#theyre both writers too so that gives a lot of help

[vanillaxoshi]

I love that you have mini helpers for your aus its very cute! Neriyz with ES and now Maiprim for AB, i don't know of your know EPIC the musical but both neri and mai reminds me of the winions. Also damn how many words was that? 2k words?

Nerizys is basically behind like all the lore from ES to BO and helped a lot for Royalty

And the fics for AB and some ideas for Sep from Maiprim

Cuz why not? Theyre ideas are pretty cool! :D

[unlimitedhearts]

I’m dreading the third game of Spiderman might kill off Harry :/ either he’s goblin (solo or probably along with daddy-o) and dies a la Hero Sacrifice. Or kept comatose and in the end with grim results the decision is to pull the plug on him. idk I feel Harry’s fate is doom and gloom. But they could have killed Harry at the end of this sequel giving a strong motivation for Norman to be the Goblin and hatred for Spider-Man…yet they didn’t. idk rambling thoughts. What do you think?

Personally i can see both options. I saw someone in the tags of my last headcanon post say that it wouldnt make sense to save him from death in this game only to kill him in the next. On some level i get that, why wait when you could do it now?

I have two worst case scenarios in my head:

Harry wakes up from his coma w amnesia a la the third Tobey Maguire movie. Hes unaware of Pete being Spider-Man and Peter, thinking hes protecting Harry, wont tell him. This may cause a rift in their friendship when Harry finds out - or if Norman ends up going goblin and dies - Spider-Man is to blame in Harrys eyes and he'll go after him then. To me this is a tired trope of Harry getting an intense hatred for Spidey and wanting to kill him over his father. It always felt out of character for me and i truly TRULY hope they dont go this route.

Harry becomes the Kobold. In the comics, Kobold is essentially Harrys way of making the Green Goblin a good guy. If he still wants to fight by Peters side, he'll find a way to do it. Kobold would make a lot of sense to me personally, as it kind of continues their dynamic from this game. Then at the end theres a heros sacrifice to be made and Harry goes for it despite Peters protests. This would be lazy to me too though because he essential already did the heros sacrifice in this game. Seems like theyd just want us to have more time with him to love him even more, just to make losing him hurt worse. I wouldn't put it past an intrepid writer to think they could make it work, but it just seems lazy to me.

Actual best case scenario for me though? Harry wakes up as the g-serum is being injected. Hes against being his dads experiment all over again so he runs and finds Peter. Hes not aware of his pseudo-retirement, he just goes straight to the place thats always been his safe haven; Peters home. He asks Peter to hide him from his dad. Tries to explain everything but hes exhausted and frantic. Peter agrees and they take him into hiding.

Norman, ever the expert deflector, doesnt see this as a failing on his part. Hes convinced spider-man had something to do with his son escaping so he puts out a hit on him. Hes ready, willing, and able to capture and kill at least one of the two spider-men it doesnt matter. We see him pardon Wilson Fisk for this job, and when Fisk cant do it, he has to. Normans going to go Goblin. I know it, i can feel it in my bones.

Miles asks Peter to get back in action and he does. Fisk, plus potentially Otto again, plus this brand new villain in town is too much for any one person to handle. Heres where i see Harry becoming a "Guy In The Chair" for Peter like Ganke is for Miles. Two Guys in the Chair helping the spider-men is definitely better than one. I could also see Harrys goblin powers start to emerge but he keeps pushing them down. Last time he gave into power it didnt end well for anyone.

In an effort to not write out the entire plot of the game as i see fit (because itd be long and there are so many moving pieces and characters and IDEK WHERE THEYRE GONNA PUT SILK IN-), i think if Harry does take on the cowl he'll be doing so against his father. I think i see Harry becoming Goblin/Kobold to fight against Norman and ultimately try to help Peter/Miles. This is where i see Harry either accidentally killing Norman or Norman killing his son (and of course, blaming Spider-Man)

There is also room, in my mind, to bring back Venom a la Lethal Protector/Agent Venom. But tbh if they do, i would much rather Venom go to Eddie Brock or Flash Thompson. But thats just the separate Venom Fangirl Entity within me.

Ultimately my hope of course is that Harry not die and they dont go down that all too tired and hackneyed trope of Harry growing to hate Peter dor whatever reason. I truly TRULY hope they dont go that route it is just SO tired and lazy. I want them to stay close and loving. Whatever route they go with will be SO MUCH MORE IMPACTFUL if Harry Osborn lives and doesnt make a full 180 on his best friend for no good reason.

[hanasnx]

heyyy do you have any advice on how to write smut cause its sooo difficult for me *cries in virgin*

ur like one of my fav smutty writers and idk if you have any tips 😭

first off thank u very much i appreciate that :)

this isnt the first time ive been asked for writing tips so im gonna give a lot of info. youre bound to find something useful in this mess

im so sorry but one of my solutions to giving myself confidence in smut-writing was to literally fuck and fuck a lot

after losing my virginity it still wasnt enough experience tbh. so i gave myself room to explore my sexuality and was privileged enough to do it with a partner that encouraged that growth. that experience of fucking sure didnt hinder my smut-writing ability if you know what i mean ;0 but everything else about writing i learned from years of practice. ive been writing since i was in elementary school like id come home from fourth grade and read and write on quotev klsdjfsfj smut writing skills came later post puberty

when i tried writing smut as a virgin i genuinely couldn’t get past the build up. i was fantastic at writing the build up, it was the actual sex part that was hard bcos even tho i had done enough research (i read a lot of porn) it didn’t instill me with enough confidence that i could write it correctly, and so i never did. however! i sure wish i’d committed to it more, so let me see if i can write out some tips that would’ve helped me in the past

(this is just how i write smut, im by no means an expert)

my timeline

the way i write smut is pretty formulaic so i’ll break it down:

hook line ⟹ settings ⟹ build-up ⟹ foreplay ⟹ sex ⟹ ending

☥ hook line. maybe: a dialogue piece to kickstart; an ambiguous line that reels you in; an exciting action. i dont like starting my story with the name/pronouns of a character doing something boring. i.e. “you were getting ready for the day…” idk it’s not the worst thing in the world and we've all done it but just writing out what i try to avoid.

☥ build up is key to me. i have such a hard time reading and writing porn with no plot. i’ll do it sometimes if i like the writer enough, but i rarely write smut without the build up bcos i feel like that’s where the juice is. its whats fun and what you get to play around with bcos the actual sex part of the fic is pretty predictable.

focus on what’s said and unsaid in dialogue between characters. focus on the emotion each of them are feeling and how that emotion manifests into body language.

⟹ dirty talk is not for everyone, but god i love it. literally get nasty with it, this is your writing and we’re all just readin it. build anticipation using dirty talk, make filthy promises, make threats. make your characters talk about the nasty shit they wanna do to each other.

imagine someone you really wanna fuck, imagine the things youd do to them if you had the chance,,, write it into your characters.

☥ foreplay. goes hand in hand with dirty talk, its where the touching starts. decide how you want to play it. who gets oral, who gets fingered. both? one of them? neither and they just go straight to fucking?? i like foreplay, but if youre writing a “quickie” scenario then it may not be in the cards.

lets say it is in the cards tho. so some things to remember:

⟹ foreplay gets the dicks hard. when dicks get hard they leak pre-cum. balls have like no cushion and theyre soft and have little sacks in em that move around. the skin of this genital is often described as velvety bcos its soft. ive honestly never had sex with an uncircumcised penis so i have no idea if there’s a difference between how they feel.

foreplay makes the pussies loose and wet. the inside can be lumpy. it can be ridged or smooth. it can be all kinds of flesh colors like brown and pink.

without the foreplay (which can be verbal communication, or touching of the body or genitals) its a little painful for afabs bcos theyre too tight or too dry. and a flaccid dick is a little unpredictable to try to fit in.

