#i'll probably make another list like this in the future when i've got it all figured out

[heliosphere-underthesky]

Kinda of a random question but what do you imagine the characters voices sounding like?

Hi! Thanks for the question. I actually worked out most of the voice claims of the characters, and I plan to make a video of it someday when I've updated all their character art! (Mainly for the main cast.)

For now, I'll just list them down with links:

Main 8 + Luna

Sun - Neuvillette (EN CV: Ray Chase)

Mercury - Firion (EN CV: Johnny Yong Bosch)

Venus - Tigress (EN CV: Angelina Jolie)

Earth - Thoma (EN CV: Christian Banas) | Makoto Tachibana (JP CV: Tatsuhiza Suzuki)

Mars - Yuri Lowell (EN CV: Troy Baker)

Jupiter - Kokushibo (EN/JP, EN: Jonah Scott, JP: Okiayu Ryotaro) [MAY CONTAIN DEMON SLAYER SPOILERS!]

Saturn - Marth (EN CV: Yuri Lowenthal)

Uranus - Douma (EN/JP, EN: Stephen Fu, JP: Mamoru Miyano) [CLIP CONTAINS SOME GORE! And out of context KNY spoilers.Watch at your own risk.]

Neptune - Giorno Giovanna (EN/JP, EN: Phillip Reich, JP: Kensho Ono)

Luna - Aerith Gainsborough (EN CV: Briana White)

Dwarf Planets:

Pluto - Scaramouche / Wanderer (EN CV: Patrick Pedraza)

Ceres - Amber (EN CV: Kelly Baskin)

Moons:

[URANUS V] Miranda - Terra Branford (EN CV: Natalie Lander) | Mipha (JP CV: Mayu Isshiki)

[NEPTUNE I] Triton - Diluc (EN CV: Sean Chiplock)

[PLUTO IV] Kerberos - Cyno (EN CV: Alejandro Saab)

Comets and Asteroids:

Halley - Talking Tom (EN CV: Colin Hanks)

[steddieunderdogfics]

This week’s writer spotlight feature is:  @cuips-not-cute! cuips_not_cute has six fics in the Stranger Things fandom on AO3 and all of them are in the Steddie tag!

Our anonymous nominator recommends the following works by @cuips-not-cute:

he could be brave

blood is an aphrodisiac

honeyed affection

blinking red light

cyclical

"cuips is a master of taking the reader on an emotional roller coaster ride. The amount of times I've laughed and cried at the same time reading his fics have been too numerous to count. Especially the depth of the sex scenes and the character beats and growth they portray are gorgeous to read - and also very titillating. I love Steve and Eddie in every one of cuips stories, adore the little mannerisms they are given and the way they interact with each other and other characters. Besides the inspiring prose cuips can pull off a plot like few other people I've found so far - since blinking red light is still ongoing, I'll just point to cyclical for that. I'm very thankful to cuips for writing and posting these stories and for being a very active part of this lovely fandom." -- anonymous

Below the cut, @cuips-not-cute answered some questions about their writing process and some of their recommended work!

Why do you write Steddie?

i don’t even know. i was happily in the ofmd fandom when i watched season 4 almost three years ago now (oh god) and then the characters… they got me. i fear they’ll never leave.

What’s your favorite trope to READ?

god, so many. they’re all kinda the same flavor though so i’ll list out what i’m always filtering for to find a new fic: bottom/sub eddie, creature/monster eddie, post s4, canon compliant, soft dom steve, sex pollen, spit kink, rimming (perhaps my FAVORITE ever thing to read), switch eddie/switch steve… the list goes on.

What’s your favorite trope to WRITE?

probably also rimming. there’s just something so romantic about eating ass. and i really love to stick with post s4 canon compliant aus, too, i don’t think i’ve written an actual for real au yet, though i do have an idea for one after brl.

What’s your favorite Steddie fic?

i don’t know if i can pick!! my ao3 bookmarks host my many all-time faves, but if you wanna go by the fic i’ve reread the most it’s probably the affliction of the feeling. it’s so fucking good.

Is there a trope you’re excited to explore in a future work but haven’t yet?

YES!!! i have never written omegaverse!!! which is crazy, ‘cause i like it a LOT. i have a post-s4 omegaverse au kicking around in my head currently, and i cannot wait to sink my teeth into all the messy biology and politics that come with the omegaverse.

What is your writing process like?

chaotic, in a word. usually, i’ll get a fic idea while i’m balls-deep in writing another fic so i’ll shove it to the side and let it simmer while i finish that first one, then i’ll spend a good long while planning it out in ridiculous detail, and THEN i’ll start actually drafting. i like to have a fully fleshed out outline and a couple chapters written and edited before i start posting, and once posting begins i tend to deviate quite a bit from my outline but it’s all good fun.

Do you have any writing quirks?

definitely. i don’t like pointing them out for fear of other folks seeing them in everything i do, but they’re there. one that i don’t mind so much is my absolute abuse of the word “little.” everything is “a little” of this, “a little” of that, but i try to cut my usage down significantly while i’m editing.

Do you prefer posting when you’ve finished writing or on a schedule?

i always TRY to keep a schedule but… yeah. it never works. i’m far too busy for one, but attempts are made. i’d like to one day write a fic in full before posting it, because i think it’d be a whole lot better if i let it sit for that long but lord, i sure do like getting ao3 comments on every chapter. they make the writing motivation go WAY up.

Which fic are you most proud of?

brl, definitely. that fucker is LONG and i’m barely halfway through it. i think i’ve done a lot of cool things with it and i’m going to do some more cool things and i’ve made a lot of really awesome friends in the process of writing it so it’s got some pretty insane sentimental value to me. it’s definitely going to be a fic i’ll miss writing once i finish it, but that’s what the epilogue series is for!!!

How did you get the idea for blinking red light?

from another fic!!! @racketghost is the author of one of my favorite things i’ve ever read, which is the good omens zach and miri au, closed set (https://archiveofourown.org/works/23320960/chapters/55862155 <- hyperlinked), wherein crowley has been lying about the existence of some angelic sex tapes to all of hell, and then he and aziraphale have to actually make the tapes. it’s awesome. it’s gorgeous. brl is one big giant love letter to this fic, because it means so fucking much to me and i think about it ALL the time. 

When writing honeyed affection, what was something you didn’t expect?

hmm, i don’t know? ha is, i think, a pretty easygoing fic with lots and lots of porn stuffed inside it, and that was all i intended it to be so i cannot think of anything i was surprised by!!

What inspired blood is an aphrodisiac?

i just wanted to write vampire eddie. it was july ‘22, kas theories were everywhere, i had to try it. these days i think i would change a LOT about it because my ideas and hcs surrounding the characters have evolved significantly, but i’ll write vampire eddie again and “fix” everything i no longer like about biaa.

What was your favorite part to write from he could be brave?

…the fisting. i genuinely think some of my best writing is in that scene, and while i feel the same way about this fic as i do biaa, the fisting scene will always hold a special place in my heart. i’m very, very excited to write the fisting chapter in brl because of this scene. fisting rules.

How do/did you feel writing cyclical?

i wrote cyclical during a very weird few months of my life, so writing it was sort of my way of dealing with all the insane shit going on around me, and i think it shows. in a good way, though, because cyclical is a timeloop fic so it needed to be a little angsty and insane. i’m stupidly proud of that fic. @ryeallytired actually BOUND it into a PHYSICAL BOOK and SENT IT TO ME and when i tell you that is the singular most precious object i own, i mean it.

What was the most difficult part of writing blinking red light?

