#i still haven't finished my outline 😭

[that-vibe-i-cant-explain]

What do you mean, NaNoWriMo's only 2 weeks away???

:O

[evaskjew]

I'm trying something for fandom artists/writers

Well, as I don't have anyone to tag (I'm really the least sociable person in the world and I'm too scared to talk to people in the fandom 😂), it's up to those who see this post to participate or not (if it turns out that it's not going to take at all, but never mind!)

Well, as my thing is drawing, I'll go with that (but you can adapt it to writing for those who write, or anything else for that matter!)

Last drawing:

Favourite drawing:

Well, I'm cheating, I'm putting two in because I can't choose 😖 On the one hand it's my best pastel drawing (to say it's also my second realistic portrait in colour) and on the other the painting I did with my grandmother and it's also the first time I've done anything other than a portrait in realistic drawing with a background and so on.

Hated drawing:

Right, then. Here again it's hard to put just one. I'm VERY hard on myself and I hate almost all my drawings 🥲 But really, if I have to choose, there are three that I really can't see any more because I find them so horrible.

Future project(s):

Following the poll, I'm going to start working on a new portrait of Garreth.

Next up, why not draw Ominis again (I've taken several in-game screenshots of him that I'd like to do to work on the backgrounds) and I'd also like to draw characters I haven't drawn yet, like Natsai or Amit.

And maybe one day, when I'm bored because I can't find any more images to use as models, I might draw some MCs from in-game screenshots.

And apart from drawing, I'd like to finish writing my OS by the end of the year 😂

Favourite artist:

There are far too many talented people in fandom ��️

But without hesitation I'd say @tamayula-hl! Long before I dared to post my drawings online, I admired her work so much and even today I jump on every notification as soon as she posts! I know I'll never reach her level but her work is a source of inspiration and motivation (even more so now that I've switched to watercolour and I'm still trying to figure out how to work with colours, the way she works with colour is so incredible 🥰)

And I can't thank her enough for her post showing all the possible angles for Ominis' and Sebastian's hairs, it was so helpful 🙏🏻

And I admire @choccy-milky too! These are the two fandom artists I've been following since I started on Tumblr a little over a year ago 😄

One or few points on which I would like to improve:

First of all, I've managed to stop transferring the outlines of my drawings. Yes, it's a bit cheating to transfer, I know. But if I don't do it, the proportions are going to be catastrophic and that's going to piss me off (long live my perfectionism) and I'm going to stop and stubborn as I am coupled with my lack of self-confidence, I'm never going to want to draw again. So for the time being, we're going to keep tracing 😅 We'll see what happens in time.

But most of all, I'd like to stop depending on images I find on Pinterest or Tumblr and just reproduce them as drawings. I'm incapable of doing anything other than faithfully reproducing an image 😢 It annoys me, because I'd also like to post lots of drawings of my MC Evangeline interacting with other characters 😞 And the worst thing is the difference in my drawing level when I do something that doesn't depend on a reference image! (the proof: my drawings of Evangeline and this drawing of Ominis)

I took it upon myself while writing this post and forced myself to do a drawing of Evangeline in 20 minutes without a model (I just traced a neutral pose from a drawing dummy to have my base and improvised from my watercolour of Evangeline for her outfit).

You be the judge:

The end of her leg and her shoe is a disaster 😭

Well, that's that. I don't know how it's going to turn out and whether any artists/writers are going to take part, but it was a fun post to make!

[thesymphonytrue]

Hiiii! You know I love your longer fics—the Ghosts and Echoes series and your wing au fic! And I was wondering how you stay motivated to work on longer fics. And come up with manageable plots that are still interesting to read. (Sincerely someone working on a longer project while also experiencing writers block 😅)

HIIII!!! 🥰 thanks for the ask, @ascreamintothevoid-blog <3 <3 <3

Aw thank you so much!! I had fun writing them!! And your comments kept me going when I hit roadblocks, honestly!! 😅

MOTIVATION: oh man motivation for longer fics....well...I'd say with my first long fic, Ghosts, I kind of kept into it blindly and then had to finish it, it was my first fic I'd posted for the White Collar fandom and while I had about 50% of it finished, if I hadn't gotten such encouraging comments, I don't think I would have ever finished it. The comments gave me such motivation, because people were reading my story and liking it and I was just....thrilled 😭🥹 On that vein, maybe I crave human interaction or feedback on my stories too much, but with all of the long fics I have written, I have started posting them when I'm about 50-80% finished writing it....then the reader feedback helps me get to the final sprint to the end. so...THANK YOU to anyone who has commented on my longer fics, it really helps with motivation! 🥹

The other two, I definitely had to do more "scheduled writing" to finish them---I made a goal of writing a chapter per week while simultaneously editing a previous chapter. It was a reasonable goal at the time and helped me through the slumps of not being "inspired"---I just would sit down and word vomit into my draft and then clean it up later 😂 Long fics feel like a marathon. They are fun, but exhausting!

