Well, you sent me TWO wonderful poems so I decided I should do one at least. This I suppose is my first writing piece for June!!
Cafuné - The tender act of gently running one's fingers through a loved one's hair.
You are asleep on the sofa, your head on my chest,
and I am looking at you the way I always do
when you cannot see me—
soft, unguarded,
the way love looks
when it is not performing.
My hand finds your hair.
I do not remember deciding to reach.
It is simply where it belongs,
threading through strands I have learned by heart,
the way water knows the shape of a riverbed,
the way a key knows the lock it was made for.
Cafuné.
I do not say it aloud. You are sleeping.
But my fingers spell it in the language of touch,
gentle, unhurried,
mapping the familiar territory of your scalp,
the place where worry lives, where you hold tension
like a fist you forget you have clenched.
I ease through it. You sigh.
Your breath slows to match the rhythm of my hand,
and I think: this is the centre.
Not the words I will say later,
not the vows we have made in daylight, but this—
the wordless conversation of my fingers in your hair,
your body answering without waking,
yes, you, stay.
I used to think saying I'd die for you
was the measure of love.
The grand gesture. The final flame.
I was young. I was stupid.
I did not know that dying is a moment
and living is a lifetime of cafuné,
of choosing the sofa and the ordinary afternoon,
of running my hand through your hair
when you are too tired to ask,
when I am too tired to need you to say thanks.
I'm yours, I whisper,
because you're mine sounds like a cage
and this sounds like the door I leave open,
the hand I keep moving because it is the truest thing
I know how to do.
You murmur. Not words. Just sound.
Trust, maybe.
Or simply the body remembering,
before the mind,
that love does not always
arrive with thunder.
Sometimes it is this: my fingers in your hair,
the afternoon light slanting gold across us,
the quiet, stubborn fact of two people
who have learned to live for each other
in the small ways, the ways that do not ask
for applause, only continuation.
I do not stop. I will not stop.
Not until you wake and smile,
sleep-soft and certain,
and reach for my hand
to return the favour.
DAMN, YOU STOLE MY BREATH WITH THE BEAUTIFUL POEM!! PLEASE WARN ME NEXT TIME BEFORE SENDING?? 😭💖 /pos
I had to stop at every line to take it in and wrap my head around the meaning it carries so nonchalantly, so simply, so light, and still my breath hitches when I understand??
The second verse; imagine touching your partner’s head so many times, with so much attention and care, that you remember the shape of the strands— you know, to get the feeling that you do?? And it’s so natural to you, it couldn’t be any other way?? I melt,,, 😭
Third verse; “the place where worry lives, where you hold tension like a fist you forget you have clenched.” Ughhh, awww, fathom having someone who feels your worries and relieves them for you. This is the center, reading this makes me feel warm and loved, too 🥺
“I did not know that dying is a moment and living is a lifetime of cafuné” — this is peak,, 😭😭😭 Do you feel proud for this poem? For how gentle and warm and beautiful and comforting it turned out? Because you should🙏 (imho)
I love the feeling of loving someone when they don’t necessarily see or know, just loving because it’s natural, because it’s how you feel, because you do, and it’s the best thing you could do,,, thank you for blessing my inbox with this poem! 🥺💖
…
And congrats on the first entry for June! Yay! You’re amazing, thank you so much, please never stop writing!!🛐
"if some numbers from 1 to 32 are found in my ask box, I'll post that day's entry or tell about it if it's unpostable"
How about 10? :D
Hehe, hi, thanks a lot for the ask!! :D I love how you perfectly guessed the one parody poem entry, you must've sensed it x)
It's rewritten lyrics of the song The Silent Mutiny by Visions of Atlantis, exploring the idea of some coats being rollable: you can kinda roll them and put in the hood and it will hold itself like that. I did this with my coat that day and it seemed fun because I got ✨a ball✨, fun to the point I remembered this song and- ah. It's pointless to rationalize. Just enjoy
The prompts for that day are Smoke from @/come-what-may-challenge and Strive from @/zazuprompts. Smoke stands for smoke and mirrors (the lies about coats you've been living) and Strive is for the enlightened urge to get a ball x) don't ask
Thank you so much for playing along! The AO3 collection will be open indefinitely if you'd like to finish any prompts! Below the cut is the final list of all the words! See you next year!
Thanks so, so much for organising this, I had such a blast writing for this event! Looking forward to it next year! The format you've chosen is sooo good and inspiring, and I loved the designs, and I loved the primpts, and I loved the mood, and I loved this month so much!
The only recommendation for the next time is to have prompts in alt text or in the post somehow, as wi-fi problems led me to not loading the pic and not seeing the prompts multiple times, it was mildly irritating at the time (even if I still got them in the end!😁)
But come on!! I had such a blast!! Should've reblogged more of the prompt cards to spread the word, but alas, that's on me, for the next time
Maybe i'll even post as I go next time 😁 (nah, jk, writing for myself was too fun) But now May's over, if some numbers from 1 to 32 are found in my ask box, I'll post that day's entry or tell about it if it's unpostable; let's go guys x)
Results as I counted them (shoud've had a spread sheet to make it easier lol!):
32 prompts
30 entries (11+12, 31+32 are merged)
21 entries are in English and 10 are not (1 is mixed)
3 playlists, 1 prompt list, 2 poems, 1 parody poem, 1 list of words, 1 brain dump, 2 philosophy assignements, 1 set of headcanons, 1 finishing eight months old WIP 🎉🎉, 4 translating a story to English, 2 unfinished short stories (1 having a charcter study as a resolution in the end), 1 Q&A type text, 1 drabble
— and 9 short stories, versus 21 entries that are not quite short stories. Hm, I imagined it a little different, but you know what? Those 21 are awesome and I know I'll love rereading them one year from now, remembering how awesome this May was!
Yay! Yippee! 🎉 thanks for the challenge, it was immensely fun!
Thank you dear Pro @writingwithoutconfidence for tagging me!! :D Even though I never tell you if I'm writing something, you still assume I do, and well it's true this time :D
📝 Search for the given words in your story. If your story doesn't have a word, you can use a variation on it or a word with a similar meaning.
