#this is unrevised

[jamethinks]

Another more subtle reason I am against the idea of a reveal is because I feel it would undermine the story.

Twilight and Yor, to varying extents, had no choice in the careers they found themselves. They were both young and scared. I'll have to dedicate another as to why exactly they made that choice but for now just note it was what felt necessary to them for their own personal goals. And the reason it felt so necessary was because of external factors, the world that they lived in stripped of them of their own autonomy.

However, through the Forgers, they are both able to regain that autonomy (as well as extend that opportunity to someone else, Anya). To me, it's less about the truth or the lie but rather an alternative reality. What if instead of becoming a spy, Twilight used his intelligence and perceptive skills to become a psychiatrist and help people overcome the pain and grief caused by the war. What if instead of becoming an assassin, Yor was able to find someone who can lift the burden of having to care for her brother and allow her to be weak and dependent (this requires more elaboration).

I don't like to think of their current lives as their truths but that idea limits their identity. It chains them down to one moment and one choice. The Forgers are just as real as Twilight and the Thorn Princess.

I don't know if anyone has seen Saiki K but this is a spoiler for the final episode (i think).

Here Saiki accidentally reveals his powers to his friends and begins to panic. Suddenly, Nendo walks up and is like "why are pressing him for truth, he's our buddy, we should trust he had a good reason to hide it and let him come clean when he is ready, if he's ever ready"

And I feel that's an important theory to apply here. In my head, when Loid and Yor get to that point they would have already developed a deep bond and trust with one another that the "truth" doesn't matter anymore. They already know the truth, they know who one another is and that is the person they love. No need to chain them down to their past but instead help them grow into their future.

No matter how hard I try I can't help but see the idea of a reveal as a regression of character and story.

[mistyheart]

THINKING ABOUT… 𝐆𝐎𝐉𝐎 𝐁𝐄𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐁𝐎𝐒𝐒

You were the assistant to a well-known magnate in Tokyo. You've seen the man on magazines, both as a big-shot business lord and as the wet dream of women all over Japan. When you decided to study business and finance, you never thought you would land an important job in a prestigious company. Sure, you had dreams and what no, but never actually thought you would be accepted as anything more than just another 9-5 office employee. But despite the great salary and the luxuries that surrounded you, the heir to the Gojo clan made it impossible to like your job. He represented everything you loathe in a man; Satoru Gojo is condescending, self-centered, a playboy, and is not ashamed to flaunt his money. He makes sure to annoy you whenever the opportunity present itself, like complaining when you bring him a coffee from his favorite café claiming that “you don’t know how to order it” knowing you use the exact words he gave you. To your experience, he’s insufferable, it’s why you don’t understand why your heart fires up when he looks at you with those majestic eyes for more than a few seconds, or why your hands get clammy at the thought of being stuck in his family private jet when you have to accompany him in a business trip. Even when you went to sleep, flashes of the white-haired man invaded your nights, dreaming about his fingers caressing your body, getting on his knees like you are a goddess worthy of being worshiped, gawking at you like he might get punished for not taking in your essence. And when you wake up at deadly hours of the morning, you might even wish it wasn’t a dream.

[myheartismadeofstars]

Never Fall, Never Rise

An AU where XL didn't ascend...but that doesn't mean everything is okay

Cults spring up convinced he's a god even though he isn't, leaving the awkward situation where his father can either anger the Heavens or the rapidly growing population of people who worship his son...(spoiler: he chooses the people)

XL ends up being constantly in danger of people trying to "prove" his divinity.

