#love all those stories/fics and interpretations regardless of how I feel about them personally

[teafiend]

[rollercoasterwords]

Fanfic writer asks — 4, 5, and/or 20!

hi!!

4. Share a headcanon about (character name) in (story title)!

left it open not sure if i'm mean 2 do this for one of my own stories or just any story...suppose i will take this opportunity 2 weigh in on the reg birthday debate & say that i see him as a capricorn. could perhaps be convinced of virgo as well...but that boy is not a cancer sorry

5. Is there a tiny detail in one of your fics that you feel goes tragically unnoticed?

not sure if it's something that's been noticed/brought up before but i don't think it has...i love a full circle/mirrored ending moment so in atydsp the very first line is him being awake + the very last line is him falling asleep <3

20. Is there anything about any one of your fics that you have been dying to discuss but haven’t had the chance to?

oooh idk...honestly zar has been getting quite a few voicenotes recently abt different parts of wfrau so there has been quite a bit i've wanted to discuss lol but some of it is just stuff abt the lily interlude + epilogue that i can't talk abt without spoiling...

i guess one thing i've wanted 2 discuss/one thing that's been interesting to see is (again) the way people have responded 2 the whole james/lily/regulus ambiguity...like i know that much of this fandom revolves around shipping etc but sometimes i've just wanted 2 be like it's not happening!!!!!!!! how can i make it more obvious!!!! but then again that's just part of putting ur writing out there in the world like someone can read something & interpret it completely differently than how u expected regardless of what u do...remember one person commented talking abt how they loved the polyamorous rep w james in wfrau & i was baffled bc in my mind i was writing him as aromantic...also was interesting seeing people expecting jegulily bc i thought i'd done a pretty good job writing reg + lily as platonic lol. also has just been interesting in a broader sense to see the different ways people think abt + interpret sex vs romance...like the idea that james enjoys sex but doesn't find it romantic isn't all that crazy to me bc sex & romance don't necessarily go hand in hand in my own life like. sometimes u just hook up for fun u don't have 2 be in love...but for some people those things r very tied together & it's difficult to conceptualize a guy who just wants to sleep w his friends! so that's been interesting 2 discuss...like the whole expectation that where there's sex romance must follow etc...

one other thing i've been wanting to discuss is like. r&s as they currently stand lol sent a whole long voicenote abt this the other day so have already gotten some of it out of my system but. it's interesting again seeing the amount of feedback from people who really wanted them 2 reconcile + have a happy ending at the point where things currently stand/the conclusion of the main story--or who are holding out for a happily ever after, etc. like to be fair their story has changed a lot as i've written it & i didn't know when i started the fic that the main story would end as it has. that being said ever since the obliviation became a key part of the story i've known that r&s simply would not be getting back together after voldemort's defeat...like sirius genuinely does not love remus anymore bc how could he! he doesn't remember him! they're practically strangers! & remus doesn't wanna give sirius another chance bc why would he! after all the hurt he already went through! knowing that the person in front of him now is essentially the guy who killed the person he loved & took his place! or perhaps more accurately is equivalent to the reanimated corpse of the person he loved...came back wrong narrative etc...u get the point (hopefully). anyway it just seemed clear to me that reconciliation would not be in the cards for them & it felt like brushing past that or trying to patch things up would detract from the emotional impact i was going for...perhaps even diminish the depth of the feelings they did, at one point, have for each other--like, it's only because they cared about each other so much that things are so unfix-able now. of course i do have my interlude + epilogue left 2 play around w but also bc i am mean + contrary + like making people sad every comment of someone being like "please make them happy :((" makes me want to not do that lol

& last thing is just a fun detail abt james that i'm not sure if anyone's noticed...putting it under a cut in case anyone wants 2 put the pieces together themself but a fun little detail abt his death:

james's recurring nightmare abt a bright light + his boggart being that bright light was him seeing his own death <3 bc he lost his ability to see color the 'avada kedavra' didn't look green to him; it was just bright light. & that was the last thing he ever saw! fun <3

fic writer ask game

[itsclydebitches]

The opposition to rewrites in the FNDM is just so goddamn weird to me, given that one of the cornerstones of another fandom I'm in is a rewrite of a canon storyline that had some really cool ideas but dogshit execution. I see people saying that the rewriters are arrogant for thinking that they can do RWBY better than the official team, but no, in my experience even if they are arrogant it's equally possible that they're right. Official doesn't mean "The Best" or even "Good", just official.

Exactly. Ultimately it shouldn't even matter whether rewrites are "good" or not because

a) That's a highly subjective interpretation no one will ever agree on

b) They're written by amateurs for free as a hobby - with "amateur" meaning someone who does not produce RWBY writing in a professional capacity, not someone who is automatically "bad" at the art - and thus rewrites would be at huge disadvantage even if we did want to judge their quality

and c) That's just what fanfiction is?? Transformation??? The writer's motivation is inconsequential. Whether they're producing this because they think they can craft a better story than canon, or whether they simply want a creative means of celebrating it, the end result is still the same: a new, unofficial RWBY product that readers will inevitably compare to the original, favorably or otherwise

So yeah, it's wild to me. I've literally never seen another fandom so anti-rewrite. It's usually the opposite - as you say, a cornerstone of fan engagement - where fans, both jokingly and not, talk about how sometimes fic is a love letter and sometimes it's a "FUCK YOU STRONGLY WORDED TELEGRAM TO FOLLOW." Despite RWBY appearing unique at first glance (from my perspective, anyway) I wonder if part of this is due to larger fandom trends? Meaning, RWBY is comparatively young as fandoms go and I've noticed in recent years a prioritization of canon that hasn't been around before, particularly when it comes to shipping. Some of that is good imo (like the push for queer canonization) and some of it is just downright odd (what do you mean I'm not "allowed" to ship them just because they haven't spoken to each on screen? Since when is THAT a requirement?). Though RWBY is definitely an extreme case, there seems to be this generalized move from, "This is our canon and it's great, or maybe it sucks, but either way it's a spring board for all of THESE cool things" to "This is our canon and it is scared. It is perfect, flaws and all. If you're going to add to it I need a detailed proposal for how this fits into the established world, encapsulates the original author's vision, and maintains characterization even though I'm too young to know what OOC stands for." Certainly in RWBY's case, I wonder if part of it stems from the rise in social media and, as a result, fans "personal" relationships with the actors and writers. When you're seeing a creator's tweets all day and feeling like they're your online friend, you might be less inclined to "mess with" their work; as opposed to seeing an actor/writer at a con once a year, going home, recognizing that they're a complete stranger outside of any fantasies, and then getting on with playing in their sandbox because why wouldn't you? They're never going to know. This is the age of fans sending their fic to actors to read aloud and tweeting at writers that such-and-such had this to say about the show. Though this was done in a cool and positive light, I have legit had a meta of mine tweeted at a OFMD actor and, if the like he gave is any indication, he read it... which is a weird thing to think about considering he was not the audience I had in mind while crafting it. Those kinds of interactions has got to have some kind of impact on fans' perception of what they can and cannot do with the material...

Anyway, today's PSA is that if you want to do a rewrite of any story - yes, even RWBY! - you are absolutely allowed to do that regardless of how "good" it supposedly is. Go forth and get creative. Get messy. Do whatever the hell you want and if someone in the fandom tries to make you feel bad about that, tell me and I'll manifest a Lego in their shoe.

After all, it's not like the entirety of RWBY is built on transforming others' stories or anything :)

[lightyearssurrogatedaddy]

Okay, Error and Ink will never get a happy ending, in any scenario. Even if it's the most heathiest interpretation of them I can even imagine, I still don't think it could last forever. One of the downsides to being immortal. It Never Ends. An immortal being changes and shifts its personality to where it's not even recognizable to who they were centuries prior. It goes around in a loop, they forget things they knew before, they learn things then unlearn them.

And since AUs repeat timelines I like c+pasting the same logic onto Outcodes. As in after a while, they just end up reverting back to what mindset they had way way before, after they do all the things and have nothing left to be curious about. They don't really HAVE an ending to their story, yk?

Imagine there's you and this other guy. You both don't have defined death dates and you're both nearly unkillable (you can 'kill' Ink in a sense by killing his personality, taking away his vials.) You're both tied to the hip because of what you do and why you do it, there's no way to avoid one another unless you changed your opinion and went off to go live in the woods somewhere, and that's Not happening.

So, out of boredom or growth or any excuse, you switch through titles because that's the only person who you can do that with. Everyone else can forget about you and you can forget about them whenever you wanted!

Along with the similar aspects in character. Error and Ink have-- a lot-- a shit ton of similarities. Unending loneliness, mainly. A sense of creativity (Error, in some ways, very creative.) The way they act and solve problems. etcetc. + Their main topic, the AUs! They don't talk about it in the same way, I like to view them as people who love a piece of media regardless, and the ones who live to observe it, and state an opinion. They both love talking about it.

"Okay, go back to the 'can't avoid one another' thing?"

Sure sure. I feel like I should have elaborated or something. They are exact opposites in theory. Error is a force to tear down and Ink's supposed to bring it up and support it. I don't really see Ink as a lifesource for the AUs, the AUs would continue to exist even if Error tried *tirelessly* to destroy them. Because an AU of him finishing his job is an AU nonetheless :) there's literally nothing he can do.

You can't avoid the other side of the argument, it ceases to be one if you do. And they don't really represent actual PEOPLE in those arguments, just the embodiment of the viewpoints. People can see both sides but it's been proven that Ink and Error cannot (I'm talking in theory, I do treat them as breathing people in my fics for the sake of exploring them, this paragraph is about the point blank flat colors of their character.)

Kind of like you can't remove positivity from negativity, you can't really have a finished comic without the scraps from ones that were shut down and discontinued.

So you and this one guy. You have an eternity to get to know one another. They'll constantly keep morphing between friends/lovers/enemies! No goal or end! Cool huh? That's how I view them. They can legit have any relationship and I'd still think they were such a Thing to glare at.

[kalmiaphlox]

✨Writing Interview Tag Game✨

Thank you @pinkberrytea and @preciouslittlebhaalbae for the tags 💕

When did you start writing?

I would write creatively throughout middle school and that was it for the most part. For my first long fic that was planned out and kept up with to completion, I started writing in December 2023 and never stopped. It was like a dam had been broken!

Are there different themes or genres you enjoy reading than what you write?

I am a horror lover. Movies, books, art, etc I love all horror. I would love to be able to write a horror story, but the things I make up in my mind don't feel all that scary/spooky so I don't think I could translate it well.

Is there a writer you want to emulate or get compared to often?

I don't think so? I just write the way I want to read. I don't think its anything special, my writing is just word vomit that I feel happy with.

Can you tell me a bit about your writing space?

I kinda just write wherever when the mood strikes. Currently I am sitting on my couch with Northernlion playing Slay the Spire on youtube, I like background noise of any kind, doesn't even have to be music. I write on my phone a lot (a regrettable choice) because I like to write anywhere like work or the store if I need to jot something down.

