#idk what to tag this as for the sake of exposure

[dawn-the-rithmatist]

Okay spoilers for ssp1 and ssp2 here, so if you haven’t read them both and want to avoid spoilers, keep scrolling (and also blacklist the tags if you want to save yourself spoiler pain in the future!)

It’s fascinating to me how obviously these books were written in a global pandemic. Like, obviously we knew that, but I’m so interested in the way that influence is showing up in the books.

In Tress of the Emerald Sea, we start the story with a girl who Does Not Leave Home, under order of the government. Breathing the air outside of her home is Definitely Fatal, and there are many variations on the Very Fatal Things you could inhale. People wear masks to protect themselves, but it’s hardly exact protection. You’ve even got people with a long-term version of the spores living under their skin until they die, in the form of the aethers. Tress is a pandemic novel, where the spores are covid, and someone is risking exposure for the sake of someone they love.

The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook For Surviving Medieval England is a mouthful of a title. BUT it also has some really interesting influences too! Right at the start of the book, we learn that the main character is a cop- and we learn it in the most copaganda series of sentences I think I’ve ever read. Then later, we learn he is not a cop, but his friend is, and that friend is subsequently portrayed as Absolutely Perfect Person Arbiter Of Justice. Then later, we see that the cop-friend is just a bastard in so many ways. Through Ulric and the whole idea of buying dimensions, we see capitalism ruthlessly profiting off of people who have no say, usually making their lives actively worse for money or entertainment. We see medical tech that can protect you from terrible diseases, and we get hints of people who refuse to use it.

To me, ssp2 (NOT typing that title again) shows so much of what was happening culturally during lockdown. ACAB, with a bastard cop character throwing locals and “losers” in harm’s way, when the other characters want so desperately to believe that there is someone doing actual justice in a fucked up world. Vaccines, and antivaxxers. Killing entire dimensions of people who don’t have a say for the sake of a profit SURE SMELLS LIKE THE WAY ESSENTIAL WORKERS WERE TREATED.

Idk, I just think that it’s very fascinating to see the way that the pandemic is so present in these novels if you scratch even a little bit beneath the surface

[gameofdrarry]

Wizards Hearts Smut Recs: Polyjuice Sex or Anonymous Sex

Wizards Hearts was a four-month-long Drarry reading fest. Players were given a playing deck of 52 tropes, and were asked to find 52 different fics to read and comment on to fill their decks. To prevent the same few fics from being read, fics were restricted to only being used for the game three times before being considered ineligible for further points. The tropes and submissions list can be found here. Players could opt in to an additional suit of 13 cards, all themed around various popular smut tropes.

Check out the masterlist of fics for this trope below the cut!

📜 Closure is a state of mind by Quicksilvermaid Rated:  Explicit Words:  12229 Tags: Morally Grey Draco Malfoy, Inappropriate medical/therapist relationships, Dubious Consent Due To Identity Issues, Lies, Self-Esteem Issues, low key stalking behaviour, Loneliness, Guilt, Therapy, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, taking advantage of a grieving person, Death of a Spouse, Character Death, (not Drarry), Disfigurement, Scars, Brief Mentions of Suicidal Thoughts, Drinking, First Time, Polyjuice Potion, Sex While Using Polyjuice Potion, pensieve sex, Voyeurism, wanking, Concealed Identity, Bittersweet Ending, H/D Hurt!Fest 2020 Summary:  After Harry's husband Charlie is killed, his Mind Healer recommends a Polyjuice therapy company, so Harry can see 'Charlie' again and find closure over his death. Draco, whose life over the last ten years has gone from bad to worse, gets assigned Potter's case. ❤️ Read on AO3

📜 Aletheia by lazywonderland Rated:  Explicit Words:  8340 Tags: Confident Harry, Sex While Using Polyjuice Potion, POV Draco Malfoy, Hogwarts Eighth Year, Pseudo Het, Pseudo Female Draco, Bisexual Harry, Enamored Draco, Hung Harry Potter, Vaginal Sex, Vaginal Fingering, Smut, Het, Anal Sex, Anal Fingering, Slash, Top Harry, Bottom Draco, Submissive Draco, Angst, the teeniest amount.....i can't write anything without angst idk how, there's very little plot here but i still managed, Choking Summary:  Draco finds out Daphne's been shagging Potter and it turns out it's really not that difficult to get a piece of her hair. ❤️ Read on AO3

📜 Exposure by GallaPlacidia Rated:  Mature Words:  26993 Tags: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Sex Work, Sex Worker Draco Malfoy, Camboy Draco Malfoy, it's all pretty sex positive tbh, less sex than you would think there would be, Betrayal, Secret Identities, Draco in the Muggle World, it's p lighthearted really, falling in love through online geography quizzes, (partly) textfic, Oneshot, H/D Hurt!Fest 2020, Loneliness, Self-Loathing, Threats of Violence, Age Difference, Public Sex, Guilt, Hate Crimes, grey area infidelity (not between Draco and Harry), Mention of Minor Character Suicide Summary:  When Seamus uncovers Draco Malfoy's camboy profile, he, Harry and Ron decide to anonymously book a private show so as to humiliate him later. Fascinated by Draco's confidence, Harry keeps booking private shows under the disguise... ❤️ Read on AO3

📜 I'll Only Hurt You If You Let Me by Penryn3 Rated:  Explicit Words:  6862 Tags: Hogwarts, Hogwarts Eighth Year, Polyjuice Potion, Mistaken Identity, Mistaken for Being in a Relationship, Kissing, Boys Kissing, Vaginal Fingering, Oral Sex, Love Bites, Biting, Enemies to Lovers, Confessions, Fluff and Angst, Smut, Explicit Sexual Content, Non-Consensual Touching, Face-Fucking, Invisibility Cloak (Harry Potter), Wizarding Court Trials, Angry Kissing, Frotting, Wandless Magic, The Marauder's Map, Powerful Harry, Past Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley, Self-Discovery, Sex Whilst Polyjuiced, Explicit Language, Hand Jobs, Male Slash, POV Draco Malfoy, Mildly Dubious Consent, Complete Summary:  Draco stared intently at the long strand of fiery red hair between his pinched fingertips and let out a shuddering breath. He could do this. He could. He had to find out what was going to happen to his parents, and if anyone was privy to that kind of private information - it was Potter. Draco took a breath, steeling himself. Raising the bubbling glass to his lips, he closed his eyes and swallowed. ❤️ Read on AO3

