#and was personally cathartic for reasons i don't want to go into lol

[windcarvedlyre]

Genshin (of course :P) What's the funniest or craziest AU idea you've ever come up with?, What's a character or ship you haven't written/drawn yet but would like to some day?, and Has your favourite character/ship changed over time?

From this ask game!

12. What's the funniest or craziest AU idea you've ever come up with?

I'm not the sort of person who has a bajillion developed AUs, but I've had this really weird concept rotating in my brain recently where... you know how in the webtoon Venti was diffused into the ground while asleep? What if some dire circumstances and distance from Mondstadt forced him to do that with a person? And his powers leaked a bit, making them almost an anemo archon lite for a while?

Originally I was thinking of Jean being the other person but I realised Kaeya would be way more interesting. Temporary anemo archon substitute Kaeya carrying around the dormant soul of a god he still has very mixed feelings about, lmao.

13. What's a character or ship you haven't written/drawn yet but would like to some day?

God, so many, and the main thing holding me back is drawing human faces is suffering (and in the case of anything romantic, lack of irl experience). I'm honestly tempted to do a challenge where I draw every genshin character until I git gud.

Maybe I'll have something to contribute to zhongven nation eventually. It needs more content so I feel like it's my duty.

23. Has your favourite character/ship changed over time?

I don't think so! In terms of preferences after the favourites, maybe I wouldn't be so terminally Mondstadt brained if Diluc hadn't carried me through so much?

Shipwise diluven was my second favourite but kaeven might be overtaking it- despite having like no content- because of the sheer potential it has to be interesting. I always end up obsessed with ships that feel like they should be a trainwreck but have some way the characters could be dragged, kicking and screaming, into realising they have a ton more in common than they thought.

Furiven's growing on me a lot as well; it has a lot of potential in terms of interesting parallels between the two.

[billpottsismygf]

.

[flippinpancakes64]

Hello, I just want to know if I can request the Cullens to have an S/o that is in a band like sick puppies or skillet, please, and thank you

Also, I love your work

The Cullens with a reader who's in a Rock Band

Hello! Thank you for requesting!

I am someone who's into alternative music but I've never heard of these two bands. So I did my best to listen to some of their songs to get a feel for what kind of band you were talking about. They both reminded me a lot of Three Days Grace, Seether, Godsmack, and other bands like that so I based it off of that too.

In short, I basically went the route of a 90s-00s rock band

I hope you enjoy!

Edward:

He's not the biggest fan

Not of you being in the band, but of the music

He's not really into all the screaming

Even though it's not all screaming lol

He is pretty old fashioned

But overall he'd be an enjoyer

He would be at all of your concerts watching from the front row

He will proudly tell anyone that asks that he is your boyfriend and that you two are very much in love

And if you guys ever wanted to write a slower, ballad-type piece he is so down to compose and play the piano part for it

Also you guys don't need to worry about money

If one of your guitar strings breaks he's sending you 1,000 dollars and telling you to keep the change

He's also a good personal bodyguard

No need to worry about rowdy fans when he's there

He supports all of your dreams

He just doesn't listen to the music in his free time

Sorry

Alice:

She is SO into it

I feel like she doesn't care about genres or anything like that

If she likes a song she likes it

And when you tell her about your band and show her one of your songs, she is in love

You don't need to hire a merch designer or a hair/makeup artist ever

She's on it

She loves helping you choose an outfit and doing your hair and makeup before you go on stage

And it does stroke her ego just a little bit when people post on Twitter about your outfits :)

She's also definitely the type to print out like a hundred posters and staple them to all of the telephone poles in like the whole state

Also always at every concert

Except she's backstage

She prefers to be close

Stands to the side the whole time holding a bottle of water for you whenever you need it

She definitely has a shirt with your face on it that says #1 fan

She doesn't wear it but she does have it

Jasper:

He's also a little confused by the music

I don't know why but I literally cannot imagine this man listening to music ever

So he doesn't really have a favorite type

But he loves your voice so obviously he loves your music

He doesn't trust himself to be in the crowd at your concerts

So he's always backstage too

Even though it's loud, if you even whisper under your breath that you're thirsty he is there with a bottle of water

For some reason I get the feeling he would be good at audio design tho

This guy can make fire edits to a song

Your bandmates love him tho because he moves all of the heavy equipment

He likes to be in the studio when you're recording

Quality time

And he can be perfectly silent so he never interferes with the sound equipment

Rosalie:

I feel like she'd shock you with the fact that she LOVES alt music

She's so angsty

It perfectly displays her emotions

The screaming is cathartic to her

So when she hears that you're in a band and you make the exact type of music that she loves, she is so excited

She wants to be involved in everything

She would love designing your outfits

And I feel like she would be a good songwriter

She is in the crowd every time

Directly in the center

Directly in the front

One time, when one of your concerts was coming up, she printed out hundreds of flyers and went around the school telling people to show up

Not asking

Telling

The show was packed

Emmett:

I think he would love it purely for aesthetic reasons

Not to say that he doesn't like that you're happy and doing what you love

But I think he would feel so cool with a badass rockstar S/O

Like when he looks up at you on stage he just gets so much pride

Like hell yeah everybody came here to see MY S/O

Also he is your personal bodyguard

He would have so much fun kicking people out of shows

He puts on the sunglasses, the high vis vest, everything

Obviously he is in the crowd every time

But that's because he's the guard

He would proudly wear a shirt with your face on it btw

And no he won't get rid of it

No matter how many times you ask

Esme:

She's another one who's not really into the music part

I get the feeling she would like jazz/classical music more

She just gives me calm energy

So she wouldn't really like your music sorry

But that doesn't mean she won't support you

She is at every concert

Backstage

And she helps you with anything else you may need

She is shockingly good at filming music videos

She also likes to take action shots while you're performing

And then she makes a scrapbook out of it <3

Carlisle:

This man is older than electricity

He's watched the evolution of all music genres

And he is familiar with all of them

He's sort of like Alice in that he likes songs from all genres

He is completely supportive, though

Gives you all the money you could ask for

And then some

He talks about you to his patients all of the time

"Oh you broke your arm at a music festival? My S/O is in a band, you should check them out sometime."

