I've Got So Many Scene Ideas, But I'm A Linear Writer, So I Regularly Have To Put Them Back On The Conveyer

After getting to almost 20k words, I've realized something rather fundamental about my story.

I don't even know what genre it is.

Another short featuring young Rane meeting her team for the first time.

A new friend, a fellow outcast.

I never understood the need for so many people for these things. Birthdays, graduations, promotions, even something as simple as the weekend drew humans together. I don't even know what the occasion was. The music is too loud, the smells overwhelmingly numerous musks and perfumes, my head is starting to ache from the combination, and worse yet, I am the only Whisper here so far.

Yet I couldn't leave. This was an intentional choice by my Dant, another test to see how I'd react, to see if I caved. It was stupid, but I wouldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing me run away like a kicked dog. I stand in one o the corners, watching the room with a quietly as I study the people in it.

Eventually I notice someone approaching me, and I have to look him over twice just to be sure I'm not seeing things. He's huge, easily towering over everyone else in the room, with broad shoulders and a build that looks like it was sculpted by artists. His pale blue eyes stood out against his dark skin, kindness sparkling in them despite his face being neutral.

He stops a short distance from me, and waves lightly. Confused, i simply stare before giving a half wave back, but he just smiles softly before starting to sign, "It's loud, isn't it?"

I nod, considering how to respond before signing back, "Very. I'm getting a headache form the sounds and smells."

He nods, and gestures for me to follow him, which I do more out of curiosity than anything. He leads me to a balcony looking over the Dex, and the reprieve from the party is an instant relief. I breathe in the fresh air, leaning over the balcony as I listen to the wind blowing over the base.

The man waves again to get my attention, signing once I look over. "Better?" He smiles at my nod, continuing, "That's good. I never really liked these, either. I'm Niko, the mule for your unit, should Sergei's request get approved."

I nod, looking out towards the lake before answering. "I'm Rane."

That's when I heard the oddest thing. A whispered voice, as deep as the rumble of a quake but as warm as the heat from a fire, "He did say you don't talk much…"

I look over, curious about what I heard. "Who did?"

Niko looks surprised, a mix of awe and confusion filling his yes before he finally whispers in that deep, rich voice, "You understand me…?"

My country is beginning to burn, and my family is roasting marshmallows over its corpse.

They called me crazy when I pointed out what's going on. Told me that it's all fake, and that "they were saying the same thing when Biden was in office."

I hate being the only only one who sees what's happening. I hate being the only one who cares.

I've recently passed 10,000 words in my original story. I honestly wasn't expecting to ever actually reach that number, and I still have so many chapters to go.

I'm currently working on a story, but my motivation to write has been pretty low lately. I think the general lack of interest from my friends and family (only my mom is willing to read it currently) is part of the reason why. I'm new to writing as a hobby, and not having anyone to get unbiased feedback from leaves me feeling like my work isn't that great, I think.

My writing is going well, but I'm worried about a planned revelation for one of the main cast. I don't really have anyone to ask for advice, and I'm worried that it'd be taken wrong, but I'm also hesitant to ask for advice here, since it could draw the wrong kind of crowd.

I'm really unsure about it, so I'll ask beneath the line.

So, the revelation is planned for later in the story, and it involves a main-turned-secondary character who acts as an early antagonist to the primary main character. He's trans (Female to Male), and because the reasoning behind his behavior isn't revealed until a chapter or two after the revelation that he's trans (I'm doing chapter by chapter), I'm worried that the message will be seen as "He's an annoying/bad/bothersome person because he's trans", and not "He's an annoying/bad/bothersome person, period."

Him being trans isn't a focus of his story arc, and transphobia (as well as homophobia) won't be used as story beats.

I know I can just not say anything about it, but I want him (and other planned trans characters) to be known. I just don't want to imply the wrong message.

An interlude in the short series I've been doing, instead focusing on when Rane first started realising her feelings for Sophia.

An important first

Very few occasions call for anything beside our uniforms, since they've become the main outfit everyone wears at the base, so the first time I saw Sophia in a dress was a couple years after her release from the hospital, the pale flowers dotted across the billowy fabric, her light brown hair blonde in the sunlight. I thought I had caught an illness when she smiled at me, that laugh bubbling out of her like the prettiest bell. I didn't understand what I was feeling, the way she made my heart flutter in my chest and the air catch in my throat, until much later.

When she tried to ask what was wrong, I couldn't answer, any words dying in my throat with a strangled whimper. My face burned as I looked anywhere but at her, though I couldn't tell her that it wasn't from embarrassment, or why I didn't want her to see it. I didn't know how to tell her that she was the most beautiful sight I'd ever seen, how I wanted to see her like this more often.

My reaction upset her, but I grabbed her arm before she could leave, my touch as gentle as a butterfly's wings. I didn't know how to explain the sensations she was calling, so I apologized instead and asked her to stay.

I spent that entire night trying to figure out my feelings, sleepless in pursuit of what ailed me. I spoke with the guys about it the next morning, only to end up flustered when Don decided to start teasing me. Sergei chuckled before scolding him, and took me aside, giving me a moment to calm down before asking me more questions about my ailment.

I answered honestly, that my mind was still picturing the way the wind blew her dress in such a way to hug her body, that my face catches fire at the memory of her smile and that my breath is stolen by the memory of her laugh. He asked if I've felt these things before, and it gave me pause. I went to say that I hadn't, but then I realized that I had over the past couple years, just never this strong before.

When I admitted this, my voice a soft whisper into the light of the rising sun, he gave me a warm, knowing smile. He ruffled my hair, chuckling as he told me that I wasn't sick. I asked him what the problem was, why I felt such odd things about my friend, and he just smiled, telling me that while I might see it as a problem now, I won't always feel that way.

A promise broken

The two of us had been walking through the Dex, Sophia's hand warm in mine, our fingers intertwined beneath our over-sized sleeves. It was a cold day, so we were wearing sweaters over our uniforms to keep the chill out. I didn't need one, but Sophia insisted, and I just couldn't say no to her when she brings up my health.

We'd been talking about the weather, and whether it'll snow or not when a shoulder slams into mine. I growl and go to say something, but the words die in my throat when I see who it was, memories dulling my tongue at the sight of her. I mumble an apology, and pull Sophia along, trying to put as much distance behind us as possible.

“Who was that? You two know each other?”

Sophia's question, innocent as it was, brings a torrent of memories from behind the walls I've carefully built. Memories of late nights training, movies we were supposed to watch, secrets shared beneath the moonlight, promises of forever made and sealed with kisses. I shake my head, and glance over, my voice soft, as if afraid of being heard.

“Not anymore.”

I'm very close to reaching a third of my projected chapter amount, but it's looking like I'm going to need more chapters.

Spider Love Song

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