#this was originally a fic idea but it fits better as a comic :3

[the-random-phan]

For my "Danny universe hops to TMA and Elias hires him on the spot" AU

.

At first glance, Michael Distortion probably looks a lot like a ghost...

(Set at the end of MAG 47, "The New Door")

Bonus after the fact;

[reds-skull]

CW FLASHING IN THE VIDEO (3rd from the bottom)

This is it. 3 months in the works, the comic (and video) are finally done.

A little over a year ago, I uploaded the first work in Revenant AU, Ghost's origin comic. I never thought I'd write a whole series for this, but I'm so glad I did. I got a whole new hobby out of it, haha.

I already began working on part 2, but this for me marks the start of it. I'm really excited to get back into this world!

Under the cut there are some comments on the comic I thought some people might be interested in (don't wanna make this post longer than it already is lol). I will upload the frames from the video separately, with comments on it there.

Bottom line is, thank you for letting me just go wild with this :)

Okay, I'm mostly gonna talk about the part where Fate shows Makarov the 141+Farah. Makarov doesn't see the Fate of people as literal images, he often has to interpret odd symbolism in the flashes he gets from the Weave of Fate.

I decided to go for a style I saw in a collection of calling cards in MW3, mainly from this one:

You can really see it in the faces and pitch-black cel shading.

I'll be going in order of appearance, starting with Farah.

Obviously, each of the "flashes" shows the Reaping of each person, Farah being crushed under rubble. Behind her is a helo of green gas, which symbolizes the Russian experimental gas. The motifs around her are more interesting imo - they're taken from the Urzik flag (and yeah apparently it's "Urzik" and not "Urzikstani"... according to the wiki at least). Wings, plants (feels to me like a pomegranate and some sort of crop, but I couldn't find what it is specifically), and a moon, upside down.

I'm skipping ahead a bit, but I've had the idea to make a drawing of Gaz in the Hanged Man pose since I started the AU basically. I tried sketching it once, and it went bad so I gave up lol. But I decided to come back to that here, and add some sort of tarot connection to all of them. I know practically nothing about tarot, googled the meanings of each, they fit well enough, I called it a day lol.

So Farah is the Moon, upside down.

Price is next, showing him taking control of the brain of someone. I didn't use the flag of the UK for the 141 (it'd be kinda boring...), instead I took the Taskforce 141 logo, and broke it down to different elements.

I took the laurels for Price, both framing his illustration and sitting above his head like a crown. I decided he will be the Emperor.

Next up is Gaz, the Hanged Man of course. Gaz gets both the wings and the stars (I changed mine to 4-pointed because... I like them better). Pretty clear why, both symbols relate to the sky. The illustrations kinda follow a rough day cycle, if that makes sense. Farah being night, with the moon. Price with his golden and purple color palette, twilight. Gaz being sunrise, and Ghost and Soap, day. This is why Gaz has a sun behind him.

Ghost was fun because he's the only inhuman one out of the group. I'll let you think what that implies, that even in Fate's Weave, Ghost is an outlier... Ghost gets the skull, and the card "Death". That one was easy, but what I did add is blood flowing down the skulls, like tear tracks...

Soap, the problem child, gave me the most issues as always. For once, it wasn't his fucking face, it was the flames behind him, and overall contrast and readability issues. Soap's illustration is probably packed with the most "hidden" details, though they're obvious if you've read the fic and Konchar's side story. The headless man behind Soap is Konchar himself, holding 4 chains with dog tags on them. The 4 soldiers from Soap's squad, who he killed before Soap was Reaped. Soap's pose is from the moment he came to his senses, after getting shot in the head and destroying a large part of Verdansk. He has 4 swords, pointing at him and downwards, so his card is 4 of Swords, upside down.

Between Soap and Ghost is a circle and a triangle. I'll explain that in the post concerning the video, since that's where I got that from.

If you read all of this, thank you so much! There will be another post for you to read in a moment lol

[crescentfool]

What are your ryomina headcanons? I've loved these two since I played P3 FES, and I'm so excited to get back into the fandom^^

hi!! thank you so much for the ask, welcome back to the p3 fandom, it's always a delight to see new and old ryomina fans alike! 🥺💛💙

as for headcanons, here's a "few" i that i tend to come back to a lot! my interpretations of them are influenced from both the source material and other's fanworks, so i've linked to them as i saw fit! hcs in no particular order under the cut because oops this got long (900 word bullet point list, mentions of reload content up to 1/1)

minato's hair is dyed blue (hair originally brown, you can see it in his roots!) and he has a beauty mark on under his left eye. i like mirror imagery and there's definitely a few arts i've rb'd that portray them this way :) (e.g. this one by feliichu and this one by marasschino)

as far as i'm concerned the bathhouse scene from the manga where ryoji's hair down = similar shape to minato? that is canon to me. this art from xierru is a fun depiction of hair down ryoji :D

ryoji is homeless. everyone say thank you foxmulder_whereartthou for this awesome fic it's why i have the headcanon! but like seriously. we have no idea where ryoji lives and i could believe this.

minato dying at the end of the game is sad to an outsider's POV BUT!!! ryomina gets to be together in death for the rest of their lives (this illustration from mafuwara is a gorgeous representation of them as nyx avatar + the seal)!

speaking of the seal, they are like telepathically communicating to me in the great seal together. (mymp3 had a comic wip with this. give it a looksie :D)

ryoji likes cuddling with minato because he's warm :) (something something orpheus has fire affinity, minato is warm by extension and ryoji is cold because he's death)

ryoji's camera roll is filled with pictures of minato! ryoji... loves life, to me. and i feel that photography and journaling are perfect ways of expressing gratitude and capturing the moments in life that are most important to you :3

my other favorite activity for these two is stargazing- i feel like it's something they could appreciate either in life or death (looking at the stars from the great seal...)! they do a bit of this in the fic eurydice's vow by crescentmoontea (P5R spoilers, takes place in third sem it's a very fun fic concept).

between ryoji and minato i feel like ryoji was the one who fell in love first- and it doesn't really click in place for minato that he loves ryoji until december hits (appriser reveal + ryoji transforming into thanatos). its about the realization that ryoji was with him for his whole life and that he gets him like no one else does.

ryoji is like a sad and wet puppy who is so scared minato won't like him back. he is so scared of being rejected by minato to me like. this boy straight up deflates after he does his "i know i said i wanted us to be friends, but... i actually want to be something more." / "what about you?" on 12/1 ???

AND SPEAKING of wet puppy ryoji. ryoji is like. every animal in the world to me. he's a bird. he's a cat. etc. and also ryoji knows every language in the world ever and uses it to express his love for minato. see this fic from superheroics to see what i mean.

both of them are lactose intolerant. "this isn't lactose, it's milk!" i definitely think ryoji would make himself sick eating ice cream and milk he doesn't know what lactose is. (i made a silly poll about this once and the tags were very entertaining.)

i see minato as transmasc or nonbinary depending on the day (schrodinger's headcanons babey they're simultaneously true and not true at the same time!!). either way he's not cis to me and ryoji is like. His Gender. anyway go read this fic by nail_gun for t4t ryomina :D !

ryomina are WEIRD GUYS TO ME!!! they are so strange and they understand each other better than anyone else because of the circumstances of their relationship!!! if you asked them to do the "i wonder what i taste like" meme i think they'd start biting each other (affectionate) tbh but that's just me.

after ryoji gives minato the music box in 12/31 on reload, minato listens to the music box every night in january. this boy has insomnia and also chronic illness to me (things that housing death does to you). but i think he finds comfort in the melody and memories he made with ryoji.

in general, i think it's fun to imagine minato taking ryoji to places and show him things he's interested in! i feel that ryoji takes a lot of interest in minato's life, this isn't really a hc because in reload, minato DOES give ryoji a tour of the school (11/9) and possibly port island (11/12). but ITS CUTE OK! (tangentially related fanwork: this series of doodles from vinnigami: 1, 2, and 3)

not a hc but minato's kindness is like the backbone of their relationship and i think we would not have the ryomina we know and love today if minato wasn't such a kind soul. oh minato.... we can learn so much from you... like ryoji did!

anyway! that's all the hcs that i could think of, thank you for the ask! i had a lot of fun answering this, these two mean a lot to me 💛💙

i hope you don't mind the links to the fanart and fanfic as well, the fanwork people have made for ryomina have really made an imprint on me! if you want to see more of them, i definitely recommend looking through my tag for them because oh. i got a lot of them reblogged alright 😂 (<- SOOO NORMAL)

[era-the-witchy-birdkid]

DP X DC Prompt/Idea

Long time writer for the DC fandom (mostly Batman specifically Tim Drake joins the batfam early AUs and Titans Tower AU) on Archive, Danny Fenton also known as Astroboy2025, decides three days after his ‘Accident’ to create a Jason wakes up a Halfa in his coffin fic. He only does this to help himself process his emotions after well lets be honest his death and revival. And later once the ghost attacks pick up and he picks up the mantle of a hero as a way to covertly get advice/figure out on how to fight ghosts better by transplanting all his ghosts into Gotham for Fic!Jason to fight.

