#and I'm sure you can guess who the protagonists of the fic will be

[epickiya722]

I hate that I thought of an awesome horror fic I could write, but I already have one in the works that I should finish first 🥲

[finnlongman]

Introducing: Moth to a Flame, the final book in my trilogy about a traumatised teenage assassin trying (and mostly failing) to live a normal life in a fictional closed city in Yorkshire. And also in Leeds, as this graphic suggests 😆 Sorry, that's sort of a spoiler for THK...

I figured I'd give you all three of these graphics so you can get a sense of the overall vibes of the trilogy. And so you know why I'm still using this overly cutesy font, because 2022!me made this decision and I guess I'm sticking with it. I know most people use these graphics to label tropes you'll find in the book, but aside from "found family", I'm not sure any of these really count as tropes. (New trope: Yorkshire?) You can also tell I've been getting steadily worse at marketing since 2022. Or maybe better. Who's to say, really.

(Yes, it does annoy me that the arrows for book one go in the opposite direction. No, not enough to re-make the whole thing.)

And if you're wondering what constitutes "considerably less murder"... I tried to track the body count of THK, and lost count at around 50. MTAF, by contrast, has, like ... 3 murders? Very different vibe. THK was when I broke everything and MTAF is where I slowly start putting it back together. This is the Bucky Barnes Recovery Fic of the series. We're talking grief, grappling with trauma, learning to be a person again, finding solidarity with others who've been messed up by the military and the arms industry, possibly joining a support group full of gay communists, and ultimately, realising that sometimes it's not enough to escape, because the whole system needs to be dismantled to stop it from hurting anyone else. I'm terrified no one will like it because they're here for the violence, but it was important to me to write it this way.

It's coming in May! You can preorder it now! And if you haven't read the first two books, you've got a perfect amount of time to buy and read those ahead of book 3's release to minimise cliffhanger agony.

Also: it still contains Esperanto, street art, no romance, an aroace protagonist, and bad life choices. I just figured those were a given at this point and didn't put them on the graphic.

[foolishlovers]

TRANS HUMAN AUs: Below you can find a list of Good Omens human AUs featuring trans characters.

[Requested by anon. You can request more fic recs here.] it’s okay, maybe not forever but we got today by astheworldcomestoanend (G, 1k) Aziraphale’s parents are fighting again, so he goes over to Crowley’s house to spend the night with him. Crowley is more than happy to bring his angel in and make sure he’s okay.

Win Condition by ineffablefool (G, 1k) Human AU. Aziraphale and Crowley's junior high school sets up a really weird school-wide Valentine's Day game that they're both kind of side-eying for different reasons. Talking about it over lunch gives them both the chance to confess something, though!

Belonging by LittleQueerdo (T, 2k) Crowley is woken by a librarian on a mission.

style, flair, and a head of red hair – she’s the nanny?! by lineslines (G, 5k) She takes a step into the light, a vision of red and black, of scant fabric and edges, seizes him in her gaze, which he realizes is almost as fiery as her hair, and drags it up and down his form, once, before she grins. “Oh angel, let me guess, you probably think tartan is stylish?” “Tartan is stylish,” Aziraphale automatically protests, before his brain slowly catches up with his mouth. And his eyes. “Oh, how impolite of me! Please do come in. You must be drenched.” (Crowley just lost her job selling cosmetics to bored rich housewives. Aziraphale is a bored rich bastard in want of a nanny for the neighbor kid he has to babysit. It's a right place, right time situation. Right people, too.)

The Art of Human Nature by IneffableDoll (T, 6k) Crowley is a painter who has only ever had an eye for nature. That is, until a client named Aziraphale commissions her for a painting to boost her self-confidence, and Crowley discovers that her client is as beautiful as the Earth itself. Then she goes and catches feelings, because she’s a disaster. The Colour of Hope and Sin by TawnyOwl95 (E, 7k) Crowley has never felt so pretty. Tonight he can do anything. Having Aziraphale Eastgate, the best defender that St. Beryl's School football team had ever seen, cross Crowley's path again is a chance to test that theory. And maybe they can both work out some latent teenage angst at the same time? A Stable Relationship by MirjamOmens (E, 9k) Crowley used to be one of the best eventing riders of the UK. After one unfortunate fall that crushed his leg, he ends his career and starts coaching other promising athletes. Aziraphale is a riding instructor, handling the school ponies and teaching the beginners. For the past six months they have found themselves in a sort of arrangement. It’s just friendship… and sex, whenever their schedules happen to align. It's nothing more than that, right?

Every Part of Me by foolishlovers (T, 10k) Heartthrob rockstar Antonia Harmonia, better known as Anthony J. Crowley offstage, has safeguarded his singing career from his best friend and long-term crush, Aziraphale, for nearly two decades. But when Aziraphale stumbles upon Crowley’s secret at one of his concerts, Crowley is suddenly confronted with unexpected consequences. Could the best of both worlds be within his reach? A Hannah Montana AU. I'm Beginning to See the Light by ineffabildaddy (E, 15k) There was Crowley - the paragon of cool, the overlord of apathy, breezing easily through each and every one of their exchanges and giving no fucks while doing so; then there was the anachronistic, cloying Aziraphale, trying and failing not to live life like a Thomas Hardy protagonist, and giving many fucks indeed. Or: Aziraphale has quite the pash on his colleague Crowley, who seems resolutely disinterested in him. As their annual Christmas party progresses, it appears that Crowley may not be as disinterested as Aziraphale first thought.

Fifteen Years of Heartache by mondlichtmaus (T, 20k) Crowley was roused from his nap by the sound of somebody opening the door. He didn't move. Maybe they would go away. "Excuse me?" someone called. They weren't going away. Crowley rose, lifting his head to squint at the intruder. A broad figure, silhouetted by the light of the hallway. He couldn't make out his face, eyes still bleary from sleep. Just a halo of light framing his head. "What?" Crowley grumbled. There was a moment of silence, then the intruder spoke again. "Anthony?" They're teachers. They're in love. They're oblivious.

Just Up the Stairs by foolishlovers, ineffabildaddy, omens_for_ophelia (E, 39k) On Valentine's Day, amidst the chaos of handling work and university deadlines as a mature student, Crowley seeks solace with his neighbour Aziraphale. As they share a meal, their long-standing friendship begins to unravel, revealing hidden feelings they've harboured for six months. It's a night that could change everything. Black and White Sunshine by Azira_Amane (E, 58k) "The cotton capital. The Second Summer of Love, the Haçienda. Irwell, Medlock, Irk and Mersey. Elizabeth Gaskell wrote her novels in a lovely little house. Oh. There’s so much to know…" Aziraphale East is, by his own account, a bit of an odd duck - and he's okay with that. He's always been happy in his own skin, in having been a confirmed bachelor his whole life. Everything changes on a work trip from London to Manchester, where he meets the vivacious and stunningly attractive Anthony Crowley. Like the splitting of the atom, Aziraphale is divided - and begins to wonder if it's not too late for love after all. Age, as they say, is but a number.

Tales of Turning Pages by foolishlovers (E, 73k) Every Tuesday, aspiring romance novelist Anthony J. Crowley pays a visit to his local library and the charming angel working there. Every Tuesday, Aziraphale Fell finds himself more and more intrigued by the curious stranger who turns his orderly life as a small-town librarian upside down.

[you can find more fic rec masterposts here]

[veliseraptor]

Psst top Wheel of Time ships and characters? (Also can I ask for any of your thoughts on Nynaeve?)

I should do a whole separate post on Nynaeve honestly but suffice it to say for this one that I love her very very much, didn't appreciate her nearly enough on my first read but appreciate her more every reread since.

since I love lists, here's a couple lists for you

CHARACTERS

Rand al'Thor. I don't usually latch onto protagonists but when I do they're depressed and a mess! And that's Rand for you. I really appreciate the way that Jordan plays with the Chosen One archetype specifically by looking at the damage it does/can do to a person, and the way that Rand is gradually wrecked by the weight of prophecy and expectation such that the only way to escape it, in the end, is to become not himself. Whatever my feelings about his ending (not entirely positive), I think there's a very painful and poignant statement in there.

Ishamael/Moridin/Elan Morin Tedronai. Who doesn't love a fatalistic villain longing for oblivion and believing that serving evil is the only way to get it! I'm sure that's universal. I wrote sort of a character study of him and I think personally it is one of my underappreciated fics. Couldn't say why, I don't know how this isn't a subject that everyone is clamoring to read.

Min Farshaw. My beloved since the first time I read the series and I don't think it's just because she had short hair like me, though that's probably part of it. I think I just enjoy the way she thinks, her narration, the way she's simultaneously deeply caring and a little bit snarky, the way that she interacts with fate and inevitability. I don't know, I struggle to articulate it. I just know that I loved her first as a character and I still love her.

Tuon (Fortuona) Athaem Kore Paendrag. My problematic fave (other than, I guess, the aforementioned nihilistic actual antagonist). I just...she's fascinating. She's a cipher. She's the embodiment of an evil empire and absolutely going to oversee its downfall. She craves absolute control and copes poorly with not having it. Her dynamic with Mat is my favorite relationship in the series. What a gal.

Nynaeve al'Vere. In contrast to Min, I didn't appreciate Nynaeve enough on early reads (I didn't dislike her, I just didn't appreciate her enough), but that's thoroughly changed and at this point I do think she's one of my favorite characters. She's so contradictory and an unreliable narrator but in a very particular way that I feel like I don't run into very often. She's so much fun to read about, and also trying so hard to prove herself, and so determined to help people (even when they maybe don't want to be helped). She's a healer first and foremost and never loses sight of that, or of her resolve to protect her people. What a gal. But in a very different way than the above.

HONORABLE MENTIONS: Mat Cauthon and Aviendha.

