#i don't want to start something new and join a new fandom either because then that's just adding to my ever-growing list of ocs

[iron-parkr]

I feel like I'm in a little bit of a writer hell. I can feel myself slowly losing motivation to work on my Supernatural fic (which, okay, understandable since I've been going non-stop with it for over a month now). I kinda want to just bite the bullet muse-wise and switch to my DBZ fic, but I can't decide on the POV for the next chapter so I'm stuck until I figure that out. And none of my other fandoms really appeal to me right now.

I'm going just a little bit insane tbh

[captainsophiestark]

Take A Break

Javi Rivera x Reader

Masterlist - Join My Taglist!

Written for my personal fic writing challenge for 2024, Sophie's Year of Fic! Featuring a new fic being posted every Friday, all year long :)

Fandom: Twisters

Summary: As part of Kate's original crew of tornado-tamers, you're as much of a workaholic as she is. Thankfully, Javi's around to help pull his girlfriend out of her notes when she really needs a break.

Word Count: 1,123

Category: Fluff, Humor, kind of angst just because of what happens to the original crew, but you can easily pretend that doesn't happen in the timeline of this fic :)

Putting work into an AI program without permission is illegal. You do not have my permission. Do not do it.

"Hey, enough work for tonight. Come join the party with the rest of us."

I smiled to myself as I made a few last notes off the computer screen. I knew Jeb was mostly talking to Kate, but I also knew that if I stayed here and tried to keep working after he managed to get Kate to take a break, my boyfriend wouldn't be far behind to literally drag me away from my notes.

I scribbled down a few last things as Jeb herded Kate away to the campfire, then started the process of shutting down my computer. Just as the last program finished closing, two arms wrapped tightly around my waist and picked me up, pulling me away from my work at the back of the truck.

"Javi!" I squealed, laughing as he slung me over one shoulder and started heading for the campfire.

"Yeah babe?"

"I was about to head over!"

"Oh yeah, I've heard that one before. Sorry, I know you too well. I know how fast another minute can turn into another hour. I care about this project as much as you do, but you need to take a break."

I sighed, rolling my eyes even though Javi couldn't see me. Even so, I couldn't totally hold back a smile.

"You know, Jeb just came and threw an arm around Kate."

"That's because Jeb lacks commitment," Javi responded as we neared the fire with the rest of our friends. He made sure to speak loudly enough that Jeb could hear him, too. "And because Kate's easier to convince than you are."

I scoffed, but the impact was lessened as Javi flopped into one of the chairs around the fire, pulling me around to sit in his lap in one smooth move. I shook my head and grinned up at him once we landed.

"You don't want your own chair?"

"My girl's had her head in her work, completely ignoring me for hours. No, I don't want my own chair."

I laughed, snuggling in closer to Javi and resting my head on his chest. He wrapped his arms tighter around me, and I smiled to see the rest of our friends settled comfortably around the fire, too.

"Glad you could finally join us!" called Praveen, Addy grinning beside him. I grinned right back.

"Don't act like I'm the only workaholic in this group," I said, fake-scowling as I curled closer into Javi's side. "You're all just as bad as I am. That's why we're friends."

"Alright, I resent the implicaiton that I don't know how to have a healthy work-life balance," said Javi, drawling his words a little as he held up his hands on either side of me to help illustrate his point. "I know how to have fun and how to work my ass off with Dorothy."

I twisted in Javi's lap to look up at him with a frown.

"Is it a healthy work-life balance to go way too hard on work and fun?"

He just looked down at me with a grin, leaning in for a quick kiss before pulling back with the same roguish smile.

"Hell yeah it is."

I just laughed and shook my head, leaning back on his shoulder as he tigthened his arms around me.

"Alright, whatever you say. I guess that's what college is for anyway, even if it's grad school."

"We're making memories. We have to have something to say when we're being interviewed for our incredible scientific breakthrough. Some good memories for the memoir."

"He's right," Jeb chimed in, leaning back and stretching his arm out across Kate's chair. "Most people won't want to hear that we spent every hour of every day in the lab. They want to know the people behind the science."

"I don't think any of the journals we want to publish in are going to care about who we are outside of the lab," Kate countered, flopping back against Jeb. "Or the people reading our grant proposals."

"Still works for the long-term headlines," Addy chimed in. "'Brilliant scientists tame the tornado, protecting the home where they spent countless nights together'."

"I think that's a little long," mused Kate.

"It makes it sound like we were all sleeping with each other or something," I added.

"Yeah, that's just the two sets of lovebirds over there," Praveen added.

Kate and Jeb smiled, Kate tucking her head into Jeb's shoulder, and I shot Praveen a wink before leaning up to give Javi a quick kiss. Praveen and Addy liked to make a big show of covering their eyes and shouting at any sign of PDA, but we knew it was all in good fun. They loved the four of us, both separately and as couples, even if they'd both developed strong ten minute comedy sets on the fact that they weren't dating each other or anyone else in our little group.

"Alright, enough of this," Kate said, leaning forward and raising an eyebrow. "I came over here with the promise of s'mores. So where are they?"

"Javi packed them," said Jeb, nodding in our direction. Javi shifted under me, settling further into the chair and wrapping his arms a little tighter around me.

"They're in the back of the van, but somebody else is gonna have to get them. I'm settled in here, and if I don't keep an eye on this one, she might just run right back to her computers."

Most of our friends rolled their eyes, but even so, Addy stood up.

"Lucky for both of you, I want s'mores enough that I'm willing to get up and take one for the team."

"Thank you, Addy," we chorused. She just waved us off with a smile. I waited until she passed Javi and I and got all the way to the truck, then leaned up to whisper in my boyfriend's ear.

"You absolutely know I wouldn't choose computers over s'mores. Probably ever."

"Of course I know," Javi said, leaning down to whisper in my ear with a smile, nuzzling into the crook of my shoulder. "But I'm enjoying sitting with you like this. We're too comfortable to be getting up for s'mores when we have friends that'll take care of that for us."

I laughed, nodding and resting my forehead against his.

"You're right. Genius decision."

"I know."

We shared a smile, one of Javi's hands gently squeezing my thigh as I leaned in to give him another quick kiss. Sitting by the fire with him, surrounded by all our friends, was my absolute favorite happy place. It made all the work and risk and long nights spent huddled over calculations and theories worth it, to be able to do it with Javi and the rest of our crew.

****************

Everything Taglist: @rosecentury @kmc1989 @space-helen

[buddiebeginz]

There's been a lot of discussion lately about when will Eddie come out and when Buddie canon will happen. I think a lot more people are feeling optimistic that it actually will happen now so the conversation has shifted into people being worried how this is all going to play out. I've seen people saying that if Eddie comes out and Buddie is fully confirmed this season (i.e. they confess their feelings/ there's a kiss) that would be way too fast. I have some issues with that line of thinking though.

For starters after Buck came out in season 7 we had a lot of new people join fandom (even more join during the summer hiatus), which I'm glad for all the new people who have found 911 particularly because the majority are now rooting for Buddie. Still I feel like a lot of the newer fan's opinions (on this topic) are being heard over some of us who have been in fandom for years.

I'm not saying if you're a newbie that your opinions on the show don't matter but I do think you should take the time to listen to those of us who have been around longer. The fact is if us long time Buddie fans hadn't been rooting for this ship for years we wouldn't even be as close to them becoming canon as we are. Buck likely wouldn't have had his bi awakening if not for us either. We've supported the show and pushed them for years to give these characters the storylines they deserve. That should matter when you're talking about something like how and when Buddie canon will happen.

I understand that people want Buddie to get together in just the right way but I think we all need to realize there is no one right way this will happen. We need to make peace now before it happens that there will be things about them coming together we won't expect even things we may not exactly like. All that matters is they finally get to take their relationship to that next level. That both Buck and Eddie get to realize their person their soulmate has always been right beside them. The other mains have had their person for years it's beyond time for Buck and Eddie to (consciously fully) have that too.

-----

I've seen people say that Eddie deserves a long journey to figuring out his sexuality and he needs to work on his mental health before being with Buck. And while I do think Eddie deserves more focus and screen time I don't see 911 doing a long drawn out thing with him. 911 typically does smaller 1-3 ep arcs for their characters. There's also the fact that they've been dropping hints for Eddie's coming out these past two seasons. Ones I'm positive they will connect back to other things throughout the series, like why it never worked out with him in his relationships with women.

