#this was in my drafts so i'm posting bc i haven't in a bit

[rachmcadams]

Donna Reed in From Here to Eternity (1953) dir. Fred Zinnemann

[byanyan]

still alive but still struggling

[coldflasher]

me: ahh, time to work on my fic :D let's do some more edits on chapter 5

my brain: great idea, here's a scene that happens somewhere towards the middle of the fic that will probably require at least 50-75k of build-up

me: come on, man

[mattodore]

I would like to shamelessly and respectfully ask about the bed talk between Matthias and Theo.

your mind... yeah, i'll talk about this.

so on theo's part, he doesn't say much during sex. in the same way he has a lot of difficulty expressing his feelings inside his relationship with matthias, he also has a hard time expressing his desires. theo is... kind of mired down by shame and repression. like, even when theo is actively fucking men he's still repressing a lot of what he really wants and feels. it's interesting, though, because he definitely isn't shy about sex. it's just... he can't speak what he wants out loud, because then he might really get it, you know? and i think he's scared by how that would feel... like having it be that easy to get what he wants after all the years of shutting everything up inside his heart and burying it down so deep. honestly, theo has a hard time even making sounds during sex. he holds his breath, bites on matthias's arms, clenches his teeth... he's just always holding himself back. he can't help it, really.

matthias can sometimes get a few words out of theo if he's prompting them, though. he likes to make theo say please 🙄... and i think matthias will prod and ask theo if it's good, if he likes it, and theo will kind of nod and say yeah, yeah it's good... and i think during those first few times, that question makes theo flush real fast and get all teary. because it really does feel good... and i think theo needs that. and i think he probably... god, well... i think he sort of realizes that he's never really had anything as good in his life. not, like... not in a wow-matthias-is-a-sex-god way, but in a way where it's like, okay. theo is being treated well. time and care went into making sure he wasn't hurt. he's being listened to and matthias is carefully watching each of his reactions. when he says stop, matthias stops. and theo never had that before. so... it's very intense and it's probably both the hardest thing theo's ever had to say during sex while also being the easiest. the crying is an emotional release.

matthias, on the other hand... as you can probably already tell by, well... every other bit of information i've shared about this man... he's filthy. i do think matthias is more sweet with theo than he's ever been with any of his previous sexual partners, but nonetheless... he's still kind of nasty even with theo. i mean, one of his main character traits is his amorality and a complete lack of shame or guilt for anything he feels. so he's very uninhibited and you can definitely tell by the way he talks during sex. every word under the sun that you think is too perverse is probably going to be said while he's fucking someone. i think he really enjoys saying and doing things that society at large deem as Reprehensible... like, just in general. so. yeah, he gets off on saying/doing the things most would gasp and clutch their pearls at.

with that said, matthias does actually tone it down for theo's sake, because i think theo isn't necessarily comfortable with half of what matthias says lmao. but matthias still pushes theo sometimes, because he has this scary accurate sense of what theo needs, and he knows that theo desperately needs to have some of that shame razed from his skin... and what better a way to do it than by making theo realize the things he's so scared of can actually turn him on so bad it makes him shake? so... he talks a lot. it's sort of one-sided, but he's always asking rhetoricals anyway, so i think he's fine with that. however, he definitely doesn't like that theo doesn't make sounds often... tho that changes pretty fast when he starts having fun with it... 🙄 he sees it as a game, like, just where do i need to touch, how far do i push, what do i need to say, to make this little mouse squeak... HORRIBLE MAN.

but when matthias gets theo worked up enough that theo's too dazed to tamp the sounds down, matthias actually starts being incredibly sweet. lots of you're so lovelys and i'd never let anyone hurt yous (...) fall pretty fast from his lips. and he kisses theo alllllllll over. lots of cheek kisses in particular, because he really likes theo's cheeks. and, to clarify, it's not always dirty talk in the bedroom... sometimes it's just intimacy and matthias kissing theo and touching him and making him feel good. matthias's one redeeming quality is how well he takes care of theo, what can i say...

for specifics... hm. theo says: please. it's good. it's too much. more. harder. wait. keep going. switch. like, just little things to direct matthias, in a way... and he never says more than he needs to. he's very sharp and clipped.

matthias is harder to pinpoint specific dialogue for because he just says so fucking much....... like you can really tell that this man loves talking to himself by the way he talks dirty in theo's ear. but i'd say some common phrases are: do you want it? what're you gonna do for it? do you like that? hold still. open up. where are you going? feel that? go ahead and ask for it.

but waaaay down the line, when they've been together for a couple of years and theo's worked past a lot of his issues, i think theo actually becomes comfortable enough to do everything he wants. i think he starts to boss matthias around and take control more... and matthias has always liked when theo is mean, so theo kind of... plays with that a bit. i think he degrades matthias and matthias laps at the palm of his hand for it. matthias has always wanted to be challenged, so. later on, there's definitely a shift in their dynamic, sexually speaking.

[tkbrokkoli]

look at my tags boy

[lorkai]

.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡ A/N: I'm a little biased as always when it comes to those two but this was one of my best fics imo, look at their happy faces. They're so precious! I love them sm ipjwiojweoijg. There's probably some typos but I'm super busy with uni stuff + can't find the time now to proofread and this has been on my drafts for a while now, so I'm posting how it is. Tagging u bcs u asked, I hope u like this silly fic! @hanafubukki

.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡ Not necessarily a warning but there's some suggestiveness at the start.

"Today I'm going to steal Rook's hat!" Those were your exact words.

You said this at six o'clock in the morning, the sun still creeping across the sky to brighten everyone and everything another day, after having entered through the open window of Vil's room like a gremlin - how you did it he had no idea considering his room was on the top floor of Pomefiore.

And in that moment, when you gush about how smooth and soft Rook's hat felt to the touch, and how you would play with the feather and laugh at the surprised expression on Rook's face, Vil wanted nothing more than to turn to the other side of the bed and go back to sleep.

You threw yourself into the vacant space next to Vil, swinging your legs happily as you asked for your beloved's help. Your little puppy eyes making his heart clench and twist inside his chest, like it always did when you used that same trick time and time again.

Breathe, exhale. He remembered. He couldn't give in to your whims again, he remembered well what happened last time.