PLOT DEVELOPMENT: Okay, so plot. LOL. I struggled with this, because, ya know, fanfic is so often inspired by just ~vibes~ 😂 Let me take the wingfic AU as an example for how I developed the plot, so there will be spoilers for that below if you haven't read it:

Normally my fics start with a vibe-like inspiration and then I kind of weave the plot around that. With longer fics, I figure out my climax of the story, and then scatter the characters and make their individual trails to get there. If that makes sense?

So let's take Neal in the wingfic for example. His climax in this story is after having searched for belonging, he finally finds his "family." That was the basic goal. Then, I had certain moments I wanted in the plot: the wing sacrifices, for example, so I placed those moments in the plot. THEN, I connected those moments. The connecting of the moments is the hardest for me lol. ( I do outline in detail long fics in a journal and draft several outlines before settling on one. )

Then, after I have my main characters plots developed, I start weaving in the villains and side characters. In this fic, I had never planned on developing Peter's father, John, until I started writing----then all of a sudden his story just appeared in my head and had to be told. So I had to adjust my original plot, but his story made the plot much richer, so perhaps he was meant to be there all along. It's weird. But most of the time plots like that just...it's like the characters actually tell me their story in my mind and I'm just listening to them.

and hrmmm making them manageable and interesting? Well, to me they don't seem riveting because I know the whole story. LOL. I have to remember that the reader is only seeing what I have shown them so far, so they likely will find it more exciting than I will writing it. I keep it manageable by limiting the characters and character POVs...and...by not getting into macro plots (like social justice for Flyers like I wanted to, but it was just too much for me to handle).

OKAYYY long answer but I hope that helps!! Thank you so much for the ask!! I actually have been struggling with lack of motivation/writer's block lately (seriously, my mind is EMPTTTYYYY for fics rn 😭) and this helped me remember how fun it is to write and makes me want to get back to it.

Also good luck on your longer project!! you can do it. Just baby steps and small chunks at a time---that's how I stayed at it, a tiny bit of writing per day, and when you need a break, take a break! the inspiration will flood into your brain when it's ready 😎

[daisymae-12]

weekend WIP game

thanks @welcometololaland for this fun game (the perfect way to spend my saturday night 😂) and @kiwiana-writes for the tag ❤️ I only have one art WIP right now so I opted to do the writers questions !!

Rules: List your WIPs below (if you only write one fic at a time, feel free to include future WIPs/ideas!) then answer the following questions. Then, tag as many people as you have WIPs (or more). (questions for artists/gifmakers here).

1. WIP List: ok this question made me actually label my WIP's because they're all just titled "Fic #1", "Fic #2" etc in my google drive 😅

Roommates/College AU

5+1 bestfriends to lovers [Alex accidentally keeps friendzoning Henry lmao]

Supermarket meet-cute (but not cute because Henry manages to piss off Alex)

Fake Dating/College AU [inspired by how my husband and I met]

Vampire Henry

Artist Alex [Bea commissions a gift for Henry]

Canon Divergence from Kensington

Roommates AU ft. stardew valley

Coffee Shop AU

Canon Divergence from Lakehouse

Neighbours AU

Fake Dating/High School AU [also inspired by how my husband and I met lol]

2. Which of your WIPs is currently the longest?

Fake Dating/College AU !!

3. Which WIP do you expect will end up the longest?

Fake Dating/College AU - it's the only one so far that I've made an outline for because I think it'll be long-ish 😂

4. Which WIP is your favourite to write/the most enjoyable to write? Why?

Right now it's my Vampire Henry fic ❤️ enjoying it because I'm not struggling too much to write it - and the ideas have been coming easily 😌

5. Which WIP do you find the most intimidating to write? Why?

ooo probably the two canon divergence ones? mostly because they'll probably be the fics with the most angst - yikes

6. Which WIP do you experience the most self-doubt about. Why?

gosh - all of them? I haven't published new fanfic in over 6 years so it's definitely been nerve wracking even sharing snippets over here for wip wednesday 😅

7. Which of your WIPs will you seek out a beta/sensitivity reader for? Why?

Maybe for the longer fics? I'm not sure if I will! We'll see if I ever get to writing anything long enough 😬 I am sort of warming up to the idea of google doc cheerleaders? I dno, I'm such a slow writer though so it might stress me out 😂

8. Have any of your WIPs been struck by the curse of writer's block?

yess the Roommates/College AU - this was the first rwrb fic I started all the way back in June LAST YEAR 😭 I wrote bits and pieces of the first two chapters and still haven't picked it back up since 😩 I've also hit writer's block with the 5+1 - I thought this would be the first fic I'd publish for rwrb AND the first fic I'd ever finish but I got triggered when writing one of the scenes which shocked me because I didn't expect it to? I'd even say this fic is light-hearted but yeah I had to stop. Hoping to finish writing that one after Vampire Henry though !!!

