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skyfallscotland · 3 months ago

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Writing Advice: tips, tricks & helpful links, from your friendly neighbourhood fanfic author ✨ (part one—the advice)

see part two—the resources here

I've mentioned this before, but I truly believe no one's born a great writer. A great storyteller, yes. A great writer? That's learned. I've been reading and writing basically as long as I can remember. Learning to write is like...learning through both practice and symbiosis. In saying that, I get asked about this a lot, so here's what I do and some things that might help you.

Write what you're inspired to write, when you're inspired to write it.

So you have an idea—great! Are you a plotter or a pantser? Some people like to start with an outline, others just jot down a few notes and let the keyboard take them where it will. I'm in the latter camp, generally. For me, the best way to avoid writer's block is to write what I'm inspired to write, when I want to write it. Sometimes I'll write five chapters of a story at once, others I'll switch between a multi-chapter and a one-shot.

What's most important for me, personally, is that I don't try and force anything. If you suffer from demand avoidance, the worst thing you could possibly do (in my opinion), is set arbitrary goals. You don't need to write 500 words a day. If you want to, great! If that helps you, also great, but in my experience, that will generally just make my brain say well no, now we're not writing anything for a whole week, maybe a month, if you test me.

I also personally like to have a whole fic written before I start posting it online, or at least most of it written. I like being quite far ahead of what readers are seeing because I am a pantser. It takes the pressure off and honestly, there'd be so many plot holes if I didn't. Which brings me to...

First make it exist, then make it make sense, after that make it good.

What you see me post is not my first run-through. It's not even the second. I've written, read over, and changed things at least a handful of times before ever posting it, especially when it's a multi-chapter work. Sometimes I'll write a scene I love and then realise it just doesn't flow well, because three chapters back I had someone say a certain thing. In that instance, I'll put the scene aside.

Note that I said 'put aside' not 'delete'. I never delete them until I'm finished with a fic and I'm certain I won't need them, ever. Been there, made that mistake for you! Having a separate document with just various scenes you can insert at a later date also helps you to feel like it's ok to write what you want to write when you want to write it. I'll be honest, I jump around a lot. Sometimes I'll be inspired to write a scene I know isn't coming for another five chapters, but in my opinion it's best to just write it because when I get there five chapters down the line, I might not have the inspiration or I might have forgotten how I wanted things to go. Write what your brain wants to, fill in the blanks later!

Write from the heart.

My most popular work is the one I find the easiest to write and I almost never wrote it at all. Isn't that ridiculous? I almost never wrote it because I know it's cliché and excessive, and honestly...looked down upon. I almost didn't write it because of other people's opinions; then I said fuck it, I want to read it so surely there's someone else out there that does, too? Turns out there were thousands of you. Who knew?

But that work has really resonated with so many people and I think that's because I've poured so much of myself, my pain, my own experiences into it, into her. For that reason, I'd tell anyone starting out to try original character fic if that's what they want to do. Fuck the haters. All their favourite works were original characters once too.

Don't read similar fic while you're writing yours...unless you need to.

Let me explain. If I'm writing a certain type of alternate universe, or a certain storyline I know someone else has written, I won't read theirs until I'm done if I can help it, especially not if I'm actively writing my take on it. This isn't a hard and fast rule, it's obviously up to you what you feel comfortable with, but I would never want to have someone else's work influence my own too much, or get our ideas confused in my head, you know?

An exception to this rule, for me personally, is if I'm stuck with specific things in particular, like smut. When I wrote my first smut piece from a male POV, I was struck by the fact that I had no idea what an orgasm felt like for them, or how to describe it, because despite reading M/M fic for years, I apparently never absorbed that particular verbiage, so I went looking and read a whole bunch of smut from the male POV just to get an idea. Which leads into...

So you suck at kung-fu fighting.

Action scenes. I'm convinced we all hate them just as much as each other. I hate them so much I've changed whole plotlines from canon just so I don't have to include them. Unfortunately, my main fandom features a bunch of knife-throwing, sword-wielding, dragon riders at a war college who spar for clout, so I mean...it's unavoidable.

I still suck at writing it though, so what I now do for sparring and other hand-to-hand combat is search up youtube for sparring videos or self-defence lessons. It's much easier to describe what you're seeing than to imagine the mechanics and positioning of an artform you've never performed. The kung-fu thing was a joke, I like capoeira personally.

Stop being so damn hard on yourself.

Listen, everyone wants to be better than they are when they start out, literally everyone. I know I sure did. That's normal. Accept that it's normal before you start because the thing is, no one's a harsher critic on you, than you are and you'll always want to be better. There's a quote from Ira Glass that I'll paraphrase:

“Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap[...]It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit."

It's very true. Hopefully you have the support of a really welcoming fandom to reassure you that actually, you're nowhere near as bad as you think you are.

READ. BOOKS.

@justallihere says you can’t be good at something you don’t know anything about and it's so true, I've phrased it before as learning by symbiosis, when you read more, you'll internalise more. You're subconsciously learning how story structure works—plot hooks, transitions, metaphors and similie, grammar, style and punctuation.

Show don't tell.

...yeah this one I haven't mastered, I could use some help with that myself if anyone's got any words of wisdom, thanks.

Take all of this with a grain of salt.

I couldn't tell you how many writer's advice threads and blogs and whatever-else I've read over the years—too many, for sure. What I can tell you is 80% of what I've read was crap. It doesn't apply to me at best and it's unhelpful at worst. Maybe it's the neurodivergence, maybe it's just the fact that everyone's different and all you can do is give things a try, but based on that I can say with certainty that not all of this will work for you and that's absolutely fine! But I hope at least a few things do 😌

For links to more specific resources including thesauruses, generators, and other writers' advice, click here.

#writing advice #writeblr

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batchilla · 1 month ago

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Hi, hello. I just read your fic with Dick being the reader's partner as detectives and then the reader figuring out he's Nightwing, and I just want to scream about it in the best way.

A long, long time ago (back when I was 10 and under), I had the biggest crush on Dick Grayson, but also I just admired who he was. (And Starfire, but that is not the point.) I mean, my twin and I would play out any of the scenes from the few comics we had, and it was the only time I was fine with being a guy (since I was taller, she made me be the guy whenever we played), because it meant getting to be Nightwing. That crush has definitely waned over the years, especially since Marvel took over with their movies.

I want to say that around February of this year, I got back into DC. I'd always liked it, don't get me wrong. But if my interests were in a car, DC comics were forced to sit in the trunk. Anyway. I got super into Jason Todd, followed a bunch of writers on here who wrote for him. And then one of them reblogged your fic (it was Sunnie).

And suddenly, on this Monday evening, I'm back to being nine or ten. I'm reading what few comics I had, and I'm writing stories in my head, and I have a fluttery feeling in my stomach whenever I think about Nightwing. You reignited something in me, something I didn't know I missed. I practically absorbed your fic two times and then had to take a third time to read it because I just needed to.

Because it wasn't just me reading this, it was younger me reading too. It was the version of me who didn't know what fanfiction was, who didn't know anyone besides her sister or father who read DC comics. You made me come to life again, you let me steal some happiness that was so abundant in my childhood. I'm forever grateful for what you've done.

Anyway. That fic is killing me, I love it. Dick Grayson with his peep popcorn (what an atrocity, but I know he would eat that), with his sunshine smile that could probably melt a chilling gaze, with his dislike for stakeouts. He's there, he's just how I remembered him, and I couldn't ask for anything more. Thank you. I know this is so long and rambly, and I apologize for that. But thank you for writing this.

Well, I am legitimately misting up over here. thank you so much, this was so incredibly sweet and a lovely notification to wake up to. Healing (or nourishing) the inner child is one of the best parts of writing so the fact that I could do that for someone? it makes me very happy. everyone say thank you to @interwebseriesfan24 because this ask has given me so much writing motivation that I am fully intending to go add at least 1500 words to chapter two. You're all getting it a week earlier then planned and you have this ask to thank. Fata Morgana (knight Jason x Princess reader) lovers worry not, you will still be getting an update this week. Please, never apologize for sending asks like this, because they make me so incredibly happy. I am legit trying not to cry. interaction and conversation is my main source of motivation to write and this is brilliant. You've made my entire day. If not my week. Also, a little head canon I couldn't organically fit in, is that part of how he developed a taste for Peeps popcorn is because 1) it feels like the kind of snack he may have had as a small child growing up in a circus 2) between Robin and being a highly energetic child and school, he needed a source of energy. Tim has energy drinks / coffee, Bruce 'microsleeps' and in my opinion, Dick consumes an ungodly amount of sugar. thank you for reading.

#batchilla squeaks #people are nice #check this tag when I get imposter syndrome

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shallowseeker · 2 months ago

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why do you think it’s such a popular idea in fic for post-empty rescue cas to be mad at dean for letting jack become god?

like not that this trope even necessarily bothers me, i’ve read many fics that include it that i’ve absolutely loved!! it’s just a really interesting fandom trend to me cause (i think) the thing that made jack and cas’s relationship complex was that cas wanted jack to make the world better peace on earth style and all that, and like. being god would let him do that right? idk i just think it’s super interesting that this is so popular even amongst writers who like truly do love dean, if that makes sense, and i’m trying to understand why. thanks in advance!

I actually haven't read any like that, so I may not be able to answer this very well, except for the context you've given me.

In short, my TLDR; is that fandom can emphasize anything, and if they want to emphasize Cas's good qualities, I love that! I feel a little uncomfortable talking about fics, per se, because I do feel like fics have every right to live outside of meta and canon, or to take the best parts of it and run with it!

BUT. That said. I'm going to pull out the line I think you're asking about, which is, "Would Cas be okay with Jack wielding Godly power?"

///

My answer is, "it's complicated." In my world, this challenging aspect of Jack, "His Destiny" is such an overt, deeply embedded Cas arc... and I view it as affecting Cas more heavily than other members of TFW.

