#love him. love all the hmc characters actually

[kazieka]

reading howls moving castle again as a treat and am struck yet again by what a great character calcifer is. he’s an ethereal spirit of light. no he’s a contract-for-your-soul demon. actually he’s just a little guy. phenomenal cosmic power itty bitty living space ass guy. he doesn’t feel emotions except for all the emotions he has. needs a workers union. eats eggshells as a snacky. can disguise himself as nearly anything. has to concentrate really hard to make a little arm. shared a soul with a wizard for a few years. scared of rain. nigh omnipotent. very shy with strangers. he’s even in a throuple

[nadiajustbe]

Don't think I'm finished on "Movie is how Howl tells the story..." statement. Because it's fundamentally wrong.

Look, I get it when you want to say that the hmc movie is its own story with an original plot — because it is, mostly, the only things that remain are the concept and some hits given here in there that lead to nowhere. However, movie is absolutely not how Howl would tell the story. It is, in fact, pretty opposite of it in some aspects.

Even when talking about Howl self-image, wich started it all, I think people keep forgetting how self-aware Howl can be. He knows he's vain and cowardly and an absolute loser and he doesn't want to be respectful whatsoever. He even tells Michael that, quote

“I know I’m slapdash, but there's no need for you to copy me"

And the whole ending sequence is just him being honest with Sophie and telling her the truth about who he thinks he is and his weaknesses. He pretty much states all he flanks are weak — he knows it, and it is true. Would he try to make it all more romantic and cool and so he would make himself seem less of a loser? Yes, absolutely. Would he make it by erasing absolutely everything about his character being unique and standing out turning it into a whole-blown "love peace not war" story? Absolutely not.

He may not mention him getting with another women every week, that's true. But he wouldn't leave out his stupidly-"romantic" nature while he was doing so, and he would not leave the guitar courting stuff out just because it's connected to it, gosh, he thinks it's cool.

Yes, he is quoting Shakespeare and John Dohn and he is poetic and sometimes overly romantise thinks to make it more dramatic, but that does not mean he's gonna achieve it by leaving out all his shenanigans whatsoever. Also, note, he does not want to be seen perfect by everyone, just by ones he thinks is important to him or his life or his stupid decisions. After all, he was the one who started the rumors about Wizard Howl being a heart-eater. He was the one to ask Sophie to blaken his name — to show him in the worst light possible.

"He wants to be seen perfect by everyone" is such a... mediocre analysis of his character, honestly, it might work with appearance, in Ingary at least, but personality wise. He want to be seen so only when it benefits him and people he thinks highly of. When he thinks that too high thoughts about him would bring him into trouble, give him unwanted attention or make him actually works, that his last wish ever. That's the whole subplot of the book — Howl does not want to be seen too good by the king because it's gonna lead him somewhere he doesn't want to be. Hell, he even denies doing something just because he wanted to help, saying that he "did it for money".

(it doesn't mean he wants people to see him as someone great, it's just that's pretty selective and his "perfect" persona is as fake as his "horrible wizard one)

Movie!Howl might be Book!Howl propaganda, but definitely not ALL of him. Some parts, some scenes, some moments might work (and that's actually the most accurate thing out of all statement), but I don't personally think this is the EXACT way Howl would tell his character.

Him telling about Sophie is the whole other thing. He LOVES Sophie for how crazy and stubborn and nosy and moody she can be — there's NO WAY he's not gonna give weed killer a half an hour or screen time just to talk about what haos of a woman his wife is. Yes, some of them might not fit into his "perfect picture" but he loves Sophie, and he loves what she does with this "perfect picture" and he's gonna give another hour on them bantering just because Sophie is being Sophie. He's NOT gonna leave out everything he loves about Sophie making her kind-hearted quiet protagonist with one mean line, the ones she was supposed to be the opposite, the caricature of.

There's also no way he would make Michael into a... white about six years old child? He may see him younger than Sophie does due to them growing up in a different environments, true, but 1) not that much 2) the whole thing about Michael is that he's the most responsible adult-like person in the whole Castle, despite being the youngest of all them, and Howl also KNOWS that. Also there's no need to change his skin or hair colour, as well as making him having no role in the story. I don't think he'll mention Michael trying to catch a star because of his nephew's homework — this is embarrassing, after all, but there's so MUCH more of Michael than that.

He's not gonna may ms. Pentstemmon a villain of any kind. Letting alone mixing her with Ben for some reason (who to hell is ms. Suliman, seriously?? W H Y). He highly respects her, to the point he's ready to attend her funeral even If it's gonna make him dead. If anything, he's gonna show her figure even more heroic than she is, maybe adding a whole sequence with her heroicly fighting with WoTW and loosing with an epic SGI. But making her a villain? No. Just not. There's no reason for that.

There's also no WAY he wouldn't mention Wales. He LOVES his country, he outright states it with "I love Wales but Wales doesn't love me" quote. Yes, there's jokes about Megan being a war metaphor, but Wales is not just Megan — it's also Mari, Niel, his old rugby team, his childhood and teen years, his memories and his experience. He would not make that portal If there was no things he wants to go back for — it's such an obvious weakness of his that WoTW notices it right away. He may not mention getting drunk before a fight, but he's gonna mention Wales.

(also I think people exaggerate Howl's hate for Megan. Yes, their relationship are far from perfect, but they still talk, she lest him go into her house announced and her family is what triggers him to fight with his evil ex in the first place. They may not be on a good terms but they DIDN'T cut off their connection. And "hate" is def not the word for that. Don't forget his first reaction to Sophie being in danger in CITA is "send her to Wales to his sister". He sees Wales as safe and reliable place, this is his first solution for dangerous situations. Even when he's not the biggest fan of his sister herself.)

He's also not gonna leave the sister subplot simply cause it was funny. He may change WoTW because he doesn't like her but he's not gonna make her live with them and feed her with a spoon, for the God's sake, that's disgusting. Him making himself Ingarian is the last thing he would do. He would NEVER.

(he's also not gonna leave out Shakespeare quoting in the sake of "romantise sequence you guys are talking about.)

Also, he could not care less about the war. I've seen a war with my own eyes, and... this is really, eh, too optimistic image of it I might say. Somehow realistic in showing it, but not by the way it provides solution, honestly. "Let's all just create love and King's gonna cancel war" IT'S NOT HOW IT WORKS. NO.

When he did attend war in CITA, he literally have won it by bringing IBUPROFEN onto the war field. Ibuprofen and bandages. What a "all-giving" reckless hero, really.

Book!Howl is a caricature to everything Movie! Howl is, and otherwise would not tell the story providing cliches he himself is the opposite of. He's a loser and an idiot and we love him for that.

It's two completely different stories. There's no need to connect them. Please.

[kohakuriver]

I think that theory exists because ppl dont want to see romantic subtext between Chihiro and Haku because they see Haku as muchhh older than her.

However I think he's really ageless along with other spirits, especially as a river spirit. That even as the Kohaku River and his stoic nature, he is still around the same age as her spiritually like a preteen or so because he's a literal river spirit. Especially since of when he rescued her in that river, it was such an important experience to him. So I think in that bc rivers reflect, he is in a way a reflection of Chihiro. Water flows and takes shape and stuff. A river doesn't age, and the only way to "kill" it would be to fill it in like and I think that killed him emotionally and figuratively. Why he ultimately forgot his name. I also think her dropping her shoe in the river is another reason Haku is around the same age as her, and not a much older thing. I think his age is purposefully ambigious. And conceptually him being immature, even if he is stoic and composed, makes sense for the other aspects of his personally. That he's not old or young, he's a river. And, his ambigious age doesn't seem to be malicious or weird or anything, especially cause of Miyazaki's views. His age is ambigious in many aspects including emotional maturity, and he's intentionally a character that's hard to read and understand at first glance. So I assume it's like a very literal thing, that Haku is seen as old so ppl do not want to believe there was something between them or that there could be. Personally I think where the movie is, that their relationship is nor platonic nor romantic (transends that) but there is a potential for connection there, Haku just forgot who he was and Chihiro was worried about saving her parents. But when they see each other again I can see Chihiro falling for him and developing a deeper crush on Haku.

