#the amount of notes I made the rewrites the editing

[jamiesfootball]

I have loved all the comments I’ve gotten on my post season three fic (like you don’t even know how much I have reread all of those bad boys they give me oxygen), but by far one of the most gratifying ones I’ve gotten has been:

“you made that last episode seem so much more reasonable”

THAT WAS THE GOAL

[thyme-in-a-bubble]

I’m not the writing tips anon, but loved your tips!!! Any more detailed tips for outlining and editing? Generally I get stuck into both of this and can’t seem to know how to do it in a effective way. Have a good june and a nice day! :)

other then the few relevant ones from my previous ask, here are some that came to mind:

outlining:

firstly you'll need to brainstorm a bit, come up with the story. maybe you've scribbled down some notes over a period of time that you can now sit down and gather, perhaps fill in the holes and find strings to connect it all together. or maybe it is a true brainstorm and you haven't decided on any of the puzzles corner pieces yet.

my personal routine for when I need to figure out a story is to sit down at a time when things are calm and I can properly think, often it is by a window (there's just something about looking up at the clouds that gets my wheels turning), some days I put on some music (I prefer instrumental for this, often with the vibe I'm trying to capture in with the story) and then I kinda just meditate on it and write down any ideas that might strike me.

or if I feel stuck there and the ideas just won't come, then I go do something completely different. the lightbulb often gets turned on whenever I go take a shower or do the dishes or even go for a walk through a quiet place. or even the classic of watching a movie or tv show can grant me plenty of inspiration when I'm in lack of it. prompt lists can also be a great help (one of the reasons I have a whole side blog dedicated just to keeping them organised: @prompt-heaven)

and then when my list of messy notes is long enough, I put them in order and fill out the holes to make the story flow naturally from one moment to the next. I just play it all out in my head till it feels right.

depending on how long or complicated the story is, the process or outlining it can take various amounts of time. some stories come like a bolt of lightning while others you need to dig for. but I find it to be easiest when my mind and body is in a place where there is place for such a thing, when I'm not too stressed or tired or anything, those are the moments when I get stuck, and then I just have to take a step back and declare that that won't be the activity of the day and instead focus my energy on doing something that'll make me feel better so that I'll sooner get to a point where the ideas will come flooding in.

editing:

my biggest advice for this, I wrote in the previous ask (to never edit when tired and to always edit while reading out loud)

if gramma is something you struggle with, then I highly advise getting the free version of grammarly or other similar programs.

and if a part of your story isn't sitting well when you're editing it, then you can always rewrite it. you can make it something completely different or even just try to write the same premise though only rewrite it from your memory.

and try not to be too critical of yourself. sometimes, some stories, aren't ment to be made "perfect" but simply to be completed. for it to be done is enough.

[crescencestudio]

Devlog #29 | 03.27.23

Hi everyone!

April is almost here, which terrifies me since the year is going by so fast. Before I get into game updates, I wanted to share a bit of a (somewhat) personal one.

This month, progress on Alaris was overall a bit slow---or at least, slower than usual. I noticed this month I was struggling a lot with working on basically anything, whether it was for school, work, Alaris, or just taking care of myself. And I realized basically a year late that I was feeling extremely burnt out.

For those who have been following Alaris for a long time, you may know that early 2022, I was struggling with a lot of personal circumstances. I had taken a week off back then to "take time for myself," but in actuality, I had continued working on Alaris and other things because sometimes when I have too much time on my hands, it's worse for my mental health. This was a recurring theme for basically all of 2022. Even during the holiday breaks (e.g., summer, November, December, etc.), I continued working on Alaris, partly because I love the project, partly because it helps me cope with irl things.

This past month, I think the break that I've desperately needed since the start of 2022 made itself Very Apparent and made progress slow on my end. I'm very sorry if the update this month is disappointing because of that! I tried to take a break this past week and am feeling a bit better now, so hopefully, things start to get back on track this upcoming month <3 With that, I'll get into actual updates!

Writing

I'm not going to lie to you all; writing was Slow this month LOL. Basically, the entire writing team got taken out by some sickness or another. I would say for 2-3 weeks of the month, there was no progress on editing or writing at all since everyone was sick at the same time <\3 We are starting to pick things back up, but please send your best wishes to the writing team since they were Going Through It this month!! Also, if you got sick this month and got whatever has been going around globally, I hope you are feeling better as well <333

I did update a good amount of the demo script---just rewriting things since my writing style has changed a little. Small things, but hopefully enjoyable changes nonetheless!

Art

As always, we have continued to make progress on BG art. This month, Vui finished the River BG and the Forest BG, both of which appear in Chapter 2 of the demo. We actually only have one more BG to finish, which is the Flower Field, and all the BGs for the demo will be complete (ahh!!!). It's been about 5 (?) months in the making to revamp all the BGs for the demo, but we are finally reaching the finish line, and everything is slowly getting ready for a revamped demo release ^^

preview of the forest BG

I also have a preview of the GUI for you all! There will be some small changes, like colors, before the final version. But a little crumb to feed you all since I didn't make much progress this month

I also mentioned in the last devlog how I might update the personality icons for Alaris, which were completed this month by the same item artist who did the affection point icons!

The overall vision for this was little potions to build on the "magical" setting of Alaris. I think they're much easier to differentiate and so cute <3

My focus was more on demo art assets for this month, so I finished up the individual CGs for each of the LI's introductions.

soft and fluffy updated Etza CG

I also started updating the sprites a bit---mostly small touches so the art looks a bit more cohesive since my style has changed a bit since the demo first came out. Aisa and Kuna'a are receiving outfit changes so that their clothing stands out from Central gang and looks more cohesive with the aesthetic that will be used for Fae.

Additional Notes

Something else I got to work on this month was finally reviewing the demo voiced lines in full. I hope you all are EXCITED to listen to them in the updated demo! A lot of the lines had me giggling (heehee!). I can't wait to see everything together once it's coded into the game ^^

I also opened applications for playtesters. They close at the end of this month, aka in a couple of days. So if you are interested, please don't forget to submit an application! Thank you already to everyone who has submitted something. The response was more than I expected, so as always, I appreciate the support you all provide wah <3

Market Research

Lastly, I actually got to do some "market research" this month (yay!). I finished up Piofiore finally.

the man, the legend: gilbert redford

Touchstarved also came out. I unfortunately haven't been able to play the demo yet since I was traveling when it was released, but I already know I'll love it and I drew Kuras even though I haven't even played the game yet LMAO

gender envy

Anyways, I think that's enough from me, so that is all for this month's update! Stay safe, and see you all next month <3

[timeforaciggy]

Jerma x reader request

Reader and jerma go to the record store together and he is too embarrassed to buy his favorite gorillas record infront of reader

Feel free to change it up to make it more cutsy if needed

💿📀💿

A/N:

okay. so first jerma fic. not a great writer to begin with, but I had some (a lot) absolut vodka and just started hitting my keyboard with ideas and made this.

Anon, thank you for requesting this and also please let me know if you end up liking this or not. Your feedback is really helpful and appreciated. Never wrote about him before and want to make sure I’m doing this idea and him justice. (be as honest as you can, I promise my feelings won’t be hurt. As you can MAYBE TELL, I’m a new(er) viewer and don’t want to fuck it up, and if I did, I’d be happy to rewrite it)

Also I’m sorry it’s long, I hope that’s okay!

-abs

!Songs to listen to while reading (and were played while writing)! :

The Blonde - TV Girl ((highly recommend, background vibe created by this song))

On Melancholy Hill - Gorillaz

It was your idea to go to a local record store after you were surprised by a beyond thoughtful Christmas gift from him earlier that holiday. He’d gotten you a new record player- not only new but a good one.

Your heart melted when you opened the wrapping paper to see that he’d gone so out of his way to get you something special and significant to you. You had an extensive collection of records from your favorite bands, even limited editions and pressings with incredible designs and colors. He thought it was so precious that you would show them to him. He’d sit there listening to you and looking at each one with a smile on his face. Whenever he’d stop in your office and both of you would fall into a rabbit hole of music, he’d always had remembered that when you would take them out, you wished you could play them, but you never did- you were too worried your old record player would scratch them and ruin them.

The mental note he took from that months ago leading up to the gift was so thoughtful. He hadn’t asked you about it or hinted at anything regarding it. He wanted it to be a good surprise. And it most definitely was. He spent a lengthy amount of time looking into ‘what the best record player was’, and especially the most reliable one, not wanting your records to get ruined. Just wanting you to finally be able to play them without worry; finally being able to just simply enjoy the music you loved so much.

After your excitement opening his gift and him setting it up with a good speaker, (and telling you “babe, let me do it I’m an expert, I promise.” sarcastically.) You’d started playing them all.

Over the days and months that would pass, he loved hearing your music echo throughout the house. No matter what he was doing, even while just on his computer and catching up on work, any small inconvenience would disappear as he listened to the sound of your favorite songs start playing. It made him smile ear to ear. Every single time.

And although he wasn’t much into music himself,

he was very much into yours.

After a while you’d asked while out on a random excursion in Vegas if you could stop by a record store and pick up some new stylus’ for the record player. He was more than happy to go with you and also explore the store with you as you both looked around. The amount of records was overwhelming to him as he browsed, so he went looking for what he really only knew well. Meanwhile, you went up to the store owner and asked for the specific part you were looking for.

After finding the replacement needed, you turn to see him flicking through the records absentmindedly. That was until he made it to the ‘G’ section and after moving a couple records you can see his hand stop. Pulling his other hand out of his pocket to reach out to pull the record out of the box.

You can see he’s holding a Gorrilaz album and you watch as he looks at it, flipping it over and reading the tracklist. His face in practical awe of his favorite albums of all time.