SHIPS

Mat/Tuon. I said their dynamic was my favorite in the series and I meant it. They have such a good courtship, the way they dance around each other and play off each other and play their relationship like a game of strategy is so much fun for me.

Rand/Min. If Min was my first favorite character then Rand/Min was my first OTP (and incidentally the first pairing I wrote porn for!). I think my favorite thing about them is the way that they're friends, or feel like it, in a way that Rand doesn't always feel like friends with the other ladies. Sometimes I appreciate that in a pairing. They just seem like they enjoy each other's company even outside of the romantic aspect, and I love that for them.

Aviendha/Elayne. Welcome to the gayest ostensibly sister relationship in the whole series!!!! No honestly though on reread I was like "how is this not explicitly a thing, I mean, I know why, but Jordan you've established some people are gay in this universe and you have Aviendha lovingly describing Elayne's naked body and, again, the gayest sister-making ceremony I've read, and tell me that they're not totally and completely, romantically and sexually, in love? Fie, I say. Lies and foolishness. They're in love and they're so valid for it.

Nynaeve & Rand. Sneaking an & ship on here! Especially as the series goes on, their relationship is soooo important to me. There's a short list of people who care about Rand-as-Rand with no ulterior motives beyond that, and Nynaeve is near the top of that list. And I love, too, that their dynamic isn't romantic in the least.

Tuon/Egwene. @highladyluck pretty much single-handedly sold me on this one and I'm so glad she did. Absolutely brilliant and galaxy brained. Egwene should've lived just so she and Tuon could have a hideously complicated enemyship. The missed opportunities.

BONUS: Rand/Min/Morshamael Tedronai.

[naranjapetrificada]

This post is making the rounds again for whatever reason and besides all of the things that like, make absolutely perfect sense about it, for whatever reason it's also made something click about Izzy characterizations in fic that do or don't work and why and how I can (in ADHD veteran fashion) "trick" myself into handling him and his nonsense more easily.

We're always reminding people about his status as a device vs an actual character, and that's something I've understood implicitly about the show but only intellectually in fic for whatever reason. Sometimes you can "know" something without truly internalizing it and you need like, the stars to align in a certain way on a certain day before you actually know what to do with that information. I guess that day was today? Anyway.

I've talked about what I will believe about an Izzy characterization and what I won't, and those things still matter, but what's behind them is the question behind any storytelling device: what's being attempted/accomplished with him here?

And when you take away everything else about it and deal with the question head-on, it's usually extremely straightforward to answer, even with portrayals that absolutely don't work for you or may not have been intentional on the author's behalf. In fact, it can even be tied to the thing I was just saying about understanding something on an intellectual level versus actually internalizing or believing or buying into it, and how that intersects with Izzy as a device instead of a character. Because here's the thing, like The Thing the thing about Izzy in fic, from the most sympathetic canyon-cooked apologia to the most excoriating condemnation:

He's still not a person, he's a tool.

And he'll never be more than that. There are writers who understand this both intellectually and implicitly, there are writers who understand it intellectually but have yet to internalize that understanding, and there are writers who reject the premise outright. But every single one of those writers still ends up treating him that way whether they mean to or not, because we're not given more than that to work with.

Whether someone is writing a nice guy OC with Con O'Neill's face and naming that guy Izzy or is making an effort to adhere as close to the text of canon as possible, they're all just using him as a tool. Maybe they're using him as a tool to reveal something about the world or the other characters, or maybe to move the plot forward. Maybe the message they want to convey is just that they think he's hot and/or they find something compelling enough about him (or Con O'Neill's portrayal of him) to make them want to build up whatever they need to to make him seem sympathetic. But you have to engage in a great deal of invention if you want him to be more than that, at which point he starts to go all ship of Theseus.

Izzy is a character in the way that the letters I'm using to form the words that make up this post are characters, in that he exists as a device for accomplishing the goal of conveying meaning. And sure, some characters are seemingly straightforward alphanumeric characters like the number 1 and the letter I, and other times characters are complex and multilayered and capable of conveying a great deal of meaning with room for rich discussion and interpretation like in some scripts that are both phonetic and ideographic (cuneiform, Egyptian hieroglyphics, Chinese characters).

If you want to extend this overstretched metaphor even further to all characters fine, but there's still a key difference between him and the actual protagonists Ed and Stede. If they're all "characters" in this sense of the word, whether or not you write Izzy with a dull pencil on wide-ruled notebook paper or paint him on silk with a calligraphy brush, he's just the number 0 or the letter O. Ed and Stede though? They're those works of figurative calligraphy where Arabic writing takes the actual shape of a bird or a boat or a tree. They're those Chinese characters written with dozens of strokes that feel like single, self-contained poems.

And that's a distinction that matters greatly when it comes to reading and writing fanfic. So next time I'm wrestling with a portrayal of Izzy in someone else's work that doesn't work for me or I'm continuing to wrestle with the struggles of trying to write him myself, I hope I remember to pause and ask myself hey, what's the point of him here? What's he meant to do? Because who he "is" doesn't matter, and isn't even the right question. I cannot tell you how easy that makes it to quiet down all the constant noise around him and put down all the baggage attached to him and just move forward with everything. It's so freeing.

[ghostinthegallery]

⭐star⭐for The Silence and The Storm (and if you'd like I will send another one tomorrow)

Woo! The big one, the magnum opus. There's so much I could talk about with this one.

I guess I can start with the beginning. As I've said often, I started this fic out of spite and being mad GW wasn't giving me a necron civil war (this was months before the new pariah nexus campaign book, but even that barely gives us anything so I remain justified). And I knew I wanted more attention on characters like Imotekh, who are so important but have no presence in the books. So the project was in my head, but generally I need big moments or scenes to write towards. I'm a bit of a goalpost writer. Once I have a strong scene idea or three, I can start.

The first strong moment in my head was the point in Chapter 2 when Imotekh barges into Szarekh's throne room and tosses a praetorian's head at his feet. I then geared the opening towards making that happen. Kind of fitting that this story started with the Stormlord demanding his due XD He's easily one of my favorite character's to write (sorry Szarekh, I love you too!). Balancing his cruelty with practicality and also selling his sheer presence is a fun challenge, especially since this is my first time experimenting with...shall we say "morally dubious" protagonists. This version of him also really feels like "mine" if that makes sense? I'm not basing him off another author's work like I am with Trazyn or Oltyx or even Anrakyr. I had a character description, a few quotes, and two anecdotes. And I'm proud of how I built him up out of that.

Also yes, one of the scenes I am writing towards is the ending. I made sure I knew the conclusion of this before I started. Without that I know I would have lost track of the plot and this story would have become very meandering. It's hard enough focusing on the big picture when each chapter almost feels like it's own story and each POV character has a personal arc to manage. I desperately need my north star to navigate by!

Absolute feel free to send more! This ask is based on this post for anyone tuning in now.

[hawkytawky]

An Arc's Chance - Summary

Sixteen year old Jaune had given up all hope to be a hero like his parents, grandparents, and great grandparents before him.

That was until the day his mother came into his room and told him he would be going to Signal three years later than he should have. Signal was a combat school on the small island of Patch and on the other side of Vale.

There he would be staying with an old friend of his mother, Taiyang Xiao Long. Who would hopefully teach him everything he needed to know before he went off to one of the Academies in a year.

And with Yang Xiao Long and Ruby Rose to help him along the way, maybe he could become a great hero like many Arc before him.

Jaune's mother trusting him to carry on not only the family legacy, but the weapon that had carried his great grandfather through the war, Crocea Mors.

Louisa Arc watching her son go off on a journey she had spent so long forbidding him from. Before leaving for her own journey, looking to find answers for a question that had plagued her for years.

******

Hello everyone.

For the last little bit I've been kicking around an idea, tons of ideas really, for an AU. What if Jaune went to Signal for a year before going off to Beacon?

Crazy things. Lots of crazy things.

But I have come across a little bit of a problem in planning this AU out. I have too many ideas, and a lot of them are kind of mutually exclusive. And a few of the ones I really like would probably kind of bog down the story.

I can't just throw a bunch of ideas at the wall and not spend much time developing them, can I?

So I'm going to turn this AU into a series here on Tumblr to help me kind of figure out which ideas I want to go with, and them I'll post the actual fic on FF.Net and AO3.

So, as I mentioned above, the premise for this AU is that Jaune goes to Signal a year before he would have gone to Beacon. But everything before that is pretty much the same. Jaune is still completely untrained and knows basically nothing about being a huntsman.

Which I'd like to make one thing very clear, this is not an OP harem protagonist Jaune AU. A year of training at Signal isn't going to make Jaune crazy powerful. If anything, you'll just have something in between Volume 3 and 4 Jaune at the start of Beacon.

So instead of being at the bottom of the class, he'll be closer to the lower end of the average. From a F to a D+. And he'll still be way behind anyone in RWBY or the rest of JNPR, who are all in the S, A, and B tiers.

I'm keeping Jaune still a few steps behind everyone else, because I actually like that aspect of his character. You know, he has to rely more of good planning, and his aura I guess, for combat than anyone else because he's at a disadvantage. And I love crafty fighters.

And I do think it adds an interesting element to his character out of combat. That he's always going to have to work hard to "Not be a burden" and he's always going to blame himself the most when something goes wrong. Because it might not of if he was stronger.

So yeah, that's everything I want to say for this post. Though I'm sure I'll be back testing out another idea soon enough.

[suzyq31]

20 Questions Game

Thanks for the tag @nodirectionhome-ao3 and @practicecourts

How many works do you have on AO3? Currently at 17

2. What's your total A03 words count? 696,804

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Right now just Harry Potter

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Maybe Tomorrow: Post War. Harry and Hermione are renovating Potter Manor over Christmas then wake up into a different life. (almost finished!)