9. Which WIP has your favourite OC? Tell us about them?

ooo so far the only fic with an OC is Fake Dating/College AU but I can't say more without spoiling 👀

10. Which WIP is the sexiest?

Everything is such bare bones atm, so I truly don't know 😂

11. Which WIP is the angstiest?

Probably Canon Divergence from Kensington 😅😅😅

12. Which WIP has the best characterisation (in your humble opinion)?

Hoping the characterisation is ok on all of them but right now they're all so short still that I can't pick one out 🙃

13. Which WIP has the best scene setting (in your humble opinion)?

Gosh I am BAD at this - will probably end up being the Coffee Shop AU because cafes are my second home but we'll see 😅

14. Which WIP have you worked the hardest on?

As of right now - been working the hardest on Vampire Henry fic but I anticipate it'll be outdone by Fake Dating/College AU - that one will take me a long time to write based on the outline I've done 💀

15. Which WIP do you have the highest expectations for? Why?

ahh I'm not sure! Maybe Fake Dating/College AU? I can already tell that fic is going to be my baby and I hope everyone will like it too

16. Do you dream about any of your WIPs?

Not really but I do daydream about them in the shower 😂

17. Do any of your WIPs have particular complexities that your other fics don't?

hmm not sure since everything is still quite bare bones so I'll answer this next time !

18. Which WIP is the funniest or has the most humour?

Right now - Vampire Henry 😅 but not really ??? but yes the most in comparison to everything else so far LOL

19. Do any of your WIPs contain outside POVs or a deep dive on a character other than the main ship? How are you finding that process?

Nope but I do want to write a fic with an outside POV one day!

20. Tell us one thing we don't know about one or more of your WIPs.

Vampire Henry fic will probably be the first fic in a series 😬 I have ideas for a sequel OR extra scenes that will be ficlets 🥰

Yay that was so much fun! Love reading about everyones wip's but no pressure ❤️ @myheartalivewrites @heybuddy-drabbles @read-and-write- @suseagull04 @gwiazdziarka @adreamareads @sprigsofviolets @cultofsappho @anincompletelist @lizzie-bennetdarcy @notspecialbabe @littlemisskittentoes @happiness-of-the-pursuit @affectionatelyrs @heartitinthesilence @inexplicablymine @raysletters @tintagel-or-cockleshells @hgejfmw-hgejhsf @sherryvalli

[shezky]

Hey guys! Today I feel particularly happy, I don't understand why, but I guess I woke up on the right foot, which is undoubtedly good, so, as a demonstration of my immense happiness, I managed to finish a drawing in a single day, here's a Cool P for you <]

It's a simple thing, but I don't mind, since it brings back memories of being something I did at a good time, and I think I got too excited that I didn't notice some mistakes 😬

FIRSTLY (ohhh no man, no she talking about this again 😭) The pants look good, everything is good, everything is pretty and cheerful...but...why is it so high up? It's like...why? 🤨, honestly hadn't thought about it while I was outlining it...and you know what else I wasn't thinking? Correct! THE DESIGN OF THE LINES ON THE LEFT LEG IS DAMN BACKWARDS!, I just realized it when I was painting the pants 😭

Other than that I liked it a lot, I know my drawings aren't perfect but I still love them just the way they are, I do it for the simple fact that I know I try (not like the last three years when I suffered a horrible art block that I thought I would never get out of ☠️) and I apologize that in the last posts it is almost just me highlighting everything that I saw wrong later, I guess it's a rare way in which I appreciate what I do, because it genuinely amuses me and entertains me to see the things I did wrong, and not to make fun of myself, it's more like...laugh along with me...strange analogy I know, but you get the point, I will just say that as a recent artist in this beautiful community I am grateful to have the opportunity to see such great artists here, since they inspire me to want to be just as great, now I will leave the sentimental talk here because otherwise I could last hour and hours talking and I know that many don't really come to see the ramblings of an ordinary girl, so I will try not to write too many things in my next posts, although I don't promise much since I tend to be a parakeet when they give me free rein, and even more so in a space where no one tells me to stop (at least they haven't done it yet and I hope I don't feel the shame of it 🥹) so I say goodbye once and for all, I'll see you around, stay safe 🫶

[syneilesis]

Some updates about my multichapter fics, because I also needed reminding lol

Let It Stand, my silly novelist AU, Chevalier/Emma:

I want to finish it before Chevalier's birthday, but that seems impossible. So I want to finish it during his birth month, which ... I can't promise lol. I will try; I've been rereading it to refresh my memories. I have like, 8 scenes left to write. They're plenty, sure, but better that than still having zero outline for chapter 3.

