kwassant

AUP longfic writer Posting here for lore & just yapping about (mostly) writing things https://ko-fi.com/kwassants

[kwassants]

Writer vs Writing 2025

jealous of all my artist friends with their art vs artist posts so here's an attempt for words!

some of my favorite lines I've written this year! I decided to showcase lines from a single fic, from Through the Shadows of Shame

and well, words are... words and hard to put in visual format so the longer snippets are as follows:

1. Spinach haunting

"Once I die, I'm haunting you with spinach."

"W-what?! No— I was kidding—!"

"Every meal. Every stew. Spinach."

Bellaluna made a dying noise. Hans was dry heaving with laughter.

"I’ll leave it unseasoned, put it in your socks, and then I’ll steep it into your tea."

2. Thunder and lightning

He hadn't cast like that in a long time.

He kept his sleeves down and his gloves on. His spells were quiet, often just enough to teach, and even then, only the bare minimum.

Like he was trying not to take up space, or leave too much behind.

But lately…

Lately, Merylda felt the hum off his skin again.

Like static in the air. Like a storm on the horizon.

Like he’d remembered he used to be thunder and lightning and the silence right before the sky cracked open.

3. I'm going to kill him

But — she wasn’t running anymore.

Not from herself. Not from him. Not from whatever they could be.

She would find him, and heavens help him if he tried to run again.

Because this time, she wouldn’t let him go.

Erina stood a little straighter, her face still blotchy, but a small grin tugged at the corner of her lips as she wiped her monocle clean, ready to leave.

“Where are you going?” Selina asked.

“I’m going to kill him,” Erina said immediately.

“…in a good way?” Selina asked, her voice was back to being bright and innocent, sweet as the fig in her hand.

A beat of silence.

“I-in a good way, right Eri…?”

Erina smirked.

“I’m going to kill him,” she said, crossing her arms, “with patience. And snacks. And overwhelming emotional availability.”

Merylda burst out laughing.

“That’s my girl.”

4. Coffee snob x instant coffee gremlin

“Again,“ he repeated, completely unmoved.

“You—”

“Again.”

Her patience was running out [after brewing his coffee over and over.]

“I’m going to poison your damn coffee!”

“Then make it well, so I don’t taste it,” he replied immediately.

Erina chucked his lab coat at him.

He caught it with one hand without even looking.

5. Hands-on research

Erina Valoa firmly believed in hands-on research, but that did not, under any circumstances, include being hauled over someone’s shoulder like a sack of soil.

Note: No extra context needed for this, she was literally being carried in the most unromantic way possible HAHAH (he was trying to get her to stop working)

6. On her unyielding spirit

Worst of all? Some of these things weren’t even growing in pots.

Burgundy ivy climbed up the walls, its roots gripping onto the concrete, refusing to let go and covering the exposed brick and peeled-back wallpaper.

Tiny moonstone mushrooms sprouted between floorboards, daring you to defy it despite its size.

A fig tree grew at the very corner of the room, having no business being that tall and being that fruitful in an environment that was shady as hell. Literally and figuratively.

There was no logical reason for it, no spell to account for the lushness of the space. And yet, against all conditions set against them, they thrived.

Unyielding. Unreasonable. Unapologetic.

Much like their keeper.

7. Still can't believe I wrote ts omfg

Now she was in his office, in his outlines, in the doodles of page 3 in his lesson plan.

She was the warm breath across his neck, and the moonlight that spilled into his office at night. She lived in the quiet — the ink in his margins, the sentences he kept rereading, and the silence between his words.

8. The girl trio friendship>>>

“Then what do I do when I’m not in hell anymore, but hell is still in me?”

Merylda’s expression softened even further. She cupped Erina’s face in both hands.

“You remember,” she murmured, “that hell is not who you are.”

“You survived it. You left it behind.”

She tossed her fig in the air, caught it with both hands and turned to Erina.

“And when it comes clawing back in your head, you don’t have to fight it alone anymore.”

BONUS LINES:

9. "I love you so much it makes me want to run, and for the first time, I don’t want to anymore."

I love this cause it recognizes her fears, her trauma, but she's choosing to stay anyway (finally)

10. "Her ink. Her blood. It was the same thing."

Ink as a metaphor for her work, and for her blood, intertwining the two as a symbolism for her workaholic tendencies:

“Cap your ink before it dries out,” he always reminded her. “Or worse, before it spills and messes up your work.”

It had been spilling, for a long, long time.

Her ink. Her blood. It was the same thing.

Because her worth had always been weighed by how much ink she bled.

And she let it spill.

