#but this was more for the fandom too haha

[dkniade]

🌌💫🌒

Fan art of @kianamaiart’s characters from I Don’t Want To Be A Magical Girl! (with glasses, ft misc glasses characters & two IDWTBAMG universe fan characters)

I’ve been following this project from the start so it’s been great seeing interactions between the characters and how the fandom is so excited for it. ^^

I tried to draw the cast from memory and, while Miss seems a little different from canon, at least I got the dark hair roots and strands sticking out lol. But details aside they’re all recognizable! Which means they’re lovely designs that are unique from one another✨

Eclipse’s shades are a combination of his usual eye mask and the shades from this artwork, and Hoshi’s glasses are inspired by this one!🌒⭐️

Designs… (I don’t have a name for her yet but) the pigtails girl’s shapes are a combination of curves pointing downwards and curves pointing upwards. The idea ended up being that she’s on Eclipse and Lady DeVoid’s side so (after reading this post by Kiana about how most of the characters had Aika’s design as the springboard and are designed to complement eachother) I wanted her design to complement those two’s, with some influence from Zira. I like that the strands of hair on her forehead and the shape around them mirror both Zira’s hair and DeVoid’s horns haha. Plus, I was trying to figure out how to design her glasses and they ended up being kind of the inverse of Eclipse’s eye mask, which is very nice. Eclipse and DeVoid seem to be associated with sharp curves and circle shapes; maybe her outfit could be a lot fancier…

As for what her role might be in the story… I dunno, if she works with Eclipse and DeVoid, and Eclipse is all ~theatric and grand~ then maybe she could be like… his assistant… or something? Who knows. Or, I say “observer from afar” so perhaps she actually gets along with Zira well and they’d watch on the sidelines while Aika and Eclipse duke it out…?

Eclipse… Moon… Umbra… man what if I just name the pigtails girl Yueshi (月食, lunar eclipse)(for both the moon motif that Zira and Eclipse have, and the darkness motif that Eclipse and DeVoid have haha)

Shooting star and telescope don’t feel quite right, but with the circular shapes and the lunar eclipse, I could kind of see her having some star trail motifs with her sweater…

I guess Umbra would be the same type of elf (? darkness/concept personified?) as Lady DeVoid but I’m not sure haha. We don’t have much information on DeVoid other than the fact that she is darkness itself and that she lost most of her powers which she can’t remember how to use. Banished by a Star Guardian, revenge, recruiting Eclipse to help spread the darkness particles to destroy the Star Guardian… If she has a similar backstory to MLP:FIM’s Princess Luna then does that mean she was originally Aika’s teammate or something? haha

About Umbra’s hair… (Feel free to correct me for any inaccuracies.) I think from the reference photos I was trying to draw box braids but got so focused on also making the braids look like moon phases that I’m not sure if it’d still be box braids in the end? They seem more like cornrows now, at least for the side ones?

Here are some earlier versions of the OCs! and more rambling about designs

Well, initially I scribbled down Yueshi so I could experiment with values because I was thinking about how light-coloured pants draw the eye too much if the outfit or the top half of the character is darker. (Half way through she ended up looking like a IDWTBAMG character so I tried to match the proportions with Aika’s turnaround.) But I suppose if there’s enough contrast for the upper half (and IDWTBAMG’s stark black design style gives a lot of contrast) then it works out better. I think the combination of making Yueshi’s hair and the top half of her sweater black and the circle shape white worked out okay. Initially she had large round eyes so I tried giving her round glasses too but since she ended up being a fan character in the universe, it was too similar to Aika and Zira.

Umbra’s design kind of popped into my mind today so I tried to scribble it down and experimented with hairstyles. But green and purple are already associated with Zira, and that shade of lavender is more like Eclipse so I guess I’ll fiddle around with her colour scheme more. Maybe there’s not enough of the signature black there, and both could use some more details to match the level of details in the canon designs… (If Yueshi works under DeVoid then she’d probably get a fancy outfit too.) Then again, Umbra is more like Miss in terms of detail so it seems she’d be a background/supporting character or something…🤔

(I can’t seem to escape the puffy sleeves/cone shape silhouette🤔 Gotta diversify. Also, not sure if it’s ‘cause of the project’s style or if I just really love circles in character design haha)

[psychemochanight]

Who has your favorite underated relationship with Dick that you wish was talked about more?

Thank You! 🙂

Honestly? I feel like any of Dick's relationships with his friends could be talked about more.

Like, we know details of how he gets along with each other, but I feel like they always develop them at too general a level, or never in a completely particular way to get to know an exclusive dynamic.

