#and with longfics i mean i do have to say most of them in my head already have plots decades ahead from the starting point

[beastsovrevelation]

I do wish I was more active, with original posts, not just reblogs, but most of what I have to say is about my fics... That aren't upload-ready at all.

[tgd-sideblog]

bpreg outline amnesty

I am tidying up my notes files and clearing out things I have jotted down that are never going to become fics, and this is an idea that I had fun musing on but is definitely never going to get written because I already have one longfic project about Buck getting pregnant and I've got too much other stuff vyying for my time to write something else that's pretty similar to an existing project, but there are some bits of this idea i still adore so i've decided to just toss it into the universe as is.

so if you want to read some incredibly rough notes about bpreg or if you've read my other works and are curious about the way my early stage notes look for fics, voila:

Sperm donor arc redux, Buck wants a baby, Eddie's goes through the stages of "wait but don't ask another guy, I'll do it".

buck is a beta in a take on omegaverse where instead of being bland and neutral beta get a little bit of both, he could get pregnant but it's harder for him to conceive than it would be for an omega/unlikely to conceive with anyone but an alpha

Some injury that needs planned/preventative surgery, (ACL?) Buck will definitely recover but he needs to take it slow, gets into his head that this is the one time in his life he could be pregnant without interfering with his work (talked to someone else who had same surgery and they mentioned combining w mat leave) and he does very much want parenthood it was just never on the cards, starts researching donors etc meanwhile Eddie is like "but you don't know any of these guys, what if they're lying, do you really want to be a single parent, I love my son but it's still hard Buck, I don't know how I'd have managed it without you" (everyone who overhears like 🤔) 

Artificial conception is less likely to take than natural, Buck has to reach a certain hormone threshold before he can try, insurance won't cover it if the odds are too low

Christopher something is going on, Buck explains about his meds to prepare for potential donor conception

"So I'm gonna-"

"You're still always gonna be one of my most important people."

" Yeah no I get that," with an eyeroll but with a tug at his lips that said he appreciated the sentiment nonetheless.  "I'm going to write you a shortlist of names. Mom picked mine, I don't trust you and dad to chose something non-weird."

(he was about to say get a sibling) 

---

"All these doctors appointments, I'm half tempted to find someone who wouldn't cause problems down the line and just do it the old fashioned way"

"I thought you only liked women and omega men, would you really?"

"It's not so much a preference as practically. A lot of alpha guys get funny about betas who are bigger and stronger than them."

Eddie is like really??? do they??? I don't feel like that. sounds fake but ok.

---

Eddie is talking to Chris about the whole situation, mentions something about the possibility of being uncomfortable not knowing the source of half the DNA for Buck's hypothetical baby

"Wait, what?" Christopher's eyes narrowed, looking at him with suspicion. "That doesn't matter. It just means you and the baby will be like Buck and me. Is this because of the whole donor thing? You're not being weird about it are you?" dripping with teenage judgement. "So you guys need some extra DNA to help you out, whatever. I know some people have stupid ideas about that stuff, but Casey's moms used a donor, you don't judge them for it."

(Chris fully thinks this is going to be Buck and Eddie's baby and they're using a donor because of the practicalities of conception).

---

Christopher has sent him Zillow links. 

"I looked up other sales in our neighborhood and worked out what our house is probably worth. They're all easily drivable for school and the station. Some of them are a bit expensive, but if Buck isn't paying rent on his apartment that should make up the difference."

"Why would we be moving?"

"This house isn't big enough for four people. I'm excited for the baby, but I can't share my room. I've got too much stuff that isn't baby proof."

"What?"

"They have to live with us, Buck can't look after the baby by himself."

"Christopher! Of course Buck will be able to look after the baby, he's going to be an amazing father."

"Of course he is. But we're gonna help. That's... That's why mom left. Because looking after me alone was too hard. But it's different now, you won't be gone. But if he's at his apartment and we're here, you won't be able to help him properly. "

Eddie reassures him but realises on reflect that though Christopher has misunderstood he's also right, Eddie doesn't care about the whole donor situation, not really. It doesn't matter who's DNA is mixed in, this will be Buck's baby and thus as much a part of their family as he is, and Eddie wants to be there for them in every way that Buck allows. Christopher might have oversimplified all that had gone into Shannon's departure, but parenthood was hard and Eddie wouldn't stand for Buck struggling alone. 

The one thing he couldn't offer Buck was indifference, disengagement, but this didn't change a thing about that. No matter who contributed to the pregnancy, an official donor or stranger Buck hooked up with or Buck changed his plans entirely and adopted a safe haven baby;  Eddie wants to be right there beside Buck for as much as he's willing to share.

But he will go mad if Buck keeps putting off his knee/ACL op waiting for another man to give him what Eddie could offer.

---

"You want another kid?"

"I want everything with you."

[openphrase123]

so i've got three fics that are in what i call "long outline" stage, where a couple chapters are written and the rest is all/mostly plotted out. when i'm done with curtain call i'll probably wait a month or so and then start posting one of them but i Cannot Decide which one to start with. i want to write all of these at some point but i need a Starting Point. please advise. i have decision fatigue

i elaborate on all the options below so if you need to be Sold on any of these keep scrolling. but also if you want maximum chaos and surprise just vote without expanding >:3

no nuance button no chef's choice button. if the chef had a choice he would have choosened it by now. i'm Indecisive please help

propaganda for all the options under the cut

the 20 years later fic is so messy i can't overstate it. i mean that in a good way. very popcorn drama. siffrin and loop haven't seen each other in 20 years but they need to figure out who in the family is harboring a secret regret that's trapping them in a new loop. everyone's over their problems from canon but i give them all NEW problems like osteoporosis and work-life imbalances. bonnie's the only one who ever went to real therapy in two decades and it Shows

the isabeau timeloop fic is probably the most angst out of the three of these??? but it's not a walking sadfest i know how to balance the vibes. it's not Primarily a romance fic but let's face it gamers. this is an isabeau pov. it's like 40% gay longing and you know this. the other 60% tries to solve the question of "would siffrin still be trapped in the loops if they told literally anyone about them at any time" and with the power of miscommunication and self sabotage. i'm pleased to say that answer is YES

the loop one is very prince-and-the-pauper to me. it's set in 1hat in a playthrough of isat that ended on a low loop number. this is both the healthiest and most toxic way for loop to heal postcanon in my heart. siffrin is not here this is NOT about him. he's fine though. it's just that i categorically don't think loop could heal and move on from the loops if siffrin's right over their shoulder being like "hiii do you want to Talk" no you have to TRAP loop into therapy

if you're reading this and going "all of these sound absolutely insane what are you doing" i'm doing My Best <3 all of them have the same general tone as my other fics so if you're like "i like that idea but that sounds too depressing" FEAR NOT. it's the exact same amount of depressing as curtain call and/or inutile

[fangswbenefits]

ruby i need help writing sexy smut please

Okay! This one might be long, so buckle up:

(also, this is just my personal preference and how I approach smut)

I like to separate smut into two categories: the emotionally charged one and the more technical/physical one.

