#writing authenticity

[lnk-and-lnspiration]

The Power of Diverse Voices in Literature: Why It Matters

As storytellers, we are constantly striving to create engaging and impactful stories that resonate with readers. We pour our hearts and souls into crafting well-rounded characters, compelling plotlines, and thought-provoking themes. But have you ever stopped to think about the importance of diverse voices in literature? In today’s world, where diversity and representation are crucial topics of…

[thedreadvampy]

Losing my shit about this article in which a transphobic Tory was so busy panicking about existing in the vicinity of a Trans that she almost certainly misheard "jeans" as "penis" and decided that not only was this a problem with the other woman, but also that the world must be informed of this pressing danger.

"a trans woman! I had to stand directly behind her....I thought, 'this is going well', I'm handling The Situation fine'..."

translated: I saw a tall woman with broad shoulders. How would I get out of this alive? I thought. she has a PENIS. PENIS PENIS PENIS. through some force of PENIS I mean will I managed to PENIS behave normally towards her. My hands were PENIS PENIS PENIS shaking as I tried to dry them. summoning up all my PENIS courage I said 'dryer's crap innit'. she turned to me and said " yeah I'm just goiPENIS PENIS PENIS"

It's been a week and I'm still shaking. This proves trans women are the problem and I'm not weird. I'm fine. It's fine. If you think about it I'm the hero hePENIS!!!!!

very this

[anna-scribbles]

calling all miraculous fans who watched anime in middle school

PLEASE tell me what you think adrien’s favorite anime is. bonus points for characters you think he would relate to / want to be friends with

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

We could have had it all...

[First] Prev <–-> Next

[fruityumbrella]

one piece is set in a nautical world with presumably nautical idioms and exclamations to match, right, like swearing by the sea rather than on a god etc. to wit, there's five seas (the four blues + the grand line) so we can assume when you're feeling particularly dramatic, you might refer to all those vast oceans to get your hyperbolic point across.

keeping that in mind, lets live in a stupidly romantic corny ass world for a moment ok? take my hand.

"I swear on all six seas, if you don't shut the fuck up right now—"

"What?" Sanji looks at him like he's stupid. Nothing new, really.

"Ha, even you're going deaf having to listen to your own annoying ass whining all the time, Cook. I was—"

"No, you—"

"Don't interrupt me! Oi!" he yelps as a wooden spoon bounces harmlessly off his shoulder. He's not impressed that Sanji manages to catch it before it hits the counter.

"You said six seas," Sanji states.

Zoro stares back in lieu of an answer.

"Huh, maybe this has something to do with why you're always lost. There's only five seas, dummy."

And ah, now he gets what the idiot cook is on about. He's surprised and a little disappointed, honestly. You'd think the guy would be a little more aware about his own fucking dream, but whatever. He's got that annoying smile, smug and cocky like he's oh so much better than Zoro.

"Would you like me to count them out for you? I know it's a big number, it's probably confusing for a simple creature like you."

Zoro crosses his arms in clear warning, something the cook, as always, blatantly ignores. He's leaning on the counter that's between them now, eyes sparkling with glee. Idiot. Zoro's thoughts do not have a fond tone to them. Thoughts don't have tones at all, thank you very much.

Sanji lifts a hand and proceeds to count off on his fingers with the precision of a drill sergeant.

"I'm sure you at least know our ocean, the East Blue. There's also the West Blue, North Blue, South Blue, and of course the Grand Line," he wiggles all his fingers as he puts his thumb up for the last one like he's emulating fireworks.

Zoro snorts indelicately. "And?"

Sanji frowns with a tilt of his head.

"And?"

Zoro holds up his index finger.

"And," he says, stifling his amusement as Sanji goes cross eyed trying to follow said finger as it arcs towards him, "your All Blue. Dummy."

He punctuates the last word by poking Sanji in the forehead, snickering when he sputters and swats the digit away in a huff. Then Zoro's words finally sink in, and he straightens up almost too fast. It's not endearing at all.

"Wait," he says quietly, "you count it?"

Zoro doesn't like how Sanji's looking at him with an open expression he's not usually allowed. He looks earnest and sincere. Zoro feels suddenly out of his depth.

"Don't you?" he deflects uncomfortably.

"Well yeah, but that's different. You're—" he shrugs half heartedly and looks away. Zoro can't tell if the end of that sentence was going to disparage him or the cook. Odds are likely split down the middle. Sanji keeps looking at him, and he feels pinned. The bright look is gone, replaced by something more reserved but perhaps...searching? Considering, at the least. It's making him increasingly self conscious. He needs to get out of here.

"Okay. I'm gonna steal some alcohol now," he says shortly, striding to the cabinet and swiping a bottle before Sanji blinks out of his stupor.