I'm also personally not a fan of the logic that someone needs to do all these things to change themselves to be ready for love. Buck and Eddie have seen each other through their best and their worst. The show has literally made it a point to tell you that's what love is on numerous occasions. They said that love is about stepping into someone's mess with them. Why is it that Bobby didn't need to be a perfect person before he was worthy of Athena's love? Go back and watch season 1 Bobby was not in a good place when they got together. He was getting better but he was still struggling and up until the end of the season was still thinking about ending his life. But we see Athena "step into the mess" with him. She starts by going to church with him and we see them in s2 (early on in their relationship) talk about his past at different times.

I just feel like this fandom sometimes holds Eddie to unfair standards. He's been struggling for the past couple of seasons but I honestly think we're going to find out in 8b that it's connected to him having not felt able to live his truth. We saw in 806 that Eddie is starting to embrace joy and taking steps to fully be himself. That he's starting even in small ways to take ownership of what he wants and doing things for himself not because he feels obligated to.

I think him going back to Texas is not just to get Chris but the shows way of giving him a rebirth of sorts. They're bringing him back to where he's from and it's where I think Eddie is going to realize who he is and what he wants (Buck) and that him and Chris don't belong in Texas they belong in LA with Buck and the rest of their found family. And this time Eddie will get to make the decision to leave not based on fear or desperation or running away from his life but based on knowing where he truly belongs.

I know there's also a worry that if Eddie comes out in 8b it will feel rushed but the length of the story being told shouldn't be the main concern it should be how well the show tells it.

They could have him realize his feelings for Buck (because I do think him figuring out his sexuality is going to be tied to that) while he's still in Texas. That could be one whole episode just Eddie (like they did for Bobby in s7) or have it play out over a few eps. Then Eddie comes home and Buddie canon happens by the end of s8. I also feel like people are forgetting we have quite a few eps for 8b left to go so it's not like Eddie coming out and Buddie canon are both going to happen in 1 or 2 eps right after the other. It's very likely Eddie realizing his feelings will happen earlier and Buddie canon will happen in one of the last eps of the season.

Also even if they have Eddie come out in one ep that doesn't mean it's the end of him ever talking about his sexuality or facing any struggles with it. We haven't seen Buck facing much struggle when it comes to his sexuality but I think it will be different with Eddie. Even if Buddie officially get together in s8 in s9 we could still see things like Eddie having mixed feelings over being out especially when it comes to stuff like pda. Maybe we could even see Eddie talking to the priest again. Eddie coming out and Buddie canon happening doesn't mean it's the end of Eddie's sexuality journey it's just the beginning.

Like I said before we need to make peace that every part of these stories isn't going to make everyone happy but I think the last thing we should be doing when Eddie comes out and Buddie canon happens is look for reasons to criticize the show for how it happens. They will inevitably receive hate from bummys and people who will accuse them of making the show too gay. We can't add to that by complaining that a storyline didn't happen in a perfect way. If they actually finally go there with these characters we need to celebrate the show and be louder with our praise than any bs they'll get.

-----

On the subject of Buddie I've seen people say that if they confess their feelings for one another by the end of 8b it will feel rushed that the general audience won't get what's happening because the show hasn't set the groundwork for their relationship. I feel like I'm seeing this argument more from newer fans which I guess makes sense because to you it probably does seem like everything is moving fast. But for those of us who have watched Buck and Eddie's relationship develop over years and years this has all been a long long time coming in fact it's beyond overdue.

Some of you need to remember that Buck was supposed to come out in s4 (the shooting was likely to be the catalyst to him realizing his feelings for Eddie) and Eddie in s5 which means Buddie canon was likely to happen that same season. How can s8 be too soon when they were supposed to get together three seasons ago? They have literally been through almost everything Madney and Bathena have been through or some variation thereof. If Buck and Eddie were a straight couple they would have been married already. Buck and Eddie have spent 7 years building their relationship. Building a life and family together. Them finally admitting they're in love with each other is simply the natural progression their relationship should be taking from best friends (that have always been more than friends) to lovers. I think another reason people question if it's too fast for this to happen in s8 is because a queer couple like this has never happened on a show like 911 before. There's been plenty of slow burn straight couples. Which is why I'm positive if Buck and Eddie were a guy and a girl there wouldn't be this big debate over if it should happen now, people would be saying what the hell is this show even doing? Why haven't they kissed already?

-----

A big point about all of this that I feel like is being left out of the discussions is that 911 is made in the US and is first and foremost made for US audiences. I bring this up because as someone who is from the states it's very apparent there's a huge uprising of anti lgbtq rhetoric and legislation here right now. I know it probably seems unfathomable to some people that the US government could do something like ban lgbtq people from TV but there's already been pushes to ban things like lgbtq books on a state level so it could happen. But what is more likely is networks and companies have already started to capitulate to trump to protect themselves and their money. We have no way of knowing how bad things will continue to get with trump and how a network like ABC will behave in the future. We don't have the luxury to sit back and say let's wait until s9 or 10 for Buddie to officially get together when there's no certainty of what will even be happening in the US by the time those seasons are made.

Connected to that same topic of what's going on not just in the US but in other countries too. This attack on lgbtq rights means it's more important than ever for Buddie to finally be together. I know that 911 has always had queer characters and ships and they should always be respected for the important representation they've given on the show since day one (particularly characters like Henren and their family) but Buck and Eddie are ground breaking in a way we really haven't seen on TV before. Two men who are best friends and who have come out later in life. Who have fallen for each other over years of building their relationship. Who have spent years raising their son together. Who are an interracial couple. Buck and Eddie in a loving relationship together as a family with Chris is vital representation the world needs to see right now. That lgbtq people need to see. We need to see more depictions of queer joy in the face of all of this hate.

-----

I see people keep pushing back the time frame of when Buddie should officially get together when we were in s7 people were saying s8 now I've seen them say s9, I've even seen some people recently say s10. I need some of you to realize 911 is a network TV show and that this isn't the golden age of TV anymore. TV shows get canceled left and right sometimes for no reason at all. 911 itself was canceled from Fox after s6 not because no one was watching it but because Fox felt it was too expensive to make. 911 is a super successful show one that will likely go on to it's 9th season and that's an amazing thing when a lot of shows now barely even make it past like two seasons. But because 911 is so many seasons in and is so costly not just to make but also for the cast that means there's always a risk that it could get canceled again. I hope that 911 goes on for at least 10 more seasons but we can't guarantee that at all. The more we push Buddie back the more we run the risk of them not happening at all.

The other thing is I don't want Buddie canon happening at the end of their last season. I want to see how Buck and Eddie's relationship develops and changes once they're officially together. I want to see all the good and bad stuff they go through like moving in together and telling everyone (especially Chris). I want to see how their parents react. How that changes things for them at work. They deserve to have an epic love story just as grand as any of the other main couples have had.

To add to the point of us not knowing how long the show may go on for we also have no idea how long all of the actors plan to stay with the show. I'm not sure how long the contracts they've all signed are for at this point but they've all been with the show a very long time. It's clear they all love working together and I can't see any of them giving that up right now but that could change. We're lucky that Oliver and Ryan have continued to stay with the show after this many years but we can't guarantee they will stay forever. Eventually they could want to go off and work on something else or just get tired of playing the same character. The fact is everything is in the right place at the right time for Buddie canon to happen now. It has to happen now or it may not happen at all.

Also as much as some of you want them to drag out Buck and Eddie getting together I think you underestimate how long the fanbase is willing to hang on for. Like I said some of us have been waiting for Buddie to happen for years we're tired. I almost stopped watching the show after s6 I was that fed up with how they handled things. I'm positive if something doesn't change by the end of s8 that there are people who will stop watching.

I know some have said they want to see Buck and Eddie realizing their feelings and going into s9 pinning. I don't think the show needs to drag out their will they/won't they any longer. I've seen some people say well Buddie hasn't really had a will they/won't they because it wasn't explicit in the show. Buck and Eddie have never been written as just friends. Go compare them to Chim and Hen's friendship. There has always been more there between them always. Again if this was a straight couple people would be complaining constantly wondering why they weren't together yet. They don't have to be kissing for it to be a slow burn. They've done everything but though. I mean what do you call that scene in the kitchen in 3x09? Eddie literally put Buck in his will. He told Buck he trusts him above anyone else with Chris. Buck sobbed when he knew Eddie was going to be okay after he was shot (he's never reacted that way over anyone else on the show getting hurt). Eddie counted the seconds when Buck wasn't breathing. These two men love one another they just haven't admitted it yet.

