#translation: sometimes I just don't think about anything and just go with the flow

[angelic-petty]

たまには何も考えず、流れに身をまかせてみるの☆

[elsaellaelys]

Mami

summary: JJ is in love with his brazilian girlfriend.

pairing: JJ Maybank x brazilian🇧🇷fem!reader

620 words

a/n: Clearly nothing of self projection in this, as you might notice. I just wanted to read something like that and who's better to write it than a latin? Let me know if you want a spanish reader fic too. <3

--★--

This is something JJ never thought that could happen to him, dating a beautiful latin girl, and being hopeless in love with her, now he considers himself the luckiest guy in the island.

JJ parked his motorcycle outside her house, a small house, but she made it feel like the total definition of home, with the roses and little wildflowers she spread along the tiny garden, the unmatched chairs around the thrifted table in the porch. He could hear the music loud even before coming in, it was Raça Negra sounding off in the speaker, he was able to tell after all the experience with Y/N's music, pagode right after she woke, Slipmami when she wanted to set a mood in bed and ride him all by herself, he is such a fool for her like that. Opening the front door lightly JJ perked through it, her silhouette was in the front of the stove, hips swaing to the sound of Cheia de Mania, it felt like his heart went up to his head, just like it always do everytime he sees her, hair clipped up, short skirt hanging loose, bikini straps showing at the waist line, top tied just in a simple bow and he remembered what he was there for, they were going to the beach, excitement flowing through his body for thinking about spending a whole day with his mulatta queen laying in the sun light, skin so tan looking oiled cause of the sunscreen.

"Hi mami." He knocked in the door after closing it, Y/N turned around, a bowl of pancake dough in her hands, a smile beginning to light her face.

"Hi! I'm making breakfast , its gonna be quick. I slept to much, but I just need to eat and we can go." she gabbled while walking around the kitchen, flipping a pancake, filling a cup with coffee, grabing a plate she stopped. "Do you wanna eat with me? I'm talking way to much, aren't I?"

He smiled rouding her waist with his arms, head resting against her shoulder, peppering kisses in her neck. "It's not like I don't like it, mami. I want a salt pancake, that ones you do with cheese and ham"

"What about coffee, American Boy?"

"A beer would be perfect." he grinned at her, she pushed him away with a disgusted expression.

"Eca! We do have to take some to the beach, but in the breakfast?!" she complained while flipping the pancake, she is the best when it becomes to drinks, caipirinhas, quentão, brazilian limonades, nobody could stay sober in a party if Y/N made the drinks "Whatever, they're in the... the... the thing you use to make things cold."

JJ laughed lightly, he understand how sometimes the words slip from her mind, how her vowels are too portuguese at some words, how her english goes to hell when he goes down on her and, fuck, how he loves that. "The fridge, you mean?" "Yes!" she smiled, setting the plates down.

Hot salt pancakes laying beautifully in front of them. Tá Vendo Aquela Lua starting on the speaker.

"Oh, Jay, you have to dance this one with me!" she begged, reaching his hands to bring him to the middle of the american style kitchen.

"But look at those pancakes." JJ whined.

"But. Look at my ass, wouldn't you like to hold it while I shake it?" he grunted, following her, holding her hips a little too low, her hands float to his shoulders as she swayd to the music rhythm, laughing when he longed the twirl just to take a look at her, singing to him, she didn't mind to translate it. She knew he understood. How they were meant to be, how she would do anything for him, how she wanted to stop right in that moment because anything, anybody and anywhere would feel better than that.

The coffee and the pancakes were getting cold, but their love was just warmer and warmer inside their hearts.

[hunieday]

8th Anniversary story - Chapter 2 : Where will we drift from here?

Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 3 - Chapter 4 - Chapter 5 - Chapter 6 - Chapter 7 - Chapter 8

Please note that I am not a professional translator and I'm only doing this to share the side materials to those who cannot access them, if you notice any mistakes please let me know nicely. Enjoy!

Yamato: …

Sougo: …

Yuki: …

Minami: …

[Ping]

Sougo: Ah…

Yamato: What?

Sougo: Tamaki-kun replied. It seems like we are in similar situations.

Yamato: Oh, I see. 

Yuki: … yawns

Minami: It��s hot today, isn’t it.

Rinto: …

Rinto: Everyone’s so quiet…

Yamato: Yeah.

Sougo: Thank you for driving us safely.

Yuki: …Oh, I dozed off.

Minami: Good morning, Yuki-san.

Yuki: Good morning.

Rinto: You really are awfully quiet. I thought you’d ask me more about where I’m driving you.

Yamato: I’ve come to learn that resisting does nothing. Not that I would normally.

Yamato: I’ve always gone along with things so… this is fine I guess.

Yuki: Fufu, well said.

Yamato: Stop commenting unnecessarily. Aren’t you as good at going with the flow?

Yuki: I’d say I’m pretty good at it.

Sougo: I try to avoid going too much with the flow, but sometimes I get lost in my judgment….Yamato-san.

Yamato: Hm?

Sougo: Should I be resisting with all my might right now?

Yamato: Not yet, Sou. Stay calm.

Sougo: Alright.

Yamato: If anything happens I’ll let you know, okay? Until then don’t try to jump into the driver’s seat and take over the wheel.

Rinto: You would do that ?!!

Sougo: I don’t intend to right now. But if Yamato-san says so I’d have no choice.

Yamato: I won’t tell you, it’s okay. I said I won’t tell you so it’s okay, got it?

Yuki: Well, we’ll get to our destination sooner or later so just relax.

Minami: We’re with familiar faces so there’s no need to worry. Especially since Re:vale’s manager is with us.

Rinto: Ahaha…Thank you very much. I appreciate it.

Yamato: …

Sougo: …

Yuki: …

Minami: …

Yuki: Yamato-kun.

Yamato: What.

Yuki: Fufu…just said your name.

Yamato: Stop being a nuisance.

Sougo: …

Minami: Osaka-san, what are you looking at?

Sougo: The guardrail pattern looks different in this area, so I was curious about it…

Minami: Ah, you’re right… doesn’t it look like a rainbow?

Yamato: Isn’t it more like a wave?

Yuki: Maybe carp streamers?

Minami: It might be a local design. Shall I look it up on my phone?

Sougo: Ah no, you don’t have to go that far.

Minami: I guess you’re right.

Yamato: …

Sougo: …

Yuki: …

Minami: …

Yamato: The conversation we had just now is meaningless, but it feels kinda nice during a road trip.

Yuki: I know.

Yamato: There’s something nice about it, it’s relaxing…

Minami: I like it. It would be nice if we could keep feeling relaxed and laid-back until the end.

Yuki: You’re saying it could get intense from here? for example?

Sougo: Like climbing Mount Fuji?

Yamato: Climbing with this group…?

Yamato: …it might be surprisingly good…

Yuki: Even if we encounter wild animals, we’ll have Sougo-kun and Minami-kun.

Sougo: I’m not so sure about my knowledge, but are you good at handling wild animals, Natsume-kun?

Minami: Osaka-san, I can’t believe you’re teasing me.

