hmmm 5 with either pharmercy or some of the sweet pain of diana/steve if u feel it
you gave me a choice between fluff and angst and guess which one i picked :’)
5. things you didn’t say at all
London greets her with little pomp, folding Diana and the remainders of the rag-tag crew back into its embrace. Steve’s, the one to pull them all together in the first place. Steve, who had introduced her to London, to its muted skies and strange people. Steve, who wasn’t there as they all eye each other, no one willing to say their goodbye first.
Sameer sighs. “Well then, good sirs, good lady, I will have to catch up with you all later. I have some rather urgent business lined up that I must get back to.” He dips his head, and in a moment, has vanished into the crowd that surrounds them.
“Betcha he’s gonna go an’ scam all of the rich drunks now,” Charlie says, and Diana has to nod in agreement. He shuffles, eyes darting down the street in the direction of some tavern sign, and back to her. “I, uh. If you ever want a drink, I’ll be in the nice tavern down the street. Probably for a good while.” He nods, more to himself than Diana, and lurches off. She follows his meandering path, until the crowd envelops him as well.
And she is alone, swaying against the push and pull of the people around her.
She takes a deep breath and looks out to the sea, in the direction that their transport had come from. The sky is that same London gray, the same gray that she had sailed under and had walked and talked in and –
– I wish we had more time –
Diana squeezes her eyes shut, grasping for the watch that she keeps in her pocket. Smooths her thumb over the glass face. Feels the steady tickticktick of the seconds, each one pulling her towards a future that she can’t quite face.
“Goodbye, Steve,” she whispers finally, and the words burn her throat with being too little, too late. “You have all the time in the world, now.”
Dialogue is a great tool to establish relationships between your characters and deepen emotional connection to your readers. But if you rely on dialogue alone to show how your characters interact, you’re missing a big opportunity. In real life, nonverbal cues—body language—account for more than 90% of our communication. Including body language in your writing gives your characters more depth and provides a relatable, interactive experience for your readers.
That’s easy enough to see in real-world interactions or on the stage or screen, but how can you write it into your story?
How to use body language effectively in your writing
There are so many components to body language, and many writers only ever use a few. To create believable and engaging characters, it’s important to look at all the ways to communicate body language in your writing.
1. Gestures
Most of my clients don’t know this because we primarily work over email and telephone, but I talk with my hands. Big time. Some of your characters probably do too. Sure, not everyone uses finger guns (even though they should). But virtually everyone shakes hands, points, or waves.
One word of caution: be aware that your book will likely be read around the world, and some gestures have different cultural connotations. One common example is the two-fingered V. Other than being super popular now in selfies, it has also meant victory, peace, or an insult. If you use it, make it clear how it’s being used.
2. Facial expression
Again, some of us have very expressive faces, and others are harder to read. But facial expressions are an important part of body language because they are pretty much universal. Even people who curb their reactions still have tiny involuntary changes called microexpressions. Our brains pick up on these and decipher them, even when we aren’t aware that they’re happening. How cool is that?!
3. Tone of voice and cadence
I’m sure you’ve heard the expression, “It’s not what you say; it’s how you say it.” For example, my kids know I’m close to losing my patience when I slow my speech and lower the pitch of my voice. That’s their cue to get in line or risk Mom’s wrath. Your characters’ speech will sound different to each other, depending on what emotion they are feeling. How does your protagonist sound when she’s excited? Guilty? Apathetic?
4. Touch
Some gestures relate to touch, but I included it as a separate category because it’s all about how the characters interact. Touch conveys so much in just a fleeting moment. Think about all the emotions expressed by physical contact—running a hand through a child’s hair, laying a head on a friend’s shoulder, punching someone in the face!
5. Posture
Posture is how we hold our bodies while we stand and sit, but it’s more than just being able to balance a book on your head. The way a character carries himself as he goes about his life says a lot about him. Does he stand tall or slouch? Does he sit back with his legs crossed or lean forward? How does your character hold his head, shoulders, arms, and legs—and what does that tell your readers about him?
6. Proxemics (personal space)
This aspect of body language makes me think of that old Seinfeld episode about the close talker, a man who doesn’t understand the idea of personal space. Most people respect that people want 18 inches or so between themselves and others. To be inside that space usually means either intimacy (if wanted) or threat (if unwanted). Again, there are cultural differences here, so be aware of that when you write.
