#someone please expand on this I’m not creative enough

[seldom-seen-kid]

We’ve never discussed this, but MCU’s Peter Parker canonically listens to Alt-J (see: Civil War, it’s playing on his headphones). Now. If he’s heard Left Hand Free and likes it enough to do a bouncy lil walk to it, I’m gonna assume he’s a fan, which means he’s probably heard Alt-J’s most popular hits. What I’m getting at here is this boy has almost definitely cried to Matilda or thought unspeakable things to Fitzpleasure. Iykyk.

[middlenamesage]

⭐️ Lesser known significations of each of the planets ⭐️

Please note that with these planetary placements, the sign gives info about the style in which you conduct yourself, the house gives info about where in life you’re conducting yourself, and the aspects give info about other flavors brought up into the picture, and how your relationship with a placement affects you and fits into the rest of your consciousness/life.

Sun

Can show where/how you like to be creative or your creative gifts. The 5th house and Leo also can show this, but I don’t seem to read enough that the Sun🌞, as our creative life force, often correlates just as directly to the type of creativity or relationship with creativity someone has.

Moon

Can show your relationship with emotional empathy; how much of it you feel, where it feels strongest, how you express it, and how it affects you (this last point being seen through the aspects to your other planets). I wish to clarify that emotional empathy is feeling other people’s emotions, and it’s not the only kind of empathy. Anyone can learn to cultivate intellectual empathy, and act on empathy. But I’ve chosen to bring the subject of emotional empathy up with the Moon because so often people think how much one finds themselves feeling for others is shown by the amount of water placements in a chart. But it’s the Moon itself that actually somewhat singularly shows the most about emotional empathy. Having planets whose core functions don’t relate to our feelings and empathy in water signs, isn’t necessarily gonna make emotional empathy strong for someone. But the function of the Moon itself is to feel and to support our close interpersonal relations.

Mercury

Can give indications about your sense of humor! Mercury rules over language and conscious thought processes, so it can say a lot about what a person processes as being funny, and in what manner they deliver funny insights. Mercury is the original master of wit!

Venus

Can show where you overindulge or what you are most greedy with.

Yes, the benefics can spoil, and they too can corrupt! One corrupted side of Venus is taking too much for herself possibly at the expense of others, and preferring a lazy and pleasurable lifestyle while never putting in the work. In some charts, at some times in your life, Venus’s placement can show where this applies.

Mars

Can show the way you break up with someone. 💔 While Venus’s function is to draw connections and support to us, Mars has the important function of keeping the connections we don’t want out, and severing connections that are no longer working. Mars’ objective is to assert individual will and this can require setting boundaries. Understanding your Mars can help you learn how to set boundaries and understand your tendencies when it comes to breaking up.

Bonus because I think it’s a really good one: Mars can show what type of exercise would be best for you, being the planet of action and vitality.

Jupiter

Can show where you overestimate your abilities or have blind faith in something, in some charts at some times. I’m choosing to cite a more negative side for both of the benefics in this post, as those sides aren’t always talked about a lot. Jupiter allows us to establish our beliefs, and gaining confidence in the way we view things is what creates the space for us to expand. But sticking by beliefs blindly (when it comes to either general philosophies or your beliefs about yourself!), without proper consideration for why you actually believe them, will not create any authentic expansion.

Saturn

Can show realms that at some points in your life you flat out avoid and/or dislike to the point of disgust potentially. This depends on what else you have in that house and how Saturn is aspected, but this has seemed to hold true for both myself at points, and a decent number of others I have observed.

Let’s be real. Saturn is not easy. He/she wants to build something long and lasting, but to actually do so can just seem so daunting. Especially when the limitations in the short term view can look so severe. 🪐 “Get bitter or get better” is a Saturn original line. And most of us have experienced feeling only bitter about our Saturn placement at some point.

Uranus

Can show where you operate for the greater good. Something I appreciate about Uranus (and want to give this shout out during the Jupiter-Uranus conjunction). Uranus doesn’t tend to need the individual accolades (depending how he’s aspected and placed). He understands he’s working to liberate a society and I think that’s beautiful. *Jupiter gushing*

Neptune

Can show where you feel like a victim or have been victimized.

I see Neptune as an outcast and misunderstood, it’s an energy some people might be inclined to try to take advantage of. But it’s for this same reason that your Neptune placement can also show where you have a very keen ability to sense, and want to support, others who suffer a similar predicament as you.

Pluto

Can show where and how you may try to control others. I don’t feel I read enough about this one, for how very common this expression can be at some points in our lives. Pluto is the subject matter that has been hidden from the conscious parts of our minds, specifically because we were the ones to bury it when we felt shame or fear for our power. Yes, Pluto is our power, but at the times that we can’t recognize this, a common reaction is to subtly try to control others in those realms. It can be so subtle and unconscious that we’re likely to not even recognize the ways we are acting or speaking manipulatively. Often the only way to fully solve this issue is to face whatever you blocked from your conscious mind and to learn to see any fears or shame you have associated with your Pluto’s placement, as actually sources of your personal power. 🖤

When you build a relationship with the planets, you’re building your relationship with yourself.

🌞💫🪐🌝

[prpfs]

hello! 🔖 i am currently in the search for long term writing partners for summer break <3

i only do original roleplays, not anything fandom-related (though i do take inspiration from various media!) most of my roleplays pretty much center around romance, and some genres i love are fantasy, historical, thriller/action, psychological horror/exploration, and social commentary/kitchen sink realism! i have a penchant for mxm / mxnb pairings.

⭑ what i'm looking for…

someone open-minded and someone who i can go back and forth with about ideas, characters, and so on. i love to world-build and expand on characters, setting, etc. i would also prefer my partner be 21+ for my own comfort. i would love to have a long-term roleplay partner who is communicative and will talk to me outside of roleplaying! i keep all of my roleplays in discord in well organized servers.

additionally, i would like a roleplay partner who is able to reply at least once every 1-2 weeks. i am not ok with ghosting; i'd rather be told if things aren't working out/you are no longer interested. if you know you're not going to be very active or not online at all for 2+ weeks, please tell me!

⭑ roleplay preferences…

i'm looking for a roleplay partner who will write more than a paragraph. i typically hit the 500-1000 words mark. i don’t mind if you write less than i do as long as i have enough sustenance to reply to. i am honestly not very strict about this as long as it’s not one liners/you try to match me. i am about quality over quantity. please note that i am a very, very slow writer, a college student, an organizer, and a club executive with a part time job to boot. please do not rush me. i also do not use face-claims; i prefer to describe, not unlike characters in a book.

if i were to be honest, the writing part is the least important part to me. people that rush into starting a thread are a red flag to me. i do not even care if we don’t write at all; although it is very fun, i value the storytelling, friendship and plotting aspects of role-play. so don’t feel too afraid or pressured about it – as long as we can be creative together, i will love creating with you. the muse to writing will come naturally.

dead dove content is ok – i will provide a list of hard nos and topics i am and aren’t willing to write/discuss if we mesh well, eventually.

im ok with smut/nsfw, but i don’t really see it as something to get off to but rather something that allows people to get closer to their partners. i love building sensual relationships (not always sexual) between characters! it is! a lot of fun! and very cute and sweet at times!

⭑ basic ideas: if you have ideas based on any of this, let me know! i'd love to collaborate. we can mix and match as well! pairing cravings are underlined.

plots & word banks :

♟️ plot 1.

rivals to lovers. historical (60s-80s). chess master x chess master.

i would love to do something with a queen’s gambit vibe; two chess masters, well known for their mastery/amazing skills. they are both so competitive in an obsessive way that they’d do anything to win and be the absolute best. both of their lives revolve around chess. one day, they have to compete against each other - and we can go from there. there’s a lot of different ways we could do this.

🏛️ plot 2.

historical, inspo from the secret history. multi muse.

i’m looking to start up a roleplay with a similar vibe to the secret history. with or without the murder. i think it would be fun to create a friend group like the one in the book, and a romance between two of the characters. i always thought the dynamic between francis abernathy and richard papen was quite interesting, so i was thinking something like that. of course, we don’t have to go by exactly what the book says, i just think it was a great book and it really inspired me to start a roleplay based around it! i would prefer if this took place in a similar time period (80s-90s) but i’m open to suggestions. just looking for a lot of angst, interesting characters, dark academia, and slowburn!!!

⚓️ plot 3.

historical. mxm. murder mystery inspired by the tenant of wildfell hall with a twist.

i have a character who was the wife of the assigned lighthouse keeper of a small town in coastal england, who keeps the light going following the death of their husband. except the circumstances of his death are kind of weird & someone from the town starts getting nosey and investigates…

🖼️ plot 4.

art conservationist x historian. mxm. (possibly murder) mystery & thriller.

i thought this would be a cute pairing, and i have been told it reminds people of the da vinci code! i was thinking of picking a real paiting together, who would set the themes and the story and vibes for our story, and our characters could fall in love all thanks to art. i have no other ideas besides this so if you feel inspired by this, bring your thoughts!

and more! thank you sooo much for reading! if interested, feel free to reach out to me via dm/on discord @tamlla. i will only reply to proper introductions, not “i am interested” or “i love this plot” :p

Discord: tamlla

[wellthebardsdead]

Bingo.

