#it's a small fandom too so like. are ppl rereading it that much? is it that i'm posting on anon?

[aeide-thea]

[witcherposting ahead—nb that this is all totally lighthearted and it's fine if you feel differently!]

anyway what i'd started to say before tumblr ate my post was that like. disclaimer that my approach to netflix witcher canon is that i fully reserve the right to cherrypick, because some of the changes they made were good but others were character assassination, and that obviously i get that if one isn't cherrypicking one does have to actually Grapple With Certain Things 🏔

but like. that said—the more 'Geralt Must Grovel for Weeks and Probably Scourge Himself, Look at What He Did to Poor Sad-Eyed Woobie Jaskier' fics i read the more i'm fucking grateful for the tiny handful where jaskier's just been like, yeah, i never bought that bullshit tbh, he was lashing out and he owes me an apology for sure but a single angry outburst does not in fact scupper an extremely well-established relationship of literally twenty years' standing in one fell swoop???

like i just. idk. imagine remembering that jaskier's a cheery irrepressible little shit and not actually as crushably low on self-esteem as all of us are. of course that would probably require *netflix* to have remembered that, so, you know, no actual shade to anyone who's been projecting that onto him! but just like. idk. they're obviously not siblings but they honestly do have that vibe in certain ways and it's just like. did you never say something overdramatic and shitty in the heat of a fight with yr sibling growing up and then after taking a bit of a breather just like. make a rueful face and apologize for yr respective roles in winding each other up and move tf on, without having, like, a whole extended OTT reparations process where you tell them repeatedly how perfect and sinless they are and how you know you're a miserable worm who doesn't remotely deserve their sunshiny presence in your life but would be so grateful if they could, possibly, somehow, see their way to forgiving you despite yr essential unworthiness—

[mybrainproblems]

.

[feyd-meowtha]

@middlingmay's Fic Rec Questions

I saw this list and thought it would be fun to give it a go!!

1) Fic that's made you laugh the most

He May Be The Reason by @c-goldthorn. It's a Clegan Notting Hill au and it makes me squeal with delight. So cute that I got distracted while reading it and missed my stop on the train.

2) A fic that made you cry

my kingdom for a kiss upon your shoulder by pillar of our community @swifty-fox. I'm sure most ppl have probably read this one but it's such an amazing post-show continuation that really doesn't pull it's punches when it comes to both PTSD and the realities of being gay in the 40s

3) Fave comfort, silly fic

It's a little rogue but I'm gonna say Awake, Alive by the wonderful @whirlpool-blogs. It's a pet sematary au so not exactly what you would call traditionally comforting but the ending makes me so happy and the whole thing is just a joy. The fact that this came to mind when I thought 'comfort fic' is probably pretty telling about me as a person....

4) The fic that made you try a genre or trope that you don't usually read

This is also a bit rogue but it was tricky since I'll read anything, so I'll go with Strings of the Strings of Life by the lovely @weimarweekly, not because of any of the content but because I don't, as a general rule, read Dune fic that was written after Dune 2 released. I've bored everyone to tears with my complaints about that version of Feyd but it is what it is so I tend not to like any fics written about that version of the character BUT the prospect of a feydpaul Berlin techno au was too delicious to resist and the whole fic is so fun. It makes me miss Germany sooo bad.

5) An author who has inspired your own fic writing

This one has got to go to the anonymous author of both Close And Yet Closer and The Replacement. Both of these fics are god tier and their character psychology and willingness to allow their versions of the characters and relationships to be ugly and messy are so inspiring to me. They were also the first person in the John/Hausman tag on ao3 which is currently just me and them. I think about the replacement all the time and it was a HUGE influence on 3am Eternal. If I can ever write half as well as them I will die happy.

6) What are your fave underdog authors? Those that you feel are underappreciated and deserve a bit more love

Hmmm, this is kinda hard cus the MOTA fandom is pretty small so I feel like a lot of stuff gets decent buzz. Imma shout out @whirlpool-blogs again and especially their fucked up clegans fics, I have read and reread all of their works and they're always so so good. I will also add @steeseman for Up In Our Bedroom. It's another great post-canon fic and while it has a lot of hits, I don't think I've seen anyone talking about it on here.

7) What's one thing you wish writers/readers did more of when it comes to fanfiction.

The obvious one is comment, it really does make my day when I get a nice comment, even just a couple words or an emoji mean a lot. The other thing I would say is writing curt/Kenny fic, there's not much out there and I want more please. Also more fics where characters relationships are like genuinely kind of fucked up and toxic. I love that shit.

8) What's one thing you wish writers/readers did less of when it comes to fanfiction.

Oh man, I really do not know. The only thing I can think of is that I hate the word 'yap' or 'yapping' so if I see it in a fic I shudder. Hmmmm, I guess I also wish that there was a little more consideration when writing Gale's dad as an alcoholic because it's often treated as the basis for him being a shitty person. Addicts aren't automatically bad people and I sometimes feel like it's portrayed that way. @blixabargelds wrote an excellent post on this

9) I'm adding an extra one and that is current WIPs I am reading

Sympathy For The Devil by @blixabargelds, it's a modern ghost hunting AU and the set up is AMAZING. I will also throw Superstar in here even though it's not releasing main story chapters yet, everything Frankie writes is so tailored to my personal tastes it's crazy and I am so excited to read @mildharm's John POV chapters too. Literally foaming at the mouth thinking about it rn. When it starts being released fully, I fear it may kill me.

Love Song From A Dog and The Heart Is A Muscle by @swifty-fox. I've only just started THIAM but I'm so hyped for their take on the tattoo shop/flower shop au.

Hit Me Where The Heart Is by @london-cowboy makes me legitimately insane. I jump for joy whenever there is a new update, these versions of the characters and their stories are, as Paris Hilton would say, beyond. I do not have the words to say how much I am loving this fic. The characters and setting feel so real and it's just so creative. AMAZING.

