#so once i've edited that and started posting

[nebulaeternal]

✧༺┆✦ʚReflections of Desireɞ✦┆༻✩

―୨୧⋆ ˚GENRE/WARNING: smut, jealous sylus, mirror kink, slight bondage, breeding kink, orgasm denial, orgasm control, mirror sex, porn w/ little plot, alcohol mention. ―୨୧⋆ ˚SUMMARY: While attending a high-society event, Sylus experiences a slip of professionalism as he slowly becomes consumed by his jealousy and his fantasy after watching his partner in crime flirt with their target.

―୨୧⋆ ˚WORD COUNT: 3.7K

―୨୧⋆ ˚A/N: Hello! This is my first real post on here. It's been a while since I've written so it may be a bit rusty, but I hope you enjoy! (I did go back and edit this a couple times cause I kept getting ideas, so if you’re revisiting, I hope you enjoy~)

―୨୧⋆ ˚LINKS: AO3, Twitter

In the time that you’ve known Sylus, there was something intriguing about his fascination with mirrors. If you recall correctly, he had quite a few decorative mirrors displayed throughout his apartment, either adorned with beautifully intricate details or simply sleek yet classy designs.

You hadn’t thought much of it before now, that is, not before you caught Sylus, from the reflection of the mirror, gazing intently at you as you put the final touches on your makeup. Noticing his stare, you brought your lipgloss to your lip, applying it slowly deliberately sneaking glances at the crimson eyed man behind you, his gaze growing darker as he saw your pursed lips glistening.

“Ok, I’m ready, let’s go.” You say, turning on your heel to face him. Sylus remained silent as he stared at you, his gaze unwavering as his eyes slowly trailed down your body, loving the way your custom tailored dress hugged your body just right, memorizing the way it twisted and curved against your skin.

He stepped forward, the sound of his polished dress shoes clicking against the floor. Your eyes followed him till his body was pressed up against yours, arms slipping around your waist. “God, you’re beautiful. I’ll never get tired of this.” He says just above a whisper as his eyes flicker down to your lips once more.

You blush lightly, a smirk gracing your features as you put your arms around his neck, bringing him even closer to you. “For you, Love? I’ll do it again and again.” You said in a rather teasing manner as your lips brushed against his slightly.

The two of you stood there holding each other, gazes burning hot, the tension in the air so thick you could slice it with a knife. Sylus’s arms snake around you as he backs you into you into the mirror behind you, taking a quick glance at the reflection, seeing how small you were against him.

Just as the desire was nearly flooding his brain, he cleared his throat and pulls back slightly. composing himself a little “We better get going or we won’t make it at all.” His voice low and gruff as he pulls away as a form of restraint. “Shall we?” Holding out his arm, ready for you to take it.

You smooth out your dress before linking your arm in his, taking your assigned spot at his side. Sylus led the two of you out the door and to his Maserati, opening the passenger door for you with practiced elegance, like the gentleman he was, ensuring your dress was carefully tucked inside before gently closing it and heading to the driver’s side.

He hopped into the car and started the ignition before bolting off with speed. While he drove, the two of you reviewed the details of the mission, afterall it was the whole reason you were going to the damn party to begin with. “Stay close when the targets bite,” you had reminded him, almost shivering at the recollection of just how many creeps were really out there.

“You know how men can be..” He flashed you his confident, signature smirk “Now Sweetie, you know that I would never leave your side.” He said it rather smugly, causing you to giggle despite the slight tension that lingered in the air.

Upon arrival at the party scene, the place was dimly lit. The small chatter and occasional laughter filled the otherwise quiet atmosphere. You and Sylus looked at each other, giving one final nod before parting ways to carry out your assigned tasks. You had positioned yourself at the bar, using Sylus’s black card to buy yourself a drink, all part of the wonderful act you were putting together.

The bartender had come back with a glass of red wine, and almost as if on queue, one of your targets had just happened to slide up beside you. “What’s a beautiful lady like you doing all alone at the bar? No escort?” he asked, his eyes hungrily drinking you in. You brought the wine glass to your lips, looking at the man while doing so, sipping at the deep red liquid.

