#i haven't posted much this year but i am mostly proud of what i've made so this was fun!

[andtosaturn]

2024 in gifs ♡

post your favorite and most popular post from each month this year (it’s okay to skip months) (i am including graphics too lol)

thank you @katebeckets for tagging me! ♡

JANUARY —

favourite: the ballad of songbirds and snakes + suburban legends gifset (297)

most popular: the rocky horror picture show pink + blue gifset (571)

FEBRUARY —

favourite + most popular: heathers + miss americana and the heartbreak prince gifset (275)

MARCH —

favourite: the rocky horror picture show eras tour poster (107)

most popular: chappell roan tiny desk concert gifset (206)

APRIL —

favourite: orla gartland 'kiss your face forever' graphic (57)

most popular: bella goth's disappearance set (246)

MAY —

favourite: dirty dancing + but daddy i love him gifset (227)

most popular: stevie nicks + taylor swift gifset (574)

JUNE —

favourite: maisie peters 'the good witch' anniversary graphic (160)

most popular: hot to go graphic (2,618)

JULY —

favourite: lorde + summer gifset (185)

most popular: doctor who 'the unicorn and the wasp' gifset (453)

AUGUST —

favourite: nick miller 'tomatoes' gifset (430)

most popular: brendan fraser gifset (584)

SEPTEMBER —

favourite + most popular: the rocky horror picture show + pink pony club gifset (783)

OCTOBER —

favourite: bruce springsteen 'my hometown' lyrics (36)

most popular: stevie nicks 'the other side of the mirror' graphic (240)

NOVEMBER —

favourite + most popular: ziggy stardust graphics (432)

DECEMBER —

none yet lol

no pressure tags: @cellphonehippie ♡ @stood-onthecliffside ♡ @tolerateit ♡ @mikelogan ♡ @nessa007 ♡ @uhhrellys ♡ @jakeperalta

[lanternlit]

smokedanced is now lanternlit

And with this I return, so excited to be writing again! Further changes...

I have moved Castiel and the Thirteenth Doctor here from their previous blogs (waywardfeathered/dochaes). If you were just followed, we were probably mutuals there! Hi! I plan to slowly follow everyone I had ongoing interactions with or asks I planned to reply to, on those blogs. Slowly, because I want to double check people's guidelines pages first. If you follow me back here, I plan to automatically reply to our things on this blog :)

I've rewritten my guidelines. The contents are mostly the same, but a lot has been reworded, and some minor things have been added or deleted, so it'd be awesome if you could give them a read. I guess this is technically optional, since they're mostly the same as before.

A few muses have been dropped. Kenna de Poitiers, Jeremy Bradshaw, Juliet Burke and Tyrion Lannister have been dropped as muses.

New muses have been added. Cas and Thirteen have been moved here from their previous blogs, and I have added Fifteenth Doctor as a muse. Jake, whom I added, um, nearly a year ago... finally has an about page, now, as well. You all get free shots to fire at me about how I had an OC among my muses for a year almost without any kind of an about page.

Some muses' stories have been altered. Namely, Mary Stuart is now a modern AU based muse, and I don't write her in Reign canon at least for the time being. Ella Finnegan has had her story altered, as well, basically the way her psychic abilities work have been changed. The latter will be easy to retcon in any ongoing interactions.

All muses have at least a dossier and a character premise page. This one is something I am proud of myself for, but also fuck, I got so frustrated trying to write the character premise pages that I can see it when I look at them, what with some of them having the most simple sentence structure and all, but I figured... better some information for my characters than none??? Everyone has something, now! Also, no more half the muses only having placeholder images on their pages! PRAISE THE ABSOL... I mean, my self-discipline. Because these past weeks I have just wanted to COME BACK AND WRITE, but I made myself have those tabs for all the characters first.

It is currently nearing 2am so pleaaaaase excuse me if this post is chaotic. Hi dash love you dash.

Lots of muses have been switched between their activity status. Current list goes:

primary muses: cas, hannibal, iris, izzy, jillian, the tardis, thirteen, will

secondary muses: edi, ed, ella, ever, garrus, lucius, mary, tali, ten

tertiary muses: charlie, clara, dean, river

test muses: chloe, eloise, fifteen, hurley, jake

Speaking of, right, Eloise has been released from "I need to rewatch Bridgerton first!" jail, and she's open for interactions sksksksksk

Guys, I don't remember what else I was meant to say.

The blog has had a bit of a makeover. Nobody look at my navigation page, the only thing I edited there so far was the colour scheme, it is outdated. I know me saying not to look is going to make people look but what can I do. Look at my muse directory and guidelines if you want to look at something, you sneaky sneaks.

The interest tracker has been updated. Chloe and Jake have been finally added on it. Cas and Thirteen have also been added on it. Fifteen has- you understand.

The tracker is the same one I've had before, but if you are interested in any of the added muses, please edit your responses. If you haven't done the tracker before, this would also be a very nice time to do it!

Going forward, I am going to go through my unaswered ooc messages and reply to people, I know there are a lot of you who have been on hold with plotting. Thank you so much for your patience. I am also going to start replying to things again, obviously. Now that my muse pages all have at least something on them, I can continue to work on them while my main focus for the blog is generally, well, roleplay. The pages being in such a state of WIP was a huge source of executive dysfunction for me.

I also plan to re-read everyone's guidelines just to make sure neither of us have edited ours so that we don't match anymore, but that'll not be done overnight with all of you.

I hope the url change isn't a huge inconvenience. If you could give this post a like, if you've seen it, that'd be awesome of you, though not at all necessary! I am genuinely very excited to be here again.

[pebblysand]

Is My Heart Still In It? (and further reflections ahead of the Page Pals Project)

Hey everyone, I hope that you're doing well. I am back in Ireland now, and just wanted to come on here to remind you of the castles re-read project that will be starting tomorrow (more info here if you want to join). I am very excited about this and look forward to receiving your thoughts and to talking about each chapter as we progress!

Additionally, as a lot of you also saw last week, I received a not-very-nice anon about chapter 21. At the outset, I want to state that my intention writing this isn't to revive the issue, or to stir shit up again. Anon apologised and even if they hadn't, they're allowed to think whatever they want to think. I know a lot of you were very upset on my behalf, and a lot of you DM-ed me last week, which was very kind, but I also think that anon was very well within their rights to have disliked the chapter. Word-vomiting it to my face probably wasn't the most productive way to go about this, and that was typical URL-badman behaviour, but it is a free country.

I haven't had a chance to re-read the chapter, but I also think it's pretty clear what this person disliked about it. There is a change of tone in chapter 21, and a change of pacing, that may have felt rushed to this person, which is probably why they didn't enjoy it. Again, that's not really the question, here.

I think the part of this anon that really stuck with me was the allegation that my heart wasn't "in it" anymore. Firstly, because at a very, face-value level, it's not true. I don't want to seem like I'm being full of myself, here, but I think it is pretty much acknowledged that I am someone who has a very strong work ethic. I spend hundreds of hours on each chapter, I edit, publish, edit after I publish, answer anons, answer comments - like, if there's one thing you cannot actually fault me on, it's the amount of dedication that I have put in this project. I can accept that maybe, when it comes to chapter 21 specifically, I did a little bit less editing than I usually do, which may have caused it to be a bit clunkier, but that was mostly because I was very keen on giving you a chapter before going on holiday, not because my heart wasn't "in it". My heart is in fact so "in it" that I wrote and published 43,000 words in less than a month, so stop it.

But also, on a different level, one that this anon probably didn't even anticipate, they were right. Because, I mentioned their message to my therapist, earlier this week, and said: "Do you think they can tell?"

To be fully transparent with you all, when it comes to castles, I've definitely had many moments of fluctuating motivation in the past four years. I think that when you are writing a story this size, for that much time, it's natural that you will experience ebbs and flows. The summers, I've noticed, have always been particularly hard. The summer of 2021, when everyone was coming at me about my characterisation and, afterwards, about the contents of chapter 8, made me want to give up more times than I can count. So much so that I didn't publish anything for six months after that. I can state very clearly that my heart was very much not in it, then. The summers of 2022 and 2023, when I basically wrote myself into the ground and burnt out by August because I was sleeping four hours a night for months, trying to manage writing and work, were also awful. Those who were here last summer will remember the post I wrote about how much I'd sacrificed for castles, and how much I considered giving up. My heart also wasn't in it, then.

