#honestly i do really enjoy the planning/worldbuilding part of writing a story

[spacejammie-eimmajecaps]

Look at this beautiful, thick, organized outline. Everything within the paper clip is already written, the pages in the front are what still needs to be done.

That's 41 pages of rock solid planning.

I'm turning the outline into a detailed overview of each chapter as I go. Like once I finish a chapter, I update the outline to reflect any changes and add important details, and then I re-print whatever parts are different.

Notes on chapters that are already written take up a half or whole page. Plans for chapters that are not written yet can fit up to 4 chapters per page.

By turning the outline into detailed notes as I go, I can skim over the whole thing in between each chapter to make sure everything is on track.

[suzukiblu]

this is a question that is not meant to come off as judgemental, and if it does i apologise and you don’t have to answer

for you, or anyone out there in the world if they see this,

What is the appeal of (the?) Omegaverse?

Ive never quite gotten it? And it might be the big bold orange, blue and white letters spelling out aroace, or being european, younger than most people who are knowledgeable about that particular genre of content (still 18+) and while I did get on the internet at 11, I didn’t start reading fanfic until 14-15

this is a long and rambly ask so I just want to clarify, this is a genuine question I would like an answer to, no matter how short and sweet, or long and convoluted it may be

It's all good, I don't mind getting questions! And, like, I've written a LOT of omegaverse, so it's a thoroughly relevant question to this blog, haha.

. . . and this definitely wound up long and convoluted. So like, yeah, we are SO gonna need a read-more here, friend. 😅

Obviously everyone's gonna have their own reasons for liking the genre, but as another (much older, I'm assuming) aroace, for me the appeal is the opportunity to use the tag "Fantasy Gender Roles". Like, there's other stuff there, def, but "Fantasy Gender Roles" is my favorite part. Omegaverse is a game where the rules are made-up and the points don't matter, and you can interpret and re-interpret the involved sexes and genders however the heck you wanna, and in fact are ENCOURAGED to. I also really like certain tropes that are common to the genre, like pack dynamics and breeding kink and having babies and feral behavior and courting/courting rituals, I just really enjoy playing with and reading about all of those.

Also, the worldbuilding. I get to do ✨GENDER-BASED WORLDBUILDING✨.

And obvi, like, some people are just into omegaverse for the kink/porn factor, which is totally fair, but personally I am here for ✨GENDER-BASED WORLDBUILDING✨. And then also the kink/porn. Generally speaking a recurring comment I've gotten from a lot of readers is "I literally hate omegaverse but I love yours", so a lot of my stuff is allegedly a decent jumping-on point for the genre if you're looking for that. Like, I'm not the only person who writes omegaverse the way I do, obviously, just I'm a pretty accessible one who's written a LOT of it.

( and in the event you DO want any jumping-on omegaverse recs from my stuff, I'mma just pop a few of them from various fandoms here. no DC-related ones 'cuz I don't have any of those currently on AO3, only scattered in my WIP tags, but hopefully something helpful will be in here. )

original fic

to the victor go the spoils - human omega OMC/dragon [ GENDER NOT FOUND ] OMC; 16.7k; explicit Fantasy AU. This one includes porn but honestly the heart of it is just one of those fairy tales where the protagonist is somehow both incredibly genre-savvy in their story and yet still a total fucking idiot about other people's feelings, and especially considering it's original fic, it is honestly one of the most popular things I've ever posted, hah.

The dragon arrived early in the morning, and by noon the entire village was in a panic in the town hall. No one in the village knew anything about dragons, aside from what they’d heard in fairy tales and stories, and the plans for dealing with it were about that level of sophisticated.

“We’re not sacrificing a virgin to the dragon,” Viktor said in exasperation.

“Well what would YOU do?!” the mayor demanded.

“I’m going to go talk to it,” Viktor said reasonably, and got up from his seat and went to do just that.

.

Avatar: The Last Airbender

does the pain feel better when I'm around? - beta!Sokka/omega!Zuko, beta!Sokka/beta!Suki, past alpha!Mai/omega!Zuko, polyamory; 3k; teen Societal dynamics-focused fic. Zuko goes into heat at the Western Air Temple immediately after the Boiling Rock happens and goes off to den down alone and stay out of everyone's way without realizing that the local betas are gonna lose their ever-lovin' MINDS about that.

“Cool,” he says. “You realize we’ve been looking for you for, like, two HOURS, right?”

“Why?” Zuko asks, sounding confused, which is kind of sad.

“Because the world is full of people who wanna kill you and you didn’t bother telling anyone where you were going?” Sokka says. “Obviously?”

“Oh.” Zuko falls silent. Sokka glances moonwards in supplication. Yue save him from dumb, dumb firebenders.

every act of communication is a miracle of translation - alpha!Mai/omega!Zuko; 5.7k; teen Post-series fic where Mai and Zuko are about to spend their first cycle together and they're both really awkward about working out how it should go. Not actually a sequel to "does the pain feel better when I'm around?", but you could definitely draw a relationship between 'em.

They leave the office, Mai pretending that all her senses aren’t full of Zuko’s warm, spicy scent, and he keeps looking worried. She wonders if it’s THIS he’s worried about, now that she’s thinking about it. They agreed they’d share their next cycles together, but again, they haven’t really talked about it.

They can talk about it now, Mai thinks.

Unfortunately, that means now they actually have to talk about it.

.

Overwatch

even if I do I don't, even if I could I won't - omega!Genji/beta!the-character-who-was-at-the-time-I-wrote-this-fic-known-as-McCree; 5.1k; explicit Blackwatch-era fic where Genji did not fill out his heat partner designation forms and "Fuck or Suffer Unspecified Health Consequences" is gonna make that a problem. Worldbuilding, assisted negotiation, a touch of workplace-influenced pack dynamics, and porn.

“Yeah, you’re hilarious, kid,” Gabe says. “Get back to work. And Shimada, call your heat partner and we’ll see you next week.”

Shimada’s shoulders tense. Gabe . . . pauses.

“Shimada,” he says slowly. “PLEASE tell me you have a heat partner on base.”

“I have a heat partner on base,” Shimada lies. Gabe and Jesse both stare at him, then Gabe calls up his file, takes one look at it, and starts cursing.

don't, don't, don't let's start (I've got a weak heart) - alpha!Genji/omega!the-character-who-was-at-the-time-I-wrote-this-fic-known-as-McCree; 17.3k; explicit Blackwatch-era fic about Genji and the character formerly known as McCree dealing with their complicated feelings about each other and also the cybernetics and trauma and physical disabilities that are fucking up their sex life, including ED.

“You busy?” he asks. Genji stares at him in bemusement, which is fair. Genji’s only ever busy when they’re on a mission or he’s in the middle of an upgrade. “Dumb question. My heat’s coming on, wanna do me a favor?”

“What favor?” Genji asks, still looking mystified. Jesse tries not to laugh at him.

“The obvious one,” he says meaningfully, tipping his hat back and raising his eyebrows at him. Genji looks no less mystified for a moment, then startles. “THERE we go."

