What's this about a clexa bones au 👀

So its kind of a bones au and while it does follow some of Bones format it isnt fully fully a Bones clexa au.

Lexa's a renowned forensic anthropologist of course but Clarke is not an FBI agent, she is actually a forensic artist that ends up working at the same lab as Lexa thanks to Lexa's intern and Clarke's friend, Octavia. Indra is the coroner and the lab director; Raven is the tech side of Angela while Hodgins is split between Anya and Murphy (Anya is dirt and fabrics, Murphy is bugs).

Lexa is Brennan if Brennan had a drop of self awareness at the start. She's everything Brennan is mostly aside from that and she is also an author - the only difference is that she writers crime with a twist of straight erotica because it flies off the shelves and hey., Lexa knows a few things about what ladies like 😌 she's crazy smart, direct to the point, extremely confident. Doesn't really believe in relationships but does enjoy casual sex 👀

Clarke is Booth without the FBI side and without the catholic guilt. She served in the army and does have a gambling addiction from before. She doesn't have a kid but she does have a kid brother that lives with their step dad since their parents died. Cocky yet very caring everyone but herself, she is eeary of relationships and has some commitment issues but casual sex is fine with her.

And thats really where they end up. Fucking for the sake of fucking, sneaking some quickies here in there at work that are fine as long as Indra doesn't catch them or ot doesn't interfere with their work.

And then Lexa falls.

And she confesses.

And Clarke rejects her. "Not yet."

Lexa respects that. And she tries to move one.

Then special agent Costia enters and before they know it they hit it off. Costia takes Lexa on dates and sends her flowers. And they spend more time at Lexa's apartment than separate so they move in together. And Lexa is perfectly content.

And Clarke tries to be happy for her too. She tries. She was the one who said no. She doesn't get to be jealous as Octavia reminds her even if "Dr Bitch Bones deserved it".

When a headless skeleton ends up at their lab, Clarke finds the source of her jealousy gone... but at what cost for Lexa and the engagement ring in Costia's pocket?

Or the fact there's a serial killer on the lose seemingly wanting to play a game with Dr Woods?

saran's year of writing (2023)

hey y'all! saw a couple posts like this floating around and thought i'd hop on the train, because this year has been WILD for my writing (in a really good way). let's start with the bullet points version and i'll put the details under the cut. here we go:

I JOINED WRITEBLR

shared snippets of my work with other, actual humans!

made friends?!

started (and finished!) draft 2 of Dead Roots, Dark Water

wrote 1 short story for every week in october (that's 5 stories in a month! that's great for me!)

first NaNoWriMo in 10 years (and i finished it!)

drafted and re-drafted The Art of Empty Space

started draft 3 of Dead Roots, Dark Water

details, links to projects, me getting maybe a tad too personal, and those all-important wordcounts under the cut:

I JOINED WRITEBLR

i just realized i only started participating at the beginning of october, but it feels like i've been hanging out with you all the whole year 😅 maybe that means i should cut back a bit? nah...

really though, this year was the year i started taking my writing more seriously (not in a 'gotta get published' kind of way, but in a 'writing makes me happier than anything else and that's enough reason to set aside time and energy for it without feeling hella guilty' kind of way) and seeing you all posting your work and being so positive and encouraging to each other was what helped me get up the nerve to join in. and i can say without a doubt that it's the best choice i've made all year. y'all are such a supportive community and i've never once felt like i was encroaching or didn't belong here (and for me, that's really saying something)

so i guess what i'm getting at is: THANK YOU! i've loved reading your snippets and projects this year, and i'm way more confident in my own than i've ever been 💜 y'all are good peeps

Dead Roots, Dark Water

word count (edited and written): 187,789

that's a lotta words! DRDW is both my longest work wordcount-wise, and the work i've dedicated the most time to... probably ever. and i'm SO happy with it, it's a little concerning (/positive)

DRDW is now on its THIRD draft, and (assuming i don't do a massive re-edit) should be ready to start posting in 2024! *excited screaming* i've never released anything i've written in its entirety (the snippets i've been posting are actually a lot more than i've ever shared before), so this is MASSIVE for me and i'm both excited and terrified! overall, though, it's a very, very good thing

Short Stories

this october, i decided to challenge myself to do several things i don't ever do: write short stories; write them on a timeline; and share them. and i did! i wrote one short story for each week in october, and posted them here. they're far from my best work, and due to the timeline, they never could have been my best, which oddly i think helped make it easier to post them? they were also the first pieces i shared here (or anywhere)! they're not awesome, but i'm proud of them and i'm proud of myself for sharing them

NaNoWriMo and The Art of Empty Space

i've done nano once before, ten years ago. i was in college and had a lot more time then (and a job where i could spend the entire day just writing - i didn't know how good i had it), and even so i remember struggling to reach my word goal. but by the power of writing everything in wingdings so i can't second-guess my word choices, i made it this year! and even though i decided to challenge myself by writing a romance-heavy project (something i've historically avoided because IT'S HARD FOR ME, DAMNIT), i love AES and its characters and that feels fucking awesome.

even though my brain decided to spring a surprise plot restructure on me and now i have to rewrite like half of it. it'll be better for it, though, so it's all good 🥲

What's Next?

my plan for early 2024 is, of course, going to be to work on draft 3 of DRDW with the hope of getting some chapters posted (they are LONG, so i'll probably post to tumblr in chunks and the full, unbroken chapters on Ao3 due to formatting). once that's ready, i'll be able to return my attention to AES and getting draft 1.5 all written up. i've mostly figured out where the plot's going there, so it'll just be writing it up to figure out the gaps. if i'm able to write something for november again next year (which i really hope i will; nano did some great things for AES), it'll probably be one of the other Jak & Daxter fics i have kicking around in my head, because i am Obsessed (and switching it up between working on fanfic and original fic seems to work well for my brain).

i've been not super active here for the last month or so because Real Life Work is kicking my ass, but hopefully that will calm down and i'll be able to do more of what i want: writing wild shit, reading your wild shit, and screaming about it together 💜

good vibes and best wishes to everybody in the new year 🥂

What's your process when writing? Do you outline the whole fic before starting, or do you go scene by scene? I adore OTNWAS, and I love how everything flows together so well, so I was just really curious how you approach writing such a long project!

