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fountainpenguin · 3 months ago

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Riddle's 2025 'Fic Plans

#ridfic schedule

Info post about my 2025 'fic update schedule & general plans. Also, showing screenshots of the new organizing tool I started using (Not sponsored) for anyone curious and/or looking for organization inspo.

If you're somewhat up to date with the series you like, there are no story spoilers, unless you count chapter titles. Light spoilers if you're early in your series read.

You can find this post again by checking my pinned post, searching the #ridfic schedule tag, or clicking the "My update schedule" link in the footers of my AO3 'fics (once I add it).

Most of this post discusses plans. Scroll to the bottom for calendars if you want specific schedule info.

💥 - Visual calendars updated on June 5th

Relevant Links:

FFN || AO3

FOP AU Navigation

MCYT AU Navigation

Heroes' Journey arc (WordGirl)

My Total Drama AO3 Series

#Long post

GENERAL PLANS

Prioritizing

My 2025/26 goal is to prioritize. A few months ago, I made a post where I showed screenshots of my current link sheet. I liked how it showed me lots of information with limited need to scroll, but it wasn't meeting my needs.

Ex: I kept writing more "Dreadful Burden" chapters than planned, but if I wanted to add new rows for them, I had to redo all the columns to fix gaps; it was just annoying. Once I completed the 'fic, I condensed them to a single cell on the sheet that says "Dreadful Burden x10," but it made me sad not to get the satisfaction of watching the green spread; I wanted more celebration. I can also fit full story titles nicely on ClickUp compared to the way I had my old sheet set.

Also, I have a lot of WIPs floating around that didn't even make it on the sheet. I wanted to quickly add new ideas and not worry about them taking up space or being an inconvenience to move. Preferably, I wanted to easily switch position of items if I changed how soon I wanted to work on them. I had a separate tab in this spreadsheet that was like a calendar, but since it was just rows and columns, moving items around was a pain.

After checking out multiple kanban & calendar tools (Ex: Trello, Monday, Visor, KanbanFlow, nTask, Miro, Jira, Notion, the old Google calendar I tried in 2024), I opted for ClickUp (Not sponsored).

I'm really liking it- especially how I can edit the kanban board OR the calendar and they're in sync, so deadline changes reflect in both spaces. Personal accounts are free, which I'm happy with.

Here are some screenshots for fun & fellow writer inspo... Disclaimer, this is useful to me because I use Google Docs & URLs, but it might be slightly less useful to people with Word or similar files (although you CAN upload attachments).

My board:

Yes, I poured a lot of hours into putting everything I could think of on this board- There's also an "Other Fandoms" column. It was worth it.

Btw: If you want to try this tool, I suggest bookmarking your board after you make it. It's easy to lose & annoying to click around for. ClickUp is designed for teams using multiple boards, so it gets buried in the sidebar and you have to open stuff to find it. I considered making separate boards for each of my fandoms, but I'm glad I didn't. Extra context: I keep downloaded 'fics on Notion (because it lets me upload downloaded files), and it always bugs me how slow it is to scroll to the bottom when I want to add something. I like how ClickUp lets me add something new from the top, and how everything is easy to drag around. Debating making a ClickUp board for downloaded 'fics, but I have everything tagged by ship/social group on Notion, and I like how the sorting works over there. I think it would bug me to have to scroll through a ton of tags when tagging my own 'fics vs. tagging downloaded ones on ClickUp... So I think they'll stay separate for now. But you could definitely store downloaded 'fics on this.

Here is the task card for "Chalaza" - Clicking on it pulls up its title, tags, due date, URLs, etc.

Scrolling down to the subtasks I assigned, you can see my chapters:

Chapter titles, priority flags, and dates I plan to post stuff. I like it. Once you check an item off, that part of the list will collapse, but you can click a button to view them again.

You can also click on a card and then click the "assign as subtask" button. If I wanted to, I could put "Chalaza" under a card titled "Pixels Imperfect AU," which would reduce the number of cards on my board because it would be tucked under that one. I like mine the way it is, with each story visible.

Since ClickUp is a tool for teams, you'll see some features like "Assignee" by default. When you set things up, there's a setting that lets you tell ClickUp you're an individual; it will reduce some of its collaboration tools to reduce clutter, which I like, but this assignee bit stays anyway.

You can also make checklist templates (In addition to or instead of subtasks), so if you wanted to prep a list of "Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3" as a checklist and rapidly add that to cards, you can do that. I thought about it and decided subtasks are more useful for me.

