#this was so hard xD i wanted to add more fandoms...

[rollingthunderpouringrain]

Ten Characters, Ten Fandoms, Ten Tags

I was tagged by @all-chickens-are-trans (thank you! 🧡) and I'm gonna try and not put the very very obvious ones (edit: that I blog about a lot. With a few exceptions lol) just because.

(In no particular order)

1. Shadowhunters Universe (books) - Will Herondale

2. LOST - Charlie Pace

3. The Witcher (Netflix/books) - Jaskier/Dandelion

4. Les Misérables (2012 & brick) - Grantaire

5. Doctor Who - Amy Pond

6. Skins (UK) - Cook

7. Umbrella Academy - Klaus Hargreeves

8. Prodigal Son - Malcolm Bright

9. Succession - Roman Roy

10. Assassin's Creed franchise - Arno Dorian

I'm tagging: @thequeerlibrarian-fandoms , @prodbionic, @andrea1717 , @foxthefanboi , @onemoresoultothecall , @funnyinenochian , @endgame-steve-is-not-real , @phantomas67, @digitalmeowmix and @benfoldsenjoyer (you don't have to do it of course though XD)

[ganondoodle]

Hello 👋

Swallowing my nerves at last to send you an ask! I was just wondering, what inspires your designs? Are their inspirations in stuff like movies or games? Or just things you come up with yourself?

i .. honestly its kinda hard to tell, sometimes i just randomly think of something, like some detail, or color combination and try to incorporate that into a design somehow; it can come from anywhere, like the color scheme of a pithaya/dragonfruit is something i have been wanting to make a design with for ages but havent come up with anything good in all those years ;O;

im a very easily fascinated by color, espeically in nature, like sometimes i just stop and stare at something like i froze in time bc i just woooooooooooooah color! i probably look like a weirdo doing that though

its really hard to pinpoint anything specifically, the most is probably .. other artists? i guess? which always makes me nervous bc my memory is shit in most areas of life and i worry myself to pieces whether i unintentionally "stole" an idea and just dont remember and think it was my own, it goes further that sometimes i see something that makes me want to draw a similar concept but dont bc i dont want to 'steal' even if that couldnt be further from my intention (have been accused of that before ..)

that said for my ocs specifically .. most are rather old and have just kinda evolved out of their awkward first iterations (shargons first iteration was a hauro-howl- copy that was really just some human covered in feathers .. another oc was once a hellboy copy but in green- havent drawn nor redeisgn them in ages lol), the biggest inspirations for them is a mix of animals, bonus if you dont see them often- im a big shark, whale and sea creatures in general nerd so i tend to take from them as a priority but always trying to be less directly animal and mostly just .. features that work together

Eadrya is one of the newer OCs- i started to write but then looked at my folders and oh they are from 2017 .., i even made a design timeline for them how much they, and my art, have changed back in 2020, so thats also way outdated now lol (they apparently started as a whale .. thing? its like a pokemon evolution lol)

this is them now (i like this sketch still, though shargons design is now also outdated lmao)

this ones from early 2023 so also outdated now but you get the point

for demons i try to be a bit more wild on shapes and colors while still adhering to the rules of how they work (humanoid form, demon form, animalistic, one element each and more or less made to fit that, 4 arms is very common, look to be bost scary and wild but also something that would make you stop in tracks and stare in awe and fear if you crossed paths)

often times designs just kinda .. happen, i have maybe the idea ok i wanna make something with a white and red pattern also moose or those big horned cows are cool and kinda scary so maybe sth akin to that (though this one is technically a redesign too- its also pretty much entirely different)

for non demons but still non human i go for a much more restrained design, mainly inspired directly by an animal and giving the color scheme a good spin, plus adding unconventional body shapes, like ki'ita is also a good example, her old idea was just orca anthro pirate and just by making the white green instead in her most recent redesign already adds that little spin to it

that can have its pitfalls though, as i often fall into the big arm small head small legs scheme over and over xD

alot of it is trial and error, deciding on the colors can take me hours bc im always searching for my little rule of having one contrast color that shows up in very few places to draw attention to it (like with Eadrya its those bright yellow eyes and thingy at their tail)

and that is all about myy own ocs, when its fandom stuff it works kinda similar though, either in the connections i wanna draw or just thinking it further- like how deities in destiny work also just kinda .. happened like an ever derailing train

like for demise i was at first really just im gonna give him horns bc horns are cool and he got those on the starting mural in the game- so how his hair work? well maybe it isnt hair actually and just unbound energy, im making him a deity too and fit hylias design to his so, yeah, then so how does it work, ok he gotta have a skeleton still, but what if his entire actual body is made up of pure magical energy with its core in the ribcage? with the core in the ribcage >:3c and the scales you see are just like cooled down lava as an armor bc his thing is fire and earth !! the normal blood? is a thin layer of skin imiated from mortals to keep the scales together and flexible so if he ACTUALLY gets hurt hed bleed magic that looks more like lava and any normal blood you see is just the armor- so why does he have a skeleton still instead of being just energy? maybe its gotta be bound to something OH and what if all of the deities started as mortals like a mirror to the trio later on and the gods cannot have direct influence to the worlds so they needed a right hand that is neither god nor mortal but both by killing a mortal by whatever their element will be (demise burned, hylia drowned etc) and their skeleton and spirit is kept but put into a body of magic- OH what if their spirit core is like almost piloting their bodies like a mech in a way bc if youd look close youd see that every strand of magic is actual a hand of their spirit so it makes it more weird and other bc hed be able to reach out with thousands of burning claws of all shapes and sizes like the beheaded forest god at the end of mononoke- SO if hed lose and arm or something all those strands would untangle and rearrange his bones back together-OH MY GOD the whole armor idea works so well for ghirahims dark armor so what if demise had two swords once and lost one and since has forged an armor similar to his own for ghirahim out fo fear of losing him t---

and that all is a process that happens over several weeks and months not rarely while i am drawing something mindlessly and suddendly *have a thought* and omg that makes so much sense-

so "what" inspires my designs? an ever derailing train of thought about making cool thick monsters that arent the evil thing to get rid of for once? cool color schemes? idk it just kinda happens??

[the-words-we-sung]

Discovering Young Royals

So now that I've lurked a bit around the Young Royals fandom I wanna try and be a bit more active ^^ It feels a bit weird to arrive so late because it seems like everything has probably already been said >< So I hope my little thoughts here and there won't just be redundant for fandom people! I've been thinking about it and I think I wanna write my thoughts, and questions and various comments about the show, probably going episode by episode! And I'll add some pretty pictures (I should learn how to make gifs :o)

For tonight though I'll just write up kind of my first thoughts and reactions while watching the show for the first time ^^

ᴥ I'm not proud of admitting it but I started watching the show because I was a bit bored, a bit sick and wanted to kind of "hate-watch" something >< I thought it would be a very elitist kind of show with insufferable royal people! Boy was I wrong...

ᴥ Wilhelm is a cutie pie and made me love the show so much, almost right from the start. His image of angry teenage prince got replaced so fast by just the reality of an anxious (soft) boy, in the span of an episode! His interaction with Simon at the end of episode 1 sealed the deal for me...

ᴥ The show is so so so well made!! It's beautiful and the music is absolutely phenomenal!! All the young actors are incredibly talented (and gosh is Edvin so very good ><) and it's just such a pleasure to watch :o

ᴥ I love love love how "real" it feels!! The actors look the good age for their characters, they look so fucking real, like I 100% believe that these characters are teenagers! I love the choice of not putting lots of make up on them and letting them keep their "real" skin. It's so freaking refreshing!! I don't really know of other shows who do that!! (Also I come from the Glee fandom so: the actors playing teenagers were definitely not looking like teenagers, they all had flawless skins and were ""perfect"" (aka in the beauty standards) looking so having skinny boys and girls with different and real-looking bodies feel so good! Maybe the difference also comes from the fact that Glee was a US show and YR is a Swedish one?)

ᴥ I feel very lucky that I was able to watch season 1 and season 2 back to back! It must have been so hard for you guys to wait for season 2 >< And I'm lucky again that season 3 will probably be there in not too long!

ᴥ August is such a well written character!! A truly interesting "villain" who makes me feel almost some sympathy at times o_o

ᴥ I have very mixed feelings and complicated thoughts about Sara...

ᴥ The chemistry between Edvin and Omar is insane.

