#and i think they go kinda underappreciated in the fandom for how cool and interesting they are

[vitamiiiiins]

god i just love jasdevi . they're so fascinating to me i hope we get more of them at some point

[catherdrashepard]

Tell me your Mass Effect blorbos. Or Helluva Boss.

I'll attempt to do both but I FEEL like my Helluva Boss ones are gonna be 90% Moxxie

Blorbo: Garrus Vakarian for Mass Effect. I love him. I'm demisexual so the relationship he and FemShep have just ticks my boxes. Also, his voice is gorgeous. Also he looks like a dinosaur, bird, alien. As for Helluva Boss, it's Moxxie. He's one of my comfort characters. The scene where he pulled out all these random drugs at the theme park for Loona just spoke to me on a spiritual level.

Scunkly: This was hard......it's a tie between Grunt and Legion in Mass Effect. My beautiful Krogan son whom I love and the angel robot child who I want to protect from everything. There's also Mordin but in a weird uncle kind of way. In Helluva Boss....it's Moxxie. I can’t help it, I love him so much. But also, Blitzo it some instances. They both need love and hugs.

Scrimblo: My biggest problem with picking this one is I don’t know how fandoms feel about anything at any given time. But I would say Kaidan for Mass Effect. Romance issues aside (which were fixed thankfully), I really like his character development throughout all the games. Also you can be gay with him which is always a bonus. My Helluva Boss one is.....Moxxie. He's underappreciated by the other characters but he tries his best without changing himself and I love him.

Glup Shitto: OK SO. Story time, Pinnacle Station was a DLC that I never played because it wasn’t available for the PS3 and THEN for the legendary edition it got corrupted so......BUT I have seen screenshots and I've taken it upon myself to steal a design to make into an OC and he's now my Turian husband. For Helluva Boss it's....robot Fizzarolli but also regular Fizzarolli. Idk I just really like his design a lot.

Poor Little Meow Meow: For Mass Effect, I'm actually gonna go with Miranda. She gets a lot of hate because she’s kinda bitchy and also her screen time is full of fanservice. BUT, I find the constant focus on her....assets to be really funny in context of the game. Also, her backstory is super interesting to me and her character development is also great. As for Helluva Boss....I mean....all the characters could fit into this slot depending who you like best so again I'll go with Moxxie. I sound like a broken record but he fills me with such JOY.

Horse Plinko: Partly Garrus, because if you romance him the entire conversation leading up to it is just making everything extremely awkward. But also, the Turian Councillor in the first game. He's an idiot and constantly makes everything difficult for Shepard but he's not like.....evil. Helluva Boss I would probably pick Blitzo because I think that would be the funniest but also Moxxie because it would be so EASY.

Eeby Deeby: There's a few contenders in Mass Effect for this. The Illusive Man because he's an idiot and while he was very helpful against the Collectors....he sucks. Also Udina because he, much like the Illusive Man, only cares about human interests. ALSO, Kai Leng. He's a thorn in your side the ENTIRE third game and to top off, he kills Thane who is one of my best buds. Like....not COOL. I actually don’t have one for Helluva Boss. I was thinking about Norman Reedus lizard (Jake) but I feel like he could be really good character development for Moxxie.

[secret-engima]

Are you in the One Piece Fandom? Wait what fandoms are you in? Overlord?? Akatsuki No Yona?? (THAT ONE IS A GREAT READ AND WATCH TBH—its so underappreciated!!) Undertale?? (Throws hands up)

Uhhhhhhhhh depends on your definition of “in”. If by “in” you mean “have consumed the canon content enough to know what’s up” then I am in a lot less fandoms than you’d think. If you mean “have absorbed enough of the canon and fanon via osmosis to kinda get the gist and enjoy the fanfic while ignoring the actual source material” then I’m in … enough fandoms I literally can’t remember them all off the top of my head but here’s a list of what I can think of rn:

Transformers (Animated, Prime-verse, Bay-verse, SORTA G1 but only for like- two fanfics and a couple one-shots)

Final Fantasy XV (obviously)

Final Fantasy 7 (this is one of those osmosis ones, the only canon content I have actually owned is the Advent Children movie. Have watched Crisis Core walkthroughs tho)

How to Train Your Dragon (movies only)

My Hero Academia (manga, anime, and vigilantes but I’m not up to date so no spoilers pls)

Katekyo Hitman Reborn (osmosis that led to watching some of the show. The fanfics are better. Hands down. Still glad the show exists tho, otherwise the fanfic would not.)

Harry Potter (solely via crossovers, I don’t tend to enjoy straight HP fanfic, but yeeting Harry into fandoms I do know is funny)

Naruto (I have watched exactly three eps of the original and up to the Diedara mocking Naruto with Gaara’s body in Shippuuden. Everything else is pure fandom Osmosis.)

Boruto (counting this as a separate thing because Naruto fans tend to be mean over the show (????). Which is a shame cause I adore it. Ninja school/youth slice of life with end of the world drama thrown in for flavor? Heck yeah. Also Mitsuki is My Bby Boi™ and I will hear no dissent)

Akatsuki No Yona (anime, slowly collecting the manga, it is The Best™)

One Piece (pure fandom osmosis. Have watched maybe the earliest eps before I got a headache from the animation/voice acting, after that I quit and live in fanfic only)

Undertale (have never played the game, no desire to, have absorbed plot through wiki entries and fanfic osmosis. Mostly I just adore the concept of a character who knows about save points and uses them for good or evil, as well as the whole “different runs” thing and the potential Angst and Hurt/Comfort having a Frisk with multiple runs under their belt could bring. Also Papyrus and Sans are the cutest things and I love them even though I hate skeleton characters as a general rule).

Sword Art Online (this is the anime that got me into fantasy anime. Period. My Fairy Tail fanfic would not exist without this anime making me interested in non-Case Closed and Detective School Q anime. SAO Progressive Light Novels are *chef’s kiss*.)

Log Horizon (anime is fun. I like the more political/economic take that makes it so different from SAO. Also the potential Shenanigans between Adventurers and Landers and the Lander POV potential is cool).

Star Wars (I have watched all the movies at least once barring Rise of Skywalker so no spoilers, am working through older Clone Wars seasons and gleefully have enjoyed Rebels and several of the games. I do NOT write for this fandom as a general rule because I have no desire to get involved in the flame wars, especially since the original trilogy was not my entry point? So I actually really enjoy a lot of the characters and shows outside the original trilogy and apparently my ability to like content that isn’t *raises imaginary holy grail* “the OG trilogy” is a crime against Star Wars and nature and possibly humanity. Let me enjoy my blind jedi and his crew of misfit pseudo-kids you puritans. Also Rey.)

Fairy Tail (anime, have yet to watch the last season, love this show with all my heart).

Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood (have yet to watch more than a few eps on the show, for all its on my reading list, so most of what I know is fanfic osmosis).

Fruits Basket (I … actually have not read fanfic of this? But I adore the books with all my heart and am so stoked to see the remade anime).

Case Closed/Magic Kaito (anime and fanfic. Treating these as the same since they’re in the same universe and spot of timeline, just have different MCs and premises).

