#anyway i’ve already filtered out every tag possible about that ship. i don’t want to see my man near that guy with that face again

[lunaticamic]

carlos and james v? it doesn’t compel me in the slightest

[enbyboiwonder]

any combo of these for the fic writers ask? ❤️👻🏷👓😎💛💌 (also, hope you're doing well!)

I think I’m doing probably so-so (though I was doing better before this disgrace of a website reloaded the tab when I was 95% finished answering this and I had to restart from scratch—I am salty). I dunno how long it’ll last, especially since it’s not simply a periodic downswing, but oh well. I think playing Neverwinter Nights (and fantasizing about if not always writing Hero/Tomi fic) might be helping though, or at any rate, it ain’t hurting.

Send me fanfic author questions!

❤️ What is your favorite line that you’ve written in a fic?

The reason it took me so long to answer this—at least, before this sorry excuse of a website decided to delete everything I’d written because apparently autosaving to drafts is a thing for every type of post except ask responses—was that I had to go back and reread all (well, almost all; some of them I’d rather like to pretend don’t exist and either A. I’m still undecided on whether to orphan or not, or B. I can’t orphan them because they’re part of a series) the fics on my account. Is it weird that my fics don’t really stick in my head that long? Even when I don’t all but block them out. Anyway, it might be…

He feels safe—god, he feels like home.

from Don’t Tell Me Where the Road Ends (MacGyver 2016, macdalton). It’s not anything fancy or eloquent or anything, but idk, I still like it.

Or maybe…

He watches with poorly concealed amusement as Chika seems to work his way through all five stages of grief and back in the span of about two seconds.

from The Shape of Soup (2.43, yunichika)

(Yeah, I had difficulty choosing, so the rest—and the rest of the questions—will be going under the cut for length vvv)

Or even…

Somewhere along the way, his admiration has turned from jealousy to want—from wanting to be him to just wanting him.

the line that birthed not to remain as just a wish (2.43, odaoki)

Or possibly, since I feel like I should have one that is imagery-type/more poetic/(would it be conceited to call it eloquent?)…

His whole body is alight with the fizz of cider close beneath the surface of his skin, overflowed from the cavity of his chest to spill down his limbs and climb up his throat, pooling and sparking in all the places that Mao touched him like senkou hanabi, like miniature fireworks all their own, the brightest of all where Mao's fingers are still tangled with his, and it's wonderful and overwhelming at once.

from candy-apple red (Girls Blue, kisaragi/mao)

👻 What is your wildest headcanon?

I don’t think I have any tbh? My headcanons all tend to be more the run-of-the-mill type and/or generally accepted fanon and/or stuff extrapolated from them being clearly ADHD and/or autistic. They’re small things, like Yuni liking spicy foods but being unable to handle sour stuff while Chika loves both, or Nao liking space but not particularly caring for sci-fi, even sci-fi that’s set in space. In fact, both of those I came up with while writing the fics they show up in lmao (Lemon Squash and 流星群, respectively. Though, technically, Chika liking lemons—with the sort-of implication that Yuni doesn’t—showed up in The Shape of Soup, but that was just lemons.)

🏷️ Is there a tag you like to search for when looking for fanfics to read?

I don’t think I’ve ever gone into a content tag outside of when I was trying to see how to do something while attempting to write smut. It’s never really worked out. Even when I think I’ve figured something out, it all flew out of my head as soon as I opened my own fic. At least I prefer writing non-smutty fics, or this would be a much bigger problem than it is lmao

No, usually what I’ll do is just go into a ship (or character) tag and filter out any tag I come across that I don’t want to read.

👓 What helps you focus when you write?

Music, though that’s also just a general thing. Typically I’ll just listen to whatever I’m already listening to (which for the past few years has mostly been the 2.43 OST), but if I’ve got a specific song or set of songs in mind for a fic, I’ll generally listen to that instead. Sometimes when I’m rewriting a canon scene or writing something that includes one, I’ll just leave the show playing in the background once I’m done with it. (That’s actually how one of my 2.43 rewatches happened lmao, though I guess it only half counts.)

Of course, sometimes my brain will focus on that instead…

Yeah, I haven’t figured out how to reliably hack my ADHD. Mostly I just hope I’ll slip into hyperfocus (and then hope I’ll manage to finish it while I am, but that only very, very rarely happens. Normally I’ll come out of my daze to find I’ve added like 1600 words and I’ve got no idea how to write the missing bits).

😎 What fics do you prefer on a scale of canon compliant to wildly original?

It depends on my mood tbh. Also how much I hate canon (though it can make for some delicious angst, depending on why I hate it). But most of my fics end up being canon compliant, or at least not canon uncompliant, so I guess when it comes to writing, it would be that? Though I do also accumulate my fair share of AUs (but then, most of those are Canon AUs of one sort or another…)

💛 What is the most impactful lesson you’ve learned about writing?

I’m not so sure I’ve learned anything, and certainly not anything impactful, except that I have zero idea how to describe emotions. That, and it’s obnoxious af when people use epithets for the POV character. I can’t believe I used to do that. It makes me what to crawl into a hole and die in shame. Like, what someone/something is referred to in the narrative is how your POV character thinks of them! Your MC can’t be “the other man”—he’s the man! Everyone else is “the other” in reference to him! (That’s probably also why I’ve gravitated more consistently toward referring to the POV character by their given name, though I’ll still use surnames sometimes—and not just when we never learned their given name.)

💌 Is there a favorite trope you like to write?

I tend to prefer writing Pre-Relationship/Feelings Realization/Getting Together/First Kiss stuff over Established Relationship stuff, but I’m not so sure any of those are tropes. Wait, what does count as a trope. Cuz I also love Fluff (particularly the sappy stuff—I’ve had several turn out way sappier than originally intended) and Angst and Hurt/Comfort about equally, but I feel like those are closer to genres than tropes…

Hmm, well, I do love Character x Their Significant Annoyance (A finds B annoying/frustrating/exasperating/baffling/etc. but is still inexplicably fond of them anyway), and I feel like a lot of the fics I’ve written are for pairings with that dynamic, so let’s just go with that, shall we?

I’m also a sucker for tropes in the Fake Dating to Real Dating/Didn’t Realize They Were Dating/Practice Kissing area, though I haven’t finished very many of those, and I also love Crossdressing (particularly sticking unfeminine men in women’s clothing and/or guys just casually wearing women’s clothes), but I haven’t finished any of those, either. Granted, some of those involve smut, which could explain it, but it’s not like all of them do. Half or less.

Plus there’s The Italicized Oh, and I love sticking those sorts of moments into my pre-relationship fics, even if there is no actual italicized “oh.” Just—the yearning. I’m an absolute sucker.

[musette22]

Minnie, I’m sure you’ve gotten asks like this before, and I figure since you’re pretty big in the fandom you might have some thoughts - but you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to. But how do you deal with toxicity within the fandom? Particularly right now with TFATWS - I just can’t enjoy it because it seems like every other post on my dash is a rant about how horrible Bucky is or how he shouldn’t be getting any attention over Sam or that people who are more invested in B’s story than Sam’s are awful racist people, etc etc. And I totally understand that this fandom does have a racism problem, and that there are real-world issues that the show is delving into which need to be addressed and which a lot of people are ignoring. But it’s all just killing my enjoyment of the show, the characters, and the tumble experience in general. Do you have any advice?

Hi my love! Thanks for your message <3 

I’m going to put my reply under the keep reading tag because I’ve already brought a lot of discourse on people’s dashed today lol!

I’m so sorry to hear you’re having a hard time with toxicity in the fandom right now, that’s the last thing you want from a part of your life that’s supposed to be fun and fulfilling for you, and in many people’s cases a kind of escape from (parts of) reality as well! Like I said in my tags to this post this morning, our tumblr presence/use is just an aspect of our lives. It does not equal our entire system of values or beliefs or, for that matter, activism, so in my opinion it’s perfectly valid to want to keep your fandom space as enjoyable as possible for you, and to stay informed and do your bit primarily in your real, day to day life. I know this is much harder for some people to achieve than for others, which is why there are real issues that really do need to be addressed and changed. But I’ll bet that a lot of the things affecting your enjoyment of fandom right now are things like ship wars and big egos and petty arguments, and I’m talking about filtering out those, first and foremost. I won’t address the larger, more serious issues at play here, because that’s a whole different discussion that deserves much more nuance and thought, but I can give you some general advice on keeping fandom mostly enjoyable.

Interestingly, I myself have not seen any Bucky, Steve or Stucky hate at all here on Tumblr, but I know that’s mostly because I’ve unfollowed and blocked a lot of people, and filtered a lot of tags, and I don't go into the general tags. So unless someone tells me about it, I don't hear about it, and that makes my fandom experience so much more enjoyable. I’ve said it too many times to count, and I know some people disagree with me on this which is their right, but I personally strongly believe in curating your own fandom experience. As for the current situation specifically: for the duration of the show, emotions will run high. Some people will start really important discussions that need to be had and might actually fundamentally change fandom for the better, but some people will try to police fandom for personal gain and start fights for the sake of it. But once the show is over, it’ll eventually settle down again and find a new rhythm, as these things always tend to do.

In the meantime, my advice really, truly is to just avoid and ignore people and places where you’re likely to come across hate and toxic content/opinions as much as possible. Protect yourself. If you do still want to watch the show (which is perfectly understandable), then make sure to at least block people you come across whose opinions you really disagree with, filter any tags or blogs (you can do that too, now) that might upset you for now - and make sure not to constantly click ‘view post’ anyway!) - and to stick to a circle of likeminded people. I know it’s tempting to check what everyone else is saying in the tags or on Twitter, but if it’s just going to upset constantly, then it’s just not worth it. Doing all these things has really made a lot of difference for me these past few weeks, and all the difference for my fandom experience in general. I hope it might help you too! Sending you lots of love ❤️

[chubeveryone]

Actually I love myself and my body deeply and dearly. Your blog is literally in all of the tags of chubby people trying to find positive representation. Its gross to fetishize us. Not just think we are attractive, I think fat people are beautiful and hot. But just like I think it’s fucked up for people to fetishize me because im black, it’s also fucked up to fetishize me for being fat. I love my body but blogs like yours are making literally every tag for chubby people impossible to navigate.

I think you’re being a real self-important asshole here but you do bring up some interesting stuff and I wanna discuss.

First of all, tags! I really actually do try to keep my art out of main tags for characters/ships/etc. What I usually do is like idk 6-10 kink specific tags (chubby [character], chubby kink, weight gain, etc) or miscellaneous tags first. Then I’ll go and tag characters, fandoms, ships etc mostly for blog organization but also? I DO actually want people to find my art, if they’re looking for it. I’m not sure how Tumblr works now, but it used to be that those first 5 tags were the only ones where the post in question would actually show. Everything after was only searchable on op’s blog.

Things got more complicated when they implemented search, so if what you mean is that you’re using the search function, that’s just going to literally show you EVERYTHING. There is no filter for that so you’re kind of taking your chances at that point I hate to break it to you.

But I don’t actually WANT to shove kink in people’s faces in particular, like I’m all for responsible tagging. The thing is that I thought I was kind of doing that already lol. I don’t try to use main tags, I provide nice handy blockable tags up front, and I kind of figured that was fine. If what you say is true and my posts ARE showing in like body posi tags for some fucking reason, I would like to know how to avoid that lol.

But also, It’s been a few uhhh years since I’ve even posted art here, so I don’t know how that could even be possible, actually. I guess it depends on what the tags are, because I’m afraid that if the tags you’re looking in are things like “chubby [character]” like YEAH it’s overrun with kink shit because that’s literally the tag we use! Idk colloquially, chubby![x] is usually what’s used for fat kink shorthand in fandom spaces. Perhaps that’s an oversight on our part and there’s something better we could be using but? I just don’t know.

Anyway the thing is that this is literally not FOR you. I know Tumblr is just sort of like that, as a platform, where you can’t really have your own private space, but I don’t WANT you here.

And It’s not SUPPOSED to be representation. I’m not like a network exec approving shit for millions to see on tv, this is like fully erotica that I am posting on my own blog for fun!! I’m not pretending it’s anything else.

It’s interesting because you said something like it’s fucked up for people to fetishize ME for being fat, like. Yeah, it is, but we’re not actually talking about you. We’re talking about, in this case, DRAWINGS of like fictional characters and celebrities, mostly. I’m NOT fetishizing you (or all fat people at once).

You might be surprised to know that a LOT of fat people, in real life, enthusiastically participate in this kink, and enjoy it very much! Real fat people with agency who choose this because it’s fun and they like it! Myself included! There’s nothing inherently wrong with a fat person being gluttonous on purpose, or gaining weight on purpose, or fattening up a consenting partner on purpose. Yes, obviously, you can make the argument that the artist chose this path for these particular characters and you’re correct lol. But, again, it’s not MEANT to be representation for all fat people. I’m not putting a stereotypical slobby fat character in a movie. It’s kink porn for adults who like that sort of thing, who experience sex and romance in a very particular way, who hopefully understand that what’s being depicted is not intended to degrade fat people as a whole, or, in my case, even the character being depicted! I don’t think of it as degradation at all.

I get why you think it’s gross and it makes you upset and you don’t want to see it but like take responsibility for your own shit and block me instead of lurking around here and sending me anon hate using a bunch of Purity Buzzwords like you think you’re gonna scare the kink out of me (you’re not)

[icewindandboringhorror]

Another set of responding to asks lol.. As usual I have them numbered and will also write out the ask in the text, especially since the screencaps are all blurry and taken at various times/compiled together badly and probably hard to read ghghhggh..... answers under the read more ~ 

-------------------------

1. "Hi I don't mean to bother you at all, but I was wondering where you get your rocking horse shoes? (I think thats what they're called) I've been looking everywhere and I can't seem to find any :(( "

I don’t entirely remember, since I got them like 6 or 7 years ago.. I think maybe at some point that place ‘bodyline’ or something had some cheap ones? But I don’t see them on the site anymore, they were like $50 or $60. Now when I google it I can only find these insane like $600 ones from vivian westwood or whoever, or ones that are platform shoes but not necessarily the same type. Maybe you could find some on aliexpress or ebay or something? Usually you have to use weirdly specific search terms and look for a while, but you can often find stuff like that on those sites. Sorry I couldn’t be of more help!!! 

2. "I've been sick for over a month and my doctor tested me - everything came back fine. After some discussion it appears that my ptsd symptoms came back and the stress on my body is making me fatigued, sick and dizzy. I don't want to say that this could be similar to you situation, but if you have a therapist or someone to talk to about any stresses/your sickness, it might help relieve the pressure a bit. Good luck, I'm so sorry you feel so unwell"

Thank you for sharing! Yeah, I think stress definitely plays a part in why I feel sick so often. Currently I’m not still having the same problem I was having a few months ago when you sent this, so that’s good at least!! 

3. “Hi! Do you plan to ever have more sculptures for sale? Or would you do commissions? I haven't seen any in a while but wanted to buy one! :-O”

I have plenty that I want to sell, I guess it’s just hard for me to get set up. Since so much of the reason I procrastinate selling stuff is because I hate the stress of deciding on a price, I’ve thought for a while now that maybe I can just auction them (so I just set a base price, but people bid whatever they feel is fair and I don’t have to decide myself). But I’m just not sure of a good way to do that.. Ebay has auctions, but I don’t want random strangers buying them, I’d rather stick to just the pool of people who follow my art blog and are already familiar with my sculptures or etc. I could do them on here ?? (like, ‘reply to this post to bid, bids close 8am EST, whoever said the highest number sends the money through paypal and then I send the sculpture’ sort of thing???)   But I’m not sure if it’s legal to sell stuff through tumblr, or if there could be any other problems with doing it so ‘unofficially’ like that.. I don’t know, I have a vague idea, I’m just having trouble deciding the best way to set up something! I do want to sell some soon though, if I live through the pandemic and anything ever goes back to normal, of course (I wouldn’t want to be having to leave the house to ship stuff in the mail right now). 

As for commissions, I have actually done sculpture commissions for friends a few times, so I feel confident-ish that I’d be able to do something like that, but I also wouldn’t want to get overwhelmed since it takes a lot of work. Custom sculptures may also be more expensive, and again.. I always feel guilty and strange about pricing. I’ve thought about doing very limited sculpture commissions though (like, maybe just one at a time, first come first serve or something..?). If it seems like there’s actual interest in that sort of thing, I could definitely consider doing it in the future! 

4. " *picks up that smol blue kid and throws them across the room* "

ghgh .. the smallness is an advantage... they could just skitter back down your arm like a tiny squirrel the second you tried to pick them up.. Ythrili survival strategy is to be too small to catch in the first place 

(also forgive every sketch in this post, my screen that you can draw on broke, so I’m either drawing stuff in ms paint with a mouse, or drawing stuff on paper and coloring it in firealpaca also with a mouse ghghh.. not going to look Good)

5. "it sounds like you feel pressure to only post good content on the internet, and so you end up psyching yourself out of posting at all. Am I on the right track? "

Not necessarily, like I mentioned in the tags I think it’s more just that everything is complicated by my brain. I can’t just do something effortlessly. Whether it’s for an audience or not, I get caught up on every little detail and adding so much complexity to everything that all tasks take me longer than they take other people lol. I think I just tend to take everything very seriously?? 

Like for example, I’m often accused of ‘turning things into a discussion’ when someone was just intending to make an off-handed remark, because if someone is bringing up a topic to discuss, I end up engaging with it 100% and putting full effort into it, and it’s hard for me to be ‘’casual’’ about pretty much anything (so if someone was like ‘My day yesterday was a bit weird’ I wouldn’t be able to just respond ‘aw man, that sucks’, I would just be like ‘Weird how? what happened? what made it weird? Are you okay now? Are things still weird? Have you found a solution?’ etc. etc.). I was also bad at essays/open answer questions in school (despite usually being great at the class otherwise), because no matter how hard I tried to filter my speech and cut things out, I was always far too long-winded  and would get almost too engaged with the topic and lose the clear cut thought organization and focus that you’re supposed to have I guess. Even like, playing video games or something that’s supposed to be relaxing, I can’t just ‘jump into them’ and do whatever, usually any game I play (large ones at least, small 25 minute  point and click adventure games don’t count of course), I have 7 - 10 pages of notes, do hours of research, look up most of the main spoilers, plan out and organize exactly how I’m going to play it and this and that, etc. lol... 

So, that personality trait carries over into posting things online as well, I can’t just type something out quickly and hit ‘post’ without a second thought. Social media is hard for me because you’re supposed to use it casually, but I spend a long time re-reading drafted posts, thinking about them, etc. etc., and end up never actually getting around to posting anything. It’s not that I’m perfectionist about it and want it to be ‘good’ or appear a certain way, it’s just that my mind becomes preoccupied with things I guess.  I’m a natural information gatherer, part of my natural way of processing things is to learn everything possible before acting, and I want to make sure I’ve fully thought about everything always, and know as much as I can (so I wouldn’t want to publicly say something without giving it a lot of consideration first, or post a picture without really thinking about if I want to post it, what my reasons behind posting it are (like if I’m posting something just for a validation of a certain aspect of myself VS. genuinely because I like it, etc.), if a few months from now I’ll still like that I posted it, etc. lol.. even with like silly cat photos or something, I have to analyze it and be like ‘hmm.. will I still stand by this picture in 4 months? why am I posting it publicly vs, just keeping it privately to myself on my computer? what’s important about it?’ etc. etc. ghgjhgjh.. like.. shut up lol.)

