#and im not saying that her entire character was being in love with sonic

[sonknuxadow]

thing is i dont fully disagree that amys personality has changed a bit over the years and that it sometimes feels like the writers are over-correcting for past mistakes with amy by writing her weirdly in other ways . but the way some people get like. actively angry over her crush on sonic being toned down and more recent media not placing so much emphasis on it and being more willing to explore other interests of hers really comes off like theyre saying "its actually a good thing for the main girl characters defining trait to be that shes in love with the protagonist" which is like . come on man. you cant be serious

[anotherpapercut]

I know several people who like LOVE seasons 5-7 (11th doctors run) and think the storylines and moffats writing are brilliant and I don't get it!!! what am I missing??? why does literally every single episode have the exact same stakes: Rory/Amy/the doctor is dead. forever. so dead. but wait!!! what if they aren't!!! why do so many of the explanations for why they're not actually dead feel so rushed like they were added at the last minute!! why does every single queer character act kind of weird and awkward about being queer!! why does the doctor casually say that women are inferior when no one's around!!! what the fuck!! hello!!!

[toaarcan]

I think Fiona's betrayal makes way more sense and fits into the narrative better if you simply bump it to after the destruction of Knothole.

Like, in the actual comic it kinda comes out of nowhere, and it's heavily tied into the romance plot tumours and Issue 150. Fiona's actual character is barely important, she just disappears for five issues and comes back with a new personality, her old trauma in high gear again (but girl, if you're mad at Sonic for abandoning you, why the feck are you running off with Second Sonic Who Is Worse?), and an ideology that makes zero sense with her history ("You can't count on anybody" says character who has literally never been independent and will never become independent).

And the fallout is incredibly understated and after literally two issues nobody cares any more except Tails. And he's done caring after 179 closes.

Betrayal is supposed to be impactful.

But if you shuffle the order of the stories around, don't even change the actual content, then the whole thing becomes a buttery-smooth consistent arc and Fiona's character development, while not a good thing in the long run (Scourge literally would've killed her in 196 if his plan had succeeded, she traded the stunningly mediocre partner that was Sonic for a literal monster), actually makes sense and is front and centre in her story, instead of what we got, which is "Fiona ascends from background character to weird love interest to an accessory for Scourge who is defined entirely by Scourge."

Fiona being driven by her trauma to hate Sonic for leaving her behind is a reasonable angle, it's where she started in the Knuckles comic, but it's been so long since that was relevant to her character that dredging it up years after the fact in a different book would only ever be jarring. Unless, say, history repeated itself and all those wounds got opened up again.

Eggman drops out of the sky, razes her home to the ground, and shoves her in a prison to be used as fodder for one of his sick creations, just like Robotnik did all those years ago. Only this time, the prison is so small that she can barely even move, and the machine she's going to be fed into is much worse. It'll kill her, twice over, draining her life-force to power Eggman's machinery and wiping her mind for no reason other than "Eggman's a sadistic asshole."

She gets to see the effects up-close too, via Charmy's brain damage.

And while it's unnecessary, as I think the actual plot of the issues needs no alterations to make sense, you could nonetheless add a small scene during the rescue where Sonic saves Fiona from the Egg Grapes and says he won't make that mistake again. A small hope spot before it all comes crashing down.

Because it does! The arc ends with the Freedom Fighters standing triumphant over a wrecked Egg Beater. They could easily grab Eggman and drag him into the brand-new prison that Nicole put Mogul, Naugus, and the Hooligans in. They have turned their darkest hour into an opportunity to win the war... and they don't take it.

Eggman flies off, clinging to an Egg Flapper and doing the "I'll get you next time, Gadget! Next tiiiiiime!" bit, and the heroes just... stand there.

And that's where the (hypothetical) hope spot gets dashed. Fiona, already uncertain of her place in the team after 160-1, loses faith in them completely. She just lived through the worst experience of her life again and the heroes of this world are doing nothing to prevent another repeat.

It even makes her "You can't count on anybody" line actually have some weight. She genuinely feels like she's been failed by them, that she put her trust in these people and they still turned on her at a moment's notice, and they're not doing enough to actually save the world. It's like Scourge says in 172- she "wishes [Sonic] had a backbone."

And then, after all that, there's the big Fiona Betrayal Issue except now it's actually about Fiona and not just about giving Scourge a girlfriend, and that's followed immediately by the Sonic vs. Tails issues. There's no time to process what just happened, everyone's emotions are still extremely raw, and it boils over into a fight between brothers that's more about venting all those nasty emotions they've been holding in for a while now. Sonic has been through a lot lately, he just lost his home and repeated one of his few failures, and he's not long lost Tommy too. Tails is dealing with emotions that he's not mature enough to process properly and healthily, he grew up too fast, but not evenly. And at the end of the day, they're both still just kids.

I still think 179's ending is an overall horrible way to to resolve that plot thread, and further reduces Fiona to an object to be fought over, but I'm not heavily changing the content of the issues, only the context.

I've never been a fan of villain!Fiona, I've made that clear in the past. I like it as a step on a journey that results in her healing, but I found its start confusing and messy and the rest of the arc lacklustre and far too focused on Scourge, rather than Fiona herself. But I think putting it in this order makes it flow a lot better for me.

If I write Sonic stuff again, I'll probably do it with this as a headcanon of what went down in the 170s.

[whisper-and-tangle]

hey so um.

....im gonna say something now

Tangle is the literal definition of bravery to a T.

She's done all of this with a smile.

I'm gonna start with things you could brush off as fearlessness, first of all, starting with her very first appearance in the comics.

Her village was under attack by a swarm of badniks-

that she couldn't defeat by herself.

She tried anyway, and smiled the whole time.

She had fun, and this may have been case of fearlessness and love for adventure- but either way, she was willing to face extreme danger because she knows it'll help protect her home and the people she cares about. That's mental or moral strength to face danger and difficulty.

Tangle, no matter what, is always a kind, brave person, and would almost never dismiss a chance for adventure.

That's just a cosmic truth. :)

Then, we'd move on to the Battle For Angel Island.

AKA the comic where Tangle tore the wings off a robot dragon.

Tangle took part in the fight against Neo Metal, and was brave through the entire fight- she was in no way prepared for any of it, literally just being some girl from some town, yet was a key part in defeating Neo. She didn't once hesitate to help someone, and that makes her just as much of a hero as those she looks up to.

I mean, she even saved Blaze.

Then, let's move to Tangle & Whisper-

Every single fucking time one of her friends are threatened, sad or hurt, Tangle will immediately push past her fear and worry to comfort them, putting on a confident persona.

She's open about her feelings- but also does her best to reassure her friends. They're her highest priority- she's very, very considerate of them.

She trusts them deeply, and is, above all, a good person.

Even if Tangle herself is scared, she'll punch her fear straight in the gut with utmost confidence, just to bring reassurance to her friends.

She's got so many similarities with Sonic-

except she doesn't hide her emotions, and doesn't just bottle them up all the time.