7. Physical appearance
Our cleanliness, hairstyles, clothes, accessories, and other decisions about personal appearance tell others plenty about us. In fact, our first impressions of people often come from these choices. Show more about your characters by showing these aspects of them as well. Maybe she only likes to wear skirts or always wears a cross necklace. Maybe she has giant, unruly curly hair. Maybe she was just born that way, and it doesn’t mean anything about her, OK???
8. Actions
Sometimes a character’s actions are a kind of body language. How and when he acts in certain ways can be meaningful (it isn’t always). Running instead of walking, slamming doors, taking a drink to fill a loaded silence, jumping in a car and driving away…these are all actions that carry emotion.
9. Physical sensations
Especially effective when writing in deep POV, these are the involuntary responses a character’s body will have to a certain stimulus. It might mean prickling skin, sweating, blushing, fast pulse, dry mouth…you get the idea. These are physiological responses we all share, so it engages readers’ senses and memories. It’s easy, though, to end up with a bunch of sweaty people with goosebumps who are practically having heart attacks. So be careful not to overdo it or go into clichés or purple prose.
A few other tips
Use it to strengthen dialogue
Body language reinforces the emotional connotation of the words, breaks up large amounts of dialogue, and provides a better alternative to dialogue tags.
Make the connection
Make sure you’re clearly connecting the chain of emotions, thoughts, motivations, actions, and reactions. Don’t hit your reader over the head with it, but don’t leave it ambiguous either.
Use multiple kinds of body language
Don’t rely on one nonverbal cue to communicate everything. Write them in little groupings and sprinkle them throughout the story.
Sometimes it’s about what they don’t do
Some characters are carefully blank, schooling their expressions and controlling their actions. What a person doesn’t do can say as much about them as what they do.
Intention
Make sure you include intentional actions as well as unconscious reactions to go even deeper.
Body language habits = personality quirks
Use your characters favorite body language as a personality quirk. Be careful not to repeat it too much, though, or you may bore your readers.
Hello! In order to celebrate the third season airing in a couple of months, we hope that all Haikyuu fans can come together to create all kinds of content to share with this wonderful fandom. Haikyuu Month will run from July 1 - July 31.
Some rules:
All submissions must be tagged with either #haikyuumonth or #hqmonth. Please make sure that you include one of those tags in your first five tags.
You can also submit your work HERE!
You may submit anything you want, such as graphics, fics, metas, artwork, cosplays, AMVs, etc. as long as it’s your own work. Any reposted works will not be reblogged, regardless of whether it is sourced or not.
You do not have to participate in all the days! Pick and choose your favorite characters.
Tag your NSFW and put it under a Read More, please!
No character hate is allowed. This is a month to celebrate certain Haikyuu characters, so if you don’t like some characters, simply do not participate on that day.
Submissions will be accepted all throughout August! However, please try to submit in a timely manner. If you miss a character’s date, please wait until July 31st or after to submit.
If you need prompts, please feel free to look at the Yearbook Superlatives Categories which can be found HERE!
Have fun, and please feel free to ask if you have any questions!
at training camp, iwaizumi always gives kyoutani extra vegetables
hanamaki pours milk before cereal and opens the cereal boxes from the bottom
oikawa has coined himself and iwaizumi as the parents of seijou, even calling iwa mom during team meetings (iwa doesn’t even blink when he does and replies w/ yeah while writing things down on his clipboard)
the first years that aren’t kunimi and kindaichi are kind of shocked but everyone is mostly used to it by now
makki and mattsun made the mistake of calling themselves the cool uncles bc kunimi managed to get them to buy him five packs of salted caramel for him bc isn’t that what cool uncles do?
hanamaki puts his spoon in sugar after stirring it in coffee and it makes oikawa cry (iwaizumi thinks that makkis doing it purpose at this point)
unsurprisingly, kunimi likes his coffee black but watari does too and it makes the whole team cry watching them drink it
kindaichi, who likes his coffee a little sweeter, takes it the same way iwaizumi does which is like one cream and one sugar (kunimi always carries packs of sugar just for this reason which confuses the team bc kunimi takes his coffee black??)
