#aftg sassy writings

[sassy-pen]

Kevin: I want to study history. Oh, and I want that blond goalkeeper

Riko:

[thornilee013]

Please show me some mysterious snippet for wip wednesday

prev | 101 Ways Not to Say I Do | WW 24.7.2024

Andrew hadn’t expected the trains to be as much of a pain as it ended up being. All of them had been on time, and there hadn’t been any issues with their connections, but it had been a long time since he’d last needed to spend so much of his day on seats that were stiff and uncomfortable. Still, he’d take trains, with their scenery out the window and their not-being-[REDACTED]-miles-off-the-ground over a plane any day. 

MASTERPOST

[leedee013]

And needle au 👀

prev

Jean had sensed Riko’s gaze pressing down on him before, but after speaking up, it landed on him like a branding iron. Jean’s statement was met with a groan from Seth. 

“Fine. We have an opening with Jean on Saturday morning, if that would work for you,” Seth said, his voice an unenthusiastic monotone. 

“It’s a date,” Riko said. It was a quip meant to inspire a reaction, whether it be annoyance, intrigue, or disgust, and Jean refused to acknowledge it. Instead he put all his focus into his current client. He paid extra attention to wiping off the skin and following the transfer lines, giving the work every ounce of precision he could muster, even if it was all just for show. Normally he could produce the same quality in half the time, but he found himself wanting to stretch out the job he’d been so anxious to get over with earlier. 

MASTERPOST

[capcavan]

🗣️ (also sorry this got long, turns out i have thoughts) so like riko is one of the weirdest fandom cases i've ever seen. i've been in fandoms where characters who commit actual war crimes and genocide are badass babes or uwu soft bois, and even spoiled mafia brats who commit terrible crimes against the heroes for daddy's attention that get love and redemption. it's so weird to see just how isolated from all that riko is to me.

i do think it's partly how aftg is written, and that's also partly because niel's pov is not at all forgiving of riko, while is entirely forgiving of people like andrew. but i also think it's because of how riko himself is written. he's one of these characters that's better on paper than he is in the book to me. because he's never presented as smart enough to fall into the magnificent bastard trope where everyone applauds how devious his plans are, but he's not outright hammy enough to just be a fun read, he doesn't even get the same stupidly dramatic flare as andrew. and while we're told he's powerful and doing dangerous stuff, he's presented on page, more often than not, as a petulant child that neil is just done with or a guy who likes to torture people who neil is also done with. neil is never actually scared of riko, or even particularly threatened by him, and i think that hurts him and makes his position in the narrative weaker. especially when nora is trying to play him as a villain and a threat in a mafia story rather than a good old fashioned rival in a sports drama. for example, his first impression on the kathy show should live up to the hype of this imposing charismatic villain who broke kevin's hand, but instead loses him temper, forgets all of his media training and lets a nobody like neil goad him into losing control of the interview, and then his payback, things like shoving neil around and seth's death, are basically brushed off because neil doesn't really care that much. it's not given the weight to be a seriously omg this guys a threat first impression. and this isn't uncommon, lots of media hamstrings their villains at the start by making sure we know the main character is too sassy for them and can humiliate them, without thinking about how weak that can make the villain seem. it feels sometimes like nora wanted riko to be this chess master villain or tragic child who's lashing out at the world, without committing to it fully to either, or was just not an experienced enough writer to have known how to write either of those things in the pov of someone who hates riko's guts, which is understandable, writing is hard and that sort of nuance takes practice, especially if you just go by the books and not the extra content, and i do wonder how differently nora would have portrayed riko if she rewrote the main trilogy now with presumably a lot more practice under her belt. in the end riko ends up in this weird grey area to me where i understand why he's not popular, given he has none of the usual obvious traits that fans like to latch onto when redeeming a villainous character, and even the ones that are there are glossed over pretty quickly because of neil's pov, and a lot of his more interesting pieces are on paper not actively presented in the book, and not everyone reads super deep, but i also don't understand the amount of hate. i have literally never seen a character in any other fandom i've been in have this much fandom wide hatred.

See I have nothing to add here because you single handedly dropped the best analysis of Riko's character in the series I had pleasure to read so far and summed up all my feelings about why and what of the fandom. If the goal was to write a character that is impactful yet easy to hate then that goal was achieved but for me it real takes away form the magnitude of feelings Riko could evoke in reader and questions he could provoke in narrative if he was given bit different presentation that woudl still align with the lore we already have.

