NoSecretsHere

3. First Mates

Yes I've read the SBS, no need to comment. Anyway, I love the highlighting of the first mates/chief of staff characters in this one. I think they all play a VITAL role for their captains and often times are men of few words like Killer, Beckman, Zoro himself, etc that they can get outshined by other characters.

I love that Oda gave them a color spread that is just for them and celebrates them whether they are evil or not haha Let them all have their moment in the sun.

4. Straw Hats With Their Kid Versions

Oh this one makes me soooo happy. One I am always happy to see them as kids again, I think the designs are just so distinct and adorable. Secondly though I think there's so much character work done in this.

For example, I love that Luffy is being a menace to his own child self and vice versa. It's so in character and a fun detail to add in.

Then there are more subtle parts, specifically the Zoro and Usopp section. I think it's so sweet that little Zoro is suspicious of little Usopp and eyeing him with so much distrust while older Zoro is smiling and happy to have older Usopp literally leaning on him. That's literally one of the sweetest things I've ever seen.

I love that little Nami gets to be innocent and fun with a little Sanji right next to her staring at her, blushing, and admiring her like joy for life. Which like YES.

Then I think it's sad but also such a good detail to have little Robin seemingly isolating herself and not participating in the fun and seeming more withdrawn than the others because of course she would be.

There's just so much to love about this one.

5. Straw Hat Clock

This is another one that is just full of little details like Robin having a bunch of arms sprouted to help Usopp who is having to use his feet to keep hold of everything.

Chopper looks so adorable in this one using the numbers as glasses haha

And of course I love the detail that Sanji is wearing a shirt with Nami on it at 3oclock just like where she is on the clock and in order of joining the crew when his name literally means three.

Love love love.

I think the colors and patterns in this one are so chaotic but in a way that isn't overwhelming and instead just feels very Straw Hat. Like Robin is such a good example of how this makes me feel because she's surrounded by all the bright, loud, chaos, but looks so happy and peace to be there. Me too girl.

Honorable Mention: The Military Industrial Complex

They just look hot.

That's it.

Zoro especially. Hot.

Summary:

It's a race between Emperors to find the defeated Trafalgar Law first, bringing the Straw Hat pirates and Cross Guild face to face.

A clown tired of repressing. An Emperor having to re-examine his hero. Swordsmen who must learn what it means to be 'student' and 'teacher'. A cook questioning his worth. The disgraced Captain that draws them all to the same island as Blackbeard's Officers come to finish the job not knowing the eyes of the World Government are watching too.

It's really fucking annoying when it's your so-called enemies that have to spearhead your personal growth.

What gets me all the time when I read/watch/talk about One Piece (which is a majority of my time now), is how much Luffy values all of his crew for their hearts first before any of their skills. It's what people don't understand about Usopp's place on the crew, but that's a convo for another day. Right now I want to focus on Zoro.

If you were to ask Zoro what he brings to the crew and what makes him valuable to Luffy, he would probably say his swordsmanship or his strength, but that's not what his invitation to the crew was ever contingent on. From his first mention by Luffy, what Luffy cared about more was Zoro as a person. If he was a good person to be specific.

Even though everyone is talking about Zoro's skills, cleverness, comparing him to a demon, etc, even before he ever saw him Luffy was already caring about him as a person. He didn't see him as a sword, he saw him already has a full human being whose rest of himself mattered more than his skills.

ZORO PLEASE KNOW THAT.

Zoro & Demon Imagery

Zoro is the first member of the crew that we get, and every other sentence is describing him as some sort of demon, bloodhound, monster, etc. This is going to be something I pay more attention to going forward now that we know that the captain of this crew is basically a god reincarnate.

Zoro himself takes on the title of King of Hell often going forward and will tell his opponents that he's taking them to hell. In Skypiea we get Usopp saying multiple times he doesn't thing that Zoro is going anywhere but hell, and we see Zoro deride the idea of God's and says he doesn't believe in them.

(There's lots of demon imagery for the whole crew like Demon Child Robin and Sanji's flaming move names).

But yet his Captain will be the image of a God.

Just something really interesting to track and unpack some more considering they are facing the supposed God of the universe who has demonic powers late late in the story, and here's the demonic crew of another kinda God going up against him.

Zoro Is Physically Trapped Not Metaphorically Trapped Like Other Crew Members

I think it's fascinating how often Luffy "frees" his other crew members to join him by helping them through mental cages like Usopp's cowardice, Sanji's misplaced self-sacrifice of his dream, and Chopper's insecurities, but with Zoro it's an actual physical trap that he is freeing him from.

