#this is usually how i go about making my own character's backstories as well tbh

[ralofofriverwoods]

For the ask game: Pinewatch and Cistern

Pinewatch: If you could rewrite the backstory of any character, who would it be? What would it be?

Hmmm this is a hard one! Usually I don't mess much with existing character backstories, but it would have been nice to be expanded upon would be Irileth+ balgruuf's, and how they became friends, as well as whatever the fuck ulfric was doing before he shouted the high king to bits. I have a feeling I wouldn't actually change much of those though

One that id actually change would be gelebor and his brother's story. It seems weird that his brother would become a vampire, assuming they never left the forgotten vale. The only thing that the entire region has to do with vampires is that auriel's bow is there, and that's practically an antithesis to a vampire's existence! And it also doesn't make sense that gelebor and his bro are the ONLY live snow elves left, and the rest became falmer.

So id change pretty much everything about the forgotten vale, inhabitant wise.

Firstly, id alter what areas have falmer. The caves and stuff could definitely still have em and be believable, since iirc they're connected to Skyrim(or at least close enough), but the open areas(like the place with the dragons) should still have 'uncorrupted' snow elves. Sure it may not be a metropolis, but it would be like a small town in Skyrim at least. Like rorikstead and karthwasten combined, perhaps.

Second, I'd have to connect how vampires happen. As we know there's really only one way in canon to get vampirism straight from the source, which is molag bal, but I think that's stupid and I don't like him so I added sanguine as another way. That being said I think it would actually come from some vampire travelers. Gelebor welcomes you to the forgotten vale pretty easily, even if you've collected daedric artifacts like pokemon cards, so it would be safe to assume they either don't check very far for daedric influence, or they kind of just don't give a shit. Either way, I think this is how vampirism was introduced.

Some adventurers made a journey to the forgotten vale, possibly hearing about some ancient treasure or boon from auriel, and met a knight paladin that welcomed them, and didn't notice a vampire in the group(or that they were all vampires, either works). From there everything was normal, but a vampire decided to have a snack one night, and accidentally(or on purpose) infected someone with vampirism.

This could lead to either a split between vampire Snow elves+non vamp snow elves, or a small circle that simply collect power under everyone's noses. This could go on for generations, until gelebor and his brother eventually became fully fledged knight paladins, at which point they would be split just like in the base game, but with more people backing them up on either side.

Of course you could then choose between these mini factions as the dragonborn, depending on what side of the quest you are playing. If playing on the vamp hunting side, you'd be able to turn a few vampires back, who would then become followers, and vice versa. If you wanted you could even have the brothers be convinced to join the other side with persuasion or intimidation, depending if you wanted to be more or less angsty. You'd need a high score in either to do that though, at least lvl 80 speech.

This would also fix the sad reality in the game, that the only snow elf that yet lives(and isn't falmer) was gelebor, who killed his own brother for somehow becoming a vampire. I think it would be much more narratively appealing to have both 'uncorrupted' snow elves and 'corrupted' falmer exist at the same time, in big enough numbers to each have their own societies. It would open up a good opportunity for the falmer+snow elves to make an allied debut back into the world at large in a future game as well!tes6

Cistern: Which Guild Hall is your favorite? Why?

Unmodded id have to say sky haven temple. It has very pretty architecture, and though I haven't seen it past where you're supposed to kill paarthurnax(because I'm not killing peepaw partysnax >:( ) it's still very pretty. This may change when I actually progress that story line, but ATM it's not half bad. The finished thieves guild and dark brotherhood aren't too shabby either, though the tortured people in the dark brotherhood take a solid 3 points away from the atmosphere.

Overall I like all of them so it's hard to pick favorites, but as I'm still not used to seeing sky haven much, they've deffo got my vote.

Modded would have to be the thieves guild with the opulent thieves guild mod. From just the screenshots alone that shit is killer in the best way. Much warmer and more welcoming(at least for a cistern)

[lakesparkles]

MORE MR PEANUTBUTTER!! Can you tell I like him?? The worst part is that it's all very new art, I drew all of this in... 3 days? Idk

So, this one is very self indulgent. I wanted to explore his relationships with some characters in my AU (the one he dates both Diane and Guy, it all happens after the finale of the show). One of the reasons I love creating this AU (I even just finished writing a fanfic about it!!) is so I can develop PB more.

If you want an explanation about his relationships, it'll be under the cut!

Bojack: they spend way more time together now that they live together in California - PB has two houses, so he travels there to Houston all the time. His relationship with Bojack… Is improving, just like showed in the doodles. Some people even mistake them as a old married couple, but nah, they didn't even kiss once. Maybe once. Bojack doesn't want to talk about it. One day, years later, Mr Peanutbutter will make peace with his own sexuality, look back and realize that things make way more sense now.

Guy: talking about his sexuality, Guy plays a big role on it. I created a whole backstory for him, but it's a story for another day. He's way more comfortable about being bi than PB is - who is now having a lot of questions: "what if he's wrong about it?"; "what if he's too old for that?"; "what if all media reacts very badly about it?" It's a little easier when he's not alone. Their personalities go very well together and, other than that, PB is having the time of his life having a husband now <3 Guy usually calls him "dog" and PB isn't sure if he thinks it's cute or the opposite.

Pickles: I have a lot of thoughts about Pickles tbh. Some of her scenes made me think that she seemed so lonely. Years after dating and breaking up with PB, she realized that their relationship… Was kinda messed up, yes. But she was never angry, even being happy seeing how different his life is right now. When she meets PB again and finds out that, not only he felt guilty during all the time they dated, but also *still feels that way*, she thinks it's a little funny. She has a good life now, he didn't ruin anyone like he thought he did. They end up in good terms and message each other often enough.

Diane: PB calls her his "ex ex wife"! Coming back together has been a nostalgia trip for them and this comes with a bunch of complicated feelings. What makes all different is exactly what Diane herself said in the show: "if they met as the people they are now, things would be totally different". And they surely are different now, even more after spending so many years apart. But different doesn't mean perfect, this they would never be. They still have a couple of fights out of nowhere that Guy is confused about. What changes is that it's, in fact, better. And now they have hope. And they're enjoying finding out once again why they were in love in the first place. It's such an old feeling that they were tricked into believing it's new~

[cheekinpermission]

Happy 500 followers!!

How about 1 and 10 for the ask game?

Thank you for you participation, anon! Ask game is here! Send them in if you want <3

1. Who's hand did you first grab? Why? Would you choose someone else if you could do it over again?

I grabbed Idia's hand! When I first got into TWST, I had absolutely no clue what I was getting into so I really just went based on which voice actors I recognized LOL. I know Kōki Uchiyama from a ton of different anime (JJK, Buddy Daddies, Haikyuu, BNHA, Yuri on Ice, etc.) so I just went with his character. While Idia doesn't crack the top 5 for me, I don't think I'd choose again. The only reason I would is if it impacted the story somehow but I really doubt it will. I'm COMITTED.

10. Top five favorite characters?

Grim occupies all top five spots. BUT since that's boring, so I'll limit my choices to the main cast lmao. (My love for the dire beast is PROFOUND) I got VERY wordy here so here's the short answer: 1. Riddle Rosehearts

2. Vil Schoenheit

3. Malleus Draconia

4. Ruggie Bucchi

5. Kalim Al-Asim Explanation below the cut! (I got very excited to talk about my favorites and wrote a lot so I figured I'd condense it for people who didn't want to scroll through it all lol whoopsies.)

