#like. look. i write stories and i think up of fantastical worlds myself but i don't have the opportunity to share it with people

[petrichal]

obligatory "Oda thank you for sharing this world with us" post

[valeriehalla]

The casual gender fuckery and trans-ness in CURSE/KISS/CUTE makes me so happy. I found myself crying halfway through episode 0. It wasn't even anything in particular. You just managed to send me on a very emotional journey. I have to hand it to you, now I'm longing for a place that isn't real but I feel like I can very tangibly miss. Fantastic work, stimulating synesthesia. Hope you're well <3

at some point in our world's future there will be a moment where everybody finally Gets Over It. it will happen at different times in different places. there are some places where it's already happened. i am interested in writing stories set in that "after". charmside as a setting represents an "after". queerness in charmside is the default state not because everyone in it is queer but because there is no one left who cares enough to reject the label. the concept of being straight or cis never took root here. the farther you get from the train station, the less monsters you'll find who could even comprehend what the word "cis" means without taking a college course on human sociology.

i think this is a real future and i believe with my whole ass that it will be manifest. however, it's also a little hot to think about? like, to scoop up some humans from the "before" world and plop them down into the "after" ... where there's not a soul in sight who can conceive of their self-repression as anything other than transparently maladaptive behavior ............ what do you mean you can't wear a skirt ............ who told you that ............................. huh?? i just don't get it ...................................... well i think you should try it on though ...................................... look how cute it is!

[demaparbat-hp]

Hi Dema!! Your art is fantastic and even the lineart is awesome! Solid and confident in where it's thick and where thin. I really like how your style has characters look more realistic and they have specific consistent features. Your blog has a pleasant atmosphere, and you're skilled in weaving AUs! There's a lot of details and structure, and I'd like to ask if any of them have a full story arc? Could you do a list of all of the AUs? Is there a motif that you especially like that repeats in any of the AUs? And whenever you add comments to my stuff in the tags I literally smile, it makes me want to keep at my plan to create everything I have in mind. So I'd like to spread this joy! I hope you have a nice day! (from late-draft ^^)

Hello, Late-Draft! I wasn't expecting this ask at all but I'm so glad to have received it!

First of all—I'll try to hold myself back from giggling like a schoolgirl. I'm having a sempai noticed me moment over here and that's just embarrassing. So give me a second to compose myself, if that's alright?

Okay, I'm back.

Now, on to business.

Character design, especially when it comes to facial features and how they're unique to each person, has always been a passion of mine. I always try to have a solid design for each character. I choose which features feel like the character in question, which face feels natural to draw, and go along with it. I love drawing Katara as much as I love drawing Zuko. Meanwhile, I seem to be on a never-ending battle against Sokka's features. Woes of an artist, I suppose.

Character design is actually one of the reasons I love your work so much, in case you hadn't noticed. I'm currently experimenting a bit with a different style... Hopefully it won't be long before the artwork is done and I can share it over here. I'm so excited for everyone to see it!

Now it's time for the reason we're all here.

I have said it before and shall say it once more: AUs are my lifeblood.

I love them so much! Building them, daydreaming the scenes, thinking of the characters and how they differ from their canon versions. The arcs and the themes and the worldbuilding. Building AUs is my passion, and I have so many of them!

There are a lot of motifs and themes that tend to repeat themselves in several of my AUs, I believe.

You'll notice that most of my stories are Zuko-centric, with a heavy emphasis on grief and humanity. There's the question of what makes us human and how to move forward when the whole world seems to push you back. I put a lot of stock in metaphors and symbolism within the narrative itself. I'm especially interested in the nuance of war and how it affects people emotionally, physically, and psychologically

I also tend to reutilize some elements of the lore and/or worldbuilding! Such as the Painted Lady's backstory, or the existence of War Children within the ATLA universe.

Now, the list!

I think I'll start with my current project, if that's okay :)

For the Spirits (New Gods AU)

Zuko was a child when he met Agni. Then, the spirits started coming to him. Eyes hidden in the hallways, voices pleading for help, for recognition, for remembrance.

Zuko could see Agni. He could see the broken remains of a Great Spirit and the empty smiles of amnesiac ghosts.

And they could see him in return.

I've been working on this AU for a long time, but only now did I get the chance to start writing the fic (linked up there!). I'm extremely excited about FTS and where the story will lead us in the future, but I'll try not to spoil too much.

It's a Zuko-centric story, with a heavy emphasis on Spirits and humanity. I'd like to add a warning for depression/mental health issues.

To Hesitate (Lee & Kya AU)

As she watches Lee and Kya avoid each other's eyes from across the room, the phrase comes back to her, swift and silent:

"To hesitate is to lose."

.

As Song treats the victim of an unfortunate interaction with a rare poisonous flower, her day takes an unexpected turn when it becomes apparent that the old man's nephew and her assistant have history.

A vivid history.

The Lee & Kya AU is a vibe, a feeling. It's probably one of my oldest AUs out there as well as one of my dearest.

A classical Lee and Kya From The Tea Shop AU, full with wholesome fandom tropes such as: fake (but not really) dating, fake identities, Ba Sing Se shenanigans, vigilante stuff, White Lotus missions, Iroh is a great Uncle, Zuko is an awkward turtleduck, and, of course, the fluffiest fluff you'll ever see.

Other than that, Lee & Kya is probably one of the less plot-focused AUs I have. However, that doesn't mean that there aren't scenes I can't wait to write or a canon divergence or two where Zuko is concerned.

(I have another fic posted but I'll leave that one to the end. You asked for a full story arc and, oh boy, does Soundless deliver.)

Kintsugi AU

Closer to being canon-adjacent than canon-divergent, Kintsugi is yet another Zuko-centric AU (and are we not noticing a pattern over here?).

I'd love to explain it in depth, but I believe the caption of the artwork linked above does a better job at explaining than I ever will.

Kintsugi is the art of decorating your scars with pieces of Agni.

In the Fire Nation, the amount of golden marks are a sign of status. Only the Royal Family can afford to seal every single wound with Kintsugi. Such is the weight of this tradition that, among the ones with Agni's blood, it is the highest mark of dishonor to have a natural scar, for it proves you aren't worthy of the privilege.

After the Agni Kai, Ozai forbid Zuko's scar to be sealed with Kintsugi. The boy wasn't worth his title, his traditions or his pride. Zuko would be broken, but he wouldn't be beautiful. Not anymore.

(And sometimes it's easier to pretend he never was)

Kyoshi Warriors AU

One of my absolute favorites!

In this AU, Ursa took Zuko and Azula with her when she was banished, so they could start anew. With help from Iroh and the White Lotus, she managed to relocate her freshly burned eight-year-old child and her crying daughter to Kyoshi Island.

Years later, when Avatar Aang and his companions first arrive at Kyoshi Island, they're met by the Kyoshi Warriors and their leader, Noriko of pale skin and warm brown eyes.

The Gaang leave Kyoshi Island many weeks later with a new companion. And if Jian Li, with his war paint and his scar and his dual dao, gives the island that he has called home for so long one final, longing glance as they fly away on Appa, they pretend not to notice.

Hunters AU

We're starting to dwelve deep into dangerous waters!

This is a Katara Joins Zuko In His Quest To Find The Avatar AU, with a twist!

This AU was born as a writing experiment. What if we take Katara's character, and change one of her core characteristics? Katara, who looked up to the Avatar as a saviour figure, now blames him for leaving and allowing the Fire Nation to wage war on the world.

Then comes Zuko, a banished Prince with a crew full of traitors and his own agenda. Zuko wishes for nothing more than to dethrone his father and end the war. He is a White Lotus member, an honorable, driven young man, and he has a plan.

The catch? He needs to take the Avatar to his father if he wishes to regain his title and be able to rightfully take the throne. Oh, and he will deliver the Avatar to the Fire Lord—but nobody said it had to be in chains.

Halfblood AU

I watched Blue Eye Samurai a few months ago and it destroyed me. The idea of a half-blooded child dead set on getting revenge for their very existence stuck with me, and this AU was born.

Kanna made a life for herself in the Earth Kingdom after leaving the North. Katara was raised by her grandmother in a small village, being taught to hide her bending if she wanted to live peacefully in a place she was only half of. Her mother had died in childbirth. Her father, a nameless warrior from the Southern Water Tribe who had loved Kya and left her behind, didn't know of Katara's existence.

Katara took over Kanna's clinic after she passed away. Always taking care of others. Always suppressing her need to bend. Always wishing for more.

One day, he arrived. A half-child, just like her. But while she was of Water, he was a son of Agni. He was searching for the man who brought him to this world. The man who scarred him. The man whose face he couldn't recall, whose name he did not know. The man whose specter had chased his mother to her grave. The man who would die at his hand.

The answers were hidden in a small teashop deep within Ba Sing Se. Lee offered her a way out, and Katara took it.

Soundless (Uiscefhuaraithe)

Katara of the Southern Water Tribe has hands scarred by fire and great talent, though no teacher.

Zuko is a mute War Child, a herbalist and healer, and the Blue Spirit. He bears the mark of fire, and the scar of the blade that took away his voice.

The first time they met, the Blue Spirit had just saved her, tough not before her hands got burned. The second time they met, his name was Lee, and he was healing her.

They live in war and they will fight, if not for the world, then for themselves.

You asked for a full storyline, and I shall deliver!

Soundless is probably the only AU I have fully planned. Three-books, Azula redemption arc, role-reversals and all.

This AU has everything. From travelling through the Earth Kingdom together, to odd character team-ups that somehow manage to work, and a major goal/conflict to resolve.

Zuko and Katara must find their way to Omashu in an Earth Kingdom ravaged by war as they also grow to understand each other, themselves, and the world around them. They meet with new and old alliances, keep their ears open for rumors of the Avatar (They say he is an airbender, Lee. Do you truly belive that?), and do their best to always be two steps ahead of their pasts.

Meanwhile, both the Northern and Southern Water Tribes are searching for the runaway heiress, Aang must find his way alone on this new, hostile world, and Azula must face the revelation that, despite what her father has stated for the last two years (liar, he lied at her! Her! He lied he liedliedliedlied), her brother might just be alive.

I'm sorry for making this such a long answer! I just get very excited about these subjects and don't know when to stop. If you made it all the way down here: thank you again.

I hope you have a good day ❤️

[commanderyes]

The Commander Says Goodbye

I’m not going to lie, I’m extremely anxious as i’m writing this, out of what these news could mean to a lot of people, and my heart feels heavy enough it could drop down my ribcage any minute from now and squish all my other organs. But I’ve been dancing around this topic for a long time now, and I think i’ve finally reached a point where i can’t ignore it anymore, for my own sake.

I hereby announce Commander Yes has come to an end.

As I’ve mentioned plenty of times before, here and to many other people, when I began this comic all the way back in 2018 I was in a really bad, really low place in my life in every sense of the word, and it was a spur-of-the moment decision to cheer myself up, because Path of Fire had just released and my enjoyment of the game had reached fever pitch and I had been playing Guild Wars 2 alone since as far as launch, and none of my other friends had ever really gotten into it. I guess I just, dunno, cried out into the big maelstrom of the community, one voice amidst millions, because i wanted SOMEBODY to look at what i did and revel in the nerdery with me.

And somehow the snowball began to roll and people wanted more and more of what I could do, and I was being actively reached out to, and, well, some time after that I landed my first ever job, I discovered a lot of things about myself, and I found myself in communities that welcomed me with open arms, and many of the people in there have since become among the best friends I could’ve possibly encountered, kindred souls who i’ve shared joys and sorrows for many years and who I can’t imagine living without anymore.