I think that Zoro is a mentally strong character. Unlike some of the other characters that we see, Zoro actually does a lot of self-reflection because he trains so hard and is so hard on himself. A majority of his obstacles will always be physical limitations on his body rather than his own insecurities and fears.

We get that through his introduction. He believes in his dream and that he can achieve it, he doesn't need Luffy to push him to that. He literally needs him for a physical save, but that is where Zoro is vulnerable. Him needing to be physically saved is as impactful to him as the mental save is to Usopp.

I just love it man.

Zoro Starving

I wrote an extremely long post here about the parallels between Zoro and Sanji in this intro to Zoro, so I'll only briefly touch on it here.

Zoro is starving for nine days when we meet him and is desperate, we know that Sanji survived for much much much longer than nine days without food. Zoro has a small taste of what CHILD Sanji endured, and he doesn't even know it. What kind of respect would sit between the two of them over that small thing alone?

Literally brings tears to my eyes, especially when we have Luffy saying he wouldn't even last a week and then we get it in Whole Cake.

FOOD IS VITAL TO ALL THREE OF THESE MEN'S INTRODUCTIONS TO EACH OTHER AND THATS HIS WINGS DONT YOU UNDERSTAND.

They have even the smallest bit of mutual understanding and connection before the two hands meet, and I just lose it over that.

Zoro and Luffy And The Importance Of Promises

Zoro says he's a man of his word when talking to Luffy for the first time, and Koby tells him that it must be a lie. But this is actually such a pivotal thing because of the rest of the chapter that comes after.

Because Zoro is a man of his word, he does believe the deal that Helmeppo gives him. He does think that both parties will uphold their part. We know that Luffy takes promises seriously too because we saw how important the deal with Shanks was in the first chapter.

It's the fact that Helmeppo doesn't uphold his end of this promise that makes Luffy punch him and truly sets him off because he does know that Zoro put weight into the words just like Luffy does, and here is this jerk that isn't doing the same.

He is getting such a clearer of picture of Zoro from seeing how he believed in this promise and it's after this he says he wants him for his crew.

And promises are important to Zoro we end up finding out later because of his promise to Kuina! (ALSO WHAT DO YOU KNOW MORE HEAVEN AND HELL TALK THAT I CAN DIG INTO IN CHAPTER 5)

Like honestly shut up Oda. That's just so good.

Zoro's Willpower and How Much He Respects Luffy's

One of the first thing that Zoro compliments himself on directly is his willpower. It's not even his sword skills, it's willpower to live through this promise and withstand what he's going through. It shows how important that trait is to him, and he tells Luffy that directly by saying his is greater than Luffy's.

He eventually sees that of course that isn't true, that Luffy has willpower in spades in similar ways just not being driven by the same things. It's one of the things that he compliments the most and talks to people the most about throughout the series when it comes to Luffy.

He says that he's stubborn, willful, doesn't give up, that he does what he wants no matter how hard it's going to be, that there's no getting him to back down. Through all of One Piece Zoro highlights this as Luffy's most important quality just like how he highlighted it about himself when first meeting Luffy, and I think that makes all the compliments all the better.

Favorite Panel

I think it's super important that the scene is immediately set that most pirates are not like our protagonist and who we will be following. Other than Shanks the pirates we see early on high key are evil and suck. Because most of the pirates in the world are that way. They take advantage of weak people, they steal from those who have little, they hurt people, etc.

Alvida is part of laying that groundwork which is important for the agreement that Luffy and Koby make to each other later for each one of them to be good people at what they do. It's also important for prepping us for understanding why people like Smoker and Garp are in the marines and why they are so passionate about being against pirates.

This is why they hate pirates and want to bring an end to them.

Unfortunately this is so early on that I think people forget about that at later points in the story, but Oda really tried to make it clear here.

Zoro's Cleverness

Nothing is funnier to me than hearing about Zoro before he shows up, and seeing how clever people think he is (which of course he is) when he's still the same guy who got lost on a straight path and once thought a good plan was to cut off his own legs.

Like yes fear him, but also fear for him.

A Coffin?

Nothing to analyze here, just extremely funny. A line I didn't take note of the first time around but that I find very funny now lol.

Luffy Liberating People vs. Luffy Helping People Liberate Themselves

I actually have so much to say about this because I find it interesting the different ways that Luffy ends up seeing Liberation/freedom. For some people like Nami, Robin, and Sanji in Whole Cake it seems like asking for help is enough to "free themselves" and then Luffy is willing to take on the rest while other times like with Koby and Bonney he wants them to liberate themselves/be part of the process.

