#so i like my little rare pair niche lmao

[lesbian-sunshim]

fund my next tattoo or leave a tip!

rare pairs for your consideration 1/? - princess luna x radiant hope

[magisterhego]

AXE maybe Y and Z if you'd like, for the fandom asks

Thank you! <3

A - Your current OTP(s)/OT3(s)/OTX(s) I have my usual ships, but nothing I'm currently actively seeking out/ having brain worms about... Because of Dracula Daily, I guess all variants of Dracula character ships, that book has such good ship potential lmao. I really should check out if there is brand new fanfic out there!

X - top 5-10 characters who are yoUR PRECIOUS BABIES AND YOU WILL DIE DEFENDING THEM I am not going to list out all my fave characters, I'm just going to add rare ones who would immediately grab my whole attention, chomping wildly at the bit, were I to ever find new content of them (some have a decent bit, some have next to none at all):

• Renfield from Dracula • Beni Gabor from The Mummy • Brother Jerome from the Cadfael book series • Strappi from Monstrous Regiment • Ayrton from Jules Verne's books • Count Dooku, Darth Plagueis, Rae Sloane, Gallius Rax, Count Vidian from Star Wars (wow, two counts!) • The Lothal imperial characters from Star Wars Rebels (Aresko, Tua, Rudor, etc., etc., Kallus and the Inquisitor to a point) • Hickey and Irving from AMC's The Terror • Silna and Henry Goodsir from AMC's The Terror (for once a good, decent duo to be soft about!) I wouldn't die defending the annoying villainous ones though, if anything I'd give an extra lil kick to their asses on their way down. E - Have you added anything cracky/hilarious to your fandom, if so, what Uhhh, I generally mostly add silly stuff to my fandoms anyway, but maybe this old thing? I still recall how quickly I worked to make it in the middle of the night as a gag for a Palpatine group chat - and other folks seemed to like it, too.

Y - What are your secondhand fandoms (fandoms you aren’t in personally but are tangentially familiar with because your friends/people on your dash are in them) Right now, from what I am seeing on my dashboard, I'd say it is the Andor series, House of the Dragon and Pathologic the game. I'd know next to nothing about them if not for my mutuals! :3 Z - Just ramble about something fan-related, go go go (prompts optional but encouraged) Uhhhh.... I kind of wish fandom was a little bit slower? In the sense of the fact I can't even consume new content at the rate it speeds at today, let alone create for it.

Also, I think niche topic content creators, like the kind of people who spend time to write up seriously good, seriously-treated fanfic of weird little crack pairings, or people who learn knitting from scratch just to make a piece of clothing with their fave character or something, are the cornerstone of the spirit of fandom. I loooove finding stuff like that, even when it isn't my thing, I love thinking of how much love and fun went into that.

[kaoarika]

I somehow have been applying a “yolo”.. but my god, the weird? purchases I have been doing as of lately.

I wish I had more of a social life (kinda sad,, lol, I know) to spend my money in those situations... but truly, besides “priority needs”... I rarely spend this much alone. Of course, the situation would be highly different if it was easier to sustain my hobbies w/o the use of the internet (aka, “get on that public transport, Sandy. you need to go downtown”)... but you know.

So... basically... I have bought merch of fave characters, doujin (old and a little more recent), old CDs, an old Shojo Beat issue... all in the past 4 months. It doesn’t look like it, but shipping expense is (as always) eating most of it away (with few exceptions, an old Perfume album and that SB issue I mention, were thankfully bought in a local sense, bless). And the thing is... I kinda don’t want to stop? but I know it’s hurting my wallet since I really cannot be doing so frequent.

THANKFULLY, I have a couple of working gigs coming, as well, and I asked for advanced payment because, duh.

I wish I could write all my dilemma and doubts about this whole stuff. My brother is worried that I will get worse, in the sense that I will not be satisfied and the like. Honestly, that’s my same worrisome thought at the moment. There’s much stuff I can get of some of my niche old interests... and there’s specific things I wish I could get, but at the moment, I haven’t presenced that much of a miracle of them appearing under my radar (again, in some cases) or, heck, in a rather accessible price...  For example, doujin are rabbitholes... I do know my niche interests and I’m quite looking specific stuff about them, like rare romantic pairings and platonic/familiar relationships that attract my attention... and I’m quite lucky/unlucky that these tend to be quite a few in comparison... lol... which also makes it impossible to get what I want, too... but also, like... OTL

I think I’m being silly in worrying about this, but also, I don’t want to be addicted to the whole thing being at the tips of my fingers. I think my saving grace of sorts is the fact I barely spent much since 2020 (basically, the start of the pandemic helped)... and just after mid-2022, I’m kinda riding that horse to the horizon... but also my sin on this is that work hasn’t come my way as much as I want to (also, kinda been “vestida y alborrotada” with a couple of projects... but that is just out of my hands, which, fun)

My brother also doesn’t like me to say this... but sometimes I feel I don’t deserve doing or getting this. My thought on it is more on the vein of “saving for major emergencies, especially health stuff since, lmao, I’m not insured since I’m a freelance/informal worker :’D”, or “I could be saving to get a new powerful computer, maybe a tablet, a DRAWING tablet... or, who knows, a trip to one of my overseas choices... or maybe a car”... and my unstable working line is also one of the factors for this (besides uncertainty about the future... I KNOW I shouldn’t be a fatalist in that sense, but, BOY, OH, BOY... do I have news for you :))) ). Do I really deserve THIS kind of a treat? I can do a coffee, bread, and maybe candy. THESE? Old anime merch and the like?

[forbidding-souda]

Could I request the sdr2 boys with a s/o who often likes to steal & wear their partners apparel from time to time pls ? - 🐺

SDR2 Boys with a S/O who likes to wear their clothing

hello wolf anon meow i think i'm doing two of your requests in a row lmao oops i love you tho so you get this treatment

-Mod Souda

Kazuichi Souda

❤ He notices every single time you take one of his beanies.

❤ I can imagine him with a beanie drawer - something that is actually rather neat. They're all exactly the same color but they're folded in arrays.

❤ Though he notices, he won't say anything. I think his first thought would actually be "did I leave it anywhere", followed up by "no, they probably took it again."

❤ And then he'll see you for that day and you'll be wearing it.

❤ It's a relief. At least he didn't lose one.

❤ "Hey... is that my..." he trails off, pointing to the same one he is wearing.

❤ Your eyes glance up as if you can see your own hat.

❤ "Well, I believe it is!"

❤ He feels so admired and appreciated when you wear his things. To him, it makes it clear that you actually love him. Sometimes his insecurities try to convince him that you don't - but look! You're wearing his stuff! And he's not forcing you to! What!!

.

Twogami

❤ He comes home late at night. The wind is always cold and the moon is high in the sky. When he enters your house, he closes the door quietly, taking his time making his way to the bedroom.

❤ With his shoes off and his bag handing on a coat rack, he starts taking off his jacket.

❤ Greeting him in the bedroom is your sleeping form, the blanket barely covering your body while you clench it into your chest.

❤ He can see your shirt - it's one of his, one of his more casual ones.

❤ No matter your size, it's still going to be a bit baggy on you.

❤ But it's so comfortable and it smells like him. You couldn't help yourself but to put it on.

❤ The sight gives him butterflies (the same feeling he gets when you hold his hand - absolute tingles). He can almost smile. At least you're thinking about him.

.

Teruteru Hanamura

❤ It's his aprons. It's always his aprons. You don't even cook as much as him - if anything, he needs them more than you.

❤ But on rare occasions (or not so rare if you're daring) when you show off your cooking skills to make him something, you'll tie one of his aprons around your body.

❤ You have to tie it from the front, too, just to cinch it a little.

❤ "And just where did you get this from?" He'll sarcastically ask.

❤ "Someone very handsome let me borrow it." You'll say.

❤ "A handsome fellow?" Followed by a threesome joke.

.

Gundham Tanaka

❤ It stresses him out beyond belief when he notices something missing. At first it was a shirt - maybe it's still in the laundry room, or accidentally in his pant drawer. And then it's one of his scarves, and a glove, and even a pair of his underwear.

