#i'd love to see everyone's different tales honestly

[sukinapan]

honestly would be pretty interested in hearing about all of them, if thats alright

it's no problem o( ❛ᴗ❛ )o i like talking about this

for context, apart from making personal art i'm also an artist and character designer at Smarto Club, so I don't know if these count as OCs but i have posted art of them here: Haco from >Bubblegum Galaxy and Teacup from >Teacup.

you can check the steam pages on those games for more info if u like. i love all my characters but i don't usually make personal art of these two since i already do it as my job.

my newest Smarto Club character is a bit different since she's more in the style of what i'm doing personally so i want to make more art of her soon. her name is Abigail:

she's a kid who likes reading about bugs and catching them but she never hurts them : ) this is a short game in early development but it's about catching creatures called angels. it's got horrorish vibes but i don't think the end result will be full-out horror, since it's also kinda silly...

then there's Peklo, it's a game for which i created the whole concept and story but the plan is to develop it as a studio at Smarto Club. i wrote more context for it on this post, but for the characters, they're my favorites to make art about at the moment. the main ones are Kiku (the cat) and Mi (the bunny):

i recently created these human forms of them for fun but i'm not sure whether i'll establish them as canon or not... they're trapped in limbo/hell so there's space for them to have a past human form. they don't remember their lives but Kiku feels a deep sense of regret about things unkown to her and wants to break out of Peklo. Mi feels trapped in an eternal sadness, she longs to see the ocean, she can always hear it but has never been able to reach it.

the antagonist in Peklo is a frog entity called Guppy but i haven't really shown him outside of his froggy logo

i also have OCs from my smaller games. there's Hlina that i created specifically for >this game that was commissioned to me for a zine. i don't have any plans to use her again for now but i might make more art of her in the future for fun. she's part of a strange dream realm and is hostile to the player:

there's iro from the >game with the same name who's my oldest game OC. i created that bitsy game for her story but she existed previously in my art degree final project, it was a version of the same story but just a section of it. it's a dream of mine to create a full-fledged 3D game for her some day.

she's a bit of a defective space exploration robot, sent to explore planetoid Iridium-3 in search of human contact. it's set in a future where humanity has dispersed among the whole galaxy so lots of groups have lost contact with each other.

my latest game OC is Michtat, a wizard cat that i created just for this silly zine.

lasty, there’s the characters from my comic that I’m working on, called The most distant planet. the main characters are Victor and Mitya, two 9 year olds whose families end up living together.

i'd say these are the dearest characters to me of all. i don't post as much of them because they're mostly in the shape of comic pages and it doesn't spark as much interest as my games. i love drawing them though.

they’re both little weirdos who isolate themselves and don’t fit in much with other children, so the friendship they develop is very special to them. they have almost opposite personalities where Victor (darker hair) is very shy and dorky but also very sweet to everyone, while Mitya mostly gives 0 fucks about what anyone thinks or says, he blurts out whatever he’s thinking and just wants to run around wild.

the story is mostly slice of life-ish but there’s also a science fiction element ^-^ Victor is obsessed with things like ghosts, aliens, etc but Mitya thinks it’s all just dumb tales.

another important character is Alyosha, Mitya’s 17-18yo brother. he doesn’t know how to talk or relate to his little brother and is kinda weirded out by him. they where very close when they were younger, but when Mitya was 2 he had an accident that Alyosha feels guilty about, and has been somehow different ever since.

he still worries about his little brother and how isolated he is, though. at the beginning of the story the two of them live alone with their grandma who does love them but has kind of a cold and distant personality. 

Alyosha was the type of kid to be considered “gifted” but now feels completely burnt out and had to repeat a grade at school. he felt so humiliated by this he eventually stopped going entirely, so he now works part time and just studies at home. he cut contact with his old classmates but he still has 2 best friends from the last few months he spent at school in the grade below, Manon and Min Na. they’re the kind of friends who just show up unannounced at his house and job, and are very involved with his family’s life.

i’ve also included Min Jie in some art, she’s Min Na’s younger cousin and comes into the story later:

i should have like character sheets and stuff for all of these OCs but i’m the kind to just jump head first into drawing/modeling lol, that's why i included all these finished illustrations.

i really wanna publish this comic, i’ve been working on it for a long time and i’m currently waiting for the results of a public funding application here in my country to decide what i'll do next.

hope this could be of interest (^人^) thanks for the ask!

[bekaterrier]

It's that time of the week again! Happy Audio Drama Sunday! Still traveling so still listening to a bunch of different podcasts.

Residents of @proserpinapark Ep 37 - Devilish Lovers: A quick episode this week! It's interesting to hear about myths and mythical creatures that are so similar across different cultures. It was also good to get even the tiniest mention of the Park in NJ. Looking forward to everyone coming together at some point!

Give Me Away Episode 5 - My Body Is Your Body & Episode 6 - This Is My Home: Ep 4 ended on a cliffhanger so where do we start with ep 5? A flashback of course! It was actually so interesting hearing what had been going on since the beginning with so many of the people in Red Camp. Then in ep 6, finally getting to hear how Graham interacts with his new companion. The Innovator certainly seems like an interesting person, and I'm sure their dynamic will continue to evolve. All the while, Jamie is in the background sowing chaos!

@camlannpod Episode 6 - The Sheep And The Goats & Episode 7 - Under The Hill: All I'd heard about Camlann was its connection to Arthurian tales, so I was not expecting the shift to Greece. It was so good and interesting though! I don't know why, but I hadn't thought about what other stories would have come alive. It certainly makes you think about which other ones might be out there. As soon as Perry started talking about fairies I knew to expect some trickery! They were so adamant about Dai coming back (even though he was not storied) that it made me wonder... Then some of the hints from the fairies... All leading up to to that big reveal!! Ahh!!

@midnightburgr Welcome to the Horizon Part 6 - Back to the Black: I was giggling and kicking my feet for the first 20 minutes... Just let Verge and Deidre be happy!! It's always fun hearing Verge be a badass though. Poor Deidre, constant emotional whiplash over the course of just a few hours. Her whole world just turned upside down several times over. Aside: The music this episode was fantastic!

@starsfellradio S1 & S2 re-listen: When WTSF was releasing S3 last year, my brain would not cooperate and listen. With the traveling I've been doing recently and the burnout recovery, I've finally been able to get back into it! I, of course, had to re-listen to S1 & S2. It's so good. Ed and Lucy's growth and evolution together, the wild incidents that keep happening, the fantastic music that starts coming in during S2, Michael the archangel getting domesticated... Love it all.

Where The Stars Fell S3 Episodes 20 - 23 & Forgive Me! Crossover - Forgive Where the Stars Fell: The countdown to the rapture has started! The first four episodes of the season cover a lot - Ed learning about new abilities, Lucy finding Joseph's coat of many colours which hides her wings, slime mold comes to life, an unconventional evangelist comes to town, a body swap episode, the Dave Matthews Band incident, a chili cook-off, and a promposal! Gosh I love this town. I also wanted to shout out the crossover with Forgive Me! because it was such a fantastic, fascinating episode. We know Ed has been dealing with a lot since finding out she's the Antichrist, and this was such a great opportunity for her to really voice how's she's feeling about it all, especially the Big Guy.

Case Study: IREC-A59 Episode 5 - Contact *Terms and Conditions May Apply: We have contact! They can finally understand each other! And thanks to that, we're starting to get more info about both sides of this story. 13 other intelligent species; humans have developed warp travel! ; the captain is super protective; the council may not be letting the humans go anytime soon...

@starfallpod Act 1, Scene xiv: Hearing the bits of Mariette the Fourth adapted as Candyette the Fourth was fantastic. I would honestly love to see a full version of either performance! I love Fel and Leona together, but it's nice hearing Leona start to speak up for herself. And now we're off to solve a mystery! Who could have done it, I wonder...

[digitalstardust]

TFP Optimus, Ratchet, Bumblebee and Arcee with a human s/o that likes to sing

Hi everyone! I know that I said I would post Part 2 of Wildest Dreams this week, but I'm not sure when I would finish it since I have a TON of work to finish, so I'll see do I get around to finish it at all.

