#these were difficult but fun to answer!!

[necrotic-nephilim]

I started in DC by reading fanfics, but as I began to read actual comics, I started to be unable to read the actual fanfic that got me into it in the first place because it's so out of character.

But there are still some stories that I love to read because I love the found family trope so much, even if it isn't really accurate to the source material.

As a comics purist (sometimes), are there tropes that you like enough that you'll still enjoy a fic even if it's not accurate to canon?

oh my god this is SUCH a fun question. bc while i started with the comics, there were certain characters and/or character dynamics where i was exposed to the fanon before the canon (just bc it's hard to read everything when you start out just to read some fanfic) and so i've definitely experienced the fanon to canon transition. (*especially* with Jason Todd. i had only read 80s/90s stuff where he was already dead or the New-52 bc that was on-going when i got into comics and man. the fanon misunderstandings i had about him before i got frustrated and sat down to read all his pre-Flashpoint stuff were absolutely bonkers.) and aside from that, whilst i tend to prefer canon over fanon, i'm not past giving fanon its flowers for occasionally having really interesting insights. occasionally. so some of my fanon "guilty pleasure" tropes would probably be

Morally Grey Tim Drake - this is one where if you try to back it up with canon, i *will* get salty about it. of everyone in the Batfam aside from maybe Bruce and Cass, Tim has the *most* black and white morals. often his internal conflicts are routed in such an inability to compromise his moral views and it can cause him to clash with other characters. he's *very* stiff and rigid in his beliefs and is *rare* to compromise in even the smallest ways. i mean, DC has repeatedly used Tim Drake of Tomorrow/Savior/Gun Batman!Tim for a reason. it's to demonstrate that of everyone, Tim *cannot* have his morals compromised. there's no grey area for him. he's zero or a hundred, so if he tips over the edge of "too far" he tips *all the way*, and doing so is one of his worst fears, how he could go "too far" if he let himself. a couple panels out of context from Red Robin (2009) (which was a grief spiral for Tim to begin with) don't change that. now that said. if it's done *right*, i sort of love Tim being morally grey in fanfic. it takes a specific flavor for me, and it's incredibly important to include that mental spiral along with it, of him struggling to justify it. i don't have any interest in "Tim Drake is loosy goosy with Bruce's morals and has the highest kill count and no one knows teehee" bc it doesn't play with the interesting parts of making Tim morally grey, which are fracturing his psyche. but all in all, i think it's fun to put Tim in a morally grey area and i will read it in fanfic and i enjoy writing it a lot

Joker Junior!Tim Drake - i've not written it on this account (yet) but on my main ao3 account one of my biggest fics surrounds this concept. this is one of those "well *technically* it's canon but only in a specific very divorced from the comics universe and would not work at all in the main timeline" so, i categorize it as fanon in that 95% of fics exploring the concept are not doing so within the Batman Beyond universe, but the main timeline. i just love it. I'll take any excuse to whump Tim, but this concept is so fun. psychologically breaking Tim will always be my favorite pastime. there are so many ways to explore the long-term effects this could have on him, how it could affect the Batfam. i'm not a fan of it being used as a "gotcha" to Jason or Babs' trauma with the Joker to paint Tim as the Ultimate Victim, but it is fun to see how their relationships would be affected by being mutual victims of him. (i have a vague JayTim idea where TIm fully retires from being Robin after being Joker Junior and killing the Joker, making Steph Robin for most of his typical Robin era and Jason still tracks him down out of curiosity bc he wants to know what happened and all. very underbaked but i've got thoughts.)

Renegade/Apprentice of Slade!Dick Grayson - this is another one where yes, this happened *sort of* in canon, but i highly doubt most people writing Renegate!Dick have read or are actually pulling from Nightwing: Renegade. it's just an exploration fo the concept fo Dick being Slade's apprentice and i will always eat it up in any capacity. whether Dick grows up with Slade from a young age, or chooses Slade for whatever reason later in life. it's not anything that works in canon bc it compromises Dick morally (similar to the above with Tim) and therefore will always come across incredibly fanon in most fics. but i can't say i don't enjoy it. it's fun to make Dick a little morally fucked up and see what you can make him under Slade's tutelage.