Iris: My first story, and the bane of my existence. Hermione flees after the war, five years later she's dragged back in by a dangerous situations. Follows my series Seasons. Hidden child trope, angst fest, long as hell and on hiatus. H/Hr

It Had To Be You: Post war, completed, steamy romcom with some loose inspiration from the film When Harry Met Sally. Co-written with @bettertoflee

Found: A spin off of Iris, and another alternate ending to Seasons. Never thought I would write an OC protagonist, but here we are!

My next highest kudos is another Harmony, but that's boring so going with my highest rated Jily fic which is Plans. It's also more Sirius & Lily focused, takes place right after Harry's born.

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

I try my best! Sometimes I can forget if I'm distracted/dealing with real life stuff. But I am SO grateful for people who take the time to let me know they've read my work.

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angtiest ending?

For now probably Spring or Winter in my Seasons Series.

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

Well seeing as how I struggle to finish anything...I guess the ones that are complete which is It Had To Be You and Home.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Yes, so far only in Harmony. It's a huge reason I don't participate in the fandom much and why I moderate comments. Most of it has been concentrated on my stories Iris and Found, but I've also received rude comments on other works including It Had To Be You (which got some very incel type comments, and is the main reason I only allow registered users and block instantly).

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

Yes, mostly reluctantly as I still get uncomfortable writing it, but some stories feel incomplete without some. Love reading it though! Not sure what kind means? Like M or E? I would say my smut is relatively tame. I've only written one E rated fic, which was co-written haha.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written? Nope, can't imagine I ever would.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I'm aware of.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? No idea! People have asked me, but haven't seen them.

13. Have you ever cowritten a fic before? Yes! Working on my second collaboration with @bettertoflee. And my story Iris gets so much support from my beta Green_Eyes that it feels like she may as well be a co-writer!

14. What's your all-time favourite ship? I've shipped both my fave HP ships since around 2001 when I was a child and they haven't changed even with the dreaded epilogue for Harry and Hermione (I take Unlike a Sister as canon and breathe easier for it), or you know canon for James and Lily (which is why AU is so fun!)

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

Ideally I'd like to finish all of them. If I didn't have such a strong editor/beta reader for Iris it would likely stay unfinished. I REALLY struggle with endings at the best of times and that story has a variety of factors that make it difficult for me.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I'm very hard on myself, so its hard to think of positives. I do think I'm creative, and as someone with ADHD I often think outside the box. I think I have a good ear for dialogue. I've also received compliments on my descriptions/scene writing, as well as for conveying emotions. The thing I do love best about writing is seeing the growth year by year, story by story.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Plotting, getting stuck after the midway point. ADHD brain always wanting to jump to something new. Spelling/Grammar from years of French Immersion. Wordy, though REALLY have worked on this and I do so much slashing and cutting in my editing.

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

No strong opinion unless it's constant.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Probably Harry Potter as a child. Although me and a friend wrote a That 70s Show script and posted it on fanfic.net back in middle school haha.

20. Favourite fic you've ever written?

This is a hard one. I am really proud of Maybe Tomorrow, I put a lot of my heart into it and it's actually complete except for some edits and additional scenes I'm contemplating.

I also really enjoyed writing Plans. And I'm proud of this short micro where I managed to stay under 1000 words!

I think this has made the rounds already! At least for Jily. But will tag;

@bettertoflee @myst867 @glitterwitch1 @riverwriter @runawayminds @annonymouslyblonde

[narastories]

For the character ask game, I would like to ask you questions number 6, 21, and 24 for our dear Thruston Niles (if asking sevral questions is okay). Thank you!

Of course, it's okay to ask multiple questions! Always! But especially with Niles, I think I could happily do this whole list with him lol

6. What's something you have in common with this character?

Human. Likes whiskey. Not a people person. Awkward dancer. Doesn't discriminate... (Would only ever lead something if the circumstances pushed me but I would probably slay it :P) You know, pretty common stuff.

I tried to keep that answer strictly about canon, because I do tend to project a lot on him as you know. I think, Luke Arnold was really good at making the characters relatable in many ways to many different people. On one hand, obviously, Niles is the rich evil industrialist, and that is not relatable, only in the sense that we're all so sick of capitalism at this point. But at the same time, him being human is so relatable. If you pay attention, I think it's very clear that he's not a second, third-generation pampered rich kid.

Growing up pre-Coda as a human in the FPA is not a first-world experience. That's the world of the Magum. And I don't necessarily mean to tie it to specific countries from our world. For example, Weatherly I would imagine could be very relatable to someone from a small town or even cult situation. But what I'm trying to say is that pre-Coda the Magum were the special, the rich, the powerful, the ones with the resources and advanced technology... There are finite ways to react to that if you are not in that club, and each could be relatable in its own way. There are the people in Weatherly who stick their heads in the sand, there is Fetch who goes starry-eyed and tries to assimilate, there is the human army with its hate and thirst for revenge, and there is Niles's greed and ambition to be top dog. It's a spectrum.

All that is to say I guess I can think of a few scenarios that would make Niles a little mean and a little too unapologetic like he is. That doesn't mean I condone his actions. He should do better, but still...

(Oh dear, here I go ranting about him again. As I've said, I'm happy to answer multiple questions. I want to add that I can't be held accountable for the post length tho xD)

21. If you're a fic writer and have written for this character, what's your favorite thing to do when you're writing for this character? What's something you don't like?

Hmmm... this is difficult. One thing that pops into my mind: in the audiobooks, Luke gave Niles this very delightful little Southern drawl, and I like to try and maybe hint or recreate it. I'm very bad at it, but I enjoy trying lol (And it's not like there would be an actual American South in this universe so...)

What do I not like... writing about him? I don't know... I wouldn't like writing or reading him as a one-dimensional villain, I think. I can't think of a better answer right now ^^"

24. What other character from another fandom of yours that reminds you of them?

Gentleman John Marcone from the Dresden Files, of course. They are both middle-aged bastard men in suits, who are the covert, de facto rulers of their cities. They both have deliciously antagonistic relationships with the protagonists (with even more deliciously gay undertones lol). While Johnny is a mob boss, and Niles technically isn't, he sure as hell operates as one.

That said, even though Thurston isn't as smooth with weapons, I like him waaaay more than I like Marcone ^^"

Thank you so much for the questions!

List of questions here

[gojonanami]

Hi Sab,

I just wanted to preface this message by telling you that I really, really enjoyed the first part of your Professor Geto series!

I have to confess, when I saw yesterday evening a message from you saying that you'll be uploading it tonight, I was super, super excited, and I went to bed thinking of your fic, and I woke up in the morning, all excited and ready to dig into your text. I was so, so excited when I clicked on your page and saw that you did indeed upload the first part of the series! It was the first thing I did today.

To begin with, I would like to thank you for putting in the time into formatting and editing. Upon opening your page, the first thing I thought of was the fact that I really do approve of the artwork that you chose to headline this fic. It's one of my favourite drawings of Suguru—I've seen it around before, but it never fails to make me swoon. And I love the purple—clever, in a sense, due to both the atmosphere that this all-purple drawing conjures and also in the sense that it is a nod to Suguru supposedly having purple eyes in the manga.

I have truly, truly loved your work. It was delightful, exciting, captivating, engaging, fun, sexy, riveting, and so much more.

Today, I had a boat trip with my family. And as I was standing on the boat looking out onto the ocean, I found myself thinking—'What do I owe myself and those around me?'—and as I was thinking about it, I found myself thinking that I owe you a proper thank-you as you managed to write, edit, and create something that truly brings me and a lot of others a lot of joy.

I am not sure how I can properly thank you. If I could, I would thank you via endless notes, but I'm afraid I can't do that. I also do not have the influence or the means to spread awareness of your fantastic fic.

And so, as I was thinking, I supposed that perhaps expressing my gratitude in the form of this message would, if not be enough, be an attempt to express my gratitude towards you.

I would like to begin this analysis of your work by focusing on the opening.

“You’re late,”  Your first impression of Professor Suguru Geto’s class was that you could never be late again, unless you would like to be chided in front of all your peers for your tardiness. 

Your opening is fantastic. It is so simple and yet so effective. It really imbues your work with flavour and a certain sense of drama. In other words, your set-up is fantastic—our delightful A** student protagonist was already in the wrong from the beginning, and it only teased at her journey towards seeking Professor Geto's validation. In my opinion, your opening was very, very effective.

I also have to say that I absolutely and unabashedly love your descriptions. I think you do a really good job of teetering on the line of being concise and descriptive—your descriptions never feel overwrought; instead, they're just enough. They're carefully observed, personal, beautiful, and effortless all at once.

Your first impression of Professor Suguru Geto himself was that he was truly the most breathtaking man you’d ever laid your eyes on. His inky black locks tied into a neat bun, his deep royal purple vest buttoned over a crisp white button up with pressed gray slacks, his pretty lips pressed in a small frown, as his dark gaze pierced through you. And you don’t know what stirs in your chest — a fleeting moment that is tucked away under a bite of your bottom lip and burning cheeks. 

You are funny, too. You are naturally funny. I could feel that in the way you respond to asks. My guess would be that you're a person who's easy to get along with, someone who is flexible and adaptable, and sympathetic and humane. And for me, your natural humour naturally seeps into your writing. You are sometimes funny without almost meaning to be so funny, perhaps, but it produces the absolute best results.

And now you knew why when you had walked into class, the amount of unfamiliar faces in this course had far outnumbered the ones in your usual course load — the same reason why this man undoubtedly had three chili peppers next to his professor rating on some website out there. 

The quip about the 'chili peppers' rating made me smile.