You invited yourself even closer to him, ignoring your personal distance to cup his face in your hands, fingers massaging the silky skin as you looked up at him. "Please, Mein Lieber."

For a long second, Vil wondered how he could love two persons as chaotic as you and Rook. You two were practically the same and more times than you should you followed the hunter around, imitating his mannerisms and making him laugh like that because you think it was funny. You liked imitating him and Rook loved to have you around, taking you to people watch while you both stated your observations on each person.

This and Rook liked to teach you the hunter ways. So far, you haven't killed anyone with your bad bow skills.

"Du bist die Liebe meiines Lebeéns." You whispered against his ear, consonants and vowels completely exaggerated and some pronounced wrong. And he ignored you, rolling his eyes, accustomed to your antics by now.

One of the different things between you and Rook is that the Chasseur D'amour would use flattery and his good observation to get what he wanted, you instead always chose to irritate people (mainly Vil) with your terrible German speech. Was it your only weapon or was it just because Vil couldn't bear such torture?

He preferred not to know.

You then changed tactics, preferring to fill his face with slow kisses but always avoiding the place he wanted you to kiss him. His temples, his cheeks, his nose, his chin, every bit of skin your lips touched made him feel dizzy. Vil could mentally hear Rook's whines if he were there, ignored, Rook was always so needy for his and yours attention.

His rough, chipped lips slowly descending though the queen's neck while his hands free from his gloves gently navigated Vil's sides and hips. He trembled in your arms.

"That's enough!" Vil looked at you, panting. He held you before you could kiss his eyebrows too. "I'll help you, but you better come here right now and kiss me. On the lips, darling."

You didn't need to hear it twice. The kiss began softly, a needy dance of emotions. But he wanted more, needed more until he was truly satisfied with it. You had woken him up too early, had disturbed him and irritated him. He needed this to restore his good mood.

He needed you like you needed him.

Time seemed to slow down as you met again for a kiss, and another, and another, and hundreds of others, leaving only a sweet freshness behind. That was how he described all the kisses he shared with you, all of them precious.

Vil felt you smiling through the kiss, he could feel the aura of victory and presumption that exuded from you. He bit your bottom lip hard to keep your attention on him, making you whine.

"However, the execution of this plan of yours will depend entirely on you, Liebling. I don't need to remind you that Rook is a great observer and will instantly know you’re up to something if you act differently.”

You nodded as if you were confident that your other lover wouldn't be able to notice anything. Or at least, that he didn't realize it until it was too late.

Later, after you had kissed Vil until he was beaming and satisfied, and his lips were softly swollen, you found yourself sitting on a high branch of a tree, hidden from view and engulfed by green leaves. Waiting for the right moment, watching your target.

You forced your eyes to follow every movement of your vulnerable prey, the one who was sitting a few meters away from you, resting in his usual spot and polishing his bow.

As promised, Vil was talking to Rook about a subject you didn't know what it was. His expression carried the usual serious air but it was accompanied by a calm smile. Rook had that effect on him. And in you too, as if he always knew what you needed to hear to smile, to laugh and to cry.

Yuu notices the way Rook tilts his head to better hear what Vil is saying and how Vil laughs at Rook's jokes. A few seconds go by, you very slowly starts to climb down from your hiding spot, at this point you didn't even need to think anymore, your hands knew where to hold and how to search. It was like second nature.

Finally on the ground again, you do your best to mingle with the tall trees and huge bushes. You can still make out Rook and Vil's figures, the hunter stood up, showing Vil his bow and arrows, and he demonstrated the correct way to hold it.

It occurred to you that maybe Vil was talking about some role he would need to play as an archer and you had to admit that captured Rook's attention perfectly. He was so excited while he explained this and that to his lover, you almost wished to forget your little plan and come closer to listen to him. When he goes on a rant, his beautiful green eyes lighten up while he explain and demonstrates, even more when he can answer some doubts.

'Focus, soldier', you thought to yourself.

The hunter handed his bow to the queen, placing his hands over Vil's and explaining how Vil should shoot to hit the target. And Vil did perfectly. As Vil gracefully executed the instructions, Rook's admiration was evident by his big smile.

As Vil's aim improved under Rook's guidance, you edged closer, careful not to disturb the serene moment. Careful to remember every little detail. You could feel the tension building within you, anticipation mingling with determination. As Vil hitted the target, Rook engulfed him in a warm and long hug, swaying side to side as if they were doing a little comemmoration dance.

This was the moment you had been waiting for, as Rook kept praising Vil, you were getting closer, silent, deadly, your hands strecthed to grab your prize. sensed the perfect opportunity to strike. Timing was crucial, very important for you mission, and you waited a little more, watching them.

His hat was so close now... The sun shone into it, making it looks so comfy. You almost wanted to rush, to grab and run but you waited just a little more.

Vil handed back the bow, still smiling. You could tell it was genuine, he was proud of himself to be able to hit the target even if he wouldn't use this knowledge anywhere. More than this, as he put a stray hair behind his ear, Rook stood on his tiptoes to give his queen a kiss as reward.

And was then that you emerged from your hiding place, your presence initially unnoticed amidst the rustling leaves. Before either could react, you grabbed his hat and ran as if your life depended on it. It was so much beautiful, so soft and comfy, you putted on your head, the last thing you saw was Rook's shocked but proud eyes staring at you.

You had accomplished your mission, feeling very proud of yourself. But now it was time to proceed with the next phase of your plan; run away from Rook.

[simpingandshitposting]

Kenma Fluff <3

@haru-x-ren @electricnovaa

It's late when you finally make it home after a long, exhausting day. "Ken?" you called, entering the mostly dark apartment. "In here." He called back from your room. You sighed, glad that he was home, before taking off your shoes and putting your keys on the hook.

The door was cracked open and you could see faint light seeping through as you approached. You found him sitting at his computer with his headset over one ear. Not surprising. He glances at you before putting his attention back on the screen. "Hey." was all he said. You smiled softly. He never did talk very much, but you didn't mind. "Hi." you replied. He moved his hand away from his mouse to grab the bottle of water sitting to his right. As he took a sip, you leaned over and kissed his cheek. "I'm gonna take a shower."

