#i was lucky to get a good creative writing teacher

[strangebrainrot]

A lot of public school units just sit you in front of a poem and want you to tell them why it's good or why it's pretty, but very few tell you how to express that something is good or pretty.

Poetry does that for the world- it's a way of expressing how something is good and pretty, but if you're not taught how to read it properly, you just sit there wondering why someone just spent all that time describing a nice day.

More rambling about this under the cut, but that was the tl;dr

Poetry expresses both the situation and the emotion. Instead of "My fingers were cold as ice" I once wrote "The snowmelt in my fingers" Poetry is meant to evoke emotion through words so just using things you hear and feel every day doesn't help much, but like the word snowmelt, I have a much clearer memory of what that feels like and how different it is to ice.

Poetry is like a dialect all to itself because if you aren't taught how to read it, then you just go about your day not seeing he meaning of what's in front of you. You also don't learn how to see everything else around you in the light of something a little bit more beautiful. Sure, not all poetry is happy and sweet- hell that poem I wrote that line in earlier was actually written when I was at one of the worst points in my life a couple years ago, but even the dark things can be written in a way that is beautiful just as the light can be described in the most grotesque words imaginable.

It makes you think because it makes you see and it makes you see because it makes you think. I just think that seeing and thinking are something we could all use a little more of every now and then, don't you?

[dandyshucks]

ppl complain about ~The Community~™ a lot but genuinely I have never rly had people support me and my art and creations as much as I have in this place fhfkdl like I keep getting almost scared by how nice everyone has been DBFJDL

i think maybe the community at large is difficult to be a part of and has issues but I feel like if you just find a nice circle of mutuals and friends to stay in (while maybe occasionally venturing outside of if thats smth u want to do) then like... things are good actually. i am constantly amazed by the support ppl show to each other in this circle I've found myself in !!!

all this to say: i am so glad i found my way here !!!

[i-like-gay-books]

im in a class teaching kids about creative writing (poetry specifically) and ive realized that you have to trick them into being interested in things like specificity or metaphors, etc. and also its not that hard to trick them into because they want to do it they jus dont have the right motivation in a regular english class just learning about similes and thinking back ive realized that fanfiction so hardcore tricked me into so many things. description, analogies, allegory, even grammar rules like it made me such a nerd and it makes sense with my personality that i would end up a writer but jesus tell that to little cloudy and she’d dig her heel in and say ew writing i hate it

[thecelestialperiwinkle2]

ᰋ  ׅ࣪   ꒰  tarot x zodiac signs ♡︎ a tarot reader predicting what each zodiac should expect before september ends  ꒱  

your sun, moon and ascendant or any significant signs on your birthchart can be use for this reading. ૮ . . ྀིა⁩

• masterlist. • tarot commission.

aries - knight of cups.

you're gonna feel confident about yourself before this month ends perhaps you may attract a lot of secret admirers or suitors. there may be someone who is gonna confess their love for you heartily, if not, you can expect an invitation from someone who is special to your heart and start dating. this can be one of your lucky months as well in case of your career, opportunities and offers will be left and right. just make sure to be open in any blessings you may receive. you can find yourself productive, inspired and creative too, you may start writing such as books and songs or play your favorite instrument again.

taurus - nine of swords.

you can't avoid stress before this month ends. the headache and neck pain are the causes of stress you are experiencing right now or may experience in the next few days. it's either you may hurt someone else's feelings or someone might hurt you emotionally. on the lighter side, you may find yourself traveling in a peaceful peace especially beaches and nature environment this can give your mind to avoid excessive thinking about your love life and work. also, there's a significant dream that may haunt you for days. the dream seems so real, clear and detailed. there is maybe someone, who might try to spread some gossip about your so be wary about sharing your ideas and opinions to others, remember that not everyone can be trusted.

gemini - nine of pentacles.

you may find yourself being independent before this month ends. what i meant is "independent" is financial and personal growth development independency especially budgeting and saving money up for the future. you may also meet new people that can help you to enhance your knowledge. you may also treat yourself a lot like you may buy a lot of your comfort foods to satisfy yourself. at work and school, your boss sees who improve a lot and do good job for their professionalism while if you are student, your teachers sees your improvement.

cancer - seven of swords.

you're gonna receive criticism and bullying for the work you are doing from other people. don't let these people take you down emotionally, take an action and call out these people. you may experience some unfairness and betrayal from people who are close to you. be careful about spending or investing your money as you may get scammed. you may also feel unworthy and insecure before this month ends which lead to low self esteem. argument with someone is coming too. there's also someone here who is stalking your account and keeping you on their tabs.

leo - the hermit.

if you are trying to enhance your spirituality there are changes and improvements about your spiritual self. you were also taking a break and cutting people off that drain your energy so much. you may also find yourself isolating yourself away from the others, you gonna what makes you happy. you may also be planning to take a break on social media before this month ends. if you are student, you gonna find yourself studying and reviewing really hard for the upcoming examination or test.

virgo - king of swords.

a father figure is gonna be significant to you before this month ends. you're gonna end up getting some good advice from this person or if not, someone else/a friend may need your logical advice. you may meet new people and these people may perceived you as someone mature, brilliant and intimidating.

libra - five of pentacles.

you might face some difficulty with your finances, it seems like you will get short in budgeting. while, when you are surrounded by your loved ones or the people who are close to you, you may feel unloved and unappreciated by them. as well as you may think that no one wants to be your lover or partner, yes you may meet new people but you may find it hard to find a best partner to meet your expectations when it comes to love so you think no one loves you. heavy rains may come so make sure to bring your own umbrella and jacket.

scorpio - strength.

you will be shocked by the influence you leave to people and in simple terms someone may try to tell the truth to you. this truth may be the one you are looking for answers for a very long time or you are waiting for this person to tell you the truth. you wouldn't believe too how much people think high of you. also, there maybe someone here is about to whammy your single life.

sagittarius - temperance.

great news for those single people, someone here is ready to fill your cup up. if you are worried about your health, spirit confirms that you are totally fine perhaps you may be trying to be healed for a very long time on a spiritual level because everything may be f*cked up on your spirituality. you may frequently sees the angel number 555 before this month ends.

aquarius - two of wands.

you might start doing a skincare routine before this month ends so keep on doing or continuing that. people may start to notice your glow up or changes in your appearance, you may also try mew hairstyle or in general dying your hair. people will notice the significant changes in your appearance, i also think that you will experimenting new ideas about your physical. a travel for job is significant too.

pisces - knight of wands.

before this month ends, you may be trying or planning to move to a new home or places. this changes the location and is gonna bring good freedom to you. you will feel very happy about its surroundings. a short trip will bring bliss and peace into your heart. there are more exciting events happening to you before this month ends. yellow, brown or orange is your significant color for this month theme.

© thecelestialperiwinkle

[fangswbenefits]

getting this off my chest

I really, really love writing for this fandom.