What's your most effective way to muster up a muse?

Lots of daydreaming and driving in the car gives me my best ideas (I think), not sure why it gets my brain going, but it just does. I have also been inspired by art and I put credit for those works in my chapters when they do inspire something.

Sometimes reading fics would also get ideas flowing because it makes me want to write again (I'm not taking ideas from other fics), but I have barely been reading recently.

Are there any recurring themes in your writing? Do they surprise you?

Maybe for my main fic? I think something that comes up a lot is not letting the past control your future for a lot of my characters. Also realizing family can be anyone, as long as you let them.

What is your reason for writing?

Mostly just for fun. I felt like I had a good story to tell so I wrote it down, regardless of whether other people like it or not. At the end of the day, this is for me.

Is there any specific comment or type of comment you find particularly motivating?

I like all my comments in general and I go back and reread them occasionally 💕 Some that really stick with me are the ones where people make suggestions or even question things. There have been comments that made me change entire outcomes because someone left a comment that made me rethink how a character was acting or how an event unfolds.

Also anytime anyone says they have reread my fic just blows me away. It's such an honor but I also want to ask "Why?" because that shit is long and so freaking messy lol

How do you want to be thought about by your readers?

I don't know, I'm just a person. I hope my readers think they can ask me any questions about anything and that them just taking time out of their day to read my word vomit is so cool and I love every single one of those goobers. Readers are the best. Everyone likes to say they only do it for themselves, but any engagement really keeps us writers going.

What do you feel is your greatest strength as a writer?

Maybe dialogue and humor. It's hard to say honestly.

How do you feel about your own writing?

I waffle between thinking I write some good shit and then also hating every single thing and how on earth do people read my garbage lmao.

I know I don't use proper sentence structure and grammar, but if I start following all those rules, it won't be fun for me anymore.

I am not very descriptive in my writing specifically because my brain likes to fill in the blanks with limited descriptions. I have things look certain ways in my head, but I like to leave a lot of it up to internal interpretation for other people. I also skim a lot when descriptions get too long while I'm reading so I just try to write the way I want to read something. It's probably boring but at this point, I really don't care, I aint changing.

When you write, are you influenced by what others might enjoy reading, or do you write purely for yourself, or a mix of both?

Purely for myself. My first fic, I had over 100k words already written before I even thought about posting it for others. I may or may not be working on a sequel to my fic, but who knows if I'll ever post it lol

I hope this is all understandable. I am extremely hungover 😅

tagging my writer pals if you would like to answer any of these! @teamdilf, @busy-baker, @spagyricqueen, @dabbles-in-drabbles, @ofsilentthings

[karizard-ao3]

Do you believe in the death of the author?

You know, that's a really good question. When I write fics the stories and characterizations are definitely colored by my own life and experiences (some fics more than others) and what I like, which would certainly be relevant if one were to try to analyze my writing and determine what it means to me, but I also think the point of art is to create something that has meaning for the viewer, regardless of whether that meaning aligns with the creator's intentions or not.

So, I suppose in an academic setting it seems appropriate to take the author's history into account when analyzing their work, but I don't think an every day reader should at all. I think they should find their own meaning in it that relates to their lives and experiences. In fact, I hope that they do. I don't think my smut fics are going to grab someone by the gut and make them think, "In this moment, I have been seen" but my dearest wish is for something I write to have that effect on someone, regardless of whether the chord it strikes inside of them is the one I played when I wrote it.

I am actually always so curious to know what my writing might mean to people on a personal level (not as in, how much do they love my stories but as in, what part of their own lives did it resonate with? Clueless Teens, I know, brought up some bad feelings for people because they wanted the kind of teen years I gave the cast but they never got to have them, which is kind of ironic because I gave the cast such overall nice experiences for the same reason lol. I wanted the 104th to have the pleasant youths they and I had missed out on. Although, based on the comments, I don't think my teen years were quite as disappointing as those readers' were. I still liked high school)

Well. I feel like that's a really long and indecisive answer, but, in short, I think to understand a work on an intellectual (aka academic) level it is valuable and perhaps necessary to consider the author in the analysis but the average reader should absolutely evaluate a work based only on how they feel about it. Writing should be open to the reader's interpretation and any interpretation can be considered correct.

With that said, if anyone wants to tell me what they took from my fics or is curious about what any of my fics mean to me, my asks are open!

[eri-pl]

Apparently today is a "too many good posts to rebly*, too little time" day.

\* I couldn't decide between "reply to" and "reblog", but I like the result.

Oh, Melian. How much I have in my head about her.

Anyway, wouldn't she …not know, maybe, but at least have some ideas? Melian who married an Incarnate. She must have had thoughts about them, a lot of thoughts. She must have pondered. About the long-term questions too. She's a Maia, she would consider those.

And if we assume that Thingol did share his dreams (bad dreams about Men) with her, or that she had any foresight whatsoever about what may lay in Luthien's future — she would jump at every tidbit about Men even more than Finrod (I assume) does.

Also, I get that Tolkien maybe imagined Melian and Thingol like "fate hit them in the heads, regardless of their personal preference, because that's how love works", but no other Maia fell in love with an Elf (or Man), and I think she must have been weird enough from the start.

"I found this lowly, pitiful thing in the desert forest so I loved it and we got married" is… a lot. It's just so different? wild? eldritch? Shocking.

And she does like this and she raises her daughter to be weird enough to repeat it. She couldn't have been a normal, well-behaved, level-headed Maia like Eonwe. (It's not that I don't like Eonwe, he is a good guy and all)

So, to sum up, I have a hard time imagining Melian not talking with Finrod for whole nights (assuming he came to her with those topics to talk about). But I don't know how the timeline works, when did he meet Men at all and how often he visited Doriath and when.

Námo. I think I imagine him as more literal and less verbose than you do. (My version goes a bit against how he speaks in the book, but anyway). So I would assume he did start the conversation with a short and direct "I cannot tell you". Which is a bad assumption, because it invalidates the idea of writing a fic about it. ;) Unless Finrod then goes to pester some Maiar. Who don't know much and may have some incorrect guesses even. ;)

I imagine Námo as knowing all the story. I know the Silm is cautious about it, I think like Tolkien needed a — what to call it — a safety mechanism and it make sense that he did. So that's why he added a possibility of exceptions. But I am not really buying the idea as part of the setting.

Also he gets more interesting to me as a character if I see him as "knows all, but can tell very little". This gives him some angst and many internal facepalms and generally makes him an interesting character to imagine. His reaction to various situations. And to other characters.

To be claer: what I mean by "knows all" is that he knows all the outside facts. Who does what and so on, like on a movie. He does not want what they think and generally what's in their minds. This interpretation makes sense to me with how he's described.

Which (again, in my hc) results in him not being very emotionally inteligent for a Vala. He knows what people will do, so doesn't need or have a good model of why they do it. which makes him a bit awkward at times. ("Not the first" AKA probably the most trigerring of all the well-intentioned lines).

Also, I imagine the Feanturi (which canonically don't include Nienna but I don't like this exclusion, so I use this name for all 3) as: Námo knows everything intelectually, like memories of audiovisual+facts, but he feels only the emotions related to what he is currently perceiving, like a normal person would (and usually doesn't show them at all, and very, very rarely shows intense emotions). Irmo and Nienna share the emotions that came with his knowledge.

So, Nienna reacts emotionally to all the things that ever happenned, without knowing the events. Sure, she has more emotions about what is currently happening, but her emotions are not limited to present or past.

This even has some slight canon support: when Yavanna plants the Trees, the Valar are awed, and Nienna is crying. It reads as if she's crying more than usual. I think she is already mourning them, even though she doesn't really know this.

And Irmo has the other part of feelings. Joy, awe and such. Plus, he is the one most connected to the topic of "what would happen", even though I don't think it's a fully valid type of questions.

So, anyway, (in my hc) Námo knows the whole story, but doesn't much emote about it. Also, of course he has perfect ability to not emote what he doesn't want to hint at. He has the perfect ability to keep the secrets, because of course he does.

I am still very curious, what are "topics that are actually mysterious to the Vala too", but yes, if Finrod knew any he would probably try to discuss them.

Thoughts about Finrod and Namo:

Kind of for @eri-pl since we're both interested by what his stay in the Halls must have entailed

The thing is that for all his years in ME, Finrod, ever the philosopher, has been collecting experiences and knowledge he really wanted to discuss with — any — of the Ainur. (Melian, of course, Melian was better than nothing — but that's still only one perspective, and the things he was fascinated by were usually not matters on which she knew much more than him)

So, now that he has an occasion to — he is absolutely going to bother anyone within his reach. (And he would have bothered Namo anyway, because most his questions are about the Fate of Men)

Mandos actually canonically knows where mortals go¹. He is also bound not to tell anyone which puts him in a kind-of awkward position when confronted with an insatiably curious elven prince full of goodwill.

I really imagine it takes him some time to just burst out "have you considered it might not be my secret to share?"

Finrod: You could have started with that! — Namo: You know, I would have assumed an adult and head of his house would know what "no" means, but maybe I was mistaken.

...The probable result of that is that Finrod moves on to topics that are actually mysterious to the Vala too; it's debatable whether that's for better or worse.

[desertedhero]

An analytical look at the story for HDtF

Heads up: I’ll be discussing spoilers for Hunt Down the Freeman as well as some minor details from HL2 and HLA. Also, these are all just my own thoughts based on my experiences as a storyteller and player, so it's okay if you disagree with any of it.

Criticisms aside...I love this game. HDtF has delightful concepts at its core. Why, then, is it regarded as a terrible game? Are my standards simply that low to enjoy a bad story? That's up to interpretation. Instead of focusing on fixing the story, I'm focusing on why it feels like it needs fixing in the first place. This won't be about how I'd want the story to be, or what the creators may have intended. It’s about the story as it exists.

There’s a lot to say about gameplay, sound design, and everything else. That's also for another post, because this one is about story development and writing.

I want to talk about this because a lot of my own ideas use basic storytelling concepts about character and theme as a foundation. So, I’m laying that down to build from later. I hope anyone looking to write those fun fix-it fics and story rewrites gets some ideas from this. If you wonder why the plot might’ve disappointed you and you enjoy story analysis, artist or not, this is for you.

Whether the game sucks or not, it has a fun premise. The execution is where it gets messy. It’s because HDtF is plot-driven, rather than character-driven. Let's start with what that means and why it's important.

When I refer to something as plot-driven, I mean that characters follow beats rather than create them. They become passive by acting in whatever way the writer needs them to so they hit each plot point. In character-driven stories, they act on their own instead of how the writer needs them to. When characters don't act according to a core set of beliefs, they can feel inconsistent. They’re full of conflicting ideas.

A story might favor plot over character development if the creators think the plot is that cool. I can't speak for the HDtF creators, but it wouldn't surprise me if that was the case for them because their plot is cool. The premise is incredible!! Hunting down Gordon Freeman and playing an antagonistic character? Man, sign me up. It all just..fell flat. Why? One reason is because Mitchell, as a protagonist, is passive for most of the story. The plot requires him to be a vessel for it to occur. If he were an active protagonist, the story would look different even if the ending remained the same. If you feel like Mitchell isn't that relatable, or his behavior doesn't make sense, that's okay. His role in the story is to follow the plot regardless of his own personality, motives, and goals.