So fun!! Let's give it a shot!!
My words: Name, Warm, Gain, and True
I'm looking through an unfinished Long Good-bye, My Honey AU one-shot :D
Name:
"That's right. Vansheld the knight, the Bureau's second in command." He spoke that so calmly as if the sound of his name didn't make many nervous at best, mortified at worst.
Warm:
Her knees gave in. She'd have fallen if Vansheld hadn't caught her. She clung to his clothes and cried out through clanking teeth, "What are we doing? Do we need to go there?"
He put a hand on the back of her head and caressed her, his skin warm through the glove. "Hush, hush. What did you thought of that scared you so much?"
Gain:
Rose leaned over to her. Rise looked her in the eyes—and screamed.
Screamed once, twice, and couldn't let out the third scream because she didn't have breath for it. She jumped up to her feet and, upon gaining the higher ground, grabbed Rose's shoulders with resolve—she did, and after that she let out a sound of something breaking in her chest. Her fingers were ice-cold.
"Alone, I beg you, leave me alone!!" was another scream, hoarse and terrified.
True: didn't have that, surprisingly, but I had Real!
Right: neither the angels nor she, a ghost, needed to regard the matter. A few steps ahead Vansheld flew rather than walked, and when Uriel pushed Rose gently, she could too. Bushes and branches pulled back from her, forming a path, and it burnt to walk it as Rose would give up anything for a tiny bit of friction between herself and the real world.
No pressure tags!
@theramblingsofadork if you need some fun distraction 🫂
@justluchii 👀
@imjusta-frog PLEASE I need to read more of whatever you've got!!
@writingwithoutconfidence isn't it the type of game you can bounce back and forth, just with different words each time?
so you can have Porch (Point + March), Apreriod (April + Period) or Day (Dot + May)
This is made for the very specific group of people that are looking for month-long challenges like Inktober/Writober no matter the month of the year (I am a part of this group)
Tag whatever you make with #points dots and periods, or #points dots and periods challenge, or both :)
My thoughts on how to do the challenge are below the cut, but you can have full creative freedom with this of course!
I don't actually expect anyone to do this challenge (even though it would be sick), I made it because I LOVE prompt challenges like that and wanted to try and make one myself!
Daily entries for this one can be simple 100-500 words writing/journaling exercises, because basing actual short stories on some of those seems difficult! The prompts in general are great because they spark your creativity and give your thoughts an unexpected direction, and this can be best explored in small free-form pieces :)
5th prompt is like… what if you had 2.5 cats? or only got 0.37 answers to a question you asked? Let your imagination wild
11th is about computers and 12th can be any date, or no date at all
And so on! Have fun! Find the most unique usage of the prompt! Skip or group prompts for less days! Ofc you can use any medium for this challenge, not just writing!
Damn… i just looked it up and word commonly used in relation to big bang is point, not dot… whatever, signing off
Feel free to choose the line that speaks to you the most and write a short story set into the world you imagined, or realize your idea in another preferred medium!
Summary: On a day off, Chef and Fondue set out to Shroom Cave for a little adventure just for the two of them.
rejoice @3-leaf-clover for i have finished the thing i promised you half a year ago! it was sitting in my notes almost finished all this time.
Yesterday the bistro was bursting with customers, celebrating the Second Princess’s return. But still there was work for the heroes: guests talked about the devastation yet to be dealt with. After a good night sleep the most of the heroes left to help locals restore the village.
For the first time in a very long while, no people seemed to be coming for lunch. The place went silent. Cream and Éclair were taking a thousandth stroll around the bistro, and still they hadn’t ran out of things to talk about. Chef was sorting through the supplies. Fondue, who would usually sit in the dark corner of the kitchen, or help watch the fire, or hand over some ingredients, was now doing the accounting. It suited her more than the fighting.
“…money is looking good. We can remain closed for a day or two,” the witch said, closing the book.
Chef gave her a nod and pointed at almost empty shelves of food.
“…that’s right. We need to restock while we’ve got time… You want to go with me? It might be dangerous… Well, if you’re sure…”
Shroom Cave welcomed the girls with thick, gloomy fog and distant splashes of dripping water. Everything smelled like cheese shrooms here, but Fondue walked straight to the place only she knew about to gather the best ones. She was clearly worried about Chef’s safety—it could be read in the way she would turn her head at whatever noise that reached her, the way she took Chef’s hand after she had almost tripped, the way she took smaller and more frequent bites of her shroom snack. Chef had noticed a long time ago that not only Fondue preferred little snacks over full meals, but also that her mood affected how she ate: the more worried she was, the quicker she chewed on whatever she was holding.
“…don’t be afraid. Monsters won’t attack unless we disturb them...”
As quiet and distant Fondue’s voice was, Chef felt protected behind the walls of her friend’s confidence and competence—not one that came with training drills, but one that grew naturally as Fondue studied the world around her with child-like curiosity.
Chef got lost, if not enchanted, in her thoughts about Fondue, and slipped. The ground beneath betrayed her by going down and for a moment, the girl went weightless as she was falling in a dark, deep pit that marked the end of her journey.
“Entangling!” Fondue cried out desperately from far above, and the movement stopped. Thick vines held Chef steadily, her back against the pit wall that was almost soft with all the moss that covered it. Fondue did something to ease the vines’ grip, and in a second Chef could breathe again.
“…are you alright?”
Chef squirmed between the vines, released her hand and showed a thumb up. Fondue’s sigh of relief and the sound of her sitting down was the response, as she made sure that using her fighting ability to rescue someone did no harm.
The fear was as easily, tracelessly gone as it had come. Chef looked up at the ceiling of the cave, faraway mushrooms glowing like tiny stars, and felt the safest she’s ever been in her life.
Fondue couldn’t remove the vines right away, so they waited. Minutes were long and serene and didn’t need words to fill the silence. When Chef’s green shackles started crawling away, reluctantly releasing her, Fondue pulled her out of the pit.
