#since I've just done so much progress and then...

[soarelesiluna-ao3]

Hi,

I liked the fic about Danya and Valya sharing a partner!

Maybe you could write the beginning of their relationship?

Hello everyone!

I'm trying to accustom myself back to writing. Today has been a nicer day for my anxiety and I've been able to go through my day without feeling like I'm going to die as much as I have felt these past days. Small progress is still progress, right?

As such, I'm picking requests from my askbox and typing them. Probably this will be my only post today, or if I have time I'll drop another, who knows. But I didn't want to leave you high and dry!

I was a bit scared of going into a semi-hiatus because I thought I'd lose followers, but it's been the opposite - we're at 92! Everyone, thank you so much. You're a great audience and I love reading your comments. 💙

Okay, I've yapped enough. Let's get to what's really important!

Content under the cut!

Today was the day. You were going to have that date with Valya and Danya, even when they didn't know it was one. You hadn't yet disclosed details about the nature of this meeting, but you knew this was the day where you made up your mind. Who would your heart choose? The dreamer Daniil, always on the clouds, or the sensitive Valentyn, down to earth but kind?

This was going to be a tough decision. Ever since you met the twins, your heart had started beating in a different frequency, everytime you spent time with them. Danya's hand on yours, Valya's head on your shoulder, the laughter, the trips to go window-shopping, the songwriting sessions, and late night conversations that lasted until dawn... It all felt precious. You treasured it with all you had.

And something told you those feelings were very well returned. Maybe it was something in the way they looked at you, or in a simple slip of the tongue in a phrase, or a hug that lasted a second longer than the acceptable hug for a friend, but you knew that somewhere there was a chance your feelings wouldn't go to waste. Now, to choose who would it be... That would be a hard task.

"Oh, there they are!" Danya's voice snapped you out of your thoughts, as he grabbed your hand. Valya was quick to grab the other.

"Looking great", he smiled. "We prepared a picnic for the evening, we hope you don't mind."

"It was a little bit of a last minute idea but we hope you have a great time."

"Yeah, absolutely. Let's go!"

Just then you see the picnic basket Valya has on his other arm. You enter the park where the date was supposed to happen, and set up your picnic underneath a tree. You notice dandelions growing nearby, as the twins set everything up - drinks, charcuterie, fresh fruit, snacks, all that you like. They even brought fancy glasses to have a drink out of.

The afternoon goes on between laughter, conversation and music. In the meantime, you notice their gestures towards you - how they hold your hand, or put dandelions on your hair, and the way they smile at you. You can't help but wonder if one twin is trying to one-up the other or if they're working in tandem. This is making the decision so difficult...

After a while of silence in a particular conversation about relationships, you realize that this is the moment where you have to make your move. But if you make a move on one of them, you will leave the other. And you don't really want that. This makes you feel so conflicted you stay silent for a moment too long.

"Hey, are you okay?" Danya looks at you, and Valya follows suit.

"Yeah, what's wrong?"

You look at the both of them and end up sighing as words start exiting your mouth - you have to say this, risking to lose them in the process. You talk about your feelings, and how they have done nothing but rise and rise, like a boiling pot of water. And now, you were at this point where you had to make a choice, but... You didn't want to. You wanted them both. You wanted the twins to love you, and love them the same, because they are too special, and you can't let them go. And you know this is all wrong, and greedy, but... The heart wants what it wants.

After a moment, Valya hugs you with an arm, and his twin does the same.

"Hey, no, come on..." The guitarist starts speaking. "Listen, we're not going anywhere. Not without you."

"Yeah, come on, you think we didn't know what was going on?" Danya's half smile looks so charming now. "We were fully aware of this. And this was all our plan."

"Yeah. We wanted you to get a glimpse of what your new life was going to look like..."

"... If you want it to be like that, of course."

You stare at them dumbfounded for a minute. So, they had already made agreements? They had talked about this possibility before? Your heart races as you feel their lips on your hands at the same time, in the same spot on your knuckles.

"Say... Do you think there's enough space for the both of us in your heart?"

"We are twins. We are so used to sharing, it doesn't bother us anymore. So please..."

