#also it just makes this chapter im writing way easier lol

[whumpsday]

i think i might retcon jim into being vegetarian instead of vegan bc research is showing the vegan movement wasn't rly as much of a Thing during the time period i have k&j set. and i haven't actually mentioned jim being vegan in the story yet so i don't even have to change anything

yeah i'm doing it. jim can officially eat eggs & dairy

[fyncherly]

A text I sent my friend as I spiraled (haha jk) over vampolitics regarding vague plotlines about a multi-chapter suckening fic that diverges after episode 4 and explores an au in which Edward's plotline doesn't play out quite like it did and there's other plays for power alongside his own and what if some key events still happened but, like, a little to the left and within the context of this slightly altered version (an au if you will) and what if the twins and Gref went with Arthur to London and found more and what about that guy Uncle Lazarus huh something up with him and what if the twins leaned more into their royal status and did something with it (or tried to in a more concerted effort) and Mary Davis will be there (mirror Mary sorry this is after ep 4) and obviously Vex & Viv and what if there's a touch more domesticity cuz I'm a fool for that and what if Gref realizes he's been manipulated and they have to confront this and it's messy and awful and necessary and there's layers guys layers and what if I just speculate and make up lore for the stuff that will probably be answered in season 2 anyway hm and what if and what if—

[partyhorn]

Have u ever posted your comic or animation workflow anywhere? Im super curious on how you tackle the process, especially not using a drawing tablet. I know you have a very simple (and adorable) style so that probably helps in terms of workflow -- Im just curious about the steps you take.

Thank you! With both comics and animation my key thing is to not spend too much time on any particular thing, just draw loose and fast. Honestly the only downside to drawing with a mouse is that I can tell my arm has extremely specific muscle memory regarding it- if my mouse breaks and I get a new one I have to spend a good month or so just letting my hand get used to it again lol. Same with if my setup gets readjusted too much- right now my setup is my mouse on one of those padded mousepads, on top of 2 books, with my elbow resting on my 3DS case (I'll get an actual pillow or something for it eventually lol). But luckily thanks to this I suffer very minimal wrist pain 👍

(...Okay I started to go really in depth in my process here, so sorry if this is way more than what you were asking. Putting it under a readmore just to save space lol)

With MFM in particular, I start by writing out the entire script for the next story arc, which really is just all of the dialogue and vague notes about any important actions. Then I do the paneling with very loose stick-figure like sketches of where the characters are and what they're doing. I prefer having very little planning when it comes to character poses and panel shapes, coming up with those on the fly makes things much more exciting and faster to make. But it's the opposite with dialogue... it needs to be 100% FINAL before I draw a single line lol.

That's part of my script for my most recent chapter, as well as what my extremely loose goofy thumbnail sketching is like. I write the script as one big thing and don't separate it into pages until I actually start drawing- then I go and color change it just to keep track of what dialogue goes on each page

After that, I go back and do the ACTUAL sketch, as well as the lettering (I don't believe this is how it's done professionally. I used to do lettering as the very last step in the process... but then found it hard to cram speech bubbles in the right places lmao.) After that is lineart, coloring, background flat colors, then shading/rendering for all of it. I do each step in batches, as in I sketch out ALL pages of a chapter before moving to lineart, I line ALL pages before starting coloring, etc. I find it way easier to be productive when it's broken up like that, though when I first started the comic I used to draw each page to completion before starting the next (but also, the comic's style was DRASTICALLY simpler back then haha)

(Unfortunately I merged some of the shading to the background flat colors so it's not entirely accurate... oops) FireAlpaca has a sand texture feature that I only found out about last year- adding that to the backgrounds makes them look 10x better with WAY less effort.

With animation, it depends on the project. For simple 5-10 second animation I make for fun, there's very little planning lol. I skip some steps in the process- I'll sketch out the keyframes (and maybe any difficult inbetweens if necessary), line those, then go straight into making linework inbetweens. I'm not a cleanup artist and have no experience in that, so I always find trying to line my rough animation makes everything jittery and wobbly. If I do it with a clean line from the start then I can avoid that and save a lot of time 👍

For my bigger projects (such as the Parvey cartoon and the MFM Kickstarter trailer), I do the whole animatic with final audio first and foremost, with the animatic being almost like the keyframes. I split them up into individual shots, .mp4 files anywhere between 1-30 seconds usually, and animate those one at a time. I'm a huge fan of free to use programs and try to use them as much as I possibly can, here's a list of the ones I use:

FireAlpaca- for the actual drawing part itself (storyboarding/animating/etc). FireAlpaca has a feature that lets you export every frame as it's own drawing, as well as an onion skin mode

Windows Movie Maker- for compiling all of those frames into video format, creating individual shots. If you upload all of your frames and set them to around 0.08 seconds, it equals about 12fps (I usually animate at 0.10 seconds/10fps, its a bit slower but looks nice)

Onlinesequencer.net- for making music. It's the place I've made all of my songs on, like the timeloop song, hyperworkaholic, and the background music for the MFM Kickstarter trailer.

Audacity- for editing audio/music. Also great for recording things directly from your desktop

DaVinci Resolve- for editing and putting together all of the shots into one big video. Can get kind of intensive on the computer during rendering, so watch out.

YouCut (app)- also for editing and compiling shots, I used this one a lot a couple years back but I'm not sure how well it holds up. Doesn't need much phone storage to download but needs a lot to render videos.

