#I’m also reading the vampire hunter d novels

[makerpreserveus]

I did finish all four volumes of svsss and I loved it and I’m kinda sad it wasn’t longer.

[open-hearth-rpg]

Ludography: Great RPG Mechanics #RPGMechanics: Week Nine

Continuing on with this week of meta-elements, I want to talk about ttrpgs and history. In the 21st Century, Old School Renaissance games would focus on the "Appendix N." As Dungeon Crawl Classics tells it, “Appendix N is the list of books that inspired Gary Gygax to create D&D. This bibliography first appeared as an appendix in the AD&D Dungeon Master’s Guide—specifically, Appendix N—which is why the list is known by that name...The books in Appendix N are a who’s-who of classic fantasy, sci-fi, and sword-and-sorcery fiction.” See this Goodman Games page here.  

That’s a useful read for non-game sources. These dtories show where Gygax got the inspiration which helped him reshape the material he and Arneson had developed. If you want to bore down to the absolute specifics, Jon Peterson’s Playing at the World, hunts down many of the specific fictional sources and how they impacted design choices and art. 

Peterson’s work is a real ludography, pulling together the various game design streams existing at the time and showing how they provided a foundation for what would become role-playing games. He analyzes the importance of Kriegspiel, play-by-post Diplomacy, and more to the community which would eventually arise. Is it useful for playing D&D (and its descendants)? Probably not unless you’re fetishizing originalism in ttrpg play.  

But when I’m looking through a game, I appreciate when the designer spends time talking about their game sources. A bibliography is great– telling me the movies, comics, and novels which inspired the game helps. It helps center me on what the designer feels is the tone and genre we’re going to be engaging in. I can read the rules through the lens of those tropes– and I can often find something new to read. Sometimes it will tell me that a game isn’t really for me– or that the expectation set by the blurb isn’t quite what the game actually aims for. 

But a ludography, a list of games (ttrpg and otherwise), is also really interesting to me. By this point there’s a huge body of work out there– some of it completely vanished. I appreciate these kinds of lists for three reasons. First, seeing what kinds of games the designer feels have operated in similar spaces. A game which cites Monster of the Week and Buffy: The Roleplaying Game, but not Hunter the Reckoning tells me something about the expected play.   

Second, it can offer an acknowledgment of other games. If your rpg is about vampiric lives, power-plays, and coteries, ignoring the legacy of Vampire & World of Darkness feels a little disingenuous and a 1990s/2000s. By that I mean the host of copycat games where designers would deny any inspiration or influence from earlier rpgs. It was weird but I remember it happening more times than I would have expected. I also like this citation better than bashing other games (something we see less of these days in blurb text). 

Third, it can give me a sense of the mechanical evolution of your game. It shows what kinds of systems it might draw on or the designer might have seen. That’s particularly useful for games building on a core system like Powered by the Apocalypse or Forged in the Dark. That can offer some context for the system choices. The “Gratitude” page at the back of Apocalypse Keys does a dynamite job of this. Though I can’t find it right now, Marshall Miller for a long time was doing meta-work with this– asking PbtA designers about their sources and inspirations. The +1 Forward Podcast also made this a cornerstone of their work. 

But there’s another kind of tangential ludography I want to talk about, more important to me than these earlier forms. The “what’s different?” entry in ttrpg books. If I’m reading a second, revised, accelerated, or whatever version of a game: tell me what has changed. Reference the earlier game and talk about the design choices you’ve made. If it is just about adding in lore or expanding the timeline, that’s fine. But tell me so I’m not hunting through for the mechanical differences. Clearly the designer and/or publisher had some reasons for needing a new edition. They should be proud of those– and make clear how substantial they are. And if it is just a 1.5 with some errata corrections, they should be willing to say that. Buyers shouldn't feel like they’ve been tricked. Honestly when I see a new edition or version, this is the first thing I look for. 

The other version of “what’s different?” comes from games working with an established system or OGL. If you are writing a PbtA or FitD game, it's super helpful to me as a reader if you tell me how your version of the system varies from the “core” or at least the typical version. This doesn’t have to be exhaustive, but I think it is important. If your game doesn’t have stats, does away with stress, inverts the rolling, etc. If I’m coming in with some system expectations from having played these kinds of games before, what should I be looking out for? I put two pages talking about this early on in Hearts of Wulin. Again, it is something I look for when I’m checking out new games. 

(h/t to Evan Torner who has talked about the importance of ludographies before).

[winterwedded]

Get to know me!

tagged by @designers-reflection, thank you!

•°•°•

last song: opening title (for barbie as rapunzel) by arnie roth. my new barbie doll arrived + what else were you expecting. 

•°•°•

currently reading: pilgrims, heretics and lovers by claude marks (1975) + mysteries of the middle ages - the rise of feminism, science, and art from the cults of catholic europe by thomas cahill (2006) - not just because i’m curious about the topics but also for inspiration for my original characters ha ha ha. ha i also bought the first volume of the vampire hunter d light novel but i haven’t started yet 

•°•°•

currently watching: i’ve been trying to. get into mobile suit gundam 00 (2007) but i haven’t finished trinity blood (2005) for the dumb reason of me not wanting to feel sad once i’m done with it. planning on watching castlevania nocturne though!!! 

•°•°•

current obsession: not as much into xiv as i was before but i still think of my ocs from there very often as it helps to have friends & moots alike to talk to about them & their own. still recovering from xvi (looking @ u dion & sleipnir) & in & out of developing my oc serafina of feendrache for granblue fantasy (@ siegfried). also now that i’m salaried i got into collecting barbies that i’ve always wanted but never got when they were being sold when i was little as well as ones that i found now as a grown egg! 

•°•°•

tagging: @soulsow, @boggedfrog, @theworldwalkersdiaries, @necroticpetals, @clericalsidhe, @arcvth, @vertegris, & anyone else who encounters this!! have fun!! 

[sweetmotherof]

Haikyuu Fics: The Classics™️

EDIT: pt 2!!

I wanted to make a post to archive what I would call “The Classics” as far as Haikyuu fanfic on ao3 goes. For anyone new to the daunting world of Haikyuu fanfiction, these works are probably the most popular, talked-about works throughout the fandom, so they are a good place to start! I haven’t read some of these, but the reason I included them is that I’ve seen so much hype around them. Comment the ones I missed, and I’m definitely going to be doing a part 2. Enjoy <3 :D

*contains nsfw fics* READ TAGS BEFORE U READ

⭑=my faves

BOKUAKA

Rules by ConesOfDunshire⭑

E, 120 k words

Accountant Akaashi. Pianist Bokuto. WHAT MORE COULD YOU WANT??? This fic is seriously novel-worthy, and Bokuto having Asperger’s is a beautiful component to the story. I found that the characterization and the attention to detail the author put into the story is what made it a truly distinguishable and unique fic that allowed it to rise to the top. It is worth every kudos, comment, bookmark, and more. Highly recommend.

Behind Bricks by DeathBelle⭑

E, 60 k words, cw: prostitution, choking, and heavy content so READ THE TAGS

This darker fic follows Akaashi as he deals with his life as a prostitute, and how Bokuto comes in and is able to change it for the better. I feel sometimes that heavy topics such as the trauma from sex work are really misrepresenting in fanfiction, but the author does a great job of portraying it in a real way and not romanticizing it at all. I loved to watch love bloom for Akaashi in the cracks of his tumultuous life, because he deserves everything <333

In Another Life by LittleLuxray⭑

T, 22 k words, cw: terminal illness, hospitals, major character death

As the highest-rated Haikyuu fanfic on ao3, this work is a monument and will go down in Haikyuu history. That being said, it honestly did such a number on me that I think it deserves the hype. This hospital au revolving around Akaashi and Bokuto’s budding relationship is truly heartbreaking, to say the least. Read it at your own risk, and oh, you can find references to it under almost any Bokuaka related post.

