#but a well-written blorbo?? who’s also written consistently???

[ourflagmeansgayrights]

blorbo projection is fun and all but when you’re projecting onto a blorbo to the point where you’re just contradicting their canon personality traits. i do not understand what the appeal is there

[bogkeep]

Would you recommend the SSSS comic? I know little of it beside the very beautiful artstyle and premise

to answer the question of if i would recommend SSSS as a comic: yes, yes i would.

a description for those who don't know: Stand Still Stay Silent is a post-apocalyptic horror + adventure webcomic set in the nordics (norway, sweden, denmark, finland, iceland) that have been isolated from the rest of the world and gone back to their old gods. the the world outside of safe zones is full of trolls and beasts - humans and mammals that got infected by a horrible virus and turned into monsters. the story follows a ragtag crew that ventures into the old world (derelict denmark) on an expedition to collect books.

the comic updated every workday until it concluded in 2022, and consists of two Adventures. the creator had plans for many adventures with these characters in this world, but ended it after two when she wanted to take a new direction with her life.

what i love about it:

- the art is GORGEOUS. it's been a huge source of inspiration for me. open any page and it's a masterpiece, and you will ask yourself "how the FUCK did she update this FIVE DAYS A WEEK"

- the characters are wonderful and endearing. i just, i love them so much. i am so thankful lalli hotakainen exists he is one of my #1 blorbos forever

- the world is so cool. the blend of chunky sci-fi and norse mythology fantasy magic slaps. it goes so hard. i fell so hard for this comic when i got to the big ferry ship with a viking style dragon head prow added to it. it's everything

- it really really gets nordic cultures. it's difficult to explain all the dynamics and nuances but it just gets it. it brings me as a scandinavian a lot of joy to read a story that speaks to my heart this way. the attitudes, the language barriers, the cultural differences... it was so refreshing to me in a media landscape dominated by american stories. when the pandemic hit, i decided to reread the comic because i found such an odd comfort in seeing how it depicted the scandinavian countries reacting to, well, a pandemic.

- there's kittycats

what i don't like about it:

- the most glaring and obvious flaw is that everyone in the comic is white. there's not a single character of color anywhere, not even i background shots or the prologue. there's no mention of the saami people (the indigenous people of northern europe), either. i believe this was done in ignorance more than malicious intent, but the implications are Extremely Bad and it's been bothering me (AND MANY OTHERS) since day 1. that is the number one caveat i will give to anyone wanting to check this comic out. i've been in the discourse trenches and i am not going to excuse this. it's just bad!

- you can tell in the middle of adventure 2 that the creator has kind of lost interest in the work, around the time when she found jesus i guess. like, very few people can keep up work on the same creative project for years and years and years and i think it's fine that she wanted to drop it, but it's a bit sad to see the comic dragged to its end like a limp corpse, and feeling like the creator no longer really cares about the characters.

- minna sundberg has said and done some questionable things, presumably gotten somewhat radicalised over time, and has also converted to hardcore christianity which is what her new works are about. there's nothing about this in SSSS - there is a moment of christianity represented in the story in a sort of mythological sense, just like the other religions, but this was written before minna's conversion. her new works... are a Choice. i have much to say about them, and i have, and im not gonna rehash it now.

SO YEAH hopefully this will help you take an Informed Choice! i got into this comic in 2015 and was deep in the fandom and it's for better or for worse part of my soul foundation now.

i also recommend A Redtail's Dream, minna's "practice comic" before SSSS, based on finnish mythology and the kalevala.

[olderthannetfic]

Nearly 75% of fic on AO3 has less than 5 reader comments. Can we please acknowledge that lack of engagement in a positive fashion is the norm in fandom and that writers are expected to work for nothing in return yet readers are allowed to be entitled?

The source of my number

https://www.tumblr.com/transholmes/738776926733336576/and-even-those-numbers-on-the-lower-end-are

--

Hahahahaha.

Oh, anon.

Okay, first of all, I just posted a bunch of graphs showing exactly this, so not only am I well aware of it, but you also clearly don't read my tumblr much and are just here because some friend of yours is upset that I responded negatively to them about their dumb bookmarking opinions.

Second and more importantly...

No, no one is expected to do anything.

That's crazypants influencer talk where you think your hobbies are jobs that you have no choice about doing.

I suppose I do expect fans to have something at least marginally worthwhile to say—or else I'll block them for being whiny little bitches who make my day dumber as well as less amusing.

But mostly, what I expect is that people will do hobbies because they are fun. If I ever decide that writing fic is too boring, I will stop.

I write because it's fun.

I write original work for money too, and if you want to read that, you're going to have to pay Amazon your cold, hard cash. But I still do it because I enjoy the actual act of writing... at least a lot of the time.

What I see in the bookmark boo-hooing is a bunch of people who haven't noticed the last eighty thousand rounds of this same dumb wank and who not only expect to get the last word but expect that somehow I'm going to signal boost it on my tumblr as that... a tumblr known for contentious debates and nobody ever getting the last word till everyone's exhausted and never wants to hear about paper plates or beans again.

I also see that some of the thinnest-skinned people have fic patreons.

Now, I chose not to bring this up before because it sounds a bit below the belt in that "And thus you're morally impure and thus I can ignore your argument" way... But it's a consistent pattern in these conversations over time, and I do think it's relevant. The biggest sensitive babies are always the ones most afraid of bad reviews but also low engagement, and I think it's because they're caught in some half-pro, half-not limbo where they want the best of both worlds but keep getting the worst of both.

If you behave like a professional who is owed compensation, you can expect a more professional style of response to your work.

And what does the pro world look like? Radio silence. The occasional harsh review. Nobody caring why you wanted to write X or why you couldn't finish Y on time.

If you're here to socialize, you should look for a beta or a couple of good friends who like your blorbos and your style of fic, and then you can squee together about what you've written. It may not come in the form of visible AO3 comments. It may be in private chat.

In some cases, it may just be friends you can talk to about your writing but who aren't actually going to read it. I have plenty of friends who read different things than what I write.

That's what socializing and hobbies look like, dude.

