#because it happens to be the only fandom I’ve written for where people do stuff like this

[missamyshay]

“These thoughts occur to him and haunt him.” If they haunt him, isn’t that worse?! He knew it was a terrible idea to be w Gwen and he still chose that?! And it’s not just a bad decision as you call it. A Bad decision is like eating a pint of ice cream in one sitting. Choosing to be w Gwen is a life altering decision bc it resulted in her death being w him. Never have I read a fic where I’ve been so frustrated w Peter Parker than when reading On my way. And no, he’s not perfect. No one expects him to be perfect but he should have a conscience but not this Peter.

Lol, if eating a pint of ice cream in one sitting is the worst decision you’ve ever made, I envy you, actually!

Again, to expect Peter Parker to know and predict that Gwen Stacy will die because of him (despite the fact he doesn’t even know her last name) makes no sense, I’m sorry. Did Peter 3 even specify that his Gwen died because of him? iirc, isn’t all he said “I lost Gwen, my MJ”? If anything, this puts a parallel between Peter 3s Gwen and MCU Peter’s MJ (which is even played on in the film with her falling off the scaffolding). Are all the details the same of all the Peters’ lives? Did the other Peters’ aunt Mays die the same way? Did she say the “great responsibility” line, or was that uncle Ben for them? Up until this point, have they all fought the same villains? Their lives are parallel, but not the exact same. This is all incredibly nitpicky and I hate doing this but the point to be made is that Peter, a 17/18 year old boy, who just had his entire life turned upside down, can be forgiven for not putting the same weight as you do on a single name he heard with no context while his mind was still reeling from the death of the only family member he had left. In other words, he’s a superhero, but he’s also human. He can also be forgiven for not being able to predict his own future based on the scraps of information he has about someone else’s. Please bear in mind that there is information that you have that the characters don’t. This is just how stories work.

At the end of the day, though, you’re entitled to your opinion. But the thing is, your frustration (and your continual need to tell me about it) unfortunately won’t change the story. What might help, is if you write one. Write the same story (you have my blessing!) with the six POVs, and the nonlinear storytelling, but in an alternate universe where NWH didn’t happen. Once you have, please send me the link because I would love to read it!! This might seem like I’m being snarky, but I am really actually, wholeheartedly just encouraging you to create something! The fandom needs more food, not for the food that’s already there to be critiqued ad nauseum until people no longer feel like cooking.

[project-sekai-facts]

As an “older” fan, there are transphobes of every age, but I think one big reason a lot of adult fans are more hesitant to read this as fully canon has nothing to do with media literacy and everything to do with being burned before. I’ve been in fandoms where we all felt confident about a relationship with clear parallels to canon romantic relationships and subtext that basically anyone would accept as romantic if it was for a m/f pairing, only for the creators to deconfirm it and point the finger at us, saying how it was never romantic and we all just read into it way too much so it wasn’t their fault for leading us on. Expecting all representation to be explicitly stated isn’t a good attitude, but I think the people who seek it out the most are the people who have gotten their hopes up before because they DID read the subtext but then had creators insist that subtext never existed in the first place. I’d like to think things are getting better in that regard, but it’s still important to remember that a lot of doubt isn’t coming from ignoring the subtext but instead a history of seeing clear subtext get disregarded in the end.

yeah that's true and i really really need to stop writing posts at 2am especially when i'm sick. i've been in situations like that with shows i've watched before, where they've written out characters with queer subtext or handled the subjects really badly. admittedly what i'm referring to is western media, but i know the same stuff happens in Japanese medias too. i understand the doubt that people still hold, especially since the event left things open ended at least from what mizuki had to say (classmate A did confirm Mizuki as amab and insinuate that she IDs as female when talking to Ena but it's still up in the air for now).

that said, i won't advise putting your faith in a company that keeps putting out cashgrab gachas, but clpl has shown to care about queer issues and mention them in their stories. An's wedding event criticises marriage inequality in Japan, and even though it's only a few lines of dialogue, it's a stance against the opression of gay and trans people. i'm not saying to trust them 100%, but it's a sign that this storyline should be handled with care (it also helps that sega, although just the 3dmv maker and license holder, is a sponsor of tokyo's pride events).

[khorazir]

Fic Writer Meme

I’m quite late to this, but thanks a lot for the tag @discordantwords

How many works do you have on ao3? 30 in total. Most are for BBC Sherlock, three are for Dead Boy Detectives

What’s your total word count? 1,574,736 (how did that happen?)

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Enigma

The Horse and his Doctor

Rewind

Putting up Shelves

The Summer Boy

Do you respond to comments? Why/why not?

Yes, I do, although sometimes, it takes me a while.

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

All of my fics have happy endings. For a while, I played with an angsty ending for my WW2 codebreaker fic Enigma, but ultimately decided against it and gave the boys their deserved happy ending.

Do you write crossovers?

Yes, kinda. I’m currently writing a Dead Boy Detectives fic (The Case of the Stolen Barrow) that borrows characters from Terry Pratchett’s Discworld. And there is going to be a crossover between Sherlock and Dead Boy Detectives as the next fic in this series.

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Not really, but there has been what I like to refer to as the Rabies Incident for my Horselock fic The Horse and his Doctor. When I mentioned that John, a veterinarian, would insist on a rabies shot for an animal he found, I got a number of messages from UK citizens reminding me that there is no rabies in the UK (even though I had checked with actual UK vets before and they’d said that of course they’d give a rabies shot to an animal of unknown origin). But yeah, just so that people know, there is no rabies in the UK ;)

Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I do, kinda. Most of the sex scenes I have written are rather emotional and a little awkward and experimental (and thus hopefully realistic).

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Some have ended up on Wattpad and in other places where they shouldn’t have been. I wouldn’t really call that stealing. I think (I hope) in most cases those who uploaded them there didn’t have any bad intentions. I don’t like it, though. The same goes for my art, which has been stolen and ended up on t-shirts and stuff without my authorisation.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes.

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I used to co-write Tolkien fanfic on messageboards back in the late 1990s and early 2000s, but eventually, my co-authors dropped off, so the fics were never completed.

What's your all-time favourite ship?

At the moment Johnlock and Payneland, but I also have a soft spot for Faramir and Éowyn (book only!), and Laura Holt and Remington Steele.

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

I do try to finish all my WIPs, although it sometimes takes me a long, long time. Although I have an inkling that The Passage may never be finished ...

What are your writing strengths?

I think I’m quite good at writing dialogue and descriptions of places.

What are your writing weaknesses?

Writing smut is not my forte, I guess.

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

I have included dialogue in other languages in several of my fics, but they are always languages I either speak fluently or have at least a working knowledge of.

What was the first fandom you wrote for?

If you count a machine-typed fic from the early 1990s, it’s Indiana Jones.

What's a fandom/ship you haven't written for yet but want to?

At the moment, I’ve got my hands full with four idiot detectives, two alive and two dead.

What's your favourite fic you've written?

Oooh, that’s difficult. I have a soft spot for The Summer Boy, and also Slipstream and Nightjet. And my cracky Dead Boy Detectives fic The Petition because I had so much fun writing about demons bitching about their work conditions in Hell.

I don’t know who has been tagged before, so if you’d like to play, please do.

[ranahan]

The Mandalorian Proletarian Uprising

Disclaimer: this post is 100% headcanons. I support your fandom-ordained right to make whatever kinds of headcanons and interpretations you want, even if they annoy me. That being said… I have some of my own.

You know how there’s a fraction of fandom who hold that the Old Mandalorians were a warrior elite who were oppressing the masses, and the New Mandalorians were the people rising up against their overlords? At least I’ve been getting those posts on my dash.

