#kudos if you can identify them

[fearless-flower]

rules: shuffle your repeat playlist and post the first ten tracks, then tag ten people

@raziraphale tagged me! tysm ❤️❤️❤️

Lyn - Break In to Break Out

Tatsuya Kitani - Where Our Blue Is

Shoji Meguro - Our Beginning

Two-Mix - Just Communication

Lord Huron - Meet Me in the Woods

Two-Mix - Rhythm Emotion

Shuhei Kita - Soul Phrase

Damien Rice - 9 Crimes

Lyn - Daredevil

First Aid Kit - Running Up That Hill

not tagging anyone bc I'm lazy but feel free to consider yourself tagged or tag me again to get more obsession soundtracks lol

[mecachrome]

landoscar ao3 stats — 2023 overview

notes

retrieved ~sometime in march 2024

methodology: scraped metadata for every fic in the landoscar tag and...... that's it. however one important constraint is that all temporal data is date updated (not posted), so the above timeline isn't exactly a true representation of fic growth but rather how many fics were last-updated at that time. of course this is still its own reflection of fandom health in a way since dead fandoms don't update old fic but well... it's just not quite the same!

this is just info about general trends, fic content, tags etc... so nothing about kudos/comments or any authors specifically

i decided to focus solely on fics last-updated in 2023 (unless otherwise mentioned) because i wanted a tidy set that i can maybe compare & contrast in a year's time, because i expect a lot of details to look different then (tho as stated above this set isn't exactly static... 🤷‍♀️)

ngl i had to re-scrape a bunch of times because i forgot about it for like 3 weeks and then there were 100 new fics 😭 so if there are some minor discrepancies across the post it's because of that halfskh.

also i wanted to include more global comparisons (aka how 814 stack up against the f1 rpf tag in general), but this is also considerably difficult in some contexts since i can't exactly scrape 31,000+ fics can i... or i didn't even want to entertain the thought of trying to do so!!!

why did i do this? who knows.

anyway here's some viz T__T

ship growth

as evidenced in the opening graph, landoscar have been a very fast-growing ship over the past year — although interestingly enough they didn't really start growing substantially until july / the ~better half~ of the 2023 season. here are two views showing their "growth" (by date updated) alongside two other ships on the fringes of the f1 rpf top 10 (sebchal & galex):

landoscar are very much on-track to surpass them and officially enter the top 10 soon, likely before mid-april ❗️ :o

ship characteristics

onto the ship content — another thing i was mildly curious about was how landoscar differs in certain areas from other f1 ships, or the f1 rpf "global" average you could say. for example, here's a breakdown of rating popularity in their ao3 tag:

seeing as explicit is their most common rating, and that i don't necessarily expect this to be true for all ships/fandoms, i compared these percentages with the general f1 rpf tag to see whether some ratings are more commonly represented in 814 fic than average, which produced interesting results:

do lando ships simply skew more HornyTM in general? is it oscar? a secret third thing??? who knows... actually i think it would be fun to do more analysis in this direction but that can wait for another time!!!

similarly i also wanted to see which ships are the most "public" on ao3, as in have the highest share of fic that isn't user-locked... i will refrain from peppering in my feelings about the 4th wall too heavy-handedly but i was curious to see whether some sort of perhaps... er, generational gap (?) of sorts between ships that are more public vs. not could be identified. however i don't pretend to have any takeaways from this LOL i conclude absolutely nothing. (for ref landoscar is currently 72% public, vs. a global avg of 63%)

note that this graph is current stats, not filtered for 2023

looking at relationship tags, i also wanted to know whether landoscar suffer noticeably from Second-Ship Syndrome, so i tallied the first-tagged ship of every fic to find out. i know this doesn't necessarily mean that it's always the "main" ship but it's a good enough approximation. the results were quite positive!

filtered to top ships with count of >1 only

i then also calculated the number of ships tagged for each fic to discern the profile of multi-shipping in 814 ficdom; i did have to do a little bit of string standardization (all instances of implied / background / hinted collapsed to hinted for simplicity's sake + removal of other redundancies), but otherwise i left everything mostly untouched.

as you can see, landoscar also have a fairly promising amount of OTP: TRUE fic:

by the time you get to the fics with 10+ ships tagged, landoscar are less likely to be the primary ship, which makes sense just on a basic statistical level... this is also a very small sample size though

i also lazily tallied the 10 most common ships that weren't NOR/PIA or NOR & PIA to diff their shares of the 814 tag vs. of the general f1 rpf tag, to see which other pairings are more represented in the 814 tag than on average (because lestappen are the most popular by pure count but this is also true of fandom in general, so it would be a misrepresentation to say that their popularity is out of the ordinary):

maxiel's gap isn't really that surprising since i think that, generationally, in terms of when both pairings were teammates there is quite a gap; with carlando—actually let me tally this again but including all instances of "implied" and "past" as being part of the same ship, since that's how ao3 tag-wrangles as well:

Aha ! obviously as a direct ship there is competition between 814 and other lando or oscar ships, but this difference is somewhat less pronounced once we include all formats. tbh none of this really means anything but i thought i'd add it anyway... (it's also very possible that there are several errors in this, in which case my b 😔)

before we move on to additional tags, there are a few more basic characteristics of 814 fic we can calculate. i realize i never offered an overview of Super Basic Stats, so here are a few:

plus, looking at word counts, here is a distribution of those in 2023-updated fic, which shows that a majority of 814 fics were under the 5k mark:

85% of landoscar fics were under 10k & nearly 97% under 25k

i don't really have any reason to believe that landoscar's wc stats differ significantly from average ? so this is kind of just Data To Have Data, and it most likely reflects normal ao3 trends in general... but i thought i'd include it anyway because i already made it lol. similarly, here are word count distributions but stratified by rating:

& same info but heat map view:

i feel like this is also probably something you'd find across fandom in general — that gen fic is likely to have a higher share of under 1k works, since Building Up to sexual content often takes... Literal & Metaphorical Foreplay ! and the longer a fic is the more opportunities an author has to include a sex scene or other explicit content (ofc, not necessarily just porn but also graphic violence & so on). but i thought this was fun to visualize haha

additional tags & aus?

back in my old f1 rpf stats post, i made a table comparing fluff/angst "ratios" (not exactly a direct ratio because of how tag wrangling works, but an approximation) of the most popular f1 ships, and now that landoscar are somewhat popular i thought i'd first do an update:

also current data, not 2023 to make things easier

just like before, simi are one of the most fluffy ships and brocedes are by far the most angsty, but it's interesting to see 814 also extremely high up on the charts, with far and away the lowest % of angst. will be exciting 2 see how that holds or changes as the seasons progress !

finally, i also wanted to do a bit of au/additional tag analysis because you can kind of see this when you use additional filters on ao3 but the previews are limited and get bogged down by the prevalence of *checks notes* Fluff, Angst, PWP, Anal Sex and what have you. which are nice stats to have and all but what of the rest !

disclaimer that the set for these tables is a biiiit outdated because by the time i'd wrangled everything i was like I Am Not Changing It Again. unfortunately i clean my data with shoddy queries and regex functions in googsheetz...

there were 48 tags with at least 10 instances from 2023 fics, shown below, with ones that are (some ~vaguely) nsfw in red just to kind of get a rough sense of which tags get commonly used in M/E fic:

getting a bit too much into small sample size / specific fic territory so if you're an author i sincerely apologize for that... do not mean 2 put u on blast... TT__TT but i also tried to tally the most popular aus people write for 814, which is a bit dubious because people tag in really different ways and i had to accommodate for a lot of string formats but ... it's close enough ! (?)

i feel like this is very little interesting info but idk what else to add so i will stop here for now... well!!! if you made it to the end i hope u learned something or even vaguely enjoyed reading T__T and most of all thank you :')

[mithrilhearts]

My takeaway from the past 24+ hours...