I loved the way you conjured the main character. I love that her strengths lie in philosophy rather than ethics. She is believable. She is likeable. She feels real. I love that she eagerly wanted to do well, and I loved her internal quiet confidence in terms of doing well—the expectation of doing well due to past experiences. I absolutely loved how she 'eagerly flip[ped] to the last page of the paper, wondering what accolades and compliments [she'd] receive this time'. I just loved the way you tracked her emotional journey of first contending herself with studying this module on ethics and expecting to do well, to the excitement of feeling as though she'd written a fantastic paper, to the nerve-wracking and adrenaline-fueled process of receiving feedback, to the huge disappointment of receiving a B+ of all things.

You tracked her psychology fantastically. And your writing throughout that process was crisp and mature, and fluid and natural, and without any unnecessary descriptors or anything, and just so utterly captivating. I am truly impressed.

I also liked how you hinted at Suguru's character. Submitting a paper both physically and electronically is a small detail, but it is a good one. It shows his character—he is pedantic and careful. He approaches papers like an actual teacher instead of resigning himself to the role of the professor-showman. He carefully spends time 'litter[ing]' his students' papers with pen scrawls.

I also love, love, love the way you use metaphors, similes, imagery, and all that. You just do it in such a mature manner. It is incredibly clever. I loved this:

You were seeing as red as the ink that tore your paper to shreds. 

This is unbelievably clever. At first, it seems simple, but it is such a clever way of putting her thoughts into feelings. Yes, it's simple, but it is so incredibly charming, and it is lines like these that linger in your mind many hours later. I still think about it. It's incredibly witty.

I loved the description of Professor Geto's office. Not only does it set the scene perfectly for their world, but it also speaks to the context of the lurking conflicts within that world, and it also hints at Professor Geto's eminence. (Is it also not a way to question their ethical framework? How should we give out offices? Due to status or due to how many years a professor has worked for a department? How do such things work?)

I think you did an excellent job of presenting Professor Geto as enchanting. He is attractive, yes. He is sexy, too. But he is more than that. He is truly and utterly captivating. It is not just his looks that are attractive, but also his attitude and his mind. And so, in light of that, I loved the way you introduced him when she came into his office.

And you know what I loved? I loved the way they interacted with each other. I love the way he approaches his criticism of her paper. It is true—sometimes people forget that students are here to learn rather than just get degrees so that they can move onto the next milestone. Professor Geto underscores and reminds us of that, and Reader, conversely, reminds us of how easy it is to get bogged down in being overly concerned with academic grades and percentages.

I would insert the whole scene that I loved, but I'm afraid that it would take too much space. But what I truly loved about it was how back and forth it was. It was incredibly clever, witty, and fast-paced, and I was truly and utterly captivated. I love that he says that he knows why she's here—and he does. He does because he's been in her shoes before. And you know what else I love about this scene? I love the fact that how back-and-forth it is hints at how they complement each other as two brilliant minds—simultaneously in perfect harmony and yet different enough to challenge each other.

I also want to pay due deference to the fact that you made Professor Geto sound like an actual professor. His feedback sounds like that of an actual professor. He feels real and tangible. He is believable. The words that come out of his mouth feel authentic. His feedback feels authentic, and it reminded me of some of the feedback I used to receive from my supervisors.

I also love how he motivated her to do better. In my eyes, she was motivated to do better not just because she was disappointed with her grade and because she finds him to be incredibly attractive, but also because when she looked around her office, she truly realised how eminent he is, and in a way, seeing all those 'awards on his walls, pictures of him giving lectures or receiving honors, and the books that lined his shelves' motivated her to do even better and be the best that she can be, and perhaps even overshadow him while giving her a skeleton in her mind as to how she could plan out her future career trajectory if she chooses to stay in academia.

The man was stubborn, even when you’d come back with an improved draft, he’d only hand it back to you with a smile barely tugging at the corner of his lips, with no compliment to be had — only small check marks scribbled in the margins in your papers, with the occasional “good” written next to it. 

One of the things that I loved the most about this fic is how you easily pick up on the most mundane of details and present them anew. The way Professor Geto marks is the way I've seen professors mark before. But seeing it presented, dissected, and re-evaluated makes me see it in a new light and makes me truly think about the nature and process of marking papers and how individual those processes can be.

And I have to say yet again that the way you write dialogue is incredibly witty. The way you write how people speak is incredibly clever. I love the way it feels so real. I love that I can imagine real people saying those things. I love how grounded in reality your writing is. I love how human it is.

And he rolls his eyes, and you notice that his dark eyes are hidden behind glasses today — and god, why does it only make him even more gorgeous? He’s already brilliant, it’s unfair for him to look as if he was sculpted by the gods as well, “It takes a lot more than a chuckle to earn extra credit,” and you can’t help but bite your lip. 

I absolutely love this quip from Professor Geto: 'It takes a lot more than a chuckle to earn extra credit'. It is just so funny, but also so believable for a character like him to say. It also, in a way, underscores his role as an educator—she needs to 'earn extra credit' after all—while also hinting at the fact that he's got a good sense of humour (and perhaps hints at his youth, too).

I love how Professor Geto can also poke fun at himself. Personally, I really like this quality in people, and this makes him so much more likeable.

“Many times, and the same one,” and your mouth opens, only to find a wry smirk on his lips, “I’m teasing, another one of my very tedious qualities, and how you stand it during class astonishes me,” 

I also love that he is genuinely a good teacher. In a way, it is almost unexpected. He had all the means to become a professor who does not care about his students that much (as bad as it may sound). He has enough eminence, status, and fame to do as he pleases. He is the type of professor who could cancel one hour before the lecture and no one would be able to say anything because everyone at the university is so desperate for him to stay as there are tonnes of other universities eagerly awaiting his presence. He does not have to take so much time in terms of marking essays. I've had famous professors who've only written me two sentences as part of their feedback for their course at the end of the term. I've had professors who only wrote 'good' here and there and then wrote short comments without taking the time to properly dissect my writing and tell me what is exactly good and what exactly can be better. Bottomline is Professor Geto is someone who, in theory, can afford to slack off for the sake of dedicating his time to other pursuits—be it his research, conferences, or something else—but he doesn't, and instead he makes time in his schedule for his students to properly look over their work. Is it due to his character or his personal code of ethics? I cannot answer. But regardless, it presents him as having an extremely likeable character, and it makes me really respect him as a professor.

(I love the fact that you added an image of his paper using Google Scholar. I don't know how you did it, but it's incredibly charming. I love it. I love how you transformed your writing into a mixed-media work. It is so fascinating. I've never seen anything like this before. It truly made me grin!)

And you know what I truly loved? I loved the fact that she—as the big nerd that she is—found his writing sexy. I know it may sound weird, but I feel as though some of us may agree that there is something incredibly attractive about confidence and assurance in writing. And so I do not blame her one bit for suddenly clenching her thighs together as she read his paper. I can imagine her being enchanted and impressed with his writing—his ability to present his ideas confidently and concisely, presenting complicated matters in simple yet complex and beautiful ways—that it elicited a certain kind of positive envy, wherein his writing is so fantastic that she almost wishes it were her own. (At least, I imagine, that is how I would react, perhaps.)

Now, I loved this scene. I loved it from the beginning to the end. I think it's one of the sexiest scenes I've ever read. I just loved the subtle undercurrent of sexual tension that was present throughout this portion of the text.

I loved how careful you were in observing and subtly notifying the reader that this is her dream. The lecture hall is a familiar setting for her, yes, but the touch of warmth in Professor Suguru's gaze, along with his usual amusement, is unusual and is a fantastic way of carefully foreshadowing to the reader that this is a dream, not reality. (I liked the subtle referencing of Tantalus. I'm afraid that when I read it at first, I did not recognise his name and scoured my memory for the very many paintings of Greek mythological figures until I finally relented, googled, and thus reawakened my memory of this mythological figure. I really, really liked this reference. It is subtle, but clever. It is incredibly well done.)

I think there is something incredibly sexy in the way that you painted this scene in her dream. I love that they are alone in the lecture hall. I love that he stands behind her. I love that he subtly brushes her hair aside. I love that he gently presses a kiss on her shoulder. I love how responsive her body is to the subtlest of his touches. I love that he wraps his arms around his waist, beckoning her closer. I love that he moves his face to her neck. I love, love, love that he takes off his glasses and places them on the side (yet another example of presenting a mundane action in a new light and imbuing it with a new kind of potency in its reassessment). I love that he presses a constellation of kisses across her neck. I love the way she desperately pleads for him to 'touch' her in his dream. And what does this dream end with? With him calling her a 'good girl'. It is really, really well done, and I am absolutely in love with the way in which you tackled this scene.

I love that her dreams are repeated. And you know what? I did like the fact that you mentioned how they were edging her. It's clever, in my opinion. It's a nod to their sexual nature, yes, but it also adds a sense of humour to it. It also highlights how restless they make her and how desperate she is, as, in my view, if one edges someone enough, there will come a moment in which they will break—like a glow stick.

And I love, love, love the mention of the vibrator! It is so incredibly funny! I love that the vibrator is no help, and I love how it, instead, starts to feature in her dreams. I love it. (And now, as I am writing this, it makes me think—what if, later down the line, perhaps when she is a little too tired and not thinking straight, she blurts out to Professor Geto, or Suguru as she calls him now, that she used to dream of him and how even his papers would make her hot and bothered and how her vibrator was of no help.)

And I love, love, love the fact that when he calls out to her, her reality starts to mirror her dreams. Of course, it would drive her crazy. She constantly sees him at night, kissing her, touching her, and looking at her and only her, and so seeing him anew in this setting wherein she has to act professionally and maintain her code of conduct with due deference would drive her mad as her imagination would be bound to recall her memories of her dreams once more. And, of course, to mark the parallels between her reality and her dreams further, he calls her a 'good girl' thus underscoring and foreshadowing how her dreams and her reality will soon collide, or rather, perhaps, merge.

