#this is why i've always preferred oc x canon or canon x canon

[agentoffangirling]

I think one of the reasons I was never able to get into Y/N fics is because Y/N just never would really act like me

And that goes for everyone in general, like there's no way Y/N manages to represent the reactions of everyone reading the fic, everyone acts differently than one another (I'm aware this is kinda the point but still)

Also when an author puts Y/N there, like, "what do you think, Y/N?", I'm sorry, it just takes me out of the immersion. I just can't put my name there, for some reason

[saurongorthaur9]

So, in the last couple months, I've gotten a few different people commenting on my fanfiction commenting/reviewing methods. I've been involved in fanfic communities since 2008 and I've reviewed literally thousands of stories. I also like leaving long, fairly detailed comments, and I've had multiple people asking me for tips on commenting and what my process is. I needed to take a little break amidst the chaos of packing for a 2000 mile move, so I thought I'd write up a little guide for tips and tricks on leaving great reviews. So here you go: SG's Guide to Commenting on Fanfics!

First of all, my method. I take notes as I read personally. My preferred method is saving stories to my laptop and then highlighting parts I want to comment on, but there are any number of alternate methods, such as using a note app on your phone or jotting down physical notes in a notebook, if you're old-school like that :)

Then, here are my tips on ways to write great comments! (And a reminder, these are just tips, not rules! There is no Fanfiction Comments Bible I am using here, just my own experience for how I write my comments/reviews, so take or leave any portions of it that you want. But hopefully, if you are new to commenting or wanting to leave more detailed comments, you'll find something helpful here.

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1. First, you can never go wrong with an enthusiastic "OMG I loved this! *keyboard smash* *kudos*" I can guarantee you that there is no author out there who doesn't appreciate unbridled enthusiasm about the content they spent hours, days, weeks, or even months working on.

2. Quote passages that stood out to you, then tell the author how that passage made you feel. From my experience, authors love knowing specific passages that impacted their reader. I usually will format it something like this: *Quote from story* Oh my gosh, this piece of dialogue made me laugh so hard...or... *Quote from story* I seriously teared up here, so beautiful.

3. Were there places where the characterization was just spot on? Let the author know. It can be something simple like "When x character did x, that felt SO in character!"

4. Did the characters make you feel emotions? Again, let the author know. "When x character did x, I wanted to punch them so hard!" or "Aw, when x character kissed x character, I felt so warm and fuzzy!"

5. Was there a descriptive passage that felt super realistic? You can say something like "When you described that waterfall, I felt like I was right there" or "When x character was pulling out that splinter, I was squirming the whole time".

6. For a little bit of a more expert reviewer tip, comment on things that author has done to expand or add to the world. This can look like a variety of different comments, but here are some examples. "I love how you've delved into x character's backstory or psychology with your story. I've always found them intriguing and wondered why they made x choice." "Your OC fits so well into this world. I could totally see this character going about their life during the canon events." "I really enjoy that you're exploring x culture in your story; I loved the description of the festival at the beginning."

7. For a really expert tip, comment on the little easter eggs you notice in fics. From my experience, authors are utterly delighted when readers pick up the little tidbits they've meticulously hidden or ways they've shown off their technical skills. This requires more in-depth knowledge of how writing and stories work however. This can look like comments like these: "OMG, I saw what you did there with that foreshadowing when x character said x!" or "That was really clever how you showed a parallel between this character over here and that character over there."

8. Finally, thank the author! They put lots of effort into creating this piece of art that you've just enjoyed; let them know you appreciate their time, creativity, and effort. And if it's a multi-chapter story or a series, let them know you're invested without being pushy for an update. I like saying something like this at the end of my reviews: "Thank you so much for sharing your work with us! I am so excited to see where the story is going whenever you share the next chapter. Cheers!"

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And of course, remember that a simple comment is better than no comment! I know I'm very much not the only person to have said this, but comments are an essential part of the Fandom ecosystem. If you only have time or energy to leave a quick "I loved it!" then do that! You will make the author's day, I guarantee. But if you're considering whether or not to leave a comment at all, please remember that all fanfic authors are people who have poured enormous amounts of time and effort into the thing you've just enjoyed (to give you an idea, it takes me an average of about 60-80 hours PER CHAPTER to write Gorthauro Estel).

I've also seen posts from people about fears of saying the wrong thing in a review. There are very few "wrong" things to say, but just to allay any fears one might have, I've compiled a quick list of what to avoid in your review.

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Don't beg for updates. Getting an "Update please!" review on a WIP that you haven't been able to work on for whatever reasons is always discouraging. I can understand how a beginning reviewer could see it as a complement, but as someone myself who is slow to update, I can tell you that it only puts a larger sense of pressure, weight, and discouragement on the writer. If you want to let the writer know you are looking forward to an update and are invested in the story, look at my last point in the comment tips above.

Going along with that, don't comment on how long it's been since the story has been updated. During some of my gaps where I just couldn't write for a number of different reasons, I would get frequent comments along the lines of "wow, this story hasn't been updated in a year, are you ever going to update?" Those reviews would make me feel SO bad. I was always intimately aware of how long it had been, and I think most authors are the same. Instead, writing a sweet, enthusiastic review with some of the tips above might just give the author the emotional and mental juice to work on that stalled WIP again.

If the author has a different headcanon about a character, event, etc that doesn't line up with your headcanon, don't comment on it. I recently got a review complaining that I write my Sauron as someone attracted to women. I personally headcanon Sauron as heteroromantic demisexual (which is also what I am), and that's the way I portray him in my fics. If the author's headcanon doesn't line up with yours and it bothers you enough to want to comment on it, that story might just not be for you. If you choose to read the fic, you are choosing to enter into the world of the author's headcanon and you should be respectful of it.