"Okay." He set his drink back down and glanced at you one more time as you walked away from him.

~

He saw the bathroom door open out of his peripheral vision and it pulled his attention away from the screen for just a second. He turned his head quickly to catch another glance at you before he looked back at his game. He noticed how your hair was still slightly damp, and you were wearing one of his shirts that just barely covered past your hips. He paused his game and turned to look at you, moving his chair back a few inches. Before you walked past him, he reached his left arm out in your direction. "c'mere." he said.

You looked up from the sound of his voice. "Ken, m' tired." You mumbled, rubbing your eye with the back of your hand. "I know." He kept his arm stretched out to you and just stared, waiting for you to move closer. And after a few seconds you relented. You stepped closer to him and as soon as you were in reach, his hand held onto your waist as he pulled you into his lap. You settled yourself comfortably on his thighs and he moved his chair forward, caging you in between him and his desk. He unpaused his game and you buried your face in his neck, resting your cheek on the hood of his sweater. You felt his chest rise and fall as he took a deep breath, the smell of you shampoo filling his nose. He wasn't very good with words, but he liked when you were close to him like this.

When he'd enter a cutscene, he'd take his hand off the keyboard and rub small circles on your back, or your thigh while he listened to them talk. He wasn't surprised when he looked down to see you asleep on his shoulder, occasionally mumbling something incoherent. He smiled, and then kissed the top of your head.

A/N: I've mentioned recently that I've been in a little bit a a rut when it comes to writing 🙇🏽‍♀️ I haven't been able to find the right amount of motivation or creativity to write anything, and it's really been bugging me bc I have so many unfinished projects in my drafts that I wanna share with you guys😭 but I think this might (very much so a big maybe) have been what I needed to get me back into it. So... hopefully I'll start posting fics again🥲

P.s. I know most of you follow me for MHA content and I'm still 100% posting for the fandom, but I think I'm going to start dipping my toes into other ones as well since I've expanded the list of animes I've seen and fell in love with

🖤🖤🖤

[shakingparadigm]

Btw have you listened to any covers by the alstg VA? Do you have any favorites ? Just got reminded bcs omg new akugetsu cover 😮!

SO FIRST OF ALL, THANK YOU. it's amazing to get this ask actually because just this morning I was drafting a post about the ALNST VAs and how good they are! They're all so talented, and they fit their roles perfectly. I truly couldn't imagine anyone else playing their roles!

Here's a favorite cover/song of mine from each VA!

(Note: These are all just based on my personal preference, and I haven't gone very deep into each VA's discography yet save for a few. These are just the covers that I listen to most frequently! Please forgive my basic ass taste btw)

Russian Roulette (Red Velvet) by Rubyeye (Mizi's VA)!

I'm gonna be honest, I'm a very simple person. Russian Roulette is just a very cute song! And I think it suits Mizi so well, all bright, bubbly and candy sweet (at least in rhythm)!

I love hearing Rubyeye's voice no matter where it is honestly, she's rather versatile! In ALIEN STAGE, Mizi often sings slower ballads (My Clematis), or in her lower, more mature voice (Ruler of My Heart). She sounds absolutely gorgeous of course, but Rubyeye's voice in more energetic songs is such a joy to hear as well!

My second favorite Rubyeye cover is actually the Mizi version of UTTE! Can you tell that I love hearing Rubyeye's more energetic covers. Can you tell yet. I know it's very unpopular, but I love Mizi UTTE so much. The way that she sings is so incredibly charming to me, she has a lot of spunk in this cover! I love how she sang "ain't nobody but!" I honestly love that lyric more in Mizi's version than I do in the original! It holds a lot of character which I adore.

Catch You Catch Me (Cardcaptor Sakura OP) by C!nah (Sua's VA)!

Once again, I am a simple person. I can't resist a cute and sweet cover.

C!nah's light and angelic voice fits so well into this song! It sounds absolutely lovely. Plus I already loved the song beforehand, so I might be a bit biased lol

C!nah's voice in general is so unique. It has such an clear and airy quality to it! They picked such a perfect voice for Sua.

My second favorite C!nah cover is Sua's version of ROMH! I adore how Sua sings like a whisper. Her voice brings such a haunting feel to the song.

LILAC (IU) City Pop Cover by 6FU;

Being honest, my favorite 6FU; song is actually Drunk and Party.

But if we're talking covers, this one might just be my favorite due to how shocked I was upon listening to it.

Hyuna has a very energetic and rough voice, with such a strong and unique tone. I was expecting it when clicking on this cover, which was why I was pleasantly surprised to hear a much smoother, calmer voice.

And it's beautiful! I haven't listened to much from 6FU; yet, so I might find some new favorites once I do. For now, I'll keep listening to this cover over and over again.

Sweet Dream (Luka Version) by BL8M (Luka's VA)!

OKAY I know this already an Alien Stage song. I don't know if it counts but I'm putting here anyway because GOD.

THE TONE AND TEXTURE OF HIS VOICE. I'M IN AWE.

Was absolutely floored listening to this for the first time. I actually ascended

BL8M is actually one of the songwriters for ALIEN STAGE, and he sang the demo for this song!

You can really hear his expertise. He owns this song.

My "the worst person you know has the voice of an angel" post was literally about this I was going insane

THE WAY HE SANG THE PRECHORUS. THE "save me please" OUHHH...

They couldn't have picked anyone better for Luka. He literally kills every song he sings.

유우리(優里) - 베텔기우스(ベテルギウス) by PARK BYEONG HOON (Ivan's VA)!

PBH's wonderfully rich and deep voice. What a blessing.

I love how soft he sounds in the beginning of most of his covers, slowly growing in intensity until he's fully expressing the song.

The ranges he uses in this cover are so nice to listen to. I love the switching between his deeper lower voice and his soft higher voice.

Thinking about Ivan's voice in CURE and how it's probably going to sound more anguished and desperate than this makes me sick btw.

Anyways please listen to this cover he deserves the support.

Um. My other favorite PBH cover is umm. uh. The short clip of a MANIAC (Stray Kids) cover he posted on Twitter.

GUYS DID YOU FUCKING HEAR THAT ONE. CAN WE PLEASE TALK ABOUT IT??!!! HIS VOICE. THE BASS. FUCK.