I think I haven't felt like this in years.

Astarion is such an enticing vessel for my creativity and has rekindled my joy for writing and putting it out there.

Alas, imposter syndrome really gnaws at my nerves more often than I care to admit.

"But Ruby, you have so many people who like your work. Why do you doubt yourself?"

Because I grew up being told I was never enough. That I was the worst at what I did best, which back then was learning English and surrounding myself in the language, hence why I sought comfort in fanfiction.

My sister, whom I love dearly, is an English teacher. She would be so harsh on me, and I know she meant well. She really did. But it was so hard back then. I would come to her with creative writing in English and she would just roll her eyes and tell me I wasn't good enough.

Nowadays, she acknowledges that I am more proficient than her and more at ease with the language, and even tells my nephew to study English with me instead.

But back then, I needed someone to believe I could do better.

So, there is a part of me that is proud that I am able to deal with real-life fatigue by writing and finding enjoyment in this hobby. But a much darker part of me tells me I'm not worthy and that I simply got lucky.

The Arrangement means a lot to me. I tend to dive right into fandoms and start writing for the character that caught my eye.

But I couldn't do that for Astarion... I am still unsure why. For those of you who have been here from my Miguel O'Hara days or when I first started posting about Astarion, you'll know The Arrangement was the first thing I ever posted for him.

Took me 2 weeks to get the first chapter out because I kept thinking I couldn't find a voice for Astarion. One that felt like him. After all, I'm always a step behind because I am not a native speaker. There will always be that looming feeling that I can't convey this story properly.

Even if you now know me for my Astarion smut, that wasn't even the driving force of my love for him.

It took me 2 months to feel comfortable writing smut for him. Why? I don't even know.

But The Arrangement feels different.

I love writing it and I love taking my liberties with the plot.

It's my opportunity to fully showcase my love for him.

I know not everyone likes it. I know some of you have dropped it. Some of you will drop it. But some will walk along this path with me, and I can't stress enough how your feedback and love help keep these negative thoughts at bay.

It's an internal work, though. It is not your job to validate my writing skills. This is not what puts food on my table. I am not looking to be published. I am looking for an escape. And it's so frustrating when my mind tries to rob me of joy even when it comes to a hobby.

"If this is a hobby why does it matter what others think or if they like what you write? Just have fun. Write for yourself."

And I do write for myself, but I share my work because I am hopeful my words can make someone's day. I seek that connection I never had growing up. Perhaps it sounds silly, but it's what makes the most sense in my head.

The Arrangement should be my pride and joy even if not perfect (nothing ever is, I suppose). And I'm exhausted of not feeling proud of it. I'm tired of this vicious cycle of self-doubt.

Don't get me wrong. I love writing smut. I think that's what I'm best at (well, in my opinion). I love exploring Astarion this way, too, but...

I don't know where I'm going with this... if anyone has made it this far, thank you, and sorry for the word vomit...

[heyteenbookshey]

I decided to restart this blog because I had gotten back into reading YA

But I tripped backwards and have read 6 middle grade novels in the past few weeks? Oh my god I'm loving it???? They are are so good?????? They are creative and use words efficiently and are so right for my attention span???????

If you're curious (because apparently I don't review books anymore) here's what I've read:

Monday's Not Coming by Tiffany Jackson (4/5 eeeee I didn't know middle grade could still go this intense!!!)

So B. It by Sarah Weeks (A classic for a reason, I love when books have ONE fantastical element like Heidi's luckiness 4/5)

Soof by Sarah Weeks (A So B. It sequel, kind of! This lacked the charm and heart of it's original, not impressed 2.5/5)

Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech (I love Sharon Creech and hadn't read this yet! It was okay, I don't see why it's so widely read in schools but I am neither a middle school teacher or a middle schooler 3.5/5)

Bloomability by Sharon Creech (This was my favorite book in fifth grade! I was a drama drenched kid and searched "kidnapped" in the school library catalog and this came up, but the "kidnapping" was Dinnie's aunt and uncle taking her to an American boarding school in Switzerland and she has such fun adventures and grows so much 4.5/5)

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead (500/5 WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW do you ever read something and get mad because you'll never write anything this good??)

Do you want to see full reviews of any of these? Reply if you do! I know it's not heymiddlegradehey but that's what's happening right now!

[sadie-bug345]

gangs favorite classes🫶🥰🫡☝️🤓

i keep taking breaks from tumblr but i’m really tryna get back in the swing of things🙏

ponyboy:

ahhhh i haven’t reread the book in a while but he probably mentions classes he likes or he doesn’t like

ik he has like a D in his creative writing class or smth but that’s cause he don’t like the restrictions that come with writing for an assignment

in reality i feel like he is an english guy overall

also gives history ngl

more social studies classes

8/10 hes real for that

johnny:

elective guy thru and thru

like photography, art, ceramics, graphic design, etc

he might be amazing at these artsy classes

and that’s why he likes them OR

he just loves the chill classroom vibe yk

also he likes the kids in there too

i feel like johnny gets so annoyed with louder socs who mess around in the classes he likes

cause my guy is actually respectful🫶🙏

10/10 so valid honestly, like photo is fr my favorite class and i feel like johnny would totally fw that

sodapop:

language classes

like spanish, french, german, whatever floats your boat

i think he likes the funny atmosphere of everyone kinda messing up whenever they’re put on the spot to speak in class

just cause no one really cares

ALSO DESTROYS during presentations btw

like either he’s genuinely good

or he just keeps messing up and giggles abt it so much that the teacher starts yelling at him abt it

genuinely has a dgaf mindset to school in general which is very admirable

6/10 i hate my spanish 2 class but its ok😭🙏

darry:

sports med / sports weights

OR anatomy

like he just enjoys sports so anything that relates to that he finds really interesting

he likes the helping people aspect of sports med

and i’m in sports med as well which is actually so fun ngl

he eats with that

always crushes tests

i think he really studies for tests and actually tries

which allows him to get good grades🤓☝️

but he couldn’t care less abt classes he doesn’t like

7/10 valid

dally:

pretends to not give a shit but we know he does when it comes to the gang

bc of this, his fave classes are whatever he has the most friends in

other than that he thinks all classes are terrible and they all feel like years

math guy when he actually understands the concept

but the second things get hard he just gives up

“who needs these hyperbolas anyways man🙄”

lives for lunch and after school cause he just walks around and talks

or fights with other kids but we don’t talk abt that

6/10 im the same way abt math

two-bit:

any class where he can mess with the teacher

like either the teacher is chill and jokes around with him

OR the teacher actually sucks and two just makes them even more mad

lives for class laughter

like soda he enjoys more participation based classes, less the actual content

somehow he always gets sat in the desk right next to the teachers desk so they can keep an eye on him

barely ever gets to sit next to his friends for obvious reasons LMAO

7/10 also valid

steve:

obviously auto mechanic if the school offers it

otherwise he gives a science kid

like biology, physics, anatomy, stuff like that

his brain is just the type to get it

so those classes are barely hard for him

which is SO LUCKY

he the type to just go off about some technical concept the class is going over and explain it perfectly to his friend who needs help and then make a your mom joke the next minute

5/10 i hate physics and i hate how he’d be better at it than me

ANYWAYS REQUEST STUFF PLS🫶😋‼️

(btw i’m going thru requests rn so dw!!)