Similarly, if the author makes a choice for where to take their story that you don't care for, don't comment on it. You are perfectly within your rights to stop reading if you don't like the way the author chooses to take their story, but it is their story.

Don't point out mistakes unless you know whether the author is comfortable with it or not. I am personally fine with people pointing out typos or the like to me in public reviews, but some people can be sensitive about it. Check with the author privately rather than leaving a public comment to see what they are comfortable with.

Basically, it comes down to the old adage, if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. If you keep your comments positive rather than negative, you're unlikely to say anything "wrong".

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Hopefully, this has been helpful! Now go forth and comment!

[maxdibert]

Being a Severus fan is so hard. Looking for fanfics where he's the protagonist on AO3 is such a hassle. When you finally find one where he's the main character, the summary is well-written and seems interesting, but then you check the tags and see: James Potter/Severus Snape, Sirius Black/Severus Snape, Remus Lupin/Severus Snape, Lily Evans Potter/Severus Snape, or worse, James Potter/Sirius Black/Remus Lupin/Severus Snape. I lose all motivation instantly—it makes me want to explode.

The solution is to ask ChatGPT for a fanfic without those people in the spotlight because no one deserves this.

That's one of the main reasons why I never read fics centered on young Severus, because in the end, they always go in that direction. I mean, I have nothing against anyone shipping whatever they want, and honestly, I prefer that over seeing him as a supervillain horribly ostracized by a bunch of characters who are basically OCs with canon names, but personally, I have no interest. As I've always said, I'm more in favor of Severus x OC who has nothing to do with the people who ruined his life—I think that's the healthiest option. But well, that's just a personal preference.

[tokyo-daaaamn-ji-gang]

You know how Tokyo Revengers fics and HCs often have this "reader" thing in them? I mean those "canon character X reader" things and such where instead of a name the character is referred to as "you" or "reader"... when and why did this become a thing? Back when I started reading fics of various fandoms, there were things called "OCs" which was a fan made character that the fans inserted in their own stories, who had names and stories of their own, yet the TR fandom seems to have very few of these, yet tons of these "reader" fics. I've seen one or two of them in other fandoms as well, but never so much as in the TR fandom. Is this simply a strong genre in this fandom, or is it some kind of generational thing? And again, why?

I'm not entirely sure tbh, every fandom I've been in has had a bunch of character x reader fics as well as character x oc fics, but the x reader fics have always outnumbered the x oc fics in fandoms I've previously been in. As for why, I'm not really sure either. Both styles are cool but for me personally I both prefer writing and reading x reader because it tends to be easier for the reader to imagine themselves in the role when there is no backstory or name but that's just me. If anyone else does know the answer to this then feel free to answer it!

[saintsenara]

As someone who isn't the biggest Hermione fan and keeps it quiet because greater fandom LOVES her, I'm honestly gagging for more of your Hermione takes. Especially your takes on fanon Hermione, who I can't STAND. Have a good one x

thank you very much, anon - there are dozens of us!

hermione is certainly the character i struggle to find common ground with the most - and this has been the case since i first read philosopher's stone as a child.

[which has actually been a really fascinating pop-culture experience - i think we tend to overlook, both because the media landscape and its representation of child and teen girls has changed since the 1990s and because of jkr's increasingly harmful views on gender, just how groundbreaking hermione was as a female protagonist in media which wasn't marketed primarily or exclusively towards girls. there is a reason why so many girls and women identified with her when the books were coming out - and it was very interesting for me growing up to not be one of them.]

the cause of my beef with hermione is for the incredibly petty reason that i find people who possess many of her more... striking traits quite difficult to deal with in real life, particularly if they don't acknowledge [which people in the hermione vein often don't...] that these traits are things it might benefit them to work on in their interpersonal relationships...

but this doesn't prevent me recognising that canon!hermione [and any real person like her] is interesting - and that her more annoying traits work well with her more straightforwardly admirable ones to create a fully-rounded character who, from a fanfiction perspective, is a great vehicle for all sorts of tropes, themes, and storylines.

which brings us - of course - to fanon!hermione...

fanon!hermione is, at her core, another brick in the wall of mary-sues. she's beautiful, and so clever she can solve millennia-old puzzles without batting an eyelid, and she's preternaturally emotionally intelligent, and she's morally spotless, and she's always right, and the story's preferred romantic partner worships the ground she walks on, and anyone who doesn't like her is punished.

i don't think - to be clear - that there is anything wrong, per se, with people wanting to write fanon!hermione [nor, to be frank, with other flawless fanon versions of female characters, oc mary-sues, or self-indulgent self-inserts - i'll defend the right to have fun with characters to the death]. this is a hobby, and people's way of engaging with that hobby doesn't have to appeal to me - it's fun escapism sometimes to write a character who is wonderful and perfect and beloved and has a sexy partner; and when it comes to accusations of writing someone "out-of-character", let she who is without sin cast the first stone...

but i also think - and [sigh] here comes some discourse - that fanon!hermione is part of a slight... girlbossification of female characters in the harry potter fandom [and presumably in others, i just don't follow closely enough to know] which i've always been a little uneasy about.

i understand why this happens - this fandom, like many, has an overwhelming preference for making blorbos of male characters and for imagining these characters in slash relationships. the treatment of female characters in slash subfandoms - i.e. tonks in wolfstar spaces; lily in jegulus spaces - is often straightforwardly misogynistic, and even in cases where it isn't, female characters are often shuffled quietly to the sidelines, except when they pop up - often suddenly in a queer pairing of their own - to benignly cheerlead the male couple.

and i think it's good that this is challenged - as i also think it's good that the heteronormative vibes of a lot of slash are challenged - and that we, as a fandom, are increasingly interested in female-centric works [whether focused on a romantic pairing or otherwise] and discussions. i hope these continue to take up fandom space.

but i have also noticed that the way female characters are written and talked about in these context is - as i've said - quite #girlboss in its approach. the focus is on women as clever and competent and feisty and unruffled and brave.

