#when someone thinks a writer's OC is a mary sue

[blackbeeno3569]

HOW TO KEEP YOUR PRIVACY AS A FANFIC AUTHOR

Want to write a fanfic but terrified someone might actually read it?

Keep your hits and likes in manageable numbers that won't cause you a panic attack. Here are my 6 guaranteed tips for how to be as low-key writer as possible:

NUKE THEM SHIPS All fandom loves a handful of ships? Sink them all. Especially the most popular ones. Create your own, give it all the love and be sure it will be an exclusive cruise.

ORIGINAL CHARACTER That one always works. Mary Sues and self-inserts are a very sure path to choose but there are still some weirdos who like that stuff (you know who you are). Create an OC who doesn't fit expected boxes neatly and watch all the normal people take a cautionary step away. Scare them with the unknown.

NO SMUT Yes, they have a very nice sex life, thanks for asking. No, you'll never see much of it. We are here for a story, not an anatomy lesson.

SUBVERT TROPES TO THE POINT WHERE TAGGING BECOMES ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE Enemies to lovers are ever popular… But eh, they never were much of enemies in the first place? Redemption stories are beloved, only… there's not much of redemption there, just some kind of a healing and a selfdiscovery… Make tagging as complicated as humanly possible.

BRING OTHER POPULAR CANON CHARACTERS TO THE STORY ONLY WHEN IT MAKES SENSE NARRATIVELY …which can be very later on. Don't pander to general expectations, be loyal to the story and solely the story. Good luck putting them in the tags then (see point 4).

KEEP THINGS INTERCONNECTED Thinking of writing one-shots and short stories as an easy gateway to your work? Don't. Everything has to fit neatly into intricate web of preestablished relationships and complicated history. Make sure every story belongs somewhere specific on the timeline. Make them confused, make them feel like watching 6th season of a serie they've never heard of.

(Written with infinite love for those brave souls who found my work, overcame all 6 points and stayed. You are my heroes.)

[scaly-freaks]

how did you create amara? she's so compelling. i'm itching to create an hotd oc (mostly for aemond tho) but i'm absolutely unable to. i grew up on the era where every female oc was called a mary sue and every time i think someone could think that of my oc i become unbearably sad. enlighten me senpai

Aaahhh the Mary Sues. Such a silly way to diss what were usually teenage writers simply trying to explore the foundational stages of creating a character. There are so many popular Gary Stus in popular media (James Bond is definitely one) but men don't get called out for it the same.

I will say it took time for me to lean into writing a character who isn't just better than me in every sense of the word, and is allowed to make her own mistakes. I have to empathise with her a lot when she does some stupid shit and I'm sitting there like girl...

The key is probably to mix the stupid shit we all do on a daily basis (and judge more harshly when done by a fictional character) with real emotions and inner thoughts that would connect to most readers. Insecurities, anxiety, etc etc. But it's important to show her wanting to get out of these pitfalls of human nature, striving to do better even when she fails. She can't be perfect and smart and sassy out the gate or there's no fun watching her become a more well-rounded person.

The most important thing about an OC isn't how she's created at the start, but how she ends up at the finish line of the journey you're taking the reader along on. Don't flesh her out too much. Give her a few key traits - habits, emotional instabilities, insecurities - and then let them expand as she interacts with Aemond. Let her be human. Rolling the eyes, smirking, and sassy comebacks are all well and good, but real people don't behave like that. Sometimes, I like to put myself in the situation and realise I would never have such a put-together response because a fic writer isn't actually writing me (unless God has something to tell me about the sham of a plotline my life currently is). Once you've figured out what you'd do in a scene where you're stuck on what to write next, then bring back all you already know about your OC and modify your own response to become hers.

I didn't plan Amara at all when I put her into Burning Jasmine. My aim was to give Aegon someone that he could call his own in a way no one else in his family was. But I also knew Aegon is a dipshit. So, their first meeting is him basically yelling at her to get him more wine and stop telling him he needs a doctor, and her immediate reaction is girl fuck you, ew. Then, he softens, because the urge to be loved always comes out in the end (see here's where canon existing does help), and then I created Amara's background with the kidnapping from Lys, and how her parents raised her with love, and understood that she would see his anger as a facet of his isolation and vulnerability, not as something independent to him that he wields like a weapon.

Also my last pointer is always going to be the same but read, read, read. I would suggest contemporary books as unlike with fantasy, they're not worldbuilding, all they have are their characters. Learn from them. Get comfortable with inner monologuing for your OC that doesn't constantly revolve around Aemond, and how she is an accessory to him. She's the main character in her head, with a whole inner world of her own, and that'll be the best way to approach it.

If none of this made sense, disclaimer - I'm not the best with advice *-*

[quinloki]

Canon Characters vs OC vs x Reader

Disclaimer: This is just my two cents, and my perspective on things, and I'm not trying to lay down the law for everyone. I needed to just put this to words though, in order to sleep.

I was thinking about this because of a post I saw, and some, we'll say, kind of useless comments associated with the post. Mean-spirited stuff.

Normally, in one ear and out the other, but the vibes just kicked me off down a rabbit hole of sorts an I wanted to try to put some of my thoughts to words.

First, some style vibes:

Canon x Canon Canon/Canon stories are, to me, like reading an episode of that show. I'm sitting down in front of a TV or whatever, and I'm experiencing the story As A Viewer. I like this style because I don't really have to expend much energy and I just kind of roll with whatever's happening. Generally some sort of 3rd person perspective.

OC x canon OC/Canon stories are like being on a carnival ride. I'm sitting in a car on a roller-coaster, and maybe the OC is sitting next me. I'm experiencing the story more deeply than strictly canon stories, but my connection with the OC is no deeper than say, my connection with Katniss Everdeen when I read The Hunger Games. Sometimes 3rd person, sometimes first person.

Reader x canon Reader/Canon (or Reader x/ OC) is like putting on a VR helmet. I don't get much physical input about the "Reader OC" because I'm experiencing the story through their eyes. I don't expect the reader to be me, but there's a bigger feeling of immersion to be had. Some description might happen cause it's relevant to the story, and it's still a type of ride, I can't jump the rails on the roller coaster, after all. (Even with a VN you still follow the tracks). Sometimes first person, sometimes second person (I'm partial to 2nd person perspective, but that's just me).

I love Fan Fiction, I love it. All of it, and man even more than anything, what I love is that I'm going to dislike 80% of it. Because that 80% was written for someone who is not me. (Hell, that number's probably closer to 99% if we're looking at ALL fandoms, but I digress).

Second - The VENT:

What got me the most in the post that prompted this, was someone saying "Bring back the Mary Sue OCs!" and then they went on to describe something more detailed, and I just -

Look, respectfully, fuck you.

The point is, you're not going to be happy no matter what. Whether it's "mary sue" OCs, or x readers, or alternative universes, or a ship you don't like, you're going to find something to be unhappy about.

Cause people have been bitching about all styles of fan fiction since the first "You've Got Mail" chimed in 1991. And until 1998 and ff.net you really had to hunt for it, and until 2007 and Ao3 the idea of tagging a fic for any reason wasn't really a thing. Every click was a surprise! \o/

I just have seen the same song and dance a dozen times. It's exhausting. People become okay with OCs and decide x readers are the enemy, and before that OCs were *all* Mary Sues and cringe and people who made OCs were the enemy, and before OCs people who wrote even a little OOC were the enemy, and people who wrote AUs were the enemy, and you can write fan fic but it HAS to be Canon Compliant, and everyone MUST be in-character at all times - "They would not fucking say that" was the enemy.

Look, just please - please - in any capacity, stop it with the "All X style of story telling is crap" mindset. There's over a dozen different ways to do x readers alone. I know 20 x reader writers and I don't think any of us have the same style, preferences, or vibes.

I've had a lot of comments along the lines of "I thought I hated x readers, but I really loved this." on a few different fics I've written. Sometimes it's not the style of the fic, sometimes it's the style of the writer, and my Brother In Christ - you're going to have to read some awful shit to shuffle through the thousands of writers out there to find the vibes that resonate with you.

Ostracizing entire swathes of fan fic because you need something to be "The Enemy" so you can lift up something else, and then bitching you can't find anything new to read seems like a personal problem.

And I know y'all are scrolling by TONS of posts that don't interest you, every day, as a matter of course. So don't give me that "clogging up the tag" BS, because we deserve to be here same as anyone else in the fandom.

[mfantasyworld]

I think i need to say something before the New Year's Eve. Eeehhh, Hi, i'm not dead (yet), and i was really depressed about many personal aspects in my life, and that inclued my artistic and writing skills... So, i really didn't do anything. Again.

And i abandoned this art account for waaay too long. What a shame.

But anyway, i believe i need to say that i have been doing some art there and there, when i wasn't studying or bed rooting or watching Project Zomboid Gameplays(God tier game between!) and i'm gonna show some of the arts i have been doing along the year and explain their context.

Although i was Really proud of this first drawing, i confess that i was kinda scared to post it. ALL my account was about Megaman X and my rewrite about the story of the game, and i really wanted to focus on it... So i shelved this Arcanine/Growlithe drawing. She's an oc i made for a Pokémon Mystery Dungeon original story, leader of a Explorer Team called Team Roar and oh boy, she HAS angry issues! Many, many angry issues! She was trained by a Gardevoir, her adoptive mother, and she turned this little furball into a Beast.

Next drawing is a Garchomp with albinism. Also a part of the Mystery Dungeon story i made. He's just the owner of the town's restaurant and has the biggest beef with a Jinx, they're both rivals since childhood and they continue to be enemies for life. (Don't ship them, they're both married to other characters, LOL.) (They hate each other and it's not the enemies to lovers type.)