1. Riddle Rosehearts - I have no explanation for this?? He's pretty much the opposite of my usual favorite characters so idk what happened here. I've always been drawn to the Alice in Wonderland aesthetic so maybe that has something to do with it? He's got such great character writing, too?? Everything about his personality just makes sense when you know his backstory. When we learn that Riddle's tyrant of a mother was strict and controlling over him, the pieces just seem to fall into place. His whole life was just following her rules and studying like a good little boy, and when he stepped out of line even a little bit he was reprimanded harshly for it. Of course, he's going to the exact same thing once he's in a position of power. It's all he knows. He's just another version of his mother. Not only does he uphold the tradition of punishing rule breakers rather severely as he was when he was younger, I think there's also an element of fear there as well. Like, his mother just instilled an innate fear of breaking rules because bad things would happen if he didn't follow them exactly. I really do see Riddle as a scared little boy who is suddenly realizing that he was set up for failure by his own mother. And THEN he makes an honest effort to improve himself post-overblot?? His transformation after the fact is one of the more obvious ones and I'm just so proud of him. A THOUSAND HEAD PATS!! Okay, I'll stop rambling about him lmao I love Riddle sm (Also want to make clear I'm not saying Riddle was right for anything he did, only that I appreciate how his character was handled. Added for legal purposes so people don't come after me :c ) 2. Vil Schoenheit - This one comes as no surprise to me. Pretty boys who challenge gender stereotypes are RIGHT up my alley. Like Riddle, I think Vil has some great character writing is one of the more complex characters in the game. He just feels so compassionate to me?? I don't know how to explain it - he just gives such nurturing vibes. I'd trust this man with my drink at a bar fr fr. And then he tells Epel off for saying ballet is too "girly" for him?? Thank you TWST for bringing me this man. I pray at the altar of Vil Schoenheit. 3. Malleus Draconia - Doesn't Malleus top everyone's lists LOL I think my favoritism for the dragon man is more to do with his relationship with Yuu than anything else tbh. He's like one of three characters that actively engages with the main character and I think they've got such a fun relationship. Two people who feel very alone in the world finding friendship (or something more for you malleyuu shippers) in each other is so beautiful. I'm glad they can be there for each other like that. Side note: I adore romantic Malleyuu for sure, but I think it's equally as endearing if all of Malleus's flirtatious lines were never meant to be romantic but he's just really bad at communicating his feelings in a platonic way. Like, he doesn't mean to flirt he's just socially inept. 4. Ruggie Bucchi - Gremlin hyena boy is just too good for words. Ngl, I started off not really liking Ruggie all that much because of what he did in the Savanaclaw book. My mans was basically shoving people down flights of stairs?? I'm not really sure where the turn around happened tbh. Mischievous personality types do tend to draw me in in fiction so that probably has a lot to do with it. I also felt really bad for him at the end of the Savanaclaw book when Leona was ready to Thanos him out of existence despite everything Ruggie had done for him (and continues to do for him). I appreciate his work ethic, I can respect the hustle, and he's got such a cute little laugh. I wanna pet those big ole ears of his. Leona - pay this man more smh 5. Kalim Al-Asim - SUNSHINE BOY!!

He's such a breath of fresh air in this game LMAO. As much as I love the fact that most of the cast are unapologetically flawed, it's nice to have a few characters that are genuinely good people. His VA (Kazuki Furuta) absolutely kills it imo. I can hear his laugh in my head as I'm typing this - it's just so warm and happy :D He also breaks the sterotype of most rich characters in media by just being a nice person? He's not evil or greedy (although naive and entitled) and he just wants to be bffs with Jamil. Break his heart Jamil and we're gonna have WORDS. Also just like FORGAVE JAMIL??? His bfffl yeeted him across the desert, brainwashed him and admitted to wanting to get him kicked from the school and Kalim didn't really hold it against him. He was so understanding and sweet about everything AHHHHH

[awrkive]

hi dee! this is gonna be such a long message and i hope u read the entirety when you got time ♥️ english is not my first language so im sorry if this is not exactly cohesive.

ive been reading ffs since since 2017 and i really feel u came right out of the 2017-2020 era of bts x reader fanfic community bcs the way u write makes me reminisce about those times. idk if this is just me being picky, but i feel like fics nowadays are focusing too much on the smutty parts instead of actually building a world around their characters. and i dont usually mind smut or pwp fics, i enjoy them time to time. but the problem with it is that it's honestly all i ever see now, esp with jungkook fics.

it feels like no one really wants to write a proper fanfic anymore? some of my fave x reader authors before here are gukyi, vankoya, btsmeetsweevil, kpopfanfictrash, fortunexkookie, prolixitae and many more that i cant really name anymore – all of which have deactivated or inactive now – and one thing about them was that as much as they wrote smut, there was actually more to their stories.

and that is honestly what i feel about your writing. its so simple but so profound in a way? like its so easily digestible but the simplicity of it does not exactly equate to plainness? i feel like the trend of writing pwp is to gain more traction (which was also a trend back then, but not to the point of overpowering) but i love that you dont exactly succumb to that and instead take time to build the world of ur characters in such a way that makes me feel so connected to them.

i just LOVEE how u create these backstory for ur main leads. like with nb, we are witnessing two strangers getting along with each other slowly but surely, and with tlp, we are witnessing two best friends navigating a crucial point in their lives relating to romance between them. and the YEARNING, the LONGING, and just the TENSION that you make me feel with those? its just so incredibly insane. the giddiness of it all – you dont get that from fics who just go straight right into sex.

and i know its just fanfiction and its not supposed to be that deep, but tbh fanfic is just as much of a form of art as other "published books" – esp when theyre written so well like yours.

i apologize if this is coming off as a rant at this point. i think im just frustrated with the lack of creativity im seeing nowadays with bts fanfics all over tumblr thru ao3, and ig im just frustrated that i cant bring back the golden era of 2017-2019 (or 2020 if u will) anymore for fanfics. but thank you so much for reviving that feeling for me♥️ i also know youre busy with college and all that, and im really really greatful you lend time to share ur writing with us all for free ♥️ i really adore your talent!! i hope u write for a long time ♥️♥️

- 🌱

this has been sitting on my inbox for the past three days and ive honestly just been rereading and rereading this over and over again because im so incredibly touched?

i agree that 2017-2020 was the best era for x reader bts ff esp 2018. writers were really putting in the work, and i just love how you mentioned all those lovely people. miss guyi (gukyi), miss ivory (vankoya), and miss lu (prolixitae) were some of my favorite blogs here EVER and they wrote some of the best fanfics in my life that i still read over and over again up to this time. they were literally a few of my inspo to also write fanfic on my own – and im so glad u think that my writing can make u feel like the way u do when u read theirs, bcs that means a whole lot to me!!

the bts fanfic community has truly changed for the past few years. prob cos the fandom has grown bigger overtime and things will just never be the same as they were before. its a huge factor that the great ff writers before are busy with their adult lives now and even if i myself am not really that much into reading ffs anymore these days, i still believe we'll pick up being better on the oncoming years!!

and lastly ur english is great and thank you so Freaking MUCH for sending this in. i truly am so moved and touched by this message 🥹 i hope u are having a great day wherever u are 🌱 anon!!

[stitching-in-time]

Voyager rewatch s5 ep15: Dark Frontier

Ughhhh two hours of Borg crap. Ngl, this one was a struggle, I kept falling asleep and couldn't make it through in one go. It's not even bad, per se, it's just kind of... blah? I wanted them to explore Seven's trauma more, but I just don't feel like this did it very well, nor that it handled the Borg very well either.

Whenever they try to delve into Borg stuff, they always end up making them less formidable and mysterious and scary, and it makes them a lot less effective as villains. The Borg Queen in particular I think is the concept that does the most damage in that regard. Much of the Borg's horror lies in that they're a big, anonymous, faceless monolith that can't be negotiated with or connected with on an individual level. Giving the Borg a human face that thinks and acts as an individual is much less scary, and trying to make her seductive is even worse. It was the one element I disliked in the otherwise very good First Contact movie, though at the very least, Alice Krige had an aura of menace that made her seem more formidable than Susanna Thompson on Voyager. She's just too soft-spoken and serene, and having already seen her without makeup in that DS9 episode, it makes it harder to see her as the character when we already know what she really looks like.

Speaking of makeup, there were several close ups where the seams in her makeup on her chest where her suit is supposed to attach were clearly visible, and it was really distracting. Voyager isn't even remastered, so it isn't even high definition, so that's a pretty glaring faux pas for the makeup department, who are usually amazing. Maybe they were pressed for time, but still.

