#I’m not really a writer but I love writing about them

[scamanderishredmayniac]

I was once called a curious writer, by someone who had read snippets of an original piece I was working on some many years ago. I had never heard of anyone saying that before at the time. It felt bizarre, I knew what it meant to be a curious reader, but not a curious writer. I’m not 100% sure, but I think it was because I was allowing readers to explore the character’s past story, exploring why they felt and behaved in a certain way. She said something about how she liked how I was building up character and giving back story. The reality was I knew these characters inside out, well sort of. They had history outside the story in my mind, and personality such that were not on the page. I imagined a whole set of people as though they were real in this strange town I had written about. I wanted the reader to explore these people, to see into the characters minds, and explore their world. I’ll admit I didn’t know everything about the town they were living in, and the only thing at the time I was exploring was the town and its history. The only thing I explored and was curious about in the characters, or at least 3 of them was their feelings for each other.

I hadn’t been in a relationship at the time, I hadn’t experienced falling in love and finding someone, and only added a sort of love storyline because a friend asked me too. So my curiosity as a writer was to explore that side of things. So maybe this reader saw that, I don’t know. I just got the gist that it meant something very good. I’m not even sure why I’m rambling like an idiot when i should be climbing into bed and going to sleep, especially when I said I wouldn’t come onto tumblr for a month. Oops! I just saw a friend had reblogged this, and it made me think of that comment left on my work. I don’t know why i had to share this ling rambly story, but I quite liked being called a curious writer. It’s been a long time since I got such a compliment that made me feel good about my writing.

Basically being a curious writer is apparently a good thing and makes one’s story interesting. And it should really be a widely spread piece of advice to potential writers to be curious of what you’re writing.

“Be curious about what you’re writing about” is not stock Common Writing Advice but it really, really should be. There are a lot of written works that fail due to the authors just being obviously incurious about what they are writing about.

[clearancecreedwatersurvival]

‘It’s different from the books’ sure it’s different but are you judging elements based on how they fit within the new transformative narrative that the show adaptation is presenting? Or are you purely judging each element based on how different it is from the books?

Does the new narrative that the show is telling have cohesive arcs and structure that work within its specific logic? Do the elements present, intentionally different or inspired or lifted directly from the books, work together to tell a story that shares most of the same overall themes and important story beats as the entire book series? Are they setting up the long term development of character arcs well?

Or are you just mad your favorite character isn’t just saying all their lines from the book directly and we need to have the ‘characters aren’t people regardless of our parasocial attachment to them, they’re storytelling tools that fill roles within a narrative conflict’ conversation again? Like, neither the author(s) nor the book characters themselves are gonna fuck you, just so we’re clear.

Mat having a weakness for helping and protecting children, Perrin being traumatized about using the axe as a weapon and worried about harming people he loves, Rand wanting to help men who can channel, everything about Egwene’s late stage character arc, Nynaeve’s innate potential and her constant early struggle with her unconsciously blocking that immense power away from herself have all been set up extremely well in the show, and all by making some pretty distinct changes from the books.

And every wot fan agrees that the books are not perfect in various ways, rearranging and tightening of the plot was always going to be necessary in an adaptation, let alone in one that is only allowed to span 8 seasons. But the main beats of the story are all there, and individual changes to characterization and the specific roles that characters play for certain bits of the narrative are not bad just because they’re different and I simply can’t take any criticism of the show that doesn’t account for that seriously.

Also like. Can we stop blaming the writers for stuff that is fully the producers’ fault. Season 1 episode 1 and episode 8 both got fucked over on rewrites and/or covid restrictions during filming, so the pacing and execution is kinda fucky there, but that’s not on the writing team. The rest of season one the pacing is better and better yet in season two, which honestly was kind of a banger start to finish.

The development in s2 of all the themes around channelers losing access to the power or autonomy over their channeling and the griefs of outliving your loved ones were explored so well, and all those ideas are very important for the rest of the plot from later in the books. And the choice to introduce all the forsaken sooner and develop them more than is present in the early books was brilliant, they’re incredibly effective and engaging villains and the show is utilizing them to full effect. Shit rules. I’m stoked for s3 for a lot of reasons but especially for more forsaken shenanigans.

When I want to reread the books I’ll reread the books. I’m doing that right now and having a great time. But I’m glad the show is different in a lot of ways and I like the way they’re reading the original text, including by changing the stuff that makes wot one of those book series you can’t really recommend without an asterisk because RJ’s grasp on feminism and queerness and gender theory was. Loose at best.

Idk man, just treat adaptations of books you love as really high budget fanfiction produced by a team of people who all care about the original text but are also of course gonna put their spin on it, and you might have a more enjoyable time watching them.

Howl’s Moving Castle by Miyazaki? Fanfiction.

NBC Hannibal? Gay Fanfiction.

