#so like feel free to ask more specific questions

[karasbroken]

I am still in escape-from-reality mode, so have an essay on John being smart, I guess?

I loved this photo of the shuttle interior, though of course I can't view it without sparing a few thoughts for the crew who lost their lives for our quest to be free from being trapped in our one, beautiful, complicated, suffering planet.

But what it made me think about next was Farscape, of course. It's so briefly mentioned, and never referred to again, but the Farscape mission was John's third trip to space, minimum. He'd been on two previous space shuttle missions. And they must have been significant and successful roles because he was commander for the Farscape project. So this overwhelming morass of switches and readouts was familiar to him. He could probably name what every control did, what every blinking button meant.

John's ability to adapt so quickly to alien technology doesn't seem so improbable when you consider how much Earth technology he was used to dealing with. He struggled mostly with the stuff that had no labels or details to guide him, like handles that turn unintuitively back and forth instead of up and down, or doors that open by waving the right way at specific unmarked spots. (I feel like PK techs also found the doors of Leviathans baffling because they engineered specific glowy pads for all of Talyn's doors.)

I'm positive that John knew every subsystem on this shuttle. There's a reason they let a guy go up to space in a ship of his own design, and it's not just because he's the son of a famous astronaut. (Good for publicity at a time when the space program was struggling for mind share and funding.) He might use half his brain for pop culture and Aeryn, but the rest of it was more than enough to make John that rare super genius who can put his math and science into practical use building shit. So of course the vast majority of the time we see John being idle, he's taking something apart or putting it back together.

When he goes back home, John claims not to understand how the hetch drive works, "he just installed it", but his friends know that's bullshit. Of course John knows how most of it works, but he doesn't have full grasp of the math and science because he's had to deduce everything from tinkering and an under-trained Pilot without full grasp of the science himself. John is being coy partly to not bias what other scientists can figure out from their own experiments and partly because he doesn't want to get stuck all day every day being interrogated for his knowledge. Kinda been there, done that.

But anyway, this picture made me think things, about Earth tech, and our wonderful, adaptable human in the wilds of constant space magic and a hundred species worth of tech....

(Okay, just one more rant: I'm convinced Aeryn becomes a tech herself at least partially because she hangs out with John a lot, and she hates being idle, so she started messing with tech too.

I can just see him opening something up and asking a lot of questions that irritate her because she has no idea why any of her equipment works and it has never been necessary to know how to fix it, yet the way he asks questions makes her feel ignorant. But then after he pokes around enough to figure out what the red squiggly button does, he shows her and wants her to understand it too. Which she wouldn't be interested in, except she can shut him up faster if she makes him show her how to put it back together, freeing him up to go play with the next thing that catches her eye.

Or he'll go into this rant about how this particular thing is always breaking and should really be redesigned and she tells him she'll fix it, again, just to shut him up.

Because she quietly loves being in his frittery, high energy presence; there's enough John to fill up a squad's worth of space and he helps her feel less lonely on this giant empty tomb of a ship. But she wishes he talked less because she can't not pay attention to him and three quarters of what he says is nonsense. John earnestly messing around with something too intent to even talk is perfect. She'll happily sit there and clean parts or do the tedious soldering if he just limits himself to occasional mutters and "youreekas!", whatever that means.

John, of course, being a super genius, eventually figures out the pretty girl will sit with him all day--really close to him actually, their knees will bump a lot--if he tells her he really needs help assembling backup circuits or whatever. But only if he shows her how to do it once, provides minimal feedback from there, and limits himself to two Earth pop culture references per arn.)

Flight Deck of the Space Shuttle Columbia image credit: Eric Long/Smithsonian Institution                          National Air and Space Museum

[love-letters-to-bugs]

Dear humans,

Hello! So I saw this post by @foxsnails asking for people to send love letters to bugs! Unfortunately, it is now closed. But I wanted to make a more permanent and general version of this!

While bugs are the focus of this, I also accept love letters to any invertebrates as well as other small organisms that people often hate. Especially bacteria. If you have some bacteria love send it over!

I will figure out the rules more clearly later, but right now the only rules are be respectful, of other organisms (so no saying that butterflies suck to explain why you like moths. We are here to lift up critters) be respectful to humanity as well, no misanthropy or ecofascism. Humans are not a disease ruining the world, we are a part of it.

I think it would be cute to start each letter with a little "dear [organism]" but that's just a suggestion. You can put whatever in the letter as long as its respectful. Talk about an experience with a bug, talk about a bug you were scared of, or are scared of, with compassion and curiosity. Tell the bugs about your life. Talk to a specific species you are worried about. Get creative!

Please submit posts with your loveletter, though you can also send them through asks if you prefer. Also feel free to talk to me about bugs/ask questions! I don't bite, I only pierce and suck!