What are Mitchell’s goals? According to what we see at the start of the game, he's looking for vengeance on the guy who fucked up his face. Cool! That's a setup for a revenge story, and those can be a lot of fun. When the opportunity arrives in act three, thou, Mitchell is resistant. Why doesn't he want to kill Freeman, when at the beginning it's established that he's sworn to get his revenge? Mitchell does specify that he sees the power, authority, and time he’s been granted as a curse. He doesn’t want part of that. Despite this apparent change of heart, he surrenders to Gman without too much of a fight. The plot demands he hunt down Freeman, after all.

It’s possible the scenes with Captain Roosevelt are meant to alert players to this change. It’s fresh in our minds that he made a deal with the devil and soon Gman will come for him. When he does, Mitchell says “I just want it to end. Freeman can go to hell.” He sees the power, authority, and time he’s been given as a curse. His original desire, a whim, has become a burden. He's now being manipulated into doing something he doesn't want. But something about the build up to this scene still makes it feels like there’s an inconsistency. Do you agree? Throu act two, did we learn enough about Mitchell’s dilemma to make sense of his response to Gman?

Inconsistencies are also referred to as plot holes or continuity errors. These make up a majority of the problems in this story. You’ve surely already identified a lot of them if you’ve played the game or watched a playthrou. (Another example is Mitchell knowing what the Borealis is.) There's a few ways to resolve inconsistencies. The method I use to generate ideas is super simple. Just keep asking questions. Keep asking "why?" Here's a quick example of what it looks like for me:

Why does Mitchell want revenge on Freeman? Well, he believes it's Freeman who not only beat the shit out of him, but also killed his squad.

Why does it matter if he killed his squad? His military training might have taught him the value of teamwork and fellowship. Maybe he has friends in his squad. Or it's that he's alone now, and being alone means facing himself and his past. (This could make him emotionally dependent upon Nick and Adam later on…)

What would make him change his mind about revenge? Like he tells Gman, the life he's been given is cursed. It could also be that after 20 years it seems that Freeman's vanished off the face of the earth, so Mitchell might feel resigned to never finding him. Or, he started healing and doesn't feel the desire for revenge anymore. Or, he has too much to lose if he started hunting Freeman. It'd be a suicide mission that risks everything he's accomplished–even if he's questioning how much his life is worth. (He found something he cares about more than revenge and so he must choose between the two goals…)

These are just starting points. You could answer the same questions differently, then continue through train of thought. In general, I find asking questions and answering them a few layers deep is effective. Conducting a Q&A helps find what works and what doesn't, or what's interesting and what's not. Ask questions even if they seem obvious or silly.

Storytelling principles like cause-and-effect and Chekhov’s gun remind us that everything matters. One thing causes another. Things shown to the audience must have a payoff later. However, there is at least one big thing that might not meet these principles. The first sequence of the game is a montage of key moments in Mitchell's life. It's how we're intended to connect with him. Is there any point in the game that he references any of these events? If you can't think of anything, don't worry–I can't either. As it stands the backstory montage does nothing to let us know who Mitchell is as a person. Logically, it should, and it does tell us about him. It's an issue because it doesn't seem like these experiences are motivating his actions. The montage could be cut from the game and it wouldn't impact our understanding of who Mitchell is based on what he does any time after it.

How could it become important, then? Well, Mitchell is the brother of Adrian Shephard, and they're shown in the montage. The game brings Adrian in for a cameo at the end, but they're never referenced in any other way. Hell, no one even refers to Mitchell as Shephard, which would make sense to do. The most obvious answer is to make Adrian mean something to Mitchell. Whatever your interpretation of the montage is, ask how it affected Mitchell. What happened, and how did that shape who he is at the start of the game? Whether or not Adrian shows up in the story, there ought to be an emotional relevance on Mitchell's end. He could mention that he understands what it's like having a sibling. Maybe he relates to someone else because of his experiences as a soldier. Any relevant subtext acknowledging that those key backstory moments matter to him would make him more relatable. That would confirm that those moments should matter to us as the players. Everything serves a purpose.

Another concept the plot brings up that has no payoff is the Cremators (I believe that’s what Boris calls the entities that are tended to in the factory). It's another violation of the idea that everything in a story is meant to set something up to or resolve a setup. If the Cremators meant anything, they would have been brought back to perhaps make good on their purpose that Boris claims is to kill humans that the Combine view as trash. Instead the importance of the factory is introducing Boris and giving Mitchell the opportunity to rescue the kids. Mitchell sees this in a negative light, that he's only using them for his own benefit. If this is the only thing the factory scene was meant to accomplish, why do we even know about the Cremators? 

Like Mitchell, other characters also suffer from being puppets of the plot. Adam and Nick serve a purpose of delivering Mitchell to where he needs to be. Adam can even be interpreted as a scapegoat for the writers to get out of actually having Mitchell kill Freeman. I personally don't, but I could see an argument made for it. Meanwhile, Nick is introduced to give exposition, get Mitchell going on his first mission, and to bail him out at the end so he can accomplish his goal of revenge. I’ll discuss that last point more when we get to theme.

I've heard professional writers say that every character in a story needs a reason to be there. I like that idea a lot! The plot needs Adam, Nick, and the others to support Mitchell. A character-driven approach, thou, would ask why they need to be part of the plot. How do they benefit from being part of the story? For example, why does Nick help Mitchell out in the hospital? Why does Adam negotiate to join him? We learn in game that he’s also looking to get out of the city and that he knows something no one else seems to know about the Combine, but that’s the extent of our knowledge. (I’m still curious why exactly he didn’t follow up on his plan to go separate ways once they left the city. That’s an inconsistency created by the plot’s need to have him stick around for the end.) Support characters either help or hinder Mitchell along the way. They all have a reason to collide with his goals. Or, they should.

In some cases, support characters may only exist for one sequence, like say Boston Joe. Boston Joe should be important to Mitchell regardless of how long he’s on screen. Right? Theoretically, his contribution pushes Mitchell forward or changes him somehow. (What was the significance of the powerplant sequence, actually? I’ve watched three different playthrous and none of them have a conclusion to that subplot. Why was it important for Mitchell to do that? I’m assuming there's a missing sequence or cutscene that transitions us to the docks. If this is the case, that’s another inconsistency, another source of confusion or frustration. It’s a missed opportunity to tell us something about Mitchell depending on how it's resolved. It would, ideally, give us insight to how he's changing as a result of his experiences. He sees himself as a bad guy in act three, so the conclusion to the powerplant might be a step towards informing that mindset. Anyway...)

If you compare how engaged support characters are with Mitchell to how engaged they are with Gordon in HL2–or with Alyx in HLA–there’s a big difference. What did those games do right that HDtF did not?

In HL2 and HLA, other characters support the main plot while having their own goals. Alyx has her own agenda throughout the games because she has other priorities. She has a life outside being a companion for Gordon. She’s also given time to express what those goals are and pursue them. We know her goals involve saving Eli, and this runs alongside Gordon’s goals. This makes her feel more like a real person, right? In HLA we have Russell with his own thoughts and ideas. The Vortigaunt cut off from the Vortessence stood out to me, too. They had personality and a goal that clashed with Alyx’s. That goal connected to hers later on despite not seeming relevant to her at first. On the other hand, we don’t know what Nick wants, outside of helping Mitchell. We don’t know why Adam sticks around, after he initially planned to go separate ways when they left Albuquerque. We don't know what Adam's deal with Gman was about. They don’t have a life outside the main plot.

If you feel frustrated that we have these cool characters that we don't get to learn about, that’s understandable. One of the great delights of HL2 and HLA is interacting with the support characters, and HDtF doesn’t allow us to do that.

I will say thou, the way that Boris and Sasha connect to the story is interesting. This says nothing about the quality of the subplot, but Mitchell meeting Boris in act two did matter later on. The deaths of the support characters in act one also matter. Why? Gman promised Mitchell power and authority, so any events that lead to him obtaining those things fulfill that promise. Mitchell even expresses some disdain that they died for him like that. Support characters should always matter to a protagonist in some way, and most of them do matter to Mitchell’s journey.

The next big idea I want to delve into is about theme. Let’s transition from how characters and plot interact to what messages those interactions deliver.

Mitchell serves as a vessel for the plot and is passive, but there is one moment where he makes a choice for himself. When he refuses to die to the Combine, and in doing so gives Gman the biggest "fuck you," what he's doing is actively participating in creating story. This was the most compelling moment for me. It felt like Mitchell, at last, chose to do something the plot didn't force him to. Makes me wonder what consequences could have occurred if he made different decisions. Even if he ends up in the same situation at the end, how could the journey be more engaging?

HDtF establishes a premise for a revenge story, but thematically it appears to be more than that. Which is fine because many stories do explore more than one theme! It also reads as a story about someone who's manipulated into abandoning their own goals and self destructing. What message does it leave us with, then? When Adam is revealed to be a traitor and Mitchell responds to this betrayal, what is that meant to tell us?

Mitchell killing Adam is a cathartic scene (for me, anyway) because a promise has been fulfilled. He achieved the goal he set out for at the beginning. There's more happening in the story that leaves ambiguity about how we're meant to feel about it, thou. How are we meant to take it when Mitchell kills the man he's been on a ship with for 20 years in a moment of reckless rage? The fact is we don’t have any details about Adam to let us understand his own goals and motives, other than he had a deal with Gman. That deal implies he had no choice, much like how it was for both Mitchell and Boris. Is that enough of an explanation?

Typically, revenge stories make it clear who we're supposed to hate and who to support. We know the antagonist's death is justified because we usually see a) what they did and b) why they did it. The reasoning plays into why we’re meant to root for the protagonist instead of the antagonist, right? In some cases they might want the same thing but one is willing to cross lines the other won’t. We even see hints of this in the first time Mitchell and Adam meet. They have similar yet differing ideas about loyalty. HDtF, however, does not give us the full picture by the end. It doesn't tell us if Mitchell is justified or if Adam deserved to be killed based on both what he did and why he did it. It's completely up to interpretation.

Why is it important that there's no clear message? Is it not enough to hand players these ideas and end it by asking “hey how fucked up was that, right?” Based on general responses from players that I've seen so far, what makes this story laughable is likely because it feels like it takes itself seriously without having anything serious to say. It doesn’t carry an emotional truth but acts like it does. Whatever the creators wanted to say seems to have gotten lost somewhere along the way, because clearly at least most of us missed the message.

HDtF has fun and thought provoking concepts, but they haven’t been explored enough to create a story as compelling as the creators likely envisioned. Each character has the potential to be incredible. There is a lot of flexibility in the themes that the story presents. We're given many concepts in an almost frustratingly open-ended way, but the ambiguity leaves room for different yet equally interesting interpretations. Is it a story about getting justified revenge? Maybe it’s unjustified and becomes a tragedy. Is it about escaping the cycle of abuse? Exploring the similarities between heroes and villains? Perhaps it’s about forgiveness and the consequences of betrayal?

