#a writer’s ramble series

[fragilelovelythings]

A writer's ramble

I might be going crazy. I'm currently between 5 open tabs with my WIPs and I HONESTLY WONDER HOW DID I GET HERE?

A friend suggested I continue on some other of my fics as 'Eunuch Besties' is my multi-chapter and sometimes makes me feel art-blocked. And I followed her advice today, happily sitting at my desk with my iced latte and digging into my half paragraph of 'Not quite prejudice, not quite pride' to now have three pages in front of me. As far as I've thought, this fic will also be a multi-chapter, as I want to get into Greg's mind (Yeah, I'm not dropping my dear Succession EVER) for a different take on the canon. Here, I basically play with the idea of Greg being obsessed with Mr. Darcy from P&P to then place him right there in Succession S1E01 where he meets the 'real life' version of him. But it's just not him, and nobody but Greg can see the resemblance. I love the idea of Greg ridiculously in love with Mr. Darcy, who has Tom's face but it's not AT ALL the same person. Hehehe, I feel this will give me headaches as well as fun times.

But as the rebel that I am, I also opened my other wips: the Loki one which I don't really know where it's going beyond answering this question: 'What if Loki had accepted that beer?' from Don on season 2. Here I wonder a lot about what would have happened and also, I want to put Loki between Don's kids and see what happens. I still have no idea if this will be a one-shot o a multi-chapter fic. Again, it's just a WIP.

And while checking on those two, another really fucked up idea came to me: what if Roman had sucked Greg off when they were younger? Would he remember that? Would he do it again now that Greg is into the family business? Would he deny it? Would Greg want it to happen again? Who knows. Wait. Me. Hehe. So I began typing on this, clearly absorbed by the unanswered questions I gave myself.

Finally, checking those tabs I found my untitled True Detective WIP where I want to give a twist on that scene between Rust and Marty in their lockers, hands-on with each other ready to beat themselves up but not quite doing it.

And now, taking a break from them all, I vent here as I am allowed to do while crossing fingers I get to work more on any of those ideas above.

[watermelonsloth]

I think the reason why Naruto fans get so passionate and upset about the series is because of how real it can be. Naruto isn’t about paragon heroes outdoing dastardly villains. It’s about human beings fighting tooth and nail to survive in a world surrounded by death. It’s about broken systems made and perpetuated by broken people.

The Hyuga clan isn’t just antagonistic or pretentious, they practice slavery.

The Uchiha clan weren’t just killed by some raging psychopath, they were systematically massacred.

Itachi isn’t just cruel to Sasuke because he’s a bad brother, he’s cruel because he’d been told time and time again that you can only survive by being cruel and he wants nothing more than for Sasuke to survive.

Nagato isn’t trying to take over the world just for the sake of power, he’s trying to take over the world because it beat him down to the point of believing that the only chance at peace there is is the world being forced into compliance through fear.

Iruka isn’t hard on Naruto just because he’s a strict teacher, he’s hard on Naruto because he knows from experience how unforgiving the world is towards orphans.

Kakashi isn’t just some silly and slightly lazy teacher, he’s a contract killer still grieving his loved ones and struggling to do better without knowing how he’s supposed to.

Sakura isn’t just a fangirl, she’s a normal girl in a very dangerous and abnormal world constantly being made to choose between what she’s supposed to do and what she feels.

Sasuke isn’t just some edgelord, he’s a survivor who lost everything then gets repeatedly told that he has to choose between keeping what he’s gained and doing better than his brother.

Naruto isn’t just trying to be the best Hokage there ever was, he’s trying to prove his worth to a society that abandoned him just for existing and, in a way, confirm his worth to himself.

The Naruto story is about humans trying to force themselves into the role of weapons because that’s what they were told they had to be. It’s a story where everyone is a perpetrator but no one is trying to do wrong. It’s a story where everyone is a victim but no one is a perfect victim.

The world and the characters aren’t simple and trying to simplify them only takes away from them. So of course we get passionate about showing off all the reasons why they shouldn’t be simplified and all of the ways they’re complicated. Of course we get upset when we see others simplifying them or selling certain aspects of their characters short. Of course we get upset when the series itself simplifies them. Of course we get upset when the series chooses to abandon them. Because it not only feels like the characters are giving up, it feels like the series is betraying anyone who chose to get invested in its complexities.

