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drawnaghht · 1 year

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more thoughts on ship names (leosagi, sliderbunny, yuileo etc) - more is not bad

So I'd like to suggest a thought - multiple ship tags and names are not actually bad - it's more like a way of detecting what flavor the ship and resulting fanworks will be. let me explain more below. if this sounds a bit dated, that's because I wrote this back in january-march but noticed I hadn't archived it properly and that it needed a bit more writing to finish some thoughts so I'm posting this now, lest I forget it lol. maybe i have also already posted it before but... i cannot find this old version, so i guess not ^^;;

If you like the Yuichi x Leo ship, are annoyed at Leosagi being used as an umbrella term or are just curious abt another fan's thoughts on ship names, here-a we go. Some thoughts on the leosagi and leochi/leoichi ship names in general ^^

Some things are a bit more outdated: namely, transfem!12yuinardo has now been steadfastly used as a ship tag for transfem Yuichi x 12Leo, so kudos to that person! Thank you for making this unique tag more common!

resources used:

https://fanlore.org/wiki/Pairing_Name https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/IdiosyncraticShipNaming

Anyway, more under cut.

so, being in the rottmnt fandom for a bit longer this time (or being longer in a tmnt phase this time) and browsing the leosagi and leochi tags since august last year... has made me realize again that I really enjoy/prefer genfic most times? i like writing romance, but I enjoy writing action a lot more + exploring character writing in general, so that’s probably what my own crossover works will try to feature more too now.

being in tmnt fandom longer this time around, I thought that it was nice ppl still remembered leosagi, but I didn't expect a "new" version of it. Now, seeing thru the history of it (the RabNerd video on Leosagi felt like a nice refresher on TMNT fandom history in general and it’s nice to listen to) and going thru the tumblr tag (that and ao3 being sorta the only reliable archives on fanwork, with the exception of authors deleting their own work and tumblrtags not working as expected at times/finding hidden stuff), I think it's good we have multiple tags. Now about the tag I made up in september, "yuinardo" (I believe I already made two tagging-related posts thinking abt this tag/name way back in autumn 2022)

this YuiNardo ship name was mostly made as a portmanteau to make tagging and finding easier - for the ship Yuichi x Rise!Leo bc I wanted to differentiate it from Leochi/Leoichi but also the old Leosagi ship, because to me that was a bit different. at first I thought people would use the numbering system (03 leosagi etc per tmnt series airing year), but I started to notice that there was a lot more fanon with the ship this time than before. So when Netflix suggested the show to me one august evening after seeing the Rise movie, I started watching the series proper out of curiosity. as I’ve written before in a few places publicly (i think), the series was a bit slow and boring for me at first. But as I kept watching, I suddenly saw where the writing was going and what interesting things about its characters it was telling us. I got invested in the series for it’s strong family themes and how it handled its characters and story arcs, but also the music was something holding it all together for me emotionally. So I became a genuine fan and started reading more of the original Usagi Yojimbo comic too

one commonality I saw in many fanworks is that Yuichi is often changed a lot to fit a fan's own idea of who he should be as a character in relation to Leo or the fan's own setting/AU. This is fairly normal in fandom in general, esp for smth like TMNT. After all, why not play around in the sandbox given by canon? I also noticed fanworks often ignore the canon or worldbuilding set in his own show, and even the other prominent SRTUC characters get ignored/rewritten more than not. Or people make their own new versions with the same name. Which is fine, fanon!Yuichi and other fanversions are interesting. I usually like seeing redesigns in other fandoms and here they are interesting too, but I actually like the character as he is! He's funny to see fail but also fun/funny to watch/listen in general, especially interacting with other characters, whether main cast or one-off characters. He's a blorbo for me now who has taken up permanent root in my fandom/artist brain. I felt like he'd be fun to write in a shipfic or genfic with Rise!Leo bc their personalities are both so similar and so different. They feel like a strangely matching set, despite the shows never having a crossover (and despite Yuichi technically being a whole new original character for the show from the crew to avoid messing up the og Usagi cast too much). I want to write some genfic and Chizu and Kitsune centric fic one day too if I got the time.

Now after becoming a fan though, it’s honestly a bit sad to see people eschew his personality and writing completely - it feels fine that other fans are making AU and fandesign versions based on him, but this just means that when I open the Yuichi Usagi tags or search - I only find these fan interpretations but no versions where another fan is also a fan of the series. Which isn’t to say, that there aren’t other fans posting fanart, but that it’s just a lot less common that people tagging him as “TMNT usagi” or “Rise Usagi” etc. Some fans have said this is disrespectful to Sakai and the Samurai Rabbit crew - some even go on to hate the character (???) which like - it’s a cartoon. why are you angry at it. And these are often the older fans who are around my age (30+) or older, who are fed up with the younger parts of fandom - which I kinda get. I’ve even seen people make stuff up about the series, but I’m not really interested in pursuing that further because you know what. People have grievances about fandom stuff all the time. It’s pointless and a little mindless sometimes. There are so many bigger problems going on in the world. Fandom is something we are all supposed to enjoy. So to argue with another fan - I don’t have the energy to do that anymore. I might correct factual errors here and there, because that feels like it can be a courtesy sometimes. But I’m not interested in laying down blame or building some sort of longer discussion around things that should be fun, if they’re not fun anymore. Honestly, it would be nice if for once, the older and younger parts of TMNT fandoms could respect each other and get along. Like I’m not feeling hopeless about that but it’s just annoying to come back every 5-8 years and see people fighting and arguing about similar things. But that’s another topic entirely.

I don't honestly quite get the dislike of the character either, but I guess when I was younger, I would have been annoyed by a character like this too. (Foster’s Home comes to mind...where I hated Bloo because of his personality sdfsdfs but I was a very picky child with cartoons in generally) Personally, to me it seems ppl ignore the show and its writing bc of various aspects: besides simple dislike, it's easy to look at a newer cartoon show in a surface-level way; many still have this stance on cartoons that a "dumb kids show" can't be interesting or have substance; the show falls into many concessions to fit what netflix ordered of the crew. + audience tastes have changed over time - and no, not even talking abt just spiderverse, tho thankfully that has changed what more "general" audiences expect of both an 3D, animated film and a superhero/action flick. (cinemas here even listed it as a 2D animated film a while ago lol. it's a complex bag of factors but audiences + specifically distributors/studios are becoming slowly more receptive to 2D animation again. slightly.)

What may have been fun to see 10+ years ago for a 3D tv cartoon then, would not fly for viewers now. Even if we ignore internet-posting fans who do like it (who seem to be primarily teens and young adults up to age 24), and how popular the show was at it's premiere (3rd in the UK among kids?), there might be those in the target audience itself as well who do not like it for various reasons. Additionally, viewers are fickle about cartoons in general. So there are probably many more reasons people have to dislike the character and show that are related to other things. Again, this is just how fandom sometimes works. I’ve been in a lot of other fandoms before where I’m the only one who likes canon or likes writing canon-adjacent, exploring theories in canon etc and this to me started to feel like a similar situation. So I understand when people say the SRTUC fandom is kind of non-existant, if so much of the “fan content” relies on a ship. But saying as someone whose seen sort of “worse” at least there are other people at all and the tags mostly have fanart/fic and not other kinds of stuff, like spam or worse.