The last pokemon related character is the story protagonist! He's a Type:Null and his partner is a Rattata! (I never saw someone doing a Type:Null for a Explorer fiction... It's normaly: Eevee, Eevee, Eevee, maybe one of the starters— I mean, there's no problem in that, you use the pokemon that fits the most with your protagonist personality, of course! But i wanted something different, and how i wanted this story to be about Arceus missing and the legendaries are fighting with each other to see who's gonna rule in God's place, and the world is suffering the consequences of this war, i believe a Type:Null would fill the protagonist place perfectly!) (As for the Rattata, if i did a Legendary, i needed someone not Op and simple, lol! But she's important. Believe me. But i don't want to talk about this now because i already said Too much about this story.)

Ok, next category.

Is someone here familiar with the brazilian Megaman comic, “As Novas Aventuras de Megaman"? (Yeah, finaly something National!!! Amazonia, Soccer and Carnaval let's GOOOOOOO BRASILLL!!!! )

Ok, now on a serious note. This comic is hot garbage. It's bad. But i recommend it, just to laugh at it for shits and giggles. As a long term brazilian fan of the series, i can't help but smile about the fact that the protagonists were traveling in Brazil, killing corrupted politicians in São Paulo, facing cangaceiros in Ceará and going to Minas Gerais to fight Aliens in the last volume, it was amazing! And having the writers Mary Sue wanting to kill Megaman in his own story so she could be the protagonist was the cheery on this whole shit cake. It was so bad that i loved it. And Roll having basicaly Astro Boy backstory but extremly Edgy was... Something.

Of course, i need to say this, although i really liked some aspects of the story, i don't like the objectification of Roll. I hate it. I DESPISE every Second of it. I like the ideia of her changing clothes, i loved the ideia of her having something more going on with her, and for me, she was more entertaining than Rock in this comic, which let's go?? Roll finaly having the spot light??

But oh my GOD. THIS WHOLE “ROMANCE" BETWEEN HER AND X, HOLY SHIT, I WANTED TO PULL THE SKIN OF MY FACE EVERY TIME X WAS ACTING LIKE A FUCKING WEIRDO WITH HER.

I HATED HER BEIGN SEXUALIZED EVERYTIME. BE MORE RESPECTFUL WITH HER, IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK??

Anyway, now, let me show what i have been doing related to this comic.

Yeah, redesigns! It still looks like garbage, but i can finaly get those designs out my system.

I still need to draw X though—

Anyway, context! Roll is the protagonist of the story, and she's been searching her father's lab for ages, looking after his Magnum opus. (That she still has no ideia what it could be, but she knows it's something that Willy can't have.) She's her team mechanic and leader, she's normaly the one that does the negotiations and the talking when it's needed to avoid a fight.

Bass is there with her, they're allies here and really Close Friends.

The reason why he's here is because they have a common goal. He doesn't have the Fortenium anymore, lost it against a fight with Zero and basicaly is in a quest to destroy Zero and Willy's scheme. (He used to be Forte, but changed his name sometime after Roll became his ally.)

(He also has another name, Slasher, and it's a disguise name he uses when they can't trust their real identity with third parties. If you don't know why the name Slasher, it's because the comic calls him like this for some reason, lol.)

(Anyway, i didn't draw him, but i will talk about X. He's still a little piece of shit, but at least he doesn't like his sister in the GROSS WAY like in the original.

Let's just say they didn't wait the 30 years for the tests and it shows...

X has the mentality of a 14-16 years old, and when he start to win power, he became a manece, and this forces Roll and Bass to keep a close eye in his shenanigans.)

Feel free to ask about the rewrite by the way! I'm not taking it so serious like other projects i have, after all, this rewrite is just a high effort shitpost by the end of the day, Lol!

I believe that's it. I have other drawings too, some FNAF related and original work, but they're so bad that i will not put here, lol.

Have a nice new year, folks!

Hope next year i have more to share!

[mandalhoerian]

I respectfully disagree, sure Y/N is an OC as well, but at least readers can identify with and personalize Y/N and not Mary Sue, the short, nineteen year old military sergeant, with long hair to her butt, and hazel eyes. Who also graduated young at the top of her class and is a “smol potato.”

I totally get wanting interaction but unfortunately most people I know have their mind set on reading an x Reader unless otherwise.

I am one of those people where I will get irritated if a fic looks good but it’s someone’s OC. I’m not saying I don’t enjoy OC fics once in a while, but I have to be in the mood for it.

It’s like walking up to two concession stands, both advertising pure vanilla cupcakes. You have a strong craving for vanilla, so you choose one that looks promising. But when you take a bite, you realize it’s not vanilla on the inside—it’s red velvet. While you like red velvet and it’s just as good as Vanilla, it’s not what you wanted at the moment. Now you’re annoyed and upset, wishing they had advertised it properly before you took a bite.

I want to clarify one more time that I DO enjoy reading OC fics. I frequently enjoy yours and they are truly amazing pieces of work! However, I WILL NOT read an OC fic if I’m not looking for one. As soon as I see a name or description I click out because that’s not what I was looking for. Now I’m bummed out.

I was having this conversation with a couple of my writer friends and I think it’s also feeling of being tricked too. Like, I personally I don’t like feeling like I was fooled into clicking someone’s fic, haha.

Anyways, this is just my opinion as another author. At the end of the day you’re an amazing author and you should do what you feel is best. I just wanted to give another perspective because this really is a community wide argument. Much love ❤️

Thanks for your thoughts!! But I want to clarify a few points because I think we're coming at this from different perspectives.

First, when it comes to Y/N fics, I completely understand that readers often want to personalize the experience, but that doesn't change the fundamental truth that Y/N is an OC. Whether or not Y/N has a customizable name, description, or personality, the moment the character interacts with the narrative, they become an entity that is shaped by the author's writing. Sure, there’s an illusion of a “blank slate,” but the framework of who Y/N is—whether it's their emotional responses, behaviors, or decisions—is dictated by the author, meaning they are, in essence, just as constructed as any named OC. The only difference is that Y/N lacks overt physical or background descriptions, but that doesn’t erase the fact that Y/N functions as a character within the story.

Regarding the “smol sergeant” comment, it’s important to note that many reader fics describe characters with similar traits (e.g., young, hyper-competent, physically flawless) while leaving them unnamed. Just because a character isn’t explicitly given a name doesn’t mean the traits they exhibit aren’t similar to the same tropes you find in OC fics. The reality is, people see what they want to see. In Y/N fics, readers sometimes overlook these traits because they’re invested in the illusion of personalization. But that doesn’t change the fact that those stories are still constructing a very specific character with specific attributes—they just don’t call them by a name.

It’s not fair to dismiss OCs by using the "smol sergeant" trope as an example of poor characterization, while ignoring that reader-inserts often follow the same formulas. The only real difference is the presence (or absence) of a name. If someone enjoys Y/N fics but dislikes OCs, it’s because of their preference for the absence of that name, not the presence of those character tropes. So, let's not pretend one is inherently superior to the other just because it fits into a preference for anonymity.

Now, as for OC fics being misrepresented in the tags, I get why people might feel irritated when they expect one thing and find another, but this argument about “trickery” feels a bit exaggerated. Authors who tag their OC as “reader”/canon aren’t doing so to deceive. They are working within the same framework that Y/N fics do: trying to engage an audience that prefers immersive experiences. If someone gets upset by an OC tagged this way, it’s usually not because the author was misleading, but because of their own rigid preferences. The reality is, the experience people crave when they go into the “reader” tag isn’t just about personalization. It’s also about escapism, self-insertion, and imagining themselves as part of the story. OCs can absolutely provide that same immersive experience, even if they aren’t labeled as Y/N.

Additionally, I get the whole “vanilla versus red velvet” analogy. AO3 is a platform where readers have to navigate a ton of different tags and genres, and the idea of getting “tricked” into an OC fic when searching for reader-inserts doesn’t justify hostility toward OC writers. Both OC and Y/N fics exist on a spectrum of personal identification and immersion, and the fact that some readers only want one flavor doesn't mean they should disregard or criticize other works. A lot of OC writers are trying to reach a wider audience, and part of the reason they tag their fics as “reader/canon” is because they know readers will appreciate their story once they give it a chance, even if the character has a name.

Finally, we need to get rid of this idea that OC writers should be made to feel guilty for posting in the same tag as reader-inserts. The hostility some readers have toward OCs is unnecessary gatekeeping. No one is forcing anyone to read something they don’t want, and the solution is simple: just scroll. If you don’t want to read an OC fic, that’s fine, but OC writers deserve the same respect and engagement as those who write Y/N fics.

At the end of the day, it's about choice, but let's not confuse personal preference with a right to criticize others for their creative decisions!

[good-beans]

(Milgram self-insert oc masterpost hehe)

Name: For the sake of posting online I’ll call her Rose!

Color: #E7355B [the pink in the art]

Age: I guess she’d be 20 given when Milgram started huh.

Status: Milgram Staff, Machine Technician

Symbols/imagery: ballet/musical theater, science experiments

Song genre: very similar to Mahiru's, something upbeat and extra pop-y

Tentatively she's number 011? She's not really prisoner but she's also not free to come and go, so I'm not actually sure if she'd get a number (Edit: I've decided she'll actually be 012. Staff is given the 01X range, and even though Es doesn't actively have a number they'd be staff member 011, making her 012.)

Story: Since the project is supposed to be realistic/present day, the mv machine would be brand new and unpredictable tech, so they’d want someone keeping up on maintenance and making sure the brain-invasive process won’t cause any harm to the prisoners. Rose was studying abroad in Japan working on some cool neuroscience tech (irl I know nothing about technology or brains but shh) and she stumbled upon some secret tech/plans from Milgram. Long story short, she was dragged into the experiment to make sure things ran smoothly.