Sougo: Teasing…? How…Oh well…

Yuki: Is that okay?

Yamato: Your stupid joke is getting the same treatment as the guard rail pattern.

Minami: Fufu, you’re a very entertaining person, Osaka-san. I’ll give you this.

Sougo: What is this?

Minami: Dried plums. It’s good for salt intake.

Sougo: Thank you.

Yamato: I’ll have some too.

Minami: Of course, help yourselves. I have a lot.

Yamato: If I eat this much at once my face will shrivel up…

Minami: Don’t worry. You’re a handsome man, Nikaido-san.

Yamato: I don’t need to be flattered by someone who’s in the same group as a guy like Mido.

Minami: I’m being honest.

Sougo: I think Yamato-san is better looking than Mido-san.

Yamato: That’s an exaggeration.

Minami: He’s right.

Yamato: Natsume-chan?

Minami: No, not in a bad way.

Sougo: I don't know how to compare but, it’s more about the vibe surrounding you…Yamato-san is very reliable.

Yuki: You think so? Can you be a bit more specific?

Minami: You think Mido-san is not reliable? Can you give specific examples?

Sougo: Um…. Yes…

Yamato: Stop teasing Sou, you two. He’s a serious guy.

Yuki: My bad, force of habit.

Yuki: Hey Okarin, do you think Momo might be feeling lonely without me?

Rinto: Ahaha, I wonder.

Yuki: I think he is.

Yamato: You’re telling me that you didn’t rabbitchat him?

[Ping]

Yamato: Ah… it’s for me.

Yuki: From who?

Yamato: It’s from Mitsu. With a picture. Seems like the situation over there is the same as us. Here.

Sougo: It’s Iori-kun.

Minami: Inumaru-san is there as well.

Yuki: Momo’s not there, but Ryuunosuke-kun is.

Yamato: Somehow….

Yuki & Yamato & Sougo & Minami: looks like they’re having a ton of fun…

[Cut to another car]

Touma: Let’s go! Playin’ the most cutting-edge game driving with the best idols of this era!

Iori & Mitsuki & Ryuunosuke: Yay!

Touma: Bird-Tree-or-Fish~!!

Anesagi: Is this really the most cutting-edge game… sounds like an ancient game of wordplay…

Touma: Bird, Tree or Fish! Do you accept or not!

Iori & Mitsuki & Ryuunosuke: We accept, we accept!

Touma: Izumi, tree!

Iori: Cypress.

Touma: OK! Mitsuki-san, bird!

Mitsuki: Parrot!

Touma: OK! Tsunashi-san, fish!

Ryuunosuke: Sardines!

Touma: Alright we’re speeding up! Mitsuki-san, tree!

Mitsuki: Maple!

Touma: Tsunashi-san, bird!

Ryuunosuke: …Um, butterfly! Ah, I made a mistake!

Iori & Mitsuki & Touma: Yaaaay!!

Touma: Tsunashi-san, let’s switch!

Ryuunosuke: My bad. OK, here I come!

Iori & Mitsuki & Touma: Yaaaay!!

Mitsuki: Give us fanservice, Tsunashi-san!

Ryuunosuke: I’m not letting you go home tonight.

Iori & Mitsuki & Touma: FOOOOOO!!

Ryuunosuke: Bird, Tree or Fish! Do you accept or not!

Iori & Mitsuki & Touma: We accept, we accept!

[Ping]

Mitsuki: Wait! I got a rabbichat from Nagi, there’s even a photo attached!

Iori: Is he with someone?

Mitsuki: Looks like it. Check this photo out!

Iori: Looks like Yotsuba-san is there.

Touma: Haru is with them!

Ryuunosuke: Tenn! They look like they’re having fun over there!

Mitsuki: Nagi and the others don’t know where they’re headed either.

Ryuunosuke: Seems like Gaku is with Momo-san. So apparently Re:vale, TRIGGER, IDOLiSH7 and ŹOOḼ are all involved?

Touma: I wonder who’s the mastermind behind this.

Ryuunosuke: Doesn’t it seem like something Re:vale-san would do for their show? They’re the type to plan something like this.

Iori: Tsunashi-san, Re:vale got you tangled up in pranks like these several times, right?

Ryuunosuke: That is true.

Mitsuki: You didn’t realize that the “lost high school girls who just moved to Tokyo” were actually Re:vale, did you?

Ryuunosuke: No, I didn’t.

Touma: Seriously?! They would be hella tall high school girls!

Ryuunosuke: They had just arrived in Tokyo, got lost, dropped their wallet, and told me they were in trouble.

Ryuunosuke: I put myself in their shoes since I felt the same thing when I moved here. So I completely focused on helping them out.

Iori: What a good person…

Touma: Wait, could it be that?

Mitsuki: That?

Touma: Couldn’t it be the idol documentary Backyard Magic? You know, the show you MC for…

Mitsuki: Huh?! I don’t think so. TRIGGER’s manager is driving me after all…

Ryuunosuke: I’m sure she knows our destination…

Anesagi: No, I cannot answer any of your questions. I can answer your bird fish or tree game though.

Mitsumi: Fish!

Anesagi: Cod.

Touma: Bird!

Anesagi: Swallow.

Ryuu: Tree!

Anesagi: Cherry blossom.

Mitsuki: Wow, impressive!

Touma: As expected!

Anesagi: Fufu, well it’s not that special. Now be good children, okay?

Iori: It might be best not to pry too much…

Ryuunosuke: No point in thinking about it now. Let’s just play games until we reach our destination.

Touma: I guess so.

Mitsuki: Well then, let’s start over!

Ryuunosuke: Bird, Tree or Fish! Do you accept or not!

Iori & Mitsuki & Touma: We accept, we accept!

Iori: Judging from the situation we’re all in, it seems like our four idol groups were divided into four units…

Iori: The most logical reasoning is that it’s for the company from that other day

Iori: What a nuisance…

[Shift to a blue sky]

Iori: If I remember correctly, a few months ago…

To be continued.

[wavesoutbeingtossed]

fave red lyrics (For it's OG anniversary)?

Ooooh again, how does one choose?

So you were never a saint and I've loved in shades of wrong/We learn to live with the pain, mosaic broken hearts

I'll do anything you say if you say it with your hands

All we are is skin and bone trained to get along/ Forever going with the flow but you're friction

Maybe we got lost in translation, maybe I asked for too much, but maybe this thing was a masterpiece 'til you tore it all up

Time won't fly, it's like I'm paralyzed by it, I'd like to be my old self again but I'm still trying to find it

After plaid shirt days and nights when you made me your own, now you mail back my things and I walk home alone/But you keep my old scarf from that very first week, 'cause it reminds you of innocence and it smells like me

It's been occurring to me I'd like to hang out with you for my whole life

This is the last time I'm asking you this: put my name at the top of your list/This is the last time I'm asking you why you break my heart in the blink of an eye

Back when you fit in my poems like a perfect rhyme

We blocked the noise with the sound of "I need you" and for the first time I had something to lose

And I guess we fell apart in the usual way and the story's got dust on every page/ But sometimes I wonder how you think about it now and I see your face in every crowd

Tonight I'm gonna dance for all that we've been through but I don't wanna dance if I'm not dancing with you

Good girls, hopeful they'll be and long they will wait

You've got your demons, and, darling they all look like me

Now it's big black cars, and Riviera views and your lover in the foyer doesn't even know you

So dust off your highest hopes

And I know why we had to say goodbye like the back of my hand but I just miss you, and I just wish you were a better man

Push my love away like it was some kind of loaded gun/Oh, you never thought I'd run

Lord, what will become of me once I've lost my novelty?