I think that's why they decided to cut the line in the English dub too, that they thought it would be wrong for Zeniba to tease her about that bc of how viewers would or might personify Haku as being an older person and be grossed out instead of thinking it's cute and funny.

(also more things 1. Howl is Haku theory is so weird 2. HMC is overrated imo and for some reason affects how people view Ghibli stories as like these cottagecore pieces despite most not being like that 3. I love your art)

First of all thank you so much for sending such a nice long ask about spirited away i think this is the first nice ask i got on here in like. 3 years? (originally anon was off because someone nasty was harassing me) And thank you for loving my art!! Alrighty moving on-

I agree on a lot of this actually! I don't think Chihiro and Haku's relationship is platonic or romantic (Though I have shipped them since I was a kid) and they have a much deeper connection just like most Ghibli duos. (Pazu and Sheeta, Ashitaka and San just to name a few) I also always personally saw Haku as a year or two older than Chihiro but ultimately being very ambiguous since these spirits obviously have a very different concept of age and time.

I would like to point out, despite Zeniba's dragon boyfriend line being cut in the english dub she instead says something along the lines of "Only love can break the spell" in a kinda teasing way which I think was supposed to replace the boyfriend part. She actually doesn't say that in Japanese at all! To me that line was meant to convey the same thing and was just placed at a different moment. (I wish I knew why though lol maybe because the boyfriend joke and her serious tone right afterwards didn't feel right? Your reasoning could also be the case though!)

In my opinion I think majority of english speaking fans ship them (and still do) But when that stupid theory came out sooo many people fell for it. I've seen some fans like the theory because of the reason you mentioned which is fine of course, I don't care what people headcanon. But majority of the people I've talked to were just victims to clickbait and misinformation because they always rejoiced afterwards and were like "I can ship them again!!" lmaoo.

TBH I think most ghibli theories just exist as some form of clickbait or because the fans run out of things to talk about in the movies so they just make stuff up based on conjecture. The sibling theory isn't even the first time this has happened with Spirited Away. (It has like 6 more wild theories that don't really make sense.) I'm usually ok with that even though it's obnoxious when it clogs up the searches... I just hate when people insist its canon!! It's like... did we even see the same movie?? and where are you getting your info from??? lolol

Also that part of you mentioning Chihiro's rescue as an important experience for him and it reflecting back on him... i love the whole Haku analysis so much!

AND THANK YOU FOR SAYING THAT ABOUT HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE I THOUGHT I WAS THE ONLY ONE!! Anon come out and be my bff I can't believe someone else thought the same thing. Howl's moving castle is a bit overrated in the way that i hate that it's used as like a "spoke person" for Ghibli. But at the same time it's so much more than its romance and pretty backgrounds but some fans only look at hot anime boy :') I wish more people talked about Sophie and her character (movie and book version) and how she should have kept her magic!

[ssruis]

Long list of prsk related things I’m working on that may or may not get finished idk I never finish anything and I love abandoning my works

Art:

> several meme redraws (‘I’m not a hater’ ‘I am’, ‘y’know. Nya.’, ‘ok fine I am a homosexual’, ‘we look like a couple’ ‘a couple of bestieees’, heart/thumbs up, ‘sorry *sleeps* sorry *sleeps more* sorry *sleeps more*’)

> redraw of the emunene hug thing

> actually finishing that ruikasa drawing

> niccori rap ending pose ruikasa w live nene reaction

> ruikasa w Barbie movie outfits that im only doing because that one fixer/barbie girl mashup is so inspiring. To me.

> nene looking at ruikasa: tsukasa is so dense idk how he can’t see that rui likes him if someone acted like that around me I’d definitely notice (while emu is clinging to her)

emu having flashbacks of her being even more obvious and nene not noticing: …uh huh! You’re so smart nenechan!

> emu hugging each member of wxs & grading their hugs (every1 gets an A plus)

> tsukasa & rui with the demon core

> wxs fantasy au drawing

> emu emu beam

> at some point I’d like to draw at least a bust for all the characters but. So much effort and so little skill.

> go for it kusanagi (emunene)

> there are several outfits I want to put wxs in but that requires me to study clothing because I am so bad at drawing that

Writing:

> early wxs days emunene focus nene & tsukasa fic where nene is having a category 5 wet cat moment over what to get emu for Valentine’s Day and tsukasa sees this & is like “I’ll teach you how to make chocolates :)” & they bond. because I love rotating the early nene&tsukasa dynamic in my head. actually started this forever ago & still kinda like it so it may get finished. (Shocking)

> tsukasa has glasses ruikasa fic (also started it a while ago but whether or not I’ll finish it depends on nailing down the characterization better)

> soul eater ruikasa fic w background emunene (mostly written but inside of my head which means it’s barely written)

> emu focus wxs fantasy au (partially written in my head but it’s like 30 different fics & id like to know that i can finish something before attempting to wrangle it)

> cpdb/space opera au (would be. Such a long one shot. Again partially written but I want to know I can finish things)

> HMC/several other inspirations ruikasa w background emunene fic (only has barebones framing)

> what I’m choosing to affectionately call “tsukasa & having a weird relationship to romance” fic that’s 1/4 extrapolating from canon & 3/4 projection

> emunene fic where they’re the romantic leads in a musical due to ruikasa meddling

> that one future ruikasa rui&asahi go on a date and rui is forced to confront things abt himself fic that exists in my head (framed out but i started writing the emu&tsukasa companion piece and it became 2000 words which made me realize the entire endeavor would get out of hand and idk if im that motivated to do that. Also was like the first thing i wrote both pjsk wise and fic wise and idk if i still like it that much. Sad bc there was a nene&rui scene i really enjoyed)

> emunene fic w emu & nene eating lunch with rui (started but needs. So much more work.)

> ruikasa fic where an wants to eat lunch w nene but she’s already going to go eat with rui bc tsukasa is sick and an is like i still feel some responsibility to the disciplinary committee and tsukasa being gone means rui is probably up to some truly crazy shit so she tags along and is forced to witness rui acting like tsukasa went off to war. Rui isn’t even up to anything he’s like ‘there’s no point if tsukasa isn’t here 😔’. Requires me to read more vbs stuff to get a good grasp on a though.

> emu + rui or emu + tsukasa fic that’s just deus ex emu towards their feelings. And then whoever she’s talking to forces her to talk abt her own feelings (like wrangling a cat)

> nene fic abt her feeling like she can’t properly convey how much emu means to her & then at the end emu’s like but you do in ur own way

Analysis/long ass posts

> emu + agency/being treated like a child and her relationship to her brothers

> emu and her dream being both motivation and a burden (for this and the above one it’ll probably be easier to wait for ohe on eng)

> tsukasa and his maturity/big brother complex

> emu + tsukasa adhd moments

> a good sekai can’t be made alone (WxS sekai + how emu/nene/rui have some degree of influence albeit minimal) (quotes are all pulled and transcribed im just being lazy abt writing it) (idk i also might decide to add another 2000 words of quotes if i go find the specific things im referencing wrt WLE… Might just do that for emu though because i feel like that goes more unrecognized and nene is more cut and dry/i already talked abt rui and his hang ups I don’t wanna do it again)

> nene wet cat/she’s actually so fucking weird moments

> at some point I want to talk abt the saki+tsukasa mental illness but this would require me to become a saki scholar and that would take so much time. I mean I’ll do it but I’m also lazy.

> nene + rui relationship decay lore crumbs and them not being able to really help each other/encouraging each other to stagnate (at least in the early wxs days)

> emunene momence….

> really long character voice guide for myself that will be very labor intensive. Nobody wants or asked for this I’m just neurotic.

[ahundredtimesover]

Which one of the kids in your story is this!!!

