#can i experience my own worldbuilding pls

[carnivalcarriondiscarded]

spa day at the engraver's plaza~

[corpsepng]

Pls make a list of books you recommend to aspiring writers<3

Ok. Aspiring/burgeoning writer starter kit:

In writing anything you officially become a writer so that’s step one haha, no need to aspire too much. BUT. I’m going to soapbox for a bit using this ask as an excuse love u kissing u etc. So. This will barely be about books, but sort of the recipe of what I (personally and subjectively) think will help anyone who wants to grow their craft. (I know because I've been writing seriously for 14 years)

The act of writing is the best practice you can get but having a well from which to draw on creatively and skill wise in order to DO that practice is the trickier part. And sometimes we can be found lacking because we’re either NOT refilling that well enough, consciously enough, or only with the same sorts of things so it gets stagnant. This is a long one so I’ll shove it under the cut haha.

The recipe:

Study craft

Broaden horizons 

Diversify consumption

Consume with intention

Apply with reference

1) Study craft: this is the easiest to make sense of, right? I want to get good at writing so I read books about writing yada yada. Whatever you’re writing, it’s made up of a lot of moving parts, and you can dedicate time studying EACH PART, but figure out what you have the least experience with, or the most difficulty with, and start there. Also, before I go on to preach about why you shouldn’t solely stake your growth on some dusty old books, here’s some dusty old books I recommend:

The Elements of Style (strunk/white/kalman) (really quick and abbreviated advice, read every bit of this but remember: rules are important to know so you can decide which are worth following and which are in need of breaking for the pursuit of your goals. And nobodies perfect, or editors wouldn’t have a job)

Bird by Bird (Anne Lamott) (excellent work about fostering a process, important for everyone who finds themselves a little lost on how to just. Start)

Wonderbook (Jeff Vandermeer) (I haven’t read this one but knowing Vandermeers work this is on my TBR and I KNOW it’s going to be enlightening)

How to Read Literature like a Professor (Thomas C. Foster) (perfect for those who can see others stories working but unsure how to make their own work, I personally didn’t read much of this one but this will help people to more critically engage with what they’re consuming)

Save the Cat Writes a Novel/Joseph Campbells Hero’s Journey/On Writing and Worldbuilding/etc (all of these are on structure and craft in a concrete sense), I would recommend either choose one OR getting the abbreviated/digestible versions through YouTube because a lot of these can repeat themselves. I’m working on a playlist of writing craft/structure videos that I found helpful, so keep an eye out for that)

So. Studying craft should be a multidisciplinary process. Articles online, videos on niche media, books on craft or copying things from your favorites, looking for yourself in the movies you watch or fiction you read. Punctuation, prose, structure, rhetoric, character, world building, pacing, etc. Unfortunately, no matter how seasoned you become as a writer, you will always be learning new things about the craft itself.

It should be fun and I honestly feel like an enlightened little scientist when I see something that really cracks the open the magic for me (ex: scenes that serve more than one purpose are OF COURSE going to be more engaging that scenes with only one purpose- duh) (of COURSE magic systems should have a cost) (of COURSE the characters cant always win OR always lose)

2) Broaden horizons: consuming fiction and studying it is key to knowing how to reproduce it. We start with the training wheels of imitation before we ride away full speed into truly unique original storytelling. But the most impactful and thought-provoking stories are more than just fiction, so you need to know more than stories. Science, history, art, craft, math, music, cooking, psychology, religion, whatever!

Everyone always parrots “write what you know”, but what you KNOW can expand to influence what you write- so keep learning new things all the time and for fun, because you never know what could help your story. Your knowledge is not limited to experience alone, and research is your best friend. ASOIAF was so loved because George RR Martin loved not only fantasy, but British history. The Folk of the Air series is so loved because Holly Blacks special interest is faeries.

Note: this does not mean the study of OTHER PEOPLES trauma and experiences in an appropriative way, rather, become worldly. Because sure, knowing what a gunshot feels like adds realism, but I don’t care about realism if I don’t care about your characters or world. Science fiction is the best example of this: so many of those stories stick with us generationally because they’re pointing a lens back at humanity, asking big philosophical questions with science, which is something that touches us all.

But it doesn’t even need to be Big and Thematic like that. My dear friend @chaylattes has a project where she’s applied her love of plants to the world building AND plot, and has INVENTED whole plant species that enriched their work with something so exclusively Chay. No one else could write Andromeda Rogue because Chay, with specific interests and knowledge, put that specificity into the story.

3) Diversify consumption: surrounding yourself with more of the same means you’re going to regurgitate the same, derivatively. To be a hater for a moment: I can tell within the first chapter if someone only reads/watches one kind of media (m*rvel, fairy smut, grim dark nonsense, etc), and it’s distracting. When I read that derivative work, I’m not thinking about THEIR story. All I can think of is the people who did it first, and better.

Alternatively, the best work draws on the unexpected. Fantasy work taking notes from horror, science fiction including humanistic romance, romance with elements of mystery. RF Kuangs work feels so smart because she’s literally a PHD candidate who’s reading of academic writing. Cassandra Clares work is so interpersonally messy and hard to look away from because she watches a lot of reality television. 

Genre is less a set of cages to lock yourself inside of and more so the sections of a great big fictional playground- and you need to start playing. Rules, again, are guidelines that can be bent for the sake of your stories. I predominantly write scifi/fantasy/horror but some of my favorite stuff is literary fiction, historical nonfiction, thrillers, and poetry.

And if you can’t bring yourself to read different genres, it takes significantly less effort to WATCH different genres. Television and film are stories too, and can absolutely be learned from. 

4) Consume with intention: this is easier said than done. I, embarrassingly, admit that I did not have any reading comprehension skills until I was at least 19. I was consuming, but I wasn’t thinking a damn critical thought, just spitting it back out in a way that sounded smart.

Critical thinking skills (I say, on the website that historically lacks such a thing) are a muscle that needs to be exercised just as often as your writing muscle. Reading new work, studying craft, learning new shit- none of it matters if you can’t APPLY it all to a story. One can take a clock apart to learn how exactly it ticks, but it won't tell time like a watch until you put it back together.

The key is asking questions, all of the time about everything. That whole “why the curtains were blue” nonsense comes to mind, but if you want to be a good writer, (edit: a writer that cares about whether or not their work is vapid imitation of better work) learning to ask WHY the curtains are blue really does matters.

Ask why in ALL stories you consume, including your own. Why do Ghibli films make me feel calm? (Motifs of undisturbed nature, low stakes plots and quiet scenes of reprieve between action, characters that care about one another and aren’t afraid to show it) Why do I fly through a Gillian Flynn novel but take 8,000 years to read other books? (Concise descriptions, realistic but evocative premise, witty voice, contained and fast paced plot, an abundance of questions driving the mystery leading up to a satisfying crash of answers at the end) Why were the curtains blue, the coffee cup chipped, and the lipstick stain on the rim red instead of purple or pink? And why did the colors matter at all when the scene is about a father at a kitchen table? (You tell me!) Answers may vary.

You can put the work into learning the answer at the source (ie: listening to authors talk about their own work), or through the external interpretations of a critic (proceed with caution here), sure. These are even good when learning HOW to think critically if you don’t even know where to start. But your growth as a writer depends on your ability to answer your OWN questions. 

(Why do I feel tense in this scene? Is it because the character says they’re sweating and struggling to breathe? Is it because I’ve been told the monsters close? Is it because the sentences are getting shorter and the author keeps repeating descriptions of that monsters massive bloody teeth coming closer? Or is it because I know the gun in her hands has no bullets because another character already tried what she’s about to try?)

(Why do I feel sad in this scene? Is it because the characters mom just died? Is it because the character can’t even verbalize that sadness to others? Is it because none of the other characters seem to care enough to ask? Is it because of the wilted flowers in the corner? Or is it because there are daisies in the bouquet, and those were the moms favorite?)

I can nod and smile at 1000 opinions about “why X did Y and the end of Z” or “why X is Y and not Z” but how I felt when I consume something, how I was affected and how it made ME PERSONALLY answer my critical questions, that’s what’s important. That’s how we manufacture gay subtext in everything, because sometimes gay is a feeling as opposed to a fact.

Also, if those subjective answers are inconsistent among readers/viewers, the writer likely had their own intentions a little muddled. So, and I know I’m getting tangential but stay with me: romance. You know how you’re supposed to feel happy or convinced that the people falling in love are like, in love? And want to put yourself in that position or whatever? I CANNOT consume most romance media because it all comes off as categorically terrifying to me. I ask myself why the characters are doing what they do, reacting the way they react, saying way they say, and none of it feels romantic. I want to file a restraining order, and that’s the failing of the author, who did not make enough conscious choices in their work and accidentally created horror while writing their color by numbers trope slop of a “romance” novel. 

5) Apply with reference: is like taking all your ingredients and finally cooking. You want people to notice and respect when you add certain literary devices, descriptions, character choices, but not to the detriment of your work. Shows like stranger things are popular but divisive because their intertextuality and reliance on nostalgia bolster an otherwise unoriginal idea. They weren’t trying to reinvent the wheel, they were writing a love letter to Stephen Spielberg, and are riding that wave into the ground. But the fairy dick renaissance doesn’t feel nearly as palatable as season one of stranger things did because a lot of times they aren’t using the ingredients in their own way, rather, following the recipe to a T and selling it as new. Food really is the perfect metaphor and sorry in advance because I’m really going to run with it here lol. 

When I eat a meal, first of all I know I'm eating food, so don't try and trick me into thinking otherwise or I'll only get annoyed. I want to be able to taste all of what’s in front of me, spice, salt, sweet, bitter, etc and know what what you said you've fed me is really actually truly what I've eaten. One ingredient, or writing choice, shouldn’t overpower another, or surprise me so much I can’t take another bite. I shouldn’t try something you call “sauced and baked yeast patty garnished with fermented milk and smoked meat” and think “this shits pizza” because you didn’t even try to jazz it up more than what the instructions on the digiorno box said. I also shouldn’t bite into something you call a pizza and only taste bread because you really like bread and forgot that a pizza is more than just bread. 

