#( 💡 ) - sorry for not answering asks in a bit

[thebright3stlight]

Hi brightney I am your fan <3

aww ! thank you , kindly !

[lithopus]

Hi! I’m the anon who asked about ur thought process, sorry for making it such a broad question. I just wanted to know how you figure out how to write dialogue. Uhm if it’s too broad of a question it’s okay! I just personally have a hard time figuring out how to make some characters feel like they’re having a real conversation. The way you write characters talking flows so smoothly and I just can’t get it to feel right. ((I especially like the snarky quips kaveh and alhaitham share, it’s very old married couple like)) This might be more of a personal thing and since everyone thinks/writes differently I understand if it’s something you can’t really explain to me!

Also! When you write do you usually start with an outline and fill in the rest? Sometimes I just write what I feel like and I get stumped after a while. But thank you for taking the time to help me! Sorry if this just made everything more confusing.

No worries, and no need to apologize! Like I said, a lot of writers probably could’ve easily answered your initial question, but my brain sometimes struggles to articulate a response for things like that. And thank you for sending this follow-up—I understand now!

For both of your questions, I’ll separate my answers into two sections: 1) describing how I personally do those things, and 2) providing actual suggestions/recommendations for doing those things. That’s because I wouldn’t necessarily recommend my personal approach to writing, lol—my very loose “process” can be rather haphazard due to how my brain works, so I’m mostly just sharing examples of my notes in case anyone’s curious about what my drafts look like.

(Also, I think I’ll make a SFW version of this post at some point. Although there’s nothing too sexually explicit here, I do reference several examples from NSFW fics I’ve written, since this post is aimed at the asker and my followers—but because my writing suggestions themselves aren’t explicit in nature, I’d prefer to eventually make this advice accessible to all writers.)

Table of Contents

A. Dialogue 1. How I Plan Dialogue 2. My Actual Suggestions for Planning Dialogue 💡 Know the “arc” or “goal” of the conversation 💡 Listen to actual conversations (and transcribe them) 💡 Writing banter B. Outlining 1. How I Outline 2. My Actual Suggestions for Outlining 💡 Know the goal (or the “point”) of the scene you’re writing 💡 Identify the characters’ goals 💡 Identify the “key elements” of the scene or chapter 💡 Consider rewinding or backtracking a bit 💡 Take a short break from that project

A — DIALOGUE

1: How I Plan Dialogue

So, my answer to your first question actually overlaps with my answer to your second question. I don’t take a strict approach, but I do often outline the main “beats” in a conversation before I actually write a scene. Sometimes that looks like a bulleted list or summary—although, I couldn’t find a good example of that in my files, so I created this example based on some (very lengthy) notes for Chapter 6 of my fic “testing, testing”:

Kaveh is complimenting Alhaitham more in this chapter. For example, maybe he says he prefers coffee made by Alhaitham over the coffee made at Puspa Café.

Alhaitham doesn’t realize Kaveh is complimenting him, and responds in a way that unintentionally undermines Kaveh’s compliment.

Instead of getting upset, Kaveh clarifies what he was trying to say, and the two of them continue talking.

At one point Kaveh asks a genuine question and Alhaitham nearly responds indirectly/sarcastically like he usually does, but lately he’s noticed that things go more smoothly if he directly answers Kaveh’s questions, so he gives Kaveh a straightforward response

Kaveh is flustered by the honest response, and the two flirt a bit before the scene ends

Other times, it’s more of a “play-by-play” description. The notes I used to create the above example actually look more like this mess from my notes for the first scene in Chapter 5:

And Alhaitham kinda eyebrow raises like hm. Okay. You need to get in the mood, you mean? (Saunters over to him, backs him against the wall. Kaveh instantly turned on and starts/tempted to crumble.) Touching him and murmurs you know, it’s not [a den of sin there. People conduct themselves properly/it would be inappropriate to mess around there. Better get it out of your system now if it’s going to distract you etc. Etc.] And Kaveh’s like that’s not what I meant! Alhaitham smirks. Kaveh adds and you KNOW it, you know what I meant, this is just an excuse for you because you’re insatiably horny [maybe: says the man who nakedly accosted me on the couch and demanded that we suck each other off at 10 in the morning—] Kaveh’s face BURNS. I—I—I—that was—because— (He’d been confident enough for 10 seconds to request it & wanted to do it before he lost his nerve.) Alhaitham maybe softens ever so slightly and points out that if he’s confident enough to finally ask, maybe he should just maintain that confidence and go while he’s still in the mood. Kaveh sighs. Like, yeah. (Shit maybe he should have asked in the morning when the place wouldn’t be open.) Alhaitham maybe also reminds him that it’s not like they have to use whatever they buy as soon as they get back. Heh. Unless he wants to.

And other times the dialogue does play out naturally in my head, so I jot down a much “cleaner” play-by-play, like this dialogue from Chapter 2 of “hard-edged, hard-earned”:

Comes back. Asks to sit on couch. No. Can I sit on the floor? No. That would hurt your back. Can I sit on any piece of furniture in this room?! No.

I will say, whenever I end up with “clean” notes like that, it’s often because I spoke all the dialogue out loud (or mouthed it)—as in, I’ll literally be having conversations with myself as the characters. Sometimes I’m talking to myself in front of a mirror, and other times just turning my head back and forth as I jump between characters 😅 It’s not a technique I adopted intentionally, but my brain doesn’t really have much “internal” dialogue/narration in general, and that trait extends to creative stuff. I pretty much have to talk through everything out loud, or physically type out my stream-of-consciousness brainstorming.

So: I plan some of the dialogue ahead of time, and I also plan dialogue throughout the writing process. That is, I might start writing a chapter with a certain conversation already outlined (like the “clean” play-by-play I shared), but other parts of the chapter will be more like a brief summary—e.g., “Kaveh compliments Alhaitham during this scene, and Alhaitham responds positively.” Once I reach that part of the outline during the actual writing stage, I’ll usually pause to hammer out more specific conversation beats.

Not necessarily because that’s the best way to do things, but because my brain moves too fast for my fingers when I’m trying to write a scene. An unpolished “stream” of the scene allows me to follow the flow of the whole conversation as it happens. (Otherwise I’d forget where the dialogue was going once I was halfway through writing the scene 💀)

There are times where I don’t have to do the play-by-play, and can just figure out the dialogue as I write the actual scene…it just depends on the scene and how my brain is working that day, I guess.

**BONUS: For anyone who’s curious, please check the end of this post for a horrifying look at how my play-by-play brainstorming often looks 😂

2: My Actual Suggestions for Planning Dialogue

I’m not saying that these are things you must do, for the record—these are just some ideas you could try, if you think any of them sound useful.

💡 Know the “arc” or “goal” of the conversation

In other words: “Where will this conversation start, and where does it need to end?”

Traditionally—from a “story structure” perspective, or whatever—in every scene, the characters have a goal they’re trying to accomplish. (I say “traditionally” because of course there are some stories that don’t fit this rule—e.g., a story consisting of several vignettes where the character is reminiscing about things.)

This general rule is also true of the conversations in a scene. Even if the characters don’t consciously register it, they each want to accomplish something during their conversations with other characters. For instance, one character might be trying to convince another character to pursue a particular course of action, or they might feel upset and be seeking out a lighthearted conversation to lift their spirits. (Phrased differently: Characters generally want to get something out of talking to each other—but, to clarify, that “something” can be as simple as the characters wanting to enjoy each other’s company.)

I’ll use Chapter 5 of “testing, testing” as an example. In the first scene, Kaveh’s goal when talking to Alhaitham is to ask him about shopping for sex toys. Kaveh is communicating with the goal of making that request, so his dialogue is going to (in theory) move him toward that goal—although of course he might get distracted, or other goals might arise during the conversation, but that’s the starting point, at least.

Alhaitham—who knows that Kaveh was looking for him, but doesn’t initially know why—has a primary goal during the conversation, along with a secondary goal. Alhaitham’s main goal is to find out what Kaveh wanted to ask him, and here are some possible ways he might communicate in order to achieve this goal:

Calm Kaveh’s anxieties so that he feels comfortable enough to make his request

Avoid upsetting Kaveh, since that might cause him to storm off without telling Alhaitham what was on his mind

Remind Kaveh to stay on-topic if his mind starts wandering to something unrelated

But Alhaitham’s secondary goal is to flirt with Kaveh, of course, which guides his initial interactions with Kaveh during the beginning of that scene, and periodically resurfaces throughout the conversation.

Kaveh’s (temporary) goals during the conversation shift in reaction to what Alhaitham is doing. For example, if Alhaitham’s teasing starts to make him feel too flustered or awkward, Kaveh’s temporary goal will be to stop feeling flustered and awkward, which means that he’ll communicate with the goal of getting Alhaitham to stop his teasing. And if Alhaitham stops teasing but seems upset about it, Kaveh’s temporary goal will then be to figure out what’s wrong and find a way to reassure Alhaitham.

Put more concisely:

The “flow” of the conversation comes from the goals that the characters are trying to accomplish at any given point in their discussion

The characters communicate either to 1) respond/react to something another character has done, or 2) address their most “immediate” goal

The characters develop new “goals” in response to what the other speakers say, or how the conversation makes them feel—but they (typically) still maintain their primary goal, as well

I’m not sure whether that makes sense, but hopefully if you look at the first scene in Chapter 5 with this framework in mind, you can “see” how Kaveh’s and Alhaitham’s shifting goals determine the flow of the conversation.

And, at the risk of making my explanation even more confusing, here’s a break-down of the beginning of that scene:

Kaveh’s main goal is to ask Alhaitham to go shopping; Alhaitham’s main goal is to figure out what Kaveh wants, and his secondary goal is to get in Kaveh’s pants.

Kaveh seeks out Alhaitham in order to ask his question, but Alhaitham startles him.

Kaveh reacts to the surprise he’s feeling. His temporary goal is now to compose himself.

However, flustering Kaveh helps Alhaitham achieve his goal of fooling around with him, so Alhaitham starts flirting to prevent Kaveh from regaining his composure.