“Hey, whatchya find?” You ask him curiously

“Oh it’s- they have a Gorillaz album or two” he turns and replies but almost immediately stopping himself from trying to sound too excited.

“Did you, uh find the stylus?” He asks changing the subject.

“Yeah, I did I bought a couple replacements just in case.” You say smiling

“Awesome, where to next?” He asks smiling at you

“Well hold on. What about the Gorillaz album? Don’t you want it?” Asking him sincerely

“Oh uh- nah” he says casually. “Just checking out the artwork.” He adds while looking away.

His face is burning. And he’s praying you don’t notice.

But of course you do. You just don’t let him know it.

You don’t completely understand his reluctance to share something like an album with you. But knowing he isn’t that into music- you chalk it up to being maybe something he just didn’t want to open up to you about yet. It is sort of the ‘one thing’ he doesn’t have in common with you: that being an extensive love for music.

You choose not to push it… But keep a mental note of it. It’s honestly just so cute to you. The thought of him being too embarrassed to admit he wanted the album? You can’t. It didn’t need to make sense for it to absolutely melt your heart. Something you seem to find he makes new ways of doing every second you’re with him.

As the both of you leave to head out of the store, him being a gentleman, wordlessly shows an open palm to you, gesturing towards the bag you’re holding and motions a ‘gimme gimme’ to you with a sweet little smirk. You hand it over to him with a laugh, looking up at him with a big smile and a “thank you”.

As you continue walking, his other arm follows around the back of your waist and pulls you into him as he presses his lips onto your head.

“You’re welcome, love.”

———————————————————————————

Days went by as he’d stay clueless to during that day you’d have a surprise in store for him that upcoming Valentine’s Day. You had bought him the albums while checking out of the store, asking the store owner to charge you for them then and to put them aside for you to come and pick up the following day. The owner was more than happy to do just that.

That Valentine’s Day you’d surprised him with some red wine and both took a moment to laugh realizing he did the same thing. You both gave each other a glass of the wine from the bottle you’d bought for one another and gave a sounding clink and a ‘cheers’ to each other. You had made his favorite pasta for dinner that night for the two of you. You lit some candles on the coffee table, enjoyed your pasta together, and cuddled up with him watching a movie. Both of you loving a chill romantic evening together on the couch, just watching a movie and enjoying being in one another’s arms.

As the movie finished, you decide to play blackjack together. Watching his fingers shuffle the cards you couldn’t not stop smiling at him biting his lip like he always did while he’s focusing. Resting your face against your hand you told him that you’d ‘be right back’, and ‘that this deserved some good music.’ He smiled and chuckled at you as you got up to go upstairs to your record player. He agreed and went to fill up your wine glasses.

As he’s pouring the wine he asks you ‘what’s on the track list tonight, dj?’ You had to throw your hand over your mouth to stop from laughing, trying so hard to sound serious when you replied: “Well, I was gonna play some TV Girl, but shit! I think the record player’s broken- can you help me, babe?”

As he quickly thumped up the stairs he was mentally devastated by the idea that your new record player had broken- unbeknownst to him however, you quickly put the Plastic Beach record onto the turntable, turned the player on and waited till the perfect moment for him to come in the room.

You were holding the needle ready to place it onto the already spinning record as he turned the corner into your office with two wine glasses in his hands and a concerned yet sad look on his face.

Dropping the needle onto the right track (thank god, tipsy enough that you hoped it wouldn’t land on a different track, although funny, you wanted it to be a good surprise), the record player began playing ‘On Melancholy Hill’.

He stopped dead in his tracks and looked at you, then around the room. Looking at the candles you had lit, his brain finally realizing what you had been up to and what he was hearing.

He couldn’t help the smile and giggle he let out.

“Really?” He asked stuck in a hilarious disbelief you went through to this sweet extent to surprise him.

“Yeah, really” you chimed back to him while chuckling.

You walked up to him and gently took the glasses out of his hands while taking a sip out of one and then placing them on your desk.

Still stuck in surprise, his eyes following you and then down to your hand that was now reached out towards him. He chuckled at you as you motioned the same ‘gimme gimme’ to him with your hand.

He slowly walked over to you reaching for your hand and paused. Looking at you as sincerely as you’ve ever seen him do. He rubs his thumb slowly across your knuckles pressing his lips to them softly. Gently pulling the same hand to move you close to him while placing it onto his shoulder in a smooth motion. Winding another arm around your waist to hold you and begin to sway you slowly, not even to the beat of the song, but to the rhythm of his absolute joy in the moment. A beat you more than happily moved to along with him as your head rests against his chest.

The two of you slow dance in each other’s arms in the dimly lit room.

The only pause was Jeremy. Stopping to look you in the eyes, dead serious, to ask: “There’s nothing actually wrong with your record player though, right?”

You can’t stop laughing at his clueless but sweet question, struggling to answer “No, there was nothing wrong with it to begin with.”

But he gets the jist as he starts laughing himself.

He continues moving with you through the laughter to dip you to your surprise, taking the moment to laugh at your surprise. Then as he brings you back up, he places a soft hand under your chin tilting your head up and slowly leaning in to kiss you softly.

Maybe it was the wine, maybe it was being suddenly tipped over, but it was the sweetest, most butterfly-in-the stomach kiss you’d ever shared and it made your head swim in the best way possible.

As the night ended, you both went to bed late, you both had been too busy having fun listening to the albums you’d surprised him with, and the time spent together to care. Now in bed you both cuddled up together and before you fell asleep he pulled you closer to his chest, as he thanked you for the surprise all you could do was look up at him and tell him the same. Engulfed in his arms he rested his head on top of yours.

“I love you, y/n” he hummed into your hair

“I love you too, j” you replied wholeheartedly

Last thing you remember is him carefully adjusting himself to place a kiss on your forehead and then your lips before sighing contently and falling asleep together in his arms.

[metalmonki]

Supernatural, Hunting, Living and Love (Revisited)

Dean Winchester x fem!reader

3k word count

summary While exploring a haunted house your friend told you about, you have a chance encounter with a pair of brothers who give you a crash introduction to their world.

fluff, idiots in love, friends to lovers

warnings mention of grave desecration (this is illegal don't do it!)

Note So I remembered my Mibba log-in and found this embarrassment of a story along with a long list of other equally embarrassing stories. I decided to challenge myself to edit and rewrite the stories and post them here. I will also include a link to the original story so you can read it in all it's cringy glory. This was a story from 2009 that I wrote with 2 friends of mine that we never completed. Once I have decringed the story I will finish it here. Enjoy I guess.

Original / Next Chapter

For some dumb reason, I had decided it would be fun to check out the creepy abandoned house down the road from my friend Linsey's house. At the time, it had seemed like a great idea. Everyone was always talking about how the house was haunted. The neighbourhood rumour was that the father had annihilated the last family to live in the house. But, of course, there was no proof of this. Linsey refused to go anywhere near the house and had chosen to stay home. I, however, convinced my friend Theresa to join me. Things had started out okay. Getting entry to the house was easy enough. We pulled out our phones, giggled, and recorded as we walked through a place frozen in time, joking about how this would make us Facebook famous. After we made our way to the second floor, things changed. The air upstairs was icy cold compared to the blistering heat outside. A large bang came from downstairs. Theresa noped out and took off from the house, to my best guess. Instead of following, I froze. I stood in the doorway to what looked to be a bedroom staring wide-eyed at the staircase, trying to gain the courage to run downstairs.

"Quick in here," said a voice breaking me from my trans. I ran towards the voice. I saw two guys, clearly brothers, hiding in the small closet in the room. I squeezed into the closet with them. I took a moment to look at them in the light of a flashlight. The one I guest to be the older one had short dark brown hair and a small amount of stubble. I guessed him to be around 6’1’; meanwhile, the one I took to be the younger brother had longer, fluffy light brown hair and was clean-shaven. He was quickly 6’4 pushing 6’5.

“What are you doing in here?” The shorter one asked

“I was exploring with my friend. We just heard the rumours about the place being haunted and wanted to check it out,” I said, throwing my arms about as much as possible in the small space. “What are you doing here?”

“Uh, exploring just like you,” The tall one said, looking nervously between his brother and me

“Oh, that’s a lie. What are your names?" I asked "I'm Dean, and this is my brother Sam," said the older one "I'm Y/n," I said. “Now, what are you really doing here?”

“Hunting a ghost”, Dean blurted out

“Dean” Sam looked at him, frustrated

“What? She walked herself into this. She should know what's going on. We can’t get her out of here safely otherwise” Dean pointed his open hand at me “Uh, hello right here. Would you care to explain” I huffed, putting my hands on my hips

Dean sighed, getting frustrated looks from Sam, and he explained everything. It sounded like the ramblings of a crazy man, or men in this case. Dean explained that people had been reporting getting attached and followed home. Even some people are killed by something in the house. This was nothing I had ever heard before. Truthfully I wasn’t from the area and wouldn’t have heard about the place if it wasn’t for Linsey. We lived 5 neighbourhoods apart, so there was no reason for me to be anywhere near this house. Dean explained what they do and how they ended up in Sydney, Australia. I would have said he was lying and crazy, but he seemed honest. He truly believed everything he was saying. And it felt like I should give him the benefit of the doubt.

“Okay, so if everything you're saying is true, what do we do?” I asked

“You don’t do anything. We need to figure out where the body is and burn it,” Dean said

“The whole family who lived here last is buried in the local cemetery in a family tomb,” I said

“Wait, how did you find that out?” Sam asked

“I googled it”, I shrugged. “I just want to know if the rumours were true, so I googled.”

“Rumours?” Dean asked

“That the father murdered his whole family,” I said. “I couldn’t find anything, but they all died in this house the same night.”