She's got his love for adventure, helping others, and care for his friends,

but is willing to be more truthful when it comes to her own state of mind, unlike Sonic.

Now, the Metal Virus.

I've talked about this alot before, so I'm gonna skim over this one pretty quickly,

Here, she's dying. She knows she's dying. She's smiling. Joking. Reassuring Sonic, her hero, that it wasn't his fault- none of this is. All of her heroes are dying infront of her and she's doing her best to stay brave as she tries to help them.

She dies fighting, not even considering fleeing or trying to save herself-

because she puts her friends first, even if that may not always be a good thing.

She trusts they'll save her,

She just hopes they won't keep her waiting too long.

And she was right.

They did save her and she got a hug from her gf.

Because the amount of trust Tangle puts in her friends in a major part of her character.

[feymarche]

gotta get all my LINCOLN thoughts DOWN while im relistening to this godforsaken podcast. here's just some stupid observations that i wrote a whole thesis about for no reason

here's two things we know:

- lincoln was raised to always be honest about his feelings

-- despite this, we consistently see lincoln distracting himself whenever big, hard feelings come up

after the grant sauce scene outside the classroom in episode 7, lincoln doesn't take the time to process anything that his father has said to him. he asks normal if HES doing okay after the conversation with Sparrow, and then immediately changes the subject and tells everyone that they should ditch school and go to Sonics so that he wouldn't have to think about it.

and hey, that's all fair; that was some heavy shit to lay on a teenager, and he'd need a lot of time to process it, but we see Linc consistently choosing not to process it.

later, during the grant arc on earth, linc chooses to drive specifically because it's easier not to think when he's driving. when he leaves a voicemail to Marco telling him that he might never talk to him again, a really hard conversation for linc to have, linc ends the phonecall saying, 'no, this was a bad idea, everything's fine-- prank!'

(and it's not fair to say that linc telling scary that they should look for her stepdad first is also evidence that linc does this when part of it was a structural thing to mimic season 1's anchor order, but it IS consistent with linc avoiding hard emotions)

and all of this isn't even inconsistent with him being raised to always be honest! linc never had to deal with big, hard emotions like this, he's only ever been super sheltered and homeschooled and safe. if linc ever felt lonely or bad, his dads would find a way to accommodate him through some form of enrichment, and if the enrichment didn't help, matts made it clear that lincoln's favorite time of the day is when he can just be alone in his room in the space under his bed where it's calm and peaceful and he doesn't have to think about anything. linc is honest about his feelings up until they become so complicated or painful that he doesn't know how to be honest about them. linc is extremely blunt up until he doesn't know how to think about his feelings without getting hurt

grant talks about how he worries linc's relationship with soccer is an emotional distraction. he worries that linc is using soccer the way grant used violence to shut down his thoughts. and sure, linc genuinely loves soccer, it's a harmless interest to have (especially when you don't have the opportunity to have many other hobbies), but Grant recognizes that linc is using it as an emotional crutch-- or at the very least worries that that's what he's doing.

and thats the one thing that grant cant really explain to linc as a parent! if grant stops him from playing soccer JUST because he's worried, he'd have to explain WHY he's worried, and grant cant really do that. he can't talk about how much he likes killing people around his son if he isnt sauced.

and with the main big, scary emotion that lincoln faced in his backstory being mr. kicks, i'd bet lincoln dealt with that feeling by doing a lot of the same. distracting himself with soccer or zoning out entirely. i'd bet grant watched linc avoid any and all discussion about mr. kicks and instead focus on getting better at soccer. there's no way to prove that, but it's consistent with matt's character choices.

so here linc is, going through puberty, spiraling into apathy and avoidance and being like WHATEVER and WHO CARES to everything. this most recent episode was the biggest change in his character yet; he gave up soccer, said it was a waste of time, and broke that goddamn pick.

he doesn't really NEED soccer anymore now that he's learned that he doesn't need an excuse to be dismissive or avoidant anymore; he can just do it. he can just say whatever now. he can just brush people off. he can be abrasive and distant, just like scary.

and it's sad because man, he did really love soccer, even when he was using it for the wrong reasons. he really did love his family and friends. he had the strongest values and the strongest moral compass and he really, really believed in being a good person. but now he's having to deal with big, scary emotions for the first time, and he has no way to know how to deal with them, even with all the therapy his dads gave him. agughghhghghg lincoln li wilson

[fisticuffs-bee]

chai and sonic are the same type of guy? tell me more :D

oh my god it took me so long to find my old notes i scribbled down ages ago at my old job

right off the bat i need to explain that i am an archie sonic fan so this is largely based on that (mostly in the context of characters)

also! hfr spoilers will be implied to anyone that cares about that

a lot of things would be changed around and mixed and muddled up here, which is exactly how i like my wips. needlessly complicated.

sonic takes the place of chai, for reasons mentioned before. carefree dude who pretty easily goes with the flow, but can still be a bit selfish and immature at times.

but this is where things get more complex than necessary. i decided that it would make the most sense if uncle chuck (that is his proper name to me) took the place of roxanne. after all, he's the one who originally made the roboticizer; it was robotnik that bent the original vision of the machine to his evil whims later.

so now instead of a secondary main character having that deep familial motivation, it's just on sonic. but it's ok i got this.

sally takes the place of peppermint, she's often the brains behind lots of things the freedom fighters do in the comics. im paraphrasing, but it was once put something like "sonic is the force of destruction, but sally is the one who tells him what to destroy" by an antagonist (robotnik, i think) and... it's not exactly wrong.

and here's where things get messy again! tails is also there, but doesn't fill a role from the game. i made one up for him. he made t-pup, who takes the place of 808. the summary of his role is "brilliant kid who wants to help, but isn't allowed to do anything too dangerous, so he finds a way to compromise on that".

moving on, rotor takes place of macaron. big guy who can punch real hard but is also a real friendly dude and is good with machines? yep yeah got it covered.

ok so. nicole... i haven't figured out entirely for this. she takes place of CNMN, but wasn't made by rotor. he just snagged up what he could of her project before new management took over and dug its claws into what she's supposed to be. she's also gonna be gay with sally because it's one of the funniest things ever that The Subtext was in fact entirely on purpose

bunnie korsica. i'm not sure if i would have something more similar to her canon backstory or what happens with korsica happen to her, but the end result either way would be that she starts out with no robotic limbs, and then gets the robotic limbs later. and i'm giving her her cowboy hat back i miss it so much (also i'm so sorry miss bunnie i couldn't figure out where to put your husband in this)

obviously, robotnik (which i keep saying bc im not calling him eggman for this) would take the place of kale. but he's not the final boss (:

THE FINAL BOSS WOULD BE SHARD. I AM PUSHING MY SHARD AGENDA. I LOVE THAT GUY I MISS HIM SO BAD. plus i just like the idea of the final boss being sonic and (a) metal sonic. obviously i'm not blowing him up at the end. anyway here's what i have written down: SPECTRA is housed in an A.I. with a robotic body (shard), who was originally made to be an assistant to charles (uncle chuck). SPECTRA overwrites the original programming, making the former assistant cold in personality and only take orders from robotnik. dismantling SPECTRA allows the original programming to return to the forefront.

from there it's not as thought out. i thought about giving surge rekka's spot, starline mimosa's, but i'm not really sure what to do with zanzo or roquefort. hell, i wrote "orbot and he gets a gundam or something" half as a joke for roquefort on my old piece of paper here. thanks for letting me talk about this it rattles around in my brain sometimes.