And at first I was annoyed, because that’s mushing together two completely different periods of Mandalorian history. And I have a half-written essay in my drafts about the demographics of historical warrior societies and how Mandalorians aren’t all warriors, actually.

But then I changed my mind. Because you know what? The Taung do seem to have been exactly the kind of bastards who committed several genocides and enslaved entire planets to their war machinery, either as soldiers or for churning out weapons and ships in factories. And yes, they do seem to have held that only Mandalorians had real souls. And that one had to be a warrior in order to be a Mandalorian, and the plebs aren’t mentioned. Which absolutely does make it seem like they were an oppressed and possibly (probably) an enslaved class.

So instead of brushing all that under the rug and crying about how my favourite blorbos aren’t imperialist assholes acshually, let’s say all that bad stuff happened. Let’s engage with it. Because there could be an interesting story here—good stories are all about conflict, after all.

So when did the people rise up?

So the first question is to ask when. And this is the part where I’m going to swerve left from the narrative I presented at the beginning of this essay. Because those genocidal warrior elites that annoy some fans? They were Taung. Who went extinct near four millennia ago. So that rather pushes back the date of our uprising.

Unfortunately it doesn’t seem like the masses rose against their evil overlords during the heyday of the Taung—they seem to have been going strong right up to the Battle of Malachor V, after which they are supposed to have gone extinct.

But then I remembered this little aside in this other headcanon essay of mine (which is also a good background to my headcanons):

As an aside: do you think the Mandalorians had a civil war afterwards? Now that these armies non-Taung Mandalorian warriors settle on Mandalorian worlds, where the previous non-Taung populations were little more than slaves? Did they fight it out or did they open up the clans again, for anyone willing to join?

So what if they did fight it out? Imagine this:

The Mandalorian Uprising after the Battle of Malachor V

The aftermath of the Battle of Malachor V is said to have been 300 years of diaspora and disarray for the Mandalorians. Let’s imagine what might have happened during those years:

The Mandalorian Empire has swept through the galaxy, gobbling up worlds and turning them into cogs for its hungry war machinery. Citizens of conquered worlds have two choices: join the Mandalorian armies or become a slave in their factories churning out ships, weapons, and munitions. The first option is presented as a chance to become a Mandalorian warrior yourself, to become one of the elites and find fame and glory and gold on the battlefields. The truth is that most of the press-ganged soldiers are little more than canon fodder.

The Mandalorian plague has seemed like an unstoppable tide, but suddenly Malachor V happens. Entire Mandalorian fleets have been vaporised, along with the Mand’alor himself and his top brass. The tide turns. The Mandalorian succession is in the air; their leadership in disarray. The Republic starts swiftly taking back the recently conquered worlds. The Mandalorian armies splinter.

And now many soldiers leave to find their fortunes among the wider Galaxy. But more of those ragged armies limp back to the Mandalorian home worlds and what territories they can keep a hold of. And now they try to settle down to governing them, according to their ancient laws and practices.

Only during the Mandalorian wars, the Mandalorian armies have grown exponentially. And they were grown almost entirely from the non-Taung populations. At the start of the war, clear majority of Mandalore’s citizens were Taung. At the end of it, they’re a small minority.

Many newly-minted Mandalorian warriors do buy into the warrior elite’s way of life—it benefits them, after all. But there are still huge tensions between the wish to return to the ancient ways of the Taung and the need to change how their society works in order to adapt to their completely different demographics. And maybe that tension holds for a while, maybe even decades. But eventually it snaps and a civil war boils over, because the warrior elite—now a small minority—cannot suppress their conquered masses forever.

And maybe that’s another reason why the Taung went extinct. They can’t have been all present at Malachor V, so I’ve previously suggested that they were effectively absorbed into the population, until a multitude could claim Taung ancestry, but there were no pureblooded Taung left. But maybe that extinction was helped along by the guillotine à la French Revolution. Maybe their oppressed subjects finished the job.

And unfortunately—like is often the case—it’s not just a single civil war. Like is won’t to happen, many people try to climb to the top and become the new king to replace the old one. So for decades or centuries, the Mandalorians suffer intermittent power grabs and uprisings, until they eventually settle on a new form of life and government.

Effects on Mandalorian culture

So why didn’t the Mandalorian culture go extinct? A large part of that is because the oppressed people, after throwing down their oppressors, adopted their customs as a mark of their new station in society. For better or worse, they too have been living in Mandalorian society and those are the customs of the free elites they know. If their own customs have been sufficiently suppressed, it might be only culture they know. This is not unusual if you look at irl history either.

Another part is that large parts of the Mandalorian armies (the cannon fodder) joined in on the fight. And many of them had been living as Mandalorian soldiers for years or even decades. It is their way of life too now, for better or worse.

The Mandalorian culture survives, but it is completely transformed. Anyone can be a Mandalorian now, regardless of blood. The old gods are abandoned in favour of belief in shared oversoul. Old philosophies and values are reinterpreted, and conquest is abandoned in favour of survival.

One of my favourite fanons is that Mandalorians have an abiding hatred for slavery. But I never knew how to justify it. And this here could be where it started—this slave revolution on Mandalore. Henceforth no Mandalorian would ever be a slave again.

And this could also help explain one of the dichotomies of the Mandalorians: how are they such consummate soldiers, yet have such problems with being governed? And this could be where the ethos of accepting no overlords could have been born. Mandalorians know having a tighter chain of command would make them more effective—but they also know what it would cost. And they would never take that bargain. It’s forged into the very soul of their national ethos, just like liberté, égalité, fraternité is forged into the French: Vode An.

Vode An makes for such a good working class motto, doesn’t it?

tldr:

Yes to Mandalorian peasant uprising against their warrior-elite overlords. But make it happen after the Mandalorian Wars, not in the modern days. Although you could certainly still see some ripple effects, internal tensions and biases to this day; just look at USAmericans, slavery and racism.

As always, this is just one possible way things could have gone down (and of course there can be more than one civil war in a people’s history). But I rather like it because it could explain some of those seemingly incongruous parts of the Mandalorian culture.

[the-somwthing]

Welcome to my little meta analysis essay called

Why do we misremember Flower Husbands as being “nicer” than it was?

Disclaimer: I’m not here to talk about whether or not FH is “toxic” or anything like that. It’s just a fact that many old fans rewatching FH POV and new fans who are watching it for the first time after seeing fan content tend to be surprised at how they actually behaved in the series compared to how everyone remembered them being back in the day. This will NOT go over whether or not I think FH is unhealthy or whatever and instead just discuss why I believe this phenomenon has happened.

So, if I try to make this a fancy well written essay, I’ll be here all day, so I’ll just get to the point. 3rd Life came out during the DSMP era of mcyt. MCRP has been around for ages, but the DSMP style of RP (which I’ll be calling “smp rp”) was pretty much popularized by DSMP, mostly towards the end of 2020. For reference, 3rd Life started early 2021, so there’s about a half a year between these two events, and DSMP kept going for years so 3rd Life was absolutely happening during the golden era of DSMP.

But what does DSMP have to do with this? Well, it sort of created this idea of “lore” and only specific things being “canon”. You can make fun of me for the way I worded that, but you know what I mean, DSMP was weird about that stuff. I don’t really blame them as it was kind of a new style of RP they accidentally spawned, but still, it was a confusing time for SMPs.

3rd Life was actually less like DSMP and more like the modern SMP RPs, where there’s no (known, lol) scripted events and the fandom itself deciphers what is or isn’t “canon” rather than it being told to them, with mostly everything being considered canon. HOWEVER, I do believe that DSMP’s style did still affect the fandom, specifically with the topic of this essay, Flower Husbands.

