#fanfiction only does so much

[demaparbat-hp]

“Zuko?” Ming searched for the Prince in his silence. He was staring intently out of the window, mouth blown wide open, eyes distant and awed and sincere. Oh. His whisper was a fragile, breathless thing.

“We're here.”

Ming’s doubts and concerns are hers alone, but that doesn't mean the rest of the Crew doesn't share them. This sudden mission, Zuko's change in attitude, his obsession with the Water Tribes...

Ming tries to discover the root of it all in For the Spirits Chapter VIII: Make You Stay, but will Zuko let her in?

[valewritessss]

Why is it that most of the time they either make Annabeth seem like Percy’s mother or they make her a tool for him to be more angsty and dark and disregard all of her character and trauma? Can we normalize making them equals

[clonedchaos]

Machine Memories- Day 3: Hoax

Summary:

Sammy defies Wilson’s news. His Lord, the most powerful and influential being in this realm— dead? Impossible.

Rating: G/PG

”Children of the machine, have we not suffered enough? Our Lord has been slain, from the hands of an outsider. Will we suffer this injustice?? Will we bow our heads to a false ruler?? Or will we stand by our Lord? Will we search every corner of this world to find him, if alive-- as I can feel he is?? Heed my words, sheep. The Ink Demon is not dead. He is still with us, waiting to free us from our inky prisons. We must free him! We must usurp this threat to our sanctity! We must free our Lord!”

The Lost Ones gathered in the city streets below Sammy chorused their agreement, holding their weapons and fists high. Axes and pipes held at the ready, his followers were devoted in their cause. And what was their cause? Bring back their savior, the one who will finally put an end to their ink-stained hell— The Ink Demon.

Sammy’s fingers curled tighter around the axe’s hilt. There was no time to dither about. From the moment one of Wilson’s posters had been strewn up in the music department, Sammy knew he had to act. The visceral hatred towards this outsider had come to a head, and Sammy had his followers to back his conviction.

Such faith egged him onwards towards Wilson’s hideout. The man was rumored to hole himself in behind the boarded-up entrance of the Gent Factory.

Peculiar, he couldn’t recall when this location had sprung up. Had it always been here? Merely tucked away and veiled from prying eyes? Or was there something more to it?

Sammy reached the wooden boards and held up a hand for his followers. They obeyed the unspoken gesture— such loyal little sheep they were.

The musician brandished his brass axe with the back of his hand before bringing it down on the boards. It cut through smooth as butter. With a bit more demolition, there was enough room for him and his followers to flood into the next room.

Wilson was right there. Not hiding like he had anticipated, merely standing at the top of the steps with a malignant gleam in his eye. Two mechanical beasts flanked him, their spotlights scouring across him and his group like hungry dogs. Perhaps he had made too much clamor in the street. Not ideal cover for a sneak attack.

Sammy pointed the tip of his axe toward the man. “Blasphemer! What have you done to our lord?” He demanded, his voice carrying across the wide-open ceiling.

Wilson regarded him coolly with that same glint in his eye but refused to speak. 

How dare he look down on him like dirt! He was the Lord’s prophet, not a position he took lightly by any means. What he deserved was respect.

Sammy gritted his teeth. “For all the lies and false promises you circulated across this inky hellscape, it is time for you to pay the price, my little sheep. Our Lord is calling for us, even now. Can you hear him? I can still feel his presence. He will come for you.”

Wilson regarded him with an almost pensive expression, like he was only a lab rat for him to study. Then, with a snap of his fingers, the Keeper at his side lunged for Sammy. Rivulets of red raced across the Keeper's chest in a burst of color that had the musician briefly stunned.

In a rush of adrenaline, Sammy just barely managed to bring his axe down atop the Keeper's hand. The mechanical horror screeched, a sound that pierced his eardrums like nails on a chalkboard. It uncurled its other arm-- it had two of them? Sammy was grabbed by the throat and lifted into the air. His axe clattered against the floorboards. The weapon wouldn't be able to aid him anyhow, the Keeper had a grip like iron.