Whatever us fans' view might be however, he is still a valid character in the Usagi-verse, AU or not. I've read and listened to interviews with both Stan Sakai and the show crew, and seen artist portfolios with work from the show. The overall experience on the creators' side seems to have been positive. That, and I primarily view the show as a sort of transmedia storytelling venue... almost. It never takes away from the og comic and it adds an interesting alternative future to it, similar to Space Usagi, but as a fun cartoon. It becomes a sort of "gateway tent" for Usagi media and kids who watch this might be inclined to open up the comics, rifle through their parents old books and discover the world of Usagi Yojimbo proper. Like the comic, it also becomes a vehicle for learning for those willing to look things up later after the show, i.e. the yokai lore, customs in modern japan etc. So to me, the show is a net positive and Yuichi Usagi an interesting take on a Usagi descendant. The show is also interesting for me for it's casting (all asian-american cast. hello???) and staff choices as it seemed that everyone was on board with anything Stan Sakai wanted +they tried to put Miyamoto Usagi into the series as much as they could despite Netflix giving them a full limit (or almost a no?) at first - but the series writers and artists included him in an interesting way. So to me the series is good and as a fan, I can see it have interesting crossovers (a lot of the crew also seemed to be big TMNT fans and big UY fans at the same time)

Yuichi is headstrong, openly friendly and impulsive, but also the only one who notices things "outside of the box" more often than the rest of his team. He relies almost entirely on his trained sword skills and complete chance to get out of almost any situations. Leo is sorta painted as a "team clown" and "team faceman", (s1) always trying to make things more lighthearted in stressful situations, which starts to contrast his more strategic nature as we go on in the series. He wonders why he's not trusted (s2) but the thing is, most times he does not tell them his plans, even if they work, so he's seen as impulsive. Together in any shipping or genfic scenarios, I feel like they would feed off each other's lighthearted natures and impulsive instincts, but also work well together bc of how many things they notice, but also, rabbit brain empty, and Leo would be more cautious. That was what I initially kind of imagined for them when I first watched through Samurai Rabbit.

I had a big "mega-crossover" fic idea back in august which would also feature the 03 ship Leosagi, where I could both have a tmnt crossover, write fun action-adventure with the TMNT + Usagi kids and write some sort of neat continuation to what 03 Leo and Usagi might have been going through in a 13-year timeskip. But for that, I thought the tagging would be easier with og tags vs just trying to number leosagi again. Since Rise started in 2018, we often tag it as TMNT 2018, but Usagi Chronicles aired in 2022, (even if production started in 2020) so any attempt to tag it as "2020s leosagi" has just left me more confused. So a unique tag was needed for my own tagging use. I’ve helped make some smoosh names before and this just seemed like a fun thing to do in a fandom I was sort of new to (the ship and SRTUC fandom)

Oh also, I read thru the fanlore article linked above on pairing name conventions and I had totally forgotten some of the ways to make ship names bc I've become so accustomed to portmanteaus and "_shipping" rather than x (used both in general ship names as well as slash pairings) + (preslash or platonic) or even / (slashfic) just bc those sort of conventional ways to tag are harder to find on tumblr bc of its tagging system (special characters make tagging unorganizable or harder to use)

+ I've been more active in modern fandom spaces for only 13+ years, while stuff like ff.net was maybe confusing to use as a young teen. So again, some pairing naming conventions have sorta escaped me over time lol. So it would be interesting to see what else people start to use for this newer ship of Yuichi x Rise!Leo

Different kinds of names for one pairing are fairly common in any kind of fandom. Pokemon and YGO fandoms have put these on vote for example (thinking of doing this out of curiosity) but that would have to mean a more unified fandom I suppose? Having both a smoosh name (leosagi) and _shipping name (katanashipping) have stuck with the old ship and imo that should be respected because the ship conventions were there way before this newer ship or these newer series came about. I’ve seen many posts now where ppl complain about the tagging, especially the character tagging and the leosagi tag itself, because technically again, totally new ship. So to be a bit upset at that imo is totally understandable. imagine your favourite old ship you’ve been tagging the same is suddenly overtaken by a new, only vaguely related one? I also like the online shipping-related analogy: if you’re looking for a specific game in the store, why would a pair of shoes be tagged? or a different game? you’re only at the store for that one game, but now other stuff is being suggested to you because of other users’ tagging.

Considering those slash-ship naming conventions, I suppose I made the ship name to be more Yuichi-centric a bit - starts with his name, tho again, this was just one way to "flavor" the ship for me - but also specifically for the Yuichi we have on the show, because I enjoy the show and understand why Usagi is written the way he is on it. Mainly that he is given "annoying teen" traits to contrast the changes he goes through in the short time of the 2 seasons + he seems be written with intentional ADHD-coding. + I wanted something more lighthearted and funnier-sounding, so Nardo was added bc that is Leo's nickname on the Rise show that his family uses teasingly, mainly by Donnie. I thought that would make it unique. (And, this is more subtle, but I also thought it was more funny that Nardo sorta sounded like "Naruto" and that Usagi Chronicles has a few Naruto influences in its art and design, so, slightly matching in coincidence.)

But also Yuinardo just sounds fun and easy to pronounce + I cannot find any other tags that it overlaps with. Main use for tags after all - easy to find and unique - which I think is why the og Leosagi tag prevailed among the other names that popped up back then when the Leosagi 2003 ship first became popular online. I have no idea however if there was a ship for this before this, since I never went looking really (and there weren't much leosagi fic on ff.net then to get any impression of previous fandom activity)

If you want to continue to use Leochi or Leoichi as a tag, that's still fine bc its a big tag and more popular for this ship. But if you also like the Samurai Rabbit show, feel free to use the Yuinardo tag as well, depending on the the use ^^

Going through the fanlore article, I also realized that hey, actually having multiple tags/names is normal in fandoms! It's to make searching/naming for different flavours of pairings easier. I forgor. Let me explain.

the Leosagi as well as the Leochi/Leoichi tags sorta blew up in august after the ROTTMNT movie bc of new or returning fans rediscovering an old ship that's been a constant since the 03 fandom. and ppl posted fanart of the two versions in the tags before this too, but there was a notable uptick in those new fans after august 2022. I think when Samurai Rabbit aired, ppl posted fanart then too.

The SliderBunny tag existed already for people's own teen!Miyamoto Usagi x Rise!Leo versions and honestly, this could continue as an umbrella tag for any Rise!Leo x Usagi ships going forward, as "Rise Leosagi" has built up more as a tag. or "2018 Leosagi" whichever do you prefer

For 2003 Leosagi, Katanashipping exists bc it's unique to them (the katana-gifting scene in the 03 show) + it is a more specific name and tag, which helps to find it easier or make it more specific. + it just adds the extra flavor of knowing what went on between the two in the show. That was their last canon interaction as far as we know.

I want to also add here that the 03 version of Miyamoto Usagi is specifically very different. I remember reading an article somewhere which mentioned that Stan Sakai had been a bit upset w the 03 team that they made Usagi so young and different from his comics. I'll repost/add the link another time, but the main point is that the 03 pairing/friendship is quite different from both the existing canon comics and the 12!tmnt iteration of their friendship.

someone pointed out that the yuinardo tag could be for the ship Yuichi Usagi x 12!Leonardo but I do not see it that way for the above reasons. But what could be the name for that then? That's for the shippers of that ship to decide. I've heard some variations of smashing the names together for this like Luichi and YuiLeo (I kinda like that 2nd one myself), but they both sound a bit too much like real names to be tags/ship names.

