#the 'i love hard' zine is one of my favorites. always got it in my back pocket for when i need it <3< /div> Explore tagged Tumblr posts

[happi-tree]

hey happi! it’s been a bit since we interacted but i’m curious haha 💌

Hey, Solar!!! Long time, no talk, lovebird 💜💜💜 Happy to have you in my asks! Hope you've been doing alright <3

I love how wonderfully creative you are. Between your writing and your zines, everything you touch just has this sheen of,,, I wouldn't call it magic, per se, but there's just something so, so special about the way you craft your words. They sort of toe the line between poetry and raw emotion while being unafraid to step fully into either at any given point in time, and I think that's really beautiful! :]c

I also just adore your eye for layouts. Whenever I feel sort of uninspired, I think about your zines and how you layer the mixed materials. It's a really cool look to me <3

[theinstagrahame]

Another big month of TTRPG mail calls! Got a bunch of zines, some Crowd funders, and treated myself to a book or two when I got my new job lined up.

Here's what's exciting from the last month:

Death of the Author: I've said before that we (as in I) love the work of Sam "@goblinmixtape" Leigh, and before I got into TTRPGs, I wanted to do fiction writing (I found that I got from TTRPGs what I wanted from writing). So the pitch felt like an instant yes: A solo RPG about writing fiction, and the relationship between author and character.

The World we Left Behind: Sam Leigh put this together apparently for a Ballet, which is incredibly cool, and then put it as an add-on for the Death of the Author campaign. Needless to say, I was all in.

Urban Shadows 2e: Backed this on Kickstarter before Magpie did the A:tlA campaign, and it's finally showed up now. If I'm honest, my interest has waned, but I know US 1e was really good.

Zephyr: The art and the concept behind this are great, and I know that the creator makes some really neat mechanics.

Glitch: I picked this (well, 0 edition of Glitch) up on Kickstarter years ago, because the pitch was so good, but I didn't get a hard copy then. Managed to use some DTRPG money I had to rectify this mistake. Jenna Katerin Moran's work is very philosophically interesting, but I was hooked by the notion of being a demigod who knows that there's more going on, but is going to deal with street level concerns.

The Flood: Also a Moran game, and came to be as part of The Far Roofs (which I'm sure will be featured in a future mail bag post). There's a beauty to Jenna's work, a blending of metaphor and reality that I'm really drawn to, so I'm very curious about how farming poetry will work out.

Reach of the Roach God: When I landed my new job, I pretty quickly landed on what I wanted to pick up. I found out about the Thousand Thousand Island books a little too late, so I wanted to make sure I snagged this beautiful volume before I couldn't find it anymore. It's a real triumph of a book, and I can't wait to dig deeper.

Ironsworn: Sundered Isles: I am on record as loving Ironsworn and Starforged. What if instead of Space, we had Pirates?! Hell yeah, sign me up. Ironsworn/Starforged are probably the solo RPGs I've had the most success playing, in that I got furthest into these before getting distracted by other things. So maybe I'll get myself into another one?

The Wizard's Library: I've been really intrigued by Vincent Baker's Wizards Grinoire series, although I've read (and not yet played) only the first. It's got a neat reverse relationship, where the "GM" player is the titular Wizard, and the other players run the supporting cast, helping the Wizard delve into the grimoires that they discover Fortunately, this book contains more grimoires for the titular wizard to go through, and with them, more dangers for the wizard to face.

Fabula Ultima: I've heard only good things about this self-billed "TT-JRPG" and I'm really curious about it. Final Fantasy and the Pokemon series both being such long-term loves of mine, I'm very curious to see how this one runs. (Also picked up the Quickstart for a future Mailbag.)

Wet Grandpa: Listened to an episode of RTFM about this, after seeing the name around for years, and finally picked it up. I always found the title off-putting, and really couldn't get past it until my favorite TTRPG Book Club Podcast dragged me through the cover. The physical edition is a beautiful, rugged-looking book and my mind keeps reeling at the possibility of making players make hard choices.

Psychodungeon: I really dug the pitch, and Kayla Dice makes some really fun and interesting games. Be part of a team that helps people manage their trauma after it manifests into a psychic dungeon. What intrigued me most was the use of the Belonging Outside Belonging system for this, which I think really opens up some interesting possibilities for the Workplace Drama angle, and the GMless aspect could lead to some extremely fascinating dungeons.

Stewpot: This one as a no-brainer. I've got lots of friends who are into the "cozy" genre of game, and Stewpot has been The Name in fantasy coziness for a while (for lack of a better terminology, as I know it's a loaded term). The special edition (and wooden dice) were too tempting, even though the crowdfunder hit during my Freelance Era, and cost a few extra...

Any%: I watched the HBomberGuy video about Speedrunning (shortly after his Plagiarism video dropped), and developed a soft spot for the hobby. I genuinely couldn't do it, I'm too ADHD to try the same thing over and over again in hopes of shaving a fraction of a second off of my response time. But, I'm glad that people are doing it. So, a solo RPG that plays with speedrunning and its terminology seems like a great way to feel like I'm doing it without all the Bad Brain Juices.

Pregame Lobby volumes 1 and 3: I also wanted to grab these before they became too hard to find (I can't find anywhere that has Volume 2 at the moment). I really like the vibes of .Dungeon, it feels like a game that evokes a period in my life where I was curious about the Internet and tried just about every MMORPG that wasn't WoW or EverQuest. I'm honestly struggling to not pick up the recent Spiral Bound edition, despite getting the hardback 2e, because the art and layout looks goddamn incredible.

And these books are from the Plus One EXP Zine Club, which is a Zine of the Month Club, hand-picked and hand-curated. So I'm excited because I don't actually know much about them.

Metalepsis

Fire & Stone

Hapsy Kordo's Kitchen Horrors

This Old House

Hive of the Crawling Creeps

Fallen from Grace

[thebibliosphere]

I saw your post about ingram, and out of curiosity, is there some advantage to going through the whole self-publishing thing with retailers when you're just starting out? like I mean the way that fandom zines work is that they don't even bother going through ingram or amazon or whatever. they just set up a social media site (usually twitter) to gain followers, open preorders (usually 1-2 months in length) to generate the costs of printing upfront, and then sell anywhere from a few dozen to several hundred copies of their books (usually artbooks, but anthologies exist too). I've seen some zines generate over a thousand orders. they're kind of like pop-up shops, except for books. maybe the sales numbers aren't so impressive to a real author, but the profit generated is typically waaaay more than the $75+ apparently needed for Ingram Spark, so I still feel like new authors could benefit from this method too, especially if they just need some start-up cash to eventually move to ingram if they want to for subsequent runs of their book. I think authors would also have to set aside some of the pre-order money to buy an ISBN number to have printed on their book, and I'm not really sure what other differences there are, but I just wanted to ask about it in case there's some huge disadvantage I'm missing!

So, popup zines work well for some people, and I know some authors who kickstart their work successfully. But for a lot, it's just not feasible as a long-term stratedy. Or even as a means to get off the ground.

Fanzines succeed primarily because an existing fanbase is willing and ready to throw money at something they love. They’ve got a favorite writer or artist they want to support. Supporting all the others is just a happy by-product. They also take a HUGE amount of short-term but intense planning that just doesn’t always jive with how some of us work.

I, for one, would never offer to organize a fanzine. I’ll take part in them as a creator, but I’d rather throw myself off a cliff than subject myself to wrangling that many people and dealing with the legal logistics.

When it comes to authors doing anthologies, it'svery much the same. The success of the funding often hinges on having other big-name authors involved whose existing fans will prop up the project. Or having a huge marketing budget.

Most self-pub authors have zero marketing budget. I’m one of them, and I’m under no illusions that my work would not be as popular and self-sustaining as it is if I didn’t have a large Tumblr blog.

When I thank Tumblr in my forewards, I am utterly sincere. Tumblr brought fandom levels of enthusiasm to an unknown work and broke the Amazon algorithm so hard, that Amazon thought I was bot sniping my way to multiple #1 spots and froze my sales rankings.

That’s not the norm. And while I could probably kickstart my own work as an indie creator, that’s because I’ve put literal decades into building up a readership. I’ve been doing this since I was 16 and realized people thought I was funny. I didn’t know what to do with it or if I’d ever actually write anything, but it meant the groundwork was already there (thank you, past-me). I basically fell upward into my success by virtue of never being able to shut the fuck up and wanting to make people laugh. Clown instincts too strong.

New or first-time authors trying to sell their work without that will find it infinitely harder.

All of that aside, even if an unknown author somehow gets lucky and manages to fund their work, there’s still the question of shipping and distribution logistics. Are you shipping everything yourself? Better hope you’re able-bodied and have the time for it. (for reference, it took me months to ship out 300 patreon hardbacks because of my disabilites. It damaged my back and hands. I couldn’t type for several weeks after I was done.)

