#2 more asks in my inbox (but they're positive)

[aydaptic]

Considering you ship reed900, which is a ship that doesn’t have anything versus hank/connor’s relationship (regardless if it’s romantic or not) which is actually real, you really should not be throwing stones.

While I’ll do agree in respecting a creators vision, you do also understand that fandom has been changing/rectifying creators decisions, sometimes really dumb ones, for decades.

Fandom is supposed to be fun. If everyone had a stick up their ass about “this creator thinks this idea is shit so nobody can do it”, fandom would be a lot more depressing.

Also, you’re a Gavin lover, which means you know first hand what it’s like to be hated because of something as simple as “I think this character is neat” so why do the same to other people?

(1/2) This is the last post I'll respond to this topic. If you have anything to add, do it in the replies, as I will ignore any other ASKs bringing it up. Constantly repeating myself isn't useful for anyone and only clutters tags/dashboards.

I wouldn't even be talking about this if ppl didn't directly ask me, so do yourselves a favor and stop adding to the negativity.

Reed900 is adding content.

The other ship is replacing content (romantic/s*xual dynamic replacing a father/son dynamic.)

You're either being disingenuous or can't see the difference.

Even in an AU, a parent/child relationship can't be altered to be romantic/s*xual and be moral, bc that stuff is objectively creepy. Especially when related to the writer's therapy. It's even worse than shipping Markus and Carl bc of said therapy.

I repeat: There's a difference between "adding" something and directly "replacing" something.

Never said ppl "can't" do it. I simply point out how morally wrong they are for doing so. What they do with that information is up to them. If someone cares so much about what I say, then hell, that only shows they struggle to think for themselves. It's their insecurity/lack of individuality at play. I provide facts, opinions, etc. and let ppl make decisions based on it.

There's nothing morally wrong with loving Gav as a character. Shipping someone romantically/s*xually however, when they're canonically written as father/son, is morally wrong. It's very simple.

(2/2) I'm convinced the next ASK on this topic (below the cut) is the same person, so I'm adding it to this post.

If that ever happened, I'd change my WebComic by swapping Niner with a woman/human woman. Problem solved. It would be an interesting challenge, too. Only if it's Cage/Williams -- or they confirm it through someone else -- though. They're the lead writers.

I'm humble enough to have the respect/self-control to do so. You might not.

The joy I've gotten from Reed900 throughout the years can never be taken from me. Although I'd feel bad that I went against a creator's vision in the past -- against my knowledge -- my joy in those past moments before knowing won't cease to exist.

As for the future after learning something like that? I'd legit feel sick looking at my Reed900 content if Gav was canonically confirmed straight. So I'd have no issue stopping to create the content. Well, newsflash. He hasn't. Thus I'll keep making Reed900 content until that (if ever) stops being the case.

There are other sources of joy in life.

If you can't accept canon, and instead preach that it's OK to change it, make your own product with your own characters. Stop leeching off of someone else's hard work. That's just laziness and disrespect. Remind yourself that Detroit: Become Human wouldn't exist without Cage/Williams both. Learn humility.

[writingquestionsanswered]

Hi so I wanted to ask, how do I write a confident character? (Specifically one in high standing, like a prince or a king)

10 Traits for Confident Characters

1 - Confident Body Language - Confident people display good posture (standing up straight, shoulders back, chin up), strong eye contact, and body language that appears positive and secure.

2 - Listening More Than Speaking - Babbling, interrupting people, and monopolizing conversation are signs of insecurity, so confident people tend to listen more than they speak.

3 - They Don't Seek Validation From Others - Confident people know who they are, what they can do, and know their own value, so they don't seek validation from others.

4 - They Don't Overthink Things - Confident people are good at evaluating a situation and making a decision rather than fretting over the different choices.

5 - They're Not Judgmental - Passing judgment and being critical of others isn't something confident people do, because they don't need to lift themselves up by knocking others down.

6 - They Speak with Purpose - Confident people are clear about their feelings and desires. They say what they mean and mean what they say. They don't tend to hem and haw or say things like "um" or "uh" when they speak.

7 - They Accept Responsibility for Their Mistakes - Confident people don't deny responsibility or blame others for their own mistakes. They own up to what they did wrong, apologize, do what they can to rectify the situation, and vow to do better.

8 - They Take Calculated Risks - When opportunities come along, confident people aren't afraid to take them, even if there are risks. They just analyzed the pros vs the cons first to make sure the risk is worth the potential reward.

9 - They Lift Others Up - Not only do confident people not tear others down, they actively lift people up and celebrate the people around them. They are fully aware of the contributions made by others and are happy to recognize them for it.

10 - They Ask for Help When Needed - Confident people know there's no shame in asking for help when it's needed, so they are able to ask for assistance without feeling bad, guilty, or ashamed. They also see the value in learning from others who may have abilities and skills they do not.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

I’ve been writing seriously for over 30 years and love to share what I’ve learned. Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!

LEARN MORE about WQA

SEE MY ask policies

VISIT MY Master List of Top Posts

COFFEE & FEEDBACK COMMISSIONS ko-fi.com/wqa

[azaharinflames]

Will you share your theory on what you think is happening behind the scenes of 911?

Hi, Nonnie!

Sure! As long as everyone is aware this is purely speculation, and nothing I say should be taken as proof of anything, I have no problem.

I've gone over a few things in my head, to be honest. I thought that JLH having filming conflicts could've been a major factor, and I still don't exactly disagree with that initial idea, but overall I think it was one of the things that threw TM for a loop.

Now, I've seen a lot of people theorize that perhaps Angela is leaving and that is what is causing so much chaos in BTS, but I am on the fence about this. I do think she might've asked to not have such a big role moving forward, especially if they get a season 9 (which I am also on the fence about ngl), like perhaps retiring, or just having a more laidback position training new recruits. The seeds are planted for that, not so much for her fully leaving. And it would give Angela more free time to dedicate to other projects (which, yes please. I need her in new projects ASAP).

So... (and please don't kill me for this, it's just a theory).

I think it all comes back to Ryan. And that he perhaps is leaving, or actively wants to leave. I will try to explain myself as concise as possible:

A couple of months ago there was already speculation about this. In all of his individual interviews (which were a lot, to be honest), Ryan made a point of talking about his work beyond 911 and talking about what he would like to do after 911.

On top of the individual promo, there was an uncharacteristically high amount of BTS dedicated to him and the godforsaken mustache. To the point where they threw a mustache party. And in the pics of that party, the vibes were that it was a party for Ryan, not in general.

Small thing, but Josh randomly dressing up as Eddie for Halloween. Perhaps unrelated, but I wanted to add it.

The 911 account reposting and celebrating Ryan's 100th ep, when 1. it wasn't his 100th (if we count the eps he was actually in) and 2. it was also JLH's, and yet they didn't say a thing about it. Ryan reposted that as well and the message he reposted it with was more nostalgic than anything else. Very much giving 'it was an honor to work with you, what a journey'.

I could be wrong, but I do think his contract ends this season. So, that just adds to it.

The timeline of the move to Texas. By the reactions alone I was fully expecting Eddie to leave for Texas at the end of 808, and then to be back with Chris (in a lazy way of solving their conflict off-screen) by 809-810. But the way he's currently thinking about it makes it very sus for me. As in, it can be a thing for the end of the season, and an actual goodbye for Eddie.

Of course, nothing of this has to actually happen, and it's quite possible it just exists in my brain. But this makes sense in my funny brain because then it explains why BT had to break up so soon... because they wanted Buck to feel completely isolated.