Most of the visual effects were fine, the ships and space battles and stuff were great, as usual, but the scene recreating the Borg queen getting put into her suit was just kind of like, why? Obviously a TV episode doesn't have the money and time that the movie had, so why recreate something we've already seen on the big screen? It's never gonna be as sophistocated, and it's gonna make anything they do on the show look clunky and amateur by comparison, and it did. On it's own, if the movie didn't exist, it would have been a perfectly ok effect, but comparing it to the movie, it just looks cheap, which it surely wasn't. (And it's not like everyone who watches Voyager hasn't also seen First Contact, c'mon.) Just seems like a waste of resources.

But my biggest problem was just the story and treatment of the characters themselves. Janeway seemed very out of character- she was acting like an emotionally constipated macho guy rather than the usual heart-on-her-sleeve Janeway we know and love. They had her being all weirdly obsessed with Seven, and it's just like, why?? Janeway would go out of her way to rescue any member of her crew, they don't need to make her weird and passive-agressive about it. Feels like a room full of male writers transfering their obsession with Seven onto her tbh.

Then the whole deal with asking Seven to read her parents old logs, like, are you kidding?? She's the last person they would have or should have asked to do that! You're really going to ask someone to delve into the greatest trauma of their whole life during an important mission?? And then when it affects her exactly as any idiot would expect, they act surprised?? Nobody's that clueless, come on.

While it was interesting to get more backstory with Seven's (frankly awful) parents, there were a lot of odd little plot holes. Why did everyone assume her parents died?? The Borg assimilate people, why would anyone think they weren't assimilated?? And if they're all connected to the Borg hive mind, how could Seven be surprised that her dad was still a drone if the whole collective's thoughts were one? And why didn't they try to take him with them when they rescued Seven? If it's so easy to disconnect drones from the collective and rehabilate them back to being human again, couldn't they have tried? Since he was an adult, it should be even easier than it was for Seven. But having an ex-Borg character who isn't a hot blode chick who looks like a Barbie doll wouldn't be as much fun for all the dudes, I guess. To say nothing of the incredibly ugly messiness of Seven confronting her dad for his horrifically reckless parenting that led to her life being stolen from her. Honestly I would actually like to see what Seven and her father would have to say to each other, and how they would deal with each other after their experiences, but that's an entire can of worms that nobody on that writing staff actually would have had interest in. Seven is there to be eye candy, not to be meaningfully confronting family trauma. (But hot damn I would pay to see that story! They could have killed him off after a few episodes, I just think it would have been way more interesting than what we got.)

And then all the dumb stuff with the Borg queen wanting Seven back, and how she wanted her to be disconnected to get experience with individuality. What?? Every single drone in that collective had been an individual before they were assimilated, so Borg Queen has all the knowledge she needs in that regard, unless she's admitting that assimilating knowldege doesn't work and that the Borg are fundamentally flawed, which I don't think a Borg would do. Also, the Borg Queen has individualty herself, so why does she need anybody to explain it to her? (Although I don't know what keeps her so in love with Borg-ness when she has individual will and thoughts- why wouldn't she just be like 'fuck this, being Borg sucks, I'm leaving??' Also seems kinda antithetical that the collective needs an individual to control them. But like I said, the Borg Queen is just a bad concept to begin with, and the more Borg lore they invent, the more they fail as a concept and cease to be formidable as villains.

Overall I just didn't like all the plotholes that raised too many questions that went unanswered, nor the weird vibe of Janeway and the Borg Queen fighting over Seven like they're divorced parents fighting over a kid, or like macho jerky guys fighting over a hot girl. Also didn't like that the whole crew was just like 'well, I guess Seven decided to rejoin the Borg! Oh well!' after she'd been part of the crew for over a year. I have to believe that after that time they'd have grown attached to her on some level, and would feel at least slightly skeptical that she'd go back so easily. I don't even like Seven that much, but I really did like when they actually had her make friends and bond with members of the crew. I hate when they had her be rude and mean and fight with everyone, because then it just felt like, well, why should we care about her? Why does she even want to stay if she hates everyone and everything about Voyager? They started forming those connections with her at first, and then the writers just abruptly turned in the other direction for the hell of it. It makes the show worse to have a main character who hates everyone else, who everyone hates in return. And it just doesn't make sense when they all have to live and work together at close quarters for all this time that she wouldn't make friends with at least some of the crew.

And then we have another instance of shaving off more years from their journey- if they shaved 15 years off with the transwarp conduit here, after the 10 from Kes, the 10 from the slipstream, I think 5 from Q at some point, aren't they down to like, 35-30 years by now? They're halfway home at this point. Which is still a long time, but it's within their lifetimes now that they'll get back. It's not as dire as it was before, but they still act like it's just as desperate after this, even though it's kinda not.

Even the little character bits that are usually nice felt off here- Chakotay says that Janeway always fiddles with her combadge when she's about to drop big news- but she's never done that even once in any episode in the entire series up till now. And then another scene where they have Tom say he's glad they blew up the Borg ship and that it was doing the drones who died a favor (he's not wrong fyi), just to have Seven walk in and act like he's being insensitive toward the Borg. What was the purpose of that? Does Seven still think she had a great life as a Borg? Does she really not understand why people would rather die than live as Borg, even now? It just seemed to be there to make Tom look like a jerk for no reason. And then Janeway yells at B'Elanna for reading Seven's logs after they think she's returned to the Borg for good, but if she hadn't, they might not have figured out how to adapt the Borg tech to Voyager, and it's not like Seven didn't do the exact same thing without so much as a peep from Janeway. Seven literally hacked into Janeway's personal logs and read them that one time, but we never saw her get in trouble for it, and she certainly wouldn't have been sorry, so what's the difference if B'Elanna does the same thing to her? I guess Seven always gets to do things the rest of the crew doesn't, because she's the writers Janeway's special pet Borg, or something.

Tl;dr: A big Borg episode that somehow managed to make the Borg seem less formidable and scary. I still don't feel like Seven's character gained any more depth, or that we learned anything more about her, despite the story focusing on her and Janeway almost exclusively. Janeway was sadly mischaracterized though. Kind of a disappointment overall.

[leastdatablebracket]

QUARTER FINALS, MATCH 3

Propaganda under the cut! (tw rape)

Laito Sakamaki

Propaganda

I really could've picked any of the boys from that series really but this dude literally keeps referring to the MC as little bitch. Also, asshole wears a fedora. The fact he made the most datable poll astounds me

He's not a nice man with Yui (the protagonist) and even do some deplorable things with her when she SAYS she doesn't want to. He has a sobbing backstory and uses that to do whatever he wants. He should go to a psychiatrist. In jail.

He is a rapist! In both the anime and the games, he sexually harasses Yui. I can't remember if it was more explicit in the games, but there was a cutaway scene in the church Yui grew up in where he forces himself on her. Like the other vampire brothers, he enjoys causing her pain and suffering, and he particularly likes playing mind games with her along with his usual shit. Canonically, Yui is just the last girl in a very, very long line of "sacrificial brides" who the brothers all ended up killing in one way or another. Laito may look and act like a teenager, but he's an immortal vampire and he knows what he's doing.

This man repeatedly assaults the protagonist (Yui) because he wants to "taint" her. At first he only strips her and touches her only laughing when she says no because "well what a perverted woman, why aren't you being honest with yourself" and it's implied that he rapes her. There's a scene where Yui contemplate suicide (keep in mind she's religious and try to keep her faith even while abused so it's a big deal) because she can't take it anymore, and then Laito shows up in her bath and makes her harm herself. He humiliates her in public. He's just horrible. His excuse is that his mother abused him and he convinced himself he liked it and he loved her. At the end of his route Yui is totally broken in my opinion, convinced she is tainted now and losing her faith in god. Granted he isn't the worst of his brothers but this man is definitely undatable. While he softens in later games, this man is horrible.

Peter King

Propaganda

Oh I could go ON AND ON but here’s a list: He’s a stalker, he showed up late to a date HE REQUESTED, he killed either your landlord, roommate, or coworker (depending on route) and stuck them in a freezer, lied to the police about it, followed by a car ride either consisting of traumadumping about his family (valid tbh) or him talking about how much he wants to fuck your brains out, then you finding a bloody knife in his glove compartment, asking about it, and him smashing your head into the window to shut you up while he takes you to his house. He is The Worse Datable, as well as The Only Datable because well…he killed the others…and kidnapped you….