Detective School Q (My first anime! Thank you youtube for the collection of pirated anime eps I got to binge before they all got deleted. As far as I am aware, there is no fandom still living for this show, which is a shame because it was good).

Rurouni Kenshin (the original anime! Never got past the arc with the burned villain but I still enjoyed it up to that point. No idea what the arcs after it are like. Don’t really care.)

Hobbit/LOTR (read the Hobbit, have watched all the movies. AU fanfics ftw.)

Bleach (this … is pure fanfic osmosis. I blame @wolfsrainrules @north-peach and @akaluan they got me curious. Still a little iffy on the show itself but like- I enjoy the fanfic. I’m a sucker Akaluan’s Dragon Eclipse fanfic especially.)

Princess Tutu (haven’t been in the fandom in forever? But I have a few fav fics and the show is *chef’s kiss*).

Voltron: Legendary Defender (started with the fanfics out of accident and curiosity, then hopped over to the show because the crossover potential it had with TF got me interested. Am currently in the second season so pls no spoilers).

Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes (show, fanfic, I enjoy crossovers. Someone did the world’s most epic TF:P crossover with this show and I have loved it ever since.)

MCU (osmosis that led to watching the movies. I think I liked all of the ones I watched barring Guardians of the Galaxy and Antman. Tellingly, I have made a point not to watch Endgame, Infinity War, GoG 2 or Antman 2. I can tell that the first two are just- no. I haven’t seen a fandom go up in fire that fast in years I have no desire to experience WHY.)

Edit: AVATAR. Why did I forget Avatar: The Last Airbender? hgdhgf. Anyway I like both A:TLA and Korra.

Uhhhh that’s all I can think of atm. I’m definitely missing some but yeah. Brief rundown of fandoms I am able to at least hold a basic conversation about and a brief bio of how/why I know them.

[matoitech]

4, 5, 10, and 17

4. What made you want to watch Promare? What drew you in?

i saw a teaser trailer for it early 2019 and thought “that looks fun” and forgot about it until like september when it was showing in theaters in the us and ppl started posting about it, the summary sounded neat and the trailers looked fun and i was autistic about it immediately. i really dont know what drew me in i just DESPERATELY wanted to see it (i drove like 2 1/2 hours to go see it the first time cuz all the showings in my area were over by the time i got to looking at tickets lol, it only played for a few days here. i was very depressed at the time and needed something to cheer me up and it definitely did its job at that) after id seen it it was just like the WHOLE thing about it that got me even more invested, i loved the animation and the music and the characters but esp galo and lio! idk it was one of those ‘love at first sight’ special interest things i guess

5. Did your opinion on a character change over time?

kray makes me more and more uncomfortable every time i see him i hate that dude. i hated him so much the 1st time i watched the movie but i hate him even more now and thats really saying something

but besides the villains (and remi) ive grown to just love the other chars all more over time lol. i loved galo and lio from the start and liked various other characters and my opinion hasnt changed much on them besides getting like More Love. theres prob a good opinion i have that im forgetting but idk

10. What character do you feel is under appreciated in the fandom?

pretty much all of them to be honest. i feel like even lio as the fan favorite character is underappreciated for like his actual character. lio and galo in particular are really interesting characters with a cool dynamic and id like if ppl talked abt their characters more in general in ways that werent like blatantly wrong lol. but besides a general ‘everyone and the protags’, probably aina.. i like her a lot but i can also understand why ppl think she doesnt have a lot going on when a lot of her character is unfortunately written to contrast a mans (galo) so anything we know about her we know from her contrasted or paraleld (thats not how you spell that word) to him :/ at least we can guess some interesting things abt her from that ig.

i also wish lucia and varys werent shunted to the side so remi could get in merch with galo and aina as burning rescue bc galo seemed like he was actually friends with or at least closer to lucia and varys is way cooler than remi. the only time galo even interacts with remi is for remi to be a dick to him why is remi in merch with him help 

17. Favorite AUs you’ve seen/heard of or your own?

i honestly dont interact much w promare fandom as like A Fandom i just kinda hang out here so i dont know of a lot of aus, i guess id say thyma doesnt die aus and the promare stay lol. also roleswap aus with like burnish galo but where he doesnt completely 180 in personality. also any au i invent is genius of course but i cant think of any atm. god bless

[a-real-chara-cter]

THE POSITIVE & NEGATIVE; MUN & MUSE - MEME.

FILL OUT & REPOST ♥ This meme definitely favors canons more, but I hope OC’s still can make it somehow work with their own lore, and lil’ fandom of friends & mutuals. Multi-Muses pick the muse you are the most invested in atm.

TAGGED BY: @the-judge-of-bones TAGGING: Steal it

MY MUSE IS:  canon / oc / au / CANON-DIVERGENT / fandomless / complicated

Is your character popular in the fandom? YES / NO. Is your character considered hot™ in the fandom? YES / NO / IDK  Is your character considered strong in the fandom?  YES / NO / IDK. Are they underrated?  YES / NO / IDK / KINDA (They're certainly underappreciated, I think - lots of screaming about 'MURDERBRAT CHARA', not much really looking at them as a character) Were they relevant for the main story?  YES / NO / KINDA (Depends on your headcanons, but they're literally the instigator of half the worldbuilding so) Were they relevant for the main character? YES / NO / THEY’RE THE PROTAG (The main character is mistaken for them, and will either finally be seen for who they are, or meet them at the end) Are they widely known in their world? YES / NO. (Duh. Human Prince of Monsters) How’s their reputation?  GOOD / BAD / NEUTRAL (The way I play them, while they're seen as more distant and less approachable than the King, Queen, or the other Prince - they have a reputation for caring and working hard for monsters, and for being, if not easy to work with, then reliable to work with. If they say they'll arrange funding for your work, you can practically start spending the money already.) How strictly do you follow canon?  — Not very strictly at all, really. I diverge in a major way right from the get go, and I have no problems with changing or tweaking details to make them work better, though I'll at least try to get at the -purpose- behind the detail first and see how it can be salvaged.

SELL YOUR MUSE! AKA TRY TO LIST EVERYTHING, WHICH MAKES YOUR MUSE INTERESTING IN YOUR OPINION TO MAKE THEM SPICY FOR YOUR MUTUALS.  —  Regal of bearing, quick of wit, sly of tongue, Determined of heart and dorky of mind. Prince Chara is an exercise in dichotomies, in the liminal spaces between love and hate, hard and soft, hot and cold. If you want to interact with a muse who can be waxing philosophical on the ways feelings can treat and triage emotional wounds one minute and then turn around and flirt through puns the next, here's your enby. If you ever wanted to see what a grown up Chara could have been, here they are.

NOW THE OPPOSITE, LIST EVERYTHING WHY YOUR MUSE COULD NOT BE SO INTERESTING (EVEN IF YOU MAY NOT AGREE, WHAT DOES THE FANDOM PERHAPS THINK?).  —  They're prickly. They trust slowly, and often only at swordpoint at first. They're a Chara, which, well - one of hundreds in the fandom, even if they're a bit different - the differences make them stand out, but also make them closer to an OC, which has its own problems. They like things to go as expected/planned, which can make initial interactions a bit tricky.