.

Marvel Cinematic Universe

come hang (let's go out with a bang) - omega!Darcy Lewis/omega!Johnny Storm; 5k; teen Darcy almost dies again, tries to figure out which omega buys the courting gifts in an omega/omega relationship, and has her first date with a super-hot superhero.

“Was there traffic?” Jane asks.

“I have a date with Johnny Storm,” Darcy says.

“What?” Jane says.

“Oh, and I almost died again,” Darcy says, pulling out Jane’s papers for her. “But that’s kind of secondary.”

“WHAT?!”

pack up, don't stray (oh say say say) - alpha!Natasha + polyamory; 3.4k; teen Natasha collects a harem pack and Captain America is fucking difficult about it.

Natasha is an alpha on a mission, and that mission is simple and clear.

I said you're holding back, she said shut up and dance with me - alpha!Peggy/omega!Steve/omega!Bucky; 10.3k; mature Alternate timeline where Steve and Bucky don't "die" and they all run away from the States to get married and start a family. Illegal adoption and biokids and lowkey pack dynamics involving figuring out how to fold pups into their lives, oh my!! And also, they all get to dance.

“One alpha mating two omegas? Really, Steve?” Peggy asks, mouth quirking wryly. “What WOULD the newsreels say?”

“We’ll go to France,” Steve says. “No one will care in France.”

“I do love France,” she muses.

oh don't you dare hold back, just keep your eyes on me - alpha!Darcy/omega!Bucky, polyamory; 187.4k; explicit MY MAGNUM OPUS, MY WHITE WHALE, THE LITERAL REASON OMEGAVERSE TOOK OVER HALF MY BLOG FOR HALF MY STINT IN MCU FANDOM. I wanted a goddamn female alpha and I wanted that female alpha to be Darcy Lewis, and Bucky was my fave blorbo at the time so the inevitable happened. The inevitable happened for three and a half years and 187,430 words, to be more precise.

Darcy is thirty feet out of Stark-cum-Avengers Tower when she starts craving cinnamon rolls--the sticky-sweet iced-up old-fashioned kind, yummy and messy and dripping gooshy icing all over your mouth and hands and down your yuuuup, yup, that is a super, super fertile omega that she is smelling, holy SHIT is it ever.

“Jesus Christ,” she groans in frustration, then follows her alpha instincts (and, more easily and importantly, her NOSE) to go track them down. They’re in the middle of New York City; middle of the day or not, not checking on somebody who smells like THAT is, like, the ultimate dick move.

.

OKAY SELF THAT'S ENOUGH LINKS, WE MOVE ON NOW, haha.

I will also say, if you're interested in, like, gender-exploratory AU concepts, apiary genders might be more your thing and more easily accessible for you? It's a MUCH newer thing than omegaverse and really only has a few fics around, some of which are linked in the "inspired by" of that AO3 primer linked above, but the concept is a bit more strongly "hive"-based than a lot of omegaverse is "pack"-based, and also there's no physical differences from baseline. I've got a WIP or two going about apiary myself, actually, but I haven't gotten too far into them yet, alas. The only one I've posted anything from is this one Superbat one.

[qwertyprophecy]

hi !! i recently played storyseeker and really loved it !! i was curious about how you went about designing the story for it ?? was it hard to keep track of all the moving narrative parts ?? how did you decide where to reveal what info ?? hope you dont mind me asking -- i really love your art !! have a great day !!

I'm glad you enjoyed Storyseeker! Old as it may be, out of everything I've made it's still the game I'd most like to make a spiritual successor to.

Answers to narrative design questions after the cut:

It's funny, Storyseeker's design process was so organic that realistically it should've turned into a right mess. But just as organically it lead into design principles that made organising the story a breeze, honestly.

What I mean by organic: As touched upon in this reply regarding worldbuilding, the story kept writing itself as long as I kept asking it questions, so I just let it do its thing. The player is meant to experience the narrative in much the same way, with me imposing as little control over them as possible while they travel as they please and narrate to themselves the story of what they see.

It sounds freeform and terribly unstructured, but I established a principle of design that aims to help the player connect the dots instead of feeling lost in a cacophony of random details. While making the game I called them "paths": routes the player is likely to take or subtly guided to take, that connect together related parts of the narrative. Visually some are literal paths or roads, but they could be anything that the player might follow. Footprints, streams of bubbles, the line of sight of an NPC, the sight of something irregular peeking at the edge of the screen...

A path presents both a question and a direction to go look for the answer. Oftentimes, the exact questions I was asking myself when building the world piece by piece. Where does this road lead? Where are these weasels swimming to (or, approaching from the opposite direction, where did they come from)? What dislodged itself from this hole in the ice and where did it go? What kind of a body are these giant toes connected to? Ie., to answer your question of when to reveal information: when the player asks for the information by moving towards where it's revealed, whether on purpose or unknowingly.

If the player follows the direction they must end up on another path because good answers beget more questions. The single most important design document I had was a piece of scrap paper with a rough sketch of the map and a whole lot of coloured lines flowing across it to mark the paths I was prepping for the player. (Lines, not arrows, since I couldn't predict which direction they'd be traveled in.) By visualising them I tried to make sure none of them stopped abruptly or looped in a circle, and that all the places of interest were covered.

(The biggest exception to this design is of course the dead end of a room that is the game's final area: the temple interior that can only be found by completionists. That's why it "completes" the game by being a narrative dead end, too.)

I genuinely didn't even plan it this way on purpose, but it turns out that it really helps keep track of a narrative when you make a game where webs of cause and consequence are all visually illustrated on a literal map. :D If you're the type of person who benefits from visually organising things, I don't see why you couldn't draw abstracted maps of your narrative even if it's not so visual in nature.

I know I definitely need to do more of that! Just last week I rescued my current project's dialogue rewrite with visualisation and arrow doodles. It had grown into an overwhelming mess of unplanned splitting and rejoining branches and microreactivity, so to have any chance of looking at it without inviting a migraine, I closed the document and instead mapped the whole script into a single page outline of what each conversation is supposed to convey to the player. It's so much easier for me to think about the shape of the story when I can see it in one glance!

[illarian-rambling]

Thanks for the tag @davycoquette!

Writer Questionaire

1. Is writing a hobby or way of life?

I mean, it's my greatest passion, but it's not what I do or plan on doing for a living in the future, so I'll go with hobby. To be honest, I'm fine with that. I think I'd enjoy writing a lot less if I was doing it professionally.

2. A journal full of writing notes or a clean, completed manuscript?

Sorry guys, clean manuscript. I do a barebones outline to start, then just write the thing top to bottom. I know first drafts aren't supposed to be pretty, but I can't help myself.

3. Who (or what) is your writing inspiration?

That's a tough one. I read a lot, so maybe Sanderson or Tolkien, but honestly, the person who inspired me to take writing more seriously is a guy from my weekly dnd group. He was the first person I met in real life who wrote and had published stuff. He proved to me that regular people can be authors too.