Kaveh realizes that Alhaitham is proposing sex—but having sex right now would prevent Kaveh from asking his question and accomplishing his goal, so he tells Alhaitham not to undress, with the goal of refocusing the conversation on his request.

With sex off the table, Alhaitham reverts to his main goal and asks Kaveh what his question was.

Kaveh still feels flustered, though, so now his (temporary) goal is to make sure that Alhaitham isn’t going to mock him and make him feel insecure; otherwise he won’t be able to accomplish his main goal of asking Alhaitham to go shopping, since he’ll feel too anxious to make the request. So, he tells Alhaitham not to laugh at him for his question.

Alhaitham’s main goal is to encourage communication, so he responds in a deadpan manner instead of teasing Kaveh more.

Basically, characters aren’t just talking for no reason—there’s a specific “direction” that they’re speaking in, though of course this direction can shift and change as the conversation progresses. If you listen to conversations in real life—on a phone call, or a podcast, or whatever—you’ll hopefully see a similar sort of “flow” in those discussions. People don’t speak merely for the sake of producing frequencies; anything they say, they’re saying for a reason (that is, a goal), and those “reasons” are naturally generated by the progression of the conversation.

Or, looking at it differently…I’m not sure if this is helpful, but when you’re trying to figure out the flow/direction of a conversation, maybe you could approach it as if you’re selecting dialogue options in a visual novel or RPG game. As in, whenever it’s Character A’s turn to speak, a few different options “pop up” depending on that character’s personality and current goals—and then different options are unlocked throughout the conversation depending on the choices made by Character A and the other character(s).

For instance, at the beginning of Chapter 5, Alhaitham’s speaking options would be:

◆ Question Kaveh ◆ Flirt with Kaveh

The conversation continues—but then Kaveh gets upset, so Alhaitham’s default options become unavailable, and these new options appear:

◆ Question Kaveh ◆ Flirt with Kaveh ◆ Comfort Kaveh ◆ Clarify misunderstanding ◆ Rile up Kaveh

Meanwhile, Kaveh’s “Ask Alhaitham to go shopping” option might become inaccessible whenever it’s overridden by other goals/concerns. For example, maybe when Kaveh is upset because Alhaitham teased him, his menu looks like this:

◆ Ask Alhaitham to go shopping ◆ Defend self against insult ◆ Warn Alhaitham to stop teasing ◆ Criticize Alhaitham

When a character’s emotional state changes, that might “unlock” certain dialogue options—e.g., maybe Alhaitham normally wouldn’t have the option to snap at Kaveh, unless Kaveh said something that really upset him, and then Alhaitham would be able to “access” a harsher dialogue option.

Or certain dialogue options might be connected to specific goals, meaning that a character needs to be actively pursuing that goal in order to “use” those dialogue options. For example, if Kaveh doesn’t feel comfortable enough to ask Alhaitham to go shopping, then he can’t access any dialogue choices that are connected to that goal; instead, his options will be limited to whatever his current concern is.

Of course, there’s a lot of room for interpretation with something like this. Going back to one of my examples in this section: I said that if Kaveh gets upset, then Alhaitham no longer has an option to flirt—but depending on the characterization/story, that might not necessarily be the case. For instance, if Alhaitham doesn’t realize that Kaveh is upset or mistakenly thinks that flirting will fix Kaveh’s bad mood, then that “dialogue option” might still be available to him, even though it’s probably not a good idea for him to choose it.

And if I wanted to write a scene where Alhaitham and Kaveh get into a fight, then I certainly might allow Alhaitham to pick that (inadvisable) dialogue option—which is basically what happens during one of the scenes in Chapter 4, where Alhaitham misreads the situation and Kaveh turns down his advances. But if that sort of dialogue choice would send the scene in the wrong direction or completely divert the characters from their conversational goals, it’s probably not the most effective option, writing-wise.

That’s why I like “prewriting” a play-by-play of conversations before I properly write a scene, because that allows me to figure out if certain dialogue choices will make the scene stray too far from its purpose. If I’m outlining the beats of a conversation and the characters start to get a bit distracted—for example, maybe they’ve started flirting instead of focusing on the main point of their discussion—then I can look at that and say, “Okay. Sometime in the next few lines, we need to find a good place for the characters to pivot back toward their main goal during this conversation.”

(And that won’t feel forced, because the characters themselves also want to return to the primary goal of their conversation; it’s perfectly natural for them to conclude their off-topic discussion and then refocus on the main point.)

Or, if the characters have strayed too far from the main topic of their conversation—as in, there’s no “natural” way for the discussion to transition back to where it needs to be—then I’m able to see during the prewriting stage that the dialogue needs to be reworked. I’ll either need to delete the section of dialogue that wandered away from the main point of the conversation, or I’ll need to find a different place in the conversation where I can insert that dialogue and maintain the flow of the discussion.

If you ever get stuck while writing a conversation between characters, that’s possibly happening because the characters have forgotten or abandoned their conversational “goal” and can no longer find their way back to it. Or, similarly, it could be because the mood/emotions of the conversation have evolved too drastically, to the point that any “dialogue options” advancing a character’s primary goals have become inaccessible or unavailable. By retracing your steps back to when things got off-track and picking new dialogue options that move the characters toward their main goal(s), you should be able to get the scene flowing again.

And, ah, if everything I just said makes zero sense, that’s fine. I’ve never approached dialogue-writing that way, so I don’t actually know if something like that could help—it’s just an idea that occurred to me while I was answering this question.

One final note: Knowing the characters’ goals can sometimes help me figure out when a scene should end, too. Once the characters achieve their goal during that scene—or hit a setback and are no longer able to achieve their goal for the time being—that’s potentially a sign that I should move on to the next scene. (Not necessarily a scene break—it could just be that the conversation ends, and then it’s time for the POV character’s internal reaction/reflection to begin.)

💡 Listen to actual conversations (and transcribe them)

I admit, I haven’t really done this, myself—dialogue has always been the easiest part of writing for me, and I’ve been practicing writing for…ah, a while. (Fifteen years, at least. I mean, I wrote little poems and short stories starting from a very young age, as many writers do, but in terms of intentionally studying and practicing long-form writing, it’s been about fifteen years.) So, I can’t recall a distinct “process” in terms of how I learned to write dialogue; all I know is that I’ve gotten better at it by practicing for so many years.

That said, I do remember that “try transcribing actual conversations” was one of the suggestions I encountered back when I first began seeking out writing advice.

Of course, fictional dialogue is different from real-life conversations in some ways, so those transcriptions aren’t necessarily going to work exactly the same way as a fictional conversation, but this is still a potentially useful tool for learning to “feel” the flow of how people speak to each other, in addition to helping a writer make the characters’ voices sound more natural. Real-life conversations typically don’t have the “stilted” feeling that unnatural fictional dialogue has—although of course there are exceptions—so studying human speech patterns might help you identify ways to make your dialogue flow more smoothly.

**As a side note: When I’m writing characters that aren’t mine—as in, writing fanfiction—I’ll often study their voice lines and takes notes on the ways they speak (e.g., tone, vocabulary, sentence structure) and the specific phrases they use.

For fanfiction, you can also analyze conversations between characters in the source material in order to get a feel for how their particular discussions flow. Like this moment from Alhaitham’s story quest:

Kaveh: Oh, so the pot’s calling the kettle black, is he? Hmph, well, having said all that, are you okay? Alhaitham: I’m doing quite well — much better than that painting you’re trying to hang on the wall. Kaveh: You…! You don’t understand anything! Stop criticizing my taste in decoration!

Reading that, we know that one potential “template” for an exchange between Kaveh and Alhaitham is: Kaveh snarks at Alhaitham, then softens and seriously asks if he’s alright; Alhaitham responds, but then immediately goes back to trying to rile Kaveh up again; Kaveh takes the bait and gets worked up, having now entirely forgotten his previous line of inquiry.

💡 Writing banter (???)

As for writing the “married couple” banter…I don’t have any advice for that, unfortunately. I’m a quippy person in general, so my brain generates wordplay and snappy/sarcastic comebacks easily. I assume there must be some method(s) that writers use to figure out those types of conversations more deliberately, but I don’t personally know how to manually do that sort of thing.

I guess my suggestion would be the same as my advice for other things: try analyzing any banter you enjoy, and identify what elements make that banter “work”. I’ve never really tried to do that sort of analysis, but I’ll attempt to provide some examples:

During Alhaitham’s story quest, Kaveh says “Alhaitham could have stayed home where it’s safe”, and then his brain immediately jumps to the thought that if Alhaitham stayed home, he could have cleaned up his books while he was there → Kaveh tends to snark at Alhaitham about the state of their shared living space and nag him about minor annoyances, so he looks for opportunities to bring up these things during their conversations. If there’s some vague word/concept that could connect a piece of dialogue to Kaveh’s latest grievance, then he might use that as a jumping-off point for a jab about Alhaitham needing to do chores.

Kaveh asks Alhaitham to help him with hanging a painting at the very beginning of the scene, and then way later on in the conversation, Alhaitham suddenly makes a dig at Kaveh’s attempts to hang that painting → Alhaitham likes to circle back to things that were mentioned earlier in the conversation in order to catch Kaveh off-guard and rile him up.

The two of them seem to have some preferred “topics” of bickering/teasing—for example, Kaveh likes to harp on Alhaitham for his lack of appreciation for aesthetics, and Alhaitham enjoys mentioning his “financial freedom” (i.e., the fact that he consistently spoils Kaveh).

Along the same lines, there are topics that they don’t tease each other about. Neither one of them makes jokes about the other person’s family situation, and there’s not much lighthearted teasing about their philosophical differences, either.

Again, I can’t really provide much help there, since the banter is just something that “happens” while I’m writing. If anyone has advice for this, feel free to chime in via the replies or by sending me an ask 😅

B — OUTLINING

1: How I Outline

So, yes, I do outline, sort of. It’s messy and haphazard, though, and I don’t end up with a coherent list of scenes and plot points until way later in the process—and even then, I still have to reference my chaotic notes when I’m writing the scenes on my “organized” outlined list.