And I love that Professor Geto, despite his status and fame, is not only a diligent teacher but also a caring one. He not only shows his care for his students via his endless notes and comments, but also by checking in on them, offering them the option to delay their papers, ask for extensions, or just speak to him in general.

I know it's subtle, but I love how later they make eye contact, in spite of the crowd of eager students surrounding him, desperate for his attention.

I also absolutely loved the dream that Professor Geto had. It was one of my favourite scenes. (I find it incredibly difficult to make up my mind as to what my favourite scene in this fic is. I've been racking my mind over this, but I haven't decided, and I don't think I ever will.) 

I loved that he dreamed about her, too. I loved that he was thinking about her. For me, it almost felt as though his dream was almost fatigue-induced. I love how he ruminates over her character, how he sees his own experience in her without being condescending, and how he sees her potential and how he wants to milk it out of her. I love how he was checking his mail, wondering to himself if information about his office hours was sent wrong, as he was just so desperate to see her.

And I love how when she comes in, she comes in discussing Scanlon and Professor Suguru Geto, the academic.

I just also wanted to highlight this little section of the text, which I thought was incredibly clever and witty and which really, really charmed me:

He raises an eyebrow, and he can’t help but tease,  “Clarified or criticized? Are you planning on turning the tables on me?”  “Well I do have a red pen,” you click your pen, lips curved in a smile, and there’s a hint of heat that he wishes to unearth, pluck from the earth and possess himself, “but I promise I’ll be civil,”  “I have no doubt,” he had a million when it came to you — but that wasn’t one of them. He runs his fingers through his hair, a few strands coming loose, “of course, let’s discuss it,” 

I love how he, even in his fatigued state and even in his dreams, thinks and evaluates the risks and his burgeoning feelings through the lens of Scanlon. Of course, it makes sense! And it's so incredibly clever. I love that they reassess the wrongs and rights of a student-professor relationship through a dissection of Scanlon's work. (Just as a note, I think that you chose a very good scholar, work, and topic to focus on for this fic. I have read through your responses to your asks before—which are an utter delight—and I saw that you mentioned that you feel like an amateur in this field. I would like to reassure you that, in my opinion, you genuinely did a very good job of approaching Scanlon, and while I am not the best ethicist around, I would say that for me, your tackling of Scanlon was great.)

And I love her quiet, subdued confidence as she approaches him—challenging him intellectually while also challenging the essence of their relationship, encroaching into uncharted territory by reaching out for him, into his space, brushing her fingers against his, running her fingers up his arm, and trailing along his button-down. And I love how, in his dream, he makes his choice and makes the move to kiss her.

I love how you wrote the way in which he imagines her. Everything he was doing was testing his personal moral code. I love how he imagined her—in her tantalizing sundress with her legs spread out on his desk, all for him and his eyes. I love how he talks to her; I love how he (affectionately?) mentions her wittiness ('Where’s that mouth now? So needy f’me,') and how he imagines treating her right, indulging in her, treating her in the best way possible, prioritising and accentuating her pleasure.

And I love how he imagines doing it again and again with her, making her reach pleasure multiple times, as he just wants her to feel the best that she possibly can, as he just wants to bring her to cloud nine over and over again.

I love how her voice affects her. I love that she didn't truly listen to the lecture. I love how much attention you paid to truly reflecting how attractive she found his voice to be and how her body responds to it, and how her attraction towards him runs so deep that she can be hot and bothered by his voice alone. I love how her imagination runs wild and how she, out of neediness and desperation and lust and attraction, starts imagining him and herself with him and gets so involved in her imagination that she forgets about her task at hand.

I know that at first, this may seem like a simple detail, but I love that when she comes to see him in his office once more, he's sitting on the sofa rather than at his desk. I love the initial interaction—it is just so natural!

You knock at his door, “Come in,” and you open the door to see an empty desk, blinking, “I’m over here,” And your head snaps to your right, and Professor Geto is sitting on his couch, his legs crossed with a stack of papers in hand. His jacket is slung over the side of the couch, his deep maroon button up sleeves rolled up, glasses perched on the tip of his nose. 

(I loved this line; it truly made me smile: 'He clicks his red pen, readying his sword'.)

And I love their concluding interaction. What stood out to me was that Professor Geto, despite his status, fame, stature, and the like, respects his student as an individual and truly speaks to her like his equal. He does not look down at her, even though he can. He respects her, and you can see that and feel that.

I loved this scene:

“You’ve come a long way,” he says, as he flips it back the front, writing only a few notes here and there.  “But?” You wait for it.  His gaze flickers up, a tilt of his head, “That was the end of my sentence,”  You pause a moment, “Really?” 

I love, love, love the way you wrote this interaction. It is just so well-written. It is slick, fast-paced, clever, and natural.

And their dialogue in this section of the text is just fantastic. It is truly just so fantastic on so many levels. I read it again and again and again. I loved it. I loved it so much that I truly don't have much to say about it, as I feel as though the cleverness of the dialogue in this section of the text speaks for itself. It is incredibly charming and captivating. I truly, really loved how you wrote that. It feels easy—the way it reads. The words glide over and bounce off each other, phrases complementing one another, seamlessly driving towards a compelling conclusion. I really, really, really, really, really enjoyed this portion of the text. Sincerely. I truly, truly, truly loved it from start to finish, and I wouldn't change it for the world. (It is really hard for me to pick out standout lines in this scene. I think maybe this is my favourite scene, but I am still unsure. I just love the way you wrote this scene. I love the dialogue. I love their dynamic. I love how back-and-forth the dialogue is. I love how it is spurred on by feelings. I love how playful their interactions are. I love how they bounce off each other—both in terms of humour and in terms of challenging one another. I just really and truly loved it, and I sincerely applaud your writing, especially in this portion of the text.)

I thought it was clever how you added the tidbit about the head of the department—it was a clever way of foreshadowing the ending of part one and hinting at the tensions arising in part two. I thought it was a clever nod. (And you know what else I liked about this? The fact that this seemingly small and insignificant interaction is actually a key facet of the story. I am a keen propagator of the idea, which I unfortunately do not always practice, of everything in the story being relevant at all times and no unnecessary information marring the text. You subscribe to this idea wholly, and this, in part, makes your writing fantastic. And to me, it seems, this comes almost naturally, and perhaps it is nature's gift to you.)

(This is a funny nod to existentialism—'Oh, great, you were becoming existential'. I enjoyed it.)

I love how she dresses up for their meeting, paying attention to choosing the right appearance, and I love the fact that he noticed it! I think this says a lot about them. It tells us that for her, his opinion matters, not just in terms of academic validation but also in terms of his perception of her as a person. And it says a lot about him, too. Not only is he perceptive and pays a lot of attention to detail, he also pays a lot of attention to her, and so of course he would notice such details and appreciate them.

I loved, loved, loved his feedback for her essay. I loved it. I loved it so, so much. I loved how he mentioned Scanlon once more. It is so witty. I loved it so much. I know you said that Scanlon is not your expertise, but mentioning him in such a way is just so incredibly clever that I would've never thought of it. I am truly impressed. It is just so fantastic. It has the right amount of humour, the right amount of nerdiness, and the right amount of romance. So good. 

99 — I was impressed by this paper not only by the content but by its comprehension and use of both ethics and philosophy. But I was also impressed by the person who wrote the paper. You’ve shown determination and growth throughout the semester — and you have reminded me what we owe to each other. And I think we owe each other a drink, and a chance for this. 

I think his feedback also says a lot about him as a person. She is significant to him not only as a student but also as an individual. I love that he paid attention to her progress, stressing the importance of learning more and more, chiselling at oneself, and improving oneself, and how one should not be afraid of doing so, and acknowledging the difficulty of doing so, as receiving challenging feedback is not easy, and he knows that.

I loved the nod back to 'What We Owe to Each Other'. It's one of my favourite things about this piece—the fact that it features as a recurrent refrain throughout the text. I love, love, that Suguru wrote that they 'owe each other a drink, and a chance for this'. For me, this is incredibly romantic. I think this is something that will stay with me for a very long time, and I will keep thinking about it again and again from time to time.

I love how they debate their relationship within the parameters of ethics. And I love how concerned they are about each other. (The boundaries of such things are slippery, and I appreciate how this text hints at and acknowledges that.)

I thought this was incredibly funny:

“So you think it’s funny to mess with your professor?” And his voice drops, a playful tone that makes you nearly shiver, as he leans forward, resting his chin against his elbow. 

I loved the way you wrote the kiss. I feel like people often underestimate how difficult it is to write a good kiss. And the way you wrote this kiss, in my opinion, was fantastic. It was passionate, frenzied, fast and spontaneous, and passion-driven, and the way it was first a gentle peck that soon transformed into a deeper, more passionate kiss captured my heart.

And you know what else I loved? This:

“Not very ethical,” you chuckle breathlessly, as your fingers rake through his now disheveled bun, “but I can’t find the sense to care,” your noses brush, as you can’t help but smile, “what would Scanlon or Kant say about this?”  And his arms lift you onto his desk, several papers crumpling underneath, “Who the fuck cares?” he’s hissing, his lips find yours in a searing kiss, as his thighs press yours apart, as he settles himself between your legs, his knee grazing your core, drawing a delightful gasp from your lips, “I know what I want,” and his eyes soften, his fingers tracing the length of your cheek, “do you?” 

The ending is brilliant. It is brilliant in many ways. Not only does it perfectly set the scene for part two, but it is also imbued with tension, and this tension will be fertile ground for you to explore later. I greatly and passionately wait for the release of part two. (Although, of course, I think that it would be only proper of me to remind you that above all else, your health and your happiness should be your main priority and that you should—at least in my opinion—take as much time as you need to focus on part two and let it guide you, not rush, and just enjoy the process of writing it.)

