#and also they're two of my favourite fandoms and mean a lot to me ^^'

[gaylightisminetocommand]

Soooo I've been rotating a HTTYD ToA AU in my brain for the last few years. Not much plot stuff, mainly the GoA just hanging out and instigating shenanigans as we should've gotten to see more of and maybe fighting some evil stuff, only they have dragons and it takes place in the same time period as HTTYD. Similar dynamic to the dragon riders.

Anyway! I've been wanting to redraw this concept for a while (drew Jim and Claire and their dragons ages ago and they're absolutely atrocious), I think it would be a good way to make myself draw some of the other characters I love but don't draw as much, soooo... any dragon suggestions? So far I've locked in:

Jim - Light Fury (cause blue and idk I just think it works)

Claire - Razorwhip (the Shadow Staff always reminded me of one lol, also there are canonically ones with purple eyes)

Toby - Gronkle (cause Rocks)

Aja - Deadly Nadder (fun-loving and energetic but also badass and dangerous)

Douxie maaaay have a Skrill but idk. So yeah if anyone in both fandoms has any suggestions then let me know!

[copperbadge]

Hey Sam! Since it's currently AO3 donation time, I'm wondering what your thoughts are on it? I'm asking because you've written RPF and it's one of many "anti-AO3/anti-AO3 donations" people's favourite things to bring up when they're complaining about AO3 getting so many donations that it continuously obtains an excess of its donation goal whenever donation time rolls around? (Wow, how many times can I say "donation" in an ask?) Sorry if this question bothers you! I don't mean to offend or annoy.

Hey anon! Sorry it took a while to get to this, I don't even know if the drive is still going on, but the question came in while I was traveling and I didn't really have the time for stuff that wasn't travel-related. In any case, let's dig in! (I am not offended, no worries.)

So really there are two issues here and as much as some people who are critical of AO3 want to conflate them, they are different. While some criticism of AO3 may be valid, rhetoric against AO3 tends to misinterpret both in separate ways.

First there's the issue of what AO3 hosts -- RPF, yes, but more broadly, varied content that some people find distasteful or think should be illegal, which is a misunderstanding of the purpose of the archive and more broadly a dangerous attitude towards the concept of freedom of expression.

Second, there's the issue of AO3 generally outpacing its fundraising goals while not allowing monetization, which is a misunderstanding of the legal status of AO3 and to an extent a misunderstanding of philanthropy as a whole.

The longer I watch debates about content go on, the more I come to the conclusion that I was fortunate to have a teacher who really wanted to instill in us an understanding of free speech not as a policy but as an ongoing dialogue. It's not only that freedom of expression "protects you from the government, not the Justin" as the meme goes, but also that freedom of expression is not a static thing. It's an ongoing process of identifying what we find harmful in society and what we want to do about it.

Should the freedom to shout "Fire!" in a crowded theater be restricted? Should the freedom to yell slurs at drag performers? Should the freedom to teach prepubescent kids about gender, sexuality, and/or safe sex? Should the freedom to wear a leather puppy hood at Pride? Who gets to say, and why?

I was nine when my teacher did a unit on freedom of speech and the intersection of "harm prevention" and "censorship", which is (and should be) a discussion, not a set of ironclad rules. This ambiguity has thus been with me for over thirty years, and I'm comfortable with the ambiguity, with the process; I'm not sure a lot of people critical of AO3's content truly are. Perhaps some can't be, especially those affected by hate speech, but RPF is not hate speech. It's just fiction. Or is fiction "just fiction"? This is a question society as a whole is grappling with, although fandom seems to be a little out ahead of society in terms of how explicitly we discuss it.

The idea that prose can incite violence or cause harm is both valid to examine (witness the rise of fascism on the radio in the 20s, on Facebook and Twitter in the past ten years; they're very similar processes) and a very slippery slope. Because again: who decides what harm is, and what causes it, and what we do about it? Our values align us with certain beliefs, but those are only our values, not universal truths. So AO3 is part of the ongoing question of harm and benefit both to society and individuals.

AO3 itself, however, has a fairly defined policy that it is not meant to police content; it is an archive, not a bookstore or a school board. AO3 refines its TOS and policies as necessary, but the goal is always open access and as much freedom of expression as possible, and if that's uncomfortable for some people then that's a discussion we have to have; ignoring it won't make it go away. But it has to be a discussion, it can't be a unilateral change to the archive's TOS or a series of snaps and clapbacks, and I don't see a lot of people ready to move beyond flinging insults. Perhaps because they were taught a much more binary view of freedom of expression than I was.

So, self-evidently, I support AO3 and I don't have a problem with RPF. Whether other people do is something we're going to have to get to grips with, and that's likely to be a process that is still going on when most of us are dust. I'd rather have a century of ambiguity than a wrong answer tomorrow, anyway.

But whether AO3 hosts RPF is truly a separate issue from its donation drives, because it's a criticism some people level at the site which exists whether it's fundraising or not. So people can criticize AO3's open policy and they can give it as a reason not to support the site, but it's just one aspect of the archive and the fundraising as a whole should be examined separately.

I think AO3's fundraisers are deeply misunderstood (sometimes on purpose) because even people who are anticapitalist get a little crazy when money gets involved, and this is, to fandom, a lot of money -- a few hundred thousand, reliably, every fundraiser. To me, a fundraiser that pulls in three hundred grand is almost quaint; my current nonprofit pulls in better than ten million a year and my previous employer had an endowment of several billion dollars. At my old job I didn't even bother researching people who couldn't give us a hundred grand.

On the other hand, AO3 is an extreme and astounding outlier in the nonprofit world, because basically it's the only one of its kind to work the way it does. It is entirely volunteer-run on the operational side (ie: tag wranglers, coders, lawyers, etc) and has no fundraising staff (gift officers, researchers, outreach officers) as far as I'm aware. To pull in three hundred grand from individual one-time donations, without any paid staff and without even a volunteer fundraising officer? That's insane. That doesn't happen. Except at AO3.

What people misunderstand, however, is the basic status of a nonprofit, which is a legal status, not simply a social one. (I'm adding in some corrections here since it gets complicated and the terminology can be important!) The Organization for Transformative Works, the parent of AO3, is a nonprofit, which indicates how it was incorporated as an organization; additionally it is registered federally as tax-exempt, which carries certain perks, like not paying sales tax, and certain duties, like making their financials transparent to a certain extent. (Religious nonprofits are exempt from the transparency requirement.) If you're interested in more about nonprofits and tax-exempt status a reader dropped a great article here.

Nonprofits, unlike for-profit companies, cannot pay a share of their income to stakeholders. Nonprofits don't have financial stakeholders, only donors. They can have employees and pay them a salary -- that's me, for example -- but if a nonprofit pulls in $10M in donations, my salary is paid from that, I don't get a percentage and nobody else does either. That's what it means to be a nonprofit -- the money above operational costs goes back into the organization. The donations we (and AO3) receive must be plowed under and used for outreach, server maintenance, further fundraising, services expansion, et cetera. You can see this in the 990 forms on Guidestar or ProPublica, or in their more accessible breakdowns on Charity Navigator. Nonprofits that do not put the majority of their income towards service provision tend to get audited and lose their nonprofit status. So nobody's getting paid from all that money, and the overage that isn't spent goes into what is basically a savings account in the name of the nonprofit. (I'm vastly simplifying but that's the gist.) Using that money for personal purposes is illegal. It's called "private inurement" and there's a good article here about it. The money belongs to the OTW as a concept, not to anyone in or of the OTW.

So the biggest misunderstanding that I see in people who are mad at AO3 fundraisers is that "they" are getting all this money (who "they" are is never clearly stated but I'm pretty sure people think @astolat has a special wifi router that runs on burning hundred dollar bills) while "we" can't monetize our fanfic. But "they" get nothing -- nobody even earns a salary from AO3 -- and you can easily prove that by looking at the 990 forms they file with the government, which are required to be made public. You can see the most recently available 990, from 2020, here at Guidestar. Page seven will show you the "highest compensated" employees, all of whom are earning zero dollars or nonmonetary perks (that's the three columns on the right).

Either AO3 is entirely volunteer-run or someone's Doing A Real Fraud. The money the OTW spends is documented (that's page 10 and 11 primarily) and while they may pay for, say, the travel and lodging expenses of a lawyer going to DC to defend a freedom-of-expression case, they don't pay the lawyer for their time, or give them a cut of the income.

Despite what you've read, the reason "we" can't monetize our fanfics on AO3 has nothing to do with the site being the product of volunteer handiwork or AO3 having it in their terms of service or it being considered gauche by some to do so; it's because

IT'S ILLEGAL.

I cannot say this loudly enough: It is against the law for a nonprofit to be used by its staff, volunteers, or beneficiaries to earn direct profit from the services provided by the nonprofit.

You can be paid to work at one, but you cannot side-hustle by selling your handmade friendship bracelets for personal gain on the nonprofit's website. If the nonprofit knowingly allows monetization of its services, it can lose nonprofit status, be fined, be hit with back taxes, and a lot of other unpleasant bullshit can go down, including prosecution of those involved for fraud. If you put a ko-fi link on your fanfic, you are breaking the law, and if AO3 allows it, they are too.

