ivyastral

[ivyastral]

screaming, crying, throwing up, as I force myself to write a story i'm very passionate about and love writing and have no obligation to write except that i want to

[ivyastral]

Say it with me now

You are never late to a fandom. Your fic is never "invalid" for being "late". Your fic doesn't need a high word limit. Your fic does not need a high standard. Your fic does not need to be highly popular. Your fic isn't less valid than a popular author's fic. Your fic isn't inheritly bad. Your fic is amazing. Your fic is valid. The only thing that matters is that you're having fun. Fandom is not consumption and consumerism. Fandom is fun, free and for the people. Fandom is not a popularity contest. We're all nerds at the end of the day.

[ivyastral]

people who write fics. how do you feel about comments on super old ones you wrote like 2+ years ago

[ivyastral]

if you're writing and find yourself thinking 'this is too weird/gross/offputting/esoteric/ambitious/catered to my specific interests + sure to push away a broader audience' that is the devil speaking and it is a lie. you are already firmly on the right path and you need to double down

[ivyastral]

Another WIP Event

"the fic that haunts you" is a new-to-me writing event that will run September-November 2025. That is concurrent with our fall event (Sept 1 through Oct 31), but it also has a narrower scope than FWYS. Qualifications for being a fic that haunts are under the read more, taken from their site.

https://ficwip.notion.site/the-fic-that-haunts-you-17064961115e80bcbc46f718588dca2a

If that is an event that calls to you, and you have a story that qualifies, go for it! Let us know how it goes!

Qualifications to be the fic that haunts you:

This should be a piece of fiction that’s been on your mind and untouched for *at least* one full year* but that you just never seem to work on, even though you think about it often.

This should be a piece of fiction you have a lot of feelings about, not just any WIP from the backlog. You probably have notes, outlines, a mood board, world building details, sketches, and other materials you’ve gathered/created in order to make it, but something keeps you from working on it.

The actual draft may partially exist. You might even have a first draft with holes and sections that need to be rewritten…but it just sits there.

[Finish What You Started is not affiliated with "the fic that haunts you"]

[ivyastral]

WIP Week has officially concluded

Thanks to everyone who participated. Congratulations to everyone who was able to update or complete a WIP this week! Congratulations to all other participants who were able to make progress on any of their WIPs this week. If you made any progress this week, however big or small, you have successfully completed the week.

I will check the tags for the next week, so feel free to post any late entries. The third and final WIP Week of 2025 will be held October 26-November 1. Prompts for the next week will be posted sometime in August.

I would especially like to thank everyone who helped signal boost the event, particularly those at @wipbigbang and @finishwhatyoustarted-event. If you are seeking additional motivation for your WIPs, I highly recommend both of them.

Thanks again everyone, see you in October!

[ivyastral]

controversial writing tip

open a document and start writing

[ivyastral]

https://archiveofourown.org/works/66840601

It's just a drabble I wrote last-minute for SM LGBTQ+ Week 2025. I was too tired to get it up on Day 1 (Sleep/Awake) but it also fit Day 2 (Lonely/Company) so I'm just putting it up for both. A little Kunzite angst for you.

[ivyastral]

but what if i read one of your fanfics and then went to your ao3 accounts and read all of your fanfics and left a comment on every single chapter of every single one and you got spam emails from all of my kudos and comments and it made you smile, what then? what if i brighten your day with my words like you did mine, what then???

[ivyastral]

worlds slowest fanfic author tries really really hard

[ivyastral]

I know a ton of people have said this before but for the love everything PLEASE stop treating AO3 like instagram. It is NOT cringe to comment on an old story. It’s an archive old stories are still meant to be found and read. Please think about interacting with the fic you read: at least kudos if you read it, a comment would be ideal. The authors will be over the moon. I guarantee you not a single author is going to ask why someone is commenting on an older fic.

[ivyastral]

Why do people post the entirety of a novel length fic at once on AO3. Like yes I understand that is how it works IRL. But like... Surely you want to build the audience? I dunno it just doesn't make sense to me.

--

They probably want to make sure they never have unfinished WIPs if they get hit by a bus or writer's block.

[ivyastral]

WIP Week (Work-In-Progress Week) Returns in June!

WIP Week is a week dedicated to updating fanfic or other types of fanworks.  All fandoms are welcome to participate.  Original works are also accepted.  Please tag your entries with the #wipweek or #wip week tag. Since multiple fandoms and ships are participating, please clearly list the fandoms, ships, and content warnings in the post so that they can be properly tagged for any potential readers.

The second WIP Week of 2025 will be held June 22-28. 

Each day will have a theme, but you do not have to post every day. You are also not obligated to follow these themes. You can work on one fic or fanwork for the entire week if you choose. If you’re not comfortable posting full updates but still want to participate in the week, you can post your daily word count and/or a small snippet from your work.

Here are the prompts for WIP Week:

June 22: Your Oldest WIP

June 23: Your Newest WIP

June 24: Your Most Popular WIP

June 25: A WIP Featuring Your OTP

June 26: Your Favorite WIP

June 27: Your Previously Unpublished WIP

June 28: Any WIP

You can post completed/updated fanworks to the official WIP Week AO3 Collection!