MS Paint (yes really)- for typing up text. FireAlpaca has a text option but I don't like it as much as Paint's.

...The only thing I genuinely can't do alone is voice acting. Luckily there's a big voice acting community on Twitter and they're all amazing to work with!

This got... way more in depth than I planned for it to be, so sorry if this is way more than what you were asking lol. But that's my general process when it comes to my art 👍

[littlecrittereli]

It's been a long time since I watched Wild Kratts but I didn't even know he had a fandom, I'm so happy, and your story made my dream come true, I would love to create a story like you, but I'm not very good at writing stories What tips would you give to a beginner <3

I don't consider myself a super great author to be honest, I'm much more confident in my illustrations! But as someone who is completely self taught: here are some tips I use when I write my stories! (these may not apply to everyone, but they do help me) Outlines

If I'm writing a plot-based story I make an outline of all the major plot points I want to make and separate them into chapters. I reference this outline when I'm writing a chapter and it helps me meet all my "goals" for that particular chapter! Of course you can be flexible with this. Say one of your plot points dragged out a little too long and you want to save something for the next chapter, you can adjust your outline as you go! Sometimes your idea will change as you write it, and that's okay! revise your outline accordingly. For me, it's handy so I don't end up spiralling completely off the path I intended and lose the conclusion I wanted to have. Here's an example of the outline for my Reprogrammed AU. (Only chapters 1-5 to prevent spoilers for unreleased chapters)

as you can see, it doesn't have to be super formal. This is literally just in my notes app. As long as you can understand and follow your ideas, that's all that matters.

Get a Beta Reader!

I do not actually have a beta reader currently, but sending your writings to someone to proofread is one of the best ways to get genuine feedback. Try to find someone who is also pretty educated on proper grammar. I learned more about proper formatting from a fanfiction beta reader than I did in school im so fr. At the very least, make sure this person is comfortable with giving you constructive criticism. If something reads a little awkward or if a plot point doesn't make much sense/could be solved with an easier method, it's a lot easier for someone to point out when they didn't write the piece.

Study fanfictions/books you enjoy

Honestly... just reading a lot has made me a better writer. You will begin to notice the way authors describe certain feelings or environments, and that can give you insight on how to go about writing your own ideas. If I find an author I really like, I will try to dissect WHY I like them so much. Is it their accurate characterization? Do they describe emotions well? Are their plots engaging? Is their dialogue interesting? Find out what makes their writing so interesting so you can incorporate those traits into your own story. This goes for the way they format their writing as well. For example, I've found I prefer when chapters are around 1k-5k words. Really short chapters can make the story seem choppy when the reader has to constantly click to the next page, it kinda breaks the immersion of the story. Instead I try to use chapter breaks as interesting pausing points for suspense. I love it when authors leave their chapter on a slightly unfinished note. So I'm curious for the next chapter, but also I feel fulfilled with what I've read so far. And I've discovered this by analyzing the stories I enjoy!

And the most important advice I can give.... PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE!!!!

Writing is similar to drawing in the sense that in order to learn, you must DO it. You have to make the shitty stuff before you find out how to make it better! It's honestly just part of the creative process. I still have some short stories I wrote back when I was a preteen and ITS BAD LOL but I needed to go through that in order to learn and grow and be more confident in my storytelling capabilities. And just like illustrations, everyone starts at a different place and everyone's process is different. SO BE PATIENT AND DON'T GIVE UP! Write that story! Even if it's bad, who cares?! You wrote something! And next time, you will write something even better!

[sipsteainanxiety]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love ❤

i was tagged by @coopigeoncoo @andypantsx3 @willowser and @namodawrites to do this lil self fic rec game and after finally sitting down to think about it for a very... long... time... i have done it! thank you all for the tag i kiss you each on the forehead and give you a bowl of sliced fruit<3

after looking at all the wips i have in docs right now, i can definitely say that this list would be completely different if i had finished a few of them, but for now this is my ranked list for things i've published already lol

devil's glare — demon!bkg x reader

bakugou katsuki is a powerful demon that you have the pleasure of dating. but when he pisses you off one day, you decide to get back at him in a pretty petty way: drawing a salt circle around you to force him to apologize 

i had THEE most fun writing this one shot LMAO. it was based on a tiktok of all things that i'd found back when i was still on the app pfft. i just loved the idea of bkg being all surly and aggravated that his little human had purposely drawn a salt circle to prevent him from encroaching on their space. and like... him dealing with wanting to idk kiss you so bad but you're trying to teach him a lesson and he's sooooo mad and fuck, he's gonna do whatever he can to get you to comply to him lmao. if i could draw, there's this one scene where you're wearing this like. cute little set of pjs staring up at this big ass demon, wings unfurled threateningly, snarl on his face, arms crossed with a line of salt in between the two of you. like i have a vision. too bad i can't draw it LMFAOO. maybe one day

