So to begin, I just want to set up two things to keep in mind. I suffer from immense ADHD so I can go *years* before remembering something. And two - my writing style is more or less, "Ideas bounce around in the noggin for a while (read: years) until I slam them out one night". Which brings me to the subject of this journal -

I have a fanfic in mind. A little trio, actually. A long time ago I came across  lykos 's DUI series. I really enjoyed them. A few years later, Lykos posted some artwork related to those characters but taking place a while after the stories. I commented on that piece and mentioned how I'd like to write fanfics for them, and to my surprised, Lykos enthusiastically endorsed the idea! How awesome!

That was three years ago, almost to the day. And yes you'd be right to point out that I haven't written anything yet. But that's where the ADHD comes in - I haven't forgotten about them. It's still something I actively think about, as I try to figure out precisely what I want to do with the stories. I've just lacked the focus to sit down and actually work on them and put words to the page. In *general* I know what I want. I have an outline in mind where I think I can neatly fit out three chapters/stories with the characters. But before I go further on that, a word first about some influences and fears of mine.

I grew up in the 1990's. And one of the best action movies of all time came out during that time - Terminator 2: Judgement Day. I could write a dozen thesis essays about everything in that movie, from the subtle details about violence and gore, to the character framing, setup and payoff, just everything about that movie is a masterpiece. And as the title suggests, it's a sequel. And as a sequel, it is something I take inspiration from in regards to how I would want to approach writing a sequel to the DUI series. T2 stands on it's own as a masterful action movie. Everything in the plot makes sense on it's own because they give you enough context to follow along and understand. But if you saw the first movie, you'll pick up on lots of callbacks that make everything make even *more* sense and feel more complete.

And on fears - well, there's sequels that are more infamous for just how bad they are. Other Terminator movies being awful due to bad writing, usually, because they did have solid concepts but poor execution. But my bigger fear in regards to this I would call "Episode 7 syndrome". Everything I have ever heard about that movie was that it was basically a fan remake of "A New Hope" with no original ideas or concepts and a waste of time. Yes I'm sure people liked it, it made a lot of money, but in general it wasn't respected as a continuation of the story. You know what WAS respected? Empire Strikes Back.

So I keep in mind that there needs to be a balance between keeping source material in mind and referencing as needed, while also progressing the timeline in a logical fashion given the characters and the events they've gone through. In T2, John Connor tells the young man from "Salute Your Shorts!" that his mother is in prison for trying to blow up a computer factory. It's worldbuilding that logically progresses the story and characters between movies. When the movie starts and Sarah Connor is in a psyche ward, it makes sense. Going forward, T2 is not a rehash of T1. There's new things, motivations, characters, concepts, and tensions for that movie. It feels completely fresh while still calling back to the original and building upon that foundation.

I suppose all this is a treatise on proper sequel writing moreso than my specific laments and thoughts on my project, but I digress.

Bringing it all back to the main topic, I have ideas in mind for writing out sequel fanfic stories for the DUI series. But I'm trying to walk a tight rope between making sure things are a logical progression of the characters without being a rehash or "greatest hits" remix (Star Wars Ep 7, Terminator Genisys), without being so far removed from their origins that they come across almost alien to those who would be familiar with those stories (Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice). I have ideas for the tensions I want to build in the three chapters. I have ideas for what I want the characters to do. I have ideas for the sex scenes. And just like the original DUI stories, I have two different endings I want to explore and yes publish both versions (which I suppose means I have three chapters in mind, but there will be four actual entries given that the third chapter will be in two versions to accommodate the two endings).

I'm also trying, as best as I am able, to sprinkle in things that call back to the DUI series, some things subtle, some things overt. One detail I'll freely tell now because it's not a spoiler - the first chapter will start in a bar. It's a little thing, but given that the events in DUI are precipitated by the consumption of alcohol, I think it's a decent nod to the original stories. I feel like chapters two and three will need additional subtle nods to the source material, but that's what's on my mind about that.

The other thing I'm concerned about is the dreaded, "Mary Sue". So any new characters I introduce, I need to make sure they are well-rounded and have good reason to be there. I'm not planning any author self-insert characters or anything like that but there will be new characters (mostly in chapters two and three).

Am I overthinking how I want to write sex fanfics? Maybe. But I still want to put forth my best on this. I suppose more than anything I just wanted to get these thoughts out into the open as a way for me to get past them and get further into the process. It feels better having gotten it all written down.