📜 How to Court your Husband by magpie_fngrl Rated:  Explicit Words:  5520 Tags: Alternate Universe, Identity Porn, Royalty, Arranged Marriage, Humor, Explicit Sexual Content, Hieros Gamos Summary:  Prince Harry must marry Prince Draco, a man he's never even seen before, for the sake of the alliance between their two kingdoms. ❤️ Read on AO3

📜 Welcome to the Broom Closet by incapricious Rated:  Explicit Words:  23143 Summary:  Harry thinks he knows how his life will go: Become an Auror. Marry Ginny. Have a family. But then he sees an advertisement in the paper that no one else can see, and his life is turned upside-down. The Broom Closet: you can be anyone you want while you're there, but you won't remember it in the morning. ❤️ Read on AO3

📜 Mistaken Identities by MalenkayaCherepakha Rated:  Explicit Words:  1831 Tags: Public Sex, Public Blow Jobs, Anal Sex, Blow Jobs, Polyjuice Potion, Polyjuice sex, Hermione is confused Summary:  In which Harry finishes a mission early, Polyjuice takes a while to wear off, and Hermione is very confused. ❤️ Read on AO3

📜 The Journal  by LakeWitch Rated:  Explicit Words:  59439 Tags: Hogwarts Eighth Year, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Depression, Anxiety, Anxiety Attacks, Mental Health Issues, Therapy, Hufflepuff & Slytherin Inter-House Friendships, Hufflepuff Common RoomD, iary/Journal, Magical Diary - Freeform, Grief/Mourning, Healing, Slytherin Abuse, For a bit anyway, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, With emphasis on the friends part, Slow Burn, Sexual Fantasy, Sexting, Except it's in a magical journal and not a phone, Masturbation, Anonymity, Alcohol, Party Games, Spin the Bottle, Angst, I made myself cry at a certain part, Eventual Fluff, Smut, Epistolaryat parts, Fighting in the halls, Background Relationships, Teaself-care, Knitting, Television Watching, Mind Healers (Harry Potter), Magical Tattoos, Cooking, Desi Harry Potter, Indian food, flower shop, Christmas, Christmas Presents, Christmas Tree, Showers, Blow Jobs, Anal Fingering, POV Harry Potter, the html in here is a b, Coming Out, Anal Sex, Top Draco Malfoy, Bottom Harry Potter, if that matters, they switch but I don't show it Summary:  After Voldemort's death, everything was supposed to get better, supposed to be better. Harry was meant to live a normal life. However, he very-unfairly found himself with crippling depression and an anxiety problem—his Mind Healer says he has PTSD. Hence (when he could get out of bed), Harry's summer after the war was filled with intense therapy sessions, renovating Grimmauld Place, and teaching himself how to cook Indian food. Now Harry thinks he's ready to return to Hogwarts for an Eighth Year. But before he does, Harry picks up a journal from Flourish and Blotts on his Mind Healer's urging. He's meant to write down his thoughts and feelings, no matter how seemingly trivial. There was nothing, no pamphlet, to indicate the journal he bought was magically-linked with someone else's. But, when he finally opens it up, someone's already written inside. ❤️ Read on AO3

📜 Start the Chase by FleetofShippyShips Rated:  Explicit Words:  4015 Tags: Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE, Post-Hogwarts, Masks, Anonymous Sex, Blow Jobs, Deepthroating, Identity Reveal, Don't copy to another site Summary:  Harry liked to tell himself he didn’t do things like this often. He liked to pretend he wasn’t a rotten liar too. But the fact of the matter was, charity balls were incredibly dull and they made him incredibly uncomfortable, but not going was even worse. It wasn’t the first time he’d gone off and done something he shouldn’t have. Done someone he shouldn’t have. And really, having it splashed all over the papers should have stopped him by now. But this time, this time he was wearing a mask. And so was the other man. ❤️ Read on AO3

[annapostsstuff]

LITG: Random Question Tag

Thank you @kingkassam for tagging me🙋🏻‍♀️

The Questions :

1. Favorite Girl? S1: Talia S2: Chelsea

2. Favorite Boy? (As friends) S1: Tim, Jake S2: Gary, Bobby

3. Favorite Route/LI and why? Lucas, because I’m a hoe and a goldigger and he’s HOT af AND rich😌, kidding🙄 bc we have a really similar personality... and he’s hot😂

4. Season 1 or Season 2? This is a hard one, because I really like the Season 1 Drama and MC’s personality, BUT I loved the Season 2 character design, guess we can’t have it all😔

5. Twitter, Tumblr or Reddit? I have all of them and honestly I don’t have a favorite bc I use them for different purposes, I use Twitter basically just to know what’s the tea, what’s going on with the world and I use tumblr and reddit to get in touch with the fandoms I follow and, you know, recreational purposes pretty much🤔🤷🏻‍♀️

6. Try and guess each S2 Islander’s zodiac sign? Everyone knows I know SHIT about astrology and I’d get everything wrong so, yeah I’m not even trying🙃

7. If you could meet one islander in real life who would it be and why? Lucas, it’s the more realistic one since we’re both on the medical field and y’all can bet your asses that I’d be jumping on that dick man ASAP😌😂

8. Do you have an unpopular opinion about the game/character? I have a couple of them but the one I’m gonna say is gonna make EVERYONE and I mean it, EVERYONE to come after me but y’all should know that IDGAF so I’m gonna say it: Tim is superior to Bobby in so many levels and I really wish he was a LI back in S1, sue me...

9. Which islander are you the most like? This is a hard one bc I’m Chelsea, Lottie, Priya and some Marisol combined, depends of which one of my personalities is coming out that day 😂

10. Most and Least favorite islander of all time and why?

LEAST

S1 Boys: Miles/Jasper did me DIRTY AF bc I thought they were hot and I really wanted to try it with them😒

S1 Girls: Lucy, Erika and Cherry, they can all choke on a dick for all I care😒, I could say Allegra but it was actually fun to mess with her tho🤔

S2 Boys:

Rocco: it’s the first LI I ever romanced in S2 but it turned out that he was a fucking snake and I ended up looking like a fucking clown 🤡😤thank god LURIK came through...