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO RP YOUR MUSE?  —  The mystery of Chara fascinated me about Undertale, and I admit to feeling a strong kinship to them - the Sans Genocide fight certainly didn't help there, because _I love a challenge_, and that fight comes part and parcel with Chara in the surrounding fandom materials. It was a surprise when I started hearing their voice and feeling it looking for an outlet, but not an unwelcome one - it took me a little while to refine exactly who and what my Chara was, which parts of common fanon resonated and which to discard, but I'm quite pleased by the person they've grown into through the journey.

WHAT KEEPS YOUR INSPIRATION GOING?  —  Honestly? Nothing did for a while. I had a bad experience with the fandom that put me off for a long while, and then real life got in the way and Chara retreated into the back corner of my head, only coming out for occasional snippets of conversation with their favorite Asriel or to snark on random moments and things I was doing. I'm not sure what drew them more fully out of hiding exactly, but it's been really great to get into the swing of writing them again.

SOME MORE PERSONAL QUESTIONS FOR THE MUN.

Give your mutuals some insight about the way you are in some matters, which could lead them to get more comfortable with you or perhaps not.

Do you think you give your character justice?  YES / NO / SORT OF? Do you frequently write headcanons?  YES / NO / SORT OF? (I have headcanons and little ideas all the time, but I rarely write them out unless prompted, mostly they emerge in actual threading or discussions.) Do you sometimes write drabbles? YES / NO / WHEN PROMPTED (See above, basically) Do you think a lot about your Muse during the day? YES / NO (They're in my head 24/7, along with a handful of other muses sure, but still, it's rare an hour goes by without them chiming in some thought or observation or another.) Are you confident in your portrayal? YES / NO / SORT OF? Are you confident in your writing?  YES / NO (For all I often joke about being good for nothing but shipping and shitposting, I -have- been writing fiction for over fifteen years, and RPing for over ten. I'm pretty confident my writing is good) Are you a sensitive person?  YES / NO / SORTA (I can be really easy to upset or piss off if a hot button topic's pressed, but I'm generally pretty thick skinned, and I'm learning to be better at catching my temper and working around it.) DO YOU ACCEPT CRITICISM WELL ABOUT YOUR PORTRAYAL?  —  If it's useful criticism, that's actually about _my_ Prince and not what the reader thinks Chara should be, sure.

DO YOU LIKE QUESTIONS, WHICH HELP YOU EXPLORE YOUR CHARACTER?  — Go for it! I reblog headcanon type memes often enough, toss one at me, or just random questions.

IF SOMEONE DISAGREES TO A HEADCANON OF YOURS, DO YOU WANT TO KNOW WHY?  —  Depends on the headcanon - if it's a worldbuilding type headcanon, then sure, I'll debate that stuff all day. If it's a personal character headcanon, well... so long as you're framing it as a discussion, maybe? But it's not your headvoice, it's mine, you don't get a vote in how they express themselves.

IF SOMEONE DISAGREES WITH YOUR PORTRAYAL, HOW WOULD YOU TAKE IT?  — Hey, that's cool. If there's something offensive about it, lemme know and I can try to fix things, otherwise, we can hang out on separate parts of the fandom without being forced to interact, you don't gotta love my portrayal to be here, you don't even gotta read my shit to be here.

IF SOMEONE REALLY HATES YOUR CHARACTER, HOW DO YOU TAKE IT?  —  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Not my circus, not my monkey. Bring it -into- my circus and I'll tell you to fuck off.

ARE YOU OKAY WITH PEOPLE POINTING OUT YOUR GRAMMATICAL ERRORS?  — Sure go for it

DO YOU THINK YOU ARE EASY GOING AS A MUN?   —  Fairly easy-going, but, well, I'm autistic, I know I'm not always as easy to get along with as I'd like. Still, tell me I'm doing something shitty and I'll stop, I'm not doing it on purpose.

[rueitae]

2018 Fic Roundup

I did this last year and it was nice to do some self reflection and make some goals for 2019. I encourage all my writer friends to do this! No tagging necessary, just tell each other to do it. <3

It’s long, so putting the rest of the fic and reflection questions under the cut.

Stats:

Fics Posted (Gen): 6

Space Birthday (9,595 words): Hunk can feel it in his bones; it’s his birthday. He wants to have a nice one... and does... after accidentally raiding a Galra outpost with Lance and Pidge.

Pilot (4,340): Shiro finds himself in a different reality post s2. Here, the mechs are called Gundams. (Shiro in the Gundam Wing universe/reality)

Code (7,321): Pidge and the others keep fond memories of Earth through oldies musical trivia. It comes in handy on a mission.

Self Insert (6,357): Lance reads a story to his niece and nephew on the eve he leaves for school at the Galaxy Garrison. The kids have Opinions on how it should go.(i totally still need to change their names to the canon ones)

Too Soon and Not Soon Enough (1,796): Keith is 13 and is supposed to go to the Galaxy Garrison next year at Shiro’s encouragement. Until the Galra invade and plans change.

Welcome to the Neighborhood (2,237): Allura gets used to being not dead and that includes meeting her cosmic neighbors.

Fics Posted (Plance): 17

Wrong Diamond (2,384): Gentlemen thief AU. “At midnight, I will steal the heart of Voltron,” the note says. Pidge has a thief to catch.

Diamond in the Rough (8,045): prequel to Wrong Diamond. How they meet!

Road Trip (4,710): Lance and Pidge are back on Earth. Zarkon has the others and the two are on the run from a bureaucratic Galaxy Garrison that doesn’t want the world to know about aliens yet. Oh, and Lotor is with them.

Exsanguination (16,255): Pidge is a vampire hunter captured by Haggar. She finds some unlikely help in the vampire’s similarly undead servant.

Power Up! (3,500): Pidge is on the cusp of finding out where Zarkon is holding her father using less than legal methods. She’s caught in the act by her lab partner (Lance, a superhero in training).

Plance on Ice (2,300): A figure skating AU! Pidge and Lance are former competitive partners having a date free time on the ice

Being Plance (3,900): Pidge and Lance pull a personality switch prank over on the rest of the team. Canon verse.

Keeping Cool (3,098): Mermaid AU! Pidge is in trouble with pirates and gets some unexpected help from the sea.

The Cake (839): Canon verse, Lance gets a cake for his birthday and assumes it’s from Hunk.

Frostbite (6,109): Pidge is a renowned super villain. Lance is a hero in training with something to prove. Lance over uses his powers one day and Pidge has some soul searching to do.

Crystal Clear (5,516): Another superhero AU. Lance is captured by his arch nemesis. They have a heart-to-heart, taunt, and flirt.

The Secrets of Beasts (2,007): AU canon verse. Years down the road, Green keeps Pidge from going on a mission with the others. It takes Kosmo to find out why.