CAS x FREE WILL

Despite being an overarching champion of free will, the ugly truth is that Cas struggles with free will, all the way up until the end of the series.

Cas repeatedly struggles with the idea that "other angels aren't like me" and, in my opinion, he tends to reach for authoritarian "kingly" power to solve problems, like how he behaves throwing his weight around with the guard-angel and Dumah in s14 Jack in the Box. Cas is absolutely at the end of his rope, but also, he clearly expects to march in and see Naomi right away; he is acting, still, as Heaven's commander.

(Contrast this to angels like Hannah, who were messily trying to have a "court," where the "angels governed themselves.")

Jack himself is, in my opinion, treated in some ways like "a royal heir."

I like to think of Jack as the embodiment of "the good King fallacy." It's this tempting idea that power isn't the problem (even though it is); it's just going to take the "Right, Good King" to wield that power.

CAS x DUTY

And Cas loves Jack, of course he does!

But it takes Cas a very long time to come to terms with the fact that he's allowed to love Jack irrespective of a mission or duty (s15 Gimme Shelter, Despair).

Cas has always been tied up with duty, and he almost tends to... convert what he cares about into missions.

(Aside// Tragically, even when Cas says "I love you" in s15 Despair, it's wielded like military strategy, with so so much pragmatism, it hurts.)

I think, on the whole, Cas flounders whenever his sense of mission stalls, or especially when he feels too weak to complete the "mission."

(SEE: Cas failing to protect his cherished human family in s12, Lily Sunder Has Some Regrets, Stuck in the Middle with You.)

And I personally think that's why the "mission" of raising Jack was so attractive to him in the first place. It was something otherworldly to "honorably" tie Cas to earth. Jack was something good and strong that would restore Cas's own sense of power/accomplishment, that would make Dean feel "relieved," and would make Sam feel "free.")

Cas eventually learns that Jack doesn't have to be cosmically important in order to be important to Cas.

///

JACK x BEING UNBURDENED & "NOT SPECIAL"

But anyway! Back to your point. Jack opens up about the need to be not special to... Dean, actually. (s14, Unhuman Nature)

This might get swept under the rug too easily. Even Cas knows that Jack opens up to Dean about the things that truly bother him; it's why we see them "switch kids" in Peace of Mind. In some ways, Sam is more like Cas; Jack is more like Dean.

But it's complicated.

Dean ends the show on his lowest note ever, and there's little grace to be found for his plight.

CAS x DESTINY; DEAN x REVENGE

On the back-end of s15, things have imploded.

Dean and Cas are having their respective existential crises re: revenge and destiny, and Dean's crisis is much, much harsher and uglier than we're used to seeing from him.

But that doesn't change that Dean has a long, rich history of resisting destiny. He has arguably been THE most wary member of Team Free Will when it comes to power. But in s15, Dean is having a crisis, and he gives into fatalism... for a time. (This speaks volumes about how losing Mary and losing Jack were twin wounds that damaged him more than ever before.)

It's Cas who resists Chuck the most in s15, at the beginning.

BUT, IMHO, Cas's character is overall shown to be "most okay" with Jack's intense power imbalance. (Perhaps because Cas himself is... overbalanced with respect to the human family.) Tragically, we see that continued in s15, when Cas encourages Jack to "strengthen his vessel" by eating angel hearts.

Dean balks at that, but he trusts Cas. Like Cas, Dean doesn't want to push back because he doesn't want to lose their tenuously restored family.

Effectively, when Dean and Cas discuss Jack's "destiny" in s15 Destiny's Child/Galaxy Brain, they say the SAME thing but with different motivations. Cas wants Jack to take power, and Dean wants Jack to dole out some punishment.

Their motivations are different, but the end result for Jack is the same. Cas's is draped in euphemism; Dean's is brutally honest.

And we have sympathy for that! Jack died! If he's strong, then maybe Chuck can't kill him, and they'll be spared that pain forever.

But in terminal s15, Dean goes down the same path that John, Godstiel, and NBK!Mary go... he winds up losing sight of the things he wanted to protect in the first place.

///

TFW x JACK'S POWER

But here's the rub: they all show signs of liking Jack's dominance. Not just Cas.

Sam veers into this immediately, that so long as Jack's power is "molded the right way," as he tells Donatello in s13 Rising Son, that his power can be a good thing.

We see AU Bobby do an about-face about Jack after Jack wallops the angels in War of the Worlds. He's, to quote the script, looking at Jack with starry-eyed hero worship.

And even Dean begins to chomp at the bit at the idea that Jack will be able to "end all the evil in the world." He returns to the trap of the black-and-white mentality, that things can finally be solved, invoking a Purgatory-style manner of looking at the world: "it's like shooting freaks in a barrel." (In s13 Let the Good Times Roll. Dean was looking forward to passing the torch to Jack... and to his own retirement!)

I think that TFW were all "okay" with Jack's power at different turns, and this desperation is often at odds with their idealized core values. This... tragic faith in Jack is at its heart because they love and trust him.

(A la how Chuck trusted Lucifer...)

And with respect to Jack fighting Chuck and being "allowed" to take in that power, their backs are against the wall. They feel Jack is the only option.

To quote Rowena speaking of her past as a poverty-ridden peasant, "What do you do when all the choices suck?"

///

A few last things...

CAS x TOYS

It's been pointed out by clever folks that Cas is lovingly associated with childish toys! Charitably, I think you can take these associations for Cas as stand-ins that he longs for Jack to be "normal/unburdened" too.

(I'm thinking of when Cas plays Connect Four with Jack or how we assume Cas was involved in buying Marvelous Marvin the Talking Teddy for Jack in parallel to how he bought Grumpy Cat for Claire.)

I've seen a few essays sensibly point out Cas is the one who lets them be children because he buys them toys, not weapons. This is in contrast to how Dean gives Claire a gun, and how Sam teaches her fraud.

So, with respect to your question, I think it's lovely when writers take this and highlight it for Cas, giving it wonderful implications for Cas "letting kids be kids."

On the other hand, despite giving his loved ones silly tokens of affection, what is the first way Cas spends time with Jack? Teaching him battle and military skills (s14, The Scar). A hunting trip.

So clearly, childish tokens aren't the full story.

///

CAS x MUNDANITY

There is also Cas's line in 15x18 Despair:

"We don't care about you because you're useful or because you fit into some grand design. We care about you because you're you."

This line may be charitably carried to a healing place: that Cas has made peace with throwing off the chains of destiny.

It's only natural to want this. Maybe the fandom is like Dean in some ways. We want to rely on Cas and believe in him the way that Dean does. That's Cas'll do the right thing and say the right thing... at the right time.

Cas is shown to be very impatient, and he's not what I'd call an expert communicator. It's because of this, I think, that he's prone to making sweeping gestures and grand testaments, especially when the shit has hit the fan... when it's already clutch time.

But I suspect that... in the day-to-day, Cas might struggle.

But it is nice to me as well if people want to take his good qualities and carry them further, to give him peace. :-)

#that was a very hard ask #i hope it's ok for you #asks #cas stuff #cas the military man #i know it's lovely to think cas invented free will #but successfully acting on free will is a GROUP effort in my book #cas and jack #jack stuff #i'm not sure i answered your question #but #i don't think he'd be mad at dean unless he was deep in his hypocrisy or something #which occasionally *can* happen to him #the whole thing with cas in s15 is that he gives dean grace because cas himself has had his own soldierly existential crises #cas has killed ppl he loved etc etc

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lexithwrites · 6 months ago

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soooo what's exactly your problem with lily (i understand this one, if the fandom gonna take her husband from her they at least should do her justice or don’t write her) and barty being portrayed as shitty exes and why you can't scroll past and let people write what they want and where does your limitation end? are you also gonna bash writers who write regulus as raging homophobe and rapist in wolfstar fanfics or it doesn’t apply to him? what about snape? the way he's written in many marauders fanfics goes against his canon arc, should the writers be called out for inaccurate portrayal of him?

i think characters are tools and if writers wanna use them as tools it should not be controversial. do you think otherwise?

to answer your first question — because it's an opinion. am i going onto people's fanfictions and wasting my time commenting that i hate their trope? no. am i calling authors out by username? no. am i just stating my opinion on my tumblr? yes. plus, you are well within your right to scroll too, you didn't have to let my post get to you? if it offends you that much then block me lmao

id love to know what fics you're reading where regulus does that?? but no i dont agree with that therefore i wouldnt bother reading it? idc how popular a fic is, if i dont wanna read it then i dont have to, its called having free will. i dont want to read about a r*pist for a start, and ive never really liked snape that much and ive only read the books once and watched the films growing up, i dont really think about his character that much especially since i only write muggle/modern aus. write them how you want, but it doesn't mean i have to like it does it?

i dont think anyone should bash authors for their work, myself included. am i allowed to have a private, personal opinion on what i want to read/enjoy reading? absolutely, everyone is in their right! as are you anon, but coming to me and saying this is surely a waste of your time? my opinion doesn't matter to anyone but me lmao

and when did i say it was controversial? i just said i dont like when people make these characters the bad guys when they dont have to. oc's exist for a reason, why not make lily and james old childhood friends instead of exes that have bad blood? why does barty just have to be the old fuck buddy that regulus never looked at again the moment james came around, when he and regulus could have been raised as brothers together and are close that way? or they could all be strangers, the possibilities of fanfics are endless! thats the beauty of them! but is this gonna keep me up at night that authors have FREE WILL and can CHOOSE to write whatever they wanna write? hell no idc that much lmao, but this is my tumblr, as i said, and i can say what i want on it tbh

anyway, if you hate my opinion that much then thats cool, im not mad at that, but you can do much more vital things in your day im sure, have a good one <3

#mail #the marauders #regulus black #james potter #jegulus #lily evans #barty crouch jr

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horizon-verizon · 21 days ago

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Isn’t it kinda weird that people ship daemyra? I'm not targeting daemyra, but the shippers. Though their relationship was acceptable in their era, I see many fans using this as a pretext to actively endorse it, which is problematic. It's one thing to acknowledge the historical and cultural context of a relationship, but it's another thing entirely to romanticize or ship it when we now have the knowledge and understanding that one of the individuals involved is a child.