Ex: When I click on a subtask, it gets its own card that can be either collapsed or expanded, and it can appear on the calendar. This is useful to me because I usually give each chapter its own document. Since the checklist is a list, the items aren't cards. You can't add links to those and they won't appear on the calendar.

ClickUp lets me link task cards together so I can see which 'fics need to be finished before I can post something else.

Ex: The reason "With Acid In Your Eyes" is on hiatus:

These are all links, so clicking the title lets me jump right to them, which is fun. I grabbed the emojis from emojipedia and they work just fine.

I have calendar screenshots at the end of this post as well (because I'm showing you guys what's scheduled for when).

The board and calendar have due dates synced, so it's easy to move stuff around (Much better than my old sheet of having separate tabs and doing everything twice).

So, that's how ClickUp works and I think it's cool; I hope you liked looking at screenshots. I spent a lot of time on it and wanted to show off what I get to look at every day :) I've been unhappy with my spreadsheets for a bit and I see myself sticking with this for a while.

I'm going back to school this fall, so I was looking for a tool that makes it easy to plan my schedule months ahead, is easy to adjust if I want to swap things around, can keep me on task so I don't write things I can't post until next year (like future chapters we won't reach in this one), and will make my docs and AO3 mystery works easy to find when I'm in crunch time. I like how even though my chapters are in subtasks, I can toggle them on when viewing the board or calendar. I like how if something on the calendar said "Chapter 5," I could click on it and it would give me the links just like the board does & would tell me what its parent task is (Ex: "Chalaza"). Yes, when I hinted previously that I'm holding onto Dreadful Burden for "a time I can't afford to be distracted," it's going up during study time & exams. The plan is that when end of semester rolls around, I won't be writing anything new and I'll only be posting, and you guys will have something nice to read before I go on winter hiatus again. I'm so glad it's DONE... I'm obsessed with it. stupid bird people; I hate them (/affectionate).

2025 Goals: Finishing WIPs

So, what does prioritizing mean to me?

Specifically, I want to finish existing WIPs and reduce the new stories I post. When I'm interested in writing an idea, I like to work on it, and then I like to post it.

I enjoy the process - I write my 'fics for fun and I like doing what I want - but I recognize this can make the timeline confusing to readers, and not everyone wants to read a timeline document to figure out if Plot Point A comes before or after B. My writing is stronger if I'm not at risk of contradicting or infodumping as well.

I want my storylines to become more approachable and easier to follow. My goal is to upload things in an order that makes it easy to follow the storyline, even if that's not the order I wrote them in. This also means trying to post all the chapters of a story in a row, without jumping between multiple stories.

Ex: Avoid posting chapters for two separate multi-chapter works for the same AU (or possibly the same fandom) in the same week. Instead, if I want two update days per week for the same AU, they should go to the same story until that story is complete. Or, I keep the days fandom-specific (My 2024 set-up).

In 2026, I might experiment with two updates per week for the same 'fic (Keeping Tuesday & Friday updates, but retiring the fandom-specific update day system). That would let me get through each individual 'fic more quickly, so it takes less time to close a project and move to the next one. We'll revisit that thought in 2026, but for now, I'm continuing the current system.

Brief overview of 'fics I hope to get done in 2025:

(More info in later sections of this post)

Disclaimer: Come What May is very on the fence as a goal, and will probably be moved to early 2026.

Some existing WIPs will not be finished this year, and while I'm eternally impatient, that's how it is.

If you're interested in a WIP I haven't updated for a while, kudos, comments, or asks saying you like it so far let me know people are excited for that one. You're never obligated ofc, but it does affect what I prioritize in the next year's schedule. I'm glad so many of you are as weird about the Clockers, galaxy duo, jungle duo, the celebrity kid quartet, and Anti-Cosmo's horrible decisions as I am, skdfjl.

Clean Up & Consistency

In the last year, I've been adding consistent headers and footers to my fics, as well as switching my spoiler dropdowns to AO3's new default one. These dropdowns contain chapter-specific warnings, and I've thus far added them to fics like Origin of the Pixies and Frayed Knots that didn't have them yet.

In 2025, I'll continue this process for Origin and probably other multi-chapters (the Knots chapter warnings are already up to date). It takes time to review existing chapters and add warnings, but I like that they're there.

