#(idk if he has a tag actually! he might be too old of an oc)

[unikhroma]

various silly alignment charts i did of my ocs. i edited the last one though lol

i don't have a link for all of these but i'll put the ones that i do have: 1, 3, 4

[chaotixdragon]

STARTING MY TUMBLR RAMBLING JOURNEY!!!! (Spoilers for TFP)

TRANSFORMERS: AFTERMATH

This AU consists of three main archs (with a fourth being planned for the future) :

-Prologue

-Aftermath

-Lost Light

- (Earthspark)

I'm still thinking of an acronym for my AU but I'm thinking it might be TFAM? idk,,,

Prologue follows Atlas! My very obvious self-insert OC (lol). He's a human who was saved by Optimus then basically adopted by Team Prime. He gets kidnapped by Starscream (who uses him as a bargaining tool to get back into the Decepticons after getting kicked out because of his shenanigans) half way through the story and learns about the war from both perspectives, and learns a lot about Starscream.

Well Starscream realizes (with some Atlas therapy) that Megatron kinda sucks when he's on Chaos Lean so he should dump his ass, and basically gives Atlas back to Optimus, which almost gets him killed and he goes into hiding. (It's much more dramatic, I can always write short stories for these scenes if anyone is interested.)

Everything in TFP (except the parts with the OG humans cause I cut em out) happens as usual.

But Atlas is on Earth, and realizes, "Shit, if these guys go back to Cybertron, I won't have anyone..." So he says FUCK IT, ROBO TIME.

He then spends the next five years (between TFP and the movie) building a body. He uses parts from a vehicon, (not Steve don't worry), Dreadwing, and car parts from an old 1998 Subaru Impreza he found in a car dump. Using Shockwave's tech, and some help from Ratchet who begrudgingly agreed to help him, he basically Frankensteined himself into this body and became the first artificial Human/Cybertronian crossbreed? thing.

He cleans up some loose ends on Earth (mainly evidence of his existence and some evidence of the Cybertronians' existence) then GOES TO THE MOON (with wheeljack, who picks him up and then takes him to Cybertron)

He learns that RATCHET DIDN'T TELL HIM THAT OPTIMUS DIED and he's sparkbroken :(

Ratchet was too though, Optimus and him were low key husbands.

Then we have AFTERMATH!

This was a dnd campaign I ran with one of my friends, I only had one actual player, who played Pierce-tail! The last of Shockwave's predacons, who he made to be a guard-dog for a small bunker he was hiding in on Cybertron after Megatron surrendered. The story follows Pierce-tail, who has mysterious magical powers that nobody can explain, and his fight to save Cybertron and Earth from Shockwave and Tarn, who've teamed up to rebuild the Decepticon army and colonize Earth.

Spoiler alert, Pierce-tail kills Shockwave and fights Tarn to the death and kills both Tarn and himself by literally exploding due to his powers overloading his frame and turning his spark into a nuke.

And then we have Lost Light!

Rodimus (Who was cryogenically frozen for a little while and didn't know the war ended), Ultra Magnus (who was retired from being Cybertron's ruler because he got too power-hungry and racist) and Megatron (Who's taking extensive therapy and learning to be a good leader and prove himself as a worthy member of society with help of Atlas) take a crew of 40 members to find the LOST KNIGHTS OF CYBERTRON!

(It's basically a big dating sim for my three players.)

I'll do big plot updates on what happens in TFAM: Lost Light, but anybody who's interested in this AU, feel free to ask me any questions, I love getting asks! They make my day :3

Most of these ramblings I won't tag with the usual Transformers tags cause I don't wanna clog up the tag with my stuff ;-;

But this one I will!

[xxhumancentipedexx]

Hi! so i realised your very very underrated, no offense..

So, as a person who gets somewhat noticed, i will give you some tips.

#Hashtags jesus Christ they are important

A hashtag is something im sure all tumblr users or just most ppl on social media are.. they help connect people with things they enjoy and like, which brings more attention to posts. I realised you dont do much or any at all Hashtag(s) and unfortunately you kinda need to. Maybe about 20-30, i know that sounds like a lot but its relatively easy to make a hashtag. Put what your post is about in many many forms of saying it, and no you cant do the same hashtag, it doesn't work. But just say it in different ways multiple times. anything can be made into a hashtag and you'll see everything you make below. Just click then 20-30 more later. You'll probably get the attention you deserve.

when answering asks i notice a lot of people just put #Asks or #Ask as the only hashtag when answering someones ask..But..That probably wont work, just hashtag a lot about what its about, or what the person asked about instead of just putting #Ask or #Example name Asked..which also wont work if you're not remotely popular

Also, when it comes to oc's you might have to realize you probably wont get much attention. people are more interested in something they already know everything about, like pennywise..sorta. Im a pennywise fan, so my work about him gets popular, because it has a fandom, or spy, he has a fandom too! So there are more people to interact with it because they know about it, more than just and oc only you might know about.

I also wanna say it takes a little bit of time, and i see you are taking a little bit of time. So, i apologize if this was like, idk forcing? I would just like to see your art get more recommended or recognised because your art is absolutely amazing dude. Keep it going man!

(also i love both the pennywise(s) and spy art<33)

hello anon! thank you for the tips and compliments i actually appreciate them a lot <3 but the reason i don't really tag my posts is because i've been on tumblr for like 2+ years i think and my days of trying to become a recognised popular artist are kinda in the past

i think i deleted all my old posts but if they were still up you'd be able to tell i was trying to get seen because i did add like a bajillion tags. there was a point where i stopped adding as many tags because i was content with the like 5 people looking at my posts

i appreciate the attention i get with the tags i do add but most of the time i just tag my stuff for blog organisation purposes. especially when it comes to my like OCs and stuff i just tag them with their story name. it's mainly just for my mutuals and friends to see and if anyone else happens to be interested while looking through my blog then that's a plus

but thank you nonetheless :^)

[ladytauria]

hey liv sorry in advance i am nosy

🍓🐇🧃🪐🍬🦷🦋🦴🪲

dont be sorry! i enjoy nosy uwu

🍓 ⇢ how did you get into writing fanfiction?

hmm

i was 12. my favorite tv show at the time was this old disney cartoon, "super robot monkey team hyper force go" (abbreviated as SRMTHFG or SRMTHG. i prefer the first but plenty of people use the second.) it was canceled after its 4th season and, uh. the ending was SO bad. like, major major cliffhanger.

anyway, i was looking up... i don't even remember at the time. and i discovered deviantart, and i discovered this person's OCs. read a lot about them, including some fanfic, and then eventually discovered fanfiction.net

i didn't realize what it was at first; i thought it was just a writing in general site? and i was like oh! i can share the book i'm working on! (i have been trying to write a novel since i was 10). and then as i was looking into where i would post it, i realized what it actually was. (no, the title didn't give it away. idk why.)

so then i was like oh!!! this is really cool actually!!! and i wrote my first fanfic xD

that was in 2011? so i was 12, almost 13.

and i've been reading & writing fic ever since~

🐇 ⇢ do you prefer writing original characters, reader inserts, or a mix of both?

okay so this is a tough question

bc like

i love love love love love second person.

like.

*adore* it.

second person, present tense is my absolute fave, but past tense is good too. (i have written an entire sapphic little mermaid retelling [12k words i think] in second person. uh, it needs revisions but it's a full draft. i opened it it the other day and im still so proud of it uwu)

howEVER. outside of writing second person w/o ever explicitly naming the pov character i have not actually written a reader-insert? so for that reason alone i will have to say 'prefer writing oc's'

🧃 ⇢ share some personal lore you never posted about before

uhh

hm

i'm a chronic oversharer (mostly in the tags) so that's kind of tough!

ah! since my grandmother's memory issues started, i've been doing about half of the cooking (it's been a bit of a battle, as she keeps trying to do everything xD) and i've cooked a lot of new things this year!! i've gotten very good at cooking pork chops. which 🤔 now that i bring that up, i might make friday! or tonight, but they're still in the freezer, so...

🪐 ⇢ name three good things going on in your life right now

my grandmother's memory situation has improved a lot!! it's still not great, but like. strides ahead of where we were 7-8 months ago!

my anxiety has been much kinder to me this year <3 i've made some very lovely friends this year~

mmm, oH, my energy levels have been fantastic this year. i didn't realize just how bad they had gotten until i started these new meds, and now i'm just. <333 much better.

🍬 ⇢ post an unpopular opinion about a popular fandom character

hm

idk if i have any unpopular opinions...? i mean. i'm sure i must, but... nothing immediately comes to mind ^^;

🦷 ⇢ share some personal wisdom or a life hack you swear on

hmmm

recently been trying to get in the habit of summarizing what i want to do before i start writing. it makes the process much easier, if ik a bit about what i want to do before going in?