See You Yesterday (8,132): Lance works nervously as a bartender for a 1920s mafia when all he wanted to do was leave the farming life. One night he gets a strange patron who changes his life - and his perspective of the world. Time travel AU

Shot Through the Heart (1,087): post canon AU. Lance and Pidge keep Nadia and Sylvio entertained.

Seasons of Magic (11,744): Pidge is a mage. Lance is her dragon familiar. Series of domestic-ish one shots. Not in sequential order.

Between Rocks and A Hard Place (8,144): Canon verse. Pidge and Lance are trapped due to a caved-in mine, with pirates waiting for them on the other side. And Pidge is hurt.

Cow-parent Trapped (1,099): s8 canon continuation. Pidge visits Lance at the farm and does not expect Kaltenecker to make them talk to each other.

Lotura 1

Birthday Prompt #5 (5,500): Oh gosh I never named it. Fantasy AU in which Lotor is essentially Rapunzel and Allura is Aurora with a better (depending on who you ask) birth-prophesy. Tiny hint of Shallura in this as well.

Collaborations: 3

First Encounters for the (Altean Plance AU): Pidge is an independent noblewoman and Lance is her bodyguard. Writing done with @hushman and @pidge-suggestions

To Sail, To Break, To Earn (Plance - 10,268): Lance is a pirate and Pidge is a mermaid. There’s also a curse involved. With @sp4c3-0ddity

It’s Beginning to Look a lot Like A Christmas Carol (Plance- 14,384): post s8 canon verse with @hailqiqi and @sp4c3-0ddity. Exactly as the title says. Lance is the subject of a ghostly intervention. Crack treated seriously.

Fey AU (Plance): with @vivalachocolate this was @sp4c3-0ddity ‘s prompt to Viva but I was nosy and added a chapter and I’m so glad she wasn’t mad at me for it. 😅

Ship/Character breakdown:

Ship breakdown:

I guess the 17 Plance fics speak for themselves. I did write one Lotura fic as a special birthday prompt because @ritsykitty is such a good friend.

Character breakdown:

I have a gen fic for each Paladin, but then the Plance fics outnumber those, so Lance and Pidge would be my go to.

Characters that had the main focus:

So for character POV, each Paladin has one, then within Plance, Pidge has 12 and Lance has 7. Interesting, I thought it was more even. Hunk had a POV in a Plance fic too briefly!

Specifics:

Best/worst title?

Best title: Urgh I liked a lot of them. Too Soon and Not Soon Enough probably. I like how it summarizes the story without telling you how, but by the end you know.

Worst title: Seasons of Magic aka I tried to come up with a clever title when I realized I wasn’t done with it. It’s so bland to me. I’m also basically trying to rebrand from mage/familiar AU. I don’t think it’s working 😅 (not that I care I’m trying to make it easier to reference but I’m too late)

Best/worst last line?

Best: “I love you too, Pidge,” he [Lance] says, nestling her head to his chest and not bothering to correct her. “You’re the best nemesis a hero could ask for.” - I love that line so much, from Crystal Clear. Enemies to lovers is such a good trope.

Worst: Pidge groans. At this rate her double life is definitely doomed to unravel. - for how much I love Frostbite, I really hate how lame it ends. Like I totally could have said that better or continued the scene a bit but I am LAZY.

General questions:

Looking back, did you write more fics than you thought you would this year, less than you thought, or about what you predicted?

I wrote waaaaaaay more than expected. I figured I’d write something every few months. Now I can write a 2k fic in a setting if I’m on game.

What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted last year?

I was just doing gen fic last year, never would I have expected to be so taken by Plance that it became my main muse.

What’s your favorite story this year? Not the most popular, but the one that makes you the happiest.

Honestly? Probably Pilot. It was one of my earliest VLD fic ideas to do a Gundam Wing crossover and to actually finish a one shot early in the year (when I was still dipping my feet into fandom again) just made me so so happy. I still smile thinking about the continuation possibilities. One of my favorite parts of Shiro’s character is that he is the ace pilot. Because of Keith’s role that sometimes gets overshadowed. I was so pleased to get to highlight that.

Okay, NOW your most popular story.

On Ao3, that would be Exsanguination. No surprise there, it was my first posted Plance fic and I continued it.

On Tumblr it’s First Encounters, the first of the Altean Plance AU based on the art and headcanons. I was just struck with a clear opening image one afternoon and wrote it all right then and there. I had no idea it would be so well received.

Story most underappreciated by the universe?

Space Birthday. It may have been a bit of a mess since it was my very first VLD fic, but it has everything I love. Hunk bonding with an ‘enemy’ over cooking, Team Punk, Plance in distress, Hunk saves the day thanks to mechanics. Also heartfelt stuff with Keith. And he’s the only Paladin besides Lance to get an actual birthday themed fic from me.

Story that could have been better?

I really hate to say Wrong Diamond, but I totally could have done much better with it. It feels skimpy. Probably why I am still writing in the AU.

Sexiest story?

Ha. That would be a tie between Crystal Clear and Exsanguination. The first I actually tried and the second completely by accident. I’m not sure it worked though.

Saddest story?

All my sad fics have a bit of crack to them. Pilot is pretty melancholy. Crystal Clear has a good Plance argument that gets heated. Road Trip in general though might take the cake. It’s full of angst amid some humor due to the premise.

Most fun?

Shot Through the Heart in terms of tone.

Story with single sweetest moment? Space Birthday

"Uh, Keith, hold up a tic."

Confused, Keith turned back around. "What?"

Hunk rubbed the back of his neck. "So uh, you know we're friends right? Like, I meant what I said we're like brothers. We're tight. I mean, we share a mind inside of a giant robot."

Keith blinked, clearly surprised. "Yeah, I kinda got that from the hug you gave me back then. It was nice," he said with a smile. "And we work well together."

"Yeah so - wait what? No, I'm supposed to be giving you the pep talk here."

"It's fine, Hunk. I'm doing important work and so are you. I already had this talk with Allura."

"Oh. Well, what I'm trying to say is that we're friends. I care a lot about you and your feelings. So if I say something that's weird or you don't like, you gotta tell me. I'm a terrible and nosy person and I'm sorry."

Keith stood silent, processing the words, and then smiling. "I've accepted the side of me that's Galra," he said simply. "It's still a little weird, but I've always had this feeling that something didn't add up." He smiled a bit. "I don't mind a question or two, but I'm still learning myself."

"Deal, no Galra questions for a while then. Just as long as you come visit more often, okay? We all miss you.

"...hug it out?"

Keith snorted and obliged into Hunk's waiting arms. "Always."

Hardest story to write?

I struggled with the ending to Exsanguination. It took forever to come to me.

Easiest/most fun story to write?

I wrote The Secrets of Beasts in one setting and I still can’t believe how easily it came out. I blame the Plance discord folks for putting everyone on a baby craze.

Did any stories shift your perceptions of the characters?

Not particularly? I write based on my existing understanding of the characters and nothing really surprised to that note.

Most overdue story?

Welcome to the Neighborhood. I wanted to write that Allura gen fic all year (as I wanted one for all the Paladins) and I hoped s8 would give me the motivation. It was not worth the cost.