[minipisi-is-dumb]

alright so. tails and eggman are the only two characters that are canonically gifted/ND in the sonic universe but they're Really interesting ways to see how others perception of gifted people is like and how it impacts the silly furry story i am the normalest about it btw not like you care

so i just have other observations abt it because it's funny mainly eggman rn ive been thinking abt him a lot

this is also a long post and im not even a fraction done ok ive issues

(also abt this im talking about canon not coding and Oh Boy do i have words for sonic and shadow as gifted-coded and how much the narrative of just being born "gifted" compared to others or the entire Literally being made For This is used in fiction but im not. gonna talk about it. not today. soon.)

look i like to compare eggman and tails a lot bc they're fundamentally parallel between each other and their relationship w sonic n all that jazz that we know but LISTEN!!!

eggman has been diagnosed very obviously for plenty of years already and since it's very usual for people to be prejudiced against it i actually find interesting that he is so so self absorbed into his genius persona and being more invested into keeping that idea on others mind.

so okay listen words are funny. giftedness is a way of asynchronous development in the brain where some parts develop "quicker" than others (compared to most brains) and is not exactly fun all the time

a good analogy i like is about "mental age" (which was acc a predecessor of the idea of IQ!) where you have people who are chronologically, say, 12 years old, but their emotional regulation is alike to an 8 year old but ALSO their intellectual needs are the ones of a 19 year old. yeah. it gets like that.

so a lot of time in children it's the classic (super harmful) "hypermature" mentality that sees them and keeps them in that pedestal (yes this has to do w sonic still) and adults are usually seen as less mature than their peers, more child-like and less apt to be actually functional people in everyday live n that causes issues because part of the giftedness of it all is that the creativity and child-like wonder is a fundamental part of how our brain is wired wether we like it or not. so that "childish" part is always seens as less from the outside and DUDE YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH I ADORE EGGMAN

LISTEN TO ME eggman is textbook evil villain for kids entertainment franchise and also good foil for sonic and tails mainly Oh no we're not just talking abt that we're talking about symptoms here and i LOVE how some of them is clear he learned to accept and live with and others not

actually Eggman's got to be one of the coolest depictions of an evil gifted man istg. the man might be an evil mastermind n probably has killed so much people that lily orchid would cry in her sleep abt it and he's also hyperfixated on killing a funny blue furry but look he knows what he is and he OWNS it

Oh, the prejudice is that gifted adults are too childish? Too creative for their own good? Too self centered? Jokes on THEM Eggman just created 5 new badnik models based on the same worm and they all look sick also did you see Eggman's logo plastered everywhere like a kid putting stickers in every place they can???? YEAH

Oh the prejudice says that gifted adults need to be overachievers and have a million accomplishments to be validated? suck to be you because sure eggman has his doctorates hanging around but he really just has an elevated ego. he would call himself genius for making a coffee at the temperature he likes, he would call himself genius because of internalized shit but also he would just. let himself be. if anything he's not thinking about being or not a genius for himself, he's more focused on maintaining that mythos for his enemies so that he feels some sort of power (ah yes chronic need of control my beloved)

listen the ways funny brains ar wired make it so that there's an illusion of omnipotence through the sheer power of will. that "childish" part is so so fundamental because it comes back up even if repressed every time there's threat. every time a basis on any self perception is perceived, a "child-like" attitude is taken and everything is blamed on someone else or is reflected in a need of over protection, control and blaming others for any situation. you guys can see how this relates to Eggman or have i finally lost it

also that one cool af detail where he blames his frustration everything back to an outsider force uh listen im joking here but im very much sure that Eggman's gotta be one of the funniest depictions of a gifted adult that feels so. Yeah i can see where he's coming that's kinda what i mean.

uhhhh i have so many more thoughts but it's too long and also words are hilarious and also shut UP i just like Eggman as the funniest gifted man ever bc he just shows so many symptoms and plausible ways his ND affects his life. it's clear that they just wanted to parody the idea of an evil mastermind being annoyed by children when the games started and therefore gave him both the 300 is thing and the immature behavior to like mock him n such. but literally shut up i can do whatever i want i can take characters however i want and he is canonically ND so ill hold him to that standard anyways

[wswe-autism-fic]

seeing as ive already given my opinions on the entire mario timeline, i may as well do sonic. no, it will not be as in depth. why? because oh my god have you ever tried piecing together the sonic timeline??? dont.

basically, i believe most alternate universes to be canon. and by the way, if its an au i havent enjoyed, im not counting it lmao.

classic games!!!

i like the generations version of things, where the classic games are when they're all younger. i'd say sonic's probably about 12, tails 5, knuckles 13 and amy 11. robotnik can be about mid to late 30s at this point and i cant be bothered with any other characters lmao

and before someone goes 'bit odd that sonic's eye colour changed lmao' ik but like it reminds me of my brother. he had the same colour eyes as me when he was a baby (really dark brown) but now his eyes are hazel (or, as my dad calls it, 'autumn'). i also like how the only reason they specifically chose green was for green hill zone. i think that's really sweet.

i also like to think the OK KO crossover happened about here, if not, very early on in the modern games. maybe sonic underground??? actually, no, i dont think sonic underground could be canon.

modern games!!!

the modern games happen in the order that they happen in. dont ask me about the weird bit. actually, just dont ask at all - nobody knows what to do with this bit. im also counting the idw comics as modern games seeing as they're apparently canon now? yeah idk either.

as for fleetway, archie and any other comics i cant think of, i havent read them, i dont know.

for the ages, generally, sonic's 15, tails 8, all canon ages, yada yada EXCEPT for amy. i dont like amy being 12, so in my head she is 14. i dont even ship sonamy, just the entire thing of her being 12 when sonic is 15 and those two being probably the most canon sonic ship out there that isn't technically canon (STOBOTNIK DOES NOT COUNT JUST IN CASE IN THE FUTURE ITS EVEN MORE EXPLICIT) really makes me feel grossed out.

oh yeah and seeing as he doesnt have a canon age, robotnik is vaguely 40.

post-timeline stuff!!!

this is mostly where actual theory comes into play, because before this point its like, yeah? we knew that? i get that sonic boom is an alternate universe, but i... i like sonic boom. i like it a lot. so it's canon in my eyes. tbf they do all look and act much older, so i'd imagine boom is a future where they're all adults. as of posting this, sticks has only just been made canon, with that mention in frontiers, so if she really does end up in any mainline games, they just happen before this. probably. i dunno, maybe they'll ruin this entire portion.

i think that robotnik is probably late 40s, early 50s by this point, and tbf i think the main cast overall is only rough suggestions, because i could imagine sonic boom happening over the course of a few years. sonic is probably about 19-25, knuckles 19-26, amy 17-24, tails 11-15, and im pretty sure sticks is about knuckles' age canonically? so we'll say she's 19-25.

i get that shadow is 50 and whatnot, probably about 55-60 at this point, but i generally think he's like, a few months older than sonic if we're going based on why we count age (experience and stuff), so probably 19-26, like knuckles.

this is where i think most crossovers take place: mario & sonic, all the weird sega sports games from the late 2000s to mid 2010s (im looking at you, sega all stars tennis/sonic and sega all stars racing (but specifically for the wii (because thats the best version))), stuff like that. with the mario timeline, i said most crossovers aren't canon, but with sonic, anything is possible! because of that, the only crossover than comes to mind that definitely wouldn't be canon is smash, and thats because smash is canonically a kid playing with their toys.

the bit where i lose my mind (aGAIN OMG THIS HAPPENED WITH MARIO)!!!

