#i can ask for the timeline of the events. for an outline of the story I've told ot so far. ideas on how to connect the plotpoints

[blinday]

Dudes say what you will about ai but this shit helps

[nikovraskol]

this is gonna be very long winded so apologies in advance!

I’ve noticed that the readers ages of 16, 18 and 21 feel more important since they’re like a checkpoint for important parts of their lives. 18 is when they butted heads with their family more often, 21 is when they died and 16, well that’s the age that the returned to.

what would it have been say at 16 they were on autopilot so they went to breakfast and Alfred (and by extension the rest of the family ) didn’t realise something was off about them until later?

what if they returned at 18 instead of 16 when their relationships were more volatile with the bat fam?

or heck maybe at 21 a month, week, day or hour before getting shot- say if they were able to contact the police beforehand or at least call Alfred for help if they were shot but the last timeline warned them enough that they avoided lethal wounds?

(bonus: Bruce or the others - I’d expect Jason to pop up from a seedy alley- finds them after being shot and on the verge of dying, but they’re saved just in the nick of time)

(bonus bonus: they get greedy and kidnap surprise adopt multiple different versions of reader and their batfams go nuts because they “went missing”)

GRR come over here and kiss me on my hot mouth i'm feeling romantical also i will carress you for picking up on the age thing.. like damn u actually read my shi

masterlist

at sixteen, if you were to go to breakfast and act on autopilot! then congrats! you'd be able to leave (for a month). it'd be difficult because bruce wouldn't check on you so you couldn't ask him for funds. but if you were to ask alfred maybeee he'd give it to you, so long as you don't say what it's for, of course.

so then, you're living happily, peacefully even. for two months, you live your life like a normal person! until one fateful evening when you're casually lounging about -- someone knocks on your door. weird, but okay.

you open the door, and there stands fucking batman and robin just. standing there.

"we're here to--"

you slam the door on their face. now, because you've acted on auto-pilot, they didn't interact with you in the same way they did in the og story, so you're understandably confuddled. because? why the FLIP is your estranged family at your door?

over the course of the next few days, strange events occur. you go to the diner down the road to get some food and red hood slides into your booth wordlessy. you're walking home after going to the store and nightwing literally APPEARS and offers to carry your groceries. your phone's battery is mysteriously depleting fast, flipping orphan and spoiler show up at your school, hanging around.

worst of all, no matter where you go -- there's that bat-shaped shadow following you. if you look up, you'll see the outline of his cowl, and if you lock eyes he will swoop in, to save you -- of course! so keep your head down, savour your freedom for as long as possible but don't ever get too comfortable.

at eighteen? ooh i feel like a fly mischeviously rubbing it's hands together.

twenty-one year old you waking up eighteen, well, dare i say, it's better than waking up sixteen.

eighteen you had preemptively distanced yourself from the family for you. you're a legal adult, so you can work -- and best of all? (you can smoke ciggerattes) you have actual friends.

up until your eighteenth birthday, your every waking thought was on how to be better, to get better -- so with you becoming a legal adult -- well you understood that there isn't much for you to do anymore, you began to focus less on yourself and more on you. despite that, there was still the nagging feeling heavy in your chest that you'll never be accepted, never be apart of them -- there was a part that yearned for that acceptance, however late it maybe.

so your sudden disinterest wasn't alarming, not really. until you've finally found a good place, in a nice area. you're packing your stuff casually when bruce walks into your room for the first time in fuuck knows how long (because alfred asked him to).

"where are you going?" he is flabbergasted, but keeps a cool expression on his face as you give him the most diabolic side glare ever.

"i'm... leaving?"

lmao, no you're not! all of a sudden this calm procedure turns into a whole thing. give bruce the name of your landlord, he wants to see if they're good -- in fact, he can buy the house off of them so you don't have to pay a thing!

dick and jason are literally scanning every part of your new apartment, top to bottom, every single thing.

"this is not safe, these windows don't even have locks." jason sighs, analysing your windows with such scrutiny it makes you uncomfortable.

"this chain is broken! tut, tut, you can't live here!" dick adds on, ignoring the fact that the chain on your door is fine and that one chip on it won't get you killed.

tim begins to talk to you about finances, but he overexplains it using words you can't even begin to comprehend -- you're pretty sure he's doing it on purpose, what with the smug grin on his face.

"didn't bruce buy the building?" you ask, your eyes narrowed as you watch him scribble down numbers and whatnot.

"..no comment."

while those buffoons are doing that, you're being pressured by damian to stay.

"why must you leave? to live in a crappy old shack? just stay in the manor, it's safer for you." he's literally DOWN your neck with these types of comments. meanwhile, you're reeling 'cause what the fuck is going on?!

whether you give in or not is up to you -- just know, you will one way or another return to the manor.

as for the last one, let's say you get transported back five minutes before getting shock. which pisses you off 'cause what're you supposed to do in five minutes!?

nonetheless, you manage to get away with being shot once instead of five times, so you have enough energy to limp away -- and then you bump into red hood.

oh damn, oh damn, wow, so he's going to shoot you to -- or that's what you think, what you don't expect is for him to pick you up and literally shoot your offenders.

wow, okay.

you get taken back to the manor and you're literally reeling as they fuss over you, "how could you be out so late!?" this or "why do you need a job!?" that.

it's a shortcut to being locked in the manor, they take care of you like you're incapable, dick spoonfeeding you despite your protests, tim sitting silently besides you which makes you stress because he's so unnerving, cass hovering around you -- bringing you everything you need, sometimes you don't even realise you need it until she brings you a glass of water because you 'looked thirsty' (???).

this isn't just restricted to when you're recovering. you nearly died because of their negligence! so they pay extra attention to you, just so you don't get any silly ideas about walking gotham alone at night. honestly? what were you thinking, it's a good thing they're here to protect you.

(also side note ; the idea of jason being NEAR (name) when they died, but not knowing is so eghsudg to me, like he'll learn about where they died after finding the crime scene and he falls into a pit of despair because if he had taken the right route, if he had followed his instincts, he could have saved you.)

as for the last, last one. let's say you're a random variant of (name) from another universe and you've gotten transported without knowing it, you walk home morosely.

as you open the door, you are greeted with countless different versions of you -- all of them wearing the same expression of confusion. you don't know how to react when dick spots you and shouts, "we got another one"

guys if u sent an ask or request I WILL get them done.. i'm just being a lazy bum, thank u for the kind words tho everyone <3

[writingquestionsanswered]

Stuck in Planning Stage of Writing

Anonymous asked: Do you have any advice on how to get out of the planning stage and more into the doing stage of writing? I’m up to my ears in notes for scenes and fragments of dialogue between characters. I know where I want to go with the story, I’ve even written a handful of scenes when the ideas come to me, but now that I have this lump of thoughts I need to start organizing and placing them all in their rightful spaces. The one thing I truly know is how much I’d love to see this through. Do you have any advice for a girl who’s unwittingly made herself stuck with a puzzle?