CA GANG: I dislike pretty much all of them except the one I’m romancing IF I’m romancing any of them during that route, Graham is on thin ice and Kassam, well, he doesn’t talk but I HATE that he’s so hard to get... SHOUTOUT to Felix for being the most annoying motherfucker out there...

Special mention to Noah, for not growing any balls and leaving his toxic relationship for fucks sake!😤

S2 Girls: Hope, Jo, Lottie and Hannah, they ALL suck and can choke on a dick, or a candy, whatever idc, if I really analyze this, most of the girls in S2 sucked🤔

MOST

S1: Talia, Tim, Jake, theyre all cool and I really liked them.

S2: Chelsea, Priya, Gary, Bobby, LURIK, love all of them ❤️

Special mention to Mr. Narrator, he’s the real MVP and the heart and soul of the game💕😂

11. Which islander would hit 1M followers first? MC OBVIOUSLY💁🏻‍♀️ jokes aside, idk, could be Chelsea for her adorable personality, Priya bc she’s hot and fashion, Lottie bc we know makeup artists get a lot of exposure, and the guys idk, could be Bobby or Lucas for the same reasons as Chelsea and Priya...

12. Which islander would land a major brand deal? Priya could as either a model or a designer, Chelsea to design some furniture or something like that, Lottie with some makeup brand, Ibrahim with some sports brand, most of them could now that I think about it ...

13. Do you think any of the S2 islanders smoke? If so, who? Rocco obviously smokes weed or something like that, Lottie and Carl gives me some smoker vibes too, I think Henrik might try to smoke some natural or alternative shit too🤔...

14. What’s your S3 bucket list? MC with a fierce personality or just a personality in general, I’m tired of being a peacemaker and focusing on everyone’s shit except the MC, I wouldn’t mind having less LIs but with way more quality content than we had this season and for the love of god, LET ME THROW HANDS when it’s deserved!😤idk, it’s a long list but those are my main wishes...

15. Do you read any fanfics? Yup, a lot of them, can’t remember all of them except those that @ravena-dottir writes🤔

16. If there was a Love Island the Game: All-Stars, who would you chose to go back into the villa? Shit, idk who I want there but I can assure you which ones I DON’T want there and thoseare the ones I’ve mentioned as my least favorites 🤔🤷🏻‍♀️

17. Which islanders would struggle the most in quarantine, and why? I think most of them would be having financial struggles but mostly Henrik, Lottie, Chelsea and Graham because I think all of them would be having both emotional and financial struggles🤔

And now I invite anyone who wishes to answer this bc let’s be honest, a bitch is antisocial and doesn’t have enough friends to tag💀😂

[starlighthan]

about the last few posts i rb-ed in the last few days, let me share some stuff based on my own experience! :D this is about the lack of rbs/feedback problem.

i seriously appreciate comments that i received in my fics like pauwi sa iyo, a rose beside the tall bushes, and returning to balete teaser. those are some of my works that got a good amount of rbs and feedback.

what saddens me is the lack of rbs or feedback in most of my fics. as you can notice, i get around more ~10-20 rbs. the thing here is that majority of them are from me srb-ing or responding to feedback, or from networks bc i've been in more than 10 networks ever since i started writing. so if you deduct a good amount, i barely get any rbs/feedback from ACTUAL READERS.

exhibit a: breather

exhibit b: 16:18

exhibit c: unexpected visits

exhibit d: skz as your sweetest bff ever hc

exhibit e: where we belong

exhibit f: a scientific answer

yes, some of them are less than ten. they were my earlier works. i wasn't in networks yet in that time so there wasn't that much exposure but like i said, a good number of it came from me rb-ing it.

i freaking feel so sad when i check my past works and the ratio between rbs and likes is literally 1:4 or even worse than that. a part of myself admits that i'm not the best in writing but i also want some comments about it or even exposure to get that.

i am very thankful that networks exist. i get some rbs and likes here and there. BUT i just get likes most of the time, seriously.

there have been times that i worry if there'd even be people reading my work. heck, the lack of feedback contributes to the confusion on what should i write, considering that i also want to create something that a good number of readers would like.

if people don't rb a post, nobody would get to see what we made. and what could be the result of that? us losing motivation and inspiration to write. we just want to hear something from the audience but we barely get anything.

there were multiple times of me wanting to not write anymore bc i know barely anybody would read it. but i'm still continuing it since i originally started to write for my own sake, to improve in english as my second language and to show some creativity at least. at this point, i'm just writing for my own. i also wanted to share these to everybody, okay? but it's probably not happening. i just started writing last sept. 2021. pretty recent tbh and atp i got to post a lot of fics already despite that short time. unfortunately, the problem is still the same despite using tags, being in networks now, and having a larger amount of followers (i had 50 around late december, and i have more than 150 followers now apparently).

there are lots of ways to fix this problem. you've seen it in other posts about this. making a side blog, giving us ANYTHING to comment (even if it's one word or emoji, we'd appreciate it), queueing/scheduling posts, and more!!! those are simple things to do, to be honest. pretty easy.

lately, i've been getting more feedbacks and comments not only through rb-ing, but sending me asks. i deeply appreciate that fr, thank you. but i still get the similar rb-like ratio in my recent works even if i received a slightly larger amount of feedback now, it sucks.

for me here, i'd appreciate if you rb and/or give comments. i'm serious. waking up to several tags to my fic makes my day and i get more inspiration to write. if you guys kept on doing that, maybe the writing community would be SO alive rn and your fave writers probably are still here.

i don't know what else to say bc writers have been saying the same things. don't complain if any of us leaves. i might sound a little mean here but you're a contributor to that. watch me announce a hiatus soon, who knows? idk, i've been thinking about that actually but i still want to continue my wips and post them already.

that's all for me, i guess. this was pretty messy, but i hope you get it somehow. i'm not even expecting people to read this.

