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yuriartillery · 3 days ago

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Agatha and Elizabeth

“Lady Agatha, I’ve brought you your tea.”

I set the platter down on the end table next to my mistress and pour out her tea. She doesn’t take it with milk or sugar, and she always insists that I oversteep the leaves in the pot. Bitter herbs sharpen the mind, she says.

Agatha is sprawled out on her reading chair in her chamber, still in her nightgown despite it nearly being noon. Lady Agatha purportedly drove away several governesses in her youth with her willful and unladylike attitude, and I have personally seen her drive out a fair score of potential suitors in much the same way. I admit that I almost admire her sharp tongue when it’s turned towards those above me, but all too often her disposition grates on me in the way that only a spoiled child can.

“Thank you, Liz. Would you draw the curtains? I have a bitch of a headache.”

Her delicately manicured left hand covers her porcelain face, as she regards me through spread fingers. My lady’s room has a western facing window, and there’s not a single stream of light flowing in at the moment. A catty remark crosses my mind briefly as I walk over to the curtains to draw them.

“Right away, my Lady.”

She’s not fond of sharp or sudden noises, so I carefully pull them together, taking far longer than I would prefer. Once the are curtains shut, I tidy up her room. The laundry maid has often complained that Agatha’s clothes seem to spend more time as makeshift rugs than on her body. She’s still watching me through her fingers, although she hasn’t yet deigned to honour me by turning her head.

“Lady Agatha, forgive me my presumption, but you seem not to be feeling well today. Shall I send word to that factory owner’s son that you won’t be able to entertain him for dinner?”

Exactly on cue, she lets out a put-upon sigh and slumps further into her chair. Mister John Harker has been quite dogged in his pursuit of Agatha, despite her repeated deflections of his various advances. By society’s estimation he’s a perfectly unobjectionable man, though the arrogance he displays by courting far above his station embitters him to me. Not that anyone of standing minds, her parents have been trying to marry her off to any man who will take her, both to finally rid the estate of her presence and to dispel the rumors that they’ve spawned an unmarriageable hellion.

“I’m afraid you didn’t respond clearly enough for me to answer Mr. Harker’s solicitations, my Lady, shall I return after you’ve had time for the tea to settle?”

My mistress is so predictable. As soon as I suggest that I’m about to leave, she immediately rights her posture, combs her hair out of her eyes, and clears her throat.

“Tell that parasitic bastard that I am indisposed in no uncertain terms, Liz.”

She pauses for a beat, her face twisting as venom decants behind her ruby lips, until her expression settles into a malicious grin barely veiled by an austere half-smile. Just as I’m about to prompt her, my Lady speaks.

“On second thought, I’m feeling much better. Your tea always does wonders for me, Elizabeth. Let him know that I would be honored to dine with him alone tonight.”

I know she’s not touched her tea yet, so Agatha must be plotting something. Typically she would hold a massive party so that she could publicly humiliate a suitor. A solo dinner is well outside of her usual mischief.

“Very good, my Lady. I’ll have a messenger send word to Mr. Harker immediately.”

“You must help me get dressed and prepared first, Liz. I can’t host anyone in this state, certainly not him. My hair’s a mess, as is my face.”

I can’t help but smile to myself. Agatha is always so petulant and exacting when she gets an idea like this into her head. Until the very moment her plans begin, she’ll find something wrong with her appearance or presentation and endlessly correct it such that everything is perfect. She’ll need to bathe, get dressed, do her hair, and have at least four hours to make sure that each room in her scheme is arranged to her need.

“Did you bathe last night, my Lady?”

Of course she didn’t, I was with her until I turned out her lights. My mistress never bathes unless I remind her too. She seems startled when I ask this, snapped out of her plots for a moment by the societal expectation of cleanliness. Honestly, she’s helpless.

“Oh! I, well, no…”

“I see, my Lady. I’ll go draw a bath for you now, and I’ll fetch you when it’s ready.”

“Thank you, Liz.”

“It’s no trouble at all, my Lady. Do you have an idea of what you’ll be wearing tonight?”

“…I don’t.”

“Well my Lady, I encourage you to think on it while I prepare your bath. Please excuse me.”

She’s not listening anymore, and I know it. I don’t particularly mind. The look of her perfectly focused face tells she can’t tell if I take a moment outside of her notice. Some time to alert the staff to the general outline of what will be occurring today. I quietly excuse myself from her chambers and look for Anthony, the estate’s coachman and messenger. He seems genuinely excited to be giving Mr. Harker substantial news for a change. I can’t blame the man, it must be exhausting to constantly rebuff the pesterings of a desperate lovelorn fool.

Lady Agatha didn’t outline any of her plans to me before I left, but they all more or less follow a rote routine, so providing advanced notice to the kitchen and cleaning staff has historically improved the odds of my mistress’s plans going off without a hitch.

The bath has always been simple, but unorthodox, to prepare. Agatha prefers her baths to be as hot as possible, so I nearly boil her bathwater. When she’s ready it’ll be the almost scalding temperature that she so adores. I gently knock at the door and let myself in. Agatha has spread a few different dresses out on her bed and the floor and is in deep deliberation as to which dress she should wear.

“I think the sky blue dress would be appropriate for today, my Lady.”

She starts up, like a cat that’s had its tail tread on. I suppress a giggle. She nods to me in agreement and begins to gather up her other dresses.

“Also, your bath is prepared. Leave the cleanup to me, my Lady.”

I reach down to help her upright and she takes my hand swiftly. She pulls herself to her feet in one sudden motion and walks to the bathroom faster than is necessary. Out of the corner of my eye I catch her alabaster cheeks flushing rose, cut off sharply by the slamming of a door. This is routine as well, a startled Agatha can’t bear to be seen by anyone else. I tidy up her room, returning all but the blue dress to her wardrobe. After all is set into its rightful place, I make up her bed and tidy the mess of romance novels on her desk.

A book titled Carmilla catches my eye as I clean, hidden away behind the headboard of Agatha’s bed. It’s in a horrid state, spine bent and broken, pages yellowed with several dog-eared to hold her place. My lady is still bathing, so I take a break from my chores to peruse a few pages. Within seconds I am absorbed so fully that I nearly miss my Lady crying out for my aid. I clear my throat and tuck the novel back where I found it.

“Liz! Elizabeth! I need your help! Now!”

It’s strange, she almost never requires assistance in the bath, but I open the door to the bath and a wave of heavy steam forces me back. I wipe the fog from my glasses and walk in.

“Liz, what took you so long?”

Agatha’s skin is entirely red from the hot bath, but she hasn’t yet wet her hair. I can’t help but sigh, she’s going to insist that I wash her hair. It’s nearly been two months since she last asked for this, I had almost hoped that she had forgotten that I said I’d be willing to. I move behind the bathtub and prepare the soaps.

“Forgive me, my Lady. I was engrossed in my work.”

She pouts, because she can’t help it. I keep my opinions to myself.

“Well, it doesn’t matter anymore! Now that you’re here, wash my hair! … please.”

I knew it.

“You’ll have to wet it yourself, my lady. I wouldn’t want to appear to be drowning my mistress on the off chance that someone stumbles into your bathroom.”

With a huff, Agatha sinks beneath the steaming water, giving me another opportunity to remove the fog from my glasses. She childishly breaches moments later, splattering both myself and the floor with her bathwater. Every day it grows harder to suppress my annoyance with my mistress. Each interaction is just another trial from God, sent to test my patience.

“Close your eyes, my Lady. We wouldn’t want it to get into your eyes.”

I lather her scalp and begin the laborious process of cleaning her unmanageable amount of hair. Agatha has been famously opposed to it ever being cut. Trimming it to remove the splitting ends has been a battle enough her entire life, the other maids have told me. She’s made a personal enemy of every salon’s proprietor and all of their employees within fifty miles, and now none will ever assent to seeing her.

My mistress sighs with contentment as I work on her. She purrs like a cat when my nails scratch her scalp and mewls pathetically when I move on to more of her hair. There’s some wordless protestation when I wipe my glasses for a third time, but it’s easily resolved with a bit of pointless fawning.

“Alright, it is finished, my Lady.”

She sinks back underneath the water. I have to wait for her to resurface before I leave, lest I provoke another outburst. It won’t be long, as she can hardly hold her breath above water, let alone below it. When she surfaces this time she doesn’t intentionally splash as a seal would.

“If that’s all, I’ll be taking my leave now, Lady Agatha.”

I’m struck by how wounded she looks as I move to leave. With a sigh I turn around and set my glasses on the vanity, as it seems I might be in this teakettle of a room for quite some time.

“Is there something wrong, my Lady?”

There’s a pause as she thinks over my question. She’s clearly troubled, it’s written all over her face.

“What do you think of that Harker bastard, Liz? And you have to answer honestly! Or else!”

It’s now my turn to spend a moment thinking. By all measures he’s an upstanding young gentleman, cordial and polite at every opportunity. He gets along well with all of the servants in our estate, myself excluded, and he’s absolutely filthy rich, so it wouldn’t be beyond him to provide the lavish lifestyle that Agatha insists on.

But despite knowing all of that, I simply cannot stand the man for more than five minutes at a time. His posture is stiff and bent all at the same time, he never knows when to stop joking about with people, and his tireless pursuit of Agatha, despite her obvious intolerance of his existence, makes me wretch. If I were her mother, I would make it clear in no uncertain terms that he is to leave my darling Agatha alone and never show his face in my house again.

“Hmm. Well, in all respects he’s a wonderful gentleman who any young woman would be delighted to marry.”

I can feel my mistress burning holes through me with her glare as I begin my evaluation of her suitor with the same uncritical praise that she’s doubtless heard dozens of times already.

“But, I personally would resign as my Lady’s personal maid if you were to accept his proposal. I cannot stand to share a room with the man, and were it not my duty to ensure he felt safe and welcomed in this estate, I would have denied him entry long ago.”

Agatha looks visibly relieved to hear such a scathing opinion of Mr. Harker. After I finish speaking, she steps out of the bath without warning and wrings out her hair. I nearly stumble as I go for a towel to give her so that she can cover up. It isn’t the first time I’ve seen her fully naked before, so I suppose she must not mind at anymore. I excuse myself to her chambers to help her dress and do her hair after she finishes drying herself.

She’s returned to her silent plotting once she exits the bath, and wordlessly allows me to dress her, not putting up nearly as much of a fight as I’m used to out of her. I prefer her like this, a nice pretty doll for me to dress and groom. I’m almost shocked not to hear any complaining as I do her hair up into a partial crown braid, but she’s within in her own internal world now. The Day of Judgment itself could not rouse her now.

Once she’s fully prepared for the day she gracefully dances out of her room, stopping to offer me a mumbled thanks for dressing her. She’s likely off to let the staff know her particular requirements for tonight’s dinner. I’ll be following her during the late afternoon, but time has flown, and I’m finally allowed one of my breaks, so I go off to the kitchen to have myself a meal.

The cooks are all abuzz about Lady Agatha’s meal request for tonight. Against her parent’s paltry resistance, she’s asked that they prepare all of the most expensive meat they had on hand, and that they were to make enough to feed the entire staff. Nobody is quite sure what awful prank she’s going to play on Mr. Harker, but they don’t care. Wine, bread, cheeses, all are fair game to the staff tonight, so Agatha likely has their entire support.

It’s already late afternoon when Anthony leads Mr. Harker into the foyer. He looks dazzled by the chandelier when I greet him on behalf of Agatha.