By the end of 2025, I'd like to have consistent headers and footers across all my 'fics. Most of my 'fics already have them, but I want to take time for a thorough check and update. I like the "If you liked this 'fic, you may also like these" system I've been using for some MCYT 'fics. I'd like to expand that to other 'fics, plus bring that to my FOP 'fics; I just think it's fun.

One of the details I'd like to add to footers is a labeled link ("My update schedule") that opens my new #ridfic schedule tag here on Tumblr. This will allow AO3 readers to click it and check for recent posts about my update schedule.

Thus, I can make a single schedule or hiatus post on Tumblr and all my 'fics will have a link to the tag; I won't feel tempted to spend time editing author's notes on individual 'fics to announce if plans have changed… which is great for me since I have multiple WIPs open at once and am going back to school this year. Anything I can do to cut the temptation to open and read 'fics is a good thing.

I definitely work on my 'fics according to my own timeframe and inspiration, but I do like keeping people informed. Even if readers don't end up using it, I like knowing it's there if they want it. Because I jump between projects, an individual project of mine might update slowly, so it's nice to let people know it's not been abandoned.

I also need to update my pinned post with new What's Happening? info (since it hasn't been updated since late October). I'll do that soon after this post goes up so I can link to it.

Update Days

- I post MCYT fics on Tuesdays; my calendar is planned through December 16th, which marks the start of my winter posting hiatus - I post Total Drama fics (written 2013-2016) on Thursdays; calendar is planned 'til they're all up (August 21st is the last day unless I missed something)

Once Thursdays are done, they may become a general update day. This is tentative; I wouldn't mind going back to two days per week (Breathing room for readers & because I struggle to remember Thursday is an update day). We'll see what happens.

During 2025, I'm changing Friday to be a general update day. FOP works still have priority, but I might post for other fandoms.

Ex: In Feb/March 2020, I was planning to finish a Jimmy Neutron 'fic of mine, but I set it aside due to COVID and never picked it up again. It's not high priority, but it would also be cool to finish because it haunts me and I think it's neat. Admittedly, if I posted something for "T.U.F.F. Puppy," I would not be mad. I'm currently posting an FOP/MCYT crossover on Fridays. MCYT might also get extra posts on Fridays, as I'm still in the early phase of "I have a million things to say and I want to write while I'm excited."

I've got a lot of smaller one-shots I'd like to finish and post (Ex: 1 childhood piece for each Pixels character about being raised by their dragon mom). Maybe this will happen this year, maybe not.

There may be weeks with no Friday updates, as I won't be pushing myself to get something out. I'm always jumping between projects though, and if a short MCYT piece gets done, I might post it on Friday because my Tuesdays are booked. I've got a lot of multi-chapters I want to write in the future, so it's nice to post quick one-shots at a time they won't interrupt a chaptered project's once-a-week update day.

Ex: Dog's Life will go on hiatus after its current arc to prevent it interrupting multi-chapters for the rest of 2025... It's all part of the "make storylines easier to follow" plan. Trying to post stories from start to end right now.

Again, Thursday may also play this role. Just depends how I'm feeling. Expect nothing on Thursdays when the TD stuff is done, and if something goes up, it's a nice bonus.

SPECIFIC PLANS

Total Drama

Continuing from 2024, I'm still moving all my TD fics from dA and FFN to AO3. If you want to see which day a certain 'fic will post, scroll to the end of this post and look at Thursdays in the calendars.

For now, I'm not going to move Lyin' Queen, Beatin' Path, or Lions Under Palm Trees to AO3. Technically they're in my AO3 TD series, so they'll be the 3 mystery works at the end when we're done with the rest.

- Lyin' Queen - Staci-centric 'fic I scrapped because of a plot twist that turned out to be more ambitious than I thought. There are more chapters on dA than there are on FFN, but I feel like I need to scrap this whole 'fic and start over. - Beatin' Path - I honestly have a decent amount of it written, but I have other 'fics I'd like to prioritize. Like Lyin' Queen, this one had stuff I'd definitely scrap before I pick it up again. I'd also have to carefully rewatch some TD seasons to get these 'fics done and that's not in my plans right now. - Lions Under Palm Trees - My beloved… It got set aside because Beatin' Path needs to come first, and because of a plot point that I thought was straying outside the suspension of disbelief. If I never finish this one, I'll definitely post some stuff in Skeleton Train (my scraps series on AO3) because it has some of my favorite scenes. I love Leonard.