“So there is a chance daddy dearest ganked them all,” Dean said

“Well, that’s what the police were thinking, but they didn’t have any proof,” I said

“Well, looks like we need to burn dear old Dad”, Dean smirked

“First, we need to get out of the house,” Sam said

I reached turned to face the wall of the closet I was standing against and pushed the wall. Thankfully it popped open, revealing a hidden stairs case. I silently cheered and led the way down the stairs. At the bottom was a door that led into the kitchen, and in the kitchen was a door that led outside. Once we were somewhat safe in the yard, I let Dean and Sam lead the way to wherever they were going. They walked out into a back alley behind the house. Sitting in the alley was a beautiful looking 67 Chevy Impala. I giggled to myself before hearing another person squealing from the other side of the car.

"Theresa" I questioned, peaking around the car "Y/n," she said, running over to me "Are you okay?" I asked "I'm fine," Theresa said "Thank god," I said. “Where the hell did you go?”

“Outside, duh, I ran out through the kitchen and then was going to run down the alley home, but I spotted this beauty. Can you believe there is another one as perfect as yours?” Theresa squealed

“No, I can’t”, I smiled

“Okay, enough with the weirdness”, Dean spoke up. “Who is she, and why is she looking at baby?”

“Oh, this is my friend Theresa the one I was exploring with.” I said, “Theresa, this is Sam and Dean.”

“Oh great, so she was in the house too,” said Sam

“Well, Theresa looks like you're coming with us,” Dean said, hoping in the car

“Can we go get my car before we take off?” I asked

“Where is it?” Dean asked

“Parked out the front of the house,” I said

Dean sighed, put the Impala in drive and drove around the front of the house. As soon as we rounded the corner, Dean spotted my Impala. He smirked and chuckled, almost surprised that I had the same car as him. We pulled up in front of my car, which was parked curbside. Theresa and I jumped out of the boys' car and into mine. Dean motioned out his window for me to lead the way. I took the boys to the cemetery. We once again parked curbside. We walked up to the cemetery, but the gates were locked. No problem. The brothers had their own way of getting in. They climbed over the closed gate. I looked to the side and saw a hole in the fence, so I climbed through, followed by Theresa. The look on Sam and Dean's faces was priceless. I walked the boys over to the family tomb. The tomb was opened, so there was no need to break in. They asked us to wait outside. The boys had a bag with them, and they pulled out salt, petrol and a crowbar. The family had been placed in their coffins into the wall. Dean managed to pry the nameplate for the father off the wall exposing the coffin. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t impressed. Sam covered the casket in petrol while Dean covered it in salt. Once the casket was covered, Dean threw a lit matchbook into the hole. The coffin rose in flames faster than any other fire I had ever seen.

“Well, that should be all done,” Dean said. “But to be safe, we should return to the house and check. You two, however, will go to our hotel and wait for us.” Dean tossed us the keys

I read the hotel name off the tag and chose not to argue. I nodded at him and headed back towards the cars. Theresa and I headed toward her house while Sam and Dean returned the way we came. I dropped Theresa at her place while I went back to mine. I made my way up to my unit and packed what I would need for an overnight stay with Sam and Dean, just in case. I tossed my duffle into the boot of my car and drove back to Theresa’s. Theresa stood out in the front, waiting for me to come back. She had a small backpack slung over her shoulder. I pulled up, allowing her to enter the car before driving to the hotel. When we arrived, Sam and Dean were nowhere to be seen. We found their room and let ourselves in. The first thought to cross my mind was I hope we don’t have to stay here tonight as the room only had 2 double beds, and I sure wasn’t sharing with two complete strangers.

“Hay, which do you think is Sam's bed?” Theresa broke me from my thoughts

“Uh, no, why would I?” I asked confused

“I don’t know, and I just want to lay on Sam's bed. He so cute, uh, I think I’m in love,” Theresa swooned, dropping into a nearby chair.

“Oh dear god, woman, you fall in love too quickly.” I rolled my eyes

“I can’t help it. Did you see his arms? That man works out.”

“Yeah, and so does Dean, but you don’t see me swooning over him.”

I plopped down on a bed and shut my eyes. I just wanted to go back to the life I had before, put all this behind me and get on with life. Finish off my acting degree, grow my acting portfolio and live in the dark away from all this stuff. I must have drifted off for a few minutes because I was suddenly awakened by a knock on the door. Theresa walked over to the door and opened it slightly. She said hello to whoever was on the other side and opened the door to let them in. Dean and Sam entered the room, Theresa closing the door behind them.

“You comfortable on my bed?” Dean asked

“Very. I was actually having a nice little nap before you so rudely woke me up” I stretched

“Well, sorry, ma’am.” Dean laughed, giving a goofy salute

“On to more serious things, we saw scorch marks at the house indicating that we may have gotten rid of this thing, but we would like you to stay here overnight just in case” Sam looked between us.

“Oh yeah, and where are we supposed to sleep?” I raised an eyebrow at him

“You girls, take my bed. I’ll sleep on the couch,” Dean said

“Are you sure?” I asked

“Not the first time I slept in a chair won’t be the last” Dean shrugged

Dean then declared he was hungry and wanted some food before calling it a night. Dean left the room, taking the room keys with him, saying he would return with food for everyone. Theresa took the opportunity to get to know Sam better, and she cornered him and asked him many questions. I just rolled my eyes and laid back on Dean's bed. I just laid there listening to her questions and Sam's answers. I could hear them both laughing and acting like today had never happened. It was one of the reasons why she was my best friend. No matter the situation, she never let it rattle her. She just moved on with life, always saying what happened has happened, no changing it, no controlling it. I wrapped myself in Dean's blankets, taking a few deep breaths to calm down. The sheets smelled like a woody aftershave and your typical cheap men's body spray. It was oddly comforting.

“Just making yourself right at home now, aren’t you?” Dean chuckled, walking in the door

“I’m tired. Its been a long day, and part of me is hoping this is all a bad dream,” I groaned

“Sorry, sweetheart, this pretty face is as real as it gets”, Dean shot me a cheesy grin. “Now get up and eat. Grubs getting cold.”

Dean threw a bag with the fabled golden arches on the table. Dean complained about the tiny size of the burgers here and how he might need to buy 30 more just to feel full. Sam just shook his head and ate. Clearly, this was a complaint Sam had heard a few times too many. Once the food was in our bellies, Dean announced he would turn in early.

On the other hand, Sam and Theresa wanted to head out to a movie. Apparently, Sam liked to try to live an everyday life from time to time where hunting allowed. I took my place back on Dean's bed, but instead of laying down, I sat on the edge of the bed and stared at the carpet as I continued to think about everything. Theresa seemed so comfortable and at home with the boys, but I just wanted this whole thing over. But the more I thought, the more I felt like I would never be able to go back to things as they were. Knowing what could be out there, I would always be a little on edge. If ghosts were real, then what else possibly existed? Vampires? Werewolves? What about all the silly kid stories like Bloody Mary and Candyman? Could they be real? I wanted to pretend that none of this had happened, but it’s not exactly something you can forget like a footnote. Like yeah, that shit happened, but let's just pack up and move on.

“Okay, I’m not going to be able to sleep with you sitting on the edge of the bed like that. It’s kinda creepy. What's on your mind, kid?” Dean asked, sitting upright on the lounge

“Kid? I’ll have you know I’m 22, not exactly a kid anymore” I looked over at Dean, noticing he was in nothing but a black t-shirt and black boxer briefs

“Okay, sweetheart, doesn’t answer my question, though”, Dean smirked

“How am I supposed to go back to life as it was knowing ghosts, and who knows what else is real?” I looked back at the floor

“You don’t,” Dean said matter of factly. “You just go on and try to live as normal as possible, knowing people like Sammy and I are out here hunting these things to keep you safe. Hopefully, that helps you sleep a little better at night.”

“Can you talk to me while we go to sleep?” I asked sheepishly

“Of course, sweetheart”, He groaned as he laid back on the lounge.

“You never told me your last name,” I said

“Winchester and yours?”

“Y/l/n”

“Well, now I know who to look up next time I’m in town”, Dean chuckled

“How old are you?”

“Not too old to hit on a hottie like you” I could feel Dean's eyes on me as he spoke

“Now, whose not answering questions” I tried to laugh, but it just sounded like an awkward giggle

“31”

“You’re a real ladies' man, aren’t you, Dean Winchester” I smiled to the ceiling, getting taken by his charm

“Yeah, well, when you have my lifestyle, you don’t exactly have the option of settling down, so you take what you can get.”

“No judgement here”

Dean and I laughed for what felt like hours. Under his tough exterior, he was adorable. I would be lying if I said I wouldn’t be sad to say goodbye tomorrow. My eyes could no longer fight to stay open, and I drifted to sleep listening to Dean singing Highway To Hell. The following morning I woke to find the room completely empty. I got up and changed from my PJs to the spare outfit I had brought. Nothing fancy, just plain black jeans and a white tank top. I pulled on my boots and headed outside to check for the cars. My car was sitting where I parked it right before the door. Dean's car was gone, though. I pulled out my phone and rang Theresa guessing she was thing them. Theresa was quick to answer, telling me they were at the local all-you-can-eat restaurant literally 2 blocks down. Rather than drive, I mostly walked the short distance to avoid traffic. It didn’t take me long to spot them, having seen them before entering the restaurant. Dean gave me a goofy wave through the window while sending me a ‘, please save me’ look. I giggled and joined them at the table. "Hey guys," I said, walking over to them "Hey, sleepy head," Dean gave a big cheesy smile "Hey, y/n", said Theresa and Sam "So, whose food can I steal," I said, tummy grumbling "We paid for four, so go fill up," Sam said with a smile "Cool" I took off to the buffet of breakfast food

Dean followed me over with his almost empty plate. He gave me a small smile as we loaded our plates with food.

