#generally would just like to see more variety within the romance genre

[t-u-i-t-c]

having thoughts

[digitalsatyr23]

Writing Commissions

Status: Closed! (Slots 3/3)

Hi! My name’s digitalSatyr23 (or Sachii as my friends call me). I’m a writer that dabbles in a variety of genres, but I spend a lot of time writing dark fantasy and horror. I’m currently available for writing commissions (primarily short stories and novelettes). Do you have a story idea you’d like to see fleshed out? Do you want to put your characters or OCs in a... Situation? Then perhaps I can be of help!

Genres I can write:

Fantasy

Horror

Mystery

Science Fiction

Slice of Life

Romance

Things I can’t/won’t write:

Detailed historical fiction (I’d be out of my depth, sorry)

Political thrillers (Again, just not suited to this kind of story)

Graphic depictions of abuse of any kind (though regular violence/death is fine, I just don’t want to write about all the minute ways a character is suffering because that just feels weird to me)

Fan Fiction (I would much prefer writing original content)

Extreme NSFW (there are too many things to list but assume that if the main point of the story is fetish fuel content then that’s a no from me, though light NSFW is a maybe, but again, there should be more going on in the story idea besides the NSFW content)

Nonfiction (I’m a fiction author after all)

My Rates: $9 per 1000 words (minimum $9 if below 1000 words). It can be difficult to know exactly how long a piece can be, but I encourage setting word count limits so I know what parameters to work within. If you’re unsure, we can discuss how big or small the story might be based on your idea. Either way, I ask for the full calculated price of the commission upfront. I offer free edits (and usually do a once-over to take care of any spelling or grammatical errors I might have missed), and feedback and critique to get the commission closer to your vision is highly encouraged. My goal is to make sure your story is in its best possible form, so I’ll work with you if any changes are required (within reason). Also, if you’ve set a word count limit and I accidentally go over that amount then the excess is free (I’m usually pretty good about this but sometimes I can go over a tad to avoid something feeling rushed).

My Limits: I generally want to stick to short stories and novelettes, so my hard cap on how long a story can be is about 20,000 words. For reference, if the final product was 12pt font in Times New Roman with 1.5 line spacing, that would be roughly 63 pages of text. If you’re unfamiliar with how word count can translate to page count, this site can be pretty handy for calculating things.

What I need from you: We can discuss the finer details of your commission via tumblr’s messenger, but generally what I’m looking for is a rough synopsis of what the story is supposed to be about, as well as information on important characters. Information can include (but is not limited to): their name, their age, a basic description, their role/profession, what they’re good at, some things they like and dislike, a strong want/desire, a notable character flaw, and what their goal in the story is. Any other relevant information should be included as well, like important parts of their history.

In addition, if there are any specific things you’d like included in the story, let me know. For example, maybe you want a fight scene in the middle of a snow storm, or maybe two characters having a date in a specific kind of restaurant. Give me as much detail about what you’d like to see in your story because otherwise I’ll fill in the blanks with what makes the most sense (consulting with you, of course).

Payment: I generally use paypal, so once we work out the commission details, I’ll need an e-mail address associated with your account so I can send you an invoice. Also, in the hypothetical scenario that we estimate the story to be of a certain cost and what I asked for up front ends up being more than what the actual story’s cost would be, we can arrange a refund so you don’t overpay for your story.

Examples of my writing: What the Fire Said (Dark Fantasy/Short Story) What Keeps Me Going (Dark Fantasy/Novelette) My Shadow (Horror/Short Story) The Spaces In-Between (Horror/Short Story)

[chaos0pikachu]

So, just a bit of additional context the term “yaoi” was pretty misinterpreted by western fans - it wasn’t a means of identifying porn it was meant to signify parody manga: 

“The late 1980s saw a sharp rise in derivative works known as yaoi, parody manga published in dōjinshi—amateur, self-published magazines.” (source)

Yaoi probably has closer ties to what we, in America/Europe, consider fanfiction (which does include a lot of porn tbf) than it’s own sub-genre. The sub-genre of romance is specifically qualified as BL or GL in Asian countries. Very, very few people use the term “yaoi” anymore it’s fallen deeply out of favor in those countries fandom circles and isn’t used as a marketing qualifying in magazines or media anymore. 

I think it’s also valuable to know that like, BL fans are either a part of the community or allies: 

“In contrast, same-sex marriage was legalized in Taiwan in 2019, and BL fans who attended a dōjinshi event there had actively participated in the movement that sought its legalization.” (source)

There’s a misconception that BL originated as like a way for het women to get off, this isn’t 100% accurate. Yes there were creators like this, there’s no denying that, and use the agreed upon origins of BL aren’t centered around queer people specifically. The reasons were tied to sexism within Japanese society, in that, female characters were held under strict limiting forms of depictions and female creators took to creating stories about men to explore a wider variety of subjects that female centric magazines wouldn’t allow or pursue. A lot of self-published and later mainstream published creators started out this way (CLAMP was, famously, a yaoi/doujin group who self-published doujin of I believe Captain Tsubasa and if you know anything about CLAMP you know their work is extremely queer). 

I think it’s also important to note that both feminists and queer people in Japan have been having this debate themselves: 

Like any genre that is about marginalized people there are unfortunate roots to it and unfortunate parts of it’s history. The bury your gay trope was prominent in lesbian dime store novels even though a lot of those novels were written by queer women censorship required them to end poorly, tragically, etc. But it was one of the only forms of representation people had in the 60s/70s. It’s not pretty but history isn’t pretty. 

I also recommend this podcast on the subject that breaks down more history about BL in Japan, this podcast on fetishization and tropes, and this youtube video from a Japanese gay man on the topic. Just for more general information. 

Sorry for going off topic, but I just wanted to add some more context and history to the post as well. 

Anyways, making media costs money. It costs soooooooooooooooooooooooo much money. Kinnporsche is an outlier tbh b/c of how good it looks and how well it’s made for the sub-genre. Same with shows like Cutie Pie, Semantic Error, heck even Director Who Buys Me Dinner is well made. It’s shot really well, has decent sets and costuming, it has multiple locations, and no sound issues. For small studios this is actually quite a feat; see Between Us and Love in the Air for comparison (both series were riddled with sound issues for example). 

It sucks, I would have loved for the show to be able to be fully fleshed out, the problem is money. Studios won’t put more money in unless outside investors feel they’ll get a profitable return. It’s probably why Thai studios have their actors do all those sponsorships, and ad work post-series. To recoup costs of the production. Something I’ve noticed as well in KBL is the lack of sponsorships/ads like sure we all laughed at Team eating nothing but Lays Chips the entire run of Until We Meet Again, but I bet Lay’s paid for the location shoot at the river.  

I’m hoping with these upcoming Thai/Korean productions in the works we’ll get Korean style filmmaking with Thai investment to help balance things out and for both industries to learn from each other. 

I saw mdl reviews for the director who buys me dinner saying its undercooked and had great potential and needed a run time of 1 hour and like 16 episodes. do yall think the writers, directors and production team don't know that? Queer content still doesn't get that much money!! For fuck sake we still call it bl/yaoi something that was originally made for het women. Support these shows instead of putting them down so they get more finances to make shows with longer duration

[seasteading]

so you're missing a plot

over the course of my 3+ years on writeblr and some time on writing twitter, i’ve noticed that a lot of people can come up with characters and worldbuilding, but then get stuck on creating a compelling plot around those characters. so, here are a few tips that have helped me, and that i hope will help you too!

note: this will apply mostly to fantasy and sci fi, since that's what i write and what tends to have more plot-heavy storylines. 

these are also all my opinions! you don’t have to listen to any of this—all of these are tips that i’ve used in my own experience, and what works for me won’t necessarily work for you.

tone

this is one of the first things you want to decide. even within the same genre, you’re going to have a lot of variety in tone and atmosphere. the kind of plot that works for a fun fantasy adventure romp might feel odd and out of place for a darker fantasy with an emphasis on political intrigue. to figure out what kind of tone works best for your wip in particular, you want to look back at your characters. writing is a massive investment of time and energy, so you want to go in a direction that’s actually interesting to you. this is the very first step, and will help you decide what direction you end up going, and will most importantly give you a hint towards what ending will best suit the story you’re trying to tell. if you go with a more lighthearted tone, then suddenly having a tragic ending won’t make any sense since it’s the equivalent of a bait-and-switch. the same applies for having a darker tone—a happily ever after where everyone lives and gets therapy won’t necessarily fit. 

worldbuilding

worldbuilding is important of course, but it doesn’t need to be completely developed before you start coming up with a plot. in fact, you should try to avoid dumping all of your time into worldbuilding, and instead get the basics down before moving onto the plot. i’m sorry to say it, but you’re not tolkien. you will never be tolkien, and you don’t have to aspire to be like him either. you don’t want to write yourself into a plothole because something in your worldbuilding ends up conflicting with the story, so generally it’s good to have a little bit of wiggle room. sometimes you also run into a situation where the plot itself inspires an important piece of worldbuilding that makes the story richer and more interesting. your worldbuilding is there to enrich your plot and inform your character motivations, not the other way around. however, you do want to establish any rules your world has before getting into the plot, since breaking them can itself become a driving factor in characters and their arcs. this is especially common in fantasy, where a frequent premise lies in the fact that everybody can’t use magic while the protagonist can, or the other way around. this isn’t a plot quite yet, but it can be a good starting point.

character driven vs. plot driven

you will also need to decide the main focus of your story. character-driven writing is common in literary fiction and shorter works, and it’s focused specifically on the internal conflict within characters, as well as their thoughts and personal arcs. few external events are going to happen in character-driven stories, which tend towards more towards slice-of-life where not much really happens but you’re still invested due to the characters. plot-driven writing puts emphasis on (you guessed it!) the plot, and this is a lot more common for longer works. the two can and do certainly overlap, but most works tend to lean a bit more one way or the other, and you can determine this by asking whether you’re more interested in the characters as people or in what happens to them. 

motivation

so now that you have an idea of the direction you want to go, how do you actually come up with your plot? no matter if your story is character driven or plot driven, you still need compelling characters, and one way to find your plot is to look at their motivations. every one of your characters should have something they want to achieve or to obtain. your character’s want is going to be their main driving motivation. something is wrong in their life—if it wasn’t, then you wouldn’t be writing this story—and they think that obtaining what they want will fix it. this can be a macguffin-style quest for an object/place/person, the desire to climb the social ladder, solving the mystery behind a disappearance, etc. at this point, i would recommend taking a look at media with similar character motivations to yours and dissecting them to see what works and what doesn’t. you want to be genre-savvy and know what tropes are common to the type of story you’re telling.

gay is not a plot

repeat after me. gay is not a plot. gay is not a plot. gay is not a plot. there should be something to your wip’s plot other than “they’re gay, what more do you need?” (see this post). a romance isn’t going to be interesting if the characters aren’t interesting on their own, and that requires them to actually have their own motivations which (see motivation) themselves create the basis for a plot! in that same vein, having representation shouldn’t function as your plot or your primary selling point. representation should be a given, and making that the only descriptor for your work essentially boils down your characters to just their marginalization.

retellings

i know retellings of fairytales, myths, and shakespeare’s plays have gotten really popular, especially as of late. retellings are a great starting point since they already give you a base off which to work with, and instead of having to come up with all of your concepts from scratch, it becomes a question of putting your own spin on them. these tend to require some knowledge of the genre and common tropes, which you should have regardless of whether you’re writing a retelling or not. here, instead of having characters and a world first and a plot second, you’re working backwards from an existing work to reinterpret the characters and world surrounding a common plot. the important thing to note is that just because you have a starting point doesn’t mean that your work is done—i’d recommend researching other variations of the story you’re retelling and cataloguing similarities and differences, what works and what doesn’t, and moving things around/restructuring them depending on the changes you yourself want to make in your retelling.

prompts

i actually wouldn’t recommend relying on generators and prompt lists for your plots, since they tend to be extremely vague and difficult to get invested in, since you weren’t the one to come up with them. prompts can be really good for sparking inspiration, though, and once you get an idea for a few scenes, you can build off of them to figure out what circumstances lead to each one and what the pivot points are. prompts are a useful tool, but shouldn’t be used as the basis for your entire story.

final thoughts

if you’re here that means you’ve made it to the end of this behemoth of a post, and hopefully something here was helpful! at this point you should be able to find a premise, but it’s important to note that a premise is not a plot. here is where the real work begins—interweaving your characters and worldbuilding with your storyline, figuring out if there are any holes in your cast or if there are a few darlings you need to cryogenically freeze for now. you don’t need to fill in all of your plotholes; that’s a problem for when you actually have a draft down and more material to work with. for now, focus on creating a storyline that’s interesting to you. most importantly, don’t try to force it. you don’t want to treat a plot as a trope checklist, but instead let it come naturally so it actually fits the story your characters are made to tell.