The problem is, I'm stuck! I know the general flow, but I am dry with details! I have been stuck for more than a year. Alas, this sucks.

the soul is nothing more than an ocean water, canon AU reincarnation AU, Comte/Reader:

I said this before: I don't care how long it will take me, I will finish this one. And it's proving true -- the timeframe part lmao 😂

Like the novelist AU, I have a general outline for it. I also have outlined a few chapters. Looking back now, I think it's better this way, to take time with it, to leave for a while then return to it, because based on my existing outline, I was kinda hesitant to choose certain narrative decisions. But after writing other fics and gaining the courage to write explicit smut, I can go back to my notes and revise a number of details. Is this growth? Maturity as a writer? Or just having no more fucks to give? 😂 There are still plot details I have to come up with -- and that takes up much of the reason for my being stuck. That, and rl. But I need to re-evaluate what I outlined so far. I haven't started the next chapter lolsob, but I do hope to start it by the end of the year. I'mma skip the 2024 update, but for 2025, I hope to update it lmao that joke about one chapter a year is funnily true but it stings.

I haven't finished any work in progress in my life so I am determined to finish these two come hell or high water lol 😭

[knickknacksandallthat]

hey I know you said you were thinking about posting around April

Do you have a date in mind?

if not it’s perfectly ok we’ll be waiting as long as you need for the sun and moon ☺️

ahhh, anon! This is a loaded question, lol, not that you would know that. But here is the conclusion that I have come to, after many, many shifts, moves, outlining rounds, trial and error, etc.

I have unfortunately decided that I have enough material for two fics.

In some ways, it was a little silly of me to think I could squeeze Jerejean's POV all into one fic when I had the material of both DON & DBD to work with. But here we are. After cutting three chapters altogether (THREE anon!!) and doing my best to cut the other chapters ruthlessly, I'm still looking at about 60K words, unfinished, and I haven't even touched DBD's timeline yet.

So, although I reserve the right to change my mind, I've decided instead of publishing Once In a Blue Moon, I will first be uploading Place in the Sun - a fic focusing on Jerejean's relationship through their time at USC. And yes, my goal is still to publish it in April. (Wish me luck, anon 😭😭)

Now I have to be clear since the timing is sensitive. For better or worse, I have established Jeremy's and Jean's characters in this AU with the limited canon information I had before TSC. Once TSC is published, these characters will likely conflict with what Nora has decided, but I won't be changing them. Where canon fits into the plan, I'll look to include, but the family members I've made up for them, friends, agents, personality quirks, etc., etc., I'm going to keep true to the AU I've built. It is what it is at this point, and though I feel somewhat awkward about it since I've tried to keep their characters close to canon, I'm very proud and happy with the A Falling Star series. I'd like to finish Kerejean's stories and do them justice as I've always planned to.

This in no way diminishes my excitement for TSC - I'm beyond thrilled that Nora has decided to give us canon Jean, Jeremy, and all the Trojans. It's going to be amazing and devastating and everything we've hoped for, I'm sure. But I have to be fair to the fic I've created as well.

So....there we have it, anon. Hope that answers your question. 😅

[spockandawe]

Okay! I'm rapidly reaching the point of needing some creative self-care, or I'm going to crash even more viciously than I'm already starting to. Bad things: work is about to be SO fucking intense for the rest of the month, and while my home is unpacked, it is Comically unorganized. Good things: being unable to walk to work leaves me with more free time and less exhaustion per day, and I've recently refreshed myself on what supplies i have. I also am all set to start figuring out how to paint a house as soon as I can test my samples and clear a room. This will scratch the novelty itch, so i can be responsible and avoid buying new things. But i also can't lose focus on the organizing or I'll Adjust and never finish 😂

Let me see

Crochet in general: crochet is what I've been patching the mounting anxiety with, and i DO want to use up yarn, but it's hard on my wrist already, I can't afford to get too deep.

Baby blanket: almost done, could probably finish tomorrow in meetings, but because it was pretty bland, it won't be that fulfilling

Big Boi blanket: god, it's been years, I want to finish, but i WILL need to buy some yarn

Rocky horror lips: tedious single crochet, fun concept, but need to avoid wrist fuckery

Cross-stitch starscream: yes! I want to do this!! But this will be the opposite of quick gratification

Art........?: ALSO YES, goddammit, i want to figure out the stupid tablet! But good LORD, it's hard to decide what to do. And I'm in one of those phases where I'm not FAST, and I'm not vibing with what i make. The solution is just to draw more often, i know. But fuck.

