#but bc i never write for more than one character per fandom it feels so much better to just dedicate a blog to that character

[amvro]

ok guys i was thinking thoughts and i had a hyoga blog on the side bc i have a chronic illness of separating blogs for different fandoms it just feels so much better to me but now that i want to write for kn8 as well perhaps its time to merge them all

[softxsuki]

FANFIC/FANART CONTEST (Money Prize)

!!!!BEFORE CONTINUING: For my U.S participants, please make sure you have Venmo or Cashapp. And for anyone outside the U.S make sure you have PayPal. That is the ONLY way I'll be able to send the prize money if you win, and I will NOT be using PayPal for an U.S winners (bc i need to pay a fee to send money with paypal and I'd rather not ).!!!!!

With that settled, hey! This is something I’ve been wanting to do for a while now, but every year has been a little tight for me with my own holiday spendings and student loans I have to pay back, but I wanted a chance to give back to you guys for all your support, and what better way than through a little contest? 

I’ve been writing on tumblr since April 2021??? I’ve put out a lot of writing for you guys, despite my horrible writing schedule and terrible deadlines I never meet. I’ve loved every minute of it and have enjoyed talking to some of you ❤️

Perhaps you've been around for a long time, or you just followed me yesterday, ooooor maybe you're finding my blog through this post, if so, welcome! I write fanfics for anime and otome games (used to write for kpop as well, but I don't anymore). If that sounds like something you like, then you're in the right place!

What do you need to do to join?:

Write either a fanfic or draw fanart to enter and get the chance to win money :). It’s the holidays season, and while I can’t give out much, I want to give something. I’ll be picking 4 winners-- 2 for fanfics and 2 for fanart. First place winners for each will get $50 and second place winners will get $25.

How to Enter:

You must be following me

For U.S participants, you must have Cash app or Venmo, and if you live outside the U.S, you must have PayPal! (if you don't and you win, you won't be able to receive your prize money!)

Choose whether you want to write a fanfic or draw fanart (only pick one. And you can only submit once)

Tag me in your completed work and add the hashtag #hanscontest2024 along with any other hashtags you want to get your work out there (this is how I'll find your work if your tag gets lost in my notifications)

Add in your Cash app or Venmo ID to the bottom of your work (you can delete this once the contest is over if you want, just wanna make sure people who enter actually have one) Participants outside the U.S who will be using PayPal, I won't ask you to put your private info on here, but just please make sure you have one. And instead, just state which country you're from so I know you're an international participant! Thanks

Rules/Guidelines for Each Topic:

Fanfic Writers:

Your fics must be a minimum of 5k words, I don’t have a maximum, but I’d feel bad if you wrote a whole fic and didn’t win…but length doesn’t determine who wins, quality does!

You MUST pick a character from the list below. I’ve added fandoms and characters that I personally don’t write for as well, but enjoy (since I’ll be reading all of these, I’d like to read things for characters I like!)

Fem!Reader or Gn!Reader only please (Again, I’ll be spending time reading these and as a woman, I’d relate more to reader if I can relate to them. But if you have a male reader in mind, you can still enter, just write it gender neutral please!)

I am a SFW blog, but I’ll be accepting slightly NSFW submissions for this contest. Just please no straight up porn with no plot. I need plot to actually get into a story :(

Idea’s must be your own and must be new and written specifically for this contest! No plagiarizing, and no fics that you’ve already written and posted online or you’ll be disqualified 

No non-con/rape, no incest, no poly, no character x character, no drugs (alcohol and smoking are fine, just no weed, no other drugs pls), no religion mocking, no racism, no hateful speech towards any group of ppl pls

Only one submission per person (I’ll be able to tell through writing style or if you make another account to join again and you’ll be disqualified) 

That’s about it. As for grammar, I have a hard time reading things that don’t flow well or have grammar mistakes. SOOOO for my younger writers out there who don’t know some grammar rules, or maybe even my writers who don’t have English as a first language, or maybe even writers who’d like a proofreader, I’m willing to read through your drafts to correct any minor grammar mistakes. I won’t be helping with anything else, like how to progress your story, or plot holes or anything like that, only grammar. My editing help will not increase your chances of winning either or guarantee you to win. 

For Fanart: 

Like the writers, you must pick a character from the list below

Artwork can be physical or digital, just no AI artwork please, or you’ll be disqualified 

Can be any medium; digital, drawing, painting, etc—just make sure it’s complete. Preferably some color would be great as well, unless you’ve chosen an artistic route to not use color

Just characters please, no readers. And no ships…you can choose several characters from the list and incorporate them into one piece, but just no romantic ship artwork plssss

Must be your own work and new! I’ll be reverse searching every image to make sure it doesn't already exist

Each image must have a little turtle in it somewhere in the artwork (just as an indicator that it’s really yours. Why turtles? Because I love them heh)

I’ll allow suggestive artwork, just please don’t send in anything explicit (you know what I mean)

Some more general rules:

Please make sure you’ve read and understand all the rules written. If you submit something that breaks one of these rules, you’ll be disqualified. So if you have any questions or need anything clarified, just ask me :)

If you’re a minor, please don’t send in NSFW content, I’ll disqualify you. Also I'm leaving this open to all ages, just know you won't be able to use the prize money or receive it if you don't have a bank account...so I guess that would be 16 and up? Idk what the age is to start your own bank acc lol

NO AI ART WORK OR WRITING ALLOWED. This is your chance to be creative and showcase you, in whichever way you decide

NO Stealing other people’s work…just don’t do it

Please don’t trauma dump on me, or beg me to choose you as the winner. I know there are people out there who would really need this money and who are struggling. I feel for you all, but I can’t afford to send everyone money. I can’t handle hearing how badly everyone needs this…my guilt won’t be able to handle it. I’ll disqualify you if you do, if many people do it, I’ll end the contest entirely. This is supposed to be fun with the added benefit of winning some money for yourself if you win

The creative freedom is yours! Write whatever you want to write about, make it unique, grab my attention. Draw/paint/create whatever you want with whatever ideas you have; whether it’s turning Bakugou into a boxer, or making Zoro a girl dad, the possibilities are endless. I want everyone to have fun with this!

Again, US participants must have cash app or Venmo and participants outside of the US must have PayPal! If you don’t then you won’t be able to receive the prize money if you win!

Deadline: December 18th @11:59pm 

Please let me know if you have any questions about anything. Again, grammar editing can be requested. I’ll be going over only grammar. I won’t be giving you advice on how to write your story or how to advance your story/plot holes or things I don’t like. Only grammar! If you want to run your story idea or art idea by me first to make sure it’s acceptable, you can do that as well. I’ll be around :)

I was thinking over how to choose the winner. At first I was going to do a poll, but I realized it would be biased towards users who have more followers than others. So I will be choosing the winners myself. Looking at fine details and works that really speak to ME, hence why I’ve chosen specific characters. 

Not sure how much attention this will get or how many people will enter, for all I know, only two people might enter and the money will go straight to them, or no one might enter…so this is a test trial. If no one joins, I shall delete and pretend like it never happened. But if it’s successful, then maybe I’ll make it a yearly thing! Giving back for the holidays :) <3

Good luck and hope you all have fun with this! 

List of Characters to Choose From:

One Piece: | Portgas D. Ace | Ben Beckman | Bartolomeo | Buggy | Crocodile | Dragon… | Franky | Gol D Roger | Katakuri | Kidd | Luffy | Law | Mihawk | Shanks | Smoker | Sabo | Sanji | Whitebeard | Zoro |

Genshin Impact: | Alhaithaim | Childe | Diluc | Neuvillette | Wriothesley | Zhongli |

Haikyuu: | Akaashi | Atsumu | Bokuto | Iwaizumu | Kageyama | Kita | Kuroo | Oikawa | Osamu | Suna | Ushijima | Ukai |

Tears of Themis: | Artem | Luke | Marius | Vyn |

Love and Deepspace: | Rafayel | Sylus | Xavier | Zayne |

Fire Force: | Benimaru | Hinawa | Konro | Obi | 

Honkai Star Rail: | Blade | Dan Heng | Jing Yuan | 

Blue Lock: | Barou | Kunigami | Rin | Sae | 

My Hero Academia: | Pro Hero Bakugou | Dabi | Edgeshot | Fatgum | Hawks | Pro Hero Kirishima | Pro Hero Kaminari | Pro Hero Midoriya | Pro Hero Shinsou | Pro Hero Shoto | 

Tokyo Revengers: | Baji | Draken | Kazutora | Mikey | Mitsuya | Ran | Rindou | Shinichiro | Sanzu | 

Obey Me: | Beelzebub | Barbatos | Diavolo | Lucifer | Mammon | Solomon | 

Jujutsu Kaisen: | Choso | Gojo | Geto | Higuruma | Itadori | Megumi | Nanami | Sukuna | Toji | Yuuta | 

Wuthering Waves: | Calcahoro | Jiyan |

Yona of the Dawn: | Hak | Jaeha | Shinah |

Demon Slayer: | Giyuu | Obanai | Rengoku | Sanemi | Tengen | 

Attack On Titan: | Eren | Levi | Niccolo | 

Naruto: | Itachi | Kakashi | Sasuke | 

Mystic Messenger: | Jumin | Saeyoung | 

Spy x Family: | Loid | Yuri |

Inuyasha: | Sesshomaru |

Snow White with the Red Hair: | Obi |

Good Luck <3

[ddlcbrainrot]

What are your ships in ddlc? I noticed you do all the ships- If you ship all then what’s your favorite ship?

