#some of us are still shaping our writing skills some even just getting started and looking for tools to help us do so

[epickiya722]

I wonder if the folks who complain about what fanfic writers do in their fics like "I hate when fanfic writers use words like growl or orbs" actually like... wrote anything... at all... for pleasure and not for people who gets to get their work for free and then whine about things like that or even go as far as to bash the writer's work because "you didn't write it how I, the ungrateful reader who could have just used the back button, wanted you to".

[daetko]

CASTLE ARCHITECTS ; send me a character and i’ll write a fluff drabble about building sandcastles together!

could i request denki one ples and thankyou 🫶🫶

AND HI TALIA CONGRATULATIONS ON 200!! YAYZIES!! in your inbox now like i said i would be 😈😈

𓂃 ࣪˖ ִֶָ⛱️ castle architects ; denki kaminari

⊱ cw ; gn reader (no pronouns mentioned), fluff, 980 words

⊱ a/n ; HELLOOOO STAROOMF!!! thank you for it request and sorry if it took too long i’m on vacay rn :,) i wrote this on a roadtrip tho so i had a little fun with it, i hope it meets your expectations! i feel like this and the touya one can do great as fanfics too!

⊱ masterlist , event navigation

the ride to the beach wasn’t the most enjoyable to say the least, with your boyfriend fast asleep and drooling on your shoulder. it was a 45 minute bus ride, and barely seven minutes in, there he was—blonde hair tousled, leaning against you with a small stream of drool tickling your bare skin, making you shiver.

however, as soon as the bus arrived, it was like he’d never been asleep at all, all excited and bursting with energy. he leaped off the bus with a grin, taking off his shirt mid run and diving straight into the water with sero and kirishima. you chased after him, stopping at the shore, watching as he resurfaced gasping for air , shivering from the cold of the water. sighing, you watched as he approached you, all pouty and quivering, before you took his hand and walked him back to your deckchairs.

“I told you to wait, ‘ki. you jumped into the water without any sunscreen or even taking a cold shower first, and now you’re complaining about the cold,” you scolded, rolling your eyes as you looked down at your pouting wet cat of a boyfriend. with a sigh, you wrapped a towel around him like a baby, and he tilted his head, extending his neck in a silent plea for a kiss. you did so with a quick cheek peck before getting up.

“sunscreen,” he mumbled, still shivering. you paused and blinked at him for a moment as you reached into your bag for the sunscreen. “are you warm yet?” you asked, receiving a nod in response. gently, you removed the towel and started applying sunscreen to his back, then moved to his stomach, legs, and finally his face, placing with a soft kiss on his lips when you were done.

somehow, just a minute later, the two of you were sprawled out on the sand, trying to shape it into a base for your sandcastle. your efforts however, were less than successful—horribly failing— at least only you were. when you glanced over at denki’s side, it was flawless. “what the— how the hell are you already done?” you asked, genuinely taken aback. he shrugged, a confused expression crossing his face. “It’s easy? No?”

you stared at him with disbelief, then turned your gaze back to your own sandcastle, trying to reshape it to match his. denki was already finishing up the first floor of his sandcastle while had you barely started. glancing over at his castle and you couldn’t help but wonder if he was secretly some sort of architecture prodigy. “denki. denki kaminari. where’d you learn this from.” your voice was filled with genuine curiosity.“Huh? it’s really easy… you just gotta do this…” his hands were moving skillfully through the sand, “then that,” sweeping his finger across a perfectly smooth line of damp sand “and then… just like that!” he finished with a wide, proud smile as he completed the base of the castle. you were baffled yet so captivated. you found it cute how he just has these random skills he never talks about or didn’t probably even realize he has. your moment of admiration was interrupted, however, by the mischievous grin spreading across his face. oh no no no, you knew that look all too well. “a little zap! you know, for added effects, and to make our castle the greatest in the history of this beach!” he declared, giggling like a maniac with his index finger pointed up, ready to use his quirk. you sighed for the umpteenth time as you knew there was no talking him out of this. you backed away slightly as he put his finger through the opening at the top of the castle and “1 Million Vol—“ “denki. you’ll zap up the whole beach.” you said flatly, cutting him off. he pouted but unwillingly toned it down, releasing just a small spark of electricity through his finger. “WOAHHHHH!!!! I DID THAT!!!” he shouted, eyes sparkling with excitement. “i didn’t think about this!” you said, equally excited looking at the formerly sand, now glass sandcastle. it only makes sense, sand becomes glass when faced with high temperatures, such as electricity. though the smiles and sparkles didn’t last long when your boyfriend wanted to readjust his position and accidentally knocked the glass castle over with his toe, shattering it into pieces.

“Fatass toe.” “SHUT UP! i’m really upset about this y/nnn” he whined, his voice filled with more sass than you’d ever heard, as he sulked on the bus ride home. you scoffed, with a faint smile.

the glass castle was cool though.

getting to the other requests soon i love u all mwah mwah mwah

[itsabouttimex2]

My Alternate Universes

(AF) Primal Moon:

Twice a year; once in spring and once in autumn, a verdant moon rises to bring the bestial instincts of non-humans to light. Celestials and demons alike struggle to keep hold of themselves, something ancient welling up within them and shifting their thoughts and feelings to a more animalistic state.

The spring moon ends on the summer solstice, the autumn moon ends on the winter solstice.

Each week drives non-humans to feral or uninhibited states, leaving them struggling to control themselves. Violence and kidnappings spike during this time, humans as the usual victims. As a result of this, many people hold rather bigoted and fearful views towards demons and Celestials. Some even wish to oust them from society entirely.

(LMK) Monkie Glaive:

Long ago, monsters of terrifying might roamed the land freely. These beasts tore villages asunder and swallowed up the people inside, leaving naught but cinders of destruction in their wake. When a great Black Dragon came to wreak havoc upon humanity with wings spread wide, only one dared to stand against it- the legendary hunter, Sun Wukong! With his lightning-charged glaive held high, the Monkey King summoned a storm and forced the dragon down from the skies, where he overcame it in single combat! Today, in his honor, we hunters train monkeys as our partners to aid us on the field. With them, we overcome our opponents and forge a brighter future for all of humanity!

(Essentially, a Monster Hunter crossover.)

(LMK) Let’s Start Over:

It’s been years since MK’s story ended, and now yours is just beginning. Upgrading his nickname to ‘Monkie Knight’, he’s working hard to shape you into a worthy successor. As the new ‘Monkie Kid’, you are:

1. An everyday mortal, you were gifted a tiny fraction of MK’s power, allowing you to wield the staff and use his skills. Putting yourself in danger leads to the prompt removal of this privilege, and then you’re relegated to chores and stretches until MK thinks you’ve learned your lesson.

2. A Mystic Monkey in disguise, unaware of your true nature. If he finds out, he’s intent on breaking the news early, trying to keep you from having a breakdown like him. He considers you to be a kindred soul, and frequently offers to help with grooming and personal strife.

Given that MK still hasn’t overcome his trauma, he’s grown extremely protective of his successor, trying to force you down a safe and happy path. He dotes on you constantly, acting almost like a surrogate father. Instead of allowing you to explore and fight on your own, he tags along everywhere to keep you safe. He refuses to truly relinquish his responsibilities to you, instead vicariously living through the safety and security he forces onto you.

Until you get the chance to slip away and meet a resurrected villain that MK had hoped to never see again, allowing you to take the first step on your own journey.

(LMK) Taken Aboard:

Upon his visit to the sprawling Emerald Grove; a massive expanse of forest and rivers, Tang Sanzang finds a mischievous demon child living all alone- you. Taking pity on you, the Great Monk prays to Guanyin for her help, and receives two more tightening bands. Upon being ‘gifted’ these golden cuffs, you ask for the monk’s help to put them on- and are promptly dragged into a long and dangerous journey against your will.

Your fellow pilgrims come to view you as a mischievous little sibling, in need of both discipline and love. They won’t stop Sanzang from activating the bands, but are happy to help with the wounds and tears that come afterwards. They also engage in your tutoring, helping to teach you to read and write and perform basic arithmetic.

All the while, you try your hardest to escape and return home.

[theoasiris]

Alpha and Omega Earth Sova Dynamic + Sova Lore Yap Session B)

Saw a post floating around talking about the dynamic between Alpha and Omega agents and how omega agents being labelled automatically evil is kinda stupid. Because no, they're NOT evil. They're Omega's Earth's last hope of survival. They're the heroes, much like how our Alpha agents are the heroes of Alpha Earth for standing up to this bizarre threat. It leads to a fun grey area that is not explored at all. I hope it gets some love in the future, but for now, character development is more important for the game.

That post got me thinking about my own HCs and interpretations of A and O Sova. I rly got into exploring elements of the Alpha and Omega aspects of the game's story due to me shipping Owling (Sova/Sova) but it suddenly became a really fun thing to dive into. It's going to be a long post, so for those who kinda want the TLDR, the img below has a summarized ver of my HCs for A and O Sova's dynamic. Also, these are just my personal thoughts on the character and it's definitely not me trying to sell these HCs as canon or the closest truth we can get to on Sova's lore. Riot please write more shit for this guy I'm begging you. At least explain his stupid eye or his old alias I'm on my hands and knees bros.

Grab some snacks and bevvies for the big wall of unedited hyperfixation fueled yap under the cut. I'll also include my thoughts on ASova/OSova, but I will mostly be discussing their dynamics and stuff outside of the topic of shipping.

Initially, Owling started as a fun indulgent cloneship that had no rhyme or reason, but the literal next thought I had was treating the ship like some kind of character study based off my HCs of him. The then evolved to become a journey of Sova learning to love himself, literally and metaphorically, however incomplete he may be.

As mentioned in my chart, the Sovas are true clones of each other, mirrors. Their major life events are similar but the outcomes are different as well as the way they choose to interact with the people in their lives and the world. This therefore creates small differences in their 'perfect mirror-like' likenesses.