This.

This was my experience with starfield.

It’s so, unbelievably boring. So much potential with space exploration and that’s coming from someone who hates sci fi, and they fucked it up. Just like they did with fallout.

Skyrim and the entirety of the elder scrolls works because as convoluted as the lore is, it makes, sense. It’s a cohesive story when you add the lines together with the dragon breaks in consideration. But not only that, the world building is key!

They have set a planet, a confined location on which a location takes place. That location, has lore, not only does that place have lore but it‘a people, has lore, the animals and plants have lore! The gods of that place HAVE LORE!

They have information, substance, CONTENT!

Starfield is BARREN and poorly written!! I found no enjoyment in the gameplay either!

I get wanting to expand beyond your bread and butter and what your audience wants creative wise, and Bethesda if you’re in need of writers hello- you’ve got a whole community here. But for fuck sake outside of the elder scrolls you guys are not only shit creative wise but also business wise!!

We’ve waited since skyrims release for another update! Eso is heavily lacking in substance and isn’t enough to account for it.

And each and every time Bethesda releases something else instead it’s a flop, it’s boring, it’s lacking in substance and creativity and after the duffle bag special edition, I’m not willing to give y’all my money anymore, the only reason I got starfield is because of a gift card, and I STILL felt ripped off.

Please, just put effort into your work Bethesda, because the communities done more than enough for you.

[yinyuedijun]

mao, hi! i feel like my tags under “translation” weren’t enough hehe so i’m sliding into your inbox rn with some bonus thoughts and compliments <3

you’re the “wise” mutual in my eyes and adore reading your posts — i feel like i can gain a better perspective on so many things (putting aside omegaverse /j !!! the lore bits were intriguing). english isn’t my first language so i was surprised that you use many specific phrases that only someone deeply interested in some topics would use, so it’s like +++extra wise because i’ve never used these words (i know the meaning, but that’s all).

and it’s so visible in your fic with aventurine. to write about certain situations with such detail, i don’t think i could come up with ideas like that. after reading “translation” my brain expanded lol especially since your take on cultural loss isn’t something i can relate to or find in my daily life, so it’s really interesting to learn more about it.

i hope you don’t mind me being so attentive to your blog lately — i’m here to absorb knowledge and appreciate your (online) persona <3

OH MANU!!!! T_T you are so sweet i cannot describe how this ask makes me feel. it's very funny that i am the wise mutual to you because i just feel like a silly little guy yapping into the void haha. but! i am also very happy to hear that i am able to provide some interesting perspectives for you, that you might not otherwise think about! thank you for engaging with my thoughts !!

i do have to say though, as one writer to another - i think the secret trick to writing very specific narratives has a lot to do with reflecting on your own experiences or perhaps special interests, and coming up with a story that is thematically shaped by those self-reflections. (at least for me it works like that idk i do feel like a very uncreative person....catfishing everyone into thinking i'm creative when really i am just writing stuff that is familiar to me LMFAO.) there will always be narratives that you can write that no one else will be able to, because the only person with your specific set of lived experiences is you!

and omg please don't apologize for all the interaction - i love being able to vibe with you and chat with you!!!! i am looking forward to chatting more with you in the future beloved <333

[ovaryacted]

Hey, I'm wondering - what do you consider as requests? Because it says in your pinned post that requests are closed, but you've been responding to quite a few detailed asks from anons that I'd personally count as requests (since they're asking you to write about a specific thing). So if you don't mind, could you tell us what's the line that we shouldn't cross when requests are closed? Like what counts as a request and what's okay to ask.

Hey there anon! Yeah, I figured me answering a bunch of asks would raise questions when I say requests are closed lol, I don’t mind clarifying this out!

So requests to me are when someone asks me to write out an actual one-shot or fanfic piece including ideas or concepts they want me to incorporate. So for example someone will send me an ask saying the following:

Hi! Can you write about Leon doing x,y, and z incorporating [concepts they want]. Thank you!

Obviously that’s a very general example, but if someone asks me to write a full fic out, that’s a request. If someone were to send me something like that (which I haven’t gotten yet), I won’t answer it cause chances are I’ll have a fic idea already saved that would have these things anyway, and believe me I have a lot of ideas. Getting requests also overwhelms me and gives me anxiety so I just decided to close them from the start.

All of these asks I’ve been answering are more so thirst messages or headcanon thoughts people want expanded on. For these asks, I can easily crank out 500-700 word responses, which come off the top of my head.

The answers to these asks for the most part don’t take much thought or energy (unless I’m really tired), hence why I answer them the way I do. Plus, my brain never really stops working, I’m always thinking about ideas when it comes to Leon so I don’t mind writing something without the strain of making a fic.

My own qualifications and thought process for one-shot/fics take a lot more energy and it’s far more extensive (brainstorming, outlining, formatting, making aesthetically pleasing, etc). For these asks, I don’t have enough creative juice to sit and write 2.0k words (usually my benchmark for what I consider a fic), so I shorten it down to something that’s bite-sized (for me because my actual fics are much longer). Sometimes, I end up writing more than I expected so these asks can turn into drabble pieces too (sometimes they overlap with analysis posts).

I also have analysis asks based on very specific concepts for Leon’s character, which involve a whole separate way of thinking. I actually do research and use my brain when making analysis posts, hence why I categorize them differently from everything else. (I use the ovaryacted thoughts tag for all character analysis posts).

I do have some asks that I haven’t answered yet because I’m saving them for a one-shot piece down the road. Though the person who sent me the message might not have explicitly asked me to do that, I found the ideas interesting enough to incorporate them in a fic I wanted to write anyway. I already have a very long WIP list and enough ideas to write the fics I want without needing to feed off of someone else’s brainstorm. So I just don’t take requests, but all of these asks are what I consider thirst posts and they can be sent at any time.

I’m sorry this was so long, but I have a lot of ways I differentiate the things I write cause this is just how my brain works. I hope this helps and answers your questions!

[mothuary]

MY RESPONSE WAS TOO LONG so im going to answer you in a text post lol.

Photo text: Anonymous asked: “can you share more about the Black Eagles 80s goth AU please? I’m curious as to how everyone fits in the AU”

Yes yes yes!! i can share more. i can OVER share.

so the AU it's centered around a venue in the city that edelgard starts up. Its kind of a combination gig venue/ club where they host live bands on weekends and spin records for most of the rest of the week. let me expand on the characters:

edelgard: she basically manages to get into a bunch of her fathers money and uses it to start a goth club. She does it because her dad also owns a venue, but hes not willing to support small acts if he doesn't think they'll bring a good crowd (and therefore money). She doesnt have like... tons of money from a business standpoint but its enough to get a small thing going.

Hubert: he's got a pet thing for chemistry and does photography and can make emulsion screens for t-shirts which help both the small bands and the venue make some extra cash. As always, a reliable assistant to edelgard who helps her run the place, encouraged her to do it, and can come up with really creative solutions to unexpected problems. He's also got a great pulse on the scene and is really good at scouting acts

Everyone else under the cut!!

Monica: Edelgards other assistant, has a huge crush on her. Doesn't really understand the goth thing but wants edelgard to think she's cool so she dresses up. She does the boring stuff like numbers and books and taxes, but shes really good at it and wants to help Edelgards dream so it works out.

Ferdinand: He works there, im thinking probably leads the tech or setup... but the music?? oh hes so into it. Romantic lyrics and glamorous theatrics? absolutely 100%. His family also works in entertainment (hence the stage skills) but he works with edelgard by choice because she lets him get on stage, which his family business would so not allow. He's not part of an act but he opens up for small gigs as a solo or fills in. He gets to be a rockstar for once and it is everything. Becomes fast friends with dorothea.

Dorothea: Shes scouted as a minor pop act and slated to get signed on to a record label but its nothing like what she expected: someone else writes her lyrics and she stands there and looks pretty. In order to explore her own musical inspiration, she starts writing for herself and perfoming here-- disguised in full batcave makeup with teased hair. its a journey of self exploration.

Petra: I think she would also be employed here! but not at first. She moved to [city] from a different country and found that she had a lot of trouble fitting in. After going to a club night, she met some of the regulars and found a group that didnt care if she fit in or not, as long as she had good taste in music. Introduces people to bands from home, they think its got a cool new sound. she picks up some of their music too. And maybe more than a little of the kickass style. This is the kind of place, she decides, that she wants to be a part of. She lends her strength to stage setup and helps as a security detail on occasion as well, but even when shes not working, shes often found in the audience, or hanging out in the daytime.

