#btw this is the difference between people who know how to model and people who are just pretty

[maximura]

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

I know plenty of fans are coming to your blog to ask you all sorts of questions about Twist. (Who can blame them? I feel like you’re a walking Twist Wikipedia. That's a compliment, btw.)

But I low-key miss seeing Miss Raven! 😔 We haven't seen her since forever. I miss the good old days with her shenanigans with Leona and J word! Or Octavinelle student A!

I would even go as far as to say that Miss Raven is one of the best written and interesting twisted wonderland Oc's I've come across!

That being said, it's only fair for me to ask a question regarding Miss Raven? 👀 Since we had our share of interactions with Miss Raven with the other characters. One character we didn't see her interacting with; That's Grim!

I like to imagine Miss Raven having to take care of Grim because Yuu is currently absent (Her uncle asked her to). Grim is a handful that could lead to some funny scenarios. A "bird" taking care of a "cat" is a funny twist! (Hehe, get it? Twist?) Surely it would be even more chaotic if two idiotic students from heartslabyul offered their help.

Aaah, thank you but really I feel like I just happen to know the right places or friends to ask/look for info 💦 There are things I miss sometimes too, and I appreciate people pitching in to help me fill in the knowledge gaps.

As I’ve mentioned a number of times before, I’m not typically in the habit of sharing my OC content unless prompted by others first; I tend to keep that to private circles or to instances when I feel very inspired. I’m of course grateful when people ask questions or express interest in a public setting; thank you for presenting these opportunities and helping me get out of my comfort zone ^^

I usually don’t have Miss Raven interact with Yuu (and by extension, Grim) since I don’t have a Yuusona. Generally, I think of Miss Raven serving as a messenger between Yuu and Crowley, or sometimes pitching in and helping with some of the assignments that the headmaster offloads onto Yuu. I’m sure she could fit in cat-sitting Grim at one point or another if Yuu’s too preoccupied by something else.

I don’t think Raven and Grim would get along considering their natures as bird and cat/tanuki/weasel/direbeast or whatever the heck Grim is. Their personalities are pretty polar opposites too. Miss Raven would be lecturing Grim about doing his homework or chores while Grim tries to sneak out and whines about how she sounds like Riddle. (She is, after all, twisted from an Alice in Wonderland riddle!) It’s not much different from how she tries to get Leona to be a model student, she just has to also feed and bathe Grim on top of nagging him. She’d tell herself, “It’s nothing I haven’t handled before, I can do this!”

When it comes to Ace and Deuce, Raven shares the same homeroom as them (and Yuu and Grim). She’s not super close to that group, but she thinks of herself as a “big sister” to the duo. Whether those two acknowledge that, well… Likely not. (Miss Raven learned the egocentrism from Crowley and the other prideful NRC students!) The arrogance comes from wanting to be respected and seen as able to hold her own in this new environment—and in the wild, showing any weakness could mean the difference between life and death. That underpins a lot of how she acts when adapting to a more “human” life. She has to prove that she’s strong and reliable to the flock!

Ace would be the one constantly provoking her and refusing to help with Grim unless she begs for it. (To be clear, he gets on her nerves a lot in and out of lessons too.) He and Miss Raven would argue and butt heads a lot; they’re both stubborn people. I think it’d be because Ace can see right through her “I’m a mature and responsible lady!” bullshit and would rather she confess she needs help than pretend she doesn’t. If she caves, he’ll still bully her before actually helping. And if she doesn’t cave, well… Not like he cares or anything, he’s also fine with watching her cry a little 🤷‍♀️ He’s probably getting a little laugh out of it either way.

Deuce is the nicer guy of the two; he’d tell Ace to cut it out or that he’s being unnecessarily mean to a peer. I also think he’d be the one that initially respects Miss Raven more since she comes off as that honors student ideal Deuce has in his mind. He might be a little stiff around her at first, given that she’s the headmaster’s family member, but he could eventually loosen up a bit. Perhaps Deuce feels more compelled to lend a hand since he’s so used to being “the man” of the household and helping out his mom. Like maybe Deuce sees her struggling to dunk Grim into the bath and clears his throat before robotically announcing he’ll help hold Grim down while she rinses him off. Or maybe they can go for tuna can runs at the Mystery Shop??

chjabejwjeow Anyway, she passes out at the end of the day and Yuu will likely come back to find her curled up in a ball and snoozin’ off the tiredness. Ace and Deuce are by the couch (lookin’ like Deuce’s Dorm Uniform Groovy). Grim is sleeping beside Miss Raven in what seems to be a homemade little cat bed made out of neatly folded blankets… until Yuu realizes that’s not a cat bed, that’s a big ol’ nest 😂

[malaierba]

Remember that it was explicitly stated that Toshiro was trained in ninjutsu?

(HE WAS SIX. LIKE, BY THE WAY)

(the way he has that fucking flashback always sends me btw. I know my man felt the floor sink and everything)

And most of people trained under his family's residence are ninja-coded. Since his dad has those dark, ambiguous links with powerful people, so he's likely the same.

So why is Toshiro's attire and fighting style like a samurai's?

Strictly speaking, ninjas were essentially historical mercenaries, and samurai were nobles who fought under the shogunate without a fee. They were famously guided by the Bushido Code, while ninjas were expected to be shady and fight dirty.

Essentially opposites. Which makes me think that there's a few likely intentions behind that choice:

Maybe she just wanted to drive home more clearly the culture clash between laishuro. Like Toshiro just so happened he wanted to dress like a samurai in his adventure. Maybe he's trying to avoid being recognised? Could be, but I don't think that's it

Maybe Toshiro's training and general upbringing changed as his dad became more influential. Maybe there was a possibility that he could marry up, or get adopted into noble society, who knows, thing is there was a political reason that justified trying to raise Toshiro so he's more of a diplomat than his dad probably is. But then that'd mean that his dad regretted the switch when he deemed his son "a dull man"? I'm 50/50 here, there's always a possibility that in this fantastic alliteration of Japan has some overlaps between samurai and ninja, and maybe ninjas can be nobles after all. Feels too counterintuitive to be logical though.

Maybe it's meant to highlight how different Toshiro is from his family. So visually, it singles him out and associates a certain set of values with him; And then within the story, it lends itself to some compelling ideas like: Did he do it on purpose, was it somehow decided for him as a weird punishment or something? If he did it on purpose then that'd be the very first big decision he took for himself, to say "I want to embody this". Very bold of him since it sends a clear message to everyone. It'd be kind of cool if he made the switch after his father accused him of being dull. He could feel responsible for inheriting the family and having a lot of people to his charge, but at the same time he has such a negative opinion of the type of leader his father is that the only way to reconcile his conscience would be to become the new head of the family but also lead completely different to his dad. OR maybe it was a silent way to say that he never felt like being in that position of leadership anyway. Quietly quitting, in a way? Or maybe it didn't even happen consciously. Toshiro naturally seeked role models that embodied a type of man that he could actually look up to, and slowly molded himself to that standard, for better and for worse. Strong sense of responsibility and all that.

I guesssss it could be that Toshiro's family really is nobility, but they train their servants in all of those special skills as a private bodyguard force? Hien expected Toshiro to propose to her, would that union be allowed if Toshiro's family was nobility? It's even said in one of the art books that the reason why Toshiro's dad didn't marry Maizuru is because he met her after marrying his wife. Besides, why train Toshiro in ninjutsu too? And then there's those moments when it's hinted that he's familiar with some darker dynamics. I keep thinking about how he knew what Laios group had to do in order to lose the cops fkdkkd. Anyway I can see the logic in the argument, I'm just not sure Toshiro's family isn't hiding something sus. I see it as very mafia coded. Honestly, that might be just it

In any case, it does overlap some interesting elements on Toshiro. There's an expectation on him from his family, the way the household projects an image of strength but also some shadiness, that contrasts with how he presents himself, how he's treated by his charges, how the image he projects is of a mild mannered, stoic, diplomatic man.

