#i need you to do both so i can keep feeling like a valid writer

[gold-wolf-soldier13]

honestly genuinely think a lot of writers here on tumblr have lost the plot more than a little. like if your writing for external validation, ie begging for comments and reblogs or saying kudos/likes mean less, i really believe you need to take a step back and reexamine your relationship with your writing. of course we all love to hear how much someone likes our work- we’re human- but the incessant posting and polling about comments and how “no one comments anymore” is starting to give entitlement. you aren’t owed engagement. just because you’re choosing to put the your work out to the public sphere, whether it’s here on tumblr or ao3 or wattpad or literally anywhere, for free and explicitly for others entertainment doesn’t mean they- the strangers on the internet- owe you anything. they don’t owe you a like, a comment, a reblog, a favorite, a bookmark- they don’t have any obligation to you. if you’re posting and immediately concerned about engagement metrics you’re no better than any tiktok or instagram content creator.

[strayy-starss]

Hii! Could you do some Elliott Headcanons? If not, don't be to shy w the Alex smut🤭

✧A/N: Yes of course!! Elliot is definitely my second favorite bachelor, so this is absolutely perfect!! And don’t you worry, Alex smut will be coming in the future 😏. Also, I wasn’t sure if you wanted NSFW or SFW, so I just did them both! Hope you don’t mind :)

✧Warnings: eventual mentions of sex and kinks

☆SFW & NSFW Headcanons for Elliot☆

✧ SFW:

Elliot definitely reads a lot of books (like, a LOT). I feel like this is a given, seeing that he writes them and has a library when he moves in with the farmer. Let me tell you, though, if the farmer is also a reader, he will be ecstatic. And I mean, like, through the roof. He’d want to talk about them all the time and he’d likely recommend lots of books for you to read based on both your preference and his.

I think he’d also love to read books out loud to you, whether or not he wrote them or not. His voice is angelic though, so it’s not like the farmer is complaining.

Speaking of books, he’d definitely ask you for your opinion on plot lines or scenes for his stories, regardless of whether you’re a bookworm or not. Mostly I feel like he’d just seek validation that his writings are as good as the ones that he’s read, or just good in general. 

I feel like sometimes, and I mean VERY rarely, Elliot will spiral into a place of despair when it comes to his writing. When that happens, he can go into writer’s block and will push you away to think of ideas. If this happens, depending on the severity, I think you may be able to pull him out of it with reassuring words and cuddles. If he’s in too deep, however, it’s best to give him space until he makes it to a better place, where he either figures something out, or decides it isn’t worth the trouble. He’d definitely apologize to you after the fact and make it up to them with lots of TLC.

Elliot doesn’t use the words “pretty” or “handsome”. No, he uses words like “gorgeous” “stunning” “glorious” and “ravishing”. I’m sorry, but this man is way too sophisticated to use simple words. Make that shit fancy and pair it with a silky voice and you get Elliot.

Elliot’s a wine kinda guy. He’d definitely have those nights where he feels compelled to make a charcuterie board with all those cheeses and grapes and have some red wine with you.

Now, I know you’re all thinking it, and I'm thinking it too: Elliot with a ponytail. I bet you he loves his hair, but it does get annoying sometimes when it falls in his face when he’s trying to write or help out around the farm, so he definitely keeps a hair tie on his wrist in case he needs it. He’ll always offer it to you, too, if he thinks you need it.

He’s an early riser, too. He’ll be up before you and he’ll be sitting and reading a book with a cup of coffee and he’ll greet you like, “Good morning, sweetheart. Did you sleep well?”

And like the gentleman he is, he probably does a lot of extra and unnecessary, but thoughtful, things for you. Like, if you’ve had a long day, he’d sit you down and take your shoes off for you, even though you insist that you can do that yourself. Then he’d take off your jacket if you were wearing one, and make you a nice cup of tea so that you can wind down with him.

✧NSFW BELOW THE CUT✧ ⬇

✧ NSFW:

I firmly believe that Elliot’s a switch. He’s always willing to take initiative, but we all know that Elliot is a pretty princess at heart and sometimes just wants all the attention.

God help me this man knows how to talk dirty. He’s read enough books that he knows exactly what to say to you in every circumstance, and exactly how to turn you on or get you in the mood. And then the next day he’ll act all innocent like he wasn’t just whispering how much he was gonna ruin you last night. He’s the type of guy to say, “I don’t want you to be pleasured. I want you to be trembling.” (Jesus FUCK I’m down bad for him.)

I feel like Elliot would set up a safe word with you, but he’d want it to be something symbolic or fancy or something. Like instead of “baseball” it would be “nightingale” and you'd have to spit that word out when you want him to stop. Speaking of, as soon as you do say the safe word, he’ll stop everything and just gently hold you, whispering that he’s sorry and that he hopes you can forgive him, even though you really aren’t that mad at him at all, just a little shaken.

As far as kinks go, I think Elliot is open to almost all kinks with a few restrictions on things that he just isn’t into. I feel like he’d especially be into bondage and blindfolding. It’s more of a spiritual thing for him, as it opens you up fully to him, like you can’t hide anything from him anymore and you completely trust him with your body. If you aren’t into that, then he’ll be a little disappointed, but would get over it quickly as long as you promise to let it happen on his birthday. 

Elliot absolutely loves to be tied up, though, for the same symbolic reasons. He trusts you with his whole being, and knows that you only want to make him feel good.

He's a sucker for neck kisses, so give him a hickey or two. He wears that collared shirt for a reason, right?

He hates the idea of a gag. He loves to hear you crying out in pleasure. It fuels him and makes him feel happy that he could pleasure you so much. If you want it, though, he'd never deny his lover what they want, even if it means he can't hear you as well.

Elliot naturally isn’t rough when it comes to sex, but he most definitely can be. This man will be on his knees to do exactly what you want him to. He prefers it that way, actually. So long as you give him the guidelines of what you want him to do, he can take it from there. If you don’t, though, he’d probably be asking a lot of: “Is this okay?” Because like the gentleman he is, he would never want to overstep your boundaries, even though he probably knows everything that one can about sex.

He’d definitely use writing as an excuse to see you naked. It would be something about him needing to know the anatomy of a person, regardless of your gender identification or sex. It would be funny if you were a man, too, because then he’d get all flustered when you’d ask why, as he’s a man himself. He’d make up something like how your body is shaped differently than his, and he needs a reference that isn’t himself.

Same thing about writing goes for sex. He might ask you to touch yourself or even him for a scene, and he’d take notes as he’d try to hold himself back from touching you. He’d jot down every little sound you make and every single word you say to “make the scene more real,” though it may or may not be for him to read and masturbate to later.

You later figure this out and tell him that he doesn't need an excuse to have sex with you, but he gets embarrassed and insists that it truly is for his writing, though he will be a little more open-minded about it in the future.

✧ That’s all, thank you for reading!! I also need to make a longer list for Alex. I feel like I didn't do my baby justice, seeing as I wrote much more for Elliot.

[luffyvace]

Akutagawa as your boyfriend ☀︎

Umm happy late b day Aku…😭 I’m totally super late for this I KNOW. But! I’m doing it anyway! >:3 late or not :P Plus I Just wanted to write for him since I really like this dude (〃ω〃) (Light blood, death and killing mentions but not in detail)

Akutagawa b day hcs first >;}

planning everything out and hiding it from him is kind of a task. 😅 the guy’s pretty stealthy himself so ya gotta make sure he doesn’t sneak up on you while your prepping things.

Buuut with the help of everyone from the port mafia (except Mori- joking! he does help but Elise does 90% of the work) you planned a mini party <3

Gin got the food! (Figs and tea enters chat)

Higuchi got the decorations! (streamers, balloons, tables, chairs)

Hirotsu keeps akutagawa busy (tea and chatting LOL)

Elise makes the banners (hints poorly drawn dead versions of everyone—extra blood for aku<3)

Kajii makes (lemon shaped) confetti poppers!!