Jason & Damian Meeting in the League -there's no world where i believe this could work in the canon comics. (maybe in the Young Justice cartoon i suppose, but even then i think it's iffy) i would go as far to say it's wildly unrealistic. i don't see a world where Ra's would let Jason anywhere *near* Damian, bc Jason was Talia's pet project that he didn't approve of. that all said, there's something very interesting about how they *could've* met and them potentially bonding during that timeframe. them being somewhat brotherly during this time because Jason sees Bruce in Damian and sort of latches onto the kid and Damian is full of wonder hearing real stories about Batman and Robin, then that getting violently ripped away by Jason leaving the League is fun to me. it's fun how that could affect them within the Batfam and all. it's super fanon to me, but i do not care. i will eat it up

Bad Dad Clark Kent/Good Dad Lex Luthor - i will admit as a late, i've been less and less kind to this particular fanon bc of everything i've argued with people about, *this* one seems the most pervasive as misunderstood fanon. i don't mind when fanon exists, my gripe is when ppl try to claim it's canon. and the *arguments* i've had over this with people who can never seem to cite an actual comic are... frustrating. but that said, i think there is something fun to this strictly in fanon. the duality of who you expect to accept Kon and who you expect to hurt him being flipped is just sort of fun for the occasional guilty pleasure fic. it can make Kon's internal conflict a bit more interesting. the same goes for the Jon favoritism from Clark, it's not a canon thing (and i rlly wish ppl understood how complicated the timeline of Kon and Jon is and any distance from Clark toward Kon isn't malice, it's that Kon is from a timeline that Clark does not remember in the current canon so Clark just straight up doesn't know the poor kid.) but it's sort of fun to give Kon that complex of being overlooked and forgotten sometimes. making Kon just a *bit* more Luthor than Kent will *always* appeal to me in fanfic, especially if he *knows* it's wrong but craves approval from anyone who will give it.

Good Dad Bruce Wayne - i'll die on the hill Bruce is canonically a shitty father. maybe not to the extreme some people write him as, but he's not great at it. that said, i enjoy it in fanfiction. sometimes, i just want silly fluff or hurt/comfort where Bruce finally gets it right and manages to comfort whatever Batkid is in the fic. one of my favorite fics of all time is hinged on Bruce being a good dad, so i think it's just fun to explore how good the relationships *could* be, if Bruce was slightly less of an asshole. i usually prefer him as an asshole, but there are times i want low stakes nonsense.

Gotham Rogues Having Soft Spots for Robin(s) - just about every Rogue in Gotham has done something absolutely irredeemable, and most of them don't like or care about anyone in the Batfamily. but if there's a fic where one of the Robins inexplicably is sort of close with a Rogue and they have a cute silly relationship out of it? I'll eat it up i fear. Steph and the Riddler are besties? I'll believe it. Tim and Scarecrow get along pretty well? give me ten of these. Rogues protecting Robins just hits a spot. the unexpected nature of the relationship, as well as the fact they see each other regularly, can make a lot of good fodder.

[raycatz]

I'm not including a situation where someone might be injured because in that case I'm thinking the bed goes to them by default or they are nominated for it. anyone who wants to be chatty goes to join the living room floor gang.

What are your thoughts and headcanons? Do you have thoughts on how the boys tend to approach assigning beds in inns? Who do the chain choose to sleep near when camping and why? What are their dynamics like when settling down for the night and getting ready for the day?

In "Mirror Vs Open Closet Door: Fight!" by Gintrinsic (here) Four refers to the chain's decision on how to split up between inn rooms as the "Link-per-room ratio" which I find very funny. He, Sky, and Time also talk about their thought process behind why they do or don't want to sleep in a room with some of the others which I find fun and interesting.

So! If you have thoughts and want to share them! *gestures to the post!*

[found--family]

am i the only one who sensed some jilted lover vibes from jensen? 

[paimonial-rage]

Hello I have a character analysis ask for Aether, Number 9. If you are interested only. I love your blog. It actually help me in writing since I am a beginner writer. Thank you. Have a great day.

Thank you so much for the ask and kind words. I’m glad you find my blog helpful! ;v; <3

[Character Analysis Ask Meme]

What can’t you trust Aether with?

To stay - It’s easy to forget when he stays for so long that one day he will leave. It’s inevitable. Really, you should know better. He’s done it with every nation he’s visited. He remains for a year—exploring, taking quests, getting close to everyone—and then the winds call him on to continue his journey. And then after that, what is left for you? Those biannual visits when a special event was being held? Those few times he invites you to his teapot or to explore with him? How can he see that it’s simply not enough?