By contrast, now, I'm feeling a lot better about this story. Its end is in sight and I'm so very proud of what I have achieved and what I have managed to pull through. I'm also about to embark onto writing a series of chapters that have literally existed in my head for years, and which I can't wait to share with you. Whilst I am a bit nervous about how the end will be received (which, again, is normal when you have poured that much of yourself into something), I can't wait to finally show you all where I was going with this. I'm so excited for us to finally be able to discuss Everything, and for this fic to be complete. I think that paradoxically when you look at what this anon was saying, I am on "high" when it comes to castles, at the moment. I am more motivated, and my heart is more "in it" than it has been for a long time.

So, why do I say that anon was also right? Well, because I'm grieving. Because like a parent who is watching their child age and move out for college, I'm watching this story edge closer and closer to being finished with a mixture of joy and pride, and grief. I've always felt that once a chapter is published, and once a story is finished, it no longer belongs to me, it belongs to the readers. And, right now, there are only three chapters left, which are my own. Soon, this story will have grown up into its own thing and it will belong to the people who read it for as long as there is a Harry Potter fandom, for as long as the internet exists, but it will no longer be just mine. And, so, when I say "Do you think they can tell?" I mean that. Can they tell in my words on the page that I'm saying goodbye, too? That maybe I am slowly trying to distance my heart from this thing that I've built little by little, because I'm hoping that the grief will hurt just a little bit less, when the time comes?

I love this story so much. I know that it means a lot to a lot of you, and I don't mean to diminish that reader experience in any way, but it means a lot to me, too. Probably in a very different way. This story has been my refuge, my baby, my best friend, my enemy, my lifeline, for four years now. And, I love the community it has brought together, stupid anons included, so I worry. About what it'll be like not having that. About whether people will be interested in my writing in the future. About the possibility that I might never experience this level of connection again. And, so, of course, I am happy and keen, and so excited to finish and share this with you. Also, I'm not going to lie, I'm very much looking forward to getting some of my free time back (haha) for the first time in years. But, I'm also grieving. And, maybe, like this anon accidentally suggested, you might be able to tell in my words, or you might not. Either way, I'm telling you: my heart is very much in it. It's just - learning to say goodbye.

So: join me on the re-read, starting tomorrow. Join me as I say goodbye. And, I can't say I won't cry, but I hope we'll all get where we need to be in the end. ❤️

[staceymcgillicuddy]

annual writing self-evaluation

Thanks to @astorytotellyourfriends for the tag - I didn't do this last year!

1. List of works published this year (in the order that they were posted):

If She Lived in Space, Man, I'd Build A Plane crimson & clover pulling overtime model citizen; zero discipline what you give just serves me right two jack trippers and a chrissy perception check all my kinktober fills a hollow tree

2. Work you are most proud of (and why):

Gosh, that's hard. I'm proud of all of them for different reasons, and I have issues with all of them for different reasons. I guess I would say "what you give just serves me right" makes me happy, and was something I had to push myself to do, but I was pleased with how it turned out in the end.

3. Work you are least proud of (and why):

I hate that I have two fics out that I haven't updated in ages! I am not proud of that! And there are a few things in all of them that I'd tweak.

4. A favorite excerpt of your writing:

Oh golly. Alright, from a hollow tree, which was my Halloween fic featuring Lilith!succubus!Chrissy:

Fog slips into the van when he opens the door. A mist so thick it’s disorienting as he drops to the ground, and the shape of a girl forms itself out of the gloom.

5. Share or describe a favorite comment you received:

Almost every single regular commenter on Soul makes my heart sing and my panties drop, and I'm so sorry my brain is being stupid right now.

6. A time when writing was really, really hard:

Right goddamn now. It's like squeezing blood from a fucking stone, and I have no idea why, but everything comes out strained and blechy and I hate it, and I refuse to inflict it on anyone else so I'll just sit like a lump, churning out crap and never showing it to anyone.

7. A scene or character that you wrote that surprised you:

Genuinely did not think that I would get so into the Hopper/Chrissy/Eddie dynamic as I did when I wrote it as a crackship as part of kinktober. But, like, I could get DOWN with that shit.

Also, Hellcheerington surprised me. Oh, and writing Eddie's dad for Soul was weirdly cathartic? I was determined to make him a person and not a collection of cliches, which was easier said than done. I think I got there, in the end. Hope so, anyway!

8. How did you grow as a writer this year:

I didn't, I fucking regressed. Or, no, not really. I pushed myself a bit, tried to get sharper and cleaner with some prose. Read some theory books, worked on my rhetorical devices, forced myself to kill a couple darlings along the way (but not all the darlings, god damn it).

I also published a book, so yay?

9. How do you hope to grow next year:

I'd like to get back to writing original fiction. I've been in a slump with that, too, because it doesn't have the instantaneous feedback that fanfic does. I want to split my time between fic and pro writing stuff, and I want to be very realistic about how much mental energy my real job takes up. When I used to write like a madwoman, I didn't have the role I currently do, which is a senior project manager leading a team, working mostly with executive-level staff. Don't get me wrong, my job pisses me off a lot, and stresses me out, too, but it pays well and we live in a shithole of a society where money matters in the grand scheme of things.

So, like, I guess I hope to grow as a writer in writing even when my brain doesn't want me to, or it doesn't feel great to do so.

10. Who was your greatest positive influence this year as a writer (could be another writer or beta or cheerleader or muse etc etc):

Freaking Shirley Jackson, man. That bitch can write.

11. Anything in your real life show up in your writing this year:

I'm always putting kinky shit I see or experience at the bdsm club into my fic. I am as God made me.

12. Any new wisdom you can share with other writers:

Everything is made up and the points don't matter. Stop comparing yourself to other authors. Turn off stats on your AO3. Write what you fucking want and quit worrying if other people are going to like it.

13. Any new projects you’re looking forward to starting (or finishing) in the new year:

I'm going to be so, so glad when Soul is done because I love it so much but it is also the millstone around my neck.

14. Tag three writers/artists whose answers you’d like to read:

@binickandros, @pipergirl17 and @phoenixwrites please!

[twilight-good-yall-dumb]

A perspective on social media from a girl who (mostly) had none~

Recently, I created an Instagram account, because I wanted to experience what having a normal social media was like for a change. I haven't been on any traditional social media besides Tumblr since early high school (I am now an adult in college), and I've kept it that way for a reason. I'd had Instagram, Twitter, and maybe even snapchat way back when, all throughout middle school and up into my freshman year of high school. But then I realized what a terrible impact it had on my mental health and also became a bit of a luddite simultaneously. So, after a few bad interactions with social media my freshman year, I'd proven to myself that it did more harm than good in my life, and I got rid of it (seemingly) forever.

Fast forward to me at the start of this summer. I was feeling isolated (back in my hometown, away from my university life), and I had a thought that almost instantly became a plan. I would get Instagram for the summer. At the time, it felt brilliant. I could experience social media properly as an adult, study the effect it had on me, stay in touch with friends while I was lonely, and have an opportunity to post some of the film photos I was proud of. The excellent caveat was that I had given myself a time restraint. By the end of summer, I'm to delete the account no matter my experience. I told my friends about my plan and made them promise me that they would not let me keep it any longer than I'd stated.

So, I make an account, and it's fun! I'm following all of my friends, I'm connecting. I get the dopamine rush of posting for the first time, getting follow requests and comments from my lovely friends, all very enthusiastic for this experiment. But even in the high, I could already see that nothing had changed. My brain was systematically the same brain it had been all those years ago, and I knew almost instantly, that I would have no trouble deleting the account when the time came.

Now here's the thing: I don't regret making it. I've had fun, but the way that it almost immediately shifted my focus and scattered my routine has been sort of mortifying. I've found myself many times mindlessly scrolling and thinking, "I thought I was better than this? I thought I'd bested the brain rot and short attention span of social media?" But what I've realized is that there's really no such thing. The only way to do that (other than maybe not being neurodivergent but uh, I can't help that) was to just not have it at all.