Valya is the first one to go for a short kiss of your lips, and then Danya does the same, before the two of them say the same phrase in unison.

"Do you want to be ours?"

[fir-fireweed]

Honestly. That ending.

I can't believe you lied to us so blatantly! Okay, maybe I should have expected that. But still! And now we'll have to wait until the end of summer ahhh.

I also wanted to ask you, since I noticed changes in the relationship statuses, if it's possible to recover the relationship with Eve? It's at 65% now (I think I gave some cold answers at the beginning). I didn't think it was too low since we're only at chapter 3, but I've read other comments saying they got an extra scene because they had a high relationship with her. Is there a possibility of raising the relationship in the future or will it just stay like this? She's a complex character and I really warmed up to her, so I'm willing to replay the old chapters if necessary

Ok, so I’m going to break my silence a little because it’s actually really important to me that you know I never lied. It’s incredibly important for 2 reasons. One, I don’t condone lying, even in a situation like this. And 2, you, the readers, did this. I want to give credit where it’s due.

This plot twist WAS unplanned. It was NEVER meant to be when I first set out on this endeavor. You can ask my beta readers. I was blindsided by the amount of attention this particular plot point received in chapter 1 and eventually I started thinking, well wait a minute, what if… 🤔

In my first asks about this point, I answered truthfully. This was a done deal. And once I began considering it, I just stopped answering those kind of asks. They’re still sitting in my inbox. I pondered them for a while and they eventually changed the course of this story.

When I say this is an ever-evolving project, a work in progress, I mean it. And when I say this chapter was a collaboration, I mean that, too. You readers manifested this. And I am grateful for that because I am just as excited for the potential as you are. 😊

*climbing down from my pulpit to answer the second half

Evelyn is a complex character and I’m very glad to hear you warmed up to her! At 65% you do have a good relationship with her, you just needed really high to unlock the potential to influence her crush. Your relationship with her is pretty much set, but there will be a few moments during significant scenes where you can change it again, but not many.

[howlingday]

What's something that will make you drop a RWBY fanfiction instantly? (Not counting OC or self inserts)

Well, there's three fics that I've dropped that come to mind that don't really have OC or self-inserts, technically, but the ones that involve Jaune usually do suffer from those. I won't name names, but I'm sure those of you who have read what I did will recognize them.

First, when the chapter is too long and slow-paced for me to enjoy. I get progressing the story and whatnot, but not when the first chapter is half a novel in itself. Some chapter can get away with this, I feel, if the story is interesting enough. One such story had Jaune and Weiss as partners/lovers from day one and they were just so boring that I couldn't bear to keep reading it.

The next one is introducing an established character and changing them so drastically that I completely lose interest. One example of this done right is having Neo being Jaune's sister, which I accepted since this was written from an early RWBY fan's perspective, and I can get behind that. However, there's another fic with Jaune as a half-spider/half-human with twin black-dust swords and a burning hatred for Atlas and is attending Beacon with his sister, all of which isn't Jaune at all. Like, this is what comes to mind when people say, "Just make an OC".

Last, and by and far the worst and least, is when they put the character in a... let's just say "politically charged" position and has them do terrible, awful things in that position. In this instance, Jaune is a police officer and I was expecting cop adventures, like Disco Elysium, Reno 911, or hell even Paradise PD. What I got was "All Live Matter", racial slurs, and straight-up RAPE. Nothing about the fic was fun to read and I hope whoever did enjoy reading this gets some serious help.

So, yeah... Those are some fics that I pretty much chose to drop.

[buttercupshands]

haha guess who read the spoilers?

[navree]

Incorrect, the fact that Biden has dropped out and a candidate with history of supporting medicare for all and being more receptive to a ceasefire in the I/P conflict has made me go from "I cannot morally support the Democratic nominee" to "I am voting for the Democratic nominee despite the fact she isn't perfect in every respect." I'm really happy this played out. The Dems for the most part abandoned the old Obama platform and it feels like its possible an actual progressive agenda could come to pass in my lifetime.

Kamala 2024!

If you weren't going to vote Democratic in this election before Biden dropped out you're a dorkass loser who does not care about any of the issues you're yammering about here and also a fundamentally bad person, and I hope you get run over by a bus.