Danny wasn’t expecting much to come from this, he wasn’t expecting the fic to blow up in popularity for ‘creative storylines’ and ‘unique original villains with a ghostly flare to go against the ghostly Robin now named Phantom’ it was just a vent fic with a bit of wishful thinking on his part with Ghost!Jason and Bruce's relationship being so close (He ends up writing Jason getting hugs and affirmations that Bruce still loves despite all the ghost stuff that happening now whenever his Parents go on a tirade about how all ghosts are evil and need to be ripped apart molecule by molecule)

He definitely wasn't expecting his fans to find out about the real Phantom and figure out his identity from there. (Blame Penelope Spectra she had a history unlike the others in his rogues gallery with a bloody trail across America of sharply increase Suicide rates in more isolated smaller cites/large towns that was being tracked by Redditers that had hard stopped in Amity park just a few days before he dropped the chapter of Jason facing her himself)

While the Amity Park tourism to see a IRL Hero in action, and the Anti-Ecto acts Riots, as they would later be called, made by DC fans throwing a fit about the threat to the world’s first superhero were the lesser consequence in the grand scheme of things. Finding his fan Discord was a trip and a half especially since Tucker had to hack into it into the first place because his fans we're extremely protective of his secret ID and reinforced the server a crapton to be stronger then most banks.

While Sam was insisting on this being a horrible Idea and he should try to dissuade his thousands of fans from the truth of his Identy. Danny was just chill with it after the brief panic. And the Fan Discord was super helpful for getting Advce with! while the jokes that he was Batman Adoption bait was annoying the group was amazing for ideas on how to train his powers and advice on how to better fight ghosts. the Discord even make a Power list for him so he wouldn’t forget a power because he wasn’t training it. plus the comfort they gave after Circus Gothica was A+ even with the jokes about how the Batfam curse of clown trauma, despite matching the look as a human batman isn’t real so as much as his fans joke about him being the prefect Bat bait that will not happen.

To bad after a particularly nasty ghost hate rant in front of him in ghost form while being shot at by his parents that before the server would spawn 3 chapters of Family fluff in his fic, was whatched angrily by a fan who in a fit of annoyed rage said these words. “I really wish batman WAS real, then maybe you could be safe in your home for once”

unfortunately Desiree was out and about and heard the wish granted she had no idea who Batman was so went to read the DC comics after that. Good news the DC universe is so messed up as is that Desiree decided no twisting was necessary she’d just to bring everything to life. Bad news all the supervillains now exist along side the now existing superheros and Desiree is now Kaiju sized and now way to powerful for Danny to deal with alone... 

At least the now real Batfam are taking their sudden existence well? and are willing to help Danny stop the Mad Genie dispite the risk that they would pop into nonexistence (with the entire city of Gotham and the other cities, villains, and heroes made real by Desiree’s power) if she’s stopped

[thedragonagebigbang]

Bang Creator Interview: Tumblr: @vaamiel  |  AO3: vaamiel

The Collaboration period has begun! In these quiet months before works are due, we want to foster a sense of excitement, camaraderie, and celebration among our participants. To that end, all participants were given the option of a formal interview by our mod, Dema, or an informal “ask-game” survey. We hope you enjoy getting to know our phenomenal creators as much as we have!

Interview with Vaamiel

Vaamiel and Dema talk artistic development, childhood anime obsessions (-cough-Naruto-cough), and hoping to see Dorian in DA4

Dema: So, I know you take commissions, but have you done many exchanges before? Any Big Bangs?

Vaamiel: I've done a handful of exchanges over the years, but nothing really substantial. No big bangs either - though I've certainly read enough fics and seen enough art that others have done, haha. I'm sort of just... dipping my toes into the world of fanart for the first time since I was a teenager, so even though I've been drawing for ages, a lot of this is completely new territory for me.

Dema: Oh that is awesome! Welcome to the bang! What led you to return to fanart?

Vaamiel: I think a combination of a couple things: confidence in my own ability plays a big part of it – it's really intimidating to draw characters that I love so much and translating them into my style has always been difficult – but this past year is also the first time I've been really passionate about a game in... well, about a decade, and I think that's led to more experimentation and willingness to stick to learning subject matter that I otherwise struggle with. Mostly, Dragon Age coming back and Baldur's Gate 3 being out at the same time really pushed me back into the world of wanting to participate in fandom from more than the sidelines.

Dema: I really love your work. Artist to artist, how did you develop that confidence and style expression? What has that journey looked like for you?

Vaamiel: Thank you so much! It's funny actually, because the way I draw now has kind of... always been my style? It's just my technique and understanding of fundamentals that has improved. I can look back through my childhood sketchbooks and go, this was for SURE made by the same person, haha. As a kid I was all about anime and comics and games – particularly early gamecube and xbox stuff that relied on very stylized graphics to compensate for the technology. All of those things really saturated my brain and effectively became super tied to my own understanding of art and artistry and how I wanted to make art.

I've tried to emulate other styles or artists' techniques over the years, but (and I think this ties back to why I struggle with fanart) my own voice is so strong in my work that it really took all the joy out of creating. I've learnt over time that my personal art evolution is all about small changes and improvements, rather than trying to force ideas or ability through radical stylistic changes. Basically, I draw what I like and add things here or there as I come across something that I think would fit organically into my own style. That's been things like brushes or expressions or even the way I structure my sketches - all things that are small but can make a big difference in the overall picture. Add to that how my confidence has improved as my actual ability has improved, I think I've really organically grown into being better able to wrangle my style and apply that to fanart, original art, et cetera.

Dema: So now I do have to ask what fanart you were making as a kid and high-schooler? (I was a Sailor Moon kid. Sailor Scouts for ALL the most obscure celestial bodies one can imagine 😂)

Vaamiel: Hah! oh no 😂I was CRAZY about Naruto as a kid - actually, the first fanfiction I ever read was Naruto fanfiction. Then after that it was Homestuck, Inuyasha, Steven Universe, Pokemon, Dragon Age/Mass Effect... not necessarily in that order! I wish I was a Sailor Moon kid to be honest – would be WAY cooler than admitting I was a Naruto kid!

Dema: Inuyasha!!!!

Vaamiel: YES!

Dema: To be fair I am older than you by a pretty big margin LOL, I probably would have been a Naruto kid as well.

Vaamiel: LOL fair enough! It was in just the right time slot on cable when I was about...9 that the 4kids dub formed the foundation of my entire personality from that point onward.

Dema: So cute! Was there a particular moment that got you into Dragon Age fanwork?

Vaamiel: So, for my own work, I think it was the trailer last Dragon Age day and then in… January of this year or so, replaying Origins that had the cup finally spill over and I sat down and started making fanart. It was like my love for the series hit critical mass and with Veilguard coming up, it felt like the perfect time to actually try to make it work, you know? When it comes to appreciating Dragon Age fanart as a fan, it was two creators from tumblr that did it. Crystalvfae did a series of fanart that fundamentally altered my brain chemistry (I still look back on their painting of Morrigan and sigh sometimes - it is SO good). Then I found Spicyshimmy and was never the same. Their Anders/Hawke work is so special and got me into reading fanfiction voraciously in general. It totally reignited my love for reading and was the thing that got me into AO3!

Dema: Is there any specific bit of Veilguard that has you most excited? Or are you mostly avoiding spoilers?

Vaamiel: I am SO all in on all the Veilguard content honestly. I love trying to pick little bits out of the trailers and stills we've gotten so far and make connections to the lore/put together potential plot theories. I think I'm so excited for all of it? Like, I'm just ready to get back into the world of Thedas itself and experience a cool new story. Of course, I do love the graphical upgrade and all the locations we've seen so far and the costuming!! It's really all been exactly what I've been wanting. Also seeing Dorian again. That's probably pretty up there too.

Dema: Yes! Man. I cannot believe how cool Minrathous is. Dorian tried to tell us, but I am still flabbergasted.

Vaamiel: He was right!! All along!!! We really were in a different century.

Dema: As far as the current collaboration process goes, how are you feeling? Are the ideas percolating? Are the sketches sketching?

Vaamiel: Yes! I feel amazing about the partnership I've got!! I've got some scenes that I've got some sketches going for already – as soon as I read my fic I could see exactly where I wanted to take the art. The atmosphere is so good and the writing lends itself perfectly to the kind of pieces that I love to make. I'm really, really excited to be creating for this fic and collaboration!

Dema: I am delighted to hear that, we cannot wait to see what everyone creates!

Vaamiel: That was Very Difficult to be appropriately vague for haha - it really is an absolute delight to be working with my partners and I can't wait to talk about this fic and the art I'm making for it.

Dema: It is soooo hard to ask questions that are not POINTED hahahahaha, as someone on the inside who knows everyone's matches. You get an A+

Vaamiel: Yay!!!! I’m glad I was able to keep things appropriately mysterious 😌

Dema: Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with me today, it has been super fun!