⟹ afabs can have multiple orgasms, amabs are less lucky. afabs can cum and squirt multiple times, amabs can cum multiple times.

⟹ genitals get really sensitive after cumming though. so if you write someone finishing, write out how they might need some time before they finish again or start fucking, or that they get overstimulated getting touched still after they came and that sensitivity is a little uncomfortable.

⟹ the head of the penis is the most sensitive and that’s what makes it cum/orgasm. clits on pussies are the most sensitive and its what makes cum/orgasms happen. its very difficult if not impossible to achieve orgasm (if youve got a pussy) through penetration alone without clit stimulation

⟹ you can cum/squirt and not have an orgasm

☥ sex

⟹ changing positions can change angles and hit new pleasurable spots inside pussies.

⟹ probably write a couple different positions during the sex part, just to keep things fresh.

⟹ sprinkle in dirty talk to prolong the sex scene and to avoid sounding repetitive because if youre writing p in v it’s pretty standard to thrust over and over again until youre done. its a lot less glamorous when you spell it out like that, so you gotta add shit to make the sex scene more enjoyable to the reader whos not actively experience the sex.

☥ ending. i usually end the one shot after the fucking is done.

the smut tips

☥ think back to a time you were really turned on. from a show, from a book, something someone said to you, your own sex life, porn you really liked,,, take inspiration from it. use it and channel that own arousal within you.

if youve got a dirty fantasy and it gets you so hot and bothered thinking about it, write that.

if youve got a partner that fucks you crazy good and supplies you with inspo for dialogue or for settings or for scenarios, write that too. theres been a whole bunch on my blog that was inspired by my boyfriend. not everything, but enough to mention it.

also! another thing that people underestimate is the inspiration you take from other blogs. like mine for example, if you like my stuff take inspo from it. study my writing style and you’ll see all kinds of little tips in subtext id never be able to list for you. i do that with other blogs, i dont copy them but i definitely learn little things i like from them and incorporate it into my writing for a more cohesive story. if i take an idea though i ask for their permission & credit them.

☥ the most important tip i can give you is be as self indulgent as possible. youre wasting time worrying about other people. “will they like this? will people think im weird? what if they think im weird for writing this?” fuck that noise. warn accordingly, and go ham. your self indulgence is your best friend. it’ll guide you through all those dirty things you want to say or do to someone, let it take root and write what excites you. chances are you will find your people, and your fic will be set apart bcos it’s so specific to you that people will be drawn to that. and if theyre not? it ends up not being popular? it doesnt matter! because you had fun writing it right? fuck yea u did

☥ the types of words you use are so important. words that invoke a certain emotion or sexy feeling. its difficult to explain but i try my hardest to use “beautiful language” paired with dirty, disgusting, cacophonous language. marry them together so you can convey whether youre “love-making” or “fucking”. i dont like words that dont look or sound good in my head. like when you paint, you probably use colors you like looking at to create the entire picture on the canvas that’s beautiful. so pick out paints that are pleasing to the eyes. the bold ones and the soft ones.

examples of words i dont use cos i hate the way they sound and the way they look: “vagina” and “penis” LMAO

even “butt” isnt a word i like to use. i’ll almost always use “ass” or “backside”

⟹ the smut writer’s dictionary

☥ i keep comedy out of it for the most part, ive never really seem humor added positively into a smut that added to the experience. its usually physical humor stuff like the characters bumping heads or stubbing their toe or something its just cringy to me idk. if i add comedy (i am not good at writing comedy)i put it before the smut. and if you must have some sort of lightheartedness id keep it casual, light, and personal. like an inside joke or something tongue in cheek. you dont have to hide your deepest desires behind humor , you can be serious

☥ your pain tolerance is heightened so run with that. get spanked its fun

more important tips i love and stand by:

☥ call backs are important to me. it’s like if you have something in the future of your fic to be used, try to incorporate it in some small way in your establishing settings or build up. but it’s not as important to others as it is to me. an example would be in my one shot “talk huttese to me”, at the end anakin fucks reader on the tool table. at the very beginning of the fic, when i had reader taking in the surroundings of the “garage bay”, she scanned the drawer stack where she set his broth she brought him, and the tool table he’d later fuck her on. its kinda like,,, foreshadowing (i think?). you’re setting up your reader to be like “?? i wonder why the author thought it would be important to mention the tool table.. wonder if anakin fucks her on it later.” but even if your readers dont react that way, i still think it ties things together nicely

☥ try to write 15-20 mins uninterrupted. create a ritual. i use the bathroom, refill my water, grab a fun drink like sweet tea, put on a silent youtube video (like my ahsoka star wars lofi live i love so much), listen to a playlist of music (preferably music you havent heard before so it can fade into the background. maybe even cultivate a playlist for the vibe youre going for in your story, aids greatly in creating an atmosphere in your writing if youre translating the music in your ears), and turn your phones notifications off (ofc i leave on notifs for calls in case of emergencies, but i can answer my friends’ texts after my writing session). set a timer so you dont have to keep checking the time.

☥ don’t stop in the middle of your storytelling to check the thesaurus or dictionary. write out whatever word/phrase first came to mind and highlight it to come back to later to alter or replace it completely. you’re interrupted your creative flow and its difficult to come back to it when youre checking the thesaurus every five seconds. this hack was crucial to my ability to stay on task i promise you

☥ avoid sounding repetitive by using the same words close together. you’ll create a fuller story by adding to your vocabulary using the thesaurus.

☥ avoid listing actions, break them up with adverbs at the start of your sentences if you must, or description of things or the place your character is in, or explain the emotion your character is feeling or what that emotion is causing within your character. starting sentences over and over again with the character’s name or pronoun breaks up the flow for the reader.

☥ really try to finish your works in progress even if you think its bad, the challenge of it will help you practice and learn to overcome your own mind trying to hold you back

☥ if you dont like the direction your fic is going,,, and youre experiencing writer’s block:: cross out the most recent bit and take it in a new direction. “oh but indy!! i really have a certain goal in mind!!” great, find another way to get to it because youre blocking yourself from finishing this forcing yourself into a non entertaining corner. switch it up! challenge yourself. “but indy!! i really liked what i had for this scene!!” yea but youre blocked right? youre not writing anything else for this scene and you cant, right? if you like what you have for this scene (an action, a dialogue piece youre proud of, a plot twist) save it! use it for a different piece !

hope this helps you and others!

[alienaiver]

Behind the scenes

the lovely @dira333 tagged me in this and its sooo fun!! the questions are so amazing and id like to give it my best with some in depth answers, since learning these facts about one of my favorite writers here was so fun !!!!! behind the scenes of writing is so good to share!!

Started writing: i think ive always been writing. i remember when we used to have one computer for the entire family in the early 00's and had little screentime, i set alarms to 4-5am (with no concept of what that Would Do To Me emotionally without sleep LMAO) JUST to get some time to write in peace. my first fanfictions i published was on a homemade forum page with a friend when i was 11!

Started blogging: ive had my tumblr since 2009-ish where ive been a rp'er over multiple times and published d gray man and no. 6 fanfictions in 2011-12ish. i was also active on livejournal before i found fanfiction.net !! but this specific blog was made in may 2021!!! the reader inserts came then :3

Followers: i actually JUST hit 300 two days ago!!! which is very exciting. i dont always look at the number, since it doesnt necessarily correlate with engangement, but its fun to see the uptick!!

