#prompts I’ve always wanted to write but will not based on my current WIP list

[justawanderer]

Malec fic ideas that will never be written (from me) but should be remembered for posterity and are up for adoption:

If anything here inspires you, please tag me!

1) The life debt

-a warlock is cursed to slowly decay into nothingness but cannot actually die until all of their life debts are repaid owes Magnus a life debt.

-they do not live in NY and their mental faculties are failing so they nab Alec off the street as he is on his way to the Hunter’s Moon immediately following Valentines demise (so yeah they are broken up)

-the warlock forces some type of spell/potion/ritual on Alec that will turn him immortal-and also possibly a Downworlder-but slowly

-Alec is restrained and in and out of consciousness and has empathy for the warlock but also tries to continuously barter for release (would have lots of angst here “Magnus wouldn’t want this” “we’re not together” “let me try to help you instead”)

-the Scooby gang would be frantically unable to get to Alec because he’s being held on tiny island in the middle of nowhere

-they get to him post transition after either Ithuriel/raziel/lucifer/angel intervenes and finds him and helps get him back

-when they get to island the warlock dies in Magnus’ arms deliriously saying “you’re welcome”

-Alec has to be slowly rehabbed/the world has to figure out what to do with him (but gently as he was a victim)

-Malec emotional reunion

2) What Happens in Vegas

(This is Malec NOT Malace)

-Magnus and Jace wake up in Las Vegas after a night out to find themselves married (they were strangers before)

-They have to drag themselves back to NY where their lawyer friends (Alec and Ragnor) agree to handle the divorce but not after being insufferable about their friends faux pas

-due to circumstances the two friend groups keep getting thrown together

-Malec ends up together

-Jace is a wild card but would prefer Jimon in some fashion and a very sassy Ragnor

3) Naval Officer Alec

(Y’all are stupid not making him a Naval Officer-not enlisted but an actual officer as that is what he is)

-Alec gets ROTC scholarship to university not wanting to use parents money and has to serve 4 years after

-he serves his navy tenure and after 4years and a deployment has a house and is going to Law School

-Magnus at close school (or same school) for different PHD degree but bartends on weekends for cash and something to do

-Malec banter and flirting and grad school life(but like their in mid to late 20’s

-bonus if in SoCal

[inexplicablymine]

IM ATTACKING YOU RIGHT BACK 🧚‍♀️🧚‍♀️🧚‍♀️ how did you get into fandom/writing fic and how do you come up with inspiration for fic ideas? is there a specific place or time of day that strikes you?

Ahem… BUCKLE IN FOLKS this is a long af answer but I have the time. So sit down with your popcorn. Lola this all your fault 🥰

How did you get into fandom: I have (brace yourselves) read in fandom for over 15 years before participating in any way shape or form outside of just enjoying it from the comfort of my screen. I read or watched something many moons ago and said I want more and tada I was initiated. But I stuck around for so long because of the sheer creativity, and talent, and ingenuity of people globally to come together and say “we want more and if you won’t give us more we will do it ourselves.”

I was that reader that lurked with guest kudos and left random inane comments from accounts you could never trace back to one place. When I mean read I mean… if I did have an AO3 account or an ffnet account during that period of time, the sheer number of works in the history would be of concern to everyone.

How did you get into writing fic: As for writing in general, I have a stack of journals I’ve kept since middle school, and an itch in my fingers that feels like I am broken if I am not writing. From the minute I was asked what I wanted to be when I grew up “author” was the answer and it’s always sat at the back of my subconscious like one of those rocks in the bottom of your shoe. There are too many stories rattling around in my head that want to get out, but I took a break for 8 years of writing anything except my journal entries because the world can be a cruel place.

I started writing again just this year in June, and it was really a case of “write the things you want to see in the world,” + it’s time to get back on the horse + the thirst to participate more than just sit on the outside peering in at the inside jokes of chapter end notes and tumblr links I never clicked on. I joined a single discord, had a breakdown, and bon appetite here we are 3 months later with an actual AO3 account, a Tumblr, and a WIP list that is at least 15 works long 4 of which are 25+ chapter outlines.

(This truly was fueled by an idea I had this March for a RWRB full length mystery novel law-case thriller that I could NOT get out of my head, it now has 37 chapters outlined and is getting written this fall/winter to be posted next year)

Where does your inspiration come from: My inspiration comes from everything everywhere all at once. (Not meant to be a reference but it was too good not to use). A not so succinct list of places I’ve found inspiration:

the truth is stranger than fiction: my first day post for FirstPrince week is a “there was only one tent” situation that actually happened on a camping trip this summer. I screamed internally the entire time it was going down.

Songs: I could never write while listening to music except I absolutely will imagine storylines from it. The song Delilah by Mikolas Josef and Mark Neve is going to produce a smutty RWRB one shot of a ski weekend hookup

Co-Authoring: I am currently working on two different co-authored fics. One with @celaestis1 that was just us lovingly yelling at eachother in the DM’s until an outline was made and now every chapter we write makes me more and more giddy. The other is a RWRB x PJO au with @read-and-write- and @userd0esn0texist that is genuinely the most ridiculous fun I have ever had plotting. There is a full blown super six prophecy y’all are not ready.

Prompts: my first two works ever (ever!) were based off of the same prompt for a gift fic exchange. “Don’t look at me I thought we were getting ice cream” (you can read the results of that prompt here or here) I’m participating in @thebrownstone FirstPrince Week which has 7 prompts and @halloweenhuh with two different prompts as well. Sometimes it’s the best way to get the juices flowing.

Asking for it: if someone asks “hey is there a fic that does this” and I haven’t found it, it is really easy to think “hmmm but maybe I could write it” and then the dominos fall and I’m stuck with a problem of my own creation

Fulfilling a need or gap in the fandom: honestly, my current WIP I’m posting is an Ace!Alex fic because well… we need more ace fic in general, but also more ace fic that is happy, and positive, and loving. I love a good whump fic as much as the next person, but sometimes you just need some serious fluff. (Also my first two fics are Demi!Alex so maybe I have just stumbled into this on accident though many of my upcoming fics differ from this pattern)

I want it I got it: truly most of my WIP’s started from a “wouldn’t it be funny” idea that then morphed very quickly into an out of control spiral in my notes app.

Betas: the backbone of fandom and honestly the people who help me take incoherent ramblings and make them something readable. So many amazing ideas come from betas leaving comments in my gdocs and for that I am forever thankful

Is there a specific place or time of day that strikes you?: HA I uhhhhhh will wake up in a cold sweat at 4:37 in the morning with a fic idea, I’ll come up with one walking to work, I’ll get an idea standing in like for groceries. Genuinely my notes app is always open. All of the random ideas I get from a line, to a more fleshed out plot idea go into a note or the matching doc called “table scraps” and then if they evolve from there they get their own note or document for them.

First 🧚🧚 Nice Ask Day 🧚🧚 answer and I can’t wait to ask/answer more

[backtothefanfiction]

WIPS & 2024 Plans!

Hey ya’ll. So as hinted at I have a lot of ideas and works in progress so wanted to kind of do a little summary and tease some of the stuff I’m currently throwing around and kind of give and make a plan of action for the coming year regarding my content here.

I finally finished the office kinktober prompt after nearly two months of it being half written as said in the authors note, I am giving up on the idea of kinktober/kink til Christmas altogether. But there are still a few ideas that came from that list I do really want to write which will be included in the future ideas portion of this post but yeah… let’s just start with the current WIPs and what’s gonna come first.

Current WIPS (with summaries)

In order of completion with rough estimate of posting!

Spiders and Lace

1920s Mob Spider-Man Au where Peter starts dating a young socialite in order to get to her criminal brother.

(First Part releasing this December)

The Secrets We Keep

A Jeb Pyre (Under The Banner of Heaven) multi chapter story. Jeb is starting a new job in a new town after the Lafferty case where he meets an old school friend. Both of them are running from their hometown and hiding secrets, but will those secrets crush this new budding romance?

(Series starting in January, date to be announced)

WIPS Currently On The Shelf

These have all either been teased and parts not posted or one or two parts posted then currently abandoned. I have stuff written for these and aim to go back to them at some point I just don’t know if or when.

I Will Always Find You

A multiple part Pedro and Oscar character’s fic featuring different linked AUs looking at the idea of past lives and reincarnating with the same souls.

(I keep picking this up and putting it back down but I love the idea and it means so much to me and I want to do it right, so until I can do it justice, it’s on the shelf.)

Metanoia

When Mando takes on a job to retrieve a kidnapped young senator, the two of them end up on a journey that has Mando questioning his whole way of life.

(I have posted the first chapter of this but may take it down as I don’t know when I’ll go back to this idea and I think I want to adjust it anyway. This is basically just a story to really go into what I wanted from Mando’s journey meeting other mandalorians and how it makes him question his creed seeing how other mandalorians live and getting to really explore that inner turmoil.)

Future/2024 Ideas

Some of these may get written some time next year, some of them may come later, some may never get written at all, but I wanted to share my thoughts anyway.

No Body No Crime

Based on the Taylor Swift song, this is a murder mystery that would feature multiple crossover characters from Dave York (the murdered husband), Joel Miller (the accomplice lover), Jeb Pyre (the detective) and possibly a few other characters from across the Pedro, Andrew and Oscar character lists. I love this song and I do have a whole list of ideas just based on Taylor Swift songs which may become their own mini series with a song for each album, but I really want to write a multi chapter fic based on this song.

Untitled Joel Miller Fic

I already made a post with this idea. Inspired by the Mummy, as I feel Rick O’Connell and Joel Miller give me similar energy. However instead of fighting Mummies we’d be fighting Infected to hunt down different artefacts a particular bookish main character wants to protect and preserve. Think road trips, myths, history and unlikely allies with ridiculous sexual tension.

Triple Frontier Boys One Shot

I’ve been fantasising about a very naughty TF boys one shot which is pretty much straight smut and one rocking night for reader. I did start writing some bits for this a few nights back, but didn’t like it the next day but plan to return to it at some point.

Tis The Damn Season

Another of those previously mentioned prompts inspired by Taylor songs, Tis The Damn Season is a Frankie Morales one shot that may come sooner than we think as it’s an idea set at Christmas. Frankie goes back to visit his parents one time a year and always ends up back at your place on Christmas Eve like your very own Santa Claus.

—————————————————

So those are my current WIPS, ideas and plans. Let me know which you’re most interested in.

[rewritingrosie]

Hey! I just saw your post about your discord server. Do you have to write dark academia works to join? I write fantasy and scifi and Im always looking to share but dont want to join the wrong spaces/spaces not for me! Thanks for your time

hello hello ‹𝟹 no worries, totally understandable question! I’m actually about go in and redo roles & some of the layout tonight hopefully if I get the chance, BUT I’m gonna take this opportunity to do a brief Q&A on the writing server I own!

info under cut!

WRITING SERVER Q&A ᖭི༏ᖫྀ

last updated : 06/15/23 | x | 500+ members!

1. Does your WIP have to pertain to dark academia to be permitted in the server?

Oh, this is a common question we get!! Essentially, the server itself primarily has a dark academia aesthetic to set the tone, (also just because it’s easy on the eyes!) and overall the atmosphere, but we’re inclusive of any and all genres! So whether you’re captivated by fantasy and scifi, or engrossed in a historical at the moment, you’ll find a supportive and relaxed community here.