Are you going to sell primarily at conventions? Better hope you’re able-bodied, have the time and don’t have cripling anxiety about being in large groups...

Also, will selling a dozen to a few thousand copies in one burst be sustainable in the long run as a career? Not for me. Doing things via Ingram and Amazon means I earn a steady trickle of sales for the rest of my life provided the platforms remain and so long as I keep working and can generate interest in the series, not just when I have funds to pay for physical copies to sell. The one-time (in theory) cost of $75 to distribute through Ingram gets paid off pretty quick that way. And it doesn't require the same logistics as doing the popup/crowdfund.

Ultimately, it comes down to what you are capable of but also the type of work you’re doing. If you’ve got an extended network of fellow creatives who will back you or you’ve got a large following elsewhere, doing it like a popup might work for you.

If you’re an exhausted burnout who can’t fathom the short but intense amount of organization that sort of thing requires, not to mention doing it over and over and over... Ehhhhh. No thank you.

[twilightarc-gm]

ao3 Wrapped 2024 - twilightarc

Instead of an ask game I decided to just answer the questions on the sourced post that I can answer for my own benefit and fun.

How many words have you written this year? Ao3 Published: 310,834

How many works did you publish this year? 7 Complete / 13 Total

What work are you most proud of (regardless of kudos/hits)? Always 'mainfic' i.e. This River Runs Beyond Heaven and Earth [江流天地外] I put so much work into it for fanfic. Why? I got mental health issues, I guess.

What work of yours has the most hits? I Long For You (相思) Hits: 5,311

What work of yours got more feedback than you expected? Damn your love, damn your lies. Everyone is VERY VOCAL (affectionate) about Jiang Cheng being in a loveless marriage and needing a divorce pronto. 🥰

Favorite title you used Again, mainfic's title taken from a poem and has a wealth of description to it that really sets the tone for the entire story. Never gonna top that.

If you use song lyrics, which artist’s songs did you pull from the most? "damn your love, damn your lies" is the only song title and it's from Fleetwood Mac - The Chain

Pairing you wrote the most for this year? CHENGXIAN to no one's surprise...

Favorite pairing you wrote for this year? Obviously this is also ChengXian but only because I haven't actually got to Jiang Cheng/Hu Touxiang(OC) this year.

What work was the quickest to write? To Endeavor is to Endure (4,331 words) This was a prompt fill, I did it in like two days ish.

What work took you the longest to write? Of the complete works: The BigBang2024 entry I ended up doing as a series with my co-author Specs. It took 6 months to write. YM3 Gen fic with MSY worldbuilding 🤲 Reprieve and a New Start and The Turning Point

How many WIP’s do you have in your docs for next year? 19!

What’s your longest work of the year? My most viewed work this year! I Long For You @ (45,781 words)

What’s your shortest work of the year? The prompt one-shot which is my 'quickest' (4,331 words)

What WIP are you taking into next year with you?

What’s your most common “Additional Tags” tag? Not counting the "structural tags" of my "flavor" tags it's: Protective Wei Ying | Wei Wuxian (3) 🥰

Your favorite character to write this year? Jiang Cheng | Jiang Wanyin (9)!!

The character that gave you the most trouble writing this year? 😣 LWJ in divorce fic. I hate writing him. It was really hard to convey his own issues and insecurities while not making him say too much or explain himself too readily.

What’s one pairing you want to explore next year? Jiang Cheng/Hu Touxiang!!! No more posting WIPs for me in 2025 I need to buckle down to get mainfic really going!

Which work of yours have you reread the most? 😅 If not mainfic then Red Tin of Heresy because I dunno what's going on with the vibes on that one but I keep rereading hoping I'll learn something from the demon that possessed me.

How many kudos in total did you get this year? Kudos: 1,050 !! And that's with works locked down which is really nice for me because I got more kudos the year I only posted 5 works when I left things unlocked.

Which work has the most comments?

Did you do any collaborative works this year? Yes! For BigBang 2024 with my friend Specs😘 and the divorce fic with/for @spriteofmushrooms. Oh! and CX Zine 2024 fic with @kabybaali who came up with the idea and wonderful art!

Did you write any gifts this year? Three!!

Did you receive any gifts this year? Five! From @groundwiremantaray Mission: Survive the Date (T rated chengxian SpyxFamily AU, very cute!) and from Specs Still Sparkling in the Night (T rated chengxian with Chinese Mythology!). Also a beautiful art gift scaly sweetheart by sugar_shoal and @notluceo fanart of Cheng-lang and Ya-Xian!! AND a beautiful gifset from @add1ctedt0you for one of my first one-shots Of Summer and Smiles

What’s your most common category? M/M (5)

What do you listen to while writing? Usually something wordless like industrial techno on loop.

Favorite work you wrote this year? Of the complete stuff: I Long For You, I really enjoyed writing the sex scene in that one because it was a lot of ebb and flow and from top!JC's pov.

Favorite line/passage you wrote this year?

Biggest surprise while writing this year?

Not doing the last two because of recency bias 🤣 like hell I can remember something like that to compare over an entire year!

[andarans]

a love letter to dragon age.

i’ve been trying to cope with the news that all the dragon age devs have been laid off or reassigned these past two days, and i just…. it’s hard. it might sound silly to say but i’ve barely been able to do anything because i feel as if i’ve lost a family member. took today to have a good cry. dragon age was such a formative series for me. i joke all the time i got into it for the romances and stayed for the lore but really everything about it i love, dearly. i love that each companion and side character had stories that moved me and made me cry, stories i could relate to even in a world with magic and dragons. i love how the lore is presented, including the brilliance that is the codex—that you’re never quite sure who to believe, that discovering the truth requires you to be an archaeologist. i love how my choices always mattered, that decision i made in origins affected my playthrough in inquisition. i loved the message dragon age as a series sent, about corruption, about power, about propaganda. dragon age influenced so much of my fantasy tastes and own writing and art. it left such a huge mark on my artistic inspirations and work. hell, my first ever dnd character was a tiefling that pretty much looks like a qunari with having a backstory that affected the world she was in, reminiscent of the depiction of elves in dragon age (still one of my favorite and nuanced takes on elves in fantasy, btw). even with the dnd campaign and world i’m writing now, i see dragon age in nooks and crannies. i wrote so much fanfic and drew so much fanart and made so many theories and anxiously followed every bit of news for the development cycle of veilguard. i’d watch the game awards every year with my friend hoping for dragon age news. speaking of friends, god i made so many friends because of dragon age. that common interest sparked so many fun conversations and ideas. i even was a writer for an anders focused dragon age charity zine.

above all i loved the community around dragon age. sure, fandoms all have its moments and toxicity, but by and large my experience with the DA community was wonderful. i love getting to see people’s OCs and world states because i also obsess over my DA OCs and world states. i love getting to see people write theses about dragon age’s themes and masters worthy character studies. the communal love for this world and its characters is so, so profoundly inspiring.

i’ve spent so much time moping but i do want to highlight what i loved about each game and my favorite characters.

DAO: my first intro to the series. by god the gameplay was so slow but the story and characters and lore and writing made it SO worth it. made me appreciate CRPGs too. alistair ended up becoming my favorite character, i remember actually gasping and blushing at the rose moment in his romance. the landsmeet is still one of my favorite quests, i love fantasy political intrigue. morrigan also was my best friend, when she called my warden a sister i cried.

DA2: one of the most underrated games by far. i loved the smaller scale, i loved how personal hawke’s story felt, i loved every single companion and this found family. fenris was my first romance and one of my favorites, he is so complex and misunderstood and secretly has the best sense of humor. i think anders ended up becoming my favorite though—god, anders. i could speak about him for hours but i appreciate the DA devs for what they did for him and letting us romance him. anders made me appreciate his character archetype so much; he is such a tragic man transformed by bitterness and vengeance and rage. “ten years from now, a hundred years from now, someone like me will love someone like you, and there will be no templars to tear them apart.” i love you anders.

DAI: i love the inquisitor. i love how tragic of a character the inquisitor is, ripped from their life and forced to become an idol for a movement they might not even believe in. a lot of people criticize DAI for being “the chosen one” cliché, but it’s not. it’s a critique of that very trope and how it destroys a person. the inquisitor is forced to become an idea, and it does not matter who they actually are; they have all autonomy taken from them, and that is horrifying. cullen ended up ruining my life for a good amount of time, his romance is my favorite in all the series and god he got such a good redemption and ending. (i even bought cullen themed soap from a local convention, lol. i’m telling you i was obsessed). and in my replay solas’ romance absolutely destroyed me, turning him from my dearly detested to my dearly beloved. god trick weekes i will miss you so much, thank you for writing solas.

