#i seriously respect fanfic authors though no matter what the ship

[dooandpoo]

God you're so nice! And articulate and smart and SOOOO TALENTED!! Howww??? Anyway ignore my fangirling. Thank you for being a part of this fandom it's been a blessing to have you here and your drawings gives me sm joy. Idk if you read fanfiction, but if you do what are your favourite ones orrr maybe ones that you would feel inspired by in terms of your art ??

Thank you darling!! This makes me feel all warm and fuzzy and I don’t know how to deal with that!! <3 <3 <3

As for fanfiction, I read TONS, but never for dnp. I don’t “ship” them, I like them. They’re a cool couple that I’d love to hang out with, that do funny things, that make good content. I appreciate them. But I don’t create shipping-type art, or read fiction about them. It just feels weird to me?

PLEASE don’t take this as me looking down on anyone who does! I understand that fanfic of real people is just fictionalized versions of those people, and the fandom is just having fun. I love that and respect that! But I personally can’t do it for dnp. Keep doing you and keep reading fanfic of those funky dudes!

[onewomancitadel]

Heya! It’s been a while. I’ve been busy with college stuff lately but when I saw your stuff re-appear on my dash I felt compelled to send an encouraging message. Your stuff has always been so very good, especially with all the analyses and deep-dives into the themes since it not only deepened my appreciation of Knightfall as a ship but for RWBY as a whole. I always felt like one of a very small number of loners in the community who seriously shipped Jaune and Cinder together, so it’s really encouraging to know someone like you can make something so grand and popular about it. Please keep up the good work, I’m really hoping you continue doing this for a long time.

On another note, I think you also mentioned a few times that you also shipped Reylo? To be honest I was always iffy about that as a ship, but when I kind of off-set the ship + characters themselves from the movies (which is helpful because I never actually watched Movie 9 b/c of how everyone harps on it), I actually think I like it as well. You mentioning it plus how so many other folk I’ve seen analyze Star Wars to help support and deepen it like you do with Knightfall really makes me feel part of a wider community, so thanks for that!

Hi, it's great to hear from you again. I hope college is going well for you! Feel free to drop by on Tumblr whenever. Thank you for your ask, I'm sorry I didn't respond yesterday, I got hit by a migraine and checked out for the rest of the night.

I'm glad my blog can be a source of support like that. (: That's the most important thing! I mean I knew of only very few blogs on Tumblr that were seriously into it, because it sort of depends what one means by 'shipping', and I am usually a canonshipper. I don't like blogs that post shortfics or scenarios or roleplaying or any of that stuff more common with R/WBY ships on Tumblr, I am generally someone who wants to discuss canon or post longer fics to AO3. I make memes because I think they're silly fun and I like having silly fun, but that's just the logical consequence of discussing things seriously, you need a bit of lighthearted stuff sometimes lol.

I would really like to keep doing this too, so thank you for saying so. Honestly, I think that were I less invested in Knightfall, I probably wouldn't bother anymore because in terms of fandom behaviour and sensibilities, I have had a lot of fucking weird comments on my fic that just speak to a lack of respect and kindness extended towards fic authors, I have had a sizeable amount of rude anons (though I do get a lot of good ones, that's why anon is still turned on) - and at the end of the day, it doesn't matter how much you toughen yourself up, if you look at your kudos:views ratio and compare it to other fandoms and curl up into a ball and cry because it hurts, is it worth it? Numbers shouldn't matter, but I'm only doing this because I like Jaune/Cinder that much. That much. THAT MUCH. I don't have any obligation to write or share fic otherwise.

So, er, yeah, I don't know where I'd draw the line, but for me it's the ship that matters more than anything. That's the bit I care about. I like writing my silly little fanfic. I don't really know if a 'community' exists for Knightfall as such (correction: it may well exist, but I'm very solitary); I'm not even sure if I'd call myself popular? It certainly doesn't feel like it. I guess I have pretty low self-esteem so I don't assume that I'm special or anything, but it feels like I have to - constantly try to earn my place, I suppose. I feel like I'm barely tolerated. Lol. Like I post a fic and I'm just waiting for someone to tell me, 'Oh, good enough, I suppose, but I don't like the rest,' and it really hurts. It just feels like losing. I only feel satisfaction when I'm in the middle of writing something and when I finish. This is a R/WBY fandom problem, by the way, I could be anywhere else and probably not encounter this.

That is to say, on the upside, the fact I'm still here now means I intend to keep going. I try to see silver-linings and be grateful for what I've got.

I do want to emphasise it's really nice that it makes you feel less alone and gives you more of a community space so that's really special.

On another note, I think you also mentioned a few times that you also shipped Reylo?

It's funny you mention Reylo because I veryyyyy vividly remember a Knightfall blog mentioning a fear that Knightfall would attract Reylo shippers and then I never interacted with them ever again. This is a while ago (like over two years ago lol) but it really put me off. I suppose quality over quantity of fans - there are... so many Reylos who can fabricate communities out of nothing lol - but I'll take my toys and go home in that case.

But also lol, wow, Reylo has been like my entire online identity since TFA. I only don't mention it that much because I wanted the space wizards to have fat Jedi babies together and I get sad thinking about it and because going to new fandoms being a Reylo means you have to put up with people taking you to task over Reylo. Small fry, I suppose, but again: I'll take my toys and go home.

I do think Reylo is/was the best fandom I've ever been in though, including some of the most masterful analyses I've ever read in any fandom. I can't link skysilencer since she got run off Tumblr by antis, but anything by Ohtze is a very good read, and going through corseque's Reylo tag is a very fun time as well as that one reincarnation theory - which by virtue would lead you to the Wayward Jedi, who after he went through some troubles, has actually reuploaded or unhidden all of his original Anidala/Reylo videos on YouTube - and I'm really only scratching the surface here. In fact, last night I was rereading Ohtze's the Usurper and the Holy Mother meta.

So I miss the TLJ era, what can I say. I would have to say that in terms of Reylo characterisation, because I began to lurk reading Ohtze's metas right after TFA and then rediscovered corseque's blog (I initially found hers through her wonderful Zelgan fanart lol), my perception of Reylo was a little different to some of the Dark Fuck Prince characterisation which pervaded the ship. So where you come from and what blogs you follow certainly matters and changes your perception of things.

I'm not sure about Tumblr anymore but the Reylo community is still very active on Twitter.

What I think is interesting about Reylo is that very conscious Jungian storytelling was used in TLJ. So it's relevant to use as a recent reference and to demonstrate what that kind of thing can look like. I recommend wit_and_folly for her early videos on Reylo and the monomyth - more specifically, the Heroine's Journey. I think she has a lot of interesting things to say, and is one of very few video essayists I can actually stand.

There's a very specific kind of enemies-to-lovers that I'm into, and Reylo and Knightfall are the two who pretty much hit the spot. I haven't really found any other ship that hits the same mythic beats or characterisation of the baddie and hero or has the same kind of narrative stakes. So tracing the similarities is always interesting to me.

I haven't tried to preach about Knightfall, I have mostly just tried to share my thoughts on the matter, and if that makes people interested or makes them feel seen then that's all I would want. It is a bit hard sometimes though. Very few reblog my posts, I get some likes here and there and I'm thankful for that, and that's just part of a broader shift of the website - but on my end I don't really know that it stands for much?

I think that's why I'm so confused about people being offended by me or Knightfall because there is seriously no threat here. All other Jaune and Cinder ships have their own juggernaut positions in the fandom. I'm one fucking person. A... a... a onewomancitadel, if you will.

I didn't know that username would become so apt lolol.

I'm sorry to be so down in this response. Ultimately, I think being committed to an idea is the thing that matters to me, that's why I write and that's why I post on my silly little blog. There's a certain security in that as well, and I think that sincerity - sincere care for an idea, for a ship, for a fic, for a silly meme - is the bit that matters, and certainly matters the most to me, and should be able to stand on its own.

Hope you have a good weekend and good luck once again with college. <3

[idontwanttospoiltheparty]

u got any fic recs? mclennon or not idc

I haven't read that many yet, and honestly On Our Way Back Home is the only one I can think of right now that I finished/is complete and that I thoroughly enjoyed. As I said in another ask (that contains spoilers) it's flawed and some of it didn't feel accurate to me but it's pretty fun if you can stomach the length. The last few chapters are obscenely long but the beginning is a RIDE. Kind of YA-y in its writing style, which sometimes feels unfitting, but it makes it easy to digest, which helps make up for the length. It's kind of sexually explicit but not particularly graphic, usually skipping over details.

Two fics that are currently updating that I'm enjoying a lot:

1. I Want To Tell You by the lovely Lee / @mothernatures-sons. This one's a hurt/comfort thriller with joint kidnapping. I'm really enjoying the pacing and super excited for the character moments that are currently being set up.

2. with your own two hands I really like this story's characterization of John and am really looking forward to see how it tackles John and Paul's dynamic. It's an alternate timeline where John quit the band after Sgt. Pepper to be a fulltime actor (and also finds himself free to really start exploring MLM culture)

One that I'm currently reading (and is completed, though the sequel to it is still updating iirc) and lowkey think is a literary masterpiece (if having kind of OOC dialogue between John and Paul that reads kind of like a 19th century novel) is Carry That Weight. BUT HUGE TRIGGER WARNING FOR GRAPHIC DEPICTIONS OF RAPE & PTSD DEALING WITH IT. I find myself questioning the appropriateness of this story as a piece of RPF and can't call myself the foremost expert on dealing with the subject matter, but what I can definitely say is this story is NOT using rape as a device to further some ship-agenda and generally I find the subject is being handled in a respectful and realistic-seeming manner (characters take the victim [Paul] very seriously and there's an optimistic undercurrent, while never sugarcoating how deep the damage done to him is)

This fanfic has done the almost impossible of creating (at least) three likeable OCs and just has such high literary standards. There are like biblical and literature references in it?? HOWEVER this fic is longwinded lmao. There's a chapter where the entire plot is halted to give the backstory of an OC. As someone who's read the unabridged Les Mis though I love this and even when I wish the plot progressed a bit faster I can't help but be so impressed by the amount of care the author put into all this. I can't speak for the ending of the story yet but I just find it so enjoyable and touching, and of course justifiably horrifying. All the character dynamics in it are so fascinating. If you can stomach the premise I can really recommend it because I've never seen so much love and care put into a fanfiction and so much of it feels so deeply human to me.

[theenjoninecollective]

Hey, I'm just asking this out of interest because I want to understand other people's thoughts. So I don't mean to be rude or anything, ship whatever you want. But why did you choose to ship enjonine over enjoltaire, as the later is such a popular one?

Mod @viridescentlights 

Is this your way of flirting, hmm? If it was, it’s not working the way you want it. That aside, you say you want to understand and that it’s out of interest, but if it was, why the question at the end? That’s downright condescending. Simply put, your ask never meant to respect our opinions, in the end. In what way does this benefit you at all, hmm? I ask this because the timing of this ask, though given in January, is suspect. Fandom activity in Les Mis has been quite low, but it always has been given the fluctuating interest of people towards it. Furthermore, there are different factions in the group, and I’ve observed that your group is very active. So why bother us, when your group has enough fan art, fanfic, and whatnot? We’re busy enjoying on our own. It does not matter if it’s popular because that is our interest. Unless you want another fic war because you’re bored? Pfft. You could’ve asked in a better way, you know? We could’ve organized a sort of fic exchange and whatnot! Instead you go ride on your high horse and be demeaning. It’s annoying already. 

So, if you want an exchange, just let us know, mate. It’s not that hard to do. Plus, it’s fun. I’ve been able to do one with a good friend who ships enjoltaire. Why destroy when we can make art, mate? Let this be our enemies-to-friends-to-maybe-partners story, yeah? Haha. But seriously. Do not do this rude ask again. 

Anyway, I’ll let my friend do the nuanced discussion. Ta. 

Mod @decembersiris: 

Just because a ship is popular that does not mean I’m going to ship it. Often times now most of my ships are not the popular ones because in the fandoms I am in, the more popular ones end up being really toxic, I have found. And this includes Les Miserables and the enjoltaire ship as well.

Why I don’t ship enjoltaire: the ship itself

I have watched the musical and read the book. I have also watched multiple films and TV series such as the 2012 movie and the French 2000 miniseries. Of course there are more out there and more that I have watched but I’m not going to go into detail, because the point is that I am well reversed in the mediums of the story itself. And in all that I have watched and the book that I have read, the ship does not appeal to me. In the book, it is explicitly said that Enjolras hates Grantaire. And that immediately puts me off against the ship because why would I ship a couple where one of them completely hates the partner. That does not tickle my fancy, regardless if Grantaire loves him. I understand that there are multiple Greek references to homosexual couples to represent Enjolras and Grantaire, but frankly, I don’t care. And I’m allowed to not care. For me, just because there is symbolism, that does not mean the ship is without a doubt canon.  Because as Hugo wrote, regardless of the symbolism, Enjolras hates him.

As some enjoltaire shippers throw at enjonine shippers, that we are homophobic because it is written in the book Enjolras has not interest in women. Yep, I understand that that is there. However the way Hugo shapes this information leaves a lot to be interpreted. Enjolras may not be interested in women RIGHT NOW because he’s so focused on his revolution. That is very possible and very real, that he may not want to establish a relationship because he knows what is at risk, that pursuing a relationship will only lead to further tragedy because he knows what he is doing is putting his life at risk. The way I interpret this sentence though is that he is not interested right now because of the revolution and also because Enjolras, to me, is asexual. Just because he isn’t interested in women DOES NOT MEAN (and many enjoltaire shippers willfully ignore this point) he is interested in men. Enjolras could very well be asexual and not interested in anyone at all.

As for the musical, I appreciate the friends dynamic and I enjoy the interactions they have. But for me, that is not enough for me to ship them. Often times friendships and especially male friendships are default labeled as homosexual which to me is erasure of genuine male friendships which isn’t right. So I appreciate the friendship between them, but that isn’t enough for me to ship them.

