#I will say; been in the fandom since the start...though I haven't interact much outside friends

[fastfists]

I am enjoying the talk of pastel ponies UwU

[codmw2019-2022]

COD MW [2019-22] - Relationships part 1 of ?

Just wanted to preface before I get into it that I did struggle with writing this. It's my first time since high school writing something like this so it's been a bit of a struggle to get back into it.

I've also haven't added any romantic relationships to this, unless the characters have kissed or are canonically married ( like Laswell ) it falls more into head-canon territory. I may also come back and edit this in the future, I'm just getting down a general idea of how I currently view their relationships.

!! Just adding this is all my own interpretation of these characters. !!

Relationship Chart

Explanation : So this cube shows character relationships following both MW (19) , MWII (22) , and MWII Atomgrad Raids storyline. (Yes I am ignoring MWIII, no I will not elaborate /hj)

With this I can confidently show who has and has not interacted and what their relationship is from there. Since I'm not speculating if relationships are romantic or not I've decided to focus on how close the characters are. For instance Alejandro and Rodolfo are both shown to care about each other, same goes for Laswell and Price.

I was going to add in characters like Hadir and Valeria, but with Valeria her relationship with Alejandro and Rodolfo is very cut and dry; and Hadir's relationship is something I'll focus more on when I write about Farah. Their relationship is more complicated and interesting than most other characters.

Character Relationships

Farah :

Her relationships are mostly focused on trust or admiration. She's more close to characters who have stood by her side in tough times, such as Alex and Price. With this though as soon as her trust is betrayed she is more resentful and hostile towards them, like with her brother Hadir.

You can see through most of MW before Hadir's betrayal that she does care about her brother, but as she says to Alex during the cutscene before Hunting Party.

Farah's relationship with Hadir changes instantly after his betray, no matter how much Hadir and Farah care about each other she will never see him as her brother again. This is shown more during the 6th and 7th cutscene during the Atomgrad raids. Hadir does care for Farah and even admits he personally wont kill her, but he will still stop her since their beliefs are so different.

Quotes :

Gaz: You'll be hunting your own brother. Farah: He is not my brother. Not anymore.

Farah: It is impossible that we share the same blood. Hadir: I love you, Farah- Even if you hate me… Hadir: In that way we are not the same. Farah: One of many…

Hadir: Sister… Together we can stop them, like we did before… Farah: Believe me… I will… Farah: My way… with those I trust.

Price :

He keeps a wall of professionalism between most of his close relationships, the exception being Laswell. We see this on multiple occasions where he goes from calling Laswell by her last name and instead calling her Kate. Usually when she is either in danger like what happens during Recon By Fire, or during moments of stress/anger.

Price does show genuine care for those he is close too especially when they could be hurt or in danger, but it's just not shown the same way his care for Laswell is. Same with Nikolai their relationship is best described by the mission title when we first see Nikolai, 'Old Comrades'. They're close but not in the same way civilians are, both being a hardened solider has changed the way their friendship can be viewed from the outside.

Laswell :

Similar to Price she keeps her interactions more professional, while still also bantering with Gaz or Price on occasion. She does however verbally show more care about those she is close too, for instance telling Farah to "Take care of them." ( in reference to Gaz and Price ) at the start of Atomgrad raids.

Alex :

With rewatching both MW and the Atomgrad raids I've realized that Gaz and Alex's relationship is a lot closer than the fandom makes it out to be. Both of them check in with each other, sharing banter and jokes. Alex's relationship with Gaz is more familiar and close, where as Alex's relationship with Farah is focused more on him being supporting and committed to her and her cause. He's willing to sacrifice himself for Farah, where as Gaz and Alex are equals leaving room for more friendly banter.

Quotes :

Gaz: If it wasn't me- I'm glad it was you. Alex: Too bad we couldn't kill him twice.

Alex: I'm pretty sure everything we do is illegal. Gaz: Only the good stuff. Gaz: You got friends nearby. Alex: You too.

Gaz: Told ya you had friends nearby. Gaz: Man o' steel. Alex: Titanium…

Gaz :

Out of all the characters Gaz is definitely the most open about his feelings. He outwardly more caring and emotional, we can see this with how he treats the other characters, he barely knows like Farah and offers her a drink after Hadir's betrayal and also willing to make his own support for Farah known when her liberation force is put on the foreign terror organization list.

Unlike Price, Gaz isn't as hardened by war yet, we do see this change over the course of the series so far. But compared to Price, he seems more friendly this may be because he is a good judge of character or might be because he is just more friendly. This doesn't mean he's quick to trust though.

AN:

Thank you all for waiting for this to come out, I've been struggling a bit with working on this blog. I will keep working on it but I'm just not as confident with my character analysis as I am with research gathering and collection information which is important to the story and characters we love.

I'm going to spend a bit more time working on the next part to this focusing on the character introduced during MWII, but in the mean time I'll see if I can get something else out.

PS: I've also spent some free time working on my cod oc and because of this I might be redoing the character ages post, not sure yet whether or not to edit the post or make a new updated one.

I'm also wondering if you all are interested in learning a bit about my cod oc and the mixed matched cod universe I've put them in. I'd make a separate blog for zem but curious to know if this is something you want to see.

[tewwor]

🌵 🍀 ✨ 🌼 🍄🌹 🌴 🌺 🪵

positivity meme ( always accepting )

🌵 recommend a canon rp blog

@lovehungered — rewinding a bit to stick my foot back into op for a sec. i absolutely adore the way you write sanji. it's so clear how much care and thought you put into him. and your writing, oh your writing!!!!!! stunning, perfect flow, amazing attention to detail. and you're such a kind person too!!!!! can say, without a single doubt in my mind, that having you on my dash is such a treat

🍀recommend an oc rp blog

@interxstitial — GET over here ( with much affection ). to be honest, idk where to even start. like jiwon is one of my fav ocs out there. i said it!! and i'd say it again!!!!! he's so silly, so full of hope, so trusting ( please stop trusting these very mean characters in my arsenal ), and so so precious. you've put him through the WRINGER and you're SO mean for that, but it does.... make for very juicy interactions............ ( don't look at me ). outside of rping, you're such a hoot and a holler and everything in between. we have the same ridiculous sense of humor with the tendency to YAP AWAY. gosh, it's been so much fun writing and chatting with you!

✨recommend a multimuse blog

@cordoliae — vic, deeply beloved and cherished friend..... you inspire me to the nth degree. your words can quite literally move mountains, i fear. i mean it moved me For Sure and your headcanons. GOSH YOUR HEADCANONS!!!! YOUR CHARACTERIZATION OF EVERY CANON YOU PICK UP!!!!!!!!! YOUR OCS, YOUR BEAUITFULLY COMPLEX OCS!!!!!!!! you singlehanded made me feel so much more comfortable and confident in portraying j.jk canons specifically and i thank you for that. top tier, ten star review, 20 michelin stars. i will never not sing your praises.

🌼 recommend a blog with beautiful writing

@temporalobjects — typed out this url SOOOOO fast yall don't even KNOW. hi buddy (ㅅ�� ˘ `) how've you been? hope life's been really, really good!! oh, before i get carried away, everyone — there's some Crazy Talent here fr. being completely honest when i say i have such a blast writing back and forth with all of these funky fresh and cool characters AND folklore. there's a definite soft spot in my heart for them! anyways, i miss you and hope life's been treating you well ♡

🍄 recommend a blog with incredible graphics

@hiohaku — okay but it's not just your graphics. it's the way you portray utahime and the enthusiasm you share and the prose — dear lort the prose!!!!!!! sublime, simply sublime, i really don't have the right words to describe just how fond and in awe i am over all of your content. and, personally speaking, you've helped me develop higu specifically and i'm so so grateful. but uh yes back to the original prompt — i think your graphics are so cohesive and aesthetically pleasing and so so so good! ♡♡

🌹recommend a blog that makes me happy

@koseigu — okay, am i biased? yeah, maybe, what of it? i see tsari put something on my dash and i leap for joy, duh? WOEIHGAOWIGH okay, but for real though. i thoroughly enjoy seeing you post literally anything. i mean, the replies and asks you hand out are poppin'. the inspo and graphics are bangin'. and you're just so friendly and considerate and i am Gripping our niche interests with both hands. again, i'm glad to have found you, friend ♡

🌴recommend a blog i haven't spoken to yet but admire from afar

@ichigokurosaki — will not lie! a bit surprised to see someone from the bleach fandom follow, but i'm so glad you did! tbh it made me kind of nostalgic since bleach was one of the first big title manga i got into but anyways! hi •ᴗ• i think your characterization of ichigo is remarkable and your writing has me ogling from afar.

🌺 i'll recommend a blog i've followed forever

@womanlives — ( enter entire orchestra and band and choir of the world ). no one should be surprised. they shouldn't!!!!!!!! qt, you phenomenal goober. you marvelous writer, creator, gamer, and just everything-er. i care you so, so much and i hope you're doing alright— at least okay! i eagerly await your return and can't wait to show you my newest jester dance and song. love you so many ♡♡♡♡♡♡

🪵positive thing about my own blog

... why. i already listed two whole entire things. i'm running out of things to say >:( i think my blog is silly in a Good way. there.

[cherryblossombombs]

What are your top 5 (or top 7) favorite media ever (can be anime/manga, tv series, books, movies, etc)? Why love them? Thanks ⭐

Well the top 7 of all time would be (no particular order):

Pokémon (Anime; it was the first anime I got into and the first introduction into fandom. If had not been for Pokémon, I would never knew about fandom/anime. I remember the first pokemon forum I was in *it was a shipping forum, and I shipped pearlshipping at the time. got into a lot of fights with antis/trolls but at the same time we weirdly were also friends with them lol. I will miss them, the forum got deleted and I haven't interacted with them since 2012~*)

Naruto (Anime; as much as I don't interact with it as much as I used to. This anime was the anime that truly got me into fandom. Yes, Pokémon did as well, but this was the anime that got me introduced me to shonen jump magazines. it introduced me into other anime outside of shonen. It got me here to find more people who also liked Naruto/Anime. I started to write my own stories and share them to other people who shipped the same ships I did. Naruto was the first fighting game I got with my first gaming system, *gamecube*.)

The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy (Cartoon/TV; I feel like it's just because it was my favorite cartoon network show of all time as a child and as of now lol. I would always put it in the top when it came to rating CN shows or any show as a child)

Blues Clues (Early Childhood/TV; Out of all the preschool/early childhood shows I used to watch, I loved this show. I loved every episode and was ready to interact/talk with the characters on the show. I remember how upset I was when steve left the series. I remember trying to skiddo into quite a few books when I was 5-8 lol)

Steven Universe (Cartoon/TV; Even though I used to be spotty with this show *spotty as in I would watch some episodes then not watch others. I would say I seen the majority of the series, except early season 1*, it was a good show. I liked how it was the first show with LGBTQ+ representation, something that I would've loved to see as a child. I liked the characters, the lore/arcs, I wished I saw more of pink!steven tbh. I do hope the Rebecca sugar does think about continuing the show again.

