#which leads to miscommunication which leads to angsty conversations

[songstep4002]

I wish Supercorp shippers would treat James with more dignity. Like yes, I hate Lames as much as the next person. But that doesn't automatically make James the bad guy here. I'm fine with people writing Mon-El as the jackass who gets in the way of Supercorp, because he has always been a jackass. But James was a flawed and nuanced character who got mishandled by the writers, and every time someone bashes him unnecessarily or makes him out to be the villain, it leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

[slut4celebs]

You're Not Just My Best Friend

Gracie Abrams x Reader

Word Count: 1,505 words

Trigger Warning: miscommunications, public displays of affection

Synopsis: 1) Guys, I had to turn to ChatGPT for some writing ideas because I'm head empty from midterm season soooo please request. 2) Here is the angsty fic idea it gave me. In which the pressure of tour and her feelings for the R becomes overwhelming, Gracie decides to talk to R about it. Only, the conversation leads to a misunderstanding and fallout. R still can't help but go to Gracie's show after a message from her brother and the two confront each other and their feelings.

Requests are open. < Please guys, on my knees begging.

Gracie Abrams handpicked (Y/n) (L/n) to be her friend of their first day of kindergarten. On that same day, they held a wedding on the playground and Gracie kissed (Y/n) and told her she'd love her forever. From that day on, she kept her vow to always love her, it being a sacred promise that she held to her chest. Their bond could be categorized as intense and passion, even when they tried to date other people. Truth be told, no relationship between them and anyone else could last since they were always on a collision course to this exact moment in time. Now, Gracie was standing in front of (Y/n), ready to pour her heart out and put their friendship on the line. If only she hadn't started it with "I can't be your friend anymore."

The statement sounded like glass shattering into a million people, scattering around her. It made (Y/n) afraid to move, to stand, to say anything as she processed Gracie's words. Due to Gracie's silence as she picked the words carefully in her head, not communicating them out loud, (Y/n) took this as a statement that solidified the end of their decade long friendship. She always thought that they would end up more, not just end entirely. Apparently that feeling wasn't shared, as it seemed that Gracie was just dumping her onto the curb while in a city far from home.

A million thoughts hit her simultaneously, making her spiral. Couldn't Gracie have thought of this sooner? Where was she going to stay tonight? How was she going to get home? She had, after all, quit her part-time job to be one of Gracie's social media organizers. It was really just Gracie's way to bring her on tour, putting her on her payroll. It took forever for Gracie to even convince her, and now she was just dropping her. Was there someone else? Had she done something wrong? Her head began to hurt and she grew nauseous, and she finally stood right when Gracie was finally finding her words, thoughts finally connecting together.

"So, you mean to tell me that you convinced me to come on tour with you just for you to tell me you can't be my friend anymore?" She hated the way her eyes welled up with tears, causing her to take a sharp intake of breath. (Y/n) couldn't allow herself to cry in that moment. She bit her lip to stable her wobbly lip as she cleared her throat, trying to find the right words. But there was no words, and Gracie couldn't respond quick enough. "God, Gracie, I left a stable job to come here with you. I dropped everything for you. We're in New York fucking city… I can't even look at you right now."

Gracie's eyes were wide as she watched (Y/n) make a break for her tour bus door. She quickly caught her wrist, brown eyes pleading for her to stay. Her words were caught in her throat, blocked by a sob due to (Y/n)'s retreating figure. Why couldn't she just confess her love right then and there. All she wanted to say was that she had always loved her and she will always love her. Nothing had changed from their kindergarten wedding. But, somehow, she managed to ruin it. "No, (Y/n), please. I was trying to-"

"Trying to what, Gracie?" There was her opening, the opportunity needed to get her thoughts out. But she didn't take it. (Y/n) shook her head, tears finally spilling over her tear line. Yanking her wrist from Gracie's tight hold as she silently begged her to stay, (Y/n) headed out the door into the New York streets. She, unfortunately, had the pleasure to be met head on with fans who recognized her from Gracie's lives and Instagram posts, and they attempted to ask for photos. (Y/n) had to wade through them, trying to remain polite as she made her way to a hotel, her phone battery a little too low for her liking. Thankfully, the girl at the front desk let her borrow a charger before she booked a room. Once her phone was in significantly better health, she made her way up to her room, allowing herself to finally breakdown and grieve what had just happened on the bus.

She wasn't expecting a call to wake her up in the late afternoon. Blinking away her sleepiness, her brows furrowed when she saw it was from Henry, Gracie's older brother. She let her brain process for a moment before answering. "Hey, (Y/n), sorry to call you so randomly. I.. I heard about you and Gracie, and I know this isn't my place, but you should go to her show tonight." He said solemnly, as if he just lost her, too. In a way, he had. If she wasn't friends with Gracie, there wouldn't be a real reason for her to come to the Abrams home anymore.

(Y/n) let a hand run down her face. She couldn't believe Henry was actually trying to find himself in the middle of this. Ever the diffuser, she found herself realizing this was kind of his niche. With that said, it wasn't any of his business. "You're right, Henry, this isn't your place. So, please, just fuck off." She groaned, ending the call and closing her eyes. She looked at the time and knew that Gracie was at soundcheck. She had missed over twenty phone calls from her from last night and this morning, and she had a dozen texts. Maybe Gracie regretted it. She shook her head. Gracie didn't deserve any grace from the situation. She had pulled (Y/n) all the way across the nation just to end their friendship. Still, for one final goodbye, she was going to go to this stupid show and rebreak her stupid heart.

She adorned her outfit from last night, jeans and a hoodie with 'The Secret of Us' on it. It was exclusive and made for just Gracie's team. She pulled out her pass, thankful she still had her wallet because of her other belongings were on the bus. She didn't have an actual seat, usually sitting behind stage, so she leaned on an entrance way. After Role Model's performance, Gracie came on. Admittedly, she did look a little disheveled, not that the fans would notice these little quirks that made Gracie look unlike herself. (Y/n) didn't have time to dwell on it as Gracie started speaking.

"Okay, so… I was going to sing Close To You first, but… I've changed my mind. There's this girl that I've loved since kindergarten. We got married the day we met and I kissed her. I told her I loved her, but when it mattered most, I couldn't tell her I still love her in the way I meant it when I was little. The innocent kind of love, only it's now more passionate." Gracie swallowed, looking at her deep blue converse. (Y/n) was watching with fresh tears, and when Gracie looked up, their eyes met. "Here's I miss you, I'm sorry." She announced.

(Y/n) wiped tears from her cheeks as she listened to Gracie sing, her heart racing. At the end of the song, Gracie passed her guitar to one of the people on stage before getting off the stage. Everyone's eyes were on her as she almost ran to (Y/n). As she made her way to her childhood best friend, their lips crashed. It was a movie moment, where the camera would spin around the couple and emotionally charged music would play. It was their moment as their tears mingled into the kiss, the taste of salt on their tongues. The crowd was cheering but it was drowned out. When the two finally parted, a silent message passed between them. They were going to be alright, and yeah… They couldn't be friends anymore because they weren't just friends. "(Y/n), you're not just my best friend. I love you."

