#anyway please write more genfic for me specifically

[thefandomcassandra]

once again my petty aro ass so grateful gen exists as a tag for fics but also boy I wish people wrote more genfic coz I'm starving

[mannatea]

A Little Magic in Castle Gate, a Rigoletto (1993) ‘fic

Words: 3,180 words Summary: Saturday, August 10, 1974. Friends and relatives return home to commemorate the death of Castle Gate, a century-old mining town forced to relocate in the name of industry. Bonnie Nelson joins them in saying goodbye. Pairing/Character: Bonnie, Ari Ribaldi (Rigoletto), Tim Warnings: None if you watched the film. Rating: T Genre: Genfic, historical light fantasy, reminiscing/memories, saying goodbye to a place you used to call home.

The title is the link to Ao3.

Notes are under a cut.

Want to watch the film? It's here in mediocre quality (but at least it's free).

I CAN'T BELIEVE I WROTE THIS. I was seriously so shocked that I could not find a single fanfic for this film; it seemed like it would have been ripe for at least a handful, if not about the main character then at least exploring the weird fantasy elements the film offered through Rigoletto and the mirror he gave Porter.

Anyway, I couldn't get over the fact that I had THOUGHTS that I wanted to write about, and so here we are. A historical fantasy "many years later" where Bonnie is still the main character.

The film never specifies a year so I went with 1933 and decided Bonnie looked around 13 for the film. This story takes place in 1974, when the actual town of Castle Gate was forced to leave. Some of the details of this story were actually pulled from a 1974 newspaper article about the "commemorative event" that took place before the town was erased from the map by McCulloch Oil, including the food served and the songs they sang, as well as the graffiti on the wall in the Amusement Hall.

--

Please forgive any clumsiness in this story. I understand very well that Ribaldi and Rigoletto are the same person, but I think in a real-world setting where the characters experienced what occurred in the film, things might be very confusing and I was trying to convey it in the story.

--

Maybe I'm just a sentimental person but I find it really difficult to say goodbye to places that once meant a lot to me and I don't think I'm alone in having that experience. This story is mostly about Bonnie saying goodbye to Castle Gate, and a little about her short relationship with Ari Ribaldi/Rigoletto, who taught her to sing and thus helped her win a state singing competition.

Something truly fascinating about Rigoletto (1993) is that the writer and director of the film (Leo Paur) had a very specific vision he was trying to convey with this film. He talked about how as a child passing through Castle Gate, it felt like a magical place. He cast his brother Joseph, an opera singer, in the lead role. He wrote the role of Bonnie after his own mother. He wanted this film to feel emblematic I think of himself and that sentiment, the writer's "inner beauty" is confirmed by Joseph in an interview.

Despite all of this, all Rigoletto does in this film (if you take it at face value) is teach Bonnie to sing. She wins a competition but we don't see how winning it might change her life, or if it even can.

I like the fantasy elements too much to imagine the "tale" being told between the scenes of Bonnie reading the fairytale book are just her imagination. I want to believe it's real, and I think anyone else watching it does, too.

So then, what good did any of this do? Even if you view Mr. Ribaldi as a sort-of Christ-like figure, if you take everything at face value this story feels like a huge and awful tragedy. No matter what, Mr. Ribaldi still gets more or less beat to the brink of death by the very people he's trying to save. There's also all the guilt going around to contend with. I do think the townsfolk deserve to suffer it for their sins, but Georgie would feel it too and that doesn't seem fair.

Anyway, all that trouble and Mr. Ribaldi taught Bonnie to sing? That's it? No. Mr. Ribaldi's goal of finding someone to help him break his curse aside, I do believe he taught her a little more than that, and those lessons went a much greater distance with her in her adult life.

I wanted the singing to still feel sweet (singing to her children, at her first husband's funeral, to the grandbabies) but I also didn't get the feeling from the film that learning how to sing better was meant to be the big lifechanging event in Bonnie's life; it was everything else she learned that summer, which I tried to talk about in this story just a bit.

--

I took some creative liberties with Ribaldi/Rigoletto and different characters' viewpoints on whether they were the same man or not.

Of course Mr. Ribaldi is Rigoletto (Gabriella calls him Ari, so maybe his actual name is Ari Rigoletto) but I did not have Bonnie think of him using that name because she never really knew him by it.

Think of it kind of like how you still probably refer to your school teachers by Mr./Ms./Miss/Mrs. [Name] even if you've been out of school for 30 years.

--

Anyway, while I imagine Bonnie has some attachment to the town, I think her biggest attachment to Castle Gate as a place would be the mansion Ribaldi bought and lived in for a time just because it ended up being such an important memory/time for her.

And of course I have the characters refer to it as the "old Ribaldi place", because to them, it's what that house became.

--

Thanks for reading if anyone was brave enough to do that! LOL

[rose-blooms-red]

@universes-mystery you are a menace to society and I am in....so much pain

anyways, long story short, I have been convinced to make an updated fic post thingy after someone went through my blog and made me look at my old fics :’) 

So!! uhh yeah Ro Fic Hype Post take 2 lmao, i have too many fics at this point so im just gonna link some that made me happy or just that i remember having a grand time writing.

Star Wars

“Be the Rarepair content you want to see in the world”: Listing all the ones from this series would take too long. Just know that these were all a joy to write and that there is a Large Variety lol.

not something that you put to bed: my first foray into soft wars! lmao, i was super nervous with this one lol but I do still like it more than i usually like my fics! And i was happy with how this one came out. It’s Edee squad centric, specifically Neyo and Fox interaction and yeah, there’s a reason i joke that my brand is trauma recovery dkjfskjdf.

don’t break the bottle: my second go at soft wars and I do still like this one, it’s Cody and Neyo centric, around Cody getting Neyo’s pledge and dealing with leftover stuff from Priest’s training. There’s things i’d def try and do better but, its nice and not as bad as i feared nkjdfjnd.