2. What is the age barrier?

At the moment, we have it set to 16+, which means we harbor a lot of young writers. With that in mind, we do have certain precautions, but for the more mature writers that ARE 18+ and are wanting to post 18+ content, we have a separate, private channel that requires ID verification. Aka, my fellow gremlins. Other than that, we’re SFW & really just a spot to rest, and chat.

3. What if I really don’t.. write? / I’m shy?

There’s no pressure! An aspect that I really adore about my server is that for an initially mostly writing-based discord is that we quickly became multi-interest in the short time we’ve been open. We have artists, gamers, and people who are just hungry for a social. All in all, if you’d like to partake in the prompts, share your wips, that’s up to you! If you don’t want to, and just want to hang out, that’s fine! :)

4. What about a writers resources channel?

Currently it’s not entirely set up since I’ve been managing the results of the writing partner matchmaking event we just threw, but don’t worry! I’m currently compiling a neat list to eventually upload into the channel via a webhook for aesthetic purposes. Within a week, I should hopefully have that all set up!

5. Is there open staff positions?

Since the server itself is so young and rapidly growing, we are always accepting applications for staff. Currently, we’re mainly in need for more writing event specialists ( to lead and encourage interactions with our fellow writers & to work closely with me to manage / plan / come up with ideas for future events we host for you guys!) and of course, partnership seekers (to establish bonds with other discord servers), but mods are always appreciated.

I hope that answered all questions!!

Always accepting asks! All reblogs are appreciated! ‹𝟹

rosie :)

[h0ney-letters]

hi

About me (kinda)

Age: 24

Pronouns: she/her

Main blog: @h0neyfreak

Genre/style: literary fiction, speculative fiction, creative nonfiction, flash fiction, poetry. I would also love to one day write a themed cozy mystery series under a pen name that sounds so fun.

Published?: no, not sure if I want to or if I just want to write for fun. I’ll probably submit things to some journals eventually and maybe self-publish if I ever write anything longer

Other hobbies/interests: knitting, drawing (traditional and digital), painting (oils mostly), ttrpgs (currently DMing a MOTW campaign), and I’m a casual Formula 1 fan

cw tags: I’ll always tag explicit depictions of rape, gore, and violence as “#cw: [subject]”

(Some of my) favorite books:

Madness is Better than Defeat by Ned Beauman

The Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan

Series of Unfortunate Events series by Lemony Snicket

The Giver by Lois Lowry

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

American Gods by Neil Gaiman

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky (but only the Constance Garnett translation)

The Letters of Vincent Van Gogh

Who is Maud Dixon? by Alexandra Andrews

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

Current wips (updated monthly) (current ver. Oct 2023):

Long work 1: Every Reason Why. A novel following a waitress as she gets into an abusive relationship interwoven with anecdotes from her life before her abuser (going back to childhood) building two parallel stories. ~10k words at time of posting.

Long work 2: [untitled] A group of friends meet at summer camp and ~something bad~ happens. Follows them through adulthood as the bad thing unravels/becomes clear. Currently just a vague idea with some bulleted lists and snippets. Has not left the notes app.

Short work 1: What Violence? A short surreal body horror story about a young girl who gets stabbed in the chest with a knife and discovers it does not hurt or bleed the way it should. She searches for someone to bring her to a doctor to give her stitches but struggles to explain what’s going on. Based on a dream I had. ~300 words at the moment.

Short work 2: He Called Me Something Bad. A young girl kills her teenage step brother (or woman kills stepson, still sorting it out) in what appears to be an accident. The social worker/detective interviewing her starts to realize that it was not An Accident. Currently in the notes app/ideas phase. Unclear if it will make it out.

Tag list (mostly for my own reference/benefit)

#ref -> helpful lists, words, resources etc.

#guides -> kind of like ref but more to collect posts about how to write specific rules/identities of characters or settings

#inspo -> quotes, art, snippets, prompts and other things that make me want to write

#wip -> I’m a slut for a good Pinterest board/Spotify playlist/other way to outline ideas without having to sit down and write so that stuff will go here. Along with any snippets

#ocs -> any stuff about my characters. idk how much I’ll use this one because I mostly see people making OC content for genre fiction and it feels weird to make stuff for short stories and kinda disjointed literary fiction. But I also might be a weird little freak (likely) who needs to get over herself (extremely likely)

#tips -> useful info about the writing process, publishing, software, etc

#my work -> anything I write myself. I can’t pick a title to save my life so tagging by title won’t work

#good stuff -> writing by other people that I love and want to come back to and read a bunch because it is good

#review -> book/story/essay reviews. Goodreads stresses me out but I want some way to catalogue what I read now that I’ve graduated and have time for it. Also reviewing stuff helps me figure out what I want my own writing to sound and feel like.

[sanguine-arena]

SANGUINE-ARENA; THE WRITEBLR INTRO

hello everyone! i finally decided to give a proper intro a whirl....

my name is theo; and i use he/they pronouns. i’m 23 years old. i love writing but i also play hockey and it’s kind of my life.

i’m based in the pacific time zone (PST).

i really enjoy creating characters and worldbuilding, as well as hearing about anyone else who does the same. always feel free to drop by my messages or my asks and ramble away!

i mostly write what could be considered sci-fi or futuristic, as most of my stories take place in a planet i created and set in the future. most of my stories take place around a group of hockey leagues i’ve created.

a few of my favourite tropes are fight scenes, character conflicts, characters in heavy emotional/physical distress, and personifying inanimate objects. if you need anything tagged, please feel free to DM me and let me know.

CURRENT WIPS:

these are all working titles and subject to change. last updated 2/14/23.

🩸 ⚔️ | “slaughter season” (action, thriller)

“Slaughter Season” focusses on the stories and lives of the players and teams in the Combat Sports Hockey League, also known as the CSHL. The league is one of two premier hockey leagues on the planet of Plutidyne, and is well known for their more violent approach to the game. The League is very hands off when it comes to calling penalties, breaking up fights, and providing supplementary discipline to its players. On top of this- the threat of the Team Improvement Lottery, an event occurring every five years and one that can make or break a team, looms overhead. Those who are entrusted with the duty of protecting the players seem to be failing them the most.

👤🏒 | “the commissioner” (suspense)

Being the Commissioner of the CSHL is hard work; the League hinges on every decision you make, you are never the hero in the eyes of the fans, and everyone seems to want a piece of you. The Commissioner is elusive in the public eye for a reason, and though their identity seems to be known, there are theories that the Commissioner the public knows is just a facade. A particularly controversial season for the CSHL sends people looking for answers on this leader who is seldom seen.

🌇🏟️ | “welcome to the show” (action, episodic)

A collection of one shots featuring various CSHL players’ first ever game in the League. These stories will document their experiences as they play in their first game, as they finally begin to realize what they’ve gotten themselves into and the grave mistake they’ve made signing on that dotted line.

🥅 💉  | “acidic” (drama, dark fiction, tragedy)

Zayne Topher is trying to become the next big thing in net for the Belneux Thunderbirds, and the PIHL as a whole. However, he must first fight his own demons and the endless roadblocks that the universe throws at him.

⛸️ 👊 | “five for fighting” (slice of life, dramedy)

An episodic peek into the daily lives of the staff who keep the Nightingale Ice Center up and running. Between the hockey players running the pro shop, the figure skaters who want nothing to do with them, and to the quiet loner who drives the Zamboni- the rink bonds all of them together whether for better or for worse and whether they like it or not.

OTHER INFO:

i have an AO3, which you can find here

i also have a bad things happen bingo card going, if you’d like to request a prompt, you can find the blank one here

main tags are: #ch: (name) - character specific tags

#wip: (name) - WIP/project specific tags

#team: (name) - team specific tags

#oc intro - character intros

#drabbles or drabbles/scraps - just fun little pieces i write as inspiration strikes, not necessarily connected to any bigger plotline or story

#shitposting / #theo chatter - me goofing around/rambling

please dm/send me an ask if you want to be put on any tag lists! also feel free to just reach out in general whether it be just to chat, to ramble about wips/characters, to request prompts, etc, i’d love to have more writer friends!

[ladyaj-13]

How I Outline

@haztobegood and @lululawrence tagged me to share my outlining process - thank you! I find it so interesting seeing how other people work, but also I feel like we're all interpreting the question differently, which is funny. Or at least I am. I don't ever have just 1 WIP I'm working on, and most of the stuff I write is shorter and needs less outlining anyway, so I'm doing this more as a general writing process/planning type thing?

I don’t have a standard ‘this is how I always do it’. I prefer to ride the wave of inspiration and just start writing - get down as much as I can before that first rush of an idea ebbs away. (Also I legitimately tell myself the story, so I have actual sentences of description and dialogue, and if I don’t put them down I’ll lose them.)

If I don’t have time to write, then I’ll jot down just a brief idea or outline. That can range from literally ‘Ace Lou’ (I think that’s my shortest ‘idea’ I have on my list currently) to a short paragraph:

Fairytale Ziam - Very loosely based on Rapunzel(/Shrek), with Liam as the princess in the tower, Niall as the friendly knight rescuer, Louis as the less friendly knight rescuer, Harry as the Royal Advisor and Zayn as the King with anxiety who is never seen by his people.

(Yes I am a little annoyed that I missed the fairy tale fest sign-ups, but also, I don’t need another fic with a deadline so maybe it’s for the best)

Sometimes I’ll write a couple of paragraphs if the fic is more thought out, or sometimes I’ll include some snippets of dialogue. Very occasionally I’ll write a checklist of scenes, but I’m not often that organised, and to be honest, most of what I write is short enough that it’s not really necessary.

But guys, what I’m most proud of? This:

I have a Trello board! I’ve only been using it since October, but I find it so much easier than starting a new Google doc when the idea might be just that and not get any further (I start a doc when I actually start writing properly). Also because I always have this amount of stuff bubbling away and I can’t keep all that in my head/organise my Google docs enough for it to make sense.

Far left is what I’m meant to be working on currently (see my big bang at the top, overdue according to my own schedule), 'second tier' is stuff that’s got a fair amount written, or I’m really excited about, but isn’t a priority or close to being completed, 'backburner' is stuff that may never happen (it makes me sad, and I might have to rescue those bottom two) and fourth is where all the ideas and prompts that I haven’t started writing go (25 things on that list at the moment..! Hit me up if you ever need a prompt, lol). Far right (not pictured) is where I move stuff across to when I’ve posted it.

Each project has:

the title/name it’s currently known by

pairing(s) (all the pretty colours! key below)

estimated length (always wrong and constantly increased as I go along)

current length

I can add due dates if anything has a deadline and easily see at a glance what I’m meant to be working on. Revolutionary. I love it. I only have a 1D board set up at the moment but I fully intend to use this process to sort out my thicket bush of half-finished WIPs in the Endeavour and Merlin fandoms at some point.

(If you decide to copy me, just make sure you mark your board private so it doesn’t show up in Google searches.)

Who else wants to share? @londonfoginacup ? @neondiamond ?

[kamilah-the-bloodqueen]

The Cafe Pt.2 (Rewritten Barista)

OMG I’m back with the shitty Kamilah fanfiction! I haven’t written for a while - let alone for this series since I took a writing hiatus to focus on my classes so hopefully there aren’t any plot holes and the fic doesn’t suck ass. I’m slowly getting back into my writing but I still have finals (Up until next April 28) but after finals I will be writing more consistently and will finish my current series and WIPs (I will post my WIPs list soon so I can hold myself accountable and also keep track of what I need to work on).

