#Intense feelings of creating and being part of a fandom Just hit me Hard 2 years ago

[hk-charas]

Man. I cant believe I started being part of Hollow knight (fandom, watching and then buying The game) solely bcs I wanted to make a fan vessel.

Amazing

[roguestarsailor]

You know what since we’re still in quarantine and i have nothing else better to do, i need to obsess over ACOTAR. I don't like a court of frost and starlight. For the longest time I couldn't figure out why I didn't like it. I aggressively read the book in maybe a day and I closed it feeling frustrated and annoyed. My version had A Court of Silver Flames preview so that definitely contributed to my annoyance greatly.

It's because it felt too perfect. Everything that had happened -- after the entire war was fought and won, they just go back to their normal lives? Yes there were hiccups and yes there were still aspects that made every IC character feel like their problems aren’t solved yet...but it didnt feel right. yes i enjoyed the snowball fight between the bat boys, feyre + rhys sexy time, and those little comfort moments too, the slice of life type things and seeing feyre accomplishing her goals and how hopeful the future seems BUT its too fast. the good parts of the book did not offset the bad parts of it.

Feyre literally accomplished pretty much every single goal she made back in ACOMAF just like that?? within a span of what a few months? a year?? She really came back from an entire war -- probably the first war of many since she's immortal and just like that, after her 21st birthday: she gets a whole entire estate, wants to start poppin babies, opens her art studio and starts teaching kids and then acting like she can rule an entire court?? the timeline is sooo short esp since its been brought up over and over again how everyone is literally 500 years old and have a super “messy” history and their changes seems to come super dupe slowly. but feyre, who has only lived 0.000000002% of her fae life, is out here thriving just fine???

the war devastated thousands of illyrian soldiers where its changing the politics of the illyrains and the faes, all of whom feyre has responsibilities over too as high lady. the mortal queens are still at large who left the humans on prythian to die which is why feyre was willing to go to war in the first place! what about the rest of hybern and their land and residents?? they wanted to enslave humans for social and economical reasons! then what about integrating humans w deep hatred and fear with deeply prejudice fae??? there’s also spring and summer court who are literally in ruins. thats literally so much. so idk how feyre is just chillin???? she gonna let rhys do all the hard work???

like feyre sit down. u should not be having a baby. esp since it took u literally a 700 pages to heal from those 3 months UTM. ur telling me shes gonna whole heartedly bring in a newborn in a war devastated world, with civil unrest (illyrains, other courts), with the messiness of human and fae integration, with trauma u and rhys will have to continue to overcome esp after THIS war??? even helping ur sisters w their traumas??

this is a personal opinion on this subject (and maybe my thoughts will change on this later on; opened to other thoughts) but when i read the part about how that weaver/seamstress artist who made that dark quilt that feyre loved talked about how her mate of 300 years didn’t come back from the war and her biggest regret was that she didnt have a kid to remember him by i just thought ur kid isn’t some sort of memorabilia. don’t have a kid to keep the memory of ur mate alive; have a kid cuz u want a kid purely for the sake of having a kid. ur memories and photos and shit will keep their memory alive but its not having a kid. some primitive need to keep the genes alive maybe?? but the way it was phrased and then in turn how feyre was like oh i need  a baby pronto cuz rhys might die in the next war and regret not having a kid with him didn’t sit right with me. also the other couple were together for +300 years and have a rich life together, while shes been with rhys for literally two years THATS NOTHING IN FAE YEARS. thats still the honeymoon phase and also ur problems arent even close to being over!!!

everyone was shitty to nesta. in ACOMAF, we saw how much the IC went through and still did all they could to help feyre. what made them not think nesta deserve the same welcome? nesta is mean as a defense but did no one try to figure out what would help (amren got close but shes so under developed)??? feyre knows nesta feels too much and yet she continued to be shitty. continued to flaunt her wealth, her status, her familiarity/borderline know-it-all attitude about fae/night court, her ~estate~. forcing nest to the solstice party when nesta was literally like i dont belong, im looking at everyone through a window type of thing; the fire cracking triggering her, etc. what kind of power play was that when she made nesta come to her estate, where nesta could SEE how ~homey~ and how suscessful feyre is and fully see all the lovely paintings of everyone feyre loves that explicitly exclude her to tell her to fuck off to a war camp?? bro???? cas was a dick too and elaine was rude. i think a lot of his actions were meant to make her angry since anger keeps u fighting (as was the method of rhys for feyre in ACOMAF) but what he said was stupidly shitty and i demand that he apologize properly. elaine could have done more to help her sister but whatever. mor was definitely an ass too (and im upset for how little her character growth is). 

Lucein. that man can’t catch a break tbh. im happy that hes w the band of exiles cuz he is whole heartedly accepted there. feyre was definitely an asshole to him even tho he helped as much as he could throughout the books. he tries so hard w elaine as well and it did hit my heart a bit when she was like gloves to work in my garden?? no ?? i use my bare hands see oNly aZiReL sEeS mE fOr WhO i Am. and at the same feyre is like flaunting her mate status to lucein which is mean as shit. its like this man can’t find love in prythain. then tamlin sending him his box of his things??? thats for sure brutral. tam was literally his partner through it all; savior of sorts even. no love from IC, no love from elaine, no love from feyre, no love from tamlin, no love from autumn court rejected everywhere! also HIS TRUE FATHER?? HEllo??? 

then on tamlin. i pity the guy! was i suppose to feel that way??? it felt like he is allowed to get a redemption arc and maybe i’ll even root for a redemption arc??? i was absolutely excited for freysand in ACOMAF but after ACOFAS, im like tamlin is....not completely bad??? his relationship w feyre was bad and the controlling parts were very much a no-no. i dont truly understand the dynamics of an abusive relationship but i can understand that it can be insidious and its the little things that hurt the victim. and i felt  feyre through ACOMAF and rooted for her to escape her abuser! but then it felt like i dont think he was doing any of those things out of malice. ill say tamlin is a bad leader and doesn’t know how to run a court outside of what he sees his father do. his understanding on everything is based on the traditions of the past which i think fueled most of the things he did i.e. not telling feyre she was in danger since maybe his mom didn’t do those war planning things. ACOTAR showed how he truly cared/loved and took good care of feyre and her family. he even talked about how he didn’t believe in the enslavement of humans! i think that tam wanted to preserve what he thought was the good (aka feyre + her love of painting) and get back a sense of control that he and his entire court lost while chained to amarantha. but at the same time, i think he truly thought feyre wasn’t safe. he knows rhys can crush minds and knows feyre can’t read/write so when he got that letter telling him shes safe of course hes gonna flip shit and made a deal w the devil (although those temper outbursts were DEFINITIVELY not ok!!!). he also didn’t listen and has sense of he knows best when feyre was not the type of person. but feyre destroyed his entire court. he lost all his sentries who literally went out to die for him during amarantha’s reign. he lost lucien too; his trusted right hand man. his people were cursed for 50 years and then continued to suffer UTM and was in the process of rebuilding too!  but just seeing spring court, WHO BORDERS THE HUMANS, be in ruins where his subjects left him, his people left him and hes all alone in the manson?? that was sooo sad. so im like why does what feyre did not feel satisfactory????? im mad that it didn’t feel right??? maybe there wasn’t a point where feyre talked to tamlin -- like really talked to him esp w her new found voice and power, etc. anyways, i dont hate tamlin and was like oh shit i think feyre fucked up a bit there.

rhys is a dick to nesta. which made me think, if feyre wasn’t his mate would he extend the same love and care to her???  i loved how he tried so hard to make sure feyre was ok. made sure she wasn’t breaking! all of it! but for nesta, he had the audacity to use his high lord voice and be an ass overall. even tho he can see how cas is fucken in love??? even just how he talks to cass feels off too. 

i’ll even go as far as to say because of how terrible ACOFAS was, it created this intense divide within the fandom. i remember reading the first three books and was absolutely 1) rooting for freysand  2) curious about the sister relationship and how it will be mended 3) i definitely didn’t hate nesta nor did i hate elaine either -- but i was adament about them talking it out with feyre for those tough times 4) saw a more realistic and charming healing arc 5) was rooting for feyre to be a stronger voice and grow into herself 6) love the dynamic of the inner circle + feyre

but after ACOFAS, I have this intense need to defend nesta and was super mad at how she was treated after the war and in turn a deep dislike for elaine for both her lack of agency, lack of grit that made all the other characters interesting, and lack of care for her sisters (who showed how much they would risk for her). i dont hate rhys but i was extremely not happy with him and his attitude and behavior. feyre became more arrogant and was acting like how asshole rhysand would act. like her life is perfect now and i was not rooting for her anymore. freysand didn’t feel like they have complimenting qualities that made them interesting in the first place but rather they are merging to become the same person but in a bad way. that mind reading thing was cute in the beginning but it became insufferable since all thoughts were shared so seamlessly it made reading feel weird. 

anyways those are my thoughts on ACOFAS. it was a 1/5 stars for me and im mad those events transpired. reading the other books made me excited to know what was gonna happen and i was truly ready to accept the characters as flawed and nuanced as they are. im not mad about character not liking each other but i am mad that everything felt off. ACOFAS just felt regressive in some parts and forced in other parts. i know not everything ends in a nice tied up bow but this book single handily ruined what i thought about these characters in the worse way possible. this book wasn’t suppose to wrap up all the problems that exists in the other books but it didn’t feel hopeful like i thought it would. it didn’t feel wrapped up and didn’t feel like i should be excited about the next books. theres so many missing pieces i feel that i think need explaining and at the same time, i think it introduced too many problems at once which made it feel like its jumping around everywhere. although im still excited for ACOSF because i love nesta, and nesta deserves so much better and i want to have hope that this bad ending will either make sense later on or it was just a blimp.

[ahsbitch]

Something Strange In The Air (Part 2)

Word Count: 2544

Summary: In the aftermath of your...incident with Michael, you’re still tumbling to figure out what you’re doing. 

Warnings: It’s probably bad idk, oral (male receiving), face fucking, degradation, Mean!Michael & Being Mean To Michael, blue balls, waxing poetic, lots of cursing (as always), idk i can’t think of any others 

A/N: Sorry this is really short and sorry it took so long I’m in college so I’ve been busy and I was writing a oneshot for a different fandom which took some time, the next chapter will have more plot to it and stuff I promise, my apologies for shitty writing and being a super slow writer, I’m doing my best I promise. As always, comments (even just in the tags) are always ultra appreciated!!!!!

Mini Tags: @wroteclassicaly @1-666-coven @michaellangdonstanaccount uhhh there are others but i can’t remember if i forgot to tag you i’m sorry pls remind me 

ALSO I PUT IN THE KEEP READING THING BUT IT REFUSES TO WORK SO SORRY ABOUT THAT

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There was poetry flashing through your mind.

Some say the world will end in fire

Bits and pieces. 

Death, be not proud

You couldn’t get him off your mind. 

Doing a man’s work, though a child at heart 

Couldn’t get your dream off your mind. 

For the moon never beams, without bringing me dreams 

The way he had looked at you, in it, how he had held your hand.

He kindly stopped for me-

Michael often called you little witch,

Leave my loneliness unbroken 

But he had never called you his little witch, as he had in the dream. 

There will be time to murder and create

He was beautiful, almost angelic in appearance, you had to admit.

From what I’ve tasted of desire

And he pulled you in, in spite of how hard you tried to ignore it

I can no longer remain away from you

It was almost disgusting, how much you thought about him. 

Curse, bless, me now with your tears, I pray

There was something about him that frightened you.

One short sleep past, we wake eternally

A lot about him that frightened you, actually. 

A waking on a morn

“Y/N,” Cordelia spoke, and you could tell from her tone that this wasn’t the first time she’d said your name, “Are you with me?” 

Shit, you’d gotten distracted. 

You’d been called to a meeting in Cordelia’s office, made it to one of the chairs, and immediately spaced out. 

You hadn’t really seen Michael in almost a week, nothing more than passing glimpses in the halls and quick pulses of his energy in the air. You’d been avoiding him. Or maybe he’d been avoiding you. Honestly, you couldn’t remember. You hadn’t spent a single night in your bedroom, instead floating around to parties and going to the swamps to practice your magic rather than spend time in the study room. 

Fuck, things were getting complicated.

“I’m with you,” You smiled cautiously at her, “I’m sorry.” 

She smiled back, something you couldn’t quite determine just behind her eyes. Concern, of course, her whole aura was clearly very concerned, but something else, and then she was speaking, her voice as calm as ever, “Don’t be sorry. Are you feeling okay?” 

Of course not.

“Of course I am!” 

“Try again,” Her hands were folded neatly on her desk, and you dropped your gaze to look at them, Cordelia’s words making you feel a strange sense of shame, “I’m a little worried about you, Y/N.” 

Your ears were burning, your heart jumping wildly in your chest, “I’m sorry.” 

She sighed, shaking her head, “Don’t be sorry. Just... what’s going on with you? What’s going on between you and Michael Langdon?”

Shit.

“What do you mean?”

“You haven’t been sleeping in your room, or studying in the house,” Cordelia looked at you strangely, and you held your breath, “Have you still been fighting?”

She didn’t know.

Thank fuck. 

“Yes,” You responded, perhaps a little too quickly, “Yes, we have. We just can’t seem to agree on anything.”

Not entirely untrue.

She nodded sympathetically, and you were relieved to feel that she believed that was it, “I’m sorry. I feared something like this might happen. But Y/N, you need to return to your room.You can’t be out every night, and you can’t do all of your studying in the swamps. You’re still a student here. You have to be present, at least sometimes.”

“Okay,” Nodding, you worked on getting your breathing fully back to normal, “I’ll be back in my room tonight.” 

“Good,” Cordelia reached out and squeezed your hand gently, “I’m proud of you, Y/N. You are a powerful witch, and a good woman. I believe in you.” 

Not able to make yourself respond, you simply flashed her a smile and bolted for the door, blinking back tears.

Fuck, she’d bee so disappointed if she knew the truth. 

You were barely out of the office when the door to a closet opened and someone tugged you inside, slamming it shut. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“What the fuck, Michael?” You snapped, blinking into the darkness. 

Michael’s hand clamped over your mouth as he let out a growl, “Be quiet, little witch.” 

You worked your mouth until you managed to clamp your teeth onto the skin of his palm, biting as hard as you could. 

“Fuck,” He hissed, jerking away from you, “That hurt!”

“Good,” Glaring, you reached for the cord on the light and tugged on it, the weak bulb flickering overhead, “What the fuck?”

Glowering at you in the dim light, Michael crossed his arms, “What did Cordelia want?”

“None of your business.”

“I’m pretty sure it is,” Shaking his head, he scoffed at you, “It was about me, wasn’t it? Does she know?” 

It was childish to play dumb, and you knew that, but you were doing it anyway, “Does she know what? Why would we want to talk about you?” 

It took only a single step for Michael to back you against the wall, pinning you there with his hips, "Don’t even bother with that shit. Answer the fucking question.” 

You shoved at his chest, although even you had to admit that it was a halfhearted push. His proximity, especially after so long away from him, was overwhelming, and you felt your mind slipping to a place you didn’t want it to be, “Get the fuck away from me, asshole.” 

Another shove, and he wrapped his hands around your wrists, holding them over your head, “You weren’t asking me to do that last time we saw each other, were you, little witch? Now. Does Cordelia know?” 

“No,” Growling, you tried in vain to pull your hands back, “We talked about you, but she doesn’t know about that. Now let me go.” 

Tilting his head to the side, Michael laughed at you, “How many times do I have to tell you? You’re not the one in charge here.”

“Fuck you,” You spat, beginning to shake with something between fury and a feeling that you didn’t quite want to acknowledge.

“This is a pretty color,” Michael shifted both of your wrists to one hand and brought the other down to trail across your lips, tapping at the soft flesh, smudging a bit of the golden sheen, “Did you put this on for me?” 

Ever since that day in the study room, not that day but the one before, you had taken to wearing more and more lipstick, coating your lips in a new color everyday. 

Today was gold, one that shimmered when the light hit it, and if you were honest, yes, you did put it on for Michael. Every time you reapplied a coat of lipstick, today and every other, he flashed through your mind, the sneer on his features, the echo of his words in your ear when his fingers were down your throat. 

“You look good like this...Gagging...You wear revealing clothes and you act like you’re doing it for yourself...But really you’re just a dumb, depraved, desperate little whore who wants nothing more than to be dicked down by your rival.” 

Fuck, just thinking about it sent a wave of wetness gushing through you, and you tensed your legs in an effort to ignore it, and the smirk on Michael’s face told you that he had noticed. 

Yes, you were wearing it for him. 

“No,” You had to crane your head to glare at him with how close he was, “I don’t know if this is the first time you’re hearing this, but not everything is about you, Boy Wonder.” 

He hummed, drawing his fingers along your cheekbone, and you cursed yourself for the way you leaned into the contact ever so subtly. After a moment he pressed his lips against yours, and although you fought to keep yourself in control, to keep from kissing him back, cursing yourself once again when you couldn’t hold yourself back, your noses smashing against one another, your mouth slipping open with a groan, quickly intruded upon by Michael’s tongue, which battled fiercely with yours. 

And then suddenly he pulled away from you and stepped back, and you fell to your knees as he chuckled, his hands unbuckling his belt, “All the same, little bitch, I think that color would look wonderful smeared all over my cock, don’t you?” 

“I fucking hate you,” You glared up at him through your eyelashes as one of his hands gripped your hair, the other pulling his dick out of the confines of his slacks. 

“That just makes this all the more pathetic, doesn’t it?” He slapped your cheek with his dick gently, and it wasn’t lost on you how perfect it was, the size and the ridging and and the pulsing veins and the furious pink of the tip all making your mouth water, “Get up and walk away if you want, little witch bitch. But I don’t think you will. I think you want this. I think that being a little whore is the calling you’re pulled to most.” 

Get up and walk away.

You could do that. 

He pulled his hand from your hair, letting your head drop back, and you knew that if you moved to stand he would release you, would let you go. His precum had leaked onto your face as he continued to hit your cheeks, waiting to see what you would do. 

Just get up and walk away. 

But you couldn’t, couldn’t bring yourself to walk away without having the chance to taste him, not when the very thought was sending arousal roaring through you, and while you wished you could directly blame this on Michael, could say that his magic was holding you in place, that simply wasn’t it. 

You opened your mouth as wide as you could and in an instant his cock was down your throat, Michael setting off to fuck your face at an intense pace. 

Gagging, you brought your hands up to his thighs, and when your nails scratched against his legs through the fabric or his dress pants Michael let out a high, desperate groan. 

Although you couldn’t quite smile at that, with how full your mouth was, there was a little voice gloating in the back of your head, and you squeezed his thigh tightly, drinking down his moans as you moved until his own back had hit the wall, his hands desperately moving from your hair to your shoulders to simply slamming down on either side of his body. 

“Your mouth is good for something, I guess,” Michael grunted, as though he wasn’t as desperate for you as you had been for him a week ago, “You’re much prettier when you’re not talking, did you know that?” 

You managed to flick back your middle finger enough to flip him off, although you didn’t pull back to make a verbal response. There was something urgent about this, and the idea of dropping him from your mouth seemed too great a sacrifice to make, when the harmony of Michael’s shockingly soft, animalistic moans mixed with the lewd, wet noises of his dick hitting the back of your throat was so disgustingly lovely. 

Michael’s hands twitched, as though he was going to grab at your hair again, and at that moment he seemed to finally notice your own magic in the air, holding his wrists in place.

“You little bitch,” He snarled, straining against the magic, but all he could do was buck his hips into your mouth even harder, letting out a hiss as your teeth grazed him, as your tongue swirled around his head, “Let me go.” 

But where’s the fun in that? 

You didn’t let him go, and you didn’t stop. If anything, you grew more intense, your hands managing all over him, sneaking past the fabric of his clothes to leave angry scratches on his skin, so smooth underneath your touch. Eventually one of them trailed to his balls, tugging and toying with them roughly as he began to strain even harder, began to make a choked noise at the back of his throat that made your thighs clench, and you knew he was going to cum soon. 

You pulled your mouth off of him. 

He looked down at you with a raised eyebrow, panting, desperate, watching as you trailed your tongue over every inch of his dick, pulling his balls into your mouth and sucking them slowly, and finally you pressed a kiss to the skin just above his cock and leaned back with a grin.

“What the fuck,” Michael growled, although his face showed a kind of manic desperation that he clearly wasn’t used to, “Get back to it!”