[including female villains, there are a lot of girlboss bellatrixes knocking around...]

and great! it should be! - but from what i've seen this also comes accompanied by a resistance to the idea that women can also be boring, unintelligent, self-infantilising, vain, arrogant, ignorant, talentless, meek, domestic, rude, dislikable, conservative, incurious, complicit in their own victimisation, plain wrong, and so on, and not only still be worthy of exploration, but be worthy of these characteristics not being automatically considered bad things for someone to possess and it not being seen as letting down the sisterhood to explore a woman who possesses them.

and, sure, hermione cannot be described as many of these things - but she is...

self-righteous; cruel; petty; from a privileged class background in the muggle world which blinkers her understanding of the class structure of the wizarding one; stubborn; terrible under pressure; shown by the text to be intelligent largely due to an ability to rote learn; a people-pleaser with a tendency towards a slightly hagrid-ish blind loyalty; extremely deferential to authority and willing to tolerate cruel treatment from authority figures [i.e. snape]; the most childlike of the trio [she takes her schoolbooks on the run and reads through them for comfort! she's an enormous animal lover!]; interested in one of form of stereotypical femininity [knitting! wearing pretty dresses!] even if she rejects the form of stereotypical femininity liked by e.g. parvati and lavender [and anyone who thinks she's not going to get along with her mother-in-law because molly's a housewife is dead wrong - she's having the time of her life helping put together a sunday lunch at the burrow]; possessed of a filthy sense of humour [i will never understand why emma watson said that the key to playing her was to be prim...]; someone who obviously wants to be liked and to be loved; and so on...

[and also, by the end of the pre-epilogue narrative, eighteen. she's often written in fics in a way which makes her sound like she's seen a lot of life - especially if the fic wants to claim she's "too mature" to bother with men her own age... but she hasn't - she's a teenager, and the reason she's so unpolished and abrasive is because literally all teenagers are unpolished and abrasive. it's just one of the mortifying agonies of growing up.]

we should love this. it makes her thorny and messy and mixed-up and human - and i am perfectly delighted by explorations of her character which delve into unravelling this tangle.

i just like her less as someone who is there to be right and beloved and uncriticised.

unless it's by ron. everyone should be uncomplicatedly adored by their wife guy.

[reigraceee]

WIP Whenever

(I was going to do wip Wednesday, but then I think it would imply that you should do it on that specific day, and I really don't care about that lol. If you want to join in, you can do so at any point!)

I thought it would be cool to see what everyone has going on in their hyper fixation worlds, so consider this an opportunity to share anything you've been working on! You can reblog this post or tag me in your own post (maybe tag others and we can turn this into a tag game?) and talk about any headcanons, wip writing, wip sketches, or just use this as an opportunity to ramble about your hyper fixations!

...I also just wanted to share the fics I've been writing/planning because I wanted to get it all out haha. I'm the kind of person who spontaneously starts a bunch of different projects and bounces between them- I get burnt out if I only focus on one thing!

Here are the different series I'm planning/have been writing:

-Ancient Call (post kotor 2; Freyja x Atton)

Named after the EP by SYML, Ancient Call reflects on Atton's relationship with the Exile as they rebuild what they can in the galaxy after the events of kotor 2. It's definitely more somber, but it revolves around themes of grief, loss, and finding stability through love. I've already started writing the first work, and I'm so sorry but it's going to be depressing lol. It will get more hopeful eventually, though!

-Time After Time (Aresyl x Theron)

Named after the couple's theme song by Cyndi Lauper, Time After Time explores snapshots across Aresyl and Theron's relationship and how the stars crossed to bring them together. I've already written a few fics, but I want to draw something to go along with the first part before I post it.

I thought Time After Time was the perfect song for them because the first verse reminds me of the dream Theron describes having, and because they showed up for each other time after time.

-Alykaa x Hrafen (I'm still working on the title lol)

I've written the first work, but I haven't posted because I want to draw something to pair with it- I feel like otherwise no one will really be able to connect to it. I mean, it's a fic between OCs, it doesn't really have the pull a fic with already established and loved canon character would.

Anyways, I want to explore their relationship from with an interest in what gives someone morality and the nature vs nurture of what makes a person. I don't know if that makes it sound too deep, but I'm always really interested in how people develop their different beliefs and morality and how other people and situations affect it all. That interest is a big part of why I prefer Imperial characters in swtor, why Andor is my favorite Star Wars show, why kotor 2 is my favorite Star Wars video game, and why Better Call Saul (not related to Star Wars, but still) is my favorite show of all time.

-Valerie Shepard x Kaidan

I've been pondering on (not a lot of writing so far) a series about the events after ME3 and how Valerie and Kaidan find each other again. I also want to write a lot of little one-shot/slice of life fics to give their relationship more context.

-Cassia Dragonborn

I haven't posted anything Skyrim yet, but I have a vision. I want to write about my Dragonborn oc and her journey from being a petty thief to being a noble defender of the people. It would also explore faith and how that shaped her.

