#can I consider this Final Fantasy fanart?

[alackofghosts]

wolbert week day 2: what if

what if cowboys were secretly fond of each other? 🤔

[ungrateful-cyborg-moved]

FFXIV Forum

Fuck it, let's try again.

Some time ago I created a forum that didn't stay lively for very long, unfortunately, but I don't want to give up on it as I think forums offer something that no other tool for online community can offer: an actual community that doesn't rely on everyone acting like their own PR/marketing team.

So here it is, in case anyone's interested:

What does it have to offer?

A place to meet artists and roleplayers from the FFXIV fandom, where you won't be assailed by notifications like a Discord server, that's LGBTQ-friendly and won't ask you to post all the time to remain visible (contrary to social media).

What you'll find:

RP sections for your RP threads, easier to manage than on Tumblr, and without the pressure of being seen online on Discord because you wanted to talk to your friends but aren't in the mood for RP

A place to get help to create your character or write an NPC, if you're feeling insecure and want to try your hand at writing/roleplaying

Galleries for your writing, fanarts, screenshots, irl craft, etc. where you don't have to worry about peak hours to be seen

Forums where you can gush about your own characters and get asked questions: no need to have a big following anymore!

A place where you can discuss the lore and share your meta analysis to your heart content

A place to organize your own in-game event and promote it, once again without needing to build a big enough following for it to be noticed!

Yes, there's a NSFW section (that you have to ask to get access to). Forumactif—the host—is not in favor of this, however, so if Etheirys has enough success I might consider hosting it myself (but I'm not rich so we'll start with the free alternative for now and just keep it on the low XD)

And more!

I am taking suggestions to improve it and I'll gladly help you and answer your questions if you're not familiar with forums (or this sort of forums, anyways).

For those who don't know me or find me intimidating to talk to (I know it has happened) I've been leading communities big and small for about 18 years now, and I've always put a big emphasis on fairness, communication and patience.

(Please reblog so more people can see this!)

[depression-pie]

Okay these ideas have NOT left my head so here’s two new Gravity Falls AUs inspired by @acerobot’s fanart of a Wandavision-esque Billford AU

The FIRST idea goes as follows:

Ford doesn’t stop working on the portal after Fidds leaves. He and Bill work together to take down the barrier around Gravity Falls, Bill putting together some half-assed excuse to justify why they would need to do it.

They get the portal started up and Bill starts the apocalypse, BUT he puts a new barrier around the town essentially shielding it from Weirdmageddon instead of containing it. He removes Ford’s memories of the betrayal, and since the town is safe from the chaos, Ford doesn’t realize anything is wrong.

So he and Bill have this little domestic life in their cabin in the woods, and he’s completely oblivious to the fact that outside the town is the end of the world.

But now Gravity Falls is considered somewhat of a safe haven for survivors, so people start moving there to get away from all the chaos, and Ford is reunited with his family, who immediately realize something’s wrong.

Will he realize what his husband’s been up to this whole time? Who knows

The SECOND idea is EVEN ANGSTIER

Because what if Bill trapped Ford in a fantasy bubble during Weirdmageddon. A fantasy version of Gravity Falls where everything is perfect, he’s not fighting with his brother, he’s still friends with Fiddleford, he has a perfect little family and a perfect husband and a perfect life.

And he doesn’t even question it, because the fantasy starts replacing his memories with new fabricated ones, fake memories of his perfect life with his perfect family.

Until Stan and the twins show up, and they’re terrified because they just witnessed Bill start a literal apocalypse and yet there he is, smooching it up with Ford of all people. And he acts like it’s all normal and fine, because to him it IS normal, but they all know it’s not.

Ford is confused why his family is acting weird, not realizing that they’re not the fake family he’s gotten used to, the fake Stan he talks to all the time, the fake Dipper and Mabel who are best friends with his fake kids.

And they almost want to stay too, because they want to live this perfect life, but they know it’s not real, so they do what they can to escape and rescue Ford.

And when they finally do burst the bubble, Ford is absolutely RUINED because he realizes it was all a lie, his perfect family, his perfect husband, his perfect kids weren’t real and he doesn’t know what to do with himself because he misses them.

Even though they’re not real he still has some of the fake memories, going on fake monster hunts with them, teaching them how to play the fake piano, watching them play with their fake friends and the fake Dipper and fake Mabel.

And even though it was all a lie he misses it and he’s heartbroken over the fact that, even though they were never real, he’ll never get to see that perfect family ever again.

And I’m sure when they face off against Bill, Bill tries to rope him back into it, promising to bring back their perfect family and their perfect life, promising that it could last forever if he gave up the equation.

And even after they defeat Bill he’s still plagued by dreams about that life, and he’s fucking ruined over it, and this ends one of two ways.

Ending 1: He finds out the kids from the bubble were actually child versions of the real kids that he and Bill had that he didn’t know about, and so he tries to create the relationship he should’ve had with them if Bill hadn’t kept them apart.

OR Ending 2: Like Mabel’s dream boys, the fake kids somehow survive the popping of the bubble (and even the closing of the rift), though they’re very confused about what happened, and Ford winds up finding them and taking them back home (though I don’t think he’d tell them what happened to Bill just yet).

Holy shit that was a lot of words. Can you tell which plot I’ve spent more time thinking about

Thanks @acerobot for inspiring this. This was all your fault

Also here’s what I think Cassie and Aaron (the kids) would look like if they were Dipper and Mabel’s age

[ozzgin]

Hihihi!!

This is incredibly random but

Dragon!S/O (I was thinking about my favorite character from a show!)

Let's say S/O is a dragon Hiding as a human in society since many think that Myths/Legends don't exist so

S/O doesn't bother flaunting that she's a dragon and just blends in with the other humans.

S/O is originally a (the long noodle) dragon but takes a human form she can also sometimes have her horns and tail pop out!

Coincidentally She's dating (Any Baki character!) And one day when she got really irritated or sad let's just say..

SHE TURNS INTO A HUMONGOUS FRICKIN DRAGON

Infront of the (Baki characters!!)

GASP

Your choice if you want the police or satellites to detect her massive dragon form!

(I apologize for this ask, I really went random and if you're on break I don't mind if you can't do it! Thank you for reading!)

I hope you’ll forgive the delay, I set some older requests aside on purpose because I thought they’d be great for October. I found the fantasy theme very fitting. Funnily enough, if you didn’t know, Baki x Dragon Maid is an actual thing and you’ll find multiple fanart works of it haha. Randomly remembered it when I read your request.

Baki Characters x Dragon! Significant Other

Featuring some of the Baki men reacting to their significant other suddenly turning into a dragon.

[Baki Masterlist]

Truly, how embarrassing. Hundreds of years of flawless concealment. Carefully and steadily learning the ways of humans until no one could ever suspect the slightest off detail. You’ve changed identities countless times, lived in many places, and each time your true nature has been kept out of reach. So why, in the name of ancient Gods, have you just forfeited your secrecy? Now of all times?

Of course, you already know the answer. Never through the long history in which you’ve walked this Earth has there been a more annoying creature. You glare at Yuujirou with your glossy reptilian orbs. Annoyingly persistent, but also unbearably strong. Your human form was not enough to go against him, and your pride and anger took over before you could carefully consider things.

So now you stand here, your long, scaly body overlapping several times as it circles the entire Underground Arena, with your head just below the high ceilings. Everyone has gone quiet and the red headed culprit can only follow suit, staring back with raised eyebrows.

“…(Y/N)?” You hear your boyfriend mutter in an attempt to break the insufferable silence, perhaps looking for some explanation or awaiting confirmation that they haven’t gone mad. You hadn’t planned to be seen like this, especially by your partner. The shame is too great, all eyes are on you. You lift your clawed hands to your snout, attempting to hide your features, and let out a prolonged cry.