Need your opinion on this

DISCLAIMER: I am a Daemyra shipper. Read with caution.

You're essentially asking why it isn't a dealbreaker? You could refer to my post HERE, but here it is in short:

Perhaps I'm going to be flowery, exhaustive, and "purple prosey" again, but I think it is basically that that very context creating the exploration of a tragedy of forces stronger than oneself. People love tragic tales, esp doomed ones. It's almost always validating in that there is a persistence of self against outside pressures that may or may not (but usually does) have said pressures be compulsions to conform against one's own happiness or authenticity, even and sometimes especially when the couple dies at the end. That in of itself is a sort of "resistance" that's supposed to coincide with GRRM's whole thing of "choosing life in spite of death" or "we found love in a hopeless place" sort of thing in ASoIaF, but for royals and in a royal iteration.

Rhaenyra's story is a doomed one not because she was the entire cause of the Dance pr some evil temptress but bc the historical actions of her ancestors and the feudal-patriarchal system they all live under has already set up designs against women and those the women could use to occupy the positions granted to men. GRRM loves his tragic tales of love; look at Rhaelya! But they also tend to--long way forward--lead to strains of hope in later generations...which works to make the whole thing even more bitter sweet and melancholy. They also both buy into it of course, which certainly contributed, but from the jump we know these two will not succeed. So from there it's a thing of enjoying the couple as they are and what they serve in the narrative. Oh, and of course the true star is Dany, and Rhaenyra had to die for Dany's story to be what it was (death of the dragons, women subjugated, Targs losing their sense of self leading to the Rebellion).

When there is no or mostly and actively morally upright party like a Daenerys, humans will root for the most impressive, thrilling, or aesthetically beautiful story/characters/relationships that scratches that itch some. You can certainly whack GRRM for creating so many ships that are this too-taboo thing(s), but people are very prone to misleading some things about people-as-people that I think (even with the historical inaccuracies GRRM defends as "accurate" about ages when noble people married) the writer does convincingly capture between this "conversation" in his work about the relationship between environment and choice. At least for enough people that there is something to how he's doing it.

And then, yes, sometimes people will over-romanticize, and much more than I think you're imagining it, anon. I've read some fics...let's say that sometimes people feel the need to dramatically change the characters that always puts me off bec it erases what was fun about them in the first place.

Here it is written in another way:

The draw of Daemyra for a lot of people is that CONSIDERING THE CIRCUMSTANCES AND EVEN DESPITE/BECAUSE OF THEM, they had one of the most the strongest bonds for the longest time (and yes, even with Daemon loving Laena) in the orig story and they matched each others' drive/fire/pride (the last in all its meanings). They seem (operative word here) to understand each other the most, were the most comfortable with each other, and were the others' biggest support.

Again, it's not exactly the incest but what the incest/age gap (IN THE CONTEXT GRRM CREATED) does for the bond that comes to be.

Daemon for all intents and purposes could have become a perfect culmination of patriarchal privilege and male pride: one of the best warriors of his time, access to one of the most formidable and impressive creatures through his state of birth, action-oriented but not opposed to using strategy tactics, nearly irresistible to women an attitude and inspiring enough to men both in the story and in the fandom with his charisma, blah blah. And he certainly still had all those things or was written that way.

The kickers are that he's forced to acknowledge his truer desires to support his family towards prosperity and survival--where his loyalty to Rhaenyra comes in--and those desires are so much a priority he basically shuns much else, or at least removes himself from that, and thus he cannot/does not bother to put on much airs or try to gain approval...which is a very common thing amongst nobility who often curry favor or imagine themselves to be "good" people because they follow an honor code. There's a "purity" to that, an shameless honesty that draws people in similar to how some people feel about Oberyn and Jaime. And it especially is very attractive to people who have quite a bit of shame themselves over love and sex (for whatever reason, religious shame, queer shame, female shame for sexuality and desiring a stronger partner even anyway) and are (at first or never) inclined to not to try to ennoble it but are lonely and looking for a story of a strong connection/ride or die. That loyalty to Rhaenyra is a "flaw" that some men in the fandom never forgave GRRM for.

Rhaenyra similarly could have been a typical or ideal princess--either way, people wouldn't have liked her or found something to say was a damning "flaw" to say she deserved her fate-- and in some ways, she was. Loved wearing luxurious things and showing off her beauty, beautiful, fertile. But she's inplacably different from the ideal of Andal patriaechy be

Rhaenyra "replaced" Daemon as heir, yet instead of really planning her downfall and committing to his ire against Viserys (yes after being forced away), he appears accept his subordinate position towards the middle and end of his life, even before they marry and fully commitsd to her without losing his own...je-ne-sais-quoi. Despite her loneliness and the surrounding doubt around her for being a female heir, Rhaenyra never seemed to seriously lose her belief in her right to occupy that sort of space and never demurred like some other female characters we (pre-the rise of YA fiction and the Capable+Alluring MC Girl/Woman) were familiar with WHILE not being that kind or good a person (the trope of a Steel-Under-Silk strong, Lady usually has the Lady be good or kind of selfless, sometimes to the point of self effacement). Both had a sort of belief in themselves to a degree and under contexts that put off both readers and their own contemporaries--for different reasons...sometimes the same ones. that sort of symmetry is very appealing BECAUSE OF AND UNDER THE CONTEXT of a world and system (unequally, but the closest it's gotten and could get).

The argument of "for the time/environment", I think, is for use of when we have people claim that some characters like Ceryse Hightower, Larra Rogare, Daemon, Viserys I are pedophiles...when we have Robert Baratheon, Craster, Walder Frey, etc. right there. that they go out of their way to mess up children or teens bec they are genuinely want them for their teenhood/childhood. The childness (full knowledge of childness) is exactly what they aim for.

Sure, none of these characters do not and cannot have the exact same moral systems or values as real moderns (sometimes Western people) do...because they simply do not have that framework to live on and through. So automatically saying a character is a pedo or a groomer can be hasty and inaccurate.

SOMETIMES (again, Walder, Craster, Robert).

It requires one to think about what a groomer or a pedo really is. Which I've squared down to the person wanting to prey on what is known to them and everyone around them as a "child" or "too young" that is socially excluded from every practice and dynamic of sex and romance that adults are expected to participate with each other, and not with said child (or simply manipulate them away from their security/non-security to do so) because the "child" cannot develop psychologically/physically when said adults interrupt their development and/or make them think is one thing when it is the other. Characters like Daemon, Viserys, etc. do not try to seek out what is recognized as "children" or "childlike" (and the "young maidens" or virgins the text states weirdly juxtaposes the lack of Daemon continuing said behavior into his adulthood, which true groomers/pedos always do). All this is strictly against the idea of him being a "groomer", even though like other men and a few women, he gets into something with 14/15 yr old Rhaenyra...

HOWEVER, it is true that patriarchies tend to apply sex-purity values in ways that inevitably encourage attentions on teens (as these are the closest) AND this ALSO doesn't mean that GRRM wasn't/isn't trying to say that this is still a wrong thing for 111 A.C. Daemon to have done and that it wasn't potentially screwy. (I think this is kinda what also "saves" it for some people, that the narrative acknowledges this particular crazy as crazy).

And just as with Dany and Drogo and the age revealed at her first pregnancy, even with Dany having been a bridal slave to Rhaenyra's princess and thus presenting a more visceral stake the latter doesn't have, determining how one sees Dany's regard for Drogo as blatant victim-mindset. For Daemyra, though, it's still not exactly the same and it's just that there isn't much for a claim, story-wise not life wise, of blatant you-know-what-it's.

There are about 4 main theories as to why Daemon of the bk does what he does with Rhaenyra:

he wanted to get back at Viserys for all the years of his ignorance and the recent event of his shipping Mysaria off only her her to lose what would have been Daemon's first kid (so a denial of person, position, and his own heir/family when he seemed to start trying to make himself after a long series of war in the Stepstones, also trying to make some "glory" for himself that Viserys--for him--keeps preventing or ruining)

he thought that the issues of succession Rhaenyra or even Viserys might have with the burgeoning greens, esp Otto, would be better handled if he forced Viserys to have him and Rhaenyra marry and combine lineages...tag him in, coach, he's been ready and you're not doing the job right, so let me in (ironically, I think this is very Visenya-coded...no one is going to be as competent and dedicated as me...just [ugh] with all the male trappings and privilege that shaped his...all that) -- a burgeoning storm they all had to prepare for, and he has to be there for them to survive -- he sees Rhaenyra at court surrounded by greens and is so offended he's even more determined--some might read "desperate"--to handle things even with such little...grace, shall we say

he was "tailoring" and "preparing" Rhaenyra to become more like the wife/partner that would make him most happy and rationalized that he would pay her back with his "hand" and sword, bc they were the best bet for their house...yeah...

when he got there and saw Rhaenyra in her "marriageable" state, he became attracted to her and similar to Laena and the duel, decided to "risk" the damage to his own rep...without letting himself onvder over the possible damage to Rhaenyra

or, ALL OF THE ABOVE...SOME OF THE ABOVE

Whatever Daemon did with her/to her (sex, kissing, near-sex, groping, etc., we don't know what happened but I think it was either sex or something that looked like it would definitely lead to that), it wasn't based on a habit and intention of straight up p*dophilia. More so him being very selfish, continuing the pattern of Targ men Targ-menning against their female counterparts. Using Rhaenyra against Viserys, putting his foot down, whatever.