iwaizumi makes the best coffee which is why he’s always stuck making it at training camp (even kunimi and watari think it’s better when he does)
yahaba just thinks that everyone is in love with iwaizumi-senpai which tricks their mind into thinking that the coffee tastes better (he has a lot of theories about his teammates like how kunimi can fall asleep anywhere, why kindaichi’s hair sticks up like that, etc)
he’s also got graphs
makki and mattsun run an underground market that sells top of the line pictures of iwaizumi and oikawa at seijou
oikawa is a frequent customer that often disguises himself even if they know it’s him to buy pictures of iwaizumi (sometimes of himself)
whenever iwaizumi reaches for anything on a shelf, one of the third years will interject reach it for him bc they’re literally the worst™
iwaizumi has given kunimi many piggyback rides due to the fact that he can literally fall asleep anywhere
Haikyuu!! Model!Oikawa AU: (Iwaoi/past!Ushioi) so much guilty pleasure hoh hoh hoh
where:
-Oikawa goes Volley pro to America or Europe(coz ya know, better healthcare)
-Ushi goes with him (coz volleyball and his little wet dream of them being on the same team comes true)
-Believe it or not, Oikawa acutally grows up and he’s not a fucking asshole to Ushi
-they casually hook up after a year, and Oiks moves in with Ushi to save more money + the sex is great, even though they kinda don’t really work out in the actual relationship area
-they are too busy to properly not-work out anyway, because trainings, games, interviews, etc… (both are very popular)
-Oikawa finds himself pondering “How the fuck did this even happen?"during some nights but when he looks at Ushi’s sleeping face next to him he shrugs it off like "meh, it´s not like he´s pushy or jelly when I flirt with other people” + they both meet up with different peeps, still trying to figure out if they can have an actual relationship with anyone else but it never works
-Oiks feels like he should tell Iwa about the relationship development, so he does
-he enters the living room and flops down onto Ushijima who is lying on the sofa with a confused frown, Ushi raises a brow at him in question
-Oikawa huffs and asks: “Are we dating?”
U: “Well, I take you to a date every other week, we have sex afterwards and we live together - I should hope so. Why?”
O: “Coz I just told Iwa and he laughed at me… for 15 minutes straight and then I hung up.”
-Iwa calls him the next day saying he understands and congratulates him (for what it´s worth) and says that there is a thin line between love and hate and that he kinda saw it coming
-they gradually lose touch with each other after that, the weekly calls fading into one call a month and then a radio silence (it´s the busy schedules and they know it happens in life)
-Iwa still watches Oikawa’s matches and interviews even tho it´s recorded and with a four day delay
-one day Iwa buys the Volley Monthly and finds an article about Oikawa suddenly taking up the modelling career - rumour has it it´s because of an injury and Iwaizumi knows immediately what´s up. Oikawa looks good in the fashionable sportswear, even though he´s usually missing a lot of clothes for some fucking reason
-meanwhile Oiks and Ushi´s relationship gets through highs and downs (as every relationship does) and one evening, after a tiredness-induced argument (this is very variable tho, I don´t want it to be a cliché shit), Ushi is driving them home late. They didn´t turn on the radio coz they are both agitated, but Oiks is trying to calm to the sound of rain hitting the hood and windshield) and, very unfortunately, they have an accident
-*Insert a heartwrenching scene of Ushi (who’s the luckier one)trying to get Oikawa out of the fucking wrecked (or just trying to keep him conscious) car while Oiks, dazed and so much in shock he doesn´t even feel anything anymore, mutely stares at him, thinking he ‘looks so weird with such an expression on his face, your voice sounds weird, too, when you shout’* (HC: Ushi doesn’t raise his voice when he argues, so Oiks never really heard him shouting)
-Iwaizumi is in the metro when a screen on the wall catches his eye unexpectedly - there is a photo of Oikawa in the corner and the reporter has a rather serious look on her face (which is not usually something that occurs when news about Oikawa are reported)
-he sees the headline tho: “Volleyball Star in an Accident!”