PLOTTING THAT BITCH. GOD. i’m so happy to be actually WRITING it now, the planning was genuinely so brutal. my issue was that i was sticking too close to the plot of closed set (<3) which just… did not work for steddie. closed set’s premise centers around crowley lying about making sex tapes, yes, but he lied about them to PROTECT aziraphale, which is the messiest, kindest, riskiest fucking thing ever. and it’s awesome. in the early planning stages of brl, i was trying to put eddie in the crowley role of lying about having made sex tapes with steve, but it reallyyy didn’t work. there was an oc and i absolutely hated him, plus i didn’t like what that premise was doing to eddie’s character… ugh. it was a MESS. it took several rubber duck-ing conversations with my brilliant friend @lollaika and a rewatch of zach and miri to finally realize that it had to be STEVE who brings up the idea of sex tapes so that he could protect eddie, rather than eddie bringing it up to save his own hide (yikes).

Do you have a favorite scene and/or line from any of your fics?

oooh, lots. reallyyyy loved chapter 8 of cyclical with all of the pov shifts, that was super fun to write. i also really enjoyed writing the dry humping/sex tape convo in the first chapter of brl, and i’m stupidly excited to write chapters 12, 13, 15, and 17, because of specific scenes that will happen in each.

Do you have any upcoming projects or fics you’d like to share/promote?

i do!! after brl is completed i’ll have to choose from two story ideas (because i cannot have two wips at once or i’ll get SO stressed), one being a semi-realistic steddie cowboy au based off my own experiences with growing up on a farm and featuring messy, earnest cowboys and not-fully-human eddie, and the other being the omegaverse au i want to write, which will have a very fun mix of vampire eddie, dubcon bitching, and accidental mating bites!!!

Outside of these questions, Is there anything YOU would like to add?

i cannot think of anything!! this was super fun :D

Thank you to our author, @cuips-not-cute, and our anonymous nominator! See more of cuips_not_cute's works featured on our page throughout the day!

Writer’s Spotlight is every Wednesday! Want to nominate an author? You can nominate them here!

[clown-friend-gt]

I had an idea for a g/t story but i'm probably not going to take the time to write it out any time soon. In the meantime, enjoy this list of concepts i have rattling around in my brain

Takes place in a world where humans, tinies, and giants all exist and are all familiar with one another

It's technically an urban fantasy, with things like modern technology and societies existing alongside magic and medieval cosmology (don't worry too much about what that entails, it never really comes into play besides brief references)

There are more humans than there are giants, and more tinies than there are humans

Since everything in this world is "human sized," humans are the functional majority

Mixed societies exist, but are in their early stages, so non-integrated communities are still just as common

Growing/shrinking spells exist, but are only permanent on non-living things (organic materials that are no longer "alive" still work, though)

Finally, the actual focus of the story: a human streamer/youtuber (from a non-integrated community) making content focused around spending a day as a giant/tiny

Video titles include "I SPENT A DAY LIVING AS A GIANT (NOT CLICKBAIT!!!!!!)" and "24-HOUR BORROWER CHALLENGE?????"

In the latter scenario, there is an actual borrower living in their apartment, who has to try and hide from the human while the human is going around trying (and usually failing) to do borrower things

(Borrowers are a known phenomenon in this world, but humans and borrowers rarely encounter each other

Borrowers are often seen as "backwards" and "savage" by humans and the "more evolved" tinies who live in integrated societies)

The human streamer inevitably finds out about the borrower when they explore the walls of their apartment and find the borrower's home in there

The borrower is worried that the human will react badly when they find out about them, and is especially scared about what they'll do when they go back to their normal size

But the human also has a secret: they aren't a normal human under a temporary shrinking spell, they are a size-shifter

(size-shifters also exist but are extremely rare, and their abilities are poorly understood, leading them to be viewed as dangerous and out of control

it is possible for size-shifters to control their abilities, but it takes a lot of time and practice)

Since the size-shifter is used to be A. small and B. misunderstood, they allow the borrower to stick around as their roommate

and then they fall in love

Also since the streamer had a lot of uncontrolled shifts before they learned to control their abilities, they're mostly playing up their reactions to being giant/tiny for the "first time" for the camera

That's all for now. I've got more ideas for this story, so let me know if you want a part 2. And maybe I'll find the time/motivation to write this story out for real at some point. I want to use the clickbait-y video titles as the titles for two different stories, so look out for those sometime in the future.

[wings-of-ink]

Hear ye, hear ye!

All of you who have been anxiously awaiting Chapter 4 can send a big thank you to the Microsoft mayhem that happened on Friday. Because of it, I have had two entire, unprecedented, days off of work during which all I did was write and edit chapter 4! Stuff like this never happens to me either, so I ate it up. My work computer is still super broken too, so who knows what will happen tomorrow, lol.

So, chapter 4, barring anything disastrous that I do not yet foresee – is coming very soon. Like, any day this week soon. For now, I am looking for bugs and other errors until I feel comfortable getting the update loaded. I will also be updating the warning list and some things on the itch page. I keep feeling like I'm forgetting something I wanted to do, and am having a hell of a time remembering what it was…

Anyway, if it interests you, more details below!

In going through some of the Google Error Reports, I had a couple that I either could not resolve or find.

It was reported that checking player stats in chapter 1 would not work – that it would flash only for a moment. I could not recreate this. If anyone else has seen this, please let me know.

In the end of chapter 2 where there are multiple ways to spend your time there seems to be some issues with how choices become unselectable after certain clicks and it just doesn't seem to function correctly. I have fixed the issues I have found, but could not recreate all of the instances that were reported. This section may get an overhaul in the future since I understand the coding a bit more now.

It was also reported that fonts are not changing. There is definitely a weird issue with this and it will take some time for me to sit down and hammer out. The fonts do change for me, but notably, I don't think they are switching to the correct font types. They don't even appear to be the same fonts from when I first starting this project, lol. This issue is on hold for now.

The last 2 bonus segments for the end of chapter 3 are being pushed aside for the time being. I kept finding myself feeling like I was hammering them into the chapter and it was a little exhausting. If I force it, it will be less enjoyable to read. The segments that are missing are the ones for hanging out with Zahn and Nathanael. Zahn's is easy to wiggle in elsewhere at least, but I'm not sure if Nathan's will make it in or not. We'll see, my motivation was purely for chapter 4, so now that it is ready to go, I'll have another crack at it before I drop or move them completely. They aren't super important to the story, but are just for fun (and if Oswin got his, it's only fair that Zahn gets theirs too). That last section of chapter 3 ended up way too long, so it may get adjusted later anyway.

As with any work in progress, I can't guarantee that your old saves will work. That's probably how we are going to have to roll for a bit until I really get things nice and smooth. Eventually, I will add an option to start from a later chapter and go through and make the (MANY) relevant choices to skip ahead. This may be implemented when Chapter 6 is ready to go since all the ROs will be available.

I also want to figure out how to implement named saves to make it easier for you to sort. I appreciate IFs that feature this, but I do not yet know how to do it, but I'm going to research. I like to play through with several MCs, and I'd like to offer enough info in the saves and/or Stats Menu that you can do this and easily know who you are playing as. Let me know what you would like most in the Player Stats Menu too. Note, that some options do not appear here until you choose them in the story.

Coming up…

Since Chapter 4 is down, I will soon be posting a big poll about future IFs. I've been compiling info for it here and there for a couple weeks on possible options for me to write in conjunction with God-Cursed. So, stay tuned for that in the coming days.

I will FINALLY get to my inbox in earnest as well! I will keep reaction asks paused until further notice since they take me the longest to answer. Feel free to still send in comments or quicker questions. If your question is too spoilery to answer, I will not be able to post about it.

Anyway, hope you are all doing well! I can't wait to see what you think of chapter 4. I hope you enjoy it. I'll get it out just as soon as I feel comfortable enough with it. ^_^

[declanlikesmusic]

never got into vaporwave probably, what projects should i listen to for an introduction??