Why I don’t ship enjoltaire: the shippers

A huge reason I do not ship enjoltaire has to do with the shippers. At first I could tolerate the shippers but as they became more and more harassing of pretty much the smallest ship in the Les Mis fandom, I began to get pretty frustrated with them. Which resulted in my hatred of the ship as well. Granted, not all enjoltaire shippers are intolerant fucks, but a lot love to overstep their boundaries. They, for some reason, cannot stay in their lane, and continuously harass enjonine shippers and infiltrate the enjonine tag with their bullshit. It’s almost as if they’re so insecure because not everyone ride or dies with their ship that they have to go and ridicule the enjonine shippers. And they frame in the guise of “enjonine shippers are homophobes!” and cry about it in our tag. Calling us homophobes just because we don’t ship their ship is incredibly ludicrous because shipping is FUN and HARMLESS. I don’t care what you ship as long as you stay in your lane and don’t try to force your ship onto others! Those who can’t differentiate between real life and fiction and real life and shipping need to take a step back and reevaluate their lives.

I think it’s funny because many enjoltaire shippers call us queer erasure in an attempt to come off as “woke” which is quite hypocritical on their part because they know that many of us enjonine shippers either view Enjolras as bisexual or asexual. For them to call us that, to me, shows just how ignorant and pigheaded they are; they are fake woke, bashing us for not believing what they do when people are allowed to have different opinions. They’re the ones blatantly ignoring the possibility that Enjolras is asexual or bisexual or even both which, I could turn onto them and call them acephobes and biphobes. But I don’t go to their tag and post a plethora of reason as to why I hate enjoltaire and call them acephobes and biphobes.

Regardless of whether or not enjoltaire is implied in the text, that does not mean I have to ship it either! The ship does not appeal to me. Even if they frickin kissed in canon, the ship would not appeal to me. Victor Hugo could rise from the grave and scream that Enjolras and Grantaire fucked and I would not care. I would not ship them because I don’t like them! For some reason, enjoltaire shippers have their heads so far up their asses, demanding we ship their ship because it’s “canon” through symbolism. They critique us for “not have comprehension skills of the book” but guess what, there are so many people who don’t ship canon! There is nothing wrong with that! And enjoltaire isn’t even confirmed as canon! As far as I’m concerned, it’s all headcanon because nothing confirms a solid relationship. Symbolism can be interpreted. The great thing about literature is that everything is up for interpretation and not everyone has to believe the same thing. There are so many ships out there that go against canon but for some reason enjoltaire shippers think they should get a free pass and everyone needs to ship their ship because their ship is homosexual. But that’s not how fandoms work. Enjoltaire shippers do not have the  right to ridicule enjonine or any other ship just because they think they’re more woke than others for shipping a gay couple.

There was a point where I came close to multishipping Enjolras with Grantaire as well as with Éponine but that concept sank so quick. It’s because of intolerable enjoltaire shippers that I refuse to ship Enjolras with Grantaire and ship him with Éponine even harder.

Why I ship enjonine

In all the different mediums of consuming Les Miserables, I always found myself absolutely adoring Éponine and that’s because I found myself relating to her more than any other character in Les Mis. She is an endearing character with many flaws, feelings, and complexities about her. When I actively found myself liking a character, I’m most likely going to find a ship for that character because I want my characters to be happy and paired. I was also drawn to Enjolras for the very reasons his friends are drawn to him. He’s inspiring, charismatic, and someone who has his flaws as well, who has done wrong for what he believes is right. Both characters are complex because of their beliefs and who they are and I adore them for that. Because of this I want them both to be happy and why not let them be happy together? Éponine could not be happy with Marius because Marius loved Cosette. She could find that happiness with Enjolras! Yep he might not be interested in women because he is focused on his revolution, but the beauty of fanfiction allows authors to tweak canon to suit their fantasies. And there is nothing wrong with that. That’s the whole purpose of fanfiction. The idea of having my two favorite characters get together makes me happy and anyone who thinks they can police my happiness can fuck right off. This ship has gotten me through some of the toughest times of my life and I’ll be damned if I let other peoples’ shitty and harmful opinions devalue that.

The fact that both of these characters have not interacted makes things even more interesting because of the potential they have! I also believe that if they had interacted, their dynamics would be very interesting to see unfold. Because they are both so headstrong and firm in their beliefs, it would make for such engaging fics and it has. I’ve read many enjonine fics and they are so well written and so fun to read because they feel so genuine and sincere to the characters that it makes me ship them even harder. While sparse, there is beautiful enjonine art out there and as a shipper, it makes me giddy.

Not only that, I have met some very sweet and interesting people in the fandom. While very small, most enjonine shippers are so openhearted and encouraging and because of this ship I have met beautiful people made a few friends as well. They have been nothing but kind and have helped me grow as a writer. Because of them my love for enjonine is as strong as it is. While I may not actively participate in the fandom for now, enjonine is the hill I’ll die on. They are my otp because they have helped me through such hard times and as a result made me so happy. So what if I don’t have canon to validate them? So what if other people adamantly despise the ship? If they despise me too, fine by me. I don’t need that negativity and toxicity in my life. I’ll do me and ship what I please and that’s enjonine.

[blightarts]

ENDLESS SUMMER HALLOWEEN SPECIAL

Disclaimer: Endless Summer is a property of Pixelberry. I do not claim any rights here.

Author’s Note: If the “Keep reading” doesn’t work, go here for the full post. This fanfic takes place in an alternate universe, told in a children’s bedtime story.

@princesstopgun, @mechaspirit, @lovearyn, @kaitloyalist, @choicesmarvel, @sceptilemasterr, @hey-its-vy, @skyila, @choicesyouplayandmore, @mysteli, @helentwombly, @scgdoeswhat, @choicesaholic​, @jakemckenzietrash, @xo-endlessmayhem-xo, @abhirio, @diego-vii, @daniela2510, @izzycheeese, @brightpinkpeppercorn​

Once upon a time, in the continent of La Huerta, there lived a Boy Scout, named Tyler, and a Princess, named Taylor. The twin siblings live in the Celestial Kingdom, a peaceful kingdom with hundreds of subjects that look up to their kind rule. However, one day, a hole filled with hellfire appears at the center of the castle square. Tyler and Taylor arrive at the scene as a figure rises from the hole

Tyler: Wha... What’s going on?!

Taylor: Who are you?!

Figure: I am the end of your kingdom, the future ruler of this world... RAGNAROURKE!

The twins grit their teeth as they approach and confront Demon King.

Tyler: Listen here! This is a prosperous kingdom and if you threaten us, you will be punished!

Ragnarourke: HA!! You think that you are strong enough to defeat me?

Ragnarourke unleashes a strong and heated air pressure towards Tyler and Taylor. They fall to the ground and wince in pain from the sudden rise in temperature.

Ragnarourke: You have twelve days to surrender your kingdom and kneel before me.... or dust will be my subjects.

The Demon King returns to the underworld and the hole closes. Tyler and Taylor stand up and discuss matters between themselves.

Tyler: What are we going to do?

Taylor: We can’t do this alone. We need help from much more... powerful beings.

In order to defeat Ragnarourke, Tyler and Taylor must enlist help from the Four Masters of the Elements and the Seven Heavenly Virtues. And so, the twins don their heroic costumes and set out in their journey.

The twins first arrive at the harbor of Colonnade Covein order to find the great pirate ship, the Canis. This ship is the home of the Virtue of Humility, Diego. As they arrive at the harbor, right beside the ship, a voice calls out to them.

Voice: Yaargh! 

A figure swings from the ship and lands behind Tyler and Taylor. It is revealed to be Diego!

Diego: What do ye two need?

Tyler: Are you...? Diego the Humble?

Diego: Aye, that is correct.

Taylor: We ask for your aid.

Diego looks at the twins and nods. He knows what they want and drops his pirate accent.

Diego: Judging from your troubled faces, I presume that Ragnarourke has returned...

Taylor: Y-Yes... how did you...?

Diego: This was not the first time that Ragnarourke has threatened us. It happened twelve hundred years ago, and our ancestors managed to take him down. However, they can only seal him until today, not completely defeat him. They said that it takes the power of two special individuals, called the Twin Embers of Hope, to band the Masters and Virtues together in order to completely defeat Ragnarourke.

The twins look at each other and back at Diego.

Taylor: Are you implying that...?

Diego: Yes. You two are the Twin Embers of Hope, and that I accept your request.

Tyler: Seriously?!

Diego: Aye, matey! I shall help ye on yer quest to find the others and save La Huerta! Now, hop on my ship. We have limited time!

Tyler and Taylor smile as they board the ship along with Diego. But before they could depart, someone calls out to Diego.

Voice: Hey! Wait up, dude!!

The three turn to see the all-star chef of Colonnade Cove, Raj. He is also known as the Virtue of Temperance.

Raj: Delivery for the great Diego the Humble.

Diego: Oh! Of course! My meal.

Diego rushes to Raj and humbly takes his packed lunch.

Diego: Thank you, Raj the Abstinent.

Tyler: Hold on. “Raj the Abstinent”?!

Taylor: He’s one of the Seven Heavenly Virtues too!

Diego and Raj turn to the twins. Diego looks back at Raj.

Diego: Ah, yes. Raj, my friend, “he” has returned and these two are what the prophecies are referring to.

Raj’s eyes widen as the time has come for him to fulfill his true duties. He then grins.

Raj: Well, what are we waiting for, dudes?! Let’s ride!

The four smile as they board the Canis and depart from the harbor in order to find the rest of the Virtues and the Masters.

After a day in the sea, the group arrives at the harbor of the snowy city of Elysian, where they learned that the Virtue of Chastity, Michelle. They reach the center of the city, where Michelle the Chaste seems to be performing a dance in front of an audience in her kimono.

After her performance, the crowd approaches and greets her. 

Tyler: Come on.

As the group approaches Michelle, she spots them. She immediately notices Diego and Raj, and know what is going on. 

Michelle: Is it time?

The two boys nod at her and she sighs. She looks back at the other citizens around her and smiles.

Michelle: That would be all for now. Thank you for coming.

The crowd disperse and the group of five board the Canis.

Tyler: Where to now?

Diego: Ursa Forest!

Taylor: Forest?! But how are we going to get there in this ship?

Michelle scoffs and opens two of her Pavo Fans.

Michelle: My dear, you underestimate the power of the Virtues.

She then spreads her arms and unleashes her power. Sparkling winds then appear at both sides of the pirate ship. The wings flap and the ship rises from the sea. The twins are startled by this.

Tyler: Woah!

Taylor: What the?!

Raj then imitates a pose of an archer drawing a bow, and a giant, glowing silhouette of a centaur appears behind the ship. With the ship acting as the arrow, Raj fires and the Canis blasts towards the forests of La Huerta. 

Diego: WOOOHOOO!!!

Raj: YEEAAHH!!

Twins: AAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!

Diego controls the direction of where they will go and after a few minutes, they arrive on top of Ursa Forest. Diego leaves the helm and grabs a long rope. He then ties it on the ship’s railings and drops the rest of it down to the forest.

Diego: We are here!

Diego turns to the twins, who are on their knees, nauseous. He smiles shyly and waits for the two to compose themselves. After a few minutes, the group drops to the forest and search for the Virtue of Kindness, Craig. 

They then come across him by a campfire, seated on a log and eating blueberries. He spots them and smiles.

Craig: What’s up?! Want some blueberries?

Craig offers them his blueberries and a few seats by the campfire. The group happily take his offer and gather around the campfire.

Taylor: So, you’re Craig the Kind?

Craig: Sure am!

The group explains the situation to Craig and he excitedly grins.

Craig: CHYEEAAHH BOI!!

Michelle: Ugh! Craig, this is a serious matter!

Before Craig can respond, the group is instantly teleported on top of a tower in the old forest of Quarr’tel. They look around, confused as they are approach by the Lich Queen and Virtue of Diligence, Zahra.

Zahra: So, “he” has returned...

Raj: Zahra the Diligent...

Craig: Yo, Z! So, about that date...

Zahra: That’s not why I teleported you here, dumbass!.... it’s this Saturday....

Craig: YEET!

Michelle immediately pinches Craig’s ear and pulls him away from the conversation.

Craig: Ow!!

Michelle: Shut it.

While Craig is being pulled away, Tyler and Taylor cautiously approach Zahra.

Tyler: Zahra... we...

Taylor: We ask for your aid...

The Lich Queen smirks.

Zahra: I’m in. Don’t worry.

The twins smile as she puts both her thumb and finger together.

Zahra: And now, to that Mad Scientist’s lab.

Zahra snaps her fingers and teleports herself and the group to the Observatory a few kilometers away from Mt. Atropo’s peak. They enter the laboratory and finds the Virtue of Patience, Grace.

Grace: Ah, there you are. We’ve been expecting you.

Taylor: “We”?

Suddenly, a voice behind the group startles them.

Voice: Yes, “We”.

The group turns to see the Virtue of Charity, Aleister.

Aleister: We already knew about “his” return and we have been expecting you two and the rest of the Virtues.

Grace: And we accept!

The twins smile at their accomplishment while the Virtues smile back at them.

Tyler: This is awesome!

Raj: You bet it is!

Taylor: What now?

Aleister: The Virtues shall gather at your kingdom and keep “him” at bay while the two of you search for the Masters of the Elements.

Grace: It’s better if you two split up. It’ll save more time.

The twins nod as Zahra teleports everyone to their respective destinations. Tyler is teleported on top of Aquila Mountain, the home of Sean, the Master of the Winds. Meanwhile, Taylor is teleported in the Chasm of Draco, home of Estela, Master of Fire. And the Virtues are teleported to the kingdom, with the task of evacuating its people and keep Ragnarourke occupied.