Communication: i genuinely love love LOVE the social part of social media, and communications so important to me. theres nothing better than reblogs with comments you can bounce off of, asks, dm's and all that! sadly, my disability makes it so hard for me to have continuous contact and im 90% of the time the one to drop the ball when it comes to replying :(( thats why its extra important to me/special with the mutuals who keeps reaching out and dont have the same social expectations about replying. even if im unable to reply the day that i receive the message, it still brings great joy seeing the notif!

Likes: i dont mind them! generally its not that important to me whether or not my followers interact a lot. a like still means the world to me. of course a reblog is much better and engages so much more (+ boosts me!!), but theyre good for my soul, too!

Requests: i get very few requests :( i think i like them, but i havent gotten enough to actually get a feel on whether or not it kills my writing spirit? generally i get very excited to be able to deliver something and it gets me up from the bed to write, but i sometimes fear im not providing what they wanted! its anxiety-inducing in some ways, but i love a good little writing challenge !!

Writing: i loove love love love writing for hours at a time, hyperfixating on it. sadly, my cat snøfle is Very Jealous of both my laptop and pc. giving him a substitution sadly doesnt help</3 so my writing is often limited to specific times of day, and when he gets tired of my keyboard clack-clack-clacking, its time to put on some one piece while he naps on me! i wish i could write more works or just scenes on my phone, but it hurts my hands So Much, so i only write small one shots when im heavily inspired but snøfles in A Mood!!

genre wise im a fluffy type. maybe some hurt/comfort but always leaning towards comfort. id like to write more disability fics to spread both awareness and visibility, but i sometimes struggle with putting in my own disabilities and not make them too personal or too detailed for others to not relate. its an overthinking problem, so i often procrastinate writing them., bcos i fear itll be too niche! but i always get positive feedback (excpet for that one time with inked coffee lmao) so im not sure whats holding me back!!!

i always listen to music when i write, and it differs a lot. when i wrote the star and the earth i listened to a lot of medieval-inspired music, and made a specific playlist for that. but when i write on my modern au's or canon compliant bnha/haikyuu, anything goes!

i love putting in 'boring' every day stuff into my fics, or small scenes that dont necessarily advance the plot but just gives a feel of the characters.

speaking of snøfle ^ i am no longer allowed to write for the evening.... so ill start some apothecary diaries and enjoy a cold soda on this hot and humid evening !!! mwuah mwuah if u read this far thank you, and i love you. i love all of you <3333

no pressure tags as always but would love to hear the answers and get to know u all! @cup-of-fluff @true-deru @mirandabarma @illuminiscentboba @tetsuskei @threadbaresweater @krystalgaia @petriquors @ktsumu @moonbeamwritings @ohtokki

[actualbird]

Hi Zak!! This is a pretty random ask but i was just wondering if you have any tips for starting a fanfic/story? I just keep getting stuck on how to start one (I really love your work/blog 🙏 feeds my tot brain rot fr!!)

hi anon, im glad you like the stuff i make ;w; !!! and ohhh, sure i got tons of tips for that!.....so many that i actually wish i cld get u back here to ask what specifically about starting a story u'd want tips on but for now, i'll go for a general overview :D!!

cuz....to me (i.e. based on my writing process, which i'll be drawing heavily from for these tips), the act of Starting comes in three distinct steps, one after the other:

Idea Generation (what is the story gonna be about and how do i get ideas for that?)

Concept Organization/Outlining (how is the story going to be about this idea and how will i be executing it?)

Creation (GAH, HOW PUT WORDS ON PAGE!?!?!?)

so i'll give general tips for all three!!!

-

Idea Generation Tips

(this is the step that i personally have the least trouble with because my brain makes 5 new ideas every day. it's kinda a curse now because it leads to me having too many wips and concepts and only 1% of them gets to the Creation period jhvjhVJKSHFVHJS BUT ANYHOO, TIPS-)

Check Out Prompt Lists (super fun and easy way to get an idea! theres tons of story and fic prompts out there that you can search up here on tumblr, some of them being lists of lines of dialog or lists of AUs or scenarios. even if you dont follow a prompt exactly, they can be great at kickstarting ur brain into thinking of something related that you Do wanna pursue)

Open/Ask For Prompt Requests (if ur brain doesnt have any ideas, u can ask around and see if anyone ELSE has ideas theyre alright with you writing! my tot fics "reviews for Time's Antiquities, South Stellis | Average Rating: 4.8 Stars" and "but little do we know, the stars welcome him with open arms" were both inspired by anon asks i got!! to those anons who sent those asks, i owe u my life....but yea, maybe other people can give ideas to you! or, again, give Something that can inspire another thing in ur brain to take shape)

Just Ramble With A Friend (SO MANY OF MY FIC IDEAS started because i was just goofing off and playing idea volleyball with fandom buddies in our DMs (shoutout to sam samsspambox, z lukevonhagen, and beck beckthebeetle for being the main culprits of this). like, what started out as a joke conversation eventually makes go "oh no wait i actually wanna see that as a fic" and then boom, Idea Has Been Acquired. but fr, talking with another person makes your brain create things u never thought about before. it's both tons of fun to chat with a buddy as a sounding board, and it yields awesome concepts for stories!)

For Fanfic Specifically, Think About What You Want To See In Canon But Hasn't Happened And You Want It So Bad It's Driving You NUTS (this can be anything from missing scenes you wish were expanded on, scenes you wish went a different way, character relationships you wish you could see more of in canon, go nuts! the fun thing with fanfic is that it's a fertile playground for all the what-ifs, and a lot of my fics' ideas were simply found because i thought "man i know tears of themis is never gonna show me deep found fam moments/artem ptsd consequences after main story 6.2/mariluke, so imma make it myself" JHVSJDHF. ideas are hard to make sometimes, but brains are so good at desiring things. and all those desires? those can also be Ideas for a fic!)

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Concept Organization/Outlining

(very much skippable if your writing style/personality is more receptive to free-wheeling!! im just the type of writer who always needs an outline to begin something. it helps me structure a raw idea with no shape into something clearer that i can envision a story for)

Outline A Rough Chain Of Events Chronologically (this can be as simple as three bullet points, what happens at the Start of the story, the Middle, and the End. or maybe you can go list down the portions of your fic according to the Freytag's Pyramid Plot Structure: Exposition, Inciting Incident, Rising Action, etc etc.)