I always love this question. Finding the best primers to the whole of the vaporwave landscape and introducing new people to them is one of the many things with this genre that I just find so fun. I'm going to try to be as succinct as I can, but I am going to shoutout a lot, specifically twelve, so go ahead and take your time with these.

Macintosh Plus – Floral Shoppe (2011)

The biggest vaporwave album of all time. I will tell you now that this album is by no means perfect, it has quite a mixed reputation among fans & outsiders of the genre, but this is the album to single-handedly define the genre's core ethos in such a highly-concentrated way. If nothing else, this should give you a taste of what inspires and influences the genre most.

Chuck Person's Eccojams Vol. 1 (2010)

By all accounts, this is the very first vaporwave album and to this day, nothing sounds quite like it. A classic array of disorienting, hazy & psychedelic loops of old popular songs that still sound fresh and wholly enveloping.

猫 シ Corp. – HIRAETH (2014)

This one here is to help people gain a better understanding of what your typical standard vaporwave album often sounds like. It's quite varied in a number of subtly different styles & approaches to traditional vaporwave with some ambiance sprinkled in as well.

SAINT PEPSI – Hit Vibes (2013)

Now we're getting into the individual subgenres of vaporwave and while there's a few traditional vaporwave tunes sprinkled in here for variety, this album birthed & defined the genre of future funk with some of the best dance bangers you'll find in the scene. Lots of classy tunes on here, it's an absolute jam.

Blank Banshee – Blank Banshee 0 (2012)

Up to this point, every album I've shared has been intensely sample-based. This album still carries some samples, but it has original beats & synths to establish another subgenre known as vaportrap. It's a great beat tape with some classic tunes and I also recommend its sequel too, which is my favourite vapor album of all time.

ESPRIT 空想 – virtua.zip (2014)

Carrying on from the last album, this one almost doesn't use samples at all and when it does, it's usually an extra sound or instrument at most. I'm putting this here to establish that even basic vaporwave can be crafted from original compositions and the results are short but great.

t e l e p a t h テレパシー能力者 – 現実を超えて (2014)

What makes vaporwave the way it is and not like any other genre adjacent to it is its intensely heavy focuses on atmosphere more than anything else. So naturally, you're going to see a lot of bridges to ambient music. This first example is the subgenre of slushwave, which crafts the same excellent vaporwave tunes, but additionally filters them through such a wash of effects that transform them into psychedelic & blissful dreamscapes.

식료품groceries – 슈퍼마켓Yes! We're Open (2014)

The next subgenre in this vein is mallsoft, which answers the question of vaporwave being set in the tall & wide spaces of shopping centres by placing relaxing tunes in pools of reverb and letting them sprawl from the loudspeakers of the area's corners. This album is the first big one to establish that with a unique setting and gorgeous sample choices.

2814 – 新しい日の誕生 (2015)

The last of these ambient subgenres is dreampunk, which is a lot like vaportrap in that it heavily relies on its own compositions with very few samples while still retaining the genre's focus on nostalgia, this time set in the melancholic & rainy nights of the urban city through what is at least the second biggest album in the entire genre.

death's dynamic shroud – I'll Try Living Like This (2015)

I'm gonna end this list with a few of the genre's weirdest corners. Vaporwave is constantly wide open to new & unique ways of experimentation and this album stands as the best example of that. Wholly unique aesthetic choices, completely innovative sampling techniques and an overall opus of incredibly strange, surreal & psydchedelic soundscapes.

Infinity Frequencies – Computer Death (2013)

After that, I'll close this list with two examples of an abstract subgenre known by two names. They're synonymous to the greater community & world of music, but I see them as two different approaches. They're both defined by the creation of intensely haunting, isolated & eerie loops of mysterious soundbites extracted from the likes of television & radio. Signalwave is what I use to describe the more accessible & musical end of that sound and this start of a trilogy is the best example for it.

░▒▓新しいデラックスライフ▓▒░ – ▣世界から解放され▣ (2012)

On the other hand, I will leave you with what I consider to be the most divisive vaporwave record of all time. This album defines what is more commonly known as broken transmission and it is much more obtuse, glitchy, dark & surreal to listen to depending on the album. You're going to listen to this and either love it, hate it or sit inbetween. People have taken it as a joke while others view it as a work of art. Approach this one at your own discretion.

That's it! Those are the first 12 vaporwave albums that I will almost always recommend every single one of you to check out first. The greater landscape of vaporwave doesn't start & end with these albums, but instead, they give you the best surface level primer to help dip your toes in to such an amazing genre of music.

[lazywitchling]

The Three-but-actually-Six Card Spread

I vote that we call this one Schrodinger's Spread, because I don't know whether I'm gonna draw three or six until I've already pulled the cards.

So, I used to try to do the usual three card spread. You know the one. Every tarot book lists it as Past Present Future, unless you have a quirky deck, and then they've probably rebranded it as something else. You can find lists of three card spreads with different questions to ask. IT'S A WHOLE THING. There's like. a whole three-card-spread industry or something. But anyway: it always confused me.

I am absolutely not a tarot expert. I put down three cards, and then I can stare at it for an hour going "I have no idea what this means." The standard guidebook keywords float through my head, but I wasn't sure how to make an actual READ out of that.

I started following @unhelpfultarot, who is anything but unhelpful. Seeing the daily two card pull and the way that the two cards are connected into (usually) a single sentence made the lightbulb come on. "Oh THAT'S how you do it!" So I started just reading two cards at a time, but as a single unit, like Lenormand. And once I got a handle on that, I started adding the third card back in. Then I'd have two pairs of cards to read! 1>2 and 2>3.

Well, at some point, I was like "Hey what happens if I put a card down below those three, and used that as a sort of connection-between-them card?"

So now it looks like this:

1 2 3 4 5

Where "4" is not its own answer, it's just what connects 1 and 2. The same thing for 5: it just connects 2 and 3 without being its own answer.

WELL, then I'm looking at that, and I said "Hey, now I've generated another pair, so I can lay down ANOTHER card to connect those two!

1 2 3 4 5 6

"Hey, Jes? That's... that's a six card spread..."

Shhhhhhhhh. Who asked you.

"Crow did."

Hush, imaginary reader.

Anyway, so now what I've got is the original read, the three most important cards, 1 2 3. And btw, this whole thing is usually to answer ONE SINGLE QUESTION, because-- actually, @windvexer explains it better than I can here. (HEY. YOU. DON'T SKIP THAT LINK, ACTUALLY CLICK IT, THANK YOU.)

So what I have now is one question that is answered by a sentence (1-2-3), with two cards that don't tell me NEW information but that tell me what each pair is saying to each other (4 and 5), with a final one that's sort of a TL;DR card (6).

"Jes. That is a six card spread."

CORRECT, and as @upthewitchypunx and others have said, if I were charging money for this, yes absolutely this is a six card spread, and you're not getting it for 50% off.

BUT HERE'S HOW THE WHOLE THING HAPPENS IN A REAL WORLD SCENARIO

I pick up my tarot deck. I think "I'm going to do a three card reading." I pull three cards, lay them down, read. If they make sense, cool, I put them away and move on.

If I get confused though, then it's upside-down pyramid time, and I'll lay down the other three. This either results in "Ohhhhhh okay, THAT'S what it's saying," or I confuse myself EVEN more (which is very easy to do).

In that case, it's still living in my head as a three-card-spread, because that's the important part that I'm actually reading. But if I set out to pull the inverted pyramid from the get-go, then it's a six-card-spread.

This is where I'm legally obliged to put PREMEDITATED in all caps for @friend-crow

My joking answer, which wasn't FULLY a joke, is that nothing I do is premeditated. I don't MEAN for there to be six cards, but here they are now, and I've got more important questions than "is this still a three-card-spread or is it now a six-card-spread?"