On top of Aquila Mountain, Tyler calls out for Sean. The Master hears his calls and descends from the sky as the clouds part for him.

Sean: Welcome, Tyler. 

Tyler: You know me... then you know why I’m here.

Sean: Yes... but before I must join you, you must pass my test.

Tyler: Test?

Sean: Indeed. You must endure the strong air pressure that I will deliver to you in order to test your strength as the one prophesied to save us all.

Tyler contemplates and nods at Sean.

Tyler: Alright... let’s do this!

Sean flaps his wings and sends an air pressure, strong enough to move boulders. Tyler crosses his arms to endure but he was immediately blown away. Though he has failed, he stands up.

Tyler: Again...

Sean smiles at his determination and tests him once again. They do this over and over until Tyler finally holds his own against the Wind Master’s blasts. As Tyler heavily breathes, Sean offers his hand.

Sean: Tyler, I would be glad to help you in your quest to defeat evil.

The two men shake hands.

Sean: Now, I must take you to the Master of Water, Quinn.

Sean helps Tyler up and flies him towards Delphinus Lake.

Meanwhile, within the depths of the Chasm of Draco, Taylor is sparring against Estela, whose fists are engulfed in flames as she does a special fighting pose. 

Both women are filled with bruises and small burn marks as they hold their ground.

Estela: Impressive. So far, you are the only one who stood this long against me. You really are one of the prophesied heroes.

Estela drops her pose and composes herself.

Estela: I accept your request, Taylor.

Taylor: ....Really?

The kunoichi nods as she whistles for her pet dragon. The beast walks beside Taylor and motions her to mount him.

Estela: While I make my way to your kingdom, my friend here will take you to the Great Lupus Plains. There, you will meet the Master of the Earth, Jake.

Taylor: Understood.

Taylor mounts the dragon as it takes off and flies to the Great Lupus Plains.

After a few minutes, Taylor arrives on the plains and the dragon leaves her alone. She looks around for Jake.

Taylor: Hello...? Jake...?

While she looks around, Taylor hears a sudden rustle behind her. She turns to see a creature pounce at her and pins her to the ground.

Taylor: AAAHH!!

Creature: Grrr... Who are you?!

Taylor opens her eyes and sees a man in the midst of becoming a werewolf. But somehow, she falls for him.

Taylor: I... I... I’m T-T-Taylor...

The man sniffs her and she blushes.

Taylor: H-Hey!!

The man then pulls away from her and helps her up.

Creature: Sorry. I thought you were an intruder. You’re actually one of the prophesied heroes. I’m Jake.

Jake offers his hand and Taylor shakes it.

Jake: So, your test.

Taylor: Y... Yeah...

Jake: You okay, Princess?

Taylor realizes that she’s just staring at Jake and shakes her head.

Taylor: Oh, sorry. So, what about the test?

Jake smirks and quickly dashes away from Taylor. The woman is startled and gives chase.

Taylor: HEY!!

Jake: You gotta catch me, Princess! That’s the test!

The two run around the plains while smiling at each other. Jake raises small stone spires and tosses rocks towards Taylor to obstruct her. After a few minutes, Taylor manages to tackle Jake to the ground, pinning him down. They both laugh.

Jake: You are full of surprises.

Taylor: Really?

The two look into each other’s eyes and lean in for a sweet kiss. Taylor doesn’t seem to mind Jake’s fangs and fur while she savors the kiss. As they pull away, Jake smirks.

Jake: You owe me a date after all of this.

Taylor: Deal!

The two stand up and hurry back to the Celestial Kingdom.

Meanwhile, Tyler is in a small boat, in the middle of Delphinus Lake. He seemed a little scared.

Tyler: Geez, it’s like It Lives Beneath but in real life...

Suddenly, he hears a beautiful voice singing a song near him.

Tyler: H-Hello...?

The makes his way towards the voice and spots a woman in the water, singing.

Tyler: Are you.... Quinn?

The woman doesn’t answer but instead smiles and continues singing as Tyler approaches her. Once he is near, the woman reaches up and cups Tyler’s cheeks. She leans in and this infatuates Tyler. He leans closer in response but instead of getting kissed, the woman instead pulls him down to the lake.

Tyler is dragged into the depths of Delphinus Lake. He tries to swim upwards but his body doesn’t seem to move. He turns to see the woman, who is actually a mermaid, controlling the waters to keep him underneath the lake. His question is answered. The mermaid is Quinn.

Quinn: Your test is to hold on for as long as you can. Do not worry. You will not die if you are the hero that was promised to us by our ancestors.

Tyler tries his best to stay strong but few minutes have passed and his body starts to slump. He is almost at his limit but Quinn quickly swims towards him and revitalizes him with a kiss. Tyler is startled while Quinn raises them both up to the surface in the midst of the kiss.

Tyler faints from the lack of air but soon wakes up with Quinn being the first person he sees. He sits up and sees that she magically gave herself human legs in order to travel with him. 

Tyler: Umm... hi...

The mermaid smiles and pecks Tyler on his lips. The boy blushes and says nothing. 

Quinn: You are just so cute. 

Tyler: T-Thank you...

Tyler shakes his head. 

Tyler: We... should really hurry back to my kingdom. 

Quinn: Oh, of course. Sorry but I just... can’t help but fall for you over and over...

Tyler smiles. 

Tyler: Well... you wanna go out after all of this mess?

Quinn smiles back and nods.

Quinn: Absolutely.

Tyler then pecks her on the lips as he rows the boat back to the mainland. The two then hurry back to the Celestial Kingdom.

The twins and the Masters return to the kingdom to see the Virtues fending off Ragnarourke while fighting his army of demons.

Tyler: Tch! Come on! We gotta help them.

Taylor: Roger that!

The twins, the Masters and the Virtues gather at the center of the kingdom and work together to defeat the Demon King’s army.

Diego fires the cannons from his pirate ship and blows some of the demons away. Raj conjures a bow and shoots down the others. Michelle unleashes a dazzling gleam and burns the demons away with holy light. Craig uses hand-to-hand combat to beat down the demons. Zahra uses necromancy to summon her own army of skeleton soldiers to fight for her while she uses ice magic to freeze the demons. Grace pulls out her laser guns and disintegrates the demons while Aleister, mounted on his giant cobra, slaughters the others.

Sean sends out strong gusts of razor winds to slice the demons into pieces. Estela and her dragon breathe fire to burn the demons into ashes. Jake uses his claws and mastery of the Earth to slash the demons and pierce them with sharp spires of stone. Quinn uses her supersonic voice and mastery of Water to immobilize the demons by either deafening them or freezing them.

And of course, the twins fight in their own terms. Tyler carries a sword and the shield, and defeats the demons with a simple bash -and-slash combo. Meanwhile, Taylor carries two daggers and quickly stabs the demons in their hearts with swift movements.

Recommended Sountrack: United States of Smash (MHA)

Soon afterwards, Ragnarourke’s army is defeated and he is left, enraged.

Ragnarourke: IMPOSSIBLE!! i WILL NOT BE DEFEATED ONCE AGAIN!!!

The Demon King grows into immense size, towering even the height of Mt. Atropo. He looks down upon the thirteen heroes destined to stop him.

Ragnarourke: DIE!!!

Ragnarourke fires a beam of dark energy towards them but the Masters and the Virtues quickly combine their powers to form a Prismatic Force Field around them and the twins. The Dark Beam is blocked and the power of the force field is then harnessed by the Masters and the Virtues, and fires a Prismatic Beam towards the Demon King. He flinches and goes down on the ground, though his size remains.

Diego: This is it! We have to end it here once and for all!

Tyler: But how?

Quinn: Use our combined powers, and the one hidden within the two of you.

Taylor: Within... us...?

Jake: That’s right, Princess. We’re not the only ones here with power.

While the twins look at each other, the Masters of the Elements and the Seven Heavenly Virtues surround them, and begins blessing them with power.

Diego: Humility...

Raj: Temperance...

Michelle: Chastity...

Craig: Kindness...

Zahra: Diligence...

Grace: Patience...

Aleister: And Charity...

Virtues: With these virtues, you are blessed with the power of the heavens...

The Seven Heavenly Virtues bestow upon Tyler and Taylor their combined powers.

Sean: Wind...

Estela: Fire...

Jake: Earth...

Quinn: Water...

Masters: With these elements, you are blessed with the power of this very world...

The Masters then bestow their own combine powers upon the twins.

Tyler and Taylor then harness these powers and concentrate. They call upon the powers hidden inside them. Taylor gives Tyler her own power.

Tyler: Wait... why?

Taylor: It’s better if you finish it... for all of us. Do your best, little brother...

Tyler nods as the combined powers of him, Taylor and their eleven friends, conjure the strongest weapon of La Huerta on Tyler’s hands, the Sword of Vaanu. Tyler wields the sword and ruses towards Ragnarourke. The Demon King rises up.

Ragnarourke: I REFUSE TO LOSE!!

He then conjures a giant sphere of dark energy and hurls it towards Tyler. However, the Boy Scout slices the sphere in half with the Sword.

Ragnarourke: NO!!!

Tyler: YES!!!

Tyler then pierces the heart of Ragnarourke as he begins to gleam. Tyler drops to the ground, with a superhero landing, and the Demon King bursts, as he is once and for all been defeated.

Tyler turns to his friends.

Tyler: Is it... over...?

They all nod at him with a smile while Taylor and Quinn rush towards him.Taylor hugs him tightly while Quinn kisses him deeply.

Taylor: It’s over, alright. We did it!

The proud people of the Celestial Kingdom return as they cheer to their heroes. The heroes then smile back at their grateful people. Within the next few days, a celebration is held, commemorating the day where the continent of La Huerta is saved by those who were destined. A shared wedding was also held for Tyler and Quinn, and Taylor and Jake. 

And everyone lived happily ever after.

THE END.

[fanfictionlive]

As a casual fanfic writer, a lot of the people here are intimidating with how serious they seem to be when it comes to writing fanfics

A lot of you are intimidating for both good and bad reasons.

Perhaps it’s just my own experience. I come from big fandoms, but I ship rare pairs and pairs that simply get a lot of hate.

I take what I can get when it comes to reading others work for the rare pairs. However, even if I just take all the scraps I can get, I’m not picky about fics unless it’s something very jarring.

For example, I once read a fic where for one scene, the author decided to switch from 3rd perspective to first perspective and then back to third. Then there’s also fics where the story is all in lower case.

Reading the comments on here, is very surprising and awe dropping because of a lot you have said that you’ve dropped stories for things I wouldn’t even consider dropping for.

You all want to seem to want to improve, but I’m just over here reading all your posts thinking, “haha! Yeah totally… I’m trying to improve too”(sarcastic).

Seriously though, the way some of y’all want to improve is impressive, motivational, and downright scary because I could never see myself having such dedication. I do hope that I one day I will have the motivation like some of you whether it be for writing fanfics or my other hobbies.

However, some of the people here and their need to improve is also a little scary in a bad way.

There’s the discussions that always happen with the unsolicited critiques (actual critique and not just hate). Some of you state how you’re always looking forward to improve and so you’re confused about people not wanting unsolicited critiques.

Then there’s just me looking forward to no improvement…

It’s very saddening to see the amount of thoughts some of you have against writers like me who don’t want to improve. I’ve read things such as some of you saying you have no respect or no sympathy. Some of you essentially think writers who write for fun with a lack of care for improvement are pathetic.

I’ve seen a lot of arguments, some I agree with and some I don’t. Some of you are reasonable and I think it’s nice you want some of us to get better, but the way some of you of seem to push critiques makes it very uncomfortable.

Going back to the pathetic statement. No, we’re not pathetic. We bring joy to our selves and to others.

Some of you have said that all we want is praise, but no, we don’t only want praise. Maybe it’s just me and the fandoms that I’m in or the ships that like, but there is not just praise.

There’s more to commenting than just praise. There are discussion about where the story is headed, the what-ifs (that can lead to other potential stories), predictions for the next chapter, different dynamics between the two characters, the foreshadowing (what it can mean and what it would lead to), and there’s so many more!

Sometimes, the comments on ao3 will even become like the ones you see on twitter or other social media sites, where the comments are just straight up conversations of the authors and commentators having fun discussing. The author will even share more information because of it which I think is wonderful.

Furthermore on praise, it doesn’t just make me feel good in the fact that it boosts my ego. It also makes me feel good to know that no matter how bad, good, or mediocre I did, it made my fellow lovers of the ship happy. It’s not about my own ego getting stroked. It’s about feeding my fellow starved rare pair shippers and making us all happy.

Too add further, it’s a little sad to see how some of you say to leave a “no critique” message for the fic when it’s posting.

I’m wondering if it’s just ignorance or if you’re from a nice fandom. A lot of people would use the “No critique” system as a way to hate on the fic and author even more. My fandoms and I’m sure others too, has a faze of getting pure hate comments.

While yes, it would be nice for readers who want to give actual critiques to not waste their time. It would only serve to fuel the toxic people within the fandom. I hope some of you understand that in some fandoms, doing such a thing is not a good option.

My fellow authors for our ship would be destroyed by the big 8k-20k readers of the bigger or the equally small rivaling ships.

Some of the people here are intimidating in bad ways, but the good ones? Whew. You’re amazing even if I think you’re a little scary.

submitted by /u/veryshorts [link] [comments] from FanFiction: Where Magical Ponies battle Imperial Titans https://ift.tt/3FWEMv5

[willag42]

Yuri!!! On Ice Fanfic Recs with Reviews  ["A” Authors]

Note: Doing some major reformating of the YOI fanfic rec pages. The pages that include my reviews are now having the posts separated alphabetically by author (see below). I am also creating separate page(s) that allow filtering the fanfics by category. It's a work in progress, but I'm having fun with it.

This page includes my YOI fanfic recs (with reviews) for authors whose names begin with "A".

Note: For any authors whom I don't know the gender, I refer to them with they/them. If any authors wish to correct me, please do so.

