#I write stuff like this for myself quite often so I figured I might as well share something like this here

[seaofreverie]

Happy 1st anniversary to The Girl Is Crying In Her Latte! I felt like sharing some thoughts on the album for the occasion.

I rarely though about it until this very moment, but I just realized that I can definitely consider this album very special to me personally. Of course, most importantly it was the first album to come out after I learned about Sparks, and my 3rd album that I listened to from them overall, soon after Kimono My House and Propaganda. I already started considering myself a fan around then, but on the more casual side still I suppose (even though I could already tell by then that this was no random band I was getting interested in, but the start of a major hyperfixation, and, well, I was more than right about that). Still, I was definitely already looking forward to this album and planning to listen to it the day it was released. And so I did, and I loved it right away! The day of its release ended up being the same day that I was moving out of somewhere that I stayed the previous two years while studying, and my graduation was coming soon too. So now it has a bit of an end of an era feel to me too. I also remember listening to it a bit later, while visiting a city I've wanted to visit for a while during summer holidays... Some pleasant memories all around definitely.

Since that first listen I've actually had some slightly more mixed feelings about the album. I didn't think it was lacking or anything, I do think it's a brilliant album. Still, I couldn't help but feel like something was slightly "off" about it as a whole whenever I tried to listen to it, so I just had to start appreciating some of the songs on their own before I could come around to the whole album again. Which took a couple of months in the end, but I also have to keep in mind that in that time I was doing lots of catching up with the huge Sparks discography and all those related things, and putting most of my attention to that. I can definitely tell that I love this album now, both for what it is in itself and what it means to me too.

As for some song highlights, Veronica Lake was an early favourite both on this album and in that portion of Sparks' discography that I knew by that point, and it's still one of my favourites on TGICIHL. A Love Story also stood out quickly, I just think it's very fun and the kind of "weird" that I often end up loving in music. A bit later, and especially towards the end of last year, It Doesn't Have To Be That Way became THE song for me from this album however. A big part of it is the lyrics of course, I think it's fair to say that it's one of the most, let's say, relatable?, personal? that possibly ANY song has ever felt to me. Especially the following lines:

They always said that you need to have a plan

Doesn't matter, any plan, any plan they'll understand

It doesn't have to be that way, okay?

As I said, I graduated since, but felt pressured to make the next move in life immediately. It's like I wasn't even allowed to think about where I am now and where I could possibly go next, or even think about how, despite the hardships that came with it, I managed to finish my studies. Not to mention that post-graduation times turned out to be the start of my burnout that has only gotten worse progressively... Not being able to catch a real break without having to make SOME sort of decision, even if it was just continuing my studies with a different field of study, felt truly draining. So it was comforting to hear this sort of reassurance that it's alright if I don't have a plan or don't know where I should go next and if I feel lost and helpless most of the time. And it reminded me of the absurdity of making plans just so that you can say that you have some sort of plan, even if you don't truly want it or feel like it's the right way to go. So, well, actually: screw it! Try things and ditch them! I have since decided to drop out of my new college because it wasn't bringing me anywhere, it was just a "plan they'll understand", and I'm very glad I did.

To be completely honest for a second here, I often got sad (...to put it lightly, haha...) over the last couple of weeks, thinking back to the time of the release of this album and the accompanying tour that I'd later learn was a wonderful tour full of amazing and iconic moments. It wasn't just that I didn't get to see them in concert then, but that I also missed out on observing most of the tour fun as it was happening. Of course I caught up on it later, but, well, can't help but feel some kind of gloomy way about it all anyways, as you'd understand. But still, can't stay locked in the past yearning to relive it (but this time... properly?) forever, so I'm excited for what other wonderful things the future will bring! Sparks never stop going forward after all, so neither can I.

[gainingfiction]

Heavily Used

Summary: This is a bit experimental (or weird), and maybe a bit predictable, but I had fun writing it. This is a story about an important relationship in a fat guy’s life, and the risk of taking things for granted. It’s also a story about coping (or not coping) with change.

Hope you enjoy!

~

I don’t know how much more of this I can take. I can only handle so much. It’s one thing to be taken for granted, that’s something we all have to live with. It’s just the total lack of acknowledgment, or even awareness that I’ve been under a lot of pressure lately. I swear, one of these days, I’m just gonna snap and call it quits.

A little bit about me: I’m stylish, polished, and pretty easy on the eyes, if I do say so myself. Born in Poland, but my background is Swedish—I’m European, at heart. The name is Anders, but no one actually calls me that. I’m not super high-maintenance, once you figure me out, but everyone needs a little attention from time to time. Some tending.

Especially living with Max.

I’ve known Max for a while, and he’s not a bad guy. He can be a little rough sometimes, and maybe a little careless, but it doesn’t come from a bad place. I think it’s just a lack of self-awareness. And let’s be honest, that’s a common problem among pretty-boy jocks.

The trouble with Max is that he’s not the pretty-boy I once knew. He’s changed… he’s grown. I mean, he’s literally grown. Grown by about a hundred pounds, if I had to guess, and counting. Over the course of our time together, I’ve gotten pretty familiar with his ass, and I’ll admit, it’s a great one. But, boy, he’s got a lot more ass for me to handle these days.

It’s not insurmountable, not yet at least. But I’m worried it’s getting there.

It started out simply enough, the innocent midnight snacks and occasional takeout treats. No problem, right? Twunks can afford to indulge a little, especially a hot commodity like Max. But then, you get comfortable. You settle into a routine, you let yourself go. That’s the thing about creatures of beauty: one minute you’re the hottest guy in town, trim and toned, with a golden tan and handsome face and perfect, silky hair. The sort of guy who only seems to exist in a Hollywood version of reality. But then, inevitably, something happens. Sometimes tastes change, or maybe you’re the one doing the changing.

I won’t deny, I’m not in the same shape I was when I entered Max’s life for the first time. Any long-term relationship comes with the normal wear-and-tear. Max, though, has taken it to a whole new level.

The little snacks become big snacks. The extra meals go from “occasional” to “frequent” to “everyday”. Gluttony takes over. A 32-inch waist becomes a 36-inch waist becomes a 40-inch waist; size-small shirts are discarded in the back of the closet, soon joined by ill-fitting mediums, and then by larges, stretched out of shape by a gut that won’t stop getting bigger. Max used to flit around the apartment like a bird; now he lumbers like an elephant, heavy footfalls and a slow, waddling gait. His own warning system—you can hear him coming.

On paper, I know I should be trying to help lighten the load. And it’s not like I’m totally unappreciated; there are days when he comes home from work, legs tired and arms loaded down with takeout, and I can tell he’s genuinely happy to have me. But it doesn’t last long. Once dinner’s over, I’m back to being ignored while he sits on the couch, gorging himself in front of the TV, until he comes around again to stuff his face at the next meal. Which, to be fair, is pretty often these days.

It sounds cruel, the way I talk about his escalating weight, his increasingly-indecent greed. I’m not trying to be mean. I just wish he’d consider how it might affect me. I have to live with him, and he’s starting to cramp my style. But it’s not like I can say anything. I just have to sit there in silence, while he eats and eats, grows and grows, piling on pound after excess pound. And the way he eats, moaning and licking and slurping… it’s downright pornographic.

250 starts to feel like a lowball as the months go by. He’s pushing me to my limits without even realizing it. I’ve never had to deal with a guy this fat before, a guy whose big, round bubble butt would hang over the side of even the most substantial chair. And I, personally, am not “substantial”. I’m pretty thin; it’s just how I was made. I thought Max was made that way, too.

I start trying to make my frustration known, but like I said, I can’t just come right out and say something. So I try a little subtlety; a small groan every now and then when he throws himself down at the dinner table for another round of hedonism. If he notices, he doesn’t care. He just keeps upping the ante.

And upping just about everything else: his pants size, his portion sizes, the size of his monster-truck ass and thunder thighs. They press together whenever he sits down, now, lard against blubber. Not like in the old days when his legs were lithe and lean. His moobs bulge against every tank top, his pudgy arms pack his sleeves, his love handles blossom over the top of every waistband like ripening tropical fruit.

In occasional moments of self-pity, I hazard a guess: how much does my man weigh now? 275 pounds? 300? Is he even trying to do something about it? Clearly not. He never works out anymore, unless you count working up a sweat over a third (or fourth, or fifth) slice of cheesecake. I honestly wonder if he’s doing it on purpose, just to spite me. Or test me. But I know that’s crazy—like I said, sometimes I truly doubt he even thinks about what it’s like for me.