Maybe the ones who need this the least would be Donna and Wally, but I still want more of them haha

Maybe Garth? I feel like the fandom especially has him pretty neglected when it comes to mentioning Dick's original friends. Me included- I don't usually talk about them much, even if I usually only talk about Donna and Wally, I even mention Roy more than Garth-

And within his family, I would like to see Duke hanging out with him more, because the fandom has this perspective that Duke hates Dick when that is not the case-

And with Steph, just because I like them- :D

[evangelinesilly]

intro post <3

hii i'm ev or ash !! he/him, bi and trans ^^ (I am also a minor lol)

i'm in a lot of fandoms !! just ask plsplspls I can yap about absolutely anything I do not stop talking actually trust

fandoms: BSD, PJSK, EPIC (the musical), MCYT, MTP, FNAF, Studio Investigrave, TIOS, ALNST, Mouthwashing, arcane, pokemon, and more lol

i've watched a lot of anime/read a lot of manga too so just ask really,,

i absolutely love classical literature, discussing it and reading it, and i'm usually up for a discussion on things because I absolutely LOVE to talk haha

my music taste varies from jazz to singing robots HELP if it sounds good I listen to it....

i am looking for friends as I haven't been online a while!! pls feel free to message

[writingdevil]

Hello! In honor of cheabroken being canon in Tongues and Teeth, I wanted to request their first kiss! Did it come naturally after being comfortable with each other for so long? Was it an awkward attempt after Stubborn interrupted them last time? Or maybe Contrarian was right and they really are worse than Smitten haha (considering how passionate they both are about their feelings, I can totally see it)

Either way, I wanted to thank you! I love how you write all the voices and the dynamics between them (even if I have very clear favorites), and I always get excited when you post a new story. I hope you have a great day and a wonderful life :)

(OH MY GOD THIS IS SUCH A SWEET ASK!Thank you and I hope that YOU have an amazing day and an even more amazing life!Thank you for your sweet words, I love hearing that people get excited whenever I post stuff.It's mad to think that two months ago, I was just reblogging stuff and not interacting THAT much with any fandom, and now I'm making you all happy with my writing!Anyways-Cheabroken!Yes!I love them and I'm so happy to write more of them!Enjoy!)

Cheated has never been more stressed in his fucking life.

The entire week, he's been wracked with anxiety and stress so bad, that he finally understood and sympathized with Paranoid.

Cheated worked nonstop just for this day-he went over everything that he would say, he made sure all the preparations were in order, and he did everything he could to make sure that nothing went wrong for him.It almost felt like he was asking for something bad to happen.

The reason why he was so stressed, was because today was the day that Cheated was going to ask Broken out.

He's known about his feelings for Broken for awhile. Ever since they were gifted their own bodies and they had that argument with Smitten and Skeptic all those months ago, Cheated had found himself getting more and more drawn to Broken.At first, it had just been the obligation to give Broken room to air his thoughts, without others either putting pressure on him or putting him down.

Cheated believed that they were all a part of the Long Quiet for a reason, and that every voice meant something to Him, so thinking that one voice was lesser than the others was an insane thought to Cheated.They were all shards of the same mirror.They had all been important to Him, once upon a time.

That kindness obviously extended to Broken as well, who had been so devastated and terrified at realising that his princess was no longer with him, leaving him feeling lost and worthless. It had been scarily easily for Smitten and Skeptic to pick him up, and practically whisk him away for their goal. Cheated had been too confused at the time to really understand what was going on, but he got there in the end.

At the start, Cheated believed that he needed to be the person that stuck up and talked for Broken, because otherwise Broken would just let everyone walk all over him. When they were arguing with Smitten and Skeptic, Cheated was surprised at how Broken actually stood up for himself pretty well, and then he was even more surprised at the screaming match he had with Stubborn, but he was surprised in such a positive way.

Broken was slowly but surely picking himself up and making himself move forward, even if he had very little belief in himself or his abilities-but Cheated couldn't help but admire everything about Broken.To be someone so lost in sorrow, but refusing to back down-that was exactly the type of strength and resolve that Cheated wished he had.

Cheated didn't need to defend Broken as much as he thought he did, but he still found himself being drawn in by his quiet brilliance and his kind and empathetic heart, and over the course of a few months, was spending all his free time with Broken.

He wasn't sure when he realised that he was falling in love with Broken. All he knew was that he was beginning to come to terms with how much he just stared at Broken, at his hypnotic eyes and his small, fluffy feathers that were finally growing back in. He would sit and stare and not even register what someone was saying because he was too busy thinking about how fucking pretty Broken was. Seriously, why wasn't Broken the one being worshipped?Cheated would've happily become a devoted follower.

Then it was thoughts like that-that made him think that maybe his feelings weren't quite platonic.

After that, it quickly dawned on him how flustered and nervous he got around Broken, or how his thoughts would be pulled back to thinking about Broken and what he was doing, or admiring how he smiled or laughed sometimes,or even daydreaming about what Broken would say to him in certain situations.

He believed that these thoughts were normal, until Stubborn managed to clock him in the face one day, all because he apparently looked 'worse than Smitten when talking about his darling.'

That was the smack in the face he needed.Literally.

He was in love with Broken.

With that realisation, came feelings of both horror and nerves, because Cheated wasn't sure if it was fair to Broken to pour his heart out to him, after how his last 'relationship' went.Would a relationship be something that Broken even wanted anymore?If Cheated asked and Broken said yes, would he only be saying that in the name of self preservation, to keep Cheated happy and himself safe?

Cheated hated the thought of doing that to Broken, of making him revert back to his old ways, and a part of him wanted to just keep these feelings to himself forever, for Broken's sake.

But then that other louder, and angrier side of him, smacked him upside the head, because assuming those things about Broken was ignoring all the growth and progress he had made in the last few months, and it was just making Cheated look like a dickhead.

Broken wasn't some sad and scared little creature that couldn't think for himself.He's proved Cheated wrong on that front many times, and each time made Cheated admire Broken more and more.Sure, he had moments where he didn't feel like getting out of bed and doing anything, or thoughts that made him believe that he didn't deserve to be here, but he had a whole flock to lean on.