[zzapzzaptasers-a]

ANSWER THE FOLLOWING SO PEOPLE KNOW HOW SHIPPING WORKS ON YOUR BLOG.

WHAT’S YOUR OTP FOR YOUR MUSE? :  ummm I don’t really have a set OTP anymore. I’d really like a Pepper to ship with but that’s about it.

HOW LARGE DOES THE AGE GAP HAVE TO BE TO MAKE IT UNCOMFORTABLE? : Darcy’s at 28 which is the age where I don’t feel like there’s much older than her that would make her or me uncomfortable (within reason-- which goes out the window with characters who physically age slowly or not at all), but she probably won’t date anyone younger than 21

ARE YOU SELECTIVE WHEN SHIPPING? :  Kind of? I will ship anything with a story or drive behind it, but I rarely or never ship for shippings sake

HOW FAR DO STEAMY MOMENTS HAVE TO GO BEFORE THEY’RE CONSIDERED NS/FW? : usually the moment I mention Darcy being aroused? There’s no hard rule for it because she can get hot and bothered with making out or not at all until real physical shit starts going down

WHO ARE OTHER MUSES YOU SHIP YOUR MUSE WITH? :  Pepper, Jane, Jane and Thor, Loki (although only @kneeltoyourking for my rp blog), I’ve been on a Darcy/Bucky kick with fanfiction. I used to be big on Natasha/Darcy but I’ve cooled my heels on it lately.  The main ship on this blog is Daken/Darcy but that’s literally impossible outside of rp (although Maridakmun and I DID find a Darken fanfic written by neither of us on Ao3). Generally, I like pairing her up with other sarcastic assholes because I love tension :)

ANY NOTPS? :  You know, I don’t know any off the top of my head that I would be like HAHA ABSOLUTELY NOT. Atleast, not any that I’ve seen done

DOES ONE HAVE TO ASK TO SHIP WITH YOU? :  Probably bring it up with me first, for sure. Darcy is super flirtatious but that doesn’t mean I’m necessarily up for shipping, especially lately with my plate so full. I’m all about stories being written and shipping aimlessly is just...it’s just boring for me tbh. 

HOW OFTEN DO YOU LIKE TO SHIP? :  haha right now its like 80 percent of the time. I kinda wanna roll it back some but at the same time like lol fuck it

ARE YOU MULTISHIP? :  Yeah. I try not to ship with multiples of the same character, but sometimes shit just happens and that’s just life, my dudes.

ARE YOU SHIP-OBSESSED OR SHIP MORE-OR-LESS? :  ehhhh. I don’t THINK so? I like relationships in general, whether they’re romantic or platonic or antagonistic. Part of why I like roleplaying with CJ so much is that he has a billion rp blogs and each one of them has a different relationship with Darcy. Blackheart/Darcy is an antagonistic frenemy kind of deal, Jane/Darcy is a tragic friendship with a one-sided crush, Bill/Darcy is just a really adoring friendship with another onesided crush, Logan/Darcy is just a weird tension because he’s not really her Logan but he is still sort of her husband’s dad in a way which makes him sort of her father in law...and it just goes on and on and on. And that’s the kind of shit I like -- romantic ships are fun, but there’s so many other ways to make characters important to eachother, and to have muses grow through those relationships.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SHIP IN YOUR CURRENT FANDOM? :  man idk I kinda like Sam/Natasha and Sam/Bucky a lot

FINALLY, HOW DOES ONE SHIP WITH YOU? :  send me memes, establish a story for our muses/reasons for prolonged exposure to eachother, and chat with me about it:)

TAGGED BY :  stolen from @facemypast TAGGING : all y’all.

[megalotrash]

Hello! Let me just say that I completely adore your writing! I've only just begun writing and have limited amounts of readers that I'd like to branch out with but I'm having trouble with exposure... I'd like to ask you for some tips on writing and how to get exposure perhaps? Thank you!

Hey, firstly thanks very much!

Ok, exposure/followers/readers etc really do accumulate over time- so don’t worry if you’re on the lower end right now! idk about other people but if i like something someone has wrote i then try to check out there other stuff so don’t be disheartened if there isn’t as much traffic. 

That being said, a few things i find that helps are Tagging correctly- i think on tumblr it’s the first 5 tags that show up on popular searches so putting stuff like the shipname or main characters included if its gen really helps people find it. Also tagging any warnings etc on the post is great but don’t feel you need a wall of tags either, you want enough so the reader is informed and to catch people’s eyes but not so many it can put people off if that makes sense? 

a few other things that help are being active on here and a03 and interacting with other artistts/writers/fans of uts posts, i wouldn’t advise just commenting for the sake of it but if it’s something that interests you it won’t seem forced. Posting at the right time can help as a newbie too, if you’re not on usa time then being mindful of it def helps! 

Also my other advice would be keep reading other works and improving on your own stuff by learning each time you write, if you’re constantly trying to improve it really shows! (and this is the ideal, i still want to be able to do this more!) 

ok ima stop but i hope something here helps! keep doing what you enjoy above everything else and it’ll all come in time :) 

[omgkatsudonplease]

Same anon. Agree with everything you said. I love mafia au but I think I can count on one hand the number of YOI fics I would really consider dark. I’d actually love to see your thoughts on angst at some point! It’s something I’ve been thinking about recently. My idea of it seems to be a lot heavier than what often gets labeled as angst now. I wonder if that’s partly influenced by how extensive tagging is now? Author’s tagging every bit of conflict/sadness in their fic as angst? Idk

Okay so this is a week or so late but @exile-wrath and I are here to talk about angst in YOI fandom (you didn’t ask for his opinion but he let himself into my house to Loudly Complain anyway):

(note: the following rant is all Wrath haha)

The quintessential angst fic has to not just be founded on something like a ‘misheard conversation’. It has to cause conflict, it has to drive people apart. It needs to have a meaningful impact on the characters in order for it to have a meaningful impact on the readers. Angst has to be tailored to the story, or it’ll be like you are just hitting checks on a list in an attempt to make the reader sad. That’s not how you make good angst – good angst comes about organically. It comes from characters’ motivations going against each other: character A wants something, character B wants another thing, but only one of them can have what they want. Like how some characters just wanna live, and others want them dead – or for a more real-life example, character A needs money to live, and so does character B, but character B’s job will negatively impact character A in some way. 