[Ask edited for length]

Planning a novel can sometimes be like digging a really deep hole for a specific purpose, then suddenly realizing you've stranded yourself at the bottom of the hole without a ladder. You've spent so much time digging the hole, you'd like nothing more than to get out of the hole and move forward with whatever project required you to dig the hole in the first place. There's just one problem: you can't teleport yourself out of the hole. You have to climb... or, ideally, build yourself a ladder to climb out with whatever materials are available to you.

That's probably where you are right now with your story. The hole you've dug was necessary, and it's good that you dug it, but as much as you'd like to just magically leap out and write your story, you can't do that. You have to build yourself a ladder to climb out of the hole first. So...

My go-to emergency "get out of the planning hole I've dug myself into" ladders are timelines, scene lists, and outlines.

Timelines: Your story may take place over a single day or several centuries, but either way, time flows in your story. All of those notes and fragments of dialogue and partial scenes are moments or events that happen within the time frame of your story. So, plotting those moments and scenes out on a timeline--according to when they need to happen--is about the easiest way to break your story down into its existing pieces and to see what's missing/where.

There are lots of ways you can format a timeline, such as a table, a list, a horizontal timeline, calendar, or a roadmap timeline. My go-to is a basic two-column document where the left column is date/time and the right column is the moment/event. There are also apps and online tools that will help you build a timeline in various formats.

Horizontal Timeline:

Calendar Timeline:

Table Timeline:

More info: Making a Timeline for Your Story Scene Lists: Stories are made up of scenes, so a list of those scenes is another great way to organize the events of your story. You may even find that creating a scene list is easier after making a timeline, because a timeline may help you see where certain moments or events need to be their own scenes and which can be combined together into a single scene. Just like timelines, scene lists can be as simple or complex as you want to make them. Once again, my go-to is a simple two-column document with the left column for the scene number and the right column for the scene summary, preferably just a sentence or two. Ultimately, once I have my rough timeline and scene list done, I usually combine them into one multi-column document along with my story structure beats.

Table Scene List with Beats:

Complex Scene List/Timeline/Beat Sheet:

More info: Scene Lists

Outlines: Outlines can be really any format you want them to be, and some people count timelines and scene lists as their outlines. My go-to outline is just an exhaustive beginning to end summary of everything that needs to happen. Sometimes, just working through your story from beginning to end can be the best way to make sense of all those disparate pieces you've been piling up.

More info: Guide: How to Outline a Plot Story Structure: Finally, I want to talk a bit about story structure templates like Save the Cat Writes a Novel!, Larry Brooks story structure, seven point story structure, etc. Story structure templates can be a really great way to make sure you're hitting all the right story beats--almost like a road map through your story. It's just important to know you do not by any means have to stick to any particular story structure exactly. Use it as a guide, take what works, leave what doesn't, and don't panic if your beats don't fall exactly where it says they should. As long as your story is working, that's what matters. Some writers even like to frankenplan their stories using a variety of different structure templates.

More info: Creating a Detailed Story Outline (story structure)

Once you finally have a roadmap for moving forward, whether that's a timeline, scene list, outline, or all of the above, you know you're ready to start writing!

Final note: I just want to add that planning isn't for everyone. Some people are discovery writers who let their stories work themselves out as they go. The above is just meant for people who are planners, who have done a lot of planning, but need to pull that planning together into a cohesive, organized document. And... if you have all of the above and still find yourself unable to start, you might find help in the links below. Happy writing! More help:

Beginning a New Story Figuring Out Where to Start a Story Deciding How to Open Your Book How to Move a Story Forward Trouble Getting Started Have Plot, Can’t Write

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

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[childotkw]

Hi Jordan, I'm just starting out writing my fic and I am a bit stuck so I'm seeking for some advice. How do you plan your fics? I have a few specific scenes in my head and I'm not sure whether I should write those and build my fic around it? Or I should plan out all the vital plot points

Hello darling! Sorry about the delay in getting to you!

Most of my stories are born out of one cool scene or concept, and then I create the branching storyline for either direction from that one moment in the plot.

I don’t have a specific method that I follow - each story’s development is different and I’m very much at the whim of my muse and imagination. But one structure that I have found helpful is this:

Identify your main characters and their details (e.g., their backstories, their traits, their flaws relevant to your fanfiction world / environment / AU). For example - in a non-magical AU, how would this impact the lives of character who were canonically magical?

Order your current scenes into a rough timeline and identify the gaps between them. For example - label them ‘Scene A’, ‘Scene B’ and ‘Scene C’ once you know what you’re working with.

Starting with your earliest scene, figure out how much build up you want until you reach it and then start working backwards until you’re satisfied with your story’s new initial starting point. For example - your original ‘Scene A’ might end up becoming your new ‘Scene H’. Relabel and reorder them as you go!

Think of potential in-between scenes that could occur to propel the story and characters along, and mark them down (these in-between scenes don’t have to be super detailed, but it will help you to flesh out your order). For example - “I know that at some point before ‘Scene F’ I want these two characters to have a fight, so I’ll just put it down as ‘Scene D’ for now”.

Repeat the above steps for all of your original scenes, until you have a tentative sequence of events between all of them.

Once you have a rough outline, identify your moments of conflict - and outline how these moments will impact the growth of your character. For example - ask yourself things like: Will they grow stronger or weaker because of this conflict? Will their previous progress continue or will they be stalled? How does it affect them emotionally as well as physically? Does their flaw play into this conflict at all? Have I foreshadowed things to my satisfaction?

Characters drive your story events forward, so consider what their motivations are at each point in the story. For example - ask what they want and how you, as the writer, can stop them from getting it.

Start planning how each conflict will be resolved. For example - did the character’s growth from a previous moment of conflict help them learn a new ability or piece of information that lets them overcome this next challenge?

These are just some small tips but I hope they help! The important thing about setting out your plot is understanding that everyone’s process is different, and that even if you don’t know all of the in-between moments just yet, you’ll discover them along the way.

Some people are super detailed in their outlining, others figure it out mid-way through. I had the ending of CS planned out pretty much from the beginning. The plot-twist to ybtm only came to me as I was writing it, and I had to go back and rewrite the first chapter to make it make sense.