I need to get around to starting let us not desert one another; we are an injured body and also the time skip fic whose name escapes me by @irregularcollapse and also catching up with @weimarweekly's rodeo fic, Looking For Eight

Writing this was very fun and I encourage anyone reading to give it a go if they fancy it!!

[lunchtimebedamned1997]

Some fic-art wips and yapping for you today <3

I've been re-editing my early chapters of my ongoing Arcane story A Second Too Late while I work on making a fic guide for myself to make updating easier on myself.

The story is at just under 100,000 words of posted material so far, and it's just gotten to be too much to go back and reread every time I work on something new for it - and I felt like too many details/small plots were going to accidentally be forgotten.

Now I have all my characters organized in order of appearance (Canon characters on the left, OCs on the right)

AND I've been working on doing character portraits (particularly for the OCs) as well as chapter-specific notes on each character when an important event/plot happens with them.

Example of the character portraits:

I also have all the chapters broken down scene-by-scene, and any extra art I want to make upon editing gets it's own reference/planning sub-board as well >:3

I've been doing the thumbnails mostly in my sketchbook and finishing them off digitally which has been a really gratifying experience tbh, I really love doing my sketches tiny and in mechanical pencil bc it gives me the looseness and texture I love while stopping me from going to detail-heavy (bc small) & redrawing 40-billion times (bc tradtional).

Below is an example of the thumbnail sketches vs. the base lines :D

I just moved into a new place, and I don't have a monitor that displays color well, so I've been firmly in the b&w/lineart space with digital work right now, but I'm actually grateful for it bc it's forcing me to slow down and not hyper-focus on any one particular piece.

Idk how many chapters will have art, but I'm having fun with it for now hehe

Sometimes I get kind of down on myself for how slow I can be at updating, but something (I can't even remember what atm it's 3 a.m. rn lmao) resparked the feeling of happy fandom warm-fuzzies I had for years and years, and I just - this is fun. I'm so grateful this is like... a thing, you know?? Ik the internet can be A Lot esp. with the large influx of ppl into the community who haven't learned the culture yet but... idk I'm just feeling... happy about making things again in a very familiar way I had been chasing the last couple months.

Anyways, all this bts work has been a massive undertaking, but I'm really glad I've been putting in the time to do it. I think it's going to make the story a lot better, even besides all the personal perks for my own writing convenience.

[gloomyshoujo]

⋆.˚🦋༘⋆Tagged by @theurbanfuturesoftherecentpast !!⋆.˚🦋༘⋆

Last song: The Sphere of Ragnarok - Asriel (urgh I swear I don't think I'll ever get over this band. Been listening to them since the 11eyes anime came out I think LOL)

Last book: Hmm not a book persay; more of a short story from a book. So that has to count, right?xD But I re-read The Happy Prince, by Oscar Wilde. (Which you can read here for free!) This was one of my favourite fairytales for a long time, but I mostly re-read it while I was doing research for a fanart/secret santa project I made.xD I didn't end up using it as my inspiration (my giftee wanted a happy ending with no character death, and I was like oof yea let's not use this one for inspo LOL /i ended up just making my own thing), but still happy I reread it after so long lol! As for manga/comics, I haven't been reading as much as I'd like too these days... Been mostly watching stuff (which I haven't done much in like 2 years lol). But the last thing I read I think was an indie comic called Little Death. Majooooor TW's if you want to look into it. It's very dark and 18+!! And for fanfics, I think the last one I read was a Zuko (Avatar) whump fanfic again LOL.

Last movie: Watched Maboroshi the other day. It was on Netflix and I was curious lol. It was okay. The animation was pretty, for sure! The story was just, again, okay. Not bad, just didn't have much of a punch for me. But still entertaining.

Last TV show: Been watching Pokemon Journey's as of late! I've been reallyyyyy needing something that's comforting these days. I actually surprised myself getting back into Pokemon. It was my main fandom from like 3 to like 19/20yo lol. But sort of fell out of love with it since the games kinda sucked for me;;; But Journey's has been really cute and fun! Some episodes make me laugh a lot lol. I don't think I'll be obsessed with it like I once was, but that's okay!

Last thing I searched: I don't remember, but probably stuff about PC's lol. I've been trying to shop for a PC for a while now, and it's a NIGHTMARE.

Favorite color: Oof I love em all but: purple and pink!!! Especially purple, I've been especially obsessed with it these past 2 years lol.

Sweet/Savory/Spicy: Sweet for sure!! I have suuuuch a sweet tooth lol!

Relationship status: Single~ Not looking for a relationship, and I'm fine being with that. Like, I've always been in the mindset if something comes up, then great! And if not, great!xD (to those I tagged, feel free to delete this one because I know it's not something everyone likes to disclose!<3)

Looking forward to: hhhh idk. Before January I was looking forward to more stuff, but everything feels heavy now.x_x I guess if I actually find one, then a new PC. I'd like to be able to draw without each line lagging. I also want one with a lot more space on it, so I can install more programs to make art with (one of them I even bought but haven't been able to use yet lol). I just want to make more art and draw this year. Like, just in general. I also set a goal to get back into making more 18+ and dark stuff. I've really missed it.;__; Even if it's just 1 or 2 things, I'd be happy with that! I am also gonna try to teach myself a bit of html/css so I can finally make my website. It's been a goal of mine for several years now, but I always get so overwhelmed so fast. And maybe do some more event or fandom stuff. Just small things to get me to talk about stuff I love in a safe space, ya know? Maybe even get me to connect with ppl a bit more. I feel like I don't get to do it too much irl. (which I guess I'm doing rn!!xD)

Current obsession: It's funny, but these past few months I've been jumping around all over the place. I find myself having micro-obsessions with everything (old and new lol). It's a tad overwhelming, but a bit nice at the same time because I've worked on a lot of projects so far, or just get to enjoy a plethora of stuff lol. I guess these past few days I've been foaming at the mouth at the need to paint a figure again lol. My friend bought me a Sheryl figure (hasn't come in yet) and I really wanna paint/shade it a tiny bit, just to bring out her features more.:-) And I know I shouldn't, but I recently got this Ranka figure that came out recently for a decent price. Also really wanna repaint her. I haven't gotten myself anything at all since late summer, maybe early fall, so I am excited to get her!