And all the while I kept making the comics, and with every entry posted every week I’d keep having people stopping to comment on them, and whether they were dumb jokes or personal takes on the story, they’d all share how much what I do kept hitting them in the kokoro, and to this day whenever I play anywhere in the game I still get people who recognize me and thank me for doing what I do. It was wonderful, it IS wonderful, and seeing that response motivated me to keep going, because what did still mattered to people, out there.

But I did always say I planned to keep doing these comics until I ran out of energy for them, and I think i’ve finally reached that point.

Because ever since I actually landed that job I’m exhausted and sleep-deprived every other day, so much so that I only have time to work on the comic on saturdays and sundays, and it gets harder and harder to just sit and draw, and at that point it was just more work, and while I still enjoy and play Guild Wars 2 a lot, it no longer consumes my time and attention like I’ve used to and i’ve been having fun with more personal projects, and honestly the direction the story is taking these days does not sit right with me and it’s hard to find inspiration in that, and this might be borderline selfish but every year I find people care less and less about the comics and it really takes a hit to you motivation when hardly anybody responds after you’ve spent a whole weekend trying to squeeze a five-page comic out.

And, well, I have been doing these for six years straight, and I think that’s a good run. I’m tired, and ready to move on, at long last. Let it be someone else’s turn.

But that’s the beautiful thing about this community, isn’t it? Even if I’m hanging up the hat, there are a whole lot of fantastic artists out there, as we speak, still cranking out works of art, deserving of all the attention they can get. And think of all the artists yet to come! For every story that ends, another story is just about to begin!

The world keeps on spinning, one way or another.

I’ll be closing my patreon shortly after this, but the reddit archives and tumblr blog shall remain for people to browse whenever they feel like (or until they both go in flames, i guess, what social media isn’t about to these days)

I still don’t think I ever was that much of a big deal, but all the same, to everyone who’s ever supported me and helped me be the person I am right now, to everyone who’s been there from the beginning, to all the devs of this game that has captured us for nearly a decade now, to all my fellow players and artists out there

Thank you.

See you out there, fellow commanders. Still the stars find their way.

[mono-blogs-art]

The Loyal Pin - Lesbian Period Drama Royalty

Stunning cinematography, a color-coded love story, and an overall excellent production made "The Loyal Pin" a highlight. For the past few months, I've been obsessed. Here's my full review with a spoiler-free version first and a deeper cut down below!

Summary: Overall: 9/10 - this is a must-watch, if you're into the genre. Genre: Period Drama, Historical Romance Watch if you are looking for... : A slow-paced childhood-friends-to-lovers story, beautiful and vibrant camera work, a highly dramatic romance with a happy ending! Watch out for... : period-accurate homophobia and misogyny, and overall ridiculous drama shenanigans Length: 16 episodes averaging about 60 minutes each Where to watch: Idolfactory Youtube Channel, the whole show is officially subbed in multiple languages and free to watch!

Adapted from author Monmaw's original novel "ปิ่นภักดิ์" (pinphak; The Loyal Pin) and directed by Kittisak "Fuse" Cheewasatjasakun, the series stars "Freen" Sarocha Chankimha and Becky Armstrong, who rose to sapphic fame after the roaring success of Idolfactory's 2022 lesbian drama "GAP the series". Now the acting duo is back better than ever for this high-budget production, officially co-funded by the Thai government's Ministry of Commerce.

In 1950's Bangkok, a young Pilanthita "Pin" Kasidit loses both her parents. She's taken in by her aunt, Princess Pattamika, to live with her at the court of the high-ranking Sawettawarit royal family - where she meets the royal family's youngest daughter, Princess Anilaphat "Anin". The two girls immediately become best friends and as they grow up, lovers. Even when Anin is forced to study abroad in England for most of her teenage years, their love doesn't waver. But with royal expectations, their class disparity, and the looming threat of an arranged marriage in sight, Pin and Anin have many obstacles to overcome before they can live their impossible happily ever after.

Let me be clear: "The Loyal Pin" is a good, even great show. But it will absolutely not be for everyone. I had a fantastic time with it and although it's not perfect, I sincerely loved my time within this world and with these characters. I could clearly see the incredible dedication and love poured into every aspect of it, from the performances by the actors to the beautiful camerawork and vibrant colors, the dialogues and scenes overall.

That might not be you. I don't want to dismiss critique of the show (I have plenty myself, as I'm about to lay out) as simply saying "You just don't Get It™️ like I do". But I do think the series is so vastly different from GAP that I'm sure a lot of people wished for just, something different. I can't blame those people, and hey, maybe Cranium will be more up your alley! Long story short, I have seen a lot of quite bad faith discussions of The Loyal Pin in the months since it aired and I want to stress that this review will not be that. Generally, if I didn't like something very much, I probably won't review it (which is why I didn't write about Blank or TSOU, sorry for catching strays).

Now that I've said that, I want to write about a show that I connected with a lot and why. I'm going to break down a few stand-out points to me, starting with our two main characters!

The Characters, My Beloveds:

Lady Pin: Our title character is the princess in this tale. A shy, polite and rule-abiding noble commoner, she's barely above the bottom of the food chain at the royal court and basically a servant. How can you not root for her? The way she endlessly loves and cares for Anin but is still conflicted about her burgeoning feelings and sexuality make her an endearing character you want to see happy. She's extremely devoted, faithful (I mean, the show is called The Loyal Pin...), and willing to sacrifice everything for what she believes in - including herself. We really see our heroine have to go through hell and back to see even a sliver of happiness. As time goes on, Pin becomes more confident but also grows jealous, makes mistakes, sacrifices too much, and is just incredibly human. She's a bird in a cage, and you just wish she could finally fly.

Princess Anin: The actual princess in our tale takes on more of a role of a gallant prince. Anin is the strongest character of the show, both in terms of bravery and emotional growth but also in being extremely consistent and easy to love. She's the mischievous rule-breaker of our main couple and a total optimist, always dreaming of a future everyone around her deems unthinkable. And with her natural charm, she's used to getting what she wants. On the flip side, her power and privilege have made her naive and she easily gets jealous (a trait she does share with Pin, so I guess it's at least equal). Anin is just as devoted as Pin is and works tirelessly to make their happy-ending happen, even when it seems nigh impossible. She doesn't even know that she's just as caged in her position as a princess as every other woman at the royal court - until it's all gone way too far.

The notable supporting cast of friends - Prik, Anin's loyal servant and the mandatory funny side-kick; Anan, Anin's oldest brother and certified Lesbian Ally™️; and my personal favourite Uangfah, Anin's cousin, who also has a crush on her (let's just not talk about that) - are all wonderful additions to the cast that make the world feel big and complex.

The two biggest antagonists in the show - Kuea, Pin's primary suitor, and Princess Pattamika, Pin's aunt, also bring the necessary spice to the mix. Admittedly, putting them in the same category is a bit mean - Kuea is a dumb prick you love to hate, while Auntie Patt is much more complex and hating her definitely hurts - but they're the closest we get to villains in this story. The show makes a big point out of the fact that, technically, most people are on board with Anin and Pin together, but the society around them is just simply not.

With a runtime of over 16 hours, the show can also really take its time to let you feel for the characters. And I love that!

Visuals: As already mentioned, the show just looks gorgeous. Kudos to the entire staff behind it - camerawork is consistently smooth, and although the layouts are often simple and can get repetitive it's still functional. The sets, the costumes, everything fits well together to transport us back in time. It's that delicious government money coming in clutch. The dialogue and writing is excellent, and character pay-off is deliciously sweet. The show works with very saturated colors that make everything look vibrant and pull you in with this nostalgia fantasy. Characters are also heavily color-coded, with Pin and Anin wearing palettes of pink and blue respectively. And when things go awry, those palettes also shift to represent their current emotional states.

The Plot (AKA the Romance): The story of "The Loyal Pin" can be easily summed up: It's the story of the romance between Pin and Anin. Their love story is the plot of the series - how they meet, how they fall in love, and how they end up together. There's no big mystery or drama outside of that - although there is plenty of drama to be had within. We've got jealousy plot lines aplenty, miscommunication, secret-keeping and everything else you'd expect from this genre. And it's all juicy as hell.

And if I may put some mild spoilers here already - my favourite part of the whole drama is that it has a point, and that our main couple actually learns how to talk to each other, process their feelings, and admit wrongdoing. It gives both Pin and Anin flesh and blood and makes them feel real, and so even when they fumble I want to see them get back up.

Pin and Anin have an undeniable attraction to each other and insane chemistry. Obviously, the actors are familiar with each other after all their projects together, so this should come as no surprise. The show is, of course, also really sexy, and although we don't see a lot of skin per se, my God, believe me, you're gonna be sweating.

(^ Anin is a certified Boob Girl)

Conclusion: What makes this show a 9/10? There's really not much to complain about here. I think if period dramas are your thing, in all their melodramatic glory, then you'll enjoy this show - and if you don't then you won't. For me personally, the repetitive layouting, the weird pacing in the somewhat drawn-out last 3 episodes, and "The Scene" (this one will have to go in the spoiler part, sorry!), among other smaller misses I wish weren't there, all made me retract a point. It's a great show - but I can easily name things that it could improve on. And I would like to see it in Idolfactory's next project.

With "Cranium" already having its pilot out, I've got high hopes!

I would recommend this show to anyone who watches (Thai) GL shows. It's one of the best I've watched so far. "The Loyal Pin" is a show with a lot of heart, great characters with even better chemistry, and beautiful visuals. It has well deserved its spot in my top 3 shows of the year. Go watch it, now, and then come back and tell me what you think!

Thank you for reading this lengthy post! This is the end of my spoiler-free review!

Now, let's get into spoilers to discuss some stuff more in depth - the great, the good, and the very bad.

The Break-Up - A Perfect Episode of Angst:

I famously wrote a very lengthy post about how excellent I found episode 13 AKA the break-up of Anilpin, which you can read here in its entirety. The post somewhat blew up on TLP twt when it got reposted there (without my permission, but it's all good now). And I'm glad people enjoyed reading it. I still stand by all of it! Sorry for not typing everything out again and linking to a different post. I just needed to highlight it again and how deliciously tasty the angst was. It was really the perfect distillation of showing the class disparity, power plays behind the scenes, mixed up with Anilpin's jealousy and miscommunication, the misogyny all the main woman are experiencing, Pin's martyr complex, and Anin's blind optimism. Really, really tasty, and it made their reunion in episode 15 even sweeter.

Princess Pattamika: A character I really need to expand on is Auntie Patt - and just to get it out of the way: I love her. She's my favourite "villain", because I can understand why she does what she does - even if she ends up deeply hurting the person she cares about the most: Pin, her adoptive daughter.

Princess Pattamika took in her niece after her brother and his wife, Pin's parents, died. Herself also having been adopted into the royal court of the Sawettawarit's, she inhabited an extremely similar position to Pin. A noble commoner, earning herself a good standing by serving the royal family well.

... and as we find out later on, she even wound up in a very similar romance - falling in love with a high ranking princess. Their relationship seemed extremely intense, probably similar to Anin & Pin's, but was cut short due to the princess' untimely death. Until this day, the loss of her love hurts Patt.

No other character understands Pin's position and struggles better than Patt. Which is also exactly why Patt is so exceptionally cruel to her when she finds out about Anin & Pin's relationship - and even before that, when Pin was just mildly disobedient and getting into trouble with Anin. She sees the heartbreak she suffered as inevitable for Pin. More importantly, she understands exactly the position this puts Anin in. Preserving the royal family's integrity and honor is the top priority of lower ranked nobles like Pin (and Patt herself). Anin & Pin's relationship is a ticking time bomb for the royal family if it were to be found out, so Patt is livid when she finds out that Pin has been keeping this secret for so long.