“So,” Dean said, putting way too much bacon on his plate “, I guess after this, we go our separate ways,” He said more of a statement than a question

“I guess so”, I smiled at him. “But hey, you said you’d look me up next time you were in town, so don’t be a stranger now, you hear.”

“Yes, ma’am”, Dean chuckled

We had an excellent breakfast filled with conversation about what came next for Sam and Dean. They were headed back home to the US now the job was done. It seemed like this was goodbye forever. We finished our breakfast, and Dean drove us back to the hotel. Theresa and I packed up our things before giving them a heartfelt goodbye. We hopped in my car, going home back to life before the Winchesters. But we knew things would never be the same, not now. Some small piece of me hoped I would see the Winchesters again.

[waltwhitmansbeard]

hello! a few hours from now, the epilogue of go on, claim my heart, the my fair lady sequel, is gonna be posting, so i wanted to take a minute to thank everyone who has stopped by my lil corner of the internet to read what has become my largest writing project to date. i had no idea what i was getting myself into when i first started writing mfl, especially not half a year of feverish, near-obsessive plotting and writing and rewriting this story that would not leave me alone. a lot of things fell to the wayside as i wrote mfl and gocmh, and i don't regret any of it, because i can safely say that this is the writing that i am the most proud of.

i want to thank @romeoandjulietyouwish in particular for her graciously allowing me to play in her sandbox. no one's mind works like lis's, and as i have said before, she comes up with so many fucking stellar ideas that she leaves crumbs for the rest of us, so i'm super grateful that she's so kind about letting us take those crumbs and make them our own. mfl wouldn't exist without you, lis, so thank you, thank you, thank you.

i also could not wrap this series without calling out the two best readers a girl could ask for, @ravendruid and @crispysnake. y'all are fucking unhinged, but it is the exact energy that every writer needs to keep going. i can't tell you the number of times a drabble or chapter posted that i wasn't particularly fond of that you two completely changed my opinion about. you two are the kindest, most enthusiastic, most generous readers, and i'm so lucky that you're also my friends. please continue to be absolutely batshit in my tags; it's the only thing that keeps me going.

(also @otterlycaleb made fucking ART about this shit, what the fuck what the fuck what the FUCK—)

a hopefully but probably not quick note about the future of mfl: today, like literally right now, i am in the middle of my first day of work at a brand new job, one that will require me to move my entire life halfway across the country, back to my hometown. it is big and scary and exhilarating and everything i've been hoping for, and i feel so, so lucky. this does mean that for the next little bit, while i learn a new job and pick up my shit and drive cross-country, i will probably be less able to write long or short fics, so i hope y'all don't mind me shutting up for the first time in forever. that being said, while i have absolutely no plans to write a third installment in the mfl 'verse, that doesn't mean there isn't more to say (as y'all will find out in like three and a half hours lol). i fully plan on still writing tmwiw drabbles set before, during, and after mfl/gocmh, and i will still be accepting prompts and requests for drabbles set in this 'verse until i say otherwise. mfl will always occupy an inordinate amount of my brain space, and i refuse to not share that with y'all.

additionally! starting very soon (like, maybe tomorrow? we'll see how busy i am, lol), i will be posting to ao3 the entirety of the mfl 'verse in chronological order. every chapter, one-shot, and drabble, in the order that they happened. another massive shout-out to @ravendruid for being my own personal lore-keeper on this; she read every single mfl chapter, tmwiw drabble, and one-shot to help me get this shit in order. the ao3 work will be titled i've come a long, long way (also from "my fair lady" by kaleo, are we seeing a pattern here?), and the plan is to post five chapters a day until the whole thing is up (although, again, with the moving this might get a lil wibbly wobbly). there will be some additional proofreading edits to these chapters (sometimes i can't spell!!) but nothing about the substance of these chapters will change, so this is just for people who like their stories to be told chronologically (fucking weirdos). this work will only be available on ao3, although it will be linked on my mfl masterpost.

ok, i think i am done for now. i have taken up enough of your time, in so many more ways than one. thank you again, if you read every single installment of the mfl saga or if you just read a paragraph. all of it means the world to me, and i know i never would have continued past the first chapter if i weren't part of such a wonderful, loving, generous, brilliant community. i've only been watching critical role for just over a year now, part of the fandom for even less than that, and i can't believe i haven't always had y'all in my life. please continue to love and support each other, and thank you for loving and supporting me.

[elizmanderson]

Hi again. You made a few posts about first drafts being ridiculous and cleaning them up later. And I desperately need more writers talking about the writing process as they are writing it (like 'making of' posts/ videos, any creator who does those gets me obsessed with them)

Anywho, I was wondering how your revision process looks? How different is your first draft from your last and how did you make the decisions of what to cut vs what to expand on?

I know for myself, my MC is a constant-overthinker and all of faer POV is stream-of-consciousness, and fae goes on a LOT of unnecessary but characterizing tangents that I don't know how to work with, given the corner I wrote myself into.

TLDR - Any info about your revision process would be much appreciated.

Thanks :)

hello and thanks for asking!

first of all, in case anyone is curious about the original post, it's here. also, there are many ridiculous things in this draft of NettieWIP, but that post was brought to you specifically by this line that I wrote even though it's completely tonally wrong for both this book and this character lmao

okay, revisions. this is gonna get long, but I'm breaking it up into sections that will hopefully be helpful.

general process

so the first thing is, my revision process and how much I cut or add is different for every project. but here are some general principles I follow. keep in mind that ymmv with any and all of these! you have to find what works for you. this is just what works for me.

1. finish the draft first

I will never finish a draft if I'm focused on editing while I go. I've been hardcore resisting with NettieWIP because I keep having ideas about how to make it better mid-draft. but I know if I don't finish the draft as-is, it's not going to get done.

2. let it breathe before diving in

sometimes I have the urge to rush right into revisions after finishing a draft, but I do force myself to wait at least a month or two before returning to it. it gives me the emotional distance I need to be able to make decisions about what to cut, no matter how much I like things that don't serve the story.

(again going to have to fight this urge hard with NettieWIP in particular lol)

3. read it before diving in

the one thing that stays consistent from project to project is that I always do a full readthrough before I start revising. highly, highly recommend this regardless of what else works for you! reading through my entire manuscript gives me a big-picture view of the whole story and how all the parts work together (or not), as well as what the problems are.

note: when I do my readthrough, while I do make general notes of my thoughts, I do NOT focus on line-level details or edits. which brings us to...

4. fix big things first

okay jk actually this stays consistent from project to project, too. when approaching revisions, I always start with the biggest changes and work my way down. line edits are the last thing I do, because I figure it wastes my time and energy otherwise. what if I put all this energy into line edits or scene-level changes only to cut half those lines or scenes later when I make structural changes?

5. this is the time to plan!

I'm a plantser, which is somewhere halfway between a plotter and a pantser. while the amount of planning I do before a first draft varies, I always dedicate time to planning before revising. the exact process varies, but it's kinda like this.

read the entire manuscript, making note of plot holes and problem areas

brainstorm potential fixes and where they might fit in

write an outline, synopsis, chapter map, whatever (for me it's usually either a synopsis or chapter map because I simply cannot with outlines)

6. start rewriting

...and as discussed in a different post earlier, I always start the new draft in a new document! you never know when something from an earlier draft could come in handy.

7. use beta readers

I typically do a second draft on my own, because I typically have at least some idea of what needs fixing when I'm done with a first draft. I bring beta readers in once I hit the point where the story's cohesive but I know more work needs to be done, but I'm not sure what that work is.

you specifically asked how I decide what to cut vs. what to expand on, and beta readers are one important way—especially for what to expand on. while I have a habit of overexplaining in many areas, things in my head frequently fail to make it onto the page.

(I think this is because things are obvious to me bc I thought them up. but readers cannot see inside my head, so they may be confused or think a character or plot point is underdeveloped even though I have a lot more information about it mapped out internally.)

if readers feel like information is unnecessary or overexplained or like I'm patronizing them, that's a potential area for cutting. if readers are confused, lack insight, or feel like a reveal came out of nowhere, that's a potential area for expanding. that said...

parsing beta feedback

while outside feedback is important, it's at least equally important to be able to decide what feedback to listen to and what feedback to ignore! not all feedback is good feedback. and even feedback that's technically good may not be good feedback for your story.

for example, I had feedback on the manuscript that's now on sub that was drastically different than the rest of the feedback I received on that same manuscript. I love the beta who gave it to me and I respect their opinion a lot, so I took this feedback seriously. but I couldn't make it work, felt deeply frustrated, and spiraled a bit over my ability to write a book even though it was far from my first.

then I got into Author Mentor Match which I applied to mostly because I need some guidance re: this feedback. my mentor basically said, "I think this is good feedback, but I think it would change this book into a pacier, more action-packed book. and I don't think that's the kind of story you're trying to tell."

and my mentor was right! I think this friend and I are simply interested in different kinds of stories. so as much as they love my stories and as great as they are at giving feedback, their feedback may not be a good fit for me.

usually, I like to look at patterns of feedback.* the more readers agree that a plot point is weak or a reveal doesn't have enough build-up, the more likely it is that I really do need to worry about that.

BUT if a single reader's feedback makes me go oh and I really vibe with it, that's also good feedback to listen to! as long as you know what the heart of your story is, you can follow feedback that helps your story do more of what you want it to do and do it more effectively.