ANYWAY, yeah, I don’t know if it’s about wanting online content to be “good”, as much as it’s just like... I take everything way too seriously and am detail-oriented, contemplative, and analytical to a fault, which means it just takes me 10x longer to do basic ‘’simple’’ things that it would for other people. Though I can still be quite quick-thinking and decisive (I don’t often waver back and forth between things too long), it’s usually because I have years of thinking about the same exact things behind me, so I already am very clear on my opinions on stuff, to a point. But when it’s new things I’m less familiar with (like playing a new game, or posting regularly online), I’m still in a phase where I guess I have to give it a lot of thought. I just process things in a different way than other people I guess? Or have some inherent inability to be brief/concise/careless? If you’ve ever read any of my worldbuilding posts (where I usually start off wanting to explain one thing but then have to derail into 400 other misc. details and explanations and it ends up being a novel), then maybe it’s more evident what I mean, where it’s just like... my natural manner of speaking is Too Much.. I guess? Even this answer is winding and rambly, and I feel like other people could have answered this ask in only a few sentences lol.. 

 If any of that makes sense? I don’t know how to describe how I am lol.. I just know it's hard to me to use social media in this ~~casual effortless~~ way most people seem to, since my brain is just inherently incapable of anything ‘’casual’’ or ‘’effortless’’ lol..  T u T ;; 

6. " Hi! I hope this isn't weird to say, I'm designing a race for my DND campaign and some of the aesthetics are a little bit inspired by some of your costumes and makeup designs. You're awesome and your art is awesome so thanks : ) "

Thanks so much, I appreciate it! It’s always cool to hear I can inspire people~ 

(I usually don’t include many compliments in these ask compilation posts, but I always try to include a few, just to let people know that even if I don’t respond to all of them I do see them, and appreciate it!) 

7.  ???

I ended up cropping out this ask and not answering because some of the content was questionable (the reason WHY/how they wanted to make the character) in a way that I didn’t feel like getting into a long thing about, but part of it was relevant to making OCs in my world, so I will just make a quick comment:

I do state that this is a closed world, so I don’t want anyone making OCs of my species or etc. at least not at this point. Once my game is finished (if ever lol), or I write a few books or something, then I feel it would be understandable if people like, made up a background story for their player character and thus maybe could have some form of OC in my world and etc.. So I may be more relaxed on this in the future as I create content that people naturally would want to engage with , but for now, I’m still a very tiny creator with a closed world and it just doesn’t feel the same as like.. making an oc based on some thing in a big TV series or something. My worldbuliding and etc. is still very personal to me. Unless we’re directly collaborating on things (like mentioned here (link) a bit), or you’re a personal friend of mine who’s gotten involved in the world with my own guidance (meaning I could tell you lore things you’d need to know to make it accurate, etc.), then I don’t feel it’s appropriate for strangers to do at this point. 

Especially since I don’t even have enough world info out for people to be able to reference (most species have half-complete guides, I’ve only ever talked about like, one continent, etc.). There are so many necessary details which I have only in my head and have never typed out, so again, idk, it’d just be weird. I’m not okay with it until I have a lot more lore published, and maybe a few actual works out there that people can reference/stories/games/basis for OCs to exist in the first place. If that makes sense? 

8. "Hey, is it ok to use your outfit posts as inspiration for a dnd character? I love them so much, you have such a unique way of combining crazy patterns and fabrics into something that gives off a good vibe”

Yes, that would be fine! Thank you for asking, and I appreciate the compliments~ Hopefully I can get back to posting that sort of thing more often lol.. I’ve gotten WAY off my routine and haven’t done many outfits lately.. aaa

9. "hi Luca! i just wanted to say i really love all of your costumes and fashions and dress ups, its all so cool and pretty and interesting. i actually wanna dress up for fun for myself, and now that i know about the bins i think i'll try to convince my mom to take me to similar places for cheap clothing pieces, since my mom is worried about how much all this costume stuff costs. anyway, please keep posting your cool and beautiful stuff! "

Thank you so much! I wish you luck with your costumes! Yeah, I think there’s a common idea in a lot of fashion communities (like with makeup, costumes, etc.) that you have to always have high quality things to look nice, and even if sometimes you can do more with a little extra money, really you can make anything look good with what you have if you just combine it right. As I’ve always been quite low income, being into fashion and stuff has be discouraging at times, that I couldn’t afford certain materials or items, but you just have to find a niche where what you’re able to do works. For example, a lot of even ‘cheap’ lolita style clothings are too expensive for me (like $30 - $50 for a dress??? then the more pricey ones can be over $100???) lol.. BUT, then stuff like mori kei, cult party kei, fantasy costumes, etc. you can do with nearly any fabric you can find, and it’s still just as fun and creative. Most of the outfits I take pictures of probably cost me no more than $1 - $10 for every single item combined. Obviously it depends on location - I have better access now that I live near a place like the bins, which I understand there may not be similar resources in small towns or etc. But even with generic thrift stores (which may not be as cheap as the bins), you can still find pretty good alternatives to all the money it costs to buy things brand new. There’s still some stuff I legit just can’t do because I don’t have access to the materials, but for the most part I can manage everything I’d like with $3 eye-shadows and 15 cent tattered curtain fabrics lol. You can still do really cool stuff on a pretty nonexistent budget!

10. “do you have any tips on growing your hair long? is it expensive to up keep? i wanna grow mine out but it grows so slow!”

Well, I know nothing about hair and am not a hair stylist or etc. so I really don’t have any tips lol??  And I think hair maintenance depends a lot on the type of hair you have, not everyone’s is the same. I assume we must have similar hair  (my natural hair is thick kind of coarse very dark brown/black hair, which is a bit wavy in some parts but mostly straight, but most of my hair currently (aside from the overgrown roots at the top) is altered because of damage from bleaching and etc., it’s more brittle. so that’s what I’ll be referencing) if you’re asking me this instead of someone else, but just know that whatever I say may not apply to you.  

Anyway, I really don’t do anything to my hair to make it grow or etc., it’s just that I’ve gone a long time without cutting it lol. I used to cut it all the time or change styles, and now I’ve kind of just left it for 5 or 6 years or so. Because of my mental illness I have trouble maintaining personal care and etc., so I do sometimes go a week or more without washing it, even though I’m trying to work that into my schedule more (luckily I don’t have stinky head, I’ve heard some people’s scalp oils and stuff can smell weird if left for too long, I have the privilege of being able to like.. skip on hygiene a lot without it severely impacting my ability to do things or etc. since it’s usually not obvious if I haven’t bathed in a week or two). 

My cat also EATS HUMAN HAIR for some reason, so I have to keep it up all the time, so that when I shed it doesn’t actually just fall loose onto the ground lol. Literally all I do to my hair is just keep it in two braids at all times and wash it with normal shampoo and conditioner occasionally, when I can. I really only think it’s gotten long because I’ve been leaving it alone and not messing with it, not really because of anything I’ve done (like I don’t use fancy products on it or etc.) And because of that, no, it’s not really expensive! It absolutely WOULD be if I were like..a normal functioning person and I regularly bleached it and dyed it and put products on it and styled it and used shampoo and conditioner every 1-3 days on it and etc. lol.. But I guess because I don’t do anything to it to maintain it, I’m not spending money on hairspray or dye or shampoo or etc.  I used to bleach it a lot and straighten it and use hairspray and stuff on it, and it seems healthier (at least on the new top parts) now that I’m just ... ignoring it basically lol. But I don’t really know what to do to make it grow faster! I’m bad at self-care, and even if I do costumes and stuff, I really am not into beauty and hair and nails and makeup and stuff, so I’m probably the wrong person to ask hghjhb.. My upkeep routine is just... eat and sleep. wash face with water daily.. do extra stuff if you can manage to despite your functioning issues, etc. I’m definitely not a Beauty Advice person, I barely brush my hair even once a week lol

11. "Maybe you should reduce the number of races if it's too overwhelming? A world can still be immersive with only a few races in it."

(sidenote - Not to be nitpicky, but I make a specific point that the groups of fantasy creatures I create are species, not ‘’races’’, even though it is a commonly used term in fantasy worldbuilding, I think it’s inaccurate/weird )

I know I don’t have to make so many different groups, but, I guess I just really want it to be a broad setting. Part of the point in creating Nanyevimi (aside from worldbuilding just being extremely fun and a hobby greatly suited to someone with my personality traits lol) is to have an established world that I can do anything within, a framework already built where it'd be super easy to just drop a character anywhere on the map and already have an idea of what their culture, background, experiences, etc. would be based on pre-existing details about that portion of the world, etc. But I also want it to be broad, and varied, where every area kind of has it’s own dynamics going on there, so if you’re in a different place, you get a different kind of story. (like in an elven alliance city, you’d be better suited to tell an adventure story centering around complicated local politics, or city life, or etc.. whereas out in some isolated mountains in the south, it’d be more suited for a mystery story about stumbling across ancient ruins, or running into a mysterious traveler, etc.) 

Which I guess doesn’t matter much, since I'm better at setting, world design, character design, planning, and details than I am at plot, so  I probably won’t actually ever do anything with it (god forbid I tried to write a book or something with my utter inability to be concise/brief in any imaginable way). I can craft settings/characters/history/world-details all day endlessly, never losing inspiration or etc, but my weak point is actually telling stories within those settings and formulating a solid plan, organizing plot structures long term and etc.. Setting up everything for something to happen/creating a place where many interesting premises could occur is fine, but then actually thinking of how those things should OCCUR, or how the set up should play out, is where I get kind of lost. I guess the ideal at some point would be to have people working with me, helping when writing stories in my world/outlining games/etc, to add more cohesion/structure and reign in the unfocused stream of ideas,  but that’s very unlikely since I don’t have any close friends that are good at organizing or plotting either, etc. BUT anyway, even if I can’t ever manage to do anything with it, the whole “having a setting I can use for anything I want if anything ever comes up, which is already established and thus makes it much easier to formulate ideas because all the background work is already done for myself” thing is at least a nice goal.. in concept...theoretically lol..  

And, it’s not really too overwhelming, I think the overwhelming part is actually just formatting and producing those ideas in a consumable form. It’s not hard for me to keep track of 20 different groups and make backgrounds and every imaginable detail for them, but it IS hard to actually take all that information that exists in my head, type it out as a worldbuilding post, format and organize it, draw pictures to go with it, etc. If I could just post long stream of consciousness style 300,000 word long posts with no paragraph breaks, 4000 typos, barely any punctuation, etc., then I’d have A LOT more world-building info publicly available (since that’s what all the initial documents on my computer look like lol), but that’s just so inaccessible it’d be pointless to have public in the first place. The hard part isn’t really coming up with or managing the information, it’s just... organizing it all, and finding a way to share it. 

12. "oh PLEASE tell me what boing peach beverage the elf looks like"

a quick sketch of them.. mysterious peach (and other produce) salesman   

13. "fun question: what are ur fashion pet-peeves?"

Well, basically none because I hate when people are rigid over Fashion Rules or etc. Like, people who take pictures of others in public because they “look weird” , or who constantly trash on what people are allowed to wear, what patterns can be mixed with others, etc. etc. I get that some stuff can look kind of bad sometimes, and it’s not that I think nobody is allowed to criticize fashion trends or etc. (especially if they’re legitimately problematic, like of course someone wearing a homophobic t-shirt or doing blackface should be criticized), but I mean just like... that sort of trivial bitter criticism that doesn’t do anything but make people feel bad about the way they look or make them afraid to dress in ways they feel comfortable. Like taking a picture of someone and posting it online to make fun of them because they wore socks with sandals, or bullying 14 year olds who just started doing makeup and haven’t totally gotten their look sorted out yet, etc. etc. (ESPECIALLY since this can often intersect with classism, racism, etc. if you really examine what people mock as 'ugly' or 'unacceptable' styles, it's often stuff like men wearing dresses/makeup, women not shaving, clothing associated with poverty (like wearing “”cheap”” clothes), physical traits commonly associated with poc, making fun of people who look a certain way likely due to mental illness (like fidgeting, dirty mismatched clothing, carrying stuffed animals or comfort items in public etc.), etc. etc.

I find costumes and makeup and outfits to be a very cool and fun way to express myself. So when people are complete freaks about it and set out to just relentlessly make others feel bad for no good reason, it’s like... obnoxious... How can you take something with so much potential and limit it and close others off and turn it into this rigid hateful thing, when it should be something that everyone is able to be passionate about and appreciate?? Outside appearance isn't everything, but it's a tool of expression for so many people and can relate to who they are as a person, people should never feel uncomfortable to be who they are or look how they look just because some dumbass rich person writing for a style magazine has the gall to declare some random thing to be 'Unfashionable' despite not having a genuinely creative bone in their body, or some bigot thinks that certain things are ‘ugly’ or ‘unprofessional’ due to their own mental associations, etc.

But anyway, I guess if I had to choose a few things that I just think look kind of odd to me personally/are generally off-putting...  

--- the overdrawing lips thing when you can see the persons actual lip-line and it almost looks like they have two mouths or something? (if not done intentionally for costume makeup). It can look a little strange to me sometimes, like an optical illusion where you see multiple mouth lines at once?? idk like this?

--- freckles that are just round circles and really heavy and don’t look realistic (though again, I also realize this could just be the person’s first time drawing them on or something and I’m not  mocking for lack of skill, etc. I just mean that it’s a little strange to look at, not actually BAD though) (and it can also be intentional, like for a cartoony costume look) ---- People adopting cutesy/childlike fashion and clothing and sexualizing it or using it as part of their sex/kink stuff.. I just feel like anything associated with children should not be sexualized..? If the first thing someone thinks when seeing children's school uniforms or frilly little girl’s doll dresses or whatever is that it could be a Hot Thing then hhh... like why is your brain making those connections lol.. People can dress how they want for whatever reasons they want, but that’s always personally creeped me out a little. Similar to our culture’s obsession with looking young being ‘hot’ (like a grown man wanting someone who’s a legal adult but still “looks 16″ or etc.), where it’s like.. okay, I guess yeah outwardly you can make that choice, and maybe aren’t directly causing harm, but.. the underlying tones of it and etc. still make it very unsettling to witness lol... ---- anything appropriated obviously, as well as fetishization or bastardization of cultures, like t-shirts with Japanese writing on them Just For Aesthetic, or taking certain culturally or religiously significant symbols or etc. and adopting them as ‘just a silly fashion’ thing when you’re actually being disrespectful, etc.  ---- those shorts or whatever that go up extremely high on the hipbones always look a little weird to me lol, like they give a person funny proportions, 

(you may have to right click open image in new window and zoom to see the text, but it’s like.. the blank space makes it look kind of weird to me? Like there’s too much where there’s just nothing going on? idk. That’s just my personal preference though, obviously I tend to lean towards busy designs lol)

That’s all I can think of though, like I said, I’m really not picky or judgy about fashion since I think people should be able to do whatever they want for the most part. I’m not like a “omg stripes should NEVER be worn with plaid!!” type person or something lol. 

14. "Hey Luca! I love when you post about your world. Do you have a favorite species you've made up so far? Also, I hope you're holding up well during the crisis!"

AAaa thanks! I’m okay mostly. It’s distressing since because of my particular mental illness I already have constant paranoia and obsessions about health, so of course hearing about so much illness can be really triggering constantly and I’m preoccupied in never-ending anxiety spirals about mortality and etc. etc. etc. , but situationally, I’m just very thankful that nobody in my household has gotten sick yet and I desperately wish that will continue to be the case. *** *** *** 

(ignore the *** *** *** , this is a text version of a physical compulsion (a hand movement) that I have to do when I mention certain topics lol.. the little man in my brain that controls my obsessive compulsive disorder says I must do certain things after saying or thinking certain things,, You Know How It Is ) 

And I really love worldbuilding questions, so thank you so much!!!!! Hghgh maybe it seems weird to favor any over the others, but of course I really like the Avirre'thel. Conceptually, I think their origin story and connection to ancient elves and their abilities and etc. put them in a really unique position in the broader world (some of the only truly immortal people to exist, the only people who can still decipher ancient elven texts in a way that makes sense, etc. etc.). Since Nanyevimi (my world) is really just a setting being built so that in the future I can set things within it (games, short stories, etc.), I think I'm drawn to the aspects of it that have the most potential to make interesting characters, and there are definitely a lot of pre-established dynamics with the Avirre'thel/in Navyete (their home country) as a whole that would make it an good place to set certain things, or a good group for a main character to be from, etc.

I do really like the Jhevona as a species overall too, even if I haven't developed them as much, they also kind of stand out as having some fairly unique features that put them in an interesting position in the world (being one of the most magically capable groups that exists but that also having downsides (health issues and infertility from magic exposure, etc.), how the necessity to keep control over their magic influences their culture, being some of the only natural shape-shifters, etc.). Within that, I REALLY love the Thastanri (a subspecies of Jhevona), like their connection to dreams, the Imkasyn, being one of the last few peoples in contact with real dragons, etc. etc. There are a lot of complex things going on in their area, so there’d be a lot of potential to tell a variety of stories or have interesting characters from that group. 

AND, though it's supposed to be Unknown in the world so I won't talk about it just in case I ever write a book one day or something and need to preserve at least a FEW mysteries that I don't just outright explain in worldbuilding posts, Jhevona do have the most interesting origins of any species in my opinion. There are some things from before the timeline break sort of thing (where all recorded history was seemingly wiped and everyone had a big memory loss about 50,000 yrs ago) that people aren't aware of anymore... but Jhevona used to have a cool backstory and quite interesting function in society prior to that. There are some remnants in the genetics of the species and how their magic works (at least for certain groups) that kind of hint at how ancient Jhevona used to look and what they used to do, even though in the modern day things are very different.

15. "Top 10 songs you've been listening to lately?"

I don’t have a top 10 since I listen to everything for different reasons, and don’t have as deep a relationship with music the way some people do (like I don’t really have a favorite band or group I have a connection with that’s “gotten me through hard times”, or music I cry to/any songs that are specifically personally emotionally meaningful to me, etc., etc.), but here’s a quick playlist of a few favorite-ish things I’ve had in my head a lot recently - 

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPmQ4SZdFFHNkgKo7nAiEMgVvLcycX5Qc

the last song on the list specifically I’ve been replaying a lot for some reason, I guess since it’s good background music as there’s no words. Particularly the part that starts around like 38 seconds in, something about that melody reminds me of something distant, in a dreamlike way. The past few days I mostly alternate between that song, Outstanding, and And The Beat Goes On  lol

16. " Do you ever sell sculptures? I really like that little fawn!"