Sova Lore + HCs in General

My ASova headcanons are as described in my little chart. I feel like the Sova we get presented is very work-oriented whose past was shaped by his time in the military. It may very well be all he had had when he was younger. Perhaps it was what he turned to for direction in his life. I don't really have a solid headcanon for his upbringing, I'm mostly tossing several ideas around because they all seem very possible depending on how I want to picture Sova. Currently I lean more towards his parents being too busy to raise their son and therefore handed him over to his babushka to be cared for and raised. They still exist in his life, but their absences had made a significant impact on his psyche. He believes if he becomes someone useful, someone whose work was meaningful and worthy of praise, perhaps his parents would regard him more tenderly, their visits would be more purposeful, there would be reason to see their son other than obligation. He wishes to be useful not just for the sake of his parents, but for his babushka who is old and frail but has taken great pains and burdens to raise him to the best of her ability. Sova turned to the military for it was a respectable line of work. You serve the country and therefore its people, it seems a perfect fit for him who had much affinity for physical skills (hunting and general fitness). Not only that, the military would be good for him, for he need not think about his pains and troubles. The strict drills and constant orders would give him little time to dwell on his sorrows or whatever ails him. Even if his heart is lost, at the very least he has orders to follow, his path would straighten out for him as long as someone was telling him what he should be doing. In regards to his old callsign 'Filin', I'm sticking to the generally accepted HC that it's his old callsign from whatever military company he was in before Valo. As for his experiences then, my thoughts aren't too lengthy. It was a normal job experience, but he was very much just a machine there. A good obedient soldier. However, a mishap in one of his missions cost him his right eye. He continued to serve despite the injury and forced himself to remain useful to the company.

As a result of such life experiences, the Sova we see today can easily be described as a straight-laced man with strict morals who works to live. From what little trivia we have of him, he definitely has hobbies and interests outside of work. He likes hunting, photography that leans towards nature as it's focus. From his voicelines, we can gather that Sova is actually a really friendly and loving guy. He is vocal about his love for his babushka, he praises his teammates often, and he always seems ready to jump in the line of fire for his teammates if it means saving them (and by proxy, the mission). This kindness extends even to those he shouldn't extend it to, namely OSova, who is the enemy. Can you imagine sparing the guy who is invading your earth? Giving them a second chance? I feel like it's more than just some good samaritan thing/altruism, but there is unfortunately no reason given from Riot so far.

With all that knowledge of him, I interpret Sova as a person who is kind, friendly and full of desire to do good. But he has a lot of personal struggles under the hood that he pushes away in order to service others, in order to continue to be seen as a 'good soldier', to be seen as useful. His life outside of work is lackluster, his personality centered around being an asset. He struggles to properly care for himself mentally and emotionally, but is very good at sweeping everything under the rug and calling on his 'work mode' to 'solve' these issues. They don't exist now that a gun's in his hands and his boots on the field. His personal troubles will leave him, like the arrows that fly from his bow, like the bullets that race towards his target's head. The only grounding things in his life are: - His babushka loves him - He's a damn good shot with the gun and the bow - He's an excellent soldier, amazing at his job

Sova, you are miserable in your excellence.

For all his amicable nature and good intentions for others, he hardly shows the same courtesy to himself.

And finally, I yap about OSova.

Omega Sova

OSova is almost everything ASova isn't. - He is less of a workaholic (he very much works to live, but not as intensely as ASova). - He is more open to others and therefore his relationships with the Valo protocol and others in general are much more intimate and closer. As a result, his dynamic with his Cypher is also a lot less charged and they actually get along. - He is more in touch with his emotions and is tackling his fears and problems. Very unlike ASova who is avoidant.

I like to think of OSova as a representation of what a slightly healthier Sova would be. A version of Sova who is trying to improve his mental health and his relationships. He's not the 'Perfect' version of Sova, he too, is still very flawed. But he is happier, is mentally healthier and lives a generally more fulfilling life because he is actually putting effort into himself, trying to be whole.

Personal HCs on their first encounter

When ASova meets OSova for the first time, obviously nothing meaningful goes down because they gotta kill each other. But personally, I think on one occasion, ASova gets curious about his mirror self. He wonders if their lives are truly mirror-perfect reflections of each other. And he steals OSova's eye. He cuts along the familiar eye scar but cuts an additional line for he dislikes that they look exactly alike and the scar mysteriously remains permanent (this is just for my enjoyment and definitely has no real supporting rhyme or reason lol). He doesn't give the eye to KJ despite her expressing interest in it, for this is a personal selfish matter. What he finds shocks him, for OSova lives a very different life from him. And he grows angry for he is... jealous. His mirror self seemed to be living a beautiful life as compared to him and he wants to know why. He needs to learn more, needs to collect more intel. There has to be a reason his mirror self is enjoying things he doesn't seem to have himself despite being a good and useful person on his earth. Therefore, in addition to being his enemy at work, he cannot spare OSova ever again. He needs his eye. He needs to know.

AOSova Interactions HCs

It is natural that the Sovas are hostile to each other, for they are enemies. But OSova is surprised at how vicious and almost predator-fierce his mirror is with hunting him down and killing him. Sometimes it feels like ASova kills him with more brutality than necessary for whatever reason. When OSova is cornered and most definitely dead, it seems like ASova seems to go out on a limb to kill him in a more vicious way or uses excess effort to take his mirror out. OSova, being Sova, who has a soft heart and an inherent sense of kindness, tries to speak to ASova before he is killed again. But of course, ASova, who is blinded by his envy and hard driven by his soldier's duty to kill his enemy, doesn't let him talk. But eventually, one day, he does. And OSova questions their likenesses. Are they truly clones? He didn't know he was quite so fearsome, quite so merciless and cold. ASova finally allows OSova to speak, and suddenly, he realizes that they are so much more different than what he has seen. ASova also comes to realize that perhaps, in this big wide world and beyond, maybe his enemy, his 'evil' self, is the only one who can truly help him understand his pain.

It is not a pleasant thought, but that thought will soon disappear when his hunting knife goes through OSova's heart.

Sova Learns To Love Himself + Owling (Sova/Sova) Elements (Cont. from AOSova Interactions)

Teehee my fav part... If you so desire, this can be read as platonic as I've removed romantic elements.

The sauce for Owling in this sense comes from the fact that ASova believes that OSova is the only one in the world, this universe, that will understand his pain and accept him no matter what. Because they're Sova. They're supposed to be one and the same, right? Also because OSova has extended an extremely kind hand towards him over and over despite ASova mercilessly killing him time and time again without allowing him to even get a word or so in. OSova forgives this, for they both know they're 'both good soldiers who carry out orders no matter what'. And the orders are obviously to eliminate their enemies, their mirrors. ASova was just doing as he was told, and OSova holds no grudge. Hell, he probably even respects him for staying so loyal.

After OSova finally gets a word in, the pair often try to meet up secretly whenever they encounter each other on a mission to talk. It's mostly ASova talking, sharing his burdens with his copy, hoping to learn what the hell is he not doing right that OSova is. He too, wishes to live happily, much like how OSova seems to be living. OSova comforts his mirror. It is awkward initially, for what does one do when you enemy and mirror self comes at you, killing you viciously one day and then crying into your shoulder the next? But as they chat, OSova feels much pity for his copy. He wishes he could be happy, too. As much happiness their current situation allows. I'll skip over a lot of the story I've thought of for the both of them because this textpost is an ungodly length already. But, the most important interaction they will have, is that, one day, OSova reassures ASova that no matter what happens, no matter what becomes of them both, that he accepts him as he is. For they both deserve it. And if no one else will, it's ok. OSova will love ASova instead. Unfortunately, for it is still a time of war between Alpha and Omega earth, they can't both leave the field alive. And so, for now, one of them will have to go. Until their next encounter, then. But at least this time, ASova leaves with the reassurance that he can be loved. Even if it's only love from himself, he has it.

Ok I'm Done Now

And that's the end of the yap sesh phew LOL. I've left out a billion things but it's like 3am and I can't be here forever... I hope my point came across clearly enough and that any weird inconsistencies or holes in my thinking aren't too nasty because my ass aint gonna beta/edit this shit. If you read this all the way thru, thanks for braving through this behemoth of a post U_U)9 Also I hope this creates more Owling fans or at least some interest in the ship somewhat HAHA

[onlycosmere]

Boatload of Mummies/Book of Nails

Cheyenne Sedai: I'm really curious about Boatload of Mummies because Brandon did mention on his updates that you'd worked on it for NaNoWriMo for the past couple of years which is really cool. And the title is incredible. I don't know if that's gonna be the final title, but that's what it's always been referred to. How have you been doing with that?

Isaac Stewart: Thanks for asking us. It's a project that I love. So I finished it. Finished a draft in September of last year. It's rough. It's a really rough draft. There's a lot of things that I'm still working through. I'm trying to narrow down the shape of the plot in a way because there's a little bit of--it wasn't inspired necessarily by these things, but it was after the fact that I realized, "Oh, it's part this, part that."

It's sort of begins King Kong, if you imagined getting people on a boat. And then it continues as Death on the Nile. Then you get to a portion on an island. And then it ends The Mummy. And throw in a healthy dose of Venom. So it's like, "Okay, am I doing too much here?" And that's kind of where I'm at. You know, is this even a thing? Have I thrown too much in? Is this too much of a storyline? And i don't think it is. It really is in the end kind of a Raiders of the Lost Ark sort of story. You could pull out those some of those same elements and say, "Raiders of the Lost Ark starts out King Kong." But the basic plot line is there.

There's going to be scenes in the current draft that are basically finished. I don't think they're going to change too much from the version that it is right now to the end.

Will it be called Boatload of Mummies? Probably not. I can't see that as a title of a Cosmere book, right? But we can affectionately call it Boatload of Mummies as long as we want. The working title is Book of Nails. And whether there's a series title or not, we'll have to figure that out if it's a story that people want to continue learning about.

But let me tell you Nicki Savage is so much fun to write. Don't expect exactly what you get from the broadsheets because she is writing to a particular audience, and has learned some skills from Allomancer Jak--though I do think Allomancer Jak's stories might be closer to the truth than Nicki's are.

You will see parallels between this story and some of the elements that are in the broadsheets. But she's basically: if you can imagine a Mary Poppins. who is incredibly interested in the supernatural, and is not afraid to beat up people. That's basically your character right there. And she's just, she's a load of fun. A boatload of fun.

Cheyenne Sedai: I imagine from what you've said that you still wouldn't be ready to give us what could eventually function as a back of the book blurb?

Isaac Stewart: During the first NaNoWriMo that I worked on it we had to come up with our elevator pitch on that, and I wrote the Readers Digest, TV Guide version of it, and it was "A woman with a strange, magical power journeys to an island to find a mythical book that might raise the dead." Something like that.