But inversely, avoiding all ingredients gets you weird, nary inedible shit like charred milk reduction with lamb mist or whatever. Show me you have knowledge in your genre by referencing it AND remixing it, show me that you studied craft by foreshadowing properly or pacing well, show me you’re more than an AI writerbot by deepening your work with your unique and human influence, show me you read broadly by adding surprising ingredients, and show me that you mean every word you write because you made the curtains blue instead of yellow, and topped your pizza with pepperoni instead of pineapple.

Congrats on making it all the way through my rambling, hope I made sense and that this helped!

[dark-roleplay-finder]

🕊️[20+, m/m or nb/m] hey y'all! i've been itching to do this concept for a bit--or at least something with very similar dynamic. i rp mostly on email but i can do discord; i write 3rd person in present tense, semi-lit/novella; and i love me some angst and complicated relationships hehe. (while nsfw or smut is encouraged, i don't have much rp experience specifically if that's something important to you!) i'd like a character-focused plot and love worldbuilding + i'm experienced in writing a recurring side cast.

SOLE SURVIVOR OF A FAILED REVOLUTION (A) X HEIR TO THE TYRANT THEY TRIED TO OVERTHROW (B)

aka Tired x Chaotic; Uses Head x Follows Heart

slow-burn, possibly sci-fi, psychological, drama, power imbalance. very fucked world overall. potential for co-dependency, obsessive/possessive behavior, power play, and manipulation. slight age difference with B being a little younger than A for timeline purposes. dubious consent for the power imbalance, especially if both are privy to each other's exact identities from the start, and each having something to gain from the other.

set in a dystopian society in a nation suffering from ecological disaster that caused most of the population to bear the brunt of it

i'd love an assertive but goofy muse who's also a bit naive while being capable of casual murder/violence, to go against someone incredibly world-weary and reluctantly living on autopilot, resigned to his circumstances yet still harboring a lot of rage. in spite of bedroom roles, hit me with some trope subversion and characterization beyond those please.

the vibesTM: asking about your favorite candy and your relationship with your family over takeout after an unceremonious bathroom hookup; a bloody kiss after one protects the other; hysterical, broken laughter right before a breakdown during sex (or anything that's supposed to be an intimate and tender moment); tracing scars in fascination with a sense of pride that you're the first/only one to see them; looking at the lights and motions of a city from above and feeling a sense of longing/alienation; whatever emotions you experienced while watching Netflix's Beef.

A + B somehow meet and get attached to each other, forming a genuine connection and feeling something for the first time in years in spite of how it draws scorn from their respective communities. give me flawed people who aren't necessarily out to fix each other that get their own sort of happy ending (happy being subjective here LOL).

B is intrigued by someone as "real" as A, being delighted that A treats them something close to human and is blunt about how they abhor B's standing and what they represent (looks at A with a hint of romanticization of poverty too) while A can't help but find it fascinating that someone who's so removed from regular people and is capable of destruction manages to have such childlike wonder at life. plus, B pays for food.

to some extent, they're both spectators gawking at each other as if the other is some animal in a zoo. they're both also very lonely people aching to feel seen and wanted.

important: my activity levels vary significantly since I kinda work 2 jobs and my main one takes a lot of my energy. if long gaps between replies make you anxious/irritate you or if you prefer fast-paced plots and rapid-fire responses, this probably ain't gonna work tbh--ofc i will try my best to communicate with you when things come up. busy people with loaded schedules that still like writing in their downtime to the front pls🥲

hope to build something neat that we can both yell about during weird hours! interact with the post and i'll reach out :]

Like this post and the asker will reach out!

[cubistemoji]

I've been reading Babel and I'm about halfway through and the thing that keeps bothering me about it is... it's very... binary? In its view of the geopolitical landscape

and I keep wondering where Eastern Europe -- where Russia's own, different imperialism -- fits into this England, Western Europe and the Global South kind of landscape, because it did, like... exist, right? but it's just never mentioned.

the americas, africa, asia, middle east, most countries in western europe and their languages have been mentioned and gaelic/manx/cornish in britain but not russia or anything around it even though it could fit into this world as a like middle thing between The West and The East and also yiddish could be a language worth exploiting for this magic system if you get the right kind of smart jewish kid at the right time but it's not???? was it too hard for op to make it fit or what

also a lot of the characters just kinda Say Stuff outright that doesn't necessarily need to be spelled out so blatantly in a book for adults

there's this like... black-and-white, thing Good or thing Bad kind of morality that's fine for a YA book because that's expected for the demographic but I picked this up expecting an adult SFF book and got… not that lol

I think Babel has some really interesting worldbuilding and the details of the setting are developed enough I can really visualize everything that's happening in it which is the opposite of what my last read was and why I was so immediately into it but the longer it goes on the more that shine wears off

and I really did like the translation theory stuff like I've read other things that talked about the bilingual experience before (mostly essays in high school) but this like. vicarious experience of a translation major I never studied myself bc I am essentially Self-Taught I really enjoyed

I just wish... op remembered the russian empire existed. like I dont need the whole book to be all about that or anything just like one mention would be nice pls

[maybebabyplease]

EM hello it’s ur future husband here <3333 🎈+💞 pretty please! also could i pls get a bonus round of 🎀? <3 more compliments !!!

HELLO FUTURE HUSBAND! i am on my way to you i am ready to elope!!!

🎈describe your style as a writer; is it fixed? does it change?

oh i'm so bad at this. i think it changes? it's certainly very different between original fiction and fanfic. my original fiction is more sincere, i think? and then my fanfic tends to be silly and snarky and funny. my actual technical style is probably relatively similar across both, but i think you can play more in fanfic (which is why i love it!) so i tend to experiment with syntax or structure or language within my fanfics.

💞what's the most important part of a story for you? the plot, the characters, the worldbuilding, the technical stuff (grammar etc), the figurative language

the characters! i am a character girl at heart. i have always been an observer, and i love to watch people and try to figure them out. i think that really shows up in my writing!!

🎀give yourself a compliment about your own writing

oh gosh another compliment! i'm good at placing you, the reader, in a scene. i can always make you feel like you're on a sweaty dance floor, even if you're tucked up in bed.

(fic writer asks)

[oknowkiss]

friday flash recs: april 29, 2022

hiya lovely people! this week, we are putting on our brave hobbit faces and adventuring into the world of NON-DRARRY HARRY & DRACO pairings. today’s list focuses on m/m pairings, with future lists in the works for het and wlw fics. relatedly! if you have any recs--bc i know there’s loads of amazing non-drarry pairings i have barely scratched the surface of--pls feel free to leave them a comment! (i’m especially interested if you have a nottpott, harry/neville, harry/luna, and really any wlw rec to share!) 

> apprehending the auror || @dumbledoodlewriting​​ || nottpott || M / 3.8K alaric hardwood is Nott who he seems. you know how they say never meet your heroes? usually it’s because they’ll disappoint you, but this fic dares to ask: what if it’s because you might end up fucking them? full disclosure that dumble is a dear friend of mine, but even if she wasn’t, i’d be obsessed with this version of theo & romance-devouring badass harry. (as proof of statement: you’ll see alaric easter eggs in some of my own fics!)

> charlie & harry, sittin’ in a tree || elle_gray || charlie/harry || E / 10.7K this was my intro to charry. and like, what an intro. charlie & harry are stuck in a storm and, well, what better time to figure things out about yourself (tm). the interplay of hesitancy and desire feels so real here, there’s so much “i shouldn’t but i’m gonna” ust and i, for one, hope it never stops raining on these boys.

> good intent || @maesterchill​ || jeddy & teddy/harry || E / 11.9K another pairing intro fic for me! i devoured this, lying in bed the morning it posted, growing increasingly desperate for caffeine but unable to stop reading for even a second to put the kettle on. i think... i am a jeddy stan now??? this is sex mentor trope, it’s body acceptance, it’s discovery... and teddy’s b-plot with harry is so real and complex and layered in just perfectly to complement the overall plot. this is a little bit of a cheat, because it’s also background drarry, but this is my blog and i say it’s okay. thanks, me.

> keep swinging your bat my way || @veelawings​ || dron || E / 670 i think i’ve read this ten or fifteen times now. i mean, for starters it’s quidditch locker room sex. i could stop this rec right there; you’ve probably already clicked into it. but i will continue, because this ron deserves a six-volume essay. he’s so tactile and hot. and did i mention breeding kink?? yeah, there’s breeding kink. do we all just agree that ron has a great dick and is really good at sex?? it’s okay if you don’t, freedom of opinion is highly encouraged here on oscar isaac’s internet, but if you’re in any way ron “life-changing dick” weasley-curious, read this and then let’s talk.  > seldom used, to date || @vdoshu​ || tomarry || E / 3K (mind the tags) i’m in trouble dot gif. look. if you’re going to use the “murder husbands” AND “harry is a little shit” tags on the same fic??? i’m going to read it immediately, and then read it again, and then go back and read the rest of the series until 2 AM and wake up late for work the next day. i’ve been tomarry curious for a while now, and this series is a great introduction. a canon-divergent no 1st war au where tom is the minister for magic & harry is his bratty little boyfriend. there’s worldbuilding, there’s snark, there’s ritual knives and runes and blood magic. i can’t wait to see where it goes next.  

> theft of assets, destruction of property || helenish || dreville || E / 23K this is the best neville characterization i’ve ever read. full stop. forced marriage, auror trainees, with background harry/ron/hermione triad. draco processes his life through cooking. this neville is so interesting, so strong and yet tender, and the way him and draco open up to each other over time is beautiful and complex and it feels like a dream we get to experience it as readers.

& the currently reading can-you-tell-i’m-in-a-dron-and-charlie-weasley-phase (pause to inhale) certainly-more-shouting-to-come-once-i’ve-finished list:

> a soft spot for lost causes || helenish || dron || remedying my lapse of not having read helenish’s other published HP work. so far it is, as expected, perfect.

> charlie weasley’s fuck autobiography || @lqtraintracks​​ || charlie + all combos of harry, draco, teddy, etc || i too think that everyone should fuck charlie weasley and i can’t believe i get to read about it. a blessed day.

> dreaming skies || @sweet-s0rr0w @tackytigerfic​ || dron || i’ve read half of this thus far and have, multiple times, had to stop and stare at the wall and just... admire. the “i didn’t come here for your charity” exchange? pingponging in my brain for days, folks.