[sflow-er]

Some thoughts on writing and posting fic

In the last few days, there have been some lovely posts by fic writers, encouraging an anon who was thinking of posting their first fic but worried about readership. That kind of got me thinking as well, especially as my magnum opus just reached a bit of a milestone on ao3:

Those 50,000 hits (and 1,151 kudos) blow me away, and I'm forever grateful for each and every one of them - but this isn't a post about that. It's a post about how there is no point in comparing these stats to my latest fic, which will take a while to even break 500 hits (and hopefully 50 kudos). Or any of my other fics, for that matter.

Below are some of my personal thoughts on fic writing, the factors that I believe affect the popularity of a fic, and the motivational impact of engagement. My perspective is obviously that of a niche writer, but I think these observations could also be of interest to new writers or anyone struggling with such comparisons. I'll put a cut here because this got very long, but the TL:DR is this:

I write for myself, not for my readers. I post for my readers, not for the numbers.

A quick bit of background info: I have a pretty long history of sharing my writing. When I was little, I used to make comics & picture books for my younger brother, and in secondary school, I used to write stories in my English notebooks that only my teacher ever got to read. In my teens, I wrote fanfic in a couple of obscure fandoms and even a novel-length original story. The readership was just a handful of people, including my closest Internet and IRL friends, and I was very happy with that.

Before YR came along, I had not managed to write a creative text in over a decade. My studies and work had put out the spark, and I thought it was gone for good. So when YR reignited it, I very much started writing for myself. I'm sure every writer knows that feeling of something taking shape in your head and begging to be let out, as well as the satisfaction of seeing it all come together on your screen. At least I really hope they do.

Still, I knew right off the bat that I wanted to share the fic. I didn't care how many people read it, I just really hoped someone would. I missed the feeling of seeing people get joy out of something I created and connecting with them through it. Especially as I didn't have any other outlet for my YR thoughts and feels at the time. I also wanted to contribute something to the fandom that helped me regain this long-lost part of myself - and of course I could use some encouraging feedback too.

So that was how my magnum opus started out, and because of the timing, it became more popular than I imagined. The fandom was young (I started posting in August 2021, S2 wasn't even confirmed until September) and everyone was just really hungry for more. The vast majority of fics were focused on Wilmon from the start, but people were interested in pretty much anything exploring the rich and still largely undiscovered world of the show. My fic was niche and I had neither the guts nor the platform to promote it, but many people still found it.

I consider myself unbelievably lucky to have started posting at such an opportune time. The fandom has evolved in these 2+ years, and things are quite different for authors starting out now.

For one thing, the chorus of writers has expanded as more people have discovered the show and been inspired by it. As wonderful as that is, it does make it harder for any single voice to stand out. I think promoting one's work in fandom spheres such as tumblr and writing compelling tags and descriptions on ao3 has probably become more important, and of course it also helps if you've got some existing readers who follow your work.

Because for another thing, the readership has changed. Some fans have either left entirely or only follow their favourite writers now, while others have joined. New fans tend to start with the fandom classics, other wonderful recommendations, or the fics with the most kudos or comments. Which makes a lot of sense when there are thousands of fics to choose from, but it inevitably puts newer and more obscure writers at a disadvantage. Furthermore, it feels as if the number of readers who prefer completed fics may have increased, as people have seen some fics get abandoned along the way (and they now have more completed works to choose from). Again, that's very understandable, but it can feel discouraging to multi-chap writers.

I also can't help but wonder if there's been a shift in the fandom's interests, especially since S2. There's more canon to follow or disregard now, and people have had more time to develop fanon and their personal headcanons. All that affects what they want to read.

For example, the developments in S2 may have put some people off certain characters/ships/dynamics or made them fall in love with others. They may have started curating their reading to their hopes and expectations for S3. Some might even favour AUs to avoid speculation or guarantee Wilmon endgame, or they might long for fics solely focused on Wilmon and their love after they spent so much of S2 apart. There's nothing wrong with any of these approaches - but they do curb the already lower interest in fics focused on other characters, gen fics, rarepairs, unusual takes, and so on

To circle back to the example of my first fic, it would not get that kind of engagement if I started posting it now. It might be more popular than my other fics thanks to Wilmon featuring prominently as side characters, but it would still be outsider POV. In fact, even readers interested in the characters I focused on might be deterred by, say, the slow burn and lack of sexual content (now that those characters are a more established non-canon side ship and there's more fic available).

In a lot of ways, it's paradoxical to even speculate on this. If I started my first fic now, it would either be a totally different story (compliant with S2), or it might not be finished at all. What those 50,000 hits don't tell you is that a large portion of them were people checking for updates. The project completely took over my life for 10 months, and I doubt I would've got through some of the rough patches without the wonderful readers who were excited to follow it as a WIP, even when my updates got sparse from all the stress. My other fics would either not exist at all or have far less engagement if it wasn't for the loyal readers left over from that first fic, and the first fic wouldn't have as many reads without all the people who have reread it (as I know some have). And of course it is now also benefiting from the large number of existing kudos.

Anyway. My point is that comparing stats is neither fair nor useful, and that doesn't just apply to my own fics or niche fics in general. Every fic is published at a certain point in time or over a certain period of time, in a fandom that is always in flux. The things that inspire us as writers may not align with the interests of the readers - or even if they do, the readers might not notice or be aware of it.

So the question is, how to reconcile the need to share your work and connect with people with the ever-changing odds of those people finding your work?

I'm not going to lie, sometimes it is extremely hard. I often feel really low and doubt myself a lot after posting, but I think I've made it to a point where I don't get too caught up on it anymore.

One key thing is to draw a distinction between the writing and posting. The writing itself should always be primarily for me, because it's my creative energy, time, and effort that goes into it. I should be able to retain that feeling of satisfaction and pride in the story itself, because if I hang my hopes on the audience and they simply don't find the fic, I will just feel like it was all wasted. The value of the fic and especially my value as a writer cannot be tied to anyone else's reaction or lack of it.

Still, the two distinct parts of the process are never completely separate for me. I'm sure they can be for some writers, but I do need that feeling of connecting with people through my creations, and the extra motivation to stick with the effort (to get through longer projects, or to start new ones).

So the second thing I do is, I try to hold on to the mindset I used to have as a kid or teen writing for my brother, my teacher, or my friends. To internalise that my readers aren't numbers on a screen, but real, human people who have taken an interest in this thing I've created. They've allowed me to share it with them and had thoughts on it (whether they put those in a comment or not). Maybe it was just a moment's diversion for them, or maybe it actually moved them. Either way, we connected for a while.