-the coffee he was holding slips from his hand and just stands there, in the middle of a mass of people boarding the train, staring at the screen with his mouth open as people push him around
-Iwa tries calling him but he doesn’t get through (he is very, very worried)
-Oikawa wakes up a week later in the hospital with his right leg missing - doctors tell him they had to amputate (Ushi is there with him, trying to console him while he cries his eyes out)
-Oiks picks himself up from the rock bottom pretty quickly tho:
his relationship with Ushi kinda falls apart (for good this time, but they agree to split up on good terms)
Oikawa decides to invest some money into cyber prosthetics and such (I blame Deus Ex…. don’t look at me like that)
He signs in to prototype tests and all that, and in half a year, he gets a custom-made prosthetic leg
He picks up modelling again, and campaigns, makes motivational speeches, visits amputee kids at hospitals, etc. etc. (blame this article - I can totally imagine Oikawa posing for something like this)
Life starts to get better again
-now back to Iwaizumi (he works in a hospital btw, ye how fucking original, ryt?), who spent two years in uneasiness, wondering if Oikawa was alright (he read some news about him making a recovery but it was very vague)
-so, one day, Iwa chills in a cafe, and lists through the Volley Monthly (again, in hopes of getting news of Oikawa) FINALLY stumbles upon a 5-page report and his photo (one whole page) (the one above) and almost chokes because he finds out that:
Oikawa is okay
He picked up modelling again (futuristic sportswear - this article here, prosthetics, clothes)
He is looking real fucking good
He is coming back to Japan for some shoots and rumour has it he’s staying
(Iwaizumi dropped his cup of coffee in astonishment)
-Iwa is happy that Oikawa is coming back but he’s kinda butthurt too coz they haven’t been in touch at all, but it’s not like they were dating or something, what am I going to do?, should I contact him? can I even contact him? Am I fucking fussing because of this?
-the hype subdues over the next week and Iwa returns to his daily routine, busy again when, one day when he’s taking some children to rehab, he stops dead in the middle of the hall because Oikawa is standing right in front of him and he’s looking at him
-*insert long desired reunion hug here* *insert children asking shit here* *insert blushy-blushes here*
-Iwaizumi finds out Oikawa came to do some charity work in his hospital
-they agree to dinner later that week
*notice how this is turning into Iwaoi stuff? yes that was the intention from the beginning*
They live happily ever after!
//god I love thinking about fics I will never ever write//
+I need more fics where Iwaizumi isn´t a whiny bitch about Oikawa and Ushijima getting together, and more fics where Oikawa isn´t a little bitch to Ushijima because Ushi (bless his precious cow farmer heart) deserves all the kokoros
Tis the season for another round of the Haikyuu!! Holidays Exchange - this time with another round of summer :) Though, don’t be fooled, we’re neither hemisphere nor season-specific. It’s just a fun exchange for us to celebrate whatever we celebrate and feel whatever we feel whenever April and May and June roll around.
This exchange is a fun time for fans of Haikyuu!! to create fanworks for each other - that’s fanart and fanfiction. So if you’re an artist or a writer, consider signing up!
We are hosted primarily on the AO3: Haikyuu Summer Holidays Exchange 2016. On the profile, you can see our guidelines and general format of the exchange. If this is your first rodeo with us, you might want to check it out! And even if it’s not, we’ve made some pretty drastic modifications lately, so you should probably still read it ;)
SIGNUPS ARE NOW OPEN!!!
Our schedule, in EDT (convert to your timezone here):
6 March, 12:00AM: Nominations open
2 April, 11:59PM: Nominations close
3 April, 12:00AM: Signups open
17 April, 11:59PM: Signups close
20 April, 12:00PM: Assignments sent out, collection is open for submissions
18 May, 12:00PM: Mandatory check-in (two weeks to complete)
15 June (details): Final drafts are due
15 June - 28 June: Pinch hit and extension period
29 June, 11:59PM: All works due (countdown)
30 June, 12:00PM: Works revealed
14 July, 12:00PM: Creators revealed
Read the FAQ or the Rules for more information! And follow the Tumblr or Twitter to stay updated :)
@sunny-umbrella you had my most favorite prompt for the @hqrarepairexchange so i’m really glad that i got to work on this! i had such fun ^ ^ i hope you like it~
word count: 954
The first time Hajime notices it, it’s at the scrimmage match with Karasuno.
They’re winding down, already finished with the formalities that come at the end of a game. Oikawa’s running his mouth about something, typical, and as he turns away with a roll of his eyes, he catches the tall player on Karasuno with a scowl of disgust on his face, an expression that generally matches the faces Hajime makes on a daily when Oikawa’s going on about something.
Hajime scoffs in amusement, and pops the top on his water bottle. Number 11 catches his gaze and the scowl lessens, maybe with the guilt of being caught. The way he played, though, Hajime sincerely doubts it’s guilt. Actually, he sincerely doubts the first year is even capable of feeling guilt; he looks like the kind of guy that has to put up with as much crap from teammates as Hajime does.