> licurici || @lou-isfake​​ || charry, drarlie, drarrlie triad || i started reading this while waiting to board a plane, downloaded it to read on the plane, and then had to stop because it kept sending me on face journeys. now that i’m back home i’ve picked it up again and oh, my heart. more to come for sure.  < last time: murder me harry (my fave harry characterizations)

[whentheynameyoujoy]

So the ATLA Movie Is... Good, Actually?

Just kidding, of course it’s not, it’s so bad it sucked the paint off my walls. But after ten years of people pointing out its glaring flaws, why would anyone bother talking about this garbage heap if not to go the other direction? So here’s a very brief and very superficial list of things the movie does get kinda... not atrociously wrong.

And they won’t be fake hipster pokes, like “It’s fun to laugh at”, “The Rifftrax for this is OK”, or “Kudos to the actress for managing to say we believe in our beliefs as much as they believe in theirs with a straight face”.

(though now that I mentioned it, it is fun to laugh at, the Rifftrax for this is OK, and massive props indeed.)

Rasta Iroh

Yes, I know it’s not exactly the aesthetic of the real Iroh or that it makes no cultural sense for him to sport this do when no one else in the racebended Indian “OMFG what were you thinking Shyamalan” Nation does but goddamn, long-haired dudes are my one mortal weakness and I will ogle the hell out of him.

Jesus is that a man bun I see that’s it mum I’ve been deaded

Yue’s hair

No.

Now we’re talking. Yue’s hair turned white when the Moon spirit gave her life, so it makes sense for it to go black again when she sacrifices herself to revive the koi fish. It’s a neat detail I find myself expecting whenever I rewatch the scene in the show. Yes, I realize it’d be a pointless hassle to animate since she, unlike in the movie, immediately goes on to become the Moon herself but still. I like.

The Blue Spirit’s mop

Zuko, hun, what’s with the dance-off?

First of all, I want to imagine that Zuko the Theatre Nerd was about to leave his ship with just the mask like in the show but then stuck his head into the cleaning cupboard and went, “Yeah, more coverage might be good, even though it do seem mighty fried to shit”.

Which makes me giggle. I like to giggle.

And secondly, the hair’s movement is what makes the static mess of the Blue Spirit’s solo fight scene appear at least bit more dynamic because God knows the cinematography isn’t doing it.

Any particular reason why it’s at the edge of the action, shot all boring-like?

Now, I get why circular shots would be reserved for Aang while he’s in the practice area and then used once the two join forces. What I don’t get is why Aang’s part of the action scene has a defined visual style while Zuko’s delegated to a few stationary wide shots from afar as though he’s a tertiary goon, meaning that when the time comes to combine the respective pieces of cinema language and visually convey collaboration, there’s not really much to combine.

But as long as Zuko is stuck in this static mess, it’s that awesome disaster on his head flopping about that draws the eye, helping me understand that something even is going on over there.

It also prevents me from paying much attention to how the extras are mostly just staying put and a lot of the hits don’t land, so that’s good.

The music slaps

James Newton Howard is too good for this.

Pls ignore that the word “gods” is used in the ATLA universe

I can’t be the only one who constantly uses this piece to daydream about writing specific fanfic scenes instead of, you know, actually sitting down and writing them. It’s just so good at communicating a sense of sorrow while speaking of rebirth that I find myself getting misty-eyed whenever I listen to it. Unfailingly, the soundtrack as a whole manages to break through the mile-thick crust of horrible acting, confusing writing, and uninspired cinematography and make me feel things. And considering how everything on screen is working against it, that’s no small feat.

Imagine what a powerful experience it would be if the score was used in service of an actual movie.

Dev Patel

No wonder since he’s the only one in the film occupying that crucial intersection between “is a good actor” and “was given something to work with”. It also doesn’t hurt that he breaks with the trend of actors starring in martial arts flicks despite never having done any martial art.

And all EIP-jokes about “stiff and humorless” aside, he’s a pretty decent Zuko considering how abridged this version of the character is. A while ago, I remember hearing a reviewer say that with his comedic chops, Patel should have been cast as Sokka. And on one hand, yes, god, absolutely, I need to see that asap. But on the other? He captures all layers of Book 1!Zuko, the desperate obsession, rage, and self-loathing, and at the same time gives you a peek at the soft momma’s boy dork that’s buried underneath. For Christ sakes, he exudes intensity and ambivalence even when acting against an emotionless hunk of wood that’s giving him nothing in return.

Oh, and I guess there’s a tree in the frame.

Ba dum tss

What can I say, the guy’s good.

Showing vs telling

OK, so this movie is all tell and no show, except for one single moment. And it’s the exact moment where the original goes in the other direction in terms of how information is conveyed.

See, I never liked this. The revelation is preceded by Iroh giving advice to Zuko who scolds him for nagging. Iroh then apologizes, moves in to say the line above, and is interrupted by Zuko who seems rather uncomfortable with Iroh laying his feelings out like this. And once they’re out, Zuko verbally confirms that he knew already and Iroh didn’t need to bother.

All this extraneous information and pussyfooting ends up weakening what should be a profound scene that reveals to us, the viewers, how deep the relationship between these two in fact runs.

Compare to the movie where Dadroh acts like a parent by fussing and worrying, with Sonion needing a single look to tell him and us that he understands what it’s all really about.

It’s genuinely efficient and just good.

No Cataang

Fine, a bit mean-girl bitchy from me since I only start minding the ship in Book 3. And probably unintentional on the part of the creators since there are moments where I think they’re trying to set the romance up? There’s a, well, an attempt to recreate the famous introductory shot of fateful meaningful destiny of meaningness, there’s some slight note of saving each other’s bacon going on, I’m pretty sure they’re the only ones in the film who smile, and oh, right, Katara’s shoved into her post-canon useless role where she doesn’t ever do anything, and is all about Aang right from the get go.

Yes, I will blame the “executive producers” because a) I’m incredibly petty, and b) it’s perfectly in line with their vision of the character so why the hell not.

Hilariously, none of it reads on screen because the actors are just... yeah. These poor kids are struggling so much with delivering their own lines and portraying their own characters they don’t seem to have any strength left to create something between them. To be fair, the bare-bones shot-reverse shot style of their scenes doesn’t exactly lend itself to the idea they occupy the same universe, let alone are friends or each other’s crushes.

And I enjoy this immensely because it allows me to forget the depressing horror show Katara’s life turns into post ATLA.

Yes Zutara

I need to delve into this because it’s fucking hilarious. So in a movie which fails to establish the original’s central romance so spectacularly that if Aang got lost in a crowd I don’t believe Katara would notice, SomEOnE thought it’d be a good idea to add an utterly unnecessary non-canon moment where Zuko for some reason feels the need to pause his character-defining hunt for the Avatar which otherwise has him ignore everything and snap at everyone, and explain his central conflict to an unconscious peasant he doesn’t know, complete with gently pushing the hair from the pretty girl’s the soulmate’s the Water Tribe Ambassador’s the Fire Lady’s the love of his life’s her face away, AFTER his uncle nagged him twice to find a girl and settle down.

I just wanted to make sure we’re all on the same page and this is what we really saw.

Celibate Avatars

I have no idea why the decision was made, if TPTB thought expecting viewers to understand the story through the lens of Buddhism would be too much, or if the “executive producers” already worked their retconny magic. What I do know, however, is that there’s a big shift in worldbuilding and Aang’s struggle with his role as the Avatar stops being a personal conflict defined by a) his grief for Air Nomads, b) his notion of being robbed of the loved ones in his life, and c) the selfish attachment to Katara he confuses with true love. Instead, what he has a difficulty to accept is apparently a general notion of who Avatars are supposed to be, i.e. a fantasy version of Catholic monks, no family and worldly relations, period.

I guess either someone understood the original’s portrayal of de/attachment as “hermit no freaky”, or thought the audience would so why not go there outright.

Now, do I like this on its own? No, God no, it makes the world infinitely poorer and changes the story from an exploration of ideas which aren’t all that ingrained in the West, to a cliché tropester about a Catholic priest going Protestant so that he could be with a girl.

At least I assume that’s where they were going to take this eventually.

I mean, I think the direction was “look conflicted, this isn’t the final stage of your journey”?

But consider this—the show went there, it built on the concepts of Eastern philosophy and touched upon the ideas of spiritual awakening, only to swerve in the end and strongly imply they’re bullshit and Aang should have never wasted his time with them.

So honestly, I much prefer scanty worldbuilding to an insulting retcon by a damn rock.

Multiracial Air Nomads

Probably the most substantial “no hint of irony” point on this list and a genuinely good addition to the universe’s worldbuilding.

See, the notion of the elemental nations being perfectly separate and never mingling before Sozin has always been sketchy but it’s especially ridiculous in the case of airbenders. It never made sense to me for all airbenders to be Air Nomads and for all Air Nomads to be monks and for all monks to be chilling at the temples all the time to facilitate a quick everyone-dies genocide should an imperialistic warlord ever decide to commit one.

Because committing everyone to a single way of life at a handful of places kinda goes against the central philosophy behind airbending. Like the freedom and nomadism part.

Instead, there should be more variety to the airbending culture, with some staying at the temples as monks, hermits, and teachers while others live as nomads, travelling the world and creating more airbenders, with the resulting children in turn being influenced by the non-airbending cultures they grew up in.

And thus, not only should airbenders not be modeled after a single culture to create a one-size-fits-all lifestyle, but they should have the most diverse and dynamic culture out of the four nations.

And it’d be precisely this diversity which would pave way for an eventual reveal that some of them survived, that their complete extermination is impossible.

Because they’re everywhere.

You know.

Like air.

[kckenobi]

Hi! Can I ask you about your fic writing? Do you ever get stuck trying to keep a fic going? What do you do for inspiration? Or do you wait until something comes to you? Or do you make sure you have everything planned out beforehand? :)

omg YES I LOVE getting asked about my fic writing, thank you so much for this!! Pls ask me about writing literally anytime and I promise I will ramble way more thank you asked for lol

Do you ever get stuck trying to keep a fic going?

Ohhh yeah, I'm experiencing that right now lol. I'm starting to write a new modern au, and I'm at a point where I know how it ends but I have NO idea how to get there lol.

