@zestyzigzagoon - Tumblr Blog

and-fishing-equipment

in 2026 DO NOT ask yourself whether your art is GOOD

instead ask:

is it SINCERE

was it CATHARTIC

was it FUN TO MAKE

is it MADE BY ME

and don't forget to stay silly

zestyzigzagoon

Yet again, I find myself having to remind myself that nearly every single project of mine has had a point in which I felt like it was awful and doomed (and it rarely ever was). I have pushed through this before, I will push through it again, but it's still really annoying to habitually cross the "this fic is irredeemably awful and you should give up" bridge every time I get to it :/

#UGHHHHH I think I found my problem re: prev tags but it does not make my life easier 😭#just rambling about it to sort my thoughts out. you're all my coding rubber ducks now (look it up). so:#I think it's the emotional set-up that's messing me up here rather than anything structural.#a lot of times my instinct with writing Drew's internal emotions is to lean into the overthinking and emotional guardedness.#and I DO think that's a big part of him to be clear. I stand by that interpretation and I do think he's someone with a *lot* of walls #but the specific way I'm doing it for this fic/ opening scene isn't working I think.#it's supposed to be directly post-AG. and the last time we saw M&D together was in unbeatable lightness when they were at their most-#-comfortable with each other. right. there was something kind of new and softer in how they interacted.#and my line of thinking for a directly post-AG fic was ''the emotional lines of their rivalry are shifting into something new and different #and the boundaries are changing and I can see that stressing Drew out as he tries to figure out where they stand''.#so he's like. okay. do I go back to teasing her? are we just regular-friendly now? flirting? do we pretend nothing happened? etc.#all the while being an awkward teenage boy with a crush about it a la the AG175 'toss-a-rose-and-immediately-leave' end scene lol.#and I still stand by all of that. *but* it was showing in M&D's interactions within the fic scene and in how he was acting #and I think that might have been my issue? because- having recently rewatched more canon- Drew's generally pretty good about #not showing his negative or more uncertain emotions directly (ag181 aside). he doesn't usually show insecurity even if it's there.#I think I was kind of writing him in a more May way where whatever happens inside also happens outside too and it just felt off.#because he's really not like that in a lot of ways. he is in *some* ways but not this specific one I think.#if May's nervous then you can tell immediately but I think Drew would hide it a lot better even if he feels the exact same as she does.#so now I need to figure out if I'm going to adjust the emotional tone as a whole or just the way Drew presents externally.#(it's in his pov for context).#I still want *some* of this vibe but just not as much of it as I have right now I think. it's stalling the scene.#I think it'll be a balancing act because the entire point is that their relationship IS evolving and that IS new for them #and it WOULD be a bit awkward as they both figure out what this new territory (emotional and literal too- Johto fic) would be like!#but not to the extent that Drew externally comes across as nervous because that's just not working right now.#there's absolutely a time and a place for it (such as later in the fic lol) but the current scene I'm stuck on is not it I think.#we'll see. at least now I've articulated what feels off and I can try and fix it from there.#man. writing is so annoying. why does anyone do this. (I cannot imagine ever stopping <3)

nature-travel-photography

Backrooms looking field - Author: theph0tographer1816

Yet again, I find myself having to remind myself that nearly every single project of mine has had a point in which I felt like it was awful and doomed (and it rarely ever was). I have pushed through this before, I will push through it again, but it's still really annoying to habitually cross the "this fic is irredeemably awful and you should give up" bridge every time I get to it :/

#I still have enough time to work on this specific fic that I might move some stuff around though.#I think the way that the first scene opens is my issue? but I can't add/remove another scene. I can only change this one.#it's probably going to be kind of long for a oneshot so I'd really like every distinct section of it to be one scene only.#no scene breaks. no pov switches. just six individual single scenes that portray six different points in time if that makes sense.#kind of a vignette-y way of storytelling I guess and each scene has its own little connected theme.#but the first one is *really* making me work for it. I'm used to being able to rely on POV switches when I get stuck.#esp in Chasing Sunsets. that's my go-to writing trick tbh 😅#like: ''May isn't cooperating? ok. cool. the chapter is Drew's problem now'' lol. stuff like that- but that won't work here.#the oneshot is really intentionally structured in a specific way. and that's a good thing for this project overall I think!#but it's challenging in a new way as well. I have to be a lot more intentional than usual with how I use time and scene framing.#LL

kritzenkriegen

*thinks up an idea for a silly quick piece* okay haha let's whip something up real quick

*idea gets more complicated*

oh no

#banging my head against the wall is my favorite writing pastime

6okuto-moved-deactivated2025080

"i miss him" says girl about the fictional guy she thinks about every hour of every day

#prev I love seeing posts like this and knowing that there's a 95% chance that thinking about the same guy lol #also me right now: 'I miss him' says girl who is supposed to be writing him right now and isn't 😔

beloved-child-of-the-house

aftercare for posting on ao3

beloved-child-of-the-house

your fic was good you did grammar good you’re the kind of freak people like everything’s cool dude :^)

contestshipping-catalog

CONTESTSHIPPING WEEK 2026 SOFTLAUNCH!