I’m like the worst person to ask this because my memory is so bad and I feel like my process changes for every new project, but I’ll try my best to answer this focusing on otnwas 😅

First of all, otnwas (or what it was before it became otnwas) was supposed to be a one-shot sick-fic in the beginning, because I was in the middle of writing a DBH fic but I randomly got obsessed with RotG again and I just needed to write a tiny little thing to get RotG out of my brain so that I could get back to the DBH fic (it’s still unfinished btw—working on it though!). It had nothing to do with HTTYD in the beginning, but then I came across some hijack fics and I remembered my obsession with RotBTFD in like 2014. So my list of what I wanted to write turned into: 1. Sick-fic 2. Jack and Jamie bond and find out they’re related after Jack turns human 3. Hijack. I feel like you can really tell the beginning of chapter 1 is just the sick-fic, but then it suddenly turns into something completely different lmao.

I didn’t plan the entire thing in one go, but I did marathon everything HTTYD (except the books, they came later—and also the comics, I haven’t read them) before I started writing the otnwas-version of the fic because I wanted to have a well-ish grasp of the HTTYD universe. Then I wrote the first seven chapters before I started posting anything. Actually, while I tried figuring out the plot, I briefly considered writing a RotBTFD thing where they somehow travel around in time and meet all those different characters, but in the end I wasn’t inspired by it so I scrapped it. What was left was Jack goes to the past, becomes human, and also Jamie is there (and Baby Tooth, because I’d been imagining bunch of funny scenarios where Jack talks to ‘thin air’ and I love their Peter Pan-Tinkerbell dynamic). I had a vague idea of the whole ‘gather magic to go back home’-part of the plot, but didn’t know much about the Time Fragment, and the Snow Queen was a later addition because I needed to up the stakes. The process was like, okay, I need to marry these two universes—RotG is about myths and legends—what kind of myths and legends would they have on Berk, close to Northern Europe, in the Viking era or….ish around that time? (Obviously, otnwas is not trying to be historically accurate lmfao I just wanted to be inspired by Norwegian fairytales and Norse mythology.) I got attached to Snow very fast though, and she became a much more signifact part of the narrative than I thought she would initially. I really enjoyed writing her as Jack’s opposite; if Jack is the beauty and joy of winter, then Snow is the horror of it, and forcing him to deal with that after losing his powers was a lot of fun (though, in retrospect, I wish I went a little easier on the Jack whump. It gets a bit much sometimes lol).

So there was some vague planning involved. I was working towards these key points:

1. Jack and Jamie figure out they’re related

2. Hijack happens at some point

3. Jack will become a spirit again and return to the future with Jamie

What happened in between was stuff I figured out almost chapter by chapter. I know a lot of people jump around while writing a story, but that takes me out of it; I need to write chronologically to feel like I’m in tune with the characters’ minds, and I use the scenes I’m most excited to write as fuel to get through the scenes I don’t particularly want to write.

One of the most vital parts of my creative process is to have time to just walk around and daydream. Imagine conversations, scenarios, etc. and I try my best to write down my ideas immediately in a document on my phone. The scene that was looping in my head the most, I think, was the one where Jack kisses Hiccup for the first time, and the conversation leading up to that. I really need time to let the story simmer in my head in between writing sessions or else I feel it lacks something, I won’t have a full understanding of it, and I feel like it would show in the writing. Honestly, the best part of writing is the daydreaming.

But though a lot of stuff was planned from the beginning, a lot of other stuff was just happy accidents—stuff that suddenly clicked together, so unintentionally I feel like it’s unfair to give myself credit for it lmfao. I won’t tell you which scenes because I don’t wanna take away the magic, but writing otnwas felt a bit like running down a steep hill and only barely arriving at the bottom still on my two legs, instead of toppling over and eating dirt. It could’ve so easily been messy (it Is messy at some points, like the whole deal with the warlocks—if only I could explore those fuckers a bit more 🤔) but it somehow turned out alright lol.

Idk how to make a TL;DR. 1. Vague idea of where the story is going 2. Countless hours imagining conversations and scenarios 3. Keep in mind key scenes and use them as motivation to get through the tough scenes 4. Also, be self-indulgent. What else is fanfiction for?

Sorry for rambling, I can’t be concise lol

lets say. metaphorically. i am gripping your shoulders with upmost strength (if thats cool lmao) sorry in advanced because im gonna get really annoying rq BUT ive started talking about duet and i WILL. NOT. STOP. also i dooo plan on sharing the slides to some but its been a wip for like a whole year😅so i doubt ill finish it soon. anyhow [inhale]

WARNING FOR mentions of the backrooms, death, but its not the main focus

about duet being an inciting incident, i could only GUESS as to what the gangs situation was like prior to duets encounter. but arthur in the comic dismisses lewis as soon as he mentions him. and THIS??

ITS JUST A LINE. BUT IT SHOWS that the gang avoided anything to do with lewis. and thus, without duet slapping arthur in the face with cryptic literature, they wouldve probably been stuck in a depressing state of avoidism. which DOESNT MOVE A PLOT. BUT DUET DID!!! DUET THE FUCKING MADMAN

duet literally couldve had SO MUCH CONTROL over the gang. in the beginning at least- from encountering arthur at his most vulnerable state (which would be easier to influence), to giving the magic book, to telling arthur to get some gas for the van. that seems like a minor detail but imagine if they didnt and went to a gas station instead of the mansion. duet couldve literally had their ENTIRE ROAD TRIP planned out.

and another note- this???

theres a lot of things to note about the comic panel by itself -how a book connected to duet has vines? connection to shiromori or rose thorns that point to lewis- AND THE COLOR IN ARTHURS EYES which does sort of resemble the possession and control reverb had over him. could this be a way of duet controlling arthurs will? but theyre both purple which caught my attention because COLOR IS IMPORTANT!!! it might be a stretch but it really is in msa. and i dont think duet and lewis would team up necessarily- i doubt theyd have the same motives. but duet isnt just 'the weird boss of tome tomb' theyre so much more CAPABLE. they could possibly forsee the future and shit?? IDK??

and going back to chloe- while i feel she has a bit of a motive to mess with the gang -its immature but a motive. go look at her wiki for an idea- duet could have the actual CAPABILITIES to put a plan into motion. a theory i saw stated that chloe was the 'SOLO' in reverbs intro, and thus a contrast to her friend duet, but could it also be that SOLO is an alternate name for duet themself? its just something to speculate, if one or the other could be malicious, or both.