Therefore he was still abusing his experience and relation with her, the "child-not-child-who-should-have-been-seen-as-a-child-but-wasn't-bc-society-and-patriarchal-selfishness/advantage". So I don't fault or perfectly disagree with people who say "groomer!" After all, their priority is not allowing other crazy people or out already-male-scorched world in further footholding for nonsense in the real world. Can't call them stupid or morally incorrect for that or being concerned. However, I still think there's a misunderstanding of what's being conveyed by the text versus what such a thing would be in real life (Watsonian vs Doylist) AND we can't stop ourselves form writing or showing even the odd and taboo or genuinely concerning stuff when there's something to be shown/told.

It changed to what it needed to be, became what was its potential, AND Rhaenyra was set to marry someone else (before the confirmation that it was always gonna be Laenor, and she didn't know it was him until last minute) who she would likely never be able to trust because of her position, men, yada yada. Might as well be someone she cared for her entire life and we know would not go out of his way, even shift for someone he thought was "worthy", and whoo-boy, was Rhaenyra "worthy" to Daemon. Again, refer to the doomed narrative.

Now Daemon here is so not exactly a good guy if he:

was willing to use his own about-to-married-off-and-subiect-to-purity-politics-standard-that-could-affect-her-reputation both as a girl/woman-as-a-female-heir niece in this way, even if it was after Viserys basically caused him and Mysaria to lose their first kid and came after years of Viserys basically ignoring Daemon--Daemon's eyes, bk and show--in favor of a man who could never hope to be as loyal as Daemon....IN FACT, THIS PROVES HE WAS NEVER THE "GOOD" GUY (I'm yelling at some fics)

prioritizes "sameness" and it comes off as arrogance--"only people like me can handle all this"...however, he'd be not totally incorrect (just annoying to some, charming to others, a little bit of both and feeding-into-each-other for others-others). He's not only a person who grew up, like both female and male nobles, value having the highest classed and prestigious person as a potential mate even if it may contradict "obedience" and he like others wishes to, he also. Again, the appeal of SYMMETRY. And sameness (albeit, in lesser degrees) does have an importance in how many people define what their ideal partner is. Not have the same hobbies or ways and color of dress, but values. Which Rhaenyra and Daemon have the potential of to the max.

If a potential partner's "worth" to be of a certain category or class...but it's fun to see shamelessness at a point AND such shamelessness works to, again, support said female character bc it's a great pair to loyalty, which Rhaenyra needs a lot of and assurance of from. And, no, I don't think she got enough of that from Harwin for all that she did love him (if they did become lovers...but I know you know they were, come on now). Those two had to hide; Rhaenyra's not a hider, not where it doesn't concern her kids' safety at least.

Ironically those assurances come from the reversed--or at least done a little topsy turvy--familial relations, feudal constraints, AND the reality of Targaryens being both a part of this society but also not really on part because of their dragons/innate magicness but also because they are the ruling family.

They are apart from most people around them and find more things in common between themselves, us against the world (yes, in the bk, too); isolated always--unless you're like Rhaena, Dreamfyre's 1st rider, who could and did find female friends everywhere and discovered more freedom and comfort in them through their woman-ness than anyone in her family...but even then, she was more or less emotionally isolated just by being such a woman and a Targ, and the male stink still manages to encroach its way in through Androw Farman and the love she had for Androw's father/her lover's love for said Androw. and as royals, they are by social definition not in physical proximity, thus not as easier seen as any more than political figures/leaders. I mean, sure, we might say "boo hoo", and we'd not be totally wrong, but there is still an effect of treating people not like people that humans have never been able to rein in, and it's important to how the Targs handled many things and were perceived, thus how they responded--queue Jaehaerys I. When we especially talk about the costs to oneself and to how others treat you under the nonphysical protections of power. Whether for good or ill.

Contrast to Jaehaerys and Alysanne, who, thought GRRM notes as one of the greatest pairs, also end up separated by Alysanne's & Jaehaerys' fights over their children's safety and places in the succession, with the obvious running line of it going back to misogyny for the sake of assimilating/holding power instead of using it for making the said society a little better/a lot better.

Contrast to Daario and Daenerys (yes, yes, why would I compare PoV character's observations of a person vs a history book, we get it), Daemyra/RoguesDelight has Daemon knowing and giving more suggestion of longevity bc it's suggested in the text that he had access to the most intimate stirrings of Rhaenyra's head (final letter at Maidenpool as well as all I said above) in a way Daario never did or wanted to with Dany. Oh, of course Daario knew Dany loved her people, was lonely, was all that and the 3rd; but I trump that up to be his observation of what she needed and wanted so he could indulge in being with such a woman and profit from it. Even though he wasn't exactly terrible or whatever, or impatient. This is far from Dany's fault, tbc. Daario is gonna Daario. But, as one person kind brilliantly explained about Dany being a goddess in Twitter:

Part of her struggles is w being dehumanized as a symbol of power but she constantly subverts that by placing the weight of her responsibility/influence into liberating ppl.

Jaehaerys I sorta sets himself and his later scions, by contrast, even with it having had the desired effect of getting people off his back about sibling incest. So does Aegon I, tbh, when while it left the Targs the ability to adapt to their necessities concerning succession, his and his sons leaving it open to duking-it-out...then Aegon named heir over Rhaena...made way for the first stone against women in their house....those most necessarily it seems (after the Dance).

Anyway, they were pretty solid until Rhaenyra's kids started falling like dominoes and were caught in a deceit.

I remember an ask I got once about Daemon showing Rhaenyra explicit imagery in S1E4, where anon said that him doing so proves he is a groomer in the show, where Rhaenyra is 19 instead of 14-15. And adult but just barely AND a lot of people hold that grooming--nonsexual, too--can happen to people to people as old as 34. Personally, I think that the latter is more general manipulation more than "grooming", but I digress and it doesn't really work for 18-20 year olds and up, who again, are practically teenagers.

But I brought up my misgivings about Daemon wanting to abuse children/children adjacent for its own sake already, and it's less evident in the show where the show makes it a point that he wanted Rhaenyra at most stages of her life (when again, she wouldn't be a child-child to them, scowl at GRRM, not me):

the beach scene in S1E7 with adult Rhaenyra, we all saw them heave for each other

we hear/see nothing of his messing with too-young girls after said marriage...the narrative implies he was likely imagining it as some "perfect" Valyrian bride...who happens to be around the same age as state as his niece (still problematic for all the implications of Rhaenyra's significance to him----both in the nature of sex work affecting women/girls AND we really didn't need to hear of that without proving how old those girls usually were to be so used like this as proxies…this is where I personally would have rolled my sorry self out) -> -> -> the probable immediate recall of Jorah doing similar with Dany OR simply Mysaria's observation of this unconscious/repressed desire/teasing him and show!Daemon never having actually done these things -> -> -> of course this could be due to any number of reasons, like his frustrations with Viserys manifesting in looking for a companion in the closest person possible more than that sort of desire

Mysaria: What troubles you, my Prince? I could bring in another. Perhaps a maiden. I have several. I could even arrange one with silver hair. [pause]

This included language of "could" and "perhaps" and "even" (as if this were a thing that she knows it's out of the ordinary) plus her solicitousness to meet his silence and disappeared enthusiasm indicates that show!Daemon was not in the habit of messing w/very young sex workers as bk!Daemon is rumored and told (A Question of Succession):

"and was said to have an especial fondness for deflowering maidens"

Language is important these types of documents. We're given an entire description of his philandering and the contrast of "he sampled" (definite, final, statement-to-not-be-doubted), but there is room with "was said" for Daemon to not have gone around this particular act of seeking out virgin girls. Like how one would say now "I heard such and such also went pulling people's pants down after Marcus saw him go into a strip club" or "people say that Marsha went to Payless for her prom shoes".

Active ("he sampled") vs passive voice ("he[...]was said") can be pretty important to indicate what def happened vs what people believed and could have happened but was never proven. But what do I know, I'm just a probably too-biased Daemyra shipper (this genuinely was not to be snarky, really, you can take or leave my points).

END

For me, it's more when Rhaenyra & Daemon both get older that they shine and I "approve" or really most enjoy Rouges Delight (bk ship name some have taken to call Daemyra) whatever you want to name and distinguish the couple. (I prefer their younger interations [pre E6, S1] in the show not bc Emma is a bad actor--they re not, they're just underutilized and Rhaenyra is written so...terribly that I can never get as into it...I liked Daemyra when they reconciled in S2, for example, but I hated how they got there and not bc of "the ship is sinking" but bec it genuinely was not written well and depended on diminishing both characters). I'm not, however, out here trying to say that anyone else should love this ship, this couple, this story just as much as I don't really mind people not getting into GRRM's writing.

The 111 A.C. issue, there is a certain odd quality it of being obviously out of line and manipulative...while evidence of being a convergence of long-held tension, a beginning towards an inevitable outcome years down the line. SYMMETRY and good writing. I suspect that part of the appeal for some is that push-pull of the delight of "matching freaks and the moral conflict of "but....he's her uncle and he's 2x her age and/or they probably did things when she was way too young", but that's a whole other thing. It keeps people engaged and is perfectly symptomatic of that quality of medievalesque/historical fiction, sure, but bc humans love to play with taboos in fiction...to a certain point. (Personally, again, it is that later timeline that "saved" Daemon for me, as flawed as that may be.) They can indulge in the curiosity of the play of "what ifs" GRRM writes and the subsequent quandaries safely in fiction without getting openly judged & misunderstood for wanting such stories. Sometimes we "play" too close to the sun, though, I admit.

So unless someone's gone off the deep end trying to say that they wouldn't be bothered by a 15 yr old and her 2x older uncle smooching in real life, or try to deny that Daemon was performing, it really doesn't discomfit me that much in the grander scheme of things to me.

Again, I can't blame HotD for uping Rhaenyra's age AND people for just not jiving or hating the ship just as there are those who cannot ever get into ASoIaF for the incessant (to them, too often unpunished by the narrative) incest even outside of the Targs alone. And I get how this is just not going to be enough or that he later is her strongest supporters is enough for a lot of people. But I do want the air cleared a bit and explain the position from where I'm standing. Could change, but I dunno about that. Perhaps this all too biased a breakdown. I warned ya.