But why would it only really affect Flower Husbands? Now we get into a rough topic: shipping discourse. Back in those days, shipping in the mcyt fandom was heavily frowned upon. Moreso than it is today (I know it’s still around, but it was a lot worse the earlier we go lol). I’ve even seen old relics of ppl saying flower husbands should only be portrayed as platonic cuz it’s wrong to ship them, despite their team name literally being husbands. But more importantly, for A LOT of people, flower husbands was the One Ship people felt “allowed” to ship, BECAUSE it was canon. So they would allow FH and shun every other ship.

My point isn’t actually that, with it being the only “acceptable” ship everyone tried to make it more wholesome, though I suppose that could be a contributor. But my ACTUAL point is where all the things I laid out finally close in on each other:

Ships were a Dangerous territory in mcyt fandom, and ships being “canon” was something a lot of people weren’t prepared to deal with. People don’t want to get too close to RPF territory, but back in the day their ideas of c! vs cc! wasn’t as great, so they default to the DSMP Rule of “if it’s stated to be roleplay, then it’s canon to the characters, if not, it’s noncanon and just the CCs hanging out”.

You see where I’m going with this? When trying to follow this rule for a character relationship where they don’t explicitly state what is or isn’t RP, they hear “we’re married” and instantly mark that as canon to the characters since it clearly isn’t true to the CCs, and tend to block out anything else, otherwise you’re risking it not actually being true to the characters. Especially when it’s things like Scott saying something mean about Jimmy; that directly contradicts the “these characters are in love” thing, so it must not be canon, right?

But wouldn’t people still remember that these things happened, or did they actually straight up not process any of it? My answer to that is: of course everyone was paying attention, but with the context that it’s the CCs playing a video game, all of the teasing and other behavior seems WAY less serious. It just looks like average friends playing a hunger games smp together. And as I explained earlier, the fandom was ONLY processing this as a CC thing, so Scott’s treatment of Jimmy never stood out because that’s just how it is playing games.

Back to DSMP, I’m not active in that fandom anymore but I’ll see snippets sometimes, and I’ve seen the claim that beeduo was actually boring in canon and the fandom was the one that made it interesting. I feel like this is exactly what happened with FH. Nobody was actually expecting anyone to go hard into romantic roleplay, so the fans just take whichever pair says they’re getting married and fill in the blanks themselves. And that was normal back then, it wasn’t fans making stuff up for no reason, it was kind of expected of us.

So yeah, I personally believe that this whole confusion about FH is a result of its time. Whether you want to finally look at the actual substance of the relationship rather than following weird rules about what is or isn’t “canon”, or you believe that since FH was from a time where romantic RP was confusing and weird it would make the most sense to take into account the time period it came from and ignore the less appealing bits in favor of the fanon, I don’t really care honestly. But man isn’t this an interesting situation.

[theycallmebecca]

Can I request either Ari or Chris jealousy prompt “do you ever ask why I get this way? Maybe it’s because - y’know what, never mind”

Hey nonny! Thanks for this fantastic prompt! I wrote most of this the other day and I had another ending in mind.. but it just wasn't working with me... but oh well.

This Memorial Day weekend, I’m accepting prompts. The information (and links to stories written for it) are in this post.

Title: Secrets of the Heart

Pairing: Ari Levinson x female reader

Rating: PG-13

Warnings: language

Disclaimer: This work of fiction is not to be reposted, used or translated without my permission.

Usage Disclaimer: This work is for fans only. This author does not give permission for it to be shared, spoken of, referred to in any public manner (podcast, tv, online, etc.) that wants to either make a celebrity uncomfortable, mock fan fiction/fandom in any way, or the author themselves. Requests can be made, but it is unlikely the author will change their mind. If no response is given to a request then the answer is a solid no, not interested and the work cannot be shared, spoken of or even referred to, regardless of the manner or context. 

Women love Ari.

Ari loves women.

You love Ari.

Ari loves you like a best friend.

You sigh into your drink as another woman stops Ari on his way back to your table. You avert your eyes, not wanting to see the same routine they all do when they see him in a bar.

She’ll touch his arm.

He’ll flex his biceps.

She’ll giggle and coo over his “big strong muscles”.

He’ll give her a panty melting smile.

She’ll give him her number.

He’ll pocket the number and promise to call her.

She’ll go back to her friends, who will all giggle and steal glances at him.

He’ll come back to your table and drop into his seat like nothing has happened.

“What’s that face about?” he asks, picking up his beer and taking a swig of it.

“Just thinking,” you lie as you adjust your expression. He doesn’t know you’re in love with him and it’s better that way. Afterall, you are the opposite of his type, judging by the women he’s gone out with.

“Sounds serious,” he says, leaning forward. Then, because he doesn’t have a serious bone in his body, adds, “Tell Ari what’s troubling you.”

“I’m on my period and I have cramps,” you say, knowing that will make him uncomfortable. “So I’ve decided to go home.”

He cringes at the womanly stuff, but his expression turns to a frown when you say you’re leaving. “You haven’t finished your beer,” he says.

“I don’t need the calories,” you state as you stand up. “I ordered an Uber so you can stay and -” You motion in the general direction of the woman he was flirting with. “- do whatever.”

You don’t wait for him to respond as you cross the bar as quickly as you can. You have no intention on going straight home, instead, you plan to walk the two blocks to the ice cream parlor where you’ll get your favorite ice cream and eat it while you wait for the Uber to pick you up.

It’s still early in the evening, so you aren’t alone on the street as you walk to your next destination lost in thought. You know breaking ties with Ari would make your life a little easier, but the thought of not having him in your life is more heartbreaking than watching him flirt with nameless women in front of you.

You’re waiting for the light to change around the corner from the ice cream shop when an all to familiar voice says, “I thought you said you ordered an Uber.”

Spinning around, you stare at Ari in shock. “What are you doing here?”

“Trying to figure out what the fuck is wrong with you,” he counters, pulling you out of the way as another group of people walk past.

One of the women in the group stops and looks at his hand on your arm before looking at you. “Are you ok?” she asks.

Ari smartly let’s go and takes a step back, but you nod and assure the woman that you’re fine.

She glares at him and then takes his picture of the two of you with her phone. “Just in case,” she says then she walks away.

Ari curses under his breath before turning to you. “Why are you acting like this?” he asks, his tone calmer, likely to avoid anyone else stopping.

“Why are you following me?” you counter. “I told you I was leaving so you could go home with that wannabe model.”

Ari lets out a satisfied noise. “And there it is,” he says in a sarcastic tone. “The real reason you left the bar.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” you demand.

“You always do this,” he says, throwing his hands up. “It’s Thursday, our night. Yeah, I flirted with her, but I wasn’t going to ditch you for her. I don’t even know her.”

You roll your eyes. Not knowing a woman has never stopped him from taking her home.

“You know what, fine,” Ari says. “Leave. Go home. I’ll see you later.”

“Do you ever ask why I get this way?” you call after his retreating back, the words coming out of your mouth before you can stop them. 

He pauses and turns to look at you, his face unreadable.

“Maybe it’s because -” His eyes roll, obviously expecting another dumb excuse and you get control of your tongue. “- y’know what, never mind, fuck you, Ari Levinson.”

Taking advantage of the green light, you race across the street, embarrassed that you almost spilled your secret to that asshole.

A series of honks makes you turn and you see Ari running across the street, traffic lights be damned.

“Because why, damn it?” he demands once he reaches you. “I fucking need to know.”

“Ari, please, don’t,” you beg softly. “I -”

“Because I can tell you why I go home with those wannabe models,” he says. “Because I can’t be with the one person I want to be with.” He tilts your chin so he can look you in the eye. “You.”