AUTHORS REC PAGES: #0-9 -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- Q -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W -- X -- Y -- Z

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Refer to this masterlist for all of my YOI fanfic recs.

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ADreamingSongbird (@adreamingsongbird)

If you’re in the mood for some adorable, wholesome ship fics (friendship or romantic), then look no further than ADreamingSongbird’s fics. The character interactions are sure to leave you with a few extra cavities. I am particularly attached to the close friendship she paints between Yuuri and Phichit. But don’t be fooled, because she is equally crafty at twisting your heart into an agonizing, unrecognizable mess.

#bffs4lyfe

Rating: Gen Words: 10.6k Status: Complete Relationship: Platonic Phichit+Yuuri; (side) Katsuki Yuuri/Victor Nikiforov Tags: BFFs; Detroit pre-canon; post-canon Yuuri/Victor wedding ❤❤❤❤❤  Summary: Detroit holds a special place in Phichit Chulanont's heart, mostly because that's where he met the boy who would become his lifelong best friend. Wait, no, scratch that - Detroit doesn't hold a special place in Phichit's heart. Yuuri Katsuki does. ❤❤❤❤❤  Review: Did I mention how much I love how she writes the friendship between Yuuri and Phichit? Because I really do.

The Rules for Lovers

Rating: Mature Words: 323.3k Status: Complete Relationship: Katsuki Yuuri/Victor Nikiforov Tags: Fantasy AU; Historical fantasy; Magic; War; Survivor's guilt; PTSD; Falling in love ❤❤❤❤❤  Summary: Prince Yuuri Katsuki has a duty to his country, above all else (his desires, his dreams, and his happiness included), and he knows this alliance will help to ensure the safety of his people. That’s the only reason he accepts Prince Nikiforov’s hand in marriage. The pleasant surprise, of course, is the part where they fall in love along the way. The unpleasant one, well... That’s a long story. ❤❤❤❤❤  Review: This is perhaps my favorite urban fantasy YOI fanfic, using modern technology but mixing in magic and monarchies. There's a lot of political intrigue, attempted assassinations, and murderous plots, which leads to a lot of dark, heavy angst, but the core of the story is LOVE. Warm, heartbreaking, self-sacrificing, but always present. And before all the angst started kicking in double-time, the sappy fluff was at tooth-rotting levels. Yuuri and Viktor are super soft in this story, building a fluffy, innocent relationship. The maturity rating is earned by the dark themes and twisted, manipulative plots by the antagonists rather than anything by the main protagonists. The series also contains a collection of side stories, mosaic, if you're wanting more from this universe. One of the best royalty AUs in the fandom.

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Adrianna99 (@iwritebetterthanispeak)

Prodigy

Rating: Teen Words: 122.1k Status: Complete Relationship: Katsuki Yuuri/Victor Nikiforov Tags: Alternate universe; Alternate profession; Music; Violist Yuuri; Violinist Viktor; Fluff; Angst; Minor injuries ❤❤❤❤❤  Summary: Viktor Nikiforov is the most talented young violinist in the world, so he's understandably devastated when an injury prevents him from playing professionally for at least a year. But when his mentor suggests he take on a student to keep from getting rusty, Viktor finds new inspiration in a place he never thought he would: a violist. Viktor Nikiforov wasn't at all what Yuuri expected, and when he accepts the older man's offer to help him win the most prestigious musical competition in the world, Yuuri gets a lot more than he bargained for. ❤❤❤❤❤  Review: Another fanfic that adapts the series into an alternate profession but makes several unique changes and improves upon the ending of the original series (if you've read any of my other reviews, you can probably guess exactly how it improves upon the original series' ending). That's obviously not the only reason to love this fanfic. The characters are a softer than their original counterparts, including Yuri, who I really sympathized with in the beginning when Viktor decides to take over as Yuuri's mentor. The fic places emphasis on pathos and developing the relationships between the characters. One wonderful aspect is how much presence Phichit has, since he and Yuuri continue living in an apartment together with Viktor in a separate apartment. As such, we get to see a growing friendship between Viktor and Phichit. The romance between Yuuri and Viktor blooms sooner in the story as well. Adrianna99 has written additional short side stories for this series that are also worth a look: Prodigy: Mirror Image, which approaches chapter 2 from Viktor's POV; and Prodigy: Phone Home, which is an extra from chapter 3 where Yuuri contacts his family. If you want to read a story that takes cues from the original anime, but goes its own path, definitely check this story out!

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AlexWSpark (@alexwspark)

Alex has an interesting, softer (but not too soft) interpretation of the characters that I really appreciate. The original anime is a comedy, so it amplifies certain character quirks “4 teh lulz,” but Alex takes care to not over-exaggerate, which can make some characters more likeable (*cough*Yurio*cough*). But don’t worry, Victor and Yuuri are still big pining messes. Alex also takes great care to develop healthy bonds between the characters in their stories, which is always A+++!

The Katsuki/Nikiforov Collector's Edition + DLC (Series, 4 works)

On Online and Offline Love Rating: Mature -- Words: 32.8k -- Status: Complete -- Summary: Gaming/Streaming AU: In which Yuuri and Victor are gamers, head over heels for each other, and hoping to one day come face-to-face. Of course, when two whipped, adorable fluff-balls are involved, shenanigans ensue...

On Bedhead, Bullets, and Bargains Rating: Mature -- Words: 18.2k -- Status: WIP -- Summary: Yuuri (GamerLevelEros) and Victor (GAria_VNikiforov): Gamers, streamers, friends, lovers. Families will unite, love will be spread and, of course, games will be played. But, as their relationship progresses, Yuuri will discover that their time apart carries much more weight that he could've ever imagined.

Our Aim is True Rating: Mature -- Words: 6.2k -- Status: Complete -- Summary: Yuuri (GamerLevelEros) and Victor (GAria_VNikiforov) are THE streaming power couple and as they approach their one-year anniversary, Yuuri decides that it's time to add another life-changing plot twist to his collection.

Katsuki/Nikiforov DLC - A Collection of Tumblr Drabbles Rating: Mature -- Words: 13.3k -- Status: WIP -- Summary: Tumblr drabbles based on HCs/prompts from both myself and followers. ❤❤❤❤❤  Words: 70.4k Status: Work In Progress Relationship: Katsuki Yuuri/Victor Nikiforov Tags: Gaming/Streaming AU; Video games; Mutual pining; Fluff; Dorks in love ❤❤❤❤❤  Review: An amazing gaming AU series with a wonderful light-hearted story where Yuuri and Victor are Ye Ol’ Gaming Gods on Twitch who fanboy one another and live, breathe, and think in game metaphors. Like, seriously, I am deeply impressed with all the corny yet fantastic gaming analogies. It’s like living in a gaming otaku’s head. Gaming fans will understand more of the references, but this is a wonderful series of fics that can be loved and enjoyed by all. If you are seriously a fan of Victor and Yuuri being pining dorks, then you should definitely check this one out!

Unexpected

Rating: Explicit Words: 65.5k Status: Complete Relationship: Katsuki Yuuri/Victor Nikiforov Tags: Canon divergence; Victor knows that Yuuri does not remember the banquet ❤❤❤❤❤  Summary: Banquet AU: In which one impulsive midnight decision leads Victor Nikiforov to Yuuri Katsuki and, of course, everything changes, a.k.a Drunk!Yuuri has no chill, a.k.a Victor experiences #allthefeels. ❤❤❤❤❤  Review: One of the better canon divergence fics I’ve read. This only takes place up through the first regional competition, but it’s able to keep the characters and situation fresh by changing the order of event and have the characters be more mature and likeable. Yuuri’s anxiety still causes trouble, but he is more open to Victor’s presence and they form a friendly bond quicker; Victor is aware that Yuuri doesn’t remember the banquet and reacts with care; and Yurio is way less of an asshole. I love this spin on the story.

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Anonymous

Across the Universe

Rating: Teen Words: 30.7k Status: Complete Relationship: Katsuki Yuuri/Victor Nikiforov Tags: Multiverse AU; Dimension travel; Soulmates AU ❤❤❤❤❤  Summary: In an alternative universe, Yuuri has just won the GPF at Sochi — and he’s miserable. He lost everything that mattered to him several years ago when a tsunami hit Hasetsu, and after throwing himself into his skating, he’s achieved gold, but the win is hollow without others there to share it. Things change when he’s transported to another universe, where GPF champion Victor Nikiforov is about to drown himself in the Black Sea. According to legend, only those with a deep connection can draw someone from across the universe. But Yuuri and Victor have never met before in their respective worlds; perhaps someone out there knew how much they needed each other. ❤❤❤❤❤  Review: I love both the premise and the execution of this fic. In Yuuri's universe, Victor and all of his family and friends from Hasetsu are dead. He's achieved a gold medal in Sochi but his life feels hollow. In Victor's universe, Yuuri was the one who died in the tsunami (though everyone else survive), and Victor is feeling hopeless. In their moment of need, Yuuri is transported across dimensions to Victor's universe, a common occurrence within that universe such that systems are already in place to help such people adapt and create a new life there if they wish or to be sent back. Victor's universe is fascinating in that it's more technologically advanced at that point, despite the year being the same, but competitive skating is trailing with quads still not being a thing. I like the take on how both Yuuri and Victor agree that this is actually a good thing since quads damage skaters' bodies and wear the joints down even more quickly. Yuuri puts on his performances that won him the GPF a few times, but decides to stick to the universe's rules so that he can focus on the performance more. There are a lot of struggles with adapting to the new world, but overall, it ends up healing everyone. As soulmates, Victor and Yuuri eventually find life and love with one another and soothe each other's broken souls.

[emiyaseraph]

My Thoughts on Sun Wukong : Why he's starting to annoy me

So what’s my problem with Sun ? Almost Everything even his ship with Blake is problematic in my eyes since he lacks consistency. Which is a shame because Sun was introduced on such a good and funny note. Add on that his voice actor is Micheal Jones whom I love as a person and in general. I feel like his character had a lot of potential but it was sadly wasted.

Sun Wukong—this little monkey boy has been plaguing me ever since volume 1, and it has taken me years to finally comprehend why. If it wasn’t obvious, I don’t have anymore love for him or his team of misfits. Perhaps it may not seem notable at first, but there also appears to be a line that segregates the community when discussing him.  

Character and Development

Sun was introduced in chapter 15 of volume 1, and he was admittedly given a fairly minimal amount of screen time compared to the other character that we met in the same episode—Penny Polendina. In fact, Penny gets three times the screen presence than Sun (I know, I timed it). And while this doesn’t prove anything, it gives very little time to process that Sun even existed before having a more interesting character put in front of the audience.

However, chapter 16 is where we get to experience Sun in all his glory. Plus, we are told quite a bit from Blake concerning her background in the White Fang, giving reason to her actions in the previous episode. Keep this in mind, as this event is a very important detail that I’ll bring up later on.

To summarize his presence in the chapter, he comes off as a conceited, ignorant, light–hearted monkey faunus with tendencies for theft. If you think that’s being harsh, I can promise you that I am being generous in his description, giving him the benefit of the doubt like I did when I first watched the episode. Oh, and he has abs. This carries the same importance as Yang’s midriff… Which is none at all.

Moving on to volume 2—after the initial reintroduction of Sun and the premiere of Neptune (whom we will get to later), the pair are brought along on team RWBY’s secret mission. If I could ever find a good way to explain how shoehorned SSSN is, this would be it. I’ll give you a moment to let you remember the events of the next few episodes. Can you see where I might be going with this yet ?

To give a quick rundown without making you look at Wikipedia—Sun goes with Blake and Neptune goes with Yang; Ruby and Weiss are independent of the following events until later on. The purpose of their inclusion is unknown since both Neptune and Sun fail to contribute to the progression of these episodes. If you don’t believe me, then rewatch Chapter 4: ‘Painting the Town…’ for yourself and come back.

Sun says something quite notable in the first few minutes : “I don’t get it. If you believe what you’re doing is right, why hide who you are ?”

Again, I want you to keep this little interaction between Sun and Blake in mind, since it will become very important as we proceed. I promise, all of this will become relevant and culminate in your understanding of my stance on the matter.

Blake and Yang go about their task as they had planned, dragging Sun and Neptune around like dead weight. At most, the two contribute comedy to the episode, and I have no qualms with that act alone. It is the fact that it is ALL that they do. Can you see it yet ?

Even after everything goes down and Roman starts chasing after Blake and company in a prototype Paladin, both Sun and Neptune completely disappear for the rest of the chapter. Team RWBY then fights Roman and loses him after Cinder and Neo’s rescue. Where were the other two skilled huntsmen, you ask ? Eating noodles. Perhaps that was for the best.

I’ll skip to the end of this volume, since the whole school dance is irrelevant. There is no mention of team SSSN until the final episode of the second volume. To which they (again) are the butt of a joke and overshadowed by other characters—team CFVY.

Two down, two to go. I’ll be faster for these, for your sake and mine.

Volume 3 has the entirety of team SSSN, and it makes sure to show them off in the fight against team NDGO. They present Scarlet and Sage’s fighting styles, a swashbuckler and Monster Hunter Greatsword user respectively, and make more jokes. If it wasn’t obvious by this point, Sun and Neptune exist only for comedy. When there are no hijinks to be had, they aren’t accounted for.

Only in the last episode—I’m starting to see a pattern here—does Sun show any sort of character growth. He acts like a mature person, though only saying about three lines before being set aside for the real characters of volume 3 to do their thing.

In volume 4, Sun serves much of the same purpose (at least at the time of writing). Sun helps Blake fight the Sea Dragon, shows more of his ignorance to how the people around him function, acts all cute when he buddies up with Blake, and makes dem jokes. Seriously, I don’t have a problem with a character being funny (like Yang), but when your whole personality revolves around it. Well, I just don’t find you interesting.