Here, I must acknowledge again that I am incredibly privileged. I've got a handful of regulars who have been reading me since August 2021, and another handful who have jumped on board along the way. Many of them not only read but also comment on what I post. Even that latest two-parter I mentioned at the start has 19 comment threads, and I'm fully aware of how rare and precious that is.

But the fact remains that the contrast to my first fic has still been an adjustment, and I find that thinking about engagement in terms of people rather than numbers has helped me put it into perspective.

I could never find a room full of people to read my writing in real life, but there they are, reading it on their phones or computers and leaving twenty hits on my fic. Every person leaving kudos is basically equivalent to my teacher returning my notebook with that single check mark that meant "I read this and I enjoyed it." As for the individual comments, they aren't too different from my very small group of friends in high school telling me they loved something and couldn't wait for more. In a way, they're even more amazing, because these people don't even know me, but they are still investing their time and emotions into my fics!

Of course this mindset also has its pitfalls. I often feel like I'm letting people down by not writing faster, for example, but that's just one more thing I need to work on. All in all, I feel like I'm definitely on to something here, so thank you for letting me share these thoughts with you!

[esta-elavaris]

Do you have any writing YouTubers that you watch? Or writing streams and the like, I’d love to know what your writing process is like!! 💞💞

I don't have many that come to mind, I'm sorry! When it comes to creatives on YouTube I tend to lean more towards folk like Rachel Maksy and fibre artists rather than writers - I'm kind of leery of a lot of writing YouTubers because the ones I happen across give me the impression of being more concerned with looking like writers, or telling others how to write, rather than actually writing. Like one recently who tried to act like 2.5k words was insane and unrealistic and not doable.

It's the sort of thing that just can't be taught beyond reading a lot and writing a lot, even my creative writing teachers at uni flat out admitted as much and focused on helping us be the best writers we could be in our own individual ways rather than being all "you must write for three hours per night and before you start you must set your story out into this detailed plan" etc. so I always wince when I see influencers hitting out with advice like that, and a lot of them do because they want to be the ones with ✨the answers✨ // the "right" way of doing things, when there just? Isn't one? Like seeking out advice and new methods to experiment with is all well and good, but I've been in writing groups before where folk have posted showing off the stack of 30+ writing "how to" books they'd just bought (not an exaggeration), and like? At some point you need to just write, get feedback on it, and work things out from there, rather than reading theory and using that as an excuse to avoid actually writing until you've read all 34584 books about it...most of which will give wildly contradictory advice from one to the other. I get the temptation people have to be like "but if I read all of these books before I start my story, my story will be PERFECT from the very first draft!!!" but that's just not the case.

Fic is actually amazing in that respect because you can get feedback for your general style and test out what people do and don't like about it. It got me out of my habit of stupidly heavy introspection in every single chapter when people were like "bestie, enough" during Little By Little 🤡 Not saying there aren't any good writing-focused YouTubers out there! I just haven't found many that I vibe with 💀 my favourite booktubers are Emmie Reads and throneofpages, and CarolynMarieReads (who does also discuss writing!)

I do really really like book The War of Art by Steven Pressfield in terms of other media about writing, I reread it every now and then and I buy it for every creative in my life, it's phenomenal - a lot about how we get in our own way when it comes to creative endeavours and how to not do that, and how procrastination is the enemy. He's done quite a few podcast appearances, I think, if you don't want to get the book! I know Joe Rogan himself uhhh isn't great but his podcast is actually worth watching when he has a good guest, and Steven Pressfield is among them, but he's also been on others all over YouTube if you're not willing to tolerate Joe. Steven King's memoir On Writing was also good, from what I remember of it.

Mostly I just take the stuff David Goggins says, though, and apply it to creative avenues rather than the workout-geared stuff people usually use it for, but I get that he's not for everybody. He just makes a lot of good points about chasing fear and doing stuff when you don't want to, which is a lot of what I struggle with when it comes to writing, I'm always convinced each chapter is absolute dog crap until I'm told otherwise lol.

The content I engage with on that end of things does tend to be more mindset and general, though, rather than stuff that gets into the mechanics of writing. I'm pretty lucky in that I was obsessed with reading pretty much as soon as I learned how, and writing quickly after that, so I learned a lot by reading and mimicking whatever I was enjoying at the time before I'd been at it long enough to develop my own "style". Even now I can look at stuff I write and see the influences, there are just enough of them now that it ends up being its own thing, so I don't approach things from a very technical "ah yes, here I will use free indirect discourse because this will add depth to this character's perspective" or whatever, I'm just feeling my way through based on what I know has/hasn't worked in the past.

I'm not into the whole side of things where people present it as "your story should have X amount of beats and it should follow this graph if you want to write this genre, and these three tropes", it's too scientific and it takes the joy out of it for me, personally. I go into stories with a vague idea of what I want to happen and half of the fun is working out how to get there. I usually know like two or three things that will happen in a story when I start it and the rest just happens as I write. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't! The only indicator I tend to have is how much an idea scares me. The ones where I go in confident are always boring, the ones where I'm certain I won't be able to pull it off are always grand.

The best analogy I've heard for it is that it's like walking through the dark with a flashlight - as you move forward, you can see just far enough ahead that you know where you're going in the immediate future, but you don't know what's at the end of the road.

The only thing I'd really, really recommend, beyond lots of reading and experimenting with what works for you, is daily writing. I think my stuff improved so stupidly quickly when I started that, and the hardest part of writing is actually sitting down to write rather than the writing itself, so if you write daily you take the "ugh, I really should write today" out of it, and everything is easier from there. It's not even difficult, either, I've had days where my writing was done on my phone on the bus on the way to or from somewhere. It's just about showing up.

I hope some of this massive essay was helpful 💀 I'm super flattered that you're interested in my process! 💜 Feel free to ask any questions anytime I love an excuse to inflict dissertations on people.