sins of the father: this is a second person Boba Fett character study and I do actually still adore it. it kicked off it’s own series actually, that I cowrite with @graaaaceeliz and has expanded far past what i thought would be just a tiny little oneshot to put my boba and jango feelings. It was a fun adventure into writing in a writing perspective i dont use much and helped me get a bit of a grasp on both Boba and Jango

and the whisper in your head goes quiet: another 2nd person Boba fic, made people mad at me jdfnsjkf. Includes the hc that Boba had a chip and it malfunctioned and Jango had the Kaminoans remove it.

the hum in the air (and the gentle love): was really nice to write and i do still love how soft it is,though there are things i’d def change. It’s a soft little codywan oneshot with poetry.

gentling the edges: Neyo and babies, im just...so soft, there is so much soft

little darling: Fox and babies, because i am so soft still over babies and the older clones okay.

you will be alone, always: was a fun one, made some people cry lol. Obi-Wan centric, canon compliant, with hints of QP Codywan.

love or the lack of it: Bly and Neyo centric, lots of fun to write lol. Soft wars, and im still quite pleased with it. a bit heavy, heed the tags.

the art of the mind: Soft wars, Jet and Bacara Centric. i loved exploring them more honestly, i kinda wanna do something else with them.

Messing around in the soft wars sandbox: now that i think about it, just linking this series might be better XD a lot of the next few I was going to put are from here. It’s basically just all fics set within the Soft War’s AU by @thefoundationproject lol

(give me) something soft: one of my first fics in the Star wars fandom, It’s Kix/Agen and I’m still super soft over this pairing and writing this made me v soft.

the burning heat upon my back: another one of my first few fics in the star wars fandom, It’s an Anakin introspection type piece as I was trying to figure out how to write him and getting settled in the fandom.

like a lazy ocean (hugs the shore): Wingfic, Kit Fisto centric, hinted possible kit/monnk. This was just hilarious to write lmao.

calm your mind and quell your fears: Wingfic, Obi-Wan centric, soft, QP Codywan fluff.

name the child innocence: was fun, Wingfic, Jango Fett centric, it’s a lot heavier than the other wingfics tho, so heed the tags.

childhood (strong and full of foreboding): apparently i really like doing explorations on trauma and how the past can shape you and how you can shape yourself in spite of the past and things like that kjdsnkjsdf. It’s told in various Clone’s p.o.v and switches between Anakin and Obi-Wan’s Not Fun Childhoods.

hold your heart (be still): Ahsoka and Rex bonding! set in the same universe as childhood!

DC

the art of siblings is that sometimes you just wanna fight them: A lot of fun lol, batfam centric, the kids being Themselves and Dick is Exasperated lol

we lay here (for years or for hours): which is an introspection and sort of character study on dick that throws out any semblance of timeline or canon. trigger warnings for depressive and suicidal thought and major character injury

setting fire to our insides for fun (to distract our hearts from ever missing them): in which dick is sad, bruce is gone, and dick really just wants his dad, his sleep-deprived mind decides to be kind, because the world is not, this one made me sad

i have tried to hoard your love (and found it slipping through my fingers): a look at Jason and books, and the complex thing that is a childs need to be loved

fault lines: A fic about recovery and the difficulties, or; Dick Grayson and trauma, recovery, and his siblings. Something’s wrong with all of them but they work through it, eventually.

this one is a rough ride, still a WIP and it deals with a lot of heavy topics, flashbacks, trauma and discussions of the trauma, deaths, injuries, rape, broken relationships and dysfunctional ones, borderline abusive behaviour, talks about all of the above, and the healing process. Tread lightly with this one as it deals with heavy topics in it’s quest to say fuck you to certain dc writers.

Bnha

Shock: Kaminari feels, The dangers of electric quirks

Flicker: The Todoroki’s deserve better, Dabi is an angry child who misses his mama

All I’ve Ever Known: Genfic, Dabi is Touya, Fuck gender, Chronic pain, Touya/Dabi needs help

We go down swinging, My lovers and I: Shigadabihawks, Major Character Death, not a happy one folks.

[cyanoscarlet]

2020 writing review

Thanks for the tag, @gladiowrites​! (I know it’s not a tag, but this is fun to do lol)

I.. honestly wrote a lot this 2020. No kidding. Quarantine productivity was real, but so is residency languishing by the wayside while everyone was busy surviving and adjusting. I highly doubt 2021 will be the same, but I’ll always cherish 2020 just because of the writing and nothing else.

This is gonna be long.

FIRST CREATION + MOST RECENT CREATION OF 2020

8:15 am  - Final Fantasy XV. Lunafreya. February 2020. - First piece ever written for the year. - Intended to be a Luna-centric AU, in which the Nox Fleurets were deposed and she’s now a regular teacher. Never managed to write anything beyond that, though, because residency. (Back then, I didn’t know it was gonna be the beginning of the end, so I had hopes. Oh well.)

irresistible!, or the summer ramblings of nene yashiro and everything that followed - Toilet-Bound Hanako-Kun. Nene, Hanako. March 2020. - First one published on AO3 for 2020 (yes, there’s a distinction). - If you think the title sounds familiar, you’re right.

versus

first yuletide - Final Fantasy XV. Nyx. December 2020. - Written for the FFXV Secret Santa event on Twitter. - Before y’all object and say what unwinding is, that’s an old fic uploaded late.

ONE OF YOUR FAVORITE CREATIONS FROM 2020

Do I seriously have to choose? Omg.

take heart - Bungou Stray Dogs. Dazai/Chuuya. Gods/Humans AU. - Discovered so much about myself writing this. Also (hopefully) I managed to get into Dazai’s headspace correctly. He’s an extremely difficult character to write, so finishing this brought so much gratification.

you don’t raise heroes, you raise sons - Final Fantasy VIII. Laguna, Squall. Post-canon. - Probably my most heartfelt work of the year- scratch that, ever. Also happy with how I just let myself go writing this and didn’t need to think twice.

A CREATION YOU’RE REALLY PROUD OF

oneiric moments (or, five nights with you) - Bungou Stray Dogs. Dazai/Chuuya. - Written for the SKK Fic Exchange for Summer 2020. - Five interconnected fics. 18,985 words. - Might not be a big deal for others, but this was taxing because I don’t usually write long, multichaptered stuff. I got carried away, though. It ain’t as well-polished as my more recent stuff, but I’m proud of myself for pulling this off.