❤ He is going to be heavily overthinking it until one day, when the class comes together afterschool for an activity, and he sees you wearing that shirt.... he will start blushing like crazy.

❤ The design on it is so niche that it just has to be his shirt.

❤ That leaves him questioning when you even had the opportunity to steal his things. Do you sneak them into your book bag? He's rather impressed.

❤ His nickname for you is something along the lines of rogue or thief - or sticky fingers if that makes you uncomfortable.

.

Hajime Hinata

❤ "Oh, yeah?" He'll laugh, voice riddled with cockiness, eyeing the white button up around your top half. You didn't even bother to take off the pin he wears on it.

❤ You place your hands on your hips, doing a little spin, trying to hide your smile.

❤ "I have no idea what you are referring to."

❤ All he does is step close (so so so close) to you and pick a piece of lint off your shoulder. You can practically feel his breath on you.

❤ "So that's where that shirt went."

❤ His hand lands on your cheek, where he pats you before walking past you. "Tell me next time, okay?"

❤ Though, you doubt he even noticed that it was gone.

❤ Because you had actually stolen at least five of them.

❤ Not that he minds, of course, just as long as you wash them.

.

Nagito Komaeda

❤ Please take his clothes. Do it. Do it right now. And do not dare wash them - he wants them to smell like you.

❤ His closet is now your closet (and except your closet to be his as well).

❤ Oh, you stole his jacket and are now wearing it? Well, he's actually wearing your underwear so checkmate.

❤ When he notices you're wearing a piece of his clothing, he put his hand on the top of your head and kisses your face.

❤ "Wow, Y/N, I can't believe you look so beautiful wearing the clothes of someone as pointless as me."

❤ "You're dashing, honey. Just look at this jacket - it's iconic."

❤ You just wish you were his shoe size. Those shoes are admirable. They're daring, even.

.

Nekomaru Nidai

❤ You do his laundry like more than twice a week. He always tries to wear the same sweaty clothes every day so you practically have to strip him out of them.

❤ That being said, stealing his clothes can be easy, since you're the one handling them all the time. But also, he owns so little, so if you try and take some then it heavily limits his closet.

❤ You usually just shove a jacket in front of his face like, "I'm going to put this on now."

❤ He will help you slip your arms through it. The sleeves go way past your fingers.

❤ Something he will want you to do is to get fabric markers and draw over his jeans - if you're going to steal his clothes, at least do something memorable with them. Some sort of trademark so he can probably say the love of my life wore these!

.

Fuyuhiko Kuzuryuu

❤ He's going to be embarrassed if you wear his clothes in public. It's mostly because of a I'm the one with the social status, I can't believe you're repping my shit alongside me, who do you think you are?

❤ But in private, hell yeah he's going to adjust your (his) suit so it fits your length better. Do you like it? He can get one tailored for you.

❤ Steal his stuff and you will get caught by either Peko or him. So nice try.

❤ You are practically in love with the way his eyes light up when he sees you wearing something of his.

❤ He looks at you as if you are an angel.

❤ He can't even believe that you're real. You like his stuff? Oh my god. He can share with you. Just don't wear it in public next to him. That shit is far too embarrassing.

[durotoswrites]

For the writing meme thingy: 🍄how do you get yourself in the mood to write? 🍑 do you/would you write smut? 📒 any fics planned?

🍄 How do you get yourself in the mood to write?

Getting in the mood to write and actually wanting to sit down and start writing are two very different things, but they're connected, so I'll explain both.

To set into “creative mode” it helps me to do these things:

Listen to music that makes me think of a character/situation in my story/stories. I've got playlists separated by character and pairing. Sometimes I also just work on curating those playlists for fun and get my brain going.

Bounce overall ideas off of my friends and husband/editor (but he's my best friend, too 💗)

Reread old chapters or recent ones and future snippets based on what I want to do.

Once I actually want to put words down, I get a little more strict with myself. I get distracted verrrry easily sometimes and I have to fight the urge to open a million more tabs when researching a small detail.

I move to instrumental music (I have playlists for different moods like “emotional”, “soft”, “sad”, etc. I usually listen to “soft” as a general soothing background sound, as I can get pretty dang emotional when I write, especially with the stuff I've been churning out lately.

So, yeah, I need tissues within reach if I get upset. (Wow, I'm not making this sound fun at all, lmao)

After sound has been established, I like to eat a snack (something with protein) because I can be under for hours, lol. Eat it and finish it. Otherwise, I get distracted.

I also like to have drinks available. I always have a bottle of water, but I also like having a hot cup of tea. I think it's the time of year for me to switch to cold barley tea.

I write while seated on a recliner with my feet up. I have my laptop on a lap desk and it's a pretty cozy setup.

I basically try to remove any excuse I have to get up once I start writing, because I am the worst procrastinator I know.

🍑Do you/would you write smut?

Heheh... heck yeah, I do. Waaaaay more than most people realize. Stuff I've actually posted? It's pretty limited. I posted a couple pieces (Let Me Love You and You're Like the Sunshine) a few years ago, but I've been practicing ever since. One of my planned stories literally has what I refer to as a “smut dump” in the draft where I've been experimenting with writing different moods. I like the intimate scenes to play a role in the overall plot or have it be a bonding experience.

Despite that, I do have a shameless Gray x Mary story I should just get out there that has zero plot, just two cuties in love. In my mind it's so naughty and kinky and I get flustered thinking about it (Mary is hot, okay?), but it's probably hella vanilla, lmao. I really am grateful that people have been really supportive about my writing smut despite what I usually write, and they've been so encouraging, too! I honestly feel like the smut I've posted is really stilted because I was so self-conscious about it. I don't feel like they are terrible for first attempts, but I have definitely grown more comfortable writing it.

Will The Shy Newcomer become explicit? I kinda really want it to, but I might separate the chapters for those who don't care for that content. Overall, I'd like to write more and post more, and I want to write more than just male x female smut as well. I have some of those in my planned pieces (more about them later).

📒 Any Fics Planned?

Firstly, I'm super tickled more than one person was interested in this. I copied the answer I wrote earlier.

Short answer: Yes. I also plan to bring more of my stories over from ffn to Ao3.

Long answer under the cut, heheh. I rambled quite a bit.

Ask me about my writing processes and stories!

I have so many WIPs that haven’t been touched in years that I’d like to finish, so new planned fics aren’t posted yet. Some of them have more adult themes than most of the stuff I’ve been writing, so I get flustered sharing them. I’ve been at a crossroads, as I feel that you can’t have growth without changing things up. On the other hand, I feel like a lot of my readers associate my works with a specific “wholesome” feel-good mood. It’s kinda nice to be known for something, although that might just be my ego talking, thinking that people recognize my work as a “type”.

Regardless, in the end, I feel growth is necessary.

I don’t want to leave a lot of unfinished WIPs waiting because they stress me out and I have too many of them already, so I’d like to have a bulk of my new stories with a good chunk written before I decide to post them.

Among those include:

A longfic featuring Pete’s farm in Forget-Me-Not Valley (A blend of HMDS with the FoMT plugin and AWL). It takes place in the same universe as The Shy Newcomer (Claire in Mineral Town) and there are a few overlapping moments, although Pete’s story starts first. Pete’s personality is verrry different from Claire’s, and his story was kind of supposed to be the yang to TSN’s yin. Pete’s best friends in his story are Ruby (not sure if I’m adding Tim yet), Nami, and Rock. Readers will be treated to a poorly-socialized pre-Mineral Town Cliff (if you think he was bad at the beginning of TSN, well… heh… he’s a wreck here).

