#and now we're back to how every reader is going to experience a character differently

[thewriteadviceforwriters]

Creating Compelling Character Arcs: A Guide for Fiction Writers

As writers, one of our most important jobs is to craft characters that feel fully realized and three-dimensional. Great characters aren't just names on a page — they're complex beings with arcs that take them on profound journeys of change and growth. A compelling character arc can make the difference between a forgettable story and one that sticks with readers long after they've turned the final page.

Today, I'm going to walk you through the art of crafting character arcs that are as rich and multi-layered as the people you encounter in real life. Whether you're a first-time novelist or a seasoned storyteller, this guide will give you the tools to create character journeys that are equal parts meaningful and unforgettable.

What Is a Character Arc?

Before we go any further, let's make sure we're all on the same page about what a character arc actually is. In the most basic sense, a character arc refers to the internal journey a character undergoes over the course of a story. It's the path they travel, the obstacles they face, and the ways in which their beliefs, mindsets, and core selves evolve through the events of the narrative.

A character arc isn't just about what happens to a character on the outside. Sure, external conflict and plot developments play a major role — but the real meat of a character arc lies in how those external forces shape the character's internal landscape. Do their ideals get shattered? Is their worldview permanently altered? Do they have to confront harsh truths about themselves in order to grow?

The most resonant character arcs dig deep into these universal human experiences of struggle, self-discovery, and change. They mirror the journeys we all go through in our own lives, making characters feel powerfully relatable even in the most imaginative settings.

The Anatomy of an Effective Character Arc

Now that we understand what character arcs are, how do we actually construct one that feels authentic and impactful? Let's break down the key components:

The Inciting Incident

Every great character arc begins with a spark — something that disrupts the status quo of the character's life and sets them on an unexpected path. This inciting incident can take countless forms, be it the death of a loved one, a sudden loss of power or status, an epic betrayal, or a long-held dream finally becoming attainable.

Whatever shape it takes, the inciting incident needs to really shake the character's foundations and push them in a direction they wouldn't have gone otherwise. It opens up new struggles, questions, and internal conflicts that they'll have to grapple with over the course of the story.

Lies They Believe

Tied closely to the inciting incident are the core lies or limiting beliefs that have been holding your character back. Perhaps they've internalized society's body image expectations and believe they're unlovable. Maybe they grew up in poverty and are convinced that they'll never be able to escape that cyclical struggle.

Whatever these lies are, they'll inform how your character reacts and responds to the inciting incident. Their ingrained perceptions about themselves and the world will directly color their choices and emotional journeys — and the more visceral and specific these lies feel, the more compelling opportunities for growth your character will have.

The Struggle

With the stage set by the inciting incident and their deeply-held lies exposed, your character will then have to navigate a profound inner struggle that stems from this setup. This is where the real meat of the character arc takes place as they encounter obstacles, crises of faith, moral dilemmas, and other pivotal moments that start to reshape their core sense of self.

Importantly, this struggle shouldn't be a straight line from Point A to Point B. Just like in real life, people tend to take a messy, non-linear path when it comes to overcoming their limiting mindsets. They'll make progress, backslide into old habits, gain new awareness, then repeat the cycle. Mirroring this meandering but ever-deepening evolution is what makes a character arc feel authentic and relatable.

Moments of Truth

As your character wrestles with their internal demons and existential questions, you'll want to include potent Moments of Truth that shake them to their core. These are the climactic instances where they're forced to finally confront the lies they believe head-on. It could be a painful conversation that shatters their perception of someone they trusted. Or perhaps they realize the fatal flaw in their own logic after hitting a point of no return.

These Moments of Truth pack a visceral punch that catalyzes profound realizations within your character. They're the litmus tests where your protagonist either rises to the occasion and starts radically changing their mindset — or they fail, downing further into delusion or avoiding the insights they need to undergo a full transformation.

The Resolution

After enduring the long, tangled journey of their character arc, your protagonist will ideally arrive at a resolution that feels deeply cathartic and well-earned. This is where all of their struggle pays off and we see them evolve into a fundamentally different version of themselves, leaving their old limiting beliefs behind.

A successfully crafted resolution in a character arc shouldn't just arrive out of nowhere — it should feel completely organic based on everything they've experienced over the course of their thematic journey. We should be able to look back and see how all of the challenges they surmounted ultimately reshaped their perspective and led them to this new awakening. And while not every character needs to find total fulfillment, for an arc to feel truly complete, there needs to be a definitive sense that their internal struggle has reached a meaningful culmination.

Tips for Crafting Resonant Character Arcs

I know that was a lot of ground to cover, so let's recap a few key pointers to keep in mind as you start mapping out your own character's trajectories:

Get Specific With Backstory

To build a robust character arc, a deep understanding of your protagonist's backstory and psychology is indispensable. What childhood wounds do they carry? What belief systems were instilled in them from a young age? The more thoroughly you flesh out their history and inner workings, the more natural their arc will feel.

Strive For Nuance

One of the biggest pitfalls to avoid with character arcs is resorting to oversimplified clichés or unrealistic "redemption" stories. People are endlessly complex — your character's evolution should reflect that intricate messiness and nuance to feel grounded. Embrace moral grays, contradictions, and partial awakenings that upend expectations.

Make the External Match the Internal

While a character arc hinges on interior experiences, it's also crucial that the external plot events actively play a role in driving this inner journey. The inciting incident, the obstacles they face, the climactic Moments of Truth — all of these exterior occurrences should serve as narrative engines that force your character to continually reckon with themselves.

Dig Into Your Own Experiences

Finally, the best way to instill true authenticity into your character arcs is to draw deeply from the personal transformations you've gone through yourself. We all carry with us the scars, growth, and shattered illusions of our real-life arcs — use that raw honesty as fertile soil to birth characters whose journeys will resonate on a soulful level.

Happy Writing!

[xoshize]

Cregan Stark NSFW alphabet

Pairing: Cregan Stark x fem/wife reader (18+).

Warnings: a lot, I don't like writing them down because I already know I'll forget some.

Author's note: I admit I would have preferred to write this first as an introduction to the character as I imagine him (But things went differently hahah). Thanks for your attention and I hope you like it!

The reader is of legal age (I will never write for underage readers, only 18 and up).

Minors must not interact (MDNI).

If you want to make any requests, feel free to do so! I will try to accommodate you according to my guidelines.

English is not my native language so I ask you to have a little tolerance :)

A = aftercare (What they’re like after sex)

I think Cregan is the type to ask you right after if you're okay, I mean he's much bigger than you and most likely when he's about to come he can't control himself and might leave bruises. If that was the case, he would immediately caress the area gently "Why didn't you tell me before?" he would say, looking at you with worried eyes. The next day, before you wake up, he would go ask the maester for a lotion. Aside from that, he would definitely prepare a warm bath for the two of you, just to relax your sore muscles.

B = body parts (Their favorite body parts of theirs and also their partner’s)

Cregan's favorite body parts might be his shoulders and arms. Come on, he's a guy who gets turned on when you grab his shoulders for support or when you can't help but stare at his biceps.

Yours are definitely your eyes and hands. He loves your gaze, lost in love with him, and your hands are so much smaller than his that he could cover them with just one of his (and if they're big, don't worry, he'll love them just as much).

C = cum (Anything to do with cum)

So, I guess he definitely comes inside you almost all the time, although sometimes he prefers to come on your stomach to show you how well disposed he is, just to make you forget about all the other men that have ever crossed your mind.

D = dirty secret (A dirty secret of theirs)

If I'm being honest, I don't know what dirty secret Cregan has. I mean, I'm sure he has one but I don't know what it is. Maybe it could be to fuck you on the barrier, just to make you feel the chill of the cold and the heights as well as the fear of not knowing what's on the other side of the barrier except death.

E = experience (How experienced are they? do they know what they’re doing?)

Wow, Cregan is definitely experienced and definitely knows what he's doing. How can a man that powerful not know how to have sex, come on, we're kidding ourselves. And then he has ten children (Ten children, you heard me right!) and I really don't think he's the type to get drunk and have sex when he comes back from a dinner, he has to be careful what he does and he has to be sober every moment he does it with you, to savor you at the best.

F = favorite positions

Cregan's favorite position is missionary, you can't tell me this man doesn't love eye contact while he fucks you. He also loves cowgirl, the way your hips move drives him crazy (He'll let you do it especially when he's tired, which is most of the time given his job). Another position is from behind, he loves to push your head into the mattress while he's practically leaning on you.

G = goofy (Are they more serious in the moment? are they humorous?)

He's definitely a serious man in bed, sex for him is a serious thing, like a ceremony. Probably a mischievous smile every now and then, looking at you with practically tears in your eyes.

