#basically just the written version of my last fanart

[cellophanetowers]

What a dumbass.

Scarface thought, he stared up at the bound vigilante with a grin on his face. What a haul. The so-called ‘Hero of Gotham’ couldn’t see through an obvious trap. And here he dangled over a pit, left to Scarface’s mercy.

He couldn’t help but feel angry at the Bat, not just for butting into his business, but for laying his hands on Wesker. He had to help the old coot dress himself every day, did he really think he wouldn’t notice the hearing device on him? That bastard had no right going into Wesker’s room, and he would make sure he knew it.

Mugsy giggled to Rhino, “Who’dve thought it’d be platinum that would take him out?”.

Scarface shot a smirk to Mugsy as the vigilante opened his eyes. “See, the Bat’s not so tough. Comes up against Scarface, he’s just another dummy." He shot a smirk at the Bat, "It was a trap, start to finish, and you fell for it like a world class sucker.” He taunted, Batman only glared.

Scarface raised Wesker into view, “You thought you were smart with that little hearing aid trick of yours,” He yanked the device out of the dummy’s bow, “but I gotta help this lazy slacker get dressed since he can barely tie a knot.” Wesker gave him an apologetic look as he slammed his foot onto the device.

“You’re not as smart as you think, Scarface.” Batman chided, did he really think he was in any position to speak against him?

Scarface aimed his gun right at him, “I’d watch my mouth if I were you, Bats. One bullet through that rope and you’re history, get my point?” 

Unsurprisingly, the Bat barely reacted. “How do you think I found this place? The phonebook? I had help; Inside help.” He simply rebuked. The revelation made Scarface’s face go red. He glared at his lackeys.

“My premonotion!” Scarface yelled, whipping his head around at his lackeys. “I knew I was right! Which one of you louses is it!?” He could feel Wesker place a hand on his wrist, it didn’t do anything to calm him down.

“It ain’t me, boss!” Rhino blabbered. Scarface rolled his eyes.

“I know it ain’t you, Rhino! You’re too stupid to be a traitor.” He snarked, he turned his attention to his two other goons. “But whoever it is, they’re gonna pay! Big time!” 

He smacked Wesker’s tiny hand off of him and snarled at Batman. “Who is it! You don’t talk, you get the ultimate massage!” He pointed his gun right at the rope.

“And if I tell?” Batman asked, nonchalantly.

“Maybe you just get run over by a truck.” Scarface taunted, it’ve amused him if he was in his better senses.

“Tempting, but no.” Well, if that’s what he wanted..

“Have it your way, Rhino?” Scarface said, turning his head towards the goon. He’d figure out the backstabber one way or another. And he’d throw them down the same exact pit. Hopefully before Wesker would bitch about how that’s morally wrong.

He was pulled out of his thoughts as Batman yelled “Hold it!” He shot an annoyed glance at him.

“This is getting old, Bats. Last chance, who’s the traitor?” He snarled.

“Him! Your butler, Wesker!” Batman yelled, looking right at Wesker.

Everything seemed to freeze for Scarface for a moment, he wouldn’t. He couldn’t. That ignoramus little cretin didn’t have it in him… But… then again, did he? It’s not like he treated the dummy with respect. The imbecile annoyed him to no end, perhaps this was his payback

He snapped out of his trance as Wesker waved his dangly arms, yelling “No, no! He’s lying! I haven’t spoken with him at all! He came in when I was asleep, remember!?”

Scarface wasn’t buying it. “You don’t think that sounds like a convenient excuse? The Bat just came in while you an’ I were asleep, and left without a word?” 

A voice suddenly yelled, “Shut up, you blockhead!”

It sounded odd, but it couldn’t have come from anyone but Wesker. He gripped the puppet by the throat and held it high, “What did you say!?”

The dummy had a terrified expression, “It wasn’t me! I didn’t say anything, my lips didn’t move!”

“You speak with a slack-jaw all the time! I have to help you move your mouth to make you seem like a normal fucking person!” Scarface yelled, his grip tightening. He loomed over Wesker, the dummy started to back away. “You’re a goddamn ingrate, a backstabbing little-”

“I respect you! I respect everything you do! I didn’t snitch, I’m loyal!” The dummy pleaded.

“He’s been feeding me information for legal protection!” Batman cut in.

“Say ‘hi’ to Genovese for me, Firecracker.” The voice taunted, Scarface snapped.

“Why you little-” He pointed his tommy gun straight at Wesker’s skull. How could he? He’d known Wesker a long time, he gave him a much better job than his shitty family did with that whole servant position. Sure, it was for him instead, but at least Wesker wouldn’t have to worry about a bullet flying into his neck. Not like last time… 

“Gimme one good reason not to blast your tiny little head off!” Scarface yelled.

Wesker’s eyes bulged behind his glasses, “Please Mister Scarface! I’ve taken care of you for a long time, I’d never go behind your back!”

Scarface’s lip almost trembled, Arnold’s always been good to him, too good. It sickened him, watching that dummy move around in a hurry to fold his sheets, organize his papers. He always did a terrible job at it, Scarface always had to fix his messes. 

Well not anymore… and yet… he didn’t know if he had it in him to pull the trigger. 

“...Do you want us to take care of him for you, boss?” Mugsy chimed in, Scarface turned around enraged. He aimed his gun at Mugsy, who backed away with his hands raised, “Back off! No one touches the dummy, but me!”

“Please…” Wesker whined.

Scarface shook his head, turning his attention back to Wesker. “Don’t you try to manipulate me, Dummy. I’m not gonna fall for your sniveling anym-”

His hand was struck by an object, his gun went flying and he looked down at his hand, there was a small gash. He turned to see Batman swinging from the ropes. He shrieked “I’m hit boys! Get’em!”

His goons shot at Batman as he landed on the ground. To their dismay, they missed. “Fetch him, Rhino!” Scarface yelled, as Batman clocked Mugsy.

“No problem.” Rhino said before running up to Batman.

Things were really looking dire, chances were, not even Rhino could stand against Batman. He looked down at Wesker. The dummy was watching the fight, dissociated. Scarface tsk’ed and set him on the ground. He’d deal with that little backstabber later.

He looked for an opening to join the fight, choosing to settle when Batman was trying to prevent Rhino from strangling him. Unluckily for him, Batman threw his goon straight at him. It didn’t stop either of them however. Scarface aimed for his stomach while Rhino aimed for his face. His punch missed and Batman kicked him in the chest, sending him flying towards one of the shelves. 

Rhino got knocked into one of the walls, he rubbed his head and growled as Batman simply stared at him. He charged at Batman, who dodged, leading to him crashing into one of the shelves. Scarface yanked Wesker away as the shelf came crashing down.

Batman slowly walked up to the two, Scarface stood straight up and raised his fists. If his schemes that he worked hard to set up were busted, fine. He’d live. But he sure as hell wasn’t going to prison without a fight.

In the corner of his eye, he saw Mugsy raise his gun, there was a chance. He would serve as the distraction while Mugsy would light him up. 

All of the sudden, he felt his blood run cold, Wesker was right by Batman’s feet. He would get caught in the crossfire. Not again… he couldn’t bring himself to watch his friend get buried once more. He shouted “No!”, but it was too late. 

An array of bullets shot towards Batman, he jumped away, while Scarface jumped forward. He gritted his teeth as he felt a few of the bullets pierce his arms and body. He held Wesker in one of his arms while he pressed against the shelf. The wounds were excruciating, he could hear Arnold worrying over him through the blasts of the machine gun. 

The bullets stopped and Scarface heard Mugsy gasp at his wounds, he saw Batman throw a batarang at him. But he didn’t focus on that, he shakily held up Arnold to look for any wounds. He let out a breathy sigh when he saw that his friend was fine. Arnold let out a cry when he saw the bullet holes littering his boss, he pressed his face against Scarface’s chest, muttering apologies and “thank you”s.

His ego wouldn’t normally allow it, but he hugged Arnold back.

[wintergrew]

It's wild that The Thief is turning seven this year and the sp fandom is dead as hell and yet I still see people talk about it. Anyway i want to address some FAQs i guess which also means SPOILERS

Will you ever traditionally publish The Thief Trilogy?

Very unlikely because rewriting it all over again only to then be rejected by every literary agent ever would be such an annoying colossal waste of time.

Will you finish The Princess?

I want to, but it's a big pain to write for a lot of reasons. Most of them being figuring out the timeline. But I do want to.

Insert some iteration of "will you publish professionally?" or comment expressing that sentiment

It's a very sweet sentiment that used to mean the world to me but basically: I've tried. I've spent years writing original novel manuscripts and then spent tons of money I don't have trying to perfect them (which is unfortunately all but required nowadays) but the publishing industry has zero interest in anything I write. So while it is a very kind sentiment to comment this on my stuff, seeing it after getting hundreds of form rejections from literary agents/publishers kind of just feels like salt on the wound these day. 😔✊

(also I'm too poor for self publishing)

Can I translate/draw fanart/etc?

OF COURSE IT MEANS THE WORLD TO ME.

Translations are always fine, but please link me! If you want to repost it in English somewhere, you must ask though. If it's a region blocked website in China or something it's probably fine, but Wattpad is not.

Can I publish something inspired by your work?

If you mean fanfiction of my fanfiction then technically idc as long as you credit and aren't rude. But i mean i don't own SOT so nothing stops you from doing your own thing.

Plagiarism is an obvious no.

Trying to rewrite and profit off of my idea is never allowed. I never thought I'd have to say this but since it has in fact happened no, you cannot change my story into an original version and try to publish it for a profit. That would be very, very illegal (even if you do change minor details!)

What is The Thief inspired by?

Star Wars, a lot of nonfiction books on the middle ages i read in 2017-18 for some reason, and getting a degree in political science. And some Dragon Age Origins in terms of high fantasy because (as someone who could never get into LOTR or GOT) that's my biggest point of reference.

The twist is very KOTOR (an older Star Wars game) inspired and the magic system blatantly streals a lot from The Force. I'm a huge Star Wars fan.

I often get asked if I'm inspired by things I've never heard of and tbh if it's not the above then probably not. I also get SNK but i only watched the first season forever ago and the similarities in city set up are there, but largely because both are based on historical Europe's walled cities of that era.

(i love middle ages European history, but do not actually think of my South Park fanfiction as historically accurate because it's not)

Will you write a sequel/epilogue?