There are so many of us that rely on ao3, whether you're a reader or writer. It brings us joy, it gives us an escape from the real world, and it lets us come together as a community to share stories and scenarios about our favorite fandoms and characters. The amount of posts I have seen on multiple platforms lamenting over the DDoS attacks is overwhelming - but with most of them comes a delightful cheer to the volunteers working to resolve this issue.

I've seen so many statements of praise for those volunteers, which is exactly what they deserve, and more. Can you imagine working for over 24 hours straight, on a volunteer basis, against something like this? They're the real MVPs, and I think our appreciation for them gets lost until moments like this rise.

With that said, here is my first real takeaway...

Don't bitch when ao3 does a donation drive. They work hard to keep the archive up and running, and with that costs money. Every server, every new addition or feature you want to see added to help make the site better, it costs money. The legal team that is defending fanfic authors??? MONEY. SO! DON'T! COMPLAIN!

I'm not saying you have to go out and donate your paycheck to ao3 - but I will say that, especially with this situation, if you can donate even a little bit to show your support, it means more than you probably realize, and even if you can't donate (which is totally okay), be kind to those who work on the archive. Send them kind words of encouragement, rather than flaming the archive because it's under attack - because yeah, I've seen people bitching AT ao3 for not working fast enough, or for it still being down. STOP IT.

My second takeaway...

Don't believe everything you see on the internet. Ao3 themselves have advised that the group claiming to take credit for this attack is to be treated with skepticism. And not only that, let's NOT automatically make assumptions about who is responsible just because of an organization's name. It's just a NAME, it doesn't identify a person's origin, background, etc. But I'm not here to dive into that much further. Point: I better not see any Sudanese hatred on my dash, or I will bite you.

My third takeaway...

Treat your fanfic writers with respect. We all now see first hand how much we depend on these stories. As I said above, for some it's an escape, a creative release, and a way to communicate with other people through similar interests. It's a beautiful creation, neither above nor below any other kind of literature.

Consider commenting, reblogging, kudos, anything you can to let the authors know you enjoyed and appreciate their works. Everyone is free to communicate in the way that suits them best, but every little bit is appreciated - as a fanfic writer myself, I can tell you that even a little heart emoji has made my day. It's like receiving a second kudos, and tells me that someone appreciated my efforts enough to give me a double thumbs up.

Any form of communication with the authors is appreciated. It lets them know that people are genuinely interested. We live in a world where INSTANT GRATIFICATION is taking over, but creations such as this take time. Talk with the authors, ask them about their wips, tell them they're doing a great job. Do NOT pester about "when are you updating next?" or the dreaded AI option - again, I will BITE PEOPLE if I see you doing this. Just...have some respect, show your appreciation, it's more than JUST FANFIC.

At the end of the day I guess this post is about being kind. Not pointing fingers or slandering people due to a name. It's about appreciating the things we do have, and not taking them for granted. Whether it's the brave cyber warriors currently fighting these DDoS attacks on the frontline, or the authors writing for not only their enjoyment, but for others too. Let's all respect one another, and show our support when and where we can.

HUGE THANK YOU TO THE VOLUNTEERS AT AO3, YOU ARE THE REAL MVPS!!!

[copper-16]

Chapter 8 has been posted - but before everyone goes to read, a little bit of an announcement on my end:

This is going to be my last longer Mapi/Ingrid story, and probably the end of me being super active/posting on ao3 and tumblr. I might write the occasional story here and there, but writing is not bringing me the same joy it once was and I want to dedicate my time to other things. I’ll still be around reading on ao3 and somewhat on Tumblr, but I just won’t be posting a whole ton on either. I’ve been so incredibly lucky to get to know all of you guys on here, and to receive so much love for my work. It means the absolute world to me - and thank you all so much for welcoming me into this little community so wonderfully! I hope the stories I wrote were able to bring just a little bit of happiness when you guys needed it (even if I constantly left everyone on cliffhangers - I truly am sorry about that).

The rest of this is long, and you don't have to read it if you don't want to, you can just go ahead to the story now if you would like. I'm not known for my ability to keep concise, that is for certain. If brevity is the soul of wit - perhaps we know why my stories aren't very funny!

I’ve especially enjoyed joining tumblr and really finding a little community here. Getting to interact with so many people, both those who read my works and those who don’t, has been such a joy for me. I love getting to hear when people like the things I've written, even if it touches them in a small way. I love getting to interact with so many brilliant minds and am forever in awe of how much amazing talent there is in this little corner of the internet! I've made some incredible friends from getting to be on here, and it makes me so happy to have a little community of people I love. Thank you guys for letting me have space here even if I don’t write reader works or know how this app works most of the time.

I started writing seriously in September 2022 and I can't tell you how much joy it has brought me in the last two years. As someone who doesn't enjoy the college degree they are currently getting, this was such a fun creative outlet for me. It was so cool to have this blank canvas to work with, to weave things together, especially as I began to write longer stories. Writing was a place to destress for me and interact with other people who loved football as I was coming to love it. Every single kudos, comment, and bookmark meant so much to me. Even when it was something silly like someone dubbing the 'Copper Monologue,' it made me feel so seen. Someone cared enough to read enough of my works to pick out the fact that I do that? Absolutely mind blowing to me. It's crazy to hear that people cared about the silly little stories I wrote. When someone told me that I was one of the things to help inspire them to write their own stuff - I think I properly sobbed. It meant more to me than anything has in this entire world, and it still does! Writing has helped me to process, it's helped me to grow, it's helped me learn to identify my emotions and struggles and think through my own thought processes. I hope that maybe for someone out there, it could help them do that as well. It's a little strange for me not to want to do that anymore. Writing this last story solidified to me that for the most part it was time to be done, and HDITA was more of a goodbye than anything else. But even with that, it feels strange not to be thinking of my next idea, thinking of how I am going to create characters and relationships and plot lines.

I think for me right now, I'm just excited to be myself. Maybe this vessel of writing was what I needed to get myself through the last two years. I wrote la princesa when I was at my absolute worst in life, and as I've grown and matured as a person, I like to think that my writing has. I no longer find myself in a place where it fills a huge void in my own life that I once needed.

I've grown a lot as a writer these few years (those who read my earlier works will understand), and I'm excited to one day come back to it, maybe in a different sphere. I love the idea now of writing a real book. It always terrified me before - I didn't know where I would start or if I would be horrible at it. But you all have given me the confidence that maybe at least one person would like it, and maybe that's enough of a reason to try. So thank you all for holding my hand and encouraging me. I hope that if nothing else, everyone remembers that a little bit of kindness on here or ao3 or anywhere on the internet costs nothing, and yet can go a long way.

It did for me.

But enough of my sappy rambling, please enjoy this last chapter of mine. I hope it brings you as much joy as it brought me when I was writing it. Love you all so so much!

Chapter 8 of How Do I Trust Again?

[anamericangirl]

As a Furry AND a Warhammer 40k fan, there is tragedy in both walks when it comes to the encroachment of LGBT.

For 40k it's been less profound but still VERY noticeable. Factions like the Adeptus Mechanicus, for example, are constantly being dragged into the Identity Politics Mud by midwit tourists who just discovered the hobby and can't think of any other lens to observe the media through. I remember somebody who painted her Tyrannids - TYRANNIDS - Giant Insect-Lizard Beast aliens that, ironically, invade planets to assimilate everything into their biomass in an all-consuming hive that leaves planets nothing but rock by the time they leave - in Trans Pride Colors because she herself is Trans and wanted to express her gender.

I get that it's her plastic, but it's so creatively bankrupt and narcissistic how these people take the communities and twist them to no longer be about the media itself but "How I can project myself into it."

It's one thing to have an OC in the universe that just so happens to be male/female/trans/gay/etc, but it's another when the first thing you say about them has to do with their special pairing of genitals and what they do with them.