These are probably not 'fics I'll touch for the next several years; I'm pretty occupied with my current fandoms. Stay subscribed to my TD series on AO3 if you want updates for them someday - Maybe - but they're definitely not priority.

There are still two TD 'fics I don't plan to move anywhere. Bonus points if you remember them, but they were unfinished multi-chapters I no longer care to finish, so I don't want to put a spotlight on them. I had a one-shot about Noah at the library with his ex-girlfriend but ?? I cannot find it anywhere. I'm mad about it.

Old Works & ARPGs (2026 & 2027)

I've been playing with the idea of posting my old Mario, PMD-E, and PMDU works on AO3, starting in 2026 (ARPG stands for art roleplaying game; these are my Pokémon OCs in a Mystery Dungeon world). Maybe even some really old stuff I wrote when I was like, 12, haha. Maybe not.

I have not turned them into mystery works on AO3 and I have no interest in making that effort right now, but since my AO3 is multi-fandom anyway, I do think it could be fun to preserve my writing journey. Idk if that would turn followers away, but that's why I have fandom-specific series you can subscribe to, so you do you.

I'm going back to school this year, and Dreadful Burden is the story I'm posting during finals in fall 2025… I know myself well enough to know I'll be more focused on exams if I have a complete project ready to post at that time, compared to if I just said "I'm on hiatus." In other words, the main reason to move these old works to AO3 during 2026 & 2027 is to tell myself "You already have stuff you can post once a week, so don't work on anything new right now; only focus on school." It's a nice thing to have in my back pocket.

These works were only posted on dA, so most of my modern followers have probably never seen them. The PMD-E ARPG group was deleted years ago, so unfortunately the context I can give will be limited, and PMDU's story points will probably be similar (since these were dA groups that released event journals and then members posted their submissions).

I might toss in some "52 Thursdays" stuff, so you'd get to see some of the storyline I wrote about my sona Kima taking over after Riddle. Fun times.

If you like Mario and Pokémon Mystery Dungeon stories, you might find this stuff fun, and if you don't, that's fine. Again, this is a loose 2026 & 2027 plan, and only if I don't have stuff for current fandoms to post.

My life's work is split between a bunch of websites (not to mention old word processors that I can't open anymore; I've definitely lost some of my childhood writing, but I have printed-off versions of stories I wrote when I was like, 9, that I'll lose forever if I don't retype them). It honestly might be cool to use The Archive as an archive and see all my work in one place someday. My writing ages, but so do I, and I like keeping it safe. We'll see what the future holds… I've got no one I'm trying to impress and I'm not in a rush.

WordGirl

I'm still sitting on some one-shot WIPs (and Factor It In chapter drafts), but they are not my top priority. You might see the one-shots and you might not… I love the idea of the one-shots (and they have some of my favorite quotes & relationship set-ups), but I don't think I'll have the bandwidth for them and don't want to force it. If they happen this year, they happen, and if they don't, that's okay. Someday…

I started drafting Factor It In in 2018 and it is my baby. I do not plan to abandon this 'fic, but expect my hiatus to continue for a while. In 2023, I really wanted to branch into new fandoms, so I started posting both Factor and Dog's Life. Dog ended up a way bigger project than I'd outlined it to be, and it has priority now.

I did reread Factor in March 2025 (and reviewed my entire story outline), so it's still on my radar. I really like it, but I want to give it the attention it deserves, and that's not right now. If you stick with it, I hope you love what comes, and if you lose interest, that's okay- Thanks for checking it out!

If it stays on hiatus for several more years, I'll probably clean the outline and post it on Tumblr so people can see that, but I don't intend to abandon it.

For the record, I don't consider "28 Cities" (my 31-day October challenge about Rhyme and Reason) abandoned, but I did burn myself out by posting daily, so that's a project I want to take time for and finish in advance before I start posting again. Factor It In is also laying the groundwork for the lore about charm schools and things, and I consider it to have priority.

"28 Million Degrees" is a WordGirl character study series of mine, and you can subscribe to it on AO3 if you like.

Again, not top priority in 2025, but I have two drafts for it that have had their art in my Tumblr queue since 2023, so ^^; maybe... It would be nice to get them gone (Rex's life on Hexagon & Victor character study).

FOP

Sideblog Lore Posts

I feel the sideblog is pretty much where it needs to be. I still have a few draft posts, like one about the kids who are Poof and Foop's age, but it's like..... it's just a list of OC names; is that really worth posting at this point, or should I wait until they're revealed in story? I need to take the main blog's food & school posts and convert them to the sideblog style.