I AM NOT DOING FULL RAINBOW FOR THAT TITLE OK I CANNOT BE BOTHERED SO YOU GET IT IN PURPLE INSTEAD BECAUSE I LOVE PURPLE.

anyway, this is the bit that couldnt possibly be canon. or hell, maybe it could, the sonic lore is never logical. basically, if you havent read the mario theory, i ended up linking it to undertale, saying that undertale is basically the future of mario, at least for my favourite characters, wario and waluigi. this is like that.

hear me out:

my hero academia?

i'm sorry, but i cant help but think mha is like sonic now. its definitely more of a stretch than undertale and mario, so this one i count as being less reliable, but like... yk how shadow in every tv show has to beat tails to a pulp? shadow is bakugo and tails is deku. as for rouge, rouge is transmasc legend, kirishima. idk who omega is, but tbf he doesnt have a life, so maybe thats why.

and sonic is like all might! and knuckles is like kirishima again! but knuckles can also be iida, if he likes! and amy is uraraka! and i need therapy!

sorry. again. im very sorry. i formally apologise. i could never make this up to you. sorry.

[butterscotch-brigade]

the Mario Movie Post

ok SO heres a more expansive post listing my Thoughts on the mario movie. HUGE spoiler warning under the cut btw

it was....good! i keep comparing it to the sonic movies in my head bc thats what ive seen a lot of other ppl doing, and i think, compared to those movies, this one is a “safer” adaptation of the source material; and ofc this isnt an inherently good or bad thing, but it may influence ur opinion if u were expecting a more derivative adaptation like the sonic movies, which take more risks and creative liberties. id rank the mario movie below sonic 2 (the greatest movie of all time btw), but idk if id put it above or below sonic 1; ultimately, like i said, it depends on whether u prefer the adaptation thats “safer” or “riskier” in terms of what its trying to accomplish.

anyway, here r some things i rly liked abt the movie!! warning for me gushing abt bowser bc im in love with him btw ASDLJKADS

bowser is the greatest character in the entire thing ofc. not surprising at all ASLKJDSLKJDS my big beautiful monster husband he is SOOOO GOOOODDD like.....hes the most expressive, full of personality, and jack black gives an AMAZING performance as him. his fucking song???? the princess peach love song??? beautiful. lovely. i love bowser so fucking much......like yeah he “kidnaps people” and “tries to kill innocents” or whatever but errmmm he does it in the name of love so its ok uwu my big strong cuddly ferocious teddy bear i love him I LOVE HIIMMMMM KLASJDKLJASDLKJ HES SO PERFECT HES A SWEET LOVEY DOVEY DORK BUT HES ALSO FUCKED UP EVIL AND POWERFUL AND WILLING TO CRUSH ANYONE WHO STANDS IN HIS WAY GOOOODDDDD I WANT HIM SO BAD

animation is gorgeous, including the environments and character models. say what u want abt illumination but u have to admit their actual animation game is pretty damn good and this film is no exception

i rly appreciate all the references and easter eggs! i like how they used music from the games in various ways, and how they incorporated the different worlds/levels.

i LOVE the little additional bits of lore they added!!! ive been a huge Mario Lore Enthusiast pretty much since i first learned how to use the internet so this was very satisfying to my autistic brain ALSKJLKDASJ

as far as specific lore elements go, i loved getting to see mario and luigi’s parents (+ extended family!!!). u dont understand for the longest time the only CANON picture we had of mario and luigis parents were these images from the end of yoshis island ASKLDJSLAKDJ so im very happy we got more detailed designs for them

i love the backstory they gave princess peach!! ive always wondered why she rules the mushroom kingdom despite not being a toad. i hope they expand on her story more if they ever make a second movie bc i think it would be rly interesting to know more abt where she came from!!

i LOOOVE the kongs so so much......ty mario movie for finally ending the debate abt whether or not dk is cranky kongs son or grandson SALKJDALKSJ also i love dk’s characterization in this too, his friendly rivalry w mario was rly funny

i love love LOOOVVE the sibling dynamic between mario and luigi. Bro They Are Bros

i like the incorporation of the power-ups and how they work

king bob-omb is there. i like him :)

and now for some criticisms (note that these r all pretty minor, there wasnt rly anything i Disliked abt the movie which is admittedly more than i can say abt the first sonic movie actually LKSAJLKD):

a lot of the characters just kinda felt flat, especially compared to bowser who has the most personality. luigi is the only one i can think of who has any kind of significant “arc.” peach, toad, and dk dont rly have any kind of significant character growth, while mario’s arc is just kinda....He Learns To Get Better At Fighting And Navigating The Mushroom Kingdom i guess. to be fair mario games in general arent rly known for focusing on character development (w some exceptions like the rpgs, but none of that development is rly focused on mario himself), but that ultimately just made this movie’s writing pale in comparison to the sonic movies (which arent perfect (except for the second one) but still)

luigi didnt rly do much throughout the whole thing.....i liked him a lot in the beginning, but he spends most of the movie being captured. i DID like the fight scene at the end where mario and luigi team up to beat the shit out of bowser tho!! i just wish we got to spend a little more time with luigi so his arc had a more satisfying conclusion

Why didnt they credit grant kirkhope for the dk rap. wtf nintendo/illumination

but yeah those r my Thoughts. overall it was a pretty good movie, id maybe give it like....7/10? 7.5/10? it wasnt Great but it was good. definitely better than the Other mario movie thats for sure LKASJFLKJS

[poptart-cat-78]

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@alteanroyals

I tagged 7,632 of my posts in 2022

Only 28% of my posts had no tags

#taylor swift - 2,093 posts

#ouat - 1,144 posts

#fanart goals - 678 posts

#personal - 501 posts

#textpost - 386 posts

#precious creatures - 385 posts

#otp: the pirate and the princess - 372 posts

#captain swan - 370 posts

#the poptart cat speaks - 351 posts

#miraculous ladybug - 317 posts

Longest Tag: 97 characters

#say 👏🏼 it 👏🏼 louder 👏🏼 for 👏🏼 the 👏🏼 people 👏🏼 in 👏🏼 the 👏🏼 back 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Me descending into the rabbit hole that is a ship of a fandom I’m not even in: “this is fine :)”