The Wheel of Time on Prime? That’s right, it’s increasingly higher budget fantasy fanfiction with less gender essentialism, extra emphasis on all the milfy magical politics, and queer subtext made text, hell yeah.

[mythals-whore]

Some thoughts on fandom engagement

Post got long but TL;DR engagement is low, Never Ever Stop Creating! fandom is community and everyone needs to participate

extended thoughts and personal anecdote under the cut:

For writers:

I have turned off Kudos emails from ao3. I found myself checking my email and feeling discouraged when I didn't get them. So i turned the emails off so I wouldn't know I wasn't getting them. Even now when I go to my dashboard, I specifically do not look at the bottom of the work to see those numbers.

This is not me telling you to do the same thing. It is easier said than done, and I understand that. But that's what I had to do to have a good time.

Because for a little while, posting made it less fun. I felt like people didn't like it. I was being overly critical of myself, couldn't write more than three sentences without feeling like I was garbage and my work was garbage and I should just quit. I would post a chapter and then immediately want to take the whole thing down. But then I realized...

I have about four half-finished projects in my WIP folder. I have written like 500,000 words that no one has ever read. Because I had fun doing it! Because I enjoy writing!!

And the point of this isn't to say writers shouldn't want or expect engagement. That is not at all what I'm saying!

What I am saying is that if you enjoy writing and you find that posting your work is making you feel unmotivated, discouraged, and you're not having fun anymore it is okay to take it down. It’s okay to make your work private for a while. It's okay to turn off Kudos emails or even comments. Whatever you need to do to make it fun again, do that. If you enjoy creating, please do not let the lack of engagement stop you!

It's been really helpful for me to find a community of creators! Without the support of @thedissonantverses @flowersforthemachines and @basedonconjecture I may have deleted my work months ago!

And that said, if you want someone to read your work, there are so many people (including and especially me) who would love to read and promote you! Participate in WIP Wednesday and Writing Weekend! Promote your own work!! Promote other creators' work! This is how we build community!

For readers:

If you love fanfic, and fanart and fandom in general engage with it. The urge to take down your work is real! And not unique to me! If writers don't get kudos or comments or replies on tumblr, they will delete their work. If there's a fic you find, and you enjoy it but you don't engage with it do not be surprised if you log on one day and it isn't there anymore. Or if it gets orphaned. Or if they simply stop updating it.

Fandom is meant to be a community. The whole purpose of it is to enjoy the things you enjoy with other people. If you're consuming free work (be that fanfic, fan art or something else) and you're not liking or reblogging or commenting then those people will stop sharing it.

And my personal take, while we're here: I do not get it.

I do not understand why there are people out there who do not jump at the chance to directly engage with authors and artists who make things that you enjoy. You can tell them personally how much you like their work! You can ask them questions! You can send them your unhinged ramblings on The Character.

And before anyone comes to my replies and says: I never know what to say ))):

Here is a non-comprehensive list of 10 slightly unhinged things that I've actually commented on fics (some edited for brevity)

I am chewing on glass.

bye i’m putting my fist through the wall 😭

These two are consuming my every waking thought

That ruined me i fear. I have passed away

THIS IS LITERATURE. absolutely tore my heart out.

You are sick in the head my friend

Im gonna sip on this sentence a while.🤌🏻

how could you do this to them? writing about this in my burn book brb

A) You absolutely cooked here B) how fucking dare you?

 kicking my feet and giggling!!!!!

And this isn't just for ao3/fanfic writers. Fanartists deserve love too! Artists love feedback!! The more unhinged the better!! Tell us we're evil! Quote our work back to us! Tell us you're smashing through walls like the Kool-aid man! Tell us that our work is making you scream and cry and blush!

No one is expecting you to leave several long paragraphs with an actual annotated review (not that that wouldn't also be welcome). Comment! Engage! Community is the whole point!

This also goes for finding Tumblr mutuals, by the way. If you want to make friends with people on here engage with their content! Like their posts! Reply to them! Send asks and messages!

Stop being afraid to enjoy things! That is like...all we are doing here.

[imagining-in-the-margins]

Undercover Challenge 🕵️

Hey everyone, I’m back with another monthly challenge! For the months of March AND April, I am formally challenging any willing writer to take a stab at writing fanfiction including someone undercover using their choice of Criminal Minds characters! Reader, Original Character, Character/Character ships, Gen/Platonic fics are allowed! Please check out the Rules below the Keep Reading.

There are prompts below the cut, so keep going!

(**This is NOT a request list for me—this is a prompt list of other writers! Feel free to request from someone else, and be sure to let them know about the challenge!)

General Prompts 🔍

Characters go undercover as a married couple.

A goes undercover as an escort to gain intel on B.

A feigns distress while undercover and is surprised when B saves them.