The restocking stroll having taken an intense turn, they decided to take a break and calm their nerves.
They found a relatively dry place under a huge cheese shroom and seated themselves for a lunch.
“Uh… I don’t really have any more food on me, only that…” Fondue sighed as she unwrapped the last of her snacks. “It’s the latest result of my research. There’s a room in the cave where cheese shrooms turn moldy, but it’s more like… fermented… Coq au Vin said it was “nasty” when she saw it, so I didn’t show you… but it’s tasty… you can try if you want…”
Chef took a piece of moldy shroom, gave it a little sniff and then put it in her mouth.
It was almost perfect on its own—creamy texture with fine, delicate notes of noble mold. The only way to improve it was to dip it into fragrant fruit jam… and what would make it perfect would be taking a bite of flaming sauce chicken before tasting the soothing sweetness of cheese! Chef’s eyes opened slightly, beaming with professional’s inspiration. She needed to cook, and she needed it now. But she braced herself so as not to ruin the peace of their improvised picnic.
She shared the joy of her discovery with Fondue. The witch smiled softly and looked away, her gaze wandering over the fog.
They sat like that for a while. Neither really wanted to keep walking. The gentle glowing of a fluorescent shroom above the girls’ heads was like midsummer moonlight, lulling to sleep.
“…are you having fun today?”
Chef nodded enthusiastically. She does. Why ask? And still Fondue looked unsure.
“…maybe I shouldn’t have asked you to come along… for anyone, here doesn’t exactly feel… nice… there are livelier, lovelier places… but I like this cave and its gloom... you might think it’s because I’m creepy, or cowardly, or…”
Chef covered Fondue’s palm with her own, and the witch thought for a moment that she heard the words in this touch, “It’s because you are you. And with you, it’s fun.”
A dull growl behind the girls startled them, the joined hands breaking as they struck defensive poses. The mushroom they were sitting under slowly arose, awakened with sudden wanderlust, to its two stubby legs that would look funny if it wasn’t so giant and didn’t threaten to trample over the girls with its next step.
“…play dead”, Fondue mustered, having turned pale, and softly pushed Chef away from the mushroom’s path. The girls fell down organically, like two little rag dolls, and rolled slightly further away. Chef squinted as hard as she could and felt Fondue squeeze her shoulders. The mushroom stomped past them. Thump. Thump. Thump. The ground eventually stopped shaking, but the girls waited for some time before having the nerve to sit up.
They threaded home carefully so as not to wake anything else, and held hands for added bravery. Was it adrenaline or something else, both of them felt very happy in the end of this adventure.
Namely Good Coffee Great Coffee, Harvest Town and Postknight 2 OCs
Meet Bonbon! They are very silly. They love listening to what other people have to say and occasionally they’ll talk about themselves, their family in another city, their photography hobby etc.
She’s also really friendly and tactile and Will hug you if you don’t mind, and it will be… intense :3
(I don’t have an Ovenist character because I haven’t played gpgp a lot (gcgc neither but for long enough to create an oc). Yes it’s because it’s too difficult for me lol!)
Meet Deco! She’s very silly and chaotic and spends the least of her time actually farming. She prefers cave diving and fishing for treasures instead.
Her love interest is Sherry Allen cuz they both share love for shiny things you can buy stuff with + Deco was absolutely smitten the moment she met the gorgeous woman!
+ Deco has grown to hang out with Barl a lot, they adore him. They’ve always wanted a cute little brother and in HT, the dream came true <3
Meet Zacky! A simple boy who never expected to become a hero, but became anyway.
I’ve got a lot on him in my latest postknight phase… The rant with some more art will be under the cut if you’re interested! (Also idk, there are minor spoilers (?) past Regalle (7-25), just saying)
His name’s Zachary, but everyone knows him as Zacky or, for the first few day in a new place, “Aliya’s nephew”.
Aliya was a a famous postknight (think legendary postknight level), a reckless Pyrodash known for her crazy adventures, and well, she still is all that, it’s only that no one knows for sure where she is at the moment. Last time they checked she stayed home because of an injury, and then… she disappeared for an adventure she doesn’t want anyone to interrupt.
Zacky was brought up by his relatives (Aliya’s wife’s family) in Violetfair, where he developed love for nature and respect for the elderly.
He’s always wanted to be a gardener, but the fate’s decided differently. When Aliya asked him to help out in Maille on her sick day, he agreed, but she never returned, the day turned into a week and so on… Everyone seemed to need Zacky, and his sense of duty (= fear of letting people down) kept him around until he became a postknight himself, thus beginning the game story.
No matter how much he’s accomplished as a postknight, he still thinks of himself as a simple countryside lad, or a trainee at best, or an extension of his aunt’s career, hence the permanent blush of imposter syndrome and his complete inability to take praise.
+ semicanon that he never ranked up to rank S cuz he believed he wasn’t worthy (maybe i’ll change that if i rank up myself lol, this exam is pure evil)
But apart from that, he’s a good boy, basically everyone agrees on that (for an unknown reason, he’s absolutely irresistible for women that are some kind of bosses, think Cassandra, Magnolia… Queen Vega? Dur’gali? They find him adorable and sometimes pet on the head). He finds joy in selflessly helping people and giving gifts, so postknight is kind of a perfect job for him, which is one of the reasons he ultimately stayed.
He was reluctant to travel at first, but as he grew braver he started enjoying being out in the nature of other places, even though nothing beats Violetfair for him. And yep he and Chris are childhood friends!
His division is Neverwhisk because he vibes with them.
💨 The things on his shoes are windwings! Made with platinum and wind essence, they give him a speed & agility boost in fight (I should mention here that his (and mine) fighting style is “coward with daggers and 100 lvl agility vs 50 lvl strength”). They were made for Aliya by Gwynelle as they were besties back in the day! Aliya was often recognized by them, so imagine everyone’s reaction when she handed them to her nephew and disappeared.
And imagine Gwynelle’s reaction when she finally meets “the boy Aliya was talking about!” >:3 She basically adopts him and helps him through the struggle of Quivtol.