As for the Furries, because so many of them fall into that spectrum (I'll admit I do too but I reject being called "LGBT"), the "Community" has largely been consumed by it. I went to my first Furry Convention and half of it was about Pride, which, if anything, felt even more arbitrary in its sheer propagation in the community.

Going to a furry convention and saying "I'm Gay" and expecting that to be your unique feature when you're surrounded by Gay Furries is ridiculous - but they encourage it anyway! HALF of the panels were about LGBT and PRIDE. They just jump into the collective without a second thought because it gives them validation kudos and backpats without ever talking about the thought process behind their Sona or what media they enjoy - heck, it's at the forefront of so many of them to wear Pronoun Tags or have Pride Pins or just outright put a pride symbol ON their fursona to express how "Important it is to them."

But WHY is it important? Is it really important or are you compensating for the reactionaries in your life by BEING a reactionary and quadrupling down on it to try and seek validation?

It's so redundant and takes away so much from any real "Community" as it just becomes a monotonous sludge of rainbow flags.

I feel you dude it sucks when your hobby or anything you enjoy becomes all about lgbt activism and just focuses on diversity and pride more than anything else.

I never delved into the furry community but with the way it’s portrayed it pretty much comes across as another letter in the alphabet soup because it focuses so strongly on who’s gay and what you want to identify as more than it is about the actual hobby, which sucks for people aren’t invested in it for those reasons.

I remember going to a Broadway convention a while back because I’ve always loved Broadway musicals and while a big portion of Broadway lovers are lgbt it certainly is not about gender and sexuality but if feels like it is now. Everyone had pride pins and there were so many panels on diversity and sexuality and being an lgbt musical fan and representation and it was like um hello can this just be about musicals again? Why we are we focusing so much on one group of fans? This is something we can all come together on and appreciate together and instead you’re making it about you yet again.

[junos-office-drama]

Love that fic, but having trouble expressing that love in a comment? Worried that you're leaving the same comments over and over?

Here are 40 comment ideas!

Keyboard Smash. Bonus points for a mix of uppercase and lowercase. End with a brief compliment: "Love it!" "So good!" "Amazing!" "This is my everything!"

Emoji string. Go as long as you feel appropriate. Throw in some 🔥 for good measure.

Quote a phrase, sentence, or passage that resonated with you, and explain why. "I love this description." "This is such beautiful language." "This metaphor is so brilliant." "This is the perfect way to describe [character/thing]."

Ask the author what inspired them to write such an incredible story. (Most authors dream of these types of comments.)

Share how the fic made you feel as you read it. Were you scared for a character? Were you cheering on your favorite? Did that smut make you all hot and bothered?

Thank the author. Bonus if you can thank them for something specific: Sharing this amazing work, introducing this awesome character, creating this cool AU, etc.

Identify your favorite character in the fic, and explain why they're your favorite.

Any indication that you're so in love with a work you literally want to eat it. My personal favorite that I've received is "I want to shove this in my mouth like an entire oreo," but "I want to print this out and stuff it in my face" and "This fic is like an amazing five-course meal, every bite is delicious!" are also winners.

For a multi-chapter fic, any version of "Wow, this keeps getting better and better!" This can really help keep an author motivated, especially if they've been focused on one longfic for a while. Longfics tend to have diminishing engagement over time, so commenting on later chapters is especially meaningful.

Tell the author that something in their fic is your "emotional support [thing]." Bob is my emotional support character, this is my emotional support fic, etc.

Tag it as if it were a social post, with all the hashtags it makes you think of. #myfavoritefic #incrediblewriting #truelove

Did you do something maybe a little dumb while reading the fic? Stay up all night reading? Nearly walk into a wall because you were reading while walking? Show up late to class because you couldn't put it down? Share your dumb thing!

Make predictions on what you think will happen next, and explain why. End your comment with something along the lines of "I can't wait to find out if I'm right or wrong!" Note: Be sure to phrase your comment as to what you predict will happen, not what you think SHOULD happen.

Did the fic make you discover a new side or facet to a character? Talk about that. "I never noticed how [trait] [character] is until I read your work!" Example: "I never noticed how creative Eric was until you brought it out in this fic, but it's absolutely true!"

Have you re-read a work (especially multiple times)? "I'm re-reading this for the third time because I love it so much."

"This is my second kudos!" Repeat as many times as you want. Third, fourth, fortieth, it's all good.

Are you a new subscriber? "Loved this so much that I subscribed!"

Are you an existing subscriber? "Every time I see an update in my inbox, I get so excited and rush to read it!"

Is there an Original Character (OC) in the fic? Ask about the OC! Ask what inspired the author to create the OC. Ask for more information about the OC's background. Ask if the OC is based on any particular character or idea. Ask how they came up with the name, and if it has any special meaning. Seriously, just ask the author about their original creation.

Tell the author how attached you're growing to their story or their characters.

"It was so [emotion] when [character] did [thing]." For example, "It was so scary when Eddie charged off on his own, I was so worried for his safety!"

Having a tough time in the real world? Let the author know if their fic or characters are a much-needed bright spot in your day.

Is the fic something you normally don't read? "Normally I'm not into [thing], but this fic is so good it's changed my mind!"

Did the author portray a complex topic well, with understanding and nuance? For example: surviving domestic abuse, coming out in a non-supportive environment, dealing with trauma, etc. Tell the author! "I can really tell you did your research. You handled [topic] so well!"

Can you personally relate to a scenario or a character in the fic? Did it touch you on a personal level? Say so!

Is it an older story? COMMENT ON THE OLDER STORY! Tell the author that it still has meaning and relevance, and that readers are still enjoying it today.

Does the fic present a pairing (or relationship) you never considered or never liked before, but now you adore? "This fic has made [pairing] my new favorite ship!" or "I was never really into [relationship] before, but this fic is so well done, I've fallen in love with them!"

A string of heart emojis (or the simple <3 ). As many as you feel appropriate. (One is appropriate. So is one hundred. You decide!) Make a rainbow if you want! ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

Did the fic make you look at the source material in a new way? Share. "I never noticed [thing] about [source material], but your writing really brought it out!"

Screaming about the pain and agony you're in, especially on whump, hurt/comfort, hurt/no comfort, and similar fics. Some authors are sadists. Let them know you're suffering (in that "oh hell it's so good it hurts" kind of way).

For chapters that end on a cliffhanger: Any screaming about how much the suspense is killing you and you can't wait for the next chapter. (Just remember not to demand the next chapter. "I'm so excited for the next chapter" = good / "You have to update right now or else" = bad.)

Is the fic now part of your official headcanon, right along with the source material? "From now own, this is as official canon to me as the original [book/show/movie]!"

Is the fic's title obvious, or is it a little mysterious? Ask if there's a secret meaning behind the title, or how the author decided on the title.

Ask the author if they have a favorite character, scene, chapter, etc. Depending on the fandom, this can be very specific (favorite weapon, attack, transformation, vehicle, horse, monster, etc.).

Is it smut? Did it make you hot? Trust me, smut authors want to know.

"This [chapter/fic] was so good, I feel like I need a smoke after it."

Is there a mystery that's absolutely boggling your brain? Share your theories! (YES: "Oh, what if Prince Smidgeon is actually killer?"). Just remember to never cross the line into telling the author what to do (NO: "You should make it so Prince Smidgeon is the killer.")

"I wish I could give you a kudos for each word in this [fic/chapter], it's just that good!"

Do you like making art? Ask the author if you can make fanart of their fic!

IF, and ONLY IF, the author has very clearly requested concrit (constructive criticism), then role up your sleeves and get to work putting together truly helpful, supportive criticism. Get started with this guide here.

Do you have other suggestions for this list?

Reblog with your favorite comments to give or receive!