We know 809-10 will deal with Maddie being kidnapped. That alone will make Buck spiral. But if on top of that his best friend is also leaving... well, being alone just adds to the isolation and the angst. Because if Tommy was still around he'd be able to lean on him, and have him help him through this. But it seems like the writers wanted Buck fully alone for this, because sure, seeing a character never learning and being completely isolated is so much fun.

If this ends with BT getting back together, I honestly don't know. It wouldn't surprise me if Tim doesn't know. But, all in all, I wouldn't be surprised if RG deciding he's done is the thing that kinda created the domino effect.

(Also: I do not believe Oliver was telling Tim to fire Lou and end BT. Sorry. I just don't really see it. Nor do I think there were actual conflicts between actors BTS, as much as everything they're doing right now does feel a bit weird)

Anyway, thanks for letting me rant, Nonnie! My inbox is always open for ranting, venting, or discussing

Take care <3

[percheduphere]

honestly I'm more at a loss when people say sylki is canon. I am...very confused by what people mean by that. they were never anything romantic together? I honestly feel like I've missed a whole season of the show when that gets said. that's not from a shipping standpoint; that's from nothing happening that'd make them "canon"

like, to ship sylki is still to ship something that isn't and didn't become "canon". it's still wanting something that didn't happen between them

like, even if sylvie was an intended "love interest" (was she? even? on the basis of her being a woman that loki connects with?), I don't call that alone a romantic relationship between them being "canon". Like, if elizabeth bennet and mr darcy never became anything, they're not "canon". that's just something that could have been but wasn't.

they were never actually anything?

LET'S TALK ABOUT "CANON" & BISEXUAL REPRESENTATION, THE SERIES' MIDPOINT & THE THEME OF BETRAYAL, AND THE SUBJECTIVITY OF ROMANCE

I've been sitting on this inbox comment/ask for a long time because I wanted to make sure I respond in a way that feels productive, kind, and doesn't step on other fans' joy. Having said that, as a Lokius shipper, I think it's really important for Lokius shippers and Sylki shippers to unite on at least one subject and that's positive bisexual representation. This isn't meant to be a harsh reply--I understand what the anon is saying from their point of view--but I also want to delineate between canon and personal interpretation/taste.

I also want to note that it's unfair to disavow Mobius and Sylvie's impact on Loki, Loki's impact on each of them as a result of his individual relationships with them, and thus the impact Mobius and Sylvie have on one another separate from Loki. Doing so really halves the overall richness of the story, and taking this into account is why my metas are so annoyingly long. This one, in particular, is a mess but hopefully I've managed to wrangle it into some kind of coherence that addresses the anon ask that is respectful to Sylki. Fear not, Lokius shippers, I discuss Lokius in this post, too. But first, let's talk about canon and bisexual representation ...

CANON AND BISEXUAL REPRESENTATION

Canon is often defined as: 1.) what is actually written in text (as opposed to subtext), AND 2.) what the creator(s) verbally confirm.

I've said before and I'll keep repeating: the most important aspect of art is art's relationship with the reader/viewer. Individual interpretation is what escalates a medium to a deeply personal and, at times, spiritual level. Art is supposed to make us think and feel. We're supposed to interact with it and do with it what we will. This is particularly important when we consider that much of consumable art is hampered by the demands of capitalism. Fan-interpretation democratizes what people without power want to see and hear, whereas canon (especially mass media canon) often self-censures to sell to the widest audience.

From the creators' standpoint, Sylvie has always been intended to be Loki's romantic interest, and Loki was always intended to have romantic feelings for her. This is what the creators tell us. Whether or not one likes Sylvie and Loki together is subjective.

As for the text, the plot between Loki and Sylvie has the markers of a romance, albeit one that doesn't come into full fruition. By full fruition, I mean a happy ending with each character affirming one's love for the other and committing to being together. Now, a relationship doesn't have to be successful or reciprocal to be considered romantic. Heck, it can be absolutely toxic and still be romantic. Whether or not the plot is convincing in its execution of romance, however, is also subjective.

What romance requires is: 1.) at least one of the characters desiring the other, and 2.) at least one of the characters willing to sacrifice for the other. Sacrifices don't have to be big, either. They can be small and cumulative.

Canonically, Loki fulfills both of these romantic requirements for Sylvie. (More on Sylvie below).

Subtextually (that is, not canon as defined above), Loki and Mobius fulfill both of these requirements for one another.

I'm gonna soap box for the next two paragraphs, so you can skip over this if that's not your jam. Both romances, canonical and subtextual, can exist concurrently without erasing the existence of the other. Even if Loki and Mobius had miraculously become canon in S2 (it's Disney, this never would have happened but let's explore the hypothetical), that doesn't erase Loki's former romance with Sylvie in S1. To erase that history is bisexual erasure, which isn't okay. Likewise, quashing the importance of queer subtext in order to "kill the other ship" isn't okay either, as it reinforces optical heteronormative romance in mass media and is also a form of bisexual erasure.

What's more important than either ship "winning" is the positive portrayal of a bisexual character. This means a character who demonstrates genuine love and devotion to people of more than one gender. If we accept the canon AND the subtext (we don't have to like it; Sylki's not my cup of tea personally, but I accept it as real), Loki fulfills positive bisexual representation, however restrained that representation may be. The social goal is to get to the point where a media juggernaut like Disney allows its franchise characters to experience relationships with more than one gender canonically and positively. We're not there yet and I'll probably be dead before Disney ever gets there, but Loki can be seen as a historical stepping stone distinct from Aziraphale and Crowley (Good Omens) and Steve Bonnet and Edward Teach (Our Flag Means Death).

(NOTE: Polyamory is a whole separate subject matter, which I'm won't get into here.)

ON SYLVIE

There's fan dispute over Sylvie's interest in Loki. I've previously written meta on Sylvie's sexuality and how she responds to Loki's romantic advances here. In S1, while she starts off frustrated, I think Sylvie slowly develops interest and was cautiously hopeful that she and Loki could figure out their futures together. Loki has been consistent about wanting to be with Sylvie and supporting her up until the necessary plot conflict of the series midpoint (S1E6; the S1 finale). This midpoint is the root cause for why Loki and Sylvie's relationship becomes strained. Again, this doesn't mean that the romance never existed--the plotpoints are there--but it does mean Loki's character development got in the way.

So let's talk about the series' midpoint and the interplay of Mobius, Loki, and Sylvie's mutual impact. The three are so deeply entangled that it's worth untangling their cause and effect on one another.

THE SERIES' MIDPOINT & THE THEME OF BETRAYAL

I keep stressing in my other metas that the series' midpoint (S1E6) is the most critical. Structurally, midpoints are where the story turns. Midpoints occur on multiple scales: at the episode level (typically in acts 3 or 5, depending on how the screenwriter divides their screenplay), at the season level, and at the series level. Midpoints are what provide the overall narrative and character arcs with movement.

As a whole, there are 3 key midpoints in the entire series:

1.) S1E2/E3 - When Loki betrays Mobius for Sylvie (midpoint of S1)

2.) S1E6 - When Loki betrays Sylvie for the "bigger picture" (midpoint of the whole series)

3.) S2E3/E4 - When it's revealed HWR betrayed Renslayer; Victory Timely is brought into the mix, and Sylvie reluctantly joins the TVA (midpoint of S2)

There is another betrayal that runs near-concurrently with #2, which is Mobius's betrayal of Renslayer (it begins in S1E4 and continues into the S1 finale). Thematically, we can take Loki's betrayal of Sylvie and Mobius's betrayal of Renslayer as mirrors of one another because these are the only betrayals that are motivated by good rather than selfishness. The selfish betrayals of #1 and #3 bookend betrayal #2 to highlight the beginning Loki's readiness to become a hero in S1E6. Where S1 focuses on Loki exploring who he is, S2 focuses on the hero Loki will become. S1E6 therefore serves as Loki's turn, his launching point to get to where he lands in S2E6. The story is really well-structured!