*in my experience, patterns are most helpful when your readers share aspects of your identity. for example, I'm neurodivergent and queer. when most of my readers were neurotypical and straight, I'd get told "this doesn't make sense" "no one thinks/feels like that" "this is unrealistic." and I'd be told that by multiple readers, so I'd decide that meant I had to change the story, even though something deep down told me I was wrong about that, that my betas were wrong about that.

now, most of my readers are neurodivergent and/or queer, so they understand when my characters do or think or feel certain things. and at the very least, they never tell me a character is being "unrealistic" or assume that characters' feelings aren't based on things I have really felt. so particularly for marginalized creators, patterns of feedback may NOT be helpful if your readers do not share your marginalization.

examples of changes to my drafts

cutting and combining

The Remarkable Retirement of Edna Fisher was drafted over a year and a half as part of a last man standing-style writing challenge, so the first draft was 160,000 words. it was pretty obvious I'd have to cut SOMETHING, since I was planning on querying agents.

(recommended for adult fantasy if you're seeking trad pub as a debut author: 120k max word count. better to be lower if you're writing contemporary fantasy, while you can be on the high end if you're writing epic fantasy. other subgenres may fall in between.)

I cut...a lot, in some cases through actually cutting while in other cases combining things. for example, there's a scene now where a dragon attacks Detroit while Our Heroes are delayed there. It used to be separate scenes: Edna & Co. delayed in Detroit, with not much happening except the reason for the delay, and a later scene where they came across a random dragon attack elsewhere. additionally, the secondary antagonist runs around with an old friend who used to be two separate characters: the character he is now, and another old friend of theirs who was just sort of a generic asshole who didn't serve much purpose in the story.

thanks to cutting and combining scenes and characters this way, the story moves along faster, the stakes involved in those scenes and characters are higher, and everything is more tightly tied together. when I finally queried, Remarkable Retirement was down to just 98,000 words (published at 99,000 words).

similarly, in the book now on sub (Buried Things aka GroundskeeperWIP), I cut most of a short chapter from the antagonist's POV. I tried it as a prologue but didn't like that I don't do prologues in general although I know some folks love them, then tried moving it later but didn't like that either, and finally ended up just using bits of it that I felt were particularly useful in a chapter focused on a different character. I also cut a chapter from the POV of a friendly ghost/wingman from beyond the grave (but have it saved in case a future editor's like "you know what we need—")

worth noting that Buried Things wasn't massively overwritten. I think the longest draft was 104k or 106k, while it's on sub at about 90k (and the entirety of the last 4,000 words I cut from it was through line edits, not plot changes). however, both chapters stalled the story without adding much. what they did add, I was able to incorporate into other chapters instead.

expanding

while Remarkable Retirement's need for cuts was more obvious, some things were also expanded upon, especially with my publisher! my editor felt that the romantic subplot needed a little more build-up—not in terms of what happens or how it happens, but in terms of making it clearer why these two people start to have those feelings. similarly, a friend who read Buried Things thought it was great overall but that a particular character wasn't fleshed out enough.

in both cases, I think it was that instance of "things in my head do not always make it onto the page." when my friend had questions about the character in Buried Things, I had answers; those answers just weren't on the page. same thing with the romantic subplot in Remarkable Retirement. so it was a matter of taking what was in my head and making sure it actually came across on the page, although in other cases I may realize I don't already know that stuff and need to brainstorm to develop it more.

both together

in the case of NettieWIP, even though I'm not done drafting yet, I already know some stuff I'll need to cut and expand on! I find I'm repeating myself a lot in this draft, plus it's very dialogue heavy. so I'll need to cut back on some themes and emotions I keep bringing up, as well as trim down the dialogue and let the murder investigation not be entirely conversation.

conversely, there's virtually no setting description or atmosphere, so those are things I'll want to expand on in revisions.

tl;dr: in conclusion

okay this got really long because if you get me talking about writing it is impossible to shut me up, but here are the major takeaways for everyone playing along at home:

my general process: (1) finish the draft; (2) let the draft breathe; (3) read the entire draft; (4) focus on big-picture changes first; (5) plan your revision/rewrite; (6) rewrite/revise; (7) use beta readers

knowing the heart of your story helps you figure out what to cut, what to keep, and what to expand on

knowing the heart of your story helps you figure out what feedback might be useful and what feedback might not be right for this book

it can also helpful to look for patterns of feedback, but this is mostly helpful when your beta readers share your identity, particularly if you are a marginalized creator

thanks so much for giving me an excuse to drone on and on about writing your question!

[citylighten]

Hello! I've been reading Sink or Swim, and I am absolutely enthralled in the depth of your writing. Which brings me to my first of several questions... How long have you been writing? I find Pietro's backstory personality very complex. How he presents himself... Handles obstacles... It's intriguing. How long did it take to create Pietro's... well... life? Did you have to do a considerable amount of research? And for my last question, how long does it take you to caption a scene? Are you editing the dialogue right until you post?

HELLO~!

First off thank you for this message! I'm very happy you're enjoying the story!

In regard to your first question: I began writing at a young age. So young, that my earliest memory of writing is sitting on my grandmother's lap and telling her exactly what to write down in Microsoft Word. (I figure these were probably stories about Simba the Lion) Eventually, I told her I wanted to figure out how to use Word on my own and the rest is history. But yeah, I've always been big on writing and reading, there was always a story of some kind in my head. By the time I was ten, I was on FF.Net posting very shitty fanfics. But that's the thing about writing, you know? The more you do it, the more you read, the more you even do something like observe films and shows for the narrative value rather than strictly looking at it as entertainment the better of a writer you become. I also made the decision back in high school to become a journalist (something I don't think I want to be anymore, but I digress) still, having the responsibility of writing about real events, or about real people, definitely influenced my writing, as well. Especially when it comes to the way people speak or may explain something.

Admittedly, writing a story in the mafia genre isn't easy. A lot of research is involved (ranging from reading biographies to just watching films, but I also love the video game Mafia because their worldbuilding is pretty good😂) and I often take mental notes of things so I can understand/apply similar topics with my characters.

In regard to your second question: We've hardly scratched the surface of who Pietro is as a person! I planned to do a few edits of him as a kid as well as a "mini-story" of how he ran away from home at sixteen but I haven't gotten around to it yet.

Pietro is a very new oc - he was made this year, so understanding him/developing him has been a push-and-pull process. Before Sink or Swim started, he was originally meant to be way more antagonistic, but then I found myself liking him. I thought of Pietro and Rosie hooking up and the drama that could entail of, but then I thought, "what if this guy cared about her?" And boom, I found myself jotting out a bunch of outlines and concepts.

However, because Pietro isn't born in America...er, Simerica, I've found myself reading about Sicily a lot. Since I view that as the real-world counterpart to Tartosa. The norms, the lives of farmers, the way organized crime functions there because Pietro's family suffered greatly due to the local mob. But that's all I'm saying about that!

In regard to your third question: Captioning a scene can take forever. I'm not sure why because all I do is copy-paste pre-written text. But the time it takes to write out a scene can vary depending on its length, relevancy, and tone. Small talk is horrible to write, just plain horrible. Banter is usually quick. But when you have scenes like Rosie reading Pietro's email - that took forever because not only am I writing out Sheila and Pietro having a serious conversation, I had to write out the details of the email. Similarly, in my last post, when Pietro more or less confesses that he's an affiliate of the mob: that conversation took three rewrites before I felt it was good enough to put on caps. The first conversation draft was rough, I kept zoning out. The second was a little easier, but I found myself rearranging the conversation to better flow. And the third edit was the easiest because it was like I was 'smoothing' things over and ensuring the flow was decent. Sometimes though, once I paste dialogue onto a cap I do slightly tweak it to correspond with the expression the sim has. But again, thank you for all these questions! I enjoyed answering them!

[spidermartini]

So, the show was brilliant. I mean that .....brilliant.

Ian Shaw......was SO GOOD that I had to hard blink several times to remind myself that he wasn't his father. I can't IMAGINE what it must have been like to play his father, showcasing his better, and worse, traits. Regardless, he should be PROUD because, as previously mentioned, there were moments that I had to remind myself that is wasn't 1975. It was an inspired performance.

You will enjoy it best if you not only have seen JAWS, but if you are familiar with the documentary information, about the production. (If you aren't, I highly recommend it....it is a fascinating movie- making story). Stories and facts from all of the supplemental documentaries are referenced in great detail. This is a true movie lover's broadway show. It is NOT a show OF JAWS. It is a show ABOUT the ACTORS. (In case anyone was excited about it for the wrong reasons). It is a deep cut, and I am so happy that it is.

Additionally, things from the famous THE JAWS LOG, by Carl Gottleib are referenced. If you haven't read that, it is a very short book that was a real-time chronicle of the making of the movie. It is singular and a quick, engaging and highly entertaining read. I will link the book below.

It is a post modern, meta show, about the three actors as they are slowly losing it while waiting for Bruce/shark to be fixed and actually function in the unforgiving Atlantic waters. (For those who might not know"'The Shark is Broken" is what was heard 99% of the time on the walkie-talkies during production.)

Colin and Alex are equally inspired in their roles.

Colin's command of Roy's subtle body language and mannerisms is extremely note worthy. His subtlety shouldn't go unnoticed or unmentioned....it was high -level acting. Both the Richard and Robert parts allow for more flagrant and emotive performances.....the Roy part functions as the straight man, trying to keep the other two from killing each other, as he was doing in real life.

Alex goes to town as Richard and he delivers an accurate, neurotic, coke-fueled, poncing portrait of Dreyfuss. He was a riot.

( It was kind of like the John Wayne/gay walking moment in The Birdcage. . .while watching Alex, it occurs to you, as it did to Robin Williams , "Actually it's perfect...I just never realized that Dreyfuss walked like that') . Lol

The highlight for any JAWS fan is the Indianapolis monologue. If anyone here is younger and maybe doesn't know, what Quint says in the movie is true. The story of the Indianapolis had only just been declassified when JAWS came out.....so for many people it was how they found out what happened to their loved ones who served on the Indianapolis and were lost in the war. It is an important movie moment, and an important history moment.