Caspar : Head of security! He walked in looking for a job when they were setting up the venue in the early days and after a brief deliberation over funds, the three heads of operations (lol) decided they could afford -- and ought to have-- a bouncer. He's a bit more into the punk side of the music scene but he learns to have a soft spot for crooning and synths. Plus, he found out his childhood best friend is a regular here, and this is a great chance to reconnect.

Linhardt: absolutely not employed. He spends so much time there like he really should just be working the merch table or something but he will not do it. Since he isnt being paid, edelgard tolerates his hanging about at ridiculous hours shooting the shit with Petra and Bernadetta, or reading Dorothea's lyrics and helping her pick out chord progressions. He has a really good ear for the mathematical side of music, understands music theory really really well-- but not creative at all. He can play bass, but only in a really textbook way and just cant get funky with it. Thats what he likes about hearing other people play. He will read books during club nights (but not at live shows). Hes in university and literally does all of his course reading at the club. Often found "stepping out for a smoke" (catching up with caspar)

Bernadetta: A very talented writer with an appreciation for old gothic literature. she writes poetry, and anyone who gets the opportunity to read it knows that they would make beautiful lyrics, but shes too embarrassed to share them. shes a regular and a genuine appreciator of the music. cannot play instruments. doesnt like to dance, just closes her eyes. She likes to hover near linhardt because she trusts him and his resting bitch face is a great stranger deterrent.

Byleth: idk i didnt get very far with them other than the idea that maybe they are the dj during weekdays. Since they understand everyones likes and dislikes so well, they play to everyone's preferences. Bad conversationalist and always saying cryptic shit. arrives when their shift starts and leaves when it ends. has a painfully normal day job.

Bonus: Jeritza is the lead of a band that plays here often. Mercedes comes to support him. She is so confident about being there that no one even questions her vibe. WAHHH this is so long LOL but i hope this is interesting to read!!! its got a lot of room for fleshing out but i just think its so fun and i want them all to be goth!!! heres a little doodle of linhardt, bernie, and petra hanging out in the stairwell to rest your eyes on after all that reading

[blackheath505]

[M4F] Fire and Blood | An ASOIAF AU

Hello! My name’s Rebirth. For a long while, I’ve had a love for A Song of Ice and Fire; I read the books, have watched the show and consume anything ASOIAF related. And I also happen to be very into roleplay; I’ve done it for five years, and I consider myself to be a literate writer, writing around four to five paragraphs per post. I’m looking for someone like this who has a love for A Song of Ice and Fire and is the same literacy as me. I want someone who is willing to put in the effort and go the extra mile, much like I am willing to do.

I normally make up plots with my partner in dms, but I’ve found it easier to have set plots with room to expand and explore. Recently, I’ve written a plot that is quite interesting, at least to me. I highly suggest that you read it all from start to finish. I don’t have any passwords or anything hidden in there, but I trust you’ll read it all if you’re interested. And if you have read it, you’ll see that I have no image for my character as I prefer descriptions of characters rather than an image of them.

I’m looking to do an OCxOC, MxF roleplay with me playing as the male and my original character, King Viserys whilst you play as your original character from one of the many great or minor houses in Westeros, or maybe your character is from Essos? I wouldn’t mind, get creative! My timezone is EST, so I’d prefer someone within the Americas. And when you send me a dm, make it into an introduction!! I cannot stress this enough, please don’t just come into my dms with a “Hey” or “Hi”. If I had by chance dropped a roleplay with or anything of the sorts and you’re interested in my ad and plot, send me a dm and we can try to work something new out. With everything that I can think of being said, here’s the the plot and I hope to see you in dms! Oh, and I only use discord when I roleplay, so please have it!

-

Fire and Blood

Plot made by rebirth5910/Blackheath505, please do not use it without consent and giving credit.

246 years after Aegon’s Conquest, his descendant Aegon of House Targaryen, the Fifth of His Name, King of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, and Protector of the Realm was thirteen years into his reign when his third eldest son, Prince Daeron Targaryen married Lady Olenna Redwyne of the Arbor had married in the Red Keep on the second day of the fourth moon in 246 AC. The marriage was not one of love, many knew, but it had been one of duty. Many claimed that the night of the wedding was the first and last time Prince Daeron Targaryen and Lady Olenna Redwyne shared one bed. Though in that one night, a child had been conceived. One moon later, Lady Olenna announced to the realm that she was with child. Throughout the pregnancy, she had claimed that her child would be a girl, whilst Daeron claimed that the child would be a boy. On the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth moon in the same year, a boy was born, whom Daeron named Viserys after King Viserys II Targaryen whose reign only lasted a year.

Viserys was born a healthy babe, having no deformities or contracting any illness in the moons that followed his birth. He had the silvery Valyrian hair of his father and his father before him, with plum colored eyes to accompany it. He was showered with love by his mother and kin, though he rarely received any from his father who spent most of his time in the courtyards, training with his friend Ser Jeremy Norridge. Daeron would not be a big influence in Viserys’ life as when he was four, his father died in a battle against rebels. With Daeron dead, Viserys was without a father figure until his grandsire, King Aegon, took him in as a ward. The young Prince gained many friends throughout his early years, mostly with the boys and girls at court. Most days he would learn how to read and write, read about his ancestors and their reigns and other things of the sorts with the Grand Maester at the Red Keep. At the age of ten, Viserys’ learning with books and quills would decline and his learning with swords and lances and maces would begin with his grandsire. Along with this, Viserys was also made the king’s squire.

Two years after Viserys became a squire for his grandsire, in 59 AC, the majority of the members of House Targaryen traveled to Summerhall for the summer, though only few would live to return to King’s Landing. The night of the Tragedy of Summerhall, Viserys had fled the burning castle with his mother Olenna, and his kin, Princess Rhaella Targaryen and no one else. King Aegon had died along with his son and heir, Prince Jaehaerys, his daughter and wife of Jaehaerys, Princess Shaera, and their son Prince Aerys and Prince Duncan Targaryen. In the span of one night, House Targaryen had lost five members, but had gained a single one from the tragedy. Rhaegar, Princess Rhaella had named her newborn son. By all Westerosi laws, Rhaegar was now King of the Seven Kingdoms, though once the remaining members of House Targaryen returned to King’s Landing, the late King Aegon’s small counsel had called for a great council in the Red Keep to decide the future king of Westeros. The great council lasted a week with both great and small lords attending it. The two main candidates of the great council were Prince Viserys Targaryen, a boy of ten-and-two, and Prince Rhaegar Targaryen, a babe only a few weeks old. The lords and ladies of the realm had a choice to make. Would they rather have a newborn inherit the Iron Throne and not be able to sit it for many years to come, or a boy who could sit the throne in a mere few years and who had been the ward and squire of the late king? The voting was close, though Prince Viserys was ultimately chosen to be the next King of the Seven Kingdoms.

The day Viserys was decided to be king, he was crowned in the main hall of the Red Keep for all to see and pledge their fealty to the new king. King Viserys of House Targaryen, the Third of His Name, King of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, and Protector of the Realm. The crown placed upon his head was that of King Maekar’s crown, though a moon later, Viserys ordered for a new crown to be made for him. When the crown was finished almost a year later, it was a black steel circlet with yellow sapphires decorating it, much like Aegon the Conqueror's crown which had been lost to time. Viserys would not be able to wear his new crown, however, not until after the War of the Ninepenny Kings where Viserys personally traveled to Essos in order to fight the war despite heavily being told not to by his small council and regents. Though the young king insisted on it, saying “If I cannot fight alongside my men, then why should I be King?” He was only ten-and-three when he set sail with his men to Essos, and by the time he had come back, he was ten-and-four, though looking almost ten-and-six. In Essos he had been knighted alongside Tywin Lannister, one of his great friends.

With the last of the Blackfyre Pretenders dead and the realm in peace once more, Viserys donned his circlet with sunset sapphires decorating it, and set out on a royal progress across the realm with his mother and kin, going from King’s Landing to the Riverlands, the Vale, and finally the Reach, stopping at every castle along the way. When Viserys had finally made it to the Reach by the dawn of 261 AC, he traveled to Oldtown in order to visit the Starry Sept and the High Septon. By that year, Viserys was almost a man grown, being ten-and-five now, seen as wise and strong by those who personally met him along his royal progress. The young king would stay in Oldtown for half a year, enjoying the hospitality of House Hightower in the Hightower. In Oldtown, Viserys had come to be a good friend of Lord Leyton Hightower, and eventually named him Hand of the King, as that position had been vacant since the War of the Ninepenny Kings. With the convincing of Lord Leyton around that same time, the king called for a ball to be held in the Hightower in order to decide Viserys’ future wife. Ravens left from Oldtown all across the realm carrying an invitation to the ball. From Winterfell to Sunspear, lords both great and small received an invitation to bring themselves and their maiden daughters to Oldtown in order for Viserys to choose his queen.