Throughout the show, Patt is stern and harsh with Pin (let's not forget the corporal punishment in episode 1?!). At the same time, you can see how much she cares for Pin and just wishes her to have a good life. Patt is also very conservative - again, see all of the above - and is keen on having Pin follow a traditional woman's role as a wife and mother. Which is why she also pushes Pin so hard towards Kuea, who can successfully charm her because he's buddies with Anon and works for the government. It doesn't matter that Pin loathes him, Kuea is the ideal husband because they have similar standing and he's on good terms with the royal family. Patt's misguided perspective morphs into cruelty and conservatorship. Only after Kuea is finally exposed as the POS he always was, Patt's world shatters - she's been wrong all along, and caused unthinkable pain for her Pin.

In the end, it's up to us as the audience whether or not we "forgive" her. I know I do, and I know Pin definitely does. Pin, being so similar to her, knows exactly why Patt did what she did, and that without her she wouldn't have the life she's living right now at all. This isn't to say that children should just be grateful for what their parents give them, and forgive them all the pain they cause - but Pin and Patt clearly see how they've been misguided, and find the love they have for each other again. In the finale, Patt stands by Pin and encourages her to follow her heart and do what's right for her love even if it would mean running away to England.

I just think Auntie Patt is a great character but also very divisive, and I was viscerally hurt when she turned on Pin, it's like I was betrayed by her myself. In the finale, she ends up giving Pin her unwavering support, even if it means defying authority and not adhering to social norms. It's such nice character development. Man, Patt, you've come a long way. I will not defend your crimes but I WILL defend YOU. And I wish you a very yuriful future. #lesbianmilfinyourarea

"The Scene":

(HBomberguy voice) "To me, it is always The Scene."

Alright, let's get this over with.

I'm referring to a very specific sequence of events that play out in the final episode, that are so astronomically stupid and bad that they have been in my mind for weeks. It taints the lovely memory I have of watching the finale with my bestie because it just makes me shake my head and think: "Wait, what were the writers thinking?". Completely immersion-breaking. I have to take a break from praising this show to shit talk this scene because I just can't get it out of my head. Among all the great characterization, pay-off, and overall love for Pin & Anin in the show, this scene stands out like a sore thumb. The finale itself is good - we'll get to that in a second - but this still makes me mad.

So let's break this down. "The Scene" plays out after Pin confronts Anin's father. In a very ominous scene he declares that he will have to simply "remove the problem" with Pin in order to have his way. Subsequently, guards show up at the Lotus Palace and abduct Pin, with Prik, Pia, and Auntie Patt all screaming for help trying to stop this. Pin then wakes up, blindfold removed - in the Pine Palace, surrounded by a moody and romantic setup themed around her and Anin's relationship. Confused, shaken, she looks around to look at the pictures of her and Anin, before Anin comes in to reveal that this whole charade was just a show her father orchestrated to get Pin to move in with Anin permantently. In a small flashback, we even see Patt, Prik and Pia being in on the joke, laughing their asses off as Pin is being driven away.

Now, to her credit, Anin didn't know about it and wanted to warn Pin first but came too late. But the rest? None of you have any excuse. Especially for Aunt Patt, whose writing I just praised to hell and back, this was a complete slap in the face. And even Anin - she just let it slide? That they fake-kidnapped her already anxious girlfriend? Pin does point out that she was (rightfully) terrified, and even then Anin is like, "It was just a little surprise!". Anin. Anin. I'M SORRY????

Whoever wrote this seriously needs to put themselves in the position of the audience. For 15 and a half hours we've been struggling to see the girls be accepted, taken seriously by their families, only for their relationship to be dissected and belittled endlessly. And now, that we finally have them be accepted, become some sort of joke to prank about? I could not believe my eyes. It's honestly unfathomable how this ended up in the final script when you look at the bigger picture and compare it to the rest of the (fairly tame) shenanigans this show pulls.

For this one, really, I have no excuse. What a way to destroy half of your main cast's development with just one scene. And for what? To bait us into a dramatic finale with the episode preview? Go to hell.

Now that I've said my piece on this, by far the worst scene of this show, I can move on and hopefully finally let it go. I've decided that this is simply just not canon and the writers just wanted to clock out early that day. Anyway. Lots of digital ink has already been spilled over how this is the worst scene of the show and I won't kick it while it's down any more. Let's get back to the good stuff again, which I promise is the other 99% of the runtime.

The Finale - or, The Defiant Pin:

The rest of the finale is very tasty and enjoyable and I want to talk about my favourite thing, which is our heroine Pin finally standing up for herself and her love.

The biggest conflict Pin faces throughout the show is her powerlessness in any decision, even regarding herself. Her life, her love and her body is commanded by the people above her. And it's no different when it comes to her relationship with Anin. Although Pin believes the impossible for a while, she's faced with the horrifying reality as soon as someone finds out about them.

This was admittedly quite frustrating after a while. As a viewer, I wanted my heroine to stand up and FIGHT! How many L's can this girl take without breaking? Well, a lot, apparently. The martyr complex really runs deep. So when it finally happens in the finale, and Pin goes to talk to the King directly, demanding of him the impossible, I cheered. That's my girl!!!! It was the character pay-off I've been waiting for all this time, and it was delicious. I wished it could have been earlier in the series, but I'll take it.

An Impossible Happy End:

In the end, all was well. Anin and Pin get to live their quiet lesbian life together, with the support of the entire family. Surely, this will not end their struggles - something we've been reminded of for almost the entire show - but with everyone having their backs, it might just work out. They even get to be the cool aunts to their niece Alin (named after Anin, aw!) and they get to have their own mini "wedding" in front of the whole family and brother, it brought a tear to my eye. The devotion paid off, our girls can be together forever. The End!

Who cares about realism, historical accuracy etc etc shut up. Just stop right there, I don't want to hear about it. Sometimes you just want a sapphic period piece to have a euphoric happy ending after all the shit they went through and I'll never be mad at it. We even get to hear that my bestie Lady Uangfah got rid of her POS fiancé and is presumably living it up as the hottest lesbian princess in Phrae. Bless. And for Pin and Anin, we know no surface in the palace is sacred, and every single person in the court will walk in on them making out at some point. And that's good for them!

Missed chances:

For one last nitpick, just to satisfy all the haters out there, let me list out a bunch of things I thought were either 1) stupid 2) disappointing or 3) both. Lightning round of cinemasins committed by a free YouTube series GO:

The hairpins that Anin and Pin have don't come back as major symbols in the end and I thought that was really disappointing. It was set up so nicely; Anin angrily gives hers back to Pin when she gets engaged but then they don't do anything with it. They didn't even wear them for their wedding or something. Boo!!!!

Anin gets sexually assaulted by her "friend" and the show, Anin included, just lets that slide? Sure, Anin is uneasy around Lady Aon for a while but eventually it's just like, okay? Not a great look and I found the way it was handled in quite poor taste.

The show has a weird way of going from funny to serious sometimes, I think it was episode 14 that this especially bothered me. But it's alright, whatever.

The layouts especially in quite important scenes are boring as hell, and that really softens the impact of them and that's a shame. You know which FreenBecky project has fantastic layouts? Uranus2324. For all the faults that movie had (and boy, there were many), the frame compositions were fucking amazing all around. It took me so long to write this review that the movie is now finally out so I'm allowed to mention it, and you should go watch it!

Pin wears blue to signal her allegiance to Anin when she gets engaged, but Anin never wears pink to do the opposite. Sure, her blouse in the epilogue has a bit of pink in it, but boo!!!! I wanted more. If you set up color coding this strict, ride it until the end.

The first opening theme song is really boring (although it does fit the period drama vibe very well) and I don't understand why we couldn't have had Cheevee as a theme song from the very beginning. That song is a huge banger.

Not enough Uangfah, like, just in general. Show me my girl.

We never had a scene where Princess Alissa calls Pin her daughter-in-law/second daughter or something. I was hoping for that to happen all throughout the show. We just hear that she's really fond of Pin all the time, and in a quite bad display of Tell Don't Show they barely have any scenes together. I really hoped they'd do something for the finale but no.

Anon sucked and idk why he was there, just to annoy me specifically I guess. They could have done much more with him!

Pin has a job and I think they just forgot about that half of the time.

... and that's all I have to say for now.

This is by far the longest review I've done so far, and if you made it all the way through, congrats and thank you!!! Thanks to all the messages and personal encouragement by my fellow Thai GL lovers I get to have fun writing these things. Whether or not you agree with me in the end, I hope you enjoyed reading.

As always, my askbox and DMs are open if anyone wants to geek out. Cheers!

Love, Mono

[kars-stan-3000]

About me:

Hello, you can call me Joni - I was born in 2005 and I am a writer, drawer, cosplayer and general content creator.

My pronouns are she/they/he/it - feel free to use whatever for me, I do not mind at all. I am a genderfluid lesbian, taken and I love my girlfriend. My account is a safe space, intended to support and welcome anyone and create a safe community.

I vow to do that for you all.

Anyway, so let's get into who I am.

My interests:

Jojo's bizzare adventure 🗣 (main, if you can't tell)

My favourite jojo characters are here (in a tier list, relatively in order too)

I am the real-life embodiment of Jonathan and Giorno - call me a real-life JoJo with the way I capture the Joestar genes.

I love making tier lists. I have loads of them.

Creating (art, stories, cosplays)

I like to create - it's my biggest passion, which will definitely be on my blogs. I draw and write mostly jojo fan-material, so that's a heads up.

I'm planning on getting into cosplay, I have a list and everything I need to buy planned out just don't have the finance to YET but I will start, soon, probably going to post about my cosplans next.

Music

I quite literally listen to anything, I love music - having studied it at school I just appreciate music as a whole. I love goth music (thanks to my girlfriend for supplying me with a fantastic playlist), I love anything alternative, I adore the jojo ost - I think the creativity behind them is magnificent, I listen to some classical music, jazz, pop - literally anything.

I think music is the window to the soul, it's the easiest way to communicate for me, I use music to not only cope BUT I also use music to express emotions that I usually can't express. Music is addicting, I truly appreciate the creativity that musicians have.

My princess (my girlfriend)

I love my girlfriend, she's the greatest, prettiest most stunning goddess on earth and there's nothing you can do to hope to compare to her (sorry), she's so perfect, my darling girl needs to know how gorgeous she is to me. #needthat

Me and my wife, gonna wife her up one day, she's literally stunning (ps, she's Abbacchio, I'm Bucciarati)

Jojos 🗣‼️

Top five (if you didn't see the tier list above):

Secco - my SON, I LOVE MY SON - my son is amazing, if you don't like Secco you can FUCK OFF

Giorno - literally me. Trauma, personality, everything is the same as myself I relate HEAVILY to Giorno, my beautiful Giorno

Jonathan - literally me, I love Jonathan, he's so sweet

Jotaro - my HUSBAND, oh my God I LOVE Jotaro, he is amazing, well written, complex just perfect (bonus, I LOVE Star Platinum)

Dio - I love Dio, they are complicated, well written, layered, they look amazing #needthat, my KING, I adore Dio, one of the best villains I've read so far - my genderfluid, bisexual pretty vampire

Haven't finished it yet, so I don't have a favourite part at the moment - however, I just love it as a whole, it's all amazing

My top ten Stands:

Star Platinum

The World

Cream

Metallica

Baby Face

Oasis

Heaven's Door

The Greatful Dead

Golden Experience

White Album

My favourite groups in jojos:

The Pillar Men (including Santana): I LOVE the Pillar Men, they are amazing, I adore them - I would have them all as my top favourites BUT they're not because there are characters I like more, I just love the Pillar Men for different reasons. I love their lore, their dynamic, their everything is just. Yes. Perfect. Beautiful

La Squadra: UNDERRATED in all hell, I love La Squadra, all the characters are funny, their designs are cool, I love their Stands, their lore, the reason behind why they are doing everything they do in part 5 is just amazing - their storyline is beautifully tragic

Any group in jojos that contains Jotaro: must I explain? I will anyway, I love Jotaro and the groups he's a part of all have beautifully intricate dynamics and I find the way they're all written to be fascinating

Bucci gang: I love Bucciarati's group, their dynamic is the best by far - I love their found family vibe and heavily lean into that in all my fandom creations

Dio's followers (minus the REALLY SHITTY ONES (you all know)): solely because I think it's absurd about the Stands and people they chose like what???