Writing is very fluid, and you shouldn’t be afraid to start just because you don’t have all the pieces perfectly arranged.

[hoeratius]

okay, asking this question is maybe the dumbest i've ever felt bc it feels like there should be a straightforward, obvious answer here, but every time i've tried to look it up, i've found nothing but pages upon pages of what feels like people talking in circles and only serving to make me more confused in the end. since you're the most knowledgable person i follow when it comes to the Classics, i figured this might be a good place to ask and maybe get an actual answer? (that being said, it's fine if you don't want to/don't have the time to answer this! obviously!!)

where can i read about the older greek myths? as in pre-trojan war. mostly, i'm interested in theseus but also just pre-trojan war stories in general. i know not everything got the iliad/odyssey treatment and there's probably not any surviving text to point at in a lot of cases, but there must've been something. every time i try to look up where to read about the history of theseus, i'm being directed to a bunch of modern retellings, but google has gotten so bad as a search engine, i literally cannot find anything about the origins of this thing everybody's retelling

from what i understand, theseus was sort of everywhere sticking his nose in everything at all times, so i'm not asking for a comprehensive timeline of his whackass life and everything he ever appeared in or anything, but if you could point me in the direction of anything about him--actual plays or academic texts, anything like that--that's more credible than, like, a self-published, self-described "bold new reimagining" with a stock image of a dude in party city roman cosplay as the cover, it would be MUCH appreciated 😭

(again, sorry about how... basic this question is i guess lol? i'm very new to classics in general and still pretty ignorant about everything, so it's EXTREMELY likely that this is a very dumb question with a very obvious answer, but thank you regardless!)

Hello! What an exciting ask (and apologies for my excited and maybe incoherent answer)!

Since you seem to be most interested in Theseus, I’ll use him as an example but much of this can be applied to other Greek heroes/myths/stories more generally.

As you noted, few get the Iliad/Odyssey treatment. In fact, even Achilles and Odysseus don’t, considering the Iliad spans only 7 weeks or so, and the Odyssey misses out on Odysseus’s actions before and during the Trojan War, and after he came home – and he did a lot after he came home. So where to go to find all the other stories that happened?

Some things to keep in mind:

Writers assumed their audience was familiar with the hero’s greatest deeds already

The big boys – Achilles, Odysseus, Theseus, Perseus, Heracles, Oedipus – had their stories shared in many formats. Think of the Parthenon metopes, which show Theseus’s key deeds in sculpture, or vases, hymns, public performances, bedtime stories, etc. People would encounter these often enough that the outlines of these heroes’ stories were known to them from a young age.

One of the Metopes of the Parthenon, showing (probably) Athena and Theseus.

As a result, ancient texts never show the entire story; they select the moment they want to tell and focus in on that. Hence the Iliad focuses on Achilles’s wrath, the Odyssey emphasises his homecoming, and the Argonautica tells the story of the Golden Fleece. Similarly, tragedies will choose a meaningful moment: not all of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra’s struggles, but his return home in the Agamemnon, or the events that lead directly to Pentheus’s dismemberment in the Bakchai.

So finding one text that will give you a useful overview will be hard!

These heroes are often also connected to so many other famous characters, that sometimes they show up as a side character in their stories, so it depends on which stories capture your interest most.

Pre-Homeric texts are few and far between

But this is not to say there aren’t pre-Trojan-War myths!

There are loads! Anything with Heracles or Theseus is pre-Iliadic, and others, like the house of Pelops, link more to the Trojan War but are also separate from it. Plus, there is Hesiod’s Theogony (roughly contemporary with Homer), which tells of the births of the gods and goes all the way back to the start of the universe.

The Ovid situation

Many Greek texts are lost, and we’ve only got allusions to this or that part of the myth in the existing fragments, etc. etc. So how do we still know so much about so many of these stories?

Enter my fave: Ovid.

Far later than Homer (1st century versus 8th century BC), but with access to all the Greek texts and them some, he wrote a lot of fairly comprehensive stories. These include the Heroides, letters written from the perspective of female characters trying to connect to their male lovers, with letter 10 coming from Ariadne to Theseus, and Metamorphoses 8 with parts of Theseus’s story.

If you’re looking for a high-level overview of what was what in ancient myth, starting with the Metamorphoses will give you all the big boys and many of the smaller ones.

Theseus specifically:

I must admit that Theseus is not my strong suit, but sources I’m familiar with that I would recommend:

Hippolytus, by Euripides and Phaedra by Seneca: these both tell of Theseus’s second wife Phaedra falling for his son Hippolytus and causing his death

Catullus 64: A lament from Ariadne after Theseus has abandoned her on Naxos

Metamorphoses 8, 12, by Ovid: Snippets of Theseus’s life, incl the Minotaur

Ones I’m not as familiar with but might be up your street:

Life of Theseus, Plutarch: a historian/scholar’s biography. He had them in pairs, where he compared the two; Theseus is linked to Romulus

The Argonautica, Apollonius Rhodus: Follows Jason in his quest for the Golden Fleece; Theseus is one of his heroes

Oedipus at Colonnus, Sophocles: apparently Theseus is a major side character here but I don’t remember!

There is also The King must Die by Mary Renault, a modern retelling from the ‘80s that blew me away. The only book set in ancient Greece I’ve ever read that doesn’t shy away from how alien their culture and values are to us today and doesn’t try to sugarcoat things.

And if you’re looking for more heroes: Wikipedia is your friend!

The Classics-related pages are pretty reliable, and they often mention the main sources per character.  

I hope this gets you started but please do hit me up with more questions, I always love diving into these things!

[unpopularwriter25]

Hello!! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ACCEPTING MY REQUESTSS, and now I— musix have a new idea!! So here's ask request: So I already have the idea: Tanjiro x Modern Reader!

Plot summary: Tanjiro got isekaied into Reader's world!! Except it was pre-nezuko Tanjiro (before the kamado massacre), Reader + Tanjiro was freaked out, but then Reader decided want to help Tanjiro change the future viva telling him about the Kny manga/anime.

And I also ready got the endings... But if you could make ending 1 AND ending 2 it would be great!! Cauz I wanna see both endings.

Ending #1: Tanjiro eventually returns to his world, remembering all about the manga/anime ended up changing the future, and then in Reader's world— the manga/anime ended up changing too! With the twist that he may or may not hint about the reader. And of course, Reader cheering him with her heart in the modern world.