The poetic irony is that Loki's S1E6 betrayal was not an act of villainy, but an act of character growth.

There is plot set-up for Loki's betrayal of Sylvie, and that set-up is 2-pronged: 1.) from Sylvie's end, her misinterpretation of Loki's intentions, and 2.) from Mobius's end, the provision of unconditional friendship. Building up to these prongs are S1E1 - S1E3, in which Loki's self-interest and impulsivity are emphasized. S1E4 pivots Loki from self-interest and impulsivity to consideration for others and caution. Sylvie did not bear witness to Loki and Mobius's interactions in S1E1-S1E2 and S1E4 in the time loop chamber. She has no context for why Loki would hesitate killing HWR. I'll discuss this more under "Prong 2".

PRONG 1: SYLVIE'S MISINTERPRETATION

In the scene below (S1E5), Sylvie makes an assumption about what Loki wants and Loki admits via subtext that ruling a timeline actually won't make him happy.

Sylvie smiles in response, implying she understands what Loki means, however Loki often speaks in double-meanings (he cannot be trusted) and Sylvie has doubts (she cannot trust). From Sylvie's point-of-view, Loki has discussed the desire to rule with her 3 times (writers' magic 3s again). Above is the third. The previous 2 are:

1.) In their first confrontation in S1E2, when Loki offers Sylvie the opportunity to be his lieutenant. (Can't find the gif of this. Grr ...)

2.) On Lamentis (S1E3) in the scene below:

By S1E6, Loki has no interest in rule.

He's honest when he says he's worried about the greater ramifications of killing HWR. Sylvie doesn't believe him. The question is how did Loki arrive at this point in his character arc? Why slow down now? Why worry about the consequences now?

The answer is in S1E4.

PRONG 2: MOBIUS'S UNCONDITIONAL FRIENDSHIP

It's established in S1E1 that Mobius knows Loki better than Loki knows himself and consequently better than Sylvie knows Loki. A lot of Mobius-haters despise Mobius's cold confrontational tactics but it is those same tactics that force Loki to self-reflect. And to be clear, Mobius uses cruelty in S1E1 because 2012 Loki would not believe in, let alone listen to, softness and compassion. Cruelty is a language 2012 Loki understands, therefore Mobius communicates with him on that level to get him to listen and start thinking about the answers to the hard questions.

Not exactly the gif I wanted, but close enough. In this scene, Mobius wonders why Loki, who "has so much range", wants a throne. He then asks Loki, what's next? The implication of these questions is that Mobius knows Loki will never be satisfied. He knows, deep down, a throne is a poor substitute for what Loki really wants: love, acceptance, and companionship.

Mobius's tone is mocking, his note that Loki has a wide range is complimentary, and the question is serious. Further, and this important, Mobius gives Loki respect in conjunction with his cruelty, his compliments, and his seriousness by acknowledging Loki's intelligence ("I am smart"; "I know") and his potential to be more than a villain ("That's not how I see it"). Understandably, this strange, dizzying mix of seemingly contradictory truths puts Loki off-balance.

Their tenuous allyship becomes a friendship in Mobius's eyes near the end of S1E2. Mobius is practically squeeing about Loki's multiple breakthroughs and how well they work together to Renslayer:

And Loki genuinely looks excited to help Mobius. Look at that fist-pump. Mobius doesn't see it, he's ahead of Loki, so his enthusiasm isn't an act. The seeds of mutual trust (rather than doubt) have been planted.

Unfortunately, Loki's poor impulse control and need to hedge his bets out of self-interest lead him to betraying Mobius. Both Sylvie and Mobius take Loki's betrayals poorly.

The key difference is that Mobius cannot resist the desire to trust Loki, to want to be his friend. This desire creates Mobius's doubt in Renslayer, which in turn leads to his betrayal of her.

Forgiveness isn't easy. It requires the ability to accept disagreements and another person's shortcomings. It requires good will, faith, and a willingness to move on. It requires compromise and, at times, letting go entirely.

Mobius torturing Loki with the Sif memory loop was awful. His personal hurt is directly tied to the below admission, which informs Loki what Mobius thought of their relationship:

And that revelation startles him. It forces him to evaluate his actions that led to Mobius saying such a thing (impulsivity; self-interest). Loki, who doesn't want to be alone, desires Mobius's friendship.

So when Mobius returns to Loki with an olive branch ...

Loki offers Mobius an olive branch of his own by affirming the friendship Mobius believed in but felt betrayed by.

Thus, Loki and Mobius accept each other's olive branches. They forgive each other and repair their relationship from there. This is critical thematically because Loki and Mobius each extend olive branches to Sylvie and Renslayer respectively, both of whom reject those olive branches more than once. Sylvie and Renslayer represent opposite ends of the chaos versus order ideology, for which neither is willing to compromise. Loki and Mobius also start out at opposite ends before meeting in the middle.

Sylvie unfortunately does not know anything about Loki's interactions with Mobius and how those interactions have impacted Loki's motivations. She doesn't know that Loki wants to "slow down and think about this" because the last time he acted on impulse, it turned out he almost threw Mobius's friendship out the window without realizing he had his friendship in the first place.

For her, the seeds of doubt have already been planted: Loki betrayed the TVA to pursue her, Loki expressed shock at Sylvie's desire to "walk away" rather than taking advantage of the "ultimate power vacuum" once the TVA is destroyed, he expresses the desire to rule 3 times. Therefore, it's perfectly reasonable for Sylvie to assume Loki would betray her for power even though she had hopes to the contrary. Romantic tragedy? Absolutely. Believable? Depends on who you ask and what your personal taste is.

There must be some kind of sentiment on Sylvie's part, however, because she chooses not to kill Loki. Instead, she kisses him goodbye and throws him through a time door.

Mobius's friendship is therefore the catalyst for everything that unravels between Loki and Sylvie in S1E6 (the series' midpoint). I think it's safe to interpret Sylvie's tearing into Mobius in S2E4 as not only due to being in the TVA and having all her traumas brought to the surface, but also due to experiencing jealousy. This level of anger matches Mobius's outrage about Sylvie in S1E4! Note, however, that this interpretation of Sylvie's interaction with Mobius is subtext. Subtext goes many ways!

THE SUBJECTIVITY OF ROMANCE

Are Loki and Sylvie a believable romance? It depends on your taste.

A fictional couple's overall successful reception by the audience (which is rarely if ever 100%) is contingent on a few things:

1.) Character development

2.) Story execution

3.) Chemistry between the actors

Reception and interpretation of the above are all subjective. In addition to these elements, another important factor is couple trope. Depending on your preference, some tropes might be nope while others are yum. You might even like most tropes but the actor chemistry, character development, and/or plot are just not doing it for you.