Vaamiel: Absolutely! Thank you so much for hosting this interview and all the work you've put in for this event!! This has been a blast!

[efingart]

May I ask how did you come up with your Bell oc? She's amazing and even though I have my own Bell can't stop obsessing over yours haha, made me wish there was more than one Bell :3 also I love your art, you're the best!

Hey anon, oh thank you so much. I'm so happy you like her. It's really so cool to hear that you care about her 💙

I don't think I ever sat down to think about her creation. It's like she came fully formed out of my head like Athena.

I don't know how long you've been in the fandom, but she's been with me for a few years now. So I've had the benefit of time to develop her as a character and work on her overall look. Hell I didn't have a faceclaim for her for a year. And I've written, oh, a lot of words about her and a few comics lol. Also tons and tons and tons of drawings. Here's one now:

Also, I'm amazed at how things fell into place with her. For example, in the original JWIN comic (which is now just Chapter 1 of the fic) I just on a whim decided she liked milkshakes. And then I decided to look it up. Apparently, milkshakes were super popular in Soviet Russia. I had NO IDEA. But of course, now I had to run with it. And now I actually see there are people posting recipes for Soviet milkshakes. I think I'm going to have to make one.

If I had actually set goals for her development they would have been to fit her into canon events, the time period, and make her likable and relatable to my audience. And to me. She's definitely the kind of character that I gravitate towards. And I needed for Frank and for her to like Frank. I wanted to give both of them a little something better than what canon gave them. And given that I played Black Ops 1 and 2 after Cold War it just seemed like a natural fit.

Anyway, I wish I was a little more organized so I could give you a better answer. I'm always happy to answer more questions or clarify things because I know this wasn't the most detailed answer. Or if you have any questions about Mila in particular always feel free to ask!

And thank you so much, I'm really happy you love my art. That means the world to me, truly. I know I say that a lot but I do mean it genuinely 💙

EDIT: Oh hell I got so wrapped up in thinking this through I completely forgot. There is more than one Bell. I don't know how you feel about multiverse theory anon but when CoD gave us the choice to name and choose our own Bell it opened up the door to new universes and new outcomes. There's more than one Bell. If you want your Bell to hang out with mine or someone else's that works too.

Tbh I have been thinking about another Bell in The Boys Universe and Mila is there too.

[symbiotic-slime]

idk how much you’re willing to spoiler about your fic BUT I am so curious if there will be any other avatars besides Eddie/Venom & which entities you associate with which characters!! :o I always thought a tma/marvel crossover would be so cool, I’m so interested in this :]

I’m always happy to share more about these fics!! I admittedly haven’t thought of many characters since I’ve basically only made lore for Eddie/Venom and Flash 😅 I’m hoping the fics will be written like a statement/series of statements!

for what entities they’d serve, I think Eddie would be an avatar of the Corruption! it just fits symbrock so well— like a parasite (affectionate) who is obsessively in love with you is basically combining all of the aspects of the Corruption into one. in my fic, Venom starts out as mold growing in Eddie’s apartment which he starts off trying to kill but eventually the Corruption gets a hold of him mentally and he bonds with Venom! there’s a lot of body horror with Eddie since the Corruption is just perfect for body horror. lots of rot/decay (he’s basically Jane Prentiss-esque but instead of worms it’s goop) and also to highlight the obsessive/toxic love part Eddie’s rib cage is ripped open and Venom is wrapped around his heart >:3

I think Flash would be an avatar of the Slaughter! I know I’m so original by making the solider character a Slaughter avatar but it fits him too well 😭 his fic is a lot sadder than Eddie’s, since I’m kinda making the unpredictable abuse he suffered from his dad the catalyst for the entity noticing him and starting to influence him. I’m warping around the comics timeline a bit so he joins the army right after high school and also making it so his legs being amputated is the result of his need for violence instead of him being a war hero to fit the Slaughter better! in the hospital, since he can’t really feed the Slaughter anymore, its influence on him starts to wain and he resolves to become a better person (think like what happened with the coffin in s4)! it’s not entirely a happy ending, since he is getting weaker and weaker by trying to be a better person, but he makes amends with Peter and their friendship starts there in the fic! that’s as happy of an ending as anyone in a TMA au can get unfortunately :,(

I was also thinking of making the Venom symbiote an avatar! I kinda scrapped that idea because I figured they would be an avatar of the Hunt and I wasn’t sure how to show that in a way that significantly deviates from canon? like they already kind of have to kill to survive, and are an apex predator with a drive to hunt. I’ll make a fic about that if I can think of a fun supernatural way to do it but as of now it’s still a headcanon but I’m not a planning a fic about it

I’ve also thought about what entity they would be a victim of! I’m a big fan of putting my favourite characters in situations, so it’s very fun to assign them their own personal hell, but I haven’t thought of any fic ideas for it. they’ve just been given a vibe lol.

Eddie would be a victim of the Lonely (he starts having a breakdown every time he thinks the symbiote has died and starts weeping about how “we’re dead” and cannot get over Anne for the life of him… he just seems like his biggest fear is being alone)

Flash would be a victim of the Web (specifically with the addiction imagery from s5, but also with him being repeatedly blackmailed in the comics)

Venom would be a victim of the Desolation (especially with Eddie and Dylan both “dying” in the current run, I’d also ignore Flash’s resurrection so it’s just like “all my friends are dead”)

[spookymultimedia]

Helpless To Defy His Fate: The Sountrack

Here's the music that inspired each chapter of my fanfiction, songs that go nicely with what I've written and a look into my creative process while writing

Chapter 1

El Tango De Roxane from Moulin Rouge

I'm not a fan of this musical or the canon story behind this song but I know I'm not alone in this attachment to this song. This song gave me a vision of Nandor betrayed by Guillermo by his act of violence. He's devastated. I was specifically inspired by the tiktok videos that combine Roxanne and the Plauges from The Prince of Egypt. At this point, the story in my head was like this opera style drama that's full of love, loss and pain. Nandor is the one who's heart is crying.

The Ballad of Jane Doe from Ride The Cyclone

I wanted to capture feeling this song gave more than the actual story in this song. I thought about Laszlo and his feelings of betrayal as he's quickly dying. He doesn't have time to process that he's dying. It's tragic. It really is an unfair death. I guess the Fall Fair Suite fits too but this song was a bigger influence

Bright Eyes by Art Garfunkel

This is one of the songs that I think fits Nandor's grief. He's struggling to process the fact Laszlo is dead and that Guillermo killed him.

CH 2

Sad Song by We The Kings

This captures Nadja's grief perfectly. The entire song is how she feels about Laszlo dying. At this point in writing this fic was an exploration of grief and how each of these characters would experience it. I didn't have a Nandermo arc in mind quite yet. I didn't expect this fic to be longer than two chapters. It's was a impulsive idea I wanted to write down. I wanted to write drama and angst for no reason but catharsis and enjoyment.

My Immortal by Evenessance

This was something I listened to while I was writing and thinking about Colin's Grief. He used to comfort Laszlo and learning about Laszlo's abusive home when he was young concerned him. Laszlo grieved him once and now Colin is grieving him. It's ironic. Also I was somewhat influenced by BCR's love for Evenessence and Papa Roach.

Look Who's Inside Again by Bo Burnam

This one was a huge influence on how I wrote Colin Robinson in this fanfiction. Laszlo was someone who gave Colin Robinson friendship when he was desperate to be understood and tired of being forgotten. He was happy and confident. When the one person that understood Colin better than anyone else in his life died he felt alone and insecure again. He struggled to reach out to the people around him and feel into a severe depression that kept him in his bed with no one to feed on but the cruelty of the internet. Colin Robinson is generally the comic relied character. "It's hard to be funny while stuck in a room". He usually enjoys telling his friends dumb jokes but now he's struggling to feel any joy at all. Draining online was a treat but in this situation it made him feel worse and left him feeling like shit

Chapter 3

Flying Dreams from The Secret of NIMH

Chapter 3 was just a sickfick/hurt&comfort I just wanted to write something nice and wholesome and cuddly after all the pain and truama that happened in the previous chapters. This chapter is the calm before the storm in a way. The scene where Nandor is helping Colin Robinson drink its tea was directly inspired by that scene in Secret of Nimh. There's a big emphasis on familial and platonic affection and love in the second half of this chapter.

That's the only song I had in mind for this chapter. The rest was just character interaction with my OC Desdemona. She wasn't originally going to be in this chapter but I really liked the idea of Nandor speaking to it. I think in a less grim timeline they would fuck at least once lol. There's so much grief going around I needed to put Desdemona in this fic, she eats that energy up. I'm glad I decided to it really helped me get a strong sense of its character.