Koyo hosted/recorded it all 💗

Chuuya brought wine and the cake (both were really expensive and tasty good job Chuuya)

Q brought lots of presents!! :3

Annnnd Tachihara! Brought some ~port mafia style~ party games (you played mafia LOL)

now general relationship things 😚

He treats you like how he does Gin, there is peace between the two of you and you have friendly interactions. (Romantic as well, for you) he will even go as far as to do favors for you but we’ll dabble in that more later ☆)

acts of service is his #1 love language. There’s no convincing me otherwise. When I say ‘he will do anything for you’ besides killing this is what I mean. You really don’t have to ask either. I talk about this some more later but, examples: done with your plate? He’ll take it. He remembers you said you needed xyz, he got it for you. You said you wanted to ____ but you fell asleep, so he did it.

hope you get along with Gin because to continue a relationship with him past 2 minutes, you need to. He will never choose friends over family. I stand on that.

honest man.

Its canon, of course this would apply to a relationship too :)

you never have to worry about him lying, thankfullly. the bad news is…this guy isn’t just honest..he’s brutally honest 😀

which he’s not dumb, but he’s also not one to pacify feelings. So say you created something and you’ve been working on this piece for a while now, (whether your an artist, writer, sculptor, something else—whatever), he takes a look at it and singlehandedly points out all the flaws 🧍‍♀️

not in a rude way-

just genuinely telling your mistakes. Which- I know can hurt because you spent a lot of time on it…..but as lest you can fix it now..? 🤷‍♀️

He respects you. Of course he does! How could you love someone you don’t respect?!

why I’m mentioning this then?? Because to him, respect is very important. There’s few that he respects personally and not because of his job.

like Dazai (sorta bc of his job but shh), Gin or Atsushi (somewhat)

And just to clear it up those he has respect for because of his job would be mori or hirotsu

so the fact that you have his respect is a mile stone!! 👯‍♀️💃💃

He’s loyal but it ain’t a fault 😋🤪

seriously tho this dude is still chasing Dazai even after he “disgraced the mafia’s name” and left to the ada

So for you?? This is simply proof that he ain’t neva leavin you, and you ain’t neva leavin him 😙 (I don’t make the rules)

even If he disagrees with your actions/opinions he will talk it out with you 😱

now he might sound a bit upset, and if your acting absolute bonkers rn and need some sense smacked into you- he might yell too. But that’s mostly if it’s for your well being.

other than that, yes the hotheaded Ryuu will calm down for you (that kinda rhymes ☝️🤓)

Bonus!:

living with the Akutagawa’s! ( ✌︎'ω')✌︎

going more into acts of service, you and Gin hardly ever have to worry about chores or errands

he doesn’t really do it for the purpose of your validation, and genuinely doesn’t expect a thank you either

”hm? Oh…it’s nothing.”

Is his response when you try to thank him

he does it because he’s responsible not for praise

although I will say, seeing as though he has a lot of respect for you, as I said earlier, you may get a semi flustered/shocked facial expression

not necessarily blushing, just a expression that shows it caught him off guard ;P

Its not uncommon to see him cleaning around the house and asking if you have any laundry

housewife Ryuunosuke LOL 😂

When goes out to get groceries he asks you and Gin if there’s anything specific you want him to buy and if yes, he’ll get it for you

just like in the anime with Gin, he doesn’t mind doing favors for you as well <3

if you decide you wanna clean up or go to the store yourself he won’t stop you and be like ‘nonono I got it you sit down 🥺’. I don’t mean this in a bad way but he’s not a gentleman on purpose

I feel he’s the type of guy to do things that you consider gentlemanly but he just considers it being polite

oh it’s fine he’s got the groceries 👌

got a order for pick up? Oh well he was going out anyway, he’ll get it 🤷

he’s got the door 👍

don’t worry about the bill he’ll pay it (restaurant or house bill 😉)

another thing…! ♡

sometimes when you and Gin wanna watch a movie but Ryuu’s still doing the dishes….

Rashomon!

do the dishes :3 (while he watches the movie with you guys)

I wasn’t gonna write these at first but I’m real glad I did! I love these and finally wrote for our guy Ryuunosuke!!

WHEN I TYPED DAZAI’S NAME IT AUTOCORRECTED FO DASANI AT FIRST HAHAHHAHA

[xviiperr]

Actually yeah, can we see platonic headcanons for both Yandere Sonic and Scourge?

sometimes friendship can be equally as terrifying.

Platonic Yandere Scourge and Sonic

For sizzle Anon! Any kind of a relationship with a yandere, platonic or romantic, can be terrifying! I decided to do separate headcanons for each hedgehog, lemme know whatcha think! (I might have even included a bonus! 👀). Also, good to cya back Anon :D Thank you for requesting some more. We definitely do need more platonic yandere content, it's an underrated subject for sure :0

TW: Typical yandere tendencies: obsession, possessiveness, controlling and manipulative behavior. This is talked about in mild detail. This headcanon mentions the following: intent to kill, general violence, violation of boundaries ( by this I mean that you have established that you don't want your privacy invaded but it still is), stalking and overall, disregard for the reader's feelings. I do not condone yandere actions in real life. Do not repeat these characters' actions and seek help if you feel you are.

Reblogs, likes and comments are welcomed! Please enjoy, yandere Sonic and Scourge. Also, I'm so sorry for taking forever, Anon! We all know and love that stinking writer's block, don't we?

Sonic and Scourge are polar opposites; Sonic being the original and Scourge, an evil recolor of the famous hedgehog. However, there is one thing that they can agree on, even if they don't interact with each other as much: you are their best friend. And they'll do anything for a companion such as yourself. Anything.

Scourge was quick when he conquered Moebius. While his sweet ol' papa kept the world at peace, he ignored the major underlying issue that would set Anti-Mobius on its path, forever. His son. Anti-Sonic felt neglected by his father, powerless. All his daddy focused on was ruling the kingdom, keeping "peace," and heaven forbid Anti-Sonic ever went to his dad to talk or spend quality time because all Anti-Sonic ever was to his father was an item, a replacement in case all things went wrong and an example of the King's generosity and "genuine" connection to the people. He had no time to spare for a little child like Anti-Sonic.

So it was no surprise that Scourge became the hedgehog he is today, a byproduct of his father's blatant neglect. He was damn fast with taking over the kingdom his dad worked hard to create, killing the old man and casting him away into a cold casket, just as he cast his son out of the throne room. Deadly karma. Anti-Sonic would work hard to destroy any peace his dad worked to preserve. Anti-Sonic then focused on building himself up, branding from the lame-o' Anti-Sonic to Scourge. A real kicker and big baddie. But Scourge is still so insecure. With no validation from his father, he felt like he had to force it out of everyone he met. But you? When he met you, everything changed. Scourge used the same tactic he used to collect his friends, power and the planet. You flipped his world upside down when you treated him decently. Even fed into his ego. He had to keep you by his side.

Scourge wanted a friend like that to stay with him. Forever. It came to the point when his want was more of a need. Scourge would do anything to keep you. Even if it meant severing the bond and breaking you into submission. So what if you didn't want to be friends with Scourge anymore? Okay, not a problem. For Scourge. As for you, you'll have to come around eventually! Scourge is not bullying you, he's just correcting you, albeit harshly. And he thought that you could see all the sides of a coin! How could you be so heartless? No matter how many times you run from your best friend, (your personal tormentor), Scourge will go to all lengths just to take you back. Including murder, being the top option on a silver platter. (Though he wouldn't dare murder someone so fast because he needs to be known).

Anyone who tried to help you escape from him is marked as a prime punching bag, a brand new sparring toy for Scourge to smack down over and over. Any personal friendships you have, need to be kept a secret from your obsessive, BEST friend, lest he find them and unleash hellfire. Scourge is controlling in the "friendship" you have with him. He fully believes that he is the only friend that you've got and the only one that you actually need. However, Scourge gets to have as many friends as he wants to. His need to be acknowledged overpowers any sense of kindness or genuine respect he has for you. Scourge has to take the majority of the spotlight, only giving you some of it just because he feels like it. Scourge is no companion, he is your captor.

Sonic the renowned hero of Mobius, saving the planet from invasion time and time again. The go-to guy if you're needing someone super fly, ready for the all-time high. He's the fastest hedgehog known all around! Almost everyone knows who he is, like Silver the hedgehog from the future and of course, Rob-of-Hedge from his hidden lands. Sonic's been around to do it all, had his best friends, (and even his girlfriends from the past and present) support him through his journey to heroics and finally, his family. Who are we kiddin'? Sonic's friends are also his family! And he loves his family. He would do anything for his friends and family. Anything.