I may reblog a few posts from the main blog, such as my one about rich families in Dimmsdale and my 'fic guides for Origin and Knots. I'll make new lore posts if people have questions about the lore, but I'm feeling good about where the blog is right now.

tl;dr - I'd rather spend my time & energy writing 'fics than writing posts, but if y'all have good post ideas, that's exciting for me too. We like exciting things around here!

Sideblog Character Bios & Profiles

I moved from my house several months earlier than expected, and my art stuff (i.e. my art program, double monitors, custom brushes, templates, easy transparency options) stayed behind. I can't make new art for bios and profiles right now, but they're still on my mind. I'll probably work on text this year, and when I get my art stuff back, all I will need to do is the art and then we can move to having consistent bio & profile updates.

I have not been posting updates to "So, You're Studying the Mortifying Ordeal of Being Known" (AKA the place I post profiles & bios on AO3 as meta essays) because I'm trying to go in order, and that means the Fairywinkle & Cosma families are next on the list. I don't have those bio arts done, and it might be a while before I get there. I may visit home a few times in 2025, but art isn't necessarily a priority when I'm there.

- That AO3 has draft chapters of everything I want to post, so I DO know the order, and that helps me prioritize. - I can imagine myself getting my art stuff back later this year and doing bio art sketches without it being a big distraction during grad school, so who knows… Definitely prioritizing school

Wells family tree is still on hold until we know if A New Wish gets greenlit for more seasons; the Wells family is my lowest priority to write for. I've got enough on the to-do list that I'm not bugged about it.

I already have profile art & bare-bones drafts done for Poof, Foop, Hiccup, Goldie, Anti-Marigold, Jorgen, Dusty, Smoky, Sammy, Finley, and Longwood (plus I have sketches for Dev, Hazel, and Kevin that need lineart & coloring).

These are not high priority for me because I would prefer to write 'fics, but I might roll these out later this year (especially with Friday becoming a misc. update day instead of just an FOP 'fic day). No promises, but I'm still having FOP thoughts while posting for other fandoms :)

Dev's character profile will only go up after I finish the Dimmadome arc in my City Lights AU (AKA the "50 Words" works), as his profile has major spoilers on it. So, probably 2026 for him.

Longfics

Frayed Knots is top priority in the longfic field. Origin of the Pixies is still on intentional hiatus until Knots catches up. They will alternate updates when we get to the war chapters. I think I can get TO the war this year, but there's a huge chunk of the Knots timeline that I miscalculated, and that will take more chapters to fix than I thought.

Things will be easy once we're IN the war, because I've had that arc nearly done since 2016, but I've been saying that for years :P I'm working on Frayed Knots in 2025, so hopefully 2026 will be a year heavy on Origin and Knots updates.

Hoping to get some timeskip chapters in for Knots, but I'm super hesitant to do that because we're finally in the "Anti-Cosmo becomes high-rank so we align with him representing his people during the truce in 'Balance of Flour'," and that feels like something that shouldn't be skipped over. Things are coming along, but it takes lots of brainpower and that makes updates slow.

My FOP 'fics are usually written in past tense and my MCYT 'fics in present-tense - plus they have different tones/genres - which makes switching between them in the same week a struggle. Just slow, so I've been doing a lot of outlining... That's why I'm writing a lot of MCYT 'fics right now, because those are easy projects to jump between.

My policy for Origin and Knots has always been "They need to be complete before I consider doing major revisions." That still holds. I look at them and feel like my writing has improved a lot since I started them (9 years ago now!) There's a lot I could say about the things I do and don't like about them, but I won't do that in this post.

I'd definitely write these 'fics differently if I started them today- Sometimes I get stuck in my head about it, which makes updates a little slow. I do intend to finish them and I don't want to get sucked into revisions. If you've stuck with them despite slow updates, thank you! They WILL be finished, even if it takes another 5 years. Hopefully it only takes, like… 2 :')

If you're interested in my FOP work, consider checking out the new FOP/MCYT crossover I posted on April 1st (You May Rest Now; There Are Fairies Nearby). I set it up so that if you're an FOP reader of mine, you can treat it like it's an OC fic and enjoy it without knowing anything about MCYT.

If it's not your thing, totally fine, but this is the "casually introduce the lore and don't get too deep into it" style I like writing in now (compared to how dense Origin and Knots are).