The last chapter of the assassin was originally titled "epilogue" because i view it as that.

I do picture what happened after however, to me it's more visual still pictures than narrative writing. But I'm not good at drawing and I'm too poor to commission someone to draw it. But it looks cool in my head, so there's that.

I do have an idea set in the same universe literally centuries or millennia later that i have quite a few chapters written for, but it would be original characters. Craig's role would be mentioned and important for obvious reasons but mainly just mentioned or as that religious figure. But I would go for traditional publishing for that, so i couldn't call him Craig or anything and legally speaking "what do you mean, of course it's not a sequel to my fanfiction" but iykyk

That said, it will probably never be published and therefore unlikely to see the light of day so //shrug emoji.

Why is Thomas like that?

Idgaf anymore so I'll just say that it was because i was really annoyed by very specific circa 2020 fanon Thomas portrayals and a bunch of *draws Creek* *calls it Cromas* and then turning around and acting superior because they don't ship Creek, they ship Creek with slightly darker blond hair.

I feel like that's not even really a thing in fandom anymore, I was just really annoyed at the time and I'm very easily fueled by spite.

Is Style canon?

Whatever you want.

I have a vague idea of what their whole thing is but since I never wrote it there's DOTA.

Though i do think if I'm ever rich and can commission artists to draw the not-epilogue thing it would somewhat answer this question maybe

Can I fic bind?

As of now: Yes! Please let me know ahead of time and show me after! (I love seeing it!!!)

That is with the caveat that it is 1) just for you or a friend 2) not done professionally through a third party 3) not for a profit

Will you ever release physical copies?

No for various reasons, both legal and professional

That's all I can think of off of the top of my head.

[acidrain39]

this is probably like. the stupidest tging to post on new years eve but i need to yap about it.

so uh theres this game i really like, its called OMORI & its a psychological horror rpg (not super scary to me but the characters are beautifully written & the story is sad as fuck). in its fandom theres quite a lot of shipping & theres one ship that really confuses me (sunny x omori aka omosun)

its like pseudo selfcest???? not really since its some guy (sunny) x the manifestation of his shitty ass coping mechanism (omori) that happens to be suspiciously his pre-trauma self shaped. but the thing is, this ship kind of fucks up the main plot of the game (not in an enjoyable, au way).

to make this a bit more clear to others since i mainly post about mcr,(+ in my more active days in the OMORI fandom i only had pinterest, now that i have tumblr the fandom is kinda Dead! ngl) in this game, sunny has gone through a highly traumatic event, which made him not leave his house for approx. 4 years & create a very rich inside world (accessed through his dreams) where his life is Still Perfectly Fine & he goes through some silly fun adventures with his friends while his brain suppresses the memories of said traumatic event & basically anything slightly related to it.

this reality also has a way more idealistic version of his friends, looking over their flaws & struggles. in this dream world (referred ro as headspace in the game), sunny isnt exactly the one going through these silly shenanigans, but rather omori, an idealized version of him that also symbolizes a fuck ton of stuff ill get into a bit later.

in OMORIs storyline, sunny ends up leaving his house to say goodbye to his friend kel (hes moving out of his town in a few days), and he ends up having to deal with the fact that his friends changed a lot ever since the last time he saw them, which consequently leads him to slowly figure out what happened that made hm traumatized & fractured his friend group, and that also makes him confront his very way of coping (also confronting the manifestation of that, omori).

omori as a character is very weird because hes more composed of symbolism & metaphors rather than being an actual tangible guy? even sunnys trauma demon is more normal than this guy. like not only is he an idealized version of sunny & a manifestation of his way of coping, but the way he despises sunny and wants to kill him is also a metaphor for how sunny just fuckinh hates himself and wants ro die????? who is this fuckin guy????? like yeah it makes sense that omrois going to further sunnys character but hes still weird. not like thats a bad thing though

the reason why omosun really confuses me is that if you were to make sunny & omori want to make out or something, youd not onky be completely fucking up their character dynamic, but youd qlso kinda disregard the games whole story.

like i guess if you wanted to portray this ship as a toxic ass relationship to symbolize how sunnys coping mechanism is only really messimg him up i guess thatd be interesting (wouldnt appeal to me but is still a solid concept ig) but from what ive seen of it peopel juts genuinely think that its cute & want to see them make out or do even more things…. also theres always some dynamic where sunnys an uwu soft boy & omori is like an alpha male that protects him?????

also the way omori was portrayed in the fanarts ive unfortunately seen was just l*libait. he would not fucking act like that hes not 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓴𝔂 hes a freak as in he is creepy & weird & will kill you stop drawing this guy thats already physically 12 years old as someone who looks 9 in sexual situations youre gross i will find you and send you to the deepest, darkest pits of hell Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge style.

if anyone actually read this i just want to say sorry for this situation i just needed to get this out of my system

uhhh have some silly mcr pics thatll probably make you feel a but better

[chill-vibes-but-rainbow-panic]

7, 8, and 11 from the thingy that you rb earlier

:))

OG List

(I apologize in advance for the long answers, I just love answering stuff like that and I have a lot to say :] )

7. Your favourite tropes to read/write/draw

(I love them all the same, but it is slightly different for each, so I'm making a destinction)

Read: Honestly, kidnapping. I love characters getting kidnapped, and their loved ones worrying/rescuing them. This also includes more-or-less any type of 'going missing'-plot (incl. Char A just running away themselves). Just the feeling of "I have no idea where or how they are, and if they're even still alive", and then the relief when they meet again. Hmmm

Write: 'The world has been cruel and hard to you - therefore I won't be. I want to show you the beauty it has to offer, too <3' This is the best way I can describe it. Characters who've just had a rough time/life being unconditionally cared for and supported. Getting everything their heart has desired for so long. Short: Hurt/Comfort

Draw: While I have yet to draw this myself, actually (because humanoids are hard), any drawing of one character being hurt or scared, while another stands over them caringly and protectively - obviously willing to kick some ass if needed - has me go wild.

8. You hope more people will come to appreciate ___ (a ship, a trope, an episode, etc)

I understand that some people find the market oversaturated by now - that's valid - but still: Redemption

I love redemption so much. I want the story to gently cup a character's face and say "You are broken, but not beyond repair. You can get better, and be happy, and be surrounded by people you love and that love you back." They don't even necessarily need trauma or have gone down a super dark path, I also enjoy: "Character is a massive jerk, and we follow them down the road of being less of a jerk". These are honestly the main reasons both the 'Good Uncle Sly' and 'Apple Cousins' AUs exist.

There are few exceptions I can think of, of villains I'm personally obsessed with, and have not made a version of, where they are redeemed. I look at Reginald Bushroot, and Camille Chameleon, and the Dark Curse - and while for some more than others - there will usually be something at the back of my mind asking: "What if you didn't have to? What if you found love? What if you got to live a quiet, gentle life? What if one day you realized you live in a reality you would never have imagined come true? In a good way? What if everyone could be okay?"

Just

Redemption

11. If you're a writer or artist, what fic or piece of art are you proud of making?

Fic: Family Discount

I was honestly surprised how many people liked that fic. Between 11 fics in total, this one definitely has some of my favourite comments (and it also has a surprsing amount of comments, I didn't expect that tbh). I was a little worried about posting a fanfic chapter-by-chapter, because the last time I tried that I basically (though not officially yet) stopped after one, because I can't write slice of life, it seems.

But so many people got emotionally invested in my writing, and I honestly didn't expect that? But even though I'm forced to take a semi-long break (for exam reasons), it is extremely motivating, and makes me feel that (as vague as it sounds), my stories do do something. How much joy the stuff you make can bring other people, is honestly so cool. Even if it's just a little fanart, or an ask, or a slightly-self-indulgent fanfic :)

I'm proud of having actually got this far, and also having written something me and other people love to read

Art:

I'm actually a little embarassed of this drawing, which I know sounds counter-intuitive to the prompt, but I swear, there is a reason it's here!

This is my first, and currently only drawing of the Flim-Flam-Brothers

I had basically no idea what I was going to do with their designs, and I also only had 60min, with limited tools (because Colormari)

But the thing about this drawing, was that our prompt was basically just "New Years Resolutions". And mine was that I wanted to create more art, without getting bossed around by my inner sense of cringe. Because, while I have absolutely no problem with ranting and rambling and talking about my favourite characters all over the place; as soon as I want to put them into any form of art, my organs feel like they'll turn me inside out. It's the reason this blog has dozens of rambles about how much I love Darkwing Duck, and yet zero art of any of its characters (made by me).

But I made this - and kept it around - even though I knew the characters wouldn't look the best.

So this is the drawing I'm most proud of, because it actually exists :)

[silverxcristal]

Did you learn english so you could talk with Octy ? /gen

TL;DR: No, but thanks to her I speak it more fluidly (debatable)

Oh no, I already (sort of) speak English before I met Octy; In school English is a obligatory class from Kindergarten to Cuarto Medio (last year of high-school), I knew the basics from there- although I was always a mediocre student in school (I never learn past verbs correctly, I will slap an -Ed and pray for the best)

When I was a pre-teen I used to post my art on different Spanish speaking forum websites AND Deviantart, English text website. The actions and clicks were a trial and error to know new words and I did met a few users who speak spanish too (mainly from the forums) so it felt like a practice English reading comprehension but I mainly speak spanish. There were also many videogames that never got a spanish translation and I had to just- play without knowing whats going on until I'm stuck, or trial and error and see what happened, learn and assimilate words or get that teached at school

When I shift to Tumblr in 2011... well Tumblr didn't had a spanish version back then, and all the fandoms and stuff I liked were mainly English territory. I grew apart from Latino fandoms (and friendships...) growing up as I saw the English one more appealing to what I like.

But again, my English was mediocre, the education we get about the language is "to serve"; we can read and understand but we can't write or speak to communicate, if you want a better english you have to pay for private classes (school did offer kids those classes with discount to thoses who had potential in english. But again, I was a mediocre student)

I have been surviving with that english over here for a whilensjsjaosbsi mainly alone, talking to myself bc the content i made was always oc related or mediocre fanart, it wasn't until 2014 when my art was rebloged by somebody important to fnaf fandom that my blog reached the 100 followers and I got eyes on me and that sort of boosts my stupid confidence and I just keep posting and writing in broken English and shifted to fandom art and stuff

When I was in the middle of that I met Octy, i gotta remark that ever since I became her friend and later girlfriend I've been able to practice almost daily my written and speaking English, my pronunciation sucks and I struggle with the way vowels sound different in both languages, but sometimes I caught myself thinking in English or not struggling thinking on translating my thoughts and I think that's cool

Octy is a english minor and oh boy she must suffer reading some of my wording sometimes, but she also remarks I am being understood with how I talk. The other day she said my English is way better than when we first met and that make me happy, not only I don't see my own progress but she also remembers that

[grumpycakes]

i didn't realize you liked merlin!!!! also that merwaine au idea is great. have you ever made any merlin fanart?