Don't get him wrong, Sonic's all for a little rough and tumble, especially on his seventeenth birthday where Dr. Eggman surprised him with a robotic attack, but he's seen the dangers of fighting. And what it can do to the people you love the most— his dad, a living robot, his friend, Bunnie D'Coolette and so many more. And you, his best friend, every day get-it-going pal, Sonic doesn't want to see you hurt. You happen to be fighting one of Egghead's newest badnicks? Oh you betcha Sonic's zooming in to take the majority of the punches, fighting your battles for you. And you choose to confront him about it? No, listen, you're wrong. Sonic's trying to protect you—clearly you can't see that! That's fine, really it is, take all the time you need, Sonic doesn't have a limit at all. (Flat out lies, though Sonic hates to admit it).

He is constantly checking in on you, to the point where you don't get to have your own privacy because Sonic's made it a point to set up his sleeping space in your room. His excuse? A forever sleepover. Only the dynamic duo allowed— no additives. You kick him out? Okay, two can play at that game. He'll make sure it's difficult to get into his place because, well, you kicked him out! It's not fair that you did that, really. You're being unkind and just a jerk. Sonic will manipulate you into believing this, just so he can control what you do and how you do it. He will even control which of his friends you interact with, just so he can keep tabs on you. Sonic's not above stalking, even when you point out how uncomfortable it makes you. When it comes to your safety, he does not care if he's being overbearing. Sonic doesn't care if he's limiting you from seeing other people—you're not gonna get hurt, ever.

Sonic's gotta lot of unchecked and uncared for trauma that worms its way into your friendship, ruining it in the process. As mentioned before, he gets into your business when he clearly doesn't need to. Sonic overtime, grows frantic, speedy mind running itself into a tizzy all because you got punched square in the face by an unexpected badnick and Sonic wasn't there to block it. Or the time that you went out for a simple walk because, you felt cramped up inside. He often oversteps the boundaries that you set because, and quite frankly, he doesn't care about how you feel. He cares that he can protect his best friend from the worst things in the world, unknowingly being the exact thing he is fighting against. You're not going to get rid of Sonic anytime soon.

In conclusion, Sonic and Scourge would both be very obsessed over you. They would both be controlling, Sonic out of trying to protect you and Scourge to keep you close to him. Any other friendships that you have are at major risk with either of these hedgehogs in your life because, they will stop at nothing to keep you "safe" and that all your precious attention is on them.

If Sonic and Scourge were to meet up ever again, especially with you in the equation, they would most definitely clash heads. Fights between the two wouldn't be all smiles anymore—lucky you— it's a blood bath. Punches are not held back and using weapons in fights is not out of the question anymore. It's kill or be killed when it comes to your attention. Scourge, as much as he likes the attention he gets from Sonic, will do everything he can to kill Sonic.

Forget Sonic. He's the better hedgehog anyway, so having that blue moronic bastard out the way is a welcomed treat. Scourge doesn't care how many times he has to beat Sonic down to a pulp; he's gonna get you in the end and no one will ever get in the way of your friendship. Sonic will fight to the death if it means that you stay out of whatever hell Scourge is bringing with him. He disregards his heroic nature when it comes to Scourge, leaning in on his ego and experience. Sonic isn't shooting to defeat anymore. He's shooting to kill.

[alinaastarkov]

i'm not a shipper, but i think it's blatantly obvious that grmm has something big n impactful for jonrya. we're talking about two main characters, created to complement each other from the beginning. if she were a little older, i think ppl would be more willing to at least try to analyze the text. and i suspect that, deep down... fans noticed, but prefer to pretend they didn't. like at some point, you have to ask yourself why grrm felt it necessary to revisit old ideas n make jon live a semi-triangle through his perspective that also maximizes so many emotions. jon is a v passionate young boy when it comes to arya. while the other stark children think fondly of each other, they have all this intense stuff involving soul n heart. ultimately he chose arya. his heart is his sister and his sister is his heart. and the heart is all that matters. how ridiculously obvious is that? lol we already know that he and arya are outsiders, that they are each other's favorite person. it's redundant to keep hammering the reader like that. plus using the love vs duty card at this point in the story implies that if the theme comes back, it won't have the same narrative impact bc that alternative has already been used, just like if he died again for someone else it wouldn't have the same impact either. grrm isn't exactly a subtle writer, when he feels inspired, he just writes. as he wrote: each other's memories prevent them from giving themselves completely to organizations that demand detachment from the past. jon thinks that arya's home is with him. he was tormented over her. why do their stories need to be so intertwined in affc and adwd? what implications could his dying thought associated her will bring after the resurrection? how will their already close relationship be reconfigured? could they save each other after they meet again and connect with their true selves? these are questions that many fans don't seem ready to discuss. although, if that's part of grrm's plan. it will happen eventually. he might just take the platonic route with undertones. easy as hell. in a series full of incest, a brother ends up being accused of stealing a bride and apparently nothing rings in the heads of fans who are always so dedicated to looking for the smallest details to validate dumb ass theories looool. it's bc they simply don't want to see. the crazy parallels with rhaegar (black heart/stark maiden) are also not subtle either. as i said, i don't even consider myself a shipper, i prefer jon/val and i like arya/gendry. however, these pairings obviously don't carry the same emotional weight as jonarya and weren't even set up as endgame initially, ppl liking it or not. and grrm has already confirmed that he's going for the endings he's had in mind since 1991, so these two will inevitably be more important in their respective endings than secondary characters created later. and frankly, everyone knows that they choose each other before any possible love interests. be fucking realist. it's grmm's story. there's definitely something planned for them and has put a lot of attention on their relationship for a reason. jonrya foreshadowing is so thick that i cannot see how ppl can ignore them

you are absolutely right, anon. george at no point has scrapped his ideas for these two, and in fact made it more prevalent. they've been bonded since childhood, both outsiders, honourable, listened the most to ned's lessons, stubborn, kind, have a shared journey of losing identity (something all the key 5 go through actually which can be added to the list of reasons they are still the key 5), george even made them unique in looking alike. i could go on. he wrote them both with the other in mind.

forgive me if i'm getting the numbers wrong but i think jon thinks of arya something like 47 times? and that's in 42 chapters. on average he thinks about her at least once a chapter. crazy work. arya in turn thinks about jon around 42 times across her 34 chapters. frankly, arguments that george isn't going that way, isn't highlighting their bond especially or for a particular reason, are being purposefully obtuse. and they absolutely have noticed, lol. this is why every jonsa theory rests on jonrya material, quotes about arya, arya's storyline and themes or jon's love for arya. jon and arya's entire relationship is apparently just a red herring. they simultaneously insist there's nothing romantic and that we're gross, but also take "what do you know of my heart, priestess?" and pretend it's about sansa because deep down they know it's the most romantic thing ever. it's why they insist sansa will be the girl in grey or that sansa replaced arya in the original outline's love triangle despite no evidence of this. suddenly we're supposed to believe jon-arya-tyrion became jon-sansa-tyrion despite jon never thinking of sansa, and jon spending adwd fighting imaginary duels with ramsay for arya's honour. the outline also makes clear arya's in love with jon not tyrion, so who's to say it wasn't always meant to be a love triangle from jon's perspective only, lol?

i would absolutely agree that it's becoming redunant with how often he hammers it home if the fandom wasn't like this. as it is, most of the fandom still isn't getting in. he needs to be more insane about them actually. and the constant assertion that the girl in grey, or jon's betrayal for love will happen again shows such a misreading of the text. they've recognised the devotion jon has for arya, but because they don't like her that can only be platonic, and that devotion will be transferred onto whoever they like best and this time it will be romantic, duh. as if he's gonna repeat storylines exactly just with a different character this time.

and yeah, this doesn't have to lead to anything more than a deep, platonic bond and endgame where they at least won't be apart from each other. but to insist jon and arya are platonic and "not that deep", "he loves his whole family," etc. and then literally replace arya in the story with x character is unbelievably stupid and annoying.

[it-lives-within-the-dark]

I really do love SBCL and I really feel like when you read the manga it SO blatantly in your face…but when I read Yana’s old blog it seems like she’s so dead set against Sebastian and Ciel caring for each other at all…that it’s like does she even see what she writers or and I just delulu… or are antis just cherry picking what they translate 😭😭

Hey Nonny!

Short answer:

I'm not familiar enough with Yana's old blog to make any judgements on what her intentions/feelings are for her story and characters based on her posts (not to mention, it's old - people can change their minds).