Ending #2: Reader ended up go to Kny world with Tanjiro, wanting to help him change the future— and they DID change the future. They also ended up saving a lot of people and Tanjiro ended up dating Reader instead of Kanao, and at the end of the scene it was shown back in Reader's world, the Kny manga/anime ended up changing too— this time with Reader in the series. (Also it would be funny if some Modern! people either simp for Reader or wind up shiping TanjiroxReader!!)

Welp, that's all~~!! Please take it easy with the requests! And I look forward with your writings again— ur no.1 fan: Musix 😘😘😘🥰🥰🥰

Sorry for the delay!! I've been having a writers block lately. So I hope this is what you wanted!! The two endings are separated. Enjoy!!

Across Worlds: Tanjiro’s Destiny

In a bustling modern city, Tanjiro Kamado found himself inexplicably transported from his world of Demon Slayer into a modern apartment. Confusion and disbelief clouded his features as he took in the unfamiliar surroundings, the faint sounds of traffic drifting through the open window.

Across the room stood Y/N, equally stunned by the sudden appearance of a young man in traditional Japanese attire. She blinked rapidly, trying to make sense of the situation. “You’re… Tanjiro Kamado?” she ventured cautiously, her voice tinged with disbelief.

Tanjiro nodded slowly, his gaze shifting between the bewildering surroundings and the perplexed expression on the her face. “Yes,” he replied, his voice tinged with uncertainty. “But… where am I? This doesn’t look like home.”

Realization dawned on her as she recalled the Demon Slayer series she was so fond of. “You’ve been isekaied into my world,” she explained, her tone growing more assured. “I know this might be hard to believe, but in my world, your story is known as a manga and anime.”

Tanjiro listened attentively as the reader recounted the events of his life that had yet to unfold in his timeline—his family’s massacre, Nezuko’s transformation into a demon, and his journey as a demon slayer. Though initially incredulous, Tanjiro’s heart clenched with a mix of fear and determination as he realized the gravity of his situation.

As days turned into weeks, Tanjiro and Y/N forged an unlikely alliance. She introduced him to the modern world—its technology, customs, and the wonders of convenience stores. In return, Tanjiro shared tales of his world—its beauty, its dangers, and the unwavering bond he shared with his family.

Amidst their conversations, Y/N devised a plan to change the future. Armed with her knowledge of Demon Slayer, she meticulously outlined key events and pivotal moments where Tanjiro could alter his fate. Tanjiro, determined and resolute, absorbed every detail with unwavering focus, his eyes reflecting a newfound hope.

“I believe we can change the future,” she proclaimed one evening, her voice filled with conviction. “Together, we can rewrite your destiny, Tanjiro.”

Tanjiro nodded solemnly, gratitude etched into his expression. “Thank you, for believing in me,” he murmured, his gaze locking with hers in a silent promise of determination and hope.

Ending #1: Months passed as Tanjiro prepared himself for the journey back to his world. With the Y/N's guidance and unwavering support, he embraced his destiny with renewed vigor and purpose. The day of departure arrived, marked by a solemn farewell between Tanjiro and Y/N, their hearts intertwined with hope and anticipation.

Through a shimmering portal, Tanjiro returned to his world, armed with the knowledge and determination to alter the course of history. Days turned into weeks as she anxiously awaited news of his success, her heart heavy with anticipation and hope.

One evening, as she sat in her living room, a familiar portal materialized before her. Stepping through it was Tanjiro, now adorned in his familiar haori and carrying a serene smile upon his face. Tears welled up in Y/N's eyes as she rushed forward to embrace him tightly.

“I did it,” Tanjiro whispered softly, his voice filled with relief and joy. “I changed our fate.”

Overwhelmed with pride and joy, she held him close, her heart bursting with happiness. In the months that followed, the Demon Slayer series in the reader’s world began to subtly change. New scenes emerged, depicting Tanjiro’s victories and the bonds he forged, with subtle hints of a mysterious character resembling Y/N cheering him on.

As they watched the series together, Tanjiro occasionally glanced at her with a knowing smile, leaving the question of whether he remembered her role in his success unanswered. Yet, as they sat together, hand in hand, watching the changed series unfold, their bond remained unbreakable, transcending time and space.

Ending #2: Driven by a fierce determination to ensure Tanjiro’s success, Y/N made a bold decision to follow him into the Demon Slayer world. Stepping through the portal, they arrived amidst the breathtaking landscapes and ancient traditions of feudal Japan, where demons lurked and warriors trained.

Together, Tanjiro and Y/N embarked on a journey to rewrite history. Through battles and hardships, they forged deep bonds with Tanjiro’s companions and saved countless lives. Amidst the chaos of battle, a bond blossomed between Tanjiro and Y/N, surpassing friendship and blooming into a love as enduring as time itself.

In a climactic battle against formidable demons, Tanjiro emerged victorious, rewriting the course of history and securing a brighter future for his family and friends. With gratitude and affection shining in his eyes, Tanjiro turned to the her, taking her hand in his.

“Thank you,” he murmured softly. “I couldn’t have done this without you.”

Back in her world, the Demon Slayer series underwent a transformation. New chapters and episodes depicted the adventures of Tanjiro and his allies, with the reader prominently featured as a courageous companion who stood by Tanjiro’s side through thick and thin.

Amidst the buzz of excitement, modern-day characters who followed the series found themselves captivated by the new storyline, some even shipping Tanjiro and Y/N together. As the series continued to inspire and captivate audiences, Tanjiro and Y/N found solace in quiet moments together, reminiscing about their journey and the bond they forged across worlds.

Hand in hand, they watched as the Demon Slayer series continued to evolve, their own story woven into its fabric as a testament to courage, love, and the power of destiny.

[lais-a-ramos]

so, i don't know much this fits into today's theme for lottielee weekend, "day 1: missing/extended scene", but...😅

yesterday i was talking with some discord server friends about the theme of belonging in yellowjackets, and it made me want to expand a bit on how important the relationship between lottie and laura lee is even if they had a relatively short time together in season 1 (if i remember correctly, the showrunners said they abandoned any attempt at tracing an outline for teen timeline, but, as some might know now with those leaked scripts from a few months ago, they spent only three days as each other's People, so, a really short time!!!!)

lottielee is such an special ship, not bc it's "healthier" or whatever, especially since it isn't healthier than any other yellowjackets ship lol

it's special bc lottie spent her whole life feeling like she is an error of nature due to all the psychophobia/sanism that she has faced due to her psychosis episodes and schizophrenia diagnosis, and then comes this girl saying that she is not an error but that she is a gift from God.

and, sure, yellowjackets is a horror story, so that ends up being the catalyst for the tragedy that comes later.