Okay, that was a sidebar, but in some ways not, because it gets to the heart of the real complaints about AO3 fundraising, which is that people in fandom are sick or unhoused or in some form of need and other people in fandom are giving to AO3, a fan site that is financially stable, instead of giving to peoples' gofundmes or dropping money in their Ko-Fi or Paypal. And while it is a legitimate grievance that there are people who are in such desperate need while we live in an era of unprecedented abundance, that's not AO3's fault. AO3 doesn't solicit actively, there's no unasked-for mailings or calls from a gift officer. They just put a banner up on their website, and people give. (Again, this is incredibly outlier behavior in the nonprofit world, I'd do a case study on it but the conclusion would just be "shit's real, yo.") You might as well be mad that people give to their local food bank instead of someone's ko-fi.

You cannot lay at AO3's feet the fact that people want to give to AO3 instead of to your fundraiser. That's a choice individuals have made, and while you can engage with them in terms of why they made the philanthropic choices they did, to blame an organization they supported rather than the person who made the choice to give is not only incorrect but futile, and unlikely to win anyone over to supporting you. We know from research that guilt is not a tremendous motivator of philanthropy.

It is also not necessarily a binary choice; just because AO3 gets a hundred grand in $5 donations doesn't mean most of the people giving don't also give $5 elsewhere. I support the OTW on occasion, and I also fundraise for UNICEF and the Chicago Parks Foundation and BAGLY and others, in addition to giving monthly to several nonprofits that I have longterm relationships with -- my alma mater, the animal rescue where I got the Cryptids, my shul. And I give, occasionally and anonymously, to fundraisers that pass through Radio Free Monday, which are mainly individuals in need, because I was once in need and now I pay it forward. These are the choices I have made. Nobody twisted my arm. I respond poorly to someone making the attempt to do so by attacking places I've given.

I think the upshot is, after all of this that I've written, that we cannot begin to come to grips with questions of institutional inequality in philanthropy, or freedom of expression and censorship, until people actually understand what's going on, and too few do. So all I can do is try and explain, and hopefully create a forum for people to learn and grow when it comes to charitable giving.

Archive Of Our Own and the Organization for Transformative Works are products of our community and as that community changes, we will necessarily continue to re-evaluate what aspects of it mean and how AO3/OTW express the community sentiment. I hope that the ongoing discussion of support for AO3 also leads to people learning more about their philanthropic options. But criticizing AO3 for fundraising by attacking it for fulfilling one of its stated purposes is silly, and attempting to guilt people into giving in the ways one thinks they should give rather than how they do give is just going to make one extremely unlikable.

As members of this community, we have to be a part of the push and pull, but it's difficult to do that competently in ignorance. So, I do my best to be knowledgeable and to educate my readers, and I hope others will do the same.

[olderthannetfic]

My two favourite things in the world are both books that have all the elements that I enjoy, and I mean this in the sense of both the ID-gratifying elements like whump and fucked up intriguing character dynamics, and broader and more poignant topics about society and humanity and how it all functions and also some fucking beautiful writing.

Thing A has a massive fandom, whereas thing B has a fandom of like 20 people. This is due to several factors: A got an adaptation and lots of promo, and is also in a genre that doesn't seem intimidating and that fandoms tend to like interacting with, whereas B begins in a way that feels too highbrow/complicated so loads of people bounce off of it even though in the end it has more or less the same mix of ID-gratifying elements and poignant commentary on human nature.

I need to be clear that it's the combo of the two (+the sheer quality of the writing and plotting) that makes those books my two favourite things ever. There's just something very comforting about a work of art that effortlessly gets the things that you perceive about the world at large and find important but ALSO includes all your favourite kinks and trashy romance dynamics.

Now, you'd expect the fandom A to water down the source material and reduce it to incorrect quotes but there's actually a large and quite popular contingent of people engaging with the more philosophical/moral/sociological themes of the work, with excellent quality meta that gets as much traction as the cutesy ship fanart and people going apeshit over the whump and the meowmeowness of the morally questionable characters. There's arguments and fandom drama as well but I cannot describe how much I fucking love it there simply because the average fan understands the source material fairly well and is ready to engage with all of its elements, hot romance and whump and reflections on human nature and all.

OTOH fandom B tends to attract snooty intellectual types - and you can immediately tell from the profiles that they're snooty intellectual types. Lots of people calling themselves "bluestockings" and having the most stodgy upper middle class academia person attitudes imaginable. Which makes sense because you need to have a certain level of... confidence in your ability to comprehend complex things in order to not give up on the canon material halfway through? There's a very prevalent attitude of thinking they're cooler than other people because they're into this super deep and complicated thing.

The funny thing is that they seem to absolutely refuse to engage with the actual themes of the work and insist on mangling them and misunderstanding the characters to gush over the whump and the toxicity of it all. This, combined with the small size of the fandom, and the snooty intellectual attitude (sensitivity to opposing opinions because they've built their entire personalities on being Very Smart and Always Correct included!), and the frequent incapacity to comprehend that sometimes the grey morality and ambivalence is ON PURPOSE, makes me very reluctant to engage with the fandom at all even though the brainrot about the canon material is by this point an integral part of my soul.

I go into the tag almost every day - it gets a couple of posts per week from the same 15ish people and almost all of the ones that aren't jokes that fall flat misunderstand the canon while being obnoxious and snooty and gatekeepy as fuck.

Whereas in fandom A nobody's really putting on airs - they're all like "yeah we like this popular thing, isn't it cool! let's talk about the cool thing!" I don't know what my point was with all of this, beyond the fact that, man, I WISH fandom B were more like fandom A and it makes me sad that it's not.

I just want more cool people that I can discuss shit I like with, yeah?

(funnily enough I'm pretty sure that like 50% of fandom B are also at least casual fans of A, or at least A's mid adaptation, they just don't often have a lot to say about it.)

--

*id

[fluffyenergee]

Do you have headcanons for ler sniper??? I like to imagine him as a silly ler bc the comunity always potraits him as a serious, silent and grumpy old man but...hey, we have A LOT of voicelines of him being literally a golden retriever (even in the comics he's super sweet) >w<)/

Sorry i just love to speak about mundy...

Anyways, i remember a voiceline of Sniper dancing conga, saying smthing like "happy feet, happy feet!"...And—,, omg im so lee for that one😭...i feel like he would babytalk the whole time, or at least make silly voices, and for raspberries...dont let me start w them, bc he's a professional when it comes to raspberrying a tummy🙏🙏🙏(canon im valve),, i mean, look at his stubble, and he plays the sax...so, idk, it's obvious for me how good this man is!! He loves to make his lee's blushed and flustered (romantic or not)

Anyways, sorry if this is a bunch of nonsense, feel free to ignore, i would like to have headcanons for the silly bushman ;3 specially if involves tummy tickles bc they are my way to cope teheheh ÚuÙ

Ily stay safe and virtual hugs!!

YES! Yes, listen, yes, I think fandom sees him being a bit more serious than he actually is. He is damn playful when he wants to be, I especially see it as someone who more bases anything on the game than anything else tf2. The best example is exactly that "happy feet, happy feet" you said (btw, he says it while square dance taunting, not congaing, I had to correct it but don't worry about it ;3). Honestly, the same applies to Spy if you ask me, but let's focus on Snipurr because yes, he's a damn playful ler, let me tell ya:

"Professionals have standards" huh? He sure does, and tickling is no different. He has standards, damn it. He especially uses this line for blowing raspberries, but it works for tickling in general

all of the mercs who have stubble use it for tickling and Sniper's no different, yep, mostly for tickling a sensitive tummy. It also works for giving tickly kisses because then he has two things to tickle with - his lips and his stubble *V*

ok, so, yeah, I'm never getting that "happy feet, happy feet" out of my mind because omg. He very much says that while tickling his lee's feet, and the lee dies, especially Scout. His feet are deathly ticklish and combined with this kind of teasing? Yep, he's a goner. Like sir, Sniper, sir, that's illegal

one of his favourites way to tickle is to use his lips to tickle a neck or nuzzle it while holding his lee's arms, pinning them down. From his experience it's very very flustering to his lee. Another way is sitting down, his lee between his legs with their back facing him, Sniper's hands tickling their torso, mostly their tummy. He simply prefers when his lee doesn't really have space to escape

he's taller than most of the mercenaries and the bastard takes advantage of it. He will hold something of another person's above their head, then when they're trying to get it and reaching for it with their hands he will catch their wrists with one hand, use the other to tickle the tummy and, of course, tickle their neck with his lips at the same time. He tickles a lot from behind

while he does prefer for the tickling to happen in more private spaces like his campervan or his room (does he even have a room or is he in his campervan entire time? Eh) that doesn't mean he definitely won't tickle with others around. He's all for the lee being embarassed by being tickled in front of others, he just prefers to have peace and be sure no one and nothing will interrupt

yes, he does love making his lee blushy and flustered, can't tell me otherwise, mostly by commenting on the spots like "Those are some unusually ticklish feet, mate" or "your stomach is moving a lot while tickled, I think it means it likes it".

Those aren't headcanons btw, this is all canon cause I'm Valve itself too, trust.

Nah, don't apologize for anything, do you know how happy I got when at 5 am I saw not only a new ask in my inbox but also one that's so long? Like, not just an ask but also something for me to read? Stay safe and I return your virtual hugs :D.

*whispers* Send more. If you want. You don't have to. But aaaagh!

[mrnightingale]

About the whole NG thing, two things I want to say: I haven't read the article yet, I intend to read it in the near future but I need to be in a Good Mood and take care of myself first.