Did you take any writing risks this year? What did you learn from them?

Collaborations! And participating in a zine! And signing up for events (exchanges and bangs)! I learned that it’s not that scary. People are chill and so easy to get along with. Also the task isn’t as daunting as I think of it’s an idea I love.

What are your fic writing goals for next year?

This is hard because I’m already doing above and beyond what I ever expected to be doing writing wise. I suppose it will be to finish my gen fic since I’ve been writing a lot of plance lately.

[sunnybimbo]

New Year’s Wrap Up

i was literally just thinking about this and surprise!! boss has got me covered 

weathered (887 words)

Blueberry and Dandelions (2614 words)

Candlelight (1811 words)

Pas de Deux, adagio (23369 words)

Greasy Kisses (1080 words)

Me First! (1563 words)

Howling Heart (2553 words)

Dearly Beloved (3671 words)

Silence is Golden (2153 words)

Molten Gold (2953 words)

Dreaming (5303 words)

Chrysalis (483 words)

Marks You Leave (1182 words)

The Heart Speaks In Whiskers (2612 words)

Refracted (973 words)

All We Need (15983 words)

Whipped (2823 words)

dusklight (2025 words)

left in the dust (2218 words)

Pull of My Hips (3448 words)

the notion of the idea of waiting for you (3242 words)

Fall In (2000 words)

catching your light in my palms (2891 words)

Total Fics: 23 (excluding spice fics which raise it to 31) Total Words: 93,128

(read more bc s u p e r l o n g p o s t)

Ship/character breakdown: Ship breakdown:

Heith - 8 Fics Shunk - 6 Fics Sheith - 2 Fics and the rest have less than one fic attached, or are gen <3

Character breakdown:

Hunk - 20 Shiro - 15 Keith - 14 (w/ Kosmo at a solid 4 appearances yeet) Lance - 7 Pidge - 5 Allura - 3 Lotor - 2 Coran - 2 and special shoutout to Kolivan @ 2 as well

Characters that had the main focus: u already know it,,,,,,, 💛

Specifics:

Best/worst title? Best title:  i really can’t decide between: ‘the heart speaks in whiskers’ vs ‘blueberry and dandelions’ so take both Worst title: Dearly Beloved,,,,,,, i could’ve gone WAY cheesy

Best/worst first line?

best (Dreaming)

“You don’t have to do this.” Pidge says to him, just as the dawn begins to settle. He’s surrounded by faceless people, or atleast it feels that way with how little they look at him, so he focuses on nothing but her. Heavy makeup is traced across his eyelids, golden lines echoing the whisper of sun beams that paint his skin.

i love,,,,, yellow imagery in my fics,,,,,,, sue me 

also hidge friendship! yeah!!!

worst (Molten Gold): 

Lotor falls for the boy in yellow before he realizes it even happens.

just because i Remember not being able to think of anything more interesting to start with so i just slapped that on

Best/worst last line?

i waver so much but FINAL ANSWER:

i have TWO best ones, though.

(Dreaming): 

And Shiro is a greedy god, a selfish god, a lonely god. But forever and always would he be a kind one.

(Pas de Deux, adagio)

It feels the exact same way about two months later, — sending a current of pleasant electricity thrumming through him, until his fingertips tingle and his heart soars— when Hunk proposes in the very pasture they'd met in. Keith, if it isn't obvious by the way he smooches Hunk silly, says yes.  

And they lived happily ever after.

everytime i think about this fic i always wanna write a million and one words about it

worst (weathered):

They didn’t say anymore words, but the love (not to mention, the unadulterated mitigation of their combined grief) still nestled its way to his heart. There would never be enough time to describe how happy he was to see them again. And he knew that (and maybe he always knew) despite everything, here in his mama’s arms with his brothers and the familiar smell of grass and ocean, would always be his home.

only because it’s s o l o n g and kinda confusing to read

General questions:

Looking back, did you write more fics than you thought you would this year, less than you thought, or about what you predicted?

I wrote a bunch less than last year, but this year was OOF so I didn’t do as much (93k vs last years 200+k ;w;)

although this IS disregarding my spice fics where i wrote almost 38k so,,, i didn’t do TOO terribly :D

What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted last year? spice: hunk/sendak......

but other than that, i’ve really stuck to heith/shunk! What’s your favorite story this year? Not the most popular, but the one that makes you the happiest.

Familiar Faces is by far my favorite of the year.  It was fun, it was kooky, it was funny, it was dramatic.  Structurally it was among the most challenging (Two chapters happen simultaneously and that had to be plotted out well).  Also, it was just super fun to work with Velkyn!

Okay, NOW your most popular story.

By kudos, Coming Through the Noise.  Which is cool!  I’d never seen a Gen truth serum fic before, and it was extra fun for a very reserved character like Shiro. Story most underappreciated by the universe? Unrelenting, probably.  It’s all about the nature of being a Hufflepuff from Hunk’s POV, so I get why it doesn’t get a big audience.  But I love it.  Puffs need more love :( Story that could have been better? I like Shackles on my Wings, but it probably could have done with an extra polish (most things I write could tbh) Sexiest story?

DEFINITELY on my mind over @ my horni write write

Saddest story? god.... Silence is Golden for sure,,,,, (tw for torture/whump/i guess mild gore???)

Most fun? Pas de Deux, adagio,,,,,, i love myself some fairy tale (*cough* barbie* cough) crossovers.

Story with single sweetest moment?

i really gotta go with Pas de Deux again

"I'll be fine." Keith says as he pulls away. "Tonight isn't about this. Let's... let's dance. I've never danced before."

"Really?" Then, realizing that no, Keith probably would have never gotten the opportunity, Hunk stands and offers his elbow to him. "Well, I'm obligated to show you the best time of your life now."

They don't head towards the ballroom. Instead, they skirt around the edges of the castle until they find a window, left ajar just enough so that they can hear the music loud and clear.

Hunk offers his hand, and Keith lets his drop in his large palm. He's gathered up, then, with one arm around his waist, and it takes a bit of ushering from Hunk for him to catch the rhythm. Keith stumbles over his own feet more than once, caught between looking down at the motions and up at Hunk's face.

In the end, Hunk lifts him just a few inches up and lets him rest on the tip of his boots so that he can dance them around without having to worry about stepping on Keith's toes. He isn't wearing shoes, after all.

They dance until the song changes twice, and Keith finds himself pressing an ear against Hunk's heart, basking in the steady beat for as long as he's allowed. Every so often, Hunk will hum to the tune and the vibrations will course straight through Keith's body, like light through a rainbow prism.

Keith was right when he'd assumed that his dress would be fun to twirl in. The fabric is kind against his skin as it flips this way and that, but Hunk’s touch against his back is even kinder.

Hardest story to write?