And if you wanted to consider his bromance with Neptune as character development, you can include that too, but I would merely consider it a “Beavis and Butthead” situation; they’re both just stupid, regardless of their relationship.

Thus sums up the development and character of Sun… NEXT!

A Catalyst

So far, I’ve had you remember certain interactions between Blake and Sun. Well, this is where I use all of those things together. But, fear not, there is still another section after this one. Sorry, I know you wanted it to be over.

Throughout every volume and most episodes, Sun has been paired up with Blake. This has been a good thing… for Blake. See, back in volume 1 Sun was there to help Blake’s feeling of being alone when she thought that she couldn’t trust her team. In volume 2, there was the dance (which was irrelevant). In volume 3… well, not much. However, volume 4 is where the crux lies.

Blake left to do her own thing in volume four, abandoning her team and life at Beacon. Now, we can speculate the reasons all we want, but the fact is that she didn’t do it to track down Adam. Blake is a very mysterious person, and she often has a very self-destructive pattern in her actions. If you remember in volume two, she overworked herself to the point of exhaustion. This is where Sun comes into play.

In the series so far, we can conclude with evidence that Yang and Blake are extremely close friends, more so than any other combination of team RWBY. Whether you want to take that and run with it or dismiss it in favor of the monkey boy crush is irrelevant. Yang has kept Blake in check but is no longer with her in this volume. Sun is required.

The problem with the setup is this—Blake can play off of Sun, but Sun cannot play off of Blake. If you want my reasoning, recall the things that I asked you to remember. Blake’s character grew and matured through Sun and his attributes, but Sun has not changed at all. This is what we call a “static character”. But—in this case—he is simply a catalyst for Blake.

Team SSSN

I’ve spent the better part of the month trying to find people’s opinions on team SSSN, whether that be through places like Reddit, Tumblr, or even going so far as to seek out fanfics with Sun as a character so that I could ask the author some questions. I’m not entirely happy about that, but I was desperate for information. Surprisingly, it wasn’t often that I got a straight answer.

See, in this respect, team SSSN is an anomaly. Their presence throughout the series has been constant, making several appearances in multiple episodes across every volume; however, their presence in the community is comparable to team ABRN. Yes we talk about them, but we don’t have a lot to say… Here’s a quote : ”No human ever has become interesting by not failing. The more you fail and recover and improve, the better you are as a person. Ever meet someone who’s always had everything work out for them with zero struggle? They usually have the depth of a puddle. Or they don’t exist.“ ~Chris Hardwick

Of course you could say, “Sun is a fictional character and doesn’t exist; therefore, it’s okay.” But at that point, I think you’re missing the purpose what what Chris is trying to get at. Anyway, I doubt that most of you are saying this, so I’ll move on.

I believe that this quote accurately represents what it is that I am trying to prove—team SSSN sucks. It’s a bit more complicated than that, but that is as simple as I can break it down without removing the meaning. Oh, and before we really get into it, you should know that I am NOT telling you that you cannot like these characters. Opinion is opinion, and you are reading mine; if you disagree, please let me know.

Depth of Puddle

This section will pertain to team SSSN as a whole. While the quote I gave you only somewhat applies to Scarlet and Sage, they both must be looked at since they’re a part of the team.

Can you tell me a time where Sun was told “no“ ? Perhaps you bring up when he was denied the dance with Blake. However, he was able to go with her anyway. What about the times when he broke the law ? He never faced any repercussions. Has Sun ever been beaten in combat ? Not even once.

Sun is a living representation of a joke character with the attributes of a Mary Sue being forced into a role where he must not be any of those things. His character is so underdeveloped and flat that—at the current moment—having him with Blake actively works against him.

Look, I want Sun to be a better character for the sake of the show. I want him to be interesting and great, but I believe giving Sun the role that he now possesses without him ever showing any form of dynamism is a horrible mistake. And you can make the argument that he will grow as a character later on in the volume, but I have had three years to watch him make no progress.

His character is being given the role of an ocean while Sun only has the depth of a puddle. Speaking of water, Neptune is a person that exists !

Because of his nature, I don’t have as much to say about him as I do with Sun. He’s an egocentric but has redeeming qualities that tend to outweigh his faults (unlike Sun). He’s a flat character used for jokes, yet his quirks make him at least a little bit likable. And the fact that they haven’t used him in volume four (please let it stay that way) is a good thing.

Scarlet and Sage are much the same, though they’re less used for comedy. Still, they’re flat and uninteresting, but that is through no fault of their own. They played their part and didn’t come back, and that makes them neutral in my book.

My problem with BlackSun as a ship

So, like I said earlier Sun as a character only exist to further Blake’s character but only does so in volume 1 and 4. This is bad character writing Sun is either comedic relief or a catalyst for Blake’s character development and sometimes even fails as both of those. I was hoping they would explore him more in volume 4, but they didn’t which is saddening. Volume 1, he serves as a Faunus that Blake can open up to only to be forgotten in ch16 because Blake should be opening up to her friends not a random guy. Volume 2 Sun is useless and serves as a punching bag of disinterest that Blake continuously uses. She goes with Sun to the dance because I guess Sun asked so why not that’s my best explanation cause Blake sure didn’t show any interest in him beforehand. Mind you Yang also had to convince her not Sun. Don’t worry though that’s not the only time Yang does something that Sun the person who is in love with Blake could and should be doing.

Sun’s Disinterest

Does Sun even know who Adam is ? Why doesn’t Sun the person who loves Blake go out looking for her ? Why wasn’t it Sun who saw Adam instead of Yang ? Sun was pretty useless in the mech fight. Hell the students that were there were already enough to handle it especially after Weiss summoned. Soooo ? Sun ? You’re love interest ? They legit shoved Bumblebee in our faces by showing that Yang cares about Blake way more than Sun does considering he never even asked about her. Remember that wonderful scene that Bumblebee defenders always bring up where Blake grabs Yangs hand and cries and says “I’m sorry” ? Did you guys know that Sun was pretty much right behind them when this was happening ? Cause he was. Don’t comfort you’re love interest who just got stabbed and is now laying on the floor crying next to her unconscious teammate. This could have been a Bumblebee AND Blacksun moment but Sun literally didn’t do anything. She’s on the floor CRYING !!! Ruby and Weiss couldn’t do it cause they had to go save Pyrrha and Jaune. Ren and Nora were injured. So Sun why can’t you comfort her ? 

God forbid you comfort her

It infuriates me that he didn’t do anything especially since he’s shown to not care about personal space considering all he does is stalk Blake but when a Grimm out break happens you don’t stop and wonder “Hey where’s that girl that I constantly stalk ?” It makes Blacksun look like such a stupid ship when the guy who’s supposed to love Blake fails to love Blake and what makes it worst is that’s his only job in the series so he’s failing as a character by not stalking Blake. Note that he also has a scroll so he could have just called Blake. By the way Yang remembered to call Blake and yes, she did call Blake cause Blake takes her scroll out of her pocket and talks to Yang immediately. Again Yang does things that Sun the person who loves Blake should be doing. This is why there are some many Bumblebee shippers cause Sun failed to stalk Blake at the most important time.

Sun is Easily Replaceable

This is gonna come across as me supporting Bumblebee but this really can be applied to a lot of ships with Blake that involve her with a human girl It’s just that Bumblebee has the most things backing it up than say Ladybug. So let’s look at the positives of Bumblebee and assume it happens. What do we get out of it ? Well at the current state of the show we can expect BOTH characters to develop from it. Mainly Blake but Yang too which is a department that Sun fails at he develops Blake but can’t develop himself. It can tackle interracial and homosexuality at the same time which could make for some really nice plots if done correctly. Sun has so far been such a useless character in this series that It’s like why even have him. Or if we are gonna have him WHY CANT HE BE GOOD AT LOVING SOMEONE ? 

Yang and Blake together can bring way more than Blacksun because of how they have handled Blacksun so far which is horribly. It feels forced on Blacksun’s part because of how much Blake goes from hating Sun and slapping him to downright showing affection for him. Don’t get me wrong I actually really liked the talk between Sun and Blake in volume 4 it was really well done. BUT you wanna know who else could have delivered that speech just as good ? The girl who lost an arm for Blake. Or Blake’s father who was about to give Blake some valuable advice about friendship before Sun stalked his way into the conversation. Also I feel like Blake’s overall attitude would have been better without Sun which is something that I see a lot of people complaining about. Yang never angers Blake and they get along well consistently throughout the series until Blake leaves her, in fear of Yang getting hurt. Even then It’s less jarring than Blake hating Sun because Sun is invading her personal space almost all the time.

This is so accurate that it’s sad

In The End

Sun is funny and charming….in the first and second volume. Afterwards he becomes infuriating which is sad cause he had potential. They try to make Blacksun look like a possibility but fail by not having Sun care for Blake in crucial moments. He has been shown to infuriate Blake more than he has had her show affection. Then when his job which is to further Blake’s plot fails he’s just left there looking like useless. So many people turned on Sun this volume because of this. HE FAILED to further Blake as a character she would have been better off without him in volume 4 because he did nothing but take the conversation that she could have had with her dad and then the other thing he did was just flat out anger her throughout the volume. I’m not gonna say Sun is what was wrong with Blake’s arc in V4 cause he wasn’t but he was one of the factors that made it bad. Blake’s arc in V4 was BAD with little things that made it good and I feel comfortable in saying that it was the worst arc in volume 4 without a doubt in my mind. Sun tacked on to the already existing problems.

Sun almost ruining the family portrait

After reading this, I hope you can understand why there may be somewhat of a divide in the community when on the topic of team SSSN. Half of the team is lifeless and flat, while the other two are often used for comedy yet also forced to be characters that they aren’t. Sun is—from my experience and questioning—more of a problem than Neptune in many regards.

Sun and Neptune felt shoehorned into most things that happened at Beacon. Their presence contributed more than a laugh or two, but their characters never grew out of the “we’re just comedy relief” phase. It’s a problem that seems to be mirrored by the many people that I’ve talked to in the fandom.

The truth is the BB shippers who hate Sun for things like these are so vocal about it everyone thinks we’re all like this, but in reality, most of us are not. Personnally, I am a Bumblebee shipper and I personally like him… well I used to like him but he’s starting to annoy me. My main problem with him is the same anyone (shipper or not) has, and it’s been adressed by other users here: his lack of development or even character. I’ve never hated him, I just want him to become himself, and not some faunus-love-interest who serves as nothing else as that and comic relief.

I’ve hope he may get at least some development (and maybe mature a bit?) in this new volume, because if that’s not the case, it will only make many of us dislike him. Which I don’t want because again, when he’s himself and is around Neptune, for example, I like him.

The poor guy basically suffers from being a comic relief who can be very nice but whose biggest trait is… having great abs. And wanting to smooch with one of the Main Characters. And you need more than that to be actually liked. I only don’t like Sun X Blake because to me, it is incredibly boring. The 2 main Faunus that we have seen and they end up getting together seems incredibly cliché to me and not that cool, really.

If you’re reading this—and you haven’t just skipped to the end—then I sincerely thank you for going through all of it. I want to know what YOU think in the comments, and if all you have to say is “I agree/disagree with you” then that is already more than I could ever want. The whole point of writing these is to start discussion in the community. And if there isn’t any discussion, then I have no reason to keep making more.

Again, I hope you’ve enjoyed ! Thanks for reading !

[onewomancitadel]

Have you read any Knightfall fanfics? and if so, do they affect maybe the you write Cinder or give you a different point of view?

Well, I started shipping Knightfall after V7. I didn't know there was a fandom for it at all, I assumed there was none, and like now, I was making posts in my silly little corner. (I have already talked today about the subreddit and to a degree Tumblr exposure I had in RWBY fandom. RWBY was not ever the show I expected to meet my romance expectations either. Most of RWBY fandom is also very geared in the direction of friends-to-lovers, wearing flower crowns friendly, and coming from Reylo... there are Cinder fans on Tumblr who do not like Ben Solo, so I don't even fit in there).

So I came back to my plot bunny that I mused over in February 2020 and revisited it March this year and mapped out my fic in its near-entirety back in June, then of course posted the prologue in August. (Sorry I'm just tracing my personal timeline because I didn't know it had been that long). I came into awareness of Knightfall fanfic after I had already posted it. It seems like most of the plot-substantial Knightfall is actually on FFN, not AO3, and the last fanfic I seriously searched for on FFN was Twilight smut.

Oh yeah.

I didn't have that cross-platform exposure. Most of what I could see in the Tumblr tag was not serious, balls to the wall Knightfall, and most Knightfall I've seen on FFN doesn't fit my ship interpretation. I'm really glad that other people have found things to enjoy about the ship according to their tastes, but I'm not invested in V1-3 Knightfall, or for that matter, any sort of fanon interpretation that doesn't consider them more deeply. I'm not going to name names, but there are Knightfall fanfics which were impossible for me to get through at all because they were frankly misogynistic in their rendering of Cinder, so that put me off. I'm not talking about quality of the fic, but something I think that is... substantially bad, and I'm not sure the fic author would even really care for such a commentary from me (it’s not anybody who would be reading my blog anyway, for the record). But I do want to stress I prefer reading Cinder and Jaune, respectively, holistically.

I've also noticed that there are iterations of Jaune (true in the AO3 fics I've seen) that are little more than masculine, macho self-inserts, and all the power to you, but that's not why I ship it. If anything, his character interests me because his softness/hardness mirrors Cinder's. He is kind, and gentle, and then sometimes there's something inside there which is a little dark (and that's hot). But he's not perverse.

Again, I want to say... I'm glad other people find things to enjoy about it, but that's not where I come from. For me, my approach is also deeply rooted in:

monsters and maidens, enemies-to-lovers, lady villainesses up to no good, redemption arcs, and stories like poetry, they rhyme

and so I love the magical elements of the ship, I love the complexity, I love the persistence of compassion, I love the Wound of Love, I love Jaune's softness/hardness and Cinder's hardness/softness, and the way those elements interplay with each other... I hardcore ship post-V4 Knightfall. Hardcore. That's it, that's the catnip to me. Most of what I've seen is V1-3, and that's almost like a different ship entirely honestly.