Outline A Rough List Of Stuff You Just Want To Happen In The Fic (if your brain is like mine and isnt too great at chronological thinking, make a list of just all the plot points and events or even dialog exchanges u Want to see in the fic. you can organize it in the order u want later once uve put everything down)

Outline The Themes (moving away from plot, many stories are more focused on feelings or characterization or themes. so make a list of the Concepts you want to tackle. this is something i do for my fics that are more introspective, so i outline shit like "EVENT THAT MAKES LUKE INTERNALIZE SELF-LOATHING followed by EVENT THAT MAKES LUKE'S VIEW BE NOTICED BY ANOTHER CHARACTER")

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Creation

(the worst part of writing....is the writing JAVFJVSDKHFDJHJ but nah fr this is the part i have the hardest time with, so here are tips that help me kickstart the word engine)

You Dont Have To Start Writing The Fic From The Beginning Of Its Story, Start Writing Wherever (confession: a good 75% of my fics are ones where the first scene i actually wrote down was not the start. instead, i just wrote the scene i was most excited to write. and usually thats somewhere in the middle! i do this cuz it makes my brain happy, and a happy brain is much easier to pull words from than a sad brain. plus, when i see the scene I Like Best already written, it gives me motivation to do the rest of the fic because oh my god i want everybody to sEE THIS ONE DANG SCENE!!! start writing the fic at whatever point you want, in whatever order comes most naturally to you, is my point. you can fill the rest in later, but hey, starting to write where you Want has gotten you Started. now you just gotta finish, and finishing when you already have something down is much easier than starting from 0)

Set Tiny Wordcount Goals. And When I Say Tiny, I MEAN TINY!!! (writing is intimidating but if you set a goal of say, 100 words written for a wip per day, at the end of one week, you'll have 700 words. at the end of two, you'll have 1400 words. at the end of a month, 3000. small goals help since it makes you do Something, and that Something will inevitably compound, no matter what goal uve set. and let urself be proud of the goals uve achieved!!! writer brain gets happy when you tell it it's done a good job at reaching a wordcount goal, and like i said earlier, happy brain is much easier to work with than sad brain)

Give Yourself All The Time You Need (i know this sounds counterproductive but sometimes....the best thing you can do for the part of your brain that wants to start creating....is waiting til it's ready. dont pressure yourself, cuz brain will get sad. dont be too hard on yourself, cuz brain will get sad. start when you want to start in the way that works best with your brain and see where things go, but be patient with yourself. sometims Starting is actually the longest part of writing a story and thats fine. it will happen. trust)

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thats all the tips ive got! and of course, what will work for me wont always work for other people, so please feel free to take what you think applies to you and discard what doesnt resonate.

i hope some part of this can help! happy writing :D

[cyberdragoninfinity]

Oh I think I saw the post u meam and (u can delete/ignore this is its too far from the point and shit) the "The only yusei I like is a depressed one" is so. Idk? Harsh? Hes allowed to ve happy and still be written well, he doesnt need to be shoved onto other peoples sins when the series already has him doing that. He can have an implied decently peaceful life until death. Sometimes! You do so much and oull so much weight that you become something intangible and divine to someone whos never met but still thinks of u! And sometimes its one guy and sometimes its them and the last remnants of the human race out of a desperate love for both!

Idk, just let yusei be like, not suffering 24/7, they forbid him from even entering the WGRP for fun bc ig thats bad to so many characters, let him have a scrap

YEAH. YEAH. god ive been thinkin about this all day, this is so good anon you get it you're Logged In you see the Intent of it all...

again like. if the 'z-one isnt yusei' thing isnt someone's favorite narrative choice, whatever, thats your journey, but every time i see this "well he was ACTUALLY supposed to be yusei from the future for real!!!!" rumormongering i want to groan into my hands, it just feels like this desperate grasping at straws because they really wanted Sick and Twisted Evil Yusei Real and then when that didn't happen they had to make up some grand production conspiracy instead of just taking the "welp, cant win 'em all" with this one and acknowledging that's just not the story the 5D's writers wanted to tell.

i LIKE a good protagonist corruption/evil!protag AU, they're really fun, but you're so right, this sort of Insistence I see when people are like "no, it was GOING to be true, z-one WAS dark and depressed and hopeless future yusei," i just cant wrap my head around it. there's just this sort of miserable harshness to it that i'm not personally very into. (in general i cant really vibe with this idea of "i need my favorite character to constantly be suffering." just really not my thing, ESPECIALLY WITH YUGIOH CHARACTERS??) (also. like. we already did have that. with jaden. and honestly yuma also is fucking Suffering too. it's cool seeing a different spin on things. idfk!!)

i just want to like. grab people really gungho about this thing by the shoulders and ask "why do you want a Yusei who willfully betrays and gets his friends killed SO BADLY? why do you want to see a Yusei who hurts people THIS much?" I feel like it would have just been so jarring and unearned. it doesn't feel like Yusei even in his darkest hours (which imo is part of why Z-one is such an interesting character to me--the concept of someone who thinks if they can wear a fabled hero like a pelt, if he can Become them, then that will fix everything, then They can fix everything. that's so fascinating and fucked up to me!!!! i love thinking about it!!!)

this idea that in the far future Yusei's become this sort of folk hero, this "something intangible and divine" like you said, just from saving the world and doing good and helping people, that's just SO neat and has so much merit and is worth discussing!! and it's unfortunate that you have a Not Insignificant amount of people who just wont even consider the potential narrative weight in it, who are so sore Their Trope of Choice wasn't canon theyre out here weaving madeup production stories to back up their personal disappointment. just. idk. you can give the 5D's writers a lot of rightful flak for stuff in s2, but i do very much think there was great intent from the beginning to have z-one be Just Some Guy who's rotting in a body that isnt his own, and to have him reflect yusei in ways without Actually Just Being Him.

[dualityvn]

hi im currently hyperfixating on these two and i had a question-

how would they feel about an author!mc? but specifically one that just asks them a bunch of random questions for their stories (assuming they dont mine, otherwise they would stop asking skchekcn)

like, Keith just gets a random text at 2am like "WHAT ARE FLOWERS THAT INDICATE ILL OMEN OR BAD INTENT" (i like foreshadowing with flowers and other little things 😊)

Tenebris gets "can you hold a car up with one hand or is it too hard to balance since theyre pretty big" (i like writing super powered characters and a lot of them have super strength ok i want to know how it works)

also as a bonus: what if MC was just casually (jokingly) talking about murder and how to get away with it (theyre a writer ok they need to know these things) in front of the boys? would they just kinda nod along and laugh? would they propose other options too (totally not from experience or anything)? or maybe something else fviehxnj

i love these two so much and want to give both of them hugs and kisses

- 🖋️🐺

Honestly, they'd be happy to help and give you answers. As for the more murderous ones. Well, you can get a whole lot of tips out of Keith if you know what to ask. He might not be the more violent one, but he's definitely good at getting away with things.

They will gladly return the hugs and kisses.

[opal-owl-flight]

alright i know it a bit off topic to what you are doing right now. but is angst really necessary for a character. all it does it make me feel so horrible for them. just saying

This is tumblr, the rule for this is to block me/the angst arc tags and move on. If you are who I think you are, Im going to take the step myself for both our sakes.

This is my story. Youre not obligated to read it, youre not obligated to keep up. If the content upsets you, you dont force the writer to change the story they want to write. You leave for the sake of your emotional state. I wont take offense to that as we all have our tolerance for upsetting topics/stories. (God knows I have my own.)

As for angst being necessary?

Have you seen the shit these characters go through in canon?

You can make the argument for everything being cartoon violence but DO REMEMBER that Hal Labs themself has made final bosses scream in pain while youre in the process of giving them a soul-smashing beatdown. And in the case of True Arena for Mags -- you can hear him begging for help in the bg as you fight. (Epilogue also has a lot of angst. Fucks sake one of Mags' "taunt" animations has him crying.)

Im not exactly adding angst where there isnt. It is simply an extension of canon.

Or do you speak of my more painful arcs, like False Paradise or Back to Zero?

Again, they are simply extensions (in my interp) of whats given in canon. I take the canon stuff seriously in my writing, thats just how I do. Those events have lasting effects on the characters. You cant say someone gets possessed and theyre all hunky dory the next time you see em. Wasnt Dedede implied -- no. Straight up SAID by Hal --- to have had trauma from Fecto Forgo? So for my way of writing things, Whos to say the others didnt as well?

