Ok Im Going To #seriouspost For A Second Here. I Don't Think Harry Potter Is A Manifesto. I Think It

The drink in Laila’s hand sloshes crimson and ribbon thick when she picks it up, the metal of her prosthetic hand clinking against the shot glass. The taste of copper and nickel coats the roof of her mouth as she downs it in one go, and then sneers at the way her tongue tries to chase the taste again. She quickly sneaks a glance to find no one watching.

The TV blares—the brightest object in the room, the fluorescent bulbs and lights content to mingle in the dark. Clad in glamour and glitz, the throng of people on the dance floor shake and grind, rake their hands up their bodies and others in a psychedelic haze of sweat and spit.

Through the crowd, a fairy’s wings shimmer as he clashes his mouth against a translucent man. Their pulse hammers to the beat of an indie rock song by the Vampire Weekend. She snorts at the irony.

Then, a scream pierces through her head. She exhales sharply, clutching her head in her hands. Spots of color block her vision, and she slams her eyes shut, only to see an inverted image of a man. Please, not again.

She scrambles to throw a wall in her mind and forces her eyes wide open. One moment, the man is sitting in front of her tangible and in full technicolor, a cut splitting his cheekbone and water dripping down his blue lips. The next, he flickers out until she is staring at the rows of wine bottles.

Another person, dead. Nine in the past fortnight.

Neil!!!

Dreamlike Laughter

Reality kisses his sleepless nights, until he dreams of her again.

“Really wish you weren’t here anymore, love,” Milas tells Zimi, sitting by the window of his apartment. When he squints outside, the moonlight gleams too sharply off of the blades of grass. 

He needs to tell her tonight. Right here in the dreamscape she made for them to meet across the mountains and rivers between. 

She barks out a short laugh, but her shoulders hunch. She begins, “I don’t know who I can trust enough to practice this type of spell. I truly didn’t know I was bothering, hones—”

‘I miss sneaking mom’s pastries to you and spending all night awake because you got a new board game and you’re a horrible, horrible cheater and.’ Words. Words tangle in his mouth, so he blurts out, ‘And, I miss all the ands.’

Quick as a wildfire, she grasps his face with both her hands. He never feels them, but he can see her dark eyes looking into his sandy ones. In these moments, he thinks her a phantom. That the sentinels who swore their loyalty to her killed her before she could cross the city’s borders. With their history, the years stretching like scars on knobby knees and dolls, he could create something real enough to fool him. 

Something creaks, like twigs snapping under a wheel. It takes Milas back to the evening before, his hand digging into Elijah’s wheelchair, light stubble not smooth skin, and soft hair brown not black under his hands. When he pulls away abruptly, she puts her hands up in surrender. 

The view outside the window fades into fog, but so do the corners of his room. He needs to tell her. 

‘I’m sorry, Kazimiera’ he chokes out. ‘I don’t deserve you.’ He slips onto his knees. Promises broken in a heartbeat, heartbeats jackrabbitting with Elijah’s laugh and the way he calls him endearments in something called French, and Milas was such a fool for the litany of mon chou, trésor, amour. 

After a pause she says, ‘You kissed someone? ’

He shakes his head vehemently, ‘I didn’t, but I wanted to. I almost did.’

The world stills, or maybe it’s too loud in his head: exile, treason, Elijah. The fog obscures his vision until he can’t see anything past the table. 

She grins up at him as if he’s the stupidest person on the planet, and asks, ‘And selfishly hoard your heart all to myself? I couldn’t fit it in the biggest rooms of the palace.’

All air rushes out of his lungs in a sharp exhale, dizzy with relief until he is gasping in short breaths—her forgiveness cooling the splinters under his skin. 

When she leans forward to speak in his ear to tell her about him, he is back at the couch with a flickering lamp’s terrible wiring. 

He is still talking about him when the fogs submerges him fully.

When he opens his eyes, Elijah’s laughter down the hallway is made of dreams. 

oh shit, it's 3/21/23, 32123, palindrome day

Pin for survivors

The classic betrayer

This is where everyone subtly knows that this guy's going to turn the other way.

The betrayer puts on a show for our heroes - kind, compassionate and supporting at first.

it just so happens that the villainthinks the heros are the bad guys.

make them actually likable.emotionally ruin the hero upon betrayal.

The remorseful traitor

whether he had bad intentions from the start or was deceived by others, the betrayer regrets his choices.

when he realizes his mistakes, it's too late to stop the evil, which introduces guilt.

throw the guilt and shame on the character.

even the protagonist can be a traitor! will others forgive him?

The Double Agent

this type of traitor will keep the readers wondering whether this guy is truly on your side.

keep your readers guessing. is that an evil smirk or a genuine smile? does he really love drinking, or is he just trying to get the hero drugged?

Snape in Harry Potter is a great example.

The guy can be good or bad - just keep balancing the two

Unrealiable narrators

these characters are not entirely betrayers, but horribly misinformed. they can make others appear like traitors - when in truth, they just have it wrong.

pit your narrow-minded narrator against his allies.

these characters are great for misunderstanding plots.

have your narrator do irreversible damage to the hero. would they forgive him?

Tragic betrayers

these are characters, due to their past wounds and trauma, cannot help but betray the group.

they confess the hero's secrets under physical/mental torment and doesn't have the backbone to do otherwise.

these characters can either be pitiful or frustrating would the hero still fight for the betrayer?

Play around with pov

you can have the readers know about the upcomong betrayal by switching points of view, building up anticipation to the moment of realization.

on the flip side, you can change povs in a way that the reader doens't see what's happening at the hero's back.

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20 Lies Your Character Believes

(These can shape their behavior, choices, and arcs... until they’re forced to confront them.)

✧ I’m hard to love.

✧ If I don’t succeed, I’m worthless.

✧ People only stick around if I earn them.

✧ If I show weakness, I’ll be left behind.

✧ Everyone eventually leaves.

✧ I’m just like my father/mother—and that’s a bad thing.

✧ I’m too broken to fix.

✧ Happiness isn’t meant for people like me.

✧ The worst thing I ever did defines me forever.

✧ If I’m not useful, I’m disposable.

✧ My anger is dangerous. I have to bury it.

✧ If people really knew me, they’d leave.

✧ I don’t deserve forgiveness.

✧ Love is weakness.

✧ Control is safety.

✧ I can fix everyone else but not myself.

✧ I owe it to them to suffer.

✧ If I rest, I’ll fall apart.

✧ Hope is a trap.

✧ This is the best version of me they’ll ever get.

Questions to ask beta readers

General:

Were you confused at any point of the story?

What genre would you say this book is?

When did you put the story down?

Is the ending satisfying?

If you had to cut 3 scenes what would they be?

When did you feel like the story really began?

What was the last book you read before this story?

Characters:

Do you get any of the characters names confused?

Which character is your favorite?

If you had to remove a character who would you and why? (you don't have to remove the character, just make sure their role is meaningful)

Which character do you relate to the most?

Which character do you relate to the least?

Do the characters feel real?

Are character relationships believable?

Are the goals clear and influence the plot?

Are the characters distinct (voice, motivations, etc)

Setting:

Which setting was clearest to you?

Which setting was the most memorable?

Am including enough/too much detail?

Plot and conflict:

Are the internal and external conflicts well defined for the main characters?

Are the internal conflicts and the external conflicts organic and believable?

Are there enough stakes?

Are the plot twists believable but still unexpected?

My Dear Friend 🌹

This is my mother preparing bread despite the war and bombing everywhere 😔💔

I hope you can help me, I want her to be fine 😔

Thank you very much my friends🙏🙏

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Everyone please help if you can!