Between your sobs and hiccups you feel a faint pressure on your tail. You look down and notice your boyfriend stroking along the harsh skin, reassuringly. “Come now. You can’t blame me for being surprised, but that’s no reason to be upset. There’s nothing wrong with this.”

If you boyfriend is…

Baki, he will follow your movements with a silly expression that you can’t read. His stare is making you squirm and your long body slithers around idly, almost like a fidget. There’s a smile plastered on his face, but he’s not saying much otherwise. His gaze is fixated on you. Your orbs dart around the Arena, trying to come up with an explanation. After a few huffs and puffs, you finally face him with scolding indignation. “I know it’s strange, but can you at least pretend not to gawk like this? Why do you look at me like that?” He seems taken aback by your reaction, but follows with a chuckle. “You’re right, sorry. I just thought you’re very cute like this.”

Chiharu, he’ll be way more enthusiastic than you would’ve anticipated. You’ve already heard the story of his back tattoo and the symbolism behind it. He’ll tell you that this is no coincidence, and perhaps his design idea was already a subconscious preparation for your arrival. He finds you very cool and every now and then he might even jokingly scare you just to see your tail and horns.

Jack, he won’t say much. He is obviously very shocked alright, but he’d rather not make a big deal out of it, especially after seeing your reaction and embarrassment. He’ll cough, look away, and stumble over his words in an attempt to let you know that he doesn’t care and it doesn’t change anything. As the reality settles in, he will occasionally look at your small form with a newfound amusement. To think this tiny human could make him look insignificant in size in an instant.

Retsu, he will immediately apologize for intruding on your privacy like this. Clearly this was meant to be a secret, and the unwilling exposure makes him feel like he just caught you naked out of the shower. He is a blushing mess as he attempts to diffuse the situation, promising that he’ll take care in keeping the others quiet. Once you calm down, he’ll sneak in a few glances because he can’t help his curiosity. You remind him of a Chinese dragon. Noble, royal and powerful.

Katsumi, he will be absolutely entertained by the whole ordeal. There’s not an ounce of fear in this man’s eyes. He’s laughing and clapping his hands in disbelief and surprise. “I know I always say you’re special to me, (Y/N), but you’ve really outdone yourself this time! I think it’s safe to assume you’re just special. Unless there’s other dragons casually roaming the city.” He hasn’t thought about that. You promise him there aren’t hidden dragons in his Dojo and he doesn’t have to worry about being overturned. And you don’t know if the children are going to be half dragon. You haven’t planned that far ahead.

Hanayama, he will just stare at you after his last statement. You gradually become more nervous, unsure how to respond. That’s it? The scales around your face are flushed with a red tint and in your anxiety, a blow of hot steam is released from your nostrils. Hanayama realizes your discomfort and his eyes widen. “Sorry, I kind of assumed you needed a moment to recollect yourself. I now see I only made it worse.” He slides his fogged up glasses along the bridge of his nose and hums. “I’ll guide the others outside and then we can talk, okay? Leave everything to me.”

[ramiecutesy22]

I illustrated 100 ASoIaF Characters

" A Song of Ice and Fire" is a series that has become rather (in)famous for its depictions of violence, and abundance of s3x scenes .and while criticism can definitely be made for these, it's important that we dont end up overlooking the important life lessons, nor end up with wrong takeaways from the story.

you see, at its very heart , i believe ASOIAF is a story of the human experience, as well as a commentary about the twisted ways of this world ( set within a fantasy backdrop). being caught in the middle of loyalties, ambition, Reputation, vengeance, culture, faith, and familial acceptance . its themes like this along with complex and relatable characters that youll pity and root for in one scene, only for you to be appalled by and flinch at in the next scene, is what i find so appealing in this series.

Spectacle, Political Intrigue and Character Drama (all present in the story too btw) aside , its a story that really makes you think ,reflect , and learn upon. and i love it for that!

so today , i just wanna show my appreciation to arguably the best aspect of this series: The Characters . for over a year now, i have made fanart for 100 characters from the series. some are major pov characters. some iterally appear for only 1 chapter. but all help bring so much depth and color to this story!

special thanks to:

@nobodysuspectsthebutterfly . your blog has been such a HUGE in help giving me inspiration and references for design and clothing . i also appreciate you reblogging art from fellow asoiaf artist to help give them a boost

@amuelia , i really love your design for Areo, and it was actually the basis for art for him! its only fitting that i give you credit

@whoknowsnugget . i was having a haaaard time coming up a pose for Asha when i first designed her, it wasnt until i saw your own fanart for her ( the one with her arms crossed while holding axes) that i finally found a fitting pose for her. because it was such a huge help, i figured i should give you credit as well!

@buildoblivionthenwewilltalk for being with the journey since last year!

and @squidprinceofwinterfell too, who is my other fellow asoiaf pal from tumblr!

..............................................................................................................................

i really hope yall like this one! i know this may really come off as unexpected, but ive actually liked asoiaf since 2018! ( with a massive revival of interest starting late 2022). as for THAT show, i have yet to watch an actual full episode yet hehe.

as for my account, let this be considered my proper comeback after months of inactivity. this project of mine played a large chunk for my absence, because i frequently get artblock coming up with a new post for every new character i make.

#asongoficeandfire #asoiafart

[kerubimcrepin]

Dofus: The Production - reviewing the Xa and Tot interview

pictured: 7yo Joris, 10yo Joris, 60yo Joris, and 584-585yo Joris.

Funnily enough, this interview will touch onto something already mentioned in the artbook I already reviewed.

The origins of Joris as a character.

Sadly, it is machine translated, but I think we'll understand it well enough.

Here we learn that Joris was inspired by Vivi from Final Fantasy. I am sad to report I had never played Final Fantasy, and all my knowledge of him comes from hearsay at best, but Id do find there to be some very funny and twisted parallels between Vivi and Joris, beyond their troubles with lifespans (Vivi's being extremely short, Joris's the opposite...)

Like lol. Lmao even. (laughs fondly at the memory of having drawn fanart of Kerubim and Joris cannibalising one another as symbolism for Kerubim's selfish exploitation of Joris for his own emotional needs and regrets, — and Joris growing to derive pleasure from being exploited by Kerubim, and being a willing participant in the mixture of parentification and infantilization he experiences after the 600 years of living with his dad.)

Anyway,

Joris's progression as a character being "joke character -> character Xa created to be cool and awesome in a moment of inspiration, despite Tot's brief -> he bewitches them both fully" is so funny to me.

I always found it funny that Tot doesn't really see the forest (dofus aux tresors de kerubim) for the trees (child neglect and the psychological horror of Joris Jurgen's entire existence).

Not even going to comment on not knowing what the hell "epic-burlesque" is supposed to mean.

Now we move onto my favourite part of this interview: Tot's thoughts on Joris as a character.

I'm glad he said that they've worked on his life story through multiple centuries. Gives me hope that Tot has given thought to Joris's experiences during Leorictus Sheran-Sharms silly, perhaps even whacky reign.

I want to note the word choice here, — Joris isn't mysterious, but jaded. All of his caginess and "mystique" is attributable in equal part to his distrust of others, cynicism, and exhaustion with the horrible things he has seen throughout his life.

Which would very likely include being cagy even about his class, considering the whole "huppermage gencocide" thing that happened after Leorictus Sheran-Sharm.

The thing about Joris is that it is hard to appraise him from our own point of view. I had always liked how this franchise treats immortal characters, — they are beings with feelings, who make mistakes, who have issues.

But it does not make them any less incomprehensible.

In a way, he is so compelling to me, because I find his existence terrifying — Joris is someone who started out with all these ideas of kindness and justice, but can someone who is 600 years old really uphold them?

Judging from Waven, we know the answer to this question.

I think that with Joris's character, as well as Kerubim and Atcham, one of the major themes is stagnation.

While at times their immortality, and the freedom it provides, is referred to in a bit of an "optimistic nihilism" way,

Especially with the themes and motifs referenced in Aux Tresors de Kerubim, (especially with the ending directly referencing Diane Ardant's monologue,)

It's such a painful mixture of stagnation and endless freedom. There's a horror of never being able to escape, — not from having to experience the horrors of history, not from your own childhood house.