A NEW STYLE YOU TRIED THIS YEAR & A FIC THAT USES IT

I... don’t think I have tried anything of the sort. My repertoire is sorely limited compared to others, I’m afraid. I’d probably have an answer for “explored new themes,” but again, I’ve a limited arsenal, too, in that regard.

A CREATION THAT TOOK YOU FOREVER

all in a day’s work - Bungou Stray Dogs. Atsushi, Akutagawa. Cells at Work AU. - It’s still being written, with a lot of side stories planned but never drafted. - I fell out of love with BSD, recovered from that, then got busy with residency.

YOUR CREATION FROM 2020 THAT RECEIVED THE MOST NOTES KUDOS

Also take heart. While I am proud of it, I guess it hit the right spot for mainstream shippers, too, somewhat? My feelings about mainstream things have changed a lot because of things, but I am still happy.

A CREATION YOU THINK DESERVED MORE NOTES KUDOS

amīcitia - Bungou Stray Dogs. Dazai, Chuuya. Final Fantasy XV AU. - Petty indignancy for my self-indulgent baby aside, I’m also proud of how I wrote Dazai in this one, similar to take heart.  the fun they had - Bungou Stray Dogs. Kajii, Port Mafia Ensemble. - ... Guys. Please notice genfics.

A NEW FANDOM YOU JOINED AND A CREATION YOU MADE FOR IT

Everything I wrote for Bungou Stray Dogs. (I kid you not.)

If you want a single answer anyway:

on the flaming mountains - act-age. Chiyoko, Kei. Princess Iron Fan Arc. - arc words: “what shall i do with this ire?” - I wouldn’t really say I “left” the fandom, more like it fizzled out after Matsuki-sensei got arrested.

A CREATION YOU MADE THAT BREAKS YOUR HEART

a cycle of; - Bungou Stray Dogs. Dazai/Chuuya. Medico-legal AU. - Written out of much anger and frustration over things. Also because this in itself was frustrating to write.

Also  you don’t raise heroes, you raise sons. Because no matter how much I hate my family at so many points in my life, I know I can’t truly hate them from the bottom of my heart. This fic is a reminder of that.

A SIMPLE CREATION THAT YOU REALLY LOVE

express delivery for love - Bungou Stray Dogs. Dazai/Chuuya. Real World Quarantine AU. - It’s funny. It’s orthodox. It’s sweet. I don’t think it can get any better than that.

A CREATION THAT WAS INSPIRED BY ANOTHER ONE

rather be - Bungou Stray Dogs. Yosano. Pre-canon. - Inspired by yesterday is another world by @wctercress​ - The whole of primum non nocere, actually, but specifically this one, and the rest followed. - This is also my first BSD fic. Ever.

A FAVORITE CREATION CREATED BY SOMEONE ELSE

... You sure? There’s a lot, and this is just on the surface. (unleashes the proverbial waterfall)

The aforementioned yesterday is another world by @wctercress​

silencer and snow white days by EKmisao - Bungou Stray Dogs. Dazai, Chuuya. Dead Apple canon-divergent. - The aftermath of Dead Apple, in which one of two goes wrong. - They’re unrelated, I know. But they’re both sisters! Just trust me on this. - The proper entry for this would be silencer, but I can’t very well mention one without the other, so have both anyway. I read both only this year, after all. Waiting for Godot by @eternal-aegis​ - Bungou Stray Dogs. Dazai, Fyodor, Chuuya. Canon-divergent. - Amazing theme, amazing philosophy, amazing writing. It makes you think. It makes you analyze and explore. This writer definitely knows her stuff, and it shows. Catharsis by @gladiowrites​ - Final Fantasy VIII. Rinoa, Gen. Caraway. Post-canon. - The denouement to the Caraway family drama we all deserve. I love how Rinoa is presented in this fic. She’s a normal person who makes mistakes and learns her lessons. So is Fury. Burned bridges don’t always have to stay down, and this fic illustrates that wonderfully.

Culmination by @gladiowrites​ - Final Fantasy VIII. Squall, Rinoa. Post-canon. - We can’t all have happy endings. This fic also illustrates that very well. While I, a Squinoa fan, personally ascribe to the happy ending Squall and Rinoa must have had after the events of FF8, this fic is so compelling and grounded and reflective and I totally buy this. 

Here Without You by @muselover1901​ - Akagami no Shirayuki-hime. Zen/Shirayuki. Real world quarantine AU. - One of the sweetest stories I’ve ever read this year. I can definitely relate to a lot of things in this fic. I’ve been rereading all of Muse’s ANS stuff whenever I feel down, and they all hit the spot.

Savor The Moment by @joeys-piano​ - Bungou Stray Dogs. Oda. Pre-canon. - Yes, yes, YES. One of the best stories I’ve ever read this year, ever. (And I mean stories, not fanfics.) Great character study about a man named Oda and a day in his life and a page (or three) out of his book of relationships. The love poured into this is simply overflowing and precious. I’ve been following Joey since this fic was being written, and I’m so proud of him.

False Equivalences by @slowquotesquill - Dai Gyakuten Saiban. Asougi, Ryuunosuke. Fullmetal Alchemist AU. - This fic also! Oh, My Heart. The cynicism of a state alchemist and the optimism of a foreign doctor. It perfectly hits the spot for everything FMA, and we all know that SQQ’s Asouryuu fics are always to die for. It’s the ultimate combo.

The whole Promptober Leo/Will/Despair series by @eternal-aegis - Kekkai Sensen. Various themes, many of which are dark/mature. - I’ve said this with Waiting for Godot, and I’ll say it again: Aegis knows her stuff. This is her exploring further in that direction, and you can feel the improvement with every fic in the series. I really love how adventurous these stories are, and how much depth you can go with every one. Her characterization is layered and exquisite, and the underlying lore is well-thought-out. - tl;dr: B3 Goddess.