We don't need more time to tell this story. 911 hasn't always gotten it right (see the weird Vertigo story) but when it's good it can be fcking amazing. The shooting eps are some of my fav eps of tv ever and not just of 911. I have faith in Tim and the show. Tim has wanted to put Buck and Eddie together for a long time and I know he knows he only has one chance to tell this story and get it right. I have faith that him and the actors and writers will do the story justice however it gets told. I know they know it means a lot to so many people. And you know the truth is we're lucky that our ship is even at this point. That we can all debate about how Buddie canon should happen because we're all so sure now that it is in fact happening. Cause the show was very close to ending on a finale that had Buck and Eddie ending up with other partners. Buddie would have only been able to continue to live on in fanon. Instead I truly believe we are months away from the show making history.

[urmultideadfandomperson]

The Specialists as Your Boyfriend

Fandom(s): Winx Club

Pairing(s): Red Fountain X Reader

Character(s): Sky, Brandon, Riven, Timmy, Helia

Genre(s): Fluff

Writing Style: Headcanons

Summary: A few headcanons of the Red Fountain Specialists as your boyfriend.

Warning(s): None

Requested by: None

Note: Hello! It's been a while since I wrote some headcanons like these. And yes, I joined the Winx Club fandom recently because I just finished Season One! It feels good to go back in track! I apologize for my lack of posts nowadays, but I'll try my best to feed you some content! Enjoy your read!

Sky

I know a lot of people find him as 'meh' because he is sort of a basic blonde, I can agree

But for me, he's super sexy, I cannot. This prince completely stole my heart because of his basic personality (yes, I'm a basic bitch too)

Anyway, Sky is definitely a sweetheart, already seen at how he treats Bloom in the first season

But don't forget he's the prince of Erakylon, so he's definitely rich

Sky will pamper you with so much love and affection

Whether if you're royalty or not, or if you're a fairy or an earthling, this man will still love you

Hand kisses are a MUST

Brandon

Oh boy. This suave flirt

Because Brandon is Brandon, he will obviously love teasing and flirting with you.

But that doesn't mean he wouldn't flirt with the other girls in Magix

As Prince Sky's squire, he obviously knows how to defend you. He may or may not try to impress you that way

He will definitely bring you to dates in Magix. Wherever you want to go, he will come with you

He may be flirtatious to you and other girls, but I assure you that Brandon is loyal. How did he become Sky's squire if he wasn't a loyal servant to him?

And for me, I have a feeling he will give golden retriever vibes

Riven

THIS MAN IS THE LOVE OF MY LIFE

Riven is really awkward and closed off in the beginning of your relationship. But as time goes by, he becomes comfortable

He isn't the best guy in words of affirmation, but the way he helps you out when you need it is always there. It's his way of loving you

This man actually has the best and warmest hugs

It's a guilty pleasure of his in which you try to calm him whenever he is about to go maniac over someone or something

Surprisingly very cuddly in private

Riven also wants you to stay in Red Fountain often so you can watch him spar with the other Specialists

Timmy

Similar to Riven, he is firstly awkward in the start of relationships (less awkward than the latter, however).

He loves to go to the library with you to study for exams and such

When he has new things to share, the first person Timmy will approach is you because he knows you will listen

Timmy is actually really blushy, and this is evident whenever you help him with his glasses

He isn't really into physical contact, but he does excel in quality time. He loves your presence with him

You're his assistant during calculations and he loves your cooperation as a duo

Timmy loves to gift you some new items and he likes to impress you with his logical thinking

Helia

Ah yes, the hottest guy to ever exist in Red Fountain of the Magix Realm

Helia loves to write poems and short stories for you

Since it is often seen that he loves to draw, he would secretly draw you in his sketchbook

Expect bouquets of flowers from him once in a week

It may or may not be expected, but Helia loves to say some pickup lines. These pickup lines are either cheesy or romantic

You are the only person he allows to braid his hair, so be thankful

Hand kisses are a MUST 2.0

[agoldenblackbird]

i'm gonna be a ranty bitch for a minute.

tbh i'm turned off even reading new buddie fic despite being a multishipper and have unfollowed a bunch of buddie accounts because i'm sick of the smug attitudes. one ask that i am otherwise not going to publish or respond to ended with 'sorry you don't understand media literacy bestie :)' fuck off. listen INFANT, i have been writing fanfic and original fic AND watching, reading and analyzing queer media since before you were born, i understand how character and story development works, and i know the difference between 'storyline i personally disliked' and 'bad writing.' this was BOTH, and it also was marketed to us as 'carefully crafted bi rep' and 'queer love story that is not about a bunch of pain and conflict FOR ONCE' so we have every right to be upset at the bait-and-switch.

the fact that i'm seeing the same exact posts - 'bt bones buddie CANON' that i saw three seasons ago after the bucktaylor breakup, or every time they thought buck and taylor MIGHT break up - says something. the fact that so many fans seem genuinely convinced (STILL!) that buddie is inevitable because there have been so many 'signs,' and then they rattle off a convoluted theory that would make the most hardcore taylor swift stan say 'wow, that's a bit of a reach,' honestly weirded me out a little when i first joined the 911 fandom. i have never been in a fandom where so many fans are insistent that their ship will be - not might be or could be, but WILL be - canon. i am skeptical both from past experience with other shows mishandling queer storylines or ship-baiting, and tim minnear's proven track record with this one of not really knowing what to do with buck's LI's. but i didn't want to yuck anybody's yum, so i let them have their theories and squee in peace, and unfollowed or blocked certain tags if i was seeing too much of it and getting annoyed. it's too out there for me, but i'm glad they're having fun!

yet they can't give us the same courtesy. they deride us as delusional for thinking that a canon pairing that was presented to us both in promo and the show itself as different and important (eg the bobby approval convo and 'buck getting off the hamster wheel') might last, and we're stupid to have ever liked tommy or lou or be disappointed at how the breakup was written, and if we point out the biphobia it's just sour grapes.

the bucktommy breakup is not the first time 911 has started out strong with an interesting storyline and fumbled it in the 4th quarter either because the writers got bored or in the name of needless drama/a 'gotcha' sudden twist. amir & bobby, eddie's fight club arc, the sperm donor SL, hen vs councilwoman ortiz, whatever the hell is going on with harry, the whole mess with shannon/kim, just to name a few. and especially the past couple of seasons, for me since 6b, the pacing has been off. they seem to have too much happening at once and many of the storylines don't have enough room to breathe to be narratively satisfying, or they get resolved in ways that feel lackluster.

if the toxic buddie stans who have been attacking lou on sm and sending death threats (wtf!) actually get what they want, which i admit is possible, but it's certainly not guaranteed….i don't know why they think the writers won't fumble that just as badly. it's not going to happen precisely the way they want it to because it is impossible to please everybody, that's what fanfic is for. but at this point i have zero faith that it would even be well done at all, and zero trust in the writers not to just sabotage or regress a character for funsies, and that's an excellent reason to stop watching the show. in most of my other fandoms i regard canon as a jumping-off point or a blurry outline at best, and i can have just as much fun in the 911 sandbox without any further input from canon at all, once i'm less angry.

[remusawoooo]

let's talk about the lupins for a second!

starting with hope, the whimsical/charming woman who met her knight in shining armour sort of in woods and fell in love?? who literally introduced her to a whole new world? before delving into the horrors, I would like to point out how romcom-esque their encounter is. its fateful but also lyall letting her believe she encountered a scary man and he saved her just cause he can't fully explain boggarts but also cause "yay! she thinks I'm macho!!" (would pay to see him and james potter interact!!!)

hope along with lyall builds a new family with their lovely son and it all seems low-key like a happily ever after only for her son to go through something so traumatic it'd alter all of their lives forever. I sincerely believe the nuances of wizard identity are lost to hope to certain extent. in the sense that, she might not fully empathise with lyall's complicated outlook to this predicament. not to imply she is simple minded at all but because it is easier for her to compartmentalise uniquely magical bigotry. there is also the other route where she has integrated herself somewhat into the world and is having trouble herself facing this new reality and protecting her child. I just think of how powerless she might feel not being able to do magic in those moments. especially when her boggart was said to be a vicious looking man, greyback obviously fitting the descriptors. there is also the implication that she was ill as a result of her constant fear and worry over remus and I don't want to explore that for me being a little pussy reasons.

then we have lyall, a true embodiment of the "what if it happened to your family member?" scenario posed usually to conservatives. he worked for the authority to dehumanize werewolves and antagonize them to an extreme only for his young son to bear the brunt. It's the guilt he might feel for being responsible - maybe there is some added hatred due to resentment - can he sometimes not stand to look remus? not just because what role lyall played, but because of what remus became? is he coming to realizations too late about his ideologies, or does he believe in his misconceptions more than ever cause the harmful creatures he said would harm, did harm? does he "you're not like other werewolves" remus into oblivion?