But I know the trigger warnings. I have an idea. And when I first saw them I only could think "this is so much worse than everything I could have imagined". I haven't been in touch w the news since August I think, when I stopped interacting w the GO fandom bc I lost interest, but in my mind there were only the allegations of only two women. I always believed and will believe and support the victims, but sincerely I didn't know what to expect when more information came out, and this is so much worse. I was staying in the edge bc of the lack of information, and given that I only started reading his work last year, I wasn't really involved w him.

I know there are some ppl saying that the news have been around long enough to process the information, but this is not what I was prepared for at first. And I'm genuinely scared of reading the article bc I really don't know how much worse it can be. How monstrous he is, how much did his victims suffer. I want to cry only thinking about it.

I know I won't be able to separate his work from the article once I read it, so I want to be prepared first.

And the thing is, I don't even like him all that much. I didn't grow up reading his work, he didn't have a strong impact in my life (except for the Coraline movie that was released when I was still a child, but that's the only one). But he is the first and only writer that caught my attention that wasn't dead half a century ago. I've always read classics, and I'm actually quite tired of not having any modern literature I can enjoy. I didn't grow up reading Harry Potter or Percy Jackson. I don't have any books in common with my reader friends.

And he was the first I really wanted to read, and I was starting to discover his work when the first news came out. But time has passed and somehow, even if I don't read *his* books, he's involved one way or another with absolutely everything I kinda like rn. And it's a lot. Bc of Good Omens I discovered David Tennant and Michael Sheen, and now they're my favourite actors, then Doctor Who and Sandman and DBDA, and even if it's not bc of him, that doesn't quit the fact that he's involved with the story. I'm genuinely thinking of becoming an actor and he is part of it. Even if GO is also written by Pratchett, even if there's a lot of people who aren't like him in the creation of Sandman, even if dbda is Steve's creation, even if he only wrote two or three Who chapters, he's everywhere. How can he be literally everywhere.

I can appreciate a good piece of art, and I can enjoy it till some point even if I know there's a bad story behind it, but I know not everyone is like this. And I don't mean separate the art from the artist. I mean having in mind that a horrible person can do meaningful art. And I know that apparently there are much more ppl he hurted, and I can only think how would it be for them. Knowing that you can't really escape from his name. Knowing that he's so "important" that some people will support him no matter what. It's horrible, really.

Maybe I'm only interacting with the media he's involved with, but that doesn't make it any better, bc I can't believe I only connect deeply with art corrupted by his name on it.

I'm deliberately not doing any GO or Sandman art, bc I know that's promoting his work and he still can gain from it, but even if dw and dbda have nothing to do with him, I can't stop thinking that maybe he's still involved enough w it that somehow he's still gaining smth from it... Idk.

I don't know what to do, actually. I think no one does. I know I didn't felt the betrayal that all the fans of his work felt. I know we should shut the fuck up about the discussion of his work and focus on the victims. I know some people will disagree with me and say I shouldn't enjoy something bc that's supporting a monster. I really don't want to support him, but he's even where he shouldn't. What the fuck.

I think only now I'm starting to realize why he's such a disappointment for everyone. He really was an important artist in the industry. He really inspired a lot of good people. His work really was meaningful and was an escape for a lot of people who suffered a lot. People who suffered as much as he make his victims suffer. It's ironic, really.

Idk, I just wanted to write it down. Everyone is dealing with it in their own way...

[directdogman]

Hey dogman, idk if you answered this

Who, out of both DSAF and Dialtown, was your favourite to write and/or create?

It's very hard for me to pick favourites with my characters because I don't tend to give characters a lot of screen-time unless I find a character interesting or fun to write. You've caught me in a talkative mood, so warning, there's an onslaught of text coming!

DSaF: Dave was the most fun to write for, as I remember it. I mean, the guy is the walking personification of chaos and even when he's being constructive (eg, rigging robots to do insane stuff), it's usually in a destructive capacity. Dave will do LITERALLY ANYTHING but contribute to society in meaningful/valuable ways.

In terms of what character-writing I was most 'proud' of, I was also pretty happy with Dr Henry Miller, as a villain. Namely the research he embarked on, described in his logs in DSaF 3 (which the fandom evidently agreed with, as I got really strong feedback on those logs.)

One issue a lot of people (including myself) have with canon William Afton is that he's this kind of mad scientist character but his research doesn't really seem to be... idk, going anywhere? Other than using remnant (soul nectar?) to make kids possess robots, it's kind of a mystery how he got to this point he did from running a bad fast food restaurant. William gets fleshed out motivations in TSE and even then, it mainly revolves around his relationship with Henry Emily, iirc. It's actually pretty accurate to how real serial killers think, imo, but there's a pretty wide berth between this kind of serial killer and becoming a sci-fi fast-food mad scientist... So, I decided to try to bridge that gap.

DSaF Henry's logs actually mention where the idea for his research came from, namely the fact that he existed in a world with normal scientific rules just like ours and seemingly discovered something supernatural, and he approaches it like an amoral scientist would - trying to figure out how to figure out more about the fabric of reality using the newly discovered phenomenon of possession. The 'joy of creation' phrase people pulled from Golden Freddy's phone call in FNaF 1 is given context - Henry is trying to find out what's on the other side (and eventually, how existence itself formed.)

There's other aspects to his character that make him more interesting too, like the implication that his research is partially an excuse for him to act on an underlying sadism (with scenes implying that he inflicts damage on others than can't be justified as assisting with his research.) His background as a dissident/quack laughing-stock scientist (thanks to pushing his soul theory in a best-selling book, which is considered pseudoscience) BEFORE he embarked on his journey to become a fast food tycoon also makes it less farfetch'd that he'd be capable of y'know, harvesting human souls intentionally to continue his research?

I had more for the character on paper that people haven't seen but some of it wasn't revealed due to it feeling a bit too disturbing to publish. None of the contents would've been all that controversial, more just too tonally disturbing when written about in detail (like a omitted part from his backstory/lore post where he managed to pick up a hazy audio of his wife + son's crying from the radio of the car his wife/son drowned in and reacted with genuine elation upon realizing he'd discovered a new scientific phenomenon (as this was the first time Henry witnessed soul-possession.)) Yeah.

I don't feel much of a need to revisit Henry as a character because as a series villain, he was pretty thoroughly-written and he did his job effectively... And his fate was well earned! (He even got an epilogue short-story a few years back, further cementing his fate!)

Dialtown: From the characters/writing that the fandom has seen? Tough to say. I genuinely really like every DT character. Gingi and Mayor Mingus are two of my favourite characters to write for because they're both really insistent and react to adversity in a really comically indignant way. Mingus is more like Gingi than she cares to admit in very specific ways, which is the core hypocrisy of her character - she's one of the most abnormal things IN Dialtown, and spends the game on a quest opposing abnormality that she, herself, can't stand.

Many absolute rulers have debilitating physical and/or mental cruxes and despite that, usually have the final say on what is/isn't okay, often guided by arbitrary preferences. It's funny to remember all of the ancient kings and emperors who dictated how others should act, talk and even think, when very many of them themselves were anything except a good reflection of their own subjects! It's an irony I quite enjoy and leads to a fun character to write for!

My favourite DT writing is probably some of my Callum Crown speech drafts. I have a definite bias here since Crown's character is based on many figures I've encountered in my own reading (and his story relates to topics I enjoy reading about.) A lot of that is real nerd shit that wouldn't be interesting to 99.9% of DT fans (like a long conversation where Crown + Milt discuss a campaign speech Milt wrote for Crown and they bicker about if the wording/arguments used are truly honest.) Again, not super relevant to Dialtown-proper, but it explains a lot about why the world of DT ended up the way it did.

Realistically, the story of Dialtown itself is basically a weird little epilogue to a story that ended decades upon decades ago, centered around a bunch of small-town nobodies circling around the carcass of the last surviving main character of the old story.

I'm also very happy with Gingi's character partially because I know more about Gingi's past/future than you guys do. Gingi has such rotten memory that Gingi's backstory before DT's story begins is basically a complete mystery. Thanks to Gingi never getting close enough to any humans before laying its eggs, there's nobody in Gingi's life that can fill in the gaps. Companionship means so much to Gingi because prior to meeting The Gang, Gingi is aware of a massive and unknown block of time that's a complete mystery precisely because Gingi had nobody in its life. To Gingi, this time was basically akin to being non-sentient or dead, and Gingi would never go back.

While I was making DSaF, I drafted a ton of other stories on paper. I considered making most of them, but decided not to for various reasons, despite getting some solid feedback from collaborators. Bits of almost all of those project ideas made it into DT, with Gingi having traits from several other main characters I prototyped years and years ago. This includes where Gingi came from and what exactly Gingi is. I don't want to mislead people into thinking Gingi is more important than it is, like Gingi is the key to unlocking DT lore (I promise there's a LOT of aimless scuttling/devouring in Gingi's past and relatively little else!) BUT: Of everything from those old scrapped projects, Gingi is what I decided deserved to survive the most. And that has to count for something.

