#too many characters so i'll just tag the most relevant

[tyrannuspitch]

re: discussion of anti-imperialism in ragnarok: something i think is pretty striking about t3 in contrast to previous thor films (and avengers 2012) is the total absence of the perspective of any victims of asgardian imperialism.

those three films give us a variety of perspectives, including but not limited to:

jane, a human, as a main character and love interest, and thor beginning to overcome his anti-human prejudice as key to his redemption

jotunheim initially depicted as monsters, but then revealed to be victims, and their demonisation to be part of their victimhood

loki as both victim and perpetrator of imperial violence; a stolen child who was groomed to redirect his self-loathing onto others, now doing exactly that

humanity defending against invasion as protagonists and (in the avengers) the majority of the cast

malekith as both victim and perpetrator of imperial violence; a brutally defeated rival of asgard's returning to exact revenge both on asgard and on the universe they were competing to control

and like, these films are definitely not perfect. but there is always at least one major character for whose life asgardian imperialism has ruined or could ruin during the course of the film.

whereas in ragnarok...

the jotuns, the dark elves, and all of asgard's other rivals and victims are absent - except a brief appearance of surtur, who is treated straightforwardly as a dragon to slay.

one human (bruce) is there, but his humanity, iirc, goes basically unremarked upon, and earth is not important.

loki is still there, but his past is brushed under the rug.

hela is a thematic focal point, but, unlikely loki (who she's clearly meant to mirror), she's only a victim of interpersonal abuse, not of imperial violence, because she's just asgardian royalty and nothing else.

valkyrie is a new character who was traumatised by hela's imperialism... but only because she was a soldier of asgard at the time.

like... do you see the void? the whole film is about how asgard's imperial past impacts the royal family and citizens of asgard. we're told ABOUT violence in a distant, almost mythical past, but we don't witness it. we're told to associate that dark past almost exclusively with hela; we're led to exonerate odin as a good king who learnt from his mistakes; we're introduced to val as a warrior from that exact era without the matter of her participation EVER coming up; and we're almost retconned into believing that thor and loki *didn't* participate in asgardian imperialism (outside of loki's villain arcs) even though that's exactly what we saw in thor 1.

the one group of victims we *do* see are the victims of the *grandmaster's* tyranny, a category which includes thor, loki, bruce and val to various extents... but again, isn't that odd? we see asgardians as victims, but we don't see the victims *of asgard*?

i'm not saying this is necessarily Evil or whatever, just poorly thought-out. but still... once you see it, it's a pretty glaring oversight, isn't it?

[sergeantpixie]

tell me about whichever WIP isn't about elena gilbert if you can

Anon I know you're trying to be mean but a) I have no shame about how many Elena verses I have, that's my Girl, and b) I am so delighted to be able to talk about the one verse on that list that has nothing to do with Elena Gilbert, that's why I put it there! So thank you!

"I am willing to take more hurt if it's from you" is a project I've been working on for so long and I'm finally making some real progress on it which feels amazing! It's my Alison DiLaurentis/Aria Montgomery (Pretty Little Liars) fic that is supposed to be as canon based as possible, just using the subtext between the two characters to create a story where Alison and Aria were secretly hooking up before Alison disappeared.

Instead of giving you the full pitch on why they make sense as a ship (and why they are basically canon, or at least Alison having feelings for Aria is) I'll just refer to a post where I went off in the tags about them because it says pretty much everything I would say about it here: this post.

In summary: When Alison asked Aria if she knew why she picked her, the answer is: Ali's obsessed with Aria.

The premise of the story would be Alison and Aria's relationship being Rosewood's best kept secret, then when the liars discover Alison has been alive all this time, Aria feels compelled to confess what happened between them all those years ago in order to get ahead of Alison and prevent her from using that to alienate her from the other girls. (Alison is still Alison, I have no interest in changing that.) It's the girls' reaction to that as well as an exploration of Aria and Alison as characters. And maybe Ezra really is A but that might just be implied we'll see.

Between Jake, Ezra, and her first love’s girl-Jesus resurrection, Aria’s love life has never been more complicated, and that’s like, really saying something.

the tiniest excerpt :)

@randomestfandoms

[goldenshrikecomic]

FAQ

Please read these before sending asks! It's also good to check the tags listed on the pinned post to see if it's already answered. Where can I read GS? On Comicfury or DeviantArt. Two pages ahead on both Patreon and Ko-fi.

Who works on this comic? Only me, ratt/doeprince. You can call me either, I usually refer to myself as doeprince when it's more official, otherwise ratt or some secret third thing. I'm an amateur artist and I draw these comics for fun without much ambition to gain greatness. I want to make enough money to be able to keep working on more comics, and buy trinkets.

How can I support what you do? Why thank you for asking! All my income comes from making comics, so the support on either Patreon or Ko-fi is literally making my comic endeavours possible.

Do you have other projects? I work on some secondary comics. Jet and Harley and Honey are currently updating, Corpse is finished. You can find my other art on doe-prince.

How long will Golden Shrike be? I don't know how many pages. I hope it's less than 1000.

What programs do you use? SAI for lineart, CSP for coloring and bubbles, PS for text and backgrounds. Hoooow do you draw the antlers from different perspectives? I've made 3D models for each recurring antlered character.

Is GS going to have physical merch? Will it be printed? Consider this a no, but I won't say never.

Does GS have a map, official wiki or dub or something like that? No. There's a fan wiki out there full of inaccurate information so take everything in there with tons of grains of salt. There's no map. The dub on YT is separate from me, I've had no hand in it.

Can I make a fan character? Can they interact with yours? You can absolutely make a fan character! I just ask you not to make them interact with mine, at least not in any kind of heavy way. It's a slippery slope and I've seen people treat my characters very rudely to make them suit their needs.

Can I make fanart/writing? Yes! All sfw and well-meaning works are welcome. Just tag me so I can see them! Why are the borders black and sometimes white? White borders means it's a flashback.

Deer don't do that!!!!! Or birds!! Or plants! The moon shouldn't be that shape right now. Everything in GS is fictional for this very reason. I shall not be shackled by the chains of realism when there's entire new worlds in my fingertips. I aim to make things believeable in its context, not realistic. Are other animals sentient, can they talk? Sure they are and can, but not outside their own species. A frog can't hold a conversation with a deer, but a deer and antelope could possibly make it work. There's exceptions though.

How old are main characters? They're fawns right? No they are not, they'd all be in their early 20s if they were humans.

What does sire mean? It keeps popping up in different contexts. You can liken this term to 'father', as in your dad but also something like a priest. The priest isn't your dad but "father forgive me for I've sinned". So sire is a) respected stag, b) very formal way to address your father. Dame is the female counterpart. Why are the does so small compared to stags.... are you a freak... do you just hate women..... Listen when I started GS I had been dwelling in a place where monster deer characters had insane size differences and it became some kind of norm to me and of course it found its way into my comic. Now I just have to keep drawing those tiny women to keep up the consistency. I've created bigger ladies nowadays because I too think it's a little silly now.

Please please will this character ever get a mate? Will this pairing be canon? Will you please make this pairing canon? I won't spoil any pairings, I think it'd be the most boring thing to do to my own work! I'll only confirm the ones already established in the comic.

Is this a speck of ember? Is it snow? What is that floating thing, is it relevant to the plot? IT'S JUST MY DUST BRUSH LEAVE ME ALONE.

[possessable]

Hey if you guys have suggestions for Possession-Themed Songs i can add to my Possession-Themed Playlist feel free to send them to me, because the most notable songs in there at the moment are Mesmerizer and There's A Platypus Controlling me

Possession Stuff:

Possession Shorthand Code (if you see me say some weird string of letters/numbers like “p-s-n-phy-n-5-n-p-b-s-int-n” or “Y-S-N-EXT-N-5-N-P-MB-S/T-INT-N/P” this is what that is)

Kind of more detailed Possession Infographic™ Post (I would recommend you look at both this and the Possession Shorthand for full understanding because it goes over some stuff that isn't in the infographic)

tag for me Being Abnormal about possession is "#thepossessionhyperfixationisneverending"

i use "Possession" as a catch-all term meaning "Storytelling trope where a character is controlled or influenced by something" for brevity but I think all of the different tropes have different names and different criteria for what qualifies them to fall under a certain name but if you ask me to get into that i will not stop talking for 5 hours so let's just go with "Possession"

look at this stupid fucking outfit i have. this is an actual real life thing i can wear. how did this happen. how did i get here?

rest of the original pinned post under the read more i guess:

Hi guys it's me John Possession 👋👋👋

That was supposed to be a joke but Call me whatever you want i'll probably respond

If you ever want to draw me gift art 1. Thank You 2. Espial characters are always a solid bet I love all of them eternally

