#I'll go thru my asks one by one

[futurenanduzi]

Do you guys have pet names for each other? :3

She's... still not used to it, surprisingly!

[honeydots]

I would like some teasers about that Xander - Soleil father-daughter support fic please 💖

HEHEHE that'd be my pleasure~~!! i'll put a couple things under the cut c:

the fanart nattie drew for me is from their c-support!! the gist of it is that xander's employing a similar punishment to soleil as he did to laslow for excessive flirting :3 but as they're working in xander's office, they both end up falling asleep, hence the little scene in the art <3

the rest of the support is about soleil lying through her teeth about how she totally isn't flirting anymore so she doesn't get in trouble again, and xander completely seeing through her lie and doing a dad-thing of trying to make her come clean herself instead of directly calling her out !!

[johnslittlespoon]

also my inbox is fr a warzone rn i'm SO behind on like ~50 asks </3 itching to get back, just been trying to focus on actual fic writing when i get in a rare productive swing instead of hrs of drabbling and brainrot lmfaooo but i'll clear up a whole evening eventually to sit down and go thru a ton of them!

[helianskies]

no one ever ask me to write smut bc it takes 4k words of foreplay that isn't even foreplay it's me just teasing you with context and a would-be au before i inevitably disappoint you with the climax 👍

[bunnihearted]

📓🕯️🐇🖤

[faebriel]

hgs brainrot has returned due to tbosas .. speaking of hgs here’s an ask abt the hgs au: if things were totally different, and Wilbur were to be a 12 victor, what do you think a possible mentor-tribute dynamic would look like between him & Niki? I feel like it would be similar to Snow & Lucy in the way that he’s just going out of his way to cheat n help her

anon u have in fact struck jackpot because this is a concept i was spinning some thoughts abt before bee mentioned avoxes and we went OOOOH at that!!! so yes i have considered rainduo as a mentor-tribute dynamic and would love to talk about that concept too :]

so for this concept i think wilbur and niki would be close friends throughout childhood from 12, and then in their teens wilbur is reaped and, well, no one has particularly high hopes (he's a writer and a musician at heart, not a fighter) but through sheer trickery and dumb luck, he makes it to the end of the games. wilbur pulled some pretty fucked up tricks to win - when you can't use brute force, you have to use your brain - and partly due to the trauma of the games, partly due to his shame and survivor's guilt, he sinks into the capitol and relishes a new life there as a socialite. to him, the old wilbur died in the games and the new one has taken his place - to niki, and to his other friends in 12, whatever the games did to him made him into every vapid heartless capitol victor there is.

or. niki has her doubts. they all saw how horrible the games were, but surely there is some part of him left, some part that's hurting, even if it's buried deep?

anyway.

like og spin of the au, niki is reaped and this sucks - this time she does expect wilbur as her mentor on the train, and she expects some kind of warm welcome (maybe even an apology for leaving them so suddenly and silently? an explanation?) but she gets jack shit. wilbur is jaded and cruel and unrecognisable and niki entirely hates it. this is the part where i REALLY WISH we got some time of those two beefing with each other directly in canon (or at least interactions while niki was So Mad at him) but it's okay we fly blind. niki feels abandoned, lonely, thrown off of her kilter - she expected an ally in this place, but she doesn't recognise the person wilbur has become. she doesn't recognise his shallowness (...much), his ruthless advice for the arena, the way he doesn't seem to care for anything. she's scared and now she's lonely and it pisses her off - their mentorship is fraught. here are some thoughts from discord on that:

i tend to think of niki as a bit naïve before l'manberg or even doomsday - i think this is an au where this streak would come out real strong, and niki is stubborn that she can get through the games without losing herself. stubborn that she can stop things, that she can protect people. i don't think wilbur is cold enough (or, really, can bear to say aloud) to say that her odds in the arena are slim enough as it is, but he definitely tells her that she's making enemies and that her odds of survival dwindle with the more trouble she causes.

beyond that... hm. niki's trust in wilbur is almost unshakeable until nov 16, even when she outright says she doesn't recognise him anymore. i think she'd reluctantly listen re: don't burn down any buildings, but she would grow bolder each day she had to stay in the capitol. she gets more honest in front of the cameras. she makes more friends in training, and not the ones wilbur recommends. she throws barbs at him every time he makes one of those callous, cold-hearted comments about other tributes and rankings and odds. and besides, she's going in the arena this time, not him. she needs to practice her bravery.

