#also your other top 5 is DIFFICULT and i am still considering it

[temporary-tats]

Hey I'll take you up on that offer of a list of your favourite Bees fics 👀👀👀

Always looking for more. I feel like I've barely scratched the surface though. And if they're half as good as the Midnight Bees fic then yes please!

Oh Anon do I have a list for you.

A Note Before We Begin: Most of these Bumbleby fics are lengthy, multi-chapter pieces, often coming in at 70k+ words. The majority of these recommendations are not light reads because I am a sucker for emotional journeys full of ups, downs, and angst. If you're looking for more lighthearted recommendations, then I am unfortunately too much of an emotional masochist for you! (But, considering you've come here as a fan of MM, I have a feeling you'll enjoy these)

I'll also be updating this post with new fics occasionally, and to update my Top 5! So if you ever need something new to read, come back and check out this recs list :]

~ 💛💜 Now, let's begin 💜💛 ~

My Top 5 Favorite Bumbleby Fics (as of April 2024)

Paring down this list is Incredibly (TM) difficult, but these are 5 fics that brutally obliterated me, emotionally, physically, spiritually, etc.

when I dream of dying I never feel so loved by lescousinsdangeroux - Mature; 73k Words; Alternate Universe - Edge of Tomorrow/RWBY Fusion (Sci-Fi, Time Loop, Grimm, Semblances); TW: Repeated (Temporary) Major and Minor Character Death and Mild Gore

I Know You by Monochrome_Gray - Mature; 238k Words; Alternate Universe - Witches; Semblances as Magic; Clairvoyance; Poly Raven, Summer, and Taiyang; Slow Burn; TW: Minor Character Death, Depression, and Minor Dysphoria (NB Yang)

hear her in the wind by lescousinsdangeroux - Mature; 109k Words; Alternate Universe - The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild/RWBY Fusion (Remnant = Hyrule, Maidens = Champions, Adam = Ganon; Yang = Link and Blake = Zelda; Grimm) TW: PTSD

Gunslinger by pugoata - Mature; 218k Words; Alternate Universe - Western; No Semblances; Sheriff Yang; Politics; TW: Intense Faunus Racism (it's 90% of the plot), Public Execution, Depression, Suicidal Thoughts, Implied/Referenced Abuse

you're a mountain, full of glory by lescousinsdangeroux - Explicit; 111k Words; Alternate Universe - Modern/Snowboarder and Skier; No Semblances; No Faunus; Friends with Benefits; Found Family; TW: Implied/Referenced Abuse

The Hall of Fame

These are fics that, at one point, touched the Top 5 list. They may have been nudged out by another work, but they're still top tier.

They Can't Steal the Love You're Born to Find by timeespaceandpixiedust - Mature; 101k Words; Alternate Universe - Courtroom, Childhood, College/University; Non-linear Timeline; Adam on Trial; Very Emotional Conversations; Healing; TW: Implied/Referenced Abuse, Brief Depictions of Violence, PTSD, Depression;

Compass by pugoata - Mature; 74k Words; Alternate Universe - Modern, Roadtrip, Soulmates; No Semblances; Hitchhiker Blake; Tense Tai and Yang Relationship; Healing; TW: Implied/Referenced Abuse;

Shelter by pugoata - Mature; 73k Words; Alternate Universe - Farm; No Semblances; Runaway Blake; Farmer Yang; GOATS; Healing; TW: Implied/Referenced Abuse, Brief Depictions of Violence, PTSD;

Brighter by y8ay8a - Explicit; 212k Words; Alternate Canon; Events from Volume 2/3 - Beginning of Volume 7; Very Emotional Conversations; Blake and Yang in the Before and Healing Through the After; TW: Implied/Referenced Abuse, Depression, PTSD;

let you see my wilder side (if i can see your bones) by explosivesky - Explicit; 107k Words; Alternate Universe - Hollywood, Rockstar and Movie Star; Actress Yang; Rockstar Blake; TW: Implied/Referenced Abuse, Brief Depictions of Violence;

take it from your grave by explosivesky - Mature; 48k Words; Alternate Universe - Gothic Horror; Monsters; Curses; Forbidden Romance; Forbidden Found Family; TW: Brief Depictions of Violence, Depression, PTSD;

Other Amazing Works

Didn't quite reach the Top 5, but these fics were still phenomenal.

Midnight Menagerie by Kaelidascope - ONGOING; Explicit; Currently 289k Words; Alternate Universe - Future Dystopia, Sex-Industry, Crime Syndicates; No Semblances; No Faunus; Bartender Yang; Dancer Blake; Street Racing; Gritty Fic, but with Lots of Fluff; Slowburn; Gunning For the Top 5 Once Finished;

NOTE: This fic tackles VERY emotionally intense and gritty topics. While done (in my opinion) very masterfully and with great care, please proceed with caution. TW: Graphic Depictions of Violence, R@pe/Non-Con, Human Trafficking, Past Abuse/Assault of a Minor, Death, PTSD, Emotional Manipulation, Physical Abuse, Suicidal Thoughts;

Praeludium and Allegro by yangsbandana - Mature; 68k Words; Alternate Universe - Orchestra, Conservatory; Viola/Violin Blake; Cello Yang; Healing; TW: Depictions of Abuse, PTSD;

Best Laid Plans by Sawrin - Teen and Up; 10k Words; Alternate Universe - Modern; Dog POV; Fluffy;

Expecting by Sawrin - General Audiences; 8k Words; Alternate Universe - Modern; Best Laid Plans Part 2; Dog POV; Baby on the Way;

From the Heart by Softlight - Mature; 77k Words; Alternate Universe - Modern, Bakery; No Semblances; Baker Yang; Bookstore Owner Blake; Healing; TW: Implied/Referenced Abuse, Brief Depictions of Violence, Depression, Grief

what if it's all just a black abyss (and lips that kiss you) by lescousinsdangeroux - Teen and Up; 30k Words; Alternate Universe - Star Wars; Force Bond; Found Family; Smuggler and Pilot Yang; Runaway Sith Apprentice Blake; TW: Brief Depictions of Violence;

it's not living (if it's not with you) by explosivesky - Mature; 10k Words; Alternate Universe - Pop Punk/Rock Band; No Semblances; No Faunus; No Angst Just Fluff;

Crash Landing by kienava - Mature; 43k Words; Alternate Universe - Modern, College/University, Text Messages; No Semblances; No Faunus; Crack but with Serious Moments; Slow Burn; TW: Implied/Referenced Drug Use;

roads that lead you home by lescousinsdangeroux - Teen and Up; 15k Words; Alternate Canon/Future RWBY; Weiss POV; Bumbleby Included but Not the Full Focus; Found Family; TW: Implied/Referenced Abuse;

you've got me seeing stars by explosivesky - Mature; 25k Words; Alternate Canon; Beacon Never Falls; Happy and In Love Bees; Pining; Partial Sun POV;

shake us together like a snow globe by explosivesky - Mature; 34k Words; Alternate Universe - Modern, College/University, Fake Dating; No Semblances; Home for the Holidays; Mutual Pining; More Emotional than Angsty; TW: Implied/Referenced Abuse;

Mixed Melodies by EmpressOfEdge - Mature; 25k Words; Alternate Universe - Modern, Rock Band; No Semblances; Drummer Yang; Bassist Blake;

Waiting (on You) by Mikotyzini - Teen and Up; 133k Words; Alternate Universe - Modern; No Semblances; No Faunus; Ultimate Slow Burn; Yang is Oblivious;

You and Me, and One Hot Summer by EmpressOfEdge - Mature; 98k Words; Alternate Universe - Modern; No Semblances; Summer Romance; Ultimate Wingman Sun; TW: Implied/Referenced Abuse;

[adascreativeroom]

BSDecember day 2

Snow ; @bsdecember

[cw: i think none, just some ranpoe domestic fluff]

─ ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ──── ♡ ─── ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ──

It's already december. The year passed too quicly, just like the other ones. And it's already dusk. Edgar had woken up at 5:30 am just to be able to make a check on his to-do list. He wasn't even able to cover half of the paper.

The snow had been falling for half a day, and it seemed like no matter how much warm clothes he put on, the cold still reached his bones. 

And as much as he'd like to stay in bed all day, he didn't have that kind of privilege.

His latest book had shown itself to be more of a headache than the writer had imagined, With a difficult story and plot holes that kept showing up any time he’d reread it.

So that’s where Edgar Allan Poe found himself, the sun had already said it’s goodnight and the moon welcomed more cold into his apartment. Although he had already turned on the heater, the room’s temperature didn’t change. Fortunately, he had a portable heater kept in the highest part of his closet, only there for these kinds of situations. Unfurtunately, though, it was small. it couldn’t offer heat for all of his body, so after some thought, he decided to put it under his desk, so atleast his legs didn’t shake all the time.

~ ~

Ranpo was exhausted. A tough case had left the agency working until late at night and the snow had made all of the roads completely white and fluffy, making the journey home way longer than what wa’s supposed to be.

When Akiko dropped him off at Ed’s apartment, the only thing the detective could think of was snuggling with his partner and drinking something warm while seeing the snow fall.

As Ranpo entered the house, he noticed the lack of sounds coming from inside, not even Karl had come to greet him. Ranpo had first thought that they must be asleep already, but considering the lights that are still turned on and knowing how full Poe’s schedule is, he can deduce that his beloved probably fell asleep in his office again.

And when was Ranpo ever wrong? 

Edgar was draped over his desk, arms crossed over papers and pen serving as a cushion for the mop of unkempt brown hair. He wore a hoodie and warm pants with the addition of  two blankets, his weighted one above the blue fuzzy other. Karl slept at his side on the table, taking benefit of the abandoned side of the blue fabric on top of the table.

It felt like it didn’t matter how many times Ranpo asked Ed not to overwork, the writer would always push himself to the limit. Ranpo sighed, he better wake up the other soon or else he would be really uncomfortable in the morning. 

Putting his hands gently on the other’s head, the detective whispered “Ed, come on, you know you’ll feel ache in the morning if you sleep on the desk”

Grey eyes were met with green emerald ones, and Poe realized what he did. “oh, Ranpo… I didn't mean to..”

“Don’t worry that pretty head of yours. I just care about you, you nerd.” The hands that before were petting his hair now messed with them. “What do you think about a warm drink before we sleep in the correct place?”