What usually helps me get un-stuck is to dedicate time just turning the idea over in my brain. I'll go for walks, put on instrumental music in the car, lay in bed as I'm falling asleep and just go—what is the problem here?

I forget who said this (I'm gonna go look it up after this to link it) but some writer said that when you hit a wall in the story, the issue is usually ten lines back—and I feel like there's some truth to that, that the problem usually exists because I created it, so I can eventually work my way out. (I'll let you know when I work my way out this time lol, hopefully it'll be soon)

What do you do for inspiration? Or do you wait until something comes to you?

Hmm I think I get inspiration both from rewatching/reading the source material and letting my brain go down the path of "hmmmm what if....?" And thinking about like...the themes that resonate with me as a person I guess? Like The Thing About Falling was inspired both by my curiosity about Satine and Obi-Wan's year on the run, and my own need to explore how you survive choosing not to be with someone you accidentally fell in love with.

Or Bloodlines came from me wanting more out of the episode where Dooku, Anakin, and Obi-Wan get trapped together, and my own wondering about how much we can ever really know the people who raise us, the values and misbeliefs they pass down, and how we can either embrace or stray from them.

I think pretty much all my fics start that way—what piqued my curiosity from the episode, and what I want to express or explore in general!

Or do you make sure you have everything planned out beforehand? :)

Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't! For oneshots, I usually do a quick outline (I go into a bit more depth about my outlines here!) just to get the idea down on paper before I make it coherent. But because it's a oneshot and it's short, usually all the main details are in the outline that end up in the fic

With multi chapter, there's a lot more winging it lol. Because while for Bloodlines I had an outline of the whole fic from the start (and I knew how it was going to end—that's important to know from the beginning, I've learned from unfortunate experiences lol), I left some chapters waaaaaay more vague. Like chapters 1 and 2 had outlines that were beat for beat, line for line, basically a draft in bullet form. But then my outline for chapter 6 just said "we raise the stakes somehow" and that was literally all lol. I knew the function of the chapter, just not ANYthing that was going to happen within it. And it's kinda fun that way! A lot of things surprised me while I was writing it (like, spoiler alert—I didn't know watto was going to die until like chapter 6, and I didn't know Anakin would find the journals until chapter 9. I didn't know what Anakin would DO with the journals until I typed the words onto the page)

For my new AU fic (which I'm hoping to start posting in October!), I'm outlining the whole thing in a lot of detail from the start, but that's mostly because it's a lot more complicated. It's a modern au, in....I don't wanna spoil the setting yet, but we'll say it's a *specialized context* that requires me to worldbuild and create a lot about the characters and setting, because I can't just draw from SW lore (since we're no longer in the Star Wars universe). So I'm going to try to plan it all out in advance—but I'm sure some things will still surprise me!

Thank you so much for the ask, anon! Hopefully this wasn't too much information lol, I know I tend to ramble, hence the tag. But I LOVE talking about this stuff so thank you!! Sending good vibes your way!

[asterekmess]

honestly, my fury at the lack of werewolf culture/history/worldbuilding is worthy of its own post. Let me know if by some ungodly chance, you actually wanna hear my thoughts on it // Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!

ohmygod yes, pls, enable me.

SO.

I think I mentioned b4 that Teen Wolf hates werewolves.

This is a show about werewolves like, yeah, sure, they do other plots and stuff. But the main character is a werewolf. The vast majority of the cast are werewolves (at least in the first half of the show). But think about it. What do we actually know about werewolves? They uhh, they shift on the full moon. But like, what about the full moon? Cus’ Scott gets handcuffed to a radiator and he doesn’t shift and break out until the moon comes out from behind the clouds and he screams like it’s excruciatingly painful for him. But then Derek and his Betas are underground during their full moon, and they shift like it’s all fine and dandy (they’re furious, but there’s no pain) and it doesn’t matter whether they can see the moon or not. They, uhh, they’re allergic to wolfsbane/it’s poisonous to them (btw it’s poisonous to literally everyone, just the scent of it is enough to cause seizures and hallucinations in humans. It’s a whole other frustration that they won’t make up their fucking minds abt it. It’s one thing to say that this is some parallel universe where wolfsbane doesn’t poison humans (bc lydia makes them hallucinate with the punch but injesting that much wolfsbane should kill you, and Stiles straight pulls a plant out of the ground; should’ve caused itching, burning, a cough, nausea, fever, headache and More hallucinations) and yet Jackson has to see a doctor and gets told he’s got Aconite Poisoning. So WHAT IS THE TRUTH?) but apparently not enough for Derek not to be able to plant a wolfsbane plant and massive cord of roots (which he would’ve had to tie together himself) in a revenge spiral around Laura’s body. But just being around it causes wolves to lose control. But also there’s supposed to be different strains that do different things? And also sometimes you burn the wolfsbane and it becomes the cure, or you have to burn it out of them or you just cut it out of them? Make UP Your MIND or at least ACKNOWLEDGE that different strains do different things. They get stronger on a full moon. But does that mean they get infinitely stronger with every full moon they experience? Does that mean they get weaker during new moons? They’re stronger in packs. Okay, but they never establish what the fuck a pack is. Is it an agreement? Is it a magical bond? Scott just sort of says people are in his pack. Does that mean they are? Do the humans he knows make him stronger? Just how strong is this bond? Derek makes a claim that “You have your own pack now” so is that a joke, was he mocking scott? Or is he saying that there’s no need for an Alpha and just being a beta with some friends counts as a pack? Apparently they have some kind of...animal magnetism or mind control? Derek uses a funny voice and a guy wakes up from a near coma to look at him with seemingly no control. Peter can force Scott to shift up. Derek forces Isaac to shift down. Derek has an insane amount of control over dogs and makes one lose its fucking mind from like a hundred feet away? Scott makes one calm down, but derek sends attack dogs running with their tails between their legs. Is it actual control or is it just a persuasion? Is it just intimidation? I haven’t even gotten to culture. You’re telling me that we get an entire episode of Allison discovering the entire story behind the Argent clan’s origins as werewolf hunters, why they started, how her name means Silver and apparently that’s where the entire myth of silver hurting werewolves comes from, but we don’t get to know anything about the first werewolves? Where they come from? If they’re a form of evolution or just straight magic or if it’s a curse or a gift from the gods? There’s an entire hidden werewolf population with packs all over the world, but somehow there’s literally no wolf culture? No moon worship? No specific terminology (Alpha, Beta, and Omega are terms used by a really fucking stupid biologist who studied frantic wolves in captivity and cast aspersions on the entire species. He’s been disproven a Thousand Times. NONE of that Alpha, Beta, Omega shit is right. Packs aren’t Hierarchies of Dominance. They’re families. They’re led by two wolves, yes, an “alpha pair” that’s literally JUST THE PARENTS. THE ‘BETAS’ ARE THEIR KIDS. This terminology makes sense if used by HUNTERS who consider werewolves to be mindless dumb animals. WHY THE FUCK would werewolves use it to DESCRIBE THEMSELVES?) besides the absolute minimum of ‘I caught a scent?’ Are you serious? Then there’s werewolf ages. Oh my god that was so fucking lazy. Saying that werewolves don’t age like humans, but that Cora is seventeen “by human standards” WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? I’ve seen theories that go so many different ways. The idea that Werewolves live really long lives because of the superhealing. The idea that they live really short lives because their healing just burns through their body really quickly. The idea that their lifespan is directly correlated to the amount of damage they take because they can only heal so much, so wolves who get hurt a lot age faster than wolves who don’t. There’s NO explanation! You’d think it might be an interesting point for Scott to find out that he’s gonna live to fucking 200 years old. (How old is Satomi again?) That sounds like something a Teenager would be daunted by. We see them make fun of Stiles a few times because he believes werewolf myths about silver, and then because he believes Peter when Peter tells him he lives in a series of underground caves. But like...why not? THESE ARE WEREWOLVES why did you just make them humans with extra facial hair? Where are the traditional mating rituals (or even the concept of a mate/life partner, can you imagine how interesting that would’ve been? If Scott found out Allison was his mate? Or if he suddenly had all these weird urges around her, like rubbing their foreheads together or cuddling her way too much or wanting to bring her food? That would’ve been fascinating and hilarious as subplots for their romance!) where are the full moon runs or pack get-togethers? Where are the aversions to perfumes or cologne? Where are literally any animal behaviors besides AGGRESSION? Where is the den-making? Can werewolves eat fast food or does the grease bug them? Talia was a famous Alpha bc she could full shift. Does anyone know why she could do that? “Evolution” is a bullshit answer, let’s be real. It’s shitty writing and it put Derek through so much more than he deserved. THEY ACCIDENTALLY ESTABLISHED that ALL HALES can full-shift! IT’s NOT EVOLUTION. It’s BIRTHRIGHT. Talia fullshifted. Peter full-shifted (though his was distorted into the monster thingy. That wasn’t anything like Deucalion’s shift. It was a FULL SHIFT) Laura could full shift bc she did it after she died. No other werewolves on the show turned into full wolves after death, even if they died with wolfsbane in their system? MALIA could full-shift into a coyote. LITERALLY EVERY HALE except Cora and that’s bc she got booted back to South America COuld FULL SHIFT (and it never happened after they lost all of their wolf powers, that coud’ve been an interesting plot if they didn’t FUCK IT UP.) But still there’s no explanation, or even just acknowledgement? You don’t have to spell it out for us, but at least SAY “Hey, so the Hale family is really powerful and all of us can full-shift. Not sure why, but it’s neat.) I’m still stuck on rituals. Routines. Werewolf mores. Social cues. Are there certain smells they’re supposed to ignore? Is it polite to pretend you don’t hear someone coming up to your house until they knock? Do they have rules about waiting until the Alpha eats before they start eating (much like how lots of traditional households wait for the father to dig in, or whoever is head of household)? Is it tradition to homeschool werewolves for the first few years until they learn control? Are there seriously no rules about biting humans? You don’t have to talk to their parents or have a specific conversation with them? And if werewolves are so dominance/hierarchy based, then you’re telling me there’s no “second-in-command” or respectful greetings that are supposed to be used for an Alpha? There’s absolutely no form of werewolf government or ancient laws or anything except a big spiral that is universally recognized as a sign you’re gonna kill people? What was the wolfsbane around Laura’s body for? Why make the spiral out of that instead of just drawing in the dirt or something? We make a lot of jokes about Derek being bad with his words, but so is Peter and so is Cora. And they’re the only born wolves we interact with (except Satomi who ALSO isn’t a chatterbox) What if that’s not just because they’re all traumatized and cranky? What if they’re just speaking on a different level? Scents and body language are integral to wolf interaction. Like how we say that Peter has that conversation with Derek’s eyebrows? What if Derek’s so fucking pissed all the time because he hates talking to Scott because SCott ISN”T LISTENING to his body language and scent and chemosignals? He tells Scott to use all his senses, and Scott does it fucking once to say that Peter felt “Angry” and never again. What if Derek is Talking PLENTY (with his body and movements and reactions) but Scott just isn’t paying attention? Isaac seems to understand Derek just fine. Erica and Boyd never complain that Derek is lying to them or ‘keeping something’ from them? What if the reason Scott always thinks Derek’s hiding something is because he isn’t reading the rest of Derek’s conversation and he assumes that the empty feeling is Derek lying. Even STILES seems to understand Derek. He’s human, but he goes totally wolfy. He already uses body language a lot and while he gets mad at Derek he never has to ask what the fuck derek is saying or what he’s holding back. I digress. I wanna know why no other packs came to help Derek and Laura after their family died. I wanna know why Emissaries and Druids are so incredibly important to the supernatural/werewolf world but Derek barely knew they existed (Especially when it’s established that he know tons of lore about other species.) and even though every single pack should have an emissary, they never handle who is the emissary for Derek’s pack or for Scott’s pack (Once again, is an emissary bound to their pack somehow or is it just an agreement?). I wanna know why Derek knew Satomi and trusted her but for some reason never felt like he could ask her for help? Centuries of hiding and living amongst humans with almost no wolf behavior to their name, but none of these packs interact? There’s Druid Vets and Hunter cops and Emissary counselors. But no werewolf doctors? No werewolf teachers? Absolutely no werewolf society? If Derek was worried about Paige not accepting that he was a werewolf unless she became one, what does that say about his experience with humans? He says “there were people in my family that were perfectly ordinary in that house” who died in the fire. But wouldn’t he talk to a human pack member about his worries, if he had one? Or even a bitten pack member? He admits he doesn’t know how to train a Bitten wolf. He’s never been called out by a human pack member for using phrases like ‘caught a scent’ or for reacting to things he shouldn’t. Does this mean Derek’s family was entirely werewolves? No humans in the know? No bitten wolves? He has a huge thing about keeping the secret and never letting anyone in on it unless they get dragged into it. Did Derek’s pack have some kind of prejudice against humans? Was Derek raised to believe humans were weak or cowardly or something, that he thought this beautiful girl would automatically hate him and expose him if she were to discover the supernatural without being forced into silence by self-preservation.