Feigning interest in the unfortunate man, you then took the glass away from your lips before speaking “Enjoying a quiet moment.” your voice as smooth as the alcohol you just drank. You put on an innocent yet seductive smile, watching your target carefully. He took that as an invitation to lean closer to you, his breath reeking of cigarettes and alcohol.

“You don’t seem like the type to be alone.” Doing your best not to curl away from his antics, you looked at him up and down, eyes slowly trailing his body, such a convincing act you put on. “Maybe I was just waiting for the right company.” You tease, swirling the wine in your glass before setting it down.

The man before you gave a smirk, convinced that he was making significant progress with you as you played into his game. “Well it looks like you’ve found it.” You let out a soft giggle and proceeded to continue in the meaningless conversation with the man. Sylus was on the other end of the carefully concealed earpiece, hearing absolutely everything that was going on.

That last giggle you had let out, only added fuel to the fire of his growing irritation. Groaning in frustration as that behavior was typically reserved for him and him only, but alas, he was here to help complete a mission and he wasn’t going to let his possessive nature get the best of him.

As luck would have it, you managed to extract the information you needed from the sad excuse of a man, before putting on one last Oscar worthy act and bidding him a farewell. As you walked away, you let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding. The tension finally leaving your body as you headed towards the bathroom to get away from all the noise.

Now that you think about it. Since you had flirted with the man at the bar, you haven't heard from Sylus. Ultimately you decided that you’d look for him after you got out of the bathroom. As you turned the corner to open the bathroom door, you felt a firm grip on your arm, spinning you around before cupping a hand over your mouth, preventing you from yelping.

With a surprised expression, you are met with none other than the crimson eyed man, his look almost disheveled as he holds you against the wall. You relax, now fully processing that it was no intruder. You pull his hand away from your mouth gently “God, you scared the hell out of me, Sy.” you eye him up and down, he didn’t look as composed as he normally did, breath ragged and dripping with need.

“Sorry, Love, I didn’t mean to startle you.” He was almost breathless as he spoke, this you found somewhat amusing. He was normally such a composed man, never letting anything tarnish his front.

“What happened to y-” you were cut off as he quickly pulled the two of you into the bathroom, locking the door behind him. You watched him stand there momentarily, still facing the door, before you decided to turn to the sink and splash your neck with some cold water.

As you turn off the faucet, the handle coming to a stop with a squeak, you could see Sylus gazing hungrily at you through the mirror, just like he did earlier that evening. His eyes examined you hungrily as tendrils of your hair stuck to your neck, wet from the water. Droplets running slowly down your skin before pooling in your collarbone, highlighting them in such a delicious manner that he could not resist.

Once again you heard the clicking of his polished dress shoes against the floor as he steps closer to you, eyes dark with desire, admiring how the dress hugged your figure in ways that made him go feral. Your attempt to turn around was quickly interrupted by his deep sultry voice and his hands steading you by the hips. “Don’t turn around..” he murmured as he pulled you closer to him.

His crotch was flush against your bottom, face burning up slightly as you could feel him, all of him. You instinctively exposed your neck for him, and he eagerly latched his lips onto the skin where your neck and shoulder meet, his eyes boring deep into you as he watched your face, through the mirror, contort into a pleasurable expression while he left his mark on you.

You moaned softly as you felt the suction from his lips against your skin “Sylus..not here-” your head began to turn towards his direction but was quickly interjected by his hand gripping your jaw gently yet firmly, turning your head back towards the mirror “Eyes on the mirror, Kitten.”

Before you could even protest, the man drew out, yet another moan from your lips as he left kisses and bites all over your neck. You feel your body growing weaker while you lean onto the sink to prevent yourself from quite literally falling from pleasure. “Sy…hng..wait..” you were hushed once more . His hands began to roam all over your body “Shhh, let me have this. I didn’t like the way that man was with you.”

Things between you and Sylus would have progressed further if not for the knock on the door, immediately alerting you two that your time was up. “That’s ok, we can finish this up at home.” Sylus then picked you up and threw you over his shoulder leaving you blushing and covering your face as the man waiting outside the door witnessed the scene and almost went pale.