Your heart skips a beat as you stare at him. “What?” Your brain is too stunned to say anything more.

“It’s always been you,” he says. “Just you. Perfect you.”

“But I’m not your type,” you state.

“You are my type,” he argues. “I only date the wannabes because they don’t look like you, don’t act like you… because they aren’t you. If I can’t have you, I don’t want a substitute. For the longest time, I’ve just been your best friend and I accepted that fact. But I want more, I need more. I want you, all of you.”

“You do?”

“I do,” he whispers. “But the question now is, do you?”

“Yes,” you say, on the verge of tears. “Ari, yes, always.”

“Thank fuck,” he says before he pushes you up against the brick wall of the closest building and kisses you, ignoring the cat calls and the ‘get a room’ comments from people passing you on the street.

That first kiss is better than you ever imagined it would be. The second kiss is even better than the first.

Pulling away, Ari rests his forehead against yours and says, “How about we get some ice cream then go back to your place. I think the rest of this conversation would be better in private.”

"Yes," you reply, looking down at your hand that clasped in his. "Ari."

His eyes meet yours in question.

"I love you," you say, needing him to know the full extent of your feelings for him.

"I love you, too," he replies.

[therussiancourier]

2024.

lots of rambling. art summary in the end

Hey, it’s FINALLY the end of 2024. This year was… truly something. So many things have happened and so much has changed, including my art. It’s so confusing and I don’t know where to start.

One of the biggest things that has happened to me is that I’ve lost someone close to me, a family member. It wasn’t an unexpected loss, but it sure as hell did hurt. Still hurts and may hurt for a long time, but that’s life. And life is tough as fuck at times. I miss that person and sometimes it still doesn’t seem real that he’s gone. Still, one thing I know for sure - he would be proud of who I am becoming. And that’s something to fight for.

One of the other things is that I dropped out of school and got into a rather good college. It feels so much more freeing being here and I love it. I finally feel at peace with my future and it seems like I have a goal to work forward to. I see my own existence not just as a bypasser of my own life anymore. I’m not as afraid to interact with people, I have nice small talks and… I’m growing. That’s something I didn’t expect. 

My best friend of a few years and I are driving apart. We had it coming and I know that people come and go but still it's weird. I hope for all the best for my buddy. He’s a smart fella and has a lot of potential. I haven’t been the best friend I could be and I hope he can find somebody worthy. 

Enough about bad things. Let's talk about good ones. The best ones even. I’ve met my partner this year and they are the most wonderful person. I am just so thankful to have him by my side. I hope to continue growing with them. Future seems bright so far!

This post is much more serious than the last one hahhahah.hahhahah. I’ve only now come to realize that. Oops! Welp, I just wanted to share some things that matter to me and changed me throughout the year. I feel calm and certain that I can handle whatever’s to come in my life. But enough of that. Let’s discuss the other side of my life. My art! My creations! MY SOUL!

I grew as an artist a hella lot. And my biggest passion so far isn’t even Fallout which is… weird. I’ve grown sooo, soooooo attached to Lethal Company, I’ve created so many OC’s (my separate and the ones with my dearest partner), I’ve written so many short texts that I never posted anywhere. My artstyle evolved. And now I mainly draw in Clipstudio. Just stop me from changing programs every damn year already. Anyways, I've been very passionate about this game and it's been the fire in my heart. In artistic way. fuck me i don't know what am i sayying

I haven’t been in the DSAF fandom for long this time but I did so much while in there. I still look back with such love in my heart. I promise you, I will come back someday. And I will continue this forsaken comic that I adore very much. It is my proudest creation after all. 

Fallout is still in my heart at all times. I drew it only a little. but still. Nick Harston you're still my favourite OC. i ,ove his dumbass

In 2025 I want to continue drawing, writing, and doing what I love. I’m thinking of starting a new project with my Lethal Company OCs. I wanna do something for myself! Have fun! You know!!!!! Anyways, I will include a small collage of my drawings from this year and probably write something about them. I’ve been drawing so much. 

And I can say that… I’m proud of myself. I’m so proud of myself for everything I do. I love myself. And I wish the best for everyone who’s reading this post. All the love to you and I hope the next year will be kind to you. 

Big thanks to all the people who still follow my blog. 435 insane folks locked up in here. I hope you can handle more of my ramblings and silly OC posts for another year! Heart emoji <3

i didn't put much in here because this canvas could become. too big. i have a lot of lethal company stuff this year tehhehe. i love it

a bit of fallout. not much though.

[winns-stuff]

LO RANT:

Because why not? I just don’t understand the way that fans think, on one hand we can’t associate or even compare Lore Olympus to the myths because they’ll say “well it’s her retelling she doesn’t have to do things exactly alike” but on the other hand when you’re talking about the story by itself they’ll then try to counter whatever argument against Lore Olympus by saying “this is what they did in the myths!! why are you guys mad at greek mythology??” so which one is it because it’s giving me a headache. I get so tired of seeing the exact same argument from fans it’s so redundant and I mean that in the nicest way possible, I’m sure a lot of you are great people but the things y’all say and do for this comic is insane.

Rachel is adding yet another sex scene and people are rightfully angry. We’re in the climax where the world is basically in an apocalyptic state and the gods are all in danger of having no mortals to worship them and give them any purpose and it’s all because of Persephone, no one is thinking “oh yeah this is the perfect time for intimacy” and if you wanted to give fan service to those who are craving it you should’ve did it in a more calmer setting?? No one is threatening Rachel and telling her that she needs to add these ridiculously high stakes to her comic which prevents her from smoothly writing NSFW of the main couple, she’s literally doing this herself which is one of the reasons why it gets so annoying whenever fans get mad at people for being upset or disappointed. She’s doing this to herself, am I saying harass the woman or cyber bully her? No but that’s not what a lot of these people are doing, in every single webtoon especially one as big as Lore Olympus you’re going to have people who view your content differently or disagree with the way you’ve written things. I’m not trying to encourage the idea of changing your entire story to bend to those people but a large majority of your fandom are starting to have the exact same complaints and it’s clear that your plots are not being fleshed out at all, these people are just asking (no, begging really) for a cohesive story not a masterpiece.

Which brings me to my next point, all of the criticisms and explanations many critics have been sharing are entirely valid. You cannot put a sex scene as a replacement to storytelling, it just never works since it adds virtually nothing to what’s happening. Especially right now when, like I said before, Rachel is starting to spiral the plot into chaos (I’m not being insulting by saying this it’s literally chaos it seems like all of the characters are in trouble) and introducing or welcoming back a lot of intriguing plot stories and characters that many people are excited to see. To make an odd and unnecessary shift to romance in the middle of absolute destruction is crazy, especially when none of it is earned. I’ve said this in my later rants but I’ll say it again because it’s true, the romance between Hades and Persephone has no stakes and it never will it seems since Rachel doesn’t even allow stuff like that to happen. Nothing about their romance keeps you straddled on for the ride or leaves you at the edge of your seat which is why so many people are bored with their dynamic if there even is one to begin with. Slow burns and other romances are all about the payoff that’s what everyone’s here to see, after chapters on chapters of wondering if their love will brave the dangers around them and between them we finally get our question solved with appropriate intimacy.

Lore Olympus as a whole rarely wants to develop actual relationships in real time, it only skips to “the good bits” while completely ignoring the fact that the entire bonding experience between your ships and your fans rely heavily on us actually witnessing their chemistry/bond and being shown why they should be together, not being told by forces outside of the relationship.

All in all the potential sex scene is just terrible timing on Rachel’s part and it should’ve been done while literally nothing was happening to avoid all of the backlash that it’s getting now.