[ivyastral]

Finally done the next chapter of my KunZoi college AU! I hope to pick up the pace on this, I don’t want it hanging over my head for 20 years. 😪

https://archiveofourown.org/works/44342875/chapters/166105072

[ivyastral]

Reblog to give the person you reblogged from the ability to finish their WIPs

[ivyastral]

And late Day 7 for WIP Week, Any WIP. This is a Crystal Tokyo fic about KunZoi, but also Zoitoki, which is the focus of this scene. I started it before the college/uni AU became my main focus, but this will be the top priority when I'm done. (Patalliro fans, you may get a kick out of this excerpt.)

He picked up a volume that featured a hideous frolicking flat-faced kid, flanked by two more elegant figures. One was feminine with long wavy blonde hair and Zoisite rather liked the frilly clothing style, but he was more drawn to the other figure, a man with long black hair and black clothes, practically a full shadow except for his face and blue eye makeup. He was looking out from the cover with a condescending look on his face, which, even though it was a drawing, reminded Zoisite too much of Kunzite. He glanced at the title, "Patalliro," not sure what that meant and he wasn't sure this was what he wanted to read, but he flipped it over to read the back cover.

"Can you believe that's still being published?" Zoisite turned toward the voice to find some guy standing next to him. He was a little bit taller than Zoisite, with blond hair in the same haircut Zoisite saw on plenty of men. "What?" Zoisite said instinctively.

"That manga," the man continued. "Patalliro. It started in 1978. Except for the frozen time, it's been running continuously."

"What's it about?" Zoisite asked as he continued sizing up the man. He seemed vaguely familiar but Zoisite wondered if he just one of those blandly handsome faces. Zoisite was intrigued by his eyes. They were green, like his own, but soft and friendly, if tinged with a touch of apprehension. Zoisite began to regret looking like a mess.

"Patalliro, the kid, is a ten year old dictator of a fantasy country, and gets into hilarious adventures. That's basically it, but those other two on the cover help him out and they have a romance subplot. It's actually really charming."

"I'm not in the mood for romance." Zoisite shoved the book back on the shelf, restraining himself from throwing it..

"What are you in the mood for?"

"I dunno," Zoisite shrugged. He figured the man was probably familiar because he worked at the bookstore, even though he had never gone inside, maybe he had seen him through the window. "Something exciting, but that you don't have to think too hard about?"

"Well, I might be biased," the man said as he pointed to the fantasy shelf. "But there's that one, the one with the unicorn, Radiant Odyssey. It's the manga adaptation of a game I worked on."

"Wait, what? You work on games?"

"Yes. I was the story director on Radiant Odyssey. I can tell you the manga did change some things--"

"I thought you work here and you were just trying to sell me a book. Or do you go around hawking the manga of your game?"

"No, that wasn't what I intended. I was here for new books, and I happened to see you, and thought it was a chance to talk to you."

"Why?" Zoisite narrowed his eyes. "Do I know you?"

"I see you around," the man said. "I sometimes go to the place where you work, the Claret Glass. You've served me drinks a few times, but your probably don't remember me." He paused, but then cleared his throat apprehensively and continued, "But we have met before. Before Crystal Tokyo."

Zoisite felt his stomach drop and his eyes scanned the space behind the man for an escape path. But the man spoke in a gentle tone and his face didn't seem angry. "My girlfriend at the time, Reika. You might remember her."

"Oh yes," Zoisite muttered. He hadn't thought about her since his return, but now that this man brought it up, did he ever remember Reika. His throat tightened remembering Kunzite's remark about her beauty. At the time he told himself Kunzite was joking, or deliberately provoking him, since Kunzite conjured a rose for him right after, but the once-charming memory took on a sinister tone now that Kunzite had left him. He felt that old rage burning in his throat, that despite the rose he still wanted to destroy that girl for drawing Kunzite's eye at all. He remembered his rage manifesting in a circular wall of flame to entrap that girl, her and this man standing before him. At that time, the man was nothing more than an obstacle, but Zoisite recalled how he had stepped in front of Reika with his arms outstretched, making himself vulnerable to protect her. The memory eased Zoisite's rage and his throat relaxed again. He found he couldn't hate this man, since Zoisite had done exactly the same to protect Kunzite.

"Yes," Zoisite repeated. "I remember, and I remember you." He did remember giving the man his drinks a few times. He seemed to be a semi-regular at the Claret Glass, at least at the weekends. They had made eye contact a few times. The man's eyes were always kind but seemed to be meeting Zoisite's with some apprehension, as they were now when Zoisite gazed at him flirtatiously. Zoisite didn't recall seeing Reika with the man at the bar, and he would have recognized her in an instant. The man had called her my girlfriend at the time, and Zoisite wondered if that meant no longer at this time. "I'm afraid I didn't get your name back then," Zoisite cooed.

"Motoki Furuhata," the man said with a nod of his head. The apprehension in his eyes seemed to have gone, and only kindness remained.

Zoisite nodded his head. "I guess you know who I am," he added, twirling a strand of hair around his finger.