The story of Hunt Down the Freeman might look like a first draft, but the opportunities for interpretation and engagement are endless. It’s a fantastic sort of mystery story! There’s even more to say about the writing in terms of plot, pacing, dialogue and character voice, use of exposition..but I’m leaving it here. I hope this sparks some new thoughts! And if you love the story like I do, maybe even some creative connections. Or, maybe you hate the story and this validates your reasoning for it, and that’d be okay, too.

(Thank you so much for reading this far, hot damn!! I had so much fun writing it and it gave me a lot I want to expand upon later.)

[probably-haven]

Hello!! After seeing what you wrote about xiaoven fics I went to see what things you usually write and omg, your archon Venti headcanons????? I am absolutely in love. So if it isn't annoying, could you talk about xiaoven or Venti or Xiao or whatever ship or character you like? I don't care what you are going to say, I just want to know more about your thoughts ^^

I- is this... bestie, this is essentially a free ramble pass- kerujsgheskdfug. Trust me when I say that in no way is this, and in no way will it ever be annoying in the slightest- i literally- lets just say rambling off thoughts is kind of my specialty, especially when provided a topic to branch off of because otherwise I'm just- really indecisive about it so- iujskdh yeah- 100% definitely down to talk about Venti, Xiao, and/or Xiaoven XD. Also, yes- it may have been awhile since i last posted one(cuz again, indecisive about which direction to take part 5), but the Archon War Era Venti headcanons are still without a doubt my favorite posts I've made. It's just such an interesting topic with such endless potential that so few people actually think about or consider or even realize is there, so i always just get really psyched whenever i see someone interact with them lol.

.... this ended up being a bit of a mess: warning in advance

Anyway! onto the actual content!

- You see the thing about Xiaoven is that there's a lot of different ways that it could end up working out, and just personally my favorite way of portraying Xiaoven in my mind is as an unlabeled relationship because if anyone in genshin would give off that vibe its these two. And a number of other reasons.

- Firstly, I heavily headcanon Venti as being an aroace polyplatonic or perhaps heavily demiromantic. However, regardless of this I just don't think that Venti is really the kind of person to worry about how he should label his feelings, thinking it's silly to try to put them in one box or the other, especially with feelings and emotions being as fluid as they are in general. Plus it fits his whole God of Freedom vibe. I just- dont think he's the biggest fan of labels or social categorization in general.

- And secondly on the hand of Xiao... his defense mechanisms are very much ingrained in his personality. It's probably hard enough for him to not go into fight or flight(the answer is fight) at the slightest affection at first, at the slightest feeling of vulnerability. Even further down the line, with his fierce dedication to Liyue, I cant help but get the vibe that the moment he recognized that he was falling for Venti he would begin avoiding him, not only to avoid distraction from his duty, but to avoid corrupting him or losing him in general like he has with like basically every other person he gets close with(even believing that the cycle had repeated once more when he first heard of Morax's death)... now imagine Venti tryna slap a label on their relationship and tell me Xiao would have a positive reaction.

- The thing with Xiaoven.... honestly, i feel like theres more ways that it can go wrong than it can go right, but if they do manage to make their relationship work out, it's just simply beautiful in all terms of the word.

- Lets talk about killing. - During the Archon War, both were forced to kill a large number of people and gods alike- Venti out of a need to remain alive to protect Mondstadt, it's freedom, and the nameless bard's legacy by extent- and Xiao out of servitude to the god that was once his master

..... actually- break here- ive talked a lot about Venti on this blog but I havent actually spoken about Xiao all that much- so i should probably do that a bit first... do note though that my characterization of Xiao is pretty flexible actually- this is just- the possible characterization of him that i tend to favor as being the most- uh- "realistically complex"

-

Theres a line I saw this one time in a certain story: "He is a trained weapon. That's what he is, was, and always will be. You cannot change that so stop trying." And i just- think its a really interesting concept- that applies pretty well to Xiao now that i actually think about it. - the concept behind it is this: After spending more than a vast majority of his life killing or otherwise in battle, it's become a part of who he is, a normalcy that after centuries and centuries would be near impossible to get rid of or reverse, and even if it was possible, with his karmic debt constantly eating away at him its unlikely he has enough time left for that to happen. - it sounds like a cruel thing to say about him- but in context it's actually pretty layered and i think about it a lot. It's not as much a "he's a killer lol, that his whole personality" its more of a "The centuries of trauma he experienced have conditioned him into a constantly alert and battle ready mindset while also shaping his dehumanizing inferior-in-worth-but-superior-in-capability view of himself that would have likely been necessary to get through those time, and at this point he's been under that conditioning for long enough that it's essentially ingrained itself in his personality."

- the main idea is- it's a part of who he is, that needs to be accepted as who he is because its not something that he can just up and change. It's not all he is of course but his constant battle mode, as though always waiting to be ambushed or to be granted a new target to eradicate.

a couple character story quotes:

-"His past of service under the evil god had rid Xiao of his innocence and gentleness. All that remained within him was the means to kill and the weight of his sins. The only way he could be of service to mortals was in combat." -"Xiao does not feel any hatred. Having lived for over two thousand years, no single karmic debt constitutes anything more than a fleeting memory. No grudge can last a thousand years; nor is any debt so great that it cannot be paid off in this time. Xiao has spent many long years alone. But his battles have never been in vain." -"where did Xiao have to return to? He was merely leaving the battlefield." -"since Xiao wages a constant war against dark forces powerful enough to devour Liyue in its entirety, any bystanders who witness him in the heat of battle are likely to end up as collateral damage." -"The war he fights can never be won, and will never come to an end." -"Because ultimately, the one with whom Xiao wrestles is himself."

i feel like at some point this very nearly did consume his whole personality, almost turning him into nothing more than a being of slaughter under Morax's control, devoid of any "humanity" at all, consumed and corrupted by his karmic debt like his fellow yakshas before him. - until he experienced a moment of clarity- a song in the wind, the peaceful melody of a dihua flute. - and pulled back from the border of something he wouldnt have been able to return from, there a was a shift in his mind- a concept grown unfamiliar enough with time that it took him a great time to identify what it was; a curiosity. Something that there was no place for on the battlefield, something that by all means should have been completely useless to Xiao, and yet he held onto that curiosity, slowly regaining over time, a sense of who he was and who he could choose to be with each song that the wind chose to carry towards him every once in a blue moon.

and eventually that curiousity turned to longing. Longing "for a day to come when he will wear the mask and dance — not to conquer demons, but to the tune of that flute amid a sea of flowers"

...... uh- heh- if you couldn’t tell already i have a tendency to make my characterizations/analyses of characters more serious that i probably should. 

to summarize: Xiao is constantly toeing the line between his ingrained nature and his humanity- almost as though still trying to decide how much of that humanity he deserves to have, how much he is allowed to have, and how much is safe to have.

^looking back after writing this, i think the best way to explain it is that this is the view that i keep in mind/the lense that i tend to most enjoy looking through and refering back to while examining and/or analyzing his character, actions, story, lines, and overall personality.

idk- i kinda got off track but i just think its a really interesting interpretation to think about because it has some really interesting implications ig- it’s not the full extent of how i view him of course, but i kinda got ahead of myself and its long enough as is so ill just elaborate as i go- Lol i actually have in progress playlists for both him and venti and just- vibes- i could ramble about the playlists alone for hours explaining everything... It’s probably a problem- uh- ill keep going now lol.

anyways! stepping off the angst path for a brief break! Brought to you by their lines in the snow: both waiting for it to get thick enough, Venti for the purpose of a snowball fight and Xiao for the purpose of a tasty and nutritious breakfast.

but its actually something of note that Xiao doesnt actually need to eat so anything he does eat is usually out of obligation or enjoyment- so like.... snow.... like i dont blame him, but of all things- an adeptus who refuses to eat basically anything but almond tofu looks at the freezing-cold-floor-water that yeeted itself from above and decided at some point- damn- that seems more edible than basically ever single actually edible thing ever.... im gonna eat it- like- im glad if eating snow makes him happy but- at the same time...

He probably convinces Venti to eat snow too though and Venti wouldnt even resist I mean he’s wind and has probably consumed worse things in his time so- 2 anemo cryptids with glowing tattoos sitting in Dragonspine monching snow in the dead of night is an amusing thought to me.

- kay, now back to more serious-toned thoughts

One of the things about the ship that i really like is the different contradicting parallels between them:

A lot of how i view Xiao’s character is someone formed largely by the things he cant control and who was forced to accept that accepted that and learned to thrive in it as much as he can.  Venti on the other hand is surrounded by things he cant control and is ever adapting to control as much as he can while embracing whatever he cant as being part of the unpredictability of the world, seeing beauty in it. 

both of them have lost people and do what they do to honor their memory: Xiao continues to do what the Yakshas once did And Venti chooses to do what his friend couldn’t

Xiao’s power coming from himself  and Venti’s from others And both seem to appear to use their power for their own gain while truly helping others behind the scenes

both have killed a lot of people during the archon war Xiao views it as another necessary event out of his control and Venti would likely view it as a tragedy he chose to enact himself

and this is where we meet out balance

Xiao- contrary to how i think a lot of people view him as thinking of himself as a monster- seems canonically to have accepted this as part of his duty, as long as those he killed are not mortals. I dont think he enjoys it no- but someone has to do it and he’s just accepted that its a part of his duty Venti on the other hand-

See the beauty of the ship- as someone with an angst-centric mind- is this- these are two of the most traumatized mfers in the game 

Xiao is by far the one who needs the most help and who can serve to benefit most from the ship- but he is nowhere near self aware enough to recognize that there’s anything wrong or unhealthy about his mindset in the slightest-

whereas you have the contrast with Venti who sorted through most of his trauma with the nameless bard alone during the archon war and while the result appears more healthy- is still really not- but he’s not self aware of that either because i mean- who’s going to tell him? nobody even knows. 

however- venti is aware enough to notice flaws in Xiao’s mindset and “Venti” enough to want to help them through it-

Xiao- while not aware enough to recognize the flaws in Venti’s mindset, can recognize where it contrasts with his own, and is blunt enough to point it out- and then it’s out there to be mulled over- 

they’re so similar and yet so different and a feel just conversing between the two of them, being in each others precense, just being exposed to two mindsets that are so very different could do both of them a whole lot of good.