(Y/n) felt her breathe hitch as she nodded softly. Her head was spinning from their intense kiss and she connected their lips again. "I love you, too," she said, looking up at Gracie. Worry was still ever-present in her eyes and she smiled softly. "We're okay. We're girlfriends now, or whatever." She said in a soft whisper, both chuckling. Then, they both remembered where they were. "Go, Abrams, I'll be right here, cheering you on." She nodded. Gracie smiled a bit, kissing her again on the lips and once more but on the forehead this time before returning on stage. Everything was different, their collision course causing their universes to come together as one. Then again, when had it ever been two separate universes. They've always been just one entity, in the long run. It was always going to be (Y/n) and Gracie together, just as they had promised the day they met.

[steviewashere]

#50 just make it hurt/comfort and really angsty and sad (I’m clearly in a sad mood asking this rn 😅)

First of all, I hope you're doing better! And hopefully this suffices the ask. I got a lil' crazy with it, wrote way more than a drabble (again), but who cares?

50: Writer's preference, I chose prompts 33: "Please don't do this." and 12: "I think we need to talk."

Tags: Post Canon, Post Season 4, Established Relationship, Steve Harrington has Nightmares, Steve Harrington has PTSD, Steve Harrington is a Mess, Steve Harrington Needs a Hug, (And Gets One!), Eddie Munson is a Sweetheart, Steve Harrington is a Sweetheart, Arguments, Making Up, Mild Vomiting (Like One and Done), Miscommunication

————— Eddie notices a lot about Steve. Which makes sense, they’re dating, that’s supposed to make sense. But sometimes he wishes that he didn’t have to notice. That he didn’t have to hide his glances because he could spot Steve’s heavy eye bags, or the way his shoulders have been slumping, or how high strung and tight and angry he’s becoming.

The first time he sees a change in Steve’s demeanor, they’re hanging out with all their other survived friends. In his backyard. By the pool. Except, that’s not quite right. Everybody except Steve and Nancy are hanging out at the pool. They’re on opposite sides of the yard, surveying, keeping close eyes on everyone as they move and speak and laugh. At some point, though, Nancy decides she’s had enough waiting. She leaves her post, hesitantly sits next to Robin on the edge of Steve’s pool, and lets her feet soak in the water. Her smile comes easy and her eyes grow soft, and that’s when Eddie knows she’ll be okay. But he keeps his eyes on Steve.

Sure, he should be enjoying himself. Which he is, slightly. Standing in the shallow end, leaned up against the pool wall, just letting the water kiss his scarred skin. He’s sipping on a chilled beer. Talking languidly with Dustin and Lucas and Jonathan about music and games and hobbies. Then, Dustin leaves him. Leaves the water. Strides over to Steve, face set with determination, and a pep in his step. Eddie goes quiet in the conversation, looking over his shoulder instead to where Steve is tucked near his back door. Where he’s not drinking his beer, still sealed and dripping condensation onto Steve’s bare thigh.

Dustin asks him something. Steve shakes his head. He tries offering something else, gesturing loosely with his hand at the pool and the small group that he just came from, but Steve is adamant on his decision. But of course, Dustin never takes no as an answer. He pushes. Which leads to Steve roaring: “Dustin, fuck off!”

Everybody falls silent at that. Eyes on him. Steve bristles, chucks his closed beer to the wooden porch, and disappears into his house with a slam of the door. The beer is fizzing, exploded. And then Dustin starts crying.

That’s the first time Eddie notices a change.

The next time, it’s somewhat subtle. Steve spacey at work, quiet as he shelves tapes, not even talking with Robin. He tries speaking with Steve, but only gets some non-committal grunts instead.

His last straw is an argument they’re having. Currently.

Steve’s tired, bitchier than usual, tense in his shoulders and wild-eyed. Eddie tries to stay soft, give himself a chance to remain calm and keep in mind that Steve’s going through something. But that doesn’t even begin to deter the argument.

“Listen, I think it would be good for…us—“ You, Eddie doesn’t say. “—if you let me help you out,” he’s trying to persuade. He’s standing in Steve’s kitchen. Gesturing at the pile of dishes in the sink and on the counter. Pointing out how the garbage has overflowed. And how he knows laundry hasn’t been done lately. He’s trying to be polite about it. “It’ll be like when I first got out of the hospital, okay? You just rest up and I clean up a little bit, make you something that you want to eat, and we can cuddle and watch a movie.”

However, he knows he’s hitting a brick wall over and over. None of his words are making their way through. The softness is leaking from his throat, drying him out, making him want to puke. Steve huffs through his nose. Face red, eyebrows furrowed so hard that his eyes are nearly closed with it, nose flared, and mouth downturned so extreme he nearly looks like Beaker from The Muppets. “I don’t want your help, Eddie!” Steve shouts from his spot at the dining table. He wouldn’t let Eddie come any closer. “I’m not some child, you know that?! I’m fine, I can do this on my own, and I certainly don’t need somebody like you telling me what needs to happen!”

All at once, the gentle care nukes in Eddie’s chest. Replaced instead by a hazardous anger, red hot and corroding. “What do you mean by that?��� He asks bitterly. Voice flat, devoid. “Thought we were over biases, Steve,” he spits.

Steve blubbers like an out of water goldfish. “I—That—You know what I mean, Eddie. Not like—It’s just—“ he flounders. His eyes trail down towards the watch on his wrist. They grow wet, but not the tears that come from sadness. These are tears of agitation. “Nothing’s wrong,” he says wetly; the first thing that fell from his mouth when Eddie began to bring everything up. “Everything’s perfectly fine. Just got behind in house chores, which is whatever, you know? Like—“ He chuckles darkly, a self-deprecating thing, something painfully normal. “—Who the fuck actually cares about how messy everything is, right? Just leave it alone. Let’s…Let’s go cuddle,” Steve says hastily. He clambers up and out of his seat, around the table, and into the kitchen. Wrapping himself tightly around Eddie, cheek pressed to his chest, trying to pull them into the living room.

But Eddie doesn’t wrap back. He steps away. Putting distance between them. “I don’t want to do that with you right now, Steve,” he mutters. “That fucking hurt. What you said. I don’t really feel comfortable being here right now. Forget that I brought this up, okay?” He steps around Steve, who stands stunned and heartbroken in his own kitchen. Eddie’s in the doorway before Steve has the chance to reach out and touch him again. “I—I think we need to talk. But I can’t do it right now. I can’t…Why would you say that? Jesus, Steve.” And yeah, he had different intentions when coming over here. Wanted to soothe whatever was going on. Figure out how he could help. If he could help. In fact, he would’ve been fine with Steve pushing him off again, insisting on a topic change. He would’ve let it happen. But not now.

He makes sure the hurt is shown on his face before he leaves. Before he has a chance to rub his eyes and sniffle. And ignores how Steve calls out to him. He needs to calm down before he says something he might regret, something that would hurt worse than what Steve said to him.

They don’t cross paths often after that. Sometimes Eddie sees him at Family Video, but not for very long. In just to rent a tape and get out, hurt simmering unrestful in his ribcage. He can spot Steve out of the corner of his eye, reaching out, stepping in place, mouth opening and closing. But he ignores what he has to say.

Sees Steve when he drops off people for Dungeons & Dragons nights at the Wheeler’s house. But he scurries off before anything can happen. Other people start to take notice and Eddie has to shoot a warning glance with a gritted, “It’s private. I don’t want to tell you.”