“That’d be great, actually…” If Poe had to adimitt one thing, it would be that he was constantly dehydrated. A cup of tea would do him good.

As the two were leaving the room, Ranpo paused. “Go put some pajamas on while I make your tea. Promise I’ll not set the kitchen on fire this time.” And gave a sheepish smile. 

He wished he was joking, but Ranpo did really almost cause a disaster after trying to make one single fried egg some months ago. But, Ed was exausted. He’d also come to the conclusion that he wouldn’t be able to stop his partner anyway, so no reason for trying to refuse the offer. 

“Oh, Ed?”

Poe turned around. “Yes, dear?”

“Just don’t forget to take out your binder, please. your spine is probably screaming already for help.”

Oh, right. He was wearing a binder. And for more than 8 hours, too. Edgar had his head so deep into his responsibilities he had even forgotten about the compressing piece of clothing wrapped around his chest!

~ ~

After a lucky attempt at making warm drinks and putting on some comfortable pajamas, they sat in the middle of their bed, now with warm mugs on both of their hands. (Poe always drank chamomile tea or a blend that had the herb. Ranpo on the other way almost always had hot chocolate), and leaned into eachother looking at the room’s window, having a beautiful view of the snow and Yokohama’s harbor.

 Half an hour later, the mugs were already empty, the only light present was coming from outside of the room, and both Ranpo and Ed were already asleep holding eachother with Karl at the center, providing the most comfortable warmth that the writer thought he had ever felt.

[dravenscroft]

I know everyone is losing it over the Fitzbones discovery, but I have had the most unhinged week of my life in a long time.

Last Thursday I ended up leaving my literary agent after she said she 'couldn't sell' This Savage Kingdom (bc historical is a hard sell right now, and also apparently 'a majority male cast will be problematic' despite that 1) I've written majority female cast books before 2) it's majority male cast because much of it takes place on a Royal Navy Arctic expedition to search for Franklin 3) Somehow it's never problematic when cishet men write it, but it is when I, a queer person, encroach on their territory? What??)

So, I left after two years of being represented by her, feeling thoroughly disheartened. Finding an agent is SO DIFFICULT. I believe the last stats I saw about it said that less than 1% of querying authors ever manage it.

I was like, well, fuck. How am I going to beat those odds again with an 'unsellable' book?

Well.

I had agents come flocking to me asking to read it.

And within 48 hours I had an offer from a fantastic senior lit agent with a brilliant reputation. Her words? 'I don't understand why your agent said this was unsellable! It's brilliant, and I can think of at least 22 editors off the top of my head that I'd pitch it to!'

And what's even more wild?

I still have 5 other agents considering, who have asked for the industry standard 2 weeks to decide and make offers themselves before I choose the agent I'm signing with.

'Unsellable' my frozen arse.

This book is going to do great things.

[gainesha]

BSG rewatch notes, cont'd and ended (spoilers, obviously):

it was so nice to watch the whole thing again, once again being reminded why I fell in love with these characters

the second half of Season 4 is much stronger overall as the first one, but the Tigh-Six baby plotline is awful. dumb and ludicrous. gave lots of fantastic acting moments for Hogan and Helfer, at least

Michael Nankin was the GOAT for directing Sometimes a Great Notion

I had loved the piano man story from Someone to Watch Over Me, so I was looking forward to rewatch that, but I completely forgot that the other main plot of the episode is going to be Boomer kidnapping Hera, and jfc, the locker room sequence with Helo and Boomer as Athena and Athena watching them is probably the most horrifying scene of the whole show, genuinely disturbing

I really like the finale. the flashback structure works very well for showing us how far all these characters came, and also crystallizing their story arcs, the stakes of their present-day choices. the last mission is intense and satisfying. the big showdown between Cavil and the Final Five / colonials and the Opera House reveal is a bit bumpy, but I still love the anticlimax of Cavil just saying ah fuck this shit. the ending always made emotional sense for me, and because the emotional farewell was the more important expectation for me (rather than getting a wholly satisfying mythology and precisely worked out plot machinery), and I feel good about the exodus part, too, I can more easily let go of my quibbles of explaining how the people of the fleet actually went along with throwing all their technology into the sun and going into the wild which would realistically mean quite a low life expectancy for them - like, I would not last outside modern civilization at all, but considering the rate with which we have been destroying our planet in the years since the show ended, their choice to have a clean slate is all the more wishful and heartfelt. (also a nice sentiment to forego colonizing the natives of Earth). Kara's "poof" is jarring, but I find her narrative arc complete and wonderful. I don't need to know exactly what she was after she returned from Earth-1. I even didn't mind the epilogue! like, the dancing robots would probably be AI if they remade the show today, but otherwise, the all of this has happened before... message of the show, with all its cheesy directness, still stands. except maybe it's more difficult to share HeadSix's optimistic prognosis

"You know, I know about farming" is the best line reading of the whole show

I wish we got at least one more Leoben-Kara scene after the one in Sometimes a Great Notion. that was a huge turning point in their relationship, but it should have been followed up, and I am sure it would have if not for the unavailability of Callum Keith Rennie. that is the only part of the show that feels incomplete.

I was ranking all the episodes for myself alongside the rewatch, so here's my bottom 5 and my top 10. I still need to rewatch The Plan, which in my memory is barely more than a glorified clipshow with some nice acting, so that could possibly be in the bottom five as well. and yes, that is a 7-parter in the second place, sue me.

Black Market (2x14)

The Woman King (3x14)

Hero (3x08)

Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down (1x09)

Deadlock (4x16)

10. The Passage (3x10) 9. Someone to Watch Over Me (4x17) 8. Downloaded (2x18) 7. Pegasus (2x10) 6. The Oath / Blood on the Scales (4x13-14) 5. 33 (1x01) 4. Scar (2x15) 3. Unfinished Business (3x09) - non-extended version 2. New Caprica arc: Lay Your Burdens Down 1-2., Occupation, Precipice, Exodus 1-2., Collaborators (2x19-3x05) 1. Maelstrom (3x17)

[1moremilgram-enjoyer]

I'm really glad to ask some (a lot, lol) question~ 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 12 for Es 2, 5, 11, 12, 14 for Amane and 3, 5, 6, 19, 20, 21 for Kazui ❤

Yay questions!

CW Cults and indoctrination, child abuse, internalized homophobia

Es

1- Favorite song lyrics?

They don't have a lot to pick from, huh? But from Undercover, it's probably:

The fine line between "Hate" and "OK" Shouldn't you look beyond your EGO, before it all ends?

The first line, to me, really encapsulates how black and white the judgement system in Milgram is, and thus how horrendously inefficient it is. There's very little we can actually do to convey nuance in our voting, it really is a choice of just "you're perfectly okay and have done nothing wrong" or "we hate you and think there is no way you could ever be Forgiven", with only the 50% voting line separating the extremes. Sure, we can try to communicate with the voices in their head, but that's highly unreliable and unpredictable, so in practice "hate or ok" are really our only options. And Es' by extension.

Then the other line, asking to look beyond our own experiences to understand people with lives extremely different from our own, and how we have to do it fast because we don't exactly get unlimited time to come to our conclusions.

Though of course, this isn't just about us. Es is the one singing to themself in a way, and seeing how these things are phrased, it really helps show that despite how Es always act in control and on top of things, they still have their doubts and worry about how their judgement can affect the prisoners.

There's also Hibana, and for Es (and in general) my favorite lyric there is:

I don’t want to love a weak-minded love Come on, make it hurt more properly Going so far it’s no longer funny, is surely much more enjoyable come on, melt me more properly

Going by my personal interpretation of what the hell is going on in this cover, this line really ties together the meaning of Es wanting to make decisions with confidence, when it actually gives them extreme anxiety. Which, I do realize makes no sense when you look at the line by itself but I swear it works in the context of the wider interpretation.

2- Favorite MV moment/frame?

They have like three scenes what am I even supposed to say. Anyways it's probably this one.

It's definitely the most intriguing thing related to Es themselves in my opinion, only really challenged by the time they show up after all the smiles. The reason I'm not using that one is that it's difficult to tell whether or not it actually is Es even though contextually it's the only thing that makes sense.

Anyways about this spotlight scene. I like that Es isn't wearing all their uniform; they're missing the cape, the hat, the 'reciffO nosirP' (Prison Officer) and 'tse mudnatibud subinmo eD' ("Everything must be doubted" in Latin) band things... The point is to show that there is a person under all that, Es is not just the Warden. It's still a heavy part of their person, as they're still wearing most of the outfit, the gloves, and the keychain thing, but it's not all they are. Plus the spotlight and their expression, because again, as much as Es tries to confidently judge others, they themselves can get nervous when confronted, when there's a 'spotlight' placed on them.

Anyways I like it :D

3- Favorite non-MV official illustration?

This question made me realize I really don't know how many non-MV illustrations there are lol. Anyways here's the Tumblr compressed version of the third anniversary artwork.

I just love how this looks, and there's two Es'! That's double the fun! Plus them literally trying to grab at the prisoners' minds like grabbing at sand; it always falls off, Es literally cannot grasp what's going on in all their lives. Love it.

5- Favorite voice drama line/moment?

You'd think it would be difficult to pick considering the guy shows up in literally all the VDs.

It isn't.

[Of Blessedness and Punishment] Amane: You're a child, too! Es: Wrong. I'm fifteen, so I'm an adult in Puerto Rico and Haiti. You're twelve, so you're a child no matter the country. Amane: ...!! Es: Hehe. You look angry. Amane: I don't. Es: You do. Amane: I don't!!

The siblings ever. The fact Es completely made up the fact is even funnier.

For something more serious:

[TASK] Es: What is this shit about being a companion? I exist to judge your sins - as a guard! I don't have the need to shake hands with you!  Kotoko: Es? You don't see yourself as the executioner, right? Es: ...!? Kotoko: I've said it before, there are a lot of sinners which the law cannot punish. On the reverse, it is the same, there are also innocent people who are wrongly accused due to unsound laws. You also have the duty to forgive these people, no? Es: Haaah… Kotoko: You are not the executioner who convicts people for their sin. The person who offers to save the murderers who deserve to be forgiven.. It's also you. Es: Aaah.. Mm.. *shallow gasping* Kotoko: Come, Es… then, listen to my sin… Es: *gasp* Prisoner number 10.. Kotoko.. Come..! Sing… your… sins… *sob*

Es angst inject that shit in my soul-

[Imposter Boulevard] Es: It’s a personal dislike of mine. People who act based on their sexual urges like that, that is. Kazui: It’s personal? Es: Yeah. That’s right. Kazui: That’s strange. I did think that, despite being neutral as a Warden, you had some things you dislike, but… Es: … Kazui: Isn’t it unusual to openly reveal a personal dislike as a personal dislike? Es: You’re splitting hairs.