4. Which is worse: someone you "idolize" reading your first draft or listening to you sing?

Listening to me since, easily. I can't sing, but I'm fine with that. I'm not emotionally invested in my singing ability like I am with my writing ability.

5. Has writing from someone else's POV ever changed your own perspective?

Maybe a little? I feel like a lot of my characters are based on different parts of my own psyche, so really I'm just leaning into those. Because of that, writing about them has made me more accepting of different parts of my own identity.

6. Tumblr, AO3, LiveJournal, or FFN?

I'm only on Tumblr at the moment. I don't intend to put my writing anywhere else because I feel like sites like AO3 aren't really made for original fiction.

7. AO3 wordcount, and are you satisfied with it?

Not on AO3, but I just did the math and between three Honor's Outcasts books and two and a half Mortal God books, I'm at 644,000 words. Add up all the miscellaneous short stories I have floating around and I'd put myself at an even 650,000. Not bad!

8. What movie/book/fic gripped you irrevocably?

The Name of the Wind was the first book that really showed me what could be done with prose. I don't care that the third book is never coming out, Kingkiller Chronicles will always have my heart <3

The Foundryside Trilogy is an underrated series that basically inspired Mortal God. It weaves fantasy and sci-fi perfectly, has some of the best villains I've ever read, and the ending still makes me sick to think about. Which is a compliment.

And, of course, the Stormlight Archives massively inspired my worldbuilding. I always strive for the layer of depth and strength of character found in those books.

9. What’s the highest compliment you’ve ever been given, and have you been given it?

The best comment I've ever gotten isn't exactly a compliment. One of my beta readers once commented on a weak metaphor, "You can do better, you started with a symphony." That really stuck with me for some reason. It reminds me that I do have the capability to write beautifully, and that I shouldn't settle for anything less.

10. What defines your writing style?

I've been told my narration is very conversational, cut through with fanciful descriptions. I've also been told the voice of whichever character I'm writing from the POV of tends to slip through into my writing style. Descriptions in Sepo's chapters are darker and more grim, the narration of Ivander’s chapters gets more sarcastic, Twenari’s chapters focus more on the smaller details, the voice of Astra’s chapters has some more of that country flair, and so on and so forth.

I'll tag @fantasy-things-and-such @wyked-ao3 @rotting-moon-writes @finchwrites and anyone else who wants in :)

[vanillahub]

GET TO KNOW THE MUN.

respond to the prompts out of character!

what made you pick up the current muse(s) you have? Obviously, I'm heavily influenced by a set list of characters I personally love, which means I come up with a take/portrayal as I delve deeper into the lore. I tend to have a preference for side characters, rather than protags or lore heavy ones, bc of the freedom I get... BUT at the same time I've had numerous muses that carry a lot of weight in their respective franchises (see: Seto Kaiba, Captain Rex, rival Barry, Richter Belmont and Sea Dragon Kanon just to name a few).

I mainly write as canon characters, I genuinely have little to no interest in making or RPing as an OC. At most, I have 1 OC in two out of the RPCs I'm currently part of. Which explains this huge disparity.

is there anything you don’t like to write? My hard nos are Incest, Adult/minor types of relationships. Bodily fluids/toilet stuff and fetish focused RPs. One-liners and really short replies aren't fun for me, sure, they can be fun for crack/joke interactions. But they won't last long. I really love working and expanding on the source material, so RPs for me really need to have that good plotting to back it up. While I'm totally open for exploring darker/taboo subjects (e.g.: adultery, toxic relationships, etc.), they MUST carry weight on the characters and be handled accordingly.

is there anything you really enjoy writing? GIMME ALL THE WEIRD COMBOS TO INTERACT WITH!!! Characters that never met or barely interacted with one another in canon but, they can interact in our RPs!!! My jam is doing worldbuilding and expanding on the source material!!! I also enjoy writing comedy, fluff, romance, slice-of-life, over-arching stories that connect/get refferenced in other threads.

how do you come up with headcanons? I look for plotholes or anything that was barely touched upon, in the source material, and I go off from it. I try establishing connections or make them clearer, to serve as future reference for me and my RP partners. I also love taking influence from other medias I'm into.

do you write in silence or do you play music? I used to be able to multitask a lot easier in the past. Now, I mainly prefer writing in silence. Only in very rare cases, I may play some kind of lo-fi beat or lounge music.

do you plan your replies or wing them? It depends on the thread in specific! Most of them have been plotted out, so I go off what we have laid out. Only in a few cases I try to wing it.

do you enjoy shipping? YES YES. GIMME. However, due to some bad experiences in the past, I'm really picky with platonic and familial stuff (popular fanons my beloathed).

what’s your alias/name? Vani

age?  27

birthday? 19th of July

favorite color?  Purple, blue, white, red-

favorite song?  Tô de pé - Maneva

last movie you watched?  I genuinely can't remember it LOL. It must have been Saint Seiya: Legend of Sanctuary.

last show you watched?  Saint Seiya Omega

last song you listened to? Discoholic - Disco Soul (Mr. Hoosteen's "Disco's Revenge

favorite food?  Pesto Pasta

favorite season?  Summer

do you have a tumblr best friend? Check these fellas out <3

These ppl know me for the longest time Gen ( @gems-of-lirema ), Simone (@unchcsen ) , Shiba ( @celestiialnotes ), Retto ( @245s ), Bobo ( @roleplayersoul ) and Smeargle ( @ofpokemon ) !! Really special mentions to @radi0activesmile, Val and @mxlik you guys will forever hold a v special place in my heart!!

Then I'm always chatting with Ama ( @gwiazdowe ), who genuinely is one of the best ppl I've met!! Honestly, I couldn't feel anymore happier to have met you! Can't forget urs truly Mica, who lives rent-free in my walls LOL. Lea ( @todefendlife ) and Mars own my house smfh.

And also special shout out to folks I've met more recently, but still deserve a place here: @shouxryuuxha / @wayfaringstrangxr / @eternalstarlights / @triko-the-fluffy-artist <3 Love u guys!

TAGGED BY: @mayxthexforce TYSM <3333

TAGGING: Anyone wanting to do this!! Just say I tagged you <3 !

[girlfromthecrypt]

My first Writeblr tag game!!

Thanks so much for the tag @mthollowell-writes! This is one of my first ever tag-games, so I'm pumped. Also, this made me realize I rly need to do a WIP intro for my main project. It's a dark fantasy/horror with some romance, too. The working title is Fucked Up Fairytale. That aside, let's goooooo

1) What motivates you to write?

Anything and everything! Writing is my coping mechanism, for good times and bad. It helps me keep hold of happy feelings and release negative ones. 

2) A line/short snippet of your writing that you are most proud/happy of. If not maybe share a line of someone else's work you love (just please credit them)

I have multiple WIPs, but I'm going to refer to the one I plan on actually turning into a book. The working title is Fucked Up Fairytale. That may undergo revisions. Anyhow, I'll share two lines/snippets, if I may! Mainly because the first one is very short indeed. Here it is:

I braced myself for stupidity, and he didn’t let me down. —This is in the main character's (Margot's) narrative inner voice during a conversation with her little brother. 