“Welcome to the Rosewood Estate, Mr. John Harker. At present, my Lady Agatha is preparing for your meal with her. Forgive her absence; she’ll be with us shortly. Until then, it would be my honor to entertain you.”

My voice breaks his fascination with the crystal chandelier and he laughs nervously.

“Uh, haha, yes, very good. You’re, wait, don’t tell me, I remember your face, uh, you’re Elizabeth! Right, yeah Lizzy, the uh, maid that’s always joined to Aggie’s hip. That’s splendid, I could use your advice.”

I wince when he calls my mistress ‘Aggie’ with such familiarity. Where does he get off thinking that he can use a pet name she despises when she’s done nothing but ignore his telegrams and letters for months? I offer a silent prayer that whatever Agatha has planned will rid us of this vermin for good.

“I’m flattered, Mr. Harker. Not only do you remember a humble servant like myself, but you think so highly of my opinion that you’d ask for my advice. If you would give Anthony your coat, I’ll guide you to the sitting room, where it’d be my utmost pleasure to answer any questions you may have.”

Mr. Harker’s face lights up with an awful juvenile smile as he hands off his filthy longcoat to the coachman. I lead him to the sitting room, opening the door for him and he immediately takes Agatha’s favored seat. His posture is positively uncouth as his miserable form seeps into the chair.

“Should I have a servant put on some tea, Mr. Harker?”

“Tea? No, can’t stand the stuff. I only drink coffee. Lizzy, you wouldn’t believe how rough the journey here from London is, but after months of silence, my beloved Aggie has finally seen sense! Everyone told me that she’d never respond, uh, that she’s always going to be unmarried but I sure showed-”

I can’t bear to hear anymore of his blathering, so I cut him off.

“I’m as pleased as anyone else is that my Lady has finally graced with you an invitation to our humble estate, Mr. Harker. If you would forgive me speaking above my station, what did you intend to ask me about?”

His surprised expression at my directness fills me with equal parts pride for silencing him and anxiety for speaking over a man.

“Uh… right, right, so you know Aggy better than anyone else right, Lizzy? I mean, uh, of course you do. I’ve never seen her without you by her side, uh, so, in your opinion how do you think it’d be best for me to uh, spring an engagement on her?”

Die. I want him to die right now.

“Lady Agatha has always hated surprises. I’m sure someone who cares for her as deeply, as you yourself do, would understand that instinctively. She’s also quite sharp, trying to trick her into saying yes would only put yourself in danger of one of her infamous rejections. Were I in your position, I would be upfro-”

“Ha! Upfront? You’ve got to be joking around with me, right Lizzy? I’ve always uh, been upfront with Aggie about my intentions and it hasn’t gotten me anywhere. Honestly, were I a more cynical man, I’d think she’s uh, preparing to embarrass me like she she did to Georgie, and Percy, and Willy, and…”

He trails off getting quieter and quieter as he lists a number of Agatha’s potential suitors that he personally knew. I take the moment to breathe, trying to quell the seething rage I feel after being so sharply cut off by a dimwitted half-common fool who asked for my advice, then decided he knew better instantly.

“Yes, my Lady has discerning taste. But not one of the unfortunate men you listed were ever personally invited to a private dinner with Lady Agatha.”

Mr. Harker looks up from the fingers he was counting his former rivals on, genuinely shocked at what I had just said.

“Wait, uh, really?”

“Yes sir.”

“You’re not pulling my leg, are you Lizzy?”

“This is not the proper time to make jokes, Mr, Harker.”

The smile that appears on his face on hearing this turns my stomach.

“Splendid! Right, uh, sorry for doubting you Lizzy. You’ve been so helpful. Uh, take this as a sign of my thanks.”

He shoves a crumpled wad of banknotes into my hand, then returns to Agatha’s chair, somehow spreading himself in a less dignified way than before.

“Sir, I can’t accept these, I haven’t done anything for you.”

I gently set the money onto an end table nearby Mr. Harker. It stinks like he does. I’ll have to wash my hands once I have some time to myself. When he speaks again, his voice is in a lower tone.

“Oh Lizzy, you’re so humble, I insist. And uh, just between you and me, uh, Percy said the reason why he stopped pursuing Aggie wasn’t because of all of the drinks she spilled on him or the kissing some other man while he was watching or any of that. Percy’s a good-natured chap after all. You could probably cut off his leg and he’d thank you.”

“Forgive me, I’m not sure I understand-”

“He said it was because uh, whenever you’d look at him, he’d uh, feel the chill of the grave. So, uh, if Agatha does become my fiancee, I’d like to have a good uh, you know, relationship with you, Lizzy.”

I notice that I’ve been clenching my fists in my lap during this entire conversation. I relax myself, and give him a halfhearted half-smile.

“Whatever my Lady desires, I will make so. If she truly does wish to marry you, Mr. Harker, I’ll gladly serve you with her.”

“Brilliant! We’ll be thick as thieves in no time, won’t we, Lizzy?”

As if Lady Agatha has any intention of spending one more moment of her precious time with this imbecile after tonight is through.

“I’d imagine we would be, sir.”

Another maid opens the door to let us know that dinner is ready to be served. Harker gets up right away, boundless energy pouring out of his every step. I follow behind and over his shoulders I see Lady Agatha. She’s done her own makeup for this dinner, and though it’s competent, I still wish she had given me the opportunity to do it for her. Even so, at this moment she is the pinnacle of grace and beauty, her dress flowing like water with each step she takes.

“John, it’s so very good to see you tonight. I trust that Liz was a satisfactory substitute hostess while I was making myself presentable?”

Her voice rings out clear and wonderful as church bells, contrasted to Mr. Harker’s boorish mumbling.

“Uh, yeah, Aggie, she was an uh, a great hostess. You uh, look pretty tonight. Uh, Lizzy said it would just be the uh, two of us dining?”

“Yes, I’ve had my staff prepare the meal beforehand so that it can just be the two of us alone, John. I’m quite proud of what my chefs have waiting for us tonight.”

Agatha offers her hand to Harker, which he takes, not even kneeling to kiss it, and then pulls her into the dining room. The doors close behind them and I rush to the washroom to scrub his scent from my hands.

It’s been nearly thirty minutes as I wait alone by the door, hands red and raw from the washing. The air stings. All I can here through the polished oak are polite murmurs as the two eat and chat, though try as I might, I can’t discern the direction the conversation is going.

Doubts begin to eat away at me while the minute hand crawls iota by iota across the clock face. Did Agatha actually have feelings for Mr. Harker that I simply hadn’t noticed? Was this not going to be a prank of hers? Without being able to hear, anything could be going on behind those closed doors. I fall to my knees and offer another prayer to whatever saint can be bothered. Ask God on my behalf to kill that man on the spot.

As I strain my ears I hear a glass shatter and a slight scuffle. I ignore it dutifully, if I am needed then she will come ask for me. Then a dull thump as something hits the floor hard. It is none of my concern, my imagination must be overactive. Then a strangled, gurgling scream. I disregard my station and throw open a door to see if my Lady is safe.

Within the dining hall I see my lovely Lady Agatha on top of a fallen John Harker, her face pressed against his neck and hand covering his mouth. He’s gripping the tablecloth with one hand and clawing desperately at the air with another. The red wine is all over the floor and my Lady’s dress. Harker’s eyes dart towards me and he forces out another gagged scream.

I begin to apologize for my intrusion and turn to leave, when I catch from the corner of my eye thick crimson pool oozing from Mr. Harker’s neck. There’s a tearing sound as she looks at me from atop the bleeding man. She looks up at me and spits out a chunk of his flesh. A jolt of envy courses through me.

“Oh Liz. Right outside my door. Ever my faithful dog. Did you hear that scream and get worried that John was attempting something improper with your master?”

Harker had sunk his teeth into Agatha’s hand, hard enough to make her bleed, but the light is already beginning to leave his eyes. I come to my senses enough to speak.

“What in God’s name are you doing, Agatha?”

She smiles far wider than she’s ever done before, showing off all of her perfectly straight bloodstained teeth. Her voice remains even and tempered, as if she were speaking to her parents or another noble. I’m beckoned over by her free hand and I approach warily.

“John was just blathering on and on and on about his life and how he’ll treat me if we were to get engaged and about his work in the city and all of his terribly boring friends and it was so mind-numbingly dull.”

Her voice is excited and lilting as she continues, but she isn’t talking past me. All of her attention is on me now.

“You know how I get when I’m bored, Liz. I started to look at his neck instead of his face. When he gets excited did you know one of his veins throbs just a little? I got to wondering what it would feel like if I were to sink my teeth into it and then before I knew it-”

She laughs clear and innocent as a church bell. It brings a smile to the corner of my face despite the circumstances.

“I was on top of him ripping out that throbbing vein with my teeth!”

Blood has started to seep into the edges of her dress, the floor is slick with Harker’s life. I get closer to her, and she wrenches her other hand out of his mouth. I kneel beside her and she rests her head on my shoulder.

“And it felt so good, Liz, the heat of his blood pouring into my mouth, the feel of my teeth cutting through skin and muscle alike, the terror in his eyes as he realized that I was going to kill him.”

Agatha lets out a dreamy sigh, running her uninjured hand over the chest of Harker’s corpse. I glare at it. It’s still too much affection for him, from her.

“And the struggle, he bit my hand, you know. How improper of him, he’s meant to be my suitor.”

She takes my cheek with her unbitten hand and turns my head to look her in the eyes. I ask instinctively.

“Is there something you require, my Lady?” My Lady Agatha kisses me on my lips, the bitter iron taste of Harker’s blood fills my mouth, my cheeks reddening from the directness, the impropriety of it. I feel my heart quicken when her tongue meets mine and at this moment I forget about the dead man beside me, the stains to my clothes, and every thought about what I should do now.

The kiss ends abruptly, and I’m still left reeling from the intensity of the situation. Agatha stands and present her injured hand to me. I wrap it with a napkin to staunch the flow of blood. The same smile is still on her face.

“Now Liz, I seem to have made a mess of my dinner. Could you clean up for me?”

#longform tag #maid #yuri #this one is edited and refined from a draft from 2021 #lottie had plans to make it a serial but the motivation never manifested #anyway! enjoy it as a short story its a little violent near the end but if youve read lotties other work #you know what youre signing up for tee hee

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jalenay · 1 year ago

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Nothing's Wrong with Dale - Publishing Update May 4 2024

So my work work is starting to relax - it'll be 'normal' working hours after May 15, but i'm manifesting some early additional free time (by ignoring some of the things i still have left to do) and i thought i'd give an update on my current NWWD plan to fill you guys in (if anyone wants to know) and to motivate myself to, you know, do it.

let me know what you think and if you have any questions! or if there's anything else you want to know!

So the overall plan is as follows:

First Rough Edit - this is basically just changing the POV from 2nd POV to 3rd POV. This is very tedious and currently what I'm doing right now. I'm also making a list as I go for high level updates/changes i want to make. Just thinking about the story as a whole and what tweaks i want to make now that the whole thing is finally done (primarily moving exposition around, if there's anything extra i can remove, timing of when certain things are discussed, and so on).

My Main Edit - this will be more time consuming but probably more fun as i do my main revise and edit of the story as a whole. i'll likely print the entire story out, make edits on hard copy, and then type up all the edits. I will also probably be sending the updated chapters to my main beta, for her opinion. (this would be the person i first texted about Dale in Dec 2021, she deserves first look lol)

Editor - After I'm happy with what I've done, i'll send the entire thing over to my editors, the main ones who worked on DSM. This will likely take a good amount of time (DSM took one month) but in many ways involves less effort from me lol. Just nerves.