H = hair (How well groomed are they? does the carpet match the drapes?)

Absolutely yes, I don't think he shaves except for his beard, it keeps him warmer that way, right? and it's the same with you, he doesn't care that much. The hair definitely match the drapes since he has dark hair.

I = intimacy (How are they during the moment?)

I'm sure that during the act, he is very attentive (As I said before). He talks to you and reassures you most of the time, kissing your neck and leaving little hickeys to show all the other men that in the end you are his. He will always ask you if you want or not to do something, to give you the best of pleasure.

J = jack off (Masturbation headcanon)

In my opinion Cregan is not one to masturbate, I mean, he has you! why would he do it if he knows that you will practically always please him.

K = kink (One or more of their kinks)

Breeding kink absolutely all his life, he has 10 kids! I mean, how could he not like it. The fact of imagining you with a nice belly drives him crazy.

Size kink it's no joke either, he loves comparing you to himself, noticing how much smaller you are.

L = location (Favorite places)

I think Cregan Stark has only one favorite place, the bedroom. He is a man of honor and I don't think he would want to do it anywhere other than the bedroom. Honor aside, I don't think he even likes the idea of ​​doing it anywhere else except the barrier (Which will most likely remain just a dream). I think he is the type of person who requires a lot of privacy and would prefer to take his time with you.

M = motivations (What turns them on, gets them going)

His motivations for keeping him going and getting him turned on are two: seeing you play with children and the way you treat them, knowing that every man in Winterfell doesn't stand a chance with you.

N = no (Something they wouldn’t do)

What he would definitely never do is force you to do something you don't want to do, he's too good of a man/husband.

O = oral (Preference in giving or receiving)

I think Cregan likes both, but I'd say receiving more. Feeling your mouth around his cock drives him completely crazy but when he does it to you, he loves it too much when you put your hands in his hair and throw your head back in pleasure.

P = pace (Are they fast and rough? slow and sensual?)

Cregan is a guy who usually does it slowly and sensually, giving you pleasure little by little. Sometimes though, when maybe you make him nervous or jealous, he would grab your arm "That's enough" he would say and immediately take you to the bedroom. He would make you understand why you did something wrong and the fact that you should never do it again if you don't want to see this side of him again.

Q = quickie (Their opinions on quickies, how often)

As I've said a couple of times, Cregan likes to take his time so he won't do anything hastily.

R = risk (Are they game to experiment? do they take risks?)

Cregan wouldn't risk being caught by other people, he doesn't want to lose his dignity so easily (What would the people think if they found out? is the Lord of Winterfell the kind of person who does it wherever he likes? what would they think of his wife? no, no, he would never allow that.)

S = stamina (How many rounds can they go for? how long do they last?)

He could last for 2 or 3 rounds, it depends if he is too tired or if he put too much effort in the previous one. Besides that, it also depends on you, how far can you push it? whatever the answer will be, he will satisfy you in some way.

T = toys (Do they own toys? do they use them? on a partner or themselves?)

Absolutely not, I don't think there were any sex toys back then hahah (If there were, the answer is the same, no. He prefers to please you with his body, no extraneous stuff)

U = unfair (How much they like to tease)

Cregan doesn't look like a guy who teases you, I mean, being Lord of Winterfell and then teasing you makes him look like a child and he doesn't like that. He has to look like a serious man, who just gets annoyed by these little games.

V = volume (How loud they are, what sounds they make)

Cregan could be quite loud during the act. He would let out little moans of pleasure, closing his eyes. Of course, not so loud that other people would hear it... he could never forgive himself for that. He only lets himself go when he is with you so I must say that is a good sign of trust on his part (He doesn't always appear so weak).

W = wild card (A random headcanon for the character)

I think Cregan would love to take you to a hidden place, one that only he knows about. On horseback together, you ride to a small pond with dark water. Under a beautiful weeping willow tree you lie down next to each other and you would talk about anything, read books or he would even let you fight him with a wooden sword (A real sword would be too dangerous for you hahah, he would be more afraid for you than for him).

X = x-ray (Let’s see what’s going on under those clothes)

Well come on, we all know that under all that dressing gown there are two powerful shoulders and a beautiful v line (I also imagine a happy trail up to... you get the idea).

Y = yearning (How high is their sex drive?)

It depends, there are times when he can't stand talking to other men in the council and listening to the same old complaints from the citizens every single day and so he has to vent some tension... so be prepared when you see him coming into the room with a hand on his neck and a huff. Other times he does it for the pure pleasure of doing it, or he sees it in your eyes when you want him.

Z = zzz (How quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

Right away, as soon as he finishes bathing with you or five minutes after he regains his breathing. He would get comfortable with one hand on your belly, gently massaging the area until his movements stop, then you turn around and see him already snoring deeply (What an old man).

[jeremywhitley]

My Aces and Aros Story

While I have a minute, I wanted to talk about how I got involved in editing an anthology. Editing isn't usually my gig, but it's actually very personal, so maybe buckle in? If you just want to TLDR, here's the link, support Ace stories and creators!

DO IT!

This story goes all the way back to the beginning of my comics making career. As many of you know, my first widely published book was a book called Princeless about a black princess who decided to save herself instead of waiting around to be saved. It got this great queer female fanbase really quick and a lot of them asked me "Is Adrienne Gay?"

The unsatisfying answer was "It doesn't matter, this story is about not needing to be saved, sexuality is beside the point". However, I and those readers really liked the idea of telling a story of queer heroine in the world and thus Raven Pirate Princess was born.

Spinning Raven off meant giving her a crew and I wanted that crew to be filled with queer women of different stripes from different parts of life and that meant doing some research into sexualities I knew little about. Eventually, I decided to make Quinn (seen here carrying her girlfriend Zoe to safety) demisexual.

The result of that research was me doing a lot of looking into demisexuality and going "But isn't that just everyone?"

Reader, it is not.

It is me though.

That took me a while to digest and come around to, but eventually a I came out. I'm very happily married and in love, so daily it changed nothing.

EXCEPT...

It absolutely did. There's an immense power in having a name for that thing that is going on inside your brain that makes it not like other brains. It's incredible to be able to say "this is how I am" and have people understand.

Time went by and then I got this cool invitation from @alannawrites.bsky.social who was putting together a team of aspec creators to write a story about a certain girl who had been displaced into a comic book world coming to terms wither asexuality. You may have heard of her.

Or possibly played as her in a popular video game

Here I got to work with an all aspec team of creators for the first time in my life and tell a story that I hadn't realized I'd been working on my whole life. And having moments where something that spoke to me also spoke to that team was amazing.

We felt like we were all from the same planet...

It was an incredible feeling I then got to experience at every convention I did that year as more and more people came up to and came out to me, talking about how much it meant to see their experience, which is so rarely explored in comics, on the page. That was something else and you all mean the world to me.

So, when @comicuno.bsky.social & @philfalcowrites.bsky.social asked if I wanted to coedit an anthology full of stories about and by ace folks, the idea of getting to facilitate a ton more people having that experience was way too much to pass up. I mean...imagine...

I knew I wanted to write a story for the anthology as well, but I wasn't sure what to write about. I knew I wanted to bring back

@bailierosenlund.bsky.social and

@kellysue.bsky.social who had made our Marvel story so perfect. Then it hit me, there was one story that would be the perfect intro

So our story is called "Introduction" and it's about the Ace umbrella, learning we were under it, and finding community through making a comic where we all got to share our ace experience with eachother. Now, we're comic book characters and you an support a lot more people having this experience

[isdalinarhot]

on the state of kholin haterism on tumblr

this is gonna be a long one, so bear with me.

one thing i think that has changed in the tumblr fandom in the three years that ive been in it is that the culture in 2021 was ALSO at a largely anti-Kholin sentiment, but there were two key differences.

the first is that most people making critiques of such characters would use the tag #kholin critical, which was useful either if you were sensitive to criticism of one of the kholins for whatever reason AND if you wanted to read analysis of some of their faults by many different users under one tag.

the second is that said kholin critical criticisms were... less stupid? like a lot of it was talking about reddit fandom hypocrisy where dalinar was held up as righteous and badass and could do no wrong even though he had tons of personal and political faults that other characters (largely people who WERENT extremely powerful nobles) were demonized for. also a lot of stuff like "adolin is kaladins friend now but i dont think just categorizing it as simple enemies to besties is fair because adolin WAS being overtly racist to kaladin at the beginning there". a lot of discussion about how the Kholins treat darkeyes and characters of lower dahns where the bigotry there was being downplayed by fans in favor of the characters being painted both by fandom and in the universe of the books as Always Right All The Time. stuff like that.

