#those two are my og fics for this fandom. i want to complete them and share them even if they arent fully how i view the characters now

[pyrriax]

hey guys im back at it again with the horrible levels of s4 zam brainrot. um.

did i manage to somehow make this song about him in my head? yes! yes i did. and i cannot be normal about it.

[teecupangel]

Hi teecup_angel! I want to tell you that I totally love your blog and all the love you put into Desmond! I just joined the fandom and I've spent days browsing your tags because I completely fell in love with Assasin's Creed and all its protagonists, but especially Desmond!! I was thinking of an idea and I'd like you to give me your opinion <3 ok, so this time Desmond would be in the USG Ishimura (Dead Space), maybe the world evolved and Desmond was born long after people conquered space travel, so in this world the brotherhood of assassins would be fighting against the templars and their idea of ​​making everyone "one", that is, in this universe the templars would be the Dead Space Unitologists, and the fragments of Eden would become the Effigies. The Isu might be the creators of the Effigies , perhaps seeking to preserve their minds beyond their lifespan or share their knowledge with the universe, but Juno corrupted the inventions and it ended up in what happens in the video game. I don't know, I actually just thought that the bleeding effect and the schizophrenic illusions that the Effigies causes before the convergence are very relatable haha, and I just want to see Desmond kill necromorphs in an armored suit. I can't think of a way to bring his ancestors there though, maybe you can think of something? thanks for sharing your blog with us! it's become one of my favorites.

Aaawww, thank you!

Oh god, Imma be honest, I had an idea of a Dead Space inspired fic like… two years ago? Three? Around the time I was writing Zero Eclipse XD

It’s my most favorite scifi horror game. Anyway, the idea is that the Animus is able to operate because it uses an Isu artifact similar to the Marker that it can access one’s genetics and that is what’s being used to access genetic memory.

The Bleeding Effect is actually a side effect of the Animus using the Marker.

Of course, that idea was more on the side of a modern day AC fic with Dead Space-esque scifi horror element XD

And this one we’ll set in USG Ishimura and, full disclosure, I haven’t played the remake but I have been watching Roanoke Gaming’s scientific explanations for the remake’s necromorph so this is gonna be a blend of what he talked about and what I could remember from the OG game.

… of course with a twist because we’re making Dead Space’s plot the future of Assassin’s Creed.

So for this one, Abstergo has gone beyond the stars and started developing space related products. One of which are planet cracker class ships.

Hell, let’s go even further and say that they pioneered and lobbied for planet cracking, both for profit and because the materials they find in those planets they destroy have a higher chance of recreating Isu artifacts to its full potential.

Some even show promise of having applications that could potentially exceed what the Pieces of Eden are even capable of.

Because of this, Abstergo… no. The Templar Order expanded their circle of influence to other areas, including public trading company like CEC.

The Order has been too focus on the stars that they ignore the growing Church of Unitology and even ignoring most of what’s happening back on Earth.

The Brotherhood, on the other hand, have been keeping an eye on this church because there is something strange going on there and they actually believe the Templars have some deep connection with the church. (they don't in a sense that both Order and Brotherhood have been infiltrated by Unitologists but they don't know about it)

Not to mention, with the Templars’ hold on earth weakening because of their focus on space, the Brotherhood had been steadily growing in power, maintaining distant alliances with powerful people while keeping an eye on them at the same time.

The Templars’ greed to become more powerful than the Isus themselves is what sets up the tragedy of USG Ishimura.

Learning of the existence of the Marker in USG Ishimura led the Unitologists to set their own plan into motion.

Ishimura includes a lab where they grew clones that are kept in case a worker needs compatible organ transfer or limb… ‘recovery’.

In this place, a Unitologist clones a preserved DNA. This Unitologist used to be part of the Templar Order. As far as the Templars are concerned, he was still part of the Order. His task was simple.

Use the facilities to quickly develop the clone until it’s an adult and keep it in stasis until the time is right.

This clone is based on the preserved DNA of Subject 17, Desmond Miles.

.

Unorganized Notes:

Desmond wakes up once USG Ishimura the day the Marker ‘enters’ the Ishimura. Things are weird are shit because, Desmond’s last memories are about him dying to save the world in 2012, but everyone seems to know him as a member of USG Ishimura.

Things get even weirder when Desmond starts to ask questions about what his job was or who he was and no one can give him a concrete answer. When he try to press them, people just start to grow agitated.

Things become even weirder when a medical officer starts freaking out because he remembers Desmond but then he doesn’t and then…

The ‘disappearances’ begin.

Desmond has his hands full though because his Bleeding Effect has started to become… much more vivid. He swears he had felt them touch him, grazing the back of his hand with theirs, tapping his shoulder… He swears he can feel their warm breath as they whisper to him to…

“Bring us back”

It is unsure what the Unitologists want with Desmond but there are a few medical officers who requests him for daily check ups. Desmond is sus of them the most and that gives him the idea that it's his genes that's important.

Once he learns about how he was ‘born’, he starts to understand that his Bleeds want him to grow more of him. Bodies they can ‘inhabit’.

Whether this is true OR this is the Marker fucking Desmond up, pretending to be the Bleeds but actually using his emotional attachment to them to make Desmond do something for it is a question that Desmond didn’t even know he should ask.

Because by that point, the Ishimura was becoming swarmed by necromorphs

(Whether this turns into Desmond trying to survive the Ishimura or Isaac finding Desmond later on is up to you. If Isaac will be part of the story, either he’d find Desmond already under the thrall of the Marker and trying to make bodies for his supposed Bleeds or Desmond is placed under stasis or something similar and Isaac awakens him)

It would be fun if Hammond is actually an Assassin sent to check what the fuck is happening in Ishimura and he actually knows who Desmond Miles is. If you’re feeling ambitious, instead of Hammond, Kendra is the secret Assassin XD

[mischief-and-tea-by-the-sea]

10 Questions for Writers

10 Questions for Writers tagged by @sunnysideprincess

1. how many works do you have on AO3?

156, but two or three of those are Round Robins I participated in, and two are collabfics. The rest are all mine, though.

2. what’s your total AO3 word count?

902,447

3. what fandoms do you write for?

Marvel is my main squeeze fandom, but I've got one Stranger Things fic up and I want to write a few more. I've got a tiny Hannibal fic up, one solitary M*A*S*H that had been a request of one of my besties (and that was definitely enough and I love that show), and there's a Contrarywise/Trickster's Touch ficlet up. Oh yeah, and I have a few Bill and Ted fics up and some other random old stuff that I finally stuck on my AO3 (Lost Boys, From Hell)

4. do you respond to comments? why or why not?

Always. First off, it's so rare these days to get comments because of all the reasons/excuses people give for not leaving comments on fics that to get comments is such a treasure and joy, so of course, I'm going to comment back. Second, if some of those reasons/excuses are true (shyness, anxiety, awkwardness) then I'm doubly grateful for the people who do comment - esp if they are commenting while anxious/shy/awkward - that I want to make sure they realize that their comments are appreciated and that they are not bothering me with their comments. Though I still don't understand that concern. If a writer doesn't want comments on their fics, they'll set it up so that no one will comment. If we've got our comments open, we want comments and you're never bothering us with them.

5. have you ever had a fic stolen?

I don't think so. Given how wildly unpopular I seem to be as a writer, I can't imagine anyone wanting to steal what I've written.

6. have you ever co-written a fic before?

Yep. I've got two collabfics up on AO3 that I wrote with @scottxlogan, and we've got two more in the wings just needing to be finished so I can post them up.

7. what’s your all-time favorite ship?

No. I don't have one all-time favorite ship. I have many favorite ships - Loki/Tony Stark, Loki/Bucky Barnes, Loki/Steve Rogers, Loki/Emma Frost, Loki/Justin Hammer (don't give me that look, they're fun), Tony/Bucky, Tony/Steve, Tony/Scott Summers, Tony/Emma Frost, Steve/Bucky, Steve/Scott Summers, Steve/Emma, Scott/Logan, Scott/Bobby, Scott/Kurt... I mean, that's just the Marvel list, and it's not even a complete one. There's also Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson, and so many others from other fandoms that I may not write for but I like to read.

8. what are your writing strengths?

Apparently humor, Easter Eggs, dialogue, fluff, sexy times, and making people hungry by including food into so many fics.

9. what are your writing weaknesses?

World building if I'm having to create a world from scratch. I can do it, but it's a lot of work and then I get stressed. I used to world-build in rp writing with my former roommate, and when we quit writing, I thought I might take some of our old rps and turn them into og fiction, but there are some that are so wildly extensive in the world building that I will probably stick to re-reading them and not actually trying to re-write them into og fiction.

10. first fandom you wrote for?

If we're talking the first time I ever wrote fanfiction without knowing that fanfiction was a word, that'd be the Children of the Corn fanfic I wrote when I was 12-13. It was in pencil, and it was big time Mary Sue, and I don't even have it anymore because over many decades, the pencil faded/smudged, and I'm pretty sure I tossed it into the trash. (It was sooooooooooooooooooo bad.) The first fandom I was in once I knew what fanfiction was - Jay and Silent Bob. Yes, I still have those fics, and no they aren't posted anywhere, and they won't be. With the exception of a Loki series fic I wrote that has a tiny crossover with Dogma (that was called a therapy fic), I won't go back to that fandom.

Thanks for the tag!

Tagging: @mistressofmuses, @stormxpadme, @soliloquent-stark, @whinysteve, @kleenexwoman, @mcfiddlestan, @chaotic-hypnotic-erotic, @chaoticgardenbread, and anyone else who wants to play!

[minorfamilysupremacy]

Rules: share something about an idea you have/something that's speaking to you/an au you'd like to see and are considering writing/etc. etc. Basically anything that is tempting you away from your current wips!

tagged by @supernovasimplicity for this one. i don’t write  anymore, so this is a monument to all my sins (my 50000 drafts in my notes app) instead. consider this the list of things i would have written were i capable of the remotest bit of commitment. fully naming and shaming a whole bunch of past fandoms here too.

kinnporsche - SPH chapters whatever to whatever would have been the end: this counts because it is the biggest casualty in terms of scope. there are at least three more arcs i was planning, including the promised-but-never-delivered murderboner adventures, a revenge/separation arc, and the ending has been planned out for months. it is basically guaranteed never to see the light of day. www sad trombone dot com. - (redacted) vegaspete fantasy AU: this was a me & boots co-production. part of it exists and did get periodically picked at and the outline got revised a thousand times, but what was supposed to be conveyed as a fairytale with a deft touch, it had all the subtlety of the claw end of a hammer. this is the one i’ll drink about years from now and be bummed i never finished it. - i once promised dearly beloved @trueplainhearts i would write her the missing scene vegasmacau episode 2 cleanup after porsche’s bullshit at the koi pond. probably the one I’m most surprised no one has written (to my knowledge, which is minimal). - all the prompts i got for vp one-shots. these keep me up nights. they’re rotting in my askbox in the hopes i’ll get my shit together. have not forgotten them, just never moved the needle one iota. actually, that’s a lie. i have half a one-shot where macau runs his own horrible cooking youtube channel with a very game pete who will eat basically anything. probably the one closest to completion.

the flash - lord HELP me i was so on my bullshit about a show that continually betrayed me at every turn and stopped being good after two seasons despite running for nine. (i did quit after s3, but the rage will be lifelong.) anyway that shit inexplicably ruled my life because hearts and sparkles hearts and sparkles all the love in the world for my beautiful sad gay deaf mallgoth hartley rathaway, most beloved of his horrible stupid name. i dreadfully miss playing in that sandbox. i went old-school crackship and had my own decades-spanning world set up for two characters who never met in canon because i want nothing more than traumatized embittered brilliant characters hated by their own family and the people around them to ultimately create their own homes and happinesses. i wrote perhaps an ungodly amount of twitter DM harry wells/hartley rathaway fic but didn’t explore 95% of the world we created. i had millions of ideas i wanted to write for them — some domestic, some porny, some healing, some of those deep dives into disability and anger and grief -- and boy did i fail to write almost all of it. god, that show did not deserve the amount of time and energy and effort i poured into it but it was so creatively fulfilling and it’ll always be a place i come home to. - i would, of course, be remiss if i just acted like a saintly crackshipper while i stank up that fandom when in reality this was the OG murderboner adventures show for me and in the course of making this post i DID find the actual murderboner adventure fic (which i wrote in second person and do not remember doing at ALL) and not finishing that one for an audience of zero is a regret. harrison/hartley was SUCH an underrated ship in the fandom and no one wanted to make it as disgusting as i did despite the fact that it had SUCH ripe elements for a toxic, codependent, abusive, easily-murderous mess of a relationship. young traumatized alienated genius desperately seeks the withheld approval of an authority figure! COME ON PEOPLE GET IT TOGETHER. a boy who would easily kill for you if it meant you would cast your gaze his way for only a moment and who would be blind to how much of himself he’s lost until it’s too late — it was a certified me fic through and through. there was so much murder. so many boners. RIP :( - tbh i had a lot of fucked-up porn wips for this series. i was really into some disgusting fucking non-con and trying to find like-minded degens to share it with was a fool’s errand. hope no one ever steals my phone and finds them all.