There are a couple of songs that I will mention and the links' below! There are some in Chinese and Korean, so if you want the translation you can search it up or ask me for them :)

Enjoy!

Notes: Fluff, fluff, gender neutral reader

TEAM PRIME

Optimus Prime

Optimus has a pretty nice voice so I would say he used to sing before the war.

He was relatively shocked to find out that you sang too.

He found out one day when you and the humans were having fun and goofing around. Miko was trying to sing a song in Mandarin and the kids were covering their ears due to the limited Mandarin words she could speak.

You took that as a chance and took over for her, not missing a single word and reaching every high note.

That left them speechless and left you with a very red face.

After that, he would silently with you would sing all the time.

You can't blame him, honestly, since he has a love for music too.

I think the music on Cybertron is quite different from Earth, so he would love to listen to you sing.

He doesn't care if you sing well or not, he just loves your voice.

His favorite song would probably be 'Something just like this' because it somewhat reminds him of the life he had when he was a clerk in the Iacon Hall of Records.

He would probably ask you to sing for him when he's feeling down.

He would also sing for you when you don't feel well or is feeling sad, and honestly that man has the voice of a god.

You are the only one he sings to, so don't abuse that privilege.

"I've been reading tales of old, the legends and the myths..."

Ratchet

This man... He is the complete opposite of Optimus Prime.

He would pretend he hates your singing because it 'disturbs him' but he actually looks forward to listening to your voice.

He discovered that you loved to sing when he heard you singing when working one day.

He grumbled and asked if you could stop because it was disrupting his work and when you didn't stop, he went over to see what was going on.

It turns out you had headphones in and couldn't hear him, still singing to whatever song you were singing to.

He secretly enjoyed your singing and was somewhat disappointed when you stopped.

But of course he said 'Thank Primus' or something along those lines.

He would pretend to hate your voice so much that you actually believed it and stopped singing.

Once he saw you crying in one of the vents (how did you get there?) and was surprised when you said you were crying because of how unconfident you felt whenever you sang.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that he was the reason you felt unconfident.

He immediately apologized and reassured you that you have a beautiful singing voice.

Honestly... That's just the way he is. A pretty nice guy pretending to be a jerk for some reason.

He hates to admit that he wants to hear you sing, but you usually know what he wants and sings for him.

His favorite song would be '白月光与朱砂痣', because it's the song you sang when he first discovered your beautiful voice. Even though he doesn't completely understand the lyrics, it sounds peaceful and soothing.

"白月光在照耀 你才想起她的好..."

Bumblebee

This boy is the most supporting boyfriend anyone could ever have. You are lucky to have him. Do not break his heart or you would be seeing me tonight.

He's young. Like really young. He was born into the war so he has little time where he could actually let loose and be a child, despite him always acting like one.

He has this certain pressure on him to be mature and a warrior, so he has never had a peaceful life.

He loves music on Earth, especially hype music. He would be the type that hates classical music since it's too boring.

A Kpop fan. A huge one. He would be listening to Kpop 24/7, and I'd say that his favorite band is Stray Kids (because who doesn't love them)

He would be the type that doesn't go out of his way to learn a song or a certain dance but just jumps to the rhythm and hums to the music.

He discovered your singing voice when you were singing to a tune under your breath when you heard the song coming from his speakers.

Needless to say he asked you to sing it again and again.

He would watch all the MVs and try to dance along (and breaking stuff in the process)

His favorite song would be 'Zoo', indefinitely. He loves the beat and the rhythm, and it makes him feel alive. It makes him want to jump up and dance, so it would be a bad choice for music when he's driving.

"Head to toe, cool like a lion, CEO, boss like a bison..."

Arcee

I feel like she wouldn't like songs that are too noisy because they actually disturb her (unlike a certain person mentioned above) but she wouldn't like songs that are way too quiet.

She would listen to classical music when trying to focus or work, but overall she would like to listen to songs that aren't too boring but aren't too hype.

I think she would be a great singer but decides not to because she needs to focus on whatever she's doing, same when she was back on Cybertron.

If she's a good singer, then she would be an even better dancer.

She's really agile and quick on her feet (unlike me lmao) and she could hear the beat in music 10 times faster than anyone else and can come up with dances for every song.

She used to be a dance teacher as a part-time back at Cybertron and was good at it. Why do you think she can do cartwheels, backflips and splits without a second thought? She was either a gymnast or dancer and I'm saying dancer.

She would somewhat be like Ratchet, not going to admit she loves your voice but not going to say she hates it too.

She discovered your love for singing when Miko was learning a new song to dance and sing to when you popped in.

Since she was Japanese, it was a bit hard for her to learn something in Korean, despite them being similar (I'm saying this because I have that difficulty too, but for those that don't have this problem correct me pls).

You popped in and taught her how to pronounce the words correctly and proceeding to sing the song yourself.

She was pleasantly surprised, to say the least.

I think her favorite song would be Chandelier by Sia, because it sounds really nice and she just loves the song for some reason.

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

I might make a second part with the rest of Team Prime or the Decepticons, but we'll see. I was going to make a full Team Prime for this one, but I didn't have enough time.

Songs are below:

Something Just Like This (Optimus):

白月光与朱砂痣 (Ratchet)：

Zoo (Bumblebee):

Chandelier (Arcee):

This wasn't good, I know but it was an idea I had and I wanted to finish it before I lost motivation :(

See you next week!

[akwolfgrl]

Dorwed song 7

“I'm a siren,” Sanji admitted out loud, sipping his wine, his nose wrinkling as Zoro chugged the wine.

“A siren? I thought they were just an old sailor's tale,” Zoro spoke, reaching for the wine and pouring himself more. Sanji half expected the swordsman to just chug it straight from the bottle.

“And you were your horns for fashion, and yet many people don't even believe devil furits actually exist,” Sanji shurged, taking a sip of his wine. The Nebbiolo was a good choice. He didn't know all of the crew's preferences, but he was aware that Zoro hated sweet things, just like Usopp hated mushrooms.

“What is your plan? What do you want from Luffy?” Zoro asked, Sanji knew that their captain and the swordsmen were a thing.

“The same thing you do to fulfill my dream. I want to see the world to find the All blue, I want to cook for everyone, I want to learn and grow as a chef,”

“Fine, one last question for the night…have you ever killed someone?” Zoro asked him, his steally eyes boreing into him, between thouse hard eyes, and the horns upon his head Zoro could be quite intading. He had never seen some resit his song so hard before.

“Of course, I'm sure you have as well,”

“A few times, I don't try to, but I have before, and I'm sure I will again, I'd do anything to protect Luffy,”

“When was your first kill?” Sanji asked as he tipped his glass back to finish his wine. The rice should be done soon, a simple snack of rice, egg, and uni to check the quality.

“My first bounty, I honestly didn't mean to kill him, but I was young and foolish,” Zoro admitted.

“Mine was an accident as well, I didn't have full control over my song, and I lured him to his death,” Sanji still remembered the thrill of it, how right it felt. Zoro looked shocked, and sanji rolled his eyes. “Before you get any ideas, I don't plan to eat the crew. Luffy is made of rubber, that would be disgusting, and the texture would be off, I wouldn't dream of cooking up a lovely lady, Usopp is far too skinny. Now you, on the other hand, would be a different story,” Sanji flashed him a smile with far too many sharp teeth. “You would put up quite the fight.”

“What did you do with the body? I just turned him in, wanted dead or alive, you don't get as much if they're dead, that's something they don't tell you.”

“Oh we ate him, roasted him nice and slow cooked until the meat was falling off the bone and covered in this amazing sticky sauce. The secrets in the sauce, no one would ever guess that what you're eating is a long pig.” Sanji winked and licked his lips.

Zoro returned his grin feral and dangerously his own way. “Damn right, I would.”