I say it's Jimin from hold me close

I will always be giddy over your love for HMC Jimin ☺️☺️ and yes, this looks like him 😂 sober or drunk Jimin will always be a pain in the ass for JK and OC pls and JK would totally be the adult here hahaha makes me imagine our couple having a fight and Jimin being that person parent-trapping them into making up. 🥲🥲

But for actual children… I’d say Ji-yoo, and big bro Jungwon would be the one looking out for him all the time, always telling him not to mess around because mama and papa will get worried 🥹

Jinnie is another one - that kid be putting anything in her mouth and jumping into whatever hole she finds 😂 imagine jk filming their trek up a hill or something and then freaking out bc she runs to somewhere. She’s the type who’d try to catch a fish with her hand or poke a beehive or sumth hahaha

TLA babies are obvi curious and active, but they’re fine. Princess Sena is a curious child but she’s a little more reserved as well 🤭

I love these ‘which character’ asks 💜💜

[sunbeamsoup]

6, 15, 17, 20, and 29 for ao3 wrapped!

6. Favorite title you used

Hmm while I do think it's funny that 'Always You' coincidentally seems to reference 'I Will' by mitski (perfect song for that fic btw) I can't beat 'The World Falls Away for You' as a title because I spent a while thinking of it and it directly ties into the leading idea behind the fic so it's my favorite 100%

15. What WIP are you taking into next year with you?

My hmc au for mdzs that I've just begun drafting (!!!) and have been working on since August, maybe a smaller atla fic, and various little ideas for mdzs I may or may not ever write depends on how persistently the haunt me :)

17. Your favorite character to write this year?

Favorite character to write was Wei Wuxian even if I don't write him super well. Honorable mention though is Mai because she's so wonderful to write for I know what I'm doing and I'm usually pretty interested by the things I write for her!

20. Which work of yours have you reread the most?

Well generally I don't reread my work because as I'm sure we all know by now I have a very harsh view of my writing and usually get really humiliated when reading it HOWEVER I think it's 'Always You' because my brother annotated it for me to make me feel better about it and I've read his annotated version so many times when I feel down about my writing. I know the common notion is you should 'write for you don't rely on others' but it was really kind of him to do that :') I really love hearing what people think abt my writing I can't help it

29. Favorite line/passage you wrote this year?

Line: From 'Always You'

“Walk with me, and return home with me. Forget what you cannot solve. Tomorrow we can try again.”

Funny line to choose given how clunky it is in the actual text but it's only clunky because I refused to budge on it. Ah well. I like the notion itself, and when isolated I think this line is my favorite. I made the text weaker to include it and that's all because I like it so there you have it.

Passage: From TWFAFY ch.3

Jida pinned the last pleats in her belt, stepping back from Mai with her arms wide, like she was beholding a masterpiece. Mai couldn’t stand it.

“Have we been unfair to you?”

There was no taking those words back, no pretending from here forward.

Jida straightened herself, tilting her head.

“Maiden, do you think I’m treating you with spite? I already apologized for pricking you with the pin, I hadn’t realized I was so near your scalp!”

“Jida. I’ve seen the drawer.”

That was met with silence, a usually impossible feat in Jida’s presence.

She sighed. “Ah. I see.”

“Have I been unfair to you?” Mai asked, not even conscious of the slight way she’d altered the question.

Jida shook her head, tucking a loose hair back behind Mai’s ear.

“Do you know how to be anything else?”

Not the best written by any means but I remember writing this and having one of those rare moments where I truly liked what I'd written and was eager to share it. I'm often hypercritical of my writing, so the passages that make that part of me shut up mean a lot to me and this was the first of that fic for me. :)

[brightbeautifulthings]

Castle in the Air by Diana Wynne Jones

"'Strange that you should speak so proudly such a list of vices, most loving of ladies.' 'What do you mean, vices?' Sophie asked angrily. 'I was just describing Howl.'"

Year Read: 2022

Rating: 2/5

About: Abdullah is a carpet merchant who is content to spend most of his life daydreaming. It doesn't prepare him for actual adventure coming into his life when he purchases a flying carpet that whisks him off to a beautiful garden in the middle of the night. There, he meets the princess Flower-in-the-Night and falls immediately in love. When she's kidnapped by a wicked djinn, Abdullah sets out on a cross-country journey with the help of his flying carpet, a temperamental genie, and a mysterious soldier to rescue her. Trigger warnings: abduction, captivity, racism/orientalism, fat-shaming, sexism.

Thoughts: I really struggled with this, and it was only my love for Howl's Moving Castle that got me through it. I'm sure Jones means well, but her depiction of Arab culture and characterization comes off rather racist, to say nothing of the excessive fat-shaming throughout the book. I wanted to enjoy having characters of color take center stage, but it's hard to get past the stereotypes and poking fun to really enjoy them as characters. Abdullah is a somewhat bland hero, and I found myself wishing the book was told from Flower-in-the-Night's perspective. If nothing else, this book has a lot of powerhouse female characters; they just don't get enough page-time.

For as little help as he manages to be at times, the plot relies too heavily on the genie. Knowing they have one wish a day keeps the characters from doing any real planning of their own, and most of Abdullah's journey comes over feeling random, haphazard, and repetitive. Naturally, my interest picked up once the characters from Howl's Moving Castle started to show up, and I'm sorry to say they were my favorite part of the book--aside from all the princesses, of course. It doesn't really make up for the rest of the novel though, and while I felt compelled to reread HMC again immediately, I can't see myself coming back to this one.

[rockinlibrarian]

Fic Writer Review

@pixiedane tagged everyone on this, and considering I've been wallowing in my sudden Being Into Fanfic lately (though to be honest I've been READING a lot lately more than writing), see this link, I figured I'd take her up on the challenge. You, too, may take ME up on the challenge if YOU have been writing fic!

how many works do you have on AO3? 19. That's much less than @pixiedane! I'm a baby fic writer!

what’s your total AO3 word count? 66,239

how many fandoms have you written for and what are they? There are technically seven listed, but "Marvel Cinematic Universe," "The Avengers (Marvel Movies)," "Captain America (Movies)," and "Agent Carter (TV)" all apply to the same fic, so really just 4. But that doesn't count fandoms I've written but not completed (and therefore posted) for. So there are more to come. Maybe. Sometime.

what are your top 5 fics by kudos? *

"On the End of Endgame," 51 kudos, because I'm right and Marvel doesn't understand their own time travel rules and 51 people KNOW it!

"The Puppy-Fly Effect," 39 kudos, because it's Back to the Future, the most mainstream property I've written for! So people see it and say, "oh, I've actually seen that one" and they're more likely to read it!

"The Invitation: an Epilogue," 22 kudos, which is pretty good since this is my newest fic on there. It's a Howl's Moving Castle (BOOK, PLEASE, OBVIOUSLY) epilogue, so considering it's not a RECENT thing it just keeps getting slow and steady readership. I myself have been reading a lot of Howl fic lately, and people are getting comments on their decade-old stories from me now, so I imagine this one also will slow and steadily keep accumulating hits and kudos.

"Kerry and the Meaning of Life," 20 kudos. I'm honestly not sure why this is, by far, my most kudoed Legion FX fic. It's the first one I ever wrote, and got me started on the whole writing-the-entire-Loudermilk-coming-of-age rabbit hole I fell into to begin with, but I've only improved over time, I think, but even after I'd posted other Loudermilk backstory I think is objectively better, this one still gets the most!