🦋 ⇢ share something that has been on your heart and mind lately

i am much better at being patient than i ever gave myself credit for in the past <3

🦴 ⇢ is there a piece of media that inspires your writing?

i can't think of one piece in particular, as the places i find inspiration are. all over the board?

🪲 ⇢ add 50 words to your current wip and share the paragraph here

picked a wip from my open tabs at random! funnily enough this is also the one i ended up doing for the emoji ask xD

it's also almost triple what this asked for but once i started writing i couldn't stop <3

He swallows, staring up at Tim. Jason has had plenty of practice reading people through a domino, but. He has no reference for the look Tim is giving him now. Only that it— That the feeling it gives him is… is new and strange. He has no name for it, the way his stomach feels fluttery and tight, his scalp and fingers tingling. His mouth opens—but all that escapes is a stuttery puff of air. That’s okay. He doesn’t know what he was going to say anyway. Tim hooks a gloved finger under his chin; tipping his face up. He leans in, slowly—so slow that Jason— There’s nothing keeping him there. He could run. Turn away. But he feels caught, feet anchored in place. Tim’s mouth touches his, and all thought leaves him. Jason has never been kissed before.

[ writers truth or dare ask game ]

[outpost51]

🍸🎳🤦‍♀️ foooooor Kadmos, Atria and Dillon pls?

OC Emoji Asks

🍸- Favourite drink?

Kadmos: brandy in a warmed glass, or whisky on the rocks — if cocktails are being served, he likes an Old Fashioned.

Atria: she doesn’t drink because she watched what it did to her dad :’) but! She and her Squad™️ have a mixed drink they’ve affectionately dubbed an “engine sludge” — half a can of any energy drink, half a bottle of Tupari, a few spoonfuls of frozen juice concentrate, one (1) energy shot, and a handful of off-brand Skittles. Idk how they’re not all dead, honestly.

Dillon: Anything that “comes with a snack” (edible garnish)!

🎳 - Do they have hobbies? If yes, what are they?

Kadmos: he’s got a few, actually! He loves being out on the water, whether it’s on a yacht or a kayak or a little fishing boat — he’ll fish off a dock, even, and keeps a portable grill with his tackle box. Loves camping (in cabins) and hunting with his uncle. He’s picked up a few active hobbies while researching roles, too!

Atria: tinkering! She loves scrapping together random shit in the garage to make functional gadgets, sometimes to the detriment of her own health (broken bones from the hoverboard, electrical burns on her hands, Torch’s gun arm wound up and pinched her finger real good, etc)

Dillon: answered here!

🤦‍♀️ - Something that continues to embarrass them to this day

Kadmos: he’ll claim he’s never done anything embarrassing ever, then change the subject. His family, on the other hand, has plenty of stories that prove quite the opposite. When he was still just a twiggy little drake (i know, kadmos? little?), he was uhhhhh feeding a snitch to the snapjaw in the lake behind his grandfather's house and wasn't paying attention to the stake he was tying the bait rope to. The snapjaw grabbed its meal, the rope pulled taught over the branch, and that stake he tied the rope to? His spur. Not the stake. He got yanked all the way up into the tree feet first, broke his spur, and lost his pants along the way. Poor Kaddy was only stuck up there for about ten minutes before someone came to check on him, but he'll hide in his cowl if any of his aunts bring it up.

Atria: so while she’s recovering after the events of BRHP, she and Torch both get to hang with uncle Hericus all day — partially for physical therapy, partially just to get them out of the house. Hericus, being the weird hippie brother that lives in the woods behind his dad’s house, has always been pretty big on conservation and ensuring the food chain stays balanced; as such, this means he keeps track of the local shatha population since they’re nonnative to Taetrus — I’ll probably go into that worldbuilding some day. ANYWAY. He has a database and tags the ones he comes across in the Wildlands, so he took the girls out with him! Atria doesn’t like guns, so she was on tagging duty while Torch and Hericus handled the tranq darts. Periodically, the tags need to get scanned to ensure they’re still tracking properly and to snag some extra data off them, and that’s precisely what Atria was doing with M-41 (who they think might be Pudge’s dad, or an uncle) when the big bastard took a deep breath and she went ass-over-tea-kettle off his flank, right into the swamp water. Yeah, not her proudest moment.

Dillon: You'd think it would be The Incident that mortified her out of wearing skirts, but no, it was the time when her parents had taken her and Daisy out to a decent restaurant to celebrate Daisy getting a solo at the dance studio -- mind you, Dillon was only five and Daisy was eight. Cheryl took baby pickle to the bathroom, and when they re-emerged, Dillon announced to the entire restaurant (at the tippy-top of her little lungs) what she'd accomplished upon the porcelain throne. Cheryl still tells the story any time Dillon gets a little too cocky.

[val-selfships]

F/O # 1:

January 19, 2021 was when I finished his route in the game he's in for the first time! I've taken a BIG interest in him way back in 2017 but was too broke and didn't have the motivation to farm game currency at the time, so I eventually gave up.

Fast forward to being in the middle of lockdown I one day remembered him and the game he's in and I was so determined even after the price of unlocking the mode his route is in got higher

Selfshipping with him had its own ups and downs, on the first year I was questioning and looking for labels that describe my identity, was learning how to handle the jealousy of having to see so much oc/self-insert x canon with him even after blocking accounts and filtering tags. I even see one who selfships with him a lot have an actual wedding + commission artists left and right so I moved to a different f/o for a while before coming back to him. (What took me back: the first post I see of him one day is a drawing of him phonecalling mc/the player saying 'I love you' to them and bc I get some 'signs' or 'pretty specific stuff that almost feel like it's him making me see those' every now and then, it just fed into my delulu-ness)

Then around late 2022-2023 I started commissioning art and writing of him ✨

(Adding this here, I've also drawn him a lot and was my main source of motivation to draw for a long long while. One day maybe I can finally use a picture of him and stare at it without getting too flustered and end up not drawing anything)

Right now I still do love him even if it isn't as intense. I still think of him as my main f/o and he'd still be the first one I'd propose to if he magically became real. Some stuff happened for a year which made me constantly feel unloved by him but that's on me for not doing much about it either (or lack of energy idk)

He's pretty much my partner still and I still yearn to one day get so much merch of him

But yea anyways!

F/O # 2:

I had a MASSIVE crush on him back in 2015-2016. I even made my first OC because of him. I don't really make much stuff for that OC and don't anymore but last year I got a little interested in him again and plan to read fics of him sometime. I bought the game he is in which was what 2016 me has always wanted and because is was on sale. I now have another F/O from the same source but I still adore this F/O a lot as well. He's still full of secrets.

And another game he is in makes me smile whenever he says something funny. I playfully glare at the screen whenever he messes with the character the player is controlling because of course he would do Thing but of course I didn't expect it anyway.

Currently saving up and looking for artists to commission, have drawn selfship art of him like twice (excluding my really old arts of him and my OC from back then).

F/O #3:

My first f/o from when I was like 5 and didn't know what selfshipping was. He pops up in my mind every now and then, especially lately, and I have Ideas for writing and drawing for him. I can't find much fanart and fics of him anywhere though unfortunately. But might as well practice art and writing by making stuff about him!

F/O #4:

So like, they're like 3-in-1

Typing's starting to get a bit tiring but I've adored them since early 2022! Early 2024 was when I saw and animatic of them proposing to y/n which was super sweet, f/o #1 got a wedding illustration mid-2023 and like idk, I'm considering just making an au with f/O's 1 and 4 where I smooch them all in the same world I keep getting signs from posts I see skdjdb 💖

a special shout-out for selfshippers who have been loving their f/o(s) for years !! 🤍

you guys are truly one of the best kinds of people out there! your dedication and your overwhelming love for them are very admirable and inspiring.

loving someone so deeply that you stayed with them for years and still madly in love with each other through thick and thin. ♡

how long have you been in love with your f/o? tell us your story! (⁠人⁠*⁠´⁠∀⁠｀⁠)⁠｡⁠*ﾟ⁠+

rbs encouraged!! ♡♡

[memento-morri-writes]

Morri!!! first of all, how are you???

I wanted to tell you that I started for the first time playing a solo ttprg with like the whole deal (well this one uses 2 d10 and a d6 but I added a d12 to make a scale yes/no/maybe answers bc sometimes you just gotta ask fate no?) and I look up to you a lot for all your DnD ocs so the moment I started I was like "damn, gotta tell Morri!"

anywayyyy I am playing Iron Valley which is basically a big what if Stardew Valley were a solo (or +2 people! but idk anyone irl to play ttrpgs with so I'm going solo) ttrpg?? Is not DND cause... I need friends for that I think. And it intimidated me. BUT I am having so much fun???? And since is solo there's a lot of writing down and journaling involved so is SUCH an amazing wiring exercise?? (← hasn't written her wip since uhhhh April? yeah more or less)

would you mind if I asked you about your ocs?? I am so curious!