And here's the other one, same chapter, same conversation! I feel like I may have gone a little overboard with Margot's world-weariness, but I kinda like it:

“The world I dream of has me making six figures at a job where my boss doesn’t need me to show him my tits,” I said, a chill creeping into my tone. “It has me going home at a reasonable hour so I can watch TV and fall asleep with a bag of spicy chips, preferably next to a spouse who doesn’t mind that they make me gassy.”

Neither of us spoke for a couple beats. Then, softly, my brother asked, "And where's the magic in that?"

"Nowhere, Callie. That's kind of the point."

3) Which OC makes you smile every time you think/talk about them and what are they like?

That would apply to Margot's love interest from Fucked Up Fairytale. He's, um… special. To me, and in general. Seeing as he's one of the Folk, it would be unwise to share his name, especially since not even Margot knows it as of right now. He calls himself the Huntsman, so that'll work for now.

He's this rather delicate-looking youngish man; slender, short and long-haired—he's quite pretty, really. And he's the smuggest, most self-satisfied dork you've ever met, but in a sweet, non-threatening way. I just love his and Margot's more wholesome exchanges. They clash a lot; she's a recent university graduate, has been a skeptic all her life and didn't mean to get roped up into any supernatural stuff, and he's this forest-dwelling fairy-like entity. But they end up being really good for each other, despite (or perhaps because of) their differences. Even though their dynamic starts off based purely on physical attraction, it grows into something more and their interactions really feel cathartic at times.

4) What process of writing do you enjoy the most?

I love what happens shortly after getting the idea for something. It's like a little twitch in the brain that grows and grows and it's just… awesome. And I'm not actually doing anything at that stage, so it's also the easiest step. Also, I just love writing dialogue.

5) What part of writing do you think you are the best at? (Yes stroke your own ego it's okay)

I think that's also writing dialogue! Not much else to say there. Oh, and nature descriptions sometimes. I've been told my nature descriptions are beautiful.

6) What is something in the writeblr community is most enjoyable?

How passionate everyone is! We all do the same thing, we write, and we all love doing it. And there's such an undertone of positivity to it all, of openness. That's really nice.

7) A writing tool/device you use that helps you with writing? (It could be speech to text, a writing program etc)

Oof. This one's too hard for me. I'm honestly struggling with a lot of writing software so… I don't have a good answer to that. 

8) A piece of worldbuilding that you like in your own story? (It could be the magic system, a particular place in the story, a law etc)

The majority of Fucked Up Fairytale takes place in a single location. It's a magical forest that is its own entity, almost deity-adjacent. Certain characters worship it to gain its protection and power, but it can also be dangerous, trapping humans and turning them into so something they're… not. 

I just really like that forest! I enjoy describing it, I enjoy creating new creatures it may be harboring, I enjoy lending this seemingly inanimate idyllic environment a personality that kind of shines through in a lot of scenes. I almost wish it were real. Almost.

9) What piece of advice would you say to encourage others to write if they are having a rough patch?

I'm with you.

That's all I, or anyone, can really offer, I believe. I've dealt with month-long dry spells, really horrible ones. I know it's shitty, I know it sucks. My advice, if I had any, would be to force yourself to write anyways. It's the only way to get back into it, and you should never ever give up writing. Writing is worth it.

10) Tag some people whose works you love/have been your biggest supporters

Well, obviously I'm gonna have to mention @prismatic-bell who once wrote a wonderful thirty-part fanfic to one of my stories and is, in fact, amazing. Xe has contributed greatly to a lot of my stories and I will be forever grateful for that. Also @rehnwriter who helped me set up my blog because I'm bad at internet stuff and need constant surveillance.

I'm tagging… uh… anyone who sees this and wants to participate! I'm really eager to get to know more folks from this community.

[prismatoxic]

I know you've been having oc brainrot recently, (which, fucking epic btw I just now found out about those guys and they're really fucking interesting too) I was just wondering if you had anything sitting in your brain about promises to keep specifically, something about them that you just can't stop thinking about? Or a thing you really enjoy about their dynamic? Even something completely unrelated to chilaios that you always think about. I'd rlly love to hear abt what makes you tick!

this is such a nice ask wtf

glad you like the sillies, they fill my brain with worms. but as for ptk and/or chilaios...

i do still rotate ptk in my mind fairly frequently, and was actually re-reading it recently so try and get back into the headspace for it. (i got to chapter 4, i have to get back to it soon.) i do have a variety of disorganized thoughts about it

i've been deliberately drawing out the sex stuff, obviously. to tell you the truth i'm not someone who's beholden to realism; i chose to have them actually work their way up to penetration, and actually realistically negotiate the daddy kink, because i thought it fit the tone of the story and would draw things out in a satisfactory way. it also gives me time to explore the different ways their inexperience manifests, show them learning each other's bodies and desires, and explore chilchuck's view of his own body and his relationship to his gender via sex over a longer period of time.

which brings me to another part i put a lot of thought into--chilchuck's gender! i am a fan of a lot of interpretations of him, both cis and transmasc in ways other than what i've been writing. i have plans for at least one fic where he's post top surgery and on T. but i chose to make him pre-everything in ptk for a few reasons, and i'm honestly really pleased with the portrayal. some things i haven't gotten to mentioning yet are that half-foot names are considered unisex (not a headcanon i always go with, but i am fond of it), and he did voice training after he came out. it was more accessible than, like, hormones, at least back in kahka brud, and then he ended up pregnant anyway which delayed doing anything. eventually he decided he didn't really need any of it, anyway. (sorry to deprive everyone of tdick chilchuck 😔.) i like exploring his dysphoria, where it exists versus the many places where he's moved past it, his relationship to sex as a trans man and his concerns about a gay cis man wanting him... while i do insert some of my own experiences into the narrative, chilchuck's transgenderism does manifest in several ways mine doesn't, and it's really fun to figure out what makes sense for him.

speaking of things that are fun to figure out: worldbuilding!! i was told early on that the casual inclusion of "the dungeon age" as a phrase was a really genius method of suggesting the state of the world without exposition, and it very much went to my head, lmao. i do exposition every so often, but only when someone in the conversation doesn't already have the information. so laios explaining monsters and their history, and chilchuck explaining the social structures around half-foots and the differences between kahka brud and the northern continent, are easy ways to try and build on the world i've made--make readers see my vision--without it seeming too out of place. i do hope i'm doing that well, i worry about it when i'm not being subtle, lmao.

other than that--i've set up several plot threads i intend to follow through on later. i really enjoy calling back to earlier things, big or small, and using them in ways people might not expect. (like chekov's plastic wrap from chapters 3 and 10. sorry, chilchuck.) i also thought of a new one while rereading that i think will slot into the narrative nicely. it's going to be a fun ride!!

i hope any of this was interesting :')

[intertexts]

HI ROS !!!!!! coming into ur inbox this lovely afternoon with a random question bc i like your taste in things. I need a new work podcast bc im caught up with most of my other ones. I've got TWO saved because of you so I thought I'd get ur opinion: which one first. hello from the hallowoods or skyjacks :] ik u like them both (and I DO plan to get thru them both eventually but I need 2 do them one at a time or else I'll explode)

OH GOD. INSANELY HARD QUESTION!!!!!!!! FUCKED UP!!!!!!! umm. ok. ok. they're both still currently ongoing, hfth has 160 episodes so far & skyjacks has something like 230. hfth has a sort of anthology structure with many different key characters and protagonists and plot threads that all get woven together through vignettes, skyjacks is just one overarching narrative. that's the quick comparison.