[thisonelikesaliens]

jt620123 ig 05.20.24

writer/producer of the show posted a 520 (i love you) special that was pure domestic fluff with Qian and Yuan babysitting their niece. big disclaimer again, not a writer but tried my best to translate the joy i got from this piece and hoped i managed to spread some of that joy to this fandom

Not yet a year old, here Xiao Xiao Bao was again at her uncles' place. Xiao Bao had become a fairly well-known celebrity in the Asian entertainment world, and San Pang would be following her whenever she had to travel for work, which meant her brothers were on for babysitting duty.

Wei Qian never thought his sister's career would take off after getting married and having a child. These days, not many female celebrities would so openly talk about their partners and children, and perhaps it was exactly because of the way Xiao Bao set herself apart from the industry norms that she garnered so much support.

Wei Qian put down the magazine after reading the exclusive interview of Xiao Bao and her family (that he noted did not include her brothers). He picked up Xiao Xiao Bao who was happily entertaining herself and complained to her about her mom.

"That interview about your mom's family should've included your uncles, right? We're way more good-looking than your dad! Here, let me see…it's a good thing you look like your mom instead of your dad."

As if to show that she did not appreciate the disrespect towards her parents, Xiao Xiao Bao began to cry.

Wei Qian tried to pacify her but her cries became louder, so he picked her up and went to prepare formula, but Xiao Xiao Bao was still crying and wouldn't take the bottle.

Utterly defeated, Wei Qian had to ask for help.

"XIAO YUAN, HOW MUCH LONGER IS YOUR CONFERENCE CALL?"

Wei Qian put the bottle on the table and decided to check Xiao Xiao Bao's diaper.

"Sorry, give me a moment. I'll call you back soon." Wei Zhi Yuan ended his call and came downstairs.

As soon as Wei Zhi Yuan appeared, Wei Qian passed a still wailing Xiao Xiao Bao over to him.

"She's not taking the bottle, I think she needs a diaper change."

Yuan checked the time, checked the diaper, then picked up the bottle to check the temperature.

"It's too hot, run it under cold water for 30 seconds." Wei Zhi Yuan instructed as he handed the bottle to Wei Qian.

Wei Qian took the bottle and went into the kitchen, grumbling under his breath about the trials and tribulations of babysitting.

Wei Zhi Yuan sat down with Xiao Xiao Bao on his lap, wiped her tears and rocked her back and forth while humming. Xiao Xiao Bao's cries turned to sniffling and eventually stopped completely, then she grabbed Wei Zhi Yuan's finger and started to put it in her mouth.

"I'm so sorry, your little uncle lost track of time, you must be hungry! Don't be mad at your aunt, he can't even take care of himself…"

"Who did you call 'aunt'?" Wei Qian said menacingly while thrusting the bottle in Yuan's face. Realizing his mistake, Yuan took the bottle and corrected, "I'm the little uncle in charge of changing diapers~you're the best BIG UNCLE in the world in charge of feeding her~"

Pacified, Wei Qian sat down next to Wei Zhi Yuan and watched him feed their niece.

"I fed Xiao Bao like this when I was a kid too, and now I can't believe I'm watching you feed her and San Pang's daughter…"

That made Wei Zhi Yuan chuckle. Wei Qian yawned, then leaned on Yuan's arm, playing absently with Xiao Xiao Bao's little feet.

After Xiao Xiao Bao finished the bottle, Wei Zhi Yuan leaned forward to put the bottle back on the table and noticed that Wei Qian had already fallen asleep, his head sliding down and nesting comfortably on his lap.

Wei Zhi Yuan burped Xiao Xiao Bao while watching Wei Qian fondly, then bent down to press a kiss on Wei Qian's forehead.

"No matter who you are, from now on we will never be apart as long as we live."

[jaundicity]

i have a lot more to criticize about this show but let me tell you guys the real tea of it all..

the writer's team for HOTD simply does not know how to portray war.

they don't know the complexities of war, nor do they hold a knowledgable grasp of the true horrors of it and how it affects everyone from the powers orchestrating it (eg. the blacks and the greens) to the people at the bottom.

now, i'm not saying that they should put on their soldier helmets and go fight in wars, because that's stupid and as much as i dislike them, i don't want that for them at all, but i am pointing out that they clearly don't understand that the dance isn't an easy heroes v. villains superhero battle that they have written it out to be, because it's not.

it's a criticism of war and its destructive nature, of the powers that basically damn innocent people to die for nothing because of their rulers aka. the people who should be protecting them ultimately letting their desires cloud their duties to the land they're overseeing. for the writers to not understand that and basically glaze over what george was basically saying through the text in favor of producing HBO's attempt at marvelizing the WOIAF is truly gutting, because why even try to make war a winning game? it isn't.

fuck, even movies and tv shows outside of that do so much better at portraying the messages that the OG dance has that HOTD has failed to drive home. come and see, all quiet on the western front, even the hunger games especially in mockingjay— those are fantastic media that accurately or even come completely close to portraying how devastating war can get. so much horror, grief, rage and overall tragedy is shown in the three pieces of media that i just listed, so it is insulting to me and hopefully to others that ryan and co. had not seriously considered looking to them or any other media for inspiration on how to accurately hit the mark on the original story's real themes for the show.