Thank you so much for the tag!!>w</ It was fun to think back on stuff lol. It actually put me in a better head space as it forced me to think of things I enjoy, ya know?xD

As for who I wanna tag, gonna tag you @matchasilver again!!!:'-3 Again though, no pressure into doing it.<3 And if anyone else who sees this, feel free to participate (and you can tag me too if you want, I'd love to see it)!

Also I know we mostly talk on Bsky, but @yarns-and-d20s if you want?;w; Though, don't feel pressured if you don't want too! <333

[akaeijis]

HI OMG I LOVE YOUR EAST COAST FIC

if you ever want dumb lil tidbits to shove in feel free to hmu because i know way too much about this area (stuck living here)

hihi!!! tysmmm, i'm so glad you are enjoying it (i hope i'm repping th east coast properly LOL), i really hope i'll finish it since i don't really write multichaps. but, i've been really loving falling back in love with hetalia over the last few years... honestly, i have no idea where i got the courage to write aph (i see that ppl don't use this acronym anymore...) hws, since i was always so fulfilled by the fandom back in the day + i was like 13 so my writing skills were meh.

but now hetalia fandom is small and even smaller if ur a spamano/usuk/whatever fan that ppl don't like anymore so I'm here to contribute to our little fandom of people who actually like antonio & lovino! there was an influx of spamano fics in the last year that also inspired me, and i reread My Heart is Drenched in Wine by ChampagneSly, which has also got to be one of my favorite spamano fics ever... i love rich kid romano i love ceo romano i love bitchy romano i love (explodes) and the recent small, but strong & passionate love for hetalia and spamano by fans has inspired me so much to open documents and write!

sorry for ranting very tangentially... as you can see i don't have that many friends who like/care abt hetalia so I'm always down to explode and rant to ppl who actually know what I'm talking abt...

ANYWAY, yes i'm so glad you're having fun with it! I'm also having a lot of fun (but a bit worried I'm putting really random details about rhode island Italian American beach culture LOL). and yes, pls message me w any details (or pls just talk to me in general i haven't had a friend to engage w me over hetalia in..... years.....) . here's a sneak peek to prove that i do have something drafted.

i've never seen the sopranos

[brandileigh2003]

why do you think athors are unhappy and taking fics down?

This has been talked about a good bit lately.

Search fandom etiquette. Or fandom discourse. Others have worded it better than I can

But, what it comes down to is ... Each author is different. The way their fic has been received, the way that comments, anons, negativity, etc all effect them.

You mention being happy. I don't know that it's that.... Exactly. It seems like fandom is shifting. And that's natural in some ways. But. Things that have been rough... Personally and to some posts I've seen... Is that negativity and people being rude seems to be on the rise. In comment sections and inboxes.

And I know that some people say don't put your work on the Internet if you don't expect some criticism.

But. This is something we do for free. Bc we love it. We want to explore this world and the characters.

And fandom has always had golden rule of don't like don't read.

Except people are ignoring that. Or else they are just going over the line of the unspoken... If you don't like it, don't say anything about it. Not publicly where the author can see it.

I've seen the potluck example. We're all bringing something we put time and effort into. If you don't like green bean casserole, then please just pass over my dish. If you think that you like green bean casserole but you don't like a specific ingredient I used, just don't eat it. You wouldn't get it and then complain loudly to someone about it or tell me it's awful.

The second thing that's been talked about lately is positive interaction with authors. There's been a drop in commenting lately and I'm sure there are lots of reasons.

But it can still be discouraging. I know that we're not owed comments. I know. However. We spent time creating this and many of us do crave for someone to tell us so, or ask questions, to know it impacted someone, to know what reader liked. Or we find out it's being rec'd and talked about other places. Which is awesome, and there's nothing wrong with that. What is a bit discouraging is-- a lot of authors would probably never see people giving positive thoughts and love to the story, and that a very small percentage, if any tell it in a comment or message.

But these conversations are easily found on reblogs by many mutuals.

So I am but sure if you're really asking if I'm unhappy and why I personally pulled my fics (and if not, I apologize). but I will touch on the "why" a bit.

I will admit that I got too caught up in that part of it, the validation, I guess you could say.

It was making me sad and discouraged with numbers. Or that I would get negative feedback. Or if something didnt "do as well" as my average.

And that made me realize that right now, I'm just making myself unhappy. And (besides the people who gave the negative comments or asks) that is ultimately on me.

Because at the end of the day, I should write and share bc I love it. I have a story that I want told, a certain characteristizations or situation.

I shouldn't write for validation reasons even if it amazing to know my work was enjoyed.

And then I should see that any interactions are a positive.

So. I tried to separate from that. And having them hidden takes out the numbers game.

And I've reread a few of my stories, and enjoyed them just listening and trying to not go into I need to edit this mode. So that has helped.

I actually also posted something anon to test it out and will pull it if I do obsess. I also turned off anon comments and ppl can't find me here.

And I've had wonderful people send me kind messages and support lately and that does make me remember that there are such wonderful people in the fandom and they very much outnumber those who are loud and rude.

And I've been sitting with that. Hanging out in my little bubble, looking at kind things that people have been saying.

I've been trying to start reading more wip, the backbone of fandom, trying to comment as much as I can on any of the things I'm reading and let others know they're seen and appreciated.

So. I'm not unhappy. I'm blessed actually. I have good fandom friends. I have amazing fics being written for free that I can read and have an escape.

I think that these posts and ones I've written out reblogged is just trying to spread info a bit about what some of us as fanfic authors are looking for.