Another planned unpublished story is a crossover of Harvest Moon and the movie “In This Corner of the World”, based on a manga of the same name by Fumiyo Kouno. It was written as a gift for a friend. I have the entire outline figured out and have slowly been filling it in. My friend asked for an AU where Claire and Cliff have an arranged marriage and live with his family in Akiyama, the hometown I had created for Cliff in The Shy Newcomer. I took the opportunity to expand the characters in his family. I have it written during the same time period and society as “In This Corner of the World”, but had decided to write a spreading disease as an allegory for war, but then COVID happened and some parts of it just got really hard to write. There are also a lot of sexually explicit content as Claire slowly grows and learns from her spouse that it’s okay to express what she wants despite sex being a taboo issue. If there’s enough interest in the story, I’ll post it, but I worry it’s a little too niche for there to be many people into it.

Pastor Carter and Doctor Trent are one of my favorite rare pair ships. I’ve had a partial draft for a story about them for a few years now, especially focusing on Trent growing up and acknowledging that he has an unhealthy addiction for things that he knows he can’t have. There are some more adult/sexual themes in this piece, too, including the main character lusting after a married woman (who also happens to be his patient) and some lemons. (Does anyone call it that anymore or is it just referred to as “smut” nowadays? Haha) I always feel so bad for neglecting the folks at the clinic in-game and wanted to write a piece that focused more on them, Trent specifically. It’s a multi-chap fic, but I don’t think I’m going to let it get as long as some of my other pieces.

I also really want to write a short romantic oneshot for every marriage candidate in Mineral Town, around 1,000 words each. So far, I have one for Cliff and one for Gray. I want to write Claire with everyone, because I think it would be fun to explore all the different personalities.

I have more installments planned for A Single Day, including a day in the life of the following characters, all with drafts in varying degrees of progress:

Anna

Doug

Nora (yes, I’m writing from the point of view of the cat living at the inn)

More to come – I think Lillia and Thomas would be especially interesting to explore

I do still have that Legend of Zelda Majora’s Mask piece I’ve been pondering where Link befriends the soul of the deku scrub child while possessed by the mask. I don’t have much written about it, but I really love the world of Majora’s Mask. Such a fun game.

I also think about the lead carpenter’s son in Ocarina of Time and that weird side quest involving the blue chicken and the son being lost to the forest. Then that unique-looking kokiri girl explaining that all who get taken in the lost woods become stalfos. Like, did the guy die? Was he sick? Did he want to die? There’s just so much going on there that would be fun to explore.

I also have played OMORI recently and have like… A LOT of feelings about it. I don’t know what I’d write, but I’m still damn impressed at how well the characters are developed in such a short game.

Other games I’ve had vague ideas about writing for include the following:

The Flame in the Flood: I’m thinking a survivalist/action story fleshing out Scout’s backstory a bit more and her thoughts as she’s traveling. I feel like she’s a very lonely person, but isn’t given the chance to really dwell on it.

Night In the Woods: I’d love to write more about Mae’s dreams and what they mean to her. She doesn’t really talk to anyone about them openly, so it’s really hard to tell her feelings about them in some regards. We know that she’s distressed about them, but I’d like to dive a little deeper. Do the nightmares end after the games does? What about Bea’s new nightmares?

Hades (Supergiant Games): I think it would be fun to write more about the events that take place before the game starts, like Zagreus’s duties in the house of Hades, and expand on the strained relationship with his father.

[renegadeapostle]

You have to tell us what perfumes you use!! Put us on! What’s wrong with le labo? I like the le labo rose 34 :(

A tough one to answer because I wear multiple perfumes a day and I'm almost always trying out samples, much to my family's displeasure. (I've been called a torture artist for making them smell some of the things I've worn!) But I try to mostly do sampling when I'm at home. Full bottles I own and wear when I'm out and about include but are not limited to:

Andy Tauer L'air du desert marocain - LOVE OF MY LIIIIFE! It smells like nothing else, simply one of the best dry ambers in existence. You must sample this if you like perfume at all.

Tauerville Rose Flash - my favourite rose scent (yes, even more than Portrait of a Lady!) A super jammy rose with a weird, funky citronella kind of base note. Projects like nothing else, I adore it. 

Thierry Mugler Alien - one of the best designer perfumes of all time, one of the best jasmines of all time. I love her. I wear this to the grocery store lol

Guerlain Vetiver Extreme - I didn’t care for the OG Guerlain Vetiver, though it’s considered one of the best in the genre (and I adore vetiver as a note!) but this one I love, it’s super smoky and incense-y. Hard to find in Aus but great value for money.

Comme des Garcons Incense: Avignon - you spray this and a Gregorian chant starts playing. A beautiful, airy, completely unforgiving incense. 

Prada Infusion d'Iris - A papery, dry iris. It uses the dry facets of iris, vetiver, incense, and a slug of iso e super (an aromachemical that smells like cedar/pencil shavings) to create an effect like the smell in a very clean library. One of my safe (for other people!) scents. 

Wik & Co Marveilleux - a lipstick rose/iris from an aussie indie brand. Smells like a vintage style scent that’s been given a modern twist. The closest I get to a decadent floral. 

Lalique Encre Noire/Encre Noire Extreme/Encre Noire Sport - my vetiver babieeeesssss. Encre Noire is one of the best vetivers ever made and probably the best soliflore for this note. Unfortunately, it only lasts about an hour on me so I spray it profusely. Extreme is deeper and a bit more powdery, Sport has some mineral notes in the top, both are also lovely. 

Lush I'm Home/Rentless/What Would Love Do?/Lord of Misrule/Goddess - I love my little lush bottles!. I’m Home is a cosy vanilla/benzoin, Rentless is Christmas spices with a huge slug of patchouli, WWLD is a lavender/citrus, Lord of Misrule is a patch/vanilla/pepper situation, and Goddess is what has to be described as a brutal oud, paired with rose and osmanthus. All lovely, well priced, and more inventive than about 80% of the designer/niche market. 

Serge Lutens Gris Clair - my fancy chemist lavender/hot ironing darling. Glorious.

Rania J Ambre Loup - gorgeous, cosy amber, with a lot of clove in the top notes. Not too powdery.

YSL M7 - one of the first western oud scents. Smells very medicinal, like cherry cough syrup - one of my faves. 

Prada Candy Gloss  - another cherry scent, I’m obsessed with medicinal/clinical cherry notes (I often enjoy almond/heliotrope perfumes because they smell very similar to cherry!). What perfume people call a ‘dumb reach’ - lovely, crowd pleasing, unchallenging. 

Molinard Habanita - powdery but in a good way. A vetiver-vanilla combo that is dominated by heliotrope (cherry-ish) and tobacco for me. Love the bottle.

Goldfield and Banks Wood Infusion - another aussie niche brand. A sticky oud and sandalwood, it projects like crazy. This one is addictive!

Guerlain Mitsouko - the chypre to end all chypres. 

Ariana Grande Cloud - a Baccarat Rouge 540 dupe, the best BR540 dupe, a saffron/medicinal top that blooms into a warm gourmand base. I get compliments from strangers when I wear this one. 

Escentric Molecules Escentric 01 - iso e super (aforementioned pencil shavings aromachemical) with a truly lovely pink pepper top note. 

Gucci Guilty Absolute pour Homme - smells like bandaids. Smells like a muscle rub. The affect is created by a truly dark combination of vetiver, cypress, and patchouli. I adore it. 

Agent Provocateur l’Agent - tuberose and incense, mainly myrrh. Very gothic, dramatic, seductress in silk dressing gown draped over a staircase. 

Dior Homme - A masculine (citrus top, woody base) with an iris (lipstick smelling) heart note. It is heavenly. 

Estee Lauder Youth Dew - my brother once called it, 'the sulfur of the damned'. Smells like Betty Draper mid existensial crisis. A coca coca oriental. 

Tocca Guiletta - this is a breezy light floral that has almost nothing I like listed in the notes, and yet I love it? It lasts forever, i take it on holidays. (Man, remember holidays?)

Tom Ford Black Orchid - Had it for years, love it deeply. A chocolate-cucumber top accord with a decaying floral/incense base. Smells like a dying 1920′s starlet. 

Tom Ford Grey Vetiver - a buttery vetiver accord in the style of Comme des Garcons Man 2. 

