Can We Just Take A Moment To Appreciate Scarecrow Fawning Over Some Flowers? Just Don’t Tell Ivy. I

GO NUGGET GO!!!

Itty bitty nugget 'bout to wreck a bitch

Day 5: Death | Rebirth

Me when I've died two times and was embraced by the same girl

Gay people amirite (im eepy)

*writes two paragraphs after months of literally nothing and it took three hours*

“kids spend too much time on their devices” well what else are they supposed to do? there’s no corner shops with pinball machines in them on every corner anymore. there’s no malls or stores in small towns for teens to hang out in without being suspected of shoplifting or kicked out for loitering. sidewalks are too broken for them to ride their bikes and there’s no bike lane in the street to make it safe for them. i just don’t understand where they expect these kids to go when they keep taking places away from them. and yes having no safe public places for them is what leads a lot of teens into addiction if they end up at a place where people aren’t truly looking out for them.

Stolas being homeless lives rent free in my head. I’ve been lowkey thinking about an old anon ask I got about Satan transforming Stolas into an imp.

It could’ve been a full circle moment where Stolas finally recognizes his faults but it is just too late. He is stripped of his power and status, transformed into the very thing he has lusted over, fetishized, and belittled.

Stolas loses his daughter in the process as she wants nothing to do with him, giving him several chances in previous episodes. Andrealphus and Stella are thriving.

Stolas, desperately goes to the only person he knows: Blitzø. He begs and pleads to Blitzø, wanting shelter and that he has no where left but Blitzø not only denies him but pretends he doesn’t know who Stolas is. In the end, Stolas is homeless and no one (including his father, higher rank goetias, and the deadly sins) wants to associate with a deadbeat degenerate.

Stolas is forced to survive the wrath of Hell alone.

What To Do About Filler

I am deeply frustrated at the increasing usage of the concept of "filler" in writing, partly because how people are using it is completely separated from what it usually means, and partly because few people explain what they actually mean when a story lacks "filler."

So, in short, when this comes up, what people usually are talking about is:

A lack of subplots. Subplots are essential background to developing your story beyond the main action points. Subplots include romantic storylines, internal journeys (learning to deal with a trauma, for example), plots that are critical for secondary characters, etc.

No room to breathe (aka pacing). Keeping up the tension is a common piece of advice, but if every single scene is filled with tension, you're going to exhaust the reader (and yourself). Quieter moments allow characters to reflect, realize things (like feelings for each other), and give you space to establish worldbuilding and mood.

Rushed or missing character development. Giving your characters space to learn things about themselves, confess or realize feelings, and moments to make decisions and change are essential to a story. Defeating the big bad is important, but usually the inner strength to do so comes from the character changing over the course of the story.

I am losing the battle against using the word filler when you mean a story lacks other things. Other than shaking my fist at the youths, I suggest that if you get feedback about "filler," see if you can get specifics. Is it an issue with pacing? Character developments? Not enough description or worldbuilding? If a romance seemed rushed, at what points does the reader think there should be more interaction? Etc.

A note for fanfic writers: Your goals are often different from someone writing to publish, but hammering down what filler means can still help you as well. Narrowing down the point of your story ("in this drabble, these characters flirt without using words" or "sexy coffeeshop AU") and making sure to ask your beta readers if what you're writing fulfills that goal can help you figure out if your story is making the impact you want.

"Sam, you are not going to believe how exponentially badly my day is going."

"Probably not as badly as mine, Buck"

El nido de cuervo

The crow's nest

writing mood™️

Harrison Wood Hsiang