#but it'd be so cool to write in the fandom

[mystycalypso]

do u ever pray u lived in an au where the show wasnt cancelled.... i wish theyd made season 3 according to their original plans then just went on hiatus until that company merger or w/e was done n they had money for s4 </3

Okay so, I was going to draw some- very fruity Laserblast art ngl, but this ask hit me enough I sat down, and opened my laptop to write a real response. I've also got the series on in the background. I started episode 1 when I began typing, and we'll see how far I am in the series before I finish typing it.

First of all, I love using au to refer to real life, honestly better than various timelines. And secondly

Absolutely. Every day of my life. Every time I draw one of the characters, or see fanart, or hear the VAs or- anything. Because- I'm insanely hyperfixated on this show. A disgusting amount, unhealthily. It's not normal lol.

And I do constantly think about what could have been, I mean, after all once again my favorite character is Laserblast of all things. Not Venomous, Laserblast. The version of that man that has like five minutes of screen time and no canon first name. So much so that when on the Saberspark Q&A when he came up in a question for quote "Me and the three other Laserblast fans" I cheered out loud, alone, in my apartment. I would have killed to not have to pull at removing his mask myself and Ian's one tweet calling him a himbo to show people characterization.

And honestly the wiki makes it all worse, in a loving way. What do you mean we were going to get multiple sitcom comfy style episodes where K.O. spends the weekend with his dad? I could've had more proof that Venomous isn't an abusive dad, just an unskilled and undisciplined one? I COULD'VE HAD AN EASIER TIME SEPERATING HIM AND SHADOWY TO OTHERS?!

And sure, I constantly wish that somehow someway I'll wake up and Ian will have announced the movie, the Hue Troop spin off, post finale storylines, the works.

But, on the other hand, here's why I'm grateful for what we did end up getting (this will probably be the longer section, sorrey)

tldwr (Too long don't wanna read): Cartoon Network is dead and pathetic and I don't wish that suffering upon this wonderful show.

So, something you guys can also notice from Ian's posts and the wiki, and just from what the cartoon industry is like in general, that getting what you want out of your series, storyline and representation wise and all that is actually pulling teeth.

For an example of later episodes, things like a seemingly Radmond episode getting changed to rad and mikayla. Or Voxman having to be pretty heavily censored (although I'm proud of the subtext they managed so heavily) which is partially because, and this isn't to take away from wlw rep and how hard it is to get on air, but is more difficult to get outright mlm representation simply because- it's harder to censor.

After all, it's much easier to pull a "they're just close friends!" Thing for two fem presenting characters, than it is for two masc ones. It sucks and they shouldn't have to be censored across different countries at all, but it's just- how it is.

Which is why, realistically, as cool as the movie centering around a voxman wedding would be incredible, I don't think it would've made it past S&P. Not to mention, even if it somehow did, It'd either suffer the fate of being a TV movie, getting limited as hell views, OR best worst case scenario, a box office release which would get hate bombed by people for it's- everything. Because people suck. I mean, even not counting homophobic people there's a disturbingly high chunk of this fandom that hates Voxman- because... *checks wiki* Oh yeah, "Evil people not being perfect good guys = bad representation"

Also, cartoon network was- already starting to die by now, with less funding each year in the first place. Meaning we don't know if it getting that funding was even an option as time went on. And the idea of getting a longer season three, with the reveal being drawn out another season like they wanted, and then potentially never getting closure on- any of it? That's horrible even to think about.

Sure, the entirety of season 3 was rushed as hell. And I cry about all the missing stuff we'll probably never get, because well there's not even a cartoon network building to make this stuff in anymore, I'm glad that we have a finished storyline and understanding of where arcs would've gone to fill in things ourselves. I mean, getting to look into and imagine all the things we didn't get to see is much more fun than theorizing on an unfinished story.

So, yeah, I do wish that somehow, someway, we will get more someday. I'm at least glad we got a finished storyline and an ending that, while rushed, is still one of my favorites. I love let's fight to the end so much, I love how much I hate shadowy figure, and I love that I can be here making content for you guys!

Well look at that, it only took me seven episodes to write this whole thing, and I get to end this rant knowing Raymond was on screen. That's cool.

[scoliosisgoblin]

But fr all the VN games specifically yandere male love interest likely not gonna finish but understandable because it’s a small project and coding is not easy as it looks. What do you think?

eh, I get having a project and losing motivation to finish it. there's so many instances of that, and I got a shit ton of projects I never finished because of the lack of motivation or art/writer's block

there's really no problem with not finishing a game or taking years to do so. it's not an easy task in any way

BUT I do think you should be able to be annoyed at how long a game is taking to come out, you can be impatient, it's fine! I hate waiting a year for another season of Rick and Morty (and the next season's only coming out next year due to grinding too hard or something), and though I do complain about the wait, I can recognize that it's not an easy thing to do — ESPECIALLY when it's an indie show

indie games will take a long time to make, and that is perfectly fine. I'm impatient but am fine waiting years for a good game. I'm pretty sure the main reason why people are verbally impatient with the development of Your Boyfriend, is because the creators have no idea who Yb is and continuously change his character's lore for some reason. not only that but they're just TERRIBLE people

[bri-does-art]

Hi, just popping in to say I'm alive, still working on the next chapter and those ask responses, everything's good. |'D In case anyone was worried!

