#I'm pretty much the only writer for this ship lol

[origamiopossums]

I posted a Lincoln/T-Bag oneshot for those interested

Takes place in season 5!

[butterflysonnets]

yes i'm rooting for m*leven breakup because byler is neat but mostly? i'm rooting for m*leven breakup for the sake of el and mike.

to me, their romance was always a puppy love born out of a combination of social pressures, naïve curiosity, and a lack of true understanding regarding intimacy and romantic love and what it really is. it was real in that they do truly, deeply care about each other and they are close friends, maybe even shared an attraction, but a maturing romance is so much more than that. they've grown up and out of being boyfriend/girlfriend, and that's okay! i think television/film needs to show more often that most of us don't have definite "soulmates" or first childhood loves that we spend our whole lives with. it doesn't mean these relationships meant nothing and didn't impact us, it just means they've run their course and that something else is in the cards, and this is part of life!

i've always felt el was at her best and most confident self when broken up with mike, discovering who she was and what she liked alongside another girl her age instead of just relying on mike for mentorship on how to live in the real world. she deserves more of an opportunity to find herself, her autonomy, and her independence, and to love who she is, and she's made it clear she's felt insecure in the relationship with mike because she isn't being loved and understood the way she wants, needs, and deserves from someone who is her partner.

also, it's okay if mike doesn't love her in "the way he should". he is not obligated to love her romantically and stay in a relationship with her just because she's a girl, because she "needed someone", or because he cares about her a lot. he shouldn't be pressured into a romance if it's not truly coming from his heart. he deserves freedom to find out and honour who he is, too, instead of just staying in his non-functional first relationship — one he got into as a child, essentially — and defining himself that way because it's what's expected when a boy and a girl are close. he loves her in some way, yes, but it's okay if he doesn't feel comfortable or secure being her boyfriend anymore, for whatever reason that is. he's felt insecure too, and that's valid and it matters.

they are their own people and are steadily growing and changing every day. they need time to figure out who those people are, and it's become clear (at least in my opinion) that those people aren't meant to be a couple at this stage.

they deserve freedom. they deserve to grow up and be authentic to themselves and not feel like they need to lie for the sake of a relationship. they deserve to move on from this version of their relationship that isn't making them happy and rekindle the best part of their bond: their strong, beautiful friendship. they don't have to be a couple if it doesn't make them stronger and better and happier people.

i think it would be healthy and wonderful for a show, especially one consumed frequently by young adults, to show a relationship starting, progressing, and ending on good terms in this way. sometimes things don't work out, and that is okay.

[badaziraphaletakes]

these people do not understand abuse. y’all abuse is NOT making mistakes. either they have never been in an abusive relationship or have awful media comprehension skills. I watched the entire show with my mom (who is a licensed psychologist and has worked with abusive relationships since the start of her career) and we analysed the show (because she was also an English teacher) and that never came up. what are these people on

Oh, my goodness, thank you so much for sharing, @z1ish ! I am so happy to hear that a psychologist is saying the same thing we've been saying! :))))

So, then, let's get into it...

I sure as hell hope that somewhere deep down OP realizes Aziraphale isn't actually ab*sive and that they are just grasping at straws, because otherwise they should know perfectly well that there WOULD be no way for the writers to make it all come out right in the end with Aziracrow together. If you think Aziraphale is ab*sive (or whatever TF "borders on ab*sive" is supposed to mean, which, by the way, that's a whole thing in itself - ab*se is ab*se, period, and the suffering of victims is degraded by that kind of language, so if you're trying to say it's ab*sive, then you need to either piss or get off the pot) you shouldn't ship Aziracrow, and - I'm just gonna come right out and say this - you shouldn't be supporting this show in the first place, because this show ships Aziracrow.

If I thought for one SECOND that this show was glorifying an ab*sive relationship, underscoring it with beautiful music and pretty lighting and yada yada, then no power in heaven or hell could make me support it or give it one cent of my time or money. This is doubly so since we know that the couple is going to end up together and it's going to be portrayed as a good thing.

And frankly, I profoundly resent people misinterpreting my perspective on Good Omens as that. Not to mention it's the rankest hypocrisy for that to be coming (as I can only assume it is) from the subset of the fandom that is hell-bent (heh) on minimizing, if not outright denying, Heaven's ab*se of Aziraphale.

Also, the phrase "it's what victims tell themselves so they 'can' rationalize away the bad behavior" is highly, highly problematic. It veers veeery close to implying that the problem is with the victims who think that way - that victims are somehow enabling themselves to remain victims (when I hope we all know the problem is with OTHER PEOPLE - the ab*sers, the enablers in their circle, the broader society - who tell them things like that to try to keep them imprisoned. If we're going to make judgmental statements like "they're rationalizing away the bad behavior", we should make them about the ab*sers, not the victims).

Finally: I got slight vibes of "I stopped thinking about my ab*ser this way, so you should too!" from OP. That bothers me a LOT.

Many victims can't leave. For such people, thinking that way about their ab*ser is often a survival mechanism. A way to keep going. After all, if you allowed yourself to think about how horrible things really were, it would destroy you. It's not always about "rationalizing away bad behavior". Again I say, WE CANNOT CRITICIZE VICTIMS FOR HOW THEY THINK ABOUT THEIR AB*SERS. IT'S NOT OKAY!

To any victims out there who aren't able to leave: I hope and pray that someday you get to be free and safe. Until then, think whatever you need to to get by. I'll never judge you for it.

Whew. Sorry this got dark. But OP is playing with fire here. This one really, really pissed me off.

(EDITED TO ADD: This one is from before the NG thing broke. Yes, we really are that behind on our backlog, lol.)

[archivemyfic]

Positive aspects of Mel Medarda's character ending in Arcane (and things to look forward for her, in the next Arcane spin-off) ♡♡♡

Context : As we know, it's already basically confirmed that Arcane first spin-off is going to take place in Noxus. With Mel heading there to take over after Ambessa passing, I'm pretty sure she is going to play a HUGE role in that next show (if not the main character). Now, let's get into it!