This particular book is interesting because... How do I pitch this when it's a spin off of a different series. It's a spin-off from Mistborn, technically. But it's not a Mistborn book. You can't pitch that to somebody who doesn't know Mistborn. And that's been some of the fun in trying to figure this out is "How do I tell a different story here, but then have to reintroduce how Allomancy works? But now in this era, we know about Allomancy, we know about Feruchemy, we know about Hemalurgy. We have crossovers from other worlds. How do you write this book without confusing somebody entirely without... "There's like 50 magic systems in here, and I don't understand." And that then goes into the pitch. How do you pitch this book?

People who know the Cosmere, you just say it's set on Scadrial, but it's not really a Mistborn book. It's just hard to encapsulate and someday I'll figure it out.

[theycallmeratt]

Snippet Swedsnesday!

I was tagged by @graysparrowao3 .

No pressure tags: @aviatorasharak @beesht

Today I'll bring snippets from a fic that I think should have way more love and a WIP

I'll Write to You in Flowers

Lae'zel quietly watched him tie individual bundles of clippings and arrange them in the larger one. "Which is me?"

"This." He pointed to it. One long stalk of proud red plumes, several inverted stalks of compact buds, and a collection of delicate, star-shaped flowers. Lae'zel's assessment was correct; they only suited each other in meaning.

Lae'zel's lip curled into a sneer. "Showy. I am not showy."

"That is a gladiolus. A noble flower. It symbolizes integrity, strength, victory and loyalty."

Her face softened. "Accurate. What of the rest?"

"Borage. Symbolizes bluntness. Directness."

The sneer was definitely a smile now. "And the one that is upside down?"

"Lavender."

"It smells… acceptable."

"Lavender, upside down, means trust. And tied with the ribbon on this side, it signifies that this spray represents my feelings towards you."

"You feel you can trust me."

He nodded.

"You will tie it both ways, then," she harrumphed. "What of the rest?"

(You can read more on AO3)

The Moth and the Wasp

(WIP, working title, coming out... one day..?)

A total value of 635g in collectable spoons (to the right bidder) balanced on Mattis's face. Silfy offered another spoon, but just as he got it to catch on his cheek, the door slammed open. A skinny, short tiefling stormed in, mouth twisted into a scowl. One he hadn't seen in months. Ever since she ditched him, Silfy had been the one to handle talking to her.

"Mol!" he grinned, mostly out of habit.

"I've got work for you," she said.

"Oh, now we're good enough to work with?"

"Don't tell me you're still sore about that."

In a fantastic impression of Mol he said, "We're a crew! You're my ride and dies!" Back in his normal he added, "Then you ditched us in Baldur's Gate. Yeah, I'm a little miffed. Perturbed, even."

"It was temporary. I was setting things up in the city. I got you in, didn't I?"

"Alfira got us in. She made me cut my hair! I'd had some of those mats since Elturel! They was my friends, wasn't they?"

Silfy nodded.

"Well, both of you and me, we're friends!" Mol said. "Hells, Mattis, never thought I'd argue with you so much over giving you gold. Triple your current rates, too."

His eyes lit up. The only thing he loved more than gold was Silfy, and some days that was debatable. Gold was power. Gold greased their way into Baldur's Gate and was going to grease their way to legitimacy.

"What's the work?" Silfy asked, notepad ready. Ever since she started hawking papers she got real into writing things down. It was a little scary sometimes.

"Theft. Right up your alley."

"Of what?"

"Need to know if you're in or out, first."

"Theft," Mattis mused. He and Silfy were a whole thieving package, sure, but they hadn't done a theft without Mirkon and Meli. Neither were going to come; Mirkon because he was studying now, and Meli because… because…

Still couldn't think about Meli. Right. Fine. Meli wasn't coming, either, that was the point.

"Need you to do a smaller job, before I bring you on," Mol said. "To be sure you still have skills."

"How much is this paying?"

"Nothing. You get the whole payout at the end. That's why it's three times your rates."

Silfy tore off a sheet of paper and passed it to Mattis, who glanced over it, sucked his teeth and said, "Bad news, Mol. Current rates just went up."

"Mattis—"

Riiip. Silfy passed over another sheet.

"Market's wild right now. Current rates are now double."

"Fine! I'll do your old rates for this job and your new ones for the next. Gods, you two are colossal pains in my arse."

"If you could get anyone else, you would've, we know."

[bates--boy]

ᴡʜᴀᴛ ᴍᴀᴅᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ᴘɪᴄᴋ ᴜᴘ ᴛʜᴇ ᴄᴜʀʀᴇɴᴛ ᴍᴜꜱᴇ(ꜱ) ʏᴏᴜ ʜᴀᴠᴇ?

This muse started out as an ask blog, actually! I don't really know what drew me to adult!Peter from the beginning; maybe it's because I really liked underappreciated characters, or maybe I saw how little canon material there was of older Peter versus material for his canon age (which was still very little back in the day.) But I think it was the latter, because it meant that I could shape adult!Peter into any person that I want, which was how my portrayal went from bland, goody two shoes upstanding citizen to a nervous wreck constantly facing a plethora of childhood trauma and trying his best.

ɪꜱ ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ ᴀɴʏᴛʜɪɴɢ ʏᴏᴜ ᴅᴏɴ'ᴛ ʟɪᴋᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴡʀɪᴛᴇ?

I do have rules about not writing rape or incest ships, but it is mostly carried over from my previous rp blogs. In fact, it may be hypocritical of me to even have this rule if you know about the Infamous Fic. I still have reservations about writing this topic, though, because far too many writers and RPers don't treat the subject matter as the horrifying thing that it is, and it's a fetish for some writers, which like... okay, write the rape porn, empty of nuance and trauma or whatever, just do it over there.

I guess another thing I don't like to write is writing against a villain or overpowered character. Over the years, I had sometimes found it to be tedious at best, and unpleasant at worst. Hell, my character canonically is super powerful, and even I don't overdo it. I would never ask a writer of a villain to tone it down, though. It's just one of those things that require curating your dashboard or whatever.

ɪꜱ ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ ᴀɴʏᴛʜɪɴɢ ʏᴏᴜ ʀᴇᴀʟʟʏ ᴇɴᴊᴏʏ ᴡʀɪᴛɪɴɢ?

With that being said, it is wild how much I write Peter getting into arguments or fights. He's a firecracker baby, an asshole of the highest degree, and it's refreshing to find writers who can do a good back and forth, who can write a fight that actually drives the plot and thread forward, and lead to revelations about character motivations beyond "My character is evil, get used to it."

Another thing I like to write is scifi. But I never get my scifi threads. :c

ʜᴏᴡ ᴅᴏ ʏᴏᴜ ᴄᴏᴍᴇ ᴜᴘ ᴡɪᴛʜ ʜᴇᴀᴅᴄᴀɴᴏɴꜱ?

I mostly start with the canon material and a little bit of history and go from there. Like, "What could possibly go wrong with an immortal child mostly abandoned in a derelict fort in the middle of the sea? How does constantly being kicked out of places that you know you belong in, being ignored by your primary parental figure during your formative years, and being told implicitly that you're no used to anyone after the war, fuck up a child? What skills did Peter develop as he survived in both an abandoned fort and in the middle of a war zone? Where is the breaking point, and how does his reaction to reaching that point change overtime and with shifting motivations?"

Sometimes, it just comes to me.

ᴅᴏ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡʀɪᴛᴇ ɪɴ ꜱɪʟᴇɴᴄᴇ ᴏʀ ᴅᴏ ʏᴏᴜ ᴘʟᴀʏ ᴍᴜꜱɪᴄ?

It depends on my sensory load. I mostly like listening to music while I write, because it helps me to put in all the emotions I need for a scene to really make it hit. But if I had a sensory overload all day (talking to people, being in bright and overcrowded spaces, etc.) or if the scene in the thread is chill, I just write in silence.

ᴅᴏ ʏᴏᴜ ᴘʟᴀɴ ʏᴏᴜʀ ʀᴇᴘʟɪᴇꜱ ᴏʀ ᴡɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴇᴍ?

I try to plan as much as possible, and even jot down ideas for a thread, but I mostly wing them.

ᴅᴏ ʏᴏᴜ ᴇɴᴊᴏʏ ꜱʜɪᴘᴘɪɴɢ?

Yeah, I do! Especially unconventional ships. (In fact, one of my old shipping partners and I had our muses having a baby together.) Sadly, my former shipping partners had left the fandom and the RPC, and most of the fandom characters I'm interested in shipping Peter with are not popular, so there aren't any writers to ship with, especially for a character as difficult to love as my canon-divergent Peter.

ᴡʜᴀᴛ'ꜱ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴀʟɪᴀꜱ/ɴᴀᴍᴇ?

In this sphere, I'm known as Droid! In another sphere, I'm known as Decada! I don't know why I chose those names!

ᴀɢᴇ?

Ageless. [knees crack, back aches]

ʙɪʀᴛʜᴅᴀʏ?

[redacted]

ꜰᴀᴠᴏʀɪᴛᴇ ᴄᴏʟᴏʀ(ꜱ)?

Teal.

ꜰᴀᴠᴏʀɪᴛᴇ ꜱᴏɴɢ(ꜱ)?

Well, I've been singing "Do You Hear the People Sing" for a couple days, now, so it's probably that. Oh, and "Colors" by Coheed and Cambria.

ʟᴀꜱᴛ ᴍᴏᴠɪᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀᴛᴄʜᴇᴅ?

Kon-Tiki (2013)

ʟᴀꜱᴛ ꜱʜᴏᴡ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀᴛᴄʜᴇᴅ?

Abbott Elementary

ʟᴀꜱᴛ ꜱᴏɴɢ ʏᴏᴜ ʟɪꜱᴛᴇɴᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ?

Chocolate Covered Dreams by The Breed

ꜰᴀᴠᴏʀɪᴛᴇ ꜰᴏᴏᴅ?

I'm gonna have to agree with Vera on this one, but I really do love savory stuff.

ꜰᴀᴠᴏʀɪᴛᴇ ꜱᴇᴀꜱᴏɴ?

I would say Summer because I like going out, being able to walk without needing an umbrella or having to layer, and that's when most events like concerts or parades happen. But, god, the sweat! The fucking sweat! I am a fat fuck and it is unpleasant to sweat in every crevice of my body. So, Autumn.