In terms of the relationships for those two arcs. (+Nova Incident too what the hell.) Magolor wasnt the best person. He still isnt, sometimes. Healing from what hes done while he was lashing out, for all parties involved, is not going to be smooth sailing. Sometimes things start to look up but and then go nasty in the middle. Thats just the way things are.

BtZ's basis is touching on how puppy love/crushes tend to die the longer you know a person. You find things you dont like about the fellow you admired. And that breaks them apart. Its very fortunate in rhe end of this arc though that both parties see their mistakes/flaws and learn to accept and grow with them, and thats why they got back together.

Angst makes good payoff.

And about excessive angst? Thats subjective. And I always resolve them in the end. (Hell, even Legacy has a good ending now...mostly bc I nuked it after the rewrites). Im not really good with ending things badly, so my stuff always wraps up on a happy note. (I should probably post more of the fluff stuff tbh, but its impact is heavily reduced without the angstier context.)

Tldr, in my interp/writing style, angst is indeed necessary for the character. One, a lot of it is already canon anyway. Two, this is my way of exploring/extending the character and their themes (Mags leans heavy on trust and forgiveness). Three, all of this makes for more satisfying closure/payoff.

[gibbycat]

saw an anon ask on @/zilodaks blog that asked for advice on how to write ai characters. as someone who is drawn to and likes analyzing these types of characters, i offer some advice below (read more; note there are discussions of portal characters that aren't spoiler-free so be wary):

for the sake of making myself clear, i'm going to use GLADoS and wheatley from the Portal series since they're a) very familiar to people and b) they're relatively easy to understand character-wise. i'm only going to discuss them as it pertains to the points i'm making. i encourage you to research some popular ai characters and take the time to deconstruct their character to figure out why and how they work (you can also figure out why they're popular too!). with that out of the way, let's get into it.

when i interact with ai characters, i've noticed that most (if not all) share three things in common that makes them compelling to people:

their original purpose (why they were created)

the "rules" they must follow (which, to me, is their motivation)

a development of sentience

purpose

all ai are created with a purpose in mind. if you look into some popular ai, most of them were originally developed to fulfill some need/want that their creator wanted to see fulfilled. they can be simple, such as running simple equations, or complex such as overseeing an entire community of people. GLADoS and wheatley are similar in that they're both personality cores, little spheres of ai that are noted for their ability to express emotions. but they serve different purposes.

in GLADoS' case, she was created to oversee and maintain the enrichment center on behalf of aperture science. wheatley, on the other hand, was made with the sole purpose of inhibiting GLADoS' intelligence so that she is easier for the scientists to manage.

when creating an ai character, it helps to figure out what they are originally created for (as well as *who* created them) to get a good start on fleshing them out. which brings me to my next point:

2. "rules"

ai are machines first and foremost, programmed by their creators to fulfill a purpose. as a result, theyre bound to a set of "rules" within their programming that helps to fulfill their purpose in an efficient and successful way. as the central core of the center, GLADoS (and later wheatley) have a strong desire to conduct tests and maintain the center to the best of their ability. since GLADoS was intentionally created for this purpose, the center has a clean look and smooth operation under her guidance.

wheatley, however, does a terrible job which is (primarily) because of his original purpose as an "intelligence dampening sphere". as a result, the center becomes messy and rocky in terms of operation. though GLADoS and wheatley are both personality cores, their differences in their purpose and "rules" overall dictate the condition of the center beneath them.

after deciding on the ai character's purpose, you can then move onto figuring out the "rules" included in their programming since that can influence their behavior. to me, the main rule that GLADoS must follow is the rule of "maintain the testing facility and continue testing on behalf of aperture science". she does follow this rule faithfully to a t, even if she has the habit of harming the test subjects involved. which brings me to my last point:

3. the issue of sentience and morality

a lot of popular ai characters have some level of sentience to them. sentience, in layman's terms, is the base level of consciousness that allows organisms to feel things and recognize that feeling. in my opinion, a lot of sci-fi writers and creators play with sentience in ai characters because it makes them more compelling/interesting to their audience (giving human traits to nonhuman beings). this also allows them to explore the potential consequences of allowing ai to gain sentience.

with GLADoS, wheatley, and others within the enrichment center, they all have some level of sentience that allows them to experience pain and emotions. to me, this makes them more approachable to the audience since they aren't unfamiliar (the use of human traits makes them more palatable).

but at the end of the day, ai will fall back on logic/reason in order to solve all potential problems. inevitably this often leads into morally grey territory where they may cause harm in the pursuit of fulfilling their goals. even a "good" ai may be so tightly bound by the "rules" that it pushes them towards harming humans in order to adhere to them (a famous example of this is HAL 9000).

both GLADoS and wheatley have done actions that have harmed chell, even though wheatley was the friendlier one towards her throughout the portal 2 campaign (though it is mentioned in portal 2 that him dropping chell into the pit was an accident).

keep in mind that an ai gaining sentience does not mean that they will develop a good moral character. again, ai are machines and will act according to what is programmed in them. while that doesn't mean it's impossible for them to change, they are incredibly resistant towards it.

a good way to tackle ai characters in this regard is to decide on two things:

whether they gain sentience (and if it evolves into a more "human-like" consciousness)

what they do as a result of sentience

these questions are broad because there isn't an exact answer i can give. there are many ai characters across the spectrum of "good" and "evil", with a good amount of them falling in the morally grey area. to me, the matter of sentience is fully dependent on their purpose for creation and the circumstances surrounding it. similar to how humans raise children, ai are molded by their creators into what makes them unique.

ai, as a concept, is a fun one to explore. but it can be difficult to figure out where to even start since they come in so many shapes and forms (literally). to summarize, consider the following factors when writing an ai character:

research some popular ai, take some time to deconstruct their character and figure out why they work within the narrative. as much as research sucks, you can't make an ai from scratch without some background knowledge.

once you do the research, you can then:

figure out their purpose: who created them, and what they were created for

figure out the "rules" they follow. this can relate to their purpose or, if they are sentient enough, can be a honor code that they adhere to.

determine the level of sentience that the character has, and what they do with that.

[my-castles-crumbling]

hey, cas

so, i kind of wanted to rant a bit, but theres a few things in here i know could get people riled up so honestly im a little nervous sharing this. i also want to preface it by saying that i am NOT hating on any fics i name here, they are just well-known examples and fics that the fandom hold close

as a fic writer myself, i love adding my own little headcanons to characters. sometimes theyre hcs ive seen from someone else and loved, and other times ive thought of them myself. in the latter case, ill often then see that someone else thought of it too, which is really cool!

but then there comes the hcs that people see and think "oh! thats from x fic!" for example, if you bring up dyslexic remus to most marauders fans, theyre gonna talk about atyd. ive never read the fic myself, its not my taste, but ive heard a lot of things about it and it does honestly sound like a great fic so genuinely no hate towards it. but i hc remus as dyslexic and i did so before learning that atyd has dyslexic remus, and any time i consider putting that hc into one of my fics all i can think about is that people will see it and talk about atyd. maybe theyll say i was copying or stole the idea. maybe theyll compare the two and decide the way i depict it isnt as good. maybe ill end up accidentally using a similar or the same thing for remus to have aiding him, for example a spell or something one of his friends do, and ill be told im plagiarising, and i absolutely hate that.