Junie B. Jones (Childhood Books; I was going to harry potter as my favorite book series, but then I remembered that I only read the first 3 books of harry potter, compared reading a lot of the Junie B. Jones books. Idk, it was something about her that intrigued me and related to her *I think it was her likely undiagnosed neurodivergence, lol*. I read the majority of those books from ages 7-11. I read a lot as a child and it was one my favorite chapter books to read).

Super Mario (Gaming; because it was my first true exposure to gaming as a whole. my older brothers used to have a nintendo 64, SNES and NES. my younger brother and I would play mario party, super mario and smash bros with them. It was my first introduction to my favorite nintendo princess *daisy*)

Phineas and Ferb (Cartoon/TV) and FNAF (five nights as freddy's; Gaming) both coming in at 8th.

[riptozier]

hey everyone, happy (almost) 2024!! even though this blog hasn't existed for the entirety of 2023, this blog has still given me the opportunity to meet and get to know a lot of really amazing people in and outside of this fandom! we're small but we support each other, which i think is really important and meaningful in a community like this. before the new year hits, allow me to express my sincere thanks to all of those that have made my time on this blog so meaningful and fun! i'll be speaking for both this blog and for @ripkaspbrak since i don't wanna be redundant. although i've mentioned specific people here, i want to state i've enjoyed every interaction i've had with everyone i've ever gotten to interact with here this year!! thank you all so much for a great 2023, and i hope for so much more in 2024!!! ❤️❤️

@scribedhorror. skye, your bill is truly an honor to write with! he is very well-developed and honestly one of the best-written bills i've ever seen on this site. i've had a ton of fun discussing and building our muses' relationships and i can't wait for them all to have even more fun together in this new year!!

@eddiethekaspbrak. CARE you truly are the GOAT!!! your eddie really is everything that my richie has ever wanted and more, i've enjoyed literally each and every single one of our ic and ooc interactions, my richie truly fucking adores your eddie and would die for him. you truly are the sweetest and i can't wait for what 2024 has in store for us!!

@tczier. the og richie!!!! at least that's how i see you, merrick. you've truly been an inspiration to me in joining this fandom and every second my eddie spends with your richie the more attached to him he becomes. you've always made me laugh and seemingly know exactly what to say to make your richie ... richie. it's really inspiring to see your characterization of him and i hope we can have more of these wonderful shared moments in the next year!!

@diedbrave. if there's an eddie on this site that i love, it's strode's. i love how you take inspiration from all the canon material at once and manage to make the perfect characterization of eddie that the movies just don't do him justice with. it would be an understatement for me to say that my richie is fucking smitten with your eddie. i'm looking forward to them developing their relationship even more in 2024, and for more moments where richie can tease the hell out of eddie ;)

@spider-self. now THIS is truly one well-written IT. not only is IT's terrifying nature captured in your highly descriptive writing, but this interesting little relationship that IT has started to develop with richie ... it certainly is interesting, isn't it? i'd be lying if i said i didn't highly enjoy every second of that, though. everyone needs a bit of (sometimes hidden) toxicity in the things they write if they're open to it, i think. i look forward to developing them and doing even more creative things with them this new year!!

@myheartburnsthere. carrie!! your ben is honestly so ... ben?? like in the most perfect, yet most original way. so fucking lovely. he's still incredibly sweet, still kinda shy, exactly what richie likes in a man, if i must say so myself ;) i love how on and off they are with one another, in a sense that they're so open in an almost romantic fashion one moment yet so platonic in the next. and i fucking love it, but richie is starting to feel teased!!! as fun as it is, i look forward to seeing where they may or may not go with this in 2024!!

@rayofsunshinc. while i haven't had the opportunity to write with all of sara's muses, the ones i have written with (only richie & ben so far iirc) have been incredible and wonderfully entertaining!! richie honestly needs someone to just chill with, and in terms of my eddie ... he's really falling head over heels for your richie, if i'm being perfectly honest. it's been so fun and rewarding getting to write with you, and i hope to continue doing so in the new year!!!

HONORABLE MENTIONS . @painofhumanity @infernalrampage @gazebobullshit @multivcrsity @witchoflegends

[dreaming-of-mossballs]

hii so I'm like a super ultra silent reader of your content bc I am deathly afraid of my liked posts showing up on my friends' feeds. but I had to somehow let you know that even though you seem to be having some sort of burnout and unhappiness with your writing, as someone who's very very picky about what writing I even enjoy, your writing style and skill is definitely some of my favorite on the app at all. I totally understand being unhappy with your own work since I'm an artist too (albeit a visual artist so, not quite the same here but the idea applies), and I can relate to being unsatisfied with whatever it is you're putting out there. but basically, I just wanted to let you know from an outside view, your writing is extremely eloquent and well-put-together and organized. you can tell your writing is created with a lot of thought and time put into it, which is why it's so easy to enjoy. and side note, I LITERALLY haven't been able to stop thinking of your last post since I read it yesterday which almost never happens 😭. honestly even though there's like 5 gepard fans on here so he gets practically no content from anyone, I'd still prefer to have your writing carrying the "fanclub" of sorts over a large crop of posts from lots of people that isnt very well-done or thought about. I know you said this recent post may be your last one for a bit, so please, PLEASE take your time with whatever's next!! your stuff is always very much worth the wait ❤️ and please do take care of yourself and don't push yourself too hard.

(by the way, you totally don't need to post this on your profile or respond to it at all, I just wanted to send in some kind of message about it since as I mentioned, my paranoia prevents me from interacting with your posts directly 😞)

CRYINGB UGLY SOBBING OMGOMGOMG

It surprises me when people say I don’t need to respond because I can’t keep such a nice note to myself 😭 but I do the same thing when I’m sending asks so I totally get it (I’d get this tattooed on my forehead if no one stopped me)

i had NO IDEA I had a super ultra silent reader so this was an absolute joy to get. There was a post I saw earlier about how in fandoms, it’s either you talking with a small group of friends or your door is open and people come in and listen to you ramble. I’m definitely the latter. I’m so fortunate to have so many people invested in my story lol, because like most things I write, they start off as daydreams in bed. I’ve never written one out before, but I’m SO GLAD I DID.

And honestly, if I were to release something the quality I wanted it to be, it would take ages of rereading and refining. Unfortunately im not a very gifted writer, but all the practice I’ve gotten due to being obsessed with gepard has helped me a bit. I just have to remember that haha

Some less coherent thoughts

ITS EASY TO UNDERSTAND???? YAY IM SO HAPPY AHHHHHHHH

i actually based my style off the wings of fire series, i don’t know if y’all are familiar with it, but the introspective humor was so fun to me as a child. (Also I love using Chekhov’s gun as a crutch I’m sorry guys) it also stemmed from the worry that readers wouldn’t be able to visualize what I was picturing, so that ended up in a LOT of describing scenes early on. With no metaphors so it was just like. (Y/N) set the cup down, (Y/N) put the laundry in the washer, etc. hahaha it makes me laugh looking back on it

it also makes me absolutely kicking my feet giddy that it’s invaded your brain. I love giving people brain worms and inflicting emotional damage on them. And gepard ALWAYS shares posts with other Hsr men like. The absolute middle child treatment. But I’m glad I’m doing my part to bring something to the table that’s different than the usual 1k words he gets sandwiched in between five other people.

it makes me so so happy you think my writing is organized and well thought out, because I do put a lot of thought into it!

I’ve run out of words to say but i might come back to this to ramble pfft

i hope that fic gives you a good supply of serotonin for days to come 🩵🩵

[m34gs]

Tag Game:

Twenty Questions for Fic Writers:

Thanks to @voxofthevoid for tagging me 💜💜💜 I loved all your answers btw. (also sorry I haven't been doing a lot of tag games lately; if I don't get the notification at the exact moment I have both time and motivation, it tends to not get done...😅)

How many works do you have on AO3? Currently I have 87 posted fics!

What's your total AO3 word count? 589 678

What fandoms do you write for? Currently I am actively writing for: Blue exorcist, Twisted Wonderland, Bleach, and Haikyuu!! I also have fics posted for: BNHA, JJK, Fire Force, and Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc I am planning to post more fics in some of those fandoms again, and I have more I would like to eventually write for :)

What are your top five fics by kudos? This was interesting for me; since I don't usually organize my stats by kudos...lol! United - BNHA Hogwarts AU (first fic I started posting on AO3...kinda surprised because I haven't touched this one in almost a year...I just really lost a lot of my motivation to work on anything related to HP, however loosely it may be...though I guess this might have the most simply because it's my oldest) The Ones You Lose are the Ones I See - BNHA au where Izuku has a quirk that allows him to see ghosts (again; surprised...I haven't had much time/energy/motivation to work on this one either) Lost - Haikyuu!! mer au; Shouyou gets lost from his pod and has to find his way back home. I wrote this one in my first 2 years of writing on AO3...I was very into Haikyuu at the time lol. The Sushi Protocol - Fire Force, Part of the Bar AU @kimium and I came up with together. Licht has some very poor dietary habits and once Companies 7 and 8 catch on, they intervene. Unforgiving Winter - BNHA AU where Katsuki and Izuku get stuck outside in the cold as children. (heed tags and warnings)

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? I do! I love interacting with people who enjoyed my writing, and I like to discuss my ideas, so it's a win-win when I get a lovely comment and then get to discuss the fic in more depth with someone!

What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Hmmm, probably Unforgiving Winter (as listed above). I think that's the one I've gotten the most comments about breaking people's hearts on. That being said, angst is subjective and I've got more than a few angsty fics (my friends know I was an edgelord child at heart even if I wasn't allowed to show it and I have only gotten worse with my angsty bullshit hahaha)

What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Not 100% sure. Probably Three Orange Hearts (Haikyuu UshiHina Youtuber AU)? I think that was one of my happiest fics and it has a pretty fluffy and happy ending for me. But, to be honest maybe someone has a different opinion. I started writing more fluffy/happy fics because of @kimium. (she challenged me to do so and I love her for constantly helping me grow in my writing)

Do you get hate on fic? I wouldn't classify it as hate, but once in a while I will get a comment that is worded rudely or sounds like they're criticizing how I've written characters. Usually for those I either ask for clarification because I may have misread the tone or explain what thoughts go into why the character is acting that way. I mean, when it comes to critique on how I've written the characters...the bottom line is I write them the way that makes sense to me and makes me happy, so I always will say if someone doesn't like the way I've done it they can always write the idea their way and have fun with it. Most times this clears up any misunderstandings and I feel like it encourages communication and learning. I don't like to feel like I've lashed out at someone, it makes me feel bad.

Do you write smut? Yes :D and unless you're one of my trusted adult friends who ask me where it is, you will never find out where I post it. Mwaahahahahaha

Do you write crossovers? Yup! The Glorious Bar AU is a giant crossover of all the fandoms @kimium and I decide to mash together! And I am currently working on my first AO3 contribution to our Sort of Saw Franchise AU for Twisted Wonderland. I hope to post it soon! (see my pinned post for links to all the asks where Kim and I have discussed this AU!)

Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not to my knowledge...but I've also locked down all my fics because of the AI scraping bullshit

Have you ever had a fic translated? Yes! I was very honoured!

Have you ever co-written a fic before? Currently Kim and I are co-writers for the Bar AU and the Saw AU! It's not necessarily one fic, but multiple fics in the same AU gathered in series!