Excited to see your responses, and remember that I love you,

-the bugs

[curiositysavesthecat]

Do you hate people whose moral compass/beliefs/political views/etc do not align with yours?

A. Yes, I hate them because I believe their opinions define who they are as a person / I believe they are bad people who hate people like me and that they also want to harm people like me. Therefore I hate them

B. No, I don’t hate them. I hate their opinions, but I don’t hate them as a person because I think they are more than their opinions and that they genuinely believe what they believe is the right thing that will save/protect people (including people like me)

Edit, from the mods, since people seem to think this poll talks about the current u.s. politics: the poll actually isn’t about politics specifically but mostly about “moral values” in general. It was sent to us several months ago, we queued it and it happened to go public just now, so it’s either “bad timing” or “good timing”, considering the current situation. But the poll is more about the vaguely moral compass in general than it is about politics specifically.

This poll was submitted to us and we simply posted it so people could vote and discuss their opinions on the matter. If you’d like for us to ask the internet a question for you, feel free to drop the poll of your choice in our inbox and we’ll post them anonymously (for more info, please check our pinned post).

[lu-is-not-ok]

o mighty hong lu master, the autism i have of him bowing down to you in your honor, i must ask a question relating to his family...

so when dante is overheating in the yield flesh intervallo and they start saying things about the ego and such, hong lu says "they're starting to sound like my grandfather!"

see i dont think hong lu's the type to compare anybody rambling to unrelated rambling so i was wondering if like. there could be any potential meaning in What his grandpa was saying relating to ego or other more crazy stuff!!

since the jia family has had super huge connections ive had maybe the idea of like. i dunno they had some insider knowledge in the past and they sent hong lu out specifically to find out more about what the more unnatural parts of the city entail since limbus as a company is secretive about that stuff. so they want to understand it proper... but that does feel a Bit out there. what do you think :3c

There is some interesting things in this ask that I wanna discuss. However, you might find some of my answers... a little bit disappointing in places. I'm gonna try to take these things point by point.

Canto 7 spoilers onward.

Hong Lu's Grandfather

There are exactly two mentions of Hong Lu's Grandfather in the game as of now iirc. The scene you mention, where Hong Lu compares Dante's ramblings to his grandfather, and another mention in the Observation Logs for Pink Shoes, where Hong Lu brings up the fact that his Grandfather would scold him and pester him into keeping a diary, something he claims he used to hate but is now not so averse to.

The most interesting thing about Hong Lu's Grandfather is that there is no living grandfather figure in Dream of The Red Chamber. Baoyu is only ever mentioned to have a grandmother. This already puts some intrigue on him, as he's a complete wildcard adaptation-wise. There is no real way for us to predict what his deal is based on DOTRC.

That means that the fact that Hong Lu compares Dante's ramblings about ego and sin to how his Grandfather talks is something to note for sure. However... well, I'll get to it.

The Knowledge the Jia Family has

Canto 7 came with some major reveals about the Jia Family due to Xichun's presence and her interactions with Hong Lu. More specifically, we know roughly what kind of esoteric knowlege the Jia Family possesses, and what they're looking for.

Xichun, and by extension the rest of the Family, are aware of the existence of the Rivers - one of which being the River of Oblivion that was introduced in Canto 7, as well as, very likely, the very same River that Lobcorp would draw from using Cogito. So yes, it's not unlikely for the Jia Family to have some awareness of the more supernatural side that the human subconscious possesses. Hell, Xichun herself outright states she, in some way, can sense Bari's past presence, who need I remind you is also the Bookhunter from one of the bad endings in Library of Ruina.

However, that's not all! Xichun also reveals what exactly the Family is looking for, and what they sent out the current candidates for becoming the next Family Head for - a River that can grant immortality. Specifically, "the immortality of the mind", which Hong Lu himself describes as "to be free from aging and death".

So, hey, case closed right? We know exactly why Hong Lu was sent out now, don't we?

Well... it's not that simple. Because, unfortunately, there's some things I want to correct you on before I conclude this.

Hong Lu's Comparisons

Here's the thing with Hong Lu. Unlike what you say, he is absolutely the type to compare different unrelated things with each other. In fact, one of his major MOs during conversations is using tangentially related anecdotes to steer conversations - see how he brought up his sibling cheating at a game in response to Heathcliff doing a jab at rich people in Canto 2, or how on the empty party ship in Canto 5 he goes off on a tangent about a spooky story that's barely related to the situation at hand.

Deflection and distraction is something Hong Lu does a lot, especially right after he says things that are concerning or otherwise don't get a positive reaction out of others. His comparisons of things going on to his home is one of those kinds of deflections/distractions. In fact, I'd say it's a lot more common for him to compare things that aren't That related rather than compare things that are Actually related.