[hychlorions]

they match :')

[lothcat-lothcat-lothwolf-run]

Ezra bridger successfully executing the “tech turn” in flight of the defender means that Hera, as his teacher, also knows how to do it. We also see her use it in rebel assault against a tie defender. Meaning that she either picked it up from tech during their (limited) time together OR omega taught it to her. ————————————————————————

Rex sees the maneuver again after so many years, but this time from the inside. Stars, how he remembers the first time the Marauder landed haphazardly on the runway, almost running over a quarter of the ground crew. He can remember the cockpit and the constant mess of supplies and equipment that surrounded it. True, he was on it only a few times, but the mix of the constant bickering and the constant evations made possible by quick turns and bad odds created a strange sense of nostalgia. Normally, his fondness for the past seemed from memories of the clone wars, not the few years after, of which were filled with constant change and fear. But something about they way that Captain Syndulla flew…

perhaps it was how she meticulously scrambled the ghost’s signature in the same patterns every time. Maybe it was the unusually scientific prose she occasionally mumbled under her breath while flying. How her greatest strategy in a dog fight was to confuse her enemies.

it was all her own, and yet still a revival of what used to be.

[piko-power]

Don't mind me, just making a collection of Sonic and Knuckles being together because I want more of their sibling dynamic and I love them

If anybody is wondering, I took these pictures from YouTube, NOT Paramount+. The first full episode is out for free if you wanna check it out.

Please do not tag as ship.

EDIT: Okay so apparently I can't find the full episode on YouTube anymore lol. Just wanted to put that out there in case anyone didn't know.

[greenscreen-dress]

I think Life series fandom could do more with the artificiality of the game world.

Can't remember what season they started doing it... LimLife, maybe? The world border has always been there, but for the past few Traffic Games it feels like there's a lot more intentionality behind the map they play in. Always plenty of blank canvas plains-like areas for easy building, a couple points of elevation to fight over and survey from, little to no "extreme" temperature biomes like jungles, deserts or any of the snowy biomes... Even natural spruce forests seem rarer in recent games— though a couple seasons had dark oak forests and SL had a decent patch of savanna iirc, so it's not totally devoid of variation.

And of course, there's the clusters of 3-4 obviously bonemealed exotic wood saplings, dotted all over the map regardless of biom, periodically replenished throughout the season.

Blatant builder enrichment right here ↓

(Images for illustration purposes. I was watching Bdubs' Ep 1 of Wild Life when this thought struck so excuse the lack of variety... I don't feel like going screenshot-hunting you all get what I mean.)

This is all to make things more streamlined on the CC's side— it's a timed series played in 3hr increments, it makes sense to give plenty of options to find an easy place to settle, collect resources, etc. And I assume the CCs have a bit of say in what biomes etc they'd prefer when a new season is being organised.

But from a lore perspective this has SO much potential! Especially given the popular "Watchers periodically yoink their 16-18 Silly Little Guys™ away from whatever they're doing, drop them into a terrarium, give it a little shake and watch them fight to the death" interpretation of the Life Series. People love to talk about how said Silly Guys are mentally/emotionally affected by this. So I think it'd be fun for fanworks to bring a little attention to the uncanny perfection of the terrarium itself.

...also I realise I'm probably a bit blinded by nostalgia for 3L. But I really feel like the maps of the early seasons were more unbalanced and "natural" somehow. Spruce and swamps and deserts and squabbling for resources, more potential for lucky spawns & creative uses of quirky terrain and I LIKED it!

Surely something could be done with the map becoming more tailored and "welcoming" to the players the more games they play, the more involved the gimmick is... Idk. Something about filing down the teeth and claws and random inconveniences of the world, season after season, to make sure the players are the ones actually tearing each other apart.