another example is best friends brother. its such a well known fic in the fandom that anyone who writes anything similar is going to be compared to it. or crimson rivers; anyone who writes a hunger games au (even if its not even remotely similar to cr) is going to be told theyre trying to copy. i love both bfb and cr but i wish people could accept that two writers can have the same idea without copying or trying to recreate/steal it

one of my current ongoing fics has the same central trope as another big fic in the fandom (i dont want to reveal which, because i dont want to risk being de-anoned) and i went out of my way to avoid reading the big fandom fic until ive finished writing my own because im so terrified that if theres even a single vague similarity i might get called out and told im copying

i want to say im just being paranoid, but i cant. i hate that the fandom has come to the point where authors have to bring something out that absolutely noone has ever done before ever just so that they dont get told theyve taken the idea from someone else. even if they had, its perfectly normal and fine to be inspired by an idea to make it your own! obviously actual plagiarism is not okay and should be called out, but theres a difference between plagiarism and just having a similar idea or hc

going back to my original point (because this was where my frustrations with this started) i hate that dyslexic remus will always be seen as an atyd thing, when it isnt. again, no hate to the fic or the author, this isnt an attack on them at all, its just unfortunate that the fandom has kind of taken it so much as canon that anything will always be compared to it, if that makes sense?

tldr: let me have dyslexic remus without telling me im copying atyd! let me have him use magic or have his friends do little things to help him without telling me i stole it from atyd!

sorry about that cas haha, i realise its a bit long. it just really really frustrates me to no end, yknow?

Hi!

Yes, I can definitely see what you're saying. I think if something is inspired by another fic (i.e. you read CR and then you're like...oh, I wanna write a Hunger Games AU) it's good to give credit where it's due by saying "inspired by x." But in a fandom with thousands of fics, the same ideas are bound to come up even without having read other fics. If people accuse you of copying and you genuinely haven't, I would just let them yell. People are always going to have negative things to say, you know?

[420technoblazeit]

sorry im like two days late but-

wtf do you mean by "bc once u hit like hte third or fourth season the brainrot becomes terminal" should i be scared....

(also when i opened this ask my computer srsly started lagggingand im blaming it all on you.)

sorry ahead of time for the essay im posting here lmao

ok so if you ask anyone what the best supernatural season is there's like a 99% chance theyre going to say season 4 or 5. this is largely because prior to season 4 spn can be subsituted with like. basically any other supernatural show. it follows the same general worldbuilding conventions of vampires, ghosts, werewolves, etc etc. the demons are there too but kind of sparingly so in this sense it hasn't really separated itself from your run of the mill semi-spooky supernatural show yet

but season 4 is where spn really starts to come into its own as a distinctive show with the introduction of the angels and the plot to free lucifer from hell. before this it's kind of dipped its toes into religious aspects but the show also makde it very clear before this that there's no certainty that heaven exists and even lucifer is seen by the demons as a figure that may or may not be real. some of them believe in him, some don't. but by the fourth season all these elements are brought to the forefront of the plot. all the foreshadowing of the previous seasons and hints to something more get their payoff in season 4, basically. it helps that this season was filmed right after the writer's strike and they came up with some really creative ideas for the show during that time

like don't get me wrong the previous seasons are really good. the thing is that season 1 is largely standalone eps with a little bit of continuation in sam and dean's search for the yellow-eyed demon that killed their mom. it's mostly sam focused but other than character establishment and some interesting monsters there's nothing there that'll really blow your socks off. season 2 builds on that a little bit by giving sam some really interesting plotlines and a bigger overarching plot. at this point theyre also starting to establish things like the crossroads demons and reapers, beings that might not be in other shows and end up being really important to the identity of the show as a whole. the side characters are more interesting and everything in general seems to be more connected with each other. season 3 mixes it up a little by giving dean more of a spotlight and being almost entirely plot focused. that season was cut short because of the writers strike so you kind of hit the ground running and don't stop until the very end

but season 4 is where spn really hits their stride because not only does it have a lot of character focus on both dean and sam, but you're also bringing in the divine elements of the angels and roping the demons in as stronger, more serious threats as they start actively targeting the winchesters and working towards a common goal. the stakes are higher here because the cost is literally lucifer being freed from hell. in short the power scaling changes in a really big way, leading to sam and dean doing more and more drastic things and the writers do a really good job in making the conflict feel much bigger than it previously had while also giving the characters to fight back

[malka-lisitsa]

Can you speak on writing a character you're unsure anyone will write with? I have a lot of work to put into my muse, but I'm anxious they won't be well liked.

Hi nonnie! I absolutely can!

First and foremost? You should be writing for YOU AND YOUR MUSE.

Those two things are the MOST important part of rping! You don't pick a muse (usually) For someone else you pick them bc you love them, you pick them for you! (picking up a muse for someone else is also valid but not the point of this particular ask.)

I will tell you that writing an OC/AU/ of muse that isnt particularly well liked can be hard to get interactions or visibility for- there are elitist corners of the rpc that just will not even look in an oc's direction unless they are perfectly canon compliant yadda yadda-

But youre not here for them, youre here for YOU AND YOUR MUSE!

The rpc is also full of people who would LOVE to rp with ANYONE!! A lot of positive people who will be happy to build you up and help you further develop your muse with you!

It might be hard getting them off the ground for sure, I had a LOT of trouble getting off the ground because of who I play- BUT do NOT GIVE UP. DO NOT GET DISCOURAGED. There are people who want to write with your muse! And not every person that doesnt want to means you or your muse are not "worthy"

Sometimes theres just no real good way to get two muses to interact without EXTENSIVE AU plotting. Thats no ones fault and thats ok! You AND your muse are MORE than worthy, and have every right to be here. You WILL find your partners to write with. Doesn't matter if its a small group or hundreds of followers. Whats important is the writing, and your muse. As long as you have both? Well then youve already accomplished your biggest goals! GO OUT THERE AND TRAUMATIZE THEM LIKE THE REST OF US DO <3

AND DONT BE AFRAID TO SHOOT YOUR SHOT. See a big name rper? Tumblr royalty? Follow them. Do it. If they dont follow back THATS OK! It's ok theyre not interested, and sometimes that has zero to even do the the character or writing! Some muns just need a very specific curation of their dash! THats not on you and thats ok!! but now you KNOW! You cant know unless you try and you might be REALLY surprised the people you can get a follow back from. Its like a rush of adrenalin to see someone you idolize follow back or even first!

But again, not getting a follow back has nothing to do with you or your muses worth. So if you dont get a follow back? Shrug it off! Keep following keep shooting your shot! Some of the most amazing writers I have the pleasure of knowing came from blogs that were not that well known.

But the most important part of this is dont. give. up. No matter how slow it is, keep going. Everyone starts somewhere, you'll find your group and I promise youll have some incredibly rewarding threads you never even dreamed of.

Who knows, in ten moths you could be tumblr royalty too, never know if you don't try.

[agent-cupcake]

Hey, another fanfic writer here—I saw ur recent post regarding lack of interest, and I have a few things I’d like to share that would hopefully help you since I’ve felt, and to an extent STILL feel the way you do about the topic of only really getting attention for fics of other more popular fandoms while the ones your proud of are just… 20 likes, as you said.

Apologies for the unasked advice, I come from a place of complete empathy since I’ve been there again and again to where I’d write a shit one off for a fic and it would get more traction then the stuff I actually put work into—like “wow you guys prefer some garbage written fluff of x character but this fic, which i have poured a LOT into, isn’t really acknowledged?” and unfortunately, there’s really no way of getting past that feeling beyond just completely removing yourself from the concept of being praised/putting importance in other people’s thoughts.

Genuinely I have not felt better than now when I post fics because I completely disregard people’s opinions—both good and bad, whether it be praise or mild hate—whatever is said, I feel nothing. This has fostered to the extent where I get annoyed when I get excessive likes for a fic because I find the notifs annoying. It’s a sad reality, but as writers (or creatives in general) it’s a detriment to consider others, especially when YOU, a painfully, undoubtedly SKILLED writer whose unpaid.