I do not know the Yuichi x 12Leo name, but I suppose it could follow common convention of adding 12 in front, since that has been done before for people's own versions of 12leosagi as well, so thir's world and see what happens! so it'll be interesting takes off more. There is potential for both angst and comedy in this one. 🤔 what people will start tagging this onnce coed be 12leochi or 12yuinardo maybe even. I do not see it honestly, but I also did not continue watching much of tmnt12 after season 3 bc it was hard to see Leo go through Stuff(tm) again and I did not like how the show approached writing its female characters. So I don't quite get the appeal, but I think if fans see opportunities to write it in interesting/fun ways, why not. I headcanon 12!Leo as a transfem lesbian, and Yuichi reads slightly transmasc for me, so maybe that's why I don't quite see it bc my fanon ideas are a bit different for them ^^; + it feels like they are from different times from a "when it was made" perspective, the shows' vibes are different (12 is more horror-genre scifi a lot of times while SRTUC does not lean into its horror thematics as much as it could be the name for that then? That's for the shippers of that ship to decide.

the transfem sapphic version I know one person calls Blue Sapphics, which is cute, but idk if there's a common name that every shipper uses? let me know in the reblogs or comments.

anyway, larger point also; it's not so bad to have multiple tags (as long as you use them according to what's in the post) and multiple names - so that one tag (leosagi) doesn't have to do all the heavy-lifting and that fans who only want one flavor, can have that. tagging is more like a courtesy but it helps to make finding fanart/other fans of the same thing easier, but they often also follow what becomes commonly discussed and used among a fandom.

Sorry if this is super-duper long, I haven't been able to write normally since discovering the internet and that I could post on it and things just happen to get this long when I finally finish a writing ^^;

crunches my brain a lil as I make this post bc i have other stuff cooking in my brain

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bisexualdinahlance · 1 year

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tag six (6) people you’d like to get to know better! i was tagged by @graysonnightwing <33

last song: no me diga from in the heights sdhidfgd i'm listening to the broadway ocr while cleaning

currently reading: oh god i am always hopping between too many books, esp bc i listen to audiobooks at work so

physical book i am reading 1) hollywood babylon by kenneth anger (yes i know its trash im reading it while listening to a podcast debunking all the trash in it lol) and 2) tinseltown by william mann (tho im trying to get thru hb first actually lol)

ebooks is uh, too many esp bc its thru libby so im working with the holds system 1) nona the ninth by tamsyn muir 2) heaven and hell: a history of the afterlife by bart d ehrman 3) lost city of z by david grann (not sure im going to finish this one.... interesting subject but not sure i like this author very much) 4) the art thief by michael finkel (skip the line loans fucking me up lmao) and 5) i have been pecking away at return of the king for like months now lol i cant listen to it if im too sleepy

currently watching: nothing! i am terrible at watching tv. i guess maybe ghost files from watcher? i also have intolerence the griffith movie that i rented in my backpack bc i was curious after starting hollywood babylon but i havent actually started it yet. been too busy to start go s2 or catch up with wwdits T.T

current obsession: i guess its still stranger things? nothing else is actually really holding my attention for more than a few days, been kinda pinging between rwrb bc of the trailer and i know once i finish nona the ninth locked tomb will eat my brain away. tho playing off what katie put for her current obsession, i have spent the last day rereading the golden gods verse by lady_kaos on ao3.... road to el dorado is a major comfort movie and a massive well researched au where they are actually disgraced/fallen gods before getting to el dorado?? sign me up!

honestly any new people i wouldve tagged i think katie got lmao if you want to do this feel free to say i tagged you <333

#tag meme #i know i know rted is based on a lot of problematic tropes but like...#i love that silly movie SOOOO much #sorry i rambled so much the caffiene is kicking in rn #about me #i cant even remember my old tag meme tags lol

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yourlazykitkat · 2 years

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HI lol. idk if youll even see this and i know its been awhile since you posted on ur ao3 but like. i was going thru ur fics after i read 'tonight we are dead' which is SO good holy shit and i just wanted to say? i frickin love your writing style so much somehow you manage you encapsulate this really homey/comforting vibe into your work, and the roadtrips/gods/small town/apocalyptic aus match your style SO well. sidenote...........what are ur thoughts on reincarnation aus LOL?

!!! thank you so much for reading, im glad u enjoyed them and think roadtrips/gods/small town/apocalyptic aus suit my style coz i love those so much. Reincarnation aus. Goddamn there are so many flavours of this one trope and thank god coz im picky. Reincarnation AUS where neither of them remembers their previous lives is a hit or miss for me. Because sometimes a writer just gets it, from promises that are made to be broken again and again (I'm thinking- A: we'll always be together/ B: you promise? - in every life and then failing). Butttt sometimes writers don't connect the different lives and that's usually a turn off for me. Not that I hate it when they do- it's just reincarnation aus to me is some consequence of fate, soulmates or a tragedy. So having disconnected lives feels like having random aus put together.

But reincarnation when they both remember or even better, one of them does??? That's the fricking best. the angst, the drama, the layered history of two people that are inherently tied together. I genuinely love seeing lives when the couple don't get together because of previous trauma or just. they don't want to. it adds a layer of realism but the effect of it doesn't hit when u realise they will inevitably come back together (for better or for worse)

Finally there's reincarnation as a blessing or a curse. This one is usually unattached to the idea of soulmates. Blessing is a hit or miss for me. I've read it when a character has reincarnated once and is able to make the lives around them better. in manhwas and isekais i do find the tropes a little cliche and the plots repetitive. BUT AS A CURSE? DAMN WE'RE EATING SOME KING SHIT. the torture of eternity, the liminal space between being immortal and mortal, unwilling to leave one life and simply move onto the new one, the fear of what next is to come, the envy of not knowing what comes after true death. THE OPTIONS ARE ENDLESS. especially when we unpack the reasons why they were cursed with reincarnation in the first place. Anyways that's my little rant. sorry for the incoherent mess but tHNAK you for the ask!!!

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ziamfanfiction · 6 years

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Can you rec a few fics that are not appreciated enough? Like.. proper good ones with good writing and stuff.. Because there are so many fics who get so much attention and it's so cool but then there are fics which are honestly really really good, too, but nobody even knows them. And that's a bit sad. The authors are amazing and I think most of them don't even know that. Soooo.. let's get all those authors the attention they deserve!!!

sure! you can check on our hidden gems tag and previous posts about underrated fics 1 / 2

just like that by justemma

Zayn likes watching Liam play rugby.

Doctor Doctor by orgaziam

Zayn doesn't know whether he should thank Louis or kill him.

Based loosely off of the prompt, "I fell down and now I'm on the floor and my friend has a bad sense of humor and called out 'is anyone here a doctor?' and now you're trying to save me."

Not Fade Away by biggrstaffbunch

Liam wants something to keep. Zayn has a lot to give.

Somehow, they muddle along.

Make Up For by JoMouse

For Zayn, it's always been Liam.

Relight My Fire by LibbyWrites

Loving Lieutenant Liam Payne was always the easy part, from day one.The hard part was dealing with the fact that he was never going to be loved back.

It's Always Been You by livingforamiracle

An AU where Liam consistently goes on bad dates only to realize that his favorite dates are the ones where he's holed up in his flat with his best friend Zayn.

From a Mirror by supercalifragili

The idea was really simple sex, really slow and excruciatingly languorous sex, Zayn promised on the phone.