Long answer:

I go back and forth when it comes to authorial intent and death of the author. I've literally been on both sides of the issue. As a fan, it's easy to say that what the author intended doesn't matter and that my interpretation of their work is 100% valid, even if it's the complete opposite of what the author intended. On the other hand, I've been in the author's shoes. I took a creative writing class in college where one of our assignments was to write a short story and then the class would discuss it. Simple, right? Easy. Except I wasn't allowed to speak the entire time my work was being discussed. I had to bite my tongue for forty minutes while my classmates completely butchered my story, listen to them miss the main theme completely, focus on a random detail that meant nothing, and walk away at the end of class not understanding anything I tried to convey in my work. I never got to explain what it actually meant; all the little clues and details that they missed - nothing. And it sucked. A lot. But at the end of the day there was nothing I could do about it.

All that to say, I think it's up to you to determine what holds more importance: what Yana says in her old posts (keeping in mind the context in which those remarks were made - what year did she make those comments, and where does that line up in the publishing of the manga? - are you taking into consideration that she is a public figure and that she might need to watch her words so that she doesn't jeopardize her job? etc.), or how you personally interpret the work.

I also think it's important to keep in mind that there can be (and is) a difference in what you, the fan, want to see happen, and what you want to actually happen in canon. There's a tumblr post floating around that discusses this topic but I don't have it handy.

Sorry this was all a bit rambly!

[kl125]

I need to talk about this take. I’ve seen it so many times, and it continuously baffles me.

1. Why is mileven even being brought up in an unrelated fandom? I don’t know anything about Arcane, but I know that there was no reason to bring up ST on an Arcane Confessions account (there were some other posts comparing mileven to a ship in the series, and OP asked what mileven was, resulting in the above explanation).

2. MIKE 👏🏻 AND 👏🏻 EL 👏🏻 ARE 👏🏻 NOT 👏🏻 RELATED 👏🏻! How many times do we have to explain this? They aren’t related by blood or by law in the context of the show (neither are Finn and Millie, but I’m going to keep this to the characters from here on out). Nor have they ever said they see each other as relatives. This is a textbook case of taking things dangerously out of context (which I provide in point five). YOU may see them as “sibling-coded” or think they should be platonic, but that is entirely YOUR choice. Neither the creators nor the writers have ever said people should view mileven as familial/platonic or that the characters only see one another as brother/sister. This is an INTERPRETATION, not a definitive FACT.

3. Considering someone family does not make any relationship between them incestuous. Mike and El were twelve when they met. They’ve had a strong bond from the beginning, but their characterization and understanding of it has grown and changed just as they have. Nothing wrong with that. However, I say again, at no point have they explicitly stated they consider each other siblings in any sense of the word, AND there is a big difference between FOUND family and BLOOD family (neither is inherently better or more valid than the other, just different, that’s all).

4. The writers have an incest kink? Uhh…no? They’ve made it clear from the beginning that mileven is romantic. Mike and El call each other “boyfriend/girlfriend” all the time and have both said “I love you”. Also, categorizing anything related to a ship between two minors as the result of a “kink” from the writers is just disgusting.

5. I’ve seen people use Mike’s words in S1 to support this incest opinion (when he tells El that Nancy will be “like [her] new sister”). When El asked if that would make Mike “like [her] brother”, he IMMEDIATELY shut that down, making sure to distinguish their relationship. Even back then, he knew that what he and El have is unique and precious and decidedly NOT the same as how siblings should feel towards one another. This would be no different than how my brother-in-law feels towards me versus how he feels towards my sister. One is familial and one is romantic, respectively. Two different types of love, both valid, and both perfectly normal. (And I’m referring to my actual, real life sister and brother-in-law, not just using those terms randomly to make a point).

6. Multiple things can be true at once. El can see the Wheelers as her family, understand that she loves Mike romantically, and know that those are two very different types of love. Despite how some in this fandom like to characterize her, she is fully capable of complex thought and emotional intelligence. In S1, she asked Mike to clarify what their relationship is because she had never been shown love of any kind at that point in her life. What she got from Brenner was obsession, not love, and she never knew her mother. She may have started later than expected when it comes to understanding social cues and the complexities of relationships, but she got the hang of it very quickly and currently has no problem distinguishing between her love for Mike and her love for her friends/family.

(I realize some of these points and explanations seem redundant or repetitive, but it goes to show how insane this opinion is. No matter how many ways you try to explain it, this will never be true.)

All this to say, we need to put this “mileven is incest” argument to bed. Please. It makes no sense, it’s categorically false, and it’s just plain weird. If you don’t like mileven, that’s fine, but there’s no need to paint it as some illegal, immoral monolith to justify this viewpoint. I’ve seen ships between canonical siblings get praised (which is a whole issue in and of itself that I do not have time to get into), and yet this ship between two random teenagers is treated as criminal? No thanks. Mileven would very much like to be excluded from this narrative.

(Finally, if you’re sitting there thinking, “it’s not that deep,” please save it. As you can see, it very much is that deep to me.)

Here’s a happy Mileven gif to bring a little optimism while we wait for S5.

[watchingblsnowandforever]

We Are Ep.11

Part 1

*sits with half a tub of ice cream with both AC and fan on because my AC is old and needs a little help and puts my cat on Do Not Disturb mode (aka scratching his belly)*

Hello!!!!

Welcome back to my crack posting! =D

Warning: long post, and since I have like 60 screenshots, there will be a part two 😊😅

I wrote that intro before I'd watched the ep. Me as I was watching the ep was mostly incoherent screaming (so much so that my cat woke up from his nap to give me "what the hell, hooman" look).

This episode was amazing, and I loved it, and I'll probably die of too much fluff, but that won't happen before I finish watching We Are (which- WHAT DO YOU MEAN THERE ARE JUST 5 EPS LEFT?!!).

I was giggling and kicking my feet (just like Peem the morning after that Prince Charming kiss) from the very first scene.

Oh, they are so gone for each other (and I am gone for them 😭). The smiles, the trying to hear what the other is doing just across the door ah

So, so true. As a writer that hits.

Also, I'm very glad they decided to showcase creative blocks, even if it was for a few minutes.

Me to PhumPeem: yes, Peem, I would love to know too.

Also- I really wanna know what Ciize was doing back there 😭

Too cute to handle 😭

Jokes (and puns) aside, this scene is quite significant. Previously, whenever Phum was seen in the vicinity of the Fine Arts building, it was only because he wanted something from Peem (yes even that scene in ep. 8, he wanted company from Peem), but now, he's just sitting there waiting for Peem. And when Peem comes down, he's pinching his cheeks right there and acting cute with him and asking what's wrong.

And he keeps on asking, because he can see that Peem is a little moody, and not his usual self. "You're usually livelier than this."

Phum: "Actually, I want to be water too..."

Me: No way, is this what I think it is?

Phum: "I want to be the reason you feel good."

Me: yeah, yep, that's what I thought

No but, you can't tell me Phum doesn't binge watch BLs with his beloved teddy bear. Of course he has a whole arsenal of cheesy flirting lines.

All this time, it was always Phum telling Peem how comfortable he is around him and his friends, how fun it is.

Welp, it's Peem's turn.

I love Phum.

This is both him asking for consent as well as making sure they're on the same page and going at the same pace (which he always does, as I'd said before).

Also, no, he wants you to get closer.

HANDS.

Hear how polite and soft Q is with Toey now? Once Q knew for sure that he's allowed to show affection towards Toey as more than just a mentor/mentee, he decided to be fluffy as heck and never went back (because his love language is giving and showing through actions).

Love that for them both <3

This is such a valid fear.

He was afraid that his love would be too much, and in the process he'd lose the person he loves again, so he thought it better to just suffer alone than confess. Not gonna lie, my heart broke just a little here. (Also, because I'm currently rewatching MSP, I'll be pulling a lot of parallels, and this reminds me of that scene where Sound tells Gun that he's afraid to confess to Win because he's pretty sure he'll get rejected).

Oh, and I keep forgetting to say this, but Satang is such an amazing actor. Watching Sound and Toey, I almost can't believe they're played by the same person.

Phum's lethal weapon and Peem's fatal weakness 😭

Let's be honest though, no one would be able to resist that smile, those eyes and that soft, "Na, krab". Oh yeah, he used polite pronouns here by the way.