actually, yellowjackets not only draws inspiration from horror, but it seems like it also draws a lot of inspiration specifically from Gothic fiction and literature as it's defined on the Wikipedia entry, especially the parts on how Gothic fiction "is characterized by an environment of fear, the threat of supernatural events, and the intrusion of the past upon the present", how "the depiction of horrible events in Gothic fiction often serves as a metaphorical expression of psychological or social conflicts", how "the form of a Gothic story is usually discontinuous and convoluted, often incorporating tales within tales, changing narrators, and framing devices such as discovered manuscripts or interpolated histories" and how "especially in the late 19th century, Gothic fiction often involved demons and demonic possession, ghosts, and other kinds of evil spirits".

so, with that type of inspiration, it was obvious that things would have a tragic end, which is lottie's downward spiral into cult leader precisely due to this new-found confidence in her visions inspired by laura lee's faith in her.

still, that dynamic, that idea of being moved by someone that tells you that you're not an error of nature and growing attached to then even if for a relatively short time, that is something that's so fragile and so...Human.

and, also, there's a parallel there to be made with queerness, yet another thing that systematic oppression treats as nature's mistake, and how much relief it can bring when someone makes sure that it is not.

as for laura lee, we can't say that it's something that is one-sided on lottie's part.

we can see in pool scene that she feels disconnected from the other ppl in church, as much as lottie herself seems to feel disconnected from her large but empty mansion; actually, that she feels so disconnected to the point of attempting to take her own life, or, at least, some form of self-harm by diving into the shallow end.

and, as jane widdop themself has said in their interview to the yellowjackets buzz podcast, pool scene was a result of laura lee having a similar immaturity to cope with emotions to what the other girls had at doomcoming, which adds to the idea that it was an impulsive act of desperation, a mental health struggle which was received by her peers as just proof she needed to have "more faith" bc she survived the not-so-accidental "accident".

there is a parallel to be made with queerness here as well, actually, with how oftenly queer Christians are told by conservatives that if they have "more faith" they will be "fixed".

so, lottie going after her asking for advice, it was probably the first time she ever felt like someone has seen her and genuinely took her seriously.

the first time someone really took their time to actually listen to what she had to say.

so, we have these two girls who are so fucking starved for validation.

and they met each other, and, for a moment, they belonged together before death (an very strange plane explosion with literally no spark or other catalyst for the fire, to be more specific) did them part, and that is tragic, and melancholic, and so so painfully human...

anyways...

lottielee is a such a raw and fantastic dynamic and i could spend hours talking about them 😅

[bacchanal-if]

Can I ask what programs you use for writing/note taking? This games seems like it has a lot of lore/character info so I'm curious if you use anything like scrivener, ywriter, obsidian, etc or if you just use google docs/word. Thank you so much for your time :) I want to write an IF someday but I SUCK at organization.

I've tried several of those programs and found that they don't really work for me, personally. In my case, making all those entries in them became its own project and somehow made me feel less organized. If this were a high fantasy game set in its own world, it might have been worth it, but otherwise I just found it distracting.

I prefer having all my information available at a glance, so I stick to Google docs/sheets and try to keep the number of them minimal. I semi-recently reorganized my notes, and at the moment, these are all I need:

A doc for unused scenes/quotes/ideas/particulars/povs/code that I need to jot down lest I forgot

A doc for settings notes

A doc for hobby notes

A doc for general historical notes

A doc for the general outline and breakdown of chapters

A sheet for all character information

A sheet for the timeline of what all the characters are up to before and during the events of the story when they're outside the MC's view

A sheet for tracking variables

I've found this to be wonderfully flexible as I am able to further organize within the documents in my own way, and I don't have anything so strewn about that I forget it exists. I wish you the best in your IF! 🫡

[kindlingkeen]

hello ~ about your series asymmetrical warfare will there be a bruce-jason reunion? what was their dynamic before jason died? does bruce treat jason as his greatest failure the way he did in comics? (ignore if spoilers ofc) thanks!

Hi anon, thanks for your ask! Great questions (really respect that you went for the meaty one right out of the gate there /pos). Let me start out by not answering your questions at all, and I’ll work my way up to some answers.

I’ve mentioned in other posts that I don’t have a concrete outline in place when I write. There are things that I know will happen in Asymmetrical Warfare, and things that I know absolutely will not. In between all of that, there’s wiggle room, a lot of wiggle room. Something that I love about writing fanfiction is that, to me, it’s this neat form of collaborative story telling. At it’s core, AW is my version of the batfam and the story I want to tell about them, but it’s very much influenced by readers and the fandom at large (mostly via its tumblr presence). Comments on ao3, asks on tumblr, random internet convos, the comics I read, all of it influences how I think about AW. (For example, Harm Reduction basically exists solely in response to ao3 comments.) It brings a complexity and richness to AW that wouldn’t be there if I was alone in a vacuum writing the ‘verse from start to finish.

So, how does that relate to your questions…

will there be a bruce-jason reunion?

I honestly don’t know. Most of AW has the ‘identity porn’ tag attached to it. The ‘identity reveal’ tag doesn’t start coming in to play until the end of what I have sketched out so far. When I think about what comes after that, it’s all fade to black. I can make an educated guess based on core character traits, what’s happened so far, and the fixed events/timepoints I know are coming. But, it’s still open to infinite possibilities. At least until the timeline advances further and more details get locked down. The Storm, the arc that comes after Territorial Disputes (the companion piece to Guerrilla Tactics), is a pretty big inflection point. It’s also, you know, not written yet. 😉

what was their dynamic before jason died?

The granular details here are still evolving in my mind, but it’s built on a backbone of a mixed pre- and post- crisis Bruce and Jason. Jason was adopted at 12. They had a father/son dynamic. Bruce was genuinely trying to be a good dad, and he succeeded a lot of the time. Things got rough later on in Jason’s teenage years.

does bruce treat jason as his greatest failure the way he did in comics?

I’m not sure if you’re referring to how Bruce treated Jason’s memory during the period while Jason was presumed dead in the comics, or how Jason is actually treated post his reappearance in the comics, but here’s what I’ll say with respect to the former and AW. The AW Batcave has a Robin memorial with a ‘good solider’ plaque on it. AW Tim is well versed in the dangers of being reckless via the object lesson that is Jason Todd. Sometimes, late at night, usually after a bottle of whiskey or a dose of the good painkillers, AW Bruce thinks about how his greatest failure in life is actually how he’s chosen to cope with the death of his son.

Thanks again for the ask, anon! Hopefully this was as interesting to read as it was for me to write! My ask box is always open 🩵

[aidanchaser]

WIP Tag/Reblog Game

Thank you @rosie-b for the tag! I love hearing about your works~

List the titles your top five priorities for WIP updates (link your fics for new readers!)