The Sound of Silence by JoMouse

Zayn likes things quiet.

you put your arms around me and i'm home by ellisaco

"So, uh, any idea where we are?" Liam asks, because Zayn is in charge of navigation, always. Liam still sometimes gets lost in London if Zayn isn't there to steer him right. Which, like, that shouldn't be endearing, right? Certainly if Harry called Zayn up on his day off at ten am to ask where the closest ASDA to Zayn's house was, his first reaction would not be to smile at his mobile.

or: Zayn and Liam go on an ice cream date in Madrid.

A happy ending by Comet

Zayn is a masseur at a resort and Liam's neck hurts.

i'd rather die like this by ziamsquad (locked)

prompt: imagine your opt stuck in an elevator after a fight

We'll Go Slow by Ziamsession

This one shot based on a prompt I got from an anon"could you write an inexperienced zayn wants to have sex with liam (b!z if it's ok) an he wants to make it perfect and tries to prepare himself for liam's cock, tries to ride liam but fails... a lot of giggles and an embarrassed zayn but everything gets better when liam helps him and they make love PLEASEEEEEEE"

The Boy Next Door by happily_missy

Zayn and Liam are next door neighbors but they are worlds apart.

Or the Drive Me Crazy AU that no one asked for but I desperately needed

we should have each other with cream by coffeewordangel

Zayn is convinced his new neighbor is harboring a forbidden cat.

got your body on my mind by coffeewordangel

Fill for ziamminds excellent prompt that Jas brought to my attention:

Yoga was not Zayn's thing. The only thing keeping him from walking out of that class is his super hot instructor Liam Payne.

This Land is Mine, I Let You Rule by missberrycake

In which the life Liam and Zayn share together is one founded on lies and deceit.

When two first-class spies get married, they each have to hide their secret from the other. After they’re both assigned to the same target, the truth is finally revealed. Free from their cover, they have to learn to love each other all over again.

i'm not crazy, i'm just a little unwell by redsweater

“You need to get over the fact we haven’t shared everything together babe,” Liam mumbles tired.

Zayns shakes his head, “I do not. Couples must experience everything together. I know smoking our first cigarette together is stupid, but it makes me happy considering I didn’t get drunk with you my first time, nor did I lose my virginity to you.” Zayn gives Liam a pointed look, like he dares him to say something about that topic.

zayn is special, and liam's in love

you (put this spell on me) by outofcases (poppyseedheart)

"What part of ‘don’t touch that’ did you not understand?" asks Zayn, eyes full of fire. He’s standing dangerously still in front of Liam, and while they both know that all of this is a front for how worried and potentially freaked out he is, his anger is still searing hot.

Liam shifts from foot to foot, chastened. His hands are twisted up in front of him, fidgeting, and he’s trying not to break Zayn’s eye contact. ”I didn’t think anything would happen.”

Zayn sighs a long suffering sigh and runs a hand down his face, mumbling something Liam can’t fully hear. It sounds suspiciously like “famous last words.”

Altar'd Perception by Edjumacashun

Zayn finds himself uncontrollably attracted to a goofy, naive, lamb of a boy. As he tries to rationalize his way around this relationship, Liam throws his expections for a loop at every turn.

until the stars are all alight by orphan_account

Liam is a retired former astronaut with the World Space Agency in the year 2134. He was once the ace pilot and pride of Britain until tragedy pushed him out of the service. He's approached by astrophysicist Louis to join a crew that's being assembled to go rescue an astronaut left on the Mars Space Station. This is Zayn Malik. Liam is the only pilot available with the experience necessary to fly a mission to a damaged station.

Slowish burn.

You Can Hear It In The Silence by orphan_account

Five times Zayn and Liam didn't have to say anything at all and the one time they did anyway.

Over Five Months by ZaynCentric

au fic where liam is the popstar and zayn is his uni boyfriend who likes to embarras him when he comes off tour by waiting with all the other fangirls with homemade signs

i hope i'm gonna be by weareonceinalifetime

Five times Zayn kisses Liam on the forehead and one time Liam kisses Zayn.

happy accidents by imstephtacular

“Hi, I, uh…” a voice accompanying a knock at Zayn’s door stammers. Zayn approaches the door and, peering out, sees his neighbor— Lance? Lucas? Landon? he cannot remember honestly and he really never thought to ask— wincing as he clutches his stomach. “I’m, uh, Liam, I live…” he grimaces.

“Next door,” Zayn finishes, opening the door. “Yeah, I’ve seen you out running and at the mailboxes. “Are…are you okay, mate?” Liam’s expressions are obvious ones of discomfort as Liam attempts to respond, he lurches forward, clawing for the doorframe to steady himself.

Liam yelps in pain and Zayn leans to help him. “Wow, okay, what’s wrong?” Liam is still gripping his stomach and Zayn can see he is visibly in agony.

“I think…it’s…my…” Liam’s breathing gets heavy, punctuated. “Appendix,” he manages, flinching as yet another shot of pain spreads through his stomach.

OR: Liam is Zayn's neighbor but they've never really been introduced until Liam knocks on Zayn's door, doubled over in pain, and Zayn is terrible in a crisis

I Know The Sound Of Your Heart by LibbyWrites

Liam always adored the peace and quiet of his neighborhood. Until a new neighbor shows up and turns his world upside down with much more than just loud music.

A Million Different Ways by unfortunate17

They work for the Soul Agency and Zayn’s soul always meets Liam’s soul.

i'll go for you with everything i've got by wafflehood (locked)

In which Louis and Harry are definitely in cahoots, Niall is probably sworn to secrecy, Liam has been waiting a while, and Zayn makes a grand romantic gesture.

eyes on you eyes on me by cptniall

“i needed a drink of water after my shower but i forgot that i opened the blinds to my balcony and you just saw me walk into my kitchen nakedaka liam’s hot neighbour teaches him the value of discretion whilst also complimenting him on his massive weiner

Together Making One by zenamored

Another thing he really likes about being with Zayn—he’ll never go hungry while he’s around.

Four times Zayn cooks for Liam and one time Liam returns the favor.

#me going thru my history on ao3 lol #i've been reading stuff sorted by kudos #most of these have less than 150 kudos so i reckon they are not appreciated enough #Anons #eat my ask

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stuckylibrary · 2 years

Text

Group Ask 199

What is a group ask?

Previous Group Asks

AO3 Search Tutorial

Please reply to this post if you know one of the fics mentioned in this ask. Thank you so much in advance!

Anonymous 1 asked:

hi! i lost a fic where i think it was slow burn? all i can remember is steve and bucky sparring, and the rest of the avengers watching and natasha tells steve ‘that wasnt sparring, that was dancing’ sorry i dont have more ;;

mangoandpersimmon asked:

Hi, I've been searching for a fic in which Bucky and Steve are former veterans. Bucky is a recipe tester(?)/recipe creator for a food channel and Steve works as an artist. They originally meet in the park and Bucky later asks Steve to move in with him because he has a spare room. I think the work is incomplete and is more than 30K words at the least.

crash-the-mode asked:

I’m looking for a fic for Bucky buys a new (stark?) phone w an AI on it called CapOS and it’s Steve and Bucky is always talking to Steve like a real person and falls in love with him and then the program crashes and Bucky can’t get Steve back but it turns out that Steve somehow got a body and he’s skinny!steve? I’ve been thinking about for over a week and I don’t know what tags I would use to look for it thank you this blog has gotten me thru quarantine and been the highlight of my year 🥰🤩❤️🙌🏼

Anonymous 2 asked:

Hello! This is vague but I’m looking for a fic where Steve is doing a photo shoot and I think Bucky is an intern and so is Clint and Bucky gets picked to help with Steve’s shoot. Steve is like super interested in him from the beginning and everyone kind of makes fun of them but it’s cute, pretty sure there was puppies involved. Thank you!

