#also these are influences i've noticed!! there's so many fic writers i admire and probably have influenced me even if i don't notice

[bidoofenergy]

R and Z for the ask game !!

hi cabbage!!

R: Are there any writers (fanfic or otherwise) you consider an influence?

ooohmygod where do i even start okay okay

authors in no particular order: Tamsyn Muir (The Locked Tomb series) is hilarious first of all, and also made me really start considering narration/character perspective. Suzanne Collins (The Hunger Games, Gregor the Overlander) imprinted on my tiny 11 year old brain and is probably the reason i like to write in present tense. other authors i read as a kid: Gail Carson Levine (Ella Enchanted), Jeanne Birdsall (The Penderwicks), Annie Wedekind (A Horse of Her Own (reread this recently and realized i write scenerie a lot like her lol)). Casey McQuiston (Red White & Royal Blue) has definitely been a more recent influence.

for fic: @astronomeridian writes smut that sounds like real genuine people having sex and is always on my mind when im trying to write smut. @some-sort-of-siren 's college!au is a definite influence on LDDF, i just love how it writes dialogue, every conversation is so vivid and raw and real. also like, not to expose myself a little, but runchrandom/infraredphaeton

Z: Major character death–do you ever write/read it? Is there a character whose death you can’t tolerate?

honestly this is so fandom specific. i wrote a hunger games AU, im not exactly opposed. I think there's beautiful tragic mcyt fics and i eat them up. but like, main character death in rwrb isn't for me. so it's not about characters, more about fandom vibe lol

(fic writer ask meme)

[bright-and-burning]

68 and 69!!

68. Are there any fics that influenced you to write the way you do?

oh hundreds, certainly. probably thousands, given just how long i've been reading fic. i wouldn't say i look at fic and go 'oh i need to do this exact thing like that' but i would say a) im an amalgamation of everything i've ever touched/read/watched/experienced and b) that i do look at lots of my friends' stuff and go wow they r so good i hope i am that good some day. lots of people whose stuff i admire and want to emulate for lots of reasons!! im just not someone who picks apart their own writing like That? so. i did JUST tell dees @leclercenjoyer that i've always been like "god i hope my fics r even half as chewy and cash register noise inducing as yours" the other night. if you go to like, the earliest four pages of my bookmarks (on my f1 pseud specifically lol.) you'll find lots of fic i've probably parasitically bitten bits off of and absorbed into my own stuff. actually honestly all . pages of my bookmarks. i think i've probs nabbed quite a bit off of @freeuselandonorris @monacotrophywife @glasscushion et. al. (amongst Many Many Others) for SURE although to what degree i could not tell you. somebody should go read my old pre-f1 fic and report back on if there's any noticeable differences besides the glaring lack of porn. cuz if there is then i got it from somewhere 'round here. this is such a non-answer im so sorry i would love if i was self-aware enough as a writer to go oh yes THIS influenced me in this specific way etc etc. but i write more uh instinctually than intellectually

69. What are your favorite fics at the moment?

oh LOADS. well actually i've kinda been in a reading rut woooo depression. BUT drop by my bookmarks i think i just hit 450 f1 bookmarks the other day lol (tho i think there's a couple private bookmarks from when i was a lurker so it might not appear as 450 to outside eyes). wish u could sort history by most viewed... off the top of my head tho: @foggieststars 's off to the races series is obviously an insane classic. ao3 history says i've visited the first one 28 times. lol. oh my god also can i give an EXTREME rec for anon's take me all the way. (dando btw). so good. so hot. jesus christ. i would like to offer anon homemade baked goods for their services.

uhhhh i wish i had more to offer in specifics here. you dont even wanna know the state of my drafts; i've been saving all the fics i want to read to there so there's like. twenty straight fic posts i need to get on... actually speaking of things i need to get to reading, @elementalmoments 's not!fic verse (of which the first two i devoured and the third is sitting in my drafts to be devoured) is also incredible!!

from here

[lostcauses-noregrets]

Hi Lost! I'm pretty new to the snk and eruri fandom (about 3-4 months in), and I find it absolutely delightful to discover your tumblr! Thank you for your meta and analysis posts! (I haven't venture into the realms of fanfic in the fandom yet)

Sorry if you've answered similar question before, but the other day I watched an Arcane analysis video on yt about how the characters' parents/parental figures influence them, and I've been thinking about eruri in this regard. Like how Levi had a loving mother, and Kuchel's love & tender nature helped him to be kind and compassionate despite their struggles, but he was also influenced by Kenny, who struggles to show his compassion and has doubts about himself in raising a kid.

Then about Erwin who grew up in (I'm assuming) a very well-educated environment under his dad's care, he seems to be very logical, confident, and unshakable, but also have troubles to even acknowledge his emotions (like some stereotypical fathers?). Although it's probably caused by his character or mental health as well.

Something about the differences of kids who grow up with mothers, and who grow up with fathers?? Also, I kinda get the idea that they both admire each other because of this, like Erwin admires Levi's warmheartedness, and Levi admires Erwin who is visionary.

I def don't know anything about developmental psychology, and this rambling might have a lot of missed points, but what do you think?

Again, thank you for your blog!

Hello and welcome to the fandom!  I���m glad you’re enjoying the meta, Erwin and Levi have such a deep and nuanced relationship that there’s a wealth of commentary to explore. If you aren’t already following @tsuki-no-ura’s blog, I can highly recommend it, they’re still posting fascinating meta on a regular basis.  And just wait until you get on to the fic! This fandom has been blessed with so many hugely talented writers over the years. 