[phoebehalliwell]

not me spamming but uhhhhhhhh writer asks 12, 25, 35, 57, 76

(i can hope this will somehow further inspire continuation of the warren witches after august but i also get it lmao)

12. Do you outline your fics? If yes, how detailed are your outlines? How far do you stray from them?

it depends! usually my ficlets (like the ones for AUgust) are not outlined just bc they're so short i kind of just fuck around until the narrative comes together, but for the longer pieces (like the warren witches or w&s) there are definitely some stronger outlines. for things like the warren witches which is done in an episodic fashion, i actually have a separate doc full of just monster of the week type plots that i'll pick and choose from as needed (one's i've already used include the sihuanaba one and the selkie one, ones to be included are:

the sigbin one actually had been crossed out if anyone remembers the old version of the warren witches that actually made it to print (posting, i guess lol) in vace and virtue (the working title was "the sigbin is sigbout) but the updated version of it has not come out yet. so those would be my little outlines for small plots, for bigger plots those outlines usually live in my brain (for example, we're doing a reintroduction of the demon academy in warren witches bc i think it's slay, but that's gonna be just longer in general) and then of course most longer plotlines come in the form of relationships (viola + kat is an example, as is kat + laurel which kind of snuck up on me lol, pj + her boyfriend obvi will have some obstacles given that he is not in on the secret, and then the mystery max from the sihuanaba episode will def be making an appearance in ale's/melinda's/also effie's too ig uess bc she's there lives again. but these are technically less outlining per se and more dotting. a lot of this centers around singular dots, little points/moments i want to include, and plots are built around them. the only thing that i kind of give more concrete outlining, usually in the form of a small, unproofread text doc, is people backstories, esp those not involved in the family. so viola, for example, has her entire life written in a doc so i can keep going back to it and keeping kind of her actions/character/motivations consistant.

25. What’s your favorite part of the writing process (worldbuilding, brainstorming/outlining, writing, editing, etc)?

i would say probably brainstorming sits at number one for me these guys live in my brain and run around just constantly i already have a decent amount of "endgame" relationships picked. (chris and bianca, obvi, that shouldn't be a spoiler bc it's obvious i love them so so much), melinda's endgame is also pencilled in in my mind, as is tamora's and probably kat's, henry's "endgame" has also been picked even if they don't End Up together his main relationship is def sketched out in my mind. beyond ships i just love putting those motherfuckers in Situations. i want a bianca training chris type situation. i want a melinda attempting to date in college while being an empath situation. jumping over to warren and sheridan, i have their christmas planned out, as well as a narrative that spans from valentine's day to st. patricks day that is mainly poking at the bruises that define major relationship issues. i love situations!!

i would say my next fav after brainstorming would be not just writing but creating -- esp in regards to aesthetics. it helps me kind of hone in on a vibe for each character and allows me not only to understand them more but also to communicate said vibes to others. third favorite is getting comments/asks about them haha i loveeeee talking about them (which kind of circles back to the brainstorming part) but like the fact that these are guys who live in my brain but then they also get to exist in your brain!?!?!?? that's crazy!!! it makes me so happy <3

35. What’s your favorite fic you’ve posted?

probably a toss up between The Warren Witches and Warren & Sheridan, just because those are kind of two really big labors of love that I'm really proud of, but I am also really super fond of 2/14/2001 lol

57. How conscious are you about including symbolism or foreshadowing in your fics?

i try to stay conscious of it lol bc there's nothing more fun that seeing all the pieces come together and i really want to work to create that. usually this ties into the "outlining" concept, where, if i have a big moment i want to create, i'm going to try to sprinkle in little pieces here and there leading up to it. (so, like, spoilers for warren witches, but with viola as the twice blessed, when kat is able to locate the twice blessed with chris and wyatt via scrying, it actually is pointing at the cafe were viola works). i don't do too much symbolism lol (skill issue) but i feel like that is something i'd like to try to hone.