Chapter 4

Bohemian Rapsody by Queen

I had this song already in mind while I was working on chapter 3. I knew I wanted to write Guillermo into this fever dream of guilt and self loathing. I wanted to go into the uncanny territory of weirdness. The part in his dream where Nadja kills Guillermo is directly inspired by an alternate ending proposed by @/ednacrabapple in which Nandor teaches Nadja to swordfight ti kill Guillermo. The twist would be she wouldn't be able to do it and suddenly Nandor gets the confidence to kill him. The lyrics that that inspired me the most where these:

I see a little silhouetto of a man,

Scaramouch, Scaramouch, will you do the Fandango!

Thunderbolts and lightning, very, very frightening me

He's just a poor boy from a poor family,

Spare him his life from this monstrosity

Beelzebub has a devil put aside for me, for me,

For meee

So you think you can stop me and spit in my eye

So you think you can love me and leave me to die

Oh, baby, can't do this to me, baby,

Just gotta get out, just gotta get right outta here

Also in the beginning we see the death from Guillermo's perspective. "Momma, life has just begun but now I've gone and thrown it all away." Guillermo is new to being a vampire and now that's been completely ruined by his murderous tendencies.

No Way Out from Brother Bear

This is one of the movies I took inspiration from for this fanfiction. I wanted to find stories that had similar stories of murder, guilt and forgiveness. I needed to make sure it was obvious that Guillermo lives in guilt and fear. Everyone else has a warped perception of him and believe he's killing for fun. I needed write the opposing perspective in this story.

Oh Miss Believer by Twenty One Pilots

There were three songs that inspired how I wrote nandermo in this chapter. This song is a love letter to Guillermo. Guillermo is scared and helpless. He's in a deep depression and struggling to carry on. Nandor is scared for Guillermo's life and while he addresses that Guillermo has done terrible things he wants to protect him some how. This chapter is when you start to see that Nandor and Guillermo are psychically linked to each other in a very literaral sense. They can feel and read each other's thoughts without knowing they are. They know the worst is yet to come and they're fearful.

Talking to Moon by Bruno Mars

This describes Nandor's feelings. He wants Guillermo badly against the better judgment of everyone else around him.

Aftermath by Lifehouse

Throughout the story Nandor and Nadja grow closer as lovers. Their feelings and actions change into something romantic. They're both traumatized and as a result hold onto each other because they're scared of losing one another. Despite the grief they feel warmth with one another.

Wisdom of Snow by Trans Siberian Orchestra

This song is from the album The Lost Christmas Eve and acts as the contemplative buffer between the old man's confrontation with his past and his emotional breakthrough. This chapter is foreboding and foreshadows what the next few chapters have in store. This song is also what I titled chapter 4. It wad a last minute decision I made while trying to come up with a good title that wasn't stale.

Chapter 5

Hayloft by Mother Mother

The idea that Sean should hunt down Guillermo to kill him as revenge was inspired by a conversation I had with @/2offayyo-kzt. Sean is angry and grieved his lover Laszlo was killed unfairly. He believes murder is the answer.

An eye for an eye, a leg for a leg

A shot in the heart doesn't make it unbreak

She really didn't wanna make it messy

She really, really didn't, but the girl gone cray

Christmas (baby please come home)

I never planned for Simon to be in this fic but I started to think about how Simon would react to Laszlo's absence. It was a joke idea and then I thought a brief moment of comedy in this fic was what the story needed. While I was brainstorming I had found this tiktok and got this idea. I thought it would be fun to write Simon being trapped in this cheery environment while his heart has just been shattered to pieces. It's painfully ironic. Unlike the other songs in this soundtrack this one is diagetic. It's both taunting Simon and describes his feelings. He's desperate to see Laszlo again and he wants Laszlo to be home again more than anything.

Cause I remember when you were here

And all the fun we had last year

This line is in reference to Go Flip Yourself

The song repeats over and over "baby please come home" which is how desperate Simon is to be with Laszlo again.

Story of My Life by One Direction

This was a very risky decision I made while writing this fic. To me in only felt natural that Nadja would go through some kind of emotional journey during this time of grief. I just really wanted to write the moment that Nadja's ghost dissappears. It's like self reflection. This song is Nadja's first step into accepting Laszlo is gone. She begins to acknowledge the happy moments she had with Laszlo.

Sugarcloud from Ride The Cyclone

Nadja and her ghost have alot in common but I suspect there's dissonance when it comes to Laszlo. Nadja doll never got to meet Laszlo and doesn't quite understand what Nadja sees in him. She didn't get to experience falling in love with Laszlo. Nadja's ghost is under the impression that her life was a waste and her legacy is dependent on what she's known as in the vampire world. Nadja is obsessed with her reputation and strives for success to the point she neglects her own joy and falls into burnout. As Nadja recalls her life spent with Laszlo they both come to the realization that she doesn't need to prove her existence to anyone. Just being alive is enough and not having a grand legacy doesn't make her worthless. She'd undead but it still applies lol.

The way I see it Nadja became one with her ghost. She's no longer haunted by her childhood or insecurities. She's finally made peace with her truamas and allowing herself to rest. The reason she's taking up a small hobby earlier in the chapter is because she's trying to learn how to relax and just do something because it's fun and not to be good at it.

Chapter 6

One of Us from The Lion King 2

Months before I decided to write this fanfic I was already obsessed with the idea of the three vampire from the 2014 movie passing judgement to Guillermo. They would struggle to feel any compassion for him and only feel fear and hate for something dangerous they can't understand. I would listen to this imagining the potential conflict between the the three vampires and the main characters in the series on the topic of Guillermo. I always envisioned Nandor being the Nala sitting on the sidelines with everyone against his plea to spare Guillermo. Most characters see Guillermo as a threat and feel hurt by him. I specifically feel that this line fits Simon.

Someone once lied to us

Now we're not so blind!

& by Tally Hall

Guillermo has to face vampiric law and its very vicious and cruel. There's lots of tension and a significant lack of understanding.

When the golden rule and the jungle meet

There'll be nothing to love and there'll be no one to beat.

Oh, the things we know, the things we don't

Oh, the things we think, we can, will and won't

[CW: flashing in clip ] Hungover in the City of Dust by Autoheart

I'll be honest while I was writing the last two of this fic I wasn't in the best state mentally and at the time I'm writing this I don't feel any better. I let that feeling inspire how I wrote Guillermo. It was like a strange form of catharsis projecting all my hopeless thoughts and frustrations onto Guillermo. Guillermo is having the worst night of his life and he's barely keeping it together.

The Trial by Pink Floyd

While the title of this chapter is accurate to what happens its also referring to this song. Guillermo is in a cage being accused of his crimes but he's also at war with his own self loathing. Viago is this symbol of vampiric class and acts downright patronizing to him.

Hells Comin With Me

Simon wasn't supposed to return but I grew to love the idea that it was Simon who told the Vampiric Council about Guillermo crimes and arrest him. I wanted to play into the fact that Simon is a character that tends to return when we least expect it in canon. Now he's back and full of righteous anger.

I am the righteous hand of God

And I am the devil that you forgot

While I was writing this fic I was fleshing out my headcannons for Simon since he's a half baked character at the moment. I got this idea that Simon had this catholic past when he was alive and it sticks with him a bit as a vampire. One way is his shape-shifting abilities, when under high stress or anger, forms into something others would compare to a biblically accurate angel. It's something that would deeply scare Guillermo, who already has religious truama.

SURPRISE! A DELETED SCENE! :D

Bloom from Joseph King of Dreams

This was deleted due to pacing issues and it just felt out of place. This would take place after the trial with Guillermo telling The Barron everything. The Barron feels sorrowful yet sympathetic. He's not proud of who had been in the past and for thinking he was above all of mankind. He had changed and he believes Guillermo can grow from this too.

You've seen the damage words can do

When full of thoughtless pride

Now heed the wiser voice in you

That calls to be your guide

One Normal Night from The Addams Family the musical

I'm not a huge fan of this musical. I feel like it misses the point of The Addams Family, which is radical acceptance in a conservative society. However I do love the artists and editors who show their favorite characters experiencing a traumatic night where stuff just keeps happening to them. I think Guillermo is in a similar situation in this fic

While My Guitar Gently Weeps by The Beatles

I don't think the men who are The Beatles are good people. I think I owe my love for their songs to the obscure movie Cirque Du Soleil. There's a handful of artistic and abstract interpretations of their songs. In this movie this song is visualized as a widow who lost her husband to war. I bring this up as it was inspiration for writing Nandor's grief for Laszlo. Their relationship soured and Nandor will never have closure with Laszlo. He regrets that he didn't appreciate Laszlo enough while he had him. He also wonders if things would be different if he expressed his love for Guillermo sooner.

Chapter 7

Runs in the Family by Amanda Palmer

This was another part I projected myself into. Guillermo hates who his family is. He's a Van Helsing and no matter how much he denys it or tries to hide it, it will always come back to him.

I cannot, I cannot, I cannot run from my family

They're hiding inside of me, corpses on ice

Guillermo has ran from many things in his life. He's ran from his sexuality and the catholic church but it's always there to haunt him. He's quite literally become a criminal on the run and he's not proud of it.