At that point it's like the tarot equivalent of "Is a hot dog a sandwich" and would just trip me up when I'm just trying to eat a hot dog. The answer is "WHO CARES! I got things to do."

(@asksecularwitch 'cause you also had thinky thoughts about all this, and I wanted you to see the upside down pyramid!)

[emotional-mess-in-distress]

So I know the Wooly is evil theory is popular rn and while I'm not ruling it out I have some observations to make.

So there's a couple of ideas I frequently saw about our sheep friend, I'll try to address most of em.

1. Wooly is some type of program put in by Hamlin to keep Amanda in cheek.

This is interesting however the more you look at it the more it falls apart. Wooly clearly acts in a more human way and he tries to warn the player in one of the tapes. I think it's clear he's not just a program, plus in the altered "In your neighbourhood" tape when you answer wrong for who to address the birthday card to Wooly says "You really forgot?" But the subtitles have "???" in the place of his name for that specific line. So no I don't think he's a program.

2. Wooly is some Hamlin employee put in the tapes to keep Amanda in check.

More plausible then the last but let's be honest what adult would willingly want to be trapped in a kids show forever? Why do I think it's willingly? Because Wooly makes no attempt at escaping, Amanda clearly wants to get out/be found and that's her objective throughout the game but Wooly is constantly trying to stop her from doing that. He makes an effort to maintain the childhood show front and doesn't like any outside connections (trying to stop Amanda from sending the card to Kate in both versions of "In your neighbourhood").

I saw some people suggest he was trapped in there by accident, but if that were true wouldn't he be on Amanda's side about contacting the player and wanting to be found? Why would he be actively working against that?

3. Wooly is the chief neurosurgical officer mentioned in the credits of the "uh oh accidents" tape.

I feel like people say this only because they think it's the only weird person in the credits of the tapes but we can also see another weird person credited at the end on "in your neighborhood" for a split second you can see a "containment specialist" be credited.

I'm pretty sure none of these people are Wooly.

If we take an even closer look at the credits we can see that after the "cast" thingy pops up it lists Amanda's voice actor, then in all the credits we currently have there is an immediate glitch right after Amanda where Wooly's voice is supposed to be credited and then the other credits play out as normal. Wooly's va is explicitly hidden because I think, just like in Amanda's case, Wooly might have the spirit of the person voicing him and they wanted to keep that a mistery for now (probably to explore in a sequel)

Also just as with the last one if you were a random doctor and you got trapped in a children's show I don't think you'd be happy about that.

4. What I consider the og theory, Wooly is simply another child who was a victim similarly to Amanda.

Now I think this is plausible with the information we currently have, I'm also more willing to believe a child would enjoy being in a kid's show forever vs an adult like the previous theories.

So conclusion I guess? I don't think Wooly's evil but I do think he's intentionally trying to keep Amanda in the show and stop her from telling the player she's out there. I think we'll definitely find out more about him with possible future updates/a sequel so I'm excited for that!

If you have any observations or other theories or maybe more proof for the theories I've already listed I'd be glad to hear it^^

[midnight-mourning]

Good morning, mourning! is it possible for you to show us how you make an outline for writing a chapter sometime in the future? like what does your first rough rough draft look like?🤔

also whats your favorite vine/meme at the moment?🫣

Hi pip!!

I can actually show you RIGHT NOW as I keep all my outlines (for the most part) saved in their respective chapters

*added a read more post-answering bc this got LONG lol*

So, it's sometimes a bit dependent on the fic, what I'm writing at the time, and where I'm at in the process. I usually have two different methods I stick to and typically combine in some manner:

bulleted list of important scenes/ideas to expand out upon from there (typically how I start out ideas for oneshots)

big blurb paragraph of a flow of ideas from start to finish (typically how I start out chapter-based fics, and what I do for Confused Spirit)

From there, I'll then combine the two methods in some way if it's a oneshot, and if I'm struggling to get the words flowing for a chapter-based fic, I'll use the list to expand out upon things I wrote originally. For example, this was ch. 34's outline (spoilers for those who haven't read it yet):

and then the list I added once I got started properly, which I crosssed out as I went along. Fun fact, you can see where I hit a moment of greatness in that last bullet and the chapter came together as a whole from there:

the blacked out is things I've pushed back for later (or just general spoiler stuff), so you can see that inital plans and even those I make WHILE writing the chapter are still subject to change as I go into actually writing it. Another good example would be from ch. 32:

in this case, I went back and added to the original outline (I think you can tell where lmao) and didn't utilize a list

I'd love to find chekov's gun, bc that one was REALLY good if I'm remembering correctly but I think it's buried somewhere in the Dialogue Dump unfortunately 😔

Adding on to that, I write a lot of scene ideas/mainly dialogue for things that happen in the future as the ideas don't typically come to me in chronological order. the party from 33? like a month into writing the story. the team meeting Michael? mid-arc 2. Chekov's gun? the start to midway point in the first couple days of writing and then basically finished within by the middle of august (started in July for those that don't know)

My point being that there's a lot of things that I have saved for certain arcs/plot points that I then insert into their proper place in the story once I find where that is. For arc 3 in particular I took the approach of gathering all the dialogue i KNOW was going to be in the arc, wrote my lil blurbs for all the chapters, and then started placing them accordingly. stuff has (and probably will continue to) gotten shuffled around, but for the most part has stayed in their original places.

a rough rough draft beyond that is basically adding to those base scene ideas (sometimes in order, sometimes not) typically writing dialogue and then filling in the blanks from there! sometimes if I'm lucky I can write a chapter from (mostly) start to finish in a span of four hours or so but that's only when i'm REALLY cookin'

Sorry for the super long winded response, didn't realize how much I wrote until I did it 😅

TL;DR, blurb of ideas, organize those ideas/add to them or adjust, full send it from there (with the potential help of some dialogue along the way)

As for my fav vine/meme currently? Probably the lump fish guy, everytime someone says 'very mindful, very demure' (I am not on tiktok so I do NOT understand this one) I instantly think 'very beautiful, very powerful'

thanks so much for the lovely ask!!! <3 <3 <3

[touch-of-diamond]

Intro post!!

Salut tout le monde, je suis Montague LeBlanc.

Ah, I should be speaking in english, shouldn't I? Either way, you all probably know me one way or another, and I'm not entirely sure if I like that fact, but I'm here now, even if I'm late to this 'party'

Considering well, everything, I'm not sure how active I'll be, but I'll try to make time for this blog, use it as a way to distract myself, or something.

I'll probably just post about things my husband does, or updates on the hotel, answering questions, as I already have so many.

I however, will be using hashtags when posting, for example: Normal posting: #Diamond Dialogue OOC posting: #Medallion Mumbles

// OOC //

Hiya! Hello! It's me! your host!! (I go by He/They for future reference) Right off the bat, I'd like to keep asks SFW! I might occasionally make a slightly suggestive reference or mention, but those will be very low. I will be running this account based on my own lore/headcanons made for Montague! Fair warning right now, he's vastly different from a lot of other Montague's I've seen, so if you aren't here for a silly goober of a man, I hate to break it too you, this blogs not for you.

quick tw!! some of these headcanons are pretty heavy, so warning now that things like ab#se and neglect might and will be mentioned at certain points!!

So with that, Let's dig in! (sorry about random ahh order)

Montague is very much autistic! Having a special interest in geology, diamonds seem to be his favourite gem to talk about and associate himself with.

He came from wealth, though he would leave it due to neglect and abuse, running away from his home at the age of 16 and hiding out at the remains of a building that would eventually become the Grand Glacier.