IWAOI

Conquering the Great King by SuggestiveScribe

105 k words, E

This rollercoaster of a fic, set in a universe where Oikawa and Iwaizumi meet in a bar, is funny, profound, and awe-inspiring all in one. The relationship dynamic between the two is very cute and well-done. I highly recommend this one if you are a sucker for some good, old Iwaoi, and I also love the side pairings. Just, overall, a really nice and satisfying read.

the courtship ritual of the hercules beetle by kittebasu(chanyeol)

T, 66.3k words, cw: injury, homophobia

This fic is a favorite on tik tok, from what I’ve observed. I haven’t read it yet, but when people discuss it, they always commend the writing and the non-linear narrative. I have personally not read this one yet, but I have seen people rave about this one because of the emotional impact it had on them. It seems to me that the writing and emotions on this one are its claims to fame, so definitely check it out.

Desperado by Verbrennung

M, 82k words

Talk about raved about fics, I have seen this one mentioned countless times on various platforms. This Iwaoi fic is set in a Vegas/Japan fusion setting, which immediately caught my eye. The premise of a heist fic also is probably what caught people's attention the most, because what is better than an Iwaoi heist fic (nothing. nothing is better.) I recommend this if you want a bit of a longer fic that had a tumultuous plot and a wild romance.

SAKUATSU

Burden of Blame by DeathBelle⭑

E, 91k words, cw: graphic violence, guns, ptsd, panic attacks, murder, death, injury and more so READ TAGS

Burden of Blame is THE mafia au fic of the Haikyuu ao3 universe. I love this fic soooo much. From it’s wild plot to the flawless writing, I was constantly on my feet. I definitely recommend if you want something that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Also, the enemies to lovers is CHEFS FUCKING KISS.

A Liar’s Truth by internetpistol⭑

E, 49.6k words, cw: HOMOPHOBIA!! read tags pls

Oh. My. God. I simply cannot with this fic. It turned me inside out, upside down, and threw me into the void. Please, if you have one singular brain cell, you will read this fic. This narrative about Sakusa’s life and his relationship with his sexuality is a masterpiece. I cannot recommend this one enough. You do not want to miss out on this genuine piece of art. 

Stick With You by lettersinpetals

E, 99k words

This fic follows Sakusa and Atsumu as they get stuck in the Philippines over quarantine. Honestly, if you want an enemies to lovers that really goes in depth into the trope, this is the one for you. One of my favorite things about this fic is the inclusion of the Filipino language, and I found myself reading all of the translations at the end. I would recommend this if you want a longer, feel good Sakuatsu fic. Also, lettersinpetals is a Sakuatsu classic author.

the Terminal Curiosity series by favspacetwink and moonlumie

E, total 112k words, not finished, 8 works, READ TAGS

This fic is probably the notorious BDSM fic, which I’m glad because it portrays it in a very consensual and safe way. I’m personally not into that stuff, but I still was able to enjoy it for the plot and the amazing writing. I definitely recommend it if you are looking for something with BDSM components with some focus on their relationship dynamics too. I actually did really enjoy this fic, and I think the way their relationship kind of progressed backward was really, really good. Even if BDSM isn’t your cup of tea, I still recommend checking this one out and reading the tags to see if it is something you’re willing to give a chance too, because, for me, it paid off.  

KUROKEN

the galaxy is endless (i thought we were, too) by cosmogony

T, 30.9k words, cw: illness, DEATH

I have yet to read this fic. I am genuinely too afraid. Similarly to In Another Life, I constantly see people discussing to the degree in which this fic destroyed them, and honestly after In Another Life, I don’t think I could handle another one. This soulmates au has crushed so many people throughout the fandom that if you want someone to give you more detail on why it’s the saddest thing ever, you probably wouldn’t have to look very far.

Of Monsters and Men by shions_heart

M, 220k words, cw: violence, temporary character death

This longer fic follows Kuroo, Kenma, and many others through a demon hunter/buffy the vampire-style universe, with magic, drama, and much more. If you are looking for a fantasy, action-packed, beautifully written fic, this is definitely one you should check out. The romance and action combination will always be chefs kiss, superb. 

[metaldragoon]

Tried thinking of my favourite things of the year, not necessarily from this year but I played/watched/whatever’d them this year. Video Game: Red Dead Redemption 2, just kinda unparalleled, one of the greatest games I’ve ever played.  For some other runner-ups, Elden Ring was obviously really good but I never beat it and the 2 people I played with one guy like jacks off to bloodborne nightly and was always way higher leveled so just kinda steam-rolling everything and my other friend lives in like the arctic circle so is still working on dial up and was always DC’ing.  Still want to beat it, but FromSoft’s games haven’t really ever hit for me even though they should.  There was also an indie project of Bloodborne, Bloodborne PSX that I really liked but it sucked to GIF.  My actual 2nd spot would go to AI: The Somnium Files, really good visual novel and lovable characters.  Haven’t beat the sequel that came out this year but didn’t seem as good. Movie: I think Everything Everywhere, All At Once was the only movie from this year that I actually saw.  I did really like it, it’s probably #2 because I can’t think of what else I saw that was new and good.  #1 would be The Gentlemen from 2019 though, it was really funny and I loved the pacing the whole way through.  I’ve never watched any Guy Ritchie movies because my friends are always like eh, but this really inspired me to do so, although I have actually not remember such inspiration until now when I was trying to recall everything I did this year. Anime: Don’t think I tried too much this year, I’d probably pick Spy x Family.  Is it good? I don’t know if I even go that far but it’s funny and cute and I’m willing to accept that.  I still have one episode of Chainsaw Man to go but I don’t think the final episode is gonna displace the Forgers.  I also saw Vampire Hunter D which was very good but same issue with Angel’s Egg I feel like I need more light-heartedness going on Music: For an album, no brainer that’s Zeit by Rammstein for me.  My favourite band and I haven’t liked their two previous albums as a whole though obv they still put out some good songs, but Zeit was fantastic and I’ve definitely played it over 100 times.  For new artists, I was very lazily attempting to try and focus on listening to super mainstream music this year because there’s a lot I don’t listen to, so it’s kind of embarrassing to be like “here’s the new up-and-comers I like” because the big three I can think of are Ed Sheeran, Taylor Swift, and Post Malone.  Sheeran #1 and probably Post Malone #2, Taylor Swift has a lot of bad songs but I do like a surprising amount of her songs.  My carefully curated playlist was ruined though because Winamp had some database error and I had to delete everything, so it’ll be back to listening more niche bands next year. That’s about the extent of things I like that can be ranked subjectively.  Zion Williamson is my favourite basketball player right now if anyone cares.  I didn’t read any manga except Berserk but I’m planning on reading some more next year so maybe that can be another category for the 2023 metaldragoon award show, but probably not.  Hopefully I have some constitution and this will be my last post of the year, so widdat out of the way happy new years folks.  My objective for next year is to run 2023 KM and I do think I will be obnoxious and share my progress every run I go for.

[zdusk]

how long has it been since ive made my own text post haha

tagged by @burgiethewriter (thank u my love)

Favorite Color: red. red and black. y’know, classic edgy stuff

Last Song: tawagoto speaker - nekobolo (the english version) (and before that i had a brief obsession with heat haze shadow parts 1 and 2)

Currently Reading: I’m not really reading anything at the moment. last thing I read cover to cover was a book on raising puppies in prep for my son that I acquired in january- I do have the first vampire hunter d novel that I’ve been meaning to start for AGES, though, so I should really get on that

Last Movie: wolfwalkers. what can I say, it’s a comfort movie. I could watch it over and over and never get bored (and also I cry at it every time I watch it)

Sweet, spicy, or savory: sweet! I have a massive sweet tooth so like. bake for me and I’ll love you forever

Currently working on: been watching yugioh 5d’s with the girlies lately so I have a bit of a sketch page going on for that, and savage raiding on xiv. we can’t kill that stupid water horse!!!!!!!!! (but thats just due to a few unfortunate weeks in a row :( )

tbh I don’t know who to tag for these things, I never do- so, you who is reading this right now this second: consider yourself tagged. if you fill this out feel free to tag me as the person who tagged you! (the lazy way out, I know I know)

[subarublue]

Tag Nine People You Want to Get to Know Better!

Thanks for the tag @princesssakurasylveon! I love tag games!

Favorite Color: world rally blue (just check my url lol)

Currently Reading: Guardian of the Darkness, 2nd novel of the Moribito (Guardian) novel series.