33 notes - Posted February 14, 2022

#4

So I noticed something, antis of these characters be like-

A lot of people who hate Amy Rose and Marinette have listed the same reasons why theyre a horrible character (i.e “shes annoying”, “her only personality trait is being obsessed over a guy”)

But y’all miss the reasons why they’re great characters actually

-they’re kind and sweet-natured and love their friends dearly

-they’re great leaders (look at Amy in the Archie comics, Ladybug with the other heroes)

-they have been the reasons as to why so many characters change their point of view (Amy with Shadow, E-Alpha 100 in Sonic Adventure 2, and Silver in 06’, Marinette befriending Kagami, Fei and several others)

-can hold their own, they don’t really need a man to save them but fell in love with Sonic/Adrien for their kindness (Amy being saved from Metal Sonic on Little Planet, Adrien giving Marinette the umbrella)

It’s not that they’re horrible characters, the writers need to write them better

34 notes - Posted June 4, 2022

#3

The serotonin I get every time I hear the lyrics “I can still make the whole place

SHIMMER”

48 notes - Posted October 22, 2022

#2

“Nothing can save us forever, but a lot of things can save us today”

-Mae Borowski

IM TELLING YOU THE DIALOGUE IN THIS GAME IS 🔥🔥🔥

96 notes - Posted September 3, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

I finally got to this part in NITW and this speech that Mae gives-

“When I die, I want it to hurt, when my friends leave, when I have to let go, when this entire town is wiped off the map, I want it to hurt. Bad” I want to loose, I want to get beaten up, I want to hold on, until I’m thrown off and everything ends and you know what? Until that happens, I want to hope again and I want it to hurt. Because that means it meant something. It means I am.. Something at least. Petty amazing to be something, at least.”

ALWAYS makes me tear up, even though this game doesn’t have much action, it’s dialogue REALLY packs a punch

118 notes - Posted May 29, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[trivialtrivia]

it works so well in some parts, but in others it falls apart hilariously.

mario=sonic - no sane person would argue there. Sonic was literally made to be a rival to mario.

luigi=tails - again, another easy conclusion. adorable sidekicks who often use technology and have issues facing their fears but ultimately rise to the challenge to be just as heroic as the dude they look up to.

peach=amy - On a surface level this makes sense. Pink + love interest to protagonist + remember in sonic cd when amy kept getting kidnapped? thats a valid argument lol

but their personalities and relationship with their protagonist is totally different. Amy has been chasing sonic so long she's probably won several marathons she didn't even know about, and the relationship between Mario and Peach boils down to "oh you rescued me for the thousandth time. yeah ill bake you a cake and give you a peck on the nose." and mario goes "okie dokie! Wahoo!"

knuckles= yoshi ????!??!?!?!??!?@@12/?!?/1

This implies that Soni- you know what there's enough fanart of that i don't need to say the quiet part out loud.

But yoshi (and yoshis in general) are depicted as having a paternal relationship with an infant mario, all working together in the Yoshi's island games to take mario and luigi (and later all the other star children) to their rightful home(s).

Does this mean at one point baby sonic just.... fell onto angel island and knuckles had to deliver him back??? Who watched over the emerald (although tbf who watches over the emerald whenever knuckles shows up in ANY of the games)?? How does Knuckles not remember Sonic? Or am I taking a menu arraingment of sonic and mario characters as canon for the lols?

blaize=daisy Again, if i squint at the surface level, I can see it.

an initially obscure female character from a handheld side entry into the series, brought back for unknown reasons and continues being a mainstay.

But Daisy was initially mario's love interest in the og mario land, but then kept getting shipped with luigi (by fans) and eventually made its way into spinoff games. Does this imply that Blaize had a fling with Sonic, but then either Tails developed feelings for her, or vice versa? Can daisy use fire magic? Is sarasaland from an alternate reality like blaze's kingdom, and that's why we havent seen it since mario land? Actually that last one is funny and solid enough im making that my headcanon now.

Wario=shadow Now we get back into the obvious one. "evil" version of protagonist that was so popular in an obscure sequel they got their own game to themselves and remains a mainstay in modern iterations. Does that mean wario can use chaos control? does that mean shadow tried to take sonic's house at one point? did wario have an emo phase? Does shadow eat garlic and onions raw? Has wario used guns before? Will the chao garden minigame get its own indie game inspired by it like pizza tower was to wario land? (wait thats not a shadow the hedgehog question thats illegal-)

Waluigi=silver Ok this looks stupid but hear me out

came as an unpopular addition to the series as a counterpart to a counterpart, but kept appearing in titles until people started unironically loving them for being true underdogs. Also comes with a built in meme phrase ("it's no use!" and "waluigi time!")

i think this is a good matchup.

Bowser=eggman amazing matchup, possibly even better than mario and sonic. large antagonistic men that have entire armies at their disposal and hide away in large constructs, who are frequently seen riding around in a weird bowl shaped personal ship. Their dialogue is also touted by fans as some of the best parts of games (in which they have major speaking roles).

Bowser Jr=Metal sonic

again, hear me out. It's a better matchup than it seems.

more recent sonic media (cough cough murder of sonic the hedgehog) is showing metal sonic as having a son-father relationship with his creator, eggman. (though unlike Bowser Sr. and Bowser Jr., the feeling here is far from mutual or healthy :( )

bonus points for also kidnapping the same pairing one time and one time only (bowser jr kidnapping peach in mario sunshine, and metal sonic kidnapping amy in sonic cd)

Donkey Kong=Vector

at first i was like "they didn't even try here" but it makes sense.

loud, strong, musically inclined animals that got their own section of a game over and over, and barge in with their loud, boisterous personalities over and over again, endearing them to many.

basically, the energy is the same.

[larabar]

I would personally love to hear you rant about sonic x as I too loved that characterization of him ;w;

There was more than a few episodes of him legit going against the grain and being perceived as “the bad guy” and he didn’t care just cause he thought it was the right thing to do and I friggen LOVE that. I know some games have that characterization as well but it was just neat to that on a show

fair warning my ramblings get off the rails VERY quick get ready for this. its very long

i wanted to wait to answer this till after id watched more of the jp version because id only seen like. the last 3 eps. as much as i love the 4kids cast the original's just. so good man. watch it. i like sonic's personality in both versions but still

k. so

one of my favorite parts of his characterization in the show is how much it embodies his sa1/sa2 theme it doesnt matter.

so uh first thing that comes to mind is how. not self-centered he is. like i dont know where that characterization came from but its all over sonic media (dont get me wrong i still love that personality and think its hilarious. boom!sonic looking at you) but its just not how id describe his character in general