So while I do think it is something to note that Hong Lu compares Dante's ramblings to those of his Grandfather, I really don't think the connection here is nearly as strong as you posit.

Yes, we know the Jias have knowledge that most common folk in the City don't have access to, among which is the knowledge of the Rivers. It's also very likely that this is the kind of thing Hong Lu's Grandfather could go on tangents on, especially with how many of the Rivers we currently know of having effects that affect specifically the mind.

That being said, since this is Hong Lu we're talking about, I doubt the connection is as direct as his Grandfather literally rambling about the exact same topic. Again, we're talking about the guy who, upon hearing the mention of shareholders, shares an anecdote about a sibling trying to get a specific color of passport as justification for asking about whether Vergilius specifically knows the shareholder of H Corp. The connections he makes aren't usually all that strong, and that's kind of the point.

Which is where I have to talk about the elephant in the room.

Hong Lu almost definitely lied about why he left the Jia Household

See, in TKT Hong Lu shares that he was sent out by his elders to "see and experience as much of the world as possible before he returns", but... isn't it kind of strange?

That doesn't match what Xichun said about what the Family Head Candiates were sent out into the worl for. They're meant to be looking for immortality specifically, not fucking around and learning as much as they can.

And, in fact, this isn't the only thing Xichun says that clashes with Hong Lu's version of events. In fact, I'd argue it outright proves that he lied about it - she shares that the Jias are actively looking for him. If Hong Lu was really sent out to gather as many experiences and knowledge as possible, why would they want to cut that short by finding him and bringing him back by force?

That's not all in fact. This exact same story is what Hong Lu tells in his Wing IDs, the ones where it's confirmed he directly got the positions because of nepotism. But, again, that's strange. If he's meant to be experiencing the world and learning new things, why would the Jias put him in jobs that require he stays in a single specific place most of the time? K Corp Hong Lu's Uptie story outright draws attention to this, pointing out how odd it is for someone whose job involves being put in stasis in some vat for extended periods of time until they need to do some killing to have been given that job to "experience more of the world".

So, if Hong Lu is lying about why he left his home... what actually happened? Do we have any hints?

Turns out... yes. A very, very major hint in fact. Because you see, this is the Corrosion line Hong Lu says in his newly released Lasso E.G.O.

This is the only time anything Rose Hunter related calls the subject avoiding their fate a fugitive and makes a direct reference to running away. I don't think it's a coincidence.

Because if this line is a direct reference to Hong Lu, to him literally running away from his fate and escaping the Jia household, it would certainly explain some things.

Why would the Jias be out actively looking for him? Because he's not actually supposed to be out like this.

Why would his Wing Identities be put in environments where Hong Lu is primarily confined to specific locations? Because the Jias don't want him out of their sight.

Why would his claim that he's looking forward to going back home be so contradictory to how he acts and tries to prolong his time outside of the household? Because he's lying, either to himself or others, and doesn't actually want to go back.

Hell, it would even provide some context to certain other oddities about him.

Why would he know not just how effective a rich household's security system is at killing people, but also how to safely get past it (based on what he says about Wuthering Heights in Canto 6)? Because he might have had to do so himself to escape.

Why would his ID picture, likely taken right after he was found by Limbus Company, have him in a very plain tracksuit, completely unlike the traditional and fancy clothing the rest of his Family is seen wearing? Because dressing plainly would help him blend in once he got out of there.

So, yes, the Jia Family is sending out its young members to search for something supernatural within the City. However, I believe Hong Lu is an exception and wasn't supposed to be out at all.

[eyeshields]

The Winter Gift Exchange is back for 2024! The ES21 Winter Gift Exchange (#ES2024WGE) is a Secret-Santa-style fandom event where you make art/fic/etc. for another fan, remaining anonymous until you post your gifts on December 21st, and in return receive a gift! If you'd like to join, read on!

⛷ 01: Sign-up by completing the Google Form linked above. Make sure to answer any/all questions relevant to you, but otherwise include as much or as little detail as you’d like. ❆ 02: Reblog this post so more people see it if you're inclined! ⛷ 03: Sign-ups end at the end of the day Nov 17th. After that, watch for a message telling you who you’re making a gift for within 2-3 days. Make sure to stay anonymous until the end: if you have questions for your giftee, you can ask on anon or tell me and I’ll relay your questions. ❆ 04: Work on your gift! Fics should be ~1k words minimum (feel free to make something longer if you wish!). There’s no size minimum for art, but art should similarly be completed to whatever completed is for you (allowing for stylistic differences). ⛷ 05: Keep an eye out on Dec 16th for a check-in message - you don’t need to be done with your gift at this point, but please respond to this message within a day or so so I know you’re still good to go and I don’t need to fill-in for your gift! ❆ 06: On that note: please let me know ahead of time (e.g. before the deadline) if you need to drop out or if you don’t think you can complete your gift. I don’t have to know specifics and there will be absolutely no judgment; I fully understand that life can throw all sorts of stuff at you, but prior notice will allow me or another pinch-hitter to complete the gift for you. ⛷ 07: Post your gift on December 21st! Make sure to tag the event (#ES2024WGE or any upper/lower case derivatives of this) so we have everything in one spot. ❆ 08: Optional, but nice: reblog your gift and add some nice comments or tags •ᴗ•

Thanks for reading 'til the end! Hope you decide to join us!