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

Firstly, Mel is FINALLY free from Jayvik! In season 1, the fandom treated her as a sole love interest (even though I personally think her character had already so much depth, back then). People always revolved her whole existence around being Jayce's partner (or she was dragged about Jayvik, only mentioning her because she was "getting in the way" of making their ship canon). To be honest, at first, I didn't really care about Jayce at all. It was nice to see a black woman depicted being loved tenderly in fiction, but I wasn't really interested in him as a character to ship them that intensely. However, eventually, their relationship grew on me, and I ended up loving them so much. However, Jayce and Viktor dying together was a good thing. It allows Mel to become more than the "girlfriend" and her character can finally be explored/expanded beyond and properly. Jayvik dying is probably going to drag their supporters into disappearing with them. Which is good since they (only the problematic shippers) will finally leave her alone.

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

Secondly, we might still get closure about Meljay. As I said in a previous post, act 3 was rushed. The writers didn't have time to offer us a proper goodbye. But if Mel is the next protagonist in the Noxus show, I'm CONVINCED they will pick up that story and show her entire grieving process of Jayce (and her mother) through flash-backs and unseen moments. Hell, we might even learn crazy revelations about their relationship! I'm looking forward to these tender moments of them together, to finally close the Mel x Jayce chapter properly (or keep shipping them as an eternal angst ship, separated by dead).

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

Thirdly, she gets a chance to be properly loved. With a whole new show, so many new characters are yet to come. She could get a well fitted partner who will be devoted to loving her. While she is more important than her relationships, she deserves romance. Mel shouldn't be the disposable-black-girlfriend trope or the independent-strong-black-woman-who-we-can't-imagine-being-loved trope. Since she is my queen, I'm sure I will end up loving any new canon ship she end up in (yay, new couple to obsess about!).

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

Finally, I'm just SOOO happy that Mel Medarda gets her time to shine after years of not always being treated right. I can't wait to see her new adventures and her character growth. Like, i don't think people understand how she is the key towards the expansion of the Arcane/LoL cinematic universe. Which I think is ironic because toxic JayVik shippers kept trying to downplay her importance/presence in the story but in the end, Mel gets to thrive and be a main protagonist in the future, while JayVik turned to dust and their story ended there...(don't get me wrong, I love these two, but I hate the way their TOXIC fans treated her). Mel enthusiasts, don't be sad she had a sad end in season 2, there is so much more coming...

Be on the look out! See you soon ~~

[blacktofade]

I am quite new to Tumblr and while I know that this isn't what you usually post you are one of the only rpf writers that I actively know of and you seem to know the community so I thought I would just ask you

But no pressure to answer if you don't want to

I am writing a nsfw fanfic of rpf Arizona Dads but it is reader insert and I have no clue how to tag these types of things on Tumblr. (Ex Twitter-User here 😬) especially since that recent discourse I am just afraid of tagging stuff incorrectly but since my blog is entirely new I don't think anyone would see this, if I don't tag it, right?

I'm just a little confused and thought I would ask, really hope you don't mind

Hello darling anon!!!! Welcome to Tumblr! I'm actually thrilled you reached out to me with this question cause I'm like a broody chicken where I want to tuck everyone under my feathers and keep them safe!

Tagging for MCYT fandoms has been a learning curve for me, so you're definitely not alone in your confusion. The advice I give is just from personal experience, so I welcome anyone reading this to offer corrections if need be!

Also, when I say maintag, I mean it's a tag on a new post you've created. Adding tags on something you reblog doesn't put that post in the tags for others to see, it's just for personal organization on your blog. (I've had people get mad at me for reblogging something with a "maintag" and honestly they can suck my dick to the base. That's not how Tumblr works.)

So, from what I can tell, if it's NSFW content, don't maintag "hermitcraft" or any CCs/characters. For example, if you're posting a fic about giving Tango the big time sloppy head he deserves, don't tag it with "tangotek". You should instead use a tagging system for your own blog. In this case, you could use the tag "t.angotek". It will stop the post appearing in Tango's maintag, but would be easy to navigate on your own blog.

RPF is a whole other can of worms, cause people don't like if you tag that with "hermitshipping". I tend to use "hermitshipping rpf", and I haven't been yelled at so far LOL

Ship tags are much harder when you get into multiple pairing territory. I think in your case, I might just be tempted to use an "arizona dad" tag. Maybe run a search and check what kind of content is in that tag first and decide if you want your post to show up there.

Then because it's reader insert fic, I'd use "reader fic" and/or "reader insert fic" tags.

Basically, sharing NSFW RPF content in this fandom is impossible in the maintags, so basically no one will see it, like you said. It really sucks. If you want it to be found, the trick is to make friends with The Perverts of the fandom, cause we all just reblog posts amongst ourselves lmfao

Start following RPF friendly blogs, cause we're a pretty small community but everyone is VERY friendly and willing to boost content.

[mysteryanimator]

ANIMATION BREAKDOWN PROCESS OF THIS LETS GO (Sorry for any grammatical errors!)

SCRIPT/STORYBOARD: (you can watch here)

Now THIS. The script was very weak because I wanted to board immediately, so it started strong then fell off at the end (also generally I'm not a stronger writer, which haha fics my beloved). Now I know this, spending more time simmering with the script will genuinely only 1) stronger compositions for storyboards 2) it will be so much faster to board. Like I can board fast, but I can board fast AND well if I sit with the idea a bit longer. This will be a massive running theme how I like my shots earlier rather than further in.

side note I LIKE PANEL 11 A LOT, I just feeI didn't translate it well enough into animation which sucks because its a pretty panel and you get a softer moment from Olrox which I found was important to get across.

Also at some point, the 180 rule (which keeps characters on like one line behind the camera... not sure if I worded that right) gets broken and it bugged me for AGES but decided I had to just move on LOL.

These are my thumbnails b4 I go to animatic/cleaned storyboards which are SO MESSY (I'm a lot better at annotating my thumbs now LOL). The original prompt was top service blood bag x powerbottom vampire and i don't think i portrayed that well enough throughout BUT i think the intro did a good establishment. Which fun fact, this was scrapped but there was actually 20 seconds of Mizrak eyeing Olrox "What is it like? Blood?" Then Olrox leans down and commences the thigh glide.

These backgrounds are a mix of texture-bashing (walls/floors) along with some good ol' painting materials from scratch. Also, these are olddd and I can do a lot better yay, but was a good test to see how to make a consistent-ish scene.