2. holding out (just for you) — dragon!bkg x reader

in which you find a horrendously injured dragon in a cave and make it your duty to heal him, not knowing that he’s the infamous dragonshifter, bakugo katsuki, who has been cursed to remain trapped in his dragon form forever—unless the spell is broken

this fic... oh boy. i've been working on this fic since mmm 2021 i think? i can't believe it's been a year since the big bang LMFAOO. i also can't blv this shit evolved from being a standalone to having 3 spinoffs and a sequel but well. here we are. complaints aside i really do have fun writing this fic!! i dunno!! i dont think i'd ever read a dragon bkg fic before and i was like fine i'll do it myself and this happened. i added way too much plot and you guys don't even know about half the worldbuilding and shit i have planned for the sequel HAHA. i can't even talk about it bc it would be major spoilers rn rhrsfjhrjfrjrhjg. it's also been giving me such a rough time lately pfft, especially with having to make sure everything lines up for the spinoffs n stuff. im so afraid of publishing ch4 and having to go back and tweak things bc i havent planned out far enough sdkjfsjkdf. i think it just means i'm gonna have to go on a hiatus or smthn and write out all the spinoffs + ch4 at once idk

3. and i give my all (to you) — merman!bkg x reader

you think you bit off more than you could chew when you decided to do your dissertation on ocean acidification, leaving you stranded out in the open ocean. alone. for months. well… maybe you weren’t so alone after all

this is another fic that i've been working on way longer than it's been posted for pfft. i can't blv the first chapter was released over a year ago LMAOOO i am so sorry. i do like this fic tho bc it's one of the easier ones to write and i go back to it sometimes between writing for dragon bkg lol. like i have the chapters all mapped out, all i have to do is sit down and write em. ch2's at abt 3k rn tho and i hit a spot where i'm like oof i dont wanna write these descriptions dfhdkfg it's just a silly goofy story with merbaku and dealing with some of the subtle intricacies of getting to know a mermaid. actually, fun fact, this originally started off as a fic for jotaro from jjba, back when i was in my jjba era. but then i went back to my bkg era and switched it over. i didn't even have to change much LMFAOO jotaro and bkg act the same sometimes. also!! this is the first fic where i'm like... drawing little doodles for each chapter!! and it's so nice but also i'm like damn wtf do i draw for the rest of these chapters.... i'll figure it out ig

4. loving all the parts of you — pro hero!bkg x reader

in which you learn to love all the prickly parts that make up bakugou katsuki

i.. don't think i've thought about this fic for a very, very long time. but i just scrolled thru the masterlist and stuff and i... really liked writing it (when i was focused on it anyways). it's one of my gentler fics tbh. it's more of a character study of bkg, exploring a different aspect of him in each chapter. tbh i need to go through and reread it and make edits so it can better match the writing style i have now, but i rly liked thinking abt what would make bkg tick as a pro and as a person. and tbh, with what i know now of the manga and anime i think i could go very deep with it pfft. also the banner i made for this fic is so cute LOL. it's not high on my priority list rn bc i have other things i wanna work on, but i do hope to return to it one day.

5. forget me not — pro hero!bkg x reader

When you first woke up, you found yourself in a white room, lights blinding you from all directions. A bit disoriented, you squinted and looked around, realizing you were chained to a chair, your arms locked behind you. In front of you was a poster of a man, muscles rippling throughout his body, a spiky mess of ash blond hair nestled on his head, and striking crimson eyes glaring right at you from behind a black mask. In the upper right corner was the name “DYNAMIGHT” in black and orange letters. As you observed the poster, the sound of a P.A. system suddenly rang into existence, the deep, hoarse voice of an unknown person echoing around you. “Your name is [Name] [Surname],” the voice said without emotion, “and you hate the man named Bakugou Katsuki.”

THIS FIC... THIS FCKIN FIC. i have so much i can say about this fic and i am so sorry for the oncoming ramble pfft. firstly, it's both my baby and my number one fucking enemy. like, holy shit i think it gave me the most paralyzing anxiety and bc of this it took me like 3-4 years to finish (apart from being generally busy of course). i started it literally while i was in high school n applying to college, so of course there are aspects of it that i look at now and i'm like mmm don't like that. not to mention there have been so many things that happened in the anime/manga that i wasn't able to add or delve deeper into!! like the war!! bkg's fcking trauma!! midoriya's quirks!! i was an anime only when i first started releasing chapters (and i still am), so i didnt know about the endeavor agency arc or anything so i defaulted to shit with best jeanist and idkidk.

if i could rewrite all of fmn, i think i would. or maybe not all, but a good chunk of it. like i'd condense the first few chapters probably. i also have a different grasp of bkg's characterization now compared to when i was younger lmao. putting bkg in that specific circumstance (iykyk, i wont spoil it) only happened bc of certain outside factors that forced him into that position. which was how i was able to justify it. but... idk. IDK!! this fic had so many things to it that i was not knowledgeable about so i winged a lot of things without doing proper research (i.e. hospitals, police investigations, general bureaucracy and whatnot) and i feel like this has caused certain plot holes that i am not able to detect, but like.... it's been so long already that i'm too lazy to fix it.

i just really wanted to write about having amnesia but... still having this muscle memory and ache of the person you were in love with. that you can fall in love with them all over again. but, jeez, i put the reader through so much that there's so much... trauma and brainwashing and just rhhrhjrkhrhgrkjg. she's a mess and a half!! and this makes it so difficult to read fmn bc she's so frustrating!! but! at the same time idk it was interesting exploring that kind of ptsd and recovery. i think at my core i love writing about truly heartwrenching topics and horror. i rmb i had the most fun writing about reader's nightmares or that one chapter where she was messing around with illusions. actually- one of the things i would change is the reader's fckin quirk and hero name LMAOOOOO what the fuck i made her so op i basically just smashed together dr strange's and wanda's powers for her pfft. i'd also tweak her personality a little, i think.