French is Montague's first language, and he has a tendency to default to it. He might switch to it when struggling with a certain english word, or so on.

Montague is in fact married! I won't share who yet, but you will all find out with time.

He is absolutely riddled with anxiety over plenty of things, but he's most anxious about driving/being in cars, as his love for speed got him in an accident on the track, and a missing leg soon followed.

My Montague is also pretty quiet and soft spoken, disliking loud and repetive sounds. He's more than likely to break down if yelled at, or hands being raised at him.

Other than a missing leg, Montague has a long list of health issues, mental and physical, one of his biggest being the fact that his medallion is quite literally his heart and life force, on top of that, his connection to it being like the one ring.

One last thing! My personal headcanons of what he looks like! (Art by me, i post more at @noots-wears-blue-boots !!)

There's probably a lot more that'll be dropped later on, but until then, here you guys are!

[trilobi-te]

Chipspeech Twitter Archive Update

Hi I should have done this months ago.. I do not know when (or if) I am going to finish that website lmao. So I am just going to share my notes from Google Docs. Should be easier to read than the original posts and helpful as a starting point if anyone else decides to make a website :3

The documents are all on commenting mode so feel free to make comments to bookmark things for yourself or write your thoughts or whatever. Under the cut I have put some formatting notes.

It's a folder, each year of Twitter posts is its own document (I tried to compile them into one but it lagged too much). There is also a document with all of the original Tumblr posts (from the accounts I could find, no tags yet but I will go back and get them eventually, also no dates but they're all from 2015), and one with the bios from the official website for ease of access.

The formatting is a little (a lot) weird and there are probably pictures that need resizing/transcription but I figured it's better to give people access now. The text is small (to keep the page count as low as possible) so you will have to zoom in.

It goes by day, organized with a bulleted list. The top level bullets are each character that tweeted that day. The second level bullets are original tweets/retweets by that character. The third+ level bullets are comment threads under that tweet, the organization here is inconsistent but imo still readable (if you think something needs an edit for clarity let me know and I'll fix it).

For each character's section of the list, normal text is that character's tweets/comments. Italicized text is anyone who is not that character. If it is labeled with unitalicized text, it is that character/important account (e.g. the official Chipspeech account), otherwise it is a fan. I also included some labels and/or clarifying comments for Vocaloid producers I like, they're not central to the story though

I got rid of the line breaks within the tweets when copying them down because it was easier to format. Sorry about that. Idk how to fix it other than going through everything again but it doesn't take away from the story so I'm leaving it for now.

If something came from a website other than Twitter, I tried to provide the link (unless its content was deleted). I did my best to transcribe the Clyp posts that were not deleted.

If something is a text-only retweet, it is marked with [retweet]. If it includes an image, it's probably a screenshot of the whole thing. I only included retweets that felt story-relevant (so no miscellaneous cat pictures, Apple-related aesthetic images, etc.), but if people really want it I can go back and add the rest.

Deleted tweets are noted with [deleted tweet], with the characters they came from if applicable. Idk how Twitter works but it the person in the thread is replying to the username of a certain character, I assumed it was that character's tweet that had been deleted. If something says [deleted Dandy thread], assume there is a deleted Dandy tweet in between each of the listed tweets (or another character, but it's usually Dandy). That was meant to be a temporary time-saver and I've gone back and fixed the ones I've found, but there's probably more I accidentally skipped.

Anything not in English is translated in a comment. Except the X-Sampa (I will fix that sometime but there's not much of it). Also it was done with the built-in Google Translate feature so it may be a little incorrect. Unclear pictures and whatnot also have clarifying comments. I can add more clarifying comments (or image IDs) if anyone needs them.

I tried not to include any unattributed fanart but there are some that I forgot to copy the handle for (I am also fixing these when I find them).

As for any future updates to this folder as a whole, I kind of want to go back through each account's liked tweets to see if there's anything funny in there but idk when that will be. That would probably be its own document.

Honestly I should have given everyone access back in June.. oops. If you have any questions you can put them in a comment on this post (or reach out to me another way, idk). As I mentioned before, feel free to use all of this as a starting point if you're making your own website.

I'll pin this post so it's findable in the future. Also sorry for disappearing for several months (it will happen again).

[dandylovesturtles]

For the ask game! :)

LMNSTU

L: How many times do you usually revise your fic/chapter before posting?

Usually as I'm writing it (assuming I don't just do it all in one sitting), I'll come back and give it a read over and edit before I start back to work, and then I read over it once more before I post it. that's usually it though. I'm lazy when it comes to editing lol. pretty much all my fics are first drafts.

M: Got any premises on the back burner that you’d care to share?

well, I do still want to write the fic about Splinter's son (that he didn't know he had) stumbling into their lives post-movie. I have a post about it on here somewhere.

the fic I MEANT to write after I was done with IMBI (before a different AU plagued my brain, which I've been actively working on) is a fic whose working title is "Mikey and Donnie's Step-by-Step Guide for Saving Your Doomed Family," which is the obligatory peepaw fic. It follows Mikey and Donnie, post-movie, building a cross-dimensional time machine to try and save the bad future Hamatos and bring them to the saved present. It's told from Mikey and Donnie's POVs and has a heavy focus on their relationship, both pre- and post-Krang invasion.

I do still really want to write it, it's just that this other thing completely consumed my creative energy. oops.

N: Is there a fic you wish someone else would write (or finish) for you?

uhhh idk. I have lots of ideas all the time that I'll probably never write just because, you know, time and labor lol, but not really any I can think of to put here.

this is the nice thing about fandom kinkmemes (or whatever you would call a SFW kinkmeme), if you have an idea you don't want to write yourself you can just go drop it in a comment and let someone else write it.

I have already answered S

T: Any fandom tropes you can’t stand?

uhhhh I think my biggest thing that is Popular In Fandom but I Don't Like is AUs that bring fantastical canons into our reality and like, have the characters going to college or working office jobs or whatever. so "modern AUs," except it bums me out that that's the name we settled on because actual modern times in the setting of a fantasy canon could be really fun! Like, I don't want the "modern AU" Dragon Age to have Hawke working at a coffee shop and taking writing classes at the local uni, I want it to have them fighting darkspawn on top of a skyscraper. or like, you can have the Gaang going to college, but why can't they bend anymore! just let them have it!

FFXV is one of my favorite canons purely because it actually shows some of the thought behind like, what if a world had normal modern technology (they're driving around in modern cars and using smartphones) but also monsters and gods and magic. but so many fantasy settings in fiction are either medieval or do the bullshit where you have the "magic world" hidden from the "normal world". no! boring! I want to know how legislative proceedings are affected when congressmen can challenge each other to wizard duels. expand your mind!

U: Share three of your favorite fic writers and why you like them so much.

this is list is not in any particular order:

taizi is an amazingly talented writer, there are so many lines in their fics that make me go "wow", and they have such a grasp on character and emotion. they also have some great One Piece fics!

MagicalSpaceDragon is another absolutely incredible writer. their "theseus, and" series is particularly good, but I actually have them in my bookmarks for one of my favorite ROTTMNT fics of all time, "i guess we've really been out of touch (but can it really be so serious)"

and reccing my friend Kiaxet, who is also an amazing writer who mixes hilarity, angst, and heartwarming moments with a deft hand. I'm so excited for the rest of her "Siblingquest 20XX" fic, but all her fics are amazing!

and while they aren't a TMNT writer, I wanna shout out Asidian, who has written several of my favorite FFXV fics (including and especially "Running Behind", which is one of the best MT!Prompto fics, right up there with "poor wayfaring stranger"), and also has some amazing Rise of the Guardians fics (I especially love "Bits and Pieces", which has my favorite trope of "hungry character gets fed", but "Every Boy And Girl" also makes me cry everytime).

thanks for the ask!