Loki and Mobius follow the tropes of:

Opposites attract/Complementary set

Sunshine and cynic

Enemies to allies to friends to lovers

Sherlock and Watson

Slow burn

Ride or Die

Loki and Sylvie, on the other hand, follow the tropes of:

Exceptionally similar but with key differences/Matching Set

BAMF duo

Enemies to allies to lovers

Bonnie and Clyde

Fast and passionate

Ride or Die

Loki and Sylvie's romantic dynamic may be compared to the following couples in other media:

Batman and Catwoman

Jack Sparrow and Angelica Teach

Benedict and Beatrice

If you notice, they all have very similar personality traits. They also fight and fight a LOT. It's part of their charm and can add to their chemistry.

Personally, I didn't feel any chemistry between Loki and Sylvie, I didn't feel like there was enough warmth between them, and I really wanted Loki to be loved by someone who makes an effort to understand him rather understanding his core traits off the bat by being the same entity. Loki and Mobius hit all the right story beats for me. Tom and Owen's chemistry as actors is remarkable. I'm also a sucker for ball of sunshine and cynic dynamics.

But that's just me. That doesn't mean I don't see what the creators tried to do with Loki and Sylvie in terms of plot, character development, and couple tropes. Some people felt chemistry between Tom and Sophia, others (like me) didn't. Whatever the case, the canon exists and the romantic tropes are there. I just feel the subtextual romance between Loki and Mobius is stronger and that, again, is my subjective judgment.

[spacexseven]

tuna tuna tuna I was suddenly struck with an idea: subordinate au au (au-ception, if you will) where subordinate turns out to be a government plant ala ango, and was much stronger than they let on. like imagine dazai and chuuya getting fucking WASHED by the nobody subordinate they got off on tormenting. sweet karmic justice. maybe they're also an extremely loyal and dutiful would-cut-off-own-arms-if-asked type subordinate to a higher government official as well, just to really add insult to injury.

I feel like chuuya would be more revenge-oriented to cover up the underlying hurt whereas dazai, depending on what level of delusion he has entered, will either 1) consider this a fun new challenge 2) be completely heartbroken or 3) convince himself that subordinate is being manipulated away from him (their one true love, obviously) and this is just all the more reason to ditch the mafia and drag them underground with him until things blow over.

- 🩹

huhuhu there's been a big demand for subordinate reader getting their revenge/becoming stronger in my inbox so i thought it'd be the right time to answer this as well :>

cw: yandere themes

dazai should have picked up on the signs earlier.

had he become too comfortable with the thought of you being under him? for someone so self-assured in his position, he had not even a hint of suspicion that you might be more than you were letting on. had he become too used to the sight of crushing people under his foot? he almost didn't want to believe that it was you standing in front of him, casually talking to ango like you hadn't just shattered his entire perception of you within moments.

it only took minutes for you to straighten up in the middle of what he thought was a perfectly regular mission, and then you ignored his questions, beginning to walk away right as the warehouse was filled with blinding lights and loud noises. when dazai reached out to grab your arm and demand an explanation, instead of the usual wide-eyed rush of words he was expecting, you glared at him, so coldly that he was left speechless. even the way you twisted his arm to get him off didn't hurt as much as your glare.

it seemed like a whole other person had taken over your body, using your face and your voice to report calmly to ango about the targets and infiltration. ango...dazai felt anger rising in his chest—he ruined everything. you don't even spare him a glance when you walk past him, and he's so crushed by the betrayal that he doesn't even try to get out of the situation.

it's chuuya who's sent to get him back.

and it's chuuya who, unlike dazai, is thirsting for blood. he's so furious, yet so silent—it would have scared dazai, if he wasn't so fixated on replaying your cold expression in his mind. chuuya's scowl seems like a permanent addition to his face, but dazai doesn't even have the energy to make conversation or ask him about you. how easily he had been fooled—and by the looks of everyone back in base, he wasn't the only one who had been cheated.

while chuuya is hunting down ango, you and everyone else in on the investigation so he can ignore the painful sting of betrayal, dazai spirals into his current state. he's convinced, at first, that you had been forced into it. that ango had threatened your life and that was why you showed up at the pm all those days ago, trembling in the rain. he couldn't believe that everything was a lie. all the times you cried, was all of that an act, too? nothing he ever did truly got to you, did it? and here he was, broken over an espionage attempt.

his denial then turns to something resembling anger, and then he's decided the only way to get the answers he wants is directly from you, and not the fake persona you've been hiding behind. he's sure he'll grow to love whoever it is you really are, but first, he's got to get you out of ango's hands and back with him. for that, he's ready to take you down with him—even if it means destroying the remaining traces of the pm, and his only chance at saving himself.

[desceros]

Hi, you probably don't remember me, but I'm the 🪻 anon that sent asks once or twice. Still very much a nervous fan! Your work and the way you write about your experiences and feelings still positively stun me every time I read your posts.

I've been thinking about writing for the tmnt and rottmnt universes for a while now, but I'm still very uncertain about my own interpretation of these characters. If it isn't too much to ask, I'd like to know how you do it??

Your work has such fluidity and... sense?? I don't really quite know how to put it into words, but it inspires me very much! Anyway, I guess I'm asking for writing tips?? I know each interpretation is unique and our own, but I can't help but adore yours! I hope you're having a good day/night, Ms. Desceros!

Ps: English is not my first language, so sorry if my rambling aren't really coherent. (〒 u 〒⁠)

– 🪻

i do very much remember! and i'm so sorry i had this sitting in my inbox for forever and a day lmfaoooo i didn't want to rush the answer and instead give it proper thought/answer for you! :D

so it sounds like you're asking two different things here, which is 1) how do i establish strong characters, and 2) how do i construct flow in a fic.

characterization

for characters, it starts pretty simply with just consuming a lot of the character. for example, with the turtles, i've watched rise and bayverse both a lot. like, a lot a lot. enough that i can hear their voices in my head when i'm writing, because i've heard them so much.

specifically, i've watched it not just casually, but also with the ears of a writer. what words do each of the turtles use? how do they phrase things? when one of them gets annoyed, how does he communicate it? when they're scared, what do they say? how do they move their bodies? what do they do in the background of scenes where they aren't the focus?

once you feel like you kind of know the answers to those questions, the next step is just to write! i probably have about... hm... 30-50k of fic in my icloud that i wrote before i started posting things. the purpose of it was just to figure out how i liked the turtles to sound. because i write them as older adults, they sound just a little different than they do in the show. i inject my headcanons into their voices. these things change how they act, and i fiddled with it until i was happy with it. knowing i wasn't going to publish these made it really easy for me to get creative and push things, until i found the boundaries that i like and that feel good for me.

flow

so good flow is something that really comes with a lot of experience writing. it's one of those things you... pick up as you write a lot, so this part is going to be a bit more. hm. disconnected. nuanced. how you like things paced, how things feel good under your fingers; these are things you'll get better at as you go on. that said, it's something i've very consciously worked on myself, so i do have a few tips for you that'll hopefully speed up that process for you!

my biggest tip is to READ. find authors (fiction and fanfiction!) you like, and READ them. but again, we're not doing it recreationally, we're doing it as a writer.

read your favorite authors and think. think about the things they include and what they don't. what information do they convey in great detail? what information do they convey in exposition? what information do they leave for you to garner on your own? why do you like how they include things? why do you like what they don't? do you miss certain things? do you wish they wouldn't bother with others?

for example, i really love brining in the emotions of a scene. how something makes a character feel. basking in that is something i really love reading, so i have a lot of it in my writing. and i enjoy doing it without Telling you how someone feels. i don't say "donnie is sad." i tell you how his shoulders slump. how he gazes off to the side with a listless expression. how his eyes cloud over with uncertainty. these are things i've enjoyed reading, and so i've incorporated into my writing. i will slow down the flow of my fic, putting a bit of rubato on these moments, because i like how it feels.

i personally enjoy things to be very fluid, connecting from one scene to the next with as little a break as possible. think of french vs english. french is very fluid, english is very percussive. they're both languages, both good, they just sound different to the ear. part of constructing that, for me, means i write from beginning to end without skipping around. it's a style that has its pros and cons, but it allows me to have a single thread, unbroken, though the entire work.

ultimately, your writing is a stained glass of everything you love. the words you think are pretty, the turns of phrase that catch your eye, the verbs that bring action to life. this is the foundation of what people will call your "voice," and a large part of that is your flow, or pacing. i can't really... tell you how to create your stained glass. but this is how you can create your own, and make it something you find beautiful.