ᴥ Yuk Marcus!

ᴥ But all the love for Felice <3

ᴥ And Omar is the prettiest human being ever. I am now officially a fan. (He gives me SO.MUCH gender envy...........)

These were all kind of scattered thoughts going through my head while I binge-watched the show the first time!

(Also it made me want to learn Swedish so I've started doing that on Duolingo and I'm now obsessed with this language xD (But gosh, pronunciation is a nightmare...) So if any Swedish people wanna chat, I need training :p)

Gonna stop there for this freaking long-ass post and keep my rantings and chattiness for another post :D

[isleofdarkness]

excuse if this is a weird question or if youve answered this before, but . you have so much worldbuilding in your au. theres TONS of characters it feels like and im just so curious.. how do you keep track of all of it??? it looks so overwhelming but so freaking cool at the same time

ive tried personally to build off of the descendants world in my mind but its so hard even if i write any ideas down XD

To put it simply, there's a lot of stuff that goes on behind the scenes that you don't see.

I am also insane.

Well, this actually isn't the biggest project I've ever done. My very first fanfic, which was a mashup of Disney, Marvel, Monster High, Ever After High, Dreamworks, and paranormal lore, was way more complicated and had a cast of over three hundred named characters, and those were just the original characters. That was when I was ten. You could say I know my way around complicated lore and massive casts. I don't think I can write without having those things, really. I wouldn't know what to do with a small cast or simple worldbuilding.

My worldbuilding comes from being a massive nerd. Disney and Marvel are massive properties, they have so much for me to work with and Disney did the work for me in giving me an excuse to combine everything. I looked into the world of Disney properties, DC properties, Dreamworks properties, and the properties of other media I enjoy that I decided to include, and then I just combined them in a way I thought made sense. I also took inspiration from Earth 27, a really great fanwork that also combines a bunch of different fandoms and has a massive cast of characters, in some things I've done.

As for how I keep track of it, that's complicated. The politics of the world are common sense to me, since the politics in my work reflect my perception of the real world and how I think things should be improves. And then I know the changes I would make to the properties I've included, I know the things I think need fixed and that I chose to fix them. And then I have my lists. Gods, my lists. I have so many lists of fandoms, of characters, of crews, of kingdoms, of gods, of powers, of worldbuilding. You can see some of them in Isle of Darkness AU info, but those aren't even close to all of them. And then there's my tagging system. I do my best to character tag extensively, both for your guys' benefit and for me to make finding things on my blog easier.

Keep in mind that I'm not perfect at keeping track of things. There are things I've messed up that you guys probably haven't noticed or if you have, haven't pointed out to me. Continuity errors. That's to be expected with something as massive as what I'm doing. I do try to fix things when I notice them and do try to keep everything in order, but I mess up. A lot.

Also, this isn't my first Descendants AU. My original Descendants AU, written when I was like, fifteen, was me watching the movies and adding in one character, Riah, changing some events in minor ways, and that was it. I started simple. But by the time I got to the third book in that series, I realized that I wanted to worldbuild more. That third book veers massively into original work area because I wanted to add more of the supernatural, which led to the shedim plot. I realized that I had fun with that plot, so I started rewriting the series to include more fun stuff. That didn't last, because I wanted to include so much new stuff that the rewrite would be unrecognizable. Thus, Isle of Darkness was born. There was a long planning period, and then there's been a massive amount of things added because I'm doing an esoteric work. The Endless plot? Added that maybe halfway through chapter four. Maverick didn't exist at all until chapter two, and I didn't make the decision to make her a major character until chapter two of Isle of Darkness. The rebellion? Originally wasn't a plotline, I was going to go for something closer to what the movies did. Jasmine helping? Wasn't on the drawing board at all until recently. The supernatural properties? You have no idea how majorly those have changed as I've written this because I originally wasn't going to include angels, most demon and djinn stuff, Roman deities, Norse gods, Aztec gods, or Lovecraftian horror at all. Heck, Jay wasn't even originally a djinn! I wrote the first chapter and then read this excellent fic where Jay was a djinn, realized it made sense, and added it to chapter two. My worldbuilding looks complex but man, most of it is because my work is esoteric. I add stuff in as I go along and come up with a way to make it work. Most of this wasn't planned when I wrote chapter 1.

If you want advice or to talk through ideas I'm always up to answering more asks or private messaging. I'm sure you have wonderful ideas. Also, I don't know if you're comparing what you're doing to what I am, but if you are, don't. I am insane. My grandfather, a New York Times bestselling author, looks at my stuff and goes "Good lord." I have been creating stories for nearly twenty years- I started when I was three, that was when I created my first story about a team of superhero misfit animals. I have a lot of writing and storytelling experience, and I have a lot of experience in things so insane that most professional writers would fear me. These things are what make my particular story as it is told by me, a unique person as all people are, work. These things are not going to work for most people, just like small casts and simple worldbuilding aren't going to work for me. Every writer has their own individual strengths and their own individual weaknesses. Play to your strengths, not mine.

And just have a blast. God may judge you but his sins outnumber your own.

[withered-rose-unbreakable-lotus]

So you want to listen to Alice Nine? (prt. 2)

Moving on with my suggestions for potential new Number Sixes, cause summarizing their work in one post was impossible, let's dive into the next era.

The "Golden" years, imo. The time that solidified them as the Princes of PSC (2008-2013 From "Mirror Ball" to "Shooting Stars")

I wouldn't like to talk about how things were in Japan, cause I wasn't there, but let me tell you foreign Number Sixes were going crazy about them in these eras. And the songs were super strong, like banger after banger, it made sense. (I almost had to separate this era into 2 more parts, cause I couldn't choose. There is so much to find here as a first listen imo)

To this day, this song gives me chills. The melody, THE PIANO WITH THE DRUMS UGH! xD Easy listen, fun song, back to full on anime song vibes but with elegance and...just listen. xD

It honestly saddens me that there are people nowadays disregarding how good this song is xD. I will admit though I don't like its live version. *nods* But the studio version is fun. And back when I became a fan it was EVERYWHERE! xD It was one of the 2-3 songs YT felt like suggesting me when it wanted to show me Alice Nine is an option close to my likes too. :P Also excuse me, but if you enjoy a good solo, you might as well choose this. Hiroto gets a solo, Tora, gets a solo and Saga as well. And Shou gets highs, hello? I get my fix on Nao solos from other songs, though. :P It's not bad here, on the contrary it keeps the rhythm fun and upbeat, it adds playfulness, it's just not given as much time to shine alone as I'd personally like.

Behold. The Anthem xD. Listen, I can tell you for a fact this song was super popular with Japanese fans as well, it'd become a joke. This was also the opening to the band's livestreams for the longest time and at some point they wanted to change it and hesitated but I don't remember if they eventually did. I still remember Tora questioning it xD. Is it time? Should we finally do it? xD I never expected such song would hold so many memories for me 13 years later but here we are.

Finally! My starter pokemon! xD This song made me their fan. It has everything I personally love, it had darker visuals than their usual, moodiness, mystery and soaring parts for grandeur. It's such a beautiful song, like a fairytale. Oh and Hiroto's solo. ;;

I was ready to make a funny visual here for you, but I chose mercy, cause I'm blabbering anyway xD. This is a very catchy song. I dunno if it has the power to make you a fan but it will definitely have you dancing around.

Another favorite in the foreign fandom from what I had seen back then. In part 1 of my Alice Nine recommendations, I had mentioned I'd talk vocal skill in a song in this part. This is the one. If anyone of you here sings, I'd like you to try sing this song while making sure you maintain as much of Japanese accent you can master, follow Shou's tone and get all the highs without running out of breath. If you've been singing for years you probably can do it. Personally, while I'm not a pro, not even close, I was surprised I ran this out of breath with this one, and my throat hurt. On the first bridge specifically. Cause I'm an Aguilera stan too so I know that when I run out of breath, the song is hard xD Like, you can't tell me he didn't have skill to sing this. Now live....this is the kind of song that strains your voice and well, with the years, it has lost lots of its oomph cause of Shou's struggles with his voice. But even back when he tried to hit every note and was way closer than nowadays, you could hear the pain. Very difficult song but very beautiful nonetheless.

This might or might not be a good first for you, it really depends on your taste but this to me is one of their most magical songs.

