#gosh i haven't talked so much about my ocs in so long

[cosmic-luka]

*crawling into your inbox* ....can I ask about them? 👉👈🥺

ABSOLUTELY OF COURSE I LOVE TALKING ABOUT THEM !!!!!

these r the girls, Charon on the left, Charlotte on the right !! yes they were first created on LilyDiary but that's the only colored image i have of them both at the moment so ... also the heights are not accurate Charon is MUCH shorter than Charlotte on account of her being 11 and her sister just being a freakishly tall 15 year old

Charon is very much a quiet gal, but with an attitude problem ... she's not very tolerant of most people because she doesn't really like talking, so most of her peers think she's looking down on them which is simply not true ... and as such (before she met a different oc Juliet) all she had was her sister, so they are very close ... she looks up to Charlotte a lot, and sees her as a perfect big sister <3

Charlotte on the other hand has absolutely no problem making friends ! she's quite outgoing and is always trying to get her little sister to be more social, but she also understands that Charon doesn't like talking very much, so it's mostly just taking her out all the time on "sister dates" so she can at least know how the world is. she loves her little sister very much and thinks she's just the cutest little thing, but she's also a very touchy-feely person in general and that just gets amplified with Charon ... Charon does not mind because she loves her sister and trusts that she wouldn't hurt her ... <3

the two of them are pretty much always together, but Charlotte isn't like, extremely possessive over Charon. well usually she is, she just also quite likes Charon's best (only) friend Juliet and likes watching the two of them together because Juliet is ALSO very touchy-feely but this post ain't about her so we'll leave that aside for now ...

all this to say that yes Charlotte is kissing her little sister and Charon is pretending to only tolerating it because she loves her while secretly loving her big sister's attention <3

[fanaticsnail]

Hello, snail! Thank you for spoiling us with your writing!! You're too talented and I'm always so happy when you pop up on my dash!!

I have a question/request for advice if you ever find yourself willing to give it. I'm in my late 20's and I haven't felt comfortable telling my new partner about my love of fanfiction and extreme hyperfixation on anime (they know I like it, but not to the extent that I do). How did you feel comfortable sharing or were you and your chef-husband always comfortable? I'm worried if I tell him, he won't be interested in me anymore as they aren't a nerd like me.

First of all, hello!! Thank you for your beautiful words and compliments on my writing. I do love this hobby and I adore sharing my words with you on here.

Thank you so much for your ask! I am in the final year of my 20s and I have been celebrating going into my 'nerdy 30' with a bit of insanity. "One fic per day for 30 days" was going to be my prompt leading up to it, but then I thought: "nah, I can do more."

I am going to add a page break, because I realised just how much I have to say about it. It is very much a personal glimpse into my life, and I hope it helps you. I'm not a relationship coach, this is just my experience.

Tldr: I love this community, and so does chef-husband.

Congratulations on your new partner! All the freshness and excitement being there with the newness is so much fun. I've been with chef-husband for 11 years now. I met him when I was eighteen, and we both worked at our 'Baratie'. I do talk about that often, and I adore writing fics for that restaurant because it just feels like home for me, but I won't linger for too long on it.

Aside from working together, we bonded over our love for music and pop culture. Death Note was one of the things that really got us both talking, and I gifted him a small plush notebook attached to a small apple, never knowing that it would be on a little mantle in our house together 11 years later.

Our tastes in anime differed a little: him with Crying Freeman, and Neon Genesis Evangelion - me with Naruto and Kuroshitsuji, but Death Note (and now JJK) was a series we both loved. Same with Ghibli. Being nerdy or geeky was one of the things that felt magnetic in our conversation, but our other nerdy interests differ.

Encouragement to Write

My husband has always wanted me to express my thoughts through writing. He wanted me to write before I even had the inkling of wanting to. When I dream, I experience full-fledged plots with twists and turns - usually science fiction with thriller tendencies.

When I say: "So, I had a dream last night", chef is already boiling the kettle, making the coffees and sat at the table while I tell him point for point what happens. Silly, but it was something that we did before we had the babies together.

Writing Fanfiction

So, I know this feeling intimately. Telling someone "So, I read and write fanfiction for fun" is still so taboo in mainstream. The one thing that changed this for me, and I talk about this a lot too, was my sister. Growing up secretly reading fanfiction was one of my hobbies because "oh my gosh, there's more? There can be more? AAAAAA". I never really wrote anything back then, not really knowing how to articulate the words I wanted to on paper or on the screen.

But back to the main point: my sister.

Sitting beside her years ago, her on her phone scrolling through her screen, I remember asking her: "what are you doing?" and, without skipping a beat, she responded with two words that really shocked me:

"Reading fanfiction."

Like, with no little blush, no fear of judgement, no little inflections of speech to indicate any signs of embarrassment. It was that easy. Simply "reading fanfiction." Immediately, I followed up with: "Oh? Who for? Canon x OC, x reader stuff, just a main character doing canon divergent stuff?" and she filled me in. I loved her for that. Healed my inner reclusive teenager huddled over an 'x reader' fic.

Last year, I remember sending her a message asking: "So... If I was to start writing fanfiction, would you read it?" and she immediately was like: "WHAT FANDOM, WITH WHO, YES SIS, GET IT GURL, WHAT ARE WE DOING?" and I filled her in the way she filled me in years ago. And so, I started writing for 'x reader'.

Telling Chef-husband I write fanfiction

Once the kids went to bed, all the chores done, him in his shed making miniature terrains for his RC cars, I was sitting merrily at my desk with a glass of wine writing my silly little stories for my silly little guys.

There was one moment where he came in from outside covered in paints and motor oils, and he was like: "whatcha working on?" and I froze. I assumed he was thinking "Oh, she's writing from her nightmares again", I enjoy open communication - so I just said it plainly:

"Writing Fanfiction."

He kind of had this little chuckle in his tone, reaching for the bar fridge and getting a beer. Popping the steel cap from the glass top, he just went: "oh yeah? For which character?"

No little judgement, mild curiosity on my words, having a little glimpse over my shoulder at the screen and him just being like: "Huh. The clown, right? Nice." When he left to go back outside to his hobby, I remember him just laughing with, "Let me know if you need any inspo for Sanji, babe. I've got you covered."

I remember texting my sister: "Chef knows I write fanfiction" and she responded very Gen Z with: "BAHAHAHA" followed up with "how did that go?" and I just told her the truth.

I know not all experiences are like mine, and having a partner that doesn't share the same interests and loving media that you do is daunting. Chef-husband and my marriage isn't perfect, but I knew he was my person from the way he interacted with my other hobbies: D&D, RPGs, comic books, and now writing fanfiction. I also show interest in his: RC cars/planes/drones, Warhammer, and tinkering with his puzzles and collections.

Just so you're aware, and I hope you don't mind, I asked him what he thought about people who read and write fanfiction as soon as I got this ask. He read it on my phone, and said very offhandedly:

"Like, they don't have to read or like the same things (anon) do. Anime is nothing to be ashamed of, and having someone being like: 'yeah, I'm breaking up with you because you're too nerdy' is such a shit thing to do. If (anon) is made to feel shame about something they like from someone they love, then they're a shit person to begin with and not worth pursuing."

That's chef-husband.

Chef-husband also told his boss that I read and write fanfiction, because he knew his boss also reads fanfiction. Pretty sure she reads my stuff on AO3, and I get all blushy when I think about that.

The moral of the story here that, from one passionate fanfic reader to another, whichever way this goes for you regarding confessing your interest to your partner - know you've got snail and chef-husband in Australia letting you know that you're not alone. There is a whole community here that loves and supports your joy, and I hope it all goes well for you.

I'm sorry for the long read, but I hope you appreciate a large glimpse into who I am. So much love for you, anon 🖤

Tagging @since-im-already-here because she's the reason I'm here.

[factual-fantasy]

26 ASKS!! :DD THANK U VERY MUCH!!🎨

Well that wouldn't be a good thing to do- Its very well known that I don't like fanart of my works..

If you wanna show that you like Bibi, just leave a comment please!

Seriously ya'll, just comments. Reblogs, tags, asks.. what ever form they may take. All I look forward to when posting artwork is reading all the responses. 👍

@solst1ce-sketches

WAAAHGAGAG THANK YOU SO MUCH!! AND HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!! 😭😭💖💖💖😭💖

@luna-purple454

Oh they're both fine! :0 Other than some angst ideas I had for them-- they're both still alive and well XD I just haven't drawn them in a while :/

@minnesotamedic186

I can hardly wait! :DDD (And yes you can XD)

@butterbreadsworld

Sorry, I don't take requests. Thank you though!! :}}

@i-v-y67

Blackmail XDD

@samcat2

I still like transformers! Though I'm not really interested in drawing it atm.. thank you though!! :DD

(Post in question)

XDDD fr tho--

:DD Thank youuu!! :}}}

@kiinther

XDD Blue is too big for that too! Though Seafoam might be able to give her a little peck on the cheek 👀 if either of them would just confess their feelings already <XDD

I know, and I hate all of it. :(

Also thank you so much! :DD

I was thinking that they're kind'a a cross between the two.