The nurses get a bit annoyed

The only downside is that, because he works so much at the clinic, he can't help that much

He does his best to be at every one of your concerts

But he can't make all of them

When he does show up though he is front and center

Vampire! Bella:

Stephenie Meyer confirmed that Bella listens to Linkin Park

So yes she totally loves your band

I can imagine her in the mosh pit

She'd love it

She would stay far away from the stage though

Like she does not want to be perceived by the public

She helps doing other stuff though

I feel like Edward probably taught her how to play guitar at some point

So if you're ever stumped on a riff or something she jumps in to help

Obvs she's at every concert too

[salty-an-disco]

narrator >:)

ohohohohoh, the most present absent parent himself! (joke stolen from a discord friend lol)

ask game link

• First impression

"Oh, we have a Narrator? Cool! Love stories where the narrator is a character. Oooohhh– an unreliable narrator, is it? This guy's really sus, but I do like the atmosphere he brings to the whole thing–"

• Impression now

What a fuckin' bastard. He's such a great character and antagonist, I love to hate him and hate to love him. Him being the sole reason this game even happened, and arguably causing more irreversible change to the universe as a whole as opposed to if he were to just let things play out as they would is such great dramatic irony. I love him and I hate him and I want to put him in a jar and shake it till he's nothing but sludge.

• Favorite moment

Any time he shows genuine fear (endlessly fighting Adversary and Networked Wild ending) is just incredible, and feels particularly cathartic when you interpret him as a gaslighting parent lol. Also special shout out to the 'I think you know who I am' when you go to the last mirror. Just. so good.

But for my fave moment, I think it gotta be the Moment of Clarity sequence. I saw many interpretations of it, and I think there's truth to all of them, but my personal favorite is that, in that moment, Narrator was able to relate to the princess.

Her suffering, her fears, the worst of her and how it can break her down, he saw himself in her, and didn't know what to do with it. Which is part of the reason he couldn't continue. And the most tragic of it all– that was still just another Echo. And any development/realization he had dies with him the moment he fades away to make space for the next Echo.

• Idea for a story

I have many scattered ideas relating to him, but a main one that keeps coming back, is Echo meeting other versions of himself. Other Echos from different loops, and, mainly– the one that started it all, Echo pre-construct, right before he killed himself. I think that'd be a really interesting character study, to make Echo face with the whole of what his choices did to him.

• Unpopular opnion

Uuuuuuuhhhhhh, not sure if it's really unpopular, but Echo's choices and character is more interesting if we take his claim of 'the world being close to an ending' as an extreme exaggeration, or smth like his personal world ending (a relationship, his main support system, his community, etc). There's just something incredibly human about it, and also, I just don't think it's interesting to make him smth of a 'hero of humanity' or whatever. Neither is it to make him purely a villain. He's literally just a guy who decided to mess with gods cuz he saw no other out to his situation.

• Favorite relationship

Echo & Shifty. Just– the vitriol, the hatred, the fact any time he actually interacts one-on-one with her, Shifty barely acknowledges him or return any of his resentment. How similar they actually are, but how they can never see each other face to face cuz of how fundamentally different their beliefs are.

• Favorite headcanon

This one is very heavy, so– [TW: suicide ment and suicidal ideation]

Whoever Narry was pre-construct was a deeply broken person who saw no out for his situation, but wanted to make sure he wouldn't leave without a significant mark on the world. So– he made the world's most convoluted suicide plan, with 'saving the world' as its rationalization for why he needed to go through that.

[warmmilk-n-honey]

So I've been seeing a lot of dadbastian hate lately in the confessions-which is fine you are completely in your right to not like something I do. As a dadbastian scholar I just wanted to write out some of the reasons I and others love it because I will take any opportunity to talk about dadbastian lmao.

I think dadbastian is interesting because of the inherent angst of having a parent/child relationship that is inherently incompatible due to the difference in species between father and son, (this can also lead to funny/cute hijinks) more about that down below 👇

Let's talk about Coattails, the dadbastian fic. Part of the appeal of Coattails is seeing Sebastian transform from how he is characterized in the manga, to a loving parent, and having him grapple with the guilt of contributing to Ciel's trauma. There's catharsis in Sebastian beginning to feel the way we feel for Ciel when reading the manga. I can only speak for myself here but reading the manga feels like a thousand knives being stabbed into my heart knowing that Ciel will never get the help he desperately needs, thus Coattails provides a sort of remedy to this with Ciel's trauma being properly addressed. It's not that I don't like the dark story of the manga, but it can be nice to have a more comforting alternative with the characters I love. And while it is comforting, there is also a lot of angst that goes with that comfort. They say the worst thing a parent can go through is outliving their child, and that is inherent in Ciel and Sebastian's relationship because their species aren't compatible with one another. Sebastian also may not be the best person to parent Ciel, but he's all that Ciel has, he's doing his best but worries about failing the child. Manga Seb is a very static character, so giving him more human emotions and feelings uwu can make him more dynamic and interesting to write/read about. There are just endless things you can explore with the monster parent/human child dynamic, it is simply chef's kiss.

I also want to dispel that myth that dadbastian is inherently "wholesome," because it certainly doesn't have to be. You can explore abusive dynamics with dadbastian and explore Sebastian's demonic personality. My biggest issue with the way Yana characterizes Ciel and Sebastian's relationship is the psychosexual aspect to it that is not properly explored nor addressed. It is just there for gross fanservice reasons-I could write an entire essay on that in of itself. Dadbastian can provide a way to explore this abusive dynamic without the sexual undertones that can be quite triggering for some people. Also to say Yana doesn't purposely make their relationship parental on any level would just be false, it's just that she combines "the filial with the erotic" to quote that academic Black Butler essay written like a decade ago lol. Dadbastian simply takes out the erotic side that is not thoughtfully addressed within the manga to make it a more straight forward abusive parent type relationship.