And the process as well has made me reflect on Tumblr as a platform. What I've come away with thus far is that Tumblr, despite being a far less profitable or populated social media than most, is a far healthier online space (for the most part. it still has it's issues, like a hivemind mentality at times, etc.). I've seen posts where people discuss this before, but it's become so true to me: Tumblr is one of the only social medias that truly encourages discussion. It's the only social media where people aren't scared of words. Nowhere else could I make this post, nowhere else would something this long and convoluted gain any traction or incentivize any interaction. And though I have no idea if this will get any notes, I do know that it's possible. Being so used to that, it's been so strange to try and wrap my head around the short form content I'm fed over there (I think TikTok would put me in my grave). Whether it's the caption on a post, the length of a video, the comments, the words accompanying a story, language and content is so restricted. There is so little to be said and so little to add.

As I've played around with stories, I've had a blast simply making myself laugh and posting little photo collages of things I've been up to or making shitty ms paint stories with my random thoughts. But what's so strange to me is I'll make a story, post it, and then look at how much I've written and feel ashamed for it. And how can you not when the function of a story is to last a few seconds? Sure, Instagram is meant to be a primarily visual platform, but these are not novels I am writing, they are simply thoughts. Sentences. And I look at them and feel embarrassed immediately for putting so much of myself on display.

Which only feeds into my final thoughts on the thing. Relative anonymity on social media is a fucking gift. We are so incredibly blessed on this hellsite to be given the opportunity to create a blog rid of any semblance of our true identity, and still create a community. We can post about the things we love unashamedly, discuss our interests at length, and make friends with mutuals, all while never feeling obligated to give any of your real self away. I think that is the most beautiful version of an online space we can cultivate. I post something a little bit goofy on my Instagram, and I immediately fear the way people (in my real life) will perceive the REAL version of myself. I think constantly about how the version of me in other people's minds is being systematically molded by the presence I have on that damn website, and it's crippling. I'll never get to be my truest self there, because I'm too scared of a somewhat uncontrolled group of people knowing so much about me. But here, fuck it. I can say the most untamed, feral things, and somebody will like it and maybe even play along, all while having no idea who that thought belongs to. There's a peace there.

Lastly, on an unserious note, this website has altered the way I talk about things in an online space that I think normal people just are not equipped for. I will say something on my Instagram that I assume is recognizably a joke or meant to be taken lightly, and I'll have somebody respond to it in a manner that disregards the sarcasm or silliness all together. I'm like dude, this is clearly a funny, a silly even. Perhaps I'm just too weird for normal social media, and I can accept that. But honestly, I think so many people would benefit from being their true selves in real life only, and approaching their online space as something different entirely. Let the world and the people around you discover who you are as a person, not the curated profile you have on some evil website. Delete your social media. Embrace peace and discover a sense of self that is separate from the shallow online world. And maybe get a tumblr. It's pretty cool here.

[theultimatenonbinarynerd]

Mel's Top 3 Reading Recommendations

Introduction

As I enter my third year of reading I can now say that I have read enough books that I can start recommending some of my favourites to people. As of this blog I have read 77 books since 2022 and let me tell you its been a fun ride for sure. One promise I intend to keep though is to try read diversely and not just pick up Marvel, Star Wars and Doctor Who books. I mostly am starting to fulfil that. When I was younger all I read was Daisy Meadows Rainbow Magic Fairies Novels but as an older reader I'm going to do my best to make sure my reading is enjoyable and as diverse as possible.

I'll make another list once I'm six years back into reading but for now these books are books that have made a huge impact on me and are ones I would demand for you to check out if you haven't done so. These books are books that instantly sparked with me and that I found relatable. I can assure that the list isn't just scifi or Star Wars and Doctor Who novels. These are novels that struck a strong impression with me that are some of my favourites. I need to listen to more novels

There's been a lot of highlights but as much as I've loved them I've felt like those highlights haven't been as important to share. The books I've chosen are so important that I believe the 2nd and 1st entries need to be on the English Curriculum instead of outdated poop such as Of Mice And Men. Whilst the third entry is still an important read I feel like the top 2 are good educational tools whilst also being enjoyable books in general. The sad thing is though that I know they'd refuse the two books I've chosen due to their queer themes. So I'm sharing them with everyone is this post so that they can get the hype that they deserve.

Without further or do I'm proud to present

3: Light Of The Jedi By Charles Soule

Now I know what you're thinking but Mel this is a Star Wars book I don't even like Star Wars- Shhhhh. You may not like Star Wars but let me tell you with honesty that The High Republic is one of the best Star Wars eras due to how fresh it feels and who inclusive it is. If your a Star Wars fan and haven't read these your missing out. If your not a Star Wars fan I'd still recommend this one due to how orginal is and how it focuses on community and people coming together during a disaster.

For those who haven't read this wonderful introduction into The High Republic. Light Of The Jedi follows the pov of mutiple Jedi and government figures as they try stop a hyper space disaster from ravaging other planets. The villians The Deadly Nihil may or may not have pov chapters too. Normally stories with mutiple characters pov would be really hard to follow but not only does Soule manage to make it work he also manages to make it super entertaining.

It's such a unique way of story telling and a really good introduction to the Star Wars world even for those who may have never seen the films. If your a prequels fan and hated The Jedi this book will entirely shift your view on them and make you angry they fell so far into The Jedi of the prequels. There's also some really healthy Master Apprentice dynamics such as Bell and Loden as well as Burryaga and Nib. Its so refreshing and made me not only hooked on The High Republic but also desperate to pick up more Star Wars books.

Can recommend enough giving this book a chance as I promise it'll be worth it.

I had no idea that the next book would be so gut Punching. My second recommendation is...

2: When Our Worlds Collided By Danielle Jawando

I have never been more thankful that I picked up a book out of sheer impulse. This wasn't on my wishlist but I went with my friend and once I read the synopsis I impulsively bought it along with the book I went to the store for. At the time I didn't know if I'd made the right decision but now I know I did. This is one of those books that in my opinion needs to be in the UK education curriculum instead of harmful ableist books like Of Mice And Mine. It's so educational and raises awareness of what it's like to be a black teenager in the UK. It critiques society's harmful structure and also shows that tragedy as difficult as it has the ability to bring people together. I loved and if anybody is looking to diversify their tbr I'd recommend it in a heartbeat.

For those who haven't read the novel When Our Worlds Collided follows teens Chantelle, Marc and Jackson as their worlds collide after witnessing the murder of 14 year old Shaq. Their world view gets flipped and they have to question the institutional systems in police. All of the teens are in Yr 11. Chantelle a working class teen has to deal with a teacher who is deeply prejudice towards her, Marc has to deal with a new school and the struggles of being black in the foster and Jackson who comes from a rich background has to find his true friends and discover what he wants in life. All of them are relatable and have like I teased their own struggles to deal with throughout the book and Shaq's death fuels them and their new friendship.

It's a deep and heavy novel but super important novel to read. Of course I'd give a trigger warning for any bipoc readers but if your you must check it out. You want everything to be happy and go well but you eventually get a wakeup call and realise that's not releastic. It does have a lot of black truama but it's also hopefull and allows for these three teens to form a life long friendship. The sad bits are heavy but the lighthearted moments make you smile. My favourite lighthearted moment had to be Chantelle and Marc teasing Jackson over his love for Star Wars.

So I'm begging you please check it out, it's the book you didn't know you needed to pick.

Now my final pick is another book that early teen Mel absolutely needed. It healed my inner child. My number one recommendation is...

1: The Many Half-Lived Lives Of Sam Sylvester By Maya MacGregor

This book saved me. I'm so glad I picked it as one of the first queer books to read. I've had a lot of religious truama and struggled to accept myself being Nonbinary but this book was super affirming and it was so glad to have Sam's identity normalised. The best part though was the incredible Autism representation. Like Sam I'm Autistic and Nonbinary and I felt like the Autism representation was perfect. Nobody was ableist to Sam and they all accommodated them. Even the teachers were brilliant. I also loved how their special interest of studying people who died before 18 wasn't mocked or turned into a caricature. The murder mystery itself was also really gripping. No spoilers but it feels like the scene from Spider-Man Homecoming where Peter opens the door and discovers who The Vulture is. It's a book that slaps and is gonna be a super gripping read.