I don't know where he draws that line, it's not by gender since both Bonney and Sanji get the differing treatment, so Oda talk me through this.

I think it really shows that there are different ways to save yourself. Sometimes you can be the one to stand up for yourself and participate in the fight for yourself, and then there are times when just asking for help is freeing and letting others save you is enough too.

The Will Of D And Not Being Scared To Die

I think this right here is what makes Luffy such a big threat to the government from the beginning, and we learn much later how there are more and more people with the will of D popping out now than in previous generations.

Not being scared to die means someone is willing to go further than others around them. It means that threats, power structures, tradition, societal expectations, their own physical limitations mean nothing to them because death doesn't frighten them.

I think it's interesting that it's this that inspires Koby the most because that's what Smoker is so scared of in Loguetown, another person being inspired by that will in Roger on the execution platform that day.

I think this also ties into why we see Koby be such a force in the marines, willing to buck the structures and expectations like in Marineford to do what is right because he has been inspired by Luffy from the beginning.

(We also can assume this is why Garp gives so little shit about following protocol a lot of the time because he's Monkey D. Garp after all).

A Super Crew

YOU WILL HAVE A SUPER CREW LUFFY AND THERES A GUY OUT THERE IN A SPEEDO WHO IS SO READY TO SAY THAT WITH YOU. HE IS SUPER AND HE WILL MAKE YOU A SUPER BOAT.

Favorite Panel

Obviously in the past 1.1k chapters this scene with the Sea King has taken on a whole new perspective. Shanks says later on that he lost his arm betting on the new generation, but then in recent chapters we've learned that it was also a good thing probably that he did lose that arm. Was it intentional to lose it? Unsure.

He could have cut it off himself if that was a problem, so I like to think that it was something he gave up for Luffy instead and that in that moment he wasn't just saving Luffy but Luffy was also saving him by helping him lose the mark of Imu at the same time.

We can even take it even further and see this as Luffy's first liberation of someone against Imu/the World Government, removing the mark of ownership on them just like he does at Enies Lobby with the flag without even knowing it.

St. Shanks

Firstly, now we actually have crazy context for this timeline because Shanks would have pulled up about a year after being in Mary Geoise. Which ties into something else later -

You're telling me we get Beckam saying that they aren't saints when we 1k+ chapters later get the title card of ST SHANKS? Oda is fate's favorite because so much of what he wrote almost thirty years ago lines up so well with where the story ended up going.

Luffy Learns Hard Lessons From First Mates

I find it so sweet that Beckam the first mate of the Red Hair pirates is the one saying this to Luffy because he essentially hears this from two other legendary first mates too. His own (Zoro) post Water 7 and then Rayleigh after Marineford.

One it shows how vital that role is, but I also think that Luffy it's extremely important to see from the beginning what a good right hand looks like and the understanding that their supposed to have of their captain which is why their words should carry so much weight.

The Theme Of What Is True Strength and Manhood

A major theme that we get in this first chapter that becomes such a through line throughout the series is what it means to be strong and what it means to be a man. Luffy's entire worldview ends up being shaped by this situation with Shanks and the example that's set for him.

What I think is really beautiful about this is that we see this in all of his crew members but especially in his two wings:

We see it from Zoro in Jaya where he goes along with Luffy's command about not fighting and explains to Nami this very same lesson

We see this at the heart of Sanji in Whole Cake where he can't bring it in him to leave someone for dead just because they hurt him and how much Luffy appreciates that

One Day They'll Find Each Other

Speaking of Sanji tell me why I nearly burst into tears seeing this panel of Luffy getting beat up and just kept thinking about how somewhere out there a little blonde boy in the North Blue was also getting whooped not knowing they'd find each other some day.

Luffy Never Changes

Love that we get Luffy defending Shanks all this way in Chapter 1 and then saying the exact same thing all the way in the most recent arc. Some things never change.

Luffy Knows When He Isn't Strong Enough

I think that in this single line it really highlights a part of Luffy that is sometimes forgotten because it does happen so rarely, which is he knows when he's been beat. In this chapter it says he understood he wasn't strong enough yet to go with Shanks and we see this again in Sabaody when he tells everyone to run away because they aren't strong enough to win the situation.

What Were You Scared Of Shanks?