TLDR; I think many of us are attracted to dadbastian because it makes Seb into a more interesting and dynamic character than he gets to be in the manga, cuts out some of the uncomfortable "undertones" in there relationship that are not properly explored/addressed in the manga, there is a lot of angst to their monster parent human child relationship, and having Sebastian be a loving parent can be cathartic for many because Ciel's whole personality is that he needs a mom. idk my brain is just filled with serotonin when Seb tucks his kid in or something-I can't explain it!!

Dadbastain is the best thing this fandom ever invented y'all are just mean

[katnissdoesnotfollowback]

kdnfb's Ten Years of Fanfiction Mania

Featuring: Unmasked

Summary: Written under an Anonymous pseudonym ~M~ to fill the following prompt ~ Historical Katniss and Peeta hate each other. They attend a masquerade ball and for some reason end up kissing each other. Sparks fly everywhere. Katniss tries to find the man behind the mask but Peeta knows it was Katniss though he doesnt say anything. They end up bethrothed even if they 'despise' each other. How they fall in love is up to u and how katniss figured out it was peeta is up to u

Rating: E for explicit sexual content, explicit language, implied/referenced rape/nonconsensual (not everlark), implied/referenced child abuse, implied/referenced suicide, implied/referenced miscarriage, discussions of illness, war, and injury in a historical setting, ptsd, minor character death. They worst of these tags happens offscreen and is merely discussed and dealt with rather than shown here.

A/N: ~Unmasked~ is my longest fic in terms of word count (around 234k), although Outside Chance and Spellbound are not too far behind and are both incomplete. Unmasked started as something meant to be fun and cathartic, then turned into a ridiculously long and self indulgent fic that I still, to this day, have no idea if the anonymous person who submitted the prompt to @everlarkficexchange even read, let alone whether or not they liked it. But I love what I produced for this fic.

Why write it anonymously and only reveal myself later? A couple reasons. 1) Historical is not my wheel house. At least not writing it. I am a shameless consumer of historical romances. I did some research for this fic but not nearly the level I would've liked to have done. Eventually, I said screw it, it's about the vibes not the accuracy. 2) I had a pile of unfinished wips when I started this, to include Outside Chance and Spellbound (both of which are still unfinished hmmmmm) and I really didn't want a lot of questions about when I was going to get back to those while I was working on this because 3) I'd just gone through a small slice of writerly hell to the point that I seriously considered deleting my entire tumblr and all of my fanfic. Details are not important right now, the result is. That's probably the closest I've ever come to calling myself done with fandom.

Then this prompt posted to EFE and wouldn't leave me alone. Eventually, I decided that if I was going to write it, I wanted to write it with as little pressure as possible. So I chose to write and post it as ~M~ until it was finished. Plus, I thought it might make it fun for people other than me if there was a bit of mystery behind it. And I don't regret doing that.

Writing behind a mask allowed me to be as long winded and self-indulgent as I wanted to without worrying about how tight the storyline was or how accurate the historical details were, or wondering if I'd be walking into my tumblr and a barrage of the kind of messages I'd come to dread receiving. The only thing I worried about, really was if the amount and kind of smut I included gave me away prematurely lmao.

While this was my first real foray into the realm of historical fics, I am hoping it's not the last. I've got too many ideas and half started pieces to back out of it now. But those, like this one, will probably remain untethered to a specific real place, and a specific time, mainly because I just don't have that kind of time for research if I'm not getting paid to do it lol. They will be works of love if not works of accuracy.

Unmasked on AO3

[ikamigami]

I have my own reasons called personal experiences to not believe Sun that he's mental state was great till Eclipse's return..

I call bullshit when I see it lol

Sun is just like me fr fr nah he's better actually

Also I want for Sun's suicide plot to happen because it would be so cathartic to me

Ofc I'm not saying that I want Sun to succeed, no..

The best scenario would be Sun trying to kill himself or harming himself badly and someone sees that and stops him from doing more damage to himself or from killing himself

Or scenario where someone finds out about Sun being suicidal while talking to him is also a good one

But if showrunners go for Sun attempting suicide - like I said in this post - I'm all for it.. Sun doesn't have to even die, he can end up being in a coma or just being severely damaged or have a near death experience

But I want for this plot to happen.. I need this to happen..

If you don't understand what I'm saying then.. that's great ✨ I mean it.. Go, be yourself and enjoy your life <3

[bandsandwristbands]

A post with questions - please tell me more about headcanons with piercings 👁️ 🫦 👁️ who is the big spoon/little spoon too

HEWWOOOOOO 💕💕💕💕

boy i hope this is about gaara and or lee cuz thats what im talkin bout

omg so piercings

Firstly i hc piercings as very normal/relevent in Suna with different ones popular for different types of ceremony! More 'casual' ones for coming of age (like ears, lips, eyebrows etc), more ornate ones for spiritual devotion/religious reasons (Things like more fragile dermals, stretching, specific types of metal or crystals represented in the jewelry would be indicative of status as well) Also probably personally assigned meanings to signify marriage or familial status.

Also also tattoos and henna are popular for similar reasons

OKAY onto Gaara specific hcs

I think Temari pierced his ears for him shortly after the chuunin exams. Two sets to represent his siblings and the relationship with them that he is now starting to fix. (Yada yada healing physically while healing damaged connections yadayada) Plus it's something to bond over mutual interest.

Belly piercing cuz i said so idk if you want gender hcs but short of it is it makes him feel pretty lol

I think he'd show interest in piercings/body mods to try and connect with his people and culture more in pursuit of Kazekage office but also would be about Him trying to practice controlling his sand in response to pain. Between hosting a demon and being treated like a weapon most of his life, Gaara probably struggles with feeling present or in control of his body so having agency over his own pain and how he gets to present would be cathartic.

Others ones that I like on him in general but may be ooc to some are tongue, smiley, or corset but they're all good really 👌👌

Others

Temari def has a belly piercing tooo as well as lots of ear piercings (helix on one side probably for shikamaru, daith, like three on the lobe)

Temari also pierces any Konohan homies who show interest (Mostly the girls, she def pierced Ino's nips lolll)

Kankuro has his whole face done basically (Tongue, snake bites, all three on the nose, an eyebrow my cringe goth king)

Lee is unpierced for practical reasons, with the way he's constantly moving, fighting, getting injured it'd be a bit anxiety inducing to worry about it. He thinks they're very cool tho and really appreciates the cultural significance. He can be convinced once he and Gaara are married uwu

Lee does get done up with traditional henna at the pressure from the locals because it's a warrior thing and when in rome yknow. Plus Gaara is real gay about it. Seeing his culture all over Lee has him all mushy inside.