“No, I don’t think I will,” Your smile got even wider, although your mouth was sore and your voice scratchy, you decided it was worth it, “You call me a little bitch all the time, but who’s the bitch now, Boy Wonder?” 

“Y/N, I’m serious. I will ruin you,” Snarling in spite of the pained expression starting to grow on his face, he thrusted against you, and you let out a giggle at that. 

“It’s so cute that you say that while you’re humping my leg like an unfixed puppy,” Shaking your head, you took a step back, out of the range of his hips, and looked down to admire his flushed, throbbing dick, “You were right, y’know. The gold does look good on there .Especially the contrast it has with the blue of your balls.”

He looked down to see that your words were true, the skin becoming overtaken with a pale, bruise like color, and when Michael looked back up at you there was something murderous in his eyes, “Quit fucking around. Let me go, and finish.” 

“Why should I?”

Arms straining against their magical containment, face twisting with the growing pain in his balls, Michael’s voice had grown croaky, “Do it. I will never touch you again, if you walk away from this, do you get that you desperate little whore? You want me. You need me. Do what I fucking tell you.” 

“I think there’s been a serious misunderstanding here, Langdon. I don’t need anything from you. You keep saying you’re the one in charge, but look at you. You’re nothing but a little blonde bimbo. So fuck you,” You scoffed, trailing a single hand across his chest and giving his nipple a harsh pinch, letting out a laugh at his angered whine, “And by the way, Cordelia says I have to move back into our room. I’ll be back tonight. I’ll see you whenever you get around to being the powerful warlock everyone thinks you are and break through my magic.”

With that, you pressed a quick, chaste kiss to the corner of his lip and turned away, not bothering to fix your own appearance before you went out, turning the light off before you closed Michael in the closet. 

You were proud of yourself, you had to admit. 

Scared, perhaps, of what he might do, and curious as to whether or not he’d keep the promise that he’d never touch you again-not that you wanted him to, of course, you were just curious-but you were proud all the same. 

Fucking Michael Langdon. 

[elizabethrobertajones]

Did Bobo really create the Wayward Sisters? If so, why weren't Jack and especially Cas included in that episode? That's my biggest issue with that pilot honestly, I mean, the fact that the show abandoned Claire and Cas' bond after season 10 and gave that storyline to Salmondean. Her bond with Cas is more interesting because of their connection to the Novaks. I also think that Claire and Jack would've made a more engaging dynamic and spin off together, I think they're strong characters & actors

Hi there!

Bobo isn’t the “creator” of Wayward so much as it can even have one, as it was a very organic idea, which even involved a healthy amount of fandom input. The original campaign in season 10 was for Wayward Daughters, and the idea picked up so much steam the altered title for, I guess, a mix of copyright and thematic relevance was the Sisters one. I’d say 10x08 was the real genesis of it as something that could be really solid. Once Kim and Briana were put together the chemistry and star power they could have had together was really meteoric as far as our small SPN world was concerned. Phil Sgriccia directed 9x13 and wrote 10x08 and was more of the parent of Wayward than any specific writer in that sense. Jody and Claire were pretty much common property of the show by that point. Claire was really introduced again in relation to plotlines and questions about Cas and less to do with them really going out of their way to re-launch her. I think they’d have been much cornier about it from the start and while YA protagonist diary writing her way through the end of Wayward Sisters was cute, it’s the sort of cutesy that really has to be earned. If she STARTED that way, like maybe me and 3 friends would be stanning her and everyone else would be revolted :P

(I am a YA fantasy novel author, but I do think everyone should make room in their hearts for this level of cheese)

In any case, Bobo just threw his hat into an already crowded ring with Alex, but obviously loving the characters and having his own personal wayward child to contribute did help elevate him to the prospective showrunner seat, but also all the other writers who’d written these characters except Dabb had left at that point. If Bobo was going to shepherd them through to their new show, he’d be the legacy writer, even though he was a new baby writer in the season Donna was introduced... Attrition aside, he did genuinely write them very well, loved their stories and was great with writing Jody when he could get her, so he would also have been a good choice even if all the others were left still... 

But anyway. Season 10′s subplot for Cas was about Claire and learning some stuff about himself along the way, but she was used very much for his personal development and for Dean as well, being a mini Dean herself in a season where he had lost a lot of his sense of self. It’s a total accident of scheduling but Angel Heart (10x20) being the last episode before 10x22 is a nice touch in that regard. And while Cas tried really hard with Claire and awoke his inner Dad side so that he’d be more prepared for fatherhood next time, it was pretty insurmountable between them to have anything more than a bittersweet relationship where the best he could do was make up with her and see her somewhere safe. The fact of him looking like her actual dead father is horrendous the more you think about it and while she managed to see him for who he was instead of a horrible monster, that’s more than enough trauma to inflict on an already traumatised girl for the sake of helping Cas’s manpain and tidying up the sticky question of Jimmy and Cas’s right to the vessel. 

Angel Heart very specifically ends with TFW mailing Claire to Jody because they know she’s already good with Alex in a genuine way and can handle these sort of issues and has done it before. And also because she can be a guardian who will not constantly remind Claire that her father is dead but something is walking around wearing a perfect reconstruction of his face. Carver era did a few things here and there with bodily autonomy and the problem of angel and demon vessels, but it was also really hit and miss. They’d get random waves of feeling guilty about it but then by necessity go back to stabbing angels in their still-living vessels an episode later. Claire was a way to address at the very least that whatever Cas was being put through was only a punishment on Cas and not on Jimmy as well, which is probably why we got such sappy Heaven scenes. We NEEDED to be shown he was in Heaven and largely okay with what was going on so that the show could justify using Cas at all as a character without breaking the code of ethics they tried to make their own characters adhere to. Aside from that it also gave Cas a side plot for when he wasn’t needed in the main plot, and any emotional connection to anything that wasn’t Sam and Dean.

Anyway 10x20 caused this huge fandom high which was followed by one of the lowest lows of the fandom immediately after, and both centred on female characters (in fact, now we know, 2 lesbians even! Though I’d wonder if, The Gay Agenda aside, Bobo spite-wrote that specifically because of the roots of Wayward) and I think that galvanised the whole movement of fans and hopefully some self-reflection in the show. They DID start making an effort in season 11, which shows some of the early signs of better inclusion but also backtracking or edging nervously away from the more intense Carver era stuff. Not just because Dean didn’t have the Mark any more but in general it was like someone had opened a window and let in some fresh air... Even before Carver bailed somewhere around the midseason to go do a different show and Dabb started to step up. 

All this to say that the Wayward stuff was always about the female characters and making up for the past sins of the show. It’s even a riff on the “wayward son” line which obviously centres around male protagonists and their journey. Claire stumbled into being a part of it in the lucky way of being in the right place and time, but the journey had already started even in the season 10 momentum with earlier work and it was that which suddenly made the prospect that Jody had two young women living with her now seem like a starter for the next generation of the show as it was a mirrored format to season 1 in a way, if you took Alex and Claire as the new Sam and Dean. It was exciting but people flipped out after Angel Heart because stuff had been bubbling since season 9 and earlier in season 10, so this was just pouring more candy into an already visibly full bowl of potential tasty gems. It made a possibility seem real that hadn’t before because we already had Kim bitterly complaining that the CW refused to hear the case for a Jody spin off because she was too old. The next best thing was a Jody spin off where she was the Gandalf to some CW age appropriate characters.

(the CW is and always has been garbage)

Anyway in season 13 Jack was introduced as a Claire 2.0 but as a male character with staying power for that reason, but he was filling the space she left for Cas. He couldn’t be a father to her and neither really wanted that set up anyway. But thematically it had created the possibility of Dadstiel and the space he had in his heart for that. Since the show was in its waning years they would be looking for endgame and handing Cas an easy win with a son he could unconditionally love who would love him back unconditionally absolutely filled that gap. It was a non SamnDean thing that Cas could have for himself outside of whatever happened with them. Not sure the memo came back that he was supposed to have mORE than that but oh well it’s not real if you don’t watch it :))) But yeah Jack was always going to be linked to Cas’s endgame, he wasn’t a free-floating character such as Jody who could go where she wanted and do as she pleased. He was main story relevant from start to finish and tied inexorably to another main character’s fate. Because the show wouldn’t do that with its female characters they could be bundled into spin offs but in practical terms Jack was both never what the Wayward as envisioned by fans or writers was about, nor would he have been free to go. 

Since it would have been about centering the stories of people overlooked by the main story, Claire a case in point that she had her life ruined in season 4 and it was a footnote until season ten, and then metaphorically more the concept of having queer and non-white characters in the mix of main characters, it would have represented a future of the story where the main show was unable to tread. Probably because of the CW. Also inherent biases in the writers. Bad cocktail. Jack is both too white and too male to fit the brief to ever leave SPN, and not only that but he is so as a precise mirror to the main white male characters, being passably any one of their sons if you squint, and meant to be instantly instinctively read as such... he was one of the safest bets of representing the show as the network wanted to imagine its target demographic.

So I really don’t think that Jack has any place being in a spin off of the show unless you want more of the same. They tried to give us something different and the CW didn’t like it because it wasn’t more of the same. Ironically a Jack spin off, with or without Claire, would have more chance of being greenlit and more chance of success. But the spin off they put their heart behind was Wayward Sisters as it was. And I think it was absolutely correct that never mind leaving Jack out of it after his work was done in the lead up episode to help set the table, but honestly they could have cut all the middle scenes of Sam and Dean wandering in the woods and gained precious seconds with the girls and still had a functioning story with those guys. It was like some cowardly missive was sent that the show couldn’t actually go more than 10 minutes without showing a flesh and blood Winchester or the whole thing would spontaneously sizzle out of syndication and the money tree would wither on the spot. And in the mean time, we could have been having Banter with the girls. Or Claire and Kaia holding hands some more. The good stuff :P 

[minnie-marvel]

When It Rains, It Pours (Thor x Reader) Part 2

After an intense battle, the avengers have saved New York from being corrupted by Loki’s evil. The time has come to bring him to Asgard to face judgement and proper punishment. You’ve been enlisted by Tony Stark to help create a device that will temporarily disable Loki’s abilities in order to ensure he won’t escape. However, when you go through a test run of the device with the mighty Thor you find that the device malfunctions and instead takes away Thor’s powers instead. How will you help the God of thunder now that he remains powerless against his brother’s ill will. Thor x Reader Part 1 Words: 3,005 A/N: I lived bitch. Bet y’all thought you’d seen the last of me. Jokes on you I still am determined to finish this pic even if it takes the rest of my life!!! That being said, I am aware that it has been a long time since I’ve posted and people might have moved on to different fandoms or just different writers! Feel free to let me know if you’d like to be removed or added to my tag list!! Thanks for reading!!! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "What the hell did you do to me?!" You shouted again. You pushed yourself from up the ground so that you sat on your behind instead of being sprawled out across the lab's floor like some kind of fur pelt. You blinked rapidly as you tried to keep yourself from reeling back in pain. Your chest felt like someone had doused it in gasoline and thrown a match on top while your hands felt like someone had crushed them with a hot iron.

"Easy there Rookie, just take it easy alright?" Tony groaned pushing himself to stand.

"What did <I>we</I> do to you?" The god of thunder bellowed from his spot. Unlike the rest of you, he was having a significantly harder time finding his way to his feet. "What did you do to <I>me</I>?!" He shouted pointing an accusing finger at your body.

“I don’t understand!” you finally found your way to a battered steel counter and used its surface to help support you as you rose to your feet. There was a constant tingle in your hands, and when you looked down at them, you felt your heart drop at the sight. Thor’s familiar blue electricity crackled and danced against the back of your hands.

“What… what happened?” Your voice was undoubtedly broken now, the unbearable unease from the unknown finally settling into you.

“Something went wrong,” Thor grunted.

“Something went wrong?” Tony rubbed the back of his head while he turned to the golden-haired god, scowling. “Val Hallen, you were supposed to be the expert on this supernatural shit. What do you mean something went wrong?”

Thor shook his head frowning. “There must have been something wrong with the handcuffs… Yes, that’s the only way. Clearly, the workmanship of the handcuffs was faulty.”

You looked at Tony only to see his jaw go slack in disbelief. “No. No no no, I tested those handcuffs out at least a hundred times before handing them off to you. Those things were foolproof. The only thing that they were missing was the Asgardian runes.” He took a step forward to Thor pointing a finger back at him.

“If something in this project could have possibly been faulty, it had to be because of <I>you</I>.”

You rubbed the temples of your forehead, feeling a headache settling in. What in the world was happening? Even if you wanted answers, no one seemed to be addressing you at all. Thor and Tony were busy bickering back and forth playing a game of who’s to blame while something was wrong with you. Your agitation which started as a simmering steam at the beginning of this encounter was now bubbling approaching a boil.

“Everyone just stop talking for a minute for god’s sake!” You shouted now throwing your hands up in agitation. When your palms flipped outward a surge of energy coursed through your body again, funneling out of your hands in the form of lightning.

Tony’s eyes widened and took a dive bomb towards the left, his body skidding across the floor just barely missing the bolt of lightning. Thor lacking the strength to move, only put his arms out in a frail attempt to defend himself. The lightning aimed towards his body hit his arms directly causing him to fall over on the ground again in agony, his body seizing and switching as electricity attacked his body.

Seeing the god of thunder being rendered helpless by your hands sent a terrifying shock through your body. You stumbled back into the counter as you raised a hand to your mouth before staring at it and slowly lowering it back down to your chest. You held your hands together, hoping that if you kept them clasped within one another it would stop you from hurting others.

“I… my hands they…” You stammered looking down at your palms again, the lightning licked against your fingers again, as if they were waiting for another chance to strike.

“I need answers.” Your voice was desperate as you choked back tears. “Now.”

You hear Tony sigh as he reaches down beside Thor taking him by the tricep and lifting him slowly until he was at an appropriate height. Your boss slung Thor’s arm around his shoulder supporting the god sighing as his eyes met you.

“From what I can see, it looks as though you’ve consumed Thor’s power. I’ve only seen that blue electricity come from him and well… Point Break here looks like he’s been hit by a bus.” He shrugged the arm that held the arm jostling the titan of a man like he was a sack of potatoes.

You stared at Thor who couldn’t even manage to lift his head towards you in acknowledgment as Tony spoke. Your breath started to quicken, each breath taken just seemed as though it weren’t enough.“But how could this happen… Thor is a god and I’m just a mortal I… Is this going to kill me?!”

“That is… well.” Tony paused suddenly looking at you, his eyebrows furrowing together as he contemplated deep within his mind.

“Well, rookie… to be completely honest with you I don’t know.”

You could feel the electricity crackling against your palms again. You couldn’t control it, you couldn’t control anything. Your entire body had been transformed into a ticking time bomb and you had no idea how to prevent it from exploding. What was worse, one of the most intelligent entrepreneurs in technology couldn’t find an answer for you either.

“Worry not mortal.” You heard Thor groan finally managing to support himself slowly with the help of Tony’s arm. “I may be powerless, but I am still a god.” He muttered strands of golden hair falling between his eyes. He took a long deep breath as he straightened his posture up, his gaze still lingering on your burning with a will that undoubtedly could shake the heavens.

“I will save you.”

You saw the man reduced to a helpless body across the floor moments ago, but it was clear that his divine energy came from more than the power of his thunder.

With a hand still propped on Tony’s shoulder for support, he looked around the wreckage of the lab finally taking in the destruction.

“Stark the handcuffs. They did take away my power correct?” He asked looking back towards your trembling body.

Tony sighed but nodded eventually. “It seems to be that way, yeah.”

Thor returned his nod and jerked his neck to both sides suddenly making two loud pops before he took both arms and began to stretch them out slowly by crushing the other between his bicep and forearm.

“Then that’s all that matters.”

“I’m sorry, what?”

You both stared at the god in disbelief. Suddenly he was striding towards you slowly, his physical strength seeming to have already been restored. He stood only a foot away from you now and stood taller than you, still meeting your eyes with stormy blue irises.

“If the handcuffs indeed take away power then they will be sufficient. When we arrive in Asgard, we will find a way to return my powers to me.”

You swallowed a hard lump that had settled in the back of your throat once Thor stepped in front of you. “We?”

Thor nodded slowly. “I cannot keep up the ruse that I still hold my power as my own without you.”

You reeled back in disbelief. “You want me to help you pretend that you still have your powers in Asgard?”

The god of thunder stood his ground. “Yes. If Loki even smelled a lack of power in me he would use anything and everything to destroy me and take over my kingdom again.” he took another step forward towards your body, the space nearly being closed between you.

“I cannot let that happen.”

“If I might cut in for a moment,” Tony interrupted, walking over to you and Thor. he put a hand on your shoulder and snatched it back when he was quickly zapped with a static shock. He looked over at you with feigned annoyance. He knew you didn’t shock him intentionally, but he thought the face would lift the mood. It didn’t.

“My new assistant has only just been introduced to this new world of heroes and aliens and gods and the like. She has no idea what she’s getting into-”

“Neither do I,” Thor replied cutting him off. “But it must be done.”

“Can we just talk about this?” Tony asked exhausted, placing an arm between you two now. Thor finally tore his gaze from you to the billionaire.

“The only person who needs to talk is the mortal,” Thor said simply turning his gaze to you. You were waiting for him to make another stubborn comment to get Tony to get off his back when he suddenly dropped to a knee.

The god slowly took your hand in his looking up at you, eyebrows furrowed in a fierce determination.

“Miss… I am not asking you to help me. I am <i>begging</I> you.”

You tried not to let your jaw drop at his words. A god was begging you? You could feel the electricity building in the hand that Thor took. When you glanced at your connecting hands you saw that the lightning was striking against Thor’s skin. Yet, when you looked back into his eyes you saw the determination never leave his gaze. His lips were pressed into a hard line as he bore the pain of his power from another, but he never once relented.

You visibly deflated slowly. With Thor at your side, maybe you had a chance.

“Well… who am I to deny a god?”

You laughed bitterly as you slipped your hand from his, taking it back into your own holding your hands together to try to keep from hurting anyone else. You looked back at Tony now a bit sheepishly.

“Does this mean I have to put my two weeks in?” You asked.

Tony sighed and shook his head, planting a hand on his hip while rolling his eyes. “Let’s say you’re putting your vacation in early okay? Just don’t make this a permanent relocation. As you probably know I kind of fired the rest of my assistants today.” He gave you a smirk before taking his arm back and pulling his phone out of his pocket tapping away.

“So, when are you two planning on leaving?”

“Before the sun sets today.”

Tony nearly dropped his phone only catching it seconds before it shattered against the floor. “Before the sun sets? As in, three hours from now?”

Thor finally rose to his feet again folding his arms against his chest. “If not earlier. My father will want to contain Loki as soon as possible, and if I do not bring him to Asgard he will retrieve him himself.” The god paused looking between you both cautiously. “I believe you’d prefer me in your hair than my father.”

Tony hummed in thought tapping his phone against his chin. “God of thunder versus God-king… I think I’ll take my chances with Baywatch over here.” He turned to you now pointing the phone at you while he continued.

“I’ll arrange your leave of absence for you. We’ll call this an intensive project on behalf of Stark Industry. Everything will be covered for you before you can say ‘Tony Stark is the best boss ever and sure he got me into a mess but he will be paying me enough to buy two small islands and a private jet to travel to each.’”

You gave a half-hearted smile. “Thank you, Mr. Stark.”

He gave a loud groan. “Really with the formalities again? I think we’re past the point of being just a boss and employee since I’ve got you in this situation. For the love of… well Thor please just call me Tony.”

You only continued to smile. “Of course...Mister Stark.”

Tony sighed but pulled you into a one-armed hug. “Well, you know what they say about dogs and old tricks. I’ll be patient.” he shrugged. “You two should get ready. If you want to leave for Asgard before sundown you’d better get a move on.”

When you turned to face Thor to ask about the next plan of action you saw him walking towards Mjölnir which was firmly planted in the ground where he laid before when your blast first went off. It seemed as though he were staring at the hammer for an eternity before stretching an arm out, fastening a hand against its leather handle. There was a moment of silence before he closed his eyes and lifted.

You sighed in relief as you saw the legendary hammer lift to Thor’s hammer. So, he was still worthy after all.

Thor nodded, taking in a deep breath, regaining his composure before turning to you. “Well small spark, it's about time we introduce you to my brother?”

“Small spark?” You repeated.

“Well, since you had not told me your real name I thought to give you a nickname to call yourself.”