Of course Cheated was there, and he was happy to take Broken on walks to help him clear his head and go outside more, and everyone else cared about him as well. Paranoid fretted over his wellbeing and if he was eating enough, Hero helped get his wings back to a much more healthy state, and even Smitten was doing his best to help, teaching him about gardening and caring for plants, and it all looked like it was helping Broken tremendously.

Broken was getting better, and Cheated would make sure to treat Broken with nothing less than pure love and respect, and he would make sure that Broken knew that every step of their relationship.

If he said yes.

That was the fear that had been clinging to Cheated all week-that Broken would say no, because getting fucked over at a time like this seemed to be exactly the type of thing to happen to Cheated.

Which was why he was so stressed, because he was doing everything in his power for this night to not go wrong, which-given who Cheated was, seemed like an impossible task.But he was nothing if not a fighter for what he believed in.

He had planned to take Broken out into a peaceful and secluded part of the woods, have a nice dinner, and at the end, Cheated would confess his feelings, and hope his heart didn't get crushed into a million pieces.

He had thought of and planned for everything that could potentially go wrong tonight.He asked Hunted to help him find the perfect spot to take Broken, trusting the other's judgement. He also needed to make sure nobody interrupted them or swooped Broken away at the last minute, so he pleaded to Oppy and Paranoid to make sure that nobody bothered them, and although they laughed at his desperation, they agreed.

Finally, the food.As much as Cheated wanted to make it, he knew that he would either somehow poison it or burn it to a crisp, so he enlisted someone else to do it.

He was extremely hesitant to ask Smitten, their resident chef, because once Smitten got a whiff of romance in the air, there would be no stopping his delusions and over the top ideas for the quiet date Cheated wanted, so he was pleasantly surprised to find that Hero could cook, and he happily agreed to do it for him, merely wishing him luck and that they find happiness together.

That did bring a tear to Cheated's eye, not that he'd ever admit it.

The one and only thing that Cheated couldn't account for was the weather.So he spent hours last night kneeling and praying to the Long Quiet or the Shifting Mound, or anyone that took pity on him, that a storm wouldn't be dropped on Cheated's head tomorrow.

He woke up to clear skies.

Cheated no longer cared if he lived with the worst luck imaginable for the rest of his life, so long as today went perfectly.

-

"Where are we going?"

"It's a secret."

Cheated giggled as he kept his hands placed firmly over Broken's eyes, carefully guiding them to their private area. Broken had been confused, but very curious, as Cheated asked to take him somewhere.

He could feel Broken's feathers tensing underneath his palms, and he leaned closer so that he could whisper,"It's okay, you're gonna like this."

Despite his words, he felt Broken freeze and tense up beneath him, feathers fluffing up and tickling his hands.Thankfully, he didn't have to dwell on it for long, as he said,"Here we are."

He stopped, and let his arms fall, hearing Broken gasp as he took in the display.

They were in the middle of an area that consisted of soft, tame grass, as if from a field, with no jagged rocks or twisting weeds in sight, surrounded by a protective wall of imposing trees.In the middle of the grass, was a tree stump, which Cheated had chopped down himself, with many splinters to show for it. He had then chopped the tree further, making logs to use as seats on either side of their tree stump table.

The scent of food wafted over to them, and Cheated's mouth salivated at the smell of the vegetables and cooked meat Hero had prepared for them.

Broken spun back around to face him, eyes wide in shock and wonder, but Cheated just grinned in anticipation, gently turning him back around by the shoulders to the table, pointing up at the sky as he said,"Wait for it."

Broken obeyed, silently looking up-just in time for a cloud to float past, and letting the light of the moon spill down directly onto the table, illuminating the whole area in moonlight.

Broken gasped, and Cheated leaned over to look at his face.He seemed shocked, but happy, and happy was what Cheated was going for right now.

"Do you like it?"Cheated asked, and once those awestruck eyes were on him, he was suddenly hit with a wave of embarrassment and anxiety.His face heated up and he started to stumble over his words."I-I really hope you like it.I-um-did this for you-to give you a good time.Is-is it okay?"

Broken stared at him for a few seconds, before looking back out at all that Cheated had prepared. He raised a hesitant hand towards his chest and said,"You did all this-for me?"

"Yeah, of course!"Cheated wrapped an arm around Broken and started to walk him over to the table."I wanted to do something nice for you."

"You didn't have to,"Broken muttered, looking down at the ground.

Cheated rolled his eyes."I didn't have to, but I wanted to."

Broken still seemed unsure as they sat down, but Cheated allowed him a few minutes to get comfortable, until he eventually saw the tension and apprehension leave his body.Broken casted a wary glance out in the distance, and Cheated casually waved a hand in the air and said,"Oh, don't worry, we're not in any danger."

That wary look was then directed at Cheated, who couldn't help but think it looked cute."How do you know?"

"I had Hunted scout this place out for me.There's not a monster in sight, and I've got Hunted guarding the perimeter tonight, just in case."