A goes undercover as a sex worker. B is shocked by their sexual persona.

Halloween masks offer the perfect opportunity to snoop on your coworkers.

A is excelling at their undercover work... until B shows up, also undercover.

Character goes undercover to a mystic who immediately identifies them as a spy.

A struggles with the more psychopathic aspects of their undercover work. B doesn't.

Character becomes close with their agent handler... they've never felt so cared for before.

Character is an investigative journalist trying to learn about the inner workings of the BAU.

It would be a lot easier to pretend if Character wasn't actually in love with their partner.

A thinks they've successfully tricked B... when B leans forward and speaks directly into their wire.

Character is surprised when their undercover partner is very good at pretending to be in love with them.

A becomes worries when B gets injured on an undercover mission that they were supposed to go on instead.

Character goes undercover as a stripper. This is how everyone learns they already knew how to pole dance.

Characters are both undercover, but think the other is in the organization they're investigating. They learn nothing.

Anything else you can think of!

Dialogue Prompts 🔍

"It's not real." / "It feels real."

"You should dress like that more often."

"You look... different." / "That's kind of the point."

“Did you really think this was going to work on me?”

“Your diamond ring is fake.” / “So is the engagement.”

"Maybe in another universe, I could’ve been different."

"You haven't even scratched the surface of my skillsets.”

“I’m just acting.” / “Oh? So you can make your heart race on command?”

“We should focus on the mission.” / “I’m trying, but you’re making it very difficult.”

“I know you have to go undercover, but do you really have to dress like that?” / “No, but I look good, don’t I?”

Rules

Your fic can be a Reader insert, an Original Character, a character/character ship, a platonic ship, or a Gen fic. It can feature any Criminal Minds character. AUs and crossovers are more than welcome.

Tag me in the fic, or send the link to me in a Direct Message. It can be already written, or you can write it for the challenge - I collect both! You can also tag “#mentioningmargins”

The fic can be any genre, but ONLY send me smut if your bio states you are 18+. I DO NOT WANT smut written by minors. Ever. At all. I will check. Platonic ships and pure, fluffy fics are 100% allowed. Please also include some indication of rating if it is NSFW.

Please include Content Warnings and a one-sentence Summary of the fic in your post. For xReader fics, PLEASE specify if your reader is Female, Male, or Gender Neutral.

Have fun!

The Masterlist of fics will (hopefully) be posted around April 30 If you finish after that, no problem - just send me the fic once you’re done and I’ll add it after-the-fact!

Feel free to message me if you want help developing a plot, have any questions, or just want to gush about your fic. I’m happy to help, and I’m happy you’re here ❤️

Happy writing!

[girl-lostconnection]

This post was probably a little overdue but here it is now.

Guys, I’m happy to see people that are excited to see my work. I’m always glad to geek out with you over these things because that’s one of the reasons why I made this blog in the first place and I really appreciate all the support I receive from you — it is much more than I could have ever expected.

What I’m not elated to see is the increased “I followed you for *insert specific AU*” and “when will you write more about *insert specific AU* i followed for it” in my inbox/askbox. First of all, I truly do not understand the point of coming out to say that you followed someone for one specific thing and then getting upset it’s not the main priority of the blog or not the main centrepiece.

I have been having some issues with Fruit bat AU for a little while now. While it was fun to write something this soft and funny and see how much people enjoyed the little jokes and animal facts that got woven in there, the continuous demand for more and more and more and more but in different font is overwhelming.

Also important notice: unless we talked about it and I specifically said that it’s okay, I’d appreciate my work NOT being rewritten and their endings changed just because you did not enjoy the original.

This is fanfiction, not an original piece of media. You don’t like mine? I hope you will find the one that works for you from a different creator.

But let’s respect my work and your time. Don’t do stuff like that, it does feel unpleasant.

And maybe I should have announced it specifically when I started writing in the first place but I write things I like reading AND writing myself. I’m my main Reader, I’m my most important audience.

I love sharing my work on here but it does not mean that I OWE to anyone what, how and when I write things.

I do not appreciate being treated like market and not a writer. I do not enjoy influx of demands, I do not like being someone to place pressure and disappointment on because I did not fulfil an expectation I didn’t know was there.

As of right now the requests are officially closed for an indefinite period of time. I will open them back when I will be emotionally and mentally ready to give more.

Clarification: I do like receiving requests from you, guys. I like being able to share and to write out something that before that only existed as a thought or a dream or an idea — it’s incredibly satisfying to see people be happy at the sight of my work and know that yeah, I did that.

What I do not like is pressure of expectations I never placed on myself.

I will write things not all of you may like and that’s okay. I will update things you did not want or did not wait for and that’s also okay. I like them, so I wrote them. I was interested in them so I wrote more.

I enjoy being part of this community tremendously but guys, you are in my sandbox.