Every drop of ink proved that she was useful, that she was trying, and that despite it all, she was still here somehow.

Because if she wasn’t working, she wasn’t earning it. If she wasn’t earning it, she didn’t deserve it. That was the deal.

That was the whole fucking point.

Shame never let her forget.

It never had.

---

So there's mine!! I'd love to see everyone else's favorite lines from what they wrote this year! 💖🥐

[ellipsus-writes]

What if... writing the “wrong” thing is what leads you back to yourself?

In our newest guest contributor's blog post, Blackbird writes about burnout, creative pressure, first-time fanfic, and the unexpected side quests that can help us rediscover the joy in creating things.

"It's important to find the part of you that's fueled by nothing more than pure self-indulgence, and to give that part of you the space to exist.

Whatever form that takes."

Have a read over on the blog! - the Ellipsus Team xo

[kwassants]

I need to hear that again, so:

"It's important to find the part of you that's fueled by nothing more than pure self-indulgence, and to give that part of you the space to exist.

Whatever form that takes."

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Writing Notes: Aromatics

Aromatics - vegetables, herbs, and spices that cooks use as the foundation of flavor for dishes.

Types of Aromatics

There are 3 main types of aromatic ingredients in cooking:

Herbs: You can use fresh herbs and dry herbs as aromatics. There are two types of herbs usually found at the grocery store: tender herbs, also known as soft herbs, and hard herbs. Tender herbs have soft stems and soft leaves; they include cilantro, chives, tarragon, parsley, dill, mint, and basil. Hard herbs have hard, woody stems and stiffer leaves. Popular hard herbs include rosemary, oregano, thyme, fennel, bay leaves, lemongrass, ginger, galangal, and sage.

Spices: Whole spices and ground spices are also popular aromatics, particularly in Indian and Asian dishes. Aromatic spices include chili peppers, cumin, coriander, cardamom, turmeric, paprika, and more.

Vegetables: You can sauté fresh veggies in butter or cooking oil at the beginning of the cooking process. Popular aromatic vegetables include onions, shallots, scallions, celery, garlic, carrots, leeks, and bell peppers. For fast-cooking recipes, dice the veggies, and for slow-cooking recipes, like stock, you can use large cuts.

How to Use Aromatics in your Cooking

Aromatics are the base for soups, stews, stir-fries, and braises. Consider the following aromatic combinations for various cuisines:

French: “Mirepoix” is a French term to describe the holy trinity of diced carrots, onions, and celery sautéed in butter or oil. Mirepoix is the base for many popular French and American dishes, including boeuf bourguignon and chicken noodle soup.

Italian: To make soffrito, the Italian version of mirepoix, sauté carrots, onions, and celery in olive oil. Home cooks use soffritto to make bolognese, lasagna, and other Italian soups and stews.

Cajun: Many Cajun dishes, like gumbo and jambalaya, begin with the aromatics of onions, green bell peppers, and celery in butter or oil.

Spanish: Spanish sofrito is an aromatic sauce composed of tomato paste, garlic, bell peppers, cilantro, parsley, and various spices. This flavorful base is slow-cooked in olive oil to create a concentration of flavors to impart into dishes like paella, empanadas, and stews. There are regional sofrito variations throughout Latin America—Dominican, Puerto Rican, and Brazilian cuisine have unique versions.

Chinese: Chinese aromatic ingredients for stir-fry dishes include garlic, ginger, and green onions, cooked over high heat. Cooks may add other aromatics depending on the region, such as dried chilis in Sichuan cuisine.

Thai: Thai cuisine uses a base of shallots, garlic, and chilies. (Curry dishes also include coconut milk). Other ingredients such as kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass, and galangal are popular flavorings for dishes.

Indian: Indian cuisine features many spices for curries, meat, and vegetable dishes. Indian recipes generally begin by heating spices such as cumin, cardamom, turmeric, and cloves in oil or ghee. Onions, tomatoes, ginger, and yogurt are common flavorings in addition to the aromatics.

Cook the aromatics in butter or oil at the beginning of the cooking process for sauces and stir-fry dishes, or tie aromatics into a sachet and simmer them in liquid to create broth, stock, or soup. Different cuisines have various combinations of aromatics that serve as the basis of flavor.

Source ⚜ More: Notes & References ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs

[kwassants]

i was so confused until i realized they weren't talking about aromantics

[cheacegirl]

I think gatekeeping art is such a funny thing like. "Oh so this doodle I just made is art" yes next question. "So video games are art?" yes????? Bitch your essay you wrote on that book you didn't read in English class when you were 10 is art. Painting a fence is art. 2 sentence shitpost on Tumblr is art. Get on my level.