They pillage and raid other ships, but they don't normally go for "innocent" ships.. if they attack anyone, its usually other rotten pirates or slave ships maybe? "Bad" ships I guess you could say-

As for the voice claims. If like you explained- you happen upon an OC of mine and think "HE LOOKES LIKE HE SOUNDS EXACTLY LIKE THAT OTHER GUY" Then feel free to send it on over to me! :DD

But don't go out of your way to find voice claims for my characters as a gift or a form of fanart. Remember! All I really want is comments. Engagement with my work means everything to me! <:)

@neo-metalscottic (Post in question)

AAAA THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! :DDD I'm so glad you like him!! :}} And that head injury was kind'a just a pose prompt. Though I might slap some lore on it and make it canon! :00

As for Papyrus.. its complicated.

Papyrus had accepted long ago that Sans and all his friends were gone. And that he was never going to see them again.. It really hurt. And it took him a very long time to accept that fact. But he did. He knows in his soul that his true brother is gone..

That didn't make seeing "Sans" again any less painful though. He probably saw a Sans through the trees in a new Snowdin. Man, I cant imagine how he felt.

The whole multiverse thing was explained to him by Frisk. He knows that's not his Sans. He knows its not him. But gosh. Its been so long since he's seen his brothers smile. What he would give to hear one of his silly puns again. What he would give to hear his voice.. to just.. to hug him one last time..

Frisk would grab Papyrus' hand, "Papyrus.. we need to go.. please, common.."

Seeing the other Papyrus walk into view and begin talking to that Sans.. He recollects himself. Its not him. Sans is gone. He's been gone for a very long time..

With tears streaming down his face, he would find the strength to grip Frisk's hand.. and turn away.

It never gets easier..

@jesterpiecethejester

Sorry, I don't take drawing requests! Plus the crews already pretty full as it is- <XDD

@bunny-coffee

I didn't intend to ever draw Frank and Eddie in a romantic light.. becuase yeah like you said, I just don't really like ships. Or honestly any romantic content that isn't my own OCs. Idk I just don't really enjoy drawing it--

But that's kind'a what I feared about the Welcome Home fandom if I'm being honest. I felt like people were really protective over Eddie and Frank. And if I revealed that I wasn't interested in drawing them as an item, canon or not? I felt like I would get a loooot of backlash.

But hey, I found a loophole. Just don't draw them together and there wont be any drama! :D It sucks though becuase Frank is a big part of Eddies lore and all his flashback shenanigans-

(Also thank you! :DD )

@beryl-shade

Oh! No no, its just made of seafoam! :0 Though whipped cream would make sense because he's a cookie- <XD

I do??

Huh.. I guess I do don't I..

What do I do with that power--

@sparkdrawsstuff

Well the strongest would be Blue Beauty by far- but looking at the smaller cookies? I think Seafoam is probably the strongest. But that's mostly due to him being so big. He's the biggest cookie on the crew and most of his strength just comes from packing more weight to his punch.

Though another toughy on the ship would be Louis. He may not be very big. But boy that crab arm? He has a grip strong enough to break cookies in half. And enough upper body strength to take your pieces and chuck em overboard--- 💀💀💀I wouldn't mess with either of them tbh--

As for the bounty.. that's a good question. :0 I wanna say Seafoam because he's the Captain an all.. but I really like the idea of Cuttlefish having this dark past and a surprisingly huge bounty over her head- 👀👀

@wilmawillow

<XD I think you might have got those two words switched around. I don't take drawing requests! But I've considered going back to some old artwork and redrawing them in my updated style.. 👀👀

@danikoshi

Not really.. :( There have been times in the past where I have asked for drawing ideas/requests when I was feeling low. But now a days I have plenty of ideas to draw so I don't need to do that anymore-

And to be totally honest, when someone says "Hey draw this thing for me." It just makes me go-

@astaherussy

You can find all the lore you need about Papyrus in this ask post! Just scroll down a bit and you'll find all the links and a bonus paragraph <XD

As for the tags. If you wanna see my AU with Jevil and the gang, you can find that under my #deltarune tag. They're also tagged under #Undertale but that will also bring up my Refinedtale AU and other au stuff-- :00

As for the Octonauts question, bro I EAT questions like these! :DD

Its a very interesting prompt. Usually we think of Captain Barnacles as very level headed and calm. He seems like one to bounce back from any situation and keep leading the team no problem. But man. After something like that? That's gotta scare him to his core.

I can see Barnacles being more tense and not wanting any of the crew to stray too far from him or the Octopod. I can imagine that he would give Kwazii a lot of time to recover, a lot more than he actually needs. And maybe even going as far to forbid him from going on certain missions.

But after a little time and maybe a talk with Kwazii. I'm sure both Kwazii and the Captain would recover from the experience and continue on as normal.

(Also thank you! I hope this response was along the lines of what you were hoping for-- :00 )

I pictured it being like really dense soap bubbles. They smell nice and can be picked off his coat or head. But if you jumped on his coat foam you wouldn't sink through. It would be like a big cushion that you could sit on top of. If that makes sense?? <XDD

@danman22ful

Out my OCs? Probably Seafoam 🥺

Out of the game cookies? Uhhhm.. well, I don't really know/remember any of the characters.. But Tea Knight cookie looks really cool! :0 He gives me major Reinhardt vibes :))

Thank you so much!!!! :DDD

@insanityislife101 (I couldn't find the post in question :((( )

Oh fr??? Cool! He was in character after all! :DD

[missfairytalekeeper]

MUTUALS APPRECIATION POST ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡

@kissmetwicekissmedeadly mo you are definitely one of the sweetest people i have ever met. you have a creative and beautiful mind, and you make others laugh and smile so easily as if it's breathing. people feel comfortable in your presence, myself included. your writing is... soft, to the say the least. i can imagine the words you write in front of me as if you have painted a picture, and not written words. no matter how tough life is, you manage to come back with a smile and you make others' days. how incredible you are. i hope life treats you gently and you see nothing but days filled with happiness. i love you.

@lorei-writes i know we haven't been friends for long but you are super sweet. we don't talk a lot, but when we do, it's always fun. the way you write is so poetic. i don't know if that's the right word i should use to describe your style, but i do know that i hang on each and every word in your fics. you have a way with words, for sure. your love for chevalier is so sweet. i am glad others also find him so lovely ₍ᐢ. ̫.ᐢ₎ all in all, i hope you have an amazing day/night. you are great!

@violettduchess you are soooo sweet and nice! seriously! i hope we can talk more in the future but you are always very kind to others and appreciate every small gesture ପ(๑•ᴗ•๑)ଓ ♡ love that, honestly. YOUR WRITING IS SO >>> teach me your ways for real. also you have a calming presence. good time zone, violet! i hope you are doing good.

@m-mmiy girl YOU!!!!!! (affectionate) ૮ ˶´ ᵕˋ ˶ა you have an awesome personality and don't get me started on your art. YOUR ART IS SO YUMMY LIKE WOAH. how do you do it??? you draw like you can easily do illustrations for kids books and people would LOVE them (i love kids books so.) you are def that "cool mutual" mimi. i sincerely hope you are doing well 3

@ndoandou okay ofc your personality is a solid 10/10. all of our interactions have been great and you are such a lovely person to speak with. i have been fangirling over your art ever since i joined this community and now we are moots??? hello??? your art is super gorgeous and it's a pleasure to be friends with you, andou. life better be treating you well or else i will fight /lh ˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶

@voidcrests LUMI MY GIRLY! i am so happy we became friends. you are so so soooo freaking lovely. like def one of my most precious moots ଘ(੭ˊᵕˋ)੭ girl how are you so adorable and create such amazing ocs? your personality is 100/10 and i adore talking to you 333 I LOVE YOU SO MUCH

@citrusmornings mia mia miaaaa! oh my gosh you are always so kind and sweet. how? ( ⸝⸝´꒳`⸝⸝) i see you on dash and smile. your reblogs and comments encourage people and LET'S TALK MORE OKAY? i would love to get to know you better. keep being you, mia!

@weepinglycoris HELLO! you are so cute and nice omg. don't get me started. i adore talking to you and learning more about your ocs even if life is being mean, you manage to overcome all that and you are so STRONG. like literally. i love you so much!!

more appreciation posts soon for my other moots

[uniquevoidflowers]

Dunno what exactly this is BUT:

Ready y'all? I'm ranting about all my mutuals cuz y'all are so freakin amazing.