[myloveforhergoeson]

hi friends

as i said in this post, it's well overdue the btr bloggers on this site had some time where we just flat-out told each other how much we appreciate each other!

whether you share your own thoughts about the show, write, draw, make edits, or simply lurk - we all make this small fandom go round! and i'd love it if this SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 1ST - we took some time to let each other know!

below the cut, please find some messages you can copy and paste to leave in the ask box, the comment section, someone's dms, etc of your favorite btr creators/mutuals/followers/accounts. ideally, this doesn't even stay on tumblr, regardless if other fans don't know about it. take these messages to ao3, Instagram, wattpad, bluesky, anywhere where you follow someone who posts btr content you appreciate!

and finally, every fandom could use a day like this honestly. i do not care if someone copies this entire post and spreads it into their own circles. in fact - PLEASE do!

thank you for listening - everything you may need is under here!! <3

hi again - a quick note from me: please find a handful of copy and paste messages to send to your fav btr creators... but more than anything i encourage you to send your own kind words and praises to them first!!! i know that words can be hard, and sending something to someone you don't know can be scary, so if you do so require, using the templates is just fine :) i'll break them up into content sections below. if i missed any, or anyone has some of their own to share, please add on!!

general

got a fav btr blogger and you just don't know what to say to them? look no farther, i've got you covered! starting out from basic statements and going on to more specific with some fill in the blank elements :3 - hey! i love your btr posts, they always make me laugh! - i need all your btr posts on my blog IMMEDIATELY!!! - your btr posts have helped inspire me to make my own! - your btr headcannons are so interesting, they've helped me understand my favorite characters in a new way! - [SPECIFIC BTR POST] lives in my head rent free! - [SPECIFIC PIECE OF BTR CONTENT] is awesome! - your post about [SPECIFIC BTR HEADCANON] really got me thinking... do you have any more thoughts to share? i'd love to hear them! - reblog your fav btr posts again!!!!

for fic writers

someone's btr fic leave a lasting impression on you? love someone's analyzed a character and their dynamic? put your favorite character in a Situation? written ship content? or oc content? or x reader content? doesn't matter if it was written when the show first came out or if it was written yesterday - let them know either here or on their preferred writing platform! - i always look forward to your next writing project! - [SPECIFIC STORY] is one of my favorite btr works ever! - i love the way you write [CHARACTER/DYNAMIC/SHIP ETC] - i'm subscribed to all your writing platforms - i never miss a story! - this [LINE/PARAGRAPH/THEME IN STORY ETC] in your [WORK] really spoke to me! - your [CROSSOVER/AU/CANON-DIVERGENCE] was so interesting! i loved seeing the characters in a new setting! - writers love questions about their work... ever wonder why they wrote something a certain way or diverged from canon to make something true? ask them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! - reblog and share links to your favorite stories on your own blog!! - has someone ever made something for one of YOUR written works? let them know how much you appreciate it too!!

for editers

from videos, to gifs, to fanmixes, to posters, to meme makers and soooo much more, there are no shortage of wonderful editers in our circle!! ever wanted to tell them how much you loved their stuff? now's your big chance!!!!!!! - can't stop thinking about that [CHARACTER/SHIP/ETC] edit you made! the clips and song you chose matched them perfectly! - the gifsets you posted of [SCENE/CHARACTER/SHIP/ETC] were beautiful! i can tell you put a lot of time and effort into making them - i am obsessed with your [CHARACTER/SHIP/ETC] fanmix!! the songs were well chosen - i've found some new favs through the playlist!! - your btr edited memes always make me laugh! - reblog your favorite works to you blog again! - if you have questions about the programs the person used, what inspired their choices, how long it took them - ask!!!!! ask!!!!!!!!!!!!! - someone ever make an edit based off of something you said or made? be sore to let them know how much it meant to you!

for artists

be it from the basics of pencil and paper all the way up to some fancy digital program, we love our artists regardless of their medium!! someone make a piece of fan art you love? comics you can't get enough of? drew your fav in just the right way? or depicted an oc or self-insert you adore? they deserve to know!!!!! - your artwork is so beautiful! [SPECIFIC PIECE] is my favorite! - this artstyle is so unique - i love seeing my favorite characters drawn this way - you depict [CHARACTER/SCENE/SHIP/ETC] so well! it's gorgeous! - the time and dedication you put into your craft is clear - your artwork is incredible! - want to learn more about this artist's choices or medium? ask!! - be sure to reblog your fav pieces to your blog again! - has anyone made a piece of art based on something you've made? tell them how thankful you are for it!!!!!

i know there are MANY more categories of fandom blogger out there, but i believe this covers the main types. please feel free to add on your own categories if you feel so inclined :3

while these are all intended for the ask box, dms, or comment section, if you want to make a post, be sure to tag the specific people you want to appreciate!! and if everyone uses the tag:

#btr creator appreciation day 2025

we'll all have a nice collection of everything everyone shared (on tumblr at least!)

that's all i have for now, so i'll step down off my soap box. see yall SATURDAY FEBRUARY 1ST!!!!!!!!!!!! <333

(tagging those who seemed interested: @icegirl2772 @fiyero3305 @happinessismagicc @partiallypearl @day-dreams22 @naquey @invadericee @uncarved-turnip @elitheidiot1 @cant-get-enough-btr-forever @bunnyfern)

[artisticwizard]

General Grevious

Sleeper agent phrase activated.