@ink-fireplace-coffee

CARMEN! HI!!!!!!!!

Congrats on your first ttrpg!! I've never actually played a solo one before, but that's mostly because I kind of need other people to keep me focused. (I get distracted way too easily, adkjasd.) But Iron Valley sounds so cool!! I love that you're adding your own mechanics!

And yeah!!! Playing ttrpgs is GREAT for your creativity!! My DnD characters are my current biggest source of inspiration, and they're the focus of most of my creative output right now.

(I also haven't written anything in MONTHS, so don't worry. You're not alone there. <3)

As for asking about my ocs, of COURSE you are welcome to ask!!! I'm obsessed with these ridiculous people in my head!!!!

(putting discussion about OCs under the cut, because I talk too much.)

My two current characters are Rook (half-elf swashbuckler rogue) and Asola (aasimar oath of vengeance paladin). And I adore both of them SO MUCH.

I'm obsessed with Rook to an unhealthy degree, lmao. He's the love of my life, and a complete disaster of a man. (You can find all the stuff I've posted about him on my personal blog here.) Me and my DM are currently plotting on how to absolutely ruin his life.

Our current plans include forcing him to face his intense trauma from Captain Wolf (the woman who held him prisoner for two years and tortured him), and also dealing with cursed nightmares sent by a literal demon lord. My boy is NOT going to be having a good time soon.

Asola is a little less developed, but she's growing with every session!! Just last session I realized that her oath of vengeance isn't against just one person or group, but rather against the unfairness and shittyness of life as a whole. Specifically, she takes anything that hurts the people she cares about personally.

The most recent example of this is our party's 16-year-old bard, who has a very fucked up past. At the end of last session, he was abandoned by his only real friend (who he's known for 11 years). None of the rest of the party even knew this "friend" existed, since he communicated with / lived inside Val's head. But when Sola finds out, she is going to be FURIOUS. (But not at Vallamir.)

(Sola's tag is here.)

I'm also eagerly awaiting the moment I get to use my Grand Fuck You. (Screenshots to follow.) The way I have it flavored is that Sola doesn't know she's an aasimar, and she has no control over her Radiant Consumption. Instead, it activates in times of extreme emotion, usually anger or grief. The only time it's happened in her life to date was when she found out her family had been killed. So I'm just waiting for the day that the DM does something that will break her enough for me to use this. (Also, as a fun bonus, none of the other characters know she's an aasimar either, since even she doesn't know. So it will be fun for them to find out. Especially since they might be trying to help her, but she will be burning them if they get close.)

(if you do the math, and assume I was level 20, and only rolled exactly half on the dice, that one hit would do 70 points of damage, not accounting for any weapon bonuses.)

I have another character, who I'm going to use after Rook's campaign is done. We're going to be playing Pathfinder (which I don't like, but I will survive), and my character is a fetchling witch named Morana Novak. (Her tag on my personal blog is here.)

As for other DnD ocs, I have about 20 more that are in varying stages of development, but talking about them all would require me to write a novel, lmao.

[birb-tangleblog]

What's your issue(s) with 7k? /gen

Okay so, if you scuttle around in my negativity and salt tags, you'll find a few other posts I've made on why I dislike it and my personal issues. I'm always happy to ramble on anyway, but full disclosure there's a good chance I might end up repeating myself a bit. Fair warning for criticism/negativity here too!

My biggest issue is honestly that 7 K bears zero resemblance to the original source material, and feels like it wasn't made with a lot of love for it. Where are the series' locations and lore? Any of the characters? The new cast, their designs, and the setting(s) they come from don't fit the worldbuilding and aesthetic that I love.

Like there are so so many loose ends and plot threads you could choose to expand on in a sequel or spinoff, and 7 K ignores absolutely all of them. Along with being written/conceptualized before S3, it feels incredibly disconnected and dissonant to anything T T S to me.

It seems like the creators wanted to take Var and pair him off w/ an OC they ported from elsewhere- and at that point, just retool him and make the whole thing a standalone/original project? Nothing against canon/OC either... but I wouldn't go and pitch my self-indulgent fanfic as a sequel to the original series to actual Disney execs, either?)

Overexposure and saturation in tags and fandom spaces is the other biggie. It's not quite as prevalent as it was when it came out, but it's still popular and hard to ignore- ex. Hugo is tagged in almost 500 stories (and counting) on Ao3. It’s... a lot. I really like Var himself, he has so much potential- but it’s hard to find content w/ him now that doesn’t somehow include 7 K, and it’s a bummer.

And the dynamic with Hugo... it's really not my cup of tea, and from what I've seen, Var's characterization suffers from it? Lot of him getting pigeonholed as this sassy uwu disaster baby gay/bi with varying degrees of angst/badboy mixed in depending on the take and idk if I think that's true to him.

And I'm just really, really over the white twink ships that are popular in fandom, man

I've heard the 'coming of age' and 'Var finds a group of peers his age' as selling points or a big part of the appeal, which makes sense, but both of these fall flat to me b/c the gang... ISN'T his age. Y/ ong is 6 years younger than him, Nu/ ru is 2- literally the only one his age is his love interest (how convenient)

Re. 7 K as a coming of age story, I feel like much of Var's arc in the show already went in that direction, with him learning from exp, growing up and maturing, making his dad proud, and becoming responsible. He's undergone the development 7K's premise sets him up for, and it makes it feel extraneous or like a step backwards.

Honestly, I think there's a lot of overlap btwn 7 K fans and fans who are extremely critical of the orig, who welcome the 7 K cast b/c they believe Var's friends in the series let him down, didn't care for him, acted unforgivably, etc- and I straight up diagree/don't feel that way, so I don't feel a need for him to have a new or better friend group. It doesn't compel me.

Idt I've mentioned this, but I really dislike the handling of Var's mother in particular. She's revealed to be alive, then turns out to be evil as a 'twist', and is killed off to further Var's char development. It's defrosting her from the dead mom fridge only to stuff her back in it at the end. I also have a problem with her abandoning her husband and young son and the timeline wonk of, 'why didn't she decide to follow her old dream BEFORE settling down'.

I've got more smaller gripes re. the AU itself as well as attitudes and trends in the fandom surrounding it- like, the elemental kingdoms feel generic and video-gamey, momification/supportive ‘shipper on deck’ treatment of the only female main, and children being little clones of their parents with every trait being inherited bugs me (seen in Var’s extended family and his mom being an alchemist like him)- but those are my big issues.

[lotusmuses]

when you're 18 you should not be self shipping with 14 year olds

hi anon!

so this post is a little long because i know it's about hiro and if you're one of my followers, you know i always have a lot of thoughts and can never shut up about him. (i guess it could be about varian too? but i don't ship him with anyone but hugo and nuru or my non self insert oc in an au). also i just woke up from a nap so there's a possibility that nothing i say makes sense.

anyways people might hate me for this but

i started liking hiro when i was 10, i think it was a week before my 11th birthday when the movie came out

and he was a very very relatable character for me, i made a post about that so i won't go into details

anyways he became my comfort character and that.. hasn't went away.

like if it was up to choice i wouldn't self ship because i know that really as soon as i turned 18 (almost 2 months ago) most characters that i like became socially off limits?

but it's not working like that. i don't know if it's because i've liked him for so long or because my neurodivergent brain decided to cling to the character that keeps it happy (literally as soon as i turned 14, mentally he and i were the same age even if he's technically 4 years older than me and now i'm technically 4 years older than him and since then we aged together? if that makes sense) but he's still very important to me

like when i watch the movie or show that's like the equivalent of hearing about a friend's past to me

in my mind he's 18 (a few months older than me actually) and has graduated sfit and is working at krei tech and considering going back for grad school

i know it's weird but yeah.

also just to clarify i'm aroace-spec and i headcanon that he is too (actually i've heard that he is in canon?) so when i have my self insert, those two are mainly in a qpr? idk if that makes it better but i know some people are specifically upset about things like this being sexualised, so just wanted to say that its not that

i'm often in a pretty bad place mentally and imagining that there's a character that would listen and understand how it feels and just be there for me is really nice.

but uh i get where you're coming from. i honestly thought about asking if this is okay? like self shipping in general. but i don't know how others handle that characters don't age? like i don't self ship with anyone else, like my si/hf characters that are older than me (saeran from mystic messenger who is 21/22, viktor from arcane who is in his 30s i think) are all older sibling or even teacher like with my self inserts. but also none of them are real so there's that.

that's it, i think. adding what i think are relevant tags. if you or anyone wants to discuss this, just send me another ask/comment/dm me! normally i say thanks for asking but this wasn’t a question haha. so er thanks for talking to me? :)

[kiwiwinjindouche]

@lapinneok sooo(rry for the tag)

[...]who are her fathers? :0

Well, more like "adoptive fathers", sorry for the confusion!! I meant Corvo/Kirin. Kirin never really adopted her in a "legal way", he just kind of took her into his mansion and they started to vibe. Don't get me wrong, Kirin is terrible at being a 'decent father figure'. I don't think he'd consider himself as such either. Moreover, Corvo and Kirin won't ever get married (at least I don't think they would?) (and she has a complicated relationship with Corvo that doesn't help) (but both still care at least a bit about her)

[...]aldina's is more of a mystery (what will she do!!! haha)[...]