[bornt-urnge]

[nerves-nebula]

i love to see people who are like "you can talk about csa but not around minors that's gross!" like idk how to tell you this but. who do you think is getting csa'd. i'll give you a hint: the first letter in csa does not stand for "adult"

[directactionforhope]

One of my college professors, in a queer lit class actually, spent an entire class on the following argument:

“Push by Sapphire is children's literature. Prove me wrong.”

(Context if you're not familiar with the book and why this was an extremely provocative thing to say)

OP's point was exactly the bulk of my professor's argument. And imho my professor was right. Millions of children have to live through this shit every year. And I just remember my professor posing undergrads (some of them very indignant or offended about this line of argument) the question:

"So they have to live through it, but they're not allowed to read about it?"

Or, as the professor clarified, "So they have to live through it, but don't get to have access to the words and information they need to understand and process what's happening to them? They information they need to know that this is wrong, and telling the right person can (hopefully) save them from more of it?"

A lot of people tried to argue, "Well, okay then, kids who have had to live through that can read those books, but only those kids, it's not appropriate for kids who don't already know or have trauma about it."

But there is no way to reliably or completely separate out those two groups. After all, if there was, cases of csa wouldn't almost all go undetected or unpunished.

If you don't talk about csa to or in front of children, you drastically reduce children's ability to tell you when they're victims of it.

And gotta say, I spent a lot of the time sitting in that lecture (2016) thinking if a lot of tumblr users had to sit through it, they'd probably explode - and that's something to work on, if you relate to that response, because we need to be able to have these conversations - because when I say "think of the children!" I for once mean it unironically.

[little-ratsnake]

quick coloring practice

[kwassants]

Got an incredibly cute fanart for this AUP fic

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

Thank you to @ k.vpb on discord for this aaaa

[professorava]

These two idiots are divorced btw

※ Theodore Rosenthal (Theo) was Sera's husband, and is an OC by my artist and moot, Yvsx. Here's what Yvsx wrote about Theo: To others, he is a razor-sharp strategist and a relentless perfectionist, effortlessly commanding the business empire he inherited from his father. This high-stakes environment only enhances his polished, sophisticated charm. ‎ ‎Sera, however, knows the real him: the man who is absolutely insufferable. To her, he is a constant irritant who seems to live for the sole purpose of getting under her skin, pairing his relentless pestering with a level of concern that is as genuine as it is infuriating.

[professorava]

[Character Reference Sheet] - SERA

Meet Professor Sera! Professor of Magitech Engineering. Former pirate captain.

Prosthetic leg was inspired by lighthouses! I found it very cool, since she was a pirate I took inspiration from that + the Fresnel lens is so pretty so I wanted that in there. I'm particularly proud of that one since she I knew I wanted her to have a prosthetic but couldn't settle with what design until it just came to me one day lol

Funny how that works sometimes

Also, there's a lot of detail in the sheet, feel free to check out the annotations.

Sera, like everyone in the gang, has her own character arc. Whether or not I get to explore that in the webnovel remains to be unknown (nothing is canon until I hit publish) but I do love her backstory.

She comes from the nation of Maraveña (Ma-ra-VEH-nya), and her backstory sheds more light into how and why she became a pirate before she taught in the academy.

Speaking of Academy, she wears a lace cover up across her chest when teaching but she prefers to be without it. Even the choice of the lace was taken from some historical vintage lace pattern around the Victorian era, which the series' aesthetics and world is inspired by (though it does not inform the world's morals, hence why Sera can wear things like that, or even how Ava can wear short skirts and it doesn't look super out of place, but i'm getting ahead of myself)

I'll upload Sera's portrait soon! I learned CSP's 3D model features for that one lmao 💀

[professorava]

Instructor Rigel Birch

DEPARTMENT OF MAGIC COMBAT Elven, from Tel'Narir Marked by a rare curse after surviving a beast attack, Rigel channels magic through a tattooed constellation etched over the scar on his arm. Not quite the kind of elf Tel’Narir usually produces. He was not born a mage. - Artist: luliaan on vgen

[professorava]

Continuing to post more character sheets for a webnovel project I'm working on as the author!

Meet Eris, who teaches Magical Beast Care & Handling

Former circus performer, from the mana-rich, divided land of Mirevko—excellent with animals, and rumored to be able to talk to chickens.