This is all in regards to shipping, of course. 😉 Anyway, watch out, there might be more freaks about you in your everyday life like Daemyra shippers, anon!

#daemyra #asoiaf shipping #canon shipping #rhaenyra and daemon #fire and blood characters #daemon's characterization #rhaenyra's characterization #fire and blood #asoiaf

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paikothecateater · 3 months ago

Text

Alright, Danish Slaughterhouse rant.

So I first read this fic a while back. It was recommended to me by a friend. Now, they'd recommended me pretty weird stuff before (Iceland X fridge crack ship stuff) so I was a little bit skeptical when I started reading it. I wasn't super into the hetalia fandom at the time, so I had never seen anyone talking about this fic before.

Now I could rant about how fucking disgusting this story is, but that's already been done. This writer has managed to write a story so bad that people looked over some pretty major stuff.

Like how the writing is a fucking crime against humanity.

First I'd just like to say that I mean no hate towards the person who wrote this fic. It was a long time ago and I doubt they still stand by it. I'm sure they cringe at the thought of having been the one to write it. I will not be mentioning their name as 1) I don't even know it and 2) I don't want anyone harassing them.

It's pretty rare to become infamous in your fandom. Especially writing fan fics. The creator of Gutters, Glassmilk (I believe that's their name) made a fic that was so genuinely good and heartbreaking that they became famous among the fandom. The creator of the Danish slaughterhouse however, because famous in the fandom for making a fic that was genuinely so appalling people couldn't help talking about it.

I'll be using the names they gave the characters to make things easier.

I'll go ahead and bring up what is in my opinion a huge literary crime.

The lack of descriptivism.

I'd like to mention that I've written novels before. I've just been unable to publish them due to the lack of resources. It's hard publishing an English novel in an Arabic nation. Regardless, I think I know a thing or two about this whole process.

Descriptivism is something that I personally think is very important for a good story. This story left so much to be desired. All I could imagine for Mathias' house? Flat, solid colours, generic furniture, unclear structure. It had absolutely no character. You could have given it a design that would have reflected his personality and made it easier to understand the layout with just a few sentences. I know describing a layout is tough because it's a little tricky to stay consistent and it gets a bit repetitive in writing, but an attempt could have at least been made.

When we reach the second half of the fic, it becomes very hard to get invested in the suspense of what's happening because the layout is so confusing. Whenever a hiding place is mentioned, it's crucial that the layout is clear because if it isn't then the following questions will always distract from the anxiety: where is this hiding place in the house? Where is it in reference to the place Mathias is at? How escapable is it?

It genuinely gets too distracting.

Next there is character development.

I don't even have to be the one to say that the portrayal of Mathias' character is extremely butchered. Let's not even mention the weak ass motive for all this, but it is so genuinely weird how shit seems to go from zero to one hundred with this shit. More on that in a second.

The characters are genuinely some of the most one dimensional characters I think I've ever seen. Like seriously? How am I as a reader supposed to route for a wooden plank?

Emil is just 'emo teenager with headphones'

Lukas? 'barely mentioned overprotective brother'

Berwald is pretty much the same with 'overprotective father'

Tino 'every single mom in a survival movie'

And of course Mr. Mathias 'kill kill stab stab because pain and misery is fun?'

See? Incredibly one dimensional. At this point, you might as well route for Mathias to get this bullshit done quicker. None of them have genuinely lovable moments.

Peter is a whole other issue, because if you're a decent human being, you're going to be concerned for the child, but it doesn't change the fact that for the first half, he's also incredibly one dimensional.

Then is another huge issue, the red flags.

We all know what eventually happens between Mathias and Peter. The way this is portrayed is so fucking awful.

You're telling me Peter was found injured in a locked office and no one questioned it? Either Tino and Berwald are awful fucking parents or they're incredibly stupid. Lock picking? The absolute fuck? That doesn't even make a little sense. If it was my child I'd be freaking out. I'd immediately nope the fuck out of there because clearly this is not a safe place for my child. All they do is lightly chastise this poor child and move on?

I've never personally been a fan of Nordic ships because I see their relationship as platonic. I also have other reasons for genuinely disliking these ships, but I won't get into that.

That being said, The Peter situation was not the only or first red flag. Mathias is shown very early on to be very disrespectful of Lukas' boundaries and actually assaulted him. It was just brushed over as relationship drama. What even the fuck?

Then there's the situation with Emil. Arguably the worst one ever.

I hate to say it, but the portrayal of both Peter and Emil post the traumatic situation was actually pretty consistent with someone who has actually been through something like this. With Peter, the mannerisms of a victimised child are all present. Which further reinforces the fact that Tino and Berwald are absolutely brainless and I'll get into that in a second.

With Emil there's the conflicting feelings that come with being victimised by someone you genuinely trusted. The initial panic followed by the Internal conflict. When someone is attacked by someone they trust, there's a very common sense of confusion that follows. I'll try my best to explain it as well as I can.

Realistically, he'll have panicked, screamed, cursed, etcetera during the attack, however, afterwards, in a non-adrenalin induced state, his brain would begin to flood with so many things. There's the anger, hurt, sadness about being attacked. There's the devastating fear that this person who he'd trusted his entire life and relied on is now completely severed from his life. The fear that it'll happen again. And the overwhelming anxiety about having to deal with the situation.

I'll try to make a light comparison here.

Imagine you're in school and have to give a speech for whatever reason. You're in the middle of it, when someone suddenly walks up to you, slaps you across the face and insults you in front of the whole audience. Obviously, everyone saw, no one is blaming you, realistically, no matter what you say, everyone is on your side.

However, the pressure to respond to the situation is overwhelming. You have to address it because it happened and everyone knows it happened. You may still be very emotional about it and it may be too sensitive to talk about immediately, or you're just so confused about how to properly respond. Do you get angry? Do you play the saint and pretend it didn't affect you? Do you pretend it never happened? Regardless, you have to respond because everyone wants to know how it affected you, what happened? Why it happened?, etcetera.

This is exactly the situation Emil is in. So what does Lukas do as a good big brother?

He gently and patiently waits for Emil to open up to him while letting him know that he's safe and that he will be believed no matter what-

I'm just kidding, he violently pushes Emil for a response in a way that could only further traumatise him. He makes him feel like his emotional response isn't valid and that he somehow did something wrong instead of waiting until he's ready to talk or even take matters into his own hands and confront Mathias.

It is fucking horrible.

Then when their fight gets louder and the other three get involved (Berwald, Tino and Peter) and Peter finally confesses to having been hurt Tino puts on this whole caring act like 'oh remember how we taught you about this stuff?'

Bitch, what?

So this is a conversation that has happened before. And you still couldn't recognise the signs that something changed in Peter's behaviour? You teach the child about how to recognise when he's being victimised without teaching yourself how to recognise when your child is being victimised?

What the actual fuck?

I'd like to say that during this scene, Lukas feels guilty for the way he approached the situation which, yes, it was bad, you should be guilty, but it's not like he fucking does anything to rectify it.

Emil listens to Peter talking and has to come to the realisation that he was hurt. That his world was crumbling down. Still, Lukas makes no effort to make him feel supported.

Suddenly, this infuriating scene is interrupted by an even more infuriating one.

Berwald is understandably beating the absolute shit out of Mathias. The others run in and watch until Tino screams for Berwald to stop. Why? Because he's scaring Peter.

Hello? Then get Peter the fuck out. Surely this can't be the priority. Peter will survive watching his attacker get absolutely fucked up. I promise you. He will.

I'd also love to point out the sheer lack of fucks given about Emil and how this is affecting him. I'd like to give Tino the benefit of the doubt and say he was also concerned for Emil, but it doesn't even matter.

So like a fucking idiot, Berwald gets off of Mathias and they all start heading towards the door.

I'd like to mention that Mathias having already shot Emil in the leg was even more incentive for them to leave because even if it was an accident, clearly something is not quite right here. Surely Emil would prefer to heal at home and if Lukas was such a good brother he'd insist on taking Emil home.

Anyway, so, Mathias reveals his true intentions and the hunt begins.

Do I have to mention how stupid this is? A hunt? If he did actually have a motive he'd prefer to go for the easy kill, use those weird shock things and just murder them. If he's too sadistic for that he could also just casually immobilise them and torture them, but no, it has to be a hunt. Sure whatever.

As I said, the layout gets super complicated, but that's not the only issue.

He allegedly shot Emil to even out the playing field, but uh... What about Peter? Oh he gets to team up with the others? That's stupid and also doesn't solve the problem. Now you have to run for your life and lug a child around? It's just so damn weird because he was so committed to things being fair and as such shot him in the fucking leg, but Peter can go to hell?

Berwald and Tino are killed off pretty instantly, so I'll immediately skip onto the other two.

Why was Emil's situation so fucking weird? Also, I'm sorry for the weird topic, but how the fuck does the author think piss works? It's such a weird element to include in the story. It served no purpose to the story as Mathias already knew Emil was in the room. It just made it all grosser.

Also, again with the one dimensional characters. You're telling me Mathias never once felt pity?

It would have improved the story if maybe during the scene where he tries to drown Emil and presumes him dead for him to have a moment of remorse. Tear up about the fact that he murdered someone he cared about. It could've made Emil feel like there was hope for him. Just because your character is a monster that doesn't necessarily make them a psycho. It would've enhanced the story, but no.

And you're telling me after this whole situation everyone is just... Fine? Emil and Peter are just playing together? Emil had to abandon Peter to save himself, surely there will be a bit of tension about that.

Also, Mathias' motive is just bad. It's inconsistent with his character and doesn't make any sense.

This is a hetalia fic, no? There is a rule according to the canon that a nations decisions are secondary to their bosses. That being said, I've never met the Danish royal family, but I doubt the words 'go fuck your entire family' has ever left their mouths.

Another motive could've been that he was just fed up with how he was generally treated by the others. It's a weak motive, but it's better than that bullshit.