that's not to say the whole kholin crit tag was all, like, stuff that isnt bullshit. people have been dunking on elhokar for being a whiny failking since the beginning of time. but the vibes were a lot different.

kholin critical kind of fell out of favor as a hashtag because most of us realized hey on a doylist level either the things we're criticizing the kholins for are purposeful character flaws that make for richer, more realistic, more engaging characters; or they're oversights from the moderate liberal Sanderson, in which case, why are we complaining about Dalinar doing this, when we should be complaining about Sanderson doing this. so this whole thing is stupid. and also by then the atmosphere on tumblr was way different, this was by and large the Moash Website and while people were haters about characters they did not put the hate in character tags so people largely avoided each others haterism. and there was peace for like a year and a half, i guess.

things are way different now. for context. i track the #dalinar kholin tag. so whenever my dash is dead im checking my tracked tags, and thus i see every original post about dalinar that someone decided to tag #dalinar kholin. and boy howdy, things have devolved. this used to be a chill experience for me, i'd see first time readers go OH MY GOD HE DID WHAT?????? during oathbringer and "[some philosophical shit dalinar said]" -brandon sanderson. follow for more inspiring book quotes" about three times a day, fanart once every couple weeks or so, stuff like that. but now a solid 75% of the posts in dalinars tag are like. hate. not literary criticism, but hate. sometimes about justified things, sometimes about unjustified things, but still, extremely negative.

in a bubble, that's fine. god knows ive been a hater on my blog before and ill be a hater on my blog again. and its not even like im opposed to reading well thought out criticism of my faves on any level because, like, dalinar is kind of a rat bastard! but like. listen. you don't put character hate in that character's tag. you don't do that. the people who are checking a character's tag are fans of that character and fandom is for fun. being a hater directly reaching out to the lovers for comment is rude as hell.

also a lot of the things people dislike about dalinar tie back to his neglectful fatherhood and his alcoholism which is, like, a thing i understand people would have strong negative feelings towards him for having because Neglectful Alcoholic Dad is like one of the top 10 kinds of abusive dads out there so lots of people have very visceral very personal experiences related to that. but when posting about this in any form whatsoever it feels like im having to go back to Treating Addicts Like Human Beings 101. like i feel like ive made a billion posts to the tune of "okay kids, you can do bad things while drunk and you are still responsible and you can also get drunk at inopportune times and you are still responsible, but the act of being addicted to alcohol does not make a character ontologically evil". and like thats. um. a personal thing but also oh my goodness.

i dont really have a conclusion to this. im just thinking goddamn its bleak out here right now.

[mooifyourecows]

Feel free to completely ignore this if you've already answered it or something but!! I was wondering what your process is for developing AUs? Specifically for something like Bad Masters where you have this compelling world building and then fold into it complex relationships and dynamics and tropes etc etc I just loveeeee it and wanna pick your brain. thank you have a good day

i'm so glad you enjoy my AUs so much! honestly, I have a lot of experience writing original stories, so writing AUs feels very natural to me. when it comes to fanfic, i treat the characters like lab rats that i'm plopping into a new environment just to observe how they respond to said new environment.

i really like the planning stage of writing. i love going on my little dog walks, listening to the story playlists I've made, and thinking my little thoughts. it's so satisfying when an idea comes together in my head and inspires me to the point that i want to start writing RIGHT AWAY (which is probably why i have so many ongoing fics... new ideas steal my attention, rip)

i'm also not above admitting that i get tons of inspiration from other forms of media. i watch a LOT of movies and tv shows, play videogames, and read things that get my creative juices bubbling. hell, i watched a movie TRAILER that got me thinking new AU thoughts. I read the first chapter of a book, liked the setting, and immediately wrote 40k words of a fic set in a similar setting with a plot that's completely unrelated to the book that inspired me. (i think? i never continued reading after that first chapter so who knows what it's actually about lol i read 5 pages about a snowy mountain lodge and ran away with it)

For Bad Masters specifically, I think i was in the middle of a Futurama rewatch while writing, so i decided to make it futuristic. Bender and his robo puppy in Fry's dead dog episode probably inspired Amaya, though I def took her a complete different direction than my initial plans.

since my stories are more character focused, i try not to get too bogged down with the setting. i don't want to get stuck over explaining everything that makes the setting different from regular reality. and i know readers don't want to waste time READING a long explanation about the world. i also hate writing description, which limits me when it comes to establishing a unique setting. so i try to instead naturally include enough small details to give the reader an impression of what the world is like in a very normal, natural way, as if there's nothing strange and different about it.

instead of flat out explaining the state of things, i just plop some stuff in there every once in a while for readers to either care about or not. the People's Revolution of 2036 is mentioned but not gone into detail about because it's not important to the story. it's a thing that happened a few hundred years ago, no biggie. sure, it catapulted the world into what it is now, with the death of billionaires (at least domestically) and definitive action FINALLY taken to reverse climate change, but it's not important to Daichi and Suga falling in love, so we're not dwelling on that.

i didn't want the future setting to be TOO much, requiring way more effort to describe and explain things. so yeah, a lot is the same. they've got AI service animals, a light pollution curfew, safety fields around balconies, machines that give users the ability to feel things remotely, and street cleaning robots to sweep up all the extra pollen from new green corridors created to protect against climate change. but they also still use personal cell phones, the fashion cycle has come full circle and brought things we wear today back into fashion (though i do believe hoodies and sweatpants will never truly go out of fashion), and people have to deal with targeted advertisements, just now using more advanced emotion detection AI to better sell you shit you don't need.

It's not a utopia, but it's not dystopian either. there's good and bad, just like in our time right now. it makes it easier for me to write, but also easier to read and absorb.

and i feel like simplicity is really important when establishing an AU. you can't overwhelm the reader. i remember once trying to read a book back when i was a teenager and the first few pages were nothing but description of the setting. to the tiniest details like the types of plants that grow in the area and how they're used to make salves/etc. Despite being a voracious reader, finishing a book every few days, those few pages felt like hundreds. it was too much. i was so bored. i never finished the book.

there's this urge to explain EVERYTHING when you start an AU with what you feel is a super interesting setting/scenario. and as someone who has a problem over explaining already, it's like pulling off my fingernails trying to keep it casual and subtle. but it's super vital to learn patience and the art of revealing things gradually, as the story progresses. and the strength to eliminate excess information that just doesn't fit. like, i have a whole backstory thought up about Daichi's ancestor, Sawamura Kanae, who took control of Japan during the People's Revolution of 2036, but it probably won't make it into the story itself because it's not important, and would feel totally unnecessary and random to just stuff in there.

When it comes to writing AUs, know and understand your AU more than you actually intend to share. that way you can write little throwaway lines or references in ways that make the setting feel fleshed out without wasting time explaining every little unimportant detail. it's okay for your reader to wonder about stuff. it's okay if they don't know everything. if they come to your inbox and ask, hey, you got some fun little bonus information for them, but didn't have to sacrifice the flow of the story to give it.

remind the reader about the universe through small details. for Bad Masters, when things start to feel too mundane, I toss in mention of a robot or some other futuristic technology. it's simple. low effort. readers are smart, and they have their own imaginations that will fill in the blanks far better than your excessive description ever could.

i may not be very good at cutting out unnecessary dialogue, but i AM a master at leaving out unnecessary description. sometimes to my detriment, lmao

in the end though, have fun with it! i have so much fun coming up with AUs. I love fleshing out a world and coming up with rules. if you ain't havin fun, you aint doin it right!

ok idk if this is actually helpful, but there you go! don't worry about doing it well, just do it and have a blast while you do. writing is fun, from the planning to the sharing stage and don't ever forget it! if it stops being fun, you need to take a break. don't suffer for your art. make art to ease your suffering 😉🖤🌈

[daresplaining]

Stupid question but how do the volumes in comics connect? I normally jump around a lot between arcs so I just assumed each volume is like a reboot. But, starting Zdarsky's run I realised that's not true as it continues on with a lot of previous plot points. So, is it each comic like a super long linear story, designed so you can still start reading at any point but it's still chronological?

Following on from that; what's the best way to read the comics? Cuz reading all Deadpool media is pretty ambitious (tho I wanna try [over the next eternity]). So, how can you stay on top of previous influential plot points, without having a thousand-issue-long reading list?

Currently I'm reading both Volume's 6+1 at the same time as I'm already hooked in Zdarsky's but wanna experience the whole story (baby-steps haha. There's sm to read but I don't just wanna look up a summary, cuz the nuances, writing and art are all just so good!!). Just wondering how people typically navigate reading comics? Idk if that makes any sense, I'm just used to picking issues based on screenshots I see online. So trying to read a whole character is pretty different, if that makes sense.