Now, whoever you are how did you that i was thinking of talking about my ship opinions soon?? mind wizard

SO, here’s the thing : when it comes to ships in genera it takes a lot for me to actually have OTPs and stuff and this is especially true in ddlc for me. For me shipping is more of a “sure, i could get behind this” sort of thing, except if once in a blue moon i find that one ship that alters my brain chemistry but believe it or not that has not really happened to me with any of the ddlc ships. It has happened with the game as a whole, but not really with the ships. The only one that has come close i’d say is sayonika but that’s more bc they happen to be the characters that i think about the most

That being said, i’d say i ship every ship in the game, simply because i could honestly see all of them working out in one way or another. Sure, they’re are some i like more than others but generally all of them work. And yes, this includes the Mc ships even though i like them less bc the side stories blew it out of the park with the chemistry between the girls

Speaking of the side stories, they are the sole reason i got into the shipping side of the fandom lol. The base game, as influential as it was for me, never really ignited any shipping sparks ig. I actually could not care less for the shipping before the side stories, bc most of it felt kind of trope-y ironically enough. Like, Natsuri was the big one, which was only popular bc of the whole opposite’s attract thing (not that there’s anything wrong with that ofc, it just never really resonated with me). Sayonika was a victim of what i like to call the “leftovers syndrome” where two characters are shipped bc they are the only ones left to be shipped with.

And Mc.. well let’s talk about that actually. Mc x Yuri is well… how do i put this. They have absolutely nothing in common. I don’t necessarily hate this ship however, if i see it done right i can like it. Mc x Natsuki was alright, the banter was fun, they actually have things they can talk about, it’s overall a nice ship. I will say i prefer them as close friends, but if i was to see media (fan art, fics, mods etc) where it’s done right, i can appreciate it. Mc x Sayori is also a ship i can enjoy from time to time, probably the most out of any Mc ship. Again, i do prefer talking about their friendship more though but now that i’m writing this down i realise i’m just a slut for male/female friendships. Mc x Monika truly depends on what context the characters are given. Are we talking about non-sentient Monika x Mc? Bc that can be pretty fun. If we are talking about sentient Monika x Mc, i see a very interesting dynamic (not a particularly good one) where Monika is basically using Mc as a vessel for the player in her desperation. Can Mc feel this dynamic? Does he understand in some way that he’s the second choice, even if he doesn’t know the truth about their world? How does it affect him? Its fun to ponder about this ig, but it doesn’t really make for a healthy relationship

Then the side stories came out, where the characters evolved from their one-dimensional tropes into actual personalities with enticing dynamics between them and i was immediately sold. That being said, i still don’t really have an OTP per say, bc as stated before all of them could work out. Which is definitely bc of how we get to see each of them interact individually in each side story. In every side story, we see each character interact with the other and learn how to grow as individuals because of it. I could see each pairing happening individually, i could see them being a poly couple, maybe even a qpr, or just a very close friend group too! There is a lot of love between the characters, whether that is romantic, platonic or something in between im not 100% certain on, but the love is definitely there.

Anyway, you also asked what my favourite ship would be, and i’ll probably say Sayonika since most of the media I consume tends to be with them

WOW this was a long post. Hope i didn’t bore you too much. Thank you for the ask!!

[mastersoftheair]

ok, so my own final (and very, very fresh) thoughts, bc i wanted to wait until i'd watched everything to make a sweeping opinion of the whole series, and it's quite opinionated. and long. probably too long. i write essays for fun (everyone point and laugh):

my personal (and very, very fresh) ranking of the hbo war shows (not including gen kill bc that's a different war, sorry) goes- band of brothers > masters of the air > the pacific (it's the same for my title score rankings. that hasn't changed yet)

my main points of contention with MotA are 1) the nine episodes, 2) the length of the episodes, and 3) certain editing choices. nine episodes, compared to the classic ten, isn't Nearly enough time to showcase all that they wanna showcase (especially when the episodes are as short as they are, once you get past the recap and "next on" parts). and they wanna showcase A Lot! there so much going on! i'd ask them to pace themselves, but they literally Can't!

i mean, the editing choices are a Whole Thing! practically gives me whiplash sometimes lol. i feel like the weaker episodes still have parts that are Really good, but like. Individually. they don't work together as a stronger whole, which is to the episode's detriment. rather than jumping around (as the show often did), they could've benefited a lot from focusing on the One Story instead of squeezing three more stories into there (i say that, but i think the 4-5-6 episode run (all with multiple stories per episode) did this very well while Still being very good episodes, so it's not like it Can't be done, it just didn't work for 7, 8 and (partly) 9). granted, i suspect a chunk of the weird editing can be blamed on, well, there being only nine (and not all that long) episodes and no one wanting to cough up enough money for a tenth. ugh! i'm blaming both hbo And appletv for this (and covid19 ig). it's just One More Episode, how much could it cost?? and on the subject of episodes, why no episode titles? you used to love episode titles! i could've brainstormed episode titles for them For Free!!

when it comes to the characters, the rankings remain the same: BoB > MotA > TP. it's not totally fair tho, since BoB followed the exact same (and large-ish) group of guys from beginning to end, so you're Gonna know who they all are and get attached. this wasn't the case (for me!) when watching TP, since, unlike BoB, they jump around from group to group. i never felt like i got to know them all that well, outside of the main characters. i think MotA almost hits that sweet spot, especially knowing they had those two main things going against it: large cast And jumping from group to group. there's a case to be made for bias here (i Was the blog blogging about everything MotA for like. years.), but i still think they found a good enough balance of fleshing out the main characters while Also helping the audience get to know about a bunch of minor characters, of which there are a shitton (and their personalities, motivations, backgrounds, quirks).

there's also the representation of women. actual angel renée lemaire is and will always be a cut above the rest (bastogne is just That Good, argue with the wall). she's written so well that it almost makes me forget about how a bunch of women are portrayed in carentan. i have...issues with how women are portrayed in TP (even tho i love lena), so there's that. MotA falls in the middle (again) bc there's Way more women on-screen, but the writing can be questionable. balanced (as all things should be?) captain l'sandra wing-westgate is a character of all time, but episode 7 birthed the craziest discourse known to man (the hbo war fandom), but it wasn't all that unwarranted. manon and michou were sooo cool, but we didn't see nearly enough of them (another victim of the 'editing too many stories into one episode' problem. why not a whole resistance episode? or at least as the only b-plot?). paulina was interesting, but fulfilled one of those 'attractive foreign woman gives sage advice during/after sex' tropes (there's probably a tvtropes page for that idk). so many red cross girls, but none of the in-depth payoff :/ epic highs (multiple women!!) + epic lows (writing women??) = pretty tolerable. not great, not terrible. it was aight. i trust the fandom to build on this tho.

narrative is the big one tho. it's the whole "doing so much with so little" thing they've got going on (i'm ignoring their big budget here lol, could've been bigger). rather than having one main story with many connecting side stories (like BoB), it does the TP thing where there's many semi-connecting side stories set in the same general area. it helps that there's crosby's narration (i enjoy narration, sue me!), and he helps everything connect, sorta. but there's still other side stories that have Nothing to do with him (sandra's side gigs (revealing what she did takes away the mystery of what she Might be doing), the tuskegee airmen, quinn and bailey's eurotrip). would it have helped if there were two narrators (say, someone like rosie)? idk. gonna sit with that one. if there's a through-line, it's not super obvious like in the other two shows. which is insanely funny to me bc i literally like TP less, but that show's got an Extremely tight through-line all the way down. i can't lie and say it doesn't!