[golbrocklovely]

Was it actually a good book? All fandom aside and likeness for Sam and Colby aside, is it good to the point you cant put it down? The bits and pieces I’ve seen on here and elsewhere no offense but it looks like a joke to me. Too much fantasy for my liking but because its small inserts I’ve read i don’t want to evaluate it on just that.

If you or anyone on here can compare it to another book or story that would be great.

back when i first read it i rated it a 3.5/5 stars, and i still feel that way now.

first thing to note is that the book has paranormal elements throughout, and more so from the middle of the book onward until the end. it's also a thriller, some horror, and borderline gets gory towards the finale. so... if none of that is interesting to you, then i wouldn't recommend the book.

i think this book also relies heavily on the fact that assumingly the person reading it is a snc fan. i don't think the writer really goes into who the boys are as ppl, occassionally yes, but not often enough to really flush them out as characters. she hits all the bullet-point wikipedia notes like born in kansas, started on vine, band nerds, shit like that. and you get a little bit of their motivations, but not enough for me personally. and nate and alex get boiled down to nate uses big words and alex is quiet. you learn almost nothing about them.

so again, i think the writer relied too heavily on fans being the primary readers, which i think is a detriment to the book.

also, it's a slow build to the tension. i don't need the tension out the gate to be there, but it took somewhere in between the first 50-100 pages to get really interesting. basically, the whole thing takes place at the belle estate, and it takes until after the first visit for things to get interesting. so it's a lot of building to get to the tension to really be there.

my problem is also that the beginning is basically what snc have told us enough times over so both reading the book for the first time and rereading it now make it even more slow feeling.

i will say the ending was really great, totally out of left field for me, wasn't expecting it at all. there's 28 chapters and the last 10 or more chapters i couldn't put the book down bc i needed to know how it ended. so that's a positive.

if you're genuinely curious about how the book reads, someone did a whole audiobook of it on youtube. if you search "paradise island sam and colby audiobook" on there, you'll find it. i'm pretty sure all the chapters are on there, and it's a girl reading it. i didn't really listen, but she sounded okay from the first thirty seconds i heard lol

but if you plan to never buy the book, but want to read someone's review of it (with spoilers), i did one a year ago. kayla (starryevermore) also did one. i know a couple other ppl on here did one too, i just can't think of who else rn.

i would recommend the book, but i also love snc so i'm gonna be biased regardless. i think the book has a lot of good elements to it, i just think it almost would have benefitted from a different writer maybe?? or just some more flushing out. the book is only 240 pages, it's really short. and i feel like it almost should have been longer, just to explain things more or... something else. i'm not quite sure.

if you have any other questions about it, or if anyone else that's read it wants to chime in, lmk ! :)

[binickandros]

I feel really stupid asking this but is there a fic-reading fandom for The Stand? I don't use Tumblr so I have no idea. And I don't see much on AO3 (aside from yours, which is brilliant). But I have about 70k words of Trashy fanfic sitting in a word doc right now and I have no idea if I should ever try to share it or just reread it myself to feel better about this stupid adaptation

Okay first pls pls pls never feel stupid for asking anything, esp not this bc it’s not a stupid question at all. I wondered the same thing before I started publishing my fic!! And, tbh...I don’t know?? Most of the Stand fics I see here are characterxreader, which are fine and super popular rn, but just not really my thing.

I mean, ff.net has The Stand as just “Stand” (which annoys the piss outta me) and doesn’t have any characters that you can tag, so that shows how small it is there...but there is a Trash fic I’ve seen, so you’re not the only one!!

So here’s the thing: if you have a fic you want to publish, do it. While The Stand fandom is small, it’s also really really really pissed off right now, and desperate for palate cleansers after that nonsense adaptation. Esp for a character like Trash!!

And ya know as more people like you and me start publishing fics, maybe other ppl like us with fics lurking on our hard drives will start taking the risk, too, and we’ll start seeing more fic and eventually we’ll all be able to pretend that this adaptation was a terrible fever dream spawned by the long 2020 nightmare.

Thank you for the kind words about my fic. I am, for some reason, deeply invested in it, so it means a lot. :)

[wolves-in-the-world]

3, 6, 22?

'How would you describe your writing style', 'What’s your ratio for rating your works', and 'What is it about watching the same two idiots falling in love over and over again'. (I'm looking forward to that one!)

3. How would you describe your writing style?

(my rule for this is I have to answer these in a mostly positive/neutral way so *rolls up sleeves* *ties back hair* *cuts hair with a sword in preparation for going to war-*)

when it's not very informal: I'd say it's kinda slow! I spend a lot of time describing things sometimes - specific movements, expressions, body language - and am learning to pare that back. I'm told my writing can get into this low key hypnotic/meditative flow at times, and I think I sometimes like to go a bit subtle with intended... meanings, for want of a better term. parallels, subtext, emotions I'm trying to convey. the worry there is that it might not always land, but when it does, it's good.

also I have to actively stop myself from using the occasional "thus". goodness only knows what else slips through.

6. What’s your ratio for rating your works?

apologies, I'm not actually sure what this means!! I can only think it means rating like general/teen+/mature etc on ao3? you are entirely welcome to clarify if that's not it and you're still curious.

if it's about that: I squint and consider the ethics of just sending everything to a fandom-savvy friend to assess, then generally err on the side of caution. I've got a 'mature' fic out there that honestly might just be teen and up at heart, but goodness knows.

(if it's just about, like, rating as in how good they are? I'm influenced a fair bit by other ppl's reactions, but I spent a long while writing things that barely got read, so I try to steer by personal satisfaction. though that comes and goes. I've already got some leverage fic that's difficult for me to reread.)