ᴅᴏ ʏᴏᴜ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ᴀ ᴛᴜᴍʙʟʀ ʙᴇꜱᴛ ꜰʀɪᴇɴᴅ?

I used to. The same mun who had written Peter's baby mama. She had also written this adorable and spunky child OC and she and Peter were two peas in a pod! We would gush about how adorable and sweet their dynamic was, and it was heartwarming to see what she had posted about her personal life. (Can you tell that I miss her?)

tagged by: @nezumivc103221 (ay yo, thanks!) tagging: @latvianpoet @the-expatriate @sicilitude @heta-micronomics @gebrochener-adler

[christiansorrell]

Play-By-Blog #9: The Isle by Luke Gearing

Welcome to my ongoing play-by-blog of The Isle by Luke Gearing! We are playing this adventure with its original system, The Vanilla Game (adjusted somewhat to fit the format). You can check out the Play-By-Blog Repository to get all caught up if you wish.

How Play-By-Blog works:

I write up the situation, NPCs, and more, just like a DM.

You vote in the poll to help decide the character's course of action.

I roll the dice, resolve actions, and write them up next week.

So on and so forth for the rest of the adventure!

Notation:

[Text in brackets is out-of-character/GM text!] "Non-italicized quotes denote text from the original adventure!" "Italicized quotations denotes NPC dialogue."

Our character: Medon Girou - Magic Cutpurse

Our map: The Isle

[You can use the link's above to find Medon's Character Sheet and map of the Isle. On the map, you are currently at 1.]

Now, back to the adventure!

[We have a tie! I always back out my vote (in this case, it was for Option 6) so we are looking at investigating the tree or the stone formation as our two tied options. I did a coin flip (tails) for those two and "Travel to 3 - The Stone Formation" won.]

Looking out across the rest of the isle, the tree to the west, unusual in its size, stands out to you, but you can't get the even stranger shape of that rocky formation, almost like a massive chimney jutting out of the island, out of your mind. You head that way, new gear in tow.

It doesn't take long, but still, it's past midday now. You start thinking of possible camping options in the back of your mind. Hard to think of a place you'd feel comfortable using an open fire. The monks could see the smoke from nearly anywhere on the isle and you don't need any nosy old men catching you unaware, especially after your altercation with the fisherman. Best to make sure you are the one deciding when they see and hear you, not the other way around.

You approach the stone outcropping.

"A squat formation of forbidding stone, 32' high. Deep scars mar the surface, and bird shit streaks down the edges. Climbing seems easy, but sea winds blow strong..."

This is a strange place. You aren't quite sure why, but there's an odd air here. A shape of stone that stands against the rest of the isle. The birds look down at you from the top of the formation, cawing, fighting, and shitting.

You look up to the edge of the outcropping and can't help but wonder what may be up there or if you may be able to see the rest of the isle better at least from there. You think of the silk rope and grappling hook in your pack. You decide to go for it.

[Because you have both the necessary skill (You are used to some level of climbing given your cutpurse background AND have equipment to aid you from the silk rope and grappling hook you recently recovered, you automatically succeed.]

You toss the grappling hook, anchor it solidly over the top of the formation, and are able to steadily make your way over the side, your hands grimy now with old bird shit. You pull up the rope and recover the grappling hook. The birds fly off, cawing angrily at you.

From the top, you see a tight, claustrophobic shaft in the stone running from from here down into the heart of the island. There's no sign of anyone else here, just the birds.

Looking back out onto the isle to the south, you see one monk leaving the monastery entrance, heading north, with silhouettes of several others in front of that ever-burning flame atop the monastery's central tower. All around you hear the sound of waves against the rocks.

[Fun to see the grappling hook and rope, both recovering from the grave, coming in clutch this week. I'm intrigued to see how you all vote this week as more and more of the isle's surface has now been explored and you've made an interesting discovery in this shaft, seemingly unknown or unused by the monks.]

[If you like this series, please spread the word! Some weeks we get TONS of votes and other weeks we don't get much, but I assume this has a lot to do with the Tumblr algorithms and reblogs and whatnot more than anything else. Either way, the more folks following along the better! Also, feel free to leave comments, reblog suggestions (either for the character or the structure), etc. I'd love to hear from you. See you next week! - Christian]

[battleofthegroundeddungeon]

Training the Gauntlet (Part 3)

Part 2

Egil: Egil could sense the heart behind Stonegit's actions. And much was appreciable. He couldn't get behind all of Stonegit's thoughts, though, so while he paused and listened to Stonegit, he did also belatedly take one - one - step back.

"Not sure everything that can come out of us should," he said regretfully. "Or. Or, like, at least, we don't need to think about it as 'good' character development. It'd development, neutral. A person could go one way, or another, equally valid. Just because someone could - could hypothetically - become great at chess, or dragon riding, or sword fighting, or war, or writing - it - it doesn't mean that's what should come out. They can do none of those things, and their life will be as fine for it."

Maybe I don't need this 'development.' Maybe I don't want it to come out one way or another.

Stonegit: Stonegit could sense he had lost Egil, but only by the single step he had taken away. The new King had misunderstood his meaning.

In Port Krum, the phrase Stonegit had said essentially meant that if people did not speak of their problems then, like the cut upon his cheek, violence and rage were likely to arise instead, as opposed to any great character development.

It had taken Stonegit one too many years to realize that his dialect and cultural idioms often mixed poorly with the refined speech and academics of those in a royal line.

He took a step forward, not to chase, but to show that he too was finding the right way to walk through this situation he and Egil had found themselves in.

"I don't ask for words to push you on some path, stress a responsibility, or develop you...I just...I..."

He stopped to take a breath, and he was ashamed to realize that a part of him still feared moments like this. Perhaps it was time for a moment of silence again.

Egil: "You're reaching out with the goodwill of your heart," Egil said. He fiddled with his training sword. "Stonegit, look. You know what I'm bitter about. And it's not that you don't have a point. And it's not like I should have been talking about myself just now." Stonegit's latest response had reminded him of that.

"But."

He paused to spin the sword several times.

"We're here to fight."

There was an indication in those words, not unkind.

I came to spar to help you.

It's your need we're taking care of right now.

"Or," he said, more successfully reaching into his earlier humor, "get your ass back in shape."

It wasn't a request to end the current conversation. It wasn't an invitation to fight again. It was neutral in those regards. But while Egil wouldn't have been able to voice it with such nuance himself, it was a reminder that Egil had been trying, at the start, to make this about Stonegit.

Stonegit: Silence fell.

One that was tense, but not due to anger or any kind of ill will. More that Egil's words had threatened to crack something open within Stonegit.

I did...come to him...didn't I? Stonegit's gaze drifted to the side in thought. I'm so used to trying to help them...did I really just come here to train my craft...or was there always something more?

He then recalled the words of his old instructor, Grunkstomp, as the man recited the words of the god Tyr - "men like us fight to help our minds think, while our bodies are occupied."

Stonegit slowly turned away from Egil as he gripped his training sword in both hands, one on the handle, and the other on the blade.

"Yes...we should fight." He said, as if finding his own way of saying that he agreed with Egil's implication that this matter should be about him. "But like your father, there was never a skill I possessed with any blade that could truly challenge you." His teeth ground as he prepared himself, and wondered if Egil could be prepared as well. "If you want to get my ass in shape...you'll have to fight a bit with what even Gareth seldom faced head on."

He calmly turned back to raise up his blade again. The invitation open once more to sparr. "My words..."

And Egil could see it. The fire so often kept behind the bodyguard's demur, and often tired demeanor. The boy of unbridled passion still alive somewhere within the older man.

Egil: Egil felt it. The fire, throbbing subtly, flames licking about them. He tried to feed it, to make it grow. He lunged, ready to spar once more. As he leaped, he felt Stonegit rise to meet his strike.

Stonegit: With a crack the wood of the meeting blades snapped and echoed across the room. Despite the purpose of the weapon and the damage to Stonegit's arm, the bodyguard nevertheless put more brute force behind his parrys, as if he needed to separate himself from his old ways in smaller steps.

Egil had responded to his shift in temperament and spirit, and so Stonegit had to work extra hard to keep himself from taking another blow. But at the same time, Egil, perhaps for the first time, now sparred Stonegit apart from the man's usual calm, and teaching oriented self.

Now it was all that old passion, and ferocity, only this time instead the damaging rage, there was more clearly what had always been...vulnerability.

The two blades slammed into each other and threatened to splinter as Stonegit's other hand shot out, and balled up into Egil's shirt. His flaring eyes met the King's as his teeth barred from between his grizzled beard.

"You jumped in mighty quick for someone who's heart just skipped a beat." He said in bitter challenge, but again, no malice. Then with a grunt, he used a move taught to him that he hadn't originally planed to refine today, and stepped in to hurl Egil over his shoulder.

An extra safety bump upward of his back, and Egil's generally keen dexterity, saw the King land on his feet, but it was still a disorienting spin.

Egil: "Damn!" he hissed, breathless for seconds. It genuinely surprised him. He took the challenge, embraced the rising heat. He held wood but the hilt burned like smelted iron.

Smoke, flames, spark. Lunge, parry, riposte. Each man moved a different way, Stonegit with his smoldering ferocity, Egil with the elegant but deadly strike of a viper. The fangs and tongue of the serpent rose to meet the tongue of fire.

It was time to get creative - not his strongest suit, but one he'd learned over years of fighting Stonegit. He ducked into a gutsy passata sotto, extending outward toward Stonegit's left ribs. Either he'd be knocked on the head, or he'd manage a 'killing' strike.

Stonegit: The training blade jammed into Stonegit, and pain flashed over the man's face. As if the physical blow had permitted the pain within to manifest. His fingers wrapped around the blade to acknowledge the scoring hit, his mouth paritally open.

Haddock's death. His immediate betrayel of everything he had tried to fix within himself as a result. Facing his old assailant. Breaking his body against Vidar's jaw. Nearly losing the Warden, twice. Endangering her during a scrambling back peddle. A family he adored, that he was nevertheless always scared to fully open up to because of past cpmmunication misfortunes. His old wounds. A marriage and partnership with people he loved but had hurt beyond words more than anyone else.

It all felt like a raging forest fire. Where could the first bucket even be splashed? Would it matter? Would it make any kind of difference?