During Sagacia plot, Zacky would spend all his free time in the village helping Gwynelle around the smithy and listening to the stories about her youth. In Regalle, he missed her care and was sooo happy to see her when she and Veremund arrived <3
As for Regalle, here happens the most intriguing part… Zacky’s love interest is Leif, Regalle innkeeper.
Ok hear me out. I did hope Leif would be romanceable, the way he appeared in the story kind of looked like that. And he’s also sooo cute 😔 So be it, plus I’m not super attached to the existing LIs, Zacky is probably just good friends with all of them.
Ok so!! The story goes!! Captain Reinhilde beat Zacky’s ass, I mean yes he defeated her and listened to all the dialogue afterwards, but then he collapsed on the ground unconscious. And you wouldn’t believe it, he had to stay in the inn for a week with Leif looking after him <3
They are both young, inexperienced boys who have to choose between what they think is right and the “common good”, and they bond over that among other things. I hope Leif becomes less depressed as he spends time with Zacky, I mean wth is his greeting even after completing the story? “Is this the life that we have to live?” (along those lines) and a sad face? Bro I thought we helped figure everything out, why are you still having the existential crisis 😭 Not on Zacky’s watch, wth.
Remember that one delivery quest where Gwynelle sends Leif a pendant?
⬆️ This one? I absolutely love it because it’s two my fav characters having the exact interaction I dreamt of, it’s like this one quest was made for me specifically!
But apart from that…
I hc that aegles exchange pendants as humans do with wedding rings and that as a parent/custodian you have a say in this ritual (c’mon, I can vividly imagine Veremund asking us if we would like to take his daughter’s hand), so the meaning of this quest could be Gwynelle making it so Zacky proposes to Leif.
And she was right to do so, because otherwise their self-conscious asses would have never confessed.
Moving on to one more hc (that is a topic for another rant), imo Postknights shouldn’t have had a branch in Quivtol, instead Quivtol should have set up their own organization for militarized deliveries. Post-rangers? Something like that. I hc that this is what happened and that Leif became one of them and he and Zacky would occasionally meet on their duty and maybe patrol in Sagacia together and stuff <3
(Ignore the creatures I poorly drew from memory)
But don’t ignore Leif’s hair not only looking like a bird nest, but actually being one.
OK I believe that’s all. Could’ve make it its own post but meh, I want all my madman rambles in one place, just wait until my next ht/gcgc face and watch this post triple in size with rants and doodles about Deco and Bonbon!
Alright, Tumblr writers. Gather round. I’ve collected a bunch of writing tips I’ve relied on ever since I upgraded from “nine-year-old scribbling nonsense” to “slightly more organised nonsense.” Use them, steal them, ignore them — your choice.
1. Your first draft can be nothing more than a sentence like:
“Idea: two characters meet in a park and have fun.”
A first draft is allowed to be an outline, a scattered thought, or a skeleton. What matters is getting the idea out of your head and onto the page. You can shape it later.
2. You don’t have to write in order.
Sometimes we have dreams where we skip the boring parts and jump straight into the interesting scenes like the ending, the argument, or that one line of dialogue that makes you go, “Damn. I like that.” Writing can be the same. Start with the part that excites you. The rest will come together later. It may sound really odd, but trust me, it'll help.
3. Good descriptions don’t automatically make a character feel real.
You know when you read about a character and think, “Yeah, this is fine… but something’s missing”? That usually happens when the character has traits, but not life. Descriptions aren’t the problem — it’s that we don’t see how those descriptions actually matter to them. Here’s the difference:
Feels a bit flat: “Lana had soft brown eyes, a quiet voice, and kept a journal with her all the time.” Nothing wrong with it — it just doesn’t make you feel anything. VS Feels more real: “Lana kept a journal with her everywhere — half out of habit, half because she hated forgetting things. She spoke quietly most of the time, but whenever she got excited? You heard it.” Now there’s emotion. A reason. A spark.
4. If a scene feels off, check the emotion before you check the wording.
A lot of the time, a scene doesn’t work not because the writing is bad, but because the emotion behind it is wrong. Maybe the characters aren’t reacting strongly enough. Maybe they’re reacting too strongly. Maybe the mood doesn’t match what just happened. When the emotion is off, the whole scene feels weird — even if the description and dialogue are fine.
Example: “He found out his best friend betrayed him. He sighed and walked away.” Why it feels off: A sigh doesn’t match the weight of the betrayal. The emotion doesn’t line up with the moment. How to fix it: “His mouth went dry. He didn’t even realise he’d stepped back until his shoulder hit the wall.” Same moment, but the emotion actually fits.
5. If you’re giving your character a heavy or traumatic backstory, be careful with how you show their reactions.
A lot of people assume trauma = dramatic nightmares, shaking hands, and refusing to touch anyone. Sometimes, sure. But in reality? Trauma shows up in a hundred quieter, weirder, very human ways. Some people joke too much. Some become obsessively organised. Some can’t stand silence. Some become overly affectionate. It’s not always the movie version of PTSD. It’s not always the “wakes up screaming” cliché. Make your character’s reactions specific to them, not just “trauma tropes.” Think:
What did this particular person learn to do to survive?
That’s what will shape how they act now.
6. If you’re writing action, don’t make your main character “weak until suddenly they’re a hero.”
It’s such a common thing: the MC starts out timid, unsure, soft… and then one dramatic moment suddenly unlocks their hidden badass mode. It works sometimes, but honestly? It hits harder when the growth is gradual. When they slip. When they backtrack. When they get brave for one chapter and terrified the next. Slow character growth > Instant transformation every time. This took me ages to learn, but it's something everyone should hear at least once.
7. If you ever get hit with sudden inspiration, start writing… and then immediately think, “Wow, this is awful, I should restart”—DON’T.
That “crappy” version is exactly where the good stuff hides. If you keep restarting, you’ll kill the momentum and lose the spark that made you write in the first place. Keep going. Fix it later. Let the messy version exist so the better version has something to grow out of.