Anonymous 3 asked:

There's a fic I can only vaguely remember and can't find and I'd be so grateful if someone knows it! It's pre-serum Steve and Bucky moving to the suburbs together to act as a married couple in the 40s, so everyone thinks Steve is Bucky's wife. I remember Bucky working for a factory and bringing home panty hose? And just being domestic. Hoping somebody knows what I'm talking about! Thanks!

birdsquidd asked:

Hi, I'm looking for a fic I read a while ago. I don't remember much but I think it was a kid fic? Bucky worked as a freelance translator and I think he or Steve had just moved into the neighbourhood. That's all I have but thank you for taking your time with this ask.

Anonymous 4 asked:

hi guys! please may you help me find a fic where steve is an actor and bucky is a consultant for history on set of the movie. thanks! x

greyhavensking asked:

I’m looking for a story with veteran Steve (can't remember if its WWII or later, think it's later) and a younger Bucky he meets at a bar. He's Bucky's introduction to a gay relationship, and the story shows their relationship over the course of several decades. Also, it's told in some parts in POV second person. Thanks in advance if you can help!

Anonymous 5 asked:

I’ve been looking for this fic forever where Bucky and Steve reunite in a bar/restaurant. They were childhood friends and Bucky’s Dad was abusive and Bucky went into the military. In the present day Bucky was rooming with Natasha and he and Steve went grocery shopping to make tacos together I think. I remember a lot of random details but not the name or the author lol any help would be much appreciated!

Anonymous 6 asked:

Hi!!! I'm trying to find a fanfic where Steve is an omega and him and Bucky used to be togeter before Bucky fell from the train. When Bucky comes back, he doesn't remember that he and Steve used to be mates and gets really close to Nat, what make Steve gets really sad.

hardcorehippos asked:

Hi i’m looking for a fic where steve and bucky kind of go in and out of each other’s lives, they probably dated in the past but drifted aprt, but every couple of years they reuinted for an event or a wedding or something and it goes on until they’re in their 40s? Thanks so much!!!

Anonymous 7 asked:

Hi! I lost a good fic I read a bit ago where Bucky hired Steve to be his dom. He knows Steve through nat who is also a dom? And he works with Clint and when he changes at work Clint thinks he’s being abused and Bucky has to explain it? Please please please help!

notanarrogantclotpole asked:

Hey y’all! I’m currently looking for a fic on Ao3 I read last year. I remember it starts off with Steve, Tony(?) and Bruce going to visit some scientist Bruce used to know who ends up being bad and Steve gets forcibly dosed with some kinda new super soldier serum. After they escape, tests on Steve come back normal so they think it didn’t work or smth. After a few weeks(?) There’s a whole thing where Steve’s worst memories are coming to the forefront of his mind and he starts getting paranoid and not like himself. He ends up having powers (telekinesis among other things I think) and loses his grip on reality and attacks some of the avengers. They keep him in a hulk proof cell until they can figure out how to help him and some organization tries to kidnap him so they can turn him against everyone while his mind is out of touch ig? Some extra details: in the fic Steve was abused by his father as a kid, and in one scene while trying to stop a bank robbery he uses telekinesis to grab a gun.

Anonymous 8 asked:

Do you know of the fic where Steve is the CEO of a company and gets stuck with Bucky as an assistant and they hate each other but eventually make passes at each other?? and at some point Sam finds out and then the two are threatened with being fired??

rainbowsaw asked:

Hello! I was reading a fic on archives when my phone crashed. It was stucky, Bucky was apart of the avengers Steve was not, Tony asked Bucky to hang out but Bucky told him he had to let his dog out. Bucky told everyone he had a dog named roger but it was really Steve. If someone can find that i would greatly appreciate it💕💕

#group asks

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scandalsavagefanfic · 3 years

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Hello! I am a huge fan of ur writing. I've loved everything I've read of yours. I've read alot of what you've posted, except for a couple of the tags that are squicky for me (so I'm very thankful you tag very thoroughly). No judgement for the squick, it's just not for me. & when I'm having a bad day, I usually just go thru ur ao3 and find something to reread. I think about Therapy's Bruce & Jason every damn day. While I obvs appreciate ur darker more "problematic" content (I really vibe with some of the themes you write about bc of my own trauma, & so it's very cathartic to read about in a fictional setting), I am truly a sucker for ur more happy content. The Happily Ever After verse also lives in my head rent free. Idk more wholesome stuff just seems more special when you write it. Anyways. I would die for you. But the point of this ask is cause I'm curious as to why you don't like Urban Legends? I'm sorry if you already talked about it here or on twitter and I missed it. I was just wondering because I really enjoy your take on things and would love to hear why you dislike it. I've been enjoying it so far personally, but I am always open to DC comics criticism.

Aw thank you so much! I'm so flattered by everything you just said. You're so sweet ❤❤❤❤❤

I haven't talked about Urban Legends here or twitter (I haven't been very active in either place lately. Just a lot going on and no energy 😔) but I'm happy to do it here.

Before I start though, I just want to add a standard disclaimer and make it clear that if you like it, there's nothing wrong with that and you don't have to let me ruin it for you lol. Like what you like.

That said, since you asked...

I said this when I was talking about it on discord, that there is a difference between hope and expectation. I always hope that a new story centered on Jason (or anyone really, but things have been especially egregious for Jay for 15 years) will be good or at least treat the character with a minimal level of respect (to be honest, the bar is super fucking low). But my expectations always temper my hope, to keep it from getting unrealistic. Because my expectations are based on experience.

The long history of Jason Todd, since even before his resurrection, has been one of retroactively trying to make him "a bad seed" in order to absolve Bruce of any responsibility in his death.

I don't even expect DC or their writers to start honoring the fact that Jason was not an angry, reckless Robin (and less of the later than Dick or Tim and definitely Damian). There plenty of ways that retcon can be folded into his history and be compelling and sympathetic. And if they're going to stick with that retcon, I'm only asking that they do it in one of those compelling and sympathetic ways because Jason was 15 when he died, heroically, in one of the most selfless acts in comics, to save a woman who literally handed him over to be brutally murdered. He was 12 when Bruce plucked him off the streets, he'd been homeless and fending for himself for at least two years. I personally think that Jason's story hits harder for him and Bruce if their original, canon relationship, of Jason as starry-eyed and eager to learn and absolutely devoted to Bruce and Bruce to Jason, is preserved. But Jason's origins does leave room for a meaningful interpretation of him as angry and frustrated at the lack of meaningful results of Bruce's methods.

And that's really where my irritation at stories like Batman: Urban Legends, Cheer and Batman The Adventure Continues has it's roots.

Every time one of these stories comes out, I think (or hope, rather) that this will be the one that remembers and respects the origins of the Jason and the Red Hood, that takes into account the changed sensibilities of comics readers in the 30 years since Jason's death and the subtle, 20 year, retroactive campaign to make him the "bad Robin". The "born bad" trope is played out and literally no one likes the message it implies. That some kids are just bad eggs and there's nothing parents or the adults around them can do. Especially when it's played as the kid's fault. If Jason's time as Robin is going to be characterized by anger, then it should be rooted in anger at the social injustices he witnessed as he grew up in an impoverished, crime-ridden, area and the horrors he faced raising himself when every day was a battle for survival. There are topical, meaningful, stories to tell with that backdrop.