If it wasn't clear already, I really, really enjoyed this fic. I think it may be, perhaps, my favourite fic on Tumblr? It is certainly one of my favourite fics on Tumblr. It is just so slick, well-written, appropriately paced, and so well done that it certainly holds a very special place in my heart.

I feel incredibly lucky for the fact that you are such a brilliant writer. I believe I should follow Professor Geto's example in not only acknowledging and appreciating you as a fantastic writer but also in recognising and cherishing the person who wrote this fic. I wanted to thank you for the time that you put into thinking of this fic, writing it, editing it, formatting it, and sharing it with us. Doing all of this takes a lot of mental fortitude. Doing all of this and sharing your work takes even more mental fortitude. And for that, I am incredibly grateful. I am thankful that you have chosen to share this brilliant fic with us, and I sincerely look forward to the release of part two.

I also wanted to say that I really appreciate the fact that you put so much time and effort into answering the asks that you receive and for the fact that you always answer so kindly and politely. I am truly very thankful for that and appreciative of that and your kindness. Reading your responses to asks is a true joy, and reading your responses to them has truly brightened my mood.

I would like to round off this message by reiterating how much I loved this fic and by thanking you once more for writing and sharing it with us.

I truly wish you all the very best.

I greatly look forward to part two.

Thank you once again for sharing your brilliant work with us.

(I've been having issues with Tumblr, so I'm not sure if Tumblr duplicated my message accidentally. I hope it got through to you!!)

i don't even know how to begin to reply to this message. i've read it like, i'm not sure how many times?? it's literally so, so sweet and i can't even fathom coming up with a response that does this analysis and walkthrough of my fic justice, but i'll try!! (very long reply under the cut)

first of all, thank you so so much, this means the entire world to me!!! i can't express to you how lucky i feel to have people as sweet as you and others who write these long messages to me, and its literally a writer's dream to have someone like you who quotes their work and tells you what stuck out to them. you are truly truly a rare breed and i feel goddamn lucky that you found my work and found it worthy of this effort <3333. ok but onto my reply:

it makes me so happy when anyone says they look forward to my fics or my updates and it's the first thing they do. like it just makes me so so happy?? just because i know the things i look forward to and the things i do right in the morning are the things i really, really want to do, so it makes me so happy that my writing is something like that for you

i'm so glad you enjoyed my formatting and the art i chose!! i usually prefer to use manga panels because i don't want to end up using stolen art (unfortunately happened before) or ai art, but from the searching i did, i found this art to be legit and i believe i found the original artist behind it. they did a wonderful job on it - literally its gorgeous. the art was literally how i imagined geto in this fic and i was so pleased. i'm glad you noticed the purple coloring!! it's funny even before i realized geto's eyes in the manga are purple, purple was just a color i associated with him.

i'm so glad the opening really struck you because it's something i was struggling with, i always have trouble beginning things and i'm the type of writer where i can't just jump in write a random scene and come back (unless a line of dialogue jumps out of my head and onto the page). again, i love when people say my descriptions are good - it makes me so happy!! i'm naturally not a very visual person -- i can't picture things in my head really well so i had teach myself how to do it through reading and writing.

i'm glad you think i'm funny - i don't know why but someone complimenting my humor is like one of my favorite things?? T_T i think i am easy to get along with - i try to be anyway. i'm glad it comes across in my writing. hahah i had to do the chili peppers i grew up with 'ratemyprofessor' with my siblings who used to always use it (and i did as well), and my sisters and I would always laugh when we saw a professor with those infamous chili peppers next to their names.

i'm glad reader's character came across well!! i always try to keep reader pretty vague, at least in terms of appearance, so people can superimpose themselves onto her pretty easily. i have literally had so many papers where i submitted that i thought an amazing job on and then only to get them back and internally scream when i saw a grade inconsistent with what i thought i deserved. i feel like the papers i didn't care about were always the ones i did well on and the ones i overthought were the ones that never did well.

honestly suguru having papers submitted both ways was by necessity but i also thought it fit in well with his character and how he is. he's meticulous and thoughtful. and i'm so glad it came across!!

i'm glad you enjoyed the "red as the ink that tore your paper to shreds" because that was also one of my favorite lines i wrote and sometimes i have to try to write a simile like that or it comes easily. that one came easily which i was very pleased with.

with his office, i can't take all the credit for that -- an anon had submitted an idea about his office being very large and opulent and i thought that fit in so perfectly with the story that i had to include it :)

i am so happy you liked their banter - i was concerned that it would come across as disingenuous or like forced, but i'm glad it was successful :). i always have this fear that like my characters will come off pretentious so i always try to ground them in experience or my own vernacular in some way to give them a more real person feel. i'm so glad his feedback sounded realistic - a lot of it was based on just experience of getting feedback and also just giving feedback (i used to be a writing tutor for a brief time).

i'm so glad geto comes across as likeable that was definitely important to me and honestly i hadn't thought about the fact that some professors only give brief feedback, but its very, very true. sometimes they don't. and i'm glad that struck you because i was really only thinking of what kind of teacher geto would be and i think he would really be a wonderful one (sad to think about in the context of jjk but its true).

the google scholar was all @laneysmusings. i asked her while i was writing that scene if she could make one up for me because i was going to just leave it as text but i thought a google scholar page would be a cute reference for anyone who saw the post about me researching on google scholar hahah. and she did amazing. she even wrote the descriptions and everything - she even chose tokai university because its located in shibuya -- so i owe all of that effort to her. she truly is my platonic soulmate :).

ahhhh the lecture hall dream scene was the one i was looking the most forward to writing!! it was the one that i went into the fic knowing i wanted to write and it was so fun writing it. the tantalus reference was added in during edits because i just love using mythology references in my writing and i thought it fit in well with the academia vibe :).

the edging line literally also made me chuckle when i wrote it, because i too felt like this fic was an exercise in edging after this scene and then geto's dream - it felt like i was taunting the reader hahah. also "break like a glow stick" made me laugh when i read it, and i'm still giggling as i write this now.

omg i definitely want to do that now - i definitely will include a scene where she's talking about the dreams with him and it would be funny if 1) he slips up and says "you had dreams too?" and 2) if he decides to use the vibrator one her later hahahah.

honestly the scene where he stops her is based on my own experience in college when a professor stopped me and asked if i was okay when i was very despondent during class lol (i was just super depressed at the time). and i thought it was so sweet of her to ask me how i was doing and i feel like suguru would do the same for his students, especially ones he knows well.

honestly writing geto's dream was so fun, while simultaneously difficult haha. because it was like toeing the line between fantasy and reality, and trying to make it seem realistic at first and then having it go speeding off the rails with his desires. i'm so glad honestly that scanlon worked out - because i was trying to figure out how to frame it, and then i thought of scanlon because of the good place and when i started reading 'what do we owe to each other,' i thought it fit perfectly (i do also have mike schur's book that he wrote about ethics and writing the good place and this almost makes me want to read in prep for part 2 hahah). i am most definitely an amateur, my extent of knowledge of ethics / philosophy comes from the good place and from a legal perspective, the latter of which was not very helpful here hahah. i'm so glad it came across well!! and hey, i will take the compliment because i think, based on what you've said, you are more versed than i am.

hahah the sofa was definitely because i wanted them sitting closer this time -- kinda showing how the line is blurring more and more and the gap between them is closing (literally and figuratively, because no big desk blocking them from each other).

honestly the scene in their office on the couch was the most difficult scene in the entire fic to write -- because i remember i wrote it at night and i was super unsure about it. i sent it to laney and i was like internally 'she's probably gonna say it needs more because it doesn't feel like enough' and then when she read it in the morning she was like its great, just a typo. and i was like....don't you think it needs something?? and she like no??? lol.

i'm so glad!! because the T.A. thing was how i wanted to end the fic, but obviously i wanted to foreshadow it. but i was thinking about having it earlier, but professors don't think about TAs until the semester is about to end anyway. the existential line was also funny because i had stopped writing the night before right before that line and when i came back to it, i was like huh, i was really getting existential before bed. and thus that line.

i'm so glad the kiss came across right!! i was super worried about writing it because its such a pivotal scene and i wanted it to be just right. and i was really channeling jess and nick's first kiss from new girl energy (but more hesitant at first).

i appreciate the reminder of about my own wellbeing over writing :). i love writing this series though so i am very eager to continue - but i really gotta write some 2K fics first because i'm almost to 4K and i haven't written a single one and no one is pressuring me, except my own little voice in my head haha.

i'm so so glad you enjoyed it this much to send this incredibly wonderful, thoughtful message to me. I can't express in words what this meant to me. thank you for doing this as well!!! it literally means the world. reading all of your asks and everyone else's literally make my entire day, along with the wonderful reblogs, tags, and comments everyone has left. but these asks are so so special to me. thank you so much - i really can't thank you enough <333

(i did get it twice but no worried :) i just chose to respond to this one so i could let you know it came through!!!) <33

[olderthannetfic]

So this ask might be a little weird[okay ALOT] but do you have any advice for a new writer on how not to 'redeem' your villain?

I'm trying to expand a novel I'm trying to write from an outline I've built and I have a supervillain who works best when he's at odds with my protagonist and deutaragonist. But since the deutaragonist and the supervillain used to be best friends, I find myself sliding into an attempt to make them be best friends again, which considering some of the stuff he does to them is not what I want to happen/doesn't feel right.

I'm pretty sure I'm falling into the trap of 'I want happy endings for all of them' even though realistically in my story there can't be a happy ending for the deut and the villain without being extremely cliche, and essentially destroying a bunch of character development. So I guess I'm asking if you have any advice on how to make character development stick?