You can’t just slam things down, pull out classic “tropes” like sudden terminal illness, rape, homophobia/transphobia, racism, etc in order to make the reader sad. The problem with a lot of “angst” fics, especially in this fandom, is that they utilise those “tropes” as cheap angst tactics to shock and upset the readers. The reason why they elicit reactions is because they’re common in real life. It’s easy to make someone indignant because of real-life prejudices or tragedies intruding upon what we take to be an escapist, feel-good canon like YOI. After all, those are popular ideas that mainstream media feeds upon to add drama to their stories. 

But fanfiction cannot just rely on just on popular ideas, or they fall flat. People read fanfiction primarily out of an emotional attachment to the characters, so in order to write effective angst, you have to create a conflict that is borne out of those characters’ personalities or circumstances. We don’t want to read about things that we could also experience or hear on the news; we want to read about struggles that have been personalised to these characters and the setting they’ve been placed in.

The problem with YOI fanfiction specifically is that it is prone to cheap angst. And due to the content of the show, people do feel disproportionately affected by that. Because people are so ecstatic over the representation and the lack of homophobia in the show, they also do tend to place on a pedestal the sanctity of Viktor and Yuuri’s connection, and express (sometimes very shoddily) discomfort at the merest hint of dissatisfaction or conflict between them. 

This is definitely a result of the fact that the most serious conflict in the show is from Yuuri and Victor Just Not Communicating Well, so that’s the route that most of the angst takes. Hannibal fic angst goes along the lines of manipulation and murder and betrayal, Kingsman angst plays with the high-risk life that spies lead and classism, all of which are present in their canon stories.

So in comparison to those media, Yuri on Ice’s conflict is very low-key and can be solved fairly easily. Thus, the fanfiction reads the same, and it can come off as dissatisfying. Conflict makes the resolution feel more satisfying. When characters go through their lives getting everything they want with little conflict, it can get quite boring because it’s the journey that makes reaching the destination worthwhile. No one can mature as a person if their life is always smooth-sailing. A protagonist needs to struggle and experience difficulties in order to obtain a happy ending or it inherently feels cheap because their payoff was bigger than the price they paid. A problem with ham-handed angst is that they’re just there to make the reader sad, instead of letting characters grow. When it’s just angst for angst’s sake, the narrative suffers as a result. 

So many stories that I have read in Yuri on Ice (AND I HAVE READ MANY) cannot bear to hurt Victor and Yuuri and the rest of the cast in any way. So as a result, they barely have much conflict that can change their dynamic, as people are attached to their existing canon dynamic, and they don’t mature as people, much less as a pair. And simply, that grows tiring pretty fast. I want to see these characters change from what they are in canon, or change from who they were at the beginning of the fic.

That’s Wrath’s two cents, and my own views generally align with him, with some things that he is too pissed to articulate. I believe people have varying tolerances of angst, and that YOI fandom in particular is full of newcomers to fandom, who may not have had the same exposure to classic “tropes” of angst fics such as terminal illness, sexual assault + its fallout, dealing with prejudices, etc. Someone’s first exposure to those topics, especially in a fandom with a feel-good canon like YOI, can understandably be upsetting. But eventually the tropey stuff starts to get repetitive, and so readers can get densitised to them as a result.

This entire rant is not to say that fluff is inherently weaker or bad or any of that. It’s just a reaction to the fact that the fandom is actually 90% not-dark, if you take tags such as mafia au + rape/noncon + abuse + incest + underage + dark Viktor + dark Yuuri + darkfic and compile them together against the rest of the YOI tag on AO3. The amount of fluff in this fandom is astounding, and honestly, I applaud anyone who consistently consumes all of it, because I personally (we, actually) can get a bit burnt out after a lot of a good thing like fluff. For us, variety is the spice of life, and sometimes we look for that spice in darker themes, or in angst. For me, the hallmark of a good fic involves the writer deciding to take the initiative to give Yuuri and Viktor some conflict that they can resolve and come out stronger for it. That shouldn’t necessarily amount to angst, but the generally conflict-averse nature of YOI fandom (which is kind of a generalisation, but it is definitely a trend I’ve seen) means that even the slightest hint of trouble in paradise gets people scrambling for the tissues (case in point, my allusion to a breakup in RH au has people side-eying me for angst when I don’t fully intend on going into actual angst territory – or as Wrath puts it, mistaking water for vodka).

TL; DR: there is a difference between conflict and angst, though good angst originates naturally from conflict, and should not be forced in via ham-handed authorial intent trying to check off a list of Things That Upset Readers. 

[multiverse-in-archive]

Achievements Analyzing for the Sake of Characterization

((Because what is my liiiife-

Anyways, after bringing up the Oracle Turret as a means of pointing to a softer side of Chell, I decided to look into the other achievements in both of the Portal games [including the Still Alive port] and Mel’s mod for my interpretation of Chell and Mel’s characters [ignoring the ones that are either achievable outside of the main storylines or through deaths, the former I don’t consider canon to them because, you know, not in their stories, and the latter because them dying is def not canon.] because I find that taking certain actions being rewarded is a tad interesting. 

Now, these are probably me reaching, buuuuut since Chell and Mel are blank slates, I don’t have too much to go off of, so I’m grasping at as many straws as I can for them.

Anyways! Let’s get started!

Chell

Not really much to say with these ones. You get all of these by advancing the game. Though I would like to point out two of them;

One, the Fratricide Achievement. By definition, fratricide is the act of either killing your sibling or your ally. This is the achievement you get for euthanizing your Companion Cube. Both the name of the achievement and its description catches my attention. The title reinforces, at least to me, that Chell felt some connection to her cube in some compacity. However, the description the extent Chell is willing to go to survive. We all no that she is stubborn and never gives up, but this instance demonstrates that Chell, if she absolutely has to, is willing to sacrifice an ally or even a loved one to stay alive. Really, Wheatley’s not too far off when he called her selfish, which, oof-

And the second one is the SaBOTour Achievement, the one you get for following after Wheatley during your little jailbreak. Not much given, just like the little icon, depicting a stick figure [the player] running while holding a core [Wheately]. idk I think it kinda implies Chell’s intention of not just using him for her escape, but genuinely wanting to escape with him. And I think it’s sweet. Maybe I’m reaching here, but god dammit lemme have this-

Chell’s skills(tm). This shows the extent of her reflexes and speed as well as how well she can solve tests. Not only is she good at avoiding getting shot and can solve at least one test without ever even touching the block needed for it [I know you can get this achievement automatically by solving Wheatley’s first test, but you can actually earn it earlier if you’re clever enough in the sixth chamber] but she’s such a pro that she can manipulate a rocket turret to shoot its own rocket, catch a wildly bouncing box before it even touches the ground, and can even complete at least one test in a little over a minute. 