Today, though, he notices Steve dropping something off at Max’s. She takes the offered thing from his grip, shuts the door softly at his back, and then Eddie finds Steve’s eyes. Hard not to notice him when he lives only a short distance away from Max’s place, but what greets him makes his stomach knot. Steve is unwell. Pale and jumpy, eyes bloodshot, his eye bags heavy and dark circles so purple—he almost looks bruised. His hands are shaking, clothes are rumpled, and his hair is…greasy, flat, knotted. Eddie puts out the cigarette he’d been smoking and walks calmly and quietly down his steps. Crossing to Steve’s bumper.

“Hey, baby,” he greets softly.

Steve startles anyway. Turning with his hand gripping tight to his door handle. Tugging on it, though it must be locked. His eyes are wide and devastating. Wet, exhausted, puffy and swollen. They’re red raw. Like he’s been crying. And rubbing at them, too. At a closer look, Steve’s cheeks are blank of any color at all, slightly gaunt. His lips are chewed to all hell. And his facial hair is wiry, outgrown. Unkempt.

“Baby,” Eddie murmurs, stepping closer. He places a firm hand to Steve’s left bicep, squeezing ever so gently. Runs his thumb over the taut muscle. “Can we talk inside? Let me make you a cup of tea and get you something to eat?”

He doesn’t say anything, but does release his hold on the car handle. Follows slowly to the door, but doesn’t come close to the couch where Eddie gestures to.

“You can sit on the—“

“Please don’t do this,” Steve sobs.

Immediately, Eddie comes closer into his space. Hands splayed in front of him, ready to reach out and touch and hold, but isn’t sure if that’s allowed. “What? What shouldn’t I do, Steve?” He questions. His voice quivers with concern.

“Don’t leave me, Eds,” Steve cries, rattling and shaking with it. His chest stutters. Hiccups in the back of his throat. “I’m sorry—I’m so—I didn’t mean it, I was just upset and I know that’s not okay, but I—“ Steve gags harshly, doubling over with it. Eddie rushes behind him, grabs for the waste bin, and sets it out in front of him. “—I was being an asshole and I’m sorry and I’m sorry that I hurt you and that you thought I thought bad about you, but I didn’t, I didn’t, I don’t, Eds—“ Eddie can’t even understand the rest of what he’s babbling, it’s incoherent, strung tight with snot and saliva and tears, but it renders too much. Steve finally reaches out for the trash can, hurls harshly, and drops to his knees with his grip still on the can’s lip.

Eddie crouches beside him. Hand on his back, on his forehead. Holding to him firmly, ignoring how sweaty and cold he is at once. A part of him withers at how he made things worse. It wasn’t his intention, to make Steve worry this bad, but he definitely instilled that fear. And now he needs to just glue back together what he cracked.

When Steve is able to calm down, collapsing heavily against Eddie, does he speak softly. “I’m so sorry, sweetheart,” he murmurs, “I guess we both used our words wrong. I’m just so worried about you, I swear. This isn’t—I would never lead you on about a break up. And that’s not what this conversation is, I promise, Stevie.”

Steve sniffles noisily. He koalas himself around Eddie, burrowing his face into Eddie’s chest. He’s still shivering, sweaty, and weak. “I’m sorry,” he mutters.

“I forgive you, Steve.” He holds to Steve tightly. Crushing him in closer, not caring how it makes his back ache or his knees scuff the floor. Doesn’t care about how Steve’s tears soak through his shirt or the sure mess of snot left behind. He squeezes Steve’s back and states softly, “I’m just so upset that you think you have to be fine. That you can’t ask for help. That you have to deal with everything on your own.”

“I—“

“Please just talk to me, Steve. What’s going on? I just don’t understand where you’ve gone, you know? You’re so tired and angry and tense all the time. You don’t want to talk to anybody. You keep pushing us away, closing yourself off. But then you don’t take care of yourself,” Eddie rambles, his voice growing weak and choked. “I’m sorry that I—I don’t know how to talk about this without sounding like an asshole. I’m just worried. Worried that…That something’s terribly wrong.”

The implication of Vecna is not lost between them, if the way Steve tenses says anything.

Carefully, Steve pulls himself away. Staring wide and timid at Eddie. Before he breaks with another cry of, “Everybody keeps dying, Eds. The nightmares. They keep—I can’t sleep. I see it everywhere.”

“What do you see?” Eddie asks, voice shaking. Please don’t say that clock. Please don’t say the clock, Steve. Please, he internally pleads.

“Death,” Steve whispers. “Everywhere. In everybody. I see…Nancy drowning and Robin beaten and Max broken. I see you covered in blood with chunks of you missing and you don’t look at me, you just look over my shoulder and you’re gone by the time I find you. I just see it. I can’t—I can’t stop seeing it, Eddie.” He curls his hands tight into Eddie’s shirt, nearly ripping it off of his back. “And I’m always alone,” he hiccups. “Alone when I wake up. And so I leave, I drive around, I wait to see if anything bad happens. But I can’t sleep.”

Eddie brings a hand and swipes back at Steve’s hair, pushing it away from his forehead. He leans in and leaves a gentle, sticky kiss to the skin. Pulling back, he offers, “When you’re ready for bed, you find me. Call me so that I can come over. Or tell me to come get you.” He cups Steve’s face, holding him between his hands. His cheeks that are splotchy red, tacky with tears. Eyes hazel and shiny and slightly defeated, yet hopeful. Eddie tickles his thumb over the bridge of Steve’s nose, his cupid’s bow, between his eyebrows. “Stevie, baby, I never want you to think you’re alone again. Ever. Seeing you so distraught all the time was killing me, but I’m here to help. You don’t have to carry the world on your shoulders.”

“But…I’m supposed to be able to take care of myself, Eds,” Steve argues quietly.

“Yeah, sometimes,” Eddie states. “You’re not supposed to be alone, not all the time. And if laying with you until you fall asleep safely, or showing you how fine everybody is, making you a sandwich or doing the dishes—Whatever, whatever helps you out, I’m willing.” He presses another soft kiss to Steve’s lips, the tip of his nose, on his forehead. Murmuring, “You helped me. It’s my turn, don’t you think? Wouldn’t that be nice?”

Steve shrugs. “Am I supposed to just sit around?”

“You don’t have to, but you could relax. Watch a movie or do something that’s not exhausting,” Eddie explains. “Being independent, you know, doesn’t mean exerting yourself at every possible moment. Or ignoring things that bother you. Or hiding your hurt. It means seeking help, even if you do it on your own. It means sticking up for yourself, even if what’s hurting you is you.”

Against Eddie’s palms, Steve sighs through his nose. “Okay,” he mutters. “Can…Can we take a nap? I’m really tired,” Steve tentatively asks.

“Of course, sweetheart. I’ll find my soft pajamas for you, too.” He stands, offering out his hands for Steve. Tugs him up. And when they’re at eye level, “Steve?” Eyes on him, zeroed in and focused. “I want you to bother me. Be a nuisance. Take up space.”

“Are you sure?” Steve murmurs. “I can be a lot.”

“Loving you means loving all of you, sweetheart. Even the excess parts. Which, by the way, aren’t excess. Because I love taking care of you, despite what your brain is surely telling you,” Eddie says. “Come on, I’ll take care of that can while you lay down.”

He’s glad he noticed. But he’s happier at the sound of Steve’s soft snores, puffed over his bare neck, and the drool that will surely dry on his collarbone.

