#idk. sometimes i like to do genuine media analysis through the lens of ocs and fanfic and that's hard on the no reading comp website

[practically-an-x-man]

the fanfic writer's struggle between "this media doesn't entirely lend itself to fanfic and I don't want to be seen as one of those people that only views media as a set of characters to be shipped together" and "I consider myself a serious writer and I have an idea that could really add another layer of dimension to this story/character, and I really want to write it"

was gonna put this next bit in the tags but it got too wordy so

It's like. some media is very easy to write fanfic for. superhero movies. star wars. action movies. things like that. It's not that these movies can't have important or strong messages, or that the fanfic can't also have genuine presence as a piece of writing, but the nature of it makes it much easier to build off of and even, sometimes, improve with a well-written fanfic

and there's some media that I would never consider writing fanfiction for at all. historical movies and biopics jump to mind. I mean, I love Bohemian Rhapsody, and y'all know I find Ben Hardy incredibly attractive, but I wouldn't ever write a BoRhap fic because Roger Taylor is a very real living person with his own history, and it feels disrespectful to fanfic-ize that.

But there's this gray area that I struggle with, where the media has enough richness and depth to its messages to make me want to explore them, but is genuine or serious enough for the prospect of writing fanfiction about it to feel almost disrespectful. I have an idea based on the Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires that would expand on the themes of subtle abuse and domestic misogyny that the book talks about, but I'm afraid if I wrote it people might see it as falling into the same trap as the book itself warns about (i.e. people being willing to ignore a person's misgivings/crimes just because they're attractive), even though the fic is meant to expand on these themes rather than ignoring them.

And it's hitting me again after I watched the Last Voyage of the Demeter. It's right in the sweet spot where it's like... I have a cool idea that I think would work with the setup of the universe and themes, and would be consistent with the characters and potentially even provide a bit more depth/backstory to characters who otherwise aren't given much, but the tone of the movie is just serious enough where it feels wrong to say 'hey look I wrote fanfic about this'

[sharp-teeth-and-archived]

𝐓𝐄𝐍 𝐐’𝐒:  

1. When are you usually online?

It honestly varies as of late. College has really kept me busy and muse varies between my blogs. My schedule can become really inconsistent at times, but I’m almost always online in some way, but it varies when and if I have the energy to reply to things. Muse has been fickle as well. I would say I am almost always online on the weekends.

2. What verses are you involved in?

I have a ton of random au’s on my blog: pirate au, vampire au, werewolf au, crossover verses, historical au’s, some very slight modern au’s. But for fandoms, I am involved in t.urn w.ashington’s s.pies fandom, r.dr2, l.eft 4 d.ead, a.ssassin’s c.reed, d.ragon a.ge, general western. I am usually more active in the t.urn rpc as of recently because the r.dr2 rpc has been kinda dead as of recently, same as l.4rd, and a.ssassin’s c.reed. I also have been writing r.dr2 for around 3 years or so and I think I’m slowly burnt out on it at times. With the recent uptick in t.urn blogs (but it’s still a small rpc) and how Lydia has become really popular on my blog and the investment of dynamics for her oc (which I really cherish), I have been more involved in the t.urn rpc because it’s an interest I fell back in. So a lot of my muses have been getting an amrev verse to suit that interest, but I am still into my other fandoms! Just college has kept me a bit busy and has kept muse fickle and selective. Luckily, my mutuals have been very supportive of my weird schedule and varying muse levels.

3. What is your biggest RP pet peeve?

I think force shipping tbh. It hasn’t happened in a while, but it just adds a lot of pressure onto me and I fall out of interest in the thread/interaction quickly if people just assume things. I work off chemistry and I only ever work with off the cuff shipping with mutuals I talk to regularly. But still, I prefer chemistry over anything else and I have had a few surprising dynamics that have come out of shared chemistry that I never would’ve expected. 

4. Are you drawn to specific types of muses?

Usually my muses have death involved in their story somewhere so that might be my type lmao.  I usually pick side characters or character I genuinely think I could develop. Like Hewlett, Evie, & Jacob. Sadly, I tend to attract muses that have little to no screen time in their media. Overall, I tend to enjoy morally grey characters with a ton of complex characteristics. I tend to drift more towards villains, but overall, I like a mixture. I don’t think I could fully write a “hero” character (the closest may be Hewlett, Varric, or Evie and Jacob, but they both have shady actions). I do really enjoy grey characters with a heart of gold (Cassie, Lydia, Sean, Kieran). The reason why I added Hewlett & Abe to my muse list is because I thought i could add more development to them compared to the writers lmao.

5. Are there reoccurring themes in your writing that people might not notice?

Themes? Like messages? Not so much, it more of depends on the character I suppose. Overall, I tend to really like introspection and really get in my muses’s minds. Sometimes my muse tends to focus on the other person more than themself, but I like a character analysis lens that looks through their thoughts and experiences. I try to sorta shift my writing style to that muse, but try to keep it somewhat consistent to my own (whatever that writing style really is). I guess death? idk it’s a trend among my muses. 

6. What are your favourite RP trends?

I honestly can’t keep up with rp trends recently, but I think the whole banner on asks. I always have a rough time with the usual ask reply system and while tagging can be messy, it’s a lot easier to format and to trim a thread with adding a banner for an answered ask in a text post than using tumblr’s own ask reply system. It has its cons, but I think I prefer that and it looks prettier imo. I also like interest trackers though people hardly use them.

7. What is your process for starting a new story with someone?

I can be really shy, but I occasionally post plotting calls, ask memes, and inbox calls. That’s the eaisest way or to outright message me. With my schedule, I have been slacking on sending asks to people on my dash and answering those asks. So, recently, I would say messaging me and figuring out a plot for liking an inbox call is the easiest atm.

8. How do you feel about duplicates?

I don’t really have duplicate anxiety. I never had anyone steal from me, but I hope people don’t because of all the hard work I put into them. I actually like duplicates because usually, I have another muse I eagerly want to write with them, even if I already write that muse. Like for example, I am always eager to interact with another Sean, but those blogs tend to not last long. When I couldn’t find a Sean to itneract with in the beginning of this blog, that was the precise reason why I added Sean to my muse list and decided to writ ehim myself. So, I am game for duplicates.

9. How long have you been involved in roleplaying?

I think since i was 10, but on tumbl rpc, I think it was early 2018. It was a little bit before r.dr2 came out.

10. Is there a muse or verse you could write in, but haven’t?

I have various oc ideas I want to toy with, but worry about adding too many muses that I overwhelm myself. I toyed with a few other turn canons, but nothing ever stuck. I want to write more of Cassie & Eleanor though.

I have various verse ideas, so I would say my vampire verses and werewolf verses that I would like to explore more. Or Evie’s da or historical verse (like her in the amrev time period, but really any time period as long as I am knowledgeable of it). I also really like my crossover r.dr2 verses (like Jacob & Evie’s verse). I really, really want to try an arranged marriage au with a lot of plotting with one of my mutuals.