[softie-rain]

ok so for context for this little drabble/headcanon request i'm originally from south africa but moved to canada when i was around 12.

and I like to think about how curious sejanus would be about his s/o's homeland if they had moved from there to Panem? like listening to them ramble about certain traditions they have there, what the differences between there and Panem are, the food, memories etc.

i hope this makes sense

TYSM

I love this idea actually. I tried to keep it neutral regarding the homeland so that reader's from so that everyone can see themselves in it! Sorry this took so incredibly long bestie ily 🫶🏻

Small background of when you start dating, you two probably bond on both being "outsiders" in the Capitol, though Sejanus is fairly less than you

Sejanus loves everything about you, so he'll want to know every little detail you feel like sharing with him

He asks so many questions!! "Are food traditions much different there?" "Is there any specific holiday you celebrate?" "Do you do something in particular for birthdays?" -to mention some basic ones

He loves when you talk about your life there, it's like you're narrating a fairy tale and he's a toddler being put to sleep

He keeps interrupting to ask for clarifications too, and you adore how interested he is in your culture

Sejanus also loves to surprise you so he'll ask your mother for help and try to prepare a lunch or dinner for you with typical food from your homeland. Personally I'd cry if he did that but that's up to you

He's terrified you won't like it but he's a great cook and, while it is not perfect nor the exact same, it still tastes wonderfully and you appreciate the effort anyway smoother him with kisses and cuddles

If a holiday you used to celebrate back in your country is coming up, he'll make sure he does anything possible to understand it and celebrate it with you (Suzanne Collins makes no religious references in Hunger Games, so you can imagine whichever you prefer)

and omg if you speak another language.

He'd find out very randomly, like you hit your toe on a table and you cuss in your native

He's a bit shocked but he'll absolutely want to learn it

Surprises you with small sentences from time to time! The first one he learns is 100% "I love you"

he messes up and says something dumb but you just find it adorable and correct him

Honestly he's just so happy that you share such an important part of your life (your origins) with him, and so he loves to hear about it at all times

[mister13eyond]

Reverse unpopular opinion: the last videogame you played?

I was going to give one answer, which was about Sky: Children of the Light, which is on Switch, which i honestly felt my opinion on would be pretty universally agreeing with other people that it was good

However, I realized I wasn't counting the last GAME - not just console- I played, which was a mobile game. Which actually i think IS a fun reverse unpopular opinion because I think very few people count mobile games as Real Games

Anyways the last mobile game I played is called CocoPPaPlay and it's this little dress up gacha game that is purely dress up, very little else. I'd compare it to something like Gaia Online where the primary function is to accrue cute outfits for your avatar

What i like about it is the art! The illustrations are genuinely extremely cute and appealing, with very lovely outfit design and beautiful use of color. This isn't surprising for a dress up game I guess- the entire point is to be pleasing to look at and pretty- but let me just share some of the lovely "fashion show" pages i have seen (these are user created by mixing in game outfits, accessories, poses, frames and settings):

It's very cute! The interface is big and bubbly so I like pushing buttons and seeing what different things are, I like seeing different outfits and putting together little looks!

Here's mine:

Yes I know one of the models is obscured by the birdcage shhh this ain't about him

I'm trying for a very fairy tale, princess tutu thing right now, with a red queen front and center, but I am currently saving for a better group pose of some sort bc this one makes it too hard to accessorize everyone without cutting them off

Anyways that's my last played game! Thanks for coming to my infodump!

[shadowsandlint]

🌌🎅❄️HellOHOHO

Bless Blitzens soul. Such a little trouble maker 🧭🏔🦌✨️ The answers you provided have been very helpful. The elves are setting up for their big preparation meeting, and have a couple questions. 🧝‍♀️🧝‍♂️

-What's your favorite folk tale?

-What kind of fantasy world would you want to live in?

-If you could have any animal as a pet, what would you choose?

🕺🪅Everyone at the North Pole wants you to know that you have impeccable taste. First Azriel and Eris. Then our uncles, Sirius and Lupin! 🖤🤭

-What house are you?

See you real soon.... Santa's always watching 😉

💝🎄🎁🕯❄️✨️

Helloh ho ho to you too, Santy-boy!

It looks like SOMEONE'S been lurking through my ao3 bookmarks? How naughty of you! Are you a good or bad Santa, I wonder? 😘

Hmm, as for my favorite folk tale, I'm not sure. Maybe Rumpelstiltskin or different variants of the Six Swans? I was very into The Swan Princess movie when I was a kid!!

I'm also very fond of The Little Match Girl, though I don't think it constitutes as a folk talk. It's beautifully tragic, and such a haunting tale about class differences and what it means to love someone. As for myths, I really like Orpheus and Eurydice, Icarus, Balder's death, Tristan and Isolde, etc. Basically anything with pre-destined tragedy, I realize, ehehehe 💀 I'm a slut for angst, basically.

There are several fantasy worlds I would have liked to live in, of course, but maybe especially the elven part of the LotR universe, or the Harry Potter universe, if I'm a wizard and she-who-shall-not-be-named is not a bigot. My house is Ravenclaw. 🦅

Honestly, I'd probably have a zoo worth of animals if I could. But I would really like a wolf. A really fluffy, cuddly wolf.

Thanks for the questions, my precious Santa! You're doing amazing, sweetie ❤️ Talk to you soon, I hope

Lint, laugh, love;

SL

[stars-of-kyber]

20 Questions for Fic Writers!

@dreamstone28737 tagged me on this fun thing <3 thank you love!

1- How many works do you have on AO3?

32! Holy shit that's a lot.

2- What's your total AO3 word count?

351,009 words and counting. Again, I'm shocked at how much I've got done lol

3- What fandoms do you write for?

Right now at this moment, Bridgerton.

4- What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

1st- You Belong With Me - 821

2nd -Falling For You - 451

3rd - You're The Only Thing I'll Ever Need - 423

4th - Lost, Drifting - 407

5th - Faithfully - 397

(The next one is Bad Habits which never stops to surprise me just how many Kudos it gets since it was one I thought I wouldn't get anything from.)

(God, I need to update my WIPs)

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

Honestly? Only when I feel I have something to add to the comment. Sometimes I see a comment with "Great Chapter/Episode" (which I really absolutely love, btw. Any comment makes me so damn happy I can't even explain) and I never know what to say to that and I don't want the person to feel I don't care about their comments when I just reply with "Thanks! I'm Glad you liked it <3" and I keep thinking about different things to read and I never can and when I see it, I have a bunch of unanswered comments which makes me overwhelmed to start.

So yeah, I usually only reply when I know what to say lol

6- What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Ending? (none? lol)

Posted, I'd say "The Way I Loved You", which I thought the ending might be kinda open? I don't usually do sad endings. I think "Faithuffy", "Of Noble Blood" and "You Belong With Me" have some rather angsty parts, along with "Lockdown" which touched a rather sensitive part of me. But all the endings were/will be (THEY WILL HAPPEN I PROMISE!) happy.

Unposted, it's probably "A Dead Man's Tale" which I'm writing right about now and I hope to start posting by Halloween on Tuesday (fingers crossed). The ending is... sentimental? Idk Kinda sad but happy too? I have no idea how to describe that. Either that or Raise a Little Hell, my Bonnie and Clyde, which will be my only NHEA story ever(if), when I get to write it.

(Feel free to tell me which of my fics you think it's the angstier. I'm curious!)

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

All of them? Lol

Walking The Wire because I finished it? sdakljfkdsgh I have no idea. Maybe Lockdown bc it's such a hard battle to end happily in the end.

(Which of my fics yall think is the happiest? Please tell me bc I have no idea.)

8- Do you get hate on fics?

Not on the Bridgerton ones, thankfully. Everyone that reads it is amazing which makes me really happy.

I had a pretty harsh time when I started on the Reylo Fandom in Star Wars. Not fun, I'll give you that.

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

I write hotter scenes, although I don't think I've ever finished an entire sex scene. That said, I have a one-shot called Stockings that is about 85% done which is porn/no plot that I might one day finish but I'm not that much of a fan of it, to be honest.

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

Unless you count crossover with Julia Quinn's own other series, no I don't.

11- Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I am aware of.

12- Have you ever had a fic translated?

No, which is kinda sad because I am a translator and I could very well do it myself lol but Idk if there are too many Portuguese-speaking readers that would be interested in it, and although I speak pretty good Spanish, I'm a tad out of practice and I don't master the written language nearly enough to attempt to translate something to Spanish.