Also, the populations of the countries immigrating to Denmark because the Nordics are trapped at Mathias'?

Emil has been on long trips to visit south East Asia. His population stayed put then. So how does this work?

Overall, this fic is just badly written. It needs some serious work. It's inconsistent, dull, confusing, appalling and just downright criminal.

#aph fanfiction #aph nordics

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allastoredeer · 6 months ago

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Discussing fandom and its trends is one of my favorite things 🤓 I hope you don't mind me sharing some of the pseudotheories and pseudoanalyses I've seen before (to me they're all fun and I don't think they should be taken 100% seriously, please no one be offended)

1 The name of the boat that goes first is the favorite.

Quite funny in my opinion and from what I have seen it is not necessarily false, but many times it is that putting it differently sounds *wrong*, especially when they are combinations of the name

(Although after seeing that apparently apple radio and radioapple are not the same now I need an explanation of what radiosilent is as opposed to radiostatic)

2 The sub is The favorite

The first time I saw this was in a SW comment thread with a Chinese reader who was commenting with the author about top/Bottom preferences for the language and commented on this theory. They said that the Bottom gets all the love and since you want your favorite character to be adored that's why you write it like that

3 you project yourself into the Bottom

This came from another fandom, things got heated and toxic and a common accusation from a ship is that half the ship "had no personality" and they were using it to project themselves into a relationship whith the top

Personally I think they are all true to some extent, but I also see them as renunciationist and I myself am not without my own prejudices.

Part of the problem is that in relationships m/m and w/w, they continue to be written as one part a hairy-chested alpha male and the other part a blushing, submissive (and I have a weakness for ABO bulbs but there the problem is worse). In the case of radioapple Alastor has been reduced to his ego and need for control (so he could never let go. And is there something strangely allosexual about the way they write it?) and Lucifer to his depression (so he needs to be adored... And the truth is, I do think 3 applies here)

With what we see, I think that Lucifer has no problem being at the bottom, but his preference is at the top, even bordering on the Dom.Lucifer has insecurity and depression but he also knows he is powerful and we see him being authoritarian even if he later recants.He seems to be the type who would enjoy being the one to give pleasure to his partner, but I also don't see him giving up control easily when there are already so many things in his life out of control.Lucifer doesn't want someone to come in and take control by emptying his head, he wants something he can control and show exactly how good he is at it.

Alastor, on the other hand (this is where my prejudice comes in): what does he gain by being the top? Some kind of power play? Because I feel like Alastor can find that high without involving genital play.How ace (and probably aroace and almost certainly on the gray or demi side for most fics to work) Alastor would need something more to really get involved like that, which is why I feel like the top Alastor fics almost always feel too Allo for my taste, he just fucks like anyone else.When Alastor is the Bottom the writer gives him a little more nuance.

So that's my two cents to the discussion 🙃

Honestly, I think you're on point with most of these. (I too would like to know the difference between radiosilence and radiostatic - i see a lot of different names pop up for Alastor/Vox, whether its reciprocal or unrequited, and I can't keep up with it. I think radiosilence means the attraction is one-side? Maybe?? I think??

I can see the logic behind people having their fav be the bottom because they want them to feel loved and adored. I, too, am guilty of this. It also probably helps that the top is usually depicted as doing most of work LOL (Bringing Doms and Subs into this, there are a lot of fics that explore sub-drop, usually with their fav character--which I totally get--but it'd be interesting to read more fics that explore dom-drop too).

Personally, I've never felt any real attraction towards the characters I like, so I've never projected myself as a bottom or top through a pairing to be with one of the character. I project my insecurities and life experiences on them 🤓☝️ LMAO same basic concept, just a different shades But characterXreader fics/posts are super popular! So, I see that one too.

Very much agreed. I enjoy Omegaverse fics too, but it's one of those fanfic tropes that I'm picky about. It needs to be written a certain way for me to really enjoy it.

I don't know, just the default that one person has to be dominate and the other has to submissive never sat right with me. For a long time, I was super squicked out by even the thought of being in a relationship because of this. I'm a small person, most people are taller than me, and I'm pretty thin, so the mental assumption that I'd have to be "the submissive one," considering that's what almost always happens in these depicted relationships, made me feel so much anger, anxiety, and discomfort. I hated the thought that that's what would be expected of me. (Personal lore drop: considering I also grew up in a hyper-religious, extremely patriarchal town, the expectation felt 10x worse and 100x more real. I dreaded getting older and starting romantic/sexual relationships).

Also, yes, with a lot of top!Alastor content I've seen, there is something very strangely allosexual about it. Or, at least that's how it comes off to me. Asexuality is a spectrum, so there's no "perfect" way to be ace, it's just...there's just something about it that feels very allosexual, and maybe why I keep shying away from it. It squicks me out a bit, ngl.

People keep saying they see Lucifer as a switch, and funnily enough, it was actually confirmed by Vivenne Mendrano that he canonically is a switch! Of course, if people want to see him exclusively as a bottom or top, that's fair. You do you, boo. We're here to have a good time. But I'm very happy with his canon sexuality, so that's where I keep him. I can see him as a sub and a dom, too.

I also see Lucifer as the type who enjoys giving his partner pleasure! Be it bottoming, topping, subbing, or domming. He'll try out kinks and position and role-play, because I headcanon him and Lilith having a very healthy, very explorative sex-life. They were freaks in the sheets, and they tried all the new, crazy shit sinners brought with them into Hell.

I keep Alastor exclusively as a bottom, though. Some of it is because I see him being kind of grossed out with the idea of a part of him going into someone else (hello self projection!) but I also see him generally being sex-indifferent. Like, he'll have sex, and he'll enjoy it, but it's not something he typically seeks out for himself. Maybe once in a way, when he's in the ✨mood✨ he'll initiate. If his partner wants sex and he doesn't, he's not forcing himself. If his partner wants sex and he's kind of just vibing--not feeling horny, but not really against it either--yeah, he'll have sex. It's not like he's getting nothing out of it, he still feels and enjoys the pleasure in the act, even if he's generally indifferent towards doing it.

If he's comfortable with it he'll even indulge their kinks (and indulge his own 😉 not all kinks have to be sexual, afterall. And even if his are, that is still valid and does not take away from his sexuality because aces can still have sexual kinks 🫵 I'm looking at you, people who assume aces can't have sexual desires). (I also gave Alastor a power kink 😏 because I think he'd be into his partner displaying immense amounts of power. It doesn't even have to be directed at him. He'll watch his boo destroy a city block and then fuck them later because that was hawt.)

A lot of it could also be because he feels too allo for me when he is written as a top. Lol "he fucks like everyone else," is a very good way to put it 😂 When he bottoms, it feels like he's written with more of his ace-identity in mind, which I love!

But also, I like Alastor being a bottom just because. I vibe with it. 'Nuff said.

Thank you for your two cents!

#i don't know #i just don't know #there's a lot that goes into it #sometimes you can just tell when Alastor is written by someone who' isn't ace #or someone who doesn't really understand asexuality #the amount of times I've seen it implied or directly stated that he was “taught” how to love 😤#its my biggest pet peeve #it doesnt matter how well written the story is #if i see that shit im clicking out immediately #but yeah #idk he always does feel very allo when he's written or drawn as a top #i think you hit the nail on the head with that one #ace's can top for sure #there's just #there's just SOMETHING about how its generally depicted that irks me #hazbin hotel #alastor #hazbin alastor #hazbin hotel alastor #the radio demon #lucifer magne #asks #anon #anonymous #lucifer morningstar #radioapple #appleradio #bottom!Alastor #top!Lucifer #switch!Lucifer

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hrodvitnon · 7 months ago

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Thanks for hearing me out there, I really needed all of that. I think your blog (as well as other tumblr blogs in general like kaiju-krew) help keep me sane while witnessing all sorts of really dumb takes from the fandom, especially from the likes of Twitter and Reddit. The worst takes I've seen so far are the ones that claim that unlike Kong, if Godzilla ever encounters another one of his kind, he would kill them just for disrupting his nap and/or harm a baby of his kind because he's a reptile and something something "alphas in nature kill offspring that isn't their own to prevent competition" and junk like that.

It just really sucks to see them humanize Kong (and in many cases, turn him into a literal saint) while at the same time, reducing Godzilla to just a dumb animal when they're both intelligent and sympathetic but flawed individuals.

Also your comparisons of MV Godzilla to Doomguy and cats is very on-point. All three of them may look and act prickly at first, but there's more to them than just that and if you actually take your time to look past that and get to know them better while respecting their space, they're actually not bad at all. And in the case of both Godzilla and cats, it's kind of like intruding into an introvert's personal space and acting constantly annoying to them, and then getting mad and calling them a jerk once they show signs of wanting you to leave them alone.

(About Matt Frank's post, I took another look at it and he deleted the initial post, probably because of all the backlash he got from it since he misunderstood MV Godzilla's character hard. And in case you're curious on what the post said, it's something on the lines of something like "It's great that MV Godzilla is just an aggro jerkface in the whole movie (GxK) for NO reason at all and I'm all for it").

(That said, his follow-up replies to that are still there and they're still not the best takes. Here they are, for anyone who doesn't have access to that hellish site.)

Yeeeep, this is why I stay as much as possible away from the Twitter and especially the fandom side of Reddit; in fact, there are very specific reasons I would venture into those lawless depths: Check if anyone else has run into a game bug I've encountered and any workarounds for it, or fun gifs I just happened to spy on a Google Image search.

And you know, maybe it's because I just woke up, but to those who demonize Godzilla, I'm about to do something fuckin' hilarious with my power as a fic writer with my own canon at my fingertips. Check this shit out: In an AbraxasVerse take of GxK, when Godzilla is napping in the Colosseum and the authorities are like "what the fuck do we do," who rolls up but THE ACTUAL POPE to welcome the giant napping Nukasaurus Rex and be like "This is a beast of god who protects our world. I talked about this the last time he saved us, did you not listen to my sermon last Mass? For shame. Let the noble beast rest. Amen." Not in those exact words, but yeah.