--

I don't know if I'd see this as character development. Isn't the supervillain already evil by the time the story starts? The friendship is in the backstory, no?

I don't know you or your book, but my off-the-cuff reaction is that you might be writing the wrong genre or the wrong story.

If you love happy endings for everyone and it's hard not to write that, then come up with a book that can be that.

If you've made the supervillain and this past friendship too interesting, then that's the story, not whatever the deuteragonist is up to.

What the villain does is only vaguely related to whether he feels redeemable or not. Why he does it is what matters. If you've given him motivations that feel like he's on a quest to save the world or like he just needs love, he's going to still feel redeemable, regardless of whether we should forgive an abusive shithead IRL for similar actions.

The villains we don't want to redeem are those who've fallen into selfish motivations, those who seem whiny and self-absorbed.

If the POV is the hero who's the ex-friend, perhaps the problem is that you've got this character more hung up on the villain than caring what's going on with their sidekick/hero partner/whomever the deuteragonist is. Make the deuteragonist the lead. Or make the inability to appreciate the sidekick more a central part of the hero's personal journey.

I know people say a story is only as good as its villain, but IME, the real problem is making the villain the most interesting character and their relationship with the hero the most interesting relationship.

That way lies a thousand XMFC fixit fics.

[alrightsnaps]

The beef you have with Anthony on twitter is very pathetic and also the fact that you PRETEND Violet has haters when all that happened is that maybe a couple of kanthony shippers have said she was a bit too harsh with him cause god forbids audience members feel more connected with the protagonist and not his mom. Also the fact you want Kate to share screentime with Mary and Edwina again when she was treated like crap by them is not it for someone who claims to love Kate. But I guess it's not surprising when you're buddy buddy with that selcouth account who not so secretly hates Kanthony and Kate and has polite convo with the bloggers who call Kate a homewrecking whore. You know your friend writes fic in which Anthony is beaten up and Kate continues to be miserable post wedding for the sake of poor innocent Edwina?And thinks Anthony should give a fuck about Edwina doesn't let him call her by her first name? Tell your friend he eyefucked Kate at the altar in front of her, let me assure you edwina lovers he doesn't give a fuck about her brattiness the majesty. Leave Kate and Kanthony out of your mouth.

aww how sweet of you that you think y'all are the first people to dickride for anthony at the expense of female characters! i can assure you that i've been beefing with his stans since before kate's casting announcement. kathonies are not the first to drag violet to defend him, or even the first stans to demonise their male fave's mother while excusing his own behaviour. sienna/anthony shippers did the exact same thing long ago painting violet as the evil hag who wouldn't let poor little anthony run off into the sunset with sienna in s1.

also why the fuck wouldn't i want kate to fix her relationships with edwina and mary? i've criticised edwina repeatedly for never apologising to kate since day 1. that's something we never saw in s2 so yeah, i definitely want to see that and i consider necessary for them to rebuild their relationship on better terms after the wedding fiasco.

what i consider hypocritical as fuck is being totally ok with kate forgiving anthony when he hardly did enough to deserve her forgiveness after all the pain he put her through, but drawing the line at her stepmother and sister.

anthony literally ruined kate in 2x04 and not only didn't assume his responsibilities as he forced simon to do with daphne in s1, but had the nerve to propose to her sister the very next morning. so yeah, if i can support kate being with anthony in the s2 finale when he was calling her "the thorn easily removed" from his and edwina's lives just two episodes back, because that makes her happy, i can sure as hell root for her making up with the women that have been her entire world for the past 26 years as well.

as far as i'm concerned neither anthony nor edwina did right by kate in s2. edwina because she blamed her for anthony's actions and was ungrateful, when all kate had done was sacrifice after sacrifice for her to be happy. and anthony because he never showed kate the respect he demanded men to show to his sisters and chose to go after her baby sister only to publicly humiliate both sharma girls in front of anyone when they were at the altar.

i'm old enought to be able to form my own opinion about characters instead of joining fandom groupthink or liking/disliking them based on how their fanbase behaves. if that was my criterion i don't think there's a single ship i'd support in the bridgerton fandom, considering that i disagree with most kathony and benophie stans on twitter for always coddling anthony and benedict and excusing their misogyny.

and frankly, i'm extremely uncomfortable with the way you and many kathony stans talk about edwina. y'all are literally victim blaming an 18yo child for falling for a grownass man who went after her and ruined her in the eyes of society. you constanly infantilise anthony when he has more privilege than 99% of men in england, while spending your time talking shit about a teenage girl.

that's not holding edwina responsible for her behaviour towards kate, it's misogyny, plain and simple. she has every right to treat anthony like filth for the rest of her life after what he did to her and be protective of kate, like kate was of edwina when anthony was courting her, after his abhorrent treatment of both sisters.

a 30yo man not giving a fuck about a teenager he strung along and ruined isn't the gotcha that you think it is. except you clearly have such a sexist worldview that you consider him to be the "prize" edwina lost and kate won, rather than a man who hurt them both deeply and took advantage of his privilege over them.

if i should keep kate out of my mouth for wanting to see her have a healthy and wholesome relationship with her family, so should you people for being ok with anthony doing the bare minimum to win her after the hell he put her through.

[bnomiko]

Spoiler-free Nocturne ramblings

(Guess everyone's all worked up about Castlevania again because "Under the Milky Way" gained like 28 kudos and 1000 hits in 5 days, yay : D )

Just finished watching Nocturne. I have thoughts, but in the interest of keeping things SPOILER-FREE (because yes I got spoiled on things because people can't bother using a spoiler tag, thanks a lot you wankers), I'll keep this as vague as possible.

Olrox: far and away the best character thus far. I can see why everyone's hot and heavy for the guy already, and the smut fics are apparently already rolling in. I would not be mad if they simply shifted this to Castlevania: Olrox and sent everyone else home. More, please! How about some merch too? I'd buy the shit out of it, dude is straight up hot.

This is not my Richter. I expected this:

... and got this:

(Yes that's Joseph Joestar, not Richter. The point is, sexy brunet hot-headed asshole vs. plain white bread. Richter needs more asshole points, less nutritional void.)

Since Richter is 19, that'd make Maria 12, going by the Rondo of Blood timeline (apparently she's 16 in Nocturne but she doesn't look it). For those who get why I brought that up, marinate on that, y'all. A very long marinade, maybe another 5, 6 years...

I... actually don't mind Annette. I didn't know how I'd react to her, but I have no complaints.

I rather like Edouard.

I noticed Mizrak right off the bat. Thought to myself, now there's a cutie. I'm not the only one who noticed ^_~

Um, trying to figure out how to word this without doing a reveal ^^;... Thanks for throwing us a bone, sorta, on what's probably the most well-known Castlevania threeway relationship prior to the animations? Is that vague enough?

Uh.... honestly don't have much opinion on anyone else. I predicted a much higher body count by this point and people I thought would be dead aren't, and vice versa, but I'm sure the numbers will start climbing next season.

Things I wish would've happened:

A little closer compliance to game lore, as Richter has a good amount of game lore to reference. If they skip the entirety of the SotN storyline I think that'd be a mistake since it's obviously the best-known game of the franchise.

I'm not necessarily mad at the throwing away of the Vampire Killer's special clause (that only direct line male descendants can use it) as it's patriarchal and outdated but I would've liked to seen mention of that not being the case, first, before it got flung out the window.

A LOT less crying. I know Alucard was a faucet in the original animation, but the crying jags in this are ridiculous. I'm pretty sure even the horses were crying. Tera running off sobbing like an anime girl, complete with hands over her face? Ugh. Everyone just standing around and watching Annette cry her heart out, without even a hand on the shoulder in sympathy? Uggggh. No those aren't spoilers, as everyone cries at least twice, if not more.

Original animation vs Nocturne, and the lack of camaraderie and banter:

I guess what I miss most in this series so far vs the original animation series, is the lack of teamwork and camaraderie. Trevor, Sypha and Alucard were yes, forced by circumstance, to stick together, rely on one another, and build up a rapport (they spent the majority of S2 locked in the Hold together), to the point that they could work as a team without having to verbally communicate. There was something really refreshing about that, ya know?

The protagonists of Nocturne thus far... mostly do whatever they want? There's so little interpersonal dialogue. The only character relationship thus far that feels organic at all is the one that started as straight up sex - there's an honesty to that, at least.

Also I miss the banter, a lot more than I thought I would. Even with a serious storyline I like a bit of humor in my shows / stories. How else would we have learned that Sypha has icy cold feet, Trevor can't fucking read, or Alucard is triggered by the word "the"? I came away with zero new trivia factoids about Richter, Maria, and Annette.

[loveless-scribes]

✨🛒👀🥺🤩🎉🌞🎢

Oh, wow! That's a bunch! Thanks so much for sending the ask, let's dive right in! <3 ✨ Give you and your writing a compliment. Go on now. You know you deserve it. 😉 This is hard, especially right now because I'm really struggling with my writing. My ideas aren't clear and I feel like they don't line up with one another or that the tone shifts abruptly because the way I'm feeling has changed between one writing session and the next. I guess I hope that my writing makes people FEEL things. That's my main goal most of the time. And I think I'm pretty good at surprising people, too. So, to put that in compliment form I think I'm alright at conveying emotions and I have a knack for those plot twists. XD 🛒 What are some common things you incorporate in your fics? Themes, feels, scenes, imagery, etc. I feel like I'm always writing about death even when I'm not planning to, it just kind of works its way back in there. Also, I guess another common theme would be the deep connections that people can form with one another, against all odds, against their better judgement, and sometimes even to their own detriment. I guess that's a hopeful theme in a way, people staying even when you're sure they'll walk away. Also, my protagonist needs to be a little messed up in the head. Anything else is hard and boring to write. I love writing crazy people and then humanizing them to the reader. 👀 Tell me about an up and coming wip please! Barring AM spoilers, and the Sukuna fic I teased about on my alt, I want to write a short story about a world where voluntary self-elimination is both legal and readily accessible. The idea's been floating around in my head for a while - what that would look like, what the logistics around it would be, how friends and family would react, the inevitable desensitization towards death. I do hope to get that one down sometime soon because I'm really inspired to write it. 🥺 Is there a certain type of moment or common interaction between your characters that never fails to put you in your feels? I think I hinted at this already, but I love it when one character is sure the other is going to leave them, but they don't. Not even necessarily in a romantic sense. It could be a friendship, or a parent-child relationship or what have you. Just that feeling of, "I've gone too far, it's over" but it's not, because that person would never leave. Staying by each other's side whether or not they understand the full context. Not even necessarily needing the context to know that they're on your side. I guess that's why it's a recurring theme in LS's relationship.