DAV: i know how contentious veilguard is. believe me i have many of my own criticisms. but i still love it anyway. i love the companions, all of them, i love how act 3 absolutely fucking gutted me and made me cry twice. i loved the amazing visuals and character creator and ost and environments. i love the QOL improvements. i loved seeing the cameos and my inquisitor again. there’s so much to love in veilguard and i’d rather talk about how much i love it than what i didn’t. lucanis was my first romance and while there wasn’t as much content as i was hoping for, i sincerely appreciate what we did get. i love how ride or die he is, how his love language is acts of service, how he’s afraid to hurt rook. i love his facial animations in his romance, i love zach mendez’s performance. i’m hoping to play emmrich and davrin’s next, and i’m sure i’ll love them too.

it’s hard to accept the fact that dragon age is probably over. it makes me sad knowing we’ll never find out about certain lore questions or know what DA5 could’ve looked like. and i’m still so angry for the developers and how they’re so callously treated and thrown away by EA/bioware. sometimes i wonder if the same thing would’ve happened if veilguard sold more. but it’s not helpful to dwell on these what-ifs, because we’ve seen how the industry treats both successful games and what they deem as failures: layoffs and no remorse. i hope the team finds work soon. i hope they realize how loved their work is. i hope someday the game industry is completely, wholly unionized. i’m glad at least we got veilguard to answer the biggest questions we’ve had.

thank you, DA devs, for everything. thank you for answering our silly questions about your characters favorite coffee flavors and perfect date nights. thank you for bringing them to life. i won’t stop playing the games or making art or fic. i won’t stop being inspired. dragon age lives on in my creations, in my dnd characters, in everything. i hope to be back in thedas soon, one day. dareth shiral.

[mamamittens]

Every Fold a Wish

This is my piece from the Marco Zine, not related to Spooktober, I promise! For the rest of the fics--and even artwork!--just click the link provided above!

Also, I swear I didn't mean for it to be so sad--the original plan was goofy shenanigans and maybe ending with Marco trying to throttle Thatch when he cracks a joke about his little paper cranes but then...

well, this happened!

Oh, and here's a link to the fic specific artwork for it by @luna-orix, it's a wonderful take on the Big Scene in lovely color and style!

Word Count: 2,757

Under much pressure, Marco would have to confess this all started a very long time ago.

Back when he was still a deckhand sorting through musty maps littered with ink blots that barely passed as navigation tools. Their contents were downright illegible at best, but did well enough as teaching tools for what not to do. Over time, as they were passed from hand to unsteady hand, the parchment became worn. Rips becoming tears and holes until the only thing keeping them in one piece was hopes and dreams.

What to do with such a well loved piece of parchment?

Tossing them seemed almost an insult. And making them into paper again, while an interesting task, was usually not worth the effort. The ink bleeding and dying the usable parts darker and darker. Until it was good for little else but tissues. Marco had done it a few times just for something to do between tasks. The paper drying in the press able to be left for hours if needed. And he did hold a fondness for the old parchment made new again. But it was still not terribly useful. The ink needed to be even darker, or chalk but it smeared something terrible at the slightest touch.

In all fairness, he didn’t start with the worst off pieces.

A kind, older nurse with weathered hands and a gentle smile showing him the way. Every crisp fold building up to a new, enchanting shape. Even money could be manipulated. A cute way to leave a tip, if he was so wanting. And something to do with his hands.

And he kept doing it too. Starting with his clumsy, childish fingers. Baby fat clinging to his digits as he used his bitten nails to scrape the edges clean. Until they started to even out, habit and hard work turning them into slender, calloused tools of his trade. A little treat for himself as he learned the medical trade. It was good, to know that his hands could create even if he could not heal the hurts in others. A small comfort for himself after his patients fell asleep holding his hand, yearning to not be alone with their sickness.

He got some flak for it over the years. Always teasing remarks about how cute he was being. Little flowers and fortune tellers a popular demand when a particularly mischievous brother or sister was bedbound. And Marco would sigh. Teasingly remarking on their ungrateful attitudes even as he was plied with gifts of decorative paper for his little hobby.

They decorated his office shelves. Tucked in corners and atop the spines of medical texts. Peeking behind picture frames or marching along the windowsill of Oyaji’s room. A cavalcade of shapes in a rainbow of colors and prints. Every so often one would be found covered in layers of dust somewhere forgotten and returned to him with a wide grin. Laughter echoing down the halls as Marco racked his brain to remember when he made it.

Officially, he had no favorite paper craft. No beloved origami he had mastered over the years. Just as he had no favorite sibling.

But, if his family had the wherewithal to gather every one of his little treasures from over the years and fill up a room or four with them, there would certainly be an obvious contender.

Starting with the very first one he made with a crooked wing, crumpled lightly from the very hand that had taught him so long ago.

“I saved this one for last, boyo. Hope is… so dangerous to have on the high seas. Without it, you’ll never truly live. But too much and you’ll be too drunk to survive. And this little fella? This is what he’s all about, in a way. They say a thousand paper cranes, each folded with love and care, can grant you a single wish.” She whispered to him softly, guiding his hands over the worn map of some distant island lost to time. “Make as many as you want, it’s important to remember what it means to live—to wish. But never forget the work that goes into them. Wishing—wanting—that’s not even half the journey. Admitting you want something bad enough to dream is but the first step. After that, you still need to fold the paper. And fold it over and over again until it’s fit to fly. And then? And then, little Marco, you need to do it again. Until you have a flock a thousand strong. It can’t be done in a single day. Most won’t have the patience to do it in a lifetime. But one little crane at a time…”

She never finished that sentence.

She sighed, leaning against the pillows of her bed as Marco finished his first little bird in the palm of her hand. His own cradling the bird between their palms and she squeezed gently. Bending the worn paper a little in the cramped space.

Then she let go.

And Marco hadn’t stopped making them since.

Even as he gained his devil fruit. Grew from a boy to a man. They were his little indulgence, the fuzzy memory of a weathered hand clasped in his, paper crinkling between them never far from his mind. It hurt in a good way. A way that his fruit never gave him. A sense of release. A long sigh after a hard day. Sea breeze wrapping around his bare ankles in the hot sun. Endless blue before him with heavy storm clouds littering the horizon behind him.

His office door slammed open.

A boisterous voice practically singing out as Thatch sauntered into his office with a hot meal. It was late. Later than Marco realized. The bubbly, cool fire running thick in his veins. He’d been pushing it as of late, Marco acknowledged reluctantly.

“I come, O’ Great One! With the gift of food~!” Thatch sang, squinting into the dim candlelight of Marco’s office. Free hand hovering ominously over the light switch.

“Do it and I’ll kick you into the sea.” Marco warned. His fruit offering little reprieve from eye strain at this point. Bigger fish to fry, he supposed.

Thatch pouted, nudging the paperwork on his desk aside. Rather than setting down the food, Thatch instead placed his ass there. Wafting about the food Marco still couldn’t quite identify temptingly.

“C’mon, Coco! You’ve been in here for hours! It’s time to eat up and get some rest!” Thatch huffed.

“Stop calling me that.” Marco was ignored, as usual. The nickname a little rare but typically whipped out when Thatch thought he was being an idiot about himself.

“What could possibly be more important than enjoying some good food and even better shut eye? C’mon, I’ll even give you breakfast in bed! Doesn’t that sound scrum-didily-upmtious? This handsome man personally serving you up a hot plate of food in the morning?”

Marco imagined—not Thatch ‘handsomely’ serving anything—but sputtering as seawater ruined his hair. The woeful cries for mercy as he drowned, just a little while, he swears Namur. He deserves it!

Familiar with Thatch’s everything by this point, Marco doubted many would argue that Thatch didn’t deserve just a little waterboarding.

As a treat.

“Sounds like my sleep paralysis demon talking.” Marco drawled, fixing Thatch with a dry stare.

Thatch arched back as though struck, his dramatics nearly sending the food and himself to the floor.

“My own brother! After all the hard work I put into this? Every ounce of love I put into it?” Thatch emphasized, finally lowering the plate enough for Marco to see it was flayed sea king, glazed with honeyed pineapple and served with stuffed potatoes, a hot roll, and a slice of upside-down pineapple cake. A cup of what could be anything from tea to booze to wash it down with.

It looked fucking good. But just for being obnoxious, Marco rolled his eyes.

“Gross.”

That earned him a sharp gasp and playful tears as Thatch attempted to clamber into his lap for apology cuddles. Pressing obnoxious kisses to his face like Thatch was trying to console him from some terrible tragedy that had occurred.

“G-Get the hell off of me, you ass!” Marco sputtered, reeling back as Thatch smashed Marco’s face into his chest with petulant cries of forlorn love.