[set-wingedwarrior]

The Right time

So. It's been a hot minute, huh?

I'll spare you the long list of reasons why I haven't written for a while, and I can't even promise a full comeback because of my studies and stuff. I've written this very randomly, it's short, and I'm rusty, but I'm still happy I've been able to write something. I hope you'll like it :)

Shout out to @phoenix-fell for proofreading this very last minute, thanks bud!

AO3

------------------------------

Saying that they were shocked was an euphemism. Finding out that one of your friends is now decades older than you and turned into one of the main characters of your favorite childhood book isn’t a commonplace event. It makes you wonder how it must have felt for Jaune to realize that the guy he read about as a kid was actually his future self.

He surely knew how hard it was to process, which is why he left Team RWBY alone for some time, giving their minds the time to ease into that new reality before going straight back to business. In the meantime he’d use that spared hour to help the people of the Ever After that got hurt by the earlier attack, which is hardly a bad idea.

Ruby is visibly shaken, another hit on her sense of duty, feeling once again the failure to save a friend. Weiss is right beside her as the two take comfort in each other’s presence, and Yang feels particularly grateful that Weiss is still fighting to keep her promise to be the best partner she can be. It means that, at least for a little moment, Yang can take time for herself, and address the inner struggles regarding her own partner..

“Are you okay?” Blake, always the observant one, doesn’t miss the betraying flick of worry in Yang’s eyes.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Yang’s quick to answer “It’s just- I think I need to talk to you.” She says, before she can change her mind. She’s aware that it’s not the right time, probably the worst actually, but when was there ever a right one?

“Oh! I- I mean- sure.” Blake’s nervousness is obvious, which is why Yang doesn’t hesitate to take her hand in hers and give it a reassuring squeeze. It works, and Blake lets herself be led outside. “So, what do you need to talk about? Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yes- no- I mean-“ looking down, Yang can see the Rusted Knight, Jaune, moving around with Juniper to help people. She takes a deep breath; she can do this. She has to. “Listen. I know that this, whatever this is going on between us, is still new. And I wanted to wait for the right moment before bringing it up but… then I saw him.” she nodded towards Jaune “Did he even try to get home? How long has he been waiting for us to find him? Or for him to find us?” Yang knows she’s pretty much rambling right now, but Blake’s focused gaze and pointed ears tell her that she still has her undivided attention. “And now I keep wondering: what if that was me? Or you?”

“Yang, we don’t know how things work here, and this is all just a conjecture. But I know that if that was me, I would have waited for you. No matter if I had the chance to escape, I’d never leave you behind.”

“This is not what I meant. I…” now it’s Blakes turn to give her a comforting squeeze.

“What do you mean then? It’s okay, go on.”

“It just… it made me realize: there’s no right time. There’s just here and now. And I don’t wanna force anything on you, you don’t have to answer me in any way. But I can’t risk spending my whole life waiting; I just need to tell you. Blake, I lo-“

Yang doesn’t get the chance to finish, interrupted by a pair of lips pressing on her own. Her first instinct is to freeze, - this is her first kiss, their first kiss! – but she gets one second to reciprocate before Blake pulls back.

“Are you really telling me about waiting and what ifs?” Blake starts, her voice breaking “Yang, I watched you die.” She grips on Yang’s jacket, not holding her but keeping her close “I saw you fall and disappear into a void that I was sure was certain death, and everything just stopped. Atlas, the relics, the evacuation, all gone; all I could think about was that I needed to reach you. I would have jumped if Weiss hadn’t stopped me.”

“Blake…”

“Finding you here has been the greatest relief I have ever felt in my whole life. But, most importantly, it gave me, us, a second chance. I am not risking it, and I am not waiting anymore.” She says solemnly, before looking up and right into her eyes, the amber shining like gold “Yang Xiao Long, I am in love with-“

Yang tries, she really does, but she just can’t resist. She just has to lean down to kiss her again. This time it lasts a little longer, Blake has the time to adjust and kiss her back while both of their arms find their way around each other.

“I’m sorry.” Yang says after pulling back, with a wide grin that says she’s not sorry at all. Somehow Blake can’t bring herself to be mad. 

Then, the next time they speak is together, like they’re one person, one mind, one soul.

“I love you.”

They grin at each other. Grins that turn into smiles, that turn into giggles, until they let out a full blown laughter. It’s not even that funny, but they laugh so hard that they start crying.

All of their stress and fears finally find a way out through that pure unrestricted laughter. All of the feelings, good and bad, but most importantly all the love that has been held close to their hearts, are now free and out into the air of that unique and magical world. And they laugh like crazy, like in love. 

When it finally calms down, the two women look at each other, catch their breaths, then kiss again.

There’s never a right time for this sort of thing, especially when you’re a huntress and the world has fallen onto your shoulders. They could be gone tomorrow, or live long enough to witness the end of the world. 

Now is the right time. So they kiss, and laugh, and enjoy it to its fullest. Because that’s what makes it all more perfect: it’s the present.

[jerzwriter]

Thank you for the asks @maritzaldvr I feel like it's a homework assignment, lol. But that's OK - we writers like nothing more than going on and on about our crazy little characters - so thank you! ❤️

From this list.

1 - How would they handle a breakup?

Ooofh. How I hate even thinking of it - they're my forever couple. I think a breakup would be the hardest thing they'd ever have to go through - short of anything happening to one of their girls. They truly love each other, and that wouldn't stop, so there would have to be a very serious reason for the split. It's one of those "I'll love you forever, but we can't be together" events that are just brutally painful. If they didn't have children yet, I don't know if they'd keep in touch - it would be too painful. But they might because they're more open-minded and progressive than most, so they don't think a romantic relationship ending means you have to cut each other off for life. It would be difficult for them to move on and I think anyone else they'd be with in the future would have to understand, they'd never have their complete hearts.

I have written a few AU's with breakups, including Unblemished (which is a favorite of mine). They had a breakup in the AU series Friends* (another one of my favorites) and All in the Past. There are also two WIP AU's that I've really got to get back to, What's Forever For? and Where it Goes From Here. Also, I make no promises in the current AU Mono-Poly. I was going to say I need to write an AU break up - but apparently, I don't lol

13. How do they act when they’re stressed, and what are some things they do to relax?

More below...

It depends on the level of stress. In my HC, they both had a lot of therapy after the chemical attack, so they have learned how to handle a lot. Also, Tobias has a very laid-back attitude, which helps, especially since Casey is prone to anxiety. What do they do to reduce stress? 😏😏😏 Well.... lol You know. lol But in addition to that, I think they also make sure to get rest, exercise, and have frequent massages and pampering to help reduce stress.

But a BIG stressor is another issue - for example, Casey nearly dies after their third baby is born - and Tobias nearly falls apart. He does what he has to for his daughters, but he's hanging on by a string. Fortunately, he has a great group of people around him who help, but it's not pretty.

20. How do they react to getting hurt? Both in the sense of a small injury like a paper cut or a bigger injury.

I think they both blow off minor injuries; I can imagine they get a lot of smaller ones on the job, and they just keep going. I think they're pretty resolute when it comes to bigger injuries, too. They'd react as most people would, but they'd be anxious to fix it and move on - they've got things to do.

41. Are they messy or clean? How do they react to a mess?

I think they are both very neat and don't like it at all when things become messy. However, there is a caveat... Casey's morning routine leaves a big ol mess in the bathroom - make up, skin and hair care, products left all over. She cleans it as soon as she returns from work, but since she and Tobias are not always on the same shift - sometimes he's stuck with the mess and I don't think he loves it. lol That's probably a growing pain when they first live together. Also, with a cat and three daughters, they will have to become a little more accustomed to messes, but they still don't love them - and they will do their best to keep them minimal.