i digress. anyways. im in the process of editing all of fmn (just like. writing tweaks. changing the phrasing of certain sentences. adding more fluff to descriptions) and i can really see how much my style has evolved lol. like, i am the most happy and proud of the later chapters, where you can really feel certain emotions with bkg and reader. like... the beach scene, or the stakeout scene, or the party scene!! i think i would also add more substance to the investigation and how being a hero is like post-war. the antagonists as well!! there's just so much that could've been built on, but at the same time... i didn't want to go too deep into it bc i was writing an amnesia recovery story.

flaming aside, i am very glad i was able to pull those plot twists successfully LOL. i loved reading people's theories back when i was still updating it, seeing them question things and being like wait a minute... no way... it can't be... it was an era i will never forget pfft. but... because of that expectation i think i was very nervous to reveal specific things or even write the ending bc i didn't know if people would be satisfied lol. fmn was so complicated and for what sdfkjhs. fanfic shouldnt make you this anxious fr and yet there i was. i'm glad im done with it, but at the same time.. i do miss it.

tldr: fmn is the fic that i am the most proud of but also the most insecure LMFAOO. i do eventually want to get to the extra chapters from bkg's pov for it but... idk. i don't wanna even look at it right now sdhfskdfjsf

thank u all for coming to my ted talk B) i'm sorry if u've been tagged alr in this but here we go anyways!! no pressure tags: @earthtooz @call-me-ko @thecatduet422 @boo-kugo @theloveinc <3

[beardedjoel]

of courseee we're all excited abt the new chapter of smother LOL but more importantly we're so happy you're feeling a little better, & never ever ever feel obligated or like u have to write if you're not feeling up to it. what's most important is that u are having a good time doing this recreationally!!!!! & its ok to take breaks & not be super into it sometimes, especially when u have a lot going on/ arent doing well mentally etc etc! anyways this is a long winded way of wishing u luv & light mwah im so excited to read the new chapter WHENEVER / if it comes out yr incredibly talented <3

🥺🥺🥺 this is so sweet, thank you so much!!! you definitely made my day a little easier just to read this! i had a little time where i couldn’t even really think or be a person so inspiration was at an all time low for sure and that sucks BUT while i’m glad to be feeling better you definitely have a point about being a little less hard on myself about it and just making sure i keep it fun

thank you again sweet anon i wish you lots of love and light also ❤️

[chloeangelic]

OMG! The new chapter of ''Love Me Back'' is so much. How can something that starts like this chapter end up so badly? As with any good story, I knew the angst was around the corner, but what an ending.😳

I loved how you put her mental issues out in the open, with her thoughts and the therapy session in the first part of the chapter. It makes her more realistic, complex, and easier to comprehend. I totally get her. I share some of her thoughts, but at the same time, this chapter made me a bit angry. I hope the next part makes sense at the end. The mix of feelings this chapter made me feel is murky. Which shows me how well-written I found it and how much I liked it.

Self-worth can be a tricky thing, especially when starting a new relationship adds the fear of showing your true self and being rejected, a thing she's already gone through by the glimpses of her past relationships. Being told you're not girlfriend/wife material can create deep wounds, increasing her mental health struggles.

Their relationship is new, and they still have a lot to settle. I know WORDS are IMPORTANT, and they are needed, but seeing Joel show her with his actions what he wants (after all, he wouldn't let anyone get close to his daughter and develop a connection) while the reader is not able to acknowledge it, is frustrating. Not talking beforehand makes the whole situation way worse. The offer of take of Sarah, I feel like she might not be using her words yet, but she's putting herself out. She's trying to give Joel what he needs and be someone he can rely on, to be a team. The pain of Joel's rejection, coupled with his initial lack of attention, causes everything to explode. When, for once, she has the strength to defend herself and express her feelings, it's one of the worst moments.

I would love to read Joel's thoughts on the whole scene. He has so many fronts at the same time. I'm not excusing him because he could have handled the whole situation better (both of them could have). He also has his struggles and anxieties clouding his perception of the reader's emotions, making it harder for him to open himself and accept help. I hope the situation gets solved soon.

I trust you can pull out something from my ramble and that it wasn't too much, lol.😅 Thanks for the chapter! Despite preferring fluff, I'm a sucker for angst like the one you wrote.♥️

Ahhh im so glad you enjoyed it and got something out of it!!! i definitely think that new relationships are a massive catalyst for self worth issues because its such a vulnerable state to be in and youre so afraid of the other person finding something out about you thats suddenly a dealbreaker and just peacing out.

LMB girl has held soooo much back from joel, thinking shes shielding him from it, and it blows up in her face so bad cause she has this vault of crap thats bound to explode open with one little bad vibe from joel, even though theyre both misplacing their frustration. ive tried to make this fic as realistic as possible, and i think a lot of us have had periods of bottling things up and not being able to expect when the last drop hits

the whole series having such a mental health focus wasnt my intention when i started writing it - my initial idea was for it to be more FWB centered actually, but ive ended up including so much of my own experiences with self worth issues and subsequent healing, and that has made the whole thing more interesting i think

joels thoughts come out in ch 7!!!

so glad youre willing to suffer through my angst, and theres a lot of fluff coming up which is very uncharacteristic for me but we all need to see joel and his crab girl happy - they deserve it hahaha

thanks for sticking around, i love reading your detailed thoughts on the chapters <3 <3 <3

[theunknownpoetandrewfoster]

ur fan fics are amazing bro omggg. i got my wisdom teeth removed a few days ago and reading ur fics have made recovering so much easier and way way more fun lol

i'll go to chill out after eatin soup or somethin and i'll just scroll thru ur iasip fics and read for HOURS. the way u write is super detailed in just the right ways, and i always get invested in all of ur stories and oneshots (almost all ur multi-chapter fics have made me bawl my eyes out LMAO).

im rambling lol.. anyways! just wanted to say that u and ur all works are phenominal, and i hope you have a good day/night! :)!!!

also also!! ty for tagging me in that 5 songs tag game!! those are always fun :)!!