——— Drabble Prompts Ask Game

[besttropeveershowdown]

The Most Annoying Trope Showdown: Semifinals, Poll 2

Out-of-Context Eavesdropping

Someone overhears a conversation and, lacking the full context, misinterprets it as something more serious.

Propaganda:

I hate all miscommunication tropes but this is the one that makes me want to strangle people the most. "we need to fabricate a reason for A and B to hate each other, but not one based on their actual personalities or situation. Instead, Person A talks about something personal and important, but they decide to word it in the dumbest way possible. Person B decides to listen in on a private conversation and then gets so mad at this stuff they weren't supposed to hear that they don't even listen to the final sentence that completely recontextualises the whole conversation. also 90% of the time A would never express feelings this way AND B would never snoop this way. just poor writing to inspire the world's most insipid conflict between morons.

Pair the Spares

Every or nearly every character who did not get together with someone during the story is paired off in the epilogue or very end. The characters are often shown having kids together as well

Propaganda:

This may just be my aromanticism talking, but it's annoying seeing everyone getting shoved into a relationship at the last minute. It doesn't even make sense most of the time. Let! People! Be! Happy! Single!

I am aroace and I hate this. just let them be happy on their own, don't just pair up characters for the sake of pairing them up, even if they have zero chemistry. this happens so often in all kinds of media, and fandom is also guilty of this. not everyone needs a partner! leave them alone!

I love romantic subplots but this is just amatonormative bullshit. It has all of the "romantic partner=happy ending" bullshit that fucks people up in real life, with none of the fluttery crush feelings or the angsty decisions. It doesn't add anything to the character arcs and is only detrimental to the themes of a work as a whole. It can cast a shadow over other romantic subplots in the series I might have enjoyed up until this point, because I start to wonder if those romances were really about the character/themes/plot, or if the writers simply think "leading lady goes with leading man, sidekick with sidekick, etc. etc."

It's fucking stupid. A lot of the characters that end up together either barely interact, make no sense or both. It also implies the only happy ending requires love and marriage. It makes no sense for some of the characters to want to settle down and have kids even if they are with someone they love.

[flavoredfaeman]

hiiii I recently finished going through the entire spones tag sooo here are my favorite TOS fics in no specific order

In your Eyes miscommunication fic where Spock tries to get dating advice from Chapel but she thinks he's asking her out. This is very inconvenient for Nyota who wanted to date Chapel and Bones who was pining for spock

Science Blue Series 4 short TOS fics from various points in the series 2 of which are really funny and cute and the other 2 are a little angsty and sweet

Ashaya this already got recced but it's one of my top faves so I'm adding it here too. Fake marriage to real love

Five Times Spock Was Interrupted While Trying to Confess His Love for McCoy and One Time He Wasn't the title says it all!!

Not Everything Happens Quickly Bones is in trouble and it leads to Spock realizing his feelings and then not addressing them

Five Times Spock and Bones Felt Each Other Up On Accident And One Time They Meant To The title says it all again

The Venerean Guise (sexual content) Spock and Bones have to act as a couple in order to create a federation alliance with a planet that practices only same-sex relationships

Surgeon's Mate Spock has a crush on Bones and Bones has no idea. One of those 'spock is absolutely fascinated and perplexed by Bones' fics

I'll Carry You Home Spock is injured and goes into a healing trance so Bones has to carry him for a very long distance, all while trying to contact the Enterprise, avoid aliens, and avoid local wildlife

Entangled AU where Spock crash lands on Earth 30 years before first contact and is found by the country doctor McCoy, who decides to take him in

Strange Human Rituals Set around Voyage Home, Spock trying to understand the things he remembers

enquiries of the interstellar medium Spock and Bones almost die on an away mission gone wrong, things are different between them afterwards

Just Don't Feel Like Fighting Anymore Post "all of our yesterdays" Bones wants to talk about whether his choices made Spock uncomfortable. Spock wants to tell Bones to stop being a martyr

Things Shared (au) Spock and Bones are on an away mission on a rainy planet where they are searching for evidence of space travel from a planet called Earth, and during this Spock contemplates his relationship with Bones

A Moment of Weakness Immunity Syndrome, friends with benefits "what are we doing?" conversation

Stop Making Sense Recovery fic set after Bones has to choose to save other patients rather than the more severely injured Spock. Luckily for Bones, Spock finds this decision logical (and is also in love with him)

A Home You Know Aftermath of fal tor pan, Spock learns to be himself again, Bones wonders where they stand and what comes next

Mr McCoy in a Cowboy Hat Bones has been away on a planet similar to Earth's Wild West, and Spock has been missing his husband terribly

After the Fire 2 fics centered around the TOS movies, 1: Bones can talk to Spock while he's carrying his katra, and they share feelings they hadn't before, but once Spock is returned to his body things don't make as much sense. 2: after undiscovered country they find themselves at a log cabin with a peach tree out front

Morning Surprises Academy era, Jim and Uhura find Spock and Bones cuddling on the couch after a party

His Bounce Spock has never seen a human bounce before (part of a series of things Spock notices about Bones)

In the Market he Plays AU where Spock becomes a musician, and Bones does a one year residency at a hospital on Vulcan, where they meet and fall in love. Sad/bittersweet ending

The Journey and the Destination Bones goes on a road trip, Spock, who has a secret to share, joins him

Fal Tor Pan or: How to Accidentally get Married on Vulcan Spock and Bones discover a strange side effect of fal tor pan, and Bones discovers a secret Spock has been keeping for a long time

Where the Grass Meets Sand I am Home mind meld hesitation fic

If I Find My Way, What Will I Find Spock and Bones deal with the aftermath of fal tor pan

Distance A series that follows Spock and Bones throughout the TOS and TOS movies, 3 pre-slash, and 11 slash fics (some of the fics are explicit)

In One Piece Spock notices the Bones has a rather peculiar post-transport habit

The Science of Wanderlust 5 times Spock's weird biology confuses Bones, and 1 time it confuses Spock

tos spones had me in a chokehold currently somebody please please give me fic recs thank you

[quantumlectra]

Kiribaku Fic Recs!

I wanted to do a list of fanfics that are really close to my heart!

Sorry if it is too long but I wanted it all in one place.

My First One And Only by  Quirkless-One (BlackBarBooks)

This is one of my favorites. Bakugou and Kirishima discover all stages of relationship together. They both have no idea what they're doing, but they figure it out with the power of love! It’s unfinised, but it has 26 chapters out already.

houdini by chonideno 

This one is really intense! Kirishima and Bakugou are locked together in the closet because they play the game of seven minutes in heaven. The tension between these two is so thick you could cut it with a knife. 

Heartbeat Thunder by  Shippeh

It’s an Omegaverse fic. Kirishima is an Alpha and he is addicted to suppressants because he had a really dangerous rut. Bakugou is an Omega and helps Kirishima with his struggles. Obviusly they fall in love during it.

Spice Season by Shippeh

This is an direct sequel to Heartbeat Thunder. This one is much heavier, deals with serious topics such as pregnancy and miscarriage. I cried so much reading this, so be prepared for feels!

Outshining the Sun by  thesweetestnerd

Class 2-A are going on a school trip. Bakugou and Kirishima are in love with each other, but neither is aware of it. They struggle with jealousy and miscommunication. Things get complicated when Mina confesses to Kirishima and he agrees because she's too nice to hurt her feelings.

what he thinks he knows by  octobuns

Bakugou rediscovers things he thought he knew about Kirishima. It’s really sweet!