lyall is so interesting to me and actually important to the entire marauders arc and hp series in a way 😭 a fundamental worldbuilding character tho, conveying politics of the world.

lupin parents had to travel and move, essentially giving up their personal lives forever from the moment remus turned. they had no social life for themselves most likley (at least until remus went to school), had to provide for their son while they also struggled maintaining jobs. misinformed, bigoted and desperate, they also made their son a test subject just to "fix him." (i think there are folks better equipped than me to explore the implications here and parallels to conversion therapy? the conversation has been happening in the fandom space tho) they had to lock up their little boy every month knowing full well it would hurt him and that they can't do anything to help him. they had to leave him alone.

after hope dies and remus moved out, lyall is alone alone in his cottage. he wasn't mentioned being in the order (im not sure if he'd be too old to join or if he died by then, so correct me if im wrong.) he either become a jaded man or just lived his days quietly. and if we can assume some of remus' characteristics onto him, probably believes he deserves this life for the part he played in what happened to remus.

hope and lyall as the parents who belive that if remus tried hard enough, he can overcome his ailment and be normal. after all, he is smart, is friends with smart kids, is gentle and mild-mannered, and dumbledore only has good things to say about him, assuming they ever discuss remus. there is not much research into lycanthropy, so, i can see them have a stance most people have on mental health, along the lines of- "remus you know this will happen every month. try to cheer up," sorta bs. doesn't mean they are abusive. just that they aren't the best, like many parents.

I don't like it when marauders parents are so one note, happy go lucky will go along with anything or downright military etiquette parents. especially when the mom's are presented as only soft sweet warm, as if one toe out of the line means they are bitch- actually that's a whole other rant. I'll shut up.

at the same time, i don't want this one incident to define them entirely. maybe they come to terms with it slowly because with each year at hogwarts, remus comes back happier. especially since his 5th year, he is coming healthier too. he is getting good grades, maybe there is hope for him to live that neoliberal fantasy, after all. the first werewolf at school could easily become the first werewolf with a job? who knows!? maybe then hope and lyall can travel around for fun now or fully settle down in their cottage after sm travel during remus' childhood. maybe they invite neighbors for dinners, maybe they receive the marauders for lunch one sunmer, play the normal adults, the normal parents of their normal child.

[the-fabled-void]

Give you a fandom phenomenon? Uhhhhh how about the fact that people overcorrected with Sans and his edgy 2016 characterization and instead had him...not care over anything, including Papyrus' death. I'd be mad at it but honestly I can't help but imagine people cringing so hard at their 2016 characterization that they went in the complete opposite direction and it's so funny

Oh yeah it's a very interesting phenomenon for sure! It's extra noticable with Sans due to how popular he is. As for you mentioning people cringing at their past interpretations - that's probably a part of it. People who joined the fandom as angsty preteens are now young adults with different views.

Not to mention, especially the AU fans, but also a lot of others spent a huge amount of time in fanon echo chambers (cough cough, evil Chara effect) instead of interacting with the source material. The fandom being a video game you can only play a few times before it feels repetitive probably doesn't help.

So, there are the old fans. But mainly in 2020, other people have also joined. And unlike the old ones, they just started interacting with the game. It's still fresh in their mind.

... And 2020 led to a lot of people who are new to fandom joining fandoms without knowing proper fandom etiquette. Those people that comment on noncanon ship posts to complain about the fact that it's not canon, and neglect to ignore that fandoms are about fun.

By trying to make him more 'canon' people basically just make him fanon in the complete opposite direction. I also feel like people saw what they did back then by making him so depressed, not just from his brother's death in a no mercy, but also just in general. Usually from a knowledge of resets.

One thing that I haven't noticed a change in is interestingly enough is how people treat his knowledge. Which is way less than people make it. He knows there's a possibility and that the human is connected to it. Hell, he tests if Frisk is a time traveler by giving them a silly password because he doesn't know for sure.

Not that I'm criticizing stories that give him more awareness. The fact that there's so many just means it has great potential. Aftertale is probably my favorite example of that. Geno is such a cool character and the nightmares are a creative way of handling it. 4th wall breaking is probably my favorite phenomenon in all of fiction.

Recently, people have started exploring the idea of other characters having that awareness. I mean, Flowey is canonically aware, and is a mere millimeter away from grasping his world's nature as a video game. He's already treated it as one himself. So, UT!Dusttale was born.

A lot of AU Sanses have that baked into their very character, so I get why people wouldn't touch that (though, it would be extremely interesting to figure out how Dusttale or Something New would work if it was just a deja vu feeling)

I am totally not biased to say I would love a take involving Chara. Pretty sure No More Deals is a similar thing. And you specifically know exactly the details I've thought of for Storyshift: Elevation :)

Oh, and another aspect of the overcorrection thing: AUs.

Back then you could just read up on the concept of an AU Sans and put him somewhere and nobody would give a shit about mischaracterization. Which, you know, isn't perfect but I have to admit it was really fun to do.

Nowdays you compare Dreamtale to Celestia and Luna ONCE in a Discord server to make a bad joke and all hell breaks loose. I get wanting to respect creators more than we did back then, but we have to remember that AUs are just as fanon as 'Don't curse around my bro' Sans.

The creators' words are not gospel.

As much as I love Toby, his words aren't gospel either.

People are allowed to have their own takes, their own opinions. I am never going to police anyone's takes on fandom shit. But one important thing to note is: people can have their own takes, but people should also aknowledge what's their own take and what's the creator's original vision.

[generouskittentidalwave]

Watching the She-ra reboot after 5-6 years

Hey remember that show in 2018 that came out on Netflix during Tumblr's Twitter era and stirred up enough toxicity to turn you into Dave the Skeleton in the highschool science classroom?

Well BUCKLE IN for a RIDE cause I recently watched that show for the first time after avoiding it for YEARS, after seeing the fans and the haters be so devoted to either the fans praising it like a godsent deity or haters devoting their whole life to finding something wrong with every aspect of the show that it makes you wonder if they realized that they've become the Catra that they sought to destroy, I decided to avoid even touching the show and went about my life in other fandoms.

Well years have passed and like a Hallmark movie time abruptly went on and the drama soon faded, the tides have settled, the war has ended, and neither side remains the same. The fans have grown up, matured and enjoy the show as it is and the haters have lost all that sweet sustenance back in 2019 and have went the ways of the DoDo. With everything finally settled, I joined in on the rush of new fans recently that started rewatching the series and wanted to display my thoughts as well as a first time watcher ^^

I went in well aware of all the criticisms in mind, and having seen the original She-ra, and I just gotta say that my worrisome thoughts on watching it was completely washed away from the start of the show. I was worried of Adora being that one marysue character that is from the bad guys side but is actually a good a guy with the personality of white bread and with flaws of just being "a little bit QuiRkY" but she completely shooed away those fears. She is a well balanced character with a unique and well done backstory, her character breaking away from the steriotypical chosen ones and her having flaws that don't take away her being a good person but instead have their own charm and relatability that makes her very fun and down to earth. She is so golden retriever coded and I love it. What I like most though is that she wasn't "random main character comes in to lead everyone to victory out of nowhere" , instead of making her the unsaid leader, they made her the main character who is the muscle of the group and part of the heart and has to learn overtime and understand their ways instead of making her the leader. It makes way for her to pave and earn her way as being the main character instead of it being given by default by making her the leader and I love that break away. And that break away also helps to counter the fears I heard about the white savior trope by making Adora the way she was and making Glimmer and Glimmer's mom the queen the actual leaders of the rebellion that they helped start.

Love the best friends squad, I love Glimmer's growth and her bond with Adora, I like how she went downhill and built herself back up again as a person as it was very realistic with her being so young and having to replace her mom as queen. Bow is my spirit animal, period, but I really want to know more about his huge family. I imagine that because they are all historians they must go to the academy or similar academies that Bow was meant to go to and I can see why they wouldn't question him not being there as 12 siblings is A LOT to keep track of. Swiftwind is great but he shall always be known as Horsie and the queen's sacrifice hurts everytime I see it, I love how she owned up to her own flaws. Shadowweaver messed up being a mother figure 3 times, she needs parenting classes fr, 'nough said. I love all the princesses but Mermista is my personal favorite. Also why is aunt cast named Castaspella, I can't even say it without dying of laughter 💀🖐️

Now I know some of you are sitting at your computer with 5 monsters in hand and sweat anxiously dripping from your forehead as you dramatically hover over the keys just WAITING to write a five page essay response if I even dare to utter the name Catra and her relationship with Adora. So, I'ma give you my opinion.