back to budget- i've seen people criticize this show for being called "masters of the air" when there's not much of "the air". ig that's fair, but there's the money issue, again. also, it'd get very repetitive if they were always in "the air". there was enough confusion about identifying who was who with the masks on, so imagine if that was Every Episode. out of All the issues the show has, this is the least issue-y. again, that's just my opinion, and it could change.

another budget thing (i think??)- idk enough about costuming and hair for period pieces so i can't comment on that with my 0 background in it, all i Can say is that i knoooooow people were clowning on marjorie cleven's hair in episode 1 (and i could see why, no such thing as 1940s beach waves). but from what i could understand- that actress' addition was a last-minute thing (bc i had No idea who the hell she was and i already found someone cast for marjorie all the way back in 2021). maybe there's something to say about the quality of rush jobs, but i really do think it was the most last-minute thing bc it came out of Nowhere, and timeline-wise, it looks like that bit was done long after everything else had been filmed. outside looking in, it seems something probably went wrong/didn't work out with who or what they already had and there wasn't enough wiggle room (time and money) to fix it. this isn't me being an apologist (lol), but i feel like a theorist at a big board bc nothing adds up! and i wanna know what happened! i'm just speculating! speculating on this blog is All i did for like Years lmaooo.

this is more of a side thing, but some of the lines in MotA feel really on-the-nose, almost corny. and that was Gonna be a knock against it, but there's some equally Extremely on-the-nose lines in both BoB and TP (Especially in BoB), so if i give MotA shit for it, i'd have to give all three shows shit for it lol. none of them are free of cheese.

another silly aside- no peaches, no main gingers, no main eugenes! we can't have 'em all, but c'mon!

there Is some good tho lol. one thing that MotA really has going for it, that i think the other shows have less of, is- and GOD it feels so weird to call this "world-building" when it's actual goddamn history, but- it's got world-building. maybe that isn't the best word for it. but i like how much Bigger ww2 feels in this show. BoB is one stop, then the next stop, then the next stop, which is, admittedly, good from a narrative-perspective (easy to follow), but not as good when you want a scale of how devastating the war is (in fairness, it was filmed in 2000). even TP feels pretty "enclosed" in a way. there's island-hopping, yeah, but all the damn islands look the same (not including australia lol). it's a theatre of the war we otherwise don't really get to see, but there still isn't all that much to see. it's water and sand and rock and dirt. which is the point, but Whatever! would've been cool if we saw sledge and co. in china, but moving on. MotA's able to really show the scale of it, both in the air and on the ground (that scene in germany during episode 6 was both harrowing and fantastic, also the inclusion of the actual children forced to fight nearer to the war's end in the finale). idk i just liked how it was able to zoom in and zoom out (and in and out again) in a way that the other shows weren't.

another thing it's got that the other shows don't is Really driving home how young everyone is (not "child soldier" young, but damn young). the cast is full of baby faces (rip babyface). a lot of ww2 shows/movies don't bother casting to reflect this, but i think overlooking that takes away from the overall impact. you browse through some old newspaper articles or photos of soldiers during ww2 enough and you're gonna Regularly get hit with the face of someone who looks like they could've sat in the desk next to you during a high school lit class. a lot of those b&w grinning faces look like kids bc they pretty much were (more so if they lied about their age). you don't really get that in BoB or TP (it's Crazy when the real life pics of the soldiers portrayed in those shows look younger than the actors).

i'm mixed about the tuskegee airmen. what we have, i love (thank you, dee rees). unfortunately, my biggest irk is that it leaves me wanting more of them, which i won't ever get. speaking as a black person (not speaking for All black people, just how i personally feel about it), having them included feels like a catch-22. if they weren't included in any capacity (all while knowing there were whole tuskegee airmen in stalag iii with the white main characters), there'd be a problem. however, including them (all while having these time constraints and not enough focus on them) leads to the feeling of having them "tokenized" (which i can see). there's no world where there'd be 50/50 split (even a 70/30 split) bc, at that point, just give them a show of their own. but there'd still be a general annoyance that big budget ww2 shows are only ever white. on the other hand, hanks and spielberg and orloff and miller and all the directors (except dee rees) are white, and how good of a story about black people are you really gonna get from the perspective of nonblack people? that in mind, i personally don't feel put-off by having the three tuskegee airmen in the posters/trailers/promos, bc i just Know there'd be a whole nother problem if they weren't included in them at all despite being in the show for however long (it'd be even worse if they made their pictures smaller). like i don't work in advertising, but i don't know if a "sweet spot" even exists for something like this. people would be pissed off no matter what imo (i'm also speaking with a bias here bc i had to browse through sooooo many comments written by white guys whining and crying and pissing and shitting themselves once they learned that the tuskegee airmen were gonna be in the show in Any capacity, so i'm just cool knowing they're in shambles rn (and josiah cross- he played richard macon- always goes Wild seeing his face in the promos, and his joy is pretty contagious).

i give it somewhere like a 7.5-8/10. 3.75 stars out of 5. not perfect, subject to change, gotta marinate, but i'm overall happy with it! MotA's best episodes are better than many other individual hbo war episodes. should i be grading it using the overall sum of its parts, not just the different parts? idk, i'm not being paid to grade lol.

[muchanmocha]

Hello!! I’m here to give u an alnst character!!! Please do Ivan 🙏🙏😮‍💨😮‍💨

Thanks for sending this in anon! It's really nice to have a chance to unpack some of my thoughts on him

1. Why I like them

Man where do I even begin to start?

Relatibility isn't something that typically factors into how much I like a character—rarely so actually. But the more I saw of him the more I felt a kinship in how a large chunk of his life is defined by "observing" and the fascination he has with figuring something (someone) out.

Then there's the fact that he himself is the puzzle, and if it isn't already apparent by my entire blog, I adore puzzles. I'll never tire of trying to figure him out. Yet strangely enough, I'm also okay with never figuring him out because that would be just like him to have depths so deep I won't ever be able to conceive him fully.

Even if it's a mask, one constructed through a lot of painful effort on his part, I love his smile. But further than that, I love the moments his bright sunny mask contrasts with the deep darkness he shelters — the same one he shares with Sua. The duality,,,, honestly peak.

Ivan is complex and self-contradictory, controversial and even problematic by a lot of standards, and I love him all the more for it.

2. Why I don't

Ok ngl I spent a solid hour doing laundry trying to come up with something I don't like about Ivan. I flat-out failed if you haven't guessed.

I think the only real answer I can point to is... Ivan is such a compelling character he ended up having an undeniably significant impact in shaping the fandom landscape.

To the extent that I've noticed if you don't actively love Ivan (/Ivantill), the Alnst fandom space can be... difficult to be in in certain ways.

There's not much that can be done about it precisely because it's not a situation brought about intentionally by anyone nor is it anyone's fault. When the problem is a character is too well done, is it really a problem? On a personal level, as someone who values quality in characters and writing above all, no, executing a character or story too well is never wrong in my books.

The phenomenon isn't even specific to Ivan; in the end it's just an unfortunate something that comes with the territory of being overwhelmingly popular in a fandom.

3. Favorite lyrics

'Even if your cold words'

'Carve scars beneath my eye'

'May they linger on your tongue'

'You can break me apart'

4. Favorite frame/screenshot

I think part of the reason why it tops my charts rn is the fact that it's new and still fresh off the press (powered by our pain)

But send Ivan for the ask game again and I'll give you a different answer

5. Favorite outfit

R3 ofc!!!! Long coat?????? Turtleneck????? Black boots??? Gloved hands????? Are you kidding me??????

6. Favorite official art

Seeing this one is actually how I got into Alnst and it hasn't lost its potency since (I love it even more now that I have context) it truly has a special place with me

7. Favorite canon fact

R6 commentary stated that what went on in Ivan's head during those last moments isn't supposed to be clear and fully understandable. "After all, he's the only one who will ever know how he truly feels."

I love that. So much.

Wdym this character is so unfathomable, that moment so complex you can watch it dozens of times and still find new things to notice and yet be no closer to the answer that isn't meant for us—

8. Favorite straight-up-not-canon headcanon

My Mizi Ivan besties delulus

Bc despite the canonical friendship they did share, I don't think they were best friends per se.

To me, best friends implies someone you mutually connect with and... that person doesn't seem to exist for Ivan.

He spends his entire life trying to speak everyone else's language — What's strange? What's normal? How should he act to be accepted? He builds the perfect mask, which in turn reflects the way he cannot truly connect with others.

Sua is the closest thing he has to a person he thought he understood and who understood him. But the key word in that "best friend" definition is "mutually." Sua doesn't feel the same and actively rejects his presence.

Till isn't his best friend either. Till is the object of his fascination, his obsession, his emotions. One of the core aspects of his relationship with Till is their inability to understand each other. They were never on the same page, never tuned to the same wavelength.