it's like... she hasn't given up on him. she thinks the old wilbur is in there somewhere. (she is wrong. that is not how trauma works.) but she won't hold her tongue just because she

for extra angst points could definitely play up the whole 'feeling abandoned' angle between them as niki goes into the arena - probably due to how fraught their friendship gets leading up to the games. niki wants to focus on them and their friendship, wilbur has stringently cut off (almost) everything from 12 and refuses to let her in; he tells her to behave for the cameras, she tells him she never will. i think the last point in that screenshot would also make for a super tasty argument where niki feels wilbur has gone astray, that he's abandoned 12, and that he'll probably do nothing but sit on his ass and watch her die and he can't even bring himself to care about her anymore, can he? just more fodder for the arena. and honestly, i think wilbur would passively agree with most of that - he values niki's opinion, after all, even now, and if she says he's rapidly descending into a lost cause then she must be right. and it's niki, so she will be fine, and he goes to his bedroom that night and tries to pretend he is sleeping perfectly fine instead of feeling paralysed with fear.

okay now onto the games - YES HE SO WOULD. or at least i think he would go out of his way to help. as for cheating - he's a recent victor for 12 and i think he would value tommy (no doubt a link to him... i think they'd be in touch in this au also) too much to risk the punishment falling onto him as well. i get the vibes this is a games closer to 74th than 10th, so there are far fewer opportunities to cheat and the consequences of getting caught are higher. but schmoozing up sponsors? making stupid ass radio interviews or whatever to talk up niki's odds? sharing anecdotes from their childhood - some real, some entirely fabricated - across capitol airwaves to stoke their sympathy? 100%. with less to lose in this au, i think niki would be far less inclined to play nice for the cameras - i hope you starve, she spits at one of them, and wilbur appears on a talkshow two days later as she scrambles for survival in the arena to talk up how she always saved loaves from the bakery for the poorest mothers and children in 12. he borrows and begs and swindles to the point where it feels like cheating. but hey, this new wilbur is capitol-branded. he knows how to play the game.

if anything he probably sinks into the game a little too much. self-preservation is not his forte. probably wracks up a few heavy debts and favours to owe, but those are not priority until niki is out of the arena, alive. as long as she wins, and as long as the family he has isn't in danger, he will manage. wow it would suck if at some point those two goals became impossible to co-achieve. anyway

i kind of see niki's victory in the arena being similar to the one in the main au - if only because planning out an entire games is hard for meee >-< . she walks in bolder and braver for sure, and with a less strategic pick of allies, but they all get picked off and she spends a few weeks so terrified she can barely sleep and then she ruptures some fuel line and sets the arena alight with a fire that burns brighter and more ravenously than it should. but she wins, and she's airlifted out of a filthy, muddy creek she had resigned herself to die in, and wilbur barges his way through as many peacekeepers so that he can actually see her with her burnt skin and hair and unfocused eyes and trust that what was on the screens wasn't a fluke, and that they made it. and then it's just a matter of surviving the after.

i'm sure there are some other random quirks or tidbits i can think of re: this take on a c!rainduo hunger games au but these are my base thoughts!!

[girl-please-study]

Watch me catch up with 4 semesters material

[shikai-the-storyteller]

Berries are the best frickin thing in the world man

[whumpshaped]

Very proud of u for facing people I could never

to be fair i mostly just sat there but wow anything outside of the Home is so so scary

[piplupod]

I actually had no idea you had so many followers, didn't mean to make it feel super vague or weird I just know this person IRL so it caught my eye. my apologies for it coming off weird.

this is the link to screenshots, and the blog titles are vistorille and bloodlikefire

https://www.tumblr.com/evilios/713336133904367616/okay-im-gonna-put-this-one-out-here-and-delete

AH OKAY, yeah no we're not mutuals, idk how i started following that person to be entirely transparent fshdgjkl I recognize the url (the first url, not the second) but not the typing style of this person's original posts. the only thing I can think of is maybe I followed them way back in my witchblr days because I see they've rbed some stuff around that, and it feels like a blog I would've followed when I was 17/18/19 and waistdeep in that sort of thing (never radfeminism to be clear, just ... occultism and paganism stuff).

however yeah it looks like they've popped off on radfem/terf type bullshit recently (i did a quick blog search and scroll and everything seems to be from within the last week or two RIP and theres a bunch of trans inclusive posts before that ???) and they state they're a "trans inclusionary radfem" which is ??????

wish I'd seen this behaviour but apparently I haven't been actively refreshing my dash while they've been active or I missed all those posts in the sea of all the other posts FDSJKL

unfollowed and blocked though, thank you for bringing this to my attention! i genuinely appreciate it since I can't keep up with everything! (and obviously if anyone else sees me rbing from ppl like this lmk, just PLEASE give me a url to go check out so i can actually investigate)

also idk if it needs to be said but please don't any of y'all seeing this go send this person hate or anything on either of their blogs, just block them if you need to lmao. don't feed the trolls etc etc