But you got one thing right in all of this gibberish, Kamala 2024.

[cuartist]

really excited to touch up the pages at the end of this chapter, but have to get through the more annoying ones first.

also need to make sure i have enough fuel before getting too in the zone!! frustrating

[cisthoughtcrime]

.

[asinglesock]

If you see me posting motivational memes in excess please forgive me

[sureuncertainty]

hopefully it's just tonight but i haven't written at all in the last couple of days and i tried again tonight and it didn't work AGAIN i just can't get myself to write idk sometimes i really feel like the sequel to silence agenda is literally never ever going to actually get written and there's no point in even trying

[retrogradedreaming]

Gasp! More OCs??? 👀 Is it ok to ask who they are? (No pressure if you'd rather not post about them, though!)

Yeah, totally! Sorry I left this to sit for a few days, I have been so busy and anytime I talk about OCs, it's like "omg, this requires thought and care!!!"

I won't go TOO deep into them because I'm paranoid about my work and the internet but I THINK the ones I've made since I was last here are:

Reece: Grumpy EMT with a ponytail, no chill

Luca: I keep blanking on what his job is actually called, but he does backstage stuff at concert venues and performances and stuff, dyes his hair a lot, has a lot of tattoos, very chill

They're both in Will and Jasper's world, and while I don't know if they'll feature in the main WIP, I like playing around with them in side stories

ALSO, this isn't about new OCs, but this story finally has a plot! I've had Will and Jasper for YEARS and have never found a good plot idea for them, but I'm really excited now to give them a story

[icewindandboringhorror]

Recent-ish things ~

[feral-renaissance-cat]

I have a magnetic white board with my Top 8 Priorities listed on it (daily stretching, taking my vitamins, finishing my WIPs, etc) with one big magnet for the "Project of the Day". When all nine magnets are moved from the "not done" to "done" side of the board, I get a treat from the Forbidden Snack Drawer ('Forbidden' in the sense that it cannot be opened until all nine seals on it are broken).

[stillfruit]

where does this specific type of flatness in my drawings come from. there's no sense of space or shape. every time i try to draw something myself it just looks so bad in specific ways and it's not even about the angle, this is a problem for other positions as well. help

[kittlyns]

Ran out of ammo in Signalis so since this is my first playthrough ofc I google to see if I'm fucked and the consensus on reddit seems to be that I am fucked

[archaeren]

How I learned to write smarter, not harder

(aka, how to write when you're hella ADHD lol)

A reader commented on my current long fic asking how I write so well. I replied with an essay of my honestly pretty non-standard writing advice (that they probably didn't actually want lol) Now I'm gonna share it with you guys and hopefully there's a few of you out there who will benefit from my past mistakes and find some useful advice in here. XD Since I started doing this stuff, which are all pretty easy changes to absorb into your process if you want to try them, I now almost never get writer's block.

The text of the original reply is indented, and I've added some additional commentary to expand upon and clarify some of the concepts.

As for writing well, I usually attribute it to the fact that I spent roughly four years in my late teens/early 20s writing text roleplay with a friend for hours every single day. Aside from the constant practice that provided, having a live audience immediately reacting to everything I wrote made me think a lot about how to make as many sentences as possible have maximum impact so that I could get that kind of fun reaction. (Which is another reason why comments like yours are so valuable to fanfic writers! <3) The other factors that have improved my writing are thus: 1. Writing nonlinearly. I used to write a whole story in order, from the first sentence onward. If there was a part I was excited to write, I slogged through everything to get there, thinking that it would be my reward once I finished everything that led up to that. It never worked. XD It was miserable. By the time I got to the part I wanted to write, I had beaten the scene to death in my head imagining all the ways I could write it, and it a) no longer interested me and b) could not live up to my expectations because I couldn't remember all my ideas I'd had for writing it. The scene came out mediocre and so did everything leading up to it. Since then, I learned through working on VN writing (I co-own a game studio and we have some visual novels that I write for) that I don't have to write linearly. If I'm inspired to write a scene, I just write it immediately. It usually comes out pretty good even in a first draft! But then I also have it for if I get more ideas for that scene later, and I can just edit them in. The scenes come out MUCH stronger because of this. And you know what else I discovered? Those scenes I slogged through before weren't scenes I had no inspiration for, I just didn't have any inspiration for them in that moment! I can't tell you how many times there was a scene I had no interest in writing, and then a week later I'd get struck by the perfect inspiration for it! Those are scenes I would have done a very mediocre job on, and now they can be some of the most powerful scenes because I gave them time to marinate. Inspiration isn't always linear, so writing doesn't have to be either!