Things this story includes:

Characters all living at the same time for the fun of it (also I wanted SQX and the Xianle Trio interactions) and worldbuilding to fit

HC growing up and not dying (also finding a way to circumvent his fate and becoming immortal adjacent) (obviously he joins the baby cults for a bit before leaving)

Examinations of characters' families whether mentioned or not (including HX and FX and to a degree HC's as well)

Rivals to lovers Fengqing

XL & QYZ friendship (and salty AF QR)

HC getting what he deserves~ (he gotta work for it though)

Hualian together (like around each other, not romantically) pretty much since the Land of the Tender incident

HC living a double life since he's about 16 lol (one as Wu Ming, the loyal bodyguard and brat and the other as Lord Hua, the self made city master who everyone is afraid of)

HC using magic as a human (mostly glamours for himself and E-ming but occasionally making magical items like his dice as well)

JL is FX's legal concubine (for her own protection, he didn't want to take one) and Cuocuo gets to live and grow

No one dying unnecessarily (that doesn't mean no one suffers...)

And much more!!

However: I should warn you that this is an Omegaverse au (it wasn't supposed to be but it ended up making the most sense for ONE THING and the worldbuilding got away from me.)

[ashartstuff]

Guys if you don’t see me making creek fanart it’s not bc I’ve fallen out of obsession with them,, I’m just writing fanfic instead 🙏🙏🙏

[little-peril-stories]

“I’m not a dog you can summon to your heels at a single command, Mr. Regent.” Realizing how tightly my fists are clenched, I uncurl my fingers and draw a deep breath. “With all due respect.”

“With all due respect, my good man, that is exactly what you are.”

[leslie057]

one of the untitleds, dealers choice

hello. you got it. i love this one.

His girlfriend has sworn so many things to him recently. She won’t stop swearing to him.

Not on the eve of Going Day for his family—“going” because “moving” is too productive of a word. If they move, they take a step forward from this life and begin some kind of ceremonial procession to a new one. But, no, that’s not what this is. This is their long-awaited exile from the town they never belonged to. Never, ever belonged to. They are Hawkins’ exhibits, its satirical stars, its sins, and its shames. They are its unholy trinity, stained by their own hands. Ask almost anyone, anyone, and learn that their poverty was self-inflicted, the loss of their patriarch was self-inflicted, and so was Mom’s insanity, and so was his and so was Will’s death/nondeath. And Will’s weakness. And Will’s femininity.

Entertaining a town with your family’s voluntary patheticness is not belonging to it, so now they will go to the West Coast with a telekinetic daughter tucked under their wet brown wings. (Broken wings.)

California’s going to make everything better for all four. (His girlfriend has sworn it so, even if she is an unhappy camper. She says she won’t have anyone once he goes away.)

“You must be so warm,” she swears, her mouth’s motions making a fuzzy sensation for his skin as she sucks intermittently and leisurely on the underside of his jaw, “I know you want to swim.”

His knee bends, his arms hug her waist, and the leaves rustle beneath their blanket. He’s trying his hardest to be present for her, and not just with his body, also with his mind. For several days now, he’s been caught in this trap: this stupid, dissociative episode. Voices are quieter here, his tongue is leaden, and the air can be touched. He’s not in another dimension, but he might as well be.

Honestly? It’s some strange form of self-protection. Could be his way of taking Leaving’s bitter flavor, though he’s never coped with this method before. He doesn’t shut off, just out. I should feel any emotion besides doubt. I should feel the need to reassure this person who says she’ll miss me (or want to run away from her, alternatively). All I am is doubtful.

Far above his face, the sky invites lethargy to bleed wider and longer. It’s a warm, woolen expanse of gray, tiring him with the sadness of backlit storm clouds. Why is this place turning beautiful for him now? That needs to stop. Nancy needs to stop. (Never, ever.)

“Warm? In October?”

She relaxes with the tightness of his arms around her midsection. She likes a snug fit, and so does he. As her sweater rides up, he learns that warm in October is right. In this case, anyway; just the small slice of Nancy’s back that’s been exposed gives off the heat of a candle. Her skin could very well be shimmering with sparks right now.

Her reply is put on hold until she finishes making a hickey, equal parts pain and comfort, on his neck. “Well, yeah, I’m warm. And if I am, then you are. Have you ever noticed that you like to copy me?”