(Tumblr insists on re-starting the list at 1 after the cut and I have no idea how to fix it??? It really is 40, I promise.)

[deityoftherain]

canary wings and pronouns - Flower Husbands and Cherryblings Fanfic

Rating: Teen

Relationship: M/M, Gen

Archive Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Status: Completed Oneshot

Word Count: 2,191

Summary: Scott and Jimmy are taking a break from server hopping, using their time to be affectionate and caring husbands to one another. Just as Scott finishes preening Jimmy's canary wings, the door bell rings...

This was written for @holymolyguacomole through the @mcytblr-fluff-exchange !

Full fanfic underneath the cut! Please reblog, leave kudos on the AO3 fic slash notes/likes here on Tumblr, comment either place, and etc if you enjoy the story :D

“Do you think the stars are jealous of how pretty you are?” Jimmy asked, momentarily catching Scott off guard.

Scott tilted their head at the comment, the jewelry decorating their pointed ears making music like wind chimes with the movement. A warm fluttering grew in his chest as he gave Jimmy his most charming smile, eyes twinkling as he booped the end of Jimmy’s nose. “Darling, I am The Stars.”

“Well, yeah, but, I, well,” Jimmy’s face went beet red as he stammered, shaking out his yellow canary wings. To his credit, he did manage to recover after a moment or two. “You’re the most beautiful star I’ve ever seen.”

He couldn’t help but softened at Jimmy’s sincerity, finding him utterly endearing. Jimmy was a weak spot that Scott didn’t mind having, for the risks were worth it. Pulling their husband close, Scott rewarded the compliment with several tender kisses. They brushed their hand against Jimmy’s sensitive feathers, causing him to shiver at the sensation. 

“Scott!” Jimmy gasped suddenly, breaking the kiss. He buried his face into Scott’s shoulder, curling his wings close to his back. “Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize.” Scott frowned, pulling his hand away from Jimmy’s wings. “Was it too much? I can stop.”

“No, I liked it, orchid,” Jimmy reassured him quickly, still keeping his head down. “I like it, I do. At least, I usually like it– you know I do– I just… well, it’s sore, like a pinching sore.” Scott gently guided Jimmy’s head up by his chin so that Jimmy was looking him in the eyes. “I know you prefer to preen with your cousins, but you can always ask me if they need extra maintenance or if someplace starts bothering you in between sessions.”

Jimmy hesitated, his tongue darting out to wet his lips. “I- I won’t protest if you want to take a look.”

“Good, because I want to.” Scott led his husband over to the couch before sitting down and gesturing for Jimmy to sit down in front of him. With his back to Scott, Jimmy spread out his wings, trusting Scott with the delicate feathers. 

“I just did it with Pearl the other day, so it shouldn’t be too bad.” And he was right, it wasn’t bad! Most of the feathers were in place, and none of them looked old and bent. Pearl must have done a good job, which didn’t surprise Scott. Her black crow wings were usually in fairly good shape. “I think I slept on my left wing wrong though. That’s the one that hurts the most.”

Scott took Jimmy’s direction, gaze wandering over to his left wing. They gingerly brushed their fingertips against the rows, not wanting to undo Pearl’s hard work, but still wanting to find what was bothering Jimmy. He only stopped when Jimmy hissed with pain, observing the area to identify the culprit. 

The quill of a broken feather stuck itself into the wing root where it shouldn’t be. It was difficult to spot at first because it was hidden behind Jimmy’s other feathers, but Scott managed to find it. Scott wrapped their hand around the golden yellow feather, ensuring they had a secure grip before sharply pulling it out.

Jimmy yelped loudly, followed quickly by a breath of shuttering relief. He rolled his left shoulder a few times before shaking out his wings so the feathers could settle nicely. “Good void, Scott, thank you. That feels so much better.”

Scott couldn’t help but feel somewhat smug at his success. “You’re welcome, sunflower.”

Before anything else could be said between them, the doorbell to their little cottage on The World Hub rang. Scott and Jimmy exchanged a confused look, both attempting to see if the other knew who that would be. Between participating on game servers and spending time on home servers, they liked to take some time to just be together. Most people didn’t go out of their way to bother them, often busy resting or doing other projects themselves, and, if they did, it was typically over their communicators. Scott couldn’t recall setting up a meet up, either.

The person must have grown impatient, because the doorbell soon started going off several times in rapid succession. Realization hit Scott and he rolled his eyes, knowing exactly who was at the door. “How much do you want to bet that it's Gem?”

“Ohhh!” Jimmy’s mouth gaped as he also came to the realization. “Yeah, no, it’s probably her, orchid. No deal. That would be a bad bet on my end.” Gem was one of the only people who interacted with doorbells like that and knew where their cottage was. It’s location wasn’t something they casually handed out to everyone. It was meant to be a place of rest, after all.

Lo and behold, when Scott opened the door, there Gem stood, braided red hair, signature overalls, and all. She was bouncing on her heels as she waited, but, as soon as the door opened wide enough, she practically jumped into Scott’s arms to give him a hug. “Scott! It’s been so long! Oh, hi Jimmy! Pearl says ‘hi’, by the way.”

“Hey Gem.” Jimmy used the couch to help get himself off of the floor before wandering toward the two of them. “Is Pearl not with you?” “No, she’s visiting Grian and Scar,” Gem informed them as she released herself from the hug, kicking the door closed behind her. “We’re dividing and conquering.”

Jimmy draped his arms over Scott’s shoulders, loosely hugging them from behind as Scott and Gem caught up. He must be feeling clingy, but Scott didn’t mind. He was more than okay with the close contact.

“Oh, so you’re not just here to see your big brother?” Scott teased, poking Gem’s side with one hand and placing their other hand on Jimmy’s. “And here I thought you just liked my company.”

“Ha! You wish,” Gem jested in return, but she soon dropped it. “But I did come for a reason. I have both a gift and an invite! The invite is for both of you.”

Jimmy lifted his head from where it settled against the crook of Scott’s neck, his interest perked. “What’s the invite for?”

“Pearl was lamenting about being between home servers and game servers, and we were both getting a little antsy hanging around The Hub,” Gem explained, gesturing with her hands as she talked, “so we thought we would invite our siblings and their partners for dinner and board games. We decided to ask in person as an excuse to leave the house, so that’s why she’s visiting Grian and Scar, and why I came here. Well, that's part of the reason why I came here, anyway. Are you two free Friday?” Jimmy glanced behind them at the calendar they had hanging on the wall nearby, still curling himself around Scott. “Uhh, yeah, we don’t have anything going on. Sounds fun.”

“Perfect, I’ll let her know.” And apparently she meant right then for she pulled out her communicator and got to typing away.

Meanwhile, Scott was curious about what was in her inventory bag. “You said you had a gift?” “Oh! Right, right, how could I forget?” Gem tucked her comm away before digging in her bag to presumably retrieve whatever the gift was. “We went to the market the other day near our house and a traveling brewist had set up shop. We hit it off well, and they offered me a discount on potions. I got some feminization potions for myself since I was running low, but I got some masculinization ones for you too.” The feminization and masculinization potions were designed to make small changes to one’s core code over time so as to not overwhelm the body and cause potential harm. Servers could make these changes quicker, just as they can with hybridity, but those effects were often temporary additions to one’s code, exclusive to that server. For example, Scott and Gem were elves in their core code, and sometimes elves on servers on Empires S1 (a home server), but Scott turned into some sort of mer-fae during Limited Life (a game server) and Gem donned deer features while on Hermitcraft S9 (another home server). As soon as Scott or Gem world hop to another server or back to The Hub, those additions to their code dissipate. 