“—Oh, my poor, stalwart brother! You’ve worked so hard and can’t even accept crumbs of affection! It doesn’t make you any less of a man to cuddle!” Thatch reassured him as any protest was muffled into his shirt. “I promise I won’t think any l-LE—ES--! SHIT! ACK! M-MARCO—NO!”

Marco dug his fingers into Thatch’s unprotected sides, trapping his idiot brother in place for the deserved payback.

“Marco, yes!”

Thatch wriggled fiercely, yelping with every poke and prod as they laughed, eventually knocking back the chair and ending it with Marco wheezing under Thatch’s weight.

Finally, Marco shoved Thatch off into the floor, face aching from the smile they both shared.

“Ugh! Fine! I’ll eat and go to bed, you prick!” Marco huffed, Thatch still giggling beside him.

“Great! I’ll be sure to deliver breakfast to you, as promised~!” Thatch tittered cheekily, dodging the swipe of Marco’s hand.

“The fuck you will!” his fingertips grazing the fabric of Thatch’s sleeves. Still warm with laughter and affection.

Thatch was cold now.

Somehow colder than Marco’s veins as he desperately lifted up the other man into his arms. So much heavier than before, faint breaths wheezing with blood on his lips. Cool blue fire danced over his pale face, sinking in deep with a desperation Marco hadn’t felt in a long time. Hands slick with blood, skin blossoming with feathers and scales. Teetering between bird and man so violently his words were more akin to bird cries.

There were hands pulling him away. Trying to tug his trembling body from curling over Thatch’s cooling corpse. Hot, burning hands ripping him away.

A large hand, firm and steady. A rock in the ocean that beached him with such violence.

A deep, rumbling voice.

“We’ve got it from here, my son. We’ll save him, my boy. Come back to me. Come back to us. We love you.” Those words followed him into the dark. The world shaking as his lungs rattled with sobs.

“We love you…”

There was a beeping.

That was all Marco could think about.

All he could handle.

His hands were wrong. Almost incandescent. The bones vague shadows flickering in gossamer blue light. Gold licking his fingertips as he stroked… something. Lips stiff. Twisting with difficulty out of the pointed beak they were trying to form. Every ragged breath licking across his tongue with a heady weight to it.

There was something in his hands, Marco knew.

It was… thick. A little tepid. Some give until stiff scaffolding within protested. Thin threads slipping beneath a strange, upper layer. A steady, weak thrum beneath his touch.

His eyes burned. He wanted to rip into it, whatever it was. Until it was hot and thrashing and alive—

But a keen slipped from his lips as a rhythmic beeping finally registered properly.

He was at someone’s bedside.

Again.

He was a little deckhand tending to a dying nurse.

No.

He was a man at a bedside.

A friend?

A brother?

He loved them fiercely. Whoever they were.

Marco wanted whoever it was to wake up already. Tease him for losing control like this. Obnoxiously cry about the display of affection that was cutting into Marco’s chest. Turning his lungs to ribbons. Hooking into the arteries of his heart until every thump made him ache for release.

There was a blanket over his shoulders, Marco realized.

How long had he been here? He shifted in the chair and heard paper crinkle.

Fresh, patterned sheets. Traditional ocean waves with little fish peeking here and there. Tiny boats fighting even, arching waves. All in soft blues that transitioned to richer hues, imbuing the artwork with depth and emotion.

It was instinct to reach for the paper. But the weight of a whole person stopped him. Marco looked.

Both his hands were grasping a limp wrist with a faint pulse.

Letting go felt like ripping away his flesh. Piece by piece.

Fold it over and over again.

Marco’s hands were steady despite everything. And it felt like betrayal.

He shouldn’t be able to do anything right now.

Not even breathe.

But his heart kept going. Lungs expanding with the scent of cold antiseptic.

The paper was smooth. Flawless despite the neglect he’d shown it for… however long he’d been sitting at…

Here.

Without it, you’ll never truly live.

She meant this, didn’t she? His family?

Even without a smooth surface, Marco’s hands knew the way. Folding and pinching the edges clean.

No, Marco remembered.

She meant dreams. She meant hope.

Marco knew, deep down, that eventually there would always be a goodbye at the end of their stories. Said or avoided like the plague.

But he expected it…

Marco never wanted to expect it.

He’d rather drown than look forward at a time he’d say goodbye with any one of his precious family members.

The little crane perched between his fingers. Perfect after years of practice.

Marco choked up as he placed it in Thatch’s hand. Gently curling those limp fingers around it’s delicate shape. Calloused hands cradling the bird in a loose cage.

Marco retreated. Shuffling into his dark room. No one stopped him, their gazed burning his hunched shoulders.

In the bottom desk drawer, so rarely opened it almost got stuck, was a single item.

A lopsided paper crane with a bent wing. Stained with faded ink and weathered with age.

Like he was scooping up a live bird, Marco lifted it to his chest. Careful even as he collapsed to the floor.

He cried. Wept like he’d been cut in two with sea stone. Tears gushing out instead of blood. His fire, confused at the agony he was experiencing, danced in the air. Casting dizzying shadows across the space battered with open sobs.

Marco couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t fill his lungs enough between his cries that ached down to his bones and the fire filling his lips with faux heat.

Everything hurt.

Nothing could heal.

He was a little boy again in his father’s arms. Weeping and certain he was dying from grief. Every wail a benediction. A plea against the inevitable. What was already past.

A wish burning in his veins even as shame filled him.

Death was natural. A long sigh at the end of a hard day.

But Marco wanted to hold his breath until he burst. Stop in the middle of a hurricane just to keep feeling the rain.

Parchment protested in his grasp and Marco shot up like he’d been burned.

Opening his palms to find the paper crane bent even further. Flickers of light cast across the ragged edges of ink—no?

Burns.

The bird was smoldering. Fueled by the open air of his shaking hands, it burst into golden fire. Marco wailed, shaken and confused as it lit up. Flying into the air with a trail of burning embers. Dancing in an unseen wind until, before Marco’s blurry eyes, it was gone. As though it was Thatch’s vivre card.

Time stopped. Stuttering as his heel stamped into the ground.

His shoulder nearly slamming into someone.

A door bashing into a wall.

That damn beeping so like Thatch. Annoying and reassuring in its consistent presence.

Nurses crowded Thatch’s bed, arguing over each other as familiar hair rose over them. Wide eyes looking around, face flush with warmth again.

He smiled, that crooked, familiar smile that tugged Marco’s lips into a similar shape.

“Hey, Coco, look! I got a little hospital buddy!” Thatch crowed, voice a soft rasp as he gently held up a small, blue paper crane. Gold catching the light as fire flickered over it’s wingspan. Every cresting wave lined with unnatural color that had not been there before. It seemed as alive as Thatch.

Thatch let out a creaking rush of air as Marco hugged him. Body awkwardly half in his lap as he buried his face into Thatch’s neck. Careful and weak, Thatch curled his arms around Marco’s chest. He smelled of antiseptic, sea salt, and spice.

The storm was behind them now, but there was still time for rain. One breath after another.

Little paper cranes littered across a pirate ship.

Every fold a wish.

Every step hope.

[desceros]

do you have a favorite villain in tmnt?

oh man this was such a hard question!!! i couldn't pick just one, so here are my thoughts on my top favs:

i really really love bebop and rocksteady. their dynamic together is just. man. i really love their relationship a lot, and their designs are so fun, and the shenanigans they get into are always a laugh, and it's just. gah. Them. (my niece actually got me a zine with them for my birthday, hahaha)

i also really really really love krang in rise and in idw, though for different reasons. in idw he's got this incredibly complex background that's just so interesting to think about, which makes him a compelling character beyond just a stock villain. meanwhile in rise, i LOVE that he's just SO OVERWHELMINGLY POWERFUL that the boys can't defeat him; they can only seal him away. he's got this planet-crushing presence that is just so exciting... and it doesn't hurt that all of his scenes are Delicious.

warren stone is a also favorite, just because he's so silly and Fun and his gimmick gets me every time. i also love his relationship with hypno; it's so sweet! i often clack little dolls of them together in my head and make kissy faces

[writingnocturne]

For the writers ask, 4, 5, (either TPH or TML) and 37!