ANIMATION: (You can watch the rough anim here)

I'll be super upfront how I don't like most of it AHHA. From starting this in July to posting this in September, I've improved a lot since then.

Since this was a bit ago, I don't remember too much but I remember going ham onto learning material from Dong Chang and animation servers. However in all honesty I think this was only really applied to the earlier shots. I got super frustrated with my "slow speed" so I tried to jump ship and do cleans super early on, which like lets be honest- pumping out two rough anims a day with uni on top is not slow idk what I was on about. This ended up giving me MORE work during the line/colour stage PFFT because I would end up correcting my mistakes in my roughs. Like Myst stop, this is for fun and you're learning, please take it easy LOLOL.

COMPOSITING:

Working on compositing this time around was slightly different, and I'll also admit it is not my favorite composite I've done (and again, I like my earlier shots then my later shots). My after-effects layers looked insane keeping track of the highlight glows on their clothes BUT it definitely paid off. Skin tones however were SO DIFFICULT (mostly in part to the fact I decided to experiment with how I approached it, so it definitely skewed how I worked with this)

I also definitely struggled between the dreamy look and keeping it clean and crisp, and while the dreamy blurred aesthetic does work in some cases, I opted out for the sake of clarity.

Beloved edge light my friend. It's making me learn SUPER late into it how I probably should have planned out a third shadow pass since edge light at the point is a crutch and I think planning it out ahead would get nicer more precise shadows LOL.

Because I brain rotted so hard for this animation I actually commissioned two people to help me work on this! I'll briefly talk about their stuff but please check out their work!

MUSIC: Astralbardkeep

Due the fact I don't have voiceactors, and I had a very specific vision in mind, I decided to go "you know what, let me be super self-indulgent". I had a lot of notes and inspirations for the music, BUT i wanted to have Olrox's theme from the original games peek through, which you will notice happens at the bite AND at the end.

TITLE CARD: Hataui0

This might've seemed overkill, but this friend of mine is very talented at making graphics/typography to suit the requirements of each individual project. (Also a secret ploy to make him make nocturne fanart /lh). So that entire end bit, he illustrated it along with that title, in which the themes I bestowed him were Mucha and Gothic art.

Thank you for reading if you got this far! Suffice to say this was supposed to be a compare and contrast between the animation I did in February, and while I may not quite find this body of work up to my normal standards, it substantial amount of improvement, which is the most important thing here! With the ten billion other things in my life going on, I can only be happy with the progress thus far :D

February on the left/September on the right

[errruvande]

Fanfic writer interview

Thank you @thelettersfromnoone for the tag!! 💖

How many work do u have on AO3?

3, not your local AO3 girlie lmao

What's your total AO3 word count?

8 534

Your top 5 stories by kudos/likes

I'll go with Tumblr ones, cause from my 3 AO3 works the biggest number I got is 31 lmao

Anyone but you (Legolas x f!reader)

Night watch (Legolas x Reader)

Well-deserved rest (Haldir x f!Reader)

One messy night (Boromir x f!Reader)

Transition (Haldir x f!Reader)

Honorable mention (since it's not fics but headcanons)

Green Council receiving a hot pic from you (HotD)

TLK men's reaction on being pet named

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I always try to respond to comments! These little things are brightening up my day, so I wanna let the people know that they are my heroes hahaha

What's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending?

I really think it's Transition. All in all it's a pretty dark story, a bit depressing I think (I had these intentions while writing at least).

Otherwise, I don't think I have angsty endings fics?

What's the fic you've written with the happiest ending?

New family members for sure!! Was thinking hard what to choose, cause I think all of my happy ending fics are on the pretty same level on a happy scale, but I remember that I have this gen, non romantic baby and I love it so much ❤️‍🩹 There's a little TLK OMC for y'all

Do you write crossovers?

I wanted to say I've never done this BUT THEN!!! My Assassin's Creed (Ezio) x LOTR little headcanon!!! My beloved child!!

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

No, not that I remember getting any hate on my fics

Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I do, tho not much and on rare occasions. I used to write a lot of smut when I was younger (a teen), then I stopped being comfortable with it for a wild few years (tho reading never made me uncomfortable lmao).

Now I started writing smut again, idk what kind? Don't really understand what does that mean lol F x M traditional sex? Pretty detailed? If so, then yes lmao

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I don't know 😂 Maybe, maybe not. I think rather not.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Not to my knowledge, I don't think so.

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

We tried with my friend a long long time ago. Didn't go well lmao It's hard and kinda stressing, cause you never know what the other person is gonna write (at least we had this SURPRISE system), so... You kinda have zero plot cause everything you want to write plot-wise can be ruined by the second person's plot lmao

What's your all-time favorite ship?

Athelnar?? Athelstan and Ragnar were my first ever OTP (quickly followed by Alfred and Uhtred). You could never beat that Athelnar shit out of my body lmao I've never written for them, but oh I do love them boys!

What's a WIP that you want to finish but don't think you ever will?

Now, that's the HARSH one lmao

I think I have at least 3 OC stories that I really wanna write (2 for TLK and one for LOTR), but I'm scared that I will never actually do it. I never was good with multi chaptered stories, and these are indeed not a one shots 🥲

What are your writing strengths?

Ugh... I don't know? I think I was pretty good with dialogues and descriptions of the surroundings to build the atmosphere. But... I guess it's not for me to decide but for the readers?

What are your writing weaknesses?

I rarely finish what I've started lmao I should write everything in one go or else I'll never finish it... Or will finish it in two months even if it's a 2k words one shot

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I love them! I've only done it with my LOTR fics (with Sindarin) but I really love it. But I really love it when the language is different from the language of the settings? Like, if the story is happening in England and everyone is English, but you have two characters who can speak idk Dutch, let them have a Dutch language in their dialogue. I had a rant post about it not that long ago actually lmao You have to think about your in-universe language

What's a fandom/ship you haven't written for yet but want to?

Ahhh Bungou Stray Dogs! I love them, and I'd gladly try to write something for them. Not a character/character but reader my beloved.

And maybe Stephane Narcisse (reign) my beloved and a reader

What's your favorite fic you've written?