Kyse Frollino Lavanda - a huge dose of essential oil-ish lavender on top of a salted butter/sugary base. It’s just gorgeous. 

100bon Amaretto and Framboise/Carvi Jardin et Figue/Davana and Vanille Bourbon - these are all natural scents with surprisingly good longevity. The almond is a little boozy, the fig is very creamy, the davana a bit more fresh. I wear them in summer because they’re not cloying and they don��t give you a headache. 

I have decants of Frederic Malle Portrait of a Lady/Musc Ravageur and Heeley Cardinal that I wear pretty often as well. And I have a sample of Ormonde Woman that I'm hoarding because I love it and I want a bottle very badly but it is spennnssssyyy ($230 for 50ml). My wishlist is equally as embarrassing.

As for Le Labo, that’s really just a petty me thing; I don’t like brands that overcharge for their product. Fact is, unless the scent includes really difficult to source (real oud), rare (Mysore sandalwood), or expensive (real orris butter, saffron) ingredients, there’s no reason why the scent should be sold at such a markup. 

(I would probably never buy a full bottle of a Frederic Malle perfume either, though I love many of them and I like the brand a lot more than Le Labo, because they are similarly exorbitantly priced - mostly because of the ingredients.)

A lot of niche brands do markup (Byredo, Creed, ROJA DOVE) because they’re selling the aesthetic, and I don’t jive with that. I like a few Le Labo scents (Th�� Noir 29, Vetiver 46, their oud is alright) and i would buy them if they were in the 100-150$ price range. I also like that they have an affordable in house sampling service. I don’t like how they name their perfumes after the most used ingredient, because I think it’s misleading (Santal 33 does not smell like sandalwood, it’s a violet leaf bomb, etc). Rose 31 I do hate though lmao. It smells like sour cumin to me.

[sitp-recs]

Hey liv, I hope you’re doing alright! I just wanna (sorry for how rant-y this might get) say thank you for providing a safe space through your blog when it comes to fandom/ships/kinks. I recently read all the young dudes and really enjoyed it, and as a result started reading wolfstar, just adding another ship to the many I already read lmao. The thing is that I found myself on like the atyd side of tiktok/like a very niche corner of specific wolfstar readers/shippers, and the thing is that some of these people have many thoughts when it comes to rare pairs/ships that are I guess deemed problematic. They make comments like “ugh I’m just trying to find _____ but all the results just show drarry, or kinktober posts, with thousands of reads???? Who even reads that???” And I have to say that I’ve come very far in my journey of not giving a fuck and doing my best to simply enjoy whatever I want to!! But sometimes comments like that really get to me, and make me feel like I’m doing something wrong and I hate it!! Bc like who gives a shit what these people have to say???? And some part of me is like you do :/ so I’ve just started to mark them as not interested, but some still manage to get onto my fyp. Long story to again just say thank you, I like that I can exit that app and come onto this app and encounter blogs like yours, especially yours, and know that there’s people that are so nice in the fandom and are willing to put so much of their time to curate rec lists that are so broad in topics. You really do help me feel okay with exploring different ships/kinks/whatever I want to and not feel (too) guilty. So again sorry for this being so long, but just thank you!! I appreciate you more than you’ll ever know 🥰

Hi anon, sorry for the super late reply! Asks have been piling up and I only got to yours now.

Someone else mentioned tiktok hate (although towards HP fans in general) recently and boy, am I happy for not being there! I’m sorry to hear these awful comments are getting to you. It’s completely normal to feel let down at times, you shouldn’t feel bad or embarrassed for being affected - we’re real people with real feelings, we are not supposed to be 24/7 strong and handle everything all the time. But when this sense of inadequacy or disenchantment hits with more intensity, I want you to remember that being an asshole and going after people who think differently is not on us, it’s on them. The day I am purposefully cruel with the sole intent of attacking someone else, that’s when I’ll feel ashamed of myself.

Until then I try to take care of my mental health by staying as far away from fandom hate as I can - it’s not always under our control and that is something we have to learn how to deal with, as well. Personally, I am a non-confrontational type. It works for me because I don’t have the time or energy to invest in online drama; these people don’t even know me and I owe nothing to them. I just wanna stay in my land, do the things I love and bring me joy, try to spread the love within the Drarry community the best way I can.

When I created the blog, I decided that this will be my focus; every little thing that gets in the way of my positive fandom experience is superfluous and will only get the amount of attention and energy I want to give it, if I so desire. Sometimes it’s easier said than done, especially if you’re close friends with someone who shares that kind of mentality (which makes it a good time to re-evaluate such friendships, imo) but let’s live one day at a time and trust our safe and welcoming spaces to provide all the solace we need when things get hard! You can count on my blog for that. Stay safe! ❤️

[amiwritesthings]

Fic Writer Questions

thanks to @venhedish for the tag, this actually got me thinking on a few things lmao

1 ) How many works do you have on AO3?

currently 17, will probably add no 18 tonight. there’s also a bunch only published on ff.net (from when i wasn’t on AO3 yet) and yet another motherload of self-indulgent shit rotting on my hard drive.

2 ) What’s your total AO3 word count?

80781 words, about 60k of that from this year alone. i took a major break from writing 2010ish and really just got back into it during quarantine last year.

3 ) How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

7 on AO3. Supernatural, The Last Ship, Walker 2021, Men’s Hockey RPF, TVD, Graceland, Chicago Fire. for purposes of saving myself the embarrassment, we’ll limit this answer to just the AO3 stuff. 😂

4 ) What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

ooooh boy, maybe a little embarrassment after all.

A Trip to the South (TVD)

hey lookie, my incest glorifying days did not actually start with SPN lol. Salvatore brothers feeding together, blood sharing and enjoying it. I blame this being at the top solely on the fact that it’s been up since 2013 because it’s really nothing special.

when i dream (I’m doing you all night) (SPN)

Collection of (mostly smutty) deanjohn Tumblr prompts, i can blame most of those on other people lmao

Holding on (until it’s over) (Graceland)

Episode Tag to 1x10, Johnny/Briggs because even then i was obsessed with manny montana and i refuse to apologize for it.

11:59 (Men’s Hockey RPF)

Sean Avery/Henrik Lundqvist Hooker!AU, and yeah that’s pretty much it.

even whiskey can’t do (what you do when you kiss me that way)

OG Stanford Era deanjohn first time smut, my first foray into SPN fics.

5 ) Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

YES, i try to respond to all comments. sometimes RL gets in the way but as a rule i try to always respond. i love getting comments so i feel like appreciating the time the commenter took to bring me this joy. ♥️

6) What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

boy, this is a hard one. I’m not all that good with writing angst but i guess if I had to pick something i’d say don’t give up now (there’s already so much at stake), mostly because of the character’s frame of mind in general and the impending threat of invading a foreign country to overthrow a dictator the next day while being mentally wrecked.

7 ) Do you write crossovers? If so, what is the craziest one you’ve written?

i’m not against it but i’ve never actually done it.

8 ) Have you ever received hate on a fic?

not that I recall. but i guess it wouldn’t be the worst thing, i struggle way more with getting no feedback at all.

9 ) Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

do i? DO I? yeah, i do. usually the kind the story requires which can range from soft to awkward to plain filthy. also whatever kind the kinky anons drop in my inbox, i’m trying to keep an open mind.

10 ) Have you ever had a fic stolen?

not that i’m aware of. I don’t really operate in the super popular corners of the fandoms i’m in so i don’t think anyone feels the need to. it’d be pretty obvious to all the 10-20 people who are into that shit anyway lol

11 ) Have you ever had a fic translated?

again, not really running in the popular corners of fandom (rare pairs ftw) so imma say no. I could probably translate them myself but writing in my first language is fuckin awkward so no thank you.

12 ) Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No, I’m a pretty solitary writer. I do love to come play in other writer’s ‘verses though if they don’t mind. i have written a few things in @vintagedean ‘s married!vibes for example (thanks for letting me play, dude!)