For those who haven't read the novel. The story follows Sam Sylvester a teen who isn't optimistic about their move to Astoria after experiencing truamatic hate crime in their previous town. Things get much more exciting when they not only meet new friends and a potential partner but also discover they are living in the same house where Billy a teen is the 1980s "accidentally" died. Sam and their new "friend" Shep aren't convinced it was an accident though so they decide to investigate. And let's say the answers don't disappoint at all.

It's an amazing novel with am entertaining mystery to solve, found family and healing from the past. It also really portrayed autism well and didn't turn Sam's special interest into a characteriacture you can tell an actually Autistic person wrote the novel. The queer representation is written just as well too. The author talk really informed how much love Maya put into the novel.

Like I said it healed my inner child and is overall just a wonderful book. You should absolutely check out, it has some of the best Autistic representation ever and has scenes that will leave you a gape when you realise Vulture was Liz Shaws Dad.

Out Of All My 5 Star Reads This Is Definitely The One I'd Pick Out The Most.

Conclusion

So that has been my Top 3 Reading Recommendations I hope at least one book has appealed to you and I absolutely promise to do another once my 5th year of getting back into reading is complete.

There's still so much I want to read and am excited to do so. Whilst I love Star Wars books I am trying really best to diversify my tbr as I don't want another situation where I only read Rainbow Magic Fairy books. Sam Sylvester and When Our Worlds Collided are clear examples of contemporary novels I've been able to enjoy.

Reading is great but remember that even if you want to do it for "fun" diversifying your tbr is important.

-Melody-

They/Them

[smores100]

hey.

so. haven't been around for quite some time, mostly due to my health issues (the usual + muscle aches and joint pains, i'm having a great time), but also in part due to The Situation. it's hard to care about anything with everything that's been going on, it all seems so pointless and meaningless, i'm living in a completely different universe from everyone else here. wish i could be that privileged, but alas. it's also hard being around here, and on other social media platforms for that matter, and seeing the raging antisemitism and sheer hate everywhere. i haven't checked my dash in almost 2 months, haven't checked specific blogs like i used to either, and have no plans on doing so anytime soon. i know what i'll find, i don't want it.

i was gonna stay quiet like i ususally do, especially since i genuinely don't have energy for anything rn, but it's been 2 months and i've been biting my tongue and screaming and crying into my pillow daily and i just need to get some of it out before i implode. there's only so much ignorance and hate that one person can take before snapping, so. here i am.

i have so much i want to say, i've written a million posts in my mind in the past 2 months, but i'm too Tired to actually write them down, and it'll just be one big messy ramble anyway, so i'm just gonna reblog a couple of other people's posts and make do with that. just a couple, don't worry, i know these are issues most either want to avoid dealing with or the opinions shared in those posts are a complete 180 degrees from what's trendy to believe in today. but i have to share it anyway. for 2 months i've been terrified, frustrated, bitter, angry and absolutely heartbroken, but there's one thing i haven't been, and that is ashamed. i'm proud of who i am. i'm proud of my people and their spirit. you will never understand what it's been like for us, what it still is like for us, but let me just say this: they wanted to break us, they wanted to break our spirit. they failed. we've never been more united. they just made us stronger.

so i'm gonna reblog some stuff so i can get it out of my system and move on. at worst i hope you just ignore and scroll past it; at best i hope you keep an open mind and maybe for the first time read things from a different pov instead of just the one sided propaganda everyone is continuously exposed to. maybe you'll see it isn't all black and white, maybe you'll see there are nuances you're not even aware of, maybe you'll realize you've been fed a lot of misinformation, half truths and even lies over the years. maybe. if you have questions or want to have a mature and civil conversation about it, feel free to msg me and i'll try and reply when my health allows me to, i'm open to discussion. if you want to unfollow me after this, feel free to do so. i'm not gonna force my truth on anyone, but i'm also not gonna change who i am for anyone either.

and on a more personal note, i wanna say thank you again for the msgs i've received last time and haven't replied to (due to health, Situation etc), and for the ones i've gotten since (will get to those soon i hope). i do feel the need to say this tho - i did have a peek or two at my dash and on twitter earlier on and saw some things. i was in a super sensitive state at the time and it was pretty disheartening ngl. it's hard nowadays, with all the hate going on and public opinion being what it is, to know whether or not you're still welcome in these spaces, whether or not people still like you and care about you, or if you've officially become persona non grata. most days it feels like the latter tbh. i just don't know where i stand. i said i'm not gonna force myself on anyone and i'm not, so if you're still ok with me…i guess the ball's in your court? 🌻

thanks for reading. thanks for sticking around, to those who decide to do so. take care y'all. never again is now. am yisrael chai. 💙

[madlad-sadgal]

Intro Post

Did I just now realized I haven't made one? Yes. But here it is now!

My Blog/About Me

My blog is a safe place for practically everyone (except for TERFs, get off my page). I don't care if you're here just to look around, or if it's because you're interested in one of the things I talk about, you're welcomed here and I'll gladly talk with you about whatever it is you might want to! <3 I'm active in a few fandoms on here, mostly Nimona, though I also like RWRB, LOTR, and a bunch of other stuff.

About me, I'm bigender and mostly use he/him and she/her, though I'm comfortable with pretty much anything. I also think I'm pan, but I've kinda been doubting that recently? Eh, I'll get through it. I live in Quebec so you might catch some works written in French (I'll probably add the translations under cuts though).

Writeblr

I've been meaning to get more into Writeblr and share more about some of my writing, fanfiction and original works alike. The things I like to write most about is fantasy and also LGBTQ+ stuff. So here are two original works you might catch me talking about:

Life after Life (Undefined Title) Tag: Life After Life(:OC/Plot/Etc) This is a story of two soulmates, reincarnation, immortality and betrayal. One is immortal, while the other one is mortal. The immortal one has to watch as their lover dies, but they always get reincarnated and always manage to find each other, usually when the mortal one is around 20 years old. Except this time, it takes until the mortal is 27 years old for them to find each other, and the immortal doesn't think much of it at first, but they can't help but notice that their lover is acting differently than they did in their past lives, which isn't inherently bad, but they can't remember a single time when their personality wasn't the same at the base. But it as time keeps passing, it becomes clearer and clearer that their lover is not the same, and someone seems to know of their immortality. Someone they may have met in the past. Now they have to try and protect themselves and their lover from this person, but what can this mortal be hiding from their own soulmate? What shall they do when war and love collide? Will they forgive each other for these hidden secrets? More importantly, will they manage to stay with each other this time, or will they be forced to wait until the next life once more? (Also ending line idea: Mortal, dying: I'll see you in the next one, yeah? Immortal, crying, and holding them: And every single one that follows.)

Love is a Fantasy (Been working on this one for over a year now, the one I'll be talking about the most because this is one I am very passionate about. Also don't get fooled by the title, this isn't just filled with unrequited love.) Tag: Love is a Fantasy(: OC name/Plot/Etc) LGBTQ+ story exploring how teens go through questioning their gender and sexuality and how people may pride themselves differently on this stuff.

Alex is a gay teenager who isn't ashamed of his sexuality, but keeps it to himself mostly. He is lucky enough to have accepting parents and friends, but the crush he has on one of his best friends may complicate their friendship, which terrifies him. He uses he/him pronouns.

Ava is a non-binary lesbian teenager who uses they/them pronouns. They are proud of their sexuality and gender and never hesitate to correct people who misgender them. They've been friends with Alex since the two were young. Their parents aren't exactly weirded out by them, but more so confused by all this, but Ava gladly answers all their questions and doesn't let that stuff get to them.