The blood on my hands (Eomer) and Peace (Finan) are definitely my fave ones I think. They are dark and both explore some trauma

No pressure tags: @whitedarkmoonflower @lord-aldhelm @holy3cake @gemini-mama @emilyhufflepufftlk @persephones-journey @solinarimoon @mrsalwayswrite @emmanuellececchi @bilbotargaryen @levithestripper @mrsarnasdelicious @paula-in-dreamland

[altraviolet]

hey violet! what's been floating your way lately, creatively speaking? i've been leaning towards sci-fi :)

hey anon!

heck yeah, sci fic =D my favorite!

cut for a long reply with a little TEG at the end :)

creative expression wise, not too much. I wrote about 2600 words of a Day in the Life of TEG Nautica short story, but I didn't finish it in time for the anniversary, so I guess I'll set it aside for now. I'm really hoping to think of something for this year's Big Bang project. the last sign up day for writers is March 2. if I think of something before then I'll be signing up :)

creative well-filling wise (aka when you feel really stuck sometimes you have to absorb media - watch movies, read books, etc), I made my goal of reading 1 book/month last month! I read two books:

Genefather by Guy Haley

A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine

Genefather is a Warhammer 40k book. I know absolutely nothing about warhammer, but I have a friend/coworker who loves it. I asked him what the novels are like as I was curious what the quality was for that IP (the TF novels being pretty bad as far as I've ever heard). He loaned me Genefather to check it out. The writing quality is surprisingly good! I was impressed. I was also ABSOLUTELY LOST for most of the book, until my friend finally wrote me a little guide (dammit, I had asked for it months ago lol). Then my understanding went a bit better. It was funny and had some very good descriptions. I did notice a strange drop in quality at the end of the book: I am guessing the author ran out of time before a deadline. If you like warhammer (or don't mind being TOTALLY lost and reading something meant to appeal to Men Who Like to Paint Figures (I specify Men because the emphasis is on male characters in the way that "this book was written by a man" happens)), I would recommend it.

A Memory Called Empire is a book that's often on "if you like The Locked Tomb series, read this" lists. I freaking love TLT series so I was happy to finally get to read it. It's very well constructed and interesting. I wrote a post about it a bit ago if you'd like to hear more about it. I do recommend this to fans of sci fi.

My friend has loaned me another warhammer book and I've started it. It's not as funny as the first one and work has left me so tired, I've been falling asleep reading it at night, lol. But I will get through it. And next week Emily Wilde 3 comes out!! I pre-ordered it so the hardcover will be mailed to me. Can't wait! (I also highly recommend the Emily Wilde series for a fantasy with some romance on the side)

Aaaaaaannnnnnnd I think it would be fun to share a little bit of the Nautica fic. This is a rough draft, so please read with gentleness, haha.

---

Wake up, beloved Like a jewel in the sky Wake up, beloved The sparklight of my life

Nautica stirred. Blaster's dulcet recording – her morning alarm – swept gently through her processor. Wake up protocols commenced. Her frame's proprioception feedback came in little waves: root mode, lying down; Blaster's warmth; their mingling, low power fields. Nautica onlined and gently wiggled out of Blaster's arms.

“Good morrrrrnnninggggggg,” whispered Nautica.

Blaster made some sleepy noises but didn't wake. She kissed the top of his audial, where the lightning shaped finial connected. He smiled in his sleep.

Nautica quietly grabbed her wrench and headed to the cafeteria. Their chore cycles were currently on opposite ends- she had first shift, Blaster had third. She was looking forward to the cycle swap. Only 22 more days. She missed spending more waking time with him.

On the way to the cafeteria, she hopped onto the ship's net and flipped through her messages.

There was the usual daily bulletin, stating the date (the current dimension they were in plus the number of days and hours they'd been in it) and a copy of the day's chore cycle schedule. Nautica's chores appeared to her in solid black glyphs: the rest of the crew's schedule appeared faint gray. Nautica focused on Blaster's name. Her chore glyphs faded as his came in sharp. This was a programming trick Minimus was quite proud of. It combined “sensory information from the internal viewer” (semi-legal software from Brainstorm (who told Minimus it was entirely legal)) and the eye-tracking software of a medical evaluation mod. Ship/club activities were scattered throughout the schedule in green.

Blaster's chore cycle glyphs swirled and changed.

“Huh?”

Half his chore cycle had been delegated to Siren. An alert popped up at the same time a “Special Meeting” was inserted into both her and Blaster's schedules:

Double Date Swerve's, 33:00 Captain's table (that's any table I sit down at) Signed, Your favorite co-captain

As Nautica puzzled over this, an edit alert went through and the invitation was amended:

Double Date Swerve's tonight, 33:00 Captain's table (that's any table I sit down at) Starring Rodimus and Soundwave. And you two. Signed, Your favorite co-captain and Soundwave no of course I didn't forget you hey stop checking the schedule that's hacking you can't hack a captain hhhhhhhhehhhhhhhh oh look what you did to the invi

Nautica stifled her laugh. I wish I could see the look on Blaster's face when he wakes up! I wonder if this has something to do with Project Mindspread? No, Blaster's not on the team. Rodimus is just... being social. She accepted the invitation.

Moving on, there were three messages in her inbox. The first wasn't signed, but by the total lack of punctuation and signifiers, she deduced it was from Skywarp: “maintenance vines moved harp survived,” which was slightly worrying. She would definitely be asking him about that during their morning shift.

The second message was a long paragraph from Ambulon. She skimmed it and caught, various integration techniques, quantum mechanics, unfamiliar, ??? the nerve of this guy and set it aside. She'd read it after she'd eaten.

The last message was the most intriguing:

We request to see you today, at your earliest convenience, between 11:00 and 15:00. Your expertise is needed for an urgent matter. Bring your wrench.

The signatures, Megatron and Ultra Magnus, were complete with status signifiers and a read confirmation signal.

“My expertise, huh?” said Nautica. This was a puzzle. As far as she knew, neither mech required quantum mechanics for their daily workloads. “A new mystery for a new day!”

Nautica replied with a cheerful greeting and confirmed a 13:45 time slot in Megatron's office.

---

there we are =)

thanks for the message, anon! have a good one =)

[2manyythoughts]

Arcane S2 Review/Random Thoughts

Look at them. They're so happy.