This is my playground first and foremost. And as much as i like to share it — that’s what I do. I share.

You don’t own it or my time or my writing.

Let’s treat each other a little nicer. Because next time the continuous pressure may backfire severely.

And it may not only not get you the thing you want, but cause me to start reject said specific work.

As the result it not only will never be updated — I may consider removing it all together.

[asaka-lucy-hl]

Report on the 3rd Online Meeting of the Last Defense Academy School Council (Held on February 28)

The archived video is now available for the School Council members, so I’ve listed the key points and comments from Kodaka and Inou (THL’s producer) that I found particularly important or amusing. Part of the report is written in the form of a conversation, and the person named Miyokawa who appears in it is the editor-in-chief of a Japanese gaming media outlet called Famitsu.

Q: There are now 55 days until release. How are things going? Kodaka: We’re working on some patches, but development itself is basically finished. Until recently, I was making final adjustments to the parts I was responsible for, as well as checking the balance of the SRPG sections. But now that’s all settled, so I’ve been playing through the parts written by other writers—the ones I wasn’t involved in during development—as a player.

Q: So you're playing THL from a player’s perspective? Kodaka: Yes, exactly. There are parts I didn’t oversee at all, so I’m experiencing them for the first time myself.

Q: The demo’s reviews have the status of “Overwhelmingly Positive”… Kodaka: They’re all fake reviews. (Everyone laughs) Kodaka: We paid people 100 yen each to write them. Miyokawa: That’s cheap. (laughs) Inou: I personally wrote about 30 of them. (Everyone laughs) Miyokawa: Let’s not make jokes like that—it could spread in a weird way. It’s not true! (laughs) Right now, there are around 806 reviews. Kodaka: It’s really nice to see so many reviews for just the demo.

Q: Do you feel the impact of the feedback? Kodaka: Yes, I do. With Rain Code, we didn’t release a demo, and while DRV3 had a demo, there wasn’t really a place for people to leave reviews like this. So being able to see this kind of reaction is really valuable. We’ve even used some of the feedback to make adjustments in patches, so in that sense, I’m glad we released a demo. Also, as I mentioned in my Famitsu interview today, seeing the reactions to the demo has been a relief. My worries have eased a bit. Before the demo was released, I was thinking, “What if we only sell 600 copies...?” But now I know we’ll at least sell 800, so I feel a little better. (Everyone laughs) Miyokawa: I don’t think 800 copies is a number you should feel reassured about. (laughs)

Q: The SRPG sections were more challenging than I expected. Kodaka: That’s true. I think that’s one of the aspects that received particularly good feedback. When it comes to the story, a lot of people commented that it felt “Danganronpa-like” and nostalgic, but for the SRPG sections, it seemed like many players only truly understood what they were like after playing them.

The SRPG has a system where, if you get a game over, various relief measures kick in, making it progressively easier. Personally, when I play action games and keep getting game overs, I always think, “Why doesn’t this game have some kind of relief system?!” Since I’m more of a casual gamer, after dying three times, I just want the game to let me clear it already.

Miyokawa: So THL has that kind of relief system? Kodaka: Yes. Since I’m the type of person who wants that kind of feature, I made sure to include it.

Q: Since we have Kodaka here, I’d love for the School Council members to share their thoughts directly with you. But at the same time, many fans are hesitant to say too much because they’re worried about spoilers.

Kodaka: Yeah, but honestly, what’s playable in the demo is really just the tip of the iceberg—actually, more like the tip of the tip of the iceberg. I’ve seen a lot of reviews commenting on how surprisingly large the demo is, saying things like, “I can’t believe they released this much content.” But in reality, it’s just a small fraction of the full game. So many more things are going to happen from here on.

On the other hand, since the development team talks openly about all this stuff among ourselves, I sometimes worry that I might accidentally slip up and drop a keyword or something.

Most SRPGs tend to have a fantasy feel, but I think this demo really conveys just how much of a 'chuunibyou' (edgy, over-the-top) vibe the game has.

(Everyone laughs)

One thing that’s always bothered me about SRPGs is how, toward the end, the gameplay often turns into just surrounding the last enemies and bullying them. At a certain point, you realize, “Oh, I can’t lose anymore,” and the tension disappears. I wanted to reduce that as much as possible.

So, I designed the game around "comeback victories." The more allies you lose, the stronger you become.

I set it up so that, near the end, you might think, “Only two of us are left... but if we risk everything, we might just pull this off... We did it!!!” That kind of dramatic, high-stakes moment. I feel like that also adds to the game’s chuunibyou spirit.

---

<Kodaka's Comments During the Fan Q&A Session>

Darumi is the kind of character that seems like they could fit into Danganronpa but actually can't. If you have a character like that, they’d basically have to be killed off early on. So, while they might seem like a Danganronpa character, they actually wouldn’t work.