4. What detail in The Mage's Lantern are you really proud of?

OH THERE'S A FEW!! A lot of them are spoilers, though, so I'm going to contain myself. I think my favorite detail so far rests in Zelda's portrayal. Because a lot of the moments are from the perspective of Link so far, save for a couple chapters, Zelda may come off at times as the franchise often depicts her: someone mysterious, beautiful, and kind. But in the chapters or scenes that follow her, we know there's something else there. The first thing Zelda does is stab a man in the eye. Sure, that man was attacking her - but for a kid, it's a little absurd that her immediate strategy to escape was to leave him half blind and bleeding out. Right? And then, with Ganon in the scene with King Rohan, Zelda drives the blade of the halberd into his torso and doesn't stop to run until she's certain it's stuck there. She intended to kill him, if she could. And the reason Ganon ended up with the Ice Rod to make his attack - the reason she ended up having to stab Aspen beforehand - is because she tried not to destroy the storm, but to take control of it. By no means is she wicked, or power-hungry, but she makes decisions in a panic that amount to, "I'm smart enough to know I can't end this, but I'll certainly make it hurt." It's all subconscious, and honestly deserved on the end of those she has hurt, though it's a lot different than most people would expect of her, right? Perhaps more than even she would expect from herself. But growing up in a world where nature itself has been turned into a merciless beast, what else can she do but survive?

I dunno, I just have a lot of thoughts about TML Zelda and how detached she feels from herself when things go wrong. Her father really tried to shelter her, and I think it's made her frightened.

5. What do you wish someone would ask you about The Princess’s Heart? Answer it now!

This one is so hard to answer! I'd think I'd go with something similar to what I said for TML in the previous ask, being related to more expansion on the story. So, "Will Link's adventure ever be written as its own story?" To which the answer is yes! So far, each section of his adventure is being written out as their own legends that go more in depth than the main story. They're the most "game-like" portion of the fairytale. Each will be named after the Oracles and their trials, similar to the way some trials are considered their own stories within a story in Greek Mythology and grouped together.

37. Promote one of your own “deep cut” fics (an underrated one, or one that never got as much traction as you think it deserves!). What do you like about it?

Ohhh, there's a few. Most are ongoing, so it's easy to say those, but I almost think The Princess’s Heart fits into that category. ^^" My stuff tends to get a decent amount of hits most of the time, but very rarely do those hits leave kudos. If we want to talk One-Shots, though, it's definitely Dreaming of You (which I wrote for the Across Time Zelink Zine). I love ALttP and Link's Awakening but they don't seem to get a lot of readers. It's a relatively short read, and it reflects on Link's homesickness while on Koholint despite how "perfect" it seems. And, of course, I got to write Marin! My fav!! I think it's a sweet little glimpse into the character dynamics and my interpretation of who exactly Marin is. I always recommend giving it a read!

Thank you for the ask!!

[trentcrimminallybeautiful]

tag game :-)

tagged by @sophieswundergarten . sort of. i did it on my ted lasso blog i hope you dont mind :)

what's the origin of your blog title? i'm going to assume "title" is url and not the like, little header text. it's just a pun because i love trent and puns and also i think he's gorgeous

favorite fandoms : well, currently ted lasso, but the mysterious benedict society continues to hold a special place in my heart

OTP(s) + shipname : uhhh my current top ships are tedependent and roytrent, but nicholas/milligan (tmbs) also of course sneak into my brain and my old beloved malec (shadowhunters tv only not the other version) will always hold a special stubborn little place in my heart. also, the doctor/river. love them so much

favorite color : hmm dark greens with warm undertones, but like, that kind of forest/jewel green not olive/army you know

favorite game : ohhh that's so hard. hollow knight, disco elysium, the legend of zelda: breath of the wild, and pokemon mystery dungeon: explorers of sky are probably the top ones, but i also love bug fables: the everlasting sapling, turnip boy commits tax evasion, goat simulator 3, minecraft, the legend of zelda: phantom hourglass, the legend of zelda: link between worlds, new pokemon snap, pokemon platinum, a short hike, haunt the house: terrortown, and so so many more. i'm a big video games fan. i'm also currently obsessively playing hello kitty island adventure which is fun

song stuck in your head : uhhhh nothing right now but i think the last one was like. maybe "Bad Memories" with MEDUZA, or "SATANIC PANIC" by IDKHOW? Oxford Blood (Autoheart)? I can't remember

weirdest habit/trait? ummmm my whole personality probably. idk man i'm a weird little man i can't think of any particular specific habit other than my lack of filter i guess. uhh i dont like hot drinks usually, even tea, despite half my family being british? and i really really love soda. oh, i can't drive despite being in my twenties lol

hobbies : oh mostly artsy shit. writing, drawing, comics, zines, beading (mostly bracelets and lizards), stickers, that kind of thing. also: video games. mostly playing, but i dabble in making/design also

if you work, what's your profession? no job rn :( got into an MFA program i'll hopefully be starting soon though!

if you could have any job you wish what would it be? hmmm. either creating something (like making my own dream game, writing a book, directing or acting in a tv show, maybe even running a youtube channel or podcast) or like, just something simple but fulfilling that didn't leave me exhausted for my free time. that pays well. you know

something you're good at : writing, i like to think

something you're bad at : um, gender. taking compliments/praise. not having really intense feelings over things that dont matter. typing on mobile phone

something you love : stuffed animals and soft pillows. soda, particularly colas with weird fruity flavors (currently drinking blackberry dr pepper lol) although pibb xtra will always be a fave. loaded fries. hand-cut fries (not loaded)

something you could talk about for hours off the cuff : hmmm any of my beloved case of the week shows (there are too many to list), TMBS, trent crimm

something you hate : people being stupid/wrong in a way that is annoying to me specifically but i know isn't a big deal so i just have to simmer with it and the intense feeling of wanting to correct them somehow but like i'm not a dick so i don't do that but like i'm just simmering in it going hhhhh>:(

something you collect : pins, pens, magnets, beads, stickers, keychains. i love me some little trinkets

something you forget : everything, always, all the time

what's your love language? ummm idk. love languages are kind of bullshit but they're fun to talk about anyway and i guess it'd be like. thoughtful actions and gift giving you know. i do love little gifts i cant help it and people being thoughtful and helping you for no reason is just really nice

favorite movie/show : oh man, i have no idea. there are too many good ones that i rewatch all the time, or ones that are bad but im super attached to one character, or whatever. i can't really decide.

favorite food : fries, particularly either hand-cut fries cooked just right (a little crispy but not crunchy) or like fries loaded in some interesting way (not just slapping cheese and bacon on). also see: cajun/spicy burger with mayo

favorite animal : uhhhh so many good choices. cats. frogs. moths. lizards. dogs. birds. etc. i cant choose im sorry. can i cheat and say dragon for now

are you musical? oh yeah! i haven't played the flute in ages so i'd probably be bad at it but i love to sing

what were you like as a child? extremely annoying, alternating between loud hyper little ball of garish colors (attempted class clown, but too annoying to other children to truly succeed) and extremely quiet forgettable little know-it-all bookworm (attempted teachers' pet, but too annoying to adults to truly succeed)

favorite subject at school? uhh, english and art

least favorite subject? biology, probably

what's your best character trait? i like to think i'm kind and helpful and maybe even funny

what's your worst character trait? i can be selfish and spiteful even if it's mostly internal, and also annoying & persistent when i don't catch a hint. and since i can't really read people well i consistently don't catch the hint. and the not reading people means i also often get defensive and read hostility where it might not be

if you could change any detail of your day right now what would it be? a delicious meal that isn't leftovers

if you could travel in time who would you like to meet? oh, i have no clue. i think someone random. not anyone famous, just an everyday (but hopefully nice) person from a chosen period

recommend one of your favorite fanfics (spread the love!) :

oooh only one?? here, let's. i will settle for three

to seek solace by @andillwriteyouatragedy

slowly, gently, with love by @fade-in-the-dark

Just like bull riding by @itsonlydana

tagging: uhhhhhhhh anyone. who wants to. bc im lazy

[burins]

2024 WRITING REVIEW

tagged by @vechter !! thank you so much for the tag i will try not to be tremendously maudlin in response! idk if @timetoboldlygo @rolameny or @try-set-me-on-fire did a fic year in review already. Also if you see this and would like to do it genuinely consider yourself tagged I would love to see your thoughts!

number of stories posted to ao3: 7! although two of those and almost all of another were written in 2023. let's say 4.75.

word counted posted for last year: 27k (minus 8k for estate and 3k for unsent letters, so 16k. Which is frankly, a miracle)

fandoms i wrote for: fatt, dc comics, hxh

pairings: superbat, leopika, dinahbabs, alyarr. I also wrote a relatively high proportion of gen fic this year! 

stories with the most kudos, bookmarks and comment threads: everybody loved how cleanly, how quietly (the tim has friends actually manifesto) which is good because i also love how cleanly, how quietly. 