Oh friend I'm surprised you've never seen any!! I watched it a bunch in college but never went through season 5 cause fuck all those choices.

I mostly focus on Merwaine cause they're my favs for shipping, but I did a few pieces of other charas for Merlin art tag games!

Most liked Merwaine piece of mine

My fav atm (I'm working on a commission that's gonna be my new Merwaine fav)

My Morgana and Gwen piece for an art tag!

My Elyan and Percival Tag (THAT I NEVER POSTED THE PIECE TO?????)

ALSO I've written MOST of a fic... that I need to ... update rofl. I know what needs to happen just don't know how to get there

Basically an AU where Morgana told Arthur she had magic and they found out they were siblings young. While Merlin was raised by Druids to teach him how to control his magic

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

it's *+~DRAMATIC~+* but that's my M.O. and Merwaine, but a bit of Arthur x Gwen x Lancelot is there so > w >

[antimonarchy]

How to Create Image Descriptions

So I’ve been creating image descriptions on tumblr for about a month, and I wanted to share some helpful guides I’ve found on how to create them as well as my own tips that I’ve picked up. Video descriptions and transcripts are also necessary, but since I mostly focus on image descriptions that’s what this guide is about. This might get a bit long, so fair warning. 

What are image descriptions?

Image descriptions are a textual depiction of what is going on in an image, as shown with the image below. 

[Image ID: A picture of a person with short black hair working on a computer. They are sitting at a wooden table with a large blue pot of pink flowers in front of a grey brick wall. A guitar is propped up against the wall in the background, and there is a string of lights near the ceiling. /.End ID]

Why create image descriptions?

The primary reason for creating image descriptions is to allow people who are blind/have limited vision to experience visual content. Many people who are blind/have low vision use screenreaders, which read text out loud when it is clicked or hovered over with a mouse. A large amount of online content, such as pictures, graphics, or drawings, is visual and so possibly cannot be experienced by someone with vision problems. As a general rule of thumb, anything that can be dragged or dropped most probably requires a description. In addition, if someone has partial vision and attempts to zoom in on an image, sometimes it can become pixelated and impossible to understand. 

Some neurodivergent people might need a description to understand the tone of an image, such as the meaning of facial expressions of a person to understand what emotion the artist is trying to depict

Some people might not have high speed internet or have low computer memory, meaning that they turn off images in order to save space. This means that they as well might require descriptions of visual content

Are image descriptions the same as alt text?

no, alt text and image descriptions serve the same purpose, but they are different in how they are presented. Alt text, short for alternative text, is included in the html of an image and can be read by a screen reader. However, there are many reasons why many prefer image descriptions over alt text. 

There is a limit of 200 words in alt text on tumblr specifically (and not in other contexts, which makes this information only applicable here), which means that detailed images or graphics are unable to be described fully without possibly cutting out important information. 

People who require descriptions, but who do not use a screenreader, must right-click and search through the html of an image in order to find alt text, but with an image description they are saved that work. 

Who should create image descriptions?

Everyone who is able to should create image descriptions. A content creator is best able to communicate the message of their work through text, as they are the one who created it and thus understand its message the best. While of course it takes practice when starting out, over time image descriptions become second nature when posting visual content. Always check the notes of a tumblr post for an ID rather than reblogging without one. 

What should be included in image descriptions?

There is no simple answer to this question, there are a variety of resources and guides on how to create one, and you should not accept my advice as the ultimate authority, as I am by no means a professional, and only create descriptions in my spare time as part of the effort to make Tumblr more accessible. However, here is my information for those starting out. 

First, consider what type of visual content it is. Is it fanart of a tv show, a screenshot of a tweet, or an informational graphic meant to educate people on a particular issue? 

Then, consider what information is most important in the image. If the visual content is an image of a famous building, then in writing the description the focus should be on the building, rather than describing for instance the color of the sky, surrounding buildings, or the clothing of the people walking by, as they are not the information that is being presented. 

Perkins ELearning has an excellent list of things that should generally be included, which I will include here. In my experience, these are the most important elements to describe

The people and animals in an image

The background or setting of an image

Elements that relate to the context specifically, so if it was an image of a congested highway on a news website, the description would mention the packed cars

The colors of an image (don’t overdo it however, a simple ‘light blue’ will suffice, no need to say something like ‘a color blue that is similar to the color of a robin’s egg’ unless it is crucial to the viewer’s comprehension of an image)

Context for an image. For instance, imagine if someone had drawn a version of the Bernie Sanders ‘I am once again asking’ meme, with Eleanor Shellstrop from the Good Place saying “I am once again asking for there to be a Medium Place.” Rather than provide a description to the example such as:                                          [Image ID: A drawing of Eleanor Shellstrop saying “I am once again asking for there to be a Medium Place.” /.End ID] you would instead say                                                                                                [Image ID: A redraw of the Bernie Sanders ‘I am once again asking’ meme with Eleanor Shellstrop from The Good Place saying “I am once again asking for there to be a Medium Place. /.End ID]

If the image is of a social media post, include the username/handle of the creator as well as the reactions (likes/reblogs) if they are visible in the image, as they may be cut off by the original screenshotter. 

If it is a drawing or piece of art, always look for the artist’s signature when writing a description

How do I write an image description?

To start off, here is an example description written for a piece of art I made myself. 

[Image ID: A digital drawing of Suki from Avatar: The Last Airbender over a gold background.  She is shown from the shoulders up facing the viewer, and has a neutral expression. She is wearing metal armor over a light green tunic, and is wearing her Kyoshi Warriors facepaint and headdress. The artist’s signature ‘Astra’ is written in the lower right of the image. /.End ID]

In this description:

I made clear where the description begins and ends, so that someone with a screenreader is not confused. I usually use brackets ([ ]), write the words ‘Image ID’ (or video/gif/other) and finish with a slash, period, and the words End ID. (/.End ID)

I emphasized the type of image, in this case a digital drawing

I said the character’s name (obviously this may not be known if describing a photo or something you are not familiar with)

I described the background and the character’s clothing

I described her expression

I included the description of my signature.

This is my basic process for writing a description

I first say what the content is, such as a drawing, photo, or screenshot of a tweet.

I then use what is called Object-Action-Context for the most part, which UXDesign has a long article on https://uxdesign.cc/how-to-write-an-image-description-2f30d3bf5546. For example, [Image ID: A photo of a person standing in a crowd waving to someone out of view in front of a river. /.End ID] While obviously I would usually provide more information than that, Person = object, standing + waving to someone out of view = action, and ‘in a crowd’ = context. 

I describe the clothing that might be worn

I talk about the position that people in an image might be in, such as leaning against one another on a couch, or standing with their fingers intertwined

I talk about the expressions on their faces, if shown

I talk about their general appearance (if important to the description) such as hair color/length

As said before, I talk about the context of an image if necessary

If the background is a simple color, I usually include it in the first sentence of the description. However if it is more complicated, such as a river winding through a dense forest, I include that at the end of the description after describing the important elements. 

Typically if I am reblogging an image, I do not add on any commentary after creating an image description, as this allows others to reblog my description without my personal reaction. If I want to add on to an image, I usually reblog my description post. 

In general, it is best to remain objective when writing a description, meaning not including your opinion of the content. However especially in an informal setting, say for instance you were describing an adorable cow, I would see it as fine to say [Image ID: A small drawing of an adorable cow. /.End ID] because the emphasis is on the appearance. There isn’t a clearcut answer, and it really depends on the context. 

What are some tips for writing descriptions/common pitfalls?

If there is an element of an image like a line that represents an emotion, or a sound effect like ‘clang’ if something falls, include that in the description. For instance, [Image ID: ...beside the mug that has fallen on the floor, there are the words ‘sploosh’ indicating the sound of the water that has spilled out. /.End ID]

Put image descriptions first. Don’t hide them under readmores or any other text. If you have something with multiple images and you are the creator, place the description under each image in succession rather than all at the end. Readmores are ableist, as they require someone who has vision problems/one of the conditions described above to do more work to access the message of visual content. 

If you are mentioning the skin color and/or race of someone in an image, make sure you describe it for anyone else who might be in an image. Don’t just describe the race of someone who appears to not be white. This doesn’t mean that you have to describe race, such as if the character is one whose race is commonly known, just that if you do, make sure you do it for all characters/people in an image. 

In order to write IDs effectively, I’ve found it useful to download a screen reader. I use NVDA, which is entirely free and easy to use and can be downloaded here: https://www.nvaccess.org/download/. 

Insert + Q turns it off

While my guide has focused mostly on image descriptions, video descriptions are also necessary. However they are not my area of expertise, and differ slightly, so I would recommend anyone interested in them to check out this website https://www.washington.edu/accessibility/videos/

Transcripts, for those who are d/Deaf/Hard of Hearing, are also necessary for making content accessible, and might be required for content that also has a visual format, such as a Tiktok. I would recommend this website https://www.w3.org/WAI/media/av/transcripts/ for anyone interested in writing transcripts

What are some more resources I can check out?

Here are a series of websites that I have found while researching how to write descriptions

UX Design -  I mentioned UX Design earlier when talking about Object - Action - Context, this article is very useful and examines how to structure a description and provides very useful examples for beginners

Perkins E-Learning - This article is very useful in helping someone what to include in a description, such as clothing or background information, as well as providing some additional information on alt text if you are interested

Meloukhianet - This blog post by s. e. smith goes into detail on the elements of an image to emphasize depending on its context, using the example of a picture of their cat sunning himself. 

SOAP - This article by the Stanford Online Accessibility Program (SOAP) provides a large amount of information on the purpose of image descriptions and what content requires them

HubPages - This article by SOTD and Zera discusses the difference between sparse, lush, and overdone descriptions, which is the amount of information included, and if/when each should be used. 

I hope you found this information helpful, I encourage everyone to check out these websites, and my inbox is always open for questions!