[rwbyrg]

I'm with you on the whole weirdness thing. I'm so tired of having to censor myself to not bring "shame" on everyone who ships it.

Dw anon ur safe here. Do whatever you want forever. If both sides are going to be disappointed no matter what we do, we might as well have fun, eh?

There are things and topics I don’t talk about on my page - not because I don’t want to, or I think they’re shameful, or that I’m worried it’ll reflect badly on others. There are other topics I have no particular interest in, but I don’t think they need to be as heavily censored as they are. The reason I don’t share or interact with them is because it simply isn’t safe to. Because everyone’s idea of what is weird or inappropriate is different. And it’s become normalized that if you break these unwritten rules that you’re just supposed to know and agree with - despite them never being clearly defined - then you’re asking for a witchunt. And it’s your own fault for getting hurt because you stepped out of line. Because you didn’t just “behave”.

Antis think us shipping rg at all makes us -insert buzzwords here-. Then we turn around and people within our own walls say “so long as you don’t talk about this or make the characters do that, then you’re good”. For the most part, we know the antis will never accept us, which is manageable for some of us. It’s predictable. The problem truly lies in how much we have to walk on eggshells within our own spaces for risk of people who are supposed to be in our corner teaming up with the bullies on the outside. Because then nowhere is safe for us. That’s the reason so many people left. The reason so many people don’t engage. And it doesn’t foster creativity, it stifles it. It only fosters restriction and fear instead.

This isn’t to say that all these hidden rg shippers are all secretly into the nastiest stuff imaginable. I can confidently say that many of us are against or neutral about the topics, and many others - even the ones you think never would, even the ones that have made public attacks against that very content - are interested in it. Have had discussions, written stories or aus, or drawn things of that nature or anything in between… the only reason no one sees it or associates it with the ship and this community is because it only happens behind closed doors. Where it’s safe. Where there isn’t risk of bad actors or antis breaking in, taking screenshots, and sharing it around to induce harassment campaigns.

I use a lot of buzzwords myself when I talk about The Discourse (which I hope to stop making posts about after this ask because I promised this space would stay relatively free of it). But I am truly just repeating what I’ve researched of these phenomena from a bird’s eye view. There is significant overlap in online fandoms - from tv shows to celebrity stan culture - and systems of abuse. There’s overlap with violent political movements, co-opting of social justice tools that were never supposed to be used against each other for this, and even studies showing that the beliefs within these circles have significant overlap with cult tactics. Especially behavioural control and ostracization from the community of anyone that challenges the norm.

All of this is just to say: engage with fandom how you want to. Be kind to each other. Curate your spaces against content you don’t like without trying to control how others behave. Without harassing people. Find like minded people that are safe to share the things you want to talk about with, and share whatever you want or feel safe enough to publicly. The people who don’t respect us, who are always watching and waiting for us to slip up so they can attack, will never be satisfied. The goalpost will always be moving, and respectability politics - this oppressive belief that if we just behave we’ll be safe - makes us anything but.

[flfverse]

hihi this might be a stupid question but I thought I’d ask anyways: did you come up with the bdsm AU?

If not, do you have any fic recs with the same ‘verse?👀

If you did, do you have plans to write more fics in the same verse, outside of the ones you’ve written?

Sorry if this is overstepping at all, I just adore this AU and am a curious fellow🙈 No pressure to answer🫶

not overstepping! i am also a curious fellow, and you’ve given me an opportunity to Talk History.

see, i did not come up with the BDSM AU, but i’ve read it for years and became fascinated with how people played with it. i love fandom history, so i eventually started to wonder where it came from and how it evolved.

the first BDSM AU was written by Xanthe (who has a website you can read all her stuff on, xanthe.com, and it also has an faq about her original world, super interesting) back in 2006. now, it’s possible that other people independently came up with a similar idea earlier than this (indeed, theres an early 2000s fantasy book series with a Vaguely similar premise), but everything i’ve ever found cites Xanthe as the first to do it in fandom and the one to popularize it, so we’re going with that.

the fic series was Stargate: Atlantis fic (john/rodney, for those familiar) with the basic premise of “alternate universe where being bisexual and kinky is the default.” no biological factor! just a different balance of sexualities. i only read part of the very first fic because they’re quite long and i don’t all the way jive with Xanthe’s writing style, so take this with a cup of salt, but they also lacked the dystopian edge many of the modern fics have. let’s be honest—like many fic tropes, it was mostly an excuse to write smut :P.

now, while Xanthe was quite a big name, and did have people spinning off and writing their own versions of her world, it might not have gone anywhere was it not for Helenish. Helenish took issue with Xanthe’s spin on the world and thought that she hadn’t fully explored the worldbuilding potential. she wrote Take Clothes Off As Directed, which i’ve recced on this blog and in the notes of Free Falling, because it is PHENOMENAL. it kept Xanthe’s premise and used it to explore a sexism allegory, very very similar to my stuff and other current popular BDSM AUs.

people began writing in Helenish’s ‘verse, some minor drama broke out between the two writers and their followers (presumably minor—much of this happened on Livejournal, which famously and tragically had many accounts wiped in 2007-2008, especially accounts that posted queer stuff or nsfw stuff or, in cases like these, both. so it’s difficult to figure out what exactly was happening in fandom around then, especially if you’re me and never used LJ and don’t know how to effectively navigate it)

annnyway, the thing took off, made its way to other fandoms, more and more people wrote their own versions, etc. over time, people began combining it with Omegaverse fics, since the two are pretty similar; when those fusions were pulled apart later, they affected one another; this is where BDSM AUs became more biology-flavored, and where we get certain Omegaverse tropes like “omega drop.”

if it wasn’t obvious, i’ve done a lot of looking into this, and i hope to do more soon and eventually put all that info to good use in some form of project—not sure what yet. i’m also not at allll biased between Xanthe and Helenish…..genuinely, Xanthe did a good thing and wrote a LOT of influential fic, we’re just…very different writers.

but ANYWAY, yeah, definitely not my idea, i’m building on the backs of thousands of writers before me. and it’s awesome.

i DO have a fic rec list somewhere on this blog, but i’m actually in the process of updating it! the goal is to get around 40-50 fics on there and i’m pretty close, so keep an eye out (it’s just taking a long time because i have to read fics to know if they’re good enough to rec….and then i just read fanfic for 6 hours….and then i reread some of them because they’re just really good….)

not sure what you mean by the third question—i don’t currently have any plans to write an AU outside of FLFverse, like a different fandom or plot or anything. i’ve thrown around the idea of what i affectionately call the SLSverse (that’s “seems like soaring,” get it, synonyms?), which would be what-ifs or AUs of the AU, but not its own thing.

within FLFverse, yes, i plan to write more fic XD. 2024 has been the roughest for my writing since probably 2019, which really sucks, but what can ya do. in truth, when i started writing Free Falling and Cross the Line and all those in fall 2023, i was hours from home/friends, unemployed, borderline flunking college, and like, big depressed—i had a ton of free time! and FLFverse was approximately the only thing i cared about. now i’m home again and have a job and am doing More Okay at school (academia and i are not friends), and i have other big fun projects to split my time between. i’m pretty determined to at least finish FF, even if it takes me another 10 years, and along the way i’ll write whatever oneshots strike my fancy.

so, yeah! that’s what’s up. thanks for the ask and giving me an excuse to yap about this AU <3

[stardustdiiving]