"Syd's (Third) Childhood Begins," 15 kudos, because when people finish watching Legion FX the NATURAL move is to seek out fix-it fic. I wouldn't say this is fix-it really as much as ensure-the-ending-is-actually-happy-it, but I did use the "fix-it" tag, and at least one of the commenters DID say they immediately came on AO3 "looking for pretty much exactly this"...

do you respond to comments, why or why not? Absolutely, because I know what it feels like NOT to get comments, and also what it feels like to-- I don't know, I just get paranoid, if people don't respond to me, I think stuff like "Did I say something wrong? Do they not care about my opinion? Am I invisible?" so I'm Do Unto Others-y about it, even if all I can think of to say is "Thank you!"

what’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending? Well, I haven't actually posted (read: finished) the ending yet, but it's definitely "Exploration of the Astral Plane," because that's just Legion FX canon. No spoilers, Oliver Bird starts out the show having gotten lost decades ago, and this is the story of HOW he got lost, and his friends didn't KNOW if they'd ever see him again, so the paragraphs I've written of the end do make me quite teary! The fic's really fun despite the canonically sad ending, though, honest!

do you write crossovers? if so what is the craziest one you’ve written? I have not written one YET, if I recall, unless you count the several mildly interconnected IPs involved in the Pipeweed Mafia Stories, which isn't even posted because I feel uncomfortable posting Real People fic online, but crossovers are fun and I really enjoy reading them, especially when the writer successfully blends things together while being true to the characters. Just today I read a hilarious one blending The Good Place and Harry Potter!

have you ever received hate on a fic? Gosh, this is such an ironic question. I wouldn't say that I WISH I received hate on a fic, but my fics aren't even NOTICED enough to receive hate! I already feel paranoid-- Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria, you know how it is-- when I don't receive LIKE on a fic! It's LIKE receiving hate for me, because my brain goes into "Does nobody like it? Does nobody care? Are they all too nice to say it's terrible?" mode, so, yeah.

do you write smut? if so what kind? Absolutely not. My demisexual self hates reading it, definitely not writing it. I struggled enough writing just a taste of what a horny, slutty teenager who-talks-too-much Oliver Bird would have been in this AU, and that's mild!

have you ever had a fic stolen? Not that I'm aware of. That would really suck, wouldn't it, if someone stole my work and ended up getting MORE LIKES AND COMMENTS THAN ME on it.

have you ever had a fic translated? Also not that I'm aware of, and if I'm not aware of it but it happened I guess that would answer the "stolen" question, too.

have you ever co-written a fic before? Ever in my entire life, I feel like I must have, but not anything I've posted online then

what’s your all time favorite ship? Hmm. Honestly, there are ships I defend passionately if the topic comes up, but I'm not sure I have a favorite just on my own. Especially as I hate smut, so I avoid seeking out specifically shipping stories. But, since I have been reading a lot of HMC fic lately, I should mention that Howl and Sophie ARE one of my absolute favorite fictional couples, but that's just how DWJ wrote them, and I can tell you unfortunately that not all fanfic writers QUITE nail that chemistry...

what’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will? Speaking of The Good Place, I really do wish I could write the novelization, and maybe I'd write some pieces of it longer than the few paragraphs I have written? But I doubt I ever will, let alone to the point of FINISHING...

what are your writing strengths? Fanfic wise, I like to THINK I understand the characters very well, at least! Writing in general? I think it's just my quirky voice? I'm the only me.

what are your writing weaknesses? Oh, very much FINISHING. But beyond that, it's pulling teeth to get me to fill out the story sometimes. I tend to draft with dialogue, and then I have to go back and fill in what's actually happening AROUND the dialogue, and sometimes I'd rather not.

what are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic? At first I was like, I don't KNOW any other languages well enough to do this! And then I remembered the Firefly fic I have mostly written but not completed yet, and you know how in the show their speech is peppered with random Mandarin phrases? My husband has the Firefly RPG book and there's an appendix of Mandarin phrases you might hear in the Firefly universe, and I DID incorporate a few of those phrases into my dialogue, just from that appendix and it's probably horrible, but it fit the universe...

what was the first fandom you wrote for? EVER? The earliest I'm sure about is the Ducktales fic I found in an old Girl Scout manual that I must have written when I was 11 or 12. The first fandom I ever posted on AO3, in response to an exchange, was Legion FX of course, but that wasn't until the ripe old age of 40.

what’s your favorite fic you’ve written? I'm going to give this one to "Two (or Three) Mutant Freaks Against the Fourth Grade" just because it has gotten the least number of hits of ANY of my posts, INCLUDING THE PLACEHOLDER WITH NO WORDS IN IT, so it needs more love. And it really is one of my favorites, because it's just a sweet little story about nerds making friends, and I love rereading it.

*This made me curious which fics got the most kudos comparative to their HITS, because the Endgame one has WHOA more hits than any other fic, but it's over a thousand, which doesn't make 51 kudos look so good anymore. Percentage-wise, it's less than 5%, which seems to be where most of my fics hit when you do the math-- between 4% and 8% kudos-to-hits. The exceptions, jumping up to about 18% each, are the BttF and HMC fics, and, curiously, my beloved childhood friend AU mentioned in the last question-- it may have the least number of HITS (22), but that helps the math when you consider it's got 4 kudos. The HIGHEST percentage kudos-to-hits is its sequel, the childhood-friends-as-teenagers-AU fic mentioned in question 5**-- it's got 6 kudos and only 29 hits, so that's about 20%! Apparently people LIKE when I have to write a sex-crazed adolescent boy. COME ON, people! (The story is actually about Asexuality so I guess it really isn't people just wishing I'd write smut).

**Oh, I just noticed the numbers renumbered themselves when I put bullet points in the middle of the original question 3 there, so this is actually the answer to question 8? But it SAYS FIVE.

[littlerit]

I apologise for the asks in my inbox I’ve still not answered. This just happened to be in my activity box when I’d just finished writing so I have the luxury (or lack of excuses…) of being sat at a desk with my keyboard to hand….

Ta for the tag Clem <3

I have 33 works on AO3

Total AO3 wordcount is around 250k I think….. *checks* 278,324 words!

My top 5 fics by kudos…. Yo, I heard him everyday (Encanto oneshot), my very first fic Quake (Umbrella Academy, complete multichapter), my long fic baby The Time Traveller’s Life (Umbrella Academy, 170k WIP), my other will-hopefully-grow-up-into-a-longish-fic Obedience Suite (in A minor) (Umbrella Academy, 30+k) and finally Five’s first displacement (Umbrella Academy oneshot - prologue to TTL)

I do respond to comments! I love getting comments, and I love responding to them. You’ve shared your reaction with me, I want to share my reaction to your reaction! (or at the very least say thank you and let you know I read your comment!) I’ve fallen into the habit now of generally responding to comments on a previous chapter when I upload the next one.

What fic has the angstiest ending…. hmmm…. Farewell and The Hunt both ends in character death, and by default Five in the Apocalypse Sob Stories are all angsty AF

Ooh the happiest ending. Of Ghoulies and Spoons is just fluff, and The Tails of the Umbrella Aquarium has an angsty start and a happy ending

Do I write crossovers? I certainly write AUs / Fusions, those are my jam. For the Umbrella Academy I’ve done Daemon AU, Howls Moving Castle (would this class as a retelling perhaps, putting TUA characters into the HMC world and adapting it to fit?), and Ella Enchanted AU, and of course a Time Traveller’s WIfe AU. Have I writtena strict crossover where characters from two universes meet and interact? No.

I got a book mark on TTL with a trollish note (‘Zzzzzzzzz’) - they had gone through a bunch of fics and given them rude comments. But thats the worst of it.

I do not write smut.

Not that I know of. I hope not.

Somebody once asked if they could translate my fic, but then never responded or let me know if they actually did or not, so I don’t think so.

I have co-written a fic, Klaus’ moving castle with the wonderful @destinyandcoins

My fave ship…. I do read a lot of Zukka. Also ineffable husbands.

A WIP I want to finish but never will….well never say never. I hope to finish all my WIPS I’ve got up as WIPs. But I did post the start of a Everyday AU and labelled it clearly as free for adoption / inspiration as I just don’t see me having the time to ever really get going with that one. But who knows, it could happen.

My writing strengths… Complex timelines and time-travelling shenanigans. My devious mind and organisation skills combine nicely for that. I also can turn my hand to a mean drabble when the inspiration strikes.

Writing weaknesses…I can go pages and pages without including dialogue. I need to remember people do really be saying things to themselves/each other.