Writer's Reasoning: She’s really fun for me to play around with, as she allows me to work with a character who has a tiny bit of pull over Es’ mindset in conversation but not the final decision (aka mirroring the voting system), and someone who is simultaneously trapped in the prison but has a reason to see all the canon content.* I really enjoy the character interactions and dynamics Milgram has set up so far, so it’s been super fun seeing how things change for better and worse when someone not quite aligned with either Milgram/the prisoners is thrown into the mix!

*As much as I love dramatic irony in fiction, it would drive me crazy if I knew every detail of of the vds/mvs but Rose didn't – and every single Milgram character is The Worst Communicator Ever so I couldn’t justify that she’d hear it secondhand from them...

Story roles:

She’s a bit conflicted -- she’s officially Milgram staff and knows she should remain neutral on the prisoners, since she won’t be allowed to interfere with the process/executions. At the same time, her job description is literally “make sure the machine doesn't hurt them and everyone's safe :)” and she's way too emotional to avoid getting hopelessly attached to everyone 😅

I really enjoy the theory that the machine extracts videos based off of priming, so one of Rose’s duties involves listening in on the interrogation and making sure there’s been enough material discussed/not too much time has passed overall (hence the ringing of the bell happening at different lengths for each vd -- That's her ringing it :3). She then watches the mvs along with Es to make sure there are no machine glitches, and know how to calibrate it better for next time.

(IEdit: I've since decided to add in official trial mvs, but before when I wasn't ready to tackle that:) She has to run some tests on the machine to make sure things are calibrated correctly, so she'd extract little things here and there. It gives me the opportunity to think up lyric snippets and recurring symbols for her without worrying about full encompassing music videos.

I'm not afraid to admit she can fall into Mary Sue territory every so often by being everyone's friend, because it's less about "aw everyone likes her" and more about "canon is too painful rn and I need a fix-it tool to take care of these guys and give them hugs and tell them someone forgives them and cares about them and unfortunately these characters wouldn't let anyone less than a friend do that." Rest assured she's definitely not perfect and will fuck everything up on occasion :3

Miscellaneous: Whenever I play around with normal au ideas she's still working on the machine (but in a public, more ethical setting), and she's Mahiru's roommate :) Her character isn't super focused on love, but if I had to pick a cover song it'd be Stickybug II. It's very much my vibe, the lyrics fit well enough (better than most songs, at least lol) and it's one of my favorites out of my limited knowledge of unchosen Deco songs! (Edit, I've actually given her non-deco cover songs hehe)

So yeah, I hope she's not too boring without a cool crime to decipher, but I wanted to share since I was really proud of her! It took a bit of tinkering to find a way to fit her into a perfect secret-third-thing role that runs very smoothly with all of canon, so I was very excited!

[slowpokegamer]

I found your account thru artfight because I came across your Witcher "oc." I think it's absolutely ridiculous that your own character survives the events of the books while Geralt and several other main characters dies. Its completely unrealistic that after everything a useless nobody survives everything while actually well written characters like Geralt and Yennefer die and remain deead. After having scrolled through your blog a bit I can see eyoure just a hypocritcal queer for someone who preaches that the Witcher "isn't eacapsism fantasy" you sure do like to make it escapist with your mary sue oc. You're just as bad as the Netflix fans you preach about hating so much, but at least fans of the Netflix show can actually piece together coherent stories and fanfictions that still fit within the realm of the universe instead of a self insert over powered mary sue thats too busy fucking jaskiers ass to actually havw a compelling story. I hate people like you who have to shove ocs and yourself into every thing. You can't ever let stories just be stories you freaks always have to put yourself in it and drastically change the narrative to fit your own whims. This isn't like playing with dolls if you want to tell a story just write it yourself and leave things like the Witcher alone. It already has a story and it already has it's characters and we don't need poorly written Mary sues cluttering up fandom.tags. Write something original for once and stop inserting yourself into shows and games. Your not cute and your to old to be playing pretend and making up stories. Jaskier isn't gay in the books so your stupid character wouldn't even have a shot that ways either and Geralt probably would have just killed him. And if Geralt didn't kill him then he should have died when the rest of the characters did in the last book. That's the more realistic route. Witchers are also supposed to be rare in the world so your character being a Witcher is also unrealistic and he probably wouldn't have even been able to meet geralt. The story doesn't make sense and I don't understand why you have to come in and change something that was already written. It was fine as it was and we didn't need anymore characters in the story especially characters who dony even fit with it. I'm so gired of seeing people like you who think they can do whatever they want with media when its already written and already exists for a reason. Self ships are cringe and so are OC x canon, it's bad writing and if you have to relay on a made up character to tell gokd stories then your not a good writer. Please delete you Witcher ocs off artfight, as I'm tired of seeing them every time I browse the tags search

I've been getting really into pudding lately

[on-wine-dark-seas]

1-50 for https://www.tumblr.com/osunism/773000470377775104/fanfiction-writer-asks 😈

This feels like homework omg! Sorry this took me so long to answer. I got super busy but we are back!

Some of these questions require a specific request, so I've put them in red in case you want to revisit and ask for specific fanworks I've written or whatever the question calls for.

1) How old were you when you first starting writing fanfiction?

I was in like third grade? I started off making little mini comics, but as I started reading more chapter books, I experimented with writing my own stories. My first foray into this was Sailor Moon and then The Fifth Element.

2) What fandoms do you write for and do you have a particular favorite if you write for more than one?

I currently only write for Jujutsu Kaisen. I don't know what happened to me over the last two years, but this anime/manga has become such a prominent hyperfixation and joy in my life. I've been enjoying my reread of the physical manga collection, and collecting merch. Something in me, maybe 14 year old me, feels healed when I write my fics for this fandom. I thought I'd lost my taste for anime for good, honestly.

I used to write for the Dragon Age fandom but I lost interest in it for a myriad of reasons, chief among them being that the fandom was so incredibly bad for my mental health. So for now, I'm just gonna focus on JJK.

3) Do you prefer writing OC’s or reader inserts? Explain your answer.

I have a LOT OF OPINIONS ABOUT THIS SUBJECT SO PLEASE BE ADVISED THAT THESE ARE MY PERSONAL OPINIONS AND NOT ME TRYING TO PASS IT OFF AS FACT. Transformative works--like all artistic media--are subjective. I cannot force the OC x Canon agenda, but I can explain my reasoning for sticking to it so adamantly, and encouraging others to try it as well.

I am the OC x Canon queen. While I can read reader-insert fic, I prefer to write OC x Canon because--and this is just my personal opinion: a lot of the reader-insert fic is just OC x Canon only the OC doesn't have a name and is addressed in second person. I say this because in order for me to feel immersed in something like a reader-insert fanfic as if I'm the subject, I have to have a choice in how the story unfolds. I--the reader--have to be able to choose my own adventure, and most reader fic does not accommodate for that simply because it can't without a lot of experience in narrative design. This doesn't mean reader-insert can't be enjoyable, I just don't make the connection needed for it to feel like I'm in the story so much as I'm watching someone else experience it.

OC x Canon is just easier and more honest to me because it's unapologetically self-indulgent and can still be fun for readers to follow along and enjoy if you can write compelling characters [something I'm realizing people find hard to do].

Most writers who do exclusively reader-insert would excel at OC x Canon if they just traded the reader for an OC, because the stories are GOOD AS HELL. I think everyone is just afraid of the Mary Sue label which is stupid and misogynistic and has done irreparable harm to fandom for generations. Making people feel bad for making up characters to insert into the canon story never made sense to me, and always stank of fandom dudebros shaming women [the demographic largely responsible for fanfiction in the first place] for centering themselves in the story.

4) What is your favourite genre to write for?

Romance. I believe in the redemptive power of love. Sue me.

5) If you had to choose a favourite out of all of your multi-chaptered stories, which would it be and why?

I've been rereading Beast of No Nation and Daughter of Disgrace repeatedly and as much as I love them both since they're some of my most polished fics to date, I will always, always, always love my Dragon Age fic, Maledictus.

6) If you had to delete one of your stories and never speak of it again, which would it be and why?

I've already done so. Somewhere, in the bowels of Fanfiction(dot)net, my original account is still there, with all the attendant fanfic I published as a heartfelt 13 year old.

7) When is your preferred time to write?

Right now [middle of the fucking night]. I've always been a night creature so writing late into the night is best. The world is quiet and I don't anticipate any interruptions to my flow.

8) Where do you take your inspiration from?

All types of media. Toni Morrison's words about looking at the world like a writer have always stuck with me, so I'm always narrating life in my head, finding new ways to describe things, connecting new metaphors and simile, etc. Then of course there's my intimate and detailed playlists, mostly character event soundtracks that lead me into daydreams a la Sucker Punch.

9) In your xxx fic, what’s your favorite scene that you wrote?

Since this is supposed to be a request, I'm going to pick Daughter of Disgrace and say all of chapter 11.

10) In your xxx fic, why did you decide to end it like that? Did you have an alternative ending in mind?

I wanted an excuse to write AUs about Sukuna and Nadja forever.

11) Have you ever amended a story due to criticisms you’ve received after posting it?

I don't get a lot of comments or feedback to begin with, and I only welcome concrit from trusted mutuals and friends. I've made spelling corrections of course, but I don't let people dictate to me how to tell my story. If one wants that honor, they can offer to become my beta reader and editor.

12) Who is your favorite character to write for? Why?

Nadja. She's so complex and alluring and intriguing. I love exploring her thoughts.