And then there's the horror of moving on from everyone you ever loved. While Kerubim and Joris share this one, I associate it more with Kerubim simply because he is so obsessed with the stories of his youth. It feels as if what was two hundred years ago is just yesterday, to him...

While with Atcham it's just speculation and my own headcanons, the sort of immortality, stagnation related horror I associate with him is dependency. He is not the same, strong person he used to be when he was alone. If he had to go back to Brakmar after all this time, he wouldn't be able to adjust. It's like all this time has declawed him.

Joris never really knew a life outside the all-consuming relationship he has with Kerubim and Atcham, but for Atcham it's different. And with every unchanging year that passes, he settles more and more into this peaceful existence, — and if he were torn away from it, just like Joris and Kerubim, he would not be able to function.

I think that the theoretical endpoint of where Kerubim, Joris, and Atcham could end up is whatever is going between Qilby and Shinonome.

Being one another's only meaning, in a world devoid of meaning, for better or for worse. Probably for worse.

[mynameiskan]

When Cloud reunites with meets Rufus in Advent Children.

I still have 1 more silly idea I would like to draw before moving to your requests. I had such a weird dream last night and I must share it with the world 🤣

Thank you for all the warm welcome. I really need it at the moment ❤

I just wanna vent a bit so please skip if you don't want me to waste your precious time.

I rarely feel confident about myself and my skills so it took me a lot of courage to post my artwork in public.

When I decided to draw again, I think it was February this year, one of my friends who I consider as my mentor did encourage me a lot. When I wanted to draw some ikemen for Ikemen Sengoku and Samurai Love Ballad Party fandoms, many amazing people here gave me the courage I needed to keep drawing and posting.

Then artblock, self-doubt and anxiety hit me again and I thought I might not be able to draw anymore. One of my close friends reached out and told me to enjoy Final Fantasy 7 with her. I was also curious about Sephiroth and his popularity so I agreed to try, at that time I just wanted to kill some time. Then, maybe it was really a miracle, I fell in love with Rufus x Cloud, the handsome young president of Shinra and our spiky boy. That friend of mine is also a Rufus x Cloud fan and she told me that very few people like this ship so we didn't have much fanart. She would sometimes feed me a silly idea and I would then draw for both her and my own enjoyment.

Thank you again for enjoying my fanart 🥰 You guys give me a lot of courage and now I finally can take the next big step in my life and my career. I want to get better in English and get a Master Degree in the near future. I may be busier but now I finally find out what I love to do in my life, I will not stop drawing for my dear fandoms.

Thank you for coming to my Ted-talk 😂 I hope my fanart can entertain you all for a long time.

[deva-arts]

Commission details!

I've decided I'm opening commissions! I only have three slots open at a time, so it's first-come, first-serve~

I offer everything from colored sketches:

To fully detailed pieces:

To backgrounds/Environments...

To comics!

I also do reference sheets!

I am open to doing other art formats, just let me know!

Will do: (Send References!)

-Oc work -Fanart -Fantasy -Humanoid/personification work -Environments -Creature design -Machines/mechs -Weapons (i.e, guns, artillery, ornate knives/swords, etc.)  -Anime styles -Extremely Intricate armor/clothing

Will not do:

-NSFW/Erotic work -Fetish art of ANY kinds -Heavy Gore (i.e. viscera, graphic depictions of wounds, etc.) -Religious pieces

Read on for pricing and details!

--PRICING--

My prices work as an add-on system so you can mix and match for your desired results :D

Linework:

Sketched lines- $20 Clean Line art- $30

Here's an example of Sketched vs Clean lines!

Coloring:

Flat color, unshaded- $20 Full shading- $50

And an example of flat vs. full shading!

Sizing-

Bust- +$10 Waist up-+$30 full body- +$45

Here's some examples of how sizing applies!

So a head-up piece with flat shading and clean lines goes for $60, but you could also order a fully shaded, full body piece with clean line-work for $125. It all depends on you!

Now for some extras!

Backgrounds:

Simple (A pattern or gradient of your liking.) Free of charge!

Furniture/Props (Your character is sitting on something! So cool.) +$10

Complex- (A scene, setting or location) $10-40

There is a discount for adding extra characters!

Two Extra Characters: 10% Discount off of total price. Three Extra Characters: 15% Discount off of Total price. Five or more: 40% Discount off of total price!

So let's say you want a piece of five ocs, friends, what say you. All of them are fully shaded, waist up with clean lines and a full, complex background.

That's $110 x 5 for the characters + $40 for the background = $590, But at forty percent off, you save nearly $240. Woah.

And that's not all...

Repeat customers also get a discount!!!

*Those who have commissioned me twice can get $15 off on one commission of their choice. Four commission orders from them will get them $20 off on one commission of their choice. Ten will get them $30 off on one commission of their choice.

*People who have ordered ten or more commissions will be considered legacy customers who will always get $35 off on their commissions <3

To consider:

The more detail, the more references needed for extra accuracy! (I would prefer you send me any specifics you'd like, rather than go to google and risk getting things wrong.)

No rushing, please! I will give your order all my time and attention! I will give you updates and estimates on how long it will take to finish.

Pay is upfront, with sketches and screenshots sent to you for progress updates.

(Sketches are not guaranteed to look like the final product, since I usually refine as I go. Please specify if you want them to look just like the sketch!)

Complex clothing or armor may take more time, but only because I want you to get what you paid for lol.

Lastly, pricing for comics and reference sheets will be different to that of a normal illustration- it depends on the number of panels, the complexity, the amount of characters, and their backgrounds... Which can't be charged the same in good faith.

Due to this, it's better if you just ask me what you would like to have done! I'll be sure to find a reasonable price, comics are cool and I want you to have one.

Let me know if you have any questions~ Feel free to PM me for inquiries too!

[bikenesmith]

ive noticed some engagement on some of my monkees (shit)posts from way back in 2012/2013 — my 14/15 year old self. which is endearing, bc im aware the monkees fandom is still going, and is perhaps even more active than it was in my day. this did remind me of a @fansplaining article by allegra rosenberg / @areyougonnabe that i finally got around to reading earlier this week, the beatles live!

(i have no idea how long some of you have been here, so to recap i was fully obsessed with classic rock bands and 1960s/70s pop culture from like, 12 to 15 years old. profound impact on me in many ways, still love 60s/70s music, culture and history. also lmfao at my fandom of the last near-decade being sparked by a film set in the 60s. the several page video essay script about x-men first class' anachronistic 1960s fashion, which is sooo close to actually being filmed, will likely be the ultimate culmination of it all) the beatles were my first music fandom — while i still have feelings for the monkees [obviously, considering my ~12 year attachment to this url across nearly all of my social media] it is the beatles that i still have brain worms for. a tiny, isolated worm, but one nonetheless. so this article, i had to read.)

i was really taken by this section on the anachronistic modernizing of beatles fandom activities.