Hc/mq: had a conceptual breakthrough, maybe? But i still don't know how it will proceed, so idk whether to commit the energy

Bwx/xl: this is half done already, AND outlined, I don't know why I can't do it. If i make myself, maybe i can find my groove

Lqg fic: it'll be long and intimidating 😭

Bingge lite: it's been 84 years...... But i really really really really love it and want to be able to share it. But the scope will be Horrendous, it may need percolation and warmer weather

Raksura core: i, uh, um 🫥 (i want to finish it! I really do! I can't focus worth SHIT)

Quilting: that would be good! Use up stuff! I want to be better! But god, the PREP WORK

Addendum: can i think of a fandom quilt i could pull off? Even if it was. Idk. Bingqiu colors. That might help me focus. But i also need to use up my stash :T

Long furby: would be good. I've had the materials for-fucking-ever

Pyrography: ooh, maybe. Especially if I can find art i dont have to compose. But if i set off the smoke alarm while it's this gross outside ill Die

BOOKS: heavy lifts and decision paralysis all around. Could be star wars (long, not for me, have to match existing volume), cnovel (several wips, but each is so much work to format, good god), ofic (not for me, also have to revamp formatting), ilcbt latest edition (needs the luxury treatment, which requires brain), pof latest edition (needs the luxury treatment, which requires brain), and all of the most appealing projects need a lot of materials, and I'm still in debt, lmao

Peerless fic: I've had the concept locked down for years, but i need to refresh on more of their late-stage characterization before feeling confident

Fourteenth year of chenghua fic: i also have the concept locked down! But i want to see the final evolution of wang zhi's relationship to the other two first

2ha fic: I ALSO HAVE THE CONCEPT LOCKED DOWN. but i still haven't...... finisheddddddddd, and this is going to need to be a fairly lengthy fic to wrangle xue meng in a believable way

[internerdionality]

by any chance will you ever return to the slayer/dcu verse stories u have on ao3? 👀👀👀😳😳 i know im going full clown im sorry

No clowns here!

(Or we both are, I honestly feel real bad about letting that series languish as long as it has!)

I have huge amounts of the future fics in the series outlined—like, here's all my docs for the current and future fics in the series, and every one of these docs has at least a couple hundred words in it, even if it's just "here's what I plan to write in this fic," and several of them have detailed chapter outlines and the occasional scene written:

I have a decent chunk of the next long Clark-centric bit written ("Phases") which takes place after the last published chapter of Welcome to the Mouth of Hell and before the unpublished epilogue.

(Which is part of why I haven't published the unpublished epilogue, even though it's all written and everything... But it has spoilers for Phases. The other part is that it introduces the actual Slayerverse crossover bit, and I kinda didn't want to commit to that until I had more of it written).

Unfortunately, there is some plotting in Phases that, for the audience to understand what's going on, relies on my actually finishing Bad Girls, the Gotham Sirens sidequel, which I have been really struggling to do.

I've also been working on finishing Couplet, which takes place before the last published chapter of WttMoH and might fill in enough of those holes that I could just leave Bad Girls unfinished and move on, but my writing momentum in the last several months—

(Which admittedly hasn't been a lot, given that I got laid off in February and have been spending a lot of spoons on job hunting and all that good stuff)

—has mostly been focused on finishing up the Our Flag Means Death WIPs that are, um. unfortunately also languishing. 😅💀

Honestly, I really appreciate the ask, I kinda tend to assume that no one is still interested in that series at this point since it's been on hiatus for so long! 😭 The more people bug me about it and reread the series, the more I'm likely to actually get the executive function to work on it more!

I am happy to give you a sneak peak at the outline for the way the series will go, if I ever finish it, or just answer questions, if you'd like! Hit me up on discord if so, I'm Internerdionality there as well!

[yourworsttotebag]

please sir can we have some updates on how your universe swap AU is going 🤲🤲🤲

Omg babes thank you so much for asking 😭😭💕

It's going alright I would say? I have a lot of it like outlined with a few long scenes written out but a lot of how the magic would work is still slightly vague. With the magic vague it's a little hard to map it all out onto the plot beats.

After I finished the Evie/halsin fic the other day, my brain just flipped a switch that was like "I'm fried now" so I haven't been doing much of anything. But I'm feeling a little more on the ball now so I'd like to get back to writing it and bothering all the smarter people around me for their thoughts on it.