8. I’m sure this has happened to everyone… but have you ever struggled so much with dialogue that you just give up?
Yeah. Don’t. Most of the time, dialogue only feels impossible because you’re trying to make it perfect on the first try. Let it sound awkward. Let it sound clunky. Let it be two cardboard boxes talking. You can fix it later. Write the intention first — the rhythm and personality will show up once the pressure is gone.
9. If you ever catch yourself thinking, “Hmm… should I kill them off?” pause.
Before you swing the axe, take that character out of your story in your mind and imagine how much would actually change. If the answer is “basically nothing,” then the problem isn’t the character — it’s the role you’ve given them. Give them a purpose before you give them a funeral. Yes, I'm not trying to convince you to keep them alive or make them come back from the dead, I’m just saying: make the death mean something. If their absence doesn’t create a ripple in the story, in the plot, or in another character’s life… then it’s not a death, it’s a deletion. And your readers will feel the difference.
10. When writing a mystery story, please don’t let your MC suddenly go, “Everything clicked into place,” without actually showing us how.
Like bestie… we’re trying to solve this with you. We can’t read the character’s mind. We didn’t magically connect the dots while staring at the same clues and eating snacks. If your detective realises something, give us the moment they notice it. Let us see the weird detail, the off comment, the tiny clue that made them go, wait a second… Mysteries are so much more fun when your readers feel included — not blindsided by an “aha!” moment they never had a chance to reach.
11. Stop panicking about “originality.”
Every writer has that moment where they go, “Wait… has this been done before?” And the answer is almost always yes — but that doesn’t matter. What makes a story original isn’t the trope, the setting, or the plot twist. It’s you. Your voice. Your characters. Your humour. Your POV. Your emotional fingerprints all over the pages. Two writers can start with the same idea and end up with completely different stories. So don’t ditch a concept just because it isn’t groundbreaking. Write it your way — that’s what makes it new.
12. A really simple one, but I still struggle: Give your side characters goals that don’t revolve around the MC. A world feels real when people have lives outside the protagonist. Give a side character a job interview. Give another one a crush. Let someone have a secret you’ll reveal later. Let someone be busy when the MC needs them. Suddenly, your world feels alive instead of like a stage set.
13. ✨ Bonus Tip: Use the “put it away and read it tomorrow” rule. I swear this changes EVERYTHING. When you finish a scene, don’t immediately rewrite it. Don’t panic-edit. Don’t go “ugh this sucks” and delete half of it. Just… close the document. Touch grass. Eat chocolate. Scroll for a bit. Sleep. Then tomorrow — or even a few hours later — reread it with a fresh brain.
You will suddenly notice:
lines that are actually great
lines that need a tiny tweak
parts that sound different from how you imagined
typos your brain was blind to
scenes that flow better than you remember
HOW FANTASTIC YOUR WRITING ACTUALLY IS
where you lost emotion
THE WONDER THAT COMES FROM YOUR MIND
where the sentence is too long
It’s such a small thing.
SO many people skip it.
But every published, polished author does it.
And the best part?
You will hear lines that are so good you’ll surprise yourself.
You’ll hear the music in your writing.
You’ll hear the story breathe.
Okay, that’s it — you made it to the end. If you use these tips, amazing. If you ignore half of them, also amazing. Writing isn’t a test, it’s just you and your brain making cool stuff together. So go write something chaotic. Something dramatic. Something you’ll look at tomorrow and go, “Wait… that’s actually kinda good??”
THIS IS SO GOOD. There are so many insights I didn’t know I needed. You say you’re just a learning, teen writer? You are so WISE, you are straight up ENLIGHTENED already, this is amazing! Yours is the kind of attitude that makes for great writing ❤️ Keep rocking and thank you so much for the making this post!
⭐️ A/N: What you are about to read is a paraphrased timeline story of the first arc in my Dr. Starline Redemption AU.
This AU is my personal look at “What might have happened if Starline had some good influences in his life before meeting Eggman?”
For context: This AU still heavily follows canon, with more deviations happening the further into Starline’s journey we get. This specific arc takes place approximately 3-4 years before Starline’s introduction in the comics. It follows his misadventures with a group of ragtag inventors and chemists as they work together to win top spot in an innovator’s competition.
Enjoy. 💖
⭐ Act 1: The Starpoint Squad ⭐
🎵 Opening Theme Song: Touch the Sky - Jeff Williams
Starline has been a fan of Eggman’s for as long as he can remember. In fact, he’d say probably no one else compares when it comes to his knowledge of the man.
He’s made it his job to follow in his footsteps and follow his legacy, dreaming of one day joining Eggman himself so he can help him accomplish world domination at last.
Coming from a wealthy, prestigious family, and being a confident scientist and chemist— he’s sought this path out for many years, but has had little success garnering the man’s attention.
One day, as he’s considering if there’s something he hasn’t tried yet, he happens to discover an innovator's competition is set to start soon, run by Atmos Industries.
They’re a well-respected name in the tech world, known for their many innovations and inventions; residing on the coastal town of Aethos, known for it’s beaches and technological harmony with nature.
The top prize for said competition boasts the highly sought after position of becoming the company’s next big innovator. Considering the selective and closed off nature of the company due to political tensions around the island’s power source, this is a very rare and juicy opportunity.
Starline enters at once, deciding to secure first place and declare allegiance to Eggman during the winner’s speech. (As he KNOWS he’ll be watching.)
At first, he believes it’ll be a walk in the park. But upon clearing prelims, it’s a surprise to all when the heads running it announce that the competitors are now required to form teams.
Although notably frustrated, Starline’s not willing to be bested by this, so he decides to find people who might be easy to manipulate into following his brilliant blueprint and gameplan.
He ends up settling on Rivet, (a inventor and x-gear rider he met in prelims when they both worked together to stop a runaway rocket thruster),
Hex, (a mech-loving, robot inventing rat whose insane coding skills caught his attention during prelims),
Lug, (a dumb, but incredibly strong bulldog who cooks a mean stew and is Hex’s best friend and bodyguard),
Charge, (an oddball, plant loving bio-electrokinetic who understands a great deal about the physiological workings of living creatures, plants, and Mobians alike),
And Cello, (a very confident and stoic chemist firefly who makes her own concoctions.)