[translations-by-aiimee]

The Husky and His White Cat Shizun - Chapter 8

Original Title:  二哈和他的白猫师尊

Genres: Drama, Romance, Tragedy, Xianxia, Yaoi

This translation is based on multiple MTLs and my own limited knowledge of Chinese characters. If I have made any egregious mistakes, please let me know.

Chapter Index

Chapter 8 - This Venerable One Gets Punished

Mo Ran lay in bed like a dead fish for three days. Just as his wounds started to heal, he was summoned to Red Lotus Pavilion to do manual labour.

This was also part of his punishment. During the punishment period, Mo Ran couldn't go down the mountain, but he also couldn't just laze around. So he had to help out the sect and do some drudgery.

Generally speaking, these errands were things like: helping the cafeteria lady at Mengpo Hall wash the dishes, scrubbing the three hundred and sixty-five stone lions on the pillars of the Naihe Bridge, transcribing extremely boring archive files, and so on.

But what kind of place was Red Lotus Pavilion? It was the residence of that bastard Chu Wanning, known as the cursed place called Red Lotus Hell.

Few people in Life-Death Peak had been there, and everyone who had been there left with either their legs or their arms broken.

Therefore, in addition to Red Lotus Hell, Chu Wanning's bedroom had a more grounded nickname: Broken Leg Pavilion.

There was an inside joke circulating around the sect: "The Pavilion hides a beauty, and the beauty holds Tianwen. Enter the gate of broken legs, know the suffering of getting your legs broken. If you want your meridians broken, go to the Elder Yuheng."

There was once a female disciple who wasn't afraid of death. She was bold enough to lust after Elder Yuheng's beauty. Taking advantage of the dark night and high winds, she sneaked to the Southern Peak and climbed onto the eaves, intending to watch the Elder bathe and strip his clothes.

As you can imagine, the female warrior was beaten within an inch of death by Tianwen, crying for her father and calling her mother, and lay in bed for no less than a hundred days.

And Chu Wanning also declared that, if anyone else dared to commit another crime, he would carve out the eyes of the perpetrator himself.

Do you see? What complete nonsense! What puzzling behaviour! What a heinous man!

Within the sect, there used to be innocent silly girls who thought that, because they were women, Elder Yuheng would pity them and show compassion. They were always laughing and joking in front of him, trying to attract his attention. But ever since the elder whipped that one female hooligan, no one dared to hit on him anymore.

To Elder Yuheng, whether it was men or women, he didn't have the disposition of a gentleman. Other than a good-looking face, there was nothing redeeming about him - this was how Chu Wanning was viewed by the disciples of this sect.

The junior brother who had delivered the summons looked at Mo Ran with sympathy. He tried to stay quiet, but in the end, couldn't hold it back: "Brother Mo. . ."

"Hmm?"

". . . Elder Yuheng has such a bad temper. No one who went to the Red Lotus Water Pavilion came out able to stand. Maybe you could see if you could say your wounds haven't healed and beg Yuheng Elder to let you wash dishes instead?"

Mo Ran was very grateful for this junior brother's bodhisattva heart, but he didn't agree.

Beg Chu Wanning?

Forget it. He doesn't need to get beaten by Tianwen a second time.

So he strenuously put on his clothes, dragged his feet, and walked reluctantly to Life-Death Peak's southern peak.

Red Lotus Pavilion, Red Lotus Hell. There wasn't a single person in sight for a hundred li around Chu Wanning's residence.

No one wanted to go close to his residence. Chu Wanning's bad taste and uncertain personality made everyone in the sect stay far away from him.

Mo Ran was a bit nervous. He didn't know what Chu Wanning would make him do as punishment. His thoughts ran wild the whole trip to the southern peak. After passing through the dense bamboo groves, large swathes of beautiful red lotus came into view.

It was early morning, the sun rising from the east, reflecting a splendid shine on the horizon. The red lotus stalks in the pond stretched towards the flaming clouds in the sky, complementing each other; magnificent. At the edge of the pond, a curved zig-zag bridge led to the pavilion standing in serene silence. Behind it was a curtain of waterfalls streaming down the mountain, the fine crystal water droplets raining against the rocks at the bottom. The watery mist created by it evaporated into the air, light gleaming through the fog, creating a sense of enchanting tranquillity.

This is what Mo Ran thought about this:

Gross.

Wherever Chu Wanning lived, no matter how beautiful it was, would always be gross to him!

Just look at it, so arrogantly extravagant, a true waste of extravagance, in fact. The disciples’ dorms are all closely connected to each other and they don't take up much surface area. And then there's the mighty Elder Yuheng, who occupies a whole mountain by himself. He even dug three large ponds and filled them with lotus flowers. Although, these lotus flowers are special varieties and can be refined into immortal medicine, but—

This is getting off track, the place was not pleasing to the eye. He wished he could burn down Broken Leg Pavilion with his torch!

All he could ever do was silently criticize this place. Given that he was only sixteen* this year, he was no match for Chu Wanning. Mo Ran showed up outside Chu Wanning's residence regardless. He stood at the door, squinted his eyes, and put on a sickeningly sweet demure, pretending to be the ideal disciple.

*(T/N The original text flips between all these ages. Mo Ran is just guessing how old he is so that's why it keeps going to 14/15/16)

"Disciple Mo Ran here to greet his master."

"Yes, come in."

The room was chaotic and disorganized. The cold-blooded demon Chu Wanning was dressed in a white robe. The lapels were folded high and tightly, giving off an air of purity and abstinence. Today, he had his hair in a high ponytail, covered with a black metal hair ring. He sat on the ground fiddling with a bunch of mechanical parts, biting a pen he had in his mouth.

Casually glancing at Mo Ran, with the pen still in his mouth, he said vaguely: "Come here."

Mo Ran approached him.

It was no easy feat. Considering there were no benches or tables in this room, artwork and metal broken wood were scattered everywhere.

Mo Ran's brows twitched. He had never entered Chu Wanning's room in his previous life, and he had no idea that this well-dressed beautiful man lived in such a mess. . . He was at a loss for words.

"Master, what is this?"

"Night Wanderer."

"What?"

Chu Wanning was a little impatient, probably because it was inconvenient to speak with a pen in his mouth: "Night Wanderer."

Mo Ran silently glanced at the mess of parts on the ground.

His master was hailed as Shizun Chu, and it wasn't just out of vanity. Speaking honestly, Chu Wanning was a very powerful man. Whether it is his three god-grade weapons, his cultivation techniques, or his machine-building skills, he was clearly worthy of being defined by four words: "the peak of excellence". This was also the reason why he had such a bad temper and was so difficult to serve, but the major cultivation sects still tried to fight over him for those skill.

Regarding the "Night Wanderer", the reborn Mo Ran was well aware of it.

It was a kind of machine made by Chu Wanning, cheap to make but had strong combat power. It can guard the ordinary people in the lower cultivation world from ghosts and demons at night.

In his previous life, the well-made Night Wanderer had almost become a must-have machine for every household. The price of one was equivalent to a broom, and the effect was much easier to handle than the Grinning Door God.

After Chu Wanning died, those Night Wanderers still guarded the poor families who couldn't afford a high-level cultivator. This compassionate heart, coupled with Chu Wanning's affection for his disciples. . . hehe, it really makes Mo Ran despise him.

Mo Ran sat down and looked at the "Night Wanderer" which was just a bunch of parts at this time, and the past flashed through his mind. He couldn't help picking up one of the Night Wanderer's limbs and grasped it in his hand for a closer look.

Chu Wanning clipped a few components, finally freeing his hands. He took the pen out of his mouth and glared at Mo Ran: "That one was just finished with tung oil, don't touch it."

"Oh. . ." Mo Ran put down the machine. He put his fake smile back on still looking cute and completely harmless. He asked with a smile, "Shizun summoned me here, are you planning to let me help?"

Chu Wanning hummed: "Mm."

"What do you want me to do?"

"Clean up the house."

Mo Ran's smile froze. He looked around at the room that looked like it had been hit by an earthquake: ". . ."

Chu Wanning was a genius in immortal cultivation and an idiot in life.

After picking up the fifth broken teacup that had never been swept up, Mo Ran finally couldn't stand it: "Shizun, when was the last time you cleaned your house? My god, it's so messy!"

Chu Wanning was looking at his drawings, and didn't look up when Mo Ran spoke to him: "Almost a year."

Mo Ran: ". . ."

"Where do you usually sleep?"

"What?" There must be something wrong with the drawing. Chu Wanning was upset and looked even more impatient than usual. He rubbed his head and replied in a huff, "Of course it's the bed."

Mo Ran glanced at the bed. It was piled with all kinds of machines that had been mostly completed, as well as a bunch of tools such as saws, axes, files, and so on.

Seriously, how did this man sleep without cutting his own head off?

After working for most of the day, the sawdust on the floor had filled three dustpans, and the white towel that had wiped down the bookcase was ten times more black. By noon, he had only cleaned about half.

Fuck Chu Wanning, this person is really more poisonous than a leeching woman.

Cleaning a room didn't seem like much of a punishment, it didn't really seem like hard work, but who knew that it was such a ghastly place that hadn't been touched in a year? Not to mention that he was covered with wound. Even if he was healthy now, he could shorten his lifespan by half going through all of this!

"Shizun. . ."

"Hm?"

"Your pile of clothes. . ." They'd been stacked there for about three months.

Chu Wanning finally got one of Night Wanderer's arms attached. He rubbed his sore shoulder, looked up at the robes on the suitcase, and said coldly: "I wash them myself."

Mo Ran was relieved. Thank goodness. But he was still a little curious: "Really? Shizun can wash clothes?"

Chu Wanning glanced at him, and after a while, coldly said: "What's so hard about it? Throw them in water, soak them, take them out, and dry them."