He’s been taking shelter thus far in some café, but the cashier has been starting to look at him worriedly, and Oikawa knows his time inside is drawing thin. He knows he looks terrible – the traditional witch attire of a half-cloak that his mother insisted upon is not the most common sight to see, nor is it fashionable. It’s lucky that she won that argument, since the ugly thing’s waterproofing is second to none, but the short length of the cloak means that everything from his knees down is unpleasantly drenched from the rain.
*rises from the dead* this is my first time writing rare pairs, and my first time writing for @hqrarepairexchange! and also my recipient, @i-was-a-teenage-fangirl!
this is an oinoya kiki’s delivery service!AU so hopefully it all works out!
(I usually have different tags/extra hcs on the AO3 link so you should go check that out too!)
Oikawa Tooru is barely a day into his new life, but he wants to go home. This town is far bigger than the village he came from, and there are so many strangers bustling about, striding purposefully towards places, that he’s terrified to stop them.
It’s been raining nonstop for the better part of an hour. He’s been taking shelter thus far in some café, but the cashier has been starting to look at him worriedly, and Oikawa knows his time inside is drawing thin. He knows he looks terrible – the traditional witch attire of a half-cloak that his mother insisted upon is not the most common sight to see, nor is it fashionable. It’s lucky that she won that argument, since the ugly thing’s waterproofing is second to none, but the short length of the cloak means that everything from his knees down is unpleasantly drenched from the rain.
After another glance from the cashier, Oikawa reluctantly stands, adjusting his red traveling bag and picking up his broom. He shuffles over to the door, wistfully savoring the last dregs of warmth, before making his way out of the café.
Outside, the rain has slowed down to a light drizzle, and Oikawa thanks whichever benevolent god decided to take mercy on him. He hoists the broom up on his shoulder with one hand, steadies his bag with the other, and turns left, down the hill. In the distance, he can see the sea – the whole reason he had decided to go south for his apprenticeship. It looks rather dark and unappealing, unlike the sparkling blue of the postcards and photographs he’s known it from.
His plans for the first night were nebulous and scattered, so when he sees the sign for a hotel, he gratefully hurries towards it. As he makes his way inside, stamping his boots dry on the carpet, he shivers at the sudden warmth of the place.
This hotel glitters with luxury, unlike anything he’s ever seen at home. Oikawa stares up and around, taking in the glittering chandelier and the flower arrangements, before spotting the concierge desk and the woman (in a suit!) standing at it.
“Hello!” He smiles at the woman, and as she smiles warmly, he feels emboldened to continue. “I was wondering if I could reserve a night here?” Just saying the words make him feel grown up.
“Of course.” The woman looks past him, a slight frown crossing her face as she looks back at him. “Do you have a parent or guardian with you?”
“Ah no…” Oikawa starts to feel his heart sink. “I’m a witch-in-training, so I’m on my own…” Her smile falters, and he catches the slip before she fixes it back on her face.
So he smiles at the concierge, thanking her, before ducking back out into the drizzle.
An hour of aimless wandering passes, as he searches for any sort of shelter for the night, and turns up nothing. Discouraged, he leans against the wall, clutching his broom tightly, feeling panic well up in his chest. He's all alone. Not even Iwaizumi’s here to sit next to him — he's off on his own adventure, heading in the complete opposite direction that Oikawa did, as they had agreed upon. No doubt Iwa-chan has managed to find a good place to set up his craft in the north, some craggy mountainside town that eats nothing but grass and goats.
He could ask to borrow someone’s phone and call home for help, but that almost feels like giving up.
“What’s the matter?” He jerks his head up, seeing a pair of legs standing in front of him. He cranes his head back, following the line of the body until he sees a face. The boy has bright bleached hair, and he looks younger than Oikawa — not quite out of childhood yet.
“I don't know where I am...” Oikawa scrubs his eyes with the back of his hand, trying not to let his voice wobble. Iwa-chan would have yelled at him for crying, headbutting him like the brute he was, but this boy cocks his head to the side. “Are you new to the town?” Oikawa nods, and the boy grins. He sticks out his hand for Oikawa to shake. “Nice to meet you, then! My name’s Nishinoya.”