What's your all-time favourite ship? I'm not sure if I have an overall favourite that I like more than all my other favourite ships...Right now, I'm really into Kalim/Idia from Twisted Wonderland. It makes me happy and I have been writing a lot for them.

What's a wip you want to finish but probably won't? I hate to label anything as "never going to finish" because I honestly always have plans to finish a story. I don't know if I have the heart to say I probably won't finish one. I do have a lot that I have taken a long break from though.

What are your writing strengths? I've had people tell me they really love how I write characters in fics, and that they enjoy my worldbuilding in AUs; I like to think those are my strengths.

What are your writing weaknesses? Scenery and describing it. I almost always have to go back and tweak things a little to make sure I didn't forget to include enough of the setting; but I am getting better at it.

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? I would not feel confident enough to do most languages as full conversations (maybe a little German? though the Duolingo Owl probably feels otherwise based on how long it's been since my last lesson...) but I could probably manage a few phrases if a characters says something in another language in canon (like Rook Hunt).

First fandom you wrote for? Ever? Ever ever? I wrote a few chapters of a One Direction fanfic when I was 15 and it will never see the light of day again. I deleted it...lol. It wasn't posted on AO3, since I wasn't on the archive at that time.

Favourite fic you've written? I don't choose favourites among my children... (Right now it's A Different Kind of Magic; a multichapter Kalim/Idia fanfic set in an AU where Idia has to teach Kalim and Jamil to master their magic before it consumes them)

Well that was fun! I don't know if I have 20 writer friends/mutuals who are actively writing/posting fics to tag (who also haven't already been tagged...lol), so I'll tag the ones I can think of! If I miss you or you see this and want to join in, feel free!!

@kimium (sorry for tagging you so many times in this post lmfao), @collisiondiscourse, @sailormew4, @iluvmilkchoco, @vermillionair13, and anyone else who wants to join! No pressure, it's all for fun if you want to do it! 💜💜💜

[tnc-n3cl]

Did I send you an ask for this yet? You might have 2 from me I've been sending them all over. A - Ships that you currently like a lot. (They don’t have to be OTPs because not everyone has OTPs.) Friendships, pairings, threesomes, etc. are allowed. H - What is your favorite source text for fandom stuff (e.g., TV shows, movies, books, anime, Western animation, etc.)? M - Name a character that you’d like to have for a friend.

Thanks for the ask @unmaskedcardinal! (This is the only one from you, though Tumblr does say that I have four other unaccounted for items in my inbox but they're not showing up. Been like that for a while actually...)

A - Ships that you currently like a lot. (They don’t have to be OTPs because not everyone has OTPs.) Friendships, pairings, threesomes, etc. are allowed.

Hm... Revalink and Midlink I reckon. Midna is (and likely always will be) my favorite LoZ character, and her arc was really good and her and Link's chemistry was good so yeah pretty much the first OTP for me I guess (Outside of maybe Picard/Crusher). Revalink was something that I had no idea even existed but once I started reading some fics, I was like "okay, I get it now."

H - What is your favorite source text for fandom stuff (e.g., TV shows, movies, books, anime, Western animation, etc.)?

I'm not sure that I prefer any of them over the others really. I watch several TV shows/movies/anime that I enjoy but don't feel the need to engage with the fanbase. Anymore at least, I used to be on a Star Trek & Scifi forum but it shutdown back when season 2 of Discovery came on (by that time there were maybe only like 5 people that were any kind of active) and I haven't felt the need to seek out a new place (or even lurk on any of the other sites I visited). Partly because I'm actually super behind on Star Trek at the moment, and also cause of how hard it can be to find a chill Trek group...

I uh... haven't read a non-textbook since the early 2000's, part of David Brin's Uplift Universe (I do like the scifi novels having more freedom to do super weird aliens. Since they don't have to worry about special effects budgets/CGI limitations or fitting people in costumes and whatnot.)

I like the interactive aspect of video games, and I've got quite a few "what if I could make the next game in X series ideas" so maybe a slight preference for games. Then again I did write a Star Trek and a Stargate fanfic...

M - Name a character that you’d like to have for a friend.

Oh man that's really tough lol! Kass would probably be a good friend, though he's probably super busy with the rainbow fledglings and all...

Send me some letters!

[marshmallowprotection]

Hi! How are you doing? I wanted to ask since you've been in the fandom for a long time, what are you what are some of your favorite sites to interact with other mystic messenger fans? Do you have any advice on how to deal with fans who are a little too extreme or a bully? I have played MM since it came out but only this year have I interacted with the fandom and I've had so much whiplash compared to other fandom spaces.

So far I think Tumblr is the best. I find the people here are a lot calmer and nice. I like to tweet but I don't have many mutuals there who share my interest and reddit is just... Toxic. Its odd because most of the subs I'm on are very mellow and even if there is a disagreement I don't get downvoted to oblivion but the MM sub can be high tension. There have been times where I say something like "Ray is cute" or I could be saying similar things as others who have upvotes and be in the negatives. I can at least understand more controversial opinions like "I want a Rika route" or something but it feels like once you get a "bad" opinion You're just gonna get downvoted forever even on other threads. It's a shame because I think the format of reddit makes it easier to talk to people but I feel very discouraged. I wanted to give the Amino a shot but I've heard very bad things about it so I've been avoiding it.

In that sense I appreciate your blog. Even if there's a character or a route you don't like youre very nice and understanding and you're very inclusive in your writing. It really makes my day to see your character analysis and head canons. I wish there were more forum sites without a like or upvote/downvote system. I don't want my opinions to be ranked, I just want to blab about my silly little favs. Any advice or words of encouragement would be appreciated. Thanks for your time 🙂 🩷

I interact with people on Tumblr and Discord! Discord can be tough to navigate since you can't check out a community before you join it, however, I can vouch for SapphireIceCream's server if you ever want to join a Discord community. But, outside of that, I'm comfortable in this cozy space on Tumblr! It's quiet, but that's not a bad thing. That isn't a sign of there being nobody in the fandom here, we're just here in our space, relaxing and enjoying the game without worrying about this or that.

I have a Twitter, but I mainly use it retweet other artists. I don't talk on there even though there's an active fan base over there. Sometimes I see debate, but given who I follow, it tends to be warranted analysis and/or criticism as opposed to old themes the fandom already dealt with over the years.

I haven't gone onto Reddit for the game before and I don't intend to, because I don't want to see the same arguments play out fifty times that we've already had here on Tumblr years ago and have settled in a comfortable place of peace and quiet knowing where we all stand in those conversations. I'm not sure about TikTok or who's active there, though I don't post there outside of a cosplay or two, so I can't speak to what goes on there.

I would never suggest Amino. I've heard a lot of horror stories about that place and never tried it myself because of that, not just for this fandom but for many others.

If you want my advice about avoiding conflict in a fandom, start blocking people. I think people feel like blocking is only served for extreme purposes, but that's not the case, block people who annoy you. You don't have to have an explanation as to why you blocked somebody.

They don't even have to be a bad person, maybe you don't like their opinions or what have you, and that's okay. To cultivate a space in a fandom for yourself, you have to make it enjoyable for yourself, and that means using a feature that is there for you to do whatever you want with it. 

Or, if you feel as though it's too extreme to block somebody, just scroll past them. Don't engage with something that makes you upset because it's just going to sully your experience. I can give you a good example, if I see anybody write content where Saeran and Saeyoung are consuming alcohol, I either A) block them or B) scroll past the post because I simply can’t handle seeing someone disrespect the boundaries those boys have with alcohol. It feels like a slap in to the face, especially for someone with similar trauma as them.

Because, unfortunately, when I see it written, it's not somebody doing a character introspective where one of them wants to try a sip of alcohol because they want to better understand why their mother would do everything she did just for a drink that tastes like piss. It's a piece where the characters are at a damn bar and they are happily consuming alcohol with no regard to their trauma as if it was never something to begin with. For my comfort, I block or move past those people.

It's not going to do me any good emotionally to comment or reblog a post like that to start a conflict. So, I either ignore that or block the person who wrote it. After all, I can't tell anybody that they're not allowed to write something, people can create whatever the hell they want to create, but I don't have to consume or see it. That's a part of cultivating a healthy experience in fandom. The old motto: Don't like, don't read. That’s something great about Ao3. I can plug in “Exclude: this, this, this”, and I never have to worry about reading a story where something happens that gives me the ick.

People are going to have opinions, and we're not always going to agree about each other's opinions, but you have to make sure that you are in a place where you can engage with other people without feeling like you're going to get an egg thrown at your head. Like, I get people who get very angry at me for trying to understand who Rika Kim is as a person a lot. I get it, she's a controversial character, and you either love her or hate her, there aren't a lot of people who are in-between.

I want to know why she has done what she's done because I think she's interesting as an antagonist, but that doesn’t equate to me condoning or supporting her crimes. Just because you like a specific character who isn’t a good person doesn’t mean you support their wrongdoings.

There seem to be brewing problems with people’s media literacy in that regard as of late. The world isn’t black and white, it's shades of grey. It’s complicated, messy, and difficult in every sense of the word. There is good and evil in this world, and there are times when there is a sense of right and wrong with no middle ground between it—because what was done was either unforgivable and wrong or the right thing to do. But, to apply black and white thinking to every situation you've come across is a detriment to your health and world view.

I think it’s important to say you can hate and judge Rika for committing countless crimes, but it’s okay if you empathize or even sympathize with the trauma she suffered as a child, too. When I think about her as a character, I want her to face as much jail time as she deserves for everything she's done, but I also want her to be able to find a therapist who can help her find peace from what she suffered as a child. I can want her to face justice but also hope that she finds peace someday.

The nuance of Saeran's After Ending can be a minefield when it comes to online discussions and I've seen everything you could possibly think of.

People get angry with him because he decided that he wanted to forgive everyone who hurt him. But, that's another long conversation to be had about what we’re taught about forgiveness. It's also not a case of extreme thinking where you either forgive someone and let them back in or hold onto the anger forever and scorn them. Those are just part of the story of forgiveness and judgment.

Those examples are a part of what people can choose to find peace, but they’re not the only path. Saeran decided to be someone who forgives. He doesn't forgive because he wants to let those people back into his life, he wants to forgive them so that he can learn how to forgive himself, because every ugly, bitter thought and action he committed was an echo of what they had done to him, and if he could find it in himself to forgive them, he could forgive himself for what he did to the player. 

He wants nothing to do with his Saejoong, V, or Rika. He just needed closure by forgiving them and finding peace his own way.

I understand why people feel upset with him because they've been taught that forgiveness is something where the only option is to forgive and forget. He chose to forgive, but he will never forget. He chose to forgive, but he will never allow them the opportunity to hurt him ever again. If you're not the kind of person who would choose to forgive somebody, he would respect you and your decision.

That's the great thing about his after ending compared to what happened to Jihyun, who got the short end of the stick. It makes it abundantly clear that no matter what you decide to do, it is your decision to make as a victim and nobody will ever take away that decision from you or make you feel like you have to choose one thing or another. 

But, you can see how these conversations are filled with a lot of nuance, and it takes a little bit of time and self-reflection to understand why we feel a visceral reaction to these kinds of stories as people. It's easy for a conversation to get carried away when we're talking about something heavy, and it's even easier for us to get angry at other people as we're having these discussions.