Thanks for your help and have a nice day!!

Not a stupid question at all! A lot of the process of getting into Big Two superhero comics is non-intuitive (this barrier to entry is an issue that the industry has been trying to solve for a while now), so I'm really glad you're asking.

Marvel doesn't tend to do total reboots the way that, for instance, DC does. There will be occasional retcons of details about a character's past or the events of previous runs (a Daredevil example: Matt's mentor, Stick, was not originally part of his origin story. He was retconned in several decades later, as a way to explain Matt's extreme martial arts skills. One of my other big favorites, Iron Fist, has a lot of lore tied to his backstory, and big chunks of that lore have been altered by various creative teams over the years), but in a very general sense, nothing is erased and everything is in-continuity. The Matt Murdock wearing the "I'm Not Daredevil" shirt in volume 3 is the same Matt Murdock who had his secret identity outed in the press in volume 2, etc. A new volume begins every time the comic gets a new #1 (which has begun happening more and more frequently; Daredevil volume 1 lasted thirty years, but we've gone from volume 3 to volume 8 in just over a decade), and a new creative team might take an approach to the characters/stories that differs greatly from previous runs/volumes, but it is all building on what came before, rather than over-writing it. "Each comic is like a super long linear story, designed so you can start reading at any point but it's still chronological" is a perfect way of putting it.

But, as you said, you can start reading at any point. This is one of the reasons Marvel re-launches their comics with a new #1 occasionally: to give new readers a clear on-ramp to the series (one of the efforts to lower the barrier to entry that I mentioned above). My very first issue of Daredevil was actually #500. I had not a goddamn clue what was going on. But I still had a great time, and it prompted me to seek out more Daredevil comics, which eventually led me to hop onto the current run at the time, and then to back-read all of the previous runs, and the rest is history. The important thing to keep in mind is that there is no wrong way to read a long-running Big Two comic. As you mention, we're talking about a massive number of issues, here, and every fan you ask is going to tell you a different story about where they started and what order they read things in and why. You can start at the very beginning and read all the way through. You can also hop around and read whatever runs look/sound cool to you. It is perfectly normal—and, in fact, I encourage this!—to jump into a more recent run that looks fun, the way you're doing with volume 6, with the understanding that you might not know everything that has happened before and that that's okay. Reading random issues based on screenshots you see online is fantastic (that is, in fact, why people post screenshots of their favorite comics online. Or at least, that's why I do it), and if something comes up that you don't understand, or a character appears who you've never heard of, don't be afraid of looking them up, if only to identify the comic where they originated so you can read it for yourself if you'd like.

I tend to be someone who gets really deeply into the characters/media that I like and so will read/watch everything I can get my hands on about them. When it comes to superhero comics, this means I enjoy going through and reading every single issue. Please note: you don't need to have read every single issue of Daredevil, or of Deadpool, etc. to be a fan! But if you're interested in doing it, I personally think it's a really neat experience to immerse yourself so deeply in the world of a character. One of the things that's incredibly cool to me about Big Two comics is how long they've been around and the fact that you can follow these characters through DECADES of development, watch the world change around them, see how different creative teams added to and reconsidered them...it's great. But it doesn't need to be done in order, and most importantly, it should be fun. If you're reading a run and find you aren't that into it, move to a different one. You'll discover which ones are your favorites, and you'll find what approaches to the characters speak to you the most, and no matter what order you go in, as long as you're having a good time, you're doing it right.

I hope this helps!

[stupidlittlespirit]

hey, how are you doing? have you drank enough water today?

so, i have a question for you, and if you don't want to answer it it's completely fine. i've been writing a fic where reader is a sex worker, and i wanted to ask you as an actual sex worker what are some of the things i should pay attention to. like, what are the cliches that make you roll your eyes, or even the straight up desrespectful things people usually write when portraying sex workers. also, if you could share a time or story where you saw someone nail the characterization and portraying of the profession i would be eternally grateful.

thank you sm for the attention and have a good day! 🤗

SO! I'm sorry it took some time to get to this but as I said the other day I wanted to talk to some friends I've worked with about it!

Down below, mdni blah blah

Good representations of sex work are nigh on impossible to find in media and it's also really hard to accurately gauge what one finds 'accurate' because we (sex workers) all have wildly different experiences with our jobs. It also depends on what type of sex worker you're portraying: a stripper will have a very different experience to an escort, and the same for a cam girl vs a domme.

I was a stripper, an escort and briefly a cam girl and I've been in the industry like 10 years on and off. I'm out of it now and I don't know that I'll ever go back. I just don't really want to tbh it's very tiring for me.

So, off the top of my head, I'd say Ti West's X does a nice job because it shows that the stars are human with wants and characters outside of their job. I've heard that the new movie Anora is good, but I haven't seen it yet and I've also heard it sucks, so ymmv. Avoid stuff like that dogshit JLO movie Hustler's or whatever. Those are ass lol. One of my Reigen fics is a camgirl one and it's just used as a plot device, if you want an example of that. It's on here and my ao3.

From personal experience, I would just say the main thing is to treat the character as a normal person.

It's just a job; some of us like our jobs and some of us hate them, but as a sex worker, it can be viewed incorrectly. If we're having a bad day it's not because we're doing sex work. It's because maybe our manager sucks or a client was an asshole (like in any other job), or maybe we're just pissed off. Whatever. It's because something happened and we're annoyed, but we're not starving, abused, shivering little victims that have been taken advantage of.

Equally, good days happen. Again, not because sex work is dead easy and I get to sit on my ass and make loads of cash for doing fuck all (this does NOT happen by the way, and anyone who tells you it does is either a pimp/has something to gain or is just lying), but because maybe I've struck lucky with a generous client or maybe I'm just feeling myself in the nice outfit I'm wearing. Whatever. Just normal stuff.

We're also not all doing coke or meth or whatever. Most of the time I (and my colleagues) would drink a bit or smoke weed together after a shift. The swer needs to stay sharp! They can't rinse their client of money if they're blackout drunk; they need to get their client drunk, not the other way around! A few glasses of expensive champagne are nice but getting wasted is dangerous and costs you a bag. I used to dance at a club that had special champagne carpets; literally upholstered for girls to knock their champagne glasses over on (subtly done behind the client's back and done on purpose so the dancer didn't have to drink it time after time) and the carpet would absorb it without getting that gross boozy smell over time. Works really well lol.

To circle back to the victim thing - 99.9% of women in SEX WORK enjoy their jobs for the most part. Can't say it's every day but you'd be hard pressed to find anyone who loves their job all the time. The people who are forced into prostitution/stripping/etc are actual victims and are not sex workers. They are sex-trafficking victims. Those two things are not remotely the same and every time they're conflated it pisses me, and other workers, O F F. It's a disservice to victims and it endangers everyone, including civilian women (civ is a term used to describe non-swers).

The concept of doing 'extras' in a strip club, specifically, is generally bullshit. A strip club is a no-contact establishment where a client watches a person (usually a female or AFAB person) dance and converses with them. Extras might refer to anything from kissing to full sex. That isn't to say it doesn't happen, but it shouldn't and imo it puts other workers who don't offer that service at risk. If you want to write this happening into a fic (fic is fantasy, not irl, of course) then just add a disclaimer that this isn't industry standard and should never be expected if the reader ever visits a club.

I would just say your ultimate goal is to treat the character who is a sex worker as a human with wants and goals outside of their job, and to maintain good boundaries during an engagement with a client. Don't write the client character as someone who is pushy and disrespectful, and then have the sex worker character just simply give in and go 'oh okay zaddy whatever you want'. When that happens irl it's just assault, and I've seen grown men get their shit ROCKED by girls (and have done it myself, those stripper heels are weapons!) when they've pushed their luck like that.

Bad things do happen in the club/during meets (prostitution engagements) etc but don't abuse the character for shock value. It's okay to depict it if necessary but do so tastefully.

In real life, I hate a captain save-a-hoe. This is a client who begs you to leave the 'lifestyle' by promising to take financial care of you, to treat you better than all the others, to tell you you're 'worth so much more than this baby' etc. But in fics, especially if you're writing a sleazy character (Stan, say), I think it can be used in a really funny way. They're generally pretty pathetic specimens and almost always cheapo liars. Use them wisely and never let your character fall for them. Scam them back lol.

All in all, a lot comes down to how you deploy your plot and stuff. Do it sensibly and keep in mind a sex worker is a human with human feelings and emotions. They aren't a sex robot or a fuck machine. You can play with the fantasy element because it's a fic but don't focus on violence in such a setting, if that's part of the plot, because it's just rarely done accurately and almost always makes sex work look bad.