“Okay—”

“You copy everything. I love it.”

[blugrlgroup]

i guess you were right.

i gave you

what you begged for,

what i meant to be

a gentle, enveloping comfort

a familiar embrace, draped

around your neck,

like a favourite scarf,

fell victim to my terrified grip,

like a child

clutching their mother’s hand,

a bouquet strangled

in hesitation,

you look down and see

the knife

i held to your throat,

blinded by the light reflecting

in your eyes

you saw a white rose

and forgot about the thorns

i forgot too,

you never liked scarves

[layzeal]

did you ever end up listening to the tgcf audio drama? what were your thoughts of the revised plot if you did?

I HAVE NOT 😭😭😭😭 i bought the first season but still haven't gotten around to listening to it :')

though tbh i'm not sure i'll be the best person to ask, because while i did read TGCF up until hualian start climbing tonglu mountain, i don't rly remember much of what happens...? there were only two arcs which i actually enjoyed reading (first flashback arc and beefleaf arc) and anything else that happened outside of that is static to me 😭

[singularsoldier]

“Ao3 has many problematic works and shouldn’t be used as one’s sole source of literature” and “ao3 is a fun site to indulge in AUs, OCs, and ship content that can’t be drawn and deleting it would delete endless amounts of effort put into each fic”

[sesamie]

any thoughts abt erm. falsettos

recently??? yeah!! in west xylophone (discord server) we have a singing channel where we write the songs that are stuck in our heads, and i took the time to do some writing about falsettos there today (in that channel, anything that's not music is kept in [x] marks!)

^ it is unnecessary to read this image, i will tell you what is in it. first it is the lyrics to the song "what more can i say", which is one of my favorite songs from falsettos. the analysis that follows has to do with the song "what would i do?" which i've "sung" in this singing channel many many times before, so the members of the server unfamiliar with falsettos already know that song. here's what i said after:

[something you need to know is that that other "what more can i say?" song is the reprise of this one.]

[marvin sings this in act two when it seems like everything is going to be okay for everyone. he and whizzer lie in bed, whizzer asleep on his chest, marvin looking down at him]

[the line "can you tell i have been revised?" puts into perspective really how far they had to come to get here. marvin is, for the first time, satisfied. he's surprised by his ability to even feel such a thing. he's in love, and almost finally not afraid to say it out loud anymore. he's not ashamed to have loved him (<- reference to earlier song. he's coming into himself. this is the most mature we've ever seen him, and the most mature he's ever seen himself. he's on his way out of falsettoland, and so is whizzer, and so is mendel, and so is jason. they're becoming men.]

[and of course, the second time he sings this, it's his final goodbye to whizzer. "what more can i say? how am i to face tomorrow, after being screwed out of today?" he made it out of falsettoland, but doesn't get any time to reap the rewards of his maturity.]

[marvin sings, "what would i do? who would i be, if you had not been my friend?" and the answer is clear: he never would have reached this point. he never would be "revised". he'd be in falsettoland still, probably still married to trina, probably still stuck in his childish self, probably living the rest of his life that way.]

[he'd never get to learn that he's capable of satisfaction and happiness, if it weren't for whizzer.]

[augh]

i have LOTS of feelings about mister marvin falsettos. he's a guy close to my heart

[jamethinks]

After an excruciatingly long week, Twilight decides to take the day off and not head into the office today. He had already gotten ready and seen Yor and Anya off before abruptly deciding to head back home and call in sick. Nightfall saw right through his lie but passed the message on anyways as she was aware of just how much work Twilight had done in the past (also there was something so charming about his exhausted tone, she just couldn't say no).

As soon as he got home he changed out of his suit and grabbed a random pair of pyjamas before flopping down on his bed, half his body hanging off. He stayed like that momentarily before eventually fixing himself in the bed. He curled up under his blanket and closed his eyes, praying for at least 6 minutes of deep sleep.