FUCK THIS DUDE!!! Country Human looking-ass bitch, I want him dead and obliterated

Many violence, Yandere behavior, cut your leg off in a semi-canon series of illustrations, smashed your head into the passenger side window of his creepy van, chloroformed you in your own house, brought you flowers that were probably tainted with his own blood, given context from another route. Generally a terrible person. Also just very strange to look at :/

He knows what he did….😒

He broke into Y/N’s house and chloroformed them. Generally a really creepy and perverted guy. TK is better :/

Send that man to Worst Datable Hell! Put him in the trash file (he’s a pseudo-sentient AI, similar to Monika, so this threat is valid)! He sometimes looks like a kicked puppy when talking to you, but with your small contributions, we can make him look even more like a kicked puppy! Vote Peter King for Worst Datable Datable Character today! Bonus: Funny canon facts about him! - He can’t swim - He’s allergic to peanuts - He has to wear glasses, but usually wears contacts - He had an emo/goth phase in high school - He’s a YouTuber; he does product reviews - He has very strong mother issues (understandably) - He will respond to and greatly enjoy the nickname “Cockbite” (there are many other names he enjoys, but this one’s the funniest to me)

[bunny-hoodlum]

#20, 33, 34, and 35 please!!

Sorry this is late! Wanted to think about my answers more, but I forgot to even read the original questions this whole time, so I def' didn't get to think about my answers, whups. 😅

Thank you for ask, @dayseternal-blog!! 🥰

How do you approach action sequences or intense moments?

I haven't written anything action, it makes me cringe because I don't think I know what I'm doing, but I read that short sentences are best for this and I would agree. Choppy, curt sentences would give that sense of blow for blow feeling that action needs, and it would give the sense of it happening seconds of each other, or even simultaneously. I would probably look for an action scene to copy tbh, and try to write the choreography in a choppy way. Emotionally intense moments can be the same, I suppose. Idk what I do personally, I think I'm an Intuitive writer. Once I'm in the emotion of the scene or character, I just go for it and my heart beats really fast usually and it's wrenching and it's awesome and then it just exists and it feels right. (Until I reread it a month or so later. 🙈 Jk, time isn't the problem, my inconsistent headspace is. 🤭)

How do you incorporate world-building elements into your fics?

So, at this point and as you know, I'm veryyyyy comfortable writing my modern AUs as if they were based in Japan. Even though I don't think Konoha could feasibly be as big as Tokyo with the size of Hi no Kuni, I just write it as if it is. 😅 I pull from the real world to some extent, usually Uzushio is a mix of Okinawa and Taiwan, but I also have some AU where it's pretty damn impoverished, so it's going to be a mix of Macau and Haiti. Sometimes Suna is a mix of Macau and Vegas, haha. I guess Dubai and Macau would probably be more... unique. 🤔 I focus on food and architecture more than deeper things like politics and style of governance and whatnot, because my characters only experience those things passively as ordinary citizens do. Whenever I get back to Powerless, the shady secret government program plotline will actually matter more than Slice of Life stuff, so in that instance I will have to map out history, organizations and their affiliations, how secret programs are run, etc. It just depends on what my story needs. Usually backstory kind of comes to me on its own and that informs me of the world. Can't really think of anything else. 🤔 Making things familiar is the main aim every time, though. Dango to a Japanese is like sugar-cinnamon pretzels to us in the US or whatever, it's a familiar snack you can get pretty easily. That's the kind of immersion I try to keep in mind.

Are there any fic writing tips or tricks you've learning along the way that you'd like to share?

Proofread before posting. Proofread again when you wake up the next day after posting. You'll always miss something, but give yourself the first week to catch all the typos you might've missed. 😂

I guess I recommend reading your dialogue aloud? Maybe your whole fic? My inner monologue is pretty damn loud, so I like to trust my word flow is good because I'm practically reading it aloud in my head. I recommend letting characters interrupt each other. Unless perhaps both parties are really solemn about getting to the bottom of the issue or respect each other or both, that neither interrupts the other, but their emotions would be raging to speak up in the midst of all that patience. Figure out your own writing process. If outlining sucks out the fun, try writing the whole thing without guidance but be sure to analyze the story's direction with what you produce. I recommend the flashlight method for pantsers like myself, there are other methods as well, but a little organization goes a long way. I lastly recommend the "One Stop for Writers" site, their Emotion Thesaurus is such an amazing tool. When you just need to reference things quickly, it's very robust.

What do you enjoy the most about being a fic writer?

Between the community aspect and kind of being known for certain things, I think those are pretty even. I enjoy the act of creation and all that, but having something I experienced along the way and having the pride of it being mine is pretty damn cool. And the community makes that feeling even better.

[feralyrica]

I am MELTING ON THE FLOOR over how much i love the entire Horizons cast a;dslfjk like losing ash is still. very bittersweet. but every single character in the new series is like engineered to appeal to me and it's Very Rude

(gonna go off about everyone below the cut bc i need to scream into the void for a bit)

so first off Liko?? little anxious baby, freezes up from overthinking, a DRASTIC change from past characters and a very bold choice for the like main protagonist but one that feels necessary to really differentiate this new series from the old,, then her (over)willingness to sacrifice herself (please, sweetheart, please get over that i am begging you nobody wants to see you get captured)??? and then her dynamics with all of the other characters are PERFECT, especially Nyaoha and Roy (even though they've. just met) and i can't wait to see how they develop!!

then ROY. Baby. Baby boy. Pure sunshine. I think he may be the single purest character in the entire franchise. Him and Hogator are SO CUTE (if you haven't seen the new episode yet PLEASE watch it i cried from the cuteness) and i can't wait to see how he officially joins the gang (i have. theories. but we shall see) and again, the dynamic with Liko is. absolutely beautiful a;sdflj

then FRIEDE. man. man is cocky, a bit of a himbo ("What? didn't I mention that?" SIR excuse me that was important,,,) but also intelligent enough to be a professor, i am FROTHING AT THE MOUTH for more backstory. (...plus he's pretty ok). Also i don't feel right giving him his own section in this but shout out to Cap. The power. The STANCE in that chair. The cockiness that he shares with Friede (who is? his trainer? I guess? despite deferring to him in most matters involving the ship) and that is tbh very well deserved. also i love that they gave him a distinctly different battling style to Ash's pikachu!! well done making him feel like his own unique character

the rest of the Rising Volt Tacklers (who can share a section just bc they. have not had much screentime yet) are also just. fantastic. Murdock with his cute little puppy being the biggest softest man around (and completely failing his section in the ED a;dfsjk i'm so glad they made him Incapable of Being Cool), and then Orla being just. so tired half the time (mood) and also HELLA cool, just based on vibes, and MOLLIE (and oh, I do love the theories about her being a Joy. i beg of you, GIVE ME THE BACKSTORY, POKEMON) with her smirks and glares and her angry chansey jacket just generally being a boss and the opposite of what you'd expect from a healer,,, and Ludlow who... I don't have much to say about other than that I'm side-eyeing his beard. I don't believe it's real. where is his FACE. but i'm interested to learn more about what the hell he's doing with this group a;sdfkj

and then there's THE EXPLORERS!! who are apparently notorious, for reasons that will hopefully be elaborated on. i usually love villain characters so no surprises here but I LOVE THEM,,, they're already significantly more ruthless than most past villains so that is. very very fun. Conia is very very funny with her feelings on nyaoha as;kdflj and then Zir is a little bit less developed thus far but so far he seems to be kind of the more serious of the two and i'm really excited to see how he goes from here on out!! and then AMETHIO. i may have missed something in my initial watch but i honestly assumed he was a rather short adult from his speaking style and how the others deferred to him,, but I'm now thinking meant to be like older teens? definitely older than Liko but now i'm SO CURIOUS as to how he ended up in his position here. and he is also!! so pretty!! top tier design a;sldkfj i'm just in love with the trio's dynamics and i NEED to know their goals and what they plan to do with Liko and the pendant (and. if i'm right about how the next episode is gonna go. very soon Roy and his ball will be added to that list) i am DYING of anticipation

(also that's all for the main main charas but shout out to Anne, best gremlin, Liko deserves such a chaotic friend it'll be good for her and i'm so glad they're staying in touch!!)

idk i'm just like. i'm still sad over ash and idk if that'll go away anytime soon but this new series is really, really good so far, and i'm SO glad, because if it hadn't started off strong then i am absolutely certain that people would've completely trashed it, but it's vibrant and exciting in a totally different but just as engaging way as Ash's story was and i'm just. idk i'm really happy ;w; and will probably spend too much money on merch but that's just how it goes a;lsdkfj

[noahtally-famous]

something i noticed about dave in canon is that like. part of the reason he gets attached to sky seems to be not only Because she helped him through what seemed like a panic attack but also. it doesn't seem like anyone's done that for him before?