On the last moon of 261, what could only be said dozens upon dozens of lords and ladies have showed up to Oldtown, with their maiden daughters in tow. Now with the ball being just days away, who will King Viserys choose as his queen? Will it be a woman of the North? Or possibly even a woman from Dorne? Or maybe from a different land entirely like Pentos or Lys? Only time would tell.

[jonmcbrine-author]

My current WIP is set to be a full-length novel that is intended to be the first book of a trilogy - I have the titles and much of the overall story outline mapped out, but I feel apprehensive about revealing very many details about it. When does teasing information about a forthcoming release cease being a pragmatic part of marketing? At what point is it just being too precious about my oh-so-original idea?

There are legitimate concerns regarding withholding info about a book still in development - sadly, concepts, names, and designs can be stolen and it’s a difficult battle no matter how much of a claim you have. That said, do I really think literary thieves are out in the wild scheming on ways they can usurp my intellectual property? They’d have to be aware of me in the first place in order to lift any of my ideas. Being so guarded about my stories feels like such a newbie author thing to do, and it’s a tough habit to shake. So, one of the reasons I’m so coy about providing even the slightest tidbit of info about my latest novel is that, yes, I still struggle with the notion that some miscreant will think my idea is so brilliant that they just can’t resist swiping it. The more realistic reason is that it is still very early in the developmental process and things change. Chronicling the creative process can be fascinating, but at the end of the day, I want to avoid confusion about a piece of work that could undergo title changes as well as general story switcheroos.

As an admittedly vague example, as of this writing, I have introduced a major change in the narration - a different storytelling device than what I had originally conceived. This is something I decided that I will at least try - I have to see what it looks like, so-to-speak. It involves a bit of a time jump; a sort of past and present prism all told via first person POV. This idea could end up in the scrap heap, but it is too intriguing for me not to explore. One of my personal rules of writing is to find the most interesting way to tell the story, and if this particular idea that originated out of left field improves the book, then it is all for the better. After all, the only “real” rule of writing is to produce a story that someone enjoys. It’d be nice if it made money, too, but one thing at a time.

All this interior drama is unfolding within my mind palace, but to the outside world, no one knows much of anything and that is because of the aforementioned rookie preciousness. Ego also plays a factor, too. Strange as it sounds, I almost don’t want to rearrange my story’s structure despite its excitement because it deviates so much from what I said I’d do - what I said to myself, that is. The truth may lie in that my opening sequence has expanded into three chapters. The editor part of my brain demands I kill my darlings and only retain the key points and move the story along. Stupid logic.

The chapter consolidation may still happen, but I had one of those pesky ideas that seem too enticing to ignore. But much like the eclipse, I can’t help but think perhaps I should simply let logic takes its natural course and block out the bright sun of endless ideas. After all, the totality of my time that I can spend creating all of this is very limited and I don’t want to wait another twenty years for another completed book to resurface.

Alas, things are still looking sunny and the future is radiant with new possibilities. Maybe one day I will feel confident enough to simply post my new story’s details and watch with satisfaction as it gets ignored in the never-ending stream of social media.

Stay in the loop for more details by following Jonfcition Blog on Substack, Tumblr, and Medium. For more info about this and all my books, please visit jonmcbrine.com

The monthly Jonfiction Newsletter is released on the first Monday of every month only on Substack.

Unsecret Identity: Eric Icarus - Book One is available now from the Amazon Kindle store.

https://a.co/2XAtxvH

[kihaku-gato]

2023 was… a lot. We expected that I guess. My expectations bar feels like it keeps being lowered and I would not be surprised to 2024 grabbed a shovel to still dig under the newly lowered bar, but let’s hope it doesn’t.

Despite the ton of bad, I should not ignore the good;

Some friends I got to talk with more! And I got to see them develop their own new OCs while I simmered on some new ones of my own.

With a revisit I finished the story mode in Little Witch Nobeta not once but twice (second being Advanced Mode)! Not sure I could do Time Trials, but Story Mode alone satisfied much for me

I got the pruning blade onto every single apple tree in the home fruit orchard. Another year and hopefully all trees will be in routine pruning order!

Did my first successful fruit tree graft. I would love to do more if I can find some workable cases to do so.

Thanks to sis I got to get into thrifting. Not only have I enjoyed some badly needed mental stimulation from it, but also find various books that I’ve been after to finishing some of my specific Series Collections, and some other miscellanea and décor too!

I got to learn of artists and writers I was not familiar with before, I’ve loved seeing the creative angles I have either not seen enough of before or haven’t seen at all before till this point!

I finished reading 1 Manga series and 1 book series in my shelves which I had not fully read through before. They are staying on my shelves, they are in the ranks of Classics for me now.

Goals (or moreso- wishes with how goals go these days) for 2024;

More art; OC art, reference sheets, plant art, spec evo art, paleoart, I’m not picky, any or all of them. Doing fanart of other peeps’ stuff would be nice too

Try to make one polymer clay piece, doesn’t matter what it is, can be super simple

Try to compliment other peoples’ artwork more online? That’s a tall order but still something I wish to do more.

Get more decorum progression in my bedroom- something framed on the wall, some curtains, or another larger decorum piece added into the curio. Or even repair my older framed photos from college and put them up even.

Get gardening back in some order; get one of the gardens (the Neo Garden at least) back in order; weeding mainly but other things too

Ditto for houseplants; have more houseplants thrive not just survive. Get things repotted where needed. Maybe get some new stuff if the houseplants reach equilibrium.

Expand on pruning and maybe grafting; get more trees under the yearly prune (it’d be nice to get some of Uncle’s fruit trees done), do client pruning (and TRY to not undercharge again, find someone of similar career who can help judge on that or reference from?), maybe do grafting requests with scion material I may have access to

Read more, read through a unfamiliar/unread series from my bookshelves, maybe get more into reading fanfiction from AO3

Finish another game I’ve never completed. Hollow Knight is one to be one I want to get through- provided hands stop getting strained from the action

Less attainable (I had some of these last year which is why the bar is set to “IF it can happen”) wishes;

Getting my G1 driver’s licence……. Or just getting a new driver’s handbook to replace the lost one so I can at least read-study on paper for it

Visit friends??? Somehow??? Somewhen??? Please???

Buy some sort of merch from an artist I look up to. Or an art comm

Most attainable of the four- just wear some feminine stuff casually? Maybe get something from thrift to wear? Even just something really simple or gender ambiguous brooch or something??

Even if I fail at many, or worse, all of these goals in the coming 2024, I still pray and hope for good and better things for the New Year. Please some more good for 2024, please some good change. May more good people get the good things they need 2024.

[swynlake-rp]

August slipped away into a moment in time…

OTMS

MUN: L! Whether she’s making big, site-wide plot moves like with Eboshi and Hades or finding creative ways to spice up threads on the fly, L's ideas inspire all of us! Our members also shouted out her willingness to jump on opens, follow up on plotting, and try new things– we couldn’t agree more!

CHARACTER: DOLORES MADRIGAL! Between a fake dating plot, a secret identity letter-writing plot, and a family wedding on the horizon, Lo has been living her romcom dreams lately and we simply love to see it. As one member wrote, “It really feels like Lo's storyline has it all right now and I can't wait to see how it all crashes into each other.”

THREAD: CROSS YOUR HEART - SNOW WOLF! This one had all of us on the edge of our seats! L and L did an amazing job of building suspense and tension before the very scary reveal of what exactly was in that mysterious package. We can’t wait to see where this leads for the Hauntley crew.

TASK: TECHNOWAVE PLAYLIST BY LINS AND Z! This playlist was not only so creative, but it was also a true collaboration, creating a totally unique vibe! Props to L and Z for taking on a challenging task and knocking it out of the park.

Honorable mentions: Kristoff’s Country Roads! Our members loved to see how this task expanded what we know about Kristoff and filled in some more of his backstory. Great job, B!

BOARD UPDATES 

ICYMI – THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT IS IN TOWN: The Home Office of State Security’s Magick Inspection Division is conducting an audit in Swynlake! Their representative, Eboshi Kanamori, is interviewing the citizens of Swynlake and investigating the Board. So far, she’s done one big thing which is… 

REMOVE HADES ACHERON AS MAYOR! That’s right! Hades is no longer mayor – gasp! Eboshi is serving as interim mayor during the audit.

THE BOARD’S FOREST STATEMENT: Please read below for the Swynlake Town Board’s Official Statement on the strange activities happening with the forest animals: 

Thank you to everyone who attended the July Town Hall event, and especially those who raised comments and concerns related to the forest. We are aware that unusual wildlife activity has begun to impact local homes and businesses. While the reason for this activity remains unclear, local authorities are conducting an investigation and the Board will continue to work closely with forest stewards in order to determine the cause. In the meantime, please continue to report any concerns regarding forest animals to the rehabilitation center at Pride University, and contact 999 in case of emergency.

TASKS

SUMMER MEMORIES: Create a scrapbook of your character’s summer adventures! This can be from this year, or from sometime in their past. Include at least five pictures and write a 200 word description (or journal entry, or whatever inspires you!) to go with it. 