[allthegothihopgirls]

oh hey btw i’m the lazarus pit religious symbolism anon and forgive my confusing wording initially because i specifically had this thought of “huh that’s eerily like a really fucked up version of baptism” and then “wow my beloved tumblr idol would love this”

'my beloved tumblr idol' no one has ever referred to me as anything more flattering on this website, i actually love you anon. and ur right i do love this idea

but also most definitely it's really just a fucked up version of baptism depending on how you look at it. i think it works really well considering jason's experience with the lazarus pits. however it's a bit harder of an idea to push if you look outside of that, in general + with ra's' usage specifically. i don't see the same connections in that as i do with jason.

i'm very intrigued by the ex-catholic jason todd headcanons that occasionally pop up on my dash, which make me appreciate the religious symbolism in lazarus pits even more for him.

the whole 'cleansing of sin' aspect of baptism sticks out to me, with the lazarus pit correlation being the state jason came back in, unscathed and replenished. just as one exits a baptism ridded of previous sins, jason had every physical reminder of his mistakes removed. as one's baptism is a commitment to being 'a cleansed man', jason's revival was his commitment to this new version of himself, so different from anyone he's ever been.

i also enjoy the contrast between baptism essentially being a public declaration of one's connection to christ, and jason's dunk in the lazarus pit being the exact point in time in which he severs his connection to bruce as a son, and stops seeing him as a role model. he leaves his robin identity behind, as well as the child he was before, everything about him that had ever admired any part of bruce.

there's a lot of fucked up (/pos) connections people make between a god and bruce, in jason's eyes (this post comes to mind), so there's also that. specifically i really enjoy the concept of jason always seeing bruce as this 'all-knowing, all-powerful god of the night', until he lets him down for the first time, in death. i'd like to say after that he sees him as more of a mortal, but i honestly don't think he does. he sees himself with more mortality, and pushes that idea even further away from bruce, because anyone who's even a tenth of the human jason is would be a better man.

so yeah. lazarus pits + religious imagery in the closest but also furthest way possible. i also have very complicated thoughts about similarities between jason and lazarus himself, as well as sylvia plath's 'lady lazarus', but that's for another post...

[absolutebl]

Hi!

As I have been watching Century of Love and Sunset x Vibes I started to wonder why DaouOffroad and MosBank don't use Hia. I know it's not a must and it absolutely depends on the person but it just got me thinking.

My question is if you could name some couples and/or series (I know of ZeeNeunew and BounPrem) where Hia is used.

I enjoyed reading your blog btw and I hope you have a good day/night!

Hia is only used on those who (are male) and have (or who's character's have) Chinese ancestry.

I don't really consume content rgr the actor's off screen (as branded pairs) BTS but in my experience in Thailand, hia is by invitation only IRL. It's comparatively rare to hear in use around and about. Even for promo I've only really heard ZeeNunew use it. I can't remember if BounPrem do. It's been so long...

You asked specifically about:

MosBank

So Bank is the elder and he's Thai/French/American, no Chinese ancestry that I know of. So I don't see how hia would come into play for them. I don't even know how they manage phi/nong, since couples who mostly portray age flipped age dynamics usually come to some kind of complex negotiation around pronouns when branding in public.

In Big Dragon I am assuming Mos's character had Chinese ancestry but they were age mates so... no hia.

IRL I have no idea on Mos's heritage, but like I said, he's the younger one so hia isn't an option. And if they were to get fuzzy with their pronouns like OhmFluke do, I suspect they would only fuck around with Phi. Hia's a bit more... untouchable? I guess that's how I'd put it.

I talk all about this kind of negotiation here (including ZeeNunew):

DaouOffroad

Okay this is a lot more complicated because these two belonged to a survivor show boy group together LAZ1 (Daou won 1st) before they started doing BLs as a pair.

Daou is Thai and of Teochew Chinese descent. He's also older so technically Offroad could indeed call him hia. But hia is kinda household intimate and a little more complicated than Phi.

Do they use it on circuit? I don't know. But my feeling is Daou would have to make it explicitly welcome, including to any publicity team (model, sponsor, actor, singer). It might even need to be discussed under that context with a whole team (including Offraod's people) because of the greater implications when balanced against a music career and family dynamics.

If I were them I'd settle on phi and avoid the whole messy business.

As for in the show, Century of Love?

Daou's character is A LOT older and def has Chinese ancestry. Offroad's character is calling him phi out the gate (cheeky).

I would expect (and be grumpy if it doesn't happen) this pair to have a linguistic negotiation at some point. We shall see if hia comes into play but rao/ter or something even more old fashioned is more likely. Hia could happen, but it just doesn't feel right for these characters.

More on Thai pronoun use in BL:

In general, like gu/mueng, hia is something you mostly only hear in Thai on screens. But for entirely different reasons.

Hope that helps.

I should add, a foreigner should never use hia unless it's explicitly offered. It's an honorific, but that still would be quite rude. ALSO if you use the wrong tone, it's a VERY bad word.

[starryriize]

picture perfect | leehan

part 2 - the invite

a/n: i will admit, this did take me longer than i thought.😭 i’m sorry to people who might’ve been waiting for this btw :( but i do hope you all enjoy reading this as much as i enjoyed writing this !! <3

summary/preview , part one , part two

pairing: photographer! Leehan and model! reader

After two years of being a professional photographer for watch companies, Leehan remains true to his craft, choosing to only focus on photography and work. Any model he worked with, he made sure it was strictly business.

But there was something different about this event. Perhaps it was the music and the lights or maybe it was the adrenaline talking, but something changed Leehan's mind. You. He first saw you in the advert at the entrance of the party. At first, it was the elegance of the watch that he was interested in, quietly appreciating the beauty within the silver and gold dial. His eyes grazed over the watch in the picture before he finally saw the model. The watch accentuated her sharp, yet somehow soft features. Her eyes were deep, full of intense emotion, as though she was a siren. Why had he never seen you before? He stilled, wondering where Omega found you because, to him, everything about you was timeless, classy, and elegant.

God, events like this drained him as he stared blankly at the woman on stage, watching as she rambled on about the handmade details of the new watch collection. Your face flashed across the screen as the various pieces were shown. The lights were slightly dimmed, but he could still see the sparkle of the lights reflected on your hair.

—

Across the room, you were busy mingling, chatting with the whose who of Omega. The party itself was very well organized, with the servers being incredibly attentive to all the guests. You beckoned a server over, passing your empty champagne glass to him.

The gala was…interesting to say the least. Thousands of fairy lights and flowers were hung from the ceiling, creating a magical atmosphere. The lights, paired with a mist that traveled across the floor, made each person look as though they’d just fallen out of wonderland. Soft, classical music reverberated through the air, enticing people to gather onto the dance floor.

You stood at the edge of the ballroom, analyzing the gracefulness of the other models invited, as they spun around the floor. The couple you were watching finished their dance with a twirl and a gentle kiss on the lady’s hand. Your eyes glanced across the expanse of the room once more, noticing a man by his lonesome also watching the couples dance.

The man wore an outfit that made him look as though he’d just come from the woods. His hair was slightly messy, probably from mingling too, you thought to yourself. He had a tall stature and was incredibly handsome, but there was something familiar about him. After a few seconds, it finally dawned on you why he was familiar to you. He was Leehan, the famous photographer for Omega. Of course! you thought to yourself. You’d been told before that you’d be working with him. So, naturally, you fluffed your light blue gown and made your way over to him.

—

Leehan was no fool. He knew that you were watching him from across the room. Honestly, it gave him an adrenaline rush that you stared at him for so long, knowing a girl as pretty as you found him handsome. Putting his wine on the draped table behind him, he noticed you were making your way towards him. You...were absolutely enchanting, he thought to himself.

A few strides and you found yourself in front of Leehan. Was he always this gorgeous up close? You took a deep breath, hoping he couldn't hear how fast your heart was beating. He stared at you, his gaze slowly traveling over your figure as if you were the finest piece of jewelry.

Leehan’s one rule of not blurring the line between business and personal relationships was starting to change as he stared ever so deeply at you. For you, he’d risk it all. He winked at you as he joked, “Milady, where’s your prince?” You stifle a laugh, looking back up at him. Amused, you smack him lightly, chiding, “Why? Are you offering to be my prince for the night?”

"Maybe." He paused, "I've forgotten to introduce myself. I'm Leehan, the photographer." He extended his hand, eyes hopeful for you to shake his hand too.

Flashing him a small smile, you take his extended hand, firmly shaking it. "I'm Y/n, one of the new models. Aren't you being humble? I seem to recall numerous brands wanted you as their photographer but you declined."

Leehan intently stared at you, letting go of your hand. He pursed his lips in thought before saying, "Yes, well, I have standards..." He trailed off, eyes leaving your figure to look at the decorations around him.

He throws his head back, awkwardly laughing before smiling down at you. The laughter subsided and once again, you found yourself under Leehan’s intense gaze. Your confidence was slowly crumbling as he stared at you, unblinking. The risks of starting a relationship with him were running through your mind. But you didn’t care. In this precise moment, as you locked eyes with Leehan, time could stop and you’d still find yourself searching for him. Your very own prince of time.