In case it's not obvious, I love when the mask slips a bit and we can tell Es as a person is more than just an extension of the audience. Look! They have personal dislikes! And of course it's Kazui who gets to see a bit of the "real" Es surfacing, because who the hell else would it be?

There's way more of course, but I have to limit myself a bit.

6- Favorite relationships with another character in the prison?

Amane. Again, the siblings ever.

More seriously, it's not just that I love their interactions when they're fucking around, I also love all the parallels and the ideological clashes. The undying devotion to an extremely harmful system. The view of themselves as an extension of a group rather than as an individual ("we? what's we?"). The way they both hate being seen as children, forced to grow up too fast. The way they both try to convince themselves they're happy with their life and condition, to the point it's almost convincing, until you look closer and see the cracks. How Amane hates Es because of what they've done to her, because they're the same as her abusers in her eyes. How Es goes dead silent when Amane brings up their similarities, when usually they'd lash out at the mere idea of the Warden being like a prisoner, because they understand to an extent. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-

I also love Es' dynamics with most of the prisoners, but Amane is something else.

7- Favorite relationships with another character if they weren't in Milgram, the way you'd imagine or would like them to be?

Honestly, this one's kinda hard because so much of Es' character is directly linked to Milgram. Imagining them outside the Panopticon in general is sorta difficult.

I think they and Amane could still be besties, but other than that, maybe Yuno? I think she wouldn't feel the need to put up a front next to the "I hate everyone anyways" vibe Es gives off, so they'd be judgmental buddies! Just imagine them doing each other's makeup while shit-talking everyone they can think of. Maybe throw Muu in for extra shit and giggles.

12- What do you wish would be discussed more often about them in the fandom?

I mean, literally anything? Es isn't discussed very often, which I guess makes sense, but it's unfortunate. More specifically, I wish people discussed the more concrete things we know about their personality a bit more. There's plenty of posts speculating on what is going on with them; where they came from, whether or not they're related to the prisoners in some way, what is their connection with the eleventh cell, that kind of stuff. And that's all very fun, I love those posts! But I have never seen an Es character analysis the same way I've seen analyses for practically all other characters (<- also hasn't written a proper analysis of them beyond the Hibana cover post). Still, I do understand why people don't, there's a lot of interesting characters in Milgram!

Amane

2- Favorite MV moment/frame?

This is like asking me to pick a favorite child what do you mean. I love her MVs too much why would you do this to me.

Anyways here's my favorite child moment.

Look at her!!! She's going to fucking destroy her mother let's go girlie fucking kill!

I just love how happy she looks here. Plus the eyes, the eyes. This entire part of the MV is great, it just makes me happy to see Amane happy you know what I mean? Plus the whole rainbow and rain and umbrella symbolism, and the fiction bleeding into reality (the eyes!), it's all awesome. I love her so much, she should smile like this when she stabs Shidou in the stomach I think he'd understand.

5- Favorite voice drama line/moment?

I could be cheap and tell you it's the same as Es', but it's really not.

[Apostle and Death] Amane: Okay! I’m kind, so I shall forgive you. That’s nice, isn’t it? If my parents were in my place, you would have been lectured for another hour. [...] Amane: ...isn’t it condescending of you to assume that just because I happen to be a child, I am incapable of hating someone enough to kill them?

Amane Freudian slipping into admitting she fucking despised her mother will never not be extremely entertaining to me. Yes, talk about how much you fucking hate her, kill girl kill!

[Of Blessedness and Punishment] Amane: You fool. Isn't MILGRAM trying to enforce a new standard of judgment precisely because laws cannot guide this world onto the right path? Are you still being weighed down by the law? [...] Amane: "We"? What's "we"? Are you not just "I"? Es: ... I...? Amane: Aren't we the same? Me and Guard-san.

PARALLELS

Also when she attacked Es with scissors. I think Milgram should have allowed it, it would have been funny if the Warden just fucking died before Trial 2 ended.

11- What are your favorite points about their story and the narrative surrounding them?

What aren't my favorite points of her narrative? Again asking me to pick a favorite child here.

If I had to pick one, probably the way the line between her cult's beliefs, Amane's interpretation of her cult's beliefs, and Amane's own desires blurs to a point it's really hard to figure out what she's actually thinking at any given time. Especially because of how Amane views all these things. Her cult is unquestionable but also she subconciously hates a lot of its aspects and twists its beliefs to justify her actions to herself. Her desires are sinful and animalistic (Animal cover and cat parallels go brrrrrr), but she still wants to follow them so so badly. Ugh, internal conflict my beloved.

And also I love how desperate she is to endure everything that's happened to her. Her unrelenting will to survive and go against the people who hurt her, the way she's still glad to have been born, the way she still tries so hard to be happy and make others around her happy. Holy shit this kid is the strongest (in terms of willpower) character in Milgram and no one can tell me otherwise, it's so unfair she has to be that way it makes me immensely sad augh-

And also I love how angry she gets occasionally. How spiteful and rage filled she can be. I will never get tired of seeing Amane in pure, unfiltered fury. Yes, girl, stab Es with scissors, kill your mom, stab Shidou, do it!

And also (could keep going for several thousand words)

12- What do you wish would be discussed more often about them in the fandom?

I think Amane is discussed pretty well here on Tumblr, much as I've heard horror stories about what the Discourse looks like in other sites. But if there's one thing I wish more people brought up is how despite everything, Amane is motivated by the desire to make everyone happy. Positive Parade cover go brr.

Especially in things like the Fuuta situation. I feel like some people see it as just her trying to recruit for her cult or something, when really she's just trying to help him. Same with warning Mahiru against medicine to "save her soul" in a way. Healing the cat. Becoming the "perfect girl", the March Leader with the cloud ribbon, to make her abusers happy. Trying to make the best of the situation by attempting to turn Milgram into an ideal world. Trying to stay happy because that's the one thing she's worked towards her entire life.

In fact, I personally believe this is why Yuuri is depicted in Magic as maybe "kinder" than the others (might make a post about that at some point). Its ordainment is "Thou shall deliver unto those thou believest in", as in, "help those you believe deserve it." This is the one ordainment which is actually kinda in line with Amane's desires, so she imagines Yuuri as less angry at her and more compassionate than the others.

My point is that a lot of the time I feel her actions are talked about as either just motivated by her cult or just motivated by Amane's """sinful""" desires, be it her anger at her abusers or her cravings like wanting to eat cake, when really I think the happiness thing is the main motivator behind those things and it's not quite talked about as much. Does that make sense?

14- Any headcanons on their appearance?

Huh, I usually don't have many headcanons on appearance, but I can try.

I think my favorite is Amane having really sharp fangs. Like, talking anime style unrealistically sharp fangs that make her a terrifying hisser. Cat Amane my beloved.

...

Also she has small (say, 0,5 cm diameter), red circular scars all over her back. Stun gun injuries (no picture on the link) basically. Listen things with Amane can't stay very wholesome for very long-

Kazui

3- Favorite non-mv official illustration?

Uh... Maybe his door?

(That's kinda small lol)

It looks nice as it is, plus it has some nice symbolism as does every door image. I just think it's neat.

5- Favorite voice drama line/moment?

[Imposter Boulevard] Kazui: I despise myself for lying, too. Being a liar, you see – it’s painful. Es: Heh. Then just– Kazui: So I’ve tried to change! I’ve tried to change. I have tried to stop lying to myself and others! Es: … Kazui: I’ve confided in others. I’ve tried to be myself! I’ve tried to just be the way I was born! Es: …Hey, Kazui– Kazui: It’s not my lies that killed her. She’s dead because I stopped lying to her! If I had just kept lying- She wouldn’t have died…! Es: Kazui… Kazui: I can’t live unless I lie. That’s how I was born… I’m pathetic, aren’t I?

I mean, come on. It's the basis of his character and crime, and the voice acting is fucking insane in this section. Apart from how emotional it is, I also like that it still ends in the same somewhat performative self-loathing Es calls him out for in the first VD.

[Gouging in the Night] Es: Showing a hint of weakness and trying to get on my good side like that… Is that another one of your "adult techniques"? [...] Is there anyone who lets themselves get fooled by a specifically prepared "weak" side of yourself? I see, I see… So these are the kinds of skills that you gain when you've lived for a long time.

Gotta love it when a character regrets something bad enough not to be able to forgive himself for it, but he's so afraid of facing consequences and social reprimand because he's built his entire worth around others' opinions that he still heavily plays up the self-loathing to be pitied.

Timelines [23/9/2] Yuno: Haha, we both lie, don't we? The difference is the reason for lying. Kazui-san, you lie to protect yourself, because you're important to yourself. For me, no one is particularly important. That includes myself as well.

Unlike Yuno, who explicitly doesn't want to be pitied. Love these two.

I don't know if I'm explaining it right, but that's what I get from the whole mess.

6- Favorite relationships with another character in the prison?

I love his interactions with Yuno, of course, the Liar Duo. Yuno is such a little bitch to him all the time, I adore it. However, I also love his dynamic with Es, if they count for this question. Kazui's VDs are great.

But honestly Kazui has a lot of good options here. The smoking group with Shidou and Mikoto is fun, his interactions with Mahiru and Amane are also always nice, etc.

19- What do you think their childhood/teenage years were like?

Extremely closeted homosexual, of course. Probably tried to """compensate""" in some way by acting as traditionally masculine as possible, I imagine he was quite the dudebro. With how much emphasis his parents seem to have put on his strength and tradition, I get the feeling he may have been a somewhat stereotypical jock.

That's why I think he may have done a lot of really stupid shit as a teenager and tries to distance himself from them now, which is why he puts so much emphasis on his age despite being less than forty years old. He feels like a completely different person than who he was as a teen, and while he was always self-concious about a lot of shit, he's maybe especially self-concious of the shit he did when he was younger.