EDIT: okay yeah thats a blog i followed back in 2018ish sdgjkl they changed their url but its a witchblr i followed back in the day RIP we hate to see old followings turn out to be nasty ppl :[

[safyresky]

25, 7 (cs spoilers)

Alright, alright, I see this one is in HIGH DEMAND SO! @mellomadness @definitelyy-not-a-vampire and @someheroescarryfloss, here you go!! 😈😈

(and honourable mention to @shittyelfwriter bc your child is in this scene)

(and yes, this is the whole entire scene 7)

(I am disappointed. I was hoping it was a longer one so I could split it into three amongst the three asks lmao. ANYWAY HERE WE GO)

Chapter 25: Scene 7

“Jacqueline?”

The tears kept coming. Her eyes stayed shut.

“It’s okay,” Elle said, grabbing her friend’s hand and giving it a squeeze. “I’m here. We got you help! You’re safe.”

She squeezed back. Hard. “I don’t think I am,” she admitted, eyes still closed.

“No, don’t talk like that! You are.”

Jacqueline’s eyes shot open. “Then why can’t you hear me?”

Elle’s heart dropped. “I’m sure we can figure it out.”

“We can’t,” Jacqueline said, desperation in her voice. She shifted, sliding upwards and resting against the headboard. “Nothing I do fixes anything." Her voice cracked. Tears were rolling faster down her cheeks now, freezing before they could drop off of her chin. “It’s all just so…hopeless.”

“No. No no no don’t say that! It’s not over yet. I mean, we figured out what happened to you! That’s good! We can stop it, now! Your dad’s here and—”

“I feel so hopeless,” Jacqueline admitted, looking up at her friend with watery eyes. “I’ve failed.”

[spaceyflowerswriting]

sorry the mbek mbek one was me I was bored how are you author –🐏

JSFHJWD nw its nice to see u <33 (does mbek mbek mean something btw...? :0c)

currently im gaslighting myself into being positive so i can finish the school quarter up without losing my mind but otherwise im fine 💪💪

how are you? ^_^

[honeydots]

Otp ask!!! 19, 22, 29 for xanlow- you can do all three or just pick one :D

OTP ask game

expectedly, this got long, so im putting it under a cut!

19: What do they fight about most often? (Alternative: what was their biggest fight?)

ohgh. pre-relationship its certainly the same thing they get in arguments abt in-game, which is laslow's behavioral issues (ESPECIALLY regarding women LOL) but post relationship--i think, at least, laslow is a pretty devoted partner. so the flirting issue dwindles (tho its fun to think abt the process of him successfully killing that habit~), so it's not the most prominent thing they argue abt anymore. on laslow's side, once laslow starts getting comfortable calling xander out on some of his Things, it'd result in the potential for little spats. his work ethic, his harshness, his stubbornness. i don't think xander takes what he finds to be unwarranted critique particularly well. he's not used to it, either, not coming from laslow. so he gets huffy HAHA

on the other hand, something i rly like for xander's side is him pointing out the ways that laslow will Not let go of some of his retainer habits (i wrote a fic abt this), and trying to get laslow to recognize that he holds a lot of worth to xander. also, i dont think laslow's issue of not wanting to burden ppl with his problems will just go away, and i think the more xander realizes that's something he does, the more he starts pestering him about it.

with all this being said i think it does take a lot to get them into an actual, lasting, *argument* once they're in a relationship. probably would take a pretty specific scenario? i don't think it's impossible that it could happen, tho.

22: Love languages? How do they get around differences, if any?

rubs my hands together. i rly rly think xander is a gift giving man.... i think he's also more physically affectionate than expected (and can get particularly touchy if he gets jealous (...which he does. more on my hc that xander's harsh punishments for laslow flirting w women were fueled by jealousy later KFJSKDFJ)). on that note, i think he's also more chill abt PDA than expected too, but he can get awkward around his siblings.

laslow i think is more wordy abt his affection!! both in giving affection and in receiving it, and i think it takes some communication for xander to start verbalizing in a way that resonates with laslow heh. physical touch seems very obvious for laslow too considering that he does literally glomp xander multiple times HAHA tho when xander initiates it i think it flusters him quite a bit while they're early on in their relationship :3

i dont necessarily think they clash, but they need to nudge each other in the right direction sometimes!! neither of them are mind readers so it does take some effort, tho.