The show portrays several failed attempts of the famouse monologue, until Shaw finally nails it. Just like in life, it went through many rewrites until Shaw gave it the final edit and glow up, making it truly spectacular.

Ian BECOMES his father in this moment. It is pitch perfect in every detail, down to the amount of wrinkles around his eyes when he squints. It gave me chills and made me weepy. I will never forget it.

One small thing that delighted me is that the characters, while passing the time and taking, discuss CASABLANCA ...which led to a moment later when Robert/Quint quotes CASABLANCA.

"Quint" quoting Bogey is something I never knew I NEEDED. It was surreal and amazing and I don'tknow how I have lived without it.

There are some fun parallels drawn to current events, as Roy is reading about Nixon's corruption and hypothesizing that there could never be a more corrupt president. HA!

Overall it was nothing short of spectacular. The *only* thing that might give it some trouble is that A LOT of people have seen JAWS, but not everyone is as familiar with the backstory. If people are going with the intention of seeing a giant shark, they might be upset. If you are going to bask in great performances, nuanced nostalgia and deep movie history cuts, like myself, you will leave grinning ear to ear. I simply adored it.

The Jaws Log: Expanded Edition (Shooting Script) https://a.co/d/0zxp0pF

True Story of the sinking of the Indianapolis

The Iconic Quint Indianapolis Monologue

[alexanderlightweight]

I saw you talking about finding a better way to organize your posts and apparently there are ways to do master posts and link all your stuff. I like the way rayshippouuchiha does it best to be honest. She has a great system going on. I encourage you to go to her tumblr page and check it out. First go to the au master post list. It leads you to a page with fandoms listed. When you pick a fandom, it leads to another list with all of her aus for that fandom. Click on that and every post with that specific tag is right there. Super easy to use and navigate.

there are! and it's great and i love ray's stuff.

so the thing is, i don't have title tags/verse tags on all my past fics which means i would have to go back and find every single post related to that fic and retag it

which takes an incredible amount of time and energy alone, not to mention then adding descriptions and links. s

saeth spent yesterday talking to me about stuff like /chrono and tags vs search etc. they're trying to help me with this going forward and it's the plan (so thank you for sharing because this is good information and i might have needed it and i'll remind them to go look at ray's blog if they want further ideas)

i don't have a need for the fandom button since it's all malec and i'd keep the verselist on the already pinned page. but if i'm going to dredge back through my old stuff and get it ready for ao3 and edit and add notes, i'm probably not going to have the energy to also retag all of the old stuff.

i tried it out yesterday and honestly, it was a lot of work and i'm still attempting to get links at least. but i looked at the tags and realized i'd have to delete and rewrite them all to get the verse tag in the top five. saeth mentioned smething about x-kit at some point. so again, almost anything tumblr related is reliant on them.

i do the cooking and the cleaning and they do the computer/anything mechanical/internet stuff because we divide house chores based on who is best/enjoys the most/won't make it worse/won't hurt themselves.

can i set up a brand new router and modem for a friend? yes. can i restart our own router without a meltdown... no.

they've made my last... they've made my tumblr icons since a few months after we met so like all of them. and my tumblr only got a facelift because they saw it and went 'babe when was the last time you updated that?"

they were not impressed when i told them 'when i made it?'

thank you for sending the information, it was very thoughtful!

<3 lumine

[dangerous-drabbles]

update

i've been putting off writing this, but i can't exactly not, so... i'll try and make this brief.

in short: i've had an epiphany.

(tl;dr at bottom)

i've been writing/brainstorming this fic since november/december last year, and since then, my ideas and understandings of the show and it's characters have evolved. and with them, my plans and understandings for iwf.

i want to be clear: this is not me saying i'm done with iwf, or going on some long hiatus. in fact, it's more the opposite.

having graduated, with summer in full swing, and feeling more sure than ever about where i want to take this fic (as well as remaining fully invested in this fandom), i plan to do more writing than ever before B)

that said: something needs to change.

this fic has been, and continues to be, my baby (besides my ever-growing, yet rarely spoken of, tmnt iteration) for most of the time i've been active in this fandom.

i've long struggled with motivation for big writing projects, but i am resolved to keep with this one because i have a story worth telling. will it be worth reading? who's to say!! (i hope so /gen)

but, as you might've noticed, my more recent updates (especially around the end of arc I) were... bad. maybe not bad-bad, but still bad from a 'technical writing/story' perspective. i struggled a lot with them, and i think that really shows.

i've was trying to figure out why its come to be this way while pushing forward by forcing myself to write, but that didn't work. it wasn't until this week, tuesday, when realization struck me (while watching a video essay, lol).

it made me realize a big part of what was making me unhappy was something i already knew, an issue underlying the fic (and my writing style) as a whole.

with this in mind, i can't keep going forward in the way i had planned.

i'm not gonna go back and change arc I. while the problem is there, especially in the later chapters, i'm early enough on that i can turn things around and (hopefully) root out the problem(s) without any major changes to what i've written/set up so far.

but to do this, i need time.

i know i know i just took a 2-3 week long break, but to pull this off, i need time to prepare and rewrite. i'm halfway through revisions for the arc II outline, and i'll need to heavily revise/rewrite several chapters, plus write some new stuff (since i'm axing the next couple i had planned/written out... rip.)

if all goes well, it shouldn't take longer than two weeks. best case scenario, i get it done in one. we'll see.

until then, i humbly ask for your patience.

as a note:

i could go deep into my inspirations for this fic, where i wanted to go originally, what's changed since then, and especially what brought me to my realization (plus the specifics of said realization) but i said i would try to make this brief, and here we are, [insert amount of words] later.

are you really surprised, though? (/lh)

[if you would like to see me talk more about that (i would absolutely always be down, i love talking about myself /j /lh), feel free to shoot me an ask. in fact, i would beg on my hands and knees, if i were not a silly guy who lives on your computer (/j)]

(tl;dr -- i am not done writing iwf. however, i had a realization that led to me reevaluating my writing and determining that i need to rewrite/revise my arc II outline, and edit/revise/completely rewrite the next several chapters.

this means i am planning to take another week or so off (i am sosososo sorry) to iron everything out and get ahead.

this whole post was me trying to explain the reasoning behind this decision, with an underlying sense of desperate patheticism to match (/j /lh).)

to conclude, i want to say thank you so much for your support, silent or otherwise, from all who have read and (hopefully) enjoyed this fic thus far. i genuinely couldn't do it without you (yes, sun, this includes you /lh.)

especially to my frequent commenters, who i promise i do see and appreciate. you guys are the real mvps <3

i have some really big plans for iwf, and i hope you'll stick around to see them come to fruition (:<

[chayscribbles]

chayscribbles’ monthly writing update ☆ november 2022

☆ STATISTICS.

words written: 9835 drafting; 17606 redrafting/editing

projects worked on: Andromeda Rogue, Andromeda Rising

proudest accomplishment: i published my first art zine! oh and finishing the first draft of AR3 is also a thing that happened

books read: Memoria by Kristyn Merbeth; Cinder by Marissa Meyer, A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine

☆ GENERAL COMMENTS.

(book comments first: Memoria (the sequel to Fortuna, which i read a few weeks ago) was MUCH better imo than the first, 4.5 stars. Cinder was very enjoyable but i do feel like i am simply getting too old for YA and would have liked it better if i had read it a few years ago, 4 stars. A Memory certainly wasn't bad, but in the end it fell a bit flat for me, 3 stars.)

this month has been Very Weird. within the span of like 3 days a lot of things happened, including finishing AR3 and other Personal Stuff that resulted in me suddenly having a lot of free time on my hands that i did not know what to do with. but everything ended up working out! and a lot of that free time went to working on my wip.

i had thought that after finishing AR3 i'd work on one of my lower-effort sidewips, or work on other hobbies like drawing, but the motivation for those things just... didn't manifest itself? (also the Secret Space WIP, has become bigger than i thought it would, and i felt it would require more commitment than i am currently willing to give it)

anyways i just ended up going right back to AR kjdfgkjfds whoops

more specific wip-related comments + featured excerpt below.

☆ COMMENTS: ANDROMEDA RISING (finishing the draft)

did i really finish this draft this month? it feels like forever ago jkfdjk

so my unofficial NaNo goal was to finish AR3. i had originally estimated it would take 15k, and then adjusted it to 10k. i didn't quite make the 10k either but i DID finish the draft, so that's still a win. to me.

this draft turned out way shorter than i had hoped... and there's a LOT that needs to be fixed, and i'm not completely satisfied with how it turned out. but i really was at the point where i had to just get through it to call it done otherwise i never would, so thank fuck that's over with.

(trying not to think about how much needs to be fixed yet. gritting my teeth.)

☆ COMMENTS: ANDROMEDA ROGUE (draft... 2!!!!)

so i had this whole plan of letting the entire series rest, then rereading, reoutlining, reworking some plot, character and worldbuilding stuff, and only starting draft 2 in 2023... and then i got impatient lmao.

i was somewhere in the reoutlining stage about a week after finishing AR3 when i realized it felt like i was wasting my time. not much of the main structure of this book is gonna change, so i was pretty much just rewriting the exact same outline i already had. (i plantsed through draft 1 but made a reverse outline as i was writing.) most of the changes are adding or changing certain details to scenes and no amount of planning was gonna help any more than just writing out the changes. so, on the 18th, i started draft 2.