Ethan is a bisexual teenager who turned Ava and Alex's duo into a trio, but lately, he's been wondering if maybe he's not as attracted to women as he originally thought. This terrifies him because his parents aren't the most accepting people, and he also has a girlfriend whom he doesn't want to break the heart of. But of course Alex just has to complicate everything, doesn't he? ;)

Avery is Ethan's girlfriend, but she's dealing with a lot at home, and now on top of that she doesn't know where her feelings stand. She thought she was pan her whole life, not feeling a difference in romantic attraction towards gender, but all of this comes to a half when she meets one of the new kids who explains she doesn't feel any romantic or sexual attraction, and now she doesn't know where anything stands anymore.

Evelyn and Chelsey have been friends since they were young, often helping each other hide their sexuality and genders from their Christian parents. Evelyn is pansexual and bigender, often stepping way off of the gender binary and just having fun with her looks, though a certain Ava catches her eye once she meets them. Chelsey is aro-ace and is open to pretty much any pronoun, and they have a pretty feminine style.

All these kids meet in an LGBTQ+ club (created and hosted by Ava), and are now helping each other figure out their sexualities, helping each other hide certain things from Christian parents, and just trying to get through the horrors of the teenage years.

Other Socials

Just my AO3 for now:

[words-after-midnight]

Hi! I went through the libaw tag while I was bored and???? It's so good??????

I am in love with Gabriel now. New blorbo acquired. All your snippets are great. And also all your chapter titles are fire.

Idk where you're at with the querying but best of luck on that. I wanna see this published so I can devour it.

Just wanted to say how much I love what I've seen of this story. You're doing great, bestie 👍

(Also, do you have a taglist?)

🥺 You just made my day! This was such a sweet message to receive. I'm glad you enjoy the snippets and titles (my titles are definitely a point of pride for me, haha), and that you find the story intriguing. That's the goal! It's not really the kind of story that tends to get much attention in these spaces, tbh, so I'm pleasantly surprised with the warm response some of my recent snippets have received.

Gabriel would most likely be shocked that someone considers him blorbo-worthy, but I'm sure he would appreciate your affections! I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with him myself, but he's definitely one of my more compelling characters and I'm proud of the way he turned out. As a character, anyway. As a person is more complex, lol. Either way, definitely poured years of blood, sweat, tears and research into that guy, and I suppose if I was trying to produce upstanding fictional specimens of humanity I'd probably be writing something other than crime thrillers.

More under the cut because this got suuuper long (💀):

RE: querying - I've been "getting ready to query" for like a year at this point, lol, but that's mostly because the edits after my last beta cycle became QUITE a bit more extensive than anticipated. It's definitely for the better, though. I'm very, very happy with the way it's turning out. Not only am I successfully addressing a lot of my own nagging issues and recurrent beta reader comments, but the structural edits are also allowing me to trim the word count quite a bit (which... the word count has been a MAJOR hurdle in my journey with this project, because of tradpub word count limits in my genre versus the complexity of the story). I'm about 70% done with edits at this point. There will be things actively happening on the querying front in the near future - I will update on that asap.

Re: taglist - I don't currently have any taglists because I worry about my ability to be consistent with maintaining them. You're not the first person to ask about a taglist for libaw specifically, though, so I might try to see if doing one just for that project is feasible. Stay tuned.

Side note, I saw your tags on my post from last year about libaw's history and while they are very (!!!) sweet I feel I must clarify: I started the project in 2008 (when I was 17, for reference), but I haven't been working on it actively throughout that entire span of time - there was a long period between late 2013 and early 2022 where I did very little writing/work on creative projects in general, so it was shelved for most of that. It took me 2.5 years to draft (2008-2011) - at the time it was two novels totalling ~400K words - and then I spent most of 2012 and 2013 doing large-scale revisions, which included a full rewrite/merging of the novels in 2013. Then I took it back up again for good in early 2022 (two years ago today, coincidentally). So that's definitely still a very long time to work on one novel, but not as long as the entire span of years since I started it.

I've always said this is the book of my heart, and I won't try to release it until I'm happy with it and know I've given it my best shot. I've never regretted that for a second, but it's taken a long time to get there, for both personal and skill-related reasons (namely, there's a social commentary element to the story that's taken me a lot of effort, research, and development as a writer to get right - it's ongoing, but I'm getting close based on recent feedback). To be close to reaching the point where I can genuinely feel "my" (independent, prior to pub-related edits) work is done after well over a decade is very cool for sure.

[pan-magi]

My Magi LGBTQIA+ Headcanons

Ok, I've been working on this list since January. I still probably forgot some. I haven't worked out all my SnB ones yet and about half the Rens. It takes me an inordinate amount of time to sort them out. The only ones I'm really set on are the aspec ones because I'm biased (that's me, I'm AA and proud).

All that to say I may update this list or do a second part. Most likely won't be for a while since I'd want to to add a good chunk before I commit more to the wild.

Also, if you disagree, that's cool. My list though~ I love hearing other people's hcs but I am not up to arguing over mine. I know you guys are chill but to ensure we are on the same page :)

(It's a reasonably long list so all of it is under the read more)

Leila and Sahsa: You can't tell me the manga didn't start off with a lesbian love story with a little shit child playing mediator.

Judar: He very gay.

Aladdin: Genderfluid. I just like the idea of him having everyone constantly guessing as a child of chaos. They're also vying to take that title from Judar. I also can't place who the kid will be interested in but none of his friends are around the same age.

Titus: Trans gay guy.

Yunan: Doesn't really have much attachment to gender. He wouldn't really describe it as a lack of gender yet won't turn down using agender. Gender neutrois also works. Uses any pronouns.

Scheherazade: Cupiosexual. She yearns for being able to have sexual attraction but it just never has occurred for her. After a few decades she had accepted it about herself. The most common form of attraction she feels is alterous attraction (often explained as the space between romantic and platonic attraction).

Hakuryuu: He has messy chemistry with everyone. Bi disaster through and through.

Morgiana: Ace and questioning. She hasn't figured it all out yet but her friends are there to support her. (hi, yes, this is me projecting weeee)

Alibaba: Bisexual and clueless. So if you ask, he won't be able to answer but he also picked up on Sinbad's natural ability to flirt with anybody without trying too hard.

Hakuei: Lesbian

Koumei: Bisexual. I mentioned with the art I made on my own blog that I designed Koumei around the bi colors without realizing it. Nothing in my mind has changed to refute that so that's what I'm still going with. I do think it fits him.

Sphintus: Gay. I can see him being biromantic as well, but mostly into guys.

Sinbad: Pansexual and greyromantic. I won't go into it again more here. He's the best most clueless and suave person ever.

Jafar: Homoromantic demisexual. He likes guys but also without any strong connection to go off of he doesn't really register how people can be attractive.

Drakon: Omnisexual. There's attraction to guys, women, and enbies, all slightly different to each other. Preference for women.

Mystras: Also very gay.

Pisti: Aegoromantic. She gets invested in other people's (mainly her friends') love lives, and loves love stories, but whenever she tries getting into a relationship it never sits right for her. She won't mind an intimate relationship though knows it won't be romantic (after a bit of denial). After my brain came up with this I started projecting like hell and I don't give a fuck XD.

Mu: Mspec of some variety. I don't think he will be bothered by either bi or pan. Queer will work just as well. He will be down for anyone, you know? Going off queer history circles I've seen conversations and jokes that no one in Ancient Rome is monosexual. Mu feels like the person it will apply to the most. I'm going with it.

I joked to myself that the majority on Alma Toran are mspec or aspec. With longer lifespans for humans, a good handful are aspec because of the lack of incentive to have kids or families quickly. I would have posted about it last year during my Alma Toran posting in October and during ace week, but alas. I'm now posting it here lol.

Anyway, my Alma Toran hcs:

Solomon: Demisexual. Hasn't spent time thinking about it because he didn't expect to marry so young. It doesn't bother him though, not that he could explain his sexuality well.

Setta: Aroace. All ice mages are aroace because I said so. (except Judar, dude can have as many guys as he wants)

Isnan: Gay

Falan: Bi. Growing up she didn't have the chance to explore her sexuality. She won't deny it if asked though is perfectly happy in her relationship.

Ugo: Bi and aceflux.