[mikahorror]

a wallpaper inspired by my latest wip so even if i don't finish it, something came out of it.

here's some youtube recs this time

NYGHIL - wow was clicking on this like picking up a random book & and seeing a plot that is nearly identical or what? 😭

All Tomorrows timeline & audiobook videos - watched these awhile ago. wasn't sure i wanted to write about not-quite humans since i haven't seen this in fantasy except as anthromorphized animals & this will still have horror elements

can't remember which video i watched first, but this is a pretty good explanation of the deal with alia from dune. my MC's situation is entirely intentional though

ambient soundtrack for outlining & getting overwhelmed at just how much stuff there is:

Barzakh

Desert of the Forgotten, Ch. 2: The Unveiling

Midnight

some more books on my tbr. these are a mix of (gothic)horror & fantasy:

Mercy by Ian Haramaki

The Church of the Mountain of Flesh by Kyle Wakefield

there's a book i saw on instagram but can't find anymore. it's about a priest (& maybe a partner) who's fighting demons & it reminds me of Chrono Crusade

but i can't remember anything but the cover art D=

full ambient track. made in music maker jam

full artworks on miPic (clothing, accessories)

miPic 🥀Fiverr 🥀 YouTube: DiLöria | M.D. Tucker 🥀 Instagram: mika.horror | wytchdoom

transparent images below

[andorerso]

i haven't been reading much rebelcaptain lately but i want you to know i think about brr like... every day. they occupy my brain with extreme prejudice. the way you write jyn is just 😚🤌

i don't say this to rush you or anything, i just want you to know that your jyn + cass are more powerful than my hyperfixation ending, apparently 😭😅

ahgfjhfgjfhghgj oh my god, best compliment ever?? this truly put the biggest smile on my face <333

and though I know you're not rushing me, but I swear to god I'll finish it one day!! like.... I would genuinely feel like I'm letting myself down if I didn't so I will! (tbh it's the fact that the ending part was always a little less outlined coming back to bite me in the ass whoops) I hope you'll still be around to enjoy it <3 but if not, that's okay too, because this message meant the world to me anyway! 🥺💖

[monstersinthecosmos]

LOL IM SUPER UPSET AS WELL but also thanks so much. maybe i just internalized all the little clues without realizing (thanks ADHD) but thats the timeline my daydreaming brain has been working with lol and god there's just so much FLAVOR. i really like the play on how keith's grown up but in some ways still an angry kid and shiro's this leader figure yet still so young and even boyish. but funnily enough i was just thinking today if we're gonna see shiro getting topped in ttsr! LOL bb deserves it

IT'S REALLY SUCH A GREAT FLAVOR, RIGHT? And I don't mean that about my own fic LOL I mean about them in canon dshjgkasdj. And I think like, of all the things they fucked up, especially with S8, the one thing that I think stuck the landing SO well was Keith's character arc as he became mature and was able to handle the responsibility of being a leader. It's just a really great ship dynamic that you have like, the smol angry one who's a loose canon x the mature older one who carries a tremendous burden to be in charge but is actually so traumatized and vulnerable. And like, you'd think Keith would need to be rescued more but Shiro is actually sort of a damsel sometimes!!!!!! And Keith is the one saving him! Stubbornly refusing to live in a world without Shiro!

ANYWAY I've had this story pretty carefully plotted & outlined since I started it and I've always tried to keep it close to the chest and I never wanted to reveal too much before it gets dropped into the text (for example, tagging as I go and not mentioning the alien bio stuff until it came up even though I knew the whole time 🥸) BUT ALSO I FEEL TERRIBLE THAT I HAVEN'T UPDATED IT IN ALMOST TWO YEARS!!!!! I'M REALLY SORRY HONESTLY, I'VE NEVER GIVEN UP ON THIS FIC, I JUST GOT SO BOGGED DOWN WITH OTHER PROJECTS AND LIKE THE CHAPTERS TAKE SO MUCH OUT OF ME THAT EVEN WHEN I'M ACTIVELY WORKING ON IT SOMETIMES THE CHAPTERS TAKE MONTHS TO WRITE. CHAPTER 9 TOOK ME LIKE 4 MONTHS TO WRITE LOL. But. Since you've been so patient. If you want a lil spoiler. Beneath the cut.

shiro will be topped in chapter 12 🤧🤧🤧🤧 AS OF NOW, NO PROMISES IN CASE I REARRANGE THE OUTLINE LOL I really spent the last few months telling myself that when I got through my latest mental health crisis that I'd focus deeply on this fic because it brings me so much joy and I really want to like power through and finish it so pray 4 me that 2024 is the year I finish TTSR and that at the current rate, chapter 12 isn't posted in 2027 LMAO 😭😭😭😭

[hollowmend]

Counter-Side Dev Log #1 - 11/03/23

In an attempt to seem much more professional than I am, I've decided to give monthly dev logs a shot!