She'll know the way and then she'll say she got the map from me/I'll say I'm happy for her then I'll cry myself to sleep

I don't have to be your shrink to know that you'll never be happy

You kept me like a secret, but I kept you like an oath

They say all's well that ends well, but I'm in a new hell every time you double-cross my mind

From when your Brooklyn broke my skin and bones, I'm a soldier who's returning half her weight

And did the twin flame bruise paint you blue? Just between us, did the love affair maim you, too?/ 'Cause in this city's barren cold I still remember the first fall of snow and how it glistened as it fell

[lee-sanghyeok]

PREDICTIONS FOR [19.99] TRACKLIST

Parents not allowed to watch/Not suitable for parents (Dangerous)

Unsure of the correct English translation of the Korean title, but it's basically a reference to the rating system of media as well as an obvious hint that the song will be about the things teens/young adults do that parents can't find out about. I think this song will be about drinking for the first time, partying for the first time; going out in general. Embarrassing moments that happen when you go out that your parents would be disappointed about if they knew. I think it'll basically be a continuation of "Life is cool".

Stones (Gonna Be A Rock)

I feel like "Stones (Gonna Be A Rock) is going to be a sort of empowerment song where they'll harness the 'stones' that haters throw at them and use it become stronger. I'm not sure if boynextdoor has any haters to begin with, but it just seems like it's a twist on the idea of 'throwing stones at someone' and transforming into a rock that's powerful and reliable. Being a rock for themselves, the group, and their friends. I think it'll be rap-heavy.

SKIT

Considering none of the members wrote for it, it won't contain a rap part, so I think it's going to be a silly pop song about being absolute fucking idiots and not knowing anything about adulthood. A song where the sentiment is to just 'go with the flow and enjoy the ride' and 'don't take life too seriously, have a laugh'.

Nice Guy

Co-written by ZICO, so it'll be super rhythmic, production-heavy, with a fun rap part. Considering it's the title track, I think it'll be a combination of rock and hiphop, a bit like "But Sometimes". Story-wise, it can go two ways in my opinion: it'll either be about the phrase 'nice guys finish last' and how they relate (or not relate) to it, or it'll be about people's perception of yourself. People see you as one thing, but you might be another thing. Figuring out your identity is a big part of growing up, so it could be something they'd discuss in song.

20

A song about becoming an adult; in Korean age turning twenty. If we can take hints from the concept trailer, we can assume it's a song about the uncertain feelings a teenager has about becoming an adult, wanting to hold onto childhood and innocence, as well as wishing someone can give them all the answers they need to successfully be an adult. If Woonhak is the subject of the song, we might see a back and forth in the verses between him and the other members.

Call Me

A ballad!! I feel it in my gut that it's a ballad! A follow-up of "20" where reality sets in about the complexities and hardships of adulthood. I think it'll be a song about a person reaching out to their friend, urging the friend to call them whenever life gets hard and they need to talk. Call me when you need a shoulder to lean on, call me when you need to laugh or cry or vent. Maybe the song will be in the format of a phone call as well, similar to how "Dear. My Darling" is written in the form of a letter.

[zhouxiangs]

hi sasa! about my stand in novel, since you read the tags before going in, were there anything you were surprised with (either good/bad surprise)? what aspect do you think is the most enjoyable/compelling of the story despite there is still some cliches/cheesy/perhaps even predictable in the writing? i finished it recently as well and i love listening to another reader's thoughts about it

hi anon!

i know i sound like a yan mingxiu apologist at this point but i was honestly expecting him to be way worse, and then he wasn't! i was vaguely aware that he was, maybe, the less scummy of the 188 group because i read a tiny bit about that before starting the novel, but i was still prepared for someone downright evil (or evil for evil's sake, or whose actions would piss me off for most of the story only to have some kind of big reveal later that would make me rethink everything—not that i'm actually opposed to that approach actually, but i'm still glad it wasn't like that in pbd, at least for the readers, because i liked following his emotional journey in real time-ish) and, while he still wasn't great, let's say i don't approve of his ways but i could easily understand how he got there.

going to hide the rest of my answer under a read-more because i want to get into spoilers and sometimes a tag isn't enough:

i told @clairedaring when i started the novel that yan mingxiu was funny to me because it was so clear even then how oblivious he was being (and later on how he was going to be hurt by the consequences of his own actions, boy was shooting himself in the foot the whole time) and i stand by that. i did cry for him, but i also reveled in his pain after seeing him sow the seeds for a year. get karma'd. oh and his age was a nice surprise too! i'd assumed he would be older for some reason (maybe because of up poompat) but he's a babyyy. it just made so much sense that he would be so immature with his background and being that young; not that people his age are immature or i'd expect them to, obviously, but some things are a lot easier to understand and excuse (at least for me) once you know he's only 20. it also makes him way more believable and his actions generally easier to digest than if he was idk, up's actual age. anyway i went into the story with that mindset, so maybe that's why i never really disliked him. or maybe it's because i'm older and a few years ago i wouldn't have thought the same, who knows.

as for the most compelling/enjoyable aspect i'd say it's mostly the way the characters are written, which, bare minimum lol but they were just so believable as people? there was depth, there was consistency in the characterisation (oh the bar is in hell); i could understand why zhou xiang was wavering, and why it took him so long to notice/accept and to believe in yan mingxiu's feelings; i could see yan mingxiu's feelings developing early on and also understand why he was basically gaslighting himself into still believing he loved wang yudong, even though by then he was already starting to notice how he didn't even like him as a person (one of the things i found so amusing about yan mingxiu was the way he'd automatically redirect his thoughts about zhou xiang to circle back to "but the best part about him is definitely how his back looks like dong ge's", he's. so dumb) he was so set in his belief and so used to think about wang yudong as the person he loved that he didn't even bother to stop and think for a second if that was even true anymore. aughhh. i really think the characterisation was really strong; it's not like i don't latch onto random weak characters for no reason constantly but this is usually what's important for me in fiction, and specially in a story that is mostly about feelings i need to really care about the characters, otherwise what's the point.

the flow of the story (the english fan translation in my case, but i think this comes from the story itself) was really good too! that by itself would have made me read the whole thing pretty quickly even though i wanted to make it last, not gonna lie... but yeah, with those two things combined i had no chance. i would intend to read one or two chapters before sleeping and then end up reading anywhere between 20-40, so now i have to microdose the extras or i'll run out of yanzhou content, sobs.