I personally wouldn't necessarily suggest this as a good first cause I took a bit of time to appreciate it more, myself, but look at the views. It was popular for sure, I remember that. And I admit it's catchy.

See for me this is better for a starter than Blue Flame, but it depends on taste. They both were popular when they came out but Blue Flame had more people's heart. It also had very strong imagery of the members, maybe that added to it. Anywho, I'm more of a "Heart of Gold" person. :P

And we close this era with Shooting Star. This one was a cute song for me, and I think it's easy to hear, that's why it's here. I wanted to add 2 more songs before that but tumblr limits me.

So I'm adding it here as honorable mentions: Do check "Daybreak" and "Himitsu" as well.

That’s all about this post, guys. Again, I’d have loved to do it all in one go, but tumblr... Next and final era in part 3.

I hope you find sth you like, if not, it’s ok, you might enjoy sth from other eras. But well, if you still don’t find sth, we all like different things, it’s alright, but yeah, this was an attempt to entice more people listen to one of my favorite bands, Alice Nine (their mid era, according to my understanding, at least, during which most of their songs seemed to be popular in both the Japanese and Western fandom).

[kotikaleo]

Oh, sure, I can share some about the story. But first, responding to your counter questions, favorite game is Security Breach as well. It may not have been made perfect, but honestly, it's just very fun to play. Help Wanted 2 is also fun, but I do like Security Breach more.

Now, favorite character. That's the hard part. Cause there are a lot of favorites. But currently Glamrock Freddy, Puppet, and the Daycare Attendant Sun/Moon are fighting for the favorite robot character spot. I always liked the Puppet, even if she looks a bit out of place with all the bigger, chonkier animatronics. That just adds to her charm. And Glamrock Freddy and Sun/Moon are because I love their character in the game.

Now, for the story. It follows Michael Afton, but in a Time Travel au. There are two main catches to it, though. One, is that he not only goes back in time to before Crying Child gets bit by Fredbear, he is in an alternate timeline or universe(not sure which it would be). William was not abusive or neglectful in this timeline/au as opposed to the William from Michael's time. Nor would he have been the killer, or at least not after Michael from the future shows up, still working out whether he would have gone crazy if his kids started dying or not.

The other catch is that Michael is still a purple corpse person kept alive with Remnant(that for Reasons won't smell like a corpse, except maybe smells like smoke cause he's coming from after the Pizzaria Simulator fire). So he's very averse to getting noticed, but he eventually runs into either Henry or maybe Mrs. Afton(haven't decided yet). And it's basically going to be a story where Michael can get a second chance at having a good family and have another chance of being a good brother to Crying Child, though it is obvious very tense at first. Especially when he's going to be very prone to wanting to punch William in the jaw for a while XD

And maybe Ennard is also brought in and has their own redemption arc or something.

That's what I have so far, it's not fully fleshed out yet, and I'm hoping to finish one of my stories first before adding this to the story queue I currently have. Ennard might not even be a part of it, it's just an idea I had that sounded cool. But if I can't work them in, then they won't be part of it.

OH OH OH

First of all *shaking hands on Sun/Moon and Freddy opinion* I just looove how we have same favorites XD

Also Puppet is cool as well (fun fact, did you know that in russian fandom it is known as Марионетка Marionette more than Puppet?)

OH MY GOD THE STORY!!

You mean you decided to to give the saddest ever boy his happy family?? óωò that is so wholesome!! Does that mean that there are two Mikes in a story or CC just suddenly have a much older brother?

Oh gosh I also imagine the first meet up, and Michael being So Pissed at William but he doesn't know why and so heartbroken by that

Ohhhhhhhh please tag me in it, I will enjoy that so soooo much

[inkspottie]

heya spottie! just a few questions i had fizzing around my brain, sorry for hanging around like a bad smell, i just want to get things accurate D:

So, am i right in thinking that you consider re-writes to be the same story, but if one or two things were different? (eg, writing a story but adding an oc to the mix) Would the same events and characters but in different situations (cough, swap au, cough) be different or would you still consider that a re-write? (essentially, what im asking is 'can i put swapped aus in a same scene as their normal counterparts?')

..sorry if any of this was already covered, but would any of the gang chase a toy around like a little kitten? (i didnt wanna say sadao, but... sadao??) this question totally isnt because i like writing crack. totally. im totally not wanting to write seb going 'aw sadao's so cute- AHH HE JUST SHREDDED THAT PIECE OF STRING JESUS-'.

and one last thing... do you like 4th wall breaks?

Hello! And no worries you’re not bothering me! (If I don’t answer I’m probably busy/sleeping/or packing rn lol)

But yes rewrites are when you take something of mine and then add something to it but completely take my plot (aka a what if scenario like what if Gabriel found Sadao earlier in the game but still had all the events happening that I came up with)

But a role swap is a bit more tricky. I’d say you could have the same plot happen but because of all the characters being switched around I’d think it would be fine? As long as it’s not word for word my own dialogue and stuff I have. Like if you just kept Gabriel saying what Sebastian says and does (since it’s a role swap). If that makes sense? So think it would be fine, as long as you acknowledge that this is still my creation just tweaked a little bit? Idk I just don’t want people to take my characters and run with them I had it happen before when I first started writing stuff (back in the bendy fandom) and I am just weary of it now.

As for playing with toys, I think yeah Sadao probably would be the one? His instincts are the ones that hold his mind the most, they send him in a trance a sort of hunter’s dream and it’s hard for him to control. But he gets very embarrassed about it afterwards.

And fourth wall breaks? Love em, did them all the time with Laughing at Tragedy with LolBit so xD

[celestie0]

aaaaaa chapter 3 of IHM was soooo good!!! Reader and Gojo’s banter is so funny, I just love stories, series and movies where the main characters can’t stand each other and fall in love without even noticing! Their relationship reminds me a lot from the main couple in the movie ��Life as we know it”. Omg poor reader when dealing with Choso, the other cop PLUS her neighbors! And the way everyone is so nosy and suspicious, I feel like more awkward situations about their sudden marriage are about to come. These cringe encounters are everything 😂😂😂 The little detail where reader reminds Gojo to strengthen his collar before he leaves was the sweetest, cutest thing! I absolutely love how reader meets part of the family all at once, it was so adorable. And Mama Gojo is amazing, I already love that woman! Does she believe in energy, crystals and all these things? The way she literally hugged reader and declared she would bring luck to their family was soooo sweet!!! This fic is definitely the found family trope!!! And little Juno calling us auntie? My heart just melted right then and there! i relate to reader in the sense that she feels overwhelmed and terrified at the thought of having another family now that she’s married to Gojo. I am close only to my mom, dad and brother, and completely ceased contact with my family from my father’s side of the family. What I mean is, family is difficult, so I’m excited to see how reader will navigate this new chapter of her life, since when you marry someone, it’s like you marry their whole family by association. I hope the rude comments and asks you’ve received straight up demanding smut in all your fics don’t discourage you from continuing writing and posting your lovely stories!!! Unfortunately this always happens, people only care about what they want to see and completely disregard the author’s feeling and efforts. Thank youuu so so so much for writing real stories, with a real build up which only makes the romance between the main characters more genuine and worth in the end! I am absolutely awed by all your writings. I genuinely hope the rudeness you’ve been receiving from the fandom won’t keep you from doing what you love. Of course, if you feel like taking a break from all this toxicity, take all the time you need, Ellie my love! We’ll still be here whenever you drop a new chapter and/or story! Again, thank you for the PERFECT chapter! Sending you lots of hugs! Hope that you have a great week!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

HIIIII my love omg thanks u sm for this ask :’’) so glad to see you enjoyed ch3!! and yes omg when they hate each other but then suddenly realize that they’re in love w each other <333 SUPERIOR TROPE. and hahah glad you’re enjoying the cringe encounters xD i get anxiety writing cringy scenes but like you just gotta embrace the cringeee. especially since ihm is kind of just suburban love story, we’ve all had those super embarrassing moments w our neighbors n coworkers etc etc so i’m tryna include those scene where i can

omg found family!! that’s so cute. maybe i should add that to tags haha. yea the collar scene was cute to write bc it was like something an actual wife would do xD and yes omg i can see gojo’s mother believing in the crystals n stuffs!! she’s an eccentric woman but overall i think she’s very kind

thank you for your insights on family, that is so true. when you marry someone, you marry their whole family too. and that can be hard to navigate, especially when you’re so used to being around just one person (in reader’s case, her mother) and then suddenly having to acclimate to new people. i’m so glad you can see yourself in her (i’m the same way, only keep in touch w my immediate family and hardly w my aunts/uncles/cousins on both sides for a lotta family drama reasons haha) and i’ve always felt frightened to expand my relations w ppl for that reason, but i think i find that it can be healing too.

thanks bb :(( yea if i’m being totally honest w you, i really was considering taking a big break from writing after responding to that ask. i felt it dwindled some of the passion for sure. but i feel really refreshed now and i’m feeling better hahaha it’s just i’m kinda dramatic 😂 you’re so sweet omg i could srs cry. so many digital hugs <33 i hope you have a WONDERFUL week too ♥️ ♥️

[mrssimply]

HIIII 3 and 14 for the fic writer ask pretty pls :]

3. how you feel about your current WIP?