“Oikawa. I’m a witch-in-training.” He tries a smile, but his mouth feels too tense to keep it up for long. He clutches his broom tighter, ready to flee in case this Nishinoya isn’t friendly towards witches.
“A witch?” Nishinoya’s eyes grow wide, and he grabs Oikawa’s shoulders, surprising him a bit. He’s a little shorter than Oikawa, but his grip is strong. “I’ve never met a real witch before! What can you do?”
“I, er…” Oikawa feels his cheeks burn from embarrassment. “I have flower magic.”
“Huh? What’s that?”
“I can infuse flowers with meaning.” Oikawa bites his lip. He’s never told anyone other than his parents and Iwa-chan about his magic, partially because it’s embarrassing, and partially because it’s so useless. “So if you wanted to give someone flowers because you like them, then I could fill whichever flowers with your feelings, so that they know that you like them.”
“So you mean, you can use flowers to tell people how you feel?”
Oikawa blinks. “Yeah, I guess.”
“That’s so cool,” Nishinoya breathes, letting go of him. “I bet Suga would love that!”
“Who’s Suga?”
“He’s the kid of the people who run the florist’s shop in town,” Nishinoya says, shifting his umbrella on his shoulder. “Here, I’ll take you there!”
Oikawa shifts. He wants to go, but… “Sorry, but I need to find a place to stay first. I don’t have anywhere to sleep tonight.”
Nishinoya looks almost outraged. “Suga’s parents would give you one! They have a spare bedroom, and if you’re in town for an apprenticeship, I’m sure they’d let you stay there!”
“But—” Oikawa tries to protest and Nishinoya grabs his hand, pulling him under the umbrella.
“Don’t worry! If not, I’ll give you a place to stay.” He flashes his grin again, and for a moment, Oikawa sees Iwa-chan instead, holding his hand and grinning at him.
He blinks, and bleached-blond hair enters his vision again. “Okay.”
“Great! I know this super-cool shortcut to the shop, so follow me!” Nishinoya starts walking, keeping Oikawa under the umbrella. “Anyways, why are you wearing that cloak? It’s cool!”
“This? It’s traditional for all witches-in-training to wear it when they leave the village, but it’s not as common now.” Oikawa tugs at the hem of the cloak. “It’s woven specially for travel and long-term use, so it’s useful wherever you go.”
“Nice. I kinda wish that I had something as cool as that, but I’m not a witch, so…” He shrugs. “Guess I’ll find something else, you know?”
“Yeah…” Oikawa fumbles for a question, and finds himself staring at the other boy’s head. “Why do you have blond hair?”
“What, this?” Nishinoya laughs. “I did it as a bet, but I didn’t know that bleach doesn’t come out easily, so I’m stuck with it until my regular hair grows back in. It’s sweet, isn’t it? Maybe next time I’ll only do a little bit, so it looks really cool.”
The conversation goes back and forth for a while. By the time they reach the shop, Oikawa’s learned that Nishinoya’s only a year younger than him, that he’s in a group of friends that call themselves “The Crows”, that his friend Tanaka has a sister that’s promised to teach him how to ride a motorcycle. In return, Oikawa tells him about Iwa-chan, about his older sister and the baby she’s expecting soon, about the town he comes from. It’s a little overwhelming, how quickly Nishinoya talks and how interested he is in Oikawa, and so he’s a little relieved when he sees the painted sign for the florists. Nishinoya opens the door, propping it open with his foot as he shakes the umbrella shut, waving Oikawa inside.
Oikawa steps inside and feels himself relax for the first time since coming to this town. The familiar scent of cut flowers, heavy with potential magic, surrounds him. These are good florists—he can feel the care that has been put into each bundle, each arrangement.
He feels Nishinoya tap on his shoulder. “Here—I’ll go in and talk to Suga first, so feel free to look around the shop!” He turns to head into the back.
“Wait!” He reaches for Nishinoya’s hand, holding onto it like he does with Iwaizumi. They’re not as rough as Iwaizumi’s hands, but still solid and warm. He clears his throat. “I just…thanks for all your help today.”
“No problem!” He looks up, and Nishinoya’s smiling again. “I’m glad I could help someone out.”
And for the first time during the first day of his new life – surrounded by flowers, holding someone’s hand with one hand and his broom with the other – he feels like he’s going to do okay here.
Due to popular demand, Seijou Week has come back for 2016!