It takes a certain stripe of fannish brain to obsess over music from a bygone age instead of modern artists—taking something as broadly popular as classic rock and treating it with all the intimate, loving attention that other fans devote to a sci-fi television show, a fantasy book series, or a cult video game. These fans are cultural archaeologists, working with the materials of the past to create the passion of the present. The phenomenon is not limited to the Beatles. On TikTok, fans place meme tweets on pictures of the Stones and Bob Dylan; celebrate Freddie Mercury’s style; and make Monkees fancams. But the Beatles fandom is still top dog, with a kind of default dominance it retains from the dawn of Beatlemania. On Tumblr, you can find gifsets of Beatles movies, fanart, and the occasional Yoko Ono stan post, side by side with more typically Tumblr-esque wackiness along the lines of Paul McCartney posts tagged “#my twink wife”, “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer” memes, and toxic yaoi polls.

it made me think about how this phenomenon — the blending of modern fan practices and modern pop culture (fancams, memes, insaneposting, etc) with classic rock fandom is not new (not that allegra insinuates it is — i am speaking generally), but is something that has been around for a while, and is something i participated in quite heavily when it came to monkees fandom. whether it was

editing a music video to the tune of marina + the diamonds

making art of mike nesmith as a genderbent marina + the diamonds analog

not to mention the entirety of the who (slight flashing tw)

creating mockups of a classic rock-themed homestuck/OFF/undertale/earthbound analog:

classic rock icons using homestuck icons as a base

blending classic rock into my ~aesthetic~ blog theme sensibilities:

this video where i did nothing but put the beginning of baby got back over a scene from the first episode of the monkees and the music lined up almost frighteningly well

or creating emo notepad screenshot aesthetic posts with quotes from head (1968)....

i was very invested in engineering (or maybe just yearning for + acting out desires?) a form of classic rock fandom that was "hip" to the modern fandoms i was aware of. this was likely inspired by the fact that monkees fandom at the time skewed older.

i cannot for the life of me find these accounts or screenshots of them, but i think the ultimate expression of this was a collection of twitter accounts i made as mockups of twitter stan accounts, modeled directly off of one direction accounts at the time. complete with icons that were cut-outs of musicians overlayed onto aesthetic background, and descriptions that noted how many times the musicians had interacted with them.

importantly, i could not have sustained this if not for the close friends i had at the time that were around my age and were on my wavelength, that supported it, commiserated with me, made lots — especially on the homestuck parts. even if it was a small thing, in a small fandom, it was a communal effort

idk. its interesting to see that these dreams of mine have now come to fruition.

abrupt stop, no conclusion bc this is just a post not an essay (a comment directed at my autistic ocd self). may be interesting to some of the nouveau classic rock fandom.

[emlan]

Finished expansion!

Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail done, here's some MSQ spoiler thoughts:

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.

.

.

.

I've had XIV on ice for a while so I was going into it as a casual and not a diehard fangirl but still I am shocked and disappointed by how bored I was during the whole thing… And annoyed, which is a bigger crime. Constantly wondering why characters act like they do or why they aren't asking about X.

Alphinaud and Alisae did nothing and they were both an eyesore with their old outfits, dressing them in local threads would've been so easy and a cute way to buff the immersion of visiting a new continent. (To be fair I guess they HAVE to tag along even if the writer doesn't want them there due to Trusts? I'd argue Krile and Erenville were just pieces of furniture until the very last stretch too but they were at least interested in the same goal as Wuk Lamat so they didn't feel out of place.)

My fav stuff is interacting and bonding with characters new and old but it doesn't feel like we got much of that? Trying to picture what people will even draw fanart of for DT of and all my mind's eye can see is Wuk Lamat lovers drawing WoLship art or just her looking cute and/or hot. (Also Erenville looking cute and/or hot.)

Doing a "sweet girl turns into massive threat" right after a "sweet girl turns into massive threat" expansion is rather brazen but it is a Classic so whatever. Would've been neat if she was an adult woman instead.

I could probably rant about several particular moments but I can feel myself slowly starting to morph into a WORST expansion EVER red-arrow-and-circle YouTube thumbnail which would be rather unsexy of me so I'll go ahead and choose happiness by listing the things I enjoyed instead;

Starting with the incredible lvl 93 weapons!!!! They all look like bland NPC pieces which is something super rare in this game, such a breath of fresh air. The NIN daggers especially is pure 10/10 and I was even considering changing my never-glamming-it-away ARR longbow into the new BRD one. The new sets are good too, I'm not much for scifi-y gear but the ones you get before Solution 9 are very nice and the aiming top gave my lizard a very lovely waist. I was really lucky to get the golden bangle hand drop that all Tuliyollal NPCs wear so I could fit in proper :3 Tweaking my main glam slightly to blend into each new areas better was a big source of fun.

Zoraal Ja bringing back an SSR Alpaca made me chuckle.

The moblin pot contract stuff is very endearing, basically they are keeping a crafter as a personal pet to love and pamper so they can do their best work? Such a cute Human Cattle aligned setup even though it's a mutual agreement and not actual ownership.

I liked the little merchant/seller skit we do with Koana even if my main glee was just seeing him wear something that didn't clash with his teal hair.

I perked up during the cooking contest introduction since it seemed like the chance for shenanigans was high, but they didn't really play around with it. At least we got Alisae musing to herself about Zuraal Ja and Baka Ja Ja in matching aprons 👌 Is the Fu awakening in you, my girl…?

Bakool Ja Ja doing his best to help out and getting a little flustered when receiving thanks after having been a stupid miserable bully that pretty much set off a nuke willy-nilly was nice, but only bcs I tend to clap like a seal no matter what when this trope appears. Since I am choosing happiness I'm not gonna comment more on his character.

The play was delightful as was the FF9 town wink in general (I also laughed for the wrong reasons at poor Otis doing a voice gag in an unvoiced cutscene, at least it still got the gist across well.)

lvl 100 dungeon nice presentation.

And…

Of course…….

Koana turning out to be an all-in siscon 🙏

Blessed be. It was rather predictable him and Wuk Lamat would end up as a duo ruler pair to cover each other's weaknesses, but her energetic public marriage proposal and stone carving to truly show off their union ran with the premise more than what I had braced for!

Love him feeling super jealous and obviously having been crying in the shower over WoL getting asked about a place in his sister's court [before he knew he had a place too] and then later him also clearly feeling threatened when she states that she views the WoL as one of her beloved siblings too. So pathetic clearly wanting to be the only Brother™ in her life ❤

I was kinda eyes emoji at Zoraal Ja too when he was staring at his sister with icy contempt, emboldened by my incest win when it came to the catboy I dared to dream that the oldest brother also harbored some obsessive feelings towards her that he didn't know how to handle, but that's not quite what happened… It's a shame we didn't get flashbacks of all those siblings together in various stages of life, I kept forgetting they were actually family so Wuk Lamat angsting over her evil brother made me go Oh Right every time I got reminded.

Lastly it wasn't quite part of the MSQ but the chuuni villain roundtable intro for the Role Quests was very silly (positive) and probably the most entertained I was during these past 4 days. Well, besides the actual trial fights being fun but I don't count those for story.

Ignoring the "human" faces and only going by the world the graphics/lighting update is very nice! My guy made it out OK but it stings a bit every time I see his mouth having had its charm nerfed. Very impressed by the not-Vanu Vanu, Horthgals and Mamool Jas facial expressions. However, hairstyles all look worse than before, so soft and "washed out"? I'm exaggerating for effect rn but Koana looks like he has a soft teal cloud as hair basically? And the twins' white hair is now too uniformly white without the darker hair strand lines…

The inn room is probably the nicest looking one we've gotten so far, both luxurious and cozy vibes. Always crack up seeing my Au Ra in bed nothing says relaxation like a super stiff coffin pose.

Quite bummed I couldn't find as much excitement as in previous expacks and I probably won't bother renewing sub for a while, but at least I already have other fandoms to keep me occupied.

[amethystina]

Shipper Tag Game

I was tagged by @a-very-fond-farewell! Thank you so much, darling! Though I'm not sure how good I'll be at it x'D

---

1. What ship were you completely obsessed with when you were a teenager, but now you don’t care anymore?

Honestly? None. While I did have some ships I was interested in, I wasn't obsessed with any of them. And I kind of still care about them? In a very nostalgic way. So I kind of fail at both parts of this question x'D

2. Which ship would you consider your first one?

If I'm going with the one I got really invested in? Destiel tbh. Mainly because I was very much a late bloomer who didn't really discover fandom and fanfics until I was 20-21. I mean, I HAD read some before that but since I didn't have internet in my apartment until I went to university (I was too poor xD), it wasn't easy for me to access them. Shipping is just easier when you have internet.