Yeah, I hope to eventually! Like I mentioned in question number three, if I can set up some sort of way to do auctions or etc, then maybe I can sell that one! 

17 & 18 : '"aaa yay!! i missed your outfits!!!" / "can I just say love ur outfits! They're so cool and inspire me to draw my ocs with new outfits > o < and I love your cat too, please give him a big ol pat!"

Thank you!!!! more compliments posted just to show I appreciate them lol, even if I don’t publicly respond to every one~ And, the Boyes appreciate the pats.. here is them.. big babbeys... 

[early-sxnsets]

Scales, Fins, and other Fishy Daydreams

Archive Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18215168/chapters/43151156

Chapter 3/10 of It’s A Handheld Disaster

Word Count: 1553

Chapter Summary: Baz takes Simon's shitpost text a step further, and the outcome ends up spreading a few rumors.

SIMON

bi-sammy: sammy would still fuck huxley if he looked like the fish from shape of water

I grin smugly at my screen, sitting in a dark room with nothing shining but my mobile. The shutters stay shut, and the light from the bottom of the doorway barely filters into the room. It’s just me, this scratchy blanket, and Baz, somewhere else in England on another screen. I absolutely adore that.

gaystrell: why would you say something so controversial yet so brave.jpg

Sometimes, I catch myself smiling. Other times, I elect to ignore how real it feels. It’s weird, given that it feels like I’m just chatting with someone who I see everyday. The casualness of this reminds me of texting Penny in the afternoon on a Thursday.

Except, given the current time, it could be interpreted as more intimate than that of a friend’s text.

8am on a Saturday is usually a time reserved for comfort. For staying warm with someone you care about. Instead, I’m just messaging Baz.

bi-sammy: because im right

bi-sammy: hear me out here ive got a brilliant idea

gaystrell: whoever taught you the definition of a brilliant idea was clearly misleading you

bi-sammy: dont be an arse until youve heard it

bi-sammy: wanker

gaystrell: you’re truly proving your point

bi-sammy: ANYWAY

bi-sammy: shape of water au

bi-sammy: thats all

gaystrell: i’m appalled.

gaystrell: hold on.

I don’t think much of it. Occasionally, he disappears for an hour to two. I don’t bother asking, assuming it’s none of my business, but I do tend to worry a bit. I hope he’s alright.

After clicking off my phone, my head settles against my pillow as my eyes fall shut.

There’s something about this. There’s something about him. It’s a bit hard to pinpoint what it is, but the overwhelming feeling of comfort I have in the notifications I get from him just answering my bullshit is incredibly welcomed. He’s semisweet. I don’t know why I didn’t see it earlier, but he’s a fantastically bitter person.

My head slowly turns over, eyes opening and straining in the darkness.

I hate my empty room.

I hate the absence of comfort--I hate the plainness of these walls.

I want to say I hate my foster dad, but I also feel like I’m not allowed to say that. Not because the system will take me again and throw me back (even though I could have left a year back, if I was still in it). Instead, I feel like I shouldn’t hate him. Theoretically, I should be thankful for what I have. I’m not in a boy’s home, and I haven’t been since I was 11, but the remnants remain. The fights don’t go away, and neither do the weeks of starvation.

Still, I sort of despise living here under Davy.

That’s what he makes me call him. His name. His nickname. Not dad; of course not dad. He’s had me in his care for roughly six years, but he’s still Davy to me.

Shitty fucking Davy, with his strict curfews and practically using me as a housemaid because he’s too cheap to care for himself.

Shitty fucking Davy, not letting me add anything to my room because the day I turn 18, I’m out of here until his next kid (and cheque, apparently) come in. Told me I’d wreck the walls and ruin his furniture if I did put anything on it, too.

So that’s what I’ve got. Blank walls, blank furniture, blank everything. It’s like a jail cell for a bedroom, and everything I’ve got to show for myself is in a backpack and two dresser drawers/

But, at least, I own my mobile.

Every summer job, mixed with odds and ends shit and whatever I can do for my bill. It’s all mine, and Davy can’t fucking touch it.

Maybe that’s why, when I feel it buzz against my chest, it makes me feel more alive. It’s a reminder of all that work just to be able to talk to someone freely.

Arguably, the best feeling in the goddamn world.

I grab it and flip it over. It’s just an email about uni.

Fuck.

I end up scrolling through tumblr for a little while, doing nothing but liking and reblogging a thing here or there. It takes a little while before a little drop down falls from the top of my screen.

gaystrell: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1r7Wkwj7MSFk0--DgquHGhYVBbqneEYq0J01t0uMRmxA/edit?usp=sharing

gaystrell: feel the need to apologize before you click the link, but then again, you asked for this hell

When I click on it, it pulls up a doc titled just “crackfic”, and I’m floored with the first sentence alone.

“Fuck my fish ass harder, daddy.”

My hand flies up, covering my mouth as I practically wheeze as quietly as possible. A few paragraphs in and I’m nearly crying into my palm, muffling my laughter as I read through pages upon pages of the most ridiculous fic I’ve ever laid my eyes upon.

I check the word count out of pure curiosity, and it somehow makes me laugh harder.

bi-sammy: holy fucking shit

bi-sammy: i swear to god if you don’t post that i will

gaystrell: already in the process of making the archive post

gaystrell: i seriously believe you underestimate my sincere ability to be the biggest dick on the street

bi-sammy: i dont know whether or not u meant that as ur literal dick or the big dick energy in making that a post but id probably agree with you in both

bi-sammy: tag me in the post pls i want to be the first to reblog it

gaystrell: you’re a ridiculous, sad, little man

gaystrell: of course i’ll tag you

Within minutes, it’s uploaded with the absolute worst slew of Archive tags attached to it, and as soon as he tags me in his post, I tap the notification.

Scales, Fins, and other Fishy Daydreams

Word Count: 3,192

Summary: Fish!Huxley and Sam get it on Shape of Water style

@bi-sammy this is your fault (you're welcome)

I immediately slam like and pull up reblog, rapidly typing out my response before posting.

absolute madman. cant believe youve done this. i trust you with my entire life.

As usual, he's quick to reblog back.

anything for the absolute pain in my life x

Smiling shamelessly, I ride on the moment's high as our conversation stays out in the world. I quite enjoy this version of his softness. The public, taunting replies to mine. In all this time of following him, I can't really recall him ever being this friendly with anyone but me.

Makes me feel special. Maybe too much so.

BAZ

The jarring shock of the seemingly endless notifications rattles me momentarily speechless.

It isn't even 15 minutes after I'd replied to Snow and there's already a few people reblogging it with comments about him and I. A quick “i ship y'all’ to “powermove of the century”. Each make me flush deeper as the replies flood in.

If I were to be practical, I'm aware that I shouldn't be so flustered over the concept of us being a couple. It's most likely my overactive, sad, lonely imagination, but the idea of being loved just makes me blush. Especially since it's someone who doesn't seem to absolutely loathe me.

gaystrell: are you reading these?

bi-sammy: the what?

bi-sammy: i have. nothing to read. i cant read.

gaystrell: use your two remaining brain cells look at the notes for the crackfic

bi-sammy: holy shit

bi-sammy: im cackling

A notification pops up, making me snort this time. I pull up the post and send it off to him without a second thought.

gaystrell: sent a post

gaystrell: “sounds like something huxley would do for sam”

bi-sammy: stop im gonna piss myself shits too fucking funny

I pull it back up, scrolling down to reblog and adding a quick reply that, in all honesty, I should have thought out more. Secretly, part of me is glad that I sent it.

huxley wishes he was this smooth ;)

Within seconds, replies flood in from everywhere. From jokes about Snow and I possibly dating to the concept of Huxley writing (purposefully) shitty homoerotica about himself as a fishman. I quite like the conversation about the latter, while the former makes my chest knot in ways inexplicable.

Going through the notes makes me smile, even if it's mildly embarrassing. The amount of times I've seen the eyes emoji used is definitely excessive, but still somewhat welcomed.

Even my archive has a few comments already, although more based around the fic itself. More ironically, though, is the one person who probably took it seriously and just commented, “Nice fic!” I love the abundance of shameless appreciation for obscure fanfiction in the depths of this community.

Snow's messages roll down my mobile screen as I'm checking the comments, continuously replacing the previous message for the top slot.

bi-sammy: mate

bi-sammy: i love you

bi-sammy: also every time you reblog something of mine i get like 5 followers

bi-sammy: if you mention me i get 10

bi-sammy: youre???????????? a god????????

bi-sammy: can i marry you????????????

I slowly close my laptop, eyes on my phone with an absolutely gleeful grin.

gaystrell: when and where?

[calleo-bricriu]

I aspire my blogs to look like yours. It's actually so fun to just sit and read through - just thought you should know, so keep up the great work!

Honestly, it’s one of the few benefits of working in a high stress, high burnout, high full of infuriatingly dim people: I can rework it and channel it into Things Calleo Has To Deal With which makes the actual frustrating, stressful stuff I actually have to deal with about 100% less annoying.

Pretty much every unprompted rant he has about someone at the Ministry, I guarantee you is someone (usually someone with a C level title, a VP title, or a regional director title–or worse, a doctor. Doctors are the actual worst to work with, you’d swear they’re all seeing a computer for the first time with every ticket) I’ve had to deal with that made me die a little inside having to listen to them be wrong and not just double down on being wrong rather than admit that they’re wrong and don’t actually know how to do my job better than I do.

The rest of it is a combination of having written the character for close to 20 years and being flexible with how I can justify him doing things and interacting with others.

While there are some things I’m just not interested in, in general, I go with the Giant in the Playground philosophy of “Decide to React Differently” to keep RP going instead of shutting it down with, “There is only one way my character would respond to this” when that’s almost never the case if you stop and think about it beyond your first reaction.

The most notable part:

“Decide to React Differently: Have you ever had a party break down into fighting over the actions of one of their members? Has a character ever threatened repeatedly to leave the party? Often, intraparty fighting boils down to one player declaring, “That’s how my character would react.” Heck, often you’ll be the one saying it; it’s a common reaction when alignments or codes of ethics clash.

However, it also creates a logjam where neither side wants to back down. The key to resolving this problem is to decide to react differently. You are not your character, and your character is not a separate entity with reactions that you cannot control. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard a player state that their character’s actions are not under their control. Every decision your character makes is your decision first. It is possible and even preferable for you to craft a personality that is consistent but also accommodating of the characters the other players wish to play.

When you think about a situation, ask yourself, “Is this the only way my character can react to this?” Chances are, the answer is, “No.” Try to refine your character so that you can deal with situations that conflict with your alignment/ethos without resorting to ultimatums, threats, etc. This will often mean thinking in terms of compromise and concession to your fellow players, or at the very least an agreement to disagree.”

In a similar vein, try to have a variety of thread styles; if, for example, the majority of what you post is shipping with a small handful of people others may assume, even if it’s an incorrect assumption, that you’re only interested in shipping and only interested in shipping with the friend group you already have so they may just not even try, especially if they’re not really looking into writing ships and only ships.

While everyone has their favorite kind of RP to write, if it’s all you write or the majority of what you write, you’re pigeonholing yourself and shrinking the pool of potential new partners.

I also find it much easier to get more involved if I don’t stick myself to an ultra detailed backstory that will almost never come up in RP and is largely just flavor text and little more.

When I do character creation, I start with a skeletal design of the basics of what I want from the character and build off of it; any backstory gets pieced together as RP happens and I have to come up with it on the fly. For me, it’s easier to get a character well developed by starting with a basic idea and slowly building on it as RP happens which is something Tumblr often insists is the “wrong way” and that you need to come up with novel length pages on backstory before you’re ‘ready’ and that’s discouraging enough that a lot of people give up before they even start.

And, honestly, the bleak truth is most people only skim those long biographies anyway. Very few people will sit through 5 pages worth of backstory, especially if very little of it is relevant to how IC interactions take place.

Write them if you enjoy writing them, but don’t expect or assume that anyone who doesn’t do the same doesn’t have a well developed character.

And also? Post for the sake of posting; I don’t mean aesthetic posts or constant memes, just post as your character.

This is something I’m more comfortable with as it’s how Livejournal RP games worked back in the day; you could tag something private and it was known that it was for ‘flavor’ to read OOC, you could tag things private to certain groups of people but leave the post public so everyone could read along, threads were often open threads, meaning anyone in the game could join in at any point (I kind of miss that aspect and it’s definitely not a thing on Tumblr, people here tend to be super closed off and keep threads between two characters).

Anything I have posted that is not tagged as owl or private is public and you are free to have your character join in the commentary, join in the conversation, post about what they overheard/saw/read, or send in asks about it.

Like, for example, all the quick back and forth Calleo tends to have with @retired-death-eater ? At the very least, if your character works at the Ministry, they probably would have overheard parts of the back and forth if not all of it.

But, anyway, just post. Have your character post about their day, about something they overheard in the staff room, about a weird thing they saw, about their hobbies, about something they’re reading/researching, about the last Quidditch game they saw, etc…even if nobody hits the heart button or comments, they’re still reading and it’s still giving them a clearer idea of what your character is like.

THAT all aside, do. not. gossip. OOC.

Nobody cares what fight you had with X player or that you don’t like how Y interprets a canon character or any of that; if you dislike someone’s writing, don’t follow them, soft block them, hard block them, use tag filters, us xkit’s blacklist, but don’t start complaining to everyone who will listen that you dislike that person because all it does is make you look bad.

It also makes people less likely to want to engage you out of fear that, the instant they slip up or do something you don’t like, instead of coming to them to explain the issue, you’ll just go behind their back.

If someone has legitimately treated you objectively badly OOC, it’s fine to ask overlapping RP partners to please not try to involve you in RP with that person and if you desperately feel the need to explain why, keep it to the facts of what actually happened. And never, ever try to tell your RP partners who they can and cannot RP with; that will and should get you dropped immediately as there is never a time it’s appropriate to do that.Asking them to please not involve your character with the player you had a falling out with? Cool and reasonable.

Demanding they stop RPing with that person too? No. Controlling, manipulative behavior and you will likely be rightfully dropped by multiple RP partners.

Creating “burn book” blogs or “anonymous confessions” blogs that accept negative submissions? Also no. You’ll eventually be found out, and you will likely rightfully be branded as a bully that people will not want to interact with out of fear of them ending up on one of those blogs if they ever do anything that even mildly annoys you.

[winteriron-trash]

About Me/FAQ

Hey, welcome to my blog! This is my -well, usually- Marvel-centric blog that has everything WinterIron, Bucky Barnes, and Tony Stark, as well as some general shitposts of my own wild adventures. I figured it’s best to keep up this trend of updating my ‘About Me’ page every follower milestone. So thank you all so much for over 3,000 followers, I never expected to break that many followers, let alone in less than a year on Tumblr. I appreciate each and everyone one of you, so really, thank you for sticking around with my bullshit.

Per the usual, I don’t do drama, I don’t do discourse. If you have a serious problem with me or anything I’ve written/done on this blog, please take it up with me personally. I will delete anon hate (if I get any, I haven’t gotten any yet…) and I think it’s all just pointless. I can be salty and derpy sometimes, but I will never purposely say something malicious. I’m not here for that negativity.

Now, to the FAQs.

Do you have an Ao3/Pillowfort/other social media?

I do have an Ao3, you can find me at Gothic_Lolita. I don’t cross-post everything, and a lot of my stuff on Ao3 isn’t WinterIron or even Bucky or Tony-centric, so if you’d like to see some other stuff I write, feel free to check over there. I don’t have a Pillowfort, nor do I plan on getting one. It took me forever to get this platform right, I’m not in the place to bother learning how to navigate a new one. I don’t do Snapchat or Instagram or Twitter because I am not nearly basic or cool enough for that stuff. The only social media I use is Tumblr and Pinterest, and trust me, my Pinterest is nothing interesting enough to be worth linking.

Do you have a tagging system?

I’m… trying, honestly. I’m trying to adjust my tags and systems because of the… wildness Tumblr is having with blocking and purging certain tags. I try to be funny in my tags, and I swear a lot, and apparently ‘fuck’ is being filtered out of the tag search, so that’s fun and completely screwed me over. As it stands, the important tags are ‘winteriron-trash writes’ (my writing tag), ‘shitposting with becca’ (any wild shitposts of my own sad creation), ‘not about marvel’ (any posts that are my general bullshittery and not Marvel related), ‘becca gives mediocre writing advice’ (a new tag I’m trying to use that’ll tag any post that I give writing advice on), ‘becca spills the tea’ (a tag for whenever I post my metas or opinions on Marvel characters, plots, etc), and the citrus scale which I explain in a post here

Do you write original fiction?

Yes, but I rarely, if ever, post it. I think I have all of one poem on Tumblr, any absolutely nothing original on Ao3. I write original works all the time, especially poetry and novels, but I’m super shy about being vulnerable and putting my stuff out there. I do wanna post my original writing somehow, but considering a fandom blog and Ao3 aren’t really the place for it, I’ll just keep it all hidden inside of me, and one day I’ll die. You’re more than welcome to ask me about any of my original writings, trust me, I am always willing to ramble about the shit I write, it’s pathetic.

What type of fanfiction do you write?

For this blog, mostly WinterIron fics or gen fics focused on Bucky or Tony. I do write about OT3s on here occasionally, but they usually include WinterIron in some way. Most of the time. I’ve somehow gotten to writing some weird stuff lately, to be honest. I’ll work with MCU, Sony Venom, and Spiderverse characters and canon, with the occasionally comic canon shoved in there. I have occasionally written crossover content with DC characters, but that usually relies on comic versions -or at least my own remixes of them- rather than the DCEU. On my masterlist, you can check out all the things I’ve written!

What are your ships besides WinterIron? NOTPs?

I’ll ship almost anything, and I’m a huge fan of rarepairs/interesting relationships simply to explore the possibilities of it, particularly when they include Bucky or Tony. My top OTPs besides WinterIron are currently Phlint, FalconShield, and BlackPepper. As for NOTPs, I strongly dislike Stucky, Stuckony, Thorki, and Staron for reasons of just not being able to see those characters together romantically. Feel free to send me the wildest rarepair your mind can think of, chances are I’ve probably already thought of it myself so I’d love the chance to ramble about/write for it. I’m a big fan of weird OT3s as well, just see the weird shit on my masterlist.

Are you in any fandoms besides Marvel?

I’m into DC, Star Trek, classic literature, Percy Jackson/HoO/Kane Chronicles, She-Ra, Carmen Sandiego, indie gaming, Supernatural, vulture culture, HYDRA Trash Party, and musicals. Yes, I’m aware I was born to be a geek. Trust me, I’ve grown very used to it.

Do you take prompts?