Don't take any of that very seriously, though. All of that is practically headcanon vaguely guided by the text!

20- What do you think their social life was like before milgram?

Going off the previous idea, I imagine he only kept a few connections from his teenage years, which is why the one childhood friend he brings up is so notable to him. It's the only one who Kazui really wanted to stick around.

There's obviously Hinako and Kazui's other coworkers, fellow policepeople. The way I interpret the bar scenes in half is Kazui meeting with friends, the bartender being the childhood friend and the woman being someone he met as an adult.

Other than that, I imagine he was pretty closed off and didn't talk to many other people. He seems like the type to enjoy a mostly closed off friend group, but I don't really have anything to support that claim other than vibes alone so.

21- Do you have any similarities with them/relate to something in them?

Uh... I guess personality-wise we're not too different. In real life, I'm quiet and reserved, don't express much emotion, mostly have a "well this is happening now I guess. We vibe though" attitude to most of what goes down in my life, and don't like talking about myself much which yes is making this question sorta difficult.

Thanks for all the questions! This took a while lol.

[crehador]

TOP 5 ANIME OPS and TOP 5 ANIME EDS EVER

ANOTHER... DIFFICULT...... this one bc i have like. no memories lol

so!! i will list the ones i remember first that i love a lot and/or mean a lot to me

also this got long so it's going under a cut

TOP 5 OPS

1) asterisk - orange range - bleach op 1

sorry i'm a bleach fuckboi. as if it's my fault. honestly the song is still awesome to me and it was so formative to me that nothing is going to take it down from number one on this list. ever lmao

2) jikai yokoku - tatsuya kitani - sentai daishikkaku op

OK I KNOW I JUST MET U BUT HIIIIII I LOV U honestly. honestly!! like you get it at this point i have talked about this enough but i am OBSESSED with this op

i love the song! but it isn't just about the song!! the visuals are so so so good and compelling, there are themes! there is a narrative! right in the op!

it's just. i'm. well. you all get it by now. it's phenomenal

3) kaen (fire) - ziyoou-vachi (queen bee) - dororo op 1

ok ok ok so for most of these i'm trying to link the actual anime op because typically the visuals are very important! but this one i can't resist linking the whole song because it's FIRE (LITERALLY. IT'S THE NAME OF THE SONG)

this was the first dororo op and hoooly shit. beautiful. it was also my first real dive into queen bee as a band, and i've been so into them ever since. every single queen bee anime op and ed deserves to be on this list but i will do my best to limit myself to only one or they would just. they would just be the whole list

also recommended: literally every other queen bee track pls. they're incredible

4) song of the dead - kana-boon - zom100 op

honorary shoutout to the sarazanmai op which is also by kana-boon! that is the one i considered putting on this list first before i remembered phew. no. alas. i have to give it to another kana-boon op

i just loved this to bits. the energy the motion and the music, all of it! i'm sure there's like some recency bias here but as of right now this definitely makes the cut

5) I AM CHOOSING TWO FOR THIS ONE AND YOU CAN'T STOP ME BECAUSE THEY CAN'T BE SEPARATED

[please imagine i have inserted both noragami ops here. i had them both in before i realized there's a 10 video per post limit. so. tragically. i had to take one out. but just close your eyes and pretend it's here. also go to youtube and watch it again. it's good for you. it's enrichment. anyway. let's move on]

SELF-EXPLANATORY. THEY'RE BOTH GOOD.

TOP 5 EDS

1) stand by me - the peggies - sarazanmai ed

so sarazanmai does make it onto the post after all lol

i really like this track! and the mixed... mixed medium? visuals? not sure how to describe it but they're beautiful to me. also it really fucked me up when in that one episode where [redacted] they [redacted] in the ed ads;flkajdklfj

i shan't say more

2) yofukashi no uta - creepy nuts - yofukashi no uta ed

in all honesty i think i like the yofukashi no uta op (daten also by creepy nuts) a tiny bit more than the ed but i love them both!!

but man i just love how all this happened like. the mangaka was so inspired by this song yofukashi no uta that he named his manga after it and when his manga was made into an anime the song itself became the ed. how perfect is that??

also creepy nuts. love creepy nuts. and actually now that i'm listening to them both again idk if i do like daten more like yofukashi no uta. god they're both so good. i can't choose lmao

3) seikai wa iranai - nanawo akari - sentai daishikkaku ed

YEAH THAT'S RIGHT THE ED MAKES IT ONTO THE LIST TOO!! IT'S JUST THAT GOOD!!! again yes of course i'm aware there's some recency bias at play here but really. really. it's good

4) antinomy - amazarashi - nier ed

ue ue ue i love this song. so much. amazarashi does it again. visuals are very good as well of course!! but it's like. definitely the song that takes this for me

5) my nonfiction - furukawa makoto & kohara konomi - kaguya-sama s3 ed (special)

ok i don't know if this even. technically counts. because it's not the "main" ed of the season, it was only played at the end of one episode but holy shit. holy fucking shit

the first time i heard and saw this it blew my mind and then i heard (if i'm remembering correctly) AND 18-YEAR-OLD ANIMATED THIS? ALL OF THIS?? ALONE???

incredible. i'm speechless. had this on repeat for so long after it first aired it truly deserves to be here

[dirty-bosmer]

20 questions for writers

Thanks to @thequeenofthewinter for the tag <3

Tagging: @elavoria @atypicalacademic @gilgamish @nuwanders @ladytanithia @sheirukitriesfandom @throughtrialbyfire @lucien-lachance @miraakulous-cloud-district @bostoniangirl21 @terendelev

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

6

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

704,291 😅

3. What fandoms do you write for?

The Elder Scrolls and probably only ever the elder scrolls. Mostly Oblivion but I have one Skyrim lonngfic in the works. I read fic in several other fandoms, but this one has me by the throat.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

Well, I only have 6 in the first place so it's not saying all that much.

5. Do you respond to comments?

I do the best I can to! Sometimes one slips by me on a particularly busy week, and then I'm too mortified by the lapse of time to answer. I don't think it's happened too often, but please know I read them all and am always grateful for them ❤️

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Haven't finished either of them yet, but it's gotta be The Illusionist Part 2, which is an Oblivion novelization with emphasis on the Dark Brotherhood and Mages Guild, or Beyond the Break, which is just me crying about Mathieu Bellamont.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Treacle which is still hella angst lmao, but Scar-Tail does live happily ever after, and it's all thanks to @atypicalacademic for the inspiration ❤️❤️❤️ I have also vowed to make my Skyrim fic, Slither and Writhe happier 😤 Thus far, it's going... well, it is going.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I haven't, and the few dissenting opinions that I have received I wouldn't consider hate either. They're just opinions. I hesitated to mention this, but since I was LITCHRALLY talking about Lucien Lachance on one of Ray's posts a few minutes ago, in the past I have receive messages detailing how my interpretation of Lucien is distasteful, given he is unabashedly a villain in my story and 1/2 of a toxic relationship (also he's... kind of pathetic lol). It's a darkfic and not for everyone, I'm well aware. Fortunately, many of my very lovely, talented friends and mutuals write great Lucien fics that are different from mine, so at the end of the day we all get what we want :D Variety is the spice of life, and you can pry grossnasty Lucien out of my cold, dead fingies.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I write sexual content (idk what counts as smut). Originally, I wrote all the sex scenes as fade-to-black, and while they're not super graphic, while editing a few months ago I thought "you know what, this needs more cunt." So yeah. The sex scenes have become a bit more explicit now than they were in the first iteration.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

Nah, and I don't think I ever will.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge, and unless people are out there lifting passages of my writing and inserting it into their fics, I'm not going to claim ownership over ideas. We're all playing in the same sandpit, and while the execution is my own, I find it quite difficult to say the stories are totally original or novel because all my writing, from concepts to style, have been influenced in some way by the works of others.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

No.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic?

No, but I've tossed around some ideas with @zomboidatomic that may or may not one day bear fruit...

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

I've worked them all out of my system at this point, tbh. Romance doesn't really do anything for me on its own without compelling characterizations and intriguing plot. I select by other tags over ship most of the time too. That said I've been driven crazy by some of my friends ships with characters I've never even spoken to before. If it's good it's good, you know. (Though I am currently re-watching Hannibal and I will confess that I am still ill about Hannigram ajkfhalg)

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I'm going to finish them all, dammit!

16. What are your writing strengths?

Characterization, I think, especially when writing people who are awful lmao I've received a lot of compliments when it comes to writing villains and morally grey characters.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Ugh, I am so self-indulgent. Sometime last year I edited The Illusionist part 2 and trimmed out 60k words. It was so BLOATED (probablly still is). I think there were times when the plot got sidelined because I had an idea for a fun scene. Yes, I love writing Lucien and Nim hate-fucking and tearing each other apart in some weird mashup of Tommy Wiseau in The Room and the alien in The Thing. No, I did not need three chapters of this back to back, but I wanted it...

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

If the plot calls for it, then by all means 👍

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Hmm, now that I think of it it may have been a Fallout 3 Harkness fic that I kept in a composition notebook when I was 12. It will never see the light of day, obivo.

20. Favorite fic you've written?

OoOoh, that's tough. Slither and Writhe already feels stronger to me because I'm a more experienced writer, and I actually planned it out, but The Illusionist is my first baby.

[boyswitch]

The comfort of fisting with a same-sex partner

Internally, I still feel like me. And internally, I am a girl as much as a boy. I started to think a lot about how men's sexuality is constructed. It was difficult going from being a girl, who is the object of desire, to becoming a boy, who is supposed to be the voyeur of the object of desire.

I masturbate in front of the mirror filling my holes with successively bigger and bigger dildos. I am my own object of desire, but I also very much like playing the voyeur and making someone my object of desire. This could be considered why and how I consider myself a switch.

I felt very lost and confused in 2022. I was just emerging into the world as a boy. 21, but not a man. Strangers had started calling me 'he' more often.

A lot of transmen early in transition (and in the middle parts, with the end of transition being around 5 years), do not want their pussies to be fucked. I would often go months without using a dildo when masturbating, then use one, and feel some sort of shame. I know of queer relationships that have failed, as the transmasc wants only to top whilst the partner would like to top as well.