Twilight sighed contently as he snuggled more into his soft blanket. It had begun raining so there was a nice chill in the area and darken skies. He chose the right day to stay in. He hummed along to the soft melody echoing off of the record player, Etta James. It was her 1960 record, At Last! An eternal classic.

Within seconds, Twilight was out of his blanket on his feet. He looked around the room, he was still at the apartment but music was playing. He listened closely to confirm it really was coming from here or maybe a neighbor. He groaned once he realized it was his apartment indeed.

As he reached for his gun the song ended. Anya had played the record so much that he knew what was coming up next before it even played. However, instead of hearing the soulful vocals of the jazz legend he was immediately frightened by the ear grating vocals of the intruder. He sighed and put down the gun.

It was just Yor.

The adrenaline was quickly replaced with exhaustion, his back punishing him for moving so suddenly. He rubbed his face and sighed as the sound of Yor's rendition of the title track echoed through the tiny flat. Bond could be heard harmonizing alongside possibly in irritation or just playing along. He did seem to enjoy singing. Yor was by no means a bad singer, she had a delicate and soothing voice. He would regularly hear her lulling a fussy Anya to bed or just quiet singing to herself while snuggling with Bond.

This time however, Yor was just yodelling the lyrics with an unneeded amount of passion. Twilight considered just crawling back into bed and ignoring her but it was impossible. He instead groaned and headed out the door to ask her to keep it down. He didn't know why she was home but he was too tired to even think about. Maybe she got fired? Maybe the building burned down? Maybe she's on the run for finally killing her co-workers? who knows.

As he troded out, the grating vocals on got louder and louder. He looked around the corner and immediately spotted. She was still in her uniform with only her waistcoat discarded. She held Bond on hip while swaying back and forth in the kitchen, shuffling around preparing something to possibly to eat. She took a piece of whatever she was making and gave Bond a taste. Twilight couldn't tell what irritated him more: the fact she was carrying Bond despite his endless warnings; the fact she was feeding him right from her hand while cooking even though it's insanely unsanitary; or her horrific singing?

Yor had such an odd relationship with the dog. She was carry him around, give him fancy cuts of meat and eat from the same utensils as him while they shared her evening treat. Then when gets sick she casually informs Anya that he would have to be put down. Somedays she treated him like her son then others like a random stray. Her lax stance on animal death could be related to her farm upbringing but that was a conversation for another day.

Twilight stared at the duo for a moment, too exhausted to even respond to the scene before him. He was so tired he didn't even notice the knife barreling towards him. Thankfully his reflexes were still sharp and he grabbed the knife and mere centimeters before it hit his face. Unfortunately his sharp reflexes didn't considered that the object was a knife with a sharp end, grabbing the blade with a deathly grip. It quickly tore through the barrier of his skin, knives never went dull in this house.

He dropped the knife and groaned.

I dont feel like finishing nor revising this good night it 11pm

[summonernoctis]

Day 10: Episode Ignis

He holds his arm to his stomach and bows, perfectly proper, as he’s trained since childhood to do. When the dutiful seconds are up, he lifts his eyes to the throne. To his king, long may he reign. Each time he looks upon that face, it’s like seeing it for the first time in ten years all over again; he takes his time recommitting each smile line to memory.

For royalty, Noctis’s expression is casual. Relaxed, as if this is the same routine they’ve followed each morning for years and will continue to follow for as long as they live. And they will live. He’s made sure of it. Ignis’s arm falls to his side, and he stands tall.

“Your Majesty,” he addresses, and revels in the way it brings a spark to Noct’s eyes. Exasperated by the formal address, but fondly. He knows. Not just what the mere freedom of sitting in a room cost, but the depth of all that Ignis is imploring him to receive. 