I'm sorry you haven't been able to have a lot of fun discussing the game and everything in it, but, if you start posting around here, I'm sure you'll find a sense of comfort and community from those of us who are here. 

Fandom can be hard to get into when you're trying to learn the nuances of how to interact with other people, but make sure that you're making an experience that's created for yourself first and foremost. Don't hesitate to use that block button. 

[ragecndybars]

🥝🍐🍈 for the ask game! <33

HIII JACKS SORRY FOR THE LATENESS, I WROTE MY ANSWERS OUT, LOST THEM TO A TUMBLR GLITCH, WROTE THEM ALL OUT AGAIN, AND THEN MY WIFI WENT DOWN FOR MULTIPLE DAYS SO I COULDN'T ACTUALLY PUBLISH THIS ASK UNTIL I HAD A DAY OFF TO GET MY HOTSPOT WORKING... THIS ANSWER HAS JUST BEEN OPEN IN FIREFOX STARING ME DOWN UNABLE TO BE PUBLISHED BC IT WAS ON MY LAPTOP AND NOT MY PHONE HSLJSDFHLFDKSHJ.... THANKS FOR THE ASK EVEN THOUGH GOD CONSPIRED AGAINST ME ANSWERING IT, ENJOY

🥝 What’s your favorite trope/AO3 tag to write?

Last time I did this ask game, I went with a cop-out answer and said angst, but that's really more a genre than a trope imo, and as an AO3 tag it's verrrry broad. The funny thing is that, since I'm not letting myself say angst, I think I'm instead going to have to say Time Travel, which is very funny because I haven't posted very much time travel, lmao. The reason for that, though, is that every time I start a fic which involves time travel, it spirals massively out of control and ends up becoming such a large project that I never finish enough of it to post... 😭 But god I just love time travel so much, it's so juicy, there's such wide potential for both angst and comfort, fixing things and making them worse. Someday one of the many time travel fics rotting away on my computer will come to fruition... I swear it...

🍐 Is there anything in canon that you absolutely hate and love to fix in fics? A wrong choice made, a fuck-up in characterization, a misunderstanding never cleared up, a conversation never shown onscreen, etc…

Oof. Uh. Yeah... 😅 There's usually at least one of these in every fandom I get really into, and depending on what it is, I go back and forth on whether I subscribe to the "canon isn't real it can't hurt me" philosophy, where I just pretend it never happened, or the "canon is real but I came with a hammer" philosophy, where I acknowledge the event as canon but then explore whatever the problems are with it in my writing. Sometimes it just depends on the tone of the fic, too, haha. As a good example of this, I love Kanji from Persona 4, and depending on the fic, I'll either choose to explore the way he continues to reject his sexuality and the homophobia he suffers from the rest of the cast..... orrrr I'll just quietly sweep canon under the rug and write both him and the rest of the cast the way I think they should've been written to begin with. (I do the same with Naoto, lmao, he's my special little trans man)

🍈 Who’s your blorbo and what are some of your favorite headcanons/ideas about them that repeatedly show up in your fics? Free pass to rant about blorbo opinions.

I've ranted at GREAT length about my Minato headcanons before, so I'll just pick one I haven't really focused as much on which I've been thinking about more while playing Reload. My god Minato is so autistic and I love him so much. I basically always write him as having an extremely limited understanding of social cues, and, in an effort to make up for this, he kind of just defaults to being a passive yes-man since that's what's gotten him the least negative results in the past. This is how I understand him through the lens of his most criticized social links (such as Kenji, Kazushi, and Hidetoshi) where the "correct" answers tend to be just agreeing with people and letting them do as they please. The way I see it, he's just... so tired of trying to interact with people earnestly only to be misunderstood and accused of being an asshole just because he can't pick up on the silly little social dance that everyone expects him to know instinctively. It's only as he experiences his character development over the course of the year that he begins to hit his stride as a leader and therefore learns to step outside of his comfort zone a little and speak up for himself with the understanding that he might still be misunderstood sometimes and that's something he's willing to risk.

[necrotic-nephilim]

as a Helena fan who's witnessed this whole bit go from silly jokes/memes to genuine vitriol, it's been utterly bizarre. from what i noticed, the root of the comparison came from people fanonizing Jason to the degree of saying "he has Catholic guilt (bc of the Flashpoint priest!Jason) and he'd be an English school teacher (bc i'm assuming, his taste for classic lit) and he's female rage-coded and he would adopt/protect children" which, are canonical traits of Helena. so at first, it was sort of a joke lamenting the fact ppl would rather force unrealistic headcanons onto Jason than consume content with a woman in the Batfam. because it's sort of a tad ironic/painful to see fanonized Jason Todd who's being called all these things he isn't, when there's a canon character who *is* all of those things right there. like if that's the character you want, why wouldn't you want to read about Helena. the issue started with frustration against fanon Jason, from my experience anyway.

but then, it spiraled out of control to become a comparison of their lethal moral code and their disagreements with Bruce suddenly making Jason this stupid boy clone of Helena. which isn't true and is an insult to both of them to claim they're at all the same. they kill for different reasons, they're at odds with Bruce for different reasons. a well-written Helena and a well-written Jason really have little in common. though their interactions could be interesting, i don't even think they'd get along tbh.

i think in recent months/years, the Batfamily fandom suddenly became self aware that they grossly ignore the women of the Batfam. and now they're trying *too hard* to course correct for that. to an extent, i get why Helena isn't in the majority of fanon content- she hasn't really *been* a Batfamily member since pre-Flashpoint. the New-52 and Rebirth versions of her character are arguably not even the same character and certainly not a character as important to the Batfamily as she used to be. so why *would* a fandom mostly pulling from modern comics know who she is aside from the couple WFA episodes she's been in. (which did her *no* favors for people understanding her and also whitewashed her before the art was fixed.)

but, i think everyone's now trying to prove how woke their fandom content is (i hate using that word, it sounds very republican but i can't think of a better one.) by including women and characters of color to prove they don't just care about the boys. and sure, it's cool and all if you want to pick up Huntress comics bc you're sick of reading about stories only featuring Bruce and his "sons", but now it's like. almost a competition to prove how much more you know about the Batfam than other people when you make these jokes. i've seen the same thing happening comparing Steph and Jason recently. yes, it's important to care about the more diverse characters of the Batfam as much as you care about the boys. but now they're put on this ridiculous pedestal of being the "more cool alternatives". an organic push for content about the underrated characters is one thing, but it's another thing entirely when it's born out of a performative nature, which is certainly what this whole... thing feels like.

and the irony is, you can *really* tell the people doing this the most haven't actually read much of Helena's content outside of Gail Simone's Birds of Prey. and my hot take is, i don't think Gail Simone does a *great* job with Helena and she's often pretty sexist toward Helena (making other characters slut shame her, making Helena very promiscuous which isn't something she has a history of, etc) so, while it's important content for Helena, it can be a shallow reading of her. where all you really get about her is "pro-murder Batfam vigilante with a crossbow and a sassy personality" which sure, feels a *bit* like a shallow Jason. but that's the whole point, you have to make them both *incredibly* shallow to compare them. bc it's not about actually liking the women, it's about getting the shallow brownie points of saying "look i know who she is and i think she's *totally* cooler than Jason he's a dumb copy".

tbh even with the Jason Todd headcanons that are more egregious in feeling like "oh that's just Helena Bertinelli but a dude", it's not like it's being done on purpose. none of these fanon-only fans know enough about Helena to be purposefully stealing her traits and it really isn't that deep aside from sometimes, people just have bad headcanons that kinda make you wish they would read about characters aside from their main blorbos. but hey, they're not *required* to, and no one is an evil misogynist for having some OOC headcanons. you suck the fun out of fandom when you require people to interact with characters they aren't interested in. and depending on why someone likes Jason, they honestly might not like Helena. they're wildly different and have very different dynamics with everyone around them.

and i get it, Jason has had *wildly* inconsistent writing and there's debate upon debate of what's in character for him, what comics you should consider when trying to make fan content about him, and so on. i'm in the "anything past pre-Flashpoint isn't in the version i prefer" camp, but the whole mess of it scatters the fandom on how to write him. which i think is the actual root of him getting fanonizing beyond recognition, *not* people stealing from Helena. is it particularly headache-inducing to see Jason fans say "he's girl coded" or "he's female-rage coded"? yeah. but even those fans aren't ever going to be convinced out of their bubble by vitriolic comments made about how Jason's a total loser and Helena's so much cooler than him. and then the more canon-based fans who might *actually* like Helena and probably would read her comics if just given an honest recommendation of her character are *really* not going to want to be interacting her content/fandom. painting a broad stroke of the Jason fandom all seeing Jason as this cartoonish fanon version of himself does you no favors with anyone.

like i used to find the silly jokes/memes that were solely calling out bad fanon enjoyable as pure lighthearted "oh i wish more people liked this character the way they liked that character bc the fandom for this character is so small" vibes, but you're right about it getting out of hand. it's become the only thing people seem to talk about in the Huntress fandom space. i'd much rather discuss Helena for who she is then talk about Jason. because isn't it just a *little* ironic that in attempting to make this fandom more inclusive of the women, we still just *have* to make it about the men? you don't make Helena, or Steph or Cass or Onyx or any other underrated woman sound cool by comparing them to Jason. you just make it sound like you don't know how she stands as a character on her own. she's a cool character with a cool history (both in-universe and the meta history of the Huntress mantle) but this whole weird hate boner for Jason permeating the fandom space for her just makes people hate her instead of not know of her. and really, i can't blame anyone for that.

Like. Where and when did Helena vs Jason thing start? It's so fucking annoying and makes me think that I'll never want to interact with the Huntress fandom if/when I read more stuff about her. Which is a bit how I avoid interacting with the Nightwing fandom at large despite liking his stuff.

[kidflashimpulse]

Any yj fanfic recs, it doesn’t have to be just Bart or zetaflash. It can be anything! I’m just trying not to think about the cancellation lmao

im glad im answering this now instead of when I first saw it cause all this time I thought u were asking about fics in general and ive been trying to come up with some since and WHEW I have zero idea on where to start id be at it for hours. 

apologies for only replying now, ik this might've been more helpful in the moment but I was hoping my post on YJ status was somewhat helpful on the matter ! still imma give some reccs in case u need it in the future

though warning... I get the impression its entirely possible (very likely) u might have read them all already? im gonna try my best with variety but I can't promise u haven't read it already

for YJ, I have to confess....... I have tunnel vision for bart, I don't recall reading much outside/beyond him and those that I have, well since I don't archive what I read (one of my worst traits if u ask me), its not coming to me rn, but next time I read smn I wanna recc Im gonna try to remember to add it to this post as an edit lol

but for now...