All We Need, because i was at a r e a l l y bad place when i tried to tame that beast, but i’m so proud of how it turned out, and also i’d probably do anything for peach c’:

Easiest/most fun story to write?

left in the dust flowed out of me like water out of a spout,,,, it was Magical

Did any stories shift your perceptions of the characters?

mmmm i don’t think so? All We Need made me more conscientious of canon characterization, but by like maybe 10% asljhadl

Most overdue story?

dude..... All We Need, again. peachie was so patient and kind while it took me like 80 years ;w; 

Did you take any writing risks this year? What did you learn from them?

i tried to be more Flowy n Metaphorical in my writing because i love that shit, and i think it’s going pretty well. i lost my touch somewhere around the end of summer for a bit, bc again i was having some Fucky moments, but overall i think i’m doing alright!!!! 

What are your fic writing goals for next year?

i have a couple long fic ideas i want to do!!! which i totally don’t mind talking about if anyone happens to be a little curious. one is an arriety au (bc i’ve never read the borrowers) and the other is that one old west au i literally never shut up about. 

there’s another one i’m iffy about where it’s basically shunk in Therapy together yayyyyyy, but we’ll see if that one stays dead

but overall: my biggest goal is to write more longfics for rarepairs!!! also more things w/ women bc i’ve really been slacking on that end. 

also maybe something for she-ra? i wrote down a couple ideas the other day that i’d love to explore

✍️ wish me luck!!!

tagging: 

@grassepi @drdone @ironinkpen @darlingaces @tootsonnewts @oops-i-accidentally @dansantsouslalune @sakura-daydream @call-me-kaii @maternalcube @turtlelady17 

plus anyone else who sees this that wants to do this!!!! i always forget people for these things

[kiyye]

do you have any tips for beginner cosplayers trying to gain exposure ?

oH JEEZ i may not have the best advice for this because i don’t put a whole lot of effort into advertising/exposure for my stuff. i just kinda like,,,, make it.

but anyways!!!! when i first started my cosplay instagram, I gained a lot of exposure through doing those cosplay contest things??? like you know the ones where people have a post for each character and you can get all your friends to go vote for you??? I love love love those because they often have like under 1k or even under 100 categories, and that can be sO SO helpful when trying to get urself out there. Usually it’s just nomination-by-vote, so enlist a friend to go comment your name. Or vote for yourself!

However. Thats pretty instagram specific??? I don’t think there’s a comparable phenomenon on tumblr. I’m also not sure how often people do those in fandoms other than the homestuck fandom. So here’s some more cross-platform advice:

1. USE TAGS!!! dont be afraid to use them holy shit. Obviously don’t tag your cosplay, like, “cooking photography” or something that doesn’t relate to the content of the post. But I tag all my cosplay on insta with “photography” and “transguy” and some other vague things in addition to all the obligatory tags of the characters name/ the fandom. there is literally no shame in adding a bunch of tags to ur shit. same thing goes for tumblr!!!!! there used to be this thing where??? your post would only show up in the tagged pages of the first five tags you used??? I’m not sure if that still exists but I always put the most important tags first.

2. Idk how to explain this but you can get a lot of momentum from like,,, riding the hype waves??? Like cosplaying things that are popular and current, producing content at a rapid rate, and tagging it appropriately, thus allowing it to get to the “most popular” sections of very very busy tags. For example, I managed to put together a davepeta cosplay like a week after the character was introduced and get nice looking professional photos of it up within the next week. I got a lot of activity coming in from the davepeta tags, because people were checking up on what stuff had been made for this brand new character. Same thing with my mettaton, which I did makeup tests for during the peak of Original Undertale Hype. 

LET ME STRESS. this is not me saying “only cosplay popular shit.” in the long term, it is way more fulfilling to just cosplay things youre really interested in regardless of hype. that also helps u build an actual Audience, because people will defs be more interested in Unique content that you put heart into, rather than you just churning out cosplays of every new anime character. You may even get people interested in new media if you cosplay something they haven’t heard of! I got a whole bunch of messages from people who started listening to TAZ because they saw my taako cosplay!!!! WHICH IS SO COOL so please cosplay whATEVER YOU WANT and also dont get discouraged if a cosplay of an oc or a less popular show or somethin get less likes!!! in the end, cosplaying popular stuff = a Lot of people go :D. cosplaying underappreciated, niche stuff = a few select people go 8′’’DDDD !!! :DD !!! 8DDD !! 8D !!!!!! and their whole day is made.

but yeah try watching a show that u hear is popular and cosplaying ur fav character. it can be very rewarding in terms of exposure.

3. Do collab stuff!!! Even if it’s just you and a friend, even if that friend doesn’t have a cosplay account for you to get traction from. Its just nice for people to go on your account and see that you’re involved with other people. Idk much about the less-than-5k cosplay culture on tumblr, but if you use instagram DO A BUNCH OF S4Ss!!!!!!!!!!!!! and if people do those on tumblr, do them on here too. also like comment on a bunch of posts! be passionate!!!! be FRIENDLY!!!! i try really hard to seem friendly because i am actually a very friendly person, and idk exactly how to explain/teach how to do that, but like. be friendly. be positive about the things u love.

THATS ALL, I HOPE IT CAN HELP YOU!!!!!!!!!! also like if you (ANY OF YOU) ever need a shoutout just message me on here!!! i can reblog ur shit!!!!! i gotchu!!! and i can do shoutouts on my story on insta too :DDDDDD

[goldenhaircd-moved]

So... this feels really, really overwhelming for me after writing Janna for years, under different names with a lot of development, and I never thought that this OC of mine would actually.. ending up even more popular than the canon male characters I used to write? It really means a lot to me, after having friends tell me years ago they just don’t care to hear about my OC, and I still often wonder whether people do care and... I am so grateful for all of you. For the people sending memes, liking and reblogging posts, the people talking ooc to me, the people I thread with - I have been on this blog for longer than I managed to keep any other, and there are many people who already left behind their blogs, people I do miss, but there are also so many new friends I made along the way so... Here, if you want to see a small part of the people who make my stay here so great... Under the cut with absolutely no claims to being complete because I ALWAYS forget people!

The extremely cool kids - I am just not sure how to approach you, especially IC, but you are extremely cool and maybe someone will say hello one day? until then, I shall love your presence on my dash!

@killthebxy, @wineinthewidow, @maidofwinter, @willbeshot, @canticleofmercy and ur radonis blog, @wintcrskiss, @raajasii, @murroyilodel, @malignedking, @schizcid, @kingwhocared, @disscciative, @foreignaccent, @servesorlais, @arielshepard

The Cool Kids - people I write with, or at least plot with, though we did not have that much ooc contact yet - I am looking forward to more!

@maniacollision, @dremsuum, @onthesirenscall, @powershout, @iendured, @ofrxvia, @vitterfolk, @kyrkogaard, @atonings, @crispyaltmer,  @goldnveil, @iphigeneiia , @afraidofchange, @siimplewolf, @stellaluminis, @kaledvoul, @vamytas, @scrpcntina,  @choosingfreedom, @fulguritte, @immundiitiam, @dragonofstars, @elesheir, @electorofhell, @dryhtenhold

The Inner Circle - people who I enjoy writing with a lot and people who I think I might end up being friends with and basically, I want to see more of y’all on my dash! @splendorburned - damn I love Eva so much and I am so happy there is someone who writes her, and as well as you do, too! We don’t talk as much ooc as we might, but just know I think you are great! @thelambsofiscariot you do the work of God, giving a platform for all the underappreciated characters of this underappreciated fandom and I am super curious where we will end up with everything because you got such a great bunch of muses sitting there, waiting to be thrown into the world, and I am 100% up for that

@godslucretia / @purgesin - Jeanne loves both of u, in different ways, and I wish we would talk and interact more often because i love your OCs so much, they are just so great???