“Sylus! Put me down!” you whined and protested but the man was on a mission and had only one thing on his mind. You. He placed you gently in the passenger seat of the car and went around the front before getting in the driver’s seat, not hesitating to start the car before speeding off once more.

The two of you arrive back at home, the twins waiting to greet you both. Before you could say anything to either of them, you felt yourself being carried once more and slung over his shoulder whilst he tossed them the keys to his car. Without saying a word, they understood exactly what their boss wanted.

The two of them waved at you, snickering at what they could guess what was to happen between the two of you. Having given up ages ago, you let Sylus carry you back into his room before tossing you gently onto the bed. His lips were quick to latch onto yours pulling you in for a heated kiss, the silence of the air being filled with ragged breaths and lips smacking.

The noise of it all reached your ears, causing your face to burn even hotter whilst you felt his hands snake up your body, slowly peeling your dress off of you. His lips left yours and began to trail down your body, taking his time with each kiss and bite he planted against your skin “You’re so beautiful, I could do this all day.” He murmurs against your skin, bringing the strap of your dress lower and till he could slip your breasts out.

You and Sylus may have done this a couple times, but you somehow were shy each time you did it, resulting in you always covering yourself up. Sylus then brings his hands to yours, gently holding your wrist as he pulls your arms away “Don’t hide from me, Love.”

He takes your wrist in one hand and pins them above your head, leaving the other to roam freely. His lips eagerly latch onto your nipple, causing you to moan and arch your back, further shoving your breasts in his face. “Sylus~” the sound of you moaning out his name was intoxicating and made his blood run hot through his veins, he could never get enough of it and only spurred him on further.

Your fingers get tangled in his ashy silver hair while you get lost in the pleasure of his lips. You then see his eyes flicker for a moment, following his gaze, your eyes landed on the beautifully carved mirror with golden trimmings that sit not too far from bed.

He slips your dress off completely in the process as he scoots the two of you closer to the mirror. His lips never once leaving your body. He gently flips you over onto your stomach, fingers delicately tracing your spine as he takes off his tie.

“Put your hands out in front of you.” You do as he says and stick both your hands out in front of you. He then brings the tie to your wrist, binding them together “Face down, ass up.” He says in a commanding tone. Not questioning his authority, you shuffle and scoot, shifting your weight from your legs to your knees and elbows, your pussy clenching around nothing as it dripped with your arousal.

Your scent hits Sylus’s nose and almost makes him go feral, watching as you flutter around nothing, almost as if it was an invitation for him to sink into your walls right at that moment. He quickly slipped himself out of his pants, unable to resist any longer, and positioned himself behind you. You watched all of this from the mirror positioned near his bed, hiding your face when the two of you made eye contact through the reflection.

Sylus bends over you, gripping your chin once more and turning your head, forcing you to look at the mirror. “Watch.” He growls into your ear as he’s teasing your entrance with the tip of his cock. Your face begins to contort out of pleasure as you feel him slowly sliding into you. You can hear a groan escape his lips as he pushes himself to the hilt, letting out ragged, needy breaths.

He was kind enough to give you a few moments to adjust to his size, before slowly pulling out, leaving just the tip inside before slamming back into you, a force so strong, your body lurched forward, unable to catch yourself while you tried your best to support your body with shaky arms. The instant pleasure that came to you from his forceful thrust had your eyes rolling to the back of your head.

He continued to thrust into you, his pace picking up as his gentleness was now being replaced with an almost jealous vigor. The whole time your face was buried in the mattress as your muffled cries sounded out into the empty air.

You felt his hand snake around your neck pulling your body out of the mattress and into the air, having your body nearly pressed up against his. He turns your head to the mirror once more “Be a good girl and watch how I fuck you.” but you couldn’t bring yourself to do it. You knew it would be the beginning of your unraveling.

“N-No ah!” Sylus gave one particularly hard, angled, purposeful thrust, forcing your eyes to fly open and look at the sight before you. Your neck was littered with marks and bites from earlier that night while he drove his cock further into you, watching you cry out in the reflection of the mirror.