"Really?"Broken gave him a surprised look, then glanced around them, pinning his eyes on a random spot of the dark trees, and Cheated chuckled as Broken lifted a hand and waved into the distance, seemingly saying hello to Hunted. Cheated had no idea where Hunted was right, only that he hadn't needed much convincing to guard them tonight, and Cheated weirdly felt way more safe and secure with Hunted around, because that was one less thing that could go wrong.

"You've-"Broken said,a suspicious tone in his voice as he took in all of Cheated's work,"put a lot of thought into this.Why?"

Cheated gave him a soft smile, reaching over and placing a hand atop of his, his thumb brushing knuckles.Broken froze, and stared down at their hands, feathers shooting up in surprise.Cheated's voice was surprisingly calm as he said,"I just wanted to make sure you had a good time tonight."

Broken let a breath out, and Cheated hoped he hadn't done anything wrong yet, but the feeling of Broken's full attention on him was beginning to make the butterflies in his stomach turn into a raging stampede, so he quickly took his hand back, missing the disappointment on Broken's face, and motioned down at his food."Let's dig in, yeah?"

-

Dinner was great.

But spending a whole evening with Broken was even better.

The longer the night went on, the more fond and utterly in love Cheated was becoming with Broken. He loved the light yet strong tone he held in his voice, and the way his eyes shone and gave away everything he was feeling.He loved catching the moments where Broken would subconsciously trace invisible doodles with his finger along the tree stump table, and Cheated just longed to see what they could be like.

But eventually, their food had been eaten, the conversation was beginning to dim from energy, and Cheated knew that his moment had come.

He took a shaky breath in, briefly wondering if Paranoid's chant would work for him right now, and stared down as he softly took Broken's hands within his, prompting Broken to slowly stop what he was saying.

Cheated glanced up at him, his cheeks feeling on fire, as he took in Broken's soft confusion."Broken," Cheated began, desperately trying to keep his voice steady and calm and to not fuck this up.

"I really hope I made you happy tonight,"he said, and Broken stiffly nodded."Yeah, of course you did. I'm always happy when I'm with you."The words sent an addicting warmth through his bones, and he had to use all his control to stop his smile from spreading to one of those stupid and lovey dovey ones that Smitten was known to wear.

"That's such a relief to hear,"he said, squeezing their hands once for reassurance,"because there's something I've really wanted to tell you for awhile."

"What?"Broken quietly said, and Cheated found it easier to speak when he was just staring down at their hands, reminding him of the reason he was doing all this.

"Broken, I think you're one of the most beautiful and inspiring people I know.You're so empathetic and strong, whether you realise it or not.You've been through so much, but you're still here, fighting and proving your demons wrong-that you are worthy of love and happiness, and I'm so fucking honored to be a part of your life and to watch you slowly believe that, because I've always thought that way about you.I've always-cared about you, but for awhile, my feelings for you have grown stronger."

He gulped."Broken-I'm in love with you, and I wanted to show you that I can treat you the way you deserve to be treated-with nothing less than love and respect and complete care.So, I just wanted to tell you all this, because I'll go crazy if I don't tell you how you make me feel just by being around your beautiful self-and if you feel the same way, maybe we can-"

But Cheated never got the chance to finish his confession, as Broken gripped his face and pulled him into a passionate kiss.

He was stunned, but quickly melted into the kiss, not willing to turn down a golden opportunity like this.

God, even kissing Broken felt warm. But not in an intense, mind spinning way. No, this warmth felt safe, it felt like nothing but the two of them mattered in this moment, and all Cheated had to focus on was Broken.It felt happy.It felt right.

Home.The kiss felt like home.

Then suddenly, Broken pulled them apart, panting with a worried and frantic look on his face.Cheated could do nothing but stare in amazement as Broken began to ramble,"Sorry!Sorry!I-I didn't mean to ruin your moment!"Broken started to absent-mindedly grip his hands for comfort, whether he was aware of it or not, but Cheated still squeezed them to calm the other down.

Broken was looking everywhere that wasn't Cheated."I just-I just-I heard what you were saying, and with what you did tonight, I had a feeling that you were going to-and-and-"

"Broken,"Cheated calmly said, stopping the other in his panic.Broken looked up in surprise, and Cheated felt his hands bring gripped tightly, as he watched Broken take a deep and slow breath in. Cheated smiled at the now more relaxed state Broken was in.

Broken continued, much more calm this time,"I knew what you were going to say-and I felt like I needed to be the one to bridge that gap.I-I can't explain it, I'm sorry."

"Hey, it's okay,"Cheated said, tugging on their hands to get Broken's attention."I honestly didn't mind it-it was actually really nice."Broken giggled, and Cheated grinned wider at the sound."But that just means that I'm still waiting."

Broken looked up at him in confusion."Waiting?For what?"Cheated gave him a playful grin."For you to ask me out."Broken was surprised for a second, his wings flapping once in shock, before he smiled bashfully and asked,"Cheated, I'm in love with you. Do you want to be my partner?"

Cheated smiled so hard that it hurt, but he didn't care.He was the luckiest bastard in this shitty world."I would love to be your partner, Broken.I love you."

Then they both leaned in for another kiss, and Cheated's life was now perfect.

[callimara]

Your Jelsa video essay was everything 13yo me would have been frothing at the mouth for ESPECIALLY the research into Nightlight and the book vs Movie stuff. I haven't read them myself but I obsessively researched it too for any comparisons between Katherine and Elsa wayyyy back when. Honestly the whole thing was absolutely PHENOMENAL and I read the Act IIII fic by therentyoupay as well. Now I desperately want more fanfic and more lore set in this world because as far as I'm concerned you guys' universe is EXACTLY what happened in Frozen 2 and everyone else needs to get with the program.