". . ." After hearing this, he really didn't know any girl who would keep lusting after Chu Wanning. Mo Ran truly thought that it would break the hearts of dozen of women to find out how disgusting this man really was.

"It's getting late. You can accompany me to the dining hall and finish the rest when you get back."

There were people coming and going from Meng Po Hall, and the Life-Death Peak disciples were eating together. Chu Wanning grabbed a lacquered wooden tray, took a few dishes and sat in the corner silently.

From where he was, no one sat within twenty feet of him.

No one dared to sit too close to Elder Yuheng, for fear that he would get upset, and they would get a lashing from Tianwen. Chu Wanning himself actually knew about this, but he didn't mind. A cold beauty sat there, gently eating the food in the bowl.

But today wasn't like usual.

Mo Ran was brought by him, so naturally he had to follow him.

Others are afraid of him. So was Mo Ran, but he had already died once, so Chu Wanning was nothing in comparison.

Especially after the fear of first seeing him had subsided, the hatred of Chu Wanning from his previous life slowly emerged. So what if Chu Wanning was powerful? In his last life, he still died by his hands.

Mo Ran sat down in front of him, calmly chewing the sweet and sour pork ribs in the bowl. He crunched on the bones then spit them out into a pile.

Chu Wanning suddenly slammed down his chopsticks.

Mo Ran stopped for a moment.

". . . Can you stop eating with your mouth open?"

"I chew the bones, how am I supposed to do that with my mouth closed?"

"Then don't eat the bones."

"But I like to eat the bones."

"Eat around them."

The two quarreling voices grew louder and louder, and some disciples were already peeping at them.

Mo Ran fought the urge to throw the rice bowl over Chu Wanning's head. He pursed his lips, and after a while, he narrowed his eyes, and a sweet smile appeared at the corners of his mouth.

"Shizun, don't shout so loudly. Others might hear, won't they laugh at us?"

Chu Wanning has always been thin-skinned, and his voice really softened. He whispered: "Get out."

Mo Ran burst out laughing.

Chu Wanning: ". . ."

"Hey, Shizun, don't stare at me. Come on, let's eat. I'll try to be quiet."

Mo Ran had laughed enough and started playing nice again, the sound of his chewing much softer.

Chu Wanning gradually went back to gently eating. Seeing that Mo Ran was bring obedient, his face slightly relaxed, no longer looking so bitter and upset. He lowered his head, eating his green beans and tofu with grace.

After a long pause, Mo Ran started to do it again.

He didn't know what was wrong with him. In summary, seeing Chu Wanning in this life, he wanted to make a fool of himself and do whatever he could to make him angry.

So Chu Waning found that although Mo Ran did not chew loudly this time, he began to grab the ribs with his hands and eat them, sloppily eating with greasy hands and sauce-covered fingers.

Chu Wanning's blue forehead vein popped. Endure it.

He lowered his eyelashes. He didn't look at Mo Ran, and focused on his own meal.

Mo Ran didn't know if he had gotten too carefree or forgetful while eating, but he accidentally threw one of the gnawed bones into Chu Wanning's rice bowl.

Chu Wanning stared at the messy and hideous rib bone, and the surrounding air so condensed and frozen it was visible to the naked eye.

"Mo Ran. . . !!!"

"Shizun. . ." Mo Ran was quite frightened. He wasn't sure whether what he said sounded true or fake. "That. . . Uh, I didn't mean it."

Probably fake.

". . ."

"Don't be angry, I'll take it out for you."

He really stretched out his chopsticks, stuck them into Chu Wanning's bowl, and quickly picked out the bone.

Chu Wanning's face was pale, like he was about to vomit.

Mo Ran batted his eyelashes, and there was a pitiful grievance on his delicate face: "Shizun, do you dislike me?"

". . ."

"Shizun, I'm sorry."

It was just that.

Chu Wanning thought to himself: Why do you need to be restrained with the junior disciples?

He gave up the urge to summon Tianwen to hit Mo Ran. His appetite was gone, and he got up and said: "I'm full."

"What? Is that all you're going to eat? Shizun, you've barely touched your food."

Chu Wanning brushed him off: "I'm not hungry."

Mo Ran's heart felt like it was as joyful as a flower, and he still sweetly said: "Then I won't eat it anymore. We can go back to Red Lotus Hell - ehem, go back to Red Lotus Pavilion."

Chu Wanning narrowed his eyes: "We?" There was a mockery in his eyes, and then said, "Who is the other person you're talking about? Disciples and their Shizun have respectable relationships and you will address me in the proper manner."

Mo Ran carefully kept his expression, his eyes curled up with a smile, well-behaved, sensible and cute.

However, in his heart he was thinking: Respectful relationship? Proper manner?

Hehe, if Chu Wanning could know what happened in his previous life, he would know - in the end, Mo Weiyu was the only one deserving of respect in the world.

No matter how noble and arrogant Chu Waning was, he was still a piece of mud under his boot. Didn't he depend on Mo Ran's good will to survive?

Stepping quickly to keep up with his shizun's pace, Mo Ran still had a bright smile on his face.

If Shi Mei was the white moonlight in his heart, Chu Wanning was the broken fishbone stuck in his throat. He needed crush this thorn or swallow it, and it will corrode away in his stomach.

In short, during this new life, he could spare whoever he wanted.

But he would never spare Chu Wanning.

However, Chu Wanning didn't seem to want to spare him so easily.

Mo Ran stood in front of the library in Red Lotus Hell, looking at fifty rows of ten-story bookshelves, thinking that he must have heard wrong.

"Shizun, what did you say. . .?"

Chu Wanning replied lightly: "Dust all the books in here."

". . ."

"After dusting, catalogue them."

"..."

"I will check back tomorrow morning."

"!!!"

What!!! Was he supposed to stay overnight in Red Lotus Hell??

But he had planned to meet with Shi Mei, and even asked Shimei to change his medicine at night!!!

He opened his mouth to plead his case, but Chu Wanning didn't bother paying attention to him. With a wave of his wide sleeves, and turned to exit the library, and, incidentally, closed the door of the library in a haughty manner.

Mo Ran, who's date had been ruined, sat in his boiling hatred of Chu Wanning - he wanted to burn all Chu Wanning's books!!

No!

After thinking it over, he thought of something even worse. . .

Previous Chapter Next Chapter

[idlebirdsparagon]

Look, this whole nonsense from the Variety interview with Anthony Mackie didn't have to be a thing. Here's why:

Adam B. Vary, the interviewer, primed that "Sambucky Question" (in quotes because he doesn't specify that to be what he's asking about) by asking Anthony Mackie if he keeps up with fandom/fan opinion, specifically about Sam's friendship with Bucky, to which Mackie said no. Drop it there. Mackie gave a legitimate reason as to why he does not participate in fandom discussion/observation. Adam should have moved on. Adam asks:

Adam: "Did you pay much attention to how fans reacted to Sam and Bucky's sort of evolving friendship?"

Anthony: "I didn't. I try to stay away from fan stuff. Uhm, you know, the fandom is a very dangerous place, so I just, I let it be what it is and move on."

Diplomatic, succinct, and arguably justified, given how reactionary certain parts of the fan base can be.

Adam then proceeds to not actually ask for Anthony's opinion on a romantic interpretation of Sam and Bucky's relationship. He pulls the Male Friendship card after bringing up fandom desire to see Bucky as part of the LGBTQIA+ Community (in a less than nuanced observation) and fandom desire to see Sam and Bucky be romantically involved.

Adam: "...I was asking because my job is to pay attention to fandoms so I notice that, you know -- and this is a thing that's been happening with Bucky just in general as a character -- there are fans who are just, sort of outright wanting Sam and Bucky to become a couple. That they just, they love them together.

"I guess I'm interested in the-- it's so rare to see male friendship and male, sort of, platonic love in a superhero context. And Bucky's now had it twice. He had it with Steve and now he's getting it with Sam."

And then Adam asks about the platonic relationship and what that's like for Mackie to play into as an actor.

Adam: "For you as an actor, like being able to explore that element of a relationship with another male character, I'm just curious how that evolves for you and what that's like for you to play."

It's a non sequitur.

Adam didn't need to touch on fandom and shipping to ask for Mackie's personal insight on portraying platonic male relationships. If he was truly curious about that aspect, he should have made that the focus of the question, not an afterthought tacked onto pitting the ideas of male-centric romantic and platonic love against each other (which is an inherently inflammatory way to go about having that discussion).

Not to mention, in the written article, he pins that shoddy question delivery on Mackie with:

'But he resists an interpretation that Sam and Bucky are sexually or romantically attracted to each other.'

Does he now? Because I would argue, he doesn't resist so much as he clarifies how he sees the interaction between Sam and Bucky, how he played it, what it was like for him. Something he was well within his rights to do based on the question Adam posed. Extra-textual analysis and interpretation was not his focus, nor did it have to be given the actual topic of Adam's question, that being Mackie's involvement in conveying a platonic male relationship. The context for Mackie's statement is poorly represented by Adam within the article. It's a clunky answer brought about by a clunky question.

Whether Mackie would have answered the same way had Adam not introduced the romance angle, I don't know, I can't say. In listening to the podcast and reading the article, I'd rather focus on Adam perpetuating a narrative that isn't there. Therefore, I can say: that was a leading question from Adam. He put the topic of fans wanting a romance out there when it wasn't necessary background for the question he ultimately asked.

Is it rare to see male platonic relationships? Specific to a superhero context, one could say that. I'd go with uncommon over rare, but I'll concede the point on the basis of syntax and my tendency to be pedantic. There does tend to be a lot of posturing and machismo as a staple of the genre. But as Adam points out, platonic love has happened with Bucky, twice (at least canonically within the MCU and not taking into account fan interpretation). So clearly, this is something Marvel is already taking steps to represent.

Then what was the point of that exchange?

I should be able to say it was to get Mackie's take on delving into platonic love and intimacy between men, which is a conversation that is worth having, and one that he attempts to have. But Adam frames it as Mackie pushing back against shipping and seeing Sam and Bucky's relationship as sexual, which is not what that was. So it's a wash, and it's poorly executed interviewing/journalism.

Tl;dr: Adam B. Vary asked a poorly constructed question that left Anthony Mackie in the lurch for answering it.

Sidenote: I didn't get into dissecting what Mackie said beyond the surface level and its relation to Adam's question because that discussion --how fans interpret and/or read into relationships-- is something that deserves more than a few sentences of explanation and speculation; I also have inherent biases as a black lesbian who participates in and is simultaneously frustrated by shipping culture. Some of Mackie's word choice is baffling to me like "exploitation" by who specifically and to what degree? I feel like that might be the biggest point that begs clarification. But that's about all I'll say on the matter since that's not the point of this post.

Also: Anthony Mackie is not homophobic and there's no need to harass anyone over this. At all.

[the-insomniac-emporium]

i stumbled upon ur writing looking for lady d x non-binary reader fics and ur work has just been a godsend i’m obsessed. it’s inspired me to start writing my own even though i’ve never written for fandoms before. i’ve never written for other actual characters before either so i was wondering if u could spare any tips for writing for lady d and her daughters? 🙏🏻

:D

I can certainly try! I'll divide the tips into lil sections for each characters. Might be less tips, more character observations that help me figure out how to write them? Putting under read-more for length. Also! If you ever want someone to look over what you write before you post it, I offer my services! I can't guarantee how fast I can respond, but I've been editing/proof-reading/giving general feedback for my friends for years, with everything from fanfiction to college level essays.