OK RANT PART TWO: NOBODY FUCKING WRITES DUET and neither do i.. yet. but i rarely see them mentioned either!! WHICH SUCKS BECAUSE THE CANON HAS LITERALLY SHOWN THEM TO BE A SIGNIFICANT TOOL IN DRIVING MSAs PLOT. BEING THE INCITING INCIDENT.

this isnt so prominent in my fics, theyre mentioned in both of my published ones though- in full bloom, they say an odd phrase to vivi, just as they did to arthur in canon. it doesnt really do anything BUT i plan to utilize it in a possible sequel

in my BACKROOMS FIC THOUGH? theyre.. not mentioned that much either oops. but it goes to show just how odd an interpretation of duet could get. i stated earlier that duet possibly had control over the gangs future, part magic part manipulation, and thats fine in canon. they probably have good motives by pushing the gang together and FORCING them to make up- but in the backrooms fic, the gang literally ends up in a fucked up world and one of them ends up DEAD. like. if duet was aware of such a thing, and led the gang with full intentions to such a thing..

like- do you see what im saying? there could be tons of aus where just a touch of their influence fucks everyone up and turns them into a darker character than what they are right now. AND I LOVE MAKING FUCKED UP BLORBOS. PLEASE WRITE DUET AND CHLOE MORE OR AT LEAST IMPLEMENT THEM INTO PLOTS THEYRE THERE TO DO SHIT LET EM DO SHIT!!!!

if you wanna im not forcing you😭i hope i get an opportunity to REALLY really write em but a lot of my fic ideas are centered around arthur and vivi woops. anyways- thats just a FRACTION of what youd see on my msa presentation lmaoooo. i dont even have this rant added on there- so i probably should. feel free to add your own thoughts and stuff i love the fanart and fics this fandom has to offer but can we also offer SEVERAL PARAGRAPHS OF RANTING. please

That always sucks seeing terrible people on here, especially when they’re so talented, but they’re just so insufferable :(

Anyways, I know you like Clover and I’ve been working hard at figuring out his story! But it’s hard cuz everytime I think I’ve finished writing all the lore and history I remember another thing that I forgot so I have to go back and add more lore so I haven’t actually written any of the story. But I’m trying to put down as many thoughts as I can for each part of the story! I plan to have 5 volumes for his story which’ll be a lot but I always wanted to make a graphic novel so I’m excited to work on it! But this time I’m gonna give myself time to figure stuff out before I jump into it you know?

Also I wish I could just sit down and write cuz I MISS Kori so much but I haven’t had any motivation to work on his story :c but I miss that bb boy

Also I cant stop thinking about my dad squad but there’s no solid plot so they’re all rotating in my brain lol.

Also one more thing I’m throwing my whole thoughts into this XD I’ve been obsessing over the four swords manga and that manga follows the story of Four Swords adventures. And that story has Tetra in it so I’ve been thinking about Four Swords Tetra and she’d do such a good job at annoying Leon and it’s so fun.

Ok I’m done let the Blorbos bring you comfort!

I totally get the whole “build lore first—oh wait I forgot—but then there’s—“ lol. I created an original galaxy with multiple cultures and a galactic history and timeline, added an entire parallel galaxy to it, all just so I could make an original story that still hasn’t had a single word written for it. But I have like two years’ worth of world building in a word document 🤣👍🏻 Take all the time you want and need! Just remember at some point you gotta take that leap and start writing. But listen to your muse and your energy, if you don’t have time/energy don’t force it. Sucks the joy right out of it.

Aww Kori, he and your Dads are great, but we’re all more than happy to just chill with you and your blorbos. Sometimes it’s more fun just discussing and doing scenarios! There’s a reason my healthcare AU only has like six actual plot chapters and like a thousand random snippets and quotes 😂

Wait, Tetra’s involved in Four Swords…? I know nothing of this 🤣😅

Gonna vent about writing sooo~

I’m constantly flicking between tf2, youtuber shit and borderlands that I have no clue what to write about rn

Like I really need to get my ass in gear with TBV because I already have the entire plot thought out and planned but I just need to write it and honestly I didn’t expect it to take this long 😅 it’s gonna take like 5-7 parts and I’m just hhhhhhhhhhh my brain is gonna tire itself out hella bad.

I got like 7 actual sections of plot with, at MINIMUM, FOUR DIFFERENT ENDINGS and I’m like- I just screwed myself over hard core homygeez. And now think of this; I got 4 parts working for chapter TWO (honestly that should’ve been chapter one and the first was like a prologue with how short I made it) and I dont think I’m even CLOSE to being done

But I’ve been having plots thought up for those two other obsessions for a WHILE and I’m like… should I start organizing them? Like I have all the hot and spicy bits, but literally have no idea how to start them or continue past certain points. Hhhhhhhh

And writing characters the way they’re supposed to be?? Or trying to retcon what is cannon omfg. And AU’s are nice cause it kindof does that anyway, but still.. trying to rewrite things gets hard xD

1, 9, 13, 14, 15, 20 for the ofmd ask game! Sorry if it’s too much 😅

NEVER APOLOGIZE i love these things, getting asked them is NOT a hassle lmao

for the OFMD Ask Meme!

1( Ed x Stede: a slow burn or an arson fire?

I think the timeline has their entire romance take place over the course of a month (though I think the timeline can and would work just as well stretched out over the course of like, at least 3 months, considering it would take about 7 weeks for a sailing vessel in the 1700s to get across the Atlantic) so that's technically an arson fire, considering how hard and fast they hit in love.

But I genuinely consider it a slow burn anyway, and here's the thing: Ed x Stede has the *trappings* of a slow burn, eve if it doesn't actually take that long from them to get to first meeting and falling in love. We get the pining, we get the misunderstandings, we get the separation, we get the friends getting fed up and confronting them over their feelings, we see them become friends and then fall in love from there, we see the way the emotional confessions seem to naturally fall into place...

To me, an arson fire romance is one that feels spectacularly fast and dramatic, often propelled more by plot twists and sudden events than by the characters' own feelings. But everything about Stede x Ed revolves around Stede and Ed meeting, finding instant chemistry, and then sharing their interests, their idiosyncracies, and falling in love together. The fastest, most dramatic thing to happen is their break up, spurred on as much by Chauncey 'Gun to Your Face' Badminton and Izzy 'You Should Die If You Won't Be Miserable With Me' Hands as it is by their own insecurities.

So it's a slow burn, that just happened to have the time of an arson fire.

9( Favorite anachronism?

Honestly it changes by the day, but for today it's the costuming, from Ed's t-shirts to Olu's crocs to Stede's theater teacher turtle neck. It's so much fun. I love that they never once try to justify or address it. It just is.

13( Did Ed really plan to murder Stede when he told Izzy the plan?

No, I fully believe he came up with that plan in the spot. I can't imagine that Ed was thinking this whole time that he was hanging out with Stede that he would kill him and steal his identity - I think that's an idea he put together as a way to explain his interest in Stede without having to get rid of Izzy or let him walk away in a huff because he'd said a dick thing to Ed and felt bad about it.