Last Song: Moonlight Shadow by Missing Heart?? I don’t know if that’s the correct artist. Youtube says so, but it’s from a Dance Dance Revolution game so I don’t know if Youtube is right or not. I first heard it in an AMV for Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust that was made by a highschool friend of mine. He wasn’t sure of who the artist was either. The AMV is super good so if you want to check it out on youtube, it’s HERE.

Last Movie: Sword of the Stranger. Anime samurai film. Probably my favorite anime film ever. (I LOVE TOBIMARU! That dog is badass!) I guess there’s a theme here of me liking shows/movies where kids get adopted/taken care of by the main character :0

Last Series: Uh. Still Seirei no Moribito/Guardian of the Spirit. Haven’t watched anything new since.

Currently Craving: Coffee. Luckily I have some.

Tea or Coffee: Coffee! Obviously lol. Though I do like tea too, as long as it’s hot tea. I don’t like sweet tea, even though I’m southern :P

Currently Working On: A Moribito high school au for a flash fanfic challenge on my Moribito discord server. I’ve only got 4 sentences so far, but it’s a start. Also starting on a sketch of the character Tanda (also from Moribito) with his hair down, siNCE HE NEVER LETS HIS HAIR DOWN THE ENTIRE 26 EPISODES!!!

I don’t think I got nine people but here goes: @roofgeese @bumblingbee1 @the-black-dragon-clan @sk-mumu @likelyrowdy @mooshs-crack-headcanons and anyone else who’d like to. No pressure of course! Just if you want to!

[chromalogue]

Alive.  Healthy.  Chugging along.  Still rubbish at communicating.  

*

I spent the holiday season making approximately 20 different kinds of cookies.  It was supposed to be more but I ran out of time and spoons.  Some of them, like salted double chocolate cookies and plum slice (which turned out to be a. crabapple slice and b. wildly popular to the point where I didn’t get any) were very successful, and some, like rye flour wreaths and poppyseed sablés, were a bewildering waste of time.  But I do have nice pictures of everything.  And way too late for me to make anything to order, a couple of people got in touch asking for baking and goodies, and it was nice to have something to give them.

*

Highlights from last year’s books include Jordan Ifueko’s Raybearer, Aminatta Forna’s Happiness, and Sarah Perry’s The Essex Serpent.  

Right now, among other things, I am reading and very much enjoying Paul Féval’s 1867 novel La Ville-Vampire.  It is Ann Radcliffe RPF with all sorts of wry observations about the exotic and ever-so-slightly-wrongheaded character of the English people (you know, the way English gothic novels wrote about the rest of Europe), and it is a delight.

*

A few months into the pandemic, I got in touch with one of my best friends from Toronto, because she really needed to watch The Witcher.  Since then, we get together on a phone call every Thursday or Friday and watch stuff.  I turn off sound and put on subtitles, and hear her audio through the phone, so if it’s not perfectly synced it’s okay.  We’ve also been through She-Ra, Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, The Dragon Prince, Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency, Adventure Zone: Hootenanny, a surprisingly good high school production of Phantom of the Opera, and we’re just starting Raising Dion.  

Will and I loved the heck out of Lupin.  

And the Roku Channel has Hunter, which I loved as a tween.  I’ve been watching it for the nostalgia and because it’s a kind of show I don’t even think they make anymore, i.e. a show I can have on while doing something else and not worry about what I’m missing.  But JEEZ.  Every terrible (both narratively and morally) cop show trope you see being mocked, picked apart, critiqued, or lampooned?  It’s here, and it’s so darned earnest, and it explains so darned much.  Poke it a little and Reaganomics dribbles out (trickles down?).

Some enterprising soul also put the whole of Jul i Blodfjell (Christmas on Blood Mountain) on YouTube, and my soul sang.  I’d heard bits and seen the odd clip, so I was keen to watch.  Fellow North Americans, this is a genre I never even knew existed, even though I’d seen a previous example from Ylvis: the Julekalender.  There’s an episode every day of December, until the 24th.  And this is a slasher murder mystery comedy Julekalender.  The episodes were about twelve minutes long, and when I was trying to decompress after a whole gruelling night of Christmas cookies, and just needed to sit down long enough to shove some bread and cheese in my mouth and chug a smoothie before going to bed, these were just the thing.

*

We’ve heard, not necessarily that vitamin D makes COVID better but that vitamin D deficiency makes it worse, so I asked Will if he wanted me to get him some, and he said sure.

“Do you want the grownup kind or the fun kind?” I asked, because I had been sharing my vitamin D gummies with him and he seemed to like them.

“The grownup kind,” he said, in a tone that suggested it was a silly question.

So I got him some of the flavourless kind you’re supposed to swallow.  And when I brought it to him he was like, “Oh...  I thought they’d be gummy.”

*

The community group is not feeling super great.  The new chair has been micromanaging.  After the second e-mail that left me so furious I couldn’t sleep, I replied to the effect of, “When you coach me on how to do work I did professionally for years, I feel like you’re sending the message that I’m not a good fit for this organization.  I don’t disagree, but we can’t afford to lose members, so let me serve my term to the best of my abilities and I’ll be out of your hair.”  

He apologized, said he definitely valued my skills, and told me that he was changing our procedures so that those skills would no longer be needed.  When I said I’d like to see how the committee felt about changing those procedures, he brought it to a meeting, let two people speak in favour, and then was like, “Welp, everyone agrees with me, it’s a done deal!”  No vote or anything.  Just a decree.

THEN he got in touch to ask me if I would do THE SAME THING I’VE BEEN DOING ALL ALONG, THAT HE JUST HUMILIATED AND BULLIED ME OUT OF, but ONLY FOR HIM.  

Virtually everyone who knows what happened thinks I should resign, and maybe I should.  But we had been working for three years when this dude came on, and he does not get to own this project, and his bad behaviour does not get to take it down.  And I mean, he’s been pretty consistent in underestimating me and minimizing my work, so he probably forgets that some of my previous experience comes from workplaces a lot more toxic than this one.  I’m equipped to deal, and now that he’s flipped the bully switch, there are a bunch of friendly small-town softening behaviours that I’d adopted for meetings here, that I feel empowered to discontinue.

*

When I mentioned offhand to my dad that last Valentine’s Day Will and I had gone out for dinner, and this year it seemed unlikely, so I was gonna have to think of something, my dad said, “You two like mussels, right?  Why don’t you invite him over here and we’ll have mussels?  Your mom will eat some.”

So yeah.  This Valentine’s Day we’re planning a super romantic dinner with my parents.  

*

At 159 800 words on the new thing.  Now all I need to do is research Viking legal codes.  Good times!

[ouyangzizhensdad]

I /think/ I've seen you talk about reading AU fic in the past (albeit a passing mention) and I'm kind of intrigued as to what sort of AU for MDZS you would be interested in seeing. Like, which plot points do you think would be good to look at for canon divergence, role swapping, etc. Of course if I'm misremembering and you don't like AUs, just what sort of things do you like in fanfic in general? :D

Thank you for enabling drunk!me 😌.

I have no problems with AUs in general but I do have a thing about keeping certain beats and character dynamics and, of course, characterisation. I might be repeating myself again but to me the “glue” of transformative works is really the characters and their dynamics, and if I don’t feel like they are similar to canon (or at least plausible within their new environment and circumstances) then I get taken out 100%. I might be able to continue reading it if I just imagine I’m reading original fiction, but it’s really the only way I can make it. 

I have to say a personal pet-peeve of mine is when people recycle the wangxian love confession when they haven’t set up the same conflicts that give it it’s original meaning. The confession is specific! If the AU changes stuff up, then the confession needs to change!

I also like my AUs to be a little bit more interesting than just the run-of-the-mill Coffee store AU or Mafia AU. The premise itself doesn’t matter much to me but it’s what people really do with it.

One of my favourite fics in the fandom (aside from rikke’s, of course), is this vampire AU that has not updated since March 2020 (rip): Flowers of Blood and Bone by  Sakurafubuki (AriasOfSnow). I think it really manages to take elements of the canon and bring it to this new environment (vampire hunters and vampires in a modern world) in a way that feels coherent with the novel and the original characterisation. Also, as someone who generally is not that interested in vampire stuff, it really has an interesting take on it so I’m hooked. Even if it hasn’t updated in so long and the author might just have dropped it, it is worth giving it a read since it is still already 104k words long so you’ll have a lot to enjoy before you reach the last updated chapter.