This next bit isn't aimed at you anon but is more of a cover-my-ass deal! If anyone is reading this and thinking about going into sex work: Do your research. You won't make millions (or even thousands) like people keep saying. It's the same as hitting it big in business, it's rare and is like a 1 in 100000 thing. Do not go into it if you're under 25. You'll be eaten alive. If you're thinking about it, do intense research for a long time. It's really important to stay safe and this is a very dangerous job.

Finally, if you're writing a specific sex work area and want more concentrated advice then let me know because that might make it a bit easier to give. Also, if you're writing for MP100 or GF and you want help, I'd be happy to beta for you too :) Just hit me up!

[notmorbid]

miss subways.

dialogue prompts from miss subways: a novel by david duchovny.

every day here is like a new stanford experiment.

my inner judge never has rehabilitation in mind.

if i'm not busy learning or being born, i'm busy dying.

you want me here, but then you want to ignore me.

one step forward, one half-step back.

i like the phrase 'making love'.

fuck you, asshole.

to the victors go the nomenclature.

gods are immortal, so they're patient.

not even i can stomach scientology.

what is the sound of one hand clapping?

i don't want to be famous. i don't have the clothes for it.

my identity can't be longer than a tweet.

i saw an opening. i decided to be the bad guy.

you're not going to start biting the heads off live bats, are you?

it's true, then. you can't take it with you.

you worried so hard for so long.

i'm sorry, i didn't get your last name.

you called me? what are you, 103 years old?

jesus would not go to nobu.

i don't mind you thinking outside the box. i mind you thinking outside of my box.

either lie down completely or stand the fuck up. it's gonna kill you in the middle.

you sound like oprah, except mean.

i want to live my life, not document it on instagram.

you lie to yourself and you lie to me.

to save something, something must be sacrificed. that's the way it goes.

we can't police our dreams. don't judge.

it felt like a death.

if i own something long enough, i start ascribing feelings to it.

that billy shakespeare, he got everywhere first.

i'm a reader, not a writer.

come on, let's get you cleaned up.

did i call you last night?

i was a different person with a different life. i've never had a dream like that.

there's nothing more boring than listening to somebody else's dream.

i can be a good shrink or a good friend. not both. choose.

i can't remember the last time i got laid.

don't be such a pussy.

i feel like i'm coming up short.

this is no time to come out of the closet.

was i a disappointment to you?

i like seeing things the way i do.

which version is the real you?

don't worry. there won't be a quiz.

the future is as random and fated as the past.

so much of life necessitates looking away.

have you been crying?

you forgot your trigger warning.

what i want has very little to do with anything.

spare me the faux shame.

when do the exceptions just pile up and make a new rule?

i like structure. i like to know i've done my homework.

i have to go to confession.

i don't know what to pray for.

the prayer is the god.

you stabbed a priest?

i need to change the past.

i'm losing you to that place you go.

shut the front door!

what would the perfect life look like?

you have the coolest, most beautiful eyes i've ever seen.

sing you to sleep? i don't really know any songs.

you don't know any songs? that's not possible.

i think i've always wanted to be taken advantage of by a gigolo.

you seem too smart to be an actor.

little lies make bigger lies possible.

there's something you're not saying.

there's a lot i'm not saying. i'm sure there's a lot you're not saying, too.

take the reins. write your own story.

i'm sorry you heard that.

i screwed up. you're not gonna love me anymore.

we all know better, but we're human. we screw up.

how do we know our character unless we step outside it and look its way, now and then?

is it my business? you don't have to tell me if you don't want to.

i feel tall enough to ride this rollercoaster.

maybe you don't see yourself the way i see you.

you understand fine. you're just too nervous to comprehend.

people fall in love in difficult circumstances. most songs are about it.

let's agree on a moratorium on questions like "how did you know?".

well, stop guessing. start knowing.

just because i'm funny doesn't mean i'm not lethal.

you're already in the game. you have no choice but to play on.

don't tell me what i want. don't put words in my mouth.

where has playing by the rules gotten you?

maybe you have more power than you think you do.

one of the lies we tell children is that reason will get them through this life.

in order to love, you have to know what death is.

as first kisses go, i've had worse.

there's such a thing as too much history.

i want to be with you, but not like this.

i'm quite forgettable. that's like, the most memorable thing about me.

do you actually believe in past lives?

this conversation requires more wine than i currently have.

is there something else you'd like to ask? i get the feeling there is.

[reverseblackholeofwords]

Hi, just wanted to remind you that I still love all the ego stuff you wrote. I was a big lurker during the time you actively wrote it but dude it was so fucking good.

When I think about the egos, I mostly think about your stuff bc it made the characters come to life. It was so good. I can’t say it enough.

The stuff I’m pulling from memory rn is Anti’s time in The Forgotten. Like my bro, my dude, my homie. That shit pulled at my heart. The fact that he was only gone for like a day or smt in our dimension but he had actually been gone for like 10 years in that dimension experiencing horrors unknown. AND NOBEDY KNEW???? Good shit.

The relationship between the Host and dr. Iplier. Still one of my fav bromances. Like the trust between them and how it was made through hardships. It came to a point where Host even trusted Doc with his name??? Which gave him power over Host, something he was so afraid of. Doc made him a better man. Stopped him from being too cruel. But than he had to forget it bc he went insane. BUT BECAUSE HOST IS AN ASS, HE MADE DOC AND ANTI FORGET EVERYTHING. My guy, that’s your platonic husband and adopted son. Yes I was screaming about that. That still gets me going.

There is so much other stuff too though. Like Anti and Doc becoming family. The egos all getting closer. Phantom being an absolute menace every time he appeared. The Googles becoming more and more human over time.

You introduced me to Wiggles. Didn’t know anything about PJ before I started reading your works.

What it all boils down to, is me wanting to thank you. I don’t know how you look back on those ego stories but it got me through some dark times. You updating it always made my day better. I still carry a piece of it with me everywhere I go and has also inspired me a lot. So thank you!

Oh man, thank you so much for taking time to send this! It's honestly insanely encouraging to hear those stories stuck with you. I still love them a lot myself, cringe or no, because they're such a fun time capsule of that period in my life, and this blog and all the people who followed it (lurkers and all) also helped me get through college in one piece.

Gosh I did put Anti through so much, but in my defense, it was for character development! He and Ollie were always one of my favorite dynamics to write, personally. I mean, the computer glitch demon and the sentient android with a heart of gold? I still haven't made up something that good since. Also the Mare and Phantom dynamic, which they were always managing to screw up somehow. Unhealthy sibling dynamics are the best.

It's also insane that so much of the Host stuck with you because he was always my favorite to write and the one that felt the most like mine at the end of the day. The fact that Mark announced he'd retired him as a character and we all collectively agreed to kidnap him and give him a story is still one of this fandom's shining moments in my mind. In fact, I've kinda snagged Host for different original stories I'm writing now just because I miss writing him so much. I've also kept The Forgotten as a concept, which is definitely getting used in a setting I'm working on now because the angst potential is indeed too good to deny.

Also, while we're strolling down memory lane, what one writer gets to wipe their entire canon midway through and start over again in an alternate timeline whilst using references to the previous timeline to terrorize their readers? Ending one timeline of the blog to begin another was a wild but fascinating experiment on my part to see how I could use it to play with foreshadowing and all that jazz. Plus nothing will ever quite beat letting the audience reach into the narrative and start making their own waves from time to time.

But even though I do mostly original stories now, I'm still loving writing found families and platonic soulmates and maybe the redeeming of one or two villains, so I appreciate all the practice and the feedback I got from these stories! I'll probably keep sneaking Ego references into my stories forever. I'd also be curious to know which story arcs stuck with other people??

[writingquestionsanswered]

Hello! I think you had a post about this before but I can't find it. Not really sure though. I have this probelm with picking ideas? When I work on a story I usually explore many different ideas for the plot but find myself stuck in choosing one. I quickly grow bored of what I came up with and start creating more... in the end I have too much, and can't decide what fits my story best. Then I procrastinate because I have too many notes to process and get overwhelmed...