Pairing: Kamilah x MC (Amy)

Word Count: 3682 words (I am trying to write longer fics but I prefer quality > length so I will post when the chapter feel right however I aim for this series chapters to be between 3500-4500 words each) 

Taglist: (I know it’s been a while so if you’d like to be removed from the taglist just let me know - I promise it won’t hurt my feelings that being said if you’d like to be added to the taglist for just this series, my Kamilah x MC taglist or my perma tag - please let me know I’ll be happy to add you if I remember to even tag) @samanthadalton @beautifulandorganized @cloud9in @kwaj115 @hellyeah90sbaby @shows-simp-card @witchesplayatnight

Part I

“It’s...sweet and comforting,” her voice was soft as she spoke, Amy’s cheeks turning very red, “like you.” 

Amy felt on cloud nine, her eyes glued to Kamilah as she watched her walk to her car and speed away like some rich movie character. Amy closed her eyes, replaying the entire scene over and over until the soft jingle of the bell startled her. Zig walked in, his shoulders drooped low as he carried a large duffel bag in his hand as his backpack slung over his shoulder. 

“You look like shit Zig.” Amy jested before walking to him and taking the duffel bag from him, both of them laughing lightly.

“I guess the tides have changed since we went to Hartfeld yeah?” Amy snickered at Zig’s comment, recalling the time she and her friends had gotten so wasted they streaked through the quad only to be caught by the dean on their way back.

“I assume you’re leaving after your shift?” Amy placed his bag down and tossed him his apron, both of them moving to the front counter as Zig examined the cafe. 

“Yeah, we aren’t technically leaving until tomorrow morning but Kaitlyn wanted to run over some of the more technical things with us. I could probably convince them to let you come, you’d definitely spice things up.” Zig waved his hands in the air and stuck his tongue out as Amy tried to glare at him, before breaking into laughter. 

“And who would watch the cafe? The pigeons? Lily?” 

“You’re right, I still feel bad about leaving on such short notice-”

“I’ve got this Zig, trust.” Amy held her head proud as Zig rolled his eyes, making sure Amy saw him. “Jerk.” She nudged his shoulder as a tall handsome man walked in, it took Amy and Zig a moment to realize who he was as he adjusted his tie. 

“Adrian Raines? CEO of Raine’s corporations?” Zig’s head perked up as he approached the register, his suit was a steel grey, his hair a dark brown that resembled a fresh cup of coffee and his smile was so comforting and infectious Amy couldn’t help but smile at him. 

“You must be Zig,” Adrian reached a hand forward, his teeth were so perfect, so straight and white he could have been in a toothpaste commercial, “and you must be Amy. Kamilah recommended this place. More specifically she recommended your special coffee. I had to come see for myself - she said if she had ordered one for me, it wouldn’t have made it to my office.” His voice was soothing, comforting and satisfying - Amy wanted him to read a bedtime story to her.

Amy’s eyes widened as she felt butterflies in her stomach, her palms growing sweaty as she smiled back at Adrian, his deep brown eyes very similar to Kamilah’s without the intensity. Zig gently tapped her shoulder, nodding towards the coffee machine as he rang Adrian’s drink up.

“Oh! Right!” Amy hustled, she was excited that she had two major CEOs trying her special coffee, it was a subtle flex that she found satisfaction in. She leaned back on the counter as the coffee slowly spilled out of the brewer, the strong smell prompting Adrian to turn for a moment before continuing the conversation with Zig. Amy took a moment to take him in, after all, not everyone gets to be within such a close proximity to a major CEO. Amy hadn’t noticed how muscular he was, his posture was so irritatingly straight, his hands were smaller than she expected and she tried not to laugh upon that discovery. His hair was slickly combed back, and his eyelashes were longer than Amy’s and his body complex was just muscular enough to be seen through the curves of his suit but not so muscular as to resemble Dwayne Johnson. 

“This is a solid set up you’ve got for yourself Zig, you should be proud.” Adrian adjusted his tie to be straighter as Zig rolled his shoulders back with a proud smile on his face.

“It took a lot of work but it’s...something I have wanted since college. I’m sure you understand that feeling since you do run one of the leading technology companies in the world, not even just the United States.” Zig folded his hands into his arms as Adrian turned with a soft gaze, a twinkle in his eyes that Amy couldn’t quite put a pin on.

“Well I’ve had years to grow and create a base for myself, with the connections I have in other industries it was really only a matter of money and finding the right people to work with me.” 

“How long did it take you?” Amy finished his coffee off with a generous serving of caramel and stirred it gently as Adrian blinked at her. 

“A long time, I’m much older than I look.” He laughed and Amy couldn’t help but question why he was so vague, he was only 28 years old according to google. 

“You don’t look a day over 22.” Zig interjected as Adrian and Amy held each other’s gaze, Amy couldn’t help but question his eyes, there was something he wasn’t letting on and she could feel it in her stomach. She handed him the coffee and watched his expression change as the warm liquid met his lips. 

“I can see why Kamilah was so intrigued, this has to be one of the best drinks I’ve ever had.” Adrian’s phone rang with drumming that sounded like it was from a revolutionary war movie. 

“Strange ringtone.” Amy remarked prompting Adrian to smile and shake his head. 

“I love the revolutionary war, the fight for freedom will always be an admirable one.” He smiled at Amy before turning to Zig, “I need to head back to my office but I’ll be sure to invest in this cafe of yours, and for you Amy. Thank you.” He reached into his pocket and handed Amy what appeared to be $300. 

“No wait it was just a cup of coffee!” Amy tried to shove the money back into his hand but Adrian had already dashed out of the door, leaving Zig stunned with a smile and Amy baffled. “What the fuck. I will never understand rich people Zig.” 

“I mean hey, it’s a good tip and you need the money Amy. Now, about you watching the cafe, are you really sure you can handle it alone? It’s a tall order.” Zig furrowed his brows as he scanned the empty cafe, his hand reassuringly placed on Amy’s shoulder. 

“It would actually be a venti order, but I’m sure. You need a break buddy, I can see it in your eyes and you should be there for Kaitlyn and her band.” Amy placed her hand over Zig’s as two women walked through the cafe doors. 

“Alright then, now let’s finish the day.” Zig returned to the register as Amy began fixing the women’s orders. 

The day passed by slower than usual, Amy kept replaying her interactions with Adrian over in her mind, with Kamilah’s earlier remark fading as Amy questioned Adrian’s shadiness. 

“That could not have gone by slower.” Zig let out a long sigh and Amy watched the tension leave his broad shoulders as he locked the front door. “After today I don’t have any more doubts about that trip, I need a break.” 

“That’s all I’ve been saying dumbass, go on. You need to pack and I can clean up here tonight.” Amy joked as Zig looked around nervously.

“Amy this place is a mess, we were so much busier. I can’t leave you to do this by yourself.” Zig reached for the disinfectant wipes as Amy smacked his hand. 

“Get out of here and go pack or you’re straight.” Amy wiggled her brows at Zig who took a step back. 

“Oh fuck off. All the tips from today are yours though. You take all the tips or you’re a vampire lover.” Zig winked at Amy who rolled her eyes and pointed towards the door. Zig stopped and patted her shoulder on his way out. 

“Thank you so much Amy. I’m glad you’re working here and I’m glad we were able to reconnect.” Zig and Amy shared a nod in silence before Zig left the messy cafe to Amy. 

“Now it’s just me I guess. Time to play some music.” Amy smiled and pulled her speaker out of her backpack, putting “Sit Next to Me” by Foster the People on and showly shaking her torso to the beat. She held the broom in her hands and started sweeping to the beat of the song, her head shaking to the rhythm as she sang her heart out. She finished sweeping the floor and began washing the blenders and wiping down the counters, stopping every five minutes to dance to the chorus of whatever upbeat song was playing. 

“She wears short skirts, I wear t-shirts. She’s cheer captain and I’m-” Amy swung her hips around, the washcloth in her hands flying through the air as she swayed her head back and forth like a teenage girl. 

“On the bleachers, dreaming bout the day when you wake up and find that what you’re looking for has been here the whole time.” 

Amy froze like a deer in headlights as she turned to see where the voice came from - Kamilah was standing in the doorway with her arms crossed and a very amused look on her face as Amy slowly lowered her arms in embarrassment. 

“How much of that did you see?” 

“Oh no don’t let me interrupt you, please keep going.” Kamilah smirked and Amy felt a rush of adrenaline run through her. Instead of stopping and apologizing, she found herself hitting the play button and continued singing and dancing like Kamilah wasn’t even there.

“If you could see that I’m the one who understands you! Been here all along so why can’t you seeeeeeee, you belong with meeeee!”

“Standing by and waiting at your backdoor, all this time how could you not know babyyyy? You belong with meeee.” Amy blinked as Kamilah sang with her, the woman's voice was stunning and left Amy speechless as their eyes met in the dim cafe lighting. The way Kamilah’s voice sounded in combination with the low and heated gaze she had on Amy, it felt like she was just reading her thoughts out loud. In a flash Kamilah was standing in front of Amy, their bodies so close Amy could feel the woman’s warmth and smell her sweet scent as the music faded and Amy lost herself in Kamilah’s brown eyes. 

“You belong with me. Have you ever thought...just...maybe...” Kamilah’s voice slowed from a singing tone to a low whisper, she leaned close as the song came to its end, Amy couldn’t help but sing back to her. 

“You belong with me?” She knew it came out shakily, the subtle smirk on Kamilah’s face said it all as they stayed locked in the moment. Amy knew they weren’t just singing to Taylor Swift’s new album, it was unspoken words between the two of them that neither had the courage to previously say. Amy felt her heart speed up, her palms growing sweaty as she waited to see if Kamilah would sing back to her or not. 

“You belong with me.” Kamilah leaned forward to kiss Amy, both of their eyes fluttering shut as the music stopped and time came to a slow. Amy wrapped her arms around the woman’s shoulders as their lips almost met, before Amy’s ringtone blared from her backpack causing Kamilah and Amy to jolt apart. 

Amy rushed over to check the call, scanning the screen and reading Lily’s name made her less annoyed that her almost kiss was interrupted, but still not happy. 

“Hey Lil what’s up? Oh yeah, I’m sorry I let Zig get out early so he could pack so I’m not gonna be home til late tonight. I’m so sorry. Yeah. Oh that’s good, I’m glad! You can def tell me about it later. Yeah? Oh yes I gotcha, I’ll venmo you for the rent once I hang up. Yeah okay goodnight Lil.” 

Amy hung up the phone and opened her venmo, sending Lily the $550 for rent, completely ignoring the fact Kamilah had made her way close to her again. As soon as she put her phone back in her bag, Kamilah turned her back around to face her, the woman’s eyes sparkling in the soft lighting that surrounded them. 

“Kamilah, how did you get in here? We’re technically closed and Zig-” Amy was silenced by Kamilah dangling what appeared to be a copy of the cafe key. 

“I helped Zig fund this cafe, I can come and go as I please, I just prefer to make his life easy and stay out of his way. He said you might’ve needed help cleaning up tonight since you let him go, so I came to help you clean, but instead I found you giving a world tour with no audience.” 