Mutuals ask for my Discord Username if you want :-D 👍

Other Places Where I Am Also:

@washesdishes - reblog blog for the one who gets excited about buying new sponges (????????) (💙 <- uses dis as a signoff on this blog but only if it's relevant to the post so not very often)

if you wanna find me on other sites my username is usually "possessable" or "possessble_" most places

check out my uhhh Neocities which doesn't have a lot on it but the writing pages are the ones i put the most effort into so go check out my writing if you want(?????????) , also my Carrd I guess

Things I Enjoy™:

Possession (No way)

Convenience stores

Slide puzzles (I am collecting them)

Sly Hollow Knight (hi to the 4 other sly fans)

Espial Stuff:

List of characters and extremely simple summary

Slightly more detailed story summary (5-ish pages)

Unnecessarily detailed summary (around 8 pages of world-building explanation, 25 pages of Espial summary, and then 9 pages of other-stories-set-in-the-same-universe summary)

General Espial tag is "#espialposting", specific characters are "#characterName" with no space like "#characterOlen"

Other OCs and Tags and Also More Stuff Under the Cut:

"#JunoAndAldoposting", my stupid ass Mario Spoofs But If They Were Sentient And Having An Existential Crisis At All Times characters ALSO CHECK OUT The Introduction Videos for them [1], [2], which is all of the basic info that you need to know

okay you know what I have too many to list but the general format is "StoryNameposting" i'm sure you can tell, you'll see it when i post about them

[cupcakeslushie]

Okay. I've been tip-toeing around this AU for a while now, but I just got caught up, and now I think I have a (decent) grasp on what's going on. So I wanna go over everything I know so far to see if I'm right or wrong on anything. Don't know if you'd be willing to correct me or not. Either way, I hope my mistakes can help you understand what to clarify to other fans like me. But, I also have some questions. You probably won't be able to answer most of them, but it's at least worth a shot.

First, where's Venus? Like, why is she not in your comics that are (sort of) separate frome the canon now story. The ones that skip to the future way after all the turtles reunite. Did she die? Did she escape? Is it because she wasn't introduced yet when you made those comics?

Two, why do you keep on making references to the future timeline? I know you're planning on possibly making your own stuff leading up to the events of the movie. It just gives me a jumpscare when I see certain...imagery in those comics. I guess you're hinting at what your version of the future apocalypse would look like, but it just hurts to see. Specifically in the comic explaining both the events and aftermath of the movie and the bad future timeline. It's starting to really confuse my brain as to where this story is headed. What's meant to be the main focus? The Hamto's reuniting? The aftermath? Or the future?

Third, did you make all those min-comics before you started the actual AU? Or did you do them during?

Fourth, are any of those mini-comics relevant to the actual story now? Or have you changed your mind on a few things? It's just that everything is so all over the place, I don't really know whether to trust if they're accurate. I know most of them are just there for funzies, but the longer ones concern me. I guess I'm just not used to the storyteller doing sequel, start, prequel, start, sequel, prequel, prequel, sequel, and then end. Or maybe it's just me, and I'm sleep deprived.

My little observation speech is gonna take a while for me to get out in your asks because when I get theoretical, my speech gets long, and my proper English goes down the drain. So I'll be back. I appreciate your work very much. Despite the pain it causes me, it's still amazing.

I’ll try my best to clear up what confusion I can!

1. As far as Venus. The answer is kind of a mix of, I was still figuring out her design and backstory while coming out with some of those early comics, and then, once I had that down, I wanted the boys to grow strong bonds as a main cast. That’s why a lot of the side characters are only making small appearances in the Sep!AU Life stories, as those are mainly for the boys reconnecting. (Usagi shows up the most because I love him and am totally biased towards him).

This maybe hasn’t been stated outright, but I wasn’t really expecting so many ppl to like Vee as much as they do, and now im trying not to spoil too much of her story. It’ll unfortunately just take us a while to get to the meat of it. Since the boys reconnecting takes up a lot of the early s1s2 story, Im trying to follow the familiar Rise blueprint of Draxum, Shredder, Krang, and then in s3 we’ll have crazy fun new stories with the extra characters.

Ive also decided to take this little nugget from one of the Q&As, and use it for Venus instead of Jennika. It was a much needed bit of inspiration to explain why Venus sorta disappears for a while and will go through some major physical changes (not yet revealed) before the family can figure out a way to reach her.

2. I’m not sure if you mean jump scared in a bad/triggering or neutral way, but if you need me to tag anything on those posts please let me know!

The glimpses of the future timeline, are being scattered throughout wherever they parallel the present story in little ways, but that’s only for now. As we get closer to the movie plot, bigger chunks of the future will be revealed, because the future versions of the boys will have a larger role to play in the present timeline. So we will need more backstory than what the canon got. And also I just enjoy drawing my future versions so sometimes I don’t think too hard on a reason. I just like throwing them at ppl with no warning or reason.

When s2 ends, I plan on collecting all the future related stuff that’s been released, and recapping it for easier reading. Right now, it’s just little sprinkles of foreshadowing to give ppl an idea that, ‘oh crap. The doomed timeline is a bummer’. In my mind, I guess i thought it’d be kinda like a fun scavenger hunt for clues, but maybe ppl don’t like that 😅

3. All of the side-stories were written as the main comic was/is being released. A lot of them resulted from asks that just spawned the need to expand on certain ideas, or a desire to give all the turtles their time to shine.

For instance, when I was doing Donnie’s section of the main comic, it was a good few months where we hardly saw anyone but him and Venus. I wanted to just mix it up, and give Raph some love with his ‘Raph Time’ short. When Leo was front and center in the main, we hardly saw the others, so Mikey and Donnie got their little ‘Secrets’ short (and it was also I fun thank you for EW making it so far in the tmnt sep competition).

4. Anything that has been reworked/revised or just plain dropped should have an ‘Edit’ note because yes—I have gone back and changed some things, but more so from the asks i got in the early days, and some movie idea drafts.

All the short comics done in the last year, especially the ones that are listed in my pinned post, are canon and fall somewhere in the timeline. They’re like supplemental reading though—extra meat to give the world and the characters more personality. They do have particular backstory plot and important info in them, but nothing that shouldn’t eventually be re-visited/repeated in the main story.

um I hope that cleared up some things! I know it’s kind of a crazy amount of lore. I’ve tried my best to organize it in the pinned post, huge timeline, and search bar tags, but I know it’s getting harder and harder for newer ppl to jump in as it just get bigger. Thanks for reading regardless!

[cinnamonic-thoughts]

@ crane wives and marauders fans:

The parallel between Tongues and Teeth

and Never Love An Anchor

feels so significant when applied to the Black brothers' situation. Both Sirius and Regulus came out of their ancestral home with the feeling that everything they touched would rot just because of the exposure to their darkness, approaching relationships the same way. That's the same mindset that the singers of both Tongues And Teeth and Never Love An Anchor possess.

The singer of Tongues And Teeth goes into detail about what they think will happen with their potential lover with them from the start, warning them of the danger of just Existing near them. The song is from the present tense of the situation, as they're in the middle of making the decision to give in to indulgence. They jump into things, impulsively and headfirst. They can't hold back, even though they know the consequences. If it's okay with their new lover, it's okay with them.

Meanwhile, in Never Love An Anchor, the singer talks about the situation from far in the future, if they had instead decided to stay away. If the singer had never given in to the temptation, and had let their "rotting" mindset keep them on that track. It talks about the grief you feel over the knowledge that loving you only brings awful things, and that staying away is the kindest thing to do even though it hurts so much. The situation is long over, and the singer is left wondering if they're hated, or even remembered.

Tongues and Teeth is written about the same kind of experience that Sirius has in every goddamn Wolfstar fic, and there are so many unrequited and avoiding love Regulus Black fics that Never Love An Anchor feels like an obvious fit, especially with Jegulus. Tongues and Teeth represents Sirius in that he lives his Life like this song. He can't hold back how much he wants and feels, so he talks back to his parents, gets sorted into the house his parents absolutely Hated, he constantly verbalizes his hatred for his family and all of the darkness they represent, I could go on and on. At the same time, he feels that he is stained by that same darkness and that he can't ever escape its presence in the lives of those he loves. He just doesn't want to have to hold everything back, so, just like the song, "if you're fine with that, can be mine like that," he'd want to have it like That. Him and Remus are so often characterized in fanon as being so magnetic to each other, causing them to clash just as often as they come together. They think they'll ruin each other because of the darkness they possess, but Sirius especially tends to put Remus on a pedestal of goodness, like the singer does to their potential lover.