GEEE THAT BIT OF RAMBLING HAD LITTLE TO NO DIRECTION AT ALL- LET ME-- LET ME MAKE THIS START MAKING SENSE- WITH... DYNAMICS OR SOMETHING

I don’t think Xiao needs to sleep really- and i dont think that sleeping would do anything except make him uneasy at first- he’d probably just get nightmares after all he’s been through- but with Venti he would soon learn that it doesn’t have to be that way, lulled into the first peaceful sleep he’s had in... as long as he can remember.

anywho back to not making sense cuz im fickle and i think most questions about ships are best displayed through character interactions so like- a possible exchange thats cliche but cliches exist for a reason

Xiao: Why do you try so hard to help me, it isn’t easy. I know that much Venti, with the most adoring expression: Because you’re worth it, obviously Xiao: But surely there are others more deserving of- Venti: No Xiao, everyone is just as deserving as the next person, you included Xiao: Then why me above others? Venti: ehe, cuz ur my warrior of course [O//////O oh shit, hes right] Xiao: My contract is with Morax alone [gay panic but in broody yaksha]

it’s kinda difficult cuz neither of them really address their feelings.  I mean Venti does but he does it very indirectly and its rare that he ever does it with like- genuine directness- even spilling his backstory was in the form of a song- and told in the third person- so a lot of their interactions would often have some deeper meaning, especially with Venti being the bard he is. 

I come up with a lot of- errant thoughts about Xiaoven- but this is making me realize that a true analysis of their ship is rather difficult because it just encompasses so many dynamics so its hard to settle on just one and not go rambling about who knows what bouncing from one end of the ship to the other-  Because you truly can and thats the beauty of it

within one moment you can be having a heartfelt conversation about the archon war the impact of lost friends and times past, and the next moment Venti is trying to forcefeed Xiao an apple while Xiao screams about disrespecting the adepti and its just- so lovely

so while they have picnics with nothing but apples, dandelion wine, and almond tofu they can sit down and talk about the dreams Xiao once devoured, and the dandelion wine and apple cider that the first Ragnvindir invented from the plants that never could have grown in Old Mond. The foods that tasted of familiarity, or of the grilled ticker fish Pervases always used to eat, foods that tasted of friends and frankly family that had since passed, glaze lilies and cecilias and qingxin flowers scattered in the surroundings and woven into Xiao’s neat braids and Venti’s now messy ones, rebraided by the steady and inexperienced hands of one unused to gentle action. 

and then of course Venti steals Xiao’s tofu once the mood becomes too grim and replaces it with a bottle of wine that Xiao refers to as “vile poison,” a remark that fatally wounds Venti as he collapses on the floor, proclaiming how he can only be healed by a Yaksha’s kiss. Xiao ignores this of course and simply takes back his tofu with a slight smile on his face, but as Venti persists he soundlessly places a kiss on his own palm before intertwining their fingers and pulling him back up from where he was dramatically sprawled on the floor, grumbling about how such action was “unbecoming of an archon.” A sign of affection only Xiao would ever know about. But Venti is literally wind and I hc his senses work differently anyways so he definitely knows- plus Xiao’s face is red as the blood of his enemies and the way he is pointedly not looking at Venti at all really speaks volumes anyways. 

 -Venti playing epic battle music whenever Xiao goes into fights in what looks like a ridiculously extra performance to anyone else but is actually doing wonders to keep Xiao’s karma at bay

-Venti preaches the practice of “kissing wounds better” and Xiao is unfamiliar with this medical treatment but views it as unnecessary regardless because adepti have accelerated healing, doesn’t mean he’s going to stop him though. 

-Messages whispered on the wind

-Venti’s 1000 year sleep- an accident, not a fun time for the yaksha, and not a fun time for Venti once he woke up. Venti is actually more afraid of restful sleep than Xiao is, hence the sleeping in trees thing, but when Xiao is there, he can sleep restfully with faith that Xiao wont let another millennia slip through his fingertips. 

- Xiao tends to make excuses when doing things that aren’t necessary to his duty, like in his birthday voice line “Have this, it’s a butterfly i made from leaves... Okay. Take it. It’s an adepti amulet -- it staves off evil” because at the current point in his progress it helps him to feel like he’s allowed to do these things. Not wanting to put him off from progress, Venti never comments on his excuse but never fails to whisper a quick reminder of how proud he is of how far Xiao had come.

- Xiao’s karma saddens Venti greatly- not only because of how it effects Xiao but also because its a reminder that as much as Venti tries to honor the memory of those he’s killed, there will always be those who resent him for it, and when he took the option of living away from them, he truly can’t blame them. - And when he gets too wrapped up in thoughts, whether around this topic or similar ones or otherwise, eventually, he’ll hear the sound of a flute on the wind. It’s not divine by any means, but as his own wind connects him to the source, he gets the sentiment all the same. “What impact does one individual’s remaining wrath have on the present. You have done much to help the living in the present” the unspoken idea that Xiao has included himself in that statement, because now, with Venti’s help he’s beginning to learn just how to experience living for himself. 

- Venti’s form and Xiao’s mask are off limit topics though because if either mentions it the other will counter with the opposite and the mood will turn immediately bitter at the idea that both know that what they’re doing is destructive but neither are willing to change

- Venti who has different tells for negative feelings than most people because as much as he likes to pretend it is- this form isnt his, and Xiao who is able to identify those

- many fanfics and headcanons have Venti recognizing when Xiao is uncomfortable and getting him out of those situations. I see that and I love it but i raise you: - Venti taking Xiao to Mondstadt, careful that he doesn’t get to the point that he’s uncomfortable. And nothing goes wrong exactly, but Xiao notices the the way Venti’s cape is blowing in the wind, the way he’s holding his weight, barely on his feet so much as floating on the wind, connected with the ground only for the sake of appearance, all the while he looks just as happy go lucky as ever. And without a word, he grabs his hand and teleports them both out of Mondstadt.  - turns out it was just a slight thing that reminded him of the archon war (cuz i will die on the hill of him having more tragic backstory than just Decarabian), and he of course gives a sincere if not flustered thanks to Xiao, because he’s really not used to people noticing. 

- Venti trying to vent sneakily through fictional stories and Xiao is just like “Didn’t that basically happen to you” and Venti is just like “<_< shit”

- Venti once said affectionally that he wished he had met Xiao sooner and Xiao immediately and seriously shot it down by saying “If you had, I would have been forced to kill you” and both of them now stay up at night wondering who would have won that fight, not sure which result would have hurt more. (because honestly I have no idea who would win in that fight and that terrifies me- I like to think it would have been one of those legends that end with “and the fight persists to this day” or something along those lines)

- “How long have you been together?” “Adepti have no need for-” “1000+ years T^T how dare you deny our love” “O///O our...? ...useless”

- its disney- let me explain- i have this- i have this headcanon inspired by watching too many animatics- - so venti has a human form that isnt his- which he would have had to get used to moving in- and he’s a bard- - uh- anyway- as a third degree black belt in mixed martial arts, i can speak as an authority on this(not really an authority since i havent gone since quarantine but lets pretend). We have a thing referred to as the big three(most things do), and those things are martial arts, gymnastics, and dance. The idea is that they reflect really well off of each other and the best in any one category are good in all three. Timing, balance, form, discipline, technique, hand-eye coordination, grace, ease of motion, they all play a part- anyway-

- Venti taking Xiao’s prowess in martial arts and acrobatics and teaching him how to dance, and as someone who’s extremely skilled in the first two, the third comes easy to him, almost naturally. And it’s delicate and beautiful and lovely and it isn’t hurting anyone. And Venti points all these things out and more and despite how much Xiao insists that he feels ridiculous he truly does enjoy it and it goes a long way towards helping him form more healthy views of himself and his worth.  - Verr Goldett walked in on him once and made a joke about performing at the inn. unfortunately Venti was there and agreed on Xiao’s behalf before he could protest and- and it wasn’t as bad as Xiao thought it would be... he still wouldn’t do it again though without reason, but with good enough reasoning he could probably be convinced. 

- anyways point is he likes dancing to Venti’s songs and i just think that’s really cute - just picture the idea that all the animatics you see actually have the potential to be canon- ugh

- venti tries holding something out of Xiao’s reach since he’s taller and Xiao just fucking teleports 

- both need their space but when they dont, all they have to do is speak the other’s name and they’ll be there.

- and because i just had to.... love languages

- lets start with Xiao- i don’t think he’d view acts of service or quailty time as a love language tbh, and he blunt but really bad with words so affirmation is out, leaving gift giving and physical touch. However, he seems to view most material things as meaningless so- - Xiao who’s love language is in his fleeting touches, something he’s only recently grown comfortable with because of Venti, and now is giving back, which he knows he doesn’t have to do, but that he want’s to, though he’ll still continue to make excuses for each one. “you were shivering” “The inn is high up, you could have fallen..... I said what I said, you’d question an adeptus?”

- and as easy as it is to say words of affirmation for Venti- he does that for everyone- i want to say his is actually acts of service - its the acts of service that let him see just how much Xiao has progressed afterall, from teaching him to dance, to playing another song on the flute, to supplying him with the almond tofu he seems to enjoy so much. Every little thing he does helps Xiao to grow and he couldn’t be happier about that. 

-

- of course most of my headcanons for the ship do take place latter into the relationship because- y’know the less serious unhealthy vibes allow for greater range of thought, but i do still love to think about the serious implications so i kinda hopped back and forth. So sorry about how messy it is btw, i kinda- got carried away- it kinda got some kind of structure near the end tho so- maybe it’s okay. anyway- back to... lol something, we’ll see where thought forests lead. 

[balcon1es]

hi Andy congrats on passing your manuscript! ^^ your fics are bangers so I'm betting on your original stuff too. I have to thank you because reading your prose always alters my brain chemistry and I mean this in the absolute best way. This is a roundabout way of asking for writing tips for original work 😭🙏🙏🙏

HELLO IM SO SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG this was such a kind ask, thank you so much for the encouragement!!! 🥰 it'll take a while before i hear anything back but aaa fingers crossed you know? so grateful to know you enjoy my work!

what type of writing are you working on? novels? short stories? is it your first venture into original fic? :) i wish i knew a bit more of what you're working towards anon, then maybe i can be a bit more helpful hmmmmmm i hesitate to offer anything that you weren't asking for

but i guess, in general, one of the most helpful pieces of advice i've ever received from an editor is that every story you write -- regardless of the form -- is a collaboration with the reader

reading is so much more rewarding if readers feel like they've arrived at the aha moments by themselves. when they feel like they've "worked" for their interpretation

i think a lot fanfic (and this is me calling myself out) tends to go for the BIG moments, the melodrama, the 'what things can we make our blorbo go through this time??' type of situations, yknow? and it's a style that works well, until it doesnt

when i started writing original stuff a few years ago i struggled uhhh Majorly with this mindset. it's easy to handhold in fic, personally at least, because we got no time not to get our narrative across exactly the way we said it will. we set up expectations with a fic summary, and as the fic author you kind of are expected to fulfill them

(ie. if it's a hurt/comfort fic, there's gotta be comfort after the hurt; if you say it's a slowburn, we all know what we're getting. etc etc)

those first stories i wrote had to be rewritten heavily because i didn't know how to write with restraint. there's a quiet power with subtle revelations VS spelling out what exactly what character is feeling straight out on the page

So, in terms of practical advice on a craft level, what i found worked for me is:

not underestimating your readers! they'll come up with their own conclusions. even if they're not necessarily the ones you intended. its cool. embrace the ambiguity!

this is related - resisting the urge to over-describe; i think reading flash helped me so much here! since you have so little real estate on the page you're kind of forced to be innovative in every way

recognizing and swapping out easy cliches in your language (again, calling myself out)

another writing exercise I ADORE is to take an otherwise emotionally charged scene and "write it cold"

kind of. writing around the Big Awful Thing

i think you'll enjoy what you'll create with a muted palette, and when you trust your own voice (and the reader!) to "get" it!!!