OMG, Blue, you couldn't have chosen a worst question from this list ahaha. I feel awful, I hate it, I'm fighting it every step of the way, I wanna lay down and cry about it. I hate it so much, so, so much. I'm talking about The Burning of Rome, of course, not the answer to your prompt (yep, it's still in progress) though I'm also blocked on that one, unfortunately T-T.

Now, I'm just not gonna whine about my WIP, but maybe explain a little bit more. Even though it's... not fun, I know it's part of the process. First of all, I generally hate my WIPs at some point, most often I hate what I just finished writing. I think it's because, as I come down from the high of writing, I realise words and english failed me yet again and it's not as I imagined. It's never exactly as I imagined, but sometimes, this conclusion angers me. I often react with anger when my ego takes a hit, then I sulk, then I accept it and generally, by this point I read over the part I wrote and I rediscover it and hey, it's actually not that bad. So I know it's part of the process.

But... I'll admit it's the first time I struggled this hard with a fic. It never happened before. So, like a disgruntled old cat, I was reflecting on why is that, and here are my modest conclusions:

it's the... biggest work so far. Not in word count (though, if you add up the first two parts of the series, it is one of the biggest), but in ambition. I basically had to come up with so much for that series, and that last part in particular. I researched the mafias of the world, studied the Philipines geography and geopolitics, I went back to some history lesson to better integrate some part of lore into past events, and then there was the usual research about John Wick in genral, firearms, battle strategy, and of course, writing fighting scenes which is just exhausting.

The freaking cast... Like. Most of my works have around three main characters, and a few regular side characters, but most of the action happens in the intimacy of a couple, or a trouple. TBoR's middle part, which I finished with my blood and tears, only thanks to Koda infaillible support, has so many characters. There is only one main character (John) for most of that part, but he has significant interactions with like ten others characters. Thre of them are OC, and I try not to give too much screentime to OCs since, understandably, they don't interest the audience but Leonora for exemple, has been in this story for so long sometimes I forget she ain't actually in the movies xD. So yeah, a big cast to balance, to give screentime to, and to move around coherently, give each of them a role and a purpose. Exhausting.

Character developpement: I can only blame myself for that one. I mean, I can only blame myself for the previous points, too, but this one... Let me rewind a little bit: I know a lot of people in the fandom envision John as caring, understanding, patient. And he is. Our favorite Loving Husband. But he also is pretty aggressive, stubborn, and ffs he doesn't know how to grieve. At all. This "indomitable will" Viggo speaks about in the first movie, that thing that makes him get up after falling from the roof garden of the Continental... Well, when you put that into caring for his partner, it makes him a great husband. But when you put that into conflict with said partner, he's just unsufferable. And I wanted to explore that. And now, he kinda did something unforgivable, so how is he gonna get over it, I ask the audience? And the audience turns toward me: "but you're the author!" and yep. I am [nervous laughter]. So... Now I have the path, after... months of struggling to find a way out of the mess I put him and Santino into. But I have to write it, and it's hard, because I'm shit at emotional conflict, and how do you deal with emotional conflict when one character doesn't know how to express his feelings outside of violent outburst (killing seventy people because he couldn't deal with his grief~~~) and the other one is just as stubborn, and won't talk about his feelings anymore because when he tried, he got shut down. That's where I am people, and I. hate. it.

Now, I know that when I publish the final part, I'll be happy. Not just happy to be done, I'll be proud of myself because, this was huge. I knew it would be when I started, and I told myself several times that I wouldn't do it because it was too big and I wasn't sure I could pull it off, or even wanted to... I mean, I don't wanna sound like I'm whining but I know the energy this will require out of readers, it's not a fanfiction anymore, it's a book, and people have shown to have more difficulties engaging with that kind of works than with oneshots, or short fiction. Won't get into why, that's another subject entierly, but I just know this work, which is my soul and guts, will get less reactions that the one I wrote in a frenzy for a prompt. It's always been like that, I've... accepted it, I'm not complaining about it I'm just saying sometimes it's hard to swallow.

Moving on.

I've been thinking a lot about another fic of mine (from Cyberpunk) lately in relation to The Burning of Rome. The fic is called To the day I die and it was, is, my personal masterpiece when it comes to Silverdyne (Johnny x Kerry). It's also the final part of a series that started innocently as a prompt (W.A.R, the series TBoR is part of, started as a character study), and it embarked me into this huge odyssey about love, growing up, getting better, relapse and what it means to be wise. Also, some of the themes are the same : both characters hurting each other with the best intentions, one of them being a self-sacrifycing fool, and the other being stubborn because he was once hurt by his partner. They also end up kinda nearly killing each other lol I need to stop doing this (it's a lie, I'll do it again, it's my favorite trope, don't send help). I think I unconsciously used some of the same sentences, or at least the same situation. I I foolishly always thought I had no "themes" in my work but that was obviously my ego speaking! Incredible, what we learn about ourselves while writing.

So yeah.

I hate it.

But when it's done, I'll be proud, I know.

I might even print it, for posterity.

It's my best work so far, so why not?

(Fun fact, I wrote that yesterday and I think venting helped me because I kinda made a huge leap in the fic!!! Kudos to me and thank you for the ask!!!)

14. where do you get your inspiration?

Ah, that's a good question. I don't know, and it's bugging me a little ahah. I was talking to my sister about what I consider a "good movies" lately and my conclusion was "I need to develop an obsession, however brief, about it". That's what I'm seeking when I watch a movie, when I start a series or a game: I want to get that obsessive reaction, because it fuels my creativity like mad. Now, what will make me obsess about a content? No idea lol. Example of materials that should've inspired me but didn't: Mass Effect, Red Dead Redemption, the Sandman, Our Flag Means Death, Interview with the Vampire... they had ALL the ingredients that should've made me fall into a new obsession, and well, nothing happened.

On the contrary, examples of material that made me go into a frenzy: X-men:first class, Startrek, Stargate (SG1 and Atlantis), Cyberpunk, Matrix, John Wick, Naruto and lately, KinnxPorsche (thawainese drama, yeah, I was NOT expecting that one). I've tried to come up with the fomula but I've not yet found out what makes any of the above kickstart an obsession, and with it, inspiration to write or draw.

One thing maybe is the epicness: I need to feel the story is vast and world threatening. I also love element of fantasy, or science fiction. I need the story to get me out of our daily world (but then again, Mass effect checks all the boxes, and yet...).

Music can also inspire me but I'm very fickle about it. I did write with music but I stopped that a while ago because it made me too dependent on the music's mood to write the right scene. Now I write without, and it's actually easier to focus, I think I also got more control over my writing in general, meaning I can write the scene I want, when I want, not when the mood strikes.

Last but not least: other fanfictions. This is always, a huge reservoir of inspiration. Headcanons, fanons, and all the content of a fandom is generally a bottomless well of ideas, feeling and themes to explore. As such, it can be hard to be in a small fandom, with a ship with few supporters because I "lack" this source of inspiration, but that also mean I'll produce more for it, like I'm trying to fill the void xD. For example, I never wrote anything for any big fandom because I spent too much time reading fanfiction, and feeling like everything was already written and I just needed to find it to get my high. In a smaller fandom, I need to participate more, and it's really stimulating! So overall, it works out either way!

And of course, one thing that stays true no matter what: I'm an overwriter, look at that long post!!!

Thank you for the ask (and for listening to my lecture!) <3

[desultory-novice]

A-ahem. Starting over again...

@newthinkerer found THS post and said to me: "I'm sure the Kirby fandom has done something to grind your gears."