Thoughts on dialogue in other languages on AO3… it very much depends on the context for me. The odd word or phrase used sparingly for effect can really aid in and elevate characterisation or world setting for me. But it can be a fine line between an effect and a gimmick. When long dialogue is written out and then translated for me as the reader I personally wish it was just left in english and clarified in the speech tag that it was said in Spanish/Elvish/Whatever-ish.

The Umbrella Academy was my first fandom, and I’m still there now!

I have written a short oneshot for Avatar Last Airbender, but there is a longfic idea bouncing around my brain (another AU….lol) that would be nice to get out one day. I’d also kind of like to write for Temeraire, but I’m really not sure I could nail that old english voice. I am far too modern I think!

The Time Traveller’s Life is my baby. I’ve put so much work into that one. But I have other favourites too for other reasons. But forced to pick, it’s TTL.

@rockinlibrarian @destinyandcoins @booksasfurniture *mild panic as sleepy bedtime brain tries to remember who writes* @in-a-slanted-outhouse @candiliam328 @aye-of-newt …… if you fancy it, crack on, and if you don’t please ignore :)

Author Interview

(This was originally a tag meme that Mod Ragna was tagged in ages ago, so feel free to tag others if you answer it!)

How many works do you have on AO3?

What's your total AO3 word count?

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

What fic has the angstiest ending?

What fic has the happiest ending?

Do you write crossovers?

Have you received hate on AO3?

Do you write smut?

Have you had a fic get stolen?

Have you had a fic get translated?

Have you co-written a fic?

What's your fave ship?

What's a WIP you want to finish but never will?

What are your writing strengths?

What are your writing weaknesses?

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages on AO3?

What's the first fandom you wrote for?

What fandom/ship have you not written but want to?

What's your fave fic you've written?

[lukatheselkie]

HMC - Music is the language of feelings

@hetaliamondaychallenge

I don’t blame you if you don’t want to repost this one. I won’t be upset if you don’t. It’s decently dark. It’s mostly for myself anyway. I will be posting another for this, so I won’t go without a reblog either way.

This past week hasn’t been fun mentally. I’ve been depressed over... something that will soon become clear. This week’s topic lined up too perfectly not to use it as a vent for what I’ve been feeling. Sweden and I are so much alike, I love using him as my main vent character. Even when it’s something as serious as this.

Pairings: I guess there’s a lead up to SuFra in the future? This isn’t really focused on a relationship though.

Trigger Warning: Sexual assault. Yeah. I said it was dark. There’s not any detail behind it, but it’s definitely mentioned. There’s reassuring words not too long after though. This was written to help comfort myself, and anyone else that might need to hear those words.

   Berwald stares blankly at the water in the pool. He's sitting at the edge, his legs below his knees submerged in the lukewarm liquid. There's music blaring nearby, but nothing besides noise registers in his mind. Someone swims up to him, and he lifts his head up to look at whoever it is. Of course it's Mathias. "Join us, Berry! We're about to play Marco Polo!" He shakes his head meekly. Mathias frowns deeply, and pulls himself up onto the concrete next to him, splashing him a bit by accident. "What's wrong?" Berwald scowls at him.

   "Du g't me w't," he comments quietly. Mathias furrows his brows in confusion.    "You love my pool parties. What happened?"    "N'thing," he answers, too quickly. The Dane opens his mouth to speak, but someone calls to him from the water.

   "Mathias, we're starting with or without you! Leave Berwald alone, he's not feeling well today." He gives Tino a grateful look. The Finnish man nods slightly toward him, before turning his attention back to Mathias. "C'mon! We aren't waiting! Send Berwald in for some medicine if you're that concerned." Gratitude washes over him. He knew telling Tino first was the right thing to do, even if it had drained him.

   "Go get you some medicine. I hope you feel better soon!" He slips back into the pool, curiosity satisfied. For the moment. Berwald stands sluggishly, and stumbles into the house. He gets a few concerned looks from the ones inside, but thankfully no one stops him to ask anymore questions. He sighs in relief when he's in the room he'll be staying in for the night, and can no longer hear the music from outside. It had been giving him a headache. Too upbeat. He tosses his glasses haphazardly on the night stand, hoping that helps his head a bit.

   The thought of music reminds him of a song Tino sent to him to maybe help him express how he's feeling. He curls up in his blanket, and sighs heavily. He turns the song on, tears already threatening to fall. He puts it on half volume, not wanting anyone to walk by the door to the room and hear it. He isn't ready for anyone else to know yet. It's still registering in his mind, honestly. He places the phone by his head, and closes his eyes tightly. This causes his tears to fall, but he doesn't care anymore. He is alone. He can be weak when he's alone. It's the only time it's safe to, especially about... this. He hates admitting it to even himself, how is he supposed to tell everyone he's close to? With time, Tino's voice repeats in his head. That time can't come fast enough. He knows he'll have a support group once he shares. It's not about the fear of being blamed. But saying he's been... it's too much for him. He takes a deep breath, and forces himself to think it, no matter how much it hurts. Sexually assaulted. How had he let himself be sexually assaulted? By a human, no less! He shudders, skin crawling uncomfortably. That's enough, for the moment.

   The song restarts, and he focuses on it this time. (link here) His walls break completely, and he lets himself cry freely as he listens. It's not perfect, but the song expresses what he's feeling so much better than he can. And more accurately, too. It's easier to listen to someone else's experience and relate to it than come up with his own. At this stage, anyway. He hopes to come up with his own, one day. But for now, this is all he can handle. He pauses it when it ends, and takes a deep, shaky breath. He lets it out through his nose slowly, willing his tears away. "I'm m're th'n m' b'dy," he mumbles to himself. His head hurts even more now, so he decides to actually get some medicine. He shoves the blanket off of himself, and stands. He freezes when he turns toward the door. He's not alone. He hurries to wipe at the tears streaming down his cheeks, but he's certain Francis heard everything.

   "Berwald," he whispers. "I- Berwald, I-" He bows his head quickly. "Here," he holds out a cup of water and some medicine. Berwald assumes Mathias sent him to make sure he actually takes some medicine. He almost always fights taking anything, so it makes sense. He takes the items, and swallows down one more than the instructions say. He places the two containers on his nightstand, and sits on his bed. He motions for Francis to sit next to him. He really wants to tell him to leave, but that's not fair to him. It's not his fault he walked in on that. He steps toward him hesitantly. He nods reassuringly, until he finally sits next to him. There's a heavy silence between them for at least five minutes, Francis fidgeting the entire time. Unable to take it anymore, he says something. "I'm sorry you had to go through that. I'm here to listen, if you want to talk about it. Or cry on, if you don't want to talk but want to let it out. And I want you to know it wasn't your fault. It wasn't. No matter what you tell yourself. It will never be your fault. Understood?" A lump forms in Berwald's throat, and he nods.

   "T-tack." He closes his eyes, and lays his head on Francis' shoulder. He scoots closer, and wraps his arms around him. His body starts to shake, and in a matter of seconds he's crying into Francis' hair.

   "Let it out. I'm right here. And I won't leave. I promise." He brings his hand up, and runs it through Berwald's hair cautiously. He wants to comfort him, but he doesn't want to touch a spot that will remind him of what happened. He seems to receive it well though, so he considers it a safe thing to do. "Of course you're more than your body, Berwald. That shouldn't even be a question. Your body is what matters the least to the people that care about you. They care about who you are, not what you are. Every bit of who you are." Berwald pulls him closer. "Even your flaws. The people that care about you love everything about you. Especially your flaws. No matter how little or how large. Caring about those is more important than caring about the good things about you. It shows we love you with them, not despite them. After all, you wouldn't be Berwald if you didn't have everything you currently do. And if this changes you, we'll deal with it. We will accommodate for it. Anyone that doesn't... Well, you're worth more than their time, anyway. It won't be because of anything you did. If someone does that, it's on them. Not you. Absolutely none of this is because of you. Do I have permission to hug you?" Berwald sobs loudly, then nods. Francis hugs him tightly with one arm, running his hand through his hair even more.