But the problem is getting harder to ignore; he really throws his weight around these days. He heaves himself up off the couch. He rests a hand on the front of his bulging belly, barely restrained by some poor, threadbare top, back arching forward from the strain of it all (he’s not a tall guy, which makes his increasingly S-shaped silhouette even more pronounced). He trudges from the living room to the kitchen and drops himself in front of the table like an anvil. When he sits down, his ass, spilling out of some indecent pair of jean shorts, spreads out like lava blanketing some hapless Roman hamlet.

Some nights, I strain underneath him, feeling absolutely crushed by his sheer weight, boundless mass bearing down on me with the force of gravity. How big is he now? I wonder, as I listen to him moan and groan with pleasure. 325? 350? Could he really have gained over 200 pounds? How could he not realize what he’s doing to himself—what he’s doing to me?

He’s just so oblivious. I don’t even recognize him anymore. I’ve been starting to make noises about how uncomfortable I am, how much I’m struggling with his extra weight. But, as always, it falls on deaf ears. His tight little butt has become a pair of vast, ponderous globes, his abs and lats and obliques are encased in a spare tire that belongs on an 18-wheeler, his tits bulge out and dangle towards his armpits. And he just. Keeps. Going. 

Keeps eating. Keeps gaining. Keeps expanding.

Things reach a boiling point before dinner one night. I can see him piling up the table, unboxing some outrageous quantity of food for his secret nightly mukbang. Well, secret except for the consequences, which anyone with eyes could notice. “There’s a man who likes his food” would be such a trite, vapid observation that it doesn’t even need saying. He doesn’t just “like” his food, he lives for his food. Food is practically a part of Max’s identity at this point.

He’s starting to lower his colossal ass to sit, and I can tell this is it. Tonight’s the night. Fuck it, I’m done. He’s well past 350 pounds, and that’s too much weight for me to handle.

Maybe he’ll appreciate me more when I’m not around. Hejdå, Max, it was nice knowing you! At least, it used to be.

~

Max sat on the floor, rolls of fat still wobbling from the jarring motion of his fall. His chair had been complaining for a while now—squeaking and groaning every time he sat down—but he hadn’t expected it to actually break. What a load of bullshit! He wasn’t even that fat!

He looked around at the splintered wood, soreness radiating across his ass—and not in a fun, post-fucking kind of way. At least his buttocks were nicely-padded. When he was bony, a slip on the ice hurt like all hell.

He was glad he was alone, or this would have been super embarrassing. At least no one was around to see him smash that chair like a pro-wrestler in a grudge match. He knew he’d been overdoing it, but this wasn’t his fault. How could it be, surely he wasn’t that big? Just a little out of shape, in need of a few good workouts to shed some winter weight. It was just the cheap IKEA furniture he bought.

With a grunt, he started the process of heaving his monumental form to a stand. As he started to gather his momentum, he glanced at the ruined seat and frowned. He actually liked that chair. It was pretty comfortable.

At least, it used to be.

(Author’s Note: don’t forget to rotate your dining chairs!)

[chocodile]

Are there ghosts in your amaranthine world..? Or ancient sailor’s curses?

I may be interested in inventing a character… is that allowed? I’m not much of an artist but I could write something for you!

"Ghosts? How absurd! An educated wizard like myself would never entertain such superstitious nonsense!"

(...Now, if you'll excuse him, he's gotta go research ancient eldritch powers hidden beneath the earth's surface and finish working on a potion made out of his unicorn buddy's magical blood. You know, reasonable, scientifically grounded stuff like that!)

So, to answer your question: Real ghosts = not canon, curses = yes canon, and could resemble a haunting. More explanation of how that would work under the cut:

You can attach enchantments to objects, so there would be nothing stopping you from attaching a baneful curse to something instead. A lasting enchantment generally requires a power source or some kind of upkeep to keep it "charged"... ones worn by a living creature can draw upon the body's own magical energy field... but can also be powered by the "background radiation" present in unusually magically charged environments. There are absolutely "cursed" forests where travelers suddenly find all the food in their rucksack spoiling overnight, areas of ocean where compasses stop working and the wind won't blow, that sort of thing.

So, you could also have a magically charged area that was "haunted" and caused visitors' minds to start playing tricks on them, perceiving illusions, hearing murmurs and clips of nonsense speech, experiencing objects falling over/moving on their own, etc. Any naturally generated "haunted" location would be pretty basic in its illusions, though. Something with more structure (recognizable figures, coherent speech) would have to be an enchantment engineered by a wizard on purpose, and would take quite a lot of skill.

Non-wizards often refer to locations with unsettling or dangerous enchantments as cursed or haunted, though wizards who understand the underlying magical mechanics behind those phenomenons might roll their eyes at that framing, insisting it's no different than when the town healer enchants a necklace to ward off sickness--just undirected and on a larger scale.

ALSO to answer your other question: You are absolutely welcome and encouraged to invent a character if you are so inclined! I would love to see what you come up with!

[suzukiblu]

Ko-fi thank-you sentences for Lux; Billy adopts Conner and it actually goes pretty good! I, uh, was only supposed to write nine sentences for this, buuuuut I didn't only write nine sentences for this. 😅 LOOK, I HIT A GROOVE, I'M NOT SORRY. Enjoy your read-more, y'all.

“Do you want some ideas for names?” Billy offers. Most kids don’t get to “legally” name themselves quite this way, so he feels like helping Superboy pick a good name is important. He wants him to have one he really likes. “I know a lot of them. Or we could look some up online? Batman got us a desktop and got you a laptop and a tablet, in case you need one for anything. Oh, and there’s phones, so we can keep in contact! I should grab you yours, actually, it’s . . . somewhere in the kitchen, I think.” 

“‘Ideas’?” Superboy repeats, looking a little uncomfortable. “Like . . . what?” 

“I just mean suggestions,” Billy promises, immediately distracted from the phone by Superboy’s apparent discomfort. The phone can wait. “You can pick any name you want, it’s up to you. I’m not gonna, like, veto you or anything.” 

“. . . sure,” Superboy says. He still looks uncomfortable and Billy still can’t be sure he really means it, but . . . well, he just has to do his best, he guesses.

“You don’t have to decide right away, you can think it over for a bit,” he says. “But we at least need something to put on the paperwork. You can always change it later if you decide you don’t like it.” 

“Whatever,” Superboy says, his mouth thinning. Billy thinks Cadmus was sort of terrible for not giving him a name. Actually, no, Cadmus was really terrible for that.

“How about I just list some, and if you like any of them, you can just say?” he suggests. 

“Whatever,” Superboy repeats, looking away. Well . . . it’s not a “no”, at least, so Billy figures they can try, and if Superboy gets annoyed, they’ll just stop and try again later. 

“Okay,” he says. “Um . . . let’s see, what are some good ones . . . David, Asher, Zachary, Parker, Otto, Levi . . . um . . .” 

Superboy’s jaw tightens. Billy stops listing names and bites his tongue. Okay. The name thing is a sore spot, maybe. Or maybe Superboy just doesn’t like any of his suggestions and thinks he’s lame, he guesses. That might also be, like . . . a thing. 

“I’ll try to think of some more later,” Billy says, repressing a guilty wince and grasping desperately for a new topic. “Do you, uh . . . have any questions? Or anything like that?” 

Probably he should’ve asked that sooner, come to think. 

"How often are you gonna be here?" Superboy asks, still looking away. Billy can’t really read what he can see of his face very well, but hopefully once they know each other better he'll get better at that kind of thing. Like, he’ll have to, right? 

"Oh, like–pretty much whenever I'm not doing hero stuff or on any League missions," he says. "I'll make sure and tell you if I'm ever gonna be gone overnight or anything like that, okay?" 

Superboy . . . blinks. Looks back at him. 

"You're going to live here?" he asks in confusion. Billy blinks too, tilting his head.

"Yeah," he says. "I mean, it wouldn't be very nice of me to just ditch you here all by yourself, would it?" 

"I can take care of myself," Superboy says, his expression shuttering. Billy frowns. 

"Well, sure, but that doesn't mean anybody's gonna make you," he says. Just because Superboy’s physically old enough to take care of himself doesn’t mean he’s not technically still a baby. He deserves to get taken care of and have somebody help him figure out, like . . . everything, pretty much. Civilian life and superhero stuff both. 

That’s why Billy’s doing this, so . . . yeah. 

“Why?” Superboy says. 

“Because that’d be really mean,” Billy says. “And we’re the good guys, so we have to be the good guys.” 

Superboy’s jaw tightens again, and then he folds his arms and looks away again too. He looks upset. Billy wishes he knew how to fix it. Like–even just a little bit. He knows sometimes that stuff just doesn’t “fix”, but . . . still. He’s trying to be a good dad here, so he feels like he should fix things like Superboy being upset. 

Well–he guesses just letting him work through being upset is okay too, if it comes to it. For when things aren’t that easy to get distracted from. Billy would also have a lot to be upset about if he’d been made in a lab and told he was supposed to be somebody he’s not and gotten mind-controlled the first time he’d ever woken up for real. Like, that’s a really shit first day. 