Favorite thing about them

Fucking. Everything? I adore robots and he's a cyborg. I adore aliens and he's an alien. I love characters with four arms and guess what. On aesthetics alone he's gorgeous to me. He's been my fav character in star wars ever since I saw him in the movies, and He's been probably one of my top favorite character since then as well. Disclaimer, but I like the Legends backstory for him so much more so I usually default to that when talking about him. His backstory??? MWAH. MAGNIFICENT. STUNNING. POETIC. LIED TO AND USED ALL OF HIS LIFE? He thinks always that he is doing what is best for his people. He lost his literal other half in the war, his true soulmate to slavers of his people, swept into the sea. He changed his name to grievous to let his grief be known to all of his enemies??? My fucking GOD. He was a demigod among his people. He is a canon polyamourous king who has several wives and sired many children. He was a strategic mastermind and sought out by the sith for his genius. His hatred of the jedi was falsely implanted in him by sith interference. He thinks that the jedi are to blame for his cyborg body when it was the sith all along. Fuck man. I couldn't write a better character if I tried, and I have. Literally a character so doomed by the narrative that he is the epitome of tragedy to me.

Least favorite thing about them

I understand why he has to lose a lot, because the primary message of star wars is that good always triumphs over evil. The light will always beat the dark. I get that. I just dislike how he seems to lose in ways that are embarrassing? Anytime he loses it seems to be in an almost childish way that's unbecoming of him. It's why my favorite rivals for him are Obi Wan or Kit Fisto. Both of them are incredibly intelligent jedi masters that use strategy and his own ego against him, which make the times he is defeated against them more satisfying than other times.

Favorite line

Jedi. You are surrounded. Your army is decimated. Make peace with the force, now. For this is your final hour. But know that I, General Grievous, am not completely without mercy. I will grant you a warrior's death. Prepare! (followed by one of the sickest fucking lightsaber fights ever)

brOTP

Hard to answer. He doesn't have many friends. I wouldn't consider them friends exactly but his bickering with Asajj Ventress is always a treat.

OTP

I've dabbled in almost every grievous ship I can think of. I can't say I prefer one more than the others enough to make it an OTP. Some of my favs are obigrievous, asajj x grievous, Ronderu x Grievous, and dooku x grievous. TECHNICALLY one of my favorite ships features an original character from a fic I've read. Fanfic writers who make compelling and engaging OCs for their fics are amazing *wink wink nudge nudge at the person who sent this.*

nOTP

None I can think of.

Random headcanon

The Kaleesh are a reptilian species in general, that will not stop me from giving him some cat-isms. What if he purrs. What if his eyes get big when he sees something he likes. What if he likes scenting things. What if he bellows like a crocodile. What if he chuffs like a tiger. Shut up.

unpopular opinion

I already stated this, but I prefer his Legends backstory over his canon one. I've come around to not hating his canon one as much as I used to, but I still prefer the other.

song i associate with them

Literally I cannot think of one. I am a failure. A sham. A facsimile of my former self.

favorite picture of them

All of them, but this has been my discord icon forever. I have no clue who drew it but it was part of a doodle page here on tumblr and for the life of me I cannot find the original artist.

[airs-headspace]

It's actually so funny to think that legitimately, my life as a shipper has come to an end???

LIKE. In the Canon x Canon sense. Unless it is ACTUALLY canon, idgaf anymore 🤣🤣🤣

Of course there are ships I enjoy (ex. Kacchako) but like........ I've noticed I don't dedicate ANY of my time really to caring about ships anymore. Art or writing wise. UNLESS it is a ship that from my perspective, is so disrespectful toward both characters that I will go on muting/blocking sprees whenever it crosses my dash (//cough cough Dabi and the bird COUGH COUGH//).

SO WEIRD!!!!! I used to really enjoy shipping, but I think this might just be because if the canon material gave me nothing, then I felt like I was always doing the characters a disservice.

Which is probably why I prefer OC x Canon, because an OC forces me to engage, form ideas, and try to figure out how that Canon character could even remotely fall in love with an OC (mine, or someone else's).

Too many ppl out there shipping characters that canonically dislike one another, as if their dislike for one another is just secret "I love you's" instead of an actual representation that.... they literally don't like each other 🤣🤣🤣

This is why I will never make it as an author LMAO my tolerance for shippers will actually be zero and I would be blocking ppl left and right and extremely hostile toward my fanbase HAHASODFHAOUDSFHOUAD

[kittycatcrackhead]

shane x farmer headcanon

TW: Alcoholism, EDs and body dysmorphia, and mentions of being suicidal.

Here's some headcanon stuff before i get to the depressing shit

Leon is 5'5", and Shane is 5'6" (funnily enough, leon was made to be short because i wanted him to be slightly shorter than shane, and i've always headcanoned shane as 5'6")

Neither one can cook. Leon has literally burnt down his kitchen before.

Leon is 27, and Shane is 34

Leon is horrible with kids, but Shane is surprisingly good with them (it's cause he tries to be a good uncle to jas)

Leon doesn't understand a thing about gridball, but it's fine cause shane loves to ramble and explain it.

Shane is transmasc, and uses he/they pronouns.

Leon uses he/him pronouns.

Shane wears exclusively crocs, even at work. It drives leon insane (he despises crocs).

Leon and Shane are both slobs, and it drives Leon's bodyguard Phillip (who also lives with them) fucking nuts. (phil is a part of their relationship, but i want to focus on leon and shane's dynamic here. i'll eventually make a post about a phil x shane dynamic)

Leon is somehow still a certified accountant (even after getting fired from his last job for accused fraud. he was set up tho), and handles the finances for the farm, and deals with tax stuff. He often rambles about accountant stuff to Shane, who doesn't understand a lick of it.

Leon is allergic to cats, but they still keep a cat around the farm.