I'll keep individual projects sperate, so if you're here for Fetch Re;Quest stuff, keep an eye out for another post later this month.

Please bear with me as I figure out what the hell I'm doing 😂 And let me know if you like this kind of content, or if I should just stick to my random updates!

So anyways...

As a quick catch-up; Counter-Side is a kinetic BL sci-fi drama. It's about two men who live and work in a capitalistic hellscape- A mining facility on the barren, atmosphere-less planet of Ikarus.

But the story's not really about that. It's about two men who've been unlucky in relationships becoming friends and hanging out at a bar. It's a BL, so I think you see where this is going.

The Boys

Counter-Side has lots of fun (and not so fun) characters, but let's just focus on the two protagonists for now.

Transferred from his home facility to this one for mysterious reasons, Rae is the new Human Resources Manager for the software engineering department.

Rae is calm and collected... or so he'd like people to think. In truth, his inner thoughts are much more fiery than his reserved persona lets on. With a short temper and a protective streak, it's a constant struggle for Rae to keep his head down and his thoughts to himself.

Rae is not interested in dating at the moment, because as much as he hates to admit it, someone else still occupies that place in his heart.

His drink of choice is the gin and tonic 🍸

Stationed at the facility for military training, Rosco works as part of the mining crew by piloting a mech that houses an experimental sapient AI named MARC.

He may have only been here for half a year, but he already has a reputation; Everyone knows that Rosco, the hotshot playboy pilot, never turns down a date. Little do they know that rather than playing the field, Rosco is a hopeless romantic who simply doesn't want to miss an opportunity to find his one true love.

Currently in his longest running relationship, Rosco is determined to make things work and prove that he's not the flighty, promiscuous one-night-stand that everyone makes him out to be... no matter what he has to give up in the process.

Rosco's preferred drink is anything colorful and fruity 🍹

Chapter Select

And now on to the more technical aspects of the game!

Counter-Side is kinetic, which means there are not choices or multiple endings. It's a linear story told in three acts, but there is a bit of interactivity when it comes to how the chapters work.

(The UI is just a placeholder for now, if it wasn't obvious from Rosco's rather... colorful outfit.)

The story is told from both Rae and Rosco's perspectives, so after each act's linear opening, you'll get the option to choose what order to read things in, chapter by chapter. Once you reach the end of the act in one character's chapters, their option will be locked until you finish the other character's side.

Most chapters are completely unique scenes, but sometimes, Rae and Rosco are in the same place. These key moments are called Counter-Side chapters, and you get to experience them from both men's perspectives. The dialogue may be the same, but Rae and Rosco will have different narration and inner thoughts about what's happening, and they often start and/or end the scene apart.

Counter-Side chapters account for about 35% of the total number of chapters.

The Demo

We're currently working on a demo that will feature the entire first act- Over 50k words! It might be missing the final UI design and some cut-in art, but other than that it will be feature complete.

After that, we don't expect the full game will be more than a few months away.

The script for the game is about 3/4ths finished and we have the rest of it already outlined. The current word count clocks in at over 130k words 😭 It's gonna be a long one.

We haven't settled on a price yet, but the full game will not be free.

Wrapping Up & Discord

There's a lot more I could talk about, but I think this is getting pretty long already. I'll post again next month, but in the meantime, let me know if there's anything specific you want to know!

And if you're interested in a slow trickle of content instead of a monthly tidal wave, I post updates as they happen in my ✨ discord server ✨

[melandrops]

20 Questions Writer Ask Game

Inspired by @thesymphonytrue

How many works do you have on ao3?

18

What's your total ao3 wordcount?

209,022

How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

In published works I have 5:

DSMP/RPF (I count them as the same fandom even though they are tagged differently in my works)

Spider-Man: Across the Spiderverse

Stranger Things

Legend of Zelda (BOTW/TOTK)

White Collar

I have wips in probably 2 or three other fandoms including Shadow and Bone, Purple Hyacinth and The Magnus Archives

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Hey Lover (Pavitr/Hobie)

Three Rings (Karlnapity)

I'm not a praying man (but I'll kneel to that) (Pavitr/Hobie)

Dancing Barefoot (Robin Buckley/Nancy Wheeler)

We're Sleeping Together (Dnf)

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Very rarely to be honest. If it's a mutual or someone I know or they give a comment that I think warrants a response (request, questions, etc) then I respond. Otherwise, I never know what to say and how to thank them for commenting without sounding like an automated message lmao. But if you have commented on my fics trust me I have happy screamed about you <3

What's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending?