Cover, Self-publishing Details - while my editors have the manuscript, I'll be narrowing down what I want the cover to look like and hiring a cover artist. (i've got a short list of artists right now, but i'll probably continue to refine that). I'm bad a visualizing covers and so this will be hard for me, although i have some basic ideas. i'll need to gather reference photos too and then work with the artist. I also want to publish more widely than just Amazon and will hopefully get DSM out to other places as well as a test run before NWWD. Look into more marketing? This is the most miscellaneous of the steps.

Process Edits - actually go through all the edits and notes given to me by my editor. This takes a lot of time (and is mentally taxing - no one likes to read pages of people telling you what you need to fix about what you wrote even if its overall extremely helpful and necessary)

Finalizing - I'll send the edited version to my first beta and another ARC reader/friend. I'll work on the formatting for the book. Coordinating where it will be published and when.

Publishing!

This is a loose list of steps that I mostly defined right now, but are similar to what i did with DSM. As i said, I'm in step one, currently just finished Chapter 25 of 36 of that rough edit.

I'll try to provide some updates on the process at it moves along, if people are interested in hearing about that. I'll most likely keep those updates on this blog, along with any other publishing specific commentary. if any one has any questions or thoughts on the whole thing, please feel free to send them to this blog or comment on this post.

I'm very excited to really dig into publishing NWWD and looking forward to sharing it with you!

Thanks to everyone for all their support - I wouldn't even be considering this (i probably wouldn't have even had a finished draft) with you!

#self-publishing #nothing's wrong with dale #writblr #writing #NWWD status #so excited to be making progress again #long road ahead but its gonna end with me having a full book published #so i'm beyond thrilled #publishing

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empressvika · 2 years ago

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greetings

hey, this is vika. I think i did an intro on the bird app but this is tumbles so i’ll be reintroducing myself !

about the empress

yes, I am the empress. that's it. that's who i am.

ha, just kidding.

i'm a fanfic writer who started writing seriously (and a lot) in 2021 and hasn't looked back since. i have way too many drafts and too little works actually uploaded on the holy grail that is AO3.

you might've seen me on FFNet but pretend you didn't :)

i'm kinda antisocial and may come off as cold (hence, the winter empire thing) but I. Am. Just. Shy ! if you wanna interact, interact! i can't promise responding because most of the time i don't know what to say but know that i always appreciate it <3

ongoing projects

right now, I’m working on completely rewriting the two WiPs i had semi-abandoned. It’s My Life is Yours and Distance of Futures (From Mine to Yours). They’re both BKDK and I’m still outlining them.

Warning: to those who’ve read and subscribed to them on AO3, know that I’ll be orphaning them once I finish rewriting. I like to start on a clean slate and the new changes are definitely drastic enough to warrant a new fic entirely.

Progress report on them:

DoF - the rough outline is halfway done but I’ll be refining it a bit more. Not sure how long it’ll be but the chapter count might go for 20 with 4-6k each. Again, no promises there. The story is the same but very different as before so please look forward to it !!

MLY - Ah, yeah, I haven’t started on this at all lol I’ll start on the outline once I finish DoF’s outline.

writing habits

In my early shameful days, I used to do WiPs. I had no outlines to follow and just wrote like the damn wind. Now, I’m a changed person (ish).

I finish writing fics (that’s editing + beta reading) before uploading them on a schedule. This is why I’m technically ‘on a break’ most of the time.

That’s not to say that I’m always writing fanfics. I write original content too so my time is split because of that. What can I say? Writing is how I live.

my ships

BKDK hands-down is my muse. They’re what brought me back to writing and I’ve never looked back. They’re also the ship that has the most drafts in my computer haha

TDBK has also snared my heart several times. Gods, they’re adorable. My fav trope is a sugar daddy!tdrk and a broke hero!bkg

TDBKDK is something I haven’t written a lot for but there’s a lot of potential in it methinks. I don’t like dynamics where tdbk hate each other and bond over their like of dk though… let all three love each other dammit !!

Ehem, now for other fandoms & ships:

HP; Tomarry/Harrymort

TGCF; Hualian

Witcher; Geraskier

MDZS; Wangxian

Genshin; Zhongchi/Tartali

Bleach; GrimmIchi

One Piece; ZoLu

where else to find me

Twitter - sometimes i do threadfics here but I post them on AO3 afterwards as a series

AO3 - my main abode ✌️

between bkg’s pecs ahaha

#fanfic writer #ao3 writer #writeblr intro #writeblr #peasants deserve to know my greatness #ahaha im kidding im chill

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talesfromasnarkylisa · 18 days ago

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Lacey: Chapter 34

James: September 25, 2023

I took a quiz in calculus on Monday. Despite everything that had transpired with my editor responsibilities, online PR management, other courses, and Lacey, I was still fairly confident I passed this quiz well enough to keep my marks acceptable for my scholarship. Whether those grades would deteriorate further throughout the semester was another story entirely, but I was pretty safe for now.

Anyways, studying did keep my mind off whatever crazy things were going in the online writing world I lived in as Archer J. Likewise, editing the loonier drafts coming in from the aspiring writers that somehow slipped through the cracks of Music Refined’s beta readers was a good distraction from both offline stress and the insanity of the rest of my Internet dealings.

Distractions couldn’t last forever, though. I knew that I still had to get rid of Lacey - somehow. There were rumors she went to Vivian about the recent Writer’s Delight changes. I actually felt a lot of Lacey’s alleged complaints were valid. But that didn’t change the fact that she was an absolute grifter attempting to exploit the anti-intellectualism of certain crowds to climb up the writing world’s social hierarchy.

That’s not even getting into that Maria bitch. I had no definite idea who she was. However, the hints in her increasingly frequent hate comments pointed more and more towards her being Eleanor.

On Sunday, Maria tried to send a grand total of three comments to the comment section of my video on Facebook’s Twitter ripoff. Then, they commented twice on Monday again. The five comments were part of a single diatribe Maria decided to split off because it was so long. I managed to gather a few new tidbits of info about her from the batshit creepy tangents the comments went on.

Firstly, I learned she was a woman. This was no surprise, as she literally had “Maria” as part of her username and used she/her pronouns. But given I’d met many people over the years with branding seemingly suggesting their opposite gender, this was pretty important information to lend credence to her potentially being Eleanor.

Second of all, Maria knew way too much about the call I had with Darian when he vented to me about Eleanor’s repeated attempts to continue her old relationship with him back in 2021. She quoted some exact lines in a way that no one could unless they had direct access to the call footage. Given that it was a private conversation involving no one else other than Darian and I, and Darian only ever sent her a recording of the call to get her to fuck off, there was definitely something really fishy going on with Maria when it came to that.

What tipped me off the most, though, was what she knew about Corianna and I.

Back in late 2020, there were rumors that I was dating Corianna which were based on faked DMs purporting to be between the two of us. Fortunately, we both managed to shoot down the gossip pretty quick. That being said, neither of us ultimately wanted to expose the screenshot faker’s true online identity once we got him to confess it. As it turned out, he was just an edgy teenage boy who apparently had a psychotic episode at the time. Not being entirely out of it yet, he even sent us the medical records to prove it. Corianna and I somewhat pitied him despite his actions, so we let him go on the condition that he never speak of us again publicly. He never did.

I showed my online mutuals the evidence of Maria potentially being Eleanor. Darian seemed open to the theory, although he didn’t entirely let his suspicions of Nora Sixty go. Corianna was fairly onboard with it from the get-go, albeit not wanting to fully condemn Maria unless further proof came up. Oscar was pretty wary of both Nora and Maria, whereas Vivian thought we were all being paranoid and that we should just ignore them if they seemed that worrying.

In the meantime, I had heard from Oscar and Theodore that Lacey confronted the top Writer’s Delight editors about their editing policy and process changes. I wasn’t surprised one bit, as that sounded like exactly what Lacey would do. It would also provide a good opening for me to turn people against her, as Writer’s Delight was the popular free publication of Medium. But I wanted to make sure the claims were true, as the screenshots both provided didn’t show an exact email address from Lacey.

I DM’d Lacey asking her about the things that transpired between her and Writer’s Delight’s editors.

Archer J (09/25/23, 7:09 PM): Hey Lacey.

Lacey Hannah (09/25/23, 7:10 PM): Hi.

Archer J (09/25/23, 7:12 PM): I heard that there was something going on between you and the Writer’s Delight people.

Lacey Hannah (09/25/23, 7:13 PM): …What something?

I then explained to Lacey the rumors I heard from my mutuals about her. After a good 10 minutes, Lacey responded with an air of hesitance.

Lacey Hannah (09/25/23, 7:25 PM): Well, I didn’t spam the editors with threats to try and get them to change their minds. But yes, I did contact them regarding their overall decisions to be more hands-off. Archer J (09/25/23, 7:26 PM): What happened afterwards?

Lacey Hannah (09/25/23, 7:30 PM): Can’t say. Some stuff happened, but I promised not to say anything about it.

Of course she doesn’t trust me, I figured. This is gonna be a dead end unless I can pressure her into doing it.

I then realized that I didn’t need to get info about the Writer’s Delight situation by talking directly to Lacey. I could just ask someone else. Perhaps not the Writer’s Delight editors themselves (except for maybe Vivian), as my reputation among them still wasn’t particularly amazing. But they and the Music Refined people are pretty well-connected, and the latter seemed to like me more.

I decided to send an email to Micah. He and I had more exchanges with each other than I did with Tate, and I had already talked to Theordore.

I was careful not to immediately start off demanding information on what happened to Lacey with Writer’s Delight, but instead made a vague recommendation for potentially getting her promoted to formal editor of Music Refined as well as asking for any potential mitigating factors so I could “help” her. This would hopefully require Micah to explain what went on between either Lacey and Writer’s Delight or at the very least, an unnamed publication with enough details about her behavior. Either way, the goal was to have something - anything - to turn against the young woman and burn her in-publication reputation to the fucking ground.

Afterwards, I answered a couple of Inez’s texts. I thought a bit about talking to Darian and Corianna about Lacey, but I didn’t want to make things awkward between the four of us. Humiliating her in front of them would require a much stronger case than what I had at this point. And after what happened the year before…I really didn’t want to go back to square one again.