Btw I'm not familiar with LoL lore so my thoughts are just as a casual watcher of the show. I'm gonna be very critical in this post. Keep in mind, these are just my opinions. If you think differently, that’s cool

tl;dr Arcane season 2 is entertaining but doesn’t carry nearly as much emotional or thematic weight as the 1st season imo

Likes

• Gorgeous animation I mean obv

• Soundtrack is still pretty amazing (besides my unpopular opinion)

• "What's wrong with my pants?"

• I liked the siblings bonding again

• Timebomb. I love Jinx and Ekko. They both can stand alone as characters and the relationship they have adds more to them imo (doesn’t take away from them, unlike another ship…)

• JayVik is cute. Platonically, romantically, whatever. Their love transcends space and time. They are soulmates

•I liked the Ekko scenes a lot in general. I think he was one of the only characters that felt consistent with how he was in season 1. Ekko, Heimerdinger, and Jayce seemed more in-character than a lot of the others.

• Episode 7

•Jinx seems very alive!! I liked the blimp callback to the first season.

•The 3D, 2D, music, character design, storyboarding, etc. artists of this show are all amazing. I can’t thank them enough for bringing us this flawed visual masterpiece.

Dislikes/Disappointments

•Character conflicts were way more surfacey. I don’t recall any being about ideological clashes, which the first season was rife with. The conflict seemed much more physical than ideological.

•The conflict of the story suddenly became large-scale, which was to the story’s detriment. This is a pitfall of many fantasy works. The 1st season was great because it focused on the small-scale, the conflict between the sisters Jinx and Vi. This small-scale conflict was so impactful because it was personal. Also, we understand it was caused by a larger issue, that being the divide between Piltover and Zaun. We can relate the themes of estrangement and classism back to our own reality. There was a shit ton of complex and nuanced ideas in the 1st season. That the desire to help could cause irreparable damage, that people who seem villainous can make genuine connections (show genuine love), that the wealth of one society is built on the exploitation of another, etc.

•And then season 2 was just all over the place. It wanted to do way too much with too little time. It didn’t have a clear focus like the first. Worst of all, it became a “defeat the big bad” type of story in the end, when the first season showed us that it was never about defeating some villain to end all conflict, but about systemic issues and flawed decisions that are almost impossible to prevent and inevitably lead to tragedy. The story of Arcane was bastardized into becoming a near black and white story, when initially it was all about the grays in between.

• Where did the class conflict go? I don’t agree that the conflict was magically solved at the end by having Piltover and Zaun team up, they (tbf, very briefly) showed us at the end that the counsel still showed contempt for Sevika representing Zaun. But then I wonder if their themes about societal oppression were even what they intended to do with the story to begin with. I think it’s wonderful that we could interpret this story as a meaningful commentary about the oppression of the lower classes (and other things), but ultimately season 2 shows us what the writers actually intended. It seems they weren’t ever trying to deliver that complicated a story. Their main goal was to write an entertaining story about LoL characters. So, I personally don’t criticize the show for this, but I fully share the disappointment. We were at the cusp of greatness.

• I was all for Caitlyn dictator arc but ig it wasn't meant to be. No, she is simply Vi's girlfriend. Vi's girlfriend who is part of a society that actively oppresses/exploits her people and later gasses them (why was Vi okay with that and why was it just tossed aside??).

• Oh boy, Jinx. I was all for Jinx becoming Zaun's symbol but that was only dangled in front of us and not really fleshed out. In this case, it was too much show and not enough tell. Also Jinx's psychosis just sorta disappeared.

•Don’t get me started on the jail scene. We understand you want your sesbian lex (the scene itself was hot!), but there’s a time and a place. When your sister obviously looks distraught like she’s about to kill herself, maybe don’t start banging your girlfriend.

• Vi. You are a fighter. What happened? Okay, I can understand that maybe it all just became too much for her. That’s why we see her self-destructive habits, like drinking or entering a fighting ring to just punch away her feelings. But none of these moments are significant (the first is played mainly as a joke, the second as a music video montage), nor are they elaborated on. They don’t really develop her character, either. It’s a shame.

• Loris or that guy who looked like Vander. What was the point of him? That he was just a normal guy who died unceremoniously like they do in war with no fanfare? Sure, you can argue that. I still think it was odd how much attention they brought to him only to have virtually no impact in the story

• Viktor went from Hex-Jesus to destroyer-of-worlds way too fast and it felt very out of character

• So Silco knowing Jinx and Vi's mom makes his interactions with them in season 1 retroactively less compelling, especially his interactions with Jinx. I'm just gonna block that out and say he got amnesia

•Practically every character was flanderized and not nearly as complex as in season 1

• The Black Rose plot line should've been cut out. It took way too much time and only advanced Mel's arc, none of the others

• Ambessa and Viktor becoming the big bads was really weak. You had an intricately nuanced and complex plot, what happened

• I still don't understand how Viktor manipulated everything at the end and Idk if I like that plot point anyways

• When I watched the ending, I didn't really feel anything but confused and I wished I hadn't felt that. After I let my opinions stew, I simultaneously appreciated the season more and saw more of its flaws.

Unpopular Opinions?

• The opening was misleading... I'm not a great theorist, but I saw the Macbeth, Phantom of the Opera, and L'Miserables theories and got so hyped but none were fulfilled. I'm actually not criticizing the show for this but it would've been so cool to have those elements.

• The lyrics of Wasteland are too on the nose and the beat is clunky

• I liked Vander being brought back but I feel like he only really was there to bring the sisters closer together and tug at our heartstrings

• Characters acted too silly at times imo

• I could hear the sad music but not feel the sadness (unlike season 1 which wrecked me, “ripped out all my parts”)

• I was only slightly saddened by Isha's death. Imo she didn't have that much development so I didn't feel it that much. I still like her but alas she wasn't fundamentally much of a character

Misc

• Damn the shitposters, fanartists, fan fiction writers (I don’t read those but I bet), etc are cooking

• Violyn is still an amazing ship name and I like it on a surface level (if only the characters weren’t botched and the relationship development was as good as it...)