Honestly, sending me a prompt/headcanon/idea is a shot in the dark. I have prompts sitting in my inbox that has been there for about a year that I’ve been meaning to write. Chances are if you send me a prompt yes I’ve seen it, yes I think it’s lovely, but god I do not have the time. Occasionally a prompt will really grab my eye and I’ll just have to write something for it, but sometimes even that can take months to finish. Don’t be surprised if you send me a prompt and I randomly fill it seven months later. I’m prone to doing so. I love being tagged in existing prompt/headcanon posts and asked to write it (as I have a bad habit of hijacking posts to write stuff for them to begin with…) just know that once again the chances of me writing it are about a 50/50. Also, make sure the OP is okay with you asking me to write it, it’s never my intention to steal someone else’s spotlight, I just want to take cool ideas and throw my two cents in.

Is there anything you won’t write?

Drugs and alcohol are hard nos for me. They’re personal triggers that if you really want to know more about, you can send me an ask or message about. If I’ve listed something as a NOTP, I will not write anything with it. I strongly dislike writing kid fics, mundane AUs, damsel in distress Tony fics, and A/B/O, but I’m willing to work with an idea if it’s good enough. It really depends on the situation.

Do you offer writing advice/reviews?

Yep! I’m down to answer any questions on writing fanfic or just writing in general. I love talking about writing and all that. Seriously, I like talking about writing almost as much as I like talking about Marvel. I’m more than open to reading a few chapters of your fic or book or whatever and telling you my honest thoughts, but I probably won’t have time to read all of it if it’s more than 5k long, because I’m just a busy person. And I will be honest because I want to be helpful. Don’t ask me for my honest opinion if you just want your ego stroked.

Can I ask your opinion on [insert topic here]?

Always. I am always open to sharing my honest opinions, regardless of backlash I’ll receive for it. I’d rather be my honest self online -the one place I can be my honest self- then a fake mask made to please others. Whether it be fandom ships, in-universe meta, or non-fandom related topics, feel free to ask me. I love talking meta, or just general thoughts and opinions on random stuff. Trust me, I’m far too opinionated for my own good. Ask literally anyone who’s met me.

How long have you been writing?

All seventeen years of my sad, sad life. I loved writing stupid little stories when I was a kid, that slowly morphed into shitty “books”, then I went through a poetry phase in junior high, and when I was about 14 I wrote my first fanfiction. I posted my first fanfic when I was 15, and have been posting fanfiction for over a year and a half now. I started Tumblr in late February but didn’t start writing fics here until about March because I am a shy bitch.

Aaaaaaand now for some stupid shit about me you didn’t ask for.

My name is Becca, or Winter, or Dumbass, whatever you prefer, and I’m a dumbfuck 17 yr old lesbian from upstate New York. (The ‘upstate’ part is important. Don’t ask me if I live in NYC. Just don’t.) I’m a junior in high school and planning to study English and Marketing in college, to hopefully become an editor. Hopefully. I’m actually a pretty boring and dumb bitch, which makes it all the more concerning that I am steadily gaining popularity on this hellsite. Someone help me.

I mentioned some of my interests above, but some other stuff I’m into includes knitting, playing piano, tea, collecting (hoarding) notebooks, photography, editing, music, and being a general idiot. I’m a wild child in ripped jeans and a leather jacket, which should not fool you because I’m far too shy and afraid of everything to be cool like that. I sound a lot cooler online because I’ve gotten so used to online interactions from making friends and running my own Discord server, but in real life I am unrecognizable. I’ve been in a grade of 60 people with the same people since kindergarten and some of them still don’t know my name.

I’m mentally ill and all that, but we’re working on getting… better. Writing schedules are a mess from me and sometimes I’m falling apart so, that’s fun. It doesn’t usually affect my blog because I internalize that shit, but occasionally the self-deprecating humor can get to be a little too close to the truth. And just the general spastic nature of my blog reflects the utter chaos of my mind.

So anyway, that’s me, please be my friend. Also, because this seems to come up more and more. Please don’t be afraid of me/intimidated by me. I know I look all cool and popular, but I am literally a hot mess just like the rest of us. If you want to climb your way into my messages and just,,,, scream at me about something you think I’d like, or just scream in general, go ahead. I really won’t mind, I promise. I need… friends, or so my therapist tells me.

Oh, and here’s a face reveal.

Yes, I am that absolute idiot of a person, lying splat in the middle of my elementary playground field for,,,, reasons???? I don’t really remember the story behind that picture tbh, but it’s my entire personality in a single picture, so I dig it.

And here’s my actual face, with a cheap ring in my mouth and a fox filter because I thought I looked cute, okay? Leave me be.

Tadah.

I swear I’m funny and talented sometimes, please like me.

As always, feel free to send me an ask or a message about anything you’d like. 

Check out my Masterlist if you want, and join my Discord Server.

[typingdyslexiaisathing]

Cowboy Bebop ficlet

// Figured I would post an OLD ficlet I did way back when. This is done before Faye and Ed and Ein join up on the Bebop. With my OC for this verse. Read below if you want to enjoy some old school bounty hunters. //

I was pretty sure Spike knew I was watching him do his shirtless training of hot. So I just laid on the stairs to watch him with my head resting on my arms. Enjoying how he moved so fluidly as he punched and kicked at air. And I had my music on besides so it made such even more entrancing. I didn't have it on as loud as I tended to though. So I could hear him when he shot a question my way. "Don't you have something to do, Jo?" I shook my head to pop one of the earbuds out. So he knew I could hear him. "No. I got all the tinkering done a while ago. Jet is making more food too." Spike pauses in his routine with one leg up in the air. Turning his head to look at me. And God is it ever hot how he can stay all poised with a foot all the way up like that. So I just stared at him. And he gave a snort of a noise to look back out the window of the ship. "I get the feeling I'm being sized up for something. Or are you just enjoying me half clothed?" I really wish he hadn't asked. Since I was not one to lie to a team mate. Even if it made me blush. "Every person has a type, you dork. And you happen to be my type." Spike freezes after his punch to look very surprised. So I continue for his benefit. "Tall. Toned. Funny. Smooth talker. Skilled. If you didn't smoke so much I'd have tried to kiss you already." Spike whirls his head around to look at me with his eyes wide. And if he didn't look stunned I'd eat my sneakers. "Are you serious?! Jet told me you were- Geez Jo!" I chuckle as my toes curl a bit in my sneakers. "Center yourself, tadpole of the tai chi. I'm not gonna run over and jump your fine ass. I'm just gonna enjoy the view." Spike shakes his head to then run a hand through his hair. Looking very flustered as I watch his muscles flex. ***** Spike looked so dead serious I couldn't look away from him. Both his hands resting near my head as he cornered me against the wall. And his eyes stayed locked on mine. That one brown eye a lighter color than the other. And I was so captivated I could barely breathe. His words were so low I almost didn't catch them. "Why is it that even when I'm looking at the past, you keep filtering through my eyes? I've been dreaming the same dream for so long. Now it's changing. And it's unsettling on how it's making me forget things. Things I know I need to hold onto, yet they are things I have wanted to leave behind." Spike clenches his hands into fists as he keeps me there with his gaze. And I am wondering all sorts of things. But he just keeps talking like he didn't stop for a breath. "I'd think they sent you to keep tabs on me. But then you do things that make me think otherwise. How you don't ask me questions. How you keep putting yourself between me and whatever is trying to kill us. And how you keep watching over me when I fall asleep on the couch. You've had all the time in the universe to kill me if they had sent you. So tell me Joanna. Who are you really? Because I am not going to keep letting you close if I don't know where you fit into this waking dream." I give Spike a huff of irritation that notes my confusion. My own questions giving him a bit more inkling into my bafflement at his actions and his words. "Why do I have to be someone specific, Spike? Can't I just be myself?" Spike went so still I would think he was stone. But I keep going anyways. "The way you talk, it makes me think we're in some secret spy movie. Like the really old ones with double agents and super villains. And that makes me wonder about you for a change. I've been fine with just knowing you are good at karate and bad with bounty hunting. I've been totally okay with you and Jet and myself going from one day to the next just cruising around the solar system. I didn't need to know more than what you both told me. That Jet used to be a cop and that you used to be on Mars. The only thing that has ever mattered to me is if I can feel safe around you. Safe as in you won't throw me into a storage room and rip my clothes off. And you proved that I can relax and just be. You never asked me before about who I used to be. And even though I wonder why you're asking now, I will tell you." Spike nods to then relax a little. Using those arms he has braced against the wall to corral me more like he's just leaning. So he sighs a bit to then ask me his questions. "Who are you?" I sigh to cross my arms. Closing my eyes as I answer. "My full name is Margaret Joanna Adelha Mathilde." Spike blinks to then chuckle a little. "That is a mouthful. Hence why you just answer to Jo." I nod for him to ask the next question. "Are you really from Earth?" I nod again to add in, "The town I was born was called Saugatuck. It was in the state of Michigan in the United States of America. At least back then it was. I haven't checked to see if it is still there." Spike looks confused to then lean in to get in my face more. And his question is really quiet. "Care to explain that?" So I open my eyes to gaze into those brown eyes. And I shiver a little when I reply. "Here's the big plot twist. I was born in 1998. And got put into a freezer when there was a big accident on a space shuttle." Spike goes as wide eyed as possible. Looking very stunned as I sigh and lean my head back against the wall. "Mom and dad apparently had me put in cryogenic freeze after the doctors told them I was a goner. And since they were just testing those damn things out, there was a need for test subjects to see if they worked. So I got shoved into an ice tray. I woke up a few years ago after one of the hospital directors got replaced with some new hot shot senator. He decided saving all those poor helpless victims and rehabilitating them would be a genius political move or something. The end result is I got thawed out along with a dozen other people that had been on the shuttle. By the time the police got their noses into the senator's closet to see about skeletons, I was already on my way to a clinic on Mars. So they had no recourse but to let me go on my merry way when the project buckled. Left it so I didn't have to pay all those bills from the upkeep of my ice tray and the rehab. But it also left me without any help to start a new life." Spike frowns to then move away from the wall and give me my space back. His sigh clearly saying he gets the rest. "Hence why Jet got a call from his old friend who is still an active police officer. He was called in to pick you up from the clinic and keep tabs on you until they could build a case against the senator. And Jet got an extra pair of hands in the bargain. Someone who literally had nothing else to fall back on." I chuckle to roll my eyes at Spike. "We both know Jet isn't the type to leave some helpless gal who literally only has a hospital gown go it alone. He'd sooner light his bonsai on fire." Spike smirks for me to chuckle a bit. His hand reaching into his hair to rub at his head as I continue. "Jet made it clear that if I ever found a better option, I could take it and I would owe him nothing. But I honestly have never looked for anything else. Why would I? I have a home here, skills to build on as I figure out what has changed in the time I was on ice, and at least two people I call family." Spike stills to look at me with a questioning glance. So I wave a hand at him to make my point. "I did say I feel safe around you, Spike. I don't extend that kind of faith in anyone unless they have earned it. You may not trust me with whatever skeletons you keep in back storage. But I know you won't hurt me willingly or hang me out by a noose. Heck, you tend to cover me whenever something is gonna blow up. Figuratively and literally. Just like I do for you. Isn't that enough for you?" Spike spends a really long moment just staring at me. His eyes so focused I want to tell him to blink. But then he turns away to keep rubbing a hand to his head. And he sighs so hard I'd think he was going to deflate. "What a headache. No wonder you're so old fashioned." I snort to roll my eyes. But then Spike tells me something that has me go stock still. "I used to be deep in the Red Dragon Syndicate. And ever since they declared me killed that night, I only see the past or the present. Like a waking dream. My left eye only sees the past, the right eye only sees the present." Spike turns back around for me to have something in my head click into place. My shoulders tensing as I stay leaning against the wall. "Huh. So that's why your eyes are different. One of them is fake. Right?" Spike doesn't answer. Which is a confirmation in my book. So I give a long sigh all my own. "Guess that fits the theme of this rag tag group. Jet doesn't lead the life of a cop anymore. You don't lead the life of a syndicate member. And I don't have any life to go back to either. It's an in between for all three of us. Maybe we should rename this boat Limbo." Spike smiles at my pun even if it doesn't reach his eyes. Which has me rub at my arms a bit for him to walk back over. His hands coming to rest on my shoulders as I shiver again. "Guess you really are a super spy then. With fancy shooting and gadgets and Jeet Kun Doe. We should replace your tie with a bow tie or something." Spike gives a soft chuckle before I look up into those brown eyes. And we end up spending a moment just staring at each other. Until I ask him my last question. "Was it worth it? Leaving the monsters to chase a beautiful angel?" Spike goes so quiet I know he's holding his breath. So I remind him, "All the spy movies have some gorgeous lady in the plot. So it's not too much of a leap to think you left for a chance at being with a good woman." I reach up to place my fingertips to Spike's face and wait. My eyes tearing up as he takes a breath. And his answer is but a faded whisper. "She was worth it all and more. And will always be the dream I linger in the most." Having Spike say that sounds so fitting even if that answer hurts me. But I smile as those tears fall. Giving him a chuckle as he grips my shoulders a bit harder. And I say the one thing I didn't want to say. "Then keep dreaming, Spike. I wouldn't wake you from that for any reason. Keep dreaming that good dream for as long as you can." Spike nods before he pulls me in to hug me close. My hands lowering to rest at his heart as he all but crushes me. And his words are quiet but so full of strength. "You would have been just as worth it, Jo. A girl like you is worth more than you think. Demons and dragons tend to know only violence and struggle. They never know peace or hope for quieter days. And you remind me of such wants. Just like she did. It's why I felt so confused. Every time you remind me of what that felt like, I see her standing behind you. Like a mirage." I chuckle a bit to wrap my arms around his waist. Soaking in this contact even if his hug is cracking my ribs. "Maybe one day we will find her so you can make those old dreams come true. I would help you track her down if you want." ***** I gave a prayer that I knew I would regret once the dust had settled. But I gave it anyway before I opened my eyes. Then I centered the gun and took aim. And for once my mind went blank. No thought. No emotion. Just purpose. And it was all I needed to take that shot. So I pulled the trigger once my aim was sure. And the gun fired for the thug who had been strangling Jet to fall. The bullet punching a good hole through the center of his head for it to exit out the back in a shower of gore. Then I moved to aim at the guy charging at Spike with a very large sword. And I took aim to shoot again. The gun going off for the bullet to rip right through the thugs temple. The spray out the other end washing over the wall like speckling paint. Spike grabbed the now very dead sword guy to use him as a shield against the incoming bullets from the gunman up in the rafters. And I took aim at him next to fire. His neck soon half gone for him to fall over and writhe. I then heard the bullets sing around me when the second gunman decided to get rid of me. Jet shouting for me to take cover as I ducked down. But I wasn't going to just stop. My hand reaching for the grenade we brought that didn't work anymore. So I tossed it over to where the gunman was hiding. His yelp of fear soon leading to him jumping away from his hiding place. And I took aim and fired to punch a hole through his ugly sunglasses. The left side of them nothing but shrapnel as he went down in a heap. And I heard Spike's shouted warning a bit too late. The last goon having come up behind me to grab me by my hair and yank me backwards. I hissed in air to try and get free of the grip this goon had on my hair. Which ended with a very sharp dagger punching through my open palm. I gave a hard scream as the agony ripped into me. The goon grinning for Jet and Spike to get it in gear. So I took the gun and pointed it into the goon's mouth. His shout muffled for me to pull the trigger. And the boom going off so close to my ear left me in a bad state of total silence. Like Jet had put his hands over my ears. The blood and gore from my now dead assailant soon dribbling down my shoulder. And I was so done I just shoved the dead body away from me to then stumble away. Sliding down to crouch against the one wall and breathe. I didn't want to look down at my hand. I didn't want to feel the bits of blood that were sliding down my back from killing someone. And I sure couldn't hear anything other than a muted ringing. But then I felt someone grab me by my hair again. And I was so out of it I dropped the gun when I got yanked to my feet. The ringleader soon grinning at me to then tug me over and out into the open. His other arm coming around my neck to pin me in a headlock. And I was in too much of a daze to really process anything. I could finally start to hear Jet and Spike as they gave a few shouts at the ringleader. But he made his point by squeezing his hold on me. Cutting off my air for me to choke. So Spike went quiet even as Jet fumed more. But such was helping me get my bearings for every second that passed. And I was able to shake off the daze once the ringleader was in the middle of making his demands. So I went for broke and wrenched the dagger out of my hand. And stuck it right into his groin. Making him bellow as he let me go. So I scrambled away for Spike to take the shot. The ringleader falling down as Jet ran over to grab me. His arms keeping me from just falling flat on my face as he took my weight. And I felt so relieved once he did I went totally limp. Only now registering I had also gotten shot earlier. My left hip doing some serious complaining even as Jet moved us into a side hallway. I could tell Jet was really worried, since I was more of a rag doll than a conscious team mate. So I coughed and moaned for Jet to hear. Having him calm down a bit even as he looked my very bleeding hand over. His words as ever gruff and barked. "Now you know why I told you to stay on the ship, Jo. This isn't the place for rookies to be asking to get run the Hell over. Side note. You did fantastic. Now don't move your fingers on this hand. That poker was a big one." I stay completely still except to breathe. Jet ripping one of my pant legs off to make a bandage for my hand. While Spike finally walks over to check on us. His gun still up for him to look down at us. "All dead. With the data chip the ringleader had being slightly stained. But it looks undamaged and they never said we had to bring him in alive. How's Jo?" Jet gives a grunt to finish tying the bandage on my hand. "Either she's in shock or too tired to make a peep. Her left hand is very bad. And they shot her in the hip. Her ears are also bleeding slightly. In short, she's the most mangled of the three of us. Unless you got hit and I can't tell." Spike nods to hold up an arm. A long gash dripping ever so slightly. "Sword guy got a few swings in when he charged at me. Jo will have to sew my jacket when she has the time." Jet gives a huff of a laugh to then shake his head. "You expect her to sew that for you? Her left hand has a hole the size of a-" I give a loud cough that makes Jet stop mid sentence. And my words are very tired when Spike reaches over to place a hand to my head. "I don't wanna know..." ***** Sewing this jacket was taking quite a bit of time. Since my left hand was not cooperating at all. Which meant having to do everything one handed. But I was a very patient person by nature. I just took my time as I sat on the couch. Jet in the kitchen to make bell peppers and beef, with actual beef this time. Along with rice and mushrooms and several other vegetables. I had insisted we use my portion of the reward money to get some food for us. Jet and Spike not complaining when I said so. So here we were. On our way to Mars. Spike doing his Jeet Kun Do in front of me. Jet cooking us something to eat. While I sat and sewed with one hand. The television on for us to listen in on that corny bounty hunter channel. Both of the casters that hosted the show doing their usual greeting with the fake Texan accents. And Spike stopped after a bit to listen in when the announcers said they had big congratulations to give out. Jet poking his head out to hear as I stopped sewing to turn the volume up. The one guy smiling bright as he spoke. "It would seem that big fish we have had on our listings finally got himself caught! And none too soon it would seem! Reports from the police have confirmed this big fish was up to some mighty bad stuff!" The blonde gal confirming to point where they had a mug shot of said big fish up on our screen. "Too true! It turns out this big fish was going to vandalize a whole space port! Just blow the whole thing to smithereens! So it's a good thing he got caught!" The first announcer nods to add in, "Or in this case, killed. Apparently, three bounty hunters cornered him to do away with him and his whole gang. They sure put up a nasty fight though. However, we were told that the bad fish were the only casualties. And that all three bounty hunters are on the mend. Add in they got back the stolen data chip to hand it over to the police, and it was a good day all around." The blonde smiles brightly to then point where three more pictures are placed on screen. And both Jet and Spike go wide eyed when it is our pictures shown. Mine in the middle for the blonde to smile and continue the narrative. "These are our heroes of the day, y'all. The crew of the Bebop. Two veteran cowboys and even a cowgirl to boot! Just look at that pretty red headed gal!" The first announcer chuckles as Spike sits down next to me on the couch. And I can safely say we all are stunned as the narrative continues. "According to our sources, it was the cowgirl who was the sharp shooting ace on this fishing trip. A good old fashioned Annie Oakley. However, she did end up with several bad injuries that may be a bit of a rodeo to tackle. But we fellow cowboys will wish this crew good luck and safe trails. Next up on our broadcast is the latest top ten most wanted rascals. So stayed tuned as we break for a commercial." Jet walks out to start growling a bit in agitation. Spike looking very thoughtful as I mute the television. So all we hear is Jet. "I told them not to release our names to the media! Dammit all, now I'm gonna have to call them and give them a piece of my mind!" But I simply shrug a shoulder to go back to my sewing. Spike catching on to wave a hand in the air. "I don't think it hurts anyone, Jet. Especially when we get some positive praise for Jo out of it. And she deserves it in my book. I mean think about it. We were in over our heads with us going it just the two of us against all those thugs. And Jo realized that to cover our asses. And I believe that deserves some ten minutes of fame. And a dinner that isn't burned. So go make sure it doesn't and we can regroup as we eat." Jet gives a humph before he nods. His robotic hand soon patting me on the head in appreciation before he heads back into the kitchen. Leaving me with Spike as we sit on the couch. My fingers on my only working hand threading the needle through the material. But then Spike reaches over to place his hand over mine. Stopping me from continuing for me to look up at him. Neither one of us blinks as the moment lengthens. Until Spike gives me that rare warm smile that reaches his eyes. "Thank you, Joanna. I know you aren't the kind of person who can hurt people willingly. So thank you for the rescue. And I'm sorry it came to you having to kill so many people to accomplish that." I shiver all over as Spike laces his fingers into mine. His grip strong and grounding as he continues. "I never wanted for you to become like us. So used to the violence of our work that you don't think twice about pulling the trigger. It was why I didn't want to teach you my Jeet Kun Do. And I know Jet was even more opposed to you having to learn how to use a gun. We both are aware that in order for you to be safe it was needed to teach you all that. But Jet was Hell bent on never putting you in a position to need to. So I will apologize for doing so with that job. We never should have taken it to begin with. The pay off be damned. No amount of money is worth putting you through Hell. I'm sorry, Jo. For all of it." I take a moment before I say anything. My hand it Spike's tightening as I give a long sigh. "It is better I killed those men than let them kill us, Spike. You heard what they were planning. They would have blown up a whole space port. Hundred of people would have died. Fathers. Mothers. Daughters. Sons. All dead and floating among the debris. All because a few criminals decided those lives meant nothing. So I can say it was worth the pain and the guilt I'm going to suffer. Because it means that people got to live. Families can plan for futures instead of funerals. And that is a reward unto itself." Spike doesn't say anything as I shiver a little. Then Spike gently tugs me forwards to wrap his arms around me. Hugging me tight as I let the jacket fall to the floor. His hold on me as strong as steel. And I am so very glad for such. I all but collapse into his hold. So Spike shifts us so we're laying on the couch. Hugging me tight as tears roll down my face. Spike closing his own eyes as we lay there. And I take deep breaths against his front, just to savor his scent in my lungs. Every intake of air a mixture of sweat and cigarettes and the warmth of a living person soaking my senses. And I thank God for that. ***** I wasn't sure when it was I fell asleep sitting next to Jet by the helm. But I woke up in a different place entirely. Jet carrying me bridal style to the couch as he grumbled about something. And even though I was curious, I chose to stay quiet. Acting as if I was still out like a light. Which in itself was tempting to go back to. But then Jet set me down to place his hand to my head. And it was clear he was worried when he started talking at me. "Jo. Wake up. Hey. Joanna. Damn, you're burning up." I opened one eye to see Jet was frowning at me. And I figured that him using that particular frown meant something bad. So I gave a groan of noise to then close that eye again. "What? I was enjoying the nap. Seriously, Jet. What did you wake me up for?" Jet makes a grumbled noise to then move his hand from my head to my wrist. His fingers pressed into my pulse for me to note that such means very bad indeed. "Because you were shivering non stop while you were out. Yet you are roasting hot. Must've gotten an infection from one of those wounds." Jet takes his other hand to check over the wrap job on my hand with the hole through it. And sure enough, it bleeds the moment his robotic fingers brush against it. Making me hiss in air for his frown to deepen. Jet keeping his eyes to my hand as he grumbles more. "Yep. This opened up again. At this rate we may need to get you a new hand. Or one like mine." I can't say the idea of chopping my hand off for a replacement is a good one in my mind. But I take a moment to make him think I'm considering that option. "I'd rather keep what I got. Even if it doesn't work very well." Jet chuckles to shake his head. But he does still look worried. "Then to the clinic it is. I already adjusted course while you were out. Spike is getting you a change of clothes from your room. We'll be seeing a trusted doctor that has a brother on the police force. So I know he's trustworthy to not overcharge us." I give a nod for Jet to lace his arms under me. Lifting me up with ease as I lean my head to his shoulder. Spike at the door to have my duffel bag with him. "We just docked and have some guy asking for you. Says he's here to escort us to his brother's clinic.How is she?" Jet gives a huff of worry in answer. "Bad enough."