Plus, in looking back, we the audience know that Ed hasn't personally killed a man and watched the life leave his eyes since he killed his father, and I don't think Ed would have been able to harden his resolve enough to do it to Stede, not after having such a genuine and open time. However:

I do think Ed said it with intent. I don't think he'd been planning it the whole time, but I think a part of him said it because that small and doubting part of him that knows how life works knew that he wouldn't be able to live like this forever, so he was speaking into existence a plan that would let the dream have a natural end point: when Stede has to die.

14( Favorite AU idea?

I answered previously that it's This Tired World Could Change, by gangnamstiles, which is still true (it's my absolutely favorite AU in the fandom thus far), and that I love the vampire and werewolf AUs, but lately I've also been really finding my love for "Ed and Stede Leave and Go To Barbados Together" AUs - there are SO many ways that this could end up being their path, from one or both of them being hurt, to Stede finding Ed and saying he needs to go to his wife and find closure, to Ed going to look for Stede and finding him walking away -

it's just an amazing opportunity to get one of my favorite concepts, Mary and Ed meeting, out into the open. Because Stede NEEDED to go back and get his closure but I love my babygirl Edward 'Dread Pirate Blackbeard' Teach who should never be hurt, and these AUs satisfy both of those desires.

15( What’s your number one wish for season 2 (besides happening at all or couples being reunited)?

Answered here!

20( Favorite plot hole?

Answered over here, because it's still the same answer!

Tribal Council #14 - S.T.A.R.S.

Welcome S.T.A.R.S. to the fourteenth tribal council of the game where one of you will become the final member of the jury.

Ariel: The most enjoyable moment for me is meeting new people from different culture and trying to figure out everyone's timezone. Lol. I also did enjoy the challenges.  Making it to final 4 for me means that maybe I actually deserve more credit than I am giving to myself. I know some of the players perceive me as someone who was just a sheep being lead to ftc if I make it to the end (throwback to the touchy subjects), but hey I still made it here, and for once. just right now, I would like to claim that and be proud of myself for making it to Final 4. It was such a fun game to play with you all and I am so happy to be part of this season's cast cause we slaaaay!

QUESTION: Let’s take this time to reflect on our journey here together. What has been the most enjoyable moments or memorable moments in this game for you? What does it mean to each of you that you managed to get to Final 4? 

Clefford: I think it's working with the people that understand me. I was able to really connect with some people here. It's a great feeling because I believe that every relationship is special. Working with people that I trust and trust me back made me get to this point of the game. 

Dom: I loved having the opportunity to play this game and get to know other people from around the world. We all share one common factor--a love for the game of survivor. That in and of itself is something special. We've had the opportunity to make new friends, make alliances, trust others, work together and against eachother; An experience I'm truly grateful for. My first experiences on a tribe and my immunity win will for sure be the most memorable for me. Getting to final 4 is something awesome, and I thankful to have made it this far.

MJ: To think Survivor 42 was my first official survivor watch 😅😅 ever heard of love at first sight? Yea right! That was exactly what happened and then the love grew. Few weeks down the line, I found myself in my first ORG 😅 that pretty much summarizes my entire feeling in this game. Surreal!! My most enjoyable moments aren’t the times I was sleeping knowing fully well that my name wasn’t going to be mentioned at tribal. Rather, they were the culmination of the seemingly little things that happened. From the tribal tension, to the plot twists, to the immunity hustle 😅, the view of the merchants store of lavish goods and curses 🤣 I hated going there. To the alliance at every point, the friends I made, the Timezone calculations 😆 the greatest threat announcement 😅omg!! Each moment was priceless. And I’m so grateful I came this far with every surviving member of the game. What does it mean to me that I got to Final 4? 😃 it means a lot! But Out of the many things, if means trustworthiness & Unity 😊 the bedrock of my existence in the final four was as a result of a solid alliance of 3 that was shaken, but that still has a potential of solidly moving forward with our core values: trust & unity ♥️

~

I’ll read the votes. The person voted out will be asked to say their last words and leave the game.

First Vote

MJ

This is long overdue, Queen. But now that we have manage to take out all your protective gear (i.e. allies, possible advantages, and immunity necklace) I think this is our only chance to take a good shot on you to give ourselves a chance to win this game. You making to ftc, would mean you make it to the end purely out of strategy and social game. If that happens indeed, please accept and wear this (crown) on your way to FTC. You're a Queen, and still will be no matter what.

.

Second Vote

Ariel

Goodluck ♥️

.

Third Vote

MJ

you are a mastermind when it comes to this game and this is my one and only opportunity to take you out. If this doesn't go as planned congratulations, you have truly done it and deceived everyone in the game. You'll have my vote if I sit on the jury.

.

Fourth Vote

.

.

.

And the final member of the jury is…

MJ

Hey, MJ. I really value the friendship that formed between us. We've been working together since day 1 and that's the reason why I'm doing this. It would be hard for me to separate my game from you if we both sit in FTC. People see you as a threat and getting all the credits for the moves that we collaborative done along with Zuki. So I just hope that you understand why I'm doing this. You're so great and I know that you're aware of that. PLEASE UNDERSTAND ME.

~

MJ’s Last Words: OMG!!!! This is surreal and this is how to win!!!! I won y’all 😅 I’m a queen 👸 Ariel I’m rooting for you ♥️ take it all!! ♥️♥️♥️

~

Finalists, it is now time for Final Tribal Council proceedings. You will have until 6 PM EST tomorrow July 3rd to write or record yourself giving an opening statement. There is no word limit or time limit to these opening statements. Take this time to showcase to the jury as to why you should win the season.

At 6 PM EST tomorrow, I will post your opening statements to the jury. I will also post the jury questions. You will have another 24 hours to answer these questions. More information on that tomorrow.

Good luck!

Okay listen

Yes this is the “longass post” I mentioned in my previous Tratie HoO post hgjkfsh I decided to publish it and see what y’alls think!

Anyway, I saw this post, like...a week ago?? And all of a sudden, everything related to the HoO series that I’ve held back just came charging full-force. So I’m here to grace y’alls with my ideas and thoughts about HoO.

Honestly, if I talked abt everything that went off-kilter in that series, we’d be here all day, so I’ll just stick to the mere basic point that was also the basis of my HoO conceptual rewrite idea, and that point is...

Percabeth shouldn’t have been a part of the Seven.

Yeah yeah, half of you guys must be throwing stones at me, the other half is probably nodding in agreement. But seriously, Percabeth already had their time to shine--they had an entire five hecking books, they ( and their characterizations ) definitely do not need another five more, yeesh! I love Percy and all, but pls, five more books in which his and Annabeth’s and their relationship’s character were diminished? Yeah, no thanks. 

I love Percabeth, but in HoO, they became so...bland??? Idk how to properly explain it, but I didn’t like what happened to their character arcs at all lmaoo

But then, I got an idea: what if, instead of Percabeth, it was TRATIE who was a part of the Seven, instead? 