[snezhnoel]

I'm no deity, please understand.

teyvat was monochrome; colorless; an uninteresting world with no spice. the world building was detailed yet not at the same time. the mountains are tall as ever, and the oceans and sunset blend black and white gorgeously as if they work partners for it. all these magnificent views and the archons wondered, what is truly missing?

it's just an ordinary day. well, no actually, happy birthday for those that day. your mother birthed you as a mere human, and took care of you as just another mortal. your academic grades are pretty good, but not enough to catch another one's attention. summary is, you are just like others.

you experienced gifted kid's burnout by the time your mother left, now desperately thirsting over compliments and praises, it's even worse than ever. but once again, you're just like others, so you've grown up with nothing in particular that sharpens you over anyone else. how did you get on this point?

it's three am. you sat on your bed and gaze out the window, you're lucky enough to have a magnificent view, you always reminded yourself. frustration hits you for the second time in the same hour, it's not your fault that the school project is too hard to your liking.

the thing is, it's to invent something, anything, no rules or requirements whatsoever, and that's what made it so difficult. you are lost without guidance, from your mother and the education, you're not that of a creative type afterall.

another forty five minutes rolled in like wind, the thought of the night transitioning into morning is making you sick. just, how fast time truly flies?

time truly flies? time truly flies.. oh, that's it! you grinned a genuine expression of relief, you've finally got an idea for the project! another step to do, you need to write an essay about the theory, since proving it physically is rather.. difficult.

goddamn, your seatmate didn't note you that it's this difficult?! you swore quietly, gritting your teeth as a huff of another frustration rushes over. your eyes wondered on your room to find source of relaxation, cringing as you just realized how messy your room is, though oddly enough you know just where a thing is placed. accidentally, you held your gaze to the clock as it replied by showing the time; 4:13 am.

silent fucker, you insulted it. you spent another seven minutes thinking if your essay would succeed. your final decision is to rip the papers and clean up after your tools, before settling in to bed.

you woke up with a sore body. you just dreamed of chasing the distant dream which you forget by now, though you remember a piece where a figure looks too similar with you, though wearing the finest clothes and a crown— halo, placed upon their head. it's a weird dream that you had to admit, but you knew better than to stay in bed and wait until you're late.

you did your usual routine; prepare to bath, shower and brush your teeth, almost slipping the slippery floor once you get out, do your clothes and brush your hair in a way you favor, then go downstairs to treat yourself a cereal.

by the time you're ready to go, you forgot how you ripped apart your essay's papers. goddamn, you murmured to yourself. though worried, your ignorant self dominated other emotions, resulting an I don't care declaration to yourself, then walk alone to your school

it's monochrome, stays the same as ever. you've been familiar with this world for as long as you remember, and also until you're skilled enough to know which monochromatic shade resembles the seven archons, despite how nerdy it sounds.

it's as if you've teleported right to your class. time passes until the first lesson, science, something you're not a big fan of. it's either the class itself or the teacher, you're unsure with yourself. the teacher continued on whatever today's topics are, but your mind is dozed off to the essay due today, specifically after this science class.

you didn't pay any attention, hence why you looked like a dear about to get hit when everyone's scattered to make whatever liquid they wanted. not wanting a judgemental gaze from the teacher, you hurriedly takes an empty table— which is unfortunately on the front row, but you couldn't care enough.

you started on mixing whatever is on the table, ignorance taking over once again, whispering as if gaslighting you into forgetting the possible side effects. it worked. a small exploison from yours occured. flabbergasted and on instinct, you used your vision to protect yourself upon it. the contact made a universal change in teyvat unbeknownst to you.

silence filled the room, your classmates looking just as flabbergasted as the teacher. you peered over to your desk, expecting ruined materials but no, it's.. a..?

you're not sure what it's called. it's not monochromatic; it's not a shade of black, gray nor white. it's vibrant, brilliant, determined and brave..!

wh- did you just describe something that you don't even know exist? either way, the sounds of clapping echoed throughout the room, both from your classmates and the teacher, and some occasional yells of woohoo following.

the teacher approached you, asking if you know what it is, and if not, what would you call it?

you froze in place. you don't know what it is but, what would you call it? out of panic, you stumbled upon your words, muttering a series of nonsense.

the teacher raised an eyebrow, confused on your behavior. she then caught on a word that got her particular attention. a color, she repeated your words. you just sent another eyebrow raise at her, humming a confused tone.

the teacher congratulated you and another round of claps followed after. time, you swore, is like an illusion. direct government officials under the archon's orders arrived to school to keep safe the color. the name of the substance left an unfamiliar mark on your tongue. it sounds weird, you chuckled to yourself. later on, they began in questioning you about your creation, is what they called it, which you then answered with everything that truly happened.

they took you in, labeled you as a Genius Savior for saving teyvat, they quoted, though you're still left confused by whatever has happened. you met your nation's archons, hell, those government officials even said that you would meet the remaining archons in the near future! what the hell?! you, a mere human, boring individual, just like others, nothing special of mortal, gets to meet all the archons?!

you are nervous. you sat on your throne, it was a custom one ordered by your nation's archons, saying that's the least they can do as to thank you. the fancy and high quality clothes doesn't feel like it belongs to you, rather more like borrowing it. you felt out of place, since none of the other archons use a similar styled clothing like yours.

the archons formally held a conversation between them, occasionally mentioning your name as if inviting you over. you answered their questions humbly and decline their offer kindly, you don't want to anger an archon afterall.

celestial angels arrived at the building, one holding a shiny crown that you swore felt familiar. the archons had stood up and bowed before your panicked state. you stood up, mainly because the absence of guidance on what to do, and because of formalities. the angels stepped closer to you, smiling on your mortal figure. you are confused as ever, just what is going to happen?

they placed the crown on your head. why? you asked yourself. it was hard on resisting the urge to ask here and there. afternoon turned evening and you've gone bored from the ceremony. later did you know, that your life would change for eternity.

no, it was beyond mortal mind! you're just a mere founder, now whatever they gave you titles..! you're not God of Colors, you're not Teyvat's Savior, why couldn't they understand?!

you are no deity, then you hope them to understand someday.

[fizzingwizard]

I'd guess 90% of issues people have with writing advice is they don't know what advice is. It isn't rules. It's suggestions of techniques that have likely proved useful to the suggester.

Same with creative writing exercises with strict limits. It's an exercise. It doesn't mean this is the way you must write for the rest of your life or you're doing it wrong.

Very often, the point of the exercise is similar to the point of the advice: to get you to try something you might not even realize you're not doing. Writing is like fitness. You've got to stretch your muscles and get them accustomed to doing things they're not used to.

I have multiple writing "sins" and the truth is most of them are things I'm constantly trying to knock out. Like relying on adjectives/adverbs. They are not evil! But I find the advice to use them sparingly useful. Because "he said happily" comes to mind more easily than "he said with a grin like a Christmas tree twinkling with ultra-modern Bluetooth-enabled bulbs." It's more creative, it provokes more emotion, and most importantly to me, it tells you more about the character. (You'll have to imagine what sort of person could be described as "Bluetooth-enabled" yourself tho. xp)

But guess fucking what! Now, instead of overusing adjectives/adverbs, I sometimes use too many wordy, specific phrases. No matter how interesting a book is, you'd get tired of reading it if every time a descriptor was called for you had to read a simile or some other pithy comment. And if everyone started writing like that, the most heard advice would become "Don't overuse similes!" or "Don't underestimate the power of the simple adjective!" And then everyone would start practicing only writing with adjectives and...