This is tied to concepts of keeping a pussy as “clean” as possible. You have to stay ‘tight’, and I personally dated someone who shamed me by saying my pussy was loose. This started a fetish for me, as I now love to be fisted, but not only that, I like to stretch open other people.

In same-sex relationships, it is freeing, as without a penis, there is nothing but objects and our hands, our bodies. It becomes wholly for our pleasure being serviced.

When I was in a hetero t4t situation 2022, the person, albeit naïve to a lot of sex, having had brief encounters but never a partner to have sex with, had discussed fucking my pussy. Then, the shame and fear comes in. Is my pussy good enough? This neurosis comes from sexism internalised from my previous life.

For transmen, it is interesting how internalised misogyny erupts from the transition state split both ways from girl woman to boy man.

A partner remarked: “being with a trans girl I felt pressure to be hypermasculine and take on like a protector role”. Sometimes transwomen will have expectations similar to cis women, of what a man should be. Sometimes they don’t though.

Even in the case of no standards of masculinity, internalised misogyny erupts in another way in hetero relationships. We feel we need to top. We feel we are not masculine enough. We feel weak for sharing emotions. Expectations; Don’t cry. Be stoic. You, who have faced gendered violence, are now expected to protect another from gendered violence.

 The expectations of men from sexism internalised erupts in this way. Gender is pervasive in the way it roots into you.

It can culminate in expectations of trans women based on either misogynist or feminist perspectives. Why shave your legs? But why not wear more dresses? Learn to cook, learn to tidy.

When hetero t4t ends in this way, it is reifying gender, and gendered violence.

The lost feeling of not being a man (how could I be a man with no male or female man friends? Without even having a dad, or a brother to turn to? With a woman?) dissipated when I entered a homosexual t4t relationship. My craving for men was satisfied, and my neurosis calmed down. I can be myself, which is a very feminine person. Being told you’re masculine, as a way to reify gender, only works when the person really is masculine.

My boyfriend is a cute little bear who works out. He responds to my hypomanic rambling messages with his progress levelling in a video game. He dresses like a dad. He is masculine and has no problem with it. But he loves sweet things, and he loves cute things. His bedroom is a cute room, but with an exercise bench for weightlifting.

I wonder whether same sex gives us an opportunity to anchor ourselves. Many cis men are also anchored and stable in identity, but many cis men also aren’t, as gender becomes the identity itself. and many trans men also aren’t. The operation of gender is pervasive. The nuances of transition make it a minefield to navigate. Attempts to affirm another's gender can be harmful.

Same sex will always be peak for me. I am really obsessed with pussy, both my own and others. I am also psychosexually scared of women from unresolved trauma I have.

Being in a homosexual relationship just provides me so much comfort and safety

I like that it’s like “equality” being in a same sex relationship

And then idk if the feeling of comfort and safety is just because I’m inherently gay and couldn’t except it

I still struggle to consider this mechanism of enhanced gayness, as it to me seems like a function of patriarchy in some way.

We struggled with women because we couldn't reconcile our identity from the past, what we were supposed to be, the present, what we were at that fluid time during pupation, and the future, what we were supposed to be.

But does the ability to not reconcile with a woman in a hetero relationship come from a function of gender, or a function of gayness?

[pragmatic-optimist]

Sonia, I'm roping you in with an ask even though you're not always here (miss u, love u) 💜 we know you are the romcom QUEEN - give us your top 5 favourite romcoms!

Hi friend, thanks for this totally not difficult-at-all question. Lol.

Okay, as you know, I can’t ever answer anything succinctly. I am going to take this opportunity to plug this nonfiction book I’m listening to on audio, titled “From Hollywood with Love: The Rise and Fall (and Rise Again) of the Romantic Comedy.” –highly recommend it to anyone who is a rom-com nerd like me.

The book asks the following question to determine what can be considered a romantic comedy:

“If you removed the love story from this movie, would you still have a movie? If the answer is no, it’s a romantic comedy.”

With this question in mind, here is my list (not in ranking order, I’m just listing them as they come to me.) Also, yes, this means I can’t list the 2000 gem that was Miss Congeniality. That is my #1 favorite Sandy movie. Not to worry, though, Sandy B. still makes the list.

Here we go:

Serendipity: The trope. NYC as a character. The cast—John Cusack, Kate Beckinsale, John Corbett, Molly Shannon, and the illustrious Eugene Levy who stole all of his scenes as the Bloomingdale’s employee making John Cusack’s life miserable lol. It’s just so good. It’s peak rom-com in the early 2000s. Those of you old enough to appreciate that era of rom-coms will know exactly what I’m talking about. It’s one of my all-time favs. 👏🏽

Two Weeks Notice: Sandy B. Listen, I had to work hard not to make every movie on this list a Sandra Bullock-starring film. I feel like choosing your favorite rom-com actress from the 90s/2000s is a little like choosing your boyband team from that same era. I am Team Sandy B. all the way. (No disrespect to Julia and Meg, and so many others who also made movies I loved.) I love Sandra in this movie opposite Hugh Grant, she’s so smart and so funny. The premise of this movie is actually one I still hold out hope for seeing written as firstprince fanfic someday. Sandra is an environmental lawyer who goes to work for a billionaire’s company in order to save a community center that is very dear to her. There are aspects of that plot that I think Alex and Henry would fit into, and aspects to tweak because I don't think Henry would be quite as arrogant or bumbling as Hugh's character. I could talk about this at length lol.

Definitely, Maybe: Again – the cast. Ryan Reynolds. Isla Fisher. Rachel Weisz. Abigail Breslin. The trope/premise?? So good. I love how it jumps through time and shows us how second chances present themselves in our lives. It’s just a really lovely film and probably my favorite Ryan as a rom-com leading man, though The Proposal is a close second.

Hitch: This movie had me in tears, both from laughter and emotions. Also, the scene where Will Smith is teaching Kevin James’ character how to dance. Iconic. "I'm making the pizza!" “Don’t need no pizza, they got food there!” 😂

My Big Fat Greek Wedding: Windex. Nia Vardalos and John Corbett, watching their characters meet and fall in love. Just so damn dreamy. 😍 I also really love how this movie portrays that when you choose a partner, you’re also choosing their family. 💖

Set It Up: I know this is six lol. But I had to add in a movie post-2010. I love this one so much. I know a movie has become part of my personality when I start adopting the dialogue into my everyday vernacular lol. “I overdicked” is said A LOT. 😂 Also GLEN POWELL. 😏

Thanks for the nice ask! 💕

[tavina-writes]

Thanks to @thebiscuiteternal for tagging me! :D

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

I have 192 public works on AO3 at the moment, and a [redacted] amount unrevealed as part of various ongoing exchanges I'm writing for!

2. What's your total AO3 word count? 1,244,211

3. What fandoms do you write for? I think I mostly write for MDZS at the moment, but Naruto is the major fandom I've spent the past ten or so years in, so it's always going to be my favorite. I also write for ASOIAF, various book fandoms, various other cdramas...etc.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Oh dear.

A Bolt of Silk - Naruto - 2,180

Prophet - Naruto - 1,889

My Teeth In Your Heart - ASOIAF - 1,833

Time Travel Tandem - Naruto - 1,593

It's not time that passes - Naruto - 1,521

None of my MDZS fic makes the list but I think that's normal! I've only been in the fandom for a year and a half, and I mostly write niche stuff so this makes perfect sense to me!

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I answer comments sometimes! With irregularity because "answering comments" gets filed in the "send emails" part of my brain and I spend a lot of my professional life sending emails so it's more difficult to reply to comments. I also get concerned when I don't have a lot of say in response to a comment because I'm afraid that I don't sound too enthused when I respond with "Thanks! I'm glad you liked it!" or maybe get too infodumpy with my responses to some questions. In short I think I psyche myself out of responding to comments and I'm trying to do better about it.

6. What is a fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Hmmm this is a difficult one. I don't think I go for angsty endings as much as I go for like, hopeful or not utterly bleak ones? I think that the ending for An Inherited Creature where WZL and JYL are still married and still stuck in Nightless City might be the suckiest ending, though the ending of maybe I'd make it alive where YZY and Madam Jin are just on the cusp of marrying their canonical husbands is on a level of aaaa re: how we know this story ends.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

I DEFINITELY think this is A Bolt of Silk considering that right after the ending I wrote them a 6 chapter, 30k wedding epilogue where everything goes great!

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Man. I would say no except sometimes I can recount really terrible stories. Mostly I think I don't get hate because my readers tend to be very kind, but I have, gotten some pretty odd and preachy comments at times. Once notably, when someone told me that I shouldn't've translated the nobility titles for a certain fic and kept them in the original Chinese, and I was about to respond with "my brother in Christ, we are in a Naruto fic and I am already stretching canon like a rubber band. Lets not make readers learn SO MUCH NEW WORD?" Or that one time when someone didn't. Read my fic but wanted to shill theirs in to me in the comments of my fic. But it's mostly odd and mildly entitled rather than hate commenting.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I DO write smut! This is a new accomplishment, but I have skipped right to the sexy sexy noncon/dubcon object insertion porn instead of uhhh any of the tamer things in between that and "literary sex scene where everyone is miserable"

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

I don't really write crossovers! I have a hard time figuring out how characters from one story would react to the characters of a different one. :(

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

A number of times yeah. It's bothered me before but like, mostly nowadays I'm just like "in the year of our lord 202X?????"

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

I have not! It sounds like it would be really flattering but also So Much Work since I write longfic so often.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I have occasionally but they've never really been posted. @autumnslantern very patiently listens to me yell about all of my fic ideas in her dms a lot though, which I consider vital to my writing process. Does that count as cowriting? :D

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

Man this changes by day. I'm also a consummate multishipper so I can't say I have an all time favorite and more just yelling about "ISNT THIS NEAT?" about the niche thing I've discovered recently.

15. What's a wip you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

God. I have no idea. If I've posted a wip I hope to finish it but I have no idea. Maybe some of my oldest Naruto works might never get done.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I like to think I handle emotionality, stories that occur over a long period of time, and atmosphere in a piece really well!