Maruko wouldn’t fit either. Someone that much of a coward would be hard to use in the story. Ginzaki as well—if he keeps sinking into self-loathing every time he speaks, the Class Trial wouldn’t progress at all. Surprisingly, there are a lot of characters that seem like they could appear in Danganronpa but actually wouldn’t.

For the first nine characters (except for Takumi), I wanted them to feel a little more relatable, a bit more grounded compared to the ones in Danganronpa or Rain Code. Maruko, Kawana, Shizuhara—they don’t have over-the-top appearances. Since this game has war as a theme, I wanted to include somewhat realistic reactions to that. So, at first, I aimed to depict real high school students with these nine characters. ...But I couldn't really do it. laughs In the end, I just kept adding more and more, and it turned out the same as always—intense characters all over again.

(Everyone laughs)

Kodaka: Still, I think the designs are slightly more relatable than those in Danganronpa, don’t you? Miyokawa: Darumi might be a bit extreme, though. Kodaka: Yeah, that’s true. But then all the characters that got added later ended up being way too intense, which made for a really unbalanced mix. laughs

Q: Are you participating in the 100-day login campaign? Kodaka: I haven’t logged in once. (Everyone laughs)

Q. The controls with the keyboard are difficult. Can they be improved before release? Kodaka: To be honest, I strongly recommend using a gamepad. Well... making adjustments for keyboard controls costs money, you know. Inou: Yeah, it’s not like we didn’t consider it, but given the budget, we decided it was better to just ask players to use a gamepad.

Q: Will there be any shocking announcements before the release? Kodaka: Honestly, we’re still debating how much to reveal. From a marketing perspective, it would be better to make an honest announcement that "This and that happen," people would go, "Whoa, this game is insane!" But at the same time, I want players to experience those surprises firsthand. So I’m thinking maybe it’s best to hold back and rely on post-release word-of-mouth instead. I don’t want to ruin those moments of shock for the players.

That said, I was looking at the demo reviews, and it seems like a lot of people were really reacting to Aotsuki’s event CG from Tokyo Game Show. Maybe that’s because, after playing the demo, they understood the characters better?

Inou: Yeah, that one definitely got people buzzing and stirred up a lot of "What!?!" reactions. Kodaka: At TGS, we had a bunch of event CGs on display at the booth. And we figured, "Hey, let’s throw in something fun at the edge of the lineup!" So we deliberately included one of the more intense event CGs. But I think it’s still hard to understand why things turned out that way.

There are over 600 event CGs in the game, so I doubt many people will see all of this.

---

On the development process

Kodaka: Today, various sections of the team were interviewed, and while reminiscing about the road to release, our staff kept saying things like: "I never thought we’d finish this game." "There’s no way this is possible."

Honestly, for the past two years, I’ve been hearing nothing but people saying, “It’s impossible! We can’t finish it!”

Miyokawa: Sounds like the whole Tookyo Games team was in despair. Kodaka: Yeah, Tookyo Games was in despair. Even Media.Vision (the company handling the SRPG sections) was in despair. Inou: Right. And since I was managing the project, I was in despair too. (Everyone laughs) Inou: So, at some point, I thought we had to force ourselves to finish it. Speaking of which, someone started saying scary things like, "If we had another year, we could have done even better..." Kodaka: It would never be finished at that rate. laughs Miyokawa: That just shows how ambitious the game was. Kodaka: Yeah, and I think the quality turned out really high. The character sprites and music are really abundant, too.

Plus, in the ADV sections, the scripting was all handled by the actual scenario writers. For the sections I wrote, I also did all the scripting myself. In fact, the entire ADV section of the demo—I handled all the scripting for it.

That’s probably why people kept saying in reviews that it feels like Danganronpa—because everything, from the way sound effects are used to the way music changes, was all done in my style.

While working on this, I realized that I’m actually really good at scripting. Maybe even better than writing scenarios. I genuinely feel like my directing makes things more engaging.

Miyokawa: Do different writers have their own distinct styles? Kodaka: Yeah, you can really tell, especially with Uchikoshi—his writing stands out a lot. There are some sections where you just know it’s him. But I think that’s part of the game’s charm—there are so many different routes, and multiple writers contributed to them.

---

[Closing Segment]

Miyokawa: Now then, does anyone know what day it is today, February 28th? Kodaka: Monster Hunter release day! Miyokawa: (laughs) Oh, the team members know what I mean. That’s right—it’s Ginzaki’s birthday! So, we have prepared a cake for him!