ANYWAYS like you said he literally Does Not care if something is 'good' or 'bad' he just does what he feels is right which is SO COOL for a character like him

like that one section of the show where egggman was making weird moon things for people's yards or something and sonic took one look at that and said Nope. literally everyone else was like bro?? we kinda need that light to live what are you doing?? and once again he Did Not care like he knew something was up and it wasnt good

and honestly i think its the little things about his personality that stand out to me the most. from his love for flowers. to spontaneously deciding to look for a small field of flowers in the mountains in the middle of nowhere becuse he knew cream had been feeling homesick. to random naps on rooftops because he feels like it. that kinda stuff

also he doesnt talk as much as his other characterizations. he figures stuff out silently in his head and you never really know exactly what hes thinking because his brain's moving a mile a minute (real adhd moment there) which is another thing thats not brought up much hes actually really smart? favorite example is the dark sonic episode (you know the one) when cosmo leaves to talk with black narcissus or whatever his name was. nobody knows where she is and everyone starts panicking but sonic's already figured out that she left the ship with the help of chris to get past the security. can we talk about how smart he is more often its one of my favorite characteristics of his

little off topic but theres also an episode of aosth (case of the missing hi-tops or something like that) where hes like a mini sherlock holmes and figures out who stole his shoes how they stole his shoes and why they stole his shoes and its. such a great episode guys please watch it. okok back to sonic x

i forgot what i was gonna say. uhhhhhhhhh oh yeah the race episode

sam sets up a giant race and pulls up to the thorndyke's house with the entire city lined up parade style at like 3am and challenges sonic to a race to which he once again says No and goes back to sleep. he could care less about what the city wants he just. idk man this whole situation is so funny. sonic finishes the race wayyy before sam, poses for the camera, goes back to sam, and finishes the race in an almost-tie i love this episode so much. im getting off topic again

ok i know everyone talks about the helen episode but im gonna talk aboout the helen episode. sonic just casually tells chris he promised one of his classmates he'd take her to an island in the middle of a lake and he Does It. with the entire army following him because he refused to go to a party with the president. how could a better episode be written its perfect

can i talk about cruise blues now. cool so cruise blues is one of my favorite episodes because it completely changes up his character and at the same time keeps it the same but also gives him character development ? that sounds really complicated just bare with me. sonic doesnt like boats. at all. for good reason tho theres no room to run theres water everywhere and also seasickness is a thing. anyways sonic takes the situation really well and decides the only way off this boat other than launching himself off the deck 30 times is to psychologically manipulate everyone on the ship through various means that leave him hanging on for dear life to a pole so amy doesnt smash him to pieces. he learns his lesson after that i think

point is by the end of the episode he learns to relax and its just all in all really chill at the end? he learns he needs to take it slow and rest sometimes and i think its the only ep to actually try to develop sonic's character

idk what else to talk about. ep 26 and the last two eps of s2 are really good but i have no idea how to put them into words

tl;dr: sonic x is good (understatement)

[t4tails]

Sega hates women sm

for real like theres been what. 4-5 in-game mobian girl characters and theyre amy rose who is never given shit to do despite being canonically super strong and rests her entire self worth on her puppy crush, rouge who weve covered, cream whos entire personality is Little Girl, tikal whos existence is pushed aside frequently, blaze... blaze is actually pretty alright. and then theres elise whos entire arc is SURPRISE falling in love w sonic wow again? and maria. who dies. to be clear i love all of these characters im just saying theres a noticable difference in how sega goes about writing them in comparison to the boys :(

[cirrates]

☕️ + kay. or gumshoe :)

KAY. kaykaykaykaykay. shes one of those characters thats like "I know exactly who she is and what she would or wouldnt do in any given situation but if you asked me to explain her I would not know what to say". I will try thgough.

I loooooove her so much I love that shes a thief I love that she is funny I love that she does gymnastics and stuff. did you know that she carries a camera around with her wherever she goes. nobody remembers that but I noticed. I remember. I love her I love that she has like 12 metric tons of adhd I love her enthusiasm and determination and how she just effortlessly connects with everyone she meets I love the way she just says things. shes so fun and cool. I love her joy and passion and energy and I love that she is silly. I love that she has a very distinct sense of right and wrong that is almost completely disconnected from the [joker voice] societal standards of right and wrong. I think its really funny when shes mean also simply because shes usually so kind and everyone is kind to her because that is just how she rolls she connects effortlessly with everyone she meets but it just makes it so much funnier when she meets someone and goes Nope. not this one.

as much as I like kay just on her own so much of her character is defined by her relationships with other people. which really ties in well with the overall theme of bonds and families and relationships and such in the aai games.

which is why im so glad you also put gumshoe in this ask because they have one of the best relationships in the entire games. in the words of tails "from sonic", "you're my mom, you're my dad, and you're my picket fence!" thats the kind of relationship they have he is just her entire family all in one. not to say that hes the only (or only important) part of the Kay Faraday Extended Found Family Complex but hes just like every part of a family at once to her it is nice. they just understand each other perfectly (so much that it perplexes edgeworth like he cannot understand why theyr so close) and they are funny silly together its so so awesome. he decided moments after meeting her that he'd rather get framed for murder than break a promise or get her in even a little bit of trouble and she was willing to kick edgeworth to the ground as many times as it took to protect him back. she has her own cutesy nickname for him it is so special. he is her father and her uncle and her best friend and her stepladder.

as for gumshoe just on his own ummmmm I think he should quit his job he hates literally everything about being a cop except actusally like. being a detective and even says that cops arent trustworthy like WHY ARE YOU ONE THEN???????????? you can be a private investigator like vector the crocodile I promise. also something interesting I noticed about him is that he likes plants in turnabout sisters hes instantly able to identify what species charlie is and in farewell my turnabout he says he got some morning glories to take care of and in turnabout target he says his favorite flowers are roses and carnations. this does not mean anything I just noticed it. also it annoys me that even though hes only drawn as fat like half the time in canon (though that annoys me too just pick one and stick with it) people seem to universally agree that hes fat but for other characters with a similar body type theyr always drawn stick thin. like im not saying people shouldnt draw him fat (in fact if I ever saw thin gumshoe I might attack someone) but why is it youre ok with the character whos portrayed as incompetent that you dont care about outside of making jokes at his expense being fat but wont accept your poor little meow meow or whatever the hell being anything but a twig answer quickly. go on.

anyway ummmmm kay and gummy dynamic so important remember this forever and always. swiss roll.

[soulonfire13]

ooh your Ocs sound really cool! I'd like to hear more about them, so I'd also like to ask for numbers 21, 29, 39 and 48 👀

You don't know how happy that makes me that you want to hear more about my OC's 😭🥰

21.) Your Most artistic OC:

I have a hedgehog named May whose powers involve growing flowers and plantlife at will. She lives alone in a small cabin in the forest so she does all sorts of crafty things, like sewing, gardening, painting, etc.

She tends to grow flowers in such a way to make living architecure and fancy designs, more for herself but occasionally a traveler will see her work and be super impressed.

29) which OC would investigate an abadoned house at night without telling anyone?

Ive got a few!