Now this idea was inspired both from the post mentioned above plus another post that talked abt Tratie as a part of the Seven in a bit more detail, which I cannot find no matter how many times I scoured the rr-crit tag ( smh, if anyone else knows of this post, pls lmk and link it, I’m sorry 😭 )

And yeah, I know a lot of ppl have been hopping on the ‘Nico & Reyna as part of the Seven’ train when it comes to making HoO rewrites, but see, hear me out, just think about the potential of Travis Stoll and Katie Gardner--two children of minor gods--getting their spotlight in a series of their own ( plus more indirect spotlight on the minor gods in question ) plus a slowburn ( kinda ) relationship?? Heck, I already have some ideas for this, that I’ll jot down below the cut along with some conceptual ideas about the rewrite. If any of y’alls end up reading this whole post, can you...just, idk, lmk whether it’s a solid plan and if I should actually take it forward and plan on writing it? Bc I’m being rlly indecisive rn ahaha 😅

So. Tratie instead of Percabeth. Let’s take a closer look at the potential:

Honestly, I hate to admit it, but Percabeth didn’t do much to the plot as a whole, so it wouldn’t make much of a difference if they’re taken out. Though there are some things they did to move the plot forward, although little, and that’s what I’ll touch on before I discuss Tratie in general:

( oh yeah, disclaimer: I read the HoO series about five years ago?? I’m trying ( key word: trying lmao ) to reread the series currently, but it’s just not sticking lmfao. Probably the main reason why I wanna rewrite it so badly, other than the two posts that boosted my inspo )

--> THE ATHENA PARTHENOS: Annabeth went on a solo quest in MoA to track down the Athena Parthenos bc it was crucial to sealing the rift between Greek and Roman. BUT, any other demigod could go on that same quest instead of her. Like Piper, whose mother had told her that she was essential to sealing the rift but never ended up doing anything for it bc RR just...flopped idk; or someone like Leo who has similar abilities as Annabeth and would be able to outsmart Arachne in a similar fashion as well; or even Reyna could come earlier than she did in the series and work with the Seven or some of them to track down the statue? Idk, there are lots of options, tbh, there’s honestly not that much relevance to Annabeth being the daughter of Athena so she has to track down the Athena Parthenos. I mean, sure there was the Arachne ordeal, but other than that, nothing major rlly happens

Percy, himself, didn’t rlly...do much for the entire series, other than fight. I mean, there were some minor aspects of HoO where his powers or relations to other characters vibed well, so we’ll check those out:

--> KANSAS: In MoA, Jason and Percy fought each other bc they were forced to. That could easily happen even without Percy. Instead, of Percy, it could be Hazel and Jason fighting each other due to their connections as the Big Three children being taken advantage of. It could be sort of like a mirage of Thalia and Percy’s fight back in TTC. Plus, again, it gives way for more bonding and discussion after between two other characters that never got much interaction time together in canon

--> KYM AND POLYBOTES: okay this is the scene that takes place in BoO where Percy and Jason face off against Kym and Polybotes. But, Percy...does literally nothing here other than get poisoned lmao. It was Jason who did the heavy-lifting bc Percy got a t a d bit arrogant, thinking he was invincible underwater. So honestly, you could take out Percy and replace him with another member of the Seven (who would seem reasonable, in the context, so no Piper or Annabeth or Leo, etc bc none of them can survive even a minute under the water and doesn’t have a way like Jason to breathe). Tbvh, I can see Frank and Jason go together to face Kym and Polybotes. Frank can shapeshift into a sea-creature while Jason can use his ventus vacuum thingie, so it all works out, and nothing too drastic is changed! 

There’s probably a couple more of little scenes where Percabeth was mostly significant in some way to the series, but let’s be very honest...there weren’t a lot of them. So long story short: if you want to, you can easily take out Percy and Annabeth from the series and replace them with another pair and it wouldn’t be the end of the world, lmao.

Now onto Tratie ideas in relation to if they were a part of the Seven instead. Here are some bullet-points of some ideas that I thought of:

It could be a lovely parallel, where when Jason woke up, all he could remember was Thalia, so when Travis wakes up, all he remembers is Connor, his younger brother. I think it would be nice bc it shows that not everything has to be romantically coded like how Percy only remembered Annabeth in canon. It would emphasize Travis and Connor’s sibling bond more so, and I can just imagine Connor giving Travis reuniting noogies and trying not to burst into tears in MoA, and Travis whispers something like “you’re here” and the floodgates open, and it’s just crying and hugging and the like 😭😭

Katie is a daughter of Demeter, so she would have a somewhat connection with the Earth aka Gaea, hence there is now a plausible reason why Gaea would want to spill her blood to rise. Also, when the time comes to defeat her, instead of charm-speaking her to sleep or whatnot, Katie could be a significant crux to the primordial’s defeat bc her powers tie in with the land/earth, so she could use her powers to forcibly push Gaea back into the earth.

 Instead of them going to Tartarus, they end up going to Cupid (so some other pair will fall into Tartarus instead), and instead of a stupid forced outing, Cupid takes one look at them, senses their underlying emotional tension and goes “oh boy, yeah, you two have a lot to talk about” and actually (tries to) help guide the two into confessing the feelings they’d hidden, instead of being a little shit like in canon. Plus I just adore the idea of Travis calling Katie “flower” after they get together, and Katie calling him “key” not just bc he steals stuff but also bc he’s like the key to her heart and all that sappy bs, I literally love them sm 🥺 literally such wonderful nickname opportunities that have a deeper meaning

Travis and Jason might have a subtle rivalry, but unlike Percy and Jason’s weird ‘I’m stronger than you’ thing, it could be bc Jason felt a bit jealous of how everyone was looking for Travis, including his sister, while no one pulled much of an effort to look for him? It’d give an opportunity for them to talk things out and end up growing closer after talking

Juno/Hera saw Travis’s need, his desire, to redeem the Hermes name and as a result, used that fire to kickstart her plan by plopping him in Camp Jupiter while Jason got switched to CHB. Hence there is now a reasonable concept as to why the switch happened, because honestly, the whole Percy-Jason switch didn’t make all that sense bc Jason, yes I can sort of understand why he got switched, but Percy?? There was literally no solid reason that was explained as to why he was chosen to be switched lmao. But with Travis, Juno/Hera takes pity on him and uses this as an opportunity for him to bring glory to the Hermes name after the Titan War

I have a ton more ideas for the rewrite as a whole tbvh. Stuff relating to ways Gaea could actually be defeated, more on Octavian’s backstory and why he hates the Greeks so much, and other tiny scenes between the demigods that could bring about more characterization and details to their arcs.