Room for Cream by Shippeh

Another Omegaverse by amazing Shippeh! This one is so good. Kirishima is an Omega and a relly cute barista. Alpha Bakugou is ready to do anything to win his heart. But Kirishima has a dark past and a lot of issues, but Bakugou is here to help him go through it.

Tomorrow, Today by  timetoboldlygo

I think this one is my favorite. Please read this! Bakugou and Kirishima are all grown up and married. But they are in a middle of argument when they get hit by a quirk that throws them back in time. They have to deal with difficult emotions while trying to go back to the present. They are so in love with each other, and their relationship is really healthy! My heart was sqeezed so many times by this fic!

Twelve Fifty-One by  Trenchcoatkitten

Another one of my favorites! This is a Band AU! Kirishima is the lead singer in the band and Bakugou is the replacement bassist. Kirishima is head over heels  (who can blame him, Bakugou has piercings!) Also, they sing with each other!

(Distance Makes the Heart Grow Fonder) FALSE by  dragontrappedinhumanskin

This is pure fluff! Bakugou and Kirishima are hit with a quirk that forces them to stay really close to each other. Yeah, they have to spend every second with each other. They dance together and share clothes! It’s really sweet.

A matter of chemistry by  mcshamey

This is a College AU. Kirishima share chemistry classes with this grumpy but hot guy and he decides that he will befriend him. Turns out they become more than friends. It’s basically fluff with a little drama at the end, but nothing big.

When Love is Gone by  Bryan

This fic will break your heart, I warn you! Bakugou is an old man and he is dying. He records his thoughts about his memories with Kirishima. They were in love but broke up when they were younger. Kirishima moved on and started a family with another man. But Bakugou never stopped loving him.

and Kirishima’s point of view:

Last Christmas by Bryan

After Bakugou’s death Kirishima finds out about his feelings, which he had hidden for so many years.

Be Patient by  deviance

Everybody is wondering why Kirishima and Bakugou aren’t a couple yet. They’re obviusly in love with each other. But they made a promise to wait.

The Bet by  Mostlyhuman

Kirishima lost a bet and had to flirt with Bakugou for a month. But Bakugou is weirdly okay with that. Fluff, fluff and fluff!

Sent, Delivered, Read, Loved by  KiriBakuHappiness

This one is really interesting because it shows Bakugou and Kirishima’s text conversations and how their relationship developed. 

I Loved You Once and It Seemed Enough

After many years of not talking Bakugou and Kirishima reunites and fall in love with the new versions of themselves.

Cosmopolitan by  dvmb4ss

After a drinking party with the whole class, Bakugou and Kirishima end up sleeping together. They both are afraid that this will affect their friendship. They don't realize that they both want more.

tour en l'air  by  oredatte

Bakugou is an trangender ballet dancer. He overworked and ends up with leg contusion. Kirishima is his lovely physical therapist and helps him recover. (And they fall in love)

an opera in 5 parts by  oredatte

This one is very heavy. CW: self harm. Bakugou can’t stop cutting himself and Kirishima finds out. It’s really finely written.

Resident Ships in the Night by  redriothashira

Bakugou and Kirishima are divorced. After Kirishima’s grandma dies, they are forced to fix a cabin together and deal with their feelings for each other. This fic is very mature and I loved the different approach of their characters.

Wasting Time by  imnotpoppunk

This is an AU where everything is basically the same but Kirishima dicides to not apply to UA. He meets Bakugou and they develop an connection.

This fic is very angsty but it has fluffy moments as well.

Kirishima's Cocktails by  Stitch_In_Time

Bakugou is depressed and his life is falling apart. He meets a bright plumber who helps him rebuild his bar. They fall in love but Bakugou still has to deal with his mental issues.

Freshly Ground Coffee by  arxaris

Cute Coffe Shop AU where Bakugou is a pro hero and Kirishima is a fanboy barista. 

show me where it hurts by  JustAKilljoy

Soulmate AU where you can feel your soulmates pain and Bakugou begins to experience panic attacks that are not his own.

you have made me feel so sure by  honeijirou

Another Soulmate AU where first words are written on your body. Kirishima doesn’t have them. He meets Bakugou who has hearing problems and doesn’t speak.

pickup lines and valentines by  aloera

And another soulmate AU! Basically whatever you write on your body, it appears on your soulmate body as well. Nobody believes them, when Bakugou and Kirishima say that they are in a relationship.

Worth a Thousand Words by  awareoftheconcept

Kirishima is convinced that Bakugou is dating Camie and struggles with jealousy. Little does he know that Bakugou is in love with him.

tell me the truth (even if it hurts) by  Kilaco77

Kirishima is hit by a quirk, causing everyone to tell him the truth. Kirishima learns bad things, but Bakugou tries to protect him.

The Lost Continent by  cattchi, paglykos

Reading this fic feels like readin a good, adventure book. It’s about pirattes! Bakugou is a Captain of the ship and Kirishima is a noble boy, who was taken hostage. But they fell in love and Kirishima finds happiness and a new way of life.

[writing-for-me-at-this-point]

Fight w/ S/o | Tenya + Eijiro + Katsuki | Angst, Fluff | HC’s

Request: Omg hi! Can I request angsty break up hc for bnha like they get in a fight for tenya iida, kirishima, and bakugo but can they end in a sweet makeup :) sorry if u don’t wanna do this, I don’t mind.

Word Count: 2030 words

Page Count: 5.6 pages

A/N: here we go! i hope you like it :)

Tags: @centerhabit​

        You didn’t even remember how it started, and as cliche as it sounds, it was true. You never related so much to such an overused statement. Anger from the fight filled your entire body, with a head as light as cotton- you almost felt dizzy, yet your body was buzzing with adrenaline. Filling your veins much like how it does when fighting and training. You needed to focus on what was important- becoming a hero. It was developing healthy habits so you don’t crash in your future, but here you were crying over a boy. But he was your boy, the one you care for- grew to love and still do. 

Tenya Iida

- You both were fighting about something stupid. You couldn’t even remember. 

- You started the night as you usually had done. Tenya sitting upright on the bed, with your legs on his, with you leaning against the wall. You were both studying, catching up on some notes and finishing homework before doing something else for your classes.

- Some cutesy shit ya'know?

- And you asked how his brother was doing, and he answered normally, but one thing lead to another.

- And here you both were, arguing with one another, not really yelling. Just speaking at a louder volume- kinda like Katsuki does.

- “Are you saying I don’t care about you or what you stand for, Tenya”

- “I’m saying you only care about me when were on the same footing.”

- “Same footing?!”

- This wasn’t good. Some of the guys had heard muffled yells and even got a bit worried too, like damn Iida is yelling? At his girl?

- It got so tense and the room just reeked of anger- something that never happened in Tenyas presence. NEVER.

- You stopped yelling, took a deep breath, and looked at Tenya, you knew the tears were in both your eyes.

- This fight was killing both of you.

- He looked so tired, his hair was messy from running his hands through it, the frown he carried held deep lines in his face- his flannel button up shirt you had gotten him was wrinkled from his own hands gripping at it during your argument.

- You probably didn’t look any better.

- “I’m gonna go to my room now…” You started, grabbing your bag as you did. When you turned to the door, you couldn’t look back at him, but you did turn your head.