[katnissdoesnotfollowback]

This or That: Everlark Edition

Katniss has a upturned nose or a hooked nose

Katniss is under 5’3 or over 5’7

Peeta is strong and muscular or chubby and round

Peeta has two dimples or dozens of freckles

They grow back together in less than 1 year or after 2 years

They’re very vanilla or they like to try spice

Ooooh I sign on to post a belated six sentence sunday and find this little treat in my inbox. Thanks for the ask, Anon!

Hooked nose for Katniss, and she is definitely 5'3" or shorter.

Peeta is always strong and muscular, but I usually picture him as being more chonky than ripped. There's some pudge on top of those muscles. A few years post war, he's a little more chubby and round than he was before. Can still totally throw his wife over his shoulder and carry her around like she's... a sack of flour. ;)

I usually don't picture him with dimples in canon because I feel like Katniss would've mentioned those. In au fanfic though, I sometimes give him dimples, as a treat. A sprinkling of freckles.

Okay so unpopular opinion, most likely, but I think that there's so much that they will be grieving and working through that at around the one year mark they aren't yet officially married. They're definitely in a serious relationship, but to me it's... argh okay. When they send her back to 12, Katniss is told that she's being exiled their indefinitely. Then she never mentions it again, not to tell us that the exile has been lifted, not to tell us that it's more of a lax exile just don't cause trouble wink wink nudg nudge, kind of deal. So to me, she and Peeta need to grieve, need to heal significantly, need to grow back together while doing all of that, which in a way includes relearning who the other person is. They need to renew their commitments to each other, make sure the other person does not doubt their love is real, and also Katniss has to somehow make sure Peeta knows she actually wants to stay in 12 with him and that she's not just staying there with him because she's exiled.

BUT at that one year mark, even if they're not fully married and living together, utilizing every horizontal and several vertical surfaces for nefarious purposes... the entirety of district 12 knows they're basically married anyways.

I feel like that needs some clarification. A lot of the district 12 residents post war will have been in 13, so they would've known or suspected that something was Not Right with K&P after Peeta's rescue. He's not seen for a long time, and then when he is, he's got guards and he's wearing manacles. He's rarely ever close to Katniss. The cafeteria scene happens in front of a crowd. There's no way rumors weren't a flying after Katniss books it out of there and Delly winds up screeching at Peeta and he's dragged out by his guards. So they knew something was up in 13, but they also know that Everlark is endgame at the end of a year after the war.

I don't think it'd take more than two years tho, if that makes sense. I like giving them that wiggle room to heal.

As for you last question, I hesitate to put a name to it because to me, modern day tumblr's concept of "spicy" is not canon Everlark's concept of "spicy." I know what kind of kinky mofo's you all are, and I don't think they get up to that level of spice. But I also don't think they fit modern day tumblr's idea of vanilla either. I think they get up to plenty of spicy shenanigan's. It's not always sweet and tender and two positions with them. Also Peeta has a dirty dirty mouth and once Katniss gets Peeta in her bed for good, they discover that she is insatiably curious.

Maybe that's a copout answer, but that's what I think!

<3 kdnfb

[icy-book]

Hi, I'm Icy and this is my terrick propaganda post

Why should I vote terrick in the unpopular/niche dndads shipping pole, you may ask. Well, here's my best attempt at consoladating why I ship terrick, things I love about them, and why I think they're a ship that should be significantly more popular than it is:

Narrative parallels in season 1

This one I think is fascinating! The kiddads went through a lot in the Forgotten Realms, and the fact that they're the only ones who can understand what they've been through has been the basis of a lot of fics and posts I've seen about them. But I would argue, Terry Jr and Nicky can understand each others experiences best.

They both had their memories messed with in the Forgotten Realms. Nicky obviously through the trial and the two dads, two timelines things, but vampire Terry Sr literally ate Terry Jr's positive memories of his father, and given how long he was there, Terry Jr probably only has faint or negative memories of the real Terry Sr. They also both have a dead parent that they can't mourn properly because of the memory thing. With Morgan, she's not dead anymore. Except Nicky remembers her dying, remembers grieving for her, and in many ways that Morgan is dead. Glenn himself says so. And for Terry, how do you mourn someone you don't remember? Who you know you grieved but can't understand why anymore. And that loving one dad feels like a betrayal to the other. For Terry Jr, loving Ron feels like forgetting Terry Sr, and for Nicky his two dads are actively antagonistic towards each other. The fact that they go through such similar things in the opposite direction is a really fun playground to play in, and being able to have that openness because they understand it better than the others I think ads an extra layer of intimacy.

2. They're canonically best friends.

Childhood best friends to lovers is a trope I adore. I think the notes of this post describe it well, as well as this fic I accidently wrote in Aether's inbox. They have the potential to be really incredibly fluffy together, even from a purely platonic perspective. But it also puts a really interesting spin on my next point:

3. The Betrayal

Ooooooooooo Terry Jr having been the one to shoot Nicky's arm off was a goldmine of angst potential I was not expecting. The fact that Terry was basically begging Glenn to kill him out of a guilt is something I have thought about a lot. A lot. This also makes Nicky's potential reaction to Terry's death incredibly interesting, especially since Terry Jr went to hell aka Nicky's house. Post-season 2 has a lot of room for divorced energy, as well as the navigation of learning to date someone you never fell out of love with, even though time has changed you both considerably.

There are a lot more reasons why I love this ship, and you should go check out the terrick tag on both AO3 and here on tumblr! AO3 especially has some amazing fics (I strongly recommend this fic by Cookies, the one that officalgleamstar wrote, and all of Aether's fics but especially this one) and then also some of mine. Tumblr is perfect for passionate ramblings, and is honestly 90% me and Aether talking to each other.

If nothing else, I hope this post has given you some things to consider about Terry and Nicky, even unrelatedly from terrick. Oh, and go vote for them in the ship poll (@/dndadscharacterpolls)

[merakiui]

Oooh now that we are talking about mangakas, what about a TWST boy who writes novels under a pseudonym. They are essentially erotic thrillers and your friends always joke that the main love interest is very similar to you. Of course, there’s lots of people who live alone in a dingy apartment and work as a barista, but the similarities don’t stop there. The love interest has a similar personality and appearance with you. (1/2)

(2/2) what is most eerie is that they share a particular mark on your skin that ppl wouldn’t see when you have your clothes on, your preferred sleeping position, even the exact type of laundry detergent you use. Sometimes you wonder if all of this is truly just a weird coincidence…Also! I’ve sent so many concepts and asks recently (I think some might have gotten eaten by tumblr 😞) so could I be 🌸anon? (If there isn’t one already)

Oh no, I just checked to it anon list and there already is a 🌸 anon 😞 Hmmm, could I be Amethyst anon instead?