Here are some AU fics that I have saved so even if I do not have a clear memory of many them past!me thought they were worth another read at some point in time!

The Terminus of Gravity

The Resurrected Turnabout

turn toward the sun

rain and shine

please forgive my most passionate disruptions

plant a little happiness (let the roots run deep)

My Spotlight Has Always Been on You

final judgements

Murder at the Masquerade

[dorywhynot]

Hello, I just wanted to say that your art is beautiful and your style is stunning, you always make me feel so inspired! I also wanted to ask, do you have any artists that personally inspire you? Or that you would recommend? Keep up the awesome work, sweetie ❤ And if no one told you today yet, even if I don't know you irl, I'm really proud of you and I hope you have a wonderful day!

Aaa! Thank you so much anon, and I love that you’re inspired!

There are SO many artists that inspire me, and more than happy to share but I wish I could list them all!

Some life-long artist inspirations of mine are:

Yoshitaka Amano - For every reason possible. My obsession started with his Vampire Hunter D illustrations and hasn’t stopped since.

Charles Burns - (best just to google him, he doesn’t seem to have an artist website anywhere) his book “Black Hole” was the first real graphic novel I ever read, I picked it up at a library when I was probably (definitely) too young. I LOVE his surreal and horrific visual storytelling. My style doesn’t look anything remotely like his but that’s the one I think of when I daydream about illustrating a graphic novel someday.

Trina Schart Hyman -  in particular her illustrated Swan Lake. The paintings in that book terrified me as a child and started a lifelong secret Swan Lake obsession. I’d love to do my own illustrated Swan Lake someday because of that book.

Gustav Klimt - One of my favorite historically-known artists. If I’m honest I don’t have much patience for art museums (I love them, just a bad attention span.) But when I saw his painting Adam and Eve in person...I don’t know, man. It was stunning. I stood and stared and didn’t move for a good ten minutes.

Egon Schiele - Probably the biggest influence on my drawing style. I love the way he draws odd, twisted poses.

Hyman Bloom - a fairly new (to me) favorite but I had the pleasure of seeing his works in person last year and they knocked me out (CW: depictions of corpses, autopsies, etc.)

Normal Rockwell - A favorite since I was a child. I had a book of his work when I was a kid that I used to thumb through over and over again. I always think about him when trying to incorporate narrative into imagery, because he’s a master of it.

Also a TON of artists that I’ve found through here on Tumblr and Instagram that everyone should absolutely check out, here is a tiny fraction:

Tracy Lewis

Jonathan Viner

Arleesha Yetzer

Myriam Tillson

Nadia Rausa

Sam Wolfe Connelly

@hollow-head​

@naniiebimworks​

@pinkpiggy93

Pam Steenwijk

Lu Cong

That is BARELY a scratch on the surface but a few that I can think of off the top of my head. My memory isn’t great and for names even less so, a lot of work that has inspired me has been things that I’ve seen in passing. But those are a start!

[janiedean]

Hi! I'm the Plato anon for before. First of, thank you so much for your offer, but I think I managed on me own. Second, could you elaborate on the "analysing as YA" vs "analysing as an adult" approach? I assumed that "discourse people" on this website generally don't go beyond "antagonist is bad because they are against the hero!" out of ignorance/lack of interest except to score Internet Fame Points, not that it was due a specific mindest. I also don't really read YA (except Tiffany Aching)

TIFFANY ACHING!! T_T ANON LET ME HUG YOU it’s like the only YA I actually liked in my entire life apart from nick hornby’s one book but that wasn’t typical lmao

THAT SAID, well your discourse people point is pretty much part of it but since I’m here and I can rant have the entire thing I was too tired to hash yesterday ;) so, in order:

first thing, we need to establish that ya books and **adult** books generally have different target audiences which is fine and good because obviously if you want to write a thing you’ll do that for An Audience That You Have In Mind; this doesn’t mean that adults can’t read ya or that teenagers can’t read **adult books** because everyone can read what they want (and personally for one I never cared for ya in my entire life not even when I was the target audience), but it simply means that some books are meant to be liked by one category first and eventual others later and they need to be talked about in that specific context first and everything else later - then there might be books that are aimed for kids/young readers or sold like that or that can be read on more than one level which can be appreciated for different things later in time (for example I read huck finn at sixteen and I absolutely loved it but it was a book that here is seen as good reading material also for eight year olds, and at eight I wouldn’t have liked it for the reasons I did at sixteen, and if I read it now I would still like it, while a bunch of the books for kids I read when I was seven is stuff I enjoyed then but forgot now and probably was good for that age but didn’t stick with me);

second thing, that means that when I discuss a young adult book aimed at teenagers I will never hold it to the standards I would hold a book aimed at a general adult audience, especially if it’s the kind of ya like dunno as stated the vampire diaries aimed at teenage girls which is obviously the kind where you have the fantasy world with the hot dark guy who swoons the high schooler protagonist off her feet etc because that stuff is basic teenage girl fantasy 101 and like... I’ll expect a bunch of romance tropes, the usual push and pull, the guy eventually being into her, the protagonist being someone a fourteen year-old can see herself in, probably a few sexual elements thrown here and there and so on, because that’s the shit marketed at fourteen year-olds who want to read that and like... it’s really not that deep. I can’t ask the vampire diaries to be moby dick because it’s not meant to be. or, if I read percy j/ackson - which is another thing I have zero interest in but I know about because I see tweets from the author - I expect to have a bunch of teens coming into their own coming from different backgrounds because the author wants to represent properly a lot of categories so most of his readers can have someone they can see themselves in and like if a thirteen year-old who suspects being lgbt or whatever sees themselves in the gay kid from per/cy jackson guess what that’s what that book is for, so I won’t judge it on like... being a faithful representation of greek myths or how good the style is or whatever, because even if to me it’s not top notch writing or has a plot idc about it has to be for teenagers and pre-teens, not for me, a thirty year old who again didn’t even like pre-teen aimed literature when she was a pre-teen;

third, I can extra clarify it using the damned hp discourse, as in: when I say I’m tired of people not reading anything else or reading everything like hp, it means that they read it when they were growing up/were teens and it was aimed at them which is fine, but then twenty fucking years later when the people in question are way beyond their twenties (guys I’m almost 32 and I remember when the first one came out come on) when talking about any single piece of media in existence (movies, comics, other books) use hp characters/situations as the terms of paragon - like guys I had to read sn/ape comparisons with theon and ky/lo ren on the basis that THEY’RE GREY CHARACTERS as if sn/ape is the only grey character that ever existed, people keep on talking about vold/emort as the only bad guy that ever existed and so on, and like... you can’t talk about, idk, asoiaf or any book aimed at an adult audience like you’d talk about hp, because at this point I wouldn’t be surprised if I read comparisons between sn/ape and ivan karamazov and I think I don’t need to specify how completely nonsensical that would be;

now, with all of this explained, what I mean is: ya in general - which is not a fault per se of the genre since it’s aimed at teens and pre-teens - tends to have... very fixed narrative schemes depending on which teens it’s addressing - like, stuff like tvd or twilight is obviously the romance teenage girl fantasy where you have the girl fighting to be with the dark beautiful supernatural creature in question, per/cy jackson is more like I’ll give you a bunch of relatable characters having cool adventures against bad guys with the occasional redemption so we can see that people are redeemable but you still have right vs wrong, hp is sort of like that in the sense you get relatable-ish protagonist with relatable friends growing up throughout the entire thing and fighting on the good side vs the evil side including the usual death of the mentor plus people who seemed bad actually not being bad™ except that PJ has more povs and better rep from what I gather but that’s not the point so it’s basically the growing up journey for the young protagonist(s) the kid sees themselves in, then there’s stuff like hunger games where you actually have the dystopian worldbuilding just written to be enjoyable by younger people who don’t want to get too depressed (and ngl I haven’t read the books but I’ve seen the first two movies and guys the way everyone ignores the classist commentary in thg to discuss the love triangle is... a staple of the problem tbh) but still try to introduce deeper themes and have more nuanced characters and at the same time are still written to be enjoyed maybe by the more adult side of the target, and at the same time I can’t say that thg is the same as 1984 when it comes to target audience because 1984 doesn’t make the ugly dystopian themes more accessible using the love story/teenage protagonist etc;