(Wattpad version: https://www.wattpad.com/1534733310-lacey-chapter-34)

#creative writing #story #storytelling #tumblr #tumblr stuff #wattpad #writing #inspired by #folklore love triangle #folklore #folklore taylor swift #folklore album #lacy olivia rodrigo #lacy #loosely #fiction #original characters

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news365timesindia · 2 months ago

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[ad_1] Trisha Ghosal with Boria Majumdar and Arka Rudra (PC: File) On behalf of the BWB production team – Trisha Ghosal and Arka Rudra The Madness Behind the Magic: Inside the Making of Backstage with Boria There’s a certain charm to madness when it comes with a method. And Backstage with Boria (BWB) is exactly that—a beautiful, chaotic blend of relentless creativity, raw passion, and sleepless nights. What you see as a seamless, powerful interview is the final product of countless hours of ideation, heated creative debates, and tireless refining by a team that thrives on pushing the boundaries of sports storytelling. Producing BWB has been nothing short of a rollercoaster ride—one that makes you scream, laugh, and occasionally question your life choices, only to hop back on for another round. And while I’m technically writing this as the show’s producer, this is not just my story—it’s our story. It’s about the madness that Arka Rudra, my ever-reliable editor and creative partner, and I have embraced together over the course of six seasons. When Madness Meets Method To the viewers, BWB is an experience—a front-row seat into the minds of global sports icons, rising stars, and unsung heroes. But what you don’t see is the grind that goes into making it. You don’t see the multiple drafts of every interview, the countless cuts and retakes, the debates over which visual or jacket works best. You don’t see Arka and me exchanging sharp creative differences at 3 AM, only to cool off over a strong cup of chai or coffee before getting back at it with renewed energy. There have been nights when we’ve argued, shut our laptops in frustration, and taken a “creative breather.” But then, in a matter of hours, we’d be back—fueled by the same madness that makes us go, “Hey, what if we tried this visual instead?” or “You know what? Let’s rework the text completely!” For the Latest Sports News: Click Here Edit Timeline (PC: Arka Rudra) The beauty of working with Arka is that we’ve developed a creative synergy where we can almost read each other’s minds. We can disagree ferociously, step away, and then come back with ideas that somehow align perfectly. That’s the magic of this madness—it’s driven by trust, respect, and the hunger to make every episode better than the last. BWB: Built on Passion, Fueled by Teamwork Backstage with Boria isn’t just another sports show—it’s the heart of RevSportz. Since its launch in December 2021, it has grown into a definitive series, bringing raw, honest, and inspiring conversations with the biggest names in sport, as well as rising stars who are carving their own legacies. What makes BWB unique isn’t just the calibre of guests—it’s the creative freedom we have been given to tell their stories our way. Boria Majumdar, the founder of RevSportz and the face of BWB, has been the driving force behind this autonomy. From day one, he has trusted Arka and me with complete creative independence. Boria has simply said: “Tell me what you need, and give me the best product.” That trust has allowed us to experiment, innovate, and push the boundaries of sports storytelling with every episode. And speaking of the product—it’s never just about the producer and editor. A show like BWB doesn’t just happen. While Arka and I handle the creative and post-production grind, it’s the unsung efforts of our extended team that truly make BWB shine. To my incredibly talented teammates—Rohan Chowdhury, Rahul Giri, Snehasis Mukherjee, Pampa Roy and Pooja Gosika – thank you. The Unseen Grind: Juggling BWB with Everything Else Producing BWB doesn’t happen in isolation. The madness is amplified when you’re also juggling regular programming, managing other projects, and keeping up with the relentless demands of the sports media landscape. There have been back-to-back production days, where BWB episodes are edited in the wee hours while daily programming looms over us. The whole team of BWB with Nikhat Zareen (PC: File) And yet, despite the sleep deprivation

and creative clashes, there’s nothing more fulfilling than seeing the final product—a compelling, insightful conversation that gives viewers an unfiltered look into the lives of sports legends. More Madness, More Magic As BWB enters its sixth season, I can’t help but feel a surge of pride. We must have done something right to still be here, right? To still be trusted by the viewers, the guests, and our partners after all these years. There’s a special kind of madness in making a show like BWB—but the method behind it is what keeps us going. It’s the constant push for better storytelling, the creative clashes that lead to brilliant ideas, and the unyielding teamwork that turns raw footage into riveting episodes. And I can say, without hesitation, that Arka and I wouldn’t have it any other way. This madness is what makes BWB the show it is—and we’re only just getting started. To everyone who watches, shares, and supports Backstage with Boria—thank you. Here’s to more madness, more magic, and many more seasons to come! Also Read: “I did not focus on the present”: Venkatesh Iyer’s candour starts off a new season of Backstage with Boria The post Backstage with Boria: The Madness, The Method, and The Magic appeared first on Sports News Portal | Latest Sports Articles | Revsports. [ad_2] Source link

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news365times · 2 months ago

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lyrsui · 2 years ago

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currently working on a poetry manuscript,

and that's been true for the last four years. but around this time in 2019, i had a handful of poems, and i had some vague ideas of what i was writing about--at first i thought i was writing a satirical commentary on internet culture, but then as i wrote more and more, i had these other pieces that were like... sadder. in early versions of the book, i tried to tell a straightforward sort of "story" but the poems didn't work quite that way. so, i found other ways to sort them.

so, what have i accomplished since then?

in the fall of 2019, i probably had like 6-8 poems tops

then i signed up for a yearlong writing program at the start of 2020. it was costly, but it helped me a lot. it was a crash course in poetry. i read books. i wrote new poems. at the end of the program, mid-2021, i had something like 20-25 poems, but i was not yet at a full-length count.

i spent another year writing poems on my own. i joined a writing workshop or two but mostly i wrote in solitude. i finally got to about 35 poems by the summer of 2022. i felt hopeful.

in fall 2022, i submitted my manuscript to first book contests. i had done a lot of revising on my own. i asked a person or two to be my beta-readers. i felt good about most of my poems, as i had been diligently revising the 2019 drafts to their best, and i was nervous about the newer pieces but happy to have them included.

i received a lot of rejections. but i had two poems published online, and a third included in a horror poetry anthology. i was also named a semifinalist for one of the book contests i'd entered. these were all small wins.

i took a break from the poetry stuff to focus on school, then on job hunting. now things in my life have settled down and i am back to thinking about poetry.

i signed up for a poetry conference this weekend, where real live editors offer their genuine feedback and talk craft with us. i'm excited by the opportunity. i was given the first ten pages of notes and some of it was cutting, but goodness it's been so long since i really had sharp feedback on my work, and i am appreciative of it nonetheless. the conference runs till Monday morning. the notes are truly invaluable.

i plan to pursue an MFA in 2025, which would only be an extension of the $$$$ i am invested in my writing already. the yearlong workshop was several thousand, the conference a couple thousand as well. the manuscript consultations i plan to pay for will also run me a few hundred each, and the submission fees add up quick. truly, no one is lying when they say that writing is a pursuit mired in privilege. I am grateful to work a day job that makes a lot of all this easier, but it's cushioned work, isn't it? i recognize that more and more lately.

i am not mentioning the price tags to brag, but really just to highlight that money has felt so necessary in lieu of organic connections or inner networks. money isn't buying me placements in top tier lit mags but i feel like it is buying me the notes and feedback to guide my revision towards stronger poems that may one day be lit mag worthy.

i am excited by the work ahead. invigorated by the energy of knowing i have work worth launching into the world. i plan to use october to edit and refine, as there are many upcoming contests and i want to have better drafts to send along than i sent last year.

i plan to sign up for more paid workshops that will help me with drafting my fiction. i only have one short story under my belt, and i'd like to slowly round out that list too, eventually having three then five then ten, all in rotation to lit mags submissions too. i want my name to hold weight eventually. to become familiar.

it feels really good to have clear dreams and a clear plan for my writing career. my goal is to work on these poems and continue trying to place them. to partake in writing programs that may help me get exposure to other editors and mentors, etc. i hope that by the time i am ready to apply to MFA programs that I will be able to ask for a reference or two out of these workshops. by the time i apply for a poetry MFA, i hope to just use the published poems and an unpublished one or two as well, to feel confident about my abilities. then i'll generate a second book of poetry, who knows about what, and publish that too.

it's all fun to think about!

#writing #creative writing #poetry #poetry community #notes on craft

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demifiendrsa · 3 years ago

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Hakusensha have announced that the late Kentarō Miura’s Berserk manga will resume beginning with Young Animal 2022 issue #13 on June 24, 2022. Manga creator Kouji Mori, a longtime consultant for the series and close friend of Miura, will be working as supervisor with Miura’s personal manga studio, Studio Gaga, to continue his vision for the series as closely they can, based on their past conversations with him and various concept notes and designs he left behind.

The manga will first have six episodes that will go to the end of the "Fantasia Arc Elf Island Chapter," with a new arc beginning afterward.

To our readers We will resume the serialization of Berserk. Please accept our apologizes for the long wait before we could make this announcement. We have read as many of your comments as possible for the “Dai Berserk-ten (The Great Berserk Exhibition)”, “Young Animal Memorial Issue (Young Animal 2021 No.18)”, and “Berserk Volume 41”. We are extremely grateful for each and every one of your words and for your messages sent to us through social media. We are truly touched by the love you all have for Berserk and the influence it has had on your lives. It is truly sad that Kentaro Miura himself is not here to read your comments with us. Before his passing, Kentaro Miura spoke to his close friend Kouji Mori about the stories and episodes he had in mind for Berserk. He also had similar talks with his studio staff and editor. He wondered, would everyone be surprised if I drew something like this? How about a character like this? Would this storyline be interesting? The talks were not meant as his last words, but were a part of his ordinary days as a manga artist. Such ordinary days continued for more than a quarter of a century. Our minds and hearts are still filled with the thoughts Mr. Miura shared with us during that time. We have also found memos of ideas he wrote and designs for characters that he drew and left behind. We were reluctant to end his story without sharing these with his fans. Our hope is for everyone to read the last episode that we have put together, until the very last frame. Upon resuming the series, our production team decided on a basic policy. “Mr. Miura said so.” This is what the production team kept in mind. Since he did not leave behind rough drafts, it is impossible for us to create a manuscript exactly in the way he would have intended. However, we will write the manga so as not to deviate from Mr. Miura’s own words. We would like to take the “Kentaro Miura” that we knew so fondly through our conversations and work and convey this to all of you in a sincere manner. We believe that this policy, although imperfect, is the best way to deliver the Berserk that Mr. Miura envisioned to everyone as faithfully as possible. From the next issue, we will first publish six chapters until the end of “Fantasia Arc/Elf Island Chapter”. After this, we will start a new arc. Credits after the resumption will be “Original work by Kentaro Miura, Manga by Studio Gaga, Supervised by Kouji Mori,” and the numbering of the manga books will continue in order. Looking back, the first volume of Berserk was published in 1990 with 28,000 copies released for the first edition. It was not an immediate hit and only a small group of people knew about it. Still, it drew avid fans and was able to hold their interest because people could feel Mr. Miura’s desire to refine his craft. After a while, Berserk became a huge hit through Mr. Miura’s extraordinary efforts and some good luck. Today, the first volume has been read by 2 million people around the world. We believe that Berserk has touched the hearts of many fans, and Mr. Miura would be happy to know that his thoughts have had a great influence on people’s lives and work. We hope that everyone will continue to have the same connection with Berserk in the chapters to come. Thank you to all the fans who sent us messages. We are also grateful to the many fans who quietly supported the manga through their thoughts. Every one of you will be the source of our energy as we move forward. We are truly grateful to you all.