Ideally, you'd want around 50/50 of each, but that will always depend on what you're trying to achieve.

Example:

- When I write oneshots, I tend to go for the physicality of it as I'm usually exploring tropes/kinks in under 3k words. I will describe what's going on with their bodies and how they explore each other physically and react to thos (possibly) new kink. This is not to say my oneshots are void of emotions from whichever character's POV I choose. I still dive briefly into their emotions as a means to contextualise the scene and set the pace. I'd say it's around 80/20.

- For longfics (such as The Arrangement), it's paramount that I prioritise emotions and feelings while pairing it with the act itself. Since I'm writing from Tav's POV, it's important to show readers how she feels about them being together so intimately again. And I don't mean how she feels about having his fingers inside her, for example, but rather how the entire moment feels. It's about exploring body and mind, if you will. I try to keep it at 50/50, but it depends on the context of the scene itself.

Now, with that out of the way: more is more. Describe everything that feels appropriate. Sure, if you just mean to rush through the scene, there is no need and no one will dislike it for it. But if you want that added layer of emersion (which, to me, is essential) then you should try to describe the act itself.

Case in point:

- He undid your shirt and gazed at the exposed skin.

vs

- His fingers moved to the top button of your shirt, undoing it slowly as his hand travelled down your torso, working on exposing your flushed skin to his prying gaze with each expert tug.

See the difference? Which one do you enjoy the most? The first example can be used. This is not right vs wrong. I am simply showing how more is more when it comes to smut. Again it will always depend on what you're trying to achieve and how comfortable you feel. Some people just want to rush through the smut scenes.

Hope this helps 🩷

[foreststarflaime]

If you were isekaied into final fantasy and Cloud’s body. What would you do?

Into Cloud’s body? Well first of all YESSSS I HAVE ACHIEVED GENDER MWAHAHAHAHAHA

Oh I would go absolutely mad with meta knowledge power. I would fuck with everyone so hard lmfao. I would become a knowledge dispensing cryptid worse than Kunsel. I have always died laughing seeing the faces of people on shows like Arrow and the Flash where they find out huge lore so I would be provoking that stunlocked look at every possible opportunity. Preferably in the most casual offhand way possible to make people do constant double takes bc lmfao. I would be speedrunning the time travel fix it genre and I would refer to it as such to the great befuddlement of all

I suppose the specifics depend on when exactly in the timeline I get dropped. And also there’s the question of do I alone get full control over the body or if Cloud is still rattling around in there too. If so poor him he’s getting the brunt of the loredumping. For the sake of this post/brevity (a cause which alas is already lost) I’ll go with crisis core era bc that’s my favorite

I mean ofc step 1 convince someone to take out Hojo. Probably either Veld or AGS are my best bets there. For Veld: walk up to the nearest security camera, clear my throat, and say “hello turk director Veld. Are you aware of what Hojo has done to your still living daughter Felicia aka Elfe? Because I would double check about that. Also Vincent Valentine is still alive and is off being depressed in a coffin in the basement of Shinra Manor. Ok have a nice day tell Tseng to tell Aerith I said hi” and then walk off like nothing happened. And probably by captured and interrogated by the Turks for that but worth it. Hilarious

For AGS: Genesis can be easily lured into a conversation by bringing up Loveless (which I am genuinely interested in). After an hours long conversation in which I receive answers to all the worldbuilding plotholes square has kept for us I finally throw in an “oh btw tell Sephiroth Hojo has been lying about who his mother is for his whole life. And he can and should dispose of him forthwith bc I can answer most of the questions he would otherwise need Hojo for” and then sprint away lest I lose the battle with myself to drop the “and btw you’re adopted” bomb on him and ruin everything. I must have an emotional support Zack in range to physically restrain them through hugs before we go there

Alternatively: I am Cloud Strife. I apply for leave to go visit home. I walk into the Shinra Manor and go to a certain coffin and kick the lid off. Hello Vincent Valentine ex turk Lucrecia’s ex-bodyguard host of Chaos etc etc. Get off your ass and atone effectively or your—sorry Lucrecia’s—son is fucked. And please go tell him about his mother or I will

I am laughing way to hard at this. Anyways maybe I should do all three of things things simultaneously so that when one group tries to get answers out of me the other group kidnaps me and I am pingponged back and forth between them with no one ever getting more than a sentence out of me. And every time I’m passed off to AGS I go hey guys did you know you aren’t monsters and that your preoccupation with keeping your humanity is actually indicative of its existence? And then they stare at me weird and Zack goes yeah!! :D and then Reno drops out of the ceiling and shock batons Genesis

Anyways this is getting long I will stop myself now lest I continue on and write an entire longfic in one singular post

Finally I will go hey Genesis have you ever heard of this epic called the Iliad. μηνιν αειδε θεα Πηληιαδεο Αχιλλεως

[aithusarosekiller]

HGIHIHIII U SEEM NICE AND ALSO COOL SO HIII :D

DO U HAVE ANY JEGULILY HCS?? I SAW U LIKED THEM IN ANOTHRR POST!!

HI HI HI HI I AM LITERALLY SO SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG TO REPLY I KEPT HAVING IDEAS THEN GETTING DISTRACTED AND AAAAAAAAA I AM HERE NOW!!!

Yes I absolutely doooooo, they are my babies and I will gladly share everything I think about them don't you even worry!

ALSO before anyone wastes time whining that jily is tagged here, there are literally jily hcs in the post and I always tag correctly so if it bothers you so much, go to settings and filter out the jegulily tag and then it's gone x

OKAY

- I love the idea that Regulus used family heirlooms in order to make promise rings for both of them because his ancestors would absolutely hate it and sometimes he feels like he has to prove that part of his past wrong and keep pushing back to remind himself that who he was brainwashed to be is NOT who he is. It it actually Lily who suggests reusing heirlooms to give them a new meaning as an idea and he decides to do it and use them as a way to promise to spend his life with them. He's a romantic, what can I say! (in fact, in the longfic I'm planning, Lily having the black signet ring is a recurring feature with quite a lot of weight!) despite Regulus being the one with the promise rings, it is Lily who proposes (it is ALWAYS Lily no matter who I ship her with) and then because they're all for equality in their relationship it's James who announces the wedding and asks Lily's parents and Sirius/Narcissa for permission to marry them. I just love married jegulily idk

- Regulily watch the most disturbing shows together in the middle of the night to the point where James has to go to bed early to miss them or he can't sleep. Eventually they convince him to stay downstairs and just listen to music in his earphones while laying across their laps but he refuses to watch the screen. During the day he's the biggest, toughest guy imaginable. Nothing can phase him at all. But after midnight? ABSOLUTELY NOT. He almost turns into a completely different person. It is not helped by the folk tales Fleamont told him as a kid to mess with him, not realising just how much they would stick with him in years to come.