Seijou Week —-> march 13 to march 19
All kinds of submissions will be accepted: art, graphics, fics, playlists, and anything else that you can think of. Please tag your posts with #seijou week so that it can be reblogged here!
3/13 - Champions
3/14 - 1st Years // 2nd Years // 3rd Years
3/15 - Determination
3/16 - Duo // Pairing Day
3/17 - Pillar
3/18 - Oikawa Tooru
3/19 - Free Day
it’s March 1st! you can start posting your gifts! you have until March 10th (however, if you have any issues with meeting this deadline, please get in touch with me ASAP).
here is the collection on ao3. you can either follow that link and select ‘Post to Collection’ in the upper right corner, and then post your gift like you normally would, or you can post a fic/art piece from the ‘New Work’ section, and then select the following under ‘Associations’:
once your gift is posted, it should show up in that collection (i have zero experience with collections, as a fair warning, so i’m half guessing here. if you have any issues, let me know and i can try to help you).
here is all the information about posting your gifts. if anything’s unclear, please don’t wait until the last minute to ask me about it!
About posting your gift:
I think there’s been a bit of confusion about gift posting, so I’m going to take a few minutes here to talk about it. Essentially, you post your gift somewhere, on tumblr, ao3, deviantart, imgur, etc, and then submit the link to the exchange blog. That’s pretty much it. For clarity’s sake, here’s some further examples:
posting your gift on tumblr only: you’ll do a post like you normally would for any art or fic you’ve done before, including your recipient’s tumblr url (with the @ so they’re hopefully alerted), and a note if you want. you will then need to submit a link to the post you just made to the exchange blog. i’ll follow that link and reblog your original post on the 14th.
posting on an outside site, with a tumblr post as well: i know there are some people, writers in particular I’m thinking about, that will post a fic or art on an outside site (like ao3), and then make a tumblr post with a link to the ao3 site. if you choose to do this, i would prefer that you submit the tumblr link. it’ll be much easier if i can just reblog your post. please do include your recipient’s url (with the @) on your tumblr post.
posting only on an outside site: if you choose to do this, you will need to either include a note on your outside site post with your recipient’s tumblr url, or include their url with the link you submit to the exchange blog, so I know who it’s for and will be able to tag it appropriately.
submitting directly to the blog: maybe you don’t have/want an ao3 account, or you don’t have a space to post your fic/art. that’s perfectly fine, and in that case, i’ll ask that you submit your gift directly to the exchange blog. below, you’ll see a little standard format layout i made up- please use this as a guideline. you don’t have to stick to this strictly, but it’ll at least give you an idea of what to include in your submission.
your recipient’s name + (@ their tumblr blog)
the pairing you created for
word count (optional- i personally like to include this in my stuff, but you don’t have to)
any warnings
a link to your created gift (optional)
a note for your recipient
Please let me know if there’s any confusion regarding this! Basically, you put your gift up somewhere, include your recipient’s tumblr url, and then submit a link to me. As long as you hit those three checkpoints, you should be good!
-You always have ideas. When you open a document, they disappear.
-You have a file full of ideas. It is lost. You open all your files and find hints of ideas mixed in between the lines. None of them connect. You follow them forever, deeper into the folders, until you can’t remember what you were looking for anymore. You end up reading fanfic until 4 AM.
-You’re not a torturer by profession. It’s merely a hobby. The sadism is a natural skill.
-Your fingers and wrists hurt from typing when you’re on a roll. You swear you’re not a masochist, but it hurts so good.
-Readers accuse you of causing them pain. You say you’re sorry, but you’re not. You comfort them while not-so-subtly digging for what caused them the most harm, eager to repeat the trick.
-Your friends enable you and laugh at your yelling. When you blame them, they claim they didn’t do anything. They never do anything. You no longer remember who started it, only that you’re halfway through the fic and still writing.
-You have a WIP. You swear you’re going to finish it next. It’s always next. There’s always another fic that has to be written first.
-Anonymous messages are sent to you, asking you not to acknowledge them publically. You know if you answer they’ll disappear from your inbox. Tumblr has eaten the Ask. Was it ever there in the first place?
-Someone comments on your fic. You have no idea who they are, but their username looks familiar. Every username looks familiar. You think you know them. They know you. It’s flattering, but you can’t shake the feeling that you should be alarmed by your poor memory.
-You reblog a writing prompt meme. It’s the same meme you reblogged yesterday. There are symbols instead of numbers, and you hope people will find them more interesting and send you more prompts this time.