One day I'd love to make sequels to DT and perhaps explore some of the stuff I've described above, like why the hell the world of DT is the way it is or maybe where the hell Gingi spawned from. Thanks

[teethstitch]

Since you are into TMNT I am curious what’s your opinion on each of the turtles in general since you seem to be into all iterations of them /gen question

ooh fascinating question. unsure if you mean each individual turtle from each gen or just each gen itself but i'll go into both!

so i actually have a tmnt powerpoint i'm working on right now, so i'll lift some stuff but obviously i won't lift it all, ill go in franchise order. shows and comics in order (show specific comics will go in the show sections) and then movies. spoilers for pretty much every single thing i talk about. if you haven't finished a specific iteration just skip the paragraph about it

Mirage

I havent read too much of mirage, though i'm sure its good i find it a bit visually noisy and actually struggle to read it- my vision is fine as far as i know and i don't usually have trouble with other black and white comics but man mirage is hard to read, whenever eastman would draw for idw annuals or issues i'd have a hard time getting through them because even though the style is cool i just can't see anything, so yeah, that for the time being kind of sums up my thoughts on mirage, i think the shredder worm shark is funny as hell though. i suppose the only thing of note i have an opinion on is the april race debate - wherein by one of them she was thought of as white and the other thought of her as non-white (i can't remember which ethnicity), so based on that i've seen people say that means she's white or the other ethnicity but since they're co authors i've just gone with the idea that mirage april is biracial. that's about the only mirage thing i can actually give my two cents on, moving on!

1987

I really like 1987, i haven't watched it all but trust me i'm slogging through it o7. i adore the animation mistakes, the way they give one turtle another turtles lines, and i think the characterisation is pretty solid. sometimes the show can feel tedious to watch personally, which is why i love saturday morning adventures, it's a much more concise, thought out version of the show itself and is a beautiful love letter to the show (they also finally sent usagi home :'D). obviously it went on for way longer than it realistically needed to, a majority of episodes basically mean nothing unless they introduce new characters, its the one piece of the franchise, lots of filler, i still think it's great though. i also love shredders revenge, it was the first tmnt game i've played since joining the fandom and similar to SMA it is a genuinely beautiful love letter to the community and franchise, i'm an avid cross stitcher as well so pixel games make me happy because i can stitch straight from the game sprites, which i've been doing :3. I love how the turtles are characterised, Cam clarke is iconic and i love shredder and krangs dynamic, irma has become the love of my life and much to my dismay i love the neutrinos which sucks because they're only present elsewhere in idw, i'm doubtful but begging Tottmnt to bring them back.

2003

2003 is by far my favourite of the shows, i actually enjoyed fast forward unlike much of the tmnt fandom, i thought it was fun, though sterling was meh to me, i just didn't like him - even though i liked fast forward i can personally admit the show dealt with similar issues to 1987 of just. extending itself. when they were able to focus on plots and do arc episodes was great, but the seasons could have definitely been cut down sometimes because the formula of an episode was beholden to ads, which meant every 5 minutes someone had to say something shocking or nearly die only for it to be dissuaded or continued after the ad break, watching it digitally now with no ad breaks was kind of funny though because i would be up late sometimes and delirious and the 03 singers yelling 'teenage mutant ninja turtles' at me while mikey or other did a cool move entertained me much more than it should have. I really love that the opening scene is recreation of the first scene in the mirage comics, even if i have trouble reading it i think thats cool and fun, i love all the turtles voices and characterisation, i never have any complaints about voice in any iteration but especially not here, they all feel perfect. the fandom is a big part of the joy of 03 for me, but i do still love watching my favourite episodes back from time to time, and like any good 03 fan i can scream about good genes and same as it never was like a banshee, though i do also have a lot of thoughts on other arcs dw. usually i find it easier to pick a favourite turtle iteration to iteration but man is it hard here, they all have their moments, i think the humour and the darkness are played really well (cough except for when leo got stabbed in the shoulder and i had no idea where he got stabbed until he got a scar next episode because there was no blood). I was drawn into the fandom by rise and it will always hold a special place in my heart but 2003 is far and away my favourite iteration. forever sad about the dreamwave comics being cut short and no one picking them up. we deserve more official 03 comics.

IDW

I'm also still reading idw - don't kill me its long and also theres just a lot of turtles stuff to get through, okay? I really have enjoyed it thus far, i jumped for joy when the neutrinos were revealed, i hated chet with a passion and they somehow wormed me back in with the fugitoid reveal, i will say similar to watching 03 digitally and just getting hit with the before ad and after ads cutaways back to back, there's a bit of an annoyance in trying to find and read everything in exact order, because missing a micro/macro or short side story like the secret history of the foot can kind of screw you over, so when someone says they're reading idw its not actually the 150 issues, its well over 200, though i haven't counted specifically. if you read the powerpoint pictures you'll see the artist death match, basically i was just going to pit them against each other by choosing the best design of reoccurring characters and the artist would get the point, there are some great artist who had a hand in this series, i can't deny all of them are talented, but man some of them are just not for me, getting through an arc with a style i don't like is a breath of fresh air, right now my main example of a style i like is Mateus Santolouco - not all the character designs are my favourite but the secret history of the foot clan was gorgeous, especially karai, she's always been one of my favourite characters. i enjoy idw, i think the worst thing i can say about it really is sometimes theres styles i don't like and akin to other comic series it can be stupidly difficult to figure out the exact reading order when you're not there from the beginning.

2012

possibly controversial (definitely, i'm lying to myself), 2012 is probably my least favourite of the franchises shows (no, its not below next mutation, just talking animated main shows). just to explain myself, I do LIKE the show, but of the shows i find its the least in line with my humour, the gross out humour is a little more uncomfortable for me given the 3d style, i can't deny the story is probably the most well done of any of the shows thus far, i do enjoy the story and i think even non relevant episodes to the main storyline do a good job of serving some kind of purpose to character development or giving the viewer a look into the world, it is by no means a bad show, i would never say it is, i do like it, but for myself personally i struggle to sit down and rewatch because of some of the things i pointed out and some other things like the way apritello is written, leorai (shudders), idk why but 2012 splinter just annoys me, i will say the turtles and april are really enjoyable characters, i find most of the characters (karai, casey, some of the minor villains even) pretty engaging, everyone feels really fleshed out and similar to 03 the voice acting is on point, though this iteration isn't my favourite in terms of rewatchability, i audibly cheered when i realised shelldon was greg cipes, when he said booyakasha i was on the floor weeping. 2012 is a show that i would watch on occassion when it was on, its the one i technically grew up with, though i wasn't really into tmnt as a kid, but greg cipes was pretty much my childhood as a big teen titans kid, as well as mae whitman, i was a big tinkerbell kid, so those 2 are a huge highlight of the show for me. my feelings on 2012 are pretty confusing, but i still do like the show, its just if anyone (like you) asked, i would have to say its technically my least favourite, but again, by no means means that its bad, because it isn't, it's just not really as for me as the other shows. the '12 comics i enjoy, i haven't read too many but the batman crossover was sick as hell, style wise the 2012 comics are solid, while i don't think 2012 looks bad as a 3d show i would personally be more drawn to it if it was 2d like the comics, i just prefer 2d.

Rise (2018)

As previously mentioned, like many others rise was my formal introduction as a teen/now adult into the tmnt fandom, for a while it kind of stood out as my favourite before 03 topped it, but still i love it with all my heart and i rewatch episodes frequently. i think the voice casting was on point, i had recently finished ducktales so ben schwartz and josh brener were welcome surprises, kat graham was in perth for a con recently and i was so sad she wasn't scheduled for the melbourne run of that con and was heavily tempted to go just to see her, rise april is definitely my favourite of all aprils, while i think its a fun dynamic when April is an adult and sort of an aunt figure to the turtles, rise april really killed the older sister thing, every episode she's in is a treat, omar miller and brandon smith (am i meant to put middle/second names i have no idea) were stunning choices for raph and mikey, rise raph is so brotherly and silly, he just brings so much heart to raph, Mikey is so much fun in rise, i can get caught up in inflection and the way a line is said and there's a lot of variety with Mikey's lines, its funny and i couldn't ask for better delivery, i think they're all good at it but brandon knocks it out of the park with mikey. So, partially the blame goes to 03 but rise was also what got me into usagi yojimbo, it's kinda funny how the only show without a canon usagi is the one that kinda goes the hardest in adding him into stuff. the format of the show not getting to focus a lot on plot and mostly just being one off episodes obviously isn't ideal, but for what story we got i really enjoyed, i also just liked the one off segments, the majority of them i really liked and found funny, for me this is probably the show that makes me laugh the most out of any of them - while i tend to participate nowadays more with the 03 section of the fandom, i still love rise to my core and still interact with it here and there.

Ronin

As i said before, theres a lot of tmnt to go through, but uh. everyone talks about the last ronin, so i detoured my regular watching and reading to dive into it. I liked it, there are things i would love answers to but i might just need to reread to know because middle of reading my cat threw up and i had to pause to clean it up, so yeah- there are things i'm worried to have possibly misunderstood, like the dissolution of their treaty of sorts, misremembering or misunderstood that part of the story is a possibility but if its not that i'm still desperate to know who actually betrayed who first, what actually did the turtles/foot truce in? i haven't gone into re-evolution or lost years yet, i've been meaning to but occasionally i'll get a new shiny hyperfixation and when i return to turtles i tend to dive right into the shows or long running comics first compared to stuff like ronin. i am very excited for the game and the film, little nervous at the idea the film will be live action but i'm mostly just going to wait and see, no sense hating it before i even know what it looks like.