Spurious the Fox just wouldnt consider telling anyone, just because it wouldnt cross his mind as important. He'd just be like "oooh a creepy abandoned place" and then he'd waltz right in. He has a very warped perception of reality and things that should be scary or dangerous just... aren't.

Clarity might occasionally not tell anyone shes going to a place like that, mostly for Eric's sake. (They're dating :D) She hates making him worry about her safety and since the events of Sonic Forces, shes constantly putting herself in dangerous situations.

Ive got a few ninja characters (based off of Archie Sonic Comics 4 clans) that just wouldnt tell anyone and go into an abandoned house for the sake of their clan duties.

Lydia the Gecko, Riko the Chameleon, and Kyra the Lynx all would go there alone in the name of their clan.

39) Introduce Any character you Want!

Who wants to hear about my very first, and slightly unoriginal OC who I love too much to move on from? XD

Gonna add a readmore because of long backstory stuff :3

So when Gerald Robotnik was captured by G.U.N. and held on Prison Island, there was a young budding scientist named Richard, who at the time was working as a prison guard was trying to glean any info off of project Shadow he could.

He was able to get a blood sample from Shadow in cryo, as well as listen to some of the insane ramblings of Gerald in his cell to try and piece together some of the research. At home, he tried to recreate it, but seeing as he was missing the chaos emeralds, the biolizard and only had one syringes worth of Shadow's DNA, he was doomed to fail.

Eventually he started reworking the plans he had to try and make something similar but new. Which lead to the conclusion that he needed a living test subject.

Enter Silena Jacobs, a 17 year old High Schooler who was the daughter of a local politician. She was the youngest child of four and was the most rebellious. She had a tendency to sneak out her window at night and go to house parties, much to the disappointment of her parents.

In what started out as an accident, she got hit by a car while jaywalking, getting severly injured and left in the side of a ditch. The driver pulled a hit and run, leaving her for dead.

Of all the people to find her, it was Richard. Instead of calling the police, he panicked, realizing he could use her for his experiments. His personal pride and desire for science overrided any concern for her, and he ended up kidnapping her.

He combined Shadows DNA with hers, and used electrcity and radiation in place of chaos energy.

What he got was something that looked sort of like Shadow, but was fundamentally diffrent.

Silena retained none of her human memories and had no chaos powers to speak of. She also ended up with a watered down version of immorality, being able to have a much longer lifespan, but at the cost of her mental and pyschical stability.

Richard attempted to figure out what she was capable of but wasnt able to get very far. His kidnapping of a politicians family member ended up being a really big deal, and they were eventually able to trace her disappearance back to him.

In a last ditch effort to save his work, he told her to run, burned his entire house down with his research and got arrested.

Since then, Silena has tried to figure out who she is and who she was while at the same time not getting herself caught by the goverment.

Shes one of my sassier OC's and has no problem talking back to people. She has two stories, one on earth and then one where she tries to learn to live on Mobius, finally surrounded by people who look like she does.

Ended up cutting that short before I write a whole novel LOL. I have such a soft spot for her, even though appearance wise shes no original in the slightest.

48) OC who is a Perfect Cinnamon Roll:

I'd have to say that my purest character is probably Ryuku the Betta Fish.

Look at her. Shes a smol bean whose powers consist of tiny paper fish that she uses to teleport between. She doesnt talk very much and lives near a small shrine with her grandfather. Clarity and her are the only ones I have decent pics for, as they are my favorites. XD

Thanks again for the asks! Im so happy you like my OC's, I dont get the chance to talk about them very much ^-^

[achaotichuman]

THANK YOU FOR THE TAG MATHI!! This looks incredibly fun

Describe your writing process from idea to posting/publishing

Lemme set the scene.

It's the middle of the night, the doomscrolling of social media has consumed my soul. All of a sudden, I ASCEND.

THE GODS BESTOW VISIONS

I AM LEFT REELING WITH ONLY THE KNOWLEDGE THAT I MUST SPREAD THE WORD OF THIS DREAM, THIS GIFT.

ROCKETING BACK DOWN TO REALITY, I SPRINT FOR THE COMPUTER I WRITE IN A HAZE, NOTHING MAKES SENSE, BUT WHY WOULD IT.

Then I stop.

I realise I am writing something that I am less than educated about.

SO I STUMBLE INTO THE RABBIT HOLE OF ARTICLES AND RESEARCH LOSING HOURS OF MY PRECIOUSLY SHORT LIFE TO FIGURING OUT HOW A NAME FOR A SIDE CHARACTER WHO WILL NEVER BE MENTIONED AGAIN WILL SET THE SCENE FOR THE CULTURE OF THE FICTIONAL PEOPLE IM WRITING ABOUT

AND ONCE IT IS DONE, I BARELY THROW IT AT @sonics-atelier AND PRAY IT LEGIABLE. (they'll tell me if it's not)

Okay, but for a serious answer. I find my ideas in the most unlikely of places, and then I hyperfixate on them for an unspecified amount of time. I have no schedule, nor organizational skills.

Are you a plotter or a pantser?

Panster all the way, but I am *trying* to learn to plot ahead.

What do you listen to when you are writing?

I have a writing playlist that is pretty much a blend of every genre in existence.

What’s your drink of choice(while writing)?

Coffee, I require the caffeine to keep my soul ascended lest I lose interest.

Promote yourself! What’s your favorite thing you’ve written?

A Court of Song and Desolation I wrote this lil fic over a year ago, then decided I made horrible mistakes, and rewrote it. I think it deserves much love!

Summary-

In the low lamplight, I was free Heaven and hell were words to me When my time comes around Lay me gently in the cold, dark earth Work Song: Hozier

It's been a year since the final battle of Hybern, and Spring remains in ruin. Darkness fabrics the land as its High Lord rots forgotten. Lucien, being unable to stand the distance growing between him and the male he once called his closest friend, decides to bring him to the Human Lands. But soon, a new threat tied to Koschei begins to unearth itself, promising to uproot Prythian entirely, and it has set its eyes on Tamlin.

Elain Archeron is lost to her dreams and visions, reality blurring, time and space intertwining and unravelling. Memories of who she once was are twisted now, and a woman from her past has been haunting her. After meeting Mintheal and Emerald, two escapees from the Hewn City, she decides it's beyond time to step beyond the Night Court and take fate into her own hands.

The Death God Koschei is the last threat left to eliminate, no one has yet seen the strings that move him, and the puppet master has decided its their time to come out from behind the curtain.

Share a fic of yours that you think is underrated/deserves more love.

A Court of Song and Desolation, I was expecting there to be less traction with the rewrite than the original, but I was kinda hoping for a little more interest in it.

Do you have any advice for new writers?

Piece of advice I received from my mentor growing up,

Everyone has a writing style, one that is only yours, it will develop as you get older, as you learn more and more about writing. Your writing style will have bits and pieces that you take from the things you read, read a little bit of everything, and keep reading. You're learning, and you're growing, and soon enough, one day you will look at your own writing you'll see your style, and it will just click for you.