and of course, not to be me, but the best thing about pbd is my sweet angel baby zhou xiang. i was pretty sure i was going to like him a lot just from reading claire's propaganda post (lol) and sure enough, by chapter 6 his doormat ways had bewitched me body and soul. i already adored him as a very social but also very lonely man who had resigned himself to be alone at the tender age of 29 (out of practicality? like granted, he knows better than me how his environment functions but he never had any trouble finding a hook up either? so why that level of cynicism, baby boy. it's not like he can't look for a partner outside of his circle either). a man that so desperately yearned for a loving partner/a family of his own but that settled for scraps, and sometimes not even that. i loved seeing him being domestic and at times even sweet with yan mingxiu in his original life, and how he was a bit like a puppy. i loved how softhearted he was, and how petty he got at times; how he wanted to take that role from wang yudong because he was jealous of him and, since he couldn't get yan mingxiu to love him, at least he could "win" somehow and not be second to wang yudong by taking that role away from him, even if it was only once and not what he really wanted/the only thing he actually cared about (ie yan mingxiu's heart); how he wanted to hurt and maybe embarrass yan mingxiu by telling him about "wang yudong"'s back in his first film being that of a stuntman (and oh how i loved what that caused). but mostly i loved that despite all that he was still, above everything else, softhearted; he stopped caring about wang yudong altogether as soon as he knew the truth about yan mingxiu, even thought he'd spent years suffering because of him by that point; he always took care of chen ying, whatever it took, because even though she was only his new body's mother she was the only mother he had and he'd already hurt her enough by taking the place of her son, doesn't matter that he had no power over that.

i loved watching zhou xiang grow as a person and learning to put himself first sometimes, and having the resolve to fight for what he wanted for once and not just put up with everything life threw at him. i didn't even like the yan family plot (could do without yan mingxiu's father beating his gay son, thank you) but seeing zhou xiang standing up for himself and their relationship made me so emotional and so proud of him. his development was really the best, and i just love him so so much.

also it's so funny to me how i imprinted on poom phuripan like a baby chick the first time i saw him (as guy in bake me please) and then i had pretty much the same experience with a character he's going to play lmao as if i didn't know he's perfect for the role already.

look at him! he's so beautiful, so zhou xiang-shaped. i thought about up from time to time while reading too, but i was picturing poom in my mind constantly without even trying to. 10/10, perfect casting.

also! cheesy is good! cheesy is fantastic, even. same with clichés and predictable stories that follow a certain formula; sometimes that is exactly what i want, and as long as it makes sense and feels natural to the characters and the story (ie they don't just do things/things just don't happen because it's what needs to happen next) i'm down with anything. also i don't know if this counts as predictable or just paying attention because after all that's what the mentions/clues were there for, but things like yan mingxiu's obsession with wang yudong's back and consequently zhou xiang's... the moment we got yan mingxiu remembering how he fell in love at first sight with wang yudong's back at 16 when he saw that now-classic scene of him getting out of the water in his first film i knew what was coming, specially because by that point we knew how long zhou xiang had been working as wang yudong's stuntman (not sure if we knew about him being uncredited yet).

and sure enough, he was never credited in the first place because they wanted the action scenes to help build wang yudong's fame, and yang mingxiu had been in love with zhou xiang's back the entire time. you don't get much more cheesy than that, and it's literally my favourite thing about the novel 😭

and i'm stopping myself here oh my god...

[nanistar]

do you think we could get a sneak peak of saltburn's clan production? like the scripts or the sketches? (of pages already posted of course) i really like seeing how different people approach the comic making process

sure thing!

so i usually post the next 2 sketches on my patreon for the $1+ tiers on tuesday or wednesday, so they get an advanced little view of it before hand. so the ones here are all gonna be older pages.

my entire script and notes i keep in one long google doc. and i send myself feverish notes on discord to be copy/pasta'd into the doc later. i also have a rough estimation of my progress in the story and how much longer i have per chapters, since im trying to keep it to about 30-36 per chapter. i don;t want to spend longer than 2 years on this comic (though im not gonna speedrun it or anything if it ends up going long, im just hoping it stays shorter lol).

i don't script things line-by-line or like a stageplay. i tried doing it early on but i found i made too many deviations depending on how i placed panels and looking back at the script was really annoying.

earliest script i have^

i tend to do dialogue on the fly when actually sketching out the pages, because i know what i'm looking for, so unless i have the specific dialogue that i want to remember to add, i don't write any of that down. although sometimes i get on a roll writing and dialogue flows, so i write it down and change it as needed. i have scenes in my head rather than pages, and i translate those notes later when i need to work on that scene. i very rarely get actual page ideas in my head, but i will say today's update with saltburn flying thru the air and recalling some memories i;ve had in my head for months, along with the one where salt sees the angel i had planned for a while. (i'd LOVE to be able to get a ton of pages sketched at once so i can not worry about it, but the nature of the way that i work is that i just can't think in that much detail far ahead of me. so i can only really do 2 at a time)

^so it tends to look more like this, fast back and forth dialogue to get my point across that i will make fit their voices later on. also i don't use linebreaks or anything just because im lazy so my notes are a fuckin disaster

my god.

as for the actual drawing of the pages, i literally just do it i dont know how to explain it. i sketch things as fast and loose as possible , i try not to have the same size boxes next to each other unless i'm showing the passage of time or a very minor detail change between panels. large panels for establishing shots. ect. sometimes if needed i will do a secondary sketch to figure stuff out, like i needed to do a bunch when working out the first few coyote drawings since ive never drawn dogs in action before. but usually i just whip it out

nightmarish.

this one is still my favorite, and despite looking much better than my normal sketches i did whip it out like normal (i just looked at refs for the other critters so it looks nicer lol)

additionally, i do every single page in the chapter on the same canvas because i love it when procreate crashes. i do all my panel boxes, and any "weird" shaped speech bubbles by hand. i only have one layer for flats, one for BGs, merge them together and do one overlay layer. if i need some extra definition i will add an additional shading layer but i dont like to. once im done with all the art i merge every layer together, send the page to myself on discord, and open it up on my 'puter and do the remaining text and normal speech bubbles in clip studio.

oh yeah people sometimes ask why i do 2 pages instead of one per update, or just do a bunch and upload it less often and the answer is because i don't want to be working on this comic for a very long time, and 2 pages gets me thru faster. if i spend too long working on a scene it starts getting boring for me and im more likely to cheese it which i dont like doing, but if i do two at once i can get stuff done faster. additionally, i cant just do a bunch and upload them all at once because i like the feedback, and it's better for readers to have consistent updates. i have the deadly autism/adhd combo, and my life is literally scheduled week by week and i have to stay consistent or i will die.

but yeah. my process is nightmarish and fast (despite spending like 4-8 hours per page) and loose and crazy but it works for me and keeps me engaged.

[moonlightazriel]

Writing tag game by @bonecarversbestie

Thank you for tagging me darlings @sunshinebingo @thelov3lybookworm

Describe your writing process from idea to posting/publishing?

I like to sit down on my computer and stare at the screen for a few seconds while i gather the courage to actully write, the hardest part is to get something done, because the ideas are always there, but put it into the paper? Yeah that's the worst.