All three sand sibs go all out during festivals with the ornate body jewelry because they're allowed to express themselves in an official way without the council being a bunch of squares. Flexing the kage wealth a bit lol.

((I don't have any art for this rn cuz I'm including it in Lore Art for a behemoth fic I started that I hope to god i finish in a reasonable time lol))

Anyways they take turns with spooning, they both want to just curl up and disappear into each other although Gaara big spooning is more like a backpack, Lee sprawls and Gaara clings (touch starved headass)

[soaps-mohawk]

Hiii 🤗 first time reviewer because I’m shy 🙈

I really really enjoy CRCB but this last chapter…. Was just *chef’s kiss* amazing

There’s something really cathartic about ‘mega just going ham on John. I mean I felt bad for him because I do looove Captain Daddy, BUT!! I love that for Omega even more lol

Also the way you wrote that scene??? Asdfghjkl literally so good!!

One thing I wanted to vent/pick your brain about, though — Simon says it’s not his job to fix what’s happened, which I *get* where’s he’s coming from, but like….. yeah it kinda is!? Like, isn’t Omega part of your pack, too?!

Also he hurt her too, not just when she was kidnapped, but also with the cameras and not helping her through her heat. But his comment almost makes it sound like he’s just not gonna take any accountability for his (lack of) actions. Gahhhh, Simon has me all hot this chapter but for all the wrong reasons dasfghjkl

Pls tell me, is Simon gonna get his own reality check like John did??

Ps — can’t wait until next chapter/Kyletober!! 🥳

Aww don't be shy!!! I'm not that scary, I promise. As an anxious person I'm so proud of you for being brave 🥺💚

Writing that scene with 'mega and John felt so cathartic, and I'm so glad so many people are feeling that way reading it. It just felt so good to put him in his place and to have 'mega let all that pent up emotion out.

Yeah, Simon's issue is more that he thinks John (and everyone else) wants him to step up and play alpha and try to fix John's mistakes (which isn't at all what anyone is trying to do) so that's why he's kind of running from his feelings and his own reality. He has his own mistakes and actions to make up for, but he's putting this other pressure on himself that everyone wants him to step up in John's place. Which that's something he doesn't want.

As far as how the situation with Simon will be handled....you'll see 🤭

[blindmagdalena]

Writer Tag

thanks for the tag @venus-haze and @sehtoast 🖤 technically i have two AO3 accounts (my og one with all my supernatural fics) but i'm just gonna use my homelander/the boys one for this.

How many works do you have on AO3? 31

What's your total AO3 word count? 225k

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Bit By Bit We Fall In Love

First Time's the Charm

Say It

Eat Your Ego, Honey

Truly, Madly, Deeply

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? yes! although i didn't used to for some reason. lately my feeling is that they took the time to comment, so i always try to take the time to show appreciation for that.

What's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending? definitely A Troublesome Transition. i don't really do angst or character death all that often, but this one was cathartic to write.

What’s the fic you've written with the happiest ending? lol pretty much all of my fics have pretty happy endings. maybe Don't Fret Precious ( I'm Here ) ? it's a darker fic that definitely had the potential to be very angsty, but the reveal at the end and the devotion that these two lunatics have to one another is pretty sweet... maybe? LOL

Do you write crossovers? nah

Have you ever received hate on a fic? i got one "wtf is this" type comment on a fic on tumblr once, but i was pretty quick to block the person. i think mostly people are just surprised Homelander has the fandom he does

Do you write smut? If so, what kind? yes. very much so. pretty much any kind. i feel like i'm fairly well known for schmoopy sentimental sex and dirty talk though

Have you ever had a fic stolen? not that i know of!

Have you ever had a fic translated? yes! Hide and Seek was translated into spanish.

Have you ever co-written a fic before? sort of! All That Glitters was a fic collab with @anon-nee, for which they were absolutely instrumental in the worldbuilding and keeping me motivated to keep writing. huge shoutouts to @jethrowest and @irenadel and everyone who consistently lets me blow up their dm's with my wips and helps me when i'm struggling to put words on the page. 🖤

What's your all-time favorite ship? homelander x all these incredibly sexy oc's my friends make

What's a WIP that you want to finish but don't think you ever will? Puppet Master. i had really big plans for this one, but unfortunately it got lost in the shuffle and i've since repurposed the ideas i had for it.

What are your writing strengths? i think my strengths are characterization and keeping the world feeling grounded/true to the source material.

What are your writing weaknesses? i have a lot of insecurities about my fics being boring or not eventful enough. a lot of the times i focus so much on interpersonal relationships, i don't think there's really enough happening in the story. i'm also bad at bringing in ensemble casts. my fics definitely focus very heavily on just the two leads.

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic? i tend to avoid it unless it's very simple established pet names/phrases or something. i use italics and descriptors if they're not speaking in english. if the POV character isn't meant to understand, i'll just describe how the characters are speaking to one another in that language.

What was the first fandom you wrote for? yu yu hakusho on quizilla LOL i was a HUGE weeb. also wrote for inuyasha.

What's a fandom/ship you haven't written for yet but want to kimiko/annie..... they deserve each other......

What's your favorite fic you've written? probably Eat Your Ego, Honey. it's my first multichapter fic, and i'm DETERMINED to finish it. i really love Layla, and i'm so touched by how everyone has responded to her. oc's can be a bit of a sore spot for me, but the reception to that fic really keeps me going and makes me so, so happy. plus i just think it's some of my best writing.

No pressure tags: @xieyaohuan @socially-awkward-skeleton @hom3landr @kosmochlor @irenadel @amostimprobabledream uhhh anyone who has an AO3 okay if you wanna fill this out just say i tagged you lol

[morocosmos]

Writer Interview Game

Tagged by @arcaneoddity, tyyyy 💜

When did you start writing?