- - -

OOOOO THIS CONCEPT WITH ROLLO........ imagine he's taken a dozen pictures of you so that he can better describe you in his novels. Memory isn't nearly as helpful as photographs. They're all pinned on a board above his desk, each one taken at various times and days. Sometimes you're fully clothed and sitting on a park bench reading. Other times you're making the commute home from your barista job. A lot of the photos are taken at covert angles, and some of them even depict you naked or getting dressed. Rollo treasures these the most. Not only do they help him write better sex scenes with you, they're also very nice to look at (and masturbate to, but that's neither here nor there).

Omg and maybe for his next upcoming novel he intends to kidnap you so he'll be able to better portray the dynamic between the kidnapper and the kidnapped. >:) aaaaaaa and he's so good at writing creepy, erotic thrillers. So many people enjoy his work, but Rollo's only doing it to sate his own desires so he won't act rashly or criminally. But it's so difficult to peer in on your life and not be part of it. :( he wants to touch you for real instead of penning such a desire on the page.

(And you may absolutely be amethyst anon!!! :D I look forward to seeing you in my inbox. <3 hopefully tumblr won't eat more of your asks and that they will always send through!!!)

[controversial-blorbo-bracket]

Controversial Character Tournament Round 2: Kokichi Ouma from Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony vs Peter Pan from Once Upon A Time

(remember that these characters are fictional and your fellow tumblr users are real. i will block you if you harass others in the notes, please consider sending your unhinged harassment to my inbox instead)

Propaganda under the cut, may contain spoilers:

Kokichi Ouma:

LOVE: - "hes a bitch and that makes a lot of people hate him and a lot of other people love him. no one can decide on his motives and i think thats kind of the point. i like him personally but hes a raging asshole <3" - "Not a single DR fan I've ever met is neutral about Kokichi, he's perfect for this poll. I think he's a clever character with consistent internal logic, and his interactions with the other characters are as compelling as they are hilarious. He looks like a dog squeaky toy, and he plots like Artemis Fowl. He's one of my favorite characters in the series and I love him dearly." - "NOBODY CARES ABOUT THIS BOY'S PSYCHOLOGY AT ALL. HE SACRIFICED HIMSELF AND HIS IMAGE AND MADE EVERYONE HATE HIM AND CONSIDER HIM A MONSTER ON THE SLIGHT CHANCE HE COULD USE HIS LIFE TO HELP EVERYONE ELSE ESCAPE AND SURVIVE AND NOBODY CARES. THEY SHOW HIS BREAKDOWN AND NOBODY BELIEVES HIM. I'M SO TIRED" - "not only is he a danganronpa character (inherently controversial) he is also the antagonist and constantly lying because That's His Whole Deal. people either love him or hate his guts. he's a little piece of shit. i would submit komaeda but i feel like views on him are more positive, generally. sorry i have bad taste in video games" - "he's a horrible little guy trying his best in not very good ways what more could you want" - "I don't know, people say he's badly written because they don't pay attention to his arc beyond the cartoonish facade he very obviously forces, and they don't like him because he caused someone's death which like..fair (he did feel super bad about it though so its fine.) Some people also don't enjoy his wonderful personality and think he's a mean piece of shit, which he is, but it's fine. They're just sensitive." - "I know people don't like him because he's like. a shittier version of Komaeda. But that's what's so GOOD about him. He's a shitty asshole of a person, playing pretend at being a villain because he's desperate!!! I think that's really fun. He's dooming himself and I want him to be okay after everything ends, but he dies so he can't even have that much :(" - "so i saw you got submissions for him. but not enough i need to submit him myself he is my favorite character from anything ever. he is the silly man he is so funny one time (actually, two times if you count one optional interaction) he asked a robot if he had a dick and it's absolutely iconic i love him"

HATE: - "(dangan spoilers ahead if that matters) look ok i didn’t originally feel too strongly about kokichi. i think his character is interestingly written (can’t say well-written bc danganronpa but yaknow) and he adds a lot of charm to v3. i understand why he’s popular- he’s one of the few characters in v3 to have both a personality and plot relevance. but oh my GODDDDD he is not a good person!!!! and i am so SICK of seeing him woobified into ‘ooh little baby he did his best he wasn’t doing anything wrong’ JUST BECAUSE you find out he was trying to end the killing game after he dies doesn’t mean he wasn’t incredibly fucked up throughout the game!!! like he was incredibly manipulative, a bully, encouraged infighting, Literally Orchestrated A Murder And Protected Himself From Danger By Getting The Big Stupid Sweetheart To Do It which caused TWO unnecessary deaths and- oh yeah- tricked everyone into believing he was the mastermind and the world had ended to make them so depressed that they just wouldn’t do anything anymore bc can’t kill someone if you’re rotting away in your room!!! AUGH like he’s a good character but it’s BECAUSE he sucks that he’s interesting. maybe this is just the komaeda fan in me but sometimes!!! the character is cooler when you understand that they’re a bad person. at least komaeda gets an actual redemption arc. kokichi’s just an asshole that the game tries to make you sympathetic for at the very end but he spends the entire game being an asshole so why the hell would i like him??? and then i go in a fandom tag and it’s constant unending ‘kokichi did nothing wrong’ the whole point of his character is that he does EVERYTHING wrong. i truly feel like the dr team was trying to replicate komaeda’s popularity but it was messy and poorly handled bc he’s not even a bad person in an interesting way like komaeda he’s just got trust issues that lead him to be stupid and An Asshole. then again people eat it up so what do i know lmao. i love to hate that little shit i wanna punt him into the goddamn stratosphere. score a field goal with that asshat. this is all lighthearted btw i love to die on small hills" - "WHY DO PEOPLE LIKE HIM OH MY GOOOOOOD HES SUCH A FLAT CHARACTER HES A SODA I LEFT OUT FOR 3 DAYS kokichi oma is easily the WORST written danganronpa character. it has been a while since i was into danganronpa so the details are a bit fuzzy but my rage has NOT subsided. following the success of Easily One Of The At Least Top Three Best Written Danganronpa Characters known as nagito komaeda, kokichi had some shoes to fill. he instead showed up in clown shoes. kokichis whole premise is that you dont know if hes lying or not, him being a huge clown and causing shit for like a good third of the cast. kokichi was a simple character. hes a bitch, he sturs shit up, he eat hot chip and lie, it was FINE. not GREAT, but FINE. and then he died. suddenly— kokichi was from modest beginnings. he was actually a genius who was actually doing all of this to save everyone. he was a martyr. they TRIED to follow up on the success of nagito komaeda, and failed miserably. the guy literally has nazi imagery he didnt need to be complex he just needed to be an asshole and force the plot. for assholes that force the plot with actual good depth, may i interest you in byakuya togami? for guys who lie all the time with actual good depth, may i interest you in sou hiyori the beanie man himself from your turn to die [similar genre]? seriously. you guys could do SO much better. just... get better taste oh my GOD JUST BECAUSE HES A TWINK DOESNT MEAN HES WELL WRITTEN" - "Omg I hate this guy,,, people either baby him & make him a uwu soft boy or a funky clown dude, & both those types of people forget all the things he has done??? even if he "redeemed" himself in the end (which i don't think he did--) that still doesn't negate all of the things he did before??? actions speak louder than words but he could never rely on that bc all the does is lie anyway-- i have some strong opinions about him."