Stonegit shoved the blade back as he paced a few steps to 'reset the match,'and then leveled a hand at Egil, the fingertips radiating true heat as if to match the temperment of the room. "He is GONE!"

The words ripped from him as a ugly, all too often unspoken, truth to himself.

"And every moment of mourning I have had, that I have tried felt empty. Meaningless! I had mourned so deeply as a child the first time that I allowed myself to be lost to everything I was...and now..." The extended hand balled into an impossibility tight fist. "It's just like he disappeared...like he wasn't somehow part of all of this even to my own mind!"

Egil: Egil's eyes opened wide at the outburst. He instinctively took a step back, just as he instinctively raised his weapon for defense. A jolt of electricity shot up him, mixing with his own fire. His own senses of loss and pain flared up again.

He managed to say, "W-what?"

Stonegit: Stonegit's fingers clenched around the hilt of his sword the way a man having his arm cut off would clamp down on a bite.

He wasn't sure whether Egil's question was literal, given that he had been a child during the time he was referencing, or rhetorical, given the rawness of the confession. He answered nonetheless.

"I...I have spoken of this...to Blunt, to some friends..." He recalled his first attempt to mourn, out facing the sea as he spoke to his King and declared his resolve to do the right thing by his life...not that he could be heard across Midgards mortal plain. "To Gareth too..." His gaze lowered, and then Stonegit gave a little shake of his head. "But none it felt...true..."

Egil: As much as Egil was someone capable of frequent outbursts, he wasn't as adept receiving raw emotion. His tongue usually got tied around something in the process, or he said something that made a person worse. Trying his best, trying to mirror Stonegit, he prompted, "And, eh. Mm. What could make it feel true?"

Stonegit: A million thoughts flew through Stonegit's mind. From his young adulthood to that very moment. A raggid exhale escaped him as a moment of surprised relief took his shoulders before they gnarled once more under the strain of this encounter. So he answered.

"You..."

Egil: Egil tried not to show a reaction, but his face went through five or nine distinct expressions when he heard Stonegit's words. He didn't know what to do. They were honorable, but... "You're gonna find disappointment there," said Egil, throat dry.

Stonegit: "Why?" Stonegit challenged in a quiet voice.

Egil: Egil looked him in the eye with a combination of hardness, skepticism, uncertainty, and... gratefulness, maybe.

"You're not that blind."

Stonegit: "Try me." Stonegit returned.

Egil: Egil stayed silent but his crook-eyebrowed stare didn't alter.

Stonegit: Stonegit remained in the silence with him for a moment, and then closed his eyes. "You do make it true for me Egil...because I think you are also like me." He returned Egil's dry swallow. "You and I...we've always had so, much, to say. But something always kept it check."

His eyes became focused. Very, very focused at an insignificant spot on the ground. "Yes some of it was learning the wisdom of silence, and thought. But there are also few who actually can...or even want to hear us..."

Egil: "Well then you'd be the first," Egil barked with a derisive laugh. Maybe Stonegit had learned something over the years. Egil sure hadn't.

Stonegit: Pain came to Stonegit's expression again. But not the same grief from before. Rather a pain for Egil's sake. A pain that came from knowing a shared experience. A voice unwilling to be heard. Help that would not come...

God in Helhiem...did I fail him? Did I let him suffer the same fate as a young adult that I did?

The thought hurt him more than anything his shattered arm and injured heart could have caused.

"I'm sorry..."

Egil: Egil shook his head. "Don't be," he said wryly. "Like. I'm the one who's managed to piss people off and never take up the mantle expected."

He paused though, and shrugged. "Maybe we are alike," he said. "I don't think it's been easy for us. And I'm not blind either - I can tell you get dissatisfied with yourself sometimes." Like today, despite the fact it would have been impossible for Stonegit, at this point, to be flawless training something new.

Stonegit: "I do...have regrets..." Stonegit related carefully, the grip on his blade a little looser now. "I should have been brave enough to speak with you more candidly..."

Egil: "To chase me off faster?"

Egil's response sounded like a jest on the surface, and he probably meant it only as that, but it was a valid point. As avoidant as Egil was, directness might not have worked. Thus it eased off on the idea of regrets.

Stonegit: "Eegh...good point." Stonegit related as he briefly gripped the back of his neck in thought.

"My point remains. Nothing felt right...but this, with you, did. And I am grateful. You not only invited my words, but you did not balk at them. To some that might seem trvial...but it means a great deal to me."

Egil: "Well," Egil smiled just a little, and gave a slight, respectful nod, "ah. Welcome."

Stonegit: Stonegit nodded in turn. His gratitude in Egil neither dismissing nor over complicating his openness couldn't be overstated.

But there were still some unturned stones to this conversation he ventured to address.

"Understand I hold your judgement in high regard when it comes to your own choices...given this...that mantle of which you speak. Is it anything you can come to me with?"

Egil: "I don't know where I'd even start," Egil said, staring into the middle distance.

Stonegit: "This can be all the start needed if you wish." Stonegit said, as if to open an optional, proverbial escape to the topic.

"The ears willing to hear my voice...I discovered through good fortune-"

He recalled his possession under the Warden and cleared his throat.

"Through fate-"

He recalled mutually poor choices that had resulted in...leas than desirable outcomes.

"Hm..." Stonegit rubbed a hand over his mouth.

"Through...circumstances. Nevertheless, I would prefer you not have to seek so far or low to find such a thing." His gaze became contemplative. "It can make a great difference..."

Egil: "Let's just, ah, keep this as the start," Egil hastily interjected. He wasn't unappreciative, but this was going beyond a depth he thought he could even understand.

He was a retreater. Where his father charged, Egil retreated.

Stonegit: Stonegit gave a slow, careful nod. His posture neither accommodating Egil's quick choice to balk, nor fighting against it. The man had taken a good step forward today. More than that, he had gone out of his way to try and help him without Stonegit having to ask for it first.

"Let's get something to eat." He invited.

Egil: Egil nodded in agreement. "I'm game."

It looked like some of Egil's good mood returned.

Well, it was a different emotion, wasn't it? There was less conflict than when Stonegit had invited Egil to spar, less tension than when they had sparred with sword and word. Maybe it wasn't exactly relief. But it was, as Stonegit had called it, a start.

[evelhak]

Old art #14: KnB OCs

Specifically the girls!

Because I just reblogged a post about how unappreciated female characters can be, and it made me mad. The second I started writing my massive KnB fic I was like oh lord does this story need more significant female characters. And my story is slice of life and about so much more than basketball, so there's no excuse for the lack of girls like "unfortunately that's just how it is" like Fujimaki said or something.

I'm not undermining the fact that Riko and Momoi especially are great characters, and I'm so happy for their existence, I'm just pointing out how obvious it was to me that as a fic writer I could do so much more! And that if I had found myself for some reason creating only male OCs for this project, the only reason I could think of for why that would happen is misogyny. (Not that the gender diversity in my fic is limited to male and female, I'm just trying to simplify things for the sake of an argument.)

Now that I'm thinking about this in the light of that other post that pointed out how people make excuses for why they don't have any favourite female characters or even female OCs, it occurred to me that had those people been writing this love story between the two main guys they probably would have used that as an excuse? Like, oh well, this story is just basically about them, so it's what it is. I mean, my story is about KagaKuro. Like 90%.

Somehow, that wasn't an issue.

Sorry for the rant. I'll introduce you to some of my girls now, whose pictures I've posted before, but I'll tell a little bit more about them this time.

Meet Mitsuhara Tomie! She came along early, and isn't getting out of this. She's a theatre nerd, a playwright, and an actress whose drama club causes fun times for Seirin's basketball club too. Her life collided with our main characters' because her friend had a crush on Kagami and was using Tomie as a reluctant messenger. Pretty obviously, no romance bloomed between her friend and Kagami, but as a side effect, Tomie became friends with Kuroko. She's gay, she's very intense and kinda socially anxious, she has very distinct life philosophies, and she has described herself as "the ball of hair the Cheshire Cat pukes". She's short, pear-shaped, very flexible and loves her big glasses. At one point, Kuroko describes her style of discussing controversial topics in her plays to be as subtle as Kagami's Meteor Jam, to which Kagami says it must be really to the point, then.

The reason she came into existence was because I felt like it would be nice if Kuroko had a friend who gets stories on a deep level, a non-basketball friend for a change, and especially a female friend who isn't forcing herself on him from left and right. Pretty soon Tomie bloomed into a character I would not know how to tell this story without anymore.

Next we have Kirigaya Azumi who is a joint effort between me and my ex. She is Rakuzan's manager during our main characters' second year, so she isn't very frequently involved in my main story, as she's much more significant to my still in-progress and unpublished Akashi centric fic. Momoi describes Azumi from her notes as follows:

"Kirigaya Azumi, age 17, height 166 cm, used to play small forward in middle school. Also has a background in traditional and street dance, plays the piano and koto, and is apparently an unbeatable archer. She lives at her family shrine, and is supposed to be the successor, which explains some of her wide repertoire of skills. She believes things are interesting as long as you haven’t achieved your personal best. Old money from her father’s side, new money from her mother’s. Her brother is a professional basketball player in the US. She secretly dyes her hair with a hint of reddish purple, and gets away with it, because everyone believes it to be natural. She’s childhood friends with Mibuchi Reo. I assume that’s related to how she became the manager, although I haven’t got the details on that, and there’s a gap in my knowledge of her motives too. She’s not the usual manager type."

Basically, the idea behind Azumi's character was a big fuck you to people who call female characters Mary Sues for simply being on par with a male character. So, in this world of ridiculous guys we needed more ridiculous girls, and especially on the occasion that one might turn out to catch Akashi's interest in several ways, she would have to be in his league. We had seen so many takes on Akashi's OC girlfriend who was shy or poor or otherwise exactly the type of character to buy into the whole "school prince" narrative, which obviously isn't wrong, but we didn't want that. We wanted someone who could be an obvious power couple with him. We felt he needed someone who would not trigger him into feeling like he needs to control things and take care of everything. We didn't feel like Akashi actually fits into the trope of "soft girl makes cold boy open up" because Akashi isn't really like that. We felt he needed someone more traditionally strong and independent, someone who can make him relax. Azumi has her own issues of course, but she's chill, confident and in the "feline club" so other characters tend to perceive her as someone not to be messed with.