Typically I start working on a story by jotting down all the random ideas I have for that fic concept. Maybe one day I think of the concept and a few lines of dialogue, and then a few days later I think of a scene that would take place at some point in the story, and so on. (Ideally, these notes end up in the same file on my phone or computer; in practice, they end up scattered across various devices and documents, lol.)

For instance, the other day I thought of a concept for an omegaverse fic with an omega/omega dynamic. (Sorry for anyone who doesn’t enjoy this AU—it’s the most recent “in progress” example in my files, and therefore the easiest to reference.) My initial note-taking more or less went like this:

I jotted down part of an opening scene, and when I ran out of steam (partly because I was typing on my phone lol)

I summarized how the rest of the scene would go

A few more ideas for dialogue occurred to me, so I made a note of those

I thought of some omegaverse “science” to explain things, so I wrote that down

Then I had an idea for a flashback scene, so I described how that would go and wrote a few lines of that

I started to get a really clear image of how that scene would go, so I sat down and started properly writing a potential iteration of that scene

For a fic like that—one that isn’t too complicated, I mean—I won’t necessarily take time to organize all of those notes before I officially start writing. There’s a short and simple “arc” in my head:

Beginning of story: Character A announces that an unexpected heat is starting; Character B says there’s a way he can help, but Character A refuses

Middle: Character A thinks back on a time years ago when the two of them tried to platonically help each other and then things went wrong, hence why he turned down Character B’s present-day offer

End: Character A reconsiders and accepts Character B’s help

In this case, I don’t need to know a lot of details before I start writing, and there’s no need for me to make a “formal” outline organizing the random notes I’ve jotted down; I can easily consult those notes once I reach the relevant scenes in the story. All I really need to know is the “arc” of the plot, and I won’t need to write that down if it’s simple/straightforward enough.

It’s kind of similar to how I might need to print out directions or use a GPS to navigate somewhere I haven’t been before, or somewhere I’ve only visited a few times—whereas for a short trip or a route I’ve taken often, I won’t necessarily need a visual guide.

Now, for a story that’s more complicated—like “testing, testing”—I definitely need to take a more structured approach. (Well, “structured” by my unorganized standards, anyway.) When I began writing that fic, I made a rough outline that sketched out the progression of both the sexual exploration and the romantic relationship. It wasn’t super detailed, but it essentially told me:

What kind of sex the characters are having in each chapter

What “domestic shit” happens in that chapter

How the two characters are feeling about each other at that point in time

Uh, actually, here. You can just look at the first page. (My handwriting is usually neater than this 😅)

The current fic doesn’t 100% match that outline—for instance, the whole “good boy” thing didn’t exist at that point, so the “praise kink” sex scene intended for Chapter 5 was actually a different scene, which I’ve tentatively moved to a later chapter. (And my current outline for the rest of the chapters has rather substantially deviated from that original outline, although the overall arc and most of the sex scenes are still the same.)

In general, I outline so that I’ll know “where” a story is going while I write, and which milestones I need to hit on my way toward the end of that story. I need to know the major ways Alhaitham and Kaveh’s relationship changes throughout the fic, and how those changes are reflected/affected by the sex scenes. I still have a good deal of flexibility—I can add or move scenes, alter plot points, add new story arcs—but I do need to follow a (loosely) predetermined trajectory, in order to make sure the story ends up being cohesive.

Of course, that initial outline for “testing, testing” isn’t what I’m currently using…but I don’t have an updated outline for the entire story, either. I just have a lot of notes for individual chapters, and I know the general direction of the plot—as in, I know that the story will eventually reach the fic’s “Getting Together” tag, and I know which major developments need to happen in order for Kaveh and Alhaitham to reach that point.

Those major developments are:

Alhaitham and Kaveh need to reach a point where they can communicate openly and honestly

They need to realize their feelings for each other

They need to decide to act on those feelings for each other

Notes and outlines for individual chapters help me figure out the smaller-scale developments for that arc, but even without those, I always know that by the end of the fic, Alhaitham and Kaveh will be in a position where they’ve done the three things on that list.

(Examples of “smaller-scale developments” for the arc: specific scenes that improve Alhaitham and Kaveh’s communication skills, the exact moments they realize their feelings for each other, their specific reactions to those realizations, the manner in which they discuss their feelings, et cetera. Basically, the major developments are “what” the plot requires, and these smaller-scale developments are “how” those parts of the plot happen.)

I think I would probably get stuck when I’m writing if I didn’t know where a story was going to end up; I need to have that clear “end point” in mind so that I can anticipate things like plot/character arcs. I basically want to know “what are things like at the beginning of the story?” and “how have those things changed by the end?” before I start writing. I can wait until after I start writing to figure out which specific developments happen in the middle, but I need to at least know the starting position that the characters/situation are changing from, and the ultimate position that they’re changing to.

2: My Actual Suggestions for Outlining

So, outlines can be helpful organizational tools, but they won’t instantly solve everything. That is, if you’re getting stuck when you write, the lack of an outline—or the way you’re currently outlining—isn’t the root cause of the problem. This means that simply making some sort of outline, with your sole intent being “to make an outline”, won’t solve the issue; you need to first determine why you’re getting stuck, in order to know what kind of outline will benefit you. (Like needing to identify a specific type of poison in order to know the correct antidote for it, or whatever.)

I’m probably being Captain Obvious here, lol, but I think it’s potentially useful to note: if I’m stuck and I don’t know what to write, then how am I supposed to make an outline that organizes the things I’m going to write?

In general, an outline is a way for you to see the structure/framework of a story. It allows you to keep track of different developments such as story arcs, character growth, and relationship progress—which is to say, the outline gives you a “structure” within which you can write, but it won’t generate the things that get organized inside that structure.

That said, once you do get around to making an outline: Every writer has their own preferred organizational methods and tools, so you’ll need to figure out which ones work best for you. (Heck, some people are just “seat-of-the-pants” writers who don’t make outlines at all!)

And, at the risk of being Mr. Obvious once again—the best outline is one that enables the writer to keep track of whatever information they personally need to reference while writing, which will depend on both the author and the story. For example, if I’m writing a silly crack one-shot, then I likely don’t need an outline that lays out character arcs. But if I’m writing a slowburn about two characters gradually falling for each other, then I probably want an outline that breaks down the progression of their relationship development, so that I can organize my thoughts and figure out which scenes need to happen in the story, and when.

That doesn’t mean you need to know everything when you make an outline, though. Outlining can also make it easier for you to figure out which “gaps” in the story need to be filled. For example, say I’ve just finished writing Chapter 4 of “testing, testing”, and I know from my outline that an internal conflict is going to occur in Chapter 8. This tells me that the next few chapters need to contain certain plot/character developments building up to the eventual conflict. I can figure out the specifics as I go, but already I can see (in a very general sense) what will fill that gap in the outline:

Chapter 5: Something happens that affects how Alhaitham feels/thinks about his relationship with Kaveh

Chapter 6: We see this reflection in Alhaitham’s POV; more developments occur that push him closer to the problem in Chapter 8

Chapter 7: Some sort of continuation of these developments

Chapter 8: The story arrives at the conflict

Having said all of that—if you get stumped when you’re writing, I can’t say for sure what the solution is, but here are some things you could potentially consider.

💡 Know the goal (or the “point”) of the scene you’re writing, as it relates to the story overall

As in, what does this scene accomplish, in terms of storytelling? Does it demonstrate an important aspect of a character’s personality? Does it progress the plot in a significant way? In general, why is this scene happening and being shown to the reader? (I should note that, especially with fanfiction, your answer doesn’t need to be elaborate—it could be something like “I wanted to show how domestic and disgustingly in love these two characters are” 😂 And you might also have multiple answers to that question, depending on the scene.)

For example, this line was in my preliminary notes for Chapter 5:

How is Kaveh feeling / what part of his emotional development do we want to explore here?

So, when I was planning (and writing) certain scenes in that chapter, I was focused on how I could use those scenes to depict important changes in Kaveh’s perspective and in his relationship with Alhaitham.

💡 Identify the characters’ goals during that scene, and the story as a whole

This is partly repeating what I said before about writing conversations—but, again, it’s often useful to know the direction/destination of what you’re writing, and one way of doing that is to identify the characters’ goals during each individual scene (and throughout the story as a whole).

For any scene you’re writing: What is the character trying to accomplish during this particular part of the story? In general, they will say and do things that move them closer to that goal. (Or closer to some other goal, if their priorities shift during the scene.) Characters are typically pursuing something, whether it’s a concrete goal or a more abstract one like an emotional need. And the goal might not necessarily be a conscious one—as in, the character may not specifically think to themself, “I am pursuing this goal”—but you as the writer will know it.

Knowing the characters’ goals will hopefully give you a direction and endpoint for both the scene and the story. The scenes you write—and the characters’ actions during those scenes—will (in theory) involve accomplishing their goals.

To clarify, I’m not saying that this always has to be the case; every writing “rule” can be broken, after all. And of course there will be scenes where a character encounters a setback or ends up being pushed farther away from their goal, instead of moving closer to it. But if you don’t at least have some idea of what the characters are trying to accomplish in a scene, then you might have more difficulty writing the story.

It’s akin to me offering to give someone a lift, but when I pick them up and they get into my car, they don’t tell me where they’re going. I’m sitting behind the wheel, the keys are in the ignition, and I know that I need to drive the car somewhere…but I can’t proceed or reach the destination without receiving some sort of directions, first.

Mind you, those directions don’t need to be perfectly accurate or 100% complete when the car first starts moving. There’s time during the trip for the person to change their mind about the destination, or to amend the directions they gave me, or to pull up more specific directions on a GPS, et cetera. I just need some sort of preliminary instruction, so that I can at least start driving the car. If the person I’m driving doesn’t give me even the slightest bit of information, though, I’m going to be stuck sitting in an idling vehicle with no way to progress.

(And, to extend the metaphor: Sure, sometimes you might pick up a friend and decide to just aimlessly walk/drive around town until something catches your eye. There’s nothing wrong with taking that approach to writing, so I’m not saying that you absolutely must identify the characters’ goals at the outset of a story. But if you’re specifically stumped while writing, then you might benefit from taking some time to consider that question.)