You introduced yourself and watched as Thor stroked his chin in thought.

“I think small spark suits you better. You do hold my power now, maybe if you prove yourself useful, you can be called Lady of Thunder.”

You pressed your lips into a thin line. It seemed as though he were in good enough spirits to still tease you. You would have teased back but you didn’t feel like being smote by a god. Even if Thor didn’t hold dominion over thunder any longer, you were sure he could pack a powerful punch if he wanted to.

“Let’s go see that brother of yours shall we?”

---

You walked beside the Lord of thunder as automatic doors slid open, revealing an open-cell paneled glass and a slender raven-haired man inside. He was sitting on the floor unnaturally cool until He looked up to see you and Thor entering the room. He looked battered and bruised beyond compare, but his bright green eyes shared that same inextinguishable spark that Thor held.

“Thor.” The raven-haired man said his eyes scanning over to you quickly. “I see you’ve brought a toy.”

“It's time to bring you home brother,” Thor ignored the last comment staring him down.

“We are <i>not</i> brothers.” The trickster god hissed. “And that is not my home.”

“Father wants you to return to Asgard,” Thor stated.

“As his prisoner.” Loki laughed with a roll of his eyes.

When Thor didn’t deny his statement, you saw Loki’s expression twist into an unnatural scowl made up of pure hatred.

“Well, aren’t you going to subdue me? Strike me with lightning and bring me to my knees?” Loki scoffed.

You felt your chest seize up with anxiety. Was that what was supposed to happen? Thor hadn’t told you anything about actually using his power in his presence. If Loki was as intelligent and conniving as Thor had portrayed him to be, he would surely discover your secret in an instant. You looked slowly to Thor who didn’t return your gaze.

He took a step forward towards the cell and you followed close behind him. Oh god, you were really doing this weren’t you? How were you going to possibly pull this off you weren’t prepared-

“Fury,” Thor called flatly before an odd purple gas sprayed out into the cell circling the four inner glass panels. The gas swirled around Loki’s head in an opaque cloud. You saw the Asgardian reach out to the two of you behind the glass before his eyes rolled to the back of his head. His knees gave out beneath him before he clattered to the floor with a loud thump.

Thor sighed. “He will undoubtedly ask why I did not show my power.” He warned.

“And what do we do when he does?” You asked, holding your hands close to your chest again.

“We do what Loki does best,” Thor said with a frown. “We lie.”

Minutes after, S.H.I.E.L.D agents swarmed into the case along with Thor and yourself. Thor knelt to his sleeping brother and pursed his lips tight together as he brought a new pair of handcuffs to Loki’s hands. There was a soft click and nothing else. You still stared at Thor ensuring that no shift of power had been missed, and when he sighed with relief, you did too.

“Well, at least one pair worked.” You joked quietly to him.

“Yes,” Thor replied. “The easy part is over.” He said slapping a small band of metal across Loki’s mouth. The band quickly extended and transformed into some type of muzzle. You only quirked an eyebrow at Thor who shrugged.

“I’d rather not have to hear his sharp tongue on the way back to the palace.” he hoisted his brother up and over his shoulder.

“Heimdall!” Thor suddenly shouted before suddenly pulling you into him with his free arm. “I have Loki in my possession. I wish to return to bring him to trial.” He suddenly looked at you cradled against his chest. You were staring at him like a deer in headlights.

“The woman too,” he added after a moment.

“Wait- We’re going now?” You whispered to the god. “What about the plan, what about the handcuffs- Thor how are we going to pull this off??”

He didn’t get to answer immediately as both of your bodies were suddenly consumed by a bright burning light built of a kaleidoscope of color. You instinctively held onto the avenger closing your eyes in fear. In truth, you probably could have protected him better than he could protect you, but your mortal fear was still very present in your body.

When your eyes opened again you were surrounded by gold, a man in shimmering armor wielding a glimmering sword staring you down with amber eyes. Before you was an opal road that glittered rainbow colors every which way.

Thor leaned close to your ear.

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there.” ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WIRIP Tag List: @avonwrites​ Permanent Tag List: @memyselfandmaddox  @fangirlftshipper @two-eleven-thirty-four @the-fifth-marauder-paws @shieldgirl95 @lostnliterature @lupe-55​ @drinkingteandfangirling​ @sighspidey​ @laurfangirl424​ @iwouldtakeascootertotheankle​ @sharingfanfictionandart @shutupyoumewlingquim @until2am @ellaisbutteredtoast @flaminghottaquito @american-cactus @spideypoolltrash @embrace-themagic @wantyoubackpeter @thumper-darling @multi-parker  @spideys-jj @thedaughterofdawn @iickerr @starktower-is-my-home@lilcook2258 @mxrvel-imxgines-blog @spodermanpete @goldenkillmonger @youtubehelpsmesurvive @strangenerdsstuff @twerkinglucifer @mylovefortomholland @thefallenbibliophilequote @ms-marveleous @lemonusa @elsasshole @theprinceoftheundead @oddlymurderousplant @futzingclint @imarockstar45 @ivyohmy @yafriendlyfangirl @thisismysecrethappyplace @bitchstolemynutellaus

[pynkhues]

Hi ! I'm sorry if you have already talked about that, I'm just new to the fandom. I just finished s3 and I've felt so conflicted since Lucy's death.. There was a sort of lightness in the show despite of the crime element and obvs flirtation between Brio.. But now, everything seems so dark and Beth is trying to kill him. I feel like there's been a shift and that they'll never be able to come back from it.. What are your thoughts ?? Thank you and stay safe !!

Hi! Welcome to the fandom, anon! :-) 

Season three definitely has a darker feel overall, so I completely understand why you feel conflicted! I think you’re right too - the balance between the lighter elements of the show and the darker ones was really different in s3 compared to seasons 1 and 2, and it gave the season a very different energy. Interestingly though, I don’t actually think the content itself was all that much darker, but rather that shift was felt more in the way that that content was framed and paced.

After all, violence – and the threat of violence – has been a pretty integral part of the show since it began, and while I think there’s a bit to be said about how much of the violence of the show made its way from subtext to text – Eddie’s death happened off-screen, but Lucy’s didn’t, for instance – I also think that there have been moments of textual violence since the show began. Beth knocked Boomer out with a whiskey bottle after he’d tried to rape Annie in the very first episode after all, something that was echoed with Boomer’s completed rape of Mary Pat and her hitting him with her car in 2.03. In that sense, the violence might’ve escalated in some ways across the first two seasons – culminating with Beth shooting Rio in 2.13 – but it’s always been a part of the DNA of the show overall.

In that sense, I think what’s really changed isn’t so much the violence and threat of violence itself, but rather the way that the show frames that violence and the effect that has on the pacing, tone and character beats.

So hey! Let’s break that down a little.

Catch and Release

When it comes to scenes of intense drama or violence – played out or inferred – Good Girls is really a show that, at least for its first two seasons, relies on a pretty defined structure that I’d say goes something like this:

1.    Contextual joke that builds tension and/or sets mood.

2.    Act of violence or drama.

3.    Throwaway joke that breaks tension and/or resets mood.

As a structure, it’s generally pretty effective and is ultimately used to manage the tone of the episode. After all, for a show like Good Girls which is a dramedy, leaning too hard on the joke or too hard on the drama can create the off-balanced feeling we got in s3, but I’ll come back to that later.

This structure essentially presents the violence or drama of the scene as the meat of a burger, allowing the jokes to both complete the meal (delicious!) while also softening up the richness or intensity of the meat itself.

Generally speaking, I’d say Good Girls did this quite simply and effectively in s1, experimented and tested the elastic of it in s2, and more or less got rid of one crucial step in s3. It makes for an interesting exploration of narrative structure, I think, but that’s just because I find this sort of stuff interesting to explore, haha.

So what’s that actually look like in action?

Okay, let’s take 1.01 with the scene I described above.

1.    Contextual joke that builds tension or sets mood

I’d say in this case it was the entire scene at the end of the episode where Annie, Beth and Ruby are arguing about what to do about Rio.

2.    Act of Violence

Boomer attempts to rape Annie, Beth hits Boomer, Boomer falls into the coffee table.

3.    Throwaway joke that breaks tension and resets mood.

And again in 1.02.

1.    Contextual joke that builds tension or sets mood

Annie trying to sell Rio on the dolls.

2.    Act of Violence

Rio ordering Mick to kill Beth.

3.    Throwaway joke that breaks tension and resets mood.

Boomer popping out of the treehouse.

(please forgive my horrible screencaps, I took these after I’d written this post and it’s now late, hahah)

Annnnd again in 1.04

1:

2:

3:

By 1.09, they were already starting to leave wider gaps between the jokes and the tension – which makes sense as it was building towards the climax and they were wanting more drama than comedy – but importantly, this framing was still present. 

1: The girls joking about the van job

2: The tense climax of the van job

3: The joke about the result of the tense climax

And in 2.01, it kept those gaps big as a direct continuation.

1.    Contextual joke that builds tension

Beth putting the mug on the coaster as she scrubs blood off her floor.

2.    Rio shooting Dean in a flashback.

3.    Annie and Ruby bickering about Annie stealing a hospital meal (tone reset as a result of violent climax)

The series went on to test this further in s2 by adding extra beats to create more complex (and interesting, in my opinion!) variations. The clearest example of this is in 2.03 with the Boomer and Mary Pat sequence:

1.    Tension establishing joke: the girls in the hotel bickering about the price of the room.

2.    An act of inferred violence – Boomer rapes Mary Pat

3.    An act of textual violence that builds off both the joke and the inferred violence of the previous scene – Mary Pat runs over Boomer.

4.    A throwaway joke as a tension breaker – Mary Pat worried her kids have heard only to see them engrossed in their devices while the Power of Love plays in the background.

5.    Takes us straight into an even better tension breaker joke with Mary Pat telling the girls she chopped Boomer up.

(That is such. good. snowballing. tension. And I could talk about it forever. Like, seriously. It’s not a sequence we talk about a lot, but 2.03 is an excellent example of complex dramedy writing).

That said, it often still fell back on that classic structure too in satisfying ways. 2.07 being a perfect example.

1.    Contextual joke to establish tension

2.    Tension / act of violence

3.    Tension breaker.

Whiiiich brings us to 2.13.

King

Look, 2.13 doesn’t work for a lot of reasons, but in no small part, it doesn’t work because it doesn’t play with the above structure like the Mary Pat and Boomer arc did in 2.03, nor test the elasticity of it like 1.09 and 2.01 do, rather it completely abandons it altogether.

It doesn’t build tension effectively through that blend of drama and comedy that the show can do really well, nor does it break it afterwards for us with a lighter moment that commentates on that tension, rather it thrusts the violence and drama onto us in a way that wasn’t well established narratively, and – quite frankly – was badly written.

I could talk a lot more about why that narrative choice doesn’t work, but that’s not really what we’re here to talk about. What we’re here to talk about is:

A Change of Pace

Because the thing is, season 3 does actually return to it’s s1 and s2 structure, only with one, crucial change.

It abandons Step 3: the joke that resets the mood.

What this means is that we have the contextual joke which establishes the tension and the mood, and the tension, but then the tension’s never actually broken for us afterwards.

This is perhaps clearest in 3.05 with Lucy’s murder.

1. We have the establishing joke with the girls debating which Au Jus hostage photo to use.

2. We have the act of violence.

And then we have only aftermath.

Ruby crawls into bed with Stan, Annie with Ben, and Beth takes Au Jus home.

On it’s own, I think this is an effective break from structure. I think it underscores the power of this sequence overall and the importance of Lucy’s death as a narrative moment and the ‘innocence lost’ theme. 

Only it’s not on it’s own.

The season kept breaking structure. Over and over again.

It happens after Rio kills Turner in 3.01 (there’s a slightly lighter scene that caps that with Rio checking out of the hotel, so you could kind of argue that it was returning to the same structure, but it doesn’t quite hit the mark for me), it happens when Rio confronts Beth in 3.03 and when he takes her to the OBGYN, it happens when Max tries to confront Rio at the bar in 3.06, and it happens in most of the scenes with the hitman.

In fact, I’d argue that the only scenes that returned to the catch and release structure in s3 were the scene where Ruby stole the hockey jersey, the carwash scene which ended with Mick wanting to go to IHOP and, most effectively, in the Sweet P’s job in 3.10.

You’re talking a lot about sequence structure here, Sophie. 

Right! Sorry! Tangents, haha.

What I’m getting at is that I don’t think the content of the show itself is any different. Murder, crime, intimidation and violence has been central to the show’s DNA since 1.01, and a lot of this has been textual. Lucy’s death I think definitely feels different because she’s the first true innocent we’ve seen killed on this show, but y’know, Rio was threatening to murder random PTA moms way back in 1.07 when Beth’s secret shopper scheme proved – err, unvetted, and Dean was trying to organise hitmen in s2 too.

Structure is important. Structure is what sets up audience expectations and establishes the rhythm of a story as well as – most importantly for this discussion – the tone of one. Seasons 1 and 2 presented the dramatic and comedic elements of the show ultimately as a marriage. The comedy was used frequently to guide us as viewers in and out of tension, and ultimately, I think this is why season 3 felt so different. That three point sequence structure was unbraided, the comedy divorced from the drama, which stuttered the rhythm and ultimately affected the tone.

SO, in answering your question as to whether or not the show can come back from the darkness to find its balance again, yeah, I think it can!

I think the writers sort of wrote themselves into a big, ugly corner with 2.13 and spent a lot of s3 struggling to find a way back out of it. Like, I think on a narrative and a character level, they had to show Rio kill someone in s3 to re-establish him as a character with teeth, because if they hadn’t, he wouldn’t have been the source of tension and conflict that they rely on him to be. I think they committed themselves to darker elements of Beth’s character and to asking the question of what it is the girls are capable of, because that’s the sort of thing you commit yourself to when you throw a grenade into your own story like they did with 2.13.

And look, I don’t think they got themselves out of it perfectly by any stretch of the imagination – in particular sacrificing parts of the way they typically structured tension in violence as they tried to reset the board meant they ultimately also chose to sacrifice both rhythm and tone too – but I think they were rebuilding by the end of s3. I think the Sweet P’s job was this show at it’s tonal best, with that marriage of comedy and anticipation and both personal and criminal stakes really working together to build a great sequence (Beth and the Caesar Salad! Anticipation building with Ruby and Stan as Stan figures out what’s happening! A crime plot! Stan coming through in the end!)  

I think the note the show chose to end the season on with the promise of Boland Bubbles, Ruby and Stan reconnecting and the first glimpse of Phoebe infiltrating the girls does reset the board in a way that leaves a lot more room for lightness than the end of season 2 did, while still offering hooks of conflict and tension too. I also think it allows for a return to the sort of sequence structure that lets the show balance it’s tone in a way that 2.13 frankly didn’t.  

Of course, that’s ultimately if they decide to return to it, haha. I hope they do, and I think we were heading there, but I guess we’ll just have to wait and see! :-) 

[baseballbitch116]

Your Walking Dead - Daryl Dixon Interactive Love Story

A/N: The way this is designed is so that YOU get to choose how you would like to proceed through the story. At the end of every chapter, there will be 2 options. There will be different consequences to your choices! Every choice you make will change the outcome of the story. No two choices will provide the same outcome! YOU can determine who survives, where you go, and overall how your interactions with Daryl will go!

Introduction: Follow along on your journey with Daryl and the others throughout the series... You choose your actions... Will you end up with Daryl? YOU have the power to decide that!

Pairing: Daryl Dixon x reader

Setting: We begin in the Atlanta camp, before Rick has joined.

Word Count: 1420

Series Warnings: Gore, violence, strong language, potentially triggering content, sexual themes, death, mentions of drug/alcohol consumption and abuse...

Chapter Warnings: Brief mentions of violence, strong language

Masterlist

Send Me A Request! | Series Masterlist

[This idea was inspired by @twdeadfanfic, who is creating her own series with a similar concept!]

Without further ado... Let’s get into it!

To say that you had run from Atlanta would not be an exaggeration by any means. You quite literally ran through the streets of the once thriving city as the dead took over. Nothing could have prepared you for this. You had no survival skills whatsoever. You couldn’t hunt, fire a gun, build a fire... Fears overwhelmed your mind as you ran through the streets, dodging the dead as they tried grabbing you at every opportunity. You had nothing but a backpack of limited essentials.

Someone had broken into your apartment in an attempt to escape the dead chasing them, in turn allowing the flesh-hungry dead to get inside and force you out. You probably would have died if you hadn’t met Shane and Lori along the highway. You had no weapons, having lost your steak knife in the arm of one of the dead back in the city. Wandering down the stand still traffic on the highway, you were desperate. Lori spotting you as you stumbled down the road, dehydrated, out of breath and limping. You owed her your life for offering you a bottle of water that day a few weeks ago.

You are drawn from your thoughts by the sound of someone approaching. Glancing up from where you sat on the RV’s stairs, you shoot a weak smile at Dale. “Are you alright, Y/N?” The older man asks as you stand to move out of his way.

“Just thinking about... Everything.” You respond. Dale nods as he studies your face. You’ve had some conversations with the older man before about these sort of things - what the future might look like, what could be happening in other area of the world...

“Best not to dwell on it too much, I think.” He says, patting your shoulder as he passes you and enters the RV. You couldn’t help but feel like you weren’t pulling your weight around the camp, though. As you looked around, you saw most people doing one thing or another. Lori and Carol were washing clothes, Shane was cleaning his shotgun, Glenn was on watch for walkers on top the RV. You knew that if it weren’t for some of the others in the camp, you would not have food or a fire or weapons.

Deciding that you needed to find a way to earn your keep, you head over to Lori and Carol in order to help them with the laundry. It certainly wasn’t a task that you desired, and you found it slightly belittling that only the mothers in the camp washed clothes - but you needed something to do.

Striking up light conversation with the two older women, you got to work on hanging the damp clothes up to dry. You had grown close to Lori since she let you tag along with them out of Atlanta - feeling that you owed her and Shane. Who knows what would have happened if you hadn’t met them...

You felt a pair of eyes on you as you worked, making you glance around your surroundings in search of whoever was alarming your senses. A scoff escapes your lips when you spot Merle Dixon’s eyes on you from the door of the RV. The older man had been hitting on you from the moment you met him a few weeks back. He had to be at least twenty years older than you, but that didn’t seem to bother him as he continuously made passes at you.

You suddenly felt self conscious in your black leggings and tank top. The Georgia sun beat down on your skin relentlessly from sunrise to sundown, making most of you try to dress lightly around the camp to avoid overheating. You roll your eyes and huff, redirecting your attention to the conversation Carol and Lori were having. “What is it?” Lori asks when she spots your sour attitude.

“Just Merle ogling over there again.” You mutter to her, tilting your head in his direction lightly as you throw another shirt up on the clothes line. The two women shake their head in annoyance and mumble about how gross he is. You heard a rough male voice call out Merle’s name, regaining your attention from the women again. Your eyes landed on his brother approaching from his tent - Daryl.

You had not spoken to the archer more than once, finding him rather standoffish and hard to approach. He was good looking, that you could not deny. He was about the same height as his older brother, tan and well built. You admired his physique as he threw his crossbow over his shoulder. His muscular arms were bare and dirt stained under his green muscle shirt. His short shaggy brown hair contrasted nicely with his blue eyes. Daryl had by far interacted with you the least of any one else in the camp. He seemed to have little interest in being around anyone other than his asshole brother.

You had also taken notice of how minimally affected he seemed to the current state of the world. He built fires, hunted, tracked, and killed walkers as if he had been doing it his whole life. You couldn’t help but wonder what his life was like just a few weeks ago. What did he do for a living? What was he like under all that hard exterior?

Merle’s gaze landing on you once again made you quickly avert your eyes back to the women, hoping he had not seen you looking their direction. Both the Dixon brothers intimated you, for sure - but you for Merle revolting while Daryl intriguing.

You were only a handful of yards away from the brothers, easily able to hear their loud, raspy voices from where you stood if you blocked out Lori and Carol’s chit chat. “Ima go hunt. Found some deer tracks earlier.” A voice that you determine to be Daryl’s based on his comments, announces to his brother. Merle didn’t do much of anything around the camp, whereas Daryl always seemed to be preoccupied with one task or another.

You continue hanging the clothes that Carol hands you distractedly, eavesdropping on the brothers.