[norealgoodbyes]

Been trying to think about the news today and it still really doesn’t feel real. Or at least the meaning hasn’t really hit me yet. I’m not sure if or when it will. If I were an artist maybe I get some of what I’m feeling out of my system that way, but I’m not. I’m not much of a writer either, but I’ve seen a few people talk about what Yu-Gi-Oh! meant to them personally and I figure maybe I could try that.

One of the clearest memories of my childhood is of watching the precipice duel- I’d think I’d been casually watching the show for a while up till then, but that’s when it totally changed to me. My parents had routinely been getting me into various sports and extracurriculars that I did not want to be in and that Saturday morning I had a softball game to get to. My dad basically had to drag me out of the house to get me there and I missed the last half of the episode. I remember seeing the rotting BEWD melt around Mokuba in Kaiba’s hallucination and it stuck with me through the entire drizzly game. It had to have been the first time I think I really cared about characters in a piece of media to that extent. And I didn’t have anyone to talk about it with. 

I had friends as a kid, but kids can be cruel. I’d learned a few years prior that Pokemon was no longer a safe thing to talk about at school if I wanted to enjoy my recess. It was clear from the get go that Yu-Gi-Oh would fall into the same category. It’s not like I was getting beaten up, but I was a dumb, sensitive kid who was painfully honest. Kindof an easy target. I didn’t have the kinds of friends who would stick up for me for liking something “uncool”. I wished I had Yuugi and his friends. Instead I learned to lie about my interests at school and hoard manga and cards in a cabinet in my room. I’m not sure it was a happy time, but I wouldn’t have given up on Yu-Gi-Oh for the world. It meant so much to me. I loved the characters, the drama, the card game, the lore, the mystery of the millennium items. All of it. 

I remember when I started getting access to the internet and learning about how different the show I’d been watching was from its Japanese counterpart. It was so exciting! It was like ‘here’s this thing that I already love, but there’s an entirely different version out there with swears, violence,’ -blackjack, and hookers, you get the idea. It was absolutely tantalizing to a slightly edgy tween. I remember there was a fansite that hosted episode summaries and a forum; I think it also had scans of the GX manga, which had just started coming out in Japan? If anyone knows what it was called, please let me know. I don’t remember the name, just that it had a white, sortof silvery layout. It also had a modest little fanfiction section which I poured over religiously. I hadn’t written any myself, but I had so many ideas. Something about a sprawling mess of a story involving magic and other worlds I think? I don’t remember the details, but it kept my mind occupied through a lot of middle school.

I managed to push my love for the series away for a long time after that. Bits and pieces of it would filter over into my life from time to time and I’d pretend it was meaningless, or ridicule it as that ‘dumb card game show’. I’d push it down and try to forget. It wasn’t till I was at a con back in 2016 walking around with my best friend that I confessed that I’d earnestly loved it. I knew he wouldn’t mock me for it, but god. His quiet affirmation that that was ok, cool even, almost brought me to tears while walking through the dealers hall. I don’t talk with that friend very much these days for complicated reasons, but I don’t think I’ll ever forget that. 

I started this blog the following year, in 2017. Since then, it has been an absolutely incredible time to see the amazing outpouring of fanart, comics, fanfiction, meta essays, and love for a series that I had thought I was years late to joining. Even if I’d only vaguely known that there were other people out there who were as deeply affected by this series as I was, I would’ve been happy. To experience what I have since starting this tumblr goes way beyond that. Every day I get to see someone else who's fallen in love with some aspect of the series that I’d never considered, a character examined from a new angle, a piece of art capturing something new about it. It’s so beautiful to me and makes me love the series even more. And it’s so wonderful to not feel alone in that. There is such an incredible community here that I am so glad to be a part of it, even in my own small way.. 

I’ve since gotten better about being more transparent in my love for the series in real life too and the support I’ve gotten from my friends still takes my breath away. I’ve gotten bold enough to hang a print in my room! My boyfriend got me Pot of Greed earrings for my birthday! I don’t feel like I’m hiding my love in cabinets anymore and I’m not wishing I had some else’s friends. A lot of that has to do with who I am and how I’ve grown up, but I think a lot has to do with you all too- and of course, Kazuki Takashi. I’m so glad to be here with you and I know I wouldn’t have any of that if it weren’t for him. 

Thank you so much, Takahashi-sensei, for the gift you have given us and the friends we’ve made through it.

[fandomblr]

Let’s talk about racism in Tolkien’s Legendarium

Trigger warnings: racism, (obviously) anti-blackness, possible anti-black caricatures, racism towards Asian people.

I feel like something that I don’t see addressed in the Tolkien fandom are instances of racism in his work. Now, Tolkien himself was allegedly pretty anti-racist during both war and peacetime, BUT ultimately he was still a British white man that lived in the 1920’s and his writing does show some (although very possibly unintended) racism towards Black and brown people. Note that I am a pale Latino and thus I cannot speak for BIPOC, however, I will be using my readings from HoME (The Lays of Beleriand and The Shaping of Middle-Earth) to show very valid instances of where Tolkien’s racism has been argued for, and I’ll link some research about these criticisms. I strongly encourage BIPOC to add on or correct me on this post, since I do have have a lot of white privilege from being light-skinned.

The first instance of racism in Tolkien legendarium are the race of orcs. And before I go any further, let me show a passage from the Lay of Leithian (taken from The Lays of Beleriand) in which Beren, Finrod and his men are disguising themselves as orcs in order to pass through Angband:

“They smeared their hands and faces fair with pigment black,” which shows us first of all that the color of the orcs skin is ultimately dark/black, at least of the orcs here in Angband during the first age. This also implies Blackface being done by Beren, Finrod and his men here, and while it was used as a survival tactic to pass through Angband without being killed/enthralled/tortured, it’s still pretty darn racist. Black people have also spoken about how orcs have been written (intentionally or unintentionally, we probably will never know) as anti-black caricatures, and this is one article discussing this by a Black person that I found eye-opening.

Another instance of the orcs being racist caricatures is in that in a private letter Tolkien describes them as “squat, broad, flat-nosed, sallow-skinned, with wide mouths and slant eyes: in fact degraded and repulsive versions of the (to Europeans) least lovely Mongol-types." Obviously, this is clearly racism towards Asian people, and journalists have even written about how orcs look like the worst depictions of the Japanese drawn by American and British illustrators during WW2. The same article above also speaks about the Haradrim and Easterlings in the LOTR movies clearly having inspiration from Eastern and non-Western cultures.

Next, another probably more well-known racist issue in The Silmarillion fandom is Maeglin, (Meglin here in HoME’s The Shaping of Middle Earth) who is described as ‘swart,’ aka meaning dark-skinned, and so was his father, Eöl:

Obviously this is racist because Maeglin is CLEARLY a villain of color in this scenario, (he is the cause of the fall of Gondolin plus he basically tries to rape his cousin Idril and kill her child) in a world where other “good” characters are either described as white or whose race is simply not stated. If there were more EXPLICITLY elves of color in the Silm this wouldn’t be as much of a problem, but Maeglin here is one of the few elves (besides his father, who was clearly also a villain) whose skin color we know about, and what color is that? Swart, aka brown. What’s even worse is the fact that Eöl pretty much coerced Aredhel (who we can assume to be white since she’s known as the “White lady of the Noldor” and her skin was described as pale) into marrying him and having his child, which just perpetuates the racist stereotype of men of color being dangerous to white women. Tolkien, sweetie, this definitely reeks of racism.

Next are the men of the East of Beleriand, of who we get a pretty clear description of in The Annals of Beleriand from HoME The Shaping of Middle-Earth:

Here these men aredescribed as having lots of body and facial hair (which is a trait that can be seen in people of color) and their skins are “sallow or dark.” This is probably the least incriminating piece of evidence on this post because as you can tell, not all the men of the East were evil. Bor and his sons specifically were not, and they were loyal to the Sons of Fëanor. However, Ulfang (Ulfand in HoME) betrays the Fëanorians and ultimately is responsible for the tragedy of the Nirnaeth. And even worse, Bor and his sons are even slain by him (although Ulfang did pay his treachery with his life) here in this version. And as a whole, the Easterlings are described as more being on Morgoth’s side than on the elves, and like I said earlier, they draw a lot of non-western inspiration that can identify them as people of color, especially from the cinematic trilogy. Although these men are ultimately supposed to earn redemption during the Dagor Dagorath (aka the end of time when Melkor comes back from the void and the last battle is fought) this doesn’t erase the fact that Tolkien chose to villanize an entire group of Eastern people who we can assume to be people of color. The fact that they are called men from the ‘East’ while Aman/Valinor/the Gray Havens are considered the ‘West’ just shows you how eurocentric Tolkien’s works are by themselves, but that’s another topic for a different post. At the end of the day, lots (if not most of) these men were men of color that were portrayed as treacherous, unfaithful and even “accursed” in the case of Uldor, Ulfang’s son. All traits which demonize people of color in Tolkien’s legendarium.

Now here is the question that’s worth all three silmarils: was Tolkien aware of his racism as he should have been as an allegedly “anti-racist” that was born in South Africa? I’m afraid I don’t know the answer to that, and as a person with white privilege I don’t think I’d be qualified to answer this question regardless. This is why again, I’m encouraging BIPOC Tolkien fans to come forward (as long as they want to and are comfortable of course, since this is a triggering topic) and share their criticisms on Tolkien and how he portrays race in his legendarium, add on to what I found and correct me if they think I added something wrong. The thing is, even if Tolkien was intentionally racist, the man died in 1973, and sadly Christopher passed away last January. So it’s up to us as the Tolkien fandom to not only recognize but also address and challenge these racist concepts in his work, and make sure we are creating an environment that’s safe for fans of color and marginalized ethnic groups like myself. One of the things I love about our fandom is the diversity in fanart, since I’ve seen lots of elves drawn as POC and I really want to keep seeing this, but we also have to take into consideration how racism plays into LOTR and all of Tolkien’s works so we can be mindful consumers of it.

[benevolentbirdgal]

Writeblr Introduction Post: benevolentbirdgal

Shalom y’all! I’ve seen several of these as of late and thought it probably my turn!

Me: You can call me Tzipporah or Birdie. I am a 20-something woman who likes to write stuff. She/her. SFW, but probably would be rated as PG-13. Here there be swearing.