Mutant mayhem/tales/2023

i know i said movies last but its kind of different since the movie was before the show- so deal with it ig. mutant mayhem is a great movie, emotional, funny, i really like it, and the style translates beautifully into 2d animation for the show, i don't have much to say on the movie itself, i really liked it, i watched it with my mum who really liked it and she can be pretty hot and cold when it comes to movies. Tales is a fun show, i similarly don't have too much to say, i struggle to rewatch things i've watched semi recently because i get burnt out on it quicker, but i'm super excited to watch this iteration continue, i'll miss rise like hell but i think tales shows great promise and i'm looking forward to more of it!

Bayverse

if you're wondering why i skipped the 2007 movie its because i haven't watched it, semi similar to mirage the style is a lot, but not similar in the way that i can actually tell whats going on in 07, i just. don't like the style. bayverse is pretty controversial but i like it enough, i don't really rewatch it because the 3d models freak me out, but i love the fanart people make, i do think the character designs themselves are very good, peoples fanart definitely helps you look at them more clearly as well. I still don't visually get leo's bone necklace placemat thing. splinter in the first movie is too furless and he needs to be shot. the movies themselves i don't find too special but i don't dislike them, i remember watching the second movie because some cousins and i went out with our nan and my younger cousin wanted to watch it so we did. i had very little turtle exposure as a child but out of the shadows was part of it.

Original trilogy

I quite like the original trilogy, it's very campy but i think its a fun watch, similar to mutant mayhem i watched these with my mum, we really only watch the movies together and we had a good time, we both struggle to really take them seriously. we had to pause the first movie for a WHILE to laugh at the bathtub scene, i still laugh about it frequently and remind her of it just as often, 'i'm coming....... tO A DECISION' also was funny, the third movie is there also.

Batman vs tmnt

Holy crossover, batman. i really like this movie, as a tmnt fan and a batman enjoyer this movie is just so good, many have said it before and i will continue to say it. the movie is so full of easter eggs, i'm still trying to figure out if that portrait in the turtle van is of mikey or jennika - everyone is characterised so well, the dynamics between the batfam and the turtles is done amazingly, alfred and mikey as a duo is delightful and as always the voice acting is so good, i would sell my soul to hear kyle mooney and baron vaughn as mikey and donnie again. eric bauza is always fun to see given his history with tmnt, so seeing him actually be a turtle for once was great, i really enjoyed his performance as leo, i still can't believe darren criss is raph. i'm a gleek and a huge starkid fan and i can't hear it but i know its true. its fucking insane. the movies story and pacing is just really good, and is one of the few animated tmnt iterations to actually let people get hurt, have visible injuries and get fully murdered on screen, when i saw that foot ninja DIE die i was fucking pumped, a lot of the other video iterations lack actual tension because yeah shredder wants to murder a guy but this is family programming, so he wont and can't. but you watch people die and suddenly that hologram the foot tried to kill doesn't just feel like a 1987 thing where the one time the villains are able to do real damage its a decoy, it feels like a truly necessary precaution, had batman not done that, someone would have died, no doubt. i've spent an extended period of time analysing the easter eggs in this movie, especially when it comes to the turtle van itself, i LOVE the van design, the fact its an old rv, the call back to 87, the spare tire being an anti-foot symbol, the grafitti saying 'Foot Stinks', the April calendar with a picture of a turtle on it, its all a genuine treat. I love this movie, i think it's the best tmnt film ever, i love rise's film but to me nothing holds a candle to this. rarely do i only ever have one criticism for a movie but the only issue i have with the movie is the fact they clearly imply mr freeze DIED and that mutated batman killed him but they NEVER TOUCH ON IT AGAIN. i need directors commentary, i need a script, i need SOMETHING to tell me what happened. anyways. the fighting is so much fun, i love it, it's delightful to watch a tmnt fight and to be fully dialed in because it feels like a real fight, 03 had some pretty good fight scenes but in essence they were very cartoony in the way they won a lot of the time, i just think the batman vs fights are golden, especially the penguin fight, but again, all of them are really good.

so yeah. i have a lot of tmnt opinions, there's more i could say about each iteration individually, especially the shows, but i'll leave it with a list of my favourite characters and their iterations.

IDW Karai, 2012 and 2003 karai, they mean the world to me, i'm a big karai fan and i think they're great. of course the neutrinos, as little as they appear they mean the world to me. 2003 casey is definitely my favourite casey, second is probably idw casey. Batman Donnie is so much fun, his lack of social awareness is really played up but it feels natural and very donnie and i love the think he does where he moves his head like he's going to hide it in his shell but doesn't so he's just poking out. Rise april has my entire heart, she's the best and i'd die for her. 03 and 24/MM Leo, they're both great. really the entire rise cast has my heart. also the 03 cast but special shout out to 03 splinter he's just very sweet. i have to stop now because i could yell about even more characters forever, so last one i would say Alopex, i think she's a great addition to the franchise and i hope more people adapt her.

in case you weren't wondering because i'll tell you anyways, i do have oc's, i just don't really draw that much or particularly well so i don't post about them, i do write about them but i don't publish it bc i don't think anyone would care much, i don't really dip into oc fic either so.

so yeah. general thoughts on most of the franchise! if you want me to expand on any of the thoughts i shared here i'd be happy to but for now my fingers ache from typing so bye :3

[didhewinkback]

so I love your writing - so much - and I’m brand new to the Harry styles fandom (I’ve admired from afar for years)… could you recommend your favourite writers and fics?? I love your writing so I know that you have to have some good recommendations up your sleeve!!!

omg hiii welcome !! this is so nice and this is my favorite question ever im more than happy to rec bc i am a fic reading machine okay.

so i've listed my faves by my faves as well as their masterlists so you can check out their other works and in reading it back i realize instead of making you a quick easy go-to guide to my fave fics i've written you a novel with soooo many recs. god bless and godspeed and i hope you enjoy !!

(in no particular order)

tis the damn season by @harrytheehottie i love el's writing so so much so its tough to pick a fave bc spinning out is really such a close second but these two mean everything to me, i just love their dynamic and the strong characterizations and the drama !! here's her masterlist, you really cant go wrong here they're all fireeee

hazy by @oh-honey-styles i am a self proclaimed anne stan so picking a fave is super difficult but hazy just sneaks above the rest for me because i just love them and i loove how harry is written here check out her masterlist tho but they are all so so good anne's writing is everything

lighthouse by @for-fucks-sake-h okay my fave of anna's changes allll the time but i did rec jamaica me happy last time so lighthouse wins this round but also all of their one shots/ blurbs are so good too i think about la paloma and never coming back down all the time. check out her masterlist as well u are guaranteed to find ur own fave

the close quarters series by @andwhenshesays was everything to me in 2020 but also you have to read trick of the light & have ur life changed (i can't find kate's masterlist but all of their fics are top tier so go poke around there)

all things yet to come by @soysauceharry is one of my favorite fics i've ever read and i come back to it often, amina has such a way with language and love stories that make it such a delightful re-read, i find new favorite lines all the time. check out their masterlist bc you really cant go wrong there

a soft place to fall by @hslllot i love it so much and can't wait to read more of it. it is such a lovely world to dive into, a perfect escape and shan has a really lovely way with the characters. check out their masterlist bc its toooo too good

the last line by @harry-on-broadway okay im a big tying you to me girl but this new series by sarah was so good, really fun dynamic between penny and harry and lots of fun drama. a really fun read, check out their masterlist too everything is so good

cavalcami by @all-things-fic ohhh i just adore liz's writing it was actually impossible to just rec one, im really partial to the quarantine harry series as well. i just reallly love the relationship dynamics they explore so well, each fic is such a lovely journey and also hot as hell most of the time not gonna line. you can find their masterlist here

infatuation on a mutual level by @harrygoeswest i really loooved this one by katie its so lovely and sweet and fun, i read it in one sitting i was truly hooked, i can't find a way to link her other stories in one go but check them out they're all great!!!

cloudbusting by @starsstruck is one of my all all time faves, i re-read it often. its such a lovely story with really interesting characters and a really lovely love story that makes you want to scream in the best way possible. charlotte has a way of writing really palpable chemistry, i can't find a way to link a masterlist of hers but one of her shorter fics blue dream is one of my faves as well

if you're looking for something shorter and sweet that will make u sweat pls check out our queen of the blurbs @harrysblackcoat nikki alwaysssss brings the fire with her blurbs, which you can find all of them right here it is actually impossible for me to choose a fave but i think of this one often lhh 4ever

ugh a lot of my other faves have since deleted which i respect and understand and also i have just recommended you about 600,000 words to read so godspeed lmk what you think, also if you read any of their works be sure to shoot them a message it really means soooo so much when readers reach out to say what they've liked about the fics!!

[splinteredsweets]

ummmmm i made a hammertastic / 80's boyfriends / auto repair spotify playlist 😁 you can listen to it if you like yay 🩷

the title is a reference to one of the songs on the list lol

here's what i'd consider prooobably my top 3 favourite choices for the list

1: Yr the Best! - carpetgarden (i actually plan to make an mv with this song at some point in time lol)

2: Game Shows Touch Our Lives - The Mountain Goats

3: One Step Ahead - Spies Are Forever

honourable mentions go to 'Starring Role' and 'Homewrecker' by MARINA as well as the other MARINA songs on here too lol bc while i do have a lot of reasons for their place on my list , they're more-so better suited for turbo's character as a whole , but it felt wrong to exclude them from this lineup , so those two also appear on the turbo centric playlist im making

i have at least one reason for each song on the list , even if the reason is as simple as 'fun lol' but some others i have more in-detail reasons for . if you want to ask me about some of those song choices i will happily share them :D

kevin wrong fandom (it's ok sweetheart doesn't belong here either)

heads up !! some of these songs get kinda loud in places !!