What do you think? Kodaka: That’s impressive. It does look a bit like his ears are melting though. Miyokawa: Well, is he really that beloved? Inou: I believe a lot of people will end up loving him. He’s already popular at ANIPLEX, and he’s one of my favorites too. Kodaka: He does have a great range of expressions. A lot of them are annoying, though. (Everyone laughs) Miyokawa: Even the expression on the cake is a little irritating, right? He doesn't seem to be aware that he is being celebrated. ---

Miyokawa: Lastly, do you have any message for the School Council members? Kodaka: Well, after the release, I’d love to have a meeting where we can share our thoughts without worrying about spoilers. I think a lot of different impressions will come up. Probably, about a month after the release, people who have played it will have completely different opinions, so I’d like to hear everyone’s thoughts at a good time. I think this is a work where sharing impressions will be a lot of fun, so please look forward to it and wait until the release.

---

That’s all for now. Please note that this post only highlights the parts of their statements that I found interesting, and some sections have been edited for flow, as they were not originally consecutive.

I hope you find some parts of it enjoyable to read. Thanks for reading! 🌟

[blue-jisungs]

it’s already 4/03 here so i wanted to make a post since i’ll be busy all day

HAPPY 3 YEARS ON HERE FOR ME!!! 🎆🎆🎇🎇🎇🎆

i’m gonna be forever grateful for this lil community we’ve built here. thank you all so so much for those 3 fun years!

sappy warning: writing really helps me. it always did. when im at my mental lowest, i know i can escape from reality into my silly writing world. it’s a blessing itself. but then there’s also people who enjoy it? who i became friends with because of those written works? it’s something that’s hard to believe and yet… yet here we are :)

i can’t express my gratitude enough so i did what i do the best (i would hope so)! to celebrate there’s gonna be a kevin series event! if it seems familiar it’s bc it used to be an old work of mine (wattpad times…) which i rewrote for kev. i hope you all enjoy.

i know i complain a lot about the lack of interaction and engagement – and i will. don’t get me wrong, i appreciate all of you. but with each passing year it gets worse: people do not reblog w comments, do not leave feedback. and writers want that. so i feel like, yet again, it’s a good moment to remind you… encourage your authors, comment and interact with them! hopefully that way we can even hit 10 long years together!! (or eternity if u will)

i’d also would like to shout out some of my moots – yall know who u are!! i’ve come to meet so so many wonderful people during this time and i cannot imagine my life without them… even though you’re just small people inside my screen. and even if we don’t talk much, i still love you to bits. i’ll try my best to reach out but we all know how crazy life can get.

thank you, mootsies and followers, for being with me. bearing my lows, cherishing my heights. and loving my work – a huge piece of my soul.

love, axe.

( tagging some moots friends and iconic followers (i see u guys!!) @slytherinshua @l3visbby @yudaies @loserlvrss @weird-bookworm

@fairyhaos @mirxzii @planetkiimchi @icyminghao @eternalgyu

@etherealyoungk @haecien @rubywonu @wonkierideul @seokminfilm

@gyuwrites @writingmeraki @gluion @glosskirt @piillow

@littleghost129 @laylasbunbunny @mayawastaken26 @talkingsaxy @wheeboo

@hhaechansmoless @kafka-shores @nicholasluvbot @heechwe @am00ures )

[chaos-element]

I’ve been thinking about replying to this all week, @bringthekaos! I can’t believe I made your whole year! You made me really happy by writing MH Viktor, so it’s wonderful to know I was able to return the favor :)

Your research into League lore clearly paid off! Though I imagine it was also a bit of a nightmare to make sense of, especially Viktor’s, since Riot’s never been very consistent in their portrayals of him (I’m not salty about it, I swear. I’m a perfectly sane adult that’s never been tilted by League before, promise! …cough). Anyway! “Bitter divorced dad energy” killed me XD. League Jayce can be boiled down to Steampunk Tony Stark. Except Riot forgot to give him Tony’s heart of gold or capacity for introspection, so he’s just an ass most of the time. (Ironically, the comic that botched Viktor more than anything else Riot’s done happens to perfectly capture Jayce - you can read his bit here). But yeah, good call to lean into Talis over Gio. Talis has a lot more depth and character development, and a much better basis for a relationship with Viktor; Gio is more of a meme than a person lol. Still, it was neat to see how you incorporated some very Gio moments into your Divorce Era fics, so thank you for that! (I started replying to the part about how you wish they’d kept the Machine Herald and you’re salty, because damn do I have a lot to say about that subject! Gestures to mountain of salt behind them. But that got out of control SO fast and probably deserves its own post lol)... Especially since they teased it so well in the first half of S1 of Arcane! And they even snuck in some League easter eggs in the Hexclaw scene! (The claw having a mind of its own! Lasering poros!) And! And! --unintelligible angry cave man noises …ahem. Yuss, this is the way! One of the things I love about fandoms is there’s always room for more. Just because Riot decided to replace our dear metal man with… something that doesn’t really match Arcane Viktor tbh, doesn’t mean he can’t live on! (Thanks again for helping to make sure he does). And I am not a writer, so take this with a grain of salt, but is it important to have the sequel match the same format as the original? Could it not be a collection of short stories or scenes, and then if you feel like it later, you could write more to stitch them all together? I’m glad you liked writing Renata! Always fun to have a good bad guy. Tbh I ended up reading her lore for the first time after finishing Pulse, and I think you wrote her well too! (She came out a few years after I stopped playing League and therefore caring about new champ releases). Though idk who Ama is? I’m bad with names, and there’s a lot I don’t remember about League lore (tbf to me, there’s a lot of crazy in there). But I love this idea (the Stitch reference is also perfect)! Metal weirdo science man rumored to experiment on people, outwardly projects intimidating mechanical-Vulcan vibes, does the violent bidding of a real scary lady? Friend-shaped. Innately understood to be soft and squishy on the inside - in that way that children see through bullshit - and must now fend off attempts at friendship? Amazing. Beautiful. Chef kiss. Can’t wait!