An upcoming scene, event, or detail in each fic that you're looking forward to writing

Bonus: make a poll for your followers to vote on which top 5 WIP they are most excited to see an update on!

Then tag 10 writer friends!

WIP TITLES

(I picked the 5 that I have open currently - there are so many more than 5 rattling around at all times, and i try not to start publishing any that aren't already outlined beginning to end)

Boulangerella - a fairy tale/cinderella story full of love square shenanigans, blood sacrifices, and scheming villains

Butterfly Effect - Adrien as Hawkmoth/Shadowmoth AU; Marinette and Chloe hold the ladybug and cat miraculous - songfic with butterfly effect by FJØRA

Expectations - Kwami Swap AU where Adrien is Mister Bug from the beginning; he's dealing with the anxiety of his role (and the knowledge that he handed his earrings over to hawk moth in another timeline and has no idea why)

After the War (place holder title) - a 1920s post-WWI AU, where Marinette runs her parents' bakery by day and a club by night; the club is a cover to take down war-profiteer Gabriel Agreste through vigilante action; Adrien has just returned to Paris from his time abroad in London, and Marinette has to wrestle with her childhood crush on him and her now grown-up hatred for his family

Time Lady of Creation (place holder title) - A Time Lord AU - I will say little else about it because it's still in the outline stages with only a few scraps of scenes drafted

UPCOMING SECTIONS

The next chapter is full of A LOT of confrontations and hard conversations - Marinette & Luka (the original conversation has been written but it needs to be redrafted to a new context); Felix and Lila (again, a lot of their stuff is written but needs to be redrafted); and Marinette & Chat Noir (not drafted yet - fragments abound in notes but need to be tied together)

Adrien has to figure out how to get his hands on the Cat and Ladybug Miraculouses so that he can save Marinette from a terrible fate

Marinette needs to help Adrien face Miracle Queen - I'm excited about the Cat/Dragon and Bug/Snake renditions of their powers for this AU, but this fic just kept getting comments that were like "it's not even that different from canon" and so I no longer care too much about this fic - I'm just irritated because I wrote the ending already and i LOVE the ending but I can't post the ending without writing the middle

The next scene I need to write is a confrontation between Ladybug and Adrien Agreste, where he doesn't realize how much she hates him and she has no idea how much he's madly in love with her

Right now it's mostly an outline, so I need to write the beginning, where Ladybug saves Adrien from a wax museum come to life then asks him to run away with her through time and space!

So - which WIP are you most excited to see update?

I know I'm supposed to tag 10 but I know about half of the writers I am mutuals with have already been tagged, so if I accidentally tag you a second time, I apologize! @astargatelover (if you have 5 wips?), @asukiess (if you haven't been tagged yet), @kay-elle-cee, @uncertainwallflower, @ninadove (I would love to hear about your projects and get to know you more) [I'm so sorry i fully reblogged and commented your own WIP list and did not even process the connection - absolutely embarrassing], @chaos-has-theories, @sunshinemarauder, @wield-the-mighty-pen, @miabrown007 (I don't think you've been tagged yet??? unclear), and last but certainly not least @dammithawke (bc i haven't heard about your role reversal au in a while and would love to hear about it again)

[penvisions]

dev outlines + 1500 follower milestone!

i'm so overwhelmed and i'm overjoyed. honestly, shocked tbh. i cannot believe 1500+ of y'all follow me and enjoy in my silly lil stories! but unsure of how to celebrate, so a lil poll to gauge possibilities:

it's looking like:

by the grit of sandpaper will be 7-10 chapters and i just broke my own heart outlining the rest of the fic. miscommunication is my angst jam and boy did i counteract all the softness i'm sprinkling in the fic. excited to see how y'all react, i've been lovin' the reactions so far. it WILL have a happy, sappy, fluffy ending

the melting point is still giving me trouble, idk why i can't focus on it when i do have it all sorted out and just have to flesh out the scenes. hoping to conclude this fic by the end of this month. i have other frankie ideas but i think i like reading about him more than writing, because there are so many amazing frankie fics out there

return the favor should be seeing it's end relatively soon as well. with only a handful of chapters to deal with each the david episode, the hosptial episode, and the return to jackson; we're looking at about 40-45 chapters total. i have a lot planned for it and will move on a little past the show and games first timeline. idk if i will do a second part for the events in season and game two. i kind of want to ignore the big bad things and have them all live happily ever after

garnish is still in my head all hours of the day. chef joel is beside me every time i step into a kitchen. want to revisit them with some snapshots

of beskar and kyber is my official baby now. my toddler learning how to walk and i can't keep track of all the things i want to do with it. but as it sits, it looks like it will be my only wip soon enough. i have so many scene ideas in a nearly 50k document for our dear tin can and san

[choccy-milky]

Hi! I started reading your story sometime in the last week and I’m OBSESSED! I normally don’t have much patience and can’t get myself to read anything past like 15k or anything that’s still being worked on, but your story hooked me almost instantly! I really liked the description and decided to give it a try and I’m so glad I did. The detailed descriptions you give pull me into the story and the way you seamlessly switch points of view feels so natural. I just wanted to let you know how much I’m enjoying reading so far and I’m excited for more! ❤️

AW TYSM😭😭 this means a lot, esp since ive been kinda self conscious about the length of my fic lately (and also how long its gonna end up being once im actually done LMFAO) and ik my chapters have gotten ginormous BAHAHA so im glad that even if you don't usually read long stuff you still gave my fic a try and enjoyed it so much + are looking forward to more!!💖💖so ty again😭🙏 AND as usual i'll be using this to answer other asks:

thank you and AA im glad to hear it!! a lot of people have been telling me ive been inspiring them to draw lately and i love it (im just sorry i dont have any concrete tips to give people other than keep practicing LOL) but good luck and i hope you keep at it!!🥰🥰

GIRL IDK, IDEK HOW LONG THE STORY IS GONNA BE, but assuming im still brainrotted even when its done then YEAH u wouldnt be able to stop me if you tried😊 (im glad you like them so much as well, ty!!😭)

thank you!! and yes i usually have at least a vague idea of what i want in the story before i start, though a lot of it didn't become concrete until i started writing/things evolving from there. i made a big (slightly) vague timeline of the entire fic from beginning to (almost) end, and then i keep fleshing it out from there as the ideas keep coming to me/evolving, and for each chapter i make an even more detailed outline, and THEN i get started on the final chapter. so its a bit of a process bahaha, but the brainstorming is really fun!! as for any advice, im not sure. maybe just brainstorm/write down scenes and ideas that you know for a fact that you want to put in your fic, and then try to find a way to connect them to other scenes from there and work backwards. basically WRITE WHAT YOU WANT TO READ, cuz like im my own biggest fan fr, thats the most important part LMAO

LMFAO speaking of outlining future events.....this may or may not happen in the future/in an epilogue when clora is pregnant and she got those pregnant woman hormones that seb is fighting for his LIFE to keep up with HAHAHA

ive been drawing since i was 4 years old so...a while. LOL. and if you even look back to the beginning of my blog, my first drawings of seb were SO UGLY💀💀 so if you just keep drawing you constantly get better naturally (also in response to the other ask you sent as well, i use clip studio paint to draw!)