“Now, was that so hard?” he purred out, feeling you clench impossibly tighter around him whilst you watched both your bodies collide in a sweaty tango. You were too lost in pleasure to even answer his question.

“Answer me.” He shoved himself even deeper into you, the tip of his cock almost kissing your cervix as you cried out, tears brimming your eyes “No! It wasn’t-” A satisfied smirk made its way to Sylus’s face knowing that only he could get you like this. Absolutely needy and desperate for him, too sex dazed to think about anything else besides the feeling of him thrusting in and out of you.

“Letting that disgusting man near you like that,” He leaned down, his pace unrelenting. Whispering in your ear “it was on purpose wasn’t it?” You couldn’t deny that you enjoyed teasing Sylus, but had you known you’d be punished like this tonight, you might have reevaluated your decision.

You never thought Sylus to be the jealous type, yet here he was, plowing into you with absolute vigor and jealousy, ridding your brain of any of the occurrences from earlier that night, only able to think of him and the way he ravished your body.

“Wasn’t on purpose, hah-” you moaned out, feeling yourself nearing your peak. Sylus took note, accustomed to every little change that happened within your body. He felt the slight twitch of your walls around him. He picked up the pace, pounding into you deliciously, the restriction of your warm walls, enticing his own release, but he wasn’t ready to let go, not yet.

“Sylus!” You scream out, feeling yourself nearly coming undone. Like the evil bastard he was, he slowed down before coming to a complete stop, watching your worm in frustration, chasing your fading climax before huffing out. “Why?!” your hips chased his own as he pulled away slightly, still attempting to seek out your release.

“Because teases don’t get what they want.” He said as he was now turning you on your back. You were now staring him in the eyes, dark and clouded with lust. The look on his face only made you want to submit to him, his power something that you could never challenge, even if you wanted to. “Sy-aahhh.”

Your attempt to call out his name was promptly interrupted by him sliding back into your slick, sensitive walls, Pushing your thighs up, knees almost at your head. You clenched tightly around him, feeling as if you’d come undone right then and there. “Sylus, please-please let m-”

He put a finger to your lips, hushing you one more time. “You’re going to be a good girl and take what I give you.” He’s now grabbing your tied up wrist, pulling you onto his cock as he grits his teeth. “And don’t you dare cum until I let you.” You whimpered at his request, but what could you do besides hold of the best you could.

You didn’t notice it at first, but when you finally opened your eyes fully, the air left your lungs at the sight before you. “Sy, when did you-ah~have-“ he quickly interrupted you, still thrusting in and out of you. “Had it installed..while we were out..”he groaned out. Your heart beat fast out of your chest staring at the reflection.

If you didn’t have a thing for mirrors before, you definitely did now. Eyes trained on the mirror in the ceiling, watching his back muscles tense and flex as he plowed into you. You wanted so desperately to wrap your arms around him and claw his back but you can’t.

Oh how you’d love to see his skin littered by scratch marks. Especially from this view, red marks against his pale skin would be such an enticing sight. The thought it making you clench even harder.

He notices the little changes, how whiny you’ve become, gaze fixed past his head, feeling you constrict around him tighter than before “You like it?” He asked, beginning to smirk. All you could do was nod your head yes as his pace was relentless.

He began thrusting vigorously into you once more, the feeling of pleasure running hot in your veins as you let out the most relieved sigh. Sylus watched, moans spilling out uncontrollably whilst your mind got clouded with pleasure, watching you get lost in the feeling of his cock driving deep into you and whatever fantasy has you so dazed.

Watching you so lost in pleasure began to make his own desire rise as his thrusts became more forceful and intentful. Not sure how much longer he could last, he tugged your bound wrists harder, slipping his other hand down to where the two of you were joined, thumbing your clit, rubbing it in circles.

Your body began to convulse and twitch uncontrollably, your moans only getting louder and higher in pitch as your legs began to shake. You looked into his deep crimson eyes, tears brimming your own as you silently begged for him to let you finish, unable to say much besides babble incoherently.