Peter Pan:

LOVE: - "My propaganda is that like. Half of the OUaT fandom is OBSESSED with this guy and the other half write fanfiction about their self-inserts beating the shit out of him. The tumblr sphere might be a bit too biased in favor of love and I doubt he'll make it far but from what I've seen people either adore this guy or want him dead in the streets"

[companyissuedbicpen]

Am I missing something with the Watcher drama? I sort of feel like people are acting like what they did was completely irredeemable and I don't really understand why?

I understand why they got backlash, but they responded and are changing how they do things, so do people really just feel betrayed enough by the way they announced it that they don't want to watch anymore?

Like their decision kind of makes sense to me, they need more money to keep making their content and YouTube money is not what it used to be yk? It was a bad way to announce it, and a bad decision to pay wall EVERYTHING but they apologized and are doing things differently so I guess I just don't get why they're still getting backlash.

/gen

(Sorry to drop this all in your inbox you just seem well-informed on the situation xo)

Hi anon! Very good question about a complex situation, so I’ll do my best to get down my thoughts in a comprehensive way.

(Remember to take my opinion with a grain of salt! Everyone has their own takeaways and I’m not attempting to change anyone’s opinions, these are just my own thoughts.)

As far as I know the situation hasn’t changed, and the continued backlash has more to do with how people individually feel about to the situation. From what I’ve seen there are three main perspectives:

1) “I think that the apology and changes make up for their actions, and I will continue to support them.”

2) “I think that the apology and changes are a good first step, but it will take a while for them to regain my trust.” (This seems to be the majority.)

3) “I think that the apology and changes do not make up for their actions, and I will no longer support them.”

None of these perspectives are right or wrong, it entirely depends on your own personal values.

That being said, most algorithms tend to amplify more critical/cynical perspectives because that’s what gets the most attention, which can make a small amount of the fanbase seem much larger than it is (not to discount those opinions, to each their own). The more negative-leaning, the more attention things usually get. Not just in fandom discourse either! Think about news headlines, and how much positive vs. negative news you usually see.

So even though the majority of the takeaways (at least that I have seen) have been relatively positive, scarcer statements like “Watcher is now an evil billion-dollar corporate scheme that is preying on its audience!!” are going to generate more controversy (and therefore more attention) than something like “This was a good first step, I hope they continue to improve in the future.” The message with more attention can lead people to see that as the majority opinion, and spread that message further, etc. etc.

This is what can cause it to look like everyone thinks that Watcher acted maliciously and is only interested in money to line their own pockets. I’m not saying that there still isn’t work to do and that the situation is completely fixed (I personally lost a lot of trust in them), but I don’t think it’s as drastic as it might seem to many people at first glance.

Hope this answers your question! Thanks for the ask, this was really interesting to think about!

[writingquestionsanswered]

i want to write a character that acts as a mom friend/caretaker and show the emotional toll/baggage that comes with constantly acting as that role. however, i struggle because i don’t want to depict them as some sort of savior. do you have any ideas on how to emphasize their role without making it feel like that?

thanks! :)

Avoiding Saviorism in Caregiver Character

1 - Examine Their Motives - Saviorism occurs when the help provided is self-serving in some way. So, one of the first things you should do (both as the writer and in the story) is examine the caregiver's motive for providing this help in the first place. Why do they think this person needs help? Are they doing it out of kindness or caring for the person, or is there some other benefit that is fully or partly behind their actions. Make sure they don't brag, romanticize, or show off their role in caring for this person or trying to help them. Make sure they examine their own privilege and bias and how that impacts their motivation to help, the help they want to give, and the way they want to give it.

2 - Avoid "I Will Save You" Mentality - Another element of saviorism is positioning themselves as the rescuer and the other person as the victim they are saving from danger, poverty, an unhappy life, etc. They're so focused on saving the person, they never consider whether their help is wanted or needed, or how their biases and perception envisions problems that don't exist for this person.

3 - Avoid Forced Advice/Help - Make sure this character is only offering help and advice that is asked for/welcome. Advice and help that is unsolicited and even forced can be problematic. You should also make sure the character doesn't just assume their help is wanted, needed, or the best solution. Give them opportunities for meaningful discussions about what the person actually wants and needs from them, and have the caregiver character truly listen and respect their wishes.

4 - Avoid "My Way or the Highway" Help - The "help" provided by saviors often comes with strings attached or a controlling mentality, so avoid that and make sure the caregiver character isn't attempting to control the person they're helping. Any help and advice they give should be no strings attached.

5 - Make Sure the Support/Care is Consistent - Because saviorism is usually self-serving, the care and support is usually only offered when it is convenient or relevant to the savior. So, make sure your character's care and support of this person is consistent, always evident and always available, and never wavers just because it's not a good time for the caregiver or beneficial in some way.

6 - Don't Make the Caregiver the Hero of Person's Story - As the writer, it's super important that you don't position the caregiver (or help giver) as the hero of the other person's story. Avoid centering their role as an agent of change in the character's life, or suggesting that they aren't capable of helping themselves. Show the person's ability to stand on their own two feet and "save" themselves, and illustrate the benefit of the caregiver's help and that it is indeed welcome and not unwanted or forced.

By taking the above into account with your portrayal, you should hopefully be able to avoid making the caregiver character feel like a savior.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

I’ve been writing seriously for over 30 years and love to share what I’ve learned. Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!

LEARN MORE about WQA

SEE MY ask policies

VISIT MY Master List of Top Posts

COFFEE & FEEDBACK COMMISSIONS ko-fi.com/wqa

[mrghostrat]

ok gamers lets Interact

(answering asks) (bc i get self conscious abt spamming the dash)

@goblin-named-sam: oh my goddd that would be SO RAD!!! i would love to see this, you have my full permission! (and same re: reading everything out loud omg i do that too htphfpt)

also my bestie is the same with human AUs so i completely get it, and am so pleased & proud my work can be considered so in character to bypass that worry. i agree that the 6,000 years of pining, as well as their separation from the rest of humanity, is a massively integral part of what makes aziraphale and crowley. but imo their lil everyday interactions are just as important, like their flow of conversation and all the temptation vs resistance.

so as long as human AUs recreate that dynamic in some way, they can be sooo fun to read. and then you unlock a whole new range of stories for when you get tired of the same/similar End Of The World narrative. it's hard to get it right, especially when writing a completely different medium like twitch chats and discord messages, but soooo rewarding when it lands 😭🙏 thank you again.

@froggyliciouz: thank you so much holy shit!!

Anonymous: i live for this. ur sustaining me. every time i open my inbox and look at this message, more of my age lines disappear

Anonymous: thank you for telling me so! 🥹

Anonymous: dying over all the ppl rereading it even when it's just come out!!!! so freaking flattering i can't even describe <3

Anonymous: it's lil messages like these that i worry im gonna be annoying if i publish them all to my dash but they bring me SO MUCH LFIE i love every single one kiss kiss thank you for messaging me 🥺

Anonymous: oh how naive i was to think that all this positive reinforcement wouldn't make me keep writing at such a desperate speed 😂

Anonymous: I SWEAR I REPLIED TO THIS ONE... well i hope the cards turned out well! i am 100% here for dangling my fic like carrot and string to get you through chores and tasks >B) phase 2 of the plan is getting us all on a healthy sleep schedule

Anonymous: all hail the stream worm 🙇🪱🙇 and you can thank all the tasty comments people are leaving (and asks like this!!) for making me doubly feral about getting new updates out. must--please--the worms--

Anonymous: AYYY THERE YOU ARE I'M SO PROUD OF YOU 🎉 thank you so much for comin on back and sharing such lovely thoughts about my work 😭💛

Anonymous: ty for reading!! so many fics have done the students' reaction to their relationship better than i ever could 💛 but i love it when they're in total shock and maybe don't even believe it at first 😂 adam would definitely think crowley is pranking them at first (but it would also be so sweet if they all started being a little more personable with aziraphale — i imagine that after the trip, they already would, since they got to see this fun snarky side of him. but even moreso once they realise he's their favourite teacher's husband)

@quinnie28: thank you soooo muchhh for recommending it!! some of my favourite all time fics were sent to me by my bestie. very honoured to be read by someone who doesn't usually read wips <333

Anonymous: he'll always be our lil meow meow

Anonymous: I'm so happy i could bring you a lil joy 🥹 lots of love to you

[kbookblurbs]

The Well of Ascension - Brandon Sanderson (Mistborn Era 1, #2)

4/5 - Docked a point for dragging, fantastic political debates, succeeds at the tried and true end-of-second-book disaster

Spoilers below!