Also? That Gale theory? I should not have underestimated you because I went 🤭 to 🫢 real fast (in the best way 😂 I just didn't expect you to be able to convince me despite being WILLING to be convinced).

All this to say I haven't stopped thinking about it for 2 days straight and thank you for your dedication because Jelsa is supremely misunderstood for how massive a multi fandom ship it is and all of your video essays on it were everything and if you ever make more I will be SEATED with POPCORN. (Also good luck with med school! You're an absolute wizard for keeping that up AND this massive project).

omg thank you so much 🥹

A lot of work really went into that video but I gotta say, it was absolutely worth it and possibly my magnum opus haha!!

of course I wouldn't have been able to do it without @therentyoupay by my side to cheer me on and feed into my delusions!! But this really made my day, thank you so much ❤️❤️✨

[spinnenpfote6]

Regarding your author's note I think it's actually a good way to let ppl know that you are able to make them enjoy stuff they otherwise wouldn't! I've had a few comments on my video edits about the (infamous) Star Wars sequels saying that while they didn't like the movies they *did* like my edits. There were a few discussions about these types of comments on Tumblr that they might be considered kinda rude in disguise but I took them as a compliment because my skills made them look at the movies (or parts of them) a different way that was able to make them happy.

But I know what you mean! I love Frodo (obviously lol) and would love to see more Frodo x OC/Frodo x Reader but most of it is Sam x Frodo, though I have found a VERY good Frodo x OC story on AO3 ("Left The Tenderness Of Tears" by Lurea, for those who wanna know).

My best guess is that fandoms in general lean heavily on shipping and we already have an established emotional connection featuring lots of tender moments in both the movies and the books between Frodo and Sam that everybody loves. The LOTR fandom has LOTS of queer fans who see themselves in the characters where I believe the ambiguity of their relationship even fuels it instead of calming it down (what is something some would expect instead) because it's normalizing to the platonic/non-sex love parts of a gay relationship. It would be a perfect tragic love story which people simply want more of - even if the fandom has spawned some weirdly black and white corners where there's either extreme homophobic hatred for SamFro shippers OR extreme hatred for Sam/Rosie/OC or Frodo/OC shippers where the mere idea that the hobbit boys could be straight or bi/pan is simply outrageous, even if it makes total sense for Sam in canon. Much of the fandom seems to actively try to fight all the "heteronormative stuff" and while that can be good, they sometimes go overboard with it, so there's no place for Frodo x female OC for such an "obviously gay" character and it's probably also the reason Rosie isn't too much of a beloved character (not that she's hated, she just seems overlooked and more of a stepping stone or even replacement for Sam in order to get to his "true love" Frodo. Some believe she was just shoehorned into the story because of the 1900's homophobia and/or Tolkien's Christianity).

As for Frodo x OC, the fan fictions we've mentioned have female OC's where I think Frodo's personality and role come into play. The books and especially the movies establish him as a soft and more quiet and less obvious hero - someone who cries, has weak moments, fights very little and has to be saved a lot by his friends. He seems cozy and innocent, more childlike (more so in the movies but ya know) than the other heroes and his small size, huge hairy feet and Elijah Wood's youthful cutesy face with the big blue eyes certainly add to the feeling of character who is coddled and taken care of like a child or adorable fantasy creature (even in the books other characters are constantly like "OMG you little funny guys are so cute haha", despite the hobbits being grown men - well, except for Pippin). This is a stark contrast to the female fan's most popular men, Aragorn and Legolas, who are badass manly fighters whose friends are their equal. Even if they have soft and lovely moments they still fit the women's fantasy of a strong man who can protect them, while Frodo is less the type of guy to draw his sword and throw himself into carnage. He *is* good-looking, but more in a pretty, cute way and Aragorn's good-looking in a hot, handsome way, and especially since elves like Legolas are considered more traditionally appealing than hobbits (Frodo is often seen as a sort of 50-y/o rich, stoned farmer who lives in a teletubby house and just eats and writes all day) - even if most of us find hobbits more relateable lol. In theory you'd have less hot and cool adventures with Frodo n' his hobbit gang than with other LOTR characters. So people - especially straight women - are less likely to ship themselves with Frodo aka a hobbit by default and therefore do not seek out these types of stories while all the queer folks look for the cute SamFro content. (Not to mention that Frodo is more often overlooked than you'd think of the main character because he's so quiet and misunderstood)

Additionally I think many fans believe that Frodo staying in the Shire somehow undermines LOTR's main message and purpose, as in him getting a happy ending at home makes it seem like his trauma and wounds have no real consequences (since him leaving for Valinor is a big thing), even if the "Happy Ending In The Shire"-trope is popular, and the SamFro fan stuff at least has them sharing their mutual trauma and therefore aftermath of the journey. With Frodo - if you go by canon - you are somewhat bound to have your fanfiction contain heavy themes like PTSD in a homely place like the Shire and if it's not SamFro that's unappealing to many fans because they are just not interested. With an OC you don't know what to expect and, well, you simply have no audience even if the small number of people who like it absolutely love it.