It's fine to point out that many writers do get discouraged by low comment counts and then stop, so if I, as a reader in a fandom, want more, it behooves me to befriend writers and make them feel good.

But at the same time, writers get discouraged or move on to the next fandom all the time for all kinds of reasons. If the critical mass and the zeitgeist aren't there, then they aren't.

Do your hobbies for reasons internal to you.

If the main point is external validation, get into BDSM and find someone excited to indulge your praise kink. It will work a lot better than chasing fame via art.

[thecarnivorousmuffinmeta]

Hello, Muffin 🖐🏼. I've read several of your fanfics, especially the Twilight and Harry Potter ones you've written with Vinelle, and I'm always amazed at how believable your characters feel. How do you manage to keep, or at least get close to, the original characters' canon behavior?

Well thank you, I'm very flattered! Look, @therealvinelle, praise! Though obliged to point out that I am sure there are many who insist we do the exact opposite, at least in terms of 'canon compliance'.

As for how we do it it's essentially two very large things.

Understand Who the Character Is/Treat the Character Like a Person

You should know the character well enough that, when you see them confronted with something they've never been before in canon, what do they do, how do they react, and what do they think about?

This involves an understanding of who the character is as a person. How do they think, how do they see the world, what do they want, what do they think they want, who do they want to be.

It's important to look at what a character does in the source material, what they say, and how they think if we have any insight into their heads. And these are all separate things, what a character says might be very different from what they think, how they think might in turn be very different from how they truly feel but don't want to admit, and what they do may be at extreme odds with what they say and what they think.

This isn't something you can fit on a single sheet of paper, it shouldn't be, because the character has to come to resemble how you would think of a person and what they might do in any situation.

Once you have a firm, or at least decent, grip of who the character is as a person, you should be able to stick them in nearly any situation and go "alright, what is their reaction to this event".

That said, important here is that 'canon compliance' isn't gospel, not at all. You can throw the source material out the fucking window and then light it on fire with a blow torch. The only thing that matters is that you have decided firmly upon what you're doing and have a firm understanding of who you think a character is.

Be Consistent

It's tempting to smash two characters together and say KISS! Or have them do anything for that matter. Sometimes you want a plot to go a place (sometimes it was the entire point of the fucking fic) but it has to be something the character would be willing to do/forced into doing by some external circumstances.

Disregarding this is when you read things and go, "Huh?" and "They did what? Okay, I guess".

This sometimes means letting go of your idea blorbos when the characters will never, ever, ever do it.

Also important here is the above section, you have to know who the character is, as that will inform what they will do, and most important is you must remain consistent about it. A character shouldn't suddenly change personalities overnight, even in the event of a major life changing event.

They should think, speak, and act in a manner that is consistent with whomever you think the character is.

Conclusion

And that's it.

That's the secret sauce.

Sadly, it's not easy, as you can't just right "grumpy" on a piece of paper and miraculously have the answer to all your questions, but it's what works for me/what I gravitate towards doing.

Anything to add, @therealvinelle

[peachyfnaf]

I'm sorry but "MY BEAUTIFUL PRINCESS WITH A DISORDER<3" really made my day and I needed you to know

🤣🤣🤣

I can't believe Nexus is bullying peepaw war criminal.

Do you think Nexus is going to be stopped by big bro Sun or do you think the lil guy is going beyond the point of no return?

(Please talk about baby cringe Lord Nexus, I want to hear about your blorbo 🙏)

That's because Nexus IS my beautiful princess with a disorder, I'll have you know <3 they're diseased but it's okay I can give them their tetanus and flu shots and it'll all be better I GOT THIS

But. ahem, okay, blorbo yapping time. I'm not even gonna say "I'll try to keep this short" because I know it wont end up that way HAHAHAHAHA

"Do you think Nexus is going to be stopped by big bro Sun or do you think the lil guy is going beyond the point of no return?"

I... have absolutely no idea!!!1! (and also it took me an embarrassingly long amount of time to realize peepaw war criminal was Ruin KJDFHSDF)

The most frustrating thing about canon Nexus is how his morals, motivations, and goals seem to see-saw back and forth all the time. at first, he became how he is now due to Solar's death. he spiraled in his grief, identity-issues, and abandonment. but... now his motivation is to become an all powerful god??? while it's most likely that NSP is at play and affecting his thought process, it's... well, it's really hard to take him seriously as a villain because of it, lol. for an audience to enjoy, and even sympathize in some cases, with a villain, their goals and motivations have to be concrete. they have to be relatable, or at least understandable, but Nexus' whole thing is... not, Imho. and I know I'm not the only person who feels this way!!!

I see a lot of people calling Nexus "cringe", and the thing is, when it comes to canon Nexus, they're not really... wrong??? The worst thing Nexus has done so far is make Old Moon see his past victims, which is fucked up of him to do, but.. so far, that's kind of it??? other than that, his "villainy" consists of saying empty threats and cheesy evil one-liners. hell, he was supposed to kidnap Sun yesterday but instead spent the whole episode yapping and venting to him, chasing Sun around in the worlds darkest game of tag before getting some lead right in the face dkfjhsdfsd

Also, notice how he's only targeted Old Moon when it comes to actual physical violence? not Lunar, Earth, Solar, or Sun, but Old Moon? yeah, I did too. we already know that Nexus does everything because he's lashing out, but as of rn the only target he's gotten his hands on physically being O.M...? well. I think it says a lot. cause' yeah, he sure as shit scared the life out of the other Celestials, but he's never put his hands on them!! the only other one of them he harmed physically was Earth- and not only was he not aiming for her, she was just in the way- he felt immediate regret for his actions once in space, and has yet to even see Earth ever since that day.

So, I really have no idea if he's going to be "redeemed" or not. one second he's showing signs he might be, and the next he's falling further down the "pretty badly written villain" rabbit-hole. if he does get something akin to a redemption arc, he'll prolly mostly be accepted in the eyes of the viewers, considering a lot of peeps sympathize or at least understand where he's coming from, but I seriously doubt the other Celestials would take him back. the only one's who might see him as family/a close friend again are Sun and Solar, but even then, nothing would ever be the same.