Superboy must feel really weird, too. Cadmus probably didn’t really teach him how to be a kid or a teenager, since they were trying to make an adult Superman, so it’s no wonder he thinks they’re gonna make him take care of himself. Billy’s gonna have to help him learn how being a kid works, he’s pretty sure. 

Well, he can do that. And, well, Superboy’s friends can cover the “teenager” stuff, he guesses. Like, probably. 

. . . maybe he could find a couple parenting books or something. A parenting book might be a good idea. 

"I just don't get it," Superboy says after a long moment staring at the wall, tensing his folded arms. "What about when you have to get back to your real life? Like your . . . your job and your house and your . . . family. This is keeping you away from all that." 

"Oh," Billy realizes, blinking at him in surprise. He guesses Superboy probably would expect him to have that kinda stuff, huh. "No, I don't really . . . have any of those, technically? I mean, I am human, I wasn't lying or anything, I just don't have a job or another house or anything like that. Actually the Justice League is paying for all of this, 'cause we were all talking about the best place for you to live and Superman asked if maybe I could take care of you, and I had to tell him I couldn't 'cause I didn't actually have anything to take care of you with, but Batman said the League could set up a stipend to pay for stuff and help me get a place and all that if I wanted to do it, sooooo . . ." 

". . . Superman asked you to take care of me?" Superboy asks hesitantly, shifting in his bean bag and finally glancing back to him again. 

"Yeah," Billy confirms with a nod, a little relieved that Superboy’s looking at him again. Well–close to him, anyway. He’s not quite making eye contact, but that’s fine. "Well, him and Batman. Because my powers are kinda close to yours so I can help you train and stuff, but also Kryptonians are vulnerable to magic so if you've got any mind control triggers in your head that we missed I should be able to stop you without having to hurt you. Like I could restrain you until we could help you or until you could snap out of it on your own, I mean." 

"Oh," Superboy says, blinking slowly. "I just figured somebody had some kryptonite somewhere in case something like that happened." 

"No," Billy says, frowning at the thought. Geez, what kind of an awful dad would he be if he did that? He's seen what kryptonite does to Superman and it totally sucks. "Kryptonite hurts. I'm not gonna let anybody use kryptonite on you. Er–well, probably eventually a bad guy will when you're on a mission, that's kind of how those go, but we're definitely not gonna keep any here.” 

"Why not?" Superboy asks, frowning back at him. "It's more efficient than actually fighting me. And I might injure you if I'm like that." 

"Yeah," Billy says. "But also somebody bad could use it against you if they ever broke in and found it. And this is, um–well. This is your home now, so I don't think there should be things that could hurt you in it anyway." 

Superboy stares blankly at him again. Billy tries not to fidget. 

"There were lots of things that could hurt me in Cadmus," Superboy says, his face staying very, very blank in a way that Billy immediately hates. 

"Well, this isn't Cadmus," Billy says firmly, trying to look as sincere and trustworthy and dad-ly as he knows how to. He had a really, really great dad. He can pay that forward. Superboy deserves a great dad too. "I'm taking care of you now, and I don't want kryptonite or anything like it around you. Ever." 

Superboy stares at him. His expression is really complicated-looking and Billy doesn't understand it, so he just keeps trying to look as dad-ly as possible. Hopefully that'll help, or at least won't hurt. 

". . . what about your family, though?" Superboy asks after a long moment, flicking his eyes away uncomfortably. Billy really hopes he's doing this right. "Or do you, uh, not have one of those either?" 

"Um," Billy says. "Well, I have the worst uncle in the world who I really hope is rotting in prison somewhere by now, but otherwise it's just you."

"What?" Superboy frowns again, looking confused. "What's just me?" 

"Uh . . . my family?" Billy replies, a little embarrassed. He hasn't actually had any family that he could still want to be around in . . . well, a really long time now, so it feels sort of weird to say it, but it is true. Dubiously-legally true, given all the fake paperwork Batman’s been putting together, but still true. 

Superboy gives him the blank stare yet again. Billy feels like a moron, but–well, he's not gonna take it back. Even if Superboy thinks he's presuming too much too quick or something, which admittedly he kinda is, Billy also can't imagine how awful it'd be hearing someone call you their family and then say they weren't really or hadn't actually meant it or just . . . whatever. 

Superboy might not even care if he did, but . . . 

Well. Billy would care. So he's not gonna.

Ever.

[usedtobethelegendcreator]

Okay, let’s try that again.

Hey, I’m TheLegendCreator. ’Sup, how’s it going. I’m 17, from Louisiana, and I really, really want people to talk to me. I write a lot, I draw even more, and I like writing analyses on Hazbin Hotel. Minor DNIs will not stop me, because frankly, I’ve seen worse. I’m autistic and have an anxiety disorder. High-functioning or low-functioning? Both. I’m the token cishet in this wild wonderland. I’m occasionally funny.

I’m in (and have been in) a lot of fandoms, so here’s a list:

Beyblade Burst

Encanto

Gravity Falls (pre-Book of Bill)

The Silmarillion

ATLA

Soul Eater

Hazbin Hotel

Noragami

If you’re ever doubting which one is currently my hyperfixation, just look at the banner. I update that.

I was only in the Soul Eater fandom for a couple weeks, so I never got around to writing anything for it.

I’m always open for requests and asks. Always. I like to joke that it’s my Wattpad training, but if you give me a prompt, I can usually whip something up in a week. I’ve been trying to sound more approachable about it, because I miss doing that. I love doing requests, whether it’s art or writing. But be warned—my writing is much better than my art. I’m getting better at it, but I’ve been told my art looks horrible.

My AO3 account is TheLegendCreator. That’s my username literally everywhere. I’m on Reddit, too. (Not anymore. Got perma-banned for posting pictures of myself having…fun. Because god forbid women do anything.)

My other account is @thelegendcreator. I no longer have access to it. (Now I do!) That’s where all of my Encanto stuff is. Go take a look if you want.

If you’ve been here a while, you might have heard of NOT-TLC. That’s Leah, my friend from school. She got me into Hazbin Hotel by showing me “Hell’s Greatest Dad”.

If you think you remember someone with my username on Wattpad—congratulations, you’ve found me! I had to delete my account there, but if you dig deep into the Beyblade Burst fandom, you’ll see me eventually.

I have quite a few favorite characters, so here’s a list. Yeah, another list. I swear I’m not usually this boring.

Alastor the Radio Demon

Bruno Madrigal

Ford Pines

Shu Kurenai

Zuko

Soul “Eater” Evans

Maedhros

Yato

The genre of fanfiction I write wildly varies, depending on the fandom. I don’t write smut often, but when I do, I make it filthy. I’m still trying to figure out what my ‘type’ is when it comes to favorite characters…so far the only consistent thing is that they’re guys.

I’m not a big fan of AUs, outside of Canon Divergence. Unless it’s Modern With Bending. Then I’ll French-kiss that fic, please and thank you.

And down below are some of my favorite people!

@captaintrips9

@walkingweirdmageddon

@thecrazyashley-blog

@diamondkat

@eggcats

@tardis-scooter

(EDIT, because apparently people need it:

I’m not excusing Alastor’s abusive behavior towards Husk. I’m just giving Alastor the overall “not as much of a jerk as you could have been” award. Let Husk be responsible for his actions, let Alastor be responsible for his, and leave me the fuck alone about it. I don’t have the time to slowly walk you all through how Husk’s actions as an Overlord were horrendous. Instead, take a moment to imagine what it would be like to have your soul gambled to an Overlord in the Hellaverse, then get back to me on how you still think Husk was the nicest sweetest kindest Overlord ever.)

(ONE MORE EDIT:

Now opening, @thelegendcreator-version3!)

[confused-disaster32]

Hi! So you can call this a rant or a vent or whatever I don't rlly care - I just wanted to put some of my opinions out there bc it is eating me inside out to keep my opinions on Alastor's sexuality and all of the discourse about him being shipped to myself.

Also i'd like to state that I'm writing this as someone who is aroace but has no actual wish to be in a romantic relationship and actually struggles to so much as picture what that's be like for myself. I would also like to state how I'm not speaking for the whole community and others will have different opinions to myself.

Firstly - aroace is a spectrum (as someone who is on the aroace spectrum btw) and I completely agree with ppl who say that it is a spectrum and shipping has always existed and you can't rlly stop an entire fandom. My only problem is when ppl completely ignore that he is aroace while doing this, bc to me it seems like there's so much potential to having him have to go through those types of emotions and to write him off as if he's completely allo not only can make some people feel unseen but also just isn't as fun.