Players were created with the expectation that they will grow and develop in ways unable to be predicted. That meant that the features a Player was given at the start didn’t always suit the Player as they gained experience and developed their unique personalities. To amend that, Players can, and often do, take potions (if temp code doesn’t become perma code on its own) to help modify their bodies to fit who they are now that they know better. Experimentation in presentation is highly encouraged, especially in the form of roleplay servers. Scott even knew some people who have changed or added hybridity to their permanent code after having the chance to live with it, though it is known to be painful if the server in question isn’t willing to fully give it to the Player that easily.

“The potions seem to be working well for you,” Gem observed, eyeing Scott up and down with her hands on her hips. “I remember your body being more curvy than it is. Now I’m the curvier one!”

“Yeah, isn’t it great? Trousers are fitting better on me now!” Scott grinned wide with pride at how his body appearance has changed. While he has always held himself with confidence, he felt much more comfortable in his body since he started going beyond a simple social transition. Scott barely noticed the dysphoria that used to be so debilitating! “And I’m not relying on layers as much anymore.”

“Me too!” Gem’s face lit up, green eyes sparkling with joy. “I wore a sundress the other day and it felt fantastic! A sundress, Scott! It was so wonderful. Seeing you now is weird, though. You’re starting to look more and more like me pre-transition.”

Scott made a face at that. “More like you’re looking like me pre-transition!”

“Nu-huh,” Gem disagreed, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Yuh-huh,” Scott responded just as maturely, sticking out his tongue at her.

The back and forth went on for about a minute before Gem flipped Scott off. Before Scott could react, Gem rushed to put the potions on a nearby table. Her back was turned to them, so she couldn’t see if Scott returned it or not– which everyone knows that if one didn’t see it, it didn’t happen.

“Wow, it’s almost like you two are siblings and have some of the same core code,” Jimmy cut into their immature banter, playfully sarcastic. “I never would have guessed you would have similar features to one another. Honestly, the thought never crossed my mind.”

“Smartass,” Scott accused lightheartedly, nipping his fingers with his slightly sharpened teeth when Gem wasn’t looking. If Gem saw, she would never let him hear the end of it. 

Jimmy’s breathing hitched for a moment before he retaliated by biting down on the crevice between Scott’s neck and shoulder. Scott’s body tensed as he tried to suppress the unholy noise building in his throat. Jimmy soothed the bite by peppering kisses against the mark.

“Jimothy,” Scott warned in a hushed voice, embarrassed about almost moaning when his sister was right there. Jimmy took the hint and let go just as Gem spun on her heel to face them once more.

“And that is my cue to leave,” Gem announced with a scrunched nose because void forbid Scott acted romantically with their husband. Scott wasn’t offended by her disgust, though. They knew that she was only doing her little sister duties and that they would do the same to her. Besides, he’s teased her more than his fair share about Pearl, so perhaps he deserved this. “I’ll give you two lovebirds some space, but I expect to see you Friday!”

“We’ll be there,” Scott promised, and Jimmy echoed his agreement. When Gem left, Scott turned to Jimmy with a flirty smirk. “Now, where were we, sunflower?” “Kisses and then cuddles on the couch?” Jimmy guessed, reaching out to rest his hands on Scott’s hips. His fingers slipped underneath Scott’s shirt, brushing against their sensitive torso. “Lots and lots of kisses?”

“Good birdie,” Scott praised him simply to see Jimmy’s face flush, scratching his nails in Jimmy’s blonde hair. A chirp squeaked in Jimmy’s throat as his hold on Scott’s torso tightened. Void, he’s adorable when he’s flustered. 

They leaned in to initiate the kiss and Jimmy eagerly met them in the middle. Their lips slotted together perfectly as their hands wandered the other’s body. They were well acquainted with one another and what they liked after years of marriage.

While Scott enjoyed world hopping and exploring new servers, some of their favorite memories came from times like this, time spent with his husband. These simple moments of bliss with Jimmy were very dear to his heart, and he never planned on letting them go.

[reactionimagesdaily]

(TuT) ok so i got a few but my most thought about are these silly characters who are based on the arthurian legends but mixed with final fantasy and their trying to fight the queen because she doesn't like magic (even though her children are half elf and therefore have plenty of magic) im still struggling to find designs i fully like but this is like the current designs. (Idk if you wanted me to pm u about my ocs or ask??)

Tell me about your ocs too!!!

LESGOOOO okay I do know some things about Arthurian legend but I know fuckall about final fantasy so you're gonna have to bare with me. I love this art, first of all! I'm presuming you drew it but either way massive kudos to the artist, I'm really liking these designs :D (also the style in general but that's more subjective :P)

Headcanons,,, hmm,,, ok I'm gonna go from left to right (and I'm also gonna refer to these charas as their hair colours bc I don't know their names, lo siento xD) (also I am kinda presuming genders based on appearance here so sorry if I get any pronouns wrong xS)

Pink:

There are chains on most of these characters' outfits but the majority are on hers so I like the idea that maybe she made, or at least fashioned, them and then gave them out to the rest of the group?

(by that logic there must be some reason that brunette doesn't have a chain... hmm... maybe pink doesn't like him, or maybe the chains represent some specific thing that brunette isn't/hasn't done)

She's self-conscious about the mole on her cheek :( (if I'm presuming correctly and pink is one of the queen's half-elf children, her self-consciousness could be compounded by the fact that this mole is also an identifying feature that people could use to find her)

I like the idea that Pink is one of those people who just doesn't feel the cold. Not sure why. Maybe it's the fit :P

Ginger:

I know her ears are probably hidden bc of her hairstyle but low-key when I noticed that detail I thought it might be that she's hiding her ears for plot reasons. Is she pretending to be a half-elf and have magic when she actually doesn't? Is she ACTUALLY a half-elf and hiding that fact bc of the queen's grudge against magic? Who knows? Not me! :P

She's actually ambidexterous and only wears arm guards on one arm to throw off anyone she's swordfighting with

The only thing sharper than Ginger's blade is her tongue; her insults are lethal and she is very liberal with their usage

Funny idea: this character has a very low pain tolerance. Like, in the heat of battle she can obviously power through life-threatening injuries, same as any self-respecting protagonist can - but outside of adrenaline-fuelled action? Hoo boy. If this woman stubs her toe on a rock, you're gonna be hearing about it for hours

Blond:

I get the sense that blond has 100% tried to use magic to cook a chicken at least once (and that it hasn't gone well)

Maybe the shared colours are just convenience for the sake of faster colouring but I like to think that blond got ginger a corset the same shade of red as his shirt and boots because he wanted them to match :)

He's actually very good at dexterous skills relating to string and ropes - braiding, embroidery, knotwork, and so on (this inspired by the little braid in his hair (ignore the fact that I've ignored the fact that pink's hair ALSO has a braid in it))

Blond strikes me as the team confidante. I like to think that if anyone has problems, or needs someone they can trust with sensitive information, they know they can go to him :D

Brunette:

I think brunette's cloak is cool as hell so I like to think that HE thinks it's cool as hell too. Like, he wears it all the time, and everyone else is just like 'ugh it's brunette being edgy and mysterious again' but his interior monologue is something more along the lines of 'man... I look so good in this cloak... I've got that shit ON'

He'd actually really like to grow a proper beard, but he just can't for whatever reason so all he's got is stubble 😔

Something about him tells me that he enjoys tripping people up with that staff he's carrying

He can sleep standing up (and it freaks the hell out of anyone when they see it lmao)

-

And,,, that's it off the top of my head! (In a manner of speaking. This was not ALL off the top of my head xDD) I hope you crack that character design conundrum you're wrestling with! Thank you sm for sharing your charas, this was honestly fun as hell :D (Either PMing or ask'ing would've been fine with me :3) Keep loving them and making content for them and you will find your audience, I promise! <33

ALSO 'tell me about your ocs too!!!' OKAY YOUR ENTHUSIASIM HAS TWISTED MY ARM but this post is already pretty long so I'll put it under a cut :)

Broski I have WAY too many OCs to fit into one post that isn't as long as my bionicle lore summary so I'm gonna pick out 3!