I hope he gets redeemed, or at least freed from the hold Dark Sun has on him and he's able to live his own life, I really do. at his core, Nexus is a good person. a good person who was crushed under the weight of the shadow of the man he was born under. and we know this because he used to be New Moon. sweet, dorky New Moon.

New Moon, who made inventions like sentient knives and whoopee cushions. New Moon, who had matching My Little Pony stickers with his best friend. New Moon, who bought a whole ass island-luxury-house for Sun because he wanted to make him feel better and give him the proper space to heal. and New Moon- the poor freshly-baked A.I who gave his all to make sure he could do everything that Old Moon could, but it just wasn't enough. he tried and tried and tried, but it wasn't enough.

So yeah, idk if he's getting one in canon, but to me, he more than deserves a good ending, for the life he was given. let him be at peace.

[quietwingsinthesky]

hey bug,

what do you think of

Gayest Supernatural Character, Quarter-Finals

drama and who do you believe is the truest queerest character in supernatural?

i think all spn polls drama is nonsense. it's fun until people start being actual assholes about stuff, and a poll like 'gayest spn characters' does make the worst elements of the fandom get overly aggressive trying to prove their claim to the queerest blorbo. a lot of people here have attached an unhealthy amount of their own identity to their favorite characters (and specifically, to a very narrow perception of said favorite characters) that leads to them lashing out when they feel that character disrespected, as it feels like a slight against them, personally. deeply strange and uncomfortable behavior when we should all just be talking about how crowley kisses men on screen for fun.

anyway, 'truest queerest character of supernatural' is a bit of a mixed bag because there's two options here. which character is the queerest textually, as in, was allowed to be openly queer and express queer love the longest and most often. and which character's subtextual narrative was most reflective of queerness, which is what a lot of people are arguing about the most. because you can't really argue about the first one. like. the only queer character who got to be queer, openly and constantly and for multiple seasons, make out with multiple women on screen, and not be treated like her sexuality is a joke is charlie bradbury. and we can talk about how well or poorly she's written as a character, but in supernatural, she is like a fucking lesbian beacon. and she's still bare fucking minimum in a cast whose other notable queers consist of 1) joke characters we are meant to mock for the fact that they are queer, 2) one-off characters who either die or in the case of later seasons where killing off gay people instantly because slightly less okay, do not get to express a lot of their queerness on screen before being shunted off to never scare the largely cishet audience again, or 3) villains. just like. villains. i know we love this about them, i know we're all gay little freaks here on the lucifer stan blog who enjoy that he's Like That about sam. but the fact that a lot of the villains on supernatural are queer-coded if not just openly queer is. :/ not great, folks.

and now we get to what my answer is for number 2) most subtextually queer. because like. it isn't charlie. charlie's queerness is not a part of her journey in any way. which is, kind of refreshing? but also very evidently the result of the writers not actually knowing how to integrate a lesbian into their story other than like. let her kiss women. charlie is written about as deep as a puddle 90% of the time, and that's the real crime we should talk about with her at the end of the day. getting distracted. anyway. for subtextual queerness. i mean, for me, it's sam. quite obviously, it's sam. sam the othered, sam the defiled, sam the broken and never pure. sam in his struggles trying to connect to a religion and a god who rejects him. sam who is and always will be the devil himself even when he proves that he can overcome him. sam who cannot win, no matter how quiet he makes himself and how much he acquiesces to the demands of the patriarchal family structure he's been slotted into.

hm. sam who knows he's dying, and sam who refuses to take a chance at life if it means burying everything about himself he's tried to construct and rising again as someone new.

i don't think you can honestly argue that sam's story doesn't resonate queerly. and i know this because most of the arguments i've seen against it have been "well, but sam (or sometimes "jared") feels too straight to be queer in any way". to which the only response can be THEY'RE ALL STRAIGHT. ALL OF THEM. THERE ARE NO QUEER MAIN CHARACTERS ON SUPERNATURAL. and yes, i am intentionally including castiel in there, for the people who argue his status as a main character. no. i don't think a love confession -> death pipeline is particularly compelling as a queer narrative, least of all because his potential queerness has always been treated like a joke or a reason to emasculate him, and to actually explore what it means that castiel loves dean winchester would take a much better show than supernatural could ever be. and it still wouldn't be a show that makes people happy, if it was honest, because it'd be a show about the slow and steady decline of one broken man constantly proven right about his paranoia and his abuse and his control issues, and one broken angel who has set him up as a god because he never really learned what free will was, just learned that following dean winchester means he has it.

[doomalade]

Hi, I’m back from watching the first episode of Hazbin Hotel, here are my thoughts on it.

But first, here is the swear counter:

Fuck - 22

Shit - 12

Bitch - 5

Damn -

Ass - 2

Cock/Dick - 5

Porn/Sex - 6

Tits/Boobs - 2

Pussy/Vagina/ Cunt - 2

Spoilers under the break.

The Good/ Things I Enjoyed:

Vaggie, Alastor, Charlie, Husk, and Nifty all have pretty good voice acting.

The two that stand out to me as my favorites are Husk and Nifty. Husk sounds well husky. It sounds like he smokes or used to smoke and there’s this gritty gruff to it. It really fits his character well. Like if you had to ask me what the voice of a bar tender gambling winged cat demon was? That is it.

Nifty’s voice acting also hits that sweet spot with her character where it sounds small like a balloon or squeaky toy but also small like a needle or a switch blade if that makes sense.

Overall I love Nifty so much. The gag of her freezing up when Vaggie tries to film her was great. Having it happen twice hit that joke sweet spot of letting it set in and be executed without over staying. It also fits her character well since she’s a little bit weird (such a blorbo) and I would like to headcanon that since she was summoned by Alastor, she kinda shares his distaste for video.

Also I am deeply hoping to hear more Spanish be spoken by Vaggie. Both the upset Spanish ranting and her sweetly singing to Charlie in Spanish. Imagine Charlie singing back also in Spanish. Would be neat I think.

The other two things was the Helluva reference on the side of a van and a Travis cameo. That was neat, adding some consistency to the world.