Got tagged by @/kanonavi! 20 fanfic writer questions thing

1. How many fics do you have on AO3?

UMMM. I think around 13 probably. I anon or orphan a lot of old stuff

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

32.2k words…probably at least an extra 10k in orphaned stuff though

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Its been solely genshin since 2022. Usually something needs to be a primary tier fandom hyperfixation for me to even think about writing fanfic for it , and then even then I rarely finish more than 1-3 fics for it. Genshin broke this streak bc something shifted in my brain and I’ve finished around a dozen things for it somehow

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

1) source of inspiration (genshin — makoto, ei, wanderer character study) — 541 kudos

2) better days (genshin — zhongli & xiao erosion fic) — 254 kudos

3) Pattern Recognition (genshin — wanderer & Nahida sickfic) — 254 kudos

4) are you happy? (genshin — postcanon wanderer & nahida) — 142 kudos

5) marvel fic I wrote when I was 15 — 97 kudos

The 1st and 3rd most kudoed fics were actually the first genshin fic I wrote + the first and only bnha fic I wrote when I was 16 but they don’t count because they’re like my disowned children who I should probably orphan but don’t in case I want the option to delete them? I feel they were made before I really processed how to characterize the characters n what sector of fanon I wanted to contribute to, so they’re really like, generic fandom tropey to me and vastly different compared to how I usually write in a way I find kind of unbearable. I am really deliberate in my art n writing in trying to appeal to my own specific n niche fandom tastes so to help me find a similar crowd of people to hang out with and am usually pretty successful in nailing the niche. But for these fics it feels I not only didn’t try to target my own tastes I somehow managed to write something I feel only people who like the fanon I actively don’t vibe with would like ?!? I have no idea how that happened!

it would be if I somehow managed to write a hat radish fic that had “maternal Nahida and her edgy teen son Wanderer” written all over the characterization as if this is not fanon I actively dislike and a lot of how I write hat radish is often motivated by me trying to fulfill my own preferences because I find them in conflict with a lot of fic I read about them? JSDJDNDJ. Itd be like. Where did that come from. How was this written by me. Its one thing to not like my work but how do I have a finished thing I fundamentally disagree with on all grounds that make up my interest in why I may want to write fic about a certain thing in the first place. Disowned child moment

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

YEAH always even if I’m slow too. This is an extension of my habit with my art I usually always respond to every comment on my work I get even if it just feels like me repeating thank you over and over bc i like to acknowledge people who r interested in what I’m doing as much as possible to convey I appreciate it. I think it’s always helped in building a sense of community/connection w ppl which is what I’m more interested in as opposed to quantity of interactions

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

Idk why this keeps happening but at least half my fics fall under “bittersweet” to “hurt no comfort” territory because I . Hmm. love character study that invokes complicated or ambiguous emotions. I think that’s the trend here

Id probably nominate someone to watch me die?. Its a xiaoven fic that was born out of me being interested portraying a xiaoven dynamic that felt at least somewhat believable characterization wise but pitched studying how venti & xiao’s deep rooted issues could clash with each other in a relationship in a way that’s rlly accidental and tragic when put with their feasible compatibility n care for each other. I have it on anon bc I have weirdly mixed feelings for it bc it feels like a xiaoven fic that probably appeals to any faction of xiao or venti fan who isn’t big on xv far more than a xv shipper

But idk how to advertise it as that bc it’s not like that audience would be in the xv tag?? and it’s specifically romantic xv so it categorically should be there. But it being in the tag feels weirdly hostile to me. I guess I feel it comes off as a fic that exists to be kinda contrarian and hostile to most ppls enjoyment of xiaoven but that wasn’t my intention :( it was made out of my own enjoyment of xiaoven….i just process romance weirdly and I think am more down with ship fic where the ship is kinda depressingly dysfunctional more than other ppl may be. I like the fic quite a bit but I just don’t feel it has a place to Go fandom environment wise

7. What is the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

I HAVE. no idea I feel like no fic I have up leaves off with emotions that are meant to be solely happy. The closest I get is bittersweet . Um. The scripted end of pattern recognition would take this spot but it like. Doesn’t exist yet (but it will…soon…..w)

8. Do you get hate on fics?

HM. I don’t think I ever have. Probably in part I don’t write enough for it

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Look at this shrimp 🦐

10. Do you write crossovers? If so, what's the craziest one you've ever written?

I actually love fandom crossovers as indulgent thinking exercises but I usually never get indulgent enough to write fic about it. However I did write a 30k Steven universe gravity falls crossover where the GF characters were SU gems in 2 months when I was 12 and I have no idea how I did that but it was crazy. Thats still the longest thing I’ve written . It was so much

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Nah

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Someone translated a fan comic of mine I made when I was 13 a few times but never a fanfic iirc

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

Surprisingly no!

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

I do shipping in such a weird specific way. My go to answer for this is bakudeku bnha but I kind of lose all feeling for a hyperfixation after it ends most of the time so I don’t really…actively like it…sort of….but it’s also a vague ride or die thing to me…it’s complicated… the fandom environment for it is so unrecognizable to me since I was into bnha idk how to talk to people about it anymore particularly the new generation of fans. I don’t really like actively Ship them in a fandom way but fictional romantic relationships that r very influential to me are Pearlrose Steven universe and Anthy/Utena from rgu

15. What's a wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I mainly just want to finish pattern recognition and I think I will. Ummm. Usually if I don’t finish something it’s bc I just lost interest in seeing it finished

16. What are your writing strengths?

I think people usually like my characterization especially in terms of like, exploring or pitching certain aspects/interpretations of a characterization . Like I feel people usually respond specifically with like “wow interesting characterization. Im adding that to my system of beliefs” this applies to both funny headcanons and more serious character portrayals.

I feel I’m also usually decent at atmosphere and invoking more visceral emotions when needed especially when the emotions in question are like. Mental Illness Monologues (tm) or jarring panic/fear/discomfort idk

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I. struggle. SO bad with like. Organizing how to execute all the thoughts I want conveyed in writing, especially the order of hie things should flow. If I want to hit on multiple traits of a characterization I’m doing for ex I have a hard time figuring out how to order it into a cohesive thing. This is kicking my ass with my oc comic story rn

I also have a hard time with subtlety & trusting my writing to speak for itself. I usually have very detailed thoughts on what I want to communicate and have to do a lot of shifting around to find a balance of feeling things are conveyed clearly enough to be caught onto and interpreted but not overexplained. Its not even a matter of feeling I need to dumb stuff down it feels more like me trying to write emotional analysis of writing I find interesting before doing the writing that would be Fun To Analyze. This is kind of the torture labyrinth when usually all I want to write is emotional subtlety and naunce

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

Idk my usual rule is I don’t like when it feels forced. I feel I see it used with ship pet names a lot but as someone who doesn’t get the appeal of pet names conceptually it’s often almost a dealbreaker for me in fics if it feels forced in to be cute , and is not something I can realistically imagine character A doing for character B. Like it just wigs me out. I have no idea why I get such a strong reaction out of it

But I’m really on board when it feels like people pulling from their own experiences with being bilingual or sharing a similar background with the character. When it feels intuitive I rock it as fleshing out the character’s background and people really understanding the societal background and environment the characters exist in

19. First fandom you wrote for?

I have no idea actually omg. Especially in terms of what was first published

20. Favorite fic you've written?

Idk I don’t really enjoy my writing? Often when i finish a piece of writing I am usually satisfied I’ve executed an idea or communicated The Things but I’m not actively happy or proud of anything. Its like talking to me. I talk for myself and based off I want to say but overwhelmingly talking is for communicating with Other People so once it leaves my brain my experience with its existence ends and now it’s all about other people’s experience. This somehow does not apply to my visual artwork where part of the motivation to create it involves how my experience with it continues after its completion