What You’ll Find On My Blog: Writing advice, OC questions (mine and reblogged), prompts (mine and reblogged), my four WIPs, occasionally other people’s WIPs, Jewish stuff, random tumblr stuff. 

My Genres: Humor, Horror, Sci-Fi, YA, short story.

Writeblr Stuff

Asks: Very open! Feel free to ask about writing stuff, my WIPS, writing advice (although I’m no more qualified than the next internet rando), or just to be chatty!

Ask Games: If I reblog or post it, you can ask me for the ask game.

Community: I am not currently in any writeblr groups or group chats or exchanges on Tumblr, but I am open to it!

Contacting Me: Inbox is open!

Fanworks/read-alongs/whatever: I would be/am immensely flattered by anyone wanting to make fanart or do readings of stuff I write. I realize I can’t enforce this, but please tag or link the original work if you want to make something with my stuff.

Tag Games: Open to tag games. No promises I’ll participate in every one I get tagged in, but feel free to tag me.

Tagging: If you want to be tagged for WIP updates, let me know. If you need me to tag for cw/tw stuff, let me know. 

My current (active) WIPS (4):

God of Cheese:

Irreverent story about hubris, found family, bureaucracy, and the love of cheese. 

Set in ancient land with heno-polytheistic pantheon of gods doing their thing. Not based around any particular pantheon past or present.

The big/important gods go to a conference (to meet with gods from other lands) and leave the God of Cheese, Colby, in charge. He's a competent dude, but like a lower-management type, not a "run the land" type. There's all sorts of minor gods and gods-adjacent critters and special humanish types that are suddenly his problem

Shenanigans ensue. 

Most of the gods have names that are dumb puns or jokes in languages I speak.

Some stuff written, still workshopping and worldbuilding. 

Unnamed Jewish YA Vampire Hunter Story/Fantasy:

Hannah (Chava) is 14 and weird things started happening after her bat mitzvah last year. It comes to a head when she learns she’s from a Jewish family of alukah & sheyd (vampire and demon) hunters, although her branch is usually focused on alukot. 

Very much an exploration of Jewish identity in the U.S. in the 2000s/2010s. 

Jewish ideas about folklore, alukot (vampires), sheydim (demons), and the spooky. 

Antisemitism is discussed, portrayed, and processed. 

Several parts written, need to edit and find requisite chutzpah to post. 

Unnamed Sci-Fi dramedy in spaaaaaaaaaaaace:

Kind of episodic. Takes place in the near-ish future, timeline intentionally unclear. Probably a 3 or 4 out of 6 on TV trope’s Sci-Fi Hardness scale.

The Earth empire, which is kind of sort of an extension of the successor to the U.N., has what is basically starfleet managing its extensive holdings around the universe. 

The story centers around three main characters in their 20s navigating employment and space. 

Includes Jewish, queer, and disability representation. Talks about class/regional values conflict through sci-fi lens. 

You can learn more about this one here, here, and here. 

Several parts written, need to edit to post. 

How To Survive Shopping

Ruleshorror stuff I write and post on reddit. I usually repost here as well, but the most complete version lives on my reddit index.

Basically, spooky one-off lists about different kinds of shopping that conceivably take place in the same universe as one another. 

Currently 20-something parts. 

[lidoshka]

I follow you on Deviant Art and I discovered my favorite Voltron fanfictions thanks to your fanarts. How did you find them? I loved, among the others, "Where the light doesn’t reach", "Eternal Night", Discordiansamba's ones and "Desideratum": do you have more suggestions? We could do an exchange of fanfiction reviews if you want. I like long, well-written stories with Keith as a main character, space worldbuilding and deep emotions. With the Galra Keith trope also.

 You started reading Voltron fics because of me? Really?! That’s really cool!

ヾ|*ﾟ∀ﾟ*|ﾉ

Ahh! Yeah, I totally agree, we need more fanfic recs… in the last few months I’ve been doing art for other fandoms, so I haven’t checked new fics, but I do have some I like here so I’ll start!

Now, I don’t think any of these fics is longer than Eternal Night, but they are still cool, I also added some info of what I remember from each fic:

cobbled glass by ShirosRedKnight (SweetFanfics) One of the first things Keith learns about himself is that he is different. AU where Keith was always part of the Blades of Marmora and the Paladin's of Voltron come looking for the Red Paladin.

[Keith is galra but looks human] [can’t remember any pairing]

It's A New Start Series by Darkscales In which Keith, raised Galra and forcibly drafted into Zarkon's army, escapes from the Empire and proceeds to steal (then subsequently become adopted by) the Red Lion.

[Keith is very galra] [can’t remember any pairing]

 your sharp and glorious thorn by arahir

To end the war they inherited, Keith marries the King he lead an army against

[Sheith] [mostly Keith POV] [Keith being galra but still human-looking]

 Collision Course by winterysomnium Keith gets adopted by the Galra empire rebellion, basically.

[Keith being galra but still human-looking]

 Secret of the Blood by exclamation AU version of season 2. When Keith and Shiro were thrown from the wormhole, they crashed by the Blade of Marmora headquarters and were captured. When the Blade reveal the secret of Keith's heritage, Keith must decide if he can trust these people... and if he can trust himself.

[Keith angst] [can’t remember any pairing] [Keith is galra but looks human]

 The Blade of Memory by exclamation (ß same author as previous one!) Kan has no memory of his life before he was found injured and adrift by the Blade of Marmora. When he comes across a slave that seems to be the same species as him, he decides to rescue him. But saving Matt broke a number of the Blade's rules and helping Matt further would mean going against Kolivan's orders.

[Keith angst…ish] [can’t remember any pairing] [Keith is galra but looks human]

 hound by story_monger (is there any rec list that doesn’t include this one?? XD) Keith has a lot of practice being alone; you might almost say he's good at it. When he finds himself seriously injured and stranded on an unknown planet, he knows he's not alone there

[Keith angst] [can’t remember any pairing] [Keith POV] [beign galra is not part of plot]

 baby, you're a dark star by Thesis When the Lions are separated from the castle, hurled out of the wormhole into distant corners of space, Pidge still finds Allura within an hour. Then Shiro, alone, injured, delirious, asking if they've found Keith yet. They force him into the healing pods and get back to searching. They find Lance, they find Hunk. But they don't find Keith for sixteen months. And now that they have, Shiro is starting to think - maybe he didn't want to be found.

[Sheith] [Keith is galra but looks human]

 Insomnia by GriffinRose They reunite after the Wormhole Incident all in one piece. Mostly. But some scars can't be seen. Keith can't sleep, no matter how hard he tries.

[mostly Keith POV] [being galra is not part of plot…or was it?]

 nothing can breathe in space by idrilka The truth is: what Keith wants or doesn’t want won’t bring Shiro back. The truth is: nothing can breathe in space. (Or: the story of how Keith and Shiro come together, come apart, and come together again.)

[Sheith] [Keith angst] [being galra is not part of plot…or was it?]

 The Heat Was Hot and the Ground Was Dry by justheretobreakthings A glimpse into Keith's year living in a shack in the desert.

[Keith POV] [Keith angst…ish] [has a Spotify list on the last chapter] [can’t remember any pairing]

 Small Heart, Made of Steel by inkfishie The fight with Zarkon, the battle with the Galra fleet, the crash; It came back in small measures. Keith finds himself stranded and alone.

[mostly Keith POV] [Keith angst] [survival stuff] [being galra is not part of plot]

 For Everything a Reason by flyingisland

In Keith's life, the only true absolute was that everyone would always leave in the end.

[Sheith] [very Keith angst] [Keith POV]

 these old bones by achievingelysium

He’s always been fascinated with dinosaurs. Keith isn’t entirely sure why—maybe it’s because their footprints are still here, even after so long. Maybe he’s hearing the echoes of history calling for him. Maybe, just maybe, it’s because he sees himself in those old bones. A Keith character study told in three parts.

[Keith angst…ish] [can’t remember any pairing] [being galra is not part of plot..or was it???]

 The Long Way Back by fio As a gladiator, and now Champion, Shiro has given up hope of ever returning to Earth. But when his captors deliver his 'prize'—an omega, a descendant of both Galran and Altean blood used by the Galra to breed with the strongest aliens they capture—he's offered a chance to escape. There's just one catch: Shiro has to get him pregnant to do it. [Sheith] [it’s 40k words] [smut but I can’t remember in which chapter] [Keith is very galra]

 The Faeries' Midwife by zjofierose the line between dream and nightmare, between asleep and awake, has always been a hazy one for Keith. Voltron makes it all that much worse.

[short] [Keith angst] [can’t remember any pairing]

 Sands and Stars by Neyasochi Keith’s no stranger to shit going sideways, but mistakenly assaulting and robbing a crown prince is definitely the peak misfortune of his considerable criminal career. Suddenly in the custody of the royal guard and slated for a swift and unceremonious execution, he figures his short life is over. Imminently. But then Prince Takashi offers him an alternative.

Part 1 of the Bond and Blade Series

[Sheith] [slow, slow burn] [mostly Keith POV] [Keith is galra but looks human] [It’s medieval!au-ish babe!]

 familiar voices and careful hands by bobtheacorn Keith hesitates, then lifts a hand to pat Hunk's arm. It's awkward returning the comforting gesture, but it seems to help Hunk calm down so Keith is glad that he does it. He keeps reaping the rewards of reaching out to the people he cares about, even if small things are the only ones he can manage right now, and he can't help feeling grateful.

[can’t remember any pairing] [team bonding] [keith angst…ish]

 i never meant (i only wanted) by ADyingFlower It's a lot farther to Arizona from Washington D.C. than he thought it would be. The sun beats down on his scalp and dark clothes as he travels the roads of national highways, occasionally trying to hitchhike when he could. Not often, though. His soles burn into his feet, but he doesn’t dare stop.

[Keith POV] [Keith angst] [being galra is not part of plot…or was it???]

+

Well, that’s my fav ones about Keith... I didn’t add any WIPS nor any of Discordiansambas’ cause you know those ones already, but just like you I also like long stories with lots of worldbuilding, angsty stories... I love stories where they explore what being a galra hybrid means to Keith!

[monday-headache]

Hey Simon! Thank you for the amazing ask <3 Right back at you:

I love that you're writing/arting about characters that have never met in canon (Gaige and Sasha, Fiona and Scarlett). What drew you to writing these characters together? And are there any more that you'd love to explore one day? :D

Hey Sarah, glad it made you smile. I want to have more interaction with the fandom so I’ll try to make this a regular, so please be free to send me questions whenever. I’d love to read your thoughts ;)

And Omg, that’s a fantastic question as well but, be aware, this is gonna be an essay as well.