The Bad / Things I Didn’t Like:

Idk if it was just me but at least at the start, the animation looked choppy when Vaggie and Charlie were speaking at first. But for the rest of the episode it was pretty alright. Certainly doesn’t feel like a professional production level but that is what you get when you pay people slave wages Viv. I do hope that the animators can take some pride in their work, especially the more fluent movements during the songs.

Speaking of songs, Happy Day In Hell is alright. Nothing stand out but it’s good.

Adam’s song meanwhile. Ugh. Not fully committing to the rock/punk, still being another generic pop song, and overall adds onto my issues with Adam as a character and the whole “THE ANGELS ASCTHUCALLY BAD YOU GUYS” thing is, ugh.

It boils down to:

1) If Heaven is also as bad as Hell, why even bother with redemption?

2) Is it just the Exterminators who are corrupt? Also several demons were killed while Charlie sang so like what makes the Exterminations so bad if a second death is constantly happening casually?

3) Why do any of the Exterminators follow Adam? Also Adam has been written as a hand holder for the audience so you know who to hate (he got Stella’d).

4) I see how Viv is trying to tackle the issues of the patriarchy and misogyny in this but like, does she think that redeems her from how she’s handled Helluva Boss? (Once more, Stella.)

On the topic of male characters, who is Alastor anymore? He used to be smug and commanding and set up as a manipulative deal maker that doesn’t really care for the well being of others and now he just kinda walks around mocking Vaggie and Charlie? Idk just feels like Alastor is being added on top of the list of characters (which is like everyone but Vaggie) that don’t believe in Charlie to manage redemption.

Do wish for more spooky moments with him though.

Now onto Angel.

Why does his voice sound like a deflated worm out balloon? It caught me so off guard and it’s just nails on a chalkboard for me.

And the sex jokes, two of which stuck out to me as “can you not?”

“This body was made to be exploited” by Angel. I don’t think I have to explain why having your SA character say that line out loud and frame it as a humorous comment is a good look. Classic Viv moment.

“I like being forced” by Nifty. Yes, what a great line to have given to the small, child appearing character. It felt so forced and pushed outside of Nifty’s usual weirdness too.

Also dare I forget how Amazon had this marked as 15+ (I believe) before changing it to 18+. Which good catch there guys cause during Charlie’s song, we get a quick scene of two demons fucking.

Not saying that scene was quite as offensive as it was just boring middle schooler level humor like Alastor’s ad having a toilet joke in it and Blitzø like drawings/notes at the end.

What did manage to give me the ick was how Nifty and Angel kept hitting on Husk. Nifty not as much, but Angel was just down right creepy. Husk himself states that he is at the hotel against his will (whole new can of worms there) and now Angel is hitting on him and making constant unwanted advances?

But with that we’re meant to clap and ship away but then we jump cut to Adam calling Charlie “babe” over and over and we’re meant to boo? Which direction are we going with this Viv?

One last thing, I knew that Brandon as Katie would sound horrible but I got jumpscared by Tom’s ye ye ass quality voice.

I would give it a 3/10 maybe a 4/10

Just not worth it man

[kohakhearts]

BLORBO THOUGHT INDULGENCE any thoughts on Gary’s arrogance and how/why he uses it as a cover? Or maybe it’s not a cover and you have other thoughts and opinions on it. I just want to hear Gary personality thoughts if you have any! Everyone interprets him so differently yet similarly at the same time, and it’s fun seeing those takes. Only if you want though

HEY HI omg yes of course i want to!!! i agree that gary gets written in a lot of different ways. i think that’s the case because between say, early os and dp, he’s gone through a lot of interesting changes. so there are a lot of facets of his personality to work with, but you’re right that they all have similarities too!

that being said…i don’t think his arrogance is exclusively one thing or the other. i think by dp, we see someone who is fairly confident in his competency and is respected by his peers and mentors. but if we look at him at the end of the johto arc, or in chronicles, we see someone who’s clearly NOT confident. by jn, he’s kind of gained back the arrogance we all loved from the indigo league.

the interesting thing to me though is…i don’t know if “arrogant” is even really the right word for how he behaves at any point after the indigo league? like on the extreme side, look at how he is in jn! he doesn’t like…rub his achievements in anyone’s face, and the only person he actively puts down is goh (which as much as it’s probably MEANT to be a parallel to the ash-gary rivalry we see in the os, they actually have a pretty different dynamic!). the arrogant one between those two is goh, and gary shows him that by…treating him like a nobody. i don’t think gary’s behaviour towards goh has very much to do with how he thinks of himself, except that he SEES parts of himself in goh - that lone wolf, “i can do it all by myself” mentality he has in particular.

i think i’ve said this before (maybe not here. i don’t even know anymore lmao) but i think what’s so interesting about gary’s dynamic with goh is that on the surface they ARE very similar. i think it’s reasonable that gary would assume the root of those similarities is the same. but it’s not. goh’s refusal to work in a team stems from a fear of attachment. if he trusts other people to watch his back, he’s not going to see when and where they lodge the knife in it. HIS “i can do it myself” attitude absolutely is a cover for that.

but GARY…well, he IS better than everyone else, isn’t he? it’s not about people screwing him over specifically or maliciously so much as it is them just not paying close enough attention. he doesn’t want to rely on others because he sees them as incompetent. or, more than that, because he thinks they don’t work as hard as him. so i mean…you could SAY that’s arrogance, and it’d be true to an extent. but it’s also not incorrect to say that this is the case. he’s consistently a top-achiever in everything we see him do. he’s got a reason to think he’s better than everyone, and the reason is that…he is. what he apparently had to learn off-screen is that sometimes he can still make mistakes, and that other people have things they can teach him.

which brings me to dp, the shieldon episode. is this not what happens here? he’s frustrated with ash for being so very…ash about the situation (read: impulsive), but in the end ash helps him and his acceptance of that help is what makes things work.

generally speaking, gary is someone who observes things. he sees everyone else’s errors because he’s watching for them. and generally speaking…he doesn’t make very many errors himself. so it’s really just a matter of time before someone else screws up…and he’s going to make sure they all know it. so times when he does screw up (i think the biggest examples being giovanni’s gym, the indigo league, and his chronicles episode) seem to weigh pretty heavily on him!