Sato Mika is Seirin's manager during the main characters' third year, when Riko is in university but has still decided to go on as Seirin's coach, and she can no longer deny the need of a couple of extra hands. Thankfully, Mika is also someone to match her brain and becomes practically an assistant coach. She has a photographic memory, which turns out to be particularly handy in helping people develop faster because she can always point out the smallest differences in people's forms and movements off the top of her head. She is one half of Sato twins and her brother also joins the team. They are also both Finnish-Japanese and have lived most of their lives in Finland because my brain needed some Finns. They are both third years who transferred to Seirin because of some problems in their old school.

Here's a bit from Mika introducing herself in Seirin's group chat and her brother being as ass. (This is Kagami's phone, and he's just calling them Sato1 and Sato2 at this point.)

Sato2

Okay, I can start. :)

So, I’m the new manager, though it seems we’re still kinda working on my job description. My unnecessarily long nickname as a kid was “picture encyclopaedia”, but I’d totally prefer to be conceptualized as a search engine because I’m SO much faster than some physical book. Okay, I’ll stop before Aki says I’m bragging. Anyway, I’m not totally clueless about basketball, because I grew up with him, obviously. Hmm. So, we came from the dark cold north, and I think the best thing about Japan so far is the rice. I really love rice and it's so much better here. What else? I like Marvel and Nightwish.

So, nice to meet you. Please, ask me anything, and my brain will come up with a selection of visuals related to that thing.

Sato1

I was still gonna say you’re bragging. But then again, who would lift the cat’s tail if not the cat itself.

Anyway, I’m her brother, so hi. :D But I’d totally prefer to be conceptualized as a crispy waffle with mango ice cream and a bit of maple syrup, but not too much, and with a slice of carambola on top.

Sato2

That was so unnecessary, and you know it.

Sato1

I apologize. I know the carambola slice was way too much.

Mika is very introspective, fun-loving and has some issues with a fear of commitment, but what better place to work on that, than Seirin, right?

I have more female OCs, but these three are the most significant ones so far, except for Kuroko's grandmother who is an OC for all intents and purposes, because she isn't actually a character in canon. I haven't drawn her because the task seems very daunting. She is too much to capture with my drawing skills and there are still, even after writing a million word fic, so many things even I don't know about her.

Here are a couple of characters' opinions of her.

Momoi:

She seems to embody something ancient for me. Like she’s an old, good witch of a sort. Someone who knows all the secrets of womanhood, because how else could she look like that? How else could she look so at ease with herself?

Kagami:

She smiles that all-knowing, all-powerful, “you puny human are lucky I’m nice” kind of smile at me, so what the hell am I supposed to say?

Basically...

Go love your female characters! (And show them to me if you want.)

[crayonurchin]

The fact that as a nearly 27 year old woman, I can tell the anxious and depressed teenagers I work with that not only does it get better, but THEY get better, is wonderful. It doesn't fix their issues, it just gives them a view of a future where things have improved.

As a nearly 27 year old woman who's going through her first 'real' heartbreak and breakup, still lives at home, is terrified to try dating or exploration of sexualities and being more open, does not have a full time job or the ability to move out without moving so far away I'd have to quiet my part time entertainment job, has no clue if she'll ever fall in love again or get married or adopt kids and is still struggling with PTSD from stuff that happened in school, work, life and my own untreated for years mental state... Yeah I want the 37 year old me to reach out and show that it'll all get better and I will get better.

But 37 year old me isn't here yet, nor is 27 year old me. 26 year old me, at least, is trying to make better changes.

Yes, I have lost someone I thought I'd marry. It's sad. I miss her. I miss us. I am so happy she's moved on to bigger and better things and I am so sad it didn't go the way I so badly wanted. But one day, I think I'll be with someone who I love and who loves me back, in that intimate way I loved her. We'll geek over special interests, crave each others company without NEEDING it, help each other to keep being our best selves and live our own lives whist living a life together. She will hold me close and I'll feel at home. And I'll look on this experience as a sad but, as something that at least showed me that I can feel love. And that love I did feel was amazing.

Yes I am not in a career and I'm afraid of GETTING that career and not liking it. But I'm also lucky that I like my current weekend entertain work a lot, and it's shown me WAY more skills that I didn't know I even had! I wrote a god damn book. I'm still looking for a publisher but holy shit I wrote an entire book. And I want to write more! I might have freelance coming up and in April I'll be recording my audio drama, which will help me apply to voice based things. YES, it's not a career yet, but I'm so much more qualified than I used to be!

Yes I still live at home. Because fucking hell I have had a ROUGH 20s. I was so mentally unstable for so long and had no idea. I was genuinely ready to kill myself several times. And that's hard to admit. I'm autistic and have ADHD! I need legit help with things others don't! I look high functioning because of my socialising abilities but I can't keep my space clean. I can't do paperwork. I can't remember to talk to people without alarm set reminders. My OCD still rules so much of my life, my PTSD age regressed me. I'm only just learning to experience anger and jealousy without beating myself up.

Yes. It's hard to believe anyone likes me. I feel so unlikable and boring and annoying. And I know that's almost certainly not true. I have friends. I have new friends. I have a... sort of crush, maybe. I have family that love me. I have people asking to hang out.

I worry all the time I'm a selfish and evil and cruel and fake person. I want to become a better person and work on my flaws, but also the level of bad I feel is probably because of my OCD.

17 year old me thought she was a murderer. Spoiler. I wasn't. I was mentally unwell and suffering with OCD that gave me intrusive thoughts.

I know some of my changes are good. I've started feeling that autistic euphoria from a special interest again. Today I drove home from a gig, and the sky kept producing the most 'shaped' clouds. My heart went glowy. I have missed feeling glowy.

One day 37 year old me will be very happy 26 going on 27 year old me tried her best.

[chiss-ticism]

you have a new tzim you say? 👀👀

Oh, yeah I do! She's an STC for a Gehenna / Cult campaign I'm throwing together for my players now that we're finished with our first go-round of Chicago By Night. Funnily enough, and I really need to get back to writing that family tree, her ghoul is one of Blondie's nieces. Here's the breakdown: :)

BASIC INFORMATION:

NAME: Fatima Rai

FEELS STRONGLY ABOUT (convictions): - Not harming innocent people. - The guilty should be made to suffer.

In life she would've had golden brown skin, but it's lost a bit of its luster in the years since. She has ebony black hair that's parted in the middle and swept over her shoulders. It stops just at her shoulders.

Tall and lanky, notably so. She stands at 6'2'' and has an unnerving stillness to her movements. Rarely blinks.

ALLEGED HISTORY & CURRENT ROLE AMIDST THE CULT:

While not particularly keen to share details of her Pre-Embrace life, Fatima Rai came to the compound five years prior to the start of the campaign (Chiss Note: that would be 1995) - offering her exceptional medical services in exchange for Asylum from a wider world she doesn't think herself properly equipped to be apart of. She, albeit hesitantly, willingly submitted herself to both the Blood Bond and the background checks without much in the way of complaint. In terms of prior Sect affiliation, she claims that both her and her Sire were Autarkis - content to live on the outside of any political squabbles that may've found their way into their domain so long as their property wasn't included in it. Or, well, her Sire was. To them, she was just another portion of their admittedly sizable horde - a tool to be used in their night-to-night practices. The irony of now bending the knee to another master is not lost on her, though as is the nature of the Blood Bond, she doesn't seem to mind all that much - so long as she and Becky are treated equitably. Using skills that she picked up as a carry-over from her time as a mortal, she tended to the other servants the best way she knew how to; patching them up when and where she could. Her skills with a scalpel also, notably, translated quite well into the time she spent indulging in the varied uses of Vicissitude and Fleshcrafting. As it currently stands, Fatima is seemingly loyal to the cause - even if she is a bit awkward in her stature and bedside manner. Many of the cult's other members were unnerved by her cold and mildly-off putting mannerisms, an adage that still holds true for new recruits, but over time they came to realize that she has her quirks just like everyone else and seemingly has their best interests at heart. Her Ghoul, 17-year-old Becky Masterson, is notably much more chipper than she is - handling the more human side of their joint medical operation. Fatima, notably, also prefers to speak using American Sign Language when she can help it, keeping Becky at her side always to act as a translator for anyone that needs it and so that she can make sure no harm comes to a single follicle on her Ghoul's head.

DISCIPLINES:

Blood Sorcery (from Bagger) A Taste For Blood - (By tasting a drop of blood, the user can discern certain basic traits of the one to whom it belongs.)

Protean Vicissitude - (Rare outside clan Tzimisce, this power allows the vampire to demand obedience of their own flesh. Skin, muscles, and even bone can be sculpted or warped out of shape, the end result sometimes unnervingly beautiful but just as often monstrous. Skilled users can craft bizarre characteristics or reshape their entire bodies, though larger transformations exact a heavy toll on their physique. Kindred who use Vicissitude create everything from useful body tools to... expressive... ornamentation) Fleshcrafting - (Extending their mastery over flesh, the vampire can inflict their ministrations on the bodies of others. The power is rightly feared, as many of its users have a reputation for inhuman torture, though some employ it to great effect to enhance and adapt their servants and allies.) Horrid Form (never witnessed by the cult's leaders, merely warned about after being Blood Bonded.) - ("With a mastery of the body so complete that it surpasses natural limitations, the vampire can take on a truly monstrous form, complete with vicious claws, protruding fangs, ridged features, and corded muscles. Although its exact traits can vary between occasions, the form often has an individual, specific appearance that manifests every time this power is used, a vision of the user's Beast made flesh. Some look like hellishly malformed animals, some look demonic or atavistic, and some defy any sense of worldly familiarity. Many incorporate the traits of other vampires in nature, such as leeches, bats, ticks, and mosquitoes, magnified to grotesque proportions.")

ADVANTAGES AND FLAWS

Linguistics: English, Hindi, American Sign Language.

She, for the most part, doesn't look as if she could hurt a fly. You know better. (Ingenue)

Retainer (Ghoul, Becky.)

Constantinople (The Trinity) ("Outside the Ashirra, vampire tradition refers to Istanbul as "Constantinople." You are one of the few who know why. Constantinople represented everything possible in a city where vampires shared idea and discussed philosophy without falling to carnage.")

-

Weak-willed (••) ("You struggle to assert your own personality when confronted with the will of another. You may not necessarily be submissive; perhaps you feel more confident when following another person's lead.")

Enemy (••) (From Bagger) ("...Tight nit group of Weak Mortals... Kids who solve mysteries...")