all the other shit - i still get a little prickle of guilt over never finishing a detroit evolution wip about my favorite subject, traumatized and isolated boys wrestling with the concept of being loved and cared for after years of loneliness and fury. i was never a good fit for that fandom (true to form) and this just became one of those sore spots i didn’t have the energy to poke at any longer. i always wrote characters too similar to me and then they got uncomfortably personal and i ended up walking away. - lore olympus fans who hate minthe can a) skip this one and b) get the hell off my blog bc i am and always will be a certified minthe stan. love her. adore her. wanted desperately to write the codependent messy dysfunction of the hades/minthe relationship — the unequal power dynamics, the fear and anger of watching someone else get better while you’re not, the careless hurts to release your own pain. i really wanted to capture that loveless misery and just never could nail the vibe i wanted to. - prapaisky. i’m leaving this one as-is bc everyone i know thinks LITA is dogshit but i feel disproportionately strongly about them and wanted to dig into that post-canon recovery. end transmission.   - a lot of my stuff never made it out of my brain bc i knew it wouldn’t be worth it to watch it sink like a stone, which was the case with evelyn/walter from one lane bridge. i don’t know anyone who was binging dour nz murder mysteries and it isn’t exactly a canon that begs for a rich ao3 presence, but giving me glimpses of these gentle characters doomed by the narrative and forced into making unspeakable choices put me in a fucking chokehold. i scarfed every tiny crumb i got of their story and outright sobbed at the ending. watching the lock fall had me in full-on claire danes mode. it was prime character study material and i rewrote their story 500 times in my head bc i knew there wasn’t a chance in hell that thing would get the slightest bit of traction if i slaved over actually writing it. - flex/rita: fuck hbo max fuck zaslav fuck the WORLD. i know doom patrol will end and i will NOT see flex/rita become canon because devan chandler long is on another show and also DC hates me personally. (they should have at least kissed!!!!!! god!!!!! you give a woman a screaming reality-tearing sex-ghost orgasm and yet i can’t even get a chaste smooch out of it!!!!!!!!! god i’m gonna die mad about it.) anyway this was a fun one to plot out in my head bc it was all about sketching out flex’s backstory and exploring hero worship in the contexts of celebrity vs literal superhero and the idea of meeting your idols in the most doom-patrol-y way, which is to say decades later when you’ve both been victims of horrific medical, scientific, and magical fuckery but still are in the prime of your life. very rita hayworth in terms of ‘men go to bed with gilda and wake up with me’ in the disconnect between a public-facing persona and the vulnerability of being your ugliest, most honest self. also idk there probably would have been literal rat-fucking or something, it’s doom patrol.

not tagging anyone bc i always know i’m gonna leave someone off so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ do it if you’re compelled, don’t if you’re not

[unheavenliercreatures]

you can leave my url if you want! :)

1. I want to say it was OG Avengers Movie-era MCU? Uncertain. I was like 12-13 so it's a little fuzzy. Also BBC Merlin but I'm not sure when that was re before vs after.

2. I've personally noticed a lot less experimentation with the well-known tropes, meaning, they were less defined back then than they are now. I used to come across more secondary genders than just alpha, omega, and beta (like an asexual gamma or delta gender, and so on), and I haven't seen one of those in years. (There's this one fic i absolutely adore that's an honest to god research paper on the nature of omegaverse and for me personally codified a lot of the secondary tropes--here you go: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4299357/chapters/9803262)

I also have noticed a good deal less of the "omegas as an oppressed class in society" trope, but that may just be because if I am reading an omegaverse fic these days, it's usually just pure PWP as opposed to a long form fic with the actual sex mixed in.

I've noticed that a heat has a good bit less urgency than it used to--where you used to see things like "heat centers" and such in fics (although usually it was mentioned offhand as an option for "desperate alphas/omegas who didn't have anyone to get them through it"), it seems more common now to have it be a thing one could usually get through on their own at home without too much trouble. I think it might be because of concerns re consent, but I'm not a researcher--just a reader. :)

Interestingly enough, I've noticed a lot more usage/mention of things like birth control, plan B, etc. taking away from the pregnancy/breeding aspect of the genre, although it isn't necessarily completely absent. I just haven't seen an omegaverse fic where someone is Actually Pregnant in a hot minute.

Finally, there is just straight up a lot more het sex in the genre (see: the omegaverse lawsuit), whereas in my experience back when I first started to encounter it, it was almost exclusively gay men with the occasional holy grail that is lesbian sex.

3. I've always considered myself something of a biology enthusiast, and I really liked the idea of having more than one gender--a primary and a secondary. Also, the idea of genitalia that wasn't strictly a vagina and uterus or penis and testes. Revolutionary! I won't say it helped me realize I was bigender, but there were signs, as they say.

4. Definitely science fiction that explores alternative biology. Nowadays that looks more like robotfucking, but I've been working on a TTRPG system for a while that explores alternative biology from a roleplay and mechanics standpoint.

5. Honestly? It's really interesting from an anthropological standpoint to think about what a society of omegaverse-type humans would look like and how things would change with the concept of secondary genders in play. (Would heat leave be a thing? Would omegas be discriminated in the workforce as a result? What's the whole deal with betas? etc.)

It's also great re a possessive/primal element that you can't get as much in other fic genres. (At least, not unless you're willing to sit through a dozen 5sog read-a-likes and at least two mafia AUs.) And another anthropological side note--it's interesting to see what people consider to be "primal instincts"! Is it trilling and purring and such? Is it public power plays? Fewer sexual inhibitions in a public setting (re things like mating bites)? What do you think?

Also, tbh, it's just funny! Sex is at its best when it's at least a little funny.

6. Hm. If it plays too much into real human gender stereotypes--omegas being an analogy for women, "what if men experienced a misogyny" feels kind of overdone unless we're planning to explore that. If we're actually getting into the nitty-gritty, by all means go for it! If you're just going to be having the omega in your fic experience sci-fi misogyny for two seconds right before they get fucked six ways to sunday, it's a bit of a turn off for me, personally.

If it had the characters falling too far into the "helpless waif of an omega" trope. No, actually, I don't think that Bucky Barnes would say all that shit. try again

If it seems too much like just normal sex with a trans person, I'm not, like, necessarily turned off? But it does make me go "oh, buddy. i've been there. you're going to have a realization in approximately 6-9 business months. have fun!"

Finally, if you're going to have slick smell like anything other than human bodily fluids. What do you mean by "vanilla scented slick". That sounds viscerally off-putting. Please see a doctor.

7. to the general public: most sex is cringe anyways, you might as well have fun with it.

Omegaverse readers & writers!! I want to hear from you!!!

Firstly — Yes — I have already done a lot of research. I don’t need the basics explained to me or the fact that it is an incredibly diverse genre with examples good writing, bad writing, good social commentary, bad social commentary, expansive thoughtful worldbulding, raunchy porn without plot, and everything in between.

What I’m looking for with this post is personal experiences and opinions from people who read/ write this content since I am not one. Feel free to link any fics that exemplify what you’re talking about.

you can write as much or as little as you like, answer as many or as few of the questions as you like:

What fandom introduced you to omegaverse?

What trends and developments have you noticed as the genre has grown over the past 14-ish years?

what initially intrigued you about it?

Are there similar genres, tropes, etc, that you also enjoy? (ie. werewolf or other supernatural romance, science fiction which explores alternative biology) basically, how does omegaverse fit into your wider literary tastes?

what do enjoy most about it?

what are some elements you avoid or are critical of?

Any specifics or nuances you want the non-omegaverse reading public to know about

In case anyone is coming across this post without knowing who i am — Hi! I’m a youtuber and I make videos about online subculture, fandom, and such.

Your comment on this post may be read aloud in an upcoming video!! Please specify if you would like me to censor your url or leave it visible.

[arqdyke]

OH WOW you're still awake hiii!! one more then while i have the chance. also so honored to have an entire tag now. that has to be an accomplishment. and!!! 👀 what niche rarepair pls i will bite at anything 👀👀

i cannot remember what else i was going to say so i'll just follow that too. op is sooooo friendly to multiship and rare ships because all of the characters no matter how minor are so interesting. it's fun to fling two people together as a concept and figure out how they would interact. (even not romantically even!! just two dudes would they be mortal enemies would they be chill? would they be besties for life??)

case in point! i got into op already knowing of a law ship, and after i read dressrosa, that ship solidified in my mind. but!! i caught up to op during zou :) which, in my mind, was the height of sabo/law popularity. so my first ship for sabo was actually with law! crazy how things work out. so much time has passed that i don't hardly even think about them anymore.

ohhh wait i know what i wanted to say now. favorite aus for fic?? any you would love to see in acesabo fic? if i know of any, i'll grab one for you ;)

hi!! i am in fact awake!!! i wanted to write more for my exchange fic bc ive just started recovering from been sick the past few days and havent rlly had the chance. but i ended up putting it off until like 12am LOL. under the cut again i talk . a lot.

its fun you mentioned sabolaw because. the 'pair' in question for the au is actually ichiji/sabo/law. no i dont know why my brain latched onto this. yes im still kind of obsessed with it. the social media aspect of my shipfic is a lot about ichiji & the transition from being a child star (alongside his siblings) to a more casual internet ministardom. theres court drama bullshit. theres fangirl law. all three of them are transfem. its really special to me.

also YEAH EXACTLY!!! to your rarepair thoughts. in every fandom im in im a huge sucker for rarepairs that seem like complete nonsense. throw those characters whove never met into a room and LOCK IT! not always romantically yeah but honestly its a lot easier to like . find content of niche pairs through ship names than just trying to sift through a million posts in their maintags. tumblr wise, at least. i actually have a sideblog thats been since sort of abandoned dedicated to finding as much niche rarepair content for two characters (not always with each other, just those two in general).

a fun thought exercise ive done a few times also is getting a nice randomizer of characters im familiar with for a fandom and using it to pick out a few ships to figure out how theyd interact/if i could make a shipfic out of them. sometimes they click sometimes they dont but its a fun way to explore characters imo

whats ur fav lawship nowadays if you dont mind :3? i like a looot for him ill admit but im not particularly committed to any. as with the multishipper way. and thats fair (on the sabolaw bit)... first ships dont always last super long. they sure are fun to think back too tho ^_^

my favorite aus for fic... oh god thats a tough one. i already mentioned modern aus and this ones sort of a tangent off niche topic focus's BUT. fics that are set in a specific career (especially doctor aus & lawyer aus but genuinely i just rlly like looking at niche little details of someones career.) see also hobby focused aus! like uhh. gymnastics. ice skating. just stuff like that idk. and aus that are focused around like.. movie tropes/genres. crime noir detective aus, slasher horror aus.. especially fun when theres a spin on the original tropes but when you can see how much love someone has for the og concept is when it rlly shines.

none of those are super specific tho. um. i have a soft spot for superhero aus even when theyre really bad. fantasy aus are trickier but when they hit they hit rlly nice. (trying really hard to think ummm) thats about all i can think of rn? but it is pretty late so im for sure forgetting some.