As he kicked and thrashed, his anger came to a full boil. "Heed my words, outsider! You do not know what you've done; Bendy will rise again! Our Lord would not abandon us! So kill me if you must! My words are true!"

Wilson appeared to chuckle at that. His followers watched helplessly; not wanting to risk their own skin for his sake, obviously. No matter. He would be a sacrifice. A sacrifice in the name of his savior.

"Kill you? No," Wilson finally croaked with a wicked sneer. "I have a different plan in mind, my dear Cycle breaker."

[mifink]

okay so i misread the title of a song that plays at the end of last ep as "easy come easy go lover" instead of "Come Easy Go Easy Love" but.

but you'll meet someone who, can't stay away from you and then what will you do?

someone will take you like you've taken me only along for the ride...

[rogue205]

Hunger Games rant

This is kind of surprising me because I used to ship Everlark when I read the books years ago but upon a re-read as an adult?

I’m just wandering through the Hunger Games fandom and seriously have to say… I very very much doubt that Katniss and Peeta “would’ve happened anyway” if they were not reaped nor if the Games never existed.

Sure, he had a crush on her which is likely why he gave her the burned bread that day(something that I’m pretty sure isn’t even covered in the movies) which people seem to think makes her required to like him back. Their relationship was also a forced play for the Capitol, she had no choice. If it was “gonna happen anyway”, she would’ve been dating him already by the first book. 

As an (now)Everthorne shipper, I am a little biased but she clearly has more in common with Gale, they had known each other for years, and she even bluntly states that “he is hers and she is his” at one point. Seems straight forward to me. Gale also deserved better than what SC did to him. Yes, he helped to design those bombs but I very much doubt he knew what Coin was going to use them for nor did he know that Prim was going to be there and put in the direct line of fire. Prove me wrong. I’m also slightly irritated that Katniss holds this over his head, and while I understand given that it’s Prim, she should know him better than that. Just seemed like an easy way for Collins to get rid of him so she could pander to fans by putting Katniss with Peeta. Yes, he lied by omission but he didn’t want to hurt her. And I find it odd that she just can’t seem to get over that, while she seems to just instantly forgive Peeta for every manipulation(unintended or not) that he puts her through. 

I do find it funny that some people seriously seem to think that Gale and Katniss actually are cousins. Take the Everlark blinders off, people. You really think that Collins would create a love triangle that involved incest?

She picked Peeta in the end because he could give her stability in a post war world when she had no one, not because she loved him like that. Matches up to “she’ll pick who she can’t survive without” to me. I know people immediately interpret that as “she’ll pick who she loves” but no. If Gale meant it that way, he would’ve said it that way but he also knows the only one Katniss would and could ever truly love is Prim. Peeta does not understand this about her.

The movies just showed a “happy-ever-after Everlark” ending while ignoring that fact that Peeta is still struggling with the hijack(and poses a continuing threat to Katniss because of it) and in the books, Katniss does wonder what kind of future she also could’ve had with Gale like they were talking about before the first reaping. But she dismisses it because she imagines that he’s moved on. Her ending with Peeta comes across to me as “obligation” still. Surprisingly, lots of people seem to get this too I’ve read but most are still “romantic Everlark” anyway. 🤷‍♀️

Katniss had gone through the books pretty adamant that she didn’t want to marry or have children and yes, that was largely because she didn’t want them to have to go through the Games but it’s also been said behind the scenes that she only did these exact things in the end because Peeta wanted it. Literally along the lines of “I didn’t want children but Peeta did and kept asking until I finally caved…” just rubs me the wrong way.

I think it would’ve been a refreshing change to have ended this series the way Katniss originally wanted. Where she didn’t end up with anyone. (@zalrb here on Tumblr says this all way better than I ever could. Go visit them.)