work i’m most proud of (and why): literally anything i got out this year was the product of blood sweat and tears for reasons i will get into later! I’m probably most proud of the silliest fic i published, my love sits patiently, the leopika chair fetish fic. this sprang out of a joke with some friends and rapidly became ungovernable. I’m always nervous writing for a new fandom about whether i have a good handle on the characters, but the entire process of writing this was just me sitting at the keyboard going teeheehee what if! and then putting that into the fic. I think the comedy hits and the prose is good and i managed not to make it too sad (always a danger) while still keeping the leopika sauce in there!

work i’m least proud of (and why): genuinely i don’t publish things I’m not proud of! the really id shit languishes either in my brain, my dms, or in my notes app. so I’m going to cheat by saying a fic i wrote in 2023 but only put up on ao3 in april. it’s estate, not because i don’t think it’s good-- i think it’s really good!! I gave myself a hell of a challenge in writing it (“oh i want to write a shirley jackson pastiche, from the POV of a character I’ve never written before, and also he is a child” <- words spoken by a fool, and a dingus. No one made me do this!) and I think I mostly succeeded. But because it was for a zine I had a strict word count limit, which meant i had to trim down the prose a fair amount and I think it did lose some of its effectiveness in that process. Someday maybe i’ll go through my gdocs and try to resurrect some of the bits I tightened farther than they should have gone. 

share or describe a favorite review you received: i got a lot of really, really thoughtful and lovely comments this year! I feel immensely lucky every time i write something and people like it enough to tell me so. Especially because writing was such a thorny thing for me it was deeply helpful to have people in my inbox going hey, i loved this. sometimes they did literary analysis! incredible shit!!! there are too many to have a particular favorite but someone just told me that they read to the morning come, the post-utrh superbat, a week into their DC comics journey. Which is crazy because that fic obliquely references the time the Joker was the Iranian ambassador, perhaps one of the stupidest storylines in comics. (In hindsight I could probably have come up with a different reason why Clark doesn't let Bruce kill the Joker.) I hope this person has a great time, and also I’m very sorry. 

a time when writing was really, really hard: ha. well. I don’t think this is what the question was intended to get at but for 90% of the year it was physically painful for me to write! my nerve pain came roaring back in december of 2023 and I spent months and months only able to pick at stuff a couple dozen words at a time on my phone, or trying to do bits in voice to text via a truly wild phone to computer situation, or just full of ideas rattling about that I couldn’t do very much with. I try to let it be what it is but it has been a fucking rough year and many many times it made me want to bite. I have ups and downs and I’ll probably keep having ups and downs! i hope this isn’t forever because i really miss getting to lose myself in prose. but at the end of the day we are all just working within the limits of the form and sometimes that has to be more literal than i’d like.  

a scene or character you wrote that surprised you: i was originally writing my love sits patiently leaning more heavily on the jokes. But i realized that it is much funnier and also much sweeter if leorio genuinely gives himself a chair thing because he is so horny and emotional about kurapika, so then i had to write them having sex where the chair was integral while not, myself, being into furniture in that way. (i respect our kink warriors it just isn’t For Me!) 

a favourite excerpt of your writing: i’m so pleased with all of the prose in unsent letters from the end of the world, yet another alyarr epistolary fic, but i’m particularly fond of the conclusion. I rattled around a little trying to figure out how alyosha’s voice should sound in these letters after everything he’s gone through. I was thinking a little bit of Leonard Cohen’s final letter to Marianne Ihlen-- there’s a particular certainty that comes with age, and I wanted to allow alyosha some bitterness while still acknowledging that of the various tragedies he’s witnessed, everything with arrell is probably not the top of the list. And also i wanted to stay true to the ending tone of spring in hieron, which is a story about the end of the world and the lives we make for ourselves anyway. 

What I mean to say, in a rather roundabout way for which you are no longer around to chide me, is that I write you to tell myself a story, to determine my own thoughts by writing them down. To make a story, step by meandering step. I did not begin at the beginning, and I have not ended at the end, but I have, I think, come to the conclusion anyway. I loved a false god, and I will never know what, if anything, He loved. And I loved you, Tutor, and you loved me, and it was not enough. But I also loved the world. I loved it enough to change it. I thought there should be something instead of nothing, and I made it so. I hope I was not wrong to do so. From my window I can see children playing, swinging from branch to branch. I do not think I was.

how did you grow as a writer last year: i would like to say that i learned to accept my own limitations and celebrated my victories (getting a fic out for multiple events, getting to a place where I could write almost all of my love sits patiently by sitting down at a keyboard!!!) but that is a Work In Progress. 

how do you hope to grow this year: i really do not want to jinx anything so i will just say i would like to be able to write sustainably, whatever that means for me this year. I suspect it will mean a variety of different things because what counts as sustainable changes from day to day! 

who was your greatest positive influence this year as a writer (could be another writer, beta, cheerleader, etc.): really truly cannot say enough kind things about @suedeuxnim beloved friend beta cheerleader etc. thank you for cheering me on in my dms and keeping me supplied with cat pictures. also, separately, my wonderful spouse. this is a tumblr post, not the oscar acceptance speech, and i suspect they would find it embarrassing if i went on a lot but it makes every aspect of life easier to have a partner in crime. 

anything from your real life show up in your writing last year: funnily enough the chronic pain duo fics were actually written BEFORE the big chronic pain resurgence, and also they’re from 2023. (this has actually happened to me twice, and while i’m not going to stop writing about chronic pain it does feel like maybe i am a little bit cursed.) I wrote two fics about bruce’s parenting choices and their effects on his kids and I think you can do the math! No one gets deeply into batman comics because they’re normal about fathers. Oh, in more fun things, Tim’s calendar from how cleanly, how quietly is based on the very real Daikonic Moments calendar from Omega Mart, which was our 2024 calendar. If anyone has suggestions for a 2025 calendar lmk because we got one for Christmas but it’s all bad mullets and we are not hanging it up.  

any new wisdom you can share with other writers: i spent a non-zero amount of this year feeling bummed that i couldn’t write as much as I wanted, both because writing is one of my main hobbies and also because despite my cool and untouchable image (citation needed) it is hard not to compare myself to others who are able to write much, much, much more than me! But that is silly because I am me and they are them. There have been times in my life when i was the demon of productivity and times in my life when i wrote nothing publishable all year. So my wisdom (still working on the implementation part!!!) is to celebrate what you are able to do and not what you don’t manage. And also, write for yourself and your circle of freaks and you can’t go wrong. 

any projects you’re looking to starting (or finishing) this year: anything i can finish is a win! I have a lot of projects in the hopper from almost two years ago; who knows what will happen. I did sign up for secret samol so there will be a fatt fic forthcoming, and I also signed up for another secret project (no longer secret! I'm gonna be in the Bruce Wayne pinup zine) so there’ll be something else probably in early summer. I would love to finish my jaydick injury fic. i have a second chapter of dinahbabs handler sex, but that one involves a lot of disability feelings and i’ve been putting it off because i want to do it justice. maybe superbat amnesia will happen at some point but that’s so long (and has a Real Plot) so the likelihood is slim. I have a LOT of ideas about how leopika can have sex mistakes I’d love to turn into fics but also they’re just fun to rotate. we’ll see!

[sucretto]

have you considered applying for the siivagunner art team?

Hello Anon :^] Thank you for the message, hope you're having a good day! Strangely enough, not the first time I got asked this! And I can't with honesty say that I haven't thought of it, because I have. My feelings on the matter are a bit complicated, so I'm posting the TLDR first in case my rambling turns out a bit foolish: - I'll definitely try to apply to it after I get a few more siivagunner drawings under my belt. I have nothing but respect for the work the art team puts on, and it would be an honor to imagine a world where I can contribute even the smallest bit upon it. Even if by just keeping on doing fanart!! That's my small answer :^). Yes, I probably will apply. Maybe not right NOW, but soon! Soon-ish. Everything else is random rambling semi-related to the topic, so feel free to skip it! Thank you for the question.