[yasuo-the-unforgiven]

                                      [Updates / To-Do List]

Hey! Whats up peeps!

I wanted to take some of your time to sit down and give some insight about my current thoughts regarding what’s to come.

For starters, I wanted to tell I’ve been itching to do a new overhaul for a while. A lot has happened since the last one - roleplay wise and art wise.

 It isn’t as drastic as a theme change, but I will be sure to add some features I miss since the last. Some features I can think of from the top of my head is:

Relationships page - This pertaining mainly the people who roleplay with me and those characters who have already some relationship estabilished with Yasuo.

In-Depth Headcanons page - This here featuring important moments of Yasuo’s life told previously. I have them tagged but they aren’t apart from minor headcanons. Unlike minor ones, major headcanons revolve around indepth and detailed information, such as tales about his childhood, his relationship with Yone, how did he end up with the scar upon the bridge of his nose, etc.

Worldbuilding page - Some of you may know I began a series of worldbuilding posts relating Ionia - but instead of photo reblogs with IRL references, I am hand painting those and fleshing it out through Yasuo’s eyes. He is a wanderer and I figured it would be great to describe the land through the man himself.

Rules and Muse info overhaul - Not so much the information but the way its written. I believe some information could be more objective and some better written. I have constantly touched up these two pages as I saw necessity, but I need to sit down and update everything eventually.

Specially on muse information, I want things to change a bit for better clarity. The issue here is many things changed after Taliyah arrived in the League. My portrayal was adapted a lot after the period and the way I see how Yasuo behaved before that is much more of what I would consider pre Taliyah - his mourning and still in pain self. His earlier years while adapting to his new cruel lifestyle and his fall from his path. I have already talked to every active blog who has interacted with me back then about this.

Everything else falls to excess of information that needs to be filtered and presented better.

Donation Page - Devoting so much time to this blog is always enjoyable, but its also a lot of work. Those following me for a while might have noticed I have set up a commissions page. I now draw for a living, and I don’t plan on asking for handouts. Still, if you like what you see in this blog and feel like leaving this windy hobo a tip, it would be very much appreciated!

[Possible] Thread Tracker - Some of my old followers remember I used to track some threads to make communication easier. I pretend giving the idea thought and bring this feature back since right now I am much more chill with replies. I have to manually update though because some of my followers reblog my threads (no issue on that regard by the way).

URL change - This has been mentioned before, but sometime ago I was gifted the ask-yasuo URL. I believe for a roleplay blog this is more fitting. Some people encouraged me to do so when I announced it but was insecure about it. My current one will go to another blog. Probably a personal.

Old Headcanon Overhaul/Rewriting/Retcon

Concerning older headcanons (this again applies to big stories only), some of them are very outdated and need rewriting and a good art overhaul. Most of them, since I began the blog still stand. I will definitely take my time to rewrite and apply fresh artwork.

For the old followers, this concerns the Jayce ship. I have pondered about it and I decided it is no longer canon for this blog’s timeline. That is so new Jayce blogs may approach if they wish and interact without being placed in a sepparate universe. The Jayce I used to interact with is long since gone and I see no point to keep him within my main roleplay circle. There were mentions of him on a thread with Rinidinger, but this is as far as it goes.

Standalone Headcanons/Stories

Or as I like to call them ‘unrequested headcanons’ - aka, headcanons I think about without having anyone ask me about them. There are still areas I would like to explore with Yasuo and its difficult to wait for the ‘correct question’. I will be looking after stories to enrich his background and tell more about him, but this will come later in time as I already have quite a lot on my plate as is.

Concerning Roleplay / What I seek for future threads

Steady roleplay partners - in short. People whose muses can connect with mine in a less superficial way. This does not stand for friendship/romance always - actually, Yasuo is better at making enemies than friends. This dynamic is something I have been missing dearly, I am not going to lie.

I understand the community has changed and its no longer the same I used to interact with years ago. Because of my recent outburst of ship art, I also believe a lot of you think I am only seeking ‘Dat Graves ™ ’ to ship with and that is not the case. I want to talk and interact with more people, but I have to do that carefully because each thread has a lot of effort placed into it. It’s not just about the pretty pictures - it’s about the portrayal and the writing aswell.

I certainly pretend to keep a decent share of memes, sillyness and other goods to keep a balance and prevent this blog from becoming stagnantly serious. I want to have a good laugh and to shitpost but Yasuo is a serious character. He has his moments but clearly they are not as frequent as desirable. 

To wrap it up with style

 I’m very pleased to announce soon I will be reaching a new follower count milestone and I will be hosting another giveaway event. This time I pretend to mix in what I did in the previous (doodles - but this time in character. Yes. Yasuo is probably going to doodle what you want, if RNG is kind to you) plus two or three free art pieces. Those are sepparate events and will take place at different dates that are yet to be scheduled.

Anyway, I might be missing something or two and I will be sure to reblog an edited version whenever they come to mind. For now, thats it. I appreciate the attention and apologies for the huge wall of text. If you have anything to ask/add/request please leave a comment!

[multifandombitxh]

Title: Devil in the Details (ch.4) Pairing: Cassian Andor x Fem!Reader Genre: Fluff/Smut Warnings: Mentions of IVs/Blood, Sexually explicit content/Unprotected sex(pls be safe). The two don’t correlate, I promise. A/N: I’ve made it pretty obvious that smut isn’t my strong suit, but I decided to put that insecurity aside since a lot of people were asking for Cassian/Reader smut. This was extremely hard to write, I’ve written so many different variations of this chapter and this was the one I was happiest with. Hope it’s alright! I kinda half-assed proofreading so if anything sounds weird, that's probably why. Important note: no bras in space. You’d be strangled to death. <3 Edit: I cannot believe I didn’t put unprotected sex in the warnings when I first posted this. Like I don’t know how that went right over my head. Anyway hi I’m a piece of shit lmao Tag list: @badwolfandtimelords @geeky-girl-394 @princeofsassgard @the-glasses-are-my-disguise @wisestydia14 @seargantbcky (if you’d like to be added or removed from the list, pls let me know!) Chapters 1-3: (tumblr) (AO3)

IV: Penumbra

“Y/N, I have to leave.”

“So leave then.”

“What, no goodbye?”

“I’m tired, Cass. We were up late.”

“We’re always up late.”

“Which is exactly why you should let me sleep in.”

Cassian shifted behind you and you felt his arm wrap around your waist. He moved closer and pressed his body against yours, his warm breath hitting the back of your neck and sending goosebumps all across your skin. A pair of lips kissed from the base of your neck to your ear slowly and you welcomed the embrace, taking a deep breath through your nose and smiling.

Two months had passed since that day in the clearing, and things were a lot different than they were before. Not so much in your work, but in your personal and social life. Apparently, against his better judgement, Cassian told K-2SO about your kiss, which was a bad move. Thanks to his lack of a filter, the droid made jokes about it to anyone who would listen, being especially ruthless when either of you were around. Because of this, keeping your relationship a secret was completely out of the question.

It didn’t change how you treated each other, but it definitely made things around the base more difficult. Like all rumors, the news of your relationship spread like wildfire, and there wasn’t a single person who didn’t know you and Cassian were together. You were grateful that most of the rebels were mature, level-headed adults who didn’t care and minded their own business. There were, of course, a few people who couldn’t keep their mouths shut and made jokes from time to time. They were mostly harmless, but annoying nonetheless.

Even if everyone and their droid knew you were dating, Cassian still tried to keep the PDA to a minimum. There was no point in putting yourselves out there anymore than you already were, so you didn’t get much more than a wink or two from across the room during the day. Sometimes, if he was feeling particularly affectionate, he would sneak kisses from you in secluded hallways, or hold your hand under tables.

When you were alone, on the other hand, he didn’t try to hide it in the slightest. What he was lacking during the day he would seek out at night, whether that was a deep conversation, a heated make-out session, or something in between. You spent every single night together, seeing as though it was the only real time you had to be alone with each other. It became a habit to stay up far too late, which is exactly what you’d done the night before, and you regretted it every morning without fail.

“As much as I’d love to stay,” Cassian said after he’d finished pressing butterfly kisses to your neck, “I have a lot to do today.”

“Does any of it involve getting your girlfriend out of work?”

“Only if she wants to disassemble blasters and put them back together all day.”

“I’ll stick to IV training then.”

Cassian rolled out of bed and began putting on his boots as he spoke. “They’ve already got you doing IV’s?“

“Blood work, too,” you sighed, rolling over to face him. “I don’t like it. I stabbed someone four times the other day because I couldn’t find their stupid vein.”

“I’ll remember not to go in on your shift the next time I need blood taken, then.”

“Way to be supportive, jerk.”

“I do it out of love,” Cassian grinned. He stood from the bed and turned to press a kiss to the top of your head. “You’ll do fine. I’ll see you later tonight?”

“As always,” you said, smiling up at him. He left your room, pulling on his jacket as the door closed behind him. You rolled over and decided you deserved at least five more minutes of sleep before getting up for the day.

As per the usual, work was chaotic. You’d come to expect it at this point, if you were being honest. Not a day went by where you weren’t challenged physically and emotionally, and it was beginning to take a toll on you. Every time someone mentioned the words “IV” or “Syringe” you had a mini heart attack, and it was getting old quick. You wondered if you’d ever get used to it.

As if Cassian had predicted it, a blood drive was held that day, much to your dismay. Lucky for Cassian, he was too busy to donate blood. At least that prediction hadn’t come true. You’d just finished up with the last donor and you were still washing your hands when K-2SO came into the infirmary.

“Y/N,” he said as he approached you.

“Hey, what’s going on?” you asked, shooting the droid a smile and drying off your hands.

“Cassian is looking for you,” he replied, “I’m here to take you to him.”

“Oh,” you said, “Um, alright, lead the way.”

You followed the towering droid, feeling exceptionally small as you walked beside him. He took much larger strides than you did, so you had to power walk just to keep up.

“Did he say why he was looking for me?” you asked, beginning to lose your breath.

“No. He doesn’t tell me much these days,” he said in a sarcastic tone.

“Is that... my fault?” you questioned.

“If you want my opinion, yes,” he said simply, “But he likes you, so I am trying to as well.”

“You don’t have to pretend to like me if you don’t, K.”

“Cassian cares for you. If he does, then so do I.”

“Thanks, I think.”

K-2SO, having abandoned your little chat, led you outside to Cassian’s U-Wing where he was waiting. He was leaning against the side of the ship, his arms folded across his chest and his jacket thrown over his shoulder. A gentle breeze blew his hair about his face and the sunlight brought out his highlights, making him look much more handsome than usual, as if that were even possible.

“You’re sure you don’t want me to come with?” K asked as you approached.

“We’ll be fine,” Cassian answered, climbing into his ship and offering you his hand to pull you up.

”Y/N,” you heard K2 say, locking eyes with you. “Be careful.”

You nodded, his statement making your stomach turn over. “Always am.”

After helping you into the ship, Cassian shot his friend a warning glance, knowing exactly what he was talking about.

He hadn’t been very convinced that Cassian was actually with you. K-2SO gave him all sorts of hell for leading you on, even though he wasn’t. Cassian was reminded every day of his guilt, and K wasn’t exactly helpful of that. It ate him up inside, knowing that he was prepared to use you to his advantage. He knew it was wrong to keep it from you, and he probably should have told you when you began seeing each other officially. The problem was, he just didn’t have the heart to tell you. It would crush you, and he knew that, so a secret it remained.

K-2SO watched as the door closed behind the two of you before mumbling, “Irresponsible,” and wandering away.

“Is he okay?” you asked once the doors shut.

“He’ll be fine,” Cassian said, “He just gets jealous sometimes. I wouldn’t worry about it too much.”

“Jealous of..?” you trailed off.

He smiled and kissed your cheek. “You.”

“I think K should have come with us,” you said nervously from the other pilot’s seat, “He’s way more qualified for this than I am.”

“I told you, all you have to do is flip that switch when I tell you to and I’ll take care of everything else,” Cassian said.

“Where are we even going?” you asked.

“You’ll see when we get there. You’ll love it, I promise. Flip the switch.”

“That’s pretty vague, even for you, Cass.”

“The switch, Y/N.”

“Right, sorry.”

It had been nearly half an hour since you’d first left and you were growing impatient. You silently wondered what the deal was with Cassian and secret surprises. First it was the clearing, and now this. It made you curious about what else he had up his sleeve.

The ship came to a stop and idled. Beside you Cassian unhooked his safety restraints and stepped down from the cockpit, so you did the same, with his help, of course. He knew you didn’t need it, but that wasn’t about to stop him. It helped eased his conscience to do little things like that, even if it was annoying from time to time. You’d told him a million times that you didn’t need him to open every single door for you, or that you could put on a jacket without his help, but he never listened. It was sweet, in its own way.

“So, where are we?” you asked, taking his hand and stepping down from the platform.

“Nowhere in particular,” he said, offering you a grin. “Close your eyes.”

You cocked an eyebrow at him but complied, then followed as he carefully led you into the back of the ship. He sat you down in one of the seats and sat on your right side, still grinning like an idiot.

“Okay, open your eyes.”

When you did, you weren’t completely sure what you were looking at. A large, sparkling cloud of purple and sapphire dust stretched in front of the window, seemingly far away, but close enough to touch at the same time. What looked like red veins framed the nebula, adding a whole new dimension to the scene. The cloud cast a faint, violet glow on the inside of the ship, making everything inside look far more beautiful than it actually was.