"usually i freak out way more" this has happened before? and worse?

"sky has a surprisingly calming effect on me" <- words of a guy who does not know what it's like to have someone help you calm down

IDK. maybe im wrong but something about this was a little crazy

oh no, anon, you're def right. and it's not just a little crazy, it's VERY crazy lmaoo like no shade on the fandom bc I get it, dave isn't a well-liked character and for valid reasons, but ppl tend to forget or gloss over the questionable things he says that connects to just how shitty his childhood/current life was

but tbh td has a history of popping questionable backstory tidbits; with trent's whole thing, heather getting electrocuted by her own parents, cody's everything, mike, alejandro, duncan, courtney, the list goes on tbh, nearly everyone's got their hand in the shitty backstory jar to some degree ngl, so it kinda makes sense in a way that the fandom glosses over dave bc, like, tdpi isn't as well-watched AND it's become sort of the norm for a contestant to have a shitty backstory or part of one

but like, you're so right, anon, it's WILD, and lemme just discuss that for a sec (bc any opportunity to inspect dave under a microscope, I will never pass up)

(tw for mentions of panic attacks)

dave insinuating that he's had worse panic attacks before and that sky managed to stop him before things got too bad (which is smth not many ppl are able to do to him) def emphasizes my idea of dave's backstory that...obv it was not the best. that with the idealization of "being normal" it could be that his family just...either never got the time to or doesn't feel inclined to help him through his attacks or that he doesn't feel comfortable enough around them to allow them to do so. in schools, I feel like he's the same way--he doesn't strike me as the type to have a lot of friends, and ppl would prob tend to see him as the "weird germaphobe" which doesn't help matters at all.

and even if ppl have tried to help him before, based on his words abt sky and the implications that his attacks get worse, the 'help' from others in his past seems to have not been done sincerely, more so it was just to stop him and get it over with. there was a lack of distinct care for his well-being or just him as a person, rather just a clinical outlook to stop the panic attack. that's what I'm getting from that bit

like it brings the fact that he's had to deal with these panic attacks on his own and with only his own "calming effect" to rely on bc no one else has done it for him (and we all know how great his "calming effect" was given how badly his character deteriorated mentally). so it could be that he was so used to relying on himself, handling his attacks by himself, regardless of how bad or good that self-effect might be on his mental health, that the first person to give him that same--if not better--kind of calming effect, he latched on instantly thinking that since no one else was truly willing to be there for him in the past and present, sky helping him must be bc she cares. it's such a warped mentality that I feel, looking at it psychologically, could have stemmed from prior attachment issues and lack of proper family functioning and friendships

it's disheartening bc in the confessional right after, he looks so stunned and in awe that sky had actually calmed him down. clearly it's not smth he's used to from other ppl, so when it did happen, he reacted overly extreme and that's where things started to spiral

(going off on a tangent here, I also feel like that correlates to my own hc of dave having a distant family. he doesn't fully understand what it's like to be attached to someone, it's not smth he's used to. it's always been himself. so when sky came along, he couldn't function right, and obv I'm not blaming anyone (even though that should be a given considering I love both sky and dave as characters, but y'know, just putting that out there), it's just interesting to pick apart a character's seemingly trivial actions and words and think abt the potential underlying implications behind them)

it's why I love characters like these over the too good ones bc everything is just straightforward with those kinds, it's all laid out on the table, unless you personally make hcs to change it. don't get me wrong, I love characters from both categories, it's just that for characters like dave, it's smth totally different, there's so much going on under the surface, and personally, that's what I find interesting (maybe it's the psych minor in me rearing its head whoops 😭)

anyway, you gave me an excuse to dissect dave mentally, and I legit love dissecting characters actions/words and trying to figure their mentalities out, so tysm for this ask, anon!! (sorry for the long answer, I can get rlly into it when need be 😅)

[alexandia03]

what is ur greatest wish when it comes to an imogen-fic? do u crave imogen w friends? w dragons? w garrick? what scene do u want to see most that u haven't (or don't intend) to write?

do u want "current age" imogen or "past" imogen?

I will begin by resending my request notes (because I saw multiple people stating they had problems seeing their giftee's notes)

Long story short, anything about the marked ones and Imogen centric will make me jump up and down excitedly. I make no secret of Imogen being my favorite character (and basically my alter ego) in this entire series and I love seeing people exploring her relationship with Garrick or her friendships with other characters, especially with Bodhi and Quinn (I am not against reading about her relationship with Violet either, but tbh it is not my favorite thing in the world - but if you think you can bring something new to the table, by all means!) And if you decide to dive into her backstory and family history with the Apostasy and her sister and everything? I will probably die of happiness. I am not big on crackships and I don't particularly love seeing my pink menace coupled with anyone aside from Garrick. Although... if we are talking smut, I wouldn't mind seeing her in a threesome or fooling around with her best friends (but please not with Dain or Xaden). Friendship wise though? Go wild! Show me Imogen having a sleepover with Quinn and Bodhi, her and Dain bonding during IF maybe, Imogen and the rest of the squad going out for a drink, Imogen and her dragon being menaces to society... I really love the hc of her, Garrick, Bodhi and Xaden being childhood friends... really, I am open to anything on the platonic front! Please no OCs, I have a hard time relating to them and there are tons of characters in the FW universe to explore instead. And if you decide to tackle the dragon romances... I would absolutely love to see Glane and Chradh bonding and developing feelings of their own while watching their riders being idiots in love. Just saying. Gods, I never realized how picky I could be. Sorry. I am sure I will enjoy whatever you come up with in the end and I am SO EXCITED to see it!

What I can add to that, hmmm... Well, I surely enjoy Imrrick content (but please don't torment me with them being angsty and frustratingly dancing around each other, my thesis is torturing me enough rn and I am running around in circles enough for the entire cast of characters) and I would sell my right kidney to read more about other people's takes on her friendships/her sister/Glane. The only relationship I am not really excited about is her and Violet, really.

I think her past is heavily underrated (like little Imogen and Bodhi chasing after Garrick and Xaden and the four of them being menaces to society? Priceless), but I am very content even if such scenes are only alluded to or presented as flashbacks between scenes (after all, that is how I use them myself). So that is entirely up to you, whatever makes you more comfortable and you feel most inspired for!

Honestly, I can't talk about scenes I intend or not to write because... I am a chaotic person and I make up my mind as I go and I go into new chapters with no plan usually. And I am very much like Penelope in the sense that I am going back on my chapters to add and rewrite scenes. So don't feel constrained to that kind of stuff, really - anything is on the table!

Again, so excited about anything you decide on and my DMs are always open. I am sure I will love anything you come up with (my excitement shows in how long this post is lol)!

[clay-cuttlefish]

Out of No Man's Land, into Cry for Blood, plus a couple more comics for Renee before Officer Down next batch.

Endgame

I'm free from having to decide on context, woo!

Renee gets a promotion for how well she handled Two-Face.

The Honored Dead (Tec #742)

Renee gets partnered with Crispus Allen, who I hate infinitely less than Bullock. As far as cops go he's a pretty likeable character.

Batman/Huntress: Cry for Blood #1

YEAAAAAAH

Them! I love Helena so much, I love her and Batman's hostility, I love that Vic decides the best way to get in touch with her is to nearly get hit by her car. Iconic.

The art style's very different from the Question run, but it feels like it resonates with it somehow, and it might because they have the same colourist? I can't usually pin it down but there's a certain something about the smoke and mist. Maybe I'm drawing arbitrary connections to explain the vibes but it's the best I've got.