Alcina:

Large and in charge, literally. Regardless of the situation, Lady D wants to stay in control, or at least look like she's in control. Okay, minor exception being anything involving Mother Miranda, since she's the one person Lady D has any real respect for. Otherwise, Alcina maintains a good grasp on any situation, looking for ways to put herself in control.

For example, she often uses her height as a means to establish dominance, even within RE8 canon. If you watch a video of the Four Lords meeting, Alcina stands up once she starts arguing with Heisenberg, towering over him in an attempt to intimidate. We also see the aforementioned exception in this scene, as Lady D sort of "shrinks" a little when Miranda responds.

As much as Lady D wants to be in control, she's not always actually capable of it. In the game, we see her struggle to contain her emotions, and often releases them in outbursts. Such as the infamous vanity throwing scene (god I love that so much). It can provide some nice contrast in scenes, having Lady D be so in control one moment, then as soon as she's behind closed doors she's letting it all out.

Uses the most old-fashioned language out of her whole family. It's kind of hard to describe how one goes about writing this way, but I recommend trying to find some journals that were written in the early 1900's and reading them. Or just some classic novels (not Moby Dick, tho, that one's a bit much, in my opinion). One thing I can say is occasionally swap contractions (can't, don't, I've, etc) for the full version of the word (cannot, do not, I have, etc). Something about that always makes dialogue feel older, though I can't really explain why. Whatever you do, just don't rely too much on using synonyms. Replacing common words with their cousins can make dialogue feel "fancier", but you often run the risk of unintended connotations (feelings, positive or negative, associated with a word) messing with how a text is interpreted.

Puts up a front/facade around most people, as part of her noble background and need for control, with words like "stoic" and "composed" coming to mind. Very rough with troublemakers, no mercy. But!!! So very incredibly soft with her family/loved ones. I've seen some people accuse her of "faking" her love for her daughters, but these people either played a different game than I did, or they can't read emotions as well as I can. Gentle touches when she's checking if her kids are okay, little glances and gentle nods for reassurance, pausing a chase just to help her daughters, etc.

Bela:

Wants to make her mother proud. Legally obligated to make her mother proud, because she's the eldest daughter. Not that I know how that feels, being the younger of two children. Regardless, Bela is the most well behaved of the daughters, even when her mother isn't around. However, she does resent this position to some degree, based on in game dialogue/dialogue files that are in the game but aren't used. Personally, I see her as someone who's willing to let certain things go in exchange for favors/blackmail ammo.

Cleans up after her sisters a fair bit, sometimes literally. Feels responsible for them, to the point where their mistakes are her mistakes, and she's forced to compensate on their behalf. Because of this she ends up complaining a lot, though almost only when her family isn't around.

Still very protective of her family, she simply does most of her protecting behind the scenes. Knows how to manipulate a situation, which she probably learned from her mother, and can be quite convincing when she wants to be. Less likely to use violence to solve a problem than anyone else in the family. Will she use violence if need be, or if someone fucks up enough? Yes, absolutely, but she'll focus more on efficiency than misery (unless someone really fucks up).

Generally speaking she's more eloquent than either of her sisters, though not by much unless she's trying to impress someone (usually her mother).

Cassandra:

Two words: Angry. Horny. To her, they might as well be one word. Horngry. Cassandra struggles with her emotions more than either of her sisters, being a pressure cooker ready to pop basically all the time. It's not hard to set her off, but it can take ages for her to cool back down. Let's her frustration (of any variety) build up until she can bludgeon someone to death with it. Harshest on the servants, and spends the most time toying with others in the dungeon.

Like Bela, Cassandra wants to make her mother proud, but it's less of an obligation and more of a "I'm the middle child and feel like I don't get enough attention" type deal. Is more than willing to stoop to "tattle telling" activities in order to get the attention she craves. Usually sticks to obediently following her mother's orders or hunting down enemies, though.

Bit of an artsy type, and the most likely to take trophies from her victims. Gross ones, usually. Okay, well, that's debatable, but I'm talking about general consensus rather than my specific tastes. Personally, I don't care if she's got some weird blood paintings. Hell, I've got extra blood, and also am clumsy and bleed a lot anyway, she can have mine!

Hides her non-anger emotions as best as she can. Hates talking about her feelings (even if it helps), to the point where it's usually impossible to tell how she's feeling deep down. Remember, anger is a secondary emotion! No one is ever just angry, there's always something else hiding underneath, such as: Sadness, disappointment, loneliness, jealousy, etc. Keep this in mind when you're writing her. Make sure you pinpoint the center of her anger, and hint at it, letting her actions show her true goal.

Swears the most, easily. Tends to speak in shorter sentences than her sisters, and prefers being blunt to being eloquent/flowery.

Daniela:

Love, love, love, love, love, ahhhh deep breath... love. Loves love, or at least what she processes as love. Would do anything for romance. Except she also craves "natural" romance, creating a sort of paradox that adds to her delusions, as she engages in the pursuit of unintentional romance (not to be confused with "The Pursuit of Unintentional Humor", a song that I very, very much enjoy). Wants to be loved for who she is at the same time that she attempts to mold herself into a more lovable shape. Struggles with intimacy, wanting to feel vulnerable without actually being so.

On some level she understands that draining people of their blood, and then drinking said blood, is not equatable to a healthy relationship. But seeing as this is the most common form of supposed "intimacy" that she experiences, she refuses to acknowledge the true nature of what she does. Instead she clings to the idea of "forever bonding" with her partners, pretending that each one is still with her, even when she no longer remembers their names.

Hates being rejected, no matter how gently. "Ugly" cries, but only if she's alone, often turning her pain into anger, just like Cassandra. However, her outbursts don't seem to last as long. In reality, her breakdowns simply occupy the inside of her existence, rather than the outside. Sure, she's giggling and causing chaos, like usual, but on the inside she's breaking a record for most depressing internal monologue.

Reads a ton, but not always "quality" books. Goes through a dozen books or more a week, often rereading her favorites several times, mainly within the romance genre (obvs). This affects her speech a fair amount, making her both cheesy and occasionally smooth as hell.

[kyuuppi]

Bad Day

Pairing: Orihara Izaya x Reader

Genre: hurt/comfort, mild fluff

Word Count: 2.3k

Everyone has a bad day eventually. 

In the fast-paced style of Ikebukuro, a city known for its stretches of high rise office buildings where corrupt politicians and businessmen appear to rule by day but a variety of notorious street gangs reign by nightfall, turbulence is almost expected. Whether it be a rainy day without an umbrella or a run in with an angry blond bartender with superhuman strength, there are a multitude of unfortunate events that could occur in Ikebukuro to minorly inconvenience and sour your day.

The problem is when they all happen at once.

What has become possibly the worst day of your life began the night before. The apartment above yours happens to house a group of rowdy college boys who deemed Wednesday night an appropriate time for a party. The constant booms of a heavy bass speaker accented with the occasional slurred yelling ensured a night of restlessness for you and it was not until well after 3am that you finally fell asleep—which incidentally led to you sleeping through your 7am alarm for work. Despite arriving less than ten minutes late—your first time arriving late for work ever—your team manager gave you an earful about the importance of maintaining “a good work ethic” in front of half of your coworkers. Naturally, you were irritated. However, as a generally cheerful and optimistic person, you figured the worst was over and promised to treat yourself to a nice lunch to make up for it...

...until your designated lunchtime rolled around and you found yourself standing in the lobby staring out at the torrents of rain crashing down from the sky.

You didn’t have an umbrella. 

After choosing between ending up soaked or starving for the next five hours of work, you stood at the cash register of the nearest convenience store, drenched head to toe with a sandwich and bottled water in hand. 

That was when you realized you’d forgotten your wallet in the office. 

By the end of the day you were left exhausted, hungry, and with a throbbing headache that left your eyes stinging with suppressed tears as your trudged home, shuffling around leftover rain puddles. 

At a crosswalk you were forced to pause as the pedestrian light turned red to let cars pass. Despite being in the middle of the business district on a Thursday evening there were not many other people around. You suspected it had to do with the rain earlier. 

To pass time you pulled your cell phone out of your purse and proceeded to check your notifications. There were a few standard messages—one new follower on Instagram, a reblog of one of your posts on Tumblr, your family asking if you’d be coming home for Christmas this year—but there was also a text message sent from a person that had your heart shamelessly skipping a beat. 

New Message From: Orihara Izaya

The name alone affects you to an unhealthy degree but, honestly, you’re far from the only one. Izaya is the most dangerous man in Ikebukuro, as an information broker there is not a thing about the city he does not know. Every person, every interaction, every dirty deed—he knows it all. If you didn’t know any better you’d suspect he could quite literally read minds.

Your suspicion was for good reason—when you first moved to Ikebukuro from your small town six months ago you had immediately become a subject of Izaya’s tormenting. From day one he had hired people to follow you, watching your every move without your knowledge and throwing you into mildly traumatizing situations until you felt you were at your breaking point...except you never broke. No matter how many horrible things happened to you, no matter how many nights you spent crying yourself to sleep, you always greeted the next day with a smile. Eventually, realizing you would not be as easy to manipulate as many of his other “precious humans,” he decided to meet with you personally and from there your relationship with each other shifted from bully and victim into...something else. 

You were startled out of your thoughts by the melodic beeping of the pedestrian light, signaling it was safe to cross the street now. Stepping off the sidewalk and into the road you look back down at your phone, just about to unlock the screen when you hear the loud screeching of rubber followed by a horrified shout of “WATCH OUT!” You looked up just in time to see a black car skidding full speed right towards you.

You froze, like a deer caught in headlights, as the car got closer and closer until you could make out the terrified features of the driver, equally as helpless to stop the vehicle as you were. You hadn’t even been able to process the thought that you might die yet when a strong pair of arms wrapped around your waist and hauled you just a few paces to the left and out of harm's way as the car swerved to the right and crashed into a light pole.

Your gaze snapped away from the car to the body behind you and found Heiwajima Shizuo, decked out in his usual dark shades and bartending uniform, his arms still wrapped protectively around your waist. He was panting, having obviously run over to save you as you had not seen him anywhere nearby before.

“You okay?” he asked as he let you go, eyes never once leaving the now smoking car a few feet away from you two. Despite your relationship with his least favorite person in the universe, the two of you got along well enough and he seemed to respect you as an unexpectedly kind person among a city of darkness and sin.

You barely managed to stutter out an affirmative before he left your side in favor of approaching the driver—who miraculously seemed to still be alive albeit panicked at an obviously seething Shizuo’s appearance, leaving you to wonder if the driver had been trying to escape the hot-headed blond when he ran the red light. The stacks of money you think you can see in the backseat along with the distant sound of approaching police sirens only further validate your assumptions and you quickly pick up your fallen purse to make a break for it before you get caught up in another dangerous situation. 

As you crouch down for the black leather strap of your purse you find your expensive new cell phone right beside it, broken into a million pieces of glass and metal. 

…

By the time you reach the door of your apartment there are hot tears rolling down your cheeks and it takes all of your remaining energy to unlock the door through blurred vision. As you stumble through the threshold, weakly pushing the door behind yourself and dropping your purse, the idea of collapsing onto your bed and completely disappearing from the world for the rest of the night is the only thing keeping you sane. 