Paimon: Also bi. She flirts too much with Ugo not to be (though I do know some lesbians and non-interested in men peeps who flirt with guys for shits and giggles without much feeling. Poison Ivy being the main lesbian I think of for this).

Arba: Non-sam aro. I tried to figure out her sexuality and I know it's not ace, but it's still too wrapped up in being aromantic. Non-sam is the closest I could figure.

Tess: Demiboy. The idea just burrowed into my head and hasn't left so I'm going with it. He is fine with he/they pronouns, yet the only people allowed to get away with calling him little boy are his parents.

That's all I got. For the moment, at least. If I try to figure everyone out I won't get around to finishing this till pride next year. If ever >>. As I said, I may update the list or post a second part.

Remember to stay chill peeps! & Happy Pride!

[itsfirecat]

20 questions for fanfic writers tagged by @graham-cracker-guillotine I'm so sorry I missed this for like 2+ weeks XD. I forget I have a tumblr except for those few moments every few months when I spam reblog a bunch before crawling right back under my internet rock.

How many works do you have on AO3?

67! (Which is wild to think about, considering I've written all of them in the last two and a half years I think?)

What's your total AO3 word count?

I'm still a little astounded by this, but it's 203,676 as of December 15th 2023

What fandoms do you write for?

I largely write for DC at the moment, though I regularly write crossovers w/ Marvel, and I've got a not insignificant amount of Danny Phantom, White Collar, and Criminal Minds crossover fics too

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Falling Like Dominos (2363 kudos, Gen, a DPxDC crossover fic I wrote for DPDC week in 2022)

2. In the Pits (1914 kudos, Gen, again a fic I wrote for DPDC week 2022

3. Echoes of the Past (1755 kudos, Teen, More DPDC crossover stuff, but this time in 7 chapters)

4. Without a Compass, Without a Map (1452 kudos, my current longest fic, and main WIP, Teen, A Marvel/DC crossover, Tim Drake/Peter Parker)

5. Mass (1230 kudos, Gen, White Collar x DC crossover, Birdflash)

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I haven't really in a while. Not because I don't want to, but because I look at my inbox and I feel overwhelmed XD. I really just need to set aside an hour or two sometime and go through to respond to them all. University has been eating a lot of my time this year.

What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I really don't end up writing a lot of angst, and when I do I really like making sure I know they're all going to be okay, but I think of my finished fics (because there's one I know the ending is going to be angsty as hell for, but that's yet to be written XD). But if I had to pick something from the limited selection I have, I think I'd choose Legislation, which is a White Collar x DC crossover fic, though I think you could argue it's bitter-sweet rather than angsty.

What is the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Happy endings in a fic are hard for the opposite reason that angst was XD. I have so many. But right now I think if I had to pick a favorite I'd have to go with my most recent fic, Sunflower, just because I'm still really happy with how that one. It's Superbat, and just pure fluffy getting together.

Do you get hate on fics?

I've had one or two, but tbh those comments were so cartoonish they made me laugh before I deleted them. In general my readers are pretty great, and I'm really happy with where I am in writing and posting online.

Do you write smut?

Not normally, I have one smut fic posted, and another floating in my drafts, but it's not normally what I go for. I like tooth rotting fluff most of the time, and being ace-spec I always feel like the "how do you do, fellow kids" meme when I write smut XD.

Do you write crossovers?

So many XD. So so many. I mean, all my top fics are crossovers, I think that speaks for itself

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of, but if anyone happens to see my stuff floating around outside of Ao3 please give me a heads up, I'm proud of the work I put in, and don't really want others just taking it and claiming it as their own.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

I haven't, mostly because it's not something I'm generally comfortable with. As someone who grew up bilingual, I'm keenly aware of how much meaning can get lost in translation, and while I'd be flattered if someone wanted to put in that tremendous amount of effort, I would struggle with not being able to check that the intent behind the words stayed the same.

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I haven't, and tbh I don't think I'd be too great at it. I have pretty strong ideas in my own head for where I want something to go, and I'm not always the best team player XD.

What's your all-time favorite ship to write for?

There's too many fun ships to pick from, I really enjoy switching it up and trying different things. Such is the curse of a multi-shipper I fear.

What's A WIP that you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

I- I'm not sure. I know I have so many ideas in my notes for my Marvel irondad fic series, and while I really do want to still execute all those (especially because it was those fics that got me to posting my work in the first place), my brain is too deep in the DC headspace to write anything purely Marvel at the moment.

What are your writing strengths?

I like to think that I'm pretty okay at setting up story lines, and hinting at/building up towards a finale. I see people try to guess where my plot is going to go later on in the fic, and it always makes me happy when people are able to guess accurately. Ideally I don't want a reader to read a decision I make at the end of any of my fics and be confused as to where the idea came from, I want there to be things readers can find when the go back and read for a second time that they missed before.

What are your writing weaknesses?

I get pretty wordy, especially in moments like this when I'm also doing a lot of academic writing (because I kind of need to be). I'd also like to work more on my dialogue, and I'd like to get better at planning/plotting my fics before hand and gauging how long they'll be before I start.

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I think it's okay if it makes sense, and you can still understand the fic without knowing what the dialogue says. I've done it for Tony and Peter, and had them speak to each other in Italian, but I usually did that more-so to show familiarity and comfort, what they were saying wasn't particularly important (and it was also in part so I could practice my own Italian XD)

First fandom you wrote for?

I think it depends? First on Ao3 was Marvel. First in posted fanfic was years ago on Wattpad, and a PJO/HP crossover fic. And before that back when I was like 11 I wrote Harry Potter fanfic without knowing what fanfic was.

Favorite fic you've written?

Picking a favorite fic feels a little like being asked to pick a favorite child. I think I don't have a definitive favorite, and how much I like any of my fics really depends on the day, my mood, my headspace, and any number of other invisible and unknowable factors. But I think for the purposes of this, I'm going to go with either, Assuming Makes an Ass out of You and Me, which is a White Collar x DC crossover fic, Gen, with minor JayRoy, or Half a Secret which is a Criminal Minds x DC crossover, Teen, and was one of my longest ever writing projects when I posted it.

Now to pass this along (though feel no pressure to do this if you don't want to ofc) @cassandrasdreamworld @notherdeadrobin @marirah

[heereandthere]

So. I'm Alive! (Life Update)

I logged onto this account to try and find something I remembered having buried in my drafts, and since this thing feels kind of like a time capsule to my time as a teenager, I felt like it was semi-appropriate to do a life update since the last time I was here.

When I used this account, I was between 15 and 16 years old, and I am now 20! Holy shit! I'm like. An adult-adult, and that's still completely bonkers to me. I used this account BEFORE THE PANDEMIC. The person who created this Tumblr just outright does not exist anymore and that's INSANE.

Not only am I a proper adult, but I'm also a COLLEGE JUNIOR. I'm so proud to tell you all that I am, in fact, studying theatre and theatre performance on a professional level. I'm the secretary for the theatre-based fraternity on campus and am currently president-elect leading up to the election we'll be doing at the next meeting when the current president steps down. I'm also a part of the theatre for young audiences program as an actor, in beginning rehearsals for my second year with them, and am slated to perform in both mainstage shows this semester (out of the 10 shows we've put on or are planning to put on since I came here, I've been cast/performed in 7!). And on top of all that, I'm slated to be performing in SCOTLAND in the foreseeable future! I'm a busy bee!!

Personal life has been kind of a clusterfuck, mostly courtesy of the pandemic. But I don't really want to focus on a very, VERY dark part of my life other than telling you all that I've finally gotten much-needed diagnoses and coping skills. My obsessive-compulsive ass got and will likely try to continue to be counseled, y'all! It's still an uphill battle, but I'll fight it until I take my last breath. :) I mean, hell, I got the motivation to CLEAN today! If that's not indicative of improvement considering what a mess my room has looked like for the past two years, I don't know what is!

I'm also very proud to report that I have a friend group I feel very accepted and comfortable in. It took a very long time for me to find my "people", and I really think I have here; the theatre department has been so kind and welcoming, and I really do love and cherish the people I work with. Several of them are graduating next semester, which is DEVASTATING, but I know they're all going to do amazing things. I wouldn't trade a single one of them for the world. The same goes for every single one of my non-theatre friends, for though they be few, I would do anything for each and every one of them. They've collectively made this whole "growing up" business so much easier to cope with.