22. What is it about watching the same two idiots falling in love over and over again?

I'm gonna get a little serious here, heads up!

it's the safety, in my opinion. we like familiarity (especially if we're trying to squeeze as much reward as possible from a small mental/emotional investment) and we often like knowing that the characters are going to be okay, which is why romance as a genre and shipfic as well are so comforting. like, from an attachment perspective (I'm not sure how to phrase this, apologies, most of my info on attachment theory comes from chats with a friend) you're presenting your brain with a story of people loving and supporting each other, which is teaching your brain little by little that such a thing is possible. (the power of stories, y'all. if you can't find it, at least dream of it.) for ppl with some level of trauma, ppl who feel alienated and lonely, that's a really comforting and really powerful thing.

it also lets you sort of reread things while also being novel enough to be interesting, y'know? I'm a lifelong rereader, and discovering that I can have, like, dozens of different stories of the same characters falling in love, dozens of stories of the same character learning to be cared for, while knowing already what the emotions and the outcome will be... I'm a fairly recent arrival in fandom proper and slow to get used to some of it, but that's really really nice.

also maybe we just like the characters, and want to see them learning to be happy and to accept happiness again, and that's just really nice too.

[jmtorres]

like i get what you're saying but you're still coming across as shaming ppl who only read complete but like

people's brains work differently. both readers and writers. not all writers are like you either, some writers don't post until they're done, yea even long works. some writers want feedback from close trusted betas not the whole wide fandom while they're still writing.

as a reader, needing a complete fic is not like, a preference for me? my brain cannot function that way. it frequently can't function that way for TV, the rise of streaming seasons released all at once was frankly a boon to me. but even still sometimes i don't watch a show for several years waiting for it to be a closed canon.

and like yes i'm neurodivergent but so is a lot of fandom. That's part of the reason this is a common problem and WIP/complete filter was one of AO3's starting filters if I'm remembering correctly, not a later add-on like the exclude box.

anyway SOME writers like to post as they write and get lots of feedback and let the community shape what they write. SOME writers write with a small intimate audience. SOME writers need to be alone with their stories while they're writing and don't want to post until all the chapters are at least solid draft and just going through an edit.

SOME readers are eager to read WIPs and tell authors everything they like and hope for. SOME readers don't like to read WIPs from unknown authors but have trusted authors they expect to finish based on past performance, or that they know they like so much they're willing to risk it. SOME readers can't hold onto WIPs in their brains and can't handle rereading every time there's a new chapter (especially if it's a long wait), so they stick to complete works. Or whatever other reasons people stay with complete works.

THERE IS NO SHAME IN HOWEVER YOUR BRAIN MAKES WRITING AND READING WORK FOR YOU. Nobody has to feel bad for not "supporting" WIP writers. If getting general readership support works for a writer, there are people who like to read that way who can do that! And meanwhile there are writers who don't get their writing energy in public spaces but private ones. Like bestie, I might not be up to reading AO3 WIPs but there are writers I'm cheerleading on discord and IM, and that's where I get my juice as a writer, too.

So like. Idk. Chill?

Re: WIPs being marked as "complete"

I completely agree that you should not be falsely advertising a certain type of fic as something it's not, no argument against that at all, but it also pains me a little to see the amount of people (which I think grew today in comparison to what I remember 10-20 years ago?) who refuse to read WIPs.

The only reason you have complete long-fic masterpieces is because people read them while they were at work. Because people commented. Encouraged. Talked about it.

Yes, most writers write for themselves first, but when you're working on a long-term project, feedback is an enormous motivating factor. One good comment can make me drop my procrastination and go work on the chapter I was feeling stuck on instead.

I can't tell people what to do, I'm well aware of that. But if you're not going to support WIPs, you will not have good complete works to read.

--

[poppymadness]

💖 HQ, Knb, All Out, Free, BNHAand DnA I think you watched at least a little bit of it, didn't u? And since I know who some of your favorites are already u can just rant about why u love them

@naturalpeaches said:💖 can i be an ass and say twdg even tho ik the answers p much OH the last kingdom. bring it to ur blog amber. talk about it. accept it.

💖 listen those 2 weren’t enough. give me the raven cycle. give me the foxhole court. give me six of crows. giVE ME CRIMINAL MINDS HAAAAA BITCH. why not throw the 100 in there too. also talk abt ur boo in the sun is also a star. give him some lovin

💖 N A R U T O

hope it’s cool just to throw ya both in here bc i’m lazy

haikyuu: (3) kuroo tetsurou - iiiiiiiiiiii fucking love kuroo sO much, a huge tall not so dumb dumbass god. i don’t know what to say dfkhka i fuckin Love him thanks dude. i nEVER FORGET THE FUCKIN LAUGH GOD FUCK FOR FUCKS SAKE skjfd. whenever i get in Kuroo Moods they last SO long i can’t get a break. and gamer au kuroo is killer it’s too good. listen he’S A BIG FOOL and i LOVE him want the best for him bc he’s great, good, good dude. i also rlly fuckin love terushima man ooooo my god, imagine him and kuroo bein buds hORRIBLE

kuroko no basket: (1) kiyoshi teppei - mY BOY KIYOSHI AAAAA. hE’S EVEN T A L L E R mmmm 6′4″ the fuck mann. we know my love for this dumbass i love him so so muuch fuck. thought it was kuroko at first, bitch no. I LITERALLY DIDN’T KNOW I LOVED HIM TILL AFTER I FINISHED THE WHOLE SHOW. like, just, the more i saw stuff involving him the more i was like ooo no no waiT i LoVE HiM i screamed when he showed up in the second opening when we rewatched it oooommggggg. he’S SO GOOD I HOPE HIS KNEE IS HEALED I HOPE HE GETS TO PLAY BASKETBALL AS A LIL SIDE HOBBY OR SOMETHIN HOPE HE’S FUCKIN HAPPY!!!!! whY DOES HE SELF-SACRIFICE SO MUCH BOY OOO MY GOD WHEN HE REALIZED THE TEAM GOT HIS BACK TOO BITCH HE SO CUTE. mmmmm  i love hiiiiim bois. also love akashi i keep finding it funny ur intimated by him cj