Some people are the type that joyfully write linearly. I have a friend like this--she picks up the characters and just continues playing out the next scene. Her story progresses through the entire day-by-day lives of the characters; it never timeskips more than a few hours. She started writing and posting just eight months ago, she's about an eighth of the way through her planned fic timeline, and the content she has so far posted to AO3 for it is already 450,000 words long. But most of us are normal humans. We're not, for the most part, wired to create linearly. We consume linearly, we experience linearly, so we assume we must also create linearly. But actually, a lot of us really suffer from trying to force ourselves to create this way, and we might not even realize it. If you're the kind of person who thinks you need to carrot-on-a-stick yourself into writing by saving the fun part for when you finally write everything that happens before it: Stop. You're probably not a linear writer. You're making yourself suffer for no reason and your writing is probably suffering for it. At least give nonlinear writing a try before you assume you can't write if you're not baiting or forcing yourself into it!! Remember: Writing is fun. You do this because it's fun, because it's your hobby. If you're miserable 80% of the time you're doing it, you're probably doing it wrong!

2. Rereading my own work. I used to hate reading my own work. I wouldn't even edit it usually. I would write it and slap it online and try not to look at it again. XD Writing nonlinearly forced me to start rereading because I needed to make sure scenes connected together naturally and it also made it easier to get into the headspace of the story to keep writing and fill in the blanks and get new inspiration. Doing this built the editing process into my writing process--I would read a scene to get back in the headspace, dislike what I had written, and just clean it up on the fly. I still never ever sit down to 'edit' my work. I just reread it to prep for writing and it ends up editing itself. Many many scenes in this fic I have read probably a dozen times or more! (And now, I can actually reread my own work for enjoyment!) Another thing I found from doing this that it became easy to see patterns and themes in my work and strengthen them. Foreshadowing became easy. Setting up for jokes or plot points became easy. I didn't have to plan out my story in advance or write an outline, because the scenes themselves because a sort of living outline on their own. (Yes, despite all the foreshadowing and recurring thematic elements and secret hidden meanings sprinkled throughout this story, it actually never had an outline or a plan for any of that. It's all a natural byproduct of writing nonlinearly and rereading.)

Unpopular writing opinion time: You don't need to make a detailed outline.

Some people thrive on having an outline and planning out every detail before they sit down to write. But I know for a lot of us, we don't know how to write an outline or how to use it once we've written it. The idea of making one is daunting, and the advice that it's the only way to write or beat writer's block is demoralizing. So let me explain how I approach "outlining" which isn't really outlining at all.

I write in a Notion table, where every scene is a separate table entry and the scene is written in the page inside that entry. I do this because it makes writing nonlinearly VASTLY more intuitive and straightforward than writing in a single document. (If you're familiar with Notion, this probably makes perfect sense to you. If you're not, imagine something a little like a more contained Google Sheets, but every row has a title cell that opens into a unique Google Doc when you click on it. And it's not as slow and clunky as the Google suite lol) (Edit from the future: I answered an ask with more explanation on how I use Notion for non-linear writing here.) When I sit down to begin a new fic idea, I make a quick entry in the table for every scene I already know I'll want or need, with the entries titled with a couple words or a sentence that describes what will be in that scene so I'll remember it later. Basically, it's the most absolute bare-bones skeleton of what I vaguely know will probably happen in the story.