AW TYYY. AND YES CLORA WILL HAVE ANOTHER MC MOMENT, the ranrok confrontation is still coming, after all...👀👀 and true, idek who would win if clora and seb duelled again with neither of them holding back, but u are so right. even if clora DID win that would do nothing to change sebs mind about how protective he is LMFAO. THANK YOU AGAIN im glad you like my fic + drawings so much!!💖💖

BAHAHAH in my fic (for smut reasons and so that they could be 17 when they did the nasty) i made clora's bday april 3rd and sebs february 12, so clora is an aries and seb is an aquarius (and yes i just checked and apparently they ARE compatible, so seb can rest. also i just read up on aquarius and damn it unintentionally suits seb so well?? LOL "Aquarius is undoubtedly the most innovative, progressive, rebellious, and humanitarian. " and "They have incredible energy, though they may not always use it wisely. They find it easy to get through life on charm and good looks." LMFAO. ok king we love that

[llitchilitchi]

This might be a lot to ask, but do you have, like, a monarchy restoration timeline? A general outline? Your comics are just always so cool.

okay I'm gonna fully reveal myself here - there was never any proper outline

one of the great things about working in a snippet format, with relaying the story out of order through in medias res comics or single pieces, there was never any pressure to make a fully canonical order of events or space things out. I could add things if I felt like they missed somewhere, hell, the whole romantic aspect of DNF can be ignored if you are not into it. I was influenced by a lot of other AUs of the time, like guard dog or aeri's revive book!Dream au, where things were vague and canon could change if people wanted it to change in a way

the overall idea for the first arc, though, was gonna be approximately this:

- Dream is taken to Kinoko and recovers for an unspecified amount of time - George and Sapnap start fighting over his presence and they realise that something is wrong. both try to ignore it and come up with different justifications for why it's okay to treat Dream the way they do - sometime after Dream's recovery, Karl returns from his time travel journey. Sapnap, worried about Karl possibly turning Dream in, tries to ease Karl into knowing about Dream's presence and finds out Karl doesn't remember Dream At All except for some early days minor conflicts. Sapnap then proceeds to lie to him and manipulate him into helping keep Dream safe - all the while, there is a search for Dream ongoing in the mainlands. Sapnap joins it to keep up appearances and works with Punz - Dream struggles trying to pull himself together while being constantly surveilled by George and Sapnap. he can't exactly go with his plan while they are around, he doesn't fully trust them after everything that happened. cue angst and arguing and everyone being absolutely horrible to each other - things get worse as things go on because the tensions are high and everyone is anxious. Dream, desperate to get Sapnap to listen, snaps about how he has no idea what he could even do to get Sapnap to listen to him at all. Sapnap tells him he might start by returning the crown to George. through Sapnap's pressure and George's much gentler but much more manipulative prodding, he gives in - predictably enough things are still not great but Sapnap gives Dream the benefit of doubt and listens to what he has to say - that eventually leaves to Dream revealing more and more about the prison and in the end revealing more secrets from the revive book as the Dream Team finally start pulling themselves back together

and that would be the end of the first arc! which would be marked by Sapnap revealing the death book to Dream and saying that he wants to make up for all the things he did to Dream while he was in Kinoko!

there were of course some side stories, like Dream and Tina becoming friends as was hinted at in one of the comics, or Niki finding out about Dream staying in Kinoko and reporting to the Syndicate, prompting Techno to come investigate (he knew about Dream being there but since Niki insisted he decided to come talk to the homeless teletubby. it was gonna be part funny part genuine and wholesome.) then, of course, there was the whole Karl plot, and the Punz plot, and a little bit more of DreamXD meddling and trying to get George's attention all for himself.

there were also plans for a second arc to the story that I have only few vague plans for. like Dream confronting Sam, Bad and Ant at some point about his treatment. (Sam was going to lose all his canon lives one at a time to each member of the Dream Team, actually :D) as one of my old sketches suggests, there would be a confrontation with Quackity, in which Sapnap would stand in between Q and Dream and take Dream's side in the conflict. Dream was going to revive Ranboo and there was going to be a full Endersmile Worked Together The Whole Time thing. also a Dream and Foolish allyship. somewhere.

I wanted to involve a whole lot more characters and I was always reminded of Someone by people in the tags/asks that I forgot about - these tags and asks helped shape a lot of the story

the second arc is a lot more Vague Nothing than the first one so I can't really add much lol

[writingquestionsanswered]

I've seen across the web multiples tips for outlining/plotting when you have ADHD, however, I feel like I kinda have the opposite problem: I'm autistic and I always feel a big need of minimum surprises, doing things methodically and planning ahead of time, but my stories don't quite flow and I may need to work a non-forced pantser mindset, so if you gave me any advice on how to embrace a less outlined writing, I'd be eternally grateful.

Middle Ground Between Planning and Pantsing

It sounds like you need a middle ground between planning and pantsing, but it may take some trial and error to find one that works for you. Here are some possibilities, though:

1 - Do a Beginning to End Summary - Most of the time when people talk about outlining a story, this is what they're talking about. Just doing an in-depth beginning to end summary. However, you can adjust the depth of your summary to suit your needs, which makes it a great tool for when you need something with just the right balance of planning and spontaneity to fit your unique set of needs. Try free writing a summary of the story as though you were explaining it to someone else. Talk about as much of what's going to happen as you know or can flesh out as you go. Just having this in hand when you write can be helpful. If you find you need more structure, you can go into more detail. If you find you need less, you can pull back.

2 - Use a Story Structure Template - I've found that 90% of the time when writers struggle with planning vs pantsing and/or outlining, it's because they don't have a good understanding of how stories work and how they're generally structured. How stories work and how they're structured does depend on the type of story you're writing, but outside of experimental or deeply literary stories, most stories do have some sort of structure. You can learn more about plot and story structure, along with suggestions for story structure templates, in my Plot & Story Structure master list of posts.