Predestined by Galkimasera - Final Fantasy VIII. Rinoa, Squall. Reverse/Fateswap AU. - A very well-written reverse AU! The circumstances of Squall and Rinoa in this ‘verse fit so well and are so well thought out. I love this AU so much, you don’t even know. It also fills my nostalgic shipper’s heart with much joy at seeing quality content in this Year of our Lord 2020.

For auld lang syne, my dear by @by-nina - Fullmetal Alchemist. Roy, Riza. Canon-compliant + post-canon. - Holiday feels, snapshots through time, and all over showing Roy and Riza’s budding relationship over the years. And it does remind me of a lot of the SKK fics I’ve written (thematic-wise). This was such a treat to read and to follow. All her FMA fics are. She does Royai so much justice. Am not yet finished reading smoke without fire, but I’ll get to that, too!

SOME OF YOUR FAVORITE CONTENT CREATORS FROM THIS YEAR

Everyone in the answer above. There’s honestly a whole boatload of more, but this is getting too long already lololol

(might edit this when I feel like it, tho!)

[fogsrollingin]

So I’ve been wading around in a lot of fiction the past 2-3 weeks like I always do and sadly I only have one fic and one WIP fic to really recommend at length. Please know that I rarely recommend WIPs; I only rec them when I decide that what I did read was 110% worthy of my time even without an ending. Like actually I’m pretty sure the only other WIPs I’ve rec’d are Sure Got a Dirty Mouth by Justine Delarge (NC17, Dean/Sam, 374k words) and Model of the Solar System by Compo67 (NC17, Jared/Jensen, 82k) so take that as you will! Now, onto the recs. Let us travel back to the nascent days of spn fic in 2006, that shadowy twilight of ffnet & livejournal dwellings when AO3 didn’t even exist 👀 Deviling the Chipper by Maygin. Rated PG-13, Gen, 28k words. Summary: “Loneliness is never more cruel than when it is felt in close propinquity with someone who has ceased to communicate.” – Germaine Greer fanfiction.net/s/2813706/ my thoughts: OMG I FINALLY FOUND THIS FIC. I swear I must’ve read this fic around 2010 and it’s always stuck with me. Ten fucking years later I find it. Ok. Breathe. There’s so much to say about this fic. First, it’s basically a team-up between Dean and psychic!Carson from Queer Eye for the Straight Guy (only this is technically an OC named Cal) because he’s the only one a comatose-ghost-Sam can communicate with. This fic was a riot; I was barely paying attention to the plot’s mystery with all the interactions between Cal and Dean. Fair warning though, this fic was completed in 2006 so some of it’s pretty ignorant, specifically Dean’s perspective (altho spot-on characterization for vintage S1 Dean if you rly think about it), but I could handle it because while Dean’s a kinda homophobic asshole, Cal blows him off & proceeds to be super obnoxious too, and somehow between them you just get the impression the author adored both personalities and writing their badinage. Aaaaand my final reason for loving this fic is /drumroll/ there’s some brotherly love & comfort when Dean finally gets Sam back that melts my (and Cal’s, and Cal’s hulking bf’s) hearts 😂 This fic’s been added to my miscellaneous genfic recs

Raising the King by mad_parnes. NC-17, Sam/Dean (raised apart), 88k words. Warning: This is a Work In Progress that’s probably never gonna finish. I recommend reading it anyway! Summary:  The first time Dean Winchester laid eyes on the creature they later called the Boyking, he saw him standing behind the yellow eyed demon. The devils gate spit out demons and Dean's knee was twisted into the wrong direction. ao3.org/works/15428598 my thoughts: this is my ‘first fic of the summer’ that I found around the end of May. The one that kept me up til 3 AM reading while it’s sticky-hot in bed, fans going at their highest setting, sodium street lights filtering in from the screen windows. Every trip to the bathroom involves a messy splash of cold water to the face and drip-drying back to bed to splay out (taking note of my cat’s meows warning me not to hit him bc he’s black and i don’t see him sometimes). the obligatory check to see if my phone with the broken screen is still aglow playing swagbucks ads & then back to my phone (screen intact) lit up for me to read more of this fascinating, riveting story about Sam’s noble quest to take over hell. The world-building of hell in this story blew my mind. I don’t know why but I totally have a thing for these intricate descriptions and world rules for hell. And the story is so anchored in Dean’s perspective as his fondness for Sam grows that nothing gets too dark (I mean I’ve read and even recommended some really dark stuff that’s challenged me before but this fic isn’t one of them). If you don’t want to read something as long as this fic, first try Terms and Conditions by UnabashedBird on AO3 (Rated PG-13, Gen, 3.5k). if you liked that fic but wish it were longer and featured a slow burn sam/dean, this fic is for you. This fic’s in need of some minimal beta-ing but it’s nothing I couldn’t overlook for the amazing quality of this story, its plot and characterizations are just tremendous. It was super sad when I found out it wasn’t complete but I got over it and I totally feel like my time was well spent reading it even without an ending. I’m going to include this fic on my ‘exploring hell’ reclist that I haven’t posted yet. For now it’ll just be here in this post 👍

Last note: if you want to check out similar recs like this post, the tag is my fic recs. and also there’s my catalog/directory of reclists here <3

[hypermoyashi]

Fic Requests

Okay, so to spread some fun stuff within the fandom, I’m going to open up some requests specifically for the mxtx fandom. (For anyone new, I do this every hundred followers or so anyway, and I’m close so now’s as good a time as any!)(Also sorry bsd fandom ^^” I’ll probably open up a more general fic request give away as consolation once my irl life calms down a bit, so look out for that if you’re interested.) The turnover will be much, much slower for these requests, because, um, if anyone remembers how I said that my internship ends in May? Well, I accepted an extension, so that no longer holds true ^^” I’m gonna be busy for quite a while. I’m going to try to post one request every other week or, at a minimum, once a month. But, yeah, here are the rules!

I’ll be opening up (3) three slots. Normally when I open requests, they can be for any fandom I write for, but this will be an mxtx-specific request give away, so only requests for Scum Villain, Mo Dao Zu Shi, and/or Heaven Official’s Blessing will be accepted for now.

The finished gifts will be no less than 1k, but no more than 5k one-shots (unless you give me an idea that I decide to just go to town with). These will be posted to ao3, and if the requester would like it as a gift, please let me know your ao3 username!