Ummm. I guess my intuitive answer to the question is Pattern Recognition in the sense I feels it Conveys The Most I want to convey about a subject. But it’s also like the fic I cant stand to read the most and doing so is usually an ocd trigger too. Its complicated. I very much write for myself and my own interests and i never force myself to do so but having favorites or enjoying my work just feels incompatible with my brain somehow. And somehow this does not discourage me from writing at all

[subwayfloorlicker1978]

tadc works better in the medium that it unintentionally conveyed itself as

okay. you’re probably reading this title thinking “but subwayfloorlicker1978… what IS the medium in question????” okay the medium in question is being a lore filled mysterious series with twists and turns and having an emphasis on twists and turns just as much as its characters.

now. this baffles me a little bit bc even though one could get that exact idea of tadc just by watching the first episode (and the fandom ITSELF literally got that impression. i mean its even evident in the fanmade aus.) gooseworx made a twitter post a few months ago that apparently tadc is made up of. and i quote. 95% character depth/stuff/etc and like 5% of lore. which is… hm.

which also baffled me! because my GOD was there a lot of lore foreshadowing and spooky (if you want to call it that.) stuff throughout episode 1. like WAY too much of it, especially if your main goal of tadc is to have it be a series centered heavily on the characters. not saying you can’t have background plot things going on, but like… 95%? seriously? i’m definitely praying she hadn’t entirely thought out that ratio before pressing the post button.

and that’s why tadc unintentionally comes across as a series with super deep lore, literally to the point where i’ve seen certain people unironically call it a horror series (which is wrong btw. even if you’re taking the c&a scenes + caine’s suspicious moments into account). it quite literally spends like 1/3 of its main scenes in episode 1 putting SO much emphasis on the c&a lore and the abstraction and everything else.

and the thing is. i dont entirely blame gooseworx for this. obviously it would be very important to flesh out the environment/world that the characters are in during the first episode (LITERALLY your first impression), which obviously includes locations like the lore office area pomni was in or the cellar where caine banishes all of the crazy people to go to. (oh and also even the topic of abstraction itself via kaufmo) but like..... there’s a reason why tadc has a game theory episode.

i’ve said this before and ill say it again. tadc and the entire “digital circus” thing and the implementation of vr headsets + lore into the story is ONLY an excuse for gooseworx to tell a compelling story about compelling characters in a cartoony wacky environment. its basically a guaranteed way for the viewers to actually see these goofy characters in a humanoid manner. however… you can’t just implement characters with these vr headset backstories and existential themes without it sounding entirely ominous. AND you can’t just drop a huge bombshell regarding the lore of the show and WHY the vr stuff happened and then go on twitter and say that its 95% about the characters.

and with the direction of the cellar and office scenes.. im not sure if it’s even possible for someone to make a clean cut resolution to the lore tidbits while still fulfilling the “5%” lore thing and not having it come off as giving off the wrong expectations. the direction of these scenes is SO intense like. some of these camera shots clearly put emphasis on small little details and the tone of these scenes pale so much in comparison to previous scenes that it catches you so off guard.

which is what makes them very well written! however they pack so much content and foreshadowing into themselves that its such a far fetched thing to say that only 5% of lore will make up tadc. that combined with the prospect of past lives. and also with the clear foreshadowing of jax being a morally corrupt person. what about the extremely heavy motifs of exit doors? there’s no way THATS going to just be gone after episode 1. goose, what do you MEAN there’s going to be corpse imagery? all of this ties into each other. lore and tone tie into each other too. come on.

but these aspects can definitely be used to craft a great story. WITH character arcs and character deep dives throughout episodes. gravity falls literally nailed this. and theoretically tadc could too. emphasis on theoretically.

also if the “memory loss” thing was actually canon and not something the fandom thought was canon (again reasonable misinterpretation because obviously if you hear pomni say “HOLY FLIP I FORGOT MY OWN NAME!!!” you’re going to assume she forgot everything else.) that would also work well along with the theoretical lore stuff if it was more emphasized. literally think of the vast opportunities for foreshadowing. maybe pomni finds out something about the other characters via revisiting the office that THEY can’t remember. maybe do something with like… reflexes and muscle memory or something related to “the mind forgets but the body remembers”. maybe use it as a plot point in relation to jax’s keys or his weirdly implied secret or something. IDK! i just think a lore and plot driven story in this environment combined with character things (50/50…) would be marginally more interesting than what we will be given.

okay one more pet peeve in relation to this before i go. deep breath……. i really hate the cartoonish body language of the main human cast. GO AHEAD BOO ME. THROW TOMATOES AT ME. LET ME EXPLAIN OKAY.

one piece of media that i think does a GREAT job when it comes to utilizing body language in storytelling is duck season. it clearly humanizes the guy in the suit by giving him certain habits that seem undoubtedly human and make him feel very… alive. like whenever he smokes a cigarette but then quickly puts it out when the player gets near him bc he’s startled and needs to keep up a facade. like THAT. that’s what strikes me as a human behavior.

so if goose’s goal would be to humanize these “cartoon” characters… realistic body language that clashes with their digital circus designs would be a perfect way to make them stick out in comparison to the npcs or caine and bring out the fact that they’re humans in an environment curated by nonhumans. it would also help a little more with tadc’s target demographic problem i think? the characters having little humanoid habits would make it seem a little more mature i think and would also go well with my idea of theoretical lore-focused tadc. not saying 20 year olds CANT be into pieces of media that have bright colors and are very cartoony. im just saying. there’s a reason why there’s so much content slop of tadc.

[gojonanami]

This is about the hate anon. Honestly if you only write Fanfics to end up at the top of tags you probably shouldn’t write, this is not a popularity contest and nobody gains anything from being at the top of tags.

I am a small blog that writers stuff and get only around 50 notes but I don’t care, I write because it’s fun. Big blogs are not doing anything wrong by using the right tags.

People on this platform can be so dumb, i honestly wish it was less toxic.

And you btw deserve the attention, I love your works no matter how long. <3

no literally—I’m not even at the top most of the time I’ve checked?? there are literally so many bigger blogs than me so idk what their problem is. I truly believe that the quality of your work is not correlated with notes — tumblr is a luck game but also one that prefers smut lmao. my favorite pieces I have written did worse than others — I never know why, it just always happens

before jjk I wrote for tiny fandoms where I was lucky to break 50 notes and others where 500 was a lot. it literally doesn’t matter — it’s a hobby. are blogs not supposed to use tags once they hit a certain follower count???

anyway you’re very lovely and thank you for being so lovely 🥹💕

[ruvastuon]

Writer Questionnaire Tag

Thanks for the tag @renasdoodles !

What is your absolute all-time favorite idea you’ve ever had?

I really don’t know honestly, there have been so many that I’ve been scared to touch for years at this point. I couldn't pin down a favorite though, my top favorites are all there for different reasons.

Is there a question you’ve been asked in the past that really stands out to you, and you still think about sometimes? 

‘Are you a cat person or a dog person?’ This one always gets me conflicted because by all accounts I would say a cat person because I am far closer with them, but I also really like dogs. It’s a bit of a stupid question to keep thinking on, but it keeps popping back in my head at the most random times. 

What is your favorite part of being a writer? What parts could you take or leave?

I love being able to write the stories that I want to read, sometimes I go back to a draft that I abandoned months ago and re-read it to find that I'm really interested in what happens next, and that's a really fun experience. 

What I don’t particularly enjoy is probably when I leave notes for myself to fill stuff in later and it really isn’t enough information to know what in the world I was intending to write. 

What is your greatest motivation to Write/create? 

When It comes down to it I really want to be able to reach a point where I can write the stories from my mind in a way that does them justice. I also want to be able to draw the things that are rattling around in my head.