Finally, and I make a point to talk about this because it changed my life so much, Be More Chill is now a chapter in my life I've left in the past. I still love the musical dearly, but it's become a part of my personal history rather than my current obsession and I've made my peace with that. It and musical theatre will always be a huge part of me (obviously, since theatre is my chosen profession), yet my interests have and will continue to change. That's life, baby!

And I want to cap this off by saying, if you paid any mind to this blog at any point, thank you. Thank you for indulging in a really weird journey piloted by a really weird teenager and thank you for paying mind to this post by an equally weird but better adjusted adult. I made this blog when I was at an incredibly low point in my life and having gone through the drafts and seen the unsent posts I wrote about what I was going through, I've made it... so insanely far since the last time I was here.

After a lot of hemming and hawing, I really do think it's finally time to let this blog rest, even though I already haven't touched it for quite some time. I'm still active on Tumblr, though, so if you're interested in getting back in touch or reading some new fic I've been working on for Good Omens, you can find me over at @antiquarianandunusual. You can also find me on AO3 under the same name, or Twitter as AmazingMrFell.

With that said, time for teenage me to rest easy. We made it, bestie. :)

~Heere (Sam)

[the-wintry-mizzenmast]

Twenty Questions for Fic Writers!

tagged by @bbcphile

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

69. NICE.

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

522,701

Smoke and Mirrors (Sephiroth/Cloud, drag queen canon divergence) has disproportionately contributed to this.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

I am sadly monofannish, so at the moment I am writing in Mysterious Lotus Casebook 蓮花樓. There are a few fandoms I have gone back to writing to, like Phoenix Wright/Ace Attorney when a new game comes out. I suspect I will dive back into Smoke and Mirrors once I am done with MLC and I play FF7 Rebirth.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Day Still Young (Wrightworth PWP)

Safe and Sound (ZoroLu PWP)

Storm Before the Calm (A Wrighworth piece I wrote for an exchange, I'm surprised it's this popular!)

Love and Longing (Wrightworth piece I wrote a long time ago)

Perennial Passions (Wrightworth PWP)

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I do my best when I am able, but sometimes I don't always get around to it or I don't have the spoons. I apologize if you've left a comment and I haven't been able to respond. Thank you.

6. What is a fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I smashed out Tarnished Silver (Sol/Ky, Guilty Gear, Major Character Death) in one evening because I was shocked that one of the audio dramas would have an AU that kills off a main char

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

I mostly do one-shots or series that are comprised of one shots that take place in the same universe. Euphemistically, all of my smut has a happy ending.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Extremely rarely. And if I did, I would report and then delete.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

All the time. I think every time I get into a ship I write porn for them. My usual tags are Porn Without Plot and Porn With Feelings.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

I am extremely proud of Born for the Fast Life, my Ace Attorney x Fast and Furious crossover. This might be the only multi-chaptered fic of any significant length I have ever finished in my life.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

A few over the years. Most recently, the entire Smoke and Mirrors series has been translated into Chinese.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I've done massive RPs before and collaborated on universes, but never a specific fic.

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

I am mono-fannish, so my favorite ship is always whoever is currently my ship, which is Di Feisheng/Li Lianhua. I suspect I will always love and have a soft spot for Zoro/Luffy from One Piece.

15. What's a wip you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

Two Bodies (Baze/Chirrut, Rogue One). I had so much backstory for them in my head, but it'll never be done. I need to learn that I am fickle and easily distracted and thus not made for long novel-length projects.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Action/fight scenes, car chases, Porn with Feelings.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Finishing things I start.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I'm only fluent enough to do this in Chinese, and only for short bits of conversation. I've only done this once for 天涯海角 The Ends of the Earth

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Fushigi Yuugi, but it was all for myself and only two people on this earth have read it. First fandom I wrote and posted for? Weiss Kreuz. How's that for a throwback?

20. Favorite fic you've written?

I'm proudest of Smoke and Mirrors, mostly because the characters are so vivid, but also because of its length and the way it's been plotted, even though it's yet undone and I don't have an ending for it. I'd like to figure out where I'm going someday and finish it.

I'm shit at tagging people, so anybody who reads this, if you want to do it, please!

[trappedinmymind]

1, 2, 7, 15, 18 from this ask game

1. What was the first fandom and/or pairing that you wrote fic for?

Technically, the first fandom I wrote for was MCYT (unpublished). I'm still proud of the premise I came up with and might recycle it, but that fic will remain unpublished for multiple reasons.

2. Do you participate in any writing events or challenges throughout the year? If so, what do you like about them?

Not often. I only just recently started doing more because I actually started being on social media more. The only other challenge I remember doing, outside of the Nimona Big Bang and Nimona Week, was years ago, and I only knew about it because my irl friend (who was in the same fandom) told me about it. I do enjoy them, though. I have a tendency to turn everything I write into a longfic, but events and challenges force me to do shorter writings and explore things I can't in my other fics.

7. Which part of writing do you struggle with most?

Editing. My editing of anything I write usually lasts at most 30 minutes before I get frustrated and post/submit the dang thing anyways because I can't figure out how to make it better.

15. A Hollywood producer tells you that they want to film just one of your fics. Which fic would you want it to be?

I only have one long fic attached to this username, so 100% You're Like Me (<- linked there if you're interested; it's on AO3). It is designed to be sort of a pseudo-sequel to Nimona (2023) because I desperately needed the world to continue to develop, and couldn't get it out of my head without putting it somewhere. Of course, I am much more excited for whatever sequel the writers and producers have planned, but given that we don't have that yet I will be making my knock-off.

(I do have another fic, not under this username, that in theory I would like to see adapted to film more than You're Like Me. I have worked super hard on this fic (not that I haven't worked hard for You're Like Me, but this fic has pushed me technically and forced me to think outside the box on multiple occasions) and has a great plot along with interesting lore. If anything I've written deserves to be adapted to film, and produced by professionals, it's this fic. However, I also don't want this fic to leave the fandom, as the fandom is mostly dead and should probably stay that way. Hypothetically, I would love for this fic to get more attention. However, I'm not sure I would risk the fandom being revived by allowing a Hollywood producer to film it.)

18. What is a line/scene you're really proud of? Give us the DVD commentary for this scene.

This is gonna be an excerpt from the previously mentioned unnamed fic. I've changed details to make it more vague. All you need to know is that, previously, Person A, Person B, + others did something they knew wasn't gonna go over well, but it ends up worse than they imagined.

"Do you think we made a mistake?" Person A asked. They should have put more thought into championing for it. Of course this was the outcome. "Do you think we did this at the wrong time?" Person B took a long sip of coffee, appearing to contemplate A's question. After a few moments, they said "I don't know." Person A sighed, and took a sip of their own coffee. "I suppose that would first require there to be a good time, which I don't think exists," Person B continued.

And I like it because, it's kind of funny? Specifically the second line, where I set up a bit of anticipation for the answer of the hard question, then immediately subvert it with the "I don't know". And then we stew in that for a second, before bringing it back around and give an actual answer the the question, managing to subvert expectations again (at least how I read it).

But it also does a good job of putting us in Person A's (who is the main perspective of this chapter) head without saying what they were feeling. I could've told you how Person A was waiting in anticipation for the answer, but prior to this, Person A was doing so much thinking and worrying. I don't have to repeat the fact that they're not in a good mental state. Instead, you get to wait with Person A while person B just... does their own thing. Seemingly unbothered, as they always do. I don't have to tell you how Person A is feeling, because you feel it, too. You're waiting for an answer, then you're mildly disappointed when you don't get one, then a bit of hope comes back once you finally do. I enjoy writing like this; making the readers project their own feelings onto the scene, instead of telling them how a character feels. Personally, it makes me feel more engrossed in a scene.

It also does a really good job of breaking up the scene. As previously mentioned, before this Person A was doing a lot of worrying. Lots of long paragraphs of emotion and overthinking. Posted here, this little snippet seems a bit short, but in context it's balanced perfectly with the text before it and helps to bring Person A and the readers back to the 'present'.