My art:

I usually study Araki's art style, I love developing my own skill whilst studying his creations because his style literally blew life into my own creativity - if it wasn't for jojo I fear I wouldn't be able to create anymore, my burnout was BAD, terrible even, until I was introduced to jojos thanks to my girlfriend.

I can't wait to share my art and I hope when I improve enough to be able to do commissions, I can't YET but I will be doing commissions when I feel ready to.

I draw anything sfw and nsfw (just because I can, I think it's funny) - although my favourite things to draw are jojo characters or jojo ocs, I know I know you're probably tired of jojos but I am NOT.

Jojos saved my creativity.

Interactions, moots and important stuff:

I am usually friendly to anyone, as I said this is a safe space, unless you are the following (aka my dni):

General dni, (r*cist, p*do, anti-lgbt etc)

Pro-ship (please fuck off)

Infantalising, stereotyping, demonising and sexualising mental health issues, disorders, disabilities (mental and physical) and any other issues - get the fuck off my page you sad little shits

THOSE art critics who "fix" other art non-consensually

People who sexualise alternative people - again, fuck off

I highly encourage the following to interact though:

Jojo fans

Artists, writers, cosplayers

Goths

Lgbtqia+

If you want to be a mutual, then feel free to dm me to talk bout it! I have a few images below that summarise my interests, I am always ALWAYS willing to talk to people.

^ Kira Yoshikage, drawn by yours truly (I love this, it's an old character study) ^

Alt accounts and my wife:

Check out this account, this is my darling: @miistafucker

Here are all my alts (can not figure out how to mention them so take the links) -

Giorno - the-real-giorno

This is my ART BLOG ✨️

I upload my art here, mostly, love that for me - anyway, yeah so this is full of my art process, sketches and my journey and all that - because I adore art and want to share that

Dio - king-dio

This is my COSPLAY BLOG 🗣‼️

This is where I post my cosplay journey, talk about it etc, follow this is you wanna keep up with that

Santana - sleepy-santana

This is my jojo content that is NOT art or fanfic based

This is where I post any other jojo content, usually theories, memes, thoughts and feelings etc

Joni - joni-joestar

This is my REAL BLOG 💯

This is where I post rants; things that bother me, my girlfriend, my personal thoughts and feelings - kind of like a personal, general blog

Melone - melone-the-freakazoid

This is my WRITERS BLOG 😈

This is where I post fanfiction (specifically jojo fanfiction), I love Melone so based this one off of Melone because it makes me laugh, if you like fanfiction follow along here to have a regular flow of fan made material

Rohan - i-am-rohan-kishibe

This is my OFFICIAL PORTFOLIO BLOG 😱✨️💯🗣🗣‼️‼️

This is where I post any art that I believe is to my standards as part of an official portfolio for future commissions, this will be updated slowly (given I'm still improving), but it will be updated rest assured

The Giorno blog will always contain the speed-draws/speed-paints of the art I create, though

Pillar Men - number-1-kars-fan

This is my PILLAR MEN ACCOUNT 🎉

I literally post ONLY Piller Men content on here, I love them a lot and could talk about them 24/7 365. They're so cherished by me they have their whole separate blog (sorry Jotaro)

"But Joni, what content can I expect on here if all your stuff is on there?"

I hear you, and let me tell you - whilst there isn't much else that one could put here, I have SOMETHING

This is going to be my information centre where I put super duper important updates - and potentially my reblog account, where I reblog content from my fyp that I like OR from my alts (if they're from my alts I'll literally say "reblogged from [alt name], check it out!"

Anyway, aside from that, I can't think of anything else. Don't feel shy, feel free to comment, like, interact - I can not WAIT to start posting content.

Also: ANYTHING I REPOST IS NOT MINE UNLESS SPECIFICALLY STATED TO BE MINE - IN WHICH IT WILL BE VERY OBVIOUS THAT IT'S MINE thank you

You can find me on TikTok under the same name and on Instagram as "kars-stan-30000" as opposed to 3000

Anyway, here are some photos for more about me stuff:

[charlotte-of-wales]

A speech by The Duchess of Edinburgh at the Community Sport and Recreation Awards, at Headingley Stadium, Leeds, ahead of The Duke of Edinburgh’s 60th birthday:

First may I say how wonderful it is to be here with so many people who are doing so much to change lives through grassroots sport. There have been some remarkable stories that have been honoured today and a particular congratulations to Fulham Reach Boat Club for being recognised as Community Club of the Year.

If I may, I beg your indulgence for a few minutes, as I wanted to also take this opportunity to recognise another great milestone and share a small tribute to my darling husband as he celebrates his 60th Birthday, this Sunday.

Now I know from the many years of marriage we have chalked up, 25 years in June to be precise, he will be horrified at seeing me up here speaking about him in public. Without looking at him, I am guessing he will now be sitting back with slightly narrowed eyes, possibly with his arms folded, or one arm stretched out across the table and to all intents and purposes looking identical to his father when I made speeches about him.

I twice spoke about The late Duke of Edinburgh in his presence, on both occasions feeling like I was about to launch myself out of an airplane without a parachute, but holding on to the vague hope of a soft landing. You have to appreciate that my father-in-law never liked anyone to pay him compliments, believing that it was the organisations he supported that were important, not him.

However, the fact that I wasn't in the doghouse after either of the speeches reassured me that I hadn't at least committed any major faux pas and I was therefore able to stand the getaway cars down.

So, like then and with my husband of the same opinion as my father-in-law, and with fresh fully fuelled cars at the ready here goes – as I give you more of an insight of the man to whom I am so proud to be married.

Edward is probably best known for his support of the youth organisation the DofE, founded by his father which takes much of his time as he chairs committees, writes strategies as he helps to guide and shape the current activities and future of the charity in the UK and across the world. He challenges those who lead it, encourages others who work within it or support it, and loves meeting and chatting with those who benefit from it. You can only guess the number of hours he devotes to this, the most inspiring of youth charities.

Beyond the DofE, he passionately supports an array of other charities and organisations, each of which he takes as seriously. Whether it be focussing on the sporting endeavours from athletes around the Commonwealth both able and disabled; encouraging organisations offering opportunities for people to gain access to sport and activities such as the fantastic work of the Sport and Recreation Alliance, which we are celebrating today; working throughout the arts with young talented musicians, or seasoned professionals who enrich our society, or visiting and encouraging the wonderful Central Caribbean Marine Institute which does so much to protect and enhance our unseen and vital underwater world. The list is long and a reflection of just some of his interests.

I encourage you to take a walk through his CV of affiliations and marvel at the breadth of them, each doing their part to make our world a better place and to understand that he is not just a name on a piece of paper, but that he commits of himself to them all and cares deeply for each of them.

He takes undoubted pride in his military affiliations too. Not only do I think that he wears a uniform extremely well, he takes an enormous interest in their vital work and loves nothing better than to go offline and spend happy hours talking one-to-one with those who do so much to serve our country.

He has been my guide and shown me the way over the years. He has given me much help and advice (not always taken I admit), and his knowledge and instincts that have been honed over decades of service are invaluable - so we share speech notes (not this one, sorry darling!), chat through issues our patronages may be tackling, and together I think we make quite a good team.

Like an iceberg, what is seen above the water or in public is only a small proportion of what goes on behind the scenes. What is never seen or can ever be quantified is the effort spent on ensuring good governance for his patronages, encouraging people to support worthwhile causes, chairing committees, meeting chief executives and think tanks, writing papers, speeches, forewords, introductions, the list goes on.

But whatever he is doing he gives 150% of himself, and if all else fails he gives any energy he has left out to our exhausted dogs or laying waste to the garden. Like my father-in-law, my husband never seeks compliments for himself. So when acknowledgment has come his way it has always been a total surprise to him, which is why I am grateful for this chance to, for once, be able to publicly celebrate and compliment him.

He was so happy and humbled when Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth made him a Knight of The Garter in 2006 and was equally delighted and moved the day His Majesty The King – who we are both incredibly proud to support – made him Duke of Edinburgh. Both he deserves in equal measure and I am so proud of the man he is.

He is the best of fathers, the most loving of husbands and still is my best friend.

So here's to you my darling Edward and may I along with all your family and so many friends and many others wish you the Happiest of Birthdays!

[magnifythesun]

Hiii so mexican salsa YES this post is a prompt! Feel free to change it to whatever you like, but I'd love a lil' story like this:

Ian and anthony are both very obviously in love and the whole smoffice knows it, but them lmao! I'd love this fic to be just text messages or slack posts or sth, where the cast and crew report of sightings of Ian and anthony doing very ianthony stuff and not realize it themselves. Maybe they come up w a way to show or nudge them in the right direction? But Ian and Anthony will still make it a bro moment (broment) bc they think the other one just wants to be bros LMAO ~ Japhan2024 💖

@japhan2024 FANTASTIC IDEA I have to believe that the Smosh cast legit has a secret group chat for stuff like this hahaha the looks on their faces whenever Ian and Anthony do something shippy is priceless

im going to wrack my brain for my favorite moments lolol I hope you enjoy!

(mid writing note: i first wrote basically all texts but it wasn't quite flowing the way i wanted it to so now there's a little more prose lol. this also taught me i do NOT know enough crew members' names)

read on ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/56346769

---

It took Erin less than ten minutes to create The Group Chat following the slapping video caress incident.

Erin: "okay so what the fuck"

Tommy: "i'm beside myself."

Angela: "SO WE'RE FINALLY TALKING ABOUT IT"

It began, and all hell broke loose from there.

Most of the cast and crew didn't know Anthony too well when he first returned, but everyone could tell Ian began to positively glow once he came back. It had started mostly with little under-the-breath comments about how big Ian had smiled at something Anthony did, or shared glances after they looked lost in each other's worlds. It's not that everyone wanted to speculate about their bosses, but rather that their bosses were practically giving them no choice.

The real watershed moment was the birth of The Group Chat, which finally provided an outlet for all ianthony incidents witnessed by the cast and crew.

---

Shayne: "Please tell me how Anthony managed to turn his smosh cast interview into an hour of us complimenting Ian."

Tommy: "i swear he practices in his car on the way to work"

---

Erin: "not them discussing deepthroating injuries for like three whole minutes..."

Erin: "while Anthony sucks on his rainbow lollipop......"

Chanse: "they are not beating the allegations"

---

Josh: "So this is I think the fourth video I've edited where Anthony has called Ian daddy??"

Josh: "WHAT is the thought process. I just can't put it together. is Anthony just like yeah I'm going to call my bro daddy about seventeen separate times with varying levels of seriousness and that's good and het and normal."

Erin: "Josh, istg you don't see the half of it. Come watch them film and pay special attention when the cameras are OFF."

---

Erin: "im losing it"

Arasha: "oh god. what happened"

Erin: "i am not fucking kidding right now anthony just called him submissive and breedable."

Keith: "WHAT"

Erin: "he said what he said."

Angela: "BREEDABLE????????????"

Erin: "in front of god and everyone."

Angela: "BREEDABLE?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!"

---

Tommy: "catching up on the main channel sketches and i just have to ask"

Tommy: "How many men can Ian date in his sketches until he realizes he'd like to date one in real life?"

Chanse: "don't SPEAK to me about it"

---

Tommy: "bicurious, hmm? Ian would you like to share something with the class???"

Chanse: "hes so deep in the mental closet his art is trying to scream it at him through his subconscious."