[samiferboy]

taking a break from writing porn lest i get too cumbrained and i slipped and completely changed the setup of nyfic. oopsie! but it's fine it's better now

[robthegoodfellow]

Comment Bingo

Very simple rules: connect 5 squares in a line by completing the task in each square

Very simple goals: encourage readers to comment on fics; encourage fandom writers to KEEP WRITING

STEPS:

Download Bingo Card HERE (png) or HERE (jpg) or HERE (pdf)

Complete the tasks on the card, marking off each as you go, until you've completed 5 in a line (vertical, horizontal, or diagonal; NO double-dipping; kudos ♥️ is a free space)

REBLOG/POST your winning card (or list your filled squares) and tag @feedthefandomfest! Glory in your victory.

PROPOSED REWARD:

Bingo Badge!

@ihni and I thought it'd be fun to receive something commemorating a win (who gets bingo first isn't the point—ALL BINGOS are wins), in which case, there could be different tiers of achievement:

Bingo Badge (one line filled)

Double Bingo Badge (two lines filled)

ELITE Bingo Badge?? (ALL squares filled—for the ambitious, or at least for @ihni who will prob eat this card for breakfast)

I can make a badge with my limited Canva skills, but we thought it'd be cool if fandom artists came up with different designs? So if any artists wanna contribute, let me know.

If enough people are into this, I'm open to planning a more organized event, but figured this would be fun to try out for now.

no pressure, just tagging anyone who seemed interested: @sanguine-tenshi, @adelacreations, @redfeathered, @heartbreak-sandwich, @magniloquent-raven, @sepulchralsmile, @inquisitiveadventuress, @mrprettywhenhecries, @1jet2unknown, @iravenish, @six-demon-bag, @billyharringson, @suometar, @tciddaemina, @phoenix-burns-wildly, @lafey, @doctor-of-war-and-heartache, @supercomplicatedperson, @g-arya, @hesitantsorrows, @soap-lady, @fan-written, @we-want-mini-mini, @komatsuna-yuki, @calico-kiwi, @pinkittwice, @puppylove24680, @starcourtjesus

P.S. To facilitate unhinged liveblog comments, install the AO3 Floating Comment Box!

if you have any questions/concerns/suggestions, let me know! 💛

[oddmawd]

HOT YYH TAKE: Kurama would be awkward AF in a romance!

i often see Kurama/Shuichi Minamino characterized as very smooth, calm and collected...and he IS in most situations!

but after his human rebirth, i headcanon he mostly swears off romantic or sexual attachments...he doesn't want a repeat of the Maya fiasco and he doesn't want an SO to leak details about his past to his mother, so it's just simpler to remain unattached

and that means he is either 1) very out of practice when it comes to romance, or 2) inexperienced in the human version of romance

...or both! both is good!

once Kurama finds himself interested in someone romantically, it'll take him a minute (or twelveo) to reorient himself and figure out how all this romantic crap works...he may not even realize he's interested in them romantically or be able to recognize his own desires right away, and thus i think he'd be AWKARD AF until he really sits down to self-reflect and it'd be a huge shock to realize he's actually interested in someone(!?!?!???) after all this time

it would take him a hot minute to carefully (carefully OH SO CAREFULLY) figure out what to do, decide if he should pursue them or just ignore his feelings, and determine how to handle his emotions...he wouldn't want to fuck it up you see...and if his potential lover is a human, it'll take even more strategizing and reflecting to figure out how the heck a romance with a human would actually work in practice

he's smart and he'd get the hang of it quickly, but in the early stages i'm pretty convinced he'd come off as the strangest fucking dude on the goddamn planet...he won't become a stammering mess or anything like that (he's too cool-headed overall), but his behavior and body language would be hot-and-cold and just plain WEIRD for a bit until he figures his shit out...you may even think he hates you a little before the truth comes out!

i love the "Kurama is a perfect, smooth-talking gentleman at all times" characterization we usually fall back on as a fandom, but i think some endearing awkwardness when it comes to love and romance really suit this guy <3

(incidentally, this is the characterization i'm working with in my Kurama/OC fic The Sight Unseen and it's SO MUCH FUN to write!)

[imagine--if]

A/N: My New Year's gift to you and first attempt writing for the Grishaverse because I love it so much 🐦‍⬛🖤 and of course I had to write something for Kaz first, so let me know how you like it! I'd love to open requests for the Crows and this fandom soon and work on writing up some more fanfics for my Tumblr after a bit of a hiatus 🙂 and thanks so much for 2k followers!! This is for you all <3 Also I haven't seen a single fanfic for Kuwei??!?! which is a shocker since he's actually my favourite character lmao, might have to do something about that if anyone's interested in him 😎

Wordcount: 1.2k

Backstory: You have an indenture to Hoede and the Merchant Council - maybe you're a captured Grisha? - and Kaz decides to make you an offer.

If there was any justice in the world, Kaz Brekker would get what was coming to him.