at this point the problem is: if you only ever read ya and nothing else in your life (which is what a lot of people here do - guys again when I got here in 2011 if people didn’t discuss hp they discussed john gr/een, the only *adult*-aimed book I see discussed on tumblr is asoiaf... because of got X°DDD) then you end up seeing every other piece of literature expecting what you do out of a young adult and then you expect adult literature out of young adults/ya to approach certain implications the way an adult novel would, which is... frankly ridiculous;

specific examples: I see blogs which are principally about like ya fantasy books ie acotar or shadow/hunters or whatever shitting on grrm because AAAAH HE’S PROBLEMATIC/MISOGYNIST/HE HAS VIOLENCE AND RAPE IN THE BOOKS BLAH BLAH and like... spoilers: if I wrote a fantasy series aimed at fourteen year-olds who want their fantasy romance with the hot dark guy who is maybe a tiny bit problematic but turns their leaf for them I would hold back on blood and violence, if I wrote a fantasy for adults where I want to be realistic about misogyny I will not, and the fact that grrm gets judged on what happens and not how he writes it (and again, saying that a guy who has 1/3rd of his pov characters female except that it’s actually 50/50 because there are no throwaway povs except for mel while guys have a lot more of them and all the female povs have narrative weight [and mel has it before she gets one] and all of them have a different personality and he also has the same trope [brienne and arya] in two people with wildly different personalities and needs which is basically a goddamned miracle is a misogynist because there’s misogyny in his fantasy world is ridiculous imvho) which is.... exactly expecting of asoiaf what you’d expect out of acotar, when grrm and acotar’s writer write for wildly different audiences. now, if I had read acotar at 15 and asoiaf at 15 I’d have had no doubt re asoiaf being more my thing because again the subgenre acotar goes for is not my thing because I never related to that fantasy while brienne is my rep, but in general a 14yo girl who likes the acotar-like stuff will not care for grrm.... which is normal because grrm writes for adults of both genders, not teenage girls (I mean teenage boys also have their own subgenres for which the same rules are valid), and someone who likes percy jackson (aimed at both genders but like... pre-teens early teens) who doesn’t gaf for grrm won’t because it’s not aimed at them unless they like grrm for other reasons ie idk they realize that they relate to jon snow idk but you see my point, so like tldr that’s what I mean with if you only read ya you’ll expect adult writers to handle their themes like ya writers would and like... sorry but if I write stuff for adults I won’t feel the need to specify that the bad guy is B A D with neon lights because an adult should grasp that from the narrative, I don’t need to make sure it’s obvious bc it’s aimed at kids;

reverse: when I see people saying ‘the vampire diaries is problematic because it’s about people who are a hundred years old preying on teenage girls so we need to stop teenage girls from reading that kind of thing because it makes them think it’s okay to go with someone that much older than them’, we’re at the opposite problem in the sense that you’re asking a young adult novel what you would ask of AN ADULT NOVEL when there’s no point in it. like, a teenage girl knows perfectly that damon salvatore doesn’t exist and vampires don’t exist and werewolves don’t exist - the entire point of tvd is that she gets to fawn over the hot supernatural dude who changes for the better thanks to the female protagonist she most likely sees herself in and she gets to have a few nice fantasies about that which is like... normal for people who are developing their sexualities, most people wouldn’t actually want damon salvatore the way he’s exactly in canon irl because they know it’s a fantasy and so it should stay. like, sorry but as someone who watched the show because ian somerhalder is hot in her twenties and tried the first book and gave it up at page 30 because I couldn’t do it, I can 100% assure anyone that the biggest issues with tvd books are that the writing is really fucking bad (for my standards at least), with the tvd show that from S4 the writing spiraled downwards and no one wanted the magical vampire pregnancy witch twins ridiculousness, but none of the content actually was shit that anyone would take seriously like that and I wouldn’t expect tvd to approach that subject realistically. if I read a vampire book aimed at adults who actually wants to write such a relationship as creepy WELL YES OF COURSE I’D EXPECT IT TO BE OBVIOUS ABOUT IT BEING CREEPY, but if it’s aimed at freaking teenagers... it’s a fantasy and not really that deep, take it for what it is and let teenage girls enjoy thinking about smooching damon salvatore (or stefan or whoever) without assuming they need to be protected from Horrible Vampire Fiction™, same as no one goes bitching about unrealistic sex scenes in serialized romance books because people read them because they’re unrealistic and escapism, not because they expect nobel prize worthy exploration of themes from them;

now, ^^^^^^ would not happen if people actually read variedly and studied some decent lit analysis in school - but like, after I had to read I think at some point that of mice and men is ableist... THAT’S the damned point - with ya you can take a lot of the plot at face value, with adult lit you can’t and you have to see motivation beyond the action of the characters and you can’t do that if you only read books aimed at pre-teens/teenagers where obviously that’s... more spelled out than it would be in a book aimed at an adult audience;

that by the way also means wildly missing actual adult themes discussion in ya, because again, I haven’t read thg but from the two movies I’ve seen it’s fucking obvious that the whole thing is an anti us-classism commentary from how the districts are built to how the games are rigged to pretty much everything in the worldbuilding, but all the discourse I see on tumblr is about either the love triangle or katniss being miscast or president snow being a jerk and whatever else, but I never once saw anyone saying ‘heeeeey the people in katniss’ district are an in your face metaphor of poor people in the us of a belonging to certain categories while the first few districts are absolutely the 1% and the entire point of it is that she wants to tell you A CLASSIST SOCIETY IS BAD AND WILL LEAD TO REVOLUTIONS’, which to me was... like, glaring, it was literally what 90% of the entire thing was about and no one ever discusses it in a fandom-wide sense (I mean... I saw a bunch of hg posts back when the movies came out, I never saw this brought out), which... is a problem because it means that the moment people are put in front of a ya product that actually tackles that kind of issue.... they go and worry about the love triangle (which seemed to me the excuse to draw the people in the story) not about the social commentary, and like, maybe a twelve year-old won’t catch on the social commentary, a twenty-year old especially from the us should, and I don’t see that happening;

and sorry but that is because if you only engage with content aimed at a younger audience than your target first you assume that every piece of literature should be consumable/readable/enjoyable by a younger audience (and sorry but no, some of us don’t want to write stuff making sure teenagers like it) and then ask of actual ya media to cater to their *adult* needs and not to the needs of the target audience because wow obviously if you’re 25 you won’t want out of literature what you wanted at fourteen;

and this also is valid for children’s media because again, I’m cutting it short, but adults watching st/even universe and sending people death threats because they don’t agree with their opinion of a cartoon aimed at an audience that’s at moooostttt eight years old is a thing that shouldn’t even fucking exist, and if you think steven/universe is that important at an adult age you need to re-assess your priorities;

tldr: adults should not expect media aimed at kids/teens to cater to their interests and shouldn’t analyze it the way they’d analyze a piece of media aimed at an adult audience and should not presume that every piece of media should have the scope/schemes of medias aimed at kids/teens because some of us don’t want to read that.

now, I’ll leave you with a nice short anecdote which hopefully will further clarify what I mean and add to another point which would be, kids and teens don’t give a fuck about what you, an adult, do: when everyone was in a frenzy about my little pony back in 2013 or so I had to see a ton of posts like ‘AAAAAH MEN/BOYS WHO ARE INTO MLP ARE STEALING THE SHOW FROM YOUNG GIRLS HOW DARE THEY ENJOY IT WE NEED TO KICK THEM OUT’ with added people saying that a ten year old male kid who tried to kill himself bc his friends bullied him bc he liked mlp deserved it and the likes, my only thought was that... when I was 8-10 in elementary school and was actually the target for cartoons and stuff, sailor moon was the rage between all girls my age me included, we’d spend recess playing pretend (and I’d get stuck playing sailor mars bc no one wanted her, sad) and our hugest first world problem in existence was that we needed technically a mamoru and of course no self-respecting boy in elementary school would have admitted under death threats to watching sailor moon because it was a girls’ thing (aaaaah gender roles in the early-mid 90s, how fun) so everyone despaired because ofc no one wanted to play mamoru... and the few times any guy actually showed up like HEEEEY I WANNA DO IT BUT PLEASE DON’T TELL MY FRIENDS I LIKE SAILOR MOON we’d all be like OMG YOU’RE OUR NEW FAVORITE PERSON PLEASE YOUR SECRET IS SAFE because we couldn’t believe we found the magical boy™ who wanted to do it, and if anyone had told us that the kid in question was stealing sailor moon from us we’d have laughed in their face.