So yeah advice is like. Not gospel. It's just advice. Personally, though I've read several books on writing and taken several creative writing classes in high school and college, and got a shit ton of advice from all of them, I never heard "you must do this or you're a bad writer." I'm sure some people have and I happen to be a lucky one that got mostly good teachers (except that one prof who shall remain nameless...). If someone told you "You have to write like this," they were wrong. But is it possible that what they actually said was, "You have to write like this in order to grow as a writer," and you only heard the first half?

[lttllovely]

NEWSPAPER CRUSH | Zeke Thompson x Reader

Summary: You are the head writer and editor of Summerton High School’s newspaper. Bored with writing the same fluff stories about the school’s glorious football team, you find the sudden appearance of the Minutemen to be a welcome breath of fresh air, writing-wise and life-wise. You find yourself becoming more drawn into investigating just who the guys behind the snowsuits are. And maybe a little too invested in the life of one of your main suspects, Zeke Thompson.

Movie: Minutemen (2008)

Pairing: Zeke Thompson x Reader

Genre: Fluff/Romance

English class was one of your favorite classes, just behind journalism. Of course, this didn’t come as a shock to anyone since you were the head of Summerton High’s very own newspaper. Not like there was much competition for the position, but for what it was worth, you thought of yourself as a pretty damn good writer. Of course, you loved English class because of all the expected reasons. You loved expanding your knowledge of the literary greats, experimenting with your creative writing, and getting into discussions about whatever novel you were currently reading. But those weren’t the only reasons that you loved the class. 

As of recent, another reason you loved English was that you were seated next to Zeke Thompson himself. Or as you liked to call him, much to his chagrin, the tall snowsuit guy. Of course, this happened since Mrs. Zaninovich was one of the few teachers that enforced assigned seating. At the beginning of the year, neither you nor Zeke cared too much about the seating arrangement. Zeke mostly brooded about having to sit near the front and was pretty quiet. Meanwhile, you gladly volunteered to speak in class discussions about novels such as Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Homer’s The Odyssey.  

This dynamic changed once the infamous Snowsuit Guys had shown up. Now, you used your time in class to get any information that you could out of him about his being a part of the group. At some point during your investigation, Zeke became one of your main suspects. Despite him either not responding to your questions or outright rejecting your claims, you persisted. Yet, even with your original intentions, the two of you had strangely become friends. Well, in your own way.

You would question him about the snowsuit guys and chastise him over his responses, and if you were lucky, you’d get an actual smile out of him. And if you were being honest, his smile was pretty cute. Now, you were approaching him just after his welding class had finished. It was pretty convenient for you to stop by since lunch was about to start, and his class was right by the cafeteria. You waited expectantly by the door, watching as he packed up his equipment for the day.

Upon seeing you, he perked up, even straightening his back rather than staying in his regular slouch. You were touched by it, but only smiled in response. He joked, “Oh, so you’re waiting for me now?”

You snorted, rolling your eyes. “Oh my god, don’t say it like that,” You protested. This didn’t stop Zeke from forming a small smirk on his face. “Y’know, for such a quiet, mysterious loner-type, you sure are cocky,” You commented. At the comment, Zeke’s smirk disappeared. He replaced it with his usual blank, broody expression, but you could still see a hint of a smirk peeking through.

You laughed. “I saw that. God, you are not good at keeping up that act.” You pointed out.

Zeke tilted his head at you. “Who said it was an act?” He asked.

“Me, Zeke, Me,” You emphasized. “Look, you’re just as bad at keeping up that broody, loner persona as you are at pretending that you aren’t one of Summerton High’s proud knights in shining snowsuits.” You quipped.

He shook his head. “Once again, not one of them.” He declared.

Quirking an eyebrow at him, you continued. “Sure, sure.” You mumbled off-handedly. “By the way, I came by to see which of these photos you think is better for the newspaper. Y’know, to see which of these you think makes you more appealing to the ladies?” Shuffled through the papers in your satchel, you pulled out two versions of the newspaper, each having a different cover of the Minutemen on the front page. You handed both to Zeke.

He laughed, his gaze going between the two newspapers. “Wow, how will I ever choose? Now, should I go with the one with the guys in snowsuits or the one with the guys in snowsuits?” He asked, sarcasm oozing from him.

Your eyes narrowed at him. “Hey!” You shouted, grabbing a newspaper out of his hand and swatting at him with it. He let out a yelp and looked around to check that no one else had heard it. It took all the willpower in you to not burst out laughing, but you still let out a few chuckles. “Look, if you end up with a photo in the newspaper that makes you guys look even uglier than you already are, then that is your fault. Not mine.”

Zeke handed you back the newspaper, shaking his head. “Oh, I doubt that you think I’m ugly.” He remarked.

Your walking slowed to a crawl. You returned his comment with a pointed stare, clutching your newspapers a little tighter than necessary. “What does that mean?” You questioned.

The two of you had polar opposite attitudes. While you were rigid and stuck in place, he carried a casual, almost arrogant swagger with him as he entered the cafeteria. “I don’t know. I’m just saying that maybe you made up thinking that I’m one of the snowsuit guys so you could have an excuse to talk to me.” He said, shrugging as he ventured further and further from you.

You gaped. “Oh, you know that’s not what this is about!” You shouted, but you could practically feel the smirk on his face as he headed toward his usual seat with Charlie and Virgil. It almost made you feel sick with embarrassment, especially since there was a hint of truth in it. Your cheeks were flushed red as you headed toward your own table with Jeanette.

Of course, nothing got past Jeanette. You could already tell that you couldn’t escape talking about the ungodly exchange with her when you saw her looking back and forth between you and Zeke. And to add insult to injury, she had definitely caught Zeke’s attention thanks to how unsubtle she was. Great. “Am I going crazy or was Zeke Thompson just flirting with you?” She asked, practically already jumping out of her seat at the exchange.

“What? He wasn’t. We were just talking about the newspaper.” You explained, but Jeanette knew better. Her keen eye for detecting lies and her love for romance couldn’t be deterred by the most effective of liars and aromantics, and you were a terrible liar.

“Oh, come on! You’re blushing hard! You’re totally into him!” She squeaked, squealing from excitement. While you loved Jeanette and her bright, bubbly personality, she made it very, very easy for anyone and everyone to hear what she was saying.

You quickly covered her mouth, gritting out a bitter “Shut up!” as you surveyed the room to check that no one had heard her. Jeanette quickly stopped, but you could tell that her brain was still whirring with ideas about how to set you two up.

Thankfully for you, almost no one had paid attention to Jeanette’s little outburst. Well, except for the one person that mattered the most. Out of the corner of your eye, you saw Zeke staring at you two. You immediately hid behind your hand. But it didn’t exactly help. Zeke chuckled, then began laughing when you decided to flip him off instead. 

God, you were not going to survive this year. You could only hope that by the end of it, you didn’t feel as embarrassed as you did now. And that Zeke would stop messing with you. But you knew that neither would probably come true.