But, once I had it, I DID revisit a couple of ships that were technically older than Destiel that I had never really gotten into before that, many of them from video games, anime/manga, and books I'd read. But they were all overshadowed by Destiel so that's the one I remember as my first.

3. Your first fanfic belonged to which couple?

Are we talking reading or writing? I guess I'll do both?

Reading: I think it was a Zell Dincht/Seifer Almasy one from Final Fantasy VIII that a friend printed out on actual paper and gave to me back when I was 16 or 17 (again, no internet). And I honestly can't say why he picked that pairing xD (I'm definitely more of a Squall/Seifer girlie now)

Writing: Sterek. Because it felt interesting but also not too intimidating. And I also just like werewolves?

4. Do you remember the first couple you saw a fanart over?

Not really, no. Since I've been drawing for so long I spent more time looking for art than fanfics when I was younger so I probably stumbled over a lot of them without even knowing it.

5. Did you ever get into ship discourse?

Not if I can help it, no. I tend to stay away from that sort of thing as best I can and just let people ship whatever they want. It's honestly none of my business.

6. Did you use to have any no-otp or have it currently?

I have several, mostly based on what I find triggering or squicky. But I don't announce them publically because that's just rude to those who DO ship them. And, as stated above, I try not to get involved in what other people ship or don't ship.

7. Who were the couples in the last fanfic you read?

Choi Yoon/Yoon Hwa Pyung from The Guest. Because who doesn't love some pining and Catholic guilt?

For real, though, I read very few fanfics right now and actually had to go check my history on AO3 to figure this out x'D The second to last fanfic was a Strangers From Hell one. And the one before that was a Guardian one!

8. Currently do you have any OTPs?

Several. Honestly too many to list x'D I'm one of those people who don't really let go of ships I like. They're not always at the forefront of my mind, though, but I remember them fondly and coo a little when I think of all the fond memories.

But if we're talking about the ones I'm the most focused on right now I'd say Kang Yo Han/Kim Ga On from The Devil Judge, Yoon Sa Wol/5-8 from Black Knight (currently struggling with chapter 6 x'D), the aforementioned Choi Yoon/Yoon Hwa Pyung from The Guest, and Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan from Guardian.

9. Is there any couple that, to this day, you are extremely mad about not getting together?

Sterek. But that has less to do with my dedication to the characters and more to do with the queerbaiting and how extremely shittily Jeff Davis handled that whole thing. To use the Sterek shippers for publicity and hint that maybe it could happen, only to turn around and do everything within his power to not make it happen?

I take that personally, not because I have a huge stake in Stiles and Derek as characters, but as a queer person who, for once, thought that maybe we would actually get to see a couple we really liked get together, and then didn't.

I had more hope for Sterek than I ever did for Destiel, which technically had more in-canon queerbaiting, because the people behind Teen Wolf did their damndest to give me hope. Only for me to be ignored and basically told I was being gullible for ever thinking it would happen.

And that's a betrayal I'm probably never going to forgive.

10. Is there any ship you used to dislike but now you think they are kind of interesting?

Not... really? I can't think of any, at least. But that could be because I always have a pretty good reason for disliking the ships I dislike. As mentioned, it's usually based on triggers and squicks and those don't really change. So my opinion on ships I dislike aren't likely to change, either.

11. Do you have any ship that, in the past, was considered normal but now you would be cancelled over?

I mean, considering the social climate right now? Even Sterek qualifies because Stiles was underage when I started shipping them and Derek most certainly was not xD That said, I always prefer the fics when Stiles had time to turn 18 before any of the sexy stuff happened.

12. What was your favourite crack ship?

Okay, so, I've actually read a lot of fics for ships I don't actually ship, just for research purposes. Like, I find it FASCINATING to watch what other people like, how they choose to write about the things they like, and how they decide to portray the characters. Basically, I like to analyse authors just as much as I like to analyse characters. It's a hobby of mine.

And one of my absolute favourites was reading fanfics for Newt Scamander and the original Percival Graves from the first Fantastic Beasts movie (Sidenote: She-who-must-not-be-named is an asshole and this is not an endorsement of her franchise or shitty beliefs). And why I loved that so much was because the fics were about THE ORIGINAL Percival Graves who, technically, was never IN the actual movie (he might not even be alive anymore?). Like, it was Grindelwald all the time. We never actually SAW the original Percival Graves, just Grindelwald's impersonation of him.

And I just had so much fun reading various authors' takes on this character who was never actually seen but, based on Grindelwald's impersonation, can sort of be hinted? Because he must have done a good enough job of it that the people around Graves didn't notice? It was like an anthropological dig of Percival Graves transpiring right before my eyes and since I got on the train pretty early, I could see authors being inspired by each other and how the fanon developed over time. 10/10 would recommend if you're interested in watching a fandom evolve.

(also, some of the fics were so fucking good. So there's that, too xD)

13. Who is the couple you read most fanfics of?

I'm not entirely sure if it's Destiel or Stony, but definitely one of them (Sterek is most likely in third place). Partly because there are just so many to partake in (those fandoms are HUGE), but also because they've been with me for so long and numbers accumulate. That said, I haven't read any for those ships in a long, long time. But considering how many fics I devoured during the time I was the most active in those fandoms? It's going to be difficult for any of the ones I'm currently into to catch up.

Also because I tend to be in much smaller fandoms now >_>

14. What do most of your ships usually have in common?

WELL. A while back I would have said that even if there are some enemies-to-lovers tropes and antagonising in some of them, they're all mostly unproblematic and pretty healthy.

... I can't really do that anymore, can I? x'D

I mean, Kang Yo Han is problematic all on his own, but even HE is a green flag compared to Seo Moon Jo. That fucker is just a straight-up psychopath x'D

A more serious answer: An interesting dynamic. Which sounds like a given, but is actually a bit more tricky than that. Because I've only gotten more and more picky over the years. I've actually spoken to my wife and friends about this, because I've seen a pretty noticeable shift in my own shipping practices lately.

I gather fewer and fewer new ships and that's not because I watch/read fewer things, but because I'm getting pickier about them. There has to be an extra spark that interests me, often connected to the characters' personalities and how they play off each other, while, before, a bit of chemistry was enough.

But that also makes me more versatile, I guess? Because I focus less on tropes and more on characters and dynamics. But that also makes it harder to spot similarities xD

15. What do you absolutely hate in a ship?

I mean, hate is a strong word. But, again, it would mostly be connected to my triggers. I don't like ships that are too abusive and unbalanced. A little bit of danger is fine, but things like abuse, infidelity, grooming, non-con etc. don't work for me, personally.

---

I don't really know who to tag so just do it if you want to! :D

[acourtofthought]

Hello!

First of all I would like to say that I love your blog so much! thank you for all your work with books and theories! ❤️‍🔥

Some time ago, when HOFAS was finally released, I saw some of E/riel's comments about Azriel's and Nesta's words about her role in the liquidation of King of Hybern.

It's a bit funny that I see their ideas without my own will. But, well, it's the internet.

It has been suggested that Azriel and Nesta know that Elain is disgusted by violence, and so don't mention her important role in that deal.

And Lucien doesn't know her at all. The fact that he mentioned Elain's role in it is another proof of his incompatibility with Elain. It's as if he didn't care that she doesn't like violence and didn't understand that she might feel uncomfortable when he noticed her role in the act of violence....

It's fantastic how they can justify any disrespect for Elain by others by claiming it's a good thing.

What do you think about that?