#2

She's SO pretty in this. Women!

I like it when Bruce is a huge bitch.

Drowning motif spotted.

Truly catastrophic "I can fix her" levels here.

#3

Extremely cute that Richard calls Vic "butterfly."

Honestly Helena is handling this extremely well, all things considered. Sure she's pissed but she's been kidnapped, that's entirely reasonable.

Wait hold on, Jackie's death gets retconned here! Somehow I missed that before, I don't know if that's on purpose or if Rucka just forgot/didn't know she died. Either way I'll take it.

#4

This is such a good telling of her backstory, it hits.

Road trip as bonding moment my beloved.

#5

Bruce hates Vic's ass so much for no reason other than because he's annoying. Fair enough.

Sorry girl you might not be part of the family but that will not stop Tim from having little brother energy.

Father-in-law behavior on Bruce's part tbh.

Renee pulls this exact same move in Lois Lane which is cute.

#6

Helena...

Can't get over Vic being described as a GQ candidate.

"When is it enough?" takes me out.

Vic taking off his mask to look her in the eye???

This is a Character Thesis Moment for both of them imo. Vic has fundamentally overlooked Helena's motives in his attempt to find solidarity - Helena knows exactly what the Huntress is here to achieve, despite her reservations and her willingness to seek balance. They're cute in JLU, but this was never going to work for them here.

Happy Birthday Two You (Tec #747)

This issue is a lot of what keeps me sold on Renee genuinely caring about Harvey's well-being, despite everything he's done and will continue to do. The tulips are pushing up against her boundaries, but Harvey didn't try to contact her directly or make it known they were from him. It's an attempt at doing an actual nice thing at a time when she's starting to slip, and clearly that matters to her enough that she's willing to take it in good faith and make an effort in kind, despite her annoyance at Bruce over it.

I just really love this issue. It's so pretty, and so grounded, and it works so well as a snapshot of Renee's life before everything gets worse for her.

Scavenger Hunt (Catwoman #83)

Mostly a Gordon-focused issue, but Renee follows him and Batman on their scavenger hunt. Not that important for her characterization but hey she's involved.

She gets more outwardly upset over Gordon being taunted by a reminder of Two-Face's trial than by being reminded of her own involvement. It's because of Gordon-centric writing, and partly that she's trying not to reveal how she's affected, but it's also reinforcing my interpretation that No Man's Land was so fucked up and traumatizing in general that she's not as angry about being kidnapped as she "should" be.

That isn't to undermine how bad being held prisoner was, it's just that everything was bad. She went directly back to work after NML despite killing people/indirectly getting people killed/seeing her friends and coworkers die/seeing so many people die/watching other cops give up even remotely pretending policing isn't about power/the general absurd trauma conga line of it all, there is some POWERFUL repression going on.

The Dark Knight Project (Batman #584)

Not a lot of Renee I just have a pet peeve: I absolutely do not buy that Batman is an urban legend by this point in his career.

I'm willing to suspend my disbelief on a lot of things but this is so silly to me because it's unnecessary - Bruce can want to avoid the spotlight as much as possible so that he's still shrouded in myth without having to pretend that people don't know he exists! Like, it can still be a matter of debate if he's one person or many, human or monstrous, what his superpowers are...

Even if I accept that Bruce is just that good at hiding, Jean-Paul got into a lot of very public shit both as Azbat and on his own and Helena is overt enough that she can get a ridiculous-but-roughly-accurate caricature in the paper. Everyone knows Gotham has vigilantes.

I do kind of vibe with the idea that Harvey's been pinned with the creation of the Bat-myth.

Superman and Batman: World's Funnest

Irrelevant, but it manages to get a tiny Vic in both a Crisis group shot and an Earth-4 panel, which is twice as much as most of the cameos I haven't been mentioning.

Measure for Measure (Batman #585)

A minor Renee appearance, but she's comfortable enough with Batman by now to call him out on his shit.

[realmythsmoved]

What caused you to start writing? What was your key point? How do you describe writing / rp to others? What is your favorite canon muse? Who is your favorite OC? How do you create an OC? What are your steps for developing an OC? FC or story first when you develop an OC? What’s something you find weird on here? What are things that you don’t wish to see on here?

I've liked writing since a young age, and I think it was my love of reading which spurred my love of writing. But for RPing, someone was looking for someone to write Luna Lovegood from Harry Potter in an RP group on a seperate site (not Tumblr) when I was like 13. Seeing as she was my favorite character, I decided to do it. I went on to RP many many more muses on other sites before moving to Tumblr.

My favorite canon muse that I RP now is a tie between Ciri, The Thirteenth Doctor, Dany, and Arya. As for favorite muses I've RPed ever, I'd also add Clara Oswald, Luna, and Cinna from The Hunger Games to the list. I might just bring Clara back one day heheh. <3

My favorite OC is super hard to choose and changes all the time but at the moment, I'd say it's a tie between Persephone, Victoria, Alex, Hope, Farryn, and Esme. Also Aphrodite, she's just fun to play for some reason. LOL.

How I create an OC varies from muse to muse. Usually I'll think of a backstory and personality for them first, and then choose a FC. But sometimes I have a vague concept and pick a FC and then further develop the muse.

I'd say I develop my OCs just through RPing them. The more I RP them, the more I get to know them as a person. And hopefully that comes across. <3

Usually story first, or at least a vague idea of one. Then FC. But it depends on the muse TBH.

I find the focus on graphics for promos and icons weird. Like no hate to anyone who enjoys making pretty promos and icons. But it shouldn't be a requirement or that important, in my opinion. I think the writing is what really matters. And everything else is extra, you know? I also find some callouts (not the serious ones) weird, in that people will put like "ships thing I dislike" or "likes character I hate" as a serious offense, almost like it's bigotry. And I find that strange as well. If someone's being offensive in how they write a muse, by all means call that out. But just someone shipping a ship or liking a character, I don't think needs to be mentioned most of the time. (Unpopular opinion, maybe? IDK. LOL)

I don't really mind most things. But I have to say, I get somewhat annoyed when there are people who spend their time in OOC posts getting upset at other people for liking XYZ thing they don't like. I get the need to rant. I get it. There are plenty of things I dislike. But I feel like as a RPC, if someone plays a muse you dislike or ships something you don't like, just do your best to ignore it. Blacklist tags, unfollow/block people as needed. But making tons of posts about it won't change other people's minds. And might upset some RP partners who don't feel the same way. So I feel like, if someone likes something you dislike, feel free to vent about it if you need to. I'm not going to tell people what to do. But maybe keep it to a minimum, if you can.

Also, any callouts that are pretty much just the same thing. Like "don't follow this person they ship XYZ thing." or "they write this muse" or "they write XYZ problematic topic". And for the last one, I get it. There are topics I won't write. But I feel like it's each RPers job to curate their own blog. And like just don't follow people who write things you don't want to, ya know? Or if you do follow, make your boundaries clear in your rules. And if someone doesn't respect those boundaries? Block them. That, to me seems a lot healthier than calling people out for writing XYZ thing that you dislike or think is wrong. Obviously, if someone writes a muse in a way that's offensive to a marginalized group or something, and they don't listen to feedback, a callout would make sense. But let's say someone writes a ship someone thinks is unhealthy, or a muse someone thinks is a bad person (depending on what that entails, etc. Like if someone's writing a bigoted muse, it might be worth looking into etc. But it really depends on the muse and their story. At least for me.), or even writes a topic that would be wrong if it was IRL. As long as that person is not forcing anyone to write XYZ with them, I don't personally see the need for a callout in that case. But this might be an unpopular opinion as well. Personally, I prefer to focus on callouts where someone is being prejudiced or disrespecting people's boundaries, etc. rather than "they wrote icky things or things I dislike." Now if someone tries to force someone else to write things they don't want to, in that case a callout would be warranted. Like if someone made me write incest or abuse or rape in a thread. Now if I agreed to write such topics that would be a different story, but since it's in my rules that I don't, due to how triggering they can be to others, I would expect that to be respected. But if someone else WANTS to write a thread about any of those topics, while I would not personally do so, I do respect their right to write about it if and only if, everyone who's writing it with them genuinely wants to explore such dark things. In my opinion, writing should be a safe place to explore everything and anything without any people being harmed. But if people are forced to write topics they don't want to, then real people are being harmed, and I would support any callouts of that nature. I hope I'm making some kind of sense. LOL. And if anyone has any questions, feel free to ask. <3