He'd heard it many times before, spat at him in fury by outwitted merchants and marks, yelled out and pointed in his face by dirty workers who thought they could best Dirtyhands himself. And he'd give them his sharp, indifferent glance with eyes the shade of bitter coffee, and simply acknowledge their words in dry sardonic amusement, because they all knew how likely that was.

Nights in the Barrel like these, with the air spiked with damp and dirty pleasure, there was barely a difference from the dim, milky shine of the moon from the edges of a dagger. All faces were set in stone, guarded and weary and greedy, and the only boy to stand out subtly amongst them was the one who beat a steady, quick rhythm with a golden crow cane, tap tap tapping on the uneven grubby cobblestone as he marched down a dusky sidestreet.

He knew that the scheming gangs of Ketterdam led by anxious money-grabbing leaders and corrupt members of the Merchant Council would try to send someone out to keep tabs on him. It just so happened that it was you.

A new face to the dirty streets of the Barrel, admittedly a pretty one, who somehow looked completely out of place but blended in perfectly amongst the other innocent thrill-seeking tourists of the town, big eyes and a sweet smile, that made Kaz himself falter for a moment, his eyes lingering on you in a sceptical, bemused hint of interest.

"Here's your choices," were the boy's first words to you, eyes cool and barely blinking, one dark brow raised ever so slightly in keen, languid awareness.

He had led you straight to the Crow Club, a place teeming with pigeons looking for a quick win over cards - where you'd seen a tall young Zemini man with a cheeky grin and curious eyes open his mouth to chat you up, before Kaz had shot him a glare colder than ice - the faint metallic scent of kruge and alcohol in the air as he strode purposefully up to his office with you following behind in bemusement.

The noises of gamblers jeering and coins clattering and tinkering fell into a muffled hum when Kaz pushed the door to a close behind you, limping behind his desk and fixing you with that cold, unwavering look. He couldn't have been older than seventeen, with brown locks slicked back in one short swoop, a jutting chin and a watchful glare that gave nothing away. But at that moment, those eyes seemed to bore straight into yours, reading you inside out, analysing and directing you in unbridled, uncaring curiosity.

"I know you're working for Hoede. Don't give me that look. No one sold you out, if that's what you're worrying about. But I know."

You had blinked, blankly, gazing back at him in pure wonder and confusion, trying to get beyond that face of stoicism and detachment, one that could very well be a mask, if he hadn't worn it every second Dirtyhands gained his infamous reputation. He was simply what the city made him. He was Kaz Brekker.

"Know?" You'd repeated after a lingering moment of uncertainty, your eyes flitting his unchanging expression. "Hoede?"

Kaz had almost smiled then, a small amused flicker at the corner of his lips, a pull of a slight smirk that had given up before it'd started.

"I haven't figured that part out just yet," he continued dryly. "That pretty innocence. Big eyes, soft words and sweet smiles. Either you're incredibly naïve or an incredibly impressive actor. Still, I'll take the puzzle."

"The puzzle?"

"I love puzzles. Trickery is just my native tongue."

You'd blinked again, the blankness morphing to growing bewildered curiosity and slight doubtfulness. "Are you going to turn me in?"

"To who?" Kaz questioned in an unimpressed drawl, his brow raising further with a soft scoff. "The stadwatch?"

Maybe not.

"Kill me?" You tried again uneasily, your gaze intently following his movements and plain expression for any pointers or hints. You dared not to take a fleeting glance to any windows or possibly cracks to dart to and make a quick escape - this was Brekker's turf now, streets he knew like the back of his hand, and had a whole gang working for him in the palm of his hand to boot.

"An idea," he acknowledged plainly, not a flicker of unease written in his features as he mused aloud, nodding slightly to himself. "A neat one, at that. There are plenty of places a pretty young thing could go missing in these parts, and as new as you are, I doubt anyone would be eager to go tracking down your name with dogs and blazing torches."

You thought better to respond to his words, biting the inside of your lip gently and shifting where you stood by his desk uncomfortably instead.

"How much is your indenture?"

You'd hesitated for another long moment at his question, that same uncertainty rising up in your gut again. Kaz caught on before you'd even felt it, and shrugged with a light huff, sitting down behind his desk heavily.

"I'll pay it off," he stated bluntly, shark's eyes meeting yours again. "All of it. Every penny. Consider it my deposit."

The air left your lungs at his words in a hot rush of awe and confusion. I'll pay it off. Every penny. You could be free of the Merchant Council's tight grip, of being a possession of Councilman Hoede's, and go back home-

Deposit.

"Deposit for what?" You asked after the realisation of his words dawned on you, a small frown tugging at your brows in mild apprehension.

"I need a face like yours," Kaz responded easily, staring up at you in scrutinising interest, "a pretty, clean new face, to go cast the line for my marks, and reel them in. You're unsuspecting, you know that already. A sweet, pretty thing."

He'd said pretty three times now.

"Fahey will show you the ropes," he continued simply, his attention wandering now he knew he'd caught yours. "I'll make you a Crow yet. I can't think of a better investment. Can you?"

There were a million answers you may well have wanted to give him in argument, but you couldn't. You just couldn't. It was either a new chapter with these Crows and their Bastard of the Barrel, or skulking back to Hoede with your tail between his legs, and double the interest on your indenture once he'd known you'd failed in being his little lapdog, sniffing for clues about the dirtiest dealers in the dark corners of Ketterdam.