✨ Fun fact: (Starline wasn’t sure about her, but he quickly added her on lest he end up being stuck with the other option of Atlas (his idiotic and annoying rival from their academy days who he can’t stand).
Starline happily anoints himself as the leader due to his expertise in all the assorted fields, and at first the team is on board with it. But as he begins to ignore their attempts at insight and aims to control the whole show, the team begins to push back, quickly causing arguments to fly and tensions to mount, especially between him and Cello.
They quickly become the laughing stock of the competitors, gaining mockery from their soon-to-be-rivals as they can’t even decide on a team name. And after a few days of nonstop headaches, Starline’s at his wits end as to what to do.
He's frustrated and bewitched as to why they’re fighting his perfect plan for victory, and when he learns Hex and Lug are thinking of dropping out entirely, he finally realizes that he has to do something or his whole plan will go up in smoke!
He finally asks Rivet for her insight, as she’s the only one still talking to him right now. What’s going on? Why is everyone fighting him and his flawless gameplan? They DO realize it will lead them to victory, right?
And she explains where he’s going so wrong. It’s not that they don’t trust his vision or skill, since clearly he’s the most learned of all of them, but he’s not giving them room to be involved in the process at all; treating the team like they’re cogs in a machine to be used vs real people with ideas and aspirations of their own.
“I get that you’re used to working alone, but unfortunately, that’s not how being in a team works.” Rivet tells him.
She asks if he’s ever even asked any of them why they’re here, and tells him that she personally wants to push her limits and see how much she can contribute to a good cause. That they ALL want to feel as though they’ve actually earned this victory, instead of just winning because they followed Starline’s orders.
He doesn’t believe her that the others share her thoughts, so she recommends he go ask Hex and the others directly. “Who knows? They might just surprise you.”
So, Starline does, tracking down the rat first and finding him playing his favorite fighter game, Hero Mania. They talk, and he discovers that… Hex is here because he wants to prove to people that he’s just as capable as everyone else. He reveals his dreams to make mechs have been crushed time and time again by adults because of his age. That they dismissed him because he was “too young to be serious.”
So when Lug suggested he join the competition, he did, in the hopes that maybe he could find like minded people. People who might be willing to give him a chance to show what he could do, and help him where he was weak.
But considering the group’s been ignoring and excluding him from their conversations and arguments cuz ‘he’s just a kid’, he wonders what the point of being here anymore is.
And Starline.. feels a scrap of sympathy for the kid, as he himself can understand the feeling, having had difficulty garnering support from his own parents growing up.
He also realizes that if he wants the team to stick together, then he needs to ‘fan the flames’, so to speak, and get them all back on the same page.
So, he encourages Hex that he is most certainly capable. He states he’s perhaps one of the most talented coders he knows of, especially for his age group. His dream isn’t impossible— nay, it’s in fact very much obtainable!
And Hex’s eyes spark with tentative, reluctant hope. “You.. really think so?”
“But of course!” Starline smiles.
The encouragement comes from a selfish place, but he still finds his words being a bit genuine.
Cello turns out to have a similar vein of thought when Starline goes to her. She tells him that people have always told her what she should and shouldn’t do. They’re quick to judge her concoctions and ideas because they seem insane or impossible, but she knows her chemistry extensively. Her special vision also allows her to see possible combinations and stability ratings of different concoctions, which she checks her facts up against.
(Something Starline tests, and confirms. Huh.)
She tells Starline she joined this competition because her father had been telling her she needed to join the family business of mining, when she knew her calling in life was to be a chemist. “If I can prove myself by making a brand new type of eco fuel and winning first place with my team, then he’ll have no choice but to accept my path in life.”
Yet again, Starline finds himself respecting and relating to that. Especially considering his family was very opposed to him running off pursuing a career modeled after Dr. Eggman.
He begins to see that Rivet was right, and that everyone here isn’t in it for an easy win. They all have a goal or dream they want to fulfill; be it helping a friend, testing their limits, making a difference, or proving themselves capable to themselves and others.
With all this knowledge in mind, he begrudgingly decides to pull back his heavy hand a bit and give them a chance to prove themselves. To suggest new ideas and voice their thoughts and opinions.
And to his surprise… it works! At the meeting where he announces the change, Lug of all people ends up surprising him by managing to find a good team name they all actively agree on, since it suits them and their shared goals.
Thus, they formally become known as:
The Starpoint Squad.
(ROLL DRAMATIC STAR WARS LIKE CREDITS)
(… no but like— just roll the montage music.)
🎵 Montage Music: Brand New Day - Jeff Williams
We then see a montage of everyone working in tandem, while clashing with the rivals that scorned their lack of teamwork.
(Said rival team is constructed of Skara the Skunk, Stormy the Mink, Yew the Human, Atlas the Timberwolf (Starline’s rival), and Katrina the Cougar)
The competition is focused on building tools to help aid future fighters or the recovery of nature and civilization from Eggman or extraterrestrial attacks.
As such, Starline and the Starpoint Squad agree to a modified version of his original idea; a robot that lends environmental and structural aid and support.
This once sleek and Eggman reminiscent robot design becomes the more colorful and hodge podged looking B.U.D.D.I (Botanical Utility Device and Damage Improver). A helper robot designed and equipped to help hose down fires, fertilize fields, lift collapsed tunnels, saw fallen logs, and weld metal back into place.
(A lot of these features were added by Starline under the guise of good to make him a weapon suitable of showing off his elegant yet destructive design during the winner’s ceremony, but the team doesn’t need to know that, right?)
He can’t let his vision of B.U.D.D.I disappear entirely, so when they come in need of the extra robot parts, he excitedly suggests they use fallen Eggman tech, to which they express concern.
But in typical slick Starline fashion, he argues, “Not only does Eggman know how to build quality machinery, but this would also be a great way to.. how you say.. reuse and recycle, would it not?”