I think it's a fun read with a cool focus on godparenting from a fairy's POV, and it's been a good way to remind myself that I really do like FOP lore and FOP 'fics- It's just the whole "trying to fit my current brain to my old brain on these 9-year-old projects & dense lore" bit I'm struggling with.

It's getting Friday update slots for a while, and it's there if you want it.

Come What May

When I started drafting this post, I had this on my list to finish this year- It's even on my goals card. I'd rather go all-in on Frayed Knots Act 3 and not worry about this one instead of trying to juggle both.

When you look at my calendars (at the end of this post), you'll see some weeks labeled "wiggle room." If I can fit Come What May in there, I will, but with my busy schedule, it's more likely that I won't.

I expect this will be high priority in early to mid 2026 :)

130 Prompts

I have a posting order for these I like (Refer to the 130sums page). I've outlined and scrapped the next one at least 3 times, so I've been taking a break from it.

I'd like to post several 130 Prompts this year, but I'm not going to force it. If I can wrap up the current Poof arc, I'll be content- I've put them both on the calendar for late 2025.

One of the hang-ups for this arc was the desire to write "Kisses Full of Broken Glass" (rated M) to explore Poof's struggles with The Incident event more deeply than what the strictly Gen & T Prompts project allows. I'm glad I did it so I got it out of my system, and now I feel more prepared to approach the subject in the Prompts (where he's processing things in a more censored way).

Like Origin and Knots, the 130 Prompts are a project I don't intend to abandon. It's fully outlined. When I started it in 2016, I was whipping out short pieces, and these days I like to write longer works that delve deeper into the character study side. We're halfway through!

It's slow going, but it's mine <3

City Lights AU

The plan is to get the rest of the Dimmadome "50 Words" pieces out this year, but if it doesn't happen, that's okay. Their posts are queued on Tumblr tho, so I'm itching to have them gone so I don't have to change their deadlines so often to prevent accidental posting, haha.

I have them on the calendar around November/December.

The Dimmadome arc will go up first so readers can see the shape of the AU and where we're going - it'll be obvious why - and then we'll circle back to works that take place earlier in the City Lights timeline.

I have a loose draft for Lemonade and Papercuts, which is my Dale-centric longfic, but I'd really love to get Origin and Knots finished or nearly finished before I post for that. Keep your eyes out if interested, but that probably won't be around until 2027, or possibly 2028 depending on how much buffer I want before I start posting.

Misc.

I have some Reedfilter Rules drafts I'd like to get done, but as with most FOP 'fics, it's less of a priority than Knots, Come What May, and the 130 Prompts. I'm sorry I only update this 'fic once per year. Don't look at me.

I have 1 Reedfilter chapter on the calendar in 2025.

In the background, I do have an AU called Hazel Says Hello, but that's another thing that will probably be 2027 or 2028 era… I love the idea, and you might see me doodle for it or vaguely talk around it.

I don't want to share much right now, and I don't really want to make it a priority over existing WIPs. 2025 is a year of prioritizing things that are already up, after all, but it definitely got a "washi tape art" when I was trying to guess what things I might post while away from my art stuff, so… It's up there in things that interest me.

I also have an Angela-centric draft I think is neat, and I was going to post it as a 31-days project in October, but… tbh, it's a character study/critique combo with a lot of raw emotion and personal experiences in it. It's about psych classes and the silent pain of being taught things you didn't agree with then and definitely don't now that you're older, and I think I'll keep this one For Me.

MCYT

All Tuesdays from now through December 16th have a 'fic update scheduled; scroll down to the end of this post to see my calendar. I can't promise they will all be done, but I've been pretty consistent at posting on Tuesdays since 2023, so I'm feeling good about it.

tl;dr - I'm on track to finish "Chalaza," "The Candles We Light," and "Top 10 Hanahaki Life Hacks" this year on top of my new FOP/MCYT crossover (You May Rest Now; There Are Fairies Nearby) and wrapping up the current Dog's Life intermission arc. I'm hoping to get 3 or 4 Neighborhood Watch AU pieces out as well; expect these towards the end of the year.

I have all 10 chapters of The Dreadful Burden of Plotting Affairs ready to go, and that will be out at the end of the year. These are different AUs, so check out my MCYT AU navigation page if you want to subscribe to some things and not others.

One thing I'd love to do - but am not making a priority in 2025 due to lack of art stuff - is character bios… specifically with ref sheets for the Life Series ensemble. I like the designs I envision, but poses are hard, so… It's a dream. I might do some sketchy/messy art. I do think it would be fun.