- “We should probably take a break from each other for a bit.”

- Now, why you gotta shatter his heart like that, [ Y/n ]?

- You both kinda just laid in bed that night, either crying or kinda dead-eyed and staring at the ceiling or your phones. Who knew the contact you pressed on so quickly before felt like the whole world was holding your hand back.

- The weekend rolls by and your trying to save face. You decided to spend the weekend with some friends from middle school, catching up and what not.

- “How’s your boyfriend, [ Y/n ]?" 

- "Honestly? We’re kinda… fighting?”

- BOI WERE THEY RILED

- You ended up explaining what had happened and it made you rethink about what was said.

- “Girl, you fucked up.”

- “Oh my god, I fucked up.”

- You kinda just looked at your lunch for a second before you saw your phone, and a text was waiting just for you.

 Tenya

        Are you okay? I love you.

- Your heart BROKE and MENDED at the same time before DROPPING.

- “I gotta fix this.”

- “I got the bill, go! Take care of that boy before I beat you!”

- You made it back to the dorms LATE.

- You didn’t even realize how long you were out and how far into the city you had been.

- It was 20:13, about an hour before curfew started.

- You settled your stuff into your room and sat on your bed.

- What were you gonna say to him? What would he say? How is he feeling? You feel like a dickhead. This wasn’t about you though, this was about him, god you just wanted him to be happy again.

- Your head was in your hands when the knocking was at your door, you didn’t even realize the door was opening till you heard it close.

- “Hey.”

- “Hello.”

- God his voice, it sounded tired and done with everything. 

- “We need to talk.”

- Go and give the boy a heart attack [ Y/n ]. 

- “Wha- What do you mean? It was just a stupid fight?!”

- You heard his voice change into something more anxious and you tried to settle him down, and you spoke about how you essentially fucked up. 

- He tried taking the blame but no, you knew you had to apologize and that what you did wasn’t right- you had to make it right.

- You both had tears in your eyes as you made up, and it was a long process before you really let yourself off the hook, and Tenya just wanted you to be happy again to.

- You ended up laying down in bed with him, his head on your chest as you ran your hands through his hair, catching up on what has been going on- everything settling into its routine, as it should be.

- When you ended up falling asleep first Tenya looked to you before smiling softly, a quick peck to your lips before covering you both with a blanket and you snuggled into his arms.

Eijiro Kirishima

- “Do we really need to do this now?”

- “Yes! Because you have a habit of evading serious conversations, [ Y/n ]!”

- “Excuse me?”

- You both ended up going off on one another, arguing back and forth in the empty training room, hands waving in the air desperately trying to get both your points across.

- “You need to stop this! Throwing yourself into danger like that won’t help anyone! You’ll end up getting hurt- or worse, killed! Do you think I would want that! That any of us would?”

- “You think I do what I do recklessly? You think I don’t have a back up plan in case something were to happen? Do you think THAT lowly of me?”

- “[ Y/n ], you know that’s not what I mean! You-”

- “No! You’ve made this very fucking clear!”

- You tried walking away, but he came after you, grabbing at your arm.

- “Eijiro! It’s done!” You yelled, irritation getting the best of you, flinging your arm away from him.

- You managed to shock him, your voice sounded so… hateful, did he really get you that mad?

- He didn’t mean to do it. Really! He was just worried about you, he didn’t want you getting hurt.

- But you got so mad, maybe he was in the wrong?

- He kinda just stood there like a confused puppy watching your figure disappear from his sight.

- ‘It’s done!’ Did that mean…?

- On your end you started to calm down, you don’t know why you blew your fuse like that, and it wasn’t a good thing to do.

- But you knew you needed to calm down before your temper got the best of you, and that you didn’t want to hurt Eijiro in anyway.

- You needed a shower, some pajamas, dinner, and then you can go back to him. Some time apart before talking about this again is the right way to do things.

- You made it to your room and grabbed some pajamas, going to take a rather… long shower before changing, putting your costume to get cleaned as you grabbed dinner and ate quickly, staying alone for the night.

- It was a while before you decided to talk to Eijiro again, now it seemed like you both were ready, right?

- Well, when you made your way to his room and knocked, there was no answer. So you waited and knocked again.

- You started to get a bit worried.

- Did… did you fuck up that bad?

- Is he okay? You didn’t mean it.

- You wanted to make this better.

- He… he deserves better.

- Your heart was racing and you wanted to make up with him, that this wasn’t his fault.

- Your head hit the door and you stood there with your eyes closed, thinking of the most worst case scenarios, not hearing the footsteps come up to you.

- “[ Y/n ]? Are… you alright?”

- Your head shot up.

- “Eiji…” You teared up, and went over to hug him, muttering apologies and while shaking a bit.

- “Hey, Hey- it’s alright. You’re making me think I did-”

- “No. No. You didn’t.” You pulled away.

- “I’m sorry. Really. I shouldn’t have blown up at you like that.”

- “I shouldn’t have said you were throwing yourself into things, or being reckless. I’m an idiot.”

- “Nah. I am.”

- “Are we really gonna do this?” He chuckled, watching you pull away as he opened the door.

- “Mm. maybe. Come on sharkie, let’s so cuddle.”

Katsuki Bakugo

- Oh god.

- He was in one of his moods again.

- Though Katsuki had a temper, he always valued communication, especially when your relationship became much more serious.

- And your relationship was strong because you always spoke and communicated well, making you love him more and more each day, which you didn’t think was even possible.

- So this situation you got into was seriously dumb, according to your standards, because it could’ve been avoided.

-You essentially were convicted of the big dumb. Too much Mina and Denki time you guess.

- Though you knew it was a miscommunication, Katsuki didn’t- so his anger was justified, but when hes yelling his head off and you can’t get a word in, it does get tiring. 

- “Are you fucking kidding me? Like you could have just asked! Really!”

- You were kind of waiting this out, for his anger to simmer out before you spoke, it always worked before.

- You sat on his bed, arms crossed, as you watched him pace around the room.

- You loved him, you really did, but you also knew how he is- so the bored look on your face really got to him.

- “Are- Baby are you even fucking listening?!”

- Your bored look honestly hurt him, did you not care about what was bothering him? Yeah, he was yelling like an ass, but he was upset.

- You got in trouble with Mina and Denki, and though it was dumb, he didn’t want you in bad standing with any teachers.

- And that look on your face like you didn’t care.

- Fuck.

- “Katsuki, I am listening. Why would you think I wouldn’t?”

- “Because that look on your face says it.”

- You were shocked, you didn’t mean it in any way like that, and your surprised look only seemed to make him even more upset.

- Then it blew up, with him looking more and more heartbroken, his anger dissipating into sadness quickly.

- “Katsuki, please, it isn’t like that.”

- You’re ready to cry at this point, you’re making him feel this way? You’re responsible for this?

- He notices you’re both getting to riled up and he sits on the bed, not talking and lets you both take a breather, not really saying anything.

- “Are you okay?" 

- "Yeah, you?”

- “I think so?” You muttered.

- He shifted next to you and brought his arm around you, and let you lay your head on him, his hand rubbing up and down your arm.

- “I’m sorry.”

- “It’s okay. I’m sorry too, I should have just asked you before acting like an idiot,”

- “I didn’t mean it, and it’s okay, we all become dumbasses once in a while.”

- “I know.”

- “I really am an ass.”