[bun-bun07]

AFTG

Tw(all mention) child abuse,SA/rope,

Cw- Mostly just sfw

Andrew/neil.

(things that I noticed+my thoughts and speculations)(head cannons)

Things that the fandom asks for but I don't think we can really handle, But we really want it....

Let's be honest we say we want to see Andrew actually genuinely smiling expressing his happiness but let's be completely honest we wouldn't be able to handle that, my heart would literally implode (especially with the head Cannon of him having dimples OMG dig me an early grave)

When I really think about Andrew genuinely crying I just can't handle it even thinking about it makes me want to cry; Him physically expressing that he's in pain would actually mentally hurt me

Already knowing that he's in pain hurts but him showing it would actually break my heart, he's definitely a pretty crier and silent crier too.

2. You know the scene on the roof when Andrew gets back from rehab, I vividly remember him turning away from Neil to put on his arm bands and when I think about it I start thinking he doesn't turn away from him to just hide his scars, Andrew just doesn't want Neil to pity him

especially after seeing him in such a weak state after the incident at Thanksgiving and seeing him genuinely helpless and weak, he just doesn't't want Neil to think he needed his pity and treat him any differently or even think he's weak

(am I precisely remembered somewhere in the extra content Andrew openly admits to not wanting neil to pity him)

But let's be completely honest during the whole series of us reading the all for the game Neil never really shows any pity for anyone.

I know people like to regularly joke around and like to show neil as this supreme joker and prankster and up his sassiness to a level higher than a supreme,

But let's be completely honest for a moment not only does Neil rarely socialize with people he most definitely rarely smiles for anyone and honestly he only shows a little bit more emotion than Andrew

And when I think of Neil's emotional expression level compare him to todoroki cuz he's just as dense and he's just as bad at showing his emotions.

And we most definitely don't see nail smile very often like go back and reread the whole book and there's only a few moments Neil smiles 2+

And the only person we really see him smile for is Andrew which is cute and is completely adorable to think about he smiles a lot more often around Andrew(Andrew is able to make neil smile by just being himself and that's really cute)

Physical affection.

I know people like to write Neil as someone who is starving for physical affection look I have a love-hate relationship with that thought on one hand it's really adorable but on the other hand I don't like how people completely ignore how awkward Neil is when it comes to physical affection,

Like are we going to completely ignore that Neil does not know how to comfort or even handle being hugged like I git it let's be delusional but let's not be that delusional where we completely ignore that neil rarely had any form of physical affection in childhood the only thing we ever got hinted at of him having any sign of affection was his mother sleeping on the same bed as him which is sad.

like the only physical contact that Neil had was violent and was company by pain(this man didn't even know how to be a friend nor did he pick up on people genuinely liking him and even caring about him)

So the thought of Andrew genuinely liking him risking it all for him sacrificing for him puts his brain on the loading screen.

But the point is Neil never asked for anything really physical he doesn't ask for it he doesn't want to be hugged but that doesn't mean he doesn't mind it he may not want it or need it but he doesn't mind having it that's the whole point with neil he doesn't expect anything more and Andrew really does notice these things about him.

Watching Andrew fall deeply more in love with the things that are Neil josten it's even more beautiful than anything and romance may not be what that book was about but it showed it beautifully(it makes me wish there was more of just them.)

And the same thing goes for Andrew,

In all the adoption homes orphanages that Andrew has been to he has never had a good home some may have been better than others but they weren't in the least bit great, taking into account that he was always being abused in some way whether it was sexual or physical and emotional it makes sense that Andrew is so used to people not caring about his opinion because he's so used to being ignored so the thought of Neil genuinely showing care and protectiveness over Andrew well of course to Andrew Neil is in fact a pipe dream cuz something like that is really too good to be true.

Andrew hates it he hates that Neil will listen and cares about his opinion whether it's a yes or no neil listens and cares about him and he hates that neil is the one thing that would truly hurt him to lose because neil genuinely cares about him just as much as he cares about neil.

So when it comes to physical affection between them though they lack it and aren't used to it it's not something that they need or want but it's not something that's unwelcome under their own conditions

But in my opinion I think Andrew likes touching neil just as much as Neil likes to be close to Andrew, but let's always remember even without touching or kissing they like enjoying each other's presents and Andrew's attraction was never only physical with neil.