Noctis opens his mouth to speak just as Ignis’s one good eye opens to darkness. It’s as though the power went out unexpectedly–and in a way it did. Whatever magic allowed him to glimpse this possibility has run its course. So has the possibility itself. If Ignis had only made the right choices, gauged the situation more wisely. If he hadn’t let his fear get the best of him, then…

The Carbuncle statue is cold in his hand. Well, then that might have happened. A miraculous win at the Crystal, a fruitful decade of research, and all of them at their king’s side in the end. It would have all led to that moment: Noctis on the throne, a kind and benevolent king.

Noctis is dead. Ignis had clenched his bloody shirt with dirty fingers, searching hopelessly for a pulse, a breath, a sign of any sort. Instead, he was forced to relinquish his hold for good.

It’s foolish to believe otherwise. Ignis has placed his whole life firmly on the foundation of science and reason. A person dies, and they never come back. Even with all the wonders of magic and the Crystal, wishing cannot reverse this fate. This death in particular had been fated long ago by the most powerful of wills. And yet…

He thinks of the spark in Noctis’s eyes. The Noctis that he just looked upon, confident and regal and heart pumping with a magic embedded beyond any gift of his family. He thinks of the soft edges of Noctis’s smile.

“A power greater than that of the six.” The astrals were not the most powerful beings in the cosmos. If the vision that the messenger gifted him were any indication, Noctis could defy their wills. He’d have the strength to carry on after the battle, to thrive despite the crushing weight of his heritage and enemies. 

And maybe if the vision were the least bit plausible–just maybe–Ignis could be stronger, too.

If I believe in wishes, if I can find the key, Perhaps it’s not too late to change the course of fate – Cause after all, I must be pretty great if you believed in me. (”If I Believed,” Music by AJ Holmes, lyrics by Kaley McMahon) @ignoct-week

[landwriter]

Hello! I was hoping that maybe you would consider reposting what you had to say about ai art and qo3 in a different post? 👉👈 the OP of that post has made it unrebloggable which fair enough but I'd really be able to have you meausred take to point to when people ask me about it

congrats it's this post! originally written dec 1/22: (context/unrebloggable post here)

data scraping to train AI is really common and if you post things in public places you can expect machines to be fed it these days. nobody asks permission of you. even if they should. if it's on the internet it can be downloaded and will be downloaded and often repurposed/redistributed/repackaged/resold. even if it's behind log-in walls and paywalls.

this is not the first time for-profit AI has been trained on copyrighted works (x)

if this is true that Sudowrites has scraped Ao3, archive-locking all your existing works will not remove them from the dataset. archive-locking any subsequent fics may exclude those from future datasets.

however it is easy to simulate being logged on using a script (x)

this information is only a day old and yet to be confirmed beyond "seems fucking likely"

ao3 has been made aware of it and has requested people stop sending in support tickets about it

elon musk sure is a guy but he is not personally involved in this. he left openai, the research group that produced the tech used by sudowrites, in 2019 (x)

this is a very new field with developing legal precedent and the social and ethical concerns of AI trained on human labours to reproduce similar things for cheaper are not going to go away anytime soon. i hope more people get involved in the discussion because of this!

i understand otw has a legal fund so maybe fanfic will become a part of that case law. that would be neato

on a user by user basis, personally, i am sitting tight. i am unsurprised. the notion of stories made for free and out of passion being fed into a sausage maker to train software that can sell stories for cheaper than the rates of the humans who do get paid for it is distressing. nonetheless i am not going to archive-lock my fics at this time because probably 98% of my reading consumption was as a guest and i think if algorithms get our stories humans without accounts should too. i am also not confident it would change anything at this point. i respect anyone's decision to archive-lock their stories and understand the desire to do so. i am privately extremely relieved to be on the right side of wall bc two months ago i'd be wondering where all my half-read fics had gone hahaha

[woodsteingirl]

my toxic trait is i like the cast of the london love never dies better (sue me for really liking sierra boggess!) but i like the revised version much better….

[cherubgorearchived]

apologies to everyone who reads my unrevised work

[soumal]

re-entering my matcha latté era