Mary, have mercy, now look what I've done

But don't blame me because I can't help where I come from

And running is something that we've always done well

And mostly I can't even tell what I'm running from

Grenade by Bruno Mars

Nandor has this unconditional love for Guillermo and while he struggles to vocalize or or express it in a productive way he does cause him to do pretty stupid things. Nandor would literally die for him. Guillermo does feel the same but he's a coward. Besides neither of them could communicate.

Lullaby for a Princess by ponyphonic

Guillermo and Nandor are doomed, in this timeline at least. Nandor doesn't appreciate Guillermo. Nandor didn't support him when he wasn't given any respect. No matter how much Guillermo demand to become a vampire, he refuses to turn him in fear of the consequences but mostly because of his pride. So Guillermo took things into his own hands and became a vampire without him. Guillermo refused to listen to Laszlo's criticism and it resulted in something Guillermo regrets. Nandor knows their relationship us doomed but he still wishes him well as they're forced apart.

The years now before us

Fearful and unknown

I never imagined

I'd face them on my own

May these thousand winters

Swiftly pass, I pray

I love you, I miss you

All these miles away

Everything I do, I do it for You

I remember this song from the movie Robin Hood. I don't remember much of the movie but I remember how the song made me feel. It was like this knight in shinning armor kind of song where you fantasize about rescuing someone you adore or the person rescuing you. I associate alot of 80s dad rock with Nandor. It's romantic and its the ideal type of romance Nandor desires.

The Best of Friends from The Fox and The Hound

Before I really had a clear idea of the conclusion I wanted for this movie, I watched two movies for inspiration. I watched Brother Bear and The Fox and The Hound. The latter was the direct inspiration for the conclusion. I think Guillermo and Nandor are similar to Todd and Cooper. Guillermo is the troublesome fox who keeps causing trouble and accidental harm. Nandor wants to love Guillermo and defend him but he knows they should be enemies and their relationship might be impossible to have without issues.

When these moments have passed

Will that friendship last

Who can't say there's a way

Oh, I hope

I hope it never ends

'Cause you're the best of friends

The scene where Cooper stands in front of Todd to protect him is a touching scene. There's not really a solid answer to the issue. They all go their separate ways and decide to give up the chase. The rabid warewolf is a parallel to the bear Todd fights and Sean parallels Amos Slade who's mind is set on revenge. Nandor's eyes are based on how Cooper stares at his master, pleading for mercy. Nandor's eyes are full of emotion and it works to my advantage for this fanfiction. Sean gives up and chooses peace. Nandor and Guillermo separate on good terms but they will never forget their friendship.

[eclipsecrowned]

1-6 about soap and cod >:3 // @luxsclaris

What made you pick up this character?

Old RPC needed a Soap to round out several ships/team dynamics, and I delivered. I'd always been fond of McKidd's Soap since I first watched/played through the original MW2, enough to give him a whirl. I also had several ideas I wanted to explore with him that meshed better with a roleplay community than simply faffing about in fic, to be honest.

How did you get into this franchise/fandom?

High school friends and an ex were into COD. I'd hang out among the lads and it slowly dawned on me 'Oh shit these games have a story mode?' I remember explicitly asking 'which one is the masked guy?' about the original MW bc my ex was huge into Ghost as a character, not realizing that he showed up in the sequel. As a teen that was really big into espionage/warfare narratives, it became a natural fit for a Fandom Du Jour. Then I made Julia and well, that was it. I remain entrenched.

What’s the best thing about the show/series/books/comics/etc.?

I do love the new MW cast's enthusiasm for the series. I know that's expected of PR shills nowadays, I don't know these people and I'm not about to pull any kind of parasocial bullshit, but given how a lot of established actors just sort of brush off or don't pay mind to their voice-over work, it's kind of neat to see them interacting with fandom in a healthy way and acknowledging this side of their fanbase.

What’s the worst thing about the show/series/books/comics/etc.?

It's military propaganda on a grand scale and too many youths have drank the koolaid, including some I have known personally :(

What’s the best thing about the fandom?

My Friends Are Here :)

What’s the worst thing about the fandom?

I've been in this fandom nearly a decade and we're still dealing with the same racist/ableist/misogynistic/homophobic bullshit as when I started. It's even more pointed now because these braindead tiktok girlies have representation in series, a variety of races, backgrounds, and sexualities in the cast... and still only care about pushing two generic white ken dolls together and acting like they're morally superior for pushing military propaganda without having viewed the proaganda that inspired them. It's not even the dudebros anymore, it's the late teens-early twenty thirst crowd that moved in and decided to start putting performative white feminism up all over the place. Would you believe that Modern Warfare 2019 had a Afro-British man, an Iranian-coded freedom fighter lady, and a man who later obtained a prosthetic among its player characters? Probably not, because girlies only give a shit about making Ghost an e-boy and Soap crying and creaming his pants over him. Same fujoshi shit different decade.

[justastrugglinghotchocolate]

The Losing Game Masterpost

This is for my tpodg fic The Losing Game on Ao3! Here you’ll find links to Letters from Dorian, Interludes, and added content I made for this fic!

Read The Losing Game on AO3

Original tumblr posts for Chapters 1-4

(Disclaimer: they’re much better on Ao3 where I had more time to edit them)

The First Post (an overview of the idea—will spoil the entire story, so if you want to go in blind, come back to this later.)

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

(IMPORTANT: As of March 7th, 2023, chapters 3 and 4 were combined on Ao3, so Chapter 12 will be a brand new chapter!)

Letters from Dorian

Please note that chapters 10, 12, and 13 have interludes instead.

Letter 1 (Chapter 4)

Letter 2 (Chapter 5)

Letter 3 (Chapter 6)

Letter 4 (Chapter 7)

Letter 5 (Chapter 8)

Letter 6 (Chapter 9)

Letter 7 (Chapter 11)

Interludes

Interlude i (Chapter 10)

Interlude ii (Chapter 12)

Interlude iii (Chapter 13) TBA

Added Content!

The Playlist

Doodles!

From Chapters 1-2

Requests 1

Requests 2

Requests 3

Modern Stuff

Illustrations/Comics

New Years Fits

Henry v Roland Showdown

Hamlet?!

Don't You Feel Like A New Man?

Fireplace Confession

Dorian On A Train!

Friendship Ended...

Crackship!(Hedonistic Capitalism)

Can they be friends?

My Sibling's Horrible No Good Idea

The Result of My Sibling's Horrible No Good Idea

Vague Playlist and Funfacts!

Warm Up Doodle

The Comic TBA

[fezwearingjellybananas]

You’ve written a lot of amazing AUs 🥰 which one was the most challenging and why? What did you learn from writing it?

Thank you so much <3

I think that everything has had challenges, but due to just how long it is, it's probably the Milk and Sugar 'verse. I had so much fun writing that, but there were definitely moments. Beans in particular- it's one of the very rare occasions I started posting before having the entire fic written and the last few chapters really started diverging from the original plan, which did make writing feel a little more rushed and I learnt I very much prefer having the entire fic written than trying to work to self-imposed deadlines (hence Gone in a Flash updating daily but being fully written first). I think also there are a few parts of the Milk and Sugar 'verse I would do differently now, maybe more with other timeline Barry in Paper Cups, and part of the changes to Beans included losing some more Lily and Laurel focused parts, so they definitely did not get the relationship development I was necessarily hoping they would get in the original plan.

It did take years to write though, and it is the longest thing I have ever written, so it did teach me a lot, and apparently enough I should probably use a read more here.

There were a few points at the end it felt like I was maybe trying to juggle a few more characters than really fit in some of the scenes because I got attached to writing them and didn't want to send them off out the narrative (which I think is also something the Flash TV show maybe fell into a little with later series), so when I wrote Old Friends, the last Flash & Hawkgirl fic, although pretty much everyone is there by the end, there are only a handful of characters who get the focus of the plot, to be able to follow them more.

(I think that's actually that's one of the things comics can pull off better than written works- when you're writing you need to find a way to tell the reader a character is in a scene, whereas comics can have panels with dozens of characters in the background while only actively focusing on a handful, so the Justice League can be fifty odd people trying to stop the world ending again, while the focus of the plot is Batman again)

It also taught me about planning and what kind of plan works best for me- the way we did planning for creative writing at school was always the very rigid plans where you write down everything that happens and stick to it and I actually can't really write with that sort of plan, so previously I mostly just wrote by having a vague idea in my head and dropping backwards and forwards a lot. When I wrote the Milk and Sugar 'verse though I planned everything while writing Coffee, To Go, but I did it by splitting chapters and making a brief note of who the PoV character would be and a handful of bullet points on what I wanted to happen to get to the end point (and any future scenes I wrote early- some of these made it in, some got reshuffled, and some got cut entirely). Which I find works far better for me, I like having flexibility in a plan and the parts in the middle as finding out how they happen when I get there, but having like checkpoints almost to take me to the end of the plot is helpful, and quick bullet point brief planning is something I use for all my long fics now.