But of course, you’re not afforded even that simple luxury as, before you can make it to the bed situated in the corner of your cramped studio, a shadowy figure exits the kitchen and makes himself known. 

“My, my,” he lilts, “someone doesn’t look too happy.” 

You hate that regardless of how exhausted you are, the familiar voice sends shivers down your spine and seems to awaken something deep within your gut that resembles the butterflies you heard about in all those Disney romance movies.

Except Izaya was more the sadistic evil villain than the dashing prince charming.

You swiftly rub at your face, as if it wasn’t already blaringly obvious that you had been crying. Sniffling, you force your lips into the weakest smile in history as you face the smug man casually leaning against the counter. 

“H-hey, Izaya,” you murmur.

He gazes at you for a few moments, expression unreadable as his eyes dance around your nervous form. You feel awkward and bare, as if he was able to see things about you that even you yourself couldn’t see. You’re just about to speak again, likely a string of nonsensical small talk just for the sake of breaking the tension, when Izaya beats you to it. He uses one foot to push himself off of the counter and take the four steps required to stand right in front of you, his brownish-red eyes glinting almost mysteriously in the street lights outside of the window. 

For a moment you feel as if you are under a spell, held captive under the unwavering stare of a man who, despite physically being less than an arm’s length away, seems to be far beyond the reach of any human being, let alone a simple girl like yourself. 

He smirks and it sends your heart racing.

“Your mascara is running.”

An embarrassingly loud sob escapes your lips before you’re diving head-first into his chest, wrapping your arms around his slim waist as cries wrack your frame. His words were far from sweet or comforting, and certainly not an invitation for a hug, but you couldn’t find it in yourself to care. He is dangerous, you think. No matter what he said or did to you, you have a feeling you would always come running back into his arms. The man who hurt you the most in the beginning was now the person who made you feel the most secure. 

Izaya chuckles before one hand comes up to smooth your undoubtedly ruffled, damp hair while the other remains deep in the pocket of his fur-trimmed parka. It was always like this. In the six months you’ve known him, the last three of which you could maybe consider you two “dating” (or as close to dating as Izaya would ever get), he never initiated any physical contact. If you wanted physical affection you had to muster up the courage to act on it yourself, whether it be hugging, kissing, or even holding hands. He never initiated but he also never rejected your advances. He would return your actions, oftentimes with a teasing remark about how desperate you must be or how irresistible you must find him. He was always right. 

You find peace in the steady thumps of his heartbeat and the gentle fingers carding through your hair until your sobs have finally calmed down into shallow breathing and your headache no longer feels like jackhammer in your brain. Your eyes are just beginning to droop when he pulls back, making you whine pathetically in protest. 

“Oh dear, you’re being awfully needy today,” he taunts as he steps back. 

However, instead of leaving like you expect, he grabs your forearms in each hand, walking you forwards until the two of you reach your bed. He lets go of you to push the small mountain of rumpled blankets to the side (you had left your bed unmade this morning when you were running late for work) before gently but firmly forcing you to sit on the mattress. 

“I believe it’s way past someone’s bedtime. Wouldn’t want to be late for work again tomorrow, hm~?” 

You glance at the alarm clock on your bedside. It is nearly two hours before the time you usually go to bed, and you know Izaya is aware of that as well, but you don’t question it. Instead you savor the rare care Izaya seems to be showing you tonight and lie down properly, trying to hold back a giddy grin when he covers you in the blankets like a child. 

He straightens up once you’re properly tucked in and moves to step away again but your hands shoot out to grab the hem of his jacket without thinking. He raises a brow in silent question, his unnerving smirk still in place. Your cheeks immediately heat up, silently cursing yourself at your impulsiveness. No going back now. 

“Um...can you, uh...stay with me tonight?” you ask weakly, unable to maintain eye contact. 

He merely chuckles, easily escaping your weak grasp. 

“As much as I would love to keep my little human company tonight, I have some work to do.”

You don’t bother asking what he means by “work’; you already know. At a time like this it almost certainly has something to do with one of the many illegal gangs and drug cartels that run the streets of Ikebukuro during nighttime. You vaguely remember hearing reports on the news recently of a well-known CEO under investigation for money laundering and his connections with a major gang. If the public was just now finding out you know Izaya has known the intricate details for months or is possibly even directly involved in the operation as a catalyst. It was not uncommon for Izaya to stir up trouble among high-profile politicians and businessmen for fun.

You can only wordlessly pout as you watch him slip away and out of your apartment just as suddenly as he had appeared. You succumb to sleep before the door even shuts.

…

The next morning you awaken before your alarm, feeling much more refreshed and alive than you’d felt in a long time. You go about your morning routine as usual but with a visible pep to your step. As you get dressed you contemplate visiting a cafe for breakfast before work with your extra time. Maybe you’ll order the strawberry pancakes, or the blueberry scones...perhaps even both. 

It isn’t until you walk into the sitting area to retrieve the purse you had left on the floor last night that you see the object sitting on your coffee table. As you approach you gasp at the realization of what it is: a brand new cellphone—the same model as the one that had been destroyed last night. When hesitant hands you pick it up and watch as the screen comes to life, displaying a single text message that brings a bright smile to your face.

New Message From: Orihara Izaya

>You really need to be more careful next time, y/n-chan~

[digitalsatyr23]

Writing Commissions

Status: Open! (Slots 1/4)

Hi! My name’s digitalSatyr23 (or Sachii as my friends call me). I’m a writer that dabbles in a variety of genres, but I spend a lot of time writing dark fantasy and horror. I’m currently available for writing commissions (primarily short stories and novelettes). Do you have a story idea you’d like to see fleshed out? Do you want to put your characters or OCs in a… Situation? Then perhaps I can be of help!

Genres I can write:

Fantasy

Horror

Mystery

Science Fiction

Slice of Life

Romance

Things I can’t/won’t write:

Detailed historical fiction (I’d be out of my depth, sorry)

Political thrillers (Again, just not suited to this kind of story)

Graphic depictions of abuse of any kind (though regular violence/death is fine, I just don’t want to write about all the minute ways a character is suffering because that just feels weird to me)

Fan Fiction (I would much prefer writing original content)

Extreme NSFW (there are too many things to list but assume that if the main point of the story is fetish fuel content then that’s a no from me, though light NSFW is a maybe, but again, there should be more going on in the story idea besides the NSFW content)

Nonfiction (I’m a fiction author after all)

My Rates: $10 per 1000 words (minimum $10 if below 1000 words). It can be difficult to know exactly how long a piece can be, but I encourage setting word count limits so I know what parameters to work within. If you’re unsure, we can discuss how big or small the story might be based on your idea. Either way, I ask for the full calculated price of the commission upfront. I offer free edits (and usually do a once-over to take care of any spelling or grammatical errors I might have missed), and both feedback and critique to get the commission closer to your vision is highly encouraged. My goal is to make sure your story is in its best possible form, so I’ll work with you if any changes are required (within reason). Also, if you’ve set a word count limit and I accidentally go over that amount then the excess is free (I’m usually pretty good about this but sometimes I can go over a tad to avoid something feeling rushed).

My Limits: I generally want to stick to short stories and novelettes, so my hard cap on how long a story can be is about 20,000 words. For reference, if the final product was 12pt font in Times New Roman with 1.5 line spacing, that would be roughly 63 pages of text. If you’re unfamiliar with how word count can translate to page count, this site can be pretty handy for calculating things.

What I need from you: We can discuss the finer details of your commission via tumblr’s messenger, but generally what I’m looking for is a rough synopsis of what the story is supposed to be about, as well as information on important characters. Information can include (but is not limited to): their name, their age, a basic description, their role/profession, what they’re good at, some things they like and dislike, a strong want/desire, a notable character flaw, and what their goal in the story is. Any other relevant information should be included as well, like important parts of their history.

In addition, if there are any specific things you’d like included in the story, let me know. For example, maybe you want a fight scene in the middle of a snow storm, or maybe two characters having a date in a specific kind of restaurant. Give me as much detail about what you’d like to see in your story because otherwise I’ll fill in the blanks with what makes the most sense (consulting with you, of course).

Payment: I generally use paypal, so once we work out the commission details, I’ll need an e-mail address associated with your account so I can send you an invoice.

Examples: For a comprehensive list of what my writing is like, you can visit my writing master list here.

If you have any questions or are unsure if your writing comm idea is something I can tackle, feel free to shoot me a message!

[entamewitchlulu]

i have like a handful of thoughts about comments and reviews because of some stuff i've seen on twitter semi recently. In specific, I’ve seen some people talking about reviews, and about not leaving negative ones on published books (and one extremely Weird take about sending your negative response directly to the author instead??) but it reminded me a bit of discussions about concrit and reviews and comments on fanfiction so i wanna spell out my thoughts here

anyway the thesis about it is like...there's a major difference between "concrit", "reviews", and "comments”?

Concrit

"Concrit" is only applicable in specific situations in which you are ASKING for it. Concrit has to come from people who know what they're doing re: the medium and genre you're using AND your own personal goals for the piece, tends to be in the context of a writing workshop or something of the like, is actively sought out BEFORE completion of the product, and is used to better something that isn't finished yet.

Some people ask for concrit on the fanfiction or fanwork they put out. Most, however, do not.

Because once the piece is published, it's done. they're not going back to fix it. Concrit is no longer relevant or useful, and coming from strangers who don't know your style or desires for the piece, it's LESS than useful, because generally, they're just projecting what THEY want onto your piece and not considering your intent. 

Also, most fanwork creators? Aren’t professionals, and they aren’t trying to be. They’re having fun. You wouldn’t run up to some kids playing basketball in the park and tell them how they’re dribbling incorrectly, would you? No, because you’re not their coach, and they’re just playing around and enjoying themselves, not looking to be the next Michael Jordan. So “concrit” isn’t particularly helpful or useful to published fanworks.

Concrit is ABSOLUTELY NOT HELPFUL when applied to published books. Those authors have editors. They have agents. They have beta readers. They do not need the opinion of a random stranger on the internet who may or may not have published a book to tell them how they should have written the book that is already published and beyond the editing stage.

And for the love of ALL that is holy, don’t email the author your negative thoughts and supposed concrit??? What??? They don’t want to hear it, they didn’t ask for it, you probably aren’t qualified to give it. It isn’t helpful or useful to anyone.

Reviews

We tend to think of reviews as what we leave on fanfiction. But that’s not really true.

See, reviews serve a specific purpose. That purpose is to let people know whether or not they want to spend money on a specific product.

A movie review lets you know if that trailer you saw really is your speed and is worth buying a movie ticket. A book review tells you that that one YA novel you were super hyped for actually turned out to be really transphobic and also had clunky dialogue.

This is why I SORT of don’t agree with the idea that you should never post negative reviews. If the product is finished, published, and put out into the world, and more importantly, if it is asking for your money in order to consume it, you need a variety of reviews available to determine if you want to devote any part of your available funds to it instead of something else.

Reviews should be respectful, of course, but that doesn’t mean you can’t talk about the details that you think were executed poorly or the tropes that you personally don’t like that maybe a concerned potential reader also doesn’t like and is now grateful that they didn’t spend money buying that new fantasy novel that turned out to have bad love interest.

Also, reviews, are by nature, public. They are posted in public forums specifically for people to seek out and read, in places that are easy to find when you search for the item you want reviews for. For example, in the review sections of Goodreads to decide if you really want to buy that new regency romance, or the devoted sections of MyAnimeList to figure out if you want to devote 600 episodes worth of time to a new shonen.