@mad-navi, I know we barely interact but I think you're pretty cool and I love reading your tags. I think it would be really fun to bake cookies with you.

@majorproblems77, Omg your writing is so good, I love reading your stuff! You know how to whump and angst, soooooo.. Your also pretty fun to talk to, and you have amazing ideas!!!

@strawberry-catcake, I could literally eat your art. I'm so in love with your art style. Just how you draw clothes and faces!!! But also I like talking to you, and you have good taste! Hugs for you 🫂

@akchimp75, your art style is so cute!!! I love your confidence, and I get ridiculously happy when you reblog, reply, or like any of my things.

@raeofsky, another mutual I don't interact with too often (even though I should), you seem really friendly and I love seeing your reblogs ❤️

@isasan347, my gosh your ideas, I actually love seeing your posts with gem, cause you two have such good ideas. And your art is so so brilliant. Another fun person to talk with!!!

@onceuponaladye, Gosh, I really like talking to you!!!! I'm giving you many hugs 🫂. You are really cool, and with the art I've seen, I can say that your art is really cool too. 💖

@kiwi-der-vogel, Your. Art. Is. So. Freakin. Fantastic. I'm in love with the bright colours you use and the jokes you make. Makes me laugh everytime!

@link-or-sherlock, Your art is literally so amazing. You have no idea how happy I was when you made those void flowers. AND I could probably talk to you for hours on end. Thanks for everything, and for adopting me <333

@ikaishere, your art is so marvellous, I love everything about it! Giving you internet hot chocolate for whumptober this year. Also, when did you follow me???/pos

@1000emotions, We should definitely talk more, you seem really cool. Love your ramblings!

@baileyboo2016, You are really funny/pos! From what I've seen, your art looks really cool. I love seeing you gush over characters, and I like your ideas!

@cal-the-imp, your photography my word...It's literally the best I've seen. Your poetry as well! 🫂🫂🫂

@finleyforevermore, you are literally so amazing and the sagas you have are hilarious. You also have some pretty good taste!!!

@/somebody-random-lol I don't know if you want me to tag you in this, but ily/plat, and I like talking to you :)

@justalilghosty, uh I don't think we've ever interacted but you're really cool. (sorry if this is a bother)

@frostedshadow, To this day, I'm still a little surprised you even know me/pos. You are literally so freakin cool, and I love talking to you.

@vio-starzz, uh you are literally so amazing, when did you follow me?! Love your writing and your art!!!

@prince-of-red-lions, Literally, so fantastic! il your art, you do a really good job with expressions!!! Giving you hugs 🫂! You are really friendly and deserve everything!!!!

@whyoneartheven, so sweet, so friendly, and you are so good at drawing!!! You are so fun to talk to, hope you have a lovely day/night!!!

@anadorablekiwi, anjbhshsbhhibihbh you are so fantastic!!! Been meaning to follow you for literally forever but forgot and only recently did. ❤️❤️❤️

@candy8448, you are so creative and your art is so cute! You also write really good! I'm eating your ideas nom nom.

@here4dragons, I know we haven't interacted too much, but you're SO cool!!! Giving you hugs 🫂

@almost-an-artist, your art is so adorable and we haven't been mutuals for long but you seem really really nice.

@r0achezz, your art and writing is just really good 💖, and you are really fun to talk to.

@i-am-1142,asdfergrhttge you're literally so cool and amazing and-

@margindoodles2407, Ahjisurehrijowretutrhyrt you are so creative and your art and writing is just ahhhhhhhhhhh, ilysm/p <3

@arsonisticscholar, il your ocs! I don't think we've interacted but you seem really fun and cool <3

[lavender-at-heart]

Velvet and Lace

Part 1 : The Invitation

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

Pairing: Aro Volturi × fem!OC

AN: while this is a oc series I am purposely limiting descriptive elements so it may be read as a reader insert. I don't know how long this series will be, I also haven't posted on here in so long. Please give me feedback and wish me luck! Thanks for reading/engaging!

Warnings: none for this chapter

Word count: 710

Masterlist

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

A year. I haven't been to Forks in a year. I spent my entire life thinking that it was everything, now I'm not so sure. I miss my home more than anything, but the wonders I have seen while away. I can only imagine what those quiet town folk will think of my stories. My reason for returning? An envelope that arrived to my hotel room in Bankok. Simple, off white paper with silver etchings that read the following:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Isabella Marie Swan

And

Edward Anthony Masen Cullen

Together with their families, request the honor of your presence at the celebration of their marriage.

Saturday the thirteenth of August, two thousand and eleven, five O'clock in the evening

420 Woodcroft Ave

Forks, WA

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I could hardly believe the words as they spilled from my mouth. My sister, married? My sweet, anti-social, 18 year old sister? Yes I'm aware that she had found herself a boyfriend, our phone calls over the past year have been of nothing else, it seems. It's so unlike her, but nevertheless I am giddy. Later that evening I recive a phone call from the bride herself, bestowing upon me the title of maid of honor.

When I first met Edward Cullen, I was surprised. I never had any classes with him since he was a grade bellow me, but he always seemed off. His whole family did, which became the talk of the town for months and months. The rest of his siblings seemed relatively well rounded, with sharp minds and passionate interests. I became acquainted with Emmett and Rosalie during our shared English class. Rosalie, while much more reserved than Emmet, was always helpful and kind. We never became friends outside of school but I was shocked to find out that she had a disdain for Bella (I would later realize that this was due to me not trying to stick my nose into vampire business, although I would have if I had known that the Cullens were supernatural beings.) Emmett was very sociable, we didn't have much in common but I was glad to have such a friendly classmate.

After the shock of the wedding died down, I booked a plane ticket home as soon as possible. My father, Charlie, would pick me up from the airport. I would get to see Bella. Gosh. I haven't seen her in person since I left. Bella, one year younger than me, has always lived with our mother. That was the agreement. She went of to sunny Arizona and I started in the rain. I always liked the rain though, and I always liked Forks. Right before I started grade 12, Bella moved here. And I loved it. I had never been happier. But that only lasted so long. Bella got caught up with her vampire-like boyfriend and I started feeling a horrible longing to leave. I made the decision, much to my father's dismay, to take a gap year. Travel. I had been working at the diner after school since grade 9 and I had saved almost all of the money I made. My favorite thing about Bellas new beau was his family. They were quite lovely people, although strange, and they helped me quite a bit with my travels. Alice, the only one who I had become moderately close to, aswell as Mr. and Mrs. Cullen, had filled my mind with many inspirations for my travels. They also gave me some extra money to help make it as fulfilling as possible, despite me protesting about 100 times. By the end of grade twelve I was itching to leave. My itinerary was stacked, I planned to stay in Europe for two months and the rest in Asia. I cherished the cathedrals in Germany , the busy streets in Mumbai, the quiet ashrams in India, sights of Nepal, Vietnam, Italy, France, and now Thailand. I have come away from this trip with a bigger sense of the world, and myself. But now I've grown rather homesick from shuffling village to village, my sense of adventure has been filled and I'm ready for peace and simplicity. I think I'm ready to go home. Little did I know that returning to the middle of nowhere, Washington, would lead me on the greatest adventure of my life.

END

Thanks for making it to the end! <3 -CC

[merge-conflict]

8 & 17 for the fic writer asks 🌟

sorry it took me so long to answer yours T-T something happened and now it's 4 days some time later. you know how it is. anyway thank you!! I did want to take some time to answer the second one properly.

questions here

8. if you had to write a sequel to a fic, you’d write one for…

tough question to answer because when do I ever leave anything I've written for more than a few months before feeling compelled to continue writing. I'm going to cheat slightly and say there are two things I'd love to continue:

One is the RP I did with @corpocyborg which I'm having trouble finding right now (why am I such a terrible tagger) where Valentine and Valerie did a gig together. It was just such a blast playing them off each other and they made a surprisingly great team. Hard to find a canon where they can both really shine but gosh. That was so much fun.

The second is also OC-related, the stuff I've written with Valentine and @another-corpo-rat 's Victoria Crane. Those two's dynamic is so funny I don't know what they are but it's toxic af. I wrote some smut about the two of them and now I've been thinking about what that meeting over coffee is like afterwards. (I've been watching a lot of killing eve)

Collabs are fun! I love getting the chance to reverse engineer what makes other people's OCs tick and then try to faithfully recreate them in a story.

17. talk about your writing and editing process

I think I answered this one once but I forget and I'm just going to wing it!

I'll be honest I haven't really figured out "plotting" in an advanced way, and am sticking within shouting distance of canon on the longfic, and have fleeting fits of reason which I don't plot longterm at all because it's kind of a cool-down mess-around kind of fic I add stuff to when it sounds fun.