all out: (4) ebumi masaru - i can’t. i can’t explain why i love him oR WHY HE’S SO HIGH A FAVE GOD. this whole fandom is like Those Thighs and make ebumi all about fuckin sex like what a Tough Boy like yA HE BUYS (rents? whatever) PORN THAT’S FUCKIN SO FUNNY TO ME BUT MMMM he. more. i nevER STOP THINKIN BOUT THE EP WITH ISE THAT EMO SHIT DO U SEE HOW MUCH EBUMI CARES BOUT HIS FRIEND GOD Fuck. like yeah, just take the money. this is what was left for me but idc here take it u need it i stg season 2 better be in the works i want more of his backSTORY. oh hE FUCKIN BLEACHES HIS HAIR WHAT A PUUUUNK, HE TRAINS SO HARD HE CARES SO MUCH ABOUT RUGBY GETS P I S S E D WHEN PPL HALF-ASS IT LIKE?? FAIR ENOUGH. OH THETY ACTUALLY DREW HIS HAIR DOWN RIGHT ADJHF A OoO FUCK TAHT. i’m good it’s cool alright bye gion, raita & ise are my best friends thank

free: rin matsuoka - i. thought it was nagisa at first. i wanna cry fuckin nagisa jesus. good boy but hell no. rin?? is so sweet i’m sorry fuckin flew haru to australia & shit he’s so good i love him. i gotta do this i’m srry FUCK whoever thinks rin would be abusive with haru thx. i havE A RIN POSTER G O D

boku no hero academia: todoroki shouto - i literally didn’t have a fave in this show until one (1) specific episode in season 2 with him. thought i was gonna live forever not having a fave in this show. i had actually been growing to like him and was like No, i told myself to not like him bc he’s so popular hdkfa. and then that ep came and i was like,,,oof i Love him, love love love what a goOD BOY. he’s…so cute..comin to terms with his powers still can’t get over he interned with his dad he just…..wants to improve…is improving…..so good.

daiya no ace: ? - ok, i never developed a fave while watching it, at least not where i got to. i don’t even remember where i stopped oof that’s bad. but i had thought at that time that i rlly loved chris?? eijun is precious, i fuckin love him. miyuki is great i love him too. also really loved kuramochi?? so if i had continued i think it would’ve been one of em.

the walking dead game: kenny, luke, clem, gabe - pls don’t make me choose… kenny…tried his hardest to be good, worked his ass off till the last moment to improve himself and didn’t get the redemption he deserved. that man is good, he was just pushed to his max and couldn’t get back down. luke, luke is a sunshine boy who was too good for the world, a positive outlet could make anyone happy, did his best, didn’t deserve to die. cleM MY BADASS B A B Y HAS GROWN SO MUCH I LOOOOVE HER AND CAN’T WAIT FOR HER HAPPY ENDING TELLTALE YOU FUCKS I AM BEGGING YOU1!! gabe…annoyed me at first…stole my heart….just a boy thrown into the apocalypse tryin to be happy…he’s doing his best, he’s learning, truly not such a brat as assholes make him out to be. nick my boy i’m so sorry i would’ve included you ur so close

the last kingdom: uhtred & alfred - i love uhtred the godless and king alfred of wessex very much indeed. uhtred is just a wreck honestly, this danish bro got a lot goin on he just wants the land he deserves i just say he’s bein greedy, go be happy under alfred’s rule i still love u tho uhtred u dumbass. alfred! got the peace he wanted! i love alfred so much he wants to be a king without war unless he’s not given the choice, cares about his family so much, afraid he’ll be punished for the crown that’s not rightfully his own. alfred is so good, i love this man.

the raven cycle: (5) adam parrish - mmmmmmm what a good boy. an important boy, a very much loved boy. iiiii hate havin his pov sometimes, some relatable things in there, i love him so much. he’s not. his father. thanks. gotta say that a lot wanT HIM TO KNOOOOOOOW. he’s so good he’s improving himself he’s doin it!! go adam!! goD ASHLETY I KEEP THINKING OF THINGS YOU HAVEN’T GOTTEN TOOOOOOOO. mmmm it’s ok to still be stuck and to have bad days he doesn’t have to get over it right away!! it’s not somethin that’ll just be over!! dhfad smALL STEPS my boy i love u…. all bc, he…legally free (tryin not to spoil dfhjdaf).. don’t mean he has to be over it…take ur time adam. i’m thinkin of the emo thing in trk fuck wrong devil dkhfad. i just wanna cry he’s so good worth so much ronan & i will fight any and all fucks who wanna Go. i!! love him!! he deserVES TO FEEL LOVED AND TO FEEL HOW TO LOVE MMMM COOL i’m gonna stop i’ll just repeat myself - i just thOUGHT OF THE ‘FUCK YOU GANSEY’ WOW FIRST BOOK FUCK B YE

the foxhole court: …andrew minyard… - idk man?? it’s so lowkey?? it’s chill i literally don’t even have anything to say. nicky, neil & dan are my squad love em.

six of crows: jesper fahey - idk what fuckin bitch ass mood i had to be in when i read soc but if i wasn’t in it jesper would totally have been my fave. i wouldn’t take him away from wylan anyways (statement kiiinda counts for the two aforementioned also whoop). jesper?? deserves the world, but so does everyone else they all deserve the world even u bitch ass brekker who would not deal with my bullshit ever. 

criminal minds: aaron hotchner - god ashley screw off askin me for cm. love hotch, would die for him, too good of a guy.