Seriously, not to give you the sloppy or whatever, but you’re fucking GOOD. And not to be the “hehe im a hardass and hard to impress!” but genuinely, reading your fics just makes me “😨” BECAUSE THEYRE SO GOOD?? HOW ARE THEY NOT PUBLISHED WORKS?? HOW ARE YOU ONLY GETTING 200 NOTES?? And it pains me to read that you’re deeply effected by the lack of traction you get, because I understand, but you must understand your worth isn’t defined by degens online who want a good smut or just a person who wants to read any content made of a niche character :(

Yadiyadia, long story short: You’re good (REALLY good) and I STRONGLY advise you learn to completely detach yourself from the want for praise and learn to create merely because you enjoy it, because in the end, all that matters is that YOURE happy and you, as the unpaid and sinfully underrated fanfic writer, enjoy the process.

I was being whiny and pathetic last night I don't like the way I came off so first off, I thank you for sending this, and thank all of the people who responded to my complaining with such kindness and understanding. There are so many wonderful people who have followed and interacted with me throughout the years. It's really unfair when I get depressive to be whiny about interaction when I have proof that so many people are willing to read 20k+ word fics. That's, what, over an hour out of their lives? Regardless if they comment or interact beyond that, it's something I'm way too willing to take for granted. I do apologize for speaking in a way that devalues what a blessing all of you are. When I'm upset I have a tendency to speak in a way that plays on guilt or sympathy way too much and, combined with my poor communication skills, I really do not like the way I came off especially since the people who reached out are the same ones who have been supporting me to begin with. It's poor behavior and I should be more mindful. Really, truly, thank you so much for offering your kindness and support, it really does mean a lot to me.

This is good advice and you're right that it's something I should keep in mind. Perspective is the name of the game unless you want to suffer. For the most part, I really do try to think this way. You know, create for the sake it of, enjoy what you do, all of that. To clarify, a little bit, the feelings behind my rambling last night, I view creation as an inherently interactive process. I have an idea and try to figure out how best to express that idea so I can share it with the reader who can then interpret and respond to that idea. The reader can tell me if I properly expressed that idea, or if I failed. That's why even something as small as "this was hot lol" is meaningful is because it's somebody telling me that I was successful with expressing my idea . But if this is how I feel about content creation, the only conclusion I'm able to draw from saying I don't care about feedback is to never post anything at all. I can't be "good" in a bubble. There's nothing to be learned, or understood, or measured if I am the only audience for myself. I write and share stories to express ideas to others because I genuinely think I have something to offer other people. Sure, it's often an appeal to sexuality or ridiculous levels of heightened emotion for the sake of titillation, but there's a lot of evidence of just how valuable people deem content like that. If somebody is willing to read a 20k+ word fic, I would like to know why. What I was whining about more than anything was a lack of interaction rather than traction. I don't expect to be wildly popular with reader insert, but it irks me that people would be more willing to demand I post more content (such as with the HxH stuff) than they would to show their appreciation for content I've already put up and they've consumed. Now that I'm not in that state of mind, I can acknowledge that this was a childish view to take that could very well not even be true on top of weird framing of holding my fics hostage for the sake of attention.

Anyway, I'm sorry that was an objectively bad take and I'll blame being sad and tired. I truly thank everybody who has responded kindly and with a reminder to focus on what actually matters (degeneracy and thirsting). I apologize again for putting people in that position it was pretty lame of me.

[that-irrelevant-ricecakeaddict]

Silent Cry (An Over-Analysis)

This is so random but here's an over-analysis of my favourite song from Stray Kids lol Writer's note: Silent Cry was one of, if not the FIRST Stray Kids song I ever listened to, even before I became a Stay. It really stood out to me because the melody felt familiar despite my having not listened to it before. Take note that at that time, I was struggling with my mental health a lot; family conflicts going on, suddenly being outcasted by my friend group for reasons unknown, stress from a new school year, nearly crippling social anxiety, and just the hopelessness of having to fend for myself. The title itself immediately spoke to me, and the lyrics hit really hard, because it was as if the song itself was there to listen to my troubles (lol no shit, rui, its in the lyrics) Anyways here's my analysis on the song lyrics :)

Verse 1:

"You, *pretending to be unaffected, just like that*

(You) are smiling but I can hear it in your words

You always say "I'm okay" but I can see everything

How your heart sobs when you're alone"

-the listener's putting up an act even though they're/she's/he's hurting on the inside for (insert reason), and skz sees it, and they're the only ones who are able to read the listener's body language. they're the only ones who notice and care about what the listener, despite saying theyre /he's/she's ok, is really going through

"After turning off the lights in your quiet room

You, who used to smile brightly, are slowly dying

In this empty space, with nobody inside of it

Sometimes only your long sighs can be heard at night

How your heart sobs when you're alone"

-whenever the listener is alone, they're/he's/she's relieved that there isn't anyone they/she/he have(has) to put up an act in front of, but then they'll/she'll/he'll feel both depressed AND lonely

-the listener is tired and exhausted from always not speaking out their/his/her true feelings in front of others and never being able to be themselves, but at the same time they're/he's/she's terrified of voluntarily letting anyone else see how vulnerable he/she.they are

-thus the listener only feels safe to cry/show their/his/her true feelings when they're/she's/he's alone, but the loneliness makes it so much harder to bear

(the listener is constantly putting their/his/her everything into maintaining a happy exterior, so when they're/he's/she's finally alone, they/she/he break down from overwhelming fatigue)

Pre-chorus:

"In reality, your eyes are dry, ayy

I can't find an oasis in your heart

You're still wandering, ayy

I take one step closer, ooh"

-the listener has cried until they/she/he have no more tears left to shed

-said 'oasis' metaphorically refers to 'a spot of life within an inhospitable environment'

-skz can see how unwilling the listener's will to live is, even though the listener is putting up a good act to hide their/his/her sadness from others

Chorus:

"I'll listen to your silent cry

So that you don't get tired in a lost corner of your heart

Through the cracks in the door of that poorly closed space called 'you'

There is a silent cry that only I can hear

The silent cry that you've been hiding for a while"

-skz is offering to take on the burden of the listener's sadness, so that the listener wouldn't have to suffer alone

-'poorly closed space' - refers to how obvious skz thinks the listener's struggles and sadness is, and how skz doesn't want the listener to hide it from them

- 'silent cry that only I can hear' - skz is the only one able to sense and "hear" the listener's cry for help

Refrain:

"You can show your tears that you've been quietly hiding

To me woah, woah, woah

Ooh, woah, woah, woah

Can I listen to your familiar self-talk too?

Don't be the only one hurting

Give me your silent cry, ooh, woah"

-skz is telling the listener that its okay to cry around them, because they not only offer to listen to the listener's cries for help, but they WANT to listen

-skz wants to listen to the listener's frustrations, thoughts and sadness, because skz doesn't want the listener to feel alone and sad at the same time

Verse 2:

"I'll cry with you

Stop holding it in, let it go, go, go

When you lose strength, I'll hold you (I'll)

Just lean on me, 'cause I won't let you go"

-skz doesn't want the listener to suffer alone

-skz is asking the listener to let it all out, and that if the listener's cries get too uncontrollable to tolerate, skz promises to keep him/her/them in check

-skz wants the listener to know that they'll always be there to back the listener up if they/he/she ever need(s) a listening ear or someone to talk to

"I don't think it's easy to just hold it in

There are many times when you can't even do so

If you don't feel like it, then why do you smile?