Sua is someone Ivan wants to connect with while Till is someone who brings out the rawest aspects of him. With both, Ivan has shown to have let down his mask just a little bit on certain occasions.

But Mizi? Mizi is just Mizi. And honestly that's the best part imo. She's simultaneously the #1 person he has no real reason to let his mask down around, and the #1 person with whom whether it was down or not doesn't matter and I think there can be a sort of comfort that comes with that.

I'll always feed my headcanons of Mizi being a friend Ivan can feel comfy with mask or no mask ♡

9. Favorite song/cover

Black Sorrow

I've woken up in the morning with it playing in my head on repeat more times than I can count

10. Song I want them to cover

Forever mourning ROMH Ivan

[nebulize-my-mind]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

(I don't know anybody here, so nobody tagged me, I just thought it'd be fun, sorry if I've committed Tumblr crimes lol)

How many works do you have on AO3?

8! But if you don't count my original story snippet it's 7... but if you count my one fanfiction-dot-net-only fic that I've been too lazy (and slightly embarrassed bc it's old) to transfer over... it's 8 again lol

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

With my original story snippet: 16,705 Without my original story snippet: 15,047 And for fun... Including my fanfiction-dot-net-only fic but not original story snippet: 105,467 (lmao)

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Oh boy here we go. Well. The fandoms I currently have fics posted for are Danny Phantom, Natsume's Book of Friends/Natsume Yuujinchou, Batfam/DCU (and does the Teen Titans animated show count as a different fandom or nah?), Spider-Man/Marvel, and Harry Potter. However. The fandoms I have fics for including unposted WIPs are as follows: Danny Phantom, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Ben 10, My Hero Academia/Boku no Hero Academia, Batfam/DC, The Morose Mononokean/Fukigen na Mononokean, Gravity Falls, Randy Cunningham: Ninth Grade Ninja, Star vs the Forces of Evil, The Magnus Archives, Spider-Man/Marvel, How to Train Your Dragon, Rise of the Guardians, Harry Potter, Natsume's Book of Friends/Natsume Yuujinchou, Sk8 the Infinity, Bungou Stray Dogs, Be More Chill (the musical), the Rick Riordan universe (Percy Jackson, etc.), and Big Hero 6.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

So I don't have a lot of fics actually posted and obviously I can't count the one that's only on fanfiction-dot-net so... 1) They Say Right, Let's Go Left (Batfam Titans Tower AU; 2,871 kudos as of 11/12/2023) 2) Skia Tou Myalou (Batfam Meta!Tim AU; 1,832 kudos as of 11/12/2023) 3) How To Summon A Halfa (Without A Ouija Board) (Danny Phantom 30-minute oneshot; 178 kudos as of 11/12/2023) 4) And Thus, I Repent (Danny Phantom/Teen Titans crossover preview posted for International Fanworks Day 2022 that still hasn't been updated; 144 kudos as of 11/12/2023) 5) What A Lovely View (Natsume's Book of Friends/The Morose Mononokean crossover oneshot for International Fanworks Day 2021; 74 kudos as of 11/12/2023)

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

As much as I can! A lot of the time I'll respond to a lot of comments after I post the story but forget as time goes on lol. I appreciate them so much nonetheless! I'm always flabbergasted that someone took the time to tell me their thoughts and feelings about MY story, it's so cool. Gotta make sure they know how cool I think it is and they are!

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

Okay... so I haven't actually had any angsty endings per se, at least none that I've posted. Because of where the prologue chapter leaves things for Fractured (Danny Phantom/My Hero Academia) it's currently the most angsty thing I have posted, but I haven't posted anything past the prologue chapter and the story will get more lighthearted. I once accepted a request to write a major character death oneshot, but I never was satisfied or finished it. If I had, it would definitely be the most angsty. As for WIPs/unposted things... I have a "choose your ending" Tim Drake AU series in the works and the "bad ending" will be the most angsty ending I've ever written or planned once I get there.

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

Oh, most of what I write has happy endings, I'm honestly a hopeles romantic. I'd call on Skia Tou Myalou (Batfam, Meta!Tim AU) for that probably, mostly because half of They Say Right, Let's Go Left's (Batfam, Titans Tower AU) fluffy ending is in the author's note and also it's a oneshot. As for WIPs/unposted things... I have no idea lol.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

The only real hate I ever got was on my fanfiction-dot-net-only fic and I still don't know what the guy had against me other than being mad at my author's notes and that I was following a canon plotline... after I said that that's what this fic was going to do before branching out after I finished the rewrite. The positive feedback completely outweighed them though! Thanks to those folks!

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

NOPE. Not my thing, totally chill if it's yours. I am too sex-repulsed asexual for that lmao.

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

ABSOLUTELY! You may not believe it from what I have posted (or actually maybe you will) but my main genre is crossovers, specifically involving dimension travel. I wouldn't call any of them particularly weird combinations honestly. Maybe What A Lovely View (Natsume's Book of Friends/The Morose Mononokean) or my WIP "Nanashi" (Danny Phantom/The Morose Mononokean) because of the more obscure fandoms.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Thankfully no, and I always make sure my fics are tagged where exactly I've reposted them under my own accounts so there's no misunderstandings.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Not yet, that'd be the dream, wouldn't it?

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

Nah, I don't really have people I know in the fanfic community.

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

That sure does change monthly! Currently I'm vibing with Reki and Langa from Sk8 the Infinity, can't wait for the next season of that show!

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

I have a couple of unposted WIPs that I call "cancelled" WIPs because I never plan on continuing them, it's mostly a couple Danny Phantom crossovers from my early days. As for posted things, work on Fractured (Danny Phantom/My Hero Academia) is actually trudging along pretty well even though I haven't posted anything, I had to completely reorganize the notes for it into a section of their own because they outgrew my standard page formatting! And Thus, I Repent (Danny Phantom/Teen Titans) is at a wall though I plan on continuing it eventually. What's really been getting me is my fanfiction-dot-net-only fic that's been going on since before it was first posted in 2019 but at a standstill since 2020 and the pandemic. I've really been struggling to get any work done on it, which sucks because it's my longest fic but it's also from the early days and I have a love-hate relationship with it and its fandoms.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Hesitantly... imagery? Scene description? I love writing a good, visceral chunk of text that makes you feel like you're there. It lands... sometimes lol

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Trying to develop relationships. Romantic, platonic, any. I have no idea how to pace these things or sometimes how to move them forward, I'm not a super social person and I don't have any experience in romantic relationships, so it's harder to pull from my own life. I'd love to get better though, and relationships are so important to writing and fun to see unfold.

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

I think it's fine as long as you're respectful of the language and culture. Like, the title of Skia Tou Myalou (Batfam, Meta!Tim AU) (sorry for the lack of accents, I don't have access to the right keyboard right now) is in Greek because the language is cool af, and I had a reader confirm it was correct. Some people get worked up specifically over including Japanese honorifics in anime fics sometimes, but I think it adds a lot of nuances to character relationships so as long as you do your research and apply them correctly and respectfully, I don't mind it at all. I personally prefer to do so when writing fics in anime fandoms where they're used for that extra level of attention and detail. Y'all have no idea how long I spend researching this stuff!

19. First fandom you wrote for?

This one was never posted and deleted way back when, but when I was in middle school I wrote a Percy Jackson and the Olympians OC oneshot lol

20. Favorite fic you've ever written?

Y'all trying to make me choose? Betrayal... and it changes every time I work on one lol. Currently I have a certain fondness for an unposted Bungou Stray Dogs Chuuya-joins-the-ADA-with-Dazai AU but my favorite posted is Skia Tou Myalou (Batfam, Meta!Tim AU). Sure it's a little eh in places but I love elemental-ish powers and Tim Drake is my favorite Batboy lol

[edwinspaynes]

Re Follow up to Wessa spicy and loving ur work > CC and long fits Q

I CANNOT WAIT FOR WESSA SPICY, U WRITE SPICY SO FREAKING WELL! I also have never thought about historical spicy stuff. which obviously happened cuz hello folks back then did it as well, it's not just a present day thing haha.

I think I just feel ur engagement is way more motivating and higher than CC's. Obv CC has mad kudos for creating this Universe, but like any author who has made It so clear that she wants to move on from the universe, the fun part is playing within it YK? Not just creating plots and marriages just so that the union and the good ending is the telos of it. The pay off is now seeing them banter about together, have the dynamics shift as they age, see how they view the world and how they continue to problem solve yk? And it gets even more fun when you create ensemble casts, bc THATS why Downton abbey is so long! It's so much fun to see it through, throughout!