the 100: bellamy blake - is a fuckin whore. iiiiiii love bellamy so much. bitch ass goes from a punk i hated to a good dude to a punk ass influenced by some huge ass prick dick and then struggles with himself for the next season and will now hopefully feel a bit better at least for gods sake. all bc you’ve done bad things doesn’t mean ur bad bell… i still never get over fucking pike taking advantage of him when he was vulnerable fuck off i just want him to feel better!! take responsibility but don’t let it push you down fucking get up!! you’ll get up!! mmm he’s so good he just wants to make everything right but clarke makes everyTHING FUCKIN GO WRONG. i just…not everything is excusable but he can make up for it he will and he’s worth it,,,, people gotta forgive him at some point he’s trying his hardest to make up for everything and he keeps beating himself on it mmmmdfahdf i love him

the sun is also a star: daniel jae ho bae - idk what to say about him ashley god fuck. he’s so cute though?? what a cheesy dude. ugh literally so cute i gotta reread it

naruto: kiba inuzuka - what a prideful ass i fuckIN LOVe him thx. i mean i was fuckin doomed from that start he has best boy akamaru & fuckin has a jutsu where he turns into a wolf?? and his fuckin mom and sister have wolves?? doomed before i even fuckin knew it. he’s soooo cute, never take his fuckin hoodie off idk what’s cuter him trying to look tough in that hoodie that everyone literally thought was hair or havin the hoodie off and showin his actual hair that somehow makes him cuter,,, what’S HORRIBLE IS THE LEATHER JACKET OR WHATEVER IT IS HE WEARS IN SHIPPUDEN fuckin idiot. imagine him as hokage i can’t believe he wants to be hokage it’s so funny i’m sorry kiba i’ll support u just give me a minute to catch my breath. guys he’s just so cute, trains so hard, he’s so good i love him enthusiastic boy

[wingheadshellhead]

Hi, I love your blog! So I've been reading a lot of 616 stevetony lately, and I've noticed that in both canon and in a lot of fiction, Steve seems to really dislike Extremis (even before superior iron man). Why do you think that is? Even without looking at this with shipper goggles (which I always am), I think it's really strange that Steve has so much disdain for something that essentially saved one of his best friend's lives.

(THIS HAS TAKEN ME 5 BILLION YEARS BUT HERE IT IS FINALLY)

i used to be in the same boat and automatically assumed steve’s dislike of extremis was one of those fandom headcanon things that was so commonly accepted it’d basically become fact, but it’s really, actually, all 100% canon. but the comics that deal with it happen right before civil war so i think many ppl have simply forgotten or skipped over that part of tony’s timeline.

execute program is the 6-issue arc that comes right after extremis and it’s the main thing i tell everyone they have to read if they’re putting themselves thru the ringer that is 616′s civil war. it is so so important to understanding tony’s headspace and where he’s at before the events of civil war occur. 

READ EXECUTE PROGRAM. a) bc it’s absolutely crucial to tony’s side of civil war, b) the follow-through from the extremis arc is just… amazing, virtuosic. i really genuinely think it is a fascinating, excellently-written arc, c) when it gets gay it gets very gay. truST ME you do not need your shipper goggles for this at all bc guess which of the following things are canon: the sound of steve saying his voice being the only thing that snaps tony out of (likely a dissociative episode) trying to murder a villain that nearly kills peter, dyeing his hair blond when he’s going on the run, tony stopping his heart to save steve’s life. all of them !!! all canon !!!!!! 

extremis is, basically, terrifying. to the average human being, hell even the average superhuman. it’s p much unfathomable the sheer level/magnitude/scope of extremis. extremis allows tony to access and control any piece of technology on earth and even in earth’s atmosphere, he can hear satellites. it’s like having the singularity as a superpower. 

so part 1, iron man vol. 4 #7 (2006), opening issue and we have tony stopping a villain with lethal force, all while counting down the milliseconds and bidding on priceless artefacts.

now, avengers don’t kill. and tony doesn’t, he stops the man’s heart, then restarts it, basically performing defibrillation. 

and then we get this conversation: 

and after tony jets off leaving the new avengers to sort out the aftermath, we get this disturbing reminder:

a proper reread might prove me wrong but i don’t think the writers ever clarify whether this transformation in tony’s personality is due to extremis or outside manipulation (which is the culmination of execute program’s arc as i’ll go into in a bit). but when your brain is literally a machine and you Have Become more machine than human, this is the natural progression of tony’s humanity – the aspects of compassion, empathy, etc. – fading into the background to accomodate for extremis. 

extremis brings out everything about tony that steve (and possibly the world) fears most. it makes him cold and calculating, and with a brain like tony stark’s elevated by the superhuman capacity to think and react at the speed of a machine, he’s unstopppable.

part 2, iron man vol. 4 #8, we have tony nearly straight up burning a man alive for almost killing peter and laughing about it. 

he’s so deep in Destroy Mode that he doesn’t even register steve’s warning, and here i think he acts entirely out of instinct –– like extremis is thinking for him rather than his brain prompting him to do this. 

extremis is also the cause of tension between tony and the newly-formed new avengers (one of my favorite line-ups!!), he almost gets into a fight with logan and jessica has to break them up. it turns out tony is missing time in his memory, which is extremely worrying for someone w/ his level of power…

what’s so fascinating about extremis, and why we have so much to thank warren ellis for (the writer of the extremis arc), is that it is the perfect and the most logical climax of the modern iron man story. tony’s worst villain, as we’ve known since the very beginning really, has never been anyone else but himself. and in the case of extremis, it’s a highly technologically advanced version of himself that can do and be everything he’s ever dreamed of being able to achieve vs. him. 

the question extremis asks is at what cost? at what cost does technological advancement, bleeding-edge breakthroughs, and the spirit of human innovation come at? how far would tony go to become the Ideal version of himself that he sees as superior in every way? what would he sacrifice for that?

extremis represents basically the pinnacle of sci-fi tech in iron man comics, it’s why even god awful superior iron man used a 3.0 version of it as the foundation for tony’s sins. it’s the farthest point he’s ever reached, and it’s also the lowest in terms of the damage and fallout that comes from it. because ofc, tony stark can’t have nice things like this, but also bc the hubris + nature of extremis allowing its host to play god can’t exist without there being negative consequences. really b ad consequences. 

huge respect to danial & charles knauf, the authors of execute program, too, because they find a way to perfectly bring the arc full circle as ellis did with his extremis. the central villain plot revolves around ho yinsen’s son. the kid hacks extremis and uses it to control tony, sending him to subconsciously assassinate a bunch of people on his kill list, i.e. a list of all the men involved in yinsen’s death. i mean like, HOLY SHIT, an iron man plot where a literal ghost from tony’s past – a direct victim of events tony was involved in, the son of the man that sacrificed his life so iron man could be born and so tony stark could live – shows up, weaponises tony’s own body + technology and uses him to murder people who are scheduled to participate in a peace summit despite the blood on their hands and the human cost of their involvement in the weapons industry.