after his loss at the league, for example, he takes training in a new direction. before that, he wasn’t working hard because he didn’t think he had to. and that’s arrogance, 100%. it’s not actually that different from how ash is in the indigo league, but ash to me seems to project arrogance to cover up a low self-esteem…which makes a lot of sense. he’s a victim of bullying, if not as in takeshi shudo’s novelization then certainly by gary lol. gary has no reason NOT to feel like he’s the best (side note: this is not the case for blue, at all, whose arrogance is absolutely a cover up lmao). but where ash has to figure out that like…it takes effort to get good, gary already knows this - he’s just put in enough effort and doesn’t need to keep trying anymore.

until he does, of course. after he loses at the indigo league. he seems to humble out quite a bit then! and we never actually see him like…say anything like “i already have THIS many gym badges” after the “i already have ten” scene in the indigo league. in jn, he never even brings up how many tokens he has. we just know because they show us that he’s leading by a significant margin. so like - his treatment of ash in the indigo league? arrogance, absolutely. his treatment of goh in jn - weird roundabout way of helping him realize he needs to improve himself as a person (he says everything he does is for his own benefit…but he also says that he wants to know if goh is worthy of being ash’s companion. and later he says he wants to know if goh is worthy of working alongside him. which…kind of just reinforces the idea that he expects incompetence from other people, and had a feeling goh was maybe more competent than his arrogance made him seem).

so idk if this makes that much sense but tl;dr in the indigo league, i don’t think he’s covering anything up (he might take it a bit too far for other reasons related to the childhood experience of growing up in the shadow of someone extremely famous and intelligent). he’s just arrogant because he hasn’t learned that he has any reason not to be. and after he does learn that…he tones it down significantly, but he still has that attitude of like…i worked hard and if you want to be on the same level as me, you have to work hard too. or else you’re useless to me. which again yeah. you could call that arrogance. but i don’t know if i necessarily would. he just has high expectations! for himself and for everyone else! and that’s not GREAT, because like where’s the limit, right, but it at least makes him less of a jerk.

[finalgirlminamurray]

alright i'm gonna do it. my tcm fanfics:

The Sawyer Sisters, Fifty Years Later. the first one i posted which i wanted to get done in time for the 50th anniversary of the events of the first movie (not the movie itself, that was this year). consider it an introduction of sorts to the setting and characters of my gender-swapped au. written as an in-universe journalistic article but the kind that someone may have written out, sat down and looked at for a while, then discarded. i wrote it a few weeks before posting and i think it came out well enough. i felt like i should do something to celebrate the date and also establish my ideas.

The Texas Chainsaw Tarot. a conceptual piece that just consists of my descriptions of what i'd imagine a tcm-themed tarot deck would look like. i'm interested in tarot from an artistic/symbolic perspective and designing fandom-themed tarot decks is always fun, but i can't draw so i have to write it out instead. i'm glad i posted it on ao3 because it got some decent engagement. i still stand by all my choices.

don't question the virtue names: the sawyer sisters saga. this is my collection of all the sawyer sisters-verse fics i've posted. i'd already had these written but i did some significant edits before posting, and i think they turned out alright. still it's a very niche thing to have written so i didn't expect much of an audience. it's possible to read these like original fiction, but it would be too much to make the necessary changes to make it actual original fiction, you know? anyway what i've posted so far is focused on chastity (chop top's counterpart) and what she was doing in 1969-1973, because i felt that needed the most elaboration in this universe, and it turned into a whole thing because i just kept writing more and more detailed lore. i'll probably post more stories focused on other characters and time periods at some point, but for now we have a three-part history. (chass has kind of become my blorbo from my brain due to how much i've expended on her story, and she's not even really my favorite of the sort-of ocs!)

features a lot of 60s-70s cult stuff, partly inspired by some of the true crime literature i read around this time for "research", and partly by just the general vibe of the era. i deliberately didn't want this directly based off of any real-life things even though it's impossible not to be influenced, just as real cult leaders were probably inspired by the tactics of others before them. also features a lot of ocs.

i actually wrote these in reverse order of how they ended up being posted. i just kept going further back in the timeline while i wrote

ace of swords, or the rhythm of life (is a powerful beat). the first in the aforementioned series. chastity goes to la, meets and eats a girl, joins a new community, meets another girl, and... this was just meant to establish how she got to the final point, but it became its own thing soon enough. 2 chapters, 14k words.

hit the floor (and crawl to your mama). chastity goes to a party and has her first negative experience with the cult, then goes home, but not for long. originally written as an interlude of sorts. the last chapter takes place later in the timeline than everything else that's been posted so far, because again, these were written in reverse order. 3 chapters, 12k words.

the flesh failures (let the sun shine in). the last part...for now. chastity does something she's not proud of and unintentionally performs a heroic action, then gets her head bashed in for it. 3 chapters, 14k words.

more to come if i ever post the rest, and then...who knows? i'd also really like to expand on this verse here in ways that wouldn't fit into a published fanfic, regardless of whether anyone else cares lol.

[mushr00mfriend]

hi!! i have a question about how you have the motivation to write? ive been trying to write my own slenderverse fic and sometimes i just find myself feeling so discouraged because the fandom isnt as active anymore, and i was wondering if youve ever felt that way and how you actively get the motivation to write?

Hello! This is a fantastic question; I'm going to preface my answer by saying that this is my own outlook/opinion as well as mindset, and that it may not work for everyone. Take what you need and leave what you don't.

(also, this got incredibly long. If there's anything I love to do, it's ramble- thus, a readmore)

For direct motivation, here's a few things I do to get in the groove:

- Chapter summaries. Write a paragraph (4-6 sentences) about what you want to see happen in a chapter. Character interactions, thematic elements, foreshadowing, plot movement, etc. Don't go over a paragraph, however, or you'll end up feeling like you've already written it without, you know, writing it. If there's something tasty, reference it rather than write it all out. You'll remember it each time you read the reference and it'll make you want to get it out in its entirety.