Oh, and I forgot you on the other ask, but I also get happy when I see you on my dash, @uncxntrxllable ! <3 <3 <3

[comphetkoncass]

superboy man of tomorrow 2 liveblog lets GOOOOO

obviously spoilers ahead

the cover is exactly how i feel about this guy. yes. squish him. he is pocket-sized. i will pick him up and squeeze him like a stress toy <3

every panel of kon getting hurt tbh (and for fellow kon whumpers. its a fucking FEAST.) <3 but also - that post going around that says ttk cant deflect energy, this is delightful acknowledgement of that. all my homies love when the ttk shatters like an old coke bottle.

obsessed with all the panels about him talking about trying to do this with ~style~, but also getting his ass beat and feeling like this is actually a workout. yes my child. tell me it's difficult. overcome <3

"this is what i wanted. me, on my own, against the scum of the universe" baby no

"no one is coming to save me. not clark, not tim, not cassie, not bart... not even kelex." BABY NO but also. prettiest boy in the galaxy. look at this shit.

the argument about not letting innocent people get hurt. kon you are . such a good person. i love you. u just never falter

intergalactic cloning lore!!! kon finding people who share shocking similarities with him!! i dont often like random characters but i'll admit i'm a fan of these guys. i'm even bothering to remember their names unlike how i treat most side characters (sorry. im a bad comic fan. however. there are so many fucking side characters. do you really expect me to remember everyones name who stays in a comic for less than 3 issues). anyways go pira! these guys are already bonding, i love them and want the best for them. thats right babes you take down that empire. maybe listen to kon about uhhhhhh not letting everyday civilians die in the property damage though. pls.

also there seem to be similarities with some of starfire's backstory? what is it with these alien races who want to clone, splice dna, and/or genetically alter existing races fr. kon and kory should bond over this i think.

kon has sooo much respect for his friends. i love that he keeps mentioning them :') this boy is a bonafide bff. ALSO. HAVE SOME RESPECT FOR YOUR OWN RESOURCEFULNESS HONEY... YOU GOT THIS!!!

"they think i'm just a weapon? well, if both sides are looking for a fight, they're in luck -- i'm just itching to show them what the house of el has to offer." YEAH BABY YOU ARE A PROUD PART OF THE HOUSE OF EL. YOU HAVE A FAMILY. <3 <3 <3

his dorky awkward little grin. ohhh my goddddddddddd. hes so fucking proud of himself. hes teaching them :') he thinks hes such a good role model. im going to squeeze him to death.

"i start to think about what conner kent would do AND ITS INFINITELY COOLER" YOU GO BABY. im so fucking obsessed with this. im having so much goddamn fun with this issue actually. they saw kon stans and they gave us exactly what we wanted. i feel so seen

whos ready to punch through a space fleet. me. im ready. im ready to watch you have the time of your goddamn life next issue.

overall i REALLY like this issue! i don't usually love the whole, "solo series in space" thing because it seems like an excuse to separate characters from the main cast and isolate them and make any growth happen outside of their friendships on earth, which often ends up pretty meh. however. this is fun and engaging and kon references his friends enough that i'm cautiously optimistic.

i do hope kon runs into other mainline characters at some point in this series though; anything to ground this more into main canon and make sure character development ties back to the main series.

[birgittesilverbae]

aaaaaask meme

7, 10, 18, 24, 26, 29

7. What is your deepest joy about writing?

I answered this previously, but 7 when it comes to you specifically is making you yell at me. fills me with warmth

10. Has a piece of writing ever “haunted” you? Has your own writing haunted you? What does that mean to you?

Your star wars au Shannon death makes me want to disappear (and your description of Bea's elbow stuff) asking this question has made me forget everything I've ever read tbh. I've been haunted by stuff I never finished, and I'll stumble over it and just get slapped in the face

18. Choose a passage from your writing. Tell me about the backstory of this moment. How you came up with it, how it changed from start to end. Spicy addition: Questioner provides the passage.

from tmtl ch5, rewatching ep6 for the millionth time I got stuck on the fact that Bea's had to drive out to Ronda alone and then back with Mary and sit in the knowledge that they've lost Lilith too and their family of four has been cut in half in the blink of an eye

outline/v1: The return trip with Mary. Quiet, stilted questions. Not on the same wavelength, interrupting each other and apologising because they don't know how to fill the spaces that have been left for other voices.

v2: "Would you just look at me?" // "I can't. Because I look at you and all I see is her."

v3: "You're all I have left. Shannon's dead. Lilith's dead. Mary, you're all I have left." // "I can't." Mary's voice is hoarse. "Even just sitting here– You still use her soap." It's not a question. "I sit here and I smell her and when I look at you all I can see are the fingerprints she left behind. And I'm sorry, Beatrice, but I can't fucking deal with that right now."

v4: "You're all I have left,” Beatrice continues, unable to hold her tongue now that the first stones in the dam have cracked. “Shannon's dead. Lilith's dead. Mary, you're all I have left. Look at me. Please." // "I can't." Mary's voice is hoarse. "Even just sitting here– You still use her soap." It's not a question. "I sit here and I smell her and when I look at you all I can see are the fingerprints she left behind. And I'm sorry, Beatrice, but I can't fucking deal with that right now."

24. How much prep work do you put into your stories? What does that look like for you? Do you enjoy this part or do you just want to get on with it?

it depends on the story; tmtl for each scene I had a one sentence outline for the exact emotional beats I wanted to hit, and then a paragraph outline with scene beats and callbacks, and then a bulletpoint outline to detail the exact shape of the scene. fic: nature is gonna end up with the same sort of treatment but probably less intense about it. tmau prep work has involved a shit ton of academic papers and spreadsheets. if it's not clear, I really love prep work, I haven't had as much opportunity for research work in my day-to-day lately so I've been really digging in. honestly fic: dads has been such a departure in that it's been an exercise for me in trying to do absolutely no planning

26. How do you get into your character’s head? How do you get out? Do you ever regret going in there in the first place?

I'll typically have a song assigned to a character for a specific fic and listen to that repeatedly if I'm having trouble getting into their mindset. getting out of it usually isn't that difficult, head empty brain go brr etc. but if I'm getting to stuck in something I go watch cooking videos on youtube tbh. there are a couple points I've hit where I've been writing something and had to take a step back and go 'okay, it's not good for me to be here right now I need to walk away' but I don't know that I regret those points so much as they give me more insight into myself

29. Where do you draw your inspiration? What do you do when the inspiration well runs dry?

I usually turn to my sad bangers playlist (which I've been familiarizing you with cas hehe) if I'm in the need for inspiration, and lately when I've been stuck on something I've gone and stared at @princington 's art until I'm Fixed (read: made worse (affectionate))

[laplacesdevil]

@autismrobot5 yes. Yes tou can. I am SO sorry it took this long

We'll go over Miss B first because MMMMWAAAHHH!!!!! I LVOE HER!!!! YOU DO NOT KNOW HOW MUCH SHE IS JUST SO!! OOOOOOO!!!!! All of this will be under cut because it's gonna be Lengthy. Most information can be found on their toyhou.se profiles as well! (They're in the Main Projects folder!)

Miss B is a reporter! Specifically, she broadcasts to an outer audience (technically, us), making most, if not, all drawings with her canon. She also hosts podcasts, but she prefers to be seen the most! She has fourth-wall breaking powers where she speaks to the audience! I'd like to keep her backstory a secret for now, as I'm working on it on-and-off, but I will say she's drastically different from who she was back then and WILL stuff down all negative feelings bc of it. They hate talking about their past. I. Still haven't figured out their reporter voice, but their normal speaking voice is bugs bunny. They are both bunny-adjacent.

Miss B has her own universe btw! It's a floating-in-the-void studio mixed with a penthouse. Multi-floors. Middle floor is her whole studio. There's a compartment in the studio where all folders of possible candidates to interview. Btw the folders kinda hold like an wikipedia-level amount of knowledge on those characters.