I also really like writing about grief and mourning, trauma, and trying to define ourselves inside difficult family histories. I enjoy writing about character histories, and how that informs their present, as well as complicated loyalties and internal conflict, but the jury's out on whether I can count those as strengths lol.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Man. Plot. Plot. Plot. The weakness is always the plot. I love a good parallel but a parallel is not a plot. Also at one point one of my fics was 30% man sitting sadly in a bathtub nearly dying by volume (like 3 out of 9 scenes in that fic was just this man having a bad time in a bathtub) and this is not a plot either lolll. I admire the people who can write a tightly plotted fic so much, godIwishthatwereme.jpeg. Also I'm perennially long-winded so I also think I struggle a lot with writing a 1.5k-2k fic where just, a snapshot happens. I love admiring other people's beautiful oneshots as well.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I don't tend to do this with dialogue though I'll include words from other languages depending. I feel like it's always so difficult to like, get the reader to know what you meant with [dialogue snippet in different language] but I've seen this handled really well in fic before so like, it does work!

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Oh definitely Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils by Jin Yong when we were in the pits of that 13 year translation of the work. I wrote like, speculative fic based on what we already had? But mostly scene snippets and outline ideas of what would happen instead of formal fic. None of that was ever published anywhere though. In terms of "Fandom Where I First Published Fic on the Internet" it's probably Katekyo Hitman Reborn I was really big on that fandom in 2014. You won't take me alive on where that fic is though lmao.

20. Favorite fic you've written?

In terms of best written and most beloved to me at the moment and also complete it's definitely but I'm not in charge of sorrow (so please don't ask me when). How will I ever get over NHS's post canon journey in that fic honestly.

uhhh let's see, @im-sublimey, @woobifiedvillain, @lgbtlunaverse, @cerusee and anyone else who sees this and wants to play? If you've been tagged in this game already sdjdgkah APOLOGIES.

[wearingaberetinparis]

20 Qs for Fic Writers

Thank you so much for tagging me, @mppmaraudergirl!

How many works do you have on AO3? Currently, I have 62 works on A03! That is going to change in the next few weeks, but I have to say that I cannot believe that there's 62 works on there.

What's your total A03 word count? My word count is currently at 1,254,232 words.

What fandoms do you write for? I only write for the Harry Potter fandom. I used to write some Gilmore Girls fanfiction, but that's over a decade ago by now. I was very, very, very young when I wrote those fics.

What are your top 5 fics by kudos? I find it incredible to see that a fic that I wrote in the summer of 2017 is still the fic that received most kudos... anyway, here you go! 1. Game of Thrones 2. It Only Takes A Taste (When You Know It's Good) 3. Call It What You Want 4. Knocked Up By My Ex 5. Shout Out To My Ex You can find them all on my AO3!

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? I generally do! I have been slacking a bit for the past four chapters of Call It What You Want, but I will reply to those in time too!

What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? I tend to write angst with - in general, I would say - a happy ending. One of the angstiest works I have ever written is probably Gold-Plated Love.

What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? I would say that all have a happy ending, especially considering all the ignoring of Jily canon I do. I will, I think, leave this up to my reader!

Do you get hate on fics? I get the odd comment every once in a while. I have to admit that I'm not very good at not letting it get to me. I am trying to be better about it and also am thinking that if 98% of the comments I've ever received are positive, I should not complain.

Do you write smut. If so, what kind? I do, yes. It's all Jily smut and my latest work Call It What You Want - which will be complete tomorrow - is the smuttiest thing I have ever written.

Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written? No, I have never been interested in doing so. I write loads of AUs, but crossovers don't really appeal to me.

Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not that I know of!

Have you ever had a fic translated? No, I am fairly certain no one ever did translate one of my fics. Someone once created a podfic for one of mine.

Have you ever cowritten a fic before? No! But I'm looking to change that. @athenasparrow and I are cooking something up.

What's your all-time favourite ship? Jily. There is no other answer.

What's a WIP you want to finish, but doublt you ever will? I plan on finishing all of them, but I can't finish them all at once. Maybe some my extremely old ones... I think I'll want to rewrite them completely if I open them again.

What are your writing strengths? Oh, that's a difficult one! I think one of my strengths is conveying emotion. At least, I hope so, because I work very hard on that one.

What are your writing weaknesses? I am afraid that people will sometimes find my writing repetitive, boring and/or long-winded. But I hope that's not the case.

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic? Only when it makes sense. It would feel weird if it's out of the blue.

First fandom you wrote for? Gilmore Girls, I wrote Rory/Logan fanfiction. But I must have been 12-14 at the time.

Favourite fic you have ever written? Oh, that's difficult and very much depends on the day and the mood I am in. I have a soft spot for all of my works. But today I'm excited about finishing Call It What You Want, so let's say that one is today's favourite.

Tagging @athenasparrow, @annabtg, @practicecourts and everyone else who would like to be tagged. No pressure on anyone, though!

[shmowder]

I had my suspicions... the eyes emoji may have given it away 😁 I appreciate you writing out all those tips! They'll be super helpful, especially when I get confused and am like Why isn't this working like P2?? Which I have no doubt will happen often. And the maps, yay, I love maps and have printed out the one for P2 with all the cache locations and I'll probably print these too.

Save anywhere at any time? I definitely won't abuse that at all... but still I'm glad there's no penalty for dying in P1. Even on baby mode I was about to bleed out from being knifed by 1 guy in a burned district today. Glad to have the combat tips. I've actually never bought any kind of gun in any of my P2 playthroughs and have tried to engage in minimal combat and looting so I wonder how feasible that will be in P1. I guess not very, if I don't want to starve to death. That reminds me, I'm going to have to fight the worms in the Abattoir soon 💀

No worries on the dialogue front, I'm well versed in making sure everyone in my video game party likes me at the expense of having any kind of moral fiber 😇😅

Oh, Yulia ♡ We would be so bad for each other. Give it a month and that house would be unfit for human habitation. #girlrotting

I can't tell how it was intended, but Artemy having the option of saying "Do you know who I am?" to her in that screenshot... it reads as hilariously aggressive to me. Confrontational! The way you describe all the character interactions is so funny though. It made me smile.

I know you probably didn't need this kind of response to that post but I want to acknowledge the work you put into it :) It's pretty likely that I'll move on to P1 after finishing P2 + Marble Nest. Hope you have a good night, or morning, or whatever 🫶

🐿️ anon

I LOVE MAPS TOO. It's extra fun opening my phone to show the map while playing pathologic. Also, the mental image of Artemy who grew up in this town, unfurling a large paper and staring at the map for a solid 5 minutes like a lost tourist, is extremely silly.

girlrotting indeed. Not to mention how harder cleaning would be for her with her mobility issues and the limp in her leg. She mentions in her dialogue that she can't walk around much because of it. I'm taking liberaties and assuming the injury is located in her ankle joints because that's the body part she is symbolic of. No wonder she has a roommate in P2, she's probably a lot of help to her when moving is too difficult.

I did have an idea about a new pathologic healer (maybe reader insert?) who's a medical engineer and ends up convincing Yulia to amputate her leg in order to give her a prosthetic At that time period, this is considered experimental cutting-edge technology with a lot of risks. Even the prosthetic the healer offers is still a prototype and prone to failing but Yulia takes the risk.

The tricky thing was figuring out how to cut her leg since this healer isn't a menkhu and can't open bodies. Two options came to mind. One, Yulia herself has to cut her own leg after taking a shit ton of morphine. Two, the haruspex is called in for a favour to do it for them.

But watch out! Artemy would only help with the amputation, thinking Yulia just wants to get rid of it. If you blabber too much and tell him about the prosthetic, then he immediately refuses to do the surgery or help. The whole "flesh vs machine" thing and menkhu practices forbidding mixing the two.

Either way, the surgery ends up being a success! and Yulia can be seen in more places throughout the town during that playthrough. You find her walking to the cape and alongside the river, admiring the steppe and spending more time outside in general. Man, I just want her to be happy again :(

Also, the scene I pictured of how the reader convinces her to perform the surgery is very hilarious. You just waltz in while she is at the broken heart pub, yell from the top of the stairs. "Hey Yulia, are you free? Wanna come and saw off your leg? I'm very positive I can make you a better one!'

She just stares up at you from below with dull eyes, snuffing out her cigarette against the ashtray and getting up. "Why not. Do kindly lead the way."

There is a third option, but it's more of a ship of Theseus situations? How much can the reader be involved in the surgery before they cross the line of taboo? What if they just hold the equipment for Yulia? what if they only wipe the blood away? What if it's her hand holding the scalpel, but the reader's hand holds the top of Yulia's and carefully moves it, guiding her fingers slowly to separate the skin.

If the two of you held hand and moved as one through all of the surgery, then who really is the one responsible for it?

At the least, it will give the kin a moment of pause before coming after Reader with pitchforks.

And hey, I am thankful for this kind of response. I did need it, actually. I put in effort and time into my replies and seeinh them returned like this always makes me happy. It feels like someone is truly listening and replying back, that it isn't just my own voice echoing through the blog with the occasional. Thank you <3

[jojo-lane]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

Thank you @scary-monsters and @hammerofspace for thinking of me and tagging me! 😊🙏🏽

1. How many works do you have on Ao3? Just one for now!

2. What’s your total Ao3 word count? 20,758. I know, it's not a lot but someday it will be! 🥲

3. What fandoms do you write for? Jojo only! No other IP has quite managed to move me into writing actual fanfiction for them since I was a teen.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos? I have only one fic: Ride or Die and it has 114 kudos as of now which I am quite proud of.

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? I do! In fact, I would leave regular comments on my favourite fics so when my favourite authors replied to me, I would absolutely lose my mind. So when I started writing my fic, I decided to reply to every comment too just like the writers I admire! 😊 Sometimes, I might be late in replying but I will reply to all of them!

6. What is a fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Okay so, I have written a very angsty ending for Ride or Die but also a very happy ending and also, a middle of the road, bittersweet kind of ending. Point is that I love angst and I don't mind writing an angsty ending but would it be the best for my characters? Long story, short, I don't know what sort of ending I want right now.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Same answer as question number 6. I don't know what sort of ending I want and it could go any way. 🤧

8. Do you get hate on fics? I don't think so but people do say that I take too long to update which I don't really consider as hate.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? I have written smut only once so far and I think I suck at it but I am not giving up just yet. I think smut is a very spicy way to add tension between your characters and also to thicken the plot. I like it when there are high stakes or serious consequences when two people just give into their primal urges. Praise, angst, forbidden love, will they, won't they. I live for the messy drama and dangerous implications a smut scene can cause.