Also I kind of believe that he'd possibly date someone for the entertainment - like even if he didn't exactly feel romantic attraction maybe he'd be willing to be around someone closely bc he might like the reactions he'd be getting. (example: he might've stayed in a relationship with Vox maybe not out of pure attraction but if he found out that affection could make the TV short-circuit? He'd be interested)

Adding to that, I personally do not actually ship him with anyone romantically due to his character + the fact that I am projecting my own distaste for romance on him but you do you ig.

Also, on the note of nsfw around him - sometimes you cannot stop a fandom, rule 34 exists and some people who are asexual sometimes may want to have sex and all of that stuff. Personally I think he'd probably be sex-repulsed due to the fact that he canonically has issues with being touched.

ALSO, i personally think that way too many people are brushing over the idea of putting Alastor in a QPR - like that would literally be so awesome.

Alastor x Rosie? Cute af (to me Rosie gives of aro vibes too, but more romance - favourable) like they're already besties and honestly I think that Rosie would defo help him figure out about his identity considering that he's quite obviously not all that sure about slang and stuff.

Vox x Alastor - It has the potential to be SO FUCKING FUN like, you get to experiment with how they feel for each other, maybe what Alastor's got going on bc he died before being aroace was rlly a thing and he'd be confused about how he felt about Vox for sure.

Lucifer x Alastor - I quite like it, ik that Lucifer is supposed to be with Lillith but she did take an extremely long hiatus on her family up in heaven so i think it's okay. Plus the idea of them bonding and becoming close due to Charlie is wonderful.

Even angel and Alastor - maybe after Val Angel doesn't want a super sexual relationship - maybe he's not all that interested in something purely romantic either and though I love huskerdust this would still be pretty cool.

Really all I'm saying is; be considerate. Incorporate the fact that Alastor is Aroace, even if you do ship him - in or out of QPRs - and ofc sometimes writing someone who is part of a group ur not in is difficult (coming from someone who often struggles in writing especially when it comes to romance) but taking a crack at it might actually turn out to be rlly cool.

But please don't ignore his aroace-ness, there's not a huge amount of aroace characters out there and acting like someone isn't can be annoying for ppl who want to find rep around their identity, esp if they haven't seen much before (I can relate and he was one of the first aroace characters I was introduced to after I found out what it meant).

So yeah, that's my piece.

[ceilidho]

Do you have any advice on doing a character study for a character before writing them? Stuff like how they’d act/respond 👁👄👁

haha it's quite tricky, I won't lie! it's definitely one of the things I struggle with the most (writing really well-rounded and defined characters). Here are a couple things that I do, but keep in mind that I'm reeaaalllyyyy not an expert on this. I'm still learning so much about characterization every day.

If you're writing fanfiction, watch or read the source material as much as possible, until you can almost hear the way the character sounds in your head. Take time to understand things like their accent and how they speak (do they talk a lot or very little? do they use slang or enunciate everything? do they speak quickly or slowly?). Here, you just want to concentrate on the cadence of their speech / their speech patterns. If they speak plainly or use lots of proverbs or turns of phrases, that sort of thing. If you have that down, you've honestly done half the work. Even I often reread my work and go "fuck, all of these people SOUND the same even though they're saying different things".

This is harder if you're not writing fanfiction and have to create your own universe, but regardless of whether you're writing for an existing IP or your own 'verse, I think understanding your character's cultural and religious background is so crucial to developing them. It's a big part of the lens through which they see the world, whether consciously (if they're a very religious character for example, or raised in a specific country) or subconsciously (for example, I grew up catholic so I relate to the world through that lens, even though I'm not a religious person - it just heavily informed me in my childhood years). For this Bear story, I had to do a bit of research around Baptist theology because I knew Bear would be a religious character (whether or not he's struggling with that religion) and it would heavily inform how he sees the world around him. I listened to some sermons, talked to someone with a Baptist background, and also thought about how that background with tie into his desire to have a family).

Pick like 3-5 words that you think best describe your character and just write them down somewhere. I've never been very successful when I make huge character sheets for my characters or try to write a super detailed background for them, so I try to give myself a bit of grace and be brief about it. You can always expand on it going forward. Like for someone like Bear, I might pick: family-oriented, religious (Christian), gruff, and scrupulous. You can also do this in the reverse way and try to think of what they're not (same example with Bear, I might go: conniving, hedonistic, flighty, and optimistic LMAO). This is a nice way to put like, boundaries around your character.

In the framework of your story, try to pick a trajectory for your character, or a goal. At least have one, but you could have a couple. If they're directionless, that works too! But they should want something or aspire to be something. This counts even if they think that thing they want is beyond them or unattainable - it's still a want/goal pushing them forward. This can also be an unconscious goal by the way -> like a very hedonistic character that likes to party who's slowly getting worn down from that life and doesn't even realize they want to settle down, or vice versa! Someone who feels trapped in their mundane life but thinks that's what's expected of them. The character doesn't have to know they want this goal.

Fatal flaws. This is a big one. What is something that might get in the way of them achieving their goal or might influence how they get it? Easiest way to think of this is just looking at the 7 deadly sins (soooo corny, but it's a good place to start). Characters are never perfect, so give them a reason to struggle.

And honestly lastly? Trial and error, baby. Take your vaguely defined character and figure out what you want them to achieve (whether or not they get it is beside the point), and then work out how they might go about achieving that. If they'd run full throttle towards it because they think they deserve it or whether they'd fight it every step of the way because they either don't think they want it or don't think they deserve it.

I'm sorry if this is very messy!! It also totally depends on you as a writer. When I try to make "character background sheets", it gives me anxiety and I end up not following through with my writing versus when I try to keep it brief and just dive into the writing and slowly change things and edit as I write. But maybe a sheet works best for you!

[leafslilblog]

So I'm feeling really fucking horny and now I'm thinking of writing smut.

The short of it is that it's about a t4t couple. A transfemme orc, who grew up with harsh disciplines and has never known softness until now, and a transmasc elf, who was often overlooked and finally learns he can take it easy and still get good things. The details I've written down for now are below the break.

So first of all, orcs live in burrows and they're not big muscly green creatures. They have animalistic traits, still figuring out what they could be. Maybe feathers or fur, or maybe they all have a different animal's traits.

They're solitary creatures living in communities that are often treated as hostile or aggressive. They live off the land and are very big on tradition and families. I'm putting some of my poc experiences in here too. Elven society is something I'm still working out though.

Second of all, it's smut. The trauma and world building is to add flavour, maybe even open a way to an actual story in the future. It'll be short stories I might sort into a timeline later. I'm posting here to gage if people would like to read this kinda stuff. Still thinking about where I would post the finished works.

Also, I'm planning on researching lots on the trans experience. I have quite a lot of sexual experiences I could base myself off of but I do want to learn more about the transmasc side of things for example.

I want to keep the writing to girldick and tdick only, mostly because I don't have any experiences with people post-op.

I could write short stories about things pre-hrt but for now I just have a few ideas in mind that I want to work out first. I also thought of doing a short story pre-top surgery since I know some people who are comfortable with doing stuff there until top surgery within boundaries.

The point of this all is just to have some fun and practice my writing skills more. I might suck in storytelling at first but I've always been better at sex scenes anyways. I also want to pander to a trans audience because I'm also transfemme and struggled with some of the things that will be written about. Finally, see it as a testament to the beauty of being trans.

If anyone has any inspiration to add to this, feel free to add in the comments or tags.

:33

[alpaca-clouds]

The Dawn of Everything

I finished reading this very long book, after hearing it being recommended in a podcast a few months back. I thought to myself that it would be kinda nice, given that the topic (the origin of inequality) is interesting me, and the fact that I really like David Graeber. I started reading some of his other stuff earlier in the pandemic. Mainly Bullshit Jobs, a book that I will always highly recomment.

The Dawn of Everything was a very interesting read.

You probably know the story that inspires it: "Humans once lived as hunters and gathers in small bands when they were all very equal. But at some point they invented agriculture, and more and more inequality would rise." This is a thing that is considered to be common knowledge - especially in left wing circles. Meanwhile of course there is a right wing counternarrative that generally goes: "Back when we lived as hunter gatherers we had horrible lives, but ever since we invented agriculture everything got better."

Now, there is of course a big challenge with this: Humans have been around for about 200 000 years. And our actual understanding for history goes back for about 5000 years. The earliest written records we can translate are from Ancient Sumer and were written about 3000 years BC. Everything before that... We know humans were there. We can say something about how humans moved and lived because we find their skulls and tools and art. But the few humans before Sumer who have written anything down, have also used writing systems that we cannot decypher. So all we can say about them is stuff that we can know from the archeology we did.

You might also see where this is going: Doing research for this book, Graeber and Wengrow found, that neither of the "early humans" theories named above, were in any way based in research, but just were two people making up stuff that sounded right to them. So, because of that, they themselves tried to figure this out on the basis of what we do know for certain - both from the archeological record, and from what we know from indigenous groups.