Amy felt a blush crawl up her face, her heart pounding so loudly it rang in her ears as she felt Kamilah’s hand on her arm. She pulled her eyes away from Kamilah’s, unsure of if it was because she was embarrassed, scared, flustered or a combination of all three. Kamilah gently placed her index finger under the girl’s chin, softly pulling her to meet her gaze as she spoke slowly.

“You don’t have to kiss me Amy,” her voice was comforting and lacked the iciness it usually carried, “just say the word and I won’t come to the cafe while you’re here alone.” 

“Kamilah...I...it’s not that...it’s just...” Amy stuttered but leaned forward, unable to reach Kamilah’s lips because of her height. Kamilah leaned down, tracing her index finger over Amy’s throat as their lips softly met. Kamilah slowly took Amy’s lower lip in her mouth, sucking on it and prompting a soft moan to escape Amy’s mouth as she draped herself into Kamilah’s arms. Minutes passed by as their mouths remained locked together, only pulling apart so they could finish cleaning. 

“Come on Amy, let’s get this place clean so you can get home.” Kamilah picked up the roll of paper towels and began drying the blenders and stacking them neatly to Amy’s surprise. Kamilah was a powerhouse, which was something Amy had expected from her since she radiated power like a goddess, but it was her ability to clean so damn thoroughly that confused Amy. 

“Kamilah?”

“Yes?”

“I don’t want to sound rude or anything but-”

“How did I learn to clean so well for an extremely rich person?” 

“Yeah.”

“I wasn’t always this wealthy, and I still prefer to clean my own penthouse since there’s certain ways I like my things placed and kept. The safest hands are our own and I like to be self reliant. Cleaning also makes me feel quite liberated and I keep valuable artifacts in my home that I wouldn’t feel comfortable letting anyone else touch.”

“Oh, that makes a lot of sense. Thank you.” Amy spoke softly as she wiped the last chair down and stacked it. She turned as Kamilah slid her blazer back on and leaned against the door. Amy slung her backpack over her shoulder and grabbed the leftover pastries from the counter but stopped on her way out as she noticed Kamilah waiting for her by the door. 

“You don’t have to walk me home Kamilah.” 

“It’s 1 am in New York. I wouldn’t let anyone walk home alone at this time, besides it’s safer and I don’t think Zig would forgive me if something happened to you.” Kamilah lowered her voice to a faint whisper that Amy could barely make out. “And I couldn’t forgive myself if I let something happen to you either.”

Amy felt sparks up her body as she let Kamilah hold the cafe door open for her, before they both turned to lock it. 

“Well I’ll let you do that since you’re running this place for the next week.” Kamilah took a step back as Amy shakily locked the cafe up, letting out a relieved sigh. She started walking and felt comforted knowing Kamilah was with her, because she didn’t want to walk home alone in the dark despite her earlier remarks. They walked in silence, Kamilah staying close to Amy as they passed by the food bank, Amy tensing as she passed by the same alley that had haunted her ever since she saw glowing eyes that one time. She hastily made her way into the food bank, dropping the bag off with the receptionist and hurrying out the door to get back before anything else could freak her out. 

“Kamilah, how do you know Adrian?” Amy asked as they walked away from the food bank towards Amy’s apartment. 

“I handle Raines Corporations finances. Raines Corporation does all of their financing through Ahmanet Financial and so we’re good business partners but we found good friendship through the years.” There was something suspicious about the way Kamilah spoke, it gave Amy the same feeling when Adrian was asked about her age but she just could not put a pin on why she had this feeling. “Amy? Are you alright?”

“Oh yeah sorry, my mind went off on a tangent.” Amy stopped at the front of her apartment building, she turned to face Kamilah who basically glowed in the dark. The moonlight illuminated her features, her brown eyes shining brightly and her hair shimmering as Amy felt her breath catch in her throat. “Thanks for walking me home..not that I can’t handle myself but-”

“Of course Amy. See you tomorrow.” Kamilah smiled softly, placing a gentle kiss on Amy’s cheek before turning and disappearing into the streets, Amy sighing as she walked through the lobby, getting in the elevator and finally arriving at her apartment door. 

“Hey Amy, how was work?” Lily sat up from the couch, putting her PS4 game on pause as Amy collapsed on the couch next to her. 

“It was alright, I let Zig leave early so he could pack and I was cleaning and totally jamming out and Kamilah saw me but she joined me and we kissed…” Amy giggled as Lily squealed in excitement.

“OHMYGODD what was it like?” Lily perked up like a child ready for a bedtime story, her hands shaking as she waited for Amy to explain.

“Electric. God Lily I don’t even have words for it. My head was spinning and the world just fell away.” Amy swayed back and forth as Lily hugged her. 

“Well maybe you’ll have a date with her soon. Oh, I made beignets tonight, they’re on the counter! Let me get you some!” Lily stood up and rushed away, returning quickly with a beautiful plate of freshly made beignets covered in powdered sugar. 

“I swear you’re the best suitemate ever. Absolutely unparalleled.” Amy bit into one of the sweets, savoring the softness and sweetness of the perfect sweet treat. “God Lily this has to be your best recipe yet!” 

“Girllll no way, I saw this recipe for key lime pie that I’m dying to try this week.” Lily exclaimed as she pulled up the recipe on her phone, Amy taking another beignet from the plate. 

“You should go to a baking school or something Lily. Maybe open a bakery?” Amy suggested as Lily passionately explained the process of baking her favorite desserts. “Maybe you could bake for the cafe?”

“Nah, this is a hobby. I want to finalize my website for my computer business this week. But that’s a nice suggestion.” Lily stifled a yawn at the same time Amy did, both of them laughing at each other. 

“Damn so we’re both two tired dumbasses. It’s 3 am...we should get some sleep.” Lily suggested as Amy realized she’d only be getting a few hours of sleep. 

“You’re right. Do we have any energy drinks in the fridge though? I’m gonna need one before work.” 

“Yeah I bought more redbull and monster so you can take your pick, but I’m gonna crash harder than windows so g’night Amy.” Lily shuffled to her room as Amy did the same - collapsing in her bed and savoring the few hours of sleep she was going to get. 

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Amy arrived at the cafe 20 minutes before opening time, her bag in one hand and a redbull in the other as she unlocked the cafe. She put her bag down and started the opening process, the redbull slowly kicking in as the time passed by quickly. Just as she finished counting in on the register, the door jingled open and Kamilah stepped through the cafe doors. 

“Good morning Amy.” She smiled at her with those perfectly straight teeth and that damn irresistible smile. 

“Good morning Kamilah, here’s your coffee. Both ways.” Amy handed the cups to Kamilah, their fingers gently brushing during the exchange.  

“Amy...about last night…” Kamilah spoke softly, gently, in a sweet voice that Amy never expected from her. 

“Oh...did...you want to forget it?” Amy’s heart dropped, a deep pain forming in her stomach as she awaited Kamilah’s response. 

“No. I...I enjoyed it a lot.” Kamilah’s tone changed from sweet and confident to a shy and lower voice - was she flustered? 

“So did I...maybe...well if you have time tonight maybe we can do it again?” Amy suggested as she wiped the counter down. 

“I’ll be here.” Kamilah smiled, their eyes meeting for a moment before the jingling of the door interrupted their moment. “See you later Amy.” Kamilah waved as she left the cafe. 

The day passed by achingly slow, but eventually after several strange tik tok orders, a bunch of big wall street assholes and a few sweet customers the cafe was ready to close. Amy began cleaning the cafe, starting with just wiping the blenders clean as the door jingled, Amy turned and expected to see Kamilah - but it wasn’t Kamilah in the doorway. 

[mrs-dr-reid]

Logan’s WIPs

Howdy!!! In order to keep myself somewhat accountable, I’m gonna make a list of all the fics I have in the works to see what you guys want first! Because tbh my motivation has been SHOT recently, and knowing what y’all wanna see might give me the shove to start working on them ☺️☺️☺️.

(Btw, I will edit this thing whenever I get new ideas/post the WIPs currently listed, so this list will be changing at least somewhat frequently)

New Beginnings

Pairing: Matthew Gray Gubler x Reader

Summary: The Reader gets set up on a blind date after being newly single for 8 months, and it goes better than she anticipated (based on the song Begin Again by Taylor Swift)

Just a cheesy, fluffy little piece that I’ve been dying to get out of my brain.

Home

Pairing: MGG x Fem!Reader

Summary: Matthew comes home from a long three months of filming for Criminal Minds, and the reader is glad he’s home.

This boy came to me in a dream, but I have yet to write it all down. So I might do that soon.

All I Need Is You

Pairing: Evan Buckley x Fem!Reader

Summary: Buck tries to make his first date with the Reader as special as possible, but one attempt goes wrong after another, and Reader has to reassure him.

This boy also came to me in a dream, I’ve been wanting to finish this for so long, and I meant to post it on Valentine’s Day, but I never did (obviously).

You’re An Idiot

Pairing: Evan Buckley x Fem OC (Lydia McCormick)

Summary: Lydia tears Buck a new one in the aftermath of Eddie’s accident, and it leads the both of them to question their priorities.

Whoaaaa, my second ever thing involving one of my OCs on here (Holiday Romance isn’t published yet, so I don’t count that)! If enough people like it, I might do more OC stuff (because I have a LOT that I can do stuff for).

Nice Sweater

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Fem!Reader

Summary: Inspired by these prompts: “You look really cute in that sweater” and “Wanna, like– I mean, if you’re not busy… We could get lunch? Or even just coffee if you don’t have a lot of time?”.

Basically a friends to lovers soft boi, but I loved these prompts so much that I had to at least get a semblance of an idea for them.

The BAU on Broadway (Wicked)

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Fem!OC

Summary: The BAU never really made it to the FBI, but they did end up making it on the Great White Way. Adri Carmichael is fresh off her third PhD and her second BA when she gets her big break as a certain magical lady who knows it isn’t easy being green. But when her leading man ends up being another young genius doctor, she’s not sure she’ll ever dance through life the same way

I put this series on hold until I had finished Criminal Minds so I could include all the other characters rather than just the Core 7 everybody always writes about. But (predictably) I never picked it up again. The singular chapter I got out before I put it on ice is linked on my landing page if you wanna check it out.

Holiday Romance

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Fem!OC

Summary: Jessica Lewis is a nurse at the Seattle Children’s Hospital, and she hasn’t been home for Christmas in almost five years. But when an invitation to her favorite cousin’s New Years wedding finally brings her back to Colorado for the holidays, she has to face the fact that her secret long-harbored affections for an old friend from high school haven’t really gone away

This series has been on ice since I first got Tumblr because I had started it on Wattpad, but then there was a whole data mining issue over there, I had to delete my account, and I forgot to save the 7 chapters I got out before I nuked my account. So now I’m hoping to rework it and make it less stupid than it was back then (because I was like 15 when I wrote it)

Betting on the Right Horse

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Fem!Reader

Summary: Spencer and the Reader are forced to work together after being named the co-owners of their late adoptive father/uncle Jason Gideon’s horse ranch in Colorado, and they hate every minute of it

Basically I’ve been watching too much Heartland with my mom, and my brain came up with this brainrot of an idea, so now I gotta write the thing. It’s a series too

Here For You

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Fem!Reader

Summary: Coming home after being imprisoned and forgetting who he is was tough for Spencer, but thankfully the Reader was there to remind him

To sum it up, the writers discord I’m in peer pressured me into writing smut, so that’s what this is

Not Gonna Stop

Pairing: Sam Winchester x Fem!Reader

Summary: Reader notices that Sam is in one of his “I’m a worthless dummy” headspaces, so she showers him in compliments.