His thrusts became more erratic as he chased his own climax, feeling your gummy walls starting to restrict around him once more. Pounding into you mercilessly, glancing up at the mirror to watch how your body squirmed and writhed against his steel strong grip.

Unable to hold off much longer, Sylus bends down and whispers into your ear, urging you to cum for him like the good girl you claimed to be “Hng-be a good girl for me, Kitten. Cum for me.” he chanted over and over into your ear, his mind starting to go blank from the pleasure as his climax approached, hips moving faster and sloppier.

You couldn’t hold yourself any longer. Letting go, you finally hit your climax, cumming hard whilst your body trembled and your eyes rolled back, tears staining your cheeks and spit dribbling down the side of your mouth. “Sylus!~” You moaned his name one final time before your body went limp.

Hearing you moan his name like that was something he couldn’t resist, his hips moving quickly and erratically as his own orgasm teetered on the edge. It took one last involuntary squeeze from your pussy for him to spill his load inside you. Groaning and moaning as his hips jerked, shoving his seed deeper into you, while he pulled on your restraints, pulling you further into his cock, before collapsing on top of you.

The two of you lay there, panting, breathless, and absolutely fucked out. Bodies quivering with the aftershocks of your orgasm as you open your mouth to speak. Your throat was dry and your voice was hoarse. “You were that jealous huh?” Sylus rolled his eyes at your question.

Pulling out slowly, hissing at the way your walls clenched around him, almost as if inviting him back in. He undid the tie cuffs he had made before picking you up and heading to the bathroom.

“Shut up..” he scoffed as a smile creeped onto his face.

[bookished]

( a collection of enemies to allies dialogue prompts. adjust phrasing as necessary.) feel free to make edits to better suit your muse, but please don’t edit or add on to the original post 🤍 if you like, please consider supporting me through tips, it's highly appreciated.

"I still don't like you, but we need to work together. Just… try not to get in my way."

"If you think this means we're friends now, you're delusional."

"I’m only helping you because I need you alive—don’t make me regret it."

"We may hate each other, but we hate them more. So, truce?"

"This doesn't mean I trust you. It just means we have the same enemy."

"You're the last person I want to rely on, but right now, you're all I've got."

"I never thought I’d be fighting alongside you. Feels weird, doesn’t it?"

"We make a surprisingly good team… let’s not talk about it."

"I still want to punch you in the face, but we have bigger problems right now."

"You think this changes anything between us? Think again. But thanks… I guess."

"Look, I don’t want to owe you anything. So let's call this even."

"Just because we’re working together doesn't mean I’ve forgotten what you did."

"I swear, once this is over, it’s back to hating each other. Deal?"

"I never thought I’d say this, but… I could use your help."

"It’s not like I had a choice—you were the only one who could pull this off."

"Don't get any ideas. This is temporary, and after we're done, it's back to being enemies."

"I don’t like you, you don’t like me. Let’s just get through this without killing each other."

"I’m only here because I need something from you. Don’t mistake this for kindness."

"Funny how the universe keeps throwing us together, huh? Almost like a sick joke."

"You’re the last person I want to see right now, but it seems I don’t have much of a choice."

"I’m starting to hate how well we work together. It’s unsettling."

"If anyone asks, this never happened. I wasn’t here, and we didn’t help each other."

"I didn’t think we’d ever be on the same side, but here we are… how does that feel?"

"I still think you're insufferable, but I suppose I could tolerate you… for now."

"This changes nothing between us. We're just two people with the same goal—for now."

"As much as I hate to admit it, I wouldn’t have survived without you back there."

"You think saving my life means I owe you? We’re still enemies, make no mistake."

"I don't want to be here any more than you do, so let’s make this quick."

"It doesn’t sit right with me, trusting you. But what choice do I have?"

"If we manage to pull this off together, you might just earn a sliver of my respect."

[endwersed]

seven sentence sunday

Thanks for the tag @dear-massacre 🥰

Sharing an excerpt from my secondary WIP, the lie is beautiful, AKA nanny au. Coming to an AO3 near you soon (... or at least somewhere in the next few months).