- James cooks dinner, Lily makes dessert, Regulus cleans. You just know Lily makes the best apple pie with the lattice top and everything 🙏 James can do pretty much anything well, and Regulus is decent at both but doesn't really enjoy it so he does all the washing up because he likes the way it gives him time to stare into the water and think

- not much to this one but I love them being T4T4T SOOOOO much! They're the transest trio ever. They just are sorry, I know because I am trans so I'm allowed to spread it around wherever I want 🤷‍♂️

- Lily gets really warm and stressed under too much physical contact. If they're all cuddled together she'll be on the outside with Reg's face in her neck and one of James' hands on her waist but most of the time she'll only pick one of them to cuddle up to so she doesn't get overwhelmed. Regulus is always in the middle, he's touch starved to the point where refusing to hug him is like kicking a puppy

- In an au where their all raise Harry together, he's the biggest mummy's boy. There is NO way Lily isn't his favourite parent. It's always 'where's mum?' 'If mummy was here-' 'I miss mummy' she pretends to feel bad for them both but secretly loves it

- James falls asleep ANYWHERE. It's not rare at all to find him curled up on the floor while sorting laundry or snoozing in the passenger seat on a short drive. He's also a very deep sleeper, so they'll just give him a little kiss on the head, take a photo for the growing collection there saving for his 50th birthday, and cover him with a blanket.

- James and Lily go to concerts together. It's one of their favourite types of date. James and Regulus go to the cinema (Lily got them into films and they have never looked back some) and Regulus and Lily adore going to the theatre. They all like going to museums together.

- for their first anniversary, Peter got them a little orange tree that everyone expected Lily to care for the most bc she'd always been really good in jerbologj so they're all surprised when it becomes Regulus' little baby with only the best fertiliser and plant food that he forces James to get whenever he passes through Diagon.

- Every morning Reg and Lily sit and do the sudoku together

- Whenever James spends time out of the country, he'll bring back something nice for each of his friends and partners (it's his love language!) he puts so much thought into into each one that sometimes he'll dedicate an entire day of the trip to finding the perfect gift for each person

[loki-cees-all]

8, 19, and 30 for the writer ask. ♥️

8. if you had to write a sequel to a fic, you’d write one for…

if i *had* to...hmm. well, i have thought about doing a sequel to "Keeping Score", where instead the reader is making Loki count how many orgasms he's had...but so far i've written 0 words for it.

on the other hand, i do already have a whole ass sequel for TLTGYA planned out. which is honestly so insane of me, considering ive only posted 7 chapters of that fic over the course of the last year lmao

so me being forced to write a sequel for TLTGYA might be the only way i get the main fic finished

(i havent abandoned it i swtg im trying to finish ch 8 but it's taking forever because i have a terminal case of "cant shut the fuck up" disease)

19. the most interesting topic you’ve researched for a fic

so i wouldn't say this was interesting - but i once fell down a weeklong rabbit hole of men's fashion trends from the 1970s. specifically regarding the suits that were worn in London at that time.

and it was all because of this guy, basically :

you see that piece of cloth dangling from his pocket? well i nearly went insane trying to figure out what that was. like - INSANE. i couldn't tell what it was...is it a suspender?! is it a built-in belt that's sewn into his pants that he just hasn't fastened properly?! WHAT THE HELL IS IT?!

i was looking at gifs, i was rewatching the scene of the movie, i was looking at screen grabs, i was EDITING screen grabs to adjust the lighting to see his clothes better, I WAS LOOKING UP ARTICLES ABOUT THE COSTUME DESIGNS FOR THIS MOVIE. I GOT THE FUCKING ORIGINAL NOVEL TO SEE IF J.G. BALLARD EVER DESCRIBED THIS PARTICULAR OUTFIT.

I WAS LOSING MY GODDAMN MIND. I COULDNT FIGURE IT OUT, CLEO.

and the whole purpose of this? i wanted to know because i was modeling Loki's look in Ch. 5/6 of AAO off of this outfit worn by dr. robert laing in high-rise. and i wanted to describe the above outfit in detail because like - it's so sexy.

why is it so sexy? doesn't matter. i wanted Loki to have a thing dangling out of his pocket because it's HOT and i dont even care WHY.

anyway, one morning i was just staring at those gifs, lamenting over my inability to figure out what a single piece of cloth shown in a 35 second scene was - you know, like a normal person. and i realized he didn't have his tie around his neck.

i thought that was interesting, so i started looking at other gifs to look at his tie. and i noticed that when the tie was around his neck, there was nothing dangling from his pockets. but when there's something dangling from his pockets, there was no tie around his neck.

and then it finally hit me, like a fucking freight train full of flared bell bottoms and fringe vests and 79 cent gasoline - he fucking shoved the tie into his pocket.

that's it, that's all that was. it wasn't apart of his pants, it wasn't a common fashion trend for London in the 1970s, it wasn't something the costume department invented - he just shoved the middle part of his tie into his pocket, and those are the ends of the tie dangling down his thigh. so. yeah.

idk why it took me so long to put that together, or why i got so hyperfixated on it. but alllllllllllllll of that insanity had to occur just so i could justify having this single line in the fic:

He tucked the dress shirt into his trousers and he retrieved his tie from the floor, slipping its middle into his pocket and leaving the ends to dangle down the length of his thigh. 

now. was all of that worth it? idk, you tell me 🤣

30. share a fic you’re especially proud of

i mean, obviously TLTGYA and AAO are my longfics, and i love them dearly, and someday i WILL finish them - if i can ever figure out how to a) shut the fuck up, and b) not focus on absolutely the wrong details when im writing.

[trekkiehood]

so you said you could be persuaded to talk about your “throughout the great war” series … i am here to persuade you 🫶🏻🫶🏻

It doesn't take a lot to get me to talk about it lol, it's all I think about anymore 😂 😅

I'm so excited about this series!! Putting it under a read more because it got long lol

So currently I'm posting "Numbers With A Death Wish" which is the starting point. Here we have Buck being shot down and it really only covers the month of October. I have some more little one-shots I'd like to write but they're not super plot heavy so I don't know when I'll get to writing them.