An example I use is I follow these two authors who LOVEE their book universes, and also write generational fun family (modern day) ensamble casts with friends, and they spend normally 3-4 books focused on one character's OTP, seeing it through, throughout, and than moving onto another. Not the traditional stickler predictable "one book per pairing" in a series we see too often. AND THAN, when they move on, they continue to write publish 2 bonus chapters, update their interests boards, and talk about everything on their Patreon for like less than 3 dollars a month. there are over 100+ chapters now at this point!

Not to say that's what CC wants to do, but when you have amounted such a huge fandom, a lot of it is not just about making annual deliverables and canon events occur, but having fun just domestically and I feel like she doesn't want to do that. Which is totally fine! I respect that. But obviously the type of fan I am, as you can see, I gravitate towards the way you produce, engage and write (u write for yourself and ur fans, yes u have fans and I am one) more so than her. That's kind of what I was trying to get at in my initial post :-). Bc when CC wants to move on, it feel so lovely and safe, to know my safe space won't go, because ur still leading it. <3 <3 So again, from the bottom to the top of my heart, thank you <3

This made me tear up. Thank you so much, friend.

Messages like this make me feel extremely motivated to write. I really hope you enjoy my Valentine's fic as much as I am liking writing it.

I think I understand what you're saying - Cassie does a really good job of creating characters and telling their stories. I consider her to be one of the best creators of our time, specifically in TID and TLH as well as Sword Catcher (even if that one has less of a hold on me, it's inarguably one of her best works world-building and plot-wise.) But yes, sometimes you just want little fluffy post-canon stories of the characters, which is not always possible for a world-famous writer with tons of ongoing projects. I'm looking forward to Better in Black a lot because of this.

I just write what I want to see and roll with it. I am glad that it's what you want to see, too.

Dear God, I am tearing up a lot. Thank you. From the bottom of my heart, I truly appreciate everyone who has read one of my fics and given me a chance to play with their blorbos.

[grassbreads]

Writer Interview Game

I was tagged for this by @torterrachampion . Thank you!!

Since this is my fandom-specific account, I'm going to keep these answers mostly limited to fanfiction.

When did you start writing?

I have been writing my entire life. I was one of those kids that was convinced I was going to write a novel at age 10 (although I never got further than a couple of chapters). For fanfiction specifically, the first fic I ever wrote was a halloween story project for middle school that I turned into D.Gray-man fanfiction. I started writing and publishing fic for real the following summer, when I was 14. (Much like the novels in elementary school, I never actually finished one of the longfics I started in high school).

Are there different themes or genres you enjoy reading than what you write?

Big time lmao. A *lot* of the original fiction I read is horror, and although I've played around with the idea of writing a horror fic, I'm yet to find a good concept for one. I'm also a huge lover of long multi-chapter fics and elaborate AUs, but I publish mostly oneshots.

Is there a writer you want to emulate or get compared to often?

I honestly cannot remember ever having my work compared to specific other writers?

But as I said, I love elaborate longfic AUs yet really struggle to write them myself (long projects are my enemy), so I would sell my soul to be able to emulate the works of travelingneuritis or oxfordroulette, both of whom I really admire. I've written whole long posts before about how much oxfordroulette's Homestuck fics impressed and impacted me when I first read them like 6 years ago.

Can you tell me a bit about your writing space?

My writing space is anywhere in my apartment :). Sometimes I write at my desk, but more often I'm curled up or crosslegged on my couch or futon. Gotta be cozy and comfy.

What’s your most effective way to muster up a muse?

Since fic is a pretty casual hobby for me these days, I mostly just kinda write when inspiration strikes (hence why I publish roughly one fic per year). That said, rereading canon scenes featuring the characters I'm writing always helps me get their voice into my head.

Are there any recurring themes in your writing? Do they surprise you?

I don't know if I write enough to have big recurring themes? I like writing about characters that aren't doing well mentally, but that's both broad and not always applicable.

I suppose it does always make me laugh when I see "Christmas" listed among my most-used tags on Ao3. I'm not even a christian, but I've written two fics set during christmas bc gift exchanges make for good fluff, and with my output, two times puts it in my top 10.

What is your reason for writing?

Sometimes a story worms its way into my brain so deeply that canon just isn't enough. I need to live in that world to a degree beyond what I can get from canon content alone. And when there isn't enough existing fic by others to scratch that itch, or when there isn't enough of the right *type* of existing fic, I simply have to sit down and make my own.

Also, writing fanfiction is fun :).

What do you feel is your greatest strength as a writer?

I'd like to think I'm good at characterization, at least most of the time. And I think I'm good at making sure things flow.

How do you feel about your own writing?

I really like a majority of the things I've written, or at least the stuff I've written as an adult. My really old writing makes me cringe a little sometimes, but I look back on it fondly, and I still reread newer stuff like An Act of Trust and Idle God, Idol Gossip for my own amusement.

The brief answer is that overall, I'm quite proud.

If either of you are interested in joining, I'll tag @cinammonelles and @azapofinspiration :)

[notafunkiller]

I respect your opinion but I have to disagree about the age part because it is canon in the Mcu that Bucky is over a hundred years old and I could see a friendship/sibling relationship between yelena and Bucky but I’d never hate or send hate to someone sharing their opinion? Can people not share their views with each other anymore? It’s like people don’t want an actual conversation and hearing others takes on things. Which I don’t think they will give Bucky or yelena a relationship it’s never really worked when they have tried to do so in the past the only relationships that work out have been Tony and pepper. Clint and his wife. But also I never got the shipping between male characters when there was nothing but friendship implied and or making characters who were never shown to be in the community (I’m bi I’m in the community). I get wanting representation but I don’t get trying to force that onto characters. Same thing happened on supernatural with dean and cass. Even though Jensen ackles himself has said Dean isn’t gay and they tried to make him homophobic because he didn’t feed into it. There are gay characters so I don’t get pushing it onto characters who aren’t. It just feels icky to me. And girl I loved your theory by the way! I’ve saw your parallel of Bucky and yelena on Twitter and even though I don’t see a romantic relationship between them it shows that they will be able to relate to each other and create a friendship. Bucky should have been in the black widow movie in flash back or something but they never utilized that the black widows and winter solider are connected other than both being with hydra for a time. I know in civil war during the iconic fight scene between Nat and Bucky she says the line “you could at least act like you recognize me” alludes to their shared past. It would have been nice to have seen winter widow onscreen but I’ve never been sure exactly how it would play out. I’m excited for thunderbolts and I was kicking screaming when it was announced Bucky and yelena would be in it. We get to see badass assassins 🥰 they have hated on everything about this movie and made up so many rumors a lot about Bucky dying and I’m like why is that the first thought? He’s one of the originals from the first movies they won’t get rid of him and I won’t be surprised if they don’t try and get Sebastian to sign on for more years especially if the movie does big numbers at the box office. Thank you for being a normal human being in this fandom because it’s gotten exhausting being apart of it so thank you for being an amazing human all love 💗

I totally respect your opinion and it's healthy and normal to have different opinions aboit things. You are wonderfullll 🌸

I have to disagree about the age part because it is canon in the Mcu that Bucky is over a hundred years old and I could see a friendship/sibling relationship between yelena and Bucky but I’d never hate or send hate to someone sharing their opinion?

I understand, but he did not live for 100 years. He barely lived 30+... he was in the cryo or living as a brainwashed puppet for a couple of days per year. He is not a vamoire who lived for 300 years... and she is in a similar situation as him (a bit different, but yeah). I am sure you see my point.

I totally agree about convos! I love having discussions with people who have different opinions... I feel like all parts can grow and learn from it...

And yeses, I rememebr that with Jensen! I was so confused!

Also I believe representation should be made out of love and from the bottom of the writers' hearts when it fits. Making a character gay because it's trendy is so direspectful to the community bc the writers who do it for this reason never write lgbtq+ people right like this. I am so tired of seeing wonderful people being represented in a cliche, not necessarrily realistic way.

And honestly... right/goodnrepresentation in Marvel? No way.

The line in Civil War refers to him shooting a target through her actually (reference to catws - Steve and Nat's talk about the Winter Soldier)

Please, Sebastian's contract was clear so I was not eorrying about him dying in Thunderbolts (unless they make him appear in a different universe in the Avengers movies lmao)

The only rumour I might feel it can be true because the writers have no idea what to do with Marvel overall is kill this branch... this universe and focus on another one and in this way other actors can come back too.

It's lovely to talk to you and thank you too! I love having this conversation and I am also here if you want to discuss more or something else 🌼

[duunswitch]

SHIPPING INFO. Answer the following for your muse(s) so people know how shipping works on your blog.