Motoki gave Zoisite a small smile that he couldn't quite identify – was it kindness or pity, or possibly a kind of gentle flirtation that Zoisite wasn't used to? "If you're not doing anything," Motoki asked brightly. "Can I buy you a tea?"

"Tea?" Zoisite tapped his lip and peered coyly at Motoki. "That's a new one."

"I figured. You seem to have a lot of men buying you drinks." Before Zoisite could retort, Motoki continued, "I thought maybe you'd like someone to buy you a tea for a change."

[ivyastral]

Another late Day 4 for WIP Week, A WIP Featuring Your OTP, this time KunZoi! This is from a Golden Kingdom origin fic. It's my last priority for finishing fics, so it may be awhile before I pick it up again. Zoisite is called Zoi because my head canon is they get their stone names when they become Shitnennou, though I don't know if I'll keep that in my final version.

Kunzite surveyed his room in the barracks for the last time, gathering his few possessions into a small bag, when he heard a knock on his door. He mindlessly opened the door and felt his heart leap when he saw Zoi standing there, and knew he hadn't expected anyone else. Zoi stood there stiffly, with his hands clasped behind his back, looking small and submissive.

"Lord Kunzite," Zoi greeted him meekly, bowing his head.

"Zoi," Kunzite greeted him, trying to keep his voice neutral. Yet Zoi seemed to flinch anyway. Kunzite tried to give him a small smile to put him at ease, but Zoi's eyes were fixed on the floor.

"Lord Kunzite," Zoi repeated. "I'm just curious...what happens now that you're First of the Shitennou? I suppose you won't live here anymore?"

"No," Kunzite replied. "I'm moving to the palace."

"I see," Zoi said wistfully. "And you won't be commander of my platoon anymore?"

"No. I'll be looking after the special forces that guard the Prince."

Zoi looked up at Kunzite to give him a small smile. "Nefer says he's going to be our new commander," he said lightly, sounding more like his old self. "Is that true?"

Kunzite chuckled, "Nefer has some gall sometimes. He's not ready. He was just promoted yesterday, and he can't even hold his liquor."

Zoi giggled for a moment before growing quiet and timid again. "Lord Kunzite," he said stiffly, bowing his head once more. “What about, um, my individual training?” Zoi nibbled on his lip as he struggled to get the next words out, “Are we still allowed to do that?”

Kunzite hesitated. Zoisite looked terribly sad, and Kunzite found these changes made him sad as well, but he wasn't sure what the answer was. He thought back to his briefing earlier in the day, and realized they hadn't given him real rules for his position. All he had been told was that his sworn duty was to guard the Prince.

"I don't see why not," Kunzite replied. "As long as it doesn't interfere with my duties." He noticed Zoi perk up slightly, but he didn't look exactly happy yet. "But your training never interfered with my commander duties," Kunzite added. "I'm sure I can still do it. It will probably be easier after the three other guardians in place."

Zoi nodded but still seemed forlorn. "Zoi," Kunzite continued in a gentler tone. "I myself am going to be trained in some higher level magic and combat, and I can teach you some of it. Some magic you can't access without the stone bond, like teleportation, so I can't teach you everything. But there are some techniques we can both use, and I can help you get to a new level. We can learn together."

Zoi looked up at Kunzite with a tight smile, although Kunzite still detected some anxiety in his eyes. "Thank you, Lord Kunzite," Zoi said with another bow of his head. Kunzite couldn't tell if Zoi was satisfied, but he himself certainly didn't feel satisfied. He was uncomfortable with how Zoi was still behaving so formally, almost like they had never met before.

“Lord Kunzite,” Zoi repeated. “May I hug you in congratulations?”

Kunzite suddenly felt a lonely pang in his chest. Zoi never asked to touch him before. When Kunzite praised him during their sessions Zoi wouldn't hesitate to launch himself at Kunzite and embrace him, or cling to his arm when Zoi wanted Kunzite to listen closely, or even rest his head on Kunzite's shoulder during moments of pause. Kunzite realized Zoi may be seeing him differently in this new role. Zoi may have been his subordinate, but they had a friendly relationship, and he had been training Zoi to help him on the path to get to Kunzite's rank. To become his equal someday. Being equals was not possible anymore, not when Kunzite was now in a divinely appointed role. Kunzite was surprised how sad he felt about that, and could only imagine how disappointed Zoi might feel about having this path cut off.

Kunzite cupped his hand under Zoi’s chin and titled his head up. “Of course you can,” Kunzite said gently.

Zoi’s face lit up with a wide grin as he threw his arms around Kunzite’s shoulders. He raised himself up on his toes to whisper in Kunzite’s ear, “Congratulations, Lord Kunzite.” Kunzite returned the embrace, winding his arms around Zoi and pressing him close. Zoi sighed quietly and nuzzled his head into Kunzite’s shoulder, murmuring shyly, “I always knew you were the greatest.” Grateful that the lonely tightness in his chest had dissolved, Kunzite turned his head toward Zoi’s ear and whispered back, “Thank you, Zoi.” They held their embrace for a long time, much longer than Kunzite could recall any other congratulatory hug, but neither one made a move to be the first to let go.