'Us' - the last fifteen seconds make this awful screeching noise for some fucking reason i'd recommend you mute during that part

'One More Night (Your Ex-Lover Remains Dead)' - the instrumentation gets kinda loud during the latter half , but i don't think it's too bad , thought i'd warn anyway

'Everglow' - suddenly gets loud and screamy starting at 4.08 but is fine after 5.56

'da da song' - the entire duration of the latter half gets kinda loud , might wanna turn it down a bit + there are also some kind of siren type sounds during this latter half and especially during the last few seconds or so

i tend to constantly add and remove songs as i see fit so don't be too surprised if some stuff changes from time to time

also most of the songs are kinda (very) angsty but that's just how i roll i loooove angst and the potential drama of hammertastic is a big appeal of the ship to me hHahA BUT there are brief moments of happiness here and there in places ... it is mostly a lot of pain tho sorry not sorry

oh also there are spies are forever spoilers as you can see from my top 3 bc i am sad dramatic and gay 😁👍👍👍 i just couldn't resist the slight similarities hahaha oh also ig there's technically nerdy prudes must die spoilers too but i mean is it really tho-

full cover image + bonus rambling below the cut

ok believe it or not this took me like 5 hours it could definitely be better but um forgive me im no good with perspectives ... or buildings ... and im still learning how i want to draw wir chars ... despite all of that i still wanted to at least try making a cute little cover image to go with the silly little title i gave my playlist for funsies :3

unfortunately i chose a hard-to-see colour coupled with a hard-to-make-out stylisation of the lettering with the mud parts um i wanted to go back and try lightening it up a bit but i messed up my layers and i didn't want to redo everything </3 so i drew over the letters with rainbow neon to help make them out better

the rest of the rambling below is spies are forever spoilers , if you care about that go watch the full musical for free on youtube , it's really good 👍

/\/\/\/\SPOILER BREAK/\/\/\/\

so anyway

i think including 'one step ahead' is an . understandable . choice hHahHa but less so for 'torture tango' and ik that buuuuut consider this . protagonist captured by presumed dead ex-lover who has secretly been living this whole time under another identity . that's where the similarities essentially stop with that song but do you get me . ig kc would have much less reason to like ... hate his ex so much he'd want to kill him but uhhhhhh in my defence ... fun 😁👍 anyways i really wanted to keep this song in regardless bc i have like no kc representation sorry maybe that'll change tho </3 and i think the idea - just overall of kc and felix interacting - is interesting .....

i feel awkward ending things like this so take this

[non-un-topo]

queer quartet and their differing relationships, how they show love to each other in different ways, how quynh loves nico is different from how she loves yusuf is different from how she loves andromache; how they are all so full of love that it bursts out of them in all different ways; how it takes a while for them to puzzle out that they are even loved at all

YESSSS. This is one of my favourite things to think/write about, because it would be that way! We can even see the subtle differences in Andy's relationships with the boys in the movie, when she hugs them.

Sometimes I try to comprehend what a centuries-long relationship would feel like, and my brain explodes. This is going to be headcanon HELL btw, because we don't have a lot of source material to work with here, but bear with me. I've extrapolated little things and turned them into ideas over the last four years. I've crunched the numbers. Hoping tog2 won't include any flashbacks of the four of them and subsequently destroy my impression of them gfhfds

(Not including the couple dynamics, because we know those! Or we all have interpretations of them.)

Andromache & Yusuf

I think about Andy and Joe's movie hug so much, and their little "You look great." "You look okay!" Like it's such a tell to me that they're both sort of goofy with each other. I like to think that it's Joe who really brings out Andy's goofy side, since we see how sarcastic and wry his humour is in the movie vs Andy's clear pessimism and fatigue at the world. I think that, in the old days before they lost Quỳnh, they were both rather lively and funny. I imagine them play-wrestling, or spending many mornings sparring.

In my early days in this fandom, I experimented with writing Andy and Joe's relationship as almost a mother-son dynamic, but now they definitely seem more like siblings. Still, it feels reductive and just incorrect to compare their relationship to a single thing.

One thing I always zero in on is the fact that despite their huge age difference, they are technically the oldest woman and man in the world (The difference of 3 years between Joe and Nicky is another thing I like to imagine them all poking fun at, because to immortals it's so trivial, and that is exactly why they milk it lol). I think they have a unique relationship due to being the oldest woman and man in the world, one that comes with certain responsibilities. I think Andy motivates Joe to fight and stay strong, and Joe reminds Andy that strength can look like many things besides fighting. They keep each other level, and they know exactly what the other needs to be picked back up.

I also think that Andy taught Joe every move he knows (the Merrick headbutt, hello), and he holds her in very high regard. I think he's protective of her because she is protective of him. Joe reciprocates that love and loyalty.

Andromache & Nicolò

I usually picture these two as intellectual equals. There's something about the way they hug in the movie, soft and tender, like they've been through a lot. They don't need to use any words to understand each other. I feel like this would be the dynamic for all of them together, but what makes Andy and Nicky's relationship unique, in my head, is that Nicky can pretty much mould himself to match Andy like a mirror. This makes arguments really difficult, and means that Nicky can also see right through Andy's defences, which I imagine she does not like.

Not sure exactly where I got this idea (maybe the comics), because they have a pretty clear dynamic in the movie where Nicky (faithful) pushes back against Andy's faithlessness. But maybe it's because of the way he can get through to her, idk.

I've also dabbled in writing Andy as a little disproportionately protective over Nicky (x, x), and the reason I imagine is because she really sees him as a younger brother. Not helpless, by any means, but maybe she sees her younger self in him, and no one was looking out for her when she was younger. And Nicky is loyal to her above all, but he is not afraid to challenge her. I like to imagine them butting heads, but this never causes any long-lasting tension in their relationship because it's just that strong. I think they've survived many, many arguments between each other, and see themselves in the other.

Quỳnh & Yusuf

So we don't know a lot about Quỳnh, but I've always interpreted her as having a personality that's a healthy mix of goofball and wise warrior. In my head, she can switch on a dime. I like to think that, with Yusuf, Quỳnh's serious side makes an appearance more. Ofc no one sees it more than Andy, though.

We all imagine that the four of them travelled the world throughout the centuries, but travelling aside, there's no denying that these two would find themselves ostracized from most places they visited. I think for this reason they would have a type of relationship unique to only them, as they're able to understand/empathize with this experience more than Andy or Nicky could. Maybe this is also why, in my head, they're so silly with each other. They understand each other's points of view, and their humour is perfectly matched.

I also imagine them as both enjoying the finer things, being art lovers, and getting into trouble a lot. I like to give them similar hobbies. I also think that they would enable each other in both good and bad ways, being so alike.

So, I think Quỳnh would see Yusuf less as a younger brother than Andromache would, but more on an equal level to her. She definitely would feel protective over him, but I think it's his youth that would make her feel young as well, rather than old.

When they lost Quỳnh, I imagine that she left pieces of herself with each of them. Yusuf got her fiestiness (pit viper!) and her sarcastic humour, as well as her sincerity.

(See what I mean, like I hope to god that the sequel doesn't have a completely different idea of Quỳnh)

Quỳnh & Nicolò

Possibly my favourite queer quartet dynamic, and it's ALL in my head lmao. It is very hard to pick a favourite, though. To me, this dynamic has major sibling energy, mostly in the realm of Quỳnh lovingly bullying Nicolò, because she's the only one he really reacts to / who can fluster him.

One of the most central components to their relationship, to me, is the (heartbreaking?) headcanon that Quỳnh taught Nicky how to use a bow and arrow, thus instilling in him a lifelong love for long-range weapons. Now, Nicky is Genoese. There's a possibility he would have known how to work a crossbow, and been good at it, before meeting Quỳnh and Andromache. Regardless, I like to imagine that Quỳnh properly taught him.

But there's more to using ranged weapons than learning how to aim. I like to think she taught him his legendary patience, and the serenity he seems to carry everywhere. I also have a headcanon that Quỳnh was a very experienced healer, adept at using medicinal herbs, and she taught Nicky all she knew about health and caring and compassion. When they lost her, these were the qualities she left with him. I've explored the medicine thing quite a bit in fics, and even though it's essentially a headcanon stacked on top of a headcanon (Quỳnh the medicinal healer/midwife, Nicky the doctor/nurse/medic), it's become a fundamental part of the way I write them.

If I were to split the queer quartet into "most like each other" pairs, I would probably put Andy with Nicky, and Quỳnh with Joe. And I think this is also what makes the relationships between Andy and Joe, and Nicky and Quỳnh unique. They remind each other of their lovers.

But again, we can't really sort them into separate pairs. I imagine they all have these unique dynamics, but the love they have for each other is all the same, and totally overwhelming.