- “We know.” You smirked as you felt him stiffen.

- “Hey! I’m trying to-” He stops himself before sighing, a small smile on his face, bringing a hand to your cheek and pinching it. He brought his face into your neck and nuzzled harshly, tickling you and making you laugh, giggles escaping your throat.

- “Stop! Haha- Katsuki!”

- “What? I just wanna make it up to you!” He smiled maliciously, his hands coming to your sides.

- “Don’t you dare!”

- “Too bad!”

[vacantbloodbones]

The Disappointing Crimes of JKR

so it’s 2 am and I have a fight to finally get home (i’ve been MIA for a while because I needed a vacation tbh) THIS IS A LOOOONG ONE, YOU’VE BEEN WARNED! but on one of my flights I finally got to watch FB2 and it’s taken me a while to gather my thoughts. Like, I knew the disappointing confusion I was signing up for... I had seen SO many YT reviews on the film and from HP fans to just FB1 fans had gathered their opinions... and it was all negative...  So I had my apprehension going into watching this (thank fuck it was free) and I’ve got a lot of my own opinions to say... So if you are aware of myself, you know that I actually loved FB1 and how the flow and characters went. Genuinely, I think as a stand alone film it was actually a good, comprehensive piece of story and film; you had exposition, build up, character development, tension, climax and fallout/outro/conclusion...  So, what went OH SO WRONG in FB2, in my humble-ass opinion?  Well, lets get into this adventure with me, pals... stick with me as I rant my good ol’ heart out, grab some snacks, a drink, maybe some liquor of choice (in my case).  In the beginning, there was... well, absolute confusion??? For an entrance into a film, especially a franchise that has a previous film, I firmly believe there needs to be SOMETHING that explains and ties the previous entry to the latest one... Especially since this series hinges on a handful of characters (Newt, Tina, Credence, Grindelwald, and Queenie + Jacob) and to just throw us into Gellert’s VERY confusing transfer to Europe’s Ministry to answer for his crimes... The intro threw me off; there’s a time jump and there’s an extreme LACK of having our previously established characters development and fallout from the first film being EXPLAINED so we (audience) can make a connection to this next entry.  Like, Credence’s survival (yes, I’m well aware of the deleted scenes that were actually supposed to be shown at the end of FB1 according to Yates...) because we don’t get to connect the dots on screen of HOW and WHY Credence and his Obscurus survived with the additional information of his Obscurus being HANDLED (like, wasn’t the premise of the previous film the urgency of how this THING was going to KILL him and EVERYONE in NYC?), him finding his adoption paper, getting to Paris and into a travelling circus (which, also... makes no sense??)... We’ll put a pin on that for a bit here...  Also, Tina and Newt’s relationship; we really are left wondering how and why they are even romantically involved as the first film established them as strangers to mutual friends at the end... Something that should’ve been shown on screen could’ve been Newt choosing to continue his Beasts studies and books over staying and risking himself being in America for his love interest, Tina. Again, put a pin on that for now...  But instead, I just felt the into to the film was as vapid as JKR’s writing when she simply just doesn’t care for CONTINUITY and actually making sense of ANYTHING.  But nnnooooo, we just get an hour and a half of meaningless exposition and threads that aren’t even expanded or given closure to...  Gellert putting Abernathy as his doppelganger really pissed me off, because we never are shown an inkling as to WHY Abernathy chose or perhaps had always been on Gellert’s side (could’ve even expanded on the idea of Abernathy playing a role in Percival’s capture/implied death in the first film)... Even Seraphina doesn’t mention or show ANYTHING about their most powerful wandless wizard being GONE... he was SOMEONE alive and WORKING in MACUSA for a substantial amount of time... that had connections, powers above anyone, and obvious trust and influence to Seraphina... which also begs the question, why is there such a heavy emphasis on Gellert using his wand magic, when he had been using wandless while impersonating Mr. Graves?  Now, to get into another huge issue; character development continuity: How did the time jump from the intro give us very DIFFERENT characters than the one’s we had been introduced, learned to love/hate be turned into vacant shells of all their development?  Like, I’m sorry but what in the actual FUCK did JKR do with Queenie’s character? She seemed like a genuinely sweet and subtly powerful witch that used her gifts to her advantage... to this, desperate, powerless, and lost character? The Queenie we were shown had a sparkle for adventure and curiosity that gradually came to admire Jacob and truly was heart broken when his memory was erased--to kidnapping him, putting a love charm against his will, and forcing him to go to London with her? She acted the very opposite of who she is and she seemed to have strong morals to stand by her sister’s side, help no-maj’s out, and using her powers for what she felt was right.... To being hapless in Paris, because she wouldn’t own up to her kidnapping and using magic on Jacob against his will, and then DECIDING to JOIN Gellert’s very VAGUE AND STRANGE CULT.  Newt seemed more like a confused boy the entire installment with flashes of him and his abilities with connecting to beasts, thrown into this second installment as a reminder that “fantastic beasts” is in the title of the movie...  Also the broken up dialogue; I DIDNT GET A SINGLE STRAIGHT ANSWER IN ANY GODDAMN CONVERSATION HELD BY ANY CHARACTER! like WOW for a two hour+ movie I got ZERO dialogue that made me go ‘ahhh i get it now!’ no, everyone was running away from each other like a grade-school gym dance.  Jacob was still, sort of, Jacob... but he and Newt’s friendship didn’t feel authentic in this film as it did in the previous. The banter (or lack thereof) was kind of just a callback to me of saying ‘ahahaha, dont you remember Jacob being funny in the last movie????? well look at this funny moment thats totally not needed!’  EVERYONE AVOIDING EACH OTHER FROM MISCOMMUNICATION LIKE THEYRE TEENAGERS REALLY MADE THE ADULT TONE OF THE LAST FILM JUST FALL FLAT... I had screamed internally every time some interaction happened and then someone RUNS AWAY! like, aren’t they adults??? even HP films has young TEENS being more accountable and willing to talk than every adult in this MOVIE.  Lets get into Gellert’s confusing vague cult of reasoning; Gellert’s wishes and aspirations and him killing people and children to comparing his reasoning that he will stop WW2 with his hookah skull... just didn’t make sense, I’ll also add that Gellert’s LACK of character really just pissed me off, like, Voldemort wasn’t revealed until waaaay later and even when he was a face on the back of someone’s bald ass head; made a more CONVINCING and REASONED character with his motives. Gellert just seemed like a casual shit disturber and running a murderous vague cult because Albus won’t do shit and he knows it... He’s like an angsty teenager that never got had someone sit and hug it out type deal. Also, the way he treats his followers and the lack of showing HOW he got so many followers; like, I’m sorry but how did this angsty man-baby get followers???? Oh, right, he used his words that... AGAIN, fall goddamn short even when we FINALLY got to see his “gathering” and “speech” that was so hyped for almost 2 hours... It didn’t make sense to his reasoning or why he was acting out IMHO.  Alright, now let’s get to the character introduction... or really, half-assed intro to the many people I COULDNT CARE FOR... Expect my personal surprise with Theseus, we’re introduced to a man that seems more compelling and complex than Gellert (seriously tbh). Somehow we’re led to believe a guy who constantly (as we’re shown) to reach out to Newt that HES the one making their relationship complicated? When it becomes apparent that Leta and Newt are the two with complicated history and Theseus loves them both deeply????? Enough that he just stands back knowing damn well Newt and Leta have a past but he’s secure in his relationship between all both people he just wants them all to get along. Now, I get that Theseus wants Newt to be an Aura, but we’re also shown he has his reasons to help Newt (ultimately); Theseus showed more character development than ANYONE in this ENTIRE MOVIE (well Albus is second in this) but him CHASING HIS BROTHER TO GET ANSWERS is somehow ‘BAD TEMPER’ according to Tina... like really, almost all the female characters were lacking level-headed sanity purposely written by JKR so I would resent the characters I had grown to actually like???? Nagini is just thrown into the plot as a mother-like figure for Credence but Credence is displayed as some selfish man-child, he can’t reason with Nagini and it leads to their strange relationship ending with Nagini feeling betrayed. And then there’s Leta and her over-played storyline to be cut short by her sacrifice that literally didn’t do anything for the plot but make me want to punch a wall because Theseus is left with a broken heart and a brother who will ditch him in a minute to talk to Albus...  There were other characters that were so lacking in development that if any or all of them died, I felt like I could still sleep like a baby knowing that JKR had made such shitty vapid characters and lack of development, I felt NOTHING for practically everyone. Albus, Theseus, and Queenie had the most emotional complexity but even then, I’m giving them kudos because everything else was lacking so much I clung onto whoever threw an emotional fit first.  The whole dynamic between Albus, Gellert, and Credence really just angered me. Red herring the entire premise of Credence wanting to know his identity so DESPERATELY he was willing to join Gellert’s vague emo posse of a cult, only to be revealed as not a Lestrange (which we had been hyped tf up to know) as, instead, THE BRO ALBUS AND NOBODY IN THE HP UNIVERSE APPARENTLY KNEW OR WAS EVER EXPLAINED JUST WHY ALBUS’ BABY BROTHER IS ON A BOAT TO AMERICA (i’M GUESSING THIS EXPOSITION WILL BE EXCRUCIATINGLY TOLD ONLY TO BE SOME OTHER LIE AND BAM CREE IS DEAD)???? But YES lets not elaborate on the queer baiting of Credence, Albus, and Gellert... JKR just wanted to hype us up for nothing and all of Credence’s development and complexity is summed up to ‘lol ur a dumbledore, cree’ really is a slap to the face. Albus being trapped a majority at the school was a half-ass way for us to not have Albus confront Credence to get him to fin d his answers at Hogwarts... Lets be real.  But basically, everyone wasn’t themselves, people we were introduced to were flatlined or placed in stereotypical tropes, and every exposition turn was a red herring thats never elaborated on or concluded... the lack of goddamn comprehensive dialogue, and we got queer baited by the ever infamous JKR....  and my final take: WHERE THE FUCK IS PERCIVAL GRAVES?????  So, this was my long-ass ranting about this movie and why I probably watched it for the criminal reasoning to hurt myself and be disappointed in the end... Was i surprised? NO.  Am I going to watch the next installment... maybe... just for closure to this epic failure of a second installment.  Thanks for making it to the end, I hope this was less painful than the actual film. 