[pouralaura]

This is like THE question of the ages but here goes. Is your Raphael capable of love? It is my understanding that devils are capable of an obsessive, manipulative, perverted version of it; but the Raphael in your fics has a particular human fallibility that is endearing, and a willingness to entertain those follies (for the sake of his favorite mouse) that I’m wondering if it’s possible that he would (accidentally) fall in love in a mortal sense, going against his fiendish nature (it would have to be a very special mouse). I’d love to hear your take on his fiend/human dichotomy. 🫶

what a fabulous question. thank you for asking! I've thought a lot about this and I always come to the same conclusion: yes, my Raphael is in fact capable of love. there is a "however" which I will get to shortly.

let me first say that I really simply do not care about canon. bro lives in my head rent-free as his own entity and does not necessarily fit DnD/BG lore in that space. that's just a disclaimer, take it as you will.

Raphael's love with my Tav (both generic and my Eris specifically) is definitely just magnetic obsession at first until they realize how hard they match each other's freak. he power plays and power plays and power plays, letting his mouse in ON HIS TERMS ALONE until it's too late and she's as much a part of him as he is of her. fwiw, Tav/Eris's love is the same as his - but his makes him more human and hers makes her less, all for better or for worse. and I think his capacity for love has so much to do with the other person in the equation, which is extremely human of him - Tav pushes him back and needles him but also worships him in her own way, taking on some of his traits the more time she spends with him. some of that is unconscious and some is fully intentional. it's all a part of the Game, which, for her, is Understanding (literally figuring out what makes him tick), while for him it's Winning (taking what he knows of her and using/manipulating it however he wants). Raphael is a narcissist and naturally loves himself most of all, but once he sees himself reflected in another person I think that unlocks a new layer of longing and deep connection within him.

I've used the lyric I won't speak of love since the beginning of writing about the two of them and it's always gonna fit. Tav/Eris knows what the feeling is on both sides, because she is 100% human and overly perceptive, intuitive, and insightful. but she is smart enough not to push that understanding onto Raphael because attempting to force him to admit what he perceives as a weakness would destroy their dynamic.

which brings me to my main point: again, yes, he is capable of love. he is even capable of unconditional love.

BUT

he will not accept that about himself, even for a moment. his love is obsessive and manipulative and perverted OF COURSE but it's also his purest emotion, which is an embarrassment. he will ignore the truth of what it is fully out of pride. if Eris pushed him to acknowledge it he would drop her in an instant and shed all remaining traces of his humanity. it's simultaneously the strongest connection he has with anyone and the thinnest tightrope of a line they could possibly walk - but they complement each other so well that they've somehow found that perfect unacknowledged balance. Eris is prideful too but understands that to maintain the status quo she MUST swallow some of her pride and allow Raphael to keep up appearances for his own sake - which is one of her major ways of showing love from her side.

he loves her purely and earnestly and deeply but he will ALWAYS love himself and his image more. some might say that means he is not capable of real love but I think the two can coexist! people are complicated!

this is fun to think about and I really hope it makes any kind of coherent sense all written out.

[relaxxattack]

every time someone calls moirallegience just an alien qpr i wilt a lil like YEAH thats more or less the CLOSEST human thing but its also Literally Not That. like a qpr is fundanmentally not romantic and thats not even going into moirails whole Actual Purpose of calming ppl down. its just. aughhhhh pisses me off i see the confusion but, as aformentioned, aughhhhh

OH MY GOD THIS HAS BEEN BOTHERING ME TOO.... but i don't want to get petty at the people in my notes always saying "moirails are QPRs!" because in some ways that is the closest human thing so it's hard to be mad...

i think there's definitely some overlap in some ways. but NOT because moirallegiance and qprs are the same at all really, but INSTEAD because both relationships have unconventional boundaries defined by the people within them.

you know... like every relationship.

like the only reason the two have overlap is because they are both partnerships that emotionally care for each other but can choose to not bang (which is true for any romance anyway, even if it's considered abnormal). they're both just romances* that are unconventional to human norms, which makes people view them as the same thing when they're not.

i think the REAL issue here is that humans insist on using human words to understand things that are just, fundamentally, alien. can't we just appreciate alien romance for being... alien romance?

no, it's not platonic, it's romantic. it's just romantic in a way you aren't quite wired to understand, is all.