So, I’m sure there are some folks—like seat-of-the-pants writers—who truly write with no specific destination/direction in mind, and if that works for them, excellent! I am not one of those people, though 😂 And if you’re getting stuck while writing, then that approach isn’t going to be effective for you, at least not for that particular story.

(Also, many writers—like me—do fall somewhere in the middle, in terms of whether they plan nothing or plan everything before writing. I don’t meticulously plan every detail, and I pretty much always end up deviating from my outline somehow, with unexpected plot points and scenes cropping up while I’m writing…but I generally don’t start writing a story without doing some sort of note-taking or planning beforehand.)

💡 Identify the “key developments” that need to happen in the scene, chapter, or story

I probably made that sound fancier than it actually is—I just mean that you can try making a loose checklist, basically.

For instance, when writing Chapter 5 of “testing, testing”, I knew that certain plot points needed to happen in order to progress the kink exploration storyline, and that certain character/relationship developments needed to happen in order to progress the romance storyline. So, my list might look something like this:

Kaveh and Alhaitham go shopping; this scene needs to set up some of the experimentation they do in later chapters (kink exploration)

Kaveh finds out that Alhaitham wants to be called a good boy (kink exploration)

They have sex with Alhaitham submitting and Kaveh calling him a good boy (kink exploration)

Seeing Alhaitham so vulnerable/agreeable in this chapter makes Kaveh think about their friendship as students, and Kaveh tries to mentally sort out the differences between Past Alhaitham and Present Alhaitham (character/relationship development)

Kaveh realizes he’s been dehumanizing Alhaitham and overlooking his feelings/needs, and then Kaveh resolves to stop doing that (character/relationship development)

Once I see the most important elements listed out like that, I can then try to figure out how to include them in the chapter. For example, the shopping scene is fairly straightforward—but which items do Alhaitham and Kaveh need to purchase for future scenes? Can I work in mentions of Alhaitham being more vulnerable/agreeable during that part, or things that remind Kaveh of their friendship as students? Is there a moment during the shopping trip when Alhaitham feels particularly “human” to Kaveh? How might other necessary plot points, conversations, or exposition fit into this shopping trip? (E.g., the explanation for why Kaveh abruptly asked Alhaitham to grab his throat during sex in Chapter 4, or the existence of the commissioned outfit that Kaveh will be wearing in Chapter 6.)

If I really wanted to neatly organize my thoughts—which I rarely end up doing, lol—I could maybe make an outline with two main sections: 1) events in the chapter, and 2) developments in the chapter.

The first section (List 1) would consist of things that physically happen in the chapter. For Chapter 5, that would be:

Kaveh asks Alhaitham to go shopping so that they can buy a dildo

The two of them go shopping at an erotic marketplace

They have sex when they get home, and fall asleep together afterward

They have sex again the next day, during which Kaveh calls Alhaitham a “good boy”

Aftercare & end of chapter

The second section (List 2) would list out the internal/emotional developments that occur in the chapter. For Chapter 5, that would be:

Alhaitham is communicating more straightforwardly and being more outwardly supportive of Kaveh

Kaveh doesn’t misinterpret Alhaitham’s words as much as usual

Kaveh gets closer to realizing that he has romantic feelings for Alhaitham

Kaveh realizes that he’s been dehumanizing Alhaitham and disregarding his feelings and needs

Kaveh realizes that he was mistaken in thinking that Alhaitham is disdainful toward him

From there, I would figure out how the developments from List 2 can be shown during the events of List 1. That is, what “moments” could be included in these events to demonstrate the developments that occur during this chapter’s arc?

You could maybe think of it like playing a trading card game—or a deckbuilding game, or something like that—where:

The match you’re playing = the chapter you’re writing

Each “turn” in that match = a specific event or plot point from List 1

Each card in your hand = a specific development from List 2

During each “turn” in the “game” (during each scene in the chapter), you’re holding those List 2 cards in your hand, and you’re trying to figure out the best way to play those cards. If you can play multiple cards in one turn (one scene), great! Or if you want to focus on playing one card at a time, that works too. Your goal is just to make sure that you’re playing some sort of card each turn (scene), so that the emotional/internal arc of the chapter unfolds via the events of the chapter.

Since that analogy might be a bit confusing and difficult to visualize, below is an extremely unartistic representation made in MS Paint. (Please forgive me for these aesthetic crimes, Kaveh.)

**Also, I wasn’t sure where to mention this, but—the parts of Chapter 5 involving Kaveh’s crisis about sadomasochism actually weren’t in my original plan for the chapter; that storyline spontaneously came up while I was writing. With how I outline and approach writing, though, it was pretty easy to incorporate that new plot thread into the chapter.

Basically, the sadomasochism subplot just meant that Kaveh had a new emotional need and chapter goal, so I added the scene(s) that his new need/goal required. And because I knew the main developments that would occur during the chapter, I was also able to see how this plotline tied into those existing elements and arcs. For example:

The development where Kaveh relies more on Alhaitham for support/comfort was originally only demonstrated when Alhaitham calms Kaveh down during the beginning of their shopping trip; with the new plot point, Kaveh’s attempts to address his kink-related crisis became another event that demonstrated this relationship development

This plot point also fit the chapter development where Kaveh thinks about his feelings toward Alhaitham and realizes that he’s been dehumanizing him—for example, there’s a connection between that and Kaveh’s concern that his kink might mean he subconsciously wants to hurt Alhaitham as revenge for the emotional pain of their falling-out.

Which is to say, I think that outlining these concepts for myself makes it easier for me to integrate new plot points that pop up while I’m writing or brainstorming.

💡 Consider rewinding or backtracking a bit

I know, I know, it can be unpleasant to undo something that you just spent time and effort creating. And you shouldn’t necessarily delete that work, of course. You can always remove it from your draft and save it in a separate document. But if you’ve written in a direction that feels like a dead end—or like you’re hopelessly meandering with no hope of reaching the story’s endpoint within the next century—you might need to rewind to an earlier “character choice” and take the scene in a different direction.

So, I suppose the next question is “How do you know when the solution is to backtrack, versus when you just need to spend more time brainstorming for the story?”

I guess there isn’t a way to know for sure, but you could try asking yourself whether the scene you’re writing—with its current direction—is “accomplishing” your goal for that scene/story.

For example, maybe the scene I’m writing is meant to show how Kaveh and Alhaitham’s relationship is improving, and then Kaveh says something that leads to a huge argument and a tense mood. On its own, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Maybe I’ll decide that Kaveh and Alhaitham resolving the argument is a more effective way to demonstrate their relationship development—or maybe I’ll decide that the scene is actually more interesting if it shows that the two of them are still struggling to keep things civil, and that their relationship “improvement” consists of taking two steps forward and one step back.

But I also might decide that, no, that’s not what I was trying to accomplish by writing this scene, and I’m not interested in exploring a different direction. In that case, I can backtrack to the beginning of the argument and try having Kaveh and Alhaitham make different choices. (E.g., I could still write the dialogue that starts the argument, but then Kaveh and Alhaitham’s initial responses are different this time—or I might rewind the scene even further, and have Kaveh choose to say something besides the thing that started the argument.) From there, hopefully the scene will start going in the direction I want, and I won’t feel stuck or lost while writing it.

**Note: I usually realize problems like this during the outlining/planning stage—so, that’s definitely one way you can use outlining to your advantage. It’s much easier to “backtrack” in notes or an outline than it is to rewind a scene you’ve already partially written.

💡 Take a short break from that project

I realize that this is Ye Olde Advice For Writer’s Block, lol—but like I said, sometimes the problem isn’t that the story is going in the wrong direction. You might just need to give yourself time to figure out a certain part of the story, or maybe you’re starting to get burned out and need to let your brain rest for a bit. It never hurts to take a few days off and see if waiting fixes the issue!

___ ___ ___ ___ ___

So, overall: Getting stuck during the writing process is common, but it’s the type of problem that could be caused by any number of things, so it needs to be tackled on a case-by-case basis.

I guess the good news (?) is that you can absolutely continue to write what you feel like; that’s a completely feasible way to approach a story, and it won’t inherently cause you to get stuck. That said, since you do feel like you’re ending up stumped sometimes, you’ll need to identify which elements of the story are impeding you, and then you’ll need to figure out what kind of planning (or rewriting) most effectively helps you orient your writing and get things moving again.

Anyway, ah, hopefully something in that very long answer was helpful or illuminating 🫡

✨ Bonus ✨

For anyone who for some reason wants to slog through the Chapter 6 notes I used, and see a horrifying glimpse into my attempts to type out a scene as it rapidly plays out in my brain—the gist of the original note I made to myself was something like this:

And here’s the nightmare that spewed forth from my fingers:

Yeah, so, uh…like I said at the beginning of this post, my personal methods of outlining/planning are definitely not the same as my recommendations for outlining/planning 😂

[ivyial]

Reading one of your answers, I noticed that you wrote “Leon has a crush” and while I was playing the game, I also had such thoughts because a man cannot behave like that if he does not feel something. Can you please explain how you were convinced of this?

hi there!! i'm so very late to this ask i'm sorry :,)

so i'm gonna try and retrace the steps of how i realised that (from a year or so ago lolol). one thing you have to know about me before we begin is that i cannot recognise flirting for SHIT LMAOAOAO like genuinely. it is BAD. i am seriously socially impaired in that department.

when i played re4r last year, i had not played the og re4 (i still haven't, as a matter of fact). so i went into it relatively blind, with no opinion about leon/ashley (it did not seem like a big enough ship that people were ever giving their opinions on it, apart from the 'overtime' part in the og). i knew a bit about ashley, and how annoying a big chunk of the fandom found her in the og, and that was about it.

ashley flirting with leon in the game was somewhat obvious. the "i think you'd look pretty dashing" line was a big giveaway, although other than that, she doesn't actually make any big move on leon (sure, she offers him to become part of her security detail at the end, but yeah).