NOW. as for acesabo specifically.. first off if you have any fic ud especially recommend id love to read them regardless of the tropes/ships/whatever. but. acesabo aus.. ohhhgh. i dont know!! ive read a lot of really cute modern aus with them. and im not USUALLY into soulmate aus flat out but i could really love a good acesabo soulmate au. it just suits them. theyre both characters i enjoy seeing as cute girls quite a bit. its kind of unfortunate im not really a fan of either of them as trans guys bc there is SO MUCH transmasc ace stuff out there. sorry my guy you have my name i cant live like that. all respects to people who do like that tho! i like them nonbinary multigendering it up . sometimes transfem sometimes just.. trans. sorry this is not the point.

aus... aus... shakes my head around. OH i would LOVE to see a roleswap with them. ive thought abt that before and its kinda beautiful. i do also love a good polyship with them both! what elseeee. oh i didnt mention it earlier when we were talking tropes but political drama bullshit is soooo fucking good. for acesabo also! but im pickier with them with it bc i feel like it tends to get too whumpy/focused on misery. which isnt rlly my thing personally. gotta be a careful balance. i like aus where theyre both in the same 'group'; being both revolutionaries or both pirates or whatever.

i hope this actually answers your question lol i realize i went on a bit... but yeah. have a nice night if youre headed offline urself ^_^! ill be on for a while longer likely but i take so long to write these asks it might be pointless

[tired-biscuit]

Hey, so I read your posts about Kiba being unreasonably hated by the fandom, and I wanted to let you know, that while true, Kiba is still massively popular, in the popularity polls. He's like, always in the top 15/to top 20 most popular characters overall, so at least he does get lots of love, to balance out the minority who hate him for no reason. A character who gets real hate for no reason at all, despite being massively cool and underrated, and doesn’t get near enough love to compensate for all the hate he gets is Kankuro. I literally wish for Kankuro to be half as loved as Kiba is in the fandom, but what we gonna do.

idk i've always seen kiba being hated more than loved. might have just been my personal experience, but ppl drag him all the time and they drag his fans too. he's also really popular to portray the "villain" in fanfiction, as in the toxic ex bf, or the cheating s/o or whatever..... authors tend to make him sleazy and gross, even if it necessarily doesn't contribute to the story at all, and it's done just because they don't like him. not that that's wrong, it's completely their choice cos it's their story, but eh.....

like for example, i read this one naruto and sasuke x reader fic a while back. reader went out on a date with kiba cos those two were being morons, and instead of having him be normal and in character, he was just plain creepy so that nart and sasuke could have ended up looking good in the end. and i've seen plenty of fics make him the bad guy constantly so the love interest can make you go wowwww........ i usually stop reading them as soon as the pattern starts lol

also the constant comments that he's useless are rly ehhhhh (i mean by that standard, besides naruto and a few others in shippuden, aren't they all useless, let's be honest? most of 'em were pretty much forgotten lol)

and yeah, i think both kiba and kankuro could be considered niche. while kiba's fandom might be a bit bigger cos he's from konoha and one of the OG 12, i was baffled when i could barely find any fics about him when i joined the fandom 2 yrs ago. ppl who simp for that guy™️ that barely has any screentime have it rough, ik.

so i decided to make my own stories, and am still writing them. i wrote so many one-shots, drabbles, idk what. wrote a 130k book about him. i commission art. i support ppl who write about him/draw him. i make content, encourage others to make it and pay for it too, because i wanna see my comfort character in bigger amounts that canon failed to give me.

i guess my advice is that you can do that as well if you wanna see more of your favourite boy. produce the content you wanna see, self-indulgent stuff is fun and good for the heart <3

[oatflatwhite]

Whenever I see you post about hbo war I'm always really curious what it is? Is it a tv show? (If so is it good 👀)

ohhhhhh anon okay okay okay okay i am going to be completely normal answering this ask agajdhdjdhd

OKAY SO "hbo war" is more like... an anthology, i guess??? it's what the fandom calls a series of hbo-produced miniseries about war. so far it encompasses band of brothers (2001; wwii western front), the pacific (2010; wwii marine pacific campaign) and generation kill (2008; iraq war). currently masters of the air is in production (and has been since i first joined the fandom in 2015 💀) which will be about the air force in wwii. all the series so far are based on real events, veterans, memoirs etc. so all the characters are people who actually fought in those wars; but they're obviously fictionalised portrayals, turned into drama tv, and each cast has such CHEMISTRY that's why you'll see a lot of shipping if u dip ur toe into the fandom hehe.

band of brothers is personally my favourite, it is the og, it has so many now a-list actors who were virtual unknowns back then (michael fassbender, james mcavoy, andrew scott, tom hardy, damian lewis, even jimmy fallon has a random cameo) and has the most personal involvement from tom hanks (who also directed one of the episodes). like, even if you're not super into war media??? i recommend it SO hard. it's only 10 eps, and though there's a huge ensemble cast each episode hones in on one character and follows them through one aspect of the war. the storytelling, the acting, the cinematography is just... mwah. and not to toot the fandom's horn but some of the best fic i have ever read has been in the band of brothers tag (you want some bourbon i want some oranges by jouissant i'm looking at you!!!) so, yeah.

the pacific is a little different as it has three main characters with different and interweaving storylines instead of following one company through the war like brothers. it's also much darker, more sombre, and with a lot more gore (and band of brothers already has a lot) but it's just as fantastic! generation kill can be a tough sell to people outside the fandom but it's a really nuanced story of how absolutely fucked the war is and the way it leaves you feeling very.... hollow and awful and tender in the final episode (gen kill only has 7) is like. really powerful. again, famous actors in both series who got notoriety later on - james ransome, alexander skarsgard, rami malek to name a few! a lot of people in the hbo war fandom are history buffs and have only seen the two wwii series; but i really do wholeheartedly recommend gen kill because despite the tonal shift it's still very much in the genre. AND has like. one of the best fics i've ever read in any fandom (a pacific rim crossover called you can fight the hurricane, i can't remember the author off the top of my head!)

ANYWAY this got like. long but at the end of the day. yes they have their issues mainly like an entirely male ensemble cast and for the pacific and band of brothers almost entirely white. but i might be biased bc i love war history but like. the stories they are able to tell about humanity and love and loss and grief and violence and gentleness and friendship is just so!!!!!!!! beautiful. gets me every time. i think i've rewatched brothers at least once a year since 2015 and it continues to never miss!

tl;dr hbo war refers to three separate hbo miniseries about war that are all worth watching!!!

[irondad-creator-awards]

WINNERS LIST - NO ART

As requested by Anon, here’s the full list of winners for ease of reading.

 1. THE ONE THAT MADE YOU GASP! — A story which had a plot twist you didn’t see coming. Something that caught you so off guard that you had to stop a minute and take a breath before devouring the rest. What’s the story for you?

Winner — If They Knew All About You by MsHermia — @mshermia

Runner-Up — Identity Theft by KitCat992 — @kitcat992​

  2. THE MULTI-CHAPTER YOU COULDN’T PUT DOWN — A story which kept you up all night or calling in sick for work so you were free to read. Who’s the culprit?

Winner — A Parent Apparent by happyaspie — @yes-i-am-happyaspie

Runner-Up — Come My Darling, Homeward Bound by Iamirondad — @i-am-irondad​

  3. THE ONE-SHOT THAT THAT HAD YOU HOOKED — Some writers can cram more greatness into less words than a 100k monster. What’s the one-shot that did it for you?

Winner — 5 Times Peter Sleepwalked And The 1 Time He Pretended He Did by losingmymindtonight — @losingmymindtonight

Runner-Up — Petey And The Hermit by eccentric_artist_221b

  4. THE BEST THINGS COME IN SMALL PACKAGES — A drabble can pack in all the goodness that you need in a coffee break read. What’s that story for you?

Winner  — S.O.S. (Somehow Obtained Son) by madasthesea — @madasthesea​

Runner-Up — F.R.I.D.A.Y, When Did I Get A Son by iwritesometimes

 5. THE BIODAD THAT TOUCHED YOUR HEART — Some of the greatest stories flip canon and make Tony Peter’s biological father. Be it baby Peter taking his first steps or Tony dealing with the fact his son is following in his superhero footsteps as Spider-Man, which is the one you loved most of all?

Winner — Happy Hogan Never Forgets A Face by Jen27ny — @jen27ny​

Runner-Up — Hardest Lessons (Softest Results) by mainstreamelectricalparade

  6. THE ONE WITH THE FIELD TRIP — The field trip trope is one of the most popular in the fandom. What’s the story that you think pulls all the elements together to make it great?

Winner — Peter And The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Field Trip by by cazei — @cazei​

Runner-Up — Peter-Man - Oh, F*Ck - I Mean Spider-Man by Orphan-Account

  7. THE TIME AFTER TIME ONE — There’s some great time travel stories out there, but which is your favorite?

Winner — Whatever It Takes by StarryKnight09 — @starryknight09

Runner-Up — Be Careful What You Wish For, You May Just Get It by Savana_Marlark

  8. THE ONE WITH ALL THE OWIES — Another massively popular Irondad trope is hurt/comfort, and there’s some amazing stuff out there. Which is the one that you love most of all?

Winner — A Beautiful Lie by RayRox360 — @a-beautiful-lie-blog​

Runner-Up — A Peter Parker Problem by Spagbol99 — @spagbol99​

 9. THE ONE THAT HURTS SO GOOD — We all like a bit of angst sometimes, so what’s the story that you wanted to hide from but you had to keep reading to get to the happy ending?

Winner — Ain't My Blood; Still My Boys by parkrstark — @parkrstark​

Runner Up — The Room Where It Happens by Notapartytrick 

 10. THE ONE THAT SOOTHES THE PAIN — What’s the story that you go to when you need a pick-me-up after the angst?

Winner — 5 Times Peter Made Tony Laugh Out Loud by grilledcheesing — @upcamethesun

Runner-Up — Instant Kill Mode by Isnt_it_pretty_to_think_so —@isnt-it-pretty-to-think-so-tr

 11. THE ONE WITHOUT A HOME TO GO TO — There’s some wonderful homeless Peter stories out there, so which is the one you were blown away by?

Winner — The Third Option by Uncertainty_Principle

Runner-Up — The Lost And Forgotten by Lizcraz

 12. THE ONE THAT’S A WHOLE NEW WORLD — There’s lots of imaginative AUs in Irondad fic. Whether it’s Steve and Tony as baseball players or Pepper being Peter’s mom, which one is your number one?

Winner — I Love You More Than Anything Series by  iron_spider @iron--spider

We have two runners-up for this award —  A Soul's Best Friend by  Superherotiger & Why Can’t The Past Just Die? by  Enchantingwriting

 13. THE TWEAKING THE SETTINGS ONE — There’s things we all wish we could change in canon — *cough* Endgame *cough* — so which canon divergence does it for you?

Winner — Built From Scraps by peterstank — @jamepotters​

Runner-Up — When Peter Forgot What Day It Was by goldenambedo

 14. THE ONE YOU GO BACK TO AGAIN AND AGAIN — Some fics deserve a re-read or ten. What’s the story you go find yourself going back to?

Winner — 5 Times Peter Fell, And Tony Caught Him. And The 1 Time Tony Didn’t by eva7673

Runner-Up — Child’s Play by spicyjarvis — @spicyjarvis

 15. THE SERIES THAT SWEPT YOU AWAY — Some of us love to go on a long ride with a series, so which is the world of multiple stories that you binged or waited anxiously for each update?

Winner — We Forgot Peter by inkinmyheartandonthepage — @inkinmyheartandonthepage

Runner-Up — Hydra’s Not A Home by Tempestaurora — @tempestaurora

 16. THE IN-PROGRESS ADVENTURE — What’s the story that has you checking your email each day, hoping for an update?

Winner — If You're Going Through Hell, Keep On Going by baloobird — @baloobird​

Runner-Up — Peter's Hitchhiking Guide To The Time Heist by Randomsketchez

 17. THE COMPLETE FIC THAT YOU CHERISH — Whether or not you’ve got the patience for an in-progress or not, there’s a wealth of complete stories you can devour at leisure or all in one coffee-fuelled binge. What’s yours?

Winner — The Guardian by Emily_F6

Runner-Up — Good Publicity by Bergen

 18. THE ONE THAT GAVE YOU ALL THE LOVE — We all love Irondad, but some stories come with bonus bonds that give us just as much. Do you have a Peter & Bucky, or a Peter & Steve working alongside which delivers all the found family goodness?

Winner — Astronomy In Reverse by Pansley

Runner-Up — 5 Times Happy Hogan Nearly Had A Heart Attack Because Of Peter Parker by TheSpyderAargon

 19. THE PROLIFIC WRITER AWARD — Irondad has some amazingly prolific writers. Which are the ones you’ve subscribed to get at that fic-wonder goodness of 10 works or more?

Winner — inkinmyheartsandonthepage — @inkinmyheartandonthepage

Runner-Up — Emily_F6 — @justme--emily

 20. THE NEWBIE — New writers are joining the fandom all the time. Who’s the newbie (posting for 12 months or less) that’s delivering the good stuff for you?

Winner  — spagbol99 — @spagbol99

Runner-Up — Winterturtle

 21. THE OG — Who’s the writer that’s been around for a while (12 months or more) that keeps you captivated?

Winner — iron_spider @iron--spider

Runner-Up — parkrstark — @parkrstark

 22. THE WILD CARD STORY — The story that does (or doesn’t) fit into the above categories but you believe deserves the prize. Which one is that for you?

Winner — Wrong Number Kid by Blackshadow030930

Runner-Up — The Case Of The Tyrannical Two by ironfamjam

 ART 1 — DIGITAL MEDIA - Who has those PhotoShop skills, who makes the best mood boards? We have some wonderful artists in the Irondad fandom, and we’re here to celebrate them. Who's your favorite artist?