Chanse: "ive been there 😞"

Josh: "I've never been more prepared to edit a video in my whole life"

---

Angela: "Erinnnn not u directing them to stand closer together 😭😭"

Erin: "look I'm at my wits end. I'm thinking forced proximity might do it"

Keith: "if that could work they would have gotten it during kissing currency 😙💸"

Shayne: "@ courtney is this your thought process behind wanting a kissing video"

Courtney: "HA"

Courtney: "yes."

---

Courtney: "okay so if our plan at this point is just to make them read so many fanfics about themselves out loud that they spontaneously realize they're in love, we've got to find some fics that don't contain the word 'cummies'"

Angela: "what are cummies?? 😇"

Shayne: "ANGELA I SWEAR TO GOD"

---

As the incidents kept piling up, a plot began to form. Maybe Anthony and Ian were just so oblivious that they all needed to adopt a certain 'push-comes-to-shove' mentality, and do what had to be done. Everyone agreed, they had to find a way to put them in such a charged situation that this would all finally boil over, and the astounding tension that had plagued the office would be resolved. The ultimate achievement of this long-weary Group Chat.

Erin: "okay so one more time. everyone has talked with HR, yes? and everyone slated for the vid is comfortable with the concept of spin the bottle"

Angela: "what's spin the bottle? 😇"

Tommy: "STOP"

Shayne "1) Yes for the thousandth time, we promise. 2) What the FUCK are we going to do if this bottle never lands on Anthony and Ian"

Erin: "I will keep this shoot going as long as necessary."

Shayne: "That sounds like a threat?"

Chanse: "I'm suddenly regretting my decision. May I take my week's vacation right now?"

---

Erin: "how..."

Courtney: "did you see the look in their eyes????? :O"

Angela: "FATE WAS ON OUR SIDE. IT LANDED ON THEM THREE WHOLE TIMES"

Erin: "yes but,,,,,"

Tommy: "don't speak to me I'm still reeling"

Keith: "oh please don't tell me it didn't work."

Chanse: "i just have one question. how did they kiss THREE TIMES and still not realize."

Courtney: "they were both practically levitating from giddiness"

Arasha: "they just kept looking away from each other and laughing it off... they didn't see each other's expressions 😭😭"

Angela: "guys. guys"

Erin: "what"

Angela: "do u know what this means"

Angela: "now that we've pushed them over this hurdle... They're going to start bro kissing in their sketches"

Chanse: "oh my god"

Josh: "oh fuck you're right"

Erin: "that's it."

Erin: "im quitting smosh"

Amanda: "Oh hey guys! We have a group chat?"

Shayne:

[thehomelybadger]

how long did ratc take you to plan & write? i see you published it over a year or so on ao3 but i’m curious about the planning & drafts too. ratc reignited my love for fics & inspired me to write as well but i’m spending foreevverrr in the planning stage and actually writing is so tedious (perfectionist) & i wonder if i’ll ever get to the point of writing something as detailed and fleshed out as ratc especially w other commitments like uni

follow up question, is there a particular book, series or piece of media that majorly inspires your writing?

fantastic question.

one of the big things folks ask me when they approach me about RATC is how i kept track of it and how long it took to plan. The answer to both is basically a month or so - from posting chapter 1 to chapter 33 took exactly a year (I planned it that way!) with a few months off when a relationship ended and I lost my job (that was UNPLANNED).

RATC became the beast that it is by answering questions I kept asking myself. I didn't set out with the answers already in hand - I kind of discovered them along the way. I'd ask things like 'what do I want to express with claggor?' and i'd answer 'well, a dude with depression who everyone thinks is dumb but is incredibly emotionally intelligent'. that leads to the question 'ok, what does that look like on the sumprats?' and the answer was as an assistant captain, and showing all the things that displayed how an emotionally intelligent guy would be really valuable to a team situation.

it's a trick i learned from professional tabletop DMs - worldbuilding is essentially asking yourself questions and being honest with the answers. that coupled with the fact that I knew the ending sequence - I wanted the Sumprats to come back from down five goals in the final game, the 'won't back down' crowd singing sequence, and Cait wearing Vi's journey - meant that I could basically lay out breadcrumbs that would pay off down the line. when the fic began to expand past my initial 9 chapter expectation (queue mocking laughter) I kept myself focused by completing what i called mini arcs - Caitlyn finding herself in the team and Vi protecting her with Claggor is act 1, Ahri coming back and them starting a romantic relationship is act 2, etc. etc. etc.

so, to say that I started off planning it isn't accurate. what's more accurate is that I decided on my endpoint and discovered all the little places the story could go along the way. it worked for me, and my adhd, and it worked for me because i loved writing it and wanted to keep revisiting the world.

as for the tedium of writing - one of the keys for me is that i really wanted it done, and had fun doing it. if it had ever been tedious for me i don't think i would've been able to power through, so it kept being fun for me.

regarding the series/books I read: I read a ton of romance novels because life is hard and i want to read warmth, but stephen king, dennis lehanne, and nora roberts (lol what a trio) have all been big influences on the way i characterize folks. my favourite TV show of all time is The Wire, but I love Chernobyl and the first season of True Detective and the Godfather trilogy - the media i tend to really cherish is media that makes me think, or makes me shut my brain off. it's weird that way.

i am so sorry for the ramble, and thank you so much for the question.

[casscainmainly]

I know your not really much of a Jason Todd fan but I kinda wanna hear your opinion on this. Is the Bruce Wayne Brainwshing Jason Todd still canon? If so so you think it’s out of character for Bruce to do this.

Also how do you feel about Bruce’s characterization in modern comics in general actually?

Honestly it’s one of the reasons I’m kinda hesitant to read the comics, because while I’m super interested in all the lore- both Batman himself and his family (especially Cassandra she sounds awesome I love characters that show unwavering, intense dedication to compassion)I DONT want to read comics where Bruce is like, a completely awful paranoid asshole with none ofhis redeemable qualities (I got interested in Batman via clips of the JLU/BTAS)And according to a lot of Batman fans his characterization in this respect has been on a downward spiral for years now.

Like I’m not even a “god dad Bruce Wayne” person, I think his actions regarding Stephane Brown make a lot of sense for him actually and play into the effect that Jason Todd’s death has on him well and kinda wanna read me about that outside of fanfiction.

PS.Sorry if this ask is long and kinda random, I know this is mostly a Cassandra Cain blog.

Interesting question!! I'm not an expert on Bruce or Jason, so I'll answer to the best of my knowledge. I'm assuming Bruce brainwashing Jason is a reference to Gotham War, when he injects fear toxin into Jason's brain to make him afraid anytime he experiences adrenaline. I haven't read this so I can't comment too much, but this breakdown is useful if you want context for what led Bruce to this moment; it did happen in an in-continuity comic, so yes, it is (unfortunately) canon.

Some things to note for the context of Gotham War is that Bruce is grappling with Zur-En-Arrh, a sort of second personality. While this doesn't make it good writing, Bruce is not 100% in-character when he injects Jason. Whether or not that absolves him of wrongdoing is questionable, but it's a little unfair to Bruce as a character, and even to Chip Zdarsky as a writer, to think the thing with Jason was meant to be an in-character moment. So while I do think injecting Jason is out of character, that's kind of the point of the arc.

That's not to say the run is well-written. I can't judge myself, but many people dislike this run for numerous reasons. But this is just one of Bruce's modern runs - there are many more amazing Bruce comics out there. Ram V's Detective Comics and Scott Snyder's Absolute Batman are two fantastic takes on Bruce (though the latter is an alternate universe and ongoing, it's so far extremely entertaining!).

There will always be better and worse times for a character's characterisation, and you will encounter some horrible stuff in canon, but you'll find some life-changing stories too. You sound like you genuinely want to delve into comics, so please do! Don't let the risk of reading something bad stop you - there is so much good in here, stories that will make you laugh and cry and stick in your mind forever.

Since you're specifically looking for dad Bruce Wayne stuff, here are some recommendations!

Batgirl (2000): a very nuanced portrayal of Bruce as a dad to Cass. Definitely not a Good Dad Bruce at all, but he genuinely loves her and tries his hardest. 5/10 on the Good Dad Bruce scale.

Tynion's Detective Comics (2016): very good starter comic in general for the Batfam, and Bruce has numerous sweet moments with Tim and Cass (Steph too, if you count her as a kid). 8/10 on the Good Dad Bruce scale.

Robin & Batman (2021): not 100% sure if this is in continuity, but it's 3 issues and a lovely depiction of early Dick and Bruce. Features very realistic mishaps on Bruce's part, but sets up the foundation for a strong, beautiful relationship. 6.5/10 on the Good Dad Bruce scale. (This is also getting a sequel featuring Jason!)

World's Finest: Batman/Superman (2022-): an ongoing series that is pure comic book fun. Robin!Dick features heavily here, and there's some wonderful Batdad moments. 8.5/10 on the Good Dad Bruce scale.

Tom Taylor's Nightwing: probably the best dad Bruce in modern comics, and has very sweet moments with Dick throughout. One big caveat is the characterisation can be off, so I recommend this only in the context of Bruce being a good dad to Dick. 10/10 on the Good Dad Bruce scale.

You also can't go wrong with either Batman and Robin (2011) or (2023), which focus on Damian and Bruce (haven't read either but 2023 in particular seems to have good dad Bruce). Batman & The Signal and Batman & The Outsiders (2019) have great Duke-Bruce moments, while Bruce Wayne: The Road Home: Batgirl is the best Steph-Bruce stuff we'll ever get that isn't wildly out of character. Batman and Robin: Year One is currently coming out for more Robin!Dick and Bruce relationship cuteness and drama.

I hope that answered your ask! I am mostly a Cass blog but I do love to talk about other characters so no need to apologise :)).

[ofliterarynature]

NOVEMBER 2024 WRAP UP

[ loved liked okay nope dnf (reread) ]

Kicking Ice • (The Bride of the Blue Wind) • Animal Farm • The Lost Manuscript • Heart's Blood • Hotel • The Liar's Knot • The Education of Pip • The Glassblower • Terec and the Wall • (The Hands of the Emperor) • The Village Library Demon Hunting Society • One Good Turn • The Silence of Bones • (The Raven Tower) • The Art Thief • Safer Places • Letters to Half-Moon Street

* * * * * *

Letters to Half-Moon Street - an absolutely charming epistolary regency romance told mostly through letters between the main character, his siblings, and his love interest. The mc is gay and demi-sexual (and a younger son) in a queer-norm England where gender norms have been replaced by rules about birth order, and there's magic - it's very Sorcery & Cecelia meets KJ Charles (if not quite as good). As I said, very charming, but when I read the two shorter follow ups, One Good Turn and The Education of Pip, it was pretty clear that the epistolary format (and romance) helped cover a lot of hurts. I applaud the author for including an aromantic character and trying to write stories about finding your place and self-recovery without romance, but in her attempt to create comfort she sacrificed any real development to the characters or the plot. (also, while the rich upper class characters are exceedingly nice to the lower-class characters, we still almost never see any of their servants. hmm.) There's a few more books in the series that are romances (and at least one looks like it might be epistolary), so we'll have to see if she improves. Fantastic covers though!

Safer Places - a comic collection that was supposed to be for my book club but didn't quite work out unfortunately! These comics were very strange and dreamlike, making me not quite sure what happened but very much wanting to think about it. The artist also returned to a story idea several times, sometimes taking on an entirely new shape, and it really lent a sense of connection to the book as a whole. Would recommend!

The Art Thief - I'm not really one for more narrative-type nonfiction or for true crime, but non-violent crime involving fine art? I don't know why I find the fine-art world (and crime) so fascinating, but I do, and I enjoyed this! It was actually a fairly nice, chill read to distract myself with in the middle of the election.