Sunshine. Falling by @/radioactive-earthshine 

ok...so ik im gonna mostly be giving the stuff that ive bookmarked on ao3 (which isn't at all a comprehensive list, theres sooo much more that ive loved but I don't use my acc to read at all so I usually just free-ball it when trying to remember fics, and yes, its a habit I very much hate lol) and in fact, I wish I could mention them all here but I would be writing a novel if I spoke about each and every one of the so ur best bet is to just check that list out honestly 

and also, yeah its not a YJ fic, but I enjoy how it follows his comic characters run and builds on it. I find his characterisation in this fic rlly interesting and authentic (also Max being Native American there is everything, I actually have this whole theory/HC in YJ that Max is a Native American “God” (like the ancient greek/roman gods) i.e commonly known as Mercury, that just kinda roams about but is mostly in New Genesis (no idea where that thread/post is rn but I read someone connecting Lightray to Hermes/Mercury and since then that idea has been stuck in my head lol)) 

okay I have gone totally off track (im so sorry omg) im gonna try to keep it concise from here lol, anyway supper recc sunshine falling, the writing is gorgeous and the plot is rlly interesting! 

After the fall of Olympus by @/greycappedjester  

okay, im obsessed with this series, the world building is INSANE, the first fic in the series is basically a YJA AU where failsafe actually happened (whole flashfam except jay dies, but YJA bart still makes it to that TL cause he actually ended up dimension hopping rather than time travelling, or smn like that). To keep it short, his characterisation here is AMAZING, I love it sm, the second fic, flash facts is one of my all time favourites (if u ask me its the only canon take of his interaction with the rogues, cause don't get me started on how foul his comics history with them is (and not in a gd way)) so personally, this series, particularly flash facts, is just fantastic. it also very much explores other YJ/DC characters, (Dick is the central figure in AFTO and bart appears relatively later on and when the YJ Invasion plot passes, the plot focuses alot on other characters, especially considering its largely about Dicks evolution).

For zetaflash, I mean it quite literally when I say I think ive read almost all the fics under the tag... we are very much at that stage in the fandom, so yeah lol, quite a few of my faves are in my bookmarks but I haven't updated it in a while

Sooner than later, a Wally and bart oneshot on their YJ bond, its quite sweet, ft spitfire

Waking up to Ash and Dust  its incomplete (just one chapter) and quite an old fic, its also been super long since I last read it so I can't remember it clearly, gotta give it a reread but I remember it being a rlly interesting take on things so it stuck with me, basically an outsider POV of bart with OCs 

ill try to update this list when I can! and my bookmarks at some point too whilst im at it lol, hope u can enjoy these (if u haven't read them already lol) and im so sorry for the totally unwarranted random essay lmfao

[yaz-the-spaz]

Do you think Joe Jonas and Sophie are really together and really have a baby? I’m curious what you think since you have followed three fake 1D pregnancies and I think you said you were a Jonas Brothers fan. Sorry if I’m mixing you up with another blog! I’m not in the JB fandom but I occasionally read about them and I like Joe and Sophie as people. But the way their relationship and Nick & Priyanka’s relationship have been portrayed in the media seems PR/bearding to me.

i am indeed an og jobros fan (been so since about '07) and i agree with you about the way both brothers' relationships have been weirdly pushed to the fandom and portrayed in the media (esp inserting all their wives into the music vids and whatnot and making most early comeback promo all about their marriages/wives, ugh no thank you). but i have to admit i've kinda tuned most of the relationship stuff out the same way i often do for ot5, though that tuning out is prob on a much heavier scale for the jobros these days cause 1) i just don't have the energy lol and 2) i've first and foremost ALWAYS been here for the music above everything else when it comes to any musicians i like. (my paying as much attention to personal lives or relationships like i have for ziam/ot5 was a novelty tbh, and probably a standalone from any other music/artist-related fandoms i have been or will ever be in)

that said, from the little i've seen/heard of things, nick's is absolutely a pr relationship and i believe that with my whole soul. i don't feel like i need a lot to go on to see that they don't really have much chemistry or seem compatible as people. ofc i could always remain to be surprised but i don't think i will. they'll probably get quietly divorced in another couple years/whenever the contract becomes less advantageous or they get tired enough of each other.

as for joe & sophie, it's harder to tell...again, possibly cause i just haven't paid close enough attention to things. but on the surface i will say they seem genuinely very compatible and warm/cute and friendly together so even if it isn't legit, i think there is some degree of friendship (or some sort of positive working relationship and some common interests/personality traits) there at least. although like i said, i could be wrong and just be being fooled by the few surface interactions i've seen and my not paying closer attention.

HOWEVER

the pics i've seen of them out and about with the baby were indeed what caught my eye and made me more genuinely start wondering if there was something a little odd there as it rings a little too closely with z's "family outing" pics wherein joe looks about as interested to be there as eleanope at a louis concert lol. which is to say he's often on his phone/looking away/standing or walking like 500 feet away with around 2 feet of space from sophie or the stroller when he's not looking bored af pushing it (or looking like he could care less about having to be out with them on a pap walk), and from what i could see never actually holding the kid himself. it definitely looks odd, but again i'm not as up on the details and from what bits i did see of sophie's pregnancy and their relationship beforehand from dating to the marriage things def looked a lot more "normal" than they ever did w/ z*gi or ch*am or laya (though ofc normal is relative lol, esp in the world of pr dating and closeting. but like at least joe&sophie had actual freaking baby bags and blankets while out, didn't take their newborn out in the middle of fucking snowstorms in the middle of the night where literally zero other grown adults even felt safe enough to be outside, and sophie got photog'd with a legitimate pregnant belly out and about multiple times and not weirdly trying to hide it, etc.). i will admit the vegas wedding was a tad weird and out of left field but at the same time still felt very much in character for joe's rather eccentric personality (and sophie who seems like a bit of a weirdo in a fun way too from what i've seen of her lol). so all that in mind i'm still inconclusive on them (the pics could just be happenstance cause maybe he just didn't want him or his family being dragged through obligatory pap walks by whoever greenlit it and that was his way of getting through it, or was genuinely just killing time while they walked, or maybe there really is something larger there idk)...i'm keeping a very tiny corner of an eye on it, and an open mind to multiple possibilities, but just don't have enough info (or motivation) to dive into it enough to really say anything conclusive for sure 🤷🏽‍♀️

[xpao-bearx]

《Original post here》

Part 2 HERE

SUMMARY: [Supernatural TWD AU] In which Negan is a kinky incubus, Rick Grimes is your secret guardian angel, and Daryl Dixon is a gruff monster/demon hunter. Three drastically different men who can only agree on one thing: making you theirs.

PAIRINGS: Reader x Negan, Reader x Rick Grimes, Reader x Daryl Dixon (Polyamorous Ships)

RATING: Mature/18+/Romance & Smut. Please be prepared and do NOT report.

NOTE: This is actually my first time ever writing an xReader story series as well as writing on Tumblr (I usually only write on Wattpad). As such, it probs won't be perfect though I would SERIOUSLY appreciate your *respectful* feedback and support!

I understand writing xReader content can get a lil tricky, so please just keep in mind that not everything Y/N says or does would be something that you'd do IRL or even approve of. Also, sometimes I may not help but put a teeny bit of myself in Y/N...

Lastly, I recently got back into the TWD fandom after a looong ass time and I'm taking a while re-watching the whole show. So I apologize in advance if my portrayal of any of the characters are rusty or I may not remember too much of the events from the show, but I promise to do my very best and hope y'all enjoy~!! \(^o^)/

DEDICATED TO: The wonderful @blccdyknuckles and @negans-attagirl 💖

"Heavenly Sins"

Part 1

The sounds of laughter and easygoing chatter filled your ears as you walked closer to the church, a light breeze blowing through your F/C floral dress and the sun blinding your eyes. It was Sunday, most residents of the small town of Alexandria having gathered for mass.

It was a day like any other; peaceful and happy, children giggling and chasing each other around as their parents socialized outside before church could start.

Your heels clacking rhythmically on the pavement, you were just about to enter the building before a familiar voice called out.

"Y/N!"

Spinning, a huge smile instantly reached your ears as you saw none other than Carl Grimes waving enthusiastically at you as he jumped out of a car. From the driver's seat, his father soon followed as he stepped out.

Rick Grimes--dedicated sheriff of this fine town. His usual uniform forgone, instead replaced with a casual navy coloured suit. His baby blues met your E/C, flashing you a bright smile of his own that rivalled the sun itself.

Carl was running towards you now, and once in front he gave you a big hug.

"Settle down, cowboy! It's as if you haven't seen me in forever." You chuckled, ruffling Carl's hair affectionately.

"That's 'cause it did feel like forever." Carl pouted, eventually letting go as he looked up at you.

Before you can reply, Rick patted Carl's head and greeted you. "Hey, Y/N. How are things?" He asked in that endearing Southern accent of his.

"Just fine." You nodded, grinning before you couldn't help but let your gaze wander around a bit. "No Judith?"

It was then that Rick's smile faltered, but just barely. You nearly didn't catch it. "No. She's with her mom."

Rick was divorced from his ex-wife, Lori, after he discovered her cheating on him with his also now ex-bestfriend Shane Walsh. After the divorce, Shane and Lori quickly moved to the neighbouring community of Woodbury together and agreed on joint custody of the kids.

It really made your blood boil; you've interacted with Lori only a few times before so you didn't really have much of an opinion on her...that is, until, you learned what had happened between her and Rick. You knew it wasn't any of your business, but you cared about Rick a lot and he sure as hell didn't deserve to get cheated on.

"Oh." Was all you could say, quite stupidly. Your cheeks reddened, mentally slapping yourself before clearing your throat. "Will I see her in the daycare tomorrow, though?" You were a daycare teacher and even though you loved all of the kids, Judith was your favourite. She was simply such a sweetheart.

Rick nodded, his smile softening. "You got it."

You couldn't continue the conversation as the bells rang, making you jump out of your skin. Carl, noticing this, laughed which made you playfully roll your eyes before slinging an arm around him as all of you went inside.

♡♡♡

You took your place near the back of the church with Carl and Rick. Once everyone was settled and done singing, the service began and Father Gabriel stood on top of the podium. A few minutes into his sermon, the interruption of a motorcycle revving loudly outside sliced through the air. Gabriel flinched in surprise, and it was obvious he was desperately trying to keep his cool. Finally, when it was silent again, you found yourself biting back a smile knowing all too well who had caused the ruckus.

It seems Rick knew, too, judging from how his jaw clenched and his hands turned into tight fists.

The doors were thrown open, making Gabriel flinch once more and some of the congregation turning in the pews to look. But poor Gabriel quickly fumbled with his Bible, raising his voice just a tad to regain their attention.

There was a low whistle accompanying the approaching footsteps, but the congregation did their damn hardest to ignore the latest visitor.

"Damn... I assumed the church would be a lot more welcoming than this." A husky voice whispered, and you at last couldn't hold back as a smile broke through.

"Negan." You whispered back, turning slightly in your seat to see he has taken the spot behind you. His leather clad arms lackadaisically resting on your chair, the musky scent of his cologne invading your senses oh so wonderfully. "Fancy seeing you here."

"What? Is it really that surprising, darlin'?" He grinned, presenting a row of perfectly straight white teeth. "I go to church."

"Not all the time." You pointed out.

"Ah..." He chuckled softly, hazel eyes twinkling. "That's 'cause Father Creepy McGee over there is just that. Creepy. As. Shit."

You bit the inside of your cheeks, suppressing your laughter. True, Gabriel did have his moments, but he wasn't that bad. That didn't change the fact that Negan knew exactly how to tickle your funny bone, though.