It's interesting to see what other people choose to do with it, but I think we come from completely different angles. I would cast the assumption that I love RWBY for the fairytales (I got into the show through RVB, not anime-adjacent fandom) and the fandom that exists for Knightfall on FFN loves RWBY for the anime, which translates into the approach to the ship.

I love analysing this kind of thing, it fascinates me, especially because we're sort of the same... and completely different!

I hope it's clear that I support all fandom enthusiasm. I think it is clear though that my approach is quite different. I would not want to speak ill of other fic authors either, and they're committed to their own vision (as am I, and I understand that's potentially divisive).

Also, if you want to avoid multiship pairings on AO3, in the search bar in the bottom right-hand box, type in 'otp: true'. That will sort only fics tagged with the pairing you want. Thought that might be generally helpful advice, if we take anything away from this post.

[pkmncoordinators]

This question is probably random, but after seeing how many reviews you had for your fanfics (especially TAC), I had to ask. I was wondering if you ever had very incredibly weird reviews that even to this day you think about.

Oh my god, have I. I’ve had several fucking weird reviews, but let me share some of my personal favorites.

To start, a review from The Ash Connection:

Let me tell you something misty is ugly and a Sherman taking steroids and other drugs like drinking strawberry meth so you need to learn to love sexy girls and drug shemans go for flannery Candice Cynthia Soledad skyla elesa ok 

This one needs no comment. It is presented, as is, in its full glory.

To follow up, another review from The Ash Connection. It is, in fact, the sequel to the previous review:

Again I just like to say fuuck this I haven't read it yet but I read the review (I don't know what shipping this is ) but misty a sheman and you need to put in this story so been doing drugs and taking steroids and sex pills (men's one for bigger peniis) and becomes a ugly drugged man in this story ok now I'm going to read it NOOOOOOOOO OO POKESHIPPING IT'S GAY ASH ISN"t GAY HE NEEDS SEXY GIRLS LIKE DAWN ELESA CYNTHIA (damn sexy Cynthia ) SKYLA CANDICE FLANNERY understand POKESHIPPERS GO TO HEELL YOU SICK DOGS (biitches) BECAUSE YOU NEED TO LEARN READ GAY STORY'S LIKE ASH X SHEMAN IS JUST OMG

The final review I’d like to share is from The Ash Connection II. It is unabridged. This is a real review I received, for no apparent reason, and it is to date probably my favorite:

Pokemon Rant on the evil PaulWhy I hate PaulThe Paul I am referring to is a character in the pokemon anime, who is currently Ash's primary rival while the group is in the Sinnoh region. Paul is really a varied character: on the forums, the Paul character discussion thread has, at the time of writing, nearly spans twenty pages, though most of it is saying how "awesome" he is. However, I do not think he is awesome. I hate him more than I hate Harley from the same show. I want to strangle Paul and break one of his limbs. Most probably won't know why I feel this way, so I will explain.First, Pokemon are sentient beings in this setting. As Linkara pointed out in his review of "Captain Planet and the Planeteers #3," if animals were truly intelligent enough to make their own decisions and follow orders, animals would easily be given rights. Considering that many pokemon in this setting are shown to be smart enough to qualify, pokemon should have a bill of rights. In the real world, Paul's treatment of his pokemon would be classified as cruelty to animals and he would be arrested and sent to Juvenile court, regardless of whether or not his pokemon appreciated his method of training. Though seeing how the world lacks competent police officers and encourages ten year old children to wander around with no parental supervision with only tamed animals for protection, the government must be very inadequate. While I'm on the subject, why haven't his pokemon objected to his training methods? Sure, they might want to get stronger, but considering that his training methods in the Tag Battle arc would've gotten Chimchar killed had it not been for Ash's intervention, wouldn't at least one or two of them start having second thoughts about their trainer? Heck, seeing how strong they are and how humans are pretty much powerless without technology, I'm surprised his pokemon haven't killed him by now. Pokeballs must have great taming powers to keep pokemon from generally rebelling against their trainers.Second, why hasn't anyone reprimanded him? I know I'm stressing this, but why hasn't Paul been punished for his behaviour? He clearly abuses his own pokemon, physically as evident in the aforementioned Tag Battle arc and emotionally, as seen when blames his pokemon for defeats, even after he's stated that when a battle is lost, the trainer is at fault, which not only proves he's a hypocrite but also doesn't make much sense considering the pokemon have all the power in this setting. Shouldn't he have gotten some form of punishment by this point? Not even his older brother, Reggie (who I should note is more like Ash in personality and training methods), has done anything about this. Why in the name of Slaking's lazy ass hasn't Reggie done anything to discipline him? Is Reggie really hoping that Paul will eventually change his way, as unlikely as it is? If Paul crossed the line, outright killing pokemon and showing no remorse for this, would Reggie still be hoping for Paul to change? I highly doubt it.Third, why would anyone want to be anywhere near him? Paul's character in the show is that of a condescending jackass who looks down on almost everyone, including those closest to him (when he admits that his brother was weak after failing to get the Brave Symbol and moving on with his life), and he's too arrogant to admit that he's flawed. In real life, absolutely no one would want to be around him, let alone be associated with him. To be honest, I think the only reason Reggie even gives him a chance is because they're brothers. Also, consider the fact that Paul is supposed to be ten years old (and I say "supposed to" because given that he's said to be the same age as Ash, and how the creators have stated that Ash is still ten after more than five hundred episodes, I don't think many actually take that statement seriously). Most ten year olds are not like Paul at all, which would prompt most to wonder, "What is wrong with him?" It's likely that Reggie would've gotten many complaints about Paul's cold and heartless antics, and as patient as he might be, he will eventually run out of tolerance.As for how he interacts with others, with Ash and friends in particular, he's the same as with anyone else: rude, arrogant, and generally unfriendly, despite that Ash and co have tried to be friendly every time they've crossed paths. I'm surprised that, seeing how unlikely Paul is to change his attitude, they still try to be friendly with him. If they were a normal group of teens, one of them (most likely Ash) would've given him a hard smack upside the head.He's said to be respectful to superiors such as Nurse Joy, Professor Rowan, and Cynthia. However, seeing as how he ignored Nurse Joy's warning for Chimchar's safety in the Tag Battle arc (I'll detail this below), ignored Cynthia's encouragement to change into a more caring trainer, I get the feeling that it's mostly a façade. If he truly did respect them, he would've followed their advice.With all of these in mind, why anyone interacts with him is a big question left in everyone's minds. Fourth, he's become the creator's pet. In the many times I keep my eye on the show, I find myself desperately hoping the writers would give him some form of karma. Much to my annoyance, they do not. Even if they do give him some karma, it never lasts: I can think of at least three cases where he could've used a good smacking: the first is a particularly frustrating case when Paul's victory against Ash after having a humiliating loss against Brandon's regi trio. After all, what better way to break him and get him to start rethinking his priorities by beating him after a particularly horrible loss? Instead, they have Paul win against Ash in a very one-sided battle, with Paul pretty much learning that no matter who he loses to, Ash will be his punching bag.Another case I hoped for a good smacking was for a gym leader to confiscate and refuse to hand Paul a gym badge due to his rude and condescending gloating after getting the Veilstone Gym badge from Maylene. Maylene was pretty much a new gym leader at this point, and gym leaders command respect, no matter how new they are. By all means, Maylene should've forbid him the badge because he didn't treat her with the respect that gym leaders deserve. The aforementioned tag battle arc is another point that could've given him the chance to be taught the error of his ways. After Chimchar was rescued by Ash and put into recovery, Nurse Joy warned him not to put the injured pokemon into battle because the injuries are numerous; naturally, being the insensitive jerk he is, he ignores the warning, knowing that a rival pokemon that Chimchar feared would be there, stupidly thinking that Chimchar would fight with more fury: as expected, Chimchar froze in fear, which is what happens most of the time in real life. Again, why in the name of Slaking's lazy ass didn't Nurse Joy report this? In the real world, people such as her are required to report such abuses to authorities, though considering Japan is drastically behind on the whole reporting abuse issue, it just leaves negative implications. Had I been in her position, I would've reported him to the authorities, complete with the threat of removing him from the tournament if he ignored the warning, as well as following on that threat.Seriously, the lack of punishment and defeats lead me to believe that Paul is like a cheating spoiled brat who has to win, and the writers are following his demands. I swear the only reason he isn't on the TvTropes Wesley page is because of his Draco in Leather Pants status, which is described below.Fifth, the fanbase adores him for all the wrong reasons. I have to admit, this is one of my biggest gripes with the character. It wouldn't be so bad if the audience treated him appropriately, but they don't. Instead, he's glorified and held in a positive light in spite of his generally repulsive attitude, which gets downplayed. While the entire fanbase doesn't adore him and shares some of my sentiments, those who don't raise him to god status are the vast minority.Many say they like Paul because how he's isn't a "goody two shoes" rival like many rivals in the show. In real life, a rival like Paul is the last kind of rival you'd want; since he's an arrogant bully who'd more likely drain the fun out of everything (it wouldn't surprise me if a lot of trainers who lost to Paul gave up training all together). A good rival is someone who provides a challenge, but is a good sport and gives friendly encouragement. Another point that drives me crazy with the fanbase is that they do romance stories with him and Dawn. Forgetting the fact that they barely have any interaction in canon, their personalities are the exact opposite: Dawn is a cheerful girl (when she isn't faking smiles through all of the defeats she's gone through) who is supportive of her friends and participates in contests; in contrast, Paul only goes into battling and is, as I've said before, a cold, condescending jackass who'd more likely make you want to slit your wrists when you're in a depressed mood. And then there are the people who pair him up with Ash, of all people; first, this is a kids' show, so romance is likely light at best, if close to nonexistent. Second, knowing how dull Ash is with romance and how Paul only thinks about battling, a romance with the two characters is near impossible. Third, it's very unlikely that they'd strike in a homosexual relationship, even if Japan is more lenient on the whole subject.No matter what Paul does, the fans who worship the ground he walks on will downplay the horrific stuff, such as Chimchar's abuse in the Tag Battle arc. Even if he destroys a clutch of pokemon eggs after beating up the guarding parents, even if he murders people, or even if he nearly destroyed a town, they'd still fawn over him, where normally most people would consider him a monster after any of tho

[theseviolentdelightss]

Counting Paths VIII

Series Summary: After a lifetime on the run from the Empire, Reader makes a move that could have drastic impacts for both friend and foe. A Reader insert/fanfic. Gifs belong to their respective owners.

Word Count:1641

Author’s Note: Sorry for the huge gap in posts. Another position opened up at work and I’ve been training for my promotion for the past month. The next few chapters will be longer. I’m just trying to edit this one down quickly and get it posted. Thanks for hanging in there.

Part I Part II Part III Part IV Part V Part VI Part VII

When Cassian was sent on a mission a week after your trip to Skygazer hill you were livid. Not because he was supposed to be grounded and limited to working on base; but because no one had bothered to inform you. When you awoke one morning to find his bed empty. The covers tucked neatly rather than their usual crumpled mess. It wasn't like Cassian to make his bed. A habit that struck you as a bit odd given how neat the Captain typically was. The knots instantly began to twist and tighten in your stomach. True, Cassian tended to wake first and was more than capable of slinking out through the door without disturbing you but this was different.

His ship was gone.

Normally you weren't one to let your temper get out of hand. It went against the way you had been raised but all sense of courtesy faded and was quickly replaced with worry. When you stormed into the council room demanding answers and were forcibly kicked out the anger began to rage inside you like fuel doused on a fire.

“Theodren open this door or I'm putting my foot through it!” You shouted outside the dwarf's cabin. The sound of his feet hurrying against the hard floor towards the thick metal door followed instantly. It slid open quickly, revealing the small man in his usual fatigues. Green eyes looking up at you in a mix of confusion and frustration.

“Is it really that difficult for you to knock?” He asked sardonically.

“Where is he?” You huffed, ignoring his question and hurrying into the room.

“Ah, I assume you're speaking of Captain Andor?”

“No shit. He was suppose to be grounded but now he's gone. He's not responding to my calls on his com link and his ship is missing. Where is he?” The words flew out of your mouth in a jumbled rush. Sounding far less aggressive and intimidating than you had imagined when you recited them in your head as you raced through the hallways.

“It's classi-”

“I swear Theodren if you say classified I'm going to glue you to the ceiling.” Under different circumstances your threat might have made him chuckle but the seriousness to your tone left no room for humor.

“Nar Shaddaa” He reluctantly replied. The cold rushed through your veins like a winter's wind. Coolly cutting through to the bone beneath.

“That's Hutt territory.” You stammered, trying to keep the endless stream of terrifying thoughts from running through your mind. You had only been to Nar Shaddaa once in your entire life. That had been years ago and even those misconstrued youthful memories of the decaying smuggler's moon were enough to make you never want to return.

“Cassian is more than capable of taking care of himself.”

“He wasn't last time.” You replied instantly.  The fear continuing to close in. Theodren was your closest friend on base. You had know him the longest of anyone. Yet somehow over the course of your weeks spent together Cassian had become partly your responsibility, just as you had become his. Regardless of how odd a dynamic it had caused to form between the two of you it was the truth. The thought of him out there on his own bothered you far more than it should.

“When is he expected to return?” You pushed, stepping closer to the well dressed dwarf. His ensemble pressed and tailored perfectly. A direct opposite to  your currently disheveled appearance. In your haste to find answers you had scarcely managed to button your trousers and pull a faded shirt over your head before hurrying out of your room. It hung so loosely you couldn't be sure if it was one of your own or Cassian's. None the less, your back stood straight as an arrow. Your almond eyes staring down at the man in front of you.