Regulus Black's name is somewhat synonymous with tragedy in fanon. Whether it's the "no beta we die like regulus black in the cave" tags for shock value, the black brothers angst in everything from major fics to tiny headcanons, or the unrequited love for either James or Barty that permeates most Regulus Black media, he's a character that doesn't ever really get a break. Never Love An Anchor and the grief it represents feels relevant to him when the subject is Sirius or James, but I'll stick to James (keeping it romantic with the Wolfstar/Tongues and Teeth comparison). I'm a Choices coward (couldn't make myself finish it, I got too sad), but the "person on the dark side can't leave it but can't stop loving someone they have to protect from it" trope is still pretty common amongst Jegulus fics. Whether or not the love is requited, it doesn't change the mentality that Regulus always uses to approach it. "I am selfish, I am broken, I am cruel." His darkness is the reason he never lets himself get close. In the cases where he does get close, he cuts it off to avoid inevitably hurting the one he loves, the epitome of Light and happiness that he thinks he doesn't deserve, James Potter. Honestly, thinking about the two of them while listening to the last bit in the lyrics (scroll back up to read) is a painful experience but it just fits so well.

I think both songs apply to their respective Black brothers very well individually, but it's also such a good comparison to see how their upbringing affected them. Sirius was always the impulsive, headstrong one so Regulus wouldn't have to be, and this is a direct result. They have the same beliefs about themselves but it manifests so differently because of how their environment shaped them.

I've been having brainrot about these two songs and how they relate to the Black Brothers for over a month at this point, so I hope somebody else appreciates how much I've thought about this thank you <333

[decaflondonfog]

writerly ephemera

a few years back my darling friend @the-starryknight started a tag game inspired by a chat we had in a writing server regarding all the little personal details we add to our art. humans hold so many things close to their hearts without even realising, memories, artefacts, places, turns of phrase... lots of precious little bits and bobs i adore! recently i had a chat with the lovely @billdenbrough about the familiar fear of putting a little too much of yourself into a character — when do you cross the self-insert line? but also, aren’t these the things that make our characters human? which got me thinking about starry's tag game. so i've decided to bring it back! here's how we're doing it:

✨ share some bits little bits of you, easter eggs, memories, etc. you have left scattered in your fics or art. if you fancy it, tag a pal. ✨

i apologise in advance for the ridiculous amount of yapping you’re about to read aaaand here are some silly little mari-isms i’ve let bleed into my writing:

🏡 "The house is a ridiculous thing that could easily sleep a whole Exy team, but when Kevin questions it, all Andrew does is shrug and say, “This wasn’t exactly planned, it’s the best I could find with the time I had.”"

geometric equilibrium has a few mari-isms in it. abby's house is based on my friend emma's house too but this feels the most relevant: the house in Asheville is based on a place i stayed in a couple of years ago! the real life one isn't in Asheville, though it is in NC. i spent a really happy week there with friends and it just popped into my head when i was writing this fic. the setup of the rooms (kevin's and andreil's being across the landing from each other) was useful for what i want to write (as well as the bathroom placement!) so i just ran with it.

🪩 “…the faded band t-shirt two sizes too big that the redhead has tucked into a leather mini skirt. Instead of the usual pair of boots, Neil’s wearing a pair of platform sneakers in black and white.”

ahhhhh kaleidoscope :’) the fic where i genderbent all the monsters and then turned neil into my wee dress up doll! all of neil’s outfits were based on stuff i own and this particular one was a fave during my clubbing days. the only thing i didn’t own when i wrote this fic were the black and white trainers which i now own hahaha

🛁 “Bitty cuts himself a generous slice of pie and eats it in the bath.”

i haven’t lived in a house with a bath for three years and i miss it dearly. i used to have pudding and booze in the bath on hard days and it was super therapeutic — honestly i was just living vicariously through bitty in growing pains

🌸 “There, in the corner, not covered by the laundry that Kevin didn’t put away, is a vintage armchair (…) It’s pink, with old, spoiled velvet, and half of the fringes at the bottom of the chair missing.”

approximately eight years ago i walked past an antique shop and fell in love with a pink velvet toad chair with a wee fringe at the bottom. i didn’t think i could afford it but told my partner i was going to try and convince the shop to let me rent it for a photoshoot. i got home after work one day and my partner had bought it for me 🥹 that chair has now been with us in four houses across three countries and used to be one of my late dog’s favourite nap spots. (the fact that i let kandrew desecrate the chair completely in do not disturb the cats was… a choice lmaooooo)

🪡 “Jean comes back to California after five weeks with the Foxes with his hair slightly too long and falling into his eyes, a smattering of fresh freckles over the bridge of his nose, and a new hobby.”

oh this might just be my favourite! when i saw @alcego’s prompt for t&n last year i kneeeeew it had to be mine. giving my Sad Wet Cat blorbo all of my craft hobbies? what a delight! the best part is that out of all the crafts i made him try in transferable skills, book binding (arguably the main one) is the one i never tried

does anyone want to share? i'll pass this along to the folks tagged above and also @vykio @rwnjun @storiesnstardust @greenautumnleaves @djhedy @thetrojeans @seasy33 @nanatsuyu and @sillyunicorn ❣️

[kaylinalexanderbooks]

Get to Know the Writer Questionnaire

Taking the open tags from @the-golden-comet here and @illarian-rambling here!

Rules: answer the questions!

Basics

How long have you had your writing Tumblr/Writeblr? A fast and loose estimate is fine!

I think it was November of 2022.

What led you to create it?

Twitter was going down so I moved elsewhere.

What’s your favorite thing about the Writeblr community?

The engagement and overall positivity! I was surprised how welcoming everyone was, and how touched I was when people gave compliments and how excited I was when people expressed interest!

What’s one thing you’d like your mutuals to know about you?

Well I'm always open to chat about whatever though I do have mild social anxiety. I'm always hyper analyzing whether I did something wrong or whatever. So if I come across as awkward I'm trying my best but I am always being genuine!

Is there anything you’d like to see more of on your dash?

Hm. This is a hard one. I guess I just wish I saw more interaction and engagement in people's work? Idk, it's always there, and I love seeing it, but having full conversations about each other's OCs and WIPs aren't as common. So idk more of that!

WIPs

Which WIPs or writing projects are you noodling about, lately?

Mainly I'm working on TSP but occasionally I'll dip my toes into SOTL again. Whenever I get an idea for a side project I barely have anything for, I'll write it down and get obsessed with it for a while.

And I also have a side project where I write reviews and analyses of TV shows or movies but I haven't gone back to it in a while despite having live notes of several movies and TV episodes in drafts.

How long have you been working on them?

TSP - spring of 2013, technically

SOTL - first came into my brain I think 2014-2015 but the first draft was 2015-2016

The first media analyses I wrote were in 2019 I think.

Do you remember what inspired them/what got you started?

TSP - I liked fairies as a kid due to the Rainbow Magic series, but thought I was too old for fairies so when I was assigned to write a fictional story I wrote about kids with powers

SOTL - I loved different takes on fairy tales due to The Land of Stories and wanted to write my own

Analyses - getting Disney+ because I unironically had always wanted to review every single Disney movie so I did. It extended after I watched two seasons of DC's Titans (the live action one) and I hated it so much I shat out 10k+ words in a single fever driven day

How much time, in your best estimation, do you spend thinking about them?

Pretty often, I'd think, unless I'm deep in a hyperfixation stage of an existing show.

When someone asks the dreaded, “What do you write about,” question, what do you usually say?

"Fantasy mostly."

Name any characters you created.  Side characters, protagonists, antagonists, characters who’ve never been written, the first original abomination you ever pulled from your ass; whomever you’d like!

For TSP the characters I've put any effort into characterizing include: Lexi Morgan, Maddie Morgan, Ash Hathaway, Gwen Amante, Noelle Bishop, Rose Hernandez, Kelsey Newman, Robbie Stafford, Akash Singh, Jedi Moon, Carmen Asghar, Carla Baxter, George Baxter, Liam Beaumont, Ewan Traeger, Jazlyn Nyambura, Wade Attwood, Parker Cassidy, Tyler Nakashima, Gabriel Medina, Niri Shyaka, Sam Stafford, Hye-Jin Song, Alex Vaughn, Issa Johansen, CJ Reynolds, Wendy Amante, Anathi Makeba, Teo Nguyen, Xitlali Zepahua, Atsila McLain, and Raissa Kamanzi. Everyone else is insignificant.

For SOTL, I have so many OCs I have no idea who the relevant ones will be. So far, the most are Jack McDonald, Tierney Wayne, Úrsula Lobo, Beau Bellerose, and Bai Xue. Again, so far. I have so many characters for this it's not even funny.

And then there's the others from my other works but I'll stop there.

Who’s the most unhinged?