-

Derek’s hold on Stiles' hip shifts slightly, fingertips tightening to bite bruises into his skin, and he is sucker-punched by the abrupt, awful realisation that he can feel the cool metal of Derek’s wedding ring, pressed solidly against him.

He wants to scream. Fuck, he wants to scream, take it off, take it the fuck off, please, fuck, just – take it off.

He says nothing.

“Ready?” Derek asks softly behind him.

This is going to break me, he thinks.

“Yeah,” he says out loud.

-

Very very low pressure tags!! @thotpuppy @crownofstardustandbone @renmackree @violetfairydust

[chloefraazers]

horizon + animorphs dossier [ battle morph || bird of prey || personal ]

— Horizon Forbidden West PC | part 1

[mothzan]

The dazai rizz

[kirisclangen]

Zelda

She/her, 65 moons, cis molly

[raiiny-bay]

my favorite edits - 2023 edition 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9

[shirogane-oushirou]

[little vent -- tldr definitely not gonna have the planned art ready for the renniversary lol.]

me: "oh hell yeah i'll have a dog-sitting "job" for the next few days, so i'll have plenty of time to work on the art leading up to friday :) "

the dogs: untrained, poorly behaved, require constant attention (not their fault but it's the reality of the situation)

so uh. i might have some simple chibi art for friday if i have enough energy between putting the dogs to bed and going to sleep hghghghgh ;;;;; i'll finish the more detailed pics as i have the time and energy :')

[marinsawakening]

Annoying that so many portrayals of Marin in the LOZ fandom reduce her to this phantom for Link to be haunted by and/or a one dimensional tragedy of a girl doomed to disappear as if this girl did not try to wake the Wind Fish her damn self. Koholint disappearing was not a tragedy and the whole point of Marin's character was to illustrate the island's restlessness at this state of forced stagnation. Also you can in fact get an ending where her wish comes true. Like that's a pretty important thing that happened.

[loregoddess]

guess who finally got an Ao3 account and can start archiving all those meta posts they've been writing? me

[my5hiningstars]

i'm still your boy, nostalgia for a time that never existed, melbourne, june 12th

[keeps-ache]

◎ worship/her ◎

[transparent version below]

[livefromtheyard]

someone rbed one of my posts and referred to the current state of yardblr as "the second wave of yardblr" and i've been thinking about it all day

[sysig]

Alright cool - Drabbles has a queue set up until like, April lol

[archaeren]

How I learned to write smarter, not harder

(aka, how to write when you're hella ADHD lol)

A reader commented on my current long fic asking how I write so well. I replied with an essay of my honestly pretty non-standard writing advice (that they probably didn't actually want lol) Now I'm gonna share it with you guys and hopefully there's a few of you out there who will benefit from my past mistakes and find some useful advice in here. XD Since I started doing this stuff, which are all pretty easy changes to absorb into your process if you want to try them, I now almost never get writer's block.

The text of the original reply is indented, and I've added some additional commentary to expand upon and clarify some of the concepts.

As for writing well, I usually attribute it to the fact that I spent roughly four years in my late teens/early 20s writing text roleplay with a friend for hours every single day. Aside from the constant practice that provided, having a live audience immediately reacting to everything I wrote made me think a lot about how to make as many sentences as possible have maximum impact so that I could get that kind of fun reaction. (Which is another reason why comments like yours are so valuable to fanfic writers! <3) The other factors that have improved my writing are thus: 1. Writing nonlinearly. I used to write a whole story in order, from the first sentence onward. If there was a part I was excited to write, I slogged through everything to get there, thinking that it would be my reward once I finished everything that led up to that. It never worked. XD It was miserable. By the time I got to the part I wanted to write, I had beaten the scene to death in my head imagining all the ways I could write it, and it a) no longer interested me and b) could not live up to my expectations because I couldn't remember all my ideas I'd had for writing it. The scene came out mediocre and so did everything leading up to it. Since then, I learned through working on VN writing (I co-own a game studio and we have some visual novels that I write for) that I don't have to write linearly. If I'm inspired to write a scene, I just write it immediately. It usually comes out pretty good even in a first draft! But then I also have it for if I get more ideas for that scene later, and I can just edit them in. The scenes come out MUCH stronger because of this. And you know what else I discovered? Those scenes I slogged through before weren't scenes I had no inspiration for, I just didn't have any inspiration for them in that moment! I can't tell you how many times there was a scene I had no interest in writing, and then a week later I'd get struck by the perfect inspiration for it! Those are scenes I would have done a very mediocre job on, and now they can be some of the most powerful scenes because I gave them time to marinate. Inspiration isn't always linear, so writing doesn't have to be either!