"There's a spare room just behind the ladder to the attic," Kaz answered for you in his rocksalt rasp, leaning back in his chair as he rested his golden cane to stand against his desk, the little crow's beak pointing down at the sleek hardwood surface. "Don't bother getting any things you had before at whatever lodgings Hoede directed you to, you won't be going back. You'll get new gear, maybe a new name. Just don't change that face. Or that mind. I'll need it for what comes next."

"And what comes next?" you found your voice after processing his instructions, your former trepidation subsiding and softening into a newfound wonder.

A mirror of his earlier smirk returned to tug at his thin lips, dark eyes peering back up at you, studying relaxed into contented observing.

"Tell me what you know about a Pekka Rollins."

⊱ ───────────────── {.⋅ ✯ ⋅.} ────────────────── ⊰

just realised i set myself up for part two 🫣

[randoimago]

Hi, I really enjoyed your post about the Korean reader. Can you write Duwang gang with russian s/o? I would like at least someone to write something similar with my national colouring, if you are not comfortable with it then don't worry about it and ignore the request.

Anyway thank you and good luck◉⁠‿⁠◉

Fandom: JoJo's Bizarre Adventure

Character(s): Josuke, Okuyasu, Koichi, Rohan

Note(s): I shall do my best! I also don't know much about Russian culture, but hopefully Google doesn't steer me wrong

Josuke

History and Geography aren't really his strong suits in school (he's not awful, it's just boring). So he likes hearing you talk about your home if you want. Josuke likes to compare stories.

Since he's not on the best of terms with Rohan, he tries to slowly learn Russian to talk to you in it. And he's also happy to help you with any Japanese that you might be struggling with too.

Josuke does wonder how you're doing adjusting to Japan. Sure, he knows Russia isn't a winter wonderland like stereotypes say, but Japan can get humid as all hell in the summer and really hopes you aren't dying of the temperature. He'll do his best to come up with ways to keep you cool.

Koichi

This sweet boy is asking if you're alright, Japan is a long way from home. If you're homesick then perhaps he can find some restaurant that has food similar to what Russia has. Maybe Tonio could whip up something since he's a talented chef!

Koichi is also fascinated to hear about your home too. He knows of some historical things when it comes to Russia due to his history class. And he definitely tried to learn more when he started dating you.

Being "friends" with Rohan has it's perks as Koichi is going to try to learn Russian so he can talk to you in that language. He wouldn't mind if you'd prefer to help teach him, but he likes the idea of being able to communicate with you in your native language fluently.

Okuyasu

Firstly, he asks where Russia is. He's not exactly the smartest tool in the shed. Of course he knows what Russia is (albeit more of the stereotypes with it), but he has no idea where it'd be on a map besides being some frozen wasteland (again, stereotypes).

He likes hearing about your home though. Listening to you talk about it and the things you did growing up is very interesting. Comparing childhood songs or games is something that he does often (he likes reminiscing about happier times with his family).

If you tell Okuyasu about the employed cats that Russia has then he's amazed. He's heard mythologies surrounding cats and he does own Stray Cat now and wonders if he'd be able to employ her somehow…

Rohan

Well, first thing he's doing when he learns you're Russian is asking what you know about the Baba Yaga. It just seems like some folklore that would be fantastic to reference and put into some manga series.

Rohan is pretty well traveled so he's been to Russia a couple times. He enjoys talking to you about your homeland and how it differs from Japan.

He most likely does use the stories you have of Russia for help with his manga. He'd use his stand, but he actually likes you so he's fine with listening to you talk about your childhood and things that you grew up with in Russia while he takes notes.

Taglist: @abellaheart-blog @joestarfoundation

[absolutelynotsanebaby]

okay, so I've seen this sentiment floating around with Morro that there's nothing more to do with him or that his story is entirely done. I disagree and want to share my two cents, but first I want to clarify a couple things. A) he does not have to come back to be a good and worthwhile character and B) I do not think the current conclusion to his character is bad. His story as is, is a tragedy and that's meaningful and C) that I am not trusting unreliable leak sources or 'getting my hopes up'.

Anyways, to say there's nothing to be done with his character is completely wild, and in my opinion a take more formed from fandom negative association than anything based in canon. I think it links back to some people seeing him as irredeemable, or believing without question his 'you can only save those who want to be saved' line. I said it before, but that line doesn't hurt because it's true (you wouldn't believe that with any other characters, why just him?) Morro has a compelling story, and it ends on the note that he can change and right his wrongs (dotd). His conclusion in Possession is sad but good, and his ending in DOTD is at least okay, in my opinion. However, when a character shows clear ability to change and develop, how in the world does that not lend itself to being able to continue his story? He doesn't have to come back, but if he did, there's material to play with. Morro died willingly, in the end, in Possession. I don't understand this idea that it has to cathartic for everyone. What's the crime in someone saying they would be excited or happy to see him again? There's directions to take his story in, and it's not like he's ever going to be anything like a main or strong presence in the show if he ever did come back! Not even the original six ninja are that anymore!