• "Our Love" is one of the best Arcane songs and I think it's my personal favorite. It's just so cozy and nostalgic

[monstress]

arcane s2 thoughts

prayinggg we get a no soundtrack version because while i do like a few of the tracks (yes even Enemy!!!), there are more duds than hits and they take me out each time

also obviously i'm a Jinx Is Alive truther because of the ending scene of cait staring at the air ducts to the hextech tower fiddling with a fragment of her bomb...come on. jinx has said in the start of the season that she wanted to leave piltover/zaun and with isha gone and her sister happy, she can finally do that

i am very invested in jinx and vi's relationship so when jinx without any hesitation chose to let herself go from vi's grasp and destroy warwick (both something that vi could not do) which in one fell swoop legitimizes her agency, protects vi from a monster, saves vander from eternal hell - i'm like yea...[sniffs] that's a redemption arc baby

jinx and vi. piltover and zaun. they'll always be sisters...yea....

i admire the open ending with the airship. but she did say she'll ride one of those things one day. yay.

maybe an unpopular opinion but i liked cait this season. finally some bite and controversy and trauma to her choices. she was way tooooo comfortable in s1. while she's still a cop, at least she's interesting now!

also ok....yelled and hollered when lesbian sex is finally happening. rejoice guys - i thought we will never get it

the writing pace of this show is bonkers and i understand they need to keep it tight because of animation budget but what the helllllll was that viktor machine herald speedrun. it felt like it needed a good one more season to incubate and i was overwhelmed with that + jayce's heel turn + mel's superpower reveal like hold on hold the fuck onnnnnn what does this meannnnnn

gay sex in hextech void deus ex machina goes crazy tho

like oh yeah i am cosmically tied to only one man in this world and he alone can guide me to the error of my ways in any universe

ok!

mel being the most specialest princess in the entire world seems right imo. i can easily be riled up to sycophantic fervor to serve in her army just say the word ma'am 🫡

let's not forget the tragic irony that Mel was exiled by her mother and has tried to carve her own path through diplomacy and peace in defiance but ends up finding herself sitting in her mother's steel ship in her colors with her army with so much power in her veins and now leaves the city she loved that her mother ruined too. mel merdada one of the characters of all time......

and i am a number one sap so!!!!!!! the flashback scenes this season got me hurting real bad. when i thought i was devastated by Remember Me...here comes s2e7 to punch me in the gut

the fact happiness and normalcy was possible for powder...the fact that powder will never use hexcore because of what happened to vi and it made all the difference. vi's death unknowingly protecting her sister (and the world!) from beyond the grave...i am sobbing my eyes out

also as a season one timebomb shipper, thank youuuu arcane writers i didnt expect this at ALLLLLLLLLL???? it was written like everyone knows they were an item except themselves??? i have done nothing to deserve this but thank you

UPDATE: i hv been informed that they are already dating in the alternative universe from background details. even more delicious

i am just happy to be here and prepared to be devastated

vanderco Real. like don't even waste your breath to say they aren't when they look like they are glowing in domestic bliss. what's some light stabbing and drowning between married couples amirite fellas

claggor and mylo!!!! i didn't expect to get emotional seeing them since idrc but seeing them grown up like ohhhh these are vi and jinx's brothers...and they'll never know this life...okay.....

the alternative timeline pretty much put a bandaid to the pain and suffering for the past 2 seasons and as contrast for more suffering. i love it. the writers are so diabolical

heimerdinger sacrificing himself for ekko is ok for me lol idc abt him goodbye cheesepuff

i still need to process the Ambessa vs MelCait fight. im quite sure there's some great parallels there

but Ambessa as a character is sooooo fascinating. while i hv qualms making a prominently Black character be an imperalist warlord (othering her with her accent too), Ambessa i fear is so so very cool and i was slightly rooting for her ngl like i can't hate a cunning ambitious woman it's against my nature!!!!!

i am gonna think abt mel holding up ambessa like repin's painting of ivan the terrible for a longggg time

side note: i love that sevika finally got what silco wanted all along - a seat at the (council)table. like that's my wifeeeeeee. lib ending i know i know since the best ending is a free state of zaun but like narrative wise it would notttt make sense at the point of time. but also since they never confirmed anything, i wanna say they'll have a go at dismantling the power structure that is oppressing zaun with sevika keeping an eye on it. not a perfect solution but i'll take it rather than leave it

so will i watch another show on LoL?

mmmm.......anyways guys watch Penelope of Sparta!

[al-the-remix]

I know nothing about 911 but seeing all the bucktommy posts makes me really interested, if you don’t mind could you give a short introduction of the ship/which episode(s) to watch for them? Thanks!!

Hi! So the ship is a very new one and they don't have a lot of screen time yet, so their relationship only appears in season seven, episodes: 7x3 to 7x6 and then 7x9 and 7x10. Tommy Kinard as a side character also shows up in episodes 2x9, 2x12, 2x14 (in an off-screen capacity) and 2x16.

As for the introduction, the lore with this show runs sort of deep, but as condensed and simplified as I can give it to you: the decision to introduce bi!Buck and Tommy and his love interest was made very last minute (like as the first few episodes of season seven were coming out kind of last minute...) as the tv show switched networks from FOX to ABC and was working with a protracted season, (10 episodes in stead of 18), so this first season you see them together in has a very "let's see how well this works and if the general audience approves of it" kind of vibe.

Obviously, it worked for me! And the general reception has been good. Personally, I find their dynamic fun and genuine; the show runner was aiming for a non-heavy coming out story with a romcom twist, which I think they succeeded at. Buck (or "Evan" as Tommy calls him) is sort of the obvious favourite of the show in the audience and the writer's eyes, he's gotten a lot of development over the years, but has stagnanted recently on the romance side of things and also in his professional development, (which is partly the fault of the writers and partly just bad luck with maintaining actors). So I think a lot of fans are excited to see him "off the hamster wheel", as they say, in the love department. This opens up the possibility to explore other plot lines with him as a character in his professional life and personal life now that hes in a steady relationship.

Tommy we don't know much about yet, other than he was deeply in the closet when we first see him in the season 2 flash-back episodes. He's not initially a very warm, welcoming, and accepting person, but it's implied that a lot of that behavior was influenced by his environment and poor upbringing, and he is quick to make amends and befriend the main characters when he's shown to be in the wrong. He used to be in the army, and is a fan of cars, martial arts, and rom coms. The way he talks in the season seven episodes makes it clear that he's done a lot of self reflection since we've last seen him (and since he's come out). He's shown to be an open and honest person who does his best to show up for the people he cares for, and once Buck is in his line of sight, all that attention is turned his way.