[play-rough]

Why are you so good at writing? I want to be that good at writing too. Fun fact, you are the reason I started writing BSD age regression one shots. I'm also currently rereading through your classification au. I can't remember how many times I've done that before, but it continues to be amazing. -🐈‍⬛ anon

Ok real talk because I get this question a lot, ‘why are you so good at writing?’ Short answer, practice!

Long answer, I’m an adult who was lucky enough to be able to take creative writing and scriptwriting classes, and even though I haven’t been writing fanfic for too much more than a year, I have a bunch of years under my belt of just talking classes where I had to do nothing but write. Not to make assumptions about you anon, but I know that a large chunk of my audience is younger than me. I think it’s unfair of my audience on themselves to ask why they’re not as good at me as writing when I’ve had multiple years of practice in and out of a professional environment and they’re in maybe high school, ya know?? Not to say you are in high school, but just letting you know I didn’t drop onto earth with the gift of writing lmao I’ve been forced to practice

So my advice is, keep writing one shots! I didn’t do anything special to get better. When I wrote part one of the classification au i was happy with it, and then a year later of constantly writing I felt like I had improved so much that part one no longer held up and I had to rewrite it. I didn’t do anything to get better other than do more writing. Your brain is a muscle and so it can be trained and flexed by writing, and it will get stronger!

You can do fun stuff like take creative writing and scriptwriting classes, because I do think those helped me too, but tbh i think it was mostly just doing the assignments and working that brain muscle? Role play is also a fun way to build skills that transfer over to creative writing. I play a lot of DND in my spare time, and I think it’s helped me flesh out characters in my brain and make them more real to people, but again optional. All i really did to get so good at writing was write!

Thank you for rereading it again!!! Ily!!!

Ok ok ok one more bit of advice and this is general life advice!! I apply it all the time to writing but you can use this in your everyday life

⭐️Don’t show up and tell me what you don’t have, tell me what you do have! ⭐️

All the time i click on a fic and the first thing the author says in the notes is ‘this isn’t a very good fic and I’m not good at grammar blah blah blah’

Now I’m gonna go into this fic thinking “dang, this isn’t a very good fic. The author said so.” And I haven’t even read it yet.

What do you have?? You have a fic that you worked hard on and you’re excited to share!! Boom! Much better! If you want to apologize for lack of spelling or grammar at the end that’s fine (or don’t it’s not a crime) but don’t try to set your audience up to have a bad time. They are clicking on your fic because they want to read it! Don’t talk them out of it by telling them it’s not very good! You have a good fic, and the audience WILL have a good time reading it!!!

This was the advice my scriptwriter teacher gave me for screenplay pitches but i have never found a situation where a lil fake self confidence hasn’t helped everything

[ineffable-rohese]

Writing on writing

I write a lot for my job. Like so much. I write all day, sometimes, between emails and reports and policy and plans and website content. A lot of it is standard non-creative writing, but a chunk of my job is creating useable activities that will engage a huge range of audiences. (I'm being cagey here just because a lot of what I'm posting on this here Tumblr , and especially what's on AO3, could potentially cause me professional issues because people are awful and expect Certain People not to do Certain Things.)

So, I write a lot. And I'm good at it. Some parts of writing, the kind I do every day, I'm excellent at. I'm the one my colleagues ask to wordsmith their ideas, or to edit their reports, or to take a collection of random facts and turn it into a compelling argument.

And I'm writing for fun now. Fiction isn't something I've delved into much, and I'm not nearly as comfortable with it as I am with other writing. I feel like I have a good sense of setting and character (though I'm still learning how to communicate both of those things in the way I want to). I can paint you a picture (heck I can give a full sensory experience, sensualist that I am), build a mood, find a spark of humour. Plot is a challenge for me, always has been. My child- and youthhood daydreams were always rambling things, more concerned with what it felt like (physically and emotionally) to be in those imagined worlds than any sort of action, and certainly not something with a satisfying beginning, middle, and end. But I'm learning as I go, and I'm surprisingly OK with that.

When I was in high school, I was made to believe I was a bad writer. My school had extraordinarily high standards for its students, and strict guidelines for what constituted "correct" writing. I was so smart, and so creative, and so undiagnosed ADHD... I hated writing the way they insisted. The neat boxes they expected writing to fit into didn't make any sense to me. I struggled. I cried a lot. I back-created drafts and outlines to fit the final papers that I wrote through in one go because they expected a draft to be the whole thing but bad, and why would I not work and rework each paragraph as I went, like my brain wanted to? Why would I leave errors and bad sentence structure there, where I could see them, where they would drive me insane because I was supposed to just "get it all out on paper" and "fix it later."

And how was I supposed to make a thesis just from my notes? It was, and is, through the process of writing that my ideas come together, and how broken was I made to feel when the thesis I said I was writing (chose at random, based on their restrictive formula of "if A and B, then C" or some nonsense) turned out to be wrong by the time I was done. The number of times I found my thesis in my conclusion was extremely high, and eventually I stopped being surprised when I drastically revised my thesis halfway through writing a paper, but that was years later.

I had one saving grace of a teacher. He wasn't supposed to be our 11th grade English teacher at all - he was the drama teacher, but the normal teacher was out on leave that year and I got lucky. (The other teacher had a Reputation. I don't know if I would have even passed, or come out with any self-esteem intact.) Instead of a five-paragraph essay, I was able to offer creative writing responses. I was encouraged to follow my wild ideas and craft beautiful, dream-like descriptions. I could turn in a poem in lieu of an essay, or reach beyond the text I was studying to look at the wider context, which made my connections-skilled brain sing. It wasn't always great. In fact, a lot of it was shaky at best, but I wasn't punished for trying something new or unexpected, my process was allowed to be my own, and I didn't hate it. Much of it was still a struggle, but it was a struggle I wanted to succeed at, as opposed to merely survive.

With all that, I still managed to graduate thinking I was a shitty writer. Technically proficient - I could proofread and edit with the best of them - but I definitely could not claim "writer" as something I was or could hope to be.

I believed it for the entirety of undergrad, where my first year I spent an entire required writing course waiting for my prof to give me anything other than effusive praise and I ended the term in tears in her office because I didn't believe her when she encouraged me to write more, and where I got straight As in my academic course the last two years, nearly all of which were analysis or history-based and all graded based on term papers. I even believed it through most of grad school where, again, I was writing so much about so many things and getting near-perfect grades.

My final year of schooling, I finally started to believe what all my university professors had tried to tell me. It took so very long and hurt so much along the way.

And now, here we are, and I'm posting my fiction for all the world to see, giving total strangers (and one or two non-strangers) a glimpse into parts of my brain that I'm only now accepting are OK to have and enjoy. And the writing is nowhere near what I wish it was. It's OK. Good even. But I read other's works and I'm blown away by what they can do, and I only wish I could make my words dance that way. Sure, my words dance, but it's not what you'd call good dancing. So every story feels like holding my dripping, beating heart in my hands as an offering and just hoping I'm not embarassing myself.