76. How do you deal with writing pressure, whether internal or external?

i mean like i definitely try to work within my "tides of creativity" (concept that writing/creating/all that is akin to breathing, you can't just keep exhaling. there are going to be periods where you can't create, and that's cause you need to "inhale": go out and experience new stuff, engage in new media, chat w new people). that and then i am like an adult in my 20s with like a job and responsibilities (i am moving again 😃🔫) so trying to work with the allotted amount of spoons i have a day can be a doozy as well. when i'm stuck i usually try to work with aesthetics/visuals because that can be a different muscle if the writing one is burnt out, and then i also try to write little blurbs that don't exist within anything really. a lot of these tend to just be conversations as i tend to be a very dialogue heavy writer, sometimes if i'm up to it i'll even go back through and add in descriptions to make it more of a proper story. past midnight (an ode to smoking outside the club) was actually written as one of these, i wrote it in early may during a creative block.

[tamagotchikgs]

i wish talking wasnt the hardest thing in the world

[gingersnaptaff]

15, 20, 26?

15. Comfort food?

For eating it's ozro with chicken stock and cheese. It's yummy! Love pasta. For making it's jam tarts. I love making pastry. Plus, it reminds me of my nain cuz she taught me how to make them when I was a tiny bean.

20. Tell us about a memory you hold close to your heart.

I am quite a sentimental bitch - as you may have guessed - but I love my uni graduation. It was really sad but also very fulfilling. Plus, they gave us free booze. 🤷🏻‍♀️

26. If you could live anywhere with anyone you want, where would it be and who would you bring?

I was tempted to be like 'medieval Wales lol!' but I quickly realised that if I did so then I would PERISH IMMEDIATELY. So... next best answer: Edinburgh. It's a big city with a lot of history and I also have family from there. As for who I'd take with me... hmm, that's tricky. Can I just add all my moots in a group chat and we can all go? I can bring a really cute dog with me.

[theanoninyourinbox]

i heard you say gems,,, i love your gems oough

the body type in the picture is okay,, i was thinking hyalite would be v cool!!! love ya grover <33

like, nya

[p5x-theories]

I mean, how many characters have models that you haven’t posted yet? Bc I would like to see all of the models but if there’s a ton then I wouldn’t ask that of you

To be clear, literally every character in the game has one or more 3D models. Every single NPC, those faceless people that you walk by/through while walking through the city, every playable character (and every outfit they have; every single one of Wonder's outfit options), every shadow, every Persona, etc. The game's all 3D models (with 2D images over them making up the UI and portraits), and the files are where those 3D models and 2D images are stored, so quite literally, anything you see in the game is somewhere in the files, and something I could theoretically extract for you.

There's also a ton of stuff in the files that doesn't show up in the game (yet?), like 3D models and portraits for a bunch of the Confidants and Palace rulers in P5. Even stuff you only see for a few seconds, like the table and tea set that appears for Noir during her AOA finisher in the split second before it swaps to the 2D image people usually think of for her AOA, have their own 3D models.

So I appreciate that you're not asking me for all of them, haha!

I just focus on posting the interesting things and the new stuff; new portraits for main characters, 3D models for civilian outfits of the Phantom Idols that we haven't really gotten to see, characters indicated as future Phantom Thieves/Idols, stuff like that. And then if anyone asks me for specific stuff outside of that, I don't mind going back for it, because I noted down where everything is in the (massively disorganized) files, so it theoretically shouldn't take me too long to hunt down the pieces for any given character and put them together to post.

All that to say, I try to post the things that I know myself and others are probably most interested in seeing. You're not really missing much in the rest of the files, unless, for instance, there's a sidequest NPC or something you have a particular interest in and want to see the full portraits/model for.

[mymp3]

I had a lot of the same issues with reload as I see you’re having, and I do think most of it is from the new team’s inexperience. They’re trying to recreate a game that made very purposeful decisions in its mechanics and cutscenes without understanding why those decisions were made, which really undermines the experience.

If the team had more experience under their belt, or had full creative decision on an entirely new game, I feel like they could make a really good game! Reload is not that though.

I completely agree anon. It's a shame too, because it's not an awful game, just a different one. I wish they hadn't tried to recreate FES as a test project on a shoestring budget when it was literally the benchmark for our modern Persona games. It changed so much, it's iconic, a cult classic.