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

A long time ago in a Galaxy far far away. It was... nice. And not at the same time. I hold myself to very VERY high standards, so I'm extremely self-critical and working with someone with different styles and ideas can be really harsh without trying to dictate the way you want the story to go. Plus the three times I did, we ended up giving up halfway through the story lol

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

This is a stupid question and I hate it. I'm not good at picking. I am deeply, truly in love with Kathony, and have been for the past couple of years, but if I had to say at the top of my head, the oldest OTPs that have been in my heart, the ones here for the longest time and never really left are Percabeth from Percy Jackson and Jily from Harry Potter. Reylo and Rebelcaptain in Star Wars were also a very big part of me for a long time and I love them.

Asking all-time faves is mean.

15- What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Sought you, Sang you, Dreamed you, my Reylo Kidfic. I love it so much and I am so sorry my baby, but I can't focus on Reylo anymore. I have complete faith I will finish all my Kathony fics one day, I really do.

16- What are your writing strengths?

I honestly have no idea. As I mentioned, I am very self-conscious about what I do and I have incredibly high standards about myself. It's not uncommon to see me saying I hate my story and I won't post it and it's absolutely shit, I have no idea why people read it. So pointing out a quality is really hard.

I guess I'm good at dialogues? I always felt they sounded nice, idk.

17- What are your writing weaknesses?

I'm running a risk of repeating myself too much if I mention standards and self-consciousness, don't I?

I am terribly wordy. Nothing I do is short because I need 1k words for something I could have done in 200. I always feel people will get bored by it.

I also sometimes feel I have issues representing the emotions I'm trying to put through in my story. Many times you'll find me going to a neutral third party saying "Please tell me what's missing here." bc I feel it lacks.

Let's not mention the lack of self-discipline and the amount of time it takes me to write a story/update something. And overthinking things. Also coming up with more ideas than I have time to write.

18- Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I do that all the time? I am a native Portuguese speaker and English is my second language.

19- First fandom you wrote for?

Lol that's going far back, isn't it? I have been writing originals since I was 10 (I have a lil notebook with the first story I've ever written, it's adorable, but as usual, incomplete), but in 2011 I was obsessed with a soap opera called Rebelde (the Brazilian version, when I liked the Mexican RBD one, I didn't really know what fandom was yet. BUT I'M GOING TO THE CONCERT ON THE 9TH I'M SO EXCITED) and my first fic was a Roberta x Diego one, which is complete and (unfortunately, -or not- not all of it) available in Nyah Fanfiction, although I wish it wasn't bc it's truly shit. Like very very very shit. It was crazy, she died of lung cancer in the end. I swear to God, I had no clue what was going on with me at 14.

20- Favorite fic you've written?

Okay, look, this is not fun lol

I truly, honestly can't pick. Each one is special for me for a different reason. The Way I Loved You was my first Kathony. You Belong With me my first WIP and I have such a special place for it. I could go on and on for hours. I love them all, even the ones which are not my faves (Bad Habits, Reading Project).

But I will be absolutely thrilled if you guys tell me your fave of my fics. I would love a lot to know.

I'll tag @mimix007 @waterlilyrose, @harnitbee, @bellascarousel, @ladystanbury, @searching4paradiso, @alihightowers and her dragon people and @suspendingtime

[bugg-indaug]

SUGAR - SWEET - TALE

MY FIRST EVER UNDERTALE AU, PLEASE DO HELP ME GROW IT!

HELLO!! I'M BUGGINDAUG! OR JUST BUGG IS OK!

I RECENTLY CAME UP WITH AN AU IDEA AFTER SEEING SWEETTALE, CANDYTALE AND SOME OTHERS, I'M ONLY USING GL2 RIGHT NOW TO DESIGN THE CHARACTERS AND I'D LOVE SOME HELP! I'VE ALREADY GOT SANS DONE (BELOW) AND I'M HAVING SOME TROUBLE TRYING TO DESIGN EVERYONE ELSE, I WAS THINKING OF SOMEONE AS ROCK CANDY BUT I'M UNSURE AS TO WHO!

I NEED YOUR HELP!!! UNDERTALE AU CREATORS I SUMMON YOU!!

SUGARSWEETTALE!SANS

WHAT ABOUT HIS APPEARANCE IS DIFFERENT?

WELL FOR STARTERS HE IS NOT MADE FROM BONE! HE'S ACTUALLY MADE FROM WHITE CHOCOLATE (AS SEEN BY THE EASY CRACKING.. PLUS 1HP) AND ALWAYS HAS A CAKE 'N' CANDY SMUSHED INTO HIS FACE... HE'S TOO LAZY TO REMOVE THEM... MAYBE ITS HIDING SOMETHING? WHO KNOWS! HONESTLY, IT IS A WONDER HE HASN'T LOST ANY VISION IN HIS EYE WITH HOW MUCH FROSTING IS BASICALLY INSIDE OF IT.

HE ALSO FOR SOME REASON HAS... CARAMEL AND STRAWBERRY MARKINGS... THE CARAMEL STRINGS ARE BASICALLY WHISKERS, NOT MARKINGS, THE STRAWBERRY SWIRLS ARE JUST A JAM.

AH HIS EYES! YOU MIGHT NOTICE THE DIFFERENT SHAPES FROM SOME OF THE OTHER AUS, THE RIGHT EYE IS COTTON CANDY AND THE LEFT IS A SPEARMINT LEAF GUMMY.

THE COLOR OF HIS MAGIC IS PATIENCE AND JUSTICE. (ON RARE OCCASIONS IT IS PERSEVERANCE AND DETERMINATION)

WHAT ABOUT CLOTHES?

EVERYTHING ABOUT SUGARSWEETTALE IS MADE FROM CANDY, CLOTHING HOWEVER IS A WRAPPING! DUH! ALL CANDY NEEDS A WRAPPING! KEEPS THEM SAFE. BUT SANS HERE HAS A COTTON CANDY FLUFF ON HIS JUMPER HOOD, POOFY, YUMMY, SOFT COTTON CANDY. HIS PANTS ARE JUST A SIMPLE WRAPPING MATERIAL TO KEEP HIM COOL (ALONG WITH HIS JACKET AND GLOVES)

THE LEG WARMERS AND SLIPPERS ARE CANDY THOUGH, THE LEG WARMERS BEING CANDY CORN AND THE SLIPPERS BEING STRAWBERRY CLOUD CANDY

ANY OTHER TYPE OF APPEARANCE CHANGE?

YES! HE HAS A TAIL NOW! MADE FROM THE SAME WHITE CHOCOLATE SPINE (BONE) AND COVERED WITH A THICK FLUFFY LAYER OF COTTON CANDY TO LOOK LIKE A PINK AND FREEN FLAME, SOME MONSTERS SAY THEY CAN SEE IT ANIMATE ITSELF AS IF IT WERE TRULY ABLAZE!

I'D LOVE TO RECEIVE FAN ART (NOT FORCED), DESIGN HELP, WORLD-BUILDING, POWER-BUILDING HELP, ETC! I'D LOVE TO INTERACT AND GROW MY COMMUNITY

[windsweptinred]

hello. You are ill and I’m trapped on a four hour road trip, so fandom malarkey. Have you ready any good books lately and what set off your current corinthiel craze?

Oh @zorawitch! A FOUR HOUR road trip!! I hope it flies by for you! ❤️ I'll do what I can to help entertain you in the meantime.

I have not in fact read any good books lately... Most shamefully. Mainly because I've been inundated with other forms of amazing media these past few months. TV wise I would highly recommend The Fall of the House of Usher on Netflix, Bodies on BBC IPlayer, Loki series 1 and 2 on Disney Plus and I've recently got round to watching True Detective series one. And honestly it's one of the most phenomenonal pieces of television I've ever watched! Also, if you can access it and you like a bit of eldritch comsic horror, I'd recommend the Lovecraft Investigations Podcast on BBC sounds. It's a modern take on some HP Lovecrafts tales and it's superb.

Oh no, you've asked about Corinthiel... What have you done? Run.. Run now. 😅

My Corinthiel obbsession actually isn't as sudden as it appears. It began in May with @ibrithir-was-here 's most beloved Endless Heirs/Corinthian Bros AU. In that Dream raises Daniel as his heir and the first and second Corinthian coexist.. And well, young Dani and Cori 2.0 are 'very' friendly 😏. That got the wheels turning in my mind. Later that same month I wrote and posted 'Dandelion Wishes' (Now 'Turn of the Wheel' ) here on Tumblr, which revolved around the canon relationship between Daniel and the second Corinthian. And I've been in love with the pairing ever since. I also remember planting the seeds of Corinthiel incredibly unsubtley in my dreamling fic Metamorphosis back in June 😅. It was always my plan for that to be a huge part of the sequel.

