#director’s cut asks

[goblins-riddles-or-frocks]

Wait I thought of something for the commentary meme. I want to know about the baghralina backstory for the roleswap fic! Who broke up with who, and why? Was Alina deliberately getting back at Baghra with banging Aleksander or was that just a delightful bonus? Etc

Re: this fic!

So for context this is what Alina tells Aleksander about the amplifiers and knowing Ilya. Basically, she met Baghra at the same point and just conveniently left that out I think she probably met Baghra first— who in this AU would've been around the same age, therefore young, impressionable, and lonely at that time— while Mal's still alive and they're both on the run. Alina confesses to her some of what's happened. They bond a bit, Baghra lets slip who her father is, and that he’s something of a miracle worker even for Grisha. But beyond some #vibes, that’s the end of that

Time skip, Mal dies. Alina comes back to beg Ilya Morozova for help, and is like, I’m a friend of your daughter’s. (Ilya is like. I have a daughter? she has friends?)

He is intrigued by her sob story, and more specifically her power being anomalous, and he offers to help in what ways he can. (I think it looks like their interests are aligned for a bit because his experiments, leading up to making the big three amplifiers, apparently do involve resurrection) Alina stays with them for some time. This is where there’s a burgeoning romance between her and Baghra. I think it’s a bit more intense on Baghra’s part, frankly, Alina is kind of on the rebound here

I don’t think it would have ever gotten to like admittance of feelings, but they’re probably like sneaking off into the woods to make out

Things sour when Ilya gives her an amplifier instead of actually resurrecting Mal. Alina takes it as an insult and steals his research, this pretty much results in the end of any relationship with Baghra too. And Baghra herself is ostracized even more within her own family because she introduced Alina to them, who stole all their stuff and probably like sunbeam torched their floor rushes or whatever lmao.

I think some decades later they have a chilly reunion somewhere in like Os Kervo or something after Alina’s already established herself as a saint and Baghra’s set in her transient lifestyle. That definitely results in a resentful hook up. Alina makes a cursory pillow talk effort at real reconciliation, and offers to take her back to the Little Palace. Life is so much easier there. But she probably also lets slip that crossing the Scorched Sea would be easier and Baghra is Very averse to the idea of being used by Alina again— which is 100% how she views how things went down before. So she basically just bails before morning without a word while Alina’s sleeping lol

So you could say Alina broke up with her? But Baghra refused to like mend things. They both mutually view the other as an untrustworthy cold hearted bitch.

Anyway also this bit:

Baghra is definitely projecting here. The way she makes this entirely about Alina— her ex!! When really Aleksander is mostly attracted to the concept of like stability, wealth, and plenty. He does have preconceived notions about Alina, and is more susceptible to her because Baghra offers so little in the way of like emotional support or kindness. Like there is very much a hole in his life he's quietly hoping Alina will fill, but that's a little to the left of what Baghra's saying. She's more just telling on herself here and how she was feeling about Alina when she was very, very young

Re: Aleksander, I don’t think Alina is hooking up with him particularly to spite Baghra, but she’s power tripping on it a little bit. Like it’s less about Baghra’s reaction or her ever knowing rather than the principle of the thing

She does enjoy twisting the knife though, and definitely has a cruel streak (see: how she handles Nikolai when Aleksander shows up and becomes her new favorite) so once Baghra shows up to try to warn Aleksander away, she particularly enjoys being the one to separate her from her son, and keeping him entirely under her thumb

But honestly her primary motivation is just that like… he’s clearly super into her and it’s an easy way to manipulate him. Also she’s just bored and he’s the shiny new thing

[ragnarokhound]

Hi bb 🐺 can you choose a 500 word snippet from one of your published fics or wips and give us some director's commentary / insight into what you were thinking when you wrote it?

Hi bb! ^^ Sure, I'd love to!

I'd like to take the chance to talk about a scene from intricate rituals, my omegaverse Jaytim fic featuring beta!Tim being courted by alpha!Jason.

This scene takes place near the end of the rising action, at the tail end of the fifth time that Jason was totally courting Tim, and Tim still did not notice. Obviously, spoilers under the cut for anyone who hasn't read it yet, and I am a chatty mfer so this got kind of long, haha:

Tim dozes against Jason’s shoulder as he fiddles with the bedroom door handle, and does absolutely nothing to help when they reach the bed in the corner; so Jason dumps him on top of the sheets without fanfare. He bounces on the mattress with an offended chirp while Jason turns to look through his dresser for something. Tim whines obnoxiously at the sudden cold and wriggles around until he’s under the cool top sheet, his face firmly shoved into one of Jason’s pillows. He squints an eye open when Jason still hasn’t finished doing whatever he’s doing, only to see him standing over the bed. His face is unreadable in the darkness, but Tim can tell that he’s clearly dithering.  Why? He better not be getting weird about this. It’s only weird if Jason makes it weird. Tim is not nearly awake enough to puzzle through the why right now. He’ll think about it later. “Jason. Get in the bed,” he grumbles. Jason startles at the sound of Tim’s voice, but does as he’s told. The second Jason is under the covers, Tim invades the inch of space left between them with impunity. But then— Jason stiffens, so Tim stops about point five millimeters away from actually touching him. “Sorry," Tim says quietly. "You're really warm?" He says it like a question, trying to explain himself and ask permission at the same time and he can't really tell if he's accomplished either. Jason seems to get it though; he takes a breath and relaxes, then closes the remaining distance himself. He pulls Tim into the hot cave of his body, leaving an arm slung over Tim's waist and tucking him under his chin. Tim sighs, a purr thrumming softly in his chest as he tangles himself in Jason. He buries his face in Jason’s collarbone and quietly wonders to himself how he got here.  He's not sure he knows how he and Jason went from barely tolerating each other in the same room, the same city, (the same costume) to cuddling like packmates in the same nest. Yeah, a nest Tim basically invited himself into, and okay when he’s more awake he’ll feel a little guilty about that— but Jason carried Tim here himself. He didn't have to do that. He had every opportunity to say no. To think that he has Jason's trust now. That Jason would let him in this close, have him at his back, at his throat, have access to the vulnerable parts of him. It's terrifying. It's wonderful. It’s only marred by the smallest hint of apprehension still woven through the sleepy warmth of Jason's scent, that Tim only catches because his nose is practically shoved against Jason's scent gland. With a small, trilling keen, he tries his best to project calm-safe-acceptance. He’s had practice at it since becoming Robin, since joining the Wayne pack, but he's always been better at masking his scent than projecting it. A lifetime of hiding is hard to unlearn.

(you don't realize how long 500 words is until you see it right there on the page lol)

So intricate rituals is practically a study in denial. Tim spends half the fic justifying to himself (and to us) why Jason's overt alpha courtship behavior has a completely platonic explanation, and never ever even hints that he, himself, a beta, might in fact want a romance with Jason. Even though he really, really does.

So when I start writing out the prose for a scene, I try to keep those big guiding principles for the overarching plot in mind, as well as what I'm hoping to accomplish by the end of the scene. There's a few things I wanted from this scene in particular.

First: absolutely gag-worthy #married behavior. This is it! This is the final example of Jason's courtship and Tim's flimsy excuses (AKA the formula for each scene lol). So it has to be truly outrageous. It has to be over the top. The cream of the crop. And this time, it has to be Tim's idea in the first place. Get hoisted (from your own petard), idiot.

Second: it has to set us up for why Tim is in Jason's bed in the final scene. I knew all along how this fic was going to end - with Tim in Jason's bed, but comfortable there already; the tip-over from platonic to romantic that only happens because they're in such a stupidly domestic position that Tim is FORCED to realize that he might not be the only one pretending that This Is Fine.

Third: this is almost a step too far for Jason. But not quite.

In the first half of this snippet, we catch the end of the egregious courting behavior. Jason literally carries Tim into his nest/bed. He has to step away to get PJ's or something - Tim's not paying attention to that, so we don't really find out for sure - and when he comes back to see Tim whining and wriggling and getting comfy in his sheets, he has to take a second. For #strength.

Like usual, Tim clocks that something is bothering Jason; that Jason is Experiencing An Emotion. But also like usual, he doesn't clock what it is. Even though it's obvious to us, the romance pilled and dramatic-irony-aware audience. Even worse, he's so deep in his own denial (which hopefully we've picked up at least an inkling of by now, but it's not explicitly told to us until the next interlude scene) that he blames Jason for making it weird. He gets so close to making the intuitive leap about why EXACTLY Jason might be hesitant about sharing a bed, but he's too ~sleepy UwU (and ~afraid OwO). UGH, TIM.

(I try to balance action with introspection. Action -> reaction -> introspection -> action. Jason dumps Tim on the bed -> Tim whines and gets comfortable -> Tim wonders what's taking Jason so long -> Tim opens his mouth to ask "hey wtf is your problem". But preferably the action/reaction is described vividly enough and in the character's voice enough that we can, like, microdose on introspection along the way and keep the ball rolling lol)

When Jason is told to get in the bed, he startles - he was lost in his own thoughts. I like to think Jason was pondering his own version of what Tim sort of torments himself (and us) with every scene; wondering to himself how they got here, lamenting the fact that Tim isn't interested in him the way he would like him to be, and thankful that he gets to have him at all. Maybe contemplating what might happen if only he was a little braver. If this is it; if this will be Tim's line, and whether Jason's about to cross it. (Tim lies to himself about his feelings. Jason is brutally honest with himself about his.)