And also continuity- because it took so long to write I went back and read parts again but I also rather than take the chapters I'd written out the plan entirely I kept some brief summaries in there, as well as a list of dates I'd referenced (birthdays, things like that), a few lines that got picked out for Barry to say again post coming out the Speed Force at the beginning of Beans, and a list of all the canonical C.C.P.D. members- this came from the Arrow wiki and quite a few of them ended up with lines through their names because I did not feel quite so bad about killing them as I did about killing Ronnie (hence he came back again). Which helped me keep track of a few things to try not to keep contradicting myself later, and did come in helpful a few times, so if I were to write anything quite that large again, I'd probably use the same method.

And I learnt a lot about science! I did so much research for that fic, predominantly out of reading one little thing then getting curious and going to find out more, partly because I felt like writing scientists I should probably put some sciency stuff in there, and also because I was writing it approaching it as science fiction, when I got stuck at parts one of the things I did was go look up the actual real science of this scenario as much as possible and then twist that to fit what I needed the plot to do, which is something I learnt is helpful because of that series and have found very helpful for not getting writer's block in several situations now. Gone in a Flash there was a point I was stuck so went and read the wikipedia page on tachyons and that helped.

It also taught me I quite like writing Snowest.

Thank you!

[Talk Shop Tuesday]

[daddyplasmius]

So, you wanna know about Flying Over the Pit of Death, aka Magpie AU

Hi, it's me, Plasma, also known as fuckinart & daddyplasmius, here to introduce a little project I've been working on since 2020 (but the AU of which has been haunting me since 2016) called Flying Over the Pit of Death, or as I call it, FOtPoD, the Magpie AU.

On top of the panic, the anxiety, the disbelief, Danny thinks idly to himself that he has always wanted to fly. After an accident with his parents’ Portal, Danny Fenton finds himself no longer human in more ways than one.

I would like to say first that Magpie AU is 100% a crack AU that I accidentally started taking way too seriously, because I find identity shenanigans & losing your sense of self & humanity to be the perfect recipe for angst. The original idea that inspired Magpie AU was something called Bird AU by @rest-in-peachs & you can find the original Bird AU post here, though I used almost nothing from the original & added a whole lot more, hence the renaming to Magpie AU.

The fic itself is called Flying Over the Pit of Death, which is based on the quote, "We go down into the pit of death and feel the waters of annihilation close above our heads and wake thinking to find ourself in the presence of angels." by Virginia Woolf (which I now see is the incomplete version)

So, what actually is FOtPoD? Well, there's 3 main things you need to know about Magpie AU first:

Danny goes through the Portal Accident aloneーSam & Tuck aren't there. This is a No One Knows AU.

Danny's arm & leg are damaged from the Accident & he is held back by this in human form. He has chronic pain & limited mobility. And,

The whole reason for, well, everything, Danny's ghost form is a (ghostly) magpie. He can't shapeshift any more than he can in canon, he's just a magpie when he goes ghost now. There is no real reason for this.

So, again, what is FOtPoD? I explained the AU, but this doesn't really say anything about the fic itself, & the description is pretty vague.

To put it simply, FOtPoD is a pseudo-rewrite, with each part based on actual canon episodes. It focuses a lot on Danny's struggles with how humanーor inhumanーhe is post Accident, his degrading mental health, & his straining relationship with his friends & family while attempting to keep his hoard of secrets from them. Also, because I can't make Danny entirely alone here, he gets some crow friends, hence the art of him surrounded by crows.

If you haven't caught on already, this is heavily inspired by Animorphs since that's what I was reading when I gave in & began writing FOtPoD, as well as the Alex Rider book series which inspired the more current version & really helped me figure out how to write that particular mental health downward spiral.

So, what's to be expected? I've already planned & mapped out 12 parts, 60 chapters in whole, as well as a mini comic thing based on one of the later chapters which was actually one of the first chapters I'd planned & wrote.

Currently, I'm deep into editing & rewriting FOtPoD to better fit my plans & the themes for the third time, so posting it is looking a lot like

in the meantime, I'm going over my older fic, Phantom, for reasons, which be will updated regularly for the next 10-ish weeks on Wednesdays/Thursdays, & uh, expect more FOtPoD (& generally DP) art I guess xD

[getlostsquidward]

halo bestie i just want to ask for writing advice sgsjgfj i kinda want to start writing fics but ive never done any before and i struggle in finding the right words to articulate my ideas. do you do preliminary research (if that makes sense) or any techniques in writing? i hope it's okay to ask for some tips, i really adore how your writing style <3

First of all, check this. Second, I'm not a good at explaining things and this is pretty long so I hope this makes sense lol ANDDD thank you so much, I have insecurities with my writing style so this means a lot. 🫶

In starting a fic, you want to lay out the storyline in your head. Just imagine how things would flow, like you're watching a movie. Your movie. But don't take too long on imagining things because eventually you will forget it, so write it down, type it in your phone. You never know when ideas will come to you-before you sleep, in the shower, while washing the dishes, sometimes while zoning out the distance, you will eureka moments too and that's crucial. The light bulb moments for me were commonly a plot twist, plot device, or a really good dialogue, and I don't want to not remember it, so if I can, I try to write it down immediately.

I still struggle finding the right words to create the actual story, so in the drafting process, keywords are fine. You can elaborate on them later on.

For example, this is the first draft of glimpse of us. I first write the premise of the story, and how I want to start it off with. (Is it with a dialogue, a flashback, etc.) Usually for me, after that, the flow of the story will sort of come through and ta da I have the plot.

You have the first draft, but then you think of another one (still in the original premise of the first draft). Originally, this was supposed to be exes to lovers with a happy ending, but then I thought nah exes to ??? angst was better. So basically I had to start over because the exposition I have written doesn't fit in the second draft. I do it all again, change the exposition up to the ending.

I research when I am not familiar with the plot device I am using, specifically for AUs—but I still research even if the story is canon divergent (within the MCU-range of their power, what is it called, some comic backstory if it's relevant), and rewatching the materials is actually a research (for me atleast).

Techniques, I don't think I have them LMAO??? Aside from what I've mentioned above, thesaurus is your best friend. I find inspiration in reading other fics. When there's no words and you get stuck in a story, let it be. Rest your brain. It won't come back overnight, you have to give it time. Don't force it because it feels... idk not right?

If you're really itching to write BUT the creative juice ran out (happens all the time to me lmao), you can ask others to give you inspiration (requests, headcanons). There's bound to be something that will kickstart your inspiration. What else... write what you are comfortable with! Also this might sound hypocritical coming for me because I totally do not follow this, but 500 words are okay. 1000 words are okay. 5000 words are okay. Do not feel the need to write something that reaches or exceeds a certain word count just because you see others write really long pieces. Just let it flow freely.

Best of luck on your writing endeavors bestie!!! I hope this helps. <3

[help-im-a-gay-fish]

Okay I had to do some stuff, but here I am rambling about relationship between Killer and Nightmare in Colours of LOVE.

Some of this I might mention before some of it might be your and Jann or Yuri ideas... Anyway!! The way I see that:

Even though this is soulmate au Nightmare and Killer aren't perfect fit for eachother. They are perfect fit in threesome - Ccino softens rough edges of both of them, and changes their attention from being mad on eachother to carrying about Ccino together (especially at first when he is really depressed). But before that... It was hard.

Killer is really open about everything he thinks and feels. If he founds someone who is attractive he will flirt. Even when he is already dating Nightmare. And also he always shows his affection to Nightmare everywhere, in public too. That's cute and sweet, but Nightmare is really closed person so that makes him really uncomfortable. Night often got jealous with Killer flirting with anyone else, got embarrassed with his kisses and all on public, and in general is a bit annoyed with Killer's actions. Killer on the other hand doesn't really understand why Nightmare is so "tensed" (he is not, Night is just much more calm, but Killer don't get it).

They were braking up and coming back again a few times, because they had argued a lot about everything and got tired of this. Right now they are on their "best days" - they started to date again a few weeks ago and right now they are through some stuff, they understand eachother better, and pretty chill about eachother weird actions. Like in the second page Night is a bit flustered by Killer's kiss but he almost used to that. Same as he is worried about being late, since Killer is almost always late, but he is more or less fine by that. On next page (which you haven't seen yet), there are an interesting dialog between them, and I will definitely write some of "subtext" about it when I will post it.

Actually if they haven't met Ccino they would break up again after a few months. And maybe come back again after a week.

Also! Interesting thing about third soulmate: at the beginning of the comic (before Nigh met Ccino) Killer is 100% sure that they have third soulmate, but Nightmare is sure for about 60%. Killer is existed about that, he knew knew that he is polyamorious for a long time, but Nightmare hesitates a lot, because he can't really imagine himself in polyam relationship. It feels weird and also he is soooooo jealous about Killer paying any attention to anyone except him, that he worries to become "third wheel". Will it be different with Ccino?? Who knows (. ❛ ᴗ ❛.)