Thank you!!!! (probably nothing good lol 👀​) indeed!! Not even Kirin is spared from this. She knows the insides of the mansion so well now, crawling here and there like a little mouse. It became one funny playground to her! (sometimes Kirin regrets his choice to have invited her in)

ivanoe's fate is so tragic[...]

Ivanoe's really just there to die and bring trauma to them 😩​ and nope, nothing horrible's planned for Marisol… For now at least (hahah jk… Unless?? Oh no, I want to add more drama to them now)

Marisol would tell him she has a kid already, and another one on the way, but not decided on a name yet. She asks Kirin if he has some ideas, if he'd like to still be part of it after all this time, and his answer's pretty clear atm: not really. He's still trying to process how he feels exactly about Corvo.

But moving on to a few days later, I thought he could reconsider this and gives her possible names? Not that he actually wants to see the kid(s) (he's still very much uncomfortable around them and such) but Corvo could have convinced him to not being a jerk for once, even more to an old friend? (please tell me if I'm going way too ooc dkdndkdnls)

Also obviously Marisol will start talking about Adrian and Corvo

New chart and we can clearly see the new ones lol: Marisol and Ivanoe are at the center! ft Dulce the cat (killed by Kirin oopsie)

As for the fic, it has been seating on my mind for more than 2 years I think? But I keep going back to it, changing things so Kirin and Corvo's relationship might be more coherent, adding some lore, reorganizing the chapters, and… Taking a huge break on it to play Baldur's Gate 3 instead. RIP. But I think it was needed, cuz I could have a fresher look at it? And as I struggle to finish it in French, I'm reminded I actually have to translate it in English next, and my soul leaves my mortal body to break down among the stars

(I have like, 3 or 4 different drafts, longer one was 57 pages on word which is one of the longest things I've ever written so far and I found things to change/add so now I'm getting afraid of myself)

(it's mostly another 'BUT WHAT IF we could bring Jindosh on the Dreadful Wale too' with my OCs saying 'hi', nothing really new I suppose but I don't want to care much about it cuz maybe the main plot isn't new but I'm bringing my ideas to it too and bruh I just want to write about them so whatever) (there're more or less 18 chapters planned) (idk if that answers your 'question'?) (also yes I'll try to add Aldina to it too, or maybe save it for another thing someday)

haiii! 8 for Aldina and 9 for anyone because im interested in general!

(also i'd like to know about Marisol and Ivanoe 👁👁)

Yippee!!! :D

Thank you for your interest!!!! <3

8. Would your OC ostensibly be able to get away with murder?

Yes. Aldina could probably talk her way out of it, or if things get worse, ask for help from her fathers.

9. Do you have a specific lyric or quote which you associate with your OC?

I can answer to that with a few of them. I have to think about this for the newer OCs (aka young Kirin's "crew", mostly).

For Vincent, I decided to go with the last line from The Sands Of Serkonos: "We'll slip onto a whaler and maybe we'll escape".

He's been in Karnaca for a few years now, and that song might be one of his favorites. I think he likes to listen to the songs people sing in the streets.

To stay with the whole 'whaler' thing, Aldina's one is simply from The Drunken Whaler: "What will we do with a drunken whaler…"

I like to think they kind of respond to each other, in some way. Also Aldina loves to creep people and to sing slow, disturbing lullabies while behind the walls, at the mansion.

Now, less lyrics and more quotes.

For Sybill, it had to be a Sherlock one, obviously, and I went with one from BBC Sherlock (which I love a lot): "What is it like in your funny little brains? It must be so boring."

I think it suits her and is a good sum up on which kind of person she can be!

And I've got one for Caleb (the grumpy man in the navy). It's from Niccolò Machiavelli: "It is not titles that honor men but men that honor titles."

He has a strong sense of honor and puts a lot of importance to this kind of things. If it wasn't for that one, I would probably have chose another lyric but from Honor For All.

And that's it for the asks! As for Marisol and Ivanoe!! :D

I still have to do better references for them, I only have a small sketch of their heads.

Both are from Karnaca. Ivanoe was a very kind soul, living with his mother. He was 3 years older than Kirin. He liked to take care of the stray animals, the ones even more easily forgotten by Karnaca's cruelty. Always hurt somewhere, too many lights scars on the body, taking care of the unwanted.

He really, really hated Kirin. For his lack of empathy, for that time he killed a cat out of curiosity. Why would anyone in the group let him stay? he's dangerous. But he's Adrian's little brother and the others were fine with his presence.

Unfortunately, one day, Ivanoe disappeared, only to be found by the group few days later. He's been killed by bloodflies. That left a mark on them (except for Kirin, he didn't care much, said it was his own fault).

Marisol's parents were whalers, and they died at sea. She's 4 years older than Kirin, and was in love with Adrian. Young Kirin was a tiny bit jealous, but Marisol had interesting things to say - sometimes - so m'okay you can stay with my brother I suppose? (more or less)

She's always love to draw and had an artistic soul. So, when Kirin was still in Dunwall, at the Academy, and Adrian died in the mines, she decided to leave for Morley. She wanted to stay away from Karnaca, to take a break from the city that ruined her life (Ivan's death didn't help either). She'll have a hard start, but will eventually get a renown there and finally marry another man, Octave (I've talked about him before I think!) Octave is also a very artistic one, interested by animation.

When Octave heard more about Kirin's silvergraphs, and his will to animate things too with them, he wanted to go to Karnaca and meet him, and Marisol followed him, thinking it was finally time for her to go back there and fight her demons. And so, they meet again, after all those years, and start to talk about their life, the changes, and the past.

I'm really too invested into young Kirin's life for some reasons xD Kirin was lonely, but his brother wasn't, so in my headcanons Kirin was squatting (I lack a more proper word lmao) Adrian's group mostly, because Adrian cared about him and didn't want him to stay alone and the such. And (almost) everyone was fine with it.

And I'm adding some interludes with them in my fanfic! I NEED TO FINISH THAT DAMN FANFIC

[forerussake]

rules: post the names of all the files in your wip folder regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them and then post a little snippet of it or tell them something about it! and then tag as many people as you have wips.

i was tagged by the wonderful @thedaughterofshadows tnx!!! <3

i’m tagging: @aredhel-of-doylkien @scaredysap @psychic-waffles @phantomhydeoftheopera @youngks-smile @cute-rocks @stupid-lemon-eater @pangzi @enjaami @omaenanimonoda @lynne-monstr @morifiinwe @elenothar if you feel like it. idk if yall all write xD

unfortunately mine is also going to be very boring, bc the file names of my WIP files are generally just the fandom name + character name + WIP or sth along those lines. also my WIP files (several ones for different fandoms) sadly contain many things I started such a long time ago that i do not think I will ever go back to them, for the simple reason that my writing has evolved and the styles would not fit together anymore, but here goes nothing :D putting it under a read more bc it got long...

1. DMBJ gnc Wu Xie fic : pretty much what it says on the tin. post-tltr wu xie exploring some gender stuff he wasn’t ready for before

2. Cheng Xinyan fic : Guardian, obviously. This one is set after the scene where sw gets soaked kneeling in the rain to get the annoying doctor to fix zyl’s eyes. sw goes to see his old uni buddy afterwards bc he needs some tlc. the whole thing is an exploration of their relationship and shared history, as well as sw’s emotional state in the present. 

3. Guardian fic - A hand within a hand (holding light) : i’m working on chapter 6 atm. fic is an exploration of various oc povs of sw throughout the guardian timeline. the current chapter follows my oc chen anjing, who is a dixingren single mother living in haixing with her young son, who both have a history with hei pao shi that takes a lot of effort to get past. 

4. Student Shen Wei fic : this one might get scrapped bc the intended plot is very similar to what i ended up doing in chapter 4 of the fic above this one, only with prof. Zhou in place of my oc :/

5. MDZS murder mystery : i have every intention of getting to this one one day but damn if it isn’t too complicated for me. it’s a murder mystery fic surrounding the death of a young boy in a village on the border between lanling and qinghe. lan xichen, jiang cheng and a bunch of ocs set out to solve the murder, and in the process they unearth a bunch of lxc’s old trauma he thought he’d worked through. the whole thing is told in flashback, from the post-canon perspective of nie huaisang who is the only one still alive who knows what actually happened those days and what lxc and jc did not manage to figure out.