A LATE SUMMER’S NIGHTMARE: Write a self-para about a nightmare your character has had! (700 words) 

EVENTS

AUGUST 2 - 8: GREASE OPENING! Grab your leather jackets and poodle skirts and join the cast of Grease in celebrating opening night! The show will have its first performance on August 4th and run through the weekend. The opening night will take place after the first show has run, though feel free to also do behind the scenes stuff. 

AUGUST 9 - 15: SURPRISE ANNIVERSARY FLASH EVENT! Since we did a big AU in June, we’re shifting gears and doing a good ol’ fashioned in-canon flash event! Details to come. :) Canonically on Saturday, August 12.   

AUGUST 15 - 23: SIMBA’S BARBIE WORLD BIRTHDAY! It’s Simba’s birthday! His last one in Swynlake. :( Everyone is invited. (If you don’t think you know Simba well enough, I’m sure you know someone who knows him!!) Barbie themed, wear your best Barbie lewk. There will be dancing and merriment. More information to come! 

AUGUST 23 - AUG 29: CREATIVE ARTS SHOWCASE! Ashlee & Nemo present a creative arts showcase, including performances with singing, dancing, spoken word and poetry. Fellow artists have donated their art for guests to bid on. Cover is 10 pounds, and any proceeds from the show will be donated to the dance programs in Swynlake. Canonically on August 23, it will be held in Town Hall.

BIRTHDAYS

Characters:

Beck Brooks – August 3

Genevieve Davenport – August 4

Tony Rydinger – August 5

Hades Acheron – August 8

Eilonwy Llyr – August 8

Lightning McQueen – August 11

Ella Ashbourne – August 14

Simba Bonfamille-Lyons – August 18

William Clayton – August 20

Moon Yeongtae – August 20

Roxanne Martin – August 20

Phineas Flynn – August 28

Gabriella Krasimina – August 29

Mason "Dipper" Pines – August 29

Aurora Briar – August 31

[letsgetrowdy43]

I've never known someone like you—

Luke Hughes x musician!reader

I listened to “glue song” by Beabadobee (feat. Clairo) and that gave me the inspiration for the edit so enjoy!!

ynofficial and Rollingstone just posted!!

Liked by radvxz and 239 837 others

Ynofficial I met with @Rollingstone earlier this week to talk about my art, what’s coming next, and how I want to expand my creativity into different types of mediums!! Link is in my bio, please give it a read 🤎

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User64 bby you’re glowing!!

User20 dude you’re so well articulated! The interview was perfect

Taylornation we are obsessed with you 💜🕰️

Liked by Ynofficial

User48 no cause when she started talking about wanting to write a book and get more involved in the New York art scene I started shaking with excitement

User19 it would be so sick to see her involve herself in all sorts of creative scenes

Gracie Abrams I aspire to be you

Ynofficial I’m kicking my feet rn bae 🤭

Ynoffical just posted!!

Liked by Sadiesink and 398 927 others

Ynofficial New York the last two nights have been literal dreams come true <3 New Jersey I’m on my way!!

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User29 they way I’ve never been so excited for anything in my life

Leithross you deserve it all!!

Ynofficial omg ily 🫶🏻

User40 THIS IS MY ERAS TOUR 😩

Jackhughes @Lhughes_06 so…. should we get tickets

Lhughes_06 yes.

User63 that was ominous…

Lhughes_06 just posted!!

Liked by Adamfantilli and 30 927 others

Lhughes_06 is this considered a soft launch??

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Markestapa since when??

Dylanduke25 the question you should be asking is WHO?

User73 we lost him girls 😔

User47 this post will be a conversation in therapy today!

Umichhockey very softlaunch 💙

NJdevils he learnt from the best ❤️

Dougieham are the girls fighting?

Jackhughes did she buy you that shirt 🤨

Lhughes_06 I actually bought this myself…

_Quinnhughes disgusting.

Ynofficial just posted!!

Liked by phoebebridgers and 329 928 others

Ynofficial so sad that my first tour has come to and end!! But I’m so excited to rest and get back into the routine of making new stuff for you guys!! Stay tuned <3

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User37 we love you ❤️

User19 watching you preform was such an out of body experience, you’re truly a talent

Ynofficial you’re gonna make me cry 🫶🏻 ily

xboygeniusx it was a pleasure to open for you!! Loved watching you grow as the tour went on 🖤

Liked by ynofficial

Dylanduke25 JUST SHOW US HIS FACE

Lhughes_06 just posted!!

Liked by rutgermcgroarty and 83 828 others

Lhughes_06 dylan duke cracked the code

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Dylanduke PURR! I DID THAT

User28 I witnessed the revelation 😎

Edwards.73 I’m sorry what…

Lucafantilli he’s literally been gone a month.

Nicohischer congrats!!

User37 I was not expecting that. Like at all.

Ynofficial wait this is so cute 🤭

Lhughes_06 you’re cute

Ynofficial I’m gonna put my phone down and kiss you now

Jackhughes IM 😒 TIRED 😒 OF 😒 THIS

Ynofficial just posted!!

Liked by owenpower_ and 402 928

Ynofficial I 🫶🏻 Luke Warren Hughes

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Lhughes_06 love you

Liked by ynofficial

User92 I just know the booktok girlies are gonna eat this up…

User32 New Wag just dropped??

Ynofficial if anything I’m his sugar mommy

Lhughes_06 🤑💸

_Quinnhughes I don’t think you bully moose enough

Jackhughes agreed!

User48 MY HEART 😩

Dylanduke25 WAIT A SECOND YOU WENT TO THE B1G CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

Mackiesamo may we please get a timeline of this relationship??

Ynofficial we met last year when he visited Jack in jersey… We got together last summer when I visited Michigan!

Dylanduke25 I can’t believe he hid this from us 💔

Elblue6 sending my love ❤️

[alexlwrites]

Idol AU one-shot where soulmates can feel each other's pain after they... ahem ahem... make their bond official.

Cut to the boys leaving you, their soulmate, alone at home while you were having the Godzilla of periods, soon to find out the absolute shit of a mistake they made leaving the dorms that day.

I started writing these months ago and just found the doc... Should I finish it? Here's what i got:

---

Men are useless, you concluded while dragging yourself from the big kitchen to an even bigger living room, a blanket thrown around your shoulders and an ostensibly big tub of ice cream in your hands.

You had seven soulmates. Seven. Seven men who were supposed to be there for you and love you unconditionally. And yet not a single one of them managed to be home to support you while going through what could only be described as the world’s worst period.

You would’ve understood if it was a comeback week - having only officiated your soulmate bond a few weeks before, you had yet to experience those but you could only imagine how brutal they would be. But at that moment, their schedule was sparse and they still chose to spend their free time at the studio due to a burst of creativity on Yoongi’s part instead of staying with you in what you considered a desperate time of need.

One of them would do, you thought to yourself while you lied down on the sofa and turned on the TV. You didn’t need all seven of them to take care of you, although that was the ideal scenario. One of them to give you a back rub would suffice. A soothing hand placed on your lower abdomen would do. Instead, you had to resign to your hand pressing down on your skin and a marathon of couple goals videos on Youtube.

“Oh my god, imagine having an idol as your soulmate?” you mock exclaimed to the empty room “What a dream!” you waved the spoon at the couple with matching outfits on the screen “A dream, my ass. Gonna find myself another soulmate and then what? They are going to regret the day they left me home alone! I might even get a song after this…”

You mumbling was interrupted by the sound of your phone, the screen lighting up with a notification from the group chat you had with the boys.

Yoongi [2:00pm]: hey babe, are you feeling any better?

You [2:01pm]: I hope you lost all inspiration and I hope all your verses only rhyme with the word “farts”

Seokjin [2:02pm]: quick game change a word in a song title for “farts”

Jungkook [2:02pm]: war of farts

Seokjin [2:03pm]: magic farts

You [2:04pm]: seokjin farts

Seokjin [2:04pm]: okay your judgement is clouded by anger so I’m gonna let that one slide

You [2:04pm]: your face is clouded by anger

Seokjin [2:05pm]: that doesn’t even make sense. Cmon honey you cant be that mad

You [2:05pm]: yes i can im cutting the nipples out of all your shirts fuck off

[Y/N left the chat]

You were aware that you were being the slightest bit unreasonable. But your awareness did not mean you cared, so you threw your phone back onto the couch, screen down you wouldn’t see any upcoming massages. Curling into a ball, you felt the pain on you lower back fluctuate between bearable and absurd as you allowed yourself a moment of self pity and loneliness.

---

“We’re fucked” Yoogi announced to the room, Seokjin wincing by his side.

When they left earlier in the morning, they didn’t think you would be upset. Generally speaking, you were very understanding and reasonable, always sending them off to work with a kiss and a smile, always being there to comfort them when they came home exhausted. They should’ve known today was not going to be like that when you woke up with a scowl, hands clutching your tummy as you made your way to the kitchen to inhale an atrocious amount of food. When you didn’t say good morning, just sighed a breathless “yeah” when Jimin asked if you were okay.