As with most rare pairs though, (and Corinthiel is one of the rarest in the Sandman fandom.) With lack of content and no one to play with, your attention drifts to other places. That was until I met @bobbole 🤍💚. My Corinthiel partner in crime, and we've been bouncing off each other creatively and feeding each other's obbsession ever since. 😅

Why Corinthiel? Articulating it with my head full of cold and cough syrup may not be the best time, so bear with me. 😅 But oh this ship is so layered and beautiful. Both the Second incarnation of the Corinthian and Daniel are 'reborn' so to speak at a similar time. In a period of immense change and turmoil, with everyone else around them mourning what has gone, they two symbolise renewal, a restart, the second chance, the next generation. They both share the journey of being both a remnant of the past, and yet their own individuals. Old and new. And it's an understanding and experience that binds them so poetically. That's a path they can walk together, rather then alone. Not to mention their shared history. The second Corinthian was created to find and protect Daniel Hall, that was his purpose. And I like to think he never stopped, even when Daniel became Dream. Plus, to the Corinthian, he was Daniel first, and there's a sense of self there, seperate from Dream and Morpheus that must be so valued. Reflected in Daniel seeing the second Corinthian as a different entity to the first... Something only they can see one each other.

I could go on, but honestly though, like any ship, it's something that just clicks. Something that calls to you that says, these two are my beloveds. 😅 But thank you for asking and giving me a chance to rant on insanely. ❤️❤️

May your journey be a fast, enjoyable one @zorawitch. And I can't wait for your next fic whatever it may be. If you're a fan of Desire, the Twins or Desunity, please go check out their work on A03. I couldn't recommend it highly enough!

[ijustkindalikebooks]

You know, I hate stereotypes but as I look out my window and I see stereotypical British weather in the beginnings of Summer, you know this one is based in truth. Of course it's raining.

I have completed 42 books this month ( plus 4 DNFs) and have read novels, manga, poetry and essay collections to get to this point. I read mainly from women this month and predominantly fiction which is not unusual, but the numbers were so high this month.

I also had my highest amount of five star books this month as well, so this might be a bit of a long one.

I am also going to link four different gofundmes I am aware for people trying to get themselves and their families out of Gaza.

Dina - Lulu - Doaa - Jumana.

Blue Exorcist 14 and 15 by Kazue Kato - I really am deep into this series now. The end of the last arc was fantastic and this one involved some of my favourite characters and I really feel the strength of the team and class is really beginning to show now. I just really appreciate this series alot so far and I can't wait to keep reading more of it. The story of Rin who finds out he's the son of satan when his exorcist father figure is killed, Blue Exorcist is definitely a heck of a series so far as they fight demons and break curses.

I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman - I've read this month so many books that have demanded to seen, heard and felt and this is definitely one of those books. The story of a young girl who grows up with a group of women who finally escape the confines of a cell they were trapped in, this book tells the story of her exploration of the world she now inhabits. Gloriously written and packing an emotional punch that will leave you breathless for days, I'd recommend this book to everyone.

Sketchy Vol 1 by Makihorichi - I am not going to dwell on this long as I have a whole review on this blog for it, but I highly recommend this manga about a woman who gets into skateboarding and begins to find new friends and create a new life for herself.

Mansfield Park by Jane Austen - I've been reading alot of classics and honestly very few have got five stars, actually few have even got four, but Mansfield Park is just so good. How Austen writes people is way ahead of her time, she is fantastic at creating people you love, you hate, you feel for and this book is no exception (even if the awful man in this book seems to come from my home county smh). The story of Fanny Price, a young but poor girl who is sent to live with rich family, she navigate, love, life, loneliness and envy, it is a classic for a a reason.

Homebody by Theo Parrish - I was lucky enough to see them discuss this book at my local Waterstones and was able to get a signed copy of this fantastic graphic novel. The story of Theo as they figure out their identity and find the gender they feel at home with, Homebody is a beautifully drawn and fantastically written story of figuring out who you are. I loved this so much and highly recommend it.

Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan - Keegan is at the height of her talent right now and it's short stories like these? Novellas? That make that so abundantly clear. A beautifully told story about a man learning where the power lies in his Irish village (with the church in this case) it touches on the Magdalene Laundries and the impact they had on women and the places they were based in. A tale of quite hope and heroism, this book is a gem.

The Facemaker by Lindsey Fitzharris - I will say from the top if you are not comfortable with explicit examples of wounds or surgery, this is not something I'd recommend, there is a lot of detail that goes into how these men got their wounds in world war one and I took several breaks to read this book. However this doesn't change just how well written this book is and the depth this has gone to research Doctor Gillies who basically invested plastic and reconstructive surgery for men who were burnt, scarred and hurt in the trenches and the impact of his work that is still seen today. The story of a pioneer in 250 pages, it's a piece of history that doesn't get heard about.

What were your favourite books of May? Please let me know!

Vee xo

[maya-matlin]

This is probably an idiotic question, but how much do you think Chad/Sophia and Milo/Alexis being in love in real life and that chemistry naturally translating onscreen has to do with why you ship brucas and literati: not a factor whatsoever, a small factor, a mid-sized factor, or a major factor?! I never thought it impacted why I shipped either of them but, honestly, on paper both ships are 'eh' to me and the writing has me cringing at points, but somehow when I actually WATCH them my heart is like 'yup, no matter what your brain says, we want these people together' and I really do think the actors' chemistry factors into that a lot more than I had realized. (The reverse is often true too---like my brain *wants* to ship brulian because they're a 'healthier' ship and Julian gave Brooke her fairy tale ending and all that but my heart is like 'eh, sorry, just not feeling it.') I swear there are a few Gilmore Girls scenes where I'm like 'that's not even Rory and Jess---you can tell by the tone and expression that it's Milo and Alexis lol' and same goes for Chad and Sophia when I rewatch parts of OTH. So I would say the actors' real life love coming through onscreen influences my shipping both those couples a lot, or at least more than I'd realized before. I'm so curious what your take is!

I would personally say that the chemistry has a massive impact. Not necessarily the real life relationships, though I'm sure for some that was part of the fun. Oftentimes, when fictional couples turn into real life couples, both the on screen and off screen dynamics are shipped simultaneously. I mean, it especially plays a large role in terms of Rory's relationship with Jess and their continued popularity. Their on screen relationship didn't last long at all. Milo choosing to leave at the end of season 3 and only appearing sparingly after that meant Rory and Jess never got a proper second chance or even a semblance of one beyond one kiss in season 6. Yet, their relationship is massively popular and touched so many fans. It's the definitive Rory romance even though she dated both Dean and Logan for longer. While Jess got a big push considering he was a real character with his own arc and story lines as opposed to Dean and Logan who primarily revolved around Rory with little things happening in their lives here and there (Dean's failed marriage, Logan's constant battle with Mitchum) that Rory would typically be there to observe, it's undeniable that what they shared on screen can't really be described as a successful romance. Both Rory and Jess had good intentions, but Jess also had a lot of problems that he needed to work through. He genuinely loved Rory, wanted to make her happy, and seemed committed to staying together after high school, but then his personal demons got in the way. So as a result, Jess let Rory down and failed to properly communicate the things that could have brought them closer as a couple. But, damn. The chemistry.

You see little moments like this on the show and also out of context in so many edits. You almost forget how badly things ended. Because how can you not love them?! And back to the chemistry. It never felt as natural with Rory's other boyfriends. I think it was more believable with Logan than Dean, but overall this looked effortless.

Also, Chad and Sophia. Good god. I don't know specifics about Milo and Alexis, but by all accounts Chad and Sophia's short-lived marriage ended in complete disaster to the point it's widely speculated that it played a role in how the endgames played out contrary to what everyone behind the scenes claims. Whatever Brooke and Lucas were intended to be in any given season (and I personally think that during season 2 at the least they might have been endgame), their chemistry far outshone the official Lucas/Peyton pairing. It was just so raw, you know?