6. SHL modern au : a ballet/dancer au of word of honour. not much to say about it honestly.

7. Immovable rock x desert dust fic : QZGS fic also known as the immovable rock amnesia fic. tells a story about a weird forest, an eldritch being with immense power, and the avatars who get caught in the web of fate.

8. Life Extinguisher fic : QZGS fic, about what would happen if someone devised a weapon that could fry LE’s mechanical box in battle. so basically LE getting electrocuted. great fun xD

9. Vaccaria x Troubling rain fic : an exploration of vaccaria’s power as the magician and the reason he wears his eyepatch. (hint: there’s chaos in his soul that only good pk can calm)

10. Shishen bond fic : YYM-DOE fic, explores the nature of the shishen bond, and what it actually entails to give a spirit guardian an order, especially one they do not want to follow. set post-canon, focuses on snow hound’s recovery after the serpent battle.

11. Tryptich WIP : YYM-DOE fic, also known as the Metaphorical Serpent Modern AU. it’s a modern au centred around killing stone. the basic premise is that the serpent of the movie is not a real entity but rather a metaphor for our personal demons. it’s a very heavy story about the mental health of all its characters that loosely follows canon, in which qingming is not a yin yang master but a psychiatrist, and the shishen are not qingming’s spirit guardians but his patients.

12. YYM fanfic - what’s in a name? : fic exploring the meaning behind the various shishen’s names.

13. LotR the disadvantages of kingship : Thranduil takes up the crown after his father’s death, in the middle of a raging war. this one is so old, it’s probably the first fic i ever started writing, because it literally came to me in a dream when i was 13, and it never got finished. bc i was 13.

14. the time before time : a Silm fanfic that chronicles (pun intended) the time before time. from the birth of the ainur in the timeless halls up until the creation of arda. probably the second fic i ever tried to write. didn’t go anywhere even though i had like 11 chapters planned.

15. Feanor wip : about fëanor’s mental state after the burning of the ships

16. ecthelion wip : about the crossing of the ice, the founding of gondolin, and how ecthelion became the lord of the fountain.

17. And miles to go (before i sleep) : fic about finarfin’s return. i would love to finish this bc it was important to me, but i cannot say for sure i ever will.

18. celebrimbor wip : about celebrimbor disowning (i guess) his father after doriath.

19. fingolfin wip : from the start of dagor bragollach until his duel with and death at the hands of morgoth, told from both his and fingon’s perspective.

[gorbo-longstocking]

i love your rambling please dont apologize. and like i get it about the immersion - ive known people who get real hung up on 'readers' doing or saying things they personally wouldnt do even though its kinda hard to tell a story that fits diverse people without making like idk a vosual noval or something. Personally i just think of reader inserts as a different way of telling a story and sharing love of characters and i dont mind the vehicle character being an oc because like you can turn that on and off in your head as needed but then thats probably just me. i kinda think if it as youre a reader too yanno? like the dm is a player too. My headcannons and yours dont have to match even if you are the author because of how youre telling the story. i dont mind you sharing your thoughts on mc because like im super curious about everything to do with your story but i also get it if you think its a safer bet not to because it might ruin the experience for someone else. totally up to you! i DO like that mc is old enough to have some level of greying hair because you dont see too many stories with readers that are older. usually its like theyre just starting out but this mc actually has some level of experience with life and relationships and shiz. and if i havent said it recently thank you so much for writing.

YES I TOTALLY SEE WHAT YOURE SAYING. its especially hard creating a compelling blank slate character. like, not to be an anime fan on main, but in a lot of anime you have that generic male protagonist for the watcher to project on. and personally, im not too fond of that because while i understand his purpose of being a vessel for the audience MAN is he boring. and its really hard doing that with a pov character who has an inner monologue and thoughts and opinions to share. especially when my favorite part of writing is characterization.

im not even going to lie i have no self control and its not an if i drop in depth mc profiles or something its a when. but when i do, i could probably put it under cut or something or tag it a specific way if ppl dont want to see! that way its there for ppl who do want it, and avoidable for ppl who do >:3

oh yeah the mc in asmgg is older and explicitly so mostly to try and closer match the age of the royals! plus i just think it opens the door for frisk calling them old every opportunity they get.

[lumilasi]

I saw this in my feed and since I was pretty bored and FINALLY free from the said boredom, figured I could do this one. I generally enjoy question based tags, especially if they relate to art/writing/fandom/are some general things about favorite colors, music, foods, things about your home country etc.

(basically, you can tag me in stuff similar to listed above things and I’ll probably do them if I see them/have time lmao)

Fic Writer Questions!

How many works do you have on AO3? 

44 total. I used to have more but I’ve deleted an old Bleach one I knew I’d never continue to write, and two bnha ones for the same reason (those two were also at the very beginning stages so nobody missed a lot anyway)

What's your total AO3 wordcount? 

4 269 068......wow. It’s even MORE than I even imagined. Over 4 million words. 

....Someone take my writing tools away from me lmao

How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

 Three. I started with MCU, moved on to Bleach and now I’ve done most ofr BNHA

What are your top 5 fics by kudos? 

Crossroads - 3069 

Family Secrets - 3015 

Reanimate - 1534 

The neighbor - 809 

Espada and Fraccion - 782

.....Admittedly this list surprised me. Not the first three but the last two. The fifth is an one shot for Bleach that I wrote AGES ago. I also for some reason expected this list to match the bookmark list more lmao

Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

I always try to respond to every comment I get, but often times when it’s just one word or a heart emoji I don’t really know what to say, so I might not reply to those. I do appreciate every comment I get, and read every single one, even if I don’t respond

What's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending? 

I don’t do angst endings typically, but Family Secrets is probs the most obvious choice, given what happens at the end. 

- and its not even the real end, because I couldn’t help myself and made two more stories for the AU that was like “hey! this character I made you all love so much actually DIDN’T die, he just had unfinished business back home” lmao

Do you write crossovers? If so what is the craziest one you've ever written? 

Rarely, typically they’re between my own fics (the story that crosses the paths of Crossroads and Family Secrets AU’s, literally titled Crossover, creative name I know OTL I was out of ideas) 

Or between me and other people’s fics. Currently there’s two, both with Crossroads: one with Theteapotofdoom’s fic Something Good, and another with leontheneon’s fic Here with you. Both stories are basically a two part series that is non canon to actual Crossroads. The first story is finished, second one has two chapters left...that...I uh...struggle to write it seems OTL

(not tagging either person into this because Tea is very busy IRL right now so I don’t want to bother her, and Leon hasn’t been around in ages, IDK if they even use tumblr anymore)

Have you ever received hate on a fic? 

Not really no? I can only remember one time with somebody kind of demanding me to completely rewrite one fic in the past. It wasn’t really hate, more just...kinda unreasonable in my eyes? This was years ago by now.

While I did understand their side and the particular struggle they had (once they actually explained it, the first comment at the time came off pretty rude and demanding), I still feel them wanting me to re-write an entire multi-chapter fic just for them is a bit unreasonable, like said.

Like it wasn’t just couple of grammatical errors that was their issue, we’re talking weeks and even months long process of completely reworking multi-chapter story, because the grammar wasn’t tip top perfect. (I’m not a native speaker so there’s bound to be some mistakes; pointing out small occasional things is one thing - asking me to rewrite an entire multi-chapter story is another)

You can imagine that is not exactly high on my priorities list with IRL responsibilities and being more focused on the actual content of what I write, the ongoing stories I’m updating. This fic isn’t even finished yet either, so...yeah. Like after they explained their side of the story I was a bit more understanding, but its still....a bit ridiculous and unreasonable in my eyes to ask somebody to do such a massive overhaul when the story isn’t even finished yet?? Like maybe once its done and I have time I can go and edit it, but not when I haven’t even finished it lmao

Do you write smut? If so what kind?

Nah. I don’t care about smut a whole lot personally. I much more enjoy writing emotional scenes, character interactions and mystery. Plot over porn basically lmao 

Have you ever had a fic stolen? 

I don’t...do people actually do this? It feels like such a weird and pointless thing to do. It’s fanfic. stuff you write for fun and for free, for people to read for free. I’d also imagine its pretty easy to get caught given AO3 shows when you first posted your story. 

Have you ever had a fic translated?

 Yes, a couple of times. In Russian and I think other one was Chinese?

Have you ever co-written a fic before? 

Writing the crossovers was kinda that? Like I asked feedback from Tea and Leon on how to write them. there was also actually third crossover story that was supposed to happen (only I wasn’t going to be the one to write it) but this project has been shelved as the other person had to drop majority of online activity due to some IRL health related things. (I’m just glad they recently contacted me to inform they were doing better)

What’s your all time favorite ship? 