I guess I'll start with considering the shape of what I'm writing –> what the boundaries are, if that makes sense? rough length, and I do mean *rough* like: <1k, 2-10k, nope we're going to have multiple chapters.

Then I take consider the chapter I want to write, as in: what do I want to accomplish? where do I need to go? taking for example indicators of compromise, my objectives are:

textually establish that Alex has a trained eye for detail and analysis

show the rapport (even if it's uneasy) that she has with Reed and how well she knows him

introduce their opinions on Valentine

Then from there the process is basically:

Think of ways to accomplish objectives in the chapter that sound like fun.

Write them down in *some* way, if it's a wip snippet of a scene, [describing what's going on in brackets] or just a barebones script dialog with no description.

Repeat steps 1-2 as many times as needed to get the raw material for the scene that feels fun and satisfying. This may take a fair amount of time.

Finish Draft 0 - where all the scenes are interconnected, and the text written (even if badly), with no remaining [placeholders] or highlights.

Edit. Edit. Edit. Read pieces aloud. Find a rhythm. Edit. Despair. Edit. Despair. Rest.

Optional Beta Step

Publish.

D'oh.

Republish.

[matcha-bnuuy]

(What’s with this player base and their interesting OCs?) …Anyway, I’m kinda fascinated by your characters, Especially Flosi and Cuuja (not many people delve into the Horo tribe for some reason). Do you have any other cannons and stories about these two?

Oh my gosh hello hi! Thank you so much for the ask, seeing this really brightened my day! nwn

I totally do have more lore I haven't posted about those two so let me enlighten you! Thank you again for your interest!

Cuuja's a Horo in his early 30s and well respected among his tribe, partaking in a common training regimen of bulking on large, caloric meals before spending much of the day on and off training by sparring with his fellow warriors and having rest periods. He specializes more in hand to hand combat which I imagine is common among a tribe of heftier Xaela as they can use their own bodyweight to get the upper hand on their opponents. Cuuja's very fond of friendly fighting as a pastime, particularly the Danshig Naadams that are held periodically (I love that that particular frontline has its own lore as a sporty lizard playtime event LOL) Even though he's a giant sweetheart in personality, he won't hold back in a fight if driven to it, out of respect for both the art and his opponent. I'm yet to do a coloured version since i'm still figuring out all the symbols, designs and what mixed colours he'd wear, but being a large fellow Cuuja doesn't wear much on his body aside his chestwrap and waistwrap, adorning himself in colourful paints, cloths and blessings, for things such as wellbeing, health, luck, etc. He also wears a big brass weight around the base of his tail which I think would add some oomph if it was swung someone's way.

(as for why more people don't delve into the Horo, I know a lot of folks struggle with drawing heavier bodytypes without practice or are put off by them, but not me, I think bellies are lovely and all bodytypes should be expressed in a character roster! nwn)

And for Flosi, his lore is quite fun, I don't have much art of him so I'll pop an in-game screenshot instead~!

To start off, this bnuu was raised by a Doman family somewhere in Doma after being separated/lost from his tribe either as a baby or toddler (just.. sometime when very small) however he wound up in that part of Othard so far from the mountains remains a mystery, but there has been some speculation of kidnapping or tribal displacement. Because of this he was brought up alongside the hyur, raen, roes and lupin as somewhat of an oddity, but not really forsaken for being different since everyone knew the story about the kindly couple who found the kit and took him in as their own. Since he grew up in Doma he also saw the place fall under the occupation of the Garleans and has a personal vendetta against them too, by this time he was grown and working and living in Kugane with whatever jobs he could get, mainly serving in teahouses and pleasure houses (by choice! not sold to them like Yotsuyu but was still popular because he was seen as exotic) with recent years and the Empire getting progressively more violent and overshadowing within that side of the East, Flosi has quietly been trying to find a way out of Othard entirely to see what it would be like to live away from a land under their heel, but getting out of the port city unnoticed has been proving a challenge and people aren't bold enough to smuggle him abroad, so he ends up finding someone willing to and winds up in Eorzea. He's skilled in knifeman-ship and opts to use daggers as his weapon of choice, and writes often to his now elderly adopted parents back in the long-occupied Doma, vowing one day to help them find a way out like they did for him. His outward demeaner is very soft and disarming, usually being able to talk himself out a bad situation, but isn't afraid to get back to his viera roots if someone decides to give him a hard time.

OOF WOW SORRY THIS GOT LONG BUT I'M SO SO HAPPY YOU ASKED ABOUT TWO OF MY MORE LESSER KNOWN CHARACTERS? It means a lot to me!! ♥ Thank you so much for your ask and time! I hope you enjoy my funny lil dudes, there's a lot of them around hehe :')

[siriuslysatorusimping]

Hi hello, so nice to talk to you, Kiko!

This is going to definitely sound weird, but do you have any advice for an ongoing Ao3 writer? Pretty sure I'm not the only one here writing Gojo/OC stories or fluffy one-shots since they're so addicting lol.

But it's strange to be so obsessed with writing with so many ideas and time and energy to write, and then it feels like you're in a bit of a slump when that rush of creativity sort of slows.

You mentioned before that you had most of the story for AL mapped out and written, did it help you to plan ahead more before posting? Or was it more of a, "I didn't worry about it too much because it was fun to write and we're all Gojo simpls" kind of a deal?

Anyhow, would love to know if you'd be alright talking about it. Have a good day~

Hiiiii! It's nice to talk to you, too! 😊

Gojo fluff is addictive and I honestly have been rereading Physical Paradox installments today because I need fluff and motivation 😂

Hmmmm, advice for AO3 writers? Honestly, I feel like I'm a bit under qualified for that because I'd been an anon reader for over ten years until July when I finally created an account so I could post Another Level 😂😂

BUT, I do have a few thoughts. I'll try to keep these as simple as my over-explaining ass can 🫠 (Kiko did not keep it simple. I ranted and this post is hella long, I am so sorry.)

If you haven't already, you can read Another Level on AO3 💕

On writing in general: Write for you.

1) I know I've said this before, but it's true. Write as if no one else will ever see what you're writing to begin with. That's how I started with Another Level. I never intended for anyone else to see it when I first started. On the flip side of this though, don't be afraid of bouncing ideas off others.

It's likely vain of me, but I genuinely enjoy reading my own writing. I try very hard to make sure that what I'm posting is something I enjoy reading. But it makes it so much easier to write if you enjoy reading it, because you're just as excited to read it and see what happens as someone who isn't in your head.

2) I think that something really important for when that creativity slows in one area, don't force yourself to keep going if you don't have to. Hobbies are supposed to be fun, not an obligation or a stressor.

Once the joy fades from a hobby, it's no longer a hobby.

Think of it this way: since May of this year, I've written around 300k words for different fanfics. If we look at that from the perspective of a single-spaced, 12pt font perspective, that is 300 pages. I've written the equivalent of a gosh dang Dissertation. But here's the difference between Another Level and a Dissertation: writing and researching for Another Level was fun. It was something I wanted to do.

(We'll ignore the fact that I didn't have to teach classes and grade papers simultaneously as well. I do and don't miss grad school And honestly, I miss teaching. But academia can kiss my ass.)

3) Write what you want to write, not what others expect you to write. This isn't your job. You aren't being paid for a word count or hours put in, you're doing this for you and for fun. When you let other's expectations drive you instead of your own desire, that happiness is fleeting and it's easy to burnout fast.

4) Follow your inspiration fairies, even if only briefly. You don't have to write out an entire universe, and you don't have to keep what you write. But sometimes you have to get rid of the brainworms to make room for other ideas. I've realized that a few of my Goinko 'au' ideas are literally better just as little headcannons or blurbs and nothing more. And that's okay, because now I got them out of my system.

5) If you want to write and finish a series, only post for that series. I'm learning this the hard way right now with Gokduō and Physical Paradox. It is really hard to focus on one or the other because I feel an odd pressure to get the next parts done for both, which is completely the opposite of what it should be.

The pressure drains my creativity, and I've found myself struggling because I'm too worried about what people will think of it instead of what I want it to be. In all honesty, I had a moment today where I almost decided I don't want to finish Gokudō because I'm not sure where to take it, but I realized I just need some time away from trying to force myself.

6) If you're unhappy with it, don't be afraid to scrap it. Use it as a starting point if you want, but don't get too attached to it if you don't like where it's going. Take a step back and ask if/how it's getting you where you want to go with that work, and if it doesn't help you get there, then it can go.