This is literally such a throwaway line, but now with so much more added to the story it could be a million things. Was it knowing that he was well known and powerful so someone could attack the village? Was it because he had just let Mary Geiose not long before coming here and was worried the world government would look here? Is it because Luffy ate the fruit he stole from the government?

Most of those things weren't created yet, so really I get to just decide what that answer is but not even in my own headcanon can I decide.

Shanks Giving Luffy The Hat

Gosh is this just an all time favorite of a scene. The bedrock of the entire series, the foundation of the whole story, and there's more to it now in hindsight than there even was then.

Shanks gets to see the man who raised him, his Captain, the man who made him who he is again in this little boy. He gets to see that Roger is still alive in people like him. He gets a glimpse of what he lost.

We know that meeting Luffy is special to Shanks because he talks about it with Rayleigh in a flashback we get in Sabaody which is adorable, and it must mean EVERYTHING to him to give this hat to Luffy in this moment.

Shanks and Buggy

One thing I'm always going to want to talk about is Shanks and Buggy, and this line by Shanks here I think is actually the crux of the later fight we see in flashback of why they went their separate ways.

Shanks was the one that had all the potential and the drive as a child, the one who said he was going to be like Roger only to say not yet when Buggy was relying on that expectation the most. Buggy saw this version of Shanks that he sees in Luffy and then saw him not follow through.

That's why he hates him so much too at the core.

The Threat of Ten Crew Members

Please, I see every new character as a threat because of this line. LETS JUST LET IT BE VIVI AND CALL IT A DAY PLEASE. I can't handle another new character here to take up more page time. I can't do it. Literally nothing to analyze here, only a prayer to let out into the universe to hear. PLEASE LETS SAY ITS HAPPENED ALREADY.

My Favorite Panel

All the things I loved about his character Pre-Time Skip still exists here and only actually further develops. He is the person that protects the people who need it most even if it isn't as epic of a fight. He plays an incredibly vital role to the crew, and Oda has other characters recognize that.

Everything that we get about his backstory only richens what we already know about him. It expands on why he is the way he is and it makes moments we have had with him previous stand out even more. An excellent example of this is him stopping Luffy from telling Usopp to leave in Water Seven which I wrote about here, his backstory makes that moment all the richer.

He's cool. His fighting style is unique and creative. He has so much heart in his interactions with other characters. He's a WING of the future King of the Pirates. He is a kind, funny, and yes flawed character. And I love him for it.

2. Luffy

LUFFY. Luffy has shined so much more for me Post Time Skip. I think that Oda does an excellent job of balancing making Luffy still feel like himself while also developing him into a symbol of liberation through the reveal about his fruit and onward. He's still the same Luffy that I've adored before, but there is so much more official weight now to him.

Luffy I think has been permanently changed through the time-skip. It's clear that his determination, his priorities, and his efforts have been reignited because of the loss that he experienced. He's now a character who truly understands what it means to LOSE which makes him all the more compelling post time skip.

Oda does such an amazing job of characterizing Luffy through his actions like walking past Kaido and Big Mom in Wano or through the things he chooses to do in Whole Cake. Every single panel, every single joke, every single arc only resolidifies what we love about this character and takes it even further.

Rarely ever do I think the main character of a show is even close to the top of the best characters in that story, but Luffy is an exception to that rule. HE is the main character, but he also has all of the traits that would normally make me love a side character.

3. Nami

I think that Nami has gotten SO much Post-Time Skip that just continues to develop her into an amazing multi-faceted character that just really shines amongst the others. We start off the Post-Time Skip actually with an arc that has a lot of focus on Nami in Fishman-Island and since then it's only continued.

Nami, has I think really found her combat footing even more Post-Time Skip through gaining Zeus and having these really large moments that are drawn to emulate the type of moments that Sanji and Zoro often get too. She has stood up against her own crew even like in Punk Hazard when it came to saving the children. Overall, Post-Time Skip just feels like she's come into her own even more.

She may still be a bit of a glass cannon in strength with Zeus, but I think her emotional strength which was a highlight of her before is also still such a strong through line in this one too. We see it through her reaction to Jimbei at Fishman, we see it in Wano when she stands her ground, and we see it in her determination to get Sanji back in WCI even after being upset with him.

Nami also feels like a character that has deep relationships with multiple of the Straw Hats which makes her a wonderful heart to the crew. She has so many meaningful interactions with Luffy, with Sanji, with Robin, with Jimbei, with Usopp, etc that it does a lot of heavy lifting to represent the entire crew's bond even if they can't be present.