“Ain’t got nothin better ta do than chase rabbits around the woods, little brother?” Merle drawls with a scoff. You roll your eyes at his comments, wondering what he has to do other than ogle you and cause trouble around the camp.

“Like sit on my ass all day?” Daryl retaliates, his comment reflecting your own thoughts. A smirk tugs at your lips as you continue.

You glance up when Daryl walks past you guys, crossbow over his shoulder and large knife attached to his belt buckle. You briefly meet his eye, neither of you saying a word as he continued past you toward the woods. You dropped your gaze back to the clothes basket, mentally scolding yourself for being so interested in the man. He didn’t even acknowledge you, you shouldn’t be wasting time thinking about him.

The morning drug on slowly, like most others. This new life was very boring, you could only imagine how the kids were feeling. You missed your phone, the internet, television... As stupid and privileged as it sounded, you couldn’t help but feel like time slowed down and you had nothing better to do than wash clothes or gather firewood.

You had gone inside the RV for about fifteen minutes to cool down from the intense sun, the sweat from the sweltering heat trickling down your skin. You hated feeling sweaty - you felt gross. Stripping out of your leggings that were sticking to your skin, you tossed them into the clothes basket in the corner and throw on your denim capri pants in place of discarded item. You missed your shower - a pond or quarry would never replace a relaxing shower with actual soap and hot water.

When you heard numerous voices nearby the RV, you decided to get up and head back out - seeing what was going on. Slowly exiting the vehicle, you take notice of numerous people standing around one of the cars. “What’s going on?” You ask Glenn as he passes you. “Going on a run. Wanna come?” He asks, stopping and turning to look at you.

You had never gone with them on a run before, what exactly do you do? Would you just get in the way? But then again, you’ve been wanting to find a way to pull your weight...

What should you do? Choose your path!