Which, in truth, the answer is not lately / not really no. ^^; But it wasn't hard to reach in and find some "comical outrage" style gear-grindy answers for those who find such rants entertaining! So, here those are for everyone's (hopeful) enjoyment

[Original Response Below] Ohhh? Did you want "Salty" Dess? XD Let's go down the list...!

Marx / Reduced to one single trait

Look, I know the games don't give people much to go on, but a lot of people (1) seem ha~ppy to come up with pages and pages of backstory for all the other characters - but Marx? Nope. Marx is the one character who people seem almost allergic to rounding out when he is RIPE with mystery and potential. "But the game doesn't tell us anything about him so maybe he isn't that big of a deal, Dess?" Tsk! The game tells us just as little about Meta Knight! The only difference is the number of appearances! Use your imagination, people!

It's like some folks are trying to invoke the Smash Bros conspiracy theory that Kumazaki and Sakurai have a rivalry (they don't) and just like Sakurai would NEVER put a Kumazaki-era character in Smash (...he already did in the form of the trophies) no one is allowed to characterize Marx cause he's from the Sakurai-era of Kirby where characters just didn't have personalities and lore! Pah, I say!

Oh yeah, if you want to see me destroy something, say "He was just hungry!" : ) in my presence. Do it. I dare youuuuuu...! 

:holds Magolor over a wood chipper:

Susie / They stole (...some planetary resources and MK's autonomy...) and fandom labeled them a hard criminal

You all knew this one was coming, right? ^^ But if I start up the Susie debate again, I'm going to regret it so, uh, let's move on...

Kirby / Popular headcanon so off-base it hurts. 

I fear the Metadad people have their hands over the block button right now. But it's not that MetaDad is necessarily wrong! MK can act protective, sure. It's "Baby Kirby" that is wrong! He lives on his ownnnnnn with a houseeee he does not need babyinnnng.....!!

Magolor / Constant (eh, semi-frequent??) misinterpretation

...I want to be as gentle as possible when I say this because I GET IT. Please believe me when I say I understand so, so much and as far as AU versions/alternate HC goes, it's fine! This isn't a call out!

But... Magolor being a shy, reserved kitty boy who just wants...f-friends... Look, Magolor may not have EVERY disease, but he does have a lot of them. However awkward he may be though, the form his awkwardness takes is very clearly extroverted! Again, it's super okay though because I get seeing yourself or an aspect of yourself you're dealing with in a character and wanting to make them more like you! Dess supports comfort characters! (Plus, my own version of Magolor is a little laser-sighted on his frustrated side)

...But he runs a shop and a theme park. He actually LIKES talking to/dealing with people! He gets along with Marx because he LIKES tricking people. He likes to get under people's skin! He doesn't fear it! Magolor is/has been sad and probably has some deep trauma, yeah. But he also deserves to be more than :gif of a sad cat:

DMK / The worst takes.... 

I'm not going to start up The Debate here, same as with Susie, but... The unabashed glowing adoration the fandom has for Meta Knight and you take away ONE good trait and enhance ONE bad trait and now he is Satan?!? Some of you people hate him more than HYNESS (:spoken by a Hyness fan:) and I don't know why?!

Maybe add on "He would never say that" for the people who do the opposite and make him exactly like MK but he says the F word

Daroach / ...Ignored

Like, the real crime (haha, get it? crime?) about Daroach is that he IS used occasionally. More than like, I dunno, Chew Kawasaki? But when he does show up, it's with his crew being "The Leader of the Squeaks" (showcasing that Dad Energy(tm)) or DMK's husband. (The thief and the murderer are boyfriends! Diversity win!) And...that's it?

Daroach has so much potential to interact with literally everyone?! He roasts Dedede IN GAME?! Why are people not running with this energy more?! (Also, shipping Darkroach because of that one picture is fine. I do too. Shipping Darkroach because you don't want to break up MetaDede and so you relent to "giving" him MK's mirror clone like buying a grieving kid a new puppy is...kinda weird? Just me?)

Adeleine / Reduced to one single trait (part two)

...This might sound like THE most hypocritical thing coming from the creator of "Apologies" aka, "Sad Siblings in Snow" but Adeleine potentially being from Shiver Star (potentially!) equating her to "The Little Match Girl." Now I love all kinds of Adeleine origin headcanons! And I also love Sad Adeleine on Shiver Star stories! I don't want to put an end to them or suggest they are bad thing! Never!

But... I worry e~very now and then THAT  is the thing people find most interesting about her. That she would/should be a sad girl when she's really not. Since writing "Apologies," I've gotten a handful of asks about how Adeleine must be really sad about Noir's death or asking if she will ever be able to smile again and... like...um...

...S-she is? Already smiling, that is. ^^; "Apologies" was crafted in a way to PROTECT Adeleine's innocence so that she can be happy and relatively close to the canon Adeleine! Adeleine being able to move on with her life and smile and make friends is exactly the thing Noir died for - so that Adeleine wouldn't have the life he did!

So, again, kinda hypocritical of me because I actually really like sad Adeleine art and "Adeleine the Human" HC, but I sometimes fear it might become all that she is.  :spoke by a contributor to this trend:

...TLDR, continue to write and draw Adeleine angst because it allows me to ignore the option I almost considered just for a second which was sexualiza...Nope. We're going to go back to forgetting about all that unfortunate Pixiv content right.this.minute!

-

(1) So, despite my tone and the things I said, I'm not actually upset at anyone for anything they'd done! I'm really happy that people are creating at all - whether you're writing sad Magolor or itty bitty Kirby or lol random Marx or PTSD Adeleine or trophy husband Daroach!

I don't even see a lot of the things I'm ostensibly complaining about anymore, honestly. Thus my reasons for posting less and less salt on this account! Outside of a few fandom kerfluffles in the last month (alas...) I would say we're actually in an era of peace as far as good content about the characters goes! People are thinking and inventing. People are having fun. People are being measured with their takes and anything "gear grindy" is really going to be remembered stuff from the past, not present flaws!

...plz don't block me...

[rocinantescoffeestop]

[pjo series thoughts - spoilers ep. 1]

First note is a biggie: When Sally starts describing the story of Perseus in the museum, I had to pause. It starts with Perseus and his mother thrown into a box and cast out to sea, to be forgotten about, to die basically. It made me think about how Sally and Percy basically grew up alone, how that situation mirrors Perseus in the myths, and the fact that in the myths the mother-son pair were 'surrounded by sea' (the exact words Sally uses to tell the story, btw) just adds to the parallel.

In the books, Sally describes Poseidon essentially going to the sea and never coming back. In the show, we meet her properly at the apartment and she's standing in the rain, surrounded by water. In short, the 'surrounded by' part of that story is equivalent to 'being shaped by'. Their lives – both Sally-Percy and Perseus and his mom in the myths – had a large part of their lives determined by Poseidon, determined by the sea.

——

• Bobofit? just makes me think of Boba Fett and now I'm picturing Nancy fanart as a star wars clone XD

• Eddie the Super is a bro in this adaptation. I agree with what I've heard some other folks saying around these fandom parts, I like this change from Eddie being one of the poker buddies to being at odds with Gabe, too.

• Sally Jackson listening to 'logical' by Olivia Rodrigo. Sally Jackson being an Olivia fan!!!!

• Gabe and Sally's relationship here... it's not good sure, but in this adaptation, I can see sort of how they could have started, maybe at first it not being about 'protecting Percy', as they sort of have a banter here that doesn't just seem like a watered-down/kid-friendly version of a dysfunctional marriage but also like the remnants of some sort of clicking. Of course, I want to believe that Gabe is still an awful human being, and yeah, the show portrays that he's a slum, a verbal dick towards everyone in his life, has abusive habits like checking Sally's phone without permission, so I still don't like him here. But, there's a difference between series!Gabe and book!Gabe in which book!Gabe was just painted as cut and dry, black and white awful, like the worlds slimiest, grimiest old fool. Maybe it's the act of seeing it instead of reading about it since in the book we ARE the narrator – a twelve-year-old boy with a limited worldview and seeing things more as cut-dry/black-white – and here we're more on the outside looking in, so we can approach the world with a more objective viewpoint, and see details not as 'good' or 'bad' but as just details. Just something like 'life just be like that sometimes' kind of way.