29: First date? (Give as much or little detail)

first date.... hmm...!!! i feel like their first date would go along the lines of that they've been in a relationship for a while, and laslow ends up being like we NEED to go on a DATE that's what people DO. not just an outing (waggling his finger), but a defined date. laslow would be the one to set the whole thing up (and honestly, the reason he probably feels like they haven't been on a date before is bc *he* hasn't taken *xander* on one, tho ultimately this would still be the first time they've been on a defined date) and hmm perhaps they'd see an opera together, or something. i think it'd go well, too, no catastrophes or major issues. and from then on they do start doing little things together more often. not always quite as high end as an opera, but it opens the way!

[loverscrossmp3]

hi liv!!! 1 3 9 for fic writer questions!! xxxx

leah!! HII how are u omg!!!!!

1. What fic of yours would you recommend to someone who had never read any of your work? (In other words, what do you think is the best introduction to your fics?)

hmmm... i'd say and still the fire burns (sorry i've been on a kick lately! cannot be helped!!) i think as it is my most recent so it obviously reflects my writing style best and is much more developed both character and plot-wise than my others. but cross my heart, cross the line (god i need to come up with shorter titles) also for a more light-hearted approach!

3. What are some tropes or details that you think are very characteristic of your fics?

the idea and fear of growing up? lots of light motifs! lily being cooler than james by a mile?

9. How do you find new fic to read?

it's called the bookmark method where i go into my favorite authors' bookmarks to find a fic, then read that fic, then read that author's other fics, then go into their bookmarks to find a fic, then-

questions for fic writers

[papus-clown-enclosure]

I cant remember what genre means in art, Not genre painting, just visual genre bc the essay is called visual genre analysis

Brain not functioning but at least i started writing

[erythristicbones]

OC Time! :3c

What is the relationship between two characters like and who's someone that comes and shakes that up?

OR! Alternatively (since I just had one I cant talk about yet) what's a big character or story breakthrough you've had recently? :0

Okay, since I'm working on revisions of my book EOTA today, I've got that story on the brain and I'm absolutely gonna talk about Kirsen!!! Specifically the relationship between Kirsen and Imogen, which gets touched on over a couple different chapters, but ultimately just can't be explored in-depth during the book itself. Also......this is gonna get long, fair warning AKDHDKFJDK

So, to start it all off: At the start of EOTA, it's only been a handful of months since Kirsen and Imogen ended their 1-2yr relationship. I think in the original draft I put a hard number on it, something like 6 months since they broke up? But I think it'll read better if I leave the period more up to interruptation. Anyways, the point is that Kirsen is someone who grows very, very attached to people and things are left unresolved.

Because it says from the get-go, from the very moment their past relationship is mentioned, that Kirsen and Imogen didn't break up because they stopped loving one another. In fact, they still have very strong feelings for one another. It's just that they recognized that they simply couldn't provide what the other needed and deserved in a relationship.

Imogen's aging mother is essentially the person in charge of their town, Pointes. She runs everything and keeps the town safe and functional. While she could have chosen anyone to take her place, she raised Imogen with the idea that she was going to inherit the position. This is the culmination of her entire life so far and really, Imogen does very much want the position.

Kirsen is someone who...well, there's several parts of her personality that come together in an unfortunate way. She was raised with a hunter's disposition; she needs to be out, she needs to be moving, she needs a job, she needs a prey. And unfortunately, Kirsen has a lot of trauma that she has been desperately trying to avoid acknowledging her entire life. If she stays in one place too long, she can't have a constant distraction, she can't hide her bad days from the people there, and she risks people trying to force her to acknowledge it.

Imogen needs a partner who will be there by her side, who will be the support she needs while she takes on a very taxing, pivotal role. Kirsen needs a partner who will be willing to travel with her, who will recognize her need to run and be there to pick up the pieces when everything does catch up to them. And no matter how hard they try, they are both intimately aware that they cannot provide those things for one another.

Ultimately, I think they both recognize this and yet cling to the hope that something in their lives will change and, magically, all of their differences will disappear and they will be able to live together happily.

[Enter Lucida] :)

Kirsen is now having to work with Lucida to save the world. It provides a great distraction from her struggles with Imogen- except that Kirsen thinks Lucida is attractive and falling for the person you're going on a perilous quest with is not exactly the brightest move. So now she's juggling feelings for two different people and knowing fully well that neither situation is ideal for her currently.

And there are specific scenes where Kirsen is clearly leaning into her attraction to Lucida so she can forget about Imogen, only to then have specific scenes where she (for instance) makes out with Imogen bc "surely this will absolutely help me not fall for Lucida and have no emotional repercussions at all".

Its- at the end of the day I think the three of them have such interesting dynamics with one another (and that's not even touching on Imogen/Lucida being weirdly passive aggressive and jealous of one another bc they both ALSO like Kirsen)and I can only scratch the surface of it in the book itself, bc technically the romance plays second fiddle to the Saving The World Shit ya know? I could write essays on these three idiots, I love them