I'm not entirely sure who's the most. Parker is the most chaotic but Carmen is just the character, y'know? Jack I give whoever I want and Zainab of SOTL is pretty insane.

Who comes the most naturally for you to write?

Probably Robbie, honestly. The way his brain works and goes on random tangents is very similar to me. He's like if I was extraverted sometimes.

Do you ever cringe at them?

All the time.

How much control do you feel you have over your characters?  AKA, do they ever “write themselves,” refuse to cooperate, or do things you didn’t expect? To what degree? Are some less cooperative than others?

I only have minimum control. I decide what to do with them but then they say "how about this instead?" And I listen to them all the time. Ash is the most uncooperative one, though. But Noelle has been given me trouble recently. She's told me I need to change her role in Part One. It's frustrating. But awesome.

Interaction

Do you enjoy people asking questions about your characters? And do you have a preferred means of receiving said questions? For example, as Asks, as replies, as reblogs, as tag notes, as comments on AO3, etc.

YES YES YES YES YES YES YES I love questions about my characters!! And no I don't have a preference, although AO3 would be hard because I don't have an account. Any way of interacting with me that you can, I love to hear the comments!

What makes you want to follow another Writeblr account? Do you follow ‘em as you see ‘em, or take time scoping out the blog to make sure you align with its content? Do you follow based on WIPs, or vibes? What makes you decide against following?

I do check the bio and scroll through their blog to see if there's anything I don't like or stands out as stuff. Sometimes it's a writeblr in the bio but I don't see any WIP posting so I don't follow.

Do you interact with non-mutuals often?

Yep! Constantly. Sometimes I forget people aren't mutuals.

Do your mutuals’ characters occupy space in your noodle?

Honestly @illarian-rambling's characters are amazing and I finished her manuscript of Mortal God for beta reading and it was awesome.

Tagging @elsie-writes @mk-writes-stuff @leahnardo-da-veggie @mysticstarlightduck @drchenquill

+ ANYONE ELSE

Blanks under cut

How long have you had your writing Tumblr/Writeblr? A fast and loose estimate is fine! What led you to create it? What’s your favorite thing about the Writeblr community? What’s one thing you’d like your mutuals to know about you? Is there anything you’d like to see more of on your dash? Which Works-in-Progress (WIPs) or writing projects are you noodling about, lately? How long have you been working on them? Do you remember what inspired them/what got you started? How much time, in your best estimation, do you spend thinking about them? When someone asks the dreaded, “What do you write about,” question, what do you usually say? Name any characters you created.  Side characters, protagonists, antagonists, characters who’ve never been written, the first original abomination you ever pulled from your ass; whomever you’d like! Who’s the most unhinged? Who comes the most naturally for you to write? Do you ever cringe at them? How much control do you feel you have over your characters?  AKA, do they ever “write themselves,” refuse to cooperate, or do things you didn’t expect? To what degree? Are some less cooperative than others? Do you enjoy people asking questions about your characters? And do you have a preferred means of receiving said questions? For example, as Asks, as replies, as reblogs, as tag notes, as comments on AO3, etc. What makes you want to follow another Writeblr account? Do you follow ‘em as you see ‘em, or take time scoping out the blog to make sure you align with its content? Do you follow based on WIPs, or vibes? What makes you decide against following? Do you interact with non-mutuals often? Do your mutuals’ characters occupy space in your noodle?

[gremlintooth]

AHHHGH DUDE, IVE FINALLY FOUND YOU ON HERE, YESSSS BRO, YOUR WRITING IS PHENOMENAL, (I'd say I'm the biggest lagwafis enthusiast on the internet, as soon as i read lagwafis, I bought the CD, the collectors edition pill pack white shirt, I have so so so many quotes on my Craig Tucker Shrine from the fic, and if you wanted to know, I've currently managed to read lagwafis 388 times, people believe I know it by heart, get it? "I know you by heart, Tweek" and the agonizing fact I quote lagwafis every day whenever I see a brink of reference infront of me, like let's say yesterday, I was in a store- and I saw a tub of chai latte and I was so close to screaming lagwafis reference inside of the store, I'm also cooking up some fan art (specifically from coming home) so I'll totally tag you when it's out) AHHH I'M GONNA WRITE SO MUCH ON HERE IT MIGHT GO TO THE LIMIT, okay so first, let's talk about the fanfic itself, there are SO many tiny details in this fic that have either made me laugh or cry in agony, which is a good thing, also, the characterization is TOP TIER, a lot of fanfictions tend to fall slightly short on the background characters outside of the pairing that tends to be the main focus. This was a great change, especially in Craig's group and Stan especially, everyone felt so real and totally had obvious quirks from the fandom itself that I LOVED SO MUCH, your writing evokes so much emotion that I somehow managed to feel exactly how everyone felt in a chapter relevant to them.

Let's talk about the character description choices, the way you described Tweek in almost every chapter made my heart ache in the best way possible, you made him sound like a fallen angel, the definition of ethereal, also the fact you decided on giving him that mouth scar with backstory to it is TOP TIER, I have a similar scar on my lip and whenever I see it in the mirror I think of Tweek from this fanfic, let's move on to Craig, the way you wrote his internal monologue and the way his emotions played out made me absolutely soul crushed, this entire fic left a deep pit in my heart, especially how Craig was described, Craig was written so realistically that it actually felt like he was real. He purposely blocked off his emotions to prevent himself from being seen as vulnerable, he struggled with keeping his “I don’t give a shit” personality until it all just exploded and the part that he was so vulnerable with was exposed to the entire school.

Also I see that the lagwafis anniversary is coming up soon!! I usually celebrate it every year when I get the chance to, by doing lagwafis related things and shit, this fanfic deserves way more than just kudos and comments and hits, this fic deserves the damn world and beyond, I even had literal dreams of this fic being one day announced to be an animated movie, and if it ever did I would cry and vomit in the best way ever possible, my life would be so complete if we became moots on here, also, I'm not sure if you have TikTok, but that's where I'm most known to being the lagwafis enthusiast on there, i make a lot of lagwafis related videos, my username is spacecadetcraigz, if you ever see this at some point, just know im so grateful you took your time to read through this.

I literally wish you the best life for now on

Yours truly,

Spacecadetcraig

388 times????? That’s true dedication my friend, you must read it like twice a week? Incredible, I’m so glad you enjoy something I wrote this much. I’m also so glad you love the album by Spiritualised too, it’s such a special album and there’s something so perfect about the title track that I’ve never been able to shake.

I didn’t even realise the anniversary was coming up, thanks for reminding me! It’s so weird to think I started writing that story six years ago. At that time I’d been catching up with South Park and when I first saw the Tweek X Craig episode it was my new favourite thing from the first minute in.

An animated movie would be amazing, Matt and Trey give us the rights pls, free of charge if possible (they’d so try for another billion dollar deal ahahahah)

I’m going to check you out on tiktok and if you do make fanart please tag me! I’d love to see!

[bcbdrums]

Given the fact that we were talking about our perceptions of certain kinds of ships in regards to Stein and how they suit or do not suit his character, how do you feel about smut/the relationship dynamics within Stein x character smut fics?

All righty then...! Here comes a very long rambling of my headcanons about Stein, his two primary relationships, and his relationship with those deeper intimacies. This takes some turns before it gets to the main point but well, I love talking about this man. Extremely long post under the cut.

Also - there are two blogs I tag at the very end of this post - you two feel free to ignore all my ramblings, just know I praise you both at the end and I still re-read your Soul Eater stories VERY regularly.

I'm truthfully still trying to reorganize my thoughts on this specific topic because 1) I have listened to many a headcanon from others on the subject and I always try to give validity to their thoughts even when they differ from mine, and 2) I've also read tons of smut fic with Stein out of sheer desperation for...well, Stein fic. (Come on Stein fandom where you at? Write me some gen fic too, lol)

I have not read too many fics of him with Marie cuz those always contain manga spoilers so I'm skipping those for now until I finish reading (exactly halfway through!). So what I've read is mostly Stein/Spirit smuts and just a couple with Marie, and I want to say….almost zero?? I think zero of those fics (and boy I've read plenty) have "hit the spot" in terms of what I would want for a Stein smut. They're good stories, in some cases great stories, well-written and thoughtfully conceived, but they're not fitting my headcanons and interpretations of who I see onscreen (and who I see in the manga so far).

All that said now… Some of my own relevant headcanons for him, and then I'll get more into fic of others.