[firendgold]

I always block the Manipulative Albus tag obviously but I also always want to block the Good Albus tag because I mean… isn’t that a given? That’s like having a Good Harry Potter tag… like, no shit. Fork found in kitchen.

Like yeah he made some tough decisions but his intentions were good. And, imo, if the information, skills and power were placed in anyone else’s hands - whether it be McGonagall or Kingsley or even Harry himself (as Inverse elucidates)- they would have struggled and failed to do better.

Also like… the Grindelwald stuff was literally a century ago when Dumbledore was practically a child. Why are we so generous towards Regulus Black who probably literally butchered muggles and muggleborns but we can’t forgive Albus who was lower-class, had an insanely difficult homelife and likely faced otherization and racism for having a Native American, muggleborn mother. I think if you can forgive anyone for being radicalised against muggles, you can forgive the teenage boy who eventually lost his mother, his father and his sister because of an anti-Wizard/Witch hate crime.

Ugh.

Most people don't bother to look into Albus' deeper history—and by that I mean the stuff we knew even before Pottermore and Fantastic Beasts and the outside interviews. All of the information about Albus' past is in Deathly Hallows, his race and social status and circumstances—all right there for people to read. But that cements Albus's status as a good but complex character so bashers ignore it or downplay it. And I in turn ignore them.

To your point about the 'good Albus' tag, I think you have to consider what you said first about the manipulative Albus tag. It is so ubiquitous. In just the six years or so since I got back into HP fanfic and fandom, the amount of dumb people who think Albus is manipulative/evil/shady has not decreased. It has quadrupled if anything. Even when using the tag that's supposed to be about Albus and Harry's positive relationship, there are at least 80 fics right now on AO3 that have that tag or similar. You have to block it all to stay sane.

But EVEN if you block the manipulative/evil/greater good tags, lots of other people will write fics about Albus with neither a good nor manipulative tag, but then their Albus Dumbledore will still be wrong. He will be manipulative and want to control everyone, will be untrustworthy for "some" reason not ever quite explained to the reader, will still be pining after Grindelwald and worshipping at the altar of the 'Greater Good' even after age 17. So unfortunately no, 'Albus is a good person' is still not a given in this fandom. The incorrect takes have so deeply permeated the meta discussions that it is very easy to find fics without any labels that honestly need the manipulative tag, even though the authors would probably argue you down about how "problematic" Albus is if you engaged them in dialogue.

(Example necessary probably, but just try to find a Harry/Hermione fic where Hermione doesn't randomly bash Dumbledore and act like she, a teenager or twenty-something, knows better than him, even though canon Hermione had the correct takes about Dumbledore the entire series. Check and I guarantee you that a good portion of them won't even tag manipulative Dumbledore, especially if it's a post-war fic and he's not alive. Incorrect takes abound. :'/)

I think the people who use the Good Albus tag know that water is wet just like you and I do. They know Albus is—well, really morally gray in many aspects, but a good person overall. But these authors are saying, "there has to be some counterbalance. People reading my fics should know that I am presenting the character as he is, and not as I presume him to be".

I personally haven't used the Good!Albus tag because my fics are meant to counter those many false-advertising fics out there that don't tag "I think Albus is as evil and/or controlling as Voldemort" but say that anyway when I try to read them.

As for Regulus Black... don't look at me lol. I think he's an intriguing character—or was before the 'marauders fandom' got their hands on him—but he's not moving any mountains in my fanverse just because his elf was threatened and his feelings got hurt. I'll stick to focusing on Albus.

[redshoes-blues]

It makes me sad how mlm ships have the most wonderful 400k word fics written about them but I can only ever find oneshots for wlw ships

and don’t get me wrong, the oneshots are stunning and lovely, but I just want a long heart-wrenching fic for my girls too, ya know??