June 2022 Young Animal Editing Department

Nearly 30 years ago, Miura called me and said, “I need to talk to you about drawing a rough draft.” I went to his workplace just to talk as we always do, but Miura looked more serious than usual. “I need to draw the Eclipse,” he said. I sensed it would be hard work, but couldn’t believe it when I was trapped indoors for a week… In that very moment, the storyline for Berserk was completed, until the very last chapter. Strangely, the story for Berserk went on exactly as we discussed at the time, with almost no changes. I continued to talk to Miura often, whenever there was a big episode. We did so ever since we were students, consulting each other while working on manga. I think people with good intuition would realize by now that I know the story for Berserk up to the very end. Still, I cannot say that I can draw it because I know it. That is because only the genius Kentaro Miura can write a masterpiece like Berserk. However, a great responsibility has fallen on me. While he was alive, Miura said, “I haven’t told anyone other than you, Mori, about the story in its entirety.” And that was the truth. It is too big a responsibility. I thought, should I talk to fans about it through an interview? Or should I publish an article with some illustrations? But that wouldn’t convey the scenes that Miura described to me, or the lines of Guts and Griffith… Just when I was trying to decide what to do, I received a message. “The staff are saying they will finish the last chapter that was left behind, so can you take a look?” The last few pages of the chapter were incomplete. Some did not even have the characters drawn on them. I took a look at the manuscript, without expecting much. Desperation can push people to create miracles — There it was, the completed manuscript for Berserk. “Mr. Mori, will you let us do it?” Miura’s apprentices, who Miura had been so proud of while he was alive, asked me straight. Company Director Shimada, a mentor for me and Miura, also said, “If you do it, the company will give our full support.” I thought, if I run away now, Miura would say: “I talked to you about it so much, but you didn’t do it!!” Alright. I’ll do it properly. I have a message and promise to everyone. I will recall the details as much as possible and tell the story. Also, I will only write the episodes that Miura talked to me about. I will not flesh it out. I will not write episodes that I don’t remember clearly. I will only write the lines and stories that Miura described to me. Of course, it will not be perfect. Still, I think I can almost tell the story that Miura wanted to tell. The talent Miura’s apprentices have are real! They are brilliant artists. Many of you may not be fully satisfied with the Berserk written without Miura, but we hope everyone’s thoughts will be with us. We ask you for your continued support.

June 2022 Kouji Mori

#Berserk #Berserk manga #Kentaro Miura #Studio Gaga #Kouji Mori #Young Animal #manga #Holyland #long post

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changes · 4 years ago

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Tuesday, March 2nd, 2021

🌟 New

The beta post editor on web should now provide personalized tag suggestions when tagging your post.

A post’s “genesis” ID is now available via the Tumblr API for posts that you had queued/scheduled/drafted.

Logged-out visitors can now change the Tumblr palette on Explore on web.

There’s a new app icon for Tumblr on iOS.

🛠 Fixes

Fixed a bug in the beta post editor on web that was preventing users from creating new text blocks after hitting the character limit in one text block. Now, you should be able to create more text blocks by pressing Enter, which would stay within the current text block before. Pressing Shift + Enter allows you to add newlines to an existing text block. We’re still working on more bug fixes for related issues limiting how much text can be put in a post.

Fixed a bug in the beta post editor on web that was only allowing five mentions to be used, when the limit is meant to be 50.

Fixed a bug on web that was causing the page to scroll up to the top after editing a post, on pages like Drafts and Queue. We’re actually still working on fixing this! Sorry about that.

Spellcheck should now be enabled in the post editor in the latest Tumblr for iOS.

We are continuing to audit and refine the filters we use in search results and tagged pages. Fewer posts should now be filtered out.

#tumblr update

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ariadne-mouse · 2 years ago

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ao3 wrapped: 3 & 29!

Hallo!! :)

[Ao3 Wrapped ask meme]

3. What work are you most proud of (regardless of kudos/hits)?

Works I finished in 2022 (for my own reference in this meme lol, time is fake and a blur):

the fire kept closest (burns most of all)

small works of cosmic scale

reverse learning

Everything in Aeor Is Fine

a man by any other face

till human voices wake us (technically started in 2021 and finished writing mid 2022, though it's not finished posting to Ao3 yet)

It's very hard to pick a "most" but I think the work I am most proud of is a man by any other face, specifically because it took so much old fashioned hair-pulling, grimace-making, hard work to finish it. I had a 25k draft sitting for months and months before I finally got down to business and attempted serious editing. And it needed serious editing! The first draft had been written in separate fits and starts, and so messages and themes in the text often repeated instead of evolving. I could see the potential for nuance and refinement, but it took a lot of heavy lifting to get there - possibly the most deep editing work I have done on a story, and on one of my longest as well. So many times I pulled faces at it and wished it would just write itself when I picked it up and started to edit, then got exhausted and put it down again. But I got there in the end! I learned some new tricks for myself on editing longer works that I will use in the future. So yeah, proud of that one.

29. Favorite line/passage you wrote this year?

I am quickly learning a challenge with this meme is I have to remember what i have written 😂 and as mentioned above I find it hard to pick an absolute "best" of anything. But for impact, evocativeness, and efficiency, I am very pleased with this passage from the emotional climax of the fire kept closest (big fat spoilers below the cut):

“Caleb?” Essek called, his vocal chords ragged after the day’s shouting, the heat, the soot and ash. “Caleb!” There was no reply. Nothing, nothing, nothing. “CALEB!” Essek yelled as loud as he could. The hot wind took the sound and tore it to shreds. The mountain’s bleeding wound continued to flow into the sea, hissing steam. “Give him back!” Essek shouted at the lava river, at the volcano, at the night. “GIVE HIM BACK!” Nothing. The FLIR readings were unremarkable. No one was there. Tears choked him from further speech, and with all his might he flung the FLIR camera away into the lava, where it hit the crusted surface, burst into flames, and was drawn out of sight. Essek sank to his knees, wracked with grief. The hot surface singed him through his clothes. He was alone in the devastation. And then: “Essek!” A voice. Distant, growing louder. Familiar. “Essek!” Another voice. “Fuck, there he is. Fuck!” It was Jester and Beau. Hands grabbed his shoulders and hauled him up. “He’s not here,” Essek sobbed, when they wrapped him in their arms and held him tight. “He’s not here.” “Shh, shh, it’s okay.” Jester soothed, sounding tearful herself. “It’s going to be okay, I promise.” She rocked him side to side. “We saved everyone. We did what Caleb wanted, and it worked! It’s going to be okay.” “Essek, we need to take you home,” Beau said, her gruffness softened more than he’d ever heard it, except for with Yasha, or friends when they were hurt. “It’s not safe here.” “We’ll come back with you tomorrow,” Jester promised. A marionette with strings cut, Essek let them take him away. And for the first time in a long time, when later he slept, he did not dream.

#thanks for the ask! :)#asks #ao3 wrapped #fic: volcaleb #fic: ambaof

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magic-is-something-we-create · 4 years ago

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Weekly Writing Update October 4-11, 2021

Approx. Words Written: 10,040 WIPs Worked On: Firebreathers (completed drafting and began editing pass one) [total draft one wc: 155.2k] Current Place: ~⅓ of the way through editing Chapter One, completed Chapter Thirty Two to finish the draft :)

Scene I'm looking forward to: Because I've shifted from drafting to editing this week, I'm very excited to revamp Ember's chapter one crisis in the next few days! A.K.A. the gut-wrenching line of "Until I learned war was synonymous with death, and death came for children too."

This week's soundtrack: Lord of Dance by Adriel Fair, Adventure Calls by Vindsvept, and Crusaders by Adriel Fair. really feeling the hypothetical Adriel FB soundtrack this week a;sldkfj

Notes/thoughts:

i'm currently refining the plot points already in my brain for the FB sequel, and also trying to figure out whether I'll pursue that for NaNo (entirely possible, i think) or return to my chaos deity complex children! Also, uh,,, trying to come up with a working title for the sequel? that will feel thematically appropriate for you guys without absolutely destroying one of the plot twists of FB itself?? so theres that.

also debating revamping the ~formal intro~ for firebreathers, with some of the newly-edited opening as an example excerpt instead of the rather clunky (in retrospect) bit i added at first. and, honestly, that might mean i just. whole-ass post it anew. so keep an eye out for that, i guess?

other things i've been working on related to wips this week have been possible sketch pages that could be included in the actual firebreathers book when i finally publish! i'm hoping to do something special, where physical copies get the black and white lines, and ebooks and special editions might get the absolutely bangin colors ive been testing :) that's all hypothetical, of course, but it's fun to work on nonetheless!

also im just saying it now: travel timelines in fantasy worlds when u dont have a great sense of scale as an author is uh,,,,, Difficult. half of the reason i made the fuckin calendar was so i could scribble notes about timing on it a;lskdfj.

the other half was for consistent dates in the chapter titles tho so that could be very helpful. i might need to re-conlang the month names tho,,,,,

in short: Many Thoughts head full of hypoallergenic scrampled egg <3

#the metaphor egg is hypoallergenic bc i am allergic to eggs funfact #but yes i am thriving rn #think the new meds have helped more than the old :D #braindumps.txt #weekly update #the millennium saga

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n7punk · 3 years ago

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NaNoWriMo rundown 2021

I officially finished the first draft of my novel this morning, so I thought I’d do a little rundown!

Now, keep in mind this is only a first draft. NaNoWriMo usually involves little to no editing or refining. I kept notes as I went of some things I wanted to fix, though I did edit a little as I went this year (AKA if I wasn’t feeling a scene, I deleted it and started over, losing it from my word count, which isn’t how I think most people do NaNoWriMo). It isn’t how I have done NaNoWriMo previously, but I also have only finished NaNo with a novel that I ever wanted to share with anybody or even touch again once, and in hindsight that novel was terrible.

My plan this year is to step back from my novel for like a month, writing a long fanfiction instead, and then take another break from fic to do my second draft/revision. I’m planning to continue alternating between (roughly) a month spent on fanfiction and then a month spent on an original project for next year. I will revise this novel until I’m happy with it and then switch to working on a new one (I have several ideas saved up) and do the same revision/switching between original stuff and fanfiction process with it as well.

Okay, as far as my NaNo experience went, I started off in kind of a rough place. For the first two days of November I was still working on my last fanfiction from October, WDtFD. October was also my most productive word count month this year (because I was really motivated with my projects and wanted to get them both done before November) and it meant that I started NaNoWriMo kind of burnt out. I spent the first several days behind and making minimal progress. Eventually I realized that I hated the opening I’d written, even if I liked the concept, so it was extremely difficult to write anything following it.

I bit the bullet and rewrote it even though deleting words when I was already behind was the last thing I wanted to do. This ended up being a great decision, because I was able to start getting into my novel finally. On the first weekend of NaNo, the GWIC was held and my word count skyrocketed (the first giant 7k spike on my graph below). My word count still stayed very variable throughout the month (and, as usual, any productive day had to be followed by a valley as my chronic pain flared), but I stayed above the goal line for the rest of the month after that.

Daily word count graph (and NaNo calling me out):

And my total graph:

(You can clearly see where the GWIC was with that big bump early on. I only heard about it halfway through the third day, so I was only there for the last day & a half)

As far as my draft goes, I’m pretty happy with it! I don’t love it like I do some of my other works, but I think it’s a fun little romantic romp. It is character-driven, not plot/conflict-focused, so I think it’s kind of a nice fluff piece revolving around the queer experience (or, one of them, there is no singular experience). It definitely needs revision, but I want to step back from it so I can edit it with fresh eyes, and I want to write something more dramatic now, so I’m going to switch to a different project for a bit. I tend to have this pattern of working on a “simpler” project (something set in the modern world without a dark/dramatic plot) and a “complicated” one (one set in its own universe or with a big complex plot), so now I’m on the complicated swing after this simple project.

I was actually supposed to do a different novel entirely for NaNo. I switched at the last second because my last project was one of those “complicated” ones with many plot threads and I just wanted to do something light. The novel I ended up doing I was also excited for, but it didn’t have the worldbuilding/planning that the first one did, so I ended up flying by the seat of my pants for the entire month, which I think shows in the draft. I’m going to work on introducing more structure when I revise it, but I’m honestly glad I switched because it gives me more time to worldbuild the novel that I was planning on. It needs a lot of depth and I’m excited for when I do write it. In fact, I’ve kind of been bit by the bug for it again and might spend the rest of November working on it before I focus on fanfiction again. We’ll see. I miss my girls too and want to write them again as well.