• 'Like a puzzle with have the wrong pieces' hit home for me. Also, describing Percy's attention slips through the mist as 'daydreaming' is such a good way to relate ADHD to his demigodness. I like how the series described Percy's mind and disabilities better so far than the books.

• 'Something that felt real to you that no one else can see?' The way Sally delivers this line... UGH so good at being very subtle in suggesting that she can relate to Percy personally here, hinting at her ability to see through the mist as well despite being 100% mortal. Or maybe that's just me knowing things revealed later in the series and subplanting that onto the now.

• It's hard explaining greek gods being real to your son. LOL undercut perfectly with Walker's comedy ("like– like Jesus?"). Also, Walker's acting? 10/10

• putting Percy and Grover at odds in the series just like in the books but each do it differently – in the books, Percy ditches Grover bc he's acting weird and it's stressing Percy out. In the series, Grover is the one that does the dirty deed and makes sure Percy gets expelled from Yancy. Either case, they both put tension in the relationship (to be repaired later in the narrative). So, before you say anything bad about the differences between book and series, think about the emotional part of it. The series speaks to the HEART of the scene, of the story, even if it's not a word-for-word retelling with visuals.

• "He is brutal, he is relentless, he–" "He is still wearing underpants." Classic Percy comedy akdjfhgklsjdfg I'm in love

• Sally setting Grover up for his emotional journey on the quest by making him swear to protect Percy against all monsters/threats that come his way.

• Oh god, it's even more heartwrenching the second time watching Percy watch his mom "die" – the silence that encompasses the moment, all sounds drowning away, the rain so crystal clear on his face, and his eyes... god. so good.

• I love the last scene. The campers' voices coming out of the blackness, the blackness fading into a hazy purple sunset as Percy's vision come to. Annabeth's voice saying "he must be the one,' as she so wants him to be the one that will bring her along on a quest. just the way the framing lands at the end, with the subtle movement of camper silhouettes shifting away and Chiron front and centre, welcoming Percy (and thus the audience) into the world (into the series). Such a good introduction. So, so good.

[lemotmo]

Hi! I just wanted to say thank you for being in this fandom and sounding so calm and reasonable💓 you are such a soothing voice in these tumultuous times!

I'm uncertainty personified, so I really love your confidence (even though I'm scared of it sometimes because in my experience my overconfidence only proves I'm wrong most of the time - so I'll rely on other people here😂), it's like a balm for me when I want to cry in defeat after reading through so much (unearned, in my opinion) love towards Tommy in Instagram comments...

I really hope it wasn't just bait when they promoted s7 with Buddie, that our suffering will end soon (sorry for being overdramatic, but I feel like Buddie shippers have been spat on for all 6 years, and this time it's reached some peak levels of hate with bucktommys, but we somehow persevere 😅), I really do hope so, even though it's really hard sometimes.

(and I realize that it's stupid to worry about a tv show so much, but I can't help it😅)

Oh Nonny, believe me-- I'm constantly biting my tongue these days. xD

But yeah, overall I try to stay calm when it comes to fandom. Real life is already complicated enough. I don't want to add extra stress to that from fandom.

I don't think it's stupid to worry about a TV show. If it's a show you love and you care about the characters of course you'll worry. That is what the showrunners want you to do. They want you to care about these fictional people.

As for my strong confidence in Buddie happening? No headcanons there.

It's all based on what we have seen on the show so far. The storylines, the narrative... there is only one logical outcome here.

Buck and Eddie got so many scenes in season 7. In only 10 episodes they gave us the maximum of Buddie scenes.

Then there is all the Buddie PR they got out before and all through season 7, without really putting any focus on Tommy at all. It was always just about Buck being bisexual and how wonderful that was. Tommy could have been any other guy. It doesn't matter who Buck kissed. It just had to be a man to get him out of the closet.

Ryan and Oliver love Buddie. Oliver especially always roots for Buddie and shows support for Buddie. He has never shown any support for BT. Not one single time.

And as for Ryan? He is so much more subtle about it. But his Buddie support is there. For example: the whole 'One step at a time' comment on instagram after that 'Babysteps to Buddie' article came out? He was so real for that.

All of the above facts combined, kinda lead to only one possible outcome: Buddie canon.

I have no answer to when or how, but I'm pretty confident at this point that it is happening.

As for all the BT love in Instagram accounts? Well, they made these comments on the very specific BT posts, which is a logical thing to do. But if you compare the amount of likes and comments to what the Buddie posts get? Doesn't compare. Also, I highly encourage you to go check out the official Instagram account's season 8 announcement. Buddie fans and comments are all over that post! They practically drown out every single BT comment. Love that for us! We sometimes forget just how big the Buddie fandom is, but it's at times like these that it becomes obvious again.

Also, check out this post. It's a highly interesting read.

Hope this helped a little to ease your uncertainty. :)

[syntheticmortal]

I got tagged by the lovely @crownedinmarigolds! Thank you so much mate!! I'm absolutely charmed 🥰

Now my rat bastard spouse stole most of my tagging options on their post so to not double-tag I will add:

@skaerdir, @klaciate, @tzimizce and @vamp-orwave!!

If anyone who sees this wants to be an honourary tagee, then go for it XD

For those who don't know - Hi I am Alex! (He/They) and I'm a writer and an English immigrant to the USA!

3 ships: oh mate all of these are OCxOC with @c-n-i-d-a-r-i-a-n

Victor and Gloria – A Nos and his unbound Ghoulfriend. Making your touchstone one of your mission Ghouls is dangerous af but live fast love hard, lads.

Jeff and Lamb – Another of Vic's unbound Ghouls and the Thin Blood Nos that joined the Warren. Disgustingly fucking cute injected into the den of the rejected and disgruntled.

Ventan/Taakur Rig and Rozanin Rig – My and Daz's SWTOR PCs respectively. A Chiss Cipher Agent that ends up having to go hide with his Mandalorian hireling with her Clan and Roz's unrequited love becomes hella requited and suddenly Ventan/Cipher Five-now-Taakur has step kids??

I love it so much.

first ship: Oh god this takes me back to being little. Probably a Sonic one??

Shadow and Rouge if I had to take a guess??

last song: Temptation by Sean Paul! A proper bop

But honestly massive shout out to the second Nostalgia Synthwave mix by Odysseus on youtube

This thing keeps me sane, and has all the songs marked! – that opening one, Realign by Cerulean, can usually just melt my brain into peace whenever I hear it

last film: Snatch – Like VTMB it's a problematic fave that oozes style and characterisation throughout. Watched it as prep for a Setite I'm going to play in a V5 game >:D

currently reading: Altered Carbon by Richard Morgan as part of genre research. Finished The Vampyre recently too! Really I should pick AC up today, I've been working hard on my editing and outlining of my own pieces and neglecting the reading part of the craft for a few weeks >.>;

currently craving: So I'm drinking far less booze to save money whilst I'm out of work trying to get some Proper Writing done. So when I hit a good worthy milestone I'm getting a bottle of whiskey and I am ready.

fav color: Green! Sometimes purple!

relationship status: Maaarriiied to @c-n-i-d-a-r-i-a-n

last google search: I had to double check the spelling of Taakur for the ship section, so it was 'mandoa' :')

and before that I'm pretty use I searched Scryfall last night to go look at MTG cards even though I have no one to play with right now :'D (at least it's saving me money >.>)

current obsessions: Was tempted to add my own work here but I'll tag that on the very end XD

There's a lot of fandoms I don't leave – World of Darkness and Warhammer 40k predominantly as settings I always have another angle I want to see explored in!

I do however have the Magic the Gathering bug, even though I haven't really played in years and years now – but card interaction as a generation for narrative has always kind of captivated me? Like there's a couple big mean Ogre cards that make Rats more dangerous, but due to the way the systems work they also empower the Ratfolk of Kamigawa, the Nezumi, as they count as 'Rat' cards still. So big Ogre spellcasters improving Rat people as part of a contained bit of narrative kind of fascinates me as a concept.

Plus each deck presupposes a Planeswalker character who's casting those spells – and I was always intrigued by that notion and so most of my OCs are representative of decks I played (or wanted to :P) and then in turn each Planeswalker needs a Plane to come from, probably from a still existing culture on that Plane too, and so it can kind of wonderfully reverberate inspiration.

Like how every VTM Kindred OC presupposes a Sire!

BONUS ALEX SECTION

So if you want to get to know me, let me tell you about what writing I'm working on/have made recently.