Overwhelmed After Story Evolves Too Many Plots

Stories shouldn't naturally evolve through several different plots. If that's happening, there's probably one of the following goin on: 1 - You don't have a good grasp on how stories work. Stories aren't a random exploration of things happening. Stories are a cohesive sequence of related events through which the main characters react to and often resolve a conflict. That conflict may be internal (within the characters), external (within the characters' world), or both. The particular events and sequence of events in your story (story structure) depends on the type of story you're writing. Most stories (longer fiction in particular) follow basic story structure:

If your stories often evolve through multiple plots, it's because you didn't have a clear and solid conflict to begin with, or you didn't know how to explore your conflict effectively (via story structure) and you burned through it too fast. (See: Plot & Story Structure master list) 2 - You don't know why you're writing the story. There's always a reason we start writing a story in the first place. Nine out of ten times it's because we're hit with an idea and are inspired to follow it. But, believe it or not, most of the time there needs to be a greater purpose there. If you have a cohesive conflict and well developed plot, your story has a purpose in terms of what the characters get out of it. But what about what the reader gets out of it? Do you just want them to have a rip-roaring good time? Do you want them to feel like they've been sucked into the mystery with your investigator protagonist? Do you want them to feel less alone as someone whose experienced the same thing as your protagonist? Do you want them to feel seen or represented? Do you want them to walk away with some deep meaning or moral lesson? And what about you? What do you get out of this story as a writer? Are you writing it to explore an aspect of life, society, or a particular dynamic that is fascinating to you? Are you hoping of catharsis as you do a deep dive into an experience you yourself have lived through? Are you hoping to deliver a moral message that you feel is important to spread? Knowing not just what your characters get out of the story, but what your reader and yourself as the writer get out of the story is an important part of staying on track and staying motivated.

3 - You're chasing waterfalls, so-to-speak... meaning that rather than staying on track, you're leaving the plotted course in pursuit of prettier, more exciting things. Most of the time when this happens, it's because you're giving into the dopamine rush you feel when a new idea strikes. Now, ideally you would write the idea down someplace safe, put it out of your mind, and put your focus back on your story. We do this every single day in life, because if we didn't, we couldn't go to school, have jobs, date, have social lives, raise children or animals... being a responsible human requires us to choose to do the thing we need to do rather than chase the sparkly fun things. If you have to leave for class in ten minutes but your favorite movie just started on TV, you have to make the choice to turn off the TV and go to class. You choose to stay on course rather than go off-track and do the fun thing. However, many of us have a difficult time with these types of decisions for various reasons, such as neurodivergence, chronic illness, depression, mental illness, stress, and exhaustion. So, it's not always easy to make that choice, even when it just means taking the new and exciting idea and writing it down for later. One thing you can do in that case, though, is leave yourself a note in the current story about where you're headed next. What's the next moment, scene, or event you're going to write? Then, save it and set it aside and follow the new idea for a little bit by starting a new story. That way, you're not grafting this idea onto a story that already has its course plotted. 4. You need to be a "plotter". If you start out with a solid plot and story structure, you know what you want to get out of the story, and you're not letting yourself chase waterfalls, but you STILL can't keep your story to one plot, this is a pretty good sign that you need to be a "plotter." Now, there tends to be a little controversy over the whole "plotter" vs "pantser" thing, and that's mainly because everyone things their way is best and often forget there's actually a whole spectrum between plotting and pantsing. Either way, they're both a real thing, because some writers need to intricately plot their story down to timeline, scene list, glossaries, and bios, while others can just "write by the seat of their pants" and let the story develop as they right. Then, of course, there are writers who fall every which way in-between.

Some writers are inherently plotters or need some level of plotting in order to execute a story from beginning to end. Some can write with little to no planning at all. For some writers it depends on their phase of life or what they're specifically writing. But, if you find that your stories are always going off-track even if they're solid in your mind, you may need to do some solid plotting. Start by having a beginning to end written summary of the story and see if that's enough to keep you on track. If not, next time try the summary as well as a timeline of events. If that doesn't work, try the summary and timeline plus a scene list. And just keep adding things until you find the right amount of planning to keep you on track with your original idea.

Happy writing! I hope something here works for you!

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

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[kidnamedbird]

Hello all!

It's me, Kid Named Bird from Team Kid Named Bird. For clarification, I'm actually named after the team, not the other way around. I'm the lead translator and dialogue letterer for Beyblade X, or at least I was. I am heartbroken to announce our indefinite hiatus from the BeyX manga; if we do get back to it, we'd finish off all the year one content (up to the likely incoming subtitle/branding change) and all of the extras that go with it. This would leave us with a finite amount of work for us to do and a nice archival version of the beginnings of X.

To explain why we're ending our release, I'd like to say it's not because we don't want to. We'd love to continue on this project because we all really adore this manga. It's hard not to grow fond of something you've poured so much time into. I never really even planned on forming the team to translate the manga until the first chapter was about to come out. I had translated the prologue chapter as a fun side-project — I learned how to letter and translate because of it! So once some of my veteran scanlator friends and some brave newbies hopped on the project with me, I felt like we could actually take a bite out of this massive undertaking. A 36-72 page manga every month for a team of mostly employed/student volunteers is insane, especially when you consider the amount of redraws we had to do on this specific work. There were so many text overlays we had to draw over or speedlines (blech!!) we had to clean up, and usually tens of pages of them. Sometimes we had to do the work of a weekly manga series translation to get our stuff out depending on the amount of pages we did. After a while, that took a toll on our team. We can only do so many 50 pagers in a row before it completely consumes all of our free time outside of our full time work or education. I knew that as soon as we got behind by one chapter, we'd not be able to catch back up. It would just cause us too much grief and stress. I didn't want to do that to my team of unpaid volunteers, so I made the choice to throw in the towel. We were doing pretty professional work for free, and we got burnt out. We all had entire lives outside of BeyX, and I wanted my team to live them. It wasn't a decision I made lightly, or without reason. The official release is coming out soon, and if you don't mind the dub names, the previews looked pretty good! They seem to be Singapore/South East Asian exclusive for now, but I'm sure someone will snag the scans for them. Also, the anime, for the first time in Bey history, is almost exactly the same plot-wise! Previous series manga and anime have diverged wisely, but as the manga and anime have an overlapping writing staff this time, the stories hit almost all the same beats. If anything, I think the anime takes the manga's story and gives it far more breathing room and better pacing. The extra character-focus episodes have done wonders to help develop the cast further and make Bird's journey of perseverance all the more compelling. You will still get to experience the story of X in different ways, but maybe without us. If we had the time, energy, and ability to sustain our bodies, we'd still be working on this manga, I promise you that. The kind words we have gotten from our readers have meant the world to me (I tear up at them sometimes!). I hope that one day, we can return to finish off the first year of BeyX content. If we don't, then oops! Every member of our team has other projects we work on, so you can find us there. I can't tell you what those projects are for our privacy and safety, but we do them! For now, this is Team Kid Named Bird spinning out.

3! 2! 1! Let it rip with us next time, whenever that may be! Thank you so much for supporting us!

[lassify]

Hey! Idk if you take asks here but I thought I'd give it a go anyways- just ignore this if you don't want to answer it!

I love your fic, the seven secrets of starlight, so much and I was just wondering if you could explain a bit of your process of planning it?

At the start the tone was very very different to the current tone, and I love them both but I was wondering if when you started you had a plan and knew you'd get up to where you are now? Or if it just sort of happened unplanned?

Anyways, idk if I've explained this well and feel free to ignore this if you don't want to answer

Keep writing! You're amazing!!!

Hello! I'm very glad that you asked me this and gave me the chance to talk about it 🥰 I had a bit of a mad journey with writing this story, in all honesty. I had never written fanfic before, or any kind of large project, so after watching the SxF anime, reading the SxF manga, and devouring every damianya fic I could find, I felt inspired to write something big. Like, BIG.

My main inspirations were "Guiding Star" by LilweenGalatrass, and "Moritifed" by Marsalias (which is actually a Danny Phantom fic): -both of them are HUGE projects which span hundreds of thousands of words, were written over the course of several years, and had complex storylines that raised the stakes exponentially over the course of the narrative.

I wanted to try writing something like that. And I started planning a crazy idea, one that I can't fully describe yet (spoilers lol), but I knew it was going to be big. I also knew that the tone of the series was going to get darker; it's a natural consequence of there being so many cumulative challenges that I've made all the characters face.

Where I think I went wrong, is that I should have started writing the story when it actually started: Damian's kidnapping. Instead, I had convinced myself that I needed to practice writing the characters first, so I wrote a 'prequel' of sorts that was their school life, and integrated it into the main story. (It's why the series is split into 3 parts on AO3).

In hindsight I think this wasn't a good idea. All stories have a high drop-off rate at the first chapter (you get the click, the reader decides not to keep reading, they click away, that's totally fine), but I accidentally created another chapter where there was a high drop-off rate - again, Damian's kidnapping, where the real story starts and the tone starts to shift.

On reflection I realised that I had broken my 'narrative promise'; because the start of the story was cute and romantic, I built the expectation in the reader that the rest of the story would be like this too, and then when the tone changed, I broke the narrative promise.