Right now it’s..probably pretty obvious its Shigadabi, but I can never really say any ship is my all time fave, as it always changes depending on the fandom lmao. 

I guess my favorite character x proper sleep/emotional stability/happiness will always be the OTP

What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

Oof. I always try to finish every single one, and if I absolutely know I won’t, I tend to just delete them. Thankfully I’ve only done it thrice. Which I guess is still a lot, but compared to how much I write, in context not really? 

What are your writing strengths?

From what I’ve gathered of feedback, its typically emotional moments/character dialogue and interaction/character arcs and so. Mystery plots too. Or maybe that last one is just me lmao

What are your writing weakness?

Personally, while I tend to get positive feedback on both, sometimes I feel like I struggle to choose a good pacing for a fic, and fight scenes are always a pain. Namely, I might struggle with making the pace too long-winded and slow sometimes. Ironically, my IRL update pacing is probs a bit too fast in turn. (To add another layer of irony, I got an update ready for Unravel that I’ll post after making this tag)

Also writing shorter stories. I’ve been trying to write one-shots more (like the Spinaraki series thing) to kinda try and get myself to pack up my stories better and not let them always spiral out of control haha

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I did try to do that once with a fic I deleted, I had a native speaker help me with the canadian french bits. This person is no longer active on tumblr, and I deleted that fic because I realized I’d never finish it. 

Technically tho, as a non-native English speaker, EVERY word is in other language to me lmao. I could only add Finnish as an extra one easily, and it rarely makes sense to do so anyway.

What was the first fandom you ever wrote for? 

MCU. It’s what I originally made my AO3 for, as I felt brave enough to post things. I also can’t remember writing fandom related stuff before that, it was typically more oc related. Writing fics has helped me learn a lot about world-building, character consistency and all that stuff, without having to make everything from scratch (tho I do enjoy doing that as well of course). I feel like my original work writing has improved too thanks to my fic writing shenanigans in a way lmao. Tho that might just be me, IDK

What’s your favorite fic you’ve written? 

Oooof. This changes a lot depending on the time. I can never really pick just one either: my current favorites are Stringmaster, The neighbor and Family Secrets

Stringmaster because I love building the Steampunk AU, and Tomura’s relationship with Dabi and his Sensei, The neighbor because I personally think the romance build up in that one is probably one of the best I’ve done so far (the character dialogue in that is among my favorites I’ve written as well) and FS, because it taught me a lot about character building through writing a character like Hisashi.

 Plus I just really like Hisashi. 

And baby Izuku and little Tenko are super adorable. 

And Inko is the best mum.

 Also the fact the whole story is so ironic in a sense its still kinda funny to me. 

The only writer I know that might be around rn is @nightlilly0110 soo...I guess I’ll tag them if they want to do this! Anybody who’s a writer can snatch this too of course ;)

[mallowstep]

I’m thinking about writing a short OC piece about Windclan and I’d love to see your notes about its culture and the hymns you’ve written so far, everything you’ve done for Windclan appreciation month has really inspired me :)

hello anon!

alright, first things first: please send me ur piece when ur done if you're comfortable doing so! i will publish it from you, or if you don't want to be associated with it in Any Way, i will also just read it and add it to the queue with no indication why it's there. or if you don't want me to share it at all, i'd still like to read it.

as for your ask,

hymns?

i'm working on it. however, underneath the read more, i'll include a few snippets for u.

culture

alright, i'm just going to post links with some commentary as i go. feel free to ask any more questions you have.

windclan (search) | windclan (tag) | wcam tag | five clans (narrative essays)

i would link the elders den, but there's no windclan stories in there ATM.

moving on, i'm just going to go through posts in reverse chronological order.

tallstar taking a mate admittedly, this is more about cats and sexuality than windclan, but i provide the commentary that windclan...has a particular view on sexuality and fluidity. one thing i haven't explored but should is the role visiting cats have in windclan.

whoops that's a code word, my plug for solacefruit has been activated. okay, as you may be aware, based on the fact that i have a whole tag for it, i'm obsessed with solacefruit. now, i love everything they do, but i would like to point you particularly to "make a mighty sound" for a fantastic exploration of this idea.

i don't want to spoil anything, but i do think windclan, and maybe cats as a whole, but windclan has a certain view towards relationships that very much breaks them into pieces. i'm a "love is a verb" person, so the idea that you can grow to love someone romantically by going through the actions of love makes sense. not to say you will, but you can.

(to be clear i'm not out advocating for arranged marriages just saying that they can work, they're not destined to be bad, and there's a difference between forced marriage and arranged marriage.)

anyway.

this was a lot of words to say, cats do not have a human (and particularly, western/american) understanding of relationships, which makes analyzing them in those terms difficult.

early hymn talk i'll probably say more below, but it is here.

general ibtwicm notes might get you into the headspace for some of my choices in ibtwicm.

i don't have a ton to say because this pretty much all holds, but uh, yeah.

poetry and language this isn't strictly about windclan, but it does explain some of what i think about when writing hymns.

obviously, i'm writing english translations, but these general themes are what i have in mind. it's also part of why i say i don't think i'll ever release a "full hymnal" for windclan, because i don't know if my weak worldbuilding heart could take it if i only had translations.

names part two very much not about windclan, but just some thoughts on names. as i've said before, i support all names and worldbuilding equally, but if you want my thoughts on names, go buckwild.

clan culture fic rec list just stuff i think does a good job, if you want other sources of inspiration.

general clan culture notes this is really old, but it mostly holds.

i've obviously expanded a lot on windclan since i wrote it, so shrug? idk man.

alright, i'm going to move into hymn discussion below the cut, but best of luck! and i hope u have a good time. it makes my brain shut down to read that i inspired you, straight up got brain juice pouring out of my ears, but i'm really, really happy to hear that.

windclan holds a special place in my heart. (i know my oc avatar is from skyclan shhh it's because of the backstory he sees ghosts.) but i grew up in this super sporty household as a lil asthmatic klutz, and running was a sport i couldn't mess up, so of course windclan appealed to me.

they're actually third on my list of favorite clans, but they. it's a special place in my heart that they hold, especially after reading dawn of the clans and moth flight's vision, where i got an asthmatic cat and an adhd cat, both in windclan.

god i should reread dotc it's good.

alright, here's the deal on hymns: i am not going to fight to get duets to post correctly. there's a 0% chance i can in tumblr's wonky ass new editor with no markdown, not to mention how difficult it would have been in the old editor. so i'm going to talk a lil about what i've got, and post some stanzas that i think don't get explored a lot in ibtwicm.

we're discussing these in the order that they go in. a reminder that these are all sections of one epic poem. that said, i don't know where the gaps are. like, i don't know what's between these, if that makes sense.

the wind

the wind, the very first hymn. this is an ode to, well, windclan. it's a song about everything that makes them them. it's filled with poetry about the wind, about the seasons, and it's just...well, it's a bit of a genesis, in a way.

The wind — like the rain, like the river — calls the name of each star in its breath. The wind — like the earth, like the stone — anchors us to our home. The wind — like the sun, like the sky — is knowable only by name.

i wanted to share this stanza because the last line doesn't show up in ibtwicm (at least so far, i cut the reference), and it really, really, makes a difference imo.

anyway, windclan is basically tying the wind in with every other fundamental part of their life here.

they are the wind, and that's that.

the hare

okay, this one has a line that comes up a lot in ch1, but i already talked about that, so instead, i'm going to talk about this stanza

Speak of the earth and the dens, and you will be answered: By the call of the howling gales, the open earth singing in response. But speak of that which grows above, of the grass and field, And you will be answered by the softness of the buds and the roots.

okay, we get deadfoot thinking about this when he's talking to yellowfang.

i like this stanza because it really tells us what the hare is about. now, hares are not something windclan catches. hares are huge, y'all, there's no way they take one down. i take liberties with ecology, but not that many.

(i.e., a team of cats definitely could take one down, but i know too much, and would prefer letting team hunting stay a plot thing, and not fundamentally alter the environment in the way it would.)

now anyway, all of these hymns come from the time of the tunnelers. and the point of this is, even though the work of tunnelers and moor runners is disconnected, they fundamentally affect each other.

a moor runner must trust the hollows of the earth beneath them won't collapse, and a tunneler must trust that the prey they chase up will be caught.

it's all very symbiotic and is, well, in a way, a love poem. plus i really like the line "the open earth singing in response"

of the warrens

so this has one line, one you might not even know is a hymn, in ch1, but i'll share the whole stanza.

And as for the subject of fallow fields: Fallowed fields make for hungry prey, Yet hungry prey makes desperate rabbits, Who leap into our claws.

and ig my big point is, the hymns are a cultural artifact. just like many of the rules in the old testament have to do with hygiene things being codified into religion, this whole hymn is about hunting advice.

the moon on the river

okay, out of all the hymns, this is the most complete, and because ashfoot and deadfoot sing it together, and deadfoot discusses it, i only have one stanza to share.