Out now!

The Mutilation of Finley Reid

A short story of masculine horror, about a young man by the name of Finley who suffers in the pursuit of having his place as a man affirmed by his peers.

The world of Torranham Nights is an anachronistic reflection of England set in the coastal city state of Torranham, drawing from contemporary culture and folklore as well as the legends and reality of the cultures that came before – without being fetishistic about it like a lot of stories will.

Handle It

A short retail horror, about working the cash register of a butcher's counter, and the customer who orders increasing amounts of ground beef...

Inspired by my own work in a same spot, anyone who's done service work should get a kick out of this – plus it's free and only takes 20 minutes to read! XD

On the way!

Defector – name subject to change

A short story of grief, shame, suicidal ideation, alcoholism, and community. On the moon.

A Special Recon mech pilot, “Crash”, from Earth has defected to the Moon rebels, and now lives in Magnolia City, rotting away in her tiny apartment. Then the Provisional Government sends one of its elite commanders, a former enemy of Crash's, to pull her out.

Elhart: Arrival

The first of a short story fantasy anthology about a city of refugees at the edge of time and space, hiding from the end of the multi-planar universe. A super soldier has washed up with a near-fatal headwound and no memory, and she must learn to live in a far more peaceful world than the one her instincts suggest she came from. But who was she? And can she earn the trust of people who fear her potential to kill?

Neon Sun

A novel! Cyberpunk Vampires! If we're mutuals you can come ask about this but I'm not ready to share things too publicly for this one yet, but the outlining has gone beautifully in my opinion, and the worldbuilding is singing.

Speartip

I'm making a TTRPG!! It's a Powered by the Apocalypse engine game, about serving as the primary field agents of a faction of people who need your support and protection. Because if you're going to be a hero, who are you doing it for if not your kin?

Setting agnostic as hell, excluding some implicit need for magic in the class moves – I'm prepping to playtest this in sci-fi and fantasy settings to see how well my mechanics hold up in both swords and firearms based stories. Plus I'm going to explore a variety of perspectives of what the faction can be – from ethnic groups, to gangs, to guilds, to neighbourhoods.

I'm VERY excited about all this!!

[chipper-asks]

Hi! I've been following you for a good while now and have always rly admired the community you've build, and, your art itself, obviously, it's always very cozy in here. May be a strange question, but as a relatively popular artist on the interned, are there any tips you could share on how to engage and sustain an audience? maybe you know some recourses for artist to get their art seen? I've been an artist posting online for roughly 10 yrs and pretty much failed at accumulating any sort of prominent presence. I don't feel bad about it really, it's not why I do art per say, but these are pretty rough times and unfortunately other means of art monetization grow thinner with stupid updates & algorithms forcing anyone who can't afford payed adds or subscriptions out of business. I kinda have to make use of social media, even if it's not my element in the slightest. Feel free not to answer if you feel like it. Thanks in advance! Also big thanks for your shouts of my art overall, I really appreciate your support!

So I've had a post in my drafts for who knows how long detailing how to build and curate your audience online. But I haven't found a good way to go about posting it because I didn't want it to come off as tooting my own horn xD

BUT YOU HAVE ENABLED ME SO HERE WE GO!!!

(im going to generalize, you may already be doing some of these things but I think its good info for anyone who wants to build an online presence)

1. Engaging your audience

A: First, you have to think of the platform you're sharing your art on and what people use it for. Not even tumblr, but the internet as a whole. It is a place where people form communities and share information. It's also one of the most popular ways to mentally escape; from school, boredom, to the horrors of real life.

So if you want people to find you, make a space where they can escape/feel community.

This means: No callout posting, no venting, no doom posting, no politics, no guilt posting, no anything that would make you unfollow someone else if you were having a bad day.

It's okay to have an occasional vent or political post cause we're human, but trauma dumping is something thats very hard for someone else to read and honestly should you be putting that kind of information online, the internet is a place of community but it also isnt safe.

B: The Value of Fandoms

It's time for some metrics, featuring my own follower count.

I've been on tumblr for 9 years and I have been making an effort to grow my base as a way of getting money as a freelancer (like you) so I started doing this allll the way back in highschool. I can remember each milestone and which fandom I got them in

1,000 I got when I was posting stuff for Undertale

2,000 I got when I was posting stuff for The Property of Hate

there was a big break between these milestones where I was just drawing ocs and object heads and stuff, but nothing I was hyperfixated on

5,000 I got from Hollow Knight

but then something really unexpected happened.

In late 2021 and early 2022 I decided cringe was a worthless social construct and decided to fully indulge in my enjoyment of doodling dragons.

I juuust inched past 5,000 when 2022 started. I Ended Up With 12,000 as 2022 ended. That's more than double. As of posting this I am at 13,600 and its only February.

So how did that happen? I could tout along and say that it was simply luck and I wasn't really making an effort anyway but that's a big fuckin lie, i've been "selling out" this whole time (it's not fucking selling out to post in fandom. You like a thing? You go to the thing's community and post about the thing)

Posting in a fandom is essentially like, now bear with me, advertising for your blog. Fandom is where the eyes are and where the traffic goes. Big tags like #artistsontumblr #tumblrart #art are used OFTEN but they're too general and often people look for things that are specific. Fandoms like Hollow Knight, BNHA, Mob Psycho, The Owl House, etc are currently popping off and have a lot of traffic.

This doesn't necessarily mean that you need to join a popular fandom to post your work in to get followers, it just means that if you're into a show or a media, post it on your main art blog and don't make side blogs. Keep it all together

Why?

Because 5% of those fandom people stick around for YOUR STUFF and those 5% of people are the best goddamn people in the world. You want those 5% to see EVERYTHING you do and THEY'RE the ones who will recommend you to THEIR friends and do outreach on your behalf because they like YOU and not YOUR STUFF.

i fuckin love those guys

So as you hop from fandom to fandom, you're going to lose some people but that's fine. Everyone curates their experience online and if you head off in a direction they don't like then they can deal with it. The rest come along for the ride cause 1: they either really like your stuff or 2: are into the new thing you're getting into.

SO ANYWAY

posting in fandoms under one name is GOOD because it puts everyone in the same bucket that will see your stuff and there's a chance that a few will stick just for your stuff. It is not cheap, its how you reach out to people to help cheer up their day and escape from things stressing them out.

C: What should you post?

So this is something that isn't an exact science but if you're looking to increase your follower count, this is something you can keep in mind.

Because this is the internet and the digital word of escaping from stress, people flock to things that are

1: Familiar 2: Funny 3: Relatable

So i've already been over fandoms and that's something that goes into the Familiar category. Familiar can also mean generalized but still popular concepts, like werewolves, dragons, vampires, apocalyptic scenarios, etc.

The more you trail into something niche, like marine biology, the seelie/unseelie courts, object heads, etc, the less traffic you'll find. There are communities centered around these but they're not massive like certain fandoms.

Which is how you end up with artists who spend hours upon hours on every piece only getting like 14 - 32 notes per piece. It's not lack of people caring or lack of interest, its the fact that these artists haven't "advertised" their blogs in fandom. Those people who end up caring about more personal posts are those 5% you find from fandom spaces. Their Familiar from that fandom begins to include your artwork as Familiar and thus they're more likely to share it.

Funny is simple. Tumblr is a platform of shitposts and memes. Do you have a favorite character in a fandom? Shitpost them. 2 birds with one stone, Familiar and Funny. I can't teach you how to be funny, but if you see something that makes you laugh online, pause and try to find out why and see if you can replicate it. (You wont get it in one go)

Relate-ability is also simple. If someone finds something they can easily associate with they will eagerly tag #mood #me or @ one of their friends in the post.

What doesn't get people following just by itself is your skill.

This sounds really fucking depressing but hear me out.

Your skill in art is a multiplier. It can take those three categories from above and BOOST IT to fantastic new heights. People love things that are from their fandoms that are funny and relate-able. People go FERAL for shit that is from their fandoms that are funny, relate-able AND COOL AS FUCK. If art represented x5 in an equation and you have nothing else, you get 0. If you include any of those three other things and then x5, you get something grand.

2. Sustaining your Audience.

If you want to set up your blog as a platform to eventually gain freelance income from, you need to make it yours and not your audience's.

This is key to prevent burnout and feeling obligation to create for thousands of featureless faces and losing sight of what made you enjoy art in the first place.