What I’m saying is that she’s practically got super humanly fast thinking and reaction and is overall abnormally efficient. Like, jesus, Chell relax-

Though, to be fair about the last one, the test chamber 10 in question is in Portal 2 Chapter 2, and she’s basically seen it all at this point, so it’s not like she’s naturally this fast.

Chell’s portaling habits. The first two seem to imply Chell testing out the capabilities of the portal gun. Though I am also inclined to believe that along with the Saw That One Coming, Drop Box, and Overclocker Achievements that the first one could also imply that she’s a bit of a show off, or at least that she likes to make personal challenges for herself.

As for the Out of the Blue, this could imply the order in which she puts down the portals.

These are achievements that are rewarded to you for being thorough [I’ll explain the the Scanned Alone Achievement in a sec-] enough to find them. I believe these can point to her being a rather curious and observant person with an experimental “try everything that won’t definitely kill you” sort of thinking. 

And the Scanned Alone Achievement can even further that “Try everything” way of thinking, and also demonstrates that not all her ideas work, but hey, at least she knows. 

Also it’s funny as fuck to think that this was an idea she had before grabbing a defective turret, and I’m disappointed that Wheatley did not comment on it-

Chell’s relationships with the [rather few] sentient beings she’s encountered, not counting the antagonists. The short answer? She loves Companion Cubes and fucking hates Turrets. To the point where she goes out of her way to destroy them once they deactivate.

Though, the No Hard Feelings Achievement demonstrate that she’s not so blinded by hate that she isn’t willing to make exceptions or recognize that not everything is out to hurt her, and even show some compassion every once in a while. Or at the very least mercy.

Oh look, instances of Chell being a defiant lil’ shit. What a surprise-

For real, though, Chell absolutely goes out of her way to be a nuisance to her antagonists in any way she can. Just give her half a god damn chance to do so-

Although the name of the first depicted achievement, Camera Shy, also implies that she doesn’t very much like to be watched, fuuuurther reinforced by her smashing Wheatley’s monitors when solving his tests. Though that could also be her demonstrating just how pissed with him she is-

Mel

Unlike with Chell, I’m skipping Mel’s story related achievements because I don’t have anything to say about them.

Also, Portal Stories: Mel has a lot of achievements that involve you dying [Though I have an interpretation on that that involves one of the few achievements that don’t involve dying], so as a result, I don’t have nearly as much to work with. But I will try-

These all demonstrate both curiosity, sharp eyes, and just absolute stubbornness.

Though unlike Chell, she seems to have less of a want to experiment and more of a want to explore or in the case of the Determined Achievement, to not leave things unfinished. And often times goes against Virgil’s advising against it. Probably OCD as fuck-

Also she recognizes that Companion Cube is shaped like a friend and is sad that she can’t take it with her-

An example of Mel’s bitchitude. This combined with her refusing to take Virgil’s advice at the start of their partnership is that she didn’t particularly like him. Aaaaand now that she met him in person, she can get back at him by making him as frustrated as he made her.

And to be fair, Virgil painted himself as untrustworthy from the moment he woke her up and was overall kind of a jack ass, so yeah, it’s fair to think their relationship is rocky at first. Although overtime they did end up growing on each other, so.

Also a pretty fun reference to when Wheatley tried to bust Chell out-

The only achievement where you can be hurt without fucking dying. And here’s my interpretation on this.

Unlike Chell, not only is she very much inexperienced with the Aperture brand bullshit, but she’s also not quick enough to avoid getting hurt. 

And that could go back to how the experiment she signed up for affected her health. Remember what Virgil said? The chemicals that Mel was pumped full of could cause heart attacks from the mere exposure to them. Not to mention the instances where she was having trouble physically exerting herself.

Rocks falling everywhere? All she could do was walk up the stairs [if she didn’t take the elevator]. Heavy door Virgil directed her to? She couldn’t open it, no matter how hard she tried, so they were forced to go a different route.

And keep in mind, she used to be an Olympic Athlete. A track runner to be more precise. Competed in the 1936 Nuremberg games. And after the cryogenic sleep test, she’s been brought so out of shape that she can’t even run like she used to [probably from atrophy combined with her heart attack prone... heart...]. And then having to navigate so many dangers? It’s not a surprise she’s gotten hurt throughout the journey. Hell, it’s a wonder she survived holy shit-

Aaaaanyways, I think that’s all of the achievements I could find. I would do one for Gel, but I couldn’t find any achievements for Aperture Tag. So. Fack-

Either way, hope this was a fun, or at least legible blabber of sorts.

[1800any]

Cape Town Art Fair

1 The specific booths of the galleries were displaying their respected artists’ works – hence the similar work and aesthetics portrayed by the galleries. The differences were the variety of work, as there is only enough space in a booth for so many artists.  

2 Hate: Yohannes Tesfaye, Courage #2 (2018) – Addis Fine Art, United Kingdom. I disliked this piece, due to the fact that it looked out of place in the space. The entire booth’s curation was awful because they positioned their desk in the centre of the booth, which caused most of the artworks to be obstructed. The piece itself looked to be merely a decorative object and an unappealing one due to the fact that the colours were random and the subject matter subjective – thus without any direction (not even the title).

Gerard Malanga, Kati came over to visit (1989) - Caroline Smulders, France. Malaga is an American photographer and film maker whose work is quite inspirational from an Avant-garde, Contemporary perspective as it was ground-breaking in the coming of Pop art and Postmodernism; However, this artwork is simply objectifying the female body in a light that is so superficial and destructive to the image of women in modern society. I understand that the image was taken 30 years ago and there is an obvious redirection in which subject matter of nude people (women especially) are handled. This is an example of how it shouldn’t be done.