@beesallhail

Thank you so much for the kind words! 🥹 I truly appreciate them! (I still go back and re-read the comment you left on WG. It makes me so happy! 😭)

If you ever have any prompts, feel free to send them my way. I tend to do them in groups, so will do one chapter of whatever fic I'm working on, then 2-3 prompts.

And any time! I'll tag you in the future in any games that come my way. 🙂

[bunnieshoneys]

already read coanda twice and prob will again and im just sitting here like. man. i wish suguru had things easy back when he was racing. it makes me so fucking sad to know he had so much potential but life just kept fucking him over. i wonder if things were easier. his dad not dying/having enough money to compete etc etc if he would have kept going. kept winning. or if he was just meant to quit no matter what 😞 my poor darling. i also lowkey thought of suguru being satorus race engineer. wonder how that would have worked with them working together towards the same goal. but yea anyway sorry for the lil yappin lmao thanks for sharing ur work!!

vaguely spoilery authors notes on getou's character bc im going insane trying to update all these chapters lmao

we rly can't separate getou from his struggle to fit into the world he's thrust into in both this fic and in canon because without that struggle he's a fundamentally different person... so the what ifs are. insane. (and something ill go into in-world in the coanda sequel, if i write it)

i think without certain things that happen in 2014, getou could hav continued maybe two or three more years, especially after his wdc making him feel a bit more equal to gojo (because he definitely has a complex about it, lol). the final straw in that narrative, the final blow that makes him leave, is yet to come. getou is contracted until the end of 2015! he leaves early! without those final blows its my hc getou and gojo would probably have continued to swap the wdc between them in JTR's period of dominance, leaving them even on championships.

however. the final blows as such were inevitable. if they hadn't happened in 2014, they would have happened eventually. getou is dealing with an immense amount of grief and a serious eating disorder and a massive level of disillusionment from the sport. hes seeing corruption in real time with toji, hes seeing it with haibara... two of his closest friends, two friends who HE SHARED A CAREER PATH WITH have met the ends of their careers in the worst possible ways, through no fault of their own. eventually he wouldve retired early. he couldnt handle it like gojo could, and ultimately that's what makes gojo slightly stronger than him.

suguru being satoru's race engineer i feel would be so fucking funny, maybe ill write it as a oneshot with driver!shoko on the other side of the garage???? but the angsty person inside of me feels that that would also end badly: getou bitter about missing the opportunity to win and playing a supporting role because of his background, and being relegated to a demanding role that he recieves less glory for. i think it depends how you interpret getou's character and his disillusionment, it could go either way

thank u anon!!! might write that oneshot over summer

[devondespresso]

Hi, I was wondering if there was a masterlist or an easier way to read the Steve Henderson au in order? I caught some glimpses of it, but I’m struggling to find the whole thing.

thanks for the ask slay!! 🕺

so short answer is that i don't have any full chapters out yet but a bunch of snippets(mostly in wip weekend/wednesdays) and rambles are out there under #devon's steve henderson au

basically any post relevant to this fic is there. i think the wip Wednesday/weekend snippets are in order for the most part and canon compliant for season 2 so they usually have an aside context for where in that timeline they sit. but i don't have any set masterlist in perfect chronological order because they are just snippets from the wip.

(i think theres also "steve henderson au rambles" but they're both used basically the same i think. i just made it originally because for some reason i was scared to make up my own tag with my name in it?? idk anxiety be wild)(i think i might've also posted about it before making the tag? i can try and find any interesting old ones and rb them with the tag)

longer answer is that my steve henderson au is not like officially posted yet, its going to be a long fic that (fingers crossed) will cover from s2 through s4. i probably won't wait until the whole things done before posting but with the way I'm writing theres a ton of jumping around and tweaking and editing so I'm not yet comfortable posting chapters because of how often im going in and changing things. im kinda figuring out my writing process as i go y'know.

i promise that what i have written will get posted eventually, ideally it'll be because I've gotten far enough that I've stopped editing my first chapters. but even if i magically wake up tomorrow never wanting to type another word again I'll still make sure to post what i have, especially since i talk about it a lot on here lol. So far its about 50k words so we're going strong and im still really enjoying making this bad boy 💪

[hergrandplan]

hi! im curious about 3, 23 and 30 for the writing asks :)

Hi!! Sorry it took so long to get back to this haha but thank you for asking <333

3. How would you describe your writing style?

I like to think of it as descriptive - that's what I go for at least, I don't know if it actually always works the way I want it, and sometimes it is a biiiiit too much, at least in the first drafts. But I love playing with language and concepts (it is quite literally my 9-5 job after all), so that's what I try to do in my writing (idk if descriptive is the right word by the way but i also can't think of anything else)

Also, I try to pack emotion into basically every paragraph I write... and sometimes I go overboard, in the way of "okay, we get what you're trying to say, please stop and move on"

(i hope this makes sense lol)

23. Dialogue or description?

Description all the way!! If I could write a fic without dialogue that people would like I 100% would. I love reading dialogue. I love reading banter. But for some reason, I just cannot do it! And I don't know why, but every time I try to write dialogue it just feels so forced and weird and unnatural, or simply too plain. Maybe because I find it hard to get a character's tone right?