My current WIP is my Radio Wip (mid March 1944) followed by Great Escape Fallout (end of March 1944) and then Whipping Post Wip (April 1944). These are all from Bucky's pov and I'm leaning towards this being a long fic. If I do this then the fic would probably run through at least September 1944 but maybe I'd just run it through the end of the war lol idk.

I've written some of Radio and a good bit of Whipping Post so we'll see how quickly we move through this. I'll continue to tease as I write because I crave writing validation lol.

After Whipping Post we start to see the cracks more in both of our majors. Since this one is from Bucky's pov we'll have Bucky withdrawing while Buck is struggling and trying to control the things around him and stay positive for the men.

The next main plot point is when Buck starts acting "weird" and Bucky starts to notice and that's when Gale has a massive breakdown. And Bucky is like ?????? This is around July of 1944 and is immediately followed by a very rough August plagued with deadly illness and psychotic breaks. Now this will be a VERY important plot going forward. Trying not to spoil every single plot I have lol but I don't think it's shocking to say that one of the Buckie's nearly dying of illness will be important going forward 😂

The plot after this is in September 1944 and it will be a turning point in the story. Kind of a "things will never be the same now". But what's FUN is that it's from Bucky's POV but what happens to Buck will be behind closed doors hehe. So at least at the beginning he/we will know that SOMETHING happened and that it has lasting effects, but exactly what will be unknown. After that it's just more of Bucky watching Buck lose it. I have specific things but they are less plot heavy and more episodic. I may still keep it in one long fic but idk lol.

I also plan for some Buck POV one-shots/short stories interspersed and linking with this longfic. It will include things like what started the July spiral and what exactly happened to him in September (technically the September one will be from my OC Wesley Davidson's pov and is the reason for his existence lol). I would also like to play with Buck's German and Jewish heritage. I might let him confide in Solomon things he hasn't even told Bucky about but idk yet. I need to study Judaism more and solidify how much Buck keeps from Bucky. But regardless, even as I'm writing the longfic from Bucky's pov, we will be getting little tie in snippets with what's going on with Gale too!

The biggest unknown in this series is the forced march. I don't know what I want to do. Right now most of this series comes from a place of "canon enough no one can prove it didn't happen in the show" so I'm not sure how I want to end it. Because on one hand, so much angst potential just keeping it mostly canon with Buck escaping without Bucky. But also... idk that I want to separate them lol. And idk if that means they both stay or go. Essentially, the ending I have no real vision for. But that's a good long way away.

We have at least nine arcs I have planned for this long fic I will hopefully come up with a great name for lol. So assuming I do it this way (which the poll is also leaning towards) And then at the very least three-four Buck pov fics. So pray the hyperfixation lasts long enough to get through it lol.

Even though the "main" fic is from Bucky's pov this series is about Buck and his lack of mental stability and trauma in the stalag. It's just more fun to hurt him with Bucky watching hehe

If you have any specific questions I would LOVE to answer them!! Here is a general outline I posted awhile back if you want to ask about a specific plot. This is the ramble I have for now but I will probably ramble again lol. Appreciate all of the support and if there is anything specific you would like to see please let me know and I'll see if I can work them in!!

[corviiids]

I really liked your analysis on the “core” of both Joker and Akechi. I agree that neither the detective prince or the black mask “is” Akechi at his core; but rather, he’s fractured. My question to you is, do you think we ever see the “true” Goro Akechi within the canon? It is my opinion that we do likely in Rank 6 just for a little bit and in fragments during the engine room. And by that logic, what do you think the “true” Akechi would be like in a post canon scenario where the DP/BM are gone?

thank you so much and really good question. in my personal opinion we definitely see parts of his sincere self but there's sort of an asterisk attached to that (ill expand) and more importantly even in those truthful moments we never really see the Whole of him because as i said before i don't think his sense of self is really collected enough into a unified whole to be able to show it off even if he wanted to, at least at that point in his life

im like turning this question over in my hands bc im about to go into a bunch of this stuff in the next chapter of my longfic and i dont want to just say the same thing twice, but basically (this time it isn't as long thank god. it's still a bit long)

i think even in the moments akechi is letting you see him in canon such as in rank 6 (and i think you're right i do think at rank 6 he's exposing a bit of himself to you. most of himself. all of himself. he is naked) he's doing so deliberately, because unveiling a bit of truth is a very potent tool in trying to get someone's trust (in this case ren's) and convincing them to swallow the rest of a lie. so while he's showing you something real, i think his intentions are still very guarded, so i would still say he's holding up a facade at that point

black mask in the engine room is more complicated because i think that's the closest he gets to being unguarded during canon. look it's like multilayered because i think when he's being the detective prince he's aware that he's being false because he's doing it on purpose, but when he's the black mask he's much less aware because at that point the insincerity is just something that's built into his understanding of himself so it becomes less a deliberate facade and more a failure to comprehend who he is on an internal level? so i think as black mask in the engine room he's not lying to you anymore. he's just not like... self-actualised enough that we can really call the black mask the "whole" of who goro akechi is, because he sees himself as a villain with an expiration date and so he's kind of deliberately made his self-understanding quite shallow. but it's close. i think that's the most sincere he ever intentionally gets.

re: postcanon - this is really interesting to mull over because i think generally people agree that third semester akechi is like, again, as close as we can get to akechi not masking around you. but i also think that's mostly just because he's being mean, and it's easier to buy meanness as sincerity than niceness. im going into this in the next chapter too i have to figure out how to reword this

but akechi in third sem IS masking. akechi in third sem is a man who thinks he's dead. that expressionlessness isn't just him not bothering to put the smile on anymore, it's him coating his entire existence in a layer of nihilism and apathy because in his mind he doesn't exist anymore and how are you meant to cope with that? it's definitely still more sincere than the detective prince, and i think it's closer to what his personality would be removed from his circumstances. well, that raises another question on a more abstract level LOL about how much of a person's personality IS just... reactivity to circumstances. like is it even meaningful to ask this question? is it useful to try and remove someone into a contextless vacuum to determine their "true self". i think no so to what point is it relevant to try and determine which of a person's circumstances are sufficiently extreme that they should be considered outliers and at what point does it just become a futile exercise in trying to achieve, like, the character equivalent of nagel's view from nowhere I'M GETTING OFF TRACK THI SISNT WHAT YOU ASKED