And some of the things they bring up is quite interesting.

They base a lot of their writing on the writing of indigenous people over the last 500 years. Specifically also of how indigenous people compared their own cultures to the culture of colonizers. The book also goes into how early monarchies came to be and why people in some situations might have wanted to have kings.

Another thing the book goes very much into is into sexism, misogyny and also how those ideas often influenced the analysis of archeologists. If there were cultures, where a lot of the archeological finds very much suggest that the rulers were women, for a long while archeologist would go: "But that would be silly. Women cannot rule." One example named in the book is Minoan Greece.

I took quite some interesting things from this book - and I absolutely would recommend it to both my fellow anarchists and my fellow Solarpunks. Because I will once more say: We Solarpunks need to learn more from the past, rather than just hoping that we can solve all our problems.

I will write about some other stuff I learned from this book in the next few days or maybe even weeks, but generally I really enjoyed reading (or rather listening to) it.

While the writing style in this book is at times a bit too wordy, I learned a whole lot from reading this. Heck, while I originally got the audiobook, this is one of the few books I own now as both an audio book and a physical copy.

[illarian-rambling]

@davycoquette with the fun question games again!

Get to Know the Writblr

Gonna put this under a cut because it got long, but feel free to treat this as an open tag if you want to hop on!

On the Tumblr Writing Community:

How long have you had your writing Tumblr/Writeblr?

Since the beginning of the year, maybe? Sometime in February, I think.

What led you to create it?

I was feeling pretty lonely having no one to talk to about my writing. None of my real-life friends are writers and I'm really terrible at expressing my interests verbally, so I figured online might be the place to go. So far, I've been right!

What’s your favorite thing about the Writeblr community?

Oh, the people, for sure. It's incredibly rare that I come across anyone being less than supportive on here. No matter our skill level, I really feel like every writer on here has a sense of being in this shit together.

What’s one thing you’d like your mutuals to know about you?

Hmmm.... I'm pretty open about sharing things about myself, so idk if there's anything major I haven't touched on yet. I wake up at 4am every morning for work, so if you see me posting at an egregious time, that's why. Also, if you ever want martial arts tips for your fight scenes, I'm your gal!

Is there anything you’d like to see more of on your dash?

I love it when people make memes of their ocs. Makes me giggle every time.

What tips/advice do you have for someone who made a Writeblr today?

You gotta interact with people. I know it can be scary, but even a reblog with no tags can make another writer smile. Chances also are, if you leave a nice comment on someone's work, they might check you out and leave a nice comment on yours! A community isn't a community unless you go out and commune :)

WIP it Good:

Which Works-in-Progress (WIPs) or writing projects are you noodling about, lately?

Lately, I've been juggling writing my first draft of Mortal God book 3 (tentatively title being The Machinations of Machine and Man) and going over @kaylinalexanderbooks lovely comments on MG1. My ghost ship project is also on a low simmer in the back of my brain, but I'm trying to leave that until I'm done with MG3.

How long have you been working on them?

Good lord, I started MG1 about... almost two years ago now? Damn, it feels like it's been so much longer. But hey, three book drafts in two years ain't bad! Honor's Outcasts, which is largely written by now, I started about three years ago.

Do you remember what inspired them/what got you started?

The two main characters of MG started as a vague daydream, which then became two important dnd npcs along with MG's main villain. I ended up liking them all so much that I wrote a short story which became *drumroll* three entire books! A lot of my inspiration came from Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood and the Foundryside Trilogy of books. I can't think of anyone specifically who inspired the characters, except that Astra was originally based on the archetype of the silent wandering cowboy/samurai as seen in a lot of Kurosawa films and old westerns. For anyone familiar with her, uh, things changed quite a lot.

How much time, in your best estimation, do you spend thinking about them?

At least ten percent of my brain's storage is dedicated to my wips at all times. As for how often I'm actively thinking about them... it's also quite a lot.

When someone asks the dreaded, “What do you write about,” question, what do you usually say?

"Uh, fantasy stuff?" is my go-to.

What do you want to say (if it’s different from what you do say)?

I really wish I had the ability to explain my wips as succinctly with speech as I do with writing, but alas. I would want to give a nice, book jacket blurb that doesn't give away too much of the crazy shit.

Let’s Rotate Blorbos:

Name any characters you created.

I think I'm really good at names, so we're gonna go down the list!

Izjik Meautammera

Sepo Kaiacynthus

Twenari Undetasib/Devaris

Djek Kagura

Astra DuClaire

Mashal Darezsho

Ivander Montane

Elsind Cavernsight

Duchon Avymere Kalaphon Spearsong III

Faalgun Falani

Nyda Burningrock

Kaulakri Ondohuroata

Pashananath

Anarac Fifth-Blood

Who’s the most unhinged?

Unhinged in terms of violence? Sepo for sure. Unhindered in terms of sheer chaos? I'm gonna go with Izjik and Djek as a duo. Between both of their high charismas and low intelligences, along with their combined expertise in fighting and creative uses of magic, they're unbeatable.

Who comes the most naturally for you to write?

Probably Izjik. I've been writing in her POV for the longest.

Do you ever cringe at them?

Sometimes yeah, when they do something real stupid. But, then again, I did make them that way.

How much control do you feel you have over your characters?

I think I know my characters really well and base my plot around their motives, so there really isn't a huge need for control.

Do you enjoy people asking questions about your characters?

PLEASE!!! FEED ME ASKS! I'LL TAKE ANYTHING!

On Writeblr Engagement:

What makes you want to follow another Writeblr account?

Probably creativity. I've read a looooot of fantasy/sci-fi, so if you're doing something I've never seen before, I'll probably give you a follow.

What makes you decide against following?

Any kind of hateful rhetoric or someone who doesn't want 18+ interaction. Other than that, I think it's important to follow people who write different genres or have different methods than me.

Do you interact with non-mutuals often?

I wouldn't say so. I get a little shy doing that.

Do your mutuals’ characters occupy space in your noodle?

The characters of @kaylinalexanderbooks @mk-writes-stuff and @somethingclevermahogony all have a little place in my brain. Favorites from each include Robbie and Akash (not to be separated), Narul and Bop (love me a good living weapon/teddybear of a dude team-up), and Nellie and Stellaris (their earnest kindness makes my heart happy). If you haven't yet, you should go check out their stuff and see for yourself!

And with that, thanks for reading! Go out and have yourself a bitchin day <3

[kingwuko]

so, random writer question. how do you manage writing so many multi chapter fics at the same time? i feel like you update them all pretty frequently. any tips for writing multiple fics at once?

Hello anon! Wow!! I am really flattered that you sent me this! For one thing, thank you for saying it feels like I update all my fics pretty frequently! I sometimes feel like I'm not updating often enough, so hearing someone say that actually makes me feel good about the frequency I update.

As for the question, how do I manage it and if I have any tips, I will definitely try to share what has been working for me so far. It's long. I'm sorry 🤣

First of all, I really need to credit a different fic writer from a different fandom. @pikapeppa is a fanfic author that I really look up to in terms of her writing style, her update consistency, and for finishing multi chaptered longfics. When I was trying to steel myself for writing Secret, I sent her a asks and she gave helpful advice! She has writing tutorials if you want to check them out.

I also posed a similar question to her about juggling multiple fics at once, and she gave some really kind advice about not giving in to hustle culture and just writing what makes me excited instead of worrying about update frequency!

So, for me, these are the things that help me with juggling all these fics:

1. Taking care of my mental health

I have always love writing, but when I'm in a bad place mentally, it's not happening. I've come a long way and figured out what I needed. When my mental health is well managed, I find joy in writing which is crucial for me to, well, write!

2. Organization

Okay I feel like there might be a better word because I'm like, the least organized person in the world. But, what I really mean is, I keep all my fics separated and labeled in my Google drive. I have folders nested inside folders and do my best to label all my folders and docs. That way I can keep things together that I need for each fic, and I can easily open and reference anything I need.

For example:

This is mostly because I have different back stories and headcanons for each fic, so this helps me keep it all straight. It also makes it quick and easy to look stuff up. I have transcripts saved and an outline and an idea dump where I can look if I need help.

3. Deciding which fic to focus on

This is tricky because I feel like I'm still figuring this out myself. At first I was forcing myself to to rotate them in order, now (at the advice of @pikapeppa ) I write whichever fic I'm most excited about. This is working better for me. I need to shift my mindset when I work on a different fic, because my fics have different tones. If I force myself to shift mindsets, it's trickier. If I just do what I'm most excited about, it feels more natural to get into the right mindset and I write faster! That includes my one shots. Sometimes I'm not working on the next chapter. Sometimes a one shot has my attention.