Go on the run | Stay at camp

~~~~~~~~~~~

And that is the introduction!! The two links above are different parts that will change how you proceed in the story and you will see how just one little choice will drastically change the events that follow! A simple decision like going on a run or not... Is going to set the foundation of this story and all of the choices you are going to need to make following it!

Please leave me some feedback on what you thought of this first part and let me know in the comments which option you chose!! I’m looking forward to seeing everyone’s reactions to this series!!! ♥

If you want to know when this series has been updated, feel free to turn on my notifications and ask to be added to my taglist! ♥

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[let-it-show]

holy crap it’s been a year

A year ago today I said "gee, I think I'll go see Frozen 2". At the time I wasn't a fan of the first, which I had been forced to see once, and I thought the trailer looked adventurous and neat.

I had no CLUE I was about the set off a pretty intense fixation/obsession and fall ass over tits into creating fic, art, random ass thoughts, buy the hell out of merch, and start talking to a bunch of new people.

I honestly didn't even think I'd end up in another fandom. Why, I don't know, the one before this I'd become half dedicated to and thought maybe I didn't have that energy anymore. But at the time, I LOVED Frozen 2. The songs, the gorgeous animation, the spirits, it just all consumed me. I didn't like that Anna and Elsa separated though and something was nagging at my mind about them. Three days after I saw the movie I made this tumblr because I needed SOMEWHERE to direct and also feed my thoughts. I rewatched the first one and realized hey, I actually rather liked it, though when you get to do that at your own pace on your own couch with a kitty in your lap, it makes a difference xD I started reading more. The year started, I became aware of how much fans of the first hated the 2nd. I saw lots of Elsanna and went "gee I don't know, incest, hmmm, I think I like them better as sisters who are soulmates and life partners but don't bang". Buuuuut as you can all see that consumed me HARD LOL my god i eat Elsanna porn for breakfast.

Anyway I had started with the purpose of being quiet and making fan content and figured it may be best if I didn't talk to anyone because I...didn't want to be obnoxious. Heh. Idk. I think I dropped a couple asks but thought I should be good and keep to myself so I didn't reach out much when I started off but I started getting braver and now I have met MANY lovely people. Honestly I really like almost everyone I've talked to here.

I also wanted to stay out of ANY fandom drama, that shit gets tiresome, been there, done that, but I guess when you have discussions or hell get caught on an off day it gets unavoidable to get caught up. I like to talk about all of Frozen at this point so opinions and analysis are going to lead to things sometimes. Luckily people on different sides of different opinions have been fun to talk to and I find a lot of people seem to be good people when you talk to them independently and they aren't fired up in a social media fight xD

The only realy bad point I've experienced at all is being labeled as a racist by someone who doesn't even know me and yea, admittedly when I have too much time to think, that comes to my head and beats me up. It's not a good thing to have attached to your name especially when you arent one and don't post/contribute to racist rhetoric. But it's enough that I find myself feeling isolated from the contests that go on and such....looking at the friend and social groups on here, and who has blocked me for this thing attached to my name, well, it affects people. It really does, and it gets me down and has made me wonder if I should quietly close up and go.

Luckily for these days I have a few people to help me pull out of it and keep on going, because if it weren't for my involvement in fandom and having SOMETHING to distract me and bounce around about, I think I'd be handling 2020 a lot worse.

Which, to end this on a good note, this has definitely helped this mess of a year. I work in a grocery store as an essential worker and it's not nearly as taxxing or important as say, NURSES! but we're still out there in this mess and still part of it. My work family helps so much too, but on top of that it's really fun to be into something THEY know as well - in the past it's been anime or just obscure shit but Frozen? They know Frozen, and it makes shit fun. And this has even built a stronger bond with my best friend, my Anna and I. We both were hit hard by Frozen 2, and people roll their eyes at The Next Right Thing but that became such an important message to my friend. We had a Frozen party in February, we've got our own 'Arendelle symbols'... xD

Anyway thank you fandom for letting me be here and have fun in this space, and thank you to wonderful friends I've made here. I can't wait to add more content :3

[ljandersen]

Author Interview

Thank you for tagging me @painterofhorizons  @rpgwarrior4824  @ripley95things   This looked familiar.  When I looked back, I realized I had done this meme before, but I realized a lot has changed.  Instead of reblogging, I decided to do an update.

I know some of you may have already done this meme, but I’ll go ahead and tag:  @pigeontheoneandonly  @spook-queen  @maxrev  @swaps55  @soldiermom1973  @salamanders-please  @ooachilliaoo  @citadelsushi  @that-wasnt-so-bad  @aricazorel  @pushingsian  @shotce @forlornmelody  @serioussamiam  @xenowriter  and anyone else who wants to play.  No obligation, of course.  If anyone follows me who would enjoy being tagged in these games, just let me know.  I’ll add you in the future.  Likewise, if someone would rather I didn’t continue tagging them games, let me know that too.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Name:  LJAndersen

Fandoms:  Mass Effect Trilogy

Where You Post: AO3 and FFN  (I’m not planning to post on FFN in the future.  The decision is multi-factorial -- low traffic, security issues, and disapproval of their business philosophy)

Most Popular One-Shot:  The Favorite  It’s a Garrus/femShep and Wrex/femShep love triangle one shot set during ME-1 (humorous rivalry and grudging friendship).  I wrote it for the 2019 Christmas gift exchange.  Naturally, since it’s (slightly) Shakarian, it has the best stats. 

Most Popular Multi-Chapter Story:  “About Mars . . .”  It’s my ME-3 fShenko story that fills in gaps.  I explore Shepard and Kaidan's reconciliation and how Tali and Garrus got together.  It’s a lot of crew antics: the space hamster escaping, Christmas gift exchange, matchmaking trickery, drunk poker celebration, raiding the mess at night.  It’s fun and fluffy with a touch of angst and bittersweetness.  When it comes to why it’s the most popular, it’s a combination I think.  It’s the last thing I posted and readership is probably highest on the last thing a writer posts, if they post consistently.  It’s the longest story I’ve post chapter by chapter giving it more search air time.  It’s fluffy/slight angsty and relationship-centered, which is probably more in line with what the average fanfic reader is looking to read (vs. something plot-heavy and involved).

Favorite Story You Wrote: “Burning Barriers”  It’s my fShenko ME epic set post-war, action/adventure romance with some mystery and suspense thrown in.  It’s actually three novel-length stories bound together: Shepard’s first mission aboard the Normandy after defeating the reapers, retrieving an artifact to restore the Sol relay.  Kaidan’s Spectre investigation into what happened to Shepard on the Normandy and confronting his ghosts on Jump Zero.  The last part is Kaidan and Shepard’s POV overlapping.  It’s a joint Spectre investigation, sparked from what they learned in other parts, and their efforts to stop a catastrophic attack targeting the Council in Vancouver.  It’s my favorite story, since it has an original plot, and I had freedom to stretch and explore the characters past canon.

Story You Were Nervous to Post:  I haven’t been nervous posting my stories beyond the fear of hearing silence.  There have been chapters or subplot directions where I wasn’t sure of the readers’ reactions.  For a story as a whole, though, I haven’t been especially anxious, at least, not about living up to a standard or receiving hate for my story. What makes me anxious when posting is what makes all writers anxious.  We all worry our hard work will be lost in the void.  No one will read it.  We won’t get feedback.  I get anxious I’m wasting my time on something that won’t matter to anyone but me.

How You Choose Your Titles:  I don’t have a method or a pattern.  It’s what fits the story.  Sometimes it pops out, an obvious phrase, and sometimes it’s a labor in discarding and narrowing ideas.  Honestly, I don’t think any of my titles are particularly spectacular.  

Complete:  Six completed stories posted (2 one-shots and 4 multichapter fics)

Incomplete:  None that are posted.  My long-term WIP, “Someplace Like Home,” is in the second-draft stage. I don’t post until I’ve finished a story and edited it.

Do You Outline?  No.  I know the ending of my story and I know the beats I want to hit along the way, but I’m more of a discovery writer.  I make up as I go how the points connect.  It feels more organic and surprising.  When I’ve tried outlining a story, it becomes mechanical and joyless.  Since I do intensive editing after the first draft, I can fix the mistakes I create in discovering the story as I write it.  After the first draft is written, I can streamline, reshape, and trim the story into something more polished.

Coming Soon/Not Yet Started:  I have a few one-shot ideas, even one I’ve started, but my main push is to get my long project to a point of posting.  “Someplace Like Home” took a year and a half to write, and I’m finally in the second draft stage.  Since it’s such a large piece, I’m planning on breaking the story into parts.  I’m focusing on completing a second draft of part 1, then I’ll do a third draft and start posting it.  While posting part 1, I can work on the second and third draft of the next section.  It’s been a long effort to get it this far, and it will feel kind of surreal to have a part of it finished.

Do You Accept Prompts?  I had a reader say she’d enjoy seeing my take on Horizon and Mars, which actually led me to write my multichapter fics “About Horizon . . .” and “About Mars . . .”  It was a nice break from writing my plot-heavy main WIP.  I’d never considered writing anything set in-game, because it felt too restrictive and redundant for how I like to write.  From that reader’s encouragement, though, I actually ended up writing something I never would have considered writing before.  That’s the closest I’ve come to receiving a prompt.  I would eagerly accept them, of course, and be flattered.  I couldn’t promise I’d do them right now.  I have a lot of emphasis in my larger project right now.

Most Excited to Write:  Though the first draft of “Someplace Like Home” is written, I’m excited to write the second draft.  Since I know the whole story as whole now, it’s fun to flesh out the second draft, add more foreshadowing and create some irony.  It’s been fun rereading my story as I do the second draft.  The third draft, though, which is less broad in scope, more paragraph/sentence level will be like pulling teeth.  I love to tell a story, but I hate nitpicking the way it’s told.  It’s an important focus of editing, though, and certainly an area where I need the most work.

[wexhappyxfew]

hey, i know this is a huge ask, but i think it would be great if at some point (maybe after landslide is complete) if you could do one of those writing tip books like the ones on wattpad? i absolutely adore your writing style, and how well structured all of your stories are. i am really struggling with the character development side of writing at the moment (and i’m sure lots of people will struggle with plotting) but you are sooo good at it! i just think it would help a lot of people, including me, if you could give us a few tips! all i want to become better at writing, and i think it would really help! again, it is a huge ask, but out of all the band of brothers books on wattpad and tumblr, yours are just about my favourite, and i would love it if you did consider my suggestion! 💖

HELLO ANON!!! First of all thank you for making my morning :D The past few weeks haven’t been the greatest, but we all have those weeks - but I treated myself to some coffee from Dunkin this morning and I’m listening to some music, vibin, and just slowly getting my morning started since I have some schoolwork to complete! So, this is what really made my morning, just everything you said truly - I can’t begin to even thank you! Writing is such a huge passion of mine and for years it has been the thing I can come to when my mind is scrambled and I feel I have nothing to really focus on - writing brings me right back! 

THANK YOU OMG!! That means the world that you enjoy my writing style! I have to say, it has developed incredibly (just from my own personal point of view because man a few years back it was a SIGHT TO BEHOLD LMAO!!) and truly, with who I am, I’m proud of where I am with my writing and where I’ve come from! Part of growing as a writer is simply just writing, in massive chunks and learning what you like, what you don’t, and what YOU want to write and read. In 2020 I wrote over 800,000 words and I went through 3 different fics last year and I can 100% see the changes in myself as a writer (and it was worth it!). AWE THANKS :,) I really try to structure my stories through a reader POV, with saying “okay, how will a reader view this, does it flow and make sense for the reader?” Because I know that I know everything as the writer in the opening chapters, but the reader doesn’t and I have to make sure when I start incorporating ideas that are larger that I don’t complicate it to the point of complete confusion (if that makes sense!)

I actually have considered many times before doing a ‘writing tip’ book! Currently, though I have Landslide on a roll and FFTB (a future BOB WIP) up and coming, I have branched into Original works and other fandoms as well and I’ve taken a lot of what I’ve learned from the Band of Brothers OC community into my hands and it has helped me more than ANYTHING! So I will 100% consider it most definitely!

I’ve had new writers come to me on Wattpad recently just trying to work out their OCs or where they want their fic to go, and how to make it original and I’ve been so honored and privileged to be able to help them in anyway I could AND THAT’S what got me thinking about making a ‘writing tips’ book actually! :D So I will 100% be considering it, especially when Landslide is over, I can promise you that.

Creating in this fandom has allowed for so much growth within me personally, and I feel many other incredible authors in the fandom can completely agree. I’ve been in the fandom since late 2018 (maybe December) and I started uploading Sunshine Solider in early 2019 and being now in my 2nd(?) year or 3rd (?) if I’m correct, sorry it’s early here LOL - ok definitely 3rd - constant writing is what I can recommend - and sometimes it SUCKS. But writing (1) should be fun, if anything. It should be simply fun and I think that’s the greatest gift out of writing in fandom is simply the joy of creating a story that you love and put your heart into and just being able to hit that post button and feel accomplished for something as wonderful as that. It’s the little things that bring so much joy and hitting that upload button is one of them!! 

AWE GOSH THANK YOU!!!! <3 <3 That means the world to me omg!! My lil OCs are like my children (HAHA!) and I know many others can agree with that! Sometimes you don’t even know all the ins and outs of them! But they’re like your kids as you develop and grow with them through the story! So thank you for that, it means a lot! :D

OKAY - I totally get the character development struggle 100%! And it would definitely be one of the things I’d put some time into, in the Writing Tips book because I feel it’s very important! You want your OC to essentially be human - their pros, their cons, their flaws, what makes them happy, sad, neutral....all that sort of stuff! And I totally agree, there’s so much that just goes into simply crafting a character, an OC, a human being for a story. 

Something I’ve learned, and I know not many people are probably like this, but it’s what gets me going is actually just writing a blurb (whether it is in the story or not) and try and capture their voice. My 3 *MAIN* OCs, Charlotte, Hazel and Natia all have their own voices, and in their ways are entirely different and flipping from voice to voice was quite the challenge but one I felt was fantastic for me as a writer and a good learning experience. Not everyone has a similar voice! What’s their little quirk they sort of have as an OC? Maybe their ‘brand’ if you call it that....or do they repeat something regularly and how does it connect to them as an OC? (This is all just little things that could become a huge thing in the long run!) But most definitely, just start WRITING, simply just writing and find that voice and once you hit it, it’s really off to the races.

I know after finding Natia’s voice (which was incredibly hard at first, I feel she’s a complex character in my opinion and so that makes it a little more difficult to hit it just right) it was pretty easy to just go off and write - she’s someone very much in her mind, she speaks somewhat lyrical as well, not like a song, but it flows - she has confidence. And so that comes across in writing. I feel it’s just little things like that, which become very noticeable to the reader just by dialogue even, sometimes!

I hope in some way these little points helped, and I’m currently inhaling a large coffee ( I have schoolwork to attend to soon - ie ap stats lol! ) but truly I hope this helped and I am 100% considering a writing tips book. I know there are many new writers in the fandom and I know in some way even if it is not for all, it could help even just one person! And I’m happy to provide my bits of knowledge that I’ve gathered personally (and even from some of my writer friends out there as well who I will consult if they have things to add as well!). Writing is definitely hard, and it’s something that you get better at with simply practicing, but also reading others works, talking to writers and just getting tips and knowing who YOU are. If you know who you are, I feel you know how you want your story to come out if anything! 

Feel free to stop on by my DM’s! I’ve been late on messages from some people (only because of my schoolwork recently, it’s been quite intense!) but I’m working through them and I’ll be able to talk privately about things and maybe help you flesh out some ideas if you have any yourself - this goes for anyone reading too!!! But truly, I’d be happy to chat, so really thank you so much for this message it means a lot to me and I’m glad my writing can be seen that way - 2 years here has paid off (LOL!!) 

THANK YOU!!!

[brightblueinky]

Long winded ramblings about a Bronycon video

So I’ve seen some hubbub about a YouTube essay going over the history of the Brony fandom up until the last Bronycon. (You can see it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fVOF2PiHnc ) I just got around to watching it today and I was...somewhat confused by some of the stronger negative takes I was seeing floating around Twitter, and I’ve been in a “fandom discourse” mood lately so, hey, I thought...why not talk about it. The first part of this was originally going to be a Twitter thread until I realized Twitter wasn’t going to let me keep going on the thread so I gave up and decided to put it here instead (lol) so it’s probably going to be a bit choppy since I was trying to keep it readable for that format.

So first of all, my background, so I can be completely honest about where I'm coming from and try not to portray what I'm saying as like...an end-all-be-all take here, because I don't wanna do that. I was never really an MLP fan. I watched the first season of FiM and really enjoyed it, but I didn't really engage with the fandom because by that point I'd gotten to where I didn't spend much time in huge fandoms. So I can't come at this from the perspective of an MLP fan. When I’m addressing the fandom here, I’m coming at it as an outsider in the sense that I am not a MLP fan/brony. What I AM going to do is come at this from the perspective of something of a "native" to fandom. I've always been a geek. I've engaged in online fandom in some form or another since I was about 8, which was in the mid 90s. I've been around the fandom block. Actually, I can even say that I used to lurk on 4chan a lot and I saw a lot of the early Brony discussions there. I also watch @JennyENicholson's videos, and yeah, there's been times where I've been bugged because we had a disagreement of opinions and felt like it was a little harsh. She's got a dry sense of humor and sometimes it's hard to read when she's joking and when she's being genuine. So like, I wasn't surprised when I saw some hubbub from some people online about her doing the video about Bronies. Not at all. But I gotta say...I am really surprised by some of the more INTENSE takes on the video after watching it?? The LARGE majority of the video is @JennyENicholson covering this fandom from an INSIDER'S perspective. She was an MLP fan before FiM, she was active enough in the fandom to be a BNF. A huge, huge amount of the video is positive and nostalgic. In fact I now wish I HAD been in the fandom! It seems like it was a lot of fun! The only thing I felt was maybe harsh in the video is I think she gave the impression that being "furry" is exclusively a sex thing, but by the end she talks about furries being a community that's a very inclusive, kind community with a lot of queer people, so even then I think if you're really paying attention to the whole video you're not going to come away with the idea that the furry community is bad. Just maybe could've had more nuance earlier in the video?  So from glancing through mentions of her in a Twitter search (which is definitely not going to be a perfect sample) from what I can tell there's like two things that people seem to be upset about with the video: 1, the idea that the fandom is "dead" and 2...just...Body Pillows. So let's talk about the dead fandom thing first. As I mention, I have been in fandom a long, long time. Although I (usually) shy away from big active fandoms now, I started off in bigger ones--Sonic, Pokemon, Digimon, LOTR, etc. The two fandoms I currently care about the most, though, are definitely fandoms that tend to be called "dead" and were never HUGE to begin with (Princess Tutu and Chrono Crusade). I think I can count on my hands the number of ppl who actively discuss or create fanwork for CC.   So I guess what I'm trying to say is, I've been on both sides of the coin here. And let me reassure Bronies: "Dead", while maybe too strong of a label for what it actually means, does not have to be a negative thing and you don't need to defend your fandom from it, IMO. I think the "dead" label simply means that interest in the fandom has cooled, the number of active participants is significantly down from the heydays of the fandom, etc. And I don't think that's an unfair label for brony fandom from what I know.   If there was a large scale replacement for Bronycon then maybe it'd be unfair, but...yeah, if you're losing your large hubs for the fandom community, if the flow of fanwork and discussion has slowed, I think "dead", as it's used, isn't an unfair label.   But again, I don't think this is a bad thing! I'd imagine that even the current state of the brony fandom is larger and more active than the Princess Tutu fandom at its greatest heights. It's a pretty relative term. It doesn't mean nobody cares, or that you can't still enjoy it! All the "dead" label really means is acknowledging the change in a fandom. It's not a bad thing. I might be 1 of ~30 writers for Chrono Crusade on AO3 but I still have fun writing fic and I still get hits and occasional positive comments. It's not bad. Just different. Okay so now let's talk about the body pillow thing and oh man, is this going to be a minefield, lol. Let's first talk about my personal lens I'm going to come at here... I've created NSFW fanwork. Some of it taboo. I'm also (somewhat) a part of the "proship" discourse on Twitter which is basically a community of people that push back against another community of "anti"-shippers who feel that some ships are problematic (because of character age, power dynamics, etc) and shouldn't be shipped. (I think that simplifies a lot of the discussion on both sides but it’ll do for the purpose of what I’m getting at here, I think.) At its worse this debate has lead death threats and suicide attempts. I have seen people get treated abusively for fanwork (sometimes NSFW but not always). (And I also want to add that while I think the major component of the pro-ship discussions on Twitter are anti-harassment, there’s been some ‘edgy’ types who think that it’s fun to harass antis with NSFW fanwork and the like and I want to make it clear that is ALSO ABUSIVE AND NOT OKAY.) Basically, I want to say I'm sympathetic to a knee jerk defensive reaction over NSFW fanart. Okay? I can get why people might want to push against criticism of stuff they enjoy/create, and that there’s an element of possibly being harassed for fanwork you create. But the thing is, I don't think this is really the attitude Jenny is taking in the video. She lightly mocks NSFW stuff and body pillows, but often describes it as "harmless" and "fine". The only time she's critical of it is when she notes that sometimes body pillows with suggestive poses could be on display at conventions where young kids were present--at a con celebrating a show MEANT for young kids--and that probably shouldn't have been allowed. She's not saying you can't buy a body pillow, or create one. She didn't even say that while discussing body pillows of characters who were 10! She expressed personal discomfort, but the only restriction she really suggested was "keep this out of the sight of minors." And I don't know why that would be a controversial take. I read lemons when I was younger so I'm not going to sit here and act like it's going to completely ruin kids lives or anything. But I ALSO think it's appropriate to have boundaries for sexual materials for kids (or anyone who doesn't want to engage for whatever reason). I want my stuff to be clearly labeled as NSFW, with tags being clear about the content, so people know what they're getting into. I’ve grown to care about this even more as I’ve gotten older. I don’t really want to know about minors reading my nsfw fanfic or anything. I’m not going to, like, parent them and shame them if they do, but I don’t want to engage with it, I want my stuff to be labeled, and I am DEFINITELY not going to put it on public display at a place where I know kids are allowed, ESPECIALLY not when it’s work based on stuff MEANT for children! I mean, I grew up in a fundamentalist Evangelical household and I will rant at you for hours about how damaging I feel that environment was, and that I don’t think kids and teens should be completely shielded from sex, etc. But that doesn’t mean that having boundaries in place is a bad idea, especially when minors are involved. I also think that boundaries are good just for the sake of consent, too? I’m not saying that someone accidentally seeing suggestive art is the same as them being raped, please don’t conflate it like that, but if people don’t want to see it for whatever reason they should be given the opportunity to make that choice as much as possible. The stuff that Jenny mentioned brony conventions would do (requiring stuff to be sold under the table, or having late night hours for the dealer’s room where 18+ merch could be displayed and sold) seem like really good policies and pretty similar to what I’ve seen at anime conventions I’ve attended (although occasionally some stuff that was maybe a biiit more suggestive than I’d be comfortable displaying in public...but hey, my local con allows kids but also makes it clear in their rules that it’s mostly geared for 13+ attendees and that it’s up to parents to decide what’s appropriate for their kids, and I think that’s fair). And yeah, I know, nothing that Jenny showed in the video being displayed at Bronycon was 100% explicit, just suggestive. She notes this in the video herself, saying that yeah, it doesn’t show genitalia, etc...and as I’m writing this I think I’ve maybe rambled too much about NSFW fanart when most of the stuff we’re talking about here is more “suggestive” than straight-up porn, since that’s probably muddying the waters a bit. But I gotta, gotta, GOTTA address the sentiment I saw multiple times on Twitter in response to her video: “Dakimakura/body pillows aren’t sexual and to say that is orientalist.” I...what? What the fuck? Okay, again, I’m going to make it perfectly clear what my background is here so that I’m not claiming to have some expertise that I don’t have: I am white. I am VERY white. My parents did the DNA test thing and the most “exotic” thing that came up is that my dad is 3% Spanish. Not latin american, I mean from Spain spanish. I am sooooo fucking white. I’ve studied a LITTLE of Japanese culture in college classes but that wasn’t even my field of study (Communication major on a Broadcasing track, minor in Theatre) so I’m not going to tell you I’m an expert on Japanese culture. I’m just a weeby geek that grew up in anime fandoms and never really stopped consuming Japanese pop culture. I have a very limited experience with Japanese culture. I am NOT an expert on what is and isn’t orientalist. I know I’m really hammering in this point here but I think it’s really, really important that I make it clear that I shouldn’t be used as an expert on this subject. But what I DO have a background in is someone who has engaged in Western fandom of stuff from Japan from a young age, I did spend a lot of time on 4chan, this is NOT the first time that I’ve seen some form of an “this isn’t sexual at all and you’re just a PERVERT” discussion about fanservice and...okay first of all, I highly doubt anyone saying this is any more qualified to define what is and isn’t orientalist than I am. I think this is bullshit and it feels like an attempt to make your opinions more legitimate by implying people that disagree with you are some form of bigot. (And look, I was a sheltered, insecure, stuck-up teenager in fandom, part of the reason I feel like I can recognize this is I totally pulled the same shit. I am not going to act like I have never tried to pull this and that I’m a pure innocent woke intellectual who’s never said something foolish, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to let it slide, either.)