[chiqelatasblog]

I think one of the things I enjoy most while writing is exploring the emotional development of the characters. Bi-Han has been through a lot since the first story, and he is actually one of the most challenging characters for me to write. Balancing his reactions without breaking character is difficult, but it’s also why I find him so rewarding to write. Introducing emotions to an emotionless man while staying true to his character is a challenge in itself, so I’m choosing my words carefully and writing based on Bi-Han’s logic. This chapter is nearing 5k words and I’m only halfway through. Just like in the first story, each chapter will probably be around 10k words or more, so I hope you’re ready for some long reads! 😅

Here’s a small sneak peek from Bi-Han’s pov;

[leliwardens]

so a second article has hit the da fandom and i'm in the part of the "this is genuinely so disappointing i'm considering not actually preordering/playing on release". i'm sure i'll come to terms with it and still get it but this really has been such a blow to my sheer enthusiasm that is like...incredible really for me as a fan invested in this franchise for over a decade to put me (and others) so low lmao

(under a cut bc it got stupidly long, a cookie if you read all of it)

one of the big "reasons" i've seen parroted by the fandom and the justification from the devs is (paraphrasing) you're in the north and all of these major decisions are in the south, which is frankly, stupid? sure, the choices of the divine wouldn't matter too much (if the circles are disbanded or not, for example) but the divine choice itself, should matter? the throne of ferelden? orlais??? these are major characters!

whoever is the sitting ruler of ferelden, regardless of the choice, has obv, lived through a blight not 20 some odd years prior. so one could imagine they would be invested in this, you know, double blight is going on and would like to help or help for their country? given the fact one of the last of the two archdemon prisons is canonly within ferelden!! marketing has also started the blight has spread across thedas, so one would think the current world leaders would be supporting or at least looking to the group seemingly working on stopping the blight. but i guess not since it's not a choice.

even setting aside the lore and plot significance of the majority of choices, even if it truly did not matter, you can say the exact same for choices within dai itself, however the devs knew the desire to have that impact + fan service, even minor, still superseded lore and plot significance. the hof letter and mentions by their romance partner is clearly fan service (since tbh i doubt leliana or morrigan would willingly talk about their partner themselves) but it was also telling you, the player, where your mc was. another example is there is no impact who the sitting king of orzammar is, but the game still mentions in a codex the consequences of that choice, even if the anvil was kept or not in ambient dialogue.

these and many more mattered, not in a world shaping way, but to tell you, the player, yes you played in this world and here's the acknowledgement of it, thank you. i didn't need to decide the fate of the world to enjoy leliana talking about my warden or varric supporting templars because my hawke did, because it still felt like i mattered, that yes this is a world i changed, even in a small way, that i lived in it.

and they removed all of that.

like, hell it was even a good way to "check-in" in choices and characters without dedicating entire plot beats to them! the epilogue for a non-divine!romanced leliana heavily implies she and the warden are still doing their own things but meeting up when hey can. that aside the cure? the fucking cure??? did they find it? did they share it with the other wardens? was it suppressed? the other members of the inquisition were invested in stopping solas, what about them? since you are literally going to their turf, is dorian, josephine, isabela, and even bull okay? is zevran or fenris going to be ignored? fenris had a whole comic about him!

the only way i can take this is being told to no longer be invested in previous material, even material leading up to this game. even if i know that's not really the truth, it really feels that way.

i don't even like the excuse for getting newbies into the series, because, well, dai did that fine WITH returning characters and overall plots lol? there's a loss of some context and dai itself had writing flaws with this method, but it did show you could have both returning and new players work fine, and not alienate said new players despite it being the 3rd game.

speaking of dai, why bother making the choices so endgame linear if they wouldn't of even mattered? why no matter your choice of divine, another group rises up to oppose her? why have the grey wardens going quiet and possibly on the brink of civil war, exiled or no? i had assumed at the time the bottlenecking was future proofing to create less variables, and i guess i was wrong since there are no more variables lol!

i'm genuinely not sure what they truly thought would be the reaction, given they are still trying to pull returning players via the marketing? like. varric, harding, morrigan returning, the focus on the grey wardens as a group (and likely why davrin gets such a spotlight) are all indications for returning players. fuck even solas, no matter what you feel about him, is a returning npc! to resolve his plot!!!

i never truly believed we would see big huge cameos, i did expect the divine, those who live in the north, but otherwise simple codex entries or letters if anything.

but to have.......nothing? be left with nothing? burns.

i do mean this completely honestly: what is the point of investing myself, my time, my money, hell even just interest in this series anymore? without the impact of previous games (or a better lore reason, such as a longer timeskip than 5 fucking years since the last dlc) then this is your run of the mill rpg with better writing than most, but that's all it'd really have. i didn't fully play or get into the series because of the decisions carrying over, but it sure as fuck kept me and others coming back. if this is the norm going forward past da4 then well, might as well pick any other rpg series.