HOWEVER.

the dining hall scene happened - leon telling ashley "i'm not used to having such good company"???? that definitely made go 💡!!!

also, if you go back to chapter 9, after ashley's playable section, she finds leon again in the cage, and he says to her "can you make it down? i can catch you". i didn't find his words odd, but i found his tone extremely specific. if you go back and listen, it doesn't exactly sound like a matter-of-fact offer. it sounds like an incentive, but i wasn't so sure whether it was more for ashley's benefit or his own. he just sounds so bashful saying it and he's smiling. maybe that's just me, but i definitely found his tone suggestive in that scene. at the time i just shrugged it off as me misunderstanding tone (as it happens sometimes).

i originally was not predisposed to seeing them as a couple, since i'd never really seen the possibility of it being evoked in the modern RE fandom. i was more of a cleon girlie at the time too (i still am, but not as much nowadays). so i finished the game for the first time thinking "aw, leon and ashley had such a great dynamic, he's very supportive of her and kind, they're a great (platonic) fit". but then, you know, there was still the flirting initiated by ashley, the flirting (?) initiated by leon, and that unusual tone that he had in chapter 9.

so i didn't really see the bigger picture until i read the leshley/eagleone posts written by @sapphire-weapon (if you haven't checked her blog out yet, you have to, not just for her leon/ashley posts, but even for her general meta analyses which are absolutely brilliant). and then, i started putting it together, noticing the instances of leon flirting with ashley, some of which i'd missed, the structure of the story, etc.

and from there, well. you realise how well leon and ashley work together, even in a platonic setting, and you add their occasional flirting, as well as the DINING HALL SCENE??? which to me is a massive giveaway and is one of the things that convinced me the most apart from their literal interactions. room with red wallpaper, a statue of two snakes that could either be fighting or, well, fucking lmao (i also don't need to explain the phallic symbol there), the queen/king paintings, and the fact that this is one of the few rooms in this game where they are not interrupted by any enemies. it's a very private setting + "well, yeah, but i'm not used to having such good company".

leon's crush is also demonstrated through the way ashley pulls out a softer side of him.

you can see in chapter 13 (when he calls out for her from the other side of the cell - if you listen closely, it sounds like nick apostolides is reverting back to re2 leon's voice for that line).

there is also quite a bit of (sometimes unnecessary) physical contact between the two, which is almost always initiated by leon (it might even always be him). see: the way he holds on to her just a bit too long after catching her when she jumps out of the church window + the way they look at each other (chapter 5), right after escaping the ganados and joining luis in the villa (chapter 5), comforting ashley in the castle (chapter 9), and most importantly, checking on her after opening the cell and letting his fingers trail along her arms etc. (chapter 13) and (not physical contact but intended) the way he manages to break saddler's hold to reach for ashley when saddler touches her head on the altar (chapter 15). and i mean, he carries her bridal style multiple times (either catches her when she jumps or carries her like that on the way to the lab) (that in itself is also for the sake of practicality, but it adds to it).

taken separately, these events would probably not mean anything, but when you look at it all together, you realise that leon's feelings for ashley run deeper than just professionalism. i don't think he has to act like that - or at least, not if capcom just wanted them to be PURELY PLATONIC PURELY SIBLING CODED as one part of the fandom shouts all day long

this is a very long answer but yeah!! i hope this answers your question. btw, feel free to send me more leon/ashley asks!! i'd love to answer them :3

[silenzahra]

Heyy Zahra!!

As always I am a bit late but I would love to participate in the ask game. So:

💌 💖💔🍓🎀🧠🌺🩰🌞⭐️💡🍀📗🧶💎💧💣🎬🧛‍♀️

In reference to this ask game ✨

Hey, Stripet!! Thank you so much for sending an ask for this game, and you're absolutely NOT late!! 🥰🥰 In any case I'm late responding and I'm so sorry about that 😅🫂

But awww let me see!! 🤭💖

💌 love your answers to other people's asks about your stories 💖 adore literally everything you write 💔 your angst scenes ruins me every time 🍓 your fluff scenes always make me feel pleasantly blissful 🎀 you describe tender, soft intimacy wonderfully 🧠 love how your brain works and how you solve plots 🌺 you make me root for your heroes every time 🩰 have been waiting for a writer like you all my life 🌞 reading your works cheers me up and makes me feel better ⭐️ everything you write draws me in immediately 💡 your ideas are always fresh and surprising 🍀 you can describe emotions and feelings perfectly 📗 when I read your story I feel like I'm reading a book 🧶 your dialogues are as if real people were talking to each other 💎 you perfectly portray the mind and thoughts of your character 💧 there were times when I cried reading your stories 💣 you can build tension in your stories incredibly well 🎬 love to imagine your stories as if I was watching a movie 🧛‍♀️ crave your new stories like a vampire craves blood

Oh my friend, the way I wish I could hug you right now!!!!! I'm SO touched and moved and melted inside, I swear 🥹🥹🥹 You seriously flatter me!!! OMG your ask made me SO HAPPY 😭😭🫂🫂💖💖

First of all, I'm so glad that you like the way I respond to people's feedback!! I love taking it as a chance to interact a bit with my readers, sharing a bit about the writing process, and of course, learning as much as possible in order to improve!! I really appreciate you taking the time to read them, my friend, it's just so sweet 🥹🫂💖

The next emojis truly make my heart melt even MORE OMG, you literally enjoy everything I write no matter what it is!!! Angst, fluff, intimate scenes... Oh, dear friend, I am SO MOVED to know that you love and enjoy it all 🥹🥹🥹 It really means everything to me!! 🫂🫂💖💖

Aw you including the brain emoji made me smile so wide 🤭 I'm so glad that you like the way I solve plots!! And also that I can make you root for our heroes 😄😄 That truly makes me so so happy!!! It means so much to me as a writer 🥹🥹🫂🫂

As for the next emoji... I can only CRY 🥹🥹🥹

You... you've seriously been waiting for a writer like me all your life?? 🥺🥺🥺 That's... wow. I don't even know how to respond as it's, just... such HIGH praise. I'm deeply and incredibly moved right now, dear friend. Thank you SO MUCH and please excuse me if I cry a little bit more 😭😭🫂🫂💖💖

Awww knowing that what I write cheers you up and immediately draws you in made me smile again 🥹🥹🥹 I couldn't be happier that my stories have this effect on you!!! And also that you find my ideas fresh and surprising 😄💖 You're so sweet!!!

I'm so thrilled and elated that you like the way I describe the characters' emotions and thoughts!! Aww I've been told this a few times already and I swear it makes my heart swell every time 🥹🥹🥹 Working on the emotions and thoughts is one of my most favorite parts of writing, and also one that I consider extremely important, so I'm seriously over the moon to know that you like the way I do it, my friend!!! Thank you so so much 🥹🥹🫂🫂💖💖

AAAAAAADCFNSEOJGEIAOIDHNOS oh my God, you used the book emoji too!!!!! 🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩 AJSNBGEWUAIOKDLRF I swear I'm screaming and kicking my feet right now, as a bookworm this means the ENTIRE WORLD to me!!!!! THANK YOU, dear Stripet, oh my. You truly made me the HAPPIEST woman on earth right now 🥹🥹🥹💖💖💖

And you continue doing so, as I'm elated that you think my dialogues feel so real!!! That's also something that I seriously LOVE writing, one of my favorite parts as I clearly see the characters chatting in my head, and I try my best when writing their conversations so that they'll sound as natural and fluid as possible. So I'm THRILLED that you think that I succeed, my beloved friend!!!! Awwww I swear my heart is singing right now 😄😄💖💖

But... oh my, my stories made you cry??? 🥺🥺🥺 Awww Stripet... This also means EVERYTHING as a writer, I swear. Knowing that my words can move you so much as to make you cry...Oh wow. I feel extremely moved right now 🥺🥺🥺 And also a bit speechless, this is... wow. Thank you so so so SO much, my friend 🫂🫂🫂

Building up the tension is just another one of my most favorite parts of writing, and I myself can feel extremely excited and tense while working on it, hehe 🤭 I'm so glad and honored that you enjoy the way I do it!!! And again I'm thrilled that you imagine my stories as movies 🤩🤩🤩 Oh wow, I swear I could scream again!!! I always try to describe everything as best as possible so that the readers can see in their heads exactly what I see when writing. I am, again, over the moon to know that I succeed, my friend!!!!! 💖💖💖

Last but not least, it also makes me very happy knowing that you crave new content from me!!! Your support has always been SO important to me, my dear Stripet, so the fact that you still want to consume my stories means the entire world to me and makes me feel even warmer inside 🥹🥹🥹 I sincerely hope that, whenever you're ready to read fanfics again, you'll enjoy the ones that I have in store!!! 💖💖💖

Thank you soooooooooooooooooo much for your ask!!! Learning what you think of my stories and what they mean to you has deeply and truly moved me 🥹🥹🥹 I'm just elated, and honored, and so SO grateful and blessed to have you not only as one of my sweetest, most supportive readers, but also as one of my closest, most beloved friends 💖💖💖💖💖

[symbiotic-slime]

that's a lot, but still: for the fanfic ask game: ❤, 💥, ⏰️ , 👓 , 🦋 , 🦈, 💭, 🧪, 🔥, 💘,💡, 🔎, 🎨 .

SORRY, THAT'S A LOT!!! 😭

hi I’m so so sorry it took me a bit to get around to this 😭 also never apologize for sending too many, I am professional yapper and will take every opportunity to talk about my fics :D

❤️ What is your favorite line that you’ve written in a fic?

oooo this is tough! I have to go with this line from the fic I’m working on right now, which kinda goes too hard for a fanfiction that involves a man falling in love with mold

💥 What is one canon thing that you wish you could change?

Eddie Brock being the King in Black. I know there’s a lot of people who think it’s cool and like it, but to me it just feels out of place for him. like he should just be A Guy™️, not like the commander of all symbiotes and able to move through time or whatever the hell is going on right now in the current run.

⏰️ Do you like to post fics on a schedule or at random?

they’re definitely at random! it’s just whenever I get bursts of inspiration, I’m trying to be more regular (especially with VenomFest— I’m trying to keep up with it being weekly) but yeah, there’s no schedule 😅

👓 What helps you focus when you write?

this is gonna make me sound like an iPad baby but I love having videos I’ve already seen on in the background while I write! if Coffeezilla isn’t explaining a scam on my tv while I write on my phone/laptop than I am operating at like 50% efficiency 💀 It’s so bad 😭

🦋 Which character is your favorite to write?