Winner — @spidey-art

Runner-Up —@kitcat992

 ART 2 — SKETCHES  — Who has the skills with the original medium of art in sketches? Whose pencil can create the characters we love best?

Winner — @broskepol

Runner-Up — @dchanberry

 ART 3 — CARTOONS — Chibis, Manga, Anime, who can create the very best?

Winner — @yes-i-am-happyaspie

Runner-Up — @mjscorner

 ART 4 — FANVID — Some of the greatest creators are the ones that match the music to the mood, find the perfect scenes to make us laugh and cry. Who does that for you?

Winner — Tony Stark & Peter Parker (Adoption Au) || Home By Andrea D

Runner-Up — All My Life || Tony & Peter (Father/Son Au) By Akapotatogirl

 ART 5 — BEST IRON FAMILY FANART — Who can create those feeling of Ironfam with their art? Who captures the characters we love in that iconic family.

Winner — @peterokii

Runner-Up — @moonestaly

 ART 6 — MOST HEARTBREAKING FANART — Art can move us to tears. Who captures those moments and brings tears to your eyes?

Winner — @monireh

Runner-Up — @cottoncandyofterror

 ART 7 — BEST HURT/COMFORT — Who captures the pain of the moment best for you?

Winner — @tonystarkissist

Runner-Up — Chocolala

 ART 8 — THE WILD CARD ART— The art that does (or doesn’t) fit into the above categories but you believe deserves the prize. Which one is that for you?

Winner — @rhymewithrachel

Runner-Up — @Iwritedumbshit 

[classysassy9791]

Hey anon! Sorry I didn't publish your original ask, but I'm also not one to be a catalyst for any shipping wars or hate. I hope you understand!

So, I'm going to go ahead and break down my thoughts on this. First, we'll start with the Inuyasha fandom:

By far, my OTP from Inuyasha is InuKag. Ever since I was young and first watched the anime, I have adored them and have eaten up every crumb that they portrayed on the screen. I saw a bit of myself in Kagome and related to her, so I was overjoyed when canonically the two of them ended up together. They are beyond precious!

That being said, I also respect InuKik. Way back when the fandom was a baby, there was a lot of shipping hate between InuKag and InuKik (unfortunately, being as young as I was, I was involved in that). But I have grown so much since then, and have come to understand the dynamic of InuKik. I love Kikyou as a character, and believe she deserved so much more than what she ended up with. I will die on that hill. I now write her in my fics as getting the happy ending, because after everything she was put through, she deserved to be a normal, happy girl [see my fics Last Call or Yesterday's Promise] Kikyou's life was tragic, and she was the first person besides Inuyasha's mother that was kind to him. Kagome may have been the end-game, but Kikyou opened Inuyasha's heart to the possibility of Kagome. And I will always full-heartedly support people who love that ship!

As for the Fairy Tail Fandom:

From the very beginning I was an OTP GrayLu shipper. I adored their interactions on screen, and I loved the balance that Gray and Lucy brought to the chaotic Team Natsu. I think they compliment each other well, with their tragic backstories, and their losses in the GMG arc. It's obvious they care for one another, and always show concern when the other is hurting. I appreciate their dynamic so much!

However, I also love NaLu. Natsu is such a hot head and absolutely clueless, balanced by Lucy's caring nature and witty comebacks. They have such a fun relationship that brings me so much joy and laughter, completely opposite of GrayLu.

I know that NaLu will most likely be end-game. I'm not opposed to that, because I can see their appeal. That doesn't mean I can't still root for GrayLu within the fandom.

It is okay to love different ships. It is okay to not like certain ships. And guess what? We can still coexist and root for the ships we have in common. It's okay if someone doesn't like InuKag or NaLu or GrayLu, or whatever other fandom ships I like. Because if we all shipped the same thing, fandom would be beyond boring. This world of creativity and artistry is brought about by imagination - coming up with the what-ifs that the OG creators don't explore.

I also tag 99% of everything I post on my blog. I post InuKik, InuKag, NaLu, and GrayLu, because I love and respect all of them, and I love and respect those who create content for them. If there is something that one of my followers doesn't want to see, simply block the tag.

I appreciate you reaching out, anon, but my blog is a safe haven, and regardless of what ships I adore or dislike, I am open to other's thoughts and opinions. There are only a handful of ships that don't appeal to me whatsoever, and I simply just don't reblog their content. And I also won't tolerate shipping wars in my little corner of the internet.

I hope you have a wonderful day, and if you ever want to talk InuKag or NaLu, feel free to drop me a line! <3

[nyxocity]

Fic Writer Questions!

Thanks to @redmyeyes for the tag!

1) How many works do you have on AO3?

82, although that's not even close to my actual total. There's a bunch on LJ that have never been transferred (all shorter works)

2) What’s your total AO3 word count?

1,780,805 (over 2mil on LJ)

3) How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

Mostly three, plus a couple dips into a few other pools. X-Men Comic Book fandom, Buffy & Angel fandom (they kinda count as one since it's the same universe), and Supernatural & SPN RPF. Dips have included Dragon Age, Firefly, a tiny bit of TVD, a Sons of Anarchy crossover.

4) What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

This is tough if I go by numbering. Homework Verse has the most kudos scattered across all parts, but Stranger Than Fiction has the most as a single story. Anyway...

Homework Verse (J2 RPF, 200k+ words) - My very first RPF fic, Supernatural or otherwise. Two of my online fandom friends basically TOLD me I was going to write Teacher/Student J2, and I kept protesting that I drew the line at RPF. They didn't care. 200k later, here we are. This story was a game changer for me; it made me fandom famous. I still love those boys with my whole heart, and they still talk to me sometimes.

Stranger Than Fiction (Sam/Dean, 50644 words) - This story idea took root immediately following the episode The Monster at the End of This Book. I quit the Big Bang I'd already begun writing for that year (which was Who Watches Over Me, which I finished and posted for BB the following year) to write this story. It just took hold hold of me and took over. I wrote it in 6 weeks and it was easily the most fun I ever had writing anything--I cackled like a madwoman most of the time.

Who Watches Over Me (J2 RPF, 96591 words) - This story was, at the time, the toughest thing I'd ever written. Little did I know that would become the norm and not the exception, as I began to write more complex stories. It was by far the longest story I had ever posted all at once in its entirety (rather than chapter by chapter) and I had no idea if people would like it. Fortunately a lot of people did.

Like Staring Into the Sun (Sam/Dean, 23243 words) - Ah, my very first hardcore Wincest fic. I remember writing the first chapter of the story (meant to be a one shot honestly), and just sitting there, at 5am, being terrified to post it. It was twisted, dark and intense and SO porny I was scared people might think I was weird. There wasn't anything like it out there at the time. As it turns out, people loved it so much I ended up writing eight more parts.

Like a Fish Out of Water (Sam/Dean, 59498 words) - I have a lot of love for this story. It didn't come to me easily, but it was fun to write. I remember smiling a lot and just having a nice, warm cozy feeling the whole time. I had no idea if anyone was interested in reading this many words of what amounted to a dramedy curtain fic

Of course there are other stories that I feel deserve love, but I can't argue with these.

5) Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

I do. And by that, I mean I try. I don't always succeed in answering them all, but I answer as many as I have time and energy for. Life is busy and there is writing to do as well. I read every comment I get (multiple times) and I feel guilty for all the ones I don't answer, because they mean SO MUCH TO ME. Like you took time to leave this beautiful, well thought out comment, or even a keysmash, or a heart, in response to something I wrote. That means the world.

I WISH there was a reaction function for comments on Ao3, so I could heart things, or laugh in response. Replying with emojis without words feels weird. So yeah, a reaction function would be amazing. But in the meantime, I do my best.

6) What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

Hmm. Probably A Touch of Evil. Interestingly, it's also a HAPPY ending, so there you go lol. It's a serial killer love story with a happy ending that comes at an exorbitant price.

8) Do you write crossovers? If so what is the craziest one you’ve written?

I'm not sure why the OG post skips from 6 to 8 lol . So, yes, I have written a few minors crossovers. Mostly Faith in the SPN verse with the boys, nothing too crazy, because she fits right in. But for long stories, I have written all of ONE crossover. It's Dean Winchester/Jax Teller (SPN / Sons of Anarchy). My crossovers so far have tended to make sense to crossover, so I don't think any of them are crazy.

9) Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Yes. I got some hate on a Buffy/Xander fic back in the day. I got really excited and had fun with it. Like yeah, now I'm SOMEBODY! You're no one til someone hates you lol Most of that was people who were haters of the ship, or were like, gross, they're like brother and sister (they weren't, they were FRIENDS). I've gotten nasty comments here and there on some of my SPN fic. My favorite was the person who accused me of having a "Top Dean Agenda". I STILL laugh about that one. I don't respond to that crap.

10) Do you write smut? If so what kind?

Have you MET ME? LOL If I ever post a story without smut just put me out to pasture, because I'm done. And all kinds. Het, Gay, PWP, Plotty porn, mostly super kinky but some vanilla (but intense). I used to challenge myself regularly to see if I could up my kink game--like hmm, but could I write THIS? I haven't written really kinky sex in a long time, though. Might be time to do that.

11) Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Several times. Who Watches Over me was stolen by someone and converted to One Direction Lourry fic. Literally just did a name change. Someone else stole a bunch of my one shots and passed them off as their own. I know there were a couple other instances but I only vaguely remember. I never got too deep into it, most of the time the people who discovered the theft already told everyone else too, and the plagiarist had been hammered by them so hard that I didn't have to step in before they took it down.

12) Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes. I used to get requests so often that I just posted my usual response in my profile for people to read instead of replying. Definitely into Russian and Chinese for most of the stories listed with most kudos above.

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

A few times on one shot fics. SO MUCH FUN. I love co-writing with people.

14) What’s your all time favorite ship?

Sam/Dean. Easily. Hands down. I just love their unique relationship, bond and love so much.

15) What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

Well I finally finished A Touch of Evil after posting 3 chapters in 2009 and never touching it again until 2017. And I never thought I'd finish that. So never say never, I say. That said, there's the third and final part of my X-Men comic book epic that remains unfinished by about five (shorter) chapters, and it HAUNTS ME. But I don't think I'll ever finish it.

16) What are your writing strengths?

NOW we get to the hard questions. I'm really good at dialogue, bouncing banter back and forth between characters, and I have a sense for how long a scene should be. I just KNOW when it's going on too long, even if there's more that needs to be said, and I try to tighten it up in that case.

A friend of mine once told me "Porn is my gift". I don't write as much of it as I used to, but yeah, I shine in that area.

17) What are your writing weaknesses?

So I always reach a point after writing so many words in an unpublished fic where I'm like, I have no idea if this is even any good/makes sense/hangs together etc. Beyond that, I've been writing for so long that I've had so much practice that I've strengthened a lot of my weaknesses. I'm sure I still have some, but I don't FEEL them like I used to anymore. That said, there are things I simply will not write. Like historical pieces. Because I would research the fuck out of every detail trying to get it perfect and then I would still doubt myself completely.

18) What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I mostly try to avoid it, because there's no way I would ever get the language correct. I usually write it in English and then explain that they're saying it in another language. Like, "What are you doing?" the man asks, speaking in Chinese. Then reiterate in the continuing dialogue in various ways that they're speaking in Chinese.

19) What was the first fandom you wrote for?

X-Men Comic Book fandom. I was reading a lot of Remy/Rogue fic back in 1996-1997, and one day I was like, you know what? This person did a pretty good job on this story. It's not great, but it's pretty good, and if they can have the guts to put it out there, then I can do it, too.

20) What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

This is a tough question. I don't love all my children equally, but I love them all a lot in different ways lol

Remembering favorite is different than which one I think is BEST... Homework Verse is probably my favorite. I was learning so much about writing then, I was really growing, and discovering, and pushing my limits. Those characters lived and breathed in me, I swear they spoke through me from some alternate universe. They feel so REAL to me. There's so much of what I've learned in life in that story, like really, big, life changing ideas and understandings that happened to me that I put into that story. There's so much of me in that story, and yet there's so much of THEM, too. It's their story, but it's also mine. It's raw and not entirely perfect and it feels like home to me.

--

So that's it, that's my piece. I feel like EVERYONE has been tagged since it took me 3 days to have time to do this, but I'm basically tagging any of you writers out there who haven't done this yet!

[woodchoc-magnum]

L0ne St@r 2x12 Hate Watch

DO NOT REBLOG THIS ONE - thanks, I’m trying to fly under the radar with my negative opinions here

Usual disclaimer, and I mean it this time: If you watch and love this show, that’s great and I hope you continue to enjoy it. Please don’t read this - simply go about having a lovely day.