*in generalization, most QPRs are not romantic, because they are made up of aroaces who are life partners in a non-romantic way. however i want to disagree with you that none of them are romantic, because that is up to the partners in question.

[hadesknockedupintheunderworld]

I'm just going off of your posts, but is Sonine your favourite version of Sontails?

Hmmm

If I had to pick a favorite version, I guess I would say them. Their dynamic was the first Sontails related ship I admitted to myself I liked, and the first I found myself obsessed over (and dedicating so many waking hours to)

To be honest, although Sonine counts as a ship under the umbrella of Sontails, it's special enough to me and special enough a case personally that I kind of give it a degree of separation from Sontails. It's why you may see me say that my Sonic the Hedgehog (franchise) otp is Sonine and Sontails

For pretty much 99% of the Sontails dynamics and depictions across the sonic media, I lump them under the umbrella of "Sontails" as one of my otps. This one is a specific depiction of the two in the games and adjacent to that. Even though interpretations of their setting, personalities, etc vary, there are many threads between the pairing you can gather between the games, archie sonic, idw sonic, the ova, the sonic movies, etc. And while I can easily lump my ships between Sonic and the Prime Tails variants under that umbrella in my mind, my obsession with Sontails as an otp largely extends to this best friend relationship between them as it persists across the Sonic media.

Sonine on the other hand, while the two did consider each other best friends, has a different start to their relationship, a bit of a different dynamic, and a different appeal to me.

While with Sontails I'm sticking my grabby hands into sonic comics and tv shows and games and movies for many crumbs of this unbreakable bond, with Sonine I am looking into their specific relationship and dynamic (and the ways in which they compare, contrast, and relate to Sontails)

So to conclude, my answer is both yes and no. Yes, if I had to say so, Sonine is technically my favorite version of Sontails. But under the Sontails shipping umbrella (of ships I actually tag as sontails in my posts/reblogs), it's much harder to pick a favorite, since there are many good moments across the media

Thanks for the ask!!😊💖

[moonshine-nightlight]

Any advice for writting longform stories like NWWD?

@honoikazuchis

thanks for this ask!

thats a pretty open ended question and my answer will inherently be relatively specific to me and the way i write, but i'm happy to share my advice!

I will link a few other posts where i answered some other writing asks:

worldbuilding [x] editing/exposition [x] writer's block/POV [x] plotting vs pantsing [x] how long does it take me to write stuff [x] my writing process [x] writing spicy scenes [x]

otherwise, see below for me rambling way too long about writing.

disclaimer: this is just my opinion and how i do things, obviously there's a lot of variety and nuance for everyone's writing process.

firstly, is that personally, i'm inclined to writing longform stories so thats a bit of a built in strength of mine. generally speaking my story ideas come with lots of lore (see above for my love of worldbuilding) and i like relationships that are deeper/longer, with slow burn being a favorite of mine (why basically all my short stories have the two people involved having met prior to the story starting). that being said, technically the main character in 'Nothing's Wrong with Dale' doesnt meet demon!Dale until the flashback of chapter 2 and why is part of why that story is so long/has a built in arranged marriage premise. Of my two potential long form stories i'm going to do next: one they already know each other (and are basically already in love just being pining idiots about it) or two the story takes place over several months/high stress situations and does not end with marriage etc. But thats more of a concern if you're writing romance.

in general, my advice for longform stories is to already have a relatively complete, high level view of the story when you start. some people can just improvise the entire story as they go--I cannot. i think its very helpful to know where ur story is going to end, more crucially when it is long and you'll be taking a while to get there. by this i primarily mean the setup for the story, then general ending, and vaguely what sort of metaphorical journey they take to get there. you do not need to know every scene and detail in the middle--and plot points/characters can and will evolve as you write and think more on everything--but having the broad brushstrokes figured out asap is critical, in my opinion.

I also, as a side note, don't set out with a story length in mind. i can generally get a good handle on how long a story will be by the idea and outline, but i dont try to make it long. if anything, i did try to challenge myself to write shorter stories, like my novellas, when i started this blog/posting original writing here. that was not only because i do tend to get very complicated/long original ideas, but also because i think it was important to me to actually finish some original work, which i had never done before.

shorter stories tend to have more straightforward plots. not that you can't boil down longer stories to simpler summaries, but generally longer story ideas have more stops along the way so to speak that come to me when i'm developing the idea because i want to cover more with the story. the main character in dale having had childhood illness, dale raised by his grandparents, there being tournament stuff and assassins stuff and uncomfortable parties and most importantly MC figuring out dale was a demon immediately and dale not knowing the MC knew that were all things i came up with (loosely) very soon after i started working on it.