If you’re writing up something about a book you just read or a movie you just saw, you aren’t making concrit: you’re writing a review.

“Reviews” then, don’t really apply to fanfiction. For one thing, you aren’t paying for a product for fanworks. The most you’re losing is your time, and honestly, you can generally tell within one paragraph of a fic if you’re going to like it or not, so you really haven’t lost much.

There are no review sites or forums for fanfiction, at least, no professional ones. Reviews on Ao3 aren’t there for the benefit of determining whether you want to read it or not. They’re not placed in a specific review forum, they’re tucked into comment threads within each specific story.

Comments

This is what actually refers to fanworks. You aren’t writing notes on how to strengthen character writing with a concrit workshop. You aren’t crafting a snappy article to describe to a potential buyer why they should or should not consume this artistic product.

Comments are solely for the benefit of the fan creator. They are threaded onto each fic, and generally aren’t expected to be read by anyone other than the creator. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of anyone going into the comments before they read the fic to see if they should read it (though I could be wrong, of course).

Comments aren’t professional endeavors, like concrit and reviews generally are. They’re for ordinary people who want to share their thoughts on a given creation, and in the case of fanwork, a given creation that is provided to them for absolutely free, by a nonprofessional creator who is just having fun.

This is generally why people say don’t leave negative comments on fanwork. As I’ve outlined above, there are a lot of reasons why fanwork is distinct from professional work, why professional work is more beholden to commentary, and why fanwork isn’t really the place to flex your review or concrit muscles.

Comments are really, genuinely, just to tell a creator thank you for making something you enjoyed.  They don’t have to professional, they don’t require any practiced skillset, they can be left by anyone who knows how to use a keyboard. They’re for brightening the days of people who brightened yours.

The TL;DR:

Concrit is for works in process that can actively benefit from advice on how to strengthen them, offered by a qualified individual who understands what the creator needs help with the most.

Reviews are for consumers to determine what professionally produced products they want to spend their money on. Reviews can be negative, there’s nothing wrong with that, because that helps a potential reader decide what to spend their limited funds on.

Comments are for fanwork. They aren’t concrit because the fanwork is already posted and likely won’t be edited, and the creator nor the commentor likely isn’t a professional that warrants that kind of interaction. They aren’t reviews because they aren’t meant to be a means for readers to decide what to read. They’re just for saying thanks and saying what you liked.

And if you don’t like a fic? The back button is right there.

Thank you for reading this long and winding post i genuinely don’t know exactly where i meant to go with this so i feel like i’ve left something hanging, but let me know if i made any sense lol

[hoe-doroki]

leo for the ask game bc I am one so by nature I have to ask for it 🤍

Tehe, I just sent you an ask too, June! Great minds <3

leo: what things will show up in every book you write? do you ever feel like a one-trick pony?

I don’t feel like a one trick pony with fanfic just because I do write different genres. I write hurt/comfort, pwp, slowburn, and a variety of characters. But within a genre...All my pwp is soft, all my hurt/comfort is depression, all my slowburn...follows a formula.

You’ll see this in Siberia, When the Smoke Clears, kind of The Rest with No Sound, and my whole A Spare Heart series (rip, I’m never gonna finish you, my sweet) as well as a couple good ideas that I haven’t taken the time to finish yet. The idea essentially hinges on coming up with a quirk that would be interesting when paired with the character I have in mind. Then everything builds off that.

With Siberia, it was someone who could manipulate Shouto’s ice and therefore be a good partner, creating closeness. With When the Smoke Clears, it was someone who could heal Endeavor after his Nomu battle, therefore introducing them and creating closeness. With The Rest with No Sound, it was a hearing quirk so that she would be useful enough that Bakugou wouldn’t send her away, thus creating closeness. A Spare Heart...was more complicated, haha. I have a wip with a reader who can manipulate people’s sub/unconscious and help them sleep, which would pair her well with our insomniac boy, Shinsou. Etc. All of my longfic ideas hinge on a quirk in order to create plot, foster closeness, and often introduce them.

But if there’s one thing that happens in every fic that I write that’s, like, longer than 5k across fandoms, it’s just that it takes quite a while for me to get the couple together. I friendzone my own characters all the time, just because romantic attraction isn’t something I feel often myself so I’m like, ehhhh, I don’t think they’re there yet. Or that there’s generally not as much romance as people might expect/desire. Whoops

ask me zodiac writing questions!

[guileheroine]

atla rewatch thoughts

because i’d regret it if i didn’t write it down, here’s my thoughts upon rewatch off the top of my head! 

always interesting to see what new things come to the fore when revisiting something as an adult, especially when Something is excellent

this is my #1 fav show c: 

this show is so good! 

it’s not just character-oriented, which is the single most important factor in me giving a shit, but it has 2 things i think i value the most in a plot, overarching cohesion/consistency, and breathing room

book 2 was always my fave, but i have a newer appreciation for book 3 and i’d put them equal now (as i think most people do?)

AANG! i love him. he is so special. he is an absolute joy to watch, a character that just glimmers with understated complexity, humour, heart, cleverness, strength, tragedy, integrity. an icoooon. and just unique from a meta perspective- had a great discussion about how there are truly no protagonists in popular western media like him - there’s things about his characterisation, his arc that i’ve always appreciated deeply that i didn’t rly have the tools to articulate until this time around 

by the same token, i can better pinpoint my issues with a lot of fandom reception of him (in particular, though this applies to all the characters) (touched on one aspect here)

i love the entire gaang but my unpopular onion is that ehhh... suki isn’t really part of the gaang? i mean she literally has her own gang give them some credit (real talk this is because she’s a static character compared to them whose inner life we aren’t privy to, though there’s nothing wrong with that)

atla gives effortless dimension to its secondary characters, and this applies to azula but not i think to the degree it should given her narrative agency, role as zuko’s foil, and the complexity of her whole... complex. she’s the one character that is slightly close to being a caricature imo, and we don’t see Into her early as we should because it’s cooler when she’s #slick. i’d love to have had a bit more of her. 

if i could change anything else about the ending, i’d give zuko prince wu’s abdication ending from lok

aside from that, the show has such a deft, sustained, multidimensional treatment of imperialism and colonialism that truly sets it apart within the genre and beyond 

also the first thing that ever caught my attention about atla is how asian the aesthetics are and i will always love that! i don’t know how americans ever executed this galaxy brained concept but i’m so glad a massively popular anglophone cultural product that speaks directly to us, can belong to us, before white people exists (#representationmatters and all that, but it’s altogether more liberating if your entire fantasy world is noneuro and no one even has to exist in relation to hegemonic whiteness. utopic!)

i happily drink that delicious pan-asian soup, but if you asked, i’d say i wish we saw more explicitly south asian characters given how much the show borrows from indosphere culture/religion (including but not limited to the titular concept)

could take it or leave it when i first watched it, but as an adult who knows they can just not like stuff, and whose tolerance for perfunctory het is at an all time low: i don’t like maiko. like all atla ships, there’s potential, but my instinctual read as i watch is that as they are, they’re bringing out the worse aspects of each other (in zuko’s case, the malaise that characterises his whole personal/moral quandary after returning home is usually on display in scenes with mai, whether that just makes maiko a victim or circumstance or not)

the show is def a product of its time wrt heteronormativity, regardless of how queerable it is to those interested. this is something i’m interested to see change in the live action, because i think it will have to change! 

i still think it would be equally poignant and tighter without most of the overt romance, and i continue to not be hot on the ending scene

kataang shines bright regardless. no amount of clumsiness on that front can elide how pivotal, touching, and enjoyable their actual dynamic is. they’re the emotional bedrock of the whole show 

zutara tasty, but i’m always like (to quote zuko) ‘where’s the rest of it?’ when i jump into the show after the fandom 

zukaang manifesto time! this is undeniably the non-canon ship with the most TEXTUAL juice. their mirrored journey is my favourite throughline of the show and it’s arguably the throughline with zuko as the deuteragonist and their convergence/shared destiny being the key to the war’s end. that’s not coming from a shipping lens (it was true before i ever really shipped them), but this particular flavour of narrative basis adds real magic to shipping. when there’s no difference between what you appreciate intellectually and indulgently in a narrative and they just compound each other endlessly..... eliteeee 

related, can’t stop thinking abt how roku’s homosexuality started the war 

i preferred when toph/sokka/suki instead of sokka/suki/zuko was the go-to gaang ot3 but what i really want to see is zutaraang supremacy 

aang, zuko and katara are the show’s tentpoles, especially emotionally. they each foil the other two so well - in their personalities, and esp for zutara/zukaang, on a wider thematic level. and they’re such well articulated characters that it’s easy to extrapolate that to the three-way dynamic. it’s probably most (in)famously on display in 3.16 but there’s a deeelicious little moment in 3.18 when aang leaves distraught and zuko is the one to stop katara from immediately going after him. the #dynamics that were simmering, whew. 

i think mai/ty lee is getting the generic uwu soft girls treatment that is the bane of all popular femslash ships (same way zukka’s getting the generic dudeslash treatment) because azula makes tyzula a little too spicy. however i would like to see more tyzula, especially of the spicy variety

i wish there was someone in this show i could thirst over. hakoda is sort of a dilf? 

[mthofferings2020]

wynnesome

See wynnesome’s existing works here and here.

Preferred contact methods: Discord: wynnesome#4442 Dreamwidth: stargraven

Preferred organizations: - Amazon Conservation Association - Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) - Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN) - St. Jude Children's Research Hospital - World Central Kitchen (See the list of approved organizations here)

Will create works that contain: Angst wants: Dark characters/themes, unhealthy relationships, questionable power dynamics, shady morals/ethics, under-negotiated kink, dub-con, non-con, miscommunication trainwreck, physical and/or emotional torment, break-it, break-it-worse, ending leaves you bleeding out on the floor. Fluff wants: Banter, wordplay, crack, crack treated seriously, mutual pining, get-together, first-time, porn with feelings, emotionally cathartic sex/kink, aftercare, tooth-rotting-they're-so-married domesticity.

Will not create works that contain: Daddy kink, mpreg, scatplay, underage/de-aged, genderswap, Avengers: Endgame or post-Endgame.