3 - Do a Scene List - I'm mostly a planner, but I have to be careful not to let myself get bogged down with too much planning and too many details. So, for me, the best middle ground between planning and pantsing has been scene lists. I love scene lists because they're such a straightforward road map to your story, while at the same time having the depth flexibility of a beginning to end summary. You can put in as much or as little detail as you want. A scene list can be a just a list of scene titles that just let you know what's going on in the scene, like: Scene 1 - Hunting with Gale. Scene 2 - The Reaping. Or, you can do a brief or in-depth summary of what happens in each scene. Or you can even do what I do, which is a fairly extensive data table containing things like when and where the scene takes place, who's in it, plot point, summary, etc.

4 - Do Chapter Summaries - If you prefer not to break your story down into scenes, you can do chapter summaries instead. Like a scene list, this can be as light or in-depth as a scene list, from a list of chapter titles or working titles that suggest what happens, to in-depth summaries of what happens in each chapter.

5 - Do a Timeline - Timelines are kind of like scene lists in that they break your story down into important events/moments, and you can choose how deep to go. There are a also a lot of different formats you can use for a timeline, but you might want to start out by doing an old-fashioned line drawn on paper, then mark in the most important events. From there, you can start filling in the next most important events, then the slightly less most important, zooming in as much as you want to.

I hope something here will work for you!

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[childotkw]

hi!! i really, really, REALLY love your writing I'm not kidding when I say I'm utterly in love with your style (and your mind because you're brilliant! YOU HAVE GALAXY BRAIN!!) I wouldn't say I'm a picky reader exactly but..well let's just say that I can love a story but it's rare for me to read something and then instead of just loving the story, I fall in love with the writing itself too! I swear when I first discovered you it felt like I found a whole new world! after reading everything you posted on ao3, I camped here for days reading everything else regardless of ships/no ship/plot. It's been years since then haha I still go here XD I was that CAPTIVATED. MESMERIZED. IN AWE. STILL AM.

With THAT SAID, before I get way too emotional and forget my second reason for this ask hahahshs I'm not sure if someone has already asked this before but do you have something like an outline/thoughts process of any of your published works? or just the general idea of your writing process! I'm genuinely interested in how you plan and sort things out! If that's alright of course >_< I would love to learn a thing or two!

Hello hello!! Thank you so much for your kind words - it's great to hear you've enjoyed my stuff! 🥰

I have a whole bunch of posts in this tag (#writing tips) where I talk about my writing process / plans, if you want to have a look at those as well!

For me, every story honestly has a different approach. Some pop up nearly fully formed (e.g., Consuming Shadows), while others change and morph depending on the day and the phase of the moon (e.g., ybtm(ibty)).

I suppose I'm lucky in that I've never really struggled with coming up with ideas. If anything I have far too much fun letting my imagination get away from me 😅

But I always try and have the overarching plot line mapped out before I commit to writing a story. I always sit down and map out a general storyline (different acts, if you will, or what the main character growth moments will be), so that I have a rough outline to starting working towards.

For example, when I first sat down to start working on all your secrets (all my lies) last week, the first thing I did was establish a timeline.

I mapped out from the day Regulus' consciousness comes back in time (1 August 1976, for those interested), all the way to two years in the future (currently at May 1978), and wrote down, month by month, what events would take place. It's not necessarily set in stone, but by having a timeline written out, it gives me an idea of where the peaks and troughs in my story would be. It gave me a solid understanding of how my pacing might need to change, or how certain events need to be added / rearranged so that there are never any significant months of inaction for the characters.

By having this timeline in hand, I can now start filling in the smaller moments (how I get from Point A to Point B in the story), which gives me a way to start plotting out my chapters and what will happen in individual scenes.

Hope that gives you an idea of how my brain works? If you have any other specific questions, feel free to ask!

[bougainvillea-and-saltwater]

Please please tell me ANYTHING about your oc Jia because I'm so fascinated with the concept of Septim dynasty still being alive in the events of Skyrim.

(Also because I have a whole story on draft about Martin having a child who somehow was looked away for 200 years and coming back during the timeline of Skyrim)

HI!!! First off, thank you so much for the ask, and I’m so sorry in advance for the infodump that follows…🥹 

So, about Jia, she’s Martin Septim’s great-granddaughter. For my story, I have outlined the plan where Martin had a fling with one of the Blade agents who were sent to find him and keep him safe during the Oblivion Crisis. Eventually, the woman became pregnant with a child, though with the Thalmor menace and the fact that she carried a Septim descendant, she managed to ‘disappear’ by fleeing Cyrodiil, changing her identity and her looks altogether, and thus successfully protecting herself and her child. The years passed peacefully, her daughter grew up and built her own family, and that was when Jia’s father was born to her. Remus is… a complicated being, but the short story is that he had the ‘gift’ of foresight, prophetic dreams like Uriel Septim VII had, and so it was revealed to him he was of the Septim dynasty, something his grandmother fought tooth and nail to hide... Those visions showed him Sky Haven Temple in Skyrim and called him towards a Nord woman who was destined to be the mother of his daughter: the last heir of the Septims, as well the Last Dragonborn—that’s my Jia. Without spoiling much, eventually, the Thalmor do discover about her father’s and later about her heritage, and well, the fact that a Septim Dragonborn walks Nirn again by the time a war of succession is ongoing on Skyrim can be quite scandalous for all sides…

Septims are very equivalent to the Targaryens from GoT, in my headcanon. Tiber Septim has very Aegon the Conqueror vibes, Pelagius the Mad can be linked to the Mad King Aerys, Uriel Septim VII to either King Jaehaerys the Wise or King Viserys the Peaceful… Also, Targaryen women were said to be very strongly connected to blood magic, and in TES we have Queen Potema with her necromantic talents… Not to mention the dragon blood and the connection to the dragons. But the most precarious trait they share is the madness. There was this saying in ASOIAF about the Targaryens, that when a new Targaryen is born the Gods flip a coin—one side of sanity and the other of madness—and the world holds its breath to see how it lands. The same can be said for Jia, a Septim and a Dragonborn, neither full dragon nor full mortal, who knows that she can seize not only Skyrim’s throne, but the Ruby Throne itself, astride Odahviing and become a tyrant and oppressor as a dragon can naturally be, ‘a plague for the future generations’ as Arngeir tells us in-game; or she can be gentle and good and fair like her great-grandfather was before her. And I’d love to see the road she’ll choose in her story…👀💖

I’m very curious, what’s your take on Martin’s secret heir appearing during the events of Skyrim? 👀