I absolutely love writing the Venom Symbiote!! they’re such a goober it makes them so enjoyable to write! also it’s so fun to write about human things from the perspective of a guy who’s confused by them all the time.

🦈 Which character is the toughest to write?

Don’t know if he’s actually tough to write but part of the reason I haven’t written any symbiOT3 fics is because I’m scared of fucking up Flash 😭 I get like that with new characters, I get so petrified of writing them even though I find when i actually do write them it’s not as bad as I think. like it took me a while to build up to writing comics!Eddie, even though he’s not that hard to write (imo) and very fun to write!

💭 What inspires you and your writing?

LGBT delusions /j

my genuine answer is honestly not far off from that though— Venom and Eddie just exist in my brain all the time and writing about them helps me from just rotating them in my brain all day.

🧪 Do you research for your fics?

a bit? it depends on what I’m writing because most of it isn’t stuff that requires research, but if I ever get around to my Malevolent/Venom crossover I’m going to have to figure out how investigations actually work.

🔥 Have you included any sexy scenes in your fics? If yes, do you find them easy or difficult to write?

I have written them and I find them lowkey difficult to write 😭 I love writing them— all the ones I have published right now are x reader fics but the TMA au does get weirdly horny. listen okay im not crazy the corruption draws on sexual horror so it’s narratively compelling for Eddie to be horny for mold— [I am dragged out of the room by armed security guards]

💘 Is it easier to write angst or fluff?

fluff!! I find it hard to write angst— I just want all of them to be happy and gay and live happily ever after

💡How many WIPs do you currently have?

Currently I have two WIPs! I’ve got my Magnus archives AU, which has three WIP chapters, and I started writing a Eddie/Venom/Reader smut fic >:3

🔎 Does anyone beta read or edit your fics?

some of my irl friends beta read and edit my fics!! @fist-of-vengeance and @cyborg-empress are what keeps me from publishing fics with typos and just overall issues, I cannot thank them enough!!

📚 Is there a fanfic or fanfic writer you recommend?

OUGH there’s too many,,, I’ll try to narrow it down to just three of my favourites:

good old fashioned symbrock smut from Symby’s perspective:

symbiOT3 fic where Flash and Eddie are neighbours! it’s so adorable, I cannot wait for the next chapter:

and a fic where Venom is the monster under kid!Eddie’s bed! kinda heavy (it deals with Eddie being abused), but it’s so heartwarming to see kid!Eddie and Venom becoming friends and Venom protecting Eddie:

[gta5blog]

Hi there! Sorry if I'm late but I have some GTA V asks, just in case you'd like to answer some ꒰⁠⑅⁠ᵕ⁠༚⁠ᵕ⁠꒱⁠˖⁠♡

💡🧠❤️🐶

Hello! and no it's quite alright, Sorry for the late response, just been busy lately but I have time now so I'll be more than happy to answer your questions. ❤️

💡What is an easter egg in the game that I find funny or interesting...

The Bigfoot one. I just find it funny how there's a grown man in a suit dressing and running around as the Bigfoot and when he talks to Franklin it's just so funny. Even more funny when it's revealed he's not the real Bigfoot, the real Bigfoot is actually in the woods during the predator mission. I sniped him by accident thinking he was a O'neill brother, only to realise afterwards. But yes the bigfoot easter egg is the one I find funniest.

🧠 What is something I wish the game had more of or had done differently?

Hmmmm hard to say as GTA 5 is such a great game I find it hard to find a flaw in it, but if I had to think of something I would say more map markers, especially when it came to the Strangers and Freaks missions such as the UFO pieces, the bounty hits, Leonora's letters and Abigail's dead husband. So many of the Strangers and Freaks missions didn't have the map markers of the clues marking where they were. I know some people don't mind this and like a challenge, but this really bothered me.

When I play a game, I want to have fun as a form of down time and relaxation, I don't want to get frustrated or stressed having to find the location myself when the game could of marked it out for me like they do in so many other open world games. Even looking at the game guide it is still tricky to find the actual location in the map. That's the only thing they could of done differently was that one in my opinon. Other than that it's a perfect game.

❤️ What is your favourite GTA V ship?

Call me a Crack shipper for this one but it's got to be Tracey and Franklin. I know not many people ship F and Tracey here but outside Tumblr I've seen quite a few fans who have in the world of fanfiction and even fan made edits and videos on Youtube. I don't know something about the idea of Tracey and Franklin dating just appeals to me.

I don't mind other ships though. I'm very chill when it comes to other ships. I'm a Ship and Let Ship person so long as it doesn't involve pedophilia or blood related family members I'm not really going to say anything. You do what you want as long as it makes you happy. My other close favourites in the fandom would be Framar (Franklin/Lamar) and Trikey.

🐶 Do I ever play with Chop when playing as Franklin?

Of course! I love Chop, I always have done. I take him out in the car with me whenever I go out around Los Santos and Sandy Shores, I love him. He's even protected me in game when several construction men started on me around Route 68 (Where the dinosaur diner is). I didn't even need to get my gun out because Chop had already handled them for me (He bit them for me). I also take him on walks with me sometimes and played fetch with him too. So yes I do play with Chop while using Franklin.

Thank you so much for sending in the ask! I really enjoyed answering these Q's too. Sorry for the long essay, but thanks for sending it in. It's never too late to send in an ask. My ask box is always open. I'm more than happy to answer any questions, particuarly when it's about GTA 5 I'm more than happy to do so!

[sleepingstarandorea]

🦹 Favorite antagonist/villain? (Excluding Eggman since the villain roster is low in the Sonic franchise)

🧡 Favorite Archie character? (Can you do both pre-boot and re-boot?)

💡 Spinoff you’d like to see?

💫 Dream Sonic Show/Story?

✨ Dream Sonic Game?

📚 Pitch for a third storybook game?

👯 Favorite team? (Besides Chaotix, we know it will be the answer.)

📈 Overrated character?

🧍Favorite Human Character?

✍️ Favorite fanfiction?

Yippie!! Ty for participating. Alright let's begin >:3

🦹‍♀️ Favorite Antagonist/Villain? (Excluding Eggman)

Well, excluding Eggman, which I agreed the villains in Sonic are not that many. That being said; I would say Infinite, shocker I know. Ignoring the god awful bad writing, if they giving Infinite more care he would be become Sonic greatest villains. Looking at Infinite deeper and what could've been is so intriguing.

Honor mentions to Mephiles and Dr. Starline.

🧡 Fav Archie Character? (Can you do both pre-boot and re-boot?)

I haven't read any of the Archie comics personal (never will–), however, with the video essays I seen and summary from the Archie's. The characters that gotten my eye interested are: Shard the Mecha Sonic and Gold the Tenrec.

Idk if they're from the pre-boot or re-boot, so I apologize if couldn't answer your specific questions. But overall, they're cool.

💡 Spinoff you'd like to see?

I would LOVE a spinoff, that be game or show, about Silver. Silver has so much potential for storytelling. 😔

💫 Dream Sonic Show/Story?

Same as Silver spinoff I answered, but Blaze story focus would be pretty cool too. I feel like Sol dimensions hasn't been explore, like at all. So having to see Blaze daily life in her dimension be cool to see.

✨ Dream Sonic Game?

My deepest wishes to have a Team Chaotix game 😭🙏🏻 I really liked this post were they explore the idea for a Chaotix game that would be fun too see! Although it says fangame, love to see it official. Only one can dream.

📚 Pitch for a third storybook game?

Hmmm, I genuinely don't know how to answer this one, sorry. Q^Q

👯 Favorite Team? (Beside the Chaotix, we know it would be the answer.)

Me immediately: Heh, Team C– *finished reading the question* .... Dammit >:(

Fineeee, your lucky I have second favorite team. That would be Team Speed (aka Team Sonic.) Third one would be Team SSS✨

📈 Overrated Character?

As much as I like Shadow as the next person, he has become a bit too overrated. Not saying he doesn't deserve the love and appreciate, Shadow amazing character but like– when will Silver gonna have his own year? 🤨

🧍‍♂ Favorite Human Character?

Tom, Maddie and Maria! <3

✍️ Favorite Fanfiction?

Thats a tricky one, I have so many but if I had to pick– it would be 3 fav fanfics I enjoyed a lot! Those being:

★ The Chaotix and the Case of the Wailing Box by Charmanderxerneas

★ Love Letters From My Future by fusiondescent

★ Love Like You by CloudCover_2023

First fanfic is Team Chaotix focus, and the last two are Espilver focus. I highly recommend giving them a read!

That was fun to ask!! I like to do more, come on people keep it going >:3 I love yapping.

Emoji game post

[ducknotinarow]

SF Mikey - Mun talks about the Muse

| Mun talks about the Muse. Send one of the following to ask the mun… (please specify muse for multis)

I wasn't originally planning to do this Mikey next but I figure since between the two of us we have nearly all the SF verse muses done it seemed only fair to do this Mikey next uwu And I guess its a good once to do next since well we know how we be with the SF stuff XD

✍ Favorite thing about writing the muse?

I love that he kind of seems very much like 03 Mikey, minus the surfer lingo. He's very high energy and makes a lot of jokes. I still love that even Donnie takes part in one of the jokes once along with mikey. But mostly they also keep Mikey's empathy in tact as well. Because Mikey is close to Slash in the game and he expresses his worries for him. Mikey also shows this when he has his own talk with Splinter. I just love that this mikey seems to mostly put the humor out front well the rest gets treated as a second part of himself and it just makes for an interesting character to write ya know when the muse is there at least.

👀Favorite thing about the muse’s appearance?

it comes down to the smallest thing again XD which I dont blame a game for not going all out on desing. But I think it's really cute that the mask tails are different but mostly I love that Mikey's make tails have like a ribbion cut to the ends ;3;

🌌Favorite alternate version of the muse? 💕Favorite ship for the muse? 💔Least favorite ship for the muse?