Love Causes Trouble. 60s/70s era dnf where george gets killed at the end. Very tragic I think.

Do you write crossovers? If so, what is the wildest one you've ever written?

Nah, no crossovers. I do have a hunger games/spiderverse idea, but I'm not sure if it will come to fruition.

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

No, god bless. Which is a little surprising sometimes considering the amount of rpf I've written lmao. But my dsmp writing was never that popular so I should count my blessings.

Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Sure. I prefer quick and easy fade to blacks which I've done before, but occasionally I write smut.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

No.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

No.

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No, but I would be open to the idea. It would have to be a long fic if I did that.

What's your all time favorite ship?

Oh god. I've never written for it but ngl wolfstar has a soft spot in my heart. But there are so many and for the sake of not providing a documented list of everyone I've shipped before I'll leave it at that.

What's a WIP you want to finish but don't think you ever will?

My Purple Hyacinth fic. I love it so far, but I just got so burnt out in the middle of working on it. And I have trouble picking up fics when I haven't touched them in too long. I still have it outlined and probably like 1/3 of the way done. So I'm holding out a sliver of hope. But realistically, I probably won't finish it.

What are your writing strengths?

Uhhh no idea. Over the years I've definitely seen a lot of improvement in my descriptive style. Showing, not telling. And I think I've gotten a lot better at making my writing compelling. The first time someone told me that my writing made them cry I also cried.

What are you writing weaknesses?

So much. 😭 I find that dialogue often runs away from me and I get sidetracked, or it sounds clunky and unnatural. Also characterization. I tend to want to make my characters 1 million percent soft and huggable and forgetting that they are quite flawed. Also plot. I can write out a series of vignettes like nobody's business but an actual plot is hard. I've only written something with a genuine plot a few times, and only one of those got published.

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

It's why I didn't include any of Pavitr speaking in Indian associated languages. I don't want to do a bad job on it, and would be too nervous about accidentally appropriating someone's culture. Or just generally making an ass out of myself by writing something silly. Maybe something to work on?

What was the first fandom you ever wrote for?

Wrote and published? Dsmp. That fic has been deleted (it's for the best) but my first fic on my profile is still a dsmp work. Unpublished, my first fanfiction was probably for the Lunar Chronicles. Specifically Cress and Thorne.

What's your favorite fic you've ever written?

Love Causes Trouble

It is not the most popular of my fics by a long shot, but it's one of my favorites. If I went back and rewrote it there are a lot of things I would change about it. A lot. It's very imperfect but I'm just such a slut for 60s/70s queer love, for artists and writers falling in love and for tragic endings. A bit kill your gays, but I'm at peace with that.

If not for you (I couldn't get off this floor)

I also like this one because it has a few personal ties to me and because it got such a good reception. I got so many comments saying that this helped them process their grief or it was really cathartic to read so it means a lot to me.

I'm tagging a few people but please feel free to continue the game, even if I didn't tag you.

@avi17 @maybeebeee @wulfspyd3r @sunkraken

[lemonluvgirl]

hello there 😄

currently reading promise me little brother. I LOVE THE WAY U WRITE ITS ADDICTIVE!

i know it’s hard to make it that good but i’ve been binging it and now i’ve finished so far 😭

take as much time as you need 🤍 i’m just desperate don’t worry 💀

also, we love gadge 🤭

Hi hearts4maya! 😁

Thank you so much for reading Promise Me, Little Brother! I love that story as well! There is so much family drama and unresolved sexual tension! 😬

Fun fact: Promise Me was only supposed to be 15 chapters long when I initially outlined the plot, lol 😆 but then I couldn't stop writing it. And I turned it into a novel because I love single!victor AUs.

Having it set during the Quell with Katniss and Peeta as spectators also made for a super long story because then I had to come up with a whole cast of side characters and a subplot. Which still gives me headaches whenever I try to write about it. But, still, I love the complexity. I guess that's just my long-winded way of saying that this story takes a lot of focus and planning to get right, but I totally plan on continuing it!

I am currently settling into a brand new job at a new school, and I haven't had a chance to update any of my stories in weeks. But hopefully, things will normalize soon, and I'll be able to start updating regularly again!

Again, thank you so much for reaching out! I seriously love getting insight into what readers think about my long fics! 😌 It's so nice of you to take the time to inbox me here on tumblr! It gives me a little push to remember that people are out there waiting for the next chapter!

And hopefully, you guys won't have to wait too long. This weekend I'm swamped with my nice and nephews birthday party so I won't be able to write on my day off, but maybe next weekend? I'm going to try my best to write something next weekend 😊