Kimathi Mafafo, EMBOLDEN IV (2019) – Ebony Curated, South Africa. Unappealing, abstract piece that was hung skew and the colour palette is horrendous. I just wasn’t feeling it tbh.

Love: Andrea Collesano, Sigiza (2017) - Barbara Paci Galleria d'Arte, Italy. This artist drew the sea creatures which were curated in a clustered fashion in small wooden frames. I personally knew of his art before the show due to the fact that his illustrations have always been interesting to me. He tried to reflect the monsters within his mind and the attention to detail is spectacular. The overall display added to the artworks and seeing their artworks in person reminded me about the pleasures in drawing.

Dalila Dalléas Bouzar, Untitled #11 (2015) – Galerie Cécile Fakhoury, Ivory Coast. This artwork is one of 14 paintings of princesses which Dalila has done. I love the portraits as they don’t objectify the female body and empower the figures by their facial gestures and key items such as crowns and jewellery. I love her plain style of imagery and the manner in which they were displayed at the fair. Only three of the paintings within the series were displayed in the booth and I chose #11 due to the fact that it was the most appealing one to me personally.

Steve Bandoma, Mental Slavery (2012) - MAGNIN-A, France. I’ve been following Steve Bandoma’s work since matric, due to his exploration across Africa and his journey as an artist that studied in Congo and is now in Cape Town since 2006. His works are very deep and represent his darkest anguish as an abused child. I loved this painting and was quite thrilled to see his work in person. His work displays the discombobulation that I feel on Monday mornings before class.

3 From what I can roughly remember, it would be between painting and mixed media, but I’m leaning more towards painting, due to the fact that more of the artworks at the fair were hung and I assume a large majority were paintings, photographs and mixed media artworks.

4 Each booth had different amounts of walls and surface area/wall space. I suspect that was the galleries’ choice due to the fact that they all had different displays and what not. Differences were colours of the walls, desks, position of artworks – sculptures being placed as centre pieces, desks being placed as centre pieces, hanging artworks, plinths, etc. - all made a difference to the flow of the booth and the total appeal of the works. I found that the curation was sometimes made or break for some of the booths.

5 Some booths use different texts next to the artworks.  Some display price tags, little artist bios and sometimes artist statements too. Some booths completely avoided placing any information next to the artworks. The most crucial details that I found were needed were the title’s, artist’s names and the year of completion.

7.) The lighting was awful due to the fact that there were primary and secondary lights. The primary lights were the ceiling lights that were shedding light upon the entire fair. They were powerful in their own right. The secondary lighting is what I suspect to be the main problem with the lighting every year. The secondary lights were lights placed upon the walls of the booths. They shined over the specific booths; however none of the booths seemed to adjust the lights on any of the specific artworks. I found that some of the lights caused glares on framed and non-framed artworks, which actually spoiled them in my opinion.

8.) People within the booths are dressed rather "clean" due to the fact that they need to be presentable to the viewers, visitors and audiences. I couldn't help but notice that most of the people attending the art fair were dressed in extra colourful apparel. I think this had something to do with the natural assumption that if you want to look at art, you should become one with it?

9.) The main things which are trying to be sold here are artworks. Books, posters, clothing and prints are amongst other things also trying to be sold to visitors of the fair. The fair is mostly aimed at the art world and it's sub categories. I found that foreigners will be more eager to come and spend money on artworks than locals, due to the globalisation of "African" Art. I also saw overpriced food for sale, must've been organic.

10.) Idk

11.) Idk

12.) The assistants at the booths didn't take me seriously on many occasions but I think that was due to the fact that I came across immediately with the price. I think by asking about the artwork and actually conversing with them would give us both an understanding and then by asking they would think it would be because of curiosity sake. I did get one price out of the three that I had asked but I think I should've taken it further.

13.) The fair relates to the brand's agenda. I found that most of the fair's sponsors this year had some relation to money or investing. I understand that the sponsors also play a role into the functionality of the fair but I suspect that the fair also chose who they would work with. They fair needs to hold a certain type of prestige and by having big, well known and trusted sponsors, it secures a sense of quality within the visitors.

14.) The CTICC is a very large, central venue. It's a venue that has a lot of advertising relations in many other places of the city - such as the airport and other popular tourist destinations - and is a massive space that cans accommodate events of all shapes and sizes.

15.) Idk

16.) Idk

17.) The solo booths are more concentrated on an artist/medium than other booths which represent galleries and their wide array of artists.

18.) Idk

19.) Found objects and photography. I found that these two mediums reflect the popularity of themselves within the fair and outside of it. Using found objects and photography as a medium are currently mainstream media in the Contemporary Art world and it can be seen here. In terms of subject matter, historical and political aspects are the main theme seen in the work that was displayed.

20.) Stevenson, I love their art and feel that they represent their artists well and they have an open minded agenda and a variety of great artists who have worked with them.

21.) Smac Gallery, their gallery is small and I love their space. They may seem a bit more Conservative than others; however I enjoy the space whenever I'm in it.

22.) Idk

23.) Yes, I would display at the fair, due to the fact that there will be more things benefiting my gallery than anything else. The exposure, is the main aspect of this due to the fact that it creates a chain reaction for the art. The art expands through networking, purchasing and simply seeing by the viewers. I can't find a reason why anyone wouldn't be willing to take an opportunity like that.

[spaceslouie]

1. I just recently following your blog. And I find that we have same opinion for the most part, or from your tags anyway. This by no means that you’d agree with me but can I share my opinion with you. Like I think that so many people have been too critical about his solo works. We really dont know anything. I feel like, Louis have been so appreciative about the opportunity he got, but it looks like we as fan cant even give him a chance. What if he make do with what he got. What if all this was..