In addition to designs, these would have info like soul temperatures, birth hubs, soul slots, camera twins, AFK server locations, orientations, and past relationship dynamics. I have some private notes, but I'd like to make something nice.

I did have plans for a one-shot collection called "Under Gravity," which was going to be 1 chapter dedicated to the childhood of each Pixels Imperfect AU major character. I've since scrapped this because I think it's smarter to upload them individually instead of as chapters in a single 'fic.

These won't get their own AO3 series since they're all Pixels Imperfect AU, so they'll just go there. If you're wondering why Pix Imp gained a lot of mystery works lately, it's largely because I split these up. It's possible some of these will post on Fridays, as that's becoming a general update day, but I also might save them to build a posting buffer for 2026. They're supposed to be like 2k or less each, so I hate restricting them to main day when I have a million plot points to hit, but...

Someday, I'd like to do "50 Words" works for MCYT duos. Since my Tuesdays are booked for 2025, this is another thing we can revisit in 2026.

I would like to get my bestiaries out this year (The only things I still need to finish for Herobrine's Guide), but there's a lot that goes into them and I need more time. RIP the bird ghast I drew that I'll probably be scrapping to make more amphibious :') I gotta scrap the whole draft for that section. Or I commit to bird biology like a NERD.

I know there's another Hermitcraft Guess the Author event this year. I have some works I started last year and didn't post. I might look at them this year (if their titles haven't been revealed in previous screenshots of my WIP spreadsheets), but it's really not my priority.

Neighborhood Watch AU

I would really like to post for Neighborhood Watch AU in 2025, as I have not posted in it for a while and I like writing for it (I'm so excited for the Cornflower Waltz subseries; you have no idea…)

I've locked 3 works down on the calendar in late 2025, and I'm not opposed to getting a 4th one out if I can. That said, expect updates to be slow.

I keep picking up "Goodchild Oscar," which I thought I'd be posting next, but it just feels clunky; I still need to flesh out & explain worldbuilding details. NW is the main series I want to focus on when I talk about "posting things in easy-to-follow storyline order."

What this means: Prioritizing early-timeline plot points like Grian's parents going red when he was 4, Grian becoming Tango and Skizz's foster child, Team Ties'g splitting up (AKA Etho going red when Grian was 7), Grian spending his summers at Oscar's manor, Grian meeting NW BigB, Martyn's failed proposal to Joel, Martyn's arranged marriage to Mumbo, Crimson King beheading, etc. These are all important plot points. I think it's smart to start from the beginning and work our way back up to where "For Sale: Bird Wings (Never Worn)" left off. Once all those early story points are complete, then we'll get back to "Goodchild Oscar." I'm excited to wrap up my existing multi-chapters ("Candles" and "Hanahaki"), but since I'm only posting once a week, they took a lot of space this year. I'll make NW AU more of a priority in 2026, assuming I'm doing all right in school and can afford to spend time on 'fics.

My longfic Arsenic Waltz will cover the Cleo/Etho marriage and divorce, so that will be in there somewhere too.

"With Acid In Your Eyes" is still on hiatus because there's a ton of stuff I need to lock down before I go too far with it... My bad. I'm facing some timeline weirdness (BigB especially), and I don't want to contradict myself later. I would be sad.

I don't regret including all those characters because it's a reference to the sleepover in Secret Life Ep. 2, where they WERE there, but BOY is that a lot of plot arcs I have to align... Trying to align BigB so he can date Cleo early on and Grian later is rough. Might need to split his character into multiple like I did for Bdubs Sr. marrying Cleo (3rd Life) and Bdubs Jr. (Limited Life) playing child role. I really want him to be One BigB if I can. Ahhhhh.

Calendars

And we made it! Thanks for reading my post :) If you want to find it again, it will be linked in my Pinned.

For those interested, here are screenshots of my ClickUp calendar- AKA, my 2025 posting schedule. Green works are complete and ready to be posted; blues are still in draft phase.

Everything is subject to change (i.e. if I don't get an update finished by the deadline), but it helps me organize and I like looking at it. This is the schedule I intend to follow if things do get done on time, assuming I have the Internet & health to post the update that day.

As always, thanks for your support in the form of views, kudos, comments, subscriptions, bookmarks, reblogs, Tumblr asks, fanart, rec posts, and everything else! I really appreciate the engagement :)

April

Chalaza on Tuesdays, Total Drama on Thursdays (Revenge of the Island arc), You May Rest Now on Fridays.