This also came to me in a dream, which means I might need to become a SPN writer now.

Nobody Puts Baby In A Corner

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Fem!Reader

Summary: Reader is tired of Bucky never understanding her pop culture references, so she sits him down for an EPIC movie and tv marathon to make sure her jokes never go over his head ever again.

This is for a challenge on @belladonnabarnes’ page, and I still gotta get started on it 😅😅😅

What Have We Here?

Pairing: Loki x Fem!Reader

Summary: Reader is a friend of Thor’s, and when he invites her to visit Asgard, she runs into his brother and is rightfully cautious of the trickster.

Just a random idea that popped into my brain last night.

Sleepover

Pairing: Loki x Fem!Reader

Summary: Reader is APPALLED to learn that Loki has never had a sleepover, so she makes it her mission to change that.

Inspired by a post that popped up on my tl that I couldn’t NOT write about.

Safe

Pairing: Mark Watney x Fem!Reader

Summary: Mark wakes up from a nightmare about his time on Mars, and the reader comforts him

Basically, The Martian is one of my comfort movies, I watched it for like the 22nd time the other day, and this popped into my brain. Nuff said.

Who’s That Girl?

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Fem!Reader, allusions to past Nick Miller x Fem!Reader

Summary: The Loft Crew comes to visit the Reader in Quantico for Thanksgiving, (and as the trend goes with the Loft Crew and that particular holiday), chaos ensues

Basically my moot Nati inspired me to write a New Girl x Criminal Minds crossover fic, and I couldn’t resist the temptation.

“Just A Summer Thing”

Pairing: Steve Harrington x Fem!Reader

Summary: There’s only one week left of summer, and the Reader has one last chance to make Steve realize that she wants more than just a summer fling

Just a slightly angsty Steve Harrington fic loosely based on “august” and “betty” by Taylor Swift because ya girl has ZERO self control.

Weird But F*ckin’ Beautiful

Pairing: Eddie Munson x Fem!Reader

Summary: Eddie and Reader are best friends. But one late night they both come to the startling realization that they’ve always wanted to be more than that

A really fluffy Eddie fix VERY loosely based on “Snow On The Beach” by Taylor Swift because Midnights is my entire personality for the next month

Going Batty

Pairing: Bat!Eddie Munson x Fem!OC (Kim Anderson)

Summary: Eddie turns into his bat form when he’s feeling antisocial, but he’s also clingy, so now all of Hawkins thinks that Kim adopted an injured bat and named him Sonnie

Just a really fluffy Eddie fic that came to me in a dream last night because I frickin LOVE Bat!Eddie stuff

Those Meddling Kids (And Teachers)

Pairing: Teacher!Steve Harrington x Teacher!Carrie Brown (OC)

Summary: Mr. Harrington and Ms. Brown clearly like each other, but they seem to be the only people at Hawkins Middle School that are completely oblivious to it, so Mr. Munson, Ms. Anderson, Ms. Buckley, Ms. Wheeler, and Mr. Byers conspire with their students to get them together

Basically I’m a sucker for a teacher AU, and I saw a doodle on my dash of Steve with glasses, which in turn triggered this brain rot

Love is Blind

Pairing: Matt Murdock x Fem!Reader

Summary: Matt and the Reader are planning their wedding, and they accidentally forgot to mention to their wedding planner that Matt is blind to hilarious results.

Basically, my moot @leossmoonn roped me into her Daredevil Bullshit (which I ain’t mad about), and this idea popped into my brain after I beta-read a fic for her.

The Luckiest

Pairing: MCU!Peter Parker x Fem!Reader

Summary: Dr. Strange worked his magic, so Peter was able to keep the one person he had left from forgetting him

I needed comfort after NWH, so I came up with this. Kinda based on the Ben Folds song of the same name, but also not really at all

The Boy Who Lived & His Brightest Witch

Pairing: Harry Potter x Fem!OC

Summary: Elaina Granger recounts her time at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, as well as the road that lead her to falling in love with The Chosen One himself, Harry Potter

This was my first ever OC thing that is unfortunately in need of a full overhaul because I lost all of the stuff I’d written for it, which might be a good thing because I was in middle school when I wrote it 😬😬😬

The Sexy Brit Frat House

Pairing: Andrew Garfield x Fem!Reader, Platonic SBFH x Fem!Reader

Summary: The reader and Andrew have been going out for a while, but now she has to meet his roommates, and suddenly she's in an entire house full of sexy aspiring British actors.

This entire idea was spawned from a conversation I had in a TikTok comment section, and I had to write it.

=================================

Welp, I think that’s all of them! Let me know what you wanna see first!

Tagging some writer moots and a few writers that I always yell support at in their inboxes/comment sections to signal boost this: @homoose, @libraryofloveletters, @reidsnose, @belladonnabarnes, @themetaphorgirl, @meganskane, @borntobewondering, @scarletred79, @goldentournesol, @reidemandweep, @romqnticizer, @there-must-be-a-lock, @spilledkauffie

[dayseternal-blog]

If you ever finish answering all of yours awaiting asks...

45 questions for you 👀

https://myaekingheart.tumblr.com/post/650107314353897472/fic-writer-ask-game

Lolllll BADLUCKBREBIS, you are so funny.

Inspiration and Reading Asks:

1. How long ago did you start reading fanfiction? Writing fanfiction?

It looks like I started writing in 2017. I've been reflecting recently on how there are so many regularly active writers now compared to in 2017-2018. It was the tail-end of some of my fave writer's activity within fandom. Utsus was posting less and less. The Tumblr NaruHina fandom seemed to disappear, a whole community of writers left for other things (matchaball, nekomamoru, magmawrites, cherryjutsu, spyder-m, tenney-shoes, eliphya, among others). 2018 was a very quiet year, but! I avidly read katarinahime and bunnyhoodlum's works! In 2019, quirrrky restarted things with NaruHina Week!

2. How do you spend your time when it comes to fanfiction? Are you primarily a fic reader, writer, or a perfect 50/50 split of both?

Recently I’m primarily a reader!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Because there's so many writers now!!!!!!!!

3. Are there any fics that inspired you to write what you do?

Yeah, let’s list them.  “A Special Friend” by agitosgirl inspired “Nightdreams.  “Medicine” by @grimmjowkurosakidrake​ inspired “White Lilies.  “Torch Song” by @mmmbuttery inspired “About You.”  The language in “Unless the World Were to End” by @bunny-hoodlum​ inspired the language in “That was the plan.”  “In Between Drinks” by @peppercornpress inspired “In Between Drinks NH.”

4. Link your three favorite fics right now.

“Operation: Bring Home Naruto” by Dragonwannabe - Rated T, Canon-Divergent, Multi-chapter, Complete. Hinata's been assigned the mission of getting Naruto back home safely after his last dangerous assignment. But can she handle the undercover identity as his girlfriend that she’d been given without revealing her true feelings for him?

“The Mission” by Lunawraythe - Rated M, Canon-Divergent, Multi-chapter, Ongoing. It wasn't that Hinata never expected to work with Naruto, just never on a mission quite like this.

“The Loving Type” by @peppercornpresses - Rated M, Canon-Divergent, Multi-chapter, Ongoing. A few years have passed since the Fourth Shinobi War, in which...Rookie Nine steadily advances in rank. Naruto gets engaged. Hinata leaves Konoha. And Kakashi schemes for days.

5. What are your fanfic pet peeves? Do they have a huge effect on whether or not you decide to read something?

ahhh.  I do have quite a few pet peeves.  If the fic is Canon-Compliant or Canon-Divergent, I expect Naruto and Hinata to behave like Japanese people.  Say what you want, but the Naruto Universe is definitely Japanese in my book.  So that means no shoes in the house.  Nothing rattles me more than reading Hinata taking her sandals off before climbing into bed.  Like, what?  she was wearing her outdoor shoes indoors this whole time??

mmm... another pet peeve is when the writer describes Hinata in a kimono, but it sounds like an American Halloween costume, like the slutty version, instead of an actual kimono.

mmm... and the other big pet peeve I have is when it’s Hinata’s first time eating ramen because Naruto is showing her the wonders of ramen.  lol.  why.  how.  in what world would a Japanese person make it to their teenage years without ever eating ramen.

I have a bunch of other little pet peeves regarding Japanese culture in fanfics.  But in general, it doesn’t stop me from reading the fic if I'm already in the middle of it.  I’ll continue reading it and will probably recommend it to other people anyway. If I can tell based on the summary, then it's not for me, and I don't read it. If this makes anyone feel nervous about writing fanfiction, that's not my intention! I would also be happy to be a sensitivity reader if necessary.

6. How do you find new fic to read? Where do you primarily read fanfiction?

I primarily read fanfics on AO3 and ffnet.  I find new ones by constantly checking the Hyuuga Hinata/Uzumaki Naruto tag on AO3 or looking into a writer’s favorites list on ffnet.

7. Do you prefer to read short fics or long fics?

Short fics.

8. How often do you reblog/comment on fics that you like?

I reblog pretty often. I don't comment as often as I used to😕 I used to comment on every fic I liked.

9. Tag 3 fic writers you think are underrated/unknown in the fandom/fanfiction community.

Uhh?? Idk. I think recently the writing group here is pretty tight, everyone seems to know everyone.

10. What’s your favorite fandom, pairing, or character to read fic for?

Naruto fandom and NaruHina.

Fanfiction Writing Asks:

11. How do you come up with your fic titles?

I usually take it from words used in the story or from the prompt.

12. Tell the author your favorite fic title of theirs (not the fic, strictly title). Author: what’s your favorite title you’ve come up with and why?

I think...maybe "Tell Me of Forevers" or "Nightdreams." I like those because they aren't taken word-for-word directly from the story, but touch on a theme in the story.

13. Do you outline your fics? How much of a headache would someone get if they just looked at an outline of yours without reading the fic?

Yes, I outline. They wouldn't get a headache, I think. It's usually just a summary.

14. Do you have a personal word minimum that you hold yourself too? Why or why not?

Nope. I didn't know people do that.

15. Tell the author your favorite fic of theirs. What’s your (the author’s) favorite fic you’ve written?

My favorite fic continues to be "It's No Secret."

16. Do you research for your fics? If so, how deep of a rabbit hole have you gone down by accident when researching?

Yes, I do. I've done historical and folktale research for "Little Samurai." I did area/location research for "Last Chance." I did historical research for "About You." I did fairy tale research for "Catskin." I did a ton of astronomy research for "The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl." And I did lighting research for "Inspo." I go pretty deep.

17. How obsessively do you sit and stare at your fic after you’ve just posted and wait for feedback?

I don't. I usually have something else I need to do or I go to bed.

18. Do you have a WIP that you keep telling yourself you’ll eventually get back to, but deep down you know that’s probably a lie?

I actually think I can finish all of mine if I just try.

19. Do you edit your fics after you write them, or do you prefer to just hit post and run (because it’s someone else’s problem now)?