I actually went insane. Finally got to hear Ivan's lower, rougher voice and I was shocked to my core. Life changing.

Cistus (KOUSEI) by AKUGETSU (Till's VA)!

HERE WE ARE. MY FAVORITE.

So this technically isn't a cover. It's an original song that AKUGETSU sang vocals for. Sorry. I'm just so obsessed I needed to share it.

IT'S SOOO FUCKING GOOD. SERIOUSLY.

Of all the ALNST VA's I've probably listened to AKUGETSU the most (sorry. Till bias) and this song is still probably one of my absolute favorites from him.

JUST LISTEN TO IT. The guitar in the intro. The quieter vocals in the first verse that build up to a BURST of sound in the chorus. The way he enunciates everything is perfect.

AKUGETSU is such a seasoned singer. He really knows how to work his voice and knock a song out of the park. It's genuinely addicting.

This song is such a fucking banger. Till would sing this. GOD IM SO OBSESSED WITH THIS SONG.

Another absolute banger from AKUGETSU is his cover of I'm Invincible (Ado)! I love the way his voice moves, going high and low in the same line. He's such a dynamic singer.

I adore how AKUGETSU brings an energetic rock vibe to every song he sings. His voice is such a standout.

Sorry for the long ass answer! I love all the ALNST VAs and I really hope they continue to flourish! Thank you for giving me the opportunity to talk about them 🙏

[midnight-mourning]

Good morning, mourning! is it possible for you to show us how you make an outline for writing a chapter sometime in the future? like what does your first rough rough draft look like?🤔

also whats your favorite vine/meme at the moment?🫣

Hi pip!!

I can actually show you RIGHT NOW as I keep all my outlines (for the most part) saved in their respective chapters

*added a read more post-answering bc this got LONG lol*

So, it's sometimes a bit dependent on the fic, what I'm writing at the time, and where I'm at in the process. I usually have two different methods I stick to and typically combine in some manner:

bulleted list of important scenes/ideas to expand out upon from there (typically how I start out ideas for oneshots)

big blurb paragraph of a flow of ideas from start to finish (typically how I start out chapter-based fics, and what I do for Confused Spirit)

From there, I'll then combine the two methods in some way if it's a oneshot, and if I'm struggling to get the words flowing for a chapter-based fic, I'll use the list to expand out upon things I wrote originally. For example, this was ch. 34's outline (spoilers for those who haven't read it yet):

and then the list I added once I got started properly, which I crosssed out as I went along. Fun fact, you can see where I hit a moment of greatness in that last bullet and the chapter came together as a whole from there:

the blacked out is things I've pushed back for later (or just general spoiler stuff), so you can see that inital plans and even those I make WHILE writing the chapter are still subject to change as I go into actually writing it. Another good example would be from ch. 32:

in this case, I went back and added to the original outline (I think you can tell where lmao) and didn't utilize a list

I'd love to find chekov's gun, bc that one was REALLY good if I'm remembering correctly but I think it's buried somewhere in the Dialogue Dump unfortunately 😔

Adding on to that, I write a lot of scene ideas/mainly dialogue for things that happen in the future as the ideas don't typically come to me in chronological order. the party from 33? like a month into writing the story. the team meeting Michael? mid-arc 2. Chekov's gun? the start to midway point in the first couple days of writing and then basically finished within by the middle of august (started in July for those that don't know)

My point being that there's a lot of things that I have saved for certain arcs/plot points that I then insert into their proper place in the story once I find where that is. For arc 3 in particular I took the approach of gathering all the dialogue i KNOW was going to be in the arc, wrote my lil blurbs for all the chapters, and then started placing them accordingly. stuff has (and probably will continue to) gotten shuffled around, but for the most part has stayed in their original places.

a rough rough draft beyond that is basically adding to those base scene ideas (sometimes in order, sometimes not) typically writing dialogue and then filling in the blanks from there! sometimes if I'm lucky I can write a chapter from (mostly) start to finish in a span of four hours or so but that's only when i'm REALLY cookin'

Sorry for the super long winded response, didn't realize how much I wrote until I did it 😅

TL;DR, blurb of ideas, organize those ideas/add to them or adjust, full send it from there (with the potential help of some dialogue along the way)

As for my fav vine/meme currently? Probably the lump fish guy, everytime someone says 'very mindful, very demure' (I am not on tiktok so I do NOT understand this one) I instantly think 'very beautiful, very powerful'

thanks so much for the lovely ask!!! <3 <3 <3

[ectogeo-rebubbles]

I have kind of a niche Garashir fic idea I want to write but I’ve never posted anything publicly before, so I am nervous. But I can’t seem to get over the idea? You’re one of my favorite fic writers, any advice? 💕🥺

Ooooh, you gotta try to write it!!! I always love to indulge my new ideas that are driving me insane as soon as I can hehe (because part of writing often has to be done after the initial idea no longer excites you quite the same way).

I like that you said it’s a niche idea, too! I do enjoy most of the common fanon tropes and worldbuilding, but it’s always so refreshing when people add something brand new to the Garashir body of literature. And the nicher and stranger the better, in my opinion!! One thing about writing something niche is that maybe it won’t get the same amount of attention as quickly as something that has broader appeal, HOWEVER... I can tell you from experience that when your niche stuff does find its audience (which may take patience and persistence) that audience will likely go absolutely WILD for it. And I always find that very rewarding <3

Is the reason you haven't started yet because you don't quite know how to start? If that's the case, I would recommend writing an outline first. I even sometimes will outline really short oneshots lol, not because I think I really need to, but because that way i at least have a good record of my idea and ALSO because sometimes I can trick myself into just starting to write by taking notes on in outline format until I get to the part I'm REALLY excited about, at which point I realize I'm just writing full sentences instead of notes and I just let it flow from there and go back to fix the beginning later. XD You could also just try to summarize the plot for a friend, that often reveals to me where any structural issues are tripping me up, and identifies what I need to think about more before I set words down on the page.