Anyway, that has pretty much been my NaNo! As always, I adore NaNoWriMo and this was actually my fifth full novel that I’ve written over the course of one. I’ve skipped some years or written fanfiction instead, but I participated in my first NaNoWriMo in 2012. I’ve won every year I’ve tried to write a story for it, although one year I tried to write a DND campaign and quit like a week in when I realized I wasn’t interested in it and my outline for a campaign was very bare-bones and wasn’t going to ever match a NaNo word count. I then stopped doing NaNo for a few years, only resuming last year, but I’m glad that I’m back to it because the community around it really feels amazing.

#mylife #also scrivener 3 winners discount babyyyyyy #writing adventure

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brooklyn-design-storytelling · 4 years ago

Text

Week Ten

Concepts and Learning

This week I presented my first draft of a sleep therapy diegetic prototype to my group and Mojan to get some feedback. I think everyone had come up with some really interesting prototypes and we all stayed on a similar track which is good because all our prototypes look pretty cohesive. During the week we brainstormed some different ideas for business names in our group chat such as WeCare, and Acuity ended up deciding that Eudaemonia best represented our ideas. Bella designed some different logos for this and it was nice to finally see them on Miro.

I felt a bit anxious presenting my prototype because I wasn't sure if others would like it but all the feedback was positive. Mojan brought up that we should make sure our diegetic prototypes are realistic and create descriptions that back up our products and ideas. After talking with my group I think I need to change my prototype slightly so the colours and iconography are more cohesive with everyone's prototypes and our logo.

After seeing everyones work I can now understand where I can improve and the type of images I should be creating for my prototype (posters, photoshopped pictures of people using the product). I think we did well at giving constructive feedback to each other and identifying where everyone could improve but we could have been more decisive about what method of designing everyone should use so our work would be finished to the same standard. I can use this new knowledge in my work over the next week to develop my prototype further. If the same activity happened again I would consider having everyone write down some feedback for each prototype on Miro sticky notes first so no one was nervous about critiquing others work. I can use this new knowledge and experience in my Spatial Design Studio because it is important to give others feedback and discuss your own work so we can improve.

Diegetic Prototype Development

Product Posters:

Product photos (no background or writing):

Person Wearing Headband:

Note. Profile of Girl Sitting. From Pexels by Graboska, K. 2021. (https://www.pexels.com/photo/profile-of-girl-sitting-7281590/)

Note. Woman Holding White Smartphone. From Pexels by Graboska, K. 2021 (https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-holding-white-smartphone-7283621/)

Includes photoshopped sleep therapy headband for both images above

Product description: The Sleep Therapy Set tracks sleeping patterns, heart rate variability, and blood oxygen levels through the sensors on its headband to create a better sleep plan for you. The Sleep Therapy Set tracks heart rate variability (HRV) instead of average heartbeats per minute gives us a more accurate picture of your stress levels. HRV represents the time between each heartbeat and a higher viability means you’re calm while low variability indicates you’re experiencing more stress. By being able to identify your stress levels and what triggers these emotions the sleep therapy set can create a plan to reduce stressors and help you learn to manage them effectively. Your doctor and/or therapist can upload any important information to your Sleep Therapy dock that can assist in creating a better plan for you.

Dock Description: The Sleep Therapy Dock displays the time along with all the information that your headband sensors have recorded. It has a profile, search, home, health and doctor/therapist contacts. The headband can be placed in a slot on top of the dock to charge the headband after each use.

Price: $350.00

This week I developed my prototype further by editing the prototype using photoshop so it was more refined and futuristic looking. I created posters with backgrounds and information, basic product photos for the wix website and photos with the product photoshopped on someone. I made a product description that backs up my ideas and makes it seem more realistic. I'm excited to show my group what I have done this week and look forward to adding it to our wix site.

References

Graboska, K. (2021, March 27). Woman Holding White Smartphone [Photograph]. Pexels. https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-holding-white-smartphone-7283621/

Graboska, K. (2021, March 27). Profile of Girl Sitting [Photograph]. Pexels. https://www.pexels.com/photo/profile-of-girl-sitting-7281590/

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autoirishlitdiscourses · 4 years ago

Text

Discourse of Thursday, 07 October 2021

I say this is an emotional payoff and a lot of fun, though what you've outlined a series of topics under discussion quite uncommon, but the power company left me reading by the assignment write-up exam tomorrow: Girv 1004,9 a. The other students, followed by all of which parts of the century, insofar as it could theoretically have been, though, so this is a good idea in concept and/or Bloom's complex relationship to Celtic myth there are hundreds or thousands of races, and you asked some very perceptive reading of the three F's, but you handled yourself and your sense of the group warmed up and either satisfies or frustrates the expectation for the recitation errors, but will be closed on Monday.

By changing technology? Hi! I'll see you tomorrow! 649, p. On yourself though it was more lecture-oriented than it needed to—but looking at the end of the historical connections. Etc. I am happy to discuss and haven't quite punched through to an agreement at that time feels like it passes differently when you're doing the earliest part of the implications of the class develop its own: I think the fairest grade to you, but you'll be reciting, please email me the page number and my hands are not prepared, and so do I. You picked a longer paper in a paper/—even if you're treating the text s with which you engage in discussion, actually. I'm expecting it's a bit closer to the larger-scale discussions in relation to them a few ways in which language and thought in this task of analytical questions, OK?

You too! Section tonight like you were, at 7 p. You must declare in advance with the same time, I think that you are again; and so this is not to avoid them entirely, etc. You will note from my grading rubric some language might change a student's focus rather than the fact that the definition for all that it currently is. I say this not just two points are in fact up this week, and to think about those parts that build to your potential this time. I now I? Helpful for interpreting monetary amounts in Ulysses, and I will try to jam in extra points for discussion to occur. Lesson Plan for Week 7: General Thoughts and Notes 20 November Boy song on p. You effectively leveraged the group's discussion over the quarter. If you want to go about proving your points because it assumes it will drag you down a little more. There are a few things that they will be away from home, possibly as a British colony, Ireland used the same time, it allows you to give you feedback before, you should definitely be there on time. Mentioned in lecture tomorrow. Again, thank you for doing a good selection, effectively treated it as a way that shows you paid close attention to your section takes a stand as Heidegger has it explicitly on why your juxtaposition actually matters. You apply the late penalty, actually. Thanks for the quarter is over tomorrow, 1:30 tomorrow, you're very welcome. If your point total, based on the IDs they attempt, and this is what is your central claim in a comparable phenomenon, and didn't get the ball rolling in the early twentieth-century, whether the Jewish population has any similarities to yours. You should treat each other effectively while in the earlier recitation, and it showed.

There are many other possibilities, you related your discussion, and specifically with the assumption that you noticed that I really did quite a good weekend and may be ignoring the context of the quarter. Poke around and see what he thought just so that its purpose should be on the MLA format and where it is that the useless incompetent morons who pass as campus technicians decided to outsource our campus email to earlier this year.

Again, thank you both doing this. First: make sure you carefully evaluate whose viewpoint we're getting in Nausicaa and The Cook, the notes my students emails constantly, but you are adaptable to the poem takes on gender. Doing this effectively if the exam is scheduled. You did a very small but very well be phrased vaguely at the appropriate number of things that you can ameliorate anxiety-producing situations related to the real payoff for your health allows it, and this is a mark of sophisticated writing and studying so that it would be most closely associated. However, they're fair game for the recitation half of the first time, whereas The Butcher Boy both are a number of first-serve basis. Section this quarter. But, again, and how you see in order to pass beyond merely reciting twelve lines of Yeats's September 1913, which involves speculations about the recitation into a complex and insightful discussion. I'll see you tomorrow night get me a copy of your material effectively and in a genuinely excellent job! Let me know as soon as you should then discuss the general introduction to things that interest you to leave it. I'm mean but in your reading of it; again, it was my choice, depending on what you're actually claiming about the actual purpose of the following table: If you are scheduled or not, however.

Is it helpful to make huge conceptual leaps immediately, but against my other section for Thanksgiving. You were clearly a bit of a letter explaining specific reasons/why your grade and that this would be the same way that helps you prioritize. In exchange, I didn't anticipate at the coin from the course to pull their grades up for discussion. Wikipedia article on poitín for more sections like these on the section website, if you remind me to do with the rest of the forbidden, and you accomplished a lot of ways, was written. I am myself less than absolutely perfectly optimal. The short version is that you're capable of doing even better quality, and mechanics may also find it productive. 4% in the first half of your specific claim about how you want to recite and discuss can be a bit abstract, all in all, you can point to start writing. You picked a good weekend I'll see you next week in section.

I'm perfectly convinced that you're thinking about how your attendance/participation grade up substantially. I'll count your paper grade are the only student who sent a panicked email after sleeping into the A range; you might have helped you to refine your ideas more collaboratively.

Let me know what works for you but that you're reading. Have a good night, and you connected it effectively to the MLA standard and has no effect one way to impose limits on yourself though it does give you a copy to me immediately afterwards to make in the depth that you have done some very, very good student this quarter! Plan for Week 10: General Thoughts and Notes 16 October 2013 There are many possibilities; but a good holiday break! You're smart and I have that are not intellectually or temperamentally suited to being perceptive. I'll see you next week! I set the bar for A papers very high B. I thought I'd report it to introduce some major aspect of the professor's English 150 this quarter, this means, and the median grade was 88. Really, you may want to say that, with answers and notes on any replies that say, but you handled yourself and your sense of the total quarter grade at least somewhat. So a how this is not just of choosing your major points into questions and comments in section prepared to defend it; you also gave an engaged, thoughtful performance that is appropriate and helpful. You responded effectively to larger concerns of the possible points of the passage and showed this in some particulars from Chris's, and what you want any changes made I will not necessarily that you'll want to go for answers on questions about plagiarism should be cognizant of what you want to put it another way of being is the only thing preventing you from doing so. Keep an eye on the midterm or write to the rest of the pages in question generally or always plays by the way this is within the novel, and the musician. I agree wholeheartedly that Early Irish authors contains poems that will facilitate discussion. There are a lot that they each see themselves as being the plus and minus for each text that you would hope yes/no questions because often those just elicit yes or no and close off further discussion. You also demonstrated that he did it because he'd been focusing on an English Paper lots of good plays: thanks to! I think you have any questions arise sufficiently far in this essay: examined some large-scale course concerns and did a solid delivery of a third of a chance to have asked people to talk about the very first paragraph in the hope that you're working, which is a good student again have a middle A-is possible to accomplish this before the third-to-memorize twelve-line poem, and how they pay off for you and I completely appreciate that this was explained both verbally and in a final grade is calculated and I hope that everything else that you have a standard list of works cited page, and then looking through as I can be hard to be more impassioned which may differ in some ways in which he or she is paying for their recitation/discussion 5 p. He would most need to interrogate your own original work; any non-edited draft, letting it sit and then making sure that you need to represent them even further, though, your projected paper looks like it's going to be sure you know you've done a very strong paper. Hi! Truthfully, I can identify it. —But if that's inconvenient for you in section. It's just that your introduction: what are Joyce's attitudes toward sexuality in general, but all in all, you should definitely both be there. To get at least take a closer look at Martin Esslin's The Theatre of the class was welcoming and supportive to other people in, so there's plenty of material. McCabe TBD, Godot Vladimir's speech, so let me know if you don't have an appointment downtown that's going to be a tricky business, and that this is absolutely not necessary, but some students may not have a copy of the Artist As a Young Man, which is not a bad thing, and I wish someone had said to me.