-hfth: good if ur still the kind of guy who gets really emotional over casual trans & queer rep in the year of our lord 2024 despite it being "everywhere now" and "not a big deal." (me LMAO) it's not like, a podcast About That, & it's kind of reductive to say that as the first thing about it, but like. it is deeply and fundamentally and lovingly a gaytrans show. it's horror, but like, the horror equivalent of spiced tea before bedtime, more strange and warped and delightful surrealism than much else. doesn't leave u with the Residue (neutral!!! feeling awful after u finish a horror thing is like frequently part of the appeal!!) that heavier horror does. anthology with overarching plot & it's really really fun to figure out the way all the pieces fit together. there are very endearing terrifying eldritch gods and gay sad little demons and ghost boys and older butches and sentient skulls inside a weird tank body. many very resonant themes and motifs. tons of really great character work, i can think of off the top of my head at least five or so characters u will love, very fun show. makes me miss living in the woods!!!!

skyjacks: okay man. you KNOW this is my favorite ttrpg show of all time. c'mon. okay. yeah despite the insane way pd has taken over my brain (& it is a REALLY good n fun show i think) & the way im constantly talking about friends at the table as a seminal actual play show that does some of The best writing in any of the space & is easily the Best, etc. skyjacks is so fucking good. james d'amato is an incredible gm, the sound design is really lovely, the worldbuilding is. my favorite. sometimes i just sit and kick my feet around giggling and smiling and thinking about spéir. its so fucking sick it feels like folklore and fairy tales and historical romances. there are huge birds u can fly on instead of horses. the sea is angry and has spit you out. the gods are dead and the stars have fallen out of the sky. pirate story, also, btw. u will fall in love with the uhuru. maybe partially why i haven't started riptide bc skyjacks is already The pirate campaign to me. i also already know Exactly which pc u will latch onto. honestly the pcs & their dynamics are also all really compelling, nobody at the table fucking misses.

anyway. TERRIBLE answer to this question ummm i would listen 2 the pilot of both of them n then choose! they're both two of my all time faves!!! enjoy!!! :3333

[tciddaemina]

Hello! I wanted to say that I loved reading your fanfic “Come all ye mighty”! I hope you plan in continuing in the future! I do have a question though. In the first chapter you said that you based it on an unfinished webcomic but I’m not entirely sure on what you are talking about or where I can find this unfinished version. May you please enlighten me?

haha no worries. i'm happy to hear you enjoy it. i definitely do plan to continue the story. i have a new chapter with my beta right now (fingers crossed the turn around is quick). fully intend for there to be more chapters in future, though admittedly it is a story i update very sporadically

honestly its just the solo leveling manwha, which you can find at pretty much any random manga reading site online (including here). when I started writing come all ye mighty the manwha had only just finished the jeju island arc and gotten no further (so like maybe around chapter ~110 or so?), hence me discarding all the solo leveling worldbuilding done after that point, because I'd filled the stuff with my own lore. (also like, lets be real, the whole monarch and rulers things is just not that interesting)

apparently an anime has come out for solo leveling since, but i don't really have plans to watch it. i imagine you can also find that at any random anime streaming site.

hopefully this answers your question. have a nice day ❤

part 2

[elizaellwrites]

How Do I Plan Tag

So, appropriate to the conflicting sides of my personality, my planning style has two drastically different approaches... so let's get started! (I'm wordy, I apologize in advance.)

Thank you @my-cursed-prince for tagging me in this and for everyone who's ready to bear with me as I try to explain the war that takes place in my mind.

How do you plot your writing out?

Step 1- Inspiration

This almost always happens at the worst possible times, either while I'm at work, in class, doing homework, etc. Most of the time it's because I see or hear something that sends a lightning bolt of an idea straight into my mind, and I don't know how my brain jumped through the hoops to get what I got out of what I was given. When this happens, it's almost always frustrating in the moment, since I get the overwhelming urge to start immediately when I often can't. I either make a mental note of the idea, or I write a physical note to remind myself to revisit it.

Purposeful/directed inspiration can also come through listening to music, watching movies/TV shows, reading, and looking at art, but this is honestly less common unless I'm writing while doing these things simultaneously (which I do quite a bit.)

Step 2- Filtering

This can happen in one of two ways. The first is whether I decide to call my brother (my unofficial editor) to see if my idea even remotely makes sense to anyone that isn't me. Then we either scrap, alter, or build on the ideas over the next half hour or so. Most of the time he just tells me that it's my story so I know what will work best with what I'm planning, but I also know that some things can seem obvious to me as the author that will go unintentionally under the radar to a reader, so he's a great help in my process when I bring him in.

The other way can be best described as a mental file cabinet, where I keep all of my plans for current and future projects. Truly, I think this is the more common way I do it, otherwise, I would be calling my poor brother almost constantly. When I'm doing this, I'm basically skimming through each of the files, seeing if this new idea works anywhere, and which characters would be best for this plotline, or vice versa. If it doesn't fit anywhere but has potential, I make another file and save it for later. If it contradicts what I've built, it gets dismissed. If it does fit, I then go to the next step...

Step 3- Development

This is where I spend most of my time. If it's a character, this is background, personality, role, etc. If it's worldbuilding, I'm here for days to weeks until it's blended into everything I had developed previously, as if it was always there. If it's a plot line or event, I locate where it is in the master timeline and create a rough sketch of what I want to happen around the initial idea. Any research takes place here as well. It's pretty straightforward.

Step 4- Bullet Point Storylining

This creates a visual for me to go off of; a road map per se. It's flexible and very open to possibilities, yet holds me to the structure that I put in place during development. This way, nothing crazy happens, but I can still surprise myself in...

Step 5- Drafting

Where chaos unfolds. Anything can happen- as long as I try to follow the map I set up with my bullet points. Then I repeat the drafting of that part until my perfectionism is satisfied enough to where I don't feel like I need to burn the pages that only exist on my computer. So this period can also take quite a bit of time, as I refine and shape draft after draft. Editing is included in this step, as editing is simply rewriting, but way better.

In short, the process is: Plan, check the plan, plan some more, draw out the plan, then set the plan on (barely controlled) fire.

2. What's your favorite part of the writing process?

I really enjoy the actual writing part the most. It's incredibly freeing to get everything out on paper, and that feeling doesn't change when I'm even just rewriting.