10. Do you write crossovers? No. Never.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? No.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? No.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? No, this is my first time writing anything in a long time so I'm still fairly new and unknown and I don't think I am a good enough writer to co-write anything with anyone. 😅

14. What’s your all-time favorite ship? This is a very difficult question because I consider myself a multi-shipper but I can tell you my favourite ship dynamic of all-time which is basically friends to lovers. Or reluctant partners/rivals to friends to lovers. I love ships where two characters get to know each other slowly over time and come to unconditionally support each other through thick and thin. So I suppose my go to ships are GyJo and BruAbba.

15. What’s a wip you want to finish, but doubt you ever will? I have a lot of wips which are essentially ideas for future fics but a lot of them will go unfinished because I feel like they go nowhere in the end. At least for Ride or Die, I have 3 solid endings to choose from.

16. What are your writing strengths? My writing strengths… I want to say world building? I get a lot of compliments for making my fic feel historically accurate. 😅 I don't think it's as historically accurate as I'd like it to be but I do a lot of research when it comes to the way things worked during the Victorian time period just to get me into that headspace and I think it translates somehow.

17. What are your writing weaknesses? I keep rewriting chapters and it holds me back from doing regular updates.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic? Accuracy is very important to me so I would probably attempt to write dialogue in another language but if I feel it's not accurate or faithful then I would find another way to get around it.

19. First fandom you wrote for? Naruto when I was 15-16, I was in the trenches defending a very unpopular ship back then. *shudders*

20. Favorite fic you’ve written? Ride or Die, my passion project. I can go around writing my favourite characters in every kind of AU out there but my brain will always come back to this one fic. 🙃

Who should I tag? I feel like all the writers I know have already been tagged so I'll tag @retlasute. I'd like to see their answers! 😊

[theclearblue]

Can I ask your top 5 favorite moments each from Jujutsu Kaisen and One Piece? And your top 5 (or top 3) favorite characters from each series?

Ooooh this is going to be difficult for me but I am very happy to! I think I gush about the characters I like a lot on my blog already ajljfljgf so I'll just list the characters, but I'll go more in depth on my top moments for both series. Uhhh major spoilers for both series under the cut.

For JJK, my top five characters are Yuuji, Kenjaku, Yuki, Geto, and Choso (and for a top ten, I would include Gojo, Nobara, Maki, Higuruma, and Mahito).

Ok for JJK, I thought this was gonna be easier but there are really a lot of moments I love, so some honorable mentions: Junpei's death, Yuuji and Nobara vs. Cursed Wombs, Gojo sealed in the prison realm, Yuuji vs. Choso, Nanami's Death, Yuuji vs. Higuruma, Sukuna taking over Megumi (yeah I considered all of these for the list lmao)

Premature Death (Ch. 76-78)

I certainly enjoyed JJK before this point, but Geto's character arc in Hidden Inventory is where I went "Oh, this is something special." In JJK 0, I was definitely intrigued by him and his relationship to Gojo, but without context, he comes off a little corny with how over the top evil he seems. And then we see him in Hidden Inventory, and he's just this...normal and polite kid? He wants to protect non-sorcerers? But then Riko dies. And the jujutsu system fails him, and his fall from grace is so tragic but also realistic to his character. We see him display this black and white thinking from the very beginning, "Jujutsu sorcerers HAVE to protect the weak non-sorcerers" flipped to "We need to protect jujutsu sorcerers from the non-sorcerers." Geto is a victim, but he doesn't identify the cause correctly. I think he's such a tragic character and really reinforces the themes of JJK so wonderfully, the system failed him (and really every young sorcerer), there was no support, and it really gives weight to Gojo's character and mission to become a teacher and raise strong sorcerers that can support each other.

2. Yuuji and Todo vs. Mahito (Ch. 127-132)

This is still probably the best fight in the series and it's a really good example of how fights can push forward the characters and themes in a story. JJK loves it's parallels, and one of my favorite parallels is Geto and Yuuji, both looking down at their dead friend and just, breaking from it. Yuuji's resolve just crumbling after seeing Nobara die is so heartbreaking, he isn't able to beat Choso, or suppress Sukuna from wreaking havoc, or save Nanami or Nobara. And it presents the same question that Geto faced with failing to save Riko or defeat Toji. Why is Yuuji a sorcerer? I think that Todo coming into this fight in a support role was a really good choice, where he reminds Yuuji that he still has things and people to fight for, what has he been entrusted with? And Mahito really proves himself to be the best villain in the series here, he's such a good foil to Yuuji and the way that they push each other's character developments is unlike anything I've seen. SO many good and important moments from this fight, and ending with Yuuji's "I'm you" speech? Maybe the best moment in the whole series.

3. Maki vs. The Zenin Clan (Ch. 148-151)

I'll always stand by the opinion that Mai's death is the best in the entire series and it's not even close. Maki and Mai's story is just so tragic, the way that they grew apart, but then reconciled but only at the end? I think their story is a really good way in how people react differently to oppressive systems, where Maki wants to break free from it and prove that she is strong, while Mai is "happy enough" to live under that system as long as she can have her sister by her side. She doesn't want to face the backlash that standing up for herself will cause. And for their family to turn on them and be willing to kill them in order to uphold the systems of power they have in place? Genuinely evil shit but it's realistic in how they treat Toji, Maki, and Mai, they are all victims of this family. Mai giving her blessing to Maki to "destroy everything" is another contender for top moment in this series, and Maki only being able to gain her full power by losing her sister, the one person she wanted to protect, is so cruel. Maki's character arc is truly one of the best in the series.

4. Yuki and Choso vs. Kenjaku

So this is the entry I definitely have the most mixed feelings on, I don't love everything about this fight (...namely...how it ended..) but I love A LOT about it so it's still on the list. Every interaction between these characters is endlessly interesting to watch, and I could write an essay on this fight. Yuki and Kenjaku as foils to each other, wanting to achieve the same goal of optimizing cursed energy but in completely different ways. Choso and Kenjaku's fucked up relationship where Kenjaku has been so cruel to, and Choso standing up to Kenjaku to fight for his brothers and starting his new life as a human instead of a curse. Yuki and Choso having to reckon with their humanity and their inhuman nature (star plasma vessel and cursed womb), every dynamic is just so amazing. And that's not to even mention Tengen's dynamic with both Yuki and Kenjaku. So many good character moments throughout this fight and I'm so invested in all four of them.

5. Takaba vs. Kenjaku (Ch. 239-243)

Sooo the Gojo vs. Sukuna fight was good fun and all, but undeniably I was getting pretty bored of it by the end. It's an alright fight but I think it was stretched out in order to line up Chapter 236 with Gojo being sealed in the prison realm in the anime. I needed something new, and oh man, Takaba vs. Kenjaku was completely unexpected but it blew me out of the water. This is genuinely one of if not the most unique shonen fights I have ever read, and Gege just really seemed to be in his element writing this. Not only is this one of the funniest parts of the entire series, but it does a lot of favors for both Takaba and Kenjaku as characters. JJK is big on duos, and it truly feels like they found their other half in this fight and push each other in new ways. Was the perfect breather before jumping back to Sukuna, and while I'm also not a huge fan of how it ended, there's too much I like about it to leave it off the list.

Ok, now for the hard part with One Piece lmao. For characters, I'm splitting it into a strawhats and non-strawhats list because I think it would be actually impossible otherwise ajfssdklj. For strawhats, my top five are Zoro, Robin, Sanji, Luffy, and Brook. For non-strawhats, it's Corazon, Law, Pudding, Crocodile, and Vivi.

Honorable Mentions: Shank's saving Luffy/strawhat passoff, Zoro vs. Mihawk, Nami's "Help Me", Luffy climbing up Drum Island with Nami and Sanji, Alabasta goodbye, Ringing the Golden Bell in Skypeia, Luffy vs. Usopp, CP9 Reveal, Sanji and Sogeking on the Water Train, Franky backstory, Sogeking shooting down the world gov. flag, Robin's "I want to live", Going Merry funeral, Brook's backstory, Luffy punches the celestial dragon, Boa Hancock's backstory, Ace's death, Luffy "I still have my friends", Fisher Tiger backstory, Kyro's backstory, "Raizo is safe", Brook vs. Big Mom, Pedro's death, Luffy vs. Katakuri, Yasuie's death, Hiyori standing up to Orochi, Oden/Roger backstory, Kanjuro reveal, Sanji asking Robin to save him from Black Maria, Robin vs. Black Maria, Sanji vs. Queen, Gear 5, Kuma and Bonney backstory (this is truly an evil task you've given me I love all of these moments and so many more lmao).

Robin's backstory (Enies Lobby)

If Water 7 and Enies Lobby counted as a "moment" I would, but unfortunately those are two full arcs lmao so I decided to choose just one aspect to include here. What can I even say that hasn't been said. Robin's backstory just perfectly explains where she comes from, her strengths and her flaws, and makes her character journey and development so special. No wonder she's had a hard time accepting the strawhats help, her entire life she's been an outcast and even branded as a demon just for the knowledge she carries. Her goodbye to her mother and to Saul are heartbreaking, and to see how she spends 20 years running away and not trusting anyone? It makes it so special when the strawhats tell her "You deserve to live, we won't abandon you, we are your friends no matter what and we will help you." Such a good backstory that not only cements Robin as one of the best characters in the series, but is so important from a world building and thematic perspective for the series as a whole.

2. Zoro's "Nothing Happened" (Thriller Bark)

This moment really cemented Zoro as one of my favorite characters, and is just a moment that has so many layers you can explore (you should check out melonteees recent video "Reframing Nothing Happened" she puts my feelings better than I probably can here lmao). I ultimately find this scene really tragic and scary, but wow does it just highlight Zoro's character development and how much he loves and respects Luffy and the rest of the crew. At the beginning of the series, this is a character who tells Luffy that if he gets in the way of his dream, he'll kill him. We see right before this that Zoro survives a near death experience and is really glad to still be alive, this isn't someone who wants to die. Yet when Kuma comes around, and he realizes he's outmatched, he starts bargaining with Kuma to save Luffy's life. He's not even giving up his dream here, telling Kuma you'll have the head of someone who would have been the best swordsman in the world someday. Him taking out Sanji and protecting him as well, just in this almost quiet anger when Sanji says "you'll have to find a new cook", it's such a good moment as well. Him accepting the pain bubble, it almost killing him, and him saying "nothing happened" because he doesn't want to upset Luffy with the sacrifice? Gahhh I could talk about this moment forever, and it's such a turning point for both Zoro and all of the strawhats I think.