Hi kotikaleo!!! This was super fun to read.

Firstly I'm going to tag @zu-is-here since she started the studio verse

It's definitely an interesting insight to your comic and the characters!

It reminds me a lot of an early version of my own ideas about the studio verse nightkiller relationship! And I can definitely see the way we have bounced headcannons of each other paying off.

Them still dealing with a softer kind of lovehate dynamic is an interesting one. It doesn't seem to be as extreme as my version, but it's interesting that it's still there.

The fact that they are meant to work as a 3 makes sense as well. If they are supposed to be bounded as a 3 it makes sense that three they their relationship would be unstable. They don't work as a two, but they are soul mates and something would always pull the two of them together.

I'm also curious, since Nightmare isn't 100% sure that the lack of colour is due to them being soul mated to another person. I wonder if he ever felt like the universe got it wrong? And that he'd been mated to the wrong person? Or perhaps he felt it meant that him and Killer don't have soul mates and that's why they have some connections.

It sad boy.

Also if Killer knows he's poly by nature, is that something that causes disagreements with the 2 of them?

And now for mine and @jann-the-bean version.

This story has been something that we mostly developed in tumbler DMs but both me and Jan wrote a story about it. Jan wrote

KillerNight(s)

And I'm writing

Round and round till we all fall down

Nightmare and Killer's relationship started off baddddd, it basically started as a mutual dislike for one another. This is due to their conflicting personalities and morals.

Nightmare was originally quite excited to meet Killer, as he'd heard a lot about the actor. But almost straight away he found Killer to be rude, childish and irritating. Killer found Nightmare to be stuck up, snobbish and entitled.

The two first met at an awards ceremony and got into a yelling match after a few drinks and were separated. From there their dislike for one another was made quite well known to the public because of a social media battle back and forth.

This only went on for a few months however, as the characters of 'Killer' and 'Nightmare' were cast to play together.

Nightmare and Killer agreed to be civil in order to function while working and get the filming completed as soon as possible.

As they worked together, their dislike turned into a playful banter and respect for one another. And then something else shifted.

Now Killer has a reputation for being a player and one who likes to sleep around, as you said, he's open about his interest in people when he has it and enjoys casually flirting with just about anyone.

Which came to include Nightmare.

Nightmare paid no mind to it really, though he couldn't understand why it embarrassed him so much.

Killer comes to find Nightmare to be very attractive and enjoys his reactions when teased, he rights him off though because he was under the impression that Nightmare was straight, and he'd never try to change that.

It was a day when they were talking about Killer's eyes and how it's caused him to struggle, that Nightmare tells him that he thinks his eyes are very pretty and that they are an attractive quality, and something in Killer breaks and he kisses him.

So Killer feels like he messed up and the two avoid each other. But it causes Nightmare to start questioning things about himself.

Nightmare at this point had only every dated women. He assumed that he was straight. But after that kiss a lot of buried feelings are dragged to the surface and exposed, and he realises that he's also attracted to men.

So Jan goes into full details about this, in the fic Killernights, but basically Nightmare confronts Killer about the kiss and Killer tells him he 'has a thing for him'

The two go back to Killer's flat to talk, but their normal banter, leads to flirting and then another kiss. And Nightmare who is curious and suddenly craving new sensations becomes lost to him. Killer who finds Nightmare physically very attractive, also gets wrapped up and the two of them sleep together.

Nowwww this is getting long so I'll try to shorten it down a bit.

Basically, it's an amazing night. It's passionate, enjoyable and a lot of fun for both of them. Upon finding out Night has never been with a man, Killer guides him carefully though the process.

After that night the two can't stop thinking about each other, even though they both planned for it to be a one time thing. Again, they avoided each other until talking after a while.

And killer admits his desires for the other, and offers Nightmare a safe environment to experiment with his sexuality, where he won't be judged.

To cut a long story short, this spirals into a passionate and carnal, on and off booty call/fling with each other that spans for years.

Other that time they grow very close with each other, and come to recognise the similarities that they share, and have soft moments of just enjoying being together with one another.

For Killer, Nightmare is the first person to ever tell him he had beautiful eyes and mean it. The first person who wasn't at all put off by them.

To Nightmare, it feels like Killer is the one person that will never pick Dream over him. And he makes him feel wanted and desirable in a way few have before.

However, their are still parts of their relationship that conflict. Of course a healthy relationship will always have some conflicts. But for Killer and Nightmare the conflicts clash and fight with each other.

That along with both of their past traumas, (I wrote about Killer's back story here) means they find it difficult to talk about genuine feelings and what's bothering them. Causing things to bottle up and blow up over time.

They also find it impossible to admit that they actually love each other deeply.

They tried to be in a full on committed relationship once, (which I'm writing about in Round and Round) but it didn't work out for these issues. As well as the fact that Killer is poly by nature, and therefore gets anxious and uncomfortable in a relationship with one person only. Which he won't talk to Night about for the reasons stated above.

Enter Ccino.

Now Ccino is the missing piece for Nightmare and Killer.

He's soft and gentle spoken, which easily helps them calm down when things get heated between them. He also provides a safe and loving space to open up about what things are bothering them.

Nightmare and Killer's also, as you said, spend more energy caring for and sometimes worrying about Ccino, so they have less energy for the constant fighting.

Ccino was the missing piece. He's the person who will cuddle and read books with nightmare, but also the one who's super into affection, which Killer loveesss.

A relationship would never work between just killer and Ccino, since Ccino wouldn't be able to keep up with Killer's libido and killer doesn't know much about Ccino's mental health. And Ccino wouldn't work in a relationship with just Nightmare because Night's colder and more straight forward personality would leave him affection staved after a while.

They just work together! They are basically soul mates in this universe as well!

P. S Nightmare in this universe was also very veryyyyy jealous when Killer showed interest in Ccino. Which is something he took out on Ccino till Killer stopped it. After falling in love with Marshmallow he regrets this a lot.

I'M SO EXCITED FOR MORE. COLOURS OF LOVEEEEE

[zutaraplatter]

Avatar: The Last Airbender Critique

There are already a million of posts like this one, and I might be saying things that’ve already been said a million times but I’ve recently become reheated about the ATLA ending and wanted to let it out -_- No one asked, this is true, and this may or may not be a way to stall from this final project I still have to complete, but here’s 10 things I didn't like and/or would change about the show that likely shouldn’t need changing because they should have been done in the first place.

1. Katara should have apologized to Sokka after TSR

It should have happened and it didn't. In my canon-avoiding mind, Katara and Sokka have a heartfelt conversation where she apologizes for the awful things she said, Sokka says he forgives her and he's sorry if he wasn't as there for her as much as he should have been, which he follows up with "but I'm happy you listened to Aang and took his advice," leading into my next point

2. Katara should have said that not killing Yon Rha was her choice

And thats why it was the right one. Not because Aang already said it was wrong. No no. It was the right choice because that's what she chose. I love my mom to death and can't imagine losing her in any way, let alone the way Katara did. And I can't say for sure that if I was in her shoes that I know what I would have done f that yes I do I would have killed that motherfucker. But I also know that if Katara decided not to kill him, then that was one of two correct choices because they were Katara's choices to make. Not Aang's or anyone else's and this should have been clarified. I know it's a kids show but I said what I said. Next point.

3. Katara should have said more after telling Aang she was unsure at the Ember Island Players

Katara hasn't had any trouble saying how she feels, especially when it comes to helping others and making them feel better, whether she was right or wrong. But she holds back or overly softens blows and seems to even shrivel up at times when it comes to Aang. And me no likey. I had a boyfriend who I adored and admired and just genuinely looked up to. I'm also a shy and anxious person who hates confrontation, but because I loved him, I never refrained from telling him when he was wrong. I might have been a little shaky about it but I did it tho because when you want to be with someone you walk through the grass and stomp through the mud. And I personally feel like either in that moment or later on in an added scene that Katara should have voiced to Aang how unheard and disrespected she felt about his words before TSR and his actions on the balcony. I hate being uncomfortable and my secondhand embarrassment is toxic but I would love to see a scene of this. I always imagined Katara saying stuff like "But I'm not you Aang, and I'm not an Air Nomad," or "Zuko could understand why I needed to go, and I'd hoped you would too," or...I'm out of ideas but you get the idea. And you know what, I know I'm a hard Zutara shipper, but them having this conversation would honestly make me respect their relationship a whole lot more should it be believably written to end on a good note (I don't see how it could be but hey I'm an open minded person and I did think they were cute together once upon a time). Basically, all I'm saying is that Katara is no small voice and she should have been written that way when with Aang. Boyfriends can make you shy but should never make you weak. Period. Next point.