~

    When he's thoroughly lost track of time and Berwald has been silent for a long time, Francis carefully releases his hold on the man. He doesn't react, which makes him think he might be asleep. He pulls away just enough to look at his face. His eyes are indeed closed, and his breathing is rather even. He smiles to himself, and kisses him on the forehead. "I'll protect you," he whispers to him. "I promise." He lays them down in the bed, being careful of Berwald's phone. "Sleep well. I love you," he kisses the top of his head. "Maybe I'll get to tell you that soon." But, for now, both of them have a different thing to worry about. He may have volunteered to bring Berwald some medicine so he could finally tell him his feelings for him, but the moment he heard the song he knew he wouldn't be doing that. "Your comfort is more important," he mumbles out. "I will tell you eventually, but I won't let myself until I feel you've recovered enough to stop blaming yourself for this. I'll help you get there." He nuzzles him, then sighs quietly. In the silence, he can hear the music from the party. "'Might Tell You Tonight' by Scissor Sisters. How ironic." Music truly is the language of feelings.

[callioope]

hi!! i loved your howl's moving castle post and i was wondering if you had any recommendations for other books? thank you so much, i really adore your blog!!

Hello and thank you! Glad you liked my post and my blog. That’s really sweet to say. Especially since I mostly just queue random stuff these days... anyways...

So, regrettably, I have been terrible at reading actual books recently, as I’ve mostly been reading fic. So, on that note, I can point you to the my HMC bookmarks on AO3, if you’re interested in that.

Most of the books on this list were ones I read a while ago, sooo maybe take these recs with a grain of salt.

Classic Faves (Fantasy/Sci-Fi)

For this section, I tried to include books that stay close to the same vein/theme/mood of Howl’s Moving Castle, at least in the sense that they boast one or more of these: female protagonist, fantasy setting, light-hearted, or written by a classic fantasy author

Sabriel by Garth Nix (the first part of The Old Kingdom trilogy series wow, I am behind the times. At any rate, I did reread this recently and it still held up. YA Fantasy. VERY GOOD.)

The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman (called The Northern Lights; the first in the His Dark Materials trilogy. This is a classic so you’ve probably heard of it before, and the BBC is making a tv adaptation which is pretty good)

Cinder by Marissa Meyer (the first in The Lunar Chronicles. Cinderella is a cyborg. A YA, sci-fi retelling of classic fairytales)

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin (classic sci-fi masterpiece)

The Princess Bride by William Goldman (yes! it was a book first! and I found it pretty enjoyable)

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle (another classic fantasy/sci-fi fave! the first in the Time Quarter, although stands pretty well on its own. And most of L’Engle’s books are linked somehow in the same universe so there’s a lot of content in this series)

Crown Duel by Sherwood Smith (I reread this pretty recently and still solidly enjoys it. fantastic rivals to lovers)

Tinker by Wen Spencer (first part of the Elfhome series)

Among the Red Stars by Gwen C. Katz -- YA about Russian women pilots during World War 2, inspired by real people. 

Brandon Sanderson:

I’m going to recommend him and give him his own category because I enjoy quite a lot of his work. These are all fantasy. He is a worldbuilding genius, and all of his stories take place in the same universe (although not the same planet). There’s magic on every planet, and while it manifests in creative and different ways for each planet, you can also see a consistent formula for how it works and just... man. It’s been awhile since I’ve read anything of his, but I don’t think there was a book I didn’t enjoy (except his Stormlight Archive series, but that’s just because it’s Too Long). He’s also crazy prolific. 

Elantris

The Emperor’s Soul

Warbreaker

Mistborn Trilogy

Gregory Maguire

Mostly fairytale retellings (yeah I’m a big fan of those). These are pretty dark, but oh his prose is so good. 

Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister

Mirror, Mirror

Wicked (this is actually a whole series, and yes, it is the book that inspired the musical)

Other Faves

I like these, but they’re less like Howl’s Moving Castle.

Ender’s Game and Ender’s Shadow by Orson Scott Card (you can skip the rest of the books in the series) (also Card is not really a nice person so maybe like don’t pay for these, but these two in particular are well-written stories with interesting explorations into character)

My Heart and Other Black Holes by Jasmine Warga (warning: deals with suicide) (YA romance)

The Bees by Laline Paull (this is kind of a weird one, the main character is literally a bee, but it’s still actually fiction. read this for a book club and was pleasantly surprised. also made me really like bees. bees are good. wasps are evil. and the bees you think are mean are probably actually wasps)

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood (I haven’t seen the TV show, which I hear is really intense. the book is intense too but I don’t get the impression it’s as intense. it’s also pretty short). 

Thanks for the ask! Hope there’s something in here that appeals. I realize this list is sort of all over the place. It’s also super generic as this is pretty much just a list of some of my all-time favorite books.

[trans-axian-archive]

WAIT BEN PLEASE TELL ME ABOUT YOUR HOWLS MOVING CASTLE WANGXIAN AU....

I talked about all the basics here but we all know I simply cannot create an au without thinking about everything a lot so much and getting into the Meta Of It All so I offer you this Deep Dive tm into some stuff about the characters!!:

wei wuxian (howl) - I remember I actually struggled a lot deciding whether wei wuxian or lan wangji would be howl but eventually it came down to a few things: (1) howl is very over dramatic and eccentric and.. perfomatively full of himself but in the end very selfless (2) howl spends the story being so wrapped up in saving people that he becomes a "monster" (3) howl is always either being Dramatic and scary tm or smiling and laughing and being silly, and (4) the unmistakable parallel between howl losing his heart and wei wuxian losing his core. all things that remind me of our dear sweet demonic cultivator

lan wangji (sophie) - I changed what the curse was because the Reason sophie turns old in the story is because she's insecure about her looks and I just can't really see that fitting lan wangji lmao. theres a few reasons I had it so he loses his voice instead, one of them being that it's still something that can fade away when he's happy? like when he's in a particularly good mood he can hum or sing quietly without even noticing it. when I first made the au it was just his singing voice that was taken away but then I decided to make it so he's unable to speak as well because I wanted to reflect the curse being focused on insecurity and I think one of lan wangjis biggest insecurities in canon is that, before wei wuxian died, he didn't "use his voice"/stand by wei wuxian/"good". him only being able to communicate through the guqin also reflects his trouble communicating with others and express himself fully

jiang cheng (witch of the wastes) - could not for the longest time figure this one out but what decided it for me was the parallel between jiang cheng having wei wuxiana core / the witch of the waste wanting howls heart and both relationships being changed by a broken promise. also the fact that jiang cheng is very bitter and jealous like the witch of the wastes and the fact that both of them keep chasing after wei wuxian/howl despite claiming to "hate" them. obviously in this au I change a lot of the hmc relationship to fit the fact that they're brothers

jiang yanli (turnip head) - now... I feel like this is maybe the "obvious" choice for wen ning but a. he has to be calcifer n I'll explain that in a second and b. both jiang yanli and turnip head are really kind/selfless/loving and play important roles in driving the plot despite never really getting their own stories. I also think the idea of jiang cheng looking for Both his siblings and then jiang yanli being the person to bring them all together again compelling

wen ning (calcifer) - calcifer had been a toss up between jiang cheng and wen ning because his personality really fits jiang cheng better and the fact that calcifer has howls heart but.. I decided to make calcifer wen ning based on the concept that, like calcifer and howl, wen ning and wei wuxian are/feel indebted to each other + the fact that (much like calcifer and howl) wen ning has trouble being "free"/his own person without wei wuxian. also I think calcifer being a star (kinda) and wen ning being from a sect where their symbol is the sun is cool. in this au wen ning is still a walking corpse but he just powers the castle in a resentful energyesque way

wei wuxian and wen nings deal - this part is like the hardest for me to explain but essentially wen ning keeps wei wuxian safe because of his missing heart, and wei wuxian gives wen ning resentful energy to keep being "alive", the extra layer to this is that part of their deal/how it was started is that wen ning helped give wei wuxians heart to jiang cheng, and he is the only one who can change or do anything about it

jiang cheng and wei wuxian - like I talked about in the first post jiang cheng goes out searching for wei wuxians heart in hopes it'll bring him home, but he's also very upset at wei wuxian for running away in the first place. he's also upset because he thinks the reason jiang yanli went missing has something to do with something reckless wei wuxian has done wei wuxian tries to avoid jiang cheng because he thinks his presence upsets him, and it causes even More miscommunication. wei wuxian ran away in the first place because he didn't want to endanger his family with his missing heart/how it effects him

[caitybug]

1, 5, 13 for fanfic meme, please. 💙

Hi lovely <3 I hope you are doing well!