Happy?

Well yes they're happy why wouldn't they be they live together they own animals together they joke together

They go on little dates together and spend money on each other, they work and spend time together, so why wouldn't they happy not all happy endings need to end with a marriage because who says marriage is the way to happiness just because they aren't married doesn't mean they aren't happy I know some people don't think it or even think about it in that way some people understand it but still want it and that's understandable,

But for these characters I never really expected them to get married though it's a pleasant thought to have to see but to be completely honest these characters never been around happy marriages or grew up in a family with a happy marriage it's never been on their mind to marry it's something that they don't indulge in it's like a tie and though some marriages aren't a tie down or even to be tied to anything period but,

For these characters they are all about regaining their freedom, freedom control and freedom of change or freedom of distance at some point freedom to stop hiding the freedom to speak without pretending to live without fear is the true definition of living they don't need be Married to be happy and if they want to be separated they can be separate without needing to sign papers.

[dayurno]

Hmm I definitely agree with most of your rant regarding neils ao3 characterization, with the idea that gay relationships can't be written as heteronormative, honestly especially if one of them is gender nonconforming, and I do think some of the dislike around his character can be from a place of transmisogyny. And people who ask for more masc4masc and fem4fem couples are a bit dumb. But I still have a bone to pick with his characterization on ao3 and I can't put my finger on whyyyy

Maybe, it's because (and I'm speaking about the state of the fandom back around 3??or 4?? Years ago when I would actively go through the tags and look for fanfiction and neil was my fave) it was always neil bottoming in every fic ever, no matter what character he was being shipped with in the fic, but like a lot of these fics or even the ones that weren't explicit would have something happen to him where he was the victim or he needed to be coddled and comforted by everyone else, and while I don't think neil is impervious and will never feel and inch of distress in his life, i can't help but think it's a bit ooc (not that there's anything wrong with ooc fic) and it's like neil can also be dangerous and has the capacity to hurt ppl and can be a dickhead but I don't think alot of fic back then showed that? They'd just call him sassy maybe he'd make a few quips and that's it. I think theres a lot of fics out there that wipe out his complexity ig. Maybe I just hate his characterization bc I wanna be a contrarion and I find his characterization boring if it's like that because you can find it in any fandom assigned bottom ever and ive seen it too much so i wanted to see a switch up or its more about his personality being written and less about being feminine and bottoming though i do think the ppl who write him being more feminine also tend to write his character a certain way. But like I also cant help but wonder where it comes from, like it's neil written like this and rarely ever andrew so

Back when I was younger I used to think people in fandoms would make the character who revieves the more feminine one, maybe it's bc it makes it easier to relate and project, or maybe it's bc it makes it easier to contend with a gay relationship if you can fit into like heteronormative boxes bc that's what's familiar to you and that's what you know and see everywhere, or maybe it is just people being fetishistic but now I don't know🤔 also I do think top neil or dom neil is just kinda fun like you said to me kandrew r more the type to have vanilla missionary sex their whole lives but neil would be more adventurous and willing to try new things, he also has cheek and audacity which is cute, like a puppy

Sorry this is so long, I've just thought about it before and has no one to discuss it with

no need to apologize i asked for opinions after all!!!!!!!

i see what you mean re: neil losing his edge, and i do think that it happens a lot with him because he is the protagonist and a prominent character in the vast majority of aftg fics, but i wouldn't say the same de-fanging process doesn't happen to andrew. the fandom has made it a point to soften all of andrew's edges; it's one of the most common bones people pick with nora that she never gives into the idea that andrew becomes a normal, well-adjusted, life-loving member of society post-canon. whether i enjoy andrew in a softer way or not is irrelevant, but i think this is definitely not a neil-only phenomena. i wouldn't even say it's really more pronounced when it's neil! i just think that helplessness, that lack of agency and bite, is a staple of most fandom content because it's self-indulgent and forces characters to act on their relationships by asking for and receiving help from their peers, whatever it might look like for each specific fandom

now i will say that i don't think that the process of making characters wholesome and ultimately consumable has anything to do with whether they are written as feminine or not; whether they are only in a receiving position or not. sexual preferences and gender presentations are inherently neutral: they don't say anything about a person's personality. i think neil bottoming being such a popular trope is just due to a natural consequence of how andrew and neil's relationship is presented in the books — andrew as someone who, at the point of where canon stops, physically cannot allow himself to be on the receiving end of any sexual act, and neil, who loves him and wants to help andrew to find pleasure in whatever way he can. it's the dynamic we're given in the original text, so it's what people tend to think about more.