What was my approach with Another Level? (includes JJK Manga spoilers)

I'll elaborate a bit more on how I had things mapped out before I started posting first. Essentially, when the Gojo/Sukuna fight started in the manga, I just knew Gojo was going to die. In my mind, there was no way Akutami would let him live, and I was in a really bad place mentally and wasn't sure how I'd be able to handle it. And then I was like "wait, that's literally why we have fanfic, I can keep him alive as long as I want."

So, I started Another Level with the intention to keep it to myself and use it as my own comfort fic to prepare myself for Gojo's death. Some behind the scenes info: a version of the dream Rinko had in Split Bluff was the very first thing I wrote for Another Level. Except it originally wasn't a dream, it was going to be their reunion. However, they weren't as close, they were solidly friends with benefits who barely knew each other. Then, I wrote a part where Rinko first meets Yuuji at the Goodwill Event and she was Maki's legal guardian and still a teacher at Kyoto Tech, then I went further back and wrote her asking Gojo to get Maki enrolled at Tokyo Tech, and then I went further back and wrote Make a God Bleed.

As you already know because you've read Another Level, none of those stayed the same because then, as I kept writing, Rinko took on a life of her own. She became so much more than just a random OC that I threw together without thinking. And I have to say that I'm so glad she did because I'm not sure I would have been able to deal with 236 without Rinko. Some people have said Rinko helped them, but she's helped me so much as well. I mean it when I say she's cemented herself as my favorite original character that I've ever written because she has so much depth and heart that I accidentally poured into her. Not to mention that she's helped me meet some really amazing people along the way.

I'm in a bit of a rut now because I was on a marathon of writing for about five or six months. I started writing Another Level in May, and while I wrote the first draft for All That I Am Is Yours probably in June or July, I pretty much completely rewrote it once we actually got there. Between May and now, I've written upwards of 300k words of JJK fanfic, not including the installments or drafts I scrapped completely 🙃

Posting schedule with Another Level:

As someone who is severely ADHD, my hyperfocus was strong with Another Level. I was obsessed. And I was even more obsessed when I realized people were enjoying reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

In all honesty, part of what kept me on a strict uploading schedule with Another Level was a desire for the validation and praise in the comments. While I had a lot written, I uploaded so quickly because I wanted to get that lil rush from seeing the comments.

Kiko is about to do a lil bit of oversharing for ya: I'd just left a job where I'd spent the last six months there with my formerly wonderful boss decided to blame me for every little thing that went wrong, and then she couldn't understand why my performance actually started to drop. I hadn't heard a damn word of positive feedback for anything I did in so long that the comments on Another Level helped pull me out of a very depressive state.

But, it quickly became unhealthy because I started to rely on them to the point where it was all I cared about. All I cared about was seeing comments on the newest Another Level installment, and when there wasn't feedback, I got all in my head about what I'd done wrong and wanted to post the next installment as quickly as possible because maybe that one would do better.

Now, this is not me saying that wanting comments is a bad thing. Feedback is very important, and it's hard to know if people are enjoying something when there's not anything to go on. But it does become a problem if it's the only reason you're writing. I've been very fortunate in that I haven't gotten comments or messages demanding updates because I've seen that others do receive those sometimes. I like to think it's because you guys are just awesome and wonderful people.

I've gotten a bit better about being obsessed with comments because I have this nice lil corner of wonderful people and I feel like I've made a few genuine friends here. (Hi Rai, if you're reading this, I hope you're doing well.)

I know that what I just described for my Another Level posting schedule contradicts what I said in the beginning, but I will say that while my posting schedule was heavily driven by that need for praise, my writing schedule was not. I was writing so much because I was enjoying myself. I was having more fun writing than I had in years. I still am, but I do have to keep reminding myself some of the points I made above otherwise I find myself falling into a rut.

THIS WAS PROBABLY WAY MORE THAN YOU BARGAINED FOR AND I AM SO SORRY 🫠

BUT I HOPE IT MADE SENSE AND THAT IT WASN'T JUST COMPLETELY FUCKING USELESS 😭😭🙃

[madmaxxing]

Nosith questions!

1- Favourites thing(s) about this character?

I personally really like the themes he's got going on. There's a lot of body dismorphia, trans undertones within the Owen to Nosith pipeline, but ultimately, my favorite part of Nosith is that he's a less than pleasant person who knows he's a dick, who has very little desire to be more than the bare minimum polite not to get kicked out, but he will go above and beyond for the people he loves.

I've been thinking of a point, future in the campaign where Nosith has to take up the mantle of the king his previous body; Owen, was born to take. He's very displeased by it, it's a job that forces him have to deal with people, often people he considers less than, but I think he'd really try to strike at corrupt systems and make living better for people. He's got the attitude to be a good, if very impersonal ruler.

Of course, the reasoning he gives is that if this is his kingdom, the lands are his, the people that work the lands are his... he doesn't want some second rate kingdom. He's not going to settle for less than excellency. His people will be educated, they will know how to do their jobs, and the army will be strong and capable to defend the land if it comes to that. Asa, if she wants to rule, might have to take on the more emotional side of dealing with the crowds.

While Owen has known the people through the filter of being able to go back home to the palace every night, Nosith has made it to the surface from the depths of the ocean. He knows hardship, and he takes pride in hard work, as long as it's not senseless.

2- What song(s) remind you of this character?

I've got a whole playlist for him! It's in chronological order of meeting the rest of the goth squad, the breakup with his goddess, and eventually finding love again.

However, I think the best fitting one for him is Cold Cold Man by Saint Motel.

3- Do you like this character?

He's my blorbo, my dearest little one.

4- Would you write about this character?

Oh boy. I have written about him, I've spent literal entire nights talking about him.

5- What do you not like about this character?

He's often unnecessarily callous. While he's the reason I've grown to love evil characters, he's so damn difficult without having to be.

Also, his voice. He's got a really guttural, growly voice and it's the reason I'm trying to push for him getting back his human body earlier in the campaign. I need to learn how to do his voice without wrecking my throat.

6- Favourite thing this character has said?

"You might have a hard time believing not every god's a piece of shit, but they're not that far unlike us on that regard. Some are bad, some don't care, and some are good. Their actions ripple through our lives and our world at a much larger scale than they might realize."

7- What do you like most about this character?

He wants, almost above all, to learn, to keep learning. He's a very, very determined person and there's little things that sway him for long if he's got something in mind.

10- Who do you like to ship with this character? (If you do of course) Is it another character from the cast or is it an OC?

Gosh. Um um. The canon ship Nosith has is Nosith/Asaithen. They are adorable together. But I'm a multishipper at heart and I can't say I haven't thought of how a relationship of him with some other character would look like.

The toxic ones are Thorah/Nosith and the absolute worst one is Thesisa/Nosith, I believe she might just keep him on an actual leash <3

Since one of Nosith's pivot points is a warped, toxic and often one-sided love, he lends himself really well for these kind of toxic ships. Nosith/Aiy'ig is literally the Twitter parasocial creep-a-zoid having a crush on a celebrity ship that is like, a Thing for most of the campaign.

11- Who do you not like to ship with this character?

Goes without saying that any relationship with the closest culties is an immediate no. Anemone and Gu'ga'Thak are his siblings, and Alexotof is, in his mind, no better than an animal that coincidentally can speak.

14- What outfit would you really like to see this character wear? Or what’s your favourite outfit of theirs?

Nosith says he's a real pragmatic guy but he's kind of vain <3 I think he'd look gorgeous all prettied up in gold and fine robes.

Up to this point, his outfits have been a plain black robe with a cloth mask, a filigree gold and black robe, masked still, and then he switched to a more combat oriented leather armor with a hood + half-cape combo.

16- What do you think would improve this character? Like, character-arc wise?

I think he needs to learn to actually respect his teammates. Thorah he 'respects' because she's proven she can crush him; Asaithen, she's a big source of information about his past life, and now she's also the other aquatic member of the team, so he's not the only weirdo choosing to sleep overnight in the river.

Unfortunately he doesn't respect Shade too much and it really shows in how he behaves with her.

17- Have you ever had a crush on this character…?

He's a bit too close to facets of me for me to have a crush on him.

18- What’s something you associate this character with? E.g. a certain colour, object or scenery?