13) Who is your least favorite character to write for? Why?

Gojo. I haven't written for him a lot and he's so incredibly goofy and corny it's hard for me to shake the dark melodrama of my prose to nail his voice down because he is always guaranteed to add levity to any scene he's in.

14) How did you come up with the title for the xxx? - You can ask about multiple stories.

Since you didn't request a specific story, you can send me another ask and make it a separate post. Every title is intentional for me.

15) If you write OC’s, how do you decide on their names?

In my culture, the naming of a child is important enough to warrant a grand ceremony because the names we are given are attributes we are expected to exemplify throughout our lives.

I treat my OCs the same way. Their names shape their nature.

16) How did you come up with the idea for xxx?

Another one that requires a specific request. :3

17) Post a line from a WIP that you’re working on.

From What No Shackles Can Keep:

18) Do you have any abandoned WIP’s? What made you abandon them?

Anything unfinished in my Dragon Age collection will remain so. I don't care if it makes me sound arrogant: that fandom treated me like dogshit for years. They don't deserve anything more from me.

19) Are there any stories that you’ve written that you’d really love to do a sequel to?

Already working on several for my JJK series. Most of the fics in the Parallax 'verse will be loosely connected, but I'm working on learning to finish before posting anything new.

20) Are there any stories that you wished you’d ended differently?

Always. As much as I polish my craft and feel proud of my stories, my head is always springing forth new ideas. I even had a few things I wanted to add to Beast of No Nation.

21) Tell me about another writer(s) who you admire? What is it about them that you admire?

I have so many. God, so many. One thing I will say about the JJK fandom? No shortage of real skill and talent and storytelling. So many people I've crossed paths with who just spitball the most insane and glorious ideas. I'm always in awe, and I can always find something new and delightful. I don't have the room to list them all and I don't want anyone to feel left out or snubbed in case I inevitably forget to tag someone but I try to leave comments, reviews, and friendly messages for them when I can. I know how important that feedback is to keep the motivation to go on. So I make sure to give my faves their flowers in sincerity. They know who they are too [thanks for letting me yap!]

22) Do you have a story that you look back on and cringe when you reread it?

My MCU stuff. But I also give myself grace because I was really having fun. I was so used to just posting fic with no expectation of feedback that I was so shocked so many people loved my fics back then. I left most of my Loki/Amber stuff up to remind me not to lose that spark of self-indulgent joy that comes from writing stories I want to read.

23) Do you prefer listening to music when you’re writing or do you need silence?

Both. If I'm locked in, I can listen to music and flow. But for the most part, I prefer silence or white noise, or having a show playing in the background while I write.

24) How do you feel about writing smutty scenes?

Love to read 'em, love to write 'em, and I be fucking for real. The nastier the better. I'm always perfecting my approach to it but I've gotten great feedback on my smut over the years.

25) Have you ever cried whilst writing a story?

Currently crying while writing What No Shackles Can Keep. One of my readers expressed they would love to see more Sukuna/Nadja stuff and you know what? I agree. So here we are.

26) Which part of your xxx fic was the hardest to write?

Another specific request. :D

27) Do you make a general outline for your stories or do you just go with the flow?

I used to just fly by the seat of my pants but now I make detailed outlines before writing. It's been a huge help in keeping my stories on track. And it's helping me practice my pacing. One day I'll hit the sweet spot and find my stride.

28) What is something you wished you’d known before you started posting fanfiction?

Sometimes what you like to write is what no one else is interested in reading, but it's okay because as long as it made you happy to write/read, that's a good start. I've also learned that sometimes it takes a LONG TIME for your stories to find their audience, but there is someone out there who will be grateful they found your stories. I've had people message me about my fics before and that always makes me feel good.

29) Do you have a story that you feel doesn’t get as much love as you’d like?

Literally all of them lol? I am used to not getting much traction and I know popular does not always mean it's particularly good. Just means that that's something a lot of people wanna read. Like I said in the previous answer: it takes a while to build an audience. I know my writing is good, and maybe a few years from now the people who need stories like mine will find them. It's happened before.

30) In contrast to 29 is there a story which gets lots of love which you kinda eye roll at?

There's this one Dragon Age fic I wrote with my Inquisitor and the fandom fave, Cullen. It still gets a ton of kudos and bookmarks [relative to my usual tumbleweed stats lol] and I've been debating just deleting it. It wasn't that good, and I was not in a good headspace when I wrote it, plus it got popular because some asshole whitewashed my OC and plagiarized it verbatim. Just a whole mess.

31) Send me a fic recommendation and I’ll post it for my followers to see! (The asker is to send the rec not the answerer)

Another specific request.

32) Are any of your characters based on real people?

No. And I hate when people think they are. I love the people in my life, but I'm not that kind of writer. However, I may use my personal experiences to inform my writing, which is par for the course.

33) What’s the biggest compliment you’ve gotten?

That my OCs are cool as fuck and I write fight scenes really well.

34) What’s the harshest criticism you’ve gotten?

I literally got a racist screed about my OC dumping the fandom favorite for a mid-tier villain the fandom didn't even care about. The crime of having Black female characters comes with the tarring and feathering of bored, mousey white women who aren't brave enough to admit they feel a way when they see Black characters they can't take and treat like dogshit to validate their own stories [this happens a lot with canon Black female characters, so Black OCs piss those types off something serious].

As far as valid and sincere criticism that was given in good faith? Basically I need to work on my narration for clarity. And my personal criticism of myself is my pacing is shit.

35) Do you share your story ideas with anyone else or do you keep them close to your chest?

I keep them close to my chest. I'm protective of my ideas and my characters and I've had people either steal my ideas/character concepts, or outright insult my ideas/characters for whatever reason. As a result, I'm wary about who gets that level of access to my creative process.

36) Can you give us a spoiler for one of your WIP’s?

No. I have mutuals in the midst of reading my fics. And since I don't get much traction on my fics, wouldn't you rather just read them for yourself instead and support me? Thank you. :D

37) What’s the funniest story you’ve written?

I'm bad at humor, but I wrote a story called Pasagewa. That's Hausa [my native language] for "breaking the balls" which is a term we use when breaking in a horse. It was basically my first time writing a pegging fic. I believe it's still on my AO3.

38) If you could collab with any other writer on here, who would it be? (Perhaps this question will inspire some collabs!) If you’re shy, don’t tag the blog, just name it.

I commissioned septembersummer for one fic which I suppose counts as a collaboration since we both put our heads together to come up with the story using my OC! It gave me a high I've been chasing ever since and I want to do more collaborations with other writers in the fandom.

But again, the trust issues. And JJK fandom is notoriously clique-ish and insular, so I am content to stay in my sandbox and build my castles on my own. I do have a dream list of collaborators. I just have no fucking idea what I'd work on with them. I just know I'd love to see what we come up with!

39) Do you prefer first, second or third person?

I prefer first and third. Second is for reader-inserts which I don't write [save for that one Toji fic where I was literally just experimenting with it]. I prefer first person because it puts you directly inside the character's head, but fanfic just lends itself to me writing in third because I'm usually dealing with a much larger cast of characters and bigger situations.

40) Do people know you write fanfiction?

Yeah. My boyfriend reads my fanfic and loves it. He doesn't read my JJK stuff since he hasn't read the manga and only watched the anime, but he's read my BG3 fics, etc. And he's usually present WHILE I'm writing lol.

Not only that, my parents used to catch me reading/writing smutty fic back in high school. My mom still has some of the handwritten PAGES of Fushigi Yugi, X, and Ronin Warriors fanfic I used to write. I guess I should count it as a blessing that I never really got into writing yaoi very often or that would have opened up a whole different can of worms with my conservative Muslim parents. LOL

41) What’s you favourite minor character you’ve written?

Hmm...that's tough. I guess it was this random cleric from Dragon Age talking to Samson about the nature of faith.

42) Song fic - What made you decide to use the song xxx for xxx.

Another specific request.

43) Has anyone ever guessed the plot twist of one of your fics before you posted it?

I mean...yeah?

44) What is the last line you wrote?

Sukuna frowns. Now he’s annoyed. “Where the fuck else could we be?”

45) What spurs you on during the writing process?

Encouragement from mutuals, music, WEED. My bestie just hooked me up with some homegrown shit from his homie so I can't wait to put that one in the bong when I get home.

46) I really loved your xxx fic. If you were ever to do a sequel, what do you think might happen in it?

A specific request!

47) Here’s a fic title - insert a made up title. What would this story be about?

A request. I won't answer this one because it's a roundabout way to get a fic request out of me. You can write this, anon. <3

48) What’s your favorite trope to write?

Enemies-to-lovers [doomed optional].

49) Can you remember the first fic you read? What was it about?

It was a Ronin Warriors fanfic that was sort of a crossover with X-Men? The lead OC looked like Rogue and was shipped with my favorite character, Shuten Doji. I'll never forget it because it was also my first smut fic I ever read and that change me forever.

50) If you could write only angst, fluff or smut for the rest of your writing life, which would it be and why?

Angst. My prose just flows like that. Heavy and ominous.

[spectralsleuth]

Saw you were lookin’ for some asks dont mind if I do 👀

To start off, I’m such a big fan of your writing! I genuinely look forward to every single update of yours and find myself rereading a lot of work in the downtime. You are such a good writer!! My never ending praises aside, here are some asks!

-You incorporate OC’s into your fics so seamlessly! They feel so natural in your fics that I legit get excited anytime they show up (srsly can’t wait for Lou Jitsu vs Hidden City, Sal’s my boy) lol how do you find the right balance when introducing and maintaining OC’s in your fics? I feel like that’s a particularly difficult balance beam to tread but you absolutely crush it.