@finsaraan - i know you cannot be around much right now but just know that I think you are a really amazing writer who does an amazing job as Miraak and I  am always happy whenever one of your posts ends up on my dash!

@ladyoriannas never has Janna gone “I  W A N T “ as fast at any lady as at you, and I think that is partially a lot due to your interesting portrayal and I realllly look forward to more of that interesting chemistry! 

@verfuhrerin I don’t know why these two are friends and I don’t even care anymore at this point because it’s too glorious to question. 

@snarkomancy where the hell have you been, why the hell have we not written anything in months, why the hell am I not just asking you via IM instead of writing it down here? we will never know. do you want to write with me? [ ] yes [ ] no [ ] ask again later. please send your answer via carrier pigeon owl

@vrohiir another case of I dont know what this is and I do not know how it happened but... you are a moooore or kinda less constant presence on my dash and inbox and Janna is definitely enjoying that a lot and I am mildly curious and slightly scared to see where this train is headed

The Squad: the people I really like, the people who keep me going, the people who inspire me. You all are amazing. Very

@brokenbiirds - even though I am slo as hell and often don’t actually have inspiration for our threads, i am still really glad I know you, and I love seeing you around and just know I so appreciate you for putting up with my slow ass! 

@stars-and-satina I also feel like I should be apologizing to you since I am often sitting with writer’s block at our threads and I appreciate so much that you are putting up with that and still open to try again to plot something out and just, even if so far none of our characters meshed all that well, I am still so incredibly happy that you are still around =) 

@valorandheart  I will defend Jamie with my life, Janna will defend him with the life of the thugs she will hire to defend him. You and ur cute little ball of sunshine make me happy and just please stay around u are great and just let me wrap u and jamie in a blanket like a happy warm burrito pls both of u deserve it 

@rcgnata - I love Raskreia and I love u because u are really one of the people who really got me like YEEESSSS whenever we get to talk to each other because I really adore the way these two mesh and I just live for their friendship, it’s sooo important to me just heart eyes

@loveardently is part of the Squad and no one will convince me that Janna does not wear a ‘I love saskia’ t-shirt underneath her armor. I love u and saskia so much for giving me the opportunity to write stuff that is so far out of the usual things I get to write with Janna in Inquisition verse, because saskia is that one person Janna actually trusts and just i love your blog and your oc and your writing and just let me bake 20000 cookies for you??

@aureasadrisit/ @theeternalsun - Skells I adore your writing, I adore your OCs, I so wish we wrote more and just, each time you cross my dash I am glad you exist and you are around here because you and your positive vibes are just such a positive contribution to the fandom and the dash so just ???? thank u for existing you awesome carrot 

@vintyvanora do u really think I could make a follow forever post without mentioning you? I adore vanora to bits and pieces and I feel so :( because we do not talk all that much but still, know that you could come to me any time and pick up our friendship right where we last left it, i wouldnt even mind because you are an awesome mun and I am always happy to talk to you x3

@ianazavi you are probably the newest friend on this list and I did not even expect that I would grow so attached to mareloen and you and I am really looking forward to meeting Ethel in our thread too and I really like talking to you and just, I am super happy you approached me back then because i have like less than zero regrets 

[tumblunni]

9, 10, and 11!!!

oh god THE HARD QUESTIONS

9:Flareon, Jolteon, or Vaporeon?      

Man, seriously, I flip flop on this every few years! I liked Flareon the most as a kid because I kinda like eevee the best and flareon is just like the same design but even fluffier. But then when I grew up I started not JUST liking pokemon for being the most cute, but also appreciating like.. creativity of design. So I’ve gotta say flareon is the most lacking in that, plus it also sucks that the game creators gave it objectively the worst movepool out of all the eeveelutions...

So yeah, basically now I flip flop between jolteon and vaporeon! I like jolteon a lot cos of how its design has so much personality, and the cool idea of the spiky hedgehog fur on a catdog thingie, and how it can use the bug type move Pin Missile cos it can shoot its spines. Its like.. REQUIRED to have that move on its moveset if you own one! Thats such a creative thing!But then I also think Vaporeon is the second best at sheer cute factor, and i LOVE how well the design flows together as a fish-mammal hybrid. it doesnt look like a chimera, it looks like a believeable hypothetical of what one would really look like, if that’s the path evolution chose for us. And its cool how it still remains an adorable cat despite (probably) being hairless. Hairless cats are underappreciated! Tho its kinda debateable what it would feel like if you hugged it, I mean does it have scales or is it tough skin and a very thin layer of fuzz like on a seal or penguin? ALSO i really like the whole ‘fins as ears’ aesthetic for japanese mermaids, and how they decided to do a nonhumanoid mermaid monster, AND how it has that interesting thing mentioned in its pokedex that it can actually transform into water.Soooooo.. hmmm... Vaporeon is my fave at the moment, I guess.             

                                                                    10: Umbreon or Espeon?    

OH GOD THE OTHER HARD QUESTIONOkay I almost NEVER know what to say for this one! They’re my two favourite designs in the evo tree. I just love the colourschemes and the designs and again the fact that these ones seem to have more personality and stuff. And I loved how a duo of them were the starters in Collosseum! I LOVED THEM SO MUCH!!! It sucked that umbreon’s moveset was far worse in that game tho.And AAAAA I really like espeon’s head jewel and the super big ears and the weird double tail and the sort of mouthless aesthetic face, even if it does actually have a mouth that only appears when its needed. It reminds me of how hairless cats FEEL, yknow? Even if it does have hair! Its a very lanky and elegant kitty with a kind of alien appeal to it.BUT also dark type is my second fave next to ghost, and I love umbreon’s bioluminescance and its just such a simple yet perfect design?? I think its my fave of all the designs and I can’t even clearly say why! It feels so funny that vaporeon has so much complexity and effort put into it, so much detail, yet umbreon is literally just a housecat sized puma thing with circles drawn on, YET IT JUST WORKS!! And the big floofy lemon-shaped ears and tail!! And how stoic and cool it is!! and the BEST SHINY COLOUR!!!So aaaaaa I pick Umbreon! It manages to be my fave even despite having gameplay flaws like flareon, so thats gotta count for more!                              

                                                                    11:  Leafeon or Glaceon?         