They should’ve known you would be upset when they started getting ready and you looked up with big, glassy eyes and asked why they were leaving. Yoongi explained how they had some recordings to do and your bottom lip started trembling.

“Can’t you stay with me just for today? Please?” you begged, but they were already half the door, too focused on their obligations as artists and not enough on their duties as soulmates.

“Sorry, baby. We’ll be home later, okay?”

They should’ve known they were fucked when you frowned, eyes quickly becoming stormy as you dodged Taehyung’s kiss. “Whatever” you murmured, walking back into the bedroom and slamming the door.

There was no explanation for how oblivious they were to your state when you made your discountent clear as day, so there was no one to blame for the unsettling feeling of guilt they shared but themselves.

“Do you think she’s really mad?” Jungkook asked, nervously biting his nails.

“Maybe she’s just joking?” added Jimin, ever the hopeful.

Taehyung shook his head “She seemed really off this morning, I don’t think she’s joking” he said, still upset about how you stepped away from him.

Hoseok stood up, clapping his hands together as he started giving out orders “Well, then let’s wrap up as quick as possible so we can go home and try to save the situation as best as we c-WOAH”

Suddenly he was on his knees, clutching his stomach like his life depended on it. “Hobi!” Namjoon called, quickly kneeling beside his friend “Are you okay?”

“No!” wailed the other “What the hell is going on?”

Yoongi got up to call a staff member when his body decided to rebel against him, sending him stumbling back his steps back onto his chair, his abdomen on fire “Ow, ow, ow, what is this? What’s going on?”

One by one, the member started to feel it, an insistent pressure on their just under the bellybutton that expanded to their lower back. It didn’t give, simultaneously feeling like someone was pressing down on them or something was clawing its way out.

[blueprint-han]

[Image ID: A black picture with the title “HOW TO SUPPORT FANFICTION AUTHORS” written in bold caps lock, colored with a winter forest picture. End ID.]

Well, this post has been made countless times, but I’m making one too because I’ve seen a lot of people say they’re new to tumblr and don’t know the whole “reblogging is better than liking” rule and other stuff. So without any further ado, here are ways YOU can support the fanfiction authors. Now keep in mind this applies to almost every author out there, not just the stayblr fandom, so if you’re a silent reader (or even if you aren’t), I advise you go through this post. Warning, this is a fairly long post going into detail, so yeah. I still expect you, the readers to read this, and if you’re a writer, feel free to lmk if i’ve written smth wrong or if you want me to add something! ^^

In this post I’ll go into thorough analysis of the pros and cons of each of the methods listed here and how YOU as a reader can show the authors whose fics you read more love and motivate them to produce content.

WARNING; LONG POST! GOES INTO A DECENT AMOUNT OF DETAIL. NOT EDITED, EXCUSE ANY TYPOS.

#1 : LIKING !

I think this is basic common knowledge, and a lot of people tend to do this. When you like the post, the author sees it, you see it, and if the author has their liked posts accessible (which majority of the time they don’t), and if someone deliberately goes to check it, then they see it. See why so many authors say just liking does nothing? Only liking says “Hey, I’m gonna tell you your story is not that good by simply liking it and not sharing it with other people. :D”

♯ PROS:

You’re telling the author that you've read their fic, and either you’ve enjoyed it to a certain extent, or you’re just saving it to read for later.

Likes are seen by you, the author and anyone who has access to your likes (which, most people don’t).

♯ CONS:

If you ONLY like, you’re not really helping the author’s work reach a wide audience because this site isn’t Instagram. Reblogging is the only way people can SEE our works. I’ll cover more on that in the next section.

In a nutshell, liking is good! But you should most likely use it in a combination with the other stuff I’ve listed below, because just the like itself doesn’t really do much in giving the author any feedback or interaction on their fics.

To clear shit up; I’m not talking about those people who don’t read the story or appreciate it in the first place. I’m talking about those who appreciate the fic, like it, but don’t leave any sort of feedback to show that.

#2 : REBLOGGING !

This is SO, SO important. I cannot stress on this enough. Let me explain WHY so many writers stress on reblogging content: 

Tumblr’s tag system is inherently fucked up, and has grown more so over the year. I’m not kidding, at first, the fic either used to show up in the tags or it didn’t, but now, sometimes your fic can be REMOVED from the tags because of,,, idk tumblr tag shit. Anyways, as you can see, it’s very demotivating for authors at that point, because the major way for people to find their content and expand their blogs has been blocked.  

Due to this reason, tumblr authors need to RELY on you, their followers to help spread their works to a wider audience. Now again, before you get me wrong, I’m not saying you ae forced to rb our works regardless of whether you like them or not. BUT, that being said, if you DO infact like the story, there’s no harm in reblogging, right? By doing this you’re indirectly telling the author — “hey! :D I liked your fic! Which is why I am gonna share it to my followers so they can read it too :D” Trust me, you’re doing nothing but helping the people who produce content for you to read. Seems like a worthy cause to hit the reblog button, right? It’s only a one, or maximum two step procedure.

Leave tags in your reblogs! Trust me, as an author myself and as much as I know from all my author friends, we oft check the tags of your reblogs to see if you found any part amazing or even if you have anything to say about the writing we put so much hard work into. Even a key smash or a “This was so [insert adjective] 🥺” is enough to leave a smile on your authors face. 

♯ PROS :

You’re !! Sharing !! Your authors !! Works !! This leads to them getting more recognition, so for the content they’re so graciously providing for free, you’re promoting their blog and helping them expand it.

If the tags are being a shit, which majority of the time they are, then you’re literally making an author’s day by reblogging! You’re showing them that you, a follower and appreciator of their works are willingly sharing their content because it deserves to be seen by more people. Again before any dumb people decide to attack me, i am talking about people who like the fic but don't bother reblogging and are silent/ghost readers. I am not forcing anyone to read anybody’s work.

YOU’RE MAKING YOUR AUTHOR SO HAPPY WHAT MORE REASONS COULD YOU POSSIBLY WANT !! 🥺

♯ CONS :

Literally none, because as far as I remember no author is against reblogging of their works. It’s quite literally the way this platform functions. Reblogging is IMPORTANT.

#3 : COMMENTING/SENDING FEEDBACK !

This kind of overlaps with the previous section, but THIS IS SUCH AN IMPORTANT STEP !! When you leave feedback, you are directly giving the author something so much more valuable to them than high follower/note counts or money. Your feedback is literally our serotonin. I kid you not the number of times I’ve received a positive comment and smiled and it has made my day. There’s a reason youtubers (though not the best example, bear with me here because it was the only one I could think of) ask people to subscribe, like and COMMENT. The subscription is like a follow, the like is ofc like a heart, and the comment is equivalent to an rb with comments in the tags. 

You might argue and tell me that a comment is basically like an ask so the reblogging step isn’t necessary, but I’m sure 99% of you use YouTube and you know that more comments leads to people’s videos boosted in the stream/trending charts. This is what reblogging does. Reblogging shares the piece with other people like minded, which leads to a boost in reads. You are literally helping your author grow.

It’s quite literally the same thing as youtubers. Youtubers NEED validation to keep their content creation going, so do writers, so do other ccs on this site. This post is however, focused on WRITERS, so keep that in mind.

♯ PROS :

By doing this, you’re giving author valuable feedback! It’s similar to what you do in rbing with tags. Interactivity with their fics boosts their note counts and helps expand their audience, so srsly, now think of it: your one comment is playing such a massive role to help ccs create more content.

Imagine how much of a difference the note counts will be in when every person who simply likes after reading the fic, reblogs, leaves a comment and sends an ask. the note counts would be high on each and every fic, which is validation in itself, but your comments would inspire the writer so much more! Please, don’t skip the commenting part. Even a simple one like: “this is so cute!” is wonderful. 

♯ CONS :

Remember, if you’re gonna give constructive criticism (which I’m sure you all are smart enough to know if different from hate), make sure the author is okay with it. Authors need to be in a specific mindset and must be ready to accept criticism, so if you’re gonna give constructive criticism to them when they’re at a low point, it may demotivate them.

Just commenting, instead of reblogging and commenting in the tags/ reblogging and then leaving an ask in their inbox, while it gives validation in plenty, will not lead to the author’s work being spread. Therefore I suggest either reblogging and commenting in the tags or reblog and then leave an ask, or comment under the fic!

!! reminder; I am not saying that if you don’t rb and just leave feedback, your feedback has no value. We authors truly appreciate every bit of feedback, but this post is aimed to help you learn how to interact with and support authors, and make them feel more motivated, because the current scenario of liking and scrolling is taking a toll on their creative abilities. Take it from a person who’s been writing for a year.

#4 : COMMSIONING VIA THEIR KO-FI/OTHER APPS !