If you do love this show and T*rlos and are braving this anyway - do not come in here. I mean it. This is not a T*rlos friendly zone. I do not ship it. Please enjoy your ship in peace and harmony. I have no intention of getting into arguments with anyone, I will simply ignore you.

I have done everything I can to avoid this showing up in the tags, whatever the LS tags are. Don’t send me hate on anon because I’ll delete them; I don’t care if you think I should stop watching the show, I’m not gonna. I like to suffer.

Eddie Diaz for calm and strength and to centre ourselves:

Hate, as always, under the cut:

Let's do this fucking thing, I've heard bad things about this episode

And I already know I'm wrong about the arsonist which is ANNOYING but maybe also too obvious so that's okay, I also know who the arsonist is and all the main plot points but I’ve still got to watch it to really appreciate the subtle nuances of the episode:

Oooh Billy

I ship it

Billwen for the win

This show is so dumb

Billy is smarter than Owen, maybe he should be the captain of the 126

I miss his lightning scars though

He's TWO HOURS LATER FOR DINNER

TK is looking as bland as always

They seriously waited for two fucking hours for this guy

Maybe should've put some deodorant on before going to dinner there Owen

You know I can't imagine the OG doing a storyline as dumb as this

So Carlos' dad thinks it's someone who works at the 126 or just a firefighter in general?

Well gosh darn it, it looks like Owen fits that profile exactly!

At least we get some Judd early in the episode and I love him

Angela Bassett is executive producer on this show as well? I hope she gets paid cash money for this

Billy is the red herring and I fell right into their trap

I just really wanted it to be him

Ooh Grace was listening

Oh it's 100% the arson investigator and Billy is 100% turning Owen in, I love him

Billy is amazing

He's my favourite character on this show

I hope he's not working with Owen to get the arson investigator? I hope he's actually this devious

I want him to be THIS DEVIOUS

Why the fuck does Owen wear that hoodie everywhere

TK is now having a little bitch fit

"they can't do that, can they?" he asks in a monotone, his face blank and devoid of expression

TK's real real dumb

Oh ho ho is this the shoving scene

IT IS

God Ronen CANNOT ACT

Okay so while I think it is wildly unbelievable that they would send TK's boyfriend to tell him that his father had been arrested by HIS father – it seems like a conflict – I would like to say that Carlos is being calm and reasonable

And TK is acting like a little BITCH

This is escalating quickly

Oh TK you so dumb

THE SHOVING

Wow

FOUR TIMES

Wow

Your fave is problematic, yo

Carlos deserves better than this whiny little piece of shit

And now, an interlude while I rant:

Let's talk about how Eddie Diaz yelled at Buck once in a supermarket and the fandom has never forgotten it; how his character has been villainised despite everything else going on in the show at the time, for that one fucking scene – let's talk about all the fics where Eddie hits Buck, or punches him, or rapes him – because you know those fics exist – let's talk about the "Eddie is violent" narrative that parts of this fandom like to push because Eddie yelled at Buck, one time, once, in a supermarket

Totally ignoring the fact that at no point at all, in any other episode he’s been in, has he been violent towards Buck, at all - let’s talk about how the street fighting arc was out of character for Eddie, because he was struggling to cope and looking for an outlet - let’s talk about how Buck and Eddie moved past that whole storyline and strengthened their relationship; how they built a family together, how they’re a team and they have each other’s backs no matter what, and how, not once in the entire show, have they ever been violent towards each other or pushed each other around in anger - NOT ONCE.

And let's talk about this scene, where TK, ya boy, ya sweet tender boy, just shoved the man he says he loved four times, violently, in front of people at the firehouse.

I betcha any money he doesn’t get tarnished with the Eddie-Diaz-is-violent brush, because he can do no wrong. He’s the fan favourite, and this is totally glossed over by the end of the episode and nothing will ever be said about it ever again.

Because wow, you guys. Wow. If this was my ship, I’d be pissed.

Back to the hate watch:

And I know that whole fight is for nothing because I know the plot twist – I know that the dads are working together in order to reveal the real arsonist, the investigator – so they've basically turned their children, who are in a relationship, against each other?

Also why is Billy allowed to be watching the interview?

Goddamn do we really have to show the gruesome burn victim photos

I really want Billy to be devious by the way, and not in on the plan

Oh here comes TK, looking like the little bitch he is

God he's a fucking awful actor

This is the dumbest plotline ever

Equating OWEN STRAND WITH THOR? ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?

BLASPHEMY

THOR IS THE GOD OF THUNDER

OWEN IS A DUMBASS

THE TWO ARE NOT EQUAL

Uh oh here comes the evil investigator

Do either of these men – Owen and Carlos' dad – stop to consider that what they're doing has kind of an impact on their children, who are currently in a relationship? No? Okay

Because this is one hell of an awkward situation

Does Owen genuinely think that Billy is the arsonist?

Interesting that the arson investigator wants any info Owen didn't give Carlos' dad, and he turned off the cameras/mics etc

This show is stupid

Arson investigator also knows that the sons are dating, interesting

"And you can pound sand!" oooh great comeback Owen

This episode is so BORING OMG

Why the fuck am I watching a shitty Law & Order knock-off when I should be watching a bonkers 911 episode

Oh no Judd's at Billy's

I really do think Billy Burke is good looking and it is a flaw of mine, I don't know what it is about him and he really doesn't look that good in this show but I really love Billy Burke okay

And I WANT HIM TO BE DEVIOUS

Oh Judd

Oh Judd thinks Billy is the arsonist

See this is why YOU DON'T LIE TO THE PEOPLE AROUND YOU

Oh he punched him

God damn everyone is violent in this show

Judddddddddddddd

Uh oh here comes trouble to the "vagrant's" hospital room

Oh it's the arson investigator, their little bluff worked, incredible, amazing, flawless etc

Wow how amazing

It was the ol' switcheroo

Judd punched Billy for nothing

TK and Carlos nearly came to blows for nothing

Now Owen is allowed to watch the interrogation? They'll just let anyone watch those things these days

OH MAN ARE YOU TELLING ME THAT BILLY WAS IN ON IT WITH OWEN THE WHOLE TIME?

Damn it I wanted DEVIOUS god damn it

Fucking cowards

"I assumed it was probably a trap at the hospital which is why I went there anywhere"

But why is he lighting fires

A FEW MONTHS?

A man is dead

Pure theatre

So annoyed that Billy isn't devious

But the Billwen ship sails on, clowns 🤡

Do we think the arsonist has the hots for Owen? 100% yes, right?

He's very happy to see him wink wonk

This doesn't even feel like an episode of 911, it's so goddamn dumb

"I knew you had darkness in you too" – that dude definitely wants to fuck him

Why is he lighting the fires?

They're so dumb

"And now I'm going to repay the favour" – he's talking about YOUR SONS

WHO HE KNOWS ARE TOGETHER

Wow these two dumbasses really have no fucking idea do they

OH HE'S BURNING HIMSELF ALIVE

Wow this is graphic

What the fuck is up with this show and the horribly graphic scenes lately?

That dude is dead yo

"Take away everything that's important to me" AND HE CALLS THE FIREHOUSE FIRST

THE FIREHOUSE IS THE FIRST FUCKING CALL???

Oh okay it did blow up and TK was there so I'll allow it

But hey look on the bright side – Owen gets to remodel again!

And isn't that what he's the best at?

Yo your firehouse is on fire dudes, better call the fire department

Does Judd apologise to Billy or no

Oh here we have TK and Carlos and their perfect love

And Carlos is the one apologising?

No.

Please tell me no

Carlos you are allowed to be pissed at him – ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME

"nobody has to apologise?"

YOUR BOYFRIEND PUSHED YOU AROUND

Oh my god

Wow

Okay.

Look I'm just saying that to me this would be a GIGANTIC RED FLAG but wtf do I know

I'm just saying because I have to – if Carlos was a woman and TK did that? Whole different story gang

Whole completely different mother-fucking story

This show, wow

Wow.

Wow. This is bad.

Domestic violence happens to men too, just saying.

Wow I'm so annoyed that I've paused it to type furiously and rant that wow, they're just not acknowledging that TK was totally out of line? Okay. Wow.

And everyone's just fine with it?

Oh they're just figuring out that he set more than one fire

Maybe there's something else you care about other than the firehouse, Owen

Maybe?

BILLY IS THE ONE WHO FIGURES IT OUT

See this is why Billy is the best

Oh no TK and Carlos are in danger

Oh it's so romantic isn't it? They're gonna fuck now that everything is okay

Wow he left a lot of bombs in Carlos' house

Damn Carlos is hot

No smoke alarms?

That fire has really taken ahold there guys

I'm gonna assume you do have smoke alarms and he disconnected them

Wow he really covered all bases didn't he

Put the bombs in the bedroom as well

RIP Carlos' nice house

"I love you too" after I violently shoved you around today

Oh who needs a fucking fire department when you've got Owen fucking Strand right?

"Carlos" he says flatly. "How are you doing?" he asks in a monotone

"I should've had an extinguisher in the bedroom" DUDE NO ONE DOES

And if TK wanted one in there, he's the fucking firefighter, he should've checked when he moved in instead of assuming like a dumbass

God this show is dumb as fuck and I hate it so much

Billwen for the win

"just a couple of crap magnets" fucking a-men Judd

This show sucks

Oh no TOMMY OH NO

WHAT'S HAPPENING

OH MY GOD

WHAT THE FUCK

What the fuck

Is he dead?

TAKE OWEN AND TK INSTEAD

I’m going to say one more thing about this T*rlos storyline - if they’d done this to Buck & Eddie in the OG, I’d be fucking devastated. Like... if Buck or Eddie pushed the other around the way TK pushed Carlos around, I’d be absolutely gutted. It’s really horrible that they went down that path - whether it’s OOC or not, and you can probably argue that it is - they shouldn’t have included the scene like that in the show. 

It just raises a whole slew of questions, like... is TK violent? Is Carlos used to being pushed around in relationships? Is the show saying that it’s okay that they got a little physical because they’re both men? Domestic violence is never okay, and this is kind of... saying that it is, in certain circumstances?

That is problematic as fuck and such bad writing.

These two are in a relationship where they are living together and supposedly love each other, and this is how the writers choose to portray it? If you’re a T*rlos shipper and you’re upset about this episode, I get it. It’s really fucking terrible that they included that scene - and I would bet cold hard cash it’ll never be addressed again.

This is why LS is a bad show. It’s shitty writing. Shitty storylines. Characters who are interesting are shoved into the background and glossed over in favour of the male white characters. The OG doesn’t have this problem - for everyone complaining that Eddie hasn’t been featured as much this season (and yeah, I hate it too) - you can’t complain that the characters of colour don’t get equal screentime. 

With LS - it’s the Rob Lowe show, and everyone else is just in the background. And that’s why it’s so frustrating to watch - they have a great cast, and this could be a really good show, but it’s just not.

Do you think the LS writers patted themselves on the back after this arc and were like, "yeah we nailed it, we're amazing?"

This episode is -1,000000/10. This show should be cancelled.

Two god awful miserable fucking episodes to go.

Diaz to cleanse:

[nagisasstunningpersonality]

TINSITOGS, a retrospective (happy birthday)

(yes I’m like two days too late I know I’m sorry) 

Why hello followers and ass class fandom, nice to see you there. I’m sure MOST people know about this, but in case you don’t, hi. On AO3 I’m better known as livixbobbiex, writer of maybe one of the most infamous Assassination Classroom fics. 

Which I mean like, if you haven’t read it yet you totally should it’s fanlore at this point I promise- 

Shameless plug that I don’t need aside, I felt that, on its first birthday since actual completion, I just wanted to share some things about it. Some tit bits about writing it, fun facts, maybe even some author advice TM. I appreciate that it’ll be super annoying if I do that in the tags, though, so that’ll all be under the cut. If you don’t want to read the whole post, then no matter what, thanks for the support in general! 

I also want to take the opportunity to announce that I’ve reopened my discord, so if you want to talk about my fics with me (and others), you’re more than welcome to join! (the link is here) 

The origin story 

I’ve stated this many times, I think, but TINSITOGS was never supposed to be a serious story. Taking you back, quite a long time, it actually started in a facebook DM with a friend. We used to come up with “head canons” with each other, which were basically just very condensed fanfiction plots over a multitude of text messages. I believe I was trying to cheer her up, and I tried to come up with some kind of plot line. 