I can't always notice the shift from formal to informal or vice versa because I'm not that well-versed in the language (yet) but this was pretty obvious.

Bonus (Peem's reaction):

Tan: flirts with his theerak non-stop 24/7 Fang: *brushes his hair a little and apologizes for making him wait* Tan: *melts into a blushing mess*

That man is so whipped.

And in this house, we stan all whipped men.

This actually reminds me of when I was a wee baby (around 3 or 4 years old, I think) when I rescued a baby sparrow and took it to my dad and told my neigbours my dad would be able to heal it because he's a dcotor (he isn't a vet either) 😭

Also- naming a bird by another bird is so true to Pun's character.

This so relatable oh gods 😭

Also, we got the princess carry for Pride month! Twice if we count Chain lifting Pun in the waterfall, which I totally do.

We finally get being carried to bed but realizing they're laying on top of the blankets instead of just being magically wrapped in them by morning!

*sighs fondly* such a simp. <3

Uh huh, you said that last time too.

Don't lie, Peem, you'd let him hug you every night.

👀

Is this the reason behind the NC rating?

Also, this singular line just gave me a brain worm that is making me write my first smut fic. I blame y'all for getting me into this series.

Yes, of course, Phum, everyone believed your "snort mi mi mi".

Don't think I didn't see your little secret smile, Peem.

(Also, I have a headcanon that Phum just loves to be the little spoon)

Now who's hugging who, huh?

"Go away", he says, while putting his arm around his (not) boyfriend.

See, it was all fun till this point, but you can't be giving me this level of domestic fluff while at the same time telling me they're not even dating yet. That just doesn't work.

So, for me, from this point on, they're an old married couple <3

Frankly though, all the four couples in this series are old married couples that just don't know they're married yet.

Toey: HELP ME!!!

Q: WHAT HAPPENED WHO NEEDS BEATING UP-

Toey: I forgot to do my assignment and today's the deadline 🥺

Q: ... 😑

You don't...?

I thought that was the perfect time to start working on it?

jk jk, kids, I'm a chronic procrastinator, please don't learn from me, learn from your P'Q

(Q reminds me so much of @desi-yearning when she scolds me after I pull an all-nighter to submit an assignment or study for an exam 😭)

Oh. Oh.

Oh my.

I love this scene so much.

This pencil box is very very special to Q, and he's asking Toey to draw on it - something that is irriversible, as Toey himself says.

But this is Q's way of putting together both his loves. This pencil box was picked up by Toey the first time, but back then, Q only knew him as Milk Frappe Boy.

Now, he's asking Toey to do something Milk Frappe Boy would never have been able to (remember, Toey started taking an interest in art only after meeting Pencil Senior), because Pencil Senior disappeared on Milk Frappe Boy, but Q would never disappear on Toey.

On this note, I end Part 1.

Part 2 will be out tomorrow, because as much as I try to deny it, I have these pesky things called responsibilities to attend to, and it's very late here now (not past my regular bed time, but way past my ideal bed time 😭)

Thank you for reading! 😊

Here, have some pizza and a cookie🍕🍕🍪

[If you want, my previous posts: Ep. 8 Ep.9 Ep.10]

And here's Part 2

[ambiguouspuzuma]

I was talking a while ago about how characters with a strict moral code are always bailed out by the plot. Give them an ethical dilemma, and they'll say 'there has to be another way'... and there always is. Give them a situation where their hands are tied, they'll say 'there's always a choice', and what do you know?

Reality bends to give them the perfect get-out. They manage to solve the Trolley Problem without having to choose. A third way always arrives in the nick of time. They get to keep their whiter-than-white hero status, but still manage to save the day. Practical results, without ever having to compromise on their sacred principles.

For the writer, it's a good way to preserve their protagonist's heroic reputation. The moment they have to get their hands dirty they'll have readers who disagree with their decisions, and that dispels the myth. It might be necessary, if you do want this sort of white knight character to continue. But it does make them a little one-dimensional.

I was having the opposite conversation about A Song of Ice and Fire more recently. One of the ways in which it diverts from much of classic fantasy is that it forces characters to make those decisions. It doesn't let them duck the difficult choices, and then always makes them stay and live with the consequences. That creates a murkier world, but it lets you explore and develop a far more interesting cast.

A common way in which this trope appears is in a hero who refuses to kill. The Batman won't kill the Joker, and hundreds of people die every time he lets him live. But that's an example of how this can be explored in an interesting way: let him face the consequences of each choice, and decide whether to stick to his principles or bend them. Most stories aren't so brave as to include the second part.

As a related complaint, I recently read two novels where our hero is well aware that the antagonists want them dead, but does nothing about it. They survive multiple murder attempts by the skin of their teeth, and only then act - and are thus vindicated in taking the high road and not acting pre-emptively to take down their nemesis. But they could so easily have died, and in that case evil would have triumphed! Many others would have been worse off as a result!

It seems to be a common approach. The hero is able to show that they're the better person, not turning to violence to crush their enemies, and still wins because they're able to catch their opponent in the act. They get both principle and practice. But not allowing them to even act in self-defence is a ridiculous standard of purity, and their negligence or willingness to gamble with such an important outcome should also be criticised.

Perhaps I'm too radicalised by the whole 'in the game of thrones, you win or you die' sequence, but it feels like a grounded story should show such stubborn commitment to ideals as having some sort of consequence. I'm not saying every character needs to be a brutal pragmatist, and it's a valid ethical approach, but you have to show the pros and cons - weigh up what might happen if your gamble fails, compare idealism and outcomes. You can't just have them be pure of heart and spare their naivety from punishment, then act like that was the only sensible way to act.

[niyabiblioteca]

i can help

PAIRING: best friend!hyunjin x fem!reader

WARNINGS: not exactly smut cuz i have horrible writers block, dirty talk, manhandling?

you’re so deprived and you have yet to receive the treatment you deserve. how could hyunjin not help you?

—————————————————————————————————————

you love hyunjin so much.

you love that as your best friend, you can always confide in him. even with the most personal or embarrassing or pathetic stories.

hyunjin has heard stories from you that most people would take to the grave, but he has made it clear in your friendship that he would never judge you and will always lend an ear or a shoulder when it’s needed.

you have taken complete advantage of that promise, hence why you’re in his kitchen for the 3rd time that week, scraping the remaining ice cream from the bottom of the tub after yet another ruined hookup.

“i swear it’s like i’m cursed hyunjin. why does your species just fail to know basic fucking female anatomy?”

hyunjin chuckles in amusement but also remorse as he watches you frustratingly take bites of the vanilla ice cream he’s bought for this occasion especially. he’s even designated a spoon for you at this point because after the amount of times you’ve ended up in his kitchen just this week, he figured you’d need one.

“like how hard is it to find a girls sweet spot or her clit or her g-spot? especially when i fucking tell you where all three are! if i have to experience a man rubbing on my fucking inner thigh again i’ll lose it.”

hyunjin listens intently, nodding and you’re honestly impressed at his ability to engage in these kinds of talks with you as if it’s so casual.

he has to admit though, this is getting old.

not the whole having you in his house talking about your problems thing. no, he promised you could always count on him and he really meant it. but the fact that all week it’s all been about how your sneaky links just completely leave you high and dry makes him feel so bad for you.

“i don’t think i’ve faked this many orgasms in my life. maybe it’s me, my vagina is broken or something. because there’s no way this keeps happening to me and i’m becoming more and more strung up by the hour.”

he let you continue to go on as he disposed of the ice cream tub and spoon for you, listening and plotting his response when you’re done. the crazy thing is, he doesn’t feel shy or weird about what he’s about to offer at all. he feels that he’s actually a very good friend for considering this because he’ll be damned if his bestie is without a proper orgasm for the rest of the week after the hell she’s been through.

“i just can’t do this anymore, hyunjin. it’s actually causing me so much stress and anger i might explode.”

you almost feel bad for going on like this because you think this isn’t even a serious issue. you just wanna have a goddamn orgasm. a real one.

hyunjin thinks it’s a very valid reason though.

“i can help you.”

literally hyunjin hasn’t said this much the entire time you’ve been over. so this definitely caught you completely off guard.

your eyes widen as you almost choke on your saliva.

“y-you can help me what?”

“ i can help you cum.”

ah. so you definitely weren’t fucking hallucinating.

you couldn’t exactly react as hyunjin grabbed your hands and pulled you out of your seat so that the two of you were standing not even two inches away from each other.