-A previous ask you answered about Cass and Raph in LSoW got me thinking; how do the brothers handle humans crushing on them? Would they be receptive or dismissive? Do they develop crushes on humans- and if so, how is that perceived (by family or the general public)? The drama 👀

Last ask, I promise:

-I absolutely loved your crossover with Empathy is Learned! Got anymore crossovers planned in the future? Oooor if you could do a crossover with any other fic, which one(s) would it/they be??

Thanks for taking the time to even look at this! I hope these are some fun asks for ya :) I hope you have a lovely day!!

Omg thanks so much... I'm so happy people enjoy my writing it's crazy to me. I've written before, but it's always been just for myself so I never really know if it was good or not. (Years of text based DnD is to thank lol.) (Okay I got carried away answering this so sorry in advance.)

On OC's:

I got a lot of comments on LSoW from people who say "generally I don't like OC's BUT-" which is so funny and flattering. Because I am absolutely one of those people who don't care for OC's in fic.

Let me be clear: I LOVE that people write self indulgent self-insert of OC based fic, where they make the craziest off the wall story etc. Every time a fifteen year old writes a story about the cringiest Mary-sue/stu self insert, or non canon character, an angel gets its wings and I mean that one hundred percent. It makes me so happy I literally grin when I see it. I HOWEVER generally filter out the OC tags on AO3 when I'm looking for something to read myself.

So when I started posting LSoW I was expecting to get maybe like, 100 kudos MAX, maybe one comment or so. Which is great! I love writing niche fic just for me, and one other person who I assume I must be drift compatible with. I just could not figure out a way to write the story I wanted without a few OC's- Rise didn't have a big enough character catalog for me to draw from!

When I went to write the OC's, I knew that they had to have a very simple backstory, that was also very fleshed out. (Xander and Sal have full family, Dr. Heo and Carter have full jobs and history together, etc.) For another contradiction I wanted them to be interesting enough that someone reading wouldn't just be skipping ahead to when they weren't present, or just simply plowing through to get past the part where they were doing exposition. They had to be enjoyable! While also forwarding the story!

They also had to be distinct. Anyone who's ever watched a Whedon show or movie (Buffy, Firefly, Avengers-) knows what I'm talking about. It drives me nuts when the characters in a show are constantly the funniest person in the room, with the same personality traits, and the same girl boss/badass tendencies.

(Fandom challenge Impossible: Give a female fan favorite character another trait besides 'girlboss/mom/lesbian'. I'm dead serious.)

(Also a disclaimer: I LOVE making jokes and doing bits. I FANCY that I'm pretty funny, and I love making people laugh. But you can do that without making it a character personality trait. For example: Xander doesn't really crack any jokes in LSoW! He's just funny because we the reader know more about the situation and his thoughts than he does.)

But the BIGGEST THING I kept telling myself while writing the story, was DO NOT TAKE AWAY FROM THE TURTLES. Because the whole point of the story is the turtles! And Yoshi! The OC's are there to facilitate that. It's a hard balance to hit. I have all sorts of touchstones I keep in mind while I'm writing, and that's a big one.

(A SUPER good example of this done super well is @faiakishi 's Bella from Dawning of the Hour. She's a great OC that's super interesting, and a super important narrative element, but she never detracts from the main story. Big Bella fan here lmao. There's also the rest of the OC's/interpretations of franchise characters (TIGERCLAW), but Bella stands out as truly original.)

On the Turtles dating Humans:

(CW: CSA mention, SA mention, non graphic talk of minors dating etc.)

I actually talked a lot about this to @/tangledinink in feverish discord chats lmao.

When the boys were growing up they got a very detailed talk from both Yoshi, and their Doctors. ONE: Because nobody will know better than themselves if something was medically wrong with their bodies, TWO: The boys are all intersex (minus Mikey) and they had to understand that there was nothing wrong with them on TOP of the turtle thing, and THREE: Because Yoshi knew the boys would be getting a lot of attention, and you never know what kind of attention that form will take.

THE BEST WAY to protect children (any child) from being sexually assaulted or abused, is making sure they know what that abuse LOOKS LIKE. You don't have to make them terrified of being sexually assaulted, but them knowing how their body works, and also how to say NO and set boundaries, will combine to help make them safer.

Yoshi didn't know what would happen in the future and in a perfect world the boys would never leave his line of sight, but that's not always how things happen. (In a Short Season, Xander parroted Yoshi's instructions before going out to make sure the boys knew what to do if someone grabbed them (in any way) and it was to bite and be loud.) So the boys grew up knowing their bodies, knowing how to say 'no', and knowing that there was probably going to be people out there who would treat them as a novelty, and who wouldn't be appropriate to them as celebrities OR non-humans.

(Remember Emma Watson having to deal with that countdown to her turning 18? Or any other amount of child stars who had to deal with adults being predatory to them.)

But ALSO THIS IS HAMATO YOSHI. His sons are HANDSOME and HEARTBREAKERS! Leo has dated a lot but never anything seriously, and his inability to be intimate with anyone but family kind of puts a damper on any more permanent relationship. (He is gay.) He's the number one turtle people ask out because he's the most approachable. Because he made himself that way!

Donnie is in a sort of relationship with Kendra. (THIS WILL BE A FIC I'm working up to it lmao.) I have a head canon that Yokai and other empyrean based creatures are capable of having rivalry based relationships. IE Yoshi and Draxum in the canon show, the unhealthy dynamic between Yoshi and Big Mama, etc. (Caliginous relationship) Donnie is in a puppy love version of that with Kendra, while also lacking the context of yokai society to understand why he wants to punch her very badly, but also if anything happened to her he would die. They hate each others guts and also she was his first kiss. She is not a nice person I am not a Kendra apologist she's terrible I love her. (Donnie is bi!)

I know a lot of people head canon Mikey as ace, but he is a thirteen year old child you don't have to be head canoning him as anything. it is the very rare 13 year old who knows their orientation, and even if they DO I bet you donuts to dollars it will change eventually. This is normal and healthy. Mikey in LSoW has had puppy crushes on boys, girls, teachers, Violet, the mailman, Adam, and Rupert Swaggert. (Eugh eugh eugh.)

Raph is absolutely irresistible to the entire student body and is completely unaware of it. He's not stupid but he's face blind and bad at picking up subtext in conversations. He's gone to multiple people's houses and spent the whole day with them, without realizing they were trying to make it a date. (Raph is bi.)

All the boys have considered identifying as girls since their Dad is the martial arts equivalent of David Bowie and Fine With That, but have settled (for now) on being boys (age 10 the last time they considered this) because quote 'Lou Jitsu and Jupiter Jim are boys and they're awesome' unquote.

They don't get any fucking privacy for their relationships, and Leo in particular had a very bad experience that closed him off from dating big time. (Stamps 'THIS WILL BE A FIC' on this as well.) But also, as of the LSoW canon they are like, 12-14 and not doing a lot of dating ANYWAY. They are BABIES.

(Enter Casey Jones)

ON CROSSOVERS:

I have one crossover with my white whale of authors (you know who you are) I have pecked at with them that I think everyone will go fucking nuts for and love, but I won't mention it in case we can't get it off the ground! (A completely okay and normal thing to happen lmao.) I think that one will end up happening though because I am too excited about it, even if it's not any time soon.

I am super open to crossovers and cowriting, especially since writing with Li because I learned SO MUCH it was like speed running improvement.

The thing is it has to fit! There's some crossovers that wouldn't have a lot of substance because there's not really a lot to cover. When it came to EiL for example, there was PLENTY to cover and do, it was so fun! But other fics might not have a lot we could do for each other. (At least, not until I get some more world building done.)

That being said I do love talking crossovers with other creators it's so fun...

If you guys ever want to use my OC's feel free, just ask me in advance! I don't mind pings.

THESE ASKS ARE FUN THANKS FOR SENDING THEM I feel like you just threw a steak into my zoo exhibit. I am recharged and rejuvenated my crops are watered my skin is clear. This felt very pretentious to write I am mortified.

[saintsenara]

Another ask, this time just for fun. What are your thoughts on original characters in fanfic? Furthermore, what about fanfics that center around original characters?

thank you very for the ask, @hauntingpercival

and the answer is that i am a great defender of original characters in fanfiction because fanfiction is a hobby we do for fun - which means we are entitled to do whatever the fuck we want when writing.

i think that it's incredibly unchic behaviour when people decide they're suddenly professional editors exclusively to complain about their presence in stories - and i don't think there's anyone in fandom who can cast a stone against others when it comes to being a little self-indulgent in their writing...

because - of course - it's basically impossible to write a story set in the harry potter universe [even with the lightning generation] which doesn't use original characters at some point.

even if your protagonist is the most canon-accurate version of the character ever to walk around canon-accurately, co-workers and fellow students and parents and siblings and love interests and friends and shop assistants and random passers-by all need to be pulled from the ether to add colour to the story - and this is especially the case if an author wants to delve into themes or eras which are overlooked in the canon narrative.

as someone who writes a lot about voldemort's life, i have needed to come up with plenty of original characters to serve as his teachers, schoolmates, fellow orphans and so on - and i think it's worth saying that while some of these, like abraxas malfoy, are mentioned in canon, the fact we know nothing canonical about them beyond their names means that they function as original characters too.

and i find it tremendous fun.