I can't properly explain without sounding too cheesy how- Inspiring? It is to see a community project like this channel? It does sound a bit lame to go "wahh, I have so much respect!! Omagah!". But I know how much work it goes into these things! I've been (on my main account, I preface) part of zines, and minibangs, and I've been on an art team before, making drawings for events that last weeks! Scrap.tf, the website that you are. It's so hard!!! It takes so much planning and effort! And yet people are still out here working their asses off for people to see! How can you not love that. But for that matter, it always feels a little silly thinking of applying when I was virtually non existent in the fandom until this year. It's like... I was here. I saw KFAD happen, I saw some of the album releases, I saw the april fools and halloweens, I saw some takeovers. But it was always in the lenses that I never reacted to any of it. I just consumed it. So was i really here. I didn't get to see CCC11 get released, nor the ARG until it was practically done- frankly missed most of JE's season, sorry girl, and the knowledge that I had missed out on something like this made me realize that I actually. Want to engage. I want to say that I was here and that I saw it and that I liked it. That all that work people are putting out was for something. That someone out here saw it and loved it. So now I feel like I have something to prove here. Like I have a quota of things to say and drawings to make to prove that I care about this. To justify my place here. That, only after I do all that, I can apply to the art team per example. Only after doing that, I can say what my favorite songs are, and I will be taken seriously, because I have proven that I existed, and that I care. Like, I'm making a Woodman animatic, 3 minutes of that guy in the trenches in a post-susie talk what-if, and it's slightly out of character and silly, and I'm doing it because I just. Like the guy y'know! But I look at what I'm doing there, I look at the portrayal I'm trying to achieve of this guy that is simply so burdened by his lack of action, his avoidance and I'm like- Woah, I get you. I understand it. The pressure of it all. Mmm. Complicated feelings sometimes!! A lot to consider on my mind that goes beyond applying for things wahahahah. I rant all this talk but 99% of what drives me forward to create for this is not out of obligation at all, just genuine enjoyment! I have been having such a good time in the siivacord and everyone is extremely lovely. It's just that 1% that nags my brain sometimes on the "worthy" scales. And thus that extends to "ahh, do I apply, or do I keep on being on my lane" . :^) Don't know if most of this makes sense. Probably not to most people!! Which fair!! Just wanted to put my cents out there in the world. Sorry to anyone that ended up reading all this, been mulling in my mind for a bit. Here's a rip I've been listening to every so often ^_^ And here's an exclusive Robbie page while I was trying to figure out his face shape. The one I did for the Stingy fanart bothers me so much LMAO looks so uncanny! Okay bye bye ^_^

[maythedreadwolftakeyou]

2, 11, 25, 58!

from these writer asks thank you! :)

2. Do you plan each chapter ahead or write as you go?

Depends how long the piece is. Most of the time: I just hit the ground running either right when inspiration strikes, or after the idea has marinated in my brain for a little while. After I write a handful of paragraphs (maybe 1-3k words?), I have a better idea of how long I'm actually going to take to tell the story, and start my "notes" paired document where I sketch out a general outline/sequence of events. I keep the notes document open on the right half of the screen and my actual working document on the left, shifting between them as needed. After I get to whatever feels like a comfortable stopping point for the first chapter, I check how much of the outline that's actually covered, and guesstimate chapter amount and breakdown from there. For longer works, I do put more detail/time into the outline, including random later sentences or passages as they come to me, just so I don't lose track. For things under 10-15k, I'm more comfortable just winging it and keep any outlining fairly lose.

11. Link your three favorite fics right now

Oh man. Not sure if this means to read or that i've written myself, but let's go with recent reads. Hmmm also I'm gonna do 3 Veilguard (won't mention any spoilers or even pairings but those following me who have seen my Veilguard posts can Guess lmao) and then 3 pre-Veilguard since Quark can't click the da4 ones yet. Perpetual disclaimer that I only really read things under about 15k these days, so they're all one shots or short chapter fics!

veilguard:

In Spite Of You (11.5k) by BlazingQuill

the baseless fabric of this vision (15k) by teddywesworl

At The End Of Her World (11.5k) by flowersforthemachines

and pre-veilguard:

Somewhere I have never travelled (5.5k) by debit: DA2 Orana POV (& background FenHawke), recent discussion about ye olde kink!meme days had me recollecting this one and how much i loved it, so I went to find & reread it on AO3 :)

nothing on my tongue (11k) by EllsterSmash: series of short Solavellan vignettes, lovely exploration of their relationship over time. And the (pre VG so only hypothesis/vague) ending in Ch. 23 makes me very sad which is what i look for most in a piece writing

Lost by @baejax-the-great (2.5) is coming to mind next bc i read & reblogged it again this month, bc i love me some FenHawke angst!!!! Oh how miserable to consider the long-term effects of lyrium in one's skin...

25. What fic do you wish you got more of a response on?

Hahaha as is typical my favorite fic I've ever written has the least number of views--Like Teeth Against His Heart, my DAI-era Solavellan prose-poem. Also on AO3, but formatting for poetry is hard and weird, so I like the booklet view of the tumblr upload.

It's also the piece I wrote for the Solamancy zine, which means probably more people who ordered the zine did actually read it--but I don't get to see people's reaction to physical merch/they can't just leave a comment online as easily, so it's hard to tell! But at the same time the people who have bothered to find it to comment on anyway are always SUPER kind so that's rewarding in its own way ♥︎

58. What part of the writing process do you enjoy the most? (Brainstorming, outlining, writing, editing, etc)

Oh definitely brainstorming first, followed by writing. I concede to making outlines only because my brain is too fallible to just hold it in my head the way I'd prefer/used to be able to, and my editing is more reluctant copyedits than actual true editing, with rare exceptions. I save my more rigorous planning, revision etc for original works rather than fanfic--especially since those usually involve a lot more worldbuilding/lore notes since it all comes from me vs a fandom wiki. But as I've shamefully admitted online many times, I'm one of the rare weirdos who is perfectly happy to write 5-20k words and then just... sit on them for myself forever. Rotating characters through situations in my head is the way I get to know the characters; writing it down is how I cement those thoughts & feelings. Sharing them is like... a fun extra, and sometimes what I have feels like something I can thread enough plot through to make a good story, and sometimes is just for my own whims and i don't need to give it an audience.

I think that's why so much of what I actually have published on AO3/tumblr comes from prompts--there's more a push to actually post something if it comes from a request rather than my own head (though this past year I'm trying to be better at that, and actually dig out more of my personal works to post). I like the "writing challenge" aspect of a prompt, of thinking about characters/situations outside my instincts and what i can add to it that would also make it compelling to myself.

[kinglazrus]

Beep boop hello to you! Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love 💚

I adore whoever made this ask game. Thank you for sending me one, Lexx! This was so hard to choose, so these aren't in any particular order.

The Moment It Breaks

Description: After months of lies and secrets, it finally happens. His identity is revealed in the worst of ways—in the middle of a ghost fight. Now everyone knows that Tucker Foley is the Tech Hunter

Reason: I made this AU for the Danny Phantom au zine, Reality Trip, and I have had so much fun playing with it. It started as a throwaway wondering "what if Vlad approached Tucker instead of Valerie?" and grew into something huge. I've always adored no one knows aus, and this one takes it a step further. I'll be posting the fic to Ao3 soon, and I've got big plans for the rest of this AU.

The Haunting of Danny Fenton

Description: Valerie knows Danny Fenton, everybody does. Youngest of the family, son and heir, future owner of Fenton Works. Notable for all those reasons and infamous for none of them. Where Maddie and Jack are the local quirks, Danny is the tragedy. And, for the next week, he's the Red Huntress' newest client.

Reason: I adore writing Valerie's point of view. She's my favourite character, so it's a bit criminal that I don't have more fics focused on her. I've also used some different narrative techniques in this fic playing with perspective, which has been a lot of fun.

The Punishment Fits the Crime

Description: Ghosts are naturally drawn to death. Danny, however, finds himself drawn to those who have wrongfully died. He always said he would never hurt someone who doesn't deserve it. It's not his fault that he keeps finding people who do. Or: Danny is a vengeful spirit.

Reason: My darkest fic, tonally. I got the idea to turn Danny into a vengeful spirit and immediately decided to push it as far as I could. There's only a couple of chapters up right now, but the tags tell you all you need to know about the direction this fic is going.

The In-Laws

Description: Harriet and her son, Kwan, meet each other's boyfriends through a family dinner. Hopefully, Vlad Masters and Danny Fenton can get along for one meal.

Reason: Because it's fun! This is a very light-hearted, humorous fic, and I had a great time with it. I like to write all kinds of pairings, and this was a great way to explore two I hadn't yet: Vlad and Harriet, and Danny and Kwan. Bad News shippers come get your juice.

Blossoms On Her Tongue

Description: Years after Undergrowth’s attack, Sam’s ghost powers from that day are slowly returning. Sam is excited at first, both at the chance to grow closer with Danny, and the opportunity to use her own powers for good. But things aren’t as great as they seem. After all, plants don't mix well with the cold.

Reason: I can't actually say because that would be a spoiler! But there's a specific dynamic I wanted to explore for the trio and this fic was what came out of it. I've got three parts planned for this series, each one focused on a different member of the trio.

Honourable mentions that I almost picked for this:

The Survivalists (of course)

Prince Before King. Genius Before Fool.

Not Your Danny

Deep Wounds

Dead Man Walking

Until Death Do We Part

[cigarettesandinevitablebetrayal]

10, 15, 21, and 30 for end of the year fic questions!