Anyway, in response to your query, “what do I think?”, I think I agree with every word you’ve said! There’s no question that both Erwin and Levi’s characters are influenced by their formative childhood experiences and their relationships with parental figures, both positive and negative.  I think it’s also true that, despite the loss they both suffered, that they did experience love, warmth and affection as children, otherwise I don’t think they’d have been able to forge such a balanced relationship with each other and with the people they care about.  It’s significant that despite their loss and the hardship they both endured, they never lost their faith in humanity; neither Erwin or Levi grew up to be driven by hatred and vengeance, unlike some other characters. I think that’s at least partially due to the love they experienced from their parents.  (That doesn’t always hold true of course.  There’s no doubt that Eren was loved by both Grisha and Carla, and look how he turned out.)

Levi is undoubtedly the more outwardly compassionate of the two.  Erwin himself acknowledges this in the Smartpass Erwin & Levi Up Close Interview where he waxes lyrical about Levi’s character to the interviewer.

Erwin: …Alright. Starting with Levi…I think he is excellent at shouldering important duties. With the title “Humanity’s Strongest” as part of the SC, our reputations have also been elevated. On the battlefield, he has also faithfully completed the tasks I have assigned to him. Despite his warmhearted nature, I’ve asked him to carry out some cruel missions…

Journalist: Is Captain Levi very…”warmhearted?"

Erwin: You’ve already interviewed his subordinates, right? Then you must have heard just how much they trust their captain.

Journalist: Indeed. I even heard the same thing from new recruits who are not from his squad.

Erwin: He just has a rude attitude…but he cherishes his comrades’ life more than anyone else. His reputation cannot be established based on strength alone, Humans can subconsciously detect how much concern others have for them… and when they notice this kindness, it inspires power…That is something that I can’t do.

It’s very easy to love Levi, and I think we can see that in the way other characters and fans respond to him.   Erwin is quite different. On a superficial level he appears to be the epitome of the cold, ruthless, military commander who will sacrifice anyone and anything to achieve his goal, but of course Erwin’s emotions run deep, concealed beneath complex and contradictory layers of guilt and self-loathing.  Once you get a glimpse of what lies beneath those layers, it’s impossible not to love and empathize with Erwin too.  Erwin’s seiyu, Ono Daisuke, expressed this contradiction beautifully:

“Erwin has so much emotion that it’s difficult for people to see it. The amplitude of his emotions is so great that to those around him it looks as if the needle isn’t moving at all.”

Sorry, I’ve strayed off topic a bit here, but I do certainty agree that Erwin and Levi’s characters are at least partially shaped by their relationships with their father and mother respectively.  I've written a couple of other posts in response to similar asks over the years if you're interested:

What was Erwin's mom like?

What would Levi's life look like if his mother was still alive?

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, I really enjoyed reading your ask.

[tigersandheroes]

10, 72, 84, and 98, please <3

Ooooo! Thanks for the asks, fren! <3 I feel so honored you're curious. :)

10. at what point in the process do you come up with titles, and how easy or hard is that for you?

Calling my writing a process makes me feel like I have it together, so thank you for that. I have done titles a lot of different ways. I actually have a couple of series of Fruits Basket fics where I picked a theme for the series and came up with a bunch of titles and then wrote fics for them, which felt easy. (The theme for one was cheesy love songs and the theme for the other was Buffy the Vampire Slayer quotes.) Sometimes, I have a really stupid working title that I'm definitely not using (I'm looking at you "10 Things I Skate About You"), but I forget about that fact until I'm ready to post it. Then I have to title it at the end, which I actually find difficult. My best titles usually come to me as I am plotting out the fic or actively writing it. My favorite title I've come up with completely on my own is Brand Me with Your Thorns.

72. what do you do if a scene gets too serious?

Pat myself on the back because I managed to write something serious. That probably sounds bizarre if you've only read my Otayuri work because the fics I have posted are pretty serious, especially Blade's Edge, which made my cry. So I guess I just cry if it gets too serious. In the past, I have written a ton of humor and smut, so being too serious was never a problem. Like my whole outline would read, "they play a drinking game on the beach and end up boning on the washing machine", if that gives you an idea.

84. said: overused or underused?

Oooooo! Controversial! I'm going to be honest, I don't actually care either way as I reader. I don't even really notice the word when I read. As a writer, I enjoy variable word choice, but purely because I find vocabulary fun, not because there's some rule I'm trying to conform to. I just like verbs. Maybe I've rewritten my resume too many times or something. So in my own work, I would have to go with underused.

98. what don’t you like about your writing style?

My brain is very rigid in some very quirky ways, and sometimes I find it very annoying and limiting. Like I wish that 90% of my paragraphs (dialogue aside) didn't contain 3 sentences, but that's also the rhythm my brain makes ideas in, so if I fight it too hard, then my writing turns into a train wreck. I think it's because I was obsessed with read a lot of poetry as a kid, and it really influenced my prose in some strange ways. A lot of writers I really admire HATE poetry and their work reads very differently from mine in a stylistic sense. I'm very envious of writers I admire, so then I tend to get upset with my own writing.

[beth-march]

For the fic ask R + S ☺️

Jules, my beloved! The serotonin I am filled with every time I see your username probably defies reason.

R: Are there any writers (fanfic or otherwise) you consider an influence?

I have so many authors that I deeply admire, that I'm not sure if I would necessarily call them influences, other than on subconscious levels. My favourite authors are all the classics - George Eliot, Jane Austen, Oscar Wilde - but I wouldn't compare myself to any of them. My writing style has always come very naturally to me, since I was very young, so I've always just followed what flows from me when I sit down to write!

S: Any fandom tropes you can't resist?

I already answered this, but I'm going to rehash it, because I love tropes. I love friends to lovers, mutual pining, soulmates, unlikely/unexpected love, and twice shy. Notice how Fez and Lexi were basically designed for me?! I also really love sunshine x sunshine protector, childhood friends to lovers and first/only love because I'm a possessive Taurus!