“Can I…kiss you?” Leehan knew saying that was a risk, perhaps because you were a stranger, but he wasn’t thinking about that. He flicked his eyes downward at your plush lips, painted a beautiful pink. Your eyes searched his for any hint of doubt. And you decided you had nothing to lose as you placed your hand on his cheek, slowly closing the distance between the two of you.

The kiss itself was innocent, yet filled with unspoken desires. Leehan slid his hand into your hair, relishing in the warmth of your lips and how it tasted of Champagne. You were melting in the way his lips moved so perfectly against yours. Smiling softy into his lips, you pull away, not missing the small whine he let out. His face was flushed but he was unable to hide his grin. You leaned your head into his chest, feeling comfortable as you heard the soft thumps of his heartbeat. He gently kissed the crown of your head, saying, “Dinner at White Capitol?”

You smile, taking his hand in yours, holding it tightly. “As long as you pay.” You know he’s going to pay, as he’s ever the gentleman. And you think of the risks again before deciding that he’s a risk worth taking.

—

The End 🫶🏼

[coldhndss]

──★ ˙ ̟Blue Lock mini matchups! No.6, 7, and 8

ﾟ𐦍༘ No.6: @somewhere-stuck-in-the-stars

Do you know what I mean when I say your request gave me autumn/fall vibes? Like all I could imagine was a fireplace, hot cocoa, maple trees and a nice cozy cottage home (I wrote this BEFORE reading that your favourite season is fall btw :0)

So, I ended up matching you to Yukimiya Kenyu!

Initially, I actually thought of matching you to Alexis Ness, but… I couldn’t do that to you 😬

So, we know that Yukimiya is canonically a model, dresses nicely and has a calm/soft kind of aesthetic. I feel like he’d dress more of a light academia with coats and scarves, contrasting nicely with your deep jewel and earth tone attire/aesthetic. I know MBTI tests aren’t usually completely true to someone’s personality, but with you being an INTJ, I’d imagine you bring a vibe of comfort and care that not everybody does. With Yukimiya having constant worries about his wellbeing alongside playing soccer, you’d be able to be able to bring him a breath of fresh air and take his mind away from worrying too much all the time. 

For a day where the two of you go someplace together, I’d imagine he’d take you to see the cherry blossoms in full bloom, seeing as its one of the things that he’s interested in. He’d take sweet, candid photos of you, knowing the best angles to shoot from. Of course, he wouldn’t leave without getting some photos of himself. I get the feeling that he’d probably post an aesthetic reel of the trip on Instagram as well. It might spark some controversy amongst his female fans once they notice you being a little too close to him for their liking! Not that it’ll change anything between you two, of course. I have a feeling it'll just make him want to post you even more.

I think somebody like you is very in tune with other people’s emotions. Not like a psychologist or an ‘empath’ (whatever that is), and you’d be able to tell when he needs a little bit of a mood booster. You’d be a caring person who is able to watch over him and treat him with kindness that isn’t contingent on his popularity or skill.

ﾟ𐦍༘ No.6: @darthvada

I've said this before, but I don't always match people up with someone who is the exact opposite. So in this case, I decided to match you to Bachira Meguru!

Writing this matchup literally made me realise how lonely Bachira was for a majority of his time before Blue Lock (Bachira fic incoming very soon). So although he puts on an energetic and happy front most of the time, I feel like he definitely has some unspoken problems that flood his mind daily. For the most part, he's extroverted and positive most of the time, so I think he'd be able to easily get along with another person who shares the same/similar personality as him, seeing as he (alongside lots of people, but especially him) yearns to be understood by someone else, and I think you'd have no trouble bringing him that sort of comfort.

Bachira would probably love the fact that you do theatre. Seeing as he likes exciting things, I'm sure he'd definitely enjoy seeing the different characters you play and roles you partake in (I don't know much about theatre and choir so I'm sorry if you don't actually do any acting!). I'm sure he'd enjoy watching you practice. Here's a scenario that I imagined:

You've got an important play coming up, in which you take part as a person who gets rescued by a prince, king, or hero of sorts. Seeing as you don't have the male actor at your beck and call, you decide to give Bachira a call and ask him to help you. Elated, he immediately agrees and comes over to where you are. To your surprise, he's very enthusiastic, and plays the role with a lot of confidence! 'I wonder why he didn't pursue acting...' you ponder.

Seeing as the both of you are super enthusiastic about the things you're interested in, Bachira would definitely yap a lot about different soccer players, teams, which team he finds interesting, or which players he would love to go up against. He'd also be the type to spam you with reels of either incoherent memes with the most random audios, couple videos strung along with an 'us' or 'you', or edits that people make of him, with him sending '😳😳' emojis to you in response. He acts embarrassed but he secretly likes all the edits and saves them to a collection on his private lists.

Bachira would definitely love being around you at all times. He may get a bit attached sometimes, but you pay it no mind. He'd appreciate that you lend him an ear and always listen to his worries without shutting him up or making him feel worthless, seeing as others have ostracised him simply because they think he's 'weird', and that's why you'll always mean so much to him.

ﾟ𐦍༘ No.7: Anon who is super into History.

Honestly, I think this was arguably my hardest matchup. Probably because the character I ended up matching you to is always at the back of my mind (I don't hate him, I just don't really think about him at all).

So after spending ages deciding, I chose to match you to Ikki Niko! Hear me out on this one, okay?

Niko doesn't show it, but he's actually relatively passionate about the things he likes, and although he doesn't look it, he's interested in things other than soccer. Seeing as he enjoys watching Anime and is sort of a nerd in that regard, he'd definitely watch plays with you in the theatre or at home. He wouldn't really say anything to you about it at the start, but after a while, you'll find that he's randomly gotten more into it than before. I think Niko would definitely look into something that someone important to him really enjoys. That way, he can get closer to them without having to embarrass himself by asking them questions upon questions.

He also comes off to me as more of a listener than a speaker. Seeing as you enjoy talking lots and lots about the things you like, Niko would definitely sit and listen. I have a feeling that the two of you would sit on calls for hours, majority of the time would be spent with you talking about things you enjoy (aka, mainly history related things). He'd also take notes on the little things about yourself that you're interested in that you don't notice yourself talking about. Niko wouldn't want to show that he's overly into what you're saying, acting like he's doing work on his laptop over your call. It turns out that he's keeping track of what you're saying on a locked note called 'Her 🤍'.

Although Niko might make fun of you here and there, he's not the type to really care all that much about clothing styles. Also seeing as you say you're lazy in things which include sports, watching Niko play is just about the only thing you'd probably do in that regard. He doesn't say, but it secretly makes him super happy to know you're only watching it to see him on the field. For a little side scenario, I imagine that despite you not being overly extroverted, you might run up to him on the field after he scores the winning goal in a game, and hug him. He definitely wouldn't pry you off, but he'd get a little flustered. Though secretly he'd want everyone watching to know that he actually does have a special someone rooting for him and him only.

[maddrumsticks2]

Just beat Echoes of Wisdom! Which means time for a post based on my thoughts. I'll start with nonspoiler things, like mechanics, UI, design and gameplay. Then I'll move onto spoilers, which will be under the cut.

I quite like the echo mechanic! It's very different from a normal Zelda game and so I have to actually think. Though the menus for choosing echoes sucks. They pulled a TotK again with that one which leads to annoying, endless scrolling.

They definitely copied most of the menus and such from BotW, which ig I don't mind too much, but it would've been fun to have a fresher design with some of that.

Also, I never once talked to Dampé, so idk what that's like, so I can't talk about that.

NOW. On to the spoilers! Mainly just all story stuff.

First, the whole fugitive Zelda thing was really fun. The game starts and Tri's just like "YOU GONNA DIE!!!!" Which is hilarious, btw. I wish there were more people who knew about Zelda's imprisonment throughout the journey. It would've upped the stakes a lot if word had spread and you're not sure where is safe. Oh well, missed opportunity.

Then, I just loved all the characters in this game. They all have distinct personalities and problems, it's fun watching them build character and learn more about their issues. I especially love that they brought back yetis with Condé.

Quick ship talk bc that's where my brain is taking me. Idk which ship I like more: Zelink or Zelda X Dohna in this game. Or Zelda is an independent woman who don't need romance. (Hi, I'm aroace, I always leave room for that possibility.)

Anyways, Null was a pleasant surprise! I love the lore we got surrounding them and then how clear their motive was. Null was a villain in the sense that they are very selfishly motivated. Nintendo really cooked with this villain, ngl. The fact that they aren't remotely humanoid (except the hands) is very nice, love the distinction. Null isn't redeemable because of how twisted they are. So yeah, I like Null.