2. the only thing on his hand. He said it himself, limited people to work with. Like, maybe the 5 of them dont get the same offers? I dont find it weird that H got the amount of support he got, and Louis got minimum exposure. If we can see it in a professional way, the party that did the offering have their reasons. Sometimes you dont get what you want no matter how hard you work for it. Its reality. That doesnt mean Louis dont deserve it. And people tend to forget, what you find rewarding could

3. be different from others. We want the best for him, and thats just it.. Why does it needs to be by the other 1D guys standard. I’m really emotional talking about Louis. Like, I want to respect what he do. I dont know the struggle he faced. This is the guy who hates their merch, their early music. I feel like the fandom so quick to talk but rarely listen. I dont claimed to know him, but I feel that Hes grateful for this opportunity. And I take my cue from him for the life HE live. thankyou :)

wow i . . got an ask! sorry it took me a while to answer this babe (depending on when u sent it) i dont come on this blog alot, i kinda just made a tumblr as an outlet for my thoughts and frustrations and to have a place to talk about louis lol

anyways i think we do have pretty similar feelings about the way things are going - mostly mine are just summed up by ‘idk what to think but i love louis and his music’ lol 

To be real tho, i’ve been a 1D fan since i was 12, in 2011, and i was a larrie from like 2012 to pretty much a few months ago (not that im an ‘anti’ now or anything, i just dont kno what to think). For most of my time as a 1D fan (and especially a larrie) the culture w/ us has been, for better or worse, to hyper-analyze and doubt (for lack of better words) everything we’re given and told. Tbh, since i changed my perspective a few months ago (mostly bc of solo!harry), ive pretty much just been constantly reevaluating everything ive known for the past 5/6 years and i really just have pretty much NO idea what to think, whatsoever. 

When it comes to solo!louis, ive just been trying to take it as it comes. key word is trying, bc 5/6 years of having a rock-solid idea of the “”truth”” (our ideas about the boys, management, their relationships, etc) is alot to overcome when u try to be objective. 

When u say that ppl have been too critical of louis and his stuff, im not really sure which ppl u mean or if u just mean in general - ive definitely seen some ppl who seem to be critical just for the sake of it, or bc they actually dont like louis, which, ya, thats definitely too critical. But for some of the ppl being critical, it seems like theyre coming from the same place i was before i changed my perspective - if i hadnt been so put-off by solo!harry, i probly would still be just as dedicated to the fandom “”truth”” and i would be critical of solo!louis like i was/we were of everything else. 

Basically, at this point, i think its just habit for alot of ppl to be critical and cynical. Or, even more, its generally more comfortable (especially when weve been telling ourselves for 5+ years that we know the “truth”) to be critical (in an all-knowing way like when ppl say “those stunts are so transparent” or something) than to admit that theres alot we dont kno. Or to admit that louis hasnt had the opportunities we thought he would have/we think he deserves, and theres not really anything to do about it.

Are they right to be critical? I honestly totally dont kno. But basically im done being critical just bc other ppl are - if something strikes me as wrong and worth being critical of, right off the bat, then ill criticize it. But if everything seems ok to me and i have no reservations and i see someone else complaining and making a big deal about it, i guess thats how i decide when someone is being too critical. Thats when it seems to me like theyre being critical just for the sake of it or bc thats what theyre used to. I think its important in our culture (1D fan/louie culture), at least for me in the place im in now, to just trust ur own instinct instead of looking to others to see if things are good or not.

At first i was a little confused by ur ask(s) bc it seems a little contradictory - u talk about how louis didnt get the best opportunities, and then u say ppl are being too critical. But i think i understand (maybe im projecting tho, bc this is how i feel about it). I think what i (and u, if im understanding ur ask rite) am feeling is that ppl want to place blame - we all want the best for louis, and we’re upset that it doesnt seem that he got it. We all love and appreciate louis, so it can be hard to see how other ppl wouldnt and how he wouldnt get all the opportunities we think he deserves. So we go off on his team, simon cowell, his record label, the other boys, etc., and we criticize them and everything louis puts out bc its through them/connected to them. 

But it really all comes down to the fact that regardless of what we think louis deserves, we all know that what he gets probly wont match up to that. Youre rite, he literally said that he didnt get that many opportunities, and we have to accept that. No matter how much we love and admire him, we have to realize that for various reasons the rest of the world doesnt (at least not yet). He wasnt the most famous member of 1D, or the one pushed as the most talented, and the fact that he has a unique voice makes him kindof an acquired taste. 

We have to realize that he is, like u said, doing the best w what hes got. We dont have the power to give him more, so from my perspective im just enjoying what we get and supporting it in every way i possibly can. Bc thats what being a fan is about - enjoying what u get, and supporting it so u continue to get it. We can wish he had more opportunities available, and even ask for what we want from him in polite and lighthearted ways - like tweeting him about his album, or nominating him for awards (like teen choice and stuff), or posting/tweeting about how we wish we had a video/photoshoot/etc as long as its nice and not demanding. But ya basically we are not in a position to give him opportunities so our only job (if we want it, which, being a louie, i do) is to support what he puts out. 

You said: “Like, maybe the 5 of them dont get the same offers? I dont find it weird that H got the amount of support he got, and Louis got minimum exposure. If we can see it in a professional way, the party that did the offering have their reasons. Sometimes you dont get what you want no matter how hard you work for it.” Basically, i totally agree w this and i think its totally ok to just enjoy what we get from louis w/o constantly worrying about how were getting it/what we ‘should’ be getting.

I am frustrated, and always have been, that louis doesnt get what the other boys do, but thats just the way it is. We have to accept that there isnt always someone to blame - for various reasons, louis has had less opportunities than the other boys, and theres nothing we can do about it. I would even go as far to say its not necesarily an injustice - like u said, he isnt the other boys, so we cant expect him to have the same situation as them. All we can do is support him and his music as much as we can/want to. 

anyway im SO sorry for turning this ask into a literal essay, i guess i had a lot to say and honestly im not sure how much of it is coherent or even on topic, it took me like an actual hour to write this all out and when i reread it… it didnt make as much sense as it did in my head lol. anyway i do think we hav some similar feelings and stuff and i really apreciate hearing ur thoughts! I hope we both get to enjoy bty (im so fuckin excited!!! from the teasers hes shared already its gonna be SO GOOD!!!) and i hope more good things happen for louis! tysm for sharing ur thoughts w me! 💙