I noodled at an unfinished story or two when i was a kid (i drew comics a lot more tbh), the first fanfic i wrote was when i was 13 (it is consigned to ff.net, never to be perceived again). i started developing my writing during secondary school, we had to for english class but i genuinely enjoyed those assignments so much that it didn't feel like schoolwork lmao, it was smth of an outlet. i did write a couple of fics for other fandoms between 2016 and mid 2020, but in late 2020 FFXIV revived my desire to create, while @stellarfatalism and @lemoncakedesign's fics inspired me to actually start writing.

Are there different themes or genres you enjoy reading than what you write?

I read a much wider variety of smut than what i could be convinced to write. other than that i think they mostly overlap.

Is there a writer you want to emulate or get compared to often?

@haillenarte, @rabbitprint and @sezja's fics have stuck with me the most in terms of "god i want to be able to write characters like this"....i've never been compared to another writer before, never even considered it and idk how i'd feel.

Can you tell me a bit about your writing space?

I was writing on openoffice at first, but their software has a tendency to crash when you press two keys too fast, for example when you. try to save your work. moved to gdocs to avoid that and so that i could continue working on fic on my phone, but i also use the notes app on there, mainly to get down ideas that i don't want running away or to write more freely. it's easier to be experimental and loose when i'm writing in notes, idk, whereas i prefer sitting at the desk and working on my computer when it's a longer fic or a more """important""" piece.

What’s your most effective way to muster up a muse?

I've let it happen when it happens, for the most part. i was forcing myself to power through job around the time i really grew into writing, so i needed it to be a space where i wouldn't do it if i didn't want to. my feelings about that are more mixed now, because i'm a slow writer to begin with, and i can't help but wonder if more people would read my stuff if i updated more consistently. but i digress - the only time i've had to bring the muse in myself was for to sail your seas, and that was because there was accountability and a deadline. so i guess my most effective tricks are ADHD hacks and brainworms.

Are there any recurring themes in your writing? Do they surprise you?

Until recently i didn't approach fic writing with themes in mind, when i get an idea it's usually about throwing a character at something and seeing what happens. that something tends to be another character, sometimes it's more existential like touch starvation. that said, i do have a WIP where i sat down and thought about what i want the themes to be before i know how it's going to pan out, but it's baby's first attempt so i don't have an answer to this question yet, really.

What is your reason for writing?

Processing things i know and exploring things i don't. when i got back into writing in 2020 it was extremely cathartic, i've burnt out on several creative pursuits over the years and having that spark come alive was, and is still very precious to me. i spent two years writing simply because i had ideas and a vice-grip compulsion to write them out. now that that's slowed down, i've started to think more about craft, and how i might try to hone that when i'm lowkey afraid of this stage of learning, and there's no formal institution to kick my ass into it. but in some ways, i think i write because i can't afford not to.

What do you feel is your greatest strength as a writer?

I've been told by a friend that i'm good at continuity, which is nice considering it lines up with the obsessive approach i take towards trying to tie plot/character threads together lol. personally, i still consider descriptive writing to be my greatest strength. it's what i keep going back to, maybe because it was the first thing i discovered i was good at that wasn't influenced by someone else's decision.

How do you feel about your own writing?

I miss the honeymoon period when i thought my writing was the hottest shit LOL. that tapered off towards the end of 2022, but it's not like i think my writing is bad now, just that over time i became more aware of my shortcomings, and how much knowledge and experience i lack. i did have to fight a little to keep my relationship with writing from souring last year, but in hindsight it was more about frustration that i didn't have the energy to write (work burnout wooo) than a problem with writing itself. after a year plus of stalling and big fic projects i just want to have fun again, be a bit silly.

[astral-mariner]

6 - 15 - 24 - 30 Questions ask ;0

6. What's the best/worst part of being online/a creator?

The absolute BEST part of being online as a creator is getting to connect with other creators. Other creative souls who care just as much as the things that mean so much to you. Who themselves create things that bring you joy, make you cry cathartic tears. People who understand the creative process, the NEED to create. It's not just other creators, though. It's also people who engage with the things you create. The people who tell you that what you created meant something to them, moved them in some way, however small. Little bits of human connection. I personally put so much of my soul into my creative projects that, when someone sees even a little of those very real emotions, I feel seen and understood in a way I have very rarely felt in my life. One of the reasons I am creative at all was because I was lonely and had no one to turn to for various reasons. I used art to process my grief over the world being so purposelessly unkind. Not just to me, but generally. Why do bad things have to happen? Why do the people who should love us hurt us instead? And most of my art meditates on answers to those questions and shows characters fighting to find meaning in spite of their circumstances. As for the worst part... It's hard to say because I think of it as mostly positive. Perhaps just that being vulnerable is scary sometimes. And that people are just as likely to misunderstand you online as they are IRL. But online, there's at least the advantage that the people who are engaging with your stuff have often intentionally sought it out, so they are more likely to approach it in good faith. Perhaps, then, the worst aspect of creating online is that those connections you form with other creators and people who find meaning in your content often are so far away, lol. Sometimes I'd like to actually be present with people in a way that's not mediated by art. I very often neglect my real life relationships and responsibilities because my art is where I feel most alive...and I wish that my creative connections were more integrated in my day to day interactions. Fun fact: everyone I've ever dated has met me through my art, and I don't think that's by coincidence at all.

15. What do you think of when you hear the word "home?"

This answer will be somewhat sad... Because I don't think of any one place out here in reality. Literally the first thing that came to mind when I asked myself this question was an empty field on the edge of a wilderness. The sun is setting, the wind is blowing, and I'm standing there by myself. I very often go on long hikes alone to Brood, and I think this has something to do with it. My blood relatives rejected me for being queer. I was sheltered in a religious extremist community and didn't make many friends growing up. I had undiagnosed autism and anxiety, among other things, that I never got help for until I was an adult (and this was not entirely anyone's fault---there was far less awareness of those things in the early 90s, and even adults trying to do their best didn't have the resources to provide effective support). I've experienced a number of traumatic events that have made it hard to trust people and form connections. So at the end of the day...where I feel most "at home" is by myself. Even if it's a coping mechanism. Sometimes feeling comfortable and safe around other people feels so foreign and strange, like I'm an alien visiting from another planet. Even if I really want to connect with others deep down. (I think that's a big reason why I connect to Vegeta trying to adjust to life on Earth after Freeza is gone.)