His gold and ruby ring <3

[sesamie]

I looove your cowboy oc clementine so so so much

Any fun facts about him?

oh my gosh YES okay so clementine (maybe new name pending at some point since i stole his name ope) is a cowboy in the badlands around medora, his whole cowboy experience is based on what i have learned by growing up in north dakota and what it was like to live here in the plains and the badlands way back when. honestly a great deal of people here still live this way, and there's a lot of readily available historical knowledge here about it especially if you visit medora and learn about theodore roosevelt and all!! but clementine precedes teddy quite a bit, he's a cowboy in the late 1700s-ish i think?, cause at some point through some twist of fate he meets hickory ( @linafication's counterpart to this guy!) who is a PIRATE (SO COOL) and they're in butch4butch t4t dyke love forever and ever. but pirates and (american-area) cowboys don't quite neatly line up in history, so we have to do some time finagling.

anyways clementine himself!! he is something of a nomad - he goes to lots of the same towns, but he never sticks around for very long. almost his whole life since he was old enough to be alone, he's been alone. and he doesn't have any relations, only the people who have considered him honorary family across his life, especially the people who raised him. and if you asked him he would say he likes it that way! he's alone but not lonely, he would probably say. he has a horse (when people are kind enough to loan him one) and a guitar (when he can hang onto it). he's got a little money and his handkerchief and his nice gloves and a gun and a big big heart and it doesn't MATTER if nobody's ever wanted to come along with him and it doesn't BOTHER him if he hasn't ever had anyone to call his own and he doesn't MIND that he doesn't have anywhere to go at the end of the day. totally not. it's perfectly fine. he doesn't feel one way or the other about it. he doesn't even barely notice it.

and that's sort of his whole deal pre-hickory; sig and i haven't talked a lot about how they meet or sort of what happens with them, but they exist! and their story exists!

fun facts about clementine include: he does play guitar but he doesn't own one (anymore. he lost it. it's somewhere. all the hills look the same. he swears he'll turn a corner and find it one day, and that's why he can't even consider getting a new one. cause it's out there!! he just doesn't know where.) i'm interested in making him one of the three affiliated tribes (MHA) of the area but i haven't spent enough time brainstorming about him and researching to say much more about that; he was originally ojibwe cause i wanted him to be native and i'm ojibwe so it felt safe to keep him close to what i know, but unless he came from a long long ways away (which is possible!) it wouldn't make a lot of sense for him to be ojibwe. so i'm working on that! another fun fact is he operates in a grey space between outlaw and normal guy, in some places he has done his fair share of crimes, and in other places he's a well loved unsuspicious fellow! but those places have to be pretty far away from eachother cause information spreads. he does lots and lots of odd jobs for people, and his most lucrative side business is running letters between towns as a tiny mail system of just one guy. he has a remarkable sense of direction. he draws landscapes when he has the means. he's very afraid of heights. he loves dogs but politely turns down every offer for him to have one of his own when someone's dog has had puppies, cause he thinks he can't take good care of it. he wants to see the ocean (and he will i assume! with hickory!) and he's a horrible swimmer. his favorite color is red. he gets flirted with by men and women and only by accident ever flirts back. and lastly but possibly the most important fun fact, i love him very much

[kimikoyukiart]

Hey! Idk if you remember, I'd talked to you about making your aymeric x estinien housing art into ffxiv housing. Ever since then, I have really fallen in love with your art style! I am also a noob artist and opened comms recently, but I haven't gotten any yet haha do you have any advice and tips for me to help gain an audience and commissioners? Thank you and goodluck with your shop!

Hello again! Yes, I remember gosh thank you so much for enjoying my art! Also I'm always super happy to answer art stuff since I'm in love with it, but I will open with a disclaimer specifically for the growing audience bit cause for a long time I've primarily been an OC / original art artist and it wasn't till I became cripplingly obsessed with estimeric that I grew some semblance of a following so I'm a pretty small artist by most standards ;;; With that said, here are my tips and advice which I'll separate into 2 parts

Putting this under a read more cause it's LONG

Commissions (mostly about expectations, best practices, and organisation to make it easy on clients)

Have some kind of commission page (here's mine for example) to make it easy for your clients to be able to reference something and for you to direct new inquiries to. This can be anything from a website/carrd to even just a google doc/tumblr pg. Will there be clients who never read this? Absolutely. BUT it's also great for clients who are shy and/or who like coming prepared

Have a Terms of Service section!! In our current day and age of tech bros and assholes trying to exploit and scam creatives I cannot express enough how just having a TOS will deter these ppl! It shows you're serious and that you know what you're about, making you less of a target!

MOST IMPORTANT! Be kind to yourself!!! Opening commissions is exciting due to the prospect of making money from something you love and it can be very disappointing and demoralising when you don't get any! It's also a very "feast or famine" type of roller coaster, so don't feel bad if you don't get any, even super large artists struggle!

Building a following (from someone who's doesn't actually prioritise this so take it as you will!)

You've probably heard this before but fanart is definitely better at drawing a crowd than original art so I feel obligated to mention it. (I'm a pretty classic case study of this imo lol) And the reason for this is that there's already an established audience out there that loves the content you're making unlike original art where you're starting from ground zero. Does that mean you should give up making original art if you want followers? ABSOLUTELY NOT! And honestly most of my advise will be from the perspective of growing an audience via original art because you can apply the same principles to fanart so here we go!

Consistency is key. Being a constant presence on your existing followers' feed means having consistent chances for them to share/engage with a piece of your artwork, which means more chances for new eyes to see them which means more chances for followers etc etc. But what's the pace? Well that depends on how brutal you're interested in being with yourself unfortunately....if you die hard want to grow as fast as possible then once a day (i've seen some artist do more;;;) but it's something I would NOT recommend for all sorts of risks. (you can mitigate the risk ofc but that's like a whole thing in itself) I'd advice you to figure out a pace that works for you so that you maintain a healthy relationship with your art

Join events/zines/bandwagons. Whether it's things like drawtober, ffxiv art parties, or zines, engaging with community/communal activities (especially those with hashtags/promos) can help you engage with people who might not have found you otherwise. If you're a social person it's a great chance for you to make friends who have similar interests too! Making art related to a piece of media that just came out is also great way of engagement since people are probably looking for it (for example spidersonas or dressing OCs in outfits to watch the barbie movie)

Make it easy to find your art when someone visits your page. It doesn't necessarily have to be a full portfolio, but giving viewers a place to see only your art posts is crucial imo. Tumblr is great since it's tagging system is fantastic making this part easy but places like Twitter for example only have a single media tab; so making a thread for art post or keeping your media tab clean is ideal. (you've no idea have many artists i've chosen not to follow cause their media tab is 1 awesome piece of art then just 500 cursed memes/reaction images lol)

HARDEST BUT MOST IMPORTANT POINT! Make compelling art. I follow artists who post a piece of art maybe once every....I dunno 3 months if even that, but when they do they get thousands of notes, why? Because it is a compelling piece of art. Something that touches the heart or makes you gasp in awe or swoon from it's vision or die laughing. And this is the hardest point because what that looks like is completely unique to you. Basically it is your answer to the question of "Why do I make art?" which artists everywhere all around the world, regardless of genre or industry, are trying to answer themselves. The one thing you MUST REMEMBER while you try to figure this point out is that it must involve Love. That means loving the journey; the grueling failures, steep learning curves, and all, because if even you don't love what you're trying to create other won't either. And that's not to say you have to be happy about a piece of art not turning out right (I still cry from frustration myself all the time) but it does mean be kind to yourself when you fall so you can pick yourself up easier when you stand again

THAT WAS SUPER LONG WOW! With all that said tho those 1st 2 points for growing an audience is what I would recommend focusing on! The internet is all about engagement and you can't have that if there's nothing to engage with! Also because it just bears mentioning that sometimes it is just a skill thing and you just have to get better at drawing BUT that is not to say skillful=complex! Nonono take a look at webtoons like "My Giant Nerd Boyfriend" by fishball or "Sarah's Scribbles" by Sarah Andersen. Or illustrator's like loonpflug or mmeiccaa. It's not complex but it's some FKIN GOOD ART!

Ok I will stop my ranting here GOOD LUCK AND DON'T FORGET TO BE KIND TO YOURSELF!! You are more than how many numbers you make on the internet and I hope that you always remember that 💖

[kindlythevoid]

⭐

At first I was like: "Oh my gosh I don't know what to talk about, I feel like I've talked about everything already oh my goshhh"

INCORRECT

Here is A Waltz Is Still A Waltz: The Director's Commentary.

Cut to A Waltz Is Still A Waltz: The Director's Cut Commentary below for a play-by-play of the actual story with commentary. The following, A Waltz Is Still A Waltz: The Director's Commentary is simply behind-the-scenes of the creation and intent behind A Waltz Is Still A Waltz.

A Waltz Is Still A Waltz (known as WISW from now on) was definitely inspired by one of my favorite romance songs of all time, One Last Dance by Us the Duo. It is such a pretty song and it's based off a true story and it is just so sweet, I would definitely recommend listening to it (I'll put the spotify at the bottom for easy access). So anyway, I have these two Star Wars characters, right? Right. And I'm writing away at the OC-insert, but writing takes so long and these two characters are nowhere near meeting, but I like writing snippets that hopefully end up in fully-fledged chapters.