At the time, I was fairly fresh to the Ass Class fandom, and I was joking about how there were no teen pregnancy melodrama fanfictions. It wasn’t that I wanted one, I just thought it was strange for a school centric anime with a bunch of ships to NOT have one. And, back then, I only really cared about karmagisa. So I just decided ‘right it’s happening’. The reason I decided to make it ABO was due to ‘it making sense’. Fun fact: it was almost written as AFAB trans Nagisa, but I decided against it as I didn’t rate my ability to handle it well back then. Looking back on it, I’m glad I made that decision. 

Over around two months, writing out the plot of this story took over my life a little bit. I had no idea where I was going with it, but I was having so much fun with the drama that I decided that Karma and Nagisa shouldn’t get together soon at all, and I had a lot of fun teasing my friend with the ‘will they won’t they’. It was only when I got bored that I invented this intense drama plotline to finish it all off. 

That period of time was a lot of fun. And whilst that friendship didn’t end well, I still have a lot to thank her for. She chose Daichi’s name because I had no idea, and she wanted to annoy me because I didn’t like Haikyuu. When I couldn’t decide on his hair colour, the purple was her suggestion because ‘why logic?’ Daichi speaking Korean was because of how much she liked Kpop. She even helped me choose the title of the actual fic, so there’s a lot you can thank her for, honestly. 

After I finished that story, though, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Whenever I daydreamed, I used to think about that damn Daichi Akabane, and how much I wanted to tell his story. I’d even come up with extra stuff to fill in a lot of the gaps, and developed his character in my mind. I decided that I was really desperate to write it down. Usually that worked when I had an idea I wanted to work through. 

I wrote the first chapter in late 2017, and then the next two as well. I just, kept going, and realised that I could go further still. TINSITOGS was never something that was supposed to be shared, but I decided I may as well. After all, that fated ‘teen pregnancy drama’ fic still didn’t exist, and I thought it would be funny to make it happen. 

Yes, as I’ve stated publicly a few times, TINSITOGS was a crack fic. If I wanted attention from it, it was infamy. We even joked about me cursing the fandom if it ever became the most popular fic (whoops?). What I wasn’t expecting was a bunch of people, in a fandom where at the time there were NO ongoing karmagisa fics and it was pretty dead, to really seem to enjoy it. It was enough to have me keep writing it, at least. I still don’t know at what point I actually started taking it seriously, but somehow I did, and the rest is history? 

The reception 

In my wildest dreams, I never thought that I would be the author of one of the most popular fics in the fandom. To this day, the amount of views TINSITOGS has is insanity to me. For the record, across all platforms it’s on today it has 238,000, which is literally a number I can’t even visualise anymore. Almost quarter of a MILLION. To this day on AO3, it’s the most viewed Ass Class fic that’s an ACTUAL ass class fic (the others are multi fandom compilations). So yeah, I achieved the original goal, I guess? 

Now you might be wondering, “omg the karmagisa fandom is fujoshi trash”. And, considering the origins, it is kind of funny. The thing is, though, TINSITOGS was written at incredibly good time. It was written when there were, essentially, very few long form Karma/Nagisa stories. If any other fics did get posted on occasion, they were usually just oneshots. I was also, at that point, writing very fast. A symptom of ADHD is becoming obsessively productive over certain things. Since I was able to get a 3k chapter out every few days/once a week, TINSITOGS was consistently bumped to the top of AO3′s default view. And some of those first few chapters were altered canon, and transcribing the canon dialogue didn’t take very long. The more views it got, the more people would read it out of sheer curiosity. 

I think it also helps that, at least after it started getting some positive feedback (which was honestly after the pre written chapters), I purposely tried to make it ‘not terrible’. I mean, I personally think the first chapter is pretty weak and if it wasn’t somewhat iconic to a lot of people I’d rewrite it. But in general, I purposely tried to make the world of ABO my own, to make it more accessible to those who don’t like that genre, and stay away from the inherently grosser stuff as much as possible. I genuinely do get comments about how I introduced people to the genre as a whole, still not sure if that’s a GOOD thing but hey, it happened. 

TINSITOGS turned into a lot more than just a joke. It turned into my favourite hobby. It turned into a research project (honestly, you would not believe the amount of mummy vlogs and legit scientific articles about child development I consumed). It turned into something that, at least I believe, was widely loved. 

Meaning 

I think it might be wrong to say that I don’t have AN idea of when I started to take the fic super seriously. For me, it was around the time someone commented something along the lines of saying my writing meant a lot to them, that they’d spent all night reading it and had been unable to put it down. 

Not to get too dark here, but I do have a past in writing a very long, somewhat popular fic (it’s still on my fanfic net profile if anyone’s interested, but I don’t recommend it). However, in the latter part of my teenage years, the depression struck. Writing was the love of my life, and I couldn’t bring myself to do it anymore. Maybe I’d be able to muster an idea or even a chapter at the best points of that, but I’d never completely finished any story. Starting to write again was a huge step in my recovery, and one of the reasons I convinced myself that life was worth it was being able to impact someone’s life somehow. Even to this day, I still remember the fics I read when I was, like, thirteen. How much I still remember them, and how much they meant to be at the time. I wanted to be that writer for someone else. To be honest, it was actually Yuri!!! On Ice that got me out of the super bad, but I still never wrote anything of real consequence. TINSITOGS was the first time in a long time I actually committed to something. 

And, to be completely honest, there were a lot of times I was tired of it, and wanted to just quit. But, the thing was, I felt like people depended on me in a way. I got so many comments that were just FILLED with support, telling me how much they looked forward to every update. It wasn’t just empty words, either, a lot of the times these comments would be super engaged with the actual writing. I can’t even describe just how much they meant to me, how much I would look forward to reading everyone’s opinions. And then discord happened, which was a lot of fun. 

TINSITOGS went a lot further than I ever thought it would. There were comments, discussions, fan art, fan FIC (which is honestly incredible to me). Someone even added it to TV Tropes, at one point. Not to mention the Cards Against Humanity deck and quiz It makes me so unbelievably happy that I could inspire that much creativity, but it’s a two way street. It was all of that which inspired me to write, too. 

Writing 

The only real goal I actually had was aiming for around 3000 words per chapter. I had a whole facebook log of plot points as planning, and I was mostly just trying to expand on them into prose. I honestly thought that, at its completion, the entire fic would be around 100k words, if that. Not, at one point, being literally the longest ass class fic on AO3. 

There are a lot of aspects that were directly adapted from the original messages, and I tried to stay faithful to it more so at first, even if I later removed some of the pure crack. But the style was also vaguely similar, with the story being told mostly from Nagisa’s perspective with swaps to Karma when it made sense. All the main plot beats, too, are pretty much identical. The plus to this was I was able to add a lot of really fun foreshadowing, and I feel like it’s a fun reread because of it. 

Honestly though, if there’s a demand to release those OG message logs, I will. Mostly because it’s kind of funny, and interesting to see. Isogai and Nagisa were engaged at one point, even. 

Obviously, it changed somewhat. 3000 was the minimum length, and the time to completion was whenever it felt right. One of my big concerns was about pacing, so it took a lot more fleshing out and maybe ‘filler’ content for some of the main arcs to work. 

There’s parts of TINSITOGS I don’t think aren’t written that well, and some that I’m still super proud of. I think you can definitely tell there’s a gradual shift in style, and I get a lot more comfortable with writing them as characters as it goes along. To be honest, my pride for the fic overall is what it represents. 

It is funny to think about the places it got written in, though. I started it when I worked at McDonalds with no life direction, then it went through my first year of university with me. It’s been written in at least four countries. Aeroplanes, night clubs, long haul buses, a train through the Japanese southern coastline. Even the start of covid. TINSITOGS managed to see a lot. I even turned a scene in (the boat scene during the India chapter with altered names) to my university as a legitimate assignment. 

There were also a few messages I wanted to achieve, once I realised I had the platform to put them across. One of them was, obviously, ‘use protection kids’. It was important to me that I didn’t glamorise it too much, and I think that came across. I also wanted to dispute some of the issues with ABO, and subvert the consent issues as much as I could. An arc I really ‘liked’ writing was how abuse doesn’t always look the same way, and that it can be a drawn out change in behaviour. How the most important part of ‘being a good parent’ isn’t perfection, but genuinely loving and doing the best you can for your kid. How love doesn’t solve everything, and effective communication can take a very long time to learn and build a functional relationship. I mean, there definitely was a lot I tried to put in, and you’re free to interpret it all how you want. But, I like to think some people learnt some of these things, at least. 

Daichi 

Honestly, Daichi developed almost of his own free will. I had a good idea of his appearance, and that he was smart. Writing him from birth until around nine years old (older if you read the sequel fic) pretty much allowed that fluidity. It was really fun to explore a nature vs nurture development, and let his own characteristics speak for themselves. 

He’ll always have a special place in my heart. 

This is the first image I ever made. When I was trying to figure out what Daichi looked like, I honestly just edited Karma’s hair (pretty well, actually? I’m impressed with my past skill). That’s where the ‘he looks just like Karma’ meme kind of came from. 

This was the first image I actually created of Daichi. I THINK it was on rinmaru games mega anime creator or something, but it’s literally not available on the internet anymore as far as I can tell, so I can’t double check. This was in the pre-piccrew days. His eyes are closed because they didn’t have the right tone of goldish/silver.  

His sister, Kaguya, didn’t even exist originally, even though I decided on that ending pretty early on. Actually, she was going to be called ‘Irina’ due to some hijinks. Initially, when Karma found out about Irina’s pregnancy, she was going to get super emotional and mad at him and basically force him to name his first born daughter after her. Karma agreed to shut her up, never intending to have another child, so when the surprise second child later came along they had to live with the pain. However, to be honest I just forgot to write in the actual scene that set it all up, and I decided against adding it anywhere else. The name Kaguya was a very last minute decision, and it was a chance for me to explore some ideas that didn’t fit with Daichi’s character. 

Interestingly too, Daichi and Nao were never intended to be a thing. I only decided that towards the VERY end. Even though the reason I named Nao that was because of a ship I had in a J Drama (Good Morning Call). It just kind of ended up happening because I won myself over with imagining the cute. 

The music 

I used to write with a lot of background music, though not all the time. Particularly towards the start, there was a lot that didn’t really make sense thematically, yet I would write to a lot. 

Here’s a link to the spotify playlist if you want it it’s basically all the ones I noted I’d listened to a lot. Not including the smut ones, though, I have a whole playlist for that. 

Some of the notable ones: 

Five String Serenade - the first scene I wrote of the entire fic, in Chapter 25 New Year Time where they fell asleep cuddling. 

Cosmic Love - when I wrote Nagisa’s love confession scene in hospital (I also wrote this pretty early on) 

Northern Downpour (though it was actually a cover by Emma Blackery) - The chapter after Daichi’s born (30) 

When The Party’s Over -  Confession Time Third Period, Chapter 69. I literally listened to this song on REPEAT when I planned and wrote the kind of ‘break up’ scene, and it’s one of the few parts that made me cry writing. 

Turning Page - I know I said no smut, but this song actually gave me the idea to have the “I love you” in chapter 108 be less on a whim and actually more built up. In the original plan, Karma really did just say it without thinking. I’m glad I changed that.  

Bury Me Low and Numb - pretty much all I listened to when writing the last few chapters, because Evil Nagisa core. So much so that Bury Me Low was in my top 2020 songs rewind. 

As for the title, there’s actually quite a funny story. I had no idea what to call the fic, and when that happens I usually just try and find some song lyrics. I really wanted to use something from ‘October’ by the Broken Bells. Not only because it’s my favourite song (has been for years), but thematically it really worked. The issue was, it worked as the WHOLE song, there were no individual lyrics that captured everything. And, if they did, they didn’t flow very well. And naming the fic ‘October’ would have been weird for a lot of reasons. There Is No Sweeter Innocence That Our Gentle Sin really was just plucked randomly, in a desperate search to find any snappy lyrics from any song that had some kind of meaning. After a bit of discussion, we settled that it kind of worked... if Daichi is innocent and they committed a sin or something. It also wasn’t the most obvious lyric from the song (Take Me To Church if anyone doesn’t know) so I just went with it. It works out, I think, because TINSITOGS turned out to be a pretty good acronym and pronounceable word in its own right. 

The merch  redbubble drama 

It’s a well known fact that I’m not very good at art. However, I decided to try pixel art because it seemed the easiest to not mess up. I made Karma and Nagisa, before deciding to also give Daichi a try. 

This, to this day, is the only good quality art of Daichi that I actually own. The only one I’m actually happy sharing and thinking it doesn’t look terrible. As much as I love people sending me fanart, it’s not ‘my property’, right. 