Lots of times, it’s easy to forget in this fandom that so much is missing, because we’ve been filling in the gaps for so long that some stuff is practically canon. It’s generally assumed that the Hales were homeschooled before high school. It’s generally assumed that there’s some kind of bond that marks people as pack. We instinctively add in mentions of Scent and the use of the shift (growling, claws, a hint of fang, flashing eyes) as part of the casual communication between characters. We add in scent-marking and territory boundaries and specific roles in the pack. We do all of that and never think twice because it’s already in all the fic. But we did that. The show gave us nothing. It spent an entire season talking about the nogitsune and the oni and how they’re summoned and what kitsune fox tails are for, but we never got to find out why wolves can do the pain-drain (or even if it dissipates the pain or just transfers it to the wolf doing the draining) or if Derek Hale EVEN HAS A DAD.

[fellhellion]

can you make a rec list of your favorite fe3h fics? if that's alright?

OF COURSE I WOULD LOVE TO <3 always happy to give my fave works a shoutout <33333

Though mind u this is going to be a LOT so ill pop them under a cut

from the heart in exile

TLDR: platonic hubert edelgard fic that haunts me. It’s extremely good with really well written character voices and focuses on these two characters trying to find out who they are beyond the war with their friends refusing to leave them behind

Summary: 

You can’t speak just yet to whether time—and age? experience? not that war or rulership have given you much of the latter, at least in the area of gardening—has made your thumbs any less brown, but the house in the Oghma Mountains is surrounded by so many growing things it hardly seems to matter. It sits at the edge of a forest, on the gentle lower slopes, and the people in the nearest town had all smiled to speak of it when they pointed the way for Hubert, the day you arrived. A number of them were old enough to remember what it had been like, years ago, in the warm and golden before, and to insist that it had not changed in the ways that mattered. It was still full of light. The air still smelled green.

In which Edelgard keeps a garden, Hubert learns to fly, and those they leave behind refuse to be left behind.

----------------------------------------------

Watchtower

TLDR: platonic fic and amazing sylvain character study. Like genuinely one of the best i’ve ever read. If you’re someone who really wanted a deeper exploration of Sylvain’s feelings about Dimitri this fic is for u. 

Summary: 

When Sylvain is six and a half and climbs to the top of a tower with no one’s hand in his, he realizes that each and every one of the people he loves has been born as a gift to something else. Dimitri was born for Faerghus, and Felix was born for Dimitri. Glenn was born for the royal family, and Ingrid was born for Galatea and for Glenn. He realizes, too, that what they’re for decides their future. Dimitri will lead them into a better world. Felix will guide his path, and Glenn will protect his life, and Ingrid will bind her future to theirs.

And Sylvain, who was born for the border, will stand in a watchtower. He will see the enemy before it comes, and he will keep Dimitri and Felix and Ingrid and Glenn safe.

Dimitri reappears after five years. Sylvain knows it's his role to fix the mess they're in, but he doesn't know how.

-------------------------------------------

little light

TLDR: really good exploration of flayn and seteth’s relationship (+ with his wife and flayn’s mother) pre canon (also post canon if i remember right) just a really good if heartbreaking family fic 

Summary: 

"She is beautiful, and she is perfect. It is foolish to say so, because the goddess herself says perfect beings cannot exist - but Cichol knows now she must have been wrong, because his daughter is perfect. They name her Cethleann. In the old tongue, it means 'light.'"

Cichol, Cethleann, what they lost, and who they became.

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conjure the wind, ease my mind

TLDR: this author in general writes FANTASTIC work so pls check out their whole repertoire. a platonic fic between holst and claude w an exploration of claude’s past that’s just so good....found brotherhood i am WEEPING 

Summary: 

“I’d like to know what’s wrong. I’d like to help if I can.”

Calculating green eyes lock onto Holst’s own, but this time they’re laced with something a little bit like resignation

Many people call Duke Riegan a liar, but Holst feels like he knows the young man a bit better than that. To call him a liar is wrong, you see, because all Claude has ever really done is master the art of giving up as little of the truth as possible. He keeps truth close, treats it like a valuable commodity.

“I have three brothers,” he says. “Half-brothers.”

***

Claude won’t spar with Holst and Holst wants to know why.

----------------------------------------------

my fellow passerine

TLDR: same author as before and just...god this fic is so good. a platonic exploration of the relationship between Claude and Cyril. This fic has it all: found brotherhood, worldbuilding about Almyra, Claude character study, CYRIL character study. it’s just fantastic 

Summary:

Then the Alliance delegation shows up, and their offering strolls through the gates of the monastery like he already owns the place.

A reminder, for those who need it: Cyril is not an idiot. He has good eyes and he uses them.

An observation, for those who want it: The Golden Deer house leader is Almyran.

~

Cyril knows a lot more than he lets on, Claude is far less covert than he thinks he is, and messing with the guy your parents told you was a possibly-unkillable demon-prince isn’t usually supposed to earn you a lasting friendship but hey… life is already pretty damn weird.

-----------------------------------------

Autotomy

TLDR: god this ferdibert fic just fucking...destroys me. i cannot get through it without crying at least twice and usually more. it’s basically a CF canon divergence with a heavy HEAVY exploration of ferdinand and hubert’s perspectives towards usefulness and how abelist thinking affects that in their efforts to find Shambala after Ferdinand loses his sight from one of Hubert’s experimental spells. All while falling in love. this fic is VERY fucking heavy, please mind the tags, it’s amazing but it’s subject matter is something you need to be very aware of. Also i would highly reccomend reading the prequel to this fic as it provides some critical context to Hubert’s actions that you don’t get through Ferdinand’s flawed pov. Basically this author is a master of character perspective.

Summary: 

Ferdinand von Aegir's war record ends in 1182. The war does not.

Or, blind man's bluff.

---------------------------------------------

Coming of Age

TLDR: same author as before and god...just my FAVOURITE ferdinand character study. Takes place within the period Byleth is away. I don’t want to spoil anything but it’s incredible. Mines the fantastic character drama hook between Edelgard and Ferdinand that canon DIDNT rip

Summary: 

Ferdinand was a general. In theory. Edelgard had promised him continued command of his battalion, and a general needed a certain measure of wealth to supply his horses, his servants, his armor and rations and lodgings and, she’d promised.

But his father sat rotting in a cell, or worse, and it could be nothing more than a fable they thought him simple enough to believe. What did promises matter?

When the house of Aegir collapses around him, Ferdinand struggles to forge a path forward. He quickly discovers he can't manage it alone -- and neither, perhaps, can Edelgard.

------------------------------------------

Another Life

TLDR: same author AGAIN (can u tell theyre my favourite fjsdhfk). Ferdibert fic, a man loving his partner and trying to figure out the best way to support them as they silently wrestle with questions about their gender identity is something that can be so PERSONAL and make u CRY god. also dark flier hubert my beloved. 

Summary: 

Ferdinand notices things. He cannot say what he notices, precisely, because he has no one to ask, and if he were to ask Hubert it would damn well result in every questioned moment up and vanishing forever behind a new wall of prickly austerity. Ferdinand cannot risk that. The things that he notices stick in his chest, and he thinks only, but.

Hubert wrestles with unasked questions; Ferdinand wrestles with a pegasus.

---------------------------------------------

Beneath the Sheets of Paper Lies My Truth

TLDR: Dimilix fic in my FAVOURITE fucking format of secondary in game historical sources exploring their relationship in retrospective.

Summary:

It was said that Duke Fraldarius’s grief at King Dimitri’s death was more potent than even the queen’s—but said by whom, and how, and why?