Honestly, their romance was the end goal since the beginning and the story made that clear and honestly I like Catra's growth as a character from her knowing she has anger issues and actively working on it to better herself, helping to save others and helping to save Adora in the end. Her realizing that pushing others away to protect herself only harms her and everyone around her in the end and her realistically taking it slow and steady to better herself as a person for herself and for Adora is something a really like. Yes their relationship was hella toxic, especially in the middle (but I do like how Adora recognized that and punched Catra when they were in the portal). The build up was great, the middle ground of her doubling down was great, and I think her growth at the end was great and that the two are happy and not in a toxic relationship with eachother anymore at the end. I think what truly makes it odd is although the redemption was great the time constraints made it so they couldn't flesh it out to help answer and address the past actions that were caused by her, they did so great with her slowly becoming better and better, and so it wouldn't have come off as bad as it did if they had just a bit more time to address everything with that instead of being forced to dive right into it which definitely left a- well- less than good impression to it's audience. But they tried their best with what they could do and honestly for a show as surprisingly dark as this I'm just glad they aren't in a toxic relationship anymore and are happy in the end and that Catra got redeemed. It definitely wasn't trying to romanize abuse, however it came off as such due to constraints and them rushing the ending which gave plenty of ammo to people who already hated the show to have a reason to hate it more. In my opinion if you don't like it that's valid, if you do like it that's valid, me personally I'm not a romance person so I couldn't care enough either way.

Now to address some things I know some people are waiting for, but in speed run fashion. Mara's She-ra design was the fault of the designers not agreeing on what they wanted her to look like, I was expecting her to have brown flowing hair not blonde, I get the stripping of individuality message they tried to go with, it just needed better designers and better execution but that's as deep as it goes. It's not that they are racist, they are more along the lines of "you need a more organized team cause her design changes every five seconds like wtf" kind of situation. I'm glad they didn't automatically forgive Hordak or accept him but I'm glad he was changed enough to not be a killer that's mass murdering people anymore and as long no one is dying by his hands anymore and people don't automatically forgive him then that's fine by me, whatever keeps others from dying a horrible unnecessary death.

Overall, in conclusion, love the show, great depth, great characters, love the humor and amazing magical girl transformations, awesome rep, stronk princess punching things, would most definitely recommend, especially now with all the wave of chaos it's initial release sucked in now evaporated. (Seriously there are full tags and blogs deticated to hating a show about glowing princesses fighting aliens, it's okay to not like a show but come on people there is more to life than that 💀) Enjoy it, have fun, and I hope you have a great day/night! ^^

[aziraphales-library]

Hello beautiful people! First of all, thank you so much for this blog. Your work is amazing!

I'm looking for some fic suggestions, if you'd be so kind in answering. I loved Slow Show and Old Vines, so I wanted something similar, a long AU fic that has a lot of pinning and some angst, but has a happy ending. Thank you ❤

Hi! The fics you've mentioned are very popular in the fandom, so I'd recommend checking our #fandom favourites tag, as well as our #pining, #human au, and #long fic tags for more to enjoy. Here are more to add...

Between Comfort And Chaos by anathxmadevice (T)

“And how long have you two been a couple?” “Oh, I—” Aziraphale panics. “Ha, well, that’s a funny… We’re not actually—” “We’re just friends.” Crowley says, their voice clear and calm and lightly amused, either because of or in spite of Aziraphale’s flailing attempts to divert the conversation. “Ah, yes, quite.” Aziraphale says, then takes a sip of his drink just for something to do, instead of focussing on the way Crowley said just friends, and how it causes a painful throb in his chest that he has never fully got used to. His memory can only scrabble at the edge of a time where being just friends with Crowley didn’t feel like a particular form of torture. * Or, Aziraphale has been desperately in love with his best friend and housemate Crowley since they were students, but is too scared to do anything about it.

Keep it casual by Kiez21 (E)

Aziraphale has just been dumped by his boyfriend of thirteen years, right before turning thirty. While out with his friends, he meets a red-haired stranger that gives him one of the best nights of his life. Crowley's just moved into Tadfield looking for a fresh start. On his first night out, he invites a handsome stranger for a one night stand. It is just a one night stand, right?

The Anon Before Christmas by foolishlovers (M)

When Crowley’s friend, blogging buddy and business partner Anathema announces her annual Secret Santa Exchange on Tumblr, she is very adamant Crowley should join this year. The old-fashioned (but admittedly compassionate) man he gets assigned to send anonymous messages to every day until Christmas sounds awfully similar to the fussy bookseller that his friends adore, yet Crowley tries to avoid at all costs. But surely his friends would have mentioned if Aziraphale had taken an interest in the Bad Omens fandom as well… right? Or: An Enemies to Lovers Secret Santa Tumblr AU.

It never hurts to keep looking for sunshine by Dervila, elf_on_the_shelf (E)

After Adam's parents die in a car crash, Aziraphale is forced to start taking care of him as more than just an uncle. Don't get him wrong, he loves the little devil, it's just that he is completely clueless and could rather use some help. In comes Crowley, Adam's new nursery school teacher with his amazing skills in dealing with kids. Could he be the answer to all of Aziraphale's prayers - Adam-related and otherwise? Well, it looks like he might be just that, judging by the weird things Aziraphale's heart seems to be doing whenever he sets eyes on the man. Now, if only the tall ginger returned his feelings...

For His Eyes Only by AFrenchFanWriter (M)

Anthony J. Crowley has been an MI6 spy for 10 years, completing successful mission after successful mission under the guidance of his quartermaster, Aziraphale Fell. But this life is starting to take its toll on him as he is getting older; and when, one day, his past comes back to haunt him, Crowley realizes that it might be time for him to hang up his gun and face all the things he has left unaddressed… (Yep, it is basically a James Bond/Q AU!)

Driving in the Dark by Sarah_hadeschild (E)

Aziraphale, a small town librarian with a troubled past, has resigned himself to the impossibility of love. That is, until he meets a rough-around-the-edges motorcycle mechanic who reads Mary Oliver. TW for mentions of a past abusive relationship.

- Mod D

[amberluvsbugs]

My reaction to the news you just posted:

I saw your 'I lost someone' post a few days ago, and I have no clue what was going through that person's head for them to do that. Neither you, your co-workers, nor anyone in the fandom who may be suffering from illness deserved to be deceived like that.

My heart goes out to you, and I hope you're doing okay now. 💖

(If you're comfortable clarifying this for anyone who didn't see that post and may want to know the full context (no stress if you don't want to ofc), was Ari initially claiming to be dying of cancer or was it something else? Either way, it's still disgusting what they did.)

thank you it really means a lot. ;;;; In case anyone didnt see the post I made a while back, this is the full story for clarification: This all started on April 29th when I received a DM from my co-worker Toby, saying that a Poppy Playtime fan and friend we will call Ari, who he told me was 18 and has come to know for a solid year, was set to be sedated on May 6th due to having an incurable cancer. Because of this, he wanted me to create an illustration for her before she passed which I immediately took up the offer. Now, for clarification, I don't trust what anyone says in the PPT community. I am aware of how immature and dangerous the community can be. But when it's coming from someone I know and trust, I put my trust forward on that person. I don't mess around when it comes to someone nearing their death. So I got in contact with her, made sure she saw the illustration I made for her, and for the past week after work hours, I would talk with her in VCs and chill at every chance I got to make sure she was happy and having a good time. She acted very kind and sweet to me and so many others who would join the VC as they also soon came to know of her upcoming passing as well. On Saturday, May 4th we hosted a podcast for her as a subtle final farewell to the whole server. And on Sunday evening at 5 pm, me and Toby talked with her one last time in a private vc until she had to take her final leave from Discord. At 6 pm, me and Toby stayed on call listening to the Caretaker album fully (as we both had a big fascination for The Caretaker album, Everywhere At The End Of Time) as a sort of timer to let us know when she had passed, as we knew in 6 hours she would be sedated. At 1 am on Monday morning, The album finished. We both cried so hard it gave us headaches. I only got to really know her for a short time, but at that moment, she made such an impact on me and so many others in the PPT server and community. We had made art dedicated to her and I had even laid out a post for her. Everyone was mourning over Ari’s departure and for 4 days me and Toby were a MESS of emotions of grief. That was until I received a message from Toby on Thursday, May 9th, saying he needed to speak to me urgently in call. Toby told me that he had been watching Ari's activity and found something off with it as it had recently gone active a few times. I told him that maybe it was her friend having access to her account in her passing but Toby immediately showed me proof of the activity that's been going on in another server and on her Roblox account that she had. And that's when we needed proof or confirmation. For the past 4 hours, we did our research to find leads on her. We eventually found her school which apparently confirmed that she was 14, NOT 18, and we got in contact with her parents and asked them about Ari to which they were confused about this whole thing and told us that she was here. Which CONFIRMED that she was still ALIVE. We filled in on the parents for what Ari did and she is no longer going to have access to her electronics. We were both devastated at this point and absolutely furious. Everything we did for her, and the community, was all for nothing. She used and fooled us by a means to get attention and to specifically get in contact with Toby and be forward with him as a minor. We dedicated hours and days to her, mourned and cried for her, all for it to be crumbled down into a fake death. We were beyond disappointed, me especially as I don't take kindly to this sort of thing. I don't get mad. In fact, I try to be a kind person to everyone, but the fact someone would take advantage and play death like this to us for attention is disgusting and just wrong. I have moved on from this but please don't make this a big deal. They were 14 and this will not stop me from doing what I love for the PPT community or whatnot. It's just a life lesson I will take to heart and be careful to not put my full trust in someone unless I have clarification that they are indeed going through a death-like situation like this.