I go back and forth toying with the idea that Stein experimented with intimacy just a little as a teen. He's not immune to puberty and hormones; he's human whether he likes it or not, which isn't to say mind over matter doesn't work for him. (Clearly it does, in staving off madness among other things.) But he's a scientist. He's curious. And I can see him justifying an experiment or two in his teen years. But they would in fact be just that, experiments. It's still a big maybe. I can't say for certain he would, it's the sort of thing like…if all the dots line up just right, he'd attempt it. If not, he wouldn't. And it would only be with those two people: Marie and/or Spirit. He doesn't trust anyone else enough. (Yes, I'm on board with the popular fanon that Marie was one of his other weapon partners after Spirit.)

Another teen headcanon... I can also easily see a sort of angsty distraction possibility for him. When he loses Spirit to Kami, I can see him getting into a "romantic" relationship with Marie as sheer distraction, and even misguided retaliation. Spirit "cheated" on him with another meister and abandoned him, so why shouldn't he do the same with another weapon? Which sucks for Marie but well she's not healthy about relationships any more than Stein or Spirit are. But this is just another sort of maybe-thought; another situation where all the dots would have to line up just right for him to go for it. But I can see it, no question, just like the prior thought.

As for Stein as an adult, at the point we see him in the show… While I think relationally he and Spirit have the most interesting dynamic to explore, the one he shows more openness toward is Marie. It's clear that he cares for her. And he doesn't fully understand that either. Now I don't think he wants to get into bed with her, or marry her, or anything traditional to a romance. But I also don't think Marie is going anywhere. Thinking post-anime now…. Unless he gives her a sign that there is nothing between them, I think she's staying put. But sadly for her, I think there is something between them... Sadly because, Stein doesn't know what it is, and it's not "love" the way that Marie wants it. It's just something he's unfamiliar with. Meanwhile she's devoted to him, poor woman.

Now, end of the anime… Let's talk about this…. Marie helps him back to sanity with her healing wavelength. But…then he's just "okay"? No he isn't. Look at that man. His dark circles are darker, his eyes are more haunted. That man has been living off madness and cigarettes for weeks. When is the last time he ate anything? Showered? Legitimately got any sleep?? How he's even standing up let alone fighting Medusa is beyond me, and then he performs freaking major surgery and then waltzes into the death room afterward like he's fine. Because...that's who Stein is.

Stein will fight until he is incapable of fighting anymore, to serve those he loves. Yes I said loves. And it is agonizing how much he strives to show his love for others, and it's something he doesn't even realize he has within him. He thinks he can't understand love? It's because he feels it so deeply and passionately it's beyond definition. Part of this however I'm also certain is motivated from his deep desire for purpose as an adult. The manga shows that aspect of his character even more-so than the anime (in what I've read so far). That man is desperate for purpose and to belong somewhere, with someone. He can't escape his human nature even if he doesn't understand it, can't define it, and even though it drives him crazy all on its own…

So bringing this back to Marie… End of the anime. I don't think Marie is leaving. She's gonna stay, help nurse Stein back to health and sanity despite his pretending he's fine (or perhaps even sheer ignorance of his condition), and Stein…is gonna be confused the whole dang time about his feelings for Marie. He knows he feels something but he has no idea what it is or how to process it. But "love" in the romantic sense he doesn't possibly consider, because well...his conceptions of that sort of thing aren't based in anything healthy (see: Spirit's relationships).

So yeah… She's not leaving. He won't reject her attentions because he does care about her, just not in a way he understands and also not in the way she wants. And as she starts to realize that he has some kind of feeling for her, I think she'd turn up the romance and she'd make a move on him. OR…she'd play the extremely...long...patient game, and wait for him to make a move on her, when it's within his comfort zone. And let me be clear… This man still does not know what love is in this traditional sense, does not understand love. He knows what physical attraction and hormones are and darn him he can't shake those either, but as an adult he wouldn't act impulsively on them nor would he confuse them with love. Stein is the ultimate master of mind over matter. If he were to sleep with her, it would be a choice; a decision he makes consciously and deliberately. I see this within the realms of possibility. But if he chooses it himself, if he's the one who makes that decision simply out of his wanting to…it would be a long, long time that that woman is waiting for him. But I do think it possible. The question is simply, how long will she wait. And she's also the type to try to stir things up (see: her behavior toward Joe in the manga). So who knows when they may end up in bed together... These dots are more complicated to align than those of his teenage years. And if Marie made the move first...I think he'd accept it. Because, see again, his wanting to belong with someone, and he knows he feels something different with Marie.

As for Spirit, well... Stein sees that Spirit likes women. And Stein sees that Spirit can't commit. I think Stein "loves" Spirit more than he loves Marie. First love, young love... Spirit is the relationship of his life, even though that's yet another thing he cannot possibly understand. I think that while part of him, the mad obsessive part, and the curious part, does want to be close to Spirit in the intimate way…it's not out of a healthy desire or even typical motivations. It would come from a desire to possess, from his deeply human but inexplicable yearning to be closer to the one he loves even though it's not the right type of love for that type of intimacy. Not really sure Spirit would be all-in if Stein were to make the move... I think Spirit would take persuading. It's another circumstance where all the dots have to line up just right, and in this case probably more while caught up in madness than in sanity. Because as previously mentioned… In his right mind, Stein knows that Spirit likes women and more importantly that Spirit cannot commit. And he's ironically smart enough to know not to attempt a traditional human romance with someone who cannot commit. I don't think Stein would himself attempt intimacy with Spirit in his right mind at all, unless something happened to make him utterly desperate not to lose the man... Another instance of, all those dots have to connect.

But ugh, the angst. Spirit abandoned him after five years... Stein is not going to willingly subject himself to possible heartbreak again. Plus, he does not think Spirit has forgiven him for the "experiments." I think he thinks Spirit only hangs around him now as an adult as his handler, despite desperately wanting his friendship again. But I think he figures it's a lost cause so he just takes what is offered and never pursues more.

Okay but before I digress further into my endless thoughts about Stein's and Spirit's relationship (I'll do another post for that maybe), back to the point of your question.

I am really not one for labels, partially because I don't understand them but also because I think the spectrum is just so deep and too much defies definition. But if I were to label him, I guess I'd go with...gray ace with demi leanings…?

The man is driven only by curiosity, about anything and everything. But the level of intimacy we're talking about is more than he ever wants to trust anyone with. It's always gotta be on his terms, and more often than not…his terms would be unhealthy.

So let's talk about what shows up in fanfic, since that was what the original question was about. And once again, I like to lend validity to everyone's interpretation. Just because it isn't mine doesn't mean it's wrong or shouldn't exist. But you did ask about MY thoughts, so that's what I'm sharing here.

Once again, I've barely touched Stein/Marie fic because I'm avoiding manga spoilers. In the one or two I've seen, he comes across as not connecting emotionally in the typical way, but knowing that there is indeed something different about being with her. He knows she cares about him, and he cares in return. But it doesn't come across as anything intimate on his side of it. This isn't a characterization I particularly like, because Stein as an adult... As I said, I think he'd choose that intimacy if and when he wants it. In the stories, it comes across more as him just doing her a favor, just going along. It doesn't sit right. But like I said, that's only two stories. For other Stein/Marie, I reserve opinion for later.

Stein/Spirit... Okay. I've noticed a great many commonalities in the fics I've read. And this isn't a taste or preference thing; like I said I have devoured almost every smut fic just in desperation for any fanfic of them. Would prefer more gen fic less smut personally, but anyway.

Most fics have Stein in the dominant role, Spirit in the submissive role. I understand that interpretation but it's not how I see them. I see them as equals if they were to get into that type of intimacy. There is often a lot of bloodplay, frequently madness on Stein's part, major instances of non-con, pet play, BDSM, sometimes light cannibalism... It all suggests an impersonal and unhealthy relationship most of the time, which again...is not at all how I see them if they were to become a couple. Could such things come about? Unhealthily, possibly. But darn me and my desire for happy endings.

These two men are so broken, that if they were to become a healthy couple...I feel like it would be slow, cautious...extremely hesitant. There is extreme distrust on both sides, and also misconceptions about how the other feels. Which...I will save that analysis for later. Focusing back on smut fic.

I have seen only a few that touch on the give and take in a trusting relationship (all by the same author) that come closest to what I feel is accurate to the characters onscreen as I see them, but still the emphasis is too much on lust. It still isn't hitting the spot for me due to a lack of that relational development... Make no mistake, the stories are great, but I personally am hoping for something much deeper.

In my view, Stein just does not seek out physical intimacy in that way. I don't think he can fully escape the innate human need for touch, but in terms of a drive to get into bed with anyone... I think the occasional human desire for it crops up, and he easily ignores it/packs it away because it's not useful to him. It doesn't bother him. He doesn't think about it.

So this is where that...gray-ace, demi vibe comes into play for my view of him. Talking about Stein here as an adult and in control of himself, not consumed by madness... This is I supposed a bit of a summation of my thoughts.