Consolation prizes: anyone who gets in a request before I close them (with a reblog/reply to this post) will get a ficlet! This will be 300~500 words, and it will be posted directly to tumblr. 

Rarepairs and genfic requests are welcome. AUs and fusions of the three books are also welcome!

 I don’t take requests for explicit content in general, so I’d prefer it not be requested. I reserve the right to reject requests that would make me uncomfortable to write, but the requester still retains their slot and can give me a different request! If you’re unsure, feel free to message me and ask beforehand!

 You do not have to be following me to request something, but I’d appreciate it. Asking on anon is completely fine, as well!

To enter, send me an ask or dm me with what you’d like written!

Aaaaand, that’s it! Remember, please be patient with my slow writing as of late, and please have fun!

[aroworlds]

Aro-Spec Artist Profile: Alex

Today I have the delight of introducing Alex, better known to aro-spec Tumblr as @arotaro and @mutant-jojos!

Alex is a bisexual, half-Puerto Rican multi-disciplinary aromantic artist and creative with severe ADHD. You’ll find her prolific fanworks on AO3 as EmeraldTrash666, writing primarily for the JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure fandom. Her bold, colourful art for the JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, Fullmetal Alchemist, Hetalia, Pokemon and Vocaloid fandoms is also available on Redbubble under the name StellaHagane.

She writes, she creates digital art and she dabbles in music, sewing and fashion design, single-handedly proving that there’s no such thing as too much creative awesome for any one aromantic!

With us Alex talks about finding the word aro, the power of fandom and creative fanworks, her love of aro Jotaro, the challenges of creating with ADHD, the struggles of being an aro gen writer in fandom and the importance of expressing our aro headcanons. Everything she says is absolutely on point, so please let’s give her all our love, encouragement, gratitude, kudos and follows for taking the time to explore what it is to be aromantic and creative.

Can you share with us your story in being aro-spec?

I guess in some ways my “story” starts out pretty typical. Got older, kept waiting for my First Crush™, never got it, started worrying and trying to force myself to develop crushes. I actually was in a relationship with another girl on a forum I was part of as a teenager, but eventually I realized that I didn’t really like her romantically, and the relationship started to become really unpleasant for me. I eventually felt so miserable that I didn’t even want to talk at her at all, even though we were close friends, but I didn’t want to break up with her - partly because I didn’t want to hurt her feelings, partly because we were everyone’s “OTP” and I didn’t want my friends to hate me for ruining that. But eventually I did break up with her, and I’m happy to say she took it with grace and we’re still close friends today! (She’s ace and a great writer/artist herself, too!)

I was part of a very nice LGBTQ+ group as a teenager, but I could never figure out my identity. I felt really ashamed and alone. Whenever I brought up how messed up I felt because I’d never had a crush on anyone, everyone was like, “Oh, sounds like you must be asexual!”, but I knew I wasn’t, and that was the worst part. Even though I knew aromanticism was a thing, nobody ever talked about it. It was only ever in the context of aroaces, so I didn’t know I was aro. I thought I must have had some sort of mental illness or something, but certainly not a legitimate orientation, nothing to be proud of like everyone else.

During that time, I found myself connecting on a deep emotional level to characters like Alphonse Elric, Fujiwara no Sai, the X-Men in general (although I’ve been an X-Men fan since I was literally a baby), basically anyone who was somehow “different” from the rest of humanity, even though I never understood why, since I was a fairly privileged kid who had never experienced much bullying or anything. Weirdly enough, it was Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure that helped me realize I was aro and come to terms with it; I saw an interview with Hirohiko Araki, the author of JJBA, where he was asked what type of girls Jotaro Kujo likes, and replied that he didn’t think Jotaro liked girls. The obvious interpretation would be that Jotaro’s gay, but somehow, one way or another, I decided to go with the idea that Jotaro’s aromantic. Jotaro also happened to be a character I really related to for reasons I couldn’t quite articulate, so around the time I was 18 I put two and two together and was like ... oh shit…

Please click keep reading to continue Alex’s story!

Can you share with us the story behind your creativity?

I’ve always been weird in the way I’m very creative, but tend to kinda bounce around from hobby to hobby. Other people draw, or write, or sing, while I draw for a month, and then write for a month and sew for a week and play video games for a week, and then I draw some more, and then I try out something completely new, and then I write again. I think it must be an ADHD thing, idk. In any case, I’ve just always been really passionate about making stuff, whatever that stuff happens to be.

I’ve also always been very much fandom-oriented. Ever since I was a toddler, I used to dictate fanfiction to my mom (back then it usually involved Winnie the Pooh, the Powerpuff Girls, Godzilla, and my dog). I mostly draw fanart. I find that I’m not really capable of writing original stories, but I’m great at getting fanfics in character, and I love writing them. I love taking stories I already love and reinterpreting them, seeing what it would be like if the characters were put into different situations, etc.

Because of my ADHD, I really struggle with actually finishing things. I try really really hard, I really do, and I’ve been trying to push myself even harder these past few years. I’ve made progress, but it’s still extremely difficult, so I’m very sorry for all the projects I’ve abandoned over the years. Sorry I still haven’t finished the fic that was supposed to be done in early March. I’m trying, really. I promise I’m working on the next chapter of BLaD, too.

Are there any particular ways your aro-spec experience is expressed in your art?

Of course, pretty much everything I write is gen. Even if I include romantic relationships in my fics, I never write about romance, just stories which also happen to include some characters who might be dating someone. And obviously I always write Jotaro as aro! That’s really important to me. No matter which AU I’m writing, he’s always aro. (And autistic, but that’s off topic.)

I’m also not really into shipping because of my romance repulsion, but I ship Joseph Joestar and Caesar Zeppeli. The thing is … I’ve always viewed it as a unique relationship, sort of difficult to define as being strictly romantic or platonic or sexual, just kind of their own thing that defies words. That’s how I’ve always written it. I had the sudden realization recently that this strange view on the only ship I really actually like (at the moment, anyway) is probably due to my being aro, lmao.

What challenges do you face as an aro-spec artist?