Seeing how everything ties together even better than they do in the filing cabinets and scattered notes. I love to see my characters interact in a way that is better than I could ever simply explain that they would. I love when they come to life and react in a way that I didn't initially see from them but makes so much sense. I like painting my world with words so that others can fall in love with it as much as I have through the hundreds of hours I've poured into it.

In some ways, my writing process is a mystery to me in how my worldbuilding has gotten so expansive that I'm building a Google Site and a guidebook for myself. I don't know when my characters started acting without my explicit permission, and I don't know where the inspiration for my specific plotlines came from. Some have been there so long that they've just become a fundamental fact of the story and the world.

I love how it's gotten a life of its own through the chaos that has burned through the first four steps of my writing process in the last, but most important one. To me, my characters have been real people for years. Is that weird? Maybe, but it's also incredibly special, and I wouldn't change that for anything. They've grown with me, and so has my fictional world. As I grow to see the complexities of the world around me, and as I experience life, it reflects in my work for both the good and the bad.

I wouldn't have my writing process any other way. (Even if it creates an inner debate on how much chaos is too much chaos.)

Feel free to participate: @the-printed-words, @verba-writing, @marigoldispeculiar, and @queerlilchinchin & anyone else who may be interested!

[maskspurpose]

for superhero fic: 2, 8 (besides wtei), 9 for fine reunion: 7 for tori, 20, 22 and 13, 21 in general

Oh my god hiiii who are you <3 Putting these under a cut bc of how much I wrote LMAO

Superhero AU

2: How did you get the idea to write this?

WataEi week on twitter had a list of prompts and one of them included hero/villain au which made me think about how those are like... complicated and interesting roles for wataru and eichi respectively since theyve both played the protagonist and antagonist and how this could be an AU where you can explore that and another theme (masks) in a really fun way. It kinda like. appeared in my head fully formed especially bc superhero comics are a past special interest i've come back to a couple of times now.

8: Which character is gonna have the biggest storyline?

I meant to follow the broad strokes of ES1 main story and just retell it in this new framing device or rather like... see where it goes from there, so it would probably end up being Tori or Hokuto depending on where the dice of my focus falls. In a version of the story I was thinking about doing a type of monster of the week format similar to how many magical girl shows do it where the monster in question is like... the manifestation of the Mental Issues someone is having so I think in that version a lot of them have the potential to get a day in the spotlight.

Thinking about it some more though I really enjoy the worldbuilding I did for Yuzuru so. Honestly he's also a big candidate. It just feeds really well into a lot of the stuff that's happening.

9: Is there anything in the fic you're not so excited about writing?

I got extremely stuck on the worldbuilding and overarching plot and how to make it work without it being boring (bc of how much of it is retelling the main story) and also just... making the kinda complex morality stuff I wanna highlight work in a kinda cartoony setting?

The other thing is smaller but Wataru alternates pronouns depending on their identity in this story (at least in Eichi's POV) and keeping that straight is a headache and a half for me tbh.

fine reunion

7: What are your plans for Tori?

Okay so the setup of this fic is, essentially, what if EP:Link bad end where fine ends up disbanding, which means... you kind of have to imagine Tori's development re: the rest of fine as being stuck in that specific point in time? The last selfish thing he asked for didn't come true, so what does that mean... in this case it means he's suspicious of Wataru and passively pissed despite being aware that it's not fully justified.

I think at the same time he's grown more independent. He's grown up in a lot of ways that we can also see in ES2 and I think has become a lot more savvy and aware of unsavory business practices both by his own family and others. I think out of fine he's the one who seems like he's changed the most simply by virtue of being the one who had the most growing up to do. I think he's both become a bit more like Eichi in the roles he fills and a lot less like Eichi in how he does it? And where it all goes... we shall see!

20: Give a vague description of something that will happen without revealing too much

fine reunion album tour. four people with pent up emotional issues. in one bus and/or hotel room.

22: Will this fic include more angst or more fluff?

The reason I'm like willing to write it is because ultimately I want to lean towards fluff? I think there's ways to do this that get angsty really quickly and my original concept for it was leaning into that but ultimately I wanna focus on like... the fact that yes if fine split up these characters would stay the same in some ways but just how much personal growth is up to you as a person and imo one of the now most important things abt fine which is that they are together as a unit because they like each other and want to be.

There's still gonna be some angst and some topics are unavoidable just bc it will touch on like. idk a large part of the premise is that Eichi is doing the whole reunion bc he's doing an early retirement as an idol because of his health (no acute reasons and more of a precaution but it's still. yknow) and that Wataru left after EP:Link to become an actor. So there's issues.

General Questions:

13: Is there any unwritten/unpublished fics you haven't mentioned you're gonna do?

No promises but I still want to write something about Wataru and Keito working together on a script for Dramatica and what that would entail. I also wanna do a 5+1-ish (4+1?) thing/series about Wataru kissing the other eccentrics or something.

Part of me wants to one day do a collaboration on something with my boyfriend but we'd have to figure out the mechanics and I haven't brought it up to him yet, soooo 🤫🤫🤫

21: Is there any unwritten fic that you don't know if you ever will write?

Originally I was going to do a proper sequel to the Watareichi fic I wrote that's been shrinking in scope for a variety of reasons (less interest in writing wtrei as anything but exes, dissatisfaction with the fic it'd be a sequel to). There's a longer version of the Wataru & HiMERU drabble I wrote that'll never be done because uuuuuuh I really don't care for HiMERU anymore.

I have this whole AU i plotted out at some point where Wataru and Mama have a unit together bc I thought it'd be funny for a unit swap prompt but ultimately that's probably never going to happen.

IDK I have WIPs from fandoms I'm no longer in does that count?

[rowanisawriter]

for the fic writer thing; 7 / 40 / 37 / 24 / 58 ❤️

hiiii toby thank you!!

fic writer asks here

7. how do you choose which POV to write from?

this is a fun question because it implies i have some kind of planning process lol it’s vibes based, i did alternating pov with my cullen/trevelyan series battle studies and just wrote the chapters separately with half an idea of what the chapter should be about and just wrote from the pov of whoever felt like they could provide more interesting perspective lol messy mess

40. if someone were to make fanart of your work, what fic or scene would you hope to see?

i would simply pass away… honestly anything at all would be cool but i have a special place in my heart for any of my cullen/trevelyan stories it’s my most written ship so far, and the only stories where i have a fully fledged oc

37. how do you choose where to end a chapter?

vibes lol i write and then i stop writing when that part of the story is done, no outlines just suffering

24. worst writing advice anyone ever gave you?

maybe not the worst advice but just advice that doesn’t work for me, but i don’t like outlining.. seeing worldbuilding docs and character sheets and oc development questions makes me nervous lol it’s like filling out a form and sucks the motivation out of me… works for some but not for me!