“tell me. what could i do to give you the most mind-numbing orgasm ever? what did those men do wrong?”

he put his hands on both sides of your face as he looked you dead in the eyes waiting for your answer. he was very serious about this and he was taking your pleasure seriously. that alone made your whole body hot, especially between your thighs.

“t-they were too soft with me. i wanted it rough and they didn’t give that to me.”

hyunjin gave a cute eye smile in response to that as this information was all making sense to him. he was glad he was given this insight about what makes you tick so that he could accommodate you properly.

and that he did.

not even 30 seconds after you said that, he spun you around and pushed your upper body against the countertop so that you were bent over in front of him.

he wasn’t gentle either. he had used every bit of strength and aggression to get you where he wanted you and oh did it work so goddamn well.

you whimpered as you felt his bulge press against your heat. you couldn’t see him, but just the image of his lean figure pressed against your body as his hand reached forward and gripped your hair to pull your head up made you so fucking wet it was actually surprising to you.

“mmm. this is better. so tell me, y/n. how else can i make you cum so hard that you forget about every last hookup this week?”

you were downright embarrassed of the response you managed to let out, but hyunjin felt there was no need when we was doing everything in his power to make you feel good.

“s-spank me. slap me. choke me. fucking ruin me, please.”

hyunjin let out a low growl at your tone and pressed his bulge even harder against your core, causing you to whine and push your hips back at the same time.

“please, what?”

you knew what he wanted you to say. he knew what he wanted you to say. so badly. the moment he heard it, all hell would break lose and he would give you every last inch of him if you wanted it.

“please, jinnie. fuck me.”

god, hyunjin is such a great friend.

————————————————————————

[still-into-diaz]

my two cents on christopher, eddie, buddie & the overall writing and pacing of s8 so far…

to be honest, i’ve been thinking this since the s8 premiere but as we are now reaching the midseason finale with very little progress in the way of christopher coming home, it really confirms for me that as a collective we do need to entirely suspend our disbelief with this arc. we already do it so much for this show, what’s one more thing?

chris being gone isn’t really about his feelings towards the eddie and the kim situation. him still being gone isn’t even about eddie’s parenting or eddie’s parents. it is simply because the writers want him gone, in order to keep eddie isolated for his continuing ‘self-discovery’ arc. if it wasn’t about that, then chris would’ve come home in 8x04 like mara and bobby, or at very least by now we’d have seen significant progress in their relationship being rebuilt.

the writers do make a lot of questionable choices, but ultimately they know what they’re doing (hoping they don’t make me eat my words, we’ll check back in after 8x18) and there will be a reason why he isn’t back yet, even if it’s unrealistic following a chronological timeline. but we have to remember that they’re in tv world and a chronological timeline doesn’t exist. need i remind everyone that as of this season, canonically chris was born in both 2010 and 2011. we know they’re not sticklers for cohesive time continuity.

regardless of how long he’s kept away be that a week, three months or a year, that impact is always going to be the same. the fallout of it all and when he returns is going to be whatever the writers decide for it to be. and it will be whatever furthers the plot and develops the characters in the direction they want them to go. in real life if something like this happened of course the longer period of time that the kid was away, the worse the effect that would have on them and the relationship with their parent. but this isn’t real life and that is only going to happen if the writers want it to. helena and ramon wanting to keep chris full time or whatever other worst case scenario catastrophe that could come out of this event, will only happen if the writers want it to. personally i expect it to not have long lasting effects once his initial return is resolved. it would not be the first time characters seemingly get over big traumas without so much as a callback even when given the perfect opportunity (like literally the ladder or well incidents that just happened).

we are seeing things unfold episode at a time, week by week. whereas they already know the full story, we don’t. (even if we can take a good guess at the way they’re going!) so of course things do not make sense to us.

this last episode seems to be confusing to a lot of people, especially in regards to “the lack of addressing eddie’s personal arc”, but i disagree with the sentiment that it wasn’t addressed. it was done subtly and it fit with the episode.

we saw the scene where eddie was teasing buck by taking his phone and a little background moment where he jumped over the back of the couch (direct parallel to 8x06’s ending btw). pre-riskybusiness eddie likely would not have done those things. these were ways of implicitly acknowledging the ending of 8x06. it is a continuation of him lightening up and allowing himself the grace to have fun in simple things. we just didn’t see any further development in his story, which in that case i believe would be more explicitly shown or stated. and i do think it is completely valid that eddie took a backseat this episode when you consider that last week was heavily focused on him and it’s an ensemble show. this was the first time that bobby and athena have had the spotlight since the premiere, and consider too that hen has spent the last two episodes in the background.

being disappointed that your favourite character has less screen time than you’d have hoped or perhaps expected, is valid. but saying that certain plots or characters are “taking away” from another character’s screen time just kinda doesn’t make sense. because who are you to decide which characters and which stories are owed certain amounts of screen time? that’s the writer’s job. and no one character is owed more screen time than the other (although, contractually peter and angela may take the cake there).

just like how we say “this is tv, everything is intentional, there’s a reason why xyz happened or why xyz was said”, the same goes for what isn’t said. i’ve seen the rhetoric that it’s “out of character that buddie haven’t had a serious conversation yet or a conversation about chris” and i don’t disagree, which is why it’s very likely that there is a reason for it. the writers know these characters, there may be minor discrepancies from episode to episode and as the seasons progress. but fundamentally they know them and if they’re being written as very noticeably out of character, there should be a reason for it.

we’ve seen interviews from ryan, oliver and tim, and the implication is that this story of eddie’s is going to take time, especially if the very end goal is gay eddie and buddie like we believe it to be. in regards to buddie we know that they’re going to play into the ‘will they, won’t they’ trope and that it’s going to be a slow burn (as if it isn’t already jfc). with this in mind i think it’s fair to assume that chris will continue to be away for some time, until at least eddie’s self-discovery arc closes out, which i don’t think will be until towards the end of the season. which again is why we need to suspend our disbelief, at this point keeping chris gone is the only way to finish and fully flesh out this self-discovery arc for eddie. i don’t think this was the only way to deal with eddie’s story, but now we are in too deep, chris needs to stay in texas until eddie has done what he needs to do. chris coming home prematurely would be a disservice to eddie, to chris, to the writing thus far and to the audience.

i too do feel frustrated with certain aspects of the pacing this season and the lack of cohesion and also jarring tone switches with the story telling. but i don’t think it is bad by any means. we still have more than half the season to see how everything else plays out. i’m choosing to trust tim. i think even if the route is different than we all hoped, that the end result will be the same.

[pynkhues]

Back in hs (over 10 years ago omggg) I used to write fanfic. I really enjoyed it but over time I stopped writing. I’d like to get back into writing but all my interests are in dead fandoms and I know it sounds dumb but I really feel like I need the validation of reviews. In part bc another thing holding me back is I’m afraid that I’m just not any good at writing.

Any suggestions? It’s okay if not. I really enjoy you as a writer and thought there’d be no harm in asking🤍

Hey! Thank you for your kind words, and how exciting that you want to get back into writing! Mm, when you ask for suggestions, are you asking for advice on writing, or in figuring out what fandoms to write for when the ones you're most interested in writing for are dormant?

My suggestion with the latter would be to write for them anyway. I think you'd be surprised at how many people do still check for fandoms that look dead from the outside, but even beyond garnering engagement, starting to write fic in the storyworlds you're most interested in is going to be what keeps you writing.

I think following your interests is one of the most important things you can do as a writer, both in fic and in original writing, because the things that you're interested in are going to be the things you engage with the most curiously, the most creatively, the most passionately, and that is something that comes through in writing to readers. I think you can often tell when someone's chosen to write something because they know it hits a sweet spot in fandom and will likely maximise comments or engagement, and while there's nothing wrong with that per se, I think it can be creatively limiting and usually won't be someone's best work.

It feels such a cliche thing to say, but in writing - particularly in writing fic - you should be your own primary audience. Write for yourself, write the stories you wish other people were writing, hell, write the stories other people are writing, write what you want to read, because that's what fanfic is ultimately for. There's no way to guarantee engagement, let alone validation through writing - I truly still, after years of writing fic, couldn't tell you at the point of posting which of my fics are going to get me 300 comments, or 30 comments, or 3 (and I've had plenty of the latter, trust me, haha) - so focusing on the thing you can guarantee needs to be your own enjoyment and creative fulfilment.