“Within a fortnight” Theodren stumbled on his words. Unaccustomed to you speaking to him in such a cold and unforgiving tone.

Sighing you shook your head in frustration, turning on your heal and heading for the door. Just as you were about to make your exit your steps came to a halt.

“If he is hasn't returned by then I'm going after him.” You spoke over your shoulder.

“I will speak to-” The small man began, but you cut him off before he could finish. 

“I am not asking for permission.” You interrupted, turning around and allowing the two of your eyes to connect. “I make my own choices Theodren. You of all people should know that.”

With that you left him. Boots thumping loudly down the hallway as you put as much distance between yourself and anyone else at all. It wasn't difficult. Though you had managed to make a few acquaintances during your time on base, the expression on your face and the stiffness of your stride kept any would be conversationist at bay.

Not so much as a glance passed between you and Theodren in the days that followed. Admittedly you could understand his professional reasons for keeping such information to himself; yet, it didn't stop you from being pissed that he had neglected to tell you as a friend. It reminded you of being a child again. Listening through the walls as your parents spoke in hushed voices late at night. Wondering what it was they felt the need to be so secretive about.

They had thought they were doing what was best by sheltering you from the truth but all it did was leave you vulnerable to the entirely real dangers at hand.

As you paced through the temples hallways it began to feel less like a safe haven and more like a prison. After everything you had done. After all you had sacrificed. Here you were again, confined inside ancient stone walls, desperate for an escape.

Staying busy was nearly impossible because you could never seem to remain focused long enough to finish a single task. The only comfort you were able to find was working on Cassian's captured droid. Even so, within a handful of hours you became discontent, tossed down your tools and went in search for another way to pass the time. Nothing seemed to do the trick.  

Slowly the days passed; yet  as you paced inside the large hanger there was no sight of the dark haired rebel's U wing. With every passing second the tension grew inside of you. Each time you heard the faint hum of a ship's engines you hoped it was his but as the countless vessels came and went none of them bore the pilot you awaited.

“You cant stop me.” You announced coolly the next morning as you stood in your room, gathering your things. Theodren had been watching you from the doorway but hadn't yet managed to find a way to approach.

“The council wont simply allow you to just leave.” He finally stated, stepping further into the room and coming to stand near you.

“I'm not a Rebel anymore Theo, and I wont sit idly by as their prisoner any longer.” You spoke quickly, too busy searching for your comlink among the pile atop your bed to meet the small man's eyes.  

“You're not a prisoner.” He replied cautiously. His green eyes glued to your face and doing their best to survey your emotions.

“And what would you call this?” You asked coolly, only the slightest hint of sarcasm to your voice. Theodren could see the color rising in your cheeks. “They have kept me here for two months. They monitor my every move. If I disagree they simply shut me up in this room.”

“Y/N-” He began.

“Don't call me that!” You hissed. “It doesn't matter how comfortable your superiors try to make me feel or how politely they declare their orders. I have been a prisoner before, and this is how it felt.”

Your words seemed to hit a nerve as Theodren was suddenly unable to return your gaze. Instead turning his attention to ground in front of him. He knew you were right, even if he didn't want to admit it. Sighing you returned to your packing and did your best to ignore him. The clock on the wall ticked by. Only silence lingering between the two of you.

“You don't even know where he is.” Theodren muttered quietly.

“Doesn't matter.”

“Doesn't matter?” He questioned. The uncertainty clear in his voice. His eyes following your every step as you moved about the room. “The last time you left you didn't return for five years.”

“If I'm meant to find him I will.” You replied calmly. “And I believe that I am.”

“Hope isn't a tactic.” He stated, his eyes now full of worry. His beard had grown even more unruly since you two had last spoken. It was a clearer sign of his guilt at keeping you in the dark than any words he could have managed. Whenever Theodren was bothered he always allowed his facial hair to go unchecked though you thought it rather suited him.

“Perhaps not, but it's all I have.” Tossing your rucksack over your shoulder you turned on your heal and made your way towards the door. Stopping momentarily beside your oldest friend and placing a hand on his shoulder. “It's brought me back once already.”

Tilting his head slightly he gave you the look that always followed shortly after you had chosen to do something he didn't approve of. Though you couldn't deny that you were still slightly irritated with him he was undoubtedly the smartest person you knew.

“Allow me to suggest and alternate approach.”

[49scribes-a]

♣ ♧

♣ Is there an author(s) that you look up to with your writing skills?

{–Ngl I don’t read nearly enough books but Jane Lindskold has always been a favorite. Tolkien is kind of an obvious one. Also Fire Bringer by David Clement-Davies was a goodie! Kinda like a Watership Down but with deer and tbh I liked it a lot more than Watership Down. I honestly can’t think of a lot cuz I’m really terrible at reading books these days tbh

But there are some really great fanfic people I can think of that really influenced my writing.

Their works aren’t out anymore but Sonnenkoenigen did some really phenomenal DGM works (”Thursday’s Child”, “Book of Vices and Virtues”, “Bonekeeper’s Daughter”) and completely changed how I viewed and wrote Allen as a muse.

Shaerahaek writes some really great stuff and the little details and comedy bits that sneak into her writing here and there are Good Shit™. “You Choose” and “On the Edge of Life” are two real goodies for the DGM fandom, but she writes a lot for other things too, especialy Haikyuu.

I can’t not have a “writers that influenced me” post without forever mentioning Le’letha and her continuing HTTYD Feral!Hiccup series “Nightfall”, “Stormfall”, and all the little related drabbles she does (in chronological order:) “Fledglings”, “Valkyrie Eleison”, “Night Terrors”, “Runt of the Litter”, “Fragile Things”, “In the Bleak Midwinter”, “Firewalk”, “Things We Lost in the Fire”, “Flashfreeze”, “The Affairs of Dragons”, and “Shadowland”. Seriously, I can’t gush enough.

Sevlow was also a huge influence on my darker writing fancies. I’m honestly not sure how you could ever be in the FMA fandom without thinking of Sevlow because its just. Wow.

I need to re-read it and catch up but I was a real huge fan of Nataku’s Wrath and “The Gunslinger”, even though I know jack all about FFVII.

Likewise I’ve been a fan of ShingetsuMoon since forever and just utterly fell in love with their writing, especially their .Hack//G.U. story “Shattered Mirror”.–}

♧ Is there an RP partner(s) that you credit for becoming a better writer?

{–You bet’cha!!!

@kitsunefury is my longest time partner and I wouldn’t be half as deep into RP and DGM without them. We used to stay up all night, every night, just writing, and the subject didn’t really matter. We just wrote, wrote, wrote and it was the best honestly. I wasn’t half as good then as I am now, but I wouldn’t be even a fraction as much of an RPer without them and all that time just writing any and everything

@bookmans-lavi was the very first roleplayer around to welcome me in to the tumblr scene! Liz is a great noodle and a great Lavi roleplayer to boot! Between her and Sonnen works, I wouldn’t be half the Allen roleplayer I am now! (as infrequently as I actually play him these days lol)

@higekihigure is another one! We don’t write nearly enough these days (*side eyes Lavi*) but we’ve done some great threads with OCs and they can really rock some awesome paragraph RPs! We did quite a bit of writing for the Skyrim and Shadow of the Colossus fandoms! That was some Good Shit™.

@shaerahaek even though we don’t write much anymore! Shae and I both roleplayed out, “White Demon, Red Scribe, Black Nightmare” and “Of Swindlers, Butchers, and Wyrms”, and both were a wild ride! Shae has some great writing quirks and deep characterizations that are really amazing and definitely influenced a lot of how I write Lavi! Have I mentioned how much I love the comedy touches that slips into her writing? Because I do.

@livxwire isn’t really around tumblr a whole lot these days but her writing in general, and her characterization of Lena, is purely stunning! Ngl she makes me self-conscious with her beautiful prose but its really pushed me to push my writing to its limits, never mind I also get to be self-indulgent trash with LaviLena shipping too.

@blcsseddreams plays all the frickin’ muses and what’s better is they can play the HECK out of those lesser appreciated and played characters. I love doing things with their Doug and exploring that period before canon when Lavi still didn’t really have a grasp on How To People and was still all bitter af and baffled by sentiment and socializing and its really just a fun time. And their Bookman is simply wonderful and I’ve had tons of fun exploring what Lavi and Bookman’s relationship must be like

@ofbookman and @cruelfate are both great Lavi roleplayers and honestly anyone else around with a dumb usagi muse has them to thank for me being open to duplicates. I love our triplet verse so much, its opened up a lot of fun times and interactions I otherwise wouldn’t have had! @ofbookman is wonderful and will talk endlessly about AUs and crossovers, and I have all the respect in the world for @cruelfate​‘s canon divergent Lavi and the darker side of their muse – really tickles my fancy in much the way Sevlow’s fanfiction does. Both have undeniably influenced and motivated me to try and write Lavi as best as I can.

@glissxndo and all their million blogs. Carrie is a wonderful saltmate and I always have fun talking plots with them, not to mention with their Allen especially that I’ve gotten to explore Lavi’s struggles with bias/unbias. I love all our plots and playing around with Lavi’s difficulties with who he’s supposed ta be versus who he actually is.

I did have one other partner, but seeing as we aren’t on great terms anymore, I won’t say who. Still, they’re a great writer and absolutely influenced my writing, and opened up so many doors to meeting much of the RP community that I have. They really got me and my muse thinking really deeply about what lies under the surface appearance of “Lavi” and I’ve never stopped digging into his character since then. Even if things didn’t work out, I’m never gonna forget that.–}

[becumsh]

Top 5 worst fics you ever read + Top 5 small pleasures you like the most in life

Top 5 (+1) small pleasures I like most in life

Perfectly brewed tea with the perfect milk totea ratio. A perfect cup of tea can save the day. The most important andfundamental little pleasure in my life.

Being atthe right time and at the right place. To me, it happened a couple of weeksago. I was on a terrible date, but the date and I sat on the bench. And fromour spot you could see a panorama of St. Petersburg across the river Neva. Thesun was warm, the weather was pleasant and a light breeze was soft on my skin.I felt grounded, calm and just happy, because I happened to be there, to see mybeautiful city at the exact time I was there.

Bedtimereading to my 3 years old cousin. He’s a pain in the back for the majority oftime, and I have no idea where he gets all the energy from for all the runningand screaming. He’s a handful but can be a great fun sometimes too.

Re-readinga favourite book. Feels like meeting a friend after a long time apart.

Earlymorning routine. Wake up early on my own accord. Drink a glass of water firstday in the morning, do a 10-15 minutes yoga session to stretch sleepy musclesand get the juices flowing. Do some household chores. Make either an avocadotoast or a tofu scramble for breakfast.

Pulling a productive all-nighter during the summer. I’m an ‘all-nighter’ sort of writer/vidder. But I don’t do it often because it disrupts my already screwed up sleeping pattern. But I love it. We have White Nights in St. Petersburg during the summer, the night is quiet and some really good ideas come to mind. This is when I get the majority of work done.

top 5 worstfics (bottom 5?)

I’ve readmy fair share of bad fanfiction, but I can’t really say that I remember them all.You know, the definition of ‘bad fanfiction’ is very loose. It’s either notyour kink, not your cup of tea, the fandom characterisation you don’t agreewith, or you just avoid it altogether because fics like these are very easy tospot. However, I do have a few fics that come to mind.

Out ofrespect to writers (because despite my poor opinion on their works, it doesn’tmean that I should point the fingers at) I am not going to name anytitles/usernames. If you have a hunch what this fic might be, pat yourself onthe back, but I’m not giving out any names.

Whouffaldi massive (90k-ish) fic, pre-s8. I think it was posted on ff.net?Basically, as far as I remember (I did read it quite a while back, late 2014 Ithink). The sole reason why I read it was because back then there were like… 5whouffaldi fics? And it was one of the biggest? I mean, I was desperate, okay. Iremember that the first 10 or so chapters were readable and I didn’t skip alot. It wasn’t especially entertaining but it wasn’t too bad and satisfied mycraving for whouffaldi content. But after that. Oh, man, AFTER THAT. Clara getsa screwdriver, okay, I concede. Clara gets pregnant because the fucking TARDIShas been feeding her something? I dare ask what exactly could she possibly feedClara with? Digestible sperm? And then, to top it off, Clara becomes a TimeLady? How. H O W. I mean, if it was explained and wrapped up into a near andentertaining plot, I could’ve lived with that, however crazy this shit mightbe. But the plot was boring, felt fake and the language was basic af. No. Ididn’t like it. I don’t think I even finished the last couple of chapters,because that’s where my sanity ran out.

Johnlock omega!verse. Ok, hear me out. I don’t like omega verse, but I do read it fromtime to time. I found it accidentally, on a general AO3 Johnlock tag and decidedto give it a go. It was Jane Eyre AU or something. And literally, all my senseswere screaming that this shit is W R O N G, but I can’t just drop a fic withoutreading it all, can I. Basically, Sherlock was a young male nanny to John’sson. John was that hunky, athletic, a child of all Hemsworth brothers and ChrisEvans, a generic wet dream. The writer literally RELISHED in describing John’sform and build. Sherlock was a shy, beautiful, fragile omega, literally, bringme the bin, I want to vomit. And so many things are so Wrong? Sherlock goesinto ‘heat’ and John and he have sex? Without, you know, actual sober consent?The fuck? Sherlock is a stand-in for a stereotypical swooning female with allthat descriptive language of a damsel in distress? Idk, each to their own, butI felt fucking icky after reading it.