Mhh where to start, where to start.

So first things first, My headcanon of why I think Gaige and Sasha would be best friends started a pretty long while ago, way before I even got gently pushed towards the Idea of really starting to write about it in the first place. Because you must know, even though Strays is my first longshot, it is also my very first fanfc I’ve ever written in like ever. So no matter how shitty, great or whatever it will turn out to be or how well others will be, Strays has and will always have a special place in my heart. And I’m not gonna rush things either, even when the fandom will die out, my Ideas for it will flow ;)

But yeah how it started. To put it simply Gaige was my first character In Borderlands ever that I played myself. I knew about the Lore of 1 and I’ve played 1 with a friend by the time it came out, but I played 1 myself AFTER I finished 2 So that may be a big reason, why I have such an open spot for Gaige. But also because she is fun, quirky extreme, punky, loves robots and tech... to put it simple a lot of traits I really love about a character. Her backstory with the science fair was so fresh and funny, and it may be one of my favorite spoken dialogue interactions heard over echo cassette’s

Then after Bl2 my love for Borderlands continued, played 1, played TPS and then... There was Tales, and by god do I loved Tales, and I hella still do. You probably know the feeling yourself. And with the love for the game, came a huge love for it’s cast. Like seriously I think besides Tector there isn’t really a character where I was going like, “ugh this one is trash” on the contrary. And besides my obvious love for the main 2 characters, there was a big love for the Deutagonist’s of this masterpiece. Namely Sasha and Loaderbot.

Loaderbot may have officially taken the spot for me as most favorite Robot in video game history ever (and Gortys for the most precious character ever). Like his whole segment of kidnapping them, forcing them to tell the truth, only to show how much he had grieved, how betrayed he felt and that he did all of tha  for his loved ones. Man say what you will about him, but damn he was written perfectly. I was blown away.

Secondly is of course, as you might have guessed it Sasha. I could go lengths for her too, how much I love and admire her character, how real she felt as a sister, a pandoran and last but not least as a human. Sasha felt to me like the most well rounded out character of the 6 (pls don’t hate me for it guys) From the punk rebellious attitude, to learning that she had an anti Hyperion pirate radio, that she used to broadcast bad things that happens in her neighbourhood, to her adapting her morals and learn that even in the most corrupt organisations there are still normal people struggling with their own life, and then progressing from it. And lastly after everything was at loss, the money the plan, she was willing to sacrifice her whole life for a dear friend/s, even on her dying breath putting both Rhys and her Sister at ease and in her last moments. Amazing.

Oooh boy and that was just the prelude to it all XD

After that I noticed a lot of similarities, between characters. Sasha and Loaderbot for instance are both pragmatic, put the lives of their loved ones over their own, love tech, are socially open people while holding back on information and emotion. Not to mention the scenes in 2 and 3 and also 4 and 5 where it is slightly hinted how well Sasha and Loaderbot work together, without sharing much words. So naturally the Idea was born that Sash and LB became quite close.

And the same goes for Sasha and Gaige. I was actually surprised that nobody (not entirely true, I saw one fanart of it) seemed to made that connection before as it was so obvious to me. So basically Sasha is a softer version of Gaige, in many terms. They both have a big heart for tech and especially guns. They both hosted a small radio broadcast that blew up in their region over night. Both are anarchist’s who spread the word for awareness, how fucked up the company war actually is. Both are not really good at their aim. Both call robots as their closes’t friends. Both share a deep hatred for Handsome Jack and his doings. Both fought a giant ass Vault Monster and nearly died in the process of doing so. Both got screwed up big time and now have a huge bounty on their head... So you see the list goes on, and honestly the more I write them, the more similarities I notice, both hc wise and canon wise. So there more I thought about it, and noticed similarites the more I fell in love with the Idea of them becoming close. And from there the Idea was born, that they probably met on a job ( the most likely scenario in the Borderlands universe). It had to be before BL3 of course, and to be after Tales naturally so that only put one timeline in the focus, Commander Lillith.

To be honest, I didn’t expect everything turning out so big. Like seriously I orifinally planed like 8k words or so. Now I’m dangling on the Idea of having 13 chapters and a big ass finally, a neat wrap up of everything and even a possible epilogue XD Yeah, that wasn’t what I expected either but damn do I love doing it.

Like seriously my headcanons only just gotten bigger and bigger. From a whole nebula system in the galaxy, to regions I created in my own mind for it, to even complex backstorys. Like why Sasha wears a headband, why she loves guns so much, what happened to her and Fi’s parents, why she was raised by her aunt, what does Felix have to do with it, Why Gaige has this kicks of both sudden depression and manical behavior. Why she’s so close to her dad, but her mom wasn’t even mentioned once (but teased), why she wanted to become a wedding planer, and why she is so obsessed with robots and margarita mix. I think one day, this thing will turn into a tabletop game or something XD

So estimated 20k words on my answer later and now we are going for my own created ship Scarleona. Don’t worry, as much as I like to gosh about that too, it wont take as long I prommy.

Scarleona was created in a sudden urge while thinking about what happpend to Fiona while Strays happened. And similar to Gaige and Sasha, Scarleona was born from a dynamic. Especially of those from two Ladybosses with Silvertongue and speech 100XD Fiona and Scarlett may have become my favorite Fiona ship (no offense everybody) because of how well they play off each other. Fiona is a con artist, her whole life she was used to swindle, to play it cool and by ear, go with the flow, and expect the unexpected. So here core idea is that she is manupulating people by LYING to them.

Scarlett on the other hand is similar while also the complete opposite to it. She is backstabby, plays with her charm and most importantly she is dead honest while tricking people. In fact even so honest that people don’t even realised that they got tricked even though she told it several times before. And this dynamic is so fascinating to me. You see, Fiona has almost an answer an action for everything prepared, but the idea that her winning honesty, is mind puzzling to Fiona is so perfect. @michellespenscratchz wrote me a drabble several months ago and I think that line describes it just perfect

“So, let me see if I got this straight,” Fiona tilted her head inquisitively at Captain Scarlett. “You needed these Vault Hunters’ help to find this treasure for you. So you…just asked them?”

“That’s right.” Scarlett nodded, inspecting her hook nonchalantly.

“Even though they knew you wanted it for yourself?” Fiona asked.

“Indeed,” Scarlett replied.

“And they…” Fiona blinked, “…knew you planned on fighting them for it once they had it.”

“Of course they did,” Scarlett shrugged. “I told them as much.”

“You told them?”

“Yes.”

“And they helped you anyway?”

“Precisely.” Scarlett turned her hat against the blistering wind. “I fear I don’t quite grasp what about this is so difficult to grasp, Fiona dear.”

“Huh.” Fiona cast her gaze out across the expanse of Pandoran horizon. “I guess I just gotta–I dunno–rethink my whole life right now.”

So yeah, that was basically it. I kinda diagressed and didn’t want to hurt your eyes more looking at the long ass text, but please if you have some more questions to it, pls hit me. I love to gosh about it <3

And thank you so much <3 This was hella fun

[starrose17]

Fic Writer Questions

Fic Writer Questions!

Tagged by @fandom-hoarder

1) How many works do you have on AO3?

On Ao3 I have 24, but that’s a fraction of all the fics I’ve ever written that are now deleted or lost on the ancient world of yahoo webrings.

2) What's your total AO3 word count?

800,044 (but it’ll be ALOT more than that)

3) How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

Oh so many. Lemme think in order I’ve done Pokemon, StarGate SG.1, Kyou Kara Maou, Rurouni Kenshin, Yu Yu Hakusho, Fruits Basket, Harry Potter, X-Men: First Class, The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords, Vikings, Black Sails, The Witcher, Good Omens, Supernatural...and I’m sure I’m missing some others.

4) What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

-) Guardian of the Soulless - My Witcher fic, Geralt/Jaskier, and my favourite fic I’ve ever written.

-) The Impatient Snugglebug - A very old Harry Potter fic, Harry/Draco.

-) We Met At The Park - My X-Men Erik/Charles fic that shot me into fandom fame, where the now world famous @fahrlightloki cosplayed my Charles.

-) To The Stars - My Good Omens fic, Crowley/Aziraphale, based on the movie Titanic.

-)  Final Night - One of my very rare short fics, for Vikings, Ragnar/Athelstan.

5) Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

I do respond, cos I believe it’s the right thing to do.

6) What's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending?

I don’t write angsty endings.  I have angst and drama in the fic itself, but everything always has a happy ending. Though I suppose final night kinda had one but that’s only because it’s a fic that is written within an episode and the episode didn’t end well.

7) What's the fic you've written with the happiest ending?

THEY’RE ALL HAPPY! They also all end in weddings, like, all of them. I had a certain plot in all my fics that I found appeals so well to everyone so I write the same outline in different fandoms and it always 100% works.

8) Do you write crossovers? If so what is the craziest one you've written?

I did for the X-Men fandom, I wrote a few crossovers with the other films that Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy were in.  The craziest one I did was unfinished and called The Xavier Brothers Household, where I took a bunch of James McAvoys characters from other things and made them all brothers to Charles.  It was crazy.

9) Have you ever received hate on a fic?

The odd one here and there, but nothing major.

10) Do you write smut? If so what kind?

I do, an it’s always hot and heavy and very romantic.

11) Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Yes, see the below answer.

12) Have you ever had a fic translated?

Pretty much all of them until my most recent Bad Reputation one, but then I stopped saying yes to people who asked because I always asked them to send me a link to where it’s posted and they wouldn’t and I’d find it myself and it’d be under their name with no mention of me or a link to the original fic, so I stopped saying yes.

13) Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No.

14) What's your all time favorite ship?

That’s impossible to answer there have been so many, but I think the first one you have is one you can always fall back on, especially when you’re between fandoms, so I still find myself picturing Jessie and James from Pokemon ^_^

15) What's a WIP that you want to finish but don't think you ever will?

There’s very few fics I’ve never finished, only in the early days never anything recent.  There was a Harry Potter drarry fic of mine called Openly Confused, which isn’t even on AO3 but I think it’s still on my fanfiction.net account. I’d got to the last chapter and lost all interest in it and never finished it.

16) What are your writing strengths?