Under the coldness, you shine back at me, And I do everything to keep the clouds from threatening you.

now, this poem is about love, grief, and being separated. it's a particular kind of grief, and windclan discourages grief, so this is one of only a few ways to really, fully express it.

and this section, in particular, is about love in times of hardship.

i don't have. a lot to say here. but the way hardship changes how you love someone can be particular and intense.

(temporarily, this happens sometime before "Spare for my chosen few / All I have is given towards the distant ground.")

the gorse in the wind

oh shit! i have so fucking much to say okay first.

the series title does not come from this hymn.

second, this is a challenging hymn okay. fuck. i have so much to say. where to start so! moors are actually relatively wet. think british countryside, not, like, a cool desert.

this is something i always knew? i read the secret garden a lot as a kid. but. i've seen stuff about moors being dry, and it's just one of those things that really...starts to eat under your skin. anyway.

okay, so. gorse is a dry plant. it does not like rain. it grows in sandy soil, etc etc, and yet. aside from everything we know about gorse and warriors, it also grows in this moor. because i say so.

okay, so. so so so. the lines quotes here are really deceptive, and i bet no one understood why, and that makes me just a little sad, but i couldn't find a good way to explain it in text, so uh, yeah, anyway. there's an exchange between ashfoot and deadfoot: "THE GORSE: You called me the heather and I grew stronger. / THE WIND: I called you the heather and brought rain for you to grow."

so...so do you see? do you see the point? it's about communication, needs, challenging each other. fadskj;l i love this. okay, so. the point is that heather is fragile, soft, pretty, and gorse is the opposite. the part of the wind is trying to be kind and complimentary, but the gorse is saying, fuck that, you are not being kind to me by undercutting my strength.

anyway, this passage is sung by the gorse:

In what good company have I set down roots, That even through snow fall I flower. You called me the heather and yet I've weathered, Far more than your sweet-named love.

so uh, yeah, this adds context. gorse! gorse is a hardy plant that continues to flower basically all season round. it's cool. it's cool. gorse is super cool. fuuuck y'all it's such a small thing and i've contained talking about it until now, but now it's too much. the floodgates are open, and i thought about this small detail too much.

okay. deep breath. gorse is a really easy plant to grow, but it's still adapted for dry environments. so the "even through snow fall I flower" part is a little tongue in cheek: gorse itself will flower in the cold, but snow is a type of precipitation, which as we've covered, is not gorse friendly.

then we have some rhyming and puns in the next line, and finally, "yet I've weathered, / Far more than your sweet-named love." like. yes. love as a form of softness is not necessarily helpful.

i mean, consider the damaging "soft trans boi" problem. same energy.

right. okay. so we've got all that? now if you remember, this is sung when deadfoot thinks ashpaw doesn't respect him, and ashpaw says she'll sing with him if she can sing the gorse, so in essence, she's telling him...not to back off, per se, but that...she is the "hard part" of the relationship. like, okay, i refuse to even bring up gender roles in human relationships, but uh, her point is very much, "i am the gorse, and you are the wind," and it's a very monumental moment.

it's anchored, i believe, in the other scenes, but this is a small thing that matters a lot to me.

like a lot.

okay, now that i've talked about like four lines for the length of this entire post, moving on.

the heather and earth

okay, this is the last hymn i have in concrete terms, and i cut a bit of it from the latest chapter, so yeah. it's also, uh, okay everything i have for it is only a line or two, but i wanted to share this closing line (sung together):

Sing a song of forgiveness, of growing together, and we will make madness, And madness from hence will everything beautiful grow.

and i just like these lines. they got cut, it was initially part of an exchange between ashfoot and deadfoot, but i can't share the part of it they talk about, because i'm reusing it for a later chapter and i'll 100% spoil shit if i try to talk about it.

but these lines? mmm they speak to me.

i don't have a ton to say about them, but i just. i like it.

if we apply the same ecology discussion from the gorse and the wind, we see heather is a plant that grows in acidic, infertile soil, and heath (which is not the same as a heather, but also kind of is) is a defining quality of heathland, which is...i'm not kidding, it's hot discourse about the difference between moorland and heathland.

i'm not getting involved, but my point is, if the gorse in the wind is a hymn about finding a working relationship, about mutual respect, etc., then the heather and earth is a hymn about working well together in a terrible situation.

god.

uh, wow! can you tell i like plants? because while parts of my ecology are dubious (see: everything regarding the rabbits in ch1), the plants part are well thought out. this shit is carefully detailed metaphor.

and that's why i won't be releasing a full hymnal. it's hard to as on top of this as i want to be. i'm not kidding, writing even four lines of a hymn usually takes me about twenty minutes, because i pull up a lot of research about how things work, how they interact with each other, etc., and then there's wordsmithing, cat worldview filter, etc.

but i hope this overview of what i've got is a good insight into my general thoughts. and i will eventually release more and more of the hymns i've got written.

[river-bottom-nightmare]

Would you happens to know any good kon fics?

I’m not sure if ris went on anon and asked the same question twice, or if this is two different people. Either way, ask and ye shall receive.

There isn’t enough Kon content out there, in my opinion. He’s such an underappreciated character, both by DC and by the fandom. Most of the works out there that feature Kon only have him as a background character, and then most of those are centered around Tim. But I’ll try to find the ones that focus mainly on Kon. 

1. The Mystery of the Superboy Shirts by Aviatricks Tim/Kon. 4,000 words. You can’t have a Kon fic rec without including this one. There’s a very high chance that you’ve already read it, but I’m going to add it anyway because it’s one of my favourite DC fics of all time. It’s from Tim’s point of view, but it’s centered around Kon, and honestly, just one of the most hilarious things ever. Read this if you want a short, feel-good, happy fic that will make you laugh.

2. On My Chest, On My Heart by dnawhite76 Tim/Kon. 20,000 words. Now this! This is an absolutely wonderful Timkon fic that’s actually centered around Kon and is from Kon’s point of view. Amazing. It’s a Love Simon High School AU of sorts, featuring lots of superfam and Kon being a gay disaster, and an incredible coming out sequence. Kon feels a little lost, a little out of place, and not at all happy (at the beginning), but the way the author wrote his family and friends’ support and his character development was the BEST. It’s a little lengthy, but so worth it.

3. Boys of Summer by MarbleAide Tim/Kon. 5,500 words. A summer camp AU that follows Tim and Kon through the years. Again, from Tim’s point of view, but he’s so in love with Kon, it’s so cute. It’s a cute fic with a healthy dose of pining. The prose is a little simple, and the pacing’s just a bit too fast, but the overall universe this fic (along with the rest of the antics of the core four) is adorable. 

4. Close to Home by iesika Multiple pairings. 65,000 words. Ooooooh boy this is a LONG one. AU in the form of canon divergence. There’s a murder in Smallville High, and Kon and Tim attempt to solve the mystery together, while Kon goes through normal high school stuff (and some abnormal hero stuff.) It’s very very plotty, with a mystery that drives the whole thing. It’s got some pretty cool OCs, though I’m not usually a fan of that stuff, and it’s sort of kind of Timkon? It’s got an ambiguous ending, both of which I tend to shy away from. Overall, not my cup of tea but still a pretty great fic, and if you’re looking for Kon centered fics, this is the one to check out.

5. Gonna Be A Better One (A Thousand Miles To Your Door) by @traincat​ Tim/Kon. 18,500 words. I haven’t read this one in a while, but I do remember really really loving it. It’s classic take on the problems that come with being two teenagers dating while simultaneously being two teenage vigilantes. A little bit of cute core four stuff, the few instances where Steph shows up, she’s pretty well characterized. The two of them are hopelessly besotted, but also dealing with a lot of issues and they’re trying to figure out if their love is worth it. I loved this one, definitely worth a read. (Also unrelated but traincat is the spideytorch queen and spideytorch is like one of my top ships of all time so even if you’re not into marvel comics you should go read them anyway because I love them.)

6. Boys in Leather Jackets by @merelymine​ Tim/Kon. <3,000 words. I. Um. Yeah this is just PWP. I am completely unashamed. It’s cute at first, and then it’s hot as hell, and I will not apologize for reccing it. 

7. Curse of the Red-Heads by @pupeez4eva (sorry if this is the wrong link, their tumblr wasn’t linked on the fic so I did a little digging) Multiple Pairings. 5,000 words. I’m a little hesitant to rec this because it is mainly about Tim and Kon, but it’s told from Damian’s point of view and it’s got a fair bit of him as well. Regardless, Kon is actually hilarious whenever he shows up, and I loved him, so I’m reccing it anyway. Damian doesn’t understand how relationships work, and meddles in people’s love lives. It’s absolutely hilarious, if you’re up for a laugh, give it a read.