What’s your OTP for your Muse(s)?

she's an oc so. you know. all ships are otp ships honestly lmao.

What are you willing to RP when it comes to shipping?

as long as there's communication between the writers i'm generally down for anything, unless it's a squick/trigger for me, or it's something the muses themselves aren't into. i'll generally communicate my boundaries if we come up against it in a ship

How large does the age gap have to be to make it uncomfortable?

depends on the characters and the setting for me, mainly; normal humans in a modern verse as adults it's whatever as long as everyone's consenting and no one's a minor tho it might be weird with super large age gaps and i'm not a fan of "this adult watched this kid grow up and then decided they were in love" dynamics just bc i'm not into it as a trope, but in supernatural or non human charas it's more complicated, tho still no minors

Are you selective when shipping?

i'm a chemistry shipper; i'm not selective per say, but whether or not i ship with someone depends on how well the muses click. it often only takes me a couple interactions to see how well a muse gels with another muse (on my end) and if there's any chemistry on my muse's end, as well as what sort of dynamic they're likely to have but i'll usually poke after that if there appears to be interest from your muse, or if it's something we've joked about/you've shown interest in. and obviously even if i think the chemistry's good, you don't have to agree! it's a mutual collab so if one half the ship's not into it then it's fine to say no.

How far do steamy moments have to go before they’re considered NSFW?

naked time, or once hands get under clothes, tho i will usually start readmore'ing/tagging sooner than that just for consideration of other people on the dash bc i know several of my followers check their dash while at work.

Who are other muses you ship your muse with?

i'm very easily swayed! so if there's potential for a ship and the muses gel well in interactions we've had then feel free to just kick in my door and say something, don't feel you have to wait for me to indicate interest lmao.

Does one have to ask to ship with you?

absolutely not lmao; that said i'm stupid so i may not realize that's what you want, so just say something if i haven't caught on. just be aware that if the muse herself isn't interested there's not much i can do about it bc i don't write well when i'm forcing a ship lmao. and be aware that trying to railroad me into it after i declined will result in a block

How often do you like to ship?

if i can ship it i will if there's interest; it's fun to explore the dynamic it brings to the table, but it doesn't have to be the only kind of relationship she has

Are you multiship?

yep!! all ships happen in their own contained verse even when they share the same verse tags, unless everyone involved has agreed otherwise (poly ships and the like)

Are you ship obsessed or ship more-or-less?

50/50? i enjoy dynamics of all kinds and actually i would super love some more antagonistic relationships, and platonic/familial ships are also super fun (holds up akari's mordred muse and arthurian blogs like simba as an example of antag friendships and family bonds!)

What is your favorite ship in your current fandom?

le's an oc from my original novel i will probably never publish lmao so. all of her ships are my favorite ship

Finally, how does one ship with you?

literally just ask if you think there's potential there! if the muses work then i'm down and if they don't then we can figure out other relationships to destroy them with

tagged. @diivineray tagging. whoever wants it

[aureliaen]

When you say “is anyone hurt by the lack of florrick content” that’s kind of what op is getting at. I write & read mainly f/f & it does in fact suck that there’s so little content of those ships & chars. When demographics are so skewed we need to ask why-that’s why they brought up “ppl say female chars are less interesting” bc that’s a justification we hear a ton. They weren’t attacking individuals but a cultural issue in fandom. Interrogating systemic biases anywhere is important & makes fandom as a whole better.

That's fair, I def see your point. It's frustrating when your favorite ships and characters aren't getting as much attention as you'd want, especially as an active creator yourself, and I def understand how that might make you more reactively bitter about those that do. I feel similarly about Astarion. I quite enjoyed him while playing for the most part, but seeing how unreasonably overrepresented he is in the fandom made him a lot more annoying.

The thing is, just because it's personally irritating doesn't make it an actual issue. What I mean by that is, fandom is driven by active fans. It is very possible that Astarion's fans are, for example, more prolific than Shadowheart's and make more than 1 fanfic per author on average, or that they're a lot younger and have more time on their hands. Just some possible examples.

We can and should talk about biases and the way they interact with the game and its community, but that's not what happened in that post. People reblogging are just using it as a place to complain and insult those they deem as guilty of the female characters' lack of popularity, with no quality discussion taking place. But those of us who write and read fanfics about Gortash instead of Orin don't do it because we hate Orin, it's because we love Gortash (and because his dynamic with Durge is completely different from Orin's so comparing them in the first place is inaccurate).

They weren’t attacking individuals but a cultural issue in fandom.

This rubs me the wrong way too. It just doesn't seem true. The fandom isn't a hivemind. It's made of individual, very specific people with specific interests, reasons to create and circumstances that do or don't allow them to create. It's not a cultural issue that a bunch of different groups enjoy male characters the author decided to often arbitrarily juxtapose with a different female character for the sake of proving a predetermined point. It's not like it's a male fans vs female fans thing either? I love Gortash and would rather write about him than Orin (even though I really like Orin). I love Minthara and would never write about Halsin. I don't give a shit about Zevlor or Florrick. For many, many people, there's no overlap.

So what the post (or maybe the people reblogging) is/are really doing is addressing a collective of creators with extremely varying interest in dynamics and characters, with one shared trait of them being male, and telling them that that's a bad thing and they're perpetuating misogyny. And you should also account for the fact that many of those people ship those male characters with their own female Tavs/Durges, who are often extremely fleshed out characters with intriguing backstories and characterization. It makes no sense.

Having said all that, I know how hard it is to start writing and I hope more F/F fans who don't currently create will join you in building that side of the community. BG3 has a ton of great female characters that deserve love, def no doubt about that.

[jamespottersmixtape]

hi hi :) 3, 15, 25 for the ask game!

hiii! ty ty for asking!

3. favorite line/scene you wrote this year

hmm this is kind of tough (I have a horrible memory and forget everything after I write it) but I'd have to say for starters this small section from my lost lover lives rent free in my head a lot so...yeah maybe this one. the whole salvation thing and hating Evan whilst also not being able to help but want him???? part of the reason I wrote this one shot in the first place like UGH they can never make up their minds

Barty feels like a man buried alive; condemned to a fate worse than death unless he claws his way out, choking on dirt and grime and praying that he breaches salvation. He’s surrounded on all sides by the one thing he can’t help but hate, can’t help but want. And oh, how he wants.

or (it may not be my best work yet bc it's not edited and not out yet) but there's a scene from my new wip where evan and barty get into a fight and they're all sad and bad at communication as per usual and just akdfjkehfjke I love them

I can't say I've written many arguments before so it was hard to navigate at first, but now I really like how the scene came out even if I'm putting the characters through turmoil😭

15. something you learned this year

relating to fandom I've probably learned the most about how people on the internet like to treat each other. how someone would rather speak publicly about things they hate whilst bringing others down for liking it, rather than expressing their dissenting opinions in a more private space. I've just come to learn that most of the time it's unnecessary and so I try to keep the things that I dislike (whether it be something as trivial as a ship I don't like) out of public view

in general I've learned that I'm awfullllllll at time management but that I enjoy writing a lot more than I ever thought I would :,)

25. a fic you read this year that you recommend everyone read

oh this is hard lol I have a lot of favorites but I'd say two that I really loved that I don't see people talk about as much are:

oh, my love is a lie! by artiest (I loved getting into Regulus' character whilst reading it and James is just sooofhosjhfesdjfiuh also Regulus' friendship with Lily is so precious I just love this fic sm) Of Memories and Milk Thievery by moonymoment (divorced wolfstar with 16 year old teddy oh I adored the whole thing it was such a fun read) (also bc I can't shut up: I'm Not Gonna Teach Him How to Dance with You by greensenne for practically getting me fully immersed into rosekiller in the first place)

sorry for this super long response lol but again tysm for asking, hope your weekend is good <<3

[frankenjoly]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

Tagged by @cursedvibes thanks!!! i love these things

1. How many works do you have on ao3?

68 but for Reasons (a fanweek i'm very hyped for), it's gonna be 69 next week.

2. What’s your total ao3 word count?

287,330 (and counting ofc)

3. What fandoms do you write for?

mostly bsd, jjk & a bit of genshin, but i throw in ficlets and/or one-shots of other stuff to let Thoughts out.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

Connecting the dots. silly pre-canon fluff and humor won people over after arcane's s1 finale.

Between the pages: part 2. mix of bsd ficlets/drabbles, bcs i love doing small thingies (i'm already finishing part 4 laksdjflk).

Misread. aka jealuc from barbara's pov, aka humor that stemmed from a teensy lil angst.