[nobleriver]

The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live | What We (1.04)

I tried everything!

[akindplace]

you’re not the rejection nor the neglect you’ve suffered. you’re not a failure for not being exactly what someone wanted you to be, for not being able to pretend to be someone else but you. you’re not their absence. you’re a person who has so much inside their hearts to offer, even if someone else could not see it. that’s not a failure on your behalf, it’s on theirs. you don’t have to become what they projected onto you. it’s okay to be your own person, with your own limitations and shortcomings, who makes mistakes and is learning to move forward from them while still being true to yourself. just because they failed to see your worth, doesn’t mean anyone else won’t.

[bi-writes]

i just want to say that as much as i love mail order bride, i definitely feel it coming to its natural end soon. it was never even supposed to become what it became (i'm so glad it did though, it's so precious), but yk once i write their first time and maybe some other tender moments, i will definitely close off the series so i can focus on other things.

[asteropescrolls]

"born to live"

darling, you were never born to die...you were born to live. you were born to feel the air splurge through your lungs, to feel the sunlight warming your back, to hear the birds sing early in the morning. may these little joys coat your existence akin to a warm blanket. may they keep your heart beating. never lose the childlike wonder locked in your core, too beautiful a thing it is to let go of.

[sk-lumen]

Say it with me.

I am done with toxic people.

I am done being taken for granted.

I will no longer tolerate disrespect.

I will no longer tolerate manipulation or emotional blackmail.

I am done making sacrifices for people that only make me feel anxious and unseen.

I am done chasing opportunities that do not align with my authentic self.

I am done bending over backwards just to fit into a box that never served me.

[the-concrete-sage]

I’m an Empath… I can feel what you’re not saying

[palatinewolfsblog]

The one thing that you have that nobody else has is you. Your voice, your mind, your story, your vision. So write and draw and build and play and dance and live as only you can. Neil Gaiman.

[cartoon-thembo]

I HAD TO MAKE SOMETHING OR I WASN'T GOING TO BE ABLE TO SLEEP WHAT A CHAPTER HOLY FUCK

@buggachat

[mcromwell]

Growing up is learning how to be real with yourself.

[takami-takami]

For His Pleasure.

kinktober day 1: love bites.

includes— hawks x reader. minors dni. smut.

warnings— gn!reader. keigo is such a good boy. slight masochism. marking. 

More often than not, a canvas takes the form of the flesh when it comes to Keigo Takami. 

Your breath fogs back against your lips when you're this close to the piercable skin of his neck. You dip down, fangs bared, and he cranes his neck so far back it could just about snap. A carnivorous, masochistic ringing in his mind won't let him forget how he wants nothing more than to expose the entire surface to you— to only you, vulnerable and ripe to be marked like a nametag signed into the flesh. 

Panting below you is a man who tends to hold little back. You've come to expect him in the raw. Frankly, you prefer it that way. It's advantageous to your relationship in every sense, pulling you closer together as you weave through challenges with ease, armed with communication as the hot knife that slices through the thick of conflict. 

But in the bedroom, that communicative nature of his translates quite nicely into behavior that is oh so responsive.

With his hands propped behind him to keep his body stable, you straddle him and mark his skin; and Keigo has never sounded as pliable as he does now. 

"This here," you whisper, tracing a finger from the center of his chin down his bobbing Adam's apple. "This is mine, baby." 

It is. You swear you catch the sweetest coo of agreement bubbling in his throat as you work on his flesh, his nape bared further by the way he lets his head fall back slack. Golden tufts are splayed against bare shoulders, cascading over the curvature of muscles formed to carry fierce wings. It brushes against his bare skin with each labored breath, and his head dips back like a strawberry in melted chocolate, decadent in its indulgence. 

Inside, he invites you, and you're willing to crawl.

Sticking up in wild tufts, you could count the mussed strands of hair poking in every direction atop his head. Memories depicting how you played with and pulled them flash in your mind's eye, reminding you of how the soft texture felt running like water through the valleys between your fingers.

You discovered it pretty early on in your relationship: the pretty boy likes his hair pulled. It's an activity that soothes him, the controlled sparks of pain pulling a lopsided smile as he spills the prettiest moans. 

"More— Harder,” he begs. “Please, angel, gimme more."

Keigo doesn't want to look perfect. He wants to look taken. He wants to look loved. 

Most nights, he studies your work like a ritual. He stands before the bathroom mirror after you've finished each masterpiece, admiring the blooming bruises that burst forth in shades of red and violet for longer than he probably should. Barely suppressing a giddy smile, Keigo simply walks past the comb on the counter without a second thought, opting to keep the mess that is his hair intact before he returns to bed— before he returns to you.