He was new to Alexandria. It was a lovely town, but since it was relatively small not a lot of people want to move here not unless it was families looking for their children to grow up in a safe environment. Which was why it was quite a shock to find out that a single man like Negan chose this destination, and even more so when he took everyone aback with his infamous pottymouth and rather inappropriate charisma.

He had moved just a couple of houses down from yours, and you made it your mission to befriend him. Right from the get-go, he had piqued your interest and curiousity. He was different from everyone else--even possessing an air of mystery about him--and that definitely intrigued you. And also, perhaps you were just too nice and didn't want him to feel outcasted. Although, that didn't seem like an issue to him at all.

"Want one?" You were brought back to reality when you saw Negan's hand outstretched with a pack of cigarettes.

"Dude, we're in church." You reprimanded, frowning.

Negan didn't say anything, only cocking a brow and still with that same shit-eating grin. You sighed, finally giving in as you swiftly grabbed one and stashed it away in your purse for later.

"Y/N." You turned to the left, Rick's icy gaze piercing you. "Pay attention."

"R-Right. Sorry..." You mumbled sheepishly.

Carl, who was sitting in the middle of you and Rick, had dozed off. Rick nudged him, but the brunette only groaned softly and snuggled into Rick's chest. Defeated, the sheriff sighed and was just about to listen again to Gabriel before Negan cut in.

"Rick!" Negan purposely raised his voice, knowing it would get a rise out of the other man. "Didn't even see ya there. Howdy, cowboy!"

Rick grimaced, and it looked like he was just going to ignore Negan though he knew that if he did that then Negan would just irritate him even further. "Good to see you, Negan." He forced himself to say.

"Only you can say that while giving me such a deadly side eye, Grimes." Negan snickered. "How have you been? How's the wife?"

Rick flushed, his fists in a tight ball again and it looked like his nails would be digging into his skin. You abruptly swung into action, placing a hand on Rick's own.

"Rick..." You said gently. "It's okay. Calm down."

Rick did, his shoulders drooping as if a heavy weight had been lifted. He can barely pay any attention to Gabriel now, then you suddenly stood up and grabbed Negan's arm.

"We need to talk. Now."

"What, we going for a quickie?" Negan smirked, but that soon faded when he saw your serious expression. He sighed dramatically, reaching his full height as he towered over you before following you out.

At this point, you didn't care if people saw what transpired or would even start gossiping. No one, not even Negan, was allowed to harass Rick. He has helped you through so much shit--more than you'd like to admit--and you at least owed him this much.

Once outside, next to where Negan parked his motorcycle, you exploded. "What the fuck is with you?! You leave Rick alone, or I swear to fucking Christ I will--"

"Woah, woah, woah! Hold your horses, missy!" Negan guffawed, his hands up in mock surrender. "I mean, I like 'em feisty, but goddamn! Watch your fucking language."

"Tch. You're one to talk."

"Did you just scoff at me?" He raised his brows, putting his hands in his pockets as he slowly drew closer to you. A devilish grin tugged at the corners of his mouth, tilting his head slightly. "No one's ever fucking scoffed at me and didn't regret it soon after."

You frowned, letting out a huff as you met his gaze challengingly. "As if you'd do anything to me."

He was silent for several moments before chuckling, leaning back against his motorcycle. "You're right. I have too much of a soft spot for ya." He pulled out a cigarette, lighting it then taking a drag. He drew his head upwards, puffing out the smoke. "Whaddya say we just forgive and forget? I truly am sorry. You can even tell Rick that I am metaphorically down on my goddamn knees begging for forgiveness~"

"I'm not forgiving or forgetting anything until you actually face Rick and apologize yourself." You muttered. And without another word, you spun on your heel and strutted back inside the church with your head held high.

Negan's intent stare lingered where your ass had just been, taking another long drag and letting out a small laugh to himself.

His eyes suddenly glowed a crimson red, a smirk playing on his lips.

Oh, he really did pick a GREAT one.

[rpbetter]

Sorry if this isn't the place to ask but I'm in need of advice. I have a canon character I truly adore, but I haven't gotten muse or any opportunity to write them at all. My blog is collecting dust and the fandom is kinda dead at this point. Not to mention, it's hard to find compatible writing partners, especially with how picky I can be. I'm honestly considering deactivating the blog (for the nth time), but I don't want to lose the writing I have. I know I could archive, but I hate having blogs just sitting around.

In short, I really want to write the muse/keep the blog but I'm not getting any incentive to do that.

Hello, Anon, it’s totally the place to ask!

I will say, though, that since finding and keeping muse can be flavored rather personally, I can’t promise that what works for me is going to work for you. I’ll even confess that in over two decades, I’ve never personally lost muse. I don’t know if it is due to underlying, neurodiverse style, fixating, or if it is due to keeping myself continually invested in both my muse and writing regardless of what else is going on. (Probably a combination of both, though, and the things I do to keep myself highly in touch with my muse I’ll be recommending.) I’m definitely happy to try to help, however.

That really is a very frustrating spot to be in, wanting to write the muse and keep your blog active, but logging in every day to be reminded of what little reason you have to do so. Since we’re drawn to the characters we are for reasons of personal appeal and writing in itself is a pretty personal form of art, it can also feel depressing on top of the frustration.

However, that’s also the good news, in my opinion, because your incentive here is, or can be, yourself.

You were drawn to this character because you connected with them. They mean something to you, you can relate to them, maybe they have qualities (good or bad) that you wish you could experience. Whatever it is, there’s a reason why you had this draw. Writing is like that as well, there’s a reason why this is a hobby that drew you, that you get enjoyment out of. Again, though all art (it doesn’t matter if it is a hobby) has personal bits of the artist in it, writing is uniquely personal. When you write, you’re exploring thoughts and feelings, giving them life in a character that matters to you. I know, all of that sounds really convoluted and hokey, but it’s true.

And it’s good! That means you always have a reason to write and that you have the tools necessary to find and keep muse without any outside push necessary.

I’d say, firstly, work on getting muse back.

Get back in touch with your muse the next time you feel a particularly strong urge to write. Instead of spending time trying to find people in a silent fandom or forcing yourself to write something you don’t want to, just do some exercises that will help you get back into your muse.

I don’t know what media type your character comes from, but especially if it is something like movie or show that you can have on in the background of what you’re doing, do that. If it’s a comic or a book, think about your favorite scene and read it over first. If you’ve ever made some playlists for writing/your muse, you can always do that instead or as well. The point is to do something passively inspiring while you actively create. Now, that creating...

You want to do something that requires you to think about your muse so you can get in touch with them, not something that is going to make you feel overwhelmed and shut down. So, maybe don’t pick writing prompts for this - you can work up to that. Try out headcanon and character development memes and other question lists instead for right now. Things you can scroll down a list of, find questions that jump out as interesting (or even simply answerable to you at this point, you’re jump-starting a dead battery, it’s alright) and answer them. You can also do something as simple as write down what you like best about the character or their story, or put down the basics of filling in missing information that has always bugged you.

The beauty of this is that it is all on your own terms, your only objective here is to answer what you want, as much as you want. You can stop any time, but you can also answer a single question for three hours, making it eight pages long if the inspiration strikes you. It’s only about recharging your inspiration and establishing a connection with your character again. (This is also going to help you with getting back into writing, or approaching it for the first time, with a more internalized focus of interest.)

When you feel like you’ve done that, you can branch out on these exercises more. Answer the memes more in-depth, answer more of them/the ones you don’t have immediate answers for. You can also try writing out scenes from the character’s canon from their perspective, if it wasn’t already so, adding in their thoughts and feelings, or changing the scene in some ways that would be interesting to write out. This is the point where it’s a good idea to try a writing prompt or two, as well! Take the prompt as a sort of starter sentence from a mutual, you’ve got the situation, fill in with your muse.

Write when you feel like writing. The RPC is great at saying this when it comes to muns not wanting to write, but kind of ignores the other side of the equation. The side where you want to write, have the inspiration and muse to do so, but it might not be the best time. As in, you’re not home/wherever you usually write, with whatever device you tend to write on accessible. No, you’re not going to be able to get as much done, but you can write without the usual situation and device regardless. You can write a scene or ideas down using your phone or tablet, or go old school and use a notebook. If you’re at work and your job isn’t applicable to being able to get down a single sentence, that still doesn’t mean you have to wait 8+ hours to get home; while you’re taking your break, write a little bit. It is a break, and writing is your hobby, it isn’t work. It’s good to do things you enjoy on breaks, and far more fulfilling to have also accomplished something you happen to enjoy.

Not writing when you have the drive to do, putting it off and holding it in until “the perfect moment,” is a great way to lose your inspiration and never actually have that moment. If you feel like doing it, that means it is the perfect moment. Life is restricting, don’t impose even more restrictions on yourself by having to be at home, in a specific spot, with a specific device, at a specific time, on a specific day. Was that annoying repetition? You’re right, it was. And that’s how your creative mind processes all the crap piled onto it that doesn’t allow for creativity.

Now, the other problem, the fandom situation.

There isn’t anything you can do about that, to be absolutely honest. I’m not going to blow smoke and tell you to be positive, wait it out, maybe the fandom will spring to life again. You know, maybe it will...but you could be waiting literal decades for that to happen. Not cool. Please, take my word for that, it’s personal experience that it blows even more than you imagine it will.

What you can do is take the matter into your own hands in other ways; putting yourself out there with more availability in multiple ways.

Are you a single-fandom blog, or are you crossover friendly? If you’re not crossover friendly, try to think of a single, relatively popular fandom that you enjoy. Don’t look at it like a hassle, but rather, just another creative exercise. A serious pitfall of creating alternate universe versions of muses is to take the simplest route, merely picking something you want from that other universe and applying it to your muse with no relevant changes that would naturally occur from it. It isn’t just reductive as hell, it’s not remotely creative, it’s like sticking a sticker on your muse’s forehead and saying that’s a whole different muse. It’s neither attractive to potential partners nor going to sustain your own interest for long. You want this to be a passionate investment on your own end, for yourself.

What not to do:

Let’s say the fandom you picked to do crossovers with is based around magic, the main characters are witches, and they are divided into factions based on how their magical talents display and develop. Not only do you decide to make your muse a witch, you pick the most badass faction. It’s the one full of assassins and action and (metaphorically or literally) sex appeal. Well, that’s also going to be the most popular faction in the fandom. That means there will not only be plenty of big name canons there but also that there’s going to be a plethora of OCs designed just for this universe...and other crossovers from other currently active fandoms.

While that might sound like it’s great for maximizing interaction chances, it’s really not when you’re just starting somewhere new with a character from another fandom that might not be known or liked. It can also take a minute in another fandom’s RPC to identify where the good partners are. Every now and then, it is the most popular and over-populous era/faction/etc., but most of the time, it isn’t. People who write with considerable dedication and talent fairly rarely are in the popular kids club even in their fandom choices. By inserting yourself into that area, you might be bypassing (and being bypassed) by better partners on the assumption that their characters are simply going to bore you to death since they’re not within the scope of your focal point.

It’s not a situation of not being allowed to be picky, you not only have that right regardless of your situation, you also should be. This is not a “beggars can’t be choosers” situation, you’re not beholden to anyone on the basis of being new and bored. However, some of my best, and longest lasting, writing partners over all 23 years I’ve been RPing didn’t/don’t fit with all the exact surface details that automatically draw my interest. It is as true within my own fandom as it is in dealing with crossovers. Opposites (with enough similarities) really do attract and work out well together!