I'll say "It's okay" to you"

-skz is telling the listener that she/he/they won't be able to hide their sadness forever, and that it would be better to let it out whenever they need to so that the listener's emotions won't accumulate and inevitably break him/her/them

-skz wants to share the listener's sorrows, and wants the listener to be able to freely show his/her/their emotions, because its only human to show emotions

Bridge:

"When it rains in your heart

I'll take you with me

Don't hang in there, I'll open my umbrella

It seems too difficult to stop the overflowing tears

The rainwater wells up, the rainwater wells up, everything is complicated"

-skz promises to always be there when the listener feels down, hopeless or lonely

-the 'umbrella' refers to skz being a safe place for the listener to go to when it 'rains' in the listener's heart (when the listener is being pessimistic, etc)

-skz doesn't want the listener to walk in the 'rain' (listener's sadness), so they open an 'umbrella' for the listener instead

-skz can tell when it gets too much for the listener, and they're telling the listener that it's okay if it gets overwhelming every now and then

"The dark shadow behind your bright appearance

Can be shown to me, don't hide it from me"

-skz doesn't want the listener to keep any of his/her/their thoughts and feelings a secret from them

- 'dark shadow' - listener's true emotions

- 'bright appearance' - listener's exterior (cover-up for their/her/his struggling on the inside)

Anyways I hope this analysis was able to make a few parts clearer for anyone :)))) the lyrics itself may have made its meaning so obvious, but the fact that its so simple and can have way deeper meanings really intrigued me



[maschotch]

Hotch, Morgan and Emily were really good unit chief's because IMO they are competent at their job, empathetic and have integrity. Their actions are louder than their words. Hotch knows his team, he protects them as much as he can, tries to help them as much as he can, and does it constantly. Same with Morgan and Emily in different ways. Then for a brief moment the writers were like "JJ's gonna be the unit chief" and I was like WTF? IMO she doesn't display those qualities and it shows how easy she can be controlled, you know?

Do the writers even like JJ?

I still think those episodes are a dream.

yeah i think the three of them all have the components of being a good leader. but that’s not the end-all be-all of the position. it’s a bureaucratic, political position, which i dont think sits right with any of them. i think morgan would do the best in that regard (bad at the paperwork tho :/ ), but it’s a weak point for both hotch and emily. they’re good at playing the game, they just hate it. emily’s too defiant, hotch has too many authority issues, and theyre both far too stubborn to be obedient little bureau dogs. not that morgan doesnt hate it, i just think he’s infinitely better at hiding it when he actually tries. emily cant be bothered to try half the time and hotch’s patience wanes quickly

ANYWAY. all that to say. i dont actually mind the concept of jj as unit chief. akdhksdj i dont think she’d do well as a leader necessarily—it’d be better if the team was able to work independently, a well oiled machine that’s not reliant on the skills she’s lacking. but i think it’d be fun to see her play the political game. i think she’d learn quickly and tbh as a hot blonde she could probably get away with a lot. and i think it would be an attempt to save her character development: retroactively framing the narrative around her transition from liaison to profiler to unit chief. (i wish she came back as section chief in season 7—that wouldve been so much more interesting than making her a profiler, especially since she’s repeatedly stated that she’s not suited for their job. it would be neat to have someone behind the scenes to give them official help when they need it, plus it means we would see her a lot less lol. i also think her outfits in lauren and when she’s in rossi’s office give strong strauss vibes)

. i forgot what we were talking ab lol

[1800duckhotline]

can you talk more about eden and karminas dynamic? Theyre so interesting!! (Maybe also connie if you want to include her?)

thank u for asking bc i think about them soooooo much. They're kind of my pookies but they also are stupid in an endearing sense.

Karmina and Eden's dynamic is founded in the fact that they are both immortal beings. Karmina, being a lich by nature (shocker! i know! i'll have to design her lich form eventually, my current lore for her is that in mondoverse lich are a Thing but they are also supernatural beyond the explainable. anyways she used to go by koschei the deathless as russian folklore would have called her), has lived far longer than Eden has (he became immortal sometime in the late 19th century), but this is exactly what granted their first meeting.

He came across Karmina after he shedded his identity, when he used to present as a man to not run into troubles for being a lesbian. The idea I have is that this happened not long after he became Eden as we know him, so likely very first decade of the 20th century (1900-1910 ish). They met at a ball, full of aristocrats, nobles, and the like, he as a little baron of his own (playing off the fact he masterfully spun the narrative that his old identity tragically died) while Karmina was at that point in time playing the part of a Russian aristocrat looking to move away from her centuries-long stay within the Russian country (which wasn't called that back then, this is to give you an idea). Their first meeting back then was a bit strange because Eden was still in the very first years of grappling with his newfound inhumanity of sorts and was at the apex of his hedonism, but felt himself drawn to her, especially because of the gaze and the way she carried herself. Karmina found equal interest in Eden, but found his mannerisms too bold for her tastes - thus their interaction didn't go beyond exchanging subtle flirting quips.

Despite this Eden from then on found himself thinking about her. He is thoroughly allergic to any kind of romantic commitment, but you could very well say it was like a cupid's arrow struck him in that moment though he ignored it because he, on the basis that he caught a hunch of her being immortal too, was probably mostly excited of having found someone similar to him.

They met again in the 1970s. This is when Eden was at the apex of his acting career, long after he moved from the UK to Seattle. He lived in there but mostly worked in Hollywood as a result, and lo and behold, Karmina was around as well - however she was at the time pursuing a different kind of career entirely, that being of book publishing. With years he yearned to be able to specifically found a publishing house focused on creating and republishing for the contemporary audience folklore fairytales he so much loved, though she had to start from somewhere, and that somewhere was being a writer. At the time Karmina mostly ghost-wrote autobiographies for celebrities at the time in order to make a name for herself. So by circumstance while Eden was filming a movie, they crossed paths again.

From then on it's all a game of push and pull for them, especially since Karmina and he got more acquainted and she discovered of his dirty little secret one night as he called her for help with taking care of a Little Problem he found himself in. which I don't wanna elaborate too much on if I ever finish that comic I started with them... anyways the thing is that he is kind of subtly obsessed with her, while Karmina also is very interested but likes playing coy and hard to get. Eden isn't fully aware of her nature as a lich, though he knows she is immortal like him, which He Is Really Into.

They formally start Dating in the eyes of the public in the 80s, mostly also to boost both of their publicity and partly also because if eden had to be seen being romantic with someone, he'd rather it be her, even if he does have a lot of hook up even while he's dating her but Karmina doesn't care that he does bc personally she knows she has him wrapped tightly around her pinky finger. He can bang whoever he wants but he'll always be back and crawl towards her if he wants affection lmao... THIS MAKES IT SOUND BAD but I promise this is a bit funny and p much consensual on both ends.

The way Connie enters the picture is quite funny because Connie is basically a taxi driver who Karmina hired as her personal chauffeur, for some time during the 90s while she was working in NYC, where Connie is located. Karmina finds Connie professional but also extremely attractive both in terms of physique and personality, which for some reason makes Eden tremendously jealous to a stupid degree. Karmina doesn't think it's that deep, neither does Connie, but Karmina finds Edens jealousy sooooo funny and kind of cute. So they are a kind of weird throuple because Eden is jealous also bc he's Very Attracted to Connie but will never admit it like. Ever.

sorry I got insane I HOPE THIS EXPLAINS THINGS.