-----------------------------------------

A Fair Day’s Work

TLDR: Post CF Canon ferdibert where Hubert and Ferdinand’s overworked aides desperately try to get them together so they’ll be too busy being uhhhh AMOUROUS to give them so much work. Very much a romantic comedy with very fun OCs as our protags. 

Summary:

“I may have some coffee in the place for you,” said Prime Minister Aegir. “Let me show you how much better I have become at brewing it to your taste.”

“If you insist,” said Minister Vestra but he sounded pleased. To Delarivier, who had literally made it her profession to attune herself to his tone (usually ranging from sort-of-murder-y to extremely-murder-y), Minister Vestra sounded very pleased indeed.

--

Ferdinand and Hubert's long-suffering aides figure out a way to work fewer hours.

----------------------------------------

Roost

TLDR: Dimilix post AM Canon with some pre canon moments. Basically an exploration of the complexity of their relationship with bird symbolism and extra Holy Kingdom lore. Gifting ur lover a vulture is something that can be so personal fksdhfsjkd

Summary:

Dimitri makes an affirmative noise. Then he takes a breath, voice leveling out into what Felix had long ago dubbed his 'future king voice', all steady explanation: “Long ago, the saying fledged right along with the nobles' and royal family's love of hawking, and it has remained a common phrase from one generation to the next. As adviser to the king, the duke is meant to be regal and strong, even deadly when required, from his place at the king's side. To always act as the most piercing, watchful eyes over the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus and her sovereign."

He looks over to Felix as soon as his mouth snaps shut on the final word, as always seeking approval on his recitations.

Felix tilts his head, trying to look unimpressed. “I like eagles.”

A hand automatically comes up to cover the lower half of Dimitri's face, muffling the inarticulate sound of a snort of amusement. “That is good, since you are to be mine.”

***

They say an eagle watches over Fhirdiad.

------------------------------------------------------------

A faint and faraway sound

TLDR: Ferdibert with an excellent Hubert centric character study....just so good...makes me warm and fuzzy...the mutual pining and ROMANCE of it all

Summary: 

Hubert learns to be a person, with a lot of help and complication along the way.

------------------------------------------------------

In golden light

TLDR: A really REALLY good ferdibert fic with ferdinand centric pov that focuses on him reflecting on his life as he prepares the Aegir house to become a boarding school. Ferdinand sibling exploration is ABOUND here and it’s great

Summary: 

When his family's summer home at Lake Aegir is set to be converted to a boarding academy, Ferdinand pays it one last visit and contemplates his complicated relationship with family, love, and legacy.

-------------------------------------------

one three four three four zero

TLDR: the fic that actually got me into dimilix. VERY heavy character study and you NEED to mind both the general fic tags and the content warnings the author lists for each chapter but it’s incredible. Takes a very familiar trope and just. slams you in the face with over 60k words of amazing character study. 

Summary: 

“How are you going to get the One-Eyed Demon of Garreg Mach, the Boar Prince of Faerghus, smuggled past Dukedom soldiers? What plan could you possibly have to get a creature that incapable of even pretending it isn’t a bloodthirsty beast into Dominic without getting caught?”

The Professor gives him one of their steady, unreadable stares. They definitely do not and could not possibly have answered him, “You’re going to pretend to be married to him.”

or, How to Pretend to be Married When One of You Can't Stop Hallucinating and the Other One Uses Hostility to Cope

[elleseekswritingpartners]

searching for Jujutsu Kaisen writing partners (updated, never expires)

MDNI. Elle. 20+. GMT. discord/tumblr/docs. I'm a long-term roleplayer and I will literally send you memes and HCs and create Pinterest boards and google docs one hour after we start talking because I'm both stupid and unhinged.

i'm show-based and not too stressed about keeping things canon. i honestly don't even understand half of the lore, so if you want to get technical / heavily explore worldbuilding and lore i'm not your girl lmfao i just love the concept of jjk and characters and i don't feel inclined to dive deeper than that - but i do want plots in the jjk word, not aus.

what i want to write:

satoru gojo* x utahime lori satoru gojo* x f!oc megumi fushiguro* x f!oc or nobara kento nanami x f!oc* kento nanami x shoko leiri shoko leiri x m!oc hiromi higuruma x f!oc hiromi higuruma x shoko leiri (idk how but i think it'd be interesting) toji fushiguro x f!oc

im also open to: suguru geto x shoko leiri suguru geto x f!oc

suguru geto x satoru gojo but only if you're a chill person. i love the dynamic and would like to give it a go, but i'm not comfortable writing popular ships and i don't want to stress myself.

[more abt me + rules under the cut, for accessibility reasons]

about me + rules:

i'm 25+ years old. i only want to interact with people who are 20+. this is non negotiable. i enjoy the occasional nsfw hc and drabble but i don't expect to write a lot of smut, i just don't want to write with people who are underaged.

i have 15 years of writing experience, however, it's ok to me if you're new to roleplaying - we all start somewhere.

i don’t have trigger warnings and enjoy writing potentially triggering topics like manipulation and memory loss etc, but lets always be respectful.

i love to plot and brainstorm. if you tell me "whatever works for you" "i can do whatever you want" and give me nothing to work with, i'll stop replying.

i usually write 3 or 4 solid paragraphs but i don't care about the length of your replies as long as you give me stuff to work with. i think writing extremely lengthy replies can actually be a disservice to certain scenes because you end up with a ton of paragraphs each focusing on its own thing and it gets confusing. i don't know why people equate length with quality. keeping things short is good sometimes.

for me, ships are the priority, brotps are the VERY welcome bonus.

i'm NOT interested in only having one plot/ship with my writing partner.

i actually enjoy writing both men and women and i expect my partners to as well. it's blatant when someone is forcing themselves to write a character they don't want to write. pls don't put me through this lol, if you do i'll stop replying.

my philosophy is to look at the world that is provided to us and turning it into our playground, changing things however we see fit. if you care intensely about keeping things canon and getting every detail about events and character’s personalities right, we won’t be compatible.

it’s important to me to approach plots and characters with realism (if you’re someone who doesn’t look forward to the possible character growth/development coming from the disagreements in a ship, i’m not your girl), but i WILL conjugate that realism with more gringy elements (like love triangles, pinning, and accidental pregnancies) because i believe life is too short to completely deprive ourselves from it.

i’ve a very devoted roleplay partner. i know life gets busy but i’m someone who loves to share hcs and brainstorm and make pinterest boards. i don’t expect fast replies but unless my partner lets me know they’re going to be inactive, if i don’t have any sort of interaction with them for over a week (this can be something as simple as pinning something to our pinterest boards), i do feel a bit like shit.

ty for reading!! don't forget to say hi if you're interested. ✨

[wincore]

I FORGIVE U I GUESS 😤😤 and yes i could feel it a lil!! u seemed to really want to delve into deeper plots & i know that self-inserts tend to hold writers back from exploring too much bc of the general standards of self inserts (ex: keeping everything a one-shot / on the shorter side / less reader-characteristic focused). but i cannot tell u how excited i am for more world-building & novel-ish stuff from you!!!! PLS WHICH ANIME??? ill read whatever u write for. following u to the ends of the earth maam.

ahhh don’t cry, of course your writing is more important than the faces behind the characters omg!! obviously i initially found your blog through nct but as time went on, i began to read less for the neos & more for the writing!! usually when i reread your old fics, i don’t really think “i feel like reading a [member] fic!” or anything, i just think “i wanna feel a lil sad.. 🤔🤔 which fic made me cry again... heaven, fallen!” it’s all about the feelings!! & also like.. i don’t have A Single Clue what sungchan is like LOL but i’m still so excited to read “field day” bc i love bff2l!!! when i read ur works, the tropes excite me way more than the people!! ofc it’s fun to read ur characterizations of the members too but at the end of the day i always fall for the reader’s personality more anyways 😭😭

“TATA I SWEAR U MAKE ME WANT TO CONTINUE WRITING ON HERE” this is the highest compliment u can give any anon 😭🤍 i’m really really happy if my feedback makes u recognize how good your own work is!!!! own that shit!! u are a funny wonderful dialogue writer & u create the most lovable original characters!! (i am also annoying which is why i find them lovable more than annoying HAHAH)

UR FRIEND IS SO FUNNY FOR THE XMEN COMMENT 😭😭 & pls consider giving me a one sentence spin-off for sicheng’s character. i must know. him & his soulmate dont have soulmarkers but is it in a sad way or no 🤨🤨 and how do they find out. sorry (not) but i am addicted 2 this soulmate world.

UR GOING TO KILL IT & KNOCK OUT EVERYTHING ON UR PLATE FOR UNI!!! i know this with 100% certainty & 0 doubt!! love u moonie 🤍 this blog always feels like a safe space for me so thank u!!!

- tata 💖

TATA.........omg first... How do I say this... you literally predicted it but ugh..... I ended up getting the atsumu brainrot....... (but maybe objectively osamu is the superior twin and ideal man sorry he owns an onigiri shop 😫👌) love the twins ....but also middle school me's crush on oikawa didn't die. I was about to whack myself atop the head and go 'but he's like 17!!1! ur older now!!1!' but technically he's 6 years older to me and sexier now.

And AAAHH you are absolutely correct, sometimes I'll find myself clipping interactions bc of something minor like does the character look up at someone or down bc idk their height, and other Related Problems™ which give me difficulty setting the camera (??) If that makes sense. I am so excited to be able to write something longer and while I want to continue writing reader inserts from time to time (bc sometimes I wanna make original character personalities too fbdndj) I want to spend some time writing more plot-based/worldbuilding fics !! I'm so happy you're excited for them ahhhh !!!!!