First I love your gif, Maggie Smith conveys everything you're talking about with a single look. And thank you for your ask! ❤️ I think the argument you're referring to is pretty ridiculous E/riel take. Elain doesn't like violence but that doesn't mean she won't admit to the part she played in something. "I just stabbed him". Elain gave herself credit for stabbing the King, correct? She made sure to give Nesta credit too but she didn't say, "I don't want to talk about that", she didn't say, "I had nothing to do with it". She also said, "You do not decide what I can and cannot do" in SF and I'm taking that to mean Elain would not appreciate Az and Nesta deciding for her that she should not receive credit for something because they figure she doesn't want it. They do twist the most insulting things to Elain's character just to force together the mismatched puzzle pieces of Elain and Az. Somehow Az claiming Elain should not be exposed to the darkness of the Trove after SHE JUST VOLUNTEERED is romantic. Somehow Nesta claiming Elain was a dog and that she shouldn't be allowed to do anything dangerous are good things? Somehow Az not thinking of how to actually be with Elain beyond his sexual fantasies is a declaration of love on his part. Also, it's pretty amusing they'll claim Nesta and Az were protecting Elain because they know she doesn't like violence while turning around and calling her Kingslayer in their posts, creating fanart where she has a dagger strapped to her thigh, where they'll claim the NC's torturer is her perfect match, where they'll write about how Elain knows the details of Az's work and she's fine with it.

As far as Lucien, I think it's clear when Elain hadn't left her room for weeks, and wasn't eating, sleeping, or drinking until Lucien arrived and insisted they get her outside that he knows her way better than he had any right to considering they were strangers. Az seemed pretty unaffected by Elain's comatose state and he had met her before. I'd much rather a guy give me credit for my bravery and leave it up to me to decide how much credit I want over a guy giving me zero credit for anything because he assumes I'm a shy little flower who needs protected.

[itsanidiom]

SHIPPER TAG GAME

LET'S GOOOOO~ tagged by @negrowhat

1. What ship were you completely obsessed with when you were a teenager, but now you don't care anymore?

Glorestor or Glorfindel / Erestor of Middle Earth Fanon Fame. Not that I don't CARE about it anymore, mind you. There's just not enough new content (for obvious reasons god it's old and there's like one conversation of original source material). I don't think about them as much anymore. Like I used to be reading fanfic EVERY NIGHT and we're talking like novel length fanfics (as you can imagine people in the LOTR fandom write lol). Anyway here's some super old fan art... (>u<)

2. Which ship would you consider your first one?

Oh god...something Dynasty Warriors related for sure...

Probably like Sun Ce / Zhao Yu or Gan Ning / Lu Xun. (GO WU! lol) I feel like there were other couples I'm totally forgetting right now...but yeah god I love Dynasty Warriors...

Also...daaamn Gan Ning looks good there I should go buy the latest game. (>w<)

3. Your first fanfic belonged to which couple?

Like the first one I wrote or read?? I went into my oldest of old "old writing" folders and found this list of docs that I haven't been touched in over ten years. SO I'm gonna saaaay it was a Dynasty Warriors fanfic...one of these pairings. (^ ^;)

Also kind of hilarious to see that I literally still organize my fanfic files in the same way for over half my fucking life ago...nice...

4. Do you remember the first couple you saw a fanart over?

I feel like it would have been something Inuyasha related. That or something Final Fantasy X. I do not remember, but it was probably some version of these scene.

5. Did you ever get into ship discourse?

Not that I can remember...do not need this in my life...lol but maybe I've reblogged some RPF like discourse? Like the "should or shouldn't you ship" type discussions. I'm on the side of "do whatever you want but don't send it to the famous people" [ex. like ATEEZ fanfic/fanart] or "if they are literally doing it as part of their promo go ahead, it's for fun/they literally requested it as part of their promo" [ex. BillyBabe]. (^ ^;)

6. Did you used to have any no-otp or have it currently?

It honestly always depends on the quality of the fanart or the fanfic because even a notp can turn into a OH!tp if it's good enough. [Exhibit a: my Phaya/Tharn/Chalothorn fanfic]

7. Who were the couple in the last fanfic you read?

Weirdly the one new Chalothon/Singh fic from The Sign. But I really need AO3 to fix the spelling of his name in the tag...

8. Currently, do you have any OTPs?

PhayaTharn are the current obsession~

Look at them...adorable...

9. Is there any couple that, to this day, you are extremely mad about not getting together?

Still wish John Wick / Santino fucked...also like James Bond / Q and The Protagonist / Neil and Arthur / Eames...bromance is SUCH a waste but considering the genres of these movies it is never gonna happen...I have to wait for the Thai BL versions lol (^ ^;)

10. Is there any ship you used to dislike but now you think they are kind of interesting?

OH I haven't been traumatized by watched it yet, but Dead Friends Forever has made me get onboard with Macau/Chay of KinnPorsche fame because OMG LOOK AT THESE CUTIES!!!!

11. Do you have any ship that, in the past, was considered normal but now you would be cancelled over?

GOD I remember there was a LOT of Sesshomaru x Inuyasha yaoi when I was a kid LMFAO like...straight up cancelled...I dunno if it was normal back then but no yaoi was normal back then so like it sadly all got lumped together or something...then again looking at some of the comics that are coming out these days...

12. What was your favorite crack ship?

All the McFassy ships from back in the day like OMG REMEMBER JUNGKOV?? STELIOS AND LETO??? ARCHIE AND ROBBIE? SO MANY CROSSOVERS!!

LOL Sorry that just brought me back LOL

13. Who is the couple you read more fanfics of?

Ahhhh I don't know...I usually either write a lot or read a lot...I literally have a fic rec list for Glorestor lol and then when I look in my AO3 bookmarks the top ship is Hannigram sooooo let's say Hannigram even though I haven't read one for a while.

14. What most of your ships usually have in common?

toll and smol...i like me a toll and a smoll...lol or big and small...i dunno something something contrast something something just crush him and/or be uncharacteristically gentle or somehow incapacitate the larger man with your wiles...that is all...

15. What do you absolutely hate in a ship?

Miscommunication < seconding @negrowhat's response. Cannot stand it. Such a boring trope. Very annoying for me (the audience).

[sephesisweek]

What is all this about?

Sephesis Week is an annual event to encourage the creation of works centered on pairing Sephiroth and Genesis Rhapsodos of Final Fantasy VII, a ship referred to throughout the fandom as Sephesis, SephGen, or GenSeph. This is an unofficial fan-run event and is neither representative of nor in affiliation with Square Enix Holdings Co., Ltd., Tetsuya Nomura, Gackt, or any entities legally connected to the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII.

What's the deal with the prompts?

There are a total of three prompts for any given day of the event, each following the same general concept from different perspectives. The two core prompts are single words, while the alternate prompt is a short canon-relevant phrase meant for creators who don't feel particularly inspired by single word prompts. You are free to use any prompt in any order or combination; you can use either (or both) core prompts one day, then an alternate prompt the next, or any other combination thereof.

Who can participate?

Anyone who wants to! Literally—although this comes with the caveat that participants or entries that violate the event guidelines will not be reblogged to the event account or added to the Archive collection.

Just because you won't get a reblog doesn't mean you can't participate! The guidelines are designed to keep the official Sephesis Week page(s) safe and accessible to all audiences, but the event itself is open to all regardless.

What do I get for participating?

This is a no-profit, voluntary event; participation is meant to be a matter of celebration and appreciation.

As a thank-you for participation, a set of digital "badges" featuring custom artwork was offered at the end of Sephesis Week 2024. These may be returning for 2025, but this presently can't be confirmed.

What kind of work is allowed?

Sephesis Week accepts fanworks of any kind and any rating that don't violate the event guidelines. The event does not accept gifsets, moodboards, fanmixes, screenshots, official art, anything machine generated, or work that has been traced or copied from another source not created by the participant. Work hosted offsite must not be paywalled or locked behind a privacy filter.

Fanart, fanfiction, cosplay photos and most other fanworks created by the participant exclusively for the event are accepted. Fan animations and 3D renders are considered fanart, cosplay and custom dolls are considered photography, and poetry and song lyrics are considered fanfiction.

Is there an alternate hosting platform for the kind of NSFW artwork prohibited by tumblr community guidelines?