Descriptions are easier. That's where I can play with words and feelings and just let myself get lost.

30. Describe the fic that almost happened, but then didn't.

Well, there's a few. But one of them was going to be either a short multi-chapter or a one-shot, and it was going to be like, the paparazzi really just going after Simon, not leaving him alone. Like they'd show up at his house etc. and he didn't want to tell Wille about it cause Wille would just worry so he didn't, and it was kind of going to explore how they would crack or survive under those circumstances? Being in the spotlight and all?

Anyways it was a fun idea but I didn't think it out much beyond this so it's probably not going to happen

Send me a fic writing ask <3

[thebestofoneshots]

Hi! U need to add Poland to the country list, im sorry luvie. Ur spreading like a Plague Inc. virus, im sorry hahahah also im the guy that some time ago send u an annon about GC some time ago, You have asked me some questions which im sorry for not responding to ig life got busy(i did do a mountain bike marathon tho very epic). Anyway,

1. You are not fucking anything up luv, it's not coming of fetishy or objectifingly. Ur doing allright

2. When it comes to portraying falling for someone, there is no inherent difference between falling in it as a men or a woman. But I am just a guy and never been a woman so idk. Everyone is diffrent too, and I think you write them all very emotionally charged. Full of nuance and depth qnd all those feelings that just might burst.

(I might be a few chapters behind but I really like the emotionally repressed and self destructive Remus as in it makes sense. It makes a lot of sense for a guy I think. Irl he would most probably be the typa fella that starts going to the gym or gets into 1200cc piss missile motorcycles. Maybe even drink a bit too much, but "strong" enough to get over himself and use that toxic masculinity to go back to "normal")

However, after thinking about it and like whilst keeping in mind what I said earlier - I do have a gf. Looking at me and my Sunshine, whilst strongly generalizing - I think it took me longer to fall for her. Like acually fall for her, not just like her and think she is one of the most beautiful woman on earth. But now as a guy, idk I just think about her a lot, I'm more on the logical side then her. Also way more reserved idk uhh I have some sa experience so it might be just me but after chatting a bit with some people yeah guys usually more reserved waiting for the sign or something. Idk it's ig hard to describe normality bcs it's just normal to me lol

3. When it comes to specific scenes uhhh pooki what can I tell you xD they have great chemistry, with Rem hoping back and fourth. It makes sense that a lot of them are sexually charged since they cannot connect romantically (at least as far as I've read). If you have more specific ones that would be easier to say xD

A mountain bike marathon? OMG that sounds AMAZING! You guys are all mindblowing ૮꒰ ˶• o •˶꒱ა

Thank god I'm not coming off as objectifying, I swear I was terrified, I feel like there is a very thin line, especially for BL and I wanted to portray it right and do it justice, especially since I know a lot of fanfiction can be complicated, and I have read plenty of people (specifically queer men) complaining about the way their relationships are typecasted and portrayed in said media.

I definitely focus heavily on their feelings, but that's kind of the reason I decided to write GC in the first place, I wanted to explore the complications of a throuple hehe.

It makes so much sense that guys would be more reserved I think, but I think especially in queer situations, both for men and women would be, since you might not be sure if the other person is actually queer too, idk if that makes sense?

Regarding specific scenes, I remember I was super nervous when I wrote the library scene with Sirius and Remus in Chapter 26, since it was Sirius' first time to feel something for Rem, and panic over it, I was so scared it wasn't doing it right. And also in chapter 31, when Sirius sees Minho and Tom kiss and has another gay panic revelation moment. I mean, I'm not sure when I figured I was pansexual but I think if I had seen two girls kiss in a closet and I didn't know about it, it would have definitely done something to me if that makes sense.

Sending a bunch of love all the way to Poland, thanks for answering all my questions, darling ☆૮꒰•༝ •。꒱ა

Read Gilded Constellations

[claudiajcregg]

S5 Pregnancy AU - I’d love to hear about!

Welp, this is embarrassing – mostly because this has been sitting in my inbox for almost two weeks, and I kept saying “I need to write something up!” and then… I didn't. (Or rather, I did, then I forgot to post it.) Sorry for the wait, Lil! Thank you for asking <3 (I'll divide this up because I keep writing about the process and how it came to be, instead of any actual, interesting facts.)

I have talked about this one in the past though I don't have a tag for it. The gist is what it says… (Early) S5 but CJ is pregnant. I had this idea over a year ago when I hit mid/late S4 in my rewatch. I thought it'd be interesting to explore some of her disappointment at that time if you added an unexpected pregnancy to it, even if I had the idea before even getting there, lol. Think, the ending-ish of Han, or parts of Disaster Relief. (Both of which do feature! I surprisingly focus a lot on Disaster Relief.)