24. What's one thing you're proud of yourself for?

I'm really proud of myself for getting as far as I have on my Saiyans under Freeza story, honestly. It's the longest creative project I've attempted, and it's close to being finished. I will likely be over 160k words when it's done, and it's the culmination of years and years of thoughts and feelings. I've written other novel-length pieces before, but this easily my most ambitious project.

30. What's one thing that never fails to make you happy/happier?

Music. Even if it's dark, heart-wrenching stuff. There's just something so moving about it. Being able to engage with things that remind you that other people have felt the way that you do and have used those feelings to create something of beauty. In particular, I love music that is nevertheless somehow beautiful, meditative, and melodic despite being harsh. Favorite genres include classical, goth/darkwave, black metal. An Example:

[msmargaretmurry]

9 books

i was tagged for this by the lovely @irrelevanttous and from what i can tell i'm just supposed to list nine books i love/would recommend? so i stared into the abyss of my bookshelf for a little while and tried to pick out a variety! i think that almost all of these would have content warnings, so if you need those and want to pick any of them up, please do a bit of research or feel free to ask. ❤

they can't kill us until they kill us by hanif abdurraqib i have mentioned On Here before that hanif is my favorite poet, but he is also my favorite music writer and one of my favorite nonfiction writers in general. this collection of essays about music and culture is intimate, devastating, hopeful, gorgeous; i return to it often.

the book thief by marcus zusak speaking of books that are devastating and gorgeous! this novel is also a masterclass in point of view.

beartown by fredrik backman i AM a backman fan in general but beartown's my favorite for obvious reasons (it's a hockey book, lmao). i have NOT read the two sequels yet because i'm afraid of how much they're going to hurt my feelings but one of my goals for this winter is to finally do that.

evvie drake starts over by linda holmes a thing about me is that i mostly do not like contemporary romance novels. HOWEVER, i love this book. the characters are richly drawn, the setting does the whole small town thing without feeling like a cliche, the emotional arcs are cathartic.

the farseer trilogy by robin hobb teen becky was obsessed with these books and adult becky has been saying for years she's gonna reread them for the purposes of finally reading the last trilogy in this fantasy universe, but being a little nervous about it because what if they don't hold up? but multiple people with trusted taste have picked them up recently and enjoyed them so i finally did start that reread and i'm having a GREAT time.

the last best league by jim collins i told myself i was only allowed to pick one nonfiction sports book for this list, lol, so this is the one. breezy summer baseball read! i literally read it on a beach the first time i read it, and that was perfect.

she who became the sun/he who drowned the world by shelley parker-chan drags hands down face the GENDER of it all!!!!!!!!! i read the first one early this year and the second one the moment i could get me hands on it and am 99% sure this duology will be my favorite thing i read this year.

michigan vs. the boys by carrie s. allen i did not expect to like this book as much as i did, because i have mostly outgrown YA (with exceptions!) and because i usually find first-person present tense really grating. but i fell in love with this little story about a girl determined to play on the boys' team. it helped a lot that the author REALLY knows her hockey stuff, and clearly loves the game.

reading like a writer by francine prose as a habitual devourer of anything about ~writing craft~ this was one of the first craft books young becky ever read, and i still think it's one of the best. maybe that's because i imprinted on it, but flipping through it just now when i pulled it off the shelf for this list made me want to reread it, so maybe it will do that soon.

i feel like a bunch of my mutuals have already been tagged in this so sorry if i'm double-tagging you, but!! @moregraceful @postoperation @plaintoast @vivathewilddog @warmupbrawl @devantesmithpelly @loveisworry @slightly @thecroissantgirl no pressure only if u want to! 💞

[fruitysalamander1398]

Fanfic Writer Questions

thank you for the tag @cinehomophile !💜💜

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

38

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

84,620

3. What fandoms do you write for?

mainly the deer hunter and mean streets, but i have also written godfather fic in the past (which has since been deleted bc i didn't think it was very good lol). i've also written fic for parting glances (1986) and probably other things i can't remember but yeah.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

1. don't ask me to be lonely https://archiveofourown.org/works/45806962

2. oh, pretty baby https://archiveofourown.org/works/47108557

3. my boy https://archiveofourown.org/works/49263451

4. you're just too good to be true https://archiveofourown.org/works/46031446

5. moonlight lover https://archiveofourown.org/works/49926586

5. do you respond to comments?

usually i message the person privately bc for some reason it makes me a little anxious but sometimes i do! i love getting comments so i try to get back to everyone.

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

i think it would have to be point of no return: https://archiveofourown.org/works/45937063 bc the literal whole point is that it's a death scene of johnny.

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

i have lots of happy ending deer hunter fluff / hurt/comfort but i think the happiest one is probably my beloved strawberry https://archiveofourown.org/works/46815451 in which mike and nick get a cat<3

8. do you get hate on fics?

thankfully no, but oddly enough i have gotten hate on uquiz before and people suicide baiting me on uquiz seems like a pretty unique experience lmao so lmk if it's happened to you as well.

9. do you write smut? if so what kind?

okay so this might sound dumb but i don't know what actually qualifies as smut like are all sex scenes counted as smut? or is it like more graphic / strictly horny lmao. in any case yes i have and do write sex scenes, mainly really tender and romantic sex.

10. do you write crossovers? what's the craziest one you have written?

i haven't personally wrote one but me and @cinehomophile had an idea for one which he is working on and we both kinda co-authored the general concept of. i shan't say more.

11. have you ever had a fic stolen?

no!

12. have you ever had a fic translated?

not translated but i've had many podfics made of my work by the lovely dmitri!

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

yes! i co wrote with my incredible boyfriend @ulyssesgays1995 a few times and also with @cinehomophile !!

14. what's your all time favorite ship?

this will surprise no one but it has to be mike and nick from the deer hunter. they mean so much to me.