DRAWING PARALLELS BETWEEN YINSEN’S LIFE’S WORK AND TONY’S LIKE DEATH AND DYING WOULD BE KINDER. again bc of my memory or even regardless due to constant retcons + reruns of the iron man origin story, i don’t know if it’s ever been explicitly stated before that yinsen also got into the weapons industry in order to get the funding necessary to support his other revolutionary work. but his son literally conflates yinsen with tony here, blending them into one + the same with that final panel and it becomes very obvious that at least a small part of him blames father for entering into weapons design. if he hadn’t, he might never have been captured by the the terrorist group that wanted him and tony to build them missiles. 

also, yinsen + villains involving yinsen are a recurring theme in iron man history but can we talk abt the fact that tony has never ever let himself forget the man bc jesus christ

yinsen’s kid is killed by a SHIELD sniper, activating the dead man’s switch and unleashing all the peackeeping units tony built that are now compromised. now, tony’s no jean grey or wanda maximoff but if this arc shows anything it’s not to underestimate him bc intentional or not (lmao) if he put his mind to it there’s literally no limit to the damage he could do. 

we see various heroes fighting off the peacekeeping units, and the new avengers are at the peace summit fighting a hulkbuster. 

and here it is people !!! the 23989485th time tony kills himself so steve can live. 

JUST. THE LOOK ON HIS FACE. AND THEN THIS ABSOLUTE LACK OF HESITATION:

so, yes. extremis was traumatising for pretty much every single person involved. steve has extremely good reasons for HATING extremis, even in the early stages or even if a fic is taking place before the events of execute program.

if you read the full arc, you’ll see tony running himself into the ground with his new abilities (world’s greatest multitasker can now multitask 192483958 things at once? ofc he’s going to use and abuse and exploit that), you see him spiralling and losing his grip on reality (mainly because he’s actually having dissociative episodes and losing time due to being remotely controlled to assassinate ppl but also bc of the Effect extremis is having on him). i brought up wanda and jean earlier as a casual reference but like, to put it in that kind of perspective, people just weren’t made to have this much power.

on a smaller scale, apart from eating up all of tony’s time and attention and mental health in a really bad way, it just Distances him from everyone. especially from the team. it’s Isolating, having this much going on in his brain and no one else in the world to fully understand it. 

and on steve’s side, you also have the fact that tony’s genius is both one of the things he loves and lowkey resents most about him. he has this deep-set anxiety about tony with all his brilliance and intelligence leaving him behind in the dust, or worse, laughing at him and how outdated and dim-witted he is in comparison. this is steve’s version of tony’s “i’m never going to be good enough for him”, a sentiment summed up in a quote from him as early as tales of suspense vol. 2 (1995): “yes, tony stark, a man of today and tomorrow is the man i’ll never be.” he’s so afraid of being abandoned + alienated by tony’s mind and the future that tony’s worked so tirelessly to build that might render him irrelevant. he’s scared of a future where he has no purpose, but more or just as importantly, he’s scared of becoming obsolete in tony’s life, of not being needed by tony anymore. one of the things that endeared him so much to tony, and which laid the foundations of their lifelong friendship, was the fact that from Day One (1), tony made him feel At Home. he never let him feel ashamed or isolated as The Man Out Of Time, he actively worked to make steve feel comfortable and to give him the things he needed to acclimatise and to fit himself into this brave new world. 

extremis undoes all of that. it propels tony so far and so fast into the future that it makes tony untouchable to steve. all of the ‘i can hear satellites’ stuff renders steve helpless and even more out of his depth than usual. it presses all of steve’s secret buttons and then some.

to sum this all up, and to finish my extra rambling abt tony bc u asked me about extremis and i couldn’t not finish with this:

here we have, ladies and gentlemen, everything u need to understand abt tony going into civil war. and it’s not on any of the official civil war fucking reading lists which really pisses me off because whether or not they did it on purpose the knaufs basically wrote all of execute program as the perfect precursor and characterisation groundwork for an antebellum tony stark. 

a tony stark who was just very recently manipulated against his will into assassinating people and causing a world-threatening incident that could have resulted in the deaths of thousands, including his own friends and teammates (and the love of his life), is a very different tony stark to the one ppl see in civil war #1.

what happens in stamford was an accident, too. no one meant for that to happen. tony knows first fucking hand what that means and what it feels like to carry that responsibility and guilt. his position in civil war supporting the SHRA is not only to protect the potential lives that could be lost in another stamford incident but also to protect superhumans and superheroes from ever being exploited against their will by villains to kill and hurt and destroy. 

superheroes are inherently susceptible to being used, it’s just part of the narrative convention –– a superhero is brainwashed or mind controlled or otherwise forced against their will to do something awful. and even if it’s not their fault there needs to be  accountability  for the victims. both the victims that suffer directly because of superhuman incidents but also the superheroes that become victims of ppl who abuse their powers. it’s abt protecting superheroes not just from civilians but from themselves. and if u’ve read a single comic u kno that this kinda shit happens way too often and way too easily.

sO YE S T hIS iS W HY. AND IT Ex PL AINS SO MUC H AND i j UST WISH P PL WOULD GODDAMN REA D THIS. LIKE EVERYONE WHO EVER WANTS TO SAY ANOTHER A GODDAMN THING ABOUT TONY STARK IN CIVIL WAR NEEDS TO FIRST READ EXECUTE PROGRAM FIRST OR PAY ME $10

anyway…………… one last time, i’m so so so sorry this took forever to get to. hope the wait was worth it!