13 ) What’s your all-time favorite ship?

jeez, i don’t know. i’ve never really stuck with just one fandom, i’m a notorious multi-fandom multi-shipper. i’m the kind of person who watches eps of 4 different shows in one day and yells at the tv about all of them.

14 ) What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

we make a long way from easy lovin‘ look good, baby. i was honestly so invested in this project but then they completely torpedoed this pairing in canon in the worst possible way and i kinda lost the drive to keep writing. i have posted it to my graveyard collection of unfinished stuff for now but i don’t think i will finish it, sadly.

15 ) What are your writing strengths?

creating emotions, hitting you in the feels, or so I’ve been told. i like to think that (given that English is not my first language) just reaching the kind of level i’m at now can be considered a strength.

16 ) What are your writing weaknesses?

run-on sentences, endless run-on sentences. they serve a purpose SOMETIMES but mostly it’s just me and my rambly writing style. and repetition. i have actually started searching my writing docs for specific phrases while editing to catch most of them and rephrase. not being able to include just a bit of angst without it turning into an existential crisis for the character and me. and the worst thing I keep doing that i’m not able to stop is writing shit out of order. i start with the beginning, then some idea for the middle pops up, then I write the end and then I have to somehow weave it all together, it’s so inconvenient and annoying.

17 ) What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

i speak a few languages (or you know, at least can understand/write/read them) so as long as i’m sure that it’s correct and it fits the story, I’m all for it!! language kink ftw.

18 ) What was the first fandom you wrote for?

it was either music or hockey rpf, i’m not even sure anymore at this point, that was like 20 years ago. nothing that ever got published anywhere lol

19 ) What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

my name engraved on your heart, hands down. that is my beloved, my baby, the project nearest and dearest to my heart. i can actually read this and enjoy it without nitpicking my own writing at every turn and i’m just so happy with the overall vibe of it. it’s like a niche in a niche of a fandom thing though, so i get that it doesn’t resonate as strongly with others as it does with me but it is my favorite of favorites.

honorable mention to the house don’t fall (when the bones are good), though, because it’s what got me back into writing and it was my biggest (published) project and that fix-it needed to be written.

i think all my fellow fic writer mutuals have already been tagged in this, so i'm not gonna add y'all again but feel free to steal if this strikes your fancy.

[fmdxyoungjoo]

hi, so this is an offering for all four of my muses for the event post for any potential threads (especially the ones with prompts!) please press the like or directly message me if you’d like to plot for the event be it on discord or on joo’s tumblr right here.

youngjoo:

silhouette will be performing sixth sense, and joo’s voice isn’t exactly in the best condition for the high note in sixth sense ( potential thread for 3rd prompt) [dec 25th]

joo draws the red card and is part of the decorations team but everyone has forgotten how much of a two left feet + accident prone she is ( potential thread for 1st prompt) [dec 25th]

joo @ the holiday ball probably in a bath robe lmfao because there’s too many people for a swimsuit show [ dec 25th ;7pm to 11pm ]

dec 27th: she’s probably tired enough to just spend the entire day on the cruise ship so she’s free the entire day in her rooms here

dec 28th: joo is with the red team again and is working in the kitchens and thank god she’s not that bad at cooking in fact she’s actually good at it lmao the rest of the day she will be preparing for the concert with silhouette and being on stage before returning, probably exhausted by the end of things

dec 29th: she’s free the entire day, find her at the pool dipping her feet in the water because its hot, or in her rooms, probably catching up with sleep or working on her music because she plans to put out an album once more

dec 30th: this time she’s lucky to get the blue card and she’s going to get that free massage (pls her body is probably aching at this point lmfao) & pampering herself with that french fine dining

dec 31st : early in the day she’s with silhouette girls, preparing for the concert. the new year eve’s party she’s probably going to let loose a little so a tipsy joo might make an appearance....yeah...i’ll think on that again a drunk joo is a really...sigh. if anyone wants to find her, she will be there probably alone and drinking by herself slowly while admiring the night sky.

jan 1st : she will be at the fansign at the theatre with the rest of silhouette, waiting for her turn after 7rophy, and probably brushing shoulders with BEE since they’re up next for the fansign. the rest of the day is shopping in busan, probably going round to find little joys in eating (yeah yeah yeah she’s craving street food whatcha gonna do about it 😤

artemisia / sia :

lipstick is going to be performing news, wild and lil’ touch and knowing sia she would probably either be late / lost somewhere in the ship / sleeping  in the most unexpected places. the loud sounds of the rehearsals are also going to or probably might get to her, and some might find her hiding away hands over her ears trying to re-balance her disorientation and sensory overload. she might run / brisk walk off the stage mid-practice because of it as well. 

the same night she’s performing with lipstick, but the rest of the whole time for the concert she’s going to be having a good pair of earplugs in her ears--misunderstandings could occur because she’s not very good at reading lips. 

dec 26: she gets lucky and draws a blue card. fits her perfectly, probably spends the rest of the day lying dazedly on the benches next to the swimming pool, or just lazy enough to get into the water, and just lie down and float. actually. she might even fall asleep while floating, based on what i know of her personality. in that case someone pls..wake her.

the swimming pool thing might also cause some fun in threads because sia could have walked out of the swimming pool without caring if her hair was all over her face (its probably grown to mid chest by now), and coming across her with wet hair across her face trudging round the corner can be quite horrifying

the same night she’s going to grab food, drinks for the holiday ball and spend her time trying to find a spot where no one comes round. maybe you come across her because you’re trying to hide too

dec 27: free day on ship. great. she’s going to sleep. or blast music and work on her stuff. or play games. come hit her up and find out.

dec 28: she gets a yellow card and probably spends her time trying to sneak off and away from actually doing the mission because no, she doesn’t like animals, and yes, its because they’re too noisy. her ears hurt and her eyes hurt please spare her for a moment, or don’t and drag her back to do the mission. she rehearses with the rest of lipstick girls in the evening--good luck, someone from lipstick hear her rant about the animals in the afternoon and calm her frazzled soul 

dec 29: free day again. again, sleep, eat, blast music, work stuff, play games...come hit her up.

dec 30: she gets a yellow card again and is attempting to sneak and mingle with the blue team. maybe you are perceptive enough to catch the usually presentless her, or you don’t and she smoothly integrates herself into the team. if she succeeds, she’s going to the bar to celebrate which is rare in all honesty, we might get a drunk or tipsy sia who knows. or just plain sober sia. who knows.

dec 31st: again she’s with the lipstick girls in the morning, and at the new years’ eve party in the night. again, she’s trying to sneak food and drinks out so as not to mingle in the party. she will be attempting to ninja her way to the observation lounge. 

jan 1st: she will be at the fansign at the theatre, brushing shoulders with fuse girls and gal.actic girls at their fansigns. her fans usually bring her rather embarrassing little hats for her to wear that’s too big for her so you might come across her wearing those and shuffling out of the theatre or something. 

she’s going to honestly just walk around. mainly if there’s anything of musical interest that catches her attention, she will go for it. 

alyssia:

dec 25th: she’s going to be playfully getting ready with the rest of the bee girls for her performance, being the mood maker and the cheeky one she might purposely do some fun little antics to tease those around her and be playful with them

dec 26th: she get the red card and probably might cause more harm than good with decorations, though she’s pretty eager to help. who knows you might chance upon her getting caught in tinsel or entangled in the lights with no way to get out. the same night she’s going to be at the ball, probably eating and drinking and mingling with friendly people whilst being in the pool as well

dec 27th: free day out in taipei!! join her for street food!! she wants to eat all of the street food and shop at all the street markets she can find!! she especially wants to try the stinky tofu, so...good luck to anyone bringing her out she will insist on trying it lmfao

dec 28th: she gets the red card again :’) this time someone please make sure she doesn’t end up eating all the food she’s supposed to prepare. aly with cooking is always 85% eating and 15% cooking, she’s also not good at it at all so bear with her pls

dec 29th: she’s going to the card and game room, and the library, and the theatre and then the fitness centre she just wants to visit every place in the ship even though she doesn’t stay long in one place.