Link is so interesting in this game! And he has a known personality, I love it. I'll also take his gesturing at the end of the game as him signing, instead of talking. I know that's what they were implying, but I prefer it if he just was signing. Things like that don't just randomly fix themselves. (Even if the rifts are all gone. And Null is gone. Idc pffff)

I do like the return to the traditional Zelda formula. They didn't diverge from said formula too much, but it was still open world. It kinda felt like A Link Between Worlds. That means it does suffer from the lack of a difficulty curve as you go on.

Also, Zelda is so cute in this game. Adorable outfits and I just love her model, it makes me happy.

But yeah, I love that Zelda got her chance to be a menace this time. (The amount of times I've committed arson is insane.)

[return-of-a-space-cowboy]

🧚‍♀️ Anon

I am so down bad for Risotto to the point I would let him do whatever he wants with me

I cannot resist big titty goth men who can break my spine with ease (I have a type 😭)

If he was genderbent I would fold SO fast it’s not even funny, especially if Risotto looks identical to how he is as a man in height, mass and build (But slightly leaner and her breasts are just huge) she could suffocate me between them and I would tell her ‘Thank You’ 😂

Yandere Vampire Countess or Count Risotto haunts me in my dreams

Darling is a foreigner looking for work and takes up working for the Villages’ Count of this land as a his newest servant (Gaining Risotto’s obsession as the scent of her blood told him all he needed to know, she’s his Soulmate)

Risotto stalks Darling while she sleeps, visiting her in her sleep, groping, touching and leaving bites all over Darling’s body, whispering all the dirty things he plans to do to his ‘Little Bride’ in her ear and plans to keep her locked away within his castle for eternity (No one dares go against Count Nero, the villagers are too fearful of the evil and cruel Count who’s rumored to devour young virgin women and dabbles in the dark arts in magic) he’s not against keeping Darling dizzy and delirious drinking her blood on a basis (Not enough to kill, but enough to give Darling a hard time to move around)

Risotto keeps Darling within his bed chambers, and used his hypnotism to make Darling believe she’s engaged to him as his wife and that she’s very frail, sickly and needs his help to move around as her legs don’t work properly (Risotto broke Darling’s legs after she tried to run, but altered her memory into thinking she had an accident falling down stairs and broke her legs)

I'm going feral please, you have no idea of the primal scream that left my mouth reading this. Why must you make me choose.

Doing fem because I need more to write more wlw (I'm starving for more).

Made me think of this meme btw

Vampire fem!Risotto

Darling is an aspiring novelist and has been going to mysterious places in hopes of finding the inspiration for a page turning tale, so she goes hitch hiking around Europe and ends up in a strange small town only to find her purse has been stolen. She's stuck in this town where she can barely communicate with the locals. So when she finds an advertisement written in English She's hopeful. It's a maid position at the castle just out of town with accommodation. It's like everything has worked out for darling.

When darling arrives she's met by a tall woman, practically chiseled by angels. Short white hair, jet black sclera and ruby eyes. All dress elegantly in a low cut white blouse and black dress pants. She could have been a model if she wanted to.

"sei qui per la posizione?" She asks.

"I'm here for the position" you tell her.

"Forgive me, it's not often I get people around" she apologizes in a stern tone.

"Come inside, then we shall discuss the job" she told you as she held the door open for you. Little did darling know her fate was sealed. Countess Nero had her fair share of prey, only a few months ago did she have a group of hitch hikers working for her, fun to mess with but eventually they had served they're purposes.

Darling however was different, she could tell there was something more too her. So of course she'd give her the position (even if she was not good at cooking and cleaning).

Risotto always has her eyes on darling while she works. Even offering darling to eat with her. Eventually she decides to check in on her sleeping. Sleeping so serene in a pretty little nightgown. All too tantalizing to the countess.

Her hands graze upon her, then they squeeze. She doesn't care if darling woke up as she'd just use her powers to make her forget or believe it was a dream. Soon she's got darling held in her arms biting into her upper breast. Such a rich, full bodied flavor, comparably to a vintage cabernet sauvignon. She's hooked.

Darling starts noticing strange things, not enough to concern her but enough that she notes it down. Strange redish marks, weird sounds at night. In town when she goes shopping people try to avoid her. Darling hasn't turned yet.

One night she does wake up.

"My little bride, when the blood moon comes you shall finally be mine for eternity" she hears a muttered voice speak as a hand strokes her face.

Darling tries to get up but is pushed back into the bed by Risotto.

"You don't need to go anywhere" she tells darling before trying to influence her to back to sleep but it somehow doesn't work (maybe a heirloom in the form of a pendant that is able to stop her influence).

Daring is able to catch Risotto off guard and run out of the room. She attempts to escape but loses her footing down the stairs and hurts herself horribly.

"You shouldn't have run, I just want you here with me for eternity" the countess says as she walks towards darling.

"Why?!" Darling asks.

"Because I love you, surely you feel the same too" she told her. In truth darling had a crush but believed she was far out of the countess's league.

She eventually figures out the pendant is what is affecting her influence and tears it off before putting darling to sleep. Something this traumatic can't just be played of as a dream or forgotten, so she decides to reframe that memory as a horrible accident as well as altering a few more to make darling a little more affectionate. Heals her up too.

When darling wakes up she's there to explain what happened. White the memory changes darling believes they're engaged. Risotto even managed to find a pretty platinum and sapphire ring to slip on her finger before she woke up.

Everything is good but something feels of to darling. Risotto is making arrangements as the blood moon approaches. Darling ends up discovering her notebook and starts questioning what's going on before remembering. She turns to immediately be confronted by Risotto who snatches the notebook, it crumbles to cinders in her grasp.

"If I had known about that I would have destroyed that sooner" she scowls. Darling tries to escape again. Risotto now pissed goes for the initiative and is able to capture her.

"I give you two options, you can agree to marry me or I shall force you" she hisses.

"If I can remember now then I can do it again! I refuse to marry you!"

"Then you shall face the consequences of your decision" she says before breaking her legs.

"All I need is to bide my time til the blood moon, then you shall be bound to me forever" she continued before putting her asleep and tampering with her memories again.

Once again darling wakes up and Risotto explains that darling was in a horrible accident and that their wedding is in a few days now.

[duckieduccss]

im here for revenge!

do you have any specific things you'd like to share about your versions of the cyborg space chicken and goofy beetle god that you would like to share? 🎤🎤

Aaaa (1st ask in a longtime jumpscare) /j

Anything specific??? Hmmm…i think i might have some!!

First off, how they FIRST MET!!!!

To be more accurate, how they first bumped into each other by fate lol. So things do sorta go the same as for the events of Godzilla vs. Megalon. But with a twist, Megs pretty much got forced to go out & seek revenge on the people who disturbed the peace of the Seatopians (he didnt want to cuz he was in the middle of a SUPER long beauty sleep when he was awaken again). But he did so anyway, & did his best to act tough. Tho he isnt all one (but hey he tries) & does do his best & actually boosts his ego a bit after first taking down the annoying oversized robot. Gigan just happened to be chilling off somewhere else but got dragged by Godzilla actually & Gigan (being the angry short evil guy he is) goes to confront Godzilla (sizing him up; ironic cuz my Gigan is really short but will still fight literally anyone & be pushy for one until it happens lol). Godzilla isnt having it so they just leave & Gigan’s pissed but then notices Megalon trying to take down the other guy. So Gigan goes “well might as well help” & so he does. Megalon’s in a pretty good mood so they actually bond over something together (hence the iconic high five between each other). But well we know what happened. (Megalon gets his as$ kicked (traumatized for a bit there) & Gigan felt embarrassed & left; both losing the fight.