Aaaaand another hard question in a different way. I actually really dislike all of the eeveelutions after gen 2, i dunno why but none of them hit it off for me. they all seem way less unique, I think. They dont have as much varying body shapes anymore, they all feel like an espeon with different accessories. They dont seem to go far enough in making them look like their actual element, they’re just a very simple base with like.. all they have is the colour. I mean sylveon’s ribbons are an interesting idea but they have nothing to do with fairies! and they just make it look overcomplicated while ALSO looking too simple. Somehow??or maybe its just cos the fandom had spent so many years making awesome fan designs for grass and ice eeveelutions, so they seem very low effort compared to that...Ehh.. I kinda liked Glaceon more as a kid cos Leafeon’s face looked a bit emotionless on its official art. But now I’ve gotta say.. at least leafeon has leafs on it. And that pale oniony colour instead of plain green is a tad creative, i guess? Also I like its shiny, i think its the most appealing of all the autumny grass type shinies. I think if that was its main colour then it would have at least been MILDLY creative and unexpected, yknow? Autumn pokemon. Thats more of an identity than just ‘espeon with leafs’.So yeah these two are my absolute least favourite, but leafeon just manages to win and take the second worst spot. Sorry glaceon! Sorry discount vaporeon of trash!And sylveon just kinda wins over leafeon for at least having one creative design trait, even if its cluttered and weird and doesnt fit its element.But like.. even as i’m saying which one I like most, i dont LIKE any of them, yknow? These are pokemon i constantly forget about. i feel guilty about that.

[wonderfulworldofmichaelford]

Thricebreaker: A Nightmare on Elm Street

Few series are as impressive, influential, and famous as A Nightmare on Elm Street. It is such a terrifying concept; a killer you can’t escape from, because he kills you in your dreams. The original film cemented Freddy Krueger as a horror icon, launched Wes Craven’s career higher than ever, and even introduced a young Johnny Depp to the big screen. It’s undoubtedly a horror classic, a truly great slasher film… but is it the best in the series? Well, let’s find out by taking a look at the first three films of the series.

The plot of the movies is usually similar, as is often the case with slasher franchises; there are a group of kids, and Freddy wants to kill them. In the 2nd movie, things are a bit… different. Freddy is instead trying to use a young man as a vessel to return to life; this film is the most disconnected from the rest of the series, with only a little bit of continuity. The third film has Freddy harassing the last of the Elm Street kids in a psyche ward, and finally being killed… except in the fourth film he comes back to kill again. Over the films, Freddy evolves from a nightmarish demonic zombie into an at once hilarious and yet still terrifying cackling madman, who will spout quips and one-liners as he shreds you to pieces. It’s good stuff.

Let’s take a look at the most divisive of the sequels, the very first one in fact: Freddy’s Revenge. Like I mentioned, this one shares very little continuity with the first film; the only ties are the fact that main character Jesse and his family have recently moved into Nancy’s house, and Jesse even finds her diary. Aside from that… well, it really is the black sheep of the franchise. Freddy possess Jesse in an attempt tp break into the real world… and he does! He kills a bunch of people at a real-life pool party, he even has demon dogs guarding him at one point, and weirdly enough, he doesn’t kill anyone in dreams in the whole movie. Kinda… beats the whole purpose, don’t it? But see, we can only say it’s weird in hindsight; this was the second film, before the huge series, and to be perfectly fair important rules were not wholly set in stone, though this did deviate a bit from the original and what would become the series norm.

All that being said, is this film bad? Hell no. It’s a very unique experience, especially due to the homoerotic subtext and the possibility of interpreting the story as Jesse coming to terms with his homosexuality or something like that. And this isn’t totally bullshit, there’s a lot there, and it’s not exactly hidden; hell, even Robert Englund has gone on record as saying Freddy in the film is representative of Jesse’s homosexual desires, Jesse’s actor, who was in the closet at the time and came out shortly after the film did, used his self-doubt in his performance, and the writer themselves intentionally added all the homoerotic subtext. This movie dabbles quite a bit in psychological aspects, symbolism, coming-of-age, and even body horror. Yes, it’s weird and quirky - there’s a scene where a lovebird attacks Jesse and his family and then EXPLODES for crying out loud – but in all honesty, it helps make it a cool, unique experience all on its own. It’s solid as a standalone entry in the series, and still pretty decent as an entry in the franchise overall, though it’s not hard to see why the film has never really risen above cult classic status.

The third film, Dream Warriors, is the moment where the Elm Street formula was absolutely perfected. Here is where Freddy became the perfect blend of horror and comedy, killing a girl by smashing her head into a TV while saying “This is it! Your big break in TV! Welcome to Prime Time, bitch!” in one darkly humorous scene and using a young boy’s veins as puppet strings to lead him up to the roof, where he then slashes them to send him falling to the ground in another, far more unnerving sequence. Englund apparently improvised a lot of Freddy’s one-liner’s in this film (most famously the aforementioned TV one), and all things considered this is likely for the best. Englund really owns the role of Freddy, and he knows how to play him. It’s only naturally a guy with such a handle on the character should be able to give him his best lines.

The kids in this movie are all interesting and quirky, and with the help of returning lead Nancy, they become the titular Dream Warriors, and get super cheesy 80s powers in their dreams. Of course, most of them also end up getting very creative deaths courtesy of Freddy, but the cheesiness lingers. That’s really the only criticism I can level at the film, some moments are most definitely the product of the 80s, and the special effects on Freddy’s skeleton at the end are rather… lacking. Still, overall, this film is easily the best film in the series, and at the very least is the best sequel, for cementing exactly what a great Elm Street film should be.

And now, we come to the fourth film in the franchise… The Dream Master. I gotta be straight-up honest here; the film feels more like an excuse to show off all sorts of cool and creative ways for Freddy to kill people than to actually be compelling. It would explain how Freddy is resurrected by having a dog piss fire on his grave and why he murders the survivors of the previous film. It would also explain why the deaths are so awesomely, gratuitously over-the-top. We’ve got a girl turned in to a roach in a roach motel and crushed, we have a girl have all the air sucked out of her, a girl is thrown into a boiler… we’ve got some cool, creative deaths and special effects. And while the film does seem more about showing off all the cool shit Freddy can do, it does have a somewhat decent story and lead character; it’s definitely not a boring film or an unenjoyable one. Still, out of the first few sequels, it’s easily the weakest, and this is made all the more apparent due to the fact that this film is where Freddy started slipping from the perfect blend of horror and comedy into a goofy, killing jokester. At least here he’s still a bit scary as he does his crazy kills, but there’s no denying this set the gorundwork for things to come.

So, what do I think overall? There’s really no doubt in my mind that the third film is the best sequel, and hell, I even think it’s a bit better than the original; it’s a fully-realized continuation that really cements what a great Elm Street film should be. The second movie is an underappreciated, weird experiment that definitely is not for everyone, but certainly deserves the cult fandom it has gained, and the fourth movie, while easily being the weakest of the first few sequels, is still pretty enjoyable in its own right, and hey, it’s got some damn cool kills!

A Nightmare on Elm Street as a franchise just seems like one of those series that, even at its worst, still manages to entertain. Hell, even if it’s bad, it’s always in that ridiculous, campy, so bad it’s good way! I mean, can you imagine if they tried to just...rehash one of the films, except with different actors, no Robert Englund, and they just reuse shots with crappy CGI? Man, that would just be dumb! Who would ever…

Oh.

Oh no.

I’m going to have to review this, aren’t I?