of course i'm not saying it never overlaps with neil's excessive sanitizing and de-fanging, and it might as well be, for some people, that neil's acquiescence to andrew having control of what they do in bed is an entirely justifiable reason for writing him in a more feminine way. my opinion is, i think, just that that is not inherently immoral — that feminine people with those sexual preferences exist, and at times might even find that their gender presentation plays a big role in why they prefer to interact with sex the way they do. the history of femme pillow princesses in the lesbian community is vast, just as is the history of stone top butches. these minor niches don't imply that all feminine and masculine people must respectively bottom and top, but we do no one a favor by disregarding their experiences when they are a big part of how queer people do sex. i think we fall into old conservative myths when we moralize sexual preferences; i think we try to conform to cisheteronormative ideals when we deny gender presentations that are inherently tied to sex.

and just as a personal comment, i actually agree with you about neil being written as a perpetual, helpless victim and losing his agency. i don't enjoy it. i think it is born from indulgence, born from projection and wish fulfilment, but indulgence isn't immoral. projection and wish fulfilment aren't immoral, either. and, while i don't like the sanitization of aftg characters, i think it is less a character or fandom-specific issue and more of a material consequence of late stage capitalism; it's a symptom of a sickness that goes beyond our little constructed world, and one we should discuss, in my opinion, outside of the boundaries of fandom and individual guilt

i guess my tl;dr is that sometimes things are bad and we have to sit with their right to exist anyway. and my general tl;dr is that we help no one when we go out of our ways to condemn and criticize content where one of the characters is gender non-conforming because of said gender nonconformity. and, ultimately, that what we are missing is more fanfiction about kevin day in tiny tennis skirts

[sillyunicorn]

For the fanfic asks: 2, 9, 10!

hi, thank you for the asks!! :) 2. How many times did you post a new work or chapter to AO3?

20, including 5 chapters of my aftg mixtape fic!

9. Who was your favorite character to write this year?

I really enjoyed writing Simon Eriksson :) he's so sassy

10. What was one of your favorite scenes you wrote this year?

I had a lot of fun writing aaron from aftg be horrified by andrew and neil being cute on valentine's day lmao

from this list

[altruistic-meme]

I’ve been stalking your page ever since finishing the latest chapter of (why is there) joy in this poison and FINALLY SOMEONE WHO IS OBSESSED WITH YR AND AFTG.

It’s funny seeing crossovers between fandoms and I like to keep my blog quiet between my many indulgences and hyperfixations but omg!!! I’ve loved both of these series for so long and to see some one as joyed about them as me is so neat!

in all honesty I came here to gush about your writing, how I really enjoy what you made and continue to make for the aftg universe! the way you write Andrew specifically is so unique and defiently made me re-read his lines and certain chapters because they’re just that GOOD! And to see a relationship between Kevin and Neil that’s so near and dear- is so refreshing- I love how much love they have for each other! And DONT GET ME STARTED ON THE ANDREIL MOMENTS!! Ugh the trust those two already have and continue to show each other in such a short amount of time (truly a feat for sir “walls” Andrew Minyard) has me on the edge of my seat for every and all chapters! And who isn’t a slut for sassy Neil really. That kid could trash talk anyone into the ground and I’d be applauding him the entire time!

Thank you truly for the lovely fic weather you choose to continue it or not, I have been blessed either way and definitely will check out your other fics! I’ve got my eye on I’ve Got You, Brother its seem like such a fantastic concept and you’ve got to love some older brother bonding!

Anyway- sorry for my rambling, just thought I’d come and sing your praises and if you see me lurking in your mentions here and comments on Ao3 from now on, don’t mind me!

hi omg ;;; i hope you know this got neither lost nor ignored, ive just been thinking about it nonstop for the last 2 weeks and have wanted to keep it close and easy to reread so i could cry over it

bc um basically AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA ya know?

this is so so so incredibly sweet of you!!!!!! like i said ive reread this so many times in the last 2 weeks bc it's just. i cant form words even now, rereading it to reply.