dec 30th: she gets the yellow card  and will try to mingle with the blue team. except..that she’s just generally bad at hiding her excitement ;;

dec 31st:  she’s probably eating at the ball, and then making a beeline for her room. by then she’s exhausted herself on the running energy for the past few days. she might fall asleep while eating, or doze while talking with someone

jan 1st: she’s going to brush shoulders with silhouette and lucid girls for the fansign at the theatre, and aly is known to be a bit wild when doing fansigns lmao so you might hear her hyping up the fans even while behind or waiting for your turn. aly energy at the beginning of the fanmeet: 150% , after the fanmeet: 150% and getting louder with bunny hats and flower crowns and just chattering non-stop (i’m sorry bee girls :’) she’s excited)

dojun:

dec 26: yeah, he’d rather be anywhere but rehearsing for alien. he’ll be distracted half the time or disappeared because he’s snuck away to watch over his gf. or he will aim to finish his rehearsal quickly and then go. 

he gets the yellow card and helps with the choreography of dance since its his niche. he’ll probably suggest some really cheer / hyped up songs that makes people feel like dancing upon hearing the song--that’s half the recipe of success he says.

holiday ball: do not disturb, thank you. he’s probably hovering somewhere close to his gf, watching over her and half heartedly talking to others. who knows you might see the warmer or actual side of him and not the dumb narcissistic side since he tends to be softer and more leaning towards his original personality when around his gf

dec 27: he’ll be at the fitness centre or the indoor pool, or you might not find him at all.

dec 28:. ...he gets a yellow card and will probably go around asking to exchange cards with others pls he’s kind terrified of the idea being around wild animals LOL animals remind him of his gf’s pets who detest him lmfao

dec 29: you won’t find him anywhere akjdgk this devoted person is off and away with his gf as secretly as he can

dec 30: he draws the red card. he hasn’t cleaned in a long ass time, but he’s willing to put in the effort as long as others do, and surprisingly you won’t see him complain but just diligently do his part.

dec 31: god he’s rehearsing with alien again. he’d honestly rather have time speed up in this part because his mind is preoccupied elsewhere. the new year’s eve party is going to be fun and blissful one, but he’s finally had the chance to fully relax and just be himself. maybe you’ll catch the flamboyant, loud ass prat version of him, or maybe the sentimental one. anyway, he’s staying up and finding his gf so that he can give her a new year’s kiss secretly because he’s romantic like that.

jan 1st: he will brush shoulders with origin members and decipher members, then appear at the theatre later on to watch from a distance and silently support silhouette. 

[jyndor]

Cop-thing-anon here:

(I don't believe in the blue lives matter thing by the way)

I do get where you're coming from. I guess I see the thing about cops and cop AUs differently because the police is different and not as fucked up in my country. The thing about the fanart is just..I think you're reading too much into it. I don't think the artist really focused on the skin colour of Sokka, I mean, it's a kids show. Skin colour was never really mentioned or important in atla. But Sokka's personality is most likely why the artist was inspired to draw him as a "gangster", with azula (the villain) being a cop. It is kind of insensitive to draw that with the events going on, but I think that a lot of people in the fandom take some things way too seriously, for a kids show back in the late 2000's anyway.

hey anon, I say this with love and I am being sincere. I'm gonna need you to rewatch the show if you think skin color didn't matter. and it doesn't matter where you live because there is no part of the world, no culture, that isn't shaped by colonialism. I don't mean to be condescending so please bear with me, I truly believe in educating people as a part of allyship and anti-racism.

Anon, please know that I am not angry or anything but sincere in what I’m about to say. Just bear with me because I know that unlearning shit is difficult and can be painful, but we’ve gotta do it. I do appreciate you wanting to have this conversation at all. And I’m not writing this just for your benefit - this is for anyone who wants to learn about why A) race is a part of ATLA’s narrative and B) why critical analysis of mass media is actually important. So I’m not assuming you don’t know basic things about this stuff, I’m not trying to be condescending.

Now we’re gonna fix colonialism and imperialism XD wee okay here we go.

No matter where you live in the world you have some awareness of skin color. Your understanding of race might be different than mine, in fact it probably is. Race as we know it today is a social construct that stems from many things (and I wrote several hundred words on it but it was too much and too far removed from the point I’m trying to make so I edited all of that out. Yay.)

You don’t usually see imperialism, one of the major themes in Avatar, without colonialism. Imperialism is slightly different than colonialism - you can think of it like the ideology behind the practice of colonialism.* Imperialism can be used to describe expansionism in general - which has been going on since the bronze age lol humans, I stg - but usually when people today refer to colonialism and imperialism they’re talking about imperialism starting in the 17th century.

Now imperialism is not just a European concept. ATLA is set in a world that we know is supposed to be like a combination of different Asian cultures (with some influences from the Americas). And the Fire Nation is clearly influenced by Imperial Japan. So briefly:

Japan had a policy of sakoku (chained or closed country) which kept it mostly isolated (out of concerns that Japan would fall victim to something like the Opium Wars in China, among other things) from the rest of the world for a couple hundred years until the 1850s when a US Naval commander named Matthew Perry (I am not kidding) forced Japan to open its borders for trade to the United States by gunboat diplomacy, an oxymoron if I have ever seen one before.

Japan ended up signing unequal treaties with a lot of Western countries, and this bred xenophobia and hostility in Japan. The Emperor who signed these treaties died of smallpox, and after some internal conflict his son decided try to renegotiate these treaties. The US and European countries were not interested in renegotiating dick but the mission wasn’t unsuccessful because the diplomats A) exchanged some islands with Russia and B) were inspired by western economic policy and society to “modernize” Japan. Japan began industrialization and it converted to a market economy with the help of the US and other western powers.

So over many years, Japan went to war with China, Korea, Russia (and took back some of the land they exchanged with them), and others. From wikipedia:

Using its superior technological advances in naval aviation and its modern doctrines of amphibious and naval warfare, Japan achieved one of the fastest maritime expansions in history. By 1942 Japan had conquered much of East Asia and the Pacific, including the east of China, Hong Kong, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Burma (Myanmar), Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, part of New Guinea and many islands of the Pacific Ocean.

But ATLA is not a Japanese story. The Fire Nation is not Imperial Japan. The Earth Kingdom is not China or Korea, the Air Nomads are not Tibetan monks, and the Water Tribes are not Inuit. The creators definitely drew heavy inspiration from all of these places and others, but ATLA is a story written by American people in the United States for American kids. It is an American story.

And it was created at a time when the United States was victimizing people in Afghanistan and Iraq (and other places) in many similar ways to how the Fire Nation victimized people. In fact, the show starts in the Southern Water Tribe, which represent Inuit people, indigenous people in Alaska, Canada and Greenland, I think it’s safe to assume that the genocide being referenced here is not one by Japan but rather by European colonizers and later by the United States and Canada.

Imperialism is in the show’s DNA. 

And so is racism. In our world they are inherently connected. And visual cues from the show along with things the characters say suggest that we are meant to make the comparison between our world and the ATLA world. Every story has a purpose - it doesn’t have to be political, but for Avatar it is political, it is anti-imperialist.

In this article about how ATLA resonates with us in 2020, Aina Khan of the Guardian interviews Professor Ali A Olomi about using ATLA to teach at Penn State. “One of the things we see with the Fire Nation is the ideological justification for what they’re doing. We are a glorious civilization. We have abundance, we have wealth, we have technological advancement; we need to share it with the rest of the world. That’s almost word for word European colonisation.”

Zuko and Azula both call Katara a peasant. In fact, Azula calls her a dirty peasant. This is one step away from calling her a s*vage I mean come on. While peasant might just be purely classist (lol no) because Zuko and Azula are royalty, um it’s clearly racialized classism because of real life context. There is real history with colonizers calling indigenous people this, dismissing their cultures as primitive and barbaric.

Add into the mix colorism, which is bias against darker skin and privileges fair skin (which is a byproduct of imperialism) and you have clear race shit happening in Avatar.