[and i've spoken elsewhere about my favourite oc - romulus lestrange - father of the erstwhile rodolphus and rabastan.]

and i do think that it's worth offering a defence of that fun element - i see a lot the suggestion that it's a bit cringe [or, perhaps, a bit arrogant] to take original characters seriously, but i actively enjoy thinking up character details and writing characterisation notes and so on for people who exist exclusively in my head. and - yes - i think the process of fleshing out oc's has broader benefits to me as a writer, but that's really a secondary point next to the fact that it's fun.

i also love naming oc's - and i want to offer here a defence not only of fun but of whimsy.

it has been my great pleasure while writing one year in every ten - which is a murder mystery formed of three different poirot novels in a trenchcoat - to cram in as many characters named after crime writers or stars of classic detective novels as possible.

[when i'm taking things a bit more seriously, i like thinking about the class vibes of the series when making sure any pureblood original characters have anglo-norman names...]

and so - while we're taking a stance in favour of fun and whimsy - i think it's important to also back stories centred around original characters. and to do this even when these oc's are transparently author self-inserts.

all too often the conversation around oc's focuses on how to make them "good" - how to make them unclockable as a self-insert, how to avoid writing a mary-sue, and so...

but i think that's the wrong way to look at it.

people write mary-sues because they want to - because fanfiction is escapism and because sometimes it's nice to imagine yourself as flawless and beloved. people write self-insert because they want to - because it's fun to imagine yourself as part of a fictional world which means a lot to you.

i'm not sure i'd personally find writing an original character self-insert fun [largely because i'm a mess and nobody would want to read about me] - and, to telegraph my own hypocrisy, i really don't like it when characters who have a lot of canon material behind them turn into unrecognisable author surrogates [hence my enmity with fanon!hermione], which i do think it can be argued is a meaningfully different phenomenon...

but people who do enjoy it? well, i love that for them. not everything has to appeal to me, after all.

and - even when oc's aren't mary-sues or intentional author inserts - sometimes it's nice to give the responsibility of telling the story you want to tell to a character of your own, instead of asking a character who has to be dragged from canon to do it for you.

and i know that i do find writing a story centred around these sort of oc's fun because i'm... doing it.

metallurgy - the upcoming sequel to bookbinding - hinges entirely on its original characters: the seven children [since seven is the most powerful magical number] of tom riddle and myrtle warren. these lot are causing carnage in the wizarding world of the 1970s, and i am very much enjoying the ride...

[nessinborderland]

Although I don't have a chronic illness, I do have a few (online) friends who do. Not that it makes a difference. But.. As someone with a lot of my own disabilities (and disorders); I've got my obsessive compulsive which means one of my symptoms is (mild) germaphobia, so I'd want to just slowly kill the person who passed me these disgusting germs.

(I am almost better now.. Maybe a couple days left, I think?) Exactly! As a writer, I prefer original characters, because I'm an overly detailed person. I want my characters to have visuals and backstories for them. But as a reader.. I'd read stories with the original characters, reader characters, and even self insert characters. Which is irony is all the ways you could think of. People actually hate original characters a lot, for two reasons: Either because they can not relate to them in one way or another. Which is understandable. I know that I've already said this.. Or because, they're somehow "too Mary Sue", even when they're not. Self insert characters are also considered Mary Sue too, when all self insert and reader characters are the "fill in the blank characters" a lot of the time. While also sometimes complaining they aren't detailed enough to read about those characters yet are too lazy to create their own characters. Sometimes people are too annoying to tolerant too.

But, in general, I've also read good and bad stories with various types of characters; so I'd just read whichever story is the most well written.

Exactly! Not every ship has to be romantic. There are also platonic, or kin; family, friends, lovers. But doesn't always have to be romantic. So it's annoying when people say, "What's the point of having that many characters if they're not romantically shipped?" Because not all ships have to be romantic. I really can't tolerant people like that. But you've also said the same thing I've said... Just because they're not a certain way now, doesn't mean things couldn't change as the plot progresses too. Everything doesn't have to happen right away. Every story would be different, same with plots and characters too. Nothing is the same would it comes to someone creative projects like art, writing, or both.

I do have five characters for H&L, only four of them are "color coded" - but that was actually unintentional. Just a happy accident with that.

Main character is Rocky's interest but they aren't dating yet. But I am still figuring out details for her, and also between them too. So yeah.. OC 2's Red. Close childhood friends with MC? Definitely the eldest of my girls (1990), so she's like the older sister to them. Is originally part of Daruma. Maybe also childhood friends with Hyuga, even his "voice of reason" when he does something stupid or reckless. Not that they couldn't eventually be romantically involved. But is like a sister to him for now. Except she doesn't want to work in Daruma's illegal business (like the gambling house, the drugs and violence). Unless there might be a more legal side of the business that I don't know about. Which is why she works at Club Heaven with the White Rascals and also OC 5. Despite hating unnecessary violence, she could fight when necessary though. Personality; Libra born in October, ENTP, Sanguine-Choleric, 378 tritype. Those are only some ideas I have for her at the moment.

OC 3's Orange. She's Cobra's love interest. Childhood friends with OC 4 (since they're the same age), along with our Cobra, Nobura, Yamato and Naomi. Both girls were somewhat apart of Mugen and Sannoh in their lives so they know all the trauma that happens; with Noboru and Tatsuya, Mugen disbanding, frienemies with the Amamiya brothers a lot of the time, and frienemy alliances with the SWORD districts too. So OC 4 is like a sister to her, not that the other girls aren't, but she is closest to OC 4 (since they're classmates from the same grade). And, although OC 3 and OC 4 are childhood friends with everyone, they're much younger (1997). Actually, she's the baby of the girls. And one of my shorter characters too. So her ship with Cobra might be slightly, a tiny bit, uh, complicated; childhood friends, somewhat sibling type of relationship while having feelings for each other but the other one is a bit stupid to realize it even though it's obvious to certain characters. I will say they might be either stupid or scared to admit their feelings - but do eventually end up together. Oh! She loves to sing and dance, a lot of time she's the reason they go to Club Heaven (when the girls do want a wilder place to hang out). Maybe that's how MC and Rocky do end up meeting? Personality; She's Scorpio born in November, ENFJ, Choleric-Phlegmatic, 278 tritype. Just some ideas for her right now.

OC 4's Blue. Possibly Murayama's love interest. So her story is similar to OC 3's.. Since Oya is an all boy school, I can't have her attend there at all. And I didn't want to make a separate all girl school. So she's the childhood friend and classmate of OC 3, along with childhood friends with everyone else too. And also knows the drama and trauma, within Mugen and Sannoh too. Is one of younger characters, but she's only a few months older than OC 3. Not sure how she meets Murayama yet. But, if they are romantically involved, I imagine them as friends while also lovers too like friends and lovers. I don't know how to explain it at the moment. She's a tomboy if that helps. Personality; She is an Aries born April, IxFx, unknown temperaments, unknown tritype. I'm still in the working out details phase for her. So that's something for now.

OC 5's White/Green. Originally, she was going to be apart of the Rude Boys, but her story didn't align with them. So, she is technically, apart of the White Rascals instead. But, I do still want her somehow aligned with Rude too, just not really sure how yet. Especially because I'd love it if she knew parkour. She loves to cook and bake, so her family owns a bakery. She works there. And also works in Club Heaven, preferably as a bartender rather than a dancer. Which might be how her and Red know each other? Personality; Is a Leo born in August, IxFx, unknown temperaments, unknown tritype. Still working out details for her too.

I know some of their personalities are vague. But, I also wrote a whole message, way longer than I meant to. So that wasn't my intention.

Oh! As for OC 3 (Orange). I was thinking she could possibly be related to Pearl from Mighty Warriors. Maybe. I'm not sure yet. It's a thought.

Apologies for the extremely long message.

I like how you've developed the characters, I can see them fitting well in the H&L world! For oc #5 I can see her having some connection through Rude Boys through her cooking/baking. Like some kind of soup kitchen thing she organizes occasionally for whoever needs and the boys take notice of her helping their community. Idk, something like that.

Also, regarding your account, I couldn't find it, but be free to send me a link to your AO3 through a DM or something 🤗

[illegiblewords]

I want to take a second to talk about Mary Sues as I understand them. And by Mary Sues, I mean all variants unbound by gender or style.

People used to discuss Mary Sues a lot back in the early 2000's. There were litmus tests all over defined by superficial qualities like hair/eye color, number of love interests, whether a tragic backstory existed, etc. Readers would run up to strangers with hate reviews if an OC didn't meet their standards. It was common to accuse disliked canon characters of being Mary Sues too. There were lists of works that were considered guilty of Mary Sue creation assembled for mockery. The whole thing became a form of public bullying and I think it scared a lot of creators into not trying anymore. I suspect it's a huge part of why we keep getting y/n and other open self-insert fics these days.

At some point, the public shifted. People attempted to defend Mary Sues by equating them with all power or romance fantasies then claiming the only reason such characters would be vilified is sexism toward a female default archetype. By doing this, most people stopped examining the phenomenon altogether--not only in understanding what the actual common factor in Mary Sues is, but why Mary Sues are alienating to readers.

That answer was a cop out. I promise that Mary Sues are just as off-putting with characters of any gender, demographic, orientation, whatever. And frankly it doesn't matter if your character is the most generically designed, unassuming, non-tragic shlub of all time--they are still capable of being a Mary Sue if the structural issues remain.

Mary Sues are normal among developing writers. I've certainly made Mary Sues before. They were cringe af and occasionally I discuss them behind closed doors if I want to make someone laugh. Created them in dead earnest as a teen and holy fuck it was parody level. Everything I talk about is as someone who is 0% free from sin lmao.

Before I give my definition of what a Mary Sue is, I need to explain something about characterization that is often overlooked.