But those are never the stories we get.

⚠⚠ Spoilers for Batman: Urban Legends, Cheer ⚠⚠

I'm particularly disappointed in Urban Legends because for the first issue, it looked like that was the kind of story we were going to get. I was put off by the first flashback of Jason being mesmerized by Bruce's guns, and I got that feeling in my gut that it was a bad sign. Jason depicted as impatient and overconfident and the scene with the guns is heavy-handed foreshadowing that got my spidey-sense tingling. I had a inkling then (in the first three pages) of how this story was going to play out, but it was early and I could still see many narrative paths that could lead to a satisfying story. My concerns were soothed somewhat and the little flame of my hope fanned, with the flashback of Alfred scolding Bruce, with Barbara's concern for Jason. A bit of worry returned with the way Jason ruthlessly pursued an addict who didn't appear to be a dealer and with the ending of the issue. The stuff with the addict sat wrong with me but the ending was tempered some by how despicable Tyler's dad was written. The scene was clearly set so that the reader could sympathize with Jason's decision and the scene with the addict could be brushed aside as a side-effect of comics over-the-top need for constant action, so I still held hope.

Issue 2 made me uncomfortable and it's where my hope starts to take a backseat to my expectations. I can dismiss Jason's self-deprecating internal monologue as unreliable narration, except that the flashback reinforces his thought process to explicitly show that it's not unreliable narration, and should be taken at face value. Jason faces physical abuse at the hands of his mother's drug dealer and when the flashback continues later, Jason kills the drug dealer. To be clear, this is a pre-Bruce Jason. His mom is still alive. He's like... 10. He kills this guy for shoving his head into a wall and implying Jason's mother paid for her drugs with sex. This is a scene that serves a single purpose. To show that Jason has always been prone to violence.

In the spirit of full disclosure, there is the small chance the drug dealer might not be dead. But the story obviously wants the reader to think he is, and it hasn't done anything to change that yet.

Starlin already did this story with The Diplomat’s Son in 1988 and he did it infinitely better. AND that’s still technically canon. So now I’m supposed to believe that Jason lost his cool bad enough to kill two douche bags before his sweet 16? Like it’s totally normal for abused kids raised in poverty, who’ve led hard and heartbreaking lives to just... haul off and kill people? That’s bullshit, and when taken with the Jason in the third issue, who is little more than an idiot thug, this story is really doubling down on some fucked up stereotypes.

Which brings us to the most recent issue. I went into this installment with very low expectations. I thought this story was going to be about Jason, through this experience with Tyler, a young boy with a similar background to Jason's, coming to the realization that Bruce's way is the best way and that Bruce did his best by Jason.

That would be annoying (in no small part because it takes increasingly absurd levels of plot armor to keep Bruce's no kill rule relevant, let alone irrefutably right). But I can probably live with that, if only because maybe if Jason officially falls back into line with the Bats crusade, maybe I'll get stories that treat him with respect, stories that don't relegate him to comic relief, dumb brute, or a background body with no lines in a story about the Joker burning Gotham (like Jason would just fucking stand there quietly for that).

And that may still be where the story is going, Jason realizing Bruce is right.

But holy shit do I not have the right words to describe how fucking insulting and gross issue three is.

From start to finish--including the flashback--Jason is written as cruel and fucking stupid. Like straight up dumb.

The entire issue is Bruce explaining the fucking basics to Jason like it's his first day. And Jason flies off the fucking handle and terrorizes a doctor he knows isn't a part of making the Cheerdrops, beats the shit out of some random addicts, and finally, when he can't accomplish anything on his own because he's a dumb brute he calls Barbara for help and rushes in with no information where he's promptly incapacitated and must now wait to be rescued by Batman.

This panel is the least of the issues sins but I can’t screenshot the entire story but it’s representative of the tone for the whole issue (and retroactively tainted the prior two issues).

This is beyond insulting. The only conclusions Jason comes to in this issue are the ones Bruce leads him to by talking to him like he can’t make the simplest connections. And like... in this story Jason can’t make the simplest connections.

This (and the Jason throughout the entirety of this issue) is a far cry from the Jason we fell in love with in Under the Red Hood, who was competent and strategic and intelligent enough to seize control of Gotham’s underworld from Black Mask (who’s no fucking slouch, he’s the first and only person to unify organized crime in Gotham) AND elude and manipulate Bruce until the time and place of his choosing.

This is a far cry from even the Red Hood and the Outlaws Jason who is competent enough to fight the League of Shadows and Ra’s al Ghul (among very dangerous and skilled others) and smart enough to create antidotes for mind control nanotech viruses.

As he should be, by the way. Jason Todd is one of the best, most comprehensively trained fighters in DC’s stable of non powered vigilantes. He’s not irrational or hot headed. He’s pragmatic, tactically minded, and patient. He’s a detective. Right now. Has been since he was 12. Bruce doesn’t have to make him one because he already is.

Jason is not a stupid thug who uses his fists because his brain doesn’t work. And I can’t tell you how so very exhausted I am by this narrative.

This is actually the most egregious example of Jason’s skills and intelligence being not just undermined but dismissed entirely. Even Morrison’s Jason had some degree of competency.

The one, single redeeming factor of this story is the art. It’s beautiful. And Marcus To is a godsend he seems to be one of only a couple of artists who remember that Jason was a child when he was Robin and I’m literally only buying this book because of him.

Anyway, I’m sorry. I didn’t want that to come out so... um... passionately lol. I’m just very very tired. My intention with this isn’t to ruin it for you, if you like it, that’s fine.

But this issue shot this story to the top of my "Vehemently Despise” list. 1) Batman: Urban Legends (Cheer), 2) Battle for the Cowl/Morrison’s Batman and Robin, 3) Batman The Adventure Continues.

I hope the next issues somehow salvage this dumpster fire. But I’m not expecting it.

(Damnit. That sounded harsh again. To reiterate, I’m not trying to judge anyone who enjoys it, I just personally hate it and you asked me why lol 😅)

#Batman #red hood #batman: urban legends #nice art #shit story #or at least shit characterization #jason todd deserves better #this response got long and I didn't edit it #please forgive any errors #and/or unclear spots #spoilers

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literaphobe · 2 years

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What I'd be really excited for is to find out how this works in-world.

Is this literally the first time ever this has ever happened in that universe? Is it something that's happened before in history? Is there mythology about it in ancient cultures where love stories are solved by one person being teleported, thus proving them to be made for each other despite other restrictions? Has the fandom in that world been making jokes about "careful Dream, if you take another step to the left you might just teleport George there lol" about dnf?

Did the military try and fail to utilize it because it's too at-random? Does the government handle it or is it so rare that they decided "ah screw it here's a half assed law about how they should just try to get back when they can"? Are there non profits in places where cross-cultural or cross-racial marriage isn't allowed that treat these as a special case and fight for the rights of the couples? What does an extremely homophobic state/country do when it's two women or two men, do they go "ah look theyre just SO GOOD friends, you know its oversexualization to assume raptures are always romantic!!!" or do they just get super sus and try to sue you?