But I'm listening to this song and I'm listening (and mind you this happened a while ago so I really have no clue) and I try to write snippets as soon as they come to me or else they're gone forever, so I write down this little snippet. The whole thing is only a few hundred words and is supposed to be about them dancing alone on a warm night in their ship, just a cute little moment.

Two Problems with that.

One: Oh my gosh how do you write ppl that are dancing but not even dancing?? I sure as heck don't know which is why out of the (double checks) 736 words I wrote down, a grand total of 153 of them are about them dancing. Two paragraphs. I spend more time on them actually getting the tapes to play this music than I do on them actually, physically dancing. (I checked, it's 154 vs 153. Like!!! What???)

Do I have the power to go back and write more about them dancing? Yes.

Will I? AS SOON AS I FIGURE OUT HOW TO WRITE THESE TWO!!

Two: I haven't really?? Written the characters all that much?? Like Kirsi, definitely, we have some solid chapters down. Miikka?? I think I finally nailed down whether or not he was a ginger (a very defining feature, mind you) like, last month. Miikka has vibes right now. I don't know if that translates over to a fully-fleshed out personality.

Two-and-a-half-but-technically-Three: I don't?? write in Star Wars?? I've always wanted to, but a lot of fanfic writers are so good at navigating the universe and just throwing in (COMPLETELY CANON!!!) nonsense words for ordinary objects?? So I sit there gobsmacked trying to figure out the freaking parts of a spaceship that doesn't exist to write better. This whole thing is really just me trying to write Star Wars. I may have gone overboard.

Okay, here's the thing. I got a little over-excited about the music. If you were to ask me what this story is about, I would say "Oh, these two space travelers, my OCs Kirsi and Miikka, finally get some down time and get to know each other better before they're officially together." You, reading this now, now know this is merely the lie I tell myself to sleep at night. This is, in fact, a list of music and my very earnest attempt at making a fic Sound Like Star Wars. (how well it worked?? ...mmm.... debatable, I'll leave it up to the masses (all 8 ppl who looked at the piece I love y'all and would risk it all for y'all))

But mostly it's just about the different genres of music to be found in Star Wars.

Why?

Because I spent too. many. hours researching Star Wars music (to find waltz!! because surely Star Wars would have a different word for "waltz"!!!!!!) not to put everything I learned in a grand total of (double checks) 242 words out of the previously aforementioned 736.

Q: After hours and hours of searching, would you like to know what I learned?

A: STAR WARS HAS NO SPECIAL NAME FOR A WALTZ.

This, and the fact that the beloved soon-to-be couple only very crappily dance the waltz, is the core reason behind the name for the story: A Waltz (no matter how badly done, no matter what universe it comes from) Is Still A Waltz

But maybe you're here for A Waltz Is Still A Waltz: The Director's Cut Commentary.

(a la ASMR) Let's dive in, shall we?

Paragraph One: This is mainly just setting the scene. You can tell by the way I drop in the spaceship parts that I'm dipping my toes into the greater Star Wars dialogue. I am also setting up the reason that Miikka and Kirsi, our main characters, will be alone this evening despite their being a part of a whole crew. It is unclear what part of their journey this takes place in, but it can be safely assumed that it is still early on, as Miikka and Kirsi are not officially together at this point and Kirsi is still mostly working for the Rebellion under orders.

Paragraph Two: Here, I try to expand the world of Star Wars to include the people in it who are not, in fact, great heroes or the Skywalkers. As the longest paragraph in the piece, it is merely my love of giving the worlds to the ordinary people that live in it, as well as my heavy implication that the Crew of the Judgement Day can (and, perhaps, will) form a band in their free time. This is left up the discretion of the viewer, however, until I otherwise feel like it.

Paragraph Three: Transition. Going for montage, not doing a great job of it. One of these days I'll go back and beef it up a bit, but for right now it is left vague and up to the reader's imagination. My apologies, reader.

Paragraph Four: I went through the whole of Wookiepedia's many, many pages on Star Wars music. I had to write the word jizz in front of jazz because that's what it is. I must do all of this with a straight face. However, I also take the time to establish more of Miikka's character through his diverse music taste. This will help me in the future, although I cannot say how.

Paragraph Five: Here, I begin by continuing my foray into fake engineering by naming random parts of a ship that sound feasible. I do my best to consult Wookiepedia as well as using my best judgement to gauge what would actually get hit in a dogfight in space, but alas, I hate math, so here we are. I continue the idea of a montage for the audience and randomly reference a story to give the montage some weight/gravity (as in realistic, not as in serious). Unfortunately, I have no idea what story Miikka's is referring to because I have not come up with it yet. I eagerly await the day my creative juices flow properly that I might find out what it is.

Paragraph Six: In this paragraph, I try to account for Kirsi's alternate biology, as whether or not she actually has something passing for ears appears to still be up for debate. It has been brought up that they may use some form of echolocation. I don't delve into it here, but I try to be conscious of this fact as I'm writing from her POV as a Togrutan. Also, I love the feeling of heavy bass coming through the speakers in a car, and the way the whole car can shake, so I thought I would try and convey that here for some sense of reality/relatability in a spaceship.

Paragraph Seven: I need to work on Miikka's personality.

Paragraph Eight: Symphonic, in my opinion, is a lovely word. If I remember correctly, I almost used it twice in the same sentence. I know they say that you don't always have to go to a thesaurus, but damn if it isn't my BFF when I write.

Paragraph Nine: I like using parentheses for inner thoughts for some (but not all!) of my characters. I use it for other stories, but I don't believe they are posted. The only one that comes to mind is Dean's POV from Mara's story, but that is a long, long way from being finished. This is also my attempt at some relatable humor. Whether anyone other than me thought it was funny is up for debate, but I thoroughly enjoy it.

Paragraph Ten: Kirsi, I have decided, has a thing for gingers. Whether she knows this yet is up for debate.

Paragraph Eleven: I'm so down for consent questions. Nothing better. Also the juxtaposition of dirty-tired-mechanic Miikka with refined-polished-questions is *chef's kiss*.

Paragraph Twelve: THEY'RE FINALLY DANCING!! I personally love the idea of Miikka acting as a gentleman and recognizing that Kirsi can do whatever the hell she wants. I also love the idea that Kirsi recognizing this fact and choosing to stay with Miikka. (bc she loves him but neither of them know this yet shhh)

Paragraph Thirteen: Kirsi is crushing so hard and she doesn't even know it. But also the thought of dancing for fun when you aren't good at it?? Or even just swaying in place with the music?? Makes me melt every time. I really do need to go back and add more to this, just because I think it's sweet and the paragraphs are looking really thin. :/ Mixed feelings. Short and sweet? Or Sweet but too short??

Paragraph Fourteen: Oooh, not the beginning of "it doesn't feel like other people when it's you" that introverts understand. IDK if Kirsi is actually an introvert but the idea of Miikka becoming one of her inner inner circle is approaching and I watch it crash hit like a comet with great interest!

Paragraph Fifteen: Yeah, I definitely tried to lean into Togrutan biology this time. Leaves you in the middle of the action, but I think it's a nice ending.

~

And, yeah, thank you so much for joining me. I know that was a lot, with me going off on the story (negative) for the first half and then me going off on the story (positive) for the second half. I appreciate everyone who took the time to read through it (and/or the story itself) and go on this venture with me. <3

I won't promise that every Director's Cut will be this lengthy, but I hope it was entertaining at the very least! :)

Kindly,

The Void

P.S. Below are links to the story (again) as well as the song referenced earlier (One Last Dance by Us the Duo)

P.P.S. I almost forgot! While the initial story was most likely created under the aforementioned song, a majority, if not most of, the editing was done under the repeated listening of the Up theme song, which, if that doesn't tell you something about the story, I don't know what will, ha ha!

[alltimefail-sims]

All anon questions, so I compiled them here in one place! Thank you to those of you who sent me asks about my OCs. I appreciate you guys 🖤

Original Prompt here - ask me about my OCs!!

Oh gosh, the floodgates of my mind have been reopened... this sad family has me in a chokehold I fear. For those of you who don't know about the Barths, they're a family from one of my sim dumps. I haven't talked about them much on here since sharing them, so thank you for this ask!

-> Jacob grew up in Copperdale in a trailer home community with his mom and little sister, Scout!

-> I wouldn't say he's necessarily an animal lover, but he is a dog lover!! He's never had a dog, but he's always wanted one!!! (Having a dog is one of his long term goals now that he's not incarcerated any more.)

-> His favorite food wouldn't be anything fancy - a classic smash burger, side of curly fries, and a peanut butter milkshake for dessert would be his perfect meal!

-> I imagine Jacob is the kind of person to keep many secrets, unfortunately. Some of them he keeps from his little sister to preserve her childhood and her view of him, some of them he has kept because he feels shame, others he keeps to protect himself. Needless to say, he would really benefit from speaking to a mental health professional.