THE POINT IS. postcanon i think we could expect akechi to resemble his third sem self to an extent but i think a little less blank, a little more reactive and emotional. furthermore i think even when the detective prince and the black mask are gone as conscious masks elements of those personalities would still remain in akechi's character, like, i still think he'd do the ^_^ in public, i still think he'd be unhinged when context allows, because i very firmly believe that (not just for akechi but for everyone in general, but especially for akechi) the choices you make when you're masking and those masks that you wear ARE part of your true self and not just a disguise this is going to show up in longfic too

so i think akechi goro is a liar, he's a performer, he's ruthless, he's flat and dry, he knows how to play the game. he was once idealistic and it's crossed into bitterness so he reacts to his circumstances with cynicism and impatience. he's guarded and carefully filtered in most situations, but in familiar situations where he feels he doesn't have too much to lose (eg with the few people he thinks he can mostly trust) he's smug and cutting and doesnt suffer fools easily. he doesnt pull punches, but dont mistake the bluntness for honesty. i think to akechi truth and information and vulnerability will always be a weapon

[evienyx]

im not too sure how to ask this, but i'm reading the first book in the fractures series, and really enjoying it, and you said that you started it when you were 14. i'm 14 at the moment and am thinking of writing a fic and was wondering if you had any tips on how to plan a longfic or for writing in general

Oh my god this was asked back in August I'm so sorry anon.

As it is, I can still give a pointer or two, regardless of how late it is.

So, as much as anyone hates to hear it and I hate to say it, the best way to get better at prose (as in sentence-level writing) is just by writing. You gotta train it, develop your own style, figure out what works.

I have a tendency to be very flowy and long-winded, often to my own detriment, which is something I'm working on trimming down in the Fractures Rewrite without sacrificing the emotional weight from the scenes.

When it comes to planning a longfic, generally the most important first step (for me at least) is figuring out where you want to end it. Anyone can write a fic whose plot goes on and on for eternity, but if you want your fic to kinda be a classic, having an idea of where it's going to end up will immediately help you.

After the end, the hardest part for me tends to be the middle. It is just as important as anything, and you want it to stay just as interesting. The middle part of the story is the plot, the beginning and end are just vessels for it.

Oftentimes, the earliest form of my outline is literally just a document with the entire plot written out. I don't care for length or details, I just sit down, write the beginning, and then write how the story gets to the end. From there, I clean the outline up. I figure out what makes sense to use and what needs to be added or taken away. I start separating the stuff into possible chapters and outlining those chapters to figure out what they will include.

As I'm doing this, I also write out (smaller) outlines for the arcs of individual characters. Depending on the size of the fic and what the focus is, I might do this for dozens of characters or only for a handful. Regardless, I need to know where they start, where they end up, and how the plot changes them to get them from point A to point B.

If you're ever struggling with coming up with a plot that flows well with good tension, one that feels like it's building to something satisfying, you can always just use a plot template from online somewhere. Even if it feels rudimentary, Exposition-Rising Action-Climax-Falling Action-Resolution works for a reason. It's often how I outline stories of my own that aren't related to fanfiction.

One more tip: Read. And I don't just mean fanfiction. The best fics are often compared to published novels, with some even being considered better than them. One of the reasons these stories are so good is because they don't flow like many fanfictions do - rather they flow like published novels, with a proper plot, arcs, prose, and a satisfying ending.

[idreaminmugiwara]

Okay, my honest opinion of MHA 431, even as a multi-shipper?

What was that?

No seriously.

What was that??

I am baffled. My flabbers are gassted. I am disappointed.

Did I want to see them grown up and see how they were doing post chapter 430? Yes.

Did I wish them all to follow their authentic happiness and have happy, fulfilling adult lives? Also yes.

Did this feel completely shoe-horned in and did it diverge almost entirely from the arcs of the characters prior to this chapter and let down every expectation I didn't even know I had? OH MY GOD YES.

Also the art felt sloppy? Maybe rushed? At least comparatively.

Horikoshi's art has always stood out to me because every single panel is so emotionally potent. His art jumps off the page and hooks you. It's like drugs. The only panel that grabbed me in this chapter was this one, because it's the closest to what I would consider to be his usual standard. Like this panel slaps.

Also that absolute look of LOVE that Todoroki is giving Deku here. Tooootally not contemplating a fic about the two of these mooks now, nope, not at ALL.

Okay the biggest elephant in the room. IzuOcha. I just...like....

Look, there was close to zero tension leading up to the Predator hand hold moment which incidentally held zero emotional impact for me.

I also honestly feel like it does disservice to Ochaco's growth as a character. She canonically does have feelings for Deku (in high school, mind you) but I thought she'd more or less grown past them when she realized that part of what she admired and loved about him is that it represents the person SHE wants to be, the kind of hero she wants to become.

And what even is Bakgugou and Deku's relationship now? We spent 430 chapters watching their relationship deepen and evolve into something that becomes so important that it ends up saving the entire world only for that super uncomfortable car ride and a bland wave from Bakugou as Deku runs to get the girl?

I never expected BakuDeku to be canon, just so we're very clear. This is a shonen and I'm not that naive. I also want to remind everyone freaking out about IzuOcha : just because it's canon doesn't mean your headcanon is cancelled. BakuDeku is one of the most beautiful ships in anime, at least for me, and nothing will ever change that.

It's just....if this was going to be a canon epilogue tying up alllllll story ends, all character arcs, this was possibly one of the laziest and least fulfilling ways I think they could have done it. If the story had spent even half the time developing Deku and Ochaco's relationship as they did his and Bakugou's , maybe I"d feel differently, but MHA revolves very, very intentionally around the two of them and a bond that one may consider legendary.

Y'all this felt like fanfiction, and not even good fanfiction. I was maybe one of the few that was relatively okay with chapter 430. I think Deku as a teacher is a beautiful twist and very true to his character. I LOVE the idea of Uravity starting counseling for people with quirks. I think Bakugou bouncing around the hero's rating list makes sense given his character, but this....this just wasn't it for me. My headcanon says this all ended at 430.

On that note, I gotta get back to my bkdk longfic.

Only an entire third act to go, nbd.

PS: if you DID enjoy this chapter, please don't let my analysis take that away from you. people are allowed to like what they like and ship who they ship. I just needed somewhere to process my feelings.