Tim moves in for the cuddle - Jason stiffens because he's still boggling at this whole situation, and a little afraid that Tim will realize exactly where they are and finally tell Jason 'no'. Again, Tim clocks his discomfort - "Sorry," - and again he misunderstands its source, mislabeling the motivations behind Jason's actions.

Jason makes himself open, and Tim takes happy advantage. Awww, they're cute, even if I do want to strangle them 'now kiss' style. Cue Tim's 'isn't it crazy how we're such good friends now' narrative monologue for the scene.

(🔥"HOT CAVE OF HIS BODY" MENTION🔥) (i can't resist this phrase OTL i'm weak for it)(it's about protection it's about warmth it's about the primal imagery of being nestled under the weight of something powerful that loves you)(<- werewolf pilled)

In this last half of the snippet, I wanted Tim to kind of show his ass here, re: being in denial lol.

"He's not sure he knows how" - Tim, we all just saw exactly how you and Jason ended up here. Yeah, we skipped some of that early stuff, but we just saw the start of your deeper friendship. It started with an omelette.

"When he's more awake he'll feel a little guilty" - Tim, didn't you just explain to Jason and to us why you shouldn't feel guilty? That it's perfectly normal to share a nest with packmates? Why do you feel guilty about this, Tim?

"He didn't have to do that." You're right. He didn't have to do that, and he did have every opportunity to say no. Why didn't he, Tim?

He tries to explain that it must be because Jason trusts him. That Jason's trust is a wonderful and terrifying thing to have. Huh. Interesting. Why does that terrify you, Tim?

Then Tim picks up on Jason's scent. Jason's own fears are the only thing that can cut through Tim's spiraling thoughts right now. Jason's made peace with having what he wants so close but still so far; and yet, he still can't help but ache.

Wanting to ease Jason's discomfort is what makes Tim bold. He tries to make Jason more comfortable by reassuring him that Tim feels safe here. That he feels accepted, and that he accepts Jason - which is true, regardless of his secret, presumedly unreciprocated feelings. Aww.

The last paragraph was a two for one - transitioning us into wrapping up the scene, but also, low key? The thesis of what we've seen so far. This explains at least one facet of Tim's behavior, prepping us for his breakdown and the emotional reveal in the next interlude.

Why is Tim in denial? Why won't he admit, even to himself, that he wants Jason? Sexually, romantically? That Jason could be courting him, that Jason could want him too? Because he's always been better at masking than projecting. A lifetime of hiding is hard to unlearn.

I really enjoyed writing intricate rituals, and my biggest hope was that everyone would be ready to strangle Tim by the end of this scene - but also hurt for him by the end of the next. When you get used to the idea that you are unwanted or undesirable, in any capacity, it's truly difficult to let yourself be convinced otherwise. But there's bravery and freedom to be found in finally allowing yourself to believe it. <3

[bitterclan]

how old is foxflit in the recent updates here? also glowcall ;__;..... how is she holding up after his passing?

Foxflit is 130 moons old as of the last update. As for how everyone's taking it. Well

[not-freyja]

For the director's cut, I would love to hear more about Legend's thought process and motivations once he met Hyrule in Adjuration! 🥰

Thank you for an actual scene selection everyone else had me pulling out a random number generator. Fucks sake. Love you guys. Also sorry this took like… a month, writing is hard.

This is going to be long. And though it might be analysis for chapter two, it will contain spoilers for the whole story.

Key: [quoted text in brackets] my analysis out if brackets.

[Time to deal with the strange Hylian. The same strange Hylian who came out of a now-vanished portal that also spat out a monster.

Link did not get this far in life by being the trusting sort.] Okay this sets the tone. Legend is immediately suspicious. He knows something fucky just happened, and that this person is involved.

[“So…” he says to the figure now sitting up on the ground. “Who the hell are you?”

There’s a faint mumble from the Hylain shaped pile of dirt at his feet.

Link sighs. “You need to speak up a bit.”

“I’m…” the kid's voice is raspy, as if he hasn’t used it in a while. He coughs, trying again. It’s a bit better this time.] Crying in Rulie-loving sorrow. This boy has such a hard life. I wanted to make sure the readers understood that without rubbing it in. I also wanted to make it clear that Legend was noticing these things. [“I’m no one. Just a traveler.”] Nick name establishment. Also secret world-building. I have so many thoughts about the world-building of each of their eras. And I was holding myself back chomping at the bit not to pull a Tolkien and overshare.

[“Bullshit.”

The kid’s eyes go wide. “No, really!” There’s an almost raw edge of panic to his voice now, and Link almost feels bad. “I’m not anybody important, I’m just passing through. I’ll be on my way now, thank you for the help.] They have known each other for about two minutes and Legend is already aware of a few things. This kid is involved with some kind of Dark Magic, he’s on the run, and he does not want to reveal his identity. This is ringing some trauma bells for Leggy. He is seeing himself, and he is getting sympathetic.

