Im Not Stupid I'm A Non-practicing Intellectual

im not stupid i'm a non-practicing intellectual

here, kitty kitty

getting nathan to do any kind of physical contact would be...a struggle, to say the least. I don't think he'd be a very touchy-touchy kinda guy, just cause he's not used to it. But I bet he'd warm up eventually.

blurb/ficlet thingy

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Baby steps. Touches to the back of the hand, a palm on his shoulder while he worked. He would violently flinch away, looking like you'd slapped his mother. Upon seeing you, Nathan would relax marginally. Despite his prickly disposition, you could tell he craved attention.

His gaze would follow you desperately around the compound, and he would sit as close as possible on the sofa without touching you. If you paid attention, you'd see his hands fidgeting in his lap. A war was raging in hid head - he wanted to touch you but he didn't know how.

You took it slowly, like soothing a frightened barn cat. Yes, he knew he was allowed to touch you, but he still didn't know how. You were such a godlike figure in his mind, the thought of something so mundane seemed wrong.

Not that you didn't try. You picked up on his nervousness, as well-hidden as it was, gently reaching for his hand on the couch. Your gaze was locked on the movie, but your firm hold prevented him from sliding away. Every part of him was tense. You stroked your finger up and down, loosening the nervousness ringing through his body.

He shifted closer, clearing his throat. Nathan's face betrayed nothing of the mentally wagging tail he was currently feeling; gaze focused on the movie in front of you. A small smile tickled your cheeks when you felt his warm shoulder tentatively press against yours.

As tempted as you were to wrap him in a hug, you knew it would scare him off. He rumbled appreciatively when your chin ducked to rest on his shoulder.

The movie concluded but neither of you made a move to get up. Nathan's beard tickled your forehead and your leg was falling asleep, but you didn't want to end the small moment of intimacy.

"You gonna move?" he asked gruffly, hands twitching in yours. You leaned back slightly.

"Do you want me to?"

His gaze didn't meet yours, but you could see it in the pink of his ears. No.

Smiling, you coaxed him back against your chest. His back was stiff until you began stroking his head, fingers scratching lightly over the stubble. You could feel him shiver. Slowly, you paused, letting him adjust.

Nathan huffed impatiently, hands tucking against your waist. You tried to look at his face and gauge his reaction.

"More?"

Another huff. Laughing quietly, you resumed the scalp massage, humming gently as his breathing slowed. He was out like a light before five minutes had passed.

-

A slow drumming gently roused him from the deepest sleep of his light. It was incredibly warm - warmer than he'd ever felt in the compound. Something soft was surrounding him in a way that sucked the energy from his bones. He blinked awake, hazily rousing from the syrupy blanket of slumber.

His glasses were folded at the edge of the coffee table. He was still on the couch. Vaguely, Nathan remembered your fingers on his scalp as he was blissfully rocked to sleep. His chest warmed as he realized the gentle drumming was your slow heartbeat against his cheek.

A thick throw blanket was pulled tight to his chin, and your arms bracketed his shoulders protectively.

Nathan burrowed back under the blanket, nosing into the warmth of your tummy. It would be a pain to wake you, he reasoned, contentedly snuggling back to sleep.

I wrote a fic about it thanks for the inspo

here you go

Thinking about the trope where person A is describing their crush very vaguely because in reality it’s person B, meanwhile person B is sad and jealous about this mystery person because they also like A and have no idea that it’s them with Steven and the reader.

We’re like “He’s very polite and smart. Hes also really dreamy and has the prettiest eyes.” and poor Steven’s there saying “He sounds great.” while trying not to pout because he thinks that he can’t compete, meanwhile it’s literally just him homeboy we are describing you. Kiss us. Right now.

reblog if you’ve read fanfictions that are more professional, better written than some actual novels. I’m trying to see something

whuch is dumb because quotev had quizzes and polls and fanfiction and chat rooms

literally the best

wattpad this, ao3 that, what about my girl quotev? 😔

writing tips - flashbacks

welcome back yall i have not written this in a lukewarm minute

flashbacks! good shit.

Flashbacks are great for adding information or reminding the reader of a past action without making it a whole deal. but flashbacks are kinda specific as far as when they should come up.

let's start with the benefits of using flashbacks:

Character development.

flashbacks can reveal hidden motives, memories, inciting incidents, and alternative perspectives to the main plotline and the characters. It might contextualize disputes or hard feelings between characters.

2. mystery!

Flashbacks are still from the character who's flashbacking's perspective. If you add the flashback, it might add another level of mystery to the conflict or a clue to the end result.

3. context

You don't always want to write a massive exposition paragraph describing all the context for everything, so little scenes dropped here and there will help clear the waters without mucking up the pace.

Now that that has been summarized, let's focus more on when they should be used.

Flashbacks make sense when the content of the flashback relates to the current scene's actions. If the character flashbacks to their mother's fiftieth birthday during a business meeting, it doesn't make sense. But, if it's their mother's sixtieth birthday and they are reminiscing, it makes more sense.

There needs to be a sense of continuity. Trauma-based flashbacks have a trigger - a sound, smell, texture, phrase, etc that incites the flashback. if there is no trigger, it makes no sense.

When a traumatic flashback is triggered, an emotional reaction is usually attached. traumatic flashbacks are jarring, uncomfortable, and stressful for the victim. Afterwards, a panic attack or dissociative period is common.

if the flashback is not connected to a traumatic response, the reason for the flashback needs to be clear.

pause: i'm gonna refer to flashbacks as 'episodes' because typing 'flashbacks' every two words is reviving my carpal tunnel.

unpause!

The episode has the desired effect when the connection between past/present is clear and the 'discovery' is important. Maybe it's an elaboration of a previously established memory that reveals a secret only after a specific event.

Flashbacks are great, but overdone and they get frustrating and old. Find a format that you only apply to the episodes will help. Italics are a common favorite, parentheses, a specific divider between main text and the flashback....something that lets the reader know what's going on.

Nothing is worse that trying to figure out what century you're reading when every other page is a flashback episode. Make it easy on your readers!!!

If the thing you're flashing to is so important that the flashback takes multiple pages, find a different way to convey the information. they're called 'flash' backs, not 'separate plot point specifically for this moment' backs. what I'm trying to say is - short and sweet.

Episodes are meant to be enlightening, not as confusing as everything else.

Summary - flashbacks are a great tool when used sparingly and intentionally, I love to see them!

xox