[fereldanwench]

I didn't want to completely sit out a year-in-review, but for reasons I'll explain at the end of this post and under a cut, doing the traditional pick-one-pic-from-each-month approach just wasn't going to work for me. So instead, here are 20 of my favorite shots (in no particular order) of Valerie from 2023!

(I'll share solo Goro shots and shippy/story shots in two other posts before the year ends.)

Some thoughts about this year (cw for anxiety and depression mentions):

So yeah. I actually hadn't planned on joining in on the virtual photography year-in-review fun in part because... Well, frankly, I wasn't sure if it would actually be fun for me.

Although I do have pictures for every month, the first third, maybe even half, of the year was a struggle on almost every conceivable level. A lot of it was shit that carried over from the end of 2022, which was also an incredibly difficult year for me. I don't really want to delve too deeply into why--Some of it was personal, some of it was professional, some of it was fandom, and if you know, you know.

The main obstacle I had here is that looking at a lot of the shots I took from about January to May (give or take a few weeks on either end) honestly reminded me of Bad Times™️. I've worked really hard to pull myself out of that depression/anxiety cycle and return to a healthier approach to fandom and online socialization in general, but I just didn't want to spend a lot of time in that mental space. There are a few shots from those months that made it to my favorites, and I hope one day I can look back on that stuff and just feel the good from it again. Alas, that day is still not here.

But I am happy to report that the other reason I wanted to approach the review differently is a lot more positive! It's also two-fold: 1) I spent the earlier part of this year exploring more of a technical side of virtual photography and 2) I was really prolific the last third or so of this year so trying to narrow faves from about August until now was just not possible.

One of the few good things about the end of 2022 was being able to upgrade my graphics card, which meant I then had a rig that could support ray-tracing and hot sampling. As a result, I started putting a lot more focus on lighting and getting acquainted with new tools. I also was trying to work with the new AMM posing system, which is very convenient in some ways (100s of poses without reloading the game!) and a complete pain in the ass in others (can't move characters without their poses breaking!). Custom photomode poses + Nibbles Replacer has been the game changer I've been waiting for.

Or to put it more succinctly, December 2022 through about April 2023 felt like a relearning/return to basics kind of creative period, which is essential, but also means I just don't really like a lot of what I did, lmao.

Then, shockingly (I'm not shocked at all), starting treatment for my anxiety and depression in the second half of this year suddenly made creating a lot easier and fun again! Crazy how that works.

Even bumping this little review up to 20 shots instead of 12, there are still pictures from the past few months that I had to cut as favorites. There was just no way I could condense the amount of fave shots I took from August to now in just 5 options.

I also owe quite a bit of this revival to modders for asking me if I wanted to take shots for them--Exploring more of a fashion photography approach to my shots I think did a lot to build on what I had learned earlier in the year and encouraged me to try something new. I don't want to tag anyone in this long-ass glorified diary entry, but if you invited me to take mod shots for you, just know that it really meant a lot. ♡

And that's where my head has been with a yearly review! Is filling out a little template with 12 pictures this serious? No, it definitely is not, lmao. But hey, overthinking shit is still something I'm working on. ✌️

[triptychgrip]

Viktor vs. the "fix-it" fic (new chapter)

We don't get to see the evidence of it, but I'd like to think that Viktor eventually feels very bad about his decision to prioritize his fancy clothing over catching Yuuri after the latter's Free Skate in episode 5. And, in my head, the figure skating fandom gives Viktor so much shit for it -- particularly Minami Kenjirou -- that Viktor, haunted by guilt, decides to "right his wrongs". Of course, he ends up taking the ever-dramatic Georgi's advice to write "fix-it" fanfiction for Yuuri about what he should have done in place of that blithe "oops, watch the nosebleed!" response.

But let's say Viktor -- 1 year post-canon -- reflects back on that day and starts to feel insecure, not just about the nosebleed debacle, but also regarding the several other things he did that betrayed his lack of coaching experience during that competition (cough cough...changing into his suit instead of sticking close to where Yuuri could see him so close to the warmup session). So maybe he goes a bit overboard when he writes that fix-it fic, taking many many artistic liberties with what went down that day.

Of course, he doesn't realize how upset this will make Yuuri, who has never demanded perfection of him, "Living Legend" or not.

This is the premise of my 10K WIP (that I just updated). As of now, the plan is for this very meta, hurt/comfort story to close out at 4 chapters.

On the surface, it may look like a lighthearted story -- especially because Viktor gets editing help on his fic from many of his and Yuuri's other friends (see the above bracketed parts in the summary) -- but I really wanted to delve into the topic of Viktor and insecurity. Particularly, with respect to the fact that he, understandably, really didn't know what he was doing when he and Yuuri made their debut at the season qualifier competition. This, of course, was compounded by the fact that some of the most important people in his life, like Yakov, were outright dismissive of his decision to be a coach in the first place.

If this sounds interesting, I hope you'll take a second to check out the excerpt below, from the newest chapter (Chapter 2). In it, a certain email mishap gives Yuuri the mistaken impression that Yuuko (one of the people Viktor turns to for editing help), not Viktor, is the one who's been writing RPF (real person fanfiction).

Excerpt (from Chapter 2):

When Yuuri switched back to actually read what had been written next to the fandom and relationship headings, he flushed violently.

Yuuko had written RPF fanfiction starring him and Viktor!!! 

To Yuuri’s immense relief, the draft in question was rated ‘teen’, which enabled his buzzing brain to quiet somewhat; he likely would have died of mortification at the thought of his literal oldest friend conjuring up smutty fantasies starring him and his fiance.

He could vaguely remember Yuuko mentioning wanting to do some creative writing over the summer, but he’d assumed that it would be something in the sci-fi realm, which was her preferred reading genre. And yet according to some of the tags – which made him giggle, in spite of his confusion – this draft was a “fix-it” fic, taking place at the Chu-Shikoku-Kyushu Regional Championships just over a year ago. Kenjirou’s teasing from last month came to mind, and Yuuri began to suspect that this must be Yuuko’s way of joining in on the “Viktor gang-up”. 

Additional Tags: 

Fix-it fic, Pre-Relationship, Developing Relationship, Fluff, Anxious Katsuki Yuuri, Supportive Viktor Nikiforov, this is what should have happened at the Chugoku-Shikoku-Kyushu Regionals last year, fuck your designer suit Viktor, let’s not pretend he doesn’t own a thousand of them, Smitten Viktor Nikiforov, Grand Prix series qualifying competition, 2016-2017 skating season, Everybody Loves Katsuki Yuuri, BAMF Katsuki Yuuri, no noses were harmed in the making of this fic, and no chapstick for that matter either

Summary:

“You caught me!” Yuuri exclaimed, flushed from exertion, and looking so incredibly gorgeous.

Viktor’s heart tripped with affection at that beaming smile, and he planted his feet before reaching up to wipe, gently, at his student’s bloody nose.

“Of course I caught you,” he scoffed, though he made sure to allow his tone to slide into joking territory. “What kind of coach would I be if I hadn’t?”

Though he had a somewhat hazy look in his eyes (he had smacked into the rink barrier pretty hard, after all), Yuuri seemed perfectly content to carry on their conversation while nestled within his arms.