If he did get into a relationship with anyone (and again I think his only choices are Spirit and Marie), it would not be based on the physical at all. I also don't think he would rush into any relationship. It would be a long process before he trusted the person enough to consider them a romantic partner. And really, we could get away from the word romance entirely... Life-partner is a better word, in Stein's case. If the person wanted physical intimacies, I think he would be responsive to that. The other person would be in the lead, but in no way dominating. It would have to be an equal trust thing or else Stein would nope out hard. Stein would gradually learn what it is he likes physically, and how to give his partner what they want. He can come to enjoy it because this is his life-partner, the one he belongs with, the one who needs him and is part of his purpose. But again...the physical is not something that drives him at all. Not in how I see him portrayed onscreen or in the manga.

So, overall, in my point of view nearly all smut fics miss the mark. Now...the stories I've seen where I think the physical intimacy is nailed don't even get to smut. Those are the stories by @asymmetryestablished (AO3 NothingSoDivine) and their characterizations of Stein and Spirit defy description in any words I have. The other author who nails it is @wispforever (same on AO3) and the closest to physical intimacy they get is dancing, but my gosh still the characterizations are utter perfection. I will be re-reading y'all's Stein/Spirit stories forever.

I hope I did in fact answer your question, but overall, I was delighted to just spill out so many of my thoughts about Stein even if in summary form. Yes this was a summary... Okay. I'm done. Thanks.

[thecactifindahome]

Tbh, I kind of can imagine that? Maybe bevause I watched the show first and shortly after finishing it I went to the books... But I get what you're saying and I'm ready for him to fight back and even snap if he wants to. Have you reas New Tales of the Vampires and Mayfair Witches too? Do you like them? I've decided to read all of them at least once, just to understand more of this universe as a whole and then re-read the ones that are relevant to the show and/or I enjoyed the most. I finished Pandora yesterday and now I'm around 80 pages into Blood and Gold. I loved the former, B&G is too early to tell, but I admit Marius is not my favorite, so who knows... But I'm excited to see Pandora and Bianca again, including any appearance of Armand, even if it's brief. I struggled with Memnoch, but the chapter he was in was 100% chef's kiss 0 notes from me. 😍 Anyway, why do you feel that way about Rolin? Has he said anything frustrating? I haven't seen many interviews yet, and the few I have, it's mostly with the actors. I see people's interpretations of his interviews on the tag all the time, but I've seen so much distortion and stuff taken out of context on other fandoms before that I want to fact-check first. And I will eventually, it's just that right now I'm prioritizing the books because I'm sick of seeing different opinions all the time and not being able to join book discourse. 😅 But I believe it would be creative suicide to waste the potential of such compelling characters, specially someone as rich in terms of baggage and development as Armand. His arc is so eventful and touching that he could have his own show with 10 seasons and 200 episodes tbh. And don't worry about Tumblr being weird and the late reply, I just enjoy chatting, whenever that happens. I can take long to reply too, so I get it. For me getting a proper answer is better than a fast one. It's all good. 💗

I'm going to be wailing and tearing my hair if we don't see him having fun while committing some terrible harm next season 🥺 Getting ready to hunt Malik isn't enough, I need him to tear somebody's scalp off for no real reason except that he likes their hair.

I've read Pandora and Vittorio, although I have to admit Vittorio left no impression on me whatsoever and I couldn't tell you anything about it except that there were no returning characters in it, lol. But Pandora is great! It's kind of revelatory to see who she was before the catatonic despair, she's so fiery and alive, and funny and rude. The only downside is that it makes seeing her so dead inside later on sad ): I read The Witching Hour a thousand years ago, too, but it didn't really grab me. I didn't dislike it as such, I just didn't click with it. It might have just been bias due to hating the witch/vampire crossovers so much, though ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Blood and Gold is compelling to me, even if there are some things that make me grind my teeth pretty hard (Bianca got such a raw fucking deal, and oh my god the theater era, I'll basically accept not trying to get him out of the cult due to fear/shame/Akasha but there’s no reason not to send him a letter like 'Hey Amadeo, I'm alive, glad you made it out'). But he's got a lot of depth to his character, and he makes it pretty clear that he knows why he keeps ending up alone. And as a Roman history enjoyer*, Marius' idealization of Rome is exactly what you'd expect from an Augustan era wannabe-patrician (his half-Gaulish ass was definitionally a plebeian). Is it distasteful to the modern reader? Absolutely! But that was a highly typical perspective then.

Rolin Jones, well, I'll say two things: his fixation on everything having to serve loustat is starting to warp the basic sense and structure of the show, and reading the s2e8 script made me realize that he does too much cocaine. I don't think he has a clear vision of the show beyond romance and badass moments, I think the other writers are the ones trying to do something more. And like...how many times does he have to say that Daniel’s turning was spiteful and will never be shown before people believe him? Why would he keep downplaying and trying to manage expectations for D/M, a highly popular and acclaimed aspect of the books, if he actually intends to spend much time on it? Why would he try to unhype his own show? I'm at work so it's hard to dredge up citations, but his choices themselves are indicative imo.

Oh, I know what you mean, some people are incredibly dishonest, or maybe just delusional, about the book content. Or maybe I'm being ungenerous and they make these grand declarations because they sincerely don't understand what they just read, who knows? But people will tell you nonsense like that Lestat never loved Armand, which is simply a stupid thing to say, because they're pathologically insecure about their otp and try to establish themself as such an authority that nobody feels the need to see for themselves. Mad respect to you for going to the books 😊

*Not that kind of Roman history enjoyer, of course, it was a dumpster fire that is a far better cautionary tale than anything to admire and only a lunatic would try to emulate ancient Rome. But god damn, it's fascinating.

[sambambucky]

writing pattern tag!

Rules: Share the opening of your last ten published works or as many as you are able and see if there are any patterns!

😇 'ello and thank you for tagging me @crepuscularqueens !!! idk who is still doing these, bt i'll never be annoyed over getting tagged

to be good for you (would be the end of me)

Three superheroes, a dozen Shield agents, a deacon, and a self-proclaimed witch all leave the conference room while Steve stays in his chair, stewing.

too many white lies (and white lines)

Sam’s kissed a lot of people, but Bucky’s tongue in his mouth is a revelation. It’s been forever since he’s wanted to kiss someone like this, aimless and idle. Exploring for the hell of it, pressing into all the little places that make him gasp and moan, just because he wants to, because he can. 

a fair day's work

Sam zones out as Walker talks, trying to identify the smudges on the plexiglass between them. There’s a greasy quality to them, but the shape and position don’t make any sense if they’re just fingerprints.

sorta weird, kinda nice

This mission is a weird one.

the sum of every moment

For most of Sam’s life, it seemed like the only person to ever leave Delacroix was his brother, Gideon. And like the rest of his family, Sam couldn’t understand why anyone would want to abandon everyone to go somewhere and be lonely. Why would anyone leave the state and everything they knew just for something as boring as a job?

the impossible weight of maybe

“Settle a bet for me, will ya big guy?”

what're you gonna do, put me in time out?

Bucky tracks Peter’s loop around the crowded gymnasium, and decides to leave him his space for now. The six-year-old is running around in a broad figure eight, an elaborate paper airplane held proud and high above his head. Bucky can’t help the grin that settles onto his face, but he can keep his arms crossed and one foot propped up against the wall he’s been leaning against.

i'm only trying to get you home

Sam’s birthday party starts in a handful of hours and Bucky’s completely failed at getting him a present — hasn’t even picked up a card. He’s been stressing for over a week, and now he’s absolutely run out of time to do anything special.

we won't look too closely

Sam finally catches his breath from laughing. When his breath settles into something manageable, he shares a winded smile with Bucky on the other side of the jacuzzi.

patterns of recognition

The Asset is assigned a new mission. The files outline all relevant details and compulsory results.

okok... patterns....... i'm seeing commas, so many commas, i love you commas,,, also idk i love just dropping in. theres that old post about how fan fic is so fun because you dont have to do as much worldbuilding or character explaining and i think about that all the time and i think that shows in these openings

tagggginggggg........ @writerkenna, @questinwitchface, who else... is... if you want to be tagged babey youre tagged!

[quordleona03]

Fic Writer 2023 Review

I got this from @jaelijn, who generously tagged me - 30 questions about my fic writing through this year.

I hope for a better 2024 for all of us.

What’s something new that you tried in a fic this year? How did it turn out and would you do it again?