I'm probably reading WAY too far into it but I'm a worldbuilding nerd. Even if it's just the first time ever it happens I'll still be happy to read the fic tho! Your writing is super banger. I also want to note that it took me literal weeks to find the askbox because my brain is too hollow to understand how to do that from ur page on the theme and I have to do it by going thru the dash-sight when you click the eye. No pressure to give spoilers (I would totally eat them up though) and I'm sure I'll love it either way!

I feel like after this essay I can say that I'm that one long comment person on ao3 who disappeared for the last few chapters and to avoid my heart being actually shattered into a million pieces I'm waiting for the last chapter to come out to drop comments on everything, bc if I have to see them heartbroken again i will ACTUALLY cry and also if they don't get an actual happy ending I will also cry, and I've been trying to avoid that by trying to see if they are actually happy in the end via osmosis thru my dash before I read. I'm fragile sdkfjsdf.

ok this is a long ask sorry for the wall of text but anyways excited for ur future projects!

HI! also no, there is no pre-existing lore about teleportation in the rapture!dnf universe :) basically, they do some googling online but realize this is some freaky crazy shit that would be very hard to prove, so they don’t end up telling a lot of people, and even though they speculate that its possible they’re not the first people this /tp irl shit has happened to, they think it’s dangerous to try and actively find people who have experienced it on the off chance that it 1) gets them in trouble bc they’re famous 2) it doesn’t work 3) they get like murdered…. but basically, since dream doesn’t have a passport OR any legal records of him leaving the US and going to the UK, they realize how dangerous their situation could be because dream could be accused of trespassing, worst case scenario, which THEY DO NOT WANT so on the surface they’re hoping dream wakes up back in florida and nothing else happens so that they don’t run into any trouble, but UNDER THE SURFACE… what do they ACTUALLY want? y’know

also HOPING U LOVE SADF WHEN U CATCH UP AND LOOKING FORWARD TO UR THOUGHTS!!!

#ask #sadf #slashtp

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blackinquisitors · 3 years

Note

i read your fic earlier i loved it u got their characters down really well!! do u happen to have any kazumaji fic recs? i always struggle to find ones written by people who understand them well as characters lol

aww thank you!! mmm I also struggle w kazumaji fic but here's a few that I like. theyre all pretty angsty bc too much fluff makes me hurl

Birthday Boy and Sleeping Dogs and The Same Moon by schwinehund (i really like their work if you cant tell alksjda). they really capture majima's misery in a way that inspires me

the fragmented heart and all its pieces by yukine. very good character study. its not exclusively kazumaji but it made me rethink a couple of things in my own character study fic

Today is a Diamond by zycros. bro I WEEPPPTTT at this. fully. im going thru my ao3 history and the memory of this sucker punched me. major character death!!!! letting that be known bc i didnt see the tag!!

Island Reunions is p decent iirc. not as angsty as the other ones but good

yeahhh thats all I can really scrounge up. theres a bunch more that ive read but theyre mostly mediorce. ppl just dont know how to write two perpetually miserable and mentally ill middle aged men exploring their feelings for one another i guess 🙄

if anyone has anymore recs along the same vein please feel free to add it to the list. I would also like to see it 👁

#kazumaji #fic rec

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crosbytoews · 6 years

Text

how i get into hockey

i had always been a blackhawks fan just bc everyone in chicago is

but early this year i was going thru it and had like run out of 1d fics to read and knew hockey was kinda a thing so i went into the hockey rpf tag on ao3 and read a sid/geno fic (i literally had no idea what either of them looked like the entire time i read the fic omg imagine me not knowing what sidney crosby looks like) and then i read a little more and kinda got into it...

i was still using my old blog (RIP wherearemyparents) and put a little hockey stuff on there but not a whole lot and was kinda of wary of hockey tumblr in general bc YOU GUYS DON’T LIKE THE BLACKHAWKS and then i went completely m*nic and deleted my tumblr

then i remade like a month later and just posted random things without tagging for like a month i had 2 followers lol and one of them was my sister then i came up with a good idea for a hockey meme so i decided to suck it up and join hockey tumblr so i posted my meme and the rest of it is history

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manicalicorn-art · 7 years

Text

2017 Writing Round-Up

source: https://trey.dreamwidth.org/584.html

Total year-long word count: 16,200

Word count by fandom:

BnHA: 12858

Assassin’s Creed: 2562

Original: 780

Fics completed: 3 oneshots

Works-in-progress: 2

This year I wrote and posted:

He Woke to Fire chapter 2

Rocket

What Goes Around chapters 1 thru 4

Wind

Slut Shaming

Looking back, did you write more fic than you thought you would this year, less, or about what you'd predicted?

Way, way more. I only started on He Woke To Fire last year, expecting it to be a short two-shot. Now not only has it evolved into a 4+ chapter fic, I also got into BnHA and have been inundated with new fic ideas and have actually, for the first time in my life, started organising and planning my fics in earnest. I only expected to write one (1) short little chapter for HWtF this year, and like. Look at that.

What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted in January?

Fandom: BnHA!! I actually got into it because I saw an artist that I followed from another fandom drawing tododeku fanart and I was like ???? I’ve seen the split-hair guy around what show is this? and that was the first actual post that I saw having the title of the anime on it. I didn’t expect to fall as in love with it as I did, because I’ve been getting tired of shounen tropes, but BnHA has some really fresh takes on ideas and is quite self-aware/genre-savvy/trope-subverting on many fronts so I enjoyed it immensely.

Pairing: TodoBaku. I haven’t actually posted any todobakus, but I have been writing quite a few snippets here and there. As mentioned above I got into BnHA fully prepared to ship tododeku. Bakugou was introduced and I was like “Hah rival character I’m sure there’s BakuDekus out there” and I was right, and I did like it, because I like rivalships, so that was expected. Then while browsing BakuDekus I found KiriBakus and read a few and I was like “cute but why” so I went on watching the anime and reading the manga expecting to start shipping the KiriBakus any day now but I was,,,, still not shipping both tododeku and kiribaku. On the other hand, the Sports Fest happened and I had a sudden ‘oh hey imagine todobaku lol’ and then immediately after went ‘!!!oh hEY IMAGINE TODOBAKU!!!’ and here we are lmao.

I wrote fluff. I’m not kidding, this was the weirdest direction I’ve ever taken my writing. I’ve been a consummate angst slut ever since I fuckin knew how to read, and while I do read the Simple Fluff stories every now and again, they’ve never been things that truly made me happy as a reader. So the fact that I’m writing what’s basically a pure-hearted friendship fic is... mind-boggling to me, both as a reader and a writer.

What's your own favorite story of the year? Not the most popular, but the one that makes you happiest?

Oh... this one’s hard, but I guess He Woke to Fire wins that spot. For one, it’s angst, and I’m an angst whore. For another, it’s a canon-divergence centred around the death of the main character before the story even began, which has seriously been fascinating (and it also gave me a long existential crisis at one point) to contemplate. Further, the substitute main character is a canon character who got like, two speaking lines and half a minute of screentime before dying unceremoniously, so it’s really given me a real mental workout trying to flesh out his character. Lastly, there’s a lot of psychological, ideological, and philosophical themes in original canon that by necessity needed to be addressed and recontextualised in order to suit this new AU, and I think I handled it fairly well so I’m really proud of that!

Did you take any writing risks this year? What did you learn from them?

Writing fluff. As mentioned, I have literally never touched fluff ever in my (admittedly sparse) writing history. It has posed an interesting challenge in the form of needing to really think about ways to throw complications in the plot and resolving them without emotionally or physically traumatising the characters in any significant measure.