I always edit before posting to AO3. Anything I post directly on Tumblr might not be edited.

20. What’s your favorite part about the fanfiction writing process?

Posting!

21. What’s your least favorite part about the fanfiction writing process?

Starting a new chapter.

22. Do you take fic requests? If so, for what characters and why?

On occasion. If someone sends me a request, I'll think about writing it. Sometimes I do write and post it, sometimes I leave them in my drafts for a better day.

23. What’s your absolute favorite trope to write?

From what I already have posted, probably friends-to-lovers, secret relationship/forbidden love, or high school au. I don't think I have an intentional favorite.

24. What’s a trope that you’d like to never hear about as long as you live, let alone write?

Public humiliation / public degradation.

25. Do you listen to music as you write? If possible, link your writing playlist.

No, not usually.

26. What’s your biggest distraction when writing?

Tumblr feed, all the pictures to scroll through mindlessly.

27. Do you like to give your readers some warning of what might be coming or just slap them in the face with content at random?

lol, whatever is fine.

28. How do you deal with writing pressure (ie: pressure to update, negative comments, deadlines, etc)?

Well, pressure to update is not a big deal to me. I do this for fun, so I don't think I unnecessarily pressure myself too much. With negative comments, I don't get too many of those, and I think I do my best to avoid situations where I might get negative feedback.

29. Have you ever written for an exchange or event of some kind? Which one(s)? Did you enjoy it?

Yeah, I like the events. My favorite was NH2020, the year-long one last year. I also enjoyed the Secret Santa last year since @badluckbrebis was my giftee.

30. Post a snippet from your current WIP without context - no more than 300 words.

haha😈

Ecstasy slides through his veins, blooming over his mind, cocooning him in pleasant sensations, cum shooting out in eager twitches against hot, milking flesh.

31. Of the characters you write for, which is your favorite? Has that choice been swayed at all by your followers/readers’ reactions to certain ones?

Naruto Uzumaki, always.

32. Copy and paste your top three favorite lines/jokes/sentences you’ve ever written. What fics do they come from?

Top 3 faves in order:

That was the plan: "She shifts in his arms, and cloth and cleavage come pillowing up to his face, and he’s certain that she’s scooped from the same puffy stuff his adolescent daydreams were made of."

Tell Me of Forevers: "What he wouldn’t do to inspire every blush, every smile of hers for an eternity when such moments already only speak “forever” to him."

White Lilies: "Whether at his feet, in his eyes, ears, mind, if not reaching his heart, she never landed anywhere. (It’s okay.)"

I consider "White Lilies" to have my technically best writing, so it was kind of hard to choose just one line from that fic! But I decided that one's my favorite line from the whole story.

33. What do you like writing better: one shots or multi-chapter stuff?

One-shots.

34. How much of yourself and your life experiences do you put into your writing? What do you think your readers’ image of you is?

A lot of my life experiences are in my writing. Hmm, I think readers probably think I'm...hmm...either empathetic or really perverted?

35. How much has writing fic changed your life?

I spend a lot less time on real-life social media than before.

36. Are there any fics or fandoms you’re embarrassed to have written or been part of?

I'm kind of embarrassed of "Honeymoon at the Hot Springs" lol. It's fine.

37. Give an update on your current WIP - if you don’t have one, give a sneak peek to a title or idea that you have and would like to write.

My current WIP is that A/B/O fic I started for February Smut Month Prompts: Sweet as Candy or Love Bites. I'm going to title it "Sweet As," and it'll be about how Naruto and Hinata become Alpha/Omega mates. It's really kinky, really smutty, and totally what I would want to read.

38. What does your writing process look like? How chaotic is it on a scale of 1 (very tame) to 10 (you can’t handle this kind of chaos)?

uhh???? a 1?? I've never once thought of my writing process as chaotic. Ahh, then I think of bunnyhoodlum's multiple drafts for the same chapter, and I realize that there exist types of writing processes that I would not be able to handle...

39. What’s something about your writing that you pride yourself on?

My smut.

40. How did you come up with the idea for [x fic]?

41. What’s your most popular fic (with the most notes on tumblr, most hits/kudos on ao3)?

Idk about Tumblr,,, maybe White Lilies got the most attention here. My most popular fic is Nightdreams on AO3.

42. Asker: pick three of the author’s works. Author: rank them 1 (the best) - 3 (the worst) based on whatever criteria you want - this could be something totally random that isn’t quality related (like simply ranking fics based on how many trains appear in them) - have fun!

43. Talk about a positive experience with fanfiction or the fanfiction community that you will always remember.

I will always remember how people congratulated me for finishing White Lilies😭 Also, when peppercornpresses made that FIRST art of my story, I just, I just stared at it all day.

44. Rant about something writing related.

hmmm, I don't feel like ranting about anything. I just recently ranted about my pet peeves above.

45. Fic specific questions - if you have any weird questions about specific works, here’s your shot to ask them!

I did them all! Nice questions.

[mikauzoran]

The Ascendancy of The Plan ™ (re: Mikau’s WIPs)

So, I feel like I’ve gotten a lot accomplished in the past few months since I last did one of these status updates. Most of the stories I ended up writing were much longer than anticipated, and I’ve had a lot of ideas just pop into my head that I hadn’t originally been planning, so this list isn’t going to look very different from the last one, but I promise that I have accomplished things, and there are some new projects in the works. ^.^;

I’m currently posting the final chapters of Among the Wild Things and Betting Against the House. Below is a list of works I have planned for the coming months. Let me know what sounds interesting or what you’re excited for.

Anhedonia: When Adrien Met Marinette: (Adrienette, post-reveal/pre-relationship, roommates) So, I’m taking a screenplay writing class, and we’re studying the scripts of several movies to get a feel for how the writer evokes different cognitive responses from the audience. One of the movies is When Harry Met Sally. I’ve never seen this movie, but apparently it’s about two friends finally ending up together after some trials and tribulations. It’s about never giving up on finding love and happiness...only I’m feeling depressed at the moment, and I don’t want to hear about true love because I’m lonely and despair of ever finding someone to share a life with. So I’m using my feelings to write a story. ^.^ Naturally. XD

It’s post-reveal/pre-relationship Adrienette. They’re roommates, and there’s been a misunderstanding because Marinette didn’t tell Adrien how she felt about him after she found out he was Chat Noir, and he’s told her that he’s over her because he thinks that the only way to preserve their friendship (since she’s already turned down his advances as Ladybug, so, obviously, she wouldn’t want him as Marinette either). It has a happy ending, and they straighten things out because I still believe in finding true love and happiness. XD I’m a sap like that, and these two deserve happiness.

Ladrien Present: (Adrienette, Ladrien) I’m still trying to write a story where Ladybug brings Adrien’s birthday party to him. ^.^; I have half of it written (the Adrienette half), and I have an outline for the rest. I just...need to sit down and make myself write it. I’ve seriously been procrastinating on this one. I don’t know what my deal is. -.-;

Marichat Prompt: This is an overflow prompt I received as part of my Productive Procrastination Prompt Giveaway. It’s about Chat Noir visiting Marinette and it somehow coming up in conversation that Marinette has always thought of Chat as a player. For some reason, this makes Chat really angry because he can’t stand her in particular thinking that about him. I thought this story out a couple months ago, but I didn’t write it down, so now I’ve forgotten, and I’m going to have to think up the plot all over again. XD

Alyadrino Prompt: Someone sent me an Ask that said, “Snuggle party makes me imagine what if nino and alya accidentally did to adrien what luka and marinette intentionally did to him in shades 12″, and I thought, “…Oh, all right. Why not?” I had a basic outline of what I wanted to do with this story a couple months ago, but I didn’t write it down, so now I have to figure it out all over again. Oh, well. I have the basic idea, I think.

Lukadrigaminette: At the beginning of the month, I thought, “I should do Valentine’s Day stories!” I ended up writing a Marichat one, and then I had this idea. It’s not Valentine’s Day related, so I decided to shelve it for later. So, several years ago, my friend and I concocted this scheme to bake for our respective crushes and win their hearts that way. It’s a really fond memory for me, and I’m turning it into a Lukadrigaminette story. Luka and Kagami join forces to bake for Adrien and Marinette in order to win their love.

Plagg and Wayzz Prompt: I got a comment on one of my stories that said, “Can you do a top wayzz bottom plagg one? Preferably in universe and in human form. Doesn’t have to be smut.” First I thought, “What the bloody hell?” because it was a comment on a Lukadrien story, and that’s all it said, and I thought, “Well, that’s random.” I’ve never really written Wayzz before, but this gave me the idea for a story where the team is up against an akuma that somehow separates them from their kwamis, leaving the heroes unable to detransform and the kwamis in defenseless human form. What I came up with really doesn’t have anything to do with the prompt other than Plagg and Wayzz will both be in human form. It will probably just end up being a Lady Noir identity reveal piece, honestly.

Supportive Adrien Lukadrien One-Shot(?): I haven’t actually pinned this story down well yet. ^.^; I was just thinking that I wanted to write something where Adrien is the one supporting and encouraging Luka, since I typically write Luka being a supportive presence for Adrien. I was thinking that the scenario could be that Luka is feeling down because Marinette still loves Adrien and things aren’t going well between Marinette and Luka, so Adrien takes Luka on an outing and confesses his love and they live happily ever after or something.

The only thing is that a different scenario is trying to creep into this story. It’s really weird. It’s post-Papillon defeat, and Adrien is twenty-four (Luka is twenty-six). He’s been in kind of rough shape the past few years since his father was arrested and he lost his family and home and fortune. He couldn’t finish university, and he’s been travelling around, trying to find work and make a life for himself. He ends up back in Paris, broke, and auditions for a band because he happened to see a flyer advertising for a new lead vocalist. It just so happens that it’s Luka’s band, and Luka ends up finding out about Adrien’s situation and taking him in and feeding him...but that scenario is just more Luka taking care of Adrien, and that’s not what I wanted to write. XD It also feels like multiple chapters, and I don’t want to go there. Oh, well. We’ll see what happens.

Adrien Trapped in AU-Land: (Adrienette, canon universe featuring AUs) My idea is based off of a writing prompt submitted by @graaythekwami on the @miraculousfanworks Discord server: AU where all the characters wake up in a different AU every chapter, fully remembering what happened in the last AU. My idea is for Chat Noir to get hit by an akuma (probably named Escapist or something equally dumb ^.^) who traps Adrien in a series of alternate realities (AUs) until he realizes his feelings for Marinette and manages to break free.

L’Amour de Loin: (Lukadrien, post-Papillon defeat, Félix wingman) I did a sneak peek for this here. This was one of the two “Winter Lukadrien Pieces” mentioned on my last status update. Adrien is living in London with his aunt and cousin three years after Papillon’s defeat and arrest. He’s in rough shape and hasn’t kept in touch with anyone from Paris. One day, he gets a text from Luka out of the blue, and they rekindle their friendship. Félix acts as wingman to ensure that it turns into something more.

Adrienette Hanahaki: Awhile ago I did an ask game about a trope I’d like to try writing, and the one I came up with was Adrien with Hanahaki disease (The one where you start coughing up flower petals due to unrequited love making flowers grow inside your lungs). I’ve been thinking about it, and I’ve decided I’d like to actually write this story. My basic outline is: Adrien starts showing symptoms, and Gabriel badgers him about whom he’s in love with, and Adrien just blurts out, “Marinette!” And Gabriel threatens Marinette into dating Adrien, and they start fake dating but then fall in love.