The Dog's Life chapter ("Scatter") has been giving me trouble, but I think I'll have it out by the 15th or 16th. Everything else is done; should be a good April!

💥 - Post-April plans & calendars have been updated

May

Chalaza on Tuesdays, Total Drama on Thursdays (RotI -> Not Dead; Sleeping AU multi-chapter), You May Rest Now on Fridays

Rest Now hiatus to allow for Chalaza buffer building. Purple heart emojis indicate Dog's Life chapters.

June

More Chalaza on Tuesdays, Total Drama on Thursdays (Wrapping up Not Dead; Sleeping).

July

Continuing Chalaza on Tuesdays, Total Drama on Thursdays (All-Stars & Pahkitew arc), You May Rest Now expected on Fridays.

Rest Now updates are subject to change.

August

Chalaza on Tuesdays (nearing the end), Total Drama on Thursdays (Post-series works). You May Rest Now is nearing its end (Not sure how many chapters it will have).

That's all the Total Drama works except the unfinished multi-chapters! Check the TD section earlier in this post if you want more info on those.

As I'm drafting this in April, I have no solid plans to continue updating on Thursdays. It might become a bonus update day, but I may leave it blank so it's one less day to think about. School comes first!

September

Our final Chalaza chapter! Dog's Life is pushed off one week more than usual because of this (5th week instead of 4th since its last update), but then it's done.

After this, we enter The Candles We Light (and Should Regret) - Silk Plays AU. That's the Etho/Cleo Cupid/Psyche AU- Very excited!

I placed tentative things on Fridays: some Neighborhood Watch AU 'fics and Frayed Knots updates.

"A Lord and a Baby," "Olive Branches," and "Fun British Games" are in the early NW era, where Grian is 4... Mumbo and Martyn are young and we'll follow their arranged marriage arc across several 'fics.

Possible bonus updates on Thursday. Nothing is planned.

October

Continuing The Candles We Light on Tuesdays. "Velvet" is the final chapter for that story! "Night Guard" is a Dog's Life chapter that needs revisions, but its draft is complete.

Hypothetical Fairly OddParents updates (Subject to change). I'd like to post a Frayed Knots chapter and a 130 Prompt if I can.

"This Is Halloween" is a 130 Prompt that was posted on my FFN years ago. Since Halloween is on my FOP update day this year, it seems fun to post it.

It's 3 chapters and will likely be posted Monday, Wednesday, and Friday of that week.

November

With Candles behind us, we move to Top 10 Hanahaki Life Hacks (Sour Petals AU) on Tuesdays. FOP updates include City Lights AU, Frayed Knots, and Reedfilter Rules.

All of these are subject to change, but I placed the 50 Words projects here since each prompt can be a short snippet... Much easier to finish/revise during crunch time than a major 'fic. Thursday is theoretically a bonus day, but again... No plans. I'd love to get a buffer done before we reach this point of the year, but if I don't, I'm studying for my grad classes, so I'll see you in 2026 ✌️

December

Finishing Top 10 Hanahaki Life Hacks on Tuesdays. "Honey at Home" is our Dog's Life Act 2 intermission finale!

Dog's Life goes on hiatus after this until further notice. Don't expect it back until I wrap up some existing WIPs!

Wrapping up those Dimmadome arc "50 Words" projects on Fridays. "50 Words of Dev Alone" is the arc finale, so it's the perfect stopping point.

"Hyggekrog" is a Cosmo-centric one-shot I drafted years ago, but never finished. It's low priority, so it might not be posted here. I'll be wrapping up exams and enjoying the end of semester!

💥 - The Dreadful Burden of Plotting Affairs (A completed 10-chapter 'fic) has been bumped to spring 2026. It will post March through May. See you there!

This happened because Chalaza and this Dog's Life arc ended up longer than planned. My calendars have now been adjusted accordingly.

And that's the end of the year!

I'll be taking another winter fanfic break, which will be spent visiting family, enjoying holidays and time off from school, prepping for my next semester, and planning what's next.

Regular updates will return in March 2026 with Dreadful Burden. I'll see you then! Keep an eye on the #ridfic schedule blog tag for future news 💛

#AO3 #ridfic schedule #trafficfic #Fairly OddParents #mcyt #FAIRIES!#Long post #ridwriting #eyestrain #ridspoilers

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