(besides, it's not like i didn't let AR1 rest. i finished it in june 2021 after all.)

i also had a bunch of editing notes from when i was drafting, + stuff i thought about later while writing the sequels on how to better set things up, + notes taken during my reread. so i ended up just annotating the hell out of my first draft to show where i would add or change things, and then i put the old draft on one side of the screen and a new doc on the other side and started rewriting it to include the changes.

i've gone through about 5 chapters and added an epilogue so far! it's going pretty fast haha. i've already added over 2000 words just by fleshing things out a bit more, now that i know my characters and the world much better than when i started. it's SO much easier now that i have the entire series in front of me.

chapter 5 is where i've been slowed down as there is a considerable amount of stuff that needed to be rewritten completely-- it's quite exposition-heavy (it's the scene where Petra gets a rundown of her xenobotany mission), and when i first wrote it, i wasn't exactly sure where i was going with the story. and even though i now have a fuller picture in front of me, it's always hard to write an exposition-heavy chapter and include everything that needs to be said without making it drag. not to mention, foreshadowing and setting things up appropriately.

right now, i'm taking a quick break from redrafting to iron out some of the political backdrop of the story. not only did i need to rest after wrestling with chapter 5, but i was disappointed reading A Memory Called Empire, which was supposed to be a political intrigue, and it was one heck of a motivator to try to make the politics in my book better haha.

☆ FEATURED EXCERPT.

very short passage i added to AR1 to further demonstrate how much of a nerd Petra really is.

“Petra,” Dr. Derosy said, “you did your thesis on vitaplants. Would you mind giving us a brief definition?” Petra coughed and sat up straighter in her chair. “Vitaplants are a category of plants that boost the growth and health of other living organisms around them, specifically through the emission of vitawaves," she said. "Vitaplants have been found to have evolved independently on multiple planets around the sector and are not confined to a single genus, which has confounded taxonomists—"

“Thank you, Petra. I did say brief.”

☆ TAGLISTS. let me know if you want to be added/removed to either.

general taglist:

@nicola-writes @dgwriteblr @the-orangeauthor @stormharbors @quilloftheclouds @ashen-crest @writeblrfantasy @celestepens @stardustspiral @pepperdee @extra-magichours @avi-why @lefttigerobservation @chazzawrites @bardolatrycore

andromeda trilogy taglist:

@bebewrites @nicola-writes @dgwriteblr @the-orangeauthor @stormharbors @akindofmagictoo @quilloftheclouds @nora-theteawriter @ashen-crest @corpsepng @writeblrfantasy @toboldlywrite @celestepens @stardustspiral @pepperdee @cheerfulmelancholies @extra-magichours @writeouswriter @cilly-the-writer @lefttigerobservation @rose-bookblood @drowsy-quill @chazzawrites @cynic-and-chief @enchanted-lightning-aes @aesa

[aurantia-ignis]

On the reprinting (and censoring) of children’s books

There's been a lot of talk about editing 'problematic' aspects of books in recent years, whether they are to do with unsuitable language or outdated ideas. 

Sometimes, though... I've found 'changes' made to reprinted editions of children's books that felt... pointless.

For example, some of the new editions of Enid Blyton's books cut entire paragraphs (especially in the opening chapter) in favour of a few new sentences intended to create a whole new intro before jumping straight into 'the action'. I've seen the same done to some of Ben Baglio's Animal Ark books, and some of these cuts/rewrites work so shoddily that it reads extremely awkwardly. 

What is the reason for such cuts? To save money on printing fewer pages? Or because they think that children these days don't have a long attention span, so they have to shorten books?

Another common instance I see (also in Enid Blyton books) include getting rid of any mention of money. Off the top of my head, this is an exchange in Blyton's mystery series:

,

Original:

"Lend me your bike?" Ern asked.

"Sixpence," said the thrifty owner. Ern parted regretfully with his sixpence and....

.

Reprint found in my country:

"Lend me your bike?" Ern asked.

"Cost you," said the thrifty owner. Ern parted regretfully with some money and...

.

Again, why the change? Because we live in a country that doesn't use pennies? Or is this done also in Britain, where that amount for borrowing a bike no longer makes sense due to inflation? Whatever the reason, this feels like pointless censoring. It's not like the child reading this would be completely confused if they had no idea what 'sixpence' is, or if they were used to things costing a lot more. I, as a young child living in a country where we only use dollars and cents, learnt English currency from Blyton's books. I learnt about pennies, tuppenies, ha'pennies, shillings, half-a-crown, pounds.... All things I wouldn't have learnt if my books had censored everything with 'it was money'. 

Leave unknown, unlocalized things in books. Let children be confused! Let them ask questions! Let them learn! 

I'm reminded of the release of the Great Ace Attorney game last year, in which the localization chose to use language that was accurate to Britain in the Victorian era. There were words and phrases I knew (thanks to my Blyton upbringing!), and there were words and phrases I didn't know, particularly Cockney rhyming slang. But that just made me note them down to look up later.

And yet, there were apparently a lot of Americans who hated the text because they 'couldn't understand the language' (which is still dumb, because all the most important plot points of the game is still easily understandable and you can still finish the game with no problem). 

Hmmm, could it be because.... hese people didn't grow up reading texts that often had different things not seen in their own culture, so they didn't get used to learning about other countries and cultures? 

 TLDR: Stop censoring books, especially children's books. Even if there are 'problematic' ideas in them, let those stay, and leave footnotes if you must. Ask them (in the footnotes, or have parents/teachers do it) to consider these ideas. Ask them how they feel about it, and explain how things have changed. Instead of keeping children ignorant of the past, teach them about the past, and let them think. Let them learn. 

[justkpopjokes]

Sci-Fi P.I.!Jeongin

Ft. Yang Jeongin + Kim Seungmin (implied ship but not really)

AU: sci-fi private investigator, DELTA V series

Word Count: 1.5k of bullet points

A/N: A longgggg time ago, I wrote the original version of this as a SVT AU and didn’t put much effort into editing it. I’ve decided to rewrite and repurpose it until a little multiverse I’m slowly building!!

CLUE #1: Je suis Books^2 Aux Ford

When Yang Jeongin found a mysterious note in his jacket pocket, he was completely clueless on what to do.

He’s green, the newest rookie of his detective agency, but he was already being presented with a mystery

Jeongin had needed a new job; with all the advancements being made to society, his previous job prospect of being a dentist was torn away

Society reached the point where robots were advanced enough to help with dental procedures in a fraction of the time

And with all the advancements, some procedures weren’t even necessary anymore

So only the best of the best students were accepted into certification programs, and Jeongin wasn’t the best

Needing a job in the meantime, Jeongin decided to go to a sketchy walk-in interview in a shabby office within an alleyway

It turned out to be the office of a Private Investigation agency: 3RD WAY

“When the authorities and death aren’t options, take the 3RD WAY! We’ll investigate your problems and keep them off of your tail.”

After a quick interview (of which he somehow passed with “flying colours” despite only answering a handful of questions), he was hired by his new boss, a man who went only by “CB97”

The next day, he was given the code name “I.N” (after the last 2 letters of his first name), then promptly sent out to do some investigating

Not knowing where to begin, Jeongin decided to walk around the city of his agency’s HQ: Seoul, South Korea

The streets of Seoul, when not polluted with the smog of flying cars, was a pretty sight

With the help of the world’s top technology company, DELTA V—the very same company that took away his dream to be a dentist—the world was starting to look more and more like the “future” that people of decades prior dreamed of

But that’s beside the point—he’s here, in Seoul, and just found a mysterious folded piece of paper in his jacket pocket!

CB97 told Jeongin to be on the lookout for any suspicious activity, but the former had neglected to specify what kind

…This seemed obviously suspicious

Whoever planted the note in his pocket had passed by him within the past half hour, but he didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary, so…

Jeongin scans the line over and over again in his mind: Je suis Books^2 Aux Ford

“Je suis” is clearly French, but what does the rest of it mean?

Jeongin reads the clue out as “I am books squared aux ford”

So he searches up “books squared Aux ford” out of curiosity

Luckily for him, he doesn't press the space between “aux” and “ford,” so his phone fills in the blanks

The first thing that comes up is “Square Books Oxford, Mississippi, USA”

Ah. Saved by autocorrect. Oh, the wonders of technology…

After reporting back to CB97, Jeongin gets a plane ticket to Mississippi!

(He isn’t supposed to be alone, mind you, but his only other teammate and mentor, “J.One”, is apparently still undercover somewhere in Italy)

Once arriving in Mississippi, Jeongin wastes no time and enters the bookstore

As he wanders the aisles of books, someone asks him if he needs help

After noticing Jeongin’s hesitance, the worker repeats themself in Korean

Jeongin: “Oh, uh…is…”

*remembers “je suis”*

Jeongin: “Are there any French books here?”

???: “Yeah, we have a decent amount. Follow me.”

The worker helping him, a young man only a little taller than Jeongin himself, leads him to a small collection of French books

???: “Need anything else?”

Jeongin: “No, this is fine, thanks.”

So the worker leaves Jeongin alone for the time being

Jeongin sits there reading for what feels like forever, trying to find what on Earth this clue could be communicating

“Books^2” and “Aux Ford” seem to already be used up; it was a bookstore in Oxford, Mississippi. Makes sense.

But besides that, he had nothing

Jeongin wracked his brain, trying to find something he had missed.

How was it written? Does that

Great, my first investigation and I’m already stumped…

On the other hand, a certain bookstore worker is very concerned and periodically glancing over to Jeongin

After an hour, the worker checks on the poor guy who’s still there sitting on the floor next to the shelves

???: “Hey, uh, there’s a table if you need it…”

Cue embarrassed Jeongin because he might’ve been bothering other customers

So he heads to the table—but drops the coded piece of paper on the way there!

???: “Hm? ‘Je suis Books’? Do you need the second book of ‘I Am’?”

Jeongin looks entirely confused (rip)

???: “Uh, it’s a French poetry book, titled ‘I Am.’ It has three volumes.”

Jeongin’s like OHHHH SOUNDS RIGHT!!