Poor Megs was actually too afraid to go back home from fear that he’d get scolded at for what he failed to do. He isnt much of a tough guy in reality even though he really tried. If anything, he wanted to make his people happy & seeing how much they saw him as their protector so it was almost more like he failed to do his purpose. Gigan ended up not actually being that far away & spotted Megs looking sad. Gigan recognized him & decided to talk to him. Megs was really nervous at first but surprised when Gigan actually apologized for leaving so soon & admitted that he had a lot fun fighting alongside him. That meant a lot to Megs in someone else saying they really wanted to be with him. He confessed to Gigan that he didnt feel as confident about his fighting & being a more confident (bug) himself. Gigan then proposed a deal to him agreeing to help him be a better fearsome kaiju by being his fighting partner. Megs happily accepted (& that’s where the giant hugs began)

(Btw Megs did go back home only for him to be really scolded by the Seatopian leader (he ended up going back to his bed curled up into a ball of disappointment)

As for other things:

Both of them have been very good friends actually. Megs actually really looks up to Gigan (as a role model) & once again ironic cuz Megs is considerably bigger than Gigan but ofc his ego & boosted overwhelming confidence is much more. Gigan does also have a soft spot for Megs. He’d be very mean or arrogant towards others but the moment he’s with his best buddy, he’s quite literally a different person. Megs is really a sweet guy as well & will sometimes do things (especially for Gigan) that admittedly makes him (Gigan) question things👀

Also Megs’ the best hugger ever. He’s best known for his big bear hugs (& his own love language of saying he loves you). He always does it for Gigan & even though he hates to admit it out loud, Gigan does love his hugs so much he actually craves them & even when he’s in a bad mood/having a bad day, Meg’s can usually tell & beforehand asking “Wanna hug??”

They like to goof around (either messing with the humans or with other kaiju) or do whatever they feel like (for example doing dumb “what if” experiments that cause a lot of destruction or some sorta big consequence as a result & then act all “oopsie my hand slipped😊”. They pretty much be gay & do crime (as of now they arent aware of the first part dont tell them that yet)

Both are very good “friends” right now but wont be much of a surprise until things get more between them both

Also may i mention too, Meg’s level of imitation so far is as much of enough to make him feel more brave to not sleep with the night light on (but both him & Gigan are working on it)

Anyway that’s the end, i do intend to go more into each one eventually (about how I interpret them ^^)

[glitterpensupremacy]

Now that Adrien’s done (and my brain is ready), it’s time to do the precious bug girl:

Marinette MTS

Like Adrien, she has four categories. They are as follows:

1. General Info

2. Personality

3. Key Relationships

4. Character Growth

1. General Info

Unlike Adrien, whose appearance doesn’t really change, Marinette MTS has a different look from her OG counterpart. She’s a bit shorter and more muscular. As a civilian her eyes are grey and her hair is dark brown. As Ladybug her eyes are still blue (heroes’ eye colors change to match their Kwami) and her hair is black at the roots, blue at the tips (that’s who my profile picture is, btw).

In addition to Marinette no longer being the sole protagonist and the side characters receiving more of a focus, she also won’t become the Guardian in MTS. For those who aren’t aware, the Miraculous will get scattered around the midpoint of Season 2, making the traditional role of guardian… kinda pointless. (There’s also the issue that making LB the Guardian and CN just a holder undermines the duality and balance essential to their relationship in Miraculous: The Series.)

2. Personality

Marinette is a creative, compassionate, energetic, and cheerful young girl. She has big dreams of becoming a fashion designer, but often struggles with prioritizing her ambitions. Regardless, she rarely backs down from a problem, and is willing to go all out when people need her help on both sides of the mask.

Unfortunately, her selfless nature is equally a vice and a virtue, and she will often try to help others even when it’s exhausting her. She hates saying no to people and letting them down. She might also accidentally shut people out when she’s overloaded, missing several things being said to her.

She’s extremely expressive. Whether she’s happy (a joyful person by default, though she’ll sometimes try to seem more okay than she really is to keep people from worrying), anxious (she often stumbles over her words and is less coordinated than normal), sad (she can be a pretty sensitive person, especially when concerned about her friends), or grouchy (just because she wants to help others doesn’t always mean she has to like it—I like to call her mannerisms when like this the “bug grumble >:(”, it’s one of my favorite moods of hers), you can usually tell how she feels just by looking at her.

3. Key Relationships

Chloe: The MTS MariChloe dynamic is drastically different from the original show. Instead of being Marinette’s childhood bully, she’s actually one of her oldest friends; the two have known each other since they began attending the same school. However, Chloe and Marinette’s relationship is still full of problems. Marinette is constantly pressured to help her with various things, along with having to do damage control whenever Chloe acts out toward others. Chloe does care about Marinette, but doesn’t listen to her or support her needs when she should. Eventually, maintaining this friendship becomes too much for Marinette, and she cuts Chloe off. For a while after that, the two have various spats (usually instigated by Chloe) before coming to an uneasy truce once Chloe starts to improve herself as a person. Things are never quite the same between them, as Marinette isn’t ready to renter a friendship with her.

Adrien: She is initially introduced to Adrien by Chloe, and doesn’t really see the appeal. She’s always been more interested in the fashion designers than the models. As she gets to know him, her opinion slowly shifts. Even though Chloe and her have their friendship break up, Adrien still wants to be her friend, and will even call out Chloe when she’s trying to mess with Marinette. His desire to handle things himself, rather than wanting her to help him all the time like many others, also makes her like him more. When she finally falls in love with Adrien, he gives her his umbrella, only it isn’t a perfect picturesque moment where he gracefully extends his umbrella to her. He gives her it, then proceeds to run out in to the rain, slipping on wet pavement multiple times while loudly yelling that “he’s okay”! Even though she fell in love with the flawed human side of Adrien, she’s still worried that he’ll think she’s just another fan girl fawning over him (spoiler alert: he doesn’t), so she’s extra careful not to overstep any boundaries.

Chat Noir: As I mentioned on the Adrien MTS post, they don’t exactly start on the best terms. Due to his rebellious attitude and more abrasive nature, she assumes that he’s similar to Chloe, only worrying about enjoying himself and carelessly ignoring the needs of everyone else. After the two begin working together as a proper team, she learns small pieces of information that help her realize that there’s more going on to him than she thought. Not only does he seem to live a much more restricted life under the mask, but he is actually capable of being extremely empathetic to others (this will be most especially shown in how he helps her through a particularly difficult moment as Ladybug, along with one of the akuma they encounter). She will inevitably friendzone him when he finally confesses, but that does not change the fact that he’s her partner and easily her most trusted ally.

Alya: Like Chat Noir, strangely enough, Ladybug and Alya Césaire do not exactly “click” like they’re supposed to. Alya is much more skeptical of these new heroes in MTS (I’ll elaborate further in her own post, but we decided to explore a pretty different direction for her character) and wants the public to know their identities. As a result, Marinette is pretty cautious around her, so they don’t become friends right away. That being said, Alya comes to be more understanding of the heroes once she’s put in a similar position to them, while Marinette is able to see Alya’s positive qualities (that being her integrity, honesty, and determination to keep the city safe). They finally become friends at the end of season 2. From there the two are able to learn more about maintaining a healthy friendship from each other.

Lila: The other reason Alya and Marinette don’t become friends right away. After ending things with Chloe, Marinette is somewhat fragile, and doesn’t have a lot of friends (there’s Kim and Adrien, also technically Chat Noir, but he knows Ladybug better than Marinette), with most of the class being wary of her due to her previous connection to Chloe (they don’t realize just how much Marinette actually kept Chloe from being worse yet). Lila, being a master manipulator in this version, instantly takes advantage of this vulnerability to befriend her. Their new friendship seems strong, even if Lila occasionally gives strange advice on how to get closer to her goals (though she’s quick to play it off as a joke if Marinette gets concerned). Slowly, cracks in Lila’s facade become more visible, and Marinette is forced to come to the horrifying realization that her new bestie is actually the supervillain Volpina. (Needless to say that this messes her up for a while.)

Other key dynamics include her parents (important to her but doesn’t affect the plot as much), Kim (another long story), Luka, Gabriel, Hawk Moth, Zoe, and Kagami (I might make them their own post tbh).

4. Character Growth

Marinette principally has two major character arcs (though there’s also a little something else done with her confidence as Ladybug in the final season, but that kinda leads into the finale so I’ll probably discuss it at another time).

Her season one arc is (as you might have guessed) learning to set limits with other people. Much like Chat Noir’s prime ability Wildcat is slowly damaging his mind, Ladybug’s prime ability, the Miraculous Ladybug (or the Miracle Cure if you prefer), is slowly consuming her energy. The fact that people are constantly asking her for favors as Marinette and she has to save the day as Ladybug is pushing her to her limit. Eventually, she can’t take anymore, and has to renounce the Miraculous Ladybug ability (this essentially restores her energy, but undoes all of the fixed damage from fights; we probably won’t tackle the concept of people dying from akuma attacks because we want to keep this as a kid-friendly show). Marinette then to cope with the guilt from all the damage she won’t fix (the fact that this Tikki is pretty self-righteous, and is constantly berating her for not doing so doesn’t help matters). After coming to terms with this, she’s learns to let others solve the problem sometimes (as the heroes try to limit damage from battles and the city rebuilds on its own), accept support from the people who care about her (notably Chat Noir and her parents), and accept the fact that she shouldn’t be responsible for everyone else’s problems (stops being Chloe’s friend due to her tendency to unfairly rely on Marinette).