It was a really important learning point for me as an aspiring writer, and I've used this experience as a reflection point for learning how to introduce the tone of a story into the first chapter in future projects. I don't have any plans to go back and edit the earlier chapters, but I think I wouldn't have written it like that if I knew the effect it would have.

I could talk about this for a while lol (sorry!) but in terms of planning, I spent approximately 2 months planning the overall story over one big google doc, before I started writing the first chapter. Once I started writing, I kept going back to the plan and adding more pieces and more detail. The plan keeps growing the more detail I add to it, but the over skeletal structure is the same! And it now spans 77 pages, which is insane, and I feel like I am herdng cats 😂 In case you're wondering, I am currently on page 54 of the plan 👀 so we're not finished yet! Thank you for giving me the chance to explain this properly, and also for your very kind words! Hugs and love 💖

[shera-dnd]

I'm really sorry to post my replies with images deemed NSFW.

Long story short - Varvara is being pretty much converted using Kyouka as a medium (indirect kiss etc.).

That is creepy and disgusting and should not be viewed as a Bi representation but as something homophobic and harmful.

It is even more creepy and disgusting when You took into this equation that Yuuki pretty much knew how she felt about Kyouka and even approved of said feelings.

Long story short - he should demand nothing, yet he demanded everything.

Once again and this time for the last - dont treat it as a Bi rep but as a something creepy and disgusting. And dont be okay with that.

Thank You.

Well good morning, this was the first thing I saw when I woke up. I feel like a lot of people would have chosen violence upon seeing this, but arguing with or venting at someone on the internet has never solved anything, so how about we make a learning experience out of this?

Okay so, no I did not delete your asks because they had NSFW imagery, I deleted them because they came across as very angry and accusatory

Now I'm not gonna hold that against you right now and we're just gonna have a chat. You said you were an ally to the LGBT community, so I hope that you will sit down and listen to what I have to say. You're free to disagree and argue, but at least listen first

On the point you are trying to make about that scene in the manga. I've decided to catch up on it so I could talk about it properly

And I have to say that I do not see it. Like I believe the term you're looking for is less "conversion therapy" and more "corrective rape". The idea that you can fuck the gay out of a woman is deeply gross and the fact people genuinely believe that is horrifying

BUT I don't think that's what's going on in that scene. It's framed as yet another reward, which as usual exists outside of the control of any of the characters and lands entirely in the box of "things the author thought would be hot at the moment"

It is also expressly said that they're "punishing" each other so that they can better serve Kyouka, once again centering their attraction not on each other, but on someone else

Considering also that from that point on nothing has happened to indicate Varvara was any more into Yuuki or any less into Kyouka than any time before that scene

Now as much as I loved to joke about and headcanon Varvara as a lesbian, I was never under any illusion that the ecchi femdom slave kink manga would give me proper lesbian representation.

Varvara had only expressed attraction to women before and now she showed attraction to a man, to me that shows less lesbian conversion and more like one of those tumblr bi women who absolutely adore women and also have that one pathetic man they're into

The way I read this it's whatever

But you read it differently and you have every right to be grossed out. You have every right to be angry and to drop the manga entirely. I'm not here to defend Mato Seihei no Slave

But I have to ask, as an ally, did you come to me because you wanted the genuine opinion of a queer person? or did you do it because you wanted a queer person to validate the opinion you already had?

Just, you know, do some self reflection on that

Anyways back to Chained Soldier, I'll admit there's plenty of gross shit in it. Like jesus fuck have you seen all the reward scenes with Ren??? and I'll fully admit that the manga is capital P Problematic

I just think that the way we should deal with problematic media is not by shutting it down entirely, but by actually engaging with it, understanding what makes it problematic, and making sure that we don't internalize those parts of it

Problematic media can have a lot of good stuff in it besides all the nasty bits, we just gotta like know how to engage with it in a way that doesn't like change our views for the worse

As for the impact this could have on its readers and how they treat lesbians in real life. I don't think anyone who reads this and actually engages with it will come on to any lesbians and be gross to them, because well Yuuki doesn't come on to... anyone actually.

Our boy is very passive about everything that happens and will downright refuse any sexual advances that are not tied to the rewards. He did not initiate the stuff with Varvara and did not force himself on her

And the people who WOULD come on to lesbians and think they can "set them straight", I don't think they need a manga to validate their disgusting beliefs

But you also said you wanted to contact LGBT organizations in Japan to help fight against this kind of stuff, and you know what you got the spirit there

I don't think a manga being gross is even on the top like 100 things those organizations are trying to deal with in that country, and even if it was there are waaaaaaaay bigger and nastier manga to deal with first

But hey that doesn't mean these people can't use our support, so please consider donating to Stone Wall Japan and Japan Pride House, both organizations that try to help queer people, as well as J-ALL which is trying to help grant legal protections to LGBT+ people in Japan

I'll be posting links at the end of this post and will happily signal boost any other japanese charities sent my way

And just as another note at the end

I disabled anon asks for a reason, and you creating an alt account just to send me an ask is extremely shady behavior. That's a boundary I have set that you chose to disrespect and I have every reason to block you for it. I won't, because I genuinely think you're just a person trying to learn and be validated in your opinion, but just don't do that kind of shit again

anyways I hope you take at least some of what I've said to heart and here are the donation links!

[cryingforhyo]

i guess it's safe to say that I'm one of your old readers in this fandom. 😅 I've been a reader since you drop Push and Pull out on that holiday night.

I read most of your fics too. there's only one or two fic that I haven't read in the past year because life is a bit hectic now.

this is not a subtle request btw, but I'm curious if you have a 'verse focused about coming-out or realizing one's sexual orientation. I don't exactly remember every detail but, iirc, most of your fics' characters have implied sexuality which are lesbians.

It will be cool to know how you guys write about the experiences of coming out from your time period. ( I don't mean to make you feel so old 😭 but I know you two are in your 30s and are wiser and more experienced than we are (early 20s) ) I remember reading a post that it was really a different social scene compared to now.

maybe I'm also curious how you two became friends, then roommates *cough* *coughhhhh* and then wives because tbh I'm surrounded by hetero couples irl that reading about you two fascinates me.

I'm sorry for this ramble. feel free to ignore it too if it's borderline invasive. and sorry if you'll see this on a Monday morning

first off, thank you dear reader for being with us for so long! time surely flies when you're having fun, because wdym push & pull is approaching its 3rd anniversary??? creating for this fandom has been such a joint delight for the both of us, and we're just happy to share the journey with friends like you :) take your time re the new fics, esp if they're wips! we're working on them relatively slower, because life has also been hella hectic hereabouts.

onto your second query: i think this question is very interesting, actually! to address it head on, for this particular fandom i don't think i've written a 'verse where the specific challenge for any of the characters is coming to terms with their sexuality. i quite like living in this fantasy world where people are simply as-is-where-is lesbians haha. for example in our childhood best friends to lovers stories, when someone realizes their attraction, the realization is not so much about falling in love with another woman, but about falling in love with this specific person.

this way, it's the characters' shared context and history that makes their dynamic compelling, instead of the much more global milieu of lgbt relationships existing alongside all these issues and history, etc. which i also think are interesting stories to tell! but for purposes of this fandom in particular, which i think exists in a sociopolitical context that is beyond my expertise--i leave those stories to better-positioned storytellers :) in the true spirit of creating in this era, i do not want to get anything so egregiously wrong it will detract from the reader's experience.

but seriously, i have been obsessed about writing coming out/ coming of age stories for the longest time, mostly for my original work, which are set locally with local OCs. they were all i wrote about back in the day, so i guess for fanfic i figured i could instead try all the other tropes that weren't so close to real life, where coming out can be fraught and complicated. it's for the same reason that i don't write compulsory heterosexuality (comphet) or i avoid writing men as third parties in general... i've already spent a significant chunk of my writing life writing /that/ story, or at least that’s how it felt like.

but you make a good point! i'd love to try revisiting that coming out/coming of age trope and give it some aged-up flavor. let's see about that :)

on a personal note, many times when i look at today's digital landscape, I often go, thank god [this or that] did not exist just yet back in the day [or at least not in this manner] when i was figuring my shit out, because oh boy. the clout i could have chased and cancellations i could have booked haha.

suffice it to say i'm happy the digital footprints of past egregious mistakes are now buried with the deaths of old platforms. we were very lucky to have lived and loved and lost in an age where the internet could still afford some measure of forgetting.