58. what part of the writing process do you enjoy the most? (Brainstorming, outlining, writing, editing, etc) 

i write without an outline and with just a vibe so eventually while writing i realize what the Point of the story is and at that point it really just writes itself and that’s my favorite part, writing but when the writing makes sense and it feels like i’m working towards an end instead of floundering around trying to pin down the story

[runemyth0]

Hi! A few questions for the writer ask game (not sure if you’ve answered these already, so I put four, you don’t need to answer them all)

📗 Do you want to write something outside of fanfiction? If so, what about?

📚 Is there a fanfic or fanfic writer you recommend?

🕶️ What helps you focus when you write?

🧪 Do you research for your fics?

Fanfic Writer Ask Game

📗 Do you want to write something outside of fanfiction? If so, what about?

Yes! I've actually been planning a number of original stories for a few years. There's two main ones which are...

Commoners Die In One Hit: My take on an isekai story where a class of high schoolers and their teacher are transported to a fantasy world. They have to work together to survive in this hostile world.

I actually based this concept off of me being bored and rolling stats for a bunch of Dungeon Crawl Classics characters. The first part of the story is structured like a DCC funnel, where a bunch of characters go in and only a handful of characters come out.

Guilded Cage: Five assassins, each belonging to a major guild, are sent to a dinner to uphold an ancient treaty between the guilds preventing them from going to war. Unfortunately, the guilds all sent their worst members, because it turns out that one of the attendees has to die to uphold the treaty.

It'll probably be a while till I start on either of these (and the names might change along the way) since I've still got fanfiction I want to write first.

📚 Is there a fanfic or fanfic writer you recommend?

You know, I was just thinking I needed to update my fanfic rec list. Honestly, there's way too many I want to recommend, so I'll just pick my top three four.

A Witch in Wartwood (and it's sequel) by Discet (@discet)

This fic! Oh man... This is the fic that got me back into writing! It got me hooked on swap AUs! It is the fic of all time.

The Oracle Bakery by freakxwannaxbe (@freakystrashdump)

I never thought I'd be enjoying an OC fic this much, yet here I am recommending it. Most notable for me for having the best Belos characterization I've read. Also, I really like the worldbuilding of Oracle magic, which doesn't have a huge amount of focus in canon.

Moonshadow by A_E_redacted (@a-e-redacted)

Canon divergence ahoy! A fun story about the Collector getting adopted by Eda. I just like the Collector.

Tag Team AU (@toh-tagteam-au) by YogurtHoops

A comic, not a fanfic, but still one of the most fun swap AUs I've read. I mean, I enjoyed it enough to write a fanfic based on it, so... I really like it.

And what the heck, I'll recommend Fighting the Stars by FruitDragon as well.

🕶️ What helps you focus when you write?

Music! I've got a whole bunch of playlists that I put on in the background while I write. I have one playlist full of the Yuru Camp soundtrack that never fails to put me in the zone for writing really angsty scenes.

I also make sure to keep myself hydrated and fed with snacks (my fav is frozen raspberries).

🧪 Do you research for your fics?

Of course! Whenever I'm writing, I'll usually have the relevant fan wiki open in another tab for quick reference. And if anything comes up that might require specialized knowledge, I'll do my best to search it out.

I mostly work with fics that don't require too much research, but it does come up from time to time.

[everthewip]

Writer Positivity Tag

Thank you so much for tagging me @hallwriteblr!

I will also place the blank questions below the cut :)

1. What motivates you to write?

All sorts of things! Primarily, a simple desire for something to exist. I like to say I write first and foremost for myself. It's a story I want to create, and so I write. Of course, having readers who enjoy my writing is also a great motivator to keep going!

2. A line/short snippet of your writing that you are most proud/happy of. If not maybe share a line of someone else's work you love (just please credit them)

It was a dreary sort of storm, with clouds that blocked the morning sun in a case of steel gray and a thick mist that drained the reddish  hue of the overgrown heath below. It left nothing untouched and stole all color. Even the statue of the Gray Lady- erected centuries gone in the very center of the moor- resembled her namesaker; as gray as the sky, as the rain, as the dirty wool adorning the young woman who stumbled through the muck.

3. Which OC makes you smile every time you think/talk about them and what are they like?

Actually, and OC from my Skyrim-based fanfic! He's a fun, flirty, adventurous High Elf who drives my Dragonborn OC absolutely insane. I love him with all of my heart.

4. What process of writing do you enjoy the most?

The actual writing! I love it when the words flow and I feel driven and have the energy to actually write.

5. What part of writing do you think you are the best at? (Yes stroke your own ego it's okay).

The starting. I'm very good at starting things; I am very bad at finishing them.

6. What is something in the writeblr community is most enjoyable?

I'm honestly so new here that I don't know how to answer, but thus far I just really enjoy seeing everyone talk about their stories and characters and plans. I haven't interacted much yet, but I still see and am delighted!

7. A writing tool/device you use that helps you with writing? (It could be speech to text, a writing program etc)

Fonts. I almost always pick a specific font for what I'm writing and I find that really helps me feel inspired. I also find youtube videos of specific ambiance noises and settings to really help get in the scene and describe it well.

8. A piece of worldbuilding that you like in your own story? (It could be the magic system, a particular place in the story, a law etc)

I'm fond of the forest where the bulk of the story takes place. It has been altered through magic and turned into a prison, which has made it an unsettling place to end up in. But I think it's the magic itself I enjoy and the way it interacts with the environment and the people there. That's all I'll say for now, because this is a major plot point.

9. What piece of advice would you say to encourage others to write if they are having a rough patch?

I'm a big fan of not forcing something, but sometimes you actually have to make yourself sit down and start writing. Sometimes you'll find a groove and it'll start flowing; sometimes it won't. If it doesn't, then don't force it any further. Sometimes you have to let the writing come to you.

10. Tag some people whose works you love/have been your biggest supporters

No pressure to do this and I'm sorry if you've been tagged already! @janec23 @vhwrites @cosxima @stanrendipity

1. What motivates you to write?

2. A line/short snippet of your writing that you are most proud/happy of. If not maybe share a line of someone else's work you love (just please credit them)

3. Which OC makes you smile every time you think/talk about them and what are they like?

4. What process of writing do you enjoy the most?

5. What part of writing do you think you are the best at? (Yes stroke your own ego it's okay)

6. What is something in the writeblr community is most enjoyable?

7. A writing tool/device you use that helps you with writing? (It could be speech to text, a writing program etc)

8. A piece of worldbuilding that you like in your own story? (It could be the magic system, a particular place in the story, a law etc)

9. What piece of advice would you say to encourage others to write if they are having a rough patch?

10. Tag some people whose works you love/have been your biggest supporters.

[kivaember]

hi! i’m absolutely LOVING Star To Star and i really admire your writing. your storytelling skills are incredible and make for such a fun read. every single chapter is a banger and compelling to read like i have been physically hooked, i can’t escape, i can’t stop thinking about this story

i was wondering if you had any advice for writing a road-trip fic? clever or funny things you’re especially proud of? and if you have any strategies you use for brainstorming and outlining the plots of your stories?