  -- Fic or Other Writing --

Auction ID: 1239

Will create works for the following relationships: Stephen Strange/Victor von Doom - 616

Work Description: This auction is for a fic that will fall between 1k and 5k. To keep to the word length I'm comfortable committing to, the prompt or starting point needs to be concise. For me and the way I write, that usually means a prompt of no more than a few words to one sentence, defining a central theme or pivotal moment, and then the fic will take shape to bring that about. For general style of my writing, my AO3 has a range, and my Dreamwidth has a bunch of recent angst fics/ficlets. Here are links to two works I've written for Doom and Strange: - Doctor Doom crack/fluff - DoomStrange angst ficlet I haven't posted a lot of Doom or DoomStrange fic yet, but I am raring to go for this ship. I have taken part in many hours of brainstorming and RP for the pairing, and I have a brain full of headcanon and a folder full of ideas I'd like to write for these two. For a prompt that hits me in the right spot, I could also write DoomStrange/Tony Stark. I'd consider writing DoomStrange with a different third, but please ask me if you have something like that in mind. I love Battleworld DoomStrange: God-Emperor Doom and Sheriff Strange, and their canonical partnership. I do like to play with dark, problematic, and manipulative power dynamics in their relationship. If it seems soft, that's probably because somewhere behind it is a knife so sharp you won't feel it till the blood loss hits. But I can also write them in bantery, humorous, and outright ridiculous interactions. On that side, I love their "snipe and bicker but would sacrifice myself for you in a heartbeat" relationship a la Savage Avengers. When I write angst, I tend to focus on breaking it hard rather than fixing it, especially in a shorter fic. However, as long as I feel it's a prompt I can accomplish in under 5k, I'm open to the idea of hurt/comfort, of heavy angst with a positive resolution, or the kinds of lighter angst that come from mutual pining, misunderstandings that will get worked out, etc. Those situations where it hurts along the way, but everything is going to be ok. I write by letting my brain get a hook into a particular idea - or maybe more like, letting a particular idea get its hooks into my brain - to where it takes me over that threshold from "interesting concept" to "I have actual words insistently demanding to be let out now." With that in mind - if you have a very specific idea for a fic you'd like, please contact me before bidding, to make sure it's something I feel like I can hook and be hooked by. Otherwise, please be prepared to chat/brainstorm with me after the auction, so we can come up with an idea that we're both enthusiastic about. OR, I can also take a very small prompt as a starting point and just run with it. By "very small," I mean something like a word prompt or a kink or trope that might be found on a Bingo square. I'd take the prompt, and your preference for the general tone (humor, romance, angst, etc.), roll it around till I land on a compelling hook to get me started, and follow it from there. As far as my pile of "ideas I'd like to write," I'm open to discussing some of those that I think could be accomplished within a 5k fic. Time Frames: I'll be able to begin brainstorming/discussing prompts anytime after the auction week. I do have one pre-existing fic-writing commitment that I aim to finish by the end of 2020. So assuming we've worked out a prompt, I should potentially be available to start writing for this pretty early in 2021. Pinning down actual writing time is tricky, but once I've actually begun writing, a fic of this length usually takes me anywhere from a few days to a few weeks to complete. Please feel free to contact me to talk over any questions or ideas!

Ratings: Teen, Mature, Explicit

CLICK HERE TO BID ON THIS WORK

-- Beta Service --

Auction ID: 2091

Will create works for the following relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark - Any Universe Bucky Barnes/Steve Rogers/Tony Stark - MCU Bucky Barnes/Steve Rogers - MCU Bucky Barnes/Tony Stark - MCU Stephen Strange/Victor von Doom - 616 Tony Stark/Victor von Doom - 616 Jean Grey/Logan/Scott Summers - 616 Tony Stark/Stephen Strange/Victor von Doom - 616

Work Description: This auction is for beta reading of one fic up to 10k words, or two fics totaling up to 10k words. For beta-reading, barring my DNW, I'm generally wide open for characters, ships, universes, genres, kinks, and tropes, and for gen fics. A fic doesn't have to be "my ship" or "my kink" for me to read with care and give well-considered feedback on your writing, including elements of plot, continuity, characterization, tone, and theme, as presented within the fic itself. That said, my "Wants" and my Relationships section for this auction touch upon characters, ships, and kinds of works I read, write, and engage with the most for my own personal enjoyment. So those are where I'll be able to give the most detailed feedback on more levels, such as character voice, canon storylines, and general fluency with those characters and their worlds. My first Marvel ship is Steve-Tony, and I'm happy to read for them in any universe. I've spent the most time with them in 616, MCU, and early Ults comics, with light knowledge of AvAc, Avengers Assemble, and EMH. DoomStrange is my newer ship that I'm loving a lot: Battleworld God-Emperor Doom/Sheriff Strange; Triumph and Torment; Savage Avengers. Plus other pairings for either character, or threesomes/moresomes with the pair of them involved. Another area I'm VERY much here for is any and all fics related to Jonathan Hickman's X-Men comics: HoXPoX; Dawn of X; X of Swords. I jumped on board with X-Men at HoXPox last year, and am up to date with reading all of the current X-Men titles. I have almost no knowledge of prior X-Men canon, so, as mentioned above, I'm still happily willing to beta for other X-Men works, but I won't have that same degree of connection to canon and characters. As a beta reader, I can work on several levels, ranging from simple SPaG/proofreading, to detailed suggestions for sentence structure, flow, and word choice. I can help advise in regard to (American) English-language phrasing and word usage. I also really enjoy delving into emotional dynamics and thematic development. In terms of personal areas of expertise, I'm a musician and recording engineer. So I can give a lot of "what it's like" and some light scientific "how it works" if you have a fic where someone is a musician, in a band, playing a gig or concert, recording in a studio, or a variety of other possible situations involving the music industry and/or audio and sound systems. I prefer to beta-read in Gdocs where possible, where I can leave a lot of suggestions and comments. My goal is always to help the author feel good about their work and about making it the best it can be. So I appreciate your guidance in ways to give you feedback and/or critique that will be helpful, positive, and constructive for you. If I haven't beta-read anything for you before, I'll want to talk with you before I begin, to get an idea of the kinds of feedback you're looking for. Then I'll probably work through a page or two and wait to go further until you've had the chance to take a look. From there, you can tell me if there's anything I could approach differently, address, or avoid, in order to be more helpful for you. Time Frames/Schedule: I have a couple of pre-existing fandom commitments that I'm aiming to complete before the end of 2020. I'd prefer to say "early 2021" as the soonest I'll most likely be available to fulfill this auction. I give a lot of attention during beta reading, and often work in short sections at a time, over a period of days. For a 10k-ish fic, I might take anywhere from a few days to a couple of weeks to work through the entirety. Generally, once I've worked through the fic, I'm also happy to continue exchanging comments, or take a look to see how see how things are working after changes are made. For any questions, please feel free to contact me!

Ratings: Gen, Teen, Mature, Explicit

CLICK HERE TO BID ON THIS WORK

The auction runs from October 18 (12 AM ET) to October 24 (11:59:59 PM ET). Visit marveltrumpshate.com during Auction Week to view all of our auctions and to place your bids!

[socialyawkdude]

A intro to manga, anime and light novels

Hello again, long and first time readers..

Its time for the long-awaited manga review section. Now before we get into the nitty gritty there a few things we need to cover first. Seeing that I will be coving light novels, mangas, and anime there are a few terms that we need to go over. Most of these terms will be covering the different genres and subgenres. Seeing that not everyone is literate in this word, it may be a good idea to cover this before we get into the good stuff.

What I'm about to go over are the genres of light novels, manga, and anime. Like many television shows and movies; manga and anime are broken up into different genres. Many of these are pretty self-explanatory, while others are more unique, as you are about to find out. I have included a few examples with of the sub-genres. I'm no expert, as I’m learning along with a few of you. Some of the examples I've given are some that I've read or heard of.

 List of Major Anime/Manga Genres

Action

Adventure

Comedy

Drama

Slice of Life

Fantasy

Magic

Supernatural

Horror

Mystery

Psychological

Romance

Sci-Fi

 Looking at this list you can see many familiar genres of movies and TV, that you may watch. I won't go into a detailed description of these, because everyone should know these. Now for the sub-genres, it's a bit of a different story. Many of these are unique to anime and manga. It is these that I will give a little description along with a popular anime or manga.

 List of Anime Subgenres

Cyberpunk= This type of anime is a subgenre of sci-fi. It usually displays a future where society has become more ingrained with technology at the expense of social order. The setting is typically a dystopian future where the technology may be doing more harm than good. 

Game= The game category encompasses shows revolving around the idea of gaming and playing. The anime can feature a card game, board game, puzzle game, or even a virtual online game. As long as it concerns any playable game of any kind, it belongs in this category. Sometimes, even video game-based shows can count in this selection.

Ecchi= The word ecchi comes from the sound of H in the word hentai, which in turn means pervert in Japanese. This sub-genre is generally accepted as being full of sexually provocative scenes (mild enough to be viewed by the general audience) and scenarios derived from innuendos and humorous situations. It’s a fact that ecchi shows are taking an upswing nowadays as more and more titles are produced every season. More often than not, ecchi is paired up with comedy as both genres compliment each other well. This, in turn, serves as a buffer that prevents the shows from crossing the line and delving into something less appropriate for general audiences. 

Demons= Originally just an infrequent theme, the rise of demonic characters and themes have given rise to this sub-genre. The term demon does not only encompass literal demon characters. It also extends to other entities such as monsters, beasts, ghosts, and other demon-type figures. The demons present can come from biblical backgrounds or come from Japanese culture. Believe it or not, this category doesn’t just come hand-in-hand with the horror genre; it surprisingly blends well with other genres as well. 

Harem= If you see a reluctant male character surrounded by multiple female characters who all adore him, then you’re probably watching an anime of the harem sub-genre. This type of show typically features more than two female characters go head-over-heels for a single male character. Anime in this category is typically within the comedy and romance genre. It's possible that a harem anime can have no romance and feature mostly slapstick comedy.

Josei= Josei is actually a demographic but is also considered a general category in anime. It specifically targets female viewers around the age range of 18-40. These shows depict life and romance in a more mature light, usually with more grounded realism and less idealistic fantasies. The sub-genre is fairly wide and doesn't necessarily have to focus on romance. It merely needs a narrative that caters to the mature woman. Josei originated from manga during the 80′s. Girls who grew up reading shoujo stories from previous decades wanted stories for adults.

Martial Arts= Martial arts play a big role in every anime that has fighting/battles in it. Whether it's hand-to-hand combat, swordplay, gun fighting, or armed combat, there’s some kind of martial art element that plays through them. But did you know that there are shows that are primarily focused on martial arts itself and their battle techniques? There’s a lot of them, and they mainly involve hand-to-hand combat and technician battles.  

Kids= A lot of people say that anime is just for kids, but that’s not really true. As a matter of fact, there are only a few numbers of anime that are precisely catered towards children. These shows are contained within the kids' sub-genre. These shows are mild, light, and insightful, which makes them perfect for children 12 and under. 

Historical= As the name suggests, historical anime revolves around events in history and moments of antiquity. Shows of this sub-genre are typically set in Ancient Japan and the feudal period. Other settings such as the Middle Ages and medieval period of Europe exist but they’re much more rare in anime. As long as the time or setting (or even elements) are old and ancient, then the series can be considered a historical anime. 

Hentai= Hentai literally translates to "pervert" in Japanese. This is the R-18 (mature) domain of the anime world. This sub-genre commonly depicts nudity and highly explicit content. Unlike ecchi, the focus here is on explicit sexual content rather than on storytelling and narrative progression. That is why the shows in this category are usually brief and lacking in substance.

Isekai= Isekai translates to "another world." This sub-genre typically has a     narrative where a protagonist somehow gets transported to a different     world. The new world is more often than not in a fantasy setting,     occasionally with traits pulled from JRPG games.

This category of anime exploded during the 2010′s and arguably dominated the decade. A good portion of isekai anime is adapted not from the manga but rather from light novels. The most popular series in this sub-genre maybe Sword Art Online. While the world featured there was just virtual reality, it did feature a fantasy setting that would be mimicked in other anime. 

 Military= As the name implies, this sub-genre involves the military in one way or another. War may also be a huge part of military anime. One thing to note about this category is that it is often coupled with the mecha and action genre.