The only problem is...with the way this is going in my head, I think things might end up diverging more or less from canon as the series progresses? Like there will obv be the canon scenes, but there might also be non-canon scenes that might change the series plot a little bit?? And idk how many of y’alls will appreciate that lmao ghjksfgh but I have started writing it. It’s a super long process lmfao, so idk when I’ll publish it (probably on Ao3, if I do), but I just wanted to let y’alls know bc a lot of you guys liked my first post abt this and I saw your lovely tags and it made me super happy and honestly, those tags are the reason why I even started writing this in the first place! So thank you guys so so much for the positive feedback!

Friendo of mine Elitespacefreak recommended Not a Glitch because I was a bit salty with tumblr's search results and just...I saw you had a tumblr and I absolutely HAD to come over here and rant.

How actually DARE you be so absolutely amazing at writing?? The sheer AUDACITY of you to be able to string together human mouth noises into coherent thiught and weave together such an absolutely enthralling piece of work called storytelling??

I'm so baffled!?! It's so well thought out and detailed to the point I legit sat here and binge read the entire thing in one sitting (food and potty breaks taken as well as a healthy dose of hydration because omg my dude ya got a girl thirsty for a slow burn!?!)

Man oh man. I just...idk what to do with myself anymore lol I'm all caught up on my two current fave fics and it's all stormy outside and matches my whole ass mood of the salty big sads🤣🤣

I absolutely 100% love your story and I truly do hope the muses bless you with word flow abundance and a peaceful external nonwriting life so that you can continue to bless us unworthy masses with your literary beauty🥰🥰🥰

Ahhhh 😳🥰😅 Thank you so much for all the kind words about Not A Malfunction. I'm so glad you enjoyed it and hearing as much really touches this authoress.

I really wonder where I got the audacity for this fic sometimes, too. Maybe my writing skills finally aged long enough (since I've been writing fanfic since 2012). Ten years is a long time to be on this shit, but damn is it enjoyable 😅

Anyhow, let's just say I've improved over the years and just want people to have what I want in a fic: something of quality that is readable and enjoyable. I'm happy to hear that I'm on the right trek with that, complete with details and an interesting plot.

Muses willing, I'll have the next chapter out before the week is out. I have a two day weekend, so there is ample opportunity and downtime to be able to accomplish much. I plan on doing just that. You shouldn't have to wait too long for more 💖💖💖

Again, thank you for all your kind words. I'm always extremely flattered by what readers have to say about my stories. It waters my crops and blesses my writing fields so I can provide even more chapters for you all to enjoy.

@elitespacefreak Thank you for sending your very sweet friend this way. Love your Peace of Mind Monty x y/n fic and will be more than happy to send any friends of my own your way 💖💖💖

Hi!! I'm an aspiring IF writer, and I was wondering if you had any advice on how to plot out the story? Do you use a specific program to plot, or do you do it on paper? Also sorry if this has been asked before haha, I tried to look for similar asks on your blog but couldn't find anything

Hi!!!!! Firstly let me says congrats on deciding to start this journey! Please let me know when you publish your game, I love finding new amazing ideas to play!

Secondly, I'm more of a pantser than a plotter so this might not be entirely helpful. For WoF I started with a vague notion of a plot (your mother dies under suspicious circumstances when you return to your hometown) and then I added things to that vague premise, such as making it an urban fantasy story, making the family witches, making the MC a journalist because that would make them have seasoned investigative skills, and then began adding love interests and side characters to round out the world. Not all of them were planned. For example, Captain Tanaka was born literally as I was writing the scene where you meet her.

For overall plot, again, I began with vague notions then filled them out in a word doc in bullet points. For this bit I split it into Act 1, 2, and 3. I don't want to spoil the game, so I'll make up an example.

Act 2

Character A rises from the dead to fight her friends

Argument that leads to fight between character B and C

Character A sends a dream vision to C

It doesn't have to be in any depth because the whole point is to just give you an idea that you can develop when you get there, or add to it as you write. Then once that's done, I do the same with chapters. My chapter one plan is about 5 bullet points, such as "meet caoilainn and argue", "go to warehouse and investigate". I fill in the blanks as I get there. It's probably not the best way to write, especially for an IF, but its what makes sense to me.

As for choices: again, I plan those loosely as I develop characters. For example, I know I want to track MC's relationship to Aleia post-death so I will make sure to write certain scenes with a focus on that reflection between MC and their mother.

Twine is great for mapping out branching storylines and complex choices as well! I use that to keep my choices organised. Especially when there's branching storylines within separate choices.

I honestly don't know if any of that helps. I'm terrible at giving writing advice because my own process is basically "wing it". I'll say that answering asks helps me develop my story a lot because I have other people asking questions that I wouldn't have thought of or wouldn't have bothered with, which will actually make the interactive part stronger because it now includes a variety of perspectives, rather than just my own limited perspective.

I hope this word vomit actually helps in some way! I wish you all the luck in the world in developing your IF! The last advice I'll give is that don't be discouraged if the choices and variations and diverged paths overwhelm you at first. It's a hard thing to get your head around and to cope with at the beginning. Be patient with yourself Anon! Your game will end up amazing however you end up going about it.

Good luck and have a great night 🥰 I hope I helped 😅

Ok but here’s the thing! There is this bank in my town and every time I went in as a child I always got this feeling, that if anyone was gonna rob a bank it would be this one. The lay out of the doors (aka the entry and exit points), the windows, all the different ways to leave, to hiding in rough neighborhoods not far away to the highway that doesn’t lead to anywhere major for almost and hour in either direction. Like as a kid I legit thought one day I’m gonna be in here with my mom, or dad, or even my grandma and we’re gonna get robbed. Another reason is that when I was really young I went into the safe room with all the safety deposit boxes, and all you need was the keys to get in!!! And they were right there!!! So I spent my childhood every time in that bank thinking of what I would do and how I would survive a bank robbing(and only ever this bank, never any of the other in the county, the others didn’t feel robbable🤷🏻‍♀️). To, so this is the path I usually take when we visit this is how long it would take us to run this way out one door and that the other one wasn’t an option unless we were just entering or about to exit. Like these plans were well thought out. Btw this all happened between the ages of to young to remember, so younger then 4, up to about 12, didn’t go back in after that family didn’t bank there anymore, But the best fucking part is that in my senior year of high school my mom had to cash a check so I went in with her, and let me tell you this isn’t the biggest bank, but it’s big for our area and over the years the space that they use and the employees that work have declined so it’s just empty practically. With no Guard! Except maybe one in the back but you can practically see the entire bank by just walking in through one door and out the other. So you wanna know what 17 year old me did😏😏 I thought up of a really elaborate bank robbery and what female classmates I would have work with me to our different strong suits, I thought up who would be able to get certain info that we would need to be successful, how we would go about the actually robbery, what part each of us would play on that day how the money would be split, even our fucking alibis, how we would cover up planning together and that if we got caught that it couldn’t be tracked down to us but to anonymous people who started messaging us on untraceable prepaid flip phones that we started finding on our way home from school and near our vehicles and so forth, and how they were threatening us with proof to hurt our family, and how they always made us ditch the phones after a certain amount of time and to expect a new one soon, and that we were nothing more then scared but smart 17 year old girls, who were scared into doing this and no we don’t know what happened to the money after we left it here blah blah blah. As you can see super fucking elaborate and this isn’t even half of it. Anyway the whole point of this was yes become a bank robber I support you 100% and even more importantly my 17 year old self supports this even more. Not related but I really want to turn this into a novel! Think it could work? The daydreams of a teenage bank robbery? But the actually book is a fictional back robbery?!? Idk I think it would be cool I have a lot of import bank robbing plots written up🙄🤫 based off of this😁 and sorry that it’s so long I’ve only ever shared this with one other person😅😅