43. What are their eating habits?

Given that they are both doctors, they tend to watch what they eat and follow a healthy diet. That said, they know balance is key, and they indulge in foods they love, too.

47. What is one thing that they’re really good at?

Sex. I mean, sorry, but it's true! lol They're also excellent at communication.

49. How clingy are they? What do they act like?

They're very into PDA, but I don't think they're clingy. To me, clingy means they're at a party, and they can't leave each other's side. They're not like that. They love being together, but not in a toxic way. They'll go talk or interact in different groups, but they'll always be so happy to return to each other.

52. On an average day, what can be found in their pockets?

Hmm. At work? For both, I think you'd find hand sanitizer, lip balm, and maybe tissues. Casey likely has lotion and mints/gum. Tobias, a lollipop or two. I totally see him as having a thing for lollipops.

63. How important is personal hygiene to them? What do they smell like?

Very, very, very important. These two like things neat, they're into their appearances - they are almost always well groomed. Tobias often smells like Tom Ford's Oud Wood. If not, he sounds like his sandalwood body wash. Casey will smell like whatever Bath & Bodyworks scent is her favorite at the moment.

90. Do they drink alcohol? If so, what’s their favorite type of alcohol?

Yes, they do. They will often have a drink to wind down at the end of the night, but only some days. On the weekends, they definitely do some drinking. I imagine Tobias likes some high-end single malt whiskeys, and he has a wine cellar filled with everything from Casey's favorite (Bartenura Moscato) to very pricey vintages. They have beer in the fridge - likely a yummy craft beer - that they will drink during bar-b-ques or while watching sports.

Thanks so much for the asks! :)

[spacecluster]

I've got something to share about the Barbie movie that I should probably be sharing with a therapist but I don't have one so it's going here instead

I've been seeing so many posts on Tumblr tiktok and on Instagram and just really everywhere about the Barbie movie and how amazing it was, and don't get me wrong I'm not about to say that the Barbie movie is not amazing because it genuinely is. it is genuinely such an amazing movie. what's bothering me is all of the posts of these girls who are like "I miss being a little girl I want to go back to being a little girl" and I was just like watching one of these posts and I was thinking to myself 'God what I would give to be 5 years old again and how much more would I cherish it knowing what I know now, knowing that I don't get to go back' and then I stopped

And I thought to myself

'Okay but lilly,

You don't get to go back

Time as you perceive it

Will only ever move

Forward.

You never get to go back but you're spending all of this time now wishing that you could go back.'

Why are you doing this to yourself? why are you treating the past like it's some wonderful thing and the present has absolutely no potential because you're looking at the past with this lens - and I'm still talking to myself here when I say you - you're looking at the past with this lens of "I would change this if I could go back. I wouldn't waste my time on this. I would do this instead if I could go back to being five." but like

You don't.

You don't ever get to go back. And doesn't that make the present so much better? The gift of the present is knowing what has already happened in the past and being able to look forward to the future, which, as I'm saying it, is kind of the point that I noticed in the Barbie movie now that I'm thinking about it.

And the thing is, I'm spending my twenties wishing I could go back to my teens and I spent my teens wishing I could go back to being a small child. I don't want to be 30 and wishing I could go back to 20 and change all the stuff. Why would I want that when I could just stop living for my teenage self and start living for my 20 year old self so that my 30 year old self has permission and has the time and has the mental space to live for herself because all of the time and the mental space and the energy isn't being stuck on nostalgia and wishing that I had done this that or the other because right now I have the power to choose this side or the other I mean I'm only 22 for fuck sake why why spend another 10 years wasting the time that I have now wishing that I hadn't wasted the time that I had before so that when I get older so that later I just have to waste that time wishing that I had spent this time better

Sorry I'm using text to speech to type this right now but I'm I'm actually I'm going to go out and do something tomorrow. I'm going to go out and do something that I've always wanted to do I don't know what yet maybe. I'm going to go and watch a movie by myself all by myself on my own. I already jumped in a pool fully clothed today cross that off the bucket list. I'm going to go to a movie by myself do I have the money for it? no. do I have a job to recoup money for it? no. am I going to do it anyway? yeah because I only get to be 22 once and then I'll be 23 and I don't want to spend 23 wishing that 22 had been different when I could just make it different now

Oh my God the Barbie movie is so good

Anyway if anyone wants to give me like. A dollar? I guess? Hit me up? Idk it's 3 am I'm gonna go fold my clothes now goodnight

[hils79]

DMBJ Entry Level Fanwork Recs

Following on from this post a few people asked for some recs for fanworks they can read to get a better handle on the fandom and the characters if they don't know much about what DMBJ is about

This is by no means a definitive list, and I'd suggest checking the tags on any fanworks to make sure it's something you'd enjoy before you dive in.

I have my own personal preferences when it comes to favourite characters and ships and while I've tried to throw a bit of everything in here this is a fandom that loves its rarepairs and poly ships so I can't cover everything.

Please, by all means drop me an ask or a reply if you have any questions. I'm always willing to drag new people into the pits with me

A couple of things to start off with:

@foxofninetales has written a very useful list of possible entry points to the fandom

And if you want a very brief overview of the main players (this franchise has So Many characters it's totally okay to be confused) I wrote one over on Dreamwidth at the start of the year

Okay, to try and organise this in some sort of coherent way I'm going to break it up into canon fanworks and AU fanworks. Sometimes an AU is a better way to get to know the characters, or you might want to get a feel for the canonical settings. Reader's choice.

Then I'll break it down into ships in case Fox's guide has got you interested in something specific

Canon

Wu Xie/Zhang Qiling

Keepsakes Box by ShenWeiLightning

When Zhang Qiling loses his memories, the Zhang family attempt to whitewash Wu Xie from his world. Only the box he instructed they give him as a precaution was never checked for compartments and some of the pictures hidden inside, lead to certain conclusions...

The POV character has amnesia so you learn things along with him

Tabula Rasa by xantissa

Zhang Qiling forgets. Then he comes to some interesting conclusions regarding his relationship to the man named Wu Xie.

Another amnesia fic so same thing applies as above. I'm pretty sure this was the first fic I read in this fandom myself.

Visible to All But Me by Hils

“To the merging of the Wu and Zhang families,” his uncle toasts with a raise of his glass. "It's not what I'd hoped for in terms of securing the future of our family, as you know, but at least it's better than nothing."

Wu Xie blinks at him and raises his glass to take a drink while he tries to figure out what’s happening. There aren’t that many members of the Zhang family that his uncle has had dealings with. Xiaoge would have mentioned something if he’d entered into some sort of arrangement with his uncle. Perhaps his Ershu has made some sort of business deal with Zhang Rishan.

OR

Five times Wu Xie didn't know he was dating Zhang Qiling but everyone else did, and one time he figured it out (with some help)

Yes, it's probably poor netiquette to self-rec but this is hands down my most popular DMBJ fic and it's mostly just about Wu Xie being oblivious with no real ties to the canon plot

Liu Sang/Wu Xie/Zhang Qiling

Cat's Paw by Merinnan & Xantissa

While some very basic knowledge of The Lost Tomb Reboot is needed for this, you mostly find out what's happening through Liu Sang's perspective so it's not entirely necessary.

Wang Pangzi/Wu Xie/Zhang Qiling

A Distracting Effort by elenothar

“Teensy tiny favour,” Hei Xiazi starts, with the kind of grin that says he knows he’s about to stir some shit and is looking forward to it. “I need someone to distract Zhao Ji and you” – he points at Wu Xie – “happen to be exactly his type.”

Wu Xie blinks. That’s… not what he’d been expecting.