Hey! Just wanted to say that I'm loving your Divorce Era fics! Finished Pulse of the Machine a bit ago and I'm working my way through the rest. You do such a great job of blending all versions of Viktor's lore - OG, 2016, Arcane - into something that feels natural, exciting, and so very Viktor! And you even managed to incorporate some of the more controversial aspects of his 2016 lore while still maintaining his characterization! (something Riot chose to sacrifice for the sake of establishing the general feel of League's factions). As someone who played League for years and loved OG Viktor, it's so nice to see his pre-Arcane elements being included in the Jayvik community. Your work has been so fun to read, and just- Aaaaaaaah!! Words are failing me! Thank you for sharing your work with all of us! P.S. I hope you do decide to make a sequel to Pulse, since you've set it up so nicely for one! (How do they free Viktor from his condition? What is Renata going to do with that Hexcore-harvested plant venom? What shenanigans do Cait and Vi get up to on their Council-ordered leave? (Love how you write those two together too!))

So sorry this took me so long to answer, but I was literally speechless. Just… thank you so much!!! This means so much to me! I’ve still never played League, I only got into all of this in ‘21 when season 1 came out, but I really did fall in love with Viktor’s (and Jayce’s!) game lore, and did my best to learn all about it! There are elements of both that I love (for instance I adore Talis and lean a little more heavily toward Talis than Gio, but I do still love Gio and his bitter divorced dad energy). And I kinda just melded the two together in a way that I hoped was smooth and genuine, and to know that I succeeded? From someone who has been following the lore long before I ever got here?? It makes me wanna break down and cry with gratitude. I really do wish they had kept the Machine Herald, and I’m still salty about it. And for a while, I was super depressed thinking I could never again write MH because he doesn’t exist anymore.

But then I decided that he’s mine now, haha. I will keep him alive by continuing to write him. Which leads me to the second portion of your ask! I still would love to write a sequel to Pulse, I did have some plot bunnies marinating in my head for it, but I never really solidified it. It was more just a collection of scenes than a fully fleshed out plot. But hopefully one day!! I loved writing Renata, and I would actually also love to work in Naph and Ama, if possible. I’m obsessed with the idea that both those kids took one look at this fucked up, emotionally repressed and lonely asshole and basically did this…

Fucking priceless.

Anyhoo, thank you again for such kind words, you made my whole year already and it’s only February! 💖

[kiingbiing]

-

[myokk]

For writers:

What’s your favorite piece of writing you’ve done, and why??

Idk I just woke up thinking about this & now I’m curious!!! & may or may not be compiling a tbr based on your responses since I really haven’t had the time to read any hl fics yet🫶🫶🫶

[themarysuep]

Nooo the last thing the MCU wanted to do was make Bruno her primary love interest. I’m not sure if you’ve seen it, but there’s a deleted scene where Bruno admits his feelings and Kamala shoots him down.

This was admittedly a really cruel scene, and I see why Marvel decided to delete it. But it really showed that the MCU writers had no respect for Bruno. It’s the fandom that tries to make everything about him. If you compare it to when he admits his feelings in the comics, this was a definite no from Kamala, instead of her beating around the bush. There’s also Nakia clearly shipping Kamala / Kamran and getting angry when Bruno tries to embarrass Kamala in front of Kamran. There’s even a hilarious scene where “bad, bad, bad, bad boy (come on)i wouldn't change you if i could” plays when Kamala looks at Kamran walking off. Clearly, trying to say fuck those comics lol. Bruno’s screentime in the MCU struck me more as being respectful to GWW’s writing as the source material, since she gives him all the attention when she writes. He was written as an accessory to Kamala in the MCU tbh. The show and all the promo was about Kamran.