Some people are the type that joyfully write linearly. I have a friend like this--she picks up the characters and just continues playing out the next scene. Her story progresses through the entire day-by-day lives of the characters; it never timeskips more than a few hours. She started writing and posting just eight months ago, she's about an eighth of the way through her planned fic timeline, and the content she has so far posted to AO3 for it is already 450,000 words long. But most of us are normal humans. We're not, for the most part, wired to create linearly. We consume linearly, we experience linearly, so we assume we must also create linearly. But actually, a lot of us really suffer from trying to force ourselves to create this way, and we might not even realize it. If you're the kind of person who thinks you need to carrot-on-a-stick yourself into writing by saving the fun part for when you finally write everything that happens before it: Stop. You're probably not a linear writer. You're making yourself suffer for no reason and your writing is probably suffering for it. At least give nonlinear writing a try before you assume you can't write if you're not baiting or forcing yourself into it!! Remember: Writing is fun. You do this because it's fun, because it's your hobby. If you're miserable 80% of the time you're doing it, you're probably doing it wrong!

2. Rereading my own work. I used to hate reading my own work. I wouldn't even edit it usually. I would write it and slap it online and try not to look at it again. XD Writing nonlinearly forced me to start rereading because I needed to make sure scenes connected together naturally and it also made it easier to get into the headspace of the story to keep writing and fill in the blanks and get new inspiration. Doing this built the editing process into my writing process--I would read a scene to get back in the headspace, dislike what I had written, and just clean it up on the fly. I still never ever sit down to 'edit' my work. I just reread it to prep for writing and it ends up editing itself. Many many scenes in this fic I have read probably a dozen times or more! (And now, I can actually reread my own work for enjoyment!) Another thing I found from doing this that it became easy to see patterns and themes in my work and strengthen them. Foreshadowing became easy. Setting up for jokes or plot points became easy. I didn't have to plan out my story in advance or write an outline, because the scenes themselves because a sort of living outline on their own. (Yes, despite all the foreshadowing and recurring thematic elements and secret hidden meanings sprinkled throughout this story, it actually never had an outline or a plan for any of that. It's all a natural byproduct of writing nonlinearly and rereading.)

Unpopular writing opinion time: You don't need to make a detailed outline.

Some people thrive on having an outline and planning out every detail before they sit down to write. But I know for a lot of us, we don't know how to write an outline or how to use it once we've written it. The idea of making one is daunting, and the advice that it's the only way to write or beat writer's block is demoralizing. So let me explain how I approach "outlining" which isn't really outlining at all.

I write in a Notion table, where every scene is a separate table entry and the scene is written in the page inside that entry. I do this because it makes writing nonlinearly VASTLY more intuitive and straightforward than writing in a single document. (If you're familiar with Notion, this probably makes perfect sense to you. If you're not, imagine something a little like a more contained Google Sheets, but every row has a title cell that opens into a unique Google Doc when you click on it. And it's not as slow and clunky as the Google suite lol) (Edit from the future: I answered an ask with more explanation on how I use Notion for non-linear writing here.) When I sit down to begin a new fic idea, I make a quick entry in the table for every scene I already know I'll want or need, with the entries titled with a couple words or a sentence that describes what will be in that scene so I'll remember it later. Basically, it's the most absolute bare-bones skeleton of what I vaguely know will probably happen in the story.