[cawcawmotherfuckerz]

i'd like to get to know my mutuals, so i'm doing this i guess

get to know your mutuals

here are the questions:

here's a basic one: what's your favourite color?

if you were immortal, would you prefer to stay in one place or would you want to keep moving around?

what's your favourite clothing brand?

recommend me a song artist! someone not very popular please

who's your favourite marauders era character? (not your kin, who's your fav?) (if you're not a marauders fan, ignore this one - or maybe tell me your fav from the fandoms you're in?)

favourite cake flavour?

are you a morning person?

just something cool about yourself!

i'll start!

blue all the way! maybe that's because of pjo idk but the color looks very cool

i'd hate being immortal in the first place lol but i would probably like to settle i guess? preferably next to a library. or i'd just become a librarian. i loves librarians. and i'd use my free time to deepdive ALL of my hyperfixations. i want to know everything about everything.

nike! i love their shoes (i have an obsession with jordans and they bought Converse! omg!!), i love their clothes (the athlete in me is showing), and i love all their other stuff too! I also like the souled store. If i had my way everything i own would be from these two stores.

idk if this one counts cz im not sure if they're popular or not, but sombr! i love their music sm and it resonates with me a lot i guess

james potter. i would die for that man. i would kill for that man. he is the loml. a lot of my crushes have been james variants. btw i am a remus kin so i ship eclipse lol. also, @lilisouless i freaking love wylan

biscoffe cheesecake! i am obsessed with that shit. every year on my birthday i order the same cake. i mean i love chocolate as much as the next girl but.

LOLLLL hell no. i mean since i'm an athlete i'm used to waking up early but yeah i woukd never ever do it willingly. unfortunately for me though my brain just does sometimes. god i hate my bitch of a brain.

this is probably a (very) unpopular opinion but i really like maths and i'm pretty good at it too! i will pronbably choose it as my major or minor in college!

@sevsalio @thedvilsinthedetails @jess-quillkiller @a-dam-heartstopper-fan @grey-likesart @wolfstar451 @lilisouless and probably more who i'm forgetting!

[sunbeamah]

Can I ask your top 10 fav fics ever (from any fandom, if you don't mind)?

Also, just curious, is there a story behind your name "sunbeamah "?

OF COURSE!!! I'M SO SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG TO GET BACK TO YOU D:

I currently have 999 bookmarksgdfjh so this is gonna take a moment. And I've also been in many, many fandoms over the years, so please forgive me!

As for my name— there's only a little story!

One of my (many, lol) names mean 'sunrise', and one of my nicknames is Mah (that's the shorter version tho). Sunrisemah was a little strange imo, and Sunraymah reminds me of my Aunty's name, so Sunbeamah it was! It rolled off the tongue a little nicer too, I thought!

When I first made this account I would sometimes get confused and accidentally type in sunbae mah haha. I was reading too many manhwa!

Below the cut, in no particular order, are some of my top favourite fics that came to mind!!

Nobamaki (JJK)— witches x mafia au, what a mix!!! Absolute genius, I need to re-read this fic, it's part of what got me into nobamaki and urged me to finish jjk season 1 last year. I love Nobara and how feisty she is, and how powerful Maki is. The power struggle and I really enjoy fics with magic, and this one has a really cool system mixed with cursed techniques! I've read heaps of Rigamaroler's works, they're so good

Dabihawks (BNHA)— I remember being on Tumblr the DAY the hotwings ship started. I can't remember the exact user who started it up, but I remember in the week following it just ramped right up. I hopped on the hotwings train immediately-- even though I was even worse at using Tumblr than I am now. These 2 are fics that I LOVE, they're tied! Both set in canonverse, top one is a soulmate au, angsty with a happy ending and reformation (SUCH good angst, sometimes when I cry I come back to read it). Second one is an au where Rei divorces Endeavour and Hawks is saved from the Commission, it's so good!! Juurensha is awesome

Zolu (One Piece)— THIS ONE GOES CRAZY!!! So the backstory is like one of those christmas movies where a woman (Sanji, ironically (jkjk)) with a high powered city job goes back to her snowy home village and reunites with a charming man she grew up with, a lost love if you will (Ace), falls in love and realises her relationship with boyfriend (Zoro) is going nowhere. And said boyfriend comes to surprise her, only to find she's moved on. WITH A TWIST! A zolu twist. I love their instant attraction, they're so funny in this fic. Very real of them. Background Frobin, too!!

Karonico (Runaways)— Does anyone remember runaways?? I loved Karolina and Nico when I watched it. I hadn't read any hades/persephone au's until this fic, and ever since I've always been reminded of this one. Love their relationship, Nico's gentleness shining through the walls she's built around herself, Karolina wanting to be with Nico no matter what. It's how I like their relationship, as two girls who have been through a lot and when they come out of hard times, they want to be holding each others' hands. Very sweet!!!! This fic made me want a relationship so bad when I was younger. I still remember the OCs this fic lowkey inspired, too.

Fraxus (Fairy Tail)-- university au where Laxus is a wrestler and Freed becomes the wrestling team's social media manager. It's so so good, I love their relationship and their raw attraction. All of Eryiss' fics are amazing, I binged every fraxus fic they ever posted while I was recovering from surgery earlier this year. So good, alleviated my pain 100x better than medication haha

Klance (Voltron)— ahh yes, my voltron phase. My dark past, if u will. Jk jk. I made on ao3 account just to bookmark this fic haha! It's been so long, but I have to give this fic its roses. Lost in space au, injuries, fighting, angst, getting together, the whole lot. It was amazing, changed my life, genuinely. Cw for past non-con in Lance's life.

Elhani / Teleanor (The Good Place)— I can't figure out which ship name I like better. This is the fifth fic I ever bookmarked, I read this instead of studying for an important test. It was absolutely worth it. I remember it took me hours to read 'cause I kept trying to picture every scene perfectly. And also because I'd stop to 'study' haha. Tahani and Eleanor struggle with their attraction to one another, and yet it's love at first sight (I LOVE love at first sight..).

Sasunaru (Naruto)— I have to admit something. I love omegaverse. I know it's not for everyone, but it's definitely for me. Usually I go for F!omega x F!omega (i have a nobamaki wip of this), M!alpha x M!beta, those dynamics are super fun to me. But this one is M!alpha x M!omega, which I also love of course.

Anyways, I loved this fic, read it all in one night and then re-read it the next day, and when the final chapter came out I reread it all again haha. I'm a Naruto glazer, every time I read a fic and Sasuke acts like he's doing Naruto a favour by dating him, I want to claw at him. He doesn't know how lucky he is! In this fic, Sasuke knows his place! Jk jk, but I really do love their all-encompassing love for and devotion to each other, and I think it's especially present here!

Viktuuri (YOI)— Another omegaverse! This is also royalty au, Viktor is a little dark here but not to Yuuri and that's what I'm all about loll. It also has mpreg. Anyways, the protectiveness and cold opulence is something I really enjoy, and whenever I feel terrible and don't want to write, I'll read this and feel comforted that, between me and him, at least one of us is having a good timejfbhdgk.

[still-a-morosexual-help]

New rec: Choices book I actively avoided for years because the cover art gives "supernatural love triangle between the 'nice guy' & the 'bad boy'" and it's a trope I despise except turns out I'm an idiot because holy shit this was one of my favourite books

For one, the vampire lore is unique? Or at least uncommon enough that it feels like something new. It's even different from Choices' other vampire series

Second? Both LIs are wrong about their view on vampires and actually have to come to terms with this and learn to change and grow throughout the series. If anything, MC's the only one who's got it right. Both LIs have their own flaws & trauma while still being interesting and likeable characters and neither one is pushed above the other as being "the correct choice".

It also doesn't make the "bad boy" so antagonistic towards MC and the "nice guy" so sweet that it makes no sense for MC to pick the bad boy (*cough*choices' save the date*cough* my favourite is the antagonistic LI but also he's so hot & cold towards MC and a jerk to her for no real reason???). MC clicks with both of them in a different way and there's enough reason for MC to choose either one of them. It actually shows why MC needs both of them

Also, MC is initially built up in a way before they interact with the LIs so that all of their decisions throughout the story actually make sense. They're responsible but also insanely competitive. Despite staying in line presumably throughout their life, they're drawn towards anything that'll give them a shot of adrenaline

Plus all three characters get their time to shine and MC's a fucking badass, honestly they're up there with om's MC as being one of the more interesting & fun to play MCs

And MY favourite, absolute favorite thing about this, the main thing that shot this up to one of my favourite choices stories:

MC makes a Buffy reference in this. That means at one point they watched and/or read Buffy and/or Angel, saw her get together with first the tortured ""good guy"" and then later the rebellious ""bad boy"", saw all the love triangle discourse in the fandom and said well that's fucking stupid, watch me introduce them both to the concept of polyamory that's right it's NOT a fucking love triangle

or it can be if you want it to, like you can choose one of the two LIs but the "true" route, the one where you get a charm each from both LIs and complete MC's charm bracelet (usually the indicator of a fully completed story in any choices book is to complete a set of something) is the one where MC picks both of them

There are also frequent instances where the choices are [no romantic option at all] and [romantic option for both LIs eg: holding both their hands]

And yeah the LIs aren't in love with each other and spend a lot of time competing for MC, something they do right until the very end of the book BUT at about the midway point they become a proper team and start talking about the three of them as an inseparable team making it very clear that if this doesn't end with MC choosing both of them it's gonna turn into a me and you and your friend steve situation.

And then when either one of them talks about how much they care about MC they start using "we" and "our" [eg: "that's our girl/boy" when the two LIs are alone together]

And then they start being as protective of each other as they are of MC

Cas screaming "don't touch him" when Gabriel gets attacked + Gabriel throwing himself over and shielding both MC & Cas when they get attacked

I'm not saying they're in love or that they'll ever fall in love but they are much much more okay with sharing a partner with each other than either one is willing to admit

anyway, this is them:

[songsformonkeys]

Get to know your moots!