- Bounce around. Write some of the first chapter, some of the twentieth. Finish the sixth before the fourth. Don't feel like you have to write it in the order it's gonna be read in; you have all the power as the author to do whatever you want. If you want to write the ending before you've even got the beginning penned, do it.

- Make a list of 'delicious scenes'. These are scenes that are incredibly vivid in your mind, the ones that you really really want to see in your story. Write them down and think about them often. When you feel de-motivated, start on them. 

- In that vein, daydream about what's not being shown in a chapter, or imagine the characters in different situations. They're blorbo from your shows!! Play with them like dolls!! Make em kiss!

- Keep a project on the backburner. When I feel like I don't want to write for one project, I turn to another and work on that one for a bit instead. It keeps me from burning out entirely, but also keeps me writing, which is the most important thing.

You are correct in saying that the fandom isn't super active anymore. It was already simmering down when I had been working through the legacy draft of Delirium, and compared to the monolith it had once been, the community can seem nonexistent in this day and age. I definitely can relate to the discouragement you're feeling - I felt it all the way up until I was just under three-quarters of the way through Delirium, when there were enough consistent readers that I felt I had finally gotten somewhere, carved out my little niche of a community. Looking at the numbers now, you probably wouldn't believe that I suffered a lot with discouragement and de-motivation...

But I did, especially because I tied my self-worth and confidence in my story to how many views and comments it got. I still feel this, especially with other projects, and especially especially if they don't stack up to Delirium. If I were in the same mindset I was at the beginning, I'd even wonder if making Delusion was really a thing I should do, because there's definitely readers who won't be interested in it anymore.

But the thing is, I'm not making it for the readers. I'm making it for me. 

Delirium started out as an homage to the Creepypasta fics I read as a teen, and somewhere along the way became a way for me to vent my frustrations and trauma regarding my personal experiences with the fandom. The most important part of the story is why you're writing it- what are you trying to say? What are you trying to impart? Who are you trying to reach, and what are you trying to tell them?

You have to sit with yourself, and with the concept of the story in your head, and you have to know that you can't make it for anyone but yourself, because you are the most important part of it. You, your feelings about the setting, the characters, the themes and motifs. Your personal reflection of the situations, opinions about the arcs and plot. And yeah, not everyone will vibe with it, but making yourself palatable to everyone will make your work tasteless and unsatisfying. Even if you write for yourself, there will be other's who appreciate it. I promise. The Creepypasta community is diminished, but not gone. Take a scroll through the tags, follow a bunch of creators. There's still people drawing, people writing, and people reading. Your dash will fill up with others who still like it.

If there's one thing I can say right now, if there's one thing you take away from my words, it's that there isn't a number that will make you feel fulfilled. I promise you that the mental ceiling will only increase. You will not find a love for the story in the views, in the favourites, nor in the comments. You need to love the story first- you need to believe in it first. No one else can write the story you want to tell, and no one can write it the way you will.

I'd also say sit with it for a looooooong while. Like, figure out how it ends, find the major plot beats, bullet point the snippets you really want to see, write it halfway, sit on that for a month, then reread and edit it. Delirium is- I just checked it, over eight years in the making, including that legacy draft (which was more of a false start, if anything). You don't necessarily have to take that long- I'm just slow- but make sure you have 80% of it figured out before you go on and post it. If there's anything that kills motivation, it's internalized deadlines when you have no backlog to fall back on. Several of the months-long hiatus' between chapters were because of this. It's also the reason why Delusion isn't being published until next year.

Anyway, this got ramble-y, but I also want you to know that you got this!! I believe in you!! And if/when you ever publish it, please give me a link, I'd love to read it :]

[umilily]

Since I can't draw for shit, I sadly can't make one of those yearly lookbacks, but there's something else I'd like to put out there as a sort of year-in-review (and to celebrate a little):

Once more – true to my brand – I managed to time things so spectacularly that I’m proud (?) to say that today is actually my one-year anniversary of posting fic. To be fair, I doubt that this will become an international holiday like any other minor ones going on atm, but nevertheless I just wanted to take a moment to write down some thoughts on that (because ah, yes, of course, more rambling from me), even if it’s just for myself to look back on both an occasionally very unusual, weird year.

No pressure to read or digest any of this, I think the only thing I really want to say to anyone who’s bothered reading this far (both this post and the things posted over the last year) is a huge thanks. If you had told me last December that a decision made while under the heavy influence of Ibuprofen and caffeine to combat one of the nastiest colds I ever had, would snowball into a year filled with kind words from strangers and new friends, I would have probably written you off as a fever dream. Oddly enough, it wasn’t, so somehow now I’m here writing this post that already feels too pompous, but that I can’t help wanting to type out regardless.

My own corner of the vast internet unexpectedly became a lot more populated than I’ve ever known it to be. Which feels hilariously ironic when I think about that at the same time, living abroad essentially nuked my social life with friends and family many hours away. But even if I still am very much reclusive – a rare encounter I suppose – and have only talked to very few people who hang around here, I’m still so very grateful for all the kind words from everyone found for me and my writing. Thank you all for keeping me company through me essentially just going “fuck it we ball” continuously.

The last year had some stretches that have been exhausting and rough and I think sticking with something self-indulgent and light-hearted kept me from going nuts at times. I’m not the type to make new years resolutions and when last year I told people that mine was “Doing things poorly”, it likely was the most confusing one they heard so far. For me personally, it was the best one out there, so I will be renewing that and (as proudly as possible) continue to do things poorly in 2024 as well. If people stick around for a laugh or two, I will take it as the highest praise and compliment.

On a more personal front, there is a good chance that I will start working full-time within the next year, so I also just wanted to take this chance for a little heads-up. If I end up disappearing for longer than what you’re used to from me being chronically online, it’s probably because I managed to fool people into hiring me and sadly not because I finally made the smart decision to become a hermit in the woods or retire to the seaside. (Or well, I might end up reacting the exact opposite. Because when have I ever made responsible, adult decisions regarding how to spend my free time? Who needs sleep when you can contemplate the enigmatic, inner machinations of your blorbo’s mind on the topic of coffee or Ikea furniture?) I will do my very best to be as consistent as possible, because even if I do get busy, writing has been something that brought me much more joy than I could have anticipated, and I would like to keep that going.