HOW CAN YOU TELL ME TO NOT CRY AND THEN SAY THAT MA'AM 🤚 THE WAY YOU SAID IT MAKES ME FEEL LIKE AN ESTABLISHED AUTHOR PLS ILYSM 😭💘 I meant it when I said u make me want to continue writing bc you give me all the validation I need 🥰😚 u really are most of the confidence I have in my writing HDJDJD also I'm so glad u like the reader's personality???? It gets hard to like. Not imagine their physical form but I try my best to pack a punch with the personality LOL also thank god we can be annoying together marry me 💍

And hmmmm. This soulmate universe is basically the failed experiment version of a proper soulmate universe LMAO. sicheng's character is just someone who assumes he doesn't have a soulmate bc he doesn't have the mark but he doesn't know that someone else out there... also doesn't have it. So them meeting would be a true encounter of chance bc there's no way the two know the other exist (and only a series of romcom like events can help them find out, sorry I had to 🤧)

Thank you so much Tata!!!!! I'm looking at my schoolwork and it's making my soul leave my body but I'm going to try my best!!!!! And. omg this blog is your safe space 😭😭 that's so sweet to hear I'm glad it provides you comfort like this!!! Love u, have a good day/night ❣️❣️

[swtorcompanionsgoofin]

you know I love the inquisidad :') could we get his worldbuilding wednesday?

A YEAR AND A HALF LATER.  FINALLY.  MY ASS.  FINISHES THIS.

This ask has been stuck in the fckn Carbonite Hell of my Inbox for so long it could be the next Outlander

B A S I C S

full name: Zal-hessah Vooretta [ZV592]

Gender: Dude (Cis)

Sexuality: Very Very Very Gay

Pronouns: He/Him

O T H E R S

Family: (Found Family :D)

Ashara (apprentice, so his kid)

Xalek (apprentice, so his kid)

Koriatta (apprentice, so his kid)

Denzit (Koriatta’s husband, KID IN LAWWW)

Racqet (Koriatta’s kid, so Essentially Zal’s grandson)

Thera-nal (apprentice, that’s his k i d)

Tbh the entire inquisitor crew is Big Family Hours and also T h e r o n   j o i n i n ‘   t h a t   p i l e, I finished the nathema/chiss shit.  Heckin Marriage Y’all.

Birthplace: ??? [unknown time and place]

Job: Sithy Business, doing that Good Good Alliance Commander Shit

Phobias: Fog, he’s got a Very specific claustrophobia that’s linked less to small spaces and more to having restricted movement.  He could have all the empty space in the world around him, but if he’s tied down to one spot it’s a Bad Time.  He could be in a Very small space, but if he’s not tied down to a specific spot in it, he’s Good.

guilty pleasures: he has a little too much fun, in his opinion, watching people squirm when they figure out that he isn’t Just some random pirate or small-fish Sith.  It’s a little too much fun for him to spring that on people, to drop that knowledge on their heads and watch them flounder.

M O R A L S

morality alignment?:  I… don’t know???  He’s Good, but also has the potential to be Absolutely Horrifying and Vindictive.  So like.  Dude’s the Honorary Lightsider.  I have no idea What he’s doing but he’s doing his best.

sins - lust/greed/gluttony/sloth/pride/envy/wrath

virtues - chastity/charity/diligence/humility/kindness/patience/justice

T H I S - O R - T H A T

introvert/extrovert: i n t r o v e r t.  He needs to vibe on his own to recharge from things.

organized/disorganized: Where he Sleeps is organized, but only bc he just Doesn’t Have Things In There.  He’s got miscellaneous shelves full of random shit everywhere tho (though, none within reach of Toddler in the rooms that Racqet has access to bc Babyproofing), and has organized the cargo storage on his ship ONCE and then never put anything in there again bc he didn’t want to fuck it up.

close minded/open-minded: open-minded!!  He likes to learn new shit, and frankly, closed-mindedness has gotten nobody he knows Anywhere.  It’s mostly gotten them Murdered.

calm/anxious: i think he hit that point Beyond anxious that falls into Calm, and then at some point he reined it back through the anxiety to Just Calm again.  But only barely.  He’s always got this background ‘hhhhhhh’ going on.  That’s just how he is.

disagreeable/agreeable: agreeable, but has a hardline on certain things.

cautious/reckless: cautious as FUCK. He will take risks, and do them in a way that Seems and Feels reckless and impulsive, but he did that Thinking.

patient/impatient: extraordinarily patient, just, he sits through So Much

outspoken/reserved: r e s e r v e d.  He’s good to vibe in his own corner tbh, or he WOULD BE if people LET HIM jfakfjdalfja.  Pls, Alliance, stop making him do speeches he is BAD AT THEM.  ATROCIOUS. it stems from THIS.

leader/follower: would be a follower if he wasn’t Constantly in leadership positions, but there’s that saying about the best leaders are good followers, so like, he can do Both.

empathetic/unemphatic: he full of that empathy shit

optimistic/pessimistic: generally optimistic, or at least he tries to be

traditional/modern:  Modern, I think!  He just kinda vibes lol, idk.

hard-working/lazy: I think he Tried to be lazy like Once and his entire body was like ‘NOPE. HAVE TO DO THINGS’ and then he grabbed a friend and took off into the fckn tundra on Hoth like, he’s gotta be doing Something.  He can’t stand being bored.  It’s Hell.  Thankfully, he *does* vibe with like, taking care of things as ways of Doing Things.  So he’s got pets and plants and stuff that he keeps around bc if he’s working on them, then he’s got smth going on and it Works.  Also 100% some of the things on his Shelves Of Hell are little widgety projects he started up bc he just Could Not be Not Doing Something.

R E L A T I O N S H I P S

Otp: he romanced theron bc Yes Gimme That Shit, Inquis x Theron is Top Tier i love it

Ot3: i imagine he wouldn’t be Disappointed if he got to experience some of that bonus Cytharat stuff, bc Cytharat wasn’t there for a long time, but man was it a GOOD time jfdkajflak.

Brotp: LANA.  Lana is Bestie.  It used to be Andronikos, and Nikos is still Top Tier, but HOHOHO Lana snatched that bestie spot out from under him.

Notp: uh, Most People.  Lmfao idk he kinda latched himself onto the hot guys in his life and hasn’t given me any room to think about the Nope Spectrum.

[adaparkwrites]

Hi! I’m kind of new to the proper writeblr side of tumblr so pls forgive me if this not a good question. I’ve always wanted to write an original novel but for some reason I always fall “out of love” with my ideas. I write fanfic and it’s easy there because it doesn’t matter as much, I can just take the characters and write a new fic another time, but for my OC’s... I’m so focused on finding the perfect plot and perfect setting that I end up hating everything and not writing :( any tips? 💕

Hello! This is a great question, and I’m happy to offer any advice/tips I can.

(Huge post, content under the cut!)

Transition from Fanfiction to Original Fiction

I, too, wrote fanfiction actively for much of my life. Here are some main differences between fanfiction and original fiction I found:

What I like better about fanfiction

Characters: In fanfiction, characters already exist, you just need to portray them. In original fiction, you have to breathe life into brand new human beings! That was tricky at first for me.

Worldbuilding: In fanfiction, the world is already there. It can be easier to immerse yourself in a world that already exists.

What I like better about original fiction

Characters: My characters can be whoever I want. I don’t have to worry about portraying them true to someone else’s canon, because canon belongs to me.

Worldbuilding: It’s tons of fun to build an original world. Instead of adhering to the laws of a pre-existing universe, I can make up my own.

Both fanfiction and original fiction have their pros and cons. I found writing both helped exercise my creative muscles!

When transitioning to original fiction, it’s okay to write stories where the plot/setting is based off your favorite fandoms. These kinds of “heavily inspired” stories are great practice! Like training wheels as you ride the line between fanfiction and original.

Example of the Transition

Meet Anna! I made her up. She loves writing fanfiction about The Hunger Games, but she wants to publish original sci-fi novels one day. Anna decides to ease herself into original fiction gradually.

Fanfiction, with genre elements: Anna writes a new Hunger Games fanfiction, but Katniss and Cato are fighting in space. She experiments with worldbuilding in the familiar environment of Panem, extending its empire to the stars.

The ‘heavily inspired’ story: After a few months, Anna writes a sci-fi book with her OC Odis. The plot is basically “Hunger Games but in space”, but includes some original worldbuilding to adapt the setting to an interstellar backdrop. Jabberjays no longer exist, but an alien race called the Ja’blian does!

The new story: Anna decides to make a New Year’s resolution to write a new book. This time, Odis is exploring space when he’s captured by a hostile alien civilization. Thrown into an enclosed arena, Odis must fight other alien lifeforms to the death. He wins and prepares to escape. Plot twist! As he runs to his ship, the planet starts dying around him. Odis learns the planet itself is alive. It’s an old, angry god that demands bloodshed, threatening to turn itself uninhabitable if its denizens fail its demands. Will Odis sacrifice himself for the bloodthirsty planet, or can he find another solution?

Anna’s new writing still retains a favorite element inspired from The Hunger Games (fight to the death), but it has taken an original twist of its own. She decides to polish this manuscript further and pursue publishing it!

Troubleshooting: Plot and Setting

Sometimes things go wrong, but that’s okay! Writing is a life-long learning process. As long as you have the determination to push through, you’ll always move forward. In my opinion, that willpower is the single most important ingredient for a writer’s success!

Now for your plot and setting concerns:

Many fanfictions have amazing plots! But even the most basic plots can attract an audience, since the readers are already invested in those worlds.

Unfortunately, original fiction lacks that safety net. It can be a daunting task to construct an entirely new premise from scratch. Sometimes, the hardest part of building a compelling plot/setting is knowing where to start!

So Where Do I Start?

Judging by your ask, you seem to be character-focused. Even when you get frustrated with your worlds and move onto the next... you take your OCs with you. The love and care you show your OCs will be absolutely essential for building a plot!

I’ll be using the example of our sci-fi friend, Anna. She wants to write a sequel to her sci-fi novel, but she’s having trouble with the plot. Luckily, she is still attached to her main character Odis, so these strategies can help her out.

OC’s Goal: What does your OC want most? Think of a way to stop them from reaching that goal. Now they will have to make a journey or a sacrifice (tangible or intangible). Think of what your OC needs to do now.

Example: Odis dreams of finding love when he returns to Earth. But he crash-lands on yet another dangerous alien planet, and his spaceship is wrecked again. Now he has to enter the alien city to find replacement parts.

OC’s Arc: Your OC is going to change as a person. What about them will be different? Think of ideas to bring about these changes.

Example: Odis is abrasive and arrogant. Before he can find love, he needs to learn humility. Maybe he is caught stealing machine parts in the alien city and must do community service.

OC’s Error: Your OC believes something incorrect. What is this false belief they’re clinging to? Think of ideas to shake these beliefs.