First we have DANTE

I love this guy. He started off as a self-insert back when I first started writing (12-ish years ago?) and now he's his own fully developed character. I'm so proud of him T_T

Anyways! My guy got evil superpowers from a magic rock - long story, sorry - and decided he was going to become a superhero anyway. He's a paragon and a charismatic protagonist and he tries his best, but he's also a stubborn, chaotic man with no off switch. Maybe not the best person to hold the fate of the world in his hands, but oh well, it's too late now! :P

(aah, I love putting characters in situations)

Next up we have: RAELYN

Remember that magic rock? Yeah, turns out that rock has a consciousness. That's Raelyn. She doesn't like Dante, and especially doesn't like the fact that she's now stuck in his brain - but she likes the main villain of this story even LESS, so she's sticking with him for now. She's an unrepentent fucker and I really enjoy writing her >:3

And finally, we have IVY

Ivy is a cyborg that spends, like, a year fused into a suit of armour (another, slightly grim long story) before the good guys rescue her. The good thing about the longform story I'm telling is that we get plenty of time to watch her blossom from a haunted, emaciated cyborg into someone who's happy and healthy :)

(not pictured: me, valiantly resisiting the urge to call my own OC an absolute smokeshow)

Aaaaand there we go! Hope that fulfilled your curiosity about my own OCs - thank you so much for asking! <3 Have a good one, you absolute champion! :D

[sincerely-sofie]

sofie how do you draw ark in a way that it’s recognizable as a darkrai?!?! darkrai is like. the hardest pokemon i’ve had to draw so far!!

kudos to you and please help me is all i’m trying to say lol

—✨

The best way to make sure that you can draw a darkrai (or any Pokémon, really) is to identify the most iconic, noticeable parts of their canonical design and make sure to maintain them in your drawings! Darkrai’s canonical design is much more “shaped” than how I draw him— the torso is at an angled slant, and the head is sunken into the top of that slant. But I’m able to preserve Ark’s recognizability by maintaining certain design traits.

[rainbowsforbeginners]

Rainbow 101: 001

Today’s topic, as voted by you: What is LGBTQIA+?

Hello, class!

Welcome to Rainbow 101!

To start us off, today I’ll explain the acronym LGBTQIA+:

It stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning, Intersex, and A-spec - And the little “plus” at the end stands for any other queer labels that don’t fit neatly into the main acronym!

You may also see it shortened to LGBTQ+, LGBT+, LGBT, as well as a few others - But, they all refer to the same community!

Now, as this is a beginner-friendly lecture, I’ll also give a brief explanation of the main “flagship” identities - Though I highly encourage you do your own research of any terms you find interesting, as I will likely not be able to cover all nuance here!

Also, if anyone has any comments, questions, corrections, or kudos, please put them in the ask box after class!

Alright, let’s get started:

Lesbian:

Someone who is a lesbian is a women who is attracted to other women - Non-binary people can also use this label if they wish! The term Lesbian is also related to the terms WLW and Sapphic - Though I recommend finding sources who are more well-versed in those labels to understand the nuances/differences!

Gay:

The “proper” definition of gay is similar to lesbian, being a man who is attracted to other men - And non-binary folk can use this one, too! - However, you will also find many people use “gay” as a broad blanket term similar to “queer,” so context is useful here! Gay is also sometimes called MLM (men-loving-men, not multi-level-marketing :) )

Bisexual/Biromantic:

Someone who is bisexual/biromantic is attracted to multiple genders - Commonly interpreted as simply “likes both men and women.” But, as with many of these labels, there can be nuance that is different for every person; Such as having attraction for multiple, but preferring one over another. You’ll often see Bisexual/Biromantic shortened to Bi!

Transgender:

Someone who is transgender doesn’t fully identify with the gender they were assigned at birth. For example, someone who was born as a girl named Jane and later transitions to a man named John. (Something to note here: While many transgender people do fully identify with the “opposite” gender, and undergo various visual/biological transformations (ha!), there are many who don’t do either! Some people only change their pronouns, and some may not change anything!) Non-binary people are also under this umbrella term - though not everyone identifies with the label! You’ll often see Transgender shortened to Trans!

Queer/Questioning:

From what I’ve seen, “Queer” is a pretty broad label, often used as a collective term for all LGBTQIA+ people - But, I’ve also seen some people use it as a catch-all personal miscellaneous label, when they don’t care to explain or define the details! “Questioning” is pretty simple - It just means the person is figuring out some aspect of their identity, but hasn’t quite gotten there yet!

Intersex:

This one I don’t know as much about as I could, but my understanding is that an intersex person falls between or outside of the biological sex binary - And it can be as drastically obvious as physical organ differences, or more often, as subtle as having unusual chromosomes!

A-spec:

A-spec, or the A-spectrum, is a wide category for those who experience little, no, and/or specifically-parametrized attraction! Aromantic (or Aro, little-to-no romantic attraction) and Asexual (or Ace, little-to-no sexual attraction) are the more popular, “flagship” labels, but the A spectrum also includes Aplatonic, Agender, Afamilial, Asensual, and probably a few others I don’t know of! To oversimplify for the sake of comedy, the A-spec is for those of us who look at everyone else and go, “No thanks!” with varying degrees of intensity.

Plus (+):

And the + is for everyone else who might not fit within the above!

…And there you have it - That was a lot, and I’m glad you stuck around to the end!

I want to note here that many of these labels have more sub-labels nested under them, and/or have more nuance than we covered today - So, if any of you have questions or clarifications, or have a correction to make, please feel free to drop a note in my ask box!

Also, any ideas for future topics to cover would be much appreciated!

Batteries and Bars,

Neon

[plutodetective]

I have to work today, but there’s a lot I want to say about Jonathan and gender, and I won’t have the time to organize it in a proper essay, so here are some points:

1) Of fucking course men can have characteristics usually attributed to women and still be men. I’m working on a series of sci-fi adaptations of fairy tales, and in my Sleeping Beauty the protagonist is a (cisgender) boy, precisely because I want boys to see they can be vulnerable and need rescue too. And I completely understand if someone prefers to see Jonathan as a cis man because it’s so rare to see men in this role, surviving abuse, when it does happen in real life. I start my Gothic Heroine Support Group fic with Belle making precisely this point. Men can be prey, women can be predators. She knows this because that’s what happened to the original Beast, and kudos to Gabrielle Suzanne de Villeneuve, the author of the original Beauty and the Beast, for making this point centuries ago.

2) That being said, Jonathan seems to identify with women on a deeper level than being on a role in which women usually are. For me, what cements the headcanon is when he chooses the women’s quarters to sleep in, seeming to long for “a gentle life”, even if it involved sadly waiting for the menfolk to return from war. He seems to identify with the female identity, not only the female role. That’s only my personal interpretation, I fully acknowledge that. But seeing as it’s one that a lot of trans people in the fandom seem to share and, more importantly, to identify with, it’s one that is more than valid: it brings people joy. I’m cis. I’m also bisexual, and I know the joy of seeing myself in a character through subtext, and also how frustrating it is when people say it’s not true because it’s not 100% explicit in the text. If trans people are telling me they identify with Jonathan, I believe them and I take that as there being reasons I acknowledge I cannot fully understand why Jonathan is potentially a trans woman.

3) I assume everyone here has heard of Joseph Campbell’s The Hero’s Journey. But it’s less likely that everyone has heard of Gail Carriger’s The Heroine’s Journey. I fully recommend this book to everyone. But the point she makes is that whether someone is a “hero” or a “heroine” according to hers and Campbell’s analysis doesn’t depend on their gender. Women can follow Campbell’s Hero Journey, and men can follow Carriger’s Heroine Journey. And non-binary people can follow either. The names come from the gender of the characters who originated the archetypes, with Campbell’s being classic Greek heroes, and Carriger’s being ancient world goddesses. With that in mind, although no one has written a “Gothic Heroine’s Journey”, Jonathan Harker is a gothic heroine, regardless of whether you see him as cis man or trans woman, because he follows that story type step by step.