Marinette’s long term arc largely revolves around her struggles with friendship and trust. I’ve already mentioned the Chloe and Lila problems, but these two different toxic friendships have two pretty different effects on her. The Chloe friendship she manages to process, and be okay with Chloe’s attempts to improve herself even if Marinette isn’t ready to rebuild that bond. Getting to know Sabrina and watch her and Chloe become friends is also a large part of this growth, especially since Marinette unlocks her new ability, Amulets that ward off akumas, at the end of season 2 after Sabrina’s second akumatization as Miraculer. The Lila friendship however… like I said, it hurts her pretty bad. Having two consecutive “friendship screw ups” makes her doubt herself and others. Since she was friends with Kim, Adrien, and Chat Noir before the Lila mess, those friendships remain stable: as does her friendship with Alya due to her getting to know her during the whole ordeal, but she does have a rough time making new friends. Zoe, a young girl who seems to have good intentions, but is quite dishonest (much like Lila) is the first example of this issue, and the two aren’t able to become friends until Zoe proves that she’s willing to be honest with others. Marinette and Kagami also have a rough start (due to Marinette not being sure what to make of this mysterious, intense girl). Fortunately, they still become good friends and Marinette is finally able to start moving past this fear (basically, the episode where Tomoe gets akumatized is gonna be the equivalent to Sandboy for MTS Adrien in terms of MTS Marinette’s development). (There’s also her slowly befriending most of the class, but those plots are much more self contained.) Either way, Marinette ends the show with a stable group of friends who want support her just as much as she wants to support them.

Conclusion:

That pretty much wraps up my notes on Marinette’s character. If there’s anything about her you’d like to know more about, feel free to send me an ask! (Also @dumblr-account, if there’s something you think I should have included, let me know.)

After this I’ll probably post a poll asking people about what (of three ideas I’m planning on talking about first) they’d like to see next, so stay tuned (if you want to, at least)!

[duckprintspress]

What's the difference between catering to fanfic writers and to other kinds of writers? Or is there not much of a difference? Happy Book Publishers Day BTW.

Hey anon!

Ah, I'm so excited that you decided to send in a question for Book Publishers Day! I delayed answering for a few days so I could really think about the answer, and now here we are. :D

Tentatively, I'd say that there's not a huge difference between catering to fanfic writers and catering to other kinds of writers, but there are a few. I'd say the biggest differences aren't specifically in "how we cater to authors" so much as "how we've envisioned and structured the whole Press differently because of our collective roots in fandom." Here's some of the biggest differences that strike us, starting with those that are more narrowly about catering to the different types of writers, then getting a bit more general.

Privacy/safety concerns. While of course everyone worries about their privacy and maintaining data security is critical when dealing with contractors, employees, etc., it's something we especially emphasize when working with fanfic writers for two primary reasons. First, a lot of fanfic writers don't want people who know them in meatspace to become aware that they write fanfic, given the stigma against it in some communities. Second, a lot of fanfic writers are queer and they aren't necessarily out in all their circles. Thus, we put a lot of extra effort into ensuring that people who work with us can keep their "fandom self" separate from their "meatspace self," if they want to. I'd estimate roughly half of our authors opt to keep their various "selves" completely separate, and we work to be very public about the steps we take to protect our authors and the guarantees we have in place that we won't "out" anyone in anyway - that we'll do everything in our power to protect them.

Publishing education. While plenty of the authors we've worked with have been interested in publishing for a while, and a noticeable minority have published their original work with other Presses, a lot of our authors have always seen publishing their original stories as more of a "someday" and aren't familiar with the processes of what happens after the stories are written. So, we put a lot of effort into process-related transparency and answering questions to ensure that writers know what to expect. For example, we make blank versions of all our contracts public so that people who are considering working with us have plenty of time to read them, research standard contracts, and decide for themselves if they think our terms are favorable. We want people to know what they're getting into and to feel comfortable before they commit, and to feel comfortable walking away if that's better for them.

Unconventional publishing models. That said, we're also rather outside the mold for publishers, because only a few of the folks in our upper echelons have a background in more traditional publishing and/or medium/small Press publishing. I, the owner, have flirted at the edges of the more mainstream publishing industry but while I know a lot of people in trad pub and indy pub, I haven't worked in it myself nor have I been traditionally published. Thus, we definitely have had a learning curve ourselves, and it also a lot of our internal structure and approaches are specifically, explicitly designed around fandom models instead of around more standard Press models. For example, we wholesale adopted a zine approach to anthology production and publishing - we select creators and give them freedom to create within the parameters of the anthology theme, then help them with editing, instead of asking for completed stories that we sift through and pick our favorites. For another example, our approaches to tagging and cataloging stories and our interest in breaking out of industry-standard rigidly defined genres are also deeply rooted in our experiences as fans and fancreators in fandom spaces. Basically, in the same way that we approach writers who are fanwriters first, original writers second, we ourselves were all fandom people first, publishers second. and our methodologies grew out of our experiences as forum moderators, fandom event creators and runners, zine editors, etc.

Community spaces. Again, because we're looking at more of a fandom-based model transplanted onto a publishing milieu, we're very oriented on building a community and relationships. Our Discord is quite active, and we talk about our lives, about our projects, help each other out with research and betaing, etc. To be honest, I don't know if that's different from other Presses, but I at least strongly suspect it's well outside what trad pub does.

Transparency. In the end, we view Duck Prints Press as a collaboration, as something we're growing together with writers, editors, artists, graphic designers, etc., where all of us have been active in fandoms first. Toward that end, general transparency about our decision making, processes, and plans is important to us, and we work hard to make sure that people involved in the Press know what's going on. We hold monthly meetings to which everyone involved in the Press is invited (our next one is this Tuesday!) where we talk candidly, openly, and honestly about our progress on current projects, any set backs we've encountered, and how we're doing fiscally. In the same way that, if I'm involved in a zine, I'd expect the people running it to talk about the money earned, where profits are going, if there's been an issue with production, if someone's life going haywire has introduced delays, etc. That's the level of openness we aim for.

Education. This is an area where we're still expanding, but we've so far offered two classes to people involved in the Press on grammar and editing stuff. The idea is, a lot of people who write fanfic aren't "trained" authors, and we often don't know the rules, just "what sounds right." And, that's fine, that's why we have editors! But if people want to learn more, we're striving to provide more opportunities for that. Related, we're extremely, and atypically, transparent about our selection processes for people who apply to anthologies. We are not and will never be a black box where submission stories come in and acceptance and rejection letters go out. Not only do we use a rating rubric that's available publicly, we also share completed rubrics with authors upon request. We want people who are interested in learning and improving to see our notes and to have the chance to ask questions. We want to support people who are aiming to improve. And, flipside, we don't automatically send those rubrics out to applicants because we wholeheartedly subscribe to the fandom-standard attitude that concrit is only helpful when it's asked for. If someone doesn't want more information, doesn't want to improve (because improvement NEVER has to be one's goal as a writer, especially for fanwriters doing fic for fun!), we don't force that feedback on anyone! So, so many of our structures are based on fandom models, are grounded in fandom ethos.

Relaxed restrictions. All of the people who run the business are queer (I'm aroace genderfluid, myself), and most us are neurodivergent (my diagnoses are ADHD and clinical depression), and some of us are disabled (my wife, for example, is an ambulatory wheelchair user, though she's not heavily involved in the management team...right now she's anonymizing the submissions to Aether Beyond the Binary), and many of us are parents (I have two kids, aged almost 5 and almost 7). I've been active in online fandoms for more than 20 years, and the people in my fandom circles have overwhelming shared the above characteristics. Most are queer. Most are neurodivergent. Many struggle with health issues and disability. Many are parents, have multiple jobs, are caring for parents, are supporting their partners, are facing a multitude of meatspace challenges that make working in a traditional publication model difficult or impossible. In a lot of publishing, things like really struggling with deadlines, or having to navigate the potential for unexpected health flareups, or juggling multiple jobs, or working around a child's schedule, would be dealbreakers - the deadline is the deadline, meet it or get out. That's...so not us. We strive to create an environment with the flexibility to meet people where they are, where having life go sideways (cause let's be real, life always goes sideways sooner or later) doesn't disqualify someone from breaking into the industry. As long creators communicate with us about their hurdles, we are very free about giving extensions, making exceptions, tweaking schedules, etc. We don't want anyone hurting themselves just for a story. Yes, it can make management more challenging at times, but we always look to grant the same grace that we hope to be given when our own lives get complicated. (2022 has been a huge example of this, as my health issues resulted in my needing surgery last February and it completely disrupted all our project timelines for the year - we've really only just caught up in the last month or so).