Happenstance and Magic: Marichat May 2019. Marinette and Chat Noir adopt kittens together, and Adrien tries to get Marinette to see that he’s not perfect but still a worthwhile person deserving of her love.

I’ve been thinking about this one, and I think I’m going to cut the number of prompts I actually use. Once I’m done with the other stories, I want to sit down and make a more thorough outline of what I want the story to be and which prompts I’m going to use to get me there.

The Seduction of Adrien Agreste: This is part of the Springtime in Wonderland (Daisy/Jabberwocky) series. It deals with Luka and Adrien experimenting with physical intimacy to see if they can reach a compromise where Luka and (asexual) Adrien are both comfortable and have their needs met.

Things Currently on the Backburner:

The Rejects Club: Predominantly Marichat with Adrienette. Chat Noir and Marinette unexpectedly grow very close very fast as they open up to one another after Marinette overhears Adrien seemingly dismissing her as a romantic prospect. Identity shenanigans at farcical levels ensue.

I can’t really deal with Rejects right now. I’m feeling super overwhelmed by basic life stuff, so I don’t really have the mental or emotional energy to put into a story where I don’t know how many more chapters there will be until the end. I’m thinking that what I have planned will take at least another one or two hundred thousand words. This thing is just so massive, and I’m not in good enough mental heath to deal with it right now.

Springtime in Wonderland: Yeah, no. See the paragraph directly above. This is another one that’s going to take another couple hundred thousand words to complete, and I just don’t have the stamina in me right now. I’d rather focus on smaller projects that actually feel attainable. I’m trying not to burn myself out.

And that’s it for the moment. I’m sure I’ll come up with plenty of other stuff between now and the next time I do a status update post, but is there anything that you’re particularly interested in? Let me know what you’re thinking.

Thoughts? Feelings? Suggestions? Opinions? ^.^

[gaymergal]

WIP Wednessday

@heavensenthale tagged me in WIP Wednesday, and though I am also already in Out of Touch Thursday, Lets do this! :D

I have two WIP examples (out of a folder of like 30+ other WIPS ^^;) I came up with a writing challenge for myself back over the summer that I still haven’t committed much time to, but really would like to carve out the time to do it.

I made a list of 50 tropes, 50 first sentences, and 50 (mainly wlw) ships that I can throw into a random number generator and get something like:

47. Meeting at a festival au

41. It always happened at dusk, just as the sun was beginning to set…

27. Dorothea x Petra

The point of the writing challenge would be to limit myself to one shots based off of the ideas and really focus on/ skill hone the ability to just sit down and put words to paper.

Ideally, with the 50-50-50 challenge, I wanted to try and do a fic or 2 a month. And maybe get to a point where I could do 2-3 one shots a month. And by the end of a year or so get a lot more comfortable getting an idea and writing it… (FYI I have done 0 of these since August when I made up the prompts)

Rather than my current process which is, get an idea > world build a much more elaborate story around it > make an outline > make character bios for main cast > probably make a couple OCs to throw in there too > make a playlist of songs that match certain outlined chapters > daydream vividly to music and constantly tweak outlines and bios > pic a random chapter to flesh out >   Pic another sounding chapter to flesh out > get suck on trying to connect chapters to main story arc > …. > go back to tweaking out lines and daydreaming to music playlists…. > repeat last two steps often… > never make progress on main story.  > omg wait I have a new wip idea! > rinse and repeat til the end of time.  

So I’d like to work on one shots for a while and work my way up to more in-depth fics….But I’ve been saying that for months now and have only gotten thus far with the above generated prompt:

It always happened at dusk, just as the sun was beginning to set, just as it had every evening that Dorthea had spent in Brigid this far. The song would start with one of the Elders. Wherever they happened to be in the village square, whenever they deemed the sun low enough, one would let out melodious yell, a long winded prayer in their old language that was sung in a single breath and changed pitch as it was executed.

It was a tune that spoke to the songstress within Dorthea. She finished her street shopping, handing over the twice the fee the vendor had had originally asked for with a slight bow, and waved off the vendor offering to make change. She placed a swatch of brightly ornamented fabric in her woven basket and stepped slightly to the side. Moving herself out of the street as Brigidians spilled into the roads, walking away from their tents and storefronts.  The Vendor she paid gave Dorthea a large smile and patted her hand as they made their way past her and into the street, harmonizing with the singing Elder as he reached the end of the prayer.  When the Elder ran out of breath and the prayer completed, is when the dancing broke out. The people in the streets whooped and clasped hands with their nearest relation.

Emerald eyes scanned the sea of dancing villagers for her Fiancée, her only relation on the island.

 Femslah February is coming up so I’d like to finish the above fic and maybe also try to finish a second generated prompt… I should totally work on this goal… or any of my other WIPs…

…

..

.

OR, I could do an outline, and character bios for a Zelda fic Idea that hit me in the face this past Tuesday and is something along the lines of:

AU Sheik and Gan both have had arranged marriages since birth. But those aren’t the names on their respective marriage contracts.

Due to an old treaty that was written at the end the last great Triforce War, the next Gerudo male would have to marry the current Zelda (the Hylian name given to all woman in the royal line).

150 years after the conclusion of the Great Triforce War, Gan(ondorf) finds herself in a pinch when she is technically betrothed to 7 Zelda’s including the sitting widowed Hylian Queen. None of whom are the Sheikah Ninja who stole her heart the day she set foot in Hyrule with the purpose of choosing a Zelda bride.

>.>; (Each Zelda has their own unique nickname to tell them apart ex: Queen Zelda is nicked named Tetra, the Zora word for Terror because she terrorized the Zora’s with her warships in her early days as Queen.  Her oldest daughter is Zelda nicknamed Rina,for her talent with the Ocarina. Twin Zelda’s nicknamed Twilight and Wild, ect...and I just want to create character bio/sheets for them all T^T)

^^; idk the Tagging rules for this but if  @runicmagitek or @ultramarine316​ or anyone else reading this have any WIPs they want to share and talk about :3 <3! have at it! Happy WIP Wednesday Out of Touch Thursday!

[sugarcomatosed]

i love your stories so much!! and was wondering if you can give some writing tips perhaps? 🥺👉🏻👈🏻

Breaking this up into sections for you + putting it under a cut cause I went overboard. 😅

General Writing Tips

These work for both academic and creative writing.

Make an outline.

It doesn't have to be a formal one, but having at least a general idea of the scenes you want to include is helpful. If I know my fic is going to be a longer one (like Don't Hesitate was and my current WIP is), I break down the larger story beats i want to hit on a piece of paper or my iPad.

It's good to know what you're planning to do, in a any piece I usually have a single specific scene I want to do and depending on what it is, I might either just do the scene I want to or turn into something longer.

Draft, draft, draft.

I cannot stress the importance of going through and reviewing your work. This is a big part of any sort of writing.

Your first idea isn't always your best idea. As you work on a piece you might find your original idea is holding you back, focus shifts! Don't be afraid to let your work change as you go. It's not always easy to let go of your original idea but if you find it's not working, you have to let it change. Sections will need to be rewritten, things have to be readjusted to fit with later sections. Reread for clarity while you're drafting and look to see if this makes sense to you, or reads well to you. If you can't follow it and you wrote it, chances are your reader can't either. Did you use the same phrase again and again? Find and search it on your doc to double check.

Sometimes you have to cut things you really like because they just don't contribute to the fic anymore. Save those bits and use them somewhere else!In a lot of my longer pieces I will write a paragraph, realize that's not where it should go and cut/paste it into another part of the doc because the pacing/scene doesn't make sense where I had it originally, but it works somewhere else.

If you're stuck, skip around, come back and then stitch the bits you have written together.

Don't Focus on a Word Count

This might be controversial, but I'm of the opinion just because something is longer does not make it better. Some works are short, and that's okay! I very rarely try to aim for a specific count of words unless it's for a prompt exchange or a personal challenge. I write till I feel the piece is done. Some stories require more words, some require less.

Don't Hesitate is a great example of this again, because all I wanted to do was a bittersweet first kiss fic, but jumping write into the kiss wouldn't get the full effect I wanted. Meanwhile, with Old Habits all I wanted to do was write dumb comedic kisses, we didn't need a 2k preamble.

Get Someone You Trust to Edit

My go to editor for the past six years or so is one of my good friends. She has edited everything from college papers to my fics for me before I post them to read for clarity, find any funky phrases or misspelled words I missed, and I do the same for her when she asks! A fresh set of eyes makes a world of a difference. Find someone to trade fics with or ask a friend! They might have good suggestions you never thought of, or be able to tell what you were going for when you don't even know yourself.

I also rely on my friends a lot to brainstorm and talk my ideas out before I start because it helps me think and figure out what I need. It's super common for me to text someone and say "im gonna spitball at you, that okay?" and then spend twenty minutes chatting through my ideas.

Have Reference Material

For my 13sar fics, I regularly go back and review/screenshot videos of the dialogue to make sure I am staying consistent with story events, character nuance and small details. You don't have to go crazy, but it is really helpful to have your source material to go back to and check yourself against. In non creative writing I always had a pile of papers highlighted with my own notes on the margins.

Take Breaks/Pace Yourself

Know your own limits, and if you are working and working on something and it's not coming out leave it alone and come back to it. I'm really bad at this personally because when I get an idea in my head I want to see it through but sometimes you gotta step back! It's not healthy to keep working on things and overwork yourself. Stretch, get up go for a walk.

Write What You Want to Write

Don't focus on what people want to read. Focus on what you like. Find a topic, a scene, anything that you are passionate about and the rest will follow. The only time I write fic for other people is when I am writing for a friend. Even prompt requests I only take open ended ones, if I am not interested in writing it it's not gonna happen. I know it's super hard and I get really anxious sometimes about letting people down now, or worrying people won't like something but then I step back and remind myself this is a hobby and I'm doing it for fun.

Play to Your Strengths

You shouldn't try to write like me, you should try to write like yourself. Find what skills you have and use them to your advantage!

I can't give you a step by step list to write like me, because nobody in the world has my background! We're all unique. Everything I've listed so far I know because I'm not a beginner anymore! I'm in my twenties and have come from a strong academic writing background.

I took on an intensive course load in high school, and then went onto college for a sociology degree. I very rarely had test based finals and at the end of each semester would have five 10-15 page papers to submit. Straight up some of my skills come from having read and studied the works of anthropologist Clifford Geertz. I am not saying you should read anthropology/sociology texts. Unless you like that sort of thing lol

I also have 6+ years of theater experience (acting & directing), I use this all the time for my writing. When I think about a scene, I think about how I would work through it as an actor, how the character would move, and how would things read to an audience. The GOTE ("Goal, Obstacle, Tactics, and Expectation") method of acting by Robert Cohen is really useful hear if you want a more technical breakdown of what I mean by that.

This leads to a lot of what we called "business" in acting, doing small tiny things while you talk or move around on stage to give the sense you're a real human. I don't have to think or try on these sort of things because they're in my skill set already!

Things I do Personally

As in, these are not transferable skills this is just the stuff I do while working on projects.