”I don’t see these very often,” Cassian said, “But I passed this one the last time I was out here and had to show you.”

“So this wasn’t just your way of getting me alone?” you joked, nudging him with your shoulder playfully.

“Well, there’s that too,” he chuckled, nudging you back.

That same comfortable silence settled in as you gazed out the window together, taking in the beauty of the galaxy. Minutes passed and you watched in amazement as the cloud shifted and changed shades. You whispered a hushed “wow” and Cassian smirked, having just thought the same thing.

He wasn’t focused on the nebula, though. He’d started watching you instead, finding himself much more bewitched by your expression than the mist outside the window. Your comment from earlier flashed in his mind and he was reminded that you were completely alone together, with no distractions and no interruptions. There was no threat of anyone walking in on you, none whatsoever. The thought made him shiver.

He placed his left hand just above your knee and let his thumb stroke the area lazily. No going back now.

You tore your gaze from the scenery to look down at his hand, your eyebrows drawn together. When you turned to ask him what he was doing, your expression softened and realization hit you. You knew exactly what he was doing, just based on the wanton look in his eye.

Any open space between you became nonexistent as Cassian pressed his lips against yours. He wrapped his arms around your waist and pulled you onto his lap without breaking the kiss, both of your legs on either side of his body. One of his hands slid up the back of your shirt gradually, the feeling of his fingers against your warm skin sending a tremor through your veins. Your shirt was removed and tossed to the side, leaving you bare in front of him.

His eyes- as well as his hands- trailed over your exposed torso, making a mental map of every scar, birth mark, and freckle. Naturally, you felt the urge to cover yourself again, your skin flushing pink from your cheeks to your nose and stopping at your ears. Sensing your discomfort, Cassian took your chin between his thumb and forefinger and locked his eyes with yours.

“You don’t need to be nervous,” he said softly, “I want you as you are.”

With your confidence restored, you reattached your lips to his and draped your arms over his shoulders, your fingers becoming lost in his hair. You felt him smile into the kiss as he stood with you in his arms, laying you down on the floor and his hips colliding with yours. He abandoned your lips to pressed open-mouthed kisses from your ear to your collarbone, the act making your head spin. He undid the button on your jeans with the zipper following soon after and continued to mark your neck with his lips, something you’d have to scold him for later.

As he slid his hand into your trousers, his middle finger brushed that especially sensitive bundle of nerves in just the right way. You whined and squirmed against his touch, your hips lifting off the ground involuntarily. Cassian caught on and caressed the spot once more, a little more forcefully this time.

“Tell me if you want me to stop,” he murmured into your ear. His hot breath against your neck paired with the wonders he was doing to your clit was making it incredibly difficult to focus on anything but finding release, but you managed to form words anyway.

“Do not stop,” you said, your throat having gone dry. Cassian chuckled darkly, the sound sending a spark straight down your spine.

“I won’t.”

His finger picked up the pace by a fraction and he leaned in to kiss your lips, swallowing the moans you began emitting as he brought you closer and closer to the edge. His movements were slow but firm, like he was trying to draw out your pleasure as long as he possibly could. It was driving you crazy, to say the least.

He abandoned your clit to explore your entrance, coating his fingers in your fluids before slipping one inside of you carefully. You gripped his bicep as he did this, waiting for your body to adjust to the feeling before relaxing and releasing a sigh.

“Is this alright?” he asked, looking into your eyes.

You nodded in response, unable to find your voice. He began moving the digit in and out of you slowly while he reattached his lips to your neck, the tip of his tongue hitting your skin every so often and making you shudder in delight. The pressure in your abdomen began steadily building again as he worked you, your hips grinding down against his hand in an attempt to create more friction. His thumb applied pressure to your clit once again, making you gasp and constrict around his fingers more tightly.

“Try not to break my fingers, please,” he said jokingly against your neck.

“Seriously?” you quipped, “Of all things to say, Cassian.”

“I’m sorry,” he laughed, “Let me make it up to you.”

His fingers thrust deeper inside you and his thumb began rubbing harsh circles, all gentleness abandoned. You swore loudly, the sudden change in pace catching you off guard. Soon he had you reduced to a moaning puddle beneath him, your body reacting to his movements instinctively and your mouth hanging open to release sounds of approval, be them whimpers, gasps, or curses. Every reaction you gave incited him to bring you closer to the brink, but he underestimated just how close you really were. By a lot.

The first one hit you strongly and unexpectedly. You tried to warn Cassian, but it was so suddenly upon you that you didn’t have time to. You cried out and threw your head backwards, the abrupt, intense pleasure taking you by surprise. He coaxed your orgasm out of you, maintaining the same speed and rhythm he’d built up. Once your moans turned into labored breathing and your body went slack, he removed his fingers as gently as he could.

“You’re louder than I thought you would be,” Cassian said, smiling at you playfully. “We would have been caught if we tried to do this back home.”

“Did you want me to be quieter?”

“Absolutely not.”

“Thought so.”

The remainders of your clothing were stripped away between sweet, brief kisses and gentle laughter. Once fully exposed to one another, Cassian hovered above you, a smile on his lips and a hunger in his eyes.

“I love you more than anything,” he whispered as he toyed with a strand of your hair.

Though your heart was already beating faster than it ever had before, it somehow managed to beat even faster as his words hung in the air. Neither of you had said it yet, so the gravity of the statement was pretty heavy. Nevertheless, you figured it was as good a time as any to drop the L bomb.

“I love you, too,” you replied, your voice soft but full of meaning.

“You’re positive that this is what you want?” he asked, suddenly serious.

“One hundred percent,” you answered with a nod.

Cassian smiled and captured your lips in a single kiss before positioning himself. He slid into you easily, your core still slick from your earlier orgasm. Even so, he took his time, letting you adjust to his length and watching your expression for any signs of discomfort. It was taking everything in his power to not thrust into you in one fluid motion, but the last thing he wanted to do was hurt you. Luckily, you were just as aroused as he was, so there was little to no pain as he slipped past your entrance.

Once he was fully situated inside of you, you both released the air you’d been holding in your lungs. You were still sensitive, but not enough for it to hurt when his thumb found your clit for the third time. If he’d learned anything, it was that the clitoris is a powerful part of female anatomy that was a force to be reckoned with, so he used that newfound knowledge to his advantage.

Cassian began rolling his hips against yours, gliding in and out of you with ease. You were getting drunk on the low growls that he made with every calculated thrust, each one making your head swim. His thumb gave attention to your clit while he kept the pace building. His movements were slow at first, but soon you were both too hellbent on release to bother keeping a steady rhythm. At this rate, neither of you were going to last very long.

That same pressure from before had returned and every thrust drove you closer to the breaking point. Every muscle in your body was on fire in the best possible way. The faster he moved his thumb and his hips, the faster your body reacted. No matter how hard you tried to hold out, you couldn’t seem to keep the waves at bay and they just kept crashing over you.

Not before long, your body and mind both became overwhelmed and you couldn’t hold on anymore. “Cassian-”

“I know,” he said, his voice just as breathless. “It’s alright, go on.”

You came undone for the second time, the intensity of your orgasm making your ears ring. Wave after wave of pleasure pulsed through your body like currents of static electricity. Your head fell backwards as strangled moans and obscenities left your lips, all of which were music to Cassian’s ears. He groaned when he felt your nails dig into the flesh of his shoulders, leaving harsh, red crescents in their wake.

Cassian soon came tumbling after like clockwork, joining you in the throes of bliss. The sounds that came out of his mouth were purely sinful. His body trembled as he unraveled alongside you, his head falling forward and his eyes squeezing shut as he rode out his high.

Once you both came back to reality, neither of you wanted to move, your breath mingling and your bodies covered in a thin layer of sweat. You cracked a breathless smile and let your eyes flutter closed as he pressed his forehead against yours. The air around you was hot and thick and definitely didn’t help the whole dripping-in-sweat thing, but you were past the point of caring. All you cared about was regaining your composure after that brush with ecstasy.

“We should probably get back,” Cassian mumbled.

“Or we could just stay here forever,” you said jokingly.

He chuckled and kissed the tip of your nose. “If only.”

When you returned to Yavin, the sun had already set and had been replaced with a light rainstorm. The clouds made it difficult for Cassian to find his way back to the temple, but he managed, with minimal cursing, of course. If you had crashed, at least it wouldn’t have been your fault. All you had to do was flip one switch.

Cassian helped you down from the ship, his arm lingering around your waist after your feet hit the ground. He removed his jacket and placed it over your shoulders, so you slipped your arms inside the sleeves and thanked him with a kiss to his cheek. The doors closed behind you with a hiss and you began walking back together, the earth squishing beneath your boots and splashing cold water onto your jeans with every step you took. You didn’t get very far before you were approached by one of the medical staff who had a very concerned look on her face.

“Y/N, I know you’re off the clock but we really need your help,” she said, sounding exasperated.

“What happened?” you asked, pulling away from Cassian.

“I’ll explain on the way, come on.”

“I’ll see you later,” you called over your shoulder as you were dragged away, to which Cassian responded with a small wave.

He stood there for a while, his hands shoved in his pockets as he watched you wander away. A chill shook his body as the cold rain hit his skin, reminding him that you still had his jacket. At that, he began his own trek back to the temple, during which K-2SO joined him.

“I assume it went well?” he asked, walking alongside Cassian.

“It went very well,” he said, eyes trained forward and a permanent smile on his face.

“Cassian,” K said, stopping in his tracks. “I care very deeply for you and do not want this to go on any longer. You’re going to get yourself hurt.”

“How many times do we have to discuss this?” Cassian said impatiently, “I’m not faking it.”

“No, maybe not,” he replied, “But you still have yet to disclose your previous intentions. When she finds out, she’ll never forgive you, and you’ll never forgive yourself.”

“She won’t find out,” Cassian sighed, turning and walking away.

“If you don’t tell her,” K-2SO called after him, “I will.”

[krisggordon]

eCommerce Faceted Navigation | How It Affects SEO & Google Search Results

eCommerce navigation or faceted navigation in SEO. There are phrases the Gods of SEO themselves squint at when they hear them. Why? Because it involves duplicate content and very big sites. And we all know how difficult that is to fix.

  The subject is hard to master and it comes with a lot of confusion on the side. Faceted search or filtered search? What is the difference between facets and filters? Which pages should I index? These are all questions webmasters ask themselves.So prepare for a ‘headachy’ journey as we’ll try to explain a couple of things in this article, such as the difference between filters and facets, which pages you should and shouldn’t index and best practices for different scenarios.

    Hopefully, by the end of this article you’ll have understood everything you need to know about how to set up facets for eCommerce websites and how to manage your URL parameters for best SEO results and Google rankings.

  Beware: This article is about very advanced stuff and it will twist your brain a little. It can also twist your rankings, in a good way or in a bad way, depending on whether you implement modifications the right way. The best implementation depends on the website and it differs from one case to another. If you don’t know what you’re doing, it’s better to ask for an expert’s opinion!

  Faceted Search vs. Filtered Search: What Is the Difference Between Search and Filters?

Faceted Search Problems & Challenges

How Google Handles URL Parameters & How It Affects SEO

Which URL Parameters to Index & Which Ones to Not

How to Fix Faceted Search Issues & Have a Good Navigation Structure

  1. Faceted Search vs. Filtered Search: What Is the Difference Between Search and Filters?

  It took me myself a long time to figure out this difference. Why? Because I didn’t know what facet means. And I’m not talking about its meaning in eComm, I’m talking about its meaning in general.

  So let’s start with that:

  A facet is one side of a many-sided thing. Like a gem or a dice. We can also say it’s a particular aspect or feature of something.

  Ok, so what does that have to do with filters and search?

  Well, in eCommerce, the products of a website are usually split into categories. Sometimes, that’s enough to be able to browse it. However, in cases where there are very many products, it might not be enough.

  In order to be able to browse the website efficiently, you’ll have to be able to sort those products according to different attributes. You know, like size, color, weight, etc.

  To see only results that match certain criteria, you have to apply something which is known as a filter. A filter can include items that only contain the specified attribute, or it can exclude items that don’t.

  Ok, so what does that have to do with facets?

  Well, when you apply a filter, you can call each result page returned a facet of the category you’re currently browsing. 

  There are many websites that try to explain the difference between filters and facets. One explanation is that facets are unique pages and they are extensions to the category pages, while filters are just used to refine item listings.

  While that’s true, one thing they seem to get wrong is that facets should be indexed and filters should not be indexed.

  In the articles I’ve found (not going to give the names, though) the writers used the following example:

  Dresses

Going out

Evening

View all

Filter by

Shipping

Size

Price

Brand

Brand A

Brand B

Brand C

  The writers argued that Dresses and Brands are Facets, therefore they should be indexed, while Shipping, Size and Price are filters and should not be indexed.

  My counterargument is: What if a lady searches for “evening dresses size M under 400$”?

  Now this might be far fetched, but it can very well be the case! The best example I personally know is in the used car industry. People search a lot for things like “used cars under xxx”.

  In the following example you can clearly see that Google auto-suggests these types of results:

    So we can clearly see that people search for these keywords. Let’s do a search for “used cars under 10000” and see what results we get:

    Hmm… interesting. It seems like Google is returning an answer box for this result. This is cool! I can click on More items to get to Carmax.com.

  I’ve highlighted the URL above to show which site is ranking in the answer box. Carmax is also ranking #1 so it has multiple positions on Google.

  But wait! Is that a URL parameter? Could it be a filter for price? It sure looks like it. Let’s check out the site.

    It’s seems they consider it a filter! Had Carmax taken the advice above and used a noindex tag on their price filters, they wouldn’t be ranking #1 right now and we would not have landed on their page.

  Good thing they didn’t do that. Actually, Carmax does a pretty good job at telling Google which pages it actually wants indexed and which it doesn’t. We’ll use it more as an example.

  So the difference between filters & facets is that facets are a result of filtering products. You use filters and they generate facets.

  While the definition of facets in search is “sorting by multiple dimensions simultaneously”, which actually means using multiple filters, I like to define facets as the pages that result from filtering a search.

  In my opinion, it’s not about having one filter or multiple filters. I can have a single filter: it will still create a facet. This way, it’s very easy to differentiate between them.

  For example, I can apply a single sorting filter, by price, which will create a facet. The problem, however, is that the facet isn’t unique! And that’s when Google has a problem with it.

  2. Faceted Search Problems & Challenges

  Faceted navigation and search are great. They help you find exactly what you need pretty easily. In the following video you can see how you can take advantage of faceted search to filter out exactly the books you might want to read, from over hundreds of thousands of results to only 7.

    Ideally, the site shouldn’t create these types of pages at all. Sure, we might think it’s mostly bad for search engines but useful for users.

  However, search engines try to favor the user. If you think about it, how good would a user’s experience be if you kept showing them the same products every time they apply a new filter?

  Or how good is it for them if no products are shown? For example, if you don’t have any products Size M, should you show that size as being available?

  The problem with faceted navigation search is that it can cause duplicate content issues. And with facets, the number of pages grows exponentially.

  Hypothetically, let’s say you have two filters in a book store:

  Fiction

Historical

  If we were to combine them, you’d probably say that there are 3 possible options:

  Only Fiction

Only Historical

Both Historical & Fiction

  However, there is a 4th option: it’s Both Fiction & Historical.

  So if you have 5 attributes (color, size, weight…), each containing about 5-10 variables (red, green, M, S, 10kg, 20kg…) you would have to multiply the variables to get the total amount of possible facets that can be generated.

  If we have 15 colors, 10 sizes we already have 150 possible combinations. Add another 3 types of material and we end up with 450 combinations. Sort that by 8 different brands and we already have 3,600 products which is exactly the number of seconds there are in an hour… the Illuminati must be on me.

  How fast facets can create duplicate content.

  You get the point, too many filters, too many facets, too many URLs with duplicate content.

  But aren’t those pages the same? I mean… both 1+2 and 2+1 equal 3, right? Well, while users might find those pages as being the same, search engines don’t! Why? Because of URLs.

  3. How Google Handles URL Parameters & How It Affects SEO

  Depending on which order the users choose to select the filters of a facet, some platforms generate different URLs for the same content. This is usually done using parameters.

  Google treats URLs with parameters as separate pages, not an extension of the root URL, unless a canonical tag is specified.

  So, in Google’s eyes, domain.com/books?filter=historical&fiction and domain.com/books?filter=fiction&historical are separate pages with duplicate content.

  This is an issue because one of the pages doesn’t provide any extra value to the user.

  Google doesn’t like duplicate content because it doesn’t provide much value to the users.

  If you already have a page covering a set of products, why would you have a second page covering the exact same set? Why would Google want to display the exact same thing from the exact same website twice?

  Sure, that happens, but Google is always trying to fix it. For example, Mihai Aperghis from Vertify notified John of some issues that kept appearing in the search results in Romania. After not much time, Dan Sullivan announced that they’re working on a diversity change. Sure, these two things might be unrelated, but it sure seems like a big coincidence.

  There are ways to fix that. For example, you can use a canonical tag from one version to another to tell Google which is the original version that should be indexed and ranked. But Google sees canonical tags as recommendations, not as absolute rules, so it might ignore them!

  However, there is another issue that content duplication creates, which won’t be fixed by adding canonical tags: Burning through Crawl Budget.

  How facets can burn through & create a wasting of Crawl Budget.

  When Google crawls your site, it allocates a certain budget for how many pages it will crawl, depending on certain factors, such as how popular your site is, how much traffic it gets how big it is and how relevant it is.

  If you’re wasting that budget on pages that will anyway perform poorly because they don’t provide any value, important pages that are unique and relevant might not get crawled, losing the chance to rank higher.

  That’s why it’s important to address these issues and make sure you don’t index irrelevant pages. But which parameters and facets should you index and which should you not? How do you deal with these problems? And why do some sites, like Amazon, index everything and do so well?

  4. Which URL Parameters to Index & Which Ones to Not

  Deciding which pages you should let Google index and which pages you shouldn’t is important for best SEO performance.

  If you’re thinking about indexing ‘facets’ but not indexing ‘filters’ think again. Indexation has nothing to do with those things, but with search intent, volume and product supply.

  World renowned SEO expert Aleyda Solis explains this very well in the following video of her SEO lessons series Crawling Mondays:

    If your site has many pages, then you should only let Google index the ones that either:

  Have enough demand: These pages should actively target a specific keyword or set of keywords that has a search demand. If users don’t search for it or never reach that page through organic search (you don’t see any impressions or clicks for it in Google Search Console) then maybe it’s a better idea not to index them.

Have enough supply: These pages should not result in empty pages. If you only have 1-2 products or none at all in the facet while other facets provide 10-20 results, then maybe it’s a better idea not to index it. 

Are unique in the most part: These pages should not be very similar. Sure, there will be similarities, but if applying a second or third filter only results in a 5-10% difference, then maybe it’s better to not index those pages. This usually is also related to supply. Not enough products might lead to duplicate results.