Leon's full name is Leonard Valentine Locke. DO NOT call him Leonard, he despises his full name.

^ This is leon :3

^ this is his sdv sprite i made :3 (pixel art is a pain in the ass in procreate btw T_T)

ok sad shit below this, read at your own risk.

So shane has always been a big influence on my oc, Leon (it was mostly subconscious, I didn't realize Leon was so similar to Shane until a couple of months ago)

They're both suicidally depressed and alcoholics, and both struggle with their sense of self-worth.

I believe that Shane drinks because he lost two close friends who meant a lot to him (Jas' parents), and didn't know how to deal with the grief. He'd already had a bit of an issue with alcohol before, but nothing like it would become.

Leon drinks because he had a shit childhood and a shit life. He hates himself, and struggles with major depression. He's on antidepressants, and meds for bipolar 2, which react poorly with the alcohol, worsening his symptoms, and making him heavily suicidal. He always had a problem with alcohol, but it became significantly worse when he shot and killed his father. While it was self-defense, his now boss, Zalu Merriweather, used it against him to get Leon to work for them. That sent Leon into a downward spiral, and he ended up nearly dying multiple times.

He ended up in Stardew Valley with his bodyguard, Phillip, because of some lore thing idk. what happens in stardew valley isn't canon to my story, so i haven't put too much though as to why Leon ends up there lmao

But Leon finds shane, and they are two drunk peas in a pod. They get along well, (perhaps too well), and are both worsening the other's alcoholism, since Shane now has a drinking buddy, and leon thinks shane's hot af, but leon prefers to be drunk when he sleeps with someone.

Then shane's six-heart event rolls around, and leon doesn't want to shane to end up like him. Shane decides he's going to get his shit together.

Leon doesn't get sober yet, tho. He's still drinking and struggling, but with Shane now being sober, he doesn't want to be a bad influence.

Eventually, shane and phil are able to help leon give up alcohol.

Leon gives it up entirely, but Shane is able to have a few beers every now and then.

Leon gains weight after quitting alcohol, and it really fucks with him. He had an ED when he was younger, and has bad body dysmorphia. Seeing his body become "ugly" by his standards almost makes Leon relapse, but he works through it.

[jojoma]

Why Astarion x Karlach, part 4

It'll be the final piece part 1 / part 2 / part 3

I've started that post series with Astarion's pairing question and suppose I should end with Karlach's. So I spent a some time researching others Karlach's ships. For the sake of science ofc, but after several smut fics I wondered: “What am I doing with my life” (if u concern, I am not a fan of indecent content and more about fluffy angst stuff, duh). Anyway, I saw that everyone (literally everyone) makes Karlach extremely dominant. It's kinda sad, because I always head canon that she softer than looks like. Well, I don't argue with her high sex drive, it’s more than obvious (for example her bedtime fantasy), but still she is not obsessively horny. How I noticed, in reality she doesn't enjoy too smutty experience and bold sexual expression (her reactions to the offer to spend time with twins and when tav orgasms on the street). She definitely has her own principles (remember, she didn't have sex with anyone in Avernus) and may even be chaste in some way. I clearly imagine that Karlach can be gentle in a bed and with joy allow her lover be on top.

But of all the Larian OCs, I think only Astarion will be able to dominate Karlach (others are either too soft or just don’t suit her in my eyes). By the way, I absolutely agree with @sailorgundam308 and @hellspawn223 (and other guys on that boat) in the vision about hellspawn's sexual dynamics. In other words, I just don’t see Karlach having such many-wounded, bitter-sweet and icy-hot romance with other companions. Equally important, Astarion needs a partner like Karlach more than anyone else in the camp, I think she'll also be pleased to know about her high importance for her lil wicked darling.

In conclusion, I can't help but remind how unstereotypical this unexpected pairing is. They break heteronormative expectations in both directions (not capable said about this correctly, so I just link to this). For me it's an interesting type of couple and since my teenage I have been looking for same stereotype busters. Certainly I prefer to see how sweet and tender Astarion and Karlach can be together, but I'm not against the other side of this insane match.

[emeraldhazeart]

Twenty Questions for Fic Writers

Thank you so much for the tag @hikamaus 💚 This looks really fun.

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

At this moment, I have 32 works on Ao3 (most of them oneshots)

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

At the time of posting this, it's 146,576, but I'm very close to posting the next chapter of Solace

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Mostly Undertale right now, but I also occasionally write for Harvest Moon/Story of Seasons and Sonic the Hedgehog

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

1. Leaving a Mark

2. Robin's Nest

3. Solace

4. In Your Corner

5. Riding Therapy

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I love responding to comments! Even if it's just an emoji, I try to say thank you in reply, so they know I appreciate them taking the time to leave a comment.

I know there are some comments that I haven't gotten round to responding to, and those haunt me. Please know that it's either because I don't have the spoons at this moment, or because it's been so long that I'm shy about replying. But I genuinely do appreciate each and every comment I receive. 💚

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Probably No Man's Land (which also happened to be my first Undertale fic)

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

I've got to say Photograph for that one. It still brings tears to my eyes rereading it, but they're happy tears.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

No one has said anything directly to me, but I did stumble upon a comment someone left elsewhere saying that one of my fics wasn't their thing because they "[didn't] like how the story is being told".

That really hurt at the time, especially as there was no other context as to why they felt that way. But my friends gave me encouragement and support.

Please be aware that anything you say online can eventually find it's way to the author, so please be kind.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I don't, sorry.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

Not really. I've written crossovers featuring characters from separate games in the same franchise before, but nothing that spans entirely different franchises

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

I would be delighted if anyone enjoyed my work enough to want to translate it

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No, but I would love to 💚

14. What’s your all time favourite ship?

Do Canon Character x Reader stories count? No?