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

never say never lol. i have a few shorter wips stowed away rn but i plan to finish them i think!

16. what are your writing strengths?

i think i'm good at hurt/comfort and examining the deep pain of a character but then bringing them to a place of healing with the support of their partner.

17. what are your writing weaknesses?

i can never plan out a plot ahead of time i just go in with a vague idea and see where it takes me. sometimes it works out great but i wish i could formulate my ideas more clearly sometimes bc sometimes they feel overwhelming.

18. thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fics?

it's so cool! i have never personally done it but i would love to try.

19. first fandom you wrote for?

it would've been something when i was REALLY young probably like anne of green gables if i had to guess.

20. favorite fic you've written?

without a doubt, my deer hunter sex work au oh pretty baby https://archiveofourown.org/works/47108557 it holds such a special place in my heart and writing it was extremely cathartic from me. tw for sexual abuse in this fic and in my answer to this question but writing the fic was a way for me to process and emotionally externalize my own experience as a victim of sexual abuse.

on that note, thanks to anyone who has ever read my fics, in both their developmental and final stages. (like @fredoesque who i have sent many a wip to.) i love you all and i love writing. can't wait to keep posting my work!!

i tag @melis-writes @meme-streets @rosesloveletters @mr-snailman 💜 no pressure if not ofc.

[alexanderflowerbird]

DAY 14

Today was such a long day at work, lemme tell ya. Ugh. I really wish that I could quit my day job, but what's new right? Us writers end up having day jobs for so long while we toil away at our personal projects, kind of just accepting the suffering reality that if we could live off our writing, we'd be able to tell our stories, and so many more stories, in a more timely fashion. This morning at least, I sat down to get some work done and I'm very happy with it. I cried a lot while writing it, as mentioned in a previous personal post lol, but I think it's the exact thing I should be writing, to be emotional about it while I do it. It's cathartic for me in a way that's hard to describe to make a character that represents all the painful realities of my mother, who has been the only constant in my life, while making a case for the fact that I believe she deserves so much grace and empathy and understanding by portraying a woman that I think is as complicated and ultimately loving as I believe my mother to be.

In the beginning of Blood Sun Territory, you hear about Felina through Malachi, and while Malachi fucked things up with her, his love for her is never in question. He demonstrates through his memories of her that she is rough around the edges, that she loves hard and predominantly shows how much she loves others through her actions. His view of her is deeply loving, even if it isn't romantic, and his view of her isn't dishonest. It's just not the whole of her. So leading with the first two chapters where you are with Malachi and hear about Felina through Malachi, it's easy to see why he loves her so much, to fall a little bit in love with her too.

Chapter 3 is when you meet Felina, when you're in her head while she's enacting a small, but impactful cruelty upon her daughter and you're meant to understand that this is how it always is between them, that now that Mercedes is a teenager, Felina barely knows how to be around her daughter without hurting her, and sometimes, she wants to hurt her, not in a ruthless and cruel sort of way, but in the way parents who don't have any other skills reach for the most base, easy and self satisfying tools to get their way with their children. She knows it's wrong, but she still does it. She thinks about it being wrong when she's alone with it, but she can't get herself to change.

This is my experience of my mother, growing up believing that she barely liked me, even if she deeply loved me. Feeling like she never understood me and didn't want to, but would die for me if the circumstance called for it. And it's a strange sort of love... and while my mother is the type of person who rarely opens up about the complex qualities of her heart, I hold an enormous amount of empathy for how hard it must have been for her to love me and not know how to love me correctly. So. I give you your excerpt today where I introduce you to Felina, and share with you a peek into my mother as I know her now, knew her then, fear sometimes I might become her, and love her anyway.

Taglist: @theskeletonprior @tragedycoded @badscientist @thelittlestspider

If you'd like to be part of my taglist please interact with this post

1…2…3…4…5… Felina counts her breaths as she forces them to slow, leaning over her sink with her head hung between her shoulders. Behind her, the frantic, clumsy clinking of pieces of porcelain is disrupting her count, jostling her barely there calm, beckoning her temptingly. She could just react. Mercedes is old enough now that coddling her is unnecessary, disadvantageous even when she needs to grow up stronger and more independent than Felina had been when she first entered the world. Felina is struggling with herself about many things in this moment, so being silent is the safest course even though she wants so, so badly, to give Mercedes a reason to remember this moment, to change her course and stop fucking everything up. Is she fucking everything up? No. She’s going to fuck everything up, maybe. Mercedes has been slacking on her chores, shirking her responsibilities, she disinterested in study and daydreams about god knows what, some boy in town or some place she’s never been to probably. Marriage, like most young girls, even though Felina never put that ridiculous life goal in her daughter’s head. Mercedes is standing next to her with her hands full of a broken plate and even though Felina isn’t looking at her, she can sense her daughter’s fear. She’s never hit her daughter, she’s raised her voice plenty but it’s not like she’ll ever be a quiet, gentle woman, what the fuck is Mercedes so scared of, just now? If Felina’s approval mattered so much to her she’d stop fucking everything up. She’s not fucking everything up. 

“I’m sorry, momma. I’m sorry.” Mercedes whispers. Felina doesn’t answer her. She’s counting her breaths and she’s never been one to respond to apologies or thanks. She doesn’t need apologies or thanks, she needs action, so when those words come out of people, the silence after them is decisive, reflexive, a rejection of social niceties Felina thinks are useless exchanges. She knows the silence after I’m sorry or thank you hurts Mercedes, but she can’t ever seem to remember that and fill the silence for her daughter when most of the time, Mercedes is about as relevant to her as anyone else in the world. She won’t change her speech patterns to soothe her daughter, but she would die for her. She won’t simply forgive the broken plate, not without making sure Mercedes knows better than to let it happen again, but she loves Mercedes more than she’s ever loved anyone. Isn’t that wrong? What’s wrong with her? 