It is REALLY EASY to fall into that pit, especially as you grow your audience. When you have a small audience, it's easier to interact one on one with someone. Engagement is exciting when you have a small audience! People? Interested in your work!! Fuck yeah!!

But as you reach those milestones, the vibe begins to change. More and more people demand your attention. People who are new don't see you as an artist they knew from another fandom, they see you as a content creator and that is the worst goddamn stone wheel to get stuck around your neck.

You can still respond to requests and answer silly questions, but now you have to keep in mind that if you draw this little dragon for someone, three other people are going to ask for their own little dragons. And that's fine because you love dragons and they asked so nicely. You make those dragons but now there's seven people asking for their own dragons and you actually want to work on something other than dragons-- but you made those dragon doodles for those other people so wouldn't it be hypocritical to say no-

It becomes a spiral.

So to prevent that situation from happening, you need to respect your boundaries as an artist and what you will do and what you will draw the line at. If someone doesn't like you for that, they can unfollow.

In terms of posting regularly to sustain your audience, i've found that it helps but ultimately doesn't matter.

(this is a tumblr centric view, i cannot say the same for other platforms)

The way tumblr works resembles a massive recycling facility. You will see shit on your dash from 7 years ago but you dont mind, its how this place works.

It doesn't matter how often you post. You won't lose priority on people's dashboards if you don't make your daily art post. What matters is that you just make the post.

Each post you make is like sending out a bucket of chum into the grand ocean of tumblr. The more buckets of chum you have, the more likely you are to attract fish. The more you post the larger your radius is. The more variety you make in spreading out to different fandoms the wider your range is. And these spots of chum don't go away! They're permanent brown spots in a big blue wasteland and fish will stumble across it and then try to find the source.

Basically, you can disappear for an entire month and then suddenly return out of nowhere and shove 57 posts into a week and then disappear again and people will show up and stick around.

THis post is getting really long and there are probably some things im missing but my hadns are getting achy and i think that's my call to stop :p

if you have anymore questions tho im very willing to answer 👍

[piracytheorist]

I've recently migrated to Tumblr from the blue bird hellsite and I'm really enjoying it, a big part of it is due to all the extra fandom content and that includes your blog, so thank you!

You've probably answered this somewhere (apologies if so) but how come you don't read the manga? I really enjoy the anime and the second season and movie can't come quick enough!

Hi and welcome, hope you have fun in this silly little hellsite XD I'm glad I'm one of the people that make your stay enjoyable <3

I did mention in a post some time ago about why I don't read the sxf manga but I think you're the first one to ask me about it so don't worry ;) my quick answer is that reading manga from the small screen of my laptop ruins my immersion (especially in comparison to reading in printed form), and that in general I don't like spoilers and I prefer experiencing a story without knowing anything about it.

While watching the anime I feel fully immersed and I can properly enjoy it because anime is meant to be watched from a screen. I love the story, but as I said I prefer going in on a story almost completely blind, I like not knowing what's going to happen, and I have actually tried reading a few manga chapters before they were animated, and while it was a fun experience, it ended up lessening my enjoyment of the episodes slightly. I was comparing stuff a lot. It's like reading a book and then watching a film that was based on it, you usually spot what is missing and make way too many comparisons. On the other hand, I did not make such comparisons when I read the manga after watching the anime, I could instead enjoy it just as much. That was like reading the book after watching the film, in which case, for me, the film isn't ruined and the book provides cool little details that the film omitted.

So, after I compared my experiences and saw what was more enjoyable to me, I decided to not read further into the manga and only read the chapters after I watch their respective anime episodes. I have full respect for Endo's work and the effort and dedication he's put into it, I've been slowly buying the manga volumes and will continue to do so unless a scandal arises or the story goes full downhill both of which I hope never happen and I neither suggest everyone should do it my way nor do I take pride in it. It makes being in the fandom very hard (since I cannot engage in pretty much any discussion nor interact with most other fans) but I really really really love this story and its characters, and I want to give myself the chance to enjoy it in the way I know will be most enjoyable to me.

I am so jealous of people who like or don't mind spoilers, or who can get fully immersed by the manga alone. I know there's so much of the story and development I'm missing and since my main reason for being on tumblr is a) meta analysis and b) talking about it with other fans, being anime-only is almost contradictory to that. But it's a story promising enough to make me believe the wait will be worth it :)

I've already put a countdown widget on my phone for the movie, and I can't wait for the season 2 premiere date to be officially announced so I can add a countdown for that too! I'm so excited to get more of the story, as well as new stuff with the film! From some spoilers I've gotten for the following chapters, it seems to be an arc with great story and development so I can't wait to experience it for myself :D

[wendingways]

20 Questions For Writers

Thank you, @sinvulkt! I saw someone else post one of these a while ago, and it looked fun, so thanks so much for the tag! 💛💛💛

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

Seven. Technically eight, but one of them is part of another and just separated for logistical reasons, so it doesn't really count.

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

190,105 words

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Star Wars

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

Fortune's Rule, 536 kudos

Missing Pieces No More, 142

Whispers From Tomorrow, 126

Petrichor, 42

Threadbare, 30

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

Most of the time! Sometimes it takes a while because busy + tired, but I enjoy it when other authors respond to my comments, so I want to respond other people's comments. :)

6. What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Probably Threadbare. Wouldn't say it's a full-on angsty ending, because I tend to go for angsty beginnings/middles and happy endings, but it's the closest I've got.

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

Whispers From Tomorrow, by virtue of it being a pre-Order-66 fix-it.

8. Do you get hate on your fic?

I've gotten a little. You know how FFN can be. There was this one kinda funny one instance where somebody was silent for like 20 chapters, and then absolutely flipped their lid in a comment after I killed off a character. Not even a main character! Oops....

9. Do you write smut?

Nope.

10. Do you write crossovers?

Not as a rule, but I did start scribbling down this weird idea for Anne Shirley, from Anne of Green Gables, ending up in the GFFA during the Clone Wars via some witchery in the Haunted Wood. What gets me is how I told my brother about it, and he promptly started nagging me to write it because he wants to read it XD

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

No, but feel free to do so if you're interested!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic?

No.

14. What‘s your all-time favourite ship?

Meh, not really a big shipper.

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

WIP I will never finish? What are you talking about?

There are no unfinished WIPS in Ba Sing Se.

Seriously, though, probably my Padmé ROTS time loop fic. I had this idea for Padmé to keep looping back to some point in ROTS after she dies. I love the idea, it's roughly outlined and I've written some snippets, and there's this one scene that I'd really like to include, but I'm just not sure how to make the time loop AU work in this scenario.

16. What’s your writing strengths?

Grammar, usage, and mechanics. And maybe angst, oddly enough. Never figured myself for an angst writer, but then I started writing Fortune's Rule, and here we are.

17. What’s your writing weaknesses?

Speed. I write slowly. I also tend to end up going down research rabbit holes that suck up my time and energy. And I have a really hard time saying no to adding more characters, which adds to the whole writing-takes-a-long-time thing.

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

Sure! I've enjoyed putting little bits of Mando'a and Huttese into Fortune's Rule.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Calico Captive, by Elizabeth George Speare, when I was in my early teens. Never managed to get a whole fic out of it, and what fragments I did write were terribly underdeveloped, sentimental, and shallow. But we all have to start somewhere!

20. Favourite fic you’ve ever written?

Fortune's Rule, all the way! I know it's not finished yet, but it is my precious and my problem child, and I love it to bits!

In a way, it's a very self-indulgent story, because it's got all the tropes I most adore, and it's like a puzzle, trying to figure out how to put all these different elements together in a way that's believable, and how to have characters develop to where I want them to be.

Plus, it's also given me some fun surprises, like Padmé and Ahsoka being besties, Ventress becoming Obi-Wan's confidant for a certain matter, and Piett becoming a friend/confidant/emotional support admiral for Starkiller.

And there's so much more fun stuff planned, especially as we're getting close the start of an arc I've been planning since before I started posting the fic in 2021! (There will be child hijinks. There will be pirates. There will be sand, and angst and fluff galore. And I am so kriffing excited.)

Tagging (If you're interested! I'm doing like sinvulkt and tagging some authors I've interacted with a bit on AO3; hope this isn't a nuisance to anyone! :) ) @musewrangler, @clawedandcute, @xxiamnotokay666xx