Then I start writing, wherever I want in the list. As I write, ideas for new scenes and new connections and themes will emerge over time, and I'll just slot them in between the original entries wherever they naturally fit, rearranging as necessary, so that I won't forget about them later when I'm ready to write them. As an example, my current long fic started with a list of roughly 35 scenes that I knew I wanted or needed, for a fic that will probably be around 100k words (which I didn't know at the time haha). As of this writing, it has expanded to 129 scenes. And since I write them directly in the page entries for the table, the fic is actually its own outline, without any additional effort on my part. As I said in the comment reply--a living outline!

This also made it easier to let go of the notion that I had to write something exactly right the first time. (People always say you should do this, but how many of us do? It's harder than it sounds! I didn't want to commit to editing later! I didn't want to reread my work! XD) I know I'm going to edit it naturally anyway, so I can feel okay giving myself permission to just write it approximately right and I can fix it later. And what I found from that was that sometimes what I believed was kind of meh when I wrote it was actually totally fine when I read it later! Sometimes the internal critic is actually wrong. 3. Marinating in the headspace of the story. For the first two months I worked on [fic], I did not consume any media other than [fandom the fic is in]. I didn't watch, read, or play anything else. Not even mobile games. (And there wasn't really much fan content for [fandom] to consume either. Still isn't, really. XD) This basically forced me to treat writing my story as my only source of entertainment, and kept me from getting distracted or inspired to write other ideas and abandon this one.

As an aside, I don't think this is a necessary step for writing, but if you really want to be productive in a short burst, I do highly recommend going on a media consumption hiatus. Not forever, obviously! Consuming media is a valuable tool for new inspiration, and reading other's work (both good and bad, as long as you think critically to identify the differences!) is an invaluable resource for improving your writing.

When I write, I usually lay down, close my eyes, and play the scene I'm interested in writing in my head. I even take a ten-minute nap now and then during this process. (I find being in a state of partial drowsiness, but not outright sleepiness, makes writing easier and better. Sleep helps the brain process and make connections!) Then I roll over to the laptop next to me and type up whatever I felt like worked for the scene. This may mean I write half a sentence at a time between intervals of closed-eye-time XD

People always say if you're stuck, you need to outline.

What they actually mean by that (whether they realize it or not) is that if you're stuck, you need to brainstorm. You need to marinate. You don't need to plan what you're doing, you just need to give yourself time to think about it!

What's another framing for brainstorming for your fic? Fantasizing about it! Planning is work, but fantasizing isn't.

You're already fantasizing about it, right? That's why you're writing it. Just direct that effort toward the scenes you're trying to write next! Close your eyes, lay back, and fantasize what the characters do and how they react.

And then quickly note down your inspirations so you don't forget, haha.

And if a scene is so boring to you that even fantasizing about it sucks--it's probably a bad scene.

If it's boring to write, it's going to be boring to read. Ask yourself why you wanted that scene. Is it even necessary? Can you cut it? Can you replace it with a different scene that serves the same purpose but approaches the problem from a different angle? If you can't remove the troublesome scene, what can you change about it that would make it interesting or exciting for you to write?

And I can't write sitting up to save my damn life. It's like my brain just stops working if I have to sit in a chair and stare at a computer screen. I need to be able to lie down, even if I don't use it! Talking walks and swinging in a hammock are also fantastic places to get scene ideas worked out, because the rhythmic motion also helps our brain process. It's just a little harder to work on a laptop in those scenarios. XD

In conclusion: Writing nonlinearly is an amazing tool for kicking writer's block to the curb. There's almost always some scene you'll want to write. If there isn't, you need to re-read or marinate.

Or you need to use the bathroom, eat something, or sleep. XD Seriously, if you're that stuck, assess your current physical condition. You might just be unable to focus because you're uncomfortable and you haven't realized it yet.

Anyway! I hope that was helpful, or at least interesting! XD Sorry again for the text wall. (I think this is the longest comment reply I've ever written!)

And same to you guys on tumblr--I hope this was helpful or at least interesting. XD Reblogs appreciated if so! (Maybe it'll help someone else!)

[gentlethorns]

uggggghh tired. today's words are gonna suck