These are all different phases. Through their initial relationship to the separating/divorcing era to firmly divorced, that chemistry never went away. Even when the underlying subtext isn't supposed to equal Brucas, the fact their love was once real off screen meant that it never 100% went away. Lucas could say a million lines about what Peyton means to him and how he's never been happier, but it never packed the same punch as the look on his face when he's around Brooke. And I'm not stupid. This is not pro-Chad and Sophia. The man got engaged to a high school senior. I'm not here to debate his real life thoughts and feelings for his ex-wife. I'm also aware acting exists. But if we're talking about real life relationships and on screen chemistry, it's relevant. For them at least, what went down in real life made the love story between Brooke and Lucas feel real.

As for Brooke and Julian/Sophia and Austin, it's interesting how it all kind of inverted. This is a good example of how other times, what's happening in real life doesn't make a difference in regards to on screen couples. On screen, Brooke and Julian were perfectly fine. I'd probably say they had the most heat in season 6 when Sophia and Austin were still figuring out whether they wanted to be together, but the Brooke/Julian relationship overall never had the same passion and effortless on screen affection. It never looked as put on as Lucas/Peyton scenes, but it was never exciting. So I definitely see what you're saying. On paper, Brooke and Julian was the right ending. It was evident how much Julian loved Brooke and that they'd formed an incredibly strong relationship throughout seasons 6-9. But because of the differences in chemistry, it doesn't feel quite as impactful. With Brooke and Lucas, it's like their love for one another is so overwhelming and impossible to turn off even when they want to. With Brooke and Julian, they love each other and it's really nice to have that comforting love after years of failed romances. But it's not necessarily the romance that jumps out.

See, this is very sweet. They're doing everything right. But it's just not the same.

[chaos0pikachu]

38, 40 & 41 for the movie asks! 💕

38 > in your opinion what is the most overrated movie?

idk what I think "thee" most overrated movie is like, there's just to many movies to narrow it down but one of MY most overrated movies will always be An American in Paris fucking waste of my god damn time like older films have a different sort of flow and pace compared to modern films and that's not the issue I can watch an older film and still vibe - I actually liked Judy Garland's A Star is Born even with all the obvious issues, Philadelphia Story wasn't bad either, Gentlemen Prefer Blonde's is delightful, etc - but like nothing fucking happens in An American in Paris worst is that the last 20-ish minute of the film is just Gene Kelly flexing just one long run-on dance scene that's not even like connected together??? It's just in his head with different set pieces and a means to flex Nina Foch as his dance partner

The only other film that inspires that much this shit is so fucking overrated to me is Singin in the Rain which I also didn't like. The songs were okay and yeah everybody in the cast can dance like whoa but the story is boring - I'd rather watch a documentary on actors being dubbed post silent era tbh it'd be more interesting - and Debbie Reynolds has no chemistry with Gene Kelly.

Maybe I don't like Gene Kelly movies lmao I find these two specifically "overrated" b/c they're considered "classics" in cinema and like I get why but also I hate them

A more modern day overrated pick is Captain America Civil War, fuck that movie oh and Blade Runner fuck that movie too

40 > a film you think everyone should see at least once

Fuck this is DIFFICULT so I'ma cheat lmao

Titanic - if only for the sheer power and brilliance of Cameron's direction like if you're a fan of film making I think you should watch this movie. The scene where the ship sets sail and the head on shot is so freaking well done it's phenomenal. Cameron is a good direction, I've seen a lot of his films and what I like about him is he makes good films that are well made but accessible.

Princess Mononoke OR Ponyo - I think these two are two of Miyazaki's best work in terms of animation. Storywise I prefer PM but Ponyo has just some absolutely amazing animation. What I really love about Miyazaki's direction is the still moments he has in his films, there's a lot of shots in PM where nothing is happening except a butterfly landing on a tree branch, or a character looking at the moon.

Tale of Princess Kaguya - speaking of Ghibli I feel like when it comes to Isao Takahata's work everyone recommends Grave of the Fireflies which is totally fair and I def think that film is 1000% worth watching but I think ToPK is his crowning jewel the animation is BRILLIANT and the story is heart wrenching. It really combines everything Takahata's work was so good at - tragedy, beauty, stillness, how the lack of community hurts us all ugh so good

NGE End of Eva - honestly this film is my Clockwork Orange in film bro terms lmao like I don't know if I "recommend" this b/c it's confusing - you gotta watch Death/Rebirth to even understand it at all and even THEN it's confusing - but it's so VISCERAL like def one of the most visceral experiences I've had watching a film and for that I think it's 100% worth watching

I also think it's worth checking out Martin Scorsese and Hayao Miyazaki's recommend films list

41 > name three movies you consider “classics” (yeah I cheated again sue me)

Ghost in the Shell (1995) for the sheer insane influence it had on cyberpunk and sci-fi

Metropolis (1927 and 2001) the OG film is really if you want to see how classic movies worked and if you like history, the 2001 is animated and not a remake but is beautifully animated and has one of the BEST climaxes of any film I've seen

Pretty Woman

Evil Dead

Princess Bride

Hero

🎬 movies/film ask bait

[la-cocotte-de-paris]

Hello! 3. Are you like your zodiac sign suggests that you should be? 45. If you could bring back a person from the dead who would you bring back? 53. Mention a movie that always makes you cry? (ça fait beaucoup)

Salut !

3. Are you like your zodiac sign suggests that you should be?

Yes and no! I am a Leo. I have a heart of gold and I can be warm and generous, sometimes even fun, and I enjoy attention. HOWEVER, I am also very private and want space too, and sometimes I hate being loud (and usually avoid being loud unless I'm with close friends) and I usually find very loud people extremely irritating because I know they're usually compensating for something that they lack. And often I do not know how to respond or act when all eyes are suddenly clearly on me (for example I HATEEE being presented things in public, e.g. formal ceremony or whatever. I'm like "please let me walk over, take it and leave, I don't want to be made just stand there and wait for someone to GIVE the thing to me in front of all these people, I'm no better than anyone else, let's just do this casually not formally"). I much prefer this type of attention and praise in a private setting, not for everyone to see because I feel it comes across as incredibly insincere that way. I'm also quite introverted, and Leos are given the reputation for being extroverted. I love doing things myself and with friends, but I also love just chilling at home. Also, god help you if you piss me off. I think that is an accurate Leo trait.

45. If you could bring back a person from the dead who would you bring back?

Okay honestly there are sooooo many different people I'd love to bring back to life, but if I could only choose just one...

Well it wouldn't be much of a surprise if I said Edwige Feuillère, would it? 😅 I would love to ask her so many questions, and I think she could give me some amazing fashion tips, haha. And I think we would genuinely get on well -- both a little shy but crave human connection, and she was so intelligent and well-read, so open-minded, I could listen to her talk about anything or we could discuss literature or history together for hoursssss. (Also maybe I would like to run away with her somewhere and have a passionate affair that would either last forever or end so terribly that neither of us would ever get over the other for the rest of our living days) Idk, either we would have much in common or she'd absolutely despise me, not sure which, but I'd like to think we would get on. 😅

53. Mention a movie that always makes you cry?

Hmm, there are quite a few that get a strong emotional reaction out of me, but making me really cry... I have only seen An Cailín Ciúin/The Quiet Girl (2022) once but I was bawling tears in the cinema by the end (and same with everyone else who ever saw it in the cinemas here, from what I've seen and heard!). It was so beautiful, I don't know if it is possible not to have a dry eye by the end of watching it! And I knew as I watched it that it was going to do so well with critics and award nominations, and it did!

Another film (that I have seen more than once) that always rips my heart out is Sans Lendemain (1939). I cry at that one too. </3

Honourable mentions go to Snow Chick - A Penguin’s Tale (2015), Waterloo Bridge (1940) and Marie Antoinette (2006).

Merci pour les questions !! ^.^

Questions to ask

[mcalhenwrites]

For what it's worth, I want to read your writing! lack of audience can really get to a writer but I feel sometimes one needs to be reminded of why they write? Are you writing for yourself or to please strangers, which I get is obviously important for motivation and as a professional worker but I guess what I'm trying to say is don't be too down about it. I appreciate your hard work and amazing stories.