I'm going out on a limb and saying all the people who say Morro shouldn't come back for reasons [x] [y] [z] are going to be the same people who dislike he takes that Harumi shouldn't come back in DR, right? Is it because people think she's irredeemable, or that her story is 'better left done' and it'd be 'bad writing' to bring her back? Be bad for Lloyd? That's what a lot of you sound like to me. Additionally, you're allowed to have your own opinions, obviously but it's getting frustrating to see posts asking people to be less mean about the idea of him coming back filled with tags that go 'and here's why I think he shouldn't come back--' or two mutuals of mine both express the sentiment of pulling back a little from the fandom because of the recent negativity towards Morro. To be honest, sometimes it feels like a lot of people just groan whenever he's mentioned at all (because of the aforementioned fandom negative association) which, that's obviously going to be discouraging and un-motivating for people who do post a lot about him! Anyways, point is, be nicer and also stop mischaracterizing him because it's cool now or whatever 👍

[dixonsdarkelf]

2024 Wrapped

GIF by me, dividers by @anitalenia

I wouldn’t call this a yearly wrap-up as I’ve only been posting since October 1st, but here we are.

Wow, 2024’s been a hell of a year professionally, personally, and on here. I started writing again for the first time since the pre-pandemic days, had my 5-year anniversary with my partner, found myself in this lovely little corner of the fandom & made some new friends along the way. After only writing OC content my whole life, I finally took the leap and started doing x Reader content, and that’s been fun so far. It’s been a wild few months.

No one asked for this part, but I figured I'd give a little bit of an origin story as to how the hell I even ended up here.

I hatched an idea one day, that idea being the existence of my sweet little angel Vec (Lydia Vector). She just popped into my brain one day after having not thought about TWD in ages. Then my brain said “she’s gonna be Daryl’s love interest.” And after not having done any writing in years (I started creative writing when I was 14), I said “well…guess I’m doing this now.” So I began posting on AO3 and Wattpad and eventually made my way over here. And it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

If you found me on here from reading my content on another platform, thank you, and I'm happy to have you here.

When I first started posting on here, I felt like a teeny, tiny drop in a sea full of big names (probably because I was) (I still feel that), and that was intimidating enough to almost make me stop altogether. But I've met some of the best people through this app, and I feel like I finally found a little corner of the internet where I belong.

Shout-outs to the homies:

@francisofthespook you were one of my first followers, and I still remember when I came on one day and saw that you had binged a bunch of my content & how happy that made me. Thank you for suggesting creative content for me to do (like create playlists & the whole NSFW alphabet thing we did). I adore you 💙

@holdmytesseract Maddie, you are such a sunny, bright presence on this app, and I’m beyond honored that I get to call you one of my mutuals. You leave some of the sweetest comments I've ever received, and I’m excited to (hopefully) become friends 🧡

@gothic-pumpkin I can’t express how happy I am that I reached out to you. When I saw we had the same taste in music and men (Norm characters lmao), I knew we would be friends. Our conversations always make my day 🤎

@weirdoneattheparty you are such a light & so kind, friendly, and welcoming to everyone in this space. You're also such icon for those audios you manage to find and make all crispy and clear, I love you for that (and more ofc) 💛

@negansbestie you are truly one of the sweetest and most friendly people I’ve met on this app. You always have the nicest things to say, and seeing you in my activity tab always makes me smile 🤍

And last, but certainly not least, @dixons-sunshine. God, where do I even begin with Krys? She is my favorite writer on this app & was the first person I really admired on here. I remember thinking "damn, if she even looked at something of mine, just once I would feel like the coolest person ever." And then we became mutuals and I thought "it'd be so cool to be friends with her, she seems awesome." Then I made a simple comment, talking about how my OC (Vec) and hers (Georgie) would definitely be besties in an alternate universe, thinking nothing would come of it. And that one comment spiraled into an entire AU and a beautiful friendship. Krys is one of the most down-to-earth, kind, supportive, funny people I've had the pleasure of knowing. It's crazy to me that I can just text you whenever, whether it AU planning or just random life shit. And thank you for showing me how to make cool shit to make my blog look sick and make cool things for our AU. I love you sm 💜

I'm also honored to be getting to know @angelwings-crossbowstrings, @lazyneonrabbitt, @deansapplepie, @dixondystopia, @enlightndone & @shadowcitrine. You're all lovely, and thank you for being such welcoming presences in this little corner of the internet 💚

And of course, our Royal Council, aka our ‘Quarters of the Undead’ readers/taglist people: @kat-herine00 @gothic-pumpkin @weirdoneattheparty @negansbestie @ffsjustletmesleep @holdmytesseract This AU is still in its infancy, and we have so much planned. Thank you for joining us on this journey so early on ❤️

Works I'm most proud of:

Finding Myself, Finding You (the fic that started it all)

Lydia Rae Vector, OC profile (naturally, I'm most proud of my little unhinged baby angel)

Flattery: Daryl Dixon & Fem!Reader (first attempt at x Reader content)

Something Good (first installment in the QOTU AU)

Thank you all for some of the best months of this year. I love you all, and I'm excited to see what happens in 2025 🖤

[fruity-pontmercy]

Les Mis adaptations and apolitical appropriation

I think it's no secret on this blog that I love the original Les Mis 1980 concept album in French, and that I also love comparing different versions of the stage musical. I've noticed that Les Mis seems to get progressively more vaguely apolitical as time goes on, not only in the way it's viewed in our culture, but in the actual text as well.

