35 | Agender | Ace This is Kireon's collection of writing advice, prompts, and personal writing that ranges from fanfiction to original works. Some things may be on Ao3, other things are not. Mind the warnings when listed. DNI if you are under 18 years old. Find me on Ao3
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A short clip of something coming about a chapter or two from the current that I'm happy with.
"If I might trouble you a little longer, would you grant me a favor?" the former Count watches as Vala's shoulders stiffen. Her expression remains that too-familiar mix of wishing to flee out the nearest window and guilty obligation.
I ask one last favor of you.
At least the eyes in the man before her's face are filled with life. Lined with grief and the stress of age weighing their corners as cleaves within mountain stone even as they are.
A slow nod, heavy as the sword lying at rest within the job stone nestled at the hollow of her throat. "Ask it and it is yours."
"Careful," Edmont cautions her, eyes half-consumed by the smile her grave answer conjures forth. "I might take advantage and ask you to pack your Scions and sequester them here in Ishgard in selfishness."
He leans forward, hands gripping the smooth dome of his cane topper with intent. "Would you indulge me with a private performance? Particularly the one you would serenade young Alphinaud with during your time here."
A beat. "If I am not mistaken, it is also the very same I have heard over my son's grave as well."
Her heart sinks into her stomach and freezes colder than the night outside. Cheeks aflame with shame and embarrassment, it takes Vala a precious double fistful of seconds to manage a response."You-"
"Were not asleep, no." His smile fades. "You held my son's word and offering of his honor, but not my trust. I was not going to sleep undisturbed with strangers in my home."
Vala's mouth thins, jaw clenched briefly as she grapples with the emotions his words invoke. Embarrassment, as those were private moments between herself and Alphinaud, the boy she considered her adopted kit, and Haurchefant, her former lover and friend besides. Humiliation at the thought that she had been trusted– and how she was so foolish to believe that one's generosity equals trust.
Yet another reason to doubt herself, her own judgment; there are too few people who say what they mean and mean it genuinely in this outside world.
I want to go home.
The thought springs unwelcome, unbidden, to the front of her thoughts. The desire and sheer force of want has her eye casting in Golmore's direction. East. Ever, ever east. Far, far away to the east and south where a life she knew and loved and understood lie eternal and unchanging. Predictable in its unpredictability and dangers known and unknown alike.
But she can't. Like the world of the Ancients. Like the former shards of the worlds destroyed in their attempt to make this one whole again.
Home does not exist for her; there is no going back.
Nothing gets me like when a character who is not the narrative’s focus, but still central to the plot, snaps about the current events. Just goes absolutely apeshit about how the bystanders are useless and toxic. Like it’s so validating to see a character in an action plot address how fucked up everything is, especially for them and the main character, and how it’s not fair. It’s not fair but they still have to keep moving forward, facing bad things, and winning by the skin of their teeth while other denizens of the world play victim.
After further thought, this is a large part of why I spend so much of my time subverting the “chosen one” trope.
There is definitely a wonderful bit of escapism in chosen one stories–the draw of being needed, of being irreplaceable, of being the one to make a real and tangible difference.
But as a child, it was a stressful type of media for me. I already felt like I had the weight of the world on my shoulders and while it was nice to read about a character who could handle the responsibilities arbitrarily assigned to them, I was more drawn to stories where kids were treated like kids and didn’t have to go through that.
Which, yes, means I read a lot of “Harry Potter should have been taken in by any adult other than the Dursleys” fanfiction.
“The rains have ceased, and we are blessed with another beautiful day. But you are not here to see it.”
I’ve had a friend on my mind quite a bit the last couple of weeks. It’s been 3 years now, time gone by so quickly and it feels like yesterday that we got the news.
This is a normal part of the grieving process. I know this, I’m familiar with it. Not my first rodeo nor will it be my last when…
“Knife to my throat? Hmm. Either you’re trying to tell me something, or…” Their smirk ticked upward, sly to seductive. “You’re trying to tell me something.”
She stared blankly up at them. “I’m not trying to tell you something,” she said, her tone as bewildered as her expression. “I’m just trying to get you to back off.”
They stared back at her, then said, “No, it’s - it’s subtextual -”
“What is? I have a literal knife,” she repeated, nudging the blade against their throat. “Like, no, seriously, dude, I just didn’t want you to kill me?”
They gave her a long look, mouth slightly opened, then pouted. “Okay, but this isn’t even a… a little hot?”
“Well,” she said, glancing upwards, “it IS like, the middle of July, so sure?”
Still here and that counts for something.
It’s difficult to believe it’s been yet another six months that’s passed. Some days it feels longer, like we’re heading into 2022 already, and other times it feels like the day cannot be over fast enough.
I think this is a year of personal growth and change. There’s a restlessness beneath the surface of skin and mind, a whispering that says it’s time-…
Remember how I said one of these days I’ll actually be good about updating this? I’m still waiting for that day to come.
Hello again, after a good 5, almost 6 months of silence. My apologies for that. Life and everything it entails got in the way. If you’re reading this after the last update? Yes, I lived and that did become quite a few peoples’ problems- my own included. This will be a fairly…
Nothing gets me like when a character who is not the narrative’s focus, but still central to the plot, snaps about the current events. Just goes absolutely apeshit about how the bystanders are useless and toxic. Like it’s so validating to see a character in an action plot address how fucked up everything is, especially for them and the main character, and how it’s not fair. It’s not fair but they still have to keep moving forward, facing bad things, and winning by the skin of their teeth while other denizens of the world play victim.