4. Brook

WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT? I never would have guessed that I would have loved Brook this much after his intro in Thriller Bark, but oh my gosh do I LOVE him. Brook gets so many amazing moments Post-Time Skip and just feels like he has melded into the crew even after having like no time with them.

He became such a clutch character in multiple arcs Post-Time Skip being the one now to come in at the most important moments and be the key to making it out/getting what's needed. Oda seems to have so much fun with using his abilities in creative and clever ways, and through that Brook gets some amazing panels that just feel epic in scope even if he isn't considered a heavy hitter.

I also think that Brook adds a positivity to the group that is needed Post Time Skip where some characters have become more serious while still being able to bring about really emotional moments too. I really love his moments with Robin in Wano for example where he joins her for the Black Maria situation and we see them both have their hallucinations of the past, as well as his moment talking about Sanji to Big Mom in Whole Cake.

He's so funny, I never know how he's going to use his abilities next, and I think he is such a bright spot in every arc he gets featured in. I love me some Brook, and I'm so happy that he's gotten so many moments.

5. Robin

Robin is a character that I think has emotionally shined a lot more in the later half of this post time skip era, and then in the beginning of the post time-skip she was also a great comedic character that brought levity to thing at Punk Hazard for example. She is SO well rounded in that regard.

I think that Robin has grown so much in her time as a Straw Hat, you see how badly she needed them and how as she's spent more time as part of them how she has gotten more comfortable. Her deadpan humor is as great as ever, but there's another part of her character that I love.

She's such an instigator and pot-stirrer. She is still a responsible character, but she is so down to be part of the chaos and to do crazy things with the others. She'll egg them on too. She gets so much joy from their adventures that she's more like Luffy now than some of the others.

In Wano and in Elbaph she's gotten some AMAZING stuff that I think just propelled her higher than other characters I normally love more, I just feel like Oda is cooking on her again finally and I'm so excited to see where that goes.

6. Usopp

LET ME BE CLEAR. Usopp is not a bad character that's not why he's dropped so drastically in my rankings. Overall, he is still one of my favorites and I love him deeply and will not stand for slander. He simply just hasn't had as many shining moments in this Post Time Skip era, but you know what I know they're going to come because there's been some legwork.

Usopp continues to be one of the funniest characters to me that we have on the crew. You can tell that Oda has so much fun drawing and writing him because he gets some of the best facial expressions and dynamic body movements that make him continue to be an iconic character. He is easily recognizable and memorable.

We have gotten some awesome moments for him like using Haki in Dressrosa to get an impossible shot, I just want more of them. I really want to see him taken to the next level like Nami has been taken. He is that great comedic relief still, but I can't wait to see him be a focus again down the line.

Usopp has such a good heart, and I think that his dynamic with Luffy and Nami will always be highlights. You can see how much Luffy means to him and vice versa because they still get background moments together even as those have become less and less. You see him interact with members of the crew across the board that shows you how intertwined and important he is even when not at the forefront.

7. Zoro

It's odd. I feel like Zoro has had a lot of epic moments Post Time Skip, but I feel more disconnected to him than I had before. He emotionally has lost me in comparison to other characters like Brook that have only grown in that regard.

Zoro has lowkey become kinda mean. He has some brutal lines about Vivi/Ace and then Vegapunk in these later parts of the story, and I feel like we see him have less meaningful dynamics with other crew members that aren't Luffy. That friendship still feels real, and we actually have gotten some great moments between him and Sanji too that are extremely important to me (but wow was his reaction in Zou lousy too not that I think about it), but they are kinda overshadowed from how distant he feels with that coldness.

I still love Zoro, I feel the weight of responsibility he puts on himself. I know that he does care about the people around them and the ones they try to help. He does still have moments where his heart shines through again, they just aren't as common to me. I miss that older Zoro, but I can still appreciate the great moments that we get from him.

Zoro is such a strong character internally and its that inner strength that he has with himself that ends up inspiring others and creating greatness in the arcs he's part of. It's just that it's seeming like he's more isolated from everyone else in those moments, and I want him back with his people.

8. Franky

I think that Franky has been consistently underutilized since he's joined the crew, yet I still have a deep love for him. I want MORE for him, I want him to get a focus, I want him to get a moment, I want him to just shine a little brighter. I have to celebrate any Franky panel like it's a win, but I want him to have QUALITY appearances.