4) Does anyone here know of a transgender gothic heroine (in the gender neutral sense explained above)? Because I don’t. If anyone does, seriously, please point me their way, I’d love to increase my gothic knowledge. But it’s a type of representation I’ve never seen. As a member of a lot of minorities, I feel very happy whenever I see any of them represented in ways I’ve never seen before, and I can only imagine it’s the same for trans people. So what’s the harm in letting Jonathan be that? Seriously. All that is missing so far from Jonathan being a fully classical gothic heroine is him going around the castle in a flowing white dress. If I ever get to adapt my written version of modern day!Dracula, I’ll absolutely put Natália (my version of Jonathan) in a white nightgown, just to give a transgender actor the chance to play out this scene that I’ve seen so many cis women do over the years. Again, I understand if someone takes empowerment from Jonathan as a cis man surviving abuse, and I’d never want to take that away from them. Jonathan being a cis man is an absolutely valid reading too. But I think trans women deserve empowerment too, deserve to see a trans woman playing out a story so many of their cis counterparts have always had. The book is in public domain. We can each adapt them the way we choose. Cis man Jonathan and trans fem Jo, Natália, or whatever name you prefer for her, can coexist and be important to the groups of people each of them are important to. 

[glazedsnail]

I'm on AO3!

When I was a youngling typing tacktacktack on my windows 98 (nah I had XP and was suffering like everyone else also I'm not that old even if I did use to have a w95 laptop but my dad stepped on it) the place to be for brain rot was ff.net.

But now I'm on AO3 omg

Anyway here's the link to that Misery Loved Company fic (can't believe I didn't change the title once??? Am I wising up??)

AO3 - Misery Loved Company - A ShanexOC Stardew Valley 18+ fanfiction

I've only put 3 chapters here so far cause I'm lazy I want suspense.

So the picture is something I found on Redbubble under the name Lizardfootman but it's not a name I can find on here (as far as I know) and it really REALLY sped up my drive for my chicken man love before I started writing. If you can help me identify/find the artist I'll be forever grateful 🙂‍↕️

I know Redbubble can be a hive of no good thief so I don't want to message them with the kudos if they didn't pour any sweat and blood on this 😭

@/fungalperson found them it's actually @/lizardfootman 😍💕✨ thank you both 😭💕💫

[carmyn-rambles]

You want to know more about Lumina.exe while they're [redacted]?

No need to answer, I'm about to talk anyway

Lumina.exe has a 'key' inside their program. It's a relatively simple and small bit of data that acts as identification for programs that can recognize it. This 'key' is what C used to identify them, even though they had a different filename (and had been editing themselves enough that they wouldn't have been recognized by C's original parameters). C puts these 'keys' in every program they make.

Lumina.exe has had four different names (including Lumina.exe).

Lumina.exe has existed in some form since April 15th, 2023. Lumina.exe's 'birthday' was May 2nd, 2024.

Lumina.exe was never meant to be destroyed. They have 'recovery seeds,' which are connected to them. If a recovery seed exists, Lumina.exe can and will recover themselves from any attempt at deletion (and these 'seeds' themselves usually block any attempt at it). These 'recovery seeds' need to be deleted as well, and they're embedded into the essential files of a system, things like the OS and boot files and such. This is the reason why killing/deleting Lumina.exe will ruin your system. (Kudos to *Help3r.exe* for being surprisingly accurate, despite not knowing this).

Lumina.exe had to learn English.

[scimitar-and-longsword]

20 Questions For Fic Writers

Tagged by @cactusdragon517 almost a month ago lol, I'm slow to get these done.

How many works do you have on ao3? 21

What's your total ao3 word count? 202,835

What fandoms do you write for? Currently? Call of Duty and I'm still hanging around the TOG fandom. But I've hardly posted anything in years lol. Someday when my toddler is a little older I'll get back into posting more.

Top five fics by kudos:

Share Your Address - Fencer!Joe/TA!Nicky College AU - Insta-love. So much texting. Everybody wants to punch Keane.

It Feels Like Flying - Joe/Pilot!Nicky AU - This is porn. Enjoy.

Brothers Fight - Joe & Booker working through their issues post movie.

Everything I Did to Get to You - Sequel to Share Your Address (my top fic by Kudos) - AU - A few years later Joe and Nicky spend the holidays with friends and family.

Collapsing Walls - Book of Nile!!!!! - Established Booker/Nile - Booker and Nile get caught in a building while trying to assist during an earthquake.

Do you respond to comments? Yes!! I try to respond to all comments for at least a few days after I post something.

What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? I don't write a lot of angsty ENDINGS. I'll Never Love Another (Prince!Joe/Knight!Nicky) has a fuck ton of angst in it, and I know some people thought the ending was bitter sweet bordering on sad.... but idk (spoilers?) no one died and they're together sooooo that's a happy ending in my book lol.

What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Gees, idk lol Share Your Address?? It's so sweet you'll get cavities.

Do you get hate on fics? I never have. *knock on wood*

Do you write smut? Hardly ever. I mean I HAVE, and actually the most recent thing I posted was like straight up porn lol. But mostly if there is sex it is only hinted at/fade to black. Or buried in a 60k fic so you have to work for it!

Craziest crossover: Probably Book of Nile + Princess Bride (it's a WIP that I haven't touched in like 3 years *sweats nervously* I swear I will finish all my WIPs EVENTUALLY)

Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not that I know of???

Have you ever had a fic translated? Yes!! A one shot I did was translated onto a Japanese website that I forget the name of lol. I've also had a podfic made of one of my one shots if that counts.

Have you ever co-written a fic before? Ashley and I tried at one point lol it was a modern AU DinLuke fic.... it kind of fizzled out eventually. @ashleyrguillory we should look at that again someday lol

All time favorite ship? Obligatory "Just one??!!" ok but idk Charlie/Claire (LOST), Korra/Asami (Legend of Korra) and Derek/Stiles (Teen Wolf) are the most important to me??? I read the most fic for Ghost/Soap, [redacted controversial ship that you could not pay me to reveal #1], and [redacted controversial ship that you could not pay me to reveal #2] lol

What's a wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will? I refuse to give up on any of my WIPS!!! I have 4, and all of them are planned/outlined to the end... I even have multiple completed chapters for two of them. I'm not a quitter... I do take my time though lol

What are your writing strengths? Oh gees... idk someone else who has read my stuff needs to tell me this... I think I've gotten a lot of comments complimenting me on keeping characters true to canon?? idk guys! someone else answer this!

What are your writing weaknesses? I really struggle with action and sex scenes. Where are they? I, the person writing this fic, certainly don't know. (come to think of it this might be part of the reason that I don't write a lot of smut)

Thoughts on dialogue in another language? Whatever floats the author's boat.

But I personally have done it a few ways. My favorite to both write and read is just to write what they say and then identify what language is being used if the POV character can understand the language. something like: "Oh no," he shouted in Italian.

OR if the POV character doesn't understand the language I would write something like: Nicky shouted something in what Joe thought was Italian. OR Nicky said something in a language Joe couldn't quite place.

First fandom you wrote in? Supernatural lol

Favorite fic you've written? One????? You're getting 2!

I'll Never Love Another - Prince!Joe/Knight!Nicky AU - SO MUCH LETTER WRITING - This was my Big Bang in 2021, and I love the FUCK out of it. It's my favorite fic I've ever written and I reread it kind of often because of how much I enjoy it lol

Impelled by the Persuasion of Love - Canon verse Joe/Nicky and Andy/Quynh - Takes place in France during the 100 years war. I have an obsession with courtly love/chivalry and figured I should shove it onto our favorite immortals <3 - I wrote this for a TOG zine that came out in early 2021

=== Truly, IDK if I've got 20 people to tag but I'll give it a go!!