YES aftg and yr are both SO good and im always glad to find more people who like them both!! (and there are a few of us out there! i am certainly not innocent of convincing more than one of my yr friends to read aftg and i will never apologize 😌) but they are both such big big parts of me now <3

thank you so so much for reading (wit)jitp!!! ;;;;; that fic means so so much to me and i swear to you i have no plans of abandoning it, ive just been kind of hitting walls in writing (though slowly ive been finding cracks, and hopefully i can convince the walls to crumble) but i have too many plans to give up now >:] there's still so much in store. you barely even know Nathaniel's plans 😩

SOBBING AGAIN OVER THE PARAGRAPH HERE BTW i am truly awestruck bc i was so so nervous about writing Andrew bc he's such a hard character for me to understand, and to hear your thoughts on him was so amazing for my self-esteem!! (it is also the easiest way to make me scream and cry, to compliment my characterization, since im almost always worried about it but i digress skdhg)

Kevin and Nathaniel's relationship is also something that i could scream for hours about but let me say it has been AMAZING seeing how many people love their love for each other and i will forever be ecstatic to hear it ;;;; and Andrew and Nathaniel!!! two very traumatized boys finding trust in each other bc they both have the same values and can find common ground (and comfort!) with each other where no one else will. ;;;;

also we stan a sassy Neil, you are SO RIGHT literally who wouldn't be a slut for sassy Neil. he deserves more sass, imho.

also omg thank you for giving my other fics a look, too ;;; I've Got You, Brother is definitely a good choice for some brotherly bonding, that's the main focus of the story after all :] (though im debating some ideas which won't feature Wille at all, we'll see how it goes) i definitely need to work on that one as well >>

you never need to apologize for rambling btw!! i love rambles :D (as you can probably tell bc i also rambled... a lot, whoops) but always feel free to send me asks or messages with any and all of your thoughts <3

thank you so so so so so much for this, and for reading my stories, and for being an amazing person!!

[itsstickball]

Literally just realized that I forgot to keep updating my Sonnie’s Edge AU as I wrote it. So I’ve got like four chapters as a buffer now to upload.

Anyway, have some feisty neil! (preview under the cut)

“What’s your name anyway, kid?”

“I’m nineteen.”

Nathaniel rebuked. He’d been with “Nicky” for all of three minutes and already found himself annoyed by the incessant chatter. It wasn’t that he doubted Nicky was nice or whatever, he just never seemed to shut up. He was literally digging through the remains of their former biosynth teammate while Nicky mopped up the blood left behind by the Malcoms. They’d just finished dumping their bodies into the processing tank for Kilgamesh’s food supply and the man was trying to play twenty-questions.

“That’s cool.” Nicky’s curls bobbed slightly as he nodded. “But I’m gonna keep calling you ‘the kid’ until you share your name. Here, I’ll start.”

He leaned the mop up against his shoulder and extended his hand out toward Nathaniel jovially.

“Nicholas Esteban Hemmick, but you can call me Nicky.”

Nathaniel looked at the hand and then back up at Nicky’s unwavering smile.

“Neil Josten.”

[jeni182]

Neil Josten is such a sassy smart ass in all of my fics and I’m always sure I’m exaggerating him until y’all do some shit like posting the Riko Roast challenge and I am once more vindicated. Bless.

[sorrynotsorry804]

AFTG AU

Butcher! Neil

- Meet in highschool

- Neil is 15 and Andrew is 16

- Locker room fight neil stops Andrea after a he pulls out a pocket knife

- Andrew tries to offer a deal after incident neil says no

- Andrea then follows neil back to where he's staying (abandoned warehouse)

- Tries the deal making again

- Deal is knife lessons for keeping quiet about neil whereabouts

- Neil accepts and they go with it for about five months (and get close obviously)

- The Malcoms show up along with Plank and some lower ranked thugs

- Neil takes out Plank and the two thugs

- Lola is on neils side to take over as leader for the wesninskis

- Neils leaves andrew with a phone number for if he ever news ‘The Butcher’

- Neil goes home to kill nathan

- The Wesninskis become one of the worlds powerful mafia (Others are The Calaveras (oc), The Hatfords, The Moriyamas)

- Neil pays of his debt in one go

- Neil makes good friends with Percy Calavera (OC) and becomes closer with Stuart Hatford