[And before Link can so much as laugh at such a pathetic attempt at a lie (and it is a lie, he’s been on enough quests to be able to tell a nobody from a somebody) the traveler scrambles to his feet.] Little meta joke here. We the player, we the reader can tell an NPC from a main character. Legend, who thinks in meta terms, can too.

[The thing is, Link is retired. He’s put in the work, done his time. He’s spilled enough blood and lost enough of his life to goddesses and princesses and lost wayward souls that this is the point in the story where he wants to take the guy at his word.] So… Link. Not Legend. Link. He is so tired, and so done. Its been four lifetimes of misery and he is done, thank you. [Link wants to shrug, turn around, and continue on his way home. He wants to turn and run through the woods, back to his house and slide the bolt in the door and have Ravio tell anyone who comes calling that the hero] This is the only time that Legend thinks of “hero” in the general lowercase noun and not “Hero” as a proper noun. Why? Well because a hero would do such a thing as to hide from a quest. A Hero would not. [is not home because he is not going to be answering any more calls to greatness. There will not be one more quest.] oh buddy. *sobs* Rulie’s “got one more in me” later down the road as the direct foil to this thought. Rulie’s death is the catalyst for the rest of Legend’s character arc, like his entrance into Legend’s life is the catalyst for the plot.

[He’s retired, by the Three.] Yeah man keep telling yourself that.

[But right before he can do just what it is he wants, the stranger goes to leave first. And the poor thing takes one step, yelps like a kicked dog, and crumples back to the forest floor.

“Fuck.” Link can’t help the curse] The sympathy is now at a boiling point. Legend cannot help but care. Cannot help but try to help. [and he strides forward, towards the kid, away from home.] OKAY so the “away from home” bit is both directionally in the scene and narratively in the plot. [It’s only a few steps, but it’s the wrong way, and Link has done this enough times by now to know that it really is those first few steps that count.

Those are the ones that you can’t take back. The ones that all the rest come after.

Link takes them anyway.] I can’t even start with this part. The repeated theme of Legend “going the wrong way” of him doing the dangerothing anyway, despite his well-earned survival instincts. I… listen, Legend was suicidal. From day one. He knows he can’t undo this. He knows that another quest will probably get him killed. He does it anyway.

[“Hey, easy there,” he all but whispers, dropping to his knees next to the filthy kid. “I’m not going to hurt you, okay, Traveler?”

Big eyes stare up at him. They are full of fear and distrust, and a painful glint of hope. “Okay.”

“Okay.” Link sighs, takes another deep breath. “Is it your leg?”

That gets a weird combination of a nod and a shrug. “Ankle, actually.” The kid smiles at him. And it really is a nice smile, soft, and a bit shy. “I got my foot twisted under a tree root.”

He can’t help but wince because, yeah, been there. “Well that’s not too bad then.” Link grins. “A brace, a red potion, and a few days rest, and you’ll be good as new.”

The traveler nods, some of the stress seeming to bleed out of his shoulders. “That’s what I thought too. Thanks.” He pauses, gulps before continuing. “Thank you for handling the moblin for me. I… I’m not at my best right now.”] This whole section is about deepening the sympathy. He is looking at Rulie amd seeing his younger self (I have Rulie at 16 and Legend at 20) and he just wants to help. (Time: “Let me help.”)

[“No need to thank me.” Link’s smile, previously genuine, turns bitter. “That’s what heroes do.”

Just as he was starting to loosen up, the stranger tenses again, every muscle going taut as a bowstring.] So they have different reasons for the same action (getting tense). Legend is a ball of angst. Hyrule is afraid if being recognized.

[“You alright?”

“...What do you mean ‘hero?’”

And that tone of voice right there? Suspicious and untrusting? Waiting for the other shoe to drop? Link knows that tone of voice. He uses that tone of voice on the daily. He loves that tone of voice. But only when it’s coming from him. Out of another mouth, it just sounds sad.] Here Legend is an inch away from self awareness. So close. But more importantly, his recognition if the self in Rulie is getting even stronger. Every moment is another moment that they are more alike in Legend’s eyes.

[But hey, in for a green rupee, in for a gold.] LOL.

[“That would be me,” he says with his most winning smile. “Link, Hero of Legend, savior of Hyrule, chosen by the Goddess… you get the gist.”] Here I have Legend give the titles of three out of five Heroes that Link will be. Chosen, Legend, and Hyrule. This was foreshadowing no one noticed because why the fuck would you? What I did to this boy was unhinged no one saw that coming.

[And the kid just stares.

And stares.

And stares some more.] Me too buddy. Legend is so pretty.