Her outfit is inspired by traditional dirndl silhouettes, but the corset has more structure + included a bit more steampunk into it (subtley!) so she fits in with the rest of the cast

She loves her friends so yes she embroidered her friends as chickens

Anyway, annotated the sheet because she has too many details not to explain, ENJOY --

And as always, credits to my creative collaborators for Eris:

SAHA for initial Eris drafts Luli for the final Eris character sheet Layout, OCs, annotation, art direction mine (🥐)

[professorava]

Main professor gang's all here 🥰

their initials spell out C.A.R.E.S. or, well, SCARE works too if the title weren't... you know, literally Ava's name 💀— who would you think is the MC? would you be able to pick her out, or does someone else look like the MC? OCs: kwassant 🥐 Art: luliaan

[transformativeworks]

Harassment Spam Bot Alert!

Date posted: November 12, 2025

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[transformativeworks]

As of December 2025, bots have also left guest comments harassing users by:

threatening to report you/your fic to the authorities or your employers

alleging security concerns like your email being compromised or spyware on your computer

claiming that they know your address and are going to visit you at your house

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What these bots claim is not true. These accusations do not mean your work will be deleted or that your accounts are insecure. We recommend that you mark these comments as spam following the instructions in our previous post.

These examples also do not represent the full range of harassment comments that you may receive. We will continue to try and keep you updated about trends; however, please note that the exact wording the bots use will continue to evolve.

If you're not sure if something is a spambot comment, you're welcome to contact Policy & Abuse for assistance. Refer to the original post for more information!

[transformativeworks]

As of January 2026, bots impersonating legitimate users have increasingly left guest comments harassing other users by:

claiming that they know where you live

alleging to have seen you in person

threatening to meet you face-to-face

saying that they posted your personal information (name, address, etc) online

What these bots claim is not true. These comments are likely intended to alarm you into replying.We recommend that you mark these comments as spam following the instructions in our previous post.

These examples do not represent the full range of harassment comments that you may receive. We will continue to try and keep you updated about trends; however, please note that the exact wording the bots use will continue to evolve.

If you're not sure if something is a spambot comment, you're welcome to contact Policy & Abuse for assistance. Refer to the original post for more information!

[professorava]

FINALLY sharing the first official character sheet for my upcoming webnovel project!

AKA here's one of my OCs~ Rigel Birch is an elven warrior marked by a rare curse after he got scarred, with a tattoo over it tied to his constellation. I still haven’t finalized the tattoo, but it will sit over his scar. Oh! and the tattoo itself has magical properties

Hailing from the elven land of Tel’Narir, a nation devoted to the study of the stars, Rigel’s name actually comes from the Orion constellation!

He also has a twin sister named Betelgeuse, whom he affectionately(?) calls “Goose.”

More sheets coming soon 😎🥐 we're talking multiple ones as we countdown to Ava's birthday on the 14th! 🎨: Luliaan 🖋: yours truly

I also want to add that I had help from artist SAHA for the first drafts of Rigel so I could visualize him better ❤ thank you! (Artist has requested not to tag their art account and would want to remain semi-anon)

[professorava]

im thinking of writing a character who has a super fancy, powerful staff

like, the library has entire scrolls just talking about how powerful and sacred and terrifying this thing is

passed down through generations, a symbol of authority and

and the current wielder just goes and says

"perfect"

and uses it as a bludgeon

because after all it is just a very fancy, very ancient stick

[allthingswhumpyandangsty]

your comment means so much to the author!! don’t be shy about letting your favorite authors know you love their works.

if their fic makes your day, your comment makes their day too

[kwassants]

I collated and bound the comments people left on a friend's fic and gave it to her for her birthday and she loved it <3

[professorava]

Professor Sera, Department of Magitech Engineering

Professor Seraphina "Sera" Benavides is known for three things: 1. her razor-sharp lectures 2. her unconventional teaching methods 3. rumors she never bothers to deny She'd much rather deal with the latest tech in her workshop than bother with whatever those snooty Elyrion nobles have to say about her. Once a pirate who sailed across the continent, she now trades cutlasses for chalk and teaches her students to bend magic and machinery into something brilliant. And dangerous. Her past is "irrelevant," despite that suspicious gold ring she wears around her neck. Students admire her. Administration tolerates her. "Let the rumors run," she'd say. She couldn't care less—she's tenured, and the Academy pays well. Just make sure to call her Sera, not Seraphina. Because in her eyes, she's anything but angelic. P.S. Don't make her sing. Question: Would you trust a former pirate to teach the next generation of Magitechnicians, or does that make her exactly who you'd want? ©kwassant | art by luliaan Webnovel: Professor Ava and the Holy Grail (coming soon) Do follow this blog for updates! 🥐