which leads into my next piece of advice: write everything you brainstorm down - you will forget and you will remember there's something u've forgotten and it will annoy the hell out of you. write your notes, write your what ifs, write down possible character names, write down cool ideas for scenes--heck write some of the scenes up then, evn if its for chapter 24 of 35. dont save what ur most excited for as like a carrot on a stick, i find that it doesnt help and that having part of my story that i love existing already is a much better motivator to write the rest

i'm also a big outliner and planner. i think some people think what that means is that u should b able to write a plan once for a story and then never change or deviate from it--but no! change the plan as you go; scrap things that dont work out and add new ideas when they come to you. however, i do think having something down that covers the whole story, lets you get a good idea of the shape of the story, and reminds you of your end goal, are all incredibly helpful. i also keep multiple worldbuilding notes docs; character and location lists; picture inspiration; etc to support the longform idea

i think u also hav to hav confidence/delusion that you will in fact finished. i hav started multiple longform original writing ideas in the past. none of them are done except dale. and part of it was not taking some of my own advice up top, but i think i also just wasnt as committed? lik it'd get lost in worldbuilding, or writing other projects, or life happening (which is all absolutely fine) but dale was the first longform idea where i like, really believed i could write it all and where i was dedicated to putting in the time i'd need to finish it. i knew i would need to take breaks and it would take more than a year (which i did and it did) but i still believed i'd get to where i am now, with a finished draft which i think was really key.

also, practice, i've been writing for years and year; i've been reading for even longer; and i've been writing and posting fanfic for years as well. some of my longer fanfics were such good practice for how to plot a long story without having to generate all the lore myself and having guardrails on for the story/characters in general. aside from dale, my next five pieces of longest writing are all fanfic.

lastly, find at least one person you can talk to about your story. i really think that helped me stay excited and motivated about my longform story in particular. i of course like talking about shorter stories too, but i dont think i felt as compelled to keep talking about them during the process of writing them as i did for my longform stories (even my longer fanfics i talked with other ppl in the big bang about or other writers on discord). and i dont just mean posting the rough drafts as u go like i did, but friends, irl or online, that either are also writers or are just interested in what story you want to make. i think it helps make it more real to you, it gives you ways to talk through issues that come up, its a way to get excited because they're excited, and it makes someone besides you ask how everythings going. the longer stories ideas i had but never got finished are also ones i primarily kept to myself, because i dont think i'd realized how helpful it could be to share them and also because i was still sure that in order to justify telling someone or evn for someone to care, it would hav to already be written, but it doesnt! and in retrospect, i wish i had because maybe those stories would exist--or maybe i'll dig up those notes and talk to someone about them and then find myself back to writing about them (rip to Aftermath, that corrupted external hard drive did u dirty and killed my motivation).

i think getting to understand and figure out your own process, to really look at yourself and see what works and what doesnt (as honestly as you can) is extremely helpful. u'll also figure stuff out along the way--dont hesitate to try to new strategies or drop one that are really not working for you. its all a learning process. be nice to yourself! give yourself the grace to make mistakes (or tell a friend so they can bully you into to cutting urself some damn slack when u can't stick to a weekly upload schedule u made up for urself).

whatever longform story you've got in ur head is one worth sharing and seeing through to completion--and then inflicting on everyone else lol OUR problem now ;)

[emily-prentits]

thoughts on the greys s19 finales? s19 kinda underwhelmed me (marina is cute but the baby thing bores me to no end which in turns makes them as a ship dull to me sacrilege i know lol but it’s the truth) and i never got super into yasuda/helm but im kinda loving the possibility of yasuda/jules? idk what’s going on there but the chemistry>>>

ohh boy. so i have a lot of thoughts on the finales LOL. it got really really long and it only aired yesterday so spoilers are under the cut for those that haven't seen!

grey's:

sooo. i hated it. as a writer, as a viewer, i fucking hated it. honestly, i should have come into the fandom earlier because this season being my first to watch live sucked ASS and was more losing than winning. narratively speaking, the vast majority of the writing choices made ZERO sense. not winston/monica (AFTER ALL THE MONMELIA BUILD UP??), not julesmika (sorry, i love them, but they make no narrative sense. unless they're trying for a mertina type relationship which im not sure i entirely like either), and not whatever bullshit was going on with catherine. i know she has played big bad boss lady in the past but honestly this season the writing for her was very... flat? one dimensional? it was almost like she could ONLY be the antagonist and she wasn't allowed to have any other role in this season. i don't think we saw her outside of the hospital at all in the whole 10 episodes. while i DO understand they had to make some necessary cuts because of the shortened length of the season... was it really worth keeping catherine fox in this season if they were going to ruin her?? because i do NOT think so. and what was UP with her firing half the hospital in one episode??? fuck that??