It's natural for specifics to be lost in adaptation. It's easier to get people to care about 'the people vs. the king' in a relatively short musical rather than actually facing the audience with the absolute mess that were 19th century french politics (monarchist orleanists vs monarchist legitimists vs imperialist vs bonapartist democrats vs every flavour of republican imaginable). Still, I feel that as time goes on, as more revivals and adaptations of the stage musical come out, the more watered down its politics become. Like, Les Mis at it's core is just meant to be a fancily written, drawn out political essay, right?

In a way I feel that the 1980 concept album almost tried to modernise it with its symbols of progress. Yes, through Enjolras' infamous disco segment (and other similar allusions to the ideals of social change), but perhaps most interestingly to me, through one short line that threw me off when I first heard it, because it seems so insignificant, but might actually be the most explicitly leftist line of all of Les Mis.

"Son coeur vibrait à gauche et il le proclama" (roughly "His heart beat to the left and he proclaimed it" i.e: he was a leftist) Feuilly says, while speaking of the now dead général Lamarque in Les Amis de L'ABC.

What's that? An actual mention of leftism??? in MY vaguely progressive yet apolitical musical??? More seriously, this mention of leftism, clashing with the rest of the musical due to it's seeming anachronism, is interesting not because it's actually more political than anything else in Les Mis, rather, because it's not scared to explicitly name what it's trying to do.

But we've come a long way from the Concept Album days, it's been 43 years, and Les Misérables is now one of the most famous and beloved musicals in the entire world. It's been revived and reimagined and adapted in a million ways, in different mediums, in different languages and countries, and it's clear that it's changed along with it's audience.

On top of pointing out a cool line in my favourite version of the musical, I wanted to write this post to reflect on the perception of the political message of this work. We as a Les Mis fandom on Tumblr are very political, I don't need to tell you that, however, I feel that because this very left leaning space has sprung out of a work we all love so much, we oftentimes forget to revisit it from a more objective point of view.

Les Misérables has a history of being misrepresented, this has been true since it's publication, since american confederate soldiers became entranced with their censored translation Lee's Miserables. However, with it's musical adaptation, this misinterpretation has been made not only more accessible but also easier. As much as I love musical theatre and I think it is at it's best an incredible art form able to communicate complex themes visulally by the masses for the masses, I think it'd be idealistic to ignore the fact that the people who can afford to go see musicals regularly are, usually, not the common folk. Broadway and the West End are industries which, like most, need money to keep them afloat, and are loved people of all political backgrounds (and unfortunately, often older conservatives) not just communists on tumblr. We've seen the way Les Miz UK's social media team constantly misses the mark regarding different social issues, and the way Cameron Makintosh has used the musical to propagate his transphobia, and most of us can agree that these actions are in complete antithesis with the message of Les Misérables as a novel.

But I must ask, how does Les Mis ,as a West End musical in it's current form, actually drive a leftist message, and how are we as a community helping if every time someone relating to the musical messes up if we just claim they "don't get it"?

I'm thinking in particular of incidents like last october, where Just Stop Oil crashed Les Mis at the West End. Whether you think it's good activism or not is not the question I think, this instance is interesting particularly because it shows that, outside of Les Misérables analysis circles and fandom spaces, it is not recognised as an inherently leftist, political or activist work, and instead of just saying they completely missed the point of the musical, I think it'd be interesting to take a step back and look at what the musical as it stands actually represents in our culture today.

I don't pretend to have all the answers, so I won't try to give one, but I do hope we can reflect on this a bit.

[sunsets12]

I love tsiyw but I'm not gonna lie, sometimes I feel kinda bad. Everyone else is out here really excited and looking forward to seeing nico and thalia interact with panem and the hunger games (and just as excited to see panem react to nico and thalia + react to them being demigods and the Greek myth world) and im out here so very invested in the panem and hunger games side of the story (and percy's part in it) that I literally constantly forget that nico and thalia are even a part of this fic and on their way to thg world

Because I love your writing and fic so much, when I do remember them, I'm intrigued and looking foerward to see how you'll integrate them into the story, but (and this is also thanks to my percy-biased heart) I just don't have the same enthusiasm for nico and thalia to arrive and be a part of the story, as everyone else seems to do, and i feel kinda bad for that. Like my brain and heart is out here pretending this is a only-percy-appears-from-the-pjo-universe fic and then i see someone else on your tumblr mention nico and/or thalia and im like "oh yeah, forgot that, they're here too," like this is all news to me when I've been reading this fic for a while now

I also love it in crossovers when things remain a mystery and an enigma so I just can't imagine the whole Greek myth world and them being demigods just being showcased and told to the whole of panem. I can't even imagine them telling only the revolution even if it'd be to give them more pieces to work with. And also like, if percy is going to ascend to godhood, then how would knowledge of the Greek myths and him being a son of poseidon add up to that? Like. Percy ascending to godhood through people's beliefs is more to do with his own power and people's perception of him, than him being a demigod. If people latch onto him just being a demigod then wouldn't there be a risk of people's beliefs stopping at that rather than seeing him as something more that then throws him into the path of ascending? Ascension needs belief and faith, and those things could be affected and impacted in wrong ways if there's too much knowledge about him into the mix. Like the less mystery and enigma-like percy seems, the more people's beliefs in him being more is halted