[meat-loving-meat]

I want to write a Vanyel/Stefen modern-with-magic AU soooo bad but I don’t know Valdemar lore like at all. There are six books standing between me and feeling comfortable enough in the lore to imagine what Valdemar might look like with the internet and planes

[vxctorx]

[ is it really too much to ask for someone to write the granada/book version of sherlock holmes? ]

[optiwashere]

I liked doing this last week, but it will get kinda repetitive in the coming weeks. So I'm not sure if I'll do it often while I'm posting the modern/band AU, but oh well!

It's another Saturday morning in a blanket with new music. Truly all I could ever need to write.

Here's what I've been working on...

Modern/band AU is fit and ready to start posting this upcoming week. Chapter [redacted] is complete, and I'm now far enough ahead that even a few weeks of busy life won't stop a regular posting schedule. And if I keep up writing then I'll be able to post around Xmas without needing a break!

Chapter [redacted+1] has an opening sentence, which is often the hardest part.

The outline for the AU has been modified a little. Combined three chapters into one, split out another chapter into two. Probably lots of consolidation to be done otherwise. There's a weird bit in the outline that's kinda fuzzy, but I'm sure I'll knuckle my way through it since it's not thematically deep. Might even be another chapter consolidation. This fic is definitely going to be longer than the 40k I was hoping it would top out at...

Editing the previous chapters has been a fun exercise in trimming the fat! I still want there to be scenes that are just ~vibes~ but I axed 1k words and the whole thing is cleaner for it.

More Minthara/Lae'zel is in the works, but it's mostly only the skeleton of an idea as I've had to rework it multiple times. I've a little under 1k actually written, and I'm not too convinced of what it is at the moment either. Quite frustrating.

Another seedling of an idea for non-smutty Asheera/Shadowheart fics. But it's really just "Shadowheart meets Asheera's parents" and boy I'm not ready for the mixed emotions Shadowheart's going to feel in that one. You know it's not just going to be fluff.

The Gauntlet/Nightsong segment for my core Shadowheart/Asheera series has a skeleton of an outline now. The POVs have been picked, the core beats are there, and I know it's going to hurt like a motherfucker to write some of this.

[rearranging-deck-chairs]

hot

[hella1975]

yes girl don’t touch ur wip in six months then write five thousand words of it in two hours you’re so normal about your interests

[harukamitsuki]

that feeling when you see that the comments are at a perfectly round number so you hesitate to comment because you have ocd

[leatherbookmark]

my dream portrayal of jgy is that he's an independant character with his own strengths (not lxc's sweet little child-birthing wifey) that get recognition and appreciation (and that aren't 'being a good mommy/rabid event planner, haha, such a control freak this a-yao'), who deserves and gets love (but isn't just a tiny lovely thing whose only purpose is-- do you get my point already i wonder), who's allowed to be in a bad mood (but isn't defined by those moments, which is very important to me personally), but who isn't a cruel or bad person (and whose attempts at explaining his situation to others are taken seriously, and not as just him trying to Manipulate Others As Usual because, and i might be controversial but idqc, if i'm to call a character a gaslighting manipulator i'd like to see cases of him a/ doing it b/ succesfully c/ often, and no, "well he conned lxc into thinking he's not an evil murderous twink, SOMEHOW" doesn't count)

and my problem is that it's, well, as dreams usually are, rather unattainable

[avida-heidia-5]

Chapter 11 is finished, baby! For There Is Thunder In Our Hearts, Baby by my good friend @kaossbells!!! …Baby! 🥰😘

🕯️ Candlelit Dinner:

🧜🏻‍♀️ Under The Sea:

🥞 “Room Service!”:

Scenes for Chapter 12 will be dropping in a couple of hours! I am on a ROLL with these! Woop woop! 🙌🏻

[perenlop]

havent read tbc but i think its so funny how shadowsight seems to be popular to the people i follow just because “the narrative treats him like all the female characters do so hes an honorary girlie”