Oh yeah, @thebeastunleashed showed the the tweets on Discord. Matt, I respect ya as a phenomenal kaiju artist and you're entitled to which Goji's your favorite and also your opinion, but sometimes it's okay to be wrong. (Incidentally, my favorite Godzillas are Heisei and MonsterVerse so I happen to prefer a Godzilla with a soft side.)

#alteringworldscapes #monsterverse #godzilla #abraxasverse #just for funsies #and yes the pope being chill with goji IS abraxasverse canon now. i can do that. because it's funny to me.#italian authorities: the lizard is in our colosseum! the pope: IF HE FITS HE SITS

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prince-liest · 7 months ago

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hi!!! the latest installment of 666 was incredible as always, had me texting the my friend at the speed of light as soon as I got that notif. alastor calling vox "lover" had me near gnawing my own arm off, and the "the way a fox loves a rabbit part" is so. beautiful and tender (FOR THEM). still screaming.

I was wondering if you have a beta readers, or if you just edit and post your fics by yourself? I'm trying to get into writing longer fics (as in longer than 3000 words), but the more I write the more I feel like I could really use a second pair of eyes on it. unfortunately I am also wildly nervous about sharing anything I've written with anyone beyond just posting a fic and vanishing into the ether for a few months. and I'm not sure how to get over that. or how to get a beta reader at all?? I was just wondering if you have some advice or opinions on the subject!! (okay if not obviously 🫶)

Thank you so much! <3 I love the moments where I get to have Alastor drop the word "lover," haha, because it's always very calculated on his part. Mostly to hurt! At least this time it was the good kind of hurt.

I used to have beta readers, but I don't anymore. I think it was very helpful earlier on when I was nervous about my writing, especially on the front of characterization, to ask folks to give it a read over to reassure me that the character voices read right. And it's always nice to have someone be able to take over catching some of my awkward word choices or typos, because I definitely do miss them occasionally nowadays that I don't have a beta reader - but, to be perfectly honest, the main reason I stopped is that I was writing too much and waiting for someone to have the time to beta my stuff didn't feel necessary anymore, hahaha.

As for who I asked to beta: zine fics with assigned writing mods aside, it's always just been whatever friend of mine is available and a member of the same fandom! This means that there's been a wide range of people in terms of actual writing experience that have looked over my works, and it's generally more helpful when an actual writer does it, but for my purposes it was usually just a characterizationg and SPaG check that I needed. Ask a friend, and just let them know what you're actually looking for in a beta read! SPaG? Characterization? Sentence flow? Pacing? Plot coherency? A hype man? A harsh critic? All are valid and varying levels of beta work!

If you're not looking for characterization checks, it doesn't even have to be someone that knows the fandom! I hope this was at least a little bit helpful, and congrats on getting into writing some longer works - that's always really exciting!

#ask #personal #pisscography #t #my writing #writing advice

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the-way-astray · 2 months ago

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I love being a menace. :D notes on your notes!

- yes fin is fintan. For the purposes of fic. Although it would be hilarious if it was just fin cosplaying fintan and lying to max. But no they’re the same person for the purposes of this

- OOC max because it’s funny. Especially the remember who you are line. I did that so on purpose—I was actually writing it in the same room as a friend at the time, and I giggled out loud, and she asked me what I was doing and I said I was bothering a friend because I wasn’t about to say what I was actually doing. I Shannonized max, and yes I’m a little demon for it, but I’m not Alayda level!!

- Do you know what you’ve done by asking me to introduce Quil? Do you know how Shannonized they would get? Do you really wish that on them? Do you? (Maybe I will… @bookwyrminspiration how do you feel about being written in the style of Shannon Messenger however I decide to characterize you?)

- Do I interact with Max? Nah I made up a personality in the way that I figured would bother you the most. Hey I may be a good strieefe writer but I’m still a strieefe writer. I’m here to torment you I can’t let you have TOO much fun (my apologies to max though. You don’t deserve this. I did see your comment about your cat though… @crescentpaws what is your cat’s name, what does it look like, and what are its opinions on stria, keefe and strieefe?)

-Never Change Anon <3

ah, dammit. will he at least make an appearance?

i would say you're nearing alayda level with every passing day . . . the remember who you are line and the shoulder shake will haunt me through the rest of eternity

YES INVOLVE QUIL PLEASE THAT WOULD BE SO FUNNY. AND YES I WISH FOR QUIL TO BE SHANNONIZED. update: ideas for quil

you don't interact with max, huh . . . well i can now eliminate anyone that max knows i guess. and of course you enjoy my agony, i got comfortable with your relatively good writing and forgot you were a strieefe shipper. while reading a strieefe fic. good on me. and answer the question max

#asks #anon #keefe would not like me and i don't like him #never change

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slocumjoe · 9 months ago

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I was wondering if you had any recommendations of fo4 fanfictions/writers you enjoy the work of?

You know, this actually is a point I've wanted to talk about in general, but never really had a reason to. The thing is, I don't like fallout 4 fanfic. I tried once and decided it was just not my content of choice.

Fallout 4 has a pretty sizable fic issue of, "Every single world is different." This is true of almost all stories where the protagonist is very easily...interchangeable. If you can make your character, chances are, they have their own looks, decisions, choices, opinions, backstories, quirks, relationships, et cetera. It is a whole new character that the world turns around, every single time.

So, the first issue here, is that it takes away from the benefit of fanfic being a story you don't have to get invested in. You know the characters and their deals, let's rock and roll. But with a new Addition, the author has to sell you on them, often quickly. However, you will have your own character that you've put into this world, and I personally prefer looking at my guy than others. People tend to not like (not hate, just not prefer) ships with certain pairings, right? So, if I invest a lot of brain power thinking about Danse and Augustijn, if I open a Sole X Danse fic, and I see Danse macking on a Sole who isn't...who Sole is to me, it's a large adjustment, especially if I'm not sold on the other Sole as their own character.

Another thing I tend to dislike is fics set in the perspective of Sole, rather than the other characters. I know the other characters already, and I'd prefer to spend time with them, than get invested in the new guy, as I said before. But people set the POV as sole to help speed along the whole selling thing.

So, few technical things, but when I did sample fallout 4 fanfic, the actual content I saw was just...so not for me.

Fallout 4 fanfic, last I checked, is;

Cute college aged white girl with Danse/Maxson/Both of them

Cute college aged white girl with Nick

Cute college aged white girl with Hancock

Cute College aged white girl with Deacon

Cute College aged white girl with MacCready

Cute college aged white girl with...deathclaws?

I find that many Soles tend to be supermodels with fairly shallow characterization, because they're self-inserts. They're just there to look good up against whichever white dude the author has the hots for. That's fine, we don't shame, it's just...I don't like it. Again, I like the characters I know, and in those types of fics, the characterization of the Male Companions tends to veer hard left into "wow this supermodel lady is so hot and cute and she's so sad I have to save her." It's just tedious for me.

Last I tried fo4 fanfic, it was...2018, 2019, I think, so things could have changed. But if I go to the top rated fics on ao3, the first page is just smut "The Vault Girl has a sweet ass/was maybe a pin up model, and oh no, (insert man) jerks off to her every single night!" It just makes me roll my eyes.

I could recommend content creators but chances are, you're following them already. In terms of fic...all I got for you is rad-roche's Unmade Man series. Required reading for this blog.

Not meaning to yuck anyone's yum, it's just that your yum is my yuck.

I used to write fanfic for fallout 4, if anyone remembers My Hope And My Fear Is Human Interaction. Initially titled Strawberry Donuts Of War. I took it down like an idiot because my own mental health was going right down the shitter, and trying to write that story and verbalize my own shit was kinda triggering. Fond memories, though. I also wrote three Danse x Sole fics, and took them down for "This is making me cringe" reasons.

Maybe one day.

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bonesandthebees · 9 months ago

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wanted to do my own bit of thanking you. It's so weird how time flies when you're in your teenage years, because three years can pass and it'll take you from a child to nearly an adult. So I guess that's just how I'm saying, your writing and your presence in the fandom was so ...impactful, to my formative years. In a good way. I've always adored your writing in a way that could never be replicated by other writers, and never for any fault or lacking in their works, because I adore them the same amount, just differently. I'd always go back to your writing for characterizations of ctommy, because it'd always been my favorite, even now that I'm older and my opinions are changed. Your writing always has so much life to it, and any way you go I guess I'm just happy you'll still be writing, because you helped me a lot with my own writing, even if not directly. I'm struggling a little (lot), but in my anger I just think about how we've all made these characters ours. The fandom has always done a brunt of the heavy lifting for the creative side, and you all deserve the credit.

man it's still so wild to me that my fics have been read by some people from their teen years to adulthood. like for one thing it's a stark reminder of how long I've been here, and it's also just surreal to remember how many people read my fics and how long some of you guys have been following me for. especially when you guys keep enjoying my writing even as you grow up and change opinions and likes and dislikes and all that. it genuinely means more to me than you could ever know.

I'm sorry you're struggling but know that all of us are in the same boat right now. these characters are ours like you said. the fandom was kept alive by the writers and artists and people who made edits and people who wrote meta posts and anlayses and just the community is what made this what it is and I don't want anyone to let one person take all the joy from that away from them

#ask #anon #wilbur situation

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voxofthevoid · 4 months ago

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I'm so sorry you get so many hate messages. You're always so cool about it and don't let them get to you but I know it must suck anyway. So I just want to say I think all of your jjk opinions are correct. But seriously, your characters are always on point and I especially love how you write Yuji. People are crazy for complaining about something you chose to write and share with the world. Anyway, you're a really skilled writer and I love all of your fics and ideas, so please keep sharing them!

Thank you, anon 💗

I do appreciate the support, especially because I've been in a bit of a shit mood the last few days. This was a nice pick-me-up.