Loving the act of writing, even when it's frustrating, even when it makes you want to tear your hair out, has to be a part of the process, because you're never going to be able to know if people are going to love reading it, or even read it at all.

It's also important to remember that writing is a skill like any other. We tend to romanticise artistic skills, but the reality is that, as with anything else, you get better by doing the thing. You can read about writing (and you should), and reading broadly and thinking about stories is definitely vital, but the only way to really get better at writing is by writing. In a lot of ways, smaller, more dormant fandoms are the best places to start too as sure, you might get less comments, but there'll often be people hungry for fic there which in turn offers you space to develop your skills.

I've actually got a writing advice tag which I've used on an ad hoc basis over the last few years, so there's a bit in there if you're interested. I've cherrypicked a few posts that I've written that might be useful, but if you have other questions, please let me know and I'll do my best to answer. :-)

Writing advice posts

Broad advice for new writers (plot in three questions, cause and effect and character agency)

Advice for new writers: three questions to build your plot

Talking about scale, scope and stakes (concrit of The Batman)

Disruption of ritual and inciting incidents

Tips on finding a character's voice

Tips on getting dialogue to flow / writing conversations

Tips on writing dialogue (Rio from GG, but also general)

Tips on writing sex scenes

On where to break a paragraph

[word-wytch]

tldr: extremely sappy and vulnerable post ahead

My baby, Don't Stand So Close To Me, turns one year old today.

After a lifelong history of abandoning creative projects, my love for the story I wanted to tell and my newly found passion for the art of writing finally surpassed my fear of rejection, and so I stepped out of the Shire and onto this very long road.

Listen, I know I'm talking about a fanfiction and being very dramatic, but in my opinion every creative endeavor holds the same amount of weight no matter if you're writing books for money, or writing songs for the radio, or songs played only in your bedroom. It all requires you to dig deep and face yourself.

This is the longest and hardest I have ever worked on a creative project in my life.

Over the course of the past year I have come to know myself in a way that I think only writing a novel chapter by chapter for an online community could accomplish. There have been some very dark times, but facing your shadow is always illuminating. Through it, I have grown exponentially both as a writer and as a person.

If I could offer one piece of writing (and life) advice it would be this: Let yourself be where you are. Love yourself here, now. You have been good enough, are good enough, and will be good enough, always. You have nothing to prove to anyone. Your only responsibility is to keep the flame of your joy for creating alive. And that's it. The rest will take care of itself.

I know this is easier said than done. I know this from the painful experience of having believed the opposite about myself at one point.

All artists want to be seen on some level, we need to be. But ultimately, no amount of external validation can supplement the intrinsic love you have for creating. It's even better shared with others, but it comes first from within. I would argue that even if all you had was an idea that made you so giddy that you had to run laps around the room, then you have it all. Your only job is to keep that love alive. It's what I'm chasing every day. More than followers, or notes, or any superficial measure of success. That feeling is everything. The love that I have for my art and this character is everything. The love that I have for myself is, ultimately, everything.

It is a natural part of the journey for all creatives to encounter blocks and adversities, so when it feels like you've lost that joy or you're dragging your forehead against your keyboard in the thick of it, please do not fret. The real secret is that you can never really lose the spark, because you are the spark. You'll feel it again. You're not broken. You haven't failed. Just love yourself anyway and let yourself be where you are, even if that's crying into your ice cream.

Because the gap between how you feel and how you want to feel is not something that once closed, will stay closed forever. It's something you love yourself back to again, and again, and again, and again. And maybe, after your muscles build and your blisters heal, you'll come to enjoy the journey.

For the first time in my creative life I truly feel seen. Thank you all for seeing me, for coming on this journey with me. Thank you to every reader who's left a kind word, every friend that I've made as a result of pursuing this. There are too many to name. I have never been a part of a fan community in this capacity and I feel so unspeakably lucky to have found such a home in this one.

I want to thank, most especially, the people who have both figuratively and literally held my hand throughout the last year behind the scenes. Thank you for sending me coffee, letting me bounce ideas, send massive emails, text feverish voice messages back and forth, keysmash spoilers at you, cry on your shoulder, and fangirl over our boy (and his teacher) @toxicjayhoo @storiesbyrhi @the-unforgivenn @munson-blurbs @jo-harrington @rip-quizilla

I love you.

[horizon-verizon]

why is condal so committed to "Daemon has father issues"?

He was a grown man when Baelon died and there's nothing to suggest that Baelon wasn't a good father. He wasn't even heir for most of Daemon's childhood so you don't even have that as a reason for "neglect." Wouldn't his attachment to Viserys better be explained by him clinging onto his remaining family? If anything, wouldn't he have "MOTHER issues"? Wouldn't that better pair with how he so willingly accepted a subservient role to Rhaenyra?

what is going on in Condal's head and why does he think he understands the characters so well that he needs to CHANGE them?

I agree I have mostly claimed that Daemon would feel a void where his mother should be more than have dominant issues with his father. And I have described why Daemon's protectorness both not only came from his Targ pride/history but seeing Viserys fall into a pattern of trying to please people in response to that void and the pressure of living up to Jaehaerys' model of kingship/leadership/masculinity (they are all wrapped up in each other) to preserve said legacy. "We have reason to believe that his upbringing was still loving and that he maybe thought himself his brother and father’s caretakers. If not in traditional sense, in that he is the one who will do “what it takes” to keep them afloat. In his mind"

I think Condal's misinterpreted and is now overblowing & extending the possible distance Baelon had maybe a few months after Alyssa died in his most immediate and sharpest period of grief. Or using that grief he always had & choose to focus less on how hands on he would have been more than most fathers both bc Alyssa wasn't there AND bc Baelon has already shown to be less machismo--thus there was a higher chance of him of all men being like "kid rearing are for for the wives and servants, I have kids just for legacy" type deal. which is all why you got some people not that bothered by it bc he ends up in a place where Daemon does try to do as canon Daemon does with Viserys and seek validation. He obviously can see something in their relationship coming from their parent's presence and roles in their lives, but he attributes that to fatherlessness and not motherlessness.

It gets exaggerated/misunderstood and is still affected by the misunderstanding of Baelon's relationships w/his kids. It's another example of sidelining a Targ woman, this time, Alyssa. Same as when people argue about Daemon possibly training his kids w/Rhaenyra to someday usurp the 3 Velaryon boys or kill them for the throne bc "Daemon is a Targ supremacist" even though this idea makes everyone around him a passive bystander or participant: Rhaenys and Corlys & Rhaenyra all don't somehow see Daemon try to do this in their own homes? Rhaenyra doesn't have that much influence over her kids despite being the head of the household, having had a strong will before anyone died, and her definitely noticing if Daemon had any designs on her first kids' demise? Her protectiveness over ALL her kids? The only explanation is sexism and the projection of a resentment against Rhaenyra for her having the masculinized/male-entitled authority that Daemon-as-their-self-insert "should" have bc he is male.

So, yeah, it seems Condal might be projecting just a little. Or just negligent bc he doesn't think abt Alyssa much. Daemon wasn't Rhaenyra "good boy", nor did she "tame" him, but he also actually never troubles her political authority in any meaningful way until he saved Nettles from her. We would have heard from it somehow from the greens or the writers/sources; GRRM makes it clear when we should know when domestic abuses or troubles as he does with the greens, who comparatively has much more textual evidence of such despite this entire book trying to villainize Rhaenyra, the Targs, and female rulership in general. Hmmm.....

[razorblade180]

This is my RWBY Hot Take:

BB ended up being canon because of fandom and VAs pushing for it. Which, is not necessarilly a bad thing, but it is when you can ACTUALLY tell. And I think that´s the problem.

Now, RWBY has always been on the sights of Yuri and Queer fandom, which are a both a force to be reckoned with whenever people want to admit it or not. This shouldn´t be surprising considering that they showcased not one, not two, not three, but FOUR main characters with very unique desing, appeal and personality. OF COURSE the show was gonna attract lesbian women like honey attracts flies XD

At the same time however, RWBY kinda wanted to fall into very classic old tropes of anime, hence why even 10 years later Ruby has still to show attraction to somebody, like a proper shounen jump character, with some twists every now and then. Which is why you can´t convince me that Sun wasn´t put there to be Blake´s love interest, but the fandom had already taken into the main characters hooking p between them and just wouldn´t move from there.