Idk if you haven't written before or if you just haven't posted any of it, but I want you to know that a few years ago, when I was easing myself back into writing, I worked on writing like 3 or 4 different garashir fic ideas privately before I actually figured out which idea I wanted to write all the way to the end and actually post. Most of those first wips never got posted (and my wip graveyard is still massive and always growing lol) and that's for the best bc I either got bored of the idea or could not yet achieve the story in the way I wanted to. Which is NOT to tell you that this is inevitable or that you should let your inner editor shut you down, but I just want you to know that it's perfectly okay and normal to, like, have to noodle around a bit before you've written something you're happy with.

Speaking of your inner editor, you gotta tune them out while writing a first draft. Don't even worry if the sentence makes sense, just get the words out, and then get the next words out, and then the next... If there is something stopping you from writing the next sentence (a name you need to make up, or something you need to research, or uncertainty about what a character would be doing, or even if you are just blanking on a word) and you are trying to maintain a flow of writing, then write a note for yourself (e.g, "[insert title of a Cardassian novel here]" or "[Julian makes some kind of expression. Surprise? Anger? idk]" or "[synonym for sinister, bc I've used sinister three times this fic already]") and then MOVE ON. You can go back in and fill in those blanks later.

Also, I really really really really like the writing advice of thinking of your first draft as your worst draft or stupidest draft. It's so true and it helps take the pressure off. One related amazing thing about writing star trek fanfic is that if ever you begin to doubt yourself, you can just fondly think about a beloved episode of Star Trek where something very silly or buckwild happens in a very contrived way, and then remind yourself that people LOVE that episode anyway. This is a genuine way that I have reminded myself not to be so harsh on my own writing lmao.

I really working with beta readers, but I know that's not something everyone enjoys and it's def not required. Still, a beta reader can give feedback on your writing to make it clearer, and they'll likely become invested in your fic and will cheer you on, and if it’s longer than a oneshot you can have someone to talk it through with during the writing process. But it might be hard to find someone you work well with and everyone’s beta reading style is a lil different, so I recommend always being very clear about what kind of feedback you want from them (grammar/typos, plot structure, clarity, brainstorming ideas for how to fix this plothole, does this one specific line of dialogue work, etc! whatever aspects you are uncertain about and want help with for that specific fic). And you should know that it’s okay to not take someone's recommendations too, it’s ultimately your fic, so anyone giving you feedback should just be trying to help you achieve your own vision. Still, even in those cases where you don't go along exactly with their idea for what to change, knowing what parts confused them can help you figure out how to get your vision across more clearly.

If you think concrit might actually be demotivational and intimidating (totally get that, back in high school I actually solicited concrit on my fics publicly, as was the custom back then, and received some critiques from some truly well-meaning friends, and the experience STILL rattled me so bad that it turned me off writing for awhile), or if the process of finding someone to beta read sounds overwhelming, I’d recommend that you instead just find a trusted friend who is willing to read over the completed draft, with the understanding that they must simply give you a sanity check and then tell you yep that’s good! Cannot stress enough the power of encouragement and support and having someone hype you up. ^_^

If you are too nervous to post it under your own name, you can post it to the Anonymous collection on ao3. This is a reversible process, so if you want to reattach your username to your fic later then you can!

Anyway, feel free to send follow up questions about any of this or let me know if there's an aspect of writing I didn't mention that is what you're actually stuck on. I hope this helps and good luck and HAVE FUN! Have fun is actually the most important writing advice haha.

(P.S., anon, if you want me to beta read a draft of a oneshot or at least look over a chapter or two if it's multichapter, I am down to do so, just DM me. If not that's fine too, I'm just so so flattered that you reached out to me and I want to encourage you in any way I can! <3)

[gurugirl]

Heya girlie!! I hope you’re having the loviest day and have been drinking plenty of water💓 cheeky nosey question? Do you have anything sitting in your drafts that you’re undecided on posting?👀 or any concepts you’ve thought of or like that you might put out soon!

OH HI! I'm having a good good day yes! Just writing and sipping some iced coffee with my dog next to me so I have no complaints. I haven't had any actual water today but iced coffee counts yeah? 😬 I hope you're also keeping hydrated and having a lovely day :)

And I love these cheeky nosy questions!! Do I have anything sitting in my drafts??? Does this answer your question? 🤭

Let's see...

Of the things in my drafts that I feel like I can talk about (buckle up, it gets wild!)

I've got another subrry that's partly done (based on this couple),

I've got an extra part to go with this but it's not finished,

I have a few requests for a bunch of things that are really similar that I didn't share because I started writing them but never finished - and still intend on getting to them,

an idea with a housesitter!yn I started cooking up based on a cute/cheesy movie from the 90s with Goldie Hawn and Steve Martin (🙈) called Housesitter.

AS WELL as another idea I started based on another 90s late 80s (just checked and this one is 1987 lol) movie with Michael J Fox called Secret of My Success (I don't know what to tell y'all, sometimes I just go off the rails and start something to make it my own and it's based on cheesy older movies but I can't help myself 😂),

military!harry x military!reader

A Don't Stand So Close check where Harry grows a bit of a mustache

a stepdad!h idea someone sent me with a lingerie shopping spree

a MFM threesome idea I've been working on FOREVER

the beginning of a part 2 to Sex Ed with Harry that never got finished

a body guard harry (but i wanted to wait bc it was at a time when there were a bunch of body guard harrys coming out and I didn't want to feel like i was competing with the other amazing authors already doing it and doing it better most likely lol

a request for harry x his wife's best friend 🫣 that I have two versions of and cannot figure out how to finish and also wanted to give y'all a break from the cheating trope for a bit

hitman!harry who's very protective of yn and she has no idea he has feelings for her (or that he's a hitman) until one day she's in trouble and he saves her 👀

dark!harry who's your bartender and winds up talking you into going home with him and things get... interesting but you wind up LOVING it - felt a lot like MCC Harry with those kidnapping vibes (even tho yn doesn't get kidnapped it felt too similar at the time so I didn't finish it)

Phew! So that's some of what I've got in there. That's not to mention what I've got in my actual Word docs drafts (that's where I have most of my WIPs and unposted, unfinished fics). Potentially I could just hit post on some of the things but uffff!!! I really prefer everything to be readable and perfect.