While writing this I googled ‘dakimakura’ to make sure I was spelling it right and noticed that Wikipedia does note that the origins of this style of pillow are sometimes used by Japanese kids as something like a security blanket, which I’m guessing is where the justification for the argument is coming from, but let’s be intellectually honest here--body pillow covers being sold at a convention aren’t primarily meant to be a security blanket for kids. And, okay, maybe you have a body pillow cover with a character on it that isn’t exactly in a sexual pose, just laying fully clothed on what looks like a bedsheet background. But I don’t think it’s an unfair argument to say that even THEN it implies a sort of intimacy, right, possibly a desire for a romantic attachment? Like, sharing a bed with someone doesn’t have to be sexual or romantic, I used to share a bed with my brother in hotel rooms when we were kids, but I’m also not going to share a bed with my brother and then hug him closely to my body no matter how he’s posed or what he’s wearing??? And look, maybe a body pillow isn’t ALWAYS sexual but to say it’s NOT sexual, which kinda implies NEVER, is so disingenuous. The top result I got when I searched for “anime body pillow” is a shop that includes categories like “18+ body pillow” and “sexy body pillow” and also SELLS FAKE BREAST INSERTS FOR SOME OF THE PILLOWS SO YOU CAN SQUEEZE THEIR BOOBS (obviously, NSFW link: https://www.dakimakura.us/ ) Like, COME ON, I don’t think it’s orientalist to say that something is sexual when Japanese people are actually selling body pillows they label as 18+. The second result even has a second for pillows you can insert sex toys into. And yeah I saw the guy saying “masturbation isn’t sex!” and sir at BEST you have a very narrow and incorrect definition of sex as simply being intercourse and, again, at worst you’re just being straight up dishonest. In fact, I’ll straight up call myself out for this. There’s a fanart body pillow of a fictional character I’ve considered buying several times! (Not porn but still probably NSFW link: https://www.etsy.com/listing/701912275/dakimakura-hypnosismic-doppo?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=hypnosis+mic&ref=sr_gallery-1-4&organic_search_click=1 ) Is this porn? No. You can’t see much. But on one side of the pillow he’s got his shirt untucked, you can see a bit of his stomach, and his fly is undone and you can see the band of his underwear peeking out. This is sexual. I’m not wanting it to like, get off on it, exactly...honestly it’s maybe a bit ironic, and a lot of wanting a body pillow in general is I like sleeping hugging onto something but I have a different sleep schedule from my husband I find him too big to hold all night and too warm in the summer anyway. But I’m not going to tell you that me wanting this PARTICULAR pillow case isn’t at all sexual, I know what I’m doing, I like the character and think the drawing is hot. I’m not saying don’t buy body pillows, okay? I’m not saying don’t sell them. I don’t think Jenny is either (she literally OWNS ONE that she shows in the video!!!). But don’t act like there isn’t ever anything sexual about it existing to try to defend their existence, okay? You don’t need to be a fucking coward about it, and you especially don’t need to say it’s racist if people call out something as being suggestive when, well, it fucking is. And I think it’s totally 100% reasonable for someone to say “hey I don’t think it’s a good idea to display suggestive art around kids, especially if it’s depicting young characters.” TL;DR -- Chill, guys. CHILL. Your fandom is getting smaller and the term people use for this is “dead” but that’s not a bad thing, you’ve still got the fandom, you can still enjoy it, there’s definitely no need to take personal offense over it. And enjoy your body pillows, but don’t be disingenuous about the fact that they can be suggestive and try to act like anyone that calls it such is racist, that is such bullshit. Like what you like, other people’s opinions of it is not automatically a personal attack on you, there’s no need to jump to being defensive every time someone says something vaguely negative about it. Chill, fandom friends. Fandom ain’t bad but it also doesn’t need to be the center of your identity and you don’t need to lash out against people for daring to have opinions about a thing you like. You especially don’t need to act like other people are perverts for noting something being suggestive. Chiiiiiiiiiill.

[wanderingthroughwonder]

Miranda’s Fic Recs

I’ve been wanting to do this for a while because I just have a lot of fics in different fandoms that I truly enjoy. These are mostly long fics because that’s what I read the most. Fandoms included: Teen Wolf, Harry Potter, MCU, Star Trek, Kingsman, and Avatar: The Last Airbender. Find them below! (Some fanfic spoilers ahead)

So I’m starting with completed fics and then I have a few not completed fics at the end that I’m just really liking.

Embers by Vathara

Rating: Not Rated, Word Count: 704,200 Fandom: A:TLA

Dragon’s fire is not so easily extinguished; when Zuko rediscovers a lost firebending technique, shifting flames can shift the world....

This is an Avatar: The Last Airbender rewrite. It’s Zuko centric and it splits off while Zuko and Uncle Iroh are on the run and Zuko learns of healing firebending. The world building is so good and interesting and the whole fic does a great job of reimagining the A:TLA world. You meet a lot of new characters that are super well written and fit the world nicely.

The Debt of Time by ShayaLonnie

Rating: E, Word Count: 715,940, Fandom: Harry Potter, Ship: Hermione/Sirius

When Hermione finds a way to bring Sirius back from the veil, her actions change the rest of the war. Little does she know her spell restoring him to life provokes magic she doesn’t understand and sets her on a path that ends with a Time-Turner.

This fic is so good and I’ve reread it before. I love Hermione centric fics and this is definitely one. When she goes back in time she goes through school again with the Marauders and it’s so good you guys. I think the fic does such a good job of showing her grow with these new people. The relationships in this fic are so intense and I love them.

Hook, Yarn, Sinker by pprfaith

Rating: Not Rated, Word Count: 65,675, Fandom: Teen Wolf, Ship: Stiles/Peter

Stiles is happy with his store, his hobbies, his friends. Peter’s just trying to figure out how to raise his nieces and nephews without fucking them up too badly.

Paths cross.

This is the first in a series of fics. It’s a Human AU with aged up Stiles and friends but with little kids Derek, Laura, and Cora. This fic is a good time and sweet and honestly low stakes which is so nice to have these days. I think a lot of Steter fics are more intense and I enjoy them but this is such a nice change of pace where you really get to know the characters in these fairly different circumstances. The whole series word count is 161,859.

A Sequence That You Never Learned by AnnaTaylor

Rating: E, Word Count: 64,624, Fandom: Star Trek: AOS, Ship: James T. Kirk/Spock 

“Spock,” Jim breathes out, completely overwhelmed by the gesture—not quite believing that Spock knows him so well, that he’s already started researching, that he trusts Jim with a member of his own endangered species.

When Jim gets it in his head to adopt an eight-year-old Vulcan, Spock presents a logical solution to the issue of Jim’s of humanity: marriage to a Vulcan citizen.

This was one of my first Spirk fics and I honestly love kid fics. Vulcan kids are so different from Jim, but I love the idea that Vulcans still love him anyway. This is such a great Fake Marriage fic.

If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out by mia6363

Rating: E, Word Count: 13,232, Fandom: Teen Wolf, Ship: Stiles centric but technically Stiles/Peter 

Commander Stilinski looks like he fell out of a propaganda video, his armor still smoking as he pulled off his helmet and handed it off to First Officer Argent. He had a few bruises down his neck but his smile was bright.

“Glad to see you safe and sound, Mr. Hale. I’d hate for Derek to lose a member of his family.”

“I told you,” Derek snapped at his superior, “he’s not worth this, Commander.”

This is the shortest fic on my list but I love this take. It’s got a Star Trek vibe and I LOVE how everyone is made into these different aliens. Stiles being human here is so interesting and it reminds me of those “humans are the craziest of the aliens” posts. It’s got multiple POVs and I think they’re written really well and do a great job of coming together.

Where Thou Art, That is Home by ShanaStoryteller 

Rating: Various, Word Count: 94,108, Fandom: Teen Wolf, Ship: Stiles/Derek 

Stiles is 10 when he saves the Hales from their burning home and Derek from a wolfsbane bullet, and this establishes a pattern that seems to continue indefinitely.

“Then he’s facing a burning home, and he wraps the hood of his sweatshirt around his mouth before he pushes the door open and steps inside. There’s Mr. Hale asleep - he hope asleep - on the couch, next to - Stiles thinks that’s his brother but there are so many Hales, who can keep track. He rushes over and starts shaking him, can see the rise and fall of the man’s chest so he knows he’s alive, but he’s not waking up. He shoves away his hood so he can shout, “Mr. Hale! You have to get up, there’s a fire! Mr. Hale, get up!” Nothing, he’s not even twitching, both of them taking in deep even breathes like they’re having the most peaceful of rest, and Stiles is going to cry. “Wake up, wake up, wake up!”

There’s a moment where all Stiles can here is the blood rushing in his ears and not the roar of the flames or the creak of wood, then with a violent, silent pop it’s all back and both men are gasping awake, eyes open and jumping to their feet.”

This is another series! It creates a Hales Survive AU and it’s got BAMF!Stiles. The Hales in this fic are so interesting and it’s an expanded family from what we see in canon. Magic!Stiles is written so well in this fic and things get intense but it’s so good.

Counterpart by sara_holmes

Rating: M, Word Count: 217,400, Fandom: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Ship: Steve/Tony 

coun•ter•part [koun-ter-pahrt] [noun] 1. a person or thing closely resembling another, especially in function. 2. a copy; duplicate. 3. one of two parts that fit, complete, or complement one another. 

Just because Hydra used the DNA of a Captain America from another dimension to create a lab-grown, six-year-old super-soldier, it doesn't mean that said six-year old super-soldier is biologically Steve's, right? 

(Where Steve wants to ban Clint from bringing things home from alternative dimensions, until he doesn't.)

This is an amazing kid fic. Things are so messed up because of how the kids was raised up to the point they find him.I love Tony so much in this fic but also you sympathize a bit with Steve. The kid whose name I will leave out is my absolute favorite. This is also a series!

Fallout by Whisper91 kingsman

Rating: E, Word Count: 164,971, Fandom: Kingsman, Ship: Eggsy/Harry/Merlin 

As far as the rest of the world is concerned, Gary 'Eggsy' Unwin is a registered Dominant. It's on his driver's licence. It's on his National Insurance card. Hell, it's even on his bloomin' GCSE certificates. And the fact that it's all a load of bollocks is a secret Eggsy had intended to take to his grave. 

Course, he hadn't been expectin' a bloody sub-drop to sweep in and knock him on his arse in the wake of the Valentine Massacre. Turns out grief and adrenaline ain't a good combination.

I really enjoy the dynamics between the three of them. D/s fics are always so amazingly well built and I love fics like this where they’re hiding their dynamic. I think this fic does a great job of going further with the D/S world and giving it more biologically. I just reread this fic recently because I love how it’s done. 

It’s Insanity But... by rosepetals42

Rating: M, Word Count: 71,477, Fandom: Teen Wolf, Ship: Stiles/Derek 

The doorbell interrupts what had turned out to be quite the epic shoe hunt but, really, he’s grateful for the break. Or at least, he is until he heads down the stairs to grab the door, trips over a stuffed animal of some kind, bashes his head on the wall and barely manages to catch himself from falling down the entire flight of stairs. As with all things, Stiles would like to state, for the record, that this is Scott’s fault. 

Or: Scott and Stiles are raising seven children. Derek is the entertainer they hire for a birthday party (not a clown though, he’s very specific on that fact.)

This fic is such a good time! I love two bro’s raising kids together. It’s a hilarious setup and also just so good for the Stiles and Scott dynamic. Each chapter is like a slice of life. Some chapters are more about the kids and some are about Stiles and Derek. It’s just a fun fic and I love that it’s still got werewolves because I think a lot of fics that focus more on regular stuff go full on human AU. Keeping werewolves is much more fun and it’s so well handled here!

So Wise We Grow by Deastar 

Rating: M, Word Count: 81,248, Fandom: Star Trek, Ship: James T. Kirk/Spock 

”Commander Spock, we have located your son,” the Vulcan lady on the screen says, which would be great, except Jim can tell by the look on Spock’s face that he’s never heard of this kid before in his life. “If it is expedient, the child will be sent to join you on the Enterprise within the week.”

This fic is two long chapters. Again, I love kid fic and this one does such a great job. We’ve got pining and hurt/comfort and all kinds of good feels here. There’s one line about t’hy’la that is just *chefs kiss* so good and hits you hard.

Play It Again by metisket 

Rating: T, Word Count: 63,206, Fandom: Teen Wolf, Ship: Stiles/Derek 

In which Stiles goes along with one of Derek’s plans and ends up in an alternate universe as a result. He should’ve known better. He did know better, actually, and that means he has no one to blame but himself. “Laura wants to lure the kid in with food and kindness and make a pet of him, like a feral cat. Derek wants to have him arrested for stalking. They’re at an impasse. (And the rest of the family is staying emphatically out of it in a way that suggest bets have been placed.)”

This is fairly Stiles centric. It really looks into the emotions of jumping universes. The alive Hale family is so good and it’s magic!Stiles which is always interesting. What I think makes it extra good is that in a lot of universe jump or time travel fics it’s more about adjusting to how things will be now. But this fic does that while also having the new universe with its own problems. It’s just fun to see Stiles deal with all these things.

Happy Lights by LadyShadowDrake

Rating: E, Word Count: 108,237, Fandom: MCU, Ship: Mixed 

An interdimensional portal opens over New York and drops a tentacled alien in the middle of Central Park. The Avengers are called out to investigate, and hopefully return the visitor home. Steve has been brushing up on his diplomacy, but he never expected to be a liaison to an alien in such an intimate capacity, or that the alien would be so friendly, and the unusual visit turns into the world's best team-building exercise.

This is a series that is so much fun. The alien (aka the colony) is so interesting and sweet in the long run. I love seeing the team grow and as you go through the series you really get to see more of them coming together. This is just a playful fic that you can have a good time reading.

Magpie by waldorph

Rating: E, Word Count: 57,648, Fandom: Star Trek: AOS, Ship: James T. Kirk/Spock

Spock met Jim when he was 7 and Jim was 6. It has since been generally agreed that this was a mistake (or: the one where they grew up together and things are simultaneously better and worse for it).

This is such a deep dive of both Spock and Jim. It’s them growing up together and it splits off some as far as events that happen in canon. It ends before they become Starfleet. I think this fic creates such an interesting bond between Spock and Jim. I also really love where it goes as far as Spock not having grown up alone on Vulcan.

These are the unfinished fics. The first two are in progress and the last one seems to be abandoned.

Survival is a Talent by ShanaStoryteller 

Rating: T, Word Count: 353,015, Fandom: Harry Potter, Ship: Harry/Draco 

In the middle of their second year, Draco and Harry discover they're soulmates and do their best to keep it a secret from everyone. 

Their best isn't perfect. 

~ 

“Are you trying to get killed, Potter?” Malfoy drawls, stalking forward. Quick as a serpent himself, he reaches out and grabs the snake just below the head. It thrashes in his grip, but is no longer able to bite anyone. “This is a poisonous snake, and I doubt anyone brought a bezoar with them.” 

Harry glares. He opens his mouth, and feels the beginning the snake’s language pass his lips, and this isn’t what he wants, what’s the point of insulting Malfoy if he can’t understand him – 

Malfoy’s eyes widen. He slaps his hand over Harry’s mouth, “Potter, what the hell–”

This fic is in progress updated within 2020. It’s a rewrite of the Harry Potter series where Harry and Draco are soulmates. As you can imagine, that changes some things. I love this so much, I’ve read it like 3 or 4 times now. The characterization is amazing and I love the differences we see. Harry is Indian in this fic and the way it ties in is so good. You really get to see the difference in culture as well between muggleborns and blood traitor families and the purebloods.   

You great unfinished symphony (you sent for me) by ketchupcrisp

Rating: E, Word Count: 227,792, Fandom: MCU, Ship: Steve/Tony and also the whole Team 

The last thing Steve Rogers ever expected to see on a Wednesday afternoon was his (their) dead submissive tumbling out of a portal and practically into Phil’s lap, very much alive and frantic about Soul Stones and timelines and some other version of the team.

This is an AU but like literally. Tony comes from the universe we know into a D/S universe. The worldbuilding here - again like I think a lot of D/s fics excel at - is so good. It starts with everything a mess and things are intense. There’s multiple POVs which I think is really helpful in a fic like this where the relationships are so tangled. 

Born From the Earth by venusm 

Rating: E, Word Count: 277,602, Fandom: MCU, Ship: Tony Centric, Steve/Tony 

Tony Stark's born an omega in a world where that means he's supposed to follow certain social rules. He becomes Iron Man anyway: Fuck biology.

If only his biology (and the world) would quit fucking him back.

To start off, some warnings: this fic gets a bit messed up. It’s an Omega verse in the worst possible way at certain points. It’s not a fluffy fic. It also doesn’t get that far into the Stony stuff because it’s unfinished. Honestly I’m worried this writer has died and I’ve gone through the comments and looked for them online to see if they’re out there and just not writing but I haven’t found any proof of that. BUT ANYWAYS. This fic is intense but it’s such an interesting take on Omega fics. It gets pretty dark but that darkness is pre-Steve and I’m hopeful that one day it might get finished so I can see where it was going to go. 

[fallingin-like]

an aftg fanfic appreciation post

the other day at work i saw something about fanfiction writer appreciation day and told myself “ah i will make a post when i get home” and immediately Did Not Do That. so i’m doing it now! first, thank you to everyone who writes fanfiction! it’s such an honour to be able to read your writing and i am so grateful to the writers who spend so much time and effort into creating these stories. i do not deserve such amazing content and yet i have it. also thanks to nora for this wonderful series which has changed my life in so many ways. 

these are in no particular order. i really tried to tone down my ‘i love you so much and really want to be friends with you’ vibe but i don’t think it worked. this is a super long post and i still didn’t get to say everything i wanted to.

some  fics/series that need more love (aka they have under 350 kudos)

to the south by Morcai - this is a series (never to be caught and secret, safe, close to the door) that was really cool to read. it has elements of the Iskryne Series which i don’t know anything about, but apparently has to do with bondwolves. basically, neil has a wolfbrother who he can speak to telepathically which is written in a really unique way, through interesting phrases and scent-based nicknames for people. i’ve never read anything like these fics and i adore them

all that we see or seem by rorschachs - an inception au. need i say more? this fic flows well, has good use of flashbacks, and an amazing ending. it’s ~23,000 words but feels like much less due to nice pacing and an interesting take on this au

Travelers by @sunrise-and-death ​ - a series (Placeless Destination and Moving Towards) that’s a soulmate au. soulmates can interact through a pyschic bond that allows it to seem like the other person is there with them. neil and andrew meet when they are young and it’s so interesting seeing them get to know each other at this age. we also get to see some neil/mary angst and all of the terrible things happen to andrew. an intense series that manages to feel light-hearted at the same time. the second fic in this series is incomplete

atlas by @purearcticfire ​ / @pipedream-truths ​ - a magic au that features shapeshifters and a cursed neil, so immediately you know i’ll like it. this fic has some cool uses of italics, caps, spacing, etc. that creates a stylized story that helps build tone and gives the story a clearer voice. unfortunately, i can’t tell too much detail about my favourite parts because it they are *ultra spoilers* so i’ll just say, it gets so intense at the end. just trust me about this. ao3 says it’s incomplete (4/5 chapters) but it seems complete to me. also, at ~72,000 words, it’s a pretty hefty fic

Golden Keys and Gray Lines by @wouldyoulightmycandle ​ - just a feel-good post-canon fic that involves a road trip, an ice cream museum, and a bit of Working Through Rough Times. super cute! this fic is incomplete

some authors i just really love and appreciate (you probably already know them and if you don’t then idk what you’re doing)

all of these writers have serious talent that make it look easy to write fanfiction. it’s not easy. you guys have all of my love. all of it.

@nakasomethingkun ​ /  ephemeralsky - basically i just see their name and automatically click the fic without bothering to fully read the tags or summary. they have never let me down and i adore the way they write. everything they write is an easy read and i always come back to their fics. i was going to mention my favourites and then i realized i was going to list everything they’ve written for aftg and i’m not even kidding. funny, angst, fluff, everything you could want in a fic they have it. so so good i actually don’t know how to describe it. their fics break my heart and then put it back together a little bit different so that even after i am finished reading and continue with the rest of my life, i feel different. they make me hurt in a way i didn’t know that i could like. this quality of fic has me scrolling back to the top to reread it the second i finish. what in the world they’re so good.

@annawrites ​ / moonix - 50 aftg fics. that’s actually crazy. and all of them are so high quality and there is such a variety. flower shop/tattoo parlor au? one of my favourite series ever. high school au? of course it includes 4 fully complete fics. shapeshifter au? amazingly done. scott pilgrim vs the world au? so good that i went out and watched the movie for the first time (i am not even joking). i was looking through all the fics and just started rereading them, i just can’t help myself. they describe everything in a way that makes their stories unique, but doesn’t seem like they’re trying too hard. or at all. their fics flow so well and every sentence is a gem. i read and reread so carefully to make sure i don’t miss a thing, but always find myself catching new jokes and quirks.

@lolainslackss ​ / lolainslackss - i really don’t know where to start. once again, i just really love all of their fics. i started scrolling through their works too see if i had a favourite and could not even choose a top 5. their writing is so beautiful i can’t get enough. they always choose the best things to include. selective mutism and sign language? that’s a sure way into my heart. the suit shop au is adorable and pining andrew really is best andrew. i found exycast surprisingly late in my fanfiction reading and that is a real tragedy because it’s amazing and really cute. the soulmate timer fic is an old favourite and if i’m looking for angst, i know i can pull it up.

@gluupor ​ / gluupor - an absolute legend. with 54 fics for aftg, it’s amazing that all of them are outrageously funny, entertaining, and just really well written. a lot of them are fics adapted as an au for other fandoms (like their super popular brooklyn 99 au that i absolutely adore) and they are all hilarious. it’s so fun to search for familiar quotes or realize how similar characters from different fandoms are to the foxes and the quirks they share. these are fics that will definitely cheer you up. i love their sense of humour, it fits the characters so well and helps to shape the world they’re writing in. it’s always exciting to see them publish a new fic.

@idnis ​ / idnis - they have a really unique writing style, i’ve never seen anything like it in this fandom. every story has so much care and love in it that’s evident through the small details that you only pick up through rereading. their stories are stylized with spaces and formatting that help guide the reader and adds to the tone of their stories. i fell so in love with their cat!neil. they write such interesting stories, have original plots, and their fics read like poetry. before you know it, you’ve finished the fic without realising you should have gone to bed an hour ago. they also have some amazing original work that everyone should go check out!

@badacts ​ / badacts - so recently a lot of their fics were made visible to ao3 users only (a shame in my opinion) so if you haven’t read their fics, go make an account! or log into your account! you really don’t want to miss these fics. they have a kid fic where both andrew and neil are baby versions of themselves so it’s obviously one of the best things ever. they who made you/they made me too is so good even the title is enough to make me feel. there’s introspection and realization and it’s from aaron’s perspective. i love seeing the twinyards bond. and, of course we have to mention the terra firma series because i love injured!neil and this one hits me in a different way. i love the way the abrupt transition into injury for neil and being able to experience the confusion and not knowing what’s happening with him.

iaquilam - they have posted 2 fics for aftg and they are some of my favourites in this fandom. this has amazing characterization, neil and andrew and everyone feel so real and so true and i love them. a mouthy, raven neil is one of the best types of neil. they write from andrew’s perspective and i cannot believe have well they capture him and his thoughts. quotes that have stuck with me “there’s more than one way of getting what you want”, “’he hurts,’ kevin says. ‘it hurts”, “you will be afraid and you will do it anyway”, and “to keep living. until i don’t”. also i think that andrew with synesthesia in where everything is good fits so perfectly. the idea that andrew has something so unique ahh i love. “your voice was the first blue one i ever saw” makes everything around me go quiet.

@jemejem ​ / jemejem - first of all i am really loving the radio show ficlet that’s being posted on tumblr. i’m a sucker for breakup fics, especially cheating fics (because i need angst) so only was the find of the century. it’s a fic where no matter how many times i’ve read it, i still feel gutted and achy reading it. their recent fic, the sound, was really interesting and i loved the later chapters so much but can’t share because of *spoilers*

undertow - okay so they also only have 2 aftg fics but oh my goodness they are so good. tenuous is one of my most reread fics, i love the concept, interactions between all the characters, how i feel like i’m there with them, and their descriptions. one of my favourite lines are “The sink turns on; water smacks against the bottom of its metallic basin. It feels—well. It just feels.” ugh i don’t know why i like it so much i just do. it fits so perfectly. and i can totally imagine kevin and neil being super petty in their love song writing, this fic is such a contrast to the other one and yet still so good.

@broship-addict ​ / broship_addict - kid!au! oh my goodness ice cream au! ahh they’re so good at writing cute fluff that has such good characterization that they’ve adapted perfectly into whatever au they have written. and at the same time impulse hit me in a different kind of way. what a joy to read, i love witnessing the ways that andrew and neil come together in all of their fics. also i really can’t not mention their amazing artwork. so grateful to have them contributing so much to this fandom

@unkingly / vicariously kingly - bless these fics. i don’t know anyone that doesn’t love a good de-aged neil fic and this really does The Most for that trope. also can i just say that callboy!neil was a thing i didn’t know i needed in my life but now i don’t know how i lived without it. also mermaid!neil?? yes please. i adore the way they write andriel. their fics are angsty and never fail to make me feel something, often a little bit raw in a good way. latchkey child wrecked me. i felt like i had been scraped clean and felt a little bit off for the remaining night and day after. Say Golden, Pony Boy was eerie and just the right amount of mysterious. i was left feeling unsettled in my own home. these fics have delightful endings that leave you satisfied and yet wanting more all the same

@spanglebangle / spanglebangle - i really really cannot get over sunshine and moonlight. it’s such a soft version of neil and andrew’s relationship, i love the direction that was taken and how the boys grew and the changes because they found each other. i love the quote “you like the big gestures and ridiculous things i say. i’m in your head, remember, i know it makes you feel wanted” fox!neil is really so adorable and pure, but also feisty and protective and funny. i would love to see more of this fic. also the elementary au is everything to me. there’s a lot of content and it keeps me interested, but i especially love the later chapters with everything surrounding neil and then even later with andrew wrestling with his feelings. so well written.