I won't deny I've been very lucky. Half of it is my internal workings; the hate messages piss me off, but they don't affect my confidence or creativity. However, I've been at this for well over a decade now, and my brain chemistry was never prone to things like imposter syndrome. Newer authors or authors who struggle with self-esteem issues often don't have that internal scaffold.

The external support I get from you guys is the other half. It's the community aspect that makes a fandom worth staying in for me, and if I were to be treated solely or mostly with hostility, I'd have packed up my bags and found a new home a long time ago. I have no control over which ship/show I fall in love with, but a hostile fandom is the greatest killer of passion. The reason I stayed so long in the MCU was that its people were wonderful and vocally so. JJK isn't quite that pleasant overall (younger, more drama-prone fandom, I suppose), but the vast majority of my readers are amazing, supportive, and very kind. That's why I'm still here.

I had an exchange with another author on Reddit the other day, and they were saying that the reason they quit writing for their current fandom was that, when they got harassed, the larger fandom's reaction was to ignore or actively dismiss the harassment. I see plenty of posts/discussions in fandom spaces, from subreddits to blogs on here, about people getting bullied out of fandoms because of the toxicity of a few bad actors and the apathy of the rest.

I don't post/share all of the hateful messages I get because some of them straight-up don't deserve to be inflicted on human eyeballs, and they're blatant, unrepentant attempts to actively hurt my confidence as a writer and my dignity as a human being. I do not have sufficiently harsh words for the kind of filth who'd do that.

I hate that people have the fucking audacity to try this and that it's distressingly effective most of the time. Nobody wants to spend their hobby hours fending off assholes. I don't know if fandom as a whole has become more hostile recently, but I do find the overall atmosphere more toxic and downright violent than it was when I started actively participating in fandom in 2014. For all our sakes, I hope it gets better and soon.

Sorry, that got way longer than I intended 😅

On a cheerier note, I'm delighted to hear you enjoy my takes on JJK and its characters! And nothing makes me happier than hearing you like how I write Yuuji in particular. Thank you again 🥰💗

#i love my anons #anon #vox has opinions

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highlordofkrypton · 5 months ago

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writing tips // beta readers

The topic of beta readers has come up pretty often ever since I joined Tumblr and is very prominent on AO3, especially in the notes. I wanted to add my two cents on the topic of beta readers and how I work with them to get the best I can out of my work.

My beta reader(s) are the only reason my work ever saw the light of day and I will say it again and again. Without them dragging my ass through some chapters and smothering me with hype and affection, I don't think I would have ever finished a project or gained confidence to share.

What is a beta reader?

A beta reader is someone who looks over your work before you publish it. Commonly, the beta reader is used to check for consistency along with grammar, proofreading, etc.

The important thing is to determine what do you want out of your beta reader?

For me, I use a beta reader for:

Vibe check

Consistency / Lore check

Flow - the rises and falls in the story

Smut check

Grammar, punctuation & spelling

Clarity

Keep in mind, at the end of the day this is your fic, so any feedback given is up to you to implement or ignore.

Where do you find a beta reader?

Anyone can be a beta reader, be it friends or family (depending on your comfort level). It can be other writers in the community, or a reader who has been a longtime fan of your work. Again, it depends on your needs. You'll see that I emphasize this a lot throughout this post.

A good beta reader can work miracles, as long as you know your expectations and set them.

Make sure that:

Your beta reader is someone you feel comfortable with, especially if you're a writer who feels especially vulnerable when sharing early stage writing

You trust the person to be timely (if you have a timeline) and communicate well their thoughts, especially if you want to learn from the feedback

Most important of all, your beta is someone you have fun with.

Does a beta reader need to in the same fandom as your writing?

Not necessarily, no.

Personally, I prefer beta readers who are not as familiar with the fandom because I take responsibility for the 'canon lore' and decision for the changes, but what I do want is to see if the chemistry of the characters (towards each other and the reader) is strong. That's more important to me than lore accuracy. I also prefer to beta fics that aren't in my fandom or my pairings because I feel like I can do a better job in giving feedback! Probably because I'm not great with canon.

Alternatively, if there is a good writer in your fandom who's writing you enjoy and would like to learn from, definitely reach out to see if they'd be willing to beta! You never know.

Who can I ask if I don't know anyone to beta read for me?

I found this really cool ressource the other day: @needabeta! They have a whole masterlist with people who are willing to beta read along with their fandoms, so check them out.

How does beta reading and beta feedback work?

There is no wrong answer; it works the way you and your beta reader want it to! I'll outline the way I do it, but what works for me, may not work for you!

I'll be using the same steps as my drafting process.

DRAFT 0: OUTLINE

I usually finish my outline before mentioning anything to my beta. If i outline a full story, and it looks like I'm actually going to write it, I'll give her a heads up that she'll have a fic coming. I don't let her see the outline, but I will:

Ask her questions about hyper specific elements (i.e. I was struggling with reconciling the problematic age gap between Faeries and Humans in my fic and wanted her opinion) -- this didn't really need characters to discuss the topic.

Give her an outline of where I want to go or what vibes I'm aiming for so she can keep it in mind: this is where you set your expectations.

For example, I'm writing a prequel for the parents of a character in my fandom -- the relationship needs to have love, but it also needs to be cold and broken. It needs to break, but not so much that it can't be repaired (multiple times). I need this to be a balancing act, more than a full fledged story because it's a side story to give background.

DRAFT 1: SKELETON / JUST WRITE

I'm gonna out myself here, but I'm a writer that needs my hand held 😂 Even through I'm just writing, I'll call my beta in multiple times to:

Do an interest check. "Is this story interesting? Do you want to know more?"

HYPE ME UP (and by GOD my beta is so good at this)

I get bogged down a lot in my impostor syndrome and will often re-write the first chapter of a fic 5-7 times. Having her be my conscience and my sanity really helps. She's so good at hyping me up, but she communicates so well that even when I'm not hitting the right notes, she'll know how to ask without making me feel that I need to restart.

A good example would be, "This section is good, will you be adding more for x and x?" I'll know that's my cue to gauge if I'm doing enough or not enough.

But honestly, at this point, she just drags me to the finish line.

DRAFT 2: FLESH OUT THE STORY

Now that the first draft is done, I will ask my beta reader to go back to the beginning and we will both read and take notes. She likes to comment directly in the doc while I take my notes by hand.

@ellipsus-writes also has a cool feature where you can have multiple drafts of your doc IN THE SAME DOC AND THEN MERGE THEM!! HOW COOL IS THAT!! Anyways, that's a software I've recently transitioned to and I'll eventually make a post about that... eventually.

At this point, these are the questions I ask:

Are there any scenes missing?

How does the story flow? Too fast or too slow?

Do the characters have enough depth? What about their relationships?

Do you have any unanswered questions about the story?

Is there anything that is unclear or inconsisent?

Once I have her feedback, time to write all the additional scenes. Notice how all the questions are focused on content and not polishing.

DRAFT 3: SELECTIVE READ

Once the additional scenes have been inserted, I bring in my beta reader again. If it's my main beta reader, I know she'll re-read the story entirely, but I have additional beta readers to whom I'll provide the 'new' chapters and they'll just read that.

If you remember in my drafting process, this step is where I'll want to do a selective read of specific elements. So, I'll make sure to do that first and send her my questions for each element.

Here are some examples:

Character descriptions (i.e. Are there any details that jump out to you as inconsistent? Am I too repetitive with eye colour, hair colour, etc.? Can you check for x's hair colour, I struggled to keep that in check so I might have forgotten things.)

Lore elements (i.e Is the world magical enough? In x and x part, I feel like the magic has died, but does it make sense to reflect what's happening in the story? Are there too many magical bargains?)

Dialogue (i.e. Is x sassy enough throughout the story? I feel like y doesn't talk enough.)

Smut (i.e. Does this need lube? More foreplay? Does the scene need to be longer? Do they finish too fast?)

Show vs. Tell (Do you feel the magic? The pain? The love?)

Tense (past vs. present)

Relationship depth (especially for side characters) (i.e. does it make sense that they fell in love? or that they became enemies? Do his brothers feel like family??)

This also requires self-awareness about your own writing and the points where you struggled in the process. I know writing smut is really difficult for me, which is why I always ask if it's enough.

The best way to get the information you need is to guide your beta as well. Of course, I welcome any additional feedback she might have.

DRAFT 4: FINAL EDIT

GIRL, IF YOU SEE THIS BC I KNOW YOU CHECK MY BLOG ONCE EVERY FULL MOON 🙏 THANK 🛐 YOU 🫵 fOR 🌈 EVERYTHING 💃 YOU 🥳 DO 💗

The reason I'm giving her a shout out at this stage is because I never ask her to proofread more than she feels like because I think it's very boring and tedious, esp if your fic ends up being long AND YET, HER ASS PROVIDES ME WITH AN IN-DEPTH FULLY REVIEWED DRAFT FOR 100+ PAGES. I am blessed, i am bLESSED.

I don't even proofread that diligently.

Anyway, for anyone else, I would normally just ask them to read over a final time to see if the vibe is right. You could even combine steps 3 and 4, and just have your beta read when you're done editing completely. It's up to you and your beta reader!

That's it!

When I post, I always make sure to thank my beta reader even if it was a partial read.

I realized that I didn't say where I found my beta reader, but she's my longtime friend, soul-sister, owner of the main shared braincell most of the time. We used to work in marketing & content writing together, which is why we have a formalized process just from years of being on the same team. A lot of the reviewing process is second nature, but I really do hope it helps someone out there!

We also overlap on almost all our fandoms, but enjoy them in different ways, so I love that she understands the vision and at the same time, brings her own perspective. She also gets my inside jokes in the fic, which is why I say have fun with your beta. You're building worlds together! Make the best of it because if it's not fun, what's the point?

#writing guides #writing process #beta reader #writing #my guides #writerblr #writers on tumblr #ao3 writer #fanfic writing

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