like.

kids don’t ask of media what you, an adult do, and it’s unfair of you, an adult, to ask children’s/ya media to cater to your damned interests, which are amply catered to by the tons of adult literature around which also forces you to push on your views and read more challenging things and to not read/watch stuff at face value, which is why I would really appreciate it if the amount of 20yo people on here who I consider adults engaged with more adult media and let themselves be challenged instead of just going back to ya/kids’ things, which are good for teens and kids and can be enjoyed by everyone but should not be the only goddamned genre you measure all other literature against because then you get people saying that lolita is pro-pedo when it’s exactly the goddamned contrary, but if you think that pov character = protagonist = good guy (which is... staple kids/ya stuff for obvious reasons) then you decide that humbert humbert is someone you’re supposed to root for. too bad that you’re not and the author was an actual csa victim so it’s a completely ridiculous reading that wouldn’t happen if you didn’t read lolita the way you read hp.

... okay, I’m done, sorry for how long this was, I hope it cleared things for good xD

[monstersandmaw]

Can you tell us your favorite story (by you) from these categories; WLW fic, MLM fic, Het fic, Fluff fic, Angst fic, One worth mentioning?, a special favorite, the hardest to make?

Oof! I love questions like this! Ok, lemme pull up my masterlist for easy linking...

*zoom*

Right.

Favourite wlw fic: before the writing stream I did on Sunday, I’d have said the female gnoll x female knight story because it’s got that ‘long distance, years of pining’ in it that I adore. It probably is still my favourite, but when I post the female vampire x female hunter story on here, I hope you’ll see why I enjoyed it. There’s a meddling cat too.

Favourite mlm fic: is either Footsteps in the Snow because it’s a  S L O W   B U R N and features longing, angst, misunderstandings, and a complete disaster thegn who cares too much and thinks too little, and a housecarl who thinks too much and says perhaps a little too little??? Or it’s the Ashridge Pack werewolf thing that I’m currently working on, and that only Patrons have had a glimpse at. Hoping to post Chpt 2 today, but it’s written up to 6.

Favourite het fic: *wibbles* either Rhett the scarred werewolf’s series, or Arttu the male were-yeti’s three-part story (a dadfic with feels and, separately, some nsfw)

Favourite fluff fic: Hmmmmmmm... Actually it’s probably Suléth the half-firbolg half-drow (unusual, I know) fluff-fest. He’s such a giant cutie pie who is definitely in need of a cuddle.

Favourite agnst-fic: Definitely orc boi Lasza. Reader made a mistake in the past and regretted it every day, never expected to see him again, is suddenly thrown together with him and a bunch of friends at what is, unbeknownst to her, his lake house...

One worth mentioning?: Well, I’m not sure if it’s worth mentioning, but I’m trying to write a novel (and have been for about three years now). It’s about a trainee soldier and a scholar finding they have a love of obscure history in common and bonding over it. You can find out more about it and read some snippets on my older blog, @raufnirsramblings under the tag ‘weaver of threads’

A special favourite: I don’t really have one on here. Winter Solstice (link to older Tumblr version, newer version on Patreon) is a favourite universe (Fae Realm) and story, I guess, but so is vampire boy, Ruben’s story (because I just love Ruben!!) and my half-orc Tamas x Prince Josslyn is also a fav... Probably Winter Solstice though. Or... Ashridge... I can’t decide, ok?! It’s like making me pick a favourite plont. I have a few special ones that I’ve written for myself and haven’t shared anywhere too.

The hardest to make: is probably my novel, Weaver of Threads, but in terms of what’s up on here, I found the ‘choose your own adventure’ story with D/Justice the Dullahan quite tricky, just because of the challenge of not quite knowing where the story would go each time (despite planning all the possible outcomes out like a lunatic), and having to maintain consistency each week, for thirteen weeks... Same for Embers, the dragon shifter series, but that wasn’t choose your own; it was just long.

I find it tricky to keep stories going once I let them slip. My Hades and Persephone story is a case in point. I want to write it, but I stopped, and now I have other commitments and can’t justify to myself taking the time off to concentrate on that one...

Thanks for asking this! I love getting asks like this one, and it was fun to think about. I hope you enjoyed reading the answers!! Have a lovely day, Anon. x

[queenangst]

(1) Tell me about your week: Mostly I've been suffering with fatigue and headaches, but I have been working on editing/making my second draft of my original novel (first instalment of a series) when I am able and I went into the city to buy essentials for (2).

(2) Something exciting: Something exciting this is happening is that I am getting a puppy! She's coming home this Thursday and I am so excited! Her name is going to be Isabelle (first name, God's Oath and Beauty) Ai (middle name, Love) and she's a Shih Tzu and Chihuahua cross!

(3) Fandom thoughts: Since it's coming up to Hallowe'en, I have been imagining a ShinKami (because they are my muses right now) fanstory where many of the students and teachers at UA are monsters - vampires, werewolves, dragon-shifters, witches, illusionists, nymphs, etc. In the story, Shinsou is a vampire (Aizawa too) and has received discrimination because of that and his quirk, but, since what monster you are or are not is not mentioned unless good friends, him and Kaminari become friends. (Shinsou became better at blending in so people don't immediately guess he's a vampire anymore.) Then the Bakusquad tell each other what monsters they all are and Kaminari is conflicted - because he's not just human but also from a family of monster hunters (who, to get straight to angst here, have been pretty abusive towards him - like rubbing garlic all over his clothes when he was little to keep vampires away from him, even though he's deathly allergic). The story varies from that point, but that's where it starts!

I don't have the energy to write that story idea myself, as I am already spread thin between my original novel and Risks Worth Taking (which I will update when I am able to, but I am focusing on my original novel for now). But I do enjoy imagining it!

(4) Headcanons: Hmmm. So, I get a lot of headcanons for Kaminari because he reminds me a lot of myself from when I was a teenager (cheerful, outgoing, friendly and lacking a filter). I headcanon him to have ADD (and I *should* headcanon him to be autistic like me, as it would explain the lack of a filter, but I don't). I like the headcanon that he might be gender neutral or a trans guy - but at the same time I also like the headcanon that he's a cis guy that is super comfortable with feminine stuff like make up and nail varnish. All of them work for me! I definitely think he has a sister of some kind, probably older, and he knows how to do domestic chores (if not as well as Bakugo). I also headcanon Kaminari as being from a rich family! It would be a fun twist that someone who blends in so well with the others is actually rich like Iida, Yaoyorozu and Todoroki (just nothing to do with heroes). My favourite headcanons are that (a) he's not seriously flirting with people, he's breaking the ice to befriend them and is just naturally flirtatious beyond that and (b) he gets really flustered and can't flirt back when someone flirts with him!

(5) Stories: I don't know what fandoms, outside of BnHA, you are in. But! I recently read, and am reading the sequels which are even better, of this excellent Draco Malfoy (it is Drarry but not yet) time travel story!

Draco Malfoy and the Mirror of Ecidyrue by starbrigid

All it takes is one look in a mirror and an ill-advised attempt to shatter it, before an embittered Draco Malfoy fresh out of Azkaban is sent back into his body on the day he gets his Hogwarts letter.

Suddenly, Draco has an unwanted second chance, with a Sorting Hat that doesn't know what to do with him, a certain Muggleborn who won't leave his study table alone, and green eyes he just can't get out of his head. And then there's his new wand, whose choice of him could just mark him as every bit as dark a wizard as his name means he should be.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/23872387

As for a BnHA story, since I've spoken of ShinKami in (3), I will recommend a ShinKami story which is a Romeo and Juliet situation - and very funny!

Thus With a Kiss, I die by DomineeringScarves

Kaminari finds himself head over heels for the newest addition to their class, Shinsou Hitoshi. Normally the flirty blonde would just present himself with open arms but there's a major problem with his infatuation. There's unspoken rules in 1-A and Kaminari is part of the Bakusquad...whereas Shinsou is a part of the Dekusquad. The two can't be together. It's just not possible. There's no way Bakugou would ever allow one of his extras to date Deku's friend.