@hopingforcoordinates ​ / crazy_like_a - if you haven’t read their fics then ?? i really don’t know what to say since they wrote 3 of the top 5 fics with the most kudos in this fandom. and if you have read their work then we both know why they are being mentioned. i have fallen in love with their take on raven!neil. their writing style feels so simple and natural, which is a real talent. if you’re looking for a more explicit post-canon fic, then lessons is great, just make sure nobody is reading over your shoulder hah

@fuzzballsheltiepants ​ / fuzzballsheltiepants - the iconic a mewment like this series is so funny, sweet, and angsty and features The Cats which is always a good sign. in particular, i loved the conversation about mark rothko and all of the art they looked at in the 6th fic. i don’t know what counts as spoilers so i’ll say thank goodness for neil ‘oblivious’ josten, trivia nights, and the good bad jokes that made this series such an enjoyable read. similarly, you can’t go wrong with the angst that’s sure to come with a fic where andrew gets hurt and doesn’t remember who neil is. or at least, this fic definitely went the opposite of wrong. 

and i really cannot make this post without mentioning the mind-blowing collabs of lolainslackss and moonix to create dating & other disasters and of moonix and gluupor to write No Place Like Home (incomplete). i literally don’t even have words for how excited i was for when i heard of these fics. these collabs are too powerful for this world and if you haven’t read them then i guess you don’t want to enjoy yourself.

as well, additional thanks from this little ace baby to everyone who writes ace!neil or demi!neil. you guys have a special place in my heart.

i tried to find everyone’s tumblr but obviously didn’t succeed. please tag them if i missed them or tagged the wrong account. thanks! i also did not take the time to research pronouns/names so i refer to everyone as ‘they/them’. i know some of the right pronouns/names but it felt wrong to have some of them and not the rest. some of my comments might seem incoherent or repetitive. my apologies for all of this.

also if you go to my ao3 and see that it’s a little bare/notice that i never comment just know that it’s because i am *ultra lazy* and most of the time i cannot be bothered to log into my account. probably commented as raelle instead. or just ‘a’ because i really am That Lazy. or i’m planning on writing an essay for your fic but haven’t gotten around to it and i’m just drafting it in my head every time i reread.

[kimdaily]

Can you reflect on your experience as a popular bts tumblr blog? Maybe describe how it felt when you were at your peak in a fandom that was stanning a group that was beginning to dominate kpop vs how it feels now to still be present (and still fairly popular I assume! ) in the tumblr sphere of the fandom post bts blowup? Also what do you miss most from your early days on here? And what are you most grateful for now?

oh wow this is such a fun question djgndskgn ummm okay well

I looooooved being on tumblr, it was an escape from my reality and pressures of school and life. before this blog “blew up?” it was so fun and relaxing. I met soooo many amazing people, a lot of which I’m still currently friends with outside of tumblr/have visited/travelled the world with/stayed with/ have stayed with me, etc. it was incredible, it was such a nice welcoming community, I was able to just be myself, talk to fellow fans, create content, act dumb, joke around, meme, talk about serious things, have in depth discussions about so many things bts and non bts related. especially with being a blog for one of the least ‘liked’ or stanned members, it really meant that everyone who was following me was a namjoon stan and wanted nothing more than to just talk about him, it was like a tight knit community within a huge community. it was so crazy and so exciting to see the fandom grow with every comeback. that was my favourite time during entire time with this blog on tumblr. that was my favourite part. people who spoke to me were genuine and kind, they wanted to get to know me, the person behind the blog and also just treated me like a human lol which definitely changed drastically

then this blog really started to get a loooottt of traction, and as soon as I hit 10k, things really changed and it was never the same. as this blog continued to grow bigger and bigger, things became increasingly intense, and INCREDIBLY negative and just super stressful. as the followers continued to grow, the less people viewed me as an actual human who was doing things on here during my incredibly limited free time as my own escape and ‘fun’ time, and the more they treated me like, straight garbage? lol I was constantly being picked apart, everything I said was scrutinized, things I would say would always, without fail get twisted and people with do whatever they can to get whatever negative narrative they wanted. I remember me once saying it was none of our business to discuss the members sexuality and that we shouldn’t just assume their sexuality and to leave them be, somehow turned into me ‘pushing a straight agenda’??? and I was literally just dragged. which still to this day I still don’t understand how people somehow decided to take that out of what I said. I was always happy to speak to everyone and help anyone with any question they had but  at one point, despite me still trying my best, I was treated really poorly and like a literal like machine. if I missed something, or didn’t post something my inbox was always full of people yelling at me that this was my job and my job was to make things and keep the entire fandom updated with what’s going on. I also fully remember missing namjoons solo comeback because I was at work, and couldn’t be present to gif and make content, I got a shittttt load of asks telling me I was a horrible namjoon fan who doesn’t support him and stuff? like lol okay? what? or I would get yelled at if I didn’t respond to asks in a timely manner, because that was once again ‘my job’. my inbox also became google apparently. I would get hundreds of asks a day, with not a single person talking to me, and if I didn’t respond to those asks, I would get yelled at. I never really spoke about how many followers I had because tbh it didn’t really matter, I actually would often wish I was back to being a 5k blog and just having a good old time, I would get horrible asks about me being a bitch because this blog was ‘popular’ and that because it was, I was a horrible person?? or to just shut up because no one cares about me, or that I thought highly of myself because this was a ‘big blog’ which I still don’t understand, because I never acted differently throughout the years on this blog. I was always just myself. if anything I just became more closed off and learned to not bother speaking about myself/things going on in my life because I felt like people would be happier if I just did my ‘job’ even though this blog, was always just a personal blog that had a loooott of bts content, I was not like a dedicated bts blog. oh and I remember because I always was and still am a very blunt straight forward person, I would just speak whatever is on my mind, people would always misconstrue that as me being mean or rude. but anyway, I digress

I remember becoming incredibly scared to post, to say things, to do things because I was scared of continuously being attacked. I was scared to open my inbox, or my messages. like tbh even writing this I’m thinking “omg what if I don’t word something perfectly and people will get mad at me.” it’s honestly such a weird feeling to feel like you have to constantly edit yourself but also still trying to be yourself? idk how to explain it

but as much as I would crack and let all this shit get to me at times and publicly get upset, hurt or mad, I would also keep a lot of it to myself and just deal with the toxicity on my own, and just delete a lot of the messages or asks I got. because to me this blog was an escape, not just for me, but for everyone who followed me. I didn’t want people to come here and just see the negative shit constantly, I wanted them to continue to come here, have fun, and forget about whatever was going on in their lives, even if it was for just a few minutes. so even though that was no longer the case for me, I still wanted that for others. but it also got to the point that I was scared to turn off anon because I was scared of the potential backlash, but I also wanted those who wanted to be anonymous, who were not comfortable talking to me off anon to have that comfort in the anonymity etc. things just were really difficult, I always felt like what I was doing was wrong no matter what.

it also was very disheartening to notice a lot of other people only wanting to befriend me or interact with me because of the size of this blog. it kinda made it hard to become close to people after a while. people would make assumptions about me or literally hated me without even talking to me just because of the size of this blog.

there were so many times I wanted to delete this blog and make a new blog where no one knew who I was, just so I can start off fresh and relive the best parts of blogging in the first place. just have fun again. but I also didn’t find it fair to those who followed me, who relied on this blog for some sort of comfort. nor did I find it fair for me to lose something I worked hard on, and loved  

but on the other hand, there were SO MANY incredible people that followed me that made everything feel worth it. and I am so incredibly thankful and grateful for each and everyone of you. some of you really helped me when I was having some of the hardest times. some of the messages I would get had such a positive impact on me and my life. and like I mentioned before, I have met some amazing friends because of this site that are still some of my closest friends to this day. and for that, I will always be beyond thankful.

unfortunately I can’t say much about what has really happened on tumblr in the last like almost 2 years? I haven’t been around much and definitely would not consider this blog very if at all relevant haha in like mid? 2018 I kinda vanished from this site. I had a looooot of things going on in my personal life, like an insane amount of very complex, dark, hard, just straight up depressing things going on, and I was not able to deal with all of that, and the darkness of this blog so I left. I never meant for it to be as long as it has been, but it kinda just happened. like tbh part of me would love to kinda just open up about everything, though I did post a little something vaguely explaining what was going on with me. I know it didn’t make sense but I also wouldn’t even know where to start when it comes to explaining what has been going on. I also know because of what has happened with me, I was a real shitty person to some people on here. I also feel terrible that I had over 100 messages I never got around to answering during this time, and the 600+ asks I have sitting in my inbox right now. I know I let a lot of people down. but I also would like to say thank you to everyone and anyone who tried to reach out to me or giving me their best wishes during that time despite me not responding to most of you. please know I read every single thing that was sent to me, thank you

like part of me wishes I never left, but I know I wouldn’t have been able to do both, I was barely able to even survive what is going on in my personal life. I really miss this blog, I miss making things, I miss interacting with people, I miss fangirling, I miss so many things about this blog. despite everything, I would not take any of it back. having this blog was such a fun and unique experience, for the most part at least.

some unique ass moments like the fact I made a goupchat for namjoon stans to have fun and interact with each other and befriend each other in a more accessible and less intimidating way than over tumblr and I think at the peak there was 300+ people in that chat. and that chat is I believe 3 years old and is still active to this day. or that I somehow was in talks with a lot of namjoon fansites and actually worked closely with a namjoon fansite working on things. or people recognizing me in public which I still find wild, meeting some of you at the concerts and hanging out. or being able to befriend people with the same interests as me, becoming close friends and travelling together/visiting each other, etc. or the fact that I was able to help some of you though out some dark or difficult times, or opening up to me with things you’d not feel comfortable talking to with anyone else. or being told I was the inspiration for some of you to do so many things, like going back to school, changing majors, seeking help, loving yourself, etc. or getting sent fan art of myself???? that was crazy! there are so many more things I could say, but this post is already so long, and I doubt anyone is even still reading haha. but I never thought things like that would have happened to me ever, but it did, and I will be forever so thankful to all of you. thank you, and thank you to everyone who was there or me during the ups and downs. I know I wasn’t always the greatest friend I could have been, thank you for accepting me for who I was, thank you for being there when I needed an escape, thank you for everything.

this whole post is probably so poorly written, but esdljgknx I tried, I know I’m leaving out soooooooooo many things that I could have said or should have said, but this is already sooooo long holy. plus I have to get back to working on my stuff, the reason I came out to this coffee shop I’m sitting at right now haha

[starlightinhumanform]

The Art of Love: Chapter 2

Fandom: She Ra (2018)

Ship: Glimadora

Summary: Glimmer struggles to work on her and Adora’s project amidst the chaos of her anxiety and Weaver’s pressure. Meanwhile, she begins to see a different side of Adora.

Warnings (for this chapter): Negative self talk, Description of anxiety (please tell me if anything needs to be added)

Genre: High School AU, Angst with a Happy Ending, Rivals/Enemies to Lovers, Eventual Fluff

A/N: Your comments and notes make so happy thank you guys so so much and thank you for reading! Love you all 🖤✨

Ao3    The Art of Love Masterpost    Fic Masterpost    Fic Request Info

Going into Chemistry the next day was a struggle for Glimmer; it always was but today there was added hesitation in her step. The thought of having to sit so close to Adora, to talk to her was making Glimmer’s skin crawl. She began regretting eating that sandwich for lunch only minutes before as it now seemed to be making its way back up her throat.

She swung the door to the classroom open with a punchy jerk backwards and shuffled in, careful to not look anywhere but her feet. Despite this, she could feel Weaver’s eyes on her as she sat down just as the bell rang.

“Not late today, I see, Glimmer,” Weaver’s voice rang out across the room and Glimmer’s face burned red.

She glanced around the room at all the faces turned in her direction before slumping forward on her crossed arms again. Adora’s scowl was among the turned heads and it made Glimmer’s nausea increase tenfold. How dare she act as if she were friendly and sweet yesterday, then turn back today to judging and staring at her. Adora was just trying to twist Glimmer around her pinky finger she like she had the rest of the school. But she wouldn’t fall for it like all those airheads did.

Glimmer rolled her eyes and was surprised at the feeling of disappointment sinking to her gut. Did she really think Adora was being genuine? Of course she didn’t; so why was she blinking wet eyelashes in response to Adora doing exactly what she was always going to do. It was probably better she do it now than once Glimmer had been tricked into trusting her charming smile as something real.

Weaver stalked in front of her desk, bringing herself even closer to Glimmer than usual and far closer than Glimmer enjoyed. She clipped forward wearing the same red pumps that aggravated Glimmer to no end and placed her hands behind her as if to brace herself on the table.

She scanned the room and set her face in her customary scowl and allowed her eyes to stall on the empty seats and began speaking to the class as if they were the ones absent, “I don’t know why you can’t just come to class. It’s not that hard and we have work to do.”

Weaver glowered at the lowered heads in front of her and Glimmer made sure to bend her neck as far as she possibly could without looking like she was being possessed so only the crown of her dyed-pink hair could be seen from the teacher’s view point.

“Speaking of which, I hope you can get more done today than you did yesterday,” she sighed through her nose, “Well, get to work.”

Glimmer’s stomach flipped as seats squeaked and shuffled on the linoleum floor and students began grouping into their pairs. She didn’t want to listen to Adora’s soft laugh again, knowing it was fake; forced to pretend she didn’t hate every shake of that ponytail; keeping her eye rolls in check just long enough to pass this stupid class.

Glimmer didn’t try to hide the stress building up in her head like a pressure front before a storm. She cradled her face in her hands as if her palms pressed to her eyes could keep the hot tears filling them from spilling out. She shook her head, trying to dislodge all the thoughts swirling through her mind. They’re all staring at you, you know that right? Adora is going to think you’re a baby and she’ll be right. You’re just proving everything Weaver says about you; it’s no wonder all these people think you’re stupid.

Glimmer froze at the sound of clipping heels near her seat and prepared herself for whatever insults Weaver was about to throw at her.

“This doesn’t look very productive, now does it?” Weaver’s voice was smooth but managed to bite in a way that made the back of Glimmer’s throat burn.

She moved her hands from her face and clenched them into fist beneath her desk. Glimmer’s hair created a curtain between her and Weaver that she refused to part; it protected her from the cold gaze of her teacher and allowed her to burn holes into her desk that she wished she could direct at Weaver, the intensity of the sun in her eyes.

Glimmer opened her mouth to stutter out something, anything in response when another pair of shoes jogged over, “Actually, Ms Weaver, we were about to get to work!”

There was a smile on Adora’s voice that made Glimmer’s insides complete another somersault.

It wasn’t until Weaver let out one last unhappy grumble and the sound of her heels clipped into the other direction that Glimmer allowed her face to turn upwards. Her eyes locked with Adora’s momentarily, burning with the same strength that had been directed at her desk.

“Hey,” Adora’s voice was filled with could have concern in anybody else’s, “You’re looking kind of overwhelmed; do you want to take a break outside for a few minutes?”

Glimmer gave Adora a glare that could have rivaled that Sarah Desert’s heat, “I’m fine.”

“Oh.”

Was that hurt she was trying to play? Glimmer could tell it was a role, just a part of some game Adora was trying to moderate- and she wouldn’t get tied into it. No, sir.

“Well, I’ll be at my desk when you want to get to work,” she flashed Glimmer a grin before prancing to her desk in the back the room, her signature hair swinging behind her.

Glimmer rolled her eyes; what a patronizing brat. She turned to look behind to where Adora was sitting, opening up a chrome book to work like the perfectly productive student she was.

Whatever gods controlled this world were poking fun at Glimmer by making her move to the back; sitting here at her desk she could at least pretend that nothing was out of the usual or that this assignment never happened and she didn’t have to talk to perfect, stupid, pretty Adora.

She glared at the body filling the seat next to her; if they hadn’t sat there, Adora could’ve already been there flashing her fake smiles and telling Glimmer what to do. Glimmer wouldn’t have to make the trek across the classroom in which everybody else was already seated, her feet the only ones moving in the room. To get to Adora’s desk she would have to walk in the middle aisle where everyone could turn and see her and wonder why she hadn’t moved yet like everyone else and whisper to their partners about why there tear streaks staining her face.

The idea of having to make deliberate steps towards Adora made what little stability she had in her body vanish into a writhing mess. It went against her most basic principles: Glimmer was not the type to associate with snakes.

Glimmer let her body go limp, her head hanging like an anvil attached to the base of her neck. The longer she waited, the more questions would be asked when she finally did get up. She took a deep breath and straightened her back; this was just a new challenge. Glimmer loved art assignments that forced her to try to something new, something she had never experienced and gave her room to experiment and learn. That’s all it was: a new project, a study into how little she could interact with her class (especially Adora) and still do well.

She glanced back again at Adora who grinned and waved as if beckoning her to the desk.

Has she been watching this whole time??

Glimmer swiveled her body away as quickly as she could, gritting her teeth; if Adora had been looking at her now, how long had she been watching Glimmer falling apart because she had to walk to another desk?

Glimmer inhaled sharply through her nose before standing up stiffly; she had to move now that Adora had seen her looking back there.

One foot, then another; one foot in front of the other. The back of the room came a lot sooner than Glimmer had been expecting and she slid into the seat next to Adora.

The blond moved her chair an inch or two closer to Glimmer’s; how repulsing, acting so friendly and sweet as if she wasn’t glaring at her only minutes before for being on time. Glimmer resisted moving her chair in the opposite direction and settled for leaning away. She just prayed Adora didn’t mention anything about how long it took for her to get the stupid desk or, even worse, trying to offer that blatant caricature of sympathy.

“Ok so, this what I have for the poster so far,” Adora waved at the screen in front of her and Glimmer let out a sigh of relief at the avoidance of the subject, “What do you think?”

Glimmer attempted to focus on what Adora was showing her when she realized she was actually asking for input. It certainly looked nice; a light pastel rainbow weaving its way through the text. Who could have known Adora was one to appreciate an aesthetic theme? Giving it a second thought, it didn’t surprise Glimmer; Adora was supposedly perfect in every way so why wouldn’t her completely correct work look nice as well?

“Yeah. Looks great.”

Adora beamed at Glimmer’s grumbled response, “Really? You think so?!”

Glimmer raised an eyebrow almost involuntarily, “Why does it matter so much?”

“Well I know that you’re a really good artist so it just feels nice to hear you say that it looks nice,” Adora gave a small smile and shrugged, her shoulders rising like the warm blush reaching upwards on her cheekbones. Once again it hit Glimmer how unfairly nice Adora looked even when she was turning red.

Why was she blushing though? What reason would she unless she was admitting to something? Then it hit Glimmer, “Have you been looking through my damn art as well? You creep!”

She was hissing her words out because it was the only option she saw other yelling loud enough for the whole class to hear. How rotten could this girl get?!

Adora drew back quickly as if she had just been slapped, “What? No! I just- I’ve seen your art; almost all of us have- you draw in class all the time and some of your stuff is up in the halls!”

She was rushing out her words as if terrified, like a someone accused of murder trying to stutter out their alibi.

Glimmer allowed herself to relax backwards from where she had rushed forward into Adora’s face. They were both still tense and Glimmer began thinking maybe she had spoken too soon. Adora might not be someone to be trusted to be genuine but that didn’t mean she was be sneaking around to look at Glimmer’s art. What motive would she have anyways?

Despite how stupid Glimmer was feeling, she was struggling to apologize to the girl in front of her. No matter how startled she looked, Glimmer knew at least part of it was a front put up to lure Glimmer into the trap the rest of the school had fallen into, “Sorry I snapped at you. It’s not like you’d have an opportunity to look at my stuff anyways.”

Adora still looked slightly shaken- why did what Glimmer say make such a difference to her?- but she managed a tiny quirk in her lips, “We’re not all out to get you, you know? And we don’t think you’re stupid. I’m not your enemy, ok?”

Oh, wow. This was just classic manipulation. Glimmer wondered if she had told everyone else the exact same thing; pulling everyone aside at one point or another to tell them that they could be buddy-buddies. Maybe she had her speech written down somewhere.

“Yeah. Ok, sure.”

Adora snorted, “What, do you really think I am out to get you? Why would I do that?!”

Apparently Glimmer’s agreement hadn’t sounded as factual as she had thought, “Look, I don’t know; can we just do our work?”

She got a sigh in response; did Adora really expect her to become one her lackies just because she had said something about “not being enemies”? Fat chance.

Adora turned away to do her work in silence but not before glancing at Glimmer one last time. She pulled off the “sad” look really well.

Glimmer shifted and pulled her phone out of her bag in a way she hoped was stealthy and pulled up the text conversation with her best friend:

Bow I need help. I’m sitting next the annoying soccer girl. The one I told you about from yesterday.

You mean Adora? I don’t know why you don’t like her 

Because she’s FAKE

She’s really nice Glimmer You should try being friends with her

No thanks I try not to befriend plastic

Glimmerrrrrrr she’s not totally fake

YES she IS

Do you actually have any proof of that?

Glimmer blew an exasperated puff of air out of her nose from the lack of support from her friend and began typing faster.

Yesterday she was pretending to be all against everything Weaver says about me and then today she was agreeing with Weaver despite the fact I was actually ON TIME TODAY

Why don’t you ask her about it? You said yesterday that she told you she didn’t like Weaver. She might just be pretending so that she can get volunteer hours and honestly I don’t blame her lol

Or maybe she’s just pretending so that I’ll think she’s nice so I’ll join her hoard of brainwashed followers.

Glimmer I like her. Are you calling me brainwashed?

No Bow you know I’m not. It’s just,, we both know nobody REAL gets to be as popular as she is

Maybe that’s not true maybe that’s an assumption that doesn’t fit her

Glimmer let out a huff and shoved her phone back into its pocket in her backpack just as Weaver stalked over.

“How is the work going Glimmer?”

Glimmer made unblinking eye contact with the woman standing several feet taller than her from where she was sitting, “It’s going great.”

Weaver smiled, “If I see that phone one more time, I’m taking it.”

“I need that though,” Glimmer opened and closed her mouth, not knowing how to explain her situation; how she never knew if her mom would be able to pick her up after school because of her unpredictable job, how she waited for that call, how if it didn’t come she would have to walk through the not-so-safe parts of town and how it everything felt so much more safe if she could call someone.

“Then I suggest you keep it put away,” Weaver used that same stinging purr from earlier that Glimmer hated so much.

“But I, I-“ she made eye contact with Adora who had looked up from where she was hunched over her work just long enough to see what a stuttering mess Glimmer had become.

“She was just looking up some information about our element because I had forgotten it.”

Weaver raised an eyebrow as she shifted her attention to rest on Adora, “Oh really? Then why would she hide it just as I waked up like someone who was feeling guilty?”

“Maybe because when she was clearly using it to work yesterday, you began bothering and insulting her.”

Glimmer had never heard Adora say something like with such a sharp tone and certainly nothing directed at Weaver.

The teacher seemed equally surprised, blinking at Adora in silence before finally speaking, her voice as cold as the metal of a clever, “I see.”

She turned the other way and marching towards the front of the room, her gate seemingly stiffer than usual.

Glimmer turned towards Adora, “Why would you do that? You know she’s never going to let you volunteer again, right?”

Adora shrugged, “She probably will.”

Glimmer kept staring, expecting more from Adora who just turned to focus back on the screen again.

“You didn’t answer: why did you that?”

Adora’s hands froze over the keyboard for several moments without any kind of movement before she finally shifted to look Glimmer directly in the face, “Maybe it’s because I really do think how she treats you is wrong? Maybe it’s because I wouldn’t mind being your friend because I actually do think you’re smart and talented? Maybe it’s because I am on your side and because I am so confused why you think you need to fight me, fight everybody.”

Glimmer held her gaze before shrugging and turning away. Adora didn’t need to know about her personal life; it would just give her more to work with so she could brainwash her, “I’m going to start on the model tonight but I already have all the materials- don’t worry.”

“I wasn’t,” Today Adora was the one sounding blunt.

“What?” Glimmer figured the girl was just mad just she wouldn’t open up and get all friendly out of the blue. 

“I wasn’t worried that you didn’t have the materials or wouldn’t get it done or whatever you were telling me not to worry about.”

“Oh. Ok.” Glimmer didn’t look up from where she was doodling a sample of metal Bismuth. She didn’t understand why Adora was making a big deal out of everything. Maybe this was the second phase when people didn’t suddenly fall in love with her.

“I’m not worried about this project because, despite what you might think, I’m not just a mini-Weaver who thinks you’re lazy and can’t do anything.”

Glimmer didn’t hold back the eye roll this time, “Wow, nice. Thanks.”