When I saw that fanart, I was immediately reminded of black lives matter of course, but mainly of the fact that indigenous peoples are also at high risk of being victimized by police. Not just in the US. And how gross it is to depict a colonizer like Azula as an angry cop (representing the state) turning her gun on an indigenous man who is dressed like a gangster which... yike.

Mass media influence everything we do. The messaging we get, our politics, what we want to eat for dinner because we’re hungry and have been writing this stupid essay for three hours LOL. It’s important that people think critically about what they consume. Otherwise you get the goddamn United States with half of our population stanning a racist fraud. You want to know why US Americans are so ignorant? Because our education system sucks, because we don’t have any real media literacy. But apparently the rest of the world has some fucking nerve making fun of Americans** because all of us suck at it. No one is thinking critically about media.

A really terrifying thing about people is our ability to take whatever message we want from stories, even if it is in direct contradiction with the narrative of a story. There’s a movie called American History X which is explicitly anti-fascist, but because it’s a drama and Ed Norton is cut and looks badass and uncucked or whatever LOL, the iconography in that movie is fairly popular with neo-nazis. Yike. This is not at that level of course, this is some random niche fanart for a rare pairing.

For better or for worse, US media and entertainment gets a lot of attention and people around the world eat it up. Maybe you don’t need to know every little detail about US American shit, and I know we tend to dominate media, but black lives matter is not just a 2020 thing. People have known about it for years, since it started. If that fanart was created in 2019, which I think it was, the BLM movement had already existed for six years. If you’re watching an American show like Avatar and you’re making fanart on social media but you don’t know what BLM is in 2019... well educate yourself lmao.

Considering that Black fans have expressed frustration and discomfort in fandoms over and over again, and I am sure indigenous fans have too because fandoms are racist sometimes, it’s important that white fans help make fandoms better. And I am a white fan, and I consider myself an anti-racist. Which means I have to be active about racism when I see it.

btw I found this great essay by @cobra-diamond which you should read if you want more details about the similarities between Japan and the Fire Nation.

* that is very reductive but it’s fine lol

** I am kidding, unless you are english feel free to make fun of americans for non-gun, non-trauma related things pls

[sodalitefully]

1-30 hehehe

Anon you’re a ballsy motherfucker and I love you.  BUT you didn’t choose a fic for 24-28, or a word for 29!

What was the first fandom and/or pairing that you wrote fic for? Uh, probably Danny Phantom when I was like twelve 😂

Do you participate in any writing events or challenges throughout the year? If so, what do you like about them? Nope bc this is a small fandom and we don’t do many of those.

Do you write fics from start or finish, or jump around? I usually start at the start and then when I get stuck I’ll just skip that part, keep going, and come back to it later.  If I have an idea and I’m afraid I’ll forget it, I might also skip ahead and write it.

Do you outline before you start writing? If so, how far do you stray from that outline? I love outlining more that actually writing lmao, the longer the fic the more I outline.  I usually stick to it pretty closely, which isn’t aways good for my writing...

What is the perfect environment for you to write in? Quiet and private.  Other than that I haven’t figured out the tricks to getting myself to focus :(

If you’re really concentrating, how many words can you write in a day? Occasionally when I’m really inspired I’ll write like 1000, but more often I just write a paragraph or two.

Which part of writing do you struggle with most? Too many ideas, too little actual writing capacity.  It’s hard to focus on finishing fics bc I get too distracted by my other ideas, and I rarely write sequels bc there’s so much I haven’t gotten to share yet.

Do you listen to music while you write? If so, share a song that’s been inspiring you lately. Nope, can’t write with music, I get too distracted.  

Do you prefer to write AUs, canon divergence, or canon-compliant fic? AUs!!!

Do you enjoy writing dialogue, exposition, or plot the most? Probably dialogue? Exposition is great bc I get to explain the AU, but It’s not good for the flow of the fic.  Dialogue can be really satisfying to write when you get in a groove with it.

If you could only write angst, fluff, or smut for the rest of your life, which would it be? Fluff!

Is there a trope you haven’t written yet but really want to? Oh god so many.  I have notes on tons of tropes I’d like to write... I’d like to do a college AU (and I meant to do it while I was actually in college but oops).  I posted a soulmate AU once but I’d like to do another.  Oh and I have lots of ideas for crossover AUs and I’m still deciding how to handle those.

Is there a trope you wouldn’t write if it was the last trope on earth? Honestly probably not.  I’m not huge on character death, genderbends, or reader inserts, for example, but I have ideas for fics involving all of those. 

If you were stuck on a desert island with only two characters, which would you pick? No one from gnr that’s for sure, that’d be a disaster.  How about... Percy Jackson and idk Wonder Woman?

A Hollywood producer tells you that they want to film just one of your fics. Which fic would you want it to be? Hmm out of the fics that I’ve posted... maybe Sumthin’ for Nuthin’ actually? I abandoned that poor fic but I still really like the plot.  And there’s plenty of longer, more plot-heavy fics I have outlined that would be cool to see as films.  In general I often imagine concepts visually instead of with words.

What is your most underrated fic? Saving Grace didn’t get a lot of notes and I get why – it’s kinda niche and there’s no actual romance.  But I think it’s well-written and I’m proud of it.

What fic are you most proud of? Maybe the whole cat!slash universe?  I don’t think it’s my best writing per se, but I’m still really attached to the concept and it was a pleasant surprise that other people seemed to like it too.

What is a line/scene you’re really proud of? Give us the DVD commentary for that scene. I’ve always been partial to the paragraph in Sweetness that ends with “Their coffee has long gone cold (and so has Duff’s spine - snakes give him the heebie-jeebies), but Slash’s enthusiasm is sweeter than the Duff’s half-eaten bowl of melted ice cream, and Duff is eating it up with a spoon.”  Just... the coffee is cold and so is Duff’s spine, Slash is sweet and so is the ice cream, and using “eating it up with a spoon” idiomatically while it’s also thematically relevant to a sentence about dessert... I really like to layer meaning when I can.

Who is the easiest/hardest character for you to write about? Why? Slash tends to be the center in most of my writing, but actually I think it’s easier to write from Duff’s pov.  Maybe bc when I’m writing sluff I can just channel my crush on Slash through Duff lmao.  Interesting tho bc when it comes to the real people, I find Slash much more relatable than Duff or the others.

What’s your favorite minor character you’ve written? Hah maybe Slash in the funeral home AU, it’s a duzzy ficlet so he’s just a side character but I got a kick out of writing his and Steven’s background antics.

What is the one fic that got away? Well, I really wish I’d finished Sumthin’ for Nuthin’ before I kinda lost interest in Motley Crue, that fic was gonna get more dramatic from there.  Would it be worth it to just post the outline?  Plus there’s a few potential longfic ideas that I’ve put a lot of love into, but I doubt they’ll ever be posted or completed considering the way I can’t seem to focus on one idea long enough to write more than a one-shot :( But hey I guess you never know.

Have you cried while writing a fic? Nope.  I do have some angsty ideas though, hopefully they’ll surface someday.

If you had to remix one of your own fics, which would it be and how would you remix it? Someday I’d like to rewrite the cat!Slash fic from the beginning, make it a real multichap or at least a proper series of vignettes.  Id also be interesting in a darker version of that AU, since there’s definitely potential for that in the concept.  But I’m pretty attached to the fluffy little universe I made, so I’d probably prefer to explore those darker themes in a different (but maybe similar) universe – I have a few ideas.

How did you come up with title for [x fic]? Most of my fics have self-explanatory titles or none at all, the only one I have much to say about is Saving Grace.  Duff needed a miracle to get out of his situation, Slash was his saving grace.  But also, Grace is the name of Duff’s oldest daughter, and Duff’s motive in the story is trying to “save” her.  Despite the double meaning in the title, I avoided referring to the child by name or as Duff’s “daughter”/explaining how they ended up together.  I wanted to maintain some of the mystery of the apocalyptic genre: characters with mysterious origins, found families, aliases, etc.  That’s definitely one of the ways that Mad Max and DOOM influenced this fic.  (Oh, also Serpentine is a dick joke via a wttj reference: “My serpentine.”  That’s it tho, the rest are pretty straightforward.)