There is micro, individual characterization and there is macro, population characterization. Worldbuilding requires characterization too. You need to look at a group's motives, influences, psychology, resources, etc. the same way you would for individual characters while allowing room for varied experiences. You need to know the cause/effect of societal development. It isn't something you can just wave away as 'because I said so' because that dehumanizes the entire population, which makes the world less believable/immersive. A less believable world in-turn strips individual characters of experiences and perspectives that shape who they are. This has a flattening effect and makes characters less believable and relatable too. Tradition, style, and genre def shape how much detail is needed but some degree of macro-characterization is necessary.

With that said, I'd argue that Mary Sues are characters who (rather than having behavior believably shaped by experiences or operating within the parameters of the world they inhabit) define themselves for how they are exempt. It doesn't matter if the exception to cause/effect is positive or negative. Mary Sues are also prone to being the most at what they do. Most ordinary/boring counts. Mary Sues will warp the experiences, perspectives, and desires of other cast members around themselves like black holes without it being acknowledged as abnormal by the other cast members or the narrative. Cause and effect in relationship building through behavior/choices does not apply, a Mary Sue does not start from zero like a regular person. Lore and stories revolve around Mary Sues exclusively even when it doesn't make any sense for that to be the case. Every significant thought or experience of other cast members ties back to Mary Sues too. Positive or negative, Mary Sues are likely the only and most meaningful relationship characters will have. Design elements (when present) tie to exceptionalism and lack of cause/effect.

Being a chosen one or someone with unrivaled power/influence in a particular arena isn't enough to make a character a Mary Sue if it is cohesive within the world. These things also tie heavily to characterization in response to situations as well as the dynamics with others/characterization of others. The existence of Mary Sue tends to preclude any alternate meaningful relationships or experiences for other cast members, and again--Mary Sue is specifically not shaped by experiences in credible ways. They don't experience meaningful internal change. They're pretty much always right or always wrong. And having an exceptional or rare experience (ex. someone did an experiment with odd results on a character) isn't enough to cause a Mary Sue either if that experience or exception remains consistent within the overall worldbuilding/macro-characterization. So ex. if there were similar experiments being conducted on or by others, that would go a long way to addressing exceptionalism. Isekai characters who come from one world to another are not inherent Mary Sues, because the isekai character still carries and is shaped by both their previous life experiences and the life experiences of their new environment. The source world is still part of the overall setting that shapes them. In-universe reality warpers also don't count as Mary Sues because reactions to reality warping tend to be organic and not normalized by the narrative.

There are degrees in how much a character is or isn't a Mary Sue, but lack of cause/effect, absolutism, and exceptionalism are big. The reason Mary Sues are bad storytelling is because they are not credibly human (figurative), diminish the humanity of other cast members, and diminish the humanity/construction of the entire world simultaneously. They lack believable consequences for any choices made--be they positive or negative. Stakes/tension are skewed as a result. Mary Sues tend to be static and they not only break immersion, they alienate readers because it's a form of destroying a world and cast the audience is invested in. There is no reason for random strangers to love Mary Sues. Mary Sues don't come across as authentically alive in any capacity, but more as poorly done caricatures of life.

And the thing is, they often don't work for wish-fulfillment fiction either. Wish-fulfillment (when the reader imagines experiencing the story in the role of protagonist) gets passes on certain technical elements necessary in empathy-based storytelling (when the reader forms opinions of cast members as distinct people) or intellect-based storytelling (the reader is exploring a philosophical or medium-based concept).

In wish-fulfillment, it is very important that the writer creates a main character who many audience members can project themselves onto. Usually such characters are left somewhat underdeveloped to facilitate this. Whether it's a power fantasy (reader imagines having luxury/influence), a romance fantasy (reader obtains an ideal partner), or even revenge fantasy (reader has an outlet for anger without consequences)--in wish-fulfillment it's important that not only the author but a wide range of readers can share in the fantasy. While it's possible to get limited success with some Mary Sues here, I think the extreme, specific, hyper exceptional nature of Mary Sues often distracts. Again, wish-fulfillment finds strength in how well it shares fantasies with audiences. If the audience is so caught up that they can't effectively project themselves onto the Mary Sue (being hyper aware of the Mary Sue's artificiality), that isn't going to work. If the fantasy doesn't resonate with audiences, it won't go as far either.

Imagine taking James Bond and giving him natural purple eyes and hair in a world where no one else has that. He'd never lose a single fight or struggle to escape peril, never wreck one of the fancy cars he's given, never have a single advance rejected. Bond is a power and romance fantasy character no doubt, but his limits are significant in keeping him from being a Mary Sue. There are plots and relationships that have nothing to do with him beyond details in the mission he was assigned and those keep things immersive.

All this said. If you're telling a story for yourself, and only yourself--doesn't matter if your character is a Mary Sue. Once you bring other people in, you have to think about what you're trying to achieve as a storyteller in terms of interpersonal communication. That includes whether the experiences you're crafting for readers are effectively realized.

Mary Sues are a normal part of learning. They aren't immoral or unforgivable. Mostly they invoke a self-centered mindset supposing the entire world/everyone in it revolves around you in some way. Again, I've made 'em lol--think immaturity is a big part of the practice. But in a story where everything revolves around you, that doesn't necessarily share well with readers who aren't you who are still the heroes of their own stories.

Making Mary Sues is a craftsmanship issue. It's like trying to build a chair only for one leg to come out wobbly. It can be your favorite chair sure, but that doesn't make it well-crafted. Certainly no one owes you money or praise for it. Hell, they wouldn't owe those things if it was a perfectly crafted chair but not the chair they were after.

Part of what motivated me to write this is because I've seen certain creators with wobbly chairs. They've slapped on carvings, stains, and all kinds of features--but the chair still wobbles like a motherfucker. These creators don't understand why more people aren't buying their chair. They think people must hate them personally or the material their chair is made from then fly into rages accusing audiences of moral deficiency. It's hit a level of bullying in its own right.

To people like that I say:

Your chair wobbles. It'll do way better if it doesn't wobble. The wobble is fixable. Strangers are not obligated to fawn over your wobbly chair. There isn't something wrong with them for not wanting a wobbly chair. Wobbly chairs haven't done well historically either. You're not an exception, just one in a very long line of wobbly chair makers. Some of those chairs were made of the same material you're using. Some were different. It isn't about the material or your staining, your carvings, any of that. It isn't about you either. Your chair can't support itself--let alone someone trying to sit in it. Even if your prospective customers couldn't make a better chair themselves, they can tell when shit's unsteady and they don't want that. Of course you're making wobbly chairs before you make sturdy ones because you're still figuring chair construction out. This is just a part of the process you haven't mastered yet. It takes attention and practice. If you spent half the energy you use yelling at other people honing your craft instead, you'd probably have better sales.

[veradragonjedi]

ok since i know you as the excellent writer mutual, i wondered if you had any advice for creating ocs? one of my other moots asked if i had any ocs and now i REALLY want to create one. but it looks hard af. so turning to a venerable author for guidance

OHHHHH GOD. First of all, I gotta thank you for the description (😭 seriously), I'm trying my best out here.

SECOND. I think I might be able to help, depending on what sort of OC you're trying to make, whether they're real world, fandom related, alien, D&D/Medieval Fantasy etc. Like. WOAH. There's a lot of freedom in making OCs!!!

Long-ish post below the cut!

Instead of actually wracking my brains rn, because evening is drawing in and I'm tired, I am gonna tell you a few things that no one told me! Plus some extra fun knowledge (and maybe tag you in OC dialogue prompts/creation advice in future if you want some help!!)

SO. 1. You can start whenever, wherever, and no one is allowed to tell you otherwise. I'm not sure how else to say this, but it's a game of creativity and a bit of love. To tell someone else what they're allowed and what they aren't allowed to put in their OCs is WRONG. Give them magic powers if that's the only thing you can think of at first, because it's a start and a start is always beautiful.

2. Art is art!! Even if it stays in your brain and never comes out. By this I mean, appearances: what do they look like? Is it what You want to look like? Is it nonhuman? Experiment with races, hairstyles, eyeshapes etc, especially if you're gonna end up drawing them!! More practise, and it's fun, because it's something/someone that You are Interested in. Hopefully I'm making sense here!

3. Names. Oh god, baby name websites won't help you. But fantasy generator names can! They are often much better and more exciting. Back to separate cultures ^ — looking for famous people of the culture/race of your OC can sometimes be of assistance, or sometimes unofficial Census sites. Names can also be objects, plants, celestial bodies, Gods, colours, metals/elements, etc. Maybe, with a few letters missing. Chair -> Chaise, Tablet -> Tebley (two I came up with a while ago and didn't really go into)

4. Clothes! I love researching clothes because they're always interesting to analyse, especially if they come from somewhere else around the world. Experiment with colours, what works/doesn't work with your character? Is your character neat, tidy? Show that through their clothes! Primmed and pressed suits and whatnot. Same goes for the opposite. If your character's main trait is that they're agreeable and friendly, show that through their clothes even slightly by making the colours blend, maybe make their favourite colour limited on the outfit as if they're moving it to make way for others. Think about shape, silhouette, etc. Do the clothes fit your character's particular body type? Their habitat? Their scene/time? :)

5. Personality!! This is always great. For a few of my OCs, I rolled them D&D stats with a twenty-sided dice. The five I ALWAYS take into account are: joy — what brings them it, romantic interest — or sometimes lack thereof, sadness — do they often fall into it? Are they easily emotional? Etc, fear — what are they afraid of and why? Etc, and lastly, charisma/charm — how easily are people to follow them, want to be friends with them, fall in love with them, want to listen to them speak?

(5.5) Flaws! Everyone's got em, aside from Mary Sue (who could be Your character. I'm not judging.) There are plenty of posts talking about character flaws. Here's one I saw earlier. It explains it better than I could, and OP leaves another link! Think about how much it grates against their defining 'Good' quality, think about whether you would see them as a good or bad person, and whether their flaws change how other people perceive them.