Gonna groupd these three together because they all have the same answer which is a big

N/A

Mikey dont have other versions of himself in the verse nor dose he have any ships for me to really speak of.

💢Something about the muse that annoys you?

The lack of content I have to work with for him, in truth? I use the MMPR comic the most to get a feel of his charater since they come off the same way to me. Even with Mikey getting things Don dosen't he still dosen't have a whole lot going for him. He's friends with slash, plays games and makes jokes XD so i gotta do a lot of the leg work here you see XD

😈Worst thing you’ve ever done to your muse?

Nothing..yet uwu

😂Funniest thing that’s ever happened to your muse?

Von telling Mikey about her tarot cards.

Look Mikey latched on to the cards telling him everything thats going to happen like someone who gose to physic once and forgets they are wearing something that gives away a small detail about them but the physic sees it and uses it so now its like damn this is real :0 Because well Mikey went a tad crazy with the whole thing even going so far as to ask what he should eat for breakfast. And Von im sorry that he just bombards you with anything to ask during a card reading XD

💡 What inspires you to write the muse?

playing the game of course like well everything else though in truth Mikey can be a bit hard to touch even with the game to give me muse to work with.

📷 Favorite picture/screencap of your muse?

it's from the prequel comic of course. Look I know I express how annoying it gets how the fandom will reduce Mikey to a baby but also look at this baby ;3; he so sad he needs hugs please TOT

📑 Favorite part of your muse’s backstory?

Lets touch on something I mentioned before. Mikey's empathy is always something im love from his charater and imma be honest its why I can't stand the rise version he just lacks this trait. Not to change it up though but I feel it's often over looked when it comes to Mikey as a character.

Mikey is a goof ball and I don't think that is something anyone wouldn't agree with. Mikey loves to joke around even in fights he often will joke around and I just know hes the type to be like spider-man and come off as not taking fights serious which of course makes sense so many like to compar the twi.

But, under that? is a very caring charater. It shows very well with Slash who like in the IDW comics it seems, is Mikey's best friend. It one of the few times Mikey shows worry. The other beign about Splinter of course, he dose mention a line about Leo I just can't recall it word for word. Also in the comic he dose when it comes to Leo and Raph's fight not so much the fight it self but more how Leo left because of it. I play into it most when I write Mikey

It's almost as if Mikey tries to hide it though maybe because it gives away his own worries and he tries not to let that show Mikey may be the baby of the family and often the one the others look out for but Mikey himself is doing the very same thing for his own brothers.

📝 Favorite headcanon for your muse?

the pizza tax, when mikeys the one todo the pizza run he always takes a slice for himself first his payment for making the run after all.

Mikey can cook but sometimes acts like he cn't to get out of doing it. I feel like Splinter handles cooking the most. And Mikey learned how to cook from his Dad. Around his brothers he acts like he can't just so he isn't always stuck doing ti so he can play more video games

Mikey runs a vintage video game platfourm on his socials. Mostly because old games is like all he can get his hands on. But seeing the whole fandom around that stuff? I feel makes it perfect for Mikey and he just comes off as this guy with a vast know how on these old games.

Mikey uses actual photos of himself for his icons, people just think it's like a costume like Marshmellow or Deadmouse.

Speaking of those I feel like Mikey's a big time fan of music like this and artis who do the whole mask head thing.

Mikey's been following Von's account before she started online fights with Donnie.

😒 Is there anything canon about your muse that you ignore?

Not that I can think of?

🔮 What do you see in your muse’s future?

I like to think Mikey will just become a streamer XD people already think hes in a costume? And hes got the following. I like the Idea of him having Von take part somehow even. Like maybe he'll play games and have her watch and commentate with him. Like I love the idea of him play Until Dawn and The Quarry I dunno they have vibes I think Von could maybe get into? and I can see Mikey asking for her tought cause of the totems and such in both these games XD

🔥 Unpopular opinion about your muse?

I don't think I have any?

💭 Favorite memory of the muse?

hmmm I guess it be the first time he met Von, which was of course the same day after her and Don hooked up. Raph the one who met her first of course but Mikey also got to meet her and of course they just made it worse for poo Donnie XD it's just funny when Donnie gotta deal with the two brothers you never want teaming against you do towards Donatello XD and the fact Von ends up very close with both of them? Rip donnie uwu

😩 Hardest thing about writing the muse?

I love this Mikey I know he doesn't stand out much he dosen't even have like much going on outside the game play even always seen just playing games. Where Leo's got the leader reasonability on him, Raph's got the challenging Leo stuff Don is like Mikey but even he got like something going on with Metal head upgrades or even his interest in the portals.

⌨ What’s a situation you’ve always wanted to RP with the muse?

hmmmmm I have no ideas XD Maybe the thing I mentioned in his future toss in the fact Raph is not a fan od slaher flims so mikey loving games like that? XXD I can just see him playing untill Dawn and Raphs all spooked acting like he aint and Von comes in and dunno maybe she can mention something on that stuff and just sparks this whole bonding experience uwu

🎭 How similar are you and the muse?

XD I legit can not think of a single thing I share in common with any Mikey outside the fact I also like Pizza and i dunno maybe the joking nature I have cause I enjoy teasing? But I tend to be more like Raph in that area because of HOW i tease XD

[eurasianskylark]

What Happened After I Tried to Start Speaking English 24/7 with My Bestie 🚀

Started on: Sunday, Sep 15, 2024

💡 As a backstory:

In order to increase our speaking skills, I made a big deal with Kak Irfan: trying to speak English with each other—which we made a similar deal months ago but failed—and now without any punishment.

I am always that person who likes to talk to themselves with a whispering voice when no one is around. Actually, I've been forcing myself to think and to speak to myself in English since I was in 8th grade. And my goal that time was just to get used to speaking English, so I didn't really make sure if I spoke in correct English or not. I can say that I am getting used to speaking English (once again, to myself), since I found myself speaking it automatically, but it's still not that easy when it comes to speaking it with other people (including Kak Irfan as my 24/7 bestie!!). I know it's my confidence that I'm lacking. As a person who didn't get adequate English exposure at home and at school, I am beyond happy and super grateful that Allah, The All-Provider, gave me this precious chance and a partner to improve both my skills and my confidence.

Okay, so here are some things I got or happened....

🌱 IN WEEK 1:

🗣️ I gained more confidence and spoke English with better pronunciation ‼️

🐥 I could talk in longer sentences and started to look more new words up

🪴 I accidentally spoke English to others ➡️ which was kind of a proof that I was getting more exposure

EXPLANATION:

🗣️ I am happily announcing that I gained more confidence on my first three days of this habit-building!! Alhamdulillah 🤎

Back then:

"This is not what I am looking for." ➡️ with that clear "R" sound in "for", the way Indonesians speak "R" letter.

Now:

"This is not what I am looking for." ➡️ trying to make it sound better and more correct since the goal now is to improve my speaking skills.

🐥 Back then, I tried to avoid using Indonesian words that I didn't know how to say in English by trying to make my sentences more straightforward. I didn't want to look that unfamiliar words up. With Allah's assistance and taufeeq, I am now motivated to learn more, which causes me to speak in larger words and longer sentences, and to look more new words up.

🪴 I accidentally spoke English to random people or people that were around me at home.

One of them: I hit someone unintentionally when I was entering a room. What I wanted to say was, "Maaf, mba." However, the words that I came up with were: "I'm sorry!" with the right pronunciation.

I am not really sure about this tho, but I somehow saw this moment as evidence that I was getting more English exposure and I was becoming more familiar with the environment that I have been building with Kak Irfan. Similar to what happened to me when I was a college student, when I spoke some Arabic words unconsciously at home because I read Arabic books, listened to Arabic lectures, and gave presentations in Arabic during that period.

--

To be honest, I wondered, what makes these two agreements between me and Kak Irfan different? What caused me to fail before, and what makes me stronger now?

I think I know the answer.

By Allah's assistance, taufeeq, and mercy,

I think it is this realization inside me.

I do realize that I need this habit, I need to talk, I need to learn, I need to practice, or to simplify: I NEED THIS.

That kind of realization is something I didn't have in our first trial.

And to wrap up this long story...

🍎 A funny (at least to me) moment happened this week:

We were eating in a cafeteria when I saw Kak Irfan abruptly stand up and grab his backpack. He appeared to be looking for something on the carpet (we sat in a lesehan way).

"What are you looking for?" I asked him.

He remained silent, searching for something I wasn't aware of. I kept enjoying my food.

All of a sudden, he stared at me, I could tell he was a lil bit shocked, and began pointing his finger at my head and screamed,

"There's a cockroach!!" (Yes, he screamed in English 🥲 the real implementation of "sticking to the rules")

That really freaked me out (I hate cockroach so much!!) and nearly threw the mug I was holding away, but at that specific moment I realized that if the mug broke, I would have to pay for it 🙃 so I spilt all of the leftover iced tea instead with a shaking hand 😌 And the cockroach? It flew away immediately after my sudden movements.

I was soooooo grateful that it didn't land on my food, or on my forehead, or even on my nose!! 😭

The aftermath: I got goosebumps for around 1–2 hours afterwards 🫠

Okay, we knew that actually cockroaches could be anywhere, but...

we don't want to eat there ANYMORE 🙂

May Allah make this beneficial especially to me and to others who read.. and happy learning! 🔥

[shiraishi-kanade]

💡

Sorry I took a while to answer that! Been a bit busy.

💡- What’s a idea you’ve enjoyed but never/couldn’t write?

So many! That's actually the reason I have so many unfinished WIPs: I try writing something, I hit the roadblock and realize I just can't do it.

Most prominently:

- Just about any idea involving Emu. I love her and she's a beautiful character but writing her is incredibly hard to me and I really struggle to get a good grasp of her inner thought process and speech, so I always worry about going out of character with her, and if there's one character I wouldn't be okay with doing that to, it's Emu. She's been through enough.

I'm always striving to improve though, so maybe one day!

- Anything long-form. I tend to write in short bursts of inspiration, so long fanfics are... Very hard to me. This is why some of my AUs, like Kamikou!Saki and my second unit shuffle are kind of on hold until I figure out how to do stuff consistently and plan ahead.