Mecha= Mecha stands for mechanical (as in mechanical units or robots). You’ll never see a mecha anime without a robot or mechanical suit in it. That’s the most important element of it. And while this sub-genre is rising in fame as the days go by, it almost always uses a standard formula to carry the plot. As a general trend, mecha is often seen alongside the military, sci-fi, and action genre.

This may very well be the most iconic anime sub-genre as there is a multitude of memorable shows in this category. The mecha can be considered to be one of Japan's most popular exports. Some of the earlier iconic titles from the late 70s and 80′s include Mobile Suit Gundam, Mazinger Z, and Super Dimension Fortress Macross. Neon Genesis Evangelion is considered to be an iconic and dark deconstruction of the genre as it examined the psyche of young pilots. GurrenLagann was a massive hit that brought the genre back to its hot-blooded and idealistic roots. With a rabid fan-base that loves mecha designs, this genre is one that has been consistently popular over the years. 

Music= Anime shows in the music sub-genre aren’t that popular nowadays, but they do exist and they are very timely. These shows typically focus on singing, dancing, or playing musical instruments. These usually fit within the larger categories of comedy and drama.

Parody= A parody anime is one where countless numbers of other anime references are showcased throughout the plot. It might be a popular running gag, a famous symbol, a character reference, or any other attempt at bringing another show into its domain. One anime worthy to note is Gintama. They often use similar elements from other anime to showcase in their own show.

Police= The police sub-genre emphasizes the life and struggles of law enforcement in their line of duty. Police-based characters have shown up in numerous shows and     there are now anime that could be considered as police procedural. This genre isn't exclusive to police officers; detectives, investigators, and enforcers of any type are included as well. 

Post-Apocalyptic= Post-apocalyptic anime basically show that is set in a world that is in a dystopian state. This could mean the world is destroyed and/or humans are nearly extinct. Post-apocalyptic settings were merely a theme in the past, but an influx of titles bearing this backdrop over the years have made it become a sub-genre on its own. This type of anime has become more and more popular by the day. 

Reverse Harem= A reverse harem anime is typically a harem series where the gender roles are switched around. There is one female character surrounded by multiple male characters who are all potential love interests. Like the traditional harem genre, anime of this variety is usually within the comedy and romance genre.

School= There are countless anime that use the school as a setting. An anime can be considered a part of the school sub-genre if a school is the primary setting and the anime deals mostly with school and student life. This type of anime is usually seen within the comedy genre, though there are some entries in drama as well. 

Seinen= Seinen is actually a demographic but is also considered to be a category in anime. It’s a sub-genre that specifically targets male viewers around the age range of 18-40. The shows here are depicted in a more mature light and often include more explicit content such as gore, sex, and violence. More cerebral narratives are present as well.

Shoujo= Shoujo refers to the demographic of young girls. This sub-genre specifically targets female viewers around the age range of 10-18. Most of the time, shoujo anime works hand-in-hand with the romance and comedy genre, particularly with the former. The protagonist is traditionally female and the narrative focuses on romance as well as personal growth. The world in these shows is often very idealized.

Shoujo-ai= Shoujo-ai literally translates to "girls love." The typically young female characters in shojou-ai anime show love and affection for each other. The romance is usually milder in comparison to the more explicit yuri genre. Shows in this category portray blooming feelings of love and romance rather than intimate relationships. 

Shounen= Shounen refers to the demographic that this type of anime targets, which is male viewers around the age range of 10-18. These shows are usually a combination of action and adventure and are typically adapted from serial manga series. As such, these anime tend to have lengthy runs. One Piece currently has over 800 episodes and is still running. These shows are typically the most popular with mainstream audiences. They have done very well when exported to foreign markets thanks to their relatively simple plots and focus on action.

Shounen-ai= Shounen-ai literally translates to "boys love." The male characters (typically younger boys) in these shows display tender affection for each other. The romance in shounen-ai is generally milder when compared to the more explicit yaoi genre. There is usually more focus on developing romance than actual relationships.

Space= The setting of space has always been massively popular. With so much anime taking place there, it has become a sub-genre in itself. Any anime set in the cosmos can be labeled in this category. Space anime is often within the larger mecha and sci-fi genre. 

Sports= Pretty much self-explanatory, sports anime are shows that cover characters engaging in athletic competition. Popular choices in this category include basketball, tennis, baseball, and soccer. Other sports exist as well (including those that you wouldn’t expect showing up in anime). As time goes on, more and more of these series are produced. Just like real sports, shows in this sub-genre are action-packed!

Super Power= You know you're watching a superpower anime if you're seeing an array of explosive superpowers scrambling right on the screen. If you see bursts of energy balls, death-defying attacks, and opposing forces battling it out throughout the story, then that means you're probably witnessing a show in this sub-genre. These shows generally fit in the action category.

Tragedy= As the name implies, the tragedy sub-genre revolves around tragic events or phenomenon where the characters are deeply involved and affected. Tragedy comes in diverse varieties such as disasters, accidents, misfortunes, and deaths. These shows are often very dramatic and can pull the heartstrings of audiences.

Vampire= As vampires have become so popular throughout the world, it’s no shock that they’ve also infested the world of anime. There are lots of titles now featuring vampires and they’re not just exclusive to the horror category. They’ve also manifested themselves into other categories such as comedy, romance, and drama.

Yuri= Yuri is essentially the more mature and explicit version of shojou-ai. The female characters are typically older and the series examines their more mature relationships.

Yaoi= Yaoi is the much more sexually explicit counterpart of shounen-ai. This sub-genre covers male-to-male relationships (typically older boys) in a more mature light. There is more emphasis on serious relationships and intimacy.

 Well, there you go… a not so short overview of the genre and sub-genres of anime, manga, and light novels. Hopefully, this will help newcomers to this wonderful of books and tv. It is now time to reveal the first series in the socallyawkdude’s manga review….. Tales of Wedding Rings by Maybe.  The volume 1 review should be up soon, as i’m finishing up the art work for the post.

Till then this is your friendly neighborhood sociallyawkdude signing off.

[kinetic-elaboration]

10 Fanfic Question Tag Game

I was tagged by @easilydistractedbyfanfic, @marauders-groupie, and @dylanobrienisbatman - Thank you!

Not sure who else hasn’t already done this or already been tagged... Please do it if you haven’t and want to!

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1. what’s your favorite genre to write?

I mean, I feel like the answer is objectively “Romance” because I write fanfic but tbh I never think of it that way. Maybe because I’m so used to writing fic that I think in the sub-genres of fandom rather than in the sense of how the work would be classified on a bookstore shelf. Within fandom genres, I like to think I write a variety of things, fluff, angst, etc., but mostly it all comes back to pining, longing, softness, desire, uncertainty, and idiots in love.

2. do you pull inspiration from real-life, or do you pull things from other books/fanfic?

I do pull from real-life in a way but... I try not to pull directly and literally. Every now and then I will take a real life location or event and write a fic around it but I feel like those stories tend to not be as good, or at least, I don’t like them as much. I don’t know if it’s because I know the big gap between the fiction and the reality and the fiction pales in comparison, or because it feels or is lazy, or because those stories really are weaker. More often, I pull from real life in the sense that writing is a way to work through things. So I might take a certain feeling that’s real but have it emerge in a different way, or I might take a certain small moment and write it in a different context. There’s an example of this in my most recent Chopped fic but I don’t want to reveal myself--plus it’s kinda personal in a way. The other best example I can think of is a Bellarke fic I wrote once in which Bellarke are college fuck-buddies-with-feelings; there are two incidents there that are straight up stolen from my relationship with my ex-girlfriend but everything else, including the main plot, is completely unrelated. But tbh even that fic kind of toes the line for me into “a little too real.”

In terms of other sources of inspiration... I get a decent number of ideas from songs. I write to prompts/challenges with some frequency. Sometimes I write things that fulfill certain fantasies of mine (A Watch with No Hands is an example). I would say most often, inspiration comes in the form of “Wow, this made me a feel a certain way, I want to create this feeling myself.” And that “this” could be anything; often it’s music, but it could be a TV show (”this makes me feel nostalgic for high school, I want to write something about adolescence,” for example) or something I’ve read.

3. do you tend to write one-shots, short stories, or longer things?

I write one-shots for the most part. I am not good with multi-part fics. At all. Sometimes I write very short things, under 1k, as writing exercises. But in terms of full-sized, I think 4k is about average for me??

4. do you prefer description or dialogue?

I’d say description. If I get on a roll with dialogue I can actually write it faster, but if I’m including long sections of dialogue, it’s because I need to get certain, specific information across, and so I get nervous about it before I start. I don’t want to forget something important! And I don’t want the important things to feel shoved in there, but to flow naturally! With description, I can start out with a general idea and just let it flow and see what happens.

5. favorite fanfic/book of all time?

My favorite book of all time, if I had to pick just one, is The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov. I’ve only read it in its entirety once and I recently discovered my English copy is kinda falling apart, which is a bummer. It’s so beautiful and moving; one of those books that just transforms you as a person.

I’m also a big fan of Shirley Jackson, so like literally everything she’s ever written, including stuff I haven’t read yet, must be mentioned. And I’ve been reading Sigrid Undset’s The Master of Hestviken this past... over half a year probably, and she was a genius. America needs to understand this.

I don’t think I read enough fic to have a favorite of all time. :(

6. favorite trope?

SHARING A BED. I was thinking recently about how often I use this trope and I’m like, ‘should I tone it down?’ Then I decided, heck no, it’s not boring me yet. I just... I love beds, I love the comfort of a good bed, and I guess it’s just Absolute Peak Fantasy of me to imagine two people snuggly and happy in bed. Or snuggly and pining for each other in bed.

7. are you the kind of person to work on more than one wip?

Yes. I do tend to focus on one thing at a time in the sense that I might only work on one fic for a week, or two weeks, and I generally do have one ‘front burner’ project that gets most of my attention until it’s done, or it gets irredeemably stuck. But I don’t get an idea, write it, finish it, post it, and then go on to the next idea (unless I’m writing for an event with a deadline, like Chopped, or a gift exchange, where there’s basically no other choice). I always have multiple fics started and/or in the planning stages.

8. how long have you been writing for?

Aw fuck. Well... I started posting fic online in the fall of 2006, when I was a senior in high school. I started writing fic just for myself probably around 2002 or 2003. And I’ve been writing original stuff/in general...for as long as I’ve been able to write I guess? My first long form piece was handwritten in a 70-page wide-ruled notebook--filled the whole thing!--and that was in the fourth or fifth grade, I think. (For anyone who doesn’t want to do math, that was 20 years ago lololol.)

9. do you tend to write more during the morning, afternoon, or evening?

I write mostly in the afternoons/evenings. If I’m having a good week, I can write for a bit after work, like around 6pm or so. On the weekends I say I’ll write in the morning but... it’s usually the afternoon at best. Sometimes I write before bed, if I really need it for the catharsis.

10. do you prefer to post your wip chapter by chapter, or do you prefer to wait until your wip is 100% finished before posting?

I don’t write that many multi-chapter WIPs but I admit I do not wait until the whole thing is done. I have a couple where I’m trying to do that... and I have sometimes been able to write ahead. But I just don’t have the self control. Plus like... writing is a solitary activity, and the great thing about fanfic is that there’s a chance to connect with people through it, to make it less solitary. So in a way, I guess this is a self-serving justification, but, what’s the point of hoarding what you’ve written?