... i fucking love this

🪡+ your favorite one!

Hi! Thank you for the ask! I super appreciate it and hope you’re having a good day :)

This might be a bit long (very very sorry for that), because I have yet to get to talk about this with anyone. I’m super passionate about these characters and absolutely cannot contain myself any longer lol

Soo I’m actually gonna rant about the mc of my new wip for a bit! I try not to play favourites with my characters, as all of them are my besties and I’d die for them all. But this character is truly one of the special ones, as I’ll explain later.

His name is Constantine and I made a mood board for him. Here it is, it should give you plenty of vibes for his character lol

Very very sorry if you can’t see any parts of it, I know it’s pretty dark in tone… but as you maybe can tell, he’s kind of a Rowdy Boi lol

His trope is the bad boy with a dark past who isn’t actually bad at heart and would die without his leather jackets. Kinda typical I know, but hey. I made him when I was literally in middle school lmao. This guy’s been with me since the very beginning of it all basically, and I do not have the heart to change his character much. Instead, with his revision, I’m planning on just exploring what he already has. His depression is going to be one of the main plot lines of his story.

Constantine has historically been a vehicle for my angst, and I predict that will remain true when I get to writing his story. My deepest feelings of sorrow, anger, wants, loneliness, etc. But all the same, Constantine is a character of his own. He means a lot to me. Like a shit ton. And I’m not even quite sure why 😅 he just does. I think it’s a combo of how long he’s been my character, and the fact that I know he has some very deep parts of me within him. He even has my dirty blonde curls and blue eyes 😂 so he has a few surface level qualities as well.

I would love to explain the reasons behind his depression, but that’s digging into world building lore that I don’t feel like getting into right now. Basically though he once had elemental powers of light, and he once had the love and the affection (or lack thereof) of his father, the King. But once little Con was exposed to the dark experiments his father is conducting on magic users, that turned his heart cold and sent him down a long path of darkness, and that reflected like a mirror through his magical abilities.

Now he spends his days with his only friends Blake and Rebekah. They get up to some shenanigans together, like drinking at the bars and playing games like poker. He is one to smoke (more of a him thing than a group thing), and occasionally get high. Him and Blake always keep an eye out for girls to have one night stands with. It’s an alright life. Anything to keep his mind busy and his heart light.

His friends mean the world to him. But unfortunately, they can’t erase the darkness and negative thoughts that seems to linger in the back of his mind, waiting to strike at any given moment… and the fact that Constantine, with his trust issues, refuses to open up to them about his mental issues. Blake and Rebekah know him, they can tell when something is off. But they always get drowned in a sea of sarcastic jokes and deflections when they point it out to him.

All Constantine truly wants in life is to find a place where he feels like he belongs. But he didn’t realise that place has been underneath his nose this entire time.

He’s very charismatic and knows how to charm. Somehow he has the biggest ego you’ve ever met, although that’s just a mask to disguise the terrible self image lying just underneath. He’s typically quiet and humble when he’s sober, while being loud and sociable when drunk, although those two sides are known to swap places sometimes.

Also he’s super into animals. Having a pet (preferably a dog) is one of his life goals

—

Again, thank you so much for the ask!! I appreciate it beyond words and am very very happy to have gotten this rant out my system :))

Ask game here

Can I ask how your writing process is like? What inspires you? And is there any writers or books you like? I absolutely love your writing so much (❁´◡`❁)

I’m so glad you’re enjoying my odd little stories! Though perhaps little is not the right word, as they always end up longer than I planned… 😅

My writing process is essentially:

When a story gets it’s claws in my brain, I can barely function with anything else until I can pin down a rough idea of it. Sometimes, the concept doesn’t retain the fire of excitement much longer than that, which is fine - those fragments go into one of several fragment recycling files for a rainy day.

When the story keeps whispering more fragments after pinning down the sketch, I noodle those in text messages to myself or my long-suffering friends, and if I get actual fragments of dialogue? I use the roughest of abbreviated script formats to catch as much as I can, and when the storm of fragments subsides enough to string coherent sentences together, I outline.

These outlines are not formal in any respect, and rarely contain complete sentences, unless Fuck. is a sentence. My entire goal with an outline is to string fragments and impressions into a more or less plausible order and see if there is a beginning, middle, and end in there somewhere, or if assembling the heap tells me what an ending might look like. If I can’t find a moment that feels like a resolution point, the outline goes to the fragment bin.

If I do, however, see a way to get the characters out of the tree after having chased them into it and thrown rocks at them for however many Plot Events, my friends proceed to roll newspapers and fetch water bottles I add it to the WIP list with a working title, and attempt to get back to whatever project is supposed to have priority work on it when I can.

Inspiration for the beginnings of things, as you might guess, is pretty much never a problem for me, in art or writing or craft. There are always more interesting battles to pick than there are hours in the day. The trouble for me is finding inspiration to fill in the [get there] and [says something clever] placeholders. My best tools for filling the well of possibility are usually manual tasks with low analytical brain requirements: driving and showering are classics, but for me a lot of fiber arts also fit this bill. When I’m able to go walking, that’s also good for me. If I turn to other media for ideas, it’s about 50/50 seeking something that’s a comforting, Familiar narrative and world to trick my brain into resting, or whether I seek something with a mood/setting that’s similar to my current writing problems.

Favorite authors and books is a wonderful question, and also very hard to answer.