For what it's worth, I want to read your writing! Thank you, anon, that means a lot to me!

I agree with "write for yourself", because you'll never please other people/have to select who you want to please, and that's never going to end well. You can't please everyone. I used to be in the Tales series fandom, and I'd have mixed feelings about some of the games that contradicted the way others felt. I liked some of the lesser known/older games for the same reasons people hated them. So as a creator, you have to think about what feels right to yourself. It's good advice, but I have seen it taken out of context. (For the record, I don't see that happening here, because you do clarify that it's harder when you're stepping into the profession. I'll get into that in a minute, if that's okay!)

That said, I think there needs to be a distinction between writing and sharing. Writing is a process for myself, but the career aspect is stressful and straining and honestly feels hopeless most days. I hate the idea that every single part of a story needs to be about the plot, because the formulaic ways of the publishing industry don't work for every story, every writer. I think the existence of fanfic is proof enough of that, actually! So many of us love fics that cover what might have happened behind the scenes or just… we'll read fifteen different stories of the same tropes for a single ship. And tbh, I think a lot of writers - including myself - really prefer to have more canon included than the publishing industry has room for.

I'm trying to find a middle balance, personally. I want to share! I'm an avid reader, and if no one had shared, what would I have read growing up? Plus the want of financial stability, which is pressure I sincerely despise. I'd happily share everything for free if I had $100k-$120k a year for the rest of my life so I could have my house, healthcare, 3-5 cats, garden, video games, and home library. xD

Sharing is actually pretty difficult for me. I barely showed anyone my work until I was in my mid-twenties. I started writing stories down at age seven. I'm now in my thirties. But sharing is something I want to do and it doesn't get easier after all this time of trying to spread my work. Past the perfectionism (I am definitely working on this and have already made improvements) and the history of bullying I've had over my writing (of which there's been a lot). Overcoming all of that is tough. Which means I feel a little extra sensitive to the idea that if something of mine isn't getting traction, it's confirmation of all the times someone mocked my writing or vaguetweeted by a BNF to make fun of fics I'd just posted. And while I'm starting to realize that some of that likely comes from jealousy - not necessarily that I'm a great writer that poses a threat, but just that my writing means that I might take attention from them in the fandom (which is not how that works) - it's still so hard to stop thinking, "What if they were right?" when I don't get any or very few likes/reblogs or kudos/comments, etc.

I have worked very hard to be a better writer, thinking I could escape that. Now I'm beginning to recognize that that hard work has paid off, but I was also never as bad as everyone made me feel (including myself). I want to keep working hard, because my standards for myself are high.

My writing makes me so happy, I can't describe how much. So even through all the pain above? I still do it. I just think that maybe there needs to be more separation between writing and the results of that ever reaching the public eye. (Most of my writing doesn't. I write a lot. XD)

Sorry to get a little real there. And so lengthy, ugh! I never can say things briefly.

Thank you for reading out, though, and thank you for reading my writing. There are more people reading my works than I know, but sometimes I fear that I'm the only one who will want what I'm making.

I've had IRL and health issues bringing me down too, which overlapped with stressing out over the editing of the next chapter of the story I've been posting. That chapter wasn't making me happy, so I'm taking a break, ignoring it a few days, and going back with fresh eyes later. So that all was knocking down my mood, and seeing only one person comment on the latest chapter, I was like, "Oh, maybe I'm just making a big old mess of this story"… perhaps because I see the mess in my head? Every possible path I threw out, every scene I want to write but won't fit in the story, every part I feel is lacking, every bit of character and world info, etc. Is that translating into something coherent on the page, I wonder, and… it's a lot to think about.

Sorry for TL;DR on this answer, and again: thank you. ;A;

[villain-in-love]

Sorry this ask took a while to send, I've been busy deep cleaning the last few days! But in your other post you mentioned Monster High and Ever After High OCs/Self Inserts. I don't want to pressure you if you don'y want to ofc, but if you're comfortable with sharing them.. I'd love to know more about them!!

I don't know much about Ever After High myself. I watched a few webisodes on Youtube some time ago and then dropped it. But I've been thinking about picking it back up again because I love the fairytale setting. Plus the dolls look very cool design-wise! I think out of the character I've seen so far, Madeline might be my favourite :3

Also, do you perhaps collect any other doll lines? I also enjoy Living Dead Dolls, Bleeding Edge, Little Apple Dolls, ect. If you enjoy the gothic/alternative style of Monster High, I'd definetly recommend them!! Some of them are bit more gorey - but theres plenty of interesting characters.

Ever After High is a great doll line as well as a show with immaculate aesthetic and interesting concept. Personally, I still prefer Monster High over it, but I've seen people favour Ever After High because it has a serious main conflict that can be analysed on a deeper level. A lot of people tend to simplify the message to "rebels good, royals bad", but in reality, while rebels do end up being in the right, position of royals does make sense, their concerns are understandable and hold a certain weight, at the very least because the entire situation the characters are in is rather complicated.

Honestly, if we look behind the bright and pastel coloured fairy tale aesthetic, the way fairy tale society functions is borderline dystopian…

Anyways, I think I have more OCs here because with the whole premise of following or rejecting one's destiny as well as having characters represent different fairy tales, naturally, lot of ideas appear. And so my OCs are often just me playing with the possibilities of what kind relationship with their fairy tale roles different characters might have.

While she’s not my personal favourite, I respect everyone who likes Madeline, she’s pretty cool (I especially like her Legacy Day doll which is visibly inspired by Victorian fashion) Unfortunately, she often get reduced to a comic relief, but I believe she had much more to her character in books by Shannon Hale, which I didn't have a chance to read yet, but I’m planning on doing so.

By the way, I checked out the doll brands you listed, and turns out I already knew some of them. However, while I don’t mind gore, those are not exactly the type of dolls I’m interested in (mostly I just dislike child-like proportions). (Living Dead Dolls look pretty neat though) I guess I liked Monster High as fashion dolls specifically, and very elegant, elaborate and well-thought-out ones at that.

Aside from Monster High and Ever After High, I used to like Bratzillas. I know that some might say that they are just a Monster High rip-off, but even if they were heavily inspired by it, they were still good (well, I was simply excited to see another gothic fashion doll line). I’m still upset that the franchise was so short-lived and I wish I bought more of their dolls. At some point Once Upon a Zombie piqued my interest, but I got quickly disappointed in doll and animation quality.

Also I wanted to comment on your OCs, because I actually like your character ideas. I adore the pun that is Manita’s name, especially since it’s both a good joke and sounds similar to "manticore". I overall have a soft spot for characters that are man-eaters both figuratively and literally. Octavia is extremely cute, I think she’s my favourite here, and I would totally root for her and Twyla’s relationship if they were in a show together. Levi looks like an entertaining type of character, I wish I could see him (them?) in action.

I kinda want to bother you a bit more and ask about what kind of fashion styles your characters prefer wearing and what would be written in their “freaky flaw” part of the bio, but that’s up to you if you want to continue the conversation about OCs.

Anyways, going to my OCs. I must warn you, there's a whole lot of information. I feel kinda bad for not drawing them myself and using character makers to represent them instead, but depression is a bitch and so this is the best I can do currently.

So here are the character design concepts plus some notes I have about them:

Starting with my only Monster High OC who is also a self-insert. I still don't have a name for her, since I want it to be a pun like most of Monster High names are but I have no good ideas yet.

Heavily inspired by the song Necromancin Dancin by Bear Ghost.

She's a necromancer who was born in the middle of the 19th century and died young. However, in my lore necromancers themselves are undead as well and only “awaken” after their own death. And so the first dead body they learn to control is their own.

She actually started out as a villainous character who exploited other undead students using her powers, either to harm or to manipulate.

She has issues, okay? On the inside she’s just a cynical and hostile sociophobe with a “better be a bully than the one bullied” mindset, convinced that there’s no point in trying to make friends since everyone would hate her anyway.

Ends up going through a character development and redemption arc thanks to the power of friendship and acceptance because it’s Monster High we’re talking about.