Which idea came to you first in [x fic]? Feel free to send a fic for any/all of the next few questions! Generally speaking, my ideas are character driven, I want to portray a character or relationship a certain way and I build a world that allows me to do that.

Which part of [x fic] was the hardest to write?  Always the end.

If you were ever to do a sequel to [x fic], what do you think might happen in it? Whichever fic you have in mind, there’s a very high chance I have ideas.

In [x fic], what is a happy, post-fic headcanon you have about [pairing]? Same as above!

Send me a word. If it’s in your WIPs, include the sentence and a short summary of the fic. – Send me a word anon!

Tell us an idea for a longfic you want to write in the future. Ok, so I have three main longfic ideas, but the easiest one to explain is an AU set in a version of the 1980s where ancient greek deities exist, Axl’s life is parallel to that of Perseus, and Slash is cursed like Medusa.   Lots of drama, lots of influence from greek theater, untrustworthy gods, unrequited feelings, dramatic irony... fuck I hope I write it someday.  

Alright mad respect for anyone who got through all that!  Thanks for the ask, and feel free specify a fic for those last few questions if you wanna

[anxiety-trademark]

The week in review:

Raw 08/31 NXT 09/01 Smackdown 09/04

Raw:

Still like ShaNia.

Unclear on why being merely pushed sent Shayna out of the camera’s field of view for 8 seconds, but alright.

Me: *likes Nattie and Lana together* ; wwe: “How about a feud with them vs Asuka?”; Me: “...you know what, nvm.”

The absolute state of Becky’s title, yikes.

This segment needed more hairdryer crowd noise.

They’re not wrong, that ring gear is insanely outdated.

Lana “elevating this entire women’s division” pppfffftttttt

“If you wanna get to her you gotta go through me,” with all due respect to Nattie - cuz I DO respect her - who is trying to get to her? Who in this segment has mentioned her name??

The way Lana never lets herself get properly thrown out of the ring. Ugh.

Coach Nattie “harder Lana” Neidhart, everyone.

Watching Asuka on commentary just adds to the positives of pairing her with Charlotte. Sorry I’m not into the random yelling Japanese, with nothing being accomplished and zero questions being answered. I’m jumping ahead of myself here though.

No seriously what happened to the pants Mickie used to wear on SD back in 2017?

That was a match. If I had positives to give, I’d give them. Anyway.

I haven’t said how much I like the backstage interviews taking place in a mock ring, but I’m a fan. I love wwe for its impressive amount of over-the-top production, and small things like this just adds to the product imo.

This is cute, sad, and a little too on the nose. I’m a fan of how they’ve built up Riott Squad’s bond, but it’s too obvious who’s losing. They deserve the time, though.

iiconics had a niche; neither will shine as singles stars.

Also don’t like that the shades of their blue gear don’t match. Nitpicking again, I know.

Really liked iiconics’ theme. rip.

Somehow, after all these years, I’m still shocked at how bad Billie Kay is at selling. You’re being punched in the face. Just PRETEND like she’s making contact, please. You’re staring right fucking at her.

Good positioning of the ref and good camera work, did not see Liv coming to intercept Peyton on behalf of Ruby. Points to everyone.

Wow couldn’t finish it with a finisher? Is there a reason we need to protect Billie Kay of all people??

“Over a decade of friendship is gone,” what a bad line, Tom.

*Jassamyn & Marina dominate Raw Underground* No.

Highlight: ShaNia interview prior to Asuka joining in

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NXT:

*Tegan looks back at her time with Candice* No.

Why isn’t nxt in the Thunderdome? Why are all these people crowded together? Hello, covid anyone??

Candice gets 1/4 a point for the annoyed look she gave Kacy and Kayden, cuz I actually nearly laughed.

Kacy willing to take bumps. Beautiful neckbreaker, beautiful bump onto the floor.

...Did Candice just do a poor woman’s version of Charlotte’s Natural Selection? EXCUSE ME??!? Negative 20 points.

All that setup just to push her face into the mat. Okay. Oh that was her finisher. Wow, once again I sat through a Candice match that I immediately regretted.

*Candice wants to reconcile with Tegan* No.

This is why losing to Charlotte was a good thing for Rhea, she has honed her craft in every single category since wm. Great promo.

That is not at all how I expected Mercedes to sound. And a 12 word promo... Kay, anyway.

Highlight: the neckbreaker Kacy took

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Smackdown:

“Bayley, Shayna’s tapped you out the last 3 times you were in the ring with her,” LMFAOOO I’m crying omg. That sentence and its reactions get mad points, whew.

I’m questioning the stupid smile on Bayley’s face the entire time Sasha straight went off, and I’m realizing that as much as she’s improved, there’s a reason I still rate Sasha as a better actress.

Every time I hear Sasha’s entrance, I just want to jump to an old match to hear the good version.

The way they transitioned from Nia’s music into Shayna’s should be a staple. Beautiful.

Not an ounce of me needs this pre match commentary.

Lol mirrored ragdolling. Didn’t even realize Shayna was that strong.

I like that struggle by Bayley while being forced into her opponents’ corner.

Fantastic attempt to separate Bayley’s shoulder, points.

Sasha is my all-time favorite opponent of Nia’s. Usually I favor Bayley’s speed, but I love Sasha’s “flurry of offense,” as they call it.

OOF a rope hangup into a power bomb on the floor. Well done. Points for the combo move, points for the bump.

Sasha in her desperate pin attempts is always great.

“rare miscommunication between Banks and Bayley,” it wasn’t terrible, but very noticeable... and very rare indeed. Still the best tag team in the entire division - or at least they were lmao.

This match is way better than Payback. I feel like it’s longer as well.

Ohp Sasha’s knee is dead.

“What we didn’t see is Nia Jax rip Bayley off the apron,” and why the hell did no camera catch that, especially on the network? Billion dollar company btw.

It’s a good finish though. These 2 were exhausted and on their last leg (lol literally) it’s buyable for a crossbody by Nia to finish them off.

One thing I like about this was Bayley’s premeditation. It wasn’t a random act of violence.

This is the first time I think I’ve ever seen Sasha’s infamous knee pads that protect her from doing an INSANE amount of damage to her knees like 15 times per match lmao. Wonder if she wears anything protective on her poor shins, or if they’re just indented and bruised to all hell.

MAN I wish this had a crowd just to gauge the reaction.

“Don’t look at me like that” whew it’s misty in here. Sasha does vulnerable, heart broken, kicked puppy REALLY fucking well, wbk.

That moment when Sasha “I’ll sell ANYTHING” Banks stops selling moves because her body is fucking rekt. Sad. My god her body shook on impact of that kick to the back. BAYLEY CALM DOWN.

“YOU HAPPY MICHAEL COLE? HUH?? IS IT BOSS TIME NOW?!?” lmaooo

I like the imagery of Bayley standing over Sasha, holding her face up and screaming at her, but the dialogue was weak.

Long segment to not be broken up by security/officials.

Curious to know why Bayley decided to fuck up Sasha’s neck.

Love how Sasha shakes her arm after the stomp. She’s so good.

Sasha with a neck brace on a stretcher... getting ptsd flashbacks from hiac 2016.

Fine segment, glad it happened. Some kinks I would’ve ironed out, starting with the length, but that’s nitpicking. Not the greatest betrayal I’ve ever seen, but I give them points for having it be by Bayley’s hand rather than the typical Sasha’s.

Omg one of Bray’s puppets is in the back.

Love that there are more dreads in Lexi’s hair.

Lexi gets cute points. She’s cute. Sue me.

The madness continues. We’re in this for the long haul, huh.

I realize Nikki is totally secondary, but she’s selling all of this really well. Alexa needed someone who cares about her to help make this stick, so points to Nikki.

Highlight: ShaNia vs Baysha

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*Smackdown easily shined the brightest this week. Following a great match, Bayley and Sasha finally split up after teasing this shit for over a year. Enough said.