What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever heard or been given as a writer? 

First drafts aren’t meant to be perfect, you are just getting the ideas down on the page and setting the ground work for your story to start solidifying your next steps. I particularly struggle with this one since I want to have everything perfectly in place but for my writing style that just isn’t realistic. 

What do you wish you knew when you were first starting out writing?

Don’t be scared to ruin your stories, just write them. If you get to scared to even try working on something it will die in your mind forever unspoken and for me that is worse than failing because I gain almost nothing from the wasted creativity.  

What is your favorite story you’ve written to completion? Link it if you’d like and can!

Honestly, I’ve disappointingly only been able to finish a couple of fan fictions since I developed a really bad habit of abandoning story ideas out of fear for the results. I’m trying to get myself back on track but it’s just a bit of a task to keep myself in line. ;-; Sometimes I wonder if the writer part of my brain got switched with that of a hyperactive child. Of the Fan Fictions I've managed to post on Ao3 'A Bit of Clean Water' Fandom: Vampyr (Video Game) is short little story that I'm pretty happy with.

Which of your characters would you say has the most controversial mindset? Why do you say so, and how do you particularly feel about their ideals? 

I won't mention the character but their mindset is that people are inherently weak short minded creatures that are incapable of governing themselves. No matter how great a thing they might make it can be devastated in the span of a generation because their will could not be inherited by their successor. The character believes that because of this people are inferior and do not deserve to stand at the top of the food chain.

I personally understand some of where he's coming from because it is pretty scary how easily something great can be destroyed by a bad successor no matter how great the founder might have been, but I feel like this character is a bit to critical of the race and extreme with his execution.

If you when you first started writing met you now, what would younger you think? 

Probably be a bit horrified at first, but the first story I wrote before I was ten ended with the main character dying in a car crash after someone cut her breaks for a petty reason, so I like to think that my younger self would at least somewhat understand where i'm coming from with my writing. As for my personality... That would probably be a much harder sell. (Younger me could barely play mobile games that had any community features, knowing that I put my writing out for people to see might give younger me a heart attack)

No pressure Tagging:

@kuebiko-writing @wyked-ao3 @creatrackers @davycoquette,

@somethingclevermahogony @laisley-writes @flurrysahin @zaynabameen,

+Open Tag

[nobodysdaydreams]

20 Questions for Writers

@myfairkatiecat Thanks for the tag, sorry this took so long. (@sophieswundergarten thanks for the reminder 💕)

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

8 so far. It's not a lot, but I make up for it in length.

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

417,645 💀

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Exclusively tmbs so far, but I plan on doing some Wolf359 fics when I (finally) finish the podcast. Sadly all my ideas are long. I'm sorry.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

Since I have so few fics I'll just give the list:

S.O.S., by a lot. I'd like to thank the show's cancellation for my unexpected success.

The Oldest Siblings , mainly due to it's association with SOS (it's the prequel in the series)

Treat Them With(out) Mercy

Who You Were Meant To Be

A Joy To Obey and It Should Have Been Us are tied

The Boys Who Waited

Sirens of the Sea and Sky: dead last with 3 modest kudos. This fic is the equivalent of having a kid in a school recital who screams the whole time and knocks down the set. He might be a disaster, but he's my kid and I'm proud. This fic is ridiculous, but it makes me laugh anyway. I don't know how burnt out finals Bods came up with this, but by golly...she did.

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Of course! I think I've responded to every comment I've ever gotten (if not I'm so sorry please let me know). I appreciate every one of them, and I love talking about the ideas in my idea and the fics I write, so please know that every comment you leave totally brightens my day! 🥰

6. What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Hm. Right now "The Boys Who Waited" probably has the angstiest and most ominous ending, but we'll see what happens.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Probably "A Joy To Obey" since it's my main fluff fic with a nice ending. A great read if you like lighter stuff.

8. Do you get hate on your fic?

Not yet. If I did, I'm not even sure what I'd do. Depends on the hate. I might cry. I might laugh, honestly. I don't think I'm nearly important, good, or noticeable enough for that so I might be a little flattered ngl (unless it was something vulgar or hateful towards a certain group of people then I'd delete and block the person). I'm sure people have read my writing and not liked it, but I think they just click away.

9. Do you write smut?

No, that's not for me. Especially because I'm writing for a children's fandom, I just don't think that's appropriate.

10. Do you write crossovers?

No, but I've done some AU's on tumblr.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of. Also this is a small fandom so if a fic of mine DID get stolen, it would be pretty awkward and obvious. Don't plagiarize kids.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

No, but I'd be honored if anyone wanted to do that!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic?

No, but that could be fun!

14. What’s your all-time favorite ship?

Why the MV Shortcut, of course! /jk

I don't really have a lot of ships I get super invested in, I prefer platonic relationships. If I think of one I'll let you guys know.

15. What’s the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

You'll find out. (Don't worry about SOS. I promised I'd finish it and I intend to keep my word).

16. What are your writing strengths?

According to my readers, dialogue, characterization, themes, weaving multiple storylines together, and plot twists.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I can't write a short fic to save my life, and I can't edit to save my life. I also just publish my first drafts because I have no impulse control (sorry).

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

Funny enough I’ve done this, but only canon MBS dialogue where I've translated it directly from the show's subtitles. If I made an error, please let me know.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Mbs, and so far just mbs. Hoping to expand someday when I magically have more time (and finish Wolf359).

20. Favorite fic you’ve ever written?

SOS, just because of what a fun journey it's been.

Tags: @phtalogreenpoison @oflightningandstars @mvshortcut @sqenthusiast @itsgoghtime @amphibious-entity @mysteriouseggsbenedict and anyone who hasn't been tagged yet but wants to do it (sorry if I accidently double tagged)

[fail-eacan]

I just watched a youtube video about the prevelance of m/m shipping and comparative lack of f/f (and even m/f) in fandoms across the board. The maker of the video had many good points but what really struck me was realising just how much focus fanfiction puts on penetrative sex.

Not a topic I thought I’d be writing about ever, but here we are!

The youtuber (ObviouslyQueer) pointed it out and I can’t unsee it. The was sex in fandom is framed as all building to orgasm as its only purpose, the way that orgasm is expressed through male vocabulary in a way I just can’t even imagine a female equivalent for, it just blows my mind and I can’t even adequately describe to you how much of a breakthrough this feels like to me.

I have never had sex or watched porn of any variety, and partially due to that and partially due to my surprisingly prudish nature when it comes to displays of affection in my writing, I have never written anything that could be interpreted as sexual.

But if I were asked to, I could give you both m/m and f/m smut within a few minutes. Easily. I know the format. I know exactly how it all works out, at least in fanfic. I know the patterns.

Not so for f/f. Where would I even start? I haven’t read anything that discusses sti prevention in f/f relationships, I don’t know how consent or a conversation about sexual encounters would work in an f/f relationship. I can’t even picture it. How does it come about? What happens during? What happens after? Fundamentally, I don’t know how f/f sex works. And I couldn’t write anything about it. I don’t know any type of sex, but I could fake it with f/m and m/m. Why is this?

Additionally, what little f/f fic I’ve read has either had no sex, or had some sort of substitute penis- shapeshifting, straps, toys. And it always reads like something a kindergartener glued together in the dark. Because nobody has a clue what they’re talking about. And some people must, right? Why do they not write about it? Is it that stupid repression of female sexuality makes it feel awkward in a way other sex scenes aren’t?

I know it’s partially lack of representation and partially internalised misogyny but why does it feel so fake?

I think I’m rambling and also wording stuff wrong I just need to get this out and I’m still in my eureka mindframe.