The thing with S5 is that the timeline is so weird, and I feel I've also created one that isn't entirely realistic but I think it works within the story. (IIRC, the season starts in “May” but also July, then the Shutdown is in November, lmao. A few of the episodes are sneaky two-parters that flow into each other… See 5-6, 7-8.) I've finally gotten out of the no-man's-land I wrote myself into and the next chapter or two, knowing myself, will deal with 7-8! There are a couple of scenes that should be fun to write! (There are so many details I want to mention that are technically spoilers for early twists…)

Every time I had the urge to write it, I'd edit whatever outline I was working in, and though I kept some details… my muse decided to make a big change early on that completely changed the fic's direction. That, and my inability to write anything succinctly. No reason why this story will cross the 100k barrier in a couple of chapters, tops. (It's sitting at 85k across 12 chapters. I think it'll be less than 20 chapters total. Hopefully.)

This might be too long to share snippets, but I've shared some either on the server or here, a couple of months ago.

For more irrelevant details on the “process”…

As I hinted at, I wrote an outline or two around this time last year, because I couldn't stop thinking about it. When I say outlines, it's a general path for the story to follow – ideas, suggestions of dialogue and/or scenes I write to myself; all focused around some sort of chapter structure. I find it much easier to write if I write down where a chapter might go, even if it's just a few lines saying “This happens → then this → finally this;” otherwise, it takes me months. Some would say that I should post it and get encouragement that way but… I hate being dependent on something I can control even less than my muse? That's not for me, thank you. Mad respect for those who work like that.

It was meant to be short – 1-2 “long” chapters per trimester, more if needed, but then interludes in between trimesters. It's not that. Most chapters currently cover 1-2 weeks, but there is not really a pattern. I was afraid of having a fic that would take over my life like the WOWO did three years ago… And it has, but I've also taken breaks and not felt too guilty about them. I definitely don't want this one to sit in my drive and have me wondering what to do with it.

(The novel, aka WOWO, aka IM AU (2021): 150k written in a little over five months, even with extended breaks over the summer. Still hits, even with all its crazy decisions, maybe because of them, but it's also been too long, and it will always remind me of someone who kinda hurt me. Attempts to replace those memories by sharing the story with others, trying to gather whether it's worth posting, have failed, lmao. One day! Maybe!)

But yeah. Uuuuuhhhh. As I've said… Twelve chapters in ten months, 85k words… It's still not done. In fact, I've repeatedly said I am unsure of how to end it (beyond the obvious), but I'd estimate it to be under 20 chapters. I'm not posting it anywhere yet because I want to be able to edit it as a whole and try to make it more consistent; to add little details as I come up with them. There's also the fact that I am not skilled enough to write a compelling story that mixes politics and emotion into something remotely engaging. As a result, the story's politics are very surface-level, and probably repetitive at points, but it's also true I've always been more interested and focused on the emotional journey and the relationship(s) at its center. (Which should surprise exactly no one who's ever read one of my stories.)

But, as critical as I might sound of myself here, I am having fun writing this and I'm committed to seeing it through. I just keep having ideas for stories down the line, putting actual show events through a 'but she also has a kid' perspective.

[oneunexpected]

Omg hey andie!

I love asking games! Answer which ones you want, im sorry i asked a lot fujdhf

28, 29, 4, 3, 10, 11

*sends hugs*

Omg I'm sorry I reblogged this ask game and then disappeared for two weeks, thank you so much for the ask!

28. Any writing advice that works for you and you feel like sharing? I think my advice is sort of... "just do it." Practice really does make you a better writer, and even if you just write something quick in your notes app and it never sees the light of day, I find that can be a really nice way to get some thoughts out of your head and on paper. Another thing I do, both when I'm writing fic and in my day job as a journalist, is if I'm having trouble with something specific — for me, usually scene openers or ledes — I just won't write it. I'll leave placeholder text in all caps, write whatever I can, and then by the time I work back to whatever I was struggling with, it's usually easier to come up with something.

29. What's the hardest thing about writing? For me, it's staying consistent, eating the elephant one bite at a time. I have a tendency to get struck by inspiration and want to get everything down on the page right then and there, even if it means I'm sucked into a hole of writing for four hours at a time. Fine for one shots, but not conducive to multi-chapter works.

4. Do you have any OCs? Do you have a story for them? I don't really have any OCs for TUC, although when I was younger I had a sort of self-insert-y daughter of Gregor and Luxa that floated around my head... perhaps one day I'll return to her.

I did come up with a few new nibblers in Mars Quirinus, and I've thought about writing about them again one day. Or at least making character sheets or something.

3. How would you describe your writing style? Hm... it depends what I'm working on. In more narratively-driven fics, I tend to be pretty direct. In character studies, a little more vivid and purple prose-y.

I took a class in school where the professor was a long-form nonfiction writer and he told us to "write cinematically" but also was really strict about trimming fat, keeping things from getting too florid. I try to keep that advice in mind, and I would say it influenced my writing style a lot (although most of my published fics were written before I took it, so you'll just have to trust me lol).

10. Top three favorite fic tropes? CUDDLING FOR WARMTH. Followed by its sibling, there was only one bed. Third, hm... does found family broadly count? I'm a disciple of the James Cameron School of Hanging Out Scenes. I like moments of downtime where you can tell there's genuine affection between characters, outside of whatever conflict drives the narrative they're coming from, so I really like fics that have that.

11. Three tropes that are fine but overrated. Sick fics, a lot of hurt/comfort, modern/high school/coffeeshop AUs. Still some good stuff in there, but doesn't usually get me going.