6. Hobbies aren't an important factor exactly, but it's always nice to plan your Little Guy some downtime. What do they do when it's quiet or when they're lonely? Do they have many friends, or do they keep to themselves? What's their favourite book? Their favourite video game? Their favourite film? And how is that shown through their appearance too? (Such as merchandise, tattoos, piercings.)

7. Things I didn't mention consist of:

— do they have any disabilities (mental or physical)? Were they caused by something (accident to be mysterious about)? Or were they born with them?

— do you expect people to relate to them, like them, hate them, fall in love with them, etc? Both real people who may come across your character, and other people in this characters setting?

— hero or villain material? This isn't a fine line, but it doesn't have to be a blurred line. Redemption arc/story? Tragic hero falling to..? Revenge? Lust? Hunger for power?

— how they fit into the scenery or area around them, where they live and how they interact with people who surround them.

But, finally, do what you want. OCs can be tricky, but as soon as you learn that it is — in the end — You who control both them and You, it becomes a whole lot easier.

Blogs I recommend are @develop-your-oc and @creativepromptsforwriting — they both help a lot. <33

My final tip? Enjoy. And, if you don't, stop! Do what you want, forever. :)

[fabuloustrash05]

Never did I think the day would come that you actually dislike or say fuck Mona from an iteration (IDW to be specific). And I find it ironic people hate 2012 meanwhile she was a way better person and character in general and actually cared about the turtles. Plus genuinely wanted to fix her mistakes she made. Also at least her relationship is healthier then IDW.

I know, I’m shocked too! Who am I?? LOL

But to be honest, my opinion on IDW Mona Lisa and the IDW comics in general heavily comes from what my friends @pumpkinpie59 and @theresistanceneverquits tell me about it. They give me info about certain characters or the story in the comics, and I judge from there, because I have no time to read the comics. 

Now when it comes to 2012 Mona Lisa hate, I got to say that the hate is not as big as it was when she first debuted in 2015. Back in 2015 it was a nightmare because Raphael fangirls were absolutely livid and couldn’t comprehend the idea of a fictional character being in a relationship with someone who isn’t them or their Mary Sue OCs. They were threatening the producers/the writers and harassing anyone who shipped RaMona or liked Mona Lisa. Nowadays, the fanbase here on Tumblr and on Instagram seem to be mostly very positive towards her and even love her, and I think that’s because the internet nowadays loves big tall strong girl bosses with short male wives. Plus the fan base has grown up and nowadays we can see that RaMona was honestly the most healthy, loving, and overall the best couple in the series!

The only hate I ever see 2012 Mona gets nowadays is mainly on TikTok (but it’s few from what I’ve seen), but that’s only because it’s coming from stupid young new 2012 fans who think one flaw in a character or relationship = toxic/abusive.

[darkdoverpseeker]

hello everyone! 🌸 this might be a long shot but I've recently got into the KPOP world (I blame stray kids, itzy and blackpink for this) and I'm reaaally craving a one or more plots set in this world (preferably with m/f ocs). I'd love to write about what goes on behind the beautiful façade of fame and dive into the toxicity of the system, the pressure, social expectations, challenges and so on and so forth. some things to know about me are that I'm a 25+ (she/them) writer, I'm a sucker for angst, hurt/comfort and mature themes, and I only write female muses (this isn't because I love to write mary sues as ppl like to think but I've had some bad experiences writing males in the past and I just prefer to avoid it now unless it's with some rp partners I trust and know well enough). I also don't double (for the same reason) and prefer writing on discord in a literate/multipara style. I'm ace, so I'm not a fan of smut unless it's one or two scenes to build the relationship between characters (when I do write smut, keep in mind that my muses usually prefer a more soft dom approach). aaaand that's it I think?? I'd love to find someone that's open to brainstorm together and maybe also talk ooc cause I do need friends who know a lot more about kpop than me so they can share knowledge and we can fangirl together 😌✨ if interested or even if you have questions, please leave a like and I'll contact you ~

like or dm if interested !

[blairsanne]

Writing Questions Tag Game:

Thanks for tagging me @residentdormouse ♥

What is your absolute all-time favorite idea you’ve ever had?

Um, so the two favourite ideas of mine are not things I can link you to because the first one, which is a faerie story about (among other characters) the fae prince of Winter, is a story I'm writing (I guess it's on hiatus) with my irl bff and it's not finished or available to the public. I don't know how much I should share tbh, but I love all the characters and the world we've built so much.

The other is just my special daydream OC character whose story I will never actually write because it's a mashup of various fandom lores and very complicated and while fun to daydream doesn't sound fun to write. She's a priestess who gets murdered on the altar of her world's gods by her bff and they revive her to kill him (he was a priest who took the power of the gods and then proceeded to basically demolish the world around him). She does so, but is essentially left alone in her world and becomes a guardian of sorts. Her role is to link herself to one person (anchor) in every one of the worlds/dimensions/realities that the collection of souls her gods watch over reincarnate into. She can call on power from the other realities to protect them from outside threats (basically, if the gods were creator beings, there are destroyer beings who want to devour the souls/realities). She ends up being kind of a tragic character though, since she's stuck between a bunch of "lives" so to speak and beholden to different people in different worlds but never able to settle down and be done. She keeps getting revived by the gods when she dies (with all her memories, instead of reincarnating), and she struggles with grief. Why is this my favourite idea? IDK but I keep thinking about it.

Is there a question you’ve been asked in the past that really stands out to you and you still think about sometimes?

Well one time someone on anon complained that I wrote a self-indulgent mary sue oc into my fanfic and asked "who asked for [that]". To which I replied that I did. Because, you know, I write shit for myself first. As a fun hobby. I'm in no way saying that I write anything great, and if you think my writing is cringe, like, okay, you're right? Die mad about it, I guess? Get a life? Idk. I'm just having fun playing pretend with these fictional worlds.

What is your favorite part of being a writer?

Re-reading finished things because I write the type of stories I like to read, so it's really satisfying to get to reread them later. Close second is when someone else likes what I've written, that's pretty cool. ♥

What parts could you take or leave?

The agony of the time between posting something online and that first bit of feedback on it. Now that I actually have people looking at my stuff there's a little bit of like "well I hope at least one person does end up reading and enjoying this" and like... if not then it feels like why bother posting it online? (Honestly I started posting my BWOC fic in 2013 just so my irl bff could read it. I started posting my newer fics on tumblr in 2021 just so I'd move on and finish the missing parts of the story I had been writing... which hasn't worked, in case anyone wondered haha.)

What is your greatest motivation to write/create?

I am constantly coming up with stories in my head. There's something about writing them down and crafting them into something I can read again later that lets me put them down, if that makes sense. Like a brain dump. I don't need to remember just how that scene went or why that was happening in this plot, because it's written down now. I can revisit it later if I like. Or never.

Second-biggest motivation is when I'm writing a fic with someone else in mind, like a request or gift, or for an event, or just something I know that one person in particular will like. In the hopes I contribute something good to their day. (Even if it's smut.)

What do you wish you knew when you were first starting out writing?

I've honestly been writing since I was a child, so I wish I could tell you. XD

What I would say to someone new to writing is this: You get better at every skill by doing it. So, if you want to write, you're better off writing a ton of stories, badly at first and reworking, refining, revising, etc. than to wait until you're "good enough" to write the story you want to write. You can always write a version two or twenty-five, months or years later. Done is better than perfect, and shitty-first-drafts are better than forgotten ideas.

What is your favorite story you’ve written TO COMPLETION? Link it if you’d like and can!

Probably Homecoming, a smut-fic for Bofur in the Durin's Garage AU. Mostly because I haven't written most of my stories to completion, but also I love that fic.

What is your favorite out-of-the-box quote?

"If anyone can do it, so can you."

Which of your characters would you say has the most controversial mindset? Why do you say so and how do you personally feel about their ideals?

In one of my original fiction stories, one of the characters is an emperor who is basically taking over the world bit by bit, and has zero remorse about it. He believes that nobody can love him (for good reason unrelated to his status/warring) and has decided not to love anyone or anything either. At one point, frustrated with how passive his stolen fiancee is, he orders his brother to strangle her to death in front of him and then gets mad at her when she doesn't fight back (he orders the brother to stop, it was just like... a test?). He's very aggressive and believes that everyone only looks out for themselves, etc. so he does the same. (So her passivity sort of challenges him in a way. It's complicated.) It think it's a very toxic but easy-to-fall into worldview when someone thinks that the world is cruel to them, to decide to be cruel back. That's probably the most controversial mindset of my OCs, but that's sort of the point. Obviously I think he's wrong, and eventually things happen to change him.

If you, when you first started writing, met you now, what would younger you think?

She'd probably be confused why we stopped doing forum-RPing and be completely amazed that a single stranger anywhere in the world had read and enjoyed something we wrote all on our own. Honestly I think little me would think I was pretty cool and living the dream. Maybe I should remind myself that more often.

I really value the community in fandom spaces, which I think is why fanfiction is so appealing. We all get to play with the same dolls in different ways and go "ah yes, that's a cool way you played" and learn from each other and grow, and it's all around a shared love of stories. Storytelling is how humans make sense of the world, and community is what makes life feel like it has meaning to me. So this is a pretty cool place to be.

No pressure tags: @laurfilijames @i-did-not-mean-to @i-am-still-bb @silvermoon-scrolls @sotwk @middleearthpixie @sketch-and-write-lover @enchantzz @lordoftherazzles and OPEN TAG to anyone who wants to do it. :)