So I really like to just let things flow in their own time, sometimes takes me weeks to write a line, but when i get the creativity booster randomly, i pretty much write the whole story without stopping until I'm done.

Then i send a message to @fieldofdaisiies asking if she wants to beta for me, which helps me a lot cuz i leave so many dumb mistakes behind and she always catches them for me, i rely on her feedback and change what we both agree should be changed and then I scan it one more time over translator to see if I haven't wrote any incorrect words and then i go to post.

I like to leave some of my banners for fics ready, as you guys know, my fics are posted in the exact same format every time, so i leave some of these posts ready to be filled, with tags and everything, fill it all out, think about a name, pray a few seconds that everyone won't hate it, then i post.

Are you a plotter or a pantser?

I really only plot and plan a story when i'm writing a longer st ory, like SOD or Worlds Apart, these kind of stories need planning and plotting and they usually take a long while to get those going, but overall I just write what gets the louder in my head and i just go with it to see where it gets me.

What do you listen to when you are writing?

Yeah, that's a hard one cuz i literally listen to anything, but i really like ambient music from video games to get everything smooth and calm for my frantic thoughts.

One of my favs is this one.

What’s your drink of choice (while writing)?

I really like to have some coffee while i write, but i usually ends up with a bottle of water. Stay hydrated guys, drink your water.

Promote yourself! What’s your favourite thing you’ve written?

I can't promote myself without mentioning Son of the Darkness , my first long fic and i adore it with all my heart, the plot, the idea, the building made me grow a lot as a writer and believe in myself more, one day i plan to rewrite it to see what it would look like when i'm older.

Share a fic of yours that you think is underrated/deserves more love.

When no one hears your calls it's one of my favorite things that i ever wrote and Eris deserves all the love after what he been through.

Do you have any advice for new writers?

Don't be afraid to try, writing is supposed to be fun, post what you would like to read, writing something you don't like just cuz it's popular and will get you more notes is not the way to go with this, you will end up unhappy, trust me. Don't be afraid to be creative an dmess up with the fan favorites, as long as you're being respectful, you should try everything. And most importantly, don't listen to that nagging voice that insists you're not good enough, you are and you're brilliant, kep writing, be amazed by what you write, this is such a fun and nice hobby, enjoy it.

What is a writing style/technique that others do really well that you'd like to get better at?

Somthing that really bothers me is smut, i feel like mine is very vague sometimes, but i just can't write it in details for some reason, i have read storiese where smut is so well written, and i know it can be beautiful, i just wish i could get mine to be a little bit better, but don't matter how much i try, it never seems good enough.

Is there a character you were surprised you enjoyed writing as much as you did?

Aemond Targeryen, he's such a nice character to write about, cuz he can range from a scared little boy to a mass murderer and theres so many possibilities with that, i wrote for him just for fun and i enjoyed so much, i always have an idea or two for him in my head.

Tagging: @fieldofdaisiies @lees-chaotic-brain

[kalmiaphlox]

✨Writing Interview Tag Game✨

Thank you @pinkberrytea and @preciouslittlebhaalbae for the tags 💕

When did you start writing?

I would write creatively throughout middle school and that was it for the most part. For my first long fic that was planned out and kept up with to completion, I started writing in December 2023 and never stopped. It was like a dam had been broken!

Are there different themes or genres you enjoy reading than what you write?

I am a horror lover. Movies, books, art, etc I love all horror. I would love to be able to write a horror story, but the things I make up in my mind don't feel all that scary/spooky so I don't think I could translate it well.

Is there a writer you want to emulate or get compared to often?

I don't think so? I just write the way I want to read. I don't think its anything special, my writing is just word vomit that I feel happy with.

Can you tell me a bit about your writing space?

I kinda just write wherever when the mood strikes. Currently I am sitting on my couch with Northernlion playing Slay the Spire on youtube, I like background noise of any kind, doesn't even have to be music. I write on my phone a lot (a regrettable choice) because I like to write anywhere like work or the store if I need to jot something down.

What's your most effective way to muster up a muse?

Lots of daydreaming and driving in the car gives me my best ideas (I think), not sure why it gets my brain going, but it just does. I have also been inspired by art and I put credit for those works in my chapters when they do inspire something.

Sometimes reading fics would also get ideas flowing because it makes me want to write again (I'm not taking ideas from other fics), but I have barely been reading recently.

Are there any recurring themes in your writing? Do they surprise you?

Maybe for my main fic? I think something that comes up a lot is not letting the past control your future for a lot of my characters. Also realizing family can be anyone, as long as you let them.

What is your reason for writing?

Mostly just for fun. I felt like I had a good story to tell so I wrote it down, regardless of whether other people like it or not. At the end of the day, this is for me.

Is there any specific comment or type of comment you find particularly motivating?

I like all my comments in general and I go back and reread them occasionally 💕 Some that really stick with me are the ones where people make suggestions or even question things. There have been comments that made me change entire outcomes because someone left a comment that made me rethink how a character was acting or how an event unfolds.

Also anytime anyone says they have reread my fic just blows me away. It's such an honor but I also want to ask "Why?" because that shit is long and so freaking messy lol

How do you want to be thought about by your readers?

I don't know, I'm just a person. I hope my readers think they can ask me any questions about anything and that them just taking time out of their day to read my word vomit is so cool and I love every single one of those goobers. Readers are the best. Everyone likes to say they only do it for themselves, but any engagement really keeps us writers going.

What do you feel is your greatest strength as a writer?

Maybe dialogue and humor. It's hard to say honestly.

How do you feel about your own writing?

I waffle between thinking I write some good shit and then also hating every single thing and how on earth do people read my garbage lmao.

I know I don't use proper sentence structure and grammar, but if I start following all those rules, it won't be fun for me anymore.

I am not very descriptive in my writing specifically because my brain likes to fill in the blanks with limited descriptions. I have things look certain ways in my head, but I like to leave a lot of it up to internal interpretation for other people. I also skim a lot when descriptions get too long while I'm reading so I just try to write the way I want to read something. It's probably boring but at this point, I really don't care, I aint changing.

When you write, are you influenced by what others might enjoy reading, or do you write purely for yourself, or a mix of both?