[all-seeing-ifer]

ok so the thing is. the thing is. cordy and connor sleeping together is probably the worst thing in season 4 (high bar). however, it's also... well it's probably not the most interesting thing in the season actually, that's probably whatever the fuck wes and lilah have going on, but I'll say it's conceptually the most interesting thing in the season, particularly the way angel reacts to it. it feels like the point that comes closest to the show being in compelling conversation with itself.

because listen, i've spent more than my fair share of time talking mad shit about the show's reliance on telling stories about jealous and possessive men and the horrible misogyny of things like how fred is treated especially, and just in general i think there is a lot to be criticised about those kinds of narratives and particularly the prevalence of them.

and well... the fact that so much of the tragedy of the season happens bc angel responds to his son being groomed and cordy being sexually violated with rage and jealousy and cutting both of them out of his life, because the relationship that breaks Connor and kills cordy has to be all about him... frankly, it feels like a dark hypothetical i'd joke about to convey how much i think that aspect of the show sucks. hell, it's far meaner than anything I could possibly come up with. it feels biting, like a deeply angry and visceral self critique. and it's so close to actually going somewhere with this and saying something, but it never does. because none of this was intentional, and even if it was it isn't executed in any way that makes it cohere.

[fragilelovelythings]

A writer's ramble (2)

I'm so happy. Like, I decided to do better, to create better, to paint better, and to write better. Maybe is this hope we all can carry when entering a new year, embracing all the promises we can make to ourselves and jumping forward to make our dreams come true.

Reflecting on what I want for myself, once again: a new beginning, I made peace with these facts:

It's not about perfection but discipline.

To be constant, to go back to the draft, to write more, to just do it.

To have fun, A LOT of fun while doing it forgetting that it's just for myself and any other random person who stumbles upon and likes it (or doesn't, both are equally alright and also the same).

To begin the day by writing as soon as I wake up, to deep dive into anything that I can conjure.

To understand that ideas flow and sometimes they just manifest through my own daily life: I thought about doing my laundry and this evolved to what if x character also has to do his laundry, what kind of thoughts would he have while doing it?

To aim high but also little: you can be inspired by your favorite's authors routines but, can I push, or wait, should I push myself to write 6 pages non-stop every morning? Or have a night routine where I write until 2-3 am in the morning? What if I play with my writing, testing myself, and understand/accept I have to create at my own rhythm?

If I can't write daily, at least I'll do it twice a week, alternating the creative process with other creative/artistic pursuits. So, when I'm not writing maybe I'm going to be oil painting. Or drawing. Or when I'm not painting or sketching, I'm going to be writing. Finding my balance it's key. Finding your balance it's key. And! some days I'd also be doing nothing and that is also okay.

To focus again on how enjoyable it can be to create a story, to narrate in my own style, to write better, to create more without emulating others, to find my own voice and feel comfortable with it. The same goes for painting.

To really accept that skills are part gifts and part hard work. To see them as tools, heavenly tools to express and heal. To see writing in any kind as also a therapeutic outlet: as the characters face adversity and happiness, I also do too.

To be patient with myself and never forget that I am writing in a language that's not my native tongue, and the task is even more challenging than it'd be writing in Spanish. And it's okay.

As I am posting my work on AO3, to learning to let go of the rush of receiving comments and kudos. Yes, they're wonderful devices to motivate us, writers, but also are another kind of drug, the high that scrolling can give you is equal to the pain you can get when wondering what you're doing wrong for not receiving more comments, kudos, and hits. Just let them go.

[blarghblarghblrgh]

Prequels being doomed from the start. You love this character so much and want them to win throughout but you’ve read the original already and they died before the plot started. All the potential ways the character could develop and you see them fighting for the good in themselves and how everyone around them believes in them but you already know they’re the villain of the series.

Prequels always being tragedies because no matter how much they fight and work the end of their stories were written before the start. Fated to suffer because god came up with your death before any other part of you.

[asraxfile]

I just realized here on tumblr people only wanna read smut and suggestive content while there are so many better fics but are flopping cause they dont have a sex scene

[whambam-ink]

Chronic shipper brain disease aside, my greatest hope for the HD re-releases of AJ, DD, and SoJ is that it reels in some more naruodo enjoyers / tolerators.

Not shippers, per say (although that would be nice), but at least people who see their fun broken-but-then-mended hero worship dynamic across all three games,

look at the fan art and fan fics made about it, and go, “It may not be my thing, but I get the appeal,” instead of picking up their metaphorical pitchforks because of an 11-year age difference between two unrelated adults who met as adults.

[mellowmaidenhairs]

i think ppl who are super online or into fandom should watch/read/etc something without ever touching fandom discourse or making aus or shipping characters just like every once in a while