Oh yeah forgot to mention, but Miss B also has a little sidekick of sorts! His name is Frankie :3 (he/ted/hun) n he's a friend's oc! At the moment, while said friend also doesn't know Miss B backstory, Frankie is Miss B's cameraman! Also he is 2. (He's actually like. 7-10 I'm gonna be honest I don't remember.) Miss B and teds parents are on pretty good terms with each other. Miss B also cares a lot for Frankie and always makes sure ted stays behind when it's on dangerous interviews + when hun is sick. Miss B doesn't actually need a cameraman, as it knows it's always (or usually) being watched, but it appreciates the company! Think of them having a slight Sonic-n-Tails friendship

I need you to know that she was originally my fem Springtrap human design before FNAF 3 came out OK? I'm putting her old pic here. Her name was Boldenzie, if u even care...... also her red suit is inspired by old Spamton. Sorry for the gunshot. As for Miss B herself, she came to be because i thought boldenzie was pretty. and i wanted her back. she was actually gonna be a feddyverse oc (Rivals with gracie) but it wasnt workin. also she was gonna be a bit like junko from . the. the. the. the rompers. i thought it would be fun for her to be multiverse, i think bc of santana

now..... santi..... My dearly beloved.

so. Fun fact. He's been meant for MANY projects before, but I couldn't make him stick, or I couldn't figure anything for the universe he was in. His "most recent" (abt a year ago, tbh) universe, he was named Marikit Guinto, nicknamed "Calamansi"/"Kalamansi". He had a partner named Rey Basa (they/it), nicknamed "Juniper"/"Juni". Tammi's siblings were in the universe too, but like I couldn't figure out what the universe could be like, so I trashed it. Tammi's siblings are ok btw. Would love to draw them digitally some time. Santana's original design + personality were based off of vry2k gordon because he's so fucking pretty

So, how did Santana FINALLY get to stick? So you see, I had a dream where it was like fnaf roblox building mode. And then there was a pretty cute health inspector because Of Course There Was. I don't remember much abt what happened, but when I woke up, I IMMEDIATELY went to drawing him. Thats when I noticed "Hey this looks like cala". Not sure how I got to him being multiverse, tbh, but then i incorporated his past selves

anyways. to ACTUAL santana stuff.

santana is an angel. He has a true form, but he never feels quite comfortable exposing it, unless in dire situations. He was aware of his past universes, and used to answer to a being called The Almighty One, who he sees as the one who created all the universes he's been in. His backstory goes into it a bit, but basically, after so many requests of a new universe, The Almighty One offers Santana a deal of providing him a universe: record all of the universes that had been created. Santana was desperate and accepted it, and The Almighty One sends him off.

so like that was a lie btw. well. not PARTICULARLY a lie, but it's an imposible task. The Almighty One isn't even the one who creates the universes, and there's different ones created every second.

OH OH OH. WAIT IM COPY AND PASTING THIS SHIT FROM MY DISCORD MESSAGES

Anyways I think I've said this before, but part of Santana knows his task is impossible. But he doesn't want to admit it. He doesn't want to admit that all this work is for nothing. Because if it's for nothing, then what does he have left?

He tries to make himself believe it's for something. To keep going. That the promise will be kept

By the dubs. he was also lied to that he couldn't interact with others. He can! The last time he did, The Almighty One FUCKED with him. Look, I've drawn Santana a few times and he seems elegant and shit, right? I promise you he is NOT that man is emotionally constipated but he's forcing himself to stay stoic and unattached because if he lets one vulnerability he's scared he will not be able to handle it.

So, unlike Miss B, he has to record everything himself in a journal he conjures up! btw i need you to know miss b sometimes has santana conjure up accessories for their outfits smtimes.

oh this is important. santana and miss b relationship. they certainly do got sm stuff btwn them. problem is that they both have partner problems (i.e., for santana "i watched my boyfriend fucking die in front of me"). Miss B acts real sweet on Santana (she calls him Santi!) and finds him really fun and interesting! Like, wow! Another multiverse traveler! A pretty and smart one too! So fashionable!!! And there's no info on him too? Wowza... Santana, on the other hand, does enjoy Miss B's company after going so long without interaction (will not admit it) and believes she (and Frankie) are the only ones he can interact with safely. But also he pushes the both of them away because he's kinda scared otherwise. He does care for them though.

Santana and Miss B want to get close to each other, but at the same time, the two of them keep their secrets guarded HARD. they complement each other really well.

anyways here's their playlists

miss b: youtube spotify

santana: youtube spotify (missing a song </3)

btw i should note this bc i havent gotten to drawing it yet, but santana sometimes gives himself tits because he likes havin em. he's got some kind of gender going on and i want it

[stitching-in-time]

Voyager rewatch s2 ep5: Non Sequitur

This has always been one of my favorite Voyager episodes, and my favorite for Harry Kim. Everything about it is just so good.

Harry waking up back on Earth, back in his old life, as if he'd never been on Voyager, is one hell of a cold open, and the whole episode is just fascinating. First of all, Harry Kim gets pretty much the whole episode to himself. There's no other regular cast members till more than halfway through the episode, but he totally carries the story on his own. He gets to play the whole gamut of being a fish out of water, to being a romantic lead, to being an action hero, and he does it all well.

Secondly, I love whenever we get glimpses of Earth, and the character's homes and families, it fleshes out the Star Trek universe and gives us more context for who these characters are. Being able to see day to day life in 24th century San Francisco, and see what it's like for officers with desk jobs at Starfleet headquarters, is just really cool. (Side note: Harry and his girlfriend have a damn nice apartment for 20-somethings just out of college in San Francisco! I can't imagine it would be easier to find a place there then than it is now, with all the Starfleet and Federation people there. But maybe, with transporter technology, people *don't* always live near where they work anymore?? Maybe most people commute in via transporter from like, Dallas, or Buenos Aires, or wherever. It's so fascinating to think about this stuff, how future people actually live on Earth. Give me more!!)

It's very cool to go around fake San Francisco (it's so flat lol! but obviously the Paramount back lot is more affordable than location filming in a major city) as he discovers the alternate life he could have lived, which is actually pretty darn good.

The one criticism I have in this otherwise really good script is that I wish they'd have given Harry more of an internal struggle before deciding he has to go back. I think even for someone as unshakeably pure and good as Harry, being given the one thing you've wanted for months- to get back home- suddenly handed to you, wouldn't just be an immediate no. It would have been a really great dramatic moment to see the realization dawn on him that being on Voyager was where he was meant to be, that getting lost wasn't all bad because the people he met there, and experiences he had, were too valuable to throw away, even to get home. Tbh if I were Libby, I'd be pretty hurt that he was so intent on leaving me too. He could have been a little more upset at saying goodbye to her a second time. Giving more dramatic weight to how difficult it was to leave would have made his decision to go back to Voyager all the more poignant.

But aside from that, I really do like everything else about this episode. I love that the alien in this was just a nice guy sent to help him, and that there were no bad guys doing anything nefarious. These people just saw him have an accident, and they wanted to help him as much as they could. Even the way the actor was playing it was lighthearted and whimsical, and it was just good.

We get one of the better early character scenes for Tom Paris in this one too- no, really! Hear me out: The bitter alcoholic version we see in this timeline makes more sense than the devil-may-care bad boy stuff he usually gets, given his backstory. We see very clearly here that he desperately needed someone to actually care about him and believe in him again, and as soon as he has that, he immediately reverts to the heroic Tom who risks his life for someone he barely knows, yet again. He was never a bad boy, he was a sad boy who was drowning in his own guilt and self loathing, and he had no one to check him or pull him back, until Harry and the Voyager crew. Harry needed Tom's help so that he could help Tom- honestly it's Poetic Cinema. I really love these fictional space bros. (Poor Libby though, Harry clearly loves Tom more than her lol. He seemed pretty alarmed when he found out he was engaged to her, I don't think that relationship was gonna last anyway!)

Tl;dr: This one has so much good stuff going for it- we get to see starfleet hq, alternate time lines, unshakeable space bromance, and an ultimately optimistic story that says that even if the universe doesn't always give us what we want, it'll still give us what we need.