THIS IS SO LONG SO FEEL free to ignore every single thing i've written here! take only what works for you lmao i hope this was helpful even a little bit!!! and thank you for the ask i always love talking about craft and writing <3

[nightly-valkyrie]

A lot of the beauty in SIGNALIS is rooted in its rather open ended narrative. What rings true to some people may not to others, and in the end that's likely where the Falke having Ariane's memories too stuff sits. I love reading through other people's interpretations of the narrative because even if I don't necessarily agree, I love seeing what aspects of the game resonated with them through their reasoning!

In my post, I really did my best not to touch too hard on endings, especially the artifact ending. In part it was because of my intent to not let that post get too long, but also because I kind of have a complex attitude toward the endings and to try and incorporate them in that post may have genuinely sent me off the deep end lol. To truly over simplify my stance I kind of feel like any of the endings can be the final one at same time none of them are. There is no clean, resolute end to the cycle, even in the artifact ending (though i believe the result it brings is different to the result of any of the other 4 endings). In a similar way to starting a new game of Undertale after a true pacifist ending, your replay is canonized as the restarting of the cycle, regardless of which ending it was. The only way to truly ensure the characters are left in peace is to never play again. So somebody who played, got the the leave ending, or even the fakeout ending, and then closed the game to never touched it again, ended the cycle then and there. As Yuri Stern once posted on twitter, no ending was written to be good or bad, whats more important is how you felt about it and whether you felt it was a worthy conclusion. And ultimately I feel the same way, yet another reason I love seeing other people's interpretations of the story and its endings. Btw here is the thread for those interested.

(golly i said i was gonna be brief there and it turned into a tangent)

One of the things I'm super glad you mentioned was the idea of giving special detail to the more overlooked aspects of the story, so many things seem to go the way of people seeing them, going "that's neat!" and then moving on and not giving extra thought to what it may imply. I love paying attention to these details because there can be so much nuance hidden within them. Even if I don't come to exactly the same conclusions; like how I personally don't see the note about having to replace the LSTR template with a Penrose unit as an overt suggestion that it's Elster-512 that's now the template for all future units. It still implies a lot for the setting and makes my mind run wild with theories of what may be possible as a result (one of which is the basis for my SIGNALIS fic I'm working on). My personal favorite detail is the influence that the real life King in Yellow anthology has as a form of inspiration for the game. I would love to see more people talk about how the stories there may have inspired certain aspects of the game such as its characters and relationships.

Also I don't think you were incoherent at all, in fact it made me super glad to see that things I noticed and felt compelled to talk about inspired another person to share related interpretations of the story. Maybe someday I'll really get into a full analysis but I got a fanfic to write that I haven't touched in a few days because I got caught up drawing and analyzing doomed yuri :P

Thank you so much for responding, it really was a treat <3

Falke and Memories

I'm gonna preface this whole thing with a big Signalis spoiler warning even outside of a tag because this is a lot to have spoiled if you haven't beat the game yet.

Under the cut I'm going to talk about the evidence that Falke has memories from Ariane just as she does Elster, I'm gonna try and be kinda brief rather than fully essay mode because I'd rather do that in a google doc than a tumblr post.

Okay first I wanna show the evidence that is fairly easy to point out. To be honest these things alone I feel are enough evidence, though it's far from the only evidence.

First is the lineup from the fakeout ending:

In the fakeout ending, when the scene shows the lineups of all the versions of Elster, and also the versions of Ariane, Falke can be seen at the front of both.

All the way on left here.

And all the way on the right here.

And if she is at the front of the Elster lineup because she has Elster's memories, then she most likely is at the front of the Ariane lineup for the same reason.

Next is Falke's intro screen prior to her boss fight:

This one is also relatively known though I feel like it gets treated more like trivia or goes relatively forgotten after people learn it. This being that when Falke's face is shown up close right before her fight is the same as Ariane's from when she's shown up close in the endings.

It is worth noting that FKLR units in truth don't actually bear any resemblance to Ariane, but here Falke is a nearly one for one match. A very reasonable explanation for this is Elster herself, she is being shown awakening because that is what Elster is seeing. She is recognizing the Ariane within Falke, or recognizing that Falke is becoming Ariane.

Or even another alternative explanation could be bioresonance, a power able to shape reality, is literally molding Falke physically into who she has started to or has become mentally.

This detail overall is extra interesting when you consider Falke is corrupted, she has degraded physically in a similar way to all the other Replikas. Yet she is still shown looking like Ariane to both the player and Elster.

Third is what I would consider kind of obscure but still pretty well shown/known:

This relates to the position Falke has within the story. Much like Ariane she is asleep, laying in a bed rather similarly to how Ariane is laying in the cryogenic pod.

For Elster to reach Ariane she has to also reach Falke (Artifact ending is kinda different to this, you don't ever physically have to reach Falke, but you also don't physically reach Ariane either.)

If/when she awakes, it is Elster's goal to kill her. If Elster is to ever fulfill her promise to Ariane, she must also fulfill it to Falke. (I touch again on this later)

Okay with those three mentioned I wanted to talk about more of the obscure things the game does to show Falke having Ariane's memories.

First 'This God Won't Forgive You' (this is one of my favorites):

Immediately prior to fighting Falke, these words flash on screen. Which on a surface level are easy to ignore as just a way to establish murderous intent on the part of Falke, and yeah it is that, but with how deliberate everything in Signalis is, this quote kind of stands out. There's not really an obvious reason for Falke to have this kind of feeling for Elster. Elster hasn't really done anything to Falke. There would be nothing for her to forgive Elster for, but there would be for Ariane.

Elster died before she could fulfill the promise, and as evidenced by the story of Signalis existing at all, it had a big effect on Ariane. And though in the relevant ending she seems accepting of Elster returning to fulfill the promise, she still sees Elster dying first as having failed to keep it the first time.

This is further evidenced by the wording of the line, 'THIS GOD' would suggest there's another god who could forgive Elster, of course, this other god is Ariane. The wording also implies that what Falke cannot forgive is the same thing Ariane may forgive. Which as siad before is very likely the fact that Elster died first. Falke, blinded by grief and rage will not forgive Elster for dying before Ariane (or herself through memory).

Second the music:

Two parts to this section, ill keep the first short because it's pretty self explanatory, and also the second is just plain more interesting.

First is Falke's theme is Ariane's theme backwards. This is HUGE evidence, but I just simply don't have much more to add to it as far as facts go.

Second is related to the song in the OST called 'The Promise', it's essentially a remake of the middle two minutes of 'Raindrops' by Chopin. If you aren't already aware, 'Raindrops' makes its own appearance at the beginning of the game right after you take The King in Yellow for the first time, and as you see the signal begin to send, and also where the words 'Remember our promise' appear for the first time (if i am remembering correctly). That is to say the song is strongly associated with the promise between Elster and Ariane.

That makes it interesting then that 'The Promise' is the song that starts to play as you defeat Falke. In fact it's punctual to the point that the paino motif that makes its refrence to 'Raindrops' and the promise in game clear only plays the moment Falke actually falls over dead. This is done as if to suggest that Elster is fulfilling the promise in some form to Falke as she intends to do for Ariane. This is further realized though how the second instance of the 'Raindrops' motif, which is much more intense, plays as Elster begins to trek through the gate toward the Penrose 512. The song eventually concluding as she successfully enters the ship to show that the though Falke's death was to fulfill the promise to a recreation of Ariane, now is the opportunity to fulfill it for the Ariane.

Third the artifact shows when Falke is vulnerable:

The artifact, or the symbol for it is one of the most open to interpretation aspects of the game. Not much is ever explained about it, and its main role in the story is for the secret ending which is a whole can of worms on its own. Falke does have a role on both the Ariane and Elster side of this secret ending, but that isn't what I want to touch on here. Rather I want to emphasize that one of the few things that can be observed about the artifact symbol is that it always appears in relation to Ariane in some way.

Leading to Ariane's room.

On the back of The King in Yellow

Over Falke to signify her vulnerable state.

With other examples of the artifact and its symbol being used in strong connection to Ariane it being used on Falke shows how Ariane is as much a part of her as Elster is.

Unordered things that are kinda relevant/worth mentioning:

Signalis is a very deliberate game, which makes Falke's journals interesting. They do pretty explicitly mention her memories melding with Elster's, but in other places its rather intentionally vague. Lines like "We were dancing to that song they start the broadcast with. We feel asleep watching that movie we had seen before so many times. If only i could take us back to that time when we were happy. These memories are mine now." Which don't state which perspective these memories come from. Or another note which contains the line "Memories from other lives" the plural use of lives implying the memories of multiple individuals.

I also wanted to give a bit of speculation why Falke's diary and overall narrative frequently mentions her being overtaken by Elster's memories when Ariane's are also implied to be present. One possibility is that contending with memories from both was too overwhelming when two would already be too many and so she could have suppressed the memories from Ariane such that she would still be able to function after on some level, or until she went to sleep and stayed that way.

Another possibility, and my more favored one that also fits a lot of the evidence here is that it has to do with what Falke can and cannot do. With the memories of Ariane and Elster in her head Falke was immediately confronted with the fact that Ariane would not accept her as Elster and that she would be incapable of fulfilling the promise. Thus never allowing her to reach an apotheosis for the the part of her that has become Elster. What she can do, however, is mimic the role of Ariane. She can sleep, and she can wait for her beloved Elster to arrive. This is further helped along by the fact that she does not awaken to Elster's presence until Elster remembers that she is seeking out Ariane and not Alina. In this way she can achieve a form of Apotheosis for the part of her that has become Ariane. This allows her to more easily process and accept those memories as a part of herself. But her inability to do so for the memories of Elster causes her to become lost between herself and this other identity. "I’m no longer fully myself anymore, but I've not fully become someone else either." In more simple terms, she can "become" Ariane thus accepting this new part of herself and maintain her identity, but she cannot "become" Elster which leaves her lost between identities incapable of being Elster or staying as herself.

Anyway that's the post! Hope my insane late night ramblings made sense. I may do a more extensive post on this some day, where every little detail is described and mapped out with complete arguments and no left out evidence (which believe me there was a lot). But that day is not today. If you liked this though I'm posting a lot about Signalis, and I'm writing a fanfic that build a a lot off the ideas presented here through the scope of Falke loving and wanting to be loved by Elster and Ariane. Most of what I post are updates on that or funny thoughts I have so follow me if that sounds like something you'd like!