Why the softlaunch? Well, I'm going to be using this blog as the host for the event (since I don't see the point of making another sideblog when I already have one just dedicated to CS). But I'm still in the archival phase at the moment, where I'm trying to get every old post onto this blog - which means 50 posts out of the queue each day, which I understand is a Lot to ask for somebody to follow.

So once the archival phase, I'll make a big post with fancy graphics and full rules and ask for a bunch of reblogs and signal boosts then. But this post is just to give those who are interested in creating a head start on the themes/allow for any feedback if there's something I've missed.

(Also: this isn't just for fanart, fanfics, and fanvids! those are lovely and accepted, of course, but headcanons, memes, fanmixes, edits, etc will all be welcome. As long as it's not AI.)

(Also also: The themes are not mandatory! They're suggestions, not restrictions. Any CS content creation is welcome.)

Without further adieu, the themes and dates for Contestshipping Week 2026:

July 4th - Rivalry / Food

July 5th - Sunsets / LaRousse City

July 6th - Grand Festival / Alternate Universe

July 7th - Seasons / Formal Dance

July 8th - Confessions / Petalburg City

July 9th - Family / Vacation

July 10th (CONTESTSHIPPING DAY) - Roses / Future

yyyyddmmsupremacy-deactivated20

one person's "ugghh this trope is so overdone" is another person's "oooooohohohohohohohoho"

#if you ever sit down to write a coffeeshop au/fake dating au/only one bed/first kiss/forbidden romance/office au/etc fanfic #and if you think to yourself 'there's too many fics like this. who would read it?' then the answer is me!!! I love them!!!#also tbh there's really NOT that many of any of these in the contest fandom. just a handful each for most of them. there's tons of room!!#oooooooooh and flowershop aus....... I had one at one point because it fits M&D so well and it's still in my docs somewhere.#it is not on my current list of active priorities (CS/johto oneshot/🕷️) but it's back there on the wip pile somewhere.#along with 500 other things but eh. so it goes.

hollylu-ships-it

Commissioned by @cultofpokeshipping

THIS IS SO FREAKING CUTE! I didn’t think Ash would look all that great in western gear but he looks “FIIIIIIIIINE”. ;)

Misty looks ADORABLE!!!

THIS is why I open commissions! :D

Thank you Cult!

winstrates

@zestyzigzagoon

zestyzigzagoon

AHH I love this, thanks for @'ing me on it!!!

#Misty's dress is so pretty!#Chasing Sunsets

bli-tza

Pokemon HG/SS - Bell Tower

#LL #<- wip tag

Happy WIP Wednesday! I have something new 👀 first draft, just the barebones early version of a scene, we all know the deal by now:

#LL #wip wednesday #well. it's not something *new*. I've been loosely chatting about it on here for a little bit now but this is the first real glimpse of it!#this oneshot is so fun to write but I'll have a lotttt of editing to do later lol.#this was the most presentable scene I could find. the rest are all full of placeholders and notes and gaps and mixed tenses #(since I write in past tense but tend to outline/plan in present tense for some reason).#anyways. re: this scene- I think that Drew would really resent a lot of the fame (and objectification) that comes with coordinating #but I think he'd be aware that he has an Effect™ on people and I realllllyyyy like the idea of him trying it on May lmao.#and not just like the casual flirtation that he does in canon- I mean REALLY trying to play it up and charm her.#he is on a MISSION.#I think effortlessness comes easily to him- as is implied by the word itself- but TRYING is nerve-wracking.#trying risks failing but desperate times call for desperate measures. right?

dreaminginthedeepsouth

Joy Sullivan, from “Culpable”, Instructions for Traveling West

I kind of suck at tagging, so I made this infographic to help make it easier.

writingdose

“I want to write a fic about this but I don’t think anybody will be interested in it” ummm hello excuse me ma’am what do you mean you don’t think anybody will be interested in it??? YOU. YOU ARE INTERESTED IN IT???? write it because YOU are interested in it and YOU want to write about it. fanfic writing should always be first and foremost about YOUR enjoyment, not other people’s.

At the unfortunate stage of creation where I am absolutely COOKING, except it's, like, still chopping up the vegetables and heating up some olive oil and there's really nothing worth sharing yet, even though I am in the kitchen and making progress. I know it will be good, but it's literally inedible right now and I have nothing to show for it yet despite my excitement lol

#I've got about 2.5k words down and some of these sentences are not even real sentences. but they will be eventually! 😌#learning to let my first draft absolutely suck ass is possibly the best writing advice I've ever internalized.#(for me at least. everyone works differently- but this helps me a lot!)#you can't work off of nothing. you know? it's better to have something to improve on than a blank page.#the first draft for me is for making it exist in ANY way I can- usually badly lol- and the rest of the drafts/retypes are for improving it #and adding on sensory details/emotional interiority/etc. my editing process is usually a really additive one.#but anyways. I'm feeling great about this project so far despite the fact that it is in a truly terrible state right now lol.#but it won't be terrible forever! I hope 😅#I mean. maybe it will be awful. and if it is then that just sucks for all of us I guess lol BUT I have a good feeling about this one!

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