Next to him Pangzi looks like he’s readying himself to bristle in protective outrage at any moment now and across the room Xiaoge’s relaxed sprawl has turned into something rather more threatening.

or

Hei Xiazi has opinions on Wu Xie's wardrobe, Wu Xie has opinions on interior decorating, Pangzi has opinions on Wu Xie's flirting and Xiaoge lurks protectively (and pointedly).

While this is not about tomb raiding it is exactly the sort of nonsense that happens in canon on a regular basis

Reunion to Rain Village by achray, hils, teyla and fangirlishness

A series of stories that are all standalone but are all set in and around our shared version of Yucun. The stories are not connected beyond some background themes and characters.

The only thing you really need to know is that the canon franchise ends with the three main characters retiring to a country village to run a restaurant and live in a house that Wu Xie designed and built for them. This series is set during that time but apart from that no canon knowledge is needed.

Hei Xiazi/Xie Yuchen

Why does it have to be you? by blackwatervial

It’s common knowledge that, if a delicate flower finds itself in a dire situation, a knight in shining armour will come to the rescue. Only that Xie Yuchen is no delicate flower, and his knight in shining armour is more of an overpriced mercenary.

This fic is only short but it perfectly covers everything you need to know about their relationship

Gen

Cascade by frith_in_thorns

Liu Sang didn't need looking after. Absolutely not. It had only been a small stabbing.

Unfortunately, Wu Xie overrode him.

Even more unfortunately, that was only the start of everyone's problems.

An excellent tomb raiding adventure with plenty of whump, misunderstandings and tomb nonsense

Take a Cup Of Kindness Yet by fox_of_nine_tales

There are several reasons Liu Sang doesn’t drink, and all of them are true.

I'm trying not to make this rec post entirely about Liu Sang because, as I mentioned in my DW post he's really only in one of the dramas/books. But he's very popular in my corner of the fandom so...

AU

Wu Xie/Zhang Qiling

Those who fear darkness have never seen what light can do by Merinnan & Xantissa

When Wu Xie was seven years old, he snuck away from his guardian during one of the digs that Sanshu took him to. Only things went wrong, the entrance collapsed, and it took a week to dig the child out from the near collapsed tomb.

They expected a body. They prayed that the child had somehow survived, but seven days without food or water for an adult would have been deadly, a child had no chances of survival at all.

They found Wu Xie deep in the tomb, sleeping on his little backpack. He was warm and healthy, confused at why the adults were yelling, looking like he’d just stepped into the tomb five minutes ago.

An alternate first meeting where Zhang Qiling is a supernatural creature.

A Swiftly Tilting Planet by slutspeare

Yincangui is Where Lost Things Return, and Wu Xie, captain of the Wushanju , has been trying to find it since his uncle went missing fifteen years ago. The only thing is that no one is quite sure that it actually exists, except for Liu Sang, who manages to finagle his way onto Wu Xie's ship and into their quest. Without any solid proof or idea of where they're going, it seems like Yincangui is always going to be a lost dream... unless the crew of the Wushanju can unravel the threads of the universe and lead themselves to what they've been searching for.

Absolutely stunningly written space AU where no real prior knowledge of canon is needed.

Liu Sang/Wu Xie/Zhang Qiling

Catch and Release by Merinnan & Xantissa

After weeks of being on the run from the people who'd been experimenting on him, Liu Sang was cold, hungry, and still hiding as a fox. When he came across a live capture trap in a large garden, baited with good, good food, he decided it was worth the risk. Then kept coming back again. And again.

Wu Xie just wanted to catch and socialise a feral cat into a pet. He hadn't planned on a fox deciding the trap he'd put out was a convenient and consistent source of food.

There's a lot of fics in this fandom where Liu Sang can turn into a fox. It's entirely down to this Liu Chang photoshoot so I figured I'd put one in here as a taster. Plenty more where that came from if you like it

Hei Xiazi/Xie Yuchen

Ad Hoc Services by fox_of_nine_tales

If assumptions make an ass out of you and me, well, why let a perfectly good ass go to waste?

In which Hei Xiazi is mistaken for a prostitute and his evening just gets better from there.

This might be an AU but it perfectly encapsulates how ridiculous these two idiots are

Vids

If you're more of a visual person these vids are a taster of what the fandom is all about (also linked in my DW post if you've already looked at that). It's a mixture of general fandom vibes and ship specific vids (and one solely about Pangzi because I love him)

This is just a very small sample to get you going. If you're not in the fandom and this has piqued your interest feel free to let me know and I can try and put together a more specific rec list for what you like

If you are in the fandom, feel free to reblog with any additions that you think should be on the list. This is only intended to be a sampler.

[rudikawhy]

I've finished Book Lovers by Emily Henry.

☆☆☆☆½

Short version: I loved it, I would recommend.

▪︎▪︎▪︎SPOILERS▪︎▪︎▪︎

I did like it very much from the beginning on, but as soon as Nora walked through Sunshine Falls, I loved it.

For the most part, Libby was my favourite character. I can't really say why, but something about her really spoke to me. When she started to keep obvious secrets from Nora, it frustrated me (probably not as much as Nora but quite). Luckily, that 'problem' solved itself after some time, and I'm glad it got solved that way, because I would have hated it if Libby and Brandon got divorced. I didn't learn too much about Brandon, but I liked him a lot, even if it was just for the fact that he loved Libby and she loved him, and that he was so close with Nora. And of course I loved Libby for loving her sister so much. That they were so close, cared for each other, for each other lives, each other dreams (problem was that they weren't always communicated).

Unlike Nora, I liked Charlie from the beginning. Of course, I knew that he'd reappear in the story later on, but even without that information I could sympathize with him. I just felt that the way Nora met him wasn't his true personality, that there was more to the story (which was true).

Sometimes it was a little too predictable what would happen, especially in the first week. I (almost) always knew when she would run into Charlie (I didn't mind). But most of the times, it was connected with a plot twist. I thought that Charlie would be another customer in the book shop, I didn't expect him to work there (to name an example that I remember off the top of my mind).

And although I did appreciate it very much, it was noticeable, how he always did and said the right thing. And to say it in Jemma Simmons' words: "Stop. Just stop trying to do all the right things. It's too much." I'm really complaining, of course, I was happy that this relationship could happen without a major fight on the pages. And I did love Charlie for always saying and doing the right things, for respecting Nora and her boundaries. This I realized completely, when he told Nora, that he would bring her home if that's what she wants. But if she wants to stay and wake up screaming, that's okay, too. And if she wants to stay and changes her mind in the middle of the night, that's okay, too, then he would bring her home at 4 am.

I can't talk about every single moment that made me love Charlie, so I'll stop.

About Nora. I didn't like her too much until about half way through (maybe a little bit earlier). I think it was when she decided that she is NOT Nadine Winters and started to act in a way to proof it, that I started to like her (I didn't hate her before). Also, I loved the relationship between her and Bea and Tala.

I need to say it. The moment it was clear that Libby and her family would move there, I sort of knew that Libby would take over the book shop. Or at least I assumed. She had to much fun saving the shop and she was really passionate about it, it would be absurd if it wasn't at least discussed.

Also the moment, Nora said she was on her way to Freeman Books on December 12 at 12:12 pm, I knew, I just knew that Charlie would be there (I didn't expect him to be Libby's present).

There is so much more I could talk about, but these are the things I definitely wanted to say. Characters are the most important part of a book (or movie or show or anything) to me, so that was the most important thing I wanted to talk about.

I really did love this book and I'll probably read more of Emily Henry's books in the future. Not immediately, because there are other books waiting on my tbr list, but I definitely like her writing style and enjoyed reading.

Thank you, @backgroundagent3, for talking about Emily Henry and making me curious. (At some point I probably will watch Bridgerton because of you)