Don’t judge and write people off for anything that isn’t an issue of compatibility with your muse, your writing, or yourself. Decline someone because they do one line only and you are novella, they write topics that are upsetting to you, you can see no way your muse and theirs can interact without instant murder, or because you cannot stand writing with someone who is pulling 90% aesthetics and purple prose. Not because their muse is a witch who uses life-based magic, loves nature, is a healer, and into their health...while your muse in this AU is all about the death, only appreciates an urban environment and is grossed out by animals, kills as an occupation, lives on cheeseburgers and caffeine. You see what I’m saying? Don’t limit yourself unnecessarily!

What to do:

Did you consider if, in that hypothetical idea of a fandom, your muse based on their purely canon self would even fit into that faction? Or is it just something you wanted to see? If you didn’t consider this, or it was the latter, fix that. That’s bad.

If you’re not absolutely dead set on that and only that, think about what really does fit the muse better. Maybe, they would be better as a healer, someone who messes with the very fabric of reality, or someone who manipulates natural elements at will. Then again, they might not even be a witch. They could be more mundane in terms of power, but more accurate and interesting as a normal, human (or whatever). They could even be greatly opposed to the use of magic and witches. Use your muse’s original canon as a base to decide these things.

If you are absolutely dead set on it, though, you have a lot of work to do making the character into what amounts to a markedly different one while still retaining some recognizable aspects of themselves. Consider what events, in this new universe of fandom, might have happened to alter the character thus. Keep in mind that even small changes can have great consequences in a character’s development, and you might need to think about the myriad ways in which that can display, how it changes still more things for this character.

While that job becomes so much more intense when you haven’t planned out a path that matches your muse’s canon characterization at all, it is still an important part of constructing an AU, of any kind, in general. Ask yourself what experiences led to the character you know as you already know them (including your own headcanons, yes). Then, find similar possible experiences within your new fandom verse that can have the same effect. Again, though, it’s important to understand that you are never going to have an identical set of experiences, so you need to explore relevant changes still.

When you do this, you’re allowing your muse to more seamlessly fit into this other universe in a fleshed out, interesting way. Interesting both new partners and yourself.

Okay, next obnoxious question from me! Do you have multiple verses, or are you single-verse?

Whether you are already exploring new fandoms or not, by creating a variety of verses for others to interact with, you’re increasing your chances for interest and activity. When you have a verse from a different fandom you can then, additionally, advertise your presence in both that fandom’s tags when you do a promo or applicable open starter and on active RPer lists for that fandom.

Every popular fandom has such lists. You can get on them by messaging/sending an ask to the blog or by reblogging their post to be added, following the directions. I haven’t seen one yet that doesn’t allow for crossovers. You simply have to tag it as stated in the post, such as “your canon’s name here - original fandom name - crossover.” By tagging your open starter or promo as “-insert fandom here- rp” and “-fandom here- open starter” you allow people in that fandom to find you to interact. Either way is excellent for getting started in totally new places with a character others might be unfamiliar with.

Please remember that if you tag a promo as “promo,” it’ll not show up in searches off of your blog. You know, where it actually needs to be searched. Thanks, tumblr, for being janky! Being more specific as to the fandom and character will help others actually find you. Don’t shoot yourself in the foot by tagging it as “promo.”

Make your verses accessible on your blog itself, in the nature of those verses, and how you set up your page or post that lists them.

Don’t put any page behind an impossible or complicated aesthetic. You really shouldn’t anyway, but when you’re needing interactions, it’s actively hurting your chances. Many people don’t want to have to play a game with your theme, it’s a turn off. Try a pinned post that lists all of your links to important pages like rules, verses, and bio instead. It means that, even from the dash, that information can quickly be found while other muns are first interested, and also that anyone who might be using the app can access it more expediently. (I’m genuinely not a fan or big supporter of doing google docs for rules, verses, bios, etc., as it forces people off site, so I can’t personally say, in good conscious and honesty, that I’d recommend it, but you do you!) You want to keep things quickly accessible is the idea here; when people are interested, you want to catch them right then and there before they have a chance to forget and lose your blog.

As to the nature of the verses themselves, give people real options. Don’t have 20 verses that all read same way. Same themes, plot possibilities, and backstories, or incredibly similar names. Have a diverse list of verses that can act as foundations for a variety of different muns. As many fandoms as you can reasonably have a good portrayal of, and different types of fandoms; not all the same genre (all fantasy, all horror, all scifi). Verses where your muse has substantially different goals, occupations, and other life situations that will involve another muse; don’t make your muse A Warrior™ in every verse, you can keep plenty of those aspects without being that literal. People love “modern” verses set in our own universe and, usually, in our own era. That doesn’t mean you have to go stereotypical or otherwise bore yourself by doing the standard “high school/college verse,” for instance. You don’t even have to designate that sort of thing, let alone make it the focus; simply create the verse by considering what your character really would be like if they existed within your reality.

As a final note on verses as pertains to this point, when you’re doing crossover verses, it’s alright to do some verses where your muse from their own canon existence somehow ends up teleported or whatever to another fandom’s reality, or even our own. Just don’t make every verse like this, it puts the onus of a great deal of creativity and effort onto the other mun by default; your muse has cluelessly dropped into the universe, and while it is high drama time for you, the other mun has to babysit, educate, deal with fallout, etc.

On making the list of your verses accessible, you want to focus on ease of browsing and not being overwhelming. People tend to look through a verse page and not read every verse listed, rather, they look at the titles and breakdowns to see if it is of interest, then read it. Don’t try to make everyone read them all, it isn’t going to happen, and shouldn’t change your effort any as the right people are going to find the verses that interest them...if you make it clear and easy enough.

Have a basic format you stick to, firstly. I do it this way: small verse banner, title of verse (linked to its overall tag so that muns can look through the tag at headcanons, aesthetics, pictures of the FC, and threads), muse age/age range, small blurb, possible triggers found uniquely or just heavily within this verse. In that order, one following the other in a simple, but pleasing way. Below that, is a more in depth breakdown of the “verse canon.” Sometimes, that is giving a brief rehashing of canon itself and anywhere my muse differs, be it in this verse only or overall, ending with where my muse is in this verse. Not literally where. I mean their present occupation, emotional and general state in life. At the very end, I provide any other relevant links and/or an expansion on the triggers mentioned at the top of the verse description if they’re that serious/recurrent so that muns can decide this isn’t the verse for them. I happen to have a potentially triggering muse, triggering verses, and writing triggering topics, though. That’s not something everyone needs to do.

Secondly, group your verses in a sensible way. I do my short list of default verses first. (And, I do mean short, you don’t want this be any more than four or five, it is overwhelming right out of the gate.) For me, that is two default verses of canon at different points on the timeline, one default AU that is a bit of a reversal of canon, and one default “modern” verse. Then, I list the verses that are in line with the altered canon one, just different possibilities, changes, points in history. After that, the different “modern” verse options. Then, verses for other fandoms, the crossover verses. And so on. This way, a potential partner can find the type of verse that might appeal to them and have an easier time picking from those possibilities and getting ideas.

Lastly, don’t be so succinct that you give too little information and underwhelm, but also don’t be so excessive that it takes all of the mystery of interaction away and overwhelms someone. It can be a difficult balance to strike, and some verses require more information than others, just experiment a bit. Additionally, it’s fine to link to pertinent information for the other mun to view aside from this, but don’t just link people to a fandom wiki as your “description/bio.” That isn’t giving information on how you write this muse, approach this fandom, or what another mun can otherwise expect. Keeping your descriptions interesting is important, you’re not giving a boring lecture, you’re trying to inform someone while making them hyped for their choices. It’s more interesting, and informative, to read if you do them with an ear to the “tone” of your muse in that verse. Is it a sad one? Sound that way. These can, indeed, function as snippets of your writing, so be sure you are writing them with the same care you should be giving your replies; spellcheck, good word flow and use, mind the grammar, and read over what you’ve written for common, easy mistakes.

Again, by giving a genuine variety of verses to choose from, you’re allowing for a greater reach in potential partners. Everyone from those still in your original fandom to those in new ones, all the way to fandomless muses will be able to interact with you this way.

Finally, in regards to what you can change or do when you’re in a dead fandom and seeking interactions; make sure you are increasing your reach by using proper tags, being honest about what and how you write, and don’t wait for others to stumble across you.

When you use tags properly, you’re increasing your chances of being seen at all. Every time you post something at all applicable on your blog, tag it with relevant things. Tag as described above with whatever fandom it is and “RP,” your character’s name, “open RP,” character name and RP, indie RP, open starter, and so on. Be sure you are optimizing your tags by placing the most relevant to finding you in the first four, those are what show up in site-wide searches only. Anything after that isn’t going to appear in a search across all tumblr.

By tagging your character’s name, as a canon, you should know that you are likely to get personal blog interaction. I’m pretty against being nasty to personal blogs for no reason, as I don’t appreciate personal and fandom blogs being shitty to me for the sole reason that I am an RPer. Please, use clear, short, attention getting directions for them. If you want no interactions with them, put right in the description of your blog “RP blog, does not interact with personal blogs.” When you say things like, “personals dni,” or “personals blocked,” you’re not doing anyone any favors. Personal blogs often don’t even know what the hell a personal blog even is! They do not denote themselves this way, to a personal blog, they’re just a blog. By designating first that you are an RP blog, you’re making it clearer that they’re the personal; they’re obviously not an RP blog, so that must make them a personal. Follow this up in a pinned post, right on top. Give a note to personal blogs that describes them as “any blog that isn’t an RP blog” first, then either tell them in brief what they can and can’t do or that you don’t interact and will block.

I don’t recommend taking your blog off of being findable, however. That’s alright once you have the RP activity you are looking for, but until then, it’s working against you. Other RP blogs cannot easily find you either, they will only find you if you’re on a list or appear in their recommended blogs, if you interact with a mutual, or are recommended by a mutual. You’re not just lessening your chances of personal blogs finding you, so if you have that turned off, turn it back on.

Don’t entirely rely on others finding you regardless, though. You can’t be 100% passive when you have no interactions, and by relying solely on serendipity you’re far less likely to get them. I know that everyone here is terminally shy, but seriously, you have to do more than put your silent will into the universe that someone perfect find you. You have to make this happen. Once you get a few people, you can afford to be more passive. Not only do you have some people to write with, you will be more visible to their mutuals, and more established as a presence. I’m not saying this is easy, or that it will become easy, not awkward or stressful, if you have a legitimate issue behind the shyness. Just that it is the only way to really proceed, and I believe you can do it!

So, go looking for interesting blogs. Be crossover and OC friendly (again, this doesn’t mean “accept everyone,” there are valid reasons for not accepting people you won’t work out with that have nothing to do with their fandom or being an OC), and search those fandom’s RPCs, following any blogs you think you might work out with upon reading their rules and other pages. Search for fandomless OCs and do the same thing. Fandomless OCs aren’t just floating around in the ether, they just weren’t created expressly for a particular fandom and within its confines. What is excellent about that is their ability to have a wide variety of verses and many possibilities to fit into any fandom or verse. So, don’t count them out solely on the basis of being an OC and fandomless. It doesn’t mean what people seem to think it does!