There's only one thing left to do, give up and move on. Too bad Kaminari can't seem to escape Shinsou.

Aka the fic where Kaminari is Romeo and Shinsou is Juliet and they have to secretly date so their squads don't fall into an all out war.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/15993539/chapters/37314002

(6) Yelling: I love you and your stories! Thank you so much!!!

I hope you are doing well! And that this brightens your day!

Sen. x

whooo, long ask! I hope you feel better, but that sounds great otherwise. Congratulations on the puppy & I hope she brings you much joy.

that sounds like a fun AU, it’s certainly the season. sometimes ideas are just as good when they remain in the head - like nice daydream material.

nice headcanons!! I don’t have many for Kaminari myself, I like following other people’s interpretations, but you should headcanon how you want. I’ve never heard someone headcanon about rich!Kaminari much but it could definitely add something interesting to his character/upbringing/interactions. I totally flirt platonically with friends, though only if they’re comfortable with it; that’s very sweet. 

maybe some followers will appreciate the fic recs. I’m happy to share them on the blog of course. 

thanks for stopping by!!!

sleepover weekend

[musefaceted]

10) Which one of your characters would be the most dangerous if challenged?

@halcynights

DARK MUNDAY QUESTIONS

ℒ:

Vampire Hunter D, without contest.

By dhampir perspective (since I have Castlevania Alucard)

D, by contrast to Alucard who is also son of Dracula with defying dhampiric properties, is a more extensive case of human/vampire hybrid. He is one experiment of many by his father, and because of the way he did turn out, he is referred as “Success”. Even among all his twin clones based by him, they can never out-do D because he is the “success” to this experiment. He was created to be an evolution beyond humans and beyond vampires/nobles alike, and it’s always been mentioned in any instance of the novels that he just is better in every manner of both worlds. Which, is something he feels very deeply about on a personal level with his father.

By perspective of fighting demons/vampires (since I have Douma from Demon Slayer and Sesshoumaru from InuYasha)

He is a vampire hunter as his primary profession, and as a mercenary-for-hire is also subject to taking on other killings such as the supernatural (demons). It matters not the rank of them, or where they stand. D is very capable of taking down such foes, either by sword, or by other means of spells or Left Hand. This is because Left Hand has the capability to suck in all forms of matter or materials, including souls and energy.

By perspective of humans or enhanced-humans (since I have Madara and Sasuke Uchiha from Naruto/Shippuden, Hyakkimaru from Dororo, and Giyuu from Demon Slayer)

D exceeds human capacities by being half vampire by default. Even though he is still half human, it changes nothing in this. Many a time his foe is either supernatural or human, even if both posses something normally used to kill others expertly or easily so. In all instances against D, he does not show weakness to these, or if some moment of vulnerability, finds a way out of a situation with ease to take down those in his way. It does not matter who and what you are to D if you are an enemy, you will be terminated.

By perspective of beyond supernatural (since I have Sephiroth from FFVII)

If not a vampire hunter that has gained the title of the best of the lot, it is also part of his profession as a God Hunter. I have yet to read into the novels far enough to find this, but it is present in his capabilities to posses an Akashic Record (something to alter reality/time/space however one sees fit). I’m certain that either by his own means or this Record, he is easily able to defeat the likes of those beyond the natural order of things and defeat them. If not also, with the abilities fit to defy them all the same.

[jaxsteamblog]

Let’s talk about fanfiction, wish fulfillment, and self inserts.

Specifically, I’d like to talk about my fanfiction.

This is a long post, so I’ll put it under the cut.

But TL;DR: If you take the advice and write what you know, you might end up with some Mary Sues, Self Inserts, and Wish Fulfillment. And That’s Okay.

I always forget that my entire life isn’t up for viewing to the general public. Weird, I know, but I have a problem with reality. Anyway, I want to explore something about my writing that might help out other writers. Especially ones who are just starting out.

I’ve been writing for a long time. Well, sorta. 

Growing up, I didn’t have the best home life. So, like most traumatized children from the suburbs, I retreated into books. I remember reading Pullman’s “His Dark Materials” trilogy and wishing I could find another world like Will. I started reading Poe at 11 and found a place where pain had meaning. The "Old Kingdom” series made me realize women could wield power.  Harry Potter came later, and suffering became a potential for something greater. 

But in high school, I found anime and cartoons. 

My friends were tearing through Gundam smut before I even knew what Sailor Moon was. But I was quickly brought up to speed. And I fell head over heels in love with Vampire Hunter D.

Oof, what gay, non-binary messed up white kid didn’t love VHD?

I really wanted to be a part of something magical and be someone that mattered. I wanted to be special and important.

And in 2004, at the tender age of 15, I started writing fanfiction. You can read the fics that survived the Great Cringe Purge here under my early pen name Nicolai Reh. How cringe is cringe? I took my first boyfriend’s last name.

And guess what? Natalie, Annia, and Spider are all MARY SUE SELF-INSERTS.

I can’t explain how badly I wanted to be loved. How I wanted to prove I could do something great. At that point in my life, everyone was telling me how worthless I was and there were already doubts that I would graduate high school. It was devastating. But I knew who I was on the inside! (At the time.) And guess what? I was amazing enough for someone like D to love!

I wasn’t on the internet much during this time and I’m thankful for that. The cringe shame didn’t soak into me until I was in my 20s and that was mostly the usual stage many 20 year-olds go through on their own. I wanted to be a Real Writer.

I started writing two “serious” novels that I hid and rewrote constantly over the next ten years. (From high school into my 20s.)

“Serenity” was about a woman who falls in love with a vampire, only to have him betray her after he slaughters her town and she spends years hunting him down. At one rewrite, she ends up being sent to the future by two of the vampire’s fledglings. Here you can see I was super into Anne Rice and Samurai Jack.

There was another story whose title is long gone. It’s about a woman who is given god-like powers to create a new world after she and her fiance are victims of a hate crime. But she ends up obsessing over it and by the time she goes back to the “real” world, her fiance thinks she’s dead and has moved on with his life, having a wife and child. This one was mostly to sate my horrific love of world-building. I created a really great world!

And yeah, self-insert Mary Sues with CLEAR wish fulfillment. Both women are pursued by a character that is thematically the same and I even gave him the same name. 

The chemistry never worked out, and it wouldn’t be until I was in my late 20s that I figured out why. The woman protag was my self-insert, to a point. The male was my closeted gender identity that I was desperately seeking but also denying.

Point? Writing taps into our psyche. Professional writers, I’m assuming, are able to use their craft to create stories that can be separated from them. But I will bet money their early works are about them working through their own internal mess. 

When I finally started to get back into writing, it was after I had my child. I was 21, homeless, and just started to go to college. I wrote a novel in 2010 that I attempted to publish online in 2017 but, it’s personal.

You can see some of my original work under another early pen name: Lizaveta Demarkus

It includes the first two chapters of “Lucid.”

Having a kid, going to school, and then getting into the most emotionally devastating romantic relationship of my life destroyed my ability to write. I tried to do NaNoWriMo, but it never really worked out.

Then I met my friend, who we’ll call Smol Fury because that’s her nickname.

We love Avatar: The Last Airbender and we would talk shit all the time about it. We both shipped Zutara, but most of our conversations were about plot holes and the disaster that was Korra. 

There I am, heartbroken, living with my parents, newly diagnosed with a series of mental illnesses. I was alone and I was lonely. I was struggling with coming out as non-binary and transmasc.

I remembered my old writing and I flipped through the binder with pages printed out almost twenty years ago. 

I had lost a lot of joy. A lot. I couldn’t write a novel in this stage. I couldn’t think critically enough to think about inciting incidents and mapping out plot points. Foreshadowing, world-building, show don’t tell, said versus shouted; there were a million arguments to be had in creative writing. 

So I wrote about Zuko loving Katara. I gave Zuko the personality from that one male character from my youth and I made him once again have to pursue a broken woman who couldn’t face the truth. I didn’t have to worry about world-building because it was already done. I could just focus on the emotions.