Remnants. more of me letting thoughts out after arcane's s1 ending, this time timebomb with pining Jinx.

Por el amor de estepresidente... the bsd crack fic (or my first one, at least), in which Mori and Fukuchi sort of ally to crash fukuzawa's date with any 3rd person but are also competing against each other.

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

i do, bcs i either have the need to thank ppl or ramble about the fic they're commenting on (or both).

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

probably Remnants, though i intended to go with the "it's not/won't be unrequited" vibe.

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

i'm a pussy and a slut for happy/hopeful endings, so i have those by the ton aldkjfl.

8. Do you get hate on fic?

not hate per se, but i've had complaints about tagging all ships from the start in my genshin ficlet compilation... when i was gonna throw them all into ao3 in one sitting.

also that one person who came to one of my Utahime Week fics, who was tagged as both gojohime and shokohime, to tell me "nooo shokohime are just friends yadda yadda" while praising gojohime as canon (i love it too, but it isn't). it was odd.

9. Do you write smut?

i have this thing when it comes to nsfw in general and smut in particular, aka up to certain point it makes me uncomfy but below that idgaf and even go like "nice, my ship having sex"... so.

most i can offer is barely-explicit stuff, and for fic specifically i see "depictions of character bein horny" and "pre- and post-sex" rather than actual smut.

10. Do you write crossovers?

not a lot, but the bsd+jjk thingie that came from rp and also birthed the dnd-ish au got me by the throat.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

as far as i know, nope.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

as far as i know, nope (x2). though i do translate some rp solos to turn them into one-shots adding up stuff as well (i could just post them in spanish, but).

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

i guess rp is like schroedinger's yes here? but when it comes to literal fic... not yet, but i know what and with who.

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

i can't choose, sorry laskdjf.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but probably won’t?

not really a wip, but i had one Uraume-centric fic that i'm not sure if it'll see the light for... some reasons. long story short, it's based on another fic that's a roleswap and has modern socerers (and students) Uraume and Sukuna.

16. What are your writing strengths?

i apparently never run out of insp and will to write, so i can go fast as fuck. and my writing is one of the things i'm most confident about like fr.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

i still feel like english nerf me, at least when it comes to narrating, bcs i cannot be as descriptive or poetic as i am in spanish.

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

as someone who's first language isn't english but writes fic in english, you go ppl. and also, native english speakers can be kiiinda entitled lol.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

both for rp and my first fic ever, abc's once upon a time (that was also my first fandom being online).

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

another instance of me sucking at making choices alsdkf, sorry.

no pressure tag: @ildi-dragonheart @bungoustraypups @monday-headache @noirewaves @rhymbic @minluce @bunniezai @neonganymede @fyodorkitkat

[watchyourbuck]

20 questions for fic writers!

tagged by @wikiangela @thewolvesof1998 & @lover-of-mine thank you guys!!!🥺🫶🏼

How many works do you have on AO3?

I have 14, although it certainly feels like more bc i have compilations of drabbles

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

I have 111.881 words.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

As of right now, I'm only writing for 911, but I used to write for spn, suits and the mcu. the only one of those i see myself going back to is spn, the others are long gone obsessions.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

(the ones that arent linked are bc i dont really like them anymore). Louis' Little Word Play (Pair: Marvey form Suits). Dangerous Posession (MCU). To fall for a stark (MCU). A Night to Remember (Pair: Marvey from Suits). I'll Guide You Through (Buddie).

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

Yes, I respond to them all! Im pretty sure ive missed some along the years tho.

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

i feel like i have only one with an angsty ending and its bc i used to think they all had to have a happy ending dfghjjhgfg anyway, its my latest one Not your fault (but mine)

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

Its an MCU one, they end up getting married lmao.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

sometimes but its not a lot. sometimes id write something unrealistic within the rules of the AU and they would criticize me but i usually just took it as cc.

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

Yes ma'am, a lot LMAOO. I have written pretty much anything, including watersports (which are not my thing but i had it as a request). Only thing ive never written is r*pe or cnc, and skat. no thank uuu.

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

i dont believe i have. i wrote a foursome once but they were all from the same world.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not a fic per se, but an idea.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes! One time to russian and one time to spanish. i felt really authory FGHJHGH. literally felt like i had made it lmaoo.

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

I had a big project with one of my mcu friends from back in the day but we never did it.

14. What's your all time favorite ship?

i think destiel and buddie. they’ve been my roman empire.

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

It was a high school AU for the mcu. i loved it so, but i dont really enjoy the mcu anymore and i just dont have it in me.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I think im very good at descriptions of both place and thoughts. i feel like i used to be really good at smut bc i would write so much of it lmao. i hope i still got it.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Finishing something, for once. wrapping up is also really hard. happy endings that dont feel like a low budget romantic movie (im a rejection-aro bro lmao).

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

Well spanish is quite easy bc its my mother language. other than that, if its not one of the 8 i speak, then i wouldnt feel comfortable unless i have someone fluent helping me (not google).

19. First fandom you ever wrote for?

i wanna say spn (destiel) but i never posted it bc it wasnt very good (i was 15 and my english wasnt as good as it is rn), but i did end up posting a destiel fic this year (my first!): The way it should've been

20. Favorite fic you've ever written?

okay so my favorite fic so far is the Prince AU (buddie), which i havent finished nor posted. i literally have written 2 chapters of it but its just... my baby. now posted posted i think its the one i just linked in the prior question. i just love the way i portrayed each of the character's thoughts.

tags! (no pressure tho): @housewifebuck @eddiebabygirldiaz @eddiediaztho @forthewolves @fortheloveofbuddie @butraura @honestlydarkprincess @hippolotamus @fionaswhvre @wildlife4life @disasterbuckdiaz 💗✨

[actuallyitsstar]

😈 Has there been a point in a story where you did something just to be playfully mean to your readers?

✍ Do you have a beta reader?

��� 🎶 ⏳💥 🎃❌

🧠 Pick a character, and I'll tell you my favorite headcanon for them.

🤩 Who is your favorite character to write?

🤲 Would you please share a snippet of a wip?

(this is so many and obviously feel free to answer however many you want!!)

✨ send me an emoji and ask me about my fanfic! ✨

😈 has there been a point in a story where you did something just to be playfully mean to your readers?

honestly, i can't say that there has been! i mean don't get me wrong, i have certainly been writing EVEN MORE ANGST AGAIN and been like. hmm. the people in my phone are gonna hate me for this :) lol. but that angst is also for ME bc like. that's my jam lol. and i never post unfinished multichaptered fics, so i feel its not likely that i'd ever do this, since i don't get feedback on my writing until after it's already completed, lol.

✍ do you have a beta reader?

i don't! i never have, actually. it is an intriguing idea but i've never been a ~serious~ enough writer for it, i don't think, and i also cringe at the idea of anyone seeing anything i've ever written before i have re read and re-edited it about 50 thousand times lol

⛔do you have a fic you started, but scrapped?

recently, no, but i have at least 10 unfinished fics for various old fandoms that are like. not *scrapped*, per se, but just uhhh unlikely to be completed any time soon lol, some being 10+ years old. i never say never but like AM i going finish that OC-au of the mentalist season 6 where somebody is trying to attack all the "psychics" in texas because they have a grudge against what some fake psychic told them like 10 years ago???? honestly, probably not, lol.

🎶do you listen to music while you write? what song have you been playing on loop lately?

yes, i do! can't write in just silence, usually, but it can't have words, either, because i can't hear Words and also Write Different Words, lol. recently i have been listening to 70s-80s Japanese city pop playlists (here is one of my favorites!) since i don't speak the language and it also is such a vibe. in the past i've also done the in love with a ghost vibes, lofi girl, and instrumental synth-wave, as well. i also really like the artist City Girl for that reason, and i think my favorite album of theirs is Neon Impasse. I listened to that on loop a lot writing ttnp!

⏳how long does it take you to write a fic, or a chapter?

this is a very difficult to answer question because it depends on a lot of factors, lol. I have written 20k words in two days before. I have also gone weeks only writing a thousand. it depends on how much free time i have (recently, almost none, lol), how much down time there is at my job (i wrote a large portion of ttnp in down time at my job, and there is not going to be job down time for the foreseeable future unfortunately, which has really put a damper on things). as long as i am at least mildly inspired or motivated, and have ample enough time, i can get a lot done, usually, but it all depends on a lot of factors.

💥how do you feel about criticism?

i am made of tissue paper pls dont hurt me akdshdjfhf i am actually very much okay with and welcoming of it, actually, bc without it, i would never improve. definitely needs to be in good faith, because being made of tissue paper isn't entirely a lie lol, but if there's something i have done poorly or something that i have the opportunity to do better next time, i am always happy to take it into consideration!