Purely for myself. My first fic, I had over 100k words already written before I even thought about posting it for others. I may or may not be working on a sequel to my fic, but who knows if I'll ever post it lol

I hope this is all understandable. I am extremely hungover 😅

tagging my writer pals if you would like to answer any of these! @teamdilf, @busy-baker, @spagyricqueen, @dabbles-in-drabbles, @ofsilentthings

[revoleotion]

Now that the 24 hours reading challenge is completed, here's what I read (+ a quick rating now that it's still fresh)

Bruderschaft (Brotherhood) - 7/10

THE GOOD POINTS

Great Star Wars book to establish Anakin's and Obi-Wan's relationship at the start of the clone wars and where it will go

Obi-Wan gets to meet cute one of his many future side bitches (and they are immediately NOT normal about each other)

intriguing enough side characters, very on the nose with the parallels to existing characters but that's not a bad thing here

good world building, points made about sci-fi/fantasy racism and disrespect towards "ugly" alien culture, especially art

MINUS POINTS

just needless Mace Windu slander nobody needed or wanted? He seemingly only existed to show how much poor little meow meow Anakin being bullied by the bad evil jedi master who doesn't want him here

adding to this after some great takes from milena: it's not THAT bad and only ever coming from Anakin's pov (who is irrational) and Palpatine (using it to manipulate Anakin), so it's fine. But. People are already extremely unfair towards Mace and this book doesn't help.

the book couldn't have sucked up any harder to Qui-Gon if it crawled up his ass, slipped back out in the front and offered to do his taxes for him. In my personal opinion problematic (but more so just... wrong?) portrayal of conflicts between him and Obi-Wan, and he's overall just. presented as this perfect, idolized fanon version people want him to be, neglecting anything we see him do in the Episodes (or the very CANON Master & Apprentice novel)

Middlesex - 10/10

Just overall a story I really enjoyed and is beautifully crafted, both the story/pacing, and the flow of the German translation

It will always have a special place in my heart because my dad recommended and then gifted it to me, and while it clearly doesn't describe my exact experience, it is the reason he has a more nuanced and understanding view on intersex and non-binary identity

Maybe I have just read a lot of bad/sanitized fiction lately but what really got me was how believable Cal's pov was. The narration never breaks away from the protagonist's beliefs and doesn't shy away from letting anyone in the novel have problematic world views (some of which they are aware of, some of which they aren't, and some of which they never challenge). Everybody in it is a person. And sometimes people cause harm for other people. Some people shovel their own grave. Some are just killed. It's so well done.

It also included several quotes that had the audacity to come into my house, punch me in the face and steal my lunch money. For example the moment of describing undressing in the bedroom during two very traumatized people's first time as unwrapping the bandages of a wound. Really made me pause for a moment. Fuck.

This is how you lose the time war - 13/10

I wouldn't even know where to start. I don't think I have read a book this good in years. It will haunt me. It made me want to write countless essays about it. It made me want to savor the words one after the other like a meal that's so good you're terrified of finishing it. I predicted the ending a few pages in. It still caught me off-guard. I expected my heart to be broken but it didn't.

A lot of media nowadays just makes you feel like shit. This novel managed to make me cry multiple times and still didn't leave me feeling destroyed. (So that is possible. Not everything needs to be dark and depressing for the sake of being dark and depressing. What a concept.)

A dowry of blood - 10/10

Vampires. Many, many complicated feelings. Sex. Beautiful language. I loved it.

What I really, REALLY want to praise it for is that the character narrating the events wants to find humanity in someone repeatedly choosing cruelty over it, and even when she has to admit that he is dangerous, her (and any other characters') hope in him is never presented as naive or wrong. It's simply presented as a specific single case of a single person choosing cruelty, and we are left to wonder if her realization could've come earlier but never get an answer.

Also just really hit a lot of my tastes from a smut perspective. That's all I'm saying for now.

[hotluncheddie]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

ty @steddieasitgoes !! this was fun!!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

16!

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

26,316 (wtf)

3. What fandoms do you write for?

steddie / st only 😤

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

1. Tiny Green Shorts 

2. Seasons change, but people don't.

3. extra credit

4. that's when boys kiss

5. pretty boy

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

YES! i luv comments! its one of the best parts of writing anything and makes it extra fun! its connecting with people!!

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

mmm i don't really like angsty endings. i guess Little Lamb has the most general angst but tbh that's not even gonna be a sad ending once its done - its gone have a lot of hope. maybe just high masking but again the connected part is comfort heavy

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

everything :) happy endings only in this house! 🍓 is maybe the most good vibes all the way thru piece

8. Do you get hate on fics?

its honestly a dream of mine to get cyber bullied one day, so no but if anyone wants to u can just this once

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

ya - mmmm mild d/s dynamics and graphic descriptions of bellies :)

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

no - sometimes i think about doing like film inspired steddie but idk if i'll ever get around to it (like school of rock au or dead poets society au)

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

no???

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

no! but that would be cool!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

no :) i think having to consider someone else's schedule when writing would be stressful - i am slow

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

steddieeeee 😤👌🫡💪

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

i'm working on a openly bi steve / queer eddie fic and it needs a lot of editing and keeps growing and it could honestly never get done but i really hope i work it out one day (i wanna incorporate music into the like theme of the scenes somehow but i dunno if i'm capable enough for it to be good - plus rewriting is hard bc what's there is good its just not right for this)

16. What are your writing strengths?

i like to think i can write my rancid sewer goblin dream boy eddie munson pov well

and maybe dialogue, or like metaphors?? i also have a thing about rhythm when i write so hopefully that come through, like pace and flow of sentences or whatever.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

i have like pictures in my head and i never know how much to describe, like do i go full setting and facial expressions but then that feels like too much so idk. but ye that - the stuff around the dialogue

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

i dumb baby i wouldn't even try bc it would just be google translate n that's embarrassing

19. First fandom you wrote for?

this one! i only lurked before hehe I've used ao3 for like over 10 years and this fandom was the first i ever wanted to make anything for

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

uhhh i think unmasking is very dear to my heart. but also Seasons change, but people don't. just bc its still my longest fic to date

that was fun! no pressure tags!! and sorry if you've already been tagged don't be mad a meeee!!!

@pearynice @numinosmoon @2btheanswertothequestion @flowercrowngods @aringofsalt @scarcrossdlvrs

[herearedragons]

7, 18, 25 from the writer asks! c:

7. Post a snippet from a wip.

The Breach be upon ye!

Message reconstructed from scraps found in a cave outside of Haven City.

Date unknown; sender unknown; recipient unknown.

Written in Elvhen. Translated to Trade for the reader’s convenience.

(unintelligible) family; this note is meant for you.

I understand that you probably know (unintelligible) but I never had a chance to say it to you, so please indulge me; after all, if you are reading this, then I didn’t come back.

You have always excelled at following your duty to the clan. We could not have asked for a better

(fragments missing)

another side of you, a person that is rarely seen by others. I’ve met him only briefly, and sometimes glimpsed him from afar. I lament how little I know about him, and now I will never know more.

Still, I care about that person deeply. Ever since I saw (unintelligible)

(fragments missing)

hoped that, once we had accomplished our task, I could tell you everything - but, since I could not, this note will have to do.

I admire your wisdom and your polite wit, your patience and perseverance, your vast knowledge and your keen eye for beauty. I might not have known you as well as I have known others, but I loved

(fragments missing)

with Ghilan’nain’s grace, may your way back home be peaceful.