“Well, I’m all bloody,” he replied, looking a bit sheepish. “Plus your suit is so nice…it’d be a shame if it got stained.”

Viktor tightened his hold, hoping he’d be able to remember this euphoric moment in such vivid detail weeks, months, and a year from now. Yuuri had just debuted the program they’d choreographed together, the one they’d poured their hearts into!

Who cared about a little blood? 

—

Instead of prioritizing his obscenely expensive designer suit, Viktor Nikiforov catches his student after Yuuri debuts “Yuuri on Ice” at the Chu-Shikoku-Kyushu Regionals. 

(A 1-year “post mortem”/fix-it fic, in which poor Yuuri never ends up getting a migraine after his skate, because his doofus of a coach actually catches him)

Definitely intriguing.

Yuuri examined the page count and snuck a glance at the clock on the wall. This draft was rather long but it would only take ten minutes to pop over to Lilia’s adjoining studio, and besides, he was in desperate need of a distraction from what had come up in therapy. 

You can read more here!

[envysparkler]

do you have tips for beginner writers?? i wanna start but i feel so out of my depth, and usually i run ideas by my friends but none of them are into the fandoms i wanna write for. throwing smth out into the world for anyone to see scares me so bad but i cant goto irl friends and my parents wont let me get discord to maybe connect with people who i’d be ok running my ideas by.(do not know i have tumblr, but discord they actively check for) throwing smth into the world without anyone to check terrifys me

Breaking into a new fandom is undoubtedly nervewracking!

Back when I first started writing fanfiction, Discord didn't exist, and while I'd heard of Tumblr, I didn't have an account. (I believe the main writing community for that fandom was on Facebook, though it wasn't very active either.) I started writing on FFN, which did help in community-building somewhat since you could send messages to authors and not just comments, but we didn't do much idea sharing. The fandom was new and small, most of us were in our early teens, and altogether, we probably lacked the self-awareness to be self-conscious about our ideas.

Of course, I had the same setup when it came to Batman. I hadn't joined a discord server or made any posts on Tumblr before I wrote my first batfam fic. I wasn't self-conscious about that one either either, for a very important reason that to be perfectly honest, I'd almost forgotten.

I wrote my first fic because there was a story inside of me that was bursting to come out.

It didn't matter if the idea was good or bad. It didn't matter if it was popular or unpopular. It didn't matter what the fandom thought about the characters, the ships, or the plots. What mattered was that my fingers were itching and words were scrawling themselves on the inside of my eyes and so I wrote.

That's not to say that you can always and only write if something is bursting to come out of you--writing to fill a challenge, practice a new skill, meet a word count, or offer a gift are all perfectly valid. But when I look back at the stories I enjoyed writing the most, they were always the ones that kept me up at night. The ones I had to write, or else. The ones that refused to let me go until I put pen to paper or finger to keyboard.

That's my best piece of advice for you and anyone else struggling to write their first story and also anyone struggling to write their tenth or hundredth or thousandth story.

Write the story that demands to be written.

As for the second part of your ask: don't worry about your audience. Especially don't worry about your audience before you've even written your story. You don't have to ever post your story if you don't want to. If you do want to publish, there are several ways of slowly dipping your toe in the water--you could publish a snippet on Tumblr, you could post anonymously, you could show it to someone IRL first. But please, please don't get into the habit of having someone else approve your ideas before you start writing. All it will do is limit your imagination.

[thoughtsaboutshows]

2024 Fic Writer End of Year Roundup ✨

Answer and then tag three or more creators to keep the game going!

I was tagged by the lovely @overjoyedisland for this!! Thank you!!

1. How many words did you publish on AO3 in 2024?

106,565!

2. How many fics did you complete this year?

I completed 6 Empyrean One-shots! Most of them are little ficlets or drabbles and then one Solstice Exchange fic! I just joined the Empyrean fandom in August and it's been so so wonderful. I'd taken a break from writing fanfiction and these characters were the perfect ones to get me back into it!!

3. How many in progress or ongoing fics did you start this year?

I started one, Let's Play Pretend, my Riorgail Fake/dating (also sort of second chance?) romance fic. It's my first long-fic for this fandom and it's been so so fun to write. I have some ideas for extending some of my drabbles/one shots that are marinating in my brain but we'll see if it actually happens! I'd love to do a canon world or canon compliant long fic depending on what Onyx Storm brings us. 😬

4. What was your favourite thing you wrote?

all that you rely on, and all that you can save- was inspired by the Chapter 27 Xaden Bonus Chapter where he wants to do wickedly inappropriate things with Violet on an archives desk. I hadn't written smut in a while so it was to dip my toes back into that

I’m Gonna Be- I've only really ever written for the main ship in fandoms so I absolutely LOVED writing something for Immrick. I love their dynamic and their potential. They are one that I plan to keep exploring!

5. What piece was your most experimental or different from your usual style?

I've never done any sort of exchange so participating in the Rider's Quadrant Solstice Exchange was super fun!! Writing something for someone else wasn't something I'd done and I really enjoyed it. Also writing for a non main ship (Immrick) was a blast.

6. Did any fics surprise you - either while writing or their reception?

I didn't expect Let's Play Pretend to be as popular as it has been! I kind of just started it because I love a premise of two idiots in love and I am a SUCKER for fake dating (especially when one person is CLEARLY besotted with the other 👀). I love stocking it up with tropes: one bed, second chance, enemies-ish to lovers....it's been fun! It seems others love those tropes too!

7. Do you have a fic you wrote and loved that went under the radar? (This is your sign to reblog/repost it!)

I think I'm Gonna Be (my Immrick one-shot) went sort of under the radar probably because it's not a main ship work. Though I will say that Xaden/Violet do make some appearances in it 😊. But I'm really proud of that one, and Immrick can ALWAYS use more love.

8. Who is an artist that inspired you?

I don't think she is on tumblr but the artist Mads Schofield is INCREDIBLE. All her works are AMAZING. Here's her link to instagram: madschofield

Her throne of glass works specifically have inspired me. She'll always draw the characters authentically and with all their scars. It inspires me to allow the characters I write to lean into their imperfections.

She has some fourth wing art too that's amazing. Here's a Riorgail one.

And here's her website!

9. Who is an author that inspired you?

Oh my goodness there are SO many amazing fic writers out there. Everyone on the discord server has been so welcoming and supportive.

I'd say the writing of @skyfallscotland, especially In Too Deep, inspired me to dive into an AU. And @saranova and @tegantales are also incredible and inspiring.

@suebswrites's Just Ask inspires me to want to jump into canon compliant. And that fic (and everything she writes) is amazing!

10. Who is a new author you discovered?

All of the Empyrean writers! I didn't start reading Fourth Wing Fanfic until this Summer so I've basically always been able to read something new or by someone new. There's so many amazing fics out there.

@ubiquitouslyme @justallihere @lizardsrunfast @widebrimmedhatsblog @caeli0306 @overjoyedisland @yanny-77 @siobhanbooks @alexandia03 @hockeyspiral23 @sarcasticmothwrites @copperfirebird @serahadmoni are just a few more of the many very talented fic writers for this fandom.

11. Did you do any collaborations? How did it start?

I haven't collaborated or co-written anything but a huge shout out to @lovemedarkly29 for being a beta and a springboard for ideas. She's given the best feedback and has helped me organize my thoughts and helped me ensure things make sense and are reasonable (especially with the messy backstory of Let's Play Pretend).

12. What accomplishments are you proudest of?

I'm the proudest about getting back into fanfic. I was writing for the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina fandom but fell off of it in February. I absolutely love writing and it's been a lifesaving outlet for me, but I was just so uninspired and had not been able to do it. I was nervous about starting again but the fandom has been so welcoming.

13. What did you learn about writing or creating this year?

I've learned to put less pressure on myself and to write when I'm inspired but not to force it. When I try and force it it's usually not very good.

14. Any advice you’d like to share with new or aspiring writers?

Just start writing! Even if it's just a few lines of dialogue or a paragraph or only the first chapter of something. If it's something you want to try just get something on the page when you're inpsired.

On a practical note I suggest using googledocs fro writing. That's what I do and because I have it on my phone I can jot down any random thoughts or pieces of dialogue that comes to mind wherever I am. It leads to some pretty chaotic google drives, but at least all my thoughts are in one place.

15. What are your creative goals for 2025?

My goal is to finish Let's Play Pretend! I would also like to finish up this Immrick oneshot that's been bouncing around in my head. One thing I would also like to accomplish is writing ahead (at least a few chapters) before I start posting.