[oonajaeadira]

re: If You Will Let My Heaven Touch Your Stars & Ezra/Ocean

holy fucking shit, both of these are works of ART! at first i did not know what “non-explicit fluffy smut” was, but i am blown away! this is how all fics need to be written; why settle for any less?? DON’T TELL ME YOU WROTE THE POETRY YOURSELF TOO??! the religious references were giving Hozier in the best way. and i deeply admire the talent it takes to write Ezra’s fancy vernacular and make it not just intelligible but so charming & melodic—in Bookshop especially! ugh, the field of flowers? the romance? the world building! the extremely respectful & romantic portrayal of his disability!!!

AND OCEAN?!? at first, i didn’t catch on and thought i was reading a pretty story about the ocean, which was lovely regardless, until some adjectives started getting suspicious 🤔. what beautiful fucking imagery & symbolism! the waves representing pleasure & Ezra physically/reader’s awareness of him >>>>>> (this is my interpretation at least!)

thank you so for sharing your work, you genius!

Okay, Lili.

I need to finally let this response go and not hoard it in my inbox like a shiny arkenstone.

If you're not aware--which I'm sure you aren't because I've been sitting on this for a while--you've made me unspeakably happy. Ezra has such a big part of my heart and that you've enjoyed my representations of him makes my whole week.

Bookshop is a special fic for me; it was instigated by our lovely Hazel ( @grogusmum) and I thought it would be a quick little bookstore romance that nobody would take notice of and that I would just let out all the stops on my soft, gooey heart and have fun with it. I didn't anticipate that it would get the response it did. I learned so much writing that fic.

If You Will Let My Heaven Touch Your Stars was my first foray into something a little naughtier, testing my own barriers with smut, and once I broke that dam, I felt a lot more comfortable with it. (And yes. I wrote everything in it. If you look for the author of that book of terrible poetry he's reading you'll find that it's actually an anagram of my user name. Easter egg: there's another author--a better one--mentioned in the story and that's an anagram of a name as well.)

And Ezra / Ocean was written for my dearest @cannedsoupsucks. That was a fun one to play with. (And your interpretation is correct. <3) Playing with dreams vs. reality has become a staple in my stuff lately....

Anyway. That's me chatting your ear off about those particular pieces. Thank you for allowing me a little moment of pride and joy. I'm really happy that you enjoyed them--and I mean that! I write for myself primarily, but if it makes just one other person happy, I'm so so sooooo glad I put it out there. Finding things that make your feelings light up is such a nice part of life.

And you have done just the same for me with your message. Thank you. <3

[queenangst]

YOU COULD’VE JUST REPLIED ‘STOP’ TO MY COMMENTS INSTEAD OF FREEZING THEM I WOULD HAVE GOTTEN IT, PRICK

I was going to reply to one of your comments on AO3, but I suppose I'll do it here since you've sent me this. Whether you see it or not, read it or not, take it into consideration or not—that's up to you.

To respond to this ask specifically: what about freezing comments is me encouraging you to continue? To be clear, I chose to freeze those comments because I didn't want other people to respond to the threads, but I also froze your first comment—which didn't stop you from leaving two more on pick yourself up.

I hold no contempt for you. I have said it before, but I don't care if you (readers) dislike my works, aspects of my works, etc. That's fine. I understand not every fic is going to be everyone's cup of tea, and that's okay. But what I don't understand is how you failed to see how disrespectful you have been to me as a writer.

For a fic I wrote specifically about management Izuku and hero Shinsou, to focus on themes of heroism and failure and so on, the only thing you remarked was that I should write a version of this fic for Bakugou and Izuku. This story is not about them, you know that. But you shouldn't imply that a BKDK version would be better. You shouldn't demand, multiple times, for me to write another version of my fic. You could have shared this in a polite way. You could have said you loved the concept, and that you think it would also be interesting with management Izuku and Bakugou. Instead you spammed me, sounding entitled and demanding (not only to me, but to multiple writers who I spoke to initially). If I wanted to write a fic like the one you suggested, I probably would have. If you'd brought it up even a little more politely, as someone who enjoys Bakugou & Izuku, I might have thought about it. But multiple demands definitely did not endear me to the idea.

For that note, I also already do requests and commissions sometimes. If you had bothered you might have known that, and you could have asked when they're open, or even just asked me now in general what I thought of the idea. I write things I enjoy; but I also enjoy writing for ideas that other people share for me, that I may not think of. But those start with people respecting my work, my time, and me as a writer, with no expectations that I might actually write if I don't feel up to it.

After those comments, you then went through multiple fics and: critiqued my characterization because it doesn't fit your personal view of Bakugou, called that critique constructive, emphasized ships (Kiribaku, Bakubowl) at me, told me to write more, and bashed a character/s (All Might, and by implication, Izuku).

I understand that not everyone gets when they're being rude on the Internet. So I'll explain: my characterization is my choice, by my preference, and you were critiquing me because how I write Bakugou doesn't align with how you see him. Because he's not, to pull from your comment, harsh enough. (Does Bakugou have to be mean all the time? Doesn't he change, develop, and grow? And have more than one aspect to his personality?) And I didn't ask for constructive/criticism. If I wanted any, I would have stated so. You could have at least asked first if I did, if it wasn't clear. Following that, I think I make it very clear in my works and in the tags that I write about platonic relationships. Focusing on my work through ships (though yes, you ARE allowed to interpret something as romantic, I can't stop you and that's up to you) is disrespectful to me as a gen writer. Again, if I wanted to write ships, I would. And then you said All Might, a character I clearly like, sucks (character bashing, not criticism) and also implied Bakugou would be better with OFA. On a fic that is All Might & Izuku centric, where Bakugou isn't even there. On top of all of that, very, very little of your comments are about the fics themselves, and mostly about what you, the reader, wants. Which is, apparently, not what I write. Again, you don't have to like my work. You are welcome to have your own opinions. But if you don't like what I'm writing: don't read my fic, don't comment on my fic, ask me to write something else when I have requests or commissions, find an author you do like better, or even write it yourself. I encourage you to do so!

I don't know how else to explain the ways you have been rude to me as a writer. I shared (some of) your comments so people would see what not to do as a reader, and others because it was frankly a little ridiculous and I wanted to make light of a situation that while wasn't hurtful to me, was completely baffling. I blacked out your name and froze the comments for you—because I was worried other people might go looking, and regardless of what you said to me, I wouldn't like to encourage people to go after you for something that doesn't even offend me. Because yes—a lot of people agreed that you were being very rude. I stopped sharing them because I saw it was spreading, and I didn't want more people to get on your case. And once I saw they were picking up attention, I wrote a disclaimer that mentioned what I just said, and also states something I think is a good ending point: I'm not here to post hate about commenters. But if there is a comment that makes it off AO3 and onto my blog, then there is probably a reason why.

Addition: I dearly wish that you are kinder to other writers than you are to me. And I hope that whatever circumstances you are in that lead you to saying anything you have to me change, for your sake. And I hope everything is kinder to you, too. Continue reading my fic, continue commenting if you want. Hate me, be rude. That's okay. But I won't say anything more to you. I have said what I think you could listen to, and keep in mind that other writers might be hurt by what you comment and how you say it.

[nowplayingblog]

Why the charictarization of Remus Lupin matter so much to me?

A character study of Remus Lupin

Disclaimer: I think every interpretation of every character is valid and should not be torn down (further discussed in this post). The following is a discussion of how I interpret a character, and things that I (me, specifically) don't like to see when I read fic, or even in fanart in many cases, and why.

(Just a friendly reminder that if you don't like someone's interpretation of a character, you can click off the fic, or block their account. It's OK to create a happy space for yourself.)

I'll begin with the reason I decided to make this post.

I've noticed a lot in my many years of being a marauders fan that there is a generally accepted interpretation of Remus, and the way certain people in the Fandom feel about it is that this is the only acceptable interpretation.

Based on my own observations, "Fanon Remus" is:

Negative/pessimistic.

Rough around the edges.

More confident in himself.

Borderline mean to anyone who he isn't friends with.

Usually smokes (cigarettes, weed, or both) and drinks.

Perpetually sad and tragic.

Tends to come off as disinterested in everything.

Fully accepting of being a werewolf and feels there is no separation between himself and his werewolf form.

(To be fair, this list is based on how I view this interpretation of Remus so it's likely bias.)

This interpretation of Remus has seen an increase in popularity with the re-emergence of the popular fanfic All the Young Dudes by MsKingBean89.

Here's the thing - I don't take issue with this version of Remus existing, it's definitely not to my taste (and we'll get into that more later) but it's a valid interpretation of his character.

Where I take issue with this is attitudes surrounding it, and people in the Fandom trying to make me feels as though this is the canon/only interpretation of Remus there can be.

I've been on multiple platforms where fellow Wolfstar/Marauders fans have stated that they hate seeing Remus depicted as:

Shy/timid.

Not as confident in himself and his abilities.

Thankful for his friends for the simple act of being his friends.

Overall softer (both in appearance and personality).

Being kind to most people he meets.

Being physically smaller than the other boys.

Referring to his werewolf state as something that is separate from him.

These people have argued that their interpretation is back by Canon, and writing Remus any other way is out of character - but the truth is that we know very little about Canon Remus (or any of the other Marauders or characters from that era.)

However both interpretations (or rather these two generalized interpretations, as I believe everyone sees every character a little differently) address aspects of what we know about him:

He's a werewolf and he has a complicated relationship with that aspect of himself. You can either interpret it as an internal conflict where he doesn't want people to be hurt by the part of himself that he can't control, or as an external conflict where he sees himself as a threat all the time, because there isn't a definitive line where "Remus" ends and "The Wolf" starts.

When we meet him in Prisoner of Azkaban, he is a warm and inviting, if a bit unorthodox, teacher. We also later learn he was a part of a group of friends who were notorious for playing pranks. Some interpret his unorthodox teaching style and his occasional sassy-ness (seen in flashbacks and in the present plot of the books) as an indication that he was always on board with the pranks - sometimes the mastermind behind some of them - and also that he was a bit rude or mean to anyone who he wasn't friends with. Others interpret his warm and caring personality to be at the core of who he is, and that his friends taught him to be a little mischievous, sarcastic and sassy.

As I've stated several times now, both are valid interpretations. One is no more rooted in Canon than the other. (I tend not to rely on Canon too much regardless, but that another topic for another post.)

But I think the real core of my problem with "Fanon Remus" comes back to a topic that I spend a LOT of time thinking about. So much time, in fact, that I have original stories and fanworks in the works that address this very issue:

The importance placed on the "dominant" or Type A personality.

(For clarity - Type A personality means someone who is achiement-oriented, ambitious, constantly working towards success, while the Type B personality is the more passive, flexible, easy going personality. )

We tend to see dominant, Type A personalities glorified in our society. We like go-getters, leaders. We glorify CEOs, activists, people who lead change.

We see the more submissive, Type B personalities as weak, passive, lacking the strength needed to succeed in this world.

But being passive, submissive, Type B, doesn't make someone weak. You can passively support causes you believe in. All leaders need followers.