  That’s exactly why Amazon is doing so well, even though they are indexing all their pages. It’s because they have such a big supply of products that most of their facets have enough uniqueness to not be considered duplicate.

  Sure, some are probably identical but, for example, even after filtering by 7-8 different dimensions I still get about 7 results, which is great.

    Amazon is also a very popular site with high amounts of traffic going to it each day, which means Google will allocate more crawl budget for it that it will allocate for a smaller eCommerce site.

  But for smaller sites, this might not always be the case. So you want to follow the best practices for best results.

  5. How to Fix Faceted Search Issues & Have a Good Navigation Structure

  Fixing a complex duplicate content issue might require both time and budget. It’s not easy to manage hundreds of thousands of pages.

  Here are Google’s official tips on faceted navigation pages. However, Google gives more specific examples on how things should look, but not on how to implement them.

  There’s a very big difference between the effects of 301 redirects, canonical tags, noindexing and disallowing pages entirely in Robots.txt.

  Unfortunately, I can’t tell you exactly how to implement things, because this can differ from one case to another. However, I can outline the best practices and give you a hint on how implementation could be done.

  But the first thing you have to do is create a spreadsheet of your categories, subcategories and filters. Then you should do an extensive keyword research and map keyword clusters to the categories and filters.

  Did You Know

To have a general idea of which facets you should index and which not, you need to perform an in-depth keyword research. You can use tools like the CognitiveSEO Keyword Tool or even the Google Search Console to find keywords. Along with other keyword ideas, the tool will give you great keyword insights, such as the volume of the search, their relevancy, the cost per click, etc. 

    The quickest solution would be to not have any filters at all. Just use category pages with enough demand & supply. If you don’t have many products, not having filters might work for you. Simply create categories for the keywords that users search for and add products in multiple categories.

  A nicely implemented example comes from FilmJackets, a site that sells leather jackets.

    It only took me a couple of scrolls on a desktop to see all the jackets, although on a mobile device that might be harder. Anyway, the site’s design is visually oriented, which makes me want to see all the jackets to see which design I like.

  However, if they had had a lot more products and a bigger variety (such as multiple materials), filters might have been useful. The user is also led to believe that the store has all the sizes and colors in stock, as that type of filtering is made on the product page, right before placing the order.

  But overall, the user experience with the current amount of products should be good. It’s a simple solution for a smaller eCommerce website and it is elegantly implemented on this website.

  If you’re a big site, then you have multiple options of dealing with the problem, depending on your platform’s possibilities. Serge Stefoglo from Distilled.net did a great post on Moz showcasing the effects of different methods that deal with/fix duplicate content.

    So, the best fix seems like a JavaScript setup. But what does that mean? And how can it be implemented? Well, this is up to your development team. 

  Eric Enge from StoneTemple tells us how Ajax and jQuery work together to fix faceted navigation duplicate content issues.

    Carmax, our previous example, uses a similar JavaScript technique to generate its filtered pages. It’s not identical but it uses JavaScript to direct users to the facets. This means that Google won’t see those links when crawling the pages, so they can’t burn through crawl budget.

    However, this can lead to another problem. Faceted pages can’t be found by search engines anymore! That’s because the JS doesn’t generate <a> tags in the HTML anymore, so Google’s crawler might have a hard time getting to the important pages.

  When using AJAX and JavaScript for your facets, you have to make sure your important links can be easily crawled by Search Engines.

  Carmax does this flawlessly, by stating its most important facets near the Homepage, at just 1 click away on their cars page. There are also some footer links to different locations on category or facet pages.

    With this implementation, Google won’t have to crawl millions of possible combinations and it will still find the most important facets the site wants indexed. The same result can be obtained with a sitemap, but it’s better if you have a direct crawl path to them.

  But what if someone links to those pages? Can they still get indexed? Yes. As long as they don’t have a noindex meta tag or are blocked in robots.txt, they can. But that’s not an issue because you can use canonical tags!

  Pages can still get indexed if other websites link to them. Using canonical tags can help prevent duplicate content issues.

  Carmax also takes advantage of canonical tags. For example, the page /cars?location=norcross+ga&price=10000 is canonicalized to /cars?price=10000&location=norcross+ga.

  Ideally, the links should always be generated in the same order. For example, if I choose the order to be price, location, size, then even if the user selects location first and then price and size, the URL will still be generated in the initial order.

  If you have a lot of pages, you want to focus on fixing the crawl budget issue. On the other side, if you have a lot of backlinks pointing to different filters of your pages, then you want to also pass link equity from external websites.

  Start with canonical tags. These should be set up regardless if you then decide to index those pages or not.

  Most pages should have a self referencing canonical, but if these pages are duplicate, then a canonical version is required.

  Noindex and canonical tags will still be wasting your crawl budget, so if you can’t do a JavaScript implementation, you might want to block the pages from being crawled in robots.txt.

  However, also take into account that using Robots.txt will dilute link equity, so make sure those pages don’t have internal links nor backlinks pointing to them.

  A good way of doing this is by adding an extra parameter (noindex=1) to facets with more than 1 or 2 filters. Then you can add the following line:

Disallow: /*noindex=1

This way, any URL which contains the noindex=1 string will be blocked from crawling.

  So for example, search by size will be:

site.com/category?size=m

Search by color will be:

site.com/category?color=black

Search by size and color will be:

site.com/category?size=m&color=black&noindex=1

  However, keep in mind the supply and demand rule, if there are searches for “black category size m” then maybe you should not block those pages!

  If your pages are already indexed and you want them to not get indexed and not burn crawl budget, you’ll first have to set up a noindex meta tag on the page and then add the pages to robots.txt.

  Since robots.txt block crawling altogether, there’s no way for the search engine crawler to see the noindex meta tag!

  So first, make sure you let the search engine find those pages to see the noindex meta tag, and after they’re removed from the index, you can add them to the robots.txt file to prevent them from burning the crawl budget.

  Conclusion

  Hopefully, you now have a better idea on which pages in your faceted search navigation menu you should index and which ones you should not.

  You can use a JavaScript setup to prevent the links from being created as long as you ensure the most important ones which have demand and supply can be found by search engines.

  You can also use robots.txt to disallow crawlers from accessing those URLs, saving up crawl budget. However, keep in mind that if you have or get backlinks to those pages, they won’t help your site anymore!

  What’s your experience with faceted navigation search? Do you use JavaScript or do you use a mix of canonical tags, noindex meta tags and robots.txt? Let us know in the comments section below.

The post eCommerce Faceted Navigation | How It Affects SEO & Google Search Results appeared first on SEO Blog | cognitiveSEO Blog on SEO Tactics & Strategies.

from Marketing https://cognitiveseo.com/blog/22235/faceted-navigation-seo/ via http://www.rssmix.com/

[philipfloyd]

eCommerce Faceted Navigation | How It Affects SEO & Google Search Results

eCommerce navigation or faceted navigation in SEO. There are phrases the Gods of SEO themselves squint at when they hear them. Why? Because it involves duplicate content and very big sites. And we all know how difficult that is to fix.

  The subject is hard to master and it comes with a lot of confusion on the side. Faceted search or filtered search? What is the difference between facets and filters? Which pages should I index? These are all questions webmasters ask themselves. So prepare for a ‘headachy’ journey as we’ll try to explain a couple of things in this article, such as the difference between filters and facets, which pages you should and shouldn’t index and best practices for different scenarios.

    Hopefully, by the end of this article you’ll have understood everything you need to know about how to set up facets for eCommerce websites and how to manage your URL parameters for best SEO results and Google rankings.

  Beware: This article is about very advanced stuff and it will twist your brain a little. It can also twist your rankings, in a good way or in a bad way, depending on whether you implement modifications the right way. The best implementation depends on the website and it differs from one case to another. If you don’t know what you’re doing, it’s better to ask for an expert’s opinion!

  Faceted Search vs. Filtered Search: What Is the Difference Between Search and Filters?

Faceted Search Problems & Challenges

How Google Handles URL Parameters & How It Affects SEO

Which URL Parameters to Index & Which Ones to Not

How to Fix Faceted Search Issues & Have a Good Navigation Structure

  1. Faceted Search vs. Filtered Search: What Is the Difference Between Search and Filters?

  It took me myself a long time to figure out this difference. Why? Because I didn’t know what facet means. And I’m not talking about its meaning in eComm, I’m talking about its meaning in general.

  So let’s start with that:

  A facet is one side of a many-sided thing. Like a gem or a dice. We can also say it’s a particular aspect or feature of something.

  Ok, so what does that have to do with filters and search?

  Well, in eCommerce, the products of a website are usually split into categories. Sometimes, that’s enough to be able to browse it. However, in cases where there are very many products, it might not be enough.

  In order to be able to browse the website efficiently, you’ll have to be able to sort those products according to different attributes. You know, like size, color, weight, etc.

  To see only results that match certain criteria, you have to apply something which is known as a filter. A filter can include items that only contain the specified attribute, or it can exclude items that don’t.

  Ok, so what does that have to do with facets?

  Well, when you apply a filter, you can call each result page returned a facet of the category you’re currently browsing. 

  There are many websites that try to explain the difference between filters and facets. One explanation is that facets are unique pages and they are extensions to the category pages, while filters are just used to refine item listings.

  While that’s true, one thing they seem to get wrong is that facets should be indexed and filters should not be indexed.

  In the articles I’ve found (not going to give the names, though) the writers used the following example:

  Dresses

Going out

Evening

View all

Filter by

Shipping

Size

Price

Brand

Brand A

Brand B

Brand C

  The writers argued that Dresses and Brands are Facets, therefore they should be indexed, while Shipping, Size and Price are filters and should not be indexed.

  My counterargument is: What if a lady searches for “evening dresses size M under 400$”?

  Now this might be far fetched, but it can very well be the case! The best example I personally know is in the used car industry. People search a lot for things like “used cars under xxx”.

  In the following example you can clearly see that Google auto-suggests these types of results:

    So we can clearly see that people search for these keywords. Let’s do a search for “used cars under 10000” and see what results we get:

    Hmm… interesting. It seems like Google is returning an answer box for this result. This is cool! I can click on More items to get to Carmax.com.

  I’ve highlighted the URL above to show which site is ranking in the answer box. Carmax is also ranking #1 so it has multiple positions on Google.

  But wait! Is that a URL parameter? Could it be a filter for price? It sure looks like it. Let’s check out the site.

    It’s seems they consider it a filter! Had Carmax taken the advice above and used a noindex tag on their price filters, they wouldn’t be ranking #1 right now and we would not have landed on their page.

  Good thing they didn’t do that. Actually, Carmax does a pretty good job at telling Google which pages it actually wants indexed and which it doesn’t. We’ll use it more as an example.

  So the difference between filters & facets is that facets are a result of filtering products. You use filters and they generate facets.

  While the definition of facets in search is “sorting by multiple dimensions simultaneously”, which actually means using multiple filters, I like to define facets as the pages that result from filtering a search.

  In my opinion, it’s not about having one filter or multiple filters. I can have a single filter: it will still create a facet. This way, it’s very easy to differentiate between them.

  For example, I can apply a single sorting filter, by price, which will create a facet. The problem, however, is that the facet isn’t unique! And that’s when Google has a problem with it.

  2. Faceted Search Problems & Challenges

  Faceted navigation and search are great. They help you find exactly what you need pretty easily. In the following video you can see how you can take advantage of faceted search to filter out exactly the books you might want to read, from over hundreds of thousands of results to only 7.

    Ideally, the site shouldn’t create these types of pages at all. Sure, we might think it’s mostly bad for search engines but useful for users.

  However, search engines try to favor the user. If you think about it, how good would a user’s experience be if you kept showing them the same products every time they apply a new filter?

  Or how good is it for them if no products are shown? For example, if you don’t have any products Size M, should you show that size as being available?

  The problem with faceted navigation search is that it can cause duplicate content issues. And with facets, the number of pages grows exponentially.

  Hypothetically, let’s say you have two filters in a book store:

  Fiction

Historical

  If we were to combine them, you’d probably say that there are 3 possible options:

  Only Fiction

Only Historical

Both Historical & Fiction

  However, there is a 4th option: it’s Both Fiction & Historical.

  So if you have 5 attributes (color, size, weight…), each containing about 5-10 variables (red, green, M, S, 10kg, 20kg…) you would have to multiply the variables to get the total amount of possible facets that can be generated.

  If we have 15 colors, 10 sizes we already have 150 possible combinations. Add another 3 types of material and we end up with 450 combinations. Sort that by 8 different brands and we already have 3,600 products which is exactly the number of seconds there are in an hour… the Illuminati must be on me.

  How fast facets can create duplicate content.

  You get the point, too many filters, too many facets, too many URLs with duplicate content.

  But aren’t those pages the same? I mean… both 1+2 and 2+1 equal 3, right? Well, while users might find those pages as being the same, search engines don’t! Why? Because of URLs.

  3. How Google Handles URL Parameters & How It Affects SEO

  Depending on which order the users choose to select the filters of a facet, some platforms generate different URLs for the same content. This is usually done using parameters.

  Google treats URLs with parameters as separate pages, not an extension of the root URL, unless a canonical tag is specified.

  So, in Google’s eyes, domain.com/books?filter=historical&fiction and domain.com/books?filter=fiction&historical are separate pages with duplicate content.

  This is an issue because one of the pages doesn’t provide any extra value to the user.

  Google doesn’t like duplicate content because it doesn’t provide much value to the users.

  If you already have a page covering a set of products, why would you have a second page covering the exact same set? Why would Google want to display the exact same thing from the exact same website twice?

  Sure, that happens, but Google is always trying to fix it. For example, Mihai Aperghis from Vertify notified John of some issues that kept appearing in the search results in Romania. After not much time, Dan Sullivan announced that they’re working on a diversity change. Sure, these two things might be unrelated, but it sure seems like a big coincidence.

  There are ways to fix that. For example, you can use a canonical tag from one version to another to tell Google which is the original version that should be indexed and ranked. But Google sees canonical tags as recommendations, not as absolute rules, so it might ignore them!

  However, there is another issue that content duplication creates, which won’t be fixed by adding canonical tags: Burning through Crawl Budget.

  How facets can burn through & create a wasting of Crawl Budget.

  When Google crawls your site, it allocates a certain budget for how many pages it will crawl, depending on certain factors, such as how popular your site is, how much traffic it gets how big it is and how relevant it is.

  If you’re wasting that budget on pages that will anyway perform poorly because they don’t provide any value, important pages that are unique and relevant might not get crawled, losing the chance to rank higher.

  That’s why it’s important to address these issues and make sure you don’t index irrelevant pages. But which parameters and facets should you index and which should you not? How do you deal with these problems? And why do some sites, like Amazon, index everything and do so well?

  4. Which URL Parameters to Index & Which Ones to Not

  Deciding which pages you should let Google index and which pages you shouldn’t is important for best SEO performance.

  If you’re thinking about indexing ‘facets’ but not indexing ‘filters’ think again. Indexation has nothing to do with those things, but with search intent, volume and product supply.

  World renowned SEO expert Aleyda Solis explains this very well in the following video of her SEO lessons series Crawling Mondays:

    If your site has many pages, then you should only let Google index the ones that either:

  Have enough demand: These pages should actively target a specific keyword or set of keywords that has a search demand. If users don’t search for it or never reach that page through organic search (you don’t see any impressions or clicks for it in Google Search Console) then maybe it’s a better idea not to index them.

Have enough supply: These pages should not result in empty pages. If you only have 1-2 products or none at all in the facet while other facets provide 10-20 results, then maybe it’s a better idea not to index it. 

Are unique in the most part: These pages should not be very similar. Sure, there will be similarities, but if applying a second or third filter only results in a 5-10% difference, then maybe it’s better to not index those pages. This usually is also related to supply. Not enough products might lead to duplicate results.

  That’s exactly why Amazon is doing so well, even though they are indexing all their pages. It’s because they have such a big supply of products that most of their facets have enough uniqueness to not be considered duplicate.

  Sure, some are probably identical but, for example, even after filtering by 7-8 different dimensions I still get about 7 results, which is great.

    Amazon is also a very popular site with high amounts of traffic going to it each day, which means Google will allocate more crawl budget for it that it will allocate for a smaller eCommerce site.

  But for smaller sites, this might not always be the case. So you want to follow the best practices for best results.

  5. How to Fix Faceted Search Issues & Have a Good Navigation Structure

  Fixing a complex duplicate content issue might require both time and budget. It’s not easy to manage hundreds of thousands of pages.

  Here are Google’s official tips on faceted navigation pages. However, Google gives more specific examples on how things should look, but not on how to implement them.

  There’s a very big difference between the effects of 301 redirects, canonical tags, noindexing and disallowing pages entirely in Robots.txt.

  Unfortunately, I can’t tell you exactly how to implement things, because this can differ from one case to another. However, I can outline the best practices and give you a hint on how implementation could be done.

  But the first thing you have to do is create a spreadsheet of your categories, subcategories and filters. Then you should do an extensive keyword research and map keyword clusters to the categories and filters.

  Did You Know

To have a general idea of which facets you should index and which not, you need to perform an in-depth keyword research. You can use tools like the CognitiveSEO Keyword Tool or even the Google Search Console to find keywords. Along with other keyword ideas, the tool will give you great keyword insights, such as the volume of the search, their relevancy, the cost per click, etc. 

    The quickest solution would be to not have any filters at all. Just use category pages with enough demand & supply. If you don’t have many products, not having filters might work for you. Simply create categories for the keywords that users search for and add products in multiple categories.

  A nicely implemented example comes from FilmJackets, a site that sells leather jackets.

    It only took me a couple of scrolls on a desktop to see all the jackets, although on a mobile device that might be harder. Anyway, the site’s design is visually oriented, which makes me want to see all the jackets to see which design I like.

  However, if they had had a lot more products and a bigger variety (such as multiple materials), filters might have been useful. The user is also led to believe that the store has all the sizes and colors in stock, as that type of filtering is made on the product page, right before placing the order.

  But overall, the user experience with the current amount of products should be good. It’s a simple solution for a smaller eCommerce website and it is elegantly implemented on this website.

  If you’re a big site, then you have multiple options of dealing with the problem, depending on your platform’s possibilities. Serge Stefoglo from Distilled.net did a great post on Moz showcasing the effects of different methods that deal with/fix duplicate content.

    So, the best fix seems like a JavaScript setup. But what does that mean? And how can it be implemented? Well, this is up to your development team. 

  Eric Enge from StoneTemple tells us how Ajax and jQuery work together to fix faceted navigation duplicate content issues.

    Carmax, our previous example, uses a similar JavaScript technique to generate its filtered pages. It’s not identical but it uses JavaScript to direct users to the facets. This means that Google won’t see those links when crawling the pages, so they can’t burn through crawl budget.

    However, this can lead to another problem. Faceted pages can’t be found by search engines anymore! That’s because the JS doesn’t generate <a> tags in the HTML anymore, so Google’s crawler might have a hard time getting to the important pages.

  When using AJAX and JavaScript for your facets, you have to make sure your important links can be easily crawled by Search Engines.