Is there anything on this list y'all would be interested in currently??

xoxo

[sinswithpleasure]

hai sins :hugg:

kariselle super duper hot, im actually jealous how u were able to set that up so well and casually, makes me think abt how I do my own worldbuilding like maybe in Minecraft terms turning down my render distance(?????) to just the characters and less to the environment

sisterly bonding also cool, named reader is something id love to try out. I haven't done threesome yet and I will be taking notes :DDDD in particular im interested in how you wrote in such a way that didn't take long, I didn't think abt it a lot before I started but after I did I've been avoiding threesome bc I felt they had to be long like 5k+ and have all the moving parts when you could just,,, do that which is awesome

tuesdays with you again named reader and this time fem, it's another thing I have an aversion to bc im not well into the intricacies of the female experience but reading eunbi I had to stop and think if it really really warranted that much special attention. the cut was also perfect tho that wasn't too hard to do in hindsight, just makes me wonder abt how I do my own cuts since im kinda insecure that I do them so often sakfjflshshdkf

this maybe wasn't the sort of feedback u were looking for lmao sorry but ily sins go to sleep :DDDD

hi box!!

okay let's dissect this part by part.

Kariselle exists because I work with characters, yes. I think the world around the characters can only be built when you have a grasp of what you want these two, three, four people to do with each other. It's the wrestling philosophy—I'm the booker of the show, and it's a sex show. I want the audience to see these two people fuck. These two really complement each other in some shape or form (character trait, like, for example, in To-Do List, Minju's naughty, and OC's corruptible and a bit of a pushover). Now, I have the complentary traits, and I can start selling the reason why they fuck: Is Minju exploring? Is she a known pervert? Is OC just a horndog? What does Minju want out of this? What does OC want out of this? Why do they have to fuck? I think this is an effective way to start a draft—knowing your characters first, and making a world around them.

For Sisterly Bonding, a threesome does not have to be complicated. You can actually just start with the sex scene, and sprinkle details in later. Writing does not have to be a linear process—this is something I need to learn myself too. You can absolutely just cut the story short, and sprinkle details of it into the smut instead. However, remember that Sisterly Bonding is Chapter 1 of a series, and not a standalone, so I do have wiggle room to spread my worldbuilding out, which results in what is posted.

For Tuesdays With You—I'm not familiar with that experience at all either. I'm absolutely shooting from the hip, but I've also tried to really make it as realistic as I can imagine or know through research. I'm pretty sure there's a girl out there who's read my work and went "this is bullshit" and left, but I don't think I'll ever know, unless they use this AMA to really tell me "haha ur shit" or something idk. I think I'm doing okay though, based on the comments on AO3.

Your cuts are fine, from what I remember. Don't worry about it.

:huggr:

Sex in the Box,

Sins.

[ichorblossoms]

i only remember the day i made grimm and yarrow bc it was 4/20 and i thought it was funny anyways happy one year to these two fuckers eating away at my brain and here's to them continuing to do that for...the foreseeable future

since i have created So much about them in this year, i wanna recap what the fuck i've done bc i have never had this happen before. it's definitely new to hyperfixate on some ocs so intensely but i'm having a good time with everything so! i can't say i'm upset that these two kicked my ass into gear with drawing so much !!

starting off with the first sketches of them i scribbled down before i had to get back to work on other stuff bc i don't think i posted these

they've evolved a bit but....not by much really. esp in regards to yarrow i had what is more or less his current design nailed down within a day. not to mention that these two both had names within 24 hours? that usually does NOT happen for me

in terms of all the other art, th galleries aren't the absolute best metric to measure how much i've drawn my ocs bc it doesn't account for all the sketches and wips i have lying around and i upload gift art so it's not all mine in there NONETHELESS it's wild comparing their th gallery stats to the main trio of ttw bc those three literally have a decade of existence on them

(also grimm has five more standalone pieces of fanart than yarrow, so the gap between how much i've drawn the two of them is even smaller)

within a year, these two have, give or take, half the amount of stuff as i've managed to make for my other mains that have been around over a decade. ofc with ttw being around so long there are a lot of unfinished things, paper drawings i have stashed away, things that're retconned, and so many more sketchbook doodles of them that just never got posted so it's not as comparable to honeybee bc it's a more constant slowburn in my brain. but still. still

that's also not to mention the 16 or so full comic pages i've drawn for them?? (most of those are under toyhouse's literature bc it's easier to post them that way) which doesn't sound like a lot, but bc i've never done that before with any of my ocs it's. wild to me. i'm still figuring out a method that makes making comics as painless as possible bc i have ideas! but it still feels like i'm like pulling teeth sometimes! i can say it feels a bit easier to make comics now but i still have a lot to figure out :,,D

also i've been writing. i don't consider myself a writer. i said "fuck it we ball" and started writing. i guess i am on technicality, and it's not as if i haven't written anything at all (hi ttw and the old peartree draft), but definitely haven't written extensive prose before this. anyways i've got a 10k-word outline and am approximately 35k words into the first draft so it's not nothing! in fact that's a lot for me, esp bc i'm constantly battling the urge to edit things over and over and also the awareness of the skill gap between me and all of the writers i am constantly reading so it's overall just a...really slow process OTL

because i'm deranged and refuse to make things easy on myself, i envision honeybee as an illustrated novel, but not necessarily illustrated like fantasy novels are i'm talking like....a novel with comic panels in it. i have a vision. (also i had a dream where i read a book like this i can See it in my mind). it's fine. i'm normal. <if this comes to be for realsies i will have to learn how to do so much typesetting bullshit

i don't have any special art to commemorate my Year of Brainrot, but i guess i'll post some writing below the cut. heads up this is First Draft Shit, even though these are the parts i'm currently more fond of i am...not confident in my skills as a writer yet so please offer me some lenience hgfklhgld

anything in [these brackets] is going to be drawn either as a standalone illustration or a small series of comic panels so just hold my hand and imagine with me.

ordered chronologically but missing a Lot of context partially bc i'm not writing any of this in order. i try to keep grimm (they/it) and yarrow's (he/they) pronouns consistent, but excuse any flips bc again, this hasn't been through any external editing, in fact y'all are the first to see any of these words.

part 1 (years 0 to ~1)- least written-for part atm but i re-outlined it semi-recently so i know where to take it

*grimm is misgendered here intentionally, yarrow doesn't know The Pronouns yet

part 2 (years ~6 to ~8)- currently the most-written

part 3 (years ~9 to ~10)

does a little dance and makes jazz hands before faceplanting. thank you if you read any of that hkgdslfhlfk

[sanddusted-wisteria]

An update on my fics

hey wow it's been 4 months

Nearly six months on both longfics lmao. I've been busy and will continue to be busy, unfortunately. Grad school is a different beast entirely to undergrad (be careful taking 3 grad classes in a semester. 2 heavy ones can really make you regret it), I need to prepare for job interviews and PhD program applications, and this summer I've been wrangling an internship and research work.