- Nathaniel and Jean were close when they were younger

- Abram had made a promise to get the both of them out

- Neil buys Jean Moreau 1 ½ years after becoming Ceann (Irish mafia leader)

- Andrew calls neil after Kevin shows up three years after they parted ways

- Riko was not informed that nathan is dead and Nathaniel is now in charge (He still thinks neil is his property)

- Neil and Jean shows up looking fine af

- Kevin freaks (also believes riko owns neil)

- Neil is trained as backliner and stricker

- Jean does not play for the foxes more of a background coach

- Percy rolls up trained as all positions best are backliner and goalie astounding aim

- Andrew is jelly because he things Neil and Percy are Thing

- Follows as well as you can with the original story (except seth) until Christmas

- Neil is able to get Proust taken care of and a doctor put in that he trusts

- Aaron gets out of the murder case unscathed

- Riko still does try to get neil to go to the nest but he just straight up says no

- Riko goes after seth he is successful

- Neil is pissed and goes to ichi

- Explains how risky (and stupid) Riko was being

- Ends with riko dead and Kevin still has to give his exy money

If you do write this you don't have to credit the idea but If you use the percy oc please put that he's mine!

Add what you have to but these are the main points

Add as much sassy!Neil and Sassy!Jean along with badassery and Andrew being a sarcastic shit

If you message me or leave a comment I can send you my Percy (OC)

Percy's character has two close best friends they're like family and attached at the hip (percy would lose it if he lost them vise versa)

Percy's friends are twins and I have the fully written out so you could also use them (they are still MY oc so please don't steal them)

Or add your own oc but Percy's character makes more sense with the both of them

Should be a series

[sassy-pen]

Here we go again

[thornilee013]

And Baby Jean 💜

prev | Baby Jean | WW 4.9.2024

He watched as his sisters got their turn to hug their mother. He watched as they drank up every shred of attention that the woman gave them, from approving smiles to tuned-out nodding. As Amélie tripped over herself talking about all the projects she’d completed for school, their mother’s deep red lipstick became a thin line as she curled her lips into a cool smile. 

“That’s all very nice, dear,” the woman said, “but I’m rather tired from all my traveling. And I have more coming up soon. I really must go to bed.”

“Will you read us a bedtime story?” Camille asked softly, her voice trembling as she dared let hope enter her heart again, knowing that in doing so, she risked allowing it to be crushed.

Crushed it was.

Their mother went to bed, and Jean read their story instead.

MASTERPOST

[leedee013]

Etienne pls? 🐕

prev

Jean sent a quick message to Julien’s mom to let her know he was almost there, desperately trying to keep Etienne from running off after every squirrel that she saw along the way. As it turned out, however, his message had been pointless, given that he saw Julien and his mom already waiting by the bench that they'd designated as their meeting spot. 

“Jean, how lovely to see you,” Julien’s mother cooed as he approached, right before both mother and son had their attention snared by Etienne. “Oh, is this her? Jean, she’s adorable.”

Jean shrugged and ordered Etienne to sit like they’d been practicing. It took them a few tries to get her to cooperate, and it was only until she was planted firmly on the ground that he handed Julien one of the training treats he kept in his pocket. “Go ahead and let her take it from you,” he said gently, offering his Little a small smile.

Julien’s brown eyes were wide open as Etienne sniffed his outstretched hands before lapping up the treat. He blinked a few times before scrunching his nose up and shaking his hands off. 

Jean laughed. “I know, she can be a bit messy, can’t she?”

MASTERPOST

[foxsoulcourt]

Hello! I wanted to know what is your process to write your famous comments, do you use a word processor or one of the built-in tools in AO3? I really like to find them when reading a fic and they are so comprehensive that I got curious about the process. Thanks!

Dear Nonny, Goodness what a lovely compliment wrapped up in your question! You made me blush w/that ‘famous comments’ phrase. There’s a short-enough answer to your inquiry about the technical piece and --SURPRISE!-- a longer one about my philosophy + process of crafting comments under Keep reading.

M a n y (!!!) comments have been created on my phone, but it’s hard + easy to lose or get them scrambled up, so I prefer to use a keyboard. (Ummm, please tell me about those tools built into AO3 because I don’t know about them!) I often comment as I go, cutting/pasting bits while I’m reading either because I like the word-craft, imagery or plot point, and then I slap them into the comments section to organise + respond to when I’ve finished the chapter. If it’s a long or complicated chapter/work I open the work up in two side by side tabs + then scroll down while reading in one + type comments in the other.