Proof of that is that even after 10 years of absolute 0 development, White Rose is still one of the biggest ships out there, receiving new art almost daily by, you guessed, lot of tumblr queer (which seems to be in abundance, maybe there´s a correlation? Beats me). Now, this isn´t me throwing shade over WR, they DID have some very good base and chemistry, but people rationalizing that Weiss MUST be bi or even yet, a Compulsory Het (despite absolute 0 evidence that´s even a thing in Remant) just doesn´t paint a very positive figure of the fandom.

What I´m trying to say with this? Well, if a fandom can be THAT obssesed with queer characters (Ask CanonSeeker about it if you don´t believe me) and attract an audience who clearly has an obsession with them either because they just want to see girls kissing (lot of pervs around, the NSFW reddit sub has MORE subs than the main one :/ ) or because they want to see their representation/projection/whatever and see absolute no issue with the crumbs and the bad things RT did some of its queer workers (like Kdin)... who is there not to say that this couple, (or any other even!) is not fanservice?

People want to see what they want to see, and will resort to all kind of emotional pitfalls to rationalize their preference or how "it was always meant to be".

No, having a base as friends is not enough. Yes Nora, people can be friends, and sometimes it´s better if they remain that way, as you have discovered. You can´t have a character show attraction that is slowly being reciporcated for seven years only to drop itone day and say "nah, it was never about it" and pretend the fandom who is not just looking for validation and seeing hot girls make out bdon´t end up scratching their heads in confusion. That´s just now how it works. SPECIALLY when lot of people were dropping after the disaster that was Vol.5

Which is another reason that it feels like the writers just caved:

They realised they were not going anywhere with BlackSun and with the WF, so they just removed it out of the equation and pretend it never existed. They needed to keep their fans interested, and while at it, some Rainbow Capitalism to get some more attention. People called it forced because morons are "ugh, lesbians!" (Not forgetting that some people on both sides of the equation just can´t get that Bi people exist) while the reason can be simply that RT can´t write romance for shit, and the relationship feels more like they just wanted to speedrun to make up for 6 seasons where they still had plausible deniability (forgetting that they just put that line on the sky dropping Sun...) while at the same time not outright confirming until the last minute.

So, the whole point of this rant is: BB is fanservice? Yes.

But it´s the BAD fanservice. The kind of you can TELL they are caving to the fandom for attention, and doing so in a kind of unnatural way, that they try too hard to give crumsb ("Yeah... Ruby.") and have to confess in a magical plot device that feels like taken out of a fanfic, so instead of "this is the natural progression our characters took" feels more like "Yaaaaaaas, we gave the fanatics what they wanted, aren´t we great!? Another "cultural" victory, yay, so now give us the money so we can greenlight Vol 10!"

So, TL:DR - If you are going to give fanservice, try at least to make it FEEL natural, or don´t give it at all. If you ar unsure, get a good producer, a guy whose sole job is to say NO.

This time I think I’m just going to primarily be the bridge that allows people see and respond to this with their own opinions cause if I’m being honest, it feels like you got into the weeds a little and I couldn’t follow. Please be civil in comments.

As for my personal opinions about BB in general i will reiterate what I’ve thought for the past few years now. The ship itself is fine but any cultural impact it would’ve had was lost when you wait so long that Disney beat you to showing a lgbt kiss scene. I think RT did course correction when seeing its popularity which isn’t in itself bad at all, but they just sucked at it.

The two roads people have to walk is thinking BB was planned from the start or added later due to popularity. If you think the first one, then face the fact RT handled it very poorly and unnecessarily made things messy by adding Sun. If you believe the second then don’t be delusional if someone has the opinion it made certain narrative choices messier or that once again, Sun was written as a potential love interest.

I like BB but RT made some questionable choices that wouldn’t say hurt Blake and Yang’s character, but hindered scenes because they dragged it out too long. Also hate to say it but 95% of their relationship healing, comfor, angst, etc. was built off of Adam. So when ya kill Adam… the thing that made the dynamic interesting is gone. That’s not a problem if he died at the end of the show, like most characters do with the trope.

But I will say I do respect the fact they didn’t immediately date after murdering him because that just doesn’t look good on any level. However, Atlas had a time skip. As much as I love Ren and Nora, maybe we should’ve gone to the dance club and do the kiss there before Atlas went to hell? Then we could have a nuanced discussion about if the two of them telling Robyn without consulting anyone was okay.

[vivika-ka]

I hate to be the person complaining about fanfics, but reading Leopika fics can be a bit difficult when you kin Kurapika more so than the other characters lol.

I feel like there’s barely any emphasis on the fact that he’s grappling with the literal genocide of his people. It’s not one person or some members of his family, it’s literally everyone. Everyone and everything he’s ever known, completely gone yet simultaneously haunting him as parts of them can’t be laid to rest properly (the eyes) and sold as some exotic commodity, completely dehumanizing their bodies even in death--I also wager it is part of their culture to be buried "whole."

He’s carrying that guilt and the fear it’ll happen again to the people he loves and who love him. He’s carrying the legacy of every Kurta clan member on his shoulders. He’s grappling with the disappearance of their culture, sans himself attempting to keep it alive amidst revenge and a quest that may very well kill him. He doesn't want to do the things he's done, but rather views it as a necessity to achieve his goal (to catch a monster, you become one, essentially).*

If this was One Piece, I’d somewhat understand the vitriol in majority of the fics—how frustrating it is that Kura doesn’t open up to his friends, since One Piece begs the characters to trust their friends wholeheartedly (thinking about Nico Robin and Trafalgar Law in relation to Kurapika). But Hunter x Hunter is entirely different in its approach to trauma and interpersonal relationships in general.

I know it doesn’t excuse how Kurapika’s coping mechanisms affect the people who love him; if anything I appreciate how fic writers explore the pain of watching someone you love trying to fight alone and fighting in self-destructive ways. This aforementioned aspect in fics is not what I'm usually picky of, but more so how his trauma is constantly overlooked or underplayed.

The comparison to Gon is something I also don't mind in terms of how hard-headed and self-centered they can be when it comes to their goals (tunnel vision). However, it is not a 1-1 comparison. It always goes back to the fact Kurapika is carrying a genocide on his back vs. Gon carrying the loss of one person. Above everything else, grief is absolutely valid. But I do think there's such a thing as someone grappling with a person's death vs. an entire society and subsequently their culture.

(Much is similar when it comes to aforementioned OP characters, especially Trafalgar Law, when their loss is often compared to other characters but it doesn't quite amount to the same level psychologically and physically. For example, his loss to Blackbeard is often compared to the Strawhats losing to Kuma, when it is entirely different given the context of both characters and crews' backstories and world connections).

Killing the Phantom Troupe is one thing I don't necessarily mind when other characters urge him to let go, since killing them won't bring his clan back. What vexes me boils down to the mission of laying his clan to rest being treated as something easy to give up, I feel like it loses sentimentality. Especially when the fics, and occasionally metas, usually entail every single character shitting on Kurapika for essentially not giving that up.

If there’s any character who hates Kurapika with a passion, is Kurapika. No other character needs to do that for him because he does it plenty for himself, given both his survivor’s guilt and the guilt of hurting the people he cares for.

Anyway, I rarely complain publicly like this, nor do I like to. Following etiquette, I don’t keep reading the stories that aren't for me, and choose to work on my personal WIPs, of course. This is a vent, if anything. It’s just hard when the fandom at large seem to mischaracterize the your favorite blorbo 😅

*Disclaimer. I wouldn't even bother putting this here if I didn't see people arguing Kurapika is willfully enabling the upper class' oppression just because he works for rich folk, plus claiming he himself subscribes to capitalist and oligarchical ideologies compared to Leorio, when that's not true at all lmaooo. Kurapika came from a clan that has deep connection to nature, they were far removed from society at large and lived through deep communal relationships and "trade," they used what was available to them; I wouldn't be surprised if there was little to no monetary system in place. His notion of what is honorable and what isn't has nothing to do with capitalism, it boiled down to doing what is right at the cost of yourself, that's why he is literally sacrificing himself to avenge his clan. Him disagreeing with Leorio on reasons why to become a hunter and having to work for the Nostrade are not AT ALL congruent with agreeing to a capitalist and oligarchical view, what are you people on?