With that, I think I’m finally done and all that’s left for me to do is saying thanks again and wishing you all a relaxing holiday season and a good start into the new year! <3

[dramalets]

I know @jojotichakorn has said similar recently but w o w the lack of media literacy from some keeps blowing my mind.

I don’t know how to explain this too you in any way simpler than ‘just because you like the blorbo and something happens that you don’t like that doesn’t make the blorbo badly written’

A badly written character is one who does something totally nonsensical and ooc simply because the bigger story requires that. They act the way the larger story needs them too. That’s weak characterisation.

Well written characters should have personalities of their own. Their actions dictate the story and not the other way around.

Mew’s response to Ton, the way he holds up monogamy, and the rejection of that by Ton, as some horrendous atrocity totally tracks for that character. He’s been a pious little snot the entire series. (I can make the same defences of Cheum and Ray’s reactions also.) It’s not ‘bad writing’ or Jojo trying to push a monogamy agenda. It’s just how we’ve been consistently shown that these characters would react.

[azumeliablorbobracket]

Welcome!!

Hiya! Do you like voting on other people's blorbos for your own amusement? Do you like tournaments with weird obscure characters? Do you just... like tournaments? Just in general?

Well, you can get any of those things here, with the Azumelia Blorbo Battle! Or Azumelia Blorbo Bracket, I've kind of alternated between the two names... both work fine.

Ran by me, @azumelia - as the name would imply - and consisting of characters I'm particularly fond of - as the name would also imply - this is a 16-character tournament in a double elimination format consisting of my very own, extremely specific blorbos.

It's primarily inspired by other "blorbo brackets," such as @rook-blorbo-bracket or @noodleblorbobracket, since I thought it was a fun idea, but some other tournaments that serve as inspirations (or are simply ones I like a lot) include @who-do-i-know-this-man, @overworkedblorbobattle, @best-kirby-character-tournament, @generic-man-in-suit-battle, and @obscurecharactershowdown!

Here's your bracket for Round 1! The roster in written form is under the read more cut. Voting begins... soon, probably! Maybe later today, maybe in a few days... Who knows? I've never done one of these before, I'm just kind of winging it here.

Penny (Pokemon Scarlet & Violet) vs. Penny Crygor (WarioWare)

Homura Akemi (Madoka Magica) vs. Taranza (Kirby)

Cole Brew (Rhythm Doctor) vs. Bethany (The Binding of Isaac)

Yuuri (Girls' Last Tour) vs. Kyoko (Kunio-kun / River City Girls)

Moss (Pikmin 4) vs. Hat Kid (A Hat in Time)

Annalynn Midway (Annalynn) vs. Amelia Euler (HfjONE)

Charlotte (Making Fiends) vs. Čeda Čedović (Poor 4)

Acid Rainbows (Rivals of Aether Mod) vs. Annie (Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion)

[thoughtsonhurtandcomfort]

Do you favor any of your OCs over others? Like, do you have a tier list of your OCs? 👀 I'm a lil curious

Ooooo I've never thought about this! At least not intentionally!

There are definitely ones I write more, get more ideas for, or default to. And others who I forget I even have! Oops.

A ranked list might take me some time to ponder but I will say that Arinn and Alex have always had a special place in my heart. They tick so many boxes - both a human whumpee and a nonhuman one, they're good for physical, emotional, and N$FWhump but also fluff and romantic stuff. And something about them comes easily to me, more so than other characters. I have a good clear sense of them in my mind while others are vague.

Right now I'm on such a Matteo and Dante kick it'd be easy to stick them pretty high up too, but they're very new. I have to give that some time and see where they settle in. Setting them aside for now.

So if Arinn and Alex are at the top I'd say the sort of upper-middle would consist of Emmeline, Blue and Shae. Then down a step from them Erystos/Seraphina who I haven't written a ton of but have a whole world of them in my head. Then the next tier would be Myla, Daero, Rhyss. And then finally the ones who only have one or two stories or only exist in my head - Cloe, Helos, that Octomaid whose name I can't remember for the life of me.

What I'm realizing as I write this is that the OCs I'm more attached to are the ones who have more fleshed out characters and stories as well as other characters to interact with. The higher tier ones feel like they have stories already and I'm just uncovering them as I go. They feel natural. While others are much more just outlets for certain prompts or ideas. It also doesn't help that I have limited time/motivation and when I do feel like writing I have to go to whatever I'm being drawn to in that moment, and I just end up drawn to some more than others.

That said, I do love all my blorbos in their own ways. <3

Thank you, that gave me a lot to think about!!

[pondslime]

Oooooo how about 👖🌝🖊 for the writing asks? :3

👖 Are you a planner, plantser, or pantser? Is it consistent?

I am....................a planner. who occasionally flies by the seat of her pants. like. I always know where I'm going w/a fic. where we're gonna end up. the main story beats and themes. tbh, I often plan WAY too much and do 7328728347 hours of research instead of actually writing anything tangible 💀

but then sometimes. the great power of yearning for fictional schlong will take over............and I'll just barf out a couple thousand words. w/no plan or goal in sight.