Find a Vibe™️

I come into any fic with usually a goal I want to hit, a line of dialogue or something I want to capture. Just like, the general idea of a feeling a song even if the lyrics don't match up. Make a mood-board, a playlist, just find something you wanna do. It's less about the actual words on the page and what you're aiming to do.

Look to things that inspire you

Don't Hesitate got written because I wanted to write a fic that captured the same vibe as a scene in Macross Frontier, where two characters have a bittersweet kiss before the final battle and that scene still has me fucked up six years after watching it.

My current WIP is doing the same thing but with the song All I've Ever Known from Hadestown. Two characters working through loneliness, the sudden feeling of falling in love and the frustration that feeling can bring on sometime.

I don't plagiarize them word for word, but these are scenes that inspire me! I also patchwork quilt ideas together. Using Don't Hesitate again, I also ended up pulling from a bunch of shoujo anime, Toradora, Sailor Moon, Yona of the Dawn, Princess Tutu...specific scenes I enjoy to blend and create something new.

Goof Off While You Write

I name my documents stupid things, I write dumb placeholder dialogue or vague sentiments like "insert better word here", I make memes when I'm struggling and roast myself and my predictable tastes.

I spent twenty minutes texting a friend Juro's name with different letters spelt out and then the "fuck your chickenstrips" vine saying it was Juro during destruction. Just have fun with it!

Listen to J-POP On Loop for Hours at a Time

i am not kidding I do this all the time. Perfume, AKB48, anime idol osts, Sailor Moon's OPs/ED, vocaloid songs. I like technopop and Japanese is good because it usually doesn't distract my brain since I only know random phrases, but still know what the meaning og the song is.

I love music, it helps me vibe out.

Thank you so much for enjoying my work ;o;

I hope this is useful to you in some way! I'm so sorry it's so long winded but I am overly thorough and love to teach people ;w;

[mistresspandora-archive]

Do you have any advice for people who write as a hobby and tend to never finish any of their works? Or for those whose ideas almost never get turned into writing?

Hi @wakerrife! I’m flattered that you asked. I don’t know that any of this precisely qualifies as sage advice, but here’s my thoughts:

First of all, give yourself some grace. If writing is your hobby, it’s just fine for it to be more about the journey than the destination. It’s okay if the story doesn’t get “finished.” Did you enjoy writing it? Did you get something out of it? Then it’s not wasted time or effort. Were you really inspired to write a gorgeous paragraph of exposition but then didn’t know what to do with it? That’s okay. Give yourself permission to enjoy your hobby at your own pace.

As for your ideas, or “plot bunnies” as I call them, keep them or share them. I have a literal spreadsheet of ideas, with columns for me to describe the idea to job my memory when I come back to it; notes about whether it was requested and by whom; challenges, bingos, or events I want to use it for; the series it goes into, if it goes into a series; and the ship. That’s a little hyper-organized for most people (I’m a data analyst by trade, spreadsheets relax me lol), but if you want to tuck them away, write them down somewhere. You can also share them. Post it on tumblr or send it to a writer friend who takes requests/prompts. You can always write it later yourself. There’s no rule that says two people can’t write off the same plot bunny; you’ll create two totally different things.

Personally, one-shots are my best friend. Single chapters, usually 3-5k for me. There’s usually one scene or or one idea I want to convey, with no pressure whatsoever to build a plot or a new world or anything. They don’t have to be smutty (though if you looked at my works list on AO3, you’d think that was the rule 😬 but it isn’t lol). Sometimes my one-shots grow into short stories, but not usually.

I’ve never tried this one, but drabbles (exactly 100 words) might also be something to try. Make a puzzle out of it.

Consider what your definition of “finished” is. If you’ve written that beautiful paragraph or two of exposition, or you just really wanted to spend a couple hundred words writing a character’s stream of consciousness, there’s no law against posting it, if you want to. That can be finished too. That’s what AO3 is there for. Or Tumblr. Or both.

It’s also important, I think, to understand where your motivation and inspiration comes from. It’s also totally normal if the source and amount of motivation/inspiration varies greatly from day to day. Case in point, sometimes I will put down a few thousand words in a day. Today I’ve written nothing. Sometimes it feels like a story is clawing its way out of my brain, sometimes it sort of meanders. Others I have to drag out kicking and screaming (I don’t necessarily recommend that approach, but I’ve done it).

I also recommend embracing the concept of the WIP folder. I’ve currently got five in mine, plus a couple collab projects that have all been started and not finished. If a story stops sparking joy, switch to another. You can always come back to it later.

Hopefully something in all that rambling babble is helpful. But really, the bottom line is give yourself grace. If you write because it makes you happy or because you enjoy it, it’s okay for that to be enough. I tell people a lot that not everything has to be a side hustle. It’s okay to enjoy a thing without profiting off the thing. And at the same time, hobbies don’t need to be achievement-based. Spending time with the activity you enjoy is achievement enough.

[crazybutgood]

My WIPs

Thanks for the tag @sky-is-torn ​ ! Here’s a list of my current WIPs:

Jegulus collab with curlyy-hair-dont-care: This fic is inspired by my ramble in the tags in the reblog of this post by ceilu and a brainstorm with Ri to expand on my plot bunny after she graciously agreed to do this collab with me ❤️ I’m going to be doing origami for this one but also help out with writing where needed as best as I can 😬

Quidditch/Flying art rec list: Ok so I was searching for a particular  artwork that flintandfuss was looking for of Draco leaning out a window while Harry stood on a broom outside (which I still haven’t found 😭) and came across some great art of this trope in the process. I have all the links compiled, I just need... to write the descriptions... haha (sidenote, I compile art and fics based on my own unusual categories too and that’s a forever WIP cos im always finding new ones to add to my spreadsheets but I may post some of those as well)  

Exploding snap fic recs 🙃

Desi!Harry HCs: While I was making this, I got too into one HC and ended up writing this fic haha but I do want to continue making a proper desi!Harry HC list, probably with some french!Draco thrown in cos I just love bilingual stuff. Idk if I’ll post it tho 🤔

Drarry microfic inspired playlist: This is another one I’m not sure if I’ll post but rn I’m having fun working on a Drarry playlist of Hindi songs based off some microfic prompts 

Christmas collab with vukovich and fantalf: Ik it’s still just July haha but I’ve just told them my idea first so that we can be prepared to set time aside for this closer to Christmas 

Lokius fanart reclist(s): courtesy of a conversation with @inspiration-in-process 😂 Thank you for enabling me Anna XD I'm super excited to compile this/these 🙌🏼

Podfics: I have plans... Adding it here so I can bring myself to stop putting it off cos of nerves

I'm not sure who's alr done this so feel free to ignore if you have but I tag @samyistrying @graymatters @dragontamerdame @onbeinganangel @dynazty @sitp-recs if you'd like to, no pressure! And anyone else who'd like to do this as well ☺️

[nirikeehan]

Fic Writer’s Round Up: 2021

Tagged by @noire-pandora and thought I’d give this a go, even though I’m not terribly organized...

Word count table or projects list table for 2021:

I haven’t been keeping a table, but based on my AO3 stats, here are the fics I worked on this year...

Star Wars Sequel Trilogy: The Force’s Will (Reylo with Reyux undertones), the post-TLJ longform WIP that’s an EU-mashup, which has really gotten out of hand; and two exchange fics: With Her Ghosts (Reylo; still a WIP), and Learning To Eat Soup With a Knife, a fun little canonverse AU where a young Rey meets and befriends Hux, allowing her to get recruited into the First Order. Would love to continue this AU as well, though the current fic is a standalone.

Dragon Age: 4 fics (with one as of right now in a mostly done state but unpublished) for Dragon Age Drunk Writing Circle Prompts... all of them have Blackwall in them. I think I might have a problem. 

New things I tried this year:

In December, I finally joined the DA Drunk Writing Circle after following it for about a year. BEST. DECISION. EVER. I’ve been writing Star Wars fic almost exclusively since 2019 AND running a sequel trilogy era TTRPG since 2020... that’s a lot of damn Star Wars. Don’t get me wrong, I always have and always will love me some Star Wars, but it’s been nice to break into new territory. Especially with the sequels, there’s a lot of writing up you have to do, since the Disney canon material got so sloppy. Dragon Age has such fantastic writing already that it’s a real joy to step into the world and appreciate it for what it is, not what I wish it would be. 

Also as of like, yesterday, I wrote the first smut I’ve written in............ a long time. This is part of the “Be the smut you want to see in the world” initiative started by me and a friend. The verdict on it is not yet in since I haven’t gathered the courage to post it, but it’s part of an overall “I refuse to feel guilty or embarrassed by things that bring me joy” thing I’ve been trying this year so we’ll see. 

Fic I spent the most time on:

The Force’s Will, for sure. I think I got 4 chapters published in 2021, which uh... sure doesn’t feel like much in the long-run when it started with a monthly updating schedule but *shrug* The branching out has been good for me, because otherwise I do get into a rut with it. I’ve been writing it for almost 3 years now! 

I do want to get back to it soon, though. The next chapter is Poe-centric and there are just times when I need more Poe Dameron in my life. 

Fic I spent the least time on:

Iron, because I didn’t update it at all this year. I have a half-written chapter draft just.... sitting. It’s for a nearly non-existent pairing (Hux/Kaydel Ko Connix), and I think that saps my motivation a lot. Like maybe I should just give up and write some Gingerrose instead because it’s more in demand. Still, for a pairing that basically doesn’t exist I still get kudos and nice comments on it, so I would like to get back to it someday. Kaydel is my favorite minor sequel character and I enjoy writing her a lot with the headcanon I’ve developed for her.

Favourite thing(s) I wrote:

NGL, I am weak for writing both Blackwall and Cullen opposite my actual human disaster Inquisitor, Thalia Trevelyan. Shit is complicated af with the love triangle that never ends and every time I think I’m gonna settle and let her be with one of them I remember the other is also a fantastic character with a lot of chemistry and it just goes on and on forever. Can one do an AU for their own character? How else am I ever going to let them be happy? Whatever, I love the angst. It’s hideous. 

Favourite thing(s) I read:

Ficwise, hands down the best thing I’ve read this year was my Reylo fall exchange fic gift, The Call of Khashyun by benduo. It’s still a WIP but I’m biting my nails waiting to see what happens next. Canonverse, eldritch horror, creeping madness, Rey and Kylo stranded together on an evil Sith planet... I love it so much. 

In published fiction, it’s hard to nail down one favorite. Dune by Frank Herbert was incredible and influential to me in terms of sci fi/fantasy genre stuff. I also really loved The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennet and The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides, as they were incredibly well-written and saying some really poignant things about society in quiet, subtle ways. The two books in The Witcher series I read were also fantastic, and is one of the few non-ASOIAF fantasy fiction I’ve read that I’ve been impressed with. Despite loving fantasy settings in video game and TTRPGs, I am really hard to please when reading fantasy fiction. :\ One of my 2022 reading goals is to branch out with this and find more fantasy I truly enjoy reading. 

Writing goals for next year:

Write more fic that brings me joy. Going outside of my one main WIP to do some exchanges and prompt events has been A LOT of fun and made the whole process feel like less of a slog. Which is great for something that is, at the end of the day, a hobby. 

Tagging:

@monocytogenes

.... honestly that’s the only person I can think of to tag but if you are seeing this and feel inclined, by all means consider yourself tagged and share!