at Espacio Gallery, London, as part of the regroup collective.

Here Thompson reflects on her personal highlights from the last 12 months, including balancing her art practice with parenthood, and the impact of taking part in the Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize.

What kind of a year has 2022 been for you? This year has been one of dramatic change because I gave birth to my first child in August. I had envisioned the year to be full of projects based at Artichoke Print Workshop, but instead I had to think about how to use non-toxic processes in my small studio. It was actually exciting to have constraints which made me completely focus on observational drawing – the essence of my practice.

This year was the perfect time to explore woodcut and wood engraving whilst processes such as etching and lithography were put on hold. Drawing, walking and listening continued to be my starting point. Because my work begins with a listening practice inspired by the composer Pauline Oliveros I couldn’t help but think about what my baby was starting to hear – I imagined the muffled sounds of the outside world mingling with the pulse of my body.

I’ve always found myself juggling multiple projects and ideas, often beginning the next thing before finishing the previous, but I became more aware of limitations such as time and energy levels so I concentrated on completing one piece at a time. I also enjoyed the self-sufficiency of working with a minimal set-up (much like the approach during the lockdowns).

This year I was also excited to be part of regroup, a small collective of like-minded artists seeking to exhibit together and discuss the contradictions and connections of our work, and it gave me the opportunity to exhibit my work in a couple of group shows. I was also busy preparing a reflective paper to present at the multidisciplinary printmaking conference IMPACT 12 in September. I used this opportunity to reflect on my practice by writing about a series of graphic scores in the form of etchings that were shared with musicians. I have always found that writing about my process has allowed me to understand it more and inevitably opens a path forward.

Shortly after writing this paper I began the large drawing Score for quartet that would be exhibited at the Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize. I was also invited to present my work as part of a conference of soundwalking at Concordia University in Montreal, which greatly encouraged me to keep moving forward with my practice. Overall, it has been a year of reflection and making, while building up to a period of slowness before the next year begins.

What has changed for the better? I have embraced the role of ‘mother’ alongside the role of ‘artist’. I am encouraged by the memory of reading Paul Klee’s diary in which he intertwined the development of his child with his own practice. I am also deeply inspired and in awe of fellow artists who are finding their own balance of motherhood and artistic practice.

What do you wish had happened this year that hadn’t happened? I wish that women’s rights worldwide had moved forwards rather than backwards. I also wish peace would come at last for the people of Ukraine.

What would you characterise as your major achievement this year and why? My husband and I welcomed into the world our little boy Francis. He has brought us overwhelming joy as we watch his awareness grow.

How will participating in the Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize impact your practice in future? Winning the Working Drawing Award has really given me the encouragement to push forward with my graphic scores and larger scale work. I have always been drawn to the working drawings in particular because I love the idea of a transformation from a drawing into another form – for me, it’s listening into drawing, then a transformation back into sound (as a cyclical process).

Is there anything you’d like to have done but haven’t? I would have liked to have developed the sonic side of my work with more recording and performance alongside the works on paper. I always feel that this aspect of my work is missing when I exhibit the graphic scores. I am currently documenting the sonic responses using Soundcloud, but I feel like this is definitely something that I need to push forward.

What are you looking forward to in 2023? Getting back into the print studio to etch my collection of plates. I am also really looking forward to working on recording and performing musically in response to some of my graphic scores. I spent many years as a professional guitarist and my partner is a drummer, so we both have a lot of work on the horizon. The last time we performed live was in February 2020!

[^ Gemma Thompson, One sound (cacophony), graphite on paper]

Gemma Thompson’s work can be viewed as part of the Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize, currently on show at the Willis Museum and Sainsbury Gallery, Basingstoke, until 22 Jan 2023 www.trinitybuoywharf.com