So, I was kind of joking about TINSITOGS having merchandise. At first I just made two funny quote things, and uploaded it to redbubble. I was never intending to actually make money from this, and I’d agreed to myself that if I did, I would just donate it to charity. I was joking with the quotes, but since I had this artwork I figured I may as well uploaded. Separately, there was also an image that had pixel Daichi next to pixel Nagisa and Karma (which I also created). 

Aside from showing up in a few people’s adverts across the internet, there was no real harm with this. In fact, I didn’t make money anyway. It was just... more the joke of it existing. I did, however, buy myself a Daichi phone case, which is one of my favourite possessions. 

The funny ‘drama’ comes in when they got taken down due to copywrite. Sure, the one with Nagisa and Karma, I understand. But the other three literally had no mention or anything to do with Assassination Classroom, aside from being from a fanfiction. So basically, someone who owns those rights claimed my OC as theirs. Which makes Daichi canon? Whatever the case, I found this hilarious don’t worry. 

How has TINSITOGS changed my life? 

This is quite a strange thing to think about. Because, in a lot of ways, it really hasn’t. As I’m sure a lot of people know, I don’t really consider myself to have any real ‘fame’, despite the impressive numbers. Whenever I tell people in my personal life, they seem to think I’m some sort of internet celebrity, but that’s never been the case for me. I mean, it’s hardly a cultural phenomenon. 

In a lot of ways, I’d much rather befriend someone than have them admire me. Possibly because being someone’s inspiration is kind of weird... I’m just an awkward duck who likes to write after all. I don’t mind it, though. I genuinely find it an honour, even if I don’t necessarily agree. I also want to take this time to say that if anyone ever wants to talk or message me, you’re more than free to do so. I’m usually super casual with people who do that, I promise. 

TINSITOGS was the first story I ever finished in the way I truly wanted to. Start to end, a full narrative. And it took a LOT. There were so many times I almost felt like quitting, or took super long breaks. For me, ADHD queen, actually finishing something was a huge deal. And I know I wouldn’t have done it if I didn’t owe it to everyone who read it, and myself, to see it through. You know like, if I were to die tomorrow, at least I’ve left something behind. 

In a lot of ways, it’s changed me for the better. It’s helped me develop my writing styles, and way of thinking. It encouraged me to become more active in the fandom, and develop some important friendships. I always feel like my Tumblr and Fanfiction ‘known’ factor is separate. I think most of my Tumblr following is more to do with my theories/Japanese context research if anything, for example, but I know I wouldn’t be so interested in that if TINSITOGS hadn’t lead me to deeply examine character and really look into analysing source material for clues. I also think there’s just... a lot of myself in it. 

I was 17 years old, when I first came up with the idea. I finished the story when I was 20. Now, at the time of writing, I’m 21. That time has seen some pretty significant changes - just in general life facts and my own personal human development. For me at least, a lot of that was pretty turbulent, and TINSITOGS stands as a time capsule for that, in a way. 

I know I gained a lot of confidence, and it affirmed to me that writing is what I love. Telling stories and sharing them is what I love. 

Conclusion

Do I think TINSITOGS is an outstanding piece of writing, or the best fic ever? No. I really don’t. It’s strange to say because I definitely spent a lot of time on it, but it’s not like I put my full unbridled efforts into the story. I don’t fully plan, use a beta, or even read through on my own. And that’s okay - that’s not what I write fanfiction for. Fanfiction is my place to have fun with characters and stories I like, without the pressures of having to stand on my own complete originality. Yes, I’m fully confident that I can write at a “higher quality”, if I really wanted to. I’m also aware that some authors put their full effort into their fics, and that’s just as valid! 

It feels odd to say this about my own writing, but I honestly think there’s just something in this story. It might not be written in the best prose ever, and the premise might be kind of dumb for a lot of people. But, I think, there’s some part of this fic that managed to grab people. Somehow, at some point, many readers get captured into the emotions and so drawn in that ‘they just have to finish it now!’ Again, I’m not sure myself how I actually achieved that. Of course, that won’t apply to everyone, but I do feel there’s some truth in it. And it makes me happy, to have caused that. 

If TINSITOGS is your favourite fic, or if you genuinely think it’s the best story you’ve read, then thank you. I really appreciate your support, and I’m happy to have been a part of your life, I guess. I know how much fanfics can mean to a person, and that’s why I’m not going to take it down, or edit it at all. And it’s fine too, if you loved the fic for a while and moved on -i t happens. Whatever the case, I’m very honoured to have been able to occupy a moment of your life. Or if you find this fic in 10 years time, even, I still wholly appreciate you. 

This story was incredibly important to me, and thank you for reading if it was ever important to you too. 

You may ask, what now? Well, this is only intended to be a detailed look back for whoever’s interested, and it’s likely the only one I’ll actually do, a year after completion. Of course, if you ever want to ask me anything or just discuss the story, you’re honestly good to contact me in whatever way I have available. 

I’m still writing my ongoing stories, of course, despite taking a small break due to the university work load. I fully intend to complete the stories I’ve already started to tell, at least. After that... I’m not sure if I’ll still write fanfiction. Don’t panic, this isn’t a ‘I’m quitting writing’ thing. I may, however, have bled the Karmagisa genre a bit too dry at that point. Who knows? I am pretty interested in writing something original for once, so maybe that’ll work out. 

For now, at least, thank you to anyone who read this fic. To anyone who commented, liked, or interacted with me over it. To anyone who created or learnt from it. I’m really glad that I got to share this story with you all, and ultimately left some kind of mark, no matter how big or small. 

Happy birthday, TINSITOGS. I had a lot of fun writing you. 

[lilydalexf]

Old School X is a project interviewing X-Files fanfic authors who were posting fic during the original run of the show. New interviews are posted every Tuesday.

Interview with Sarah Ellen Parsons

Sarah Ellen Parsons has 18 X-Files stories at Gossamer and 19 at AO3. If you want high quality fic with interesting characters, go read her stories. Some of my favorites of her fics are The Crouching Thing and My Constant Touchstone Who Makes Me A Whole Person (which are two very different stories!). Big thanks to Sarah Ellen for doing this interview.

Does it surprise you that people are still interested in reading your X-Files fanfics and others that were posted during the original run of the show (1993-2002)?

With today's binge-watching culture, I'm not at all surprised. You can watch a bunch of eps and then seek out fic that is where you are in the series.

What do you think of when you think about your X-Files fandom experience? What did you take away from it?

I took away a writer's group Yes, Virginia, that is still together.  Mostly as friends, but whenever I write something, or someone else writes something, it's the first place we all run for machete beta. I have betad SO MANY novels.

We have a number of folks who are published writers since then and our time in X-Files fic brought us lifelong friendships IRL and made us all better at our craft. The majority of those folks were better writers than I am. And I make my living as a writer in my day-job.

Social media didn't really exist during the show's original run. How were you most involved with the X-Files online (atxc, message board, email mailing list, etc.)?

I belonged to a couple of the largest lists and posted there and bitched about the show on usenet with everyone else.  We had our own Yahoo group for beta.  We all had crappy GeoCities websites that we programmed the HTML for ourselves and hooked through various fandom link circles to get traffic to our stories.  But the main method of distribution was the lists.

Fun fact, I found a free page counter thing that I used at work one time through fandom. So fandom pays off in skillz.

Even without social media, we managed to get our stories in front of readers who would enjoy them. Where there's a will, there's always someone ready to step up and find a way.

What did you take away from your experience with X-Files fic or with the fandom in general?

Again, I have lifelong friends IRL that I got solely from fanfiction. That's the best takeaway.

Fandom disappointed me because it, like everything else, is ruined by people's egos, backstabbing, and petty people who get in positions of power and then use those positions to punch down or dictate. I was young when I was writing X-Files and I still had hope that people would rise to their better natures, so I got involved in various futile efforts to try to make people behave the way I wanted them to behave, I guess. I did a lot of public bitching that didn't serve me or my friends well. I now put that effort into politics, where it does actual good.

What was it that got you hooked on the X-Files as a show?

X-files was made for me. It combined science fiction, mystery, horror.  I love all of those genres. Plus there was Scully. No matter how sexist that writer's room was, Scully was awesome. But you kept seeing bad writing. Even in the heyday seasons, like Season 3, there were really terrible eps that made you want to fix things.

I'm a lifelong speculative fiction fan and a published feminist science fiction author. I actually was published before I fell down the fic hole. I got involved in fanfic due to getting my fantasy novel turned down from every major publisher for being "too dark". And I needed to get readers to see my stuff to prove to myself that I wasn't terrible at writing. I got a ton of feedback and it was like market research to see what people wanted to read.

My time in fanfiction made me 100% a better writer than I was.

What got you involved with X-Files fanfic?

I went to the X-Files Expo to see if I could make contact with someone from Harper Collins because the tie-in novels sucked so hard.  I got rejected with my pitch as I didn't have a literary agent.

Around that time, a pal who I watched X-Files with IRL was looking for a free X-files wallpaper for her work computer when she found the website where fans in Pennsylvania had fic archived. She read some and wrote to me - "you need to see this, and you can do better."  So I started reading and was.... I probably CAN do better. So I wrote The Batman Plot. And made two friends I'm still friends with with that one story.

What is your relationship like now to X-Files fandom?

Nonexistent.  I couldn't even watch the latest season and I saw only 2 of season one of whatever that was before I gave up. I have never watched the second movie.

X-files is my first fandom bad ex-husband. I loved it SO MUCH, but it betrayed me.

Were you involved with any fandoms after the X-Files? If so, what was it like compared to X-Files?

I was deep into Harry Potter for a while, but I didn't end up publishing anything in it. All my stories were novel-length and I was writing so much for work, I never completed anything. I called Snape/Lily when Prisoner of Azkaban was published and got Jossed by Rowling in one of my big ideas. (This is bad fandom ex-husband 2. JKR will never get a dime of money from me again because of her hateful stance on transfolk. I have RL friends who are trans and NO.)

I wrote fic in Supernatural. It was the obvious next thing after X-Files. However, the misogyny and bringing in all the Angel/Devil Christofascist stuff lost me. The ep where they declared all other religions other than Christianity as invalid and killed a Hindu god made me stop watching for good. I know enough Christofascists IRL that I can't tolerate it in my fiction. (Bad fandom ex-husband 3)

Who are some of your favorite fictional characters? Why?

This list is far too long to actually make.  But characters I spent time writing about include: Kirk, Spock, McCoy and Co. (I wrote three unpublished Star Trek novels before I found online fandom). King Arthur and Morgan Le Fay, Sherlock Holmes (I wrote a Sherlock Holmes play after seeing "Crucifer of Blood" and entered it in a national competition, where I got very nice comments back.), Mulder, Scully and Krycek, Rowling's Hermione and Snape (like him or not, its masterful characterization), Dean and Sam Winchester, John Winchester and Bobby Singer.  I wrote one comedy story starring Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  A couple of Roswell stories under a different name. Catwoman and Batman. I have some unpublished Avengers fanfic lying around as I'm an OG Marvel fan with a massive comic collection.

Do you ever still watch The X-Files or think about Mulder and Scully?

I was on a business trip a few years ago and FX had a marathon and I watched part of it when I was in my hotel room. Early seasons are comforting, but I don't go back there now.

Do you ever still read X-Files fic? Fic in another fandom?

I don't read X-Files fic anymore. I read a tiny bit of Star Wars after the second movie because Rian Johnson had it right. Now I don't care. I love Mandalorian, but am content to watch.

Do you have any favorite X-Files fanfic stories or authors?

Too many to count.  All of YV. Which reminds me, I need to go update our entry at Fanlore. I promised Punk I'd do it a while back.  I need to at least get everyone linked.  Right now it's only Punk and Sab.

But it was a ton of us.  Marasmus, Maria Nicole, Cofax, CazQ, M. Sebasky, Livia Balaban, Kelly Keil, Wen, Ropobop, Jess Mabe, JET, fialka, and a bunch of others that I can't remember their fic names any more, just their real names because I know them all IRL. I need to go back and look up their fic names and link them up there.

In addition to my little group of pals, I loved reading Mustang Sally and Rivka T, Rachel Anton - I keep trying to find her to encourage her to write romance if she's not doing it already, but no dice, Dasha K., Anjou, there were so many great ones, but their names have slipped my mind in the past 20 years.

What is your favorite of your own fics, X-Files and/or otherwise?

I'm most known for Prone, and I'm proud of that story for all kinds of reasons, but I think my very best is The Crouching Thing.

I mostly didn't publish anything I didn't think was good and hadn't been machete betaed within an inch of its life, but I'm not sure much of the angsty romance stuff holds up as well. I think it worked when the show was still ON and we were all in that emotional headspace, but probably not now.

Do you think you'll ever write another X-Files story? Or dust off and post an oldie that for whatever reason never made it online?