People don’t read gen fics, and people aren’t interested in aro stories. That’s just the way it is. I do have some dedicated readers, whom I love deeply, but in general… I could post something with a deep plot, something funny and dramatic and witty and touching, something I poured my heart and soul into for months, and it’ll get very few hits/comments/kudos, while someone else could post the same generic 2,000-word romance fic everyone’s seen a dozen times over, with no editing or anything, and get twice the amount of traffic my fics do in half the time. It’s really crushing.

How do you connect to the aro-spec and a-spec communities as an aro-spec person?

I dunno… The aro community feels so small. Online, I have a small circle of aro mutuals who all kind of vent collectively, and I’m part of Arocalypse and a few aro/aspec Discord servers, but I still feel like there isn’t really much of a larger community to be part of in the same way that there is for other orientations. Offline, I’ve never met another aro, or even anyone who actually knows what aromanticism is prior to me explaining it to them.

I also don’t feel like there’s a very unified “aspec community”. As an allo aro, I feel very rejected by the ace community - not to say that I feel like I should be part of the ace community, since I’m not ace, but I feel like they throw aros under the bus a lot. I mean, we’ve all seen the “asexuals can feel love, just like anybody else! … oh, except for aroaces, I guess. But the rest of us are normal, so you should accept us!” rhetoric. Both within and outside the aspec communities, aros are rarely treated with the same priority as aces, even though we’re arguably in a much more difficult position than your average allo ace.

That being said, I’m glad there is an aro community at all. I don’t know where I’d be now if I were still questioning. Probably not in a very good place.

How do you connect to your creative community as an aro-spec person?

As I mentioned, there’s a general lack of interest in gen fics or sympathy for romance-repulsed people in general. It’s really difficult being romance repulsed in fandom spaces, because nobody cares about anything other than ships. There are very few gen fics, and even less that are a decent length, not abandoned, or cater to my specific interests, so I have to write my own. I don’t often have anything good to read; most of the big fics, the ones with cool plots and long word counts and ongoing updates, are ship fics. If I’m lucky, maybe two gen fics will be posted in one week, and maybe one of them will be longer than a few thousand words. Maybe one might even have my favorite characters. But usually genfics are few and far between, and kind of random in terms of what you’ll get. Sometimes I get so bored that I read ship fics anyway, and then I always wind up feeling really awful afterwards.

I’ve written, over the course of the past two years alone, over 20 gen fics. But whenever I vent that sometimes I’d like to actually get to read something, I always get someone telling me, “Well if you want gen fics, write some yourself! You have to make the change! You can’t demand people write stuff for you!” And of course, at the same time it’s totally acceptable to request ship fics from your favorite author, and if you complain that there aren’t enough fics for your rarepair, it’s seen as relatable and totally valid.

Fandom is just … really, really amatonormative, tbh. I hate it. I’m trying to make a difference (I did organize Gen Jojo Week along with my friend Rachel last year, and hopefully will again this year), but there’s only so much I can do.

How can the aro-spec community best help you as a creative?

Aside from reblogging my art and promoting my fics? Talk about stuff. Talk about aro stuff in fandom. Seriously! I know it seems obvious that aro people would like aro headcanons and gen fics and all that, but we need to talk about them more. Nobody outside the community gives enough of a shit about us to have aro headcanons, so let’s get them popular. Talk about your favorite aro headcanons. Talk about your favorite gen fics. Talk about how such-and-such character is totally aro; talk about how excited you are to see aro characters in fics. My dream is for aro headcanons to become just as common and popular as any other type of headcanon.

Can you share with us something about your current project?

This is old news to most of the people who already know me, but my current big project that I’ve been working on for several years now is Between Life and Death, a drama/horror/supernatural JJBA fic.

(WARNING: PHANTOM BLOOD AND STARDUST CRUSADERS SPOILERS BELOW.)

The plot of the fic is that Dio wins at the end of Stardust Crusaders, and after realizing that he has no hobbies other than harassing the Joestars, he decides to bring Jonathan back by sticking his head (which… we’ll just assume Dio preserved for plot purposes) onto Jotaro’s body. Obviously, Jonathan is NOT happy with this arrangement, but it also turns out that Jotaro’s still alive, just not in control of his body. He can still use his stand, so he essentially uses Star Platinum as a sort of proxy for interacting with the environment around him, even though he only comes out when Jonathan’s alone since he doesn’t want Dio to know he’s alive.

Basically, it’s the story of a depressed vampire and a traumatized ghost. It’s a very introspective fic; most of the story consists of conflicts between Dio and Jonathan, and Jonathan and Jotaro struggling to come to terms with their new existences - Jonathan being unable to reconcile vampirism with his personal morals, and Jotaro having one hell of an identity crisis while also mourning the deaths of his friends and family. The plot is picking up, though, and there is an end goal in mind, as well as an eventual sequel!

As for where the story-in-progress is at right now … well, the next “stage” of the plot is hamon training for Kakyoin and Avdol, which will be fun. This chapter also includes several dream sequences, including an extended appearance by Mary Joestar (Jonathan’s mom), and a very serious and dark scene which I almost ruined by having dream!Will Zeppeli refer to Jonathan as his padawan. Yeah.

Have you any forthcoming works we should look forward to?

As mentioned, I’m working on chapter 9 of Between Life and Death! And working on and off on some stuff for the mutants AU. Most recently, on a whim I rewrote the lyrics to Handbeat Clocktower by MOTHY to be about Jonathan Joestar. Somehow this went far enough that I’m making an actual UTAU rendition of this “parody”, and hopefully it’ll be done sometime in the next few weeks. I’m really having fun with it and I hope people like it!

[peccolias]

Nonny here again! My prompt if you got the same is Namie meeting the next gen team 7

You meant Boruto, Sarada and Mitsuki by next-gen, right? Here it is…witha SUPER aged-up Namie because I couldn’t resist writing her as a crotchety middle-agedninja dealing with children (especially bratty Boruto).