The Raven Tower - revisiting my first Ann Leckie 5 years later - this was incredible! Slow yes, but watching the story build itself out of all the pieces was absolutely fascinating. 100% satisfied with the ending, but it was also a bit of a cliff-hanger? I'll be absolutely fascinated to see what kind of stories Leckie felt compelled to write that take up half of the Lake of Souls collection.

The Silence of Bones - DNF @ 11%. I was very interested in this as a historical mystery with a female protagonist set in Korea, but leery of it being YA. I admit I wasn't a big fan of the audiobook narrator, but an hour and a half into the audiobook I still hadn't hadn't settled into the story, so decided to drop it.

The Village Library Demon Hunting Society - This was very high on my watch-list for 2024 due to my love for CM Waggoner's first book Unnatural Magic, but was somewhat leery of the cozy-fantasy vibes it was giving. My first shock came when it turned out to have a fairly modern and contemporary setting and was not in a fantasy other-world, though as expected it was definitely going for the cozy-fantasy and elderly-person-solves-murder vibes that are popular right now, and with which I've personally had mixed results. Overall though, it was aiming to be a sort of meta-commentary on cozy mystery tropes, which I think it was successful at! I think it definitely did better than its sci-fi cousin, the Midsolar Murders series by Mur Lafferty. I just wish it had a better title, this one is a bit of a mouthful and only semi-relevant.

The Hands of the Emperor - started slowly rereading this a few months ago with the intention of getting around to my first reread of the sequel. Honestly, the perfect book to be reading during an absolutely horrible election, I imagine I'll be burying my head in the Nine Worlds a lot in the upcoming years.

I wasn't quite ready to head directly into AtFotS after finishing Hands, so jumped around to some of Victoria's short stories I hadn't read yet. Terec and the Wall is the second Terec story - I admit I really don't have much interest in this sub-series? This one in particular was at least interesting in the second half because of its crossover with the Greenwing & Dart series, so I recommend you don't read this until you've read that. The Glassblower was...fine. It showed promise, but it was so short! I hope the second part fleshes out more, but idk. It's also related to the Ysthar collection of books, which is the only part of the Nine Worlds that I haven't bothered to revisit yet. To skip ahead a bit, the third of the Sisters Avramapul novellas is finally out! It's been a while so I decided to reread the first two books, starting with The Bride of the Blue Wind. It's a Bluebeard retelling and deals with pregnancy/body horror and is not for the faint-hearted! Sardeet was SO YOUNG in this, I don't think I quite realized before. Good but not my favorite of the series.

The Liar's Knot - loved loved loved. These books are so good even if (or because?) all of the plot twists are somewhat soap-operatic. I think this is my favorite in the series because the characters are a bit more settled but also having to learn to trust each other. And all of the secret identity reveals!!! I had a wonderful time.

Hotel -DNF @ 8%. picked this up at a recent library sale because a mystery at a hotel sounds cool! Then I started it on audiobook and realized it was a thriller (not my thing) written by a guy in the 60's (ditto). What I read was certainly passable and maybe I could have gotten through it, but I lost interest.

Heart's Blood - I've seen Marillier's work around somewhere, and picked this one up at a library book sale at some point. I got so close to DNF'ing this early on and almost wish I had. It wasn't bad I think, it has some beauty-and-the-beast vibes, but it felt excruciatingly slow, and something that I couldn't quite put my finger on was annoying the heck out of me. It made me wish more times than I should admit that I was reading Chalice by Robin McKinley instead. I'm not entirely scared off of trying Marillier's other work, but I'd proceed with extreme caution.

The Lost Manuscript - DNF @ 19%. A surprisingly lighthearted novel told in letters about a woman who finds a manuscript in a hotel bedside table and proceeds to track down the original author, only to discover someone else had added to the manuscript at some point after he lost it. She and her contacts try and trace its history back to find the mystery author. Seemed very nice, if you're looking for something calm and lighthearted? Just not what I was looking for at the time.

Animal Farm - somehow managed to escape reading this for school, and a podcast I listen to loves recommending this, so I picked up a copy at the same sale as Heart's Blood. I feel like I spent most of the book sagely nodding my head, like yup, that's how it can be! Very smart book, not a favorite but I'm glad I read it.

Kicking Ice - backed this on Kickstarter ages ago when I was still deep in my Check, Please! fervor. Finally picked it up because it was short and I needed to finish another book for my owned-tbr challenge. It was ok. Maybe a better choice if you're a young girl interested in hockey or sports in general? I also didn't like the art style used for most of the book, so a pass from me. I'm sure a lot of the info about the NWHL is also outdated by this point.

[stephdrawsjohnlock]

SHER – :The Witcher AU: Procreate on iPad Pro

Ooooof okay so I've been working on this one for a LONG time, probably for a year or so; I kept going back to it in between other projects, so long in fact that this pic is the one I discovered a new colouring style that's super subtle but it looks so much better on the skin tones of characters, AND found a new marker brush that works like my traditional media so it looks way more like my original art.

So late 2023 I bought The Witcher 3 Complete Edition when it went on a 20$ sale on the PS Store, on a recommendation for "Best Long RPG Open World Games" video. I've always wanted to try it and OMG, I LOVED IT. I put in over 200 hours into the game and I just got so immersed in it. Never read the books, watched the show, nor ever played the original games before this one, but wow I was SO immersed in this world for nearly 6 months. It was so SO good, I loved it so much. The music is fantastic, the collection grind is PERFECT (I'm one of those weirdo gamers who LOVES the collection grind... probably why I love AC Valhalla so much when everyone else hates it), and the story is incredible. The DLCs were super fun too, I just didn't finish the Blood and Wine one because of that stupid vampire boss fight at the end, I got so frustrated LOL. I finishedthe game, I think, back in late spring of 2024, and honestly it's now one of my fave games. I might even check out the show now, and maybe read the books. The world of the Witcher is SO interesting.

ANYWAY, while I was playing the game I was like "OMG THIS NEEDS A SHERLOCK AU", just like every game I play, hahahah. So in my version, John is a Witcher (probably with a more fanciful name like Johann or something LOL), Sherlock is in the role of Yennifer the Sorceress and maybe Rosie as Ciri? I dunno I just think that the Witcher 3 is a PERFECT Sherlock AU that I needed, like, yesterday LOL. I would write it myself if I knew the lore and world-building of The Witcher much better. It would be SUCH a great adventure story for the Sherlock AU.

I spent far too long on this one, but I actually REALLY love it, which is rare for me. I have also posted the single character pics because I spent AGES on each of them, holy Christmas-Crackers, and I covered most of John and I want y'all to see him!! I LOVE doing LOTS of details on any piece I do, but it's also my weakness in my art because I focus too much on it. But I am SUPER happy with their designs I ended up doing... the pattern on Sherlock's outfit is the wallpaper, hee hee. I dunno why I think I'm so clever for that, bleh.

I hope you guys like this as much as I do, and I hope you all ALSO SEE MY VISION. I need to do way more Sherlock AU pieces. I love doing them so much. I might draw Geralt and Yen in the future the next time I'm on a Witcher kick because their characters are really neat, I like them a lot.

Cheers all :)

🖼 I’M ON INSTAGRAM at stephdrawsfanart 🎨 @stephratte is my Primary Fanart Blog! Art © to S.G.M. Ratté. Do not repost or sell.

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[itzrafee]

One Piece Chapter Discussion (Chapter 1126)

Ooh looks like the mystery continues with Yamato investigating the disappearances. I am so curious to see what kind of long lasting effects this will have as with this chapter we’re getting some resolution on a six to seven year old cover story. It’s nice to see Oda expanding on the story around Wano as it’s clear he had a lot of thoughts around it when he was writing it that he didn’t get to explore. I’m also quite curious as to what will happen with the cover stories the closer we get to the end. Whereas he has space to explore other facets of Wano through the cover story, is that something he’ll be able to do with Elbaph with it being so close to the end? Anyways, the rest of the discussion, which is spoiler filled, can be found below the cut!

I don’t know about y’all but I think it would be absolutely terrifying to be where the Straw Hats are in this first page if they weren’t allies with the giants. They straight up just kinda look like their dinner. But we’re not talking about Big Mom so I think the Straw Hats are probably safe. Also while somewhat terrifying, the designs of the Giants are great, they all ooze personality and joviality. I would not want to see them angry either. It’s interesting that the name of the absinthe they’re drinking is the “Green Fairy” and that it can cause hallucinations. Is that just set up to explain how and why the two parties got separated or is it set up for some absinthe-driven hallucinations? 

It’s interesting to me on a story structure level that this chapter kind of illustrates how Oda might have to delve into more slice of life stuff with the crew going forward. That before making this chapter important by flitting around the world and getting updates, Oda first spends some time with the crew just having fun and goofing off. It satisfies the pre-timeskip crowd clamoring for these types of scenes, me among that crowd.

This small sequence with Bonney also gets me right in the heart. Not only does she feel comfortable enough to finally be a child and not put on the airs of a grown adult that the One Piece world requires of people but also she gets to finally be free with her father. One Piece has this startling quality to it that makes the reality of war and oppression so real by contrasting the comedic with the emotional. And nothing hits quite as hard as the fate of the children of this series. We see through the suffering of the Straw Hats as children, Nami, Sanji, and Robin, among a few other characters throughout the series, on how oppression forces you to grow up and be stronger than any child should have to be. In recent arcs that oppression is a reality our young adult Straw Hats face head on. From Otama and Toko in Wano to the metaphors of growing up too fast that Bonney and Momo face us with, Oda is able to use these fantastical elements to deliver truths in more digestible ways. The tragedy of Momo and Bonney having to grow up so fast is such a potent and heart wrenching way to show this side of opression. But Oda is able to provide us with a catharsis that the real world so often denies by having Bonney feel safe again. By having Momo be safe and surrounded by loved ones.

Moving on from that dour and entirely too real note, we finally get a resolution on a cover story from wayyyy long ago where Bartolomeo burned down Shanks flag in Luffy’s name. And there’s a lot to talk about here. For such a fan-favourite and an audience surrogate for many, including myself, It’s odd that it’s been so long since we’ve seen Barto(don’t even get me started on Bon Clay!!). But it’s interesting that Oda seems to understand his impact as it seems like he’s being placed on the same level as Kid and Law in a way. Now this might be a little tin foil hatty of me but don’t you find it odd that Kid, Law, and Barto, all devil fruit users by the way, were all sunk at sea in the New World, the most dangerous sea maybe aside from the Calm Belt? 

And if we remember certain man with a burn scar who was first mentioned in chapter 1056(56=GoMu) and then again brought up in 1081 where it was mentioned that anyone who comes close to him gets swallowed up by whirlpools, I think we might have an option for what might’ve happened to those three. Adding on to that, if we go allll the way back to chapter 2 and full tin foil hat, we can see Luffy getting sucked into a whirlpool soon after he sets out on his journey but then bursting out of a barrel sometime after with Koby. In my head, I can totally see the aforementioned three joining Luffy on Elbaph, especially now that’s been separated from his crew. Maybe Luffy was also kidnapped by this whirlpool wielding man with a burn scar…again.

Okay, fanciful thinking aside we still gotta talk about how we’ve seen Shank’s main crew be ruthless badasses. Lucky Roux in Chapter 1 straight killed a dude while the whole crew laughed. Benn Beckman not only threatened Kizaru but also cut off Kid’s arm. And here, Yassop basically has a cannon attached to his gun and blows up a fleeing Barto Club. While these guys may seem easygoing, they’re still stone cold pirates. Also that ultimatum with the poison was pretty cold too. Barto’s ship blowing up also shows how lethal Yassop’s Haki must be, because I can imagine that Barto might’ve tried to shield his ship with his devil fruit.