They can see his logic in that, so he happily drags them to a robot graveyard of one of Eggman’s former fights where they gather up parts. (And he tries hard not to fanboy along the way)
As the weeks progress, the team begins to find a real flow, and Starline slowly finds himself coming to enjoy being around them.
We see Rivet being a big reason for this, breaking through Starline’s initial unwillingness to interact with the team more than necessary for the project by dragging him out of the lab to join them for team lunches and other outings. While he’s aghast and irate at first by her taking him away from his work, after a time, he begrudgingly submits to and even comes to enjoy her friendly antics.
When he starts willingly joining them for their team lunches, they’re shocked, to which he argues, “Oh don’t act so surprised! We all know she was going to drag me here anyways, so why waste time with theatrics anymore?”
“Aww, just admit you love us, Doc,” Rivet teases, and all laugh as he argues vehemently.
Starline and Rivet end up growing quite close despite their differences, finding they enjoy conversing with each other while working together in the lab. She doesn’t mind hearing him go on his long rambles, appreciative of how passionate and dedicated he is to his work, and he finds her quite fascinating, especially considering she grew up in the wilderness and managed to teach herself mechanics without any formal training. (“It’s a miracle you didn’t blow yourself up.”) (”Oh, I did. Many times.”)
(They even bond a bit over a shared appreciation of Egg Tech, since a fallen Eggman Badnik is the reason she even got interested in technology at all.)
The two have a sweet moment one night where she ends up covering him up after he falls asleep in the lab from working too hard.
And another, when she convinces him one day to take a ride with her on her hoverboard instead of shortcutting via warp portal into town. It ends up being a special moment as she takes a detour to show him her favorite view of the valley, and the two watch the sunset before continuing their work. They get back well past dark, chatting and bantering with each other.
⭐️ We also see a bunch of other silly and important moments with the rest of the team.
Such as when the team gets to experience Cello and Starline explaining something to them in incredibly large, scientific words while they try to comprehend what they’re saying like dumbfounded sock puppets.
Starline loses his cool and gives the boys a strict lecture on eating and drinking safety when he finds them doing so without care in the lab.
Starline compliments the cafeteria’s sandwiches and soup— only to spit out said soup in shock when he discovers Lug is the one who made them.
In an attempt to impress Starline, Hex and Lug end up going on a raid mission into Cello’s area, (HIGHLY off limits when she’s working,) to steal a piece he needs for his power of the project. They end up having to run away from her wrath.
And there are many, many more.
⭐️ Starline also becomes Hex's mentor, taking the little rat under his wing and helping critique him on his robot builds and designs. He does so to help mold him and help build up his confidence, much like Eggman’s legacy did for him once upon a time.
Hex begins to open up to him, until he’s like a completely different person; eagerly asking questions, listening to and following Starline around like a little shadow, and taking all the notes he can.
Starline loves the attention, and Hex is just happy to have such a smart mentor helping him.
Starline unwittingly gains quite a soft spot for the kid, to the point where when the rat falls asleep in the lab while helping him, he gently carries him back to his and Lug’s room. There, he has a heart to heart with Lug, who admits he’s a bit jealous of their friendship, but knows Starline is good for his bud.
⭐️ This conversation is the first moment that plants a seed of discomfort in Starline’s mind about how he plans to betray them at the competition’s end. But in this moment, he brushes it off.
The next stab of discomfort comes later on when he ends up getting into a discussion with Charge in the lab.
The cat observes that he’s been getting really chummy with everyone, to which Starline admits that they’ve all quite exceeded his expectations. He’s actually quite pleased with how things are turning out, despite it not being exactly what he had envisioned.
He even states that despite his and Cello’s intense fights, she completed the task she set out to do, and he respects that.
Not knowing that Cello happens to be right outside listening. She smiles a bit and flutters off.
Charge eyes him thoughtfully for a moment, before suddenly flipping the conversation on it’s head.
“Then why is your aura still so dissonant?”
“…What?”
The cat’s mask of nonchalant laziness slips, and he reveals to Starline that he’s known something’s been off with him since day one. Unknown to most of the team, Charge has an ability to sense and discern a lot about people and who they really are by observing their bio-electrical auras.
While he normally suppresses his ability due to the information otherwise bomboarding him from all sides, he’s been in Starline’s vicinity a lot, and as such, has known that something’s off with him.
When Starline tries to play it off, Charge tells him that the only reason he hasn’t taken action yet to expose him, is because this team is important to Rivet, and she’s convinced Starline has his reasons for keeping quiet about whatever he is.
Charge warns him to figure out what really matters to him and where his priorities lie, and that whatever he’s planning, to leave Rivet out of it. Before reverting back to his chill, tired self, stating he’s gonna go take a nap.
It’s quite a scary and tense moment for Starline, and it leads him to really question, fear for, and reflect on his plan. Charge is right, that despite his befriending of the Starpoint Squad, his goal for the end of the competition has not changed. He still wants to capture Eggman’s attention! To show what he is truly capable of and declare all loyalty to him!
…But… he also can’t deny that there is that small part of him that’s been starting to hesitate.
He, for the most part, has been able to keep his admiration of Eggman a secret from the group. They know he has an inspiration he’s eagerly pursuing after; that some great robotics master made him into the man that he is today, but he’s managed to never truly share the truth of WHO it is. After all, if they knew, he’d more than likely get kicked from the competition!
So everyone is left in the dark.
But Charge’s revelation and a strange sense of guilt begins to gnaw at him. His attachment to the squad begins to show it’s colors as he remembers Lug’s ask for him to watch out for Hex. Thinks about his friendship with Rivet and partnership with Cello.
These nagging feelings become even more blatantly obvious to him when Lug suggests they all go out for ice cream to celebrate them completing B.U.D.D.I. Win or lose, they did their best and made something awesome!
They convince Starline to tag along—seeing as Aethos is home to some of the best ice cream on the planet—and they all cheer their team name before Lug gets the owner to snap a picture of them all together.
…It’s looking at this photo that Starline finds himself truly questioning things.
They’ll be the ones to take the fall when he enacts his plan. They’ll be the ones to take the hit for his actions, even though they weren’t a willing part of it.