The post-s4 Johnlock fic of one of the writers that I don’t like. They arewidely known, incredibly popular, but I don’t like their writing. I read theirworks from time to time because many people recommend their fics, but I justdon’t get the hype. The majority of their works are ‘post s3 fix-its’. Ialready have a very bad relationship with these ‘fix-its’ for a number ofreasons. But their works? I just don’t know. There’s a hefty number of them ( Imay not like their works, but jesus, I fucking worship the writer for suchprolific productivity). They are long. And they are all fucking same. They arepractically identical. Now back to the fic. I understand that the majority ofJohnlock shippers LOATHE Rosie/The Baby™ because it’s Mary’s spawn but… This isa little bit extreme for John to treat his own child like that? And it’s notonly Rosie, and I concede that I might be biased (I fucking love that child,okay), it’s the characterisation of both John and Sherlock. Taking fundamentalqualities of the characters and changing them just so the OTP would happen orfor narrative purposes or for the couple to be cute… it’s. I don’t know. Imean, fanfiction is meant to be indulgent, but changing the characters to thepoint I recognize them only because they call each other ‘John’ and ‘Sherlock’kind of erases the whole point of fanfiction. But the writer is super popular,so it’s just me and the author’s writing being not my cup of tea.

McCoy/Chekov Russian fanfiction. I don’t remember much of it, it was aboutspace pirates, I think. Chekov was the criminal mastermind and McCoy was heldhostage on his ship. Fic was boring but long McChekov fics in Russian are hardto come by. But uuugh. So pointless. So out of character. So boring. So messy,I have zero clue what the fuck is going on. After a lot of pointless dialogue,attempts at interesting plot, it all ends with Chekov being the space HarryPotter who has to sacrifice himself in order to save the world. Also, some sortof God or Jesus is the villain? I don’t mind epic plots in fanfiction as longas they are well written. This one though. I don’t actually know what’s thepoint of this fic. Characters were so out of it, I had to scroll back and checkthat I was still reading a Star Trek fanfiction with Chekov and McCoy.

I don’tactually know if it’s a fanfic or a series or completely different works. Butthere’s an omega!verse WIP in trevilieu tag on AO3 that keeps updating. And itannoys the fuck out of me. I understand it’s just a matter of my ownpreferences and my taste but I’m so fucking tired of checking my dear ol’trevilieu tag, seeing the fic/update, seeing ‘omega!verse’ slapped in the tagsand thinking ‘ugh, not again’. I remember that a while ago there was a veryhuge omega!verse fic that kept popping in the trevilieu tag becauseRichelieu/Treville was a secondary ship. And I read about 5-10 chapters of it.And man. I hated pretty much everything, but the world-building and plot andstorytelling were so fucking great! The plot was so interesting and I was actuallysurprised that I was so captivated by it. The one that keeps reappearing now,though… Has no redeeming qualities. I mean, now I’m just bitching aboutunimportant thing, but seriously though. I concede that each to their own,everyone has their own cup of tea and such and such. But I’m just peeved thattrevilieu is such an interesting relationship, such a complex one, but fuck no,let’s write about self-lubricating anuses. I swear to god, awhile backomega!verse fanfiction in trevilieu tag outnumbered any other category. Butagain, that’s just me and my preferences.

[batwynn]

I hope this isn't a stupid question, but how did you get your art noticed? I just started to post my art on here and I was just wondering.

Ah, that’s a bit of a complicated answer, actually. (But not a stupid question!)

(Note: This kind of applies mostly to those who fanart, so yeh.)

Let me start by saying that:

 # Of Notes Does Not = Self Worth. 

Because it’s really, really important to remember that you exist and have value as a person outside of the attention of others, especially on this website. That being said, there’s absolutly nothing wrong with wanting appreciation. Everyone deserves appreciation. 

So, let me tell you a little bit about my Tumblr art journey. Way back in 2013 when I first joined, I posted my first art on here and got 5 notes. [ x ] (And my first ‘fanart’ got 5 more notes.) At the time, I had only joined Tumblr so I could talk to my favorite fanfic author at the time, and I hadn’t really settled into the whole Tumblr of it all. I wasn’t really in a fandom, I wasn’t expecting anything, I didn’t know the 5 tag rule, or the ‘no-no’s of Tumblr. What i’ve learned over time, however, is that you’re going to have to be actively paying attention to a lot of different aspects of Tumblr, fandoms, pop culture, current events, memes, movies, etc etc etc. So #1 is going to be: PAY ATTENTION TO THE WORLD AROUND YOU: 

A lot about posting art on here and aiming for recognition is riding the ‘wave’, so to speak. See a fresh new meme you can throw at your favorite ship? Do it, make them wear pants one way or the other, here come that boy. (Does Derek Hale wear them like a dog, or a person?) New preview for a movie/show that catches your attention? Doodle a scene from it. Did an actor sneeze popcorn out their nose? Draw Batman doing that. Why not? The second part of this, though, is knowing what and when to contribute. Sometimes it’s not a good idea to make light of a current event, or reference/draw a problematic celebrity, or support a certain film. So looking into these things first is probably a good idea, because there are people out there who won’t care that you didn’t know that so-and-so did something horrible, they’re here to tear you down and hurt you regardless. (I’m sorry, but this is 100% true, there’s no sugar coating it. Some people are just assholes.) So, while you’re keeping an eye out for something funny or a fun mashup of fandoms, always try to be aware of the less-fun issues that are around too. And, if you mess up / did not know / accidently phrase or draw something problematic / etc, IT’S OKAY.  You are not a horrible person. You made a mistake, that does not make you evil, okay? Apologize, remove or fix the thing, and don’t do it again. But please don’t beat yourself up about it, or listen to anyone else beating you up over it. It happened, you’re now aware of the thing, and it won’t happen again. Anyway, #2 is: THE WILD WORLD OF FANDOMS AND SHIPS : 

I’m going to start off this one with a tiny warning. Watch out for fandom drama. Look out for the people starting fights just to fight, look out for the people pushing their ideas on others with no regard to anyone else at all, look out for the people using your content as a soap box from which they spout their opinions from. I’m not saying everyone in the world of fandoms does these things, but good god there are a lot of them out there who are more than willing to start something if you so much as sneeze in their general direction.So, if and when you post content/art/etc in, say, your favorite trope, and someone hops onto your post and starts caps-locking about how this trope promotes ‘something they don’t personally like but is not actually a major problematic thing’ and how y’all gonna burn in hell for this art, try to avoid engaging with them. Because they’re honestly not here for a discussion, otherwise they would have probably sent you a private message, sans the caps lock, and requested an opportunity to talk about this. Also, this is a matter of personal likes and dislikes, for which you are not responsible for. You do not have to cater to every single person on Tumblr. You also don’t have to love every ship, every character, every idea, every story line, every moment of every film, TV, book, magazine, interview, anything. No one has  to broadcast their hate for these things either. If it’s not hurting you or others, you probably don’t need to create content with the express purpose of attacking a different ship/etc. ( If it is hurting others, try the more diplomatic way first, and report their asses to Staff.)Which leads me to #3: CATER TO THE MASSES (But also, like, love yourself) :I’m not saying sell your soul. (Seriously, please don’t, the Art Institute isn’t worth it.) But a lot, I mean a LOT of what I do is to feed my fans and friends.  (Also, commissions are basically getting paid to feed your friends and fans whatever art goodies they want to pay for, so there’s that too)   A good sum of my time is spent drawing things I have literally no interest in, or have very little knowledge about, or am up to drawing but aren’t 100% invested in. But I still do the thing, because I respect other’s likes, and it appeals to people i’m drawing it for, and I’m always happy to make others happy. (And sometimes I actually grow to like a thing.)

So, draw some stuff that other people would like to see. Are peeps out there begging for an assassin AU? (You bet your hiney they are! I’ve doodled some myself, hoo-boy.) Do some assassiny things. Are people always sighing about the lack of decent back story about so and so? Doodle a little moment from the past. Friend says they just want some Mpreg? (APOCATITS) Feed them, feed them the art. But--huge BUT here--do not sacrifice your values and comfort. 

If something bothers you, is out of your comfort zone, is something you have trouble drawing and just don’t want to tackle right now, DO NOT DO THE THING! 

Second but--another huge BUT here--Make art for yourself. 

To quote Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead: 

Guildenstern: “Is that what people want?” The Player: “It’s what we do.” Create for yourself. Give water and sunlight to that little seedling of an idea in your mind, try and try again to create that moment or look or design. Ignore art requests like a boss, and draw something to feed your own needs. Because you deserve to be pampered and treated to art of your favorite thing just as much. :D This is leading into #4, which is: CREATE UNTIL YOU DIE  DRAW UNTIL YOU STOP AT A DECENT AND HEALTHY POINT IN TIME: 

Please do the thing. Please draw to your heart’s content. Please push yourself, expand, experiment, practice, take breaks, draw some more, and some more, and some more. Please don’t give in to self-doubts, frustration, envy, or art blocks. It’s okay to let things go for a while, to step back, to stop working on a drawing that’s just not working. But do not give up forever. I’m saying this for you, personally, but also for the goal that you’ve set before you. To achieve a certain level of appreciation, to get noticed, to be seen, you have to keep creating content. So, to sum it up: 

Be kind to yourself and others, pay attention to what’s hip and happening, forgive your mistakes, avoid drama if you can, Feed the Fans, Do as the cat and do what you want, and keep up the good work. 

[fan-tastic-fiction]

Fanfiction Author Profile Friday

This is the fifth interview in what I hope will be a long running series! I think people need to feel more connected to the brilliant authors behind their favorite fics, I also feel that fic authors need to be taken just as seriously as published authors and treated with respect and admiration in the same way. Making money should not be the only way to gain prestige! Some of the best peices of writing I’ve ever read have been fanfictions and they are often equal or superior to published stories. If you have a story or author recommendation, let me know! And if you have a question you’ve always wanted to ask your favorite author, message me and I’ll try to make it happen!

Pen name: sunken_standard

Age Range: somewhere between 30 and menopause

Is English your first language? Unfortunately it’s my only language. Four years of high school German and all I can remember is how to ask to go to the bathroom and the word for potato. Don’t even ask me about the Learn French in Your Car tapes.

How long have you been writing? Since I was a kid. I think the first story I ever wrote was Star Trek: TNG fanfic when I was like, 11?-ish. I wrote a lot in high school, and then real life happened and I realized I’d never do it professionally. I started back up with fanfic in 2007.

What do you think your strongest piece of writing has been? Longer Than The Road That Stretches Out Ahead, by far. I kind of feel that I reached the pinnacle of my ability with that and it’s all been downhill from there (hence the four years of radio silence).

Your weakest? Everything that hasn’t seen the light of day. For every word of fic I’ve posted, I’ve got 30 words of unfinished garbage on my hard drive. I can pick apart any of my fics, though.

What is your favorite website for posting your writing and why? AO3. It’s brilliant. Curated archives and LiveJournal are a fond memory, though.

What do you find most challenging about writing fanfiction in particular? Voice. Keeping characters in character and putting their mannerisms into words that make sense. Also the balance between Hollywood realism and reality, especially when getting from point A to B. Writing outside my own culture can be pretty tough, too. The nuances are murder.

In your opinion, what can the fanfiction community do to encourage fanfiction writers to continue their art? Stop being assholes to each other. Having opinions is great and expressing them in constructive ways can help us grow as people, but all the “you are wrong and everything you think is wrong because you are a bad person” bullshit needs to end. It’s worse than a high school cafeteria sometimes. No one wants to parachute into that minefield when they’re only going to be told that they suck because the product of their creativity is fraught with errors and is undermining the future of everything by falling short of some arbitrary moral code. I don’t think fandom should be a safe space, but it should be a civil one.

What was your favorite review or comment? I’ve had so many favorites and I appreciate every single one. It’s always rewarding to know that people are connecting to something I wrote in very personal ways. I’m really bad with responding to comments. Praise is daunting.

What type fanfiction do you enjoy reading? Depends on my mood and what fandom I feel like reading in. I’m not a fan of fluff. Purple prose is really, really not my thing. I like slow burn and angst and complexities without clear resolutions. I like thoughtful porn. I like darkfic. I’m pretty ambivalent about character studies (are those even a thing anymore?), but I like them more than meta. I love a good AU/ fusion, because they’re really, really hard to write. Probably 90% of what I enjoy reading is slash; in most cases I don’t think the source material of my favorite fandoms lends itself to het in ways I like to read, which makes me sad.

What are some of your favorite fanfictions or fanfiction authors? I don’t usually namecheck because I feel weird about it, but maybe_amanda is a favorite (and a friend!) who really made it okay to ship a pairing that was pretty much anathema back when the Sherlock fandom was in its infancy and did it so beautifully that it’s still an intimidating shadow to inhabit. Also berlynn_wohl, because she can take any concept, no matter how what-the-actual-fuck and turn it into a textured, nuanced piece that isn’t just porn or crack, and she can do it across multiple fandoms. And rageprufrock, whose sheer quality and quantity and diversity of output I can’t help but envy—they’re like the Joyce Carol Oates of fanfic.

What are some major influences on your writing? Without being douchey and pretentious, I like to think Southern Gothic and Beat lit have influenced me in the way I use language. Also Stephen King and Douglas Coupland, weirdly. I try not to let all the bad Harlequin mommy porn I read as a kid creep into my writing but sometimes it does in all its throbbing, heaving, turgid glory. Film is another big influence. I enjoy cinematography and when I write, it’s more like I’m trying to transcribe a movie shot-by-shot than I’m thinking in actual words. Oh, and music. Some of my strongest scenes were inspired by a song. Almost everything I write has a soundtrack.

Anything else you would like to tell people about yourself? Not really. I’m an over-sharerer with no sense of what’s appropriate for any given situation, so it’s usually better if I don’t even start. I’ve got the JD Salinger recluse thing happening, but I really do like talking to people.

I would like to thank @sunken-standard so much for their time! Their Sherlock fanfiction “The Road That Stretches Out Ahead" which is widely considered one of the best Sherlolly fanfictions in the fandom was featured on this page recently and I would like to encourage you to go and read it as well as their other fics! Remember to leave comments and kudos in support!