- Very specifically, "The Light Amidst a Snowstorm", is one unfinished work that keeps haunting me. My relationship with this and the entire series is complicated, but that's something I really want to get done - at the time writing that, however, I realised I wasn't really... Grasping what I wanted to convey, I think. I'm still unsure of it, but nothing I ever wrote for chapter 2 and 3 felt right, always lacking something... I do want to get back to it once I'm done with my current projects and feel confident enough to.

Thanks for the ask!

[hellowyn-llewellyn]

🎮❣️💖💙🧡💛📺🏝️💥🎸🎤🎧🦊🏎️👾🙈💡🍡✨💫📚🕹️🦔💎👯‍♀️🤖🦹📈📉🍈👽🧍😈😘😊🎙️🧸🎨✍️🌈📆🤩🤔😳🫡

You know what to do

(For sonic ask game)

ZAK I CANT BELIEVE UR DOING THIS TO ME /lh

Okay for this one I’m going to keep my answers short and exclude any ones that I already answered separately. They’ll be under the cut since this is gonna get long

1- First Game? Sonic Forces

2- Favorite Game? Sonic Adventure 2 or Sonic ‘06

3- Favorite character? Rouge the Bat !

4- Favorite IDW character? I’m sorry, but. Dr Starline

5- Favorite Archie Character? Mina Mongoose !!

6- Favorite Sonic the Comic character? I have not read it 😔

7- Favorite show? Tie between Sonic Satam and Sonic Boom

8- Favorite stage/level? City Escape from Sonic Adventure 2 !

9- Favorite Boss Fight? The train from tmosth because I suck and it was the easiest one for me so far

10- Favorite stage theme? Pumpkin Hill

11- Favorite spin-off Game? I’d say The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog. I really liked the sonic cast in a visual novel :D

12- Favorite Racing Game? Team Sonic Racing

13- Favorite Handheld title? I can’t really answer this one. Sowwy

14- Least Favorite Game? Again I can’t really think of one. Sowwy

15- Spin-off I’d like to see? Sonic underground based rhythm game

16- Classic Adventure or boost gameplay? I’m going to be real honest I’m not entirely sure what this means

17- Dream Sonic Game? I’d be happy to see more visual novels or Team Dark get their own game.

18- Dream sonic show/story? Sonic Saran season three would be epic

19- Pitch for a third storybook game? My mind is drawing blanks rn but I’ll definitely get back to this later

20- Favorite non-sonic Sega franchise? Hatsune Miku

21- Favorite version of Sonic? Jaleel Whites sonic has a special place in my heart

22- Favorite transformation? Super sonic

23- Favorite team? Team Dark !!

24- Favorite Robot? Does the Tails Doll count??

25- Favorite Villain? Look Snively is just a poor little meow meow loser and for that he’s my favorite

26- Overrated Character? Look I’m sorry but I have to go with Tangle or Surge. Nothing wrong with them, they’re both very cool. I just think sometimes they can be a lil overhyped

27- Favorite Chao? Dark Chao

28- Favorite wisp? The violet void one

29- Favorite human character? Helen from sonic x or Princess Elise

30- Favorite rivalry? Sonic and Eggman. It’s a classic

31- Favorite ship? I don’t really ship anymore but Bunnie and Antoine will always be special to me

32- Favorite Sonic Voice actor? Jaleel White and Roger Craig Smith

33- Favorite piece of merch? Heads and Tubes ofc !

34- Favorite sonic artist? I couldn’t possibly pick one! Especially when so many of my friends are wonderful sonic artists :]

35- How long have you been into sonic? I remember watching a bit of Sonic Boom when I was 7 but I didn’t really get into sonic until I was around 11 so four years ? Almost five ?

36- Favorite Sonic related memory? Either Sonic Symphony back in 2021 or Taking Heads and Tubes on different adventures

37- Hottest sonic take? Sonic underground’s worst episode is better than Sonic Primes best (no hate to prime I just don’t think there’s a lot a fun character interaction in it)

38- Coldest sonic take? Hating on modern 3d games for no reason does not make you look cool. In fact it does the exact opposite

[everythingisblue-if]

Idea 💡

For the angst what if mc decided to leave but for so reason leaving went wrong and mc is stuck again.

Then Mc and Ro have the angst of MC choosing to leave 👀

So, first of all, this would suck for the RO. For the MC, their personality will be a factor in not telling the RO that they were trying to leave in the first place. But when leaving fails, they will have no where else to go except for their "temporary" home. The RO would be disappointed and angry, especially with Lane and Henery. This decision would just weigh heavy on them. And while they sympathize that MC wants to go home, they cannot help but feel mad about their love leaving them.

This will potentially break their relationship and there won't be any return from it. Now because their relationship is ruined, they will try to work harder on finding a way out, because nothing is worse than seeing your ex every day somewhere you don't want to be.

Maybe there's a way to escape, maybe there isn't. (There's definitely a way, but it'll be hard to do).

~

Sorry for not answering asks for a little bit, I was too tired to contemplate specific answers for people. But I'm back now and still enjoying it!

[kits-ships]

UGH I JUST WANNA SAY UR FANKIDS ARE THE MOST PRECIOUS ANGELS!!!! hope ur well and have a nice day, u can also totally use this ask to answer any questions u havent for that one ask game

- @bloomingbodies

thank you so much!! im so sorry i took so long to get to this hehe &lt;3

ill answer these for kyi and boba's kids - heph and ikka!

💡: if your child is adopted, tell us a bit about how you came across them! how did you and your f/o know they were the one?

heph is kyi and boba's first child and their only foundling! she's a little, twi'lek girl they found on tatooine. she was stealing from vendors and trying to beat up anyone who chased her, so the daimyo had to check it out :/

they were originally going to find another home for her, but din's influence on them urged them to adopt her!! plus it didn't feel right to leave a female twi'lek on her own knowing that they're so sexualized.

🤲: how did your child react when they met you and your f/o's friends? are they shy?

ikka is terrified. he loves his mommy and daddy so he treats everyone else as a hostile. fennec? he screams. din? he screams louder. shiny man is not to be trusted.

heph, though, loves them. she constantly wants to duel din and kicks the shit out of his armor. she's also been trying to get fennec to teach her how to do parkour, but who would teach a nine year old how to parkour???

🪁: does your child enjoy learning about their parents' hobbies, or do they prefer to find their own?

ikka is a little too young for hobbies. his only interests include sitting with boba on the throne and being held by his parents.

heph loves being a mandalorian. when she's out playing with other kids, she'll take "bounties.". some guy took your jerky yesterday? heph will beat him up if you give her some rock candy. someone's bullying you? she can scare him into leaving you alone for a jug of water.

🌈: if applicable, who (from your f/o's source) would you make your child's godparents? who (out of your friends) would you make their godparents?

i know its obvious but din and fennec <3 if they had to be split up, ikka would go with fennec and heph with din. heph might be mad about leaving ikka, though.

[mabeysomeclasspecting]

[💡✒] Oh, those results are quite interesting. Thank you! Might I ask how you developed the results?

Sure you can! The short answer is Vibes. The long answer is harder for me to put in words, so I'm sorry if it doesn't all make sense.

So I'll usually go through all the answers, highlighting parts that I feel are most important regarding your personality and worldview. As I do that I'll write down Aspects that reflect some of those traits. The I'll go through all the highlighted bits again, keeping a particular Aspect in mind each time I do, to see how exactly you interact with that Aspect. That then determines your Class!

Sometimes when jotting down Aspects I'll also put down Classes too, there are some personality traits and ways of thinking that I typically associate with specific Classes.

So that's how I generally do it! If you want me to go more in depth on yours specifically just let me know :)

[simons-temple-of-eros]

(For the ask game)

Composition/lightbulb/dialogue?

🎼composition: if you could write a song about your f/o, how would it sound? Genre? Lyrics? 💡lightbulb: which f/o do you feel the most creative with when making content/coming up with ideas for them? Why? 📝dialogue: which of your f/o’s speech patterns do you like the most/find the most fun to write for?

☾ Hm, genre wise it’d probably be something shoegazey sounding. Think Luminous Orange or pinkshinyultrablast. The lyrics would probably be soft but also with a melancholic undertone of longing for someone far away. (Probably akin to Twin Fantasy (Those Boys) by Car Seat Headrest. (sorry, this answer became ‘simon references music he likes’)

☾ Well, Stanford might be the only F/o I’ve made any content for in the last year or so. Sorry other F/os, I love you all but Fordsie happens to be my main sweetheart. Although that’s less feeling more creative with Ford and more that I’m just the sort of demon who tends to focus on one mate mostly with my affections.

☾ Well, the only F/os I’ve written for in the last year or so is Ford and Lilith a bit. For Ford I really like his way of explaining things, he has sort of an air of academia about the way he speak and usually it’d be annoying but with my owlet it’s more sweet and comforting than anything. It makes it all the more impactful when there’s a moment in writing when he relies less on professor talk and more on emotions or sweet/romantic talk. I also like having him use terms of endearment because Ford’s the type to use more fancyful type of terms like “starlight” and “love” and “dear/my dear”. Ahhh imagining him calling me his dear is making my heart flutter already. As for Lilith, I haven’t written her much but I do enjoy similar things to Ford. Generally Lilith’s speech is pretty serious/proper sounding but she definitely has a soft/sweet side that she’ll show through cute nicknames and the like!

tyty for the ask! many thanks! :D

[suguwu]

hello bee! for your ask game, can i get💡, 🏅, and ☀ please! also i hope you have a stress-free weekend! 🤗😚💞

lily my love i am sorry this is late that is my life story skdlfjsldfj

💡 What’s the weirdest thing you’ve been inspired by?

i am sure there was something weirder at some point but i can't think of it lmao - but anything, everything came from a dream i had about naoya sjdklfsjldfj

🏅 What is the fic you’re most proud of?

answered here!

☀️ Has anyone ever left you a comment that made your day? What did it say?

honestly any comments i receive make my day!! even a keysmash! i hoard them like a lil dragon! but particularly anything about characterization being on point or making someone fall in love with a character even more just...is a lil bit extra 🥰