Can he truly be okay with that outcome? With sabotaging and ruining the dreams of the people who look up to and respect him, just to obtain his own, selfish desires?
For the first time in a long time, he has doubt. What is he going to do?
That’s some gorgeous content! I don’t have words to express my love for the format you chose — colorfully formatted text, art pieces, IDW’s frames, music, they all work so well together, evoking the entire palette of emotions like a movie would! It’s even better in the form of a tumblr post (compared to the google doc), it is totally worth the work :3 And there’s so many art pieces actually?? I’ve been taking them for granted, but now the realization hit that they have been accumulated over the past year or so — man, that’s a lot! Props to you! 👏One glance at the post is enough to realize just how much time & effort has been invested in this, and that’s one heartwarming sight!
As for the story itself, it goes without saying it’s great. To everyone who hasn’t read this yet for some reason: it’s a big loss for you. Make sure to appreciate the awesome AU, I’ll check 🫵🫵🫵
Forgot to screenshot the original, but this drabble is based off a text prompt I saw floating around the dash.
[They see themselves in the mirror and notice changes.]
—
Rivet stepped into the house, tired and ragged after another long day.
She dropped her belongings onto the couch and headed for the kitchen to hopefully get something to eat before she crashed.
As she passed by the mirror hanging on her wall though, she suddenly stopped as her reflection caught her eye.
Oh..
She pulled back and properly looked at herself for the first time in a long while.
Was that what she looked like now?
…
What a mess.
Her fur was tangled, unkempt and dull, thanks to the lack of time she had recently to spend combing it all.
Bags hung under her eyes, exacerbated by her recent long nights and lack of sleep.
And to her surprise, she was shaking ever so slightly. Although whether from the overstrain of her ability, or the rush of adrenaline still coursing through her, she couldn’t tell.
She quickly attempted to make herself somewhat more presentable and put on a bright smile, but quickly lost it again when she saw just how fake it looked.
…
She hoped no one had noticed.
…Who was she kidding? EVERYONE had probably noticed. She looked like death.
At that her eyes widened, and like a sudden rush of water, emotion swept over her. For a moment, reality slipped through her mask, and the lavender cat pressed her fingers into the depths of her bangs as the tears came hard and fast.
STH Rarepair Week 24 - Day 1 - First Encounter - Amy x Bark
HAHAHA I DID IT
I WROTE IT
FOR THE SWEETIES
Thanks to @sonicrarepairweek2024 for the event that got me writing in English for the first time in my life!! (And to The Art of Letting Go EP by ANA that bangs as hell and kept me alive through the writing process)(I found out this music randomly and it turned out to be great)
The IDW comic shows the first encounter of Amy and Bark (I guess? I read it like a year ago,,, but now I think it did), but I got the vibe and reimagined it. This entire event will be severely vibe-based because I’m still unaware of the most of the Sonic lore :D
Fic under the cut! TW: amateur writing and possible grammar mistakes (I’ll fix it tomorrow after a good sleep)
The sun pours its light down on hills. It’d be hot today if there wasn’t a chilly breeze.
Another gust drags an umbrella from Amy Rose’s hands and makes it float away. She, who’s been trying to set it up, lets out a cry and follows it, but fails to catch it. With her eyes fixed on the umbrella she doesn’t watch her way and almost trips—but bumps into someone soft.
Amy looks up and sees a bear. He holds the umbrella awkwardly with both hands, like he doesn’t know what to do with it.
Few moments past, he hands it over to Amy, murmuring, “Here it is, ma’am.”
“Thank you!” she chirps. “You are so strong—would you please help me to get everything ready for a picnic?”
Amy’s been waiting for Sonic and Tails. Three of them always have picnics on Sundays, but today they seem to be late.
“We haven’t met, but if you joined us, it’d be a great chance to get to know each other! I’m Amy Rose, and what’s your name?” Amy inquires when watching the bear set up the umbrella effortlessly.
“Bark. Bark the Polar Bear,” he mumbles in reply.
He has to go, actually, but he doesn’t know how to put it to not offend the young lady. He’s on a mission—Fang and Bean, need him to complete his part of their plan. How has he ever managed to appear in the girl’s way?.. He sighs into his scarf and kneels to help her.
But it feels nice to unroll the colorful blankets and fill them with all kinds of snacks while listening to Amy’s sweet rumbling. It feels much better than doing what they call mischief-making—as soon as Bark listened to the Hooligan’s plan for today, he didn’t like it, considering it nasty. The girl would be upset to know that he was a part of something like that.
“Won’t you stick around? Are you sure?” Amy asks when they are done.
Bark shakes his head and gets up. He is both flustered and strangely happy, and both of the feelings make him want to walk away.
“Okay… Thank you for the help anyway! I’ll be looking forward to seeing you again!”
Amy waves goodbye to Bark until he’s not in sight, and soon after that she turns around to Sonic’s loud greeting.
“Sorry for the lag, Am—we’ve got in a fight with guys who call themselves the Hooligans. Luckily, something went wrong on their side, so we’re here alive and well.”
“I’m just happy to have you here! It’s a pity though that you didn’t see the guy that has just gone away… He was so nice and helped me!”
✨
Thank for reading this far! I’m a better writer, I promise, this piece is mid because I was focused on simply putting words together rather than making it good. But I hope it’s any good! Not too bad for the first time I think!
Feel free to modify those as you wish, no crediting needed, but I still will be glad if you tag me on your piece! Any feedback will be appreciated </3
Staying up late to not make the other one finish their work on their own. Being determined, yet slowly fall asleep by their side…
Staying up late together to the point both of you can’t help laughing at the silliest things.
The other one is getting some good sleep for the first time in weeks. What worried them has become the past, and you’re going to take care of them while they regain their resources.
Two of us can’t get to sleep this night, so we’re killing time texting each other.
Staying up late to watch stars/an astronomical event and eventually turning it into a date.
Telling the other one that you had a dream featuring them, but it’s early morning and you’ve just woken them up.
Not getting to sleep before the other one is by your side, especially in a new place