18. Do you enjoy research? Which fic of yours required the most research?

I don't enjoy research! Which is why I try to avoid it when writing fic for fun and general Writing Practice (well, I do fact check things like "how does blood work" and "how long do bones heal" and other details that are important to the plot, but I won't be going on Wikipedia dives or anything like that). If/when I write something with the intent of it being Published, though, I think I won't mind researching as much because. you know. it would be a more high-effort project all around

As to the fic that required the most research, probably The Breach, just because it's long and the plot relies on LogisticsTM a lot more. I've had to look up stuff about tourniquets, drowning (I think), tried to figure out what a room in a train car would be called in the Victorian era (I still don't know) and for a while checked Google Ngram a lot to make sure I didn't use words that were too modern. I kind of gave up on that last one, though, because it made writing a lot more exhausting and, also, I remembered that Candela Obscura (the setting I'm loosely basing the fic on) doesn't limit its characters' vocabulary like that and still gets the gaslamp vibe across. I still try to avoid words that interfere with The Vibe too much, though.

25. What’s your favorite part of the writing process (worldbuilding, brainstorming/outlining, writing, editing, etc)?

I think this happens on different stages for different fics, but I love the moment where things just click into place. For The Breach, it's outlining, specifically figuring out the exact sequence of scenes for the next part and how to combine the different POVs; for Cold Water (my recent Pillars of Eternity fic) it was weirdly the editing stage. I would write a chapter, go "eh, needs improvement", go away, and then I would come back to it a while later and just move some words around and it would suddenly turn into something Really Cool.

So, I guess the general answer is that my favorite thing is figuring out the flow of the fic! Whether it's on a line-by-line level or on a plot level.

[goshen-applecrumbledore]

I got tagged by @missroserose to talk about which fic of yours was the most fun to write?

FUN is such an interesting idea, because I love writing and I don't often struggle to do it, but if I think about what makes a fic fun or not fun to write, regardless of how it comes out, I think like... the effortlessness. for me, fun is when I get an idea and I just fuckin give 'er, like god beamed a fully formed HE WOULD FUCKING SAY THAT into my head and all the dialogue just flows, all the scenes are there, and I just have to get it out. I physically can't stop writing, I feel fucking possessed, I don't do anything but write for days on end. zero other work gets done. that's the good stuff

thinking of fics that have been like this for me recently... the best was Hangdog, my true detective fic. that just WENT, it was beamed fully-formed into my head and I just had to get it out and every line of dialogue just felt like, hand picked. I think it shows, I think fics where I have an easy time with it often come out better

another was an spn fic, hot singles in your area. not super avant garde or cool as far as fics go, but it is so NEAT because it was easy writing and I always knew how it should have ended.

the reverse is also true, where I think you can tell I struggled sewing something up and it didn't come easily. they fizzle out at the end. 2 spn fics in particular do this, living in God's blind spot and snooping and breaking things. it's particularly tragic for me with living in God's blind spot because I LOVE the first 3/4 of that fic so much and the ending blows. no need to tell me it doesn't, it's just a fact

sometimes fics are in between. both my Bear fics were alright, Seconds was worse because I knew the end but not the beginning and also translated it from present tense to past tense when I was halfway through, so it was a real slog.

I don't have anyone to tag sorry but please tag me if you do this!

[switch]

I'm trying to figure out Vlad's speech pattern, do you have any tips on writing his dialogue?

ohh yeah that's tough. i struggled with that for a while and i'm still not 100% sure how exactly i'd put it to words since i kinda just started feeling it out...

uh i think one thing that especially helped with vlad for me was really listening a lot to his voice acting and then just sort of... imagining how his particular deep and kind of slow-spoken and kingly cadence would translate to and sound in written dialogue... does that make sense...

i mean one, uh, 'nice' thing about vlad is that he doesn't have a lot of written dialogue. between his gameplay/my room lines, his interlude, the gray collar event, vegas, valentine, and halloween revival, plus his relatively sparse dialogue in apoc, you can basically look at... everything he's ever said in, like, a day for reference (heck i've got like a 10 minute video of every single line he says in the apoc anime). i will say that some of his early my room lines do have a bit of an odd feel to them, though...

uh, anyway, as for more specific tips... uhhh.... he tends to use more refined or formal or even old-fashioned-sounding language, but critically without sounding excessively flowery, either, as he's often also pretty direct and conveys authority in the way he talks at the same time. especially if he's giving some kind of speech, or talking about something before battle, or scolding someone (apoc and vegas). he says stuff like "fool," "unsightly," "end yourself", "i thank you/you have my gratitude" etc... when he does get more poetic or indirect is in higher bond levels where he starts alluding to things more than outright stating them (bond 5, bond 10, ascension 4), so that's also situational.

it's also sort of shown/implied that he lightens up a bit more when dealing with kids or teenagers in chaldea, and obviously the protagonist, but he really never feels casual even at his most relatively casual or happy state. when writing him i'd definitely recommend veering towards more formal language than you might think is necessary vs risking making it sound too casual, as i would say it sounds out a lot weirder fast when a vlad is accidentally written even a bit too casual than it does when he's written maybe a little excessively formal. he also doesn't seem to laugh a lot outside of brief "heh"s or "hehe"s or even the occasional "oho". he seems to go "hm" or "hmph" sometimes if he's contemplating things or not happy about something... maybe it was sort of a weird translation, but the end of his interlude 1 where he just outright says "sorry for forcing you to accompany me" instead of anything more... noble-sounding feels like kind of a rare big deal thing, for him.

a lot of fan translations outright write him into using "thee"s and "thou"s and "canst"s and such, or at least having him switch to talking like that in certain situations, which i do definitely think works contextually for him. he doesn't use contractions a lot of the time ("there is" "i am" "it is" "i shall", etc) but he does still use them sometimes, (there's multiple instances of "i've" and "i'll" peppered around at the least), so it's not a hard and fast rule- it seems to just be more dependent on who he's talking to and whether or not it works with the flow of that particular line of dialogue. he tends to address other people by titles of some kind rather than by name.

actually i do remember one time the way vlad talks was described to me as something like the way some kind of dark anime villain would talk. he talks like an anime villain who isn't actually a villain...

ugh does any of this make sense, i don't know, so much of this is situational.......

[skibasyndrome]

Have I send you an ask for this already? If not 3, 13, 29 for the fic writer ask 💜

Have a great Sunday.

You didn't, but thanks so much! 💜💜💜 I hope you have the best Sunday!!!

3: Is there a trope you wouldn’t touch with a ten foot pole?

I feel like all things considered, I really don't have tooo, too many no-go's when it comes to fanfic. Besidens non-con and A/B/O that I mentioned yesterday I could only come up with mpreg (which I guess is sometimes part of A/B/O anyways), that's also definitely something I'd never ever write. I think I've never seen that done well and idk if I can be convinced otherwise. (and this isn't about fics with trans characters, cause there this can really work, but... idk, every mpreg fic I've ever come across has somehow been........ a lot)

13: What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever come across?

Oooooh. Hmm. I think whether writing advice works for you is super, super dependent on the person. One thing that I've learnt at uni and that will forever stick with me and reeeeeaaaally helps me personally is to just sit down, set a timer and type away, no care for pretty sentence structures or even the correct word, just using parenthesis ([] my beloved, for anything from "check if this works" to "add more detail here" or "check translation") in between to not stop the flow. This is one of the best strategies for me to get out of my own head and just get the ideas out there.