Pillowfort is recommended for hosting adult visual art! Just drop a non-anonymous ask to be provided* with an invite link. Secondary recommendations include Pixiv and Poipiku, but both require strict adherence to Japanese censorship laws.

Post a censored or cropped version of the piece here on tumblr with a link to the external host, and ping @sephesisweek so it can be reblogged to the event account!

Can other ships be included in our work?

As long as monogamous Sephesis is the main focus of the piece, what goes on around it is open to anything! This means that you can have any other characters dating in the background or having unrequited feelings for someone in the main ship, but neither Sephiroth nor Genesis should be portrayed as in a relationship with them. This means Genesis and Angeal seeing each other on the side in the present tense shouldn't be included (unless they're breaking up or there's some other mitigating circumstance), but Genesis and Angeal having seen each other in the past or Angeal having unrequited feelings for Genesis in the present is fine.

For a highly specific note that's necessary based on the prevalence of this in the fandom, if your work is explicit and you don't consider it AGS because Angeal doesn't take part in the explicit portion of the piece, but is referred to or indicated to be in a relationship with either Sephiroth or Genesis outside the context of that scene, that is still AGS and is not permitted for the event. "Ship" is shortened from "relationship," not an acronym for "Sex Had In Proximity."

What does it mean to post something publicly versus non-publicly?

It’s quite common for participants in fan week events to finish prompt fills in advance of the event itself. Posting behind a paywall on a platform like Patreon or Ko-Fi and sharing work with friends in a private server is not considered posting publicly. Sharing snippets of works-in-progress is also fine, since the guideline applies to finished work specifically.

What does "characters must be recognizable" mean in reference to AUs?

Alternate universe renditions of characters are allowed and encouraged. However, if the alternate universe in question features Genesis recast as a white cisgender woman with brown eyes and blonde hair who answers exclusively to the nickname Essie and spends her weekends picketing with the Westboro Baptist Church, the character is no longer recognizable. Obviously this is an extreme example, but hopefully clarifies the rule a little better.

My work wasn't reblogged to the event account!

Oh no! There's always a chance of things slipping through the cracks with events like these, so if this happens to you please reach out! While it's likely that your work is in the queue, it's also possible that it didn't show up in the tag search, that the event account wasn't properly pinged, or that the post or work violated the event guidelines in some way. Drop an ask with a link to your post and we'll figure it out!

I saw someone bashing a character or ship in their work for the event.

First, keep in mind that criticism of a character or ship is not equivocal to bashing. Saying or illustration unpleasant things about a character or ship is not necessarily bashing. Context and intent is important.

Likewise, actually bashing a character in blog posts not meant for the event is absolutely not considered a violation of the event guidelines. Sephesis Week has neither the time nor the energy to police people for being nasty about a fictional character outside the bounds of the event.

If something was reblogged to the event account that you genuinely believe constitutes bashing, drop a non-anonymous ask with a link to the piece in question and an explanation of your reasoning, and it will be reviewed as soon as possible. Anonymous asks used to report content will be ignored, and any reports deemed malicious will result in the reporter being permanently blacklisted from this and all subsequent and related events.

What if I have "a history" of tracing / copying / something else prohibited in the guidelines, but I don't do those things anymore?

People make mistakes all the time, that doesn't mean they can't change! If you're worried about your work not being reblogged to the event account due to something that happened the past, drop a non-anonymous ask and we'll talk it over. Anonymous asks on this topic will be ignored due to the inability to respond in private.

How do I tag/flag sensitive content?

On the Archive of Our Own, participants must use the Archive's warning labels as is appropriate, with a preference against the "Creator Chose Not To Warn" option. (No one can stop you, but comprehensive warnings would be preferred.) These labels include: "Graphic Depictions Of Violence," "Major Character Death," "Rape/Non-Con," and "Underage." Ratings must also be applied appropriately, ranging from "General Audiences" to "Explicit." See the Archive's guides on ratings and warnings for more information.

All participants should also tag or warn for the following content as applicable:

Genderbending

Body Horror / Medical Horror

Pregnancy

A/B/O Dynamics / Omegaverse

Drug Use

Dubious Consent

BDSM / RACK

Abuse / Undernegotiated Kink

Bloodplay / Scat / Emetophilia / etc.

Ageplay / DDLG / DDLB / etc.

Incest*

Racism / Transphobia / Homophobia / etc.

(This list may be updated over time!)

*Both characters having Jenova cells does not make them related any more than two people contracting the same strain of the flu renders them related. Growing up together does not make two people related. Knowing one another as children does not make two people related. Please only use this tag if it is actually applicable in the context of your work.

This list is considered "boilerplate," assembled from known tropes and content in fandom as a whole, and reflects neither the support nor the opposition of Sephesis Week.

"Dead dove do not eat" is an acceptable tag only in conjunction with other warnings; if this is the only tag used to describe your creation, it will be assumed to exclusively feature deceased and inedible birds and it will not be reblogged to the event account. Likewise, without more detailed qualifiers, "whump" is a sound effect, not a content warning.

For posts hosted natively on tumblr, participants should not violate the community guidelines, are expected to tag their work with warnings in line with those used on the Archive (in order to make it easier for Sephesis Week to apply the right tags when reblogging to the event account), and must apply the correct community filter. Visual work hosted elsewhere and linked from tumblr via thumbnail or censored variant should have any sensitive content warnings applicable to the full version of the piece in tags or the body of the post, whether the tumblr post itself requires a community filter or not.

Sephesis Week welcomes all types of content, but work must be appropriately tagged in order to allow viewers to curate their online experience appropriately!

Does the event account have a tag structure that can be used for blacklisting certain content warnings or viewing specific types of work?

Yes! All rating and content-based tags are listed in this post to make it as easy as possible to filter things on the event account.

Fanworks reblogged to the main event account will be tagged for organization purposes as either #fanart, #fanfiction, or #photography, as well as with the year of the event and the prompt used for the entry. Check the directory for detailed tag reference (when available).

There's a warning missing from your list.

This is to be expected, as the list itself is "boilerplate" and can't possibly cover every single type of content that might warrant tagging in the course of an event like this. To have a tag added to the filter list, please drop an ask!

What does it mean that you encourage cross-posting and self-advertisement?

A lot of events like this discourage participants from linking to their other work or posting their work in places separate from the event host platform—Sephesis Week doesn't believe in that. If you link to your print shop or your Patreon in the body of your post, you'll get reblogged to the event account all the same. If you want to crosspost you work to Xitter or Pillowfort or bluesky, you should do it. You do good work and you deserve to have it showcased!

This is, of course, within reason; link-spamming is prohibited, but doing that will get you blacklisted from tag searches anyway, so maybe just…don't do that? Just in general? For the purposes of Sephesis Week, you should use simple text links in the body of the post. Links to crowdfunding campaigns are prohibited.

Why isn't AGS or AZSGC allowed?

This event has been organized to celebrate Sephiroth and Genesis exclusively. Both Angeal/Genesis/Sephiroth and Crisis Core's big gay polycule have an enormous amount of fanworks dedicated to them, but there's very little overall featuring these two in a strictly monogamous romantic relationship.

I'm not interested in this pairing outside AGS.

That's fine! This event is not for you.

I hate Genesis.

This event is not for you.

I'm pretty sure both of these characters are straight.

Everyone's wrong sometimes! Also, this event is not for you.

Don't Sephiroth and Genesis hate each other?

I am begging you to actually play Crisis Core.

Wasn't there a Sephesis Week a while back? Is this run by the same people?

This event is unaffiliated with lilly-white's SephGen Week 2017 (tumblr tag); the head organizer of Sephesis Week is @getvalentined.

Why do you have so many rules?

In order to make an event where everyone can enjoy themselves without worrying about stumbling over something that puts them off the event altogether, Sephesis Week is run similarly to old-school fandom events back on LiveJournal. This means that there are no limits on the kind of work that is accepted with regard to content, but tags are integral and warnings are required.

…Why does this post say it was made in 2008? Why does the Directory say it was posted in 1992?!