I am more of that Type B, submissive, follower personality, and I identify and look up to characters and people who are like me, and are still strong.

I like to see - and want to see - characters who are more passive, less sure of themselves, but they are still strong and do what's right.

Which is why, while valid, I just can't interpret "Fanon Remus" as MY Remus. I can't relate to "Fanon Remus" and that interpretation of him doesn't serve the purpose I need in the kinds of stories I like to write.

And I'm sure a lot of people feel the same way, about a lot of characters.

They way I see Remus, is like this:

He is shy, he's one of those introverts that gets found by his extrovert friends and has no idea how to make friends outside of that.

He is focused on academics - in the Hogwarts world I see this as a way to prove to himself that he deserves to be here. To James and Sirius, their studies (magic or otherwise, depending on the AU) come naturally to them, but Remus works hard for his grades. (In this way he is a Type A personality, but he's not that dominant personality type.)

He loves his friends and unknowingly starts to mimic and adopt some of their traits the longer they are friends, which is how he becomes more sarcastic and mischievous.

He is kind, to the point of being overly apologetic.

He's one of those students that during parent-teacher conferences the teachers say he's "so quiet" and "a joy to have in class".

He's pessimistic in a "if I don't get my hopes up I won't be disappointed" kind of way. He wants to be optimistic but can't really visualize the things he wants as something that could be true. He feels like his wants are silly wishes. However, he's not pessimistic in the way that "nothing good will ever happen to me."

He's open to things turning out a little differently than he had planned.

He's supportive and wise. He gives good advice to his friends.

He has bad self-esteem issues, often falling into negative thoughts along the lines of "nobody actually likes me" "nobody can stand to be around me" "everyone wishes I wasn't here"

Loves doing big, thrilling activities, but needs his time to have quiet, introspective, and calming activities.

A true introvert, while he loves spending time with people, his social energy drains when he's around others, and recharges when he is alone.

So the moral of this post is meant to be - every character in every fandom is going to have lots of different interpretations, and is going to be even more different from person to person. We all see things differently. They may look wildly different from your interpretation, or even from Canon, but that doesn't make them less valid, and they don't deserve to be told that they're wrong.

There is now correct way to see a character - there are only ways that you disagree with.

Expect to see more character studies and interpretations in the future

[petalologist]

omg the amount of food i've been given with all of this... you guys have me frothing at the mouth with the bird au especially i've always been a sucker for emphasizing ayaka's bird connections in particular so this just scratches my brain in a really good way. also different vision types hello?!?! thank you so so much for sharing all of this with me. i'll probably end up reading through all of the fic stuff itself in my spare time in the near future!!! :"") to keep this from getting too much longer on the dash im gonna pop this all under a read more!

it's so funny because the more you describe your hcs for them and scenarios and aus you've crafted they all line up very well with thoughts i've had about them! a commonality i have with a lot of my ayaka ships are like, a desire to fulfill her wishes like those outlined in her character story 5--someone who would have the ability to see her as herself, someone who isn't all too formal with her. and especially, someone who can tell her a story or two, so someone like childe fits well in that regard. with his abundance of travel and social experience he'd probably pique her interest as someone with all sorts of interesting things to share with her, but i could also generally see herself being innately drawn to those who offer a bit of unpredictability to her life.

i love love love an ayaka interaction where she knows more than she seems cuz that's literally like. exactly how things were in the aq LMAO. part of it is obviously due to her high government status but it's also a big part of her to observe her people and monitor for anything potentially suspicious (or helpful!) showing up on narukami and i think a harbinger showing up would fit the bill there. we could also go into how wild it is that the kamisato family has a whole like, association of loyal spy/assassins under their care that could be considered suspicious in itself but i think that'd be another line of intel as well. MY POINT BEING most of my own interpretations of their meetings are rarely a total strangers, sidetracked situation, though i totally subscribe to any antics with childe being floored by ayaka's princess status or combat ability. YUM

i have..... so many thoughts about ayaka and the interaction of inazuman and other cultures through her. i could go on forever in theat regard for scarayaka especially but for chiyaka i see it being a very intimate and domestic angle of mutually showing each other the traditions and objects of their homelands. they're both characters who are very tied to their nations even barring their statuses, both characters known to get along well with all kinds of people, and i think that'd all play in well for their families to end up blending in different ways. i adore your thoughts on childe and ayato's potential dynamics from both this and your other posts. they'd definitely bond in really weird ways but also clash in about just about every other regard. them shaking hands on their protectiveness and care for ayaka.

THE ANGST i feel like they're both great for a little sentimental long distance pining!!

i'm going to try to keep things brief because i've already rambled so much and there is just so so much good i can say about this au but ohhh my god your brains are HUGE. pulling my hair shaking my head around at every single thing related to childe's original wings, skirk plucking them for his own safety, ayaka preening him and caring for him regardless, teaching him how to fly just GAHH

also to ur friend i literally adore every though on like, childe in love as childe as just a normal young man from a little home in snezhnaya with a crush because in the same way AYAKA is getting the chance to feel like a normal young woman with a crush. no more sneaking off to read cheesy yae publishing house romance novels in the privacy of her own room, she's getting to live as a regular person with girlish fantasies of dates and sneaking kisses and rebellion and i am just... so so weak for that kind of finding authenticity through each other kinda shit.

also if you're seriously interested in my scarayaka ramblings you are more than free to ask for them because i have way more than even this FJDSAKLFJFDLSA lyneyaka is probably my more vague ayaka rarepair conceptually so i don't have too much for them, but i can definitely return your generous chyk offerings with my scryk.

YOU SHIP CHIYAKA tell me your thoughts sand i'll tell you mine there's like 3 other people on this site i've met who ship chiyaka

HELLO!! first off, sorry for such a late response; i've been out of town for a few weeks. i really appreciate you reaching out though, as i love discussing ship stuff!!

honestly it started just because i have a problem with constantly shipping ayaka with various fatui LMFAO (stares at my scarayaka and lyneyaka art nervously) but i do think they could have a very fun dynamic! tartaglia is a very Respects Strong Women kind of guy and ayaka would be no exception, albeit her combat experience pales in comparison to those whose main line of work is in fighting. i feel like the obvious idea would be them meeting for diplomatic purposes, but i also think it would be fun if they just kinda met each other out in the wild, whether they know about each other's respective roles and titles at first or not. i think they'd equally spoil each other. ayaka is big on gift giving and would definitely express her affection through those sort of hints at first. i also have had thoughts about their respective thoughts on family? ayaka and ayato being the remaining members of their clan obviously makes them very close and worrisome about one another, and childe's sort of sheltering of his siblings might remind her of how ayato had been with her for a while. crying and sobbing thinking of ayaka pulling out her long since stored away childhood temari to teach teucer how to play, introducing his little siblings to various inazuman games and events like festivals. also, i enjoy the contrast between ayaka's more cautious and closed-off approach to live vs childe's seemingly impulsive nature. he'd be a bad influence on her in a fun way lmao

there's also obviously the angst potential. c'mon. harbinger and a government official/practically princess from two countries with rocky relations? childe is totally ayaka's 'sneak away at night, steal kisses in chinju forest away from their respective duties' bf. they'd be the types to fall for each other but barely see each other, as ayaka remains pretty stationary in her work for the yashiro commission and childe is always traveller for one mission or another.

these are all TOTALLY VAGUE and as you can tell i haven't actually ever hashed this stuff out, but i'd love love love to hear your own thoughts on them!! it's always so nice to see anyone who shares any of my rarepairs :"")

EDIT: AFTER LOOKING AT UR BLOG I REALIZE IVE READ YOUR FICS BEFORE??? HELLO WHAT AN HONOR

[ofmermaidstories]

just finished The Widening Sky and- holy shit. Your world building sits high up there on my favorite things to read, if not at number one. Putting your writing prowess aside, it’s just- I adore how the ending (while gut wrenching in its gauzy-ness) can be interpreted different ways through how you set up the world like- **spoilers!!** yeah maybe reader does die, however, considering that they go into the sea during the festival for the maiden, Id like to think they’re blessed- that the reader Is Magic, and that they transform into a mer-person. But I love (and am therefore anguished) by that there’s the possibility Katsuki Is dead, because they did see those orange scales in the shark, and even though there was a sighting of scales in the ocean, I mean- obviously there’s more than one orange scaled big fish out there. Though I think he’s alive. Idk I feel silly digressing to you about your own fic but I can’t help it!! It’s gorgeous and though neat endings are always nice (I read my fair share of angst with happy ending) it was so cool how possibilities are left open and how it’s settled and wrapped up neat without a conclusion?? If that makes sense. Idk!! Also I found it interesting how sero perceived us as partners, that little shift at the end was nice!!

Hi!! Hi!!! Oh my gosh, please, I don’t think I could name anyone on this platform that wouldn’t love a chance to waffle on about the things they make with others!!!!

Okay, so this is going to involve spoilers but have you ever read/watched Picnic at Hanging Rock? The movie came out in 1975 and is pretty much a cornerstone of Australian cinematography but it’s based on the novel of the same name. I know screenshots from the 1975 movie will sometimes float around tumblr—mostly of the picnic montage at the beginning of the film when the girls of Appleyard’s College are toasting to Saint Valentines—but the basic premise of the story is, on Valentines day in 1900, a group of school girls (accompanied by two of their teachers) from a Victorian boarding school for wealthy young ladies go on a picnic to Hanging Rock—and four of them go missing.

The story is all about the question of what happened to those girls (and their one teacher). It drives the remaining characters crazy—effects the lives of everyone left behind, and at the end of the story we don’t really get answers. Joan Lindsay, the author, even says in the beginning of the book that the solving of the mystery is unimportant.

But the thing is—there is an answer to Picnic at Hanging Rock. Joan wrote one, in a different version of the final chapter in one of her first drafts—where what happened to the missing girls is revealed.

I’m just gonna say it—the explained, original ending is bonkers LOL. Kudos to whatever editor managed to talk Joan off of that ledge because there is no way Picnic would have achieved the Australian Classic title it’s been given since if we’d been subjected to it. But!!! The reason I’m bringing it up is because I think Picnic works like it does because it was written with that ending in mind, even if ultimately the audience was never meant to be privy to it. And that’s how I (kinda) feel about Widening!!! I wrote it with one intended ending in mind, even knowing that the final hook (pardon the pun…?) would be that it was left ambiguous (hopefully, anyways, LOL). Idk… I guess I just thought it fit in with the idea of the island’s—the water’s—magic, and how much someone reading it wanted a happy ending (or not). It’d take a lot to take down our merman though, I reckon. 💪🏽

(Poor Sero—I like to think he was well and truly on his way to being in love, before the festival. Maybe if Reader hadn’t of been the kind of person to hold out hope, for something so far fetched—they could’ve eventually been happy)

anyways!!! i really waffled on with this one!!!!! i hope the week ahead is kind, Anon. Here’s to always holding out hope, regardless of what we find in some shark’s stomach. 🦈🌤🌊