This isn’t technical, but/and it’s important enough to keep ‘above the fold’: my guiding principle for comments is the same as how I seek to show up in fandom: always encourage others. 

Ready for the philosophy + process part?  Grab a cuppa tea, cuz --boy howdy!-- once I started thinking about this, I had a lot to say.

STRATEGY The aspects I keep my eye on when reading are: power dynamics between characters, signposts of emotional growth, the many types of intimacy (beyond  sexual), beautiful metaphors or phrasing + things which make me laugh out loud. When reading sexy times I look for what we learn about each character in those moments. What makes them blush? Revs them up? Frightens or concerns them? Surprises and/or delights them? 

Overall I enjoy the experience of being surprised or learning something new about characters; I love it when authors highlight an idea, trait, motivation or choice I hadn’t previously thought of understood. All of the above are usually what I highlight back to the author. 

Hmmmm, why did I blush over the phrase “your famous comments”?

CONFESSION Until I got to know @fuzzballsheltiepants through Back to the Start, I was really embarrassed about them. Why did they have to be so long?!! Why did I feel the need to quote long passages back to the authors? They already knew their work, why repeat it to them?! Why couldn’t I write concise, sassy comments like so many others?! And what about the times I didn’t feel like writing long comments? Was I disappointing the author (or maybe they were relieved)? Honestly, I was afraid people might be laughing behind my back. O O F. The stories we tell our sweet selves until we decide to be who we are, not who we think others want to be. 

BACKSTORY When I got quiet to figure out why DO I write such long comments, it came down to what was going on in my life when I got into fandom. Our daughters had both just left for college in two different states + I went back to FT work at a job I thought would be a decent enough match. It was + wasn’t. I learned a ton, but/and my work partner + boss were incredibly challenging. I help people + orgs navigate change. They told me they hired me to help them do such a thing, but it turns out they wanted me to write great emails + make effective slide decks. HO HUM. I haven’t had many jobs I didn’t enjoy; this was one.

It was a disorienting time and I was utterly disoriented.

When our kids were growing up I was a youth minister in my home faith community. (Uh, and yes, ofc it’s a community which supports LGBTQIAP+ justice, among many other justice issues) C+H grew up in a multi-generational village + around a lot of teens. They saw their Mama doing what she loved + was very good at. The girls just finished 6th grade (11 y.o.) when I left ministry. Even though sometimes it was REaL L y challenging (puleez, guiding + mentoring two very different humans who were both the same age?!!! During adolescence?!!!), I enjoyed being P R E S E N T for our daughters in ways I did not experience growing up + I know not many teens get to experience. It was a gift + also a responsibility which I took to heart. 

After catching on sleep for almost a year (I’m NOT joking), I went to grad school and learned the formal theories + practices about what I have been doing since I was a teenager: helping people + groups navigate change. Grad school was A KICK!  By the time the girls went off to college I had a consulting business. When Mr FSC + I came back to the emptier home, my identity shifted from Mama/Youth Mentor/Household CEO (all jobs I loved + am very good at) to whatever the next chapter was going to be. I decided getting a FT job working for someone else would help pay those tuition bills. I remember feeling so.under.appreciated at work. UGH. It took about 18 mos there before That Whole Experience began to negatively impact my health + I ended up going on medical leave and then quitting. It didn’t help that even during the interview process I KNEW there were a lot of red flags. I own it: I chose to overlook them because HELLO?!!! 2 kids in college! I decided to take the money + deal w/the other stuff as it came up.

THE GIFT OF FANDOM However --thank goodness-- about six months into that job I joined the Tumblr village, the AFTG fandom + dove into AO3 under ZinniaGirl and ZinniaGirl2Woman or something like that. Nearly every day when I went into the office every formatting + word choice was consistently critiqued. I’m a decent writer + this totally threw me off my game. (understatement!)

Ahhhh, but writing for fandom?!! IT WAS + CONTINUES TO BE A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT + WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE!!! Here I could stretch my legs + enjoy writing WHENEVER + HOWEVER I wanted to. I decided to make up my own rules. Early on I knew I wasn’t going to be a prolific author, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t work on the craft of writing. Quickly comments + Tumblr posts became my contributions to the fandom. Enough people responded positively that I kept up with both. Over time I’ve gained acquaintances, some really close friends, all while continuing to learn more about the craft of writing from some of the best in our fandom who also happen to be top drawer human beings.