🎃do you write fics for holidays? what is your favorite holiday inspired fic?

hmmmm well i actually never have but i love the concept and i am hoping to get to do it this year ;) ;)

❌what's a trope you will never write?

for an actual trope i'd probably have to think a lot longer and harder than i have in answering these questions so far, lol, but one thing i can say, though it's not a trope, is that i'll never write smut. your local sex repulsed asexual is just not about it, lol. which is not to say ive never read and enjoyed fics w/ smut in them!!! i just skip ahead until it's over, lol.

🧠pick a character and i'll tell you my favorite headcanon for them!

omg i don't know which of us is supposed to be doing the headcanoning but i'll go ahead and assume it's you ?????? and my pick is iceman. pls tell me ur fav headcanon !!! i am excited !!!

🤩do you have a favorite character to write?

recently, it had been maverick, to no one's surprise, lol. what can i say. somethin' about the inherent trauma just speaks to me <3

🤲 would you please share a small snippet of a WIP?

HMMM...... I SUPPOSE..... A SMALL ONE......... ;)

THANK U SO MUCH for the ask !!! i loved answering all of them and i am so sorry it has been taking me so long to do everything recently oh my god. i am, as bilbo would say (im paraphrasing), feeling like butter scraped across way the fuck too much bread these days akdhfdjfhf but i rly appreciate ur asks and ur support and time and continued habit of thinking of me !!! <3 <3

[corvuserpens]

Okay. I’ve given it some thought, so here’s my two cents for the fandom:

Overall, I enjoyed season 2. I did. I binged the whole thing in less than two days, it was THAT good. And I’m rewatching it while I still can bc I won’t have Netflix anymore at the end of the month (thanks for ending the password sharing bullshit Netflix, y’all are losing five clients in a single go, congratulations). So just listen.

I had so much fun watching this, through and through. I laughed, I mourned, I aww’d, I nearly ripped my hair out at the character shenanigans (looking at you, Kaz). It was GOOD, it was cool. The changes, though... I’m not entirely sure I’m all about them. I’ll speak for the Six of Crows and King of Scars duologies because I’ve read those, I haven’t picked up the Shadow & Bone trilogy so I won’t touch up on those plots much because I have nothing to compare them to. I thought they were fine, it was fun watching it all play out and how it ended.

The good stuff first, then. The characters are all PERFECT. In fact, I think what held this show together so well was the characters themselves and seeing them all interact. WhiCH MEANS I NEED MORE TOLYA AND NINA BONDING OVER FOOD AND NIKOLAI AND KAZ TRYING TO OUTSMART EACH OTHER AND INEJ AND JESPER DYNAMICS AND-- You get it. 

I guess I’m just... disappointed that it was all so rushed. Like, when I realized we were watching basically the whole plotline for Crooked Kingdom BEFORE Six of Crows, my whole heart dropped to my feet. It was like “woah, what?” What does this mean for the Crows’ future, then? And the reason why I’m disappointed is because I was expecting it all to come MUCH LATER when we have Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom as it’s own show, just like the books.

This feels like... ew, it feels like fanservice. Like they didn’t know what to do with the Crows until they became relevant for the Shadow & Bone plot so they shoe-horned CK into it to play for time, and it made all those delicious scenes that were carefully built up in the story fall flat due to lack of context. Examples:

They killed Heleen off-screen so Inej won’t get to screw her over and get much deserved payback for being trafficked into sexual slavery; 

We don’t get ANY Helnik development that culminates into that heartbreaking last scene, and in fact we don’t even get to see Nina and Matthias interact except for a couple of scenes from a distance and Matthias’ horny daydreaming;

We don’t get to see how Wylan not being able to read affected HIS ENTIRE LIFE until he ends up with the Crows;

We get a snippet of Jesper’s backstory but THAT’S IT; 

Wesper was CUTE AS HELL I LOVE MY TWO LITTLE GAYS SO MUCH AAAAAA but again, I was looking forward to the slow burn;

Matthias allying with Pekka Rowlins in prison is kinda cool actually, I’m interested to see where that’s going plus the fact we’re not done with Rowlins yet, but I swear if they butcher Matthias’ arch for something more action packed and exciting, I am going to physically vomit;

Kaz breaking into the Slat to beat up Per Haskell’s gang as a one man army running on THE POWER OF TEENAGE HORNINESS, one of my most favorite scenes in the book that I was looking forward to, makes no sense because we never see the Dregs in the show again (that I remember, we’ll get back on that after a rewatch) so what was the point?? 

We got Kaz’s backstory, but it was spedrun through so it ends up not having much of an impact. I know if I had gone in blind without all I know from reading the Six of Crows duology, it wouldn’t have mattered much to me no matter how much I loved the character. We don’t even get to know Jordie much, and knowing a little about him is what makes his demise and Kaz’s story so crushing and compelling. This is one of the core rules of character writing, for fuck’s sake! I’m no professional but even I know this! If you don’t get to know the character, you can’t connect with that character and so anything that happens to them is just “oh that’s sad. ANYWAY.” Without having read the books, the whole thing falls apart! Can you tell how much I detest fanservice? I went into this show knowing basically nothing about it and I loved it because the story’s pace and the character moments and the twists were SO WELL CRAFTED AND PUT TOGETHER. Hell, this show is what got me running to the store to buy Six of Crows and devouring it all the way to Rule of Wolves, so again, and I cannot stress this enough, what the fuck is going on here??

Individually, the scenes related to Crooked Kingdom were great. Pretty decently adapted, and like I said, perfect character emulation. The only one I didn’t enjoy as much was Kaz helping Inej with her arm because the baggage that was supposed to build it up is missing, so it got watered down to him just cleaning that cut instead of battling through his touch aversion and winning just long enough for him to actually bandage her and treat her wounds and even managing to kiss her neck! It feels like such a victory in the book before it all comes crashing down because we got A BOOK AND A HALF worth of mutual pinning and learning how crippling it is for Kaz to even think about skin-to-skin contact. The scene I read over and over again for days, cut down to a couple of minutes of basically not much. Sad.

Also they’re setting up for Tolya to fall in love with Inej (which I can’t blame him for, I mean, it’s Inej) and I’m like “uh, NO?” Not just because Kanej is THE SHIP for me, but because... Okay, no, I admit it’s just because Kanej is THE SHIP for me, but that’s my fault. Who knows, maybe they’ll make something interesting with this. I mean, they wouldn’t permanently break up one of the most iconic couples in literature just for the giggles or (dreaded) subversion of expectations, right?... Right..........?

For the rest of it, because I read the King of Scars duology, I’m kinda mad at some of the things they changed because I was expecting Alina and Mal to have a happily ever after taking care of their 500 orphans in Keramzin? I was expecting Genya to have SOME happiness before David is killed, just cut this girl some slack, would ya??? And Mal becoming Sturmhond?? Where did THAT come from??????? WHAT ABOUT INEJ GETTING HER OWN SHIP FROM KAZ AND FOLLOWING HER NEW-FOUND DREAM OF BECOMING THE SCURGE OF ALL SLAVERS?? Sure, she’s gotta find her brother first and then they gotta find their family and all, that’s fine I guess?? At least were giving THAT some room to breathe!!

*Sigh* Look. I got a couple of theories for why this is happening.

One: as previously mentioned, Leigh Bardugo and the rest of the team didn’t know what to do with the Crows so they put in the plot of Crooked Kingdom to buy time for them. I believe it’s well understood within fandom that Shadow & Bone couldn’t have gotten as big of a deal as it did if it weren’t for the Crows, but the Crows would have stood on their own easily enough without Shadow & Bone, so they needed to give them screen time from episode one forward to keep the audience, like they did with season 1. 

Two: Leigh Bardugo and the rest of the team don’t trust Netflix to renew the show to conclusion OR green-light the Six of Crows show (which, y’know, fair), and their faith is so shaky they decided it was best to have Siege & Storm and Ruin & Rising put into a single season (heard book readers say this is what happened), plus bring in the Crooked Kingdom plot to at least give the book fans a consolation treat while still leaving enough loose ends to continue the story IF they do in fact get good news. And since I trust Leigh Bardugo to write a good story because she can, I’m giving them the benefit of the doubt and willing to believe the second case is true, because that at least makes SOME sense. If the show gets cancelled and Six of Crows never comes to life, I can live with that.

All in all, it was a hell of a ride and I enjoyed myself. It’s not what I wanted, but I had fun and that’s all that matters in the end. I give Shadow & Bone season 2 a solid 7/10. Yup.

Crow out, or... something.