Questions are from this post. Thanks again for the ask, Sofia!

[zarinthel]

dvd ask meme; nobody is asking about impel downer so clearly i have to. i think i’ve read this fic in it’s entirely three times so i’d wanna interrogate you about every chapter, but I’ll pick ch8 times up. there’s a lot i like in here, sybil and akainu’s “fight”, sybil’s last prophecy to akainu as they think they’re about to die (is it a prophecy, a threat, a hope, or. last fuck you, all of the above), canonizing oars death in a heartbreaking way that fits into your plot, more hints at sybil’s backstory (which i’m always dying over will we learn more) in her conversation with shanks and the doctor and their awkard silence reaction to just casual mention of how excessively fucked over sybil has been by the world government

ch8 of impel downer, Time's Up! what a throwback. i loved writing this chapter. now let's see what i remember of something i wrote (checks date) over two years ago lol.

one of my favorite things of shifting between povs in this chapter is that nobody is happy. not garp, not shanks, nobody. not a single person in this war except for blackbeard gained more than they lost.

shanks negotiations. the thing is, he doesn't want to fight. he's not actually interested in swinging the balance of the world any further, but he's also not willing to back down-- he wont let them have whitebeard's body. he won't abandon sybil to marine custody just because it would be "easier".

garp is actually helping him with the offer. but who knows if he'd actually go along with it if sybil hadnt broken their time clock while the arguement was still ongoing.

sybil and akainu. sybil has the strength of a properly made paramecia-- if you make the right circumstances, they can hit way above their level. but there's no way for them to actually hurt him, lol. sybil doesn't really have offensive skills. well, they could probably develop them, but they don't have them. so its a cat and mouse game where the most important things are this

they want to live

akainu wants them to die; its unthinkable to let someone ruin a marine admirals rep like that and live. the problem isn't that they didn't get clobbered but that they did in a way that made him look really bad and ineffective. Lol

"Everything..." They mumble, giving up on running as they focus all their energy into the venom of their voice. "Everything you build. It's gonna crumble. The seas will bleed red with the blood of your enemies, and it will be for nothing. The seas will part, the sky will fall, the---"

the prophesy/curse/fuck you.

sybil's got a lot of stuff their unsure of. a lot of memory problems. inconsistent recall. so maybe they don't know for sure, /memory wise/, that that will happen. but because they believe that they live in a world where Monkey D Luffy will become Pirate King, it's a prophecy. they say it and they believe it.

Oars Jr.

you know, i write a lot of tragedies, but i don't actually write a lot of death scenes. im the type of person who kills people off screen and then writes reactions. so, this one...

i hate when i kill off a character and its less impactful than the original canon. so i thought, this has to be at least as sad as when Oars died in marineford, and that scene was AWFUL.

but i was genuinely sad, you know. i saw the pieces come together, realized how sybil was going to get out, and i, the author, had to realize that oars wasn't going to live. even though i'd half thought he might. thats what happens when you put the puzzle together and then realize what it shows.

you can't save someone like ace and not lose /anything/. and not lose almost everything. you just have to think its worth it.

so, sybil's backstory. this is the first time they even lay most of it out-- we've met them at the start of their adventures in the grand line, but theyve been having a rough decade or so

a watchmaker in west blue, a bad, unlucky run in with a celestial dragon, a failure to pay the Heavenly Tribute dominoed off the original bad run in, a stay in Impel Down dominoed off that. and then, the part they've failed to explain after that of how a civilian who should have been floor 1 had ended up at floor 5.5. the circumstances around their devil fruit. a lot of stuff..

how can a seer not have contempt for the heavens?

how can a prisoner not despise their chains?

and despite all that, they saved ace not for grandiose reasons, but for personal ones. do you think your death would improve the world? Even if the answer is yes, it's fine if you still live!

oh, and then the bounty. that was fun. you know, i actually picked 99 million BEFORE i realized that was the same number as th rest of doflamingo's subordinates. lmao

[theycall-vn]

10th feb - away from home stuff:

wrote part of another bad end. might need to redo it to make it more graphic, but i gotta write the rest first.

also considering bringing back the bad end that i decided to remove because i think it would be... cathartic to write and read

like for me. personally

but im just super aware that it could be like. problematic? i know if i asked anyone for their opinions on if i should keep it, they would say i shouldn't sooo. i guess i could just write it and then not implement it? that works

uhhhm. figured out some small events and which chapters they should go in. they're the biggest romance/sex scenes though, so im trying to figure out how to "reward" those who are either strangers or platonic.

platonic should be easy enough to figure out, but... strangers, not so much. the story strips you of a lot of things, so maybe... gaining some of those things back? in some way? hmmm

11th feb - home again:

put drafted bad end into vn, tested timing and effects. defintely need to rewrite most of it, but it'll be easier to when i'm not fighting my phone's autocorrect lmao

didn't touch anything else i worked on yesterday, mostly just did the above and edited typos. uhm. oh! also set up the counters for the true ends

might do a draft for the first sexual scene in bed because i already like. envisioned the entire thing before i even started working on this properly. it was one of my daydreams lol

but i might be too tired so maybe not. idk yet

i decided also that i wanna redo some of the prologue because it feels... unbalanced and like a different flavour than some of the newer additions, and chapter 1. i gotta fix that

and that's all! nuh night