-Promoting your own work is okay. You tell yourself this as you reblog yesterday’s fic post, tensely waiting for a rebuke that never comes.
-People laugh at something you wrote. You can’t figure out what. When you ask, nobody responds. They never laughed in the first place. You’re not sure you wrote anything.
-The fic is 50 hours long and 7000 words long; no one cares. A 10 minute speedwrite is reblogged into eternity.
-The kudos stack up. They are a solid block of names. You can’t read who left them. When you blink and look again, only 10 Guests have left kudos.
-Your inbox is full. There’s a comment on your fic. It has been edited 17 times. Six more emails come in as you read the initial comment. The numbers in your inbox climb and climb. You can’t find what’s been changed in the comment, but you can’t stop obsessively comparing each message.
-This comment is a book report. Glee and fear fill you in equal amounts.
-Someone apologizes for leaving a comment on an old fic. You can’t find who started the absurd rumor that authors don’t like comments on old fics. You plan their murder anyway.
-You eye your old username and associated fics. You pray that no one ever finds them. You resist the urge to tell people where to look.
-The fic is finished. You are dead. You are sick of it. You’ve never been so tired in your life. You hate the world. You force yourself to post it, absolutely exhausted, and suddenly can’t sleep for refreshing your inbox.
-The words multiply. You can’t control them. They eat your brain and come out your eyes. When people try to talk to you, you speak in snatches of character dialogue and narrate unconnected events. They keep talking to you, encouraging you to say more. The words own you now.
-No one believes you when you say the story is writing itself. You stare in despair at the screen. Why won’t anyone help you?
-You’ve misspelled ‘the.’ Autocorrect is wonderful until it’s not.
-Sleep is for the weak. You dream you’re still writing.
yay! the sign ups are here! you’ll have until Jan 10th to sign up. contrarily, if you want to sign up just to become a pinch hitter, you can do that right up until Feb. 21st.
the form for sign ups is pretty straightforward; the required questions are a name your secret partner can use on your gift, your tumblr url, at least three rare pairs you like (the more the better- it’ll make you easier to match you up with someone), at least three rare pairs you feel comfortable creating gifts with, anything you don’t want to see (NSFW, violence, character death, etc. please be thorough in this section!), and if you want to pinch hit as well as participate in the exchange.
for clarification, if anyone doesn’t understand what a pinch hitter is, they basically step up to take an assignment after someone has dropped out (more info here). pinch hitters will be assigned on Feb. 21st, and potentially right up until Mar. 13th. please understand that pinch hitters may have a very short amount of time to create a gift!
there are a few optional question as well- your email, rare pairs you don’t like, and space to list a few prompts. sharing your email address is optional as i understand some people wouldn’t want to share their private information for an exchange (your email will be kept confidential- only used to contact you about your assignments, and sending a link to the check in form in February). if you choose not to include your email, you must have your submission box open. email/submission box is how you will receive info about your recipient.
it may be easier for you to list the rare pairs you don’t like, rather than all the ones you do. if this is the case, go ahead and fill out this question with the rare pairs you don’t like. if you’re okay with anything but those pairings, put something like ‘any’ or ‘see list’ in the pairings you do like question. i’ll refer to your list of off limits rare pairs when matching you up with someone. of course, you’re also welcome to fill out both questions as well.
the prompts, up to three, are optional, because i personally find it difficult to come up with prompts, and hate that pressure! you can choose to include some prompts for your secret partner, but understand that no one is expected to stick to the prompts. you need to create something for your recipient based on their preferred pairings and avoiding anything they don’t like, but other than meeting the minimum requirements, that’s about it. if you want, you can utilize the prompt boxes to list a few things you like (slice of life, fantasy, etc).
as a reminder, the minimum word count for fic is 700 words, and the minimum requirement for art is digital: 500 x 300 pixels, and traditional: 7 x 4 in/A5 canvas size. you can choose to combine both mediums for your fills, so in that case, you’d need to hit the minimum requirement for one of the mediums, either 700 words for a fic or 500 x 300 pixels for art. remember, the gift you create will be a surprise! so don’t say anything to your recipient once you receive that information!
and as another reminder, here are the off limits pairings:
2087
vaporwave
ellievsbear
turnnoffyourmind
stormborns
kianamaiart
blakekathryn