The worker then looks over the covers of the books, finding the right one

After taking it from the employee, Jeongin flips through book

Another slip of paper acts as a bookmark

The bookstore employee stands beside Jeongin, reading the paper aloud as Jeongin reads the poem on the page

CLUE #2: “Lines 7, Line 16”

The corresponding lines on the page read “Spill the beans” and “Where you have to buy your life,” respectively

Apparently I wrote a whole poem in my head for this but I have no recollection lmao

???: “What kind of weird treasure hunt are you on?”

Jeongin: “I’m a…uh, treasure hunter. Sort of.”

???: “…Okay, treasure hunter. I’m Seungmin. And you?”

One introduction and an uneasy explanation later, Jeongin now has a companion!

In reality, Seungmin was suspicious of this random kid who walked in and found a piece of paper in a random book, so ge decided to keep an eye on him

But wanting to be helpful regardless, Seungmin suggests they go to the grocery store down the street during his break

It seems to make sense: a grocery store was where you could find beans and buy things you need to live, aka “buy your life” as the poem said

Once at the grocery store, Jeongin searches for the beans aisle

Thankfully, Seungmin already knows where they are

Seungmin: “Aisle Seven. Hey, didn’t your clue mention ‘lines 7’ instead of ‘line 7’? I guess it came full circle.”

Jeongin: “What? Oh, yeah, I guess so. How’d you remember that?”

Seungmin: “Eh, I’ve got a good memory.”

Once reaching the canned food aisle, Jeongin bends down to look at the can of beans

Nothing out of the ordinary…for now 👀 *squints suspiciously*

But one he’s picked up a couple cans, Jeongin notices something in the back of the shelf…

It’s another slip of paper!!

When he tries to grab it, he accidentally elbows a can off the shelf

Seungmin is barely able to catch it, scolding the other boy

Seungmin: “Geez, I know it said ‘spill the beans,’ but be careful! We don’t want to get kicked out of here.”

Jeongin: “ik ik sorry” 👉👈

Trying again, the amateur investigator reaches past the dust bunnies, carefully trying not to knock over anymore cans to retrieve the tiny folded paper

Maybe spilling the bean cans would’ve made this easier…

CLUE #3: “Cactus Life Yo — 14:52”

Jeongin snorts a little as he reads the clue, showing it to Seungmin

Seungmin: “What…the heck?

Jeongin: “Anagram, maybe?”

By this time, Seungmin’s break is over, so Jeongin walks him back to the bookstore while they chat about what this next clue could mean

As his new friend(!!!) resumes working, Jeongin spends a little more time at the store himself to decode the words on the paper

About half an hour later, Jeongin gets hit with an epiphany:

“Soul City” and then letters a, c, f, e

Seungmin: “Soul City Cafe?”

Seungmin’s voice scares Jeongin out of his seat, but nonetheless he is thankful for the input

Soul City Cafe.

Seoul.

A café in Seoul! The city where this all started!

Jeongin: “Wow, you should be the investigator, you do my job better than me!”

Seungmin: “Woahwoah, wait, this is your job?”

Drat, I exposed myself… Rookie mistake…

Jeongin can’t lie any longer, so he ends up telling Seungmin the entire truth

To his surprise, Seungmin takes it pretty well!!

The bookstore employee is more excited if anything

It turns out that Seungmin himself is from Seoul!

The only reason he’s working at a bookstore in the middle of Mississippi is because he’s acting as a liason for this new bookstore branch that (which originated in Seoul)

Seungmin: “There’s this café called ‘Blue Zone’ next to where I usually work, maybe that’s where you need to go?”

Jeongin: “Are you going to come with me?”

Seungmin: “Hm? Oh, no, I—I’d love to, but I have to work here for a little longer.”

Jeongin: “Then maybe I’ll…see you there? At that café?”

Seungmin: “Let’s make it a date”

And so Jeongin flies back to Seoul—ready to tackle the next puzzle of this mystery—with coffee and a certain bookstore worker on his mind…

This storyline probably won't have a part 2, but I hope you enjoyed it! Thanks for reading! ^^

[team-ion]

Ok last message for tonight because it's 5 am but I really do think it's funny that my brain latched onto this fic so hard. I grew up with PMD and have loved it since I was 8, but it's Warped Skies in particular that really occupies my mind. I think Warped Skies feels like what PMD taken much further could be, complexity-wise, since even being such a well-written game it has to appeal to 8 year olds before it does near-18 year olds. Autism makes your brain have funny priorities I guess lmao but I'm glad for it.

I do have to wonder, did you ever think you would go so far with this fic? I'm like 80% sure you made an AN at some point around the Scout reveal about your direction with Scout changing because you saw a comment mentioning Meowth is partner-exclusive in Sky, but I might also be insane or dumb because I checked the first 80 chapters, saw nothing, and also spoiled myself about chimecho being Actually evil since I never made it to chapter 80 :(

I think it is absolute madman behavior that you've written over a million words in this fic and you're actively retrospectively rewriting and refining it. I'm happy for it though. I remember there being some plot threads that felt a bit disjointed that feel a lot more cohesive in this version and I'm really enjoying the new but familiar experience of reading it.

I've gotta stop writing essays in your comments section and your askbox goddamn

-codacheetah

Ah no, you got that spoiler? Oof. That’s probably one of the hardest twists of the story, haha. That was fun to see people’s reactions.

Naaah. I could NEVER have imagined how big the story got or how far I’d go with it. I initially imagined just two arcs and some interesting commentary of how knowing the future doesn’t necessarily mean you can benefit from that, especially when you’re knowledge begins to change things.

You are right, though. I did mention that in an authors note SOMEWHERE. First chapter, he was ‘the human’ and went to the Dark Future and all. That review made me think and I had the crazy idea of ‘What if he wasn’t and the human was still there?’ which quickly moved into ‘Okay, he’s still from the Dark Future. Aha! I can use my headcannon that Dusknoir was part of the Planetary Investigation Team here, hahahaha!’ Ideas just slammed into me like boulders.

I wrote a million words! That means I can do it again with ease~ haha, or maybe not ease but I’ve actually had a surprising amount of fun with the rewrite! I hate editing but it hasn’t felt so much like editing and I actually enjoy reading my own writing in some parts, I used to reread Chapter 51 a lot, heh.

I know I’ve said it before, but I’ll ramble again. The story by and large will be the same as the original, but I know there are parts that could be done better and I would think at points as I’d reread or just think about the story how I might do something different. It gives me the chance to do that. Some changes are minor, some are a bit bigger like with the new Chapter 20 but still mostly ultimated the same.

We’ll see if I can keep to the road and not go off track, hah! Always fun to hear from you, you rest well!

[kyuyua]

Sunrise After Sunset 🌅 Progress Update: In the works

So it’s been two years since I’ve updated Sunrise After Sunset over on Ao3 (and Wattpad) and besides answering some comments the few times I check my inbox and that one ask that kicked my brain into gear a bit, I haven’t been saying much about what my plans exactly are for working on SAS? That’s mostly because I’m paranoid and if I say things out loud I’m less likely to do them, but y’all deserve a bit of relief.

To start, nope, haven’t written anything since I went on that unannounced hiatus that faithful August 2020. SAS has been sitting in my docs collecting dust while I’ve been hopping around fandoms as usual. I get the most motivation to actually want to write something when I’m into the thing I’m writing for at the moment, and by the time school started that year I was both busy and getting into a new fandom, which was bad news for my motivation. Didn’t help that I was stuck on how to write the next chapter.

Still, like I’ve always said, I absolutely love the idea for SAS and refuse to give up on it. It just took me until I got back into One Piece wholeheartedly to start looking into it again. At the moment, I’m going to have to re-familiarize myself with One Piece and all it’s intricacies, as well as my stupid jumbled notes that I wrote in a NOTEBOOK LIKE AN IDIOT LIKE WHY ME WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT—

(sigh) Yeah no, don’t let its pristine condition fool you—the mess in there is another reason I didn’t try to pick up SAS again faster…

But anyway, once I do all that stuff, it’ll still be a while until I update new content! I plan to rewrite everything and do some major editing since there were things I’m not happy with now and even some things I disliked when I was writing the fic. It’s gonna be a lot of work, and I’m extremely lazy (if the past two years have said anything) but for SAS I’m (maybe, just a little bit) willing to work for it :’)

After the revision stuff I’m going to prepare a shit ton of chapters before publishing for y’all because you guys DESERVE new content, holy god I’m so sorry. That you’re all still waiting patiently even though I’m the most suckiest asshole of an author on the planet makes me want to work even harder for y’all to finally put your waiting to rest. If it was your plan to guilt trip me all along it’s definitely working—god I love y’all ;-;-;-; It’ll take longer to get anything out but it gives you guys a lot more content to read through in a shorter amount of time than if I were to write every chapter before publishing them like I’ve been doing.

Once I start going through the process I’ll update SAS’s status in the summary as well as make a short progress post here on Tumblr. I don’t know how many of you are even reading this essay but to those of you who are here this is all for you. I originally started writing this fic because I wanted to see the idea out on a screen with words and words to its name. It was just a little project for me, but now I have all of you to share it with and I’m so sorry for keeping so much of it away from you all for so long. You’ll have to wait a bit longer before any true updates are made to the fic, but hopefully it won’t be as long this time :))

I can’t give an exact date or even an estimate of when I’ll start publishing new chapters because I’m horrible at both keeping promises and time management. Feel free to shout at me in my asks or in the comments to make sure I’m actually being productive!!! I’ll probably be caught red-handed but that sort of thing helps me get off my ass the best—is that weird? I plan to start a new discord server specifically for SAS and any future fics I may or may not have, so be on the look out for that update post!!!

Thank you guys so much for your patience. I really don’t deserve you. Know I love and appreciate you all so so so much ^^ ❤️