I really love this book just for the character growth that everyone is undergoing. Lots of introspection and learning acceptance of one's self, but also, many of them need to abide by the principle of "I think you're just thinking about yourself too much". However, given that they're like always in life or death situations, I'm letting it slide.

My main gripe with this book is that I feel like the politicking takes too long. It's a lot of hemming and hawing for the first 1200 pages and then in true Brandon Sanderson fashion, you have to strap in for the rollercoaster in the last 25%. Not a bad book and all necessary plotlines, I just wish they could have been slimmed down a bit. My eyes tend to glaze over when there are too many similar battles scenes and there were a lot of those in this book.

I also know that some people have very strong feelings about Zane - doing this as a reread, I actually liked him a lot more as a hint of what's to come. The first time I thought he was annoying and a distraction, I can be honest, but now I appreciate his character for allowing Vin to really struggle with her understanding of herself.

One of the big positives for me is (potentially controversially) the miscommunication between Elend and Vin. The miscommunication trope gets a lot of heat for being unrealistic and/or annoying, but personally I can't think of anything more human than assuming the other person means one thing and they mean another and not having the time or seeing the need to clarify those things. That happens literally every day in my Outlook inbox. The disconnect here makes their reconciliation feel all the more earned and such a relief at the back end of the story. Plus, both of them needed to question these things a little bit. A big pet peeve of mine is when characters fall in love and that's just that, happy ending, no questions asked. This is especially irritating to me when, like Vin and Elend, they are each others' first loves. It just feels more believable to me when they struggle with themselves and their differences.

Favorite subplots include TenSoon/OreSeur and Sazed and Tindwyl. Sazed POVs introduce a very stabilizing presence into the novel and he looks at things so differently from everyone else in the novel. I didn't cry this time around (I was close though) when Tindwyl died, but reading how Sazed loses faith in everything is still so painful. He's usually the heart and soul of realistic optimism in the group, much like Elend is their unrealistic optimist. Seeing him lose that in his grief is just like a stab to the chest.

As a side note, the concept of Ruin changing words on paper and altering people's memories is such a creative way of having your "evil" force seem all encompassing. I'm obsessed with the Shards in this series.

[violet-rose-95]

Anything Helps: Phone Bill, Meds, Bus Pass ($120, at least $50 due Oct 2nd)

I hate that I have to keep doing this. I don't wanna keep doing this. I wanna have my own income.

But I'm gonna be blunt and simple. The job hunt has not been successful. The movie theater turned me down. The two shops across the street turned me down. The grocery store turned me down. I have no income, and not from lack of trying. I have been trying, but no one's hiring. And I still need to pay my $50 phone bill.

But now I have more expenses I need to take care of. I had a meeting with a neuropsychiatrist, and he set me up with two prescriptions, one for ADHD and one for anxiety and depression. They're both about 20 bucks each, one's $21.53 and the other's a flat $20 but I'm almost positive tax will bring that up. I've got a sampler of the ADHD meds and I'm trying that out right now, but they'll only hold my fluoxetine for two weeks.

And on top of that, I'm running REALLY low on funds for my bus pass. I'm usually able to stretch it quite a bit, cuz I've been able to make $30 work for two whole months, but I'm down to my last couple dollars. Each trip is $2 ($1 on the trip there, $1 on the return trip) and I'm down to my last 8 or so dollars.

So, all together, that ends up being about $120: 50 for the phone bill, 30 for the bus pass, 40 and some change for the medication. ...there's also another 10 that I need to keep my email inbox open, but I won't hold out hope for that one.

Anything helps, I hate that I keep doing this...

Crazy to think it's been a year since I started asking for donations to help me get out of this house, and now... now I'm just asking to help pay my bills and I'm nowhere closer to getting out of this hell I'm living in.

[myemuisemo]

"On the Great Alkali Plain" part 2, from Letters from Watson, arrived in my inbox this morning, bringing with it a predictable cloud of dust from approaching horses (since this isn't a George R.R. Martin novel, so we're not going to introduce characters just to kill them off immediately).

But what a caravan! When the head of it had reached the base of the mountains, the rear was not yet visible on the horizon. Right across the enormous plain stretched the straggling array, waggons and carts, men on horseback, and men on foot. Innumerable women who staggered along under burdens, and children who toddled beside the waggons or peeped out from under the white coverings.

Either we're running late on the Oregon Trail (since Doyle did not have social media to live-blog progress across the dusty waste) or the year 1847 is important, and these are Mormons.

“Shall I go forward and see, Brother Stangerson,” asked one of the band.

These have got to be Mormons.

“Nigh upon ten thousand,” said one of the young men; “we are the persecuted children of God—the chosen of the Angel Merona.”

Tell me you're a Mormon without telling me you're a Mormon.

“We are the Mormons,” answered his companions with one voice.

OMG, they're Mormons.

This makes the geographic names a little dicey -- the Mormon Trail ran through Wyoming, similar but not identical to today's I-80, so the Rio Grande River should be nowhere nearby -- but Doyle didn't have access to Google Maps, and it's not like his readers in the UK would go factcheck. Even with the Transcontinental Railroad completed back in 1869, most places in the Great American Desert were still remote in the 1880s, and California on the far end was still feeling the effects of isolation. Doyle also misspells the Angel Moroni and uses a masculine-ending name on a Sierra, so he's working from popular myth and the memory of things he's read. I wonder how many letters with corrections he received.

(At the time Doyle was writing, "Mormon" was the term used by the group themselves. Since about the 1980s, church leadership started urging the use of "Latter-Day Saints" instead. When I lived in Phoenix, that's near a big LDS population in Mesa, so I wince at using the older term. From here on out, if I'm quoting Doyle, I'll use "Mormon," but if I'm talking, I'll stick to LDS.)

The big reason the LDS wagon train is headed west is because they practiced polygamy at the time, and this was considered both illegal and immoral in larger U.S. society. (That's not a critique of polyamory today, when enthusiastic concept and clear rules are normalized.)

So far Doyle's account of the LDS party is generally positive -- they're organized, efficient, knowledgeable about their surroundings, prepared for danger, and responsible toward people needing rescue, if a bit holier-than-thou -- but I can't believe he's going to handle polygamy with anything other than distaste.

Polygamy is the thing LDS have been known for (to their chagrin after the mainstream LDS church banned it), so at the end of this section, Doyle's original audience is split into two groups:

Readers who have no real idea what a "Mormon" is and accept it as just one more crazy American thing, who now figure Lucy is rescued and wonder what goes wrong later to lead to murder; and

Readers who know about polygamy and are feeling dread for Lucy.