Even so tho, my MTAS brainrot is far from dead. It takes a lot of time and effort, but I still have a lot I want to do with the My Time verse and my OCs, both art and fic. So here's a quick update on where I am and what the plan is with my fics and fic series going forward, and some previews of what I have so far (on a separate post bc this one's already too long lmao)!

TL;DR: busy, but still writing! WIP snippets on the next post.

[Long post and rambling belowwwwww]

Earth and Sky

Currently my primary focus. E&S has evolved a TON since I decided to rewrite it. How much? Well...

[Drafting = first draft is in progress; Revising = draft is plot-complete, set aside for future editing passes]

In fact, I haven't even outlined the ending chapters since I recently had a change of heart in the kind of resolution I wanted. I got stuck on it enough that I decided to forego outlining anything for now and playing that one more by ear. I think any more time I spend tweaking these outlines might put me off this fic altogether :P

As someone that started writing with nameless/generic builders, writing for an OC is a different kind of challenge. I'm working to try and strike a good balance of focus on Wis vs Qi vs them together, and making Wis a very human, if not enjoyable character. Still, I think that this is one of those projects that if I can get right, it will be VERY right. It'll just take a bit to get there first :>

At minimum, I'll wait until most if not all of the chapters in the first third/quarter are done (chapters 1-16) to start posting, though hopefully I'll also have a solid idea for how some of the later chapters will go as well. Those are the really (internal) conflict-heavy chapters and I want to make sure it won't come out as shallow :P But I am excited to show you what I've got cooking!

A Cosmic Garden

This is the broader series for Wis and Qi. E&S will be the biggest fic, but it only goes up to a little beyond MTAS's Act 2. Beyond that, my plan is to write some side stories that go into Wis's Lore(tm), namely her origins as an Old World clone and her interactions with other Wis clones around the Alliance.

Why side stories? Well, a) any plot involving Wis as a clone is relatively spread out across the timeline of MTAS's story, since it's actually not that closely tied to her "main" storyline (being the first clone I made when the clone story was just kind of just a bullet point on their lore descriptions, it's less involved), b) it therefore doesn't really affect the story of how she and Qi get together, and c) I know that people might be far more interested in just the romance story with Qi (which is totally okay! I understand, I'm pretty much in the same camp with OC-centric stories a lot :P)

As for the equivalent of MTAS's Act 3, this won't be one cohesive fic, but a small series of smaller stories, since I don't really have too many ideas for a fully fleshed out telling of Act 3 that doesn't just walk through the main missions without much deviating from that. Some of those stories include:

A series of conversations between Qi and Miguel post Act 2

A Nia/Mi-an story

A silly little oneshot of Qi and Rosie interacting (tentative)

The original idea that Strangeness and Charm sprouted from; Wis and Qi conducting a methodical study on non-sexual intimacy (tentative)

The finale of the MTAS main story

A Builder, a Researcher, and a Rooftop

Currently on pause. For now, there's just too much OC brainrot for fics and on OTAS that I just need to get out. Don't worry! I'm absolutely not abandoning this one. I just can only really focus on one big project at a time lol. We're close to the end of this story's act 2, though not much of the remainder is written. In fact, chapter 34 is already done, but not chapter 33, so I can't quite post it yet. I think after I get the first part of E&S done (or I suppose whenever I feel like picking it up), I'll switch gears to at least get to the end of Act 2. Act 3 will need some reevaluation...I've hemmed and hawed over it forever, but I do want to finalize the plot for that one, and also potentially get started on that as well.

Others

To the...5 people that read my Grace/Wis miniseries, I really do still want to get that done a;sdlasdralsdrkj It's been hard since my thoughts on how Grace and Wis interact after Act 2 have changed a lot. But even so, I hate to leave it hanging there, so I've started working on it again. It's already outlined, I just need to get it filled in.

Someday I should come back to Quiet Moments in Sandrock... My art's gotten a ton better since then and there's a few ideas I still have leftover that I never got to. Unfortunately I need to make room for it somewhere in the 13438525 other art ideas I have that I can only do like 1 per week at MOST asdlrkasdasdrjksdrj

Sitting on the back burner forever in my writing folder is a fusion of Junji Ito's Uzumaki and MTAS... An MTAS version of Uzumaki's story works SURPRISINGLY well, and Wis and Qi I think make for stronger protagonists in this setting than Kirie and Shuichi in theirs if I do say so myself lol. It's fully outlined and everything, but that's gonna forever be on the back burner until either my longfics get done or I figure out how to write horror, whichever comes first 😂

So all in all...still cooking! Thank you if you read all this, and thank you for your patience, especially if you've been closely following any of my in progress fics. Hopefully once the interview and application cycle is out of the way this fall, I'll have more brain capacity to really plug away at all these and share with you all! :>

[valeffelees]

An Ask Game for Writers to Procrastinate Working on Your WIP(s)

thank you kindly for tagging me @shrekgogurt @youarenevertooold, and @monbons i've been seeing this game make its rounds on my dash and was really hoping someone would pull me in!

🦈 Tell us the name of one of your WIP(s)

my main three wips at the moment are without sun, ballad of the final sparrow, which is more commonly known as bitverse, and fragile things (and how to break them), but i've also been fucking around a bit the last two or three weeks with a new (terrible, evil, very self-indulgent) wip called god-forbid.

🍄 Describe one of your WIPs in the format of “___ + ___ =___”  

i think i might be dumb bc i don't understand this question at all.