Also piece of advice from me,

PEOPLE TALKIN SHIT ABOUT YOUR WRITING? FUCK EM

PEOPLE SAY YOUR WRITING SUCKS? FUCK EM

PEOPLE DON'T LIKE YOUR STORY? FUCK EM

YOU HAVE SUCH A SHORT FUCKING LIFE DON'T WASTE IT ON PEOPLE WHO DON'T DESERVE IT, ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO ARE PUTTING YOU DOWN

What is a writing style/technique that others do really well that you'd like to get better at?

Pacing, I am really bad at staying on track with my writing, and keeping the story moving along as the appropriate pace. Probably because I don't plan very far ahead, but I am also trying to learn how to plot properly. It's all a learning curve.

Is there a character you were surprised you enjoyed writing as much as you did?

Azriel and Elain Archeron.

Turns out when you have really empty characters, the creative freedom you get with them is very liberating.

Tags-

@shi-daisy, @praetorqueenreyna, @matrixsss

@sonics-atelier, @readychilledwine, @fourteentrout

@foxcort, @yaralulu and anyone else who wants to join!!

(ACOTAR) FANFIC WRITING TAG GAME

I love tag games and talking about writing, so I'm obsessed with this one -- thank you for thinking of me @zenkindoflove!!

Describe your writing process from idea to posting/publishing

I've already made some super long-winded posts about my drafting process and I can't seem to find the beta process post, but I'll do a short version here!

The formal answer

First draft - Don't think, just write. Nothing that comes to mind goes into the doc.

Technically point 1.2. because my betas will be cheering my insecure ass on and drag me to the finish line. They will also give me feedback on vibes.

Second draft - Flesh out the scenes that I think are too short or happening too quickly and they might need a transition.

Beta feedback and I provide them with specific questions and pain points that I experienced so they can enlighten me.

Third draft - Apply corrections

But honestly, the more I write, the less 'strict' I am in the process. Now, I'm more and more okay with just a vibe check from the betas and posting. I only follow the process above for longer fics, tbh.

Are you a plotter or a pantser?

Both. I will always start by pantsing, but ideas will pop up the more I think about it, so I'll have a doc on the side where I dump all my ideas and it becomes an outline. I don't take the time to plot it, it's just something that happens while I pants.

What do you listen to when you are writing?

Music relevant to the characters/vibe. I usually end up fixating on a single song and play it on repeat until the end. For Wildflowers, I just had 'Cruel Summer' by Taylor Swift on repeat. I can't explain it. Even if the song doesn't vibe with the scene, it just reminds my brain to stay consistent on that one emotion that made me ship the ship or like the song.

What’s your drink of choice(while writing)?

Tea. Coffee makes me smell colour and see into different dimensions.

Promote yourself! What’s your favorite thing you’ve written?

Cosmogeny -- My "Nyxlin" fic where he grew up to become an Eldritch God who wants to destroy Prythian because his parents failed him. It's a 100% self-indulgent fic with an OC (put into the role of Nyx in the ACOTAR universe) that I never ever thought anyone would like. He's a creature that has been with me through the worst times of my life, and a silent protector for my sanity. To see him be loved makes me really happy in ways that I cannot explain. I don't even think it's my best writing. I think this fic is an experience, and a community at this point and I love it even more because of the handful of readers who are along for the ride with me.

Share a fic of yours that you think is underrated/deserves more love.

Needle & King -- My fic about Rhysand's parents. I'm genuinely surprised at how poorly it's doing. I thought with the success (for me) of Wildflowers, I could make a Mathiverse that people would be interested in. Along with the outcry in the fandom for more feminism + diverse portrayal for the Illyrians, I thought I was kind of filling that void. In this fic, I get to tap into the important relationship of women between each other, and in society, as well as dive into parts of my culture I never really knew about. It's very personal to me, so I'm totally biased in saying it deserves more love! That said, keep in mind I'm a former marketing professional and I can't help but look at market, demands and stats (engagement). This will absolutely not stop me from continuing it. I'm way too invested in it. I do think that of all my fics, this would speak to a lot of readers as individuals and unrelated to any ships.

Do you have any advice for new writers?

JUST DO IT. That is my #1 advice. Don't think about anything else, except getting those words and ideas on a page. Your first draft might suck, and honestly, it's allowed to. The first draft is not meant to be a polished product. The first draft is the first step of bringing your story to life. If you catch yourself doubting yourself, stop. Just keep writing. You are new. Give yourself some grace. Even if you aren't, art is an imperfect practice. On some days, you'll be amazing, and others maybe not. The difference is if you keep writing, keep practicing, the 'minimum bar' of quality on your first draft will keep rising.

Other advice I'd love to give:

Observe. Read books. Read fics. Find writers who's styles you like and pick out why you like them. Learn from that. I learned from another hobby writer, and I will always credit her for my ability to write. I can tell you exactly what I love about her, and if I did, I'm sure you'd see it in my writing too. Even so, that doesn't mean we write exactly the same. Try different things! You may be a super experienced writer in one style, but that doesn't mean you can't try something new. You can learn different ways of writing, and then mix and match with what you like. HAVE FUN. This is a hobby, don't forget that. As a new writer, the worst thing you can do is put pressure to 'make something' out of this whether it's in the fandom spaces or professional. Learn to enjoy writing, first, and grow with joy before giving room to negativity and criticism.

What is a writing style/technique that others do really well that you'd like to get better at?

Writing stamina, writing long-form and having a more disciplined prose than I do. I feel like I'm quite weak in writing prose. My writing tends to barrel straight to the next plot-driven scene, unless I'm feeling particularly bratty and absolutely want the blorbos to kiss. I also feel like I can't convey emotions as well as I used to, but it's par for the course with growing old and more responsible for me. Sometimes, I don't have time to feel while writing. Sometimes, I just need to write and get that chapter out. I struggle to balance that too. I have some old works that will have me in tears at the same part every time, no matter how often I read it. I wish I had the patience to write more, but I struggle with it and my priority is fun over my own diligence these days. You'll see this with my short/sillier/pantsing fics vs. the multi-chapter planned ones. I only have two of those and they take a lot out of me.

Is there a character you were surprised you enjoyed writing as much as you did?

Any of the Vanserras. I kind of started writing Lucien as a necessity since he's important in Tamlin's life but I didn't super care for him at the beginning. I only started writing Eris through @acotarmemes; he wasn't on my radar. My first time writing Beron was in a shitpost so... Sorry my Autumn boys 😂 Special shoutout to Jurian because I didn't care for him at first and then I realized he's literally Hal Jordan, and now I love writing him. Coincidentally, I didn't care for writing Hal either and only wrote him because my partner requested him for her Barry. Turns out Hal Jordan and Gojo Satoru are some of my best characterizations so... Good for Jurian if this keeps up???

No pressure tags: @achaotichuman @yaralulu @sonics-atelier @watcherintheweyr @paytowinsundays and anyone who wants to join! I'm lazy to fix the tags mobile whenever you tag more than 5 people on the pooter, but please join if you want and tag me, I wanna see!