Genfic

No rating warning, brief alcohol mention

~1,300 words

Standard disclaimer: these extras are AU/closer to canon and unrelated to the Laterality continuum because it would never go this far into the series lol 

“Konohamaru, you dragme away from my morning nap, you seriously betterhave something important to say.” Namie leans against the door frame, rubbing attired, lined eyes half-glaring at the young man standing on the other side—the manwho just wouldn’t quit knocking at the door until someone answered. Mostly,he’s grown into a well-mannered adult thanks to his parents, but the annoyingsides of Naruto’s persistence and stubbornnessdefinitely rubbed off on him over the years. No amount of decent child rearing could change that.

“A morning nap? That’s just—” She reaches for the door and he stops that complaint immediately. “Wait, I do! I do, I promise. You know I have a team of genin now, right?” Konohamaru holds up his hands,hoping to ease the tension, because while her glare is mean, her words hold noanimosity. Still, bothering his aunt without good reason is like poking at asleeping bijuu—he knows this from past mistakes.

“Yeah?” She crosses herarms, still giving the stink eye.

“Well—I know this issudden, but everyone else got called away. I thought it’d be a goodidea to bring in a specialist for a lesson, and, y’know…” his voice trails offas she raises an irate brow and he hurriedly gets to the point, pleading. “Look, I wouldn’task if I wasn’t desperate, okay? I’ll even buy you that liquor you like if youhelp!”

He almost flinches whenher eyes turn to the blue scarf tied around his neck and he subconsciously reachesup to tug at its edge, hoping she isn’t thinking of strangling him with it. When her handsreach out he really thinks this is it, this is his last day on earth as aliving shinobi, and being an honorary nephew won’t even save him from herwrath.

But all she does ispurse her lips and straighten the scarf until it sits just right on hisshoulders.

“…You can spar with ‘em,if you want?” he ventures, glad to be spared, cheeks coloring just slightly fromall the embarrassing mother-hen-like fussing. Better than getting kicked into thestreet. But really, the offer is a crapshoot, because getting her to interact with anyonethese days is like pulling teeth.

“Forget the liquor,”she grumbles, setting her hands on her hips. “I’ll do it as a favor, I guess.”

The mention of sparringseems to catch her interest well enough.

“Konohamaru-sensei’sweirdly late today,” Sarada comments, turning to the two teammates sitting onthe grass and leaning against a wooden training log, respectively.  

“Not really a problem,”Boruto shrugs, too engrossed in his handheld gaming device to see the exasperatedlook she sends his way. He curses under his breath when the level boss gets thebetter of him and a series of beeps signal gameover. He sticks his tongue out and glances across the field where Sarada’slooking. “Hey, no, there he is!” He freezes. “Wait—who’s that with ‘im? That’snot…is it?” He jumps to his feet andsquints as they come into view.

“He did say he’d bebringing a specialist in today. Do you know them, Boruto?” Mitsuki asks, pushingaway from the log and approaching his teammates, shielding his eyes from thesun as he watches the two approaching figures. No—three. There’s a dog loping alongat their side, too.

Boruto doesn’t answer,and groans under his breath instead.

Namikaze Namie—better knownas his unsociable hermit of a great aunt who’s only ever been to maybe two family celebrations and doesn’t do much to prove that his dad’s side of the familyis anything but distant—follows behindKonohamaru, and she doesn’t look any more pleased to be here than he is to seeher here. 

When they stop, she crosses her arms, and it’s clear to see she hasno ninja equipment on her person whatsoever. An easy thing to tell because allshe’s wearing is a pair of old grey sweatpants and a tank top. Why even bother, then.

“Oh, it’s you. I thought you didn’t do this kindof thing anymore?” Boruto cuts in with a frown, before Konohamaru even has the chance tointroduce the guest. She turns to him, and narrows her eyes ever-so-slightlybefore grinning. She doesn’t speak just yet, even as Sarada elbows him in theside and gripes at him for his rude greeting and tone.

“Soyou do know her,” Mitsuki comments, afaint smile on his face.

“Yeah,she’s my great aunt,” he huffs out, crossing his arms in a similar way, not breaking the gaze.

“‘Great Aunt?’ Way to make me feel old,Boruto.” Despite the faux-wounded tone of voice, her lips are still set in a wrygrin.

Boruto narrows his eyes.“Whatever. You do look like an oldbum. Why aren’t you in uniform? Put some effort into this, at least, ‘ttebasa.”

“What,you expect me to show up in my Sunday best for a spar? Gimme a break.”

“You—”

Konohamaru clears histhroat and quickly intervenes, but not without some amusement. It isn’t oftensomeone can match Boruto’s attitude. At this rate, though, it might just fan theflames. “Now, now. Sarada, Mitsuki, this is Namie. She’s here to showcase aspecially-developed jutsu since we’ve been studying the creation of newtechniques.”

“What kind of jutsu?”Sarada asks, blinking slowly behind her glasses, eyes shrewd. A realizationhits her. “Actually, you’re not justrelated to the Seventh, you—”

“Who cares? Just show it already,” Boruto interruptswith a scoff. He uncrosses his arms and sizes her up, wondering just what kindof special jutsu his aunt created. None he’s heard of, for sure. Can’t be tooimpressive—no matter who she is.

Mitsuki looks betweenthem, slightly apologetic as Sarada fumes. “Wait, I’d like to hear this, too.”

“No—I agree. Let’s justget into this.” Namie turns to Konohamaru. “Mind if I take over from here?” Itisn’t really a request.

“Ah…no. Go ahead.” Reluctantly,he takes a few steps back, careful to step over the big brown dog snoozing inthe grass, giving the lesson over to her. Watching from the sidelines won’t beso bad. Hopefully.  

“Alright.” The grindrops from her face as she turns back to the three genin who return the starewith varying degrees of wariness. “You three come at me with your best shot. Don’thold back.”

“Just like that?”Sarada’s eyes widen, and she and Mitsuki remain still, caught off guard by therequest, but they’re the only ones.

Boruto breaks into an immediate lunge, hands forming the seals for the Shadow Clone jutsu, duplicatinghimself threefold.

He and the group ofclones close in with echoing yells—some throwing kicks, some striking with kunai.

But none make contact.