(i know there's probably no going back to that kind of landscape, but i hope it's not too late for us to be a little kinder to each other, and definitely more forgiving of ~youth and elderly~, given how fast information cycles around these days and how wide the age range of users concurrently using the same digital spaces right now can be. it's NUTS.)

that said, c would like to clarify she is still in her twenties! hahaha. i confirm this. i also confirm that you're right to say i (k) am already out of my twenties haha.

we actually became friends through fandom! we met on tumblr lmao because that's where you met other wlw back in the day (idk if that's still where people are, istg i would not survive the current dating landscape either!) so i would not be exaggerating when i say fandom brought us together, and we're still cycling through fandoms together, having been to various ones in the past handful of years. that said we look forward to more fandoms to add to our list lol.

thanks for this ask - it's actually the PERFECT thing to see on a monday morning, in fact. hope your week goes well!

[natgoodmans]

Aww that's so nice that you were watching a livestream while I was there. I'm so happy that I got to experience that and happy I got to go at all. It was really amazing and I already miss it. The thing with surprise songs is that it's really subjective..like a coworkers daughter apparently said she would have rather seen All of the Girls..which is also cool. I would've liked that too but it was better for me that Aaron was there cuz that doesn't happen every show. The only thing that could've possibly made it better is if she brought Hayley out too..lol. Anyway loved it so much and she did also wear the pink Folklore dress which is one I was hoping for. It was just so cool to even see the Folklore cabin in person too and the Vigilante chair dance.

Anyway..for my other ask..I usually don't read sequels or series. The only time I did was with HP or Twilight and that was when all the sequels were already out. But I totally get what you mean about cash grab and spinoffs. I'm interested in the new Hunger Games movie spinoff though! I think sometimes it's natural or it might be because readers want more. Like with this one, I think the book is like 10 years old and people have discovered it and seeing people like it inspired her to write more maybe? Also it works sometimes when you are writing a different characters perspective too..which is the case here apparently. If I did read series regularly, I would probably forget about it too though lol. Also..I loved the first season of Crazy Ex Girlfriend!!! I never got to finish it though cuz I stopped having Netflix..but I do like when a show is able to wrap up the story. I feel like that happens more often now actually..like when a show is based on a book so there is only one season. Then there's something like the new Sex and the City reboot show which seems kinda unnecessary but you still wanna watch for the characters lol. I did like how they updated part of it..like what it would be like for them now and in their 50s though..which made it seem a little fresh at least but it was just okay. I know people were unhappy with Gilmore Girls too..which idk how to feel about either. So I'm usually up for having more to a story or characters I love but sometimes it messes with what you already imagined in your head I guess. These two books do stand on their own though and you probably don't need to read the sequel either unless you want to and that's if you like it lol. I probably will though cuz I get curious and then I could let you know how it is. Also if you do end up reading Some Mistakes Were Made..you could let me know how it is, or I could start reading it again..or together maybe? I've taken a break from reading too this week since I was focused on Taylor but excited to get back to it. I hope you have an awesome trip in Chicago this week! 🩷

hi 🩷 friend!!!! i missed you while i was out of town 🤍 i hope you've been doin well! what have you been up to? have you read anything good lately? it is so, so interesting how people feel about surprise songs!! because to me i think they're just a bonus to the 43 songs that we're already incredibly lucky to hear, but i've seen people on tiktok/twitter/etc. genuinely upset and angry and claiming that their surprise songs like, ruined their experience or whatever and i'm like ... really? i just feel like the relationship "swifties" talk about taylor is ... very ... interesting, to say the least! my friends and i were so hopeful that hayley would be a surprise guest in seattle night 2, and they'd sing castles crumbling (we were also convinced that she'd acknowledge folklore though, and she didn't) because paramore was supposed to play in seattle the day after seattle night two but had to reschedule. and i'm SO happy you got the dress you wanted for folklore! i think the folklore outfits are just so, so pretty — they might be my favorite set of costumes for the whole show. i'm quite intrigued with the new hunger games prequel! i haven't read it yet (and i've actually only ever seen the first hunger games movie), but i really loved the trilogy when i was younger and have been thinking about finally sitting down and watching them (or maybe rereading, once i'm done with my current rereads). i do agree a prequel like this feels more natural, rather than say, shadowhunters, which has like 50 million books! if you ever get a chance to finish watching crazy ex girlfriend, i highly recommend it!! i also just love all the musical theatre references and i just think it's really well done. i haven't rewatched it since it aired, actually, but i do want to rewatch it soon! i am just very, very bad at watching tv! i'm currently watching the summer i turned pretty, and then when i'm caught up with that (or when i have a little more breathing room), i think i'll watch the second season of heartstopper! i was really excited about the new gossip girl (especially since a couple of theatre people are in it), but it just did not … work for me at all. and yes!! i would definitely be down for a buddy read of some mistakes were made if you'd like? i could start it next week if that works for you!! i just need to get my life together and hopefully finish one or two of my current reads first! i had a lovely time in chicago, thank you my dear 🤍 definitely dreading being back at work tomorrow!

[the-ghost-of-jason-todd]

i’ve been trying to put my thoughts into words for a while and i think i might have something.  this is based on nothing but my own experience, and invokes pretty much nothing but my own emotions, so read it or ignore it i don’t care whatever.

because truly... honestly.... if there is a canonically queer character and people are taking it and using it to explore different QUEER identities i just straight up don’t feel the need to care.  like it does not matter to me if you 100% retain the make-up of it’s canonical identity or not.  when people say that rep HAS to remain static and ONLY one tiny subset of queer people can write their own experience into the character and anyone who doesn’t do it exactly as it’s written is “stealing” that representation... it’s splitting hairs, man. 

i've said before that i can’t change canon.  because it’s... true.  that’s why it’s a transformative work, that’s why it’s FANon.  the fact that i can see myself in a character that isn’t 100% like me and i then use my own ‘bias’ for lack of a better word--it isn’t a bad thing.  i think it’s actually healthier to see more similarities than differences, because we’re stronger when we’re working together.  the queer community is so divisive these days and i just... don’t care for it.  i spent so long fighting truscum and transmeds and exclusionists and radfems and terfs and it’s exhausting.  so if someone is using different pronouns for a character, idgaf.  they have their reasons.  if it really rankles me i’ll curate my own experience. 

the real meat of this whole thing, i feel, is the fact that people contextualize canonical queer representation as “ownership”.  when a gay character appears in media, the gay community ‘claims’ them.  the problem, then, is that while you can claim a character in canon, you can’t really claim ownership over the way someone else experiences that character.  you can’t take an experience away from someone just because you don’t vibe with it.  not in a “oh i’m gatekeeping you’re not ALLOWED to do that” way--more in that you literally can’t scoop out someone’s memories.  so you may see yourself in canon, and that’s fine, we all understand that part, that’s not the problem.  but if someone who is different from you ALSO sees themself in canon, but maybe in a different way or through a different lens... well, you can’t really say they’re wrong, because you have no control over how they are experiencing something and also no idea what it is they DO see.

which sounds like a whole lot of meta nonsense, really, but it’s something that a lot of people talk about.  the whole “if a book has been read by a hundred people then there are a hundred versions of that book” idea comes to mind.  and also... fandom is SO varied.  people use it for SO many different reasons.  if i’m over here writing found family fics and someone else is writing PWP they aren’t “stealing” the found family from me.  two things can exist simultaneously.  and if, for instance, it’s hard to find canon stories that scratch EITHER of those itches i’m not going to get mad at the PWP writer for taking a canon about found family and using it to write smut.  because the found family still exists.  it isn’t an override.  existing in a different way does not automatically disrespect someone else.  ESPECIALLY when, after we peel off the metaphor, we’re talking about two people who are using two slightly different flavors of genderqueer non-gendered pronouns.  we REALLY have more in common than we do different, and i would be proud to share a character that could fulfill both of our needs at once in slightly different ways.  like... forget for a moment that i’m talking about murderbot, and imagine i’m talking about uhhhh *spins wheel* *spins wheel again* *spins wheel a third time* i’m actually seriously blanking on any they/them characters not in tmd right now.  i thought that one character in oitnb was non-binary but the wiki just uses she/her and i’m not going to keep digging. 

has a minor crisis about the fact that the only they/them i can currently think of is davepeta from homestuck  ah nuts and now maybe stevonie from SU ANYWAY the point is that i think it’s powerful when people use different pronouns for characters based on their own experience.  i think it shows the breadth of the human experience, and lets us rally behind what little queer rep we get.  it reminds me that human experience can be fluid and varied, and that we should all be able to see a little bit of ourselves reflected back when we look at others.  it doesn’t feel bad to me when people change a they/them characters pronouns to something else, because for the most part, i can still see part of myself and my own experience in that iteration/headcanon/experience, and i’m glad another person is able to find something to relate to in a character i love.

and THAT is what i’m talking about when i’m talking about sharing crumbs.