  Carmax does this flawlessly, by stating its most important facets near the Homepage, at just 1 click away on their cars page. There are also some footer links to different locations on category or facet pages.

    With this implementation, Google won’t have to crawl millions of possible combinations and it will still find the most important facets the site wants indexed. The same result can be obtained with a sitemap, but it’s better if you have a direct crawl path to them.

  But what if someone links to those pages? Can they still get indexed? Yes. As long as they don’t have a noindex meta tag or are blocked in robots.txt, they can. But that’s not an issue because you can use canonical tags!

  Pages can still get indexed if other websites link to them. Using canonical tags can help prevent duplicate content issues.

  Carmax also takes advantage of canonical tags. For example, the page /cars?location=norcross+ga&price=10000 is canonicalized to /cars?price=10000&location=norcross+ga.

  Ideally, the links should always be generated in the same order. For example, if I choose the order to be price, location, size, then even if the user selects location first and then price and size, the URL will still be generated in the initial order.

  If you have a lot of pages, you want to focus on fixing the crawl budget issue. On the other side, if you have a lot of backlinks pointing to different filters of your pages, then you want to also pass link equity from external websites.

  Start with canonical tags. These should be set up regardless if you then decide to index those pages or not.

  Most pages should have a self referencing canonical, but if these pages are duplicate, then a canonical version is required.

  Noindex and canonical tags will still be wasting your crawl budget, so if you can’t do a JavaScript implementation, you might want to block the pages from being crawled in robots.txt.

  However, also take into account that using Robots.txt will dilute link equity, so make sure those pages don’t have internal links nor backlinks pointing to them.

  A good way of doing this is by adding an extra parameter (noindex=1) to facets with more than 1 or 2 filters. Then you can add the following line:

Disallow: /*noindex=1

This way, any URL which contains the noindex=1 string will be blocked from crawling.

  So for example, search by size will be:

site.com/category?size=m

Search by color will be:

site.com/category?color=black

Search by size and color will be:

site.com/category?size=m&color=black&noindex=1

  However, keep in mind the supply and demand rule, if there are searches for “black category size m” then maybe you should not block those pages!

  If your pages are already indexed and you want them to not get indexed and not burn crawl budget, you’ll first have to set up a noindex meta tag on the page and then add the pages to robots.txt.

  Since robots.txt block crawling altogether, there’s no way for the search engine crawler to see the noindex meta tag!

  So first, make sure you let the search engine find those pages to see the noindex meta tag, and after they’re removed from the index, you can add them to the robots.txt file to prevent them from burning the crawl budget.

  Conclusion

  Hopefully, you now have a better idea on which pages in your faceted search navigation menu you should index and which ones you should not.

  You can use a JavaScript setup to prevent the links from being created as long as you ensure the most important ones which have demand and supply can be found by search engines.

  You can also use robots.txt to disallow crawlers from accessing those URLs, saving up crawl budget. However, keep in mind that if you have or get backlinks to those pages, they won’t help your site anymore!

  What’s your experience with faceted navigation search? Do you use JavaScript or do you use a mix of canonical tags, noindex meta tags and robots.txt? Let us know in the comments section below.

The post eCommerce Faceted Navigation | How It Affects SEO & Google Search Results appeared first on SEO Blog | cognitiveSEO Blog on SEO Tactics & Strategies.

from Marketing https://cognitiveseo.com/blog/22235/faceted-navigation-seo/ via http://www.rssmix.com/

[wjwilliams29]

eCommerce Faceted Navigation | How It Affects SEO & Google Search Results

eCommerce navigation or faceted navigation in SEO. There are phrases the Gods of SEO themselves squint at when they hear them. Why? Because it involves duplicate content and very big sites. And we all know how difficult that is to fix.

  The subject is hard to master and it comes with a lot of confusion on the side. Faceted search or filtered search? What is the difference between facets and filters? Which pages should I index? These are all questions webmasters ask themselves.So prepare for a ‘headachy’ journey as we’ll try to explain a couple of things in this article, such as the difference between filters and facets, which pages you should and shouldn’t index and best practices for different scenarios.

    Hopefully, by the end of this article you’ll have understood everything you need to know about how to set up facets for eCommerce websites and how to manage your URL parameters for best SEO results and Google rankings.

  Beware: This article is about very advanced stuff and it will twist your brain a little. It can also twist your rankings, in a good way or in a bad way, depending on whether you implement modifications the right way. The best implementation depends on the website and it differs from one case to another. If you don’t know what you’re doing, it’s better to ask for an expert’s opinion!

  Faceted Search vs. Filtered Search: What Is the Difference Between Search and Filters?

Faceted Search Problems & Challenges

How Google Handles URL Parameters & How It Affects SEO

Which URL Parameters to Index & Which Ones to Not

How to Fix Faceted Search Issues & Have a Good Navigation Structure

  1. Faceted Search vs. Filtered Search: What Is the Difference Between Search and Filters?

  It took me myself a long time to figure out this difference. Why? Because I didn’t know what facet means. And I’m not talking about its meaning in eComm, I’m talking about its meaning in general.

  So let’s start with that:

  A facet is one side of a many-sided thing. Like a gem or a dice. We can also say it’s a particular aspect or feature of something.

  Ok, so what does that have to do with filters and search?

  Well, in eCommerce, the products of a website are usually split into categories. Sometimes, that’s enough to be able to browse it. However, in cases where there are very many products, it might not be enough.

  In order to be able to browse the website efficiently, you’ll have to be able to sort those products according to different attributes. You know, like size, color, weight, etc.

  To see only results that match certain criteria, you have to apply something which is known as a filter. A filter can include items that only contain the specified attribute, or it can exclude items that don’t.

  Ok, so what does that have to do with facets?

  Well, when you apply a filter, you can call each result page returned a facet of the category you’re currently browsing. 

  There are many websites that try to explain the difference between filters and facets. One explanation is that facets are unique pages and they are extensions to the category pages, while filters are just used to refine item listings.

  While that’s true, one thing they seem to get wrong is that facets should be indexed and filters should not be indexed.

  In the articles I’ve found (not going to give the names, though) the writers used the following example:

  Dresses

Going out

Evening

View all

Filter by

Shipping

Size

Price

Brand

Brand A

Brand B

Brand C

  The writers argued that Dresses and Brands are Facets, therefore they should be indexed, while Shipping, Size and Price are filters and should not be indexed.

  My counterargument is: What if a lady searches for “evening dresses size M under 400$”?

  Now this might be far fetched, but it can very well be the case! The best example I personally know is in the used car industry. People search a lot for things like “used cars under xxx”.

  In the following example you can clearly see that Google auto-suggests these types of results:

    So we can clearly see that people search for these keywords. Let’s do a search for “used cars under 10000” and see what results we get:

    Hmm… interesting. It seems like Google is returning an answer box for this result. This is cool! I can click on More items to get to Carmax.com.

  I’ve highlighted the URL above to show which site is ranking in the answer box. Carmax is also ranking #1 so it has multiple positions on Google.

  But wait! Is that a URL parameter? Could it be a filter for price? It sure looks like it. Let’s check out the site.

    It’s seems they consider it a filter! Had Carmax taken the advice above and used a noindex tag on their price filters, they wouldn’t be ranking #1 right now and we would not have landed on their page.

  Good thing they didn’t do that. Actually, Carmax does a pretty good job at telling Google which pages it actually wants indexed and which it doesn’t. We’ll use it more as an example.

  So the difference between filters & facets is that facets are a result of filtering products. You use filters and they generate facets.

  While the definition of facets in search is “sorting by multiple dimensions simultaneously”, which actually means using multiple filters, I like to define facets as the pages that result from filtering a search.

  In my opinion, it’s not about having one filter or multiple filters. I can have a single filter: it will still create a facet. This way, it’s very easy to differentiate between them.

  For example, I can apply a single sorting filter, by price, which will create a facet. The problem, however, is that the facet isn’t unique! And that’s when Google has a problem with it.

  2. Faceted Search Problems & Challenges

  Faceted navigation and search are great. They help you find exactly what you need pretty easily. In the following video you can see how you can take advantage of faceted search to filter out exactly the books you might want to read, from over hundreds of thousands of results to only 7.

    Ideally, the site shouldn’t create these types of pages at all. Sure, we might think it’s mostly bad for search engines but useful for users.

  However, search engines try to favor the user. If you think about it, how good would a user’s experience be if you kept showing them the same products every time they apply a new filter?

  Or how good is it for them if no products are shown? For example, if you don’t have any products Size M, should you show that size as being available?

  The problem with faceted navigation search is that it can cause duplicate content issues. And with facets, the number of pages grows exponentially.

  Hypothetically, let’s say you have two filters in a book store:

  Fiction

Historical

  If we were to combine them, you’d probably say that there are 3 possible options:

  Only Fiction

Only Historical

Both Historical & Fiction

  However, there is a 4th option: it’s Both Fiction & Historical.

  So if you have 5 attributes (color, size, weight…), each containing about 5-10 variables (red, green, M, S, 10kg, 20kg…) you would have to multiply the variables to get the total amount of possible facets that can be generated.

  If we have 15 colors, 10 sizes we already have 150 possible combinations. Add another 3 types of material and we end up with 450 combinations. Sort that by 8 different brands and we already have 3,600 products which is exactly the number of seconds there are in an hour… the Illuminati must be on me.

  How fast facets can create duplicate content.

  You get the point, too many filters, too many facets, too many URLs with duplicate content.

  But aren’t those pages the same? I mean… both 1+2 and 2+1 equal 3, right? Well, while users might find those pages as being the same, search engines don’t! Why? Because of URLs.

  3. How Google Handles URL Parameters & How It Affects SEO

  Depending on which order the users choose to select the filters of a facet, some platforms generate different URLs for the same content. This is usually done using parameters.

  Google treats URLs with parameters as separate pages, not an extension of the root URL, unless a canonical tag is specified.

  So, in Google’s eyes, domain.com/books?filter=historical&fiction and domain.com/books?filter=fiction&historical are separate pages with duplicate content.

  This is an issue because one of the pages doesn’t provide any extra value to the user.

  Google doesn’t like duplicate content because it doesn’t provide much value to the users.

  If you already have a page covering a set of products, why would you have a second page covering the exact same set? Why would Google want to display the exact same thing from the exact same website twice?

  Sure, that happens, but Google is always trying to fix it. For example, Mihai Aperghis from Vertify notified John of some issues that kept appearing in the search results in Romania. After not much time, Dan Sullivan announced that they’re working on a diversity change. Sure, these two things might be unrelated, but it sure seems like a big coincidence.

  There are ways to fix that. For example, you can use a canonical tag from one version to another to tell Google which is the original version that should be indexed and ranked. But Google sees canonical tags as recommendations, not as absolute rules, so it might ignore them!

  However, there is another issue that content duplication creates, which won’t be fixed by adding canonical tags: Burning through Crawl Budget.

  How facets can burn through & create a wasting of Crawl Budget.

  When Google crawls your site, it allocates a certain budget for how many pages it will crawl, depending on certain factors, such as how popular your site is, how much traffic it gets how big it is and how relevant it is.

  If you’re wasting that budget on pages that will anyway perform poorly because they don’t provide any value, important pages that are unique and relevant might not get crawled, losing the chance to rank higher.

  That’s why it’s important to address these issues and make sure you don’t index irrelevant pages. But which parameters and facets should you index and which should you not? How do you deal with these problems? And why do some sites, like Amazon, index everything and do so well?

  4. Which URL Parameters to Index & Which Ones to Not

  Deciding which pages you should let Google index and which pages you shouldn’t is important for best SEO performance.

  If you’re thinking about indexing ‘facets’ but not indexing ‘filters’ think again. Indexation has nothing to do with those things, but with search intent, volume and product supply.

  World renowned SEO expert Aleyda Solis explains this very well in the following video of her SEO lessons series Crawling Mondays:

    If your site has very many pages, then you should only let Google index the ones that either:

  Have enough demand: These pages should actively target a specific keyword or set of keywords that has a search demand. If users don’t search for it or never reach that page through organic search (you don’t see any impressions or clicks for it in Google Search Console) then maybe it’s a better idea not to index them.

Have enough supply: These pages should not result in empty pages. If you only have 1-2 products or none at all in the facet while other facets provide 10-20 results, then maybe it’s a better idea not to index it. 

Are unique in the most part: These pages should not be very similar. Sure, there will be similarities, but if applying a second or third filter only results in a 5-10% difference, then maybe it’s better to not index those pages. This usually is also related to supply. Not enough products might lead to duplicate results.

  That’s exactly why Amazon is doing so well, even though they are indexing all their pages. It’s because they have such a big supply of products that most of their facets have enough uniqueness to not be considered duplicate.

  Sure, some are probably identical but, for example, even after filtering by 7-8 different dimensions I still get about 7 results, which is great.

    Amazon is also a very popular site with high amounts of traffic going to it each day, which means Google will allocate more crawl budget for it that it will allocate for a smaller eCommerce site.

  But for smaller sites, this might not always be the case. So you want to follow the best practices for best results.

  5. How to Fix Faceted Search Issues & Have a Good Navigation Structure

  Fixing a complex duplicate content issue might require both time and budget. It’s not easy to manage hundreds of thousands of pages.

  Here are Google’s official tips on faceted navigation pages. However, Google gives more specific examples on how things should look, but not on how to implement them.

  There’s a very big difference between the effects of 301 redirects, canonical tags, noindexing and disallowing pages entirely in Robots.txt.

  Unfortunately, I can’t tell you exactly how to implement things, because this can differ from one case to another. However, I can outline the best practices and give you a hint on how implementation could be done.

  But the first thing you have to do is create a spreadsheet of your categories, subcategories and filters. Then you should do an extensive keyword research and map keyword clusters to the categories and filters.

  Did You Know

To have a general idea of which facets you should index and which not, you need to perform an in-depth keyword research. You can use tools like the CognitiveSEO Keyword Tool or even the Google Search Console to find keywords. Along with other keyword ideas, the tool will give you great keyword insights, such as the volume of the search, their relevancy, the cost per click, etc. 

    The quickest solution would be to not have any filters at all. Just use category pages with enough demand & supply. If you don’t have many products, not having filters might work for you. Simply create categories for the keywords that users search for and add products in multiple categories.

  A nicely implemented example comes from FilmJackets, a site that sells leather jackets.

    It only took me a couple of scrolls on a desktop to see all the jackets, although on a mobile device that might be harder. Anyway, the site’s design is visually oriented, which makes me want to see all the jackets to see which design I like.

  However, if they had had a lot more products and a bigger variety (such as multiple materials), filters might have been useful. The user is also led to believe that the store has all the sizes and colors in stock, as that type of filtering is made on the product page, right before placing the order.

  But overall, the user experience with the current amount of products should be good. It’s a simple solution for a smaller eCommerce website and it is elegantly implemented on this website.

  If you’re a big site, then you have multiple options of dealing with the problem, depending on your platform’s possibilities. Serge Stefoglo from Distilled.net did a great post on Moz showcasing the effects of different methods that deal with/fix duplicate content.

    So, the best fix seems like a JavaScript setup. But what does that mean? And how can it be implemented? Well, this is up to your development team. 

  Eric Enge from StoneTemple tells us how Ajax and jQuery work together to fix faceted navigation duplicate content issues.

    Carmax, our previous example, uses a similar JavaScript technique to generate its filtered pages. It’s not identical but it uses JavaScript to direct users to the facets. This means that Google won’t see those links when crawling the pages, so they can’t burn through crawl budget.

    However, this can lead to another problem. Faceted pages can’t be found by search engines anymore! That’s because the JS doesn’t generate <a> tags in the HTML anymore, so Google’s crawler might have a hard time getting to the important pages.

  When using AJAX and JavaScript for your facets, you have to make sure your important links can be easily crawled by Search Engines.

  Carmax does this flawlessly, by stating its most important facets near the Homepage, at just 1 click away on their cars page. There are also some footer links to different locations on category or facet pages.

    With this implementation, Google won’t have to crawl millions of possible combinations and it will still find the most important facets the site wants indexed. The same result can be obtained with a sitemap, but it’s better if you have a direct crawl path to them.

  But what if someone links to those pages? Can they still get indexed? Yes. As long as they don’t have a noindex meta tag or are blocked in robots.txt, they can. But that’s not an issue because you can use canonical tags!

  Pages can still get indexed if other websites link to them. Using canonical tags can help prevent duplicate content issues.

  Carmax also takes advantage of canonical tags. For example, the page /cars?location=norcross+ga&price=10000 is canonicalized to /cars?price=10000&location=norcross+ga.

  Ideally, the links should always be generated in the same order. For example, if I choose the order to be price, location, size, then even if the user selects location first and then price and size, the URL will still be generated in the initial order.

  If you have a lot of pages, you want to focus on fixing the crawl budget issue. On the other side, if you have a lot of backlinks pointing to different filters of your pages, then you want to also pass link equity from external websites.

  Start with canonical tags. These should be set up regardless if you then decide to index those pages or not.

  Most pages should have a self referencing canonical, but if these pages are duplicate, then a canonical version is required.

  Noindex and canonical tags will still be wasting your crawl budget, so if you can’t do a JavaScript implementation, you might want to block the pages from being crawled in robots.txt.

  However, also take into account that using Robots.txt will dilute link equity, so make sure those pages don’t have internal links nor backlinks pointing to them.

  A good way of doing this is by adding an extra parameter (noindex=1) to facets with more than 1 or 2 filters. Then you can add the following line:

Disallow: /*noindex=1

This way, any URL which contains the noindex=1 string will be blocked from crawling.

  So for example, search by size will be:

site.com/category?size=m

Search by color will be:

site.com/category?color=black

Search by size and color will be:

site.com/category?size=m&color=black&noindex=1

  However, keep in mind the supply and demand rule, if there are searches for “black category size m” then maybe you should not block those pages!

  If your pages are already indexed and you want them to not get indexed and not burn crawl budget, you’ll first have to set up a noindex meta tag on the page and then add the pages to robots.txt.

  Since robots.txt block crawling altogether, there’s no way for the search engine crawler to see the noindex meta tag!

  So first, make sure you let the search engine find those pages to see the noindex meta tag, and after they’re removed from the index, you can add them to the robots.txt file to prevent them from burning the crawl budget.

  Conclusion

  Hopefully, you now have a better idea on which pages in your faceted search navigation menu you should index and which ones you should not.

  You can use a JavaScript setup to prevent the links from being created as long as you ensure the most important ones which have demand and supply can be found by search engines.

  You can also use robots.txt to disallow crawlers from accessing those URLs, saving up crawl budget. However, keep in mind that if you have or get backlinks to those pages, they won’t help your site anymore!

  What’s your experience with faceted navigation search? Do you use JavaScript or do you use a mix of canonical tags, noindex meta tags and robots.txt? Let us know in the comments section below.

The post eCommerce Faceted Navigation | How It Affects SEO & Google Search Results appeared first on SEO Blog | cognitiveSEO Blog on SEO Tactics & Strategies.