I rarely ever flesh those out. but. they certainly are there. in the wip doc. lurking

🌝 Who is one character you haven’t yet written for that you would like to?

camille l'espanaye from the fall of the house of usher!! bc I need her to ruin my life

also. coop from twin peaks. bc he's one of my blorbos of all time and I can't believe I haven't ever written anything for him?? wild. perchance 2 dream...........one day I will 🫡

🖊 Post a snippet from a current WIP.

danger danger............the contamination is spilling over from my accursed saw sideblog.............hazardous waste incoming..............

below is a lil smthn from one of my NUMEROUS saw wip's 😔🔨💥

this particular snippet is from a fic..........that will likely NEVER see the light of day. it's wildly self-indulgent. unserious. goofy. 95% of it is absolutely incoherent and incomprehensible. I hop into this document when I have zero braincells and just wanna play dolls w/my favorite losers jsfdhjhfsdjfsd

woe, chainshipping princess bride-au be upon ye (under the cut):

“Your humors are imbalanced.” “You can tell that by looking at my tongue?” Adam exclaims incredulously. “No.” Lawrence counters, the slightest twinge of exasperation wrinkling his brow. “It's been evident from the start." “Is it my kidneys?” Adam presses on, voice pitching up shrilly. As if on cue, his side sings with pain. “Your kidneys are fine.” Lawrence deadpans. Up close, Adam can make out the fine lines and creases that make up the doctor's face. There's something inexplicably smug about that. Maturity has been afforded to Gordon by years of prosperity, cushioned by a comfortable birthright. It's a purchased thing. “You sure?” Adam asks. His mind is set on being an annoyance. That's what the last hour of hand wringing and pacing was for. Backing down now would be nothing short of a betrayal. “Very. " Lawrence replies. “Any gastrointestinal issues you may experience are wholly unrelated to your overall health. No…it’s your head I’m worried about.” “And why is that?” Adam can't help the snideness that creeps into his tone. "Well." Lawrence's politeness is beginning to border on strained. "In my professional opinion, the more that we can avoid getting bashed in the head, the better. Generally speaking." Adam should bite his tongue. Nod. “Whatever.” He mutters under his breath. “You’re the doctor.” “As you keep reminding me.” Lawrence says with a thin smile.

[reconstructwriter]

Twenty Fanfic Writer Questions

Thank you @charmwasjess for tagging me, I feel so loved - spreading the love @panther-os, @s-c-g-s-c-g, @ankahikoibaat

1. How many works do you have on Ao3? 

Twenty four. Huh. I need to import more of my stuff from fanfiction.net

2. What’s your total Ao3 word count? 

How do I find this out… ohh statistics sounds handy. 265k

3. What fandoms do you write for? 

Currently Star Wars, I've also written for Order of the Stick, Percy Jackson, Final Fantasy 7 and Danny Phantom

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

Underestimated, Standing Above the Blood, May the Force be Taxed, A Supreme Chancellor to Kill, A Phantom Christmas Carol.

5. Do you respond to comments? 

ohh yes, responding to comments is a reward, one I let myself have once I've gotten the next chapter of the story ready. This motivates me to get a chapter ready for posting faster!

but I usually write out my thoughts first in anticipation of getting to post them

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

So far: ‘Yet Each Man Kills the Thing He Loves’. A suicide fic starring a Sith Apprentice who has a Dooku-inspired Sith Master so its toxic relationships: the Fic. I went with non-romantic flower disease in this for extra toxicity plot and while the ending isn’t totally tragic because its implied (1) person lives that’s it.

However ‘Will the Wolf Survive’ may well outstrip it if I go with my knife-twister!

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

Probably Palpatine’s Jedi Holiday. It starts and ends with a holiday and Palpatine is exposed as a Sith in one of the more humiliating ways possible.

8. Do you get hate on fics? 

Yes, the Anakin/Consequences fics I’ve written involving the Tusken Massacre have gotten a certain subset of fans whining about Anakin being characterized as a whiny asshole and/or defending his genocide of an entire tribe down to the babes in arms and their Space-puppies.

I’m salty about it but I’ve managed to hammer out a few chapters running purely on spite.

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

Eh, I’m ace/aro and on the indifferent/repulsed side of the spectrum so in the rare case when I’m writing romance that leads to sexytimes I tend to dance around the actual physical acts, generally going for M rated instead of E rated.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written? 

I’ve read them more than written them but I love crossovers. My craziest published one is over on fanfiction.net: Dresden Files x Predator Series featuring the titular protagonist facing off against a Predator out to hunt down the mythical ‘human wizard’.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? 

Nope, though that’s a Writer Goal ™

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

Nope, though I might not mind later on.

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

This is cruel making me pick just one. I tend to go for vibes on a ship more than specific pairings – foe-yay + hurt/comfort – so if the pairing fits the vibes I’m fine with just about any if at least one is a blorbo. Hypothetically Jaster Mereel/Ferus Olin pairing with those vibes would probably be my greatest wish. Rex/A’Sharad Hett and Jaster/Feemor are very close runners up.

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

My strength is finishing posted WIPs. I’ve yet to post anything and later abandoning it (yet). However on the flip-side my hard drive is stuffed with WIPs from many a fandom where my interest has waned. They will likely never see the light of day.

16. What are your writing strengths? 

Sheer determination. I can consistently word vomit thousands of words/a dozen pages of work every day (don't tell corporate) and usually have at least a finished rough draft of a story before I post. If not, come hell or high water I will finish my posted WIPs.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Focus. Often those thousands of words are on an unrelated project or ten. Also sometimes what I mean in writing is perfectly obvious to me but not to the reader, resulting in occasional misunderstandings.

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

I'm also gonna go with: does sign language count? I find it interesting and I read this post about this one show with lots of characters who sign and how their signing shows their characterization – I grabbed ahold of that idea and ran with it!

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Justice League, Back in the olden days when the animated series was out and my biggest obsession and I hadn’t found fanfiction.net or ao3. Was ao3 around?

20. Favourite fic you’ve written? 

of all time…that’s hard but narrowly May the Force be Taxed! I actually got to do the thing where I use my real-world work knowledge and experience for a realistic fanfic. I based the Galactic Republic Tax Law on US Tax Law, Palpatine’s move to change tax law in the middle of tax season is based on President Biden doing the same thing (though of course Palpatine’s decision was considerably more assholish for all parties involved), etc.

It was such fun to write and so relieving – since I wrote this during tax season I got to take out a lot of stress from irl clientele, co-workers and stupid politicians/bankers who really should know better and insert it in this fic. Qui Gon being a terrible record-keeper, Darth Sidious having not nearly enough clues about how taxes worked and the IRS auditors were definitely not my co-workers…

Plus I got to give Palpatine and the Sith in general a fitting fate in the form of a tax bill with nigh-unending zeros that they and anyone else in any way affiliated with the Sith is charged with. The Sith Order Dies because no one is willing to get near the Galaxy’s largest tax bill!