(I actually found myself to have 2 reasons why I as a woman like to ship myself (or my OC) with Frodo - aside from the fact that I love the character and find Elijah Wood incredibly cute. One, I think his quiet-observing, introverted and sensitive is very much like mine and I like to see myself in him and two, with my history of chronic illness I can get some catharsis out of imagining myself as the caretaker while Frodo is the one suffering. Idk, it seems like I have a general interest in more niche and heavy topics lol)

Now I realize I still have to read your story haha. But your discussion about why the LOTR fandom seems to be so allergic to Frodo x (female) OC caught my attention because it's SO true! They're hard to find on AO3 and I wish the fandom had a bigger space for it!

(Btw with this post I'm not trying to be mean towards SamFro or queer LOTR shippers in general - or Aragorn/Legolas girls - all that was just my observation of how the shipping stuff in the fandom works^^. I very much appreciate the soft sweet queer and Stan-The-Strong-Hot-Guy content! It makes total sense! But c'mon, we should give Frodo some more of our own love as well!)

You know what's interesting?

I may have posted about this before, but the literal number one piece of feedback I get about The Flowers of Mordor is "I was skeptical about the premise, but now I'm sold!"

Which is great. It means something good about my writing - that I've been able to tell the story in a convincing way, that the characters acted in believable ways, and won the reader's hearts.

What I still don't understand, however, is why the premise seems to go SO much against the grain.

After all, I can't be the only person who wishes Frodo could have healed in the Shire. I can't be the only person who wants to ship themselves with Frodo. (Let's face it, canon/OC is sometimes, though not always, a vehicle for self-shipping, and that's totally fine! Fandom is all about wish fulfillment, and I am all for it.) In the end, I can't be the only person to wish Frodo could have found his happy ending with someone else besides Sam-maybe-eventually-in-Valinor. (Yes, sharing Sam or a poly arrangement is an option, and so is Rosie-as-a-beard, and so is erasing Rosie, but none of those approaches have felt satisfying to me, and again, I can't be the only one who holds this opinion).

Yes, I get that Frodo/FOC is not canon, but canon/OC rarely ever is. (And yes, I know I've made a fuss before about how Marigold is not an OC, but she is quite similar to an OC: she is mentioned briefly in canon, but all of her character development in FOM is my own).

Also, there are many non-canon premises that people absolutely go wild for, such as Boromir lives, or Thorin lives, or even Boromir and Theodred, so why exactly is it so difficult to see Frodo with an OC? It's been done with almost every other character, even ones who have canonical partners.

I mean, yes, to begin with, Frodo is positioned in canon as a confirmed bachelor, and Samfro is a very popular ship. But at the same time, Sam and Frodo are written and portrayed ambiguously enough that there is room for interpretation. They could be lovers, there could be unrequited pining, it could be one-sided on either of their parts, or they could be good friends. All of those things are possible. And similarly, Frodo could be a confirmed bachelor for a number of reasons: perhaps he is asexual or gay, or he is too much of an oddball, or he had a relationship that didn't work out, or it's the Ring's doing, or he senses he will someday follow in Bilbo's footsteps and is reluctant to put down roots. All of those things are possible.

So I have to wonder: maybe Frodo/OC or Frodo/someone besides Sam is not the most common ship, but why exactly is it such a hard sell? I just don't see it.

In fact, Flowers of Mordor is in part written for much-younger me, who first encountered the books and movies and genuinely wondered whether things could have been different if Frodo had found a nice hobbit lass to love.

Granted, at that age I was probably too young to understand the import of Frodo's burden, and the scars it left behind. Today, I understand that the ending was tragic but necessary, but a part of that hopeless romantic remains: I wish it could have been different. I wish Frodo could have found love. I wish that love could have conquered all. And as I said before, isn't fanfiction all about wish fulfillment?

[pavlovianpanic]

just some interesting little details about the beta "what if?" playable (mostly) build from june 27, 2014). i haven't seen too much comparison, so that's why i'm here.

this post goes over this video, so not the whole build. note that this is episode 1, which is about 1hr 40 min of content. it gets less and less as the build progresses.

the first big one: rachel amber is jessie palmer here, as well as arcadia bay, oregon being aurora creek, oregon.

when max approaches the lighthouse, she goes forward in-game.

there's a rock blocking max's path with a fallen tree originally, causing her to go a separate way to view the storm. in-game, she goes forward because that path is not blocked. the graffiti on the rock from the beta is removed. it says:

NEVER GIVE IN / HOLD THEM UP

alyssa is different in clothing and hair color (blue is chloe's color in-game, but alyssa used to have blue hair).

mark makes some more dated references.

mark is much more harsh looking versus the "softer " stern look he has (smug).

the line about taylor turning in her work was originally about hayden from mark

the binders in the back of the classroom are the same ones as the dark room. same in the finale game.

max's shirt cut changes a lot. it was way lower, she has more cleavage. a better decision to make her more modest in-game. it fits her better.

a lot of the models are untextured so sometimes you can see stand-in models that are untextured of max and nathan for npcs. you see this with other characters, too, such as alyssa.

nathan's beta model ... note that he's wearing a red sweater over the jacket he always wears. also he chokes chloe in the beta, not in the final game when they are having their confrontation with the gun. his shoes are super red. he's similar, but different to himself in his final iteration. kind of archie-coded ngl.