Then I start writing, wherever I want in the list. As I write, ideas for new scenes and new connections and themes will emerge over time, and I'll just slot them in between the original entries wherever they naturally fit, rearranging as necessary, so that I won't forget about them later when I'm ready to write them. As an example, my current long fic started with a list of roughly 35 scenes that I knew I wanted or needed, for a fic that will probably be around 100k words (which I didn't know at the time haha). As of this writing, it has expanded to 129 scenes. And since I write them directly in the page entries for the table, the fic is actually its own outline, without any additional effort on my part. As I said in the comment reply--a living outline!

This also made it easier to let go of the notion that I had to write something exactly right the first time. (People always say you should do this, but how many of us do? It's harder than it sounds! I didn't want to commit to editing later! I didn't want to reread my work! XD) I know I'm going to edit it naturally anyway, so I can feel okay giving myself permission to just write it approximately right and I can fix it later. And what I found from that was that sometimes what I believed was kind of meh when I wrote it was actually totally fine when I read it later! Sometimes the internal critic is actually wrong. 3. Marinating in the headspace of the story. For the first two months I worked on [fic], I did not consume any media other than [fandom the fic is in]. I didn't watch, read, or play anything else. Not even mobile games. (And there wasn't really much fan content for [fandom] to consume either. Still isn't, really. XD) This basically forced me to treat writing my story as my only source of entertainment, and kept me from getting distracted or inspired to write other ideas and abandon this one.

As an aside, I don't think this is a necessary step for writing, but if you really want to be productive in a short burst, I do highly recommend going on a media consumption hiatus. Not forever, obviously! Consuming media is a valuable tool for new inspiration, and reading other's work (both good and bad, as long as you think critically to identify the differences!) is an invaluable resource for improving your writing.

When I write, I usually lay down, close my eyes, and play the scene I'm interested in writing in my head. I even take a ten-minute nap now and then during this process. (I find being in a state of partial drowsiness, but not outright sleepiness, makes writing easier and better. Sleep helps the brain process and make connections!) Then I roll over to the laptop next to me and type up whatever I felt like worked for the scene. This may mean I write half a sentence at a time between intervals of closed-eye-time XD

People always say if you're stuck, you need to outline.

What they actually mean by that (whether they realize it or not) is that if you're stuck, you need to brainstorm. You need to marinate. You don't need to plan what you're doing, you just need to give yourself time to think about it!

What's another framing for brainstorming for your fic? Fantasizing about it! Planning is work, but fantasizing isn't.

You're already fantasizing about it, right? That's why you're writing it. Just direct that effort toward the scenes you're trying to write next! Close your eyes, lay back, and fantasize what the characters do and how they react.

And then quickly note down your inspirations so you don't forget, haha.

And if a scene is so boring to you that even fantasizing about it sucks--it's probably a bad scene.

If it's boring to write, it's going to be boring to read. Ask yourself why you wanted that scene. Is it even necessary? Can you cut it? Can you replace it with a different scene that serves the same purpose but approaches the problem from a different angle? If you can't remove the troublesome scene, what can you change about it that would make it interesting or exciting for you to write?

And I can't write sitting up to save my damn life. It's like my brain just stops working if I have to sit in a chair and stare at a computer screen. I need to be able to lie down, even if I don't use it! Talking walks and swinging in a hammock are also fantastic places to get scene ideas worked out, because the rhythmic motion also helps our brain process. It's just a little harder to work on a laptop in those scenarios. XD

In conclusion: Writing nonlinearly is an amazing tool for kicking writer's block to the curb. There's almost always some scene you'll want to write. If there isn't, you need to re-read or marinate.

Or you need to use the bathroom, eat something, or sleep. XD Seriously, if you're that stuck, assess your current physical condition. You might just be unable to focus because you're uncomfortable and you haven't realized it yet.

Anyway! I hope that was helpful, or at least interesting! XD Sorry again for the text wall. (I think this is the longest comment reply I've ever written!)

And same to you guys on tumblr--I hope this was helpful or at least interesting. XD Reblogs appreciated if so! (Maybe it'll help someone else!)

[general-illyrin]

Day Four: Newspaper for the Chesterton Challenge

For this one I didn't have any ideas for the prompt, so I disregarded it in favor of continuing to work on my embroidery project, so here is the in progress photo for it now. I have maybe another day's work before I finish all the names in this circle alone.