She seems very cool and confident when she’s being mean, but she’s so painfully awkward when put in a friendly environment. She doesn’t know how to be nice, she’s afraid of making a wrong move and ruining everything again.

Has a good sense of humour, but it’s dark and sometimes downright rude or offensive, which often puts her in uncomfortable situations.

She’s adopted since her parents were regular humans and she long since outlived them. After their death another necromancer – who was her mentor – took her in.

Now this is Ekaterina Bayun, the daughter of the one and only Bayun Cat. She was sent to Ever After High to better get ready for taking her father's role, since she's the first ever person to replace the original Bayun Cat. Because her father is immortal, she's didn't have to do it and it was entirely her own decision, which made her somewhat famous in school, being that she’s the only fairy tale character’s descendant who was actually given a choice.

While Ekaterina counts as a "royal" simply by the virtue of choosing to take her parent's role in their fairy tale, her view on the royal vs rebel conflict is rather neutral. And if you ask her opinion, she thinks that humans of their world would benefit more from rebel’s movement than they would if everything stayed the same as it always was.

She's actually a big monstrous cat who is capable of transforming into a human-like form. She spends half of the time in her cat form and assumes human appearance when it’s more convenient.

Ekaterina takes villain classes since, while she’s not The Villain TM, she’s classified as a beast that usually antagonises heroes. Also she literally kills and feasts on human flesh and it kind of automatically puts her into “evil” category.

Very chill, very lazy, prone to sarcasm and snide remarks. Like every cat, Ekaterina subconsciously thinks of herself as superior to everyone else and doesn’t like following any rules she disagrees with.

She’s a great storyteller and a singer with low and slightly gravelly, but very attractive voice. However, she has to be careful with it as to not accidentally put the entire school to an endless sleep.

Ekaterina has got a creative streak and is pretty intelligent, so she’s also good at making up her own stories. Her favourite school subject is creative storytelling.

She couldn't care less about human etiquette or morality. She's nosy and impudent, and has a habit of wandering into places where she shouldn't be.

Mstislava The Wise – daughter of Vasilisa the Wise from “The Sea Tsar and Vasilisa the Wise”. Headstrong and prideful, she never wanted to accept the role of her mother, which is why her family sent her to Ever After High in hopes that she will be put in her place here and stop rebelling. But boy, if that wasn't the miscalculation of the century.

Mstislava is a hardcore russian woman – she will walk into the house on fire and stop the horse running at full gallop, looking fabulous while doing so. She’s talented and intelligent, and absolutely refuses to become an obedient and loving wife of some Ivan Tsarevich who will sit on his ass while she does all the work in their story, only to be denied credit later.

Just like all women of her bloodline, Mstislava is a powerful sorceress. She's a master of transfiguration who is closely connected to the forces of nature, plus she possesses an impressive collection of enchanted items. She's also implied to be not quite human.

She doesn’t actually hate being a princess, and she would love to become a queen, but she's willing to sacrifice her royal status for the sake of her freedom of choice... or just for the sake of making a point.

She threatens her family with magic or refusing to go home if they don't accept her wanting to write her own destiny. She either gets to become the queen on her own terms, of she will run away and become a wicked forest witch.

Despite how serious and intense she appears, Mstislava does have a mischievous side and sometimes uses her magic powers to play tricks on people.

Mstislava is good at poetry, but unlike what is expected of a princess, she’s a terrible musician. (And so Ekaterina proceeded to teach her how to rap to pass the Muse-ic class…)

She's hard-working, but she's also a night owl, so you can catch her angrily banging at the door where the party is going at night, complaining that they're disturbing her while she's trying to study.

She's actually Baba Yaga's distant relative, and Mstislava considers Yaga to be her role model.

Meowriel Savatier – daughter of the Puss in Boots. She's a natural born hero and a royal who is very excited about fulfilling her destiny, especially since her destiny is to be with and help her best friend Marquise de Carabas (she's in love with her but doesn't fully realize it yet).

She’s technically considered to be Marquise’s lady-in-waiting, but it’s not as obvious since they both treat each other as friends and equals, with Marquise being especially considerate, even though Meowriel herself still goes out of her way to please her.

She doesn't have many close people, but she's an incredibly loyal friend, even to the point of selflessness.

Meowriel is bold, energetic, and resourceful. She seems to be in high spirits all the time, having a plan for any occasion and never giving up.

She's an incredibly persuasive and charming opportunist.

She takes hero classes and is the best in the Dragon Slaying class, where she uses cunning tactics to succeed instead of trying to rely on brute force.

She's an example of a royal who is actually selfish. She genuinely wants to fulfil her destiny which will give her and her beloved Marquise a happy ending, while the rest of the royals and rebels can rip each other to pieces for all she cares.

She doesn't mind rebels, but only as long as it doesn't affect her own story. However, if someone in her story tries to rebel, she's willing to force them back into their role by trickery and manipulation.

Because every character cast needs a cheerful French with a bob cut and a sinister side.

Once I actually get to drawing her myself, I hope to make the design of her boots much more elaborate, since they are her character's signature piece.

Marquise de Carabas – daughter of the miller's youngest son from the story of the "Puss in Boots". Marquise wants to be an active character in her story and she's worried about her best friend having to do all the work for her. She feels that it's unfair that she doesn't have to do anything while Meowriel alone ensures their happy ending.

She's a bit spoiled, but I wouldn't say that she's entitled. More like she's not used to hard work and discomfort, all her life she didn't even have to lift a finger or deal with serious problems herself.

She loves art in all of its forms, so she wishes to keep living an easy and lavish lifestyle so that she could dedicate her time and effort to it.

She's not particularly skilled at writing, drawing, or singing but she doesn't let it stop her. She's got a good sense of aesthetic and yet unexplored theatrical talent. Also she's a great violinist.

She considers the possibility of rebelling, while she secretly tries to find the way to prevent her story from even starting. Just like in the case of Ashlynn Ella, Marquise is destined to lose her royal status and fall into poverty for her story to begin, and in the end she’s going to have to marry to become a princess again.

She has serious issues with having to marry a "designated" person as a part of her destiny, especially since she still didn’t even have a chance to meet them. She’s the type who can only fall in love with someone she already shares a deep bond that lasted for years, and there's exactly one person like this in her life...

However, seeing how excited Meowriel is about following her destiny, Marquise wonders if she should just give in to make her friend happy. After all, in their story they will stay together for ever after anyways, so it shouldn’t be that bad..?

Maybe it's because she's so observant, but Marquise can easily spot acting or lies. Bad acting irritates her.

She doesn't fully trust anyone except Meowriel because she's the only one who is always honest with her.

By the way, I'm still only figuring out her character, since she was recently revamped in design and I started over with her personality. I'm also currently thinking about possibly changing her name.

Hua Li Ming – daughter of Hua Mulan, raised both as a capable warrior and a perfect lady. She's torn between wanting to honour her family, both like her story and fairy tale society tells her, and being absolutely terrified of having to bear such responsibility and spend 12 years at war.

She's noble and prideful, so on one hand she considers it a honour to become the next Mulan. On the other hand, she hates herself for being reasonably scared and unwilling to fulfil her destiny.

I imagine it will get revealed when Darling Charming tells her that she's lucky for getting to be a warrior instead of a damsel in distress, causing Li Ming to snap and go into a full-blown "you know nothing" tirade.

Actually has to deal with the pressure of being both a soldier and a lady. It's not like she was given an opportunity to choose one or even reject both.

She's a royal who desperately wants to rebel but still can’t let go of the thought that it's somehow beneath her.

Everyone around her constantly going on about how she would make a perfect Mulan doesn’t help.

Soft-spoken but firm, knows her own worth.

Known for being well-mannered and highly disciplined, Li Ming is a pleasure to work with and is considered to be a great company.

This showcases her level of self-control, and unfortunately it also means that she’s used to repressing her feelings, especially negative ones, which doesn’t do her any good.

Does meticulous work like weaving and sewing to calm herself and sort out her thoughts.

Li Ming studied combat and the art of war ever since her childhood. She likes it all in theory, but she'd rather not have to use it.

Instead of serving her country as a soldier, she wishes she could prevent the war before it even starts.

Character makers used:

The first one

The one that is made in Ever After High style

The third one is Anime Avatar Maker found on Google Play