I like to think anything romantic. I could spend pages, and HAVE, with one character just thinking about the other.

17) What are your writing weaknesses?

I’m not the best writer I don’t know too many big descriptive words and such so my writing is very basic.  I’ve been told that alot. But also been told that people like that cos they can get lost in the feelings rather than the imagery, and I’ve also been told that people who don’t have english as their first language enjoy my fics cos they’re easy to read, so it is a weakness, but it had a plus side too.

18) What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

As I don’t speak any other language, that’s never come up.

19) What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Pokemon. Rocketshipping. Most of my fics are still out there on what’s left of the yahoo webrings.  I found most of them still up on an angelfire site, they were written in 1997/8 and are the most corny crappiest pieces of writing I have ever read lol Yet I still remember being so proud of them at the time.  They’re here if you’re interested, just do Ctrl F and search for starrose and it’ll take you to them.

20) What's your favorite fic you've written?

Definitely Guardian of the Soulless.  Why? I couldn’t really tell you, I guess I’m just really proud of the story I did, of the relationship growing between Geralt and Jaskier.  And the bomb at the wedding scene, my God I’d never written anything so intense, and the shootout near the end, so much blood omg it was really outside my comfort zone and from the feedback I got I think I did really well.

Having said that, all of my long fics hold special places in my heart. My Black Sails fic L/S: I Will Stand Here With You, Flint/Silver, had the most amount of porn I have ever written in a fic before lol It was my longest ever fic at 165,104 words.

My x-men fic We Met At The Park got super famous in the fandom, had so much fanart done for it, and of course the cosplaying mentioned up above.

And of course a shout out to my most recent fic Bad Reputation, which has become my comfort love since I began it in February.  My version of Jared and Jensen live rent free in my head, they’re all I currently think about, even more than Sam and Dean.

Now as for tagging, I don’t actually read fic that much, so anyone whose a fic writer and reading this, feel free to tell the world about your fics!

[clarionglass]

so i’ve spent the last month falling headfirst into the magnus archives, and i’ve rapidly been coming to the conclusion that jonathan sims the archivist needs a hug and a rest, because he sure ain’t gonna get that in the series. hence i have applied my crochet “skills” to the creation of a tiny jon who can indeed get hugs when required! i worked on him while listening to tma, so hopefully some of the Jon Spirit (tm) has transferred into him....... i stand him in my room when i’m practising so it does kinda feel like he’s watching me, so maybe it worked? still, no nightmares, so i think tiny jon appreciates the hugs and the lack of apocalypse in his current situation

(yes i am going to make a crochet martin too, this is an absolute necessity. i’m just slightly less confident on his design so i’m being a bit reticent in starting him out....... if anyone has hard-and-fast This Is How Martin Should Look ideas then send em through)

there’s no exact pattern for “jon from tma” that i’ve been able to find, so this jon has been ganked out of some basics by allison hoffman (craftyiscool) on ravelry, and some common themes in fanart. credit where it’s due, i may have done the actual crocheting but boy he wouldn’t be nearly as good without all the work other people have done that i was able to draw on :)

more details on the making, and on each photo in the sequence, under the read more!

The Making of Tiny Jon

as above, tiny jon was ganked out of a few different amigurumi patterns by allison hoffman, with modifications by me as felt appropriate. the patterns i used are for worsted weight/10ply yarn, which is hard to get here, so the transition to using a few different brands of 8ply required a bit of messing about with. still, i think it was pretty successful! he stands upright without help, which is a first for me when using this kind of pattern. 

i’m honestly not sure where in the tma timeline he comes from. he has the post s1 and s3 scars visible, and in my heart, even though he’s just yarn, he has all of jon’s knowledge up to date, but he;s slightly too put-together looking for current jon. practically, giving him a ponytail wouldn’t have worked with the mass of yarn, and although i would have liked to give him a bit of facial scruff, i can’t crochet or embroider that convincingly. if any experienced crocheters out there have some tips, i’m happy to learn! let’s just call him a s5 mind in an early s3 body and be done with it. it’s my crochet, i can do what i want :)

the saddest day came when it was time to embroider those lil scars on his arms and hand... they kinda show up in some of the photos (see Tiny Jon Selects A Statement), but even if they’re not massively noticeable, i had to include them

there is a small green eye embroidered on the inside of his sweater vest, to sit just over his heart. it’s secret and nobody will ever see it, but it’s there.

pic 1: Tiny Jon

nothing much to say about this one aye. but there he is!

pic 2: Tiny Jon Sits On The Bookshelf

he works in an archive, and we have some fancy leather-bound books. i had to combine the two! plus it’s a nod to that good ol oxford pretension

pic 3: Tiny Jon Harbours Destructive Thoughts Re A Pile Of Potential Leitners

these are all books i own, selected for potential leitner-ness based on either title or content. neverwhere and picnic at hanging rock were selected on content (both the spiral), but you should be able to tell which entity applies to all the others (altho valley of fear is generic). doomsday book, though, despite the title, is not an end leitner, but is in fact a corruption leitner. i read this years ago, and remembered that it’s about a historian from the future (the 2050s, actually) going back in time to research the black death, with predictable tragedy. i forgot, however, that the b plot deals with a new flu-like pandemic in the “current day”...... eerily relevant, and also definitely open to be leitner-ised. tiny jon thinks so too, hence the matches.

pic 4: Tiny Jon Selects A Statement

again, self-explanatory.

pic 5: Tiny Jon Reads A Statement

it took me for-fkn-ever to mock up that tiny statement on magnus institute notepaper. it’s a 4-and-a-half page genuine statement written by yours truly, not just some squiggled-on pages or a shopping list or something, and is a mildly fictionalised version of something that has actually happened to me. if you can somehow strain your eyes and read it (would not recommend, i don’t think it’s actually possible), names and places have most definitely been changed because of my paranoia

i realise there is no tape recorder in shot! for the purposes of “canon” let’s just say that there is one on his desk, just out of shot. in reality, i’ll probably get around to making one out of polymer clay someday, but for the moment i just could not be arsed, and i was too impatient to delay the cute shot :)

pics 6-9: Tiny Jon Makes A Cuppa

in the absence of martin, tiny jon has to make his own tea.

[magicofthepen]

For the character thingy, romana and leela?? ❤

ROMANA - I’m going to answer for Romana I, since I already did Romana II!

favorite thing about them: so I fell in love with Romana I instantly when I watched The Ribos Operation. I was like “wait no one told me that Romana’s basically a recent graduate who always thrived in school but has now suddenly been thrust into the Real World and is a bit of a mess” and oh my god why is she so relatable, also I love that about her. I love that she doesn’t quite know what she’s doing, and her academic brilliance doesn’t necessarily help in the situations she’s finding herself in, but she keeps trying and learning, so by the end of season 16 she’s much more confident and capable on her own than she was when she started. I just absolutely adore the premise of her character and how she develops during the key to time quest. also her banter skills are so excellent. (….this wasn’t one thing whoops. 😄)

least favorite thing about them: I feel like it’s something about how she’s portrayed in the Gallifrey audios, but I can’t quite articulate what? but I feel like somehow, some of the things I really liked about her on TV (her witty fun banter, her determination even when she’s out of her depth) aren’t represented as much when we get glimpses of Actual Romana I (not Pandora or an alternate universe version). idk if this is even fully true, it’s just….she doesn’t quite have the same vibe as the character I remember from the TV show (but this is also tricky because the Lies scene, the Matrix projection in Lies (which *isn’t* really her technically) and the remains of her consciousness in the body that Pandora’s using are the only times we get Actual Romana I - which isn’t that much time to express all the nuances of her character.)

(continuing to skip the favorite line question because it’s too hard)

brOTP: her and the Doctor!! (like I said in the Romana II ask, I used to ship them more, but lately I’ve been more into a platonic interpretation.) I just as instantly fell for their dynamic in the Ribos Operation - two people with very different personalities who don’t get along but are forced to work together and gradually become friends?? this is exactly the kind of relationship arc that I adore. Their banter and snark is So Good (I was so entertained by their interactions in Ribos Operation that my brain refused to pay attention to anything but their scenes, and I ended up having issues following the plot later oops). And I love their growing respect and care for each other - how they go from being mutually dismissive of each other to valuing each other and being a solid Team and just really genuinely liking each other! their friendship is just Very Good (…..and now I really want to rewatch season 16….I’ve only seen it like one and a half times but I loved it very much….)

OTP: I don’t think I have any ships with Romana I that I would consider an ‘otp’? (the closest would be her and the Doctor since I have sometimes shipped them and I adore their relationship in general)

nOTP: Brax/Romana again….and tbh with Romana I it’s more of an actual nOTP (rather than ‘kinda nOTP, kinda ‘it’s complicated’’) because this is the time frame when she’s actually his student and so my discomfort with student/teacher relationships really rears its head (although there’s still one fic out there that I just think is so well-written.....but it does show the relationship as very unhealthy). 

random headcanon: .....so sorry to continue Sartia posting, but oops the first thing that popped into my head is my new maybe-unrealistic headcanon that Sartia was Romana’s first kiss. in a teenage “I’m curious and want to try this thing and you’re the only person I hang out with, but it doesn’t mean anything....or does it??” way. (.....this is so self-indulgent in such a terrible way rip.)

unpopular opinion: Armageddon Factor is my favorite Key to Time story! (I gather this is an unpopular opinion in Doctor Who Fandom At Large, it doesn’t seem to be liked as much as some of the earlier stories in the season.) technically I’ve only seen it once and it was a couple years ago, but I remember loving it as a Romana story, there were a lot of really interesting character bits for her!

song i associate with them: hmm I don’t really have one? my Romana playlist is specifically for Romana II in Big Finish so....yeah.

favorite picture of them: anything with her Ribos Operation outfit (with the full cloak), it’s iconic and beautiful! on a similar note, I love this Romana I art by @volucris-liga, it’s the first Romana fanart I ever reblogged and it’s so pretty!

more under the cut!