Comments, asks, and discussions in my discord group actually influence what I'm excited about quite a bit! So if you notice it's been a while since I've updated something, and you comment on it, there's a good chance it'll give me that dopamine rush to naturally shift back to that fic haha.

I also don't reply to comments on the latest chapter until I've posted the next one. It's kind of a carrot on a stick for myself. If I make myself wait to reply til I post the next chapter, it's another incentive that helps me get excited!

4. Writing

I'm so sorry to say this. But in order to write fics, you have to. Well. Write. I know this is very upsetting for me to hear sometimes. 🤣

Theres tons of posts out there about how to write if you're struggling or you're stuck. I'm sure they have better advice than I do. But what works for me are the following things:

Outline, then write the chapters in order. Some people prefer to write out of order, to write the scenes they're excited first. But for me, writing in order gives me something to look forward to. It's easier to get through the less exciting but crucial scenes and chapters if I know I have a really fun scene right around the corner.

Write badly. My first drafts are pretty rough. There's lots of cringe. Terrible grammar. Incomprehensible sentences. Weird ideas that sounded good in my head but just do not work in writing. Sometimes I don't even know what I want to say, and I just throw some brackets in: [transition here]. For dialogue I'll write it in script form first before adding dialogue tags. Honestly once you get past the uncomfortableness of writing badly, it gets easy. It's word vomit. But guess what, no one has to see it but me!

Write whenever the mood strikes (as long as it's safe to do so). I figured out pretty quick that if I didn't jot ideas down when they hit me, they'll be gone later. If I waited to write until I had the perfect environment, I would never get any writing done (I have four kids and job, my environment is never perfect for writing 😅). This is why I write in Google docs. I can write on my computer (which I prefer) but I can also write ANYWHERE on my phone. I tend to do quite a bit of micro writing throughout the day. Between clients at work. Waiting in the school pickup line. Laying in bed before I fall asleep. Taking a walk (carefully and in a low/no car traffic path!) any moments throughout the day that I get a few minutes of peace and quiet. Just don't write when you're driving obviously 🤣

Edit when I am feeling good. All those brackets I throw in have to get resolved eventually. If I go through and edit when I'm feeling really good and focused, it's much easier. If I try to edit when I'm distracted or having a bad day, it's probably not gonna be great or I'll probably get stuck and struggle.

Use a beta reader. Okay. Listen. There are a million fics out there that aren't beta read. Obviously tons of writers do great without them. Not me. In addition to the fact that having a beta reader just makes my work more polished and understandable, it also gives me some external accountability. My beta reader, @badgermolebender, doesn't even really do anything extra to encourage me to write, it's just KNOWING that they're there, for some reason, helps me to write. And there are plenty of people out there who will beta read and also gently nudge you to write by checking in occasionally. 'hey how's the next chapter coming along? Need to bounce some ideas around? Let me know!' (psst if you want a beta reader for a Wuko fic, or any Lok fic, I'm available!!!! Even other fandoms if I know them!)

5. Be kind to myself.

Writing fanfic is a hobby. It's supposed to be enjoyable, for the most part! We can't hold ourselves to the same standards as people who write novels for a living. They have editors, they get paid for publishing, they have deadlines pushing them forward; and I'm sure other things I don't know about because I don't write novels for a living!!! We just have our fandom community and our free time. So we aren't going to be churning out novel length fics as quickly as R.L. Stine. You'll have gaps where life got in the way and a fic gets put on hold. It's fine. Just pick it back up when you can.

I have no idea if any of that is helpful, but that's my writing method these days. Look, I'm just a boring thirty-something trying to live my best life after neglecting myself in my twenties. I don't know what I'm doing, but I'm having fun!

[katerinaaqu]

Hello, anon here about Cleopatra. I didn't mean weird in general, I moved my US sentence in the wrong place. I wanted to say that for a movie happening in the US since the population is extremely heterogenous and in a city like California, New York. Most cities seem diverse, from what I've seen! But yeah, I wouldn't go to a German movie except half of them to be black and 1/3 to be Asian. I didn't mean it like that. Movies often are a reflection of their population after all.

I consume content from a lot of places! And I don't expect to see myself represented. I like to watch JP content for example, and I recently watched a Japanese movie and they were all Japanese and it felt absolutely normal. In Kdramas most people are Korean too.

I watched an anime called Vinland Saga made by Japanese people. And while Anime is very stylized in terms of features, the designs imho showed that they were from another culture. Just wanted to clear that up hehe ~~~~~

So when I said it's a US centric thing, I just feel like a lot of Americans just except the same heterogeneity in other cultures as well and it doesnt sit right with them. But I simply don't get it. I don't get why changing someone's skin color immediately make them so relatable. Why they can't just keep Cleopatra with features more similar to the information we got (coinage, origin, etc)?

I often see the argument color doesn't matter, they can change it (i dont agree especially for historical figures) and they are trying to be more diverse so people could relate to them. But I don't get it. If color doesn't matter, why change it anyway? And why would I need to see a Black Cleopatra with Afro to feel good about myself? And if it's so important why just not tell the stories of people from my culture?

It's getting long but I'm almost done hehe

I've had the same issue with Achilles being black and the arguments justifying it. Like I've read that whole Homer describes Achilles with blonde hair it is a rough translation. And that Greek colors terms are quite strange and don't map out well with ours, etc. Anf that a god is a god and could take any form.

Well, I don't know if I'm alone in this but I don't get the mental gymnastics.

I like your takes btw!!! Sorry for elaborating sm in another message. And I'm a bit shy ig that's why I stay anon. Bye!!

My dear Anon there is no need to panic and write so much I am not accusing anyone I am elaborating. Either way yes I agree. To use an area like a multi-cultural neighborhood in the US and immediately assume that all films regardless of their setting, time or place need to reflect that is just wrong, as you brilliantly said and yes I also believe it is more a US-centered idea (which though seems to spread in other parts of the world as well) and that happens because most high-grossing films and series are US produced. But even UK Productions seem to be trying to fit this recently, at least to my knowledge but yeah it is still, I believe a more US-centered idea.

The funny part is that they hurt their own narrative. Because right now the viewers are so tired of it that once they see diverse cast they don't always feel eager to see it out of fear that the diversity is just made up. And this is sad because genuinely good films are not given the attention they deserve. Or actors that are probably marvelous and do very good job, are doomed to be compared with the actual characters they ellegedly represent and not in a good way so many talented individuals also get dragged down for no reason

Oh yeah I really genuinely loooove it when people bring out excuses such as "there is no clear description of the character" as an excuse and again instead of making them then as what the ethnicity might as well have looked like they just add random stuff and oftentimes as you brilliantly say they do not care; Achilles was described having long, blonde hair (and yeah although the word "xanthos" aka "blonde" in general can be translated in various colors starting from blonde to auburn to light brown still what they gave us makes no sense). Not only did they randomly race-swappped Achilles they also casted a guy that had his hair shaven! Like they didn't even do the courtesy to add the long hair Achilles had in the Iliad (which WAS described and was of outmost importance too given how it was offered to the pyre of Patroclus)

I agree with you Anon. This mental gymnastics is so tiring especially since as I said are so terribly one-sided. Color doesn't matter when it comes to stories set in Europe but it is somehow of vital importance for Africa or Asia; accurate representation doesn't matter for Greek mythology because "they are just entertainment" while somehow it is a matter of life and death when depicting mythologies from other parts of the world because "we must be respectful"

So indeed which is it? And by the way I am with both sides here. OBVIOUSLY I don't want African or Indian or other traditions be swapped with anything. I want to see genuine transfers of myths and legends on big screen or on cartoons etc because all legends deserve it! Greek mythology included. Because myths are representatives of culture and history for every nation and ethnos.

Thank you so much for your takes Anon and yes I understand. Many people feel shy or worried epsecially on the internet and prefer anonymity.

[balkanradfem]

About your experience with that other woman, I'm sorry and that is heartbreaking. But, if that is of any consolation, I had similar. I used to have that personality type, typical slavic woman, I could not speak about myself, and was only giving and giving to others, and I was extra serious about relationships, wanting to make it as in legends, with greatest honesty. And I also would apologize forever, if someone was slightly unhappy with me or not responsive, I would forever think what did I say wrong, why did it change, they focused so much on me, and now not. I burned many times so that personality of mine naturally changed though pain haha but I still do not like it when someone pays too much attention on me either.