8. Three Little Words by timkons Tim/Kon. 10,000 words. Once again, centered around Tim, but features Kon being an incredible, loving husband so I’m not complaining. It’s a little angsty, and dives Tim’s emotional vulnerability. Tim and Kon fight, Tim is Emotional and Hates It, and it takes you on a ride of feels. But it ends happily, so that’s nice. (Sort of) Domestic and older Timkon, I really enjoyed this fic. 

9. Through Another Lens by animegoil Tim/Kon. 7,000 words. Mind the tags on this one, it’s a little bit triggering, and has a tad bit of non/con. This one isn’t one I really love, but it’s not bad overall. It’s a bit too wordy, and a tad anti-climatic? In a sense? But it’s from Kon’s pov and it shows his thought process pretty well. There’s a little bit of angst, followed up by Talking About Feelings and a hint of hurt/comfort. Overall, a decent read. 

10. Class Differences by wisia Tim/Kon. 13,500 words. Ooooooh man this was a good one. I was expecting silliness and fluff. Instead I got a ride of feels and some really really well written words. This fic centers around Kon dealing with the publicity that comes with being “Timothy Drake”’s boyfriend. And man is it rough. I just loved it though, absolutely incredible. I might reread it sometime and make a moodboard idk.

11. Matters of the Heart by @nyerus Tim/Kon. 13,500 words. This one is a case fic, with Kon realizing he’s in love with Tim and having to deal with that. Very plotty, but the action was done super well, so it added to the overall vibe of the fic. Kon is so in love with Tim, he’s hopeless, it’s great. Also, the author got Kon’s point of view down, like damn it’s incredible. Definitely worth a read!

12. What’s in a name? by dancingsweetheart129 Tim/Kon. 21,000 words. This one is more of a character introspection, as Kon learns to let his old name go as he grows up. I wasn’t really a fan of the writing style, it was too fast in some places and too wordy in others, and the prose got a little messy at times. But it is a really good character study, so if you’re looking for Kon centered fics, this is worth a shot.

13. We’re Not Dating by @dianaraven (once again, i’m not entirely sure this is the right url bc it wasn’t linked in the fic and I had to do some digging. sorry!) Tim/Kon. 5,500 words. Exactly what it says on the box. An old trope but a good one, fluff, pining, and people not realizing they’re in love with each other. Just a good, wholesome read.

14. Reveries by @nyerus Tim/Kon. 5,500 words. Another fic by nyerus, but this one’s short and sweet. Again, focused mainly on Tim, but it features the two of them being super in love and adorable and I love it. Read it if you want Cute Boyfriends being Cute Boyfriends (and tim getting some sleep for once in his life).

Alright, here are 14 fics to get you started. I also recommend you check out the individual authors fic recs, I really only put one of each on there (except for nyerus, they get two bc they’re great), but all of them have some really good DC fics. Once again, if you want more fics, or ones with a different ship/fandom, don’t hesitate to pop in my inbox. Happy reading!

(Also, I’m going to link my Kon-El aesthetic that I made bc it never hurts to get into the mood before you start diving into fics.)

[clarionglass]

tagged by @dheiress to post the first line of my last 20 fics (thank you! <3)

Rules: List the first lines of your last 20 stories (if you have less than 20, just list them all!). See if there are any patterns. Choose your favorite opening line. Then tag 10 other authors!

aight my lads here we go, there’s going to be a few unpublished wips and other piece of dubious writing in here bc i doubt i have 20 stories but anyway, here we go (this is very long! press j to skip or just get that dash scrollin bc this might take a while :// ) in very rough chronological order going backwards, starting with the published work:

1. so i ran to the river (tma grifters au, unpublished yet but will be soon!): The sunlight feels different on a face fresh out of prison, and it feels even better to Jonathan Sims now that he’s truly home.

2. crowned by an overture bold and beyond (tma pretentious college au, based loosely on the secret history):  It was a cool, rainy day in late March when I first approached the Magnus Institute--one of those days that served as a reminder that the London spring, that fragile creature, was still all too vulnerable to the occasional strike from the claws of winter.

3. we should ride this wave to shore (tma chatfic where everything is beautiful and nothing hurts): Friday, 3:14 P.M. “archives research & statement envestigation” Timothy Stoker renamed the group “drinks drinks drinks” Timothy Stoker changed Sasha James’s nickname to saucy sash Timothy Stoker changed Martin Blackwood’s nickname to martini kart Timothy Stoker changed his nickname to stonked stonked: so how bout it lads saucy sash: oh god.

4. i am the maker of rules (dealing with fools) (tma chatfic, an elias-and-peter-focused accompaniment to wsrtwts): Monday, 7:39 P.M. Elias Bouchard to Peter Lukas Elias Bouchard: Peter, I need to talk to you. Elias Bouchard: I’ve had the most infuriating day at work.

5. An Optimistic Tragedy (good omens orchestra au that i swear to god i’ll finish one day): Three years ago Eve shifted in her chair, her mind clearly on things other than Milhaud and the music in front of her.

6. The Spaces Between the Stars (the Beast of a dw fic that i can’t even begin to describe; a mate and i have been working on this since 2015 and it’s a sprawling mass of writing that encompasses Many google docs--what’s on ao3 atm is a very small percentage of it,,,,): The Doctor clutched the TARDIS railing as if somehow, it could take the pain away.

7. Carol of the Bells (a chrismas chatfic companion to aot! i’ve always been a sucker for a chatfic but oof looking back on this one my formatting style sure has changed): [Friday December 13, 1:31am] Anthony Crowley to Angelface: u up? ;)

8. An Exploration into The Nature of Human Beings, sub. Homo Sapiens: A Research Paper by Milton Jones (british comedy rpf. this is my oldest piece on ao3 and it shows, but there’s a special place in my heart for this dorky lil fic about an alien researcher making a place for himself in british comedy. fun fact! i actually added the final three sentences to this a couple of days ago, and will post it when i do my next fic update): <<I knew you’d be down here, as per usual. Do you never stop working?>>

and now for the stuff that i like but hasn’t yet/will never/one day, if i get my act together, might be posted to ao3... please ask me about these bc i love them, even though i’ll probably never post them :)

9. untitled mitchell spy comedy (a show that @monimolimnion​ and i want to pitch to the bbc in which david mitchell and victoria coren mitchell are married spies who work for MI5 and MI6 respectively, and most of britcom pops up in one place or another. it’s nothing more than a Lot of planning and a few snippets, but i love returning to this doc): [David is sitting at his desk, shaking his head at an open file.] David: They’re taking the piss. That’s what they’re doing, they’re taking the piss.

10. In the Demonic Style (a good omens au of @teashoesandhair’s glorious smooching contest piece, which is the first piece of fiction writing in the reblog chain. i’ve promised a chapter 2 to this, which i’m halfway through, and feel incredibly guilty for not finishing. still, my quarter-year’s resolution is to finish something old whenever i post something new, so maybe it’ll get done soon!): “It’s the end of the world” was not a good statement with which to start one’s morning in any circumstances, but the angel Bryndael was in the middle of cataloguing his newest shipment of tea samples when said statement reached his ears, and he didn’t much appreciate being disturbed.

11. magpie (good omens canon-mostly-compliant fic based around the song magpie by the unthanks/the magpie folk song/nursery rhyme): Wednesday (approximately 11 years before the end of the world) From a bird’s-eye view, St James’s Park was beautiful at this time of year.

12. untitled ficlet for tales of dwrwedd (a present for my writing buddy! the link is to her fic, i just wrote a bit of her two witcherverse ocs being soft as hell): The two women seated by the hearth didn't look old, either of them. But there was something about the pair--in their movements, or their mannerisms--that suggested an age far beyond what their unlined faces would suggest.

13: Tempo d’Attacco (an original bit of Light Crime a la midsomer murders, set in a university music department that is naturally a thinly-veiled copy of my own, hence why it will never ever be posted anywhere. i wrote this for my supervisor at the end of honours (her character is the sleuth) :P ) Dr Marisa Tan didn’t exactly start her morning well, on the day that everything seemed to upend itself.

patterns...... i’m not seeing that many, tbh? idk if i could call this in media res, but there’s certainly a good bit of plot starting without heaps of setup. 

my favourite? hmmmmmm i’d say my favourites would be crowned by an overture bold and beyond, and in the demonic style. i gotta say, going back to revisit a lot of my older writing has been nice! time and distance have been v kind :)

i’m hella bad at tagging things so if you see this and want to share your own writing please go ahead! i’m very shy when it comes to Fandom Interaction (tm) so i don’t feel comfortable launching myself into people’s notes (i loved this tho! i just need other people to make the first move lol), however i will give a specific shoutout to @monimolimnion whose writing i adore and who needs to do this!