[This is getting ridiculous. Link shakes his head. “Listen, I’m not really in the market for any missions, or quests, divine or otherwise. Firmly out of the whole kingdom-saving business. And the princess-saving gig as well. So why don’t you just tell me where you’re heading, and I’ll make sure you get to the nearest town in the right direction in one piece and we’ll call it even?”] Last attempt to avoid the situation, and he is still trying to help. What a dumb bitch.

[Those deep green eyes staring up at him suddenly roll back, and the boy goes limp.] Baby boy! Also the green here. Yes it is Rulie’s eye color. But it os also Ravio’s eye color, and every single detail Legend notices about this kid gets him more attached.

[“Well, shit.” Link grumbles, running a hand through his hair. What could have been an hour-long detour on his day is now a problem with a capital P. Because as much as he might want to, Link isn’t actually capable of abandoning some poor homeless-looking teenager in the middle of the woods. Especially not one who fainted at the sound of Link’s name.

That thought makes Link pause. Did he faint? A monster was chasing him, it could be blood loss. It could be more than just his ankle.] Standard worrying here. He feels responsible for this kid now.

[He reaches out tentatively with a small brush of magic and almost sighs in relief.] OKAY BIG MISTAKE. Rulie is the Triforce. Legend loves the Triforce. And the Triforce loves Legend. They magically harmonized here. Imprinted. Zinged. From this moment on they were both attached. [The issue is clear now. There’s an empty well where the kid’s natural magic should be, almost drained but nowhere near dangerously so. The fainting wasn’t about Link at all, it was the adrenaline fading off and the strain the poor kid’s body was under finally catching him.

The memory of that strange portal flares in his mind. That incident coupled with this guy being certifiably drained of magic after falling through makes Link realize a couple of things real quick.] Smart Leggy. Good Leggy.

[First, this kid probably made that portal. Second, he came through it as a last-ditch resort. He was running from something, or someone. Third, this poor Hylian has a lot of magic at his disposal (not only did he make a stable portal but he and a moblin went through it before it collapsed), magic that still pushes out in a wave, nauseatingly strong despite its low levels.] Bitch that’s the fucking Triforce.

[Link is almost afraid to learn how much the kid will have after he recharges.] Again, the Triforce.

Now to fast forward about three paragraphs, because while I like those paragraphs very much they can be entirely summarized as: Legend is so suicidal. How did none of you notice?

[One arm slides under bony knees, the other behind the prone Hylian’s back. Nayru’s tears, he won’t even need a power bracelet for this, he’s so thin.] So… I’m not crying, you’re crying. Their first moment together perfectly mirrors their last, and that is fine, that is so fine. Nothing is wrong here, I am okay.

[The Hero rises, an unconscious stranger held delicately in his arms.] Here we go. The pivot to Hero as a proper noun. The acceptance of the call. The attachment is personal and magical, and our journey begins with Legend carrying Rulie to safety, when he knows it will kill him. (And kind of hoping that it does.)

…this is a loop. The beginning is the end.

[chaotic-neutral-knitter]

hello! I’m here to humbly ask for director’s commentary on Impure Thoughts: Some

(only if you want to!)

I'd love to! Thank you for sending in this ask 😊 Here's the ask game for anyone else who's interested!

I remember exactly what made me want to write Impure Thoughts: Some. It was this gif and the tags I saw someone leave on the original post.

I did a few writing warm-ups that were just Ed thinking about Stede with this vibe in mind. I was really struggling with finishing another fic (Sometimes I Still Feel the Bruise, still unfinished but I got some weirdly accurate s2 vibes in there so that's neat) at the time so I was just trying to get myself to write anything.

It turned out to be really fun, just letting myself write something lighthearted and self-indulgent, and all those writing warm-ups fit together pretty well, so I decided to write a final chapter with the duel as the end. The goal was to have it pretty much follow canon, with another scene of Ed realizing the depth of his feelings for Stede.

And then I saw this gif:

And I figured Ed just had to kiss Stede at the end because LOOK at him he wants to kiss Stede so bad holy shit.

[deecotan]

I found this art and it's yours but I can only find it on pinterest and it's consuming me pls show me the original post or just give me a backstory I am Haunted

https://images.app.goo.gl/NU3FarXZQHfRyE258

Ahhh, Zoro Gets Violent the comic. One of my most reposted artworks ever. You can find my original post here. (Also on twitter.) Honestly I'm more upset about the fact that the reposters always seem to leave out the second part of the comic whenever they reposted this, cause like if you want to steal something at least steal the complete set, no? :/ (Sarcasm.)

The basic gist of the comic is basically Sanji got captured and held hostage by a bunch of bad guys, and Zoro got so furious that he barged into their lair, slaughtered the hell out of them, and had to have Sanji calling his name and murmuring reassurances to him just so he can calm down.