nathan says this line in the beta: "either it's doctors shoving pills down my throat or teachers."

the conversation with chloe and nate is different. chloe mentions specific drugs that nathan is giving out such as ghb (liquid ecstasy basically) and molly as well as other drugs.

nathan tries to bribe chloe with drugs, she denies him. actually it's interesting, the whole scene is longer in her "rewind version". some of the dialogue matches in-game, some of it is totally different.

the principal figure here is way more agreeable. example: if you tell on nathan for the gun, he commends you right away

the diary photos are insane, some are concept art, some are just actors. not a lot of diary content yet.

a lot of the dialogue is rough. there was a definite "way too direct" translation happening here from french to english or something.

evan says he loved jessie in secret.

they mention as a texture thing this overarching idea of all these ads to place around in a placeholder asset. they suggest a "club 23" and promoting it. max also calls victoria "practically the leader" of club 23.

the guitar was originally kate's. in-game, kate has a violin on her bed.

jefferson invited victoria to dine in at his home. what? then it follows up with her saying they had a successful dinner together. she has the contest in the bag. it seems implied mark liked victoria more in this build.

victoria's strained relationship with her parents, her parents are divorced, she is going with neither parent for christmas.

it also infers there would have been a pic of zach and victoria in bed, so it was more than sexting. potentially two photos of this.

the kate and david scene is super weird? he's way more aggressive with her, grabbing her, poking her by the shoulder, and pushing her.

honestly a lot of these changes were probably to please producers but also please an audience. this is why additionally

chloe's license plate was different. no line from juliet about warren. pompidou is outside.

based on this model, warren is likely 5'6-5'7. they do look slightly more alike. nathan is 5'9 based on my estimations of how he stands (hunched a lot, making him look shorter) and using chloe's confirmed height of 5'9 as a reference. nathan and chloe are the same height.

warren directly asks max out like "do you want to go out with me?" but less fluid and more stammering. her options are "err", "i don't know", or "maybe".

in the parking lot, nathan has most of his original dialogue to start, but he straight out calls her a bitch, asks if it was her in the bathroom, and her prompt options are yes or no. he still headbutts warren. the rest of the parking lot scene is pretty much the same.

chloe knows mark in this iteration. she mentions him by name.

chloe's room has some room changes, of course, i can't name them all, but interestingly under her everybody lies graffiti there is a drawing of "daria". probably removed from the final cut for copyright. chloe likes the band korn, as well as a band called iron and wine.

so, here's when it changes: when max and chloe go into her room, this is all voiced now, but not ashley and hannah. but this doesn't last? the voices also didn't match the dialogue with the stand-in VAs. weird. the AI tends to follow the subtitles. actually, this kind of jumps in this scene? between VA and AI voices. you also can't break chloe's snow globe here.

also chloe had fuck written all over the american flag, but that probably didn't go well here with test audiences or something. censorship blah blah.

everyone loves radiohead.

jessie goes by jess. rachel goes by rach. cute.

jessie seems to have had a folk aesthetic versus a punk aesthetic. chloe's laptop in-game shoes three pics of chloe. in the beta, it shows chloe having up folk music. max questions what got chloe in that. likely jessie.

in this build, she calls jessie a ray of sunshine, and says she met jessie a couple of days after her dad's funeral. just after max left basically. more context for sure. chloe in-game infers it was close to when max left that she met rachel, but in the beta, chloe says she knew rachel confirmed for five years. this means chloe met rachel at 14, literally replacing max.

rachel is gone for 7 months in this iteration, not 6. this build might take place in november, they mention christmas with victoria, not halloween. this game build might have accounted for how short the in-game timeline is.

chloe mentions all the girls wanted to be jessie, all the guys wanted to sleep with her, but nobody knew her. she mentions jessie was a people magnet.

music sometimes changes but it seems like they had licensing to a lot what they wanted.

chloe shows no smoking habits yet.

on chloe's door, the sign says "wrong way".

the animal product line about chloe and make-up is added in later.

max calls the bathroom meds tranquilizers. it's basically just prozac lmao.

some of the living room is different, nothing major.

no real phone stuff yet. no texts.

no bongo. rip.

on one of kate's photos that david has, there is a french text overlay. it says "kate marsh. elle sait, quelque chose!" which means basically she knows something. there is also one that says parking de la blackwell academy.

chloe's smoking habit is shown / inferred a bit when max returns.

chloe knows victoria in this build. :)) if you took the photo of her having paint of her, that is. chloe can only seem to reference that inf that is the case. based on victoria coming to blackwell this year for school, how does she know chloe? chloe remarks she is a skank.

chloe asks if max if she kept what happened with nathan to herself, and max can say either she told mark or no one. this choice isn't in the game build of the beta. you still tell the principal. however, when choosing to say you told mark, max will comment that mark said he'll deal with nathan.

different song chloe dances to on her bed.

when david confronts chloe, it is voice acted again. not completely.

chloe calls david "old man" several times.

max says chloe drew a marker to her house, in the final game max mentions it's to the tree fort.

max tells chloe that she saw david grab and shake kate, and that it was scary.

while a lot of the conversation is structurally different, their scene at the lighthouse gets to the same point.