Transparent (•) ("For whatever reason, you aren't a good liar, and it shows.")

ATTRIBUTES AND SKILLS

Intelligence (••••)

Strength (•••)

Stamina (•••)

Resolve (•••)

-

Medicine (••••)

(S: First Aid) Academics (•••)

(S: Historical applications of medicine)

Science (•••) (S: Genetics)

[sunbloomdew]

do you have any tips how to doodle? i want to have some drawings around my writing but i have a hard time making it look effortless. love your art btw!

thank you for the compliment anon! as flattered as i am to be asked for drawing advice, i absolutely don't feel i have enough knowledge or skill to give it. still, since you asked i'll do my best to give you an answer! ( ◡̀_◡́)ᕤ

just to be clear, i am a self-taught hobbyist ⁽ᶠᵒʳ ⁿᵒʷ⁾. this isn't going to be a definitive 'how to draw' post! do not take this advice at face value if you are trying to learn how to draw professionally, because well, that wasn't the question and that's not what this post is about. it's just your rando tumblr artist giving silly advice on how to draw silly doodles :3

so here are my tips and tricks on how to doodle:

1. firstly? relax. you're doodling for fun and for yourself! it doesn't have to be perfect (as cliché as this sounds). your works are important because you created them.

i find that a lot of the time i don't even start drawing because i don't think i can pull it off the way i imagined in my head. don't fall for this, it's your inner goblins trying to deceive you. you will never get to a point where it looks like you want it to if you don't try at all!

draw even if you think it looks like shit. don't be overly critical of yourself but also don't give up. it's okay to change something if you feel it looks weird or just cause. but also step away from a drawing from time to time, so you can see it with a clear mind - maybe you will catch some mistakes or maybe you'll realize that it looks better than you thought it did!

2. doodle all. the. time.

the more you do it the more natural it will feel. silly expressions, random objects, your ocs, anything.

you said you want to have drawings to go with your writing, so i suggest trying to draw whatever moment you wrote! i'm gonna use our life as an example, since that's the fandom i draw for at the moment. when i play the game and i like a line or a certain moment i quickly draw it on a sticky note. even if the doodles look bad i still feel good looking at them, because i drew a moment i enjoyed and i managed to show the emotions i wanted in the doodle.

3. use references. like a lot of them.

from my experience, i usually have an idea on what i want to draw - what pose or expression i have in mind. first i sketch it out on my own and then i look up references. sometimes for an entire doodle and sometimes for a specific part, like an arm placement.

if you don't have a clear idea of what you want to doodle, but you know the moment in your writing you want to draw, let's say two characters dancing, look up photos of people dancing and look at art that other people drew to seek inspiration.

references are really helpful but they can also feel constraining, as if they are limiting what you can draw. to that i say if don't use only one reference! the pose can come from one picture, an expression from another, body type a different one and so on. personally i have an entire board on pinterest dedicated to photos and drawing advice i find useful. when i can't find a specific thing i usually take pictures of myself and use that.

this is a really nice deviantart post about using references! you can also find it here on pinterest, where i found it.

4. simplify your refs!

when you have a reference it still may be hard to draw with it. i used to do the thing where you start drawing with a ref by focusing on one part and drawing it in an extremely detailed way and then moving on to another. needless to say it did not look good at all - the proportions were off and it looked stiff and unnatural.

what helps a lot is simplifying your references and your drawings in general. here's what i mean by that:

imagine references not as a whole but as a bunch of shapes. you can draw over the reference directly to get a better feeling of what shapes make sense.

5. what i learned from my book about drawing is that your hand movements shouldn't come from the wrist, but rather from the arm. most of the time using only wrists is good for details. it may feel a bit awkward and clunky to implement the entire arm into drawing at first, but it helps a lot with how your lines look!

6. and last but not least, we are talking about doodles! not detailed, complicated art pieces.

it's okay if they are messy or imperfect in any way.

so tldr; doodle because you like to, draw a lot and everything, use references and simplify them, use the entire arm while drawing, and don't worry about them not looking like a museum art piece!

i think in the end what is most important is that you draw because you like to. progress will come with time.

sooo there you have it! i took some time with replying to this ask because i wanted the advice to be good,, i hope it helped you in some way anon! ৻( •̀ ᗜ •́ ৻)

[dark-nat-ones-blessing]

22, 31, 34, 41 and 61 for the ttrpg character asks! I want to know everything about julian :D

Well, buckle in! EVERYTHING ABOUT JULIAN, coming right up!

(still taking asks for my botany boy, pepper, and nuth!)

22. how would they decorate their living space, if they had a chance?

Julian is truly a case of The Autistic Urge To Be Organised fighting with the ADHD Urge To Accumulate *Stuff* - I've always imagined his chamber back at Silversage to have that kind of...Pleasantly Cluttered look about it.

Of course he's got quite a lot of books - he can never decide on the organisational system he wants to use for them, but does group shelves by subject matter (folklore/faerietales/fiction vs encyclopaedias/nonfiction vs academic/magical) and has a whole array of potted plants, it's hard to find a surface that doesn't have at least one. In terms of preferred colours for upholstery, Julian gravitates to rich mahogany browns, dark leather, cream, gold/yellow/bronze tones, and of course warm greens as an accent.

I'm sort of imagining gold-on-mauve for the wallpaper, though. Something like this?

The big bay window has hanging baskets in with trailing plants, and has those curtain-pulls with the fancy tassels. And a writing-desk is of course a must, ever an 'organised chaos' of loose parchments kept together with clips and whimsical paperweights in the shape of Very Round versions of magical beasts.

I imagine his dormitory at the Nugins Arcane Academy has similar aspects about it, but I'm not sure what novice quarters are like and whether they're shared spaces, so I'd need to chat to the DM about that because how it'd look would depend heavily on if it was shared or solo. (The potted plants are there, though. Where Julian goes, foliage follows.)

The rest under a cut because, as always: This Gets Long.

31. do they respond well to praise? how about criticism?

Julian is a golden retriever of a man, insofar as he is a people-pleaser who loves to hear he's done well. However, he tends to deflect praise a little, he gets bashful. Like, you can tell he's happy, because he's smiling ear to ear, but he's also insisting it was the least he could do, really and (if he was not alone in doing the thing he was praised for) redirecting the spotlight eagerly to someone else who truly does deserve to be commended, I mean, they did an absolutely splendid job.

As for criticism, this varies strongly by who delivers it and what it's about. By default he accepts criticism gracefully, usually apologetically - and then ruminates on it for far too long after the fact, analysing his error and chastising himself for his thoughtlessness. If he truly feels the criticism was unearned, he usually stammers out some attempt at correction, but his protests tend to be quite timid.

Criticism from someone Julian actively does not like brings out his snippy side, though! There's usually a pause, a sigh as he tries to contain his patience, then (in tones either Carefully Measured or in Exasperated Retort) something starting with an emphatic, "Listen-" or, "Well. I'll have you know that-".

The old party Fighter was frequently derisive of Julian's verbosity, inefficiency, lack of ambition, and general lack of the skills he personally associated with the word 'wizard' - say, the ability to cast Mage Hand. This ruffled Julian's feathers terribly and really got under his skin, and I don't think he's so far ever spoken to anyone else quite as sharply as he did when Himo suggested he was short-sighted for not having an interest in farming Maximilian.

“Well, before I could even do such a thing, Himo, firstly I would have to discern how to replicate him. And after that, divine what can be learned from him about magibotanical beings as a whole. You’re being so…” he sighs, exasperated, “just so simplistic.”

41. how do you keep notes for this character, if at all?

I don't have in-character notes specifically for Julian (which is shocking, I know) but I do record our sessions and also have a veritable fucking tome of a campaign chronicle that functions as Julian notes, I suppose! It just also happens to function as a complete narrative recap of everything that's happened. (I keep considering sharing it in instalments on here but it really is So Fucking Long that I doubt anyone would want to read it!)

Our DM got me - well, got Julian a gorgeous personalised leatherbound book for my birthday a few years back. I have often considered using it for jotting down IC notes-to-self, his observations of Maximilian's growth, etc, but I've had terrible New Book Paralysis about it. Here's what it looks like, though. :3

61. is there an in-game moment of theirs you think about and just laugh?

Oh, it's got to be the ridiculous Kolton's Dagger Accidental Innuendo Spiral, I think. Let me explain. It's a long one but it has me grinning whenever I remember it.

Okay, so, as we know, Julian is very easily embarrassed, and once thrown off-kilter in an interaction he struggles terribly to recover his footing.

(As a small example of this: Our Fighter insisted on calling the elven Mayor of Hare Ear Fjord "Cadence" instead of his name (Caidith). To Julian's mortification he then did the same, completely unintentionally. Then, panicking, fumbled his hasty correction into "Caileth" (which would be like someone calling him "Juliet"), and then, by now visibly pink in the face, finally arrived at Caidith's name. This happened twice. (The second time he was quicker to catch himself, so it was more of a "Caden- Cail- *gathers his breath* Caidith. So sorry. Terribly sorry.")

SO WITH THAT FOR CONTEXT.)

So, our newest party member, Kolton, had a dagger that seemed very familiar to the rest of us but none of us could put our finger on why. (Every single INT check was garbage, but it previously belonged to the aforementioned Fighter.) Heather went to ask Julian about it, to see if he had any insight, and when he didn't Julian pondered if Kolton might permit him to Identify it if he asked.

To this, Heather waggles her eyebrows and goes, "Y'gonna ask t' see Kolton's dagger, are you? Steady on, Julian! You've only known him a few hours!" and from here everything spiraled out of control.

So Julian, pink to the tips of his ears, bats her arm with the back of his hand, and to spare his embarrassment declares that on that note he's going to go and check on Maximilian, and Heather - who has seen her chance for mischief because it's way too easy - calls after him, "That what y'call it these days?" She then decides to summon Kolton on his behalf by hollering, at the top of her voice, "EY KOLTON, JULIAN WANTS T'SEE YER DAGGER ;)"

Naturally, this does not set Julian up well. Kolton, to his credit, graciously does not acknowledge any double entendre on Heather's part. A true gentleman. However Julian has been pre-flustered and has succumbed entirely to his chronic case of Foot In Mouth Disease. On receipt of the dagger, he chirps (far too chirpily) that he'll be 'in his corner' and will 'be back in ten minutes' - at this, Heather guffaws.