But I am very intrigued to find out what you'll do with nico and thalia once they show up and I hope you'll prove my percy-biased heart wrong and that they'll be cool to see in panem

Anyway, sorry for rambling. I hope this wasn't a weird ask to send, I've just been blindsided a few too many times now when I've scrolled through your tumblr and suddenly been reminded *once again* that nico and thalia is also a part of this fic and I wanted to share some of my thoughts about it, even though I'm also kinda worried it could be taken as me not loving all parts of TSIYW as much as I actually do. Because I do. I really love your fic with all my heart and i love your writing, it's so evocative. I jusf feel kinda bad that I'm not as excited about thalia and nico's part as everyone else seems to be

Well the Percy Jackson fandom is significantly larger/more active than the Hunger Games fandom, so that's probably why so many people are excited for more pjo characters to show up! Also, I've had Percy & Nico & Thalia tagged since the first chapter of this fic, so I can't blame people for being excited for them to finally show up 😅

With that being said, a vast majority of this fic IS only-Percy-in-Panem (we're 140k+ words in and Nico and Thalia still haven't shown up), so don't worry too much :)

[possibly-in-wonderland]

introductions

hey, welcome to our blog!

collectively, our name is alice, and collectively we use they/it pronouns, but we don't mind if you ask who's out and about or lurking (sometimes it's not who you think) :P

{more information below}

*PL3AS3 TAK3 TH3 TIM3 T0 R3AD TH3 3NTIR3 P0ST, W3 MAD3 IT R3AL PR3TTY S0 Y0U'D STAY 0N TRACK*

Alice's Personal Project Status

note: we're pro endo, but don't care if anti endo's interact, as long as they leave harassment at the door (a "wipe your paws" policy). syscource is NOT allowed on this blog.

hey, little more about us:

we're bodily 19 and use "we" and "i" interchangeably (as stated in the userbox above). we're learning norwegian and our hobbies include noodling around on the guitar, crocheting, writing, urban and rural adventure, making collages, and looking for pirate radio stations. we're also ordained because we thought it'd be funny. side note, we may have a(u?)dhd and maybe some other things.

note: we're self-diagnosed, but we do a shitload of research before actually saying we're something. unfortunately, we have no access to anyone who can properly diagnose us with anything (and with the soggy wet cheeto that bought his way into office, we doubt that's gonna happen anytime soon, so bear with us).

anyway, this blog is mostly fandom stuff and shitposts we find funny (along with other miscellaneous things). DIS and i are working on a slenderverse series so you might hear about that a bit (and some roleplay stuff). we also bitch about the government and laws. a lot.

often yapped about fandoms here:

the habitualhybridverse (referring to @/habitual-creatures)

slenderverse

creepypasta

fnaf

minecraft

(more to be added)

tags:

we plan on better tagging our stuff from here on out. we've been better about cw tags lately, but we're referring to posts regarding who's posting/reblogging what.

Alice M. | Pronouns/Genders: 🗝️.txt

DISC0RD | They/It/Bun: 🕕🐇.txt

K.D | He/They/It: zombie posting

Unnamed Catfish | ???: 🐱🐟.txt

Damsel/Steph | She/They: 🫀🖌️.txt

Zooble | They/Them: 🧩.txt

Brian | He/They: 📟.txt

Bugs | He/They/She: 🐰🥕.txt

Anya | She/Her: 📓.txt

Cecil | He/They: 👁️‍🗨️🎙️.txt

Nightmare Bonnie | He/They/It: 🎸🐰.txt

Kat | She/They: 🥽.txt

Jon | He/They: 👁️‍🗨️📼.txt

Elena | She/Her: 🩰.txt

Sasha | She/Her: 🥡📚.txt

Alice D. | She/Her:

Needles | He/They/It: 🪡.txt

Jack | They/Them: 🦝⛓️.txt

Evan | He/Him: ⚔️.txt

Ash | He/Him: 🦾.txt

we doubt our resident fish friend's gonna really post, but it's there if they want it.

ask posts: ask.txt

hate mail: Hail to The King Baby

recipes: recipebook.txt

original writing posts: ink.txt

sideblogs:

@alice-the-arcane | alice's personal witchy blog

@joannes-journal | habitualhybridverse rp blog

@cinnamontoastedwords | steph's personal blog

@wonderland-after-dark | 18+ masochistic thought blog (mdni)

and though we don't write fanfiction (much anymore), we do still write. here's our masterlist.

masterlist

misc things:

don't send those "send this to x-amount of people" inbox asks. tagging in posts? cool with. the other thing? no. too much pressure.