Adora opened her mouth to say something and even reached out her hand to touch Glimmer before drawing back. Glimmer liked to think that it was because of the biting glare she had thrown in Adora’s direction but maybe it was just the girl’s common sense kicking in and telling her that it wasn’t the way to win Glimmer over.

Glimmer centered her attention on the paper in front of her; like yesterday she was grateful for its comforting distraction. She allowed herself to be absorbed in the swirls of colour she was creating, the shine of the metal giving her something to focus on other than the shine of the student next to her. She was basing the image from her memory of the picture she had pulled up yesterday and she could already hear Ms Perfectionist next to her critiquing the inaccuracies.

And, just like yesterday, something had to go wrong and her comfortable bubble was popped. Today, it was some idiot bumping the table, causing her carefully lined up pencils to spill to the floor. Luckily, Glimmer had been able to jerk her hand away from the page quickly enough to spare the drawing from being ruined. (It was a good thing too because Glimmer would have actually screamed). That didn’t change the fact, however, that her pencils were rolling across the floor to whatever free-land pencils go to when they disappear forever.

Glimmer ducked under the table to began gather them up and was able to grab almost all of them in just a few seconds. She was reaching to get one from where it had stopped under the next desk over, trying to get it before the owner of the desk noticed her, when a soft hand was placed on her shoulder. It startled and her head jolted upwards, slamming into the table top above her.

“Ow,” she shot at Adora with a glare.

Adora didn’t seem to notice; her hand had been brushed off when Glimmer had turned to glare at her and was now hanging limply. Her eyes seemed unfocused in the direction of Glimmer’s paper and her mouth was hanging slightly open. She turned her glazed eyes to look in Glimmer’s face in awe, “Glimmer that’s amazing. And, what, you’ve been working on it for like 20 minutes?!”

Glimmer shrugged. She seemed to do that a lot around Adora; maybe it was because she never knew what was going on with this girl, “Closer to half an hour, but yeah.”

“Can I use this on the poster?” Adora was practically drooling over the paper.

“Sure?” Glimmer squinted up at the other. Maybe this was attempt number three at convincing Glimmer that Adora actually wanted to be her friend and wasn’t just trying to enlist her in her throng of followers. It wasn’t working but Glimmer had to admit she did seem pretty genuine this time.

The bell rang and Adora offered Glimmer a hand up among all the scuffling people and chairs.

Glimmer waved the hand away and managed something between a smile and a grimace, “I have to finish picking these up.”

Adora gave her one last small grin before picking up her stuff and starting to walk away.

“Adora!” Glimmer called out, “Go ahead and take the drawing if you want it. I’ll probably just forget and throw it away if you don’t.”

The girl reached behind her and delicately picked up the piece of paper, still seemingly in-awe. Glimmer didn’t know what she was trying to do, but she certainly was playing the role well. Adora flashed her a wider smile this time and turned once more to leave the room.

Glimmer watched her go from where she was still crouched on the floor. Adora was wearing purple today and Glimmer had to admit it looked nice; but that should have again been no surprise since Adora could pull off anything.

Glimmer grabbed the last pencil and shoved the whole bunch into her bag. She could bet fairly certainly that Adora was more organized than her. How aggravating. She swung the straps of her bag over her shoulders and began trudging out of the room. She had to admit that it was nice not having to walk past Weaver on the way out.

She didn’t like sitting next to Adora, but there were perks. 

[timegal25]

The Odd Side of Youtube

     YouTube, the popular video sharing website, has been around for over a decade. It’s had it’s over abundance of videos themed around Fortnite, “emotional apology videos” stuffed to the brim with ad revenue, a disturbingly high number of poorly animated nursery rhymes, and surprisingly graphic skits targeted at kids. But it’s also been an outlet for creative expression and connection for those outside the mainstream. For a socially awkward and isolated kid who found companionship in watching YouTube, fandom videos offered a sense of connection, belonging and reassurance that there were “odd people” out there who shared his interests and passions.

While the vast majority of people know about things like “Gangnam Style” and “Let’s Plays,” not as many can say they have extensive knowledge of the various niche fandom videos that make up a good portion of the website itself. These are the odd clips that either you only come across by looking up directly, or have randomly pop up in your recommended feed with no real reason as to why.  In my case, I remember a majority of these from watching them when I was younger, and then rediscovering them when looking deep into the site on late night nostalgia binges. It’s  a common hobby of mine, and it usually leads to me finding some of the strangest things as a result. Oddly, a great many of these strange finds just so happen to include Sonic the Hedgehog.

Let me preface this by saying what follows is in no way an attack on any of the creators of these videos, nor is it a call for others to go out and harass them. In fact, that’s part of the point. Many of the people who create some of the more odd or innovative content on YouTube are doing it as creative expression of who they are or what interests them. It’s a place to express a part of themselves, and it takes courage to do it. It’s easy for those who aren’t so brave to attack the creators.  I actually enjoy a lot of the content I’ll be referring to because the people behind it are genuine and clearly having a ton of fun making it. This is all done in good fun, and shows just how strange and odd fandom culture as a whole can be. And for some of these innovators who dared to put themselves out there, it paid off big time just by how fondly remembered they are by those who talk about them. Now that that’s out of the way, let’s begin.

Part One: Hedgehogs and Dragon Balls

To start things off, let’s look at a project that is fully animated. Before YouTube, there was the popular website Newgrounds, a place where you could watch videos, play games, and just mess around. This is where a lot of influential and important creators got their start by posting their little animations on the site. On August 14, 2006, user Chakra-X (real name Aaron Cowdery), posted the first part in a three-part movie called Sonic: Nazo Unleashed with part two coming a week later and part three following in 2007. All three parts were later uploaded all into one HD remaster under the title of Sonic: Nazo Unleashed DX on YouTube in 2014. The film follows Sonic and his friends as they take on the mysterious and powerful Nazo, an unused form of Sonic from a promotional video for the anime Sonic X.

Now what makes this special from say the dozens of Sonic themed fanfics that follow a somewhat similar premise? Chakra-X did something no one had dared to do before. The animation was very heavily inspired by the anime megahit Dragon Ball Z and its then airing sequel Dragon Ball GT . The sound effects used and the presentation of special moves were ripped right from the series and even parts from the climax are just ideas presented in the show such as two characters fusing to make one new powerful being. In 2006, it was unheard of to see Sonic characters perform such high speed anime action. What was even more notable is that it was created by one single guy on the internet.  The professionally produced Sonic X TV show that was airing at that time paled by comparison, even with a team of professional animators with high tech equipment.

In the decade since Nazo Unleashed originally came out, Chakra-X has been a part of various animated collabs and now works for Titmouse Inc , an animation company that has done work for companies like Warner Bros., Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, and even Disney. What was even more inspiring for me, Chakra-X is a young black man . This was the first I’d become aware of anyone who looked like me being a much sought after animator. It told me that I could be him, I could be in his position if I put in as much effort and love into a creative project. And with how amazing the upcoming sequel he’s working on looks, I feel that kind of hopeful inspiration even more.

The next piece I’m going to examine is another well known series in the Sonic fandom community that also is heavily influenced by Dragon Ball Z. While it is also animated and is full of high speed action packed fights, this one has its own amazing identity. The series I’m talking about is the always spectacular Super Mario Bros. Z by Mark Haynes, aka Alvin Earthworm, starting in 2006 and going until 2009. While this series was originally created on Newgrounds, it’s real exposure and popularity came from being uploaded to YouTube.

The series follows Mario, Sonic and friends as they go on an epic race against time to secure the powerful chaos emeralds from the clutches of the evil Mecha Sonic. Much like Nazo Unleashed, the influence of Dragon Ball Z series is anything but subtle, with the plot of “good guys need to find powerful objects before bad guys” being one of the key ways to describe Dragon Ball as a whole. One of the key things that makes this stand out on its own is the fact that this entire series is animated using sprites from the games. Just about every character that wasn’t made specifically for the series has their models taken right from their games. Mario and Luigi for example come from the Mario and Luigi role playing game (rpg) series on the Gameboy Advance (GBA), while the Sonic and Shadow sprites come from Sonic Battle also on the GBA. An extra step is taken by having the characters act like they do in their retrospective series. Mario and Luigi never actually use dialogue boxes in their games, with other characters still understanding them. The same is true here with the brothers’ words never actually being seen on screen. Going that extra step to emulate the games made the videos feel more authentic.

I was relatively young and new to the internet when Super Mario Brothers Z  (SMBZ) started popping up. I wasn’t fully aware of what sprite animations were, as they weren’t as easy to make or common back then as they are now, so I would see all the action and Sonic and Mario on screen together and I thought that it was an actual game. I wanted to play it so badly on my Gameboy Advance SP. On one trip to a Gamestop, my young self boldly walked up to the lady working the register and asked “Hey, do you have Super Mario Bros Z ?” She gave me this look that said either she knew exactly what I was talking about or didn’t have a single clue at all and just nicely said that they didn’t. I went on to repeat this at several more gaming stores before I realized that it wasn’t a real game, nor did it ever claim to be. It was then that I started looking for games I wanted myself because sometimes just saying a title out loud can make you look like the strangest person around.

What made the SMBZ series so attractive and so entirely different from anything found on YouTube at the time was the animated action. You might think  that since the series is using pre-made assets and models, that there must be some limitations on what can be done. However, with a bit of help from some custom new sprites as well as some fast editing and sound effects, things can get insane . Being able to translate the speed and intensity of a Dragon Ball Z fight is hard enough to copy with regular animation, yet Mark was able to do this with 2 dimensional sprites and flashing lights. And even that pales in comparison to the pure adrenaline of fights concerning the series main antagonist, Mecha-Sonic.

Originally starting off as a mostly side boss in Sonic and Knuckles , Mecha Sonic became a fan favorite thanks to this series. Like any good antagonist, he can easily prove himself as a threat to the heroes while also being able to take the hits himself. This comes across easily in the series most popular episode, Brawl on a Vanishing Island . This 30 minute episode has a variety of characters going up against each other, but the mood quickly turns the second Mecha Sonic arrives and absorbs the power of the Chaos Emeralds. What follows is an absolutely brutal beatdown of another team of antagonists, the Axem Rangers X. The speed, the sound effects, alongside an amazing remix of Sonic and Knuckles’ Doomsday Zone playing in the background, this is a simply amazing bit of animation that can’t really be put into words without it sounding absolutely ridiculous. And much like with Nazo Unleashed, so much of this was done by just one guy.

After episode 8 in 2009, things basically ended on a cliffhanger with the series being presumed over. Haynes had his own life and things to deal with, and something that took up so much time to make could be easily seen as poor use of it. In the years following, many others tried their hand at sprite animations with heavy action scenes with that becoming its very own subgenre on YouTube. Then, in 2016, Mark made a glorious return with the first episode of what was basically a reboot of the series. Fans loved it, amazed to see how far things had come. And then..there was basically nothing else. Originally, Haynes had a Patreon set up so that fans could fund him making this as well as possibly being a way for him to make this his job. It was shut down, most likely due to him directly saying it was going towards the series and Nintendo seeing it as someone else profiting off their IP. With any funding that could go towards rewarding all this time and effort being taken away, as well as Haynes having more important personal things and depression, it is unlikely that we’ll see an update anytime soon. It’s been three years since the first episode went up on YouTube, and while I still hope someday he’ll return, but as someone who knows that forcing yourself to make something others want even if you don’t want to is like, the personal happiness and health of Mark Haynes is so much more important.  He’s already left an amazing legacy on the net, and the stuff he’s given us is already great enough as is.

And now to go from flash animation, to sprite animation, we’re reaching the next logical step. Out of all the series discussed in this part, this one is my absolute favorite. And it is one of the weirdest things out there. Another crossover series featuring the world of Mario and Sonic, alongside a few notable others. One that’s full of action and character, and it’s all animated in PowerPoint (no, I’m not kidding), this is Chocobro Cinemas’ The “Dimension” Saga. Strap in, things are gonna get really, really weird.

The series started in 2007, with Dimension Mix-Up as it followed various characters from Super Mario Bros, Sonic the Hedgehog, Frogger, Invader Zim, and Calvin and Hobbes. That was all 100 percent serious, and to the credit of both this and Super Mario Bros Z, there is a feeling of self-awareness running throughout the whole series. I unironically love this entire series from start to finish, mostly just due to the fact that there’s so much creativity and love being put into something that most people would just brush aside as another cheap fanfiction. When I originally found this back in 2007, it was like the most amazing thing ever. The computer I had at the time took forever to not only load flash animations, but even playing them took like 5 years for just a few seconds. I hadn’t really known what Newgrounds was fully back then either, so Super Mario Bros Z also wasn’t something I watched at the time, and I came across this. An action filled adventure that had characters not only from Sonic and Mario, but also Invader Zim which was still super huge at time, and Calvin and Hobbes?! To a megafan of all those things who would actually spend their time on Fanfiction.net reading stories about this stuff (Yes, even Calvin and Hobbes), this was like the holy grail. Also Frogger was there, so...that was cool?

This story should not work, these characters all being together on screen expecting viewers to care for them all should not work, this idea of using powerpoint back in 2007 to simulate animation of any kind should not work. Yet somehow...it does. Even with the fact that this is clearly just a camera recording a screen at this point, there’s something rather entertaining about it all. And the action isn’t half bad for something made with a tool that clearly was never meant to be used in this way. It can actually be creative with how some fight scenes are done. The whole of episode 6 is able to show off a giant robot boss battle with some pretty decent speed, while episode 8 can trick viewers with its looping backgrounds. The best part of this comes just from watching how not only does the quality of the video improve over time, but so does the writing and the story. Dimension Takeover and Dimension Obliteration are amazing and admittedly addicting watches that have the same level of love and care put into them as the previous two series discussed in this. Giving the fans such high quality action and adventures while also doing a really great job of making all the interactions feel like they’re from their source material. Well, at least as close and one can get when you have a hedgehog talking to an imaginary tiger and a group of cartoon frogs. I can’t say thank you enough times to the people who’ve made all their series, as my love of writing stories based on my own favorite series probably wouldn’t be as strong today. And hey, one can surprisingly do a good job with powerpoint. At least it wasn’t just a slide show.

Part Two: These literally are just slide shows!

Sticking to the topic of Sonic, he seems to be a super popular subject for crossovers. Besides Mario, he and his friends have appeared in both official and nonofficial meetups with all kinds of pop culture favorites. The one series that seems to dominate the realm of Sonic crossovers online is My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic . The series itself has had quite the impressive run of nine years, with its final episodes airing this year. What probably would have been seen as just another cheap product placement by the majority of people if it hadn’t been for the rather large audience of grown up fans that for a time basically ruled the internet. While in the later years the fan base has shrunk as all fandoms do, there are still those that happily enjoy watching cartoon ponies and doing various things related to them online, myself included.  

Now how does a super fast and cocky blue hedgehog that saves the day from an evil egg shaped man and his army of robots have any kind of connection to a cartoon about six colorful and talented ponies as they go through their lives learning about and solving problems with the power of friendship? Well, both are series that have similar characters with Sonic and Rainbow Dash both being blue,fast, and cocky. Both series deal with giant world ending disasters by using powerful gems and the power of teamwork. And both believe in the real power of friendship. So, yeah. There’s bound to be a ton of fan series based on seeing these two worlds meet up. And hoo boy, Youtube sure seems to love hosting a ton of them.

The common theme in all the Sonic/My Little Pony Crossovers in this part is that they’re all going to be slideshows. There might be a few clips from the shows or games, maybe a piece of fanart or two, but 99 percent of the stuff in these videos is just going to be static text. Let’s start with the...highest quality one of the three brought up in this part, Sonic X Equestria by Speedstar Productions . The plot is nothing new. Eggman shows up to wreak havoc and Sonic must team up with the cast of My Little Pony, or Mane Six as they’re called, to help stop him. When I said most of these are just slideshows... I wasn’t kidding. The entire series will go from random screen cap to random promotional images, with text overlaid on the bottom. There is no original voice acting either, with the only voices that occasionally can be heard coming from the clips or sound bytes. There is no promised sense of consistency either, as photos of the characters can be pulled from different seasons, games, comics and shows all together. In this, Sonic is supposed to have his normal modern look but some screenshots are from Sonic Boom which is a show with different designs. Another example of this comes from shots of Twilight Sparkle. This show takes place in the My Little Pony world after Twilight becomes the princess of friendship and gets her own wings. Even shots from the first episode will use photos of her without them. It’s never actually a thing that matters to the show, as it acts like everything is on model, and that we can perfectly see everything that’s going on.

Another thing that this and many others like it seem to have in common is the idea that Sonic is the one doing all the work, while all the ponies just kinda...watch in the background. Sure, Twilight will pitch in with her magic every once in a while, but if Sonic’s taking on Eggman? He’s mostly going in solo. Sure, these ponies have easily taken on things like chaos incarnate, and powerful tyrants with black magic. But a man in a giant robot suit? Too unpredictable . Sure, one could argue that it’s because the mech being used in the fight only has images of Sonic fighting it...but in a later episode , the girls join in a fight that’s entirely animated! I shouldn’t be mad about this, yet I am!

Though..despite the rant, I still find myself enjoying watching this series. I can’t fully explain if it’s ironic or if it’s unironic. Maybe it comes from the fact that everyone still acts in character to their on-screen counter parts, leading to interactions that fans wanted to see. We want to see the ponies talk to Sonic characters, and help take down Eggman. The use of actual pictures from the shows and games helps too, making us help visualize it as if it were an actual episode.  Maybe it comes from the fact that it feels like something I would watch in the early days of Youtube. The kinda low effort yet also decent attempt of trying to make events appear coherent in some way, even if the images shown aren’t the most in continuity. Though, episode 11 is literally the Shadic vs Nazo fight from Nazo Unleashed. Those things aside...this is still kind of a guilty pleasure watch that I’ll binge from time to time.

Sometime last year, I was looking up Nazo Unleashed videos late one night, due to that time bringing out a large sense of nostalgia for days gone. As I was looking, I saw a thumbnail that stuck out to me. Or rather...a title that stuck out to me, as well as a runtime that had my interest set to max.

The Adventures of Sonic in Equestria Nazo Unleashed The Movie HD , by Adam Selvig, is a title that feels like it should be one of those videos that promises an upload of a current movie in HD that only links to scam sites that will give your computer a virus. It isn’t that. This is a slideshow that’s the length of a movie. College lectures aren’t this long. The best way to describe this one is that Sonic and the ponies must come together to defeat Nazo as well Tempest Shadow, a character from the My Little Pony movie. Also, Sonic and Rainbow Dash have a daughter called Sondash, which is literally just art of a child Rainbow Dash. This series is weird. Another strange thing is that a lot of the channels posting Sonic / My Little Pony stuff in series like this...usually have around 1K subs. That’s nothing to any major Youtuber, but the idea that even just one thousand people subscribe to watch this stuff as soon as it comes out..is just mind blowing.

This film is part of a series, one that started all the way back in January of 2018. The playlist for this thing says that the series as of March 4th, 2019...is 103 videos long?! And with seemingly all of them in the 20 minute range...the question becomes, how long has Selvig been working on this thing, and does he have others help him with it? And again...why is it always Sonic that seems to be doing everything around here? Are the ponies just lazy now that an outsider is here?

The odd thing is that there are so many Sonic/My Little Pony crossover videos on Youtube, but when looked into, so many of them are the exact same content. Stills and transparent photos with clear backgrounds with text overlaid. And so many are able to get these creators at least a few hundred subscribers. In a surprisingly deep sea of similar executions, are there any left that stand out above the rest? Good news, there is at least one series that goes in another direction. In more mixed news, well…

This is Harmony and Chaos by Michael Evans. While originally popping up as text on gradient background sometime in 2017, the whole series is now being voiced over by its creator. That’s all this is. Text on a background while one man narrates over it in various voices. And for the most part, there isn’t much there at all in terms of action. Now, I’m only nine episodes in this seemingly sixty plus episode run with multiple seasons series, so I might be wrong. The main focus of this series is romance, and boy is there a lot of it. If there’s a male character from Sonic and a female character from My Little Pony that interact a lot in this thing, there’s a pretty good chance they’ll end up smooching somewhere on down the line. This sounds exactly like what many seem to see fan bases as general as, writing overly long amounts of fan fiction that are also chock to the brim with romance and needless drama. In this series, Rainbow Dash is getting a divorce from her husband who she thought was cheating on her, when really he only made it seem that way so that she wouldn’t have to know that he was dying from a deadly disease. It’s a move right out of the soap opera playbook.

Despite all of this, I find myself coming back to all of these series and watching them in huge chunks. It comes from a sense of odd curiosity on how the story is going to play out.  It also helps that the people behind this stuff seem like just genuinely nice people that want to post their creations online and share it with the world. It’s just that the stuff they make is really weird, not bad, just strange. And even then, it’s not the most strangest thing on the net that’s out there.

Part Three: Big Adventures, Bigger Casts

The best way to start this final part was with an image. An image that perfectly tells someone everything they need to know, as well as absolutely nothing at all. Welcome to Pooh’s Adventures , a seemingly endless number of movies and tv shows that are “edited” to include characters from Winnie the Pooh, My Little Pony, Transformers, Thomas the Tank Engine and so, so many more. I put edited in quotes because really, does this count as editing in any way, shape or form? To give a basic plot outline of just about every single Pooh’s/Thomas’/Insert Character name here’s adventure, large group of characters are inserted into popular movie or show, where they help the main character of said movie or show against the antagonist who is now usually joined by other villains from various forms of media. Rinse and Repeat for every movie ever with vague hints of events from previous adventures running into this one.  Take any movie, and there’s a good chance there’s at least the idea for a Pooh’s Adventures on it. Like for example Winnie The Pooh vs. Jaws , which while not a real movie as of this writing does have a devoted page on the fan wiki . And it seems to promise quite the cast of characters.

It can actually be somewhat hard in trying to find some of these, due to the fact that they’re just full movies with other copyrighted clips put in at random intervals. Those that are still up on Youtube seem to be the ones that use the most obscure of movies as their source . And just like with the Sonic/Mlp stuff, all of these channels seem to have at least a few thousand subscribers thanks to it. Of all the adventures that still remain on Youtube, Winnie the Pooh Goes to Hotel Mario / Pooh’s Adventures of Batman Forever is the one I’m most proud still remains. There is no connection between the two, besides the fact that both Hotel Mario and Batman Forever are both seen as surreal experiences that have very little connections to their source and are enjoyed in a “so bad it’s good” way.

There are still ways to find both older and newer uploads of the various adventures online. Many of the members will just upload their older stuff to Google Drive or Dropbox , and more recently, a lot of uploads are being moved to Pandora.tv, a mostly Korean based website where they can run ads on the video.

The wiki for this fandom is massive, with there being over thirty five thousand articles as of the time of this being written, with new ones being added or updated seemingly every few minutes. Most fantasy wikis can’t reach numbers that high! Though, most of the pages on it are bare-bones with only a single line or two for a ton of characters while others are pages clearly ripped right from other fandom wikis. There’s also ideas for series that are just the title and then nothing else, along with transcripts and posters put next to dozens of dead or empty links. For a site that seems so bloated and full, it’s actually pretty empty and hollow upon closer look.

I wanted to share all of this because so much of this resonates with me in some way, even Pooh’s Adventures , since I’d be lying if I said I haven’t thought up crossovers with insanely large casts that really should have nothing to do with each other.I guess in a way...I saw these all as the things I wanted to make but never knew how to. I’ve always wanted to animate, to tell my stories with these characters that I know and love to as many people as possible, to hear their feedback on all of it. That’s why I got so passionate talking about all certain moments or episodes, it’s all the things I would do! They’re people just like me, and that’s why I wish Mark Haynes the best in his life, why I’ll say the guys who work on the Sonic and My Little Pony  seem like nice people. That’s why I’ll be so amazed by someone having a thousand subs or more. I see myself in these creations and the experiences of their creators. The pains of depression, the joy of seeing how their work has influenced others, the effort and care put into these things. I want to see them succeed and be supported, because that shows me that I can succeed too.