Omg Freya!!!!

-> Freya isn't outdoorsy but she does loves all animals; I wish we had birds in the sims because she would absolutely have a pet owl. I also think she would have a pet rabbit or two!

-> I personally headcanon Freya as neurodivergent! (Diagnosed Dyspraxia; on a related note I always imagined her to have sensory processing issues and delayed speech as a child as well, which has resulted in a noticeable speech impediment even into adulthood.)

-> Zoe is biracial; her mother is Black and her father (who is not a part of her life) is Caucasian/white

-> Tashia is Black

-> Erwin is Caucasian/white

-> Beckett is Caucasian/white

-> Anwar's ethnic identity is complex because by America's race/ethnicity classifications, he would be considered "white" - he obviously does not identify as white, nor is he white lol, but that's America for you! I went into his background HERE if you're curious, but I think he would probably identify as Arab and/or Middle Eastern.

-> Junia is biracial. Her father is white/Caucasian but her mother is Mexican and Native American - specifically Cherokee. She was basically raised by her mother's parents when her mom died, so she is more closely connected to her Native and Hispanic roots and would identify as such.

[taegularities]

Gosh what can I say, CMI really has a special place in my heart like we’ve come a long way to come to this point!! Again I took down my favourite moments because it makes me tear up 😩

“Pulling out all the stops and making things better with you, I mean. I wouldn’t wanna do it with anyone else.” This is love, this is love. Like even if you’re happy, sad or angry with each other it doesn’t matter as long as its with your person 🥹🥹 I suddenly remember that song called I’d Rather by Luther Vandross ❤️

“Which is you for me. I’m building a home with you.” All I can say is the best is yet to come. I’m so excited for the home and life they’ll build together!! *ehem* kids included *ehem*

“My baby is the prettiest ever. Ever, ever.” Cmi jk makes me swoon 🥰🥰 MY BABY ugh 🙊

Iron Man socks. Obviously worn a hundred times; so, so him. — nauurrr but I do remember kook wearing the iron man socks when they got pranked though 💔 he was a baby 😭😭

“And this… This is my girlfriend. She’s even prettier in real life… that’s right.” Come onnnn!! As if cmi jk cant be more perfect. Im still reeling at the fact they’re together cause cmi jk wears the boyfriend tag like a badge of honour 🥰🥰

“Don’t say these things while they’re here, baby,” he warns, although as tenderly as anyhow possible, “you’ll give me a heart attack, I mean it.” I love it when oc teases him!! He’s down bad! I actually wished oc did something naughty hihi

Much like the flowers towards the downpour, Jungkook and you reached for each other while being watered by gloom — but unlike the flowers, you’re still sprouting and thriving into something vivid and fragrant. Not beaten by the agonising shower. - THIS IS MY MOST FAVOURITE PART. I cant remember how many times I read and go back to this particular paragraph. Your words are so beautiful its painful to think about it ❤️❤️

And in the end, him and you aren’t tragic like them. You will never wither — only bloom. - THIS ONE TOO 😭😭 When I read this I felt like gosh this line holds so much promise. I trust you Rid to never break them apart again 😐🤞🏻

And when I come home now, the first thing I think of is you. What we’d cook tonight. Or what we might watch or talk about. - I wish I have something like this to think about also AHA HA HA HA.. 🫥

“And that’s you. I don’t want anyone if I can’t have you.” Its you for me, and me for you kinda thing. No one can ever come between them ❤️

“Wanna dance with you. And kiss you under the lights.” They’re so sickeningly romantic my gosh I feel my single-ness so much when I read cmi 😩 like idk if they’re the type but when I think of cmi couple, they’re like the ones who would dance to mellow music in their living room with only fairylights on, maybe some wine. Enjoying the night as if they’re the only ones awake and sharing a secret only they know 😩❤️❤️❤️

Thank you Rid for our new year’s gift!! You’re so so incredibly talented and hope you know how special you are as a writer and person!! This new year, i wish you can feel comforted as much as we feel comfort from you and your stories. Love you my darling ❤️

gosh, cmi really has come a long way, huh? 😭 1.5 yrs of beauty, and it shall continue for just a bit longer <3 you're so sweet for highlighting your favourite parts :((

i think one of the reasons i truly love these two so much is that they take every emotion in their relationship as an important and natural part of it. like, we haven't seen that bit yet, but it is in my notes – the way they'll handle jealousy, anger, sorrow, trauma will be so incredibly… mature? and very sweet. and they wouldn't wanna do it with anyone else, yes 🥺

not the kids, plsss 😭 (also im just noticing, but i wanted to call you by a name and only came up with koalashark?? lmaoo is there a name i can call or tag you with? 🥺)

THE IRON MAN SOCKSSS AHHHH i immediately felt bad thinking about the AHL incident bc that was so terrible to witness but… the fact that jk had iron man socks at all :( and he'll be wearing them again just bc oc told him to heheheheh <3

HE DOES WEAR THE BOYFRIEND TAG LIKE A BADGE OF HONOUR AHHHHH he's so proud to be hers 😭 and smth naughty huh? fret not. oc will drive him insane in cmi12/13 lollll. also, ty ty tysm for talking about the flower part. i agonised over it for such a long time, so your praise means a lot to me <3

"Its you for me, and me for you kinda thing"… yes. yes yes yes 🥺 :(((

they're truly both romantic ugh. like, i feel like oc isn't as hardcore of a romantic as him, but that love makes her just that for sure. or idk. i really cannot say who of them is more romantic i just ughghhgjdkshfgjkdfsk :') and yes babe you're right, they're the type to slow dance to mellow music and hold each other close, and her head on his shoulder anddddd… you're not too far off bc we might see this someday 😭

thank you so much for reading, sweetheart <3 you're so fkn sweet for always giving me feedback like this and for making me and the story feel special. i do feel so much comfort, so thank you for this 🥺 love you 🤍

[theoutlawfaleena]

Hey there! 👋 Not sure if this account is still used by you 🥹 but I wanna share some brainrot anyway. 😊

I dislike how COD manages to rot my brain every few months 🙄 and is then not quiet, but silent for another few months 😶‍🌫️ so I apologise for being here and not being here sometimes. 🫠👍

By the way, this brainrot is a mix of tiktok headcanons and my own. 🤝

Alright; I was thinking a bit about König in the past week. 🥰 Yk, think of him as a character that isn't an infant that constantly needs help. 🤠 So, what's the opposite of a school kid? You guessed it, a murderer! 😌

Now before you think: "Zombie-Anon, what the fuck are you talking about??" 😳 Let me arrange the rest of the pictures. 😉e

In König's backstory, bullying plays quite a big role 😤 and I think he joined the military at the age of 17 (either canonically of some other tumbler theorised that) which ain't common in Austria. 🇦🇹⛰️🍻

So... what if the bullying got so bad 😟 that he snapped one day and either did kill one bully or simply attempted to do it. 🫢

Now, based on what my sister just told me, this would result in teenjail, some massive amount of rehabiliation and therapy and probably no entry into the military... 😬 but since this is Call of Duty I'm gonna ignore that. 😎

Or if we do want to stay realistic, 🤔😥 König 100% has murderous thoughts. Stop supervising him and he'll strike at whoever he's mad at. 🤩 This man is filled with rage, murder, metal and the ability to kill casually. 👍

And since it has been some time, I have fully stopped working on my Zombie-AU simply because I've got no motivation for that anymore. 🥲 Instead I've been reworking a COD OC of mine, whose really slaying now 😏 and I have no idea how I was able to create the thing I made at the very beginning?? She was bland, had an uninteresting backstory and no spice whatsoever. 😒 I also created an OC that's like, sort of the opposite of her snd he slays a lot as well. 😌

I love traumatised characters, they're my favourite flavour.

Signing off, Zombie-Anon. 🧟💛

oh my gosh. zombie anon. i'm so happy to hear from u 🥺 u and i both are just going thru phases of falling off the face of the earth i fear 😭 i do still pop in on this acc from time to time but life has been life-ing and i haven't been able to write or do anything with it in a rlly long time 🥺 and every time i do get motivation i fear the hype has since passed on, so i just kinda pop in and check every now and then and then skedaddle 😔

listen 😳 u know how much i love unhinged könig,, i 100% think he has some pent up rage from his youth and mayhaps it manifests in some battlefield behaviors 🫶🏻 he absolutely has the capacity to snap necks on a whim and u know what?? i support his rights and his wrongs.

i would be lying if i said i'm not mourning the zombie au rn 💔💔 but i totally understand losing motivation for something and moving on to better things. never lose ur creativity. i'm excited to see what else u have to share 🫶🏻