But, about that woman, I had similar friend. Whenever I approached her, to invite her somewhere, she would always be happy and very excitedly agree and be proactive. But then the day before meeting or on the day of meeting, she would write something akin to 'something came up, I can't' . And also would tell me the details of what came up, usually list of family issues or sickness, so I would instead of being frustrated, of course, empathic towards her, sorry for her, and write her words of support. Well that continued for some time, but I noticed a pattern after a while, and then asked her why is that happening. And got reply along the lines that she is absolutely fed up with me, cutting me out of her life forever, bc I bring only negativity and she's tired and wants to clean her life of me for fresh positive energy, all that guru stuff you know. Personally I think it was often backwards, I empathically listened to many of her scary family stories, but it's also true I was then massive walking trauma after abuse. But I was never figure out, why, if she disliked me, she never said 'no, i dont want to go' or gone though that mysterious ritual of wasting my time. I put it on some of her unability to say no, masking due to trauma or similar, but I was still quite hurt by that. And that last time was the only time she ever showed me anything that was not excitement and support, so I gained many trust issues that someone might act that way and it would be all fake and she secretely hates me, bc from her last email it seemed like she hated me whole time. And I always felt that something is wrong, but she always had excuses that lulled my feeling of wrong. So currently I also feel that she wasted my time majorly. I had some few similar experience where other woman just kept feeling me few kind words or few promises, just like men do, to keep me foggy enough and to keep up my hopes enough that , despite never getting reciprocation to resources I invest, I would still keep investing. And then the cutting me out always was sudden, sometimes with raging email like that, sometimes with just sudden cutting off without any explation, sometimes with mutual friends whispering reasons. I have no idea why women do that, I feel that if you have any respect for other woman, you do not do that. I had experiences where I was cutting off others from my life, or explaining we can't connect or talk, but I always explain it clearly as I can (unless they scare me) and without ranting in something that would hurt them, and I do not accept anything from other person in such case either.

So, if that is any consolation, here is my story. since my habit is just giving others similar stories of mine, to show that is it common social issue, or in hopes it gives insights from similar type of experience. personal is political and all that.

Yes I can see the exact same pattern in your story, you are so right about this! It's not that mysterious.

She first created fake expectations 'I will go with you to an event and we'll have a great time', so you'd have something to look forward to together with her, and then when she'd fail you, she looked for empathy from you. I think a big part of why she was your friend was this exact empathy, and cancelling the event gave her a convenient excuse to go on and on about the stuff that was bothering her, so it didn't feel like she was 'unloading all that on you for no reason', she 'needed to explain to you why she failed your expectations'.

The pattern was working perfectly for her while she had your attention, empathy, and eagerness to invite her, enabling her to go on with this, but once you caught on, she realized she could no longer do it, and the scam was ruined. It's insidious how some people can do that, I do not understand, and her behaviour is gross to me.

There's an alternative route of being someone's friend, offering and giving empathy naturally, sharing your struggles without some weird fake expectations or excuse for failing them, this is just such dishonest and weird behaviour. I'm so sorry anon that you were put trough this, and good on you for noticing and pointing it out! I believe those people don't want to be accountable for anything they do, so when you even point it out, they just lash out in rage and try to hurt you as much as possible so you'd never call them out again, or just completely cut you off, when you've done nothing wrong, only caught onto them.

I'm sorry also that you had that slavic woman experience, I didn't know it was a common one! I thought I talked about myself a lot since I have a whole blog where I share my little stories and adventures, but I guess in private with people I'm much more reserved and assume that nobody wants to know all that hahaha. So sad our personalities have to change just for self preservation, I do believe there's nothing inherently wrong with us, we are just too conscious of everyone's needs and people exploit it.

[sometimes-love-is-enough]

weird question, but- if you were to do a series of unfortunate events au with sanders sides, how would you place characters into different roles? i was just curious since you mentioned in the jantigone annotations that you read lemony snicket (LOVED lemony snicket, childhood memories right there lol) and i was suddenly struck with a stark vision of snicket!janus narrating the ordeals of his dead ex-lover thomas's children and i wanted to know what ideas you might have ^^

What a brilliant question. If I ever wrote an ASOUE crossover, it would mostly likely be canonverse, because that’s the way my brain likes to go with these sort of things! I think c!Thomas would be quite awful at looking after a trio of orphaned children, and possibly even worse at seeing through a Count Olaf disguise, and I think even more fun would be had with setting the whole thing partly at a local theatre. Obviously playing a bit fast and loose with the way the Sides can interact with real people, but don’t I always?

Most things I write, and especially crossovers/fusions, are challenges to myself; i.e., me asking myself, can I write this certain strange thing and make it make sense? And in the case of a lot of the crossovers, the challenge and the fun is taking two different canons, often with different styles and sense of humor, and fusing them together smoothly. And in this case, the most fun bit about a ASOUE/TSS crossover for me would be performing that reconciliation of tone and style smoothly - and I think I could manage that best with canonverse. (If you've ever wondered why I write so many canon fusions, here's your answer.)

BUT if I were to take a route closer to the one you’re probably suggesting here, Janus as the Lemony narrator would indeed be very fun… but I think I’d probably actually lean more to LOGAN as the narrator character, and have Janus be an active VFD member (with the disguises and such). Not sure who is cast as the kids, I swore I’d never write another kidfic after the Matilda AU but I’m bad at keeping promises. I think maybe Remus and Roman as a twin duo would be funky, and if I’m doing that I might genuinely leave it as just the two of them, with the other Sides coming in and out of the narrative as required.

I think I’ve mentioned before that I don’t find straight-up role-replacement AUs terribly interesting to write for the most part; it’s much more fun to try to work out where the canon characters would fit into the universe as they are without trying to fit them into preordained boxes. In this case, I figure Virgil, Patton, Janus, and Thomas (maybe Emile too, why not?) would be Potential Guardians for the twins in this case, all with their own specific problems and Snicketesque Situations to deal with. No idea who the Olaf character would be. The Dragon Witch is always a good standby, I guess? Or maybe Remy? If I wrote this properly I'd put tons of thought into it, this is just me throwing things at the wall.

...That being said, fuckin LOVE Thomas as Janus's Beatrice. If anyone less inclined to weird esoteric crossover stuff than I am ever writes that, please let me know, I'd eat it all the way up.

[child0feden]

THE RIVER RUNS RED

conrad “ cronos ” lant x reader

- general period comfort headcanons for cronos!

this is kind of shorter than most of my other stuff but i am basically writing this for myself right now, i am in need of some comfort so i figured i would write for my favouriteee little fellow british person hehe <3

- view my metal masterlists here and here

reading music recommendations: welcome to hell by venom - hollywood main theme by rik schaffer

- to be honest, i can kind of see conrad making a lot of sort of childish little jokes when it comes to your being on your period around him

✩ at first you probably do not mind all too much but you definitely do get just a little bit bored of them after about two days of hearing them…

- and once conrad sees just how bad periods really are for you and your mood, he quits the shit pretty damn quickly and wisens up within seconds

✩ conrad is probably not too great at comforting you but he definitely tries his absolute best for you

- he will often tell you that actually, you are pretty damn awesome for being able to like, shed your insides and how he thinks it is insanely cool that you bleed so heavily for seven days and do not just drop dead

✩ yeah, definitely not always the best at offering his comfort to you but he really tries…

- but conrad is definitely much better at physical comfort than he is verbal comfort!

✩ oh you want to just cuddle up in your shared bed because you have some horrible cramps? well absolutely, he will jump at the chance to big spoon you and trace small pentagrams on the heated skin of your stomach

- conrad really will stay in bed with you all day if you want to! he will cancel any and all plans he might have for the day, telling his friends that something more important just came up and that he has to stay home for the day

✩ if you want a hot drink or a hot water bottle made, he will place a lingering kiss on your head before climbing out of bed and going to make it for you

“ y’want a hot chocolate, honey? or maybe some tea? ‘kay, i’ll go make you one, be back in a bit ” ( i just know he makes a killer tea, and a great hot chocolate! he probably puts whipped cream and marshmallows on top of the hot chocolate, he really loves spoiling his lady )

- i can see conrad having quite a major sweet tooth so if you ever crave some sweets or chocolate, he is on it in a flash and buying you way more candy than you really need

✩ he ends up eating almost all of them himself, shovelling huge handfuls of small sweets into his mouth as you laugh at the sight of him struggling to chew, he will shoot you a sly wink and smirk as he attempts to swallow them all

- conrad is absolutely the type of guy to ask what size pussy you have when you ask him to go out and buy you some more pads…

✩ he is also extremely confused when you tell him to get you the ones with wings! but he does not mention that, he just nods his head with squinted eyes, silently trying to decide if you are messing around with him or not

- and once again, he comes back from the closest store with way too many packets of pads, all different types too…

✩ like, he bought enough to last you nearly a whole long year, claiming he just did not really know how many you would need and such

- if you ever bleed through your pants in public, conrad is very gentle with you and does not make a huge fuss at all, he absolutely does not want to draw attention to you or embarrass you about something so small and natural

✩ he will just come up from behind you and sneakily tie his leather jacket around your waist, softly whispering in your ear why he is doing it so that you do not take it off without knowing

“ you’ve got some blood on your pants, honey… ‘s okay, it’s covered, wasn’t too much ” ( for once, you are so beyond thankful that he was ogling your ass in your jeans and noticed the blossoming crimson stain )

- and if you get some pretty bad leg cramps when out and about in public, he will gladly give you a little piggy back ride home! no matter your weight nor your height, giving you a piggy back ride is nothing for him

✩ he probably tries to carry you bridal style at first but realises very quickly he is not actually as strong as he thinks he is and it is just not super comfy for you at all

- conrad keeps a whole fresh pack of painkillers on him at all times for you, everywhere and anywhere you guys ever go together he will always have a brand new pack of them kept in the pocket of his leather jacket

✩ they have come in handy many times before and he is always so stupidly smug about it, telling you all about how he is just so smart and so thoughtful before you shove his shoulder and laugh along with him

- another thing conrad is actually really good at doing for you when you are on your period is running you baths!