I did intentionally keep the backstory ambiguous because, well, I like to keep the interpretations up to the viewers to decide. But my original intention is that there is a reason why Zoro in here is so uncharacteristically violent - even more than usual, knowing how much faith he put in Sanji's ability to hold his own. And I tried to show... or rather imply that, through one of the panels of Zoro hugging Sanji (or Sanji hugging Zoro?). Sanji isn't wearing anything below his waist. Zoro, upon finding him like that, had assumed the worst.

Now I tried showing it through Sanji's dialogue, but if it wasn't clear enough, nothing really did happen. Whether that's because Zoro had arrived soon enough to stop anything from happening, or because of any other reason, that's up to you. Why the bad guys captured Sanji in the first place is also left to interpretation. The main focus of the comic really is just the depiction of Zoro's mind slowly coming back from a mix of pure, unadulterated rage and gut-wrenching fear when faced with the reality that Sanji (might) got hurt - with only Sanji's voice guiding him away from that frenzy. It was to show the utter desperation behind Zoro's eyes when he sees (or rather believes) Sanji got hurt, and contrast that with the bloodied carnage Zoro left behind - the only evidence from what happened before Sanji is able to get Zoro to calm down. Zoro is one of the most level-headed characters in the series, and he always has faith in Sanji's ability to hold on his own. Putting Zoro in a situation where the admirable steadfastness inside himself shatters because his lover is in danger is a really interesting subject to tackle.

Gotta admit, when making this comic I was actually in a pretty low place, hence why the outcome became pretty dark. Maybe a bit edgy. And I guess also kinda personal. But it did help me process whatever emotion I was feeling at the time, and reading other people's receptions of it had honestly helped me go through a difficult phase in my life. Three even wrote a fic based on this art which still made me giggle and kick my feet to this day. I love reading people's interpretations of my art, and receiving a wholeass fic about it? I'm over the fucking moon. (Go read it, it's an excellent fic).

So honestly? I still consider "fear" as one of my best artworks of all time. And while I was obviously bummed about the fact that it got reposted a lot of times, if it means that some people might be curious about the backstory enough to find my account? So be it. I'm glad people are able to enjoy my art, in any way they can.

(Still, obviously, don't make reposting art into a habit. At the very LEAST ask for the artist's permission. Respect your fandom creators, people.)

[tumblethroughthekaleidoscope]

Rebel Moon The Director's Cut - Chalice of Blood & Curse of Forgiveness (2024) official posters by Sachin Teng

[turrondeluxe]

I love how you draw April, she still looks like an older woman, but she seems more… refreshed. (is she like in her late 50 in the last ronin? I suppose this makes her in her early 60 in your au?) Guess the stress of Hiroto's existence is slowly withdrawing from her not-so-old bones :)

thank you!!! she is indeed called grammy april after all!

[montypng]

meant to send you a message last night but my brain was scrambled and i was too busy crying so i had to wait until now. i just wanted to say thank you so much for the beautiful art you made for deep end :') your enj & r design is so perfect and i love your style! there literally are no words to express how excited i was to see it (not to mention how many times i have scrolled back to look at it again in the last twelve hours. it's not an insignificant amount). i just genuinely love every detail you included, the moments you chose.... everything about it. from the bottom of my heart, thank you for the time & energy & care you have given deep end and that you put into your beautiful art :''')

thank you so much for your words, im so so glad you liked my art!!! if it has given you even a fraction of the joy i felt reading each deep end upload, then im happy :] your tags were incredibly kind as well, i took a screenshot so i could reread them...its incredible to think my work could have elicited such a reaction but hey, i have teared up reading deep end so i guess its a favour repaid >_> lengthy reply under the cut bc it became abominably long haha

i dont want to go on too much of a rant here (i will anyways it seems) but i think one of the things that struck me the most about deep end is how obvious the love that you put into writing it is. i know you've mentioned before how much you rewrote it over and over again, and i have to say in the best way possible that i could feel that reading it. every single chapter is written with such direction and clarity of purpose, it was truly a gift to be able to read something crafted with such meticulous attention to detail. i never felt that any line, hint of characterization, or plot detail was ever put there out of coincidence. cosette being a law student, too. the entirety of cosette's character and your emphasis on her agency as a person with a life that does not revolve around her brother. and somehow you kept touching on these weird little details that personally hit me hard? somehow?? grantaire reading hamlet (my favourite shakespeare !) and his opinion abt horatio (of course he likes horatio), the plot irrelevant but wholly appreciated discussion of the ending of the thing, thnks fr th mmrs and dammit janet in quick succession during karaoke, orpheus/eurydice in chapter 17 and the franklin expedition tidbit in 14, the whole art museum part....

some of my favourite lines:

“An animal in a trap will chew off its own leg to escape. You have no idea how much of my own blood I had to swallow to get out of there.” "The meeting had gone forty minutes longer than usual because for every word Enjolras said, Grantaire had to pick the bones clean, had to suck the marrow out." and shortly thereafter, "piano-wire tension", and "Less of a weapon and more of an instrument, for once. Press the key, see how he sings." "He wants to be comforted without being known. He wants to be loved without being understood. He wants to cry on a stranger’s shoulder and never see them again, never have to know their pity." <this one had my eyes wet while i was in a lecture i won't lie

and of course, the opening lines to top all opening lines:

"Enjolras’ father is buried on a Wednesday. The placement of the funeral in the middle of the week feels purposeful. Make this loss your centerfold, his mother seems to say. Build your life around it."

also — the quotes you chose to include in your summaries of each chapter were perfect every time. kudos for that!!!

all that to say: yeah, it was probably inevitable that i would be driven to draw something for deep end (i took screenshots of certain parts to draw later while reading this fic!! i almost never do that but i couldnt help myself!!!). one of those pieces of fiction that drives you to create (and push me out of art block, apparently). thank you again for sharing your work, deep end is truly something special and i cant wait to read the epilogue❤️❤️

(and if you've read all the way to the end of this monster of a reply: yes, you thought right...! i did draw a little mouse on the cover of grantaire's book, hes reading the tale of despereaux :] reading your grantaire is what finally pushed me to make a character playlist for him....and r smoking in the last drawing even if it isnt a scene in deep end is a reference to your other fic love is in the air, i just gotta figure out a window to break out. you know, for the connoisseurs. ;])

[prettygirlgerard]

leo he/him 19 filmmaker latino cool guy ⚧️ free palestine forever fuck colonization fuck imperialism tear this racist sexist system apart at the seams or whatever kimya dawson said

racists kill yourselves 🩷

🕊️🇵🇸mcr blog but i usually only use it to share fundraisers so pls send me gfms to share🇵🇸🕊️

texasisforever.com

[fractualized]

For the fanfic writer's director's cut thing. I'm obsessed with this exchange from Line in the sand:

Any thoughts about it are welcome, I pretty much just want you to know it lives in my brain rent free (and that I'd still give you my firstborn for a sequel).

Oh god, what do you say about the conversation that you knew the whole fic hinged on and knew you would revise fifty thousand times so it sounded like thoughts Bruce would brood over instead of… too writerly and whatnot? Case in point, the fourth paragraph in that excerpt was originally going to be somewhat longer, with at least one more version of "you ______, but ______" until I realized, duh, shorter works fine. The rule of threes is not obligatory.

But yeah, I wanted this bit to be Bruce's l'esprit d'escalier of sorts. Just stuff he's wanted to yell at Joker but hasn't because it didn't come to him at the time or previous moments didn't allow it or it seemed pointless. Including letting Joker know that he doesn't think it's foolish to reach out even if Joker will only bite back.

In this story's infancy, the final line of Bruce's speech was meant to really disarm Joker, and his kiss would be in earnest, which would disarm Bruce and result in them sleeping together. But that's the kind of idea that you realize does not work while writing it. 😂 So then the kiss turned into its own form of pushback.

It was also while writing this that I started thinking I've gone to the well of The Killing Joke too much? LOL That seems stupid to say because it's such a key moment in Bruce and Joker's relationship. There's often no avoiding it, especially in a fic that finally pulls them together. But writing about TKJ enough can start to feel like you're rehashing instead of making a point. Of course it was key for this story, so it's all still in, and I did reference TKJ again for "No Apologies." But it is a minor reason I want to focus on the mpreg comedy, so the story pivots on something else.

(ask game- fanfic director's commentary)

[sugoi-writes]

it’s mink but tumblr wants to force me to send asks via main so i had to go anon lmao

but you had to know that i was gonna ask about this 😈❤️‍🔥 I NEED TO KNOW WHERE THIS DELICIOUS MASOCHISM CAME FROM 🙏🏻❤️‍🔥

He couldn't deny how good this felt; he, himself, would have a lot to answer for later, in the privacy of the basement. He moaned as he thought of his future atonement, limbs spread and head to the floor to form the cross before a statue of Jesus. His fingers would be clawing into the floor as he recited his virtues and prayers pleading forgiveness for a sin he felt no guilt for.

(MINK, MY BELOVED-- 😭❤️✨️)

That thirst was brought to you by: my c*nt going into autopilot--

Honestly, HONESTLY though: for as much people peg (h e h) Alastor as a sadist, I think the sadism has roots in something deeper.... In fact, the phrase "it takes one to know one" feels SO Alastor Coded to me.

Even in the canon, Alastor is a manipulative asshole with a choke hold on leashes... while he himself is on a leash to a higher power.