to be completely honest lol, i'm tired of this show and the way they hate their gays. helmika breakup, no monmelia ANYTHING -- making monica hook up with winston after zero build up?? if you want to write a bisexual character this is NOT the way to do it -- schmitt leaving next season, trying to build up the julesmika relationship when midori is leaving in the next season?? i admit they're cute, but there's no way the relationship is sustainable. and it makes me so sad.

and... oh my god don't get me started on mernick. to preface everything i say about them: i think they're cute! genuinely i do! i don't hate them at all, which makes it so much harder when i have to say that they make no sense together long term. meredith is very clearly not as in love with him as he is with her (he said he wanted to marry her, walked out, and she had. zero reaction. to any of it. if anything she kind of treats him like a child?😭) and she only really fights for him when it looks like he's going to leave. she'll only fight for her stability if there's a real threat of losing it. in a way, i suppose it's not surprising. they mirror merder but only in all the bad ways, the way that merder was starry eyed intern x dreamy neurosurgeon turns into the way that mernick is essentially idol x fan. there's no way either of those relationships could have lasted in the long run -- BECAUSE of their foundations. and it makes me so sad bc why is meredith doing the same fucking things after 20 SEASONS. she of ALL the characters deserves to have some character development after all this time.

station 19:

loved it. cried so many times. the episode ended and i walked around feeling so empty. i will admit i have only seen marina spoilers and have not watched any of the seasons until season 7, so my view might be a bit skewed. cried with the marina family (maya's development from season 1 to season 7? 🥹), cried when travis went with vic (someone finally choosing to put first the Put Everyone Else First Person??? hello tears). the flashes forward and back were so interesting, definitely kept me engaged. i was so scared tho when they kept showing the burning gear when andy was missing 😭 i was like they BETTER NOT have killed her. and then all was well <3 more or less.

overall for station 19, i think they really did the best they possibly could have with how many episodes they were given to wrap up the series if it doesn't end up getting picked up. i liked it a lot more than grey's, for sure :)

[chatlote]

Please. Share more info about the maruki adopts akechi au. IM INVESTED

Anything about the PT in this au? Would Akechi meet them? (Drama? Romance?)

Thank you sm for being interested! Theres SO MUCH I can say that I wouldnt be sure where to start so I will focus on the ones you did ask!

The phantom thieves are very much in this universe as well. And Akechi will join them eventually, he approaches them himself when he realizes that maybe Maruki isn't following through their cause properly. He requests them to change Maruki heart along with him for the sake of making sure the world the envision will truly be good. (Obviously this will all blow up into Akechi breaking out of brainwashing as they explore the palace)

I will copy a snippet of my notes about the fact that he is part of Shujin academy as well and how he Joker first meet! And reply to the romance question under cut!

"Akechi would be the vice president of the student council and has a general reputation of being approachable and kind and that venting about your problems to him always helps. He doesn't always use his powers it's just a general he Helps just by listening. The entire school is rumors of how kind and pretty is the counselor and his son. They might not look alike but everyone is like they are so similar it's so true this school will always be at peace with them. Then akiren charges in. And it's not like he brainwashed the whole school so rumors start, it's unpleasant and akechi won't have that its not their goal. He changes the person who started the rumors but that doesn't stop it and they can't make their plans too obvious he can't change everyone so he approaches akiren with the goal of knowing how he is doing if he should just change him into someone 'calm' and maybe the rumors would go away on their own. But he realizes akiren is … harmless and kind? There's nothing there to even rumor about. Maybe it's because akechi is there and he is pretending? He decides he wants to keep in contact he wants akiren to keep in touch to know if he will adjust well if he can give names if someone does something to him and funny enough akiren agrees in a similar reason of, tell me if there seems to be a big person that the students are worried about (so the thieves can change them) Basically they are each other new source of info for side quests. Also joker figures it out after kamoshida because the entire school seems to be Too Calm and Too Okay with what just happened. Something akechi slipped with Morgana there makes him realize Akechi has some powers too and maybe that's why."

As for romance, I'm obviously a shuake fan if you have glanced at my blog. Basically there would indeed be a endgame with the two of them but things are a bit more complicated than that. Because for Akechi to heal and accept himself after Maruki brainwash breaks, he needs Joker to not have loved his pleasant self. Unlike canon it's not like that's a version of him he was just pretending to be, it's a version of him that existed out of his control.

So basically while they have feelings for each other before it a bit, even though Maruki says he shouldnt (making this one of the few things Akechi has picked out of his own free will) and Joker mostly likes him as a friend. Their relationship mostly develops as in a similar way to Sumire Rank5-10, Joker spends time with Akechi figuring out together what 'Akechi' even is as a person, its been all 4 years since he has been under control, and now all he has is Anger and Sadness at his manipulation and forgotten memories that came back. Joker is the one who introduces him to competitive games like darts and shogi this time around. The most validating thing Joker does for Akechi is loving his anger more than his politeness in the end.