I think with this ship what people are most excited about is the potential it demonstrates: Buck as a character is someone who's been on an aggressive misson of self discovery and understanding, he's been actively looking for a romantic partner to have a committed, mature relationship with, he's someone who's willing to give a lot of himself away to his partner and is desperately hoping to have that attention and affection mirrored back at him.

What little we know about Tommy so far makes it clear that he's mature and willing enough to be that person for Buck: if it works out and the writers allow him to be. I just really enjoy what little I've seen so far, and with the show being back to its regular 18 episodes next season and Tommy pretty much confirmed to return, I'm interested and invested and hopefully in where they may take this relationship next.

Also I feel like I need to add if you're going to engage with the fandom specifically for this ship, do it through the #bucktommy tag on tumblr, because it's a real mine field out there right now, lol.

[copiouscouples]

Kanthony is What If Two Types Super Competitive Elder Siblings fell in love?

Polin is what if two Writer Dorks Who Ship fell in love?

Haha!

Yes! Kate and Anthony are so competitive and Type A. I love how their similar backstory added depth to their relationship.

With Polin, I think it's interesting that writing is like their only shared interest/quality except maybe giggling with each other. As well as their newfound love of smooshing each other. But, I love their differences and how much they complement each other.

Even though Colin is going through a personality crisis this season, him being a Bridgerton has always given him a baseline level of confidence. Sure, he may not be as rakish as his brothers, but he knows as a Bridgerton he will always have a certain measure of respect out in society.

Penelope has never had that. She is always unsure and scared. Her family doesn't have the financial and/or social stability that his does so her confidence often is not there or wavers. We hear it when she tells Eloise "We can't all be a pretty Bridgerton like you."

Penelope is practical and doesn't allow her emotions to guide her (usually). Portia Featherington IS her mother after all. Yes, she wants love but she isn't out here trying to be poor. She has great business acumen and has gone to great lengths to secure her bag.

Colin doesn't have to be practical because he's a Bridgerton and has his family's money behind him. Remember when he was going to run off with Marina? Not practical. Giving his brother drugs? Not practical. Interrupting Penelope/Debling on the dance floor? So not practical. He is led by his emotions.

Colin is a cinnamon roll while Penelope is a Hot Tamale candy. Colin is 90% sweetness and fluff - he can deliver a barb but it's very rare. He's always encouraging especially to Pen. He gives thoughtful gifts to his siblings. He's respectful to other ladies of the Ton. He's sensitive and caring.

Penelope is sweet but has a kick of spice to her. She is Portia's daughter after all. Her Lady Whistledown alter ego is just her letting that side of her personality have free rein. Plus the way she talks to her family- they're just getting their just desserts - but Penelope knows how to use her words to fight back for sure.

Honestly, I feel like Penelope would eviscerate Colin in their couple's fights. Like I'm maybe a little afraid for Colin, lol.

He's a mama's boy. She's neither of her parents' favorites.

Just a lot of contrasts between them. It makes them interesting as a couple.

[jailhouserock45]

I still can't get it out of my head.

From what I've gathered and seen through the lovely gifs that everyone shares, I got myself excited for caryl going canon even though I told myself that ship had probably sailed😅

After around season 8-9 I started thinking "huh, maybe they won't do anything about these two people who very much love eachother and have chemistry off the charts, and keep them buddies instead."

And I slowly have been accepting it (ish) over the years...UNTIL....

Daryl got his spinoff.

And even though I haven't watched it, only through gifs, videos, tumblr posts etc etc...(so please correct me if I'm wrong anyone😆) but it REALLY seemed to me that they were finally finding the excuse to make Daryl realize his feelings for Carol this whole time, in turn making him NEED to get back to her and finally do something about it.

From things like the pigeon handler saying "maybe he has a girlfriend? Yes, we all have someone who waits for us somewhere." Then the camera immediately showing Daryl, who looks down in thought as if longing for something...(*cough cough* someone...)

Like, we already know he has DREAMT of going back home, and he has DREAMT of Carol.

Dreaming of her, people...What are we SUPPOSED to think he's thinking?

The pigeon handler even mentioned a girlfriend. That wasn't completely necessary to add but they did. Hmm.

Then I saw a clip of Daryl, (the whole thing probably lasts 2 seconds) glancing at an older couple who are sitting close together, and smiling at eachother.

Daryl observes that, then has that same longing/sad look on his face before moving on.

What on earth? Like I said, I haven't watched it so maybe I'm way off and I need context, but to me that implies he is wanting something like what those older people have... and with who else other than Carol? There is no other person he has been close to...

Then we have a moment of pretty big significance to me.

Daryl was asked if he'd ever been in love....and he HESITATES.

He didn't automatically shake is his head, and let out a gruff "nah" and drop it. He had to think about it.

It's plain to see in his body language that the answer is yes, but he doesn't say anything.

Obviously a person came to his mind, we just don't know who. Why??

If we are supposed to view him as a guy who only wants to go home, WHY are there so many romantic undertones going on? And if there is hints of romance, who would they (the writers) be implying Daryl is thinking about?

We've seen the only woman on his mind is Carol, (hence the dream) and we aren't supposed to put the pieces together??

Ever since the first episode of the spinoff aired, I've been confused and hopeful and excited and then sad and then feeling foolish...the list goes on😂

Like I said before, if this whole time they hadn't been leading up to Canon, and they only wanted to keep Daryl and Carol "sibling-like" besties, they REALLY didn't do a great job at it.

(Or maybe we were supposed to think that Daryl was thinking about Isabelle? If that's the case, they messed up with that too😆)

I'm just an observer so maybe I'm dead wrong about everthing and just hung up on Caryl...that is a possibility I guess lol!