Franky has an amazing heart, he has an amazing personality that I think differs and stands out from other crew members. His abilities are underutilized, his backstory is ignored and relegated to an SBS, he rarely gets fun moments with others. I want him to be a PARTICIPANT in the story.

Thankfully, my man has personality in spades so it's hard to forget him even when the story does. He is so quirky and fun, but still has such a beautiful heart at his core that shines when he does get page time like in Dressrosa. I think that is some of his best stuff all around.

I also have been adoring his relationship with Bonney and seeing those two interact. He had some funny moments in Punk Hazard. It's just that his moments haven't been given any gravitas and I'm waiting for that to happen still. ODA LET HIM SHINE.

9. Tony Tony Chopper

This pains me. I hate to see my boy so low, and if I really sit on it he probably could be one higher but his fall has been so hurtful to me that it can't be helped. When I first asked my husband about Chopper before I even watched the live action he said "It's sad but he becomes a bit more of a mascot later than a character of his own", and I hate to say it by my husband is right.

Chopper used to have so much more to him, he felt like a real character that was growing and changing and being impacted by the world around him, and some of that has gotten lost in this post time skip era. I miss his weird little guy look, I miss the dynamic relationships that he had with the other crew members, I miss that complexity that he had.

He still does great things like in Punk Hazard and Wano especially, but even in Whole Cake where there are only 5 Straw hats for a majority of the story he gets NOTHING really. Even when there's less people, he gets less moments to be a full character again.

Obviously, Chopper is sweet, adorable, smart, dependable, brave, etc. I love him like I love every single Straw Hat. My issue is with his lack of use for a majority of this second half of the story so far. I would have wanted to see him take more of highlight in Egghead for example. Give him the space to embrace things that have been tied to his story before!! JUSTICE FOR MY BOY

10. Jimbei

I think that Jimbei is a character that has been robbed of a purpose. Every time we saw him before he joined the crew, I loved him. I was excited to see him again. He was such a strong character who even though he's more calm and collected than the others still felt like he was well characterized.

Since joining the crew I think he's been pushed to the wayside and not given anything to work with. I still like him, like I like all of the Straw Hats, it's just that he hasn't had a moment to shine or find his place amongst them yet and as the arcs become more third party focused that means he has even less time to get that.

What Jimbei gives to Luffy is important though, and I think he is such a vital mentor character for him. His interactions with the crew of learning their dynamic like in Wano is very funny or with Nami's anger after Wano. It makes him a joy when we do see him, I just want something more substantive for him.

I also like to highlight the cells once something is published because I play a lot of grindy video games and like to see my progression once I've completed something.

Brainstorming

Anyone who writes knows that ideas come to you randomly and sometimes extremely half-baked while other times they may be full-fledged and ready to be written.

A lot of my messy brainstorming will happen just in my Goodnote app on my IPad where I can scribble in my own messy handwriting without the possibility of misplacing it or losing it.

This is a vital part of my creation for stories since it's where I begin to flesh out what is usually a scenario, title, song lyrics, scene etc into something more concrete.

Here is an example of my notes for some of the stories I've already published (Ordeal of Love and I Wanna See You In Another Light):

Plotting

When it comes to plotting the intricacy of what I do ahead of time will vary by the number of POV's, the length, and also how complex the story is working out to be.

For a one shot sometimes it's just sections with bullet notes of basic ideas like with Maybe Get Some Sleep Tonight.

Other times when I think a story has more moving parts to it (like balancing the relationship development with other friendships, plots, etc) then I will do a chapter by chapter scene by scene breakdown that catches all the things I'm excited about. I did this for all that time (I sat alone in my tower):

Next month I will be starting to publish my first ever completely plot driven 40 chapter long multi POV fic that is essentially an entire One Piece arc, for that I did a complete spreadsheet with POV, point in the timeline of the story, which subplot focus that scene has, and also the summary of the scene:

This has been hugely helpful for me as I can mark down each scene's status and keep track of how often certain subplots get mentioned to ensure I am ignoring or forgetting one in the shuffle of the story.

Drafting

I am a Google Docs girl simply because I can use it on my desktop and my IPad for free, so I can work on drafts from anywhere I am. Would I like to use something else? Probably, but this works for now.

I have also drafted things in my phone app in the middle of the night. What is especially embarrassing and odd about this is that I don't even separate them into different notes. I literally just put a - and then start a new draft of something.

There are segments of fics in this one singular note that I have forgotten the context of completely and others where they've been moved to the tracker or the IPad once the light of day came so I do not recommend this necessarily, but it is part of my drafting process.

Overall,