Character voice switching and a large cast. Really getting into multiple characters’ heads, understanding their personalities, strengths and weaknesses, asking myself ‘why is this character taking up this narrative role and not this other one?’ and trying to overcome biases for my faves. It’s not really an epic, and the background characters remain in the background even if they do do things, but I think I’ve gotten a little better at a more holistic approach to writing multiple characters.

Your best story of this year: hhHHHH He Woke to Fire. Makes me so happy.

Your most popular story of this year: (Based on AO3 stat numbers) that would be What Goes Around with 271 Kudos, 33 comment threads, 54 bookmarks, 112 subscriptions, and 2053 hits. I am... speechless. Thank you all so much.

Story of yours most under-appreciated by the universe, in your opinion:

Rocket. C’mon guys. Why have the parallels between Uraraka’s anti-gravity powers and Bakugou’s blasting powers and outer space travel never been talked about? Bakugou’s a literal human rocketship; why would he ever be afraid of Uraraka’s Quirk????

Most fun story to write:

... I had to resist the urge to simply answer this with ‘writing is not fun’ because I get writer’s block really really quickly. I second-guess every plot point as soon as I put it down and I struggle through every line. I write because I want need these stories to exist, not because I enjoy the process of writing. BUT I won’t be a cop-out so I’ll make an actual selection here: Rocket, because fight scenes are fun to imagine. Even if the point of this fight scene was that it wasn’t much of a fight.

Story with the single sexiest moment: The legend of Altaïr’s soul and the djinn beneath the waves in He Woke to Fire. I don’t care if ‘sexiest’ here was meant to refer to literal sexual themes I’m just taking it as ‘moment that made me the happiest’. The invention of this single legend allowed me to talk about a lot of aspects of Altaïr (his immense combat prowess, his cold personality, his fear of water, his death by suffocation) in metaphorical and mythical ways throughout the story and I’m very happy I came up with it by myself.

Most "Holy crap, that's wrong, even for you" story: Thing is, I am well aware of how fucking messed up my imagination can get, so there’s literally nothing I can come up with that would surprise me or anyone who knows me. He Woke to Fire is the most thematically heavy and graphic one I have published I guess.

Story that shifted your own perceptions of the characters: HWtF again. Like I said, it actually gave me an existential crisis that lasted practically a whole year because I realised halfway through that I was writing the story as though Kadar was just a cuter Altaïr, which he is obviously not. So I had to go back and replan the entire fic again which then made me introduce Maria as a major character, then I had another crisis because I actually hate the way Maria has been portrayed and treated in canon (and a lot of fanon too for that matter). So I had to really sit down and think about a way to reinvent her in a satisfactory manner for this fic. I’m still not entirely sure that I’ve got it, for either of them, but goddamn have I had to try.

Hardest story to write: HWtF, see above.

Biggest disappointment: The third chapter of What Goes Around. The writing there feels so stilted and forced, and a lot of the rhythm/word flows/pacing is very repetitive. Despite knowing exactly what I wanted to have happen, I struggled through the entire chapter and it shows.

Biggest surprise: Second chapter of WGA, that I wrote in the same sitting as the first chapter, that I wrote in the same sitting as the second chapter of HWtF. It was the easiest time of writing that I have ever had in my life ever and I didn’t even have to think - except for like, once, when I forgot to mention a detail I thought I had already written but I hadn’t actually so I had to backtrack a couple lines. And usually when I write that fast and fluidly, I’ll come back and read it later and find holes and logic errors and sections of senselessness but nope. It’s completely coherent. I have never written like that before or since.

Most unintentionally telling story: Probably What Goes Around. I generally try to mention every single student of 1A at least once, and Todoroki’s part in the story was supposed to be limited to that single incident with Tsuyu and then he was done. But he’s kept popping back in in subsequent chapters like a creepy stalker because my ridiculous TodoBaku-shipping heart just wants them to interact more goddamnit. Now I’ve just accepted that in the WGA canon, Todoroki has a crush on Bakugou and is actually following him around like a lovesick puppy and Bakugou just hasn’t really noticed.

Favorite opening line(s): From Wind: A wind. There’s a wind that blows across the land, a soft sigh on the bright sand.

Favorite closing line(s): From He Woke to Fire: “You’re not real,” Malik says with heartbreak in his voice. “I’m not,” the vision of Altaïr says with Altaïr’s voice, sounding surprised Malik could tell. Then with eyes glowing gold, reaches out a hand to caress Malik’s face, “but you could be happy here with me.” Tears slip down Malik’s cheek as he leans forward to catch ‘Altaïr’s lips in a kiss. “I couldn’t,” he says, voice breaking, arms wrapped bone-crushingly tight around ‘Altaïr’, “but by Allah I wish I could.”

Favorite 5 line(s) from anywhere: From What Goes Around: Katsuki took his food seriously. His old man had what his mum called the ‘art student diet’ where he, if left to his own devices, would just eat four boxes of chicken nuggets at three AM in the morning and completely forgo lunch and dinner, and it pissed her off to no end. So she had Katsuki trained to cook as well as she could (if not better) so that he could force his dumbass dad to eat a decent meal every once in a while whenever she had to go out for a shoot. Sixteen years of life and nearly ten whole years of (violent) culinary training later, Katsuki figured he knew his way around food. Whatever this… stuff was? Not food. He had to close the fridge door and spend a few minutes just breathing because no. Just. Holy shit, no.

This one’s my favourite because it’s me calling myself (and several other people I know *cough*) out for our garbage ‘art student diet’ while also talking about the BakuParents.

Top 5 scenes from anywhere you would choose to have illustrated:

He Woke to Fire: Altaïr gasping and dying in the sealed cavern, desperately trying to claw his way out till his fingernails are bloody, then scratched off, the dying firelight and the scattered corpses around him.

He Woke to Fire: Kadar clinging gracelessly like a worm to a rafter, looking over at Altaïr in the high narrow room, and seeing birds in cages.

He Woke to Fire: A badass Kadar with hardened eyes, wielding the eagle-pommel sword - Altaïr’s sword.

What Goes Around: Bakugou, so sleepy he can barely keep himself upright, exhausted and rumpled from hard work, giving a jittery Kaminari a one-armed hug until he calms down and feels comfortable in his own skin again.

Rocket: I would love to see this entire ‘fight’ animated but in particular, the part where Bakugou is just grumpily drifting along in the air waiting to be declared the winner.

Fic-writing goals for next year:

Finish HWtF and WGA. They’re my first proper multi-chapters and I do actually kind of know how they’re supposed to end as well as sort of how to get there, so I really want to see them through (as well as not being a dick and leaving my readers hanging)

bktd week. I actually have all the lore and outlines ready, and the outlines have (almost) all the dialogue already written. So hopefully I can actually see it through, and on time for the week.

Start working through my Endless Prompt List which is mostly self-prompts. I’ve taken screenshots of my yelling in great detail about many many ideas and filed them neatly away in the hopes that I actually get around to writing them. My final year in university starts in the second half of 2018, and I’ll be busy with my graduation projection and other important school work, and preparing my animation portfolios and showreels for future employment, and I’ll hopefully be able to get an internship which will be really taxing... So I don’t have very high hopes in terms of my writing for the next two years. Writing’s only a hobby that’s just simply neither important nor urgent in the grand scheme of my life so it’ll have to take a backseat.

#writing round-up meme #Manic Writes #manic rants #2017 writing round-up

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