1. What is your favorite fic you have under your belt?

Oh goodness. Like of mine? (I’m an idiot these are all supposed to be of mine lol.)

I’m gonna choose 3? Is that okay?

1. Coming Together in Three Parts

This one was just cute and lovely to write (with just the Right amount of angst haha.) 

2. Three Acts of a Wizard (I wrote this for @ninemagicks‘ bday. It’s a remix of HMC)

I lowkey was nervous, but also excited bc I love this fic sooo much. So to rise up and try to capture the amazingness that is everything Nena touches was scary. But I think I actually did alright here (:

3. If Not For You

I’m just feeling emo about this because it was my first big fic for the fandom and it was an emotional roller coaster and I never thought anyone would read it (but I got a comment on it the other day and felt emotional haha.)

5. What’s your favorite headcanon you use in fics?

Uhhhh... idk about headcanon but I put a lot of gratuitous handholding in every fic I write if I can do it lol. 

13. Do you have a favorite character to write for?

I love writing Baz! Which I didn’t think I would? I was scared to write him bc of my huge Simon fic, but then I did and I haven’t stopped haha. 

Thanks so much (:

[phoebehalliwell]

don't you think that the leads lost their charm in later seasons? prue was actually very annoying bc of her 'imma superwitch i'll save everyone yadayadayada'. piper's development was great, but costume department made her look boring bc of wearing almost the same clothes. phoebe.. no offence, but no, although she's my fave. paige was a bit better, but i needed more facts. and leo, my poor guy, you were promising. what's your opinion? thank you 😘

i know the popular belief in the show was “they left s3 open ended so they could figure out whether or not they were firing shannen or alyssa” but let’s be real,,, s3 had a strong focus on phoebe, especially in regards to her love interest, and that was strongly implied in the s3 finale to continue to be an ongoing thing, whereas prue wouldn’t get a li to stick around from more than like two episode. i strongly believe that the writers knew they were killing off prue and because of this they put her character on the back burner, giving piper an offensive power and phoebe a complex li, and only really bringing prue to the forefront for “death takes a halliwell”. 

i really like piper’s development, i know some people argue that she sorta does s4 than stops but i think her growing as a sister and a mother wer both very strong plotlines (that being said almost every single “i want a life without magic” kick sucked but hey you can’t win em all). but in this you’ve actually hit on one of my key beefs with the show which is MAKE PIPER HOT. they were all running around like phoebe’s so sexy paige is so sexy, piper’s a mom like?????? they consistently played piper as the dowdy unimpressive one like pardon?? have you seen hmc????? now, my lil conspiracy theory was this was actually strongly driven by the fact that piper was first a) a married woman and b) a mother, and because of that, she shouldn’t be stuntin on em hoes, but this isn’t the 1950s yknow like if prue could range from neutral tones and practical cardigans to classic 90s crop tops there is simply no reason piper couldn’t as well.

phoebe............ oh phoebe what did they do to you? all i have to say is once brad kern took over phoebe tanked. her relationship with cole being her driving factor for like two seasons, then the desperate need for a child for the next two, it was like some horrible sexist caricature of what phoebe once was. i really do think alyssa tried to salvage phoebe and really keep her spirit alive when the writed simply proceeded to yeet her from one love interest to another, but the actresses themselves complained that they were all very far removed from the writing + creative processes as a whole, even as producers (it bc brad kern hates women!!)

paige’s development on the show was... fine, i guess, but its nothing compared to what they didn’t show us. punk rock alcoholic paige who witnesses her parents death, lands herself in uc berkely, cleans up her act, become a successful if not scatterbrained social worker And Then finds a long lost family?? yeah we barely got any of that. we got some growth in like,, responsiblity + opening up to family, but the fact that her pendulum tended to swing so violently from full-time witch to grand purpose outside of magic just felt like they never really had a true vision of who paige was at her core.

and then, of course, leo. ...... he was uhh.. y’know like what’s leo’s signature personality trait? what’s at his core? kind? because they definitely lost sight of that in the later seasons. loves piper? in almost every alternate timeline they were like divorce (which is another thing i have beef with). the thing with leo is he was either a deus ex machina or filler. we never truly got to see him shine out on his own as all of his plotlines were almost always tied to his relationship with piper. furthermore, i think he had a big case personality by plot, in which he would be come unnecessarily rude and/or unhinged in the later seasons, and i thought the original vision of a loving + supportive and genuinely kind man at his core was so severely betrayed by a certain showrunner who only knew how to move his plots forward through relationship drama.....................

[spirit-shroud]

Clair and Amei for headcanons?

hell yeah…. my babies… here’s the ask meme

this got Lengthy™ so it’s going to live under a read more now. @ people whose read mores dont work, i’m sorry

clair first bc hes older and has been recycled more lmao what they smell like: in his character sheet, it’s specifically noted that he smells like “rubbing alcohol, or cheap perfume, or a hellish mix of both, with neither one offering relief to the nose” which i think is really just his whole character in a nutshell tbh what their favorite smells in the world are: apple cinnamon, honey, fresh bread, and that very specific flower scent that only exists in the floral section of grocery storeswhat pajamas they wear/what they wear to sleep in: clair is always cold and doesnt like leaving the house so his pajamas are like. canonically the most expensive and nice clothes he owns. like. the majority of his clothes are secondhand/thrifted/were given to him as a gift but his pjs are as warm and plush as possible. if he isnt wearing like three blankets’ worth of sherpa and angel fleece he is probably grumpy about it. he also owns at least three(1) onesies, one is a bee suit but like, pajama version, one is an ugly christmas sweater that got out of hand, and the other is probably a toned down fursuit he bought not recognizing that it was in fact a lowkey fursuit. maybe like. a bear or something. his actual fursona would probably be a squirrel or possum but that isn’t the questionmy favorite ship (if applicable) and a cute hc about them: my friends havent gotten in their character sheets for n6 yet and honestly like…. n6 has. No Men i’d want to ship clair with dkhfgjdhfg so he’s shipless for now ™ HOWEVER his taste in dudes is pretty questionable in that his ideal man is roughly the equivalent of howl from HMC. clair is a morosexualmy favorite friendship (if applicable) and a cute hc about them: i think it’d be cool if he was friends w mrs. karan bc i think they’d bond super well over their shared love of children, grandma activities, and soft anarchy. the problem is that they’re both reclusive as hell so they’d like. only talk every once and awhile jhfjfga song that reminds me of them: i just so happen to have a WHOLE SPOTIFY PLAYLIST FOR THIS CLOWN which you can listen to here. yes i will take any opportunity to drop my clair playlist. no i do not have any remorse what animal i think they would be if they were an animal: okay i did not read ahead and realize there was a fursona question but according to several group chats and also me he’s either a squirrel or a possum. maybe a mouse. some sort of small to medium rodent what position they sleep in: left side, supported by roughly 823748234 pillows and stuffed animals, with at minimum 15 pounds of blanketstheir favorite drink: chocolate mocha iced coffee OR hot apple cidera gift i would give them if i could: he deserves……….friemds but if i make all the OCs to give him friends it wouldn’t be a roleplay it’d be a fanfic (or i guess a novel if i removed him from the setting. i could write a novel starring clair i think he’s definitely ridiculous enough. idk what kind of novel it’d be tho)