Example: Odis believed he could only fall in love with another human. But as he cleans the matriarch trees for community service, he catches a glimpse of a handsome alien watching him from the branches...

I hope this helped! Best of wishes in your writing pursuits, and remember to have fun!

[dahniwitchoflight]

fucking, god, he called his ship Theseus. Oh god im not ready to face this epilogue stuff in actual visual form oh jeesus

Dirk, Dirk pls. no one can take you seriously now that we can actually SEE your Villain-Sona. 

oh god, the second hand embarassment is real.

Alright so there seems to be like, a tinge of Rose existing as her own person, doing things that Dirk dislikes, but its in conversation only, so it seems facetious.

The other true thing though is the narrative is entirely Dirk’s perspective, and Dirk is exactly the kind of person who would absolutely love and believe he was capable of subsuming another person’s soul and idealogy entirely, but we went through this deceit in the epilogues with John and Roxy as well, with John’s unquetionaing hold on reality and what is canon also seeming to have an unconcious warping effect to whatever John thought was important, but Roxy gave a good point of how do you even know you did this and i didn’t choose it or wouldnt have chose it? you dont

So we could see that being repeated here, either as a parallel of that or a subversion, remains to be seen

“ Speaking of which, I think it's time I started undoing some of the more egregious mistakes this story has been subjected to over the years. Yes, I'm talking about that guy. The other orange one. Remember him? Vriska got stalked by him a bit and it was uncomfortable for everyone concerned. Anyway, the point is that he fucked up big time, and I'm here to clean up the horseshit. It's time to get this story back on the rails, back to what it was always supposed to be. I know it, and you've somehow always known it too. There was something else, some other route that Homestuck was meant to take but then didn't, a way that wouldn't've spent so much time dicking around with stuff nobody cares about. Like seriously, why did we all have to sit through talking about everyone's most intimate and private feelings for two hundred thousand fucking words. That would never have happened in Act 1. Where did it all go wrong? “

lol the andrew hussie is peeking through a bit here, so Homestuck2 is gonna be the exact thing I figured a sequel would be, its going to be a sort of retelling of the story, but its gonna flip the importance for certain things in the opposite directions, so right here its saying Homestuck is a story with a layer of importance on the characters themselves and their mindsets and how they lived in the environment they found themselves in, with the lore and the conceit of the story being a huge creation story more of a backdrop than the focus

so Homestuck2 is going to be a more "creation story” focused more on the sburb lore, buts its going to have less of a focus on the characters (perhaps even to the detrimnet? maybe characters will seem strange and out of character? but he kinda already made that feeling i the audience with the epilogues, thats what that intended effect was)

and neither one i think will turn out to better or worse than the others, theres definitely going to be benefit and downsides for both, but its not hard to see that Homestuck1 is the story that Hussie wanted to Tell, and Homestuck2 is how he’s changing it and telling a different story than he originally would have in the first place

not that hes changing Homestucks orignal story at all, but now hes telling a decidedly different one

Thus far, even though I understand Dirk’s basic mindset being “Hussie’s story sucks im gonna tell a BETTER one” and deciding that he alones gets to decide others will is unquestionably villainous train of thought, like why cant we let the characters just decide for themselves what kind of story they wanted to have and be genuine..

I AM dying of curiosity to see what sort of lore and information were going to get out of this, especially with the twist of that sort of focus being brought more into view, it’s a tantalizing glimpse of something very sexy that im into...

WORLDBUILDING :p

The World of Homestuck to me, HAS always been more infinitely exciting and interesting to me than the characters themselves, even though i liked them fine, they werent the reason why i kept reading the story for sure

Anything little thing we get about sburb or the world system out of this im happy with, regardless of what happens to the characters

(Would that be considered a villainous mindset if I was in canon? maybe ^^; good thing im not lol it does give off very “evil mad scientist morally corrupt experiments” kind of vibe lolol)

“ Look, I know what you're all really craving. I've been studying canon—or rather, what's left of it—and I think I've found it. The critical moment, in the wake of which everything started to take a nosedive into the protracted, endless slog of sheer insufferability we got saddled with near the end. This was the single most crucial error in the process that led to the present situation. The day when the story was wrested screaming from the arms of its readers like a bawling infant and carried helplessly away, from then on to be raised according to the whims of a masochistic menace with no thought for you, the common fan. “

I do have to laugh at this though, because your not wrong??? but also, it was inevitable that a story that started out like homestuck and was written like homestuck and ended like homestuck would inevitably turn out the way it did

it was a communal product of the screaming masses that turned into a singular mans story, it was unfortunately going to lose something to everyone, because everyones ideas couldnt all coexist in one canon at the same time (thats what outside of canon is for)

and then Dirk does something I DIDNT expect him to do

“Channelling my full potential as an ascended player of Heart, I expand my consciousness to commune with the boundless force of collective willpower that is the internet. My mind floods with its divine potency, a million formless cries coalescing into a sequence of discrete, formal instructions. It is a maelstrom as chaotic as it is deafening. And yet from this formless, uninterrupted spate of hard, unembellished data, a single suggestion takes form, as if bubbling up from a vast, infinite ocean of possibility. It is a whispered prayer to a compassionate god whose ear attends faithfully the will of his believers.Ok, let's see what you chucklefucks came up with.“

instead of entirely subsuming other’s will like a villain would, he has instead opened up his heart and conciousness to absorb the ideas, suggestions and wills of the masses, he is literally trying to bring back the act1 flavor of homestuck by taking suggestions, be he is ironically doing something no different than hussie did by curating and choosing which one to respond to

hah! he really does think he is the hero of this universe with Hussie as some sort of villain. 

So Hussie has probably intentionally curated this idea of himself as “Author Villain” who drives the story seemingly into mud by seeming to reject and upend the audiences expectation rather than curate them and bringing forth the best out, 

this happens with the epilogues undoubtedly, 

and this environment has gown a character from inside the story to step out and try to “oust” him from this position and instead tell a “good” story one that “everyone” wants, but is in fact detrimental to the story and world that the characters inside it themselves wants, which is was Hussie curated the whims to in the epilogues instead of the audience

So maybe this will be a “good” story, and hit all the marks for what the audience wanted originally, but there is no benevolent force to make sure a happy ending exists for any of the characters inside of it, because what the characters want doesnt matter anymore, only the lore does

[shuuos]

tag game!!!

i got tagged by @fandomfishbish !!!!!! :D :D :D

tag game rules: answer 30 questions and tag 20 blogs you are contractually obligated to know better !!!

here are the questions and answers !!!

Name/Nickname: bo !!! i may snatch the name kiki too idk it’s cute tho

Gender: fuck uh good question. idk like it’s related to feminity in the way a dog is related to a wolf but that’s abt it

Star sign: pisces hell yeah!!! i looked up my star chart and immediately forgot so pls don’t ask!!!!!!

Height: 5’3″ and fuck all my friends who are taller than me /j

Time: uhhh mountain standard time if i remember right?

Birthday: march 17!!!

Favorite bands: suddenly i have forgotten every band except for fall out boy ngkcsnkl

Favorite solo artist: JUST ONE?? god uhhhh cavetown maybe?? dodie??? idk man there’s too many good artists out there!!!!!

Song stuck in my head: rät by penelope scott sdncfdkn the animatic vibes are too immaculate

Last movie: god wait i remember give me a second uhhhh GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY 2 I THINK

Last show: the umbrella academy bc my sister and i are still trying to binge watch it (and failing to get past the third episode orz we’re too sleeby)

When did I create this blog: ok let’s see i was in 7th grade i think so like.... sometime in late 2014-early 2015 i think?? idk i just know i was in middle school

What do I post: sometimes art, sometimes music, sometimes shitposts or other extremely good posts!!!

Last thing I googled: ancient girl names bc i’ve made yet another oc rip

Do I get asks: no :(

Why I chose my url: uhhh back when i was on deviantart i wanted a ~cool~ username, and i could have sworn i saw this on a username list but i can’t find it anymore so i guess i just made it up!!!!

How many blogs do I follow: 3599 holy shit

How many followers I have: 375 which is actually a lot more than i expected tbh

Average hours of sleep: about 12 hours on a good day, 4 on a bad one, i’d say?? usually i get 6-8 tho

Lucky number: 3, i guess?? that’s always what i’ve defaulted to anyway!!!

Instruments: i can play the ukulele and technically the piano but only by ear,,

What am I wearing: uhhhh shorts and the big star wars shirt my 8th grade homeroom teacher gave me for field day (i don’t watch star wars but we wanted a team uniform and her husband was a geek so she had a lot of shirts to spare sngckjfd)

Dream job: i’ve always imagined that being a freelance artist would be nice!! i don’t think i’m rlly made for capitalism tho i’d rather just run off into the woods and look at clouds

Dream trip: uhhh europe maybe?? i wanna see my friends over there,, or maybe a cross-country road trip????? idk i’ve never really thought abt this?

Last book I read: ,,,,,,, the angel experiment bc i needed to do research for some ocs

Favorite food: mmmmmmmm i’m gonna have to go with pan de dulce bc fuck yeah. sweets and bread.

Nationality: uhhh mexican-american on my mom’s side and venezuelan on my dad’s!!!

Favorite song: wh. why would you ask me this. i’m just gonna pick a song out of my spotify playlist and go: absolutely smitten by dodie HELL YEAH THAT’S A GOOD ONE!!!

Top three fictional universes: hmmm these aren’t in order at all but i’m gonna go with: maximum ride bc winge and also the pseudoscience is just vague enough where u can go buckwild with worldbuilding and i love it, revue starlight bc GOD the uniforms the stage girls wear are so fucking cool and i would kill to own one, and animal crossing bc it’s chill heart emoji

What is something you like about yourself?: if we’re talking physically, my hair is very soft and fluffy and it’s very nice, but if u mean like personality-wise, i am the funniest bitch in this house /lh

ok tag time!!!! unfortunately i have eggs eye and tea so i’m mostly gonna tag my friends and people i’ve generally talked to before:

@homotankki @aviandalek @maxtothemax @no1fan15 @procrastinatorkimberlygrey @autisticfang oh god i don’t talk to that many people uhhh if u see this feel free to use me as an excuse to answer these questions??? if u want???? there’s probably more people i wanted to tag but i have bad memory and Cannot remember