Setting expectations. We aim to set realistic expectations with authors who write with us. My own sense of other models is that most publishers promise success without necessarily delving into things like "but you'll have to handle all your own marketing" or "this is how many copies you can honestly expect to sell." Authors can often be in for a rude awakening once they're in the door and contracted and would be hard-pressed to back out. We're very small, and we operate on a shoe-string budget (I have been operating Duck Prints Press for just over two years and we've never yet earned enough for me to take a paycheck, and we're in the red for both of our first two years, though our 2022 numbers are a significant improvement over 2021 and we have every reason to hope we'll keep growing). We can't afford a lot of advertising, can't be the only source of marketing, can't promise that people will sell lots of copies (full disclosure re: what that means, our average short story sells under 10 copies during the first week it's released). We can't promise anyone a livable paycheck. What we offer instead is community, support, creative freedom, understanding, and the chance to be part of a fan-run business that is slowly but surely growing, and growing amazingly. No editor will ever say "you have to change xyz so your story will sell." No editor will ever say, "we just don't want that story." We want to publish what our writers want to publish, and we want to work all together to help grow all our audiences. And that means, for people involved right now while we're this young, we can't promise much, but we can promise one wonderful thing: that the future looks bright.

This went a bit beyond "working with fanfiction writers versus trad pub writers" and more into "ways we approach things differently than a more mainstream Press," but I think that does tie into how the approach is different. We're not viewing the Press as The Owner And Managers Who Are Always Above and the writers as The Content Creators And Cash Cows. All of us in the management team are also fandom people, fanwriters, fanartists, etc. It's not two distinct groups, it's one big group of more-or-less equals (yes, there's still a hierarchy, there has to be some, but it's not super top-down and there's lots of opportunities for people to share their skills up the not-really-a-ladder) with the doors thrown wide open to welcome in more folks.

And that, I think, is the crux of the difference of how we cater to fanfic authors compared to what we might do differently if we were working with a more mainstream set of authors. While we do maintain certain editorial standards and we obviously don't accept everyone who applies, we still try to cast a wide net, to opt for inclusion over exclusion, to try to make allowances, to make space for people at different levels, with different experiences, with different life challenges, etc. In the end, I'd love everyone who ever applies to work with us to end up as part of the Press, because if people want to work with us, we want to work with them! There's no way to just bring in everyone at once, and some people need to hone their skills more before they'll be ready to meet the writing standards we aim for, but it's nothing that can't be learned. And, if people want to learn it, we want to help them learn it.

We're a publisher, yes, but we're also a community of fanwriters who all dream of being published, helping each other to make that dream a reality.

This was probably a ton more answer than was really necessary, but here we are. :D Thanks for asking, anon, and I hope you found the answer informative!

(I'm @unforth, by the way, it occurs to me a lot of people may not realize that.)

[microraptorreactor]

I feel like dumping out my box of OCs like one would do a box of lps so very long post filled with very many doodles ahead!

Reference for my Rainworld oc, Lost! He's an idiot kid I made for one joke but now he lives in my brain. I think I made this reference for him last year? Idk I don't remember. I'm just now realizing that Lost snuck into my V2 characterization lmao.

Elysium art of various ages! Made between 2021-2023 I believe. This is the oc I made before I knew what Ultrakill was and everyone thought I was making an Ultrakill joke. Tbh if it wasn't for the fact that I MADE Elysium and have their early sketches I wouldn't believe they weren't an Ultrakill reference either. Speaking of which, here's some animations from when Elysium was both a quadruped and a model of robot instead of an individual. These were both made for a class in 2021.

VERY old art (2020 I think? I wasn't using my screen tablet yet) that I normally wouldn't include if it weren't for the fact my friends would explode me if I mentioned Elysium and Lost without mentioning Nerve. She was an anxiety-ridden warforged cleric who got tragically sent to the vampire realm. Whenever Nerve comes up in discussion one of my friends brings up how I made him cry with her final speech. I don't remember tf I said lmao.

Art of my His Dark Materials OC, Zurial! Art would have been made 2022 onwards. I made her WAY back in 2019 before Hazbin Hotel even had a pilot but unfortunately now she looks like a Hazbin angel and I feel weird drawing her. Which is really unfortunate because I love her dearly, she's one of my favorite OCs. She's also the only oc I have who I've made a plushie for. Why did my character design have to accidentally look like the works of famous youtube animator Vivian Medrano T-T

(here's her plushie btw. I'm really proud of it lol.)

Here's Niphit, one of my Warframe OCs! Some of y'all might recognize her as my AO3 pfp, but her design has changed since then. The bottom reference sheet is her most recent design. She's kind of conceptually similar to Baeri/Sleet/-31 from SftBT, in terms of hacking shit and having a snout and teeth. Biggest difference is that she is a whole ass hivemind, usually pretty harmless, and also considered pretty young.

Shameless CR:K fanchild OC. Her name is Golden Parmesan Cheese Cookie (Parm or Parmesan for short) and she's also, like, an AI copy of a dead person. Or a dead person's soul trapped inside an eternal simulation? Either way she's got SO many issues. I have a massive chatfic wip from when I decided to try writeing something with her.

Okay I know technically this is a Homestuck OC but I like to say she's a Hiveswap OC. Because I played Hiveswap and loved it but never read Homestuck. Anyways her name is Vintan she's a yellowblood.

Whoa an original character! Yeah this is Corion, they come from my brain. I have a whole story concept about post-apocalyptic robot cowboys (and human cowboys) that I've done a couple doodles from but never written down. Corion serves as a sort of living taxi, guiding or carrying people across the wasteland. They are a secondary protagonist, I don't think I have art of Pike and Amelia, the actual protagonists. One funny fact about this universe is it contains a character named V1 (pronounced Vi, still written as V1) who I can no longer use for obvious reasons.

But yeah! Ramble over! Not anywere near all of them I just wanted to talk about my brain children XD

[iwriteasfotini]

The Rules I Broke: a Rant and a Warning

Our Love is Written in the Stars is a Marauders era series which depicts my head canon as it applies to the original seven Harry Potter books, it might not be your head canon. That's just the way it goes.

I’m new to the current fanfiction space which can be a benefit or a drawback. I’ve read some popular fics, blended inspiration from them with my pre-existing head canon, and created a pretty solid mental characterization of these lovely people. The drawback is I didn’t and still don’t know or understand the rules and divides which exist in the fandom. Over ships, over characterizations, over plot, over canon compliance, etc. Side note, because of this I will NOT label my series as canon compliant, even though in my mind it is. 

Thus I found myself frequently thinking “am I allowed to do this?” The last time I was in the fanfic space there were fierce debates over certain topics (often very frivolous things mind), so when I started writing there was a little voice in my head telling me what I was writing might be wrong. I brought this up with my partner, and he said, “whose rules are you talking about?” I had no answer. So I finally chucked the supposed rulebook out the window. I know it is going to create some drama. My ships, my characterizations, my plot, it isn’t going to jive with everyone. I never expected it to. So please, before you dive into this epic but fantastic series, know that I broke rules. I did so intentionally because I found the rules to be silly, limiting, and honestly not founded in anything valid (to me). I have read the original series A LOT, I have read books written about the original seven books. I can get deep into canon and into the world. But my own story is meant to be fun. It is meant to be entertaining. Not analyzed for literary merit or if my characterization matches with your head canon (or heaven forbid JKR’s intent) one hundred percent. 

I can guarantee this story will disappoint you at some point. Because I have read some great fanfiction and every single piece disappoints me in some way. I have a mental model of the characters which the author skews just slightly, or I have a problem with a tiny piece of plot, or how a scene was written. There is always going to be something, and because it’s fanfiction, there is always room to wish the author had written it slightly differently. How many people read published fiction and think, if only they had characterized so and so better, that would have really made the story. Instead we read published fiction and think either Amazing!, Good, Ok, Meh, or I don’t like this book. You can’t reach out to the author directly and tell them exactly how and why what they wrote was annoying to you. I’m not saying a broad appreciation of an entire work can’t happen with fanfiction, but I have been there, reading something people rave about and thinking it’s so good except… (I always choose to keep those thoughts to myself, BTW.)

There will be that in this story. Because I am me, and you are you, and this whole story is my except, this story is my I wish there was more or I wish it was done differently… and we will not agree. 