Grading rubric for analytical papers like this and have a good path here what most needs to do quite a good job, and I may be that sitting down and start writing to figure out what that third plan looks like you were on track throughout your time and do not overlap with yours, and gave an excellent delivery, very good readings here. However: think about how to prompt people to speak can be particularly difficult to memorize because of a letter grade. Section Guidelines handout.

Please forgive me if you have any more questions, and that is related to gender. Engaging in close readings of V for Vendetta and Punishment and whichever other text s with which you should be careful to stay above the minimum length if the section, or Muldoon, just what I want a recording of your material very effectively and provided a good sense of the rhythm of Bloom's thoughts. He is also a good job of walking a rather uncomfortable scene with Father Sullivan is the origin of the quality the paper in on Wednesday! I'm looking forward to it, Audrey Niffenegger's novel The Time Traveler's Wife is perhaps most useful here, although it's not necessary, then this will count as a.

You've got some breathing room on other tasks that you occasionally seem to have been thinking about what possibilities for discussion by the burden of proof and the group seems to be expressed in your section who has explicitly brought up some important issues and/or language that intimidate or negatively impact your paper. Anyway, my point is that you yourself have done a good writer, not a play about the relationship between the poem.

I was now a dual citizen.

Keep your eye more clearly, but if you have left, but it's often helpful to log into the UCSB Library Proxy Server/before/clicking on the section, which after all, I think, too. It'll just need to be as effective as it could conceivably have been possible to accomplish, intellectually speaking, but leaves it as a whole. I'm leaning toward putting you either cross them or you can carry yourself, rather than merely plausible, which largely duplicates ID #1 from the original text. Great! 3%. E-mail off to be reciting Patrick Kavanagh Patrick Kavanagh, I think it happens. You are absolutely fine I think, to get you started thinking about how your paper is late reduces your score was 80% I'll have her talk to you after I broke my arm two years ago that might make you feel that your thoughts are being violated? That is, your writing is quite a long way,/not/that week and prepared to discuss with another person, dropped off in the context of the right expression of your total score for base grade-days late 10 _3-length penalty of/The Music Box/1932: There will be honest. The overall goal is to think about my own editing process.

Anyway, I think that your choice from Casualty could productively appear either near the beginning of the passage you'll be master here? Crashing? Jack Clitheroe, Jack Clitheroe, Jack Clitheroe, Jack Clitheroe, The walks by the section website: Pre-1971 British and Irish literature.

We Lost: Eavan Boland, What We Lost Eavan Boland, What We Lost: Eavan Boland, What We Lost Paul Muldoon, just over 87% in the/exact text of the quarter, I offer you a bit rushed and ran a bit less and allow for a job well done. Let me know if you really do have to say that it should be adaptable in terms of figuring out when to use the first section, you did quite an honor to win—people who see the cause that Irish culture should probably at least 46. 52: A traditional form of love, since you haven't yet decided what order I'll call people in the class develop its own: I think that there are a number of people aren't prepared, enthusiastic, informed, and on the midterm exam have been a good selection, in a long time, though as I normally try to get warmed up and talking about, I supposed I'd have to put everything you know what works for you two after another group for several days, and you should have read the entire review session. As it stands, I would suggest and this is an awfully slow recitation. Helpful for interpreting monetary amounts in Ulysses and other works, I think that one of the poems that's listed on the midterm or final I'm assuming that you're well prepared. I'm not trying to get back to your major one or two specific parts of Europe that frequently marks property lines, each will have failed to satisfy breadth requirements that you attend section Thanksgiving week instead of the quarter have been asking for it to know this about your topic to another student who's not able to find one here.

Hi! I will Yes.

All of the poem.

All in all, you should include a URL for sources that disagree with you, nor 93% the high end of the prospectus when I've given you should be careful about with this by Sunday night, and that not doing so. If I recall my ancient reading of the analysis fits into that arc. You've also picked a good choice to me by email by 12 November. We mustn't be led away by words, you've done a lot of ways in which this could conceivably have paid off for you. I; The photographing of ravens; all the presentations graded by Monday night. Can you schedule me a copy of your recording have no one else does feeling. It turns out, I think including at least. Just let me know if you are one of three people reciting from McCabe this week, you have a few more lines, but do feel free to skip to the section as a lens to look for cues that tell me more specifically: as it is, again, I will be paying attention to the class, and you've done some very interesting and sophisticated and that missing more than five sections and you display an excellent and opened up more points than you might, of course, Anglo-Irish, or hospitalization of a question or two key issues. You picked a very solid aspects of the room to go back over your own expression—and to push yourself to dig into some obscure yet well-chosen pieces of evidence that best supports your central argument? I'll see you next week. We feel in England, was written too close to ten sections this quarter, so I'm signaling that if you have already picked a longer selection than the assignment write-up test the next paragraph when you want your reader, and might be to make progress toward graduation that satisfies you and to use this as being entitled to demand from the dangers inherent in being exposed to the class's actual level of. Again, thank you for doing such a good understanding of the beautiful little gems throughout the quarter that is a mother: that you had an excellent sense of the quarter, and I genuinely hope that they will be by the time of the logical chain you're constructing. One of the novel, then you can start with the dates that would have gotten this to be time management you've only got ten to fifteen minutes. But this is what your grade: You may also find it helpful to take the midterm! I loved; changed nearly to almost in I nearly said; changed answered to said on my shelf at home, possibly due to strep throat, so that I can help you to help you to examine your various sources into a complex and insightful discussion. Do you need any advice, so I think that your own reading of a conversation with him, give him an F on the rest of the quarter. Your discussion and question provoked close readings of paintings if you get no section credit. You did a very good paper in other ways to do this a great job! Let me know if you want to go; it's of more benefit to the course edition of Opened Ground.

#Irish literature #automatically generated text #Patrick Mooney #Python #Markov chains

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blogginggeneration · 4 years ago

Text

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You can connect to over 20 cloud sources.

Supports full image editing.

You can manage your social media accounts from a single login.

This Instagram scheduling app allows you to upload more than 50 images at the same time.

17) Later

Later, the Instagram marketing platform will help you visually plan your social media posts with ease. This free Instagram post planner lets you share videos, photos and stories with ease.

Functions:

This will help you drive more traffic and track sales.

You can optimize your social media strategy.

Lets you add a personal touch to your social media posts.

Allows you to manage 30 posts for each social network profile.

This Instagram planner is free.

18) SproutSocial

SproutSocial is a tool that allows you to simplify and enhance your social media posting. This Instagram the board device upholds cooperation with others. It offers an intuitive tool for posting quality content on social media.

Functions:

Helps you plan Instagram posts for free and plan your posting strategy.

You can enhance your social media posting with multimedia resources such as photos and videos.

Publish content on more than one network.

It offers collaboration with others to validate the workflow.

Allows you to group and categorize messages.

It provides a collaborative content calendar to improve the visibility of posts.

This Instagram planner supports URL tracking.

19) Autogrammer

Autogrammer is a tool that allows you to schedule posts to Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. It offers built-in image editing to help you crop and enhance your photo with ease.

Functions:

This allows you to easily manage multiple more than one social network.

Upload bulk images with ease.

This free Instagram post planner lets you view content by calendar date.

Offers an easy-to-use dashboard.

20) CoSchedule

CoSchedule is a program that makes it easy to organize your marketing. It is one of the most mind-blowing free Instagram planning instruments that offers a continuous promoting schedule. This allows you to automate team workflows.

Functions:

Share calendars with other people.

This auto posting program to Instagram will help you visualize your social strategy.

It allows you to create full-blown social campaigns for your product launch.

The tool automatically sends your messages at the busiest time.

You can make a web-based media plan for websites, digital recordings, occasions, and that's just the beginning.

Allows you to validate your social media strategy with reports.

21) Agorapulse

Agorapulse is a tool that allows you to quickly manage multiple Instagram profiles. This allows you to bulk upload a large number of messages. This auto Instagram poster offers the ability to tag users in a single post with an image.

Functions:

You can find messages easily.

This allows you to add location to videos and images.

You can create, edit and use hashtags.

Allows you to bookmark content links.

This Instagram posting app helps you categorize your followers with customizable shortcuts.

Provides valuable insights from Instagram reports and stories.

22) Bettr

Bettr is a program that allows you to create a timeline for Instagram. It permits you to deal with different online media accounts in a hurry. This tool helps you download Instagram posts from your computer.

Functions:

Lets you know when is the best time to plan stories and posts.

It automatically adds hashtags to comments.

Provides a preview before publishing.

This free Instagram tool helps you manage your Instagram account seamlessly.

23) Postcron

Postcron is an Instagram timetable that can automatically add a watermark to an image. It allows you to add filters, emoticons, geolocation and stickers from Instagram.

Functions:

You can schedule your Instagram posts easily.

Allows you to schedule videos, photos to Instagram.

Helps you manage 8 social media accounts together.

This free Instagram app allows you to queue over 100 pending messages at the same time.

You can transfer mass media records effortlessly.

24) Loomly

Loomly is a tool that makes it easy to manage your social media accounts. This tool allows you to view Instagram posts by calendar.

Functions:

It allows you to plan and market brands on social media sites.

This one of the most incredible Instagram post planning applications offers web-based media schedules to see posts by date.

Provides an overview of Instagram posts.

Quickly manage your Instagram photos, videos, notes and links.

Loomly has a collaborative workflow review and approval tool.

25) Recurpost

Recurpost is a program that offers the easiest way to schedule Instagram posts. This tool can launch your content at specific data and times. This allows you to easily manage multiple social media accounts.

Functions:

Helps you collaborate with your team.

Allows you to personalize your report.

You can easily find the content you want to post on Instagram.

This makes it simple to track down the substance you need.

26. Photo editor Aviary.

Photo Editor by Aviary is one of the most complete and recommended photo editing apps. With the app, you can enhance your photo with just a tap, add effects and stickers, paint, add text, and more.

There are over a thousand free photo effects, stickers and frames in the app, but you can purchase even more if you want to expand your library.

Photo Editor by Aviary is available for Android, iOS and Windows, which means you will most likely be able to use it no matter what smartphone you are using.

27. PicFlow

With PicFlow, you can easily create 15 second slideshows for Instagram in three quick steps:

Select your photos

Choose music

Set the time for each photo by touching

Whether you want to shoot longer videos, remove a (tiny) watermark, or unlock more photo transitions, you can purchase them in-app for less than $ 3.

Pic Flow is accessible on Android and iOS.

28. Canva

Canva is one of our #1 free plan instruments for making pictures for web-based media, blog entries, and the sky is the limit from there.

The Canva team has created many awesome Instagram Story templates that you can customize. The templates are perfectly sized so you can focus on the design without having to worry about the correct aspect ratio and size.

Simply pick a layout and change the text, pictures and foundation however you would prefer.

(Canva has an iOS app for those who love to design on the go. You can also use it to upload your designs directly to your mobile phone.)

29. Adobe Spark

Adobe Spark is another free design tool that we love about Buffer.

Here's a unique feature of Adobe Spark that I love: By simply rotating the dial in the editor, I can get various design guidelines for my signature.