[tempestaurora]

This is a silly question but…how do you write longfic? I try so hard to expand my fics but the furthest I’ve gotten is 6k. I guess my writing style is naturally short, but I’d like to write longer fics and then for some reason I just don’t know what else to say no matter the plot I come up with. Any tips would be helpful, ty

ooooh interesting question actually. i've never thought about it directly, so i'm gonna collate all the thoughts i'm having

i think it definitely helps that i am a run-on sentence person. i like description and dialogue and i like internal monologues and getting to the bottom of every little thing. so my writing is naturally taking up more space that way (but, on the flip side, i really struggle to pare it down for something short, especially if there's a max word limit). i have found my own sweet spot for this, especially as lots of description actually really annoys me when i read.

the second thing i do a lot is let the characters have the conversations they want. which often means that i end up digging into something i don't foresee, and then i like to make everything match up (so a reference at the beginning should be brought up again 2/3 through etc) so i'm adding bits in and letting them have their conversations and that always makes things longer

when it comes to mid-length one shots (7-15k or so) i think its mainly about how the plot is turning out and how the characters want to talk and what extra moments they are carving out for themselves as i write. so if we use the 9k hatefuck fic as an example, because that's relevant to me rn, that plot originally looked like:

bad shift (500?)

a conversation where they agree to have sex (600?)

arriving at the apartment and quick ground rules (600?)

sex (1-2.5k)

apology (1000)

next shift (500?)

which i had figured would take about 5k (though i did not break it down explicitly into these numbers), that would be fine.

how that actually turned out was:

bad shift (600)

a conversation where they agree to have sex (700)

OOPS lets do the drive too (600)

arriving at the apartment and (not so quick) quick ground rules (1000)

sex (2200)

apology (750)

surprise clean up and after care (1100)

wait maybe they should cuddle too (800)

wait what about when he leaves he cant sleep there (600)

next shift (800)

so it pads out because i follow where the characters want to go and what they want to do, and maybe they should talk in the car too. the reader wants to know if the car ride home was awkward. they want to know what they talked about, so lets sit in it and find out. and maybe, actually, its harder to navigate ground rules than you think, and the conversations after the sex are actually really important to grounding the relationship in a way you hadn't expected.

so things can get longer that way.

for fics like this, i'm really not planning much, just a concept, and then it turns out slightly longer by nature of allowing myself to follow where the writing leads (which i've always found to deliver my most emotionally centred writing).

for proper, big longfics (and novels), i am more plot centric. probably because i don't like the type of literary novel thats a whole lot of thoughts and no action, but for those sorts of longer stories, i am plotting out the entire thing, even if its just vaguely.

if we take lmbbuyn (50k) because that's a well known fic of mine, that fic was written by going, okay here's the core concept - bucky through war, through the winter soldier period, and post hydra. he and steve had an almost thing and swapped dog tags and then post hydra he goes on a hunt for the tags, hoping it will bring his memories back.

i then broke that down into the big plot points, and if i were taking it seriously, i would usually plan scene by scene. (my novels are planned this way in fact). but for this, i wanted it to be more fluid and i wanted it to be more emotional, so i knew i was going from bucky at point a to bucky at point e before the second big plot point. what scenes can i put him through to get there? what experiences does he need to have? from the opening (a) to the first big plot point of steve kissing him (e), he needs to be disillusioned with war, with death, he needs to be seen as close to steve multiple times over, he needs to be jealous of peggy but not understand it, needs to lay the groundwork for his nightmares, needs to lay the groundwork for his softness, needs to lay the groundwork for his cruelty. and then oh look, we've done enough that we can hit that plot point and have it make sense.

that's generally how i write longer fics. i am meandering around, usually jumping back into the past for backstory and history and context the reader might need for the moment and the future, until i feel like we're ready for the next beat, and then i'll add it in. this is a fairly fluid way of writing, probably not for everyone, and maybe not even easy to pick up! but i think its great for emotionally centred writing and will also definitely pad out the numbers lmao

(this can also be seen in a 90k all my love forever, in which the main plot points i had thought about were actually decades apart, and instead of time jumps, i decided to write my way through each life choice and change and decade between them and how that changed them. this allowed the reader to feel closer to the characters, especially all the original ones, but it also made the entire story feel like a life. the side effect of this meandering was 90,000 words.)

i hope that helps somehow! i think there's no specific answer, it's really about figuring out what interests you in the story and following that down and seeing where it takes you! don't be afraid to jump around and add context and really breathe in the world you're working with!

[freesia-writes]

I'm lobbing this right back to your ask box, because the questions were great, and I'd love to know your answers!

Ok. So. If someone wanted to read your works…

Which do you think is your best piece and why? You can split the answer into short and long fics if you want. 😜

Which do you think is your most delicious, sexy, satisfying piece of smut?

Which do you think has the most intimate/immersive POV of a character, like really takes you in their heart and mind and makes you feel what they feel? Takes you on the ride with them?

And which one do you think everyone should read? I know, choosing one is torture. 😉😘

I should be going to bed right now but my brain is a steam engine and this train of thought is CHUGGIN. 😂 So. Since you had such amazing answers for your own...

Which do you think is your best piece and why?

Honestly... Beyond the Shadow of a Doubt, the Hunter x OC longfic that I worked on for 9+ months, because it's intricately cohesive, intentionally structured from start to finish, and amazingly enriched with fanart, mood boards, and other stuff that makes it completely immersive. I'm really proud of it. 🥹 It's got plot twists but doesn't leave the reader feeling stupid (*coughTBB*), has fully developed and very unique characters that are also relatable (I hope), and I think (and have been told, lol) that the characterization of the Batch is dead-on and their family dynamics are absolutely delightful. It feels weird to speak freely about its strengths, but we should be able to do that without it being braggy. So, it's amazing in a lot of areas and definitely needs work in others (like me, ha).

Which do you think is your most delicious, sexy, satisfying piece of smut?

*dons monocle to consult @spicy-clones master list*

Shoot, I guess I have to say Sharp Edges, the Crosshair x Reader longfic I wrote with @lightwise. There are quite a few smut scenes, but what makes it fantastic is that it starts off hot and shallow, then evolves and deepens in areas beyond just the physical to lead to a really satisfying climax (hahaha). And it's a really good story -- after all, when you get two author brains on a project, it's that much better! Tons of character development, funny dialogue, and an excellent fix-it ending. 😉

Which do you think has the most intimate/immersive POV of a character, like really takes you in their heart and mind and makes you feel what they feel? Takes you on the ride with them?

I guess I'm gonna be really redundant here... The Hunter one, because readers experience the story through his eyes (where other works are from a reader, OC, or omniscient POV). So they were hopefully just as surprised as he was at sudden plot twists, but I also tried to add just enough detail and subtle lil winks to the reader to "let them in" on some of the secrets so that they could feel shrewd and insightful without just having it all out there plainly so Hunter's the only one and the rest of us are rolling our eyes and smacking our foreheads at him the whole time. 😜 I mean, there was some of that too. 😂

And which one do you think everyone should read?