Ten minutes later he comes back none the wiser to the dagger's origins but educated on its enchantment - it's a Dagger of Returning! :D And perhaps Julian might have recovered at this point, but no. As he explains to Kolton, he decides to explain the attuning process thus:

"You'll have to spend a little time with it first - things like this require you to, ah, 'get to know' the weapon in question."

(And Heather, in her hammock across the way, audibly snorts. He colours.)

"I am so sorry, my phrasing is just atrocious today. That's the long and the short of it, anyway- HEATHER." (At this point she is fully shuddering with a full on fit of the giggles.) "It's a very nice dagger that you have here, that's all I'm trying to say!"

Now, technically that's the end of the Kolton's Dagger Spiral, but it immediately flows into the other Heather-Julian interaction that has me hooting whenever I relisten to it:

At this point Julian flees the conversation abruptly and tries to decompress/compose himself by noodling with his Sending spell. Tucked away in his corner of the crew quarters, Julian finally cracks the code on the last few theorems of it all, and, now that he can, gives his sister a call to finally let her know that he's okay and not to worry. Olivia is aghast to hear he's in a whole other country - CORRAN?! Mother and Father have been putting up missing posters, Julian! They're going to be furious.

Being timeblind as hell and also unconsciously procrastinating on going home (because that would mean ultimately returning to the Academy halls), Julian had not really processed that to his family, he had....simply not come back from his most recent expedition, and was now over a week late. So that hits him, and he immediately flies to Heather's side, grabs her arm, and whispers, with grave urgency,

"Heather, I am in so much trouble."

What Heather has witnessed, for her part, is her good pal Julian get real fuckin' flustered around that big lad with the sword and the shaved sides, then run off to his corner, huddle there muttering to himself awhile, and then run back to her in a flap. Her passive insight makes it clear to her that he's genuinely stressed now, he's not just being a big blushing goofball. This requires seriousness.

"It's o-kay, Julian," she says, slowly like she's settling a spooked animal, clapping a big hand on his shoulder and giving it a reassuring rub. "Yer okay."

"It's not!" he cries, "My parents are going to be furious!"

There's a beat. Heather's eyebrows raise in surprise. "Do they not know?" Said eyebrows descend into a thoughtful frown, she tilts her head. "Have y'not....like, told them?"

-

And the whole table fell apart laughing as Julian scrambled to clarify, and I'm smiling writing it up again even now. What a fucking dork. And what a joy Heather is in every scene.

I think the thing that has me full of the giggles over this exchange specifically is that like....you know when you get to take your hands off the steering wheel of a character and they just do it themselves? This was one of those - he dug this stupid hole himself and I just stood by and watched him do it. He's absolutely useless (affectionate) and it makes me laugh.

[onlycosmere]

Boatload of Mummies

Cheyenne Sedai: I'm really curious about Boatload of Mummies because Brandon did mention on his updates that you'd worked on it for NaNoWriMo for the past couple of years which is really cool. And the title is incredible.

I don't know if that's gonna be the final title, but that's what it's always been referred to. How have you been doing with that?

Isaac Stewart:

Thanks for asking us. It's a project that I love. So I finished it. Finished a draft in September of last year. It's rough. It's a really rough draft. There's a lot of things that I'm still working through. I'm trying to narrow down the shape of the plot in a way because there's a little bit of--it wasn't inspired necessarily by these things, but it was after the fact that I realized, "Oh, it's part this, part that."

It's sort of begins King Kong, if you imagined getting people on a boat. And then it continues as Death on the Nile. Then you get to a portion on an island. And then it ends The Mummy. And throw in a healthy dose of Venom. So it's like, "Okay, am I doing too much here?" And that's kind of where I'm at. You know, is this even a thing? Have I thrown too much in? Is this too much of a storyline? And i don't think it is.

It really is in the end kind of a Raiders of the Lost Arc sort of story. You could pull out those some of those same elements and say, "Raiders of the Lost Arc starts out King Kong." But the basic plot line is there. There's going to be scenes in the current draft that are basically finished. I don't think they're going to change too much from the version that it is right now to the end.

Will it be called Boatload of Mummies? Probably not. I can't see that as a title of a Cosmere book, right? But we can affectionately call it Boatload of Mummies as long as we want. The working title is Book of Nails. And whether there's a series title or not, we'll have to figure that out if it's a story that people want to continue learning about.

But let me tell you Nicki Savage is so much fun to write. Don't expect exactly what you get from the broadsheets because she is writing to a particular audience, and has learned some skills from Allomancer Jack--though I do think Allomancer Jack's stories might be closer to the truth than Nicki's are.

You will see parallels between this story and some of the elements that are in the broadsheets.

But she's basically: if you can imagine a Mary Poppins. who is incredibly interested in the supernatural, and is not afraid to beat up people.

That's basically your character right there. And she's just, she's a load of fun. A boatload of fun.

Cheyenne Sedai: I imagine from what you've said that you still wouldn't be ready to give us what could eventually function as a back of the book blurb?

Isaac Stewart: During the first NaNoWriMo that I worked on it we had to come up with our elevator pitch on that, and I wrote the Readers Digest, TV Guide version of it, and it was "A woman with a strange, magical power journeys to an island to find a mythical book that might raise the dead." Something like that.

This particular book is interesting because... How do I pitch this when it's a spin off of a different series. It's a spin-off from Mistborn, technically. But it's not a Mistborn book. You can't pitch that to somebody who doesn't know Mistborn.

And that's been some of the fun in trying to figure this out is "How do I tell a different story here, but then have to reintroduce how Allomancy works? But now in this era, we know about Allomancy, we know about Feruchemy, we know about Hemalurgy. We have crossovers from other worlds. How do you write this book without confusing somebody entirely without... "There's like 50 magic systems in here, and I don't understand."

And that then goes into the pitch. How do you pitch this book?

People who know the Cosmere, you just say it's set on Scadrial, but it's not really a Misborn book. It's just hard to encapsulate and someday I'll figure it out.

[apatchedupdoll]

Heeeeeyyyyy! So if you don't know, I write a lot. If I come up with a little blip then I write it down and try to incorporate it into the story. I have a long list of things that slowly get integrated all nicely color coded.

But some things just don't make it.

This was the original fight for Oh, Where Have You Been Brother? Chapter 6 when introducing Metal Head. Buuuut I didn't like it enough to put it in. So I made a bit of a different fight. There are a lot of similarities but still a lot of differences.

But anyways the reason I'm posting it is because I can't really find any reason to keep it, and I hate completely deleting thoughts so I thought Tumblr could eat it. It's beneath the cut.

So enjoy (:

Chapter 6 fight Goose vs. Metal Head Cut

The announcer was loud and boastful as their voice came through the speakers, “What a wonderful show! But oh! We have something special for you all tonight! Our champion seeker running straight for the top is ready to honk! Please welcome The Garganornis!” Out from one side of the arena came the warrior seeking chaos and becoming champion of the battle nexus. Decked out in golds and reds with a sword lifted into the air that made the crowd boom.

“Scoff.” Donnie couldn’t help but feel this attention undeserved. If they couldn’t get past his bot, then they deserved nothing. His technical skill versus the creatures that came to challenge him.

“And in the other corner! A beast back from the dead! You love it! You missed it! The wall that only the best of the best can cross! Metal Head!” Right on que the beast of metal pushed into the view of the crowd and greeted with an even louder boom. Donnie’s beak flicked up with pride. The crowd was right to enjoy his creation.

The metal monster let out a roar to coax the crowd to get louder. It was much like a turtle, it was a turtle. After meeting his brothers he took some liberties. Originally it was much more boxy, but now it had a shell adorned with spikes. It was also patterned much like a box turtle, purple of course although some places interrupted the patterns with the new panels. Its head shaped much like his red brother’s species and of course he was excited for the abilities shared by Mikey.

Another roar came from Metal Head before dropping onto all fours and charging for The Garganornis. The warrior dodged easily out of the way sliding to the side, but that was the first mistake. Metal head’s tail swung and nailed the warrior right in the side and threw them into the arena wall. The boys cheered with excitement as an indent was left. The long spiked tail flowed black and forth as the goose yokai was already struggling as they got up from the imprinted wall. Without that armor they would surely have done it. Metal Head turned to attack again, much more artful this time and the fight was truely beginning.

Garganornis wasn’t untalented, there was a reason they were challenging the metal beast. Their sword glowed with an intense energy before counter charging and diving beneath Metal Head’s fist. They rolled and used the momentum to slash at the monster’s leg. A loud screech as the sword struggled to get through the beast’s armor. At most it left a dent. The tail was incoming again and Gargonornis was aware enough to dodge this time. The sword started to glow again and much brighter as the warrior pointed it at the metal monster. Metal Head turned and charged once again, moving in much of a zig zag while the warrior stood there ground with their sword growing brighter. Donnie tensed. His technical skills were built to outlast any stamina, so this attack wasn’t unexpected. The Garganornis was known to have attacks that could kill their opponents in one shot and it seemed Garganornis knew they needed to end this battle quickly. Else they be defeated by exhaustion alone.

Metal Head went to swing its fist and right on que the blast from the mystic sword went off, going straight for the counter. The metal turtle’s fist pushed back and tilted until it landed on its back.

“What! No!” Mikey shouted before whining. Raph couldn’t help but snicker, no doubt reminiscing on how he defeated Metal Head in a similar fashion. Donnie could only smirk.

Metal Head struggled to right itself, the shell doing nothing to favor the situation. There would probably have to be some spikes fixed. Garganornis took a running start and jumped above the metal monster, readying their sword to strike the beast down right in the head. One rule his mother had him follow was killing shots on a normal creature is a must on Metal Head. Just to keep things fair, fine he was happy to work around that. As Garganornis made contact there would be a sickening clang. The sword hit metal, but the plastron had covered up the once exposed head. In fact all the limbs aside from the tail were now hidden. Thank you Mikey. The yokai seemed taken aback and stepped back while checking their surroundings before preparing an assault from the tail. Then the turtle began to spin. Donnie cringed when seeing spikes break off as it spun faster and began moving around the arena with speed the warrior struggled to deal with. They’d gotten thrown off the spinning top and while it was blind, there were many uncomfortable close calls that could have claimed the warrior’s life. Mikey and Raph let out cheers while Donnie basked in his deserved glory. What could possibly be better than this?