And maybe I'm hyping up these four little paragraphs more than is deserved, but idk. I feel really proud every time I re-read it, and think it does exactly what I need it to.

Anyways, these asks have been fun! If anyone would like me to answer even more questions either from this ask game or the one I posted about previously, feel free to ask! Or if anyone has any other questions about writing / something I've written before, I'd be happy to answer those questions, as well!

[bananajuiceeee]

awwwww, thanks pooks 🥺: @tdillustrates

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Last Song: Igual Que Un Angel, by Kali Uchis and Peso Pluma

Favourite colour: PURPLE 💜💜💜🥺👉👈

Currently watching: I'm not really watching anything rn, but I am reading! I'm working through Usagi Yojimbo, by Stan Sakai (my beloved) and Where the Forest Meets the Stars, by Glendy Vanerah

Spicy/Savoury/Sweet: I'm definitely a spice kinda girl Relationship status: Single, I honestly don't care much for romance, it just never appealed to me. I get all the love I need from my friends 🥺🫶

Current Obsession(s):

⭘ (ROT)TMNT

⭘ LOVE LOVE LOVE USAGI YOJIMBO RN, usagi's literally my husband wdym hes not we've literally been married for 5 years like what are you talking about he's the love of my life we have kids and everything he's literally my man

⭘ on a non-fandom related note, I've been kind of obsessed with nuclear power and nuclear accidents

⭘ the world wars have always stuck with me, and anything within that time period absolutely captivates me; It's all so beautifully tragic, and such an interesting case study on humanity at large

⭘ ART. I love art. all kinds. I've always been an art buff, I love studying art and the stories behind them. For as long as there has been humans there has been art. Art history is human history, and nothing fascinates me more then the brilliance of the past and the resilience of the present.

extra stuff, bc there's a lot you don't know about me, and I want you to get some takeaways from this

👇

Hobbies/Occupation:

⭘ I go to a performing arts school, and I major in dance! I do mostly Ballet/Pointe, but I do a lot of modern, jazz, and hip-hop/house.

⭘ I also LOVE to write, mostly original works, but I dabble in fanfic from time to time. I never actually posted any of it before, I'm pretty shy about my work, but I hope someday I'd gain the confidence to share.

⭘ and ofc, I enjoy drawing and painting. I haven't made anything in a while. I used to draw/paint all the time, but I lost interest for a few years, and it's left my drawing hand a bit stiff and sharp around the edges. I've been getting back into it though, It's actually the whole reason I was looking around for magma servers to join (I find I really like collaborative doodling, It's been helping me loosen up, it sucks I have to pretty much relearn how to draw tho 🥹.) But alas, like my writing I hope one day I'll feel confident enough to share

Pronouns: she/her! Where do I live: I live in the U.S!! But i'm a proud Puerto Rican! 💪😎💪🇵🇷

Gaming: I love games with calming atmospheres it's just really nice, yk? I play a lot of Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing. I know it's super tipical, but it brings me joy!!!!! But sometimes when I'm feeling silly i'll play fortnite tehe 🤭🤭🤭 And Roblox gets an honorary mention!! (and you should totally add me @ ProSquad_girl or something idk-) My blog is a place where you can... ⭘ @ me under posts ⭘ dm me whenever you like

⭘ have magma doodle parties

⭘ be silly in my inbox 🫶

Nine people i'd like to get to know better:

Tagged by: @bell-of-indecision, thank you so much for tagging me <3

Last Song: Gmfu by Odetari,6arelyhuman

Favourite colour: Dark red, violet, pink

Currently watching: Death note, ep6

Spicy/Savoury/Sweet: Spicy

Relationship status: Single

Current Obsession: Mbti types and cognitive functions.

Tagging: @somin-yin @a-cloud-for-dreams @axepen @hinsaa-paramo-dharma @basic-bitch-alkali @rhysaka @blackknight-100 @squishywizardd @reykalot

[guzsdaily]

I need to get things done

Day 15 - Nov 20th, 12.023

It is no surprise that I'm trying to be more productive in the past weeks or months, but I've to admit that I haven't made so much progress in the last couple of days. Doing this daily journal is being pretty much the biggest thing that I'm making daily, even more in these past three to four days which my productivity decreased a lot. This can be another burst of motivation because I watched a video, but sometimes I need them to think more and organize more my life and what I'm doing daily. I have a lot of projects to do and things to work on if I want to feel proud of what I do and if I want to get a job to do even more things I like, so I need to get things done.

Always Sunday

This is something which my therapist said some sessions ago, but if you read yesterday's post, I think it's impacts even more. But every day is feeling like Mondays, where I don't do very much and feel lost on what to do, and end up completing a not important/not listed task just to be able to say to myself that I've done something. This feeling is aggravating even more now that the year is ending and my girlfriend and family are having days off school or work, because now I can't easily tell if it is a workday or not and want to pass the time with them.

Just today I have done mostly nothing at the moment, just created a template in my note-taking app to create these entries more easily and that's it. The rest of the evening, I watched videos and/or chatted with my girlfriend because she is at home today - and just to be clear, she isn't actively trying to distract or chat with me while I'm in my work hours, I'm the one who is going to her to talk and distracting myself and not working. Thankfully she is very understanding that I need to work, and thankfully I still am able to have a time to be with her at the end of the day/start of the night every day. Love you honey. - And this happened a lot these past days, I had a week of studying the C programming language, and that was it.

And I can't continue with this, and I need to organize and start to have a better routine.

One task at a time

Being honest, a big chunk of the reason that I'm still unproductive is because of two things: not having a stabilized routine, and not having things to do daily. I already talked about both of them, but something that I've not realized that much is how both are dependent on one another, because not having tasks kills the reason of having a routine, but not having a routine halts the completion of tasks. And I was focusing and worrying too much on the routine side of things, trying to create triggers to it, but forgetting to scroll a little more in my daily notes to see my daily tasks, which ended up making me start the day somewhat productive, waking up, taking a shower, writing this entry, and then doing nothing for the rest of the day.

I have things to do, I have the projects for this and next month ready, but I didn't list the steps and tasks to do each day. And you probably already know how a project or objective can be overwhelming when you don't split it in small steps, things such as learning C, taking an algorithm course, making a resume and LinkedIn account, all of them feel a lot harder than they should. You can also imagine how it is when I open my projects folder and see this:

This is all the projects ideas that I have accumulated just this year, and there are still some more on my phone and/or others which aren't related to programming/tech.

The cult of done

And this entire entry was made because I didn't have any ideas of subjects and remembered a YouTube video by Tris (of No Boilerplate):

I really recommend giving this video a time to watch, No Boilerplate really gives credits to its name and very often I never feel like I'm wasting time with the videos, they're straight to the point and I love it. And it would be unnecessary to repeat about what is "The Cult of Done" here when this video exists.

I really want to make this idea of getting things done in my life. Independent if I didn't complete a course totally, didn't learn every single thing in a programming language, and even if a software still has more features to be implemented, I need to complete my tasks and get things "done" for the day, week, month, etc. And even if I didn't complete it, I can continue it later, the focus is to get what you need to do now "done".

Hopefully I will have better news in the coming days about this, because like always, I don't know exactly how to get things done, but I have some ideas to try.

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Today's artists & creative things

Video Creator: No Boilerplate - It's probably a good idea to already recommend it here. I started watching No Boilerplate in the start of the channel with the Rust Language videos, which are great and really made me want to learn the language in a near future, but here I'm recommending because of the productivity-related videos. Something great about the channel is that it doesn't have a lot of things going one, no cinematic/vlog shots, or engagement-focused editing or things like that, it is straight to the point, with just a slide-show made with Markdown, and a narration which is simply perfect (really, his voice and script writing are perfect). Most of the videos aren't that long either, having in general around 10 minutes like your average YouTube video, so it won't consume a lot of time, and you can watch in a work-break. Just remember to not distract yourself and let YouTube's autoplay or algorithm consume the rest of your day and soul.

Copyright (c) 2023-present Gustavo "Guz" L. de Mello <contact.guz013@gmail.com>

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0) License