Work Text:
Nicole stared down at the blank page on her desk and sighed. She couldn’t think of a single idea for a new story. For the past week, whenever she thought she was ready to face her first draft head-on, the angel suddenly remembered that she hadn't watered her garden, or realized that what would really make her mage’s house more whimsical was another squirrel sculpture, or noticed a stranded adventurer that she just had to help.
That’s right. The Great Mage Nicole, storyteller extraordinaire, was procrastinating. But, she had absolutely no inspiration— complete writer’s block. And, her co-author Mr. Nine had set today as the deadline for Nicole’s first draft… Which was why she was here, staring at a blank piece of paper desperately, perhaps hoping it would come to life and tell her what to write.
Suddenly, Nicole had an idea! Uh, no, it wasn’t an idea for her draft.
She’d thought: Perhaps I can write a story inspired by some of the people I’ve met in Nod-Krai! As is, they would all make fantastic characters— and they lead such interesting lives— so, with a few tweaks, I’m sure I can come up with something… Nicole pondered this for a minute.
Aha! Who could make a better protagonist for my story than the Traveler? An epic quest, the search for their sibling, countless battles and heroic deeds. Nicole reached for her pen, then frowned. Wait, didn’t Yae Publishing House already write a light novel based on the Traveler? And I’ve also made the Traveler a character in some of the fairytale stories I’ve already told them. And Nicole had the sudden realization that all authors have at some point: her work was too derivative! It had been done before! But, before she could spiral too much, she resolved to pivot to another person for inspiration. Maybe someone she didn’t know that well?
Hm, well, there was that, uh, spirited Vice-Captain in the Knights of Favonius; the one who was so displeased with the amazing story Witch’s Trial Nicole had created for him. His name was… Lohen? Yes, that sounds right. And, in fact, just the other day, Nicole had seen him talking rather amicably with the Squad Leader of the Lightkeepers’ Nightmare Orioles… The scene had stuck in Nicole’s mind because of how out of the ordinary it seemed. Not too long ago, the two had almost been at each other's throats because of a quickly escalating disagreement about battle strategy during a Favonius-Lightkeeper team up against the Wild Hunt. Captain Illuga was kind and rational, beloved by his subordinates, while Lohen had quite the terrifying reputation among his fellow knights; naturally, they were at odds. What could have brought on this new comradery? There must have been something going on… That was it! Nicole picked up her pen and began writing furiously on the blank page. A rivals-to-lovers romance about two begrudging allies who are always butting heads. After 136 chapters, it ends with a dramatic climax where one of the heroes confesses, then sacrifices himself for his lover, while also saving the world in the process! Our readers will sob at the emotional anguish! At last, Nicole’s writer's block vanished; she could picture all the plot points of this new story vividly. But then she remembered that Mr. Nine had specifically asked for her to write a short story… Not a hundred-chapter slow burn epic… No, no, no, this won’t do. Nicole threw her no-longer promising idea into the waste paper basket beside her desk. Maybe something more cute? Or classic?
Nicole’s thoughts turned to a scene she had witnessed at Nod-Krai’s most recent festival: Miss Sandrone reluctantly playing carnival games with Columbina. Sandrone always acts annoyed with Columbina, but it’s very obvious she really does secretly like her (even if she’ll never admit it). That was certainly cute, wasn’t it? Maybe a classic fairytale, featuring a clockwork princess trapped in a tower… A powerful sorceress comes to save her, but the princess insists that she doesn’t need rescuing. Instead, the two enjoy tea and delicious pastries together in the tower. Nicole started outlining this new idea on a fresh piece of paper. But suddenly, she stopped. She’d recalled that she’d told Mr. Nine that she was going to step away from the rigid fairytale format, with its “once upon a time” “happily-ever-afters”; her next story was going to surprise their readers with something new and extraordinary! Oh, Nicole, why did you say that? Now I have to come up with something else… The mage dejectedly crumpled up her notes.
Well, if it couldn’t be a fantasy story, maybe she’d write something more sci-fi? There were certainly a lot of robots and machines in Nod-Krai. Perhaps she could base a story on Aino and Ineffa. Far in the distant galaxies of space, a child genius constructs robots and meccas for a promising rebellion. She is joined by a multifunctional combat-maid-nanny robot that she built herself. A narrative that switches between space battles and slice of life. The best of both worlds! Nicole picked up her pen once more, and began a sketch of a possible mecca design. After making a few attempts at the sketch, she paused. My strong suit is really organic creations… Not robot design. Nicole slid the sketch into the waste basket.
Well, maybe Nicole just had to look for inspiration outside of Nod-Krai… A period piece, full of political intrigue, set in the Snezhnayan fae court… The drama! The romance! The… icicles? But Nicole soon realized that she, surprisingly, didn’t know that much about the operations of fae courts. This called for research! And she knew just who to ask. Nicole leaped up from her chair. But, as she headed for the door of the study, she passed by the Dodoco alarm clock that Alice had given her.
…There were only 2 hours until her draft was due…
Nicole raced back to her desk. There was no time for research! She’d just have to think of something else. Uh, quick, who else had she met in Nod-Krai…?
Jahoda? An overworked employee finally quits, but realizes that the job market is a disaster—
Nefer? Underworld crime boss defeats countless rival organizations—
Paimon? A strange monster arrives and steals all the world's snacks—
No, no, no. Nicole put her head in her hands. Her draft was doomed. There was no way she would meet the deadline.
Wait a second… Nicole had an idea. Don’t people say to “write what you know”? That’s it! I can write a story about myself! But it can’t be a fairytale… Oh, maybe I could make a whimsical commentary on the difficulty of my writing process. Would that be too meta? No, I’m sure if people didn’t find it insightful, it would at least be funny. Nicole picked up her pen once more. At last, she had a draft that she was pleased with.
⊹₊˚‧︵‿₊⊱·✶·⊰₊‿︵‧˚₊⊹
Mr. Nine frowned at the piece of paper floating in front of her. Well, Mr. Nine didn’t really have a face, as far as human faces go, but Nicole could tell she was frowning.
“Nicole, this story doesn’t make any sense. There’s hardly any plot! ‘A mage with writer's block uses her friends for inspiration’? And you didn’t even really obscure anyone’s identities! It’s so obvious who you're talking about!”
“Oh. Oops…”