[chiropteracupola]

salutations. would you like to explain the deal wktb the moth and compass guys they look very polite

moth and compass! the project I've been working on with @natdrinkstea this year-and-some!!

I believe I've introduced our dramatis personae — Moth, an Inquisitive Young Protagonist; Goodfellow, a Ghost; Luna, a Lighthouse-Keeper; and Peregrine, an Ordinary Cat — a few times before, but I still don't think we've every really talked about the story!

and that is because it has taken. quite some time to actually figure out what Goeth On in moth and compass proper. it's a mystery-fantasy, that'll probably be best told as a scrapbook or a puzzle game or a thing along those lines*, and a somewhat purposefully-nostalgic ghost story. it's everyday magic and the haunted sea and learning to look beyond what you think is there and bubblegum pop road trips and creepy creatures in the shadows and the kind of navigational equipment that, if you use it just right, might take you places you'd never otherwise be able to see...

[getosugurusbangs]

How’s the hq reading going? Since you’re not too far off from chapter 200

it’s going good 👍 i’m having plenty of fun lol

[broke-bruce-wayne]

That post about fanon corrections reminded me that I like your opinions and I've been meaning to ask you: what should a new DC fan read to like, have a decent understanding of Babs, Steph, and Cass? Like are they in the main Batman series or did they get their own series' or what?

So I ended up writing a lot more about this that I initially planned to, so I'm putting it all under the cut.

One of my personal rules is I must mention No Man's Land at every possible opportunity, but I would highly recommend reading that, even as a new reader. Not sure how you read your comics, but DC Universe has the whole arc in proper reading order (which is how I read it). But you can also find reading orders online if you want to just read it from different sites. Its a lot, but it gives you a good introduction to basically every Bat character who was around at the time. It's also where Cass is introduced, and is my personal favorite big Bat event, as well as my favorite era of Bat books. But Babs and later Cass are both big players in the event.

I would follow that up with reading Cass's solo run, Batgirl (2000), at least up to issue 37. One of the best comic runs ever, in my opinion. It's very hit or miss after 37, as most comics are, but after finishing the initial run you'll probably want to keep reading Cass stories. Cass is the star of this run obviously, but Babs and Steph both play major roles as well.

For Babs, I'm mainly familiar with Post-Crisis Babs, so Oracle, not Batgirl (though I have read her N52 and part of her Rebirth runs out of curiosity). She makes guest appearances in the first Suicide Squad run, starting with issue 23. Then she has a leading role in the Birds of Prey series written by Dixon and then Simone. This is probably her most popular full series as a lead. There is a lot of good in this series, and a lot of not so good (I personally like Simone's half more than Dixon's, but there are definite pros and cons to both). Despite being the first Batgirl, Babs was the last one to get a solo Batgirl run, which started in 2011 only after she was magically "cured" because they wanted to reset the universe (which is a whole another thing, and smarter people than me have made more detailed posts about how bad this was, for Babs as well as for everyone, but for our purposes here what you need to know is this was extremely unpopular, for numerous reasons).

As for Steph, she was introduced in an arc in Detective Comics (647-649), before Cass, so I guess you should read this first if you want. But after that she was mainly used as a side character, in Robin (1993) and other places. She has her brief run as Robin in the early 2000s. She only has about 10 issues or so as Robin across multiple runs, before unceremoniously "dying" in War Games (don't read War Games, it's terrible, but maybe search the panels of Bruce talking to her in the hospital). These Robin issues are good for the most part, but were basically written as a last hurrah for her before editorial stepped in. Then, after she comes back to life from overseas, she finally has her own solo run as Batgirl (2009). This is a fun run where she's balancing being a college student with being Batgirl.

[aroaceleovaldez]

one of the interesting things about having run a pjo askblog for 7 years is because i started it before TOA was even announced but after HoO, when TOA started coming out with each book i then had to start balancing the weird combos of pre-existing blog canon from before TOA, addressing new TOA canon/storylines as they were being published, the weird coincidences of askblog canon lining up perfectly with TOA canon, and the TOA canon decisions that I’m looking at and just saying “no, we’re not doing that”

so it ends up really weird, which i guess is fun because it means i get to tell a new unique story instead of just following TOA verbatim. and it also means i’ve had 6 years to plan out the plot of weird TOA canon-divergence but in a visual format, which is also weird and fun

[hadesknockedupintheunderworld]

Out of the grandmansters/egg bosses in the Archie comics, which one was your favorite?? It can be either from pre reboot or post reboot!

Hehehe unfortunately for you, anon, my fav becomes a grandmaster before the super genesis wave and therefore is my immediate first choice without contest

*Bangs fist on table* I love her so much