chloe does describe nathan's behavior at the bar a bit different than canon. she mentions in the beat him drinking glass after glass alone, keeping a wad of money out purposefully for everyone to see, and that she approaches him like a silly local girl who's over-impressed by his money trick, and he swallowed it nicely. calling herself a local implies that nathan is not local.

she describes her plan in the beta as "they were going to grope a little" and she would "finish him" by getting him drunk, then flee with his "cash and gold".

nathan drugs her with what chloe suspects is ghb.

chloe says when she felt the drug, she tried to run, but nathan cornered her. she says he cornered her. she also says "he wanted to get me naked and take pictures".

in this iteration, she broke his camera, not his lamp. actually, the dialogue is worded so weird. what she's inferring is likely that she hit his camera into his mouth before escaping, catching him off guard.

the drug made her sick, she vomited after, and slept for two days. she called nathan instead of writing him a letter and demanded he pay $3k or she'd tell. he agreed. that's why she showed up.

mark has an open desk in the final game, but has a huge inferred mac desktop in the beta. he has a laptop in the final cut.

the handwriting on the dark room folders is better.

this is pretty general, it's not every little thing, but the stuff i found noteworthy.

[kimtaegis]

Destination: your heart Estimated Time of Arrival: whenever you need him ➤ for @jung-koook ♡

[heliotrope155]

I do think it'd been hilarious to have a truth-serumed or spelled Dean around Cas, just start spilling his guts and flirting worse. But also genuinely think Cas would get so overwhelmed from going zero to eighty on this that he'd duct tape Dean's mouth shut after attempts to tell him to stop confessing romantic feelings kept failing. Final resort, Cas would whoosh away to some glacier and sit there until he'd collected himself.

[woolysstuff]

look at them go

The scientist dudes but i gave them a redesign

old designs undercut

[pizzaqueen]

A snippet from a future fic I'll probably never write, where Steve is a widower with two teenage kids, and he and Eddie randomly meet up, rekindling their old flame. This is when they've been together a while:

“Thank you,” Steve says, coming up behind Eddie at the bathroom sink.

Eddie pauses, catching Steve's eye in the mirror. “What for?” he asks, mouth foamy with toothpaste.

Steve slips his hands along Eddie's hips, hooks his chin over Eddie's shoulder. “For loving my kids.”

“You don't—” Toothpaste dribbles down Eddie's chin and he stoops to spit what's left in his mouth into the sink, gathering his hair to one side. He rinses his mouth out, wipes his face with a towel, then turns to Steve. “You don't have to thank me for that. Of course I love them.”

“Not everyone I've dated has.”

“They're idiots.” Eddie grabs the hem of Steve's shirt, pulling him close. “I mean, first of all, they're part of you, and I don't think I could love you and not love them. But...” He trails off, a small smile tilting his lips. “They're amazing kids.”

Pride swells in Steve's chest; he slides his arms around Eddie's waist and says, “They are.”

“And I'm pretty damn honored I get to be part of their lives,” Eddie says, “so thank you,” and he butts his head gently against Steve's.

Steve huffs and slides his hands up Eddie's back, pulling him into a tight embrace. “I love you.” He presses a kiss to Eddie's neck.

“I love you too.”

“And they both love you as well.”

Eddie lets out a shuddering breath. Steve knows how nervous Eddie was, when they started dating, that he wouldn't be welcomed, but it's almost like he's always been part of their family now. “Good to know,"”Eddie says.

Steve holds Eddie a little tighter. All those years ago, back in Hawkins, when they ended things, Steve thought he'd never see Eddie again. But here they are, together—a family—and Steve's never letting him go this time.

[gilbirda]

hot take but we as a society need to be more comfortable about discussing "icky" parts of history, and even telling the side of the "bad guys"

hear me out

history is written by the victors, and will be heavily biased. The defeated will be painted as evil, deviants and/or like they have always been "the bad guys".

Reducing people to "the bad guys" does a huge disservice to the opportunity of learning from the past, because it creates a distance between the modern reader and the actual events, it creates the comfortable position of "I'm not like the bad guys, so i will never make their mistakes"

I think is important we understand how and why people believed in something, and where did things turn a certain way. Yes. Even "the wrong side". Even the nazis. Even those people you are thinking about, whoever they are.

Because you are not immune to propaganda and it's so so so so important to understand what happened and how did we get to those points before we fall to the same techniques again and again.

"Learning from the past" isn't deleting the ugly parts or cringing when someone brings up war. Thinking otherwise is a huge mistake and precisely what someone who wants to make the same mistakes wants you to think.

[sunnydayaoe]

figuring out how to draw heart still.. me when I can't draw Any of them that well yet

[crabsnpersimmons]

Miss, it's time to go to bed. Are you on your phone again? Sleeping late will ruin your lovely skin. This is the final warning. If you don't fall asleep now, We are going to dance. - "잘자요 아가씨" by ASMRZ

found this song and i was possessed to draw @starriegalaxy's butler Eclipse dancing to it

(also i apologize in advance for my horrendous hiragana, hangul, and cursive)

Textless, effectless version under the cut!

[eeniiart]

I can't even remember the last time I did a full colored piece :'")

[joltrify]

Guys I didn't know if you knew this before but i like him a lot //

Practicing anatomy and marker...ing w/ my most favorite guys!! Also the slightest bit of physiological dev wheee