Soles of sandalscollide with a shimmery yellow-gold surface radiating from Namie’s palm. Kunairicochet off. Nothing breaks through, and the collision shocks the clones intoevaporating, leaving nothing but smoke behind. And Boruto, lingering in the haze. His foot remains planted against the chakra shield—her hand shoots out to snag him bythe ankle.

Before she can get a firm grip,he substitutes away and she’s left with a wooden stump at her feet. She kicks it aside as her eyes follow his retreat.

“Well, you’re fast,” she praises,and if he hears, he doesn’t show it—only crouches a safe distance away, eyeswide. He doesn’t move to attack again.

“…You’re the creator ofthe Shining Golden Chakra Shield, also known as Aura. And you gained quite abit of fame during the Third and Fourth Shinobi Wars!” Sarada completes herearlier sentence, hands clutched in front of her chest as she takes a stepforward, eyes filled with admiration.

“Ah, yeah…been a while since I’ve heard that,” Namie nods, lowering her hand, dispersing her chakra shield. She rubsat her shoulder for a moment before taking a deep breath. “Anyway, what about you two? Mitsuki, Sarada, right? How ‘bout you threemake a joint effort this time? Land a hit on me and I’ll tell you the specificsof this technique.” The grin returns. “Ifyou think you can.”

Both look back toBoruto, who breaks out of his daze and walks up to join them. The three exchangea nod and charge in with determined smiles.

[eponymous-rose]

I hope this doesn't sound bratty, but I was wondering how to get more notes or kudos on fics? I'm starting to get really discourage...

Aw man, no, not bratty at all! Much as I’d love to say “psssh the numbers don’t matter,” or “be sure to appreciate every single note because it means somebody read your stuff!” (which is true) I know exactly how frustrating it can be to see maybe one or two notes or kudos (tops!) on the story you spent ages writing. To that end, I have some super duper cynical advice, and then I have some more genuine advice, and both are really based on the fact that, once you hit a certain baseline level of coherence, the quality of the writing has almost nothing to do with the number of notes or kudos it gets.

Here’s the super duper cynical advice that probably applies to almost all major fandoms: write the most popular ship. Most of the time, it’ll be super easy to spot! Find the fandom fave character, who by complete coincidence is almost always the most conventionally attractive and whitest dude on the show, even if he’s a relatively minor character. Does he have a close male friend that the actors and producers constantly joke/hint might be something more? Write ‘em together! Is there a female character who may or may not be a love interest but seems to be heading in that direction? Write ‘em together! In all cases, though, make sure that the fandom fave is the center of the story, and that his female love interest/less-conventionally-attractive and/or less-white male love interest is mostly there as a means of providing support for the fandom fave’s angst. Better yet, create a villain who opposes the ship and must be defeated: an inexplicably vicious revenge-driven canon female love interest is a common choice when writing m/m fic, and an unexpected betrayal by the female character’s best friend that sends her straight into the fandom fave’s arms is a common choice when writing m/f fic. Write slow-burn fic with a vanilla sex scene at the end. Scene.

…it hurt to write that. Listen, it’s undeniable that there’s some amazing and creative and thoughtful stuff out there for these mega-pairings, and if that’s what floats your boat, by all means, go for it (I’ve shipped and written for mega-pairings, goodness knows), but it’s also kinda important to keep in mind that the way these mega-pairings come about and the way they tend to be written most commonly can be… not good—some of that’s on the show-creators’ end, some of that’s on fandom’s end, and it’s all a mess. But if you just want notes, go ahead and write that to the exclusion of all else (just please try to keep away from the more actively offensive trends, whatever you write?). You’re more likely to get picked up by the big-name fans, because they probably became the big-name fans by writing that stuff themselves.

Here’s the more genuine advice: there’s an element of randomness to what does and doesn’t get picked up by the internet, and once it happens to you one time, it’s more likely to happen again. Here’s some more of the genuine advice: passion shows. If you’re passionate about a teeny-tiny little pairing or no pairing at all, you’re way, way, way more likely to write an enjoyable and likeable story than if you force yourself to write the big, popular stuff. You might put out a dozen fics that get virtually no attention, but if you keep producing quality stuff that lights a fire under you, that thirteenth could well get picked up and reblogged by someone with a sizeable following, or appear on somebody’s rec list, and then your backlog will be the delight of all. Try new things. Have fun.

There’s also been, over the past five years or so, a slow-growing fatigue with the old model I mentioned up in the super duper cynical advice paragraph. Fandom is changing, slowly but surely, and is starting to push back against its more distasteful elements. You see it pretty frequently now: conventional fandom-fave-ship fics will reliably pull in a lot of notes, but every now and then something completely off-the-wall and creative and brilliant will resonate with everyone at once and it’ll pull in a lot of notes. That happens. Take note when it does, because that’s the way fandom’s slowly shifting, and that’s nothing but a good sign.

I mean, heck, I write mostly PG-13-rated genfic focusing on female characters and femslash, which isn’t exactly most fandoms’ favorite thing; I went through a very, very, very long drought in terms of support and interest when I started writing, and the only thing that kept me going was that I genuinely loved what I was writing. For whatever specific numbers are worth, for me and my relatively small- to medium-sized fandoms, it took slowly climbing to a four-digit follower count on tumblr and a three-digit subscription count on AO3 to ensure any sort of reliable interest in the stories I wrote, no matter the content. How do you get there? Reblog the stuff you like. Create in other ways, if you can–fanart, gifsets. Make shorter meta posts that require less effort on your part but might get people’s wheels turning in a familiar way. Review other people’s fics. If you’re participating in the community, it makes it a lot easier to maybe convince people to try reading something that might be a little outside of their usual wheelhouse. You gotta be having fun, first and foremost, or else what’s the point? And it’s marvelous when you pull in someone new. One of my favorite things is getting comments on a post that start with “I literally never read genfic, but…” Most of all, try to communicate how grateful you are when something like that happens. It’s so important to let people know how much it means to you that they took an interest in your passion.

Anyway, this is all really rambly and I hope some of it makes sense. I’m sorry you’re feeling discouraged, but I hope you stick with what you’re doing, because goodness knows fandom could always use more variety!