Hmm... I can't think of any that would be my OTP. I generally prefer familial/platonic relationships, tbh

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

None of my WIPs are abandoned. But probably most of the original stories I've started and then never finished over the years. It's just much harder for me to maintain motivation when I don't have anyone reading my work and cheering me on.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I've always loved painting a scene or an emotion with words.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Oof, so many 😅 one thing I struggle with is wanting to post what I've written straight away. Sometimes that can work, like freshly baked bread. But most of the time it's like a plain cake: it needs time to cool, and then be assembled/decorated/finished in order to get the best experience from it.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I'd only do it if I was totally confident that I'd gotten it right. A common or short phrase would be my limit otherwise. If I really wanted to write dialogue in another language, I'd ask someone fluent in the language to help me with the translation and proof read my work.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

I think it was actually Legend of Zelda. I was about 12, and my brother, his friend and I made ourselves LoZ Ocarina of Time OCs. We started writing a fic of them, but never got very far.

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

Probably Photograph. I'm a sucker for a moving reunion scene, and that fic genuinely brought tears to my eyes as I was writing it.

No pressure tags (I'm going to try to avoid tagging anyone that @/hikamaus already tagged 😅) : @sneakyfox55 @hannah-heartstrings @lizzie-tempest @robanilla @thebeckster and anyone else that would like to have a go 💚

[croquettish]

☁️Do you prefer writing canon x canon or canon x OC? Why?

☄️Which Act of the game do you most like writing for? Why?

🌤️How do you interpret the game mechanics in your fic?

🏝️Do your gameplay and your writing “match”? Are the characters you write about the same ones you play as?

These are such good questions, damn. Thank you for asking!!

☁️I think one reason I actually took a while to write bg3 fic was bc I generally don't write a lot of canon x OC ships... playing as durge opened up a whole world of possibility, in part bc it really feels like durge has a ton of personality. I don't mind reading/writing OCs (I have written quite a few canon x MC ships for otome titles), but it has the potential of also really robbing me of my immersion because of course my tav might be very different from someone else's tav. anytime that I do write that sort of thing I try to stick to the canon facts that we do have and also try to make them as ambiguous as possible so anyone can self-insert their tav (or durge) as best as possible.

☄️A really hard question to answer honestly, but after giving it some thought I think act 2 might be the one. It's very short (relatively speaking), self-contained, comes with a wonderfully angsty atmosphere, and so many turning points happen during that act. which is to say that yes, I should find a way to put rugan at the last light inn with the rest of the zhent!!!

🌤️I play a lot of dnd and have written some fic for it also. I've seen some people interpret the game mechanics very literally, but I personally try to keep it as natural as possible. turn-based combat just manifests as regular combat, but things like potions definitely stay. long resting fixing broken bones is out, but healing magic is in! and honestly I love the inclusion of things that you don't think of as being part of the game, things like bathing or taking care of scrapes and cuts. the h/c of that is just always SO GOOD

🏝️it's nearly impossible for me to be unkind to fictional characters in video games, so... sort of. for the most part I would say yes but there's also definitely less "my primary personality trait is kindness" hgjfakkfa;l

Here are the rest of the questions!

[azuralnguyendd]

Hello, and welcome to the fic request post. This here post will provide you with the following information:

• How to ask for a fic (aka making a fic request)

• What to expect when making a request or when reading a requested fic (and extra)

• Available fandoms to request a fic from

And this post also explains why some fics are tagged as a gift for another user

Firstly, let's discuss the way you should request for a fic. You see, requesting a fic is not as hard as you think it is because the steps are simple: 1. DM me and 2. State your request

Within a fic request, the most acquired information are the fandom and relationship in which the fic will be tagged under (though fandom is not as important as the relationship, you still have to state it for all time sake), a summary/idea of the fic, your posting preference as well as rating (most of the time I write fics with T rating)

Posting preference is where you would want to see the fic. Usually when writing these, iw would like to post it on the platforms I usually write on before posting on Tumblr

So, now that I am also posting fics on Tumblr, I'd like to know if you would want to have your idea posted on AO3 (my latest) and Fanfiction.net (my oldest) as well

Secondly, let's see what you would want to expect from requesting a fic and when reading a requested fic (and other additional things as well)

1. When you request a fic to me, I'd like to clear things that I can't accept fics in which you are the self insert being shipped with the canon character

I know this will likely enrage some people, but I have nothing against self-shipping. To me, it's just not a field which I am familiar in, so writing self-shipping fics will be hard for me

However, fics without self-shipping can be accepted. I've seen two roleplay blogs here that have some very intriguing lore for their OC and have roleplayed with two other blogs (canon character) to further expand that lore. That I can do

2. When reading a requested fic, I would always tag the person who made the fic request to announce to them that their fic has been written and is ready to be read. The fic, I guarantee, will sometimes not reach your expectations (I am an amateur fanfiction writer) and I apologize for that. On the other hand, if you did enjoy it, I'm very happy to know so!

Extra: Do not ask for any other information other than making your fic request. I would love to socialize, but I think there are more important matters at hand

And now we come to the third matter in this list: The fandoms. I write in a lot of different fandoms, but here are the only two main ones (because I suck):

• Marvel (usually MCU and X-Men because I suck at comic lore and Avengers lore)

• Team Fortress 2 (yeah, go ahead, throw me your most toxic ship even)

Special: If you like Legends of Avantris: Once Upon A Witchlight, DM me because I have the perfect person to turn your ideas into reality!