If it were me, I would trust Nakia more than Bruno. She’s mature, opinionated, strong and understands Kamala’s religious values. She would be the person I would trust to help me because she’s just a strong force, you know? She would make me feel safe. Kamala admits in the MCU that she was scared to tell Nakia because she knows Nakia hates superhero types or whatever. But Nakia reinforces that she could never hate Kamala (and Kamran). She would do anything to help them. Nakia cares about who is behind the powers, who is behind the mask. A privileged person, or people who are targeted. It was a very ambitious exploration of telling a story about Muslims and real minorities. Qarin was a good arc. Would be cool to get a recurring character like that. I mean Josh was a pretty shit person from the first issue of Ms Marvel.

Yeah, Iman won’t entertain the current ships when she takes over unless it’s mandated. Sophie did appear in Spiderman right? They could actually do a little Miles/Kamala/Sophie thing to wrap everything up. Sophie and Kamala having lunch in NY like they’re seen doing before. They’re having a really good day and laughing. Sophie saying she was actually thinking about Kamala and how amazing she is, and she just really wants to share something with her. And it’s very clear that she wants to tell her she has feelings for her. Then Miles comes in frantically saying he wants to speak to Kamala. I’m guessing at this point, he’s dying on the inside because he’s kept it in so long. Kamala sees how stressed he looks so she asks Sophie to give them a minute and she walks away to speak to Miles. Sophie obviously gets annoyed and tells Miles to talk to Kamala later, about to cause a scene. Kamala, in character, tells Sophie not to be mean. Sophie eavesdrops while Miles admits his feelings, which kind of breaks Sophie’s heart because she was also trying to find the courage. She walks away and leaves, not wanting to hear anymore. Kamala will likely give Miles her same old speech about being too busy for relationships, or that she genuinely hasn’t thought about him in that way or that she’s been through so much lately and she can’t handle a relationship. Miles smiles and says it okay, but the last time he tried to tell her, she cut him off, so he really wanted to get it off his chest. And jokingly tells her, it’s just in case she dies again. We cut to Sophie not taking Kamala’s calls. Sophie is in her apartment, alone, and we see her holding something that belongs to Kamala (I think it’s canon Kamala stays at her apartment sometimes because she doesn’t have her dorm anymore?) and just shaking her head realizing that she’s changed her mind. She cuts Kamala’s call and texts her that she had to run off because she forgot she had a class. Kamala none the wiser, because who would think two people would admit their feelings on the same day lol, sends her a heart in acknowledgement….not realizing that it was actually a knife to Sophie’s actual heart.

I don’t think Iman vibes with Bruno tbh so I think the romance is kind of over while she writes. She will write him as a loyal friend, and it might be that Marvel tells her who to make the lead (Bruno) when she writes to entice more readers. I like Kareem the best for now. No one really competes with Kamran for me anymore though. I have MCU brainrot. Yeah, I’m not saying these writers are terrible but they’re not perfect either. I see a lot of the fandom believe that early comics were “perfect representation” and the MCU is messing things up. That’s far from the truth. I rambled A LOT, sorry.

So, Medusa might be the best heroic mentor Kamala's had? Like, she's kinda the only one that didn't disappoint her or tried to force anything on her, or was too stubborn to listen to her. Medusa's entire approach to inhumans outside of their city is to treat them like her subjects but doesn't expect them to treat her like their queen.

She opens Attilan's borders, allowing non-inhumans to live and work there if they want. She offers Kamala assistance when she needs it but never tries to push her towards her "side", and if anything during IvX listens to her and her friends.

When her powers started to literally melt her body it wasn't the X-Men who showed up to help, (actually it was kind of their fault that it happened in the first place) it was Medusa. And even though the chances of saving her aren't certain, she has such faith in Kamala's strength that she doesn't doubt that she'll pull through.

And I don't know, that's just kind of neat?

[platypusisnotonfire]

Something that you’re not prepared for when world building is that sometimes writing how a space station runs involves breaking down every single scientific, electrical, mechanical, and Human Resources parts of running a space station and logging these things over two dozen cross referenced spreadsheets and also gosh darn it you’re running on an alien time clock and calendar so you can’t use any premade employee schedulers you have to make your own which is another four spreadsheets

JUST to figure out where Corporal Cosmoulis is on Fifthday the 15th of Friass at 2830 hours.

[dyketennant]

oh i can already tell i’m about to have some really unpopular opinions about the edge of sleep tv show

[advancedscurvy]

other people have got to have someone who they keep around as a bug under a microscope for being like “what in the hell is wrong with you”

[snixx]

I genuinely hope stranger things gets cancelled and season 5 never comes out idc if it’s already been greenlit and probably filmed I just want to stay in this era of the tumblr fandom forever the writers will never beat what y’all come up with by the week

[jorvikzelda]

oh my hell it’s been FIFTY DAYS since i posted on jorvikpov????? oh god. oh fuck. oh good fucking lord