I feel that all the torment he dishes out comes from the place of: I've been there. I've done that. I want control back... but also: a its a guilty pleasure. Almost akin to a brat fighting back against a dom? Something about putting him in his place is foreign, so different for him. He will genuinely be interested and DEFINITELY aroused from the mere defiance, let alone any success. But just know: he would be an absolute brat the whole time, unless you've made him "hail mary" few times.

To put it in the perspective of someone who is a manager, kind of a bitch IRL, and someone who generally has a short fuse: it's nice to be able to come home and be reduced to a tiny, little thing. No thoughts, no adult decisions: only bliss. To be so small, near powerless, while someone else takes care of you or your desires... or, while they use that weakness to drive you crazy? Vdhdbshs it gets me fucking GOIN

Call it projecting, but sometimes Alastor LIKES being made into a quivering little mess. Nun!Alastor, who is oppressed and objectified by his clergymen and religion ESPECIALLY.

Tldr: he's got a kink/pension for power imbalances; whether they rule in his favor or not✨️

[fullscoreshenanigans]

At least the tpn anime let them keep their hair..............

Isabella as she read your ask

[bitterclan]

can we see how mousepaws doing in starclan? :( they were my fave

He's watching over his bro...

[kiwiana-writes]

director's cut on alex fake dating Bea fic 👀

Kinda think that I might be his type is, inexplicably, my highest-kudosed fic on AO3. It overtook the Much Ado actor au a couple of weeks ago after those two fics had been hovering within ~20 kudos of each other for a WHILE, and then it was recced on twitter a couple of days ago and had a real influx of kudos, so now there's quite a wide margin. And I love this fic, I really do, but for it to be my most kudosed fic is genuinely fucking wild to me.

BUT! I love it. I love it I love it I love it. I love putting twists on tropes and 'fake dating between two people who AREN'T endgame' was a super fucking fun way to approach the fake dating trope. People love Henry and June's friendship, and for good reason, but I fucking love this line from the novel:

She smiles at Alex, wide and mischievous, and he gets her immediately: another rebel kid.

The inspo for this fic started as a tumblr post, and it immediately spun wildly out of control. Truly I thought it was going to be 2-3k. Then Alex and Henry didn't even MEET until, like, 4k in and we were off to the races. I reguarly describe this fic as 'secretly a gen fic that I tricked people into reading by adding a FirstPrince sex scene', and I'm only half-joking: the heart of this story is very much Alex and Bea's friendship, and the two of them being chaotic little shits together.

And of course, I was blessed beyond measure by @clottedcreamfudge writing a Henry POV companion piece which is just... fuckin' everything to me. I was DMing her snippets of my fic as I wrote it, and she made one too many jokes about what Henry was feeling in any given interaction, and then I was rewarded for my chaos.

[Fanfic Writers: Director's Cut]

[musewrangler]

⭐️

Behold tis I FINALLY getting to this lovely ask of yours. I can't tell you how glorious Christmas break is for teachers. xD I have TIME!!

Ok so. You have left this wide open for me to nerd about any director's cut, you generous soul.

I considered this for a long while because there are rather a lot of things I could natter on about, but I decided to land on one of my more obscure works.

It was my very first Au outside of my Empire Reimagined series. I had not ever expected to write anything outside of the Star Wars universe proper for these characters. I had seen others do so which is great, but nothing had ever grabbed me. I was rather naive then. xD

But I got hit right in the face with my Star Wars Western AU and oh my goodness did that story write me. I could barely keep up. It was one of those unique experiences as a writer where you could see, hear and smell it all. I was IN that world. And every classic western trope worked so well for my people: Piett the faithful sheriff. Veers, his friend, the Marshall. Leia, the ranch owner. Palps the baddy big businessman trying to take the ranch. Han and Luke as cowboys. Vader the mysterious vigilante. And of course I had the horse versions of Artoo, the Falcon and the Lady, as well as Veers' Herd. ;D

I set the story in Wyoming because the pictures I'd seen of the Tetons were utterly breath taking and I had no trouble envisioning my people riding there. [I got to see them in real life three years later and they were even better in person]

There was something so satisfying in allowing these characters---as I had written them---go out and be heroic in this setting. They could be more open about their thoughts and ideas as well, more than I saw them being in the Star Wars universe. And I leaned hard in to the found family and friendship themes and loved every minute of it.

I think this was the story that awakened a long discarded idea---that of writing original work at some point. I did so much research into the 1880s and how things worked then--I love history---but it was never a slog. I really enjoyed it. I mean we're talking things like---would the West at this point have indoor bathrooms/plumbing in wealthy homes? What might Piett's Stetson look like? Where rationally would Piett and Veers have seen military action after the Civil War? Answer, US Cavalry in the West.

So there you are. It's certainly not one of my big hitters. But I love that little story and all that it meant that summer I wrote it. Thank you so much, friend, for the ask!