Yeah, he definitely prefers this look to the one suggested by his hairstylist.

For as selfless as Hawks is at his core, gluttony is a language Keigo speaks fluently when he allows himself to; when it's safe to, when it doesn't affect his work, when he can sink his teeth into the concentrated comfort and moan like a goddamn whore once it bursts in his mouth. 

Concentrated methods of comfort... It's an amicable way to describe a vice.

It keeps him sane. 

You noticed it first with food; with the way he glues his eyes shut and sighs, chewing agonizingly slow with his eyes rolled back, letting the flavors burst atop his palette. He only allows the delicacy to be swallowed down his throat after every bit of pleasure has been milked to the fullest. 

It's even more apparent in his slouch when he sinks into the scalding burn that fills his porcelain tub after work. You’ve taken the pleasure of watching him sink alongside you, submerged down to the nose as the heat melts the crackling neurons that sing in his brain. It's evident in the way he throws his head back and sucks his teeth at the patter of the showerhead against his back, how his breathing slows to panting groans the moment he turns the knob as hot as it will go. 

And here in the sanctity of your bed, Keigo sits poised, the picture of blissed out debauchery. His eyes haven't peeked open in some time; if that and the labored rise and fall of his chest is any indication, he's fallen too far down to pleasure to be reasoned with. 

Good. 

You like a man you can bend.

"You're so good to me." Another moan slips out at a nip against his jaw. His pleasure-drunk smile never wavers, even when he raises one hand to paw at the bend of your hips. Like this, he can slide his calloused hands along the divots imprinted by his teeth, ghosting against each bruise with a glint of conquest in his eyes. 

With each mark sucked into his skin, a plethora of sounds grace your ears: hisses, whimpers, outright and unabashed moans. 

"Gonna show me off, baby?" The ghost of his stolen air creaks when he speaks. His word choice is an attempt to sound cocky, you’re sure, but an unmistakable whine laces that breathless tone. 

Still running his mouth even as he squirms, you appraise. You roll your eyes; but you can't find it in you to judge when he sounds this happy. 

Rosy cheeks and a toothy grin; this is what Keigo wears when he's experiencing true happiness. In the solace of your bed, his customer service façade drops to the floor alongside his clothes to reveal his innermost sunshine you've come to adore. 

"Mark me up and show 'em. All of this s'yours."

He arches his back, bowing off the bed in a manner more reminiscent of a feline than a bird; and you can’t help but dive into him, feeding off his indulgence once more. 

…

There's a pep in his step when he swipes his ID card with a flourish at the front desk this morning. 

Keigo flips a kick and a stutter with the rhythm of his walk, coat flaring with his little spin as he swings open his office door. When the people around him snap their necks to gawk, their head-turning stares are simply met with a dopey smile and a wave.

Your relationship going public was the best thing to ever happen to him. 

Some commission executive glares down her nose at his neck, glasses glinting a reflection of the light in Keigo’s eyes. 

I know, right, he wants to say, lovesick and claimed at last. 

[akindplace]

It’s a good thing to just show up as yourself. It’s not possible to alway be improving, to always be great, to constantly do your best. You’re allowed to be imperfect, even if that is not something encouraged by those who want you only as the idea they have of you. You’re not a concept, you’re just another human, an animal, who cannot perform to the highest expectations without setting yourself up for failure.

It’s a good thing to just try, to just do things as you are able to. It’s okay for you to be good enough and not perfect. Perfectionism takes us to an all of nothing mentality, but you don’t have to burn yourself out by forcing yourself to be the best at everything. You need to allow yourself to make mistakes without the unbearable guilt it gives you, you are only human. Your mistakes will become lessons, so they don’t make you a failure. Please don’t delay whatever you need to do because you’re waiting for it to be “just right, just perfect”. You deserve more of life than to be an ideal to people-please others. You deserve more than the fear of not being good enough. You deserve to throw yourself out into the world, to be truly seen, truly cared for and loved for you are.

So please, don’t shut yourself out of any experiences because you’re “not sure how you’ll perform so it’s best to just give up”. You can be just as human as you are, and having flaws do not make you worse than anyone else. It makes you real, and you are alive at this moment so you might as well show up and live it! Enjoy your life as you are, and not as who you should be. Because people-pleasing while suppressing all your needs will make you miserable and lonely.

You deserve true connection, and it’s not a bad thing to want to be seen. But first, you gotta get a bit more comfortable with being yourself, and it gets a little easier the more you try hanging out with people without constantly trying to please them. And I hope little by little, you’ll get there and no longer feel the pressure to perform, and feel less scared of let others get to know the real you. I’m rooting for you and I believe you’re capable of opening up and being loved just as you are.