I find it curious that Koby was so important to Blackbeard’s plans. I wonder if Blackbeard wanted to use Koby like how the Marines used Ace? We know how much Blackbeard’s plans mean to him. His scheming, though a lot of the time quite impromptu, is half the reason he’s an emperor already. And Blackbeard is in prime position to execute some big time operations. Not only does he have leverage in Garp(though thinking about it, wouldn’t the marines be glad to be rid of him?), he also has Pudding and all the knowledge Caribou brings. Oda makes it a point to show that Caribou has finally gotten to Blackbeard. It’s interesting that he’s surveilling the Revolutionary's too. Especially with Lafitte. Maybe he’s trying to get the heat off of himself by having Lafitte do some undercover hits and then blame it on the Revo’s?

Though, weirdly, the most important tidbit here to me is that Moria got away. It seems most likely that Moria will join Cross Guild as it seems to be the place for Warlord Alumni and Perona already has connections there in the form of Mihawk. I’d originally thought that Blackbeard was going to get Moria to reanimate Kaido, Big Mom, and Garp’s corpses with the obstacle standing in their way being that Blackbeard was responsible for Absolams death but now it seems like Moria’s going to be a player for Cross Guild, with at least the Yonkou resurrections still on the table. Also if Cross Guild is the place to be for former Warlords then we could see Boa join too. And maybe even Kuma and Doflamingo if the latter breaks out of Impel Down. Which I kinda hope he does just purely due to the fact that it might provide a path for Bon Clay to get out too.

This scene with Bonney and Jinbei is adorable but uhh, what’s Lilith staring at? Could she be communicating with Vegapunk?

Finally, in the last page we get some weird shenanigans happening. First, someone wakes Nami up but it appears that she’s alone. She’s had a change of clothes and seems to be in a lego house. The floor is kind of undeniable proof of that even if you want to try and explain away everything else. And finally, she seems to be alone. The going theory seems to be that this is Prince Loki’s lego house and that he’s playing with the StrawHats like toys. He could’ve been the one to call out for Nami. He could be a fan of the StrawHats. And honestly, that theory kinda makes sense, I totally subscribe to it. Loki could be a somewhat petulant giant like Big Mom. I also don’t think the impatient figure at the end of 1124 is him either as that seemed to be a human who was drinking, my going theory about that person being that it was Scopper Gaban, the third crew member of the Roger Pirates after Roger and Rayliegh. See ya next week!

[steddieunderdogfics]

This week’s writer spotlight feature is:  Penny00Dreadful! @penny00dreadful has 29 fics in the Stranger Things fandom with 25 of them being in the Steddie Tag!

@hbyrde36 recommends the following works by @penny00dreadful:

Crossroads

Cat and Mouse

I'll Tell You My Sins and You Can Sharpen Your Knife

And They Were Roommates!

The Parting Glass

Sam, on top of being an absolutely amazing writer (AND artist!), is one of the brightest lights in this fandom (in my humble opinion). She is incredibly kind and encouraging, always ready to uplift other authors in the Steddie and ST fanfic worlds. I have had the incredible pleasure of being her beta reader for quite some time now, and am consistently blown away by her talent. There isn't a single one of her works that I wouldn't recommend, they are all fantastic reads. -- @hbyrde36

Below the cut, @penny00dreadful answered some questions about their writing process and some of their recommended work!

Why do you write Steddie?

Opposites attract has always been a major draw for me, especially in my fandoms. Every pairing I’ve ever gotten into in every fandom I’ve been in have all been opposites attract and I’m not going to lie to you, I did not make that realization until this question. 😅 I had a very “Huh… that tracks” moment about it. 🤣 So the opposites attract factor is definitely big for me and while I suppose you could say that’s true for many, many pairings in fandom, there’s something about the complete opposite of both Steve and Eddie that is just enrapturing. From their aesthetic, to their personalities, to their upbringing, it creates such incredibly interesting parallels and options for building stories around them. On top of that, the two of them are so compelling as characters. Their various hang ups and traumas, their loves and hates, the time period and the genre of work they originated in all coalesce into something so captivating. I adore the two of them so much, they’re so fascinating. I think everyone can find a little bit of themselves in either one of them, but especially with the addition of Eddie into the series we got a character who was ‘other’, in the same way so many of us feel and are seen, he speaks to us on such a personal level. So, yeah. I love them.

What’s your favorite trope to READ?

Oh boy. There are so many. Enemies to lovers, hurt/comfort, fluff. But if I had to pick one that has been my longest standing love, it would have to be a slow burn. Like, when it hits, it hits. And it hits hard.

What’s your favorite trope to WRITE?

I looooove writing some tasty hurt/comfort. There’s just something so addictive about someone needing to be taken care of after something bad or traumatic happens or they’ve just had a really shitty day. It’s so cathartic. And also, I cannot like, I love getting comments screaming at me that I’ve made people hurt or cry or feel things because I know I’m going to make it better, I’m gonna give them that comfort. And it’s such an incredible compliment from people when they tell me that my writing has made them feel feelings. Like it is the highest praise possible that I could induce that in someone. It feels amazing.

What’s your favorite Steddie fic?

Oh my god, that is such a difficult question to answer. I have read so many that have left a permanent mark on my heart or completely rewired my brain. I had to go look through my bookmarks to narrow it down because my god, there are so many talented people in this fandom and even then I was attempted to just give a list of all my top ones because, god they make me feel so many things, people are so fucking talented, I love them. But I would say if I had to choose one, there’s one that lives rent free in my brain. I think of it all the time, it is so god damn special to me and if I’m being honest with myself, it’s the first one that came to mind, It would have to be wouldn’t it be nice (if we could wake up) by kissesforcas  kissesforcas I have talked about this fic on my blog before but it just hits me in the right way every time I read it, it’s absolutely magical. I can’t recommend it enough, please go read it. It changed me completely.  There’s so many beautiful moments in it, the two boys are so protective of each other in it, but they also adore their found family and will defend them at any cost, the two of them feel real, their communication feels genuine and honest and realistic while also being true to their characters, I just adore it.

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

YES. FANTASY. It is wild to me that I have not done a fully fledged fantasy AU at all yet. Like I adore fantasy, what gives? Why have I not done it yet? Omg ALSO, historical. Like a lot of my special interests are historical based, WHY have I not done that yet?? AND, AND horror maybe? Like a psychological or zombie or paranormal/supernatural or slasher. So many things I haven’t explored that I want to do, and I can’t wait!

What is your writing process like?

Okay, so first things first, I get an idea.  Kind of obvious, I know, but yeah, the idea stage. Usually it’ll be something that hit out of nowhere, I’ll write down one line in the ideas doc and then pretend I won’t be thinking of it for the rest of the day. Then when I admit to myself I want to expand on it, I’ll take all of the brain worms attached to that idea and put them in their own doc. It’ll all be VERY disjointed at this stage, just a stream of consciousness of different situations/conversations/plot bunnies that popped into my head. Once I feel like I have enough of a concept through that, I begin to put them in order, maybe add a few more. Then I outline. I’m an outline kinda gal.  Over a page or two I’ll give a bare bones outline of what the fic will be, almost like it’s a short story? But still very rough.  Then I’ll start writing, usually in chronological order, I find that makes it easier to plant seeds and foreshadow and create consistency with the voice of the fic. Sometimes I will jump ahead if I’m really excited about a particular part of the fic, I’ll get it out before I lose steam on it. HOWEVER, I find that I almost ALWAYS diverge from the outline. If, as I’m writing, things start going in a different direction, I go with the flow, I don’t fight it. Fighting it, I feel is detrimental to my writing, trying to force myself into a box and hey, going with the flow has been working out pretty well for me so far. 🤣

Do you have any writing quirks?

Quirks? I dunno about that. I think I’m a pretty standard writer, but I do end up writing across three devices a lot of the time depending on where’s more comfortable. PC, tablet and phone. I’ll always stick to writing whatever my brain is focusing on at that time, but if I know I need to get a fic out and I’m not really feeling the inspo anymore, I’ll give myself an extra boost by watching movies with similar themes, listening to music related to it, or even just searching the trope on Pinterest can help me generate excitement about it again.Also do yourself a favor and get yourself a Bluetooth keyboard. It’s a game changer for writing on your phone.

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

I’ve done both and I much prefer posting on a set schedule. I always try to get the fic at least 50% finished before I start posting to give myself a nice cushion. Yeah, the immediate endorphin hit of posting once I’m done is great, but I much prefer the option to have a fic mostly or completely done before I post, so I can go back in and tweak things to make a theme hit harder or stick in a tad more foreshadowing or even just to edit.

Which fic are you most proud of?

I love all of my works, honestly. I write for me. I write the things I want to read. I think it would be difficult to narrow down a fic that I am the most proud of. Like I’m actually having a really difficult time picking one and saying “This one. This is the one I am most proud of.” Because I am proud of all of them and it’s for each of their own reasons. Like, some are very, very personal to me, some are stories that made me feel completely unhinged and obsessed(affectionately) and some are stories that touched people in very real ways, or made them feel safe and seen and that is so incredibly special to me. It’s a bit of a cop out to say that I can’t pick one, I can’t choose between my children, but I really can’t, they’re all so special, at least to me, in their own ways.

How did you get the idea for Crossroads?

So I have never seen the movie The Old Guard, but I have heard of it and while I know that reincarnation is not an aspect of that movie, I was struck with the idea of someone going through life over, and over, and over again, just to be close to the one they love the most. Like that kind of time bending devotion. And I had a brain worm of various historical ways of dying and I couldn’t figure out a way to write all of them into one fic before the idea of reincarnation hit. The very first image I had in my head of Eddie dying was being burned at the stake, so I had to work my way up to that time period and beyond. I knew I didn’t want it to be something that had only happened a few times over a couple of hundred years.  I knew I wanted it to be an ancient, centuries spanning kind of devoted love which is what led me to Ancient Greece, and in leading me there, I had to figure out why this was happening. Why Steve was traversing time just to be next to his boy again. Hecate appeared out of the mist and invaded my brain and it all kind of spilled out onto the page after that. 

When writing Cat and Mouse, what was something you didn’t expect?

I gotta be honest, the whole fic was unexpected. 😅 It was one of those stories when I originally thought of it, it was only gonna be a short little thing, maybe one or two chapters. By the end of it we were at 16 chapters and over 70K. Apparently I have no idea how to write anything short. But I think what also took me by surprise was how feral the two of them were for each other even though they didn't actually get together until later. I knew I wanted to have them being snappy and flirtatious for the whole thing and it evolved into the two of them being so dedicated to each other after only meeting a few times. I also didn’t expect the wild reaction I got to the fic, people loved it and were chomping for more and I was floored by it, it made me so incandescently happy!

What inspired Cat and Mouse?

So, the short answer is I saw this post from steddielations and it burrowed so deep into my brain, I had to get it out! Long answer is it was a mix of that post, and then a bit of Mr & Mrs. Smith mixed in along with John Wick. I just loved the idea of two deadly people being so soft for each other they’d be willing to burn the world for each other, do anything at any cost to keep the other safe.

What was your favorite part to write from And They Were Roommates!?

Oh my god, the banter. The banter was loaded with bitching and queerspeak and jabs, it was so much fun. I hadn’t really seen a story where the steddie boys had been bitchy queers before, like leaning into it and I just had to, I had to. It was too good of an opportunity to pass up and I could have gone on for ages just the two of them biting back and forth.

How do/did you feel writing I'll Tell You My Sins and You Can Sharpen Your Knife?

Conflicted, honestly. I was worried the POV I was writing from would be a little too out there, you know? There were a few times throughout writing where I thought I’d have to go back and change it out to be more of a standard fic but at the end of the day it felt so right to have the story told the way it was and it also felt very in line with Take Me To Church as well. It’s also the most poetic piece of writing I have done to date and while it’s not something I can see myself revisiting too often, it was a fantastic exercise in moving out of my comfort zone. It got me, right in the heart.