YA YA YA, SO HOW DO I COME UP WITH THOSE “famous” COMMENTS? (I’m still giggling over that word!)

When I start reading a fic, I sink into the author’s world

I start noticing whatever they notice about the charaters we love

Next comes the strategy (above)

Add in having fun 

Sprinkle in encouragement, esp for first time writers or writers having a hard time

Sometimes I’m writing a analytical literary essay, other times they’re love letters

Sometimes I’m so moved I can’t combine words into a sentence 

No matter the style, early on I decided to E N J O Y the experience of being part of this GLOBAL, NETWORKED, CREATIVE, COLLABORATIVE, SUPPORTIVE village. It has been one of the greatest gifts of my life in the past decade.

WHAT ABOUT YOU DEAR ONE?!!

What do you love about reading + commenting on fics? What thrills you about being part of the fandom? Grab your magic wand + tell me what you wish could change about it. Which guiding principle(s) are the guardrails of your participation?  

Thanks for asking such a great question + being patient while I dumped out all of this content, sorted through it + then decided what to share. 

Here’s to fandom friends, those we know + those we do not know...yet.

Love,

Cory / foxsoulcourt

[anniejanuaryz]

i was tagged by @sikenswinter, thank you <33

(fyi: all characters are from aftg bc i’m trash)

i   • which character are you most similar to?

renee or betsy

ii  • which character are you most dissimilar to?

allison

iii • if you were in a zombie apocalypse, which character would you bring with you?

i think renee could def save my ass

iv • what is your favourite aus?

soulmates, enemies to lovers, hp, superpowers

v  • what trope did you suspect a character would fall into but proved you wrong?

i thought for a long time that neil would die a tragic death as a hero or sth, thank god i was wrong (tho nora had drafts where he died)

vi  • what is your favourite genre?

fantasy, sci-fi

vii • if you could write a book, how would you describe it in five words?

no hetero characters become family

viii• describe your favourite book in five words

exy, murder, love, family, mafia

ix  • do you prefer guarded or open characters?

both are interesting to explore!

x   • which three songs suit your favourite character(s)?

welshly arms - legendary (all the foxes)

eden - drugs (andreil)

hidden citiziens - i ran (neil)

xi  • what fics do you wish there were more of?

more kandreil,,,, p l s and also more dan/allison/renee!

xii • what’s your favourite line?

fight because you don’t know how to die quietly. win because you don’t know how to lose. the king’s ruled long enough. it’s time to tear his castle down.

xiii• what line made you laugh?

honestly,,, all the Sass, the foxes are such a sassy bunch lmao

xiv• if you were paired up in a group project, who would you want to be with?

hm, renee, kevin or aaron

xv • if you could turn your favourite book(s) into a different genre, what would it be and why?

i think aftg would be lit if it was with superpowers idk

xvi• which character would you be best friends with?

tbfh i think nicky or dan

which character would you:

i   • go on a road trip with?

all of them (the short vacation proved how much of a fun mess that is)

ii  • venture into the woods with?

dan, renee and allison

iii • go on late-night escapades with?

the monsters

iv • cause trouble and get away with it with?

the monsters

v  • share a mixtape under the stars with?

renee

vi • FIGHT TO THE DEATH

riko, nathan and basically everyone who ever hurt the foxes

vii • give up your entire mortal existence for?

all of them wyd

viii• go on a heist with and succeed?

andrew and neil

ix  • be in a gang with?

all of them

x   • have a dorky handshake with?

matt and nicky asdfg

xi  • bring home to the family?

the upperclassmen (my parents wouldn’t like the monsters probably so rip)

xii • bake with?

renee and kevin

xiii• fall in love with? (platonic/romantic/sexual, depending on your sexuality)

asdff renee and kevin

xiv• sit on a roof at 2am in peaceful company with?

andrew and neil

xv • bring into a different book and explore with?

all of them in hp would be so cool!

i tag: @minyardx, @bookdancer34, @annawrites, @foxes-evermore, @aaronsminyard, @she-means-everything, @sunshine-knox, @space-josten, @hermionegrcngers, @spaecy, @strikingneil