And another piece of advice or... hmm, maybe it was more of an anecdote or multiple anecdotes? that I really treasure actually came from you! I think you once said something along the lines of using every day life situations as inspiration and using stuff like that awkward christmas party you don't really wanna be at to fuel your creativity. And that works! And it's very, very fun to spend those moments I'd normally be uncomfortable in to think about stories and ideas instead <3

Oh also thinking about your stories not as something that needs to fit into some mold or meet someone else's expectations but if being the story YOU wanna tell (💜💜💜)

29: If you could write the sequel (or prequel) to any fic out there not written by yourself, which would you choose?

I gotta be boring and say that I don't have any fics that I'd like to write that for. Firstly because my favorite fics all feel like they don't need a sequel or prequel and secondly because I wouldn't be able to enjoy those if I wrote them because they wouldn't have that special aura to them that only that certain fic author can create!

Please ask me some fun fic writer asks <3

[true-blue-sonic]

Hey Blue! Not reply related to sonic or anything but do you have any writing advice in general? You're like, the best writer I know and I'm kinda struggling to find good tips so I was wondering if ya got any.

Hello! ^-^ Thank you for the compliments!💕💕 It's a bit of a tough question; I definitely have some things, but I will readily admit that I don't always follow my own advice, Still, I hope it's useful!

Under the cut because it got long, haha!

If getting started is the main issue, I recommend setting a very tiny goal for yourself. My own is 200 words a day. Most of the time, once you have begun writing, those 200 words become over a thousand before you realise it. And if it does not work, you still have 200 new words you didn't have before! ^-^

Also, accepting that sometimes your draft just sucks and you need to wrangle the words out of the very depths of your being and you hate everything you write is also necessary. What you have can be edited later to become more in line with what you want. And it also just sucks to have a vague idea of how to continue or what you want your fic to be about, only to forget it later because you did not write it down.

What I myself like to do when writing is to go back to the beginning of a story if I find myself stuck, and already start with editing there. It helps me 'rediscover' what I've already written, cleans up the draft simultaneously, and often gives me ideas on how to continue at the part where I'm stuck. And I like to think that with a reconfirmed idea of what I have written before, I can make the story more cohesive.

I have uploaded stories before that I didn't feel 100% certain about. I think it's better until you're at a point where you do feel like 95% or more certain about it, than uploading it at 80% only for the sake of uploading stuff. I personally can strongly tell what stories I didn't feel too certain about or happy with when I reread them, no matter how long ago I published them.

Once you're in the flow, try to not get out of the flow, haha. If you forgot a word, just put it between [ ] brackets and come back to it later, don't waste time looking it up and risk running out of steam (I do it a lot with words I know in Dutch but forgot an English translation of XD). Similarly, if your flow is only lines of dialogue, write only lines of dialogue! And if it's only actions, write only actions. First drafts are for getting the idea out of you, only later can you begin editing and making full coherent paragraphs.

When editing, I like to pay attention to the way my paragraphs look. I prefer having a bit of variation in their form, so that I don't have an endless stream of -

"I'm saying something," Espio said, doing something in the meantime. "And now I'm saying something again." "Me too!" Silver agreed, while doing something as well. "And here also."

- that just constitutes most of the fic. I really like implementing variations in my paragraphs, such as beginning with a spoken sentence that ends with a dot so I do not need to indicate after it who said it in what way (responded, retorted, sighed, hummed, noted; such words. I rarely use said, now that I think about it.), or beginning with an action or description as opposed to someone speaking, etcetera. It's not always easy, but I feel like it does help enrich the story!

I know this one is more contested, but I myself can't stand endlessly using the characters' names for every single thing, so I like using synonyms there (the chameleon, the ninja, the hedgehog, the psychic, the time traveller). But I do think you should not use synonyms if they draw attention to something random about the character that the story is not about; for example, I would not describe Espio as "the taller anthro" between him and Silver unless the moment specifically describes a situation where Espio being taller is relevant.

Related to that, I try not to repeat the same word too many times. I'm a synonym gal, haha! But sometimes you have to accept there simply isn't a proper synonym for a term you're using, meaning you either need to use that term a lot or rewrite your sentences so that the term is not explicitly mentioned but you still know what is happening.

I very actively try to cut down on the adverbs I use, but it doesn't always work. A good adverb definitely can enrich the story, but in the same vein, using a stronger word instead of a weak word plus an adverb is definitely smart to do as well, lest the adverbs clutter your whole fic. But also, "weak word plus adverb" can carry a strong meaning all the same. To copy an example I vaguely recall from the internet: "smiled sadly" works as it is a contradiction, but "smiled happily" does not, because we associate smiling with being happy anyway. You are better off using something like "beamed" or "Happiness glowed on his face" for the latter.

The longest length a sentence should have is 85 words, a thesis supervisor once told me. I am very bad at keeping sentences below 85 words, alas.

Adding to that, a good sentence has a maximum of two commas, so three 'chunks' of a sentence (like this one, actually!). But for emphasis' sake, I throw that rule out of the window at times and put a lot of commas in if a paragraph 'calls' for it. With a good flow and a clear start and further progression, I feel that a sentence that is over 85 words can be properly followed and remain readable. But eventually there comes a point where splitting it up might be better, haha.

If you want to put in a gut-punch sentence, give it its very own solo paragraph! If you tuck it at the end of a longer paragraph, it loses its oomph. And also don't be afraid to switch up your paragraphs' lengths; I myself don't like having huge chunks of text after huge chunk of text to read through endlessly, but I also don't like reading stories with paragraphs that have only one or two sentences each. A 'play' between long paragraphs with much description and shorter ones (for me those often are centered around dialogue) of like two or three sentences and a few that are only one is a lot nicer to read, in my opinion.

Do not headhop!! With headhopping, I mean that you write as if you're in multiple characters' heads, instead of only one. If I write from Silver's POV, I will not write about what Espio is experiencing or thinking, and vice versa. Every thought, experience, and note about the world is firmly from the POV character's perspective.

In the same vein, I also do not like it if one paragraph has dialogue from multiple characters, as it makes it confusing to see who is talking. If another character starts talking, always begin with a new paragraph; it also helps with keeping your paragraphs differently-sized, I have found.

Most people probably don't know what the various existences of - (the dash) mean... I hope. But ; and : do have different meanings: ; is for when you have like a 'half-sentence' to attach to another sentence that would not work on its own, whereas : is for giving an example, basically. But I will readily admit I don't use ; correct either most of the time😅 If you read a sentence with ; in it and you see that you can make them two proper sentences with a dot inbetween, I recommend going for that.

For proofreading, I like popping the fic in the editor of Ao3 and make my final changes there. A different layout really can help you catch things you hadn't seen before!

And lastly, accepting that your fic will have that dumb spelling error in it that you missed sixteen times while proofreading and accepting that you simply are not a critically acclaimed writer with dozens of beta readers and the like is very important. We all do this for fun because we love a particular series or franchise, so we're allowed be make mistakes and be amateurs! The most important thing is to have fun with it and like what you are doing. Write for yourself, not for anyone else: you are supposed to enjoy it the most!

These are all I have at the moment, I hope you find them useful! Good luck with writing🍀🍀