What was the most difficult part of writing The Parting Glass?

Oh boy. The whole fic was an exercise in catharsis. It was a way of processing my own grief after losing a family member and getting it all out into words was very, very helpful. I think the hardest part was just putting down into words how Eddie was feeling right in the aftermath, you know? Like grief is such a personal thing, everyone experiences it differently, so I wanted to try to figure out how Eddie would respond to it, especially considering it was the death of someone so important to him. So to have him looking around the trailer and it being empty but still with bits of Wayne dotted around like he was about to walk back through the door was probably the realest and most difficult part for me.

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

Oh god there’s so many! I could pick so many! But the first thing that came to mind is the small interaction between Eddie and Robin in Return of The King, when Steve is demonstrating his newly acquired vampire strength for the kids and Eddie has to hold onto Robin to keep himself from melting into a puddle: “Down boy.” She muttered. “Me next.” He practically whimpered right back. “Oh god, Robbie, I wanna be that stump. Tell him to do me next.” “You’re pathetic.” “What about it?” [...] Robin leaned in close to his ear but continued to stare at Steve. “If you two don’t calm the fuck down I’m going to get the hose.” Wet Steve. “Please get the hose.” I love Robin and Eddie together whenever I can get them snarking at each other, it’s just so entertaining. 

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

Oh yeah! A good few things. I’m coming back from my writing break and I’m going to be working on the final two fics for my anniversary event, Through The Valley and Devotion.  I also have a Summer Exchange Fic in the works along with starting on my Steddie Big Bang piece that I am also signed up for as an artist, I’m so excited to start them!

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

I think I would just like to add that this blog, this concept is such a wonderful idea, you’re doing great work here to bring people and fics to new eyes and it has been an honor and a privilege to be put forward the way I have, I’m so so so thankful. 🖤

Thank you to our author, @penny00dreadful, and our nominator, @hbyrde36! See more of Penny00Dreadful's works featured on our page throughout the day!

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

[marabarl-and-marlbara]

have you been listening to any music these days?

morning anonymous;

yes, no; it:s a frequent sin and frequent failing despite my means and intent to live as free from abstraction and pollutants as i can--say, it creeps in at church through the hymnals, and sometimes through myself when i get nervous about talking to someone and need to warm up my voice by singing lyrics to negativeXP or hardchrist that i remember, or through backing tracks of videos on tiktok or youtube or even audiobook sometimes (Doctor Sleep is mostly unaccompanied but the start of each file has a spooky interlude)--during hurricane Milton though and realizing how boring everything was, i started listening to Longmont Potion Castle albums & sometimes he has those interludes he does which count as music, and more-than that it separated out for me two problems: games are completely boring to me if i can:t also listen to someone talk (like a podcast; feel like this points at loneliness) and that i get sick at the idea of listening to something if i can:t also do something 'stimulating' (it is hard to listen to an audiobook while driving, but also while doing absolutely nothing); after Milton i thought i:d be more productive if i had music to write to, so i started listening to some of the the silent hill 1~2 albums to write; then: i pray like an idiot over my sin, and just-so know i likely will continue to sin and have want to listen to Gezebelle and negativeXP and billy cobb halloween IV & V; there:s an evil inside music, of connection; of nerves; of emotion; in silences more total it is easier to be rid of the evil and for connection to thin, but the nerves are always inflamed to connect, and operators work at the skull to graft new nerves to control; to connect; and keep within life; to engage with this world at all, and any within it, fills the head with poison, and my head has been burning with poison and has made me sick; death begets me and i will be clean, but i keep cherishing poison, and want to sing negativeXP, gezebelle gaburgably;

Doctor Sleep is really fantastic, though--hated The Shining and the last King I finished was The Talisman which was total water and really wanted something that wasn't the next chronological King book (thinking that I really disfavor the younger King to the older King) since the next few were either Thinner (hate most of the Bachman books) or Eyes of the Dragon (sounded like another isekai like The Talisman); I wanted to do Let The Right One In by Lindqvist or Carrion Comfort by Dan Simmons but the torrents were dead; Doctor Sleep I had heard was a vampire story (I wanted a vampire story) and I remember seeing the trailer for the movie and thinking it looked cool/stupid;

Rebecca by Daphne de [something, I forget her name] is really fantastic, though; I hated the first two chapters but ~224 pages in and I just want to read and read; I started The Red Tree by Caitlin Kiernan too, and that's fun but I went back to Rebecca and started reading a Simone Weil book I found at a local store while gifting some bonbons to the sandwich shop people at Mt Dora; take care.

[imagitory]

@andrewmoocow Personally I find them to be misguided. There is a very well-done analysis video I've cited before that talks about the animation and why it ends up looking like AI, and I think it really addresses this argument better than I could --

-- but TL;DR, the animation looks "fake" largely because of stylistic decisions (l.e. turning off motion blur with the thought it would look "more like 2D") that weren't well thought-out. And I actually think the film's writing issues run into the same problem.

Because here's the thing -- writing high fantasy is not as easy as it looks. I can testify to this because I myself am writing a draft for a high fantasy novel right now.

All these years, Disney has been in an advantageous position with their animated films largely being adaptations of previous works, since they're already given a lot of the parameters a writer needs to build a world, plot, and characters. In a Snow White adaptation, for instance, you need a vain queen, an innocent princess, a prince, seven dwarfs, a magic mirror, and a poisoned apple, as well as a fairy tale world where these things fit comfortably. And since so much mainstream fantasy is largely inspired by medieval Europe, that aesthetic remains very familiar with audiences to the point that you need a lot less explanation for things. We don't really need an explanation for the political landscape of Cinderella because we see "fairy tale kingdom" and immediately know it's an absolute monarchy led by generally amiable rulers. We're not surprised when fairies appear in Sleeping Beauty, or when a magical sword predicts who should be king in The Sword in the Stone, or when Tiana and Naveen are turned into frogs in The Princess and the Frog, or when trolls appear in Frozen -- all of these magical conventions fit within the usual fantasy aesthetic and really don't need any explanation or backstory. I'd hazard to say that most people -- aside from those nitpicky critic types who get all hung up on how many servants are in Beast's castle just because they saw a bunch of extra silverware in the Be Our Guest sequence -- just don't bother questioning these things. And the original material also gives some shape and form to the adaptation's story, characters, and overall feel. It doesn't matter how close the finished product matches the original idea or even how familiar the audience is with that original material -- it still provides a jump-off point and sense of focus for the writer(s), the same way fanfiction (even an AU fanfic) can, in contrast to original content.

All right, well, what about those Disney projects that aren't fantasy? Well, in the case of stories like Treasure Planet, Robin Hood, and Mulan, they're still based off preexisting properties that people will find familiar enough that the writers can focus more on the adaptation's unique additions and not focus on detailed backstories and explanations about how the world and societies depicted in the story work. It's a lot easier to just focus on the fantastical elements like the space tech, talking animals, or Mushu and the ancestors if the rest of the story and cast are relatively easy to understand. Even in the case of original stories like The Lion King (which admittedly was largely inspired by Shakespeare's Hamlet, but I digress), Lilo and Stitch, and Lady and the Tramp, they still exist in a non-magical world that closely resembles ours, with only superficial changes like animals being able to talk or the existence of aliens. Even quasi-historical settings like The Great Mouse Detective and Atlantis: The Lost Empire look enough like our real-world equivalent that their settings are largely recognizable to us.

In just about all Disney animated films, the screenwriters didn't have to world-build that much. They didn't have to put the character development and plot on hold to explain the rules of the universe these stories take place in that often -- not unlike how writers like Rick Riordan didn't have to explain as much about the country his hero Percy Jackson lives in, because his books are an urban fantasy where our real world is just "plused up" with magical elements. We don't need to know if gravity works on the story's characters the way it does for us. We don't need to be told about the political landscape, history, or terrain of our location. We don't need to ask whether dying is something our characters can come back from.

Wish, on the other hand, is an original story in a high fantasy setting that doesn't resemble our world. People might try to claim it takes place in the Iberian Peninsula, but come on -- Rosas is a completely fictional country in a world that has magic we don't know the rules of and countries that faintly resemble cultures from our world, but we don't know the histories of or how similar they actually are to their real-world inspiration. We also have a cast of characters we've never met in any other media and a story and messages that we know nothing about beforehand. This means that we have no preexisting framework going in for what's possible and impossible in this world; no frame of reference about who these characters are and what their histories are; and no parameters that the plot, characters, and themes must fit inside, whether based on the fantastical story being adapted or a real-world setting that's a lot like ours. And I don't think that Disney really thought through just how challenging it can sometimes be to tell this kind of a story without stuffing the script with a lot of "tell" and not "show," which, as just about any film person can tell you, is the exact opposite of what you generally want. In film scripts, you want to show your audience a lot more than you tell them -- this not only takes full advantage of the visual medium and communicates your point in a much more natural and artistic way, but it also lets your audience think for itself and come to its own conclusions.

Now of course, can you write a high fantasy original story that's easy to follow and evokes a lot of emotion in your audience? Of course! But it does take time and a lot of careful and creative world-building. J.R.R. Tolkien was the king of such things. George R. R. Martin has done it. Neil Gaiman has done it. Ursula K. Le Guin has done it. Even the writer of the Nimona graphic novel, ND Stevenson, did a good job of it! But I think it's quite clear that Wish's script was not in the works that long -- development of the original idea started back in 2018, yes, but it wasn't until January 2022 that it was announced Jennifer Lee was writing it and Julia Michaels was brought on to write the songs, so the film's current trajectory likely wasn't pinpointed until then. And if the film was released in November 2023, then that means Wish's script was finished in under two years. Although there are successful Disney scripts that I daresay needed only that much time (Frozen, for instance, was quite rushed, by all accounts), once again, those scripts were done for stories with some sort of preexisting framework that allowed the writers to skip explaining certain visual or contextual short-hand in favor of focusing on their own creative flourishes in character and story. They were written with a tighter focus on the plot and its players without the need to build a complete stage under them.

The reason some people want to cry "AI!" when they look at Wish's writing is that they're looking at a script that makes the rookie writing mistake of exposition-dumping in an attempt to make its audience care, rather than evoking emotion. That kind of exposition-dumping is something that most novelists usually have to trim and rewrite in future drafts of their work: it's a mistake done while the writer is trying to world-build enough that their audience understands all of these original rules, societies, locations, and characters they're not familiar with. This exposition is then often trimmed down before publishing, and when adapted for the screen it's often trimmed even further or even completely rewritten, in favor of more visual methods of conveying the same information. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz writes about Dorothy traveling down the Yellow Brick Road and about the long journey that takes her and her friends through a lot of side adventures on their way to the Emerald City: it's the famous film adaptation that cuts out the Kalidahs and puts the whole trip to jaunty music for the characters to sing and dance to. Wish could've communicated to us the importance of the wishes to their owners through more visual means, but instead feels the need to reiterate this idea over and over through written dialogue. And again, this is a common mistake by writers when they're inexperienced in creating completely original content, as opposed to spin-offs, sequels, or adaptations of other people's work.

AI writing is generally known for repetitive phrasing and sentence structure, lack of accuracy, and lack of a personal touch. As much as I'll agree that there are a lot of character and world-building choices in Wish that don't make sense, I don't think that's the same thing. There clearly was a story someone (or multiple people) wanted to tell about a person hoarding the precious ideas of other people away, even if it means those ideas can never be shared with the world -- it just wasn't a story that ended up being told that well. And I think this is why Wish is almost worth seeing -- it serves as a good example of why certain writing decisions work better than others and how writing for fantasy projects and/or "family entertainment" is an art form that's worthy of respect when it's done right.

To sum up my stance on the matter -- I think Disney just bit off way more than it could chew and then didn't give its writers enough time to properly digest it.