“What are you doing?” Felina asks when she looks at Mercedes, who is standing there with the broken plate in her hands, still trembling a little, eyes wide and searching like a scolded dog. She blanches and Felina knows the look. Mercedes thinks she’s made another mistake, already. She hasn’t, why is she so skittish all the time? If she’d stop fucking everything–

“I… I didn’t know if you wanted me to throw the pieces away or if you wanted me to try and fix it. I could fix it, maybe. ‘Member when we read about Japan? How they did the gold, with broken plates and stuff? Maybe… Maybe I can make it better. Not with gold, but… I could use my paints?” It’s a stupid, sweet suggestion. The plate’s worth all of three dollars, it’s more the trouble of going into town to replace things like this than that it's broken that’s frustrating. It’s not worth anything, repairing it is a waste of time.

“Throw it away.” Felina says, openly tired, indifferent to the way Mercedes’ hurt floods the air between them. She’s a teenager and her emotions are so, so loud. It’s exhausting, knowing how her daughter feels all the time, it’s painful, knowing how often she’s afraid, it’s confusing, how Felina can’t seem to find the energy or sense to do anything about it. Mercedes is so smart and strong, she’s independent and vibrant, she loves animals and likes to learn how things work. She is perfect, Felina knows it. As perfect as any person can be, and she will be such a fine woman. When Felina imagines that woman, she feels so much pride it fills her up from the top of her head to the tips of her toes. But right now, she’s almost that woman and she’s upset and anxious and asking for attention all the time. When she’s older, maybe she won’t be so emotional. Felina feels guilty to look forward to that, but sometimes she wonders if she’ll survive that long, if their relationship will survive that long. 

Sometimes, when she shouts at Mercedes and her daughter goes to her room and cries and cries and cries, Felina remembers what she was like at Mercedes’ age. She would’ve run away, if she had a mother like her. She did run away, as soon as she could do it without ever looking back. Sometimes Mercedes goes out to go work for their neighbors or to wander the open pastures between their farm and town, and Felina wonders if she will suddenly just disappear. It won’t be death, or danger that sends Mercedes away from Felina. It will be Mercedes deciding she doesn’t want to be scared anymore. Isn’t that a good thing? Isn’t Felina teaching her something important, even if it’s accidental and cruel? Felina goes to get her wallet and opens it, producing a few bills. She puts them in Mercedes’ hand once she’s thrown the broken bits of plate in the trash. 

“Go into town.” Maybe don’t come back. 

“Get a couple new plates, something you think looks good.” I’m sorry, baby. It’s just a plate. I don’t know how to tell you about your father getting out of prison, or how I feel, or why I am so angry all the time. I don’t know how to explain it, and even if I did, it’s none of your business. You’re too young for such burdens.

  “Get some icecream or something, too. Just be home when you’re supposed to be.” I forgive you. Please forgive me. 

“Go see Chashwi, see if she needs you to do anything for her.” I love you. You are growing up so well. Go be with someone who’s better at this than I am. 

“Be back well before sun down, you hear?” Please come back. If you don’t I understand, but please come back. 

“Yes momma.” Mercedes says softly, and she crushes the bills in her hand before wrapping her arms around Felina. Mercedes probably knows something’s wrong, even if Felina is doing her best to be as she always is. There’s benefits to being so hard– if you’re harder than usual, most people can’t tell it’s because you’re hurting about something. But not Mercedes. Mercedes knows. And Felina doesn’t even think it’s because she’s Mercedes’ mother. Felina thinks it’s because her daughter is the sort of kind that can sense the aches and pains of others, and rather than doing the sensible thing and ignoring them, she reaches out with soothing, tender intentions. Felina hugs her daughter, petting her dark hair once. 

“Go on.” She says tightly. She’s never cried in front of Mercedes, she isn’t starting today. 

“Yes momma,” Mercedes repeats. “I love you,” She says shyly at the doorway to the dining room. 

“Love you too.” Felina answers. She does. She knows it, with every part of her. She does. She does, doesn’t she? Maybe not the right way. She’s trying, she really is. She does. More than anything in the world.

[sarioh]

Hello Tumblr user Rio Sarioh! If you're bored; do you have a favourite book you like to talk about? What is it about, why do you like it? Or perhaps a movie or show of which you enjoy the writing? A fairytale? A poem?

Wow, creative writing. Any thoughts on that? Pretty swell, in my opinion.

Hope you have a nice vague nine hour time window and that your thing arrives in good condition!

HEY tumblr user tt04sty hope u r doing well and thank you for the ask. also my Thing has indeed arrived in good condition so thank god i didnt have to wait all day for it. to be frank questions about my favorite media make me feel like a deer in headlights bc for whatever reason whenever i get asked this i somehow forget every piece of media i've ever consumed or that has had an impact on me in any way and i don't know why. safe answer though is probably everything everywhere all at once which i know might come as an absolute shock to everyone (<- wrote a 16k word fic inspired by it) but generally just any media that is very Wacky and Surreal visual-wise but with a central theme of love and connection gets me really bad because i am very predictable and also a little pathetic. also as a gay asian living in the west with a very stereotypical asian mother you can probably understand why the movie had such an impact on me LOL.

also creative writing... i've only done one work of creative writing in the past few years and that was wind back the clock which i think about genuinely all the time. writing Character Study is the most cathartic and fun experience in the world to me and i prolonged publishing that for SO long because i just wanted to keep working on it forever. my writer's problem is that it takes me about 60 years to come up with an idea that i am captivated enough by to be able to put it into writing and actually stick to it for more than a day and that has only happened one single time in my 2 years in mcytblr. but by god i would kill a whole man to be able to do that all over again because i am regrettably a stem major and have not written an essay or anything else creative in years and while im enjoying it i do feel like im missing out on a crucial part of being a Person. i miss writing so much you have no idea. and i feel like the further i go into this Degree the more my Meta Analysis brain starts to rot and get replaced by Numbers and Formulas and Snippets of code. i'm losing my touch forreal

as far as other media goes... to be perfectly honest i have not been consuming much lately just because i have been very busy irl but i did just finish reading the red rising trilogy for the first time which was cool... also have probably watched about 200 hours of animal documentaries over the past few months LOL. actually on the topic of books i am going on a flight soon and will have a 9 hour stopover so if anyone has any book recommendations of ANY genre i would love to hear them. please tell me all of your favorite books i want to read them all