[blackfliesinbluesugar]

I really don't understand why the show is paced like this, I just don't? Even if they were told at production they would ONLY have 8 episodes, low chance of a s2, that this was all they'd get - I dunno, how is sucking all of the fun and investment out of your plot the best solution outside of, like, writing what you reasonably can and then maybe trying for a comic book or something? Again, I know that's shit feeling, I know it'd suck, I know it'd hurt. But again, even if this is the only medium you WANT to tell your story in, how is telling it BADLY the answer? It's crashing 50k words of fic into a list of bulletpoints.

I don't care about any of these characters. Not because I'm some spurned anti or someone who went in ready to hate - I've fandomed this show since June 2019. I've been obsessed with these characters and world. I have written nearly half a million words of fanfiction for these guys, including all of the background characters they keep giving love like Molly and Mimzy and Rosie. But that's all fanon, and I know how to seperate that in my brain. Which means I love the idea of these characters - I'm thrilled to see even the little cameos, It feels like fanservice in a way that makes me buzz with energy - but I don't love the characters. In canon, I don't care about Alastor, or Husk, or Charlie. I actively feel disinterest in ones like Camille and Vaggie and Adam. They have no depth, only gesturing at interesting ideas and trauma. Angel, I'm STARTING to care about, but they only gave him a real personality AFTER dropping all of his trauma on us. So great. It's discord group chats all over again.

Just.. why. Is doing 3 seasons worth in 1 season really worth it? Is it, frankly, better than nothing at all? I cared more about these guys when I had the privelege of assuming they'd have deep developed arcs and connections, that the hotel denizens would get a chance to bond and interact and flesh themselves out. Now they're pretty png's standing vaguely near each other, occasionally breaking into song or crying about their past. Big whoop.

I wish s1 had developed the hotel solely - no Velvette, no Camille, no Zestial, no Mimzy, no Sera or Emily or Lucifer or Lilith, and then saved that stuff for s2 when we CARE about our protagonists and can afford to care about other characters, instead of all of them being 'cool, I guess'

I'm sad. I'm really sad. I waited over 4 years for a slideshow.

[olderthannetfic]

A fandom friend is convinced there's something wrong with me and I must have self-worth issues because normal people with healthy self-esteem and self-image wrote OCs as a kid that were self-inserts. I didn't, I wrote characters who were basically whatever I thought was cool at the time (which changed a lot over the years) and into something weird to add flavor to them. So instead of my Arab, ADHD AFAB self writing Arab ADHD AFAB OCs who shared my interests, I'd have a white autistic guy whose special interest was geology and who also loved basketball (I hate sports), or a black agender kid who had some symptoms of schizoaffective disorder, was really into art and art history and loved sweets. One character would be cool like my dad, always witty and ready to say a cool one liner, and another would be cool like my mom, calm, controlled and never responding to haters. None of them share much in common with me. And my friend is convinced this is a mental health red flag, because normal people and even abnormal people always write OCs who are like themselves, idealized versions of themselves, or otherwise are some degree of self-insert.

The more I think about it, the weirder I feel for not doing this. It feels like I didn't do fandom correctly, but also, maybe she's right? Maybe there is something wrong with not putting myself into my narratives. Why wouldn't I put myself in my fics if I liked myself? It's really unsettling to think about but I think I've realized she might have a point.

Then I thought of you. You've been in fandom way longer than either of us (we're both teenagers, for context) and you know a lot about fandom and psychology. So I figured if anyone could tell me what this says about me, it'd be you. What does it mean if you never wrote any OCs with self-insertion components and just kind of wrote random things instead? Does it mean anything bad?

--

Your friend is a moron.

'Fantasies about self' vs. 'no fantasies about self' is a major division among people. It's not just a page on the asexuality wiki about sex fantasies but an entire axis of interest. Hang around slash/BL fandom in particular and you will find a metric fuckton of people who never self-inserted.

Self inserts make my skin crawl.

It is a feeling of visceral disgust that was always there. How can anyone like that? Don't ask me to. Don't tell me about it. Ew, ew, ew, ew. It's like a mild form of dysphoria it's that bad sometimes.

Tell your friend to stop using Wattpad as the litmus test for normalcy.

Some of us were always more AO3.

[fascinatedhelix]

Okay, so I've been getting pretty weird about the Predator franchise lately, and something I've noticed with the fandom is that hardly anybody acknowledges the whole Yautja infared vision thing in fics. Ramble below:

I know the human experience with color is kind of important to how we visualize things, but I find it boring not to explore the worldbuilding implications of a species that sees purely in temperature.

Did you know that glass acts as a mirror when you point an infared camera at it?

[Image ID: Two photos of the same window side by side. The first is a shot taken from a digital camera, where you can see the trees clearly on the other side of the glass. The second photo is from an infared camera, and only shows a reflection of the photographer.]

I mean, they probably have special equipment that lets them see through windows and stuff, but still, it'd influence their perspective in so many interesting ways. Not only would it affect their aesthetic sensibilities (they have no sense of color, only temperature; how would that affect their art, their clothing, their very writing system? would they be able to read anything written or printed on paper? Are they even aware of the variety of colors and patterns their own species comes in?), but also how they'd interact with humans outside of a hunt.

I'm not going to lie, a solid chunk of Predator fics are oc-insert romance fiction, and I don't mind that at all, but I wish people would write their monster boyfriends with the cool bit of alien biology they canonically have.