Anywhoo, I'm done blabbing. Bye👋

[desertforestfic]

i am thirty years late to this but thank you @hephaestiions @citrusses @its-the-allure for the writer interview tag

how many works do you have on ao3? ten! ten fics. ha ha ha

what's your total ao3 word count? 31,294

your top 5 stories by kudos?

where i have to go

horizon

the tie

psychopomp

twirled around his finger

do you respond to comments? you know, i really want to, but it is honestly a lot of brain power to sit down in front of like fifty compliments and try to come up with a genuine response to each - so yes i reply but only in incredibly specific moods, lol

what's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending? DIVORCE

what's the fic you've written with the happiest ending? probably this one in which it is foreshadowed that harry gets to go be an unemployed stoner in amsterdam (draco has to get a real job)

do you write crossovers? um does a sports au count? then yes, eventually

have you ever received hate on a fic? no and i am honestly taking it as a sign that i need to step my pussy up and write some more upsetting fic

do you write smut? ya

have you ever had a fic stolen? naur

have you ever had a fic translated? no and i am ambivalent about the idea. i have sooo much respect for the folks who put in the work of translating fic for free, but the idea of not having control of what my fic sounds like in another language is a little scary ngl!

have you ever co-written a fic before? no but it's very much something i would like to try eventually!

what's your all-time favorite ship? oh probably drarry just because i feel like these are My People :) i have some pretty near and dear rpf ships but they feel more like old friends than anything i would want to actively read or create for these days

what's a wip that you want to finish but don't think you ever will? ummm one of the first things i ever wrote was like 1,000 words of draco eating a bagel in a park in new york city and then running into harry. i was real hyped about the idea until i remembered that i have spent like ten hours total in new york city and i went down a reddit rabbit hole trying to decide what neighborhood draco would live in and then was like...why am i doing this. it was cute, maybe i'd pick it back up on the off chance i ever move to new york city, but the writing already feels sooo bad to me that idk if i could stand digging it up and editing it lol

what are your writing strengths? descriptions? that sounds broad. i think i'm really good at evoking freeze-frame moments: a sunset, a landscape, a facial expression. physical sensations, too - being drunk, being cold, having a headache. i really like digging out the exact combination of words to describe sensations and emotions i myself have felt. anything like that is likely going to be the most personal part of my writing.

what are your writing weaknesses? making..there be a plot...lol. i think i can write a believable emotional arc, but i was talking to @yiiiiiiiikes25 the other day and was straight up told "i think you need to have more things happen to your characters." read me for filth.

what are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic? am i supposed to have thoughts on this? i don't speak any other languages. there's a good chance i'm going to have to throw some Old Norse loanwords into some stuff i've been working on so uhh any Old Norse speakers out there please hmu

what's a fandom/ship you haven't written for yet but want to? i'm reading captive prince rn and i'm quite sure i'll have thoughts when i'm done with that :) also f1 is tugging on the hem of my shirt like an eager toddler

what's your favorite fic you've ever written? horizon by a mile :)

i don't remember who's done this due to the aforementioned being thirty years late but uhh tagging @dryrsheet @kamaela @faiell @thehoneybeet @twnkwlf-writes @marrythemonstersao3 @chaos-bear and anyone else who's feelin it

[kirkwallguy]

it's so strange that out of all people weekes, a non-binary pansexual person cares this much about making solavellan like this and by that i mean let's be real they want us to care about it lol. like want us consider it. all the interviews about it. basically saying "all relationships are good but solavellan is especially special guys it's gonna be a default even. like consider (...)" politely saying that only a specific path of playing deserves such appreciation and is "so interesting and so deep and so meaningful" and it is SO unprofessional. why are y'all acting like this as devs and writers. literally using a ship name if i'm remembering correctly.

people waiting ten years for this game and a basic example is that dorian and dorian romanced inquisitor refer to each other's as friends for secrecy? what the hell are you talking about this isn't about realism this is about fans having their time with the consequence of their game choices.

idk it's just weird to see

honestly im always hesitant to pin the solavellan-centric narratives on them (mostly because im already mean about their writing being bad and don't want to add that LOL) but it IS wild to me that a game that lauds itself as this massive queer friendly story also makes it so engaging in a heterosexual relationship is pretty much required if you want any choice you made in the previous game to matter. if this was in a game that didn't performatively market itself as queer friendly then i actually wouldn't care as much in all honesty.

and yeah i agree it's unprofessional. nothing wrong with having a favourite romance, especially if you wrote it, but when there's an obvious discrepancy in quality between gay and straight romances that mirrors the homophobia i see in the fandom (when the writers have also been more involved in fandom than any other fan space ive ever been in) it just makes me feel a certain kind of way!

[musette22]

ten questions for writers

Thank you for the tag, my gorgeous, beloved estranged wife @paperstorm 💛

I kinda feel like a fraud doing this since I haven't posted anything in a whiiiile, but I'M WORKING ON IT, so let's do this anyway.

1. how many works do you have on ao3?

79 works

2. what’s your total ao3 word count?

864,537 words

3. what fandoms do you write for?

MCU (Stucky), RPF (is that a fandom?) (Evanstan), The Last Shadow Puppets/Arctic Monkeys (Milex)

4. do you respond to comments? why or why not?

Of course I do! Always. Sometimes it takes a little while for me to get round to it, but I always reply if I can. I appreciate every single kind comment I get, more than I can say. It's so good to know that something I wrote touched someone in some way, and it's amazing to me that people take time out of their days to not only read my stories, but also leave me comments?? Mind-blowing. Comments truly mean the world, so the least I can do is reply to them!

5. have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge, thank fuck.

6. have you ever co-written a fic before?

Yes! A few times, it's the most funnest thing if you're working with someone you admire and have a good rapport with. I'd love to do it again sometime!

7. what’s your all-time favourite ship?

STUCKY. Without a doubt. Stucky4eva.

8. what are your writing strengths?

Hmmm... I think humour, fluff & smut? Yeah. I've been told I'm pretty good at building romantic and sexual tension, which I take as a huge compliment because I love that sh*t <3

9. what are your writing weaknesses?

I'm not great at writing angst, simply because I can't deal with hurting my guys too much, which means I always end up making it fluffy again very quickly argh. I also suck at action scenes, so I've kind of given up trying, lol.

10. first fandom you wrote for?

My first ever fic was Evanstan, but I was also working on Stucky at that time. My first and last, those guys <3

Tagging @sparkagrace @voylitscope @dharmasharks @metalbvcky @fandomfluffandfuck @uhbasicallyjustmilex @rillils