✩ if you mention to him that you feel kind of gross and sticky and really just want to bathe, he will tell you to sit back and relax whilst he goes to prepare a nice bath for you

- and conrad goes all out, lighting cute little scented tea lights around the small bathroom, pouring in way too much bubble bath, laying out the nicest and softest towels on the radiator so that they are warm for you when you get out…

✩ he definitely sits by your side when you are in the bath too, unless you do not want him to! he will just sit on the closed toilet lid and smoke a cigarette or read a magazine whilst chatting with you, even coming over to wash your hair for you if you want him to

- i can see conrad having no problem with letting you wear his boxers around the apartment! sometimes everything else is just too uncomfortable but you do not want to walk around the apartment in just panties so he will always offer up his boxer briefs

✩ they are pretty big and comfortably oversized on you, they make for perfect period clothes

- and if you get a little horny on your period? well, he will just be all over that… he has absolutely no problem getting a little messy but i will not go into that right now <3

[gwenyn28]

Scriptwriting 101

Since there are a few people who really seem to think that a tv show is “just” a tv show I had the urge to explain a few things, especially concerning the writing process and what is seen on the screen.

I am not a screen-/scriptwriter myself but it is quite easy to dig into the world of writing and find the important points when it comes to tv shows and/or media in general.

Therefore, I decided to sum this all up in one post you can pull up whenever somebody tells you that “the curtain is just blue because it’s blue”.

First of all, the writers are writing for the screen. If you write a line about an internal monologue or thought you have to think about what it would look like on screen. Why? Well, that’s quite simple. Because the viewer isn’t able to look into the character’s head to see his thoughts. Therefore, you have to show it. To visualize it, using different narrative devices to do so.

If a character thinks “I don’t like him” but doesn’t want anybody to know, how would you portray this on screen? Maybe with a disgusted face. Maybe with a disgruntled noise. Maybe with a quip. You have to show the viewers this thought. this dislike. Otherwise, you won’t be able to get the message across.

Therefore, one of the most important rules for screenwriting is “Show, don’t tell”.

Usually, you don’t have a narrator who explains everything a character does. Ideally, the audience should be able to pick up on the context from the dialog and action.

For example: It’s not needed to be said that a character grew up as a person. It can be shown in a montage of his past. Or with a well-placed sentence to show this growth.

By experiencing a show, the only kind of information the audience absorbs is what can be seen and heard on screen. And that’s it.

Now people could say “yeah, isn’t this about the curtain then? If it is shown blue, then it is blue, right?”

Well, no. Yes, the curtain is blue. And that is what the audience can see. But the bigger point is to question WHY is the curtain blue. Okay, not everything is really that thought through, at least not the color of a random curtain. But other things might have a deeper meaning and subtext because the writers could not convey their idea/story otherwise.

They have to show some things so that the audience can figure it out what they wanted to tell with what they have shown.

Be it with words that are said or actions like giving a certain character a scene where they act like another character to show how similar they are.

And there comes the next big point. The “Show, don’t tell” rule is very often in correlation with the limited time the writers have for their story/episode. Usually, on tv you have a limited number of minutes for each and every episode. So, every second counts.

If you decide to write a certain part and to keep it in the episode, it has to be important. To show something without explicitly telling it.

So, some scenes might seem random and not important. But believe me, they usually are. Why would you keep something that blocks a time slot in your episode if it was not important for the plot, character growth or characterization in general?

Imagine. You want to write an episode of a show. And you have a general idea about the topic for this episode. You start to line it out, work around it, put life into it. And in the end, you notice that you have written a lot more than what would fit into the episode. What would you cut off? Right. Stuff that does not help the general storyline or the characters.

For example: You have written about a beautiful sunset. The birds are chirping, there’s a slight breeze. You can see a car passing by a park. What would you do? Keep it or cut it off?

Keep it if it is needed to show one of your characters walking around that park to pan in on him with the camera to set the tone for the next scene.

Cut if off if it is just a filler and in no relation with any story or character.

Many scenes are therefore intentional to show with actions or dialog what the writer wanted to convey in that scene. A tv show hasn’t the advantage like a book where every thought, every emotion can be described in detail. It is limited and has to use other methods to keep a storyline up and working.

Coming back to the aforementioned narrative devices. These are writing techniques used in writing in general, not only in media. They are important everywhere.

But let’s look at them from a tv show perspective. I have already explained why it is important to show stuff, mostly using dialog and visuals, so that the audience gets it and the possible subtext/context. Let’s look at how a writer would do it.

Foreshadowing:

This is a way to provide hints on what will happen in a later episode. You could show for example that somebody waits for a call, not being able to reach another person just to find out that said person wasn’t available due to an accident that will be shown at the end of an episode. The audience will then realize “Wow, that makes sense. Because the person couldn’t be reached before.”

Language:

It is always important what kind of language you use. Which words are said and which aren’t, mostly in combination what kind of tone they use. Calling somebody by their dead name and/or mispronouncing them get the point across that this person is a transphobe, for example. There’s no need to tell the viewer that this person is an asshole anymore because the audience already knows. So, the words that are used and how they are used is a vital point for the “show, don’t tell” because it can give a clue about the character or the situation they are in.

Plot devices:

It’s a technique used to move the plot forward. Plot devices can be objects or characters to show a certain character trait or support a storyline. For example, if you have a show and all of a sudden somebody from the past appears, a long-lost sibling maybe, it could be to show the difficult family situation. That sibling might be not important in the long run and could be gone a few episodes later. But it started another storyline and gave some insight to one of the main characters. Or the audience finds out that one of the characters has a relative with mental health issues who just appears in one episode which could be just to explain why a main character acted the way they did when faced with mental health issues in their current situation.

These are just a few storytelling tools that are often used in writing. And they all circle back to the “show, don’t tell” rule. Because if you look at each one of them and the examples I gave? Imagine how the situations would be without showing what I just described.

Would there be the “gasp” moment when you find out about the car accident without these little scenes before or would it be just “oh, car accident, whatever”?

Would it be believable if you have somebody call out another person as a transphobe without words used to show that the person really is?

Would it be understandable to start a new storyline without the long-lost sibling who started it?

No, usually, it wouldn���t.

Now, people could ask again about the “show, don’t tell”. Because why use these narrative devices when the rule is just to show stuff? Easy as that. Because otherwise a story would be boring.

It’s quite essential for a writer to put some tension into a story, to create a plot that hooks the audience (these are narrative devices as well, by the way). So, yeah. Show stuff. But make it exciting. Otherwise, nobody would tune in for the next episode.

This leads me to the next and probably last point.

Tuning in again. You might tune in again because a story is exciting. Yes. That’s one reason. Another one is or at least could be that the audience can relate to the characters. Writers usually give characters certain traits or flaws that the audience would get the feeling that this could be them. And that these characters might be fictional but still human somehow.

Characters don’t need to be perfect. They need to be relatable.

Connecting this with the main rule means that a character and his actions are just shown to give the audience a better feeling for them and who they are. So that they can relate. It’s usually important because if something happens off screen, the understanding might not be there. The audience needs to see things to understand what and why it happened. For example, a break-up offscreen always leaves the question about how and why they really broke up and that could dampen further scenes.

So, in conclusion. If something isn’t on screen it leaves the audience without something to relate to. Some might say that it probably wasn’t something important then and yes, I would agree. But there is also the possibility that something is left off screen on purpose to make the audience wary of a situation of a character because they haven’t seen things with their own eyes.

To sum this all up then:

A tv show doesn’t do stuff just because they can. The writing is intentional because they have limited means to convey their story to keep it exciting and relatable. Otherwise, the audience wouldn’t continue to watch. So, maybe the next time you talk to somebody about a show, think about the possibility that there has been some subtext to it. And not just that the curtain is blue.