If the two pitches above for Beyond the Shadow of a Doubt didn't seal the deal, then that one is lost beyond redemption. 😜 So I have two shorties...

This Pets 4 Vets story featuring Jesse is long enough to create some chemistry, have some funny ups and downs, and enjoy a satisfying connection at the end (and some hot bangin' in the bonus chapter, LOL). I love the trope of being let in by someone who hides behind a front and this one was really enjoyable that way.

And lastly, this Tup x Reader keeps coming to mind. Idk why, but it's playful, awkward, satisfying, and sweet. The dialogue prompt was "Don't ever do that again! ...you have no idea what it does to me." And it involves his hair, surprise surprise. 😉 PLUS, I love writing "the boys", whether it's the Batch or the 501st, cause those dynamics seem to really enrich the whole thing.

Thanks for letting me ramble. 💕

AND FOR ANYONE ELSE READING, hahah, I feel like I write almost the same trope over and over, so if you have some requests that you'd like to hear in my style, but are different in content than my usual stuff, drop em in my asks!

[2maegor2cruel]

Hi again!

Sorry I'm replying by ask instead of on your post, there's just more room here ;u;

I just wanted to say thank you SO much for answering my questions!! I truly appreciate it! :'3

Love your point about why we never hear more about salt wives/sons/daughters in the story, cause it would make everything more complicated..but honestly grrm should give us this anyway! Like do mainlanders consider salt children bastards? Or see salt marriages as valid? And pff heard it here, Balon Greyjoy can only get his rock wife pregnant, no matter how many salt wives he takes, we don't make the rules..

Ooh thank you so much for the link! The fic was almost hard to read in the best way, and my heart hurt so much for both Alannys & the kids! She really does deserve more focus!

Omg of course Jon would respond this way! And you know Theon is all "well fuck you then! See if I ever try to be nice to you again bastard!" And rightfully so! Here he/she was trying to cheer him up by telling him Ned must have loved his mother dearly, and this is what he gets in response? 😡

Very good point though on how being a salt son would be even worse for Jon in a way! That quote go's so hard, and sadly is exactly how Jon would feel! 😭

Aw thank you! Like say some Ironborn man just snatched up some river land kid during a raid and was like "this is my salt son now bitches! Don't like it? Suck my iron!" Wonder how well that'd go over :0

Ooh so happy you like Ironborn Ramsay! I can see why salt son Ramsay doesn't jive with you, so maybe imagine instead, Roose sending 10 year old Ramsay to foster at Pyke (getting him out of sight & mind, away from his curious heir) I imagine it'd be a pretty big shock for young Ramsay at first, no longer the most brutal/violent lil fish in the pond you know? He can still try messing with kid Theon, but the second he tries something with Roderick/Maron he's getting a beating/thrashing (like Theon remembers) and other Ironborn kids are likely no pushovers either, seeing Ramsay as a weak greenlander until he proves himself...and you know Ramsay would take to Ironborn culture like a duck to water, growing into a brutal reaper, maybe even captioning his own ship! And who better than him to welcome a returning Theon years later? ;)

Aw so happy to hear I got your creative Ironborn flame roaring! :D I adore how you explore them & their culture in your story btw! x3 Which leads me to another question that's been on my mind, how could you see Tywin/Gregor/Sandor reacting to Erich? I imagine Tywin might see a future mountain he could shape from childhood, but would Sandor be able to easily see past the fact that it's his brother's son and notice his gentle personality, how different they are? Also this sweet boy's relationship with his uncle Alyn is so intriguing! :0

Sorry for leaving such a long ask again! And thank you again! It was so fun to read your thoughts! Also take all the time you need to reply if you're busy, no rush! <3<3

just because i recognize the necessity of cutting ironborn lore about the salt system for the sake of clarity/brevity doesn't mean i don't also yearn for it!!! lol

if you're interested in a longfic that covers the salt wife/child system, i highlyyyy recommend Last Serving Daughter by @/dwellordream. it has both a salt son pov and a salt wife pov AND! ☝️ it fucking ripssssss. absolutely amazing ironborn world-building, an awesome take on euron, and baller (nuanced and incredibly compelling) characters. i am genuinely so grateful LSD exists, we desperately need a hundred more ironborn-centric fics of that caliber fr fr

i'm not caught up, but Farwynd and Fire also has ironborn-aligned ramsay if that's of interest to you 👀 it definitely leans into the "morally ambiguous/straight up evil as fuck" nature of ironborn reaving culture, so do be warned lol.

"Don't like it? Suck my iron!" made me bust out laughing, thank you for that 😭

if you plan on writing ironborn ramsay, i would definitely be interested 👀 especially a theon-ramsay relationship in that new paradigm. ramsay playing theon's evil advisor in fresh and interesting contexts babeyyyyy. it's funny, i don't really consider myself a "thramsay person" in the sense of shipping. but like. it's literally right there in the text? and it's compelling, so it kinda got my ass lmao

mannnnn i have been thinking a lot about erich pyke, alyn orkwood, and sandor clegane lately. i actually plan to address that whole clusterfuck in chapter 63 because it's such a wild situation (and i already laid the groundwork with the erich-arya friendship 🙏). the hound rolls up to rejoin robb's army and he's just got a random nephew? and the nephew is friends with the stark girl he straight-up kidnapped? and she hates him and wants him dead but maybe wants him to kill lannisters more so they're cool? and the random nephew is just a nice kid? normal ass kid? but the kid's uncle maybe wants to kill you also? just a lot going on for the hound, honestly. let's see how it plays out for him! ;-)

in an AU, tywin might be intrigued, but ultimately erich is just another random lowborn kid. also if pressed on the paternity, you better believe alyce/alyn would just lie their asses off lol. all that said... i now need to write yet another spin-off of sow the tide (besides yus & wex's bastard+salt son low-stakes shenanigans) with sandor & erich (arya gets a guest star).

anyway, never be sorry for long asks!!! i'm very grateful for the meal 😋 and i WILL take my time to answer your ask because my life sucks and i have a short attention span 🫵 (read: thank you for your patience ❤️)

[catsushinyakajima]

tw vent//

hi guys. idk what else to say other than I feel like shit ab my writing.

I'm not necessarily a bad writer, but my fics are just not doing that well on ao3. So like. Idk why I even write. Which is stupid-because my writing IS self-indulgent. I'm putting what I want to see out there. I'm bringing my ideas into reality. And it's fun to write. But as much as I love writing, I love being loved, love attention, love validation. I just feel like a well full of water that's being ignored.