Dates are an illusion; the dates on blog entries, moreso.

Real answer: it keeps them from showing up on followers' dashboards, in searches, or from sitting above actual event entries in the blog view. The date on both this post and on the event guidelines was chosen because it's when Meteorfall happened! The date in 1992…it's relevant to at least one person.

I have a different question!

Awesome! Send in an ask so you can get an answer!

[saturdaynightghostclub]

Toady FAQ!

Hey y’all! I get a lot of the same questions (both on Tiktok and here in the bog), so I thought I’d answer a bunch of em at once! As always, if you have questions not listed here, I’m happy to chat :)

Are you going to upload/continue the 90s series? (Alternatively: Upload the 90s series. You should upload it to Tumblr. Continue the 90s series.)

With all the love in the world, no. At least not for the moment—ask me again in 6 months!

Writing that series ended up being super stressful, and I’m not super eager to get back in there at the moment. I’m worried I’d continue to carry that stress and that I’d grow to resent the story, which is not at all what I want! I also don’t want to be 8 chapters into a new piece of writing and still have people asking about the 90s series, which I hope is understandable.

By all means, save the posts from Tiktok so you can revisit them. Just please don’t post them anywhere :)

Do you have Spotify? Can you make a playlist of all the songs you used in your Tiktoks?

I’ve thought about this question a lot, and basically: you tell me.

I have a Spotify account, but haven’t shared it for privacy reasons. However, if enough people wanted it, I could be persuaded to change my username and share my playlists :)

I do think it’s fun to have music to go along with a story, and it’s actually the one thing I miss about Tiktok. So the other option would be to maybe post chapters as audio posts with the text underneath, if I can figure out how to do that?

Basically: you tell me what you think, and I’ll do it!

Will your next story feature XYZ?

It depends on your request (and, honestly, the tone in which you ask it). I’m more than happy to consider requests and suggestions, but I have two stipulations:

1. There are certain perspectives and lived experiences from which I simply cannot write accurately; if you’re asking me to write about the experiences of a marginalized group, consider that I might not be the person to portray them. On top of being in a privileged position myself, I’m also just not an experienced enough writer to properly research and depict experiences so inherently different from my own. I can definitely try my best to recommend other writers, but know that, in all things, my knowledge is limited to my own exposure and experience.

2. I cannot possibly make everyone happy. If I took every request I received, I’d end up with a disaster of a story that I wouldn’t even feel like I’d written. I need to retain some creative freedom in order for this to feel worth doing, so while I welcome suggestions please don’t be offended if I don’t take every one I see!

Any advice for people who want to major in English? What are you doing with your degree?

Yes!

Find your niche. Mine was American lit, specifically the weird stuff. The weirder the better—American Gothic, true crime journalism, 19th-century Spiritualism—you name it, I’ve written about it. If you can find a subgenre of literature that you LOVE, nothing you read or write will feel like work.

Don’t edit, rewrite! Print your draft and go over it in red pen, then re-type it with your corrections. I swear by this!

Don’t limit yourself, ever! Take classes on fantasy, sci-fi, children’s lit, climate crisis fiction, religious texts, whatever you can find. You will be better for it!

Everyone is wrong. There’s a TON you can do with an English degree. I worked in finance straight out of college—I knew nothing about business, but my degree taught me to communicate effectively and synthesize information from different sources. You have valuable skills, you just need to learn to market them! Now I’m working in my field and it’s great, but it was never the only option.

DO A STORY ABOUT X IN Y TIME PERIOD SET IN THIS SPECIFIC TOWN!

Beloved, stop yelling at me.

Can I use this as a writing prompt/write my own story/create fanart using these characters?

YES! Knock yourself out, I only ask that you tag me in the final product so I can see your lovely work and hype you up :)

Do you have book/movie/show recs that are similar to your work?

That depends! Send me a specific request (ie: MMCs with similar vibes to Jasper Stevens) and I’ll try my best to recommend you something. If I can’t think of anything, we’ll crowdsource!

[cafalla]

Game Informer Magazine (November 2019, Issue 319) Scans

I try to focus on mainly scanning older items, but I found this Game Informer magazine and couldn't pass it up.

I mean gosh, anything pre-Covid may as well be a relic, right? (jkjk)

Unfortunately the front cover is a bit damaged, but I still really love this art collage of Pikachu and the Sword and Shield starters!

Here's some scans from this issue that I like!

Starting off, here's the fanart page.

These fanart/personal creation corners are my favorite pages in hobby magazines. It makes me so nostalgic for being a preteen and wanting to make and submit my own art in hopes of it being featured!

When I was about 13, I was obsessed with DeviantArt. My dad showed me how to use the scanner so I could scan my own art and post it (on the family computer, of course). My sister came to me one day and asked me to scan her comic that she wanted to submit to the in-game Club Penguin newspaper/magazine.

I didn't play Club Penguin much (I was a Neopets girl), but I fondly remember her being so proud of that comic. I helped her scan and submit it, and asked her every day if it got put into the paper. I don't think it ever did, but it was a fun time waiting to see if it would.

Speaking of Neopets, I also really loved the Neopets paper. I'd spend hours browsing backlogs of the paper to look at the fanart and read the fanfiction that was posted there.

Good times!

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I thought this League of Legends art was super neat, but the whole premise of this article is hilarious to me.

Like...ok, Riot/League. iykyk.

I'm a fairly new League of Legends player - I started playing after watching Arcane. My bf has been an on-again off-again League player, but I was always too intimidated to get into it. I actually got into it first from Team Fight Tactics, and then started playing ARAM, and only recently started dipping my toes into Summoner's Rift.

Anyways, as much as I love the game, people can be SO mean. So just seeing the article title and thinking of all the rudeness I've seen in-game is pretty funny. I know a lot of good people play and work on this game though, so I appreciate the optimism and work to make the community better.

Granted, this article isn't only about League of Legends. But I think having them as the front cover for the article is kind of hilarious.

----

As a Pokémon fan, I thought this top ten page was a fun look at past gym leaders, especially considering the cover story for this issue is about the new (at the time) Pokémon mainline games.

The judging criteria is not clear at all. That's ok, there doesn't need to be a reason to do a top ten list - I'm assuming these are just this guy's favorite gym leaders. It is refreshing to see some leaders who don't normally wind up on these kinds of lists though, like Wulfric, Maylene, and Korrina.

This is really wanting to make me go back and play Let's Go! Pikachu lol.

----

Ok, so admittedly I knew nothing about Baldur's Gate 3 until the day it came out and I was like 'What the heck is this game everyone on my friend's list is playing?"

My bf ended up buying it for me and we played it co-op. Definitely deserved all the hype and praise it got.

So color me surprised when I was flipping through this magazine from 2019 and saw mention of Baldur's Gate 3.

There's a whole interview in here with the founder of the BG3 game studio. I knew this game was in development for many years, but I just completely missed the hype leading up to it.

----

Now some scans from the main cover story about Pokémon Sword and Shield.

These aren't all the scans from the spread, but I just wanted to show some of them off! I love multi-page stories about things where they feel almost like scrapbooks with how the graphics are arranged.

----

Here's a preview about the Final Fantasy VII Remake.

I've never played a Final Fantasy game, and though I'd love to someday, I'd have no clue where to start. I do love the character designs and I thought this game looked beautiful when it was announced.

And some more previews for various games.

Little Town Hero was actually on my radar at the time, as it gave big Fantasy Life vibes (and I LOVED Fantasy Life). Also, I just learned from this article that Toby Fox was brought in to compose? Amazing.

I looked it up and it's available on Steam, but disappointingly the reviews seem pretty mixed. I'm gonna add it to my wishlist and grab it when it goes on sale.

----

Here's a couple of reviews from the review section.

And an ending fluff page about creepy Pokémon pokedex entries.

And that's it for this one!

The full magazine is available to read over on my Internet Archive account.

Thanks for reading!