I wrote the first three chapters - well, I can hardly say "wrote" - of a fandom fusion - Blake's 7 scripts with MAS*H characters replacing them. To find them funny - even to know what's going on - you would have to be simultaneously a B7 fan and a MASH fan. Judging by the response on AO3, I would say there are about four such. Maybe less. I probably won't finish it - though anything's possible - and I doubt very much if I'll do anything like that again. The problem was that it was not very creative, but even so, it took up a fair amongt of time.

2. How many fics did you work on this year? (They don’t have to be finished or published!)

I wrote about 211,000 words of All We Know - pretty steadily through the year. I was writing the September 1962 section last January, and I'm writing the April 1963 section now. I'm publishing chronologically, so the section I'm working on now will be posted in April 2024 - after being proofread, edited, beta-read, edited, and so on.

I also completed three MASH stories - Crabapple Cove, Major Heart, Under the Apple Tree, and one Star Trek story, Kirk and Spock's First Kiss. M*A*S*H works in progress include Rosary, Nurse Doctor, MirrorMASH, and another strange crossover, Buffy the Vampire Slayer And Her Gay Foster Dads.

And there's Gray-Eyes, which is something else again.

3. What’s something you learned about yourself as a writer?

All We Know is easily the longest story I've ever written. I found that I can hold a story that length inside of my head and my heart, and keep writing it - and be confident I'll finish it. I found, too, that I do a lot of my writing inside my head before I sit down and stare at the screen. This last I always knew, I suppose, but now I really know it.

4. What piece of media inspired you the most?

Well, M*A*S*H, of course. Some lovely soul managed to upload All The MASH Episodes to the Internet Archive in such a way that they went unnoticed for over a year. (They are now gone- helpful people on the very public Mash subreddit started posting links to them, and whaddya know, once declared publicly, they're gone.)

I also watched some few episodes of E.R., most of the first episode of AfterMASH, a couple of episodes of Trapper John M.D., a specific episode of Sports Night, and I read Herman Wouk's Marjorie Morningstar and Kathy Hulme's The Nun's Story, among other relevant material.

5. What fandom(s) did you write for this year?

M*A*S*H. Star Trek. Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Blake's 7, a little.

6. What ship(s) captured your heart?

Hawkeye/Mulcahy. Over, and over, and over again. Also, because they're so very sweet together, Sam Pak/Sidney Freedman.

7. What character(s) captured your heart?

Well, besides Francis Mulcahy and Hawkeye Pierce, 2023 was the year I got to like Trapper very much indeed, as I wrote him in October and in December. I saw a very old fanvid, Trapper Never Got To Say Goodbye, and watched a bunch of good Trapper episodes, and - I just got to like him. I also invented/discovered in my heart several newly adorable people: Sam Colquhoun and his daughter Barbara, Martine LeClerc, Pauline Morley and her partner Thea Schwartz and their friend Nadine Royer, Loretta Bradford, Doctor Jerome White and Doctor Aaron Elharar, Sarah Pargeter Pierce and her 12-year-old daughter Mary, Sister Maria Angelica and Sister Raymond, and of course Cathryn Jamieson.

8. Did you write for a new fandom or ship this year?

No. Well, yes: I gave Margaret Houlihan the best possible husband I could imagine for her. I like Sam Colquhoun.

9. What fic meant the most to you to write?

At the time? Gray-Eyes. Ongoing through the whole year: All We Know.

10. What fic made you feel the happiest to work on?

Crabapple Cove. I got the idea and wrote it and giggled most of my way through writing it.

11. What fic was the most satisfying to finish writing?

Well, besides Gray-Eyes, I only finished four stories this year, plus some bits of tumblrfic: Crabapple Cove, Major Heart, Under the Apple Tree, and Kirk and Spock's First Kiss. They were all very satisfying to finish.

12. What fic was the most difficult to write? Did you finish it?

MirrorMASH. I have got to a point in that story where I know how it ends, and yet I am really struggling to write that ending - because when it's done, I shall never write MirrorHawkeye again.

But there was an idea for a story I thought of - "AfterMASH, only like the Golden Girls, Max and Charles and Francis sharing a house…" - and Honoria of course - and I wrote the opener for it, and then realised that I didn't see a way to write any more of it. I could see it in my mind's eye as an endlessly enjoyable TV series - but to write another word of it felt like climbing up the Cliffs of Insanity with Fezzik on my back and Inigo on his shoulders. It was like contemplating a land war in Asia. I just gave up.

13. What fic was the easiest to write?

Kirk and Spock's First Kiss. I wrote it at a writer's workshop at an online K/S con, and the story just unpacked itself into dialogue.

14. What were your shortest and longest fics this year?

Kirk and Spock's First Kiss is the shortest - a perfect drabble of 100 words. All We Know is the longest - 261,000 words in the current document, 143,314 words published on AO3.

15. Rec a fic you wrote or posted in 2023

I'm very pleased with M*A*S*H goes to Pride - thinking through what each of our surviving friends from MASH 4077th would do at the world's first Pride March in New York City in 1970, and whether I think they are LGBT or ally or neither.

16. What were you go-to writing songs?

I was writing the first draft of Christmas in Maine (just posted on Christmas Day) in the middle of a really, really hot August (for Scotland), and I played a list of Christmas carols over and over. I was then writing a chapter from Sister Maria Angelica's point of view and I made a playlist of Christian religious music. Otherwise, usually Leonard Cohen, Janis Ian, Willie Nelson, Tracy Chapman, Johnny Cash, k. d. lang, and so on.

17. What were your go-to writing snacks?

Cashew nuts.

18. What was the hardest fic to title?

Well - All We Know. I'd been calling it "Virtues and Sins" til May, til I realised that if I was going to post the opening chapter in two months time, I really, really had to think of a proper title.

19. Share your favorite opening line

""What do you pray for?" Hawkeye asks: not every time, but often. And when he doesn't ask, he looks: he stares at Mulcahy's rosary sometimes as if he hated it."

20. Share your favorite ending line

"First and foremost: Francis J. P. Mulcahy, formerly chaplain 4077th MASH: without you, this book would not have been written, and without you, I would not have been here to tell it."

21. Share your favorite piece of dialogue

"Doctor Pierce - debauched him?" "It does seem unlikely, doesn't it?" Charles said. "But then whatever else Pierce lacked, it was not persistence or audacity. Good God, did he know the Irishman could write like this? How?"

22. Share an excerpt from your favorite scene

After a moment, Mulcahy laughed. He sounded more tired than amused. "All right," he said. "Should I move this chair?" He got up. Hawkeye caught him by the arm as he was about the pick up his own chair. "Let me." he said. "I know just where it has to be." He moved the chair around, where the light from the central lamp would be falling at the right angle on Mulcahy's head, and waved Mulcahy to sit down again. All Hawkeye had time for, that morning, was to check that there was no indication of a concussion, and no broken bones. He meant to give Mulcahy a haircut, but he wanted to check his scalp for cuts or bruises. "And what can I do for you, sir? Pompadour, bouffant, some stylish Victory rolls?" Hawkeye was gently combing Mulcahy's hair out with his fingers. "Perhaps a little scalp massage?"

23. Share the final version of a sentence or paragraph you struggled with. What about it was challenging? Are you happy with how it turned out?

Winchester folded his hands in front of him. He looked calmer. He also looked pompous, and embarrassed. "It appears I owe you an apology." "Thank you," Mulcahy said, after a moment's effort. "I didn't intend to say anything to upset you. I'm sorry. Is Hawkeye all right?"

It may not look very difficult, but the whole passage of Charles Emerson Winchester and Francis Mulcahy talking in Charles's study in December (in All We Know) was hugely difficult and very painful to rewrite and rewrite and rewrite. I was so hugely on Francis's side that I was having difficulty seeing Charles's side. I am very happy with how it eventually turned out. Jakrar is a wonderful person to work through a story with.

24. What’s something that surprised you while you were working on a fic? Did it change the story?

While writing the final September section of All We Know, back in February, I realised something about Charles Emerson Winchester's son, Charles Emerson Winchester Jr, that I genuinely had not realised previously, and while it didn't change the story much, it did affect it. (Our Charles's father and grandfather are dead at the time All We Know opens, so CEW III has lost his ordinal number and his son CEW is Junior.)

25. What did you use to write? (e.g. writing programs, paper & pen, etc.)

I use LibreOffice on a Windows 10 desktop. I can and do write on my laptop if I have to, but my favourite place to write is at my desk in the little room with the window that looks out only on the sky, facing the wall. I take notes on Notepad.

26. If you had to choose one, what was THE most satisfying writing moment of your year?

"Please don't worry," Mulcahy said. "We can find our own way out."

(You will find out why, next year.)

27. Did you do anything special to celebrate finishing a fic?

No.

28. How did you recharge between fics?

What is this "between fics" you speak of?