🌍 What tags or warnings will your WIP(s) need if you intend to share it?

bitverse: heavy angst, psychological horror elements, alcohol abuse, allusions to suicide, unhealthy coping mechanisms, dead dove: do not eat.

🧭 An alternative title to one of your WIP(s)?

ballad of the final sparrow -> baz is typing fragile things (and how to break them) -> there's a werewolf in london god-forbid -> the gap between a tragedy and comedy

⚠️ Which WIP you’re most likely to finish or update next?

i have no idea. i mean, you'd think the answer would be without sun since it's the only fic i actually have posted at the moment, but unfortunately i am an untrustworthy villain.

💾 What is the document of your WIP called? (Not the story title, but what you’ve saved it as.)

same as the fic title. if i start a new wip and don't know what to call it, i'll pick something at random and add (working title) at the end.

🖍 Post any sentence from your WIP

from without sun:

“You don’t like peppermint,” he says. But maybe she does. Maybe that’s one more thing he can add to his growing list of things he got wrong about Agatha Wellbelove. No. 1 — Dislikes peppermint; actually, she is quite fond of it. No. 2 — Likes Simon Snow; him, not so much.

♻️ A scrapped idea for your current WIP

one of the biggest changes i made to the plot of without sun really early on was penelope's role in the story. i had a clear idea of the story i wanted to tell as soon as i saw the prompt for the fic. without sun was always supposed to be about more than simon and baz. the story is about grief and love, and the space we take up in the lives of the people around us. but n e way, in my orig draft, penny was actually supposed to be able to communicate with simon a bit, and there was gonna be a whole sect of scenes in the middle of the fic where they sat around together trying to break simon's curse what we know and what we don't know style via passing notes. i ended up tossing this idea really quickly tho, and i'm glad i did bc one of my favourite moments i've ever written in any fic happens in chapter two of without sun and it belongs to simon and penny.

🤔 What’s a story you’d love to write but haven’t even started yet?

so many. or, well—what counts as "haven't even started"? i hate to let ideas sit around in my head bc it feels like leaving raspberries in the fridge for too long, like that shit is gonna get mould on it, so usually the first thing i do is rough out a few scenes and/or script out a very rough outline of the plot (like this / this / this style) so that i have something to come back to later. i have dozens of zero drafts just lying tf around. but otherwise, yeah, so many. one big idea i have is called heart on fire and it's based on fanart, but i haven't started it yet bc obvs i wanna get permission from the artist first but i've been holding off reaching out to them about it until i've knocked a few of my less intimidating longfics off my wip list bc heart on fire is gonna fucking hefty so i don't wanna give'r until i'm sure i can manage it.

🤡 How many WIPs are you actively working on?

LMFAO

🛠 Is there a scene or anything in the WIP you are struggling with right now?

i'm having a real bitch of a time with agatha's main scene in chapter two of without sun, i've been fighting with it on and off for months, but i can't get it to do what i want it to do.

❤️ Not a question, just a second kudos to send.

cheers!

sorry for any doubles but, tagging: @drowninginships @cosmicalart @that-disabled-princess @fatalfangirl @cutestkilla @you-remind-me-of-the-babe @artsyunderstudy @thewholelemon @roomwithanopenfire @hushed-chorus @blackberrysummerblog @imagineacoolusername @nightimedreamersworld @prettygoododds @confused-bi-queer @mooncello and an open tag for anybody else who wants to procrastinate their wips!

[fifteensjukebox]

tagged by @amidalleia tysm!!💖

last song: winning by emily haines & the soft skeleton has been in my head and i have whatever a photographic memory but for music is called so i think it counts. i was trying to figure out the change in timing starting about a minute into the song and my memory wasn't good enough to figure it out, and i think the last song i actually listened to was wet blanket by metric (emily's band) in the car yesterday. what can i say i love her! (the update is that I tossed this post into my drafts earlier and i have now actually listened to winning and almost figured out what she's doing but i'll have to discuss with my music theory-knowing brother)

favourite color: turquoise/mint/teal/sage/cool amethysty purples/the denim blue VW car colour (my beloved first car was a vw beetle we called lulu so that colour is now lulu blue in my house à la dodie yellow)

currently watching/reading:

rewatching btvs and angel mid s4/s1 respectively while showing it to my mom and brother for the first time! it's taking ages but we're having the best time

gilmore girls - (late mid s3) first watch w my parents! there's so much i know from here and so much i don't but i know i love jess

grey's anatomy - watched s1-17 with my family a few years ago (begrudgingly at first bc i so did not want to watch a medical show. and sooo long! but it really is that good (sometimes)) & have been watching weekly as it airs since, but we just caught up on the first bit of the current season yesterday bc i didn't realize it was back. and i love the new class of interns so much we are SO BACK

not dead yet - the only show i'm currently watching by myself week to week as it airs and of course my favorite character is the white man i hate it here... i do love the women too though!!

doctor who 12th doctor rewatch but i stopped like a month ago in the middle of the episode before the cybermen plot starts bc it's just going to break my heart to lose bill for a third time. but i miss them! missy most of all so i will get to it soon

i'm not really reading anything at the moment but i have a couple audiobooks on hold at the library (yeah this is jenny's answer exactly but it applies!)

relationship status: single and i don't go out enough so i doubt it'll change anytime soon

sweet/savory/spicy: i want to say sweet bc i loooove sugar but i add salt to everything lately, i even added it to a rice krispie square the other day, so....

current obsessions:

also still nancy drew forever and always, but honestly i don't have a fandom hyperfixation atm! it's all about furniture shopping.... i'm looking for a small chair/stool for my bedroom desk, and a bigger table to go with my living room big chair so i can have my laptop/food/whatever else i want bc i seem to spend most of my time here

and emily haines/metric music (lately i haven't been listening to much me after 2007, but i love the more recent stuff just as much!

last thing you googled: something about the st vincent rock&roll hall of fame exhibit bc i'd seen a clip about it on someones story but i couldn't find the full video (still haven't)

no-pressure tags: @redheadedbrunette @apolloamy @godofsmallthings @jemhowling @acafemmeic @electrictouchfeaturingfalloutboy @coldnightairinmylungs & anyone else who wants to! i love these sm