I didn't actually get tagged but I saw @fromthedeskoftheraven had done this and it looked like fun so I wanted to answer these questions too 💖

What's the origin of your blog title? I don't fully remember the exact reasoning behind it. But I used to have an old writing blog that was called wordsforbananas so maybe it was just a twist on that?

OTP(s) + Shipname: Jayvik is my latest OTP crush. I'm also very fond of Steddie and Stavier. For some reason, I can't think of any ship OTPs that are actually canon atm. It might be because the slow burn fan in me often loses interest a bit once the characters actually get together unless the creator has a clear plan how to keep their relationship interesting beyond the pining.

Favourite colour: Orange and green

Favourite game: I adore the Unlocked! games. It's like a fun escape room in a box.

Song stuck in your head: Messy - Lola Young. I saw a video of a cartoon cat singing it and the lyrics of the chorus fit surprisingly well. So now I've been singing it all week.

Weirdest habit/trait? I'm trying to think of something but every weird habit that comes to mind is just very mild on the weird scale. Like sometimes eating carrots like a corn on the cob or preferring fake plants to real ones in my home. I like for my friends and loved ones to pick out my perfumes so I can think of them every time I wear them, but I don't think that counts as weird.

Hobbies: Reading, writing, sewing, daydreaming, secondhand shopping for cool clothes, building lego, and a bunch of other stuff that catch my attention for a week or two before I move on.

If you work, what's your profession? I work at a hospital. Mostly with pain management and gastrointestinal issues.

If you could have any job you wish, what would it be? I'm quite happy where I am now. But if I were to switch, I would probably want to work with Doctors Without Borders.

Something you're good at: I used to be quite good at archery but I haven't done it in a bit so not sure if I still am. I think I'm pretty funny, and I tend to stay calm in a crisis.

Something you're bad at: Cooking. Horribly bad at that. And I have no patience when it comes to waiting for things that excite me. I am also a world-class procrastinator.

Something you love: My family and friends.

Something you could talk about for hours off the cuff: This might make me sound like a bit of a gossip, but I love talking about people. Not in a mean-spirited way. Just catching up or talking about cool stuff they've done. For example, I love listening to my mother tell me about what the people back home have been up to (even the ones that I barely know) and telling her about what's new in my friend's lives. It makes me feel connected to people even if they're not physically close.

Something you hate: small-mindedness and when people get judgemental over things that are harmless.

Something you collect: Fandom trinkets, cosplay outfits that I rarely have an occasion to use, clothes, pretty stationery, and anything that'll make my home cozy.

Something you forget: ...is it ironic that I can't think of anything atm. I think I usually have an okay memory.

What's your love language? I never know if this means how I show love or if it's how I want to receive it so I'll answer both. I show love through Touch (but don't always like it when others touch me) and words of affirmation. And I feel the most loved when others give me words of affirmation (hello praise kink) or acts of service. It makes me feel taken care of and loved.

Favourite movie/show: Favorite movie: The Fall. Favorite show: too many to count. Currently, I really like Arcane.

Favourite food: Sushi

Favourite animal: Cats

What were you like as a child? A bit of a loner sometimes. Not very shy but just introverted. I loved reading and spent a lot of time doing that. I was very responsible and looked out for my little sister and her friends a lot of the time. I had one close friend that I hung out with. We watched Disney movies and baked cookies.

Favourite subject at school? Any language subject. I also really enjoyed PE because then I could run around and play sports with my classmates and I was decent enough at most sports. Hated long-distance running though. Found it boring and pointless. Still do.

Least favorite subject? Math probably. I did not like that there was a definitive answer to things and that I couldn't talk and bullshit my way to the right answer.

What's your best character trait? I think I'm a good listener and a loyal friend. And I like that I can usually make people laugh.

What's your worst character trait? I think I can get a bit distant sometimes. Especially when people message me. There's something about being available at all times through my phone that just rubs me the wrong way and I think the messages sometimes become a reminder of that (even if there's rarely any pressure from the person messaging me that I have to reply right away). And I know that sometimes I take that too far and wait too long to reply.

If you could change any detail of your day right now what would it be? I'd like to find a way to procrastinate less. I find it sometimes keeps me from doing stuff I would really enjoy.

If you could travel in time who would you like to meet? My great-grandparents on my mother's side. They seemed like such badass and fun people, and I've heard so many stories about them.

Recommend one of your favourite fanfics (spread the love!): I am absolutely in love with the Sweet Series by @oonajaeadira. It has excellent writing, Javi G, an amazing reader character, and all kinds of softness. Anyone who loves Javi will LOVE this series.

I have seen plenty of these post floating about on my dash so many of you have probably already done this but if you see this and haven't, think of this as me taggging you :)

[ficfinder-general]

I'm new to Codywan. Doyou have a list of Must Reads or Fandom Classics or anything like that? (Bonus points for longfic!)

Funnily enough, I'm not sure I'm an expert on Fandom Classics, but I do think that the long Clone Wars rewrites/fix-its are a perfect way to start! (And then you can move on to shorter fics and crazy AUs haha) So these are all longer, and can be fit into TCW continuity, even if they diverge at some point because the writers can't help themselves and will fix canon (as they should).

{recs under the cut, please mind the tags listed on ao3}

in our hearts some ancient song by whimsicalimages (@keensers)- Fives discovers the chips, he's on the run and gambles his life on the assumption that there's something going on between Cody and his general, so they would help him. Some amazing lore in this fic. 40k words

Golden Shield of Brightness by NerJetii (@nerjetii)- Soulmate AU, your soulmates' (romantic and platonic) names are written on your wrists. "Only" 15k, but I would recommend it even if you're not a fan of soulmate AUs (=they don't fall into each other's arms just because they're soulmates). Focuses on Obi-Wan, mostly, but we also learn a bit about how the Kaminoans treated the clones.

I am teaching myself how to be free by tattooedgreenhouse (@gershwyndl) - this might be THE Clone Wars rewrite for me because the author has taken upon themselves to literally retell the whole series from Cody's AND Obi-Wan's POV. It's ambitious, I'm pretty sure it's technically canon compliant, but we do get our happy ending. Appropriately, it's 113k long.

i'll orbit your flickering star by sunskippa (@sunskippa) - Also a Clone Wars rewrite (by this I mean that it goes through the events of the series from Cody's POV), also canon compliant, 78k words. Might be my favourite ending in the genre, beautiful. I don't even know how to sell this, but it's a must-read imo

|to failure sweet victor| by littlekaracan (@cillyscribbles)- 20k words. In case you've read all those rewrites and you just want to skip to the part where Cody leaves the Empire and they find each other again on Tatooine *with a twist*

you read my mind, I'll read yours series by sospes - This is very much canon divergent. Starts off as a mission fic, Cody and Obi-Wan discover an artefact that creates a Force-bond between them. Misunderstandings ensue. Look at the tags/ratings, some of the works later on are spicier/angstier. But you could also read the first one and call it a day if those aren't your jam. (The whole thing is 166k long at the moment.)

will you be an anarchist with me? by a_alene (@birdiedoessw) - an outsider POV (Rex's) on Cody's and Obi-Wan's relationship. With the extra twist that they can't stand each other at the beginning of the war. This is something I would've loved to read when I was getting into codywan, it's a great way to start. (25k words)

shoulder the sky series by Night Fury (@shootingstarpilot) - Last but not least, an ongoing series (all but two works are finished, more than 200k words atm). You'll have to "get through" the first work to read the more codywan-focused fics (and I don't mean this in a bad way because the story is a m a z i n g. Just so you know.) To be honest, I think it might be a bit confusing to read at the moment because as far as I can see a work was removed from the series, but it's still up? I'm not sure what happened there, but I suppose you could simply read all the author's works in chronological order :D This series is pretty much Obi-Wan AND clone troopers focused and relies a lot on the Jedi Apprentice series (which isn't canon anymore) but you're gonna be fine if you haven't read it.

(If anyone reads this, please feel free to add your own suggestions!)

[frociaggine]

your url makes me feel like I'm the right place to ask this question, if I wanted to start reading Brandon Sanderson's books where should I start? like which series is the best starting point in your opinion?

I saw he has reading guides on his website, but I've been trying to gather more info from readers because I tend to find it more accurate

oooh, good question... I started reading Sanderson in 2010-ish after he co-wrote the twelfth book of Wheel of Time. That's about when he started publishing the "entry-level" books to various of his ongoing sagas but I am not sure I'd rec them outright because the writing is frankly not up to his current standards. He's an author who was BORN to play RPGs and he does love his universe building but if you haven't been here from the start, I wouldn't recommend, idk, Elantris or Warbreaker if I was trying to sell you on it. They're best left as books to go back to once you're already invested

The first Mistborn trilogy was very popular and it's a good Sanderson Sampler in terms of the worldbuilding and dynamics he likes. It's still one of the first things I read from it and I enjoyed it a lot at the time, and I think it still holds up. HOWEVER. I think the first Stormlight book (The Way of Kings) is objectively a better read, even if it's very long. I'd go with one of those two! Pro/cons for each:

Mistborn: fast-paced, objectively cool, also a bit YA dystopia vibes, imo. Vin is a very good main character tbh, and it's the first book where fandom-favourite Kelsier appears

Stormlight Archive: epic in every sense of the word, which means it's a bit sluggish in terms of pace and you might need some time to get hooked. It includes multiple of my all time favourite Sanderson characters