Funny you ask. I am currently reworking a plot idea I had for an X-Files fic into a contemporary M/M novel, which I will publish under a different pen-name. The plot is the idea I had for X-Files, the characters are very, very different other than one is uptight and the other more easy-going. But no more Mulder and Scully.

Do you still write fic now? Or other creative work?

I have been making my living as a writer for 25 years. I write the word count equivalent of 5 Tolkein novels a year, just for my day-job.  I am turning back to original fiction, which is where I was before X-Files.  I'm working on the M/M thing, a high fantasy thing, a low fantasy historical thing and a bunch of M/F Regency romances as I get time and energy.  I publish Fantasy and SF under my real name. Romance has pen names as you don't want that getting back to your workplace, either.

SEP is fic only and here she will stay.

Where do you get ideas for stories?

I have too many ideas to count.  I try to write them down when they come, so I won't forget. At least the outline of the idea. Often a scene. I've been like this my entire life. I started writing novels seriously at 15. I wrote a 500 plus page one about Morgan Le Fay during breaks in high school because "Mists of Avalon" pissed me off so bad as I'd read the original source material and that was a Wicca recruitment polemic.

What's the story behind your pen name?

Sarah Ellen was my great-grandma, Parsons was her grandma's last name.

Do your friends and family know about your fic and, if so, what have been their reactions?

Half my friends ARE fic friends. Most of my friends know as does my brother, who thinks writing for free is dumb. This is universally agreed on by non-fic friends who know. My mother still doesn't know about the fic. Just the "real" writing.  I write under a pen name to keep it away from my job and my published work.

Is there a place online (tumblr, twitter, AO3, etc.) where people can find you and/or your stories now?

My X-files stuff is up on Gossamer mostly. I'm trying to get the stories all moved to AO3 for all the genres. I'm working on this now.  SEP is really not a living thing anymore, but there was a time when she was more me than me.

If you want to find my "real" non-fic writing, write to me at se_parsons at yahoo dot com and I will point you at it.

And PLEASE someone, hunt down Rachel Anton and get her writing something we all can BUY.  Where are my old Krycek bitches at?  Do any of you know where she is? [Lilydale note: I’ve tried contacting Rachel Anton for this Old School X project but have not had luck. I would love to find her too!]

Is there anything else you'd like to share with fans of X-Files fic?

The community I loved has mostly moved on, but I think we left a legacy of solid work crafted out of our love for the show.  Find a living community you love for a show you love.  There are great people out there creating and get involved.  It will be worth it.

(Posted by Lilydale on December 15, 2020)

[invisible-pink-toast]

If I could real quick- just- ask game for miraculous ladybug??

Yeah, all good! Thanks for the ask! :) 

Fandom ask game

Favourite character: Chloe! Happened very unexpectedly, I did not like her at all at first but she grew on me throughout the first two seasons. She was just such an interesting and often fun character, especially with the insights into her throughout s2 and starting down the track of her redemption arc! 

I just ignore how they wrote her arc for s3 and 4

Least favourite character: I answered this one here, and said Kim, but forgot to say another character that I can’t stand is Andre the Ice Cream Guy!

He’s so annoying?? First off - can’t people just eat ice cream in peace? Not everything has to be about romantic love. And trying to force people to want romantic love is 1) really weird when you’re doing it to a 14 year old and 2) suuuuper amatonormative - aromantic people exist and are completely valid and should be able to enjoy ice cream. Also I think the concept of “soulmates” or people being “meant for each other” is bs and that people can have more than one great love (throughout their lives, or at the same time - poly people also exist) or no great love and that’s all fine. 

Also aside from how annoying the general idea of him is - he got akumatised because a girl didn’t want to eat his ice cream? What a baby. And then in Glaciator 2 he got akumatised (twice in one day yikes) because he SAW Marinette and Chat Noir together and was so mad because “Ladybug and Chat Noir are meant for each other”. Does he have psychic powers???? Can men and women not be friends??? (also Marinette and Ladybug are the same person so I guess his psychic powers are crap) AND why is he so obsessed with 14 year olds relationships??? Sorry for the rant, I just think he’s a dolt. 

brOTP: Chloe and Adrien!!! They have so much potential from their history and their conflicting personalities and how they can support each other!! The OG Miraculous Squad from Heroes Day too!

OTP: Chloenette 100% I absolutely love them 

OT3: Chloalyanette, Chlogaminette (is that Marinette x Chloe x Kagami’s ship name??) but there’s also the top tier ot4 of Chloalyagaminette jasd;flkhsad;fkh that name’s too long but those girls are great (then you could have Lukadrinino as well

NOTP: Chloe with any guy bugs me, but Nathaniel and Kim specifically

Favourite storyline: The Queen’s Battle episode set!! Despair Bear and Zombizou already had me really liking Chloe, and these three episodes just made me love her. All of the akumas are great, all of the relationships are great, and the scene with Ladybug and Chloe on the balcony is my favourite scene in the show!

Least favourite storyline: can I... can I say season 3 and 4? It’s just so messy. Like I love Marinette and Kagami becoming friends, and Silencer (LUKA! he deserves everything), but there’s so much nonsense and the writing is terrible and contradictory that I just can’t enjoy it anymore

What I wish had happened but didn’t: Answered this one here, and I’ve already talked about Chloe’s redemption and ships so I’m gonna say: 

Keeping the original squad of 5 miraculous holders for longer. 

They were so built up throughout s2, and there’s SO MUCH promotional material for them, Heroes Day was the first time they teamed up.... and then the last? I wish we could have got to see them bonding and training. 

I think introducing all of the other different miraculouses, kwamis and powers made things too messy, and I would’ve loved more of the og team. Which is why I’m writing a fix-it-fic with them 

What happened that I wish hadn’t: ....there’s a lot jsdfl;sahdfk;ash

But I wish the writers would stop punishing Marinette for her crush. Being 14 is already hard enough, let alone trying to save the world in secret. She gets punished and embarrassed when she tries to confess to Adrien, punished and embarrassed when she tries to spend time with him, punished and embarrassed in that ridiculous wax statue scene that I can’t even watch, then she gets punished for dating Adrien in Chat Blanc, then the WORLD ENDS when she dates Adrien/Chat Noir. BUT THEN she gets punished for trying to move on from him? The writers sabotaged Lukanette. 

This poor girl just can’t catch a break. I know she’s done some creepy stuff too (like the stalking, why?) but those were choices by the middle aged male writers, just like they choose to write her being punished over and over again. Obviously the Love Square is endgame, why couldn’t they have Marinette slowly become better friends with Adrien instead of just embarrassing her everytime they’re in the same room together? 

[bestworstcase]

farran rereads lost lagoon: chapter 13

- *sigh* dahlia.

- i’ve got to admit, at this point i really just... don’t care. about these characters. my vague memories of thinking this was an alright book but not really my cup of tea and with some very questionable moments wrt to the handling of the saporian issue have morphed pretty rapidly into. i flat out do not like it. there is no aspect of this story that i’m enjoying. the characterization is poor, the plot is falling down, there’s no tension, the prose is passable at best, and i’m getting very tired of reading conversations that feel like they were written by an AI. so i’m going to press pause here, because i don’t want this reread series to just turn into me bitching about the things i don’t like, and do a little autopsy. 

let’s talk about varian and the seven kingdoms for a minute.

for the uninitiated, v7k was a varian-centric tts spinoff comic proposed by a couple of tts storyboarders, which disney chose not to pursue. it was developed as a fan project for a while, fell by the wayside for other projects. semi-recently the plot outline, some worldbuilding notes, and character concepts were all made public and the crew members involved gave the fandom carte blanche to do whatever with it. 

now! the interesting thing about v7k, and the point of this little tangent, is that because much of the development process happened during s1, a lot of the worldbuilding is contradicted directly or indirectly by tts canon and some of the characterization choices feel... incongruous with the way tts s3 ended. i’m not going to get into that too much, but it seems to me that v7k and lost lagoon have a problem in common, and that problem is that they are stories that diverged from the main trunk of the story that inspired them but are still pretending to be canon compliant, to their own detriment.

some of you may remember og bitter snow, which began as a pre-s3 speculative fic about what cassandra might have encountered in the HOYT and spiraled into a kind of cass-centric s3 rewrite... which stalled out about a quarter of the way into the story i had planned because i ran into a similar problem: i was writing a s3 au that was ostensibly canon-compliant for all of s1 and most of s2, but the direction i wanted to take the story just didn’t fit naturally on top of canon s1 and s2... my options were to start retconning things from canon after ~20k words of implying canon compliance, or to force the story i wanted to tell to stay within the boundaries set up by s1 and s2, and i didn’t want to do either of those things, so i stopped and started over completely from scratch with benighted. 

v7k began with the intention of being licensed fanfiction, and lost lagoon is licensed fanfiction, so they both needed the disney stamp of approval, and that meant they couldn’t take the revamp bitter snow approach of going ‘my city now’ and just changing whatever pieces of tts they needed to to make their own stories make sense. they had to fit their stories into the canon framework as best they could while ignoring or glossing over the inconsistencies and pretending it all fit together in a logical way. 

and i think this is why lost lagoon is so very boring. 

lost lagoon is marketed as a prequel to tts s1, but that’s not really what it is. only the first third of the novel actually takes place before tangled: before ever after. the rest of it is supposed to take place in the empty spaces between episodes of s1, and—because this is licensed fanfiction that needs to meet a certain threshold of being plausibly canon compliant—that means it can’t do anything that would meaningfully disrupt the story of s1. the events of lost lagoon cannot be big enough to influence any of the episodes of s1 that take place concurrently. the plot of this book must be absolutely self-contained, or else the thin illusion of canon compliance falls apart. 

hence: rapunzel has no problem keeping the lagoon a secret from everyone, despite her refusal to keep the black rock excursion a secret mere pages later. hence, the ultimate reveal that the secret ‘power’ hidden in the lagoon is that it represents shampanier’s and der sonne’s love. it’s hard to have an interesting plot about intrigue and mysteries and such when you have to tip-toe through a series of light-hearted fluffy character establishing episodes instead of just writing your own story.

so i do have some sympathy for ms howland. i do. i think she probably did the best she could, story-wise, within the restraints that were imposed on her by the existence of tts itself. i would probably write a boring story given those same restraints to. 

*deep breath*

- anyway, cass and rapunzel do market stuff, the dahlia jealousy subplot gets seeded, and then we head to xavier’s, where he shows them some daggers whose key features are being extremely light and able to “cut through armor as though it were paper.”

no 💜

- blah blah they ask xavier about the henge(?), it’s a saporian “ceremony circle,” blah blah. they show him the lost lagoon book and he waxes on about how rare and special it is and how “even those cartographers who made it their life’s mission to chart every inch of this kingdom” couldn’t find the cenote that cass found in a matter of hours because she is just! that! special! gag.

- xavier gives the date of the saporia-corona war as “more than two hundred years ago,” which i am taking to also mean “less than three hundred years ago.” i had actually forgotten that the gave a semi-hard date for all this nonsense so. ha. ha ha. ha. this is fine

- in this telling of the tale, shampanier steals der sonne’s journal with the intention of using the tunnel maps to invade the capital city, but she finds his confession of love at the end (“he was head over heels for this strong, intelligent woman” GAG). frankly this makes a teeny, tiny bit more sense than the story as told in under raps, where shampanier and der sonne duel for hours before she... randomly reads the journal? but then again—if shampanier herself infiltrated the coronan palace to steal herz der sonne’s personal journal, why did she not simply assassinate him in his sleep?

- xavier describes shampanier as “the ruler” of saporia, implying saporia was an autocratic stratocracy. remember this. it will be important later. 

- der sonne and shampanier’s marriage heralded an “era of unity” during which they “joined the countries together to create corona as we know it” and there was an “explosion of romantic poetry” during this time, with the lost lagoon being “one that really captured the people’s imagination.” 

- the only thing i’m going to say about the saporia stuff for the time being that is that if this doesn’t scream conquerer propaganda, i don’t know what does. but we’ll get there, don’t you worry.

- they are interrupted by the entrance of xavier’s assistant, marco, who is so transparently a bad guy that i really can’t do anything but laugh. xavier is like the ancient power is definitely one hundred percent not real and cass immediately bustles rapunzel out of there because she’s annoyed, which is fair, i’m also annoyed. 

- there is a character named monsieur lafleur and i am choosing to believe that this man is tromus, because this book is sorely lacking in the demons department. 

- queen arianna randomly walks in at the end of the chapter to make cassandra nervous and remind us all that cass is worried about her role in the black rock excursion getting out. i resent this scenelet because it reminds me that i could be watching tts instead. i miss tts cass. a lot. but anyway that’s the end of the chapter.