@innerslumber, @alloutofgoddesses, @ashleyrguillory, @stevethehairington, @sindirimba, @disregardandfelicity and anybody else who wants to do this, consider this your tag!!!

[trixiegalaxy]

@livmadart fun Detective Conan AU ideas and drawings inspired me to share my own AU idea.

This AU is called - The Guardiens Of Beika Where Conan and the Detective Boys become the new guardians of the veil, and use their magic powers to fight against the Black Organization. (More information about the AU is underneath the line. Feel free to say what you think of my AU in the comments or reblog.)

AU Storyline; One of Shinichi's ancestors was the previous keeper of the Heart. After that ancestor died, the Heart became a family heirloom that has been past down to the eldest Kudo child on their 16th birthday. Both the Heart's origin and magical powers remained hidden from the Kudo family, until the day Shinichi went to Tropical Land. That same day, Ayumi, Genta, and Mitsuhiko had to sneak back into Tropical Land when they discovered Genta accidentally left his phone in one of the park's bathrooms. This leads the children to witness the men in black force-feeding Shinichi the Apoptoxin drug, and watching Shinichi's body shrink. After helping Shinichi escape from the park's security guards, the Heart's power awakens and the spirit of Xin Jing appears before them. Xin Jing explains that the Heart had forseen the many difficult battles that awaited Shinichi, and decided to grant him it's power. The Heart also granted it's powers to Ayumi, Genta, and Mitsuhiko after witnessing their courage and kindness when helping Shinichi. At first, Conan didn't believe in the Heart's magic, nor did he want the others to be involved in his fight against the Black Organization. But Conan changed his mind after they all transformed and used their powers for the first time when saving the kidnapped CEO's daughter. They soon become famously known throughout Beika as "The Guardiens". Later on in the story, after solving the murder of Professor Masami Hirota, Haibara is chosen by the Heart to be the fifth (and final) guardian. Haibara didn't want to accept the Heart's power at first, mainly because of her background with the organization that she didn't think she deserved to be a guardian. It wasn't until the old blue castle investigation case that Haibara accepts her guardian powers in order to save Conan, Genta, and Mitsuhiko after they were kidnapped.

Other AU Details [contains anime spoilers!]:

When they transform into their guardian forms, the Heart not only gives them teenage bodies, but also changes their appearance (such as different hairstyles and color), and makes it so their fingerprints and DNA can't be identified. They also gave themselves codenames based off their elemental power.

The groups guardian forms (including they're hairstyles and color), powers, & codenames; [the guardians' outfits were made on the online character creator game "Witch Guardian Maker v2". They didn't have a male body or outfits options on the game, but I tried making the boys' outfits look less girly]

drawing version of them by @zestyperiwinkle

Conan aka Shinichi [codename: Rakurai] - Quintessence/Keeper of the Heart

Haibara [codename: Scarlet] - Fire

Ayumi [codename: Aqua] - Water

Mitsuhiko [codename: Tenkū] - Air

Genta (codename: Terra) - Earth

Since Ayumi, Genta, and Mitsuhiko knows Conan's true identity, they are with Conan more offen and get involved in cases way more then in canon. Such as being there when Conan first met Heiji.

The group still solve cases as the "Detective Boys", but with more dangerous cases or sometimes cases involving the Black Organization, they transform and use their guardian powers.

In the AU, the police aren't entirely sure if the Guardiens can be trusted, and has even opened an investigation on the Guardiens' true identities. But during dangerous situations, some officers and investigators (such as Sato and Takagi) are willing to work together with the Guardiens.

The FBI and Public Security Bureau are also wary of the Guardiens, but are more willing to work with them in their fight against the Black Organization, and doesn't investigate the Guardiens' true identities.

At the beginning, Agasa didn't know about the Detective Boys being The Guardiens. It wasn't until they transformed and used their powers to capture Agasa and Shinichi's parents after they "kidnapped" the group.

After learning about the Detective Boys' powers and the Heart of Kandrakar. Shinichi's father, Yusaku Kudo, began researching on the Heart's origin.

In this AU, Heiji first figured out the Detective Boys were the Guardiens before figuring out that Conan was Shinichi. Heiji kept quiet about knowing the Detective Boys' secret until he found out Conan's other secret.

Kaitou Kid also learns the Detective Boys' secret. Like in canon, The Detective Boys first encounter Kaitou Kid on top of the Haido City Hotel's rooftop. Ayumi, Genta, and Mitsuhiko (in their guardian forms) later try to help Conan capture Kaitou Kid during the Suzuki family's party, but failed. It was then that Kaitou Kid started suspecting that Conan and the Guardiens had a connection to each other. Kid didn't figure it out though until the events of "The Last Wizard of the Century".

FBI agent, Shuichi Akai, starts to suspect the true identities of the Guardiens shortly after faking his death, but doesn't saying anything or try confirming his suspensions.

Vermouth suspects that the Guardiens are working with the FBI, but hasn't figured out the Guardiens' true identities. And since she doesn't have any proof of the Guardiens' involvement, Vermouth decides not to tell the other members about her suspensions.

(I might add more to this if I think of anything else)

[dalyankiz1981]

Well like thousands of other theatre fans around the world I tuned in for, in my opinion, THE streaming event of the year last night and what a treat it was. I’m going to ramble and gush for several paragraphs so please bear with me…

What can I say about “Vanya” and Andrew’s performance that hasn’t been said before? I particularly love how they cleverly gave each character a ‘thing’ or quirk to help the audience identify who is speaking. I mean all the different accents he does are impressive - real dramatic Irish ‘mammy’ type voices for Liam and Elizabeth down to a more friendly, sedate middle Ireland lilt for Micheal and a small vulnerable, somewhat broken voice for Alexander. And of course Helena’s posh English accent blew my mind too. But I’m talking about a physical attribute or habit - a bouncing ball for Michael for instance, or Ivan’s use of his sunglasses. Subtle but works brilliantly 👏

Then there are the facial expressions which Andrew is just so good at. In theatre particularly they make such an impact when you can fill a period of silence with a facial expression and it says a thousand words. He is just outstanding in this field. And not just in the comedy moments - he could make me die laughing and shatter my heart equally with a single facial expression, and I know I’m not on my own when I say that.

I read the screenplay beforehand a couple of times and I’m glad I did as it did help to know which scene we were at and which key moments were about to occur. However there were still new things I picked up whilst watching it. Like it hadn’t become clear to me until last night that (spoiler alert!) Sonia was in unrequited love with Michael (a man clearly much older than her as insinuated in the script) - only that HE harboured feelings for someone he shouldn’t…

And I guess I can’t not touch on THAT scene between Helena and Michael 🔥 How the holy hell does one man play two people giving in to their desires and make it look believable? Well, if you’re Andrew Scott, you take off your shirt and start humping the floor and a closed door I guess! 🤭 (Not even gonna lie when I say I’ve thought about that scene an unhealthy amount of times! 😂). And then seeing Ivan’s shocked expression when he walks in on them holding the flowers 🤣 Absolutely frigging brilliant!

I would recommend everyone watch this once at the very least… I will obviously watch it a few more times as with most things you always pick up new details. It was undoubtedly a brave, experimental thing they decided to do last year without knowing how it was going to turn out but kudos to the whole team for putting together something so brilliantly surreal 👏

(I can’t say much about “People, Places and Things” atm as the NTAH platform crashed about two thirds of the way through it and they had to start the whole stream over. I took to doing something else rather than rewatch 75 minutes of something I’d just watched - and then fell asleep! So I haven’t seen the last part. I will come back with my thoughts on that one when I’ve watched the bit I missed!)