To anyone just starting out, please don’t take the trite criticisms to heart. My main series, the one that keeps me up at night because I ache over it, it’s not that great. It’s not that popular. But I love it because I’m finally, FINALLY getting the words out. I’m finally working through the pain I tried to articulate in 2004. 

If you write because it’s a story you want to read but can’t find, do it. 

If you write because you want someone like Zuko to love you, you have the right to fall in love.

If you write because you want someone like Katara to love you, get in line.

If you want to be the most OP, broken, Mary Sue, multi-bender who rivals all the Avatars combined, go for it!

You are not the only one who wants a story like that. Every story, after all, shows us that we’re not alone. 

I’m not Pullman or Nix or R*wling (thank christ) or Poe but I am a regular person that goes through similar things as a bunch of other people. I write what I know and what I want.

Don’t let anyone stop you from doing the same. 

Please keep writing.

[fyrapartnersearch]

Calling for dedicated roleplayers with a passion for writing

Hello! My name is Aaliyah or Ally for short, and I will cut right to the chase. I am looking for a mature role-player, preferably 21+ but will also accept 18+ (just to be sure that you are of legal age, otherwise it’ll be very uncomfortable).



As I am 26 years of age with 12 years of experience, I hope to meet someone who shares my passion in creative writing, as well as formulating interesting plots and characters. 

In case you are curious about me as a person, I am a full-time student and a young writer who works at the gym on the side, but also enjoys other creative outlets such as drawing. Usually my schedule is fairly full, including the attendance of friends or family. However I always have ample time for a good roleplay. :) 



I am seeking a literate writer who is committed to a long-term partnership, and by that I truly mean it. Please do not respond if you are uncertain of upholding a stable roleplay. Furthermore, I’ve noticed the “ghosting after the first few messages“ trope is a fairly widespread issue in the roleplaying scene / community. I would like to implore you from refraining it. I’ve grown quite irritated by it lately and rather like to avoid it in the near future. That way we don’t waste anyone’s time. Thank you in advance. If you are hitting a hiatus, that’s completely fine! A simple message of putting things on hold is completely sufficient, but I would like to keep in touch in case the story bears great potential. Now I have a wish, or as other say it, a certain craving for something new and fresh. And that something is quite specific, as my interests are a little unorthodox. Not the typical ‘Marvel, DC, My Hero Academia, etc’ type of stick. (Not to throw shade on them! They are great! Just not my cup of tea at the moment)


I heavily enjoy video-games, tv-shows, comics, films, books, the list goes on. Hopefully I can attract some kindred spirits. 
 I do roleplay both Canon and Original!



So if there’s no luck in finding a fitting Canon based story, we can always switch to original world building. First, I like to list all of my heavy cravings and interests. The ones marked in bold are usually the ones I am very willing to do.



Books:

Harry Potter Next Gen (original character cast)

True Blood

Vampire Hunter D (or Manga / Anime)

Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice

Game of Thrones

Videogames:

Dragon Age (from Origins to current instalment)

Castlevania

Devil May Cry

Infamous series

The Darkness

Smite

Star Wars the Old Republic


Webcomics:

Lore Olympus

Lookism

True Beauty

Comics:

Constantine

Hellboy

Witchblade

The Darkness

X-Men

Films:

Alita Battle Angel

Kingsmen

Vampire Hunter D

TV-Shows live action:

True Blood

The Boys

Vikings

Game of Thrones (Open for discussion. Still haven’t recovered from the season finale however…)

TV-Shows animated:

Hellsing

Castlevania (Netflix adaptation)

Devil May Cry (Anime adaptation)

Demon Slayer (I have only started watching this)

FMA Brotherhood

Jojo’s bizarre adventure

Black lagoon

As for original plots, I am very keen on urban and gothic fantasy, but also mythology as well as horror and crime and action. I have plenty of ideas up my sleeve, some of them quite fleshed out and some of them being concepts in the making. Either way, I would rather have these ideas introduced throughout email or whatever platform we choose to communicate on. Themes for an original story I am most inclined to do are:

Supernatural / Metaphysical (Demons, Angels, Spirits, Monsters, etc.)

Mystery

Crime

Action

Sci-Fi & fantasy (Aliens coming in contact with unsuspecting earthlings during the middle ages / ancient time-periods)

Urban fantasy mixed with high school / college themes (similar to Supernatural with local monsters, creatures, etc)

Now onto the qualities of what my roleplaying partner should have.

What it all entails: What the Partnership should be: I strongly encourage an active roleplayer who is not afraid of sharing 50% of ideas, plotting, length, detail but most important of all, passion. A bird cannot fly with only one wing. Communication: I love making new friends and brainstorming, and communication is the bedrock of it all. It strengthens our compatibility and the story. Should there be anything that might bother you, or if you think you are left out in some type of way (be it a mistake on my part or if we’re both at fault here), simply tell me. It really doesn’t bother me rewriting certain scenes to better fit the narrative. We can always exchange opinions and see what would benefit the story most. The Way of Writing: No one-liners. No text-talk. No half-assed replies. And certainly no ‘quality over quantity’ when you can have both. I don’t expect anyone to write a novel, absolutely not. I don’t either, but if I get the feeling of my partner wavering in their effort and not investing as much as I do, I have to give them the chop, unfortunately. Too often have I encountered partners who showed strong enthusiasm at first, but after a while… they slacked and eventually only put the adequate effort into their side of things whilst completely disregarding my characters. I hope to avoid this in the future. And now to myself and how I write: My writing: Third person perspective usually, although I have made some exceptions in my years of writing. My style is wide-ranging and flexible, which means that frequently, word count will go up 1000+ per reply - though it also depends on the given situation and partner. And yes, I do double, preferably even, most likely in a canon universe. However this again wholly depends on the type of story, partner and cast of characters. I am very open and willing to discuss.


Rating: So you are writing with some of mature age. I have 12 years of writing under my belt. There will be violence, there will be swearing, gore, intimacy, uncomfortable topics, drama, conflict and other dark themes included when you are writing with me. I have few limits but I will respect the boundaries of my partner. And lastly, I won’t fade to black or skip out on the nitty gritty, unless it doesn’t serve a particular purpose in forwarding the story.

Characters: I write canon as well as OC characters. Faceclaims, GIFs, drawings, mood boards or just a plain physical description is absolutely sufficient. Characters should be written as opulent, flawed, unique, talented, heroic, villainous, spiteful, angry, and everything in-between. In other words, don’t be scared of making them flawed.

Romance: Openly play and accept characters of both genders, preferable m x f pairings, but I am open to m x m and f x f relationships as well. I have more experience with m x f relationships, so I might be more adaptable with this one. If the chemistry of two characters compel me, I’m on board with it! When it comes to sexual scenarios and intimacy (intercourse, foreplay, all that funny business). I encourage eroticism, but always in a tasteful, sensual manner (that goes for romance as well), though it is never the main focus of any of my stories, rather a tool to further the plot. Erotica is welcome but never the focus of any kind of roleplay. Content: Drama, violence, sex, metamorphosis, symbolism, action, romance, pretty much everything is a-okay. I am not explicitly bothered by certain subjects that may be uncomfortable for the general public. Roleplays are fictional stories and we best keep treating them as such. If there are things you are uncomfortable with, name them and I shall respect those boundaries. But don’t be surprised when suddenly one of our characters bites the dust, or gets tortured, etc. It may be difficult to write and read, but it is all part of the story and a tool for furthering the plot. My roleplays imply and involve brutality, mayhem, psychological and physical altercations among other things. But I also endorse beauty, serenity and placid moments for our characters to grow in. I love it when it comes full circle… everyone- and everything has a beautiful and hideous side. Again, this is mature and I am not here to coddle, I am here for a challenge. Should I hit a hiatus myself, I will inform you as soon as possible. :)



Platforms I usually roleplay on are email and google-docs. I also have Discord in case for plotting and chatting outside of the RP. Though Google Hangouts has proven itself as a sufficient chat-medium for such things, so I rather stay with that one. 



When you message me, please use the given codenames so I know what you like to specify in.

Blue Rose: Canon 


Red Feather: Original 




I’d be happy to receive a small description of yourself and what your passions are! :) Message me here: EMAIL: aylosreverie@gmail.com I am very excited to hear from you! Sincerely yours -Ally