29. If this were an awards show, who would you thank?

I would thank my demonic proofreader Jakrar, who is enabling me to keep writing this story in the best demonic style, Ajay, who has been my closest fannish friend for getting on for forty years, and @rescue-ram whose fabulous pro-Trapper comments (and fic) make me very, very happy. Also, for ideas presented to me in 2022 and 2023 that I stole without conscience and used ruthlessly in my own words in 2023: FaustianSlip for Not A Second Time, @allcanonisrelative for Every time, I think of you, @yeats-infection for What the Thunder Said, and also Crystalrose and @topshelf2112-blog for their very different but quite illuminating takes on Charles Emerson Winchester in particular and his relationship with Hawkeye Pierce, which was not something I'd thought much about before I started planning All We Know.

30. What’s something that you want to write in 2024?

I want to finish All We Know and Rosary and Nurse Doctor and MirrorMASH and I would quite like to write a few more episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer's gay foster dads. And I look forward to getting more ideas for something new.

Posted at 31:12:23:23:12:31.

[starlitangels]

Why I'm 'The' Avior Fan

for @plaqying's little Awards event!

I have quite a few reasons

The first is that he's been my favorite character since I first heard his playlist and made myself obnoxious on this blog about that fact

Basically, the brainrot took hold and I was one of the ones who was constantly thinking about his story and proposing potential theories for where his plotline was going

I listened to his playlist so many times, trying to pick out any tiny little obscure details for lore and hints and clues, and I made a lot of posts about it

Another big reason I could be considered "the" Avior fan is that I have had people tag me in Avior fan art that others had done with captions like "Star, I think you'll want to see this" (I did). My reputation for being That One Person who was Unbelievably Down Bad/Obsessed had spread enough that people would see Avior and one of their thoughts when they reblogged it was to tag me because they knew I'd go wild over it (I did)

Does crying my eyes out for the entire 45 minute Truth audio count as a reason? Because my investment was so deep and my heartbreak was so much that I literally couldn't stop? Thank the heavens I was home alone at the time my husband would have been so confused lol

I don't know if I've written the most Avior fanfiction out there but I definitely wrote a lot and quite a few of them got a lot of response about being pretty good, so I'll take that

I also wrote some heartbreakingly angsty Avior headcanons that got me (affectionately) yelled at iirc

Also, I started learning how to draw again after a... multi-year hiatus because I specifically wanted to draw pieces of Avior and Starlight's story #Dedication

My profile picture has almost always been some variation of my version of Starlight

You could literally ask anyone who are regulars in my notes "Which Redacted voiced character do you associate with Star" and I guarantee most of them would say Avior maybe Elliott if they found me during that one specific era last spring but that's beside the point

A very kind soul on my birthday one year drew a doodle of Avior giving me a cupcake. Said kind soul didn't even have to ask who would make me the happiest to receive a cupcake from

I am, literally, like, The Avior Person to a lot of people around here and you can ask around and they would probably tell you that immediately

Lastly, my energy for keeping up with Redacted kinda faded in this last little while it will be back, I guarantee you but even when I was starting to feel myself pulling away a little, I will still drop everything and run to grab my headphones when Avior gets his rare uploads

Oh did I say lastly? Too bad I'm still going I literally have done more fan art for Avior than any other character in the history of me learning how to draw. I also consistently tag posts about him with "Sarcastic Demon my beloved" because, again, he is my beloved XD

This one specific character just kinda grabbed me and refused to let go and there were many days of washing dishes filled with me relistening to Sovereign State over and over and over again

Also Erik dropped Other Side by Anberlin as "a song with Avior vibes" and it immediately got added to like three playlists of mine because it slapped and also broke my heart but that was right before the Truth audio and it still breaks my heart but this is slightly less relevant

[mandalorianchronicles]

While I’m not a dinbo fan (din/fennec all

The way) I do have to say your positivity of this season is refreshing. I feel like I’ve been defending this season all by myself. Dave and Jon are excellent writers and I trust them with my whole heart. This season has really focused on the subtle plot choices that are going to come clashing together and make sense.

Nice to see another fan enjoying the show. 🧡

I love this! Thank you so much for sharing these thoughts. It's so nice to hear from other voices who are not so quick to jump on the negativity bandwagon. The Mandalorian tag has definitely had its ups and downs over the seasons. I can remember when the chief complaint was that there were too many episodes with canned plots that were "filler" or "slow" or "side quests" and everyone kept asking "where is the plot?" Of course, the overarching plot (that all those canned episodes contributed important pieces to) always came crashing down in the last few episodes of the season and they complained about that too.

This season has seen a lot more world building and has been incredibly focused on character development. The chief complaint I've heard now is that Din's character is "regressing" or being "sidelined". In the first two seasons, Din's priority was a) keeping Grogu alive and b) getting Grogu to a permanent home. Since The Book of Boba Fett, Din has accepted that Grogu is now his responsibility for the long haul. That has shifted his whole world. He can't keep dragging a baby on bounty hunting missions and even if he could, he wants something better for Grogu. He wants to give him a home and people, a stable lifestyle. Bo-Katan can make that happen and he is willing to support her in any way possible to help her succeed - not just for his and Grogu's benefit - because he truly believes in her.

And though I understand and respect that Dinbo is not everyone's cup of tea, I do believe that is the direction the writers are taking their relationship, especially in light of the fact that Bo has voluntarily (with zero prompting from Din) assumed a motherly role with Grogu. For me, I just really want to see these characters find some peace and happiness. I know that in Star Wars peace is always temporary, but it would be very satisfying for me to see Grogu, Din, and Bo (three characters who started this journey utterly alone) become a family. They have each grown so much over these three seasons and the writers have spent the most time focusing on them for a reason. I believe their story can be told well without detracting from the bigger picture of restoring Mandalore and pushing back against the restoration of the Empire.

We know that Star Wars fans are a toxic bunch who aren't happy unless they're complaining. I'll be the first to admit, I went through a phase where I really hated on the sequels (even though I was actually enjoying them until TRoS). We've all done it. And let's be real, there are legitimate reasons to be critical of some of these shows/movies. But I really do believe that a lot of the negativity over this season of The Mandalorian has been predominantly from fans who were just salty that their hyper specific headcanons weren't coming true or because they jumped the gun and judged it before they got to the end. If I had a nickel for every complaint about loose threads, I'd be rich. Even before the season is complete, the vast majority of those threads or pieces have become relevant and now everyone can clearly see why those were important. Patience is a virtue, y'all. Let the season play out and just learn to enjoy the ride. Save your criticisms for after it's done - you'll probably have a lot less of them and you'll undoubtedly feel less stupid when that plot thread you thought was just dropped actually became relevant (looking at you people who thought they went through all that trouble with IG-11 for no reason). Maybe we should all start meditating on my new favorite Mandalorian proverb:

"One does not speak unless one knows."

It sounds a lot like this other favorite of mine:

"Even a fool is counted wise when he holds his peace; When he shuts his lips, he is considered perceptive." Proverbs 17:28

[aufredpratt]

Pin Post

Hey so I'm not gonna make many original posts but uh...here we go.

About me:

I'm a kin of Fred from an alternate timeline where Spike and I fell in love and He turned me instead of me dying to the coffin (in fact I am deeply sensitive to talks of that thing and do not associate with it as much as I can) . I refer to what happens on screen as either "on-screen canon" or "Joss's Canon". Due to be sired by and that bond being used to bring my soul back I am very territorial over Spike and so am very picky with other ships with him.

Read the rest of my (SMUT HEAVY) memories here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/47293282/chapters/119168248

A guide to my hashtags (that aren't me just commenting on things or kin/pairing related):

#me- gifs of me

#my love- gifs of Spike

#art/edits of us- self explanatory again, credit is always given

#hmsftm - Angel (the character) it's an anagram

#old- old posts from before the rebrand that are still relevant

other character tags:

Wesley - #best friend Wesley

Cordelia - #bestie Cordy

Gunn - #the man Gunn

Willow - #Willow the Savior

Faith - #Faith the Badass

and while I don't think I'll have too many of these

#the gays - referring to both faith/buffy and willow/kennedy stuff

my other accounts:

@fredprattaesthetics - aesthetics and pretty posts, some nsft themes

@xxxkittenwritesxxx - writing, discourse, other f/os and irl stuff

@theangelinvestigationpolycule - an AU I made that I absolutely love, mostly re-framing gifs

Please be respectful when interacting with this blog!

ADDENDUM: I am aware that fictionkin is not roleplay, however I pretend like my timeline is cannon in the tags of most posts and post as Fred in most cases because it gives me euphoria. Also may roleplay for the same reasons.

Oh also I am not picky about who I req edits and stuff from so don't come after me for edit accounts you see on this blog. I'm here for content only.