Before any of you attack me, let me tell you that this is not a step that is 100% necessary to do. ONLY donate if you can and if you genuinely want to, and if anyone is forcing you to pay for something against your will, you need to get yourself out of there.

Regardless, if an author has a kofi and you’re able to and you want to donate, you definitely should! It’s also a valid form of support.

#5 : ADDING THEM ON REC LISTS/ RECOMMENDING THEM TO REC BLOGS

This is such an underrated option, to be honest. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve seen my fic was recommended onto some rec list and it’s made me smile so hard. If you like some fics, create a rec list! They’re oft very popular amongst the fans too. Making rec posts is such a great way to share your favorite stories with others. 

Rec blogs! I’ve seen a couple going around, and needless to say they are a great way to get someone else to read your favorite author’s work whilst also giving them your own feedback. These blogs oft accept recs via a form or ask box, and they leave your feedback along with their own, or else they’ll oft tag the author in the feedback post, so look! You’re basically helping your author share their fic to many more people, because you’ve given them feedback and a reblog.

♯ PROS :

Validation! Feedback! Reblogs! More exposure! Helping a blog grow! Spreading love! basically a run down of the stuff I’ve said before!

♯ CONS :

Literally no con of this. Unless, a one in a million case, this author says they don’t like receiving feedback/being tagged, and I’m sure NO person has said this before, at least none that I’ve heard of.

#6 : FINAL COMMENTS; MISC !

When an author points out about how the interactivity is drastically reducing, don’t just give them blind apologies. Yes, you feel sorry for not interacting as much, we understand, but rather show that you’ll become a better content consumer through your actions. We need to see that we’re not just throwing words into a void and that people are actually trying to be better content consumers. 

Understand the fact that authors don’t get paid for this, and 99% of the time, these authors don’t take commissions either. They’re giving you novel worthy writings for free. Take Percy Jackson: You think the author would have felt motivated to write the subsequent parts, let alone two whole series based off of it if literally no one showed that they were interested? Rick Riordan has sales, he is being paid, there are millions of people and big agencies who provide him feedback. Now take that huge amount and simmer it down to an audience of maybe 10000 people This is what fanfic authors want. They don’t want your money, nor are they telling you to risk your lives for them. All they want is, a reblog, some tags, some feedback, some INTERACTIVITY.  A sign that they aren’t throwing fics into the void and that people actually like them, some motivation to continue. Seems fairly easy to throw an rb with some tags, right?

Don’t bother to tell me that we do this for ourselves and we shouldn’t ask for likes and reblogs and feedback, because 1) you are consuming the content that we “write for ourselves” and 2) writers post their content here for interactivity and feedback. We could just not post and write and save our fics in our dungeon drafts for years. But we choose to post to entertain the readers, the consumers. And we aren’t even asking that much in return.

Don’t give me the whole “I’m scared that authors feel that comments are annoying” excuse either because seriously this has been DEBUNKED SO MANY TIMES. Istg, in the nicest way possible, if you still think writers are annoyed by interaction and feedback, after so many posts, long rants have been posted as to how we’re not, then you must truly be living under a rock. There, I said it. Please stop thinking this way, I’ll say it again, AUTHORS ARE NOT ANNOYED OF FEEDBACK, COMMENTS, TAGS, REBLOGS. WE LOVE IT. Saying this is like saying that the audience in a theatre play shouldn’t clap when the play ends because the actors would find it noisy. 🤡

I’ve seen some people saying they have anxiety issues and such, so pls note that I’m not invalidating your condition. If you’re trying to be more interactive, I really appreciate it! If you can’t, that’s fine too. You’re trying.

But for the people who have no reason other than feeling lazy to rb and comment, your lack of interactiveness is not excused. Please. Tumblr is a reblogging site. If you’re gonna consume content like authors are some sort of machines, I encourage you to go get some more perspective.

This site is not Instagram or the satan bird app. Your likes are appreciated but frankly speaking, they do nothing to the author except tell them “Hey i read ur fic but i'm not gonna support u :D” and honestly, that is detrimental to their creative capabilities and mental health. 

DON’T FOLLOW AN ACC JUST TO MINDLESS RB THEIR SIGNAL BOOST POSTS AND THEIR REBLOGS OF GIFS AND NOT INTERACT WITH THEIR WRITING AT ALL ! Trust me, authors prefer a lower amount of interactive followers than a high count that doesn’t even give them any feedback. Again your follows are appreciated, but when you’re following, you know the type of content the author creates, so the author expects that the more followers, the more interactivity. These days, this is just becoming the opposite. So don’t do it! If you’re gonna follow to read, interact with their works. I promise, this will make both you and the author happy. A win-win situation.

In conclusion: SUPPORT YOUR FUCKING AUTHORS! THEY ARE NOT MACHINES THAT HAVE NO FEELINGS TO PRODUCE CONTENT FOR YOU! FICS TAKE DAYS AND DAYS OF PLANNING, PLOTTING, OUTLINING, WRITING, EDITING, MAKING TEASERS. SO JUST SHOW THEM YOU APPRECIATE THEM WITH AN RB. IT’S THE L E A S T YOU CAN DO.

I will be liking this post here written by the lovely @chaninfused​ and @scriptura-delirus​ . Please take time to read it because if you weren’t convinced by my arguments, you will see how much frustration we as writers face on a daily basis. Please, just show support. Here is the post by @stayndays​ about how to get more people to read your work, because it also has a note on reblogging. Please educate yourself, and put an end to this mindless consuming culutre and bring up some interactivity.

If you’ve read this far, I want you to go to two of your favorite authors and leave some feedback in their inbox, and tag me in it (either tag me yourself or ask the author to do so, they won’t mind). Show your writers that our words are taking effect and you are becoming better consumers. I mean it. I’m serious. I want every single one who reads this post to do this. besides valid reasons, if you’re lazy to do this, you’re a part of the problem. PLEASE get more perspective.

Also, feel free to add to this post! I’d love to read your thoughts too, remember to be kind though. And, if I think your rb is somehow contradicting my points and is bringing down the reason I made this post, I will politely ask you to delete your comment, because this post is about being truthful about the harsh reality of tumblr consumers and how we can change it. I’m sure none of you will let it get to that point, though. <3 love you guys. 💓

And, just a reminder, don’t just blindly like this too. Do what I said before, and while I am not forcing you, I’d appreciate your reblog, because seriously, it took me 3 whole days to write this, plus, I’m sure this will help more of your followers understand the fault in consumer culture. haha, that’s it! This post was way too long uff.

also, this is ur cue to not be stupid in my inbox. You have something to say? Think I worded smth wrongly? I’m sure it wasn’t my intention to do so, point it out with manners. 

[demonslayedher]

How you doing Buri Senpai !!

Personal question…. How do you manage to get out of your art/writing block/ burnout ? You are an incredible artist and writer and i wish to be like you someday❤️

(///￣ ￣///) Thank you, Anon. Like most other people who do any sort of creative work, I am constantly seeking validation. I don’t think that ever goes away. That is why I’ll give you the truth, I get a lot of happy chemicals from making KnY fanwork, at the expense of any other creative work I could be doing.

There’s lots and lots of discussion out there on what leads to creative burnout and how perfectionism kills success by preventing someone from even starting a project, and anyone who has ever worked hard on something only to feel it met with a disappointing response can tell you about the heartbreak of feeling like none of your efforts are worth anything. It’s very easy to say “write for you, draw what you want, fandom should be fun” but we all know that sometimes it’s not. That’s the best advice I think is out there, though, so I’m just going to expand a bit.

…I tried, but my answers all kept getting rambly. ლ(¯ロ¯"ლ)

The truth is that KnY is escapism for me and that is why I create so much of it!! For as long as I’m busy with this, and getting dopamine from making fanwork, my projects I’m willing to tell people about in real life are going to continue to get ignored! O ho ho! I fear failure!! I know they won’t be perfect and that is why I do not wish to create them in the first place! I do not wish to be judged as imperfect!!! Ohhh, ho ho ho ho! O-o-o-o-hhhhhh ho ho ho ho!

Ah. But that’s probably a big reason why I create so much KnY content: the stakes are lower than other things I might wish to accomplish. Since I don’t have any high expectations of my art anymore I can allow myself to relax with it and accept its wonkiness as part of it, if anything, that’s in the spirit of the original manga, right? Also, I’m practiced enough with my drawing that even though I don’t know proper drawing technique, I can intuitively go about bringing a lot of things from my head to paper, so that makes it something I do to relax.

While I have given myself permission to be lazy with art for the sake of enjoying it, I do still harbor the same childhood dream of getting published, even though my understanding of that now comes with vague knowledge of all the burn-outable activities that come with (self-promotion, blaaaaargh, please just let me live under a rock). Sometimes, when I realize just how high my KnY-related word count is, I get aggravated with myself for not having poured that power into my own original projects. But failure would feel so much higher with those, so I stick to what I know I can accomplish, as I lo-o-o-ve the feeling of accomplishing things.