After further thought, this is a large part of why I spend so much of my time subverting the “chosen one” trope.
There is definitely a wonderful bit of escapism in chosen one stories–the draw of being needed, of being irreplaceable, of being the one to make a real and tangible difference.
But as a child, it was a stressful type of media for me. I already felt like I had the weight of the world on my shoulders and while it was nice to read about a character who could handle the responsibilities arbitrarily assigned to them, I was more drawn to stories where kids were treated like kids and didn’t have to go through that.
Which, yes, means I read a lot of “Harry Potter should have been taken in by any adult other than the Dursleys” fanfiction.
I can’t ever figure out how to answer those type of anons, tbh. I think it’s because sometimes people have a different definition of “plagiarize” or “steal” than me.
Like, if you’re here to copy my work word for word and claim it as your own, yeah don’t do that.
But if reading something I wrote excites another writer out there enough to use the idea/premise, that’s pretty boss. Everyone has their own interpretation of a story and a unique voice to tell it and I personally enjoy seeing what someone else adds to the concept. In fact, it inspires me!
Art is like a big game of telephone and it’s a shame that some people can’t differentiate between inspired by and stealing completely.
Guys, I edit professionally. This list is legit. Incorporating these suggestions before you hire an editor will save you A LOT of money. Even if you did these and nothing else, you’d see significant overall improvement in your work.
That said, you don’t have to overthink these things when you’re writing a first draft. If you write, “she said angrily” in a first draft, you can always revisit the phrasing in a second draft. I mention this because overthinking style can lead to a loss of momentum, and losing momentum is why so many people never finish a draft. Give yourself permission to write fast, write messy or ugly, and edit your draft into beauty later.
In case you were wondering, as a writer of original fictional stories and future author of many stories, yes I support fan fiction and fan works. Whole-heartedly and without condition. When I publish my stories one day, it will be an honor to see that someone has been so inspired by my work that they have chosen to use it as a way to develop their critical reading and writing skills and want to expand it or explore it more in ways that I haven’t. I will never see fan works as a nuisance or an insult. Never. And, if you’re a writer who agrees with me, I think you should remind your fanbase of this too.
Special note: “Kill someone” means kill someone in the story. Please do not kill random real life passers by every time you hit a block. My lawyer says misunderstanding writing advice is not an acceptable defense. See you all in 25 to 50 years.
Caption for “How to be well-read without ever having to read anything by a white man again; an incomplete list”, with source to read the ones in the public domain and buy the ones that aren’t. Also remember: libraries.
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings - Maya Angelou (x from Bookshop.org)
The Bluest Eye - Toni Morrison (x from Bookshop.org)
The Namesake - Jhumpa Lahiri (x from Bookshop.org)
The Joy Luck Club - Amy Tan (x from Bookshop.org)
Go Tell It on the Mountain - James Baldwin (x from Bookshop.org)
Between the World and Me - Ta-Nehisi Coates (x from Bookshop.org)
One Thousand and One Nights - Anonymous (I II III IV from Project Gutenberg)
The Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas (x from Project Gutenberg)
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass - Frederick Douglass (x from Project Gutenberg)
Narrative of Sojourner Truth - Sojourner Truth (x from Project Gutenberg)
Twelve Years a Slave - Solomon Northup (x from Project Gutenberg)
Our Nig - Harriet E. Wilson (x from Project Gutenberg)
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl - Harriet Jacobs (x from Project Gutenberg)
The Curse of Caste; or, The Slave Bride - Julia C. Collins (x from Bookshop.org)
Behind the Scenes; or, Thirty Years a Slave and Four Years in the White House - Elizabeth Keckley (x from Project Gutenberg)
Life Among the Paiutes; Their Wrongs and Claims - Sarah Winnemucca (x from Bookshop.org)
Wynema: A Child of the Forest - S. Alice Callahan (x from Bookshop.org)
Jubilee - Margaret Walker (x from Bookshop.org)
Black Rain - Masuji Ibuse (x from Bookshop.org)
Hawaii’s Story by Hawaii’s Queen - Queen Lili'uokalani (x from Bookshop.org)
Up From Slavery - Booker T. Washington (x from Project Gutenberg)
The Souls of Black Folk - W.E.B. DuBois (x from Bookshop.org)
The Autobiography of Malcolm X - Malcolm X (edited by Alex Haley) (x from Bookshop.org)
The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man - James Weldon Johnson (x from Project Gutenberg)
The Weary Blues - Langston Hughes (x from Bookshop.org)
Some Prefer Nettles - Jun'ichirō Tanizaki (x from Bookshop.org)
My People the Sioux - Luther Standing Bear (x from Bookshop.org)
The Blacker the Berry - Wallace Thurman (x from Bookshop.org)
Crusade for Justice: The Autobiography of Ida B. Wells - Ida B. Wells (x from Bookshop.org)
Love in a Fallen City - Eileen Chang (x from Bookshop.org)
The Living is Easy - Dorothy West (x from Bookshop.org)
Invisible Man - Ralph Ellison (x from Bookshop.org)
The Sound of Waves - Yukio Mishima (x from Bookshop.org)
Memoirs of a Woman Doctor - Nawal El Saadawi (x from Bookshop.org)
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