Now to the final thing I've stated in this list: Gift for users

See, most of the time, ideas for the fics I write do not belong to me, they belong to someone else. And when I feel inspired by their ideas, I would likely comment to ask for permission to use their idea. This is most likely a me problem but I feel like if I don't ask for permission, it's like I'm stealing a work that hasn't been copyright-ed yet

So, if I comment on your idea (whether it's for a fic or just a silly thing you thought of), I am more likely asking permission to turn it into a fic

And that is all there is here today! If there are things you have questions on (because I most likely have missed a lot of other important things), just DM me and I'll reply when I can. Thank you!

Edit: I now take fic request on @simoia-vajik

[junksqueezer]

Semi-vent and more-so a rant I think

Seeing Sammy's posts ab the MO fandom situation was crazy tbh but I agree with her 100%. Fiction is fiction n that's it. As someone who is unstable and has severe anger issues fiction helps me a lot especially selfships and OC x Canon whether the ships are mine or by friends/moots and it can calm me down if I get so aggressive that I'm practically unapproachable. It's one of my healthier copes because my most harmful one is impulse-spending money like crazy then regretting it but the dopamine of purchasing something whether it's art or goods temporarily calms me down but then I'm like "Fuckk bruh my WALLET 💀💀"

But the one thing that always pisses me off ab the MO fandom the most, especially this part of it is when people don't tag their dumbass yaoi ships with my f/os. I have really strong filters but when people don't tag their shit it slips through and when I see it I immediately have to block the artist and whisper "kill yourself" 572895 times under my nose or I'll start throwing shit across my room and then try to dissociate by using lobotomizingly loud music or thinking ab the f/o in the post and my OC/SI being together. I hope I don't sound too homophobic or anything because normally idgaf ab gay ships people can do what they want and I really like WLW but I get aggressive if they're with my f/os because I was cheated on by a bisexual man and the event fucked me over mentally so bad that it made me hate any MLM ships with any of my f/os no matter the fandom, it just makes me unbelievably uncomfortable. I don't know if this even classifies as a sort of trauma or if it's just a result of underlying anger issues amplifying by 100 which is not as justified but if someone sees I blocked them even if I've never interacted with them before and they wonder why I probably had a moment while I was looking through my favs' tags, it's primarily just preference bc I don't wanna see that shit. Though it's ironic I'm whining abt this since I said fiction is fiction and nothing's real but seeing my f/os squished with other boys makes me relive the event as if my f/o is cheating on me and it pisses me off so bad that it's crazy even if I know they'd never do that bc they're not real. Also because I could never self-insert as a man I am proud of being a woman and I could never relate to any gay content (unless we count lesbian/WLW then it's no issue). Even if my f/os are shipped with random girls I'll be like "so true 💯" bc I can pretend that's just me lol but when it's a guy it just makes me mad

I'm not delusional btw I'm a completely normal and sane individual with no problems whatsoever 🙂 (I am absolutely delusional and shouldn't have ever been trusted with the ability to fantasize)

Now this is a REAL junkyap post 💀 Even writing this out made me mad bruh my fingers be trembling n shit 😭😭. I'm gonna take a cold shower and draw Beth smooching her boyfriend to calm my ass down

[lordcaptains]

twenty questions - writing edition

(tagged by @avas-poltergeist - thank you!)

how many works do you have on ao3? 22

what's your total ao3 word count? 58,375

what are your top five fics by kudos?

all rodimus' fault (mtmte, rodimus/magnus, e) - 644 

flame on (mtmte, rodimus/magnus, m) - 619 

self control (mtmte, rodimus/magnus, e) - 482 

body shop (mtmte, drift/ratchet, g) - 254 

refractions (mtmte, rodimus/magnus, g) - 244

what fandoms do you write for? i've written for transformers, fallout 4, baldur's gate 3, wrath of the righteous, and rogue trader!

do you respond to comments? why or why not? i try to! sometimes i get intimidated by them and go hide instead, and then four months pass and i feel embarrassed about responding after so long.

what’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? old world (seeing) reds - but that's definitely relative, as angst isn't either my preference or my forte, i'd say. it's about my character grappling with her complicity in the evils of the world before the bombs fell.

what's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? i like my happy endings, so most of my fics have them. let's say warmth, which was written out of a bitter sense of frustration with a comic that meant a lot to me.

do you get hate on fics? not so far.

do you write smut? yep!

do you write crossovers? nope.

have you ever had a fic stolen? not that i know of!

have you ever had a fic translated? nope.

have you ever cowritten a fic before? nope. i don't think i would, either - i have enough trouble getting the words in my head to come out the way i want them to.

what’s your all-time favourite ship? well, that's a question. i definitely couldn't pick just one - right now, obviously, it's orica/heinrix. for ships that 1) aren't oc x canon, that 2) i've written for and, that 3) i've shared, i'll say rodimus/magnus! i love them dearly, and i think i always will.

what’s the wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will? good goodneighbor. 

first fandom you wrote for? pokemon. at age 10. i think i still have that wide-ruled spiral notebook around somewhere…

what are your writing strengths? analysis, which is both fortunate and unfortunate, i think - it absolutely flavors my fiction, too.

what are your writing weaknesses? i struggle to write longer fics - my inclination is to say what i want to say as efficiently as possible, which isn't always best.

thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in a fic? i've never tried, and i probably wouldn't unless i spoke the language with at least some degree of fluency.

favourite fic you’ve ever written? the one in my head. (i'll say old world (seeing) reds for coming out very close to what i had in mind.)

i'll tag anyone with an ao3 who wants to do this and hasn't already!