So yes, I bridged the void between Severus and the Marauders. Yes, I have Regulus and Severus and Lily in a mutual friendship dynamic. Yes, I have endgame Jegulus in a canon event compliant story. Yes, my James is Indian, and my Severus is a Spaniard. And Yes, I did create some ships I have personally never encountered before, though I would venture a guess I am NOT the first person to go there. 

And for me it works. For me it not only works but it is fantastic. Because I don’t want to have to choose. Unless it is between Jily and Jegulus in which case I chose Jegulus every time. Wolfstar is untouchable canon. Sev and Lily are WAY more than they were ever given in canon. Regulus! My beloved is so amazing. And I know the debates go long and hot over who can be characterized a certain way and why, who can ship with who, according to you and to your interpretation of canon, or even just your personal opinion. Who cares! 

I am not trying to debate or make any lasting points. I want people to be entertained, to laugh, to experience more fantastical magic (isn’t this what drew everyone to the series in the first place, it wasn’t the ships, that’s for sure). If you find you aren’t enjoying the story, please for the love of everyone STOP reading. And if you try to discredit my imagination I’m going to kindly remind you that we don’t have to agree on everything. And do not get me started on the Death Eaters. Yes they did awful things, Dumbledore is a piece of work himself. James can be an insensitive arse hole. So can Sirius. And there are ALWAYS two sides to a story. So let’s have fun! Let’s return to Hogwarts with first years and watch them mature into adults. Let’s feel what it is like to play a game of quidditch from someone who works their arse off (James) and from someone who is naturally a phenom (Regulus). And if anyone throws a ‘well Sirius said’ or ‘well Snape said’ comment at me, I’m going to shrug and reply with, Harry is an extremely biased narrator, Sirius is a trauma survivor who spent twelve years in isolation in a dementor infested prison, and Snape is one of the smartest and most deceptive characters in the series. You think any of them ever painted the whole truth, I think not. 

If you want to hop aboard this train, I welcome you with open arms. If you plan to board just to throw rotten veg at the other passengers, I’m going to politely ask you to please disembark. 

The glorious madness begins in fifteen days. I hope you are ready. I hope you are excited. Because we are going back to Hogwarts!

>>><<<

This is one of my Author Notes for the series Our Love is Written in the Stars which will begin daily posting on Ao3 on October 31.

[thescreamcorner]

hi! same anon. it's been a minute. i do think we're on the same page a bit, even if we don't come to the same conclusions, so i really like that!

i don't have super strong opinions on like self misdiagnosing and symptom faking. you talked about it a lot, but it doesn't really bother me too much because i don't think people like that are necessarily solely responsible for the spread of medical/psychology misinformation. a lot of pop psychology comes from sort of laconic dissemination (i.e. rauscher's mozart effect study) and a sort of regurgitation of stuff from therapy from all sorts of corners. self dx i'm sure plays a part in that, but like. i think there's other aspects of it as well. but i think we sort of come from different settings vis a vis that. (my dating life is peppered with so many ppl who think i'm a therapist and know about their pop psychology isms LMFAO)

fwiw i do sort of get the isolated feeling of DID. not to the extent that it upsets you for sure, but like. i kinda get it. i suspect i may have osdd myself, but it's very difficult to find discussion of that that isn't based on THE one pro-or-con issue, and the community has pretty strong opinions focusing almost entirely on it, when not only do i not agree with either side, but i'm also just trying to find people's experiences.

also if i may address luna-space (cogneuro icon btw you were not rude at all), because luna's askbox was not opened and i'm sure you want to know too!

you do raise a good point, psychology IS the study of brain AND BEHAVIOR. i'm just kind of neuroscience pilled i spend too much time in my funny office box doing connectivity analyses. and thinking it over i do think behavior DOES play a role in symptomology. i just dont think it should play the ONLY role.

if i may return to my bipolar, schizophrenia, and depression example. (btw Brett Clementz is the main guy i know for bipolar+schizophrenia overlap research. he did a lot of stuff there.) both bipolar and depression have depressed mood as a symptom (schizophrenia arguably too as negative symptoms like flat affect and anhedonia can fall into this, but i digress). however, schizophrenia has a similar sort of pattern of activity to bipolar, and while yes, bipolar and depression both affect mood, the fact that i've had whole lectures in undergrad with instructors pointing out the subtle differences between bipolar and schizophrenia (the primary difference being the psychosis) before i knew about this is a bit questionable for a mood disorder and a psychosis disorder.

idk how necessarily to cite something i see a lot of in general i.e. the tendencies research. i know we do some sliding scale stuff with a certain condition that i do not wish to say because i do not wish to get doxxed or anything. i'll give you some other dois tho.

the paper i was referencing for the bullying thing. it's more a developmental thing, but i think that stuff still falls under the plasticity umbrella. -> https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbr.2019.01.054

and here's a paper about other diagnostic models i thought was interesting (i dont know if i FULLY agree with it but i think it's a start) -> https://doi.org/10.1353/ppp.2020.0020

sorry if im being too nerdy in your ask box btw i'd say this is my job but really my job is writing this goddamn paper about brain networks. not sending tumblr asks XD

I unfortunately do not have the brainpower to really read this too thoroughly but I appreciate the ask and the empathetic viewpoints regardless, and will share it so Luna gets a chance to see it too since it's not just @ me ^^;

[janeeyreofmanderley]

You know what? It is time to realise that the original fairy tale princesses are not the damsel in distresses they are always accused to be!

As a big fairytale fan that BUGS me!!!! All the time I hear that princesses are bad role models for girls because they teach them jsut to be pretty and wait for big manly prince to rescue them and that....is not true?????

Even for Disney Princesses that is hardly accuarate, for the original fairy tale princesses, not at all.

In Disney I think we only have two princesses where this description fits. Aurora and Snow White. They are indeed mostly passive (especially Aurora who quickly dozes off) and get rescued by true love's kiss.

Cinderella- no. Sorry, no way I agree that she gets rescued by a prince.

Like let's have a look at another fairy tale. Puss in boots. The youngest son of the miller inherits a cat, cat takes him on adventures, vanquishes a wizard and as reward the miller's son gets to marry the princess and inherit half the kingdom.

Now usually say the princess is the boy's reward, a literal trophy wife. However I argue if we declare her a trophy wife the prince in Cinderella is a trophy husband. And the other way round, if we agree Cinderella's prince saved her, then the princess saved the miller's son!

Cinderella was not saved. She got a bit lucky that is all. She was an abused girl who just wanted to have a few nights out and have some fu dancing. All that happened then was not someone rescuing her, but because she was a lovely person. The one thing her stepmother and sisters could not rob her of, was her personality. She is sweet, kind and loving and not matter how mean they were, she was radical in remaning kind. That the prince fell in love with her was not to rescue her but becasue he fell in love with a girl who was nice, beautiful and kind.

And then there are so many other "princesses" who never got their own movies and are nto as well known but who actually have way mroe agency than the men in the fairytales whic I always find interestin. (Probably because many of those tales were probably mostly told by women)

Like Rose Red and Snow White? Save the prince eventually. Receive ech a prince as reward which is neat (they liked one of those anyway), but were doing fine anyway.

The seven swans. Princess saves not one but seven princes (her brothers) through great personal sacrifice. King falls in love with her and after being deceived in believing she was a witch apologises to her.

Seven Ravens, again sister saving her birdified brothers yet a very different adventure. She travels to sun and moon and rescues them.

Not an old fairy tale but in the Snow Queen the boy is saved not by a lover (it is more descibed as an innocent love between children) but his dearest playmate Gerda. She ravels through adversities to the Snow Queens realm and saves him.

Heck even Sleepign Beauty didn't really get saved by a prince in the Grimm version! This prince just was lucky to walk by when the 100 years were up and the curse had expired.

Fairy tales are full of interesting and energetic women who take fate in their own hands and save the day, even if someone come to argue that there might be other older version I am not aware of that may well be, but the Grimms versions are told this way for over 200 years now (and were written dwon that way at a time we generally wold not consider the height of the emancipation movement).

Acting as if independetn and energetic women are an invention of the 20th century is not only erasign women's contribution to history but also sets the scene for a dangerous argument that it is " unnatural" or a "trend" for women to be so.

So yeah, I will stilly love my princesses and really recommend everyone to also read some of the less well known works of Grimm.

(btw also nothing wrong with some of ther heroines who needed help, there is something beautiful about people being able to ask for help when at their wits end and receiving it (e.g. the girl in Bluebeard).