🤩 Who is your favorite character to write? This used to be an easy "Levi, hands down - all day, every day." But lately, Slayte has become my favorite. Especially with her current struggles in the story, I just have a soft spot for her and the stuff she has to go through, I guess. She's also the character that most meets my "crazy protag" criteria, so there's that. 🎉 What leads you to consider a fic a success? When people tell me I made them cry. It sounds mean, but there's no better feeling. That's when my inner critic has no choice but to shut up because OMG THEY SHED REAL TEARS. (I've defo cried, too, while writing AM so no worries.) 🌞 Do you have a preferred time of day to write? When everyone is either asleep or out of the house. Early mornings are the best, but work always gets in the way. I would be better able to answer this question if I wasn't so tired all the time. ^^

🎢 Which of your fics would you call your wildest ride? I think it's the Sukuna darkfic duology on my alt @azureashes. It's just so crazy and out there. Idk if I would consider AM a "wild ride" since it definitely has its wholesome and comforting moments. I actually think hurt/comfort is a huge theme in AM. Maybe we should add it to the tags. Thanks for the ask, Anon! <3

[solar-synapse]

🌒⭐️💬 🎭

(I am only somewhat sure I got all those right have fun sol~)

🌒 - Do you prefer Sun & Moon to be separate animatronics or share the same body?

I think if I was going to write a more canon-typical AU, I would write them as animatronics sharing the same body. The tension in their relationship is fundamentally tied to how unequal their control is over their shared body, and that's something I would want to dig into in my own writing, but I love seeing other people write them as separate animatronics too.

In my existing AU's, I've done both! The boys in Star-Crossed are twins, but they're very different individuals. In the Silt Verses crossover, they're two aspects of one god. So I guess my answer is both. Both is good.

⭐️ - Favorite AU character design?

If you asked me this three days ago, I probably would have said the Fairweather Fool, but now I'm looking at some of these proposed Digimon evo line designs and sweating over Sun and Moon's mega fusion.

If we're talking about other people's AU designs, hands down, it's gotta be Dusk and Dawn from head-in-the-icloud's Royal Jesters AU. They're just so appealing.

💬 - How would you describe this AU to a friend who wasn’t in the DCA fandom?

Both of the AU's I am actively working on are already so far removed from DCA fandom, they lend themselves really well to being read by people who aren't familiar with the source material! I have a couple friends who have read and enjoyed Star-Crossed who aren't in the fandom. I'd honesty just summarize the premises.

Star-Crossed: Sun is the Seelie court jester, well known and well connected, but in political decline. In order to bolster his waning popularity, he has written an ambitious stage play, a tragedy between star-crossed lovers that is certain to satisfy his fans, if only he can find the perfect actor to step into the protagonist's role. That's where you come in.

You are a sidhe seer searching for someone who was taken to faerie many years ago. In exchange for passage to faerie, you sign a contract with Sun agreeing to perform in his play. However, his twin, Moon, doesn't quite buy your story or the convenient timing of your appearance. Faerie is a treacherous place. He suspects there is someone working in the shadows to sabotage his brother's career, and you are his prime suspect.

TSV crossover: It's been generations since your people's god was outlawed during the religious wars that codified the legal faiths. Your rural, largely agricultural village is struggling to modernize, until a man from the city in a purple suit arrives one day with a tantalizing offer: a newly rebranded god of sunlight and celebrations, guaranteed to help your crops flourish in a way the pesticidal gods never did.

While the village elders and elected council members jump at the opportunity to expand in a new direction, one that promises increased opportunities for religious tourism, you pay the new god little mind, until it becomes clear you've caught his eye. However, the attention of a god isn't necessarily a good thing, and it seems Fazco hasn't been entirely transparent about this god's original aspect.

🎭 - Tell us one cliche/trope you love in AUs and one you dislike

Love: Enemies/rivals to friends/lovers. Bonus points if they were friends before they became enemies too, so you have a friends to enemies to friends/lovers reconciliation arc. Listen, I love a ship that makes me work for the payoff. The more baggage they bring to the table, the better. Messy people make for interesting stories.

Hate: Love at first sight and/or stories with pacing that doesn't give sufficient time for realistic romantic development to take place before characters start making dramatic life-altering gestures for their love interests or choices that go against their established natures. I'm an aromantic who loves ship fic, but nothing makes my romance repulsion flare harder than this. Just start in media res if you don't want to write the build up.

[blackwell-academys-airdrop]

For the ask game 6,8 and 25

6. which ship fans are the most annoying? uh. No offense intended whatsoever, but I simply do not vibe with Grahamscott (the gay one). I mean, I guess I see the appeal? But it just kinda rubs me the wrong way a little. I think it's cuz it's a very popular (I might even call it overrated) mlm ship in a very wlw-oriented game and fandom. It's like, there's 5 times more mlm on AO3 as opposed to wlw last I checked. Not that there's anything inherently wrong with mlm; it's just not for me, and it's something that gets hyped up a LOT in fandom spaces, often to the detriment of wlw, het, and other ships.

Anyway. Very popular ship for what I would go so far as to call a crack pairing. (The inherent homoeroticism of, uh... beating a guy up so hard he has to go to the hospital?) Want proof? Here are the most popular relationships (platonic inclusive) in the Life Is Strange fandom on AO3 as of the time of writing:

There are more Grahamscott fics than there are Marshfield fics (admittedly not by a lot), and that's a travesty.

FANDOM-WIDE CHALLENGE: Write >17 Marshfield fics so we can knock Grahamscott out of 4th place!

I reiterate: I do not hate Grahamscott, nor do I hate those who ship them. It's got a lot of (non-uwu softboy, mind you) potential. It simply isn't for me.

8. common fandom opinion that everyone is wrong about Bae or Bay Before the Storm is not a bad game. Actually no wait I'll save that one for 25.

Hm.

How bout this: William was NOT a perfect dad. He was a good one, for sure, but remember: our idea of his character is rose-tinted with Chloe's and Max's overwhelmingly positive memories of him. "That's one thing he left us: wonderful memories." (I paraphrase) I'd like to see his flaws explored a bit more.

25. common fandom complaint that you're sick of hearing I've said it already and I'll say it again: Before the Storm is not a bad game. It's not a great game, and it definitely doesn't live up to the original, but it's a good game.

High points of the game (keep in mind I haven't watched/played the game in about 4 years):

Steph

Interesting take on a young Nathan

CUNSn

The SMASH scene (brought me close to tears. The controllable helplessness of it all, God)

Steph and Mikey

Skip

EN FUEGO UTERO

I LOVE what they did with Samuel actually

The take on Rachel was really interesting, especially the whole backstory thing and the actress mindset

FIRE POWERS FIRE POWERS

I'm intrigued by the drawing of an older Max hanging from a noose in a tree in Chloe's journal. WHAT does that IMPLY, WHAT does that MEAN

Steph

Barb the Barbarian (I named one of my DnD characters that and made her a She-Ra expy)

Chloe's dream sequences and general sleepiness (reminiscent of depression)

PUTTING AN ENTIRE CAR BATTERY INTO HER PANTS POCKET

The snitch straight-up admitting to Damon that he snitched was not at all realistic but it was very funny

The play scene, especially if you get all the lines right

Victoria drinking the drugged tea

Farewell, especially the little choose-your-own squirrel story ^w^

Low points:

"tHe StArS aRe DeAd" THAT IS NOT ASTRONOMICALLY CORRECT (I have ranted about this before)

Damon. Everything about Damon. His character, his impact on the plot, everything.

The whole James and Sera backstory was really hackneyed

I am ambivalent about the Backtalk mechanic

The whole third episode was just such a letdown. So much wasted potential

Much like LIS, there are a lot of different subplots, but LIS wove them together well while BTS didn't.

I've reblogged a rant about this before, but Chloe has so very little agency while Max has loads of it! Admittedly, the game is a prequel so some things have to happen no matter what, and Chloe's lack of agency (and unwillingness to acquire it) is a big point of her character, but it does not make for a fun video game protagonist. There are way too many But Thou Must! moments in the story.

The friggin' end scene with Frank fighting off Damon

do NOT retcon that Pompidou was a gift from Damon. do NOT

I'm also ambivalent on the whole Max and Chloe text exchanges retcon. Like, I think Chloe miiiight have reached out to her, but Max would not have responded. The anxiety is simply Too Great.

I am also ambivalent about the Sam & Nathan thing. I wish she'd gotten more characterization than just "sweet kind girl who loves books".

Megan Weaver didn't show up. I wish she had, cuz she was evidently important to Chloe for at least a little while, and we know so little about her

I know there was a strike going on or something but I am sad we didn't have the original VAs :( (but they came back for Farewell, so rejoice!)

Chloe's VA's performance was kinda lackluster

Okay THAT got longer than I anticipated. Sorry. Anyway. There are a lot of good points to BTS. There are a lot of bad ones, too. But hey. Canon is a construct.