I really wish they wouldn't have lied about not planning EpiAi beforehand so they could cover the fact that the game doesn't look all too good. I wish they hadn't charged $200 for an "Aigis Edition" and not include the dlc. I wish they hadn't sanitized and scrubbed the game about death and grieving of all things that were slightly upsetting. That's what ended up happening though, and as you said, they're trying to recreate a game that was very purposeful in its creation.

Reload was a cheap quick test that they knew would work because it has a wonderful story and dedicated fans. As long as they make it a fun popcorn game, they don't have to put in those purposeful additions or think about it much at all.

[3584-tropical-fish]

hihi fish! more music ask game for whenever you’d like to answer :) how about 3, 18, and/or 30?

Hi tech :D

A song that reminds you of summertime

I think I have to say June Hymn by The Decemberists! It used to be my favorite song, and it’s still so pretty

A song from the year that you were born

I was pretty sure this album was from my birth year, and I was correct! Magpie might be my favorite off the album, if only for the mandolin

A song that reminds you of yourself

Oh shoot, hang on I need to go looking. I think maybe Five by Sleeping At Last. I did art of myself to that song and I use said art as my pfp for personal accounts on things :]

[ereborne]

Song of the Day: April 19

"Save It for a Rainy Day" by Kenny Chesney

[quaranmine]

gods i fucking wish i could do that for ashes au but since its a fantasy world i opted to research japanese and indian geta for two days before writing my chapter instead

L

no but really it is sort of nice for once to have actual concrete things to research! like, my questions have...answers? real answers? that i can just look up? i'm used to doing similar to you. i always have a desire to make things scientifically accurate and omg that just does NOT play well with minecraft sometimes. [stares at moon big]

so. shakes your hand. but it's still fun to try to borrow from real-world cultures and things and try to reimagine them into canon or a fantasy environment. it's like a puzzle...that requires a LOT of thought. i've been there with empires worldbuilding before, i was looking up all kinds of stuff for the cod empire regarding wetland construction, water pollution, etc. i also end up looking at a slightly disproportionate number of NASA JPL webpages sometimes...mcyt fic taught me about the roche limit ldjsfklsfjslfj

[cheekblush]

just woke up from a horrible dream about my chemistry final tomorrow 😭

[vonlipvig]

As much as I love Bits of Your Life it makes me want a Julia themed DLC even more

NO FR julia is like, a Character of All Time, she's so tragic and complex and interesting. is mt girlie girl a war criminal? yes, and worse ♡ but we believe in women's rights AND women's wrongs here.

seeing her in bits of your life truly made my heart go !!!!!! she looks so pretty! but god, it's so sad, too, cause you know what she's gonna become :'(

[gingersnaptaff]

treat!

'"No. We leave tonight,” Rhiannon’s tone was ice. “We must evade the guards.”

“Yes, Mother," Pryderi huffed. "So you keep saying but I see no evidence of them.”

“Pryderi,” It was Cigfa who spoke and her voice was scratchy with sleep. “Just because you have not seen them does not mean that they will not have been sent out.”

Rhiannon hummed, “Ogrfan will spin the net about us slowly at first. We will not even see it coming until he finally wrenches it and traps us.”

“Ach, surely not! If he’d any sense he would've enacted such a thing now instead of waiting.”

“Your mother is right,” Cigfa whispered, pursing her lips. “The things that we witnessed in his caer would make your blood run cold. We must gather up what we can and go. We are wasting time squabbling like washerwomen.”

“There’s barely even anything to take!”

“Good!” Cigfa’s disdain was apparently even from my place on Manawydan’s lap. “Then it will attract less attention when I grab you about your beard and throw you into the river for being brainless. Truly you are your father’s son! Must I explain everything to you?”

“I am only stupid when it suits me." Pryderi insisted. "If it is your will that we go now, then we will. This has been such a roundabout conversation that I feel that I am far more blockheaded than when we started.”

“That remains to be seen but I am sure that it will become certain, of that I have no doubt.” Grass crunched beneath Cigfa’s boots, and I knew that she was getting up off the ground.

Pryderi and Rhiannon followed suit, both sighing in relief at the clicking on their bones as they rose too as Manawydan murmured in my ear that he would carry me for the journey.

“Don’t get too tired,” I slurred. “’M heavy. Father used to tell me that.”

“Yes, Gwyn bach, I’m sure that you are, but I am not your father. You can rest again if you wish. I will wake you when we arrive.” His blue eyes crinkled as he smiled.'