In a perfect world I would also finish Thicker Than Water, my Nabrina WIP, but that's currently on an indefinite pause. I just can't seem to write it. In truth, it's felt strange to write about the situation Sabrina is in at this point in the story after Chance's passing. I just can't get into the headspace to finish it. But maybe some day.

This was fun!!

Much Love.

[imthepunchlord]

Honestly? At this point Miraculous seems like a pick and choose kind of fandom??? Like when the storyline and author of something become too much of a mess for the fans to care much for canon anymore so they just choose what the want to write fanfics about. It happens in stuff like DC where they can't have all the different characterizations of the characters together without contradiction. Death of the author situation I think???

It was already happening with fan artists so very intrigued by the PV. And then as new characters and powers were introduced people started omitting some characters n episodes.

Now, with the absolute nothing having done for the character arcs for most of the characters (Adrian, Chole, even Alya) people are just tired.

Understandably so. We have almost a decade of bad writing, inconsistency on characters, clashing set up and characters, upsetting/huge choices that don't have any real consequences to them or not the right response, and honestly at the core, nothing changing all that much. S6 is going to have LB and Chat still not know each other's identities, and are still going to face a villainous Butterfly user.

Only difference is that there's now a total of 17 heroes in Paris, but given that LB and Chat are the center piece, I don't know how much we'll really see them. Oh, and Adrien and Marinette are dating, though I wouldn't be surprised if s6 just had them broken up or immediately broke them up. They did it before. And this pair is supposed to chase each other eternally... maybe they'll stay dating s6 and onwards but idk, it seems like no one likes writing couples together, which is a shame as that can be a whole other can of worms and not always happy, as you're taking that partnership further, you're going to learn more of who your SO is, and there's going to be fights, there's going to be learning communication, there's going to be learning compromise. There's a lot to explore with couples together that's not always sunshine and rainbows, and hardly any show wants to really explore it. Maybe they will s6 but I'm not really anticipating the possibility.

Either way, yeah, ML is that medium where, because of the inconsistency, you can pick and choose what you think fits the character. Given the lack of consistency, it can be up for debate of what's even in character for this character.

Like, I remember when Collector first came out, and Chloe is sobbing about Adrien being pulled from school and I was so surprised by the choice. The Chloe that was presented in s1 would not be sobbing. She was be mad. She would go demand and threaten Gabriel to give Adrien back. Probably one of the few people she genuinely cared for, and this is a girl who knows that she has a lot of political power and can get her way easily. She would not be crying over this, she'd be marching her way to the Agreste manor, ready to give Gabriel a bad day for the audacity of pulling her friend out of school when she waited so long for him to join her in school.

And that's just one of many moments where something can feel out of character, at least for me. Depending on how you view Chloe, that could very much be in character. And that's the nice and frustrating thing with Miraculous, no consistency, anything is up for your interpretation.

Even more so when you have characters that have a clear route of progress to follow.

Like, take Felix, who got cut because he didn't work with what Astruc wanted to do, which yeah, he doesn't. Which he wanted to do a status quo story, which means little to no progressing forward, no major changes to that initial set up. Felix though is a character that needs progress. He starts out selfish, not wanting to be a hero, and his set up arc is learning to care. Learning to truly become a hero, learning to make friends and working with others, coming to genuinely fall for his partner and being genuine with her.

Felix would've been fine with a story progressing forward.

He had a clear path to take.

Chloe, given all the build up to be Queen Bee, had two clear paths to take, be it redemption and rising to becoming a hero, or embracing a role of full villainy.

Alya had a clear path to take, with her eagerness to expose the heroes publicly, she needs to learn the value and security of secrecy, and the reality that her trying to expose them put them at risk; that she needs to reevaluate her priorities and how she should go about things.

There's also the issue of lore, which ML has really bad lore. Which can leave us to be more creative with it, make changes so it makes sense. And this can extend to powers too, as I don't think a majority genuinely like all powers presented, I don't know anyone who really likes time traveling Rabbit or really knows how Rooster works. So it is really nice that people are pretty open to seeing Miraculous power changed or expanded upon.

And of course, there's the lack of consistency in what they set up.

Ladybug and Cat are supposed to be THE most powerful, the big two! But they don't feel like. Butterfly feels like the most OP given it can give any power and can make superior versions of preexisting Miraculous. Peafowl can do the same, and make actual life apparently, that you can fully control and terminate whenever you want. Rabbit can freaking time travel. Rooster it seems can give you any power you want, I know they tried to explain that Rooster can't do what other Miraculous do, but that's a clashing statement as Ladybug and Goat both generate items, and the Paris Special reveals that a Ladybug CAN control what items they gets, and you got Butterfly and Peafowl able to function the same, and in the Paris Special, Butterfly can make a champion that can go to different realities, and Rooster can give the ability to go to different realities, so I guess we'll just go with Rooster can give you any power you want?

Yeah, Miraculous over all is a huge frustrating mess. Even more so that it's still going on despite how sloppy it is.

And for me at least, I create content for it as I can SEE the potential it has for the concept. It's such a brilliant idea for a superhero/magical girl show.

Doing animal themed heroes, with their powers working off the animal symbolism, themes, folklore, and mythology? Yeah, that is great. That can give you SO MUCH to work with and do. Even more so, most animals have the same themes across different cultures, like everyone agrees that foxes are tricky, horses are about heroism and traversal, bees are the peak example of community, ect..

And then there's these little beings that are based on those animals, that have lived through a long history alongside humanity? Easily could've been the most fascinating part of the show, especially if they work off animal archetypes. That gives you a preset personality to build upon, and can shape each kwami's view, moral, and guidance.

Like Pollen as a Bee should have values of having a role to play in the great hive of the world, you might need help finding your purpose, and to believe that humans should communicate, work with others, work hard, be kind but take no bull. Live a life of integrity and responsibility.

Trixx as a Fox though should be a trickster. One that's ultimately for the greater good, but she's going to be chaotic about it. Maybe a little selfish, maybe a little mischievous, and maybe a little risky. She's going to urge a value of cleverness and perception in her humans, but she's also going to let them act for themselves as she wants to see how things play out for curiosity and fun. And in the grand scheme of things, everything will work out as Trixx intends, with her having various predictions on how things will probably go, but my goodness, anyone caught up in her gambling game is going to be in for a wild ride.

And with these two very drastic animal archetypes, it sets up Pollen and Trixx to clash on how they handle things, expanding upon kwamis having unique dynamics, some as friendships while others are rivalries.

Then of course, there's the intrigue of what humans they could get paired with, especially if you go a route of foils that could open the way for growth.

Like Bee was set up as Chloe's ultimate foil, being the opposite of who she was: being mean and petty, lashing out, being lazy, egotistical, selfish, doesn't work with others unless she values them. All of that is the opposite of what bees represent. And all of that is what Chloe needed to grow and improve, but no, we can't make progress, she has to stay who she is, so the Bee is catered to her lashing out.

So yeah, it's a big shame as I freaking love this concept, especially as I like animals, I like reading up on their mythology and symbolism and such. But it's so horrendously done. And that's the biggest shame as I think it could've been one of the great cartoons to recommend. But not how it is now.

[dramionediscussion]

Today I discovered something new about myself. I'm not a big fan of reading modern and current themes in fanfics 🫠 I was reading a fic and suddenly Hermione started thinking of Draco as 'the classic privileged white male' or having a 'colonizer' mentality and... Yikes. It pulled me out of the reading I was immersed in.

Oof, Dramione has gone woke! LMAO

He is privileged, canon was not shy about that, so the Hermione character knows that from the moment she meets him. It's funny that the author is saying that "Hermione realized". She knew. She always knew. It's not a revelation. Also, is Hermione white in that story? Isn't she the daughter of dentists, she is privileged too.

Also "colonizer" mentality? What does that mean?

I think because the Dramione fandom is kinda mainstream now, you have all these new younger people, who were not Potterheads, join in and take a stab at writing. They don't fully understand the canon or characters and they are just using the characters to write an original story, either because they just want to, or they want the views since this fandom already has a large following.

I also think this younger generation is a little too woke. LOL I mean they are very socially aware which is a good thing, but sometimes I feel like they don't fully understand things. They rely on just social media to get their information and they don't do their own research or watch the news or read newspapers or opinion pieces to get the full view of a topic. They just hear a few people say something on TikTok and go with it. So they are not fully informed and they make statements that don't really make sense. The older generations do the same. One statement, and it's now a fact. We shouldn't be like that because we know how easy it is to spread false or inaccurate information.

So a story with these "buzzwords", which don't make any sense to the characterizations, will make me stop reading too.

-Lisa