But…

Well…

One of the best times I got that feeling was was when I sat down and actually wrote a few manga short stories, beginning to end, with no idea what I was doing. All it really took was a kick in the pants from someone holding me accountable. I had 55 books printed to basically give away to people. I had them all stacked up when they arrived and was stunned at how slim the spines were. All those hours, poured into that small a result, something that could be consumed and forgotten so easily?

But then again, I had something. Something complete, so that if the topic of OCs ever came up, I hand something to hand to someone, to say, “this.”

It was sometime after that when I crushed my first NaNoWriMo attempt by a long-shot (50,000 words? Pfffhaahahaha, when I’m prepared and have my schedule cleared for it, that’s nothing!), and even though that first novel objectively was terrible, it broke me in and made me realize that I could do it. I’ve written three more full drafts of other stories since then, though I was so frustrated with the overhaul second draft of one of them that I quit on it and then, uh, started watching KnY. Teh heh…

But I guess that really is the drive. To have something I can give to someone to say, “This. I have put my thoughts and feelings to form. It’s a form I can share now.” Sure, it’s really nice to imagine having a fandom following or striking it big with a hit or something, but it would never be enough validation, and that sounds like a sure way to get burnt out.

So even in fandom, even when I get other ideas of what might be fun (or just popular?) blog content, at some level I just want to say “I got this idea, I gave it form, please appreciate it.” And, as is the key to most forms of happiness, I’m really, really grateful for the people who bother to read my wordy work, who leave their thoughts, and who take my ideas and run with them and make new ideas from them. My fandom content isn’t made specifically for my own pleasure, I really, really do get joy out of other people finding joy in it, and satisfaction in knowing I put it into a form that can be enjoyed instead of just having it in my own head. It's like my relaxed attitude toward my drawing, though. In order to keep my fandom fun, I keep my expectations in check so that I can still relax and have fun with it. I don't get involved with things that require effort I don't feel like putting in, I don't hold myself responsible for giving anyone else fandom validation either, it's not a give and take economy of praise. When I want to praise you I will dump it on you and you will know it's from the heart. Keeping things relaxed requires boundaries and embracing one's own laziness, so that you can focus on what you really care about.

But the not-as-fun projects that come with high stakes, the ones that keep calling me… they’re out there, and I need to polish my rough areas to answer the call, someday.

I just fear what becoming my best self will entail.

[fruitcoops]

So this is sort of similar to the people writing fanfic about the lions but can you imagine the YouTube edits? Like the videos that are just "Cap having heart eyes for Loops for 10 minutes straight" or "Loops lovingly dragging Caps name through the mud for 3 minutes" like those kinds of things and I can just imagine them doing reaction videos and it just being funny and the world just loving coops

Okay so this wasn't a specific fic request but I got carried away with imagining videos and....here you go. SW credit goes to @lumosinlove, but Grace and Anna are mine! Bonus points to anyone who remembers the easter egg in this one!

Message From: Gracie

ANNA HOLY SHIT

Anna frowned at her phone screen, squinting to read around the spiderweb crack decorating the upper corner. She had tried to convince herself that it was cool, goth, edgy, but in the end she had to admit that it was just irritating. In a tragic turn of events, packing tape couldn’t fix everything.

Message To: Gracie

Wtf did I do

Two weeks of radio silence, then unexplained accusations. Anna shook her head as the grey bubble disappeared for a third time and turned back to her computer. Grace may have been her favorite cousin—and favorite person, if she was being honest—but very few things came between Anna and video editing. Especially editing for a Lions meme video. She had a whole 2,341 followers to attend to, after all.

Message From: Gracie

DID YOU SEE THE FUCKING INTERVIEW???

Message To: Gracie

Wow thank you so helpful

Message From: Gracie

Skip to 2:45 bestie

A link popped up just as Anna cut a segment from the sleep study video, where Loops’ heart eyes were in full effect. It was a rare, precious find for fan editors like herself.

“Come on,” she groaned. Maybe introducing Grace to the deepest parts of her hockey obsession was a mistake. But, really, what else was she supposed to do when she learned her cousin, who didn’t even live in Gryffindor, got to meet her favorite players just by chilling in a café? What kind of cosmic joke was that?

She narrowed her eyes at the embed of the link, then stifled a shriek. Impossible. How had she missed an upload?

As if on cue, her computer pinged with a new notification from the Lion Pride channel. “Oh, fuck me,” she muttered, scrambling to save her half-done video and pressing play.

The interviewer asked basic questions, ones she had heard the answers to a million times while curating her content. It always felt funny to hear people refer to Cap as ‘Sirius’—it was too official, too formal. She had spent countless hours on the compilations of his softer moments, and they were her most popular videos. Cap Having Heart Eyes for Loops for 10 Minutes Gay. Cap Being an Actual Puppy for Six and a Half Minutes. Everyone Wanting Cap Cuddles for Fifteen Minutes. Every Time Cap Smiles When Someone Mentions His Godson. The list was endless. She loved it.

She did a silent fist pump when she saw the interviewer had snagged both Cap and Loops; that would give her a whole new stream of workable content. If she was lucky, she could expand on her series of Loops Lovingly Roasting His Friends, part…fuck it, who was even counting anymore?

Anna was so caught up in her excitement that she nearly forgot about Grace’s suggestion. I’ve never skipped through a video on the first watch before, she thought hesitantly. But maybe just this once…

Her cursor hovered over the 2:45mark. She closed her eyes, and clicked it.

“—have you been adjusting to life as a celebrity?” the interviewer asked. Anna nearly rolled her eyes when Loops laughed. That question had been used far too often to be interesting anymore.

“It’s had its ups and downs,” Loops said with a smile. “Mostly, though, the fans have been incredible and just knocked my socks off with their support.”

“Really? What’s your favorite part of the Lions fanbase?”

He didn’t miss a beat. “Their creativity, for sure. There was a video a while back where we reacted to some of the comments people left, and this person on Twitter made an absolutely beautiful collage of photos.”

“I have it saved to my phone,” Sirius added.

One more clip for the simp video. Anna made a note on the small corner space of her European History notes. The degree can wait for ten more minutes.

“Do you have a favorite creator?”

The interviewer was clearly teasing, but Loops’ smile was genuine. “I don’t know about a favorite, but there’s this person on YouTube who makes a shit ton of videos and they’re hysterical. I saw one the other day about—god, what was it again?”

“Every time I smile when people mention Harry,” Sirius answered around a laugh. “Can you blame me?”

Anna didn’t hear the next question. A ringing noise filled her ears as she sat, frozen, on her shitty dorm mattress and listened to her literal heroes talk about her dorky little channel. “Holy fuck,” she blurted after a moment of silence. “Holy fuck.”

“—subscribed?” The man’s voice snapped her back to reality.

“Of course I am!” Loops said. “You think I’m passing up a chance to watch a compilation of my friends making stupid decisions for the entire internet to see?”

A noise that would have been a shriek if Anna had any breath left in her body escaped her lungs; she clamped a hand over her mouth and shakily exited from the video before going to her YouTube account. 800 new notifications. 700 new followers in the last quarter hour. She was pretty sure she blacked out for a second from sheer shock and joy.

Message To: Gracie

What

Message From: Gracie

You’re famous!

Message To: Gracie

What

Message From: Gracie

I bet he knows your stuff better than he remembers me tbh

“They know me,” she whispered, staring at her computer. The unfinished video showed a perfect frame of Loops’ soft smile as he watched Cap get his toothbrush stuck in his pajama shirt. Somehow, the thought was both exhilarating and horrifying. What if they thought she was a creep? She wasn’t, not really, just a bored college student with not enough free time for a job but too much to keep herself busy with schoolwork. Her 2,341—no, 3,052—followers were just other hockey nerds looking for time to kill.

And the subject of those videos was one of her subscribers.

Anna slipped her headphones back on and began to edit like it was her last day on earth. Her fingers flew across the keyboard on muscle memory while her brain fizzed. Perfect, she thought. It has to be perfect.

In four hours, it was done. She sat back, panting, then hunched over again and began tapping out a title card.

Hello. Idk if anyone saw the new Lion Pride video today (linked below if anyone wants to see why I’m dying right now) but apparently Remus Lupin is subscribed to this channel and has been for a while.

Hi Loops. I’m Anna. You met my cousin once and she said she liked your sweater.

Now that that’s out of the way, please enjoy the next five minutes of our new rookie being the sappiest mf in existence (except for his fiancé). Mr. Lupin, please tell Hattie I say hello.

She pressed upload, peeled her headphones off, and collapsed backward on her bed.

Message To: Gracie

If I die here, tell the world I did it doing what I loved

Message From: Gracie

Will do

OH FUCK YOU FOR BRINGING UP THE SWEATER I SOUND LIKE A CREEP

Anna covered her itchy eyes with her forearm and settled in for a long, long nap. Her brain still needed to repair a few circuits.