A short list of favorite authors would have to include several common classics (Edgar Allen Poe, Jane Austen, Shakespeare, Marcus Aurelius, Dostoevsky, Emily Dickinson, Oscar Wilde…) and some modern Greats (Sir Terry Pratchett, Andre Norton, Guy Gavriel Kay, Marguerite Henry, Robert E. Howard, Seanan McGuire, Patrick Rothfuss, N.K. Jemisin, Cherie Priest, Ursula Vernon…) and likewise too many outstanding fic writers to list them all (but if you read on Ao3 and haven’t read Nebulyx, DrSteggy, Unpretty, Westmoor, Ruffboi, Appleheart, BetterBeMeta, Cyada, Khiroptera, Xxenjoy, Inber, ShanaStoryteller, Imaginary_Golux, or Tirsynni, you’re in for a treat.)

Thank you again for dropping by, and for tolerating my very long rambling post! I’m so glad you’ve enjoyed the stories, and I look forward to finishing more of them for you! 💖

supposed to be editing huh vicky 🤨🤨🤨 im kidding let's do this 😌 how about 2, 7, 15, 17 & 22! ok that's a lot but i have restrained myself from sending all of them so be proud of me 💙

I'm always proud of you, Maya 💙💙 And yup, I've started the editing process 🤭🤭 (I still am fighting with a couple paragraphs from the end scene, so I decided to start editing and let my brain work it out in the background hahahah)

Let's do this (under the cut so I don't take over people's dashes):

2. talk about a notable time a narrative or character has looked you dead in the eyes and said “fuck your plan, here’s what we’re actually doing.”

Okay, this is fun. There's been a couple times. Can't talk about the most recent one before tomorrow, but. In Hourglass. Cashton were never supposed to be a thing. It was a one-sided crush side plot. And then Ashton looked me dead in the eyes and was like "did you really think you could put Calum next to me for an extended period of time being his cute and talented self and I wouldn't develop fEeLiNgS???" so... 😅

Oh, and let's never forget Ashton growing a sudden tragic past when I was writing what I thought would be a fun lil christmass-y one-shot fic that would later be known as All The Hues Of Blue 🤭 He was just "well, you see, I'm a bit broken. So this is not going to be just a fun one-shot. It's going to end up being a huge ass series. You're welcome 💙"

7. tell us about one of your characters who’s an absolute joy to write

LUCIFURR. Gosh he's so fun. Although I've never written him, him. Always about other character's perceptions of him hahahah. And, of course, Otto, my beloved 💙 Otto's always a joy to write. Can't wait to write more of him. Eventually. Some day. He's such a sweet character, I can't 🥺

15. in an ideal world where you’re already super successful and published, would you want to see a tv or movie adaptation of your work? why or why not?

Mayaa, you know the answer to this one 🤭🤭 YES! I'd love to, but. I'd also love to be involved. I have a degree in film, if in this hypothetical world they offered me the chance to work on the script, or helping the casting, or being a part of the creative team? Sign me the fuck up. Athob for example is huge on colour symbolism, I'd absolutely love to explore that in an actual film 😍😍 One can dream hahahahah

17. at what point in the process do you come up with titles, and how easy or hard is that for you?

It is the hardest thing sometimes. I spent two months with Hourglass as "Batman fic" on my drafts, trying to look for a title then deciding on using the name I had given the animation studio on it for the title.

For my one-shots, unless I've had a clear direction from the beginning (Kokology), it's been hard. Then they end up being named Crayon Record Store because there was a record store on the fic and since it was Cake I wrote for my best friend's birthday, who I have saved as "Crayon" on my phone –she misspelled crying and wrote crayon once and I will never let her live it down–, well, I just put two and two together.

Then there's All The Hues Of Blue, which working title was "Christmas is all around" up until the moment I was about to post the first chapter, then the title just came to me. Funny thing, because it ended up being the thread that bound together that entire story, part of what gave it meaning. And it just... came to me. And Rare as Gold came to me when I was reading about neutron star collisions and how they're believed to be the origin of all the gold found in our galaxy (at this point I already knew what the last words of ATHOB were, and chose the title for the sequel knowing that). And... it will play a big part on the final scene 🤭

22. talk about a writing experience that has pleasantly surprised you. or talk about several. seriously, writing is cool. you’re making up whole stories out of your brain, revel in that shit.

Pleasantly surprised me? 🤔🤔 There's been a lot. Of course all the friends I've met through writing, that's the first thing that comes to mind.💙 Even though I don't think that question refers to that, but. It's the most important thing.

Another thing is how writing is such a powerful tool for self-reflection. I literally, subconsciously wrote things into fics over three years ago that I'm only just now picking up on and understanding that say a lot about what I was going through at the time, or about who I am. It's so cool to be rereading something I wrote and then go "...huh." 🤭

fanfic friday! what is your overall writing process like?

Hi Jen! Thanks for asking 😊

My writing process usually work in four stages:

1. Outlining

When I have a headcanon or an idea comes up, I write a paragraph about the main plot or a text on bullet points to plan how the story will be written. Sometimes it has a specific scene or an action with more details or a sentence/a dialogue I want, but it doesn't happen often. It's mostly a guide I check sometimes while I write.

2. Writing

This stage depends a lot on how much research I have to do to write a story. The less I know about the main theme of the story, the longer it will take for me to write it. From the first draft to the last one, it can take days, maybe weeks if I feel stuck or burnt out.

One thing I learned in almost three years as a fanfic author is to take some time off to sleep/nap between drafts and between writing and editing. Sleeping gives my brain time to process everything I did until I went to bed. When I wake up, I re-read the draft and see if there's anything else I can add, alter or rewrite something. It always works for me. I only skip naps or sleeping if I'm writing on schedule (for a challenge or an appreciation week).

3. Editing

I actually start editing the story after the first draft and I keep doing it as I go. But once the story is finished, I re-read one time out loud and use online editors (Editminion, Hemingway app) to check the grammar. Then I re-read one last time. If I ask someone to alfa or beta read it for me (which is rare because I don't want to feel like I'm bothering anyone 🤦🏽‍), I'll read twice to make any corrections and see if the story has any more room for improvement.

4. Posting

I post here on Tumblr first, reblog to add tag lists, masterlists, reblog on CFWC. Then I post on AO3/Choices Fanfic Archive. It's astounding how many mistakes I find in my fics after I post them, which means I end up editing the post again and why my writing process never truly ends after posting. But whatever 😅

I know some people just sit down and write an entire one shot or a chapter, others post unedited stories and I was baffled (and low key insulted 😑) when I saw a mutual's post about how outlining is stupid. I could never do that. Writing may be just a hobby, but I don't want my stories to be anything less than great (at least in my opinion, given that I write for myself). And developing this routine for my writing has made a significant impact on the quality of my stories.