4. No rock! ONLY GROWTH!!!!!!!!!!!

I still squint my eyes whenever I remember that rock that unblocked Aang's chakra. What even was that? The laziest writing possible in my opinion. That's what. And Aang deserved better. What should have happened should have been that Aang started to lose to Ozai. And then as Ozai's about to deliver the finishing blow, Aang has flashbacks of everyone he's trying to save and honor, ending with a very prominent flashback of Katara with the guru's disembodied voice reminding Aang to let go of his attachments to become all he needs to be...then BOOM! Baby boy is back on his feet, chakra unblocked, he kicks Ozai's ass, I'm crying hysterically on the floor, as are the rest of us, and he wins. Then at the end of the series, instead of a kiss, he gives Katara an apology. She accepts, everyone else comes to join them on the balcony, cinematic group hug, camera pan into the sun. I don't know lol. Basically what I'm saying is that Aang did not deserve some deus ex machina. He deserved to grow and become his best self like everyone else got to.

5. Aang should have heard differently in The Storm

Katara is a very fate-minded person and this is when I saw potential for her to become a toxic character in regards to Aang. When he admits that he ran away from home 100 years ago, Katara tells him that that was basically a good thing because he was meant to be here and now. Like...no? What Aang did, though understandable for someone so young, was still wrong. Yes he would have maybe been killed but I'm like 10000000% sure they had a plan to protect and evacuate the literal avatar. And what was technically "meant to be" was a new avatar. But hey, what's done is done and kicking Aang while he's down is a no-no in this household. But that doesn't change the fact that Aang needed and deserved honesty. Maybe the fisherman could have said this, I don't know, but I feel like Aang should have been told by someone that although running away was wrong, it's a blessing he and Appa were able to survive and be able to help save the world now with his amazing friends found-family. Maybe this is too harsh, and maybe even outright wrong, but I felt like Aang deserved a truer answer here to support and comfort him.

6. MAILEE!!!!

Do I even need to go into detail?

7. Spiritual sigh*

Don't make me go into detail -_- I will say though that although Aang and Katara are both amazing individuals capable of earth shattering things, they were not a healthy fit for one another. This is evident in the original series and especially in their children from LOK. They both deserved the best but better than one another.

8. ZUTARAAAAAAA

This is a Zutara blog you KNEW this was coming, as it should. There's just too much. There's too damn much. I would give a real paragraph to this too, but, I mean, there's already so much proving that this was the pair. Fics, metas, rants, this site. Scroll through my blog or any of the ATLA related blogs I follow and...dude. These two were meant to be together and I'll mourn the narrative brilliance WASTED for no good reason every day for the rest of my life. No reason these two shouldn't be married with three kids. sob. I will take this part to say thank you to the amazing fic writers that gave Katara, Zuko, Mai, and Aang what they deserved that the writers didn't have the guts to give them themselves. Next point tho.

9. AANG AND ONJI

Good God almighty. Why not this? WHY NOT THIS? I'm putting on my bullet proof vest and I'm going to say this; Aanji is cuter than Zutara. Now before you scorn me or whatever, let me explain. Zutara for me is like steak. No. Chicken parmesan. I like chicken parmesan better. The point though is that Zutara is savory. You know? I don't see them as cute, I see them as Obviously. Aanji on the other hand is like a bag of my favorite candy. They are like a brownie. A cookie. Girl Scout Samoas!...I don't know what words are anymore. This post got way out of hand. I guess what I'm saying is that for Zutara, I scream, but for Aanji, I squeal. I hope that makes sense. But here's the main point I want to make. Onji never knew who Aang really was. And Aang was always, at his core, himself. She very obviously had a crush on Aang for his personality and that was crazy cute and frankly preferable to Katara's "I...guess he is." (you know exactly what I'm talking about) Anyway, I kept wanting more of them together. I wish all the time that we'd gotten to see her again, with a more fleshed out character and all. And in the way that I imagine the show should have gone, she could have been the perfect love interest for Aang, during this episode or way later, even in the comics! Another WASTED opportunity for greatness and I will, again, never recover T-T

10. Iroh get your ass back here

Maybe this is a misguided critique but I hated that Iroh just left Zuko alone in the fire nation at the end of the series. Baby was in trouble in every sense of the word and Iroh was just like "See ya! You got this nephew." I'm expected to believe that? I'm expected to accept that? No no no. He should have at least stayed for a few years to help Zuko stay upright and, you know, alive. And by "upright" I don't mean "good." I just mean been there to support him because Lord knows he needed it, at least in the beginning of his reign. It was cute that Iroh was able to settle down with his own teashop after all those years of violence and mourning and running and this and that. I was more than happy for him for being able to have that peace finally. But I still think it could have waited a little while longer so he could support Zuko.

That's it I guess. I know not everything I've said makes the most sense in one way or another, but I enjoyed putting it together all the same. Thank you for reading and have a great day. I'll go finish my final now.

(Edited for a typo)

[zkgiftexchange]

FAQ

0. A Reminder: Who Are We?

The Zutara Gift Exchange 2024 is a fandom event that runs very similarly to a Secret Santa gift exchange. Artists and writers sign up using the AO3 sign up form, and are then given the name and gift wishlist of another participant in the event. They pick a prompt, theme or idea from their giftee’s wishlist and write/draw them a Zutara gift based on the prompt, theme or idea. While they’re hard at work, another anonymous member of the event is busy making them a gift based off the gift wishlist they submitted. At the end of December 2024, all participants of the event submit their works, and all participants receive a lovely Zutara gift as we ring in 2025. What better way to start a new year than with our OTP?

1. Do I need an Archive of Our Own account to sign up for this gift exchange?

Yes, you do. If you don’t have an account and need an invite, please go to the AO3 homepage and look at the second column. There’s a little grey box that allows you to click for an invite link. That will send your chosen email an invite to the archive, and you’ll then be able to sign up for the gift exchange.

2. What types of work are allowed in the gift exchange?

This year, we’re asking artists and fic writers to sign up. Artists can submit digital work, traditional artwork or comics, but we’re not allowing moodboards or manips for this year’s event as we’d like to start small and build from there in future years if there is a call for it. Thank you for understanding!

3. Can I create both art and a fic for my giftee?

You’re very welcome to! We do ask, however, that the main part of your gift is the type of gift that your giftee requested. So if your giftee only asked for fic, please make the artwork secondary to the fic.

4. What do I put under my wishlist for the person who is going to be making me a gift?

Please see the wishlist/offer help topic to give you some ideas of what to put.

5. What is a letter to my gifter?

Some people prefer having a letter written and posted somewhere for their gifter for every gift exchange that they enter so that they don’t have to type the same lists of wants and do not wants for every exchange. If you have one of these, or want to make one of these, you can link it in your submission form for your gifter to find.

6. What is a pinch hitter?

A pinch hitter is somebody who steps in to fill a request should the original gifter have to drop out for some reason. If you’re willing to potentially be a pinch hitter, please indicate this in the sign up form under the “offers” section. Don’t worry if you click this and then cannot be pinch-hitter when the time comes: it’s not an obligation, just a list of potential people that we can contact should there be an assignment suddenly looking for a creative’s hand.

7. What if I don’t like the assignment that I have been given?

That’s perfectly fine! Please contact Ghosty on Tumblr or via email (justanotherghostwriter@gmail.com) within 48 hours of receiving your assignment, and she can work with you to find the right fit!

8. What are “treats”?

Treats are extra gifts that you give to a person that you’re not assigned to. You can find all the wishlists/requests on the AO3 challenge. If there’s one there that really stirs your creativity, please feel free to make a little something to fill it! Treats are uploaded just the same way as regular gifts, but they won’t show as a fulfilled assignment. So make sure that in the box “gift this work to” you’ve placed the person’s name! Please also make one of the treat tags "treat" so that it's easily differentiated from the assigned gift for administrative purposes.

(For a more comprehensive breakdown on treats, please see this answered ask.)

9. How do I post if I’m an artist?

You’ll still post just as though you’re posting a fic, but, instead of putting up words you’ll embed your image into the Archive of Our Own post. See here for how to embed images.

10. Can I also post it to my Tumblr/Instagram/Elsewhere?

Please do! We’d love you to. However, we ask that you only do so after January 5th, 2025. That’s the date when creators are revealed, and we’d like to keep people anonymous until then. Don’t worry, we’ll remind you when you can start proudly admitting that the masterpiece is yours!

11. May I add any ships that aren’t mentioned in the request/assignment?

If you have a way to anonymously ask your giftee if it’s okay (their Tumblr anon is on, or you ask Ghosty to ask on your behalf) and they say it’s okay, then of course! But rather err on the side of caution. Remember, this is a gift for somebody else, and we want to be extra sure that they enjoy it.

12. How do I submit my work to the event?

There are two ways of doing this.

One: Go to your AO3 dashboard. On the left there is a menu of options. Near the bottom is a tab called “Assignments”. Clicking on that will show you your open assignment, and will allow you to click to fill it.

Two: One AO3, see the top right menu option “post”. Click “post a new work” and then follow these instructions on how to post a work to the challenge. The challenge name is “ZK_Gift_Exchange_2024”.

If there’s anything else, please email Ghosty or send a Tumblr ask.