3. Kuma separates the Strawhats (Sabaody Archipelago)

Contender for one of the most evil things Oda has ever done. This arc is full of so many amazing moments, and it just builds up to this terrifying climax where it feels like the strawhats are just getting hunted down, and each strawhat disappearing one by one just made my jaw drop, I stopped watching One Piece for like five days after this lmao. Luffy's desperation to help his crew and breaking down after, Zoro having this trauma response to Kuma, Sanji noticing and trying to protect Zoro, Brook trying to divert Kuma away, the bubbles popping one by one as each strawhat is sent away? Jesus Christ, I was a mess. And the decision to send away Zoro first, the protector and really just the rock of the crew that everyone can rely on, and Robin last, after going through SO much to try and protect her and to reassure her that she's safe with them? Wow. This moment and the Nothing Happened scene just got even more depth with Kuma's backstory, it's just seared into my brain.

4. Law's backstory (Dressrosa)

Anon I want you to know just looking at this picture and thinking about Law's backstory INSTANTLY made me tear up lmao, nothing has affected me quite like this in One Piece. Corazon's story and his personality and his just, absolute and unconditional love for Law made me fall in love with this character. He's been through SO much and instead of turning out like his brother because of it, he just becomes this very kind and caring person that wants to protect people from the ruin that Doflamingo brings. And just how Law is this very angry and hurt kid that gets taken in by Doflamingo because he sees Law's anger and is reminded of himself, and Corazon just is able to divert him from taking this path by just genuinely caring for Law, trying to find ANY doctor that will treat Law's illness and then being willing to steal the Op Op fruit in order to save his life? And just...at the end trying to not let Law that he got hurt, hiding Law away and telling him he loves him before facing Doffy, him CLINGING onto life in order to keep the silencing on Law so that he can cry and grieve for Law as he runs away? When I tell you I was SOBBING when Corazon died that's not an exaggeration. Just the pure unconditional love and the found family between them is so beautiful, and the way Law dedicates his entire life to Corazon and carries on his legacy? It just gives me chills.

5. Sanji in Whole Cake Island (...Whole Cake Island)

Ummm I'm going to cheat here because I'm including Sanji's entire character arc in this entry, but it's impossible to choose just one moment from it. From his backstory, to Sanji vs. Luffy, to finding out about Pudding's betrayal, to him returning to Luffy, to him saving the day with making a cake, everything about Sanji in this arc is such perfection. There are so many layers to this character and similar to Robin, seeing his second backstory really answers a lot of questions about him and where so many of his strengths and his flaws come from, and how Luffy is able to make him realize "We are your family, no matter what we will help you and you matter so much to us." I think the themes in Whole Cake Island about family are so powerful, and exploring them through Sanji was such a brilliant move that really did his character lot of favors, and made him one of the most interesting and dynamic strawhats.

This was a lot of fun for me anon so thank you so much for asking!! I don't know if you were expecting like, and entire essay on jjk and one piece but I'm always happy to provide alkfjslj

[aseplant]

Twenty Questions for Fic Writers!

I was not tagged,,, but I felt like doing it anyway haha

1. How many works do you have on AO3? 12! I'm not sure when that happened, whoa.

2. What's your total AO3 word count? 55,540.

3. What fandoms do you write for? Primarily the Ember Knight, and probably Hand Jumper once it comes off hiatus. I'll branch out if/when the urge strikes, I think.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

the price of divinity - Genshin Impact, Jean & Venti (121 kudos)

walk these shorelines with me - The Ember Knight, Nagyunn & Najin (83 kudos)

Mind Games - The Ember Knight, Nagyunn & Zius (72 kudos)

heavenbound laughter, hellbound lies - the Ember Knight, Waron/Zius (57 kudos)

nagyunn’s treatise on scamming important people - the Ember Knight, ostensibly Nagyunn/Tyr; mostly, it's crack (55 kudos)

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? I try my best to reply to every comment I get! It makes me really happy when authors take the time to respond, so I try to make an effort to reciprocate from the other end. Plus: I write primarily for obscure-ass fandoms, and I want it to feel like people can talk to me, not just consume from me, so.

6. What is a fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? I have been reliably informed that I am SHIT at gauging the angst levels in my own writing. Having said that, I'd vote for the price of divinity, since it's a combination of bittersweet ending + major character death + the cycle continues. (I like cycles, what can I say. That's probably how I ended up in the revenge cycle fandom.)

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? morning dew is fluff all the way through!

8. Do you get hate on fics? I have not, probably because I inhabit my own cozy little corner of the internet. I'm glad the fandoms I'm in are so chill.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? I used to write insane crack rpf smut fics of my friends in high school whenever they did something stupid (I distinctly recall writing something involving my friend climbing a ladder in heels in order to give another anal?? It was written in response to one of them going dumpster diving for an LED buttplug). I stopped doing this in college, but recently, I have met two idiots dear friends who have been eager to revive this old hobby of mine. Hence, blood red camellia. Among other things.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written? I do not. They've never really been my cup of tea, and also I'm lucky to have even one thought rattling around in my head at any given moment, never mind two.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not that I'm aware of! It'd be extremely unlikely, all considered.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? Nope. I might translate some on my own at some point for practice, but that's far down the backlog for now.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? If you know, you know.

14. What's your all-time favorite ship? I'm not that pressed about ships in general tbh. I just like dissecting characters, and if someone dies in the process, all the better <3

15. What's a wip you want to finish, but doubt you ever will? Ember Knight high school AU... I actually have a pretty cohesive outline, but for various reasons it's been a difficult fic to write, and many of the main themes are no longer as dear to me as they once were. Still, I hold out hope that I'll get back around to it someday.

16. What are your writing strengths? I want to say characterization? And I guess grammar LOL. I had some stickler-ass teachers growing up, and this is probably the only thing I can thank them for.

17. What are your writing weaknesses? Hnrhg plot. Thank god I can write all the character studies I want when it comes to fandom, so I'm sure no one has noticed this tiny little weakness yet.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic? I'd do it in a heartbeat if it was (1) in character and (2) I knew the language/had a friend who could translate for me, because there is nothing more embarrassing than having clearly machine-translated lines. But those conditions are so difficult to fulfill that it's never happened yet.

19. First fandom you wrote for? I wrote like... a chapter and a half of a Harry Potter fic when I was in, like, 4th grade? We don't talk about it. It's gone. I hope. I did not seriously try my hand at writing again until I got into Genshin Impact back in 2021, which is what I generally consider the first fandom I wrote for.

20. Favorite fic you've written? This one is hard... I think walk these shorelines with me is the best-executed, but I'm partial to Parallel Lines despite it not being executed quite as well as I would have liked.

It's late and I don't remember which of my mutuals write off the top of my head... I'm gonna tag @quiets-cradle, but if anyone else sees this and wants to join, feel free to! In fact, I am begging you to.

[moe-broey]

Do you ever think about Triandra grieving for the childhood she lost when she was forced to kill her father, and the emotional burden of hiding the truth from Peony? And how Triandra feels her anger towards her father will make people view her as despicable?

MAN........ I've absolutely been rotating this in my brain... I'm very much still in the early stages of parsing out How to write her, and huge props to everyone who helped me consider the broader picture too (category 5 tunnel vision incident 😓)

LIKE. ABSOLUTELY these are huge impactful things about her... I think something else I was reminded of that was really significant to look directly at was, how her lost memories also affect her mental/emotional state. And the fact that it's not just a case of repressing the memories psychologically (though, I think you could take creative liberties and explore that route on top of what happened canonically). It's Freyja who wipes Triandra's and Plumeria's memories whenever it becomes too painful for the girls or inconvenient for Freyja, as well as a way to keep them dependent on her. And like I talked a lot about the girls not being able to process what happened to them, having to grow around the pain, but I think what I completely neglected to consider was well!!! How COULD they even address it, if their memories were also being shut down and locked up within themselves.

So like... absolutely, and I have been thinking about this nonstop, I do have to reconsider A Lot in how I was approaching How To Write Triandra. She really would be starting completely from square one. Which, I think that aspect went over my head a bit cause personally, I'm so far beyond that point? And I think, because of that, I was REALLY struggling to even place where to start when attempting to capture her, haha. I think maybe I was ten steps ahead of where I really should be starting!

LIKE!! Before I get way too off topic LMFAO, I think what you're asking is what I was asking myself. I was REALLY fixated on the father-murder bit (because. Well. It is significant). But now, I almost think, I have to go further back?? Like, emotional processing-wise. Augh... but also full disclosure I AM still having A Lot of trouble pinning anything down LMFAOO

I think. To best answer your question. I think, the grief of lost childhood would have to come much later. After maybe, unpacking the reality of her situation, and fully internalizing that it (wasn't her fault? That's what I want to say, but also, I'm unsure what the trauma work response would be for a child who killed their parent in self-defense/to protect a younger child). I do know, she would have to work through her beliefs that she's irredeemable, despicable, nothing but trouble, before she can even get to the point of grieving for herself. I think, what would make this more difficult for her is her current role as a bringer of nightmares -- not only does she have this horrifying burden from her childhood, she also feels terrible about having to give mortals nightmares. Which is something current-day for her that reinforces her belief that she's a bad person, that she does nothing but cause trouble and make others suffer. (Now may be a good time to disclose I'm a bit behind on the current FBs rn LMFAO, but I do like the direction they're taking/I really believe it's overdue!!! Recontextualizing nightmares as either information that can be useful for someone to navigate in their waking hours, or maybe there's a handful of strange individuals who Want to have nightmares. For. Reasons 👍) And we haven't even GOTTEN to Peony yet!!!!!! AUGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Any which way! As I parse out the story I want to write, a huge shift in approach is tone. I think, what needs to be most present, is compassion. There's still conflict, I still really want to characterize her as somewhat antagonistic -- I think, maybe, she doesn't know how else to reach out. And I still want there to be apprehensiveness, a practicality that can be cold. But at the core, I really want there to be kindness. And I think that Was always the goal, but again! I do think I've had to change the way I've been thinking about it! 😅 Just like. Compassion! ENHANCE