LEELA

favorite thing about them: her resilience and her kindness. Leela goes through so much grief and pain, she has her world upended again and again, she never really finds a place where she belongs. and yet she still keeps choosing to love, choosing to keep fighting for what she believes in, choosing to rebuild again and again. and sometimes it’s really hard and she doesn’t want to go on….but she does, and she finds moments of happiness again. and that strength is really powerful. and no matter how cruel the universe (and other people) are to her, she is still relentlessly kind - she listens, she protects, she wants to help, she cares. 

least favorite thing about them: I mean, the “savage” stereotype that her character references is a racist/anti-indigenous trope (especially the whole dynamic of the Doctor trying to “civilize” her ugh). and I hate that characters keep calling her “savage” (even when they’re the Bad Guys, it’s still bringing up this trope again and again, and it’s even worse when it’s the Good Guys). why are they still doing this.

brOTP: see all characters listed under otp, every relationship that I ship is also an incredibly important friendship in Leela’s life and I love all of them <33 as far as relationships that I see as entirely non-romantic….I really love the version of Leela and Ace’s relationship that exists in my head (and in fandom) - they didn’t get to interact enough in the audios, but I absolutely think they were really close, because of their shared experiences and the ways their personalities mesh. (I feel like I should also say the Doctor here, but tbh I don’t remember her TV stories that well, so I don’t really have a solid memory of what their relationship was like.) and of course, Leela’s parental relationship with Rayo is very important to me!

OTP: once again, ot3 my beloved <33 and Leela/Romana first and foremost (I already rambled about them here, so I’m just going to second everything I said earlier). 

and I also ship Leela/Narvin, although I’m not quite as invested in that pairing? (due to a combination of ‘Romana is my favorite character and so I’m just more interested in her relationships with other characters,’ ‘I joined the fandom when things were pretty much all Leela/Narvin all the time (I say with great respect and affection for the artists and writers putting out amazing content for that ship) so I was motivated to write fic primarily for R/L and N/R to balance out the ot3 content,’ ‘apparently I have a contrary streak with Gallifrey and the more the writers push a romantic interpretation of a relationship, the less interested I am in actually shipping it,’ and ‘I’m not really into Leela/Narvin as a pairing on its own - although I do love a lot of fic that portrays them that way bc it’s just very well-written.’) But just. how they form a grudging alliance for Romana’s sake and then develop genuine respect for each other and then build this really solid foundation of teamwork and fondness and care and really relax and feel comfortable around each other….the way they become ride-or-die for each other and just trust and love each other so much….it’s Very Good!! (And I did love writing scenes with the two of them in Call It Home - I might not focus on them, but I do genuinely love their relationship.) 

And of course Leela/Veega <33….I debated if they even interacted enough in the actual audios for me to consider it an otp, but I love the idea of their relationship and the story of them in my head so much?? going to link to this post because it really captures my feelings about them - they’ve both been through so much grief and pain by the time they meet, they’ve both lost people they love before, so the idea of them choosing to love each other and build something together against the odds is just. very powerful. plus I have a whole playlist for the family they’ve built together, which is a strong indication that I really love this ship. 😊

nOTP: Leela/Andred. last time I answered an ask meme about Leela, I had this complicated response about how I hated Leela/Andred when I watched Invasion of Time (bc it’s so abrupt and arbitrary), and then Louise Jameson’s voice acting Convinced Me To Care because oh she really did love him....alas i am a Leela/Andred detractor at heart, and I have been nudged back to my default state by re-listening….I simply hate how he treats Leela in Gallifrey.

random headcanon: I really like the idea of Leela being more politically involved in her own right after they all return from the Axis. She’s just spent a lot of time leading a group of people who don’t have a voice in the government, fighting for their rights against the established injustices of Gallifreyan society. I don’t think she’d easily slip back into only being Romana’s bodyguard after experiencing more political autonomy on the other Gallifrey. What exactly this looks like in practice I’m not sure about - in my one fic ‘verse, I wrote about her being more directly involved with the Academy as a political liaison and guest tutor, and also advocating to Romana for policies that would benefit those who live outside the city on their home Gallifrey. but there’s probably a lot of options to explore here!

unpopular opinion: hmm I don’t think this is necessarily unpopular but idk and I want to talk about it: even though Leela identifies so strongly as a warrior, a “happy ending” for her would, I think, need to involve getting away from fighting. too often she throws herself into a fight to try to avoid thinking about how much she’s hurting, and it doesn’t work, it doesn’t stop the pain. and in the Time War, she’s tied her identity so strongly to war (it’s inevitable, inescapable, and she will Fight and Defend because that’s all she has left). there’s a difference between “I am a warrior” and “all I am is a warrior,” and Leela’s slid too far into the second one, and she needs to untangle her own identity from war to heal. 

song i associate with them: Freedom by Karmina (it’s a song about going on defiantly in the face of heartbreak -  “Tearing my room apart, I’m starting over” / “Take my pride I can still survive I’ve got my freedom” / “Hunt me down you’ll never find me now that I’ve got my freedom”)

favorite picture of them: the first one that came to mind is this gorgeous art by @laurelhach (which I didn’t realize was based on a picture until I stumbled across the original picture and was like oh my god!! it looks exactly like the art!!)

[dramionediscussion]

One thing that really grinds my gears about (ginger boy who I will not name so as to not summon antis) stans is their constant refusal to admit when he messes up or is acting flawed. They love to rave about how “he’s so flawed and human and relatable”, but then ANYTIME another fan pops on and gives an example of a when (ginger) wasn’t acting his best and that bothered them, antis will attack that person and blame them for “bashing” and “misunderstanding the scenario.”

They always have some kind of excuse or they point fingers at the people around him to make him look blameless and to make it seem like anyone who is criticizing his behavior are just “looking for an excuse to bash him.” They say he’s a flawed and relatable character but never give him the CHANCE to be flawed and relatable. They let Hermione, Harry, Ginny, etc. take the fall and be wrong, but can they ever do that for (ginger)? Nope.

Here’s the thing...I LIKE him. I WANT to like him and support him and root for him! But I can’t do that if his stans insist on portraying him as this untouchable god who graces everyone with his presence everytime he’s around. The same goes for (ginger x Hermione)! I’ll occasionally find myself in their tag and see fanart for it or edits or text from the books and I’m like...oh I kinda like this? It’s not bad. Not my cup of tea, but not bad! I may even save some of it! But then I see stans opening their mouths and degrading every freaking character to make (ginger) look better and basically give him the same treatment that the early fandom gave Hermione.

Personally, I think character worship is just as bad as bashing. You pretty much erase everything about the character and turn them into this caricature of their former selves. Bashers (genuine bashers, not just people who criticize behavior) take flaws of the character and inflate them to turn the character into a much much worse version of themselves. Worshippers take flaws and suppress them until the character is basically a Mary Sue. BOTH of these things destroy a character and ruin their potential. Do I think the fandom tends to lean a bit more toward bashing for (ginger) and worshipping for Hermione? Early on, yes. But we’ve grown and learned that that isn’t always the right mindset to have. Things are starting to level out! Which is why I can’t stand seeing the scales beginning to tip again!

I went back-and-forth about posting this, tbh. I want to remind our followers that we’re not necessarily here to “vent” because there’s a fine line between venting and hating on characters/people/authors ourselves--and mostly a fine line between letting one person vent and that snowballing into people responding with their own venting which snowballs into mean things said. What this blog is supposed to be is an opportunity to discuss maybe a fanfiction you didn’t quite get, or to fancast, or to talk about why you think a main ship character should be portrayed a certain way. I don’t want to put a fine point on it because this is Dramione Discussion and so that implies an openness of subject, but I just want to make sure that we collectively understand what’s happening here.

Why I’m choosing to post it is because I think you present an interesting argument about character bashing/worship in general, so I want to reorient this discussion to point out some general things we’re seeing in the fandom (and which have been discussed on this blog lately).

I agree with you that extreme reaction to a character--whether bashing or worshipping--is going to limit the character. Additionally, part of what I like about fanfiction is that you can do that. I don’t like a Mary Sue Hermione, but some people do, I’m sure, or else she would never get written that way. What I’ve enjoyed about watching the fandom over the 18/19 years I’ve been reading fanfiction is watching us all grow. You can kind of tell when it’s a 15-yo that wrote the story--there are limits to how successful the author can be in portraying multi-dimensional characters in complex situations, because they just don’t have the experience to portray it accurately. But as we have aged and learned more about life, we’ve built a large, complex fandom with a variety of interesting stories about all kinds of things. In my youth, I could never imagine a story about Hermione and Draco being parents because that was just too far out of my understanding to relate. Nowadays, a story like The Request is right up my alley, not because I have children, but because I have friends who are widowed and have kids and are getting remarried, and that story has become more relatable. Alternatively, when I went through my last breakup, a story like The Request was too realistic for me to handle and I turned to cleotheo for something to just get me feeling normal again in much the same way others turn towards Hallmark movies. Each story/author has its own purpose for me as an individual, and I think a purpose for the fandom as a whole.

I feel that way about characters, too. As someone who studied literature in college, I’ll tell you that a story needs a villain and a tragedy needs comedic relief. Neither of those characters are likely to get much development. A good way to juxtapose this is to talk about Dumbledore and how he went from being this paternal, all-knowing, good guy, to being a very complex, and sometimes hated character by many in the HP fandom. My 13 yo self reading OotP would never have imagined that Dumbledore might be a bad guy--but we’ve created such a complex story around him as a fandom over the years that now I prefer not to read about him at all in my stories. The same can be said for Voldemort--there’s a not insignificant part of the fandom out there that finds ways to redeem him regularly in their fanfiction. That’s what’s so great about fanfiction.

I say all this to say that there’s a place for the bashers, and there’s a place for the worshippers, and if you (not you, Anon, but the public) don’t like to read it, don’t read it. I appreciate that you mentioned that there’s been some Ronmione out there you might have liked, because I think a lot of people in our ship might not branch out enough. If you love to read fanfiction bashing Ron, then fine, you probably won’t love Ronmione, but there’s no reason to seek out a Ronmione lover and tell them that. Let them read in peace. Additionally, they (Ronmione authors) are going to write stories where Draco is weasel ferret, and we know there’s some canon in the book to back that up, and if they want to read Draco-bashing fanfiction, let them.

Writing about these not-real characters is a great way to reflect on our society. I’ve mentioned before that I’m, personally, not a fan of POC Hermione because I think the muggleborn aspect serves the purpose of reflecting racial bigotry we see in modern society without being on-the-nose. Additionally, hero-worship and character-bashing in fanfiction can reflect ideals or wrongs, respectively, that we see in the world onto certain characters. I think that allowing someone to read/write in peace is a great way to start extending compassion and individuality past your personal life into your social one.

-Shirlyn