ok onto AMEI my NEW BOY he is NOT VERY WELL DEVELOPED but that’s OKAY

what they smell like: y’kno the distinct scent of like. makeup? or like what liquid foundation smells like? it’s like that what their favorite smells in the world are: vanilla, campfires, gunpowder, simmering soupwhat pajamas they wear/what they wear to sleep in: if he isn’t passed out in some weird spot in his day clothes, chances are he’s just chillin in his cave wearing a nightgown that’s far too fancy for the west district tbh. it isn’t warm or anything but it is good to like. hide inmy favorite ship (if applicable) and a cute hc about them: what if… he held hands w shion,,, and while they were both in the city at the same time if they got coffee together a lot,,, haha just kidding… unless???my favorite friendship (if applicable) and a cute hc about them: amei is still adjusting to life where everyone is hostile and inhospitably rude so he doesn’t have any friends/allies yet but. One Day™ (his existence would annoy the everloving FUCK out of nezu but what if they HUNG OUT wouldnt that be WILD)a song that reminds me of them: “Promiseland” by MIKA – actually the majority of the insp behind the character :0 what animal i think they would be if they were an animal: probably a canary what position they sleep in: fetal position as wrapped up in their blankets as he can managetheir favorite drink: any sort of hot tea except peppermint!! a gift i would give them if i could: does this count for like. not physical gifts? can i like. give him sanity? a gentle pat on the head so he Understands that he’ll get a redemption arc? that he’ll be ok??? is that allowed??? 

[dcarhcarts]

What’s your OTP for your Muse(s)

Call it a copout but I don’t want to list cause it will.......be v v long but in general any canon ships, also Muse x Happiness

What are you willing to RP when it comes to shipping?

Pretty much everything up to explicit NSFW. I will take fade to blacks.  The caveat being that EVERYTHING IS COMMUNICATED. Please don’t spring a fade to black/random pregnancy/a massive breakup/idk whatever else on me without talking to me first?? I don’t mind horribly if the relationship is a little toxic....but like, intentionally. Like we both know that it’s toxic and we’re actively wriitng it toxically in an interesting...way? 

How large does the age gap have to be to make it uncomfortable?

I think....more than 8? My grandparents are 8 years apart so personally for me this is the largest age gap I know a couple to have. Obviously, that age gap being not uncomfortable is always dependent on the fact that both muses are of age. Shipping an underage character with an adult is just....no thnx.

Are you selective when shipping?

Yes and no. This is a trick answer. On the one hand I’m not and on the other hand I am? I get the ship feels very fast if our interaction/plotting sparks the Chemistry Feel, but also the Chemistry Feel is very specific and if I don’t feel it, I don’t feel it. IDK if that’s selectivity or just......normal shipping. 

And then there’s also the fact that in general if our muses have a canon relationship, odds are that I probably ship them and want to write shippy stuff. B u t the kicker with all of that is that I don’t like shipping with someone just based off a canon connection bc there is every possibility that I will figure out later on that our portrayals don’t mesh very well or that I don’t actually have the Chemistry Feel from between our muses during the interaction, and I like...I never want to ship for the sake of having the ship? So like.....always talk to me first. Some plotting or interaction would be Best before we decide if shipping can happen.

How far do steamy moments have to go before they’re considered NSFW?

When clothes start coming off or when That Kind of Touching (tm) starts happening. That’s where I’d like a fade to black thnx haha no sexual NSFW on this blog pls thnx.

Who are other muses you ship your muse with?

Hi is this where I LOVE ALL MY SHIP PARTNERS cause here i come. if i missed anyone it’s honestly cause i just got off a 4 hour shift of nothing but leaving answering machine messages and my brain is mush.

@personnages I’m only tagging one blog so I don’t spam the hell out of you but bUDDY PAL WE PLAY SHIP ROULETTE SO MUCH. There are so many that if I put all of them I’ll probably lose my place and cry but my favorites include: Pierre/Marya, Sonya/Andrei, Cass/Anya, plus you be the OG mr. darcy to my lizzie / OG andrei to my pierretasha so like!!!! legendary!!

@gcneralvaganov my partner in crime re: Glenya, Glima, and Glimya. You’re?? actually the 8th wonder in the world??? and I love you??? 

@skylarkmuses IN THIS HOUSE WE STAN SUSAN/TARAN. SURAN???? TASAN???? ANYWAY WE STAN. Just. I love them. They temper each other perfectly. ALso Im yelling about the mcfreaking Anya/Death Angel and we haven’t even really gotten shippy in thread

@outofthelight / @slackerphilosopher The Evan to my Zoe, the Henry to my Natalie <3 love ya Callie. love that we agree that our kids deserve i n f i n t e softness.

@starblcssd a sAINT AND MY SAVING GRACE WHO ADDED DIMA AFTER FIVE YEARS OF ME CRYING ON THE TAG. Like everyone else you write, your Dima?? may as well have just walked off the stage and straight into these posts.

@moretreasurewithin aNOTHER SAINT WHO PLAYS DIMA AND S O WELL I LOVE YOU and all our threads. I love how our Dimya ship has a bit more taste of the animated movie to it!!

@anastcsie what would dima be w/o *john mulaney voice* HIS WIFE??????? look dima is basically ned from the try guys with how much he talks/thinks about his wife probably. 

@spareisms  Dima adores???? the squishiest princess. Anna’s his sunshine, that’s it, thank you.

@tsvxtok while we’re on the topic of people dima adores.....Dima would literally die for Senya ok??? it’s established c a n o n facts. not that you’re going to let him die, but I can try, can’t I? lololol

@soulcrossed tHE SOPHIE TO MY HOWL. THE MICHAEL TO MY MARTHA. AND HOPEFULLY, IF I HECKLE YOU ENOUGH, THE BEN TO MY LETTIE. in any case, you’re brilliant, I love that we’re literally the entire hmc rpc, and i’m so soft for all our kids???

Does one have to ask to ship with you?

Yes. Please. Even if it’s a canon ship that you know explicitly I ship, honestly.  Please always ask. If you’re too shy to ask, send me an ask with “<3?” or smth, and I ‘ l l take it upon myself to hop into your IMs and guess which ship we might want to talk about until I get it right. 99% of the time I’ll say yes, but it’s just 1) good manners 2) good to let me know? because sometimes we’re writing something vaguely shippy but I would just like the verbal confirmation? it’s almost like my muse poking yours and being like “so are we dating now” except it’s me poking you and being like “are we shipping now??” 

And also sometimes our muses have clear chemistry but I have Hard Lines on how I ship with that muse (i.e.....Anatole). Or sometimes I don’t really want to ship, and your muse might just have to have unrequited feelings.

How often do you like to ship?

I am a l w a y s onboard when there’s chemistry. If my muse is making heart eyes obviously I can’t stop them lmao. Likewise if they’re really not feeling it....sorry nah.

Are you multiship?

Y e p. Multimuse, Multifandom, h e l l a multiship. 

Are you ship obsessed or ship more-or-less?

I’m not ship-obsessed but I think ships are fun, and I would like ships for my muses. I spent a long time doing rp like...avoiding ships, bc they were generally not a part of the rp experience that I really enjoyed, based on past experience? But now I’ve got the Most Wonderful Ship Partners and while I don’t n e e d ships, I know that I want them! 

What is your favorite ship in your current fandom?

"Current fandom” lmao who is that????? How do I pick out of my 1701 fandoms?? I mean........I’ve been looking at a l o t of Kastle edits lately....sooooo that? I’m also catching up on my Punisher sooooo.

Finally, how does one ship with you?

COMMUNICATION!! Plotting! You can skip the initial interaction thread and hop straight into my IMs/Discord if you want, but plotting is the most important element I can think of when it comes to shipping with me. Always let me know what’s going on. Always build on our character relationships. And like..........tell me outright if you wanna ship!!  

tagged by: @skylarkmuses

tagging: .....uhhh whoever wants to I guess, this thing got v long and i don’t wanna accidentally put pressure on anyone jfaskl;jflsadf