Do not stop at having followed 50 blogs. I mean, other than that you probably should stop following people for a bit. That you should do, as you need to be building writing relationships here, not following so many people that you cannot get to them. Don’t just stop at the follow, though. Since you’ve read their rules and information like a good RP partner, you should have some idea of what their interests are and where they align with yours, as well as how they prefer to be approached, if they accept memes right away to start, need plotting, have a rules password. When they’ve followed you back, proceed with interaction!

Ask if they’d like to plot when they have time, you’re really looking forward to writing with them. But...have some idea of a plot, please. It is a serious turn off to have someone message you wanting to plot, only to reply and get “lol I don’t have any ideas, anything works for me/whatever you want to do.” That isn’t plotting, it’s one party coming up with ideas and constructing a plot while they’re being told “I’m fine with anything.” That may be true, but it’s disheartening and a red flag for many people. If you genuinely can’t come up with anything, pick verses that match up well and suggest doing something within them.

“When you have the time, would you be interested in discussing writing? I was looking at your verses, and I think your verse -name- and mine, -verse name-, would mesh well.” Is a good way to start. Once you have a discussion flowing about the verses meshing and the muses, it’s typically easy to organically develop some plot ideas to go off of.

If both you and the other mun are alright with plot-free interaction and memes, you can send a meme any time. If you can’t find any memes on their blog, look for a wishlist or navigation page that shows you the tags for memes/wishlist. Still can’t find it? Ask them if they’ve got a wishlist or meme tag you can look through.

Additionally, if open starters are a thing you both do and are alright with, find some of theirs and respond. Post your own, tag it appropriately to be found in general and on your blog, and reblog it once or twice. Don’t excessively reblog it, and don’t get upset on the dash if no one interacts with it or any memes you reblog. Both are demanding to outright guilting, and not a good way to get partners. Just provide them with the ability to easily interact by making the posts available in the first place and by making them findable on your blog search and navigation.

Provide something for potential partners to see. Since you said you already do have writing, that’s great! That’s content on your blog that your partners can view. However, since you’re also having the issues you’ve stated, it’s likely that you haven’t many new posts. Show that you are active, interested in being here, and how you write your muse (and in general) by posting some newer content. For original content, do a headcanon or some meta, or post about new verses you are adding, the changes on your blog, a promo. For reblogs, things pertaining to your muse like canon imagery, fanart, quotes from canon or that generally express your muse, and aesthetics relevant to your muse are all excellent things to queue.

Use that queue. Not only do very few people appreciate having dash spam of similar content for the comparatively short time you might be around, but also, running these things on a queue means you spread that out for maximum view. While there are hours of heavier activity, you’ll have mutuals who are on at unusual hours due to their life and preferences or their timezone. This way, you’re not appearing inactive, if not outright invisible, to those mutuals. It’s not a bad idea to use a queue tag so that people know if they interact with a post that’s been queued, you might be here to quickly respond.

Ultimately, to fix your fandom and lacking partners problem, you just need to up your availability and reach beyond that fandom alone. Be proactive in following and approaching, decline blogs based on not working out only, utilize tags and fandom RPer lists, have everything on your blog easy to follow and not overwhelming, and have your verses meet as wide of a range of people as possible while also not being overwhelming.

Try updating your promo, as well, by the way. They’re not dead, they just really tanked when people kept making them based solely on aesthetic principle instead of being at all informative about the muse. They do seem to be coming back, so it’s a thing to consider.

Yes, make it visually appealing, it will draw people to reading it. No, do not just use a song lyric or quote with words highlighted linking your rules, verses, bio. Tell people basic info like the age of your muse and yourself, if you are multiverse and multiship, your muse’s canon verse and a couple of big interest verses of other major fandoms or themes that tend to be of interest to people, and what kind of RP you write - one line/para/multipara/novella. Absolutely give links to rules, verses, bio, and either memes, wishlist, or open starters, but give them just like that; make it very clear what this link is to. Put a very short statement of interest on there denoting that you’re expanding to new fandoms and looking for writing partners.

Do not sound desperate, demanding, or devaluing of yourself. Don’t say shit like “because my fandom is dead,” “trying this before I give up and delete my blog,” or “I suck at interaction/writing/ooc interaction/being a person but welp giving it a try, so follow and hit that heart.” (Conversely, calling yourself derogatory things and implying that your partners are too, such as the “we’re all just losers here” shit.) All of the above are not attractive, and they’re not even surprising enough to stand out anymore. It’s another reason to scroll right by that promo because nothing at all was different or of interest.

And as a wrap-up/rehash of the first topic, getting muse back: try starting over at the beginning by approaching the media involving your muse that has really stuck with you emotionally over the years, and exploring and developing your muse again.

Don’t tell yourself you can only write, for example, at home, on the laptop, after 7pm, and with a pop toy staring at you. The best thing about writing, as opposed to so many other hobbies, is that you can do it anywhere! So, do that. Do it any time you both feel the inspiration to do so and aren’t going to get fired or expelled for it. This isn’t work, it’s something enjoyable that does take effort (like literally all creative activities and skills do), but approaching it as though you need to follow novel writing advice from someone who has never published anything of note and isn’t you on the internet, with strict rules for success makes it feel that way. So does being frustrated with a dead fandom, no interaction. It’s disheartening, feels as annoying and fruitless as work often does. You probably need to break out of that mindset, and you can only do it by beginning to allow yourself to be creative on your own terms, entirely for yourself.

Do write simple things at first that you are inspired to do (you can’t get a scene out of your head, or a bit of dialogue), and/or headcanon/character development memes and question lists. Build from there as you get back in touch with your muse, writing things primarily or entirely for yourself still. Expanding on headcanons, doing some meta, or maybe writing out a missing piece of canon or what you’d be interested in seeing happen in canon if some event was altered.

Doing this sort of thing, you are getting in touch with your muse again and back into the real spirit of writing creatively, simultaneously.

Whatever you find most inspiring, do it. If it’s watching the movie or show again, do that, have it on while you write or simply think on the character’s actions, thoughts, and emotions during those scenes. If it’s reading the material again, do that, and read snippets of personal importance before you write. Maybe it’s some past playlists you can have on while writing, or even while you’re cleaning, walking the dog, driving or riding somewhere. It could even be your own previous writing! Go ahead and re-read that, it sounds like you still appreciate it, and that’s truly promising. If you find that you’re horrified by some of the things you’ve written in the more distant past, hey...that’s not just valid as hell, it’s natural. You know what else it is? An inspiration. You can clearly see that you could do better, that means you now know how to do better and are ready to do so. Validate yourself, prove it to yourself by rewriting or fixing something.

Don’t delete the blog or archive it. It is unpleasant to have a dead blog around, but don’t keep it dead. Use the same blog and simply transition it into wider things that will net you more partners and the interactions you deserve.

Look, even if you weren’t the most popular blog in your fandom before it went quiet, you really appreciated the blog, muse, and writing you were doing. You’ve defined that it wasn’t something you did to cause this situation, you just had the shit luck we all run into eventually of being in a fandom that ran out of material or interest. People are really fickle, so by taking a wider approach and fixing on the writing and muse instead of fandom now, you’re stopping this from repeating. Seriously, on a long enough timeline, every fandom dies or goes into hibernation. If you make a whole new blog with a different muse, it is going to happen again eventually.

So, don’t feel like you’re ridiculously clinging to the past and need to move on, you’re just sticking to something and can continue to stick to it through the next five fandom deaths. Just because it is the most popular thing to do to drop muses, constantly add new ones, and have this attitude that you can “blog refresh” your way out of recurrent, and inherent, problem doesn’t mean it is actually the right thing to do. It’s not even the most sensible, and certainly not the best thing to do with anything you’ve spent time and effort on.

That’s your incentive; yourself, the time and care you’ve put in, and your continued interest in writing and the muse. You’ll find good people, and bluntly, everyone else can fuck right off when you’re incentivized by yourself. It becomes a self-fulfilling activity at that point, I swear, and it feels really nice.

Just get back in touch with your muse and writing itself so that you can begin to expand and start interacting again!

[handonhaven]

You know how annoying and sad it is to see that H*sies are trying to say that Handons are getting out of control. How are we getting out of control? I know in every ship fandom there can be a few bad eggs. I just haven't seen any bad Handons out there yet. And if there are any, its nothing compare to H*sies in my opinion. Like they literally bully Danielle and Aria. They want to try to get Aria fired. Or get mad because Hope's doesn't act like a mikealson but when she does they complain about that. Or they say thats not the real Landon because "he's being useful" or "he's actually being a decent boyfriend for once" and so on. I know there's a lot theories about Landon and the prison world/ artifact thing that could be true. But it's their reasoning for why it's not him that doesn't make sense. Like Landon wasn't already a great boyfriend and really helpful.

I'm not trying to start something or anything. But I just don't understand it. How are we out of control???

Wait, they’re saying that?? That’s so ironic coming from them. Exactly, how are we getting out of control? Like, we’re just enjoying our ship? Yeah, there will always be those kinds of people in any fandom, and I’ve seen a few bad Handons, but it’s pretty rare. Most Handon fans seem pretty nice. The H*sie fandom, on the other hand, is full of bullies and they’ve literally gotten so out of control that it’s been acknowledged by the cast and the writers, to the point that they’ve had to deliberately not have any interactions between Hope and Josie to try to get those fans to calm down. And then those fans are wondering why there hasn’t been any H*sie content and are trying to come up with all these theories to explain why Hope is so “ooc” and why they aren’t talking to each other when their own behavior is the reason why. Like, even I think it’s weird that Hope and Josie have only had one interaction in half a season, but it goes to show that the writers thought the fandom was bad enough that they felt the need to do that.

And exactly, H*sies not only bully other fans, but also Danielle and Aria. I know Danielle has gotten a lot of crap recently, not sure how much of it came from H*sies because I know it was coming from others outside the fandom too. But Aria has especially gotten hate from H*sies for a long time. They claim to love Aria even though they hate Landon, yet they made that petition, have attacked him on his Instagram, insult and pick apart his looks, among other things... it’s so messed up.

And yeah, they’ve been complaining about pretty much everything that has to do with Hope and Landon, as usual. Hope acts like a Mikaelson, but because it’s about Landon, she’s ooc and a terrible person and her family would be ashamed of her. And the crap they say about Landon too... Landon has been that way this whole time. You’re so right, he was already an amazing boyfriend and has always been useful and helpful since the beginning. They’re clearly not watching the show, or it shows just how biased they are towards the “real” Landon. And true, some of the theories about him not being fully Landon or him being split could be correct, but the Landon we’ve seen has still been acting just like Landon for the most part. There have been a few little things I’ve noticed that seemed different, but nothing to do with how useful he is or how he treats Hope, so that’s ridiculous.

But I totally get where you’re coming from. They behave the way they do then call us out of control? I think most of us are just here to love Handon and watch their journey and interact with other Handon fans, why is that a problem? They’re clearly just making up stuff again (are we surprised?) to try to attack Handon and the fans some more. I don’t understand it either and I don’t think I ever will. Their way of thinking and their behavior is just... it’s really something else.