So, fun fact, I meant to answer this on January 1st, but then I got to a question that stumped me a bit and put it down. And, because I have worse ADHD than Remus or Ortega, I promptly fucking forgot about it. Sorry. But! Here they are now:

10. A fic you wrote this year that was different from what you usually write

Literally any of the OC Kiss fics. I'm not usually a microfic writer (although I tried a drabble challenge ages ago) and most certainly not a pure fluff writer. And then writing with a character not my own (as far as OCs go) is something I had actually never done before. All in all, they're fun little experiments and also function as challenges to push me into thinking about how to write more succinct without losing too much story.

15. Two things you've achieved this year that you're most proud of

a) The zine pieces. Like I said above, I'm not a microfic writer and the restraints on the written zine pieces were incredibly tight. I want through like four drafts of just the roughs before finally getting it down to the right length. And then I had to do that again after editing. But they got done and on time! Which, is also new for me. I usually don't join giveaways, exchanges, or things with hard time lines because I am very, very bad at writing on a schedule.

b) The Ricardo chapter of Stand Tall to the Beast. I've had that fic idea in my mind since before Retri dropped - though it has changed and adapted as Rashad did. There's absolutely nothing more satisfying than blocking out a scene for a long time in your head and finally putting it to paper. I'm so happy with how it turned out, too. I struggled with writing fights for ages. Writing a fic that's primarily a fight scene is a big leap for me.

21. Most memorable comment/review/praise you received this year

Oh, gods. Uh. The sad thing is, it's not that I don't remember my memorable comments, but that I don't remember which I got this year. The all caps screaming is always a good one or any variation of "Excuse me while I lay on the floor and cry". But if you pull specific quotes from my writing into the comments, I'll love you forever.

30. Five fics you read this year that you'd like to recommend

So, this one was a bit of a struggle, because I don't generally read a lot of fanfic. I barely read full stop because I'm a very busy guy with a TBR list in the 200s. I'm also a vehement hater of reading digitally, so that's a struggle for me. But! Here are some of the fics I've read since coming back to FHR that I've loved to little pieces:

Justifications by old_reflexes: I fucking love how old_reflexes writes Ortega. There's just this fun spiral into temporary madness that comes attached with little streamers of rationalization that make me kick my feet. Just completely unwell in a very mundane and also highly entertaining manner

Couldn't Hide It From Me by bookishTomato: Arsinoe's little adventures with Anathema are some of my favorite of the series. There's such a calm and easy emotional intimacy that feels like home.

The Anomaly Series by godshaper: I desperately need to reread these because I was sick and half delirious when I read them, but the concept is so fucking fascinating, it just itches my brain. The tone is immaculate.

You Are My Stranger (and See How We Have Closed) by tentaclemonster: Definitely a dead dove do not eat situation because this is pretty dark fic. However, it's also one of the best examples of intimate characterization and incredibly tastefully written given its subject. Read at your own risk.

[sho-dan]

Hello and welcome to this wild crackship!

In this pinned post I'm going to explain the reason for the name, the reason for the ship, and what I plan to do with this blog.

Why Sho-Dan?

I decided to call it Sho-Dan because it's a play on the name Chō-Han, a Japanese dice game that was a favorite of Zatoichi's, the character that was the inspiration for Issho. It's not hard to imagine Dadan might be a gambler as well, albeit probably not a successful one.

Why did I start shipping them?

Issho has been my favorite One Piece character for years now. It's impossible to know at this point what kind of man Issho was before becoming Fujitora, but I get the impression that he hasn't let his new status in the world change how he views it. Despite being an Admiral, he doesn't follow Sakazuki's orders, nor does he seem to give a damn about the opinions of celestial dragons or whatever punishment they might want to inflict on him. He does what he thinks is right, including letting a certain pirate alliance save a kingdom. He sees the nuance of life.

I always wanted to ship him with someone that would make sense, but he canonically seems like a loner to me. (This isn't meant to be disrespectful to any other ships, this is just how I feel.) I got into the Zatoichi movies because of him, and Ichi always fell in love but always left them behind because his life was too dangerous (he was always on the yakuza's radar) and had to stay on the move. It made sense in my mind that Issho could be similar, making enemies when he acted on his sense of justice, being a wanderer before and after being drafted into the Marines. That he could have left a love behind to keep them safe.

I am fond of Curly Dadan because she's a big, loud woman who swears and smokes, is a coward who makes mistakes, but will be brave when it counts. The characters she interacts with (obviously excluding ASL) treat her like a daughter (Garp saying "I'm leaving these kids with you, raise them well" gives toxic dad vibes) or older sister (her underlings respect her but fear her wrath.) I couldn't help but think she might be lonely, too.

My first thought was shipping her with a woman, but the only woman she's canonically interacted with is Makino. Makino is nice, but I see her dating either a normal person or a great adventurer, not a cowardly mountain bandit.

In 2020 I became part of the Women! Wanted Zine. We had to pick a woman from One Piece and create fanworks for her, so I picked Dadan. This was also during the midst of my Zatoichi movie spree.

It started with a prompt. We were making flash art to spark interest in the zine, and the prompts were based on arcs and movies.

That week's prompt was One Piece Film: Gold.

I drew Dadan. To be honest, hadn't seen Film Gold yet. I looked up character references from the movie, and settled on an outfit I thought was appropriately cool.

This movie had casinos and gambling, though, and of course I had to draw Issho- It's how we're first introduced to him!

Suddenly, things fell into place.

What kind man would love Dadan? What fierce woman would love Issho? What lover would Issho abandon to protect, and what in Dadan's past made her so embittered?

In my mind, it made sense that Issho could've been a wandering swordsman in his youth, maybe catching rides from island to island. He could have met Dadan on Dawn Island, well before the arrival of Ace, Sabo and Luffy into her life. Knowing what we know from SBS 110, maybe he was on the run! Maybe it was before his association with that kingdom!

Now what?

I'm making this blog as a testament to this crackship. I will share art about them, and share things that remind me of them. If I'm ever motivated to continue it, I may share my fanfiction here.

Thanks for reading, hope you liked it 💜🧡

[journalsouppe]

My Sheik spread dedicated to how much I love him! Also a little celebration post for getting to be a contributor in the Sheik zine (Harp in the Shadows) ^_^ Ngl this is just a massive ramble about Sheik lmao I did not plan what I was gonna say beforehand

The sticker is from MaridoodlesShop on Etsy! The Sheik letters are from a halloween sticker pack I found on clearance at Michaels

Typed text below! (plus a little extra writing)

My second favorite character right behind the Hero of Time. Sheik is the reason why I always knew I'd be a Zelda fan, and probably why OOT is my favorite Zelda game. My first introduction to him was in Super Smash Bros Brawl where he was my main. He was so well balanced in that game, I loved fighting with him. However, in Ultimate, they increased his speed and decreased his attack, so playing with him is so hard. Instead I became a Zelda (ALTTP/ALBW) main (also sometimes BOTW Link). One last thing about Brawl Sheik is that his design was updated for if he were in Twilight Princess which I absolutely love. When I got reintroduced to Sheik in Ocarina, he just became an incredible character in my eyes. The way Sheik and Link are able to communicate with just music is incredible. They share some of the most beautiful moments I've ever seen. Even though the music lasts for 30 seconds max, they have become some of my favorite tunes. I know others agree because they wrote full compositions for those songs. The intimacy between Link and Sheik is the reason why I do like OOT Zelink (more specifically Shink than Zelink bc I didn't know the ship name at that time lmao), but only in the adult timeline and if Zelda still treasures Sheik. I absolutely hated the manga implying Sheik was a personality due to a spell and that she will never be Sheik again. Sheik is so passionate about Impa's teachings and the Sheikah culture that no way in hell would Zelda toss that away. Zelda and Sheik are one, it just is up to Zelda for how she will present herself. I believe I also really love Sheik as this is a way for Zelda to express herself and live outside of being the princess. I have so much love for Ocarina of Time and Sheik, they defined the future of the TLOZ franchise especially with gender presentation. Sheik was definitely the shift of making the Zelda games devoid of hyper masculinity or femininity. All in all, Sheik is an amazing character who I absolutely love. I hope to see influences of him in upcoming games.

This is extra not written down but I'm also just such a fan of all the queer Sheik headcanons. Trans Sheik, genderfluid Sheik/Zelda, cis male Sheik who is a different character than Zelda, etc. I especially love characters like him and Tetra where Zelda just gets to live a life outside of the pressures of being the princess and really get to explore who she is. Those characters really just show SO much personality in Zelda and it makes me so happy. Sheik's such an important character to me I even commissioned my friend to crochet a little doll of him for me :,). He's also just a big inspiration for me beginning to journal and write as I get to express my feelings on certain topics, and he was the biggest topic I always want to talk about. So excited to be a part of the Sheik zine and I can't wait to share what I have been working on once the zine releases!