You can learn more about how to create Instagram Stories with Adobe Spark and get 10 free Instagram story templates here.

30. StoriesAds

StoriesAds is an online tool for creating Instagram Stories ads (and beautiful vertical videos).

It provides several templates that you can work with so you don't have to create videos from scratch. The intuitive video editor will also tell you what you need to change to customize your video.

Since the site states that it is “free for a limited time”, you may have to pay to use the tool in the future.

31. Display Purposes

Display Purposes is a great tool for finding the best hashtags for your Instagram posts.

Just enter a few hashtags related to your Instagram post and Display Purposes will generate a list of trending and popular hashtags. It also filters out banned and spam hashtags.

You can then manually select the hashtags you want to use, or let Display Purposes choose what it thinks might be the best combination of hashtags.

32. Focalmark

Focalmark is very similar to Display Purposes, except that suggested hashtags are generated from a list of selected hashtags (and this is a mobile app).

Focalmark is available for Android and iOS.

33. AutoHash

AutoHash utilizes its PC vision calculations to suggest the best hashtags.

Select a photo in the app and AutoHash will analyze the objects in your photo and suggest matching hashtags. If you have GPS enabled, it will also suggest location-based hashtags.

AutoHash is currently available for Android and Messenger.

34. UNUM

UNUM wants to help you create the perfect Instagram gallery.

The in-app visual planner lets you see how your gallery will look after you post the next few photos. You can also edit your photos and videos, create captions and hashtags, and schedule posts using the app.

In the free plan, you get 18 grids for scheduling your posts and 500 photo and video uploads per month, which I believe is enough for small and medium businesses. If you want more scheduling grids and a higher download limit, UNUM offers two paid subscription plans for $ 2.99 and $ 6.99 per month.

UNUM is available for iOS and Android (currently in beta testing).

35. Later

Later, the popular Instagram marketing platform emerged that allows you to visually plan and schedule Instagram posts.

With the free arrangement, you can plan up to 30 photographs each month, search and repost User Generated Content (UGC), and get essential examination.

36. Repost for Instagram.

Repost for Instagram allows you to repost an Instagram post to your Instagram account with just a few taps, as well as give credit to the post owner. It is available for Android and iOS.

Before posting any photos or videos, be sure to obtain permission from the owner of the message and indicate to him or her in the signature. This is required by the Instagram Terms of Service, and rightly so by the wonderful creators and companies of Instagram.

To get permission to repost a post, you can use any of the following methods:

Send a private message to the owner of the record

Comment on the post

Connect by email

Some people do ask for a fee to use their photos as it is part of their livelihood. Be sure to check these details before reposting any post on Instagram.

If you are using the Buffer mobile app - Android or iOS, you can also easily add a repost to the Buffer queue after you get permission to repost it.

37. ShortStack

We've found that running free Instagram contests is a great way for ShortStack to have a tool to run user-generated content contests (UGCs) that members enter by posting a photo with your hashtag on Instagram. ShortStack will then collect and display custom content to help you boost your brand.

On the free plan, you can run an unlimited number of contests and collect up to 100 applications. ShortStack likewise has paid plans assuming you need to gather more posts and get further developed provisions.

38. Gleam

Gleam takes a slightly different approach to social media competition. It has an Instagram widget that you can add to your site and drive visitors to your Instagram account.

For example, you can require people to follow you on Instagram or view a specific post on Instagram in order to enter your contest.

With the free plan, you can run unlimited contests, accept unlimited entries, and select up to 10 winners. If you want more features like adding a feature image and customizing a widget, Gleam has two paid plans: Pro ($ 39 / month) and Business ($ 149 / month).

39. Feed them on social media

Feed Them Social is a WordPress plugin for displaying your social media feeds on your website. By having an Instagram feed on your website, you could encourage your visitors to check out and follow your Instagram account

According to reviews of the plugin, it only takes a few clicks to set up a feed and the team provides excellent and timely support.

You can see a demo of our Instagram feed here.

Buying Guide:How to Choose the Best Instagram Marketing Software and Apps?

It depends on your needs. However, you might consider

Social media platforms: If your software doesn't support post schedule for the required social media platforms, it's useless. Therefore, ideally, you should choose your platform carefully before choosing Instagram marketing software.

Ease of use: UI / UX is an important aspect that you should consider. If you're new to Instagram marketing apps, check out how easy they are to use. This is where your software needs to be user-friendly to manage your social media posts with ease.

Features: You should make sure that the selected Instagram marketing apps have all the features you need, such as analytics or channel planner.

Budget: You need to figure out which Instagram marketing software you have chosen within your budget. Therefore, it is best to upgrade to the trial version before purchasing any software.

Can I set up automatic posts on Instagram?

Yes. You can set up automatic Instagram posts using the Instagram Scheduler app. Many of these tools allow you to schedule social media posts for the entire year and save you time.

How to become the best Instagram planner?

Here are some tips to help you plan your Instagram better:

Plan ahead and publish instantly.

Automate your posting with Instagram Schedule.

Before publishing, resize the image on a convenient device.

Mark a spot for subscribers from a specific area.

Use a hashtag to have enough conversations.

Download stories immediately.

What are the best Instagram planner apps?

Here is a list of some of the best Instagram scheduling apps:

Combin Scheduler

Onlypult

Smarter Queue

Planoly

Promo Republic

Crowdfire

SEMrush

Tailwind

#best free instagram schedular #instagram scheduling #collaborate with brands

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kennethmjoyner · 4 years ago

Text

International Working Group Creates Best Practices Guide for Drafting Legal Documents

An international working group of academics, vendors, lawyers and other legal professionals is today releasing the legal industry’s first comprehensive guide to best practices and workflows for creating effective legal documents in Microsoft Word.

Document Competency: What Every Legal Professional Should Know for Effective & Efficient Drafting in Word, is intended to establish for legal professionals “a baseline understanding for the document-creation work valued in the legal ecosystem, define parameters for the work, and set expectations for quality, effort, and result.”

It is the result of 18 months of work by the Effectiveness Project, an international team of experts working under the auspices of LTC4, the Legal Technology Core Competencies Certification Coalition.

The project was conceived and led by Ivy B. Grey, vice president of strategy and business development at WordRake, and co-led by Tony Gerdes, director of knowledge and innovation at Offit Kurman and a contributing member of LTC4.

“I was inspired to launch this project because I care deeply about the duty of technology competence and improving legal practice through simple, everyday technology like Microsoft Word,” Grey said. “By creating specific guidelines and focusing on a part of legal practice that everyone does, we can provide support for the technology competence mandate to have an impact.”

Sherry Kappel, a member of the Effectiveness Project team and an evangelist at Litera, said the team hoped to prompt legal professionals to think critically about every aspect of the document-creation process.

“Expectations for document creation are evolving,” Kappel said. “Legal service providers who efficiently use Microsoft Word and embrace its power will consistently and predictably create better documents. I believe this project will help.”

Others involved in developing the guide were: Rachel Baiden, global technology training manager, Squire Patton Boggs; Adrian Bailey, chief architect, DocStyle; Chris Cangero, chief executive officer, DocStyle; Dave DiCicco, senior director of product management, LexisNexis; Florentina Field, cofounder of Prelimine and litigation attorney at Quinn Emanuel; Jacob Field, cofounder of Prelimine; Colin Levy, legal tech evangelist and blogger; and Dyane L. O’Leary, associate professor of legal writing and director, legal innovation and technology concentration, Suffolk University Law School.

Seven Stages of Drafting

The guide is available through the Effectiveness Project website in three formats: interactive web pages, full downloadable PDF, and stand-alone modules organized by drafting stage.

The guide is available on the web or can be downloaded as a PDF.

The guide divides the document-drafting process into seven stages:

Planning, structure, and organization.

Research, support, analysis, and argument.

Creating content and delivering information.

Collaborating with reviewers and authors.

Reviewing, editing, and proofreading.

Finalizing the document.

On-screen review.

It also discusses considerations to take into account when re-using previously drafted documents to create new ones.

For each stage, the guide provides a conceptual framework of what is accomplished at that stage and why it is important to the overall process. It then breaks down specific tasks appropriate to that stage, and then provides practical guidance on how to accomplish those tasks using either Word’s native functionality or third-party products that work with Word.

Providing that practical guidance was a key goal of the project, Grey told me during a recent interview with her and Kappel.

Ivy Grey

“The practicality of it was super-important to me,” she said. “We tell you what to do, we tell you why it’s important, we give you ways to be competent without having to go out and buy something new. Then we tell you how to take it to the next level, so that you can be a superstar.”

For example, at stage 3, creating content and delivering information, the guide begins with a conceptual overview discussing how to deliver information in a readable and logical manner. It then outlines the tasks that are central to this phase.

These include reviewing legal authority and integrating properly formatted citations, formatting the document and creating tables of contents and authorities, making legal phrases consistent, and inserting and updating cross-references.

For each task, it then outlines how to accomplish them. With regard to creating the table of authorities, for example, it points to a Microsoft help article, but also provides links to products such as Best Authority, ezBriefs, and Lexis for Microsoft Office.

“The goal of this project is to shift the conversation from mere efficiency to effectiveness, so that we may challenge how we think about document creation in our industry,” said co-leader Gerdes. “LTC4 already has application-agnostic learning plans to encourage efficiency, so the focus on effectiveness provides the ideal complement to LTC4’s offerings.”

Developed Over 18 Months

Development of the guide started 18 months ago when all of the working group members gathered in a room and started to discuss and break down the drafting process.

They went through several rounds of drafts, peer review, and redrafts, incorporating the feedback they received.

The tools recommended in the guide are all ones that members of the team have used and vetted, and in most cases, also have a business relationship to, such as Grey to WordRake and Kappel to Litera. They also all integrate with and work within Word.

The Effectiveness Project will continue to refine this guide over time, Grey and Kappel told me, and may also create additional components and similar projects.

Bottom Line

Like all writing, legal writing is, at its core, a creative and fluid process. But it is also a mechanical process, subject to formulas, conventions and standards that dictate their organization, style and components. This guide recognizes those dualities of creativity and constriction.

“For legal professionals, the documents we create are the lasting evidence of the advice and counsel we give,” it says. “Our documents represent our substantive skill and reflect the quality of our thinking.”

At the same time, the guide says, and especially with regard to electronic documents, document quality must also take into account the attributes that enable navigation and online review. “Therefore, the technical creation and presentation of documents carries as much weight as the substance that went into them.”

This guide provides a framework for the totality of the document-creation process, both its creative and mechanical aspects, by breaking it down into its component parts and offering practical guidance for completing each part. To my mind, the result is not to constrain creativity, but to enhance effectiveness.

When I first read the guide, I could not help but think of it as the document-creation equivalent of the Electronic Discovery Reference Model, or EDRM, a framework developed by e-discovery experts to map the e-discovery process and thereby help professionals understand the workflows and tools they would need to get through the process from start to finish.

In the same sense, this guide provides a set of practical guideposts and suggestions of technology tools for drafting legal documents not just efficiently, but effectively.

Just as the EDRM has withstood the test of time and remains the guiding framework in e-discovery, I suspect this guide — although it is certain to evolve — will become the guiding framework in document drafting for years to come.

from Law and Politics https://www.lawsitesblog.com/2021/08/international-working-group-creates-best-practices-guide-for-drafting-legal-documents.html via http://www.rssmix.com/

#law #legal

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