A part of it is that I'm pretty naturally competitive. Even about small things like fics. I don't want to be better than other authors, but I want to be good. I want to be good so bad I want people to read my works its not even bad so why wont people read it maybe its not the best but like. And being good at writing isnt defined by the number of hits a fic gets, but there is no other quantifiable value for me to latch onto. I want to be above a certain number of hits. I want to be on level with other authors I interact with.

And this competitive really is a plague. Because it makes me jealous and then I feel bad and guilty about being jealous of my friends and strangers. I can't help but want to write the most words. The most fics. the Longest fics. Fics with more hits. Fics with fanarts and asks. I see my friends accomplishments and im genuinely happy for them but a part of me feels empty inside because I don't have what they have. Everyone around me is so talented amazing and cool. Everyone else thinks theyre talented and amazing and cool-and they're right. But i want to be that way too.

And not only am I jealous of what they have, Im jealous of the way they are as people. Im better about this one- I try to keep it as admiration. But I wish I had the drive to write a longfic without getting distracted and leaving it. I wish I could draw. Okay this stuff I know I can improve on, and I WILL improve on it, but that doesn't mean im not down about it.

Im not gonna quit writing. Obviously. Can't do that. But idk how to not feel bad ab it. I feel happy about it sometimes. It's a cyclical thing. I just wish people liked me and liked my writing. Its a little hard to act happy go lucky about my work when Im not always that way.

[jisokai]

hiiiii i’m shae i’m new here !! for the ask game - would you mind answering #17?? i try to write fics but i get so stuck with the planning and organization and then my stuff just sits and i have no idea how to finish them- how do you usually organize and plan for what happens in your stories? <3 ✨✨

hello shae!!! welcome in welcome in 🙂‍↕️ i hope you enjoy your stay <3 this one is such a good question because there's much to talk about... i'm curious—is the planning where you get stuck? or do you get stuck because you lack a plan going in?

17 - talk about your writing and editing process

warning: this got pretty long oopsie

for me, the fic usually starts with either 1. imagining a scene that i desperately want to write, or 2. a concept that i'm intrigued by—but a mix of both is needed to sustain my interest to make it a proper fic. after the idea first appears, i sit and muse on it for a period of time (usually around a week). i may make a small note in my wip/idea tracking document, but otherwise i try to give the idea time to wander around on it's own, grow and develop organically rather than forcing a plot to form. what usually happens is i'll get ideas for a few new scenes, or a theme that i could run with. some ideas will stick better than others, and some will work after tweaking them. but throughout it, there's always something i can't wait to write, and often it can't happen effectively without proper setup beforehand.

once i have a concept and some visualization that becomes too much to only live in my head, i open a doc. at first it will look like brief list, just enough that i remember future scenes, and maybe some details i worry about forgetting. if the fic is a oneshot (99% of them), there's probably 6-10 bullet points depending on the length.

then i start the story. i work chronologically, even if i still don't know what a "proper" beginning is. it's not the best way to go about it for the sake of time, but it's the way i work, unfortunately. it also means i may write the beginning several times if i don't like it. but once i get started, the rest spills out fairly easily. the story comes to me as i write, so i'll add a more bullet points to my list, which i keep right below where i'm typing—so i can see it at all times 😭 it's like dangling a carrot in front of myself LMFAO, because i'm racing to reach those scenes i can picture so clearly.

even if i don't have an idea for the ending before i start the fic, the ending will come to mind by the time i reach those scenes. it might not be very good, but it's there. writing it isn't as fun as the middle, but by then i'm driven by the want to see the fic to it's end.

throughout all this, there are ups and downs in motivation. and since i don't outline, i often reach the end of a scene and proceed to stare at my computer as i figure out what happens next. some people recommend jumping to the next scene you know clearly, but i struggle writing out of order and rearranging/filling in later. oftentimes what happens in these moments is that i write something mediocre and then highlight it with a note that says "this is bad, fix later" or a reminder for my future self of what i was trying to do. having a shitty placeholder is better than waiting around for the scene to appear in my head and putting the fic on pause entirely.

idk how most people write, if my writing process is in the majority, or if it's considered good. i assume it isn't recommended, since going in with no idea how the piece will conclude is probably a recipe for abandonment. but i can't just sit and think about a fic in it's entirety!! i don't work that way! i'm required to commit to writing before i get to know the end. even for my recent longfic, i made sort of an outline for the first time (vague paragraphs of the plot for each chapter), but i still didn't know how to end it by the time i started writing chapter 1 (my "outline" for the last chapter was verbatim: "some sort of resolution bro on god you’re gonna come up with an ending somehow") 😭 it's unfortunately the most intuitive way for me to work, and i'd rather follow my chaotic intuition than a process that doesn't make sense. another reason i lean into this is because i always come up with more things to add as i write, largely because i'm an autobiographical writer; things happen to me and i want to immortalize them in my stories. i can't guess what might happen in the future, and i can't stop myself from imposing life events on characters if one happens mid-fic.

then editing...

editing is the most tedious part because of all the poorly written scenes, questions to research, and random interjections i leave myself. and sadly, shifting to a critical eye can ruin the entire fic for me. i tend to be very hard on myself 🥺 this is where i'll pare down my sentences, throw some words in a thesaurus, move scenes around, etc. etc.. sometimes i try to wait at least a week before editing, but other times i get impatient and want to rinse myself clean of thinking about the fic ever again LOL

(my writing process can fluctuate a lot depending on the length of the fic and what i'm writing for, but it usually follows this sort of sequence.)

i think this works for someone like me: who only commits to one or two fics at a time, and has a strict sense of duty to complete everything i start. i've been toying with writing more drabbles lately, which i think can help flesh out an idea, or in my case, let me feel like i gave the idea something, enough that i don't need to keep entertaining it, and therefore keep my energy focused on my actual WIPs.

sorry this got so long! and another sorry if i didn't really answer your question. i think the TL;DR is that ultimately i don't really organize other than a few bullet points, and i plan as i go. BUT—i usually have something clear in mind that i'm writing towards, whether that's a scene in the middle or the ending i thought of on the spot. or pure want for the fic to be OVER.

if i were to attempt to offer any advice, i'd say start small and simple! there's no proper way a fic needs to be written—it can be just one scene, or one conversation even! shorter style drabbles can be quite popular here on tumblr. i think working this way first is helpful to understand your own process and what works for you before you tackle longer works or harder concepts. i only started writing again in june after several years of a break, so who knows how my process will change in the future!

fic writer asks!