i feel like that might be a lot so feel free to answer what you like, and thank you for your time 🫶🏻

thank you! i'm glad you're enjoying star to star :) it always makes me happy to know someone likes my stuff, even with my long pauses inbetween chapters sometimes ;;w;;

as for advice hmmm. when it comes to planning fics, i just nail down what the overarching thing i want to achieve is. so, for star to star, that's "Jango and Obi-Wan meet as kids and go on a road trip, bridging the gap between Mandalorians and Jedi". i just continued to build it from there, and even decided to mirror Jango and Obi-Wan's journey with Jaster and Feemor, since you can explore the two different perspectives of the culture clash when one pair are kids and the other adults.

next thing, i don't really plan it out rigidly. i have a specific plot points i want to hit and a rough timeline, but i keep the space in-between vague in case i get a sudden idea to call back to something, or to follow a thread elsewhere. it also means i don't get overly stuck trying to follow a strict plan, since that kills my inspiration to be honest haha i like having the freedom to adlib parts of the story in case i think of something better.

uhhh also i don't write everything chronologically either... if i get inspiration for a later scene, i write it. sometimes it never gets used, or it gets cannibalised or whatever, but it helps to write 'alternative scenes' or even little ficlets in the story, just for personal reference. that's what star field ended up being tho lmao, but i have a word doc just full of extra scenes or future scenes. helps to just get the ideas out sometimes.

honestly, i just enjoy doing the worldbuilding for star to star. like. thinking of the mando and jedi culture and expanding on it. i also like exploring how terrifying force visions can be, which uh, is probably really obvious haha

sorry for rambling, but i hope some of that was interesting, at least? i'm always happy to talk about star to star stuff!

(also i'm very proud of 2-1B in star to star. i'm so glad everyone loves that assassin dro- i mean, med droid.)

[fountainpenguin]

Fanfic meme: 8, 16, 20

[Current Ask game]

8. What’s the oldest (longest since last update) fic you most want to continue (unfinished or no)?

I made a significant amount of progress on both The Beatin' Path and Lions Under Palm Trees before I faded from writing Total Drama, and some of my favorite scenes I've ever written are in those 'fics, but were never posted. I delayed mainly because writing those meant skipping past my unfinished 'fic The Lyin' Queen, which came chronologically earlier but which I was struggling with.

I like Staci as a character. I think she's goofy and confident. She was fun to write, but I was going to do this big twist reveal where you find out at the end that she has short term memory loss, and the entire story was written so that you just thought she was a little spacy until then. I wrote the prequel to Lyin' Queen (Life of a Loser) in two months or less, so I was young and ambitious and wasn't prepared for how much work Lyin' Queen was... and it only grew more difficult as I continued through school.

I'd like to get back to these stories though because sincerely they have some of my all-time favorite scenes and I still think about them a lot. Leonard is like, my all-time favorite Total Drama character and he was eliminated second in Pakithew and first in Ridonculous Race, which means it's Leonard time ALL the time and he's the best.

Will there be an audience for these stories almost 10 years after I stopped writing them? Idk, maybe not... but when I think about how Leonard is fantastic, and how many scenes I never shared with the world, I am filled with love... (for Leonard).

Throwback to 2015-2016 when I was still posting mainly on dA and I used to type with the manual italics:

Also to this day, Topher is still hands-down one of the best examples of a manipulative slimeball character I have ever seen in my life and I love him too <3

16. Have you ever stopped writing a fic/for a fandom because it wasn’t receiving enough attention?

I don't think I'd put it all on not receiving attention, but I did put No Anesthetic aside partly because it wasn't getting as much positive feedback as I hoped and partly because of criticism I received (not in the visible reviews portal, but elsewhere) that kind of hurt.

Honestly Youngblood is the only part of Danny Phantom that truly captivates me (though I do have a fondness for a few of the other ghosts), and I just didn't have the drive to carry that story through a wave of criticism when I had the alt option of writing for Fairly OddParents in a fandom that was much more welcoming to my ideas.

I don't want to make it sound like that's the only reason I stopped on this 'fic. There are a lot of scenes in No Anesthetic that are kind of info-dumpy and drag on, since Youngblood is learning about the Ghost Zone for the first time. I was juggling school, life, and other 'fics and the info-dumpy nature of this story made it more of a chore to write. It just didn't feel worth it because it was more work than my other stories, I didn't feel like anyone was enjoying it, and it was one extra thing I had on my plate, so I stopped.

Now that it's been 6 years, I'd like to rewatch Danny Phantom and maybe go back to this story someday to see if it sparks something in me. I like my worldbuilding ideas for the Ghost Zone, and like the TD 'fics above, I had a lot written. Here's one of my favorite WIP scenes:

But also, my draft has a lot of missing scenes, and the story hangs in fragments because it doesn't really "go anywhere" and the plot is just a found family story without a lot of direction, so it would take a lot of revisions to make it less info-dumpy and flesh it into something with proper story beats. I might go back to it someday, but probably not any time soon. Or if I do go back to it, I might cut a lot of the plans I initially had and turn it into a shorter piece with just a few chapters instead. We'll see.

20. Have/Would you ever rewrite a fic? If yes, would you take the original down?

When I'm finished with Origin of the Pixies and Frayed Knots, I'd like to go back and clean them up a little. There are little lines here and there that bother me, and I used to spell out large numbers instead of typing them as numerals, there are info-dumpy moments, stuff like that. I force myself to keep moving forward because I'm worried that if I get nitpicky, I'll never finish, so just remember that you're reading stuff I started in 2016 and it is technically in a draft state /shrug.

I've not rewritten a 'fic before, but I do have some pieces from 10 years ago that I'd like to write with more sensitivity knowing what I know now. As one example, there's a 'fic I wrote that I never moved from dA to FFN because the relationship between those characters moved from platonic to romantic after one forced the other into a kiss. I didn't understand consent back then and media had shown me that people often liked surprise kisses and enjoyed platonic relationships that suddenly became romantic.

I played with those characters for a while before I discovered the concept of asexuality and realized that I headcanoned this character as ace. I no longer wanted that forced kiss to be associated with my storyline, so it still exists on dA because I don't like deleting 'fics, but I didn't move it to FFN with the others.

There's also another 'fic I wrote where it's pretty obvious that I didn't understand how the legal system works, so I didn't move that one over either because I don't think it's very good. I also have other 'fics on a site that's not AO3, FFN, or dA, but I posted under a different name back then and while they were fun, they were populated with OCs and I don't want to unbury them.

I have no interest in rewriting those old 'fics, but the general idea of "There are sensitive topics I didn't treat in the most sensitive way 10+ years ago" and "I really didn't understand how the adult world works" remains. I'm glad I've been writing for so long, but I do hope I never end up in a situation where someone wants to hold up my old stories as an example of what I believe now, because I was young and have a lot of old stuff I don't want to delete because this is my writer's journey and I don't want to throw it away /shrug.

This is the last Ask for this Ask game that I have in my inbox, so I'll wrap up the questions here unless anyone wants to send in more tonight. Thanks for the interest!

[Current Ask game]