But you know what? I'm going to keep doing it, for as long as it brings me joy. And it'll get better, and I'll get better, and maybe the 15 year old inside of me will heal just a little more every time. Maybe I'll feel like I can call myself a writer

[halinski]

Tagged by @all-or-nothing-baby 🥰🥰

15 QUESTIONS, 15 (or whatever) TAGS

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYBODY?

My mother's hs best friend basically! She lives in Bosnia so i don't know her much but I have met her

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?

Uhh i can't remember but probably like last week or so. I dissociate too much to remember when or why lmao

3. DO YOU HAVE KIDS?

nope

4. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT?

Not much tbh. Im afraid of being misunderstood too much bc people generally do

5. WHAT SPORTS DO YOU PLAY/HAVE YOU PLAYED?

Softball mostly!

6. WHAT’S THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT SOMEONE?

My gut feeling about them, and if they might understand mental health stuff or not

7. EYE COLOUR?

Hazel-green

8. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?

Scary movies for sure. Irrational happy endings make me angry

9. ANY SPECIAL TALENTS?

10. WHERE WERE YOU BORN?

Central europe, meh

11. WHAT ARE YOUR HOBBIES?

Nature, reading, writing, sports, chilling with animals, learning stuff

12. DO YOU HAVE PETS?

2 cats! And a few past darlings in spirit

13. HOW TALL ARE YOU?

173cm

14. FAVOURITE SUBJECT IN SCHOOL?

I used to always try to come up with some answer to this to please people but i didnt have one past 3rd grade bc i absolutely detested school, the educational systems and academia so fuck no, no favorite subjects. Fuck schools.

(The one good school i went to grade pre till 3rd i enjoyed also had really good pedagogists. In 3rd grade i think i loved math the most bc my teacher designed individual plans for us and my classmate and i raced to finish higher level work, in 2nd i think it was the class where we read and wrote and were creative like think tank and reading dino topia and writing our own magical treehouse, in 1st grade it was science and experementing and the frogs and butterfly class.

On my own time i watched so many animal rescue shows and nation geography and we had so many of their magazines and natyre magazines my mother got that were sorted out from the library. And i read a lot of history books about ancient and pre-historic times and different cultures and that was great. I was also obsessed with animals and read cyclodpedias and had them quickly memorized. But by the time i was 9 i was too depressed and i dont know shit anymore my brain too forgetful

and that's why i'm so mad about the school systems bc i truly loved, loved learning. But even the good school would give me failing grades for my social behavior. And without ranting even further, lets just say math used to be like breathing for me and now i can barely put 48+32 together without a calculater anymore bc my brain is so dead

So much more complicated issues yeah but school still makes me so fucking mad)

15. DREAM JOB?

somehow i got lucky and i kinda ended up in the field of my dream job: vet tech/nurse

i wish i could save any animal i come across though. Regardless of money, laws, etc. I wish i could save nature. Fix what humanity has done to the earth and to so many animals. Relieve suffering. Give love to every stray. Make sure every living being has a home. Get rid of ownership over land and living beings of any and all kind

---

If you see this, tag you're it and pls @ me!

[dinoburger]

since a bunch of stuff got wiped from this blog, I thought it might be a good time to repost these guys - I came up with a bunch of fusion designs for the original DHMIS teachers back in... 2016? 2017?

definitely had fun with these guys

1st row:

Anniversary (Tony + Shrignold) 

Dream Journal (Sketchbook + Lamp)

2nd row:

Love Letter (Shrignold + Sketchbook)

Projector (Hugo + Lamp)

Sun Dial (Tony + Hugo)

3rd row:

Nightmare Fuel (Steak + Lamp)

Streamers (Spinach + Sketchbook)

4th row: height comparison

there’s a bunch of extra doodles, original descriptions/profiles and stuff

Anniversary:

An anniversary is a date which marks a time when something very important happened, like birthdays and weddings!

Anniversary is a Tony+Shrignold fusion who talks in a very gentle voice and is a condescending, sarcastic asshole.

Dream Journal:

They are a dream journal teacher who has a tendency to make snarky comments at their students, a result of Sketch’s passive aggressive nature and Larry’s way of just blurting out whatever comes to mind. This also means they sometimes say things they soon regret.

While their lessons are a little more structured than the lamp alone, everything sidetracks and derails into nightmarish horror fairly quickly.

They’re very chipper and lighthearted, a little dizzy at times but fairly balanced.

Love Letter:

Hello there boys and girls! Did you know? Writing is a very CREATIVE way of expressing your FEELINGS! Let’s try it together!

Love Letters is a Sketchpad+Shrignold fusion who likes to encourage students to write out their feelings and  c o n f e s s   t h e i r   s i n s.

They spend most of their lessons trying to tease out secret feelings from their victims and encouraging them to write everything down, even their most terrible thoughts. Even the thoughts they didn’t think they had. Even the ones they most certainly didn’t have until LL started to meddle and pry and persuade them.

But, not to worry. LL is a good friend who keeps secrets. If only at the cost of them knowing what terrible people their victims are. Privately.

They also devour and store away discarded and scribbled out papers and letters. The more emotionally charged the letters are, the more frenzied LL becomes.

They are very sweet and always smiling. A teacher and a friend.

Their “weapon” is just a letter opener, and the text on the back of their “wings” is always changing whenever they open and shut.

Constellation Projector:

“Stars can tell the future, they know when we are born and they know how we will die!”

Very knowledgeable about “astronomy” and is enthusiastic to talk about unfortunate horoscopes. The more you believe in them, the worse it gets.

They’re pretty happy-go-lucky, kinda goofy too.

They can only talk through their mouth, however their moon changes expressions and it’s eye dilates sometimes when really excited.

Sun Dial (clockwork solar system):

They’re our space+time teacher, a weird mishmash of a sundial and a clockwork solar system model. Always happy to give misinformation about lunar cycles and planetary eclipses.

The two go hand in hand, especially since we basically created the calendar from cycles of the moon and sun.

They are very orderly, but aren’t stern like Tony. Not quite as boisterous as Hugo either. They have… the aura of something very otherly.

Lots of moving parts, hands on the outer ring that can move individually and a face that’s hinged.

Nightmare Fuel (cooking pot):

so I ended up with this luminous cooking pot teacher… they don’t really “teach” so much as they scare the living daylights out of their students (punishment for eating too much before bed time…)

a lot of what they do seems to be completely bizarre and illogical, but the steaky side of their personality often has some sort of reasoning behind it, granted they don’t often bother explaining

like lamp they can get very giggly, but not in the dizzy sort of way lamp does, in fact it sounds much more sinister and unnerving

the third arm they have doesn’t do much except flail around, more like an antenna than an arm

Streamers (party cup, birthday card):

They are a paper party cup/birthday card called Streamers and they can teach you how to make a birthday cake…

…out of your friends…

…and then make you eat it…