[voltronseatbelts]

faulkner, critic, and mifflin!!!

faulkner: what tropes do you LOVE writing? which ones are your guilty pleasure?

oh man… i really love pining… and miscommunication. not bad easily solveable miscommunication but like misunderstandings in a 100k slow burn. i love slow burn so fucking much. friends with benefits is also definitely a guilty pleasure. whatever leads to a slightly cheesy yet romantic and angsty slow burn. and cuddling. you know me zen… you know me

critic: what’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received about writing?

i think some of the best is the copy editing class i took. every single tip from copy editing has improved my writing so much. taking out words like “that,” how to use active instead of passive voice, the ability to cut a 500 word article down to 350, etc etc. 

if that’s a cop-out, then the best writing advice i’ve received is something i’ve talked to multiple people about, and what i like to remind myself every time i get down about writing. each word is a step in the right direction and unwasted. even if the scene isn’t working, now you know that’s a direction not to go in and you’ve improved. idk if i’m explaining it correctly but that is my favorite and most useful piece of abstract writing advice. 

mifflin: what do you feel is your strong suit in writing?

ooh gosh i don’t know. personally, i really like my dialogue?? or more specifically character interactions? i like fun moments like all the meta comments in aifth, or subtext in dialogue like the taxi scene in lsicm. making it feel natural and multi-dimensional like a real conversation! i know i have a lot to improve, but i do like my dialogue. 

someone also commented that my writing feels really smooth and easy to read, and that makes me pretty fucking proud. i don’t really know how to describe it, but i love deep pov narration that kind of feels like a movie on a screen, conducive to fics like long slow burns, and if i can accomplish that, then that’s a strong suit!

[incoherentbabblings]

TimSteph Fanfic Recs

I was thinking about making a list the other day but then anon prompted me so clearly the time is right to make one of these.  A lot of these authors have stuff which is worth checking out outside of the individual stories I’ve linked, so have fun, and add any that you love as well!  It’s quite long so see the read more for full list!  **Starred Fics are the Favourite of Favourites**

Oldies but Goodies

**Make This Go On Forever by boywonder_iii**

“Stephanie thought she was just imagining things when she saw the darkness in Tim, but the more and more she was with him, the more she realized he was slipping further towards the point of no return. Unbeknownst to him, she had something up her sleeve to keep that from happening.” 

Set after Steph’s return and the Robin/Spoiler special, Stephanie goes to efforts to bring Tim out of his shell and be open with her once more.

Note: Straddles being an R to NC-17 rating, but it’s not too explicit.  Sweet more than anything.

Adventures in Death Traps by faile_neume

Tim and Steph are stuck in a trap and shenanigans ensue.  

This is just plain funny.  A+ banter and usage of Tim and Steph saying c2007 lolcat meme jokes which I’m not sure is cringe or charming (I mean we have canon proof that Tim and Steph used to say pwned so I’m going with charmed) 

The Antidote by aravistarkheena 

Tim is poisoned and Steph stays with him until Bruce arrives with the antidote

Drugged confessions with angsty apologies and cuddles are good for the soul.  Fic includes the wonderfully earnest line of “ “There is a place for Tim Drake,” she said fiercely, around her tears. “There is a place with me. Tim Drake belongs with me.” ” like URGH good stuff right there.

Rainy Nights by aravistarkheena 

Tim has to walk home in the rain, feeling miserable until Steph cheers him up with bed snuggles

Sweet schmoop!  Set after the above story but works completely independent of it if you just want to read cuddles in bed.

**Learning By Doing by iesika**

“There's a first time for everything.”

I’d argue this is the best smutty fic that TimSteph has...if you are looking for a definitive yes this is the full deal kinda schtick.  This is explicit but also very vanilla.  Just what you’d expect from these two’s first time.  Includes Tim getting sidetracked by the type of bra Steph is wearing to the point of getting a tape measure and later sending her a proper good sports bra in front of her mum. 

Ao3 Newbies 

All The Ghosts That Bring Us by Downmimosaeyes

“It’s been a rough night,” he says, then after a moment’s pause clarifies delicately, “You’re hurt. Let me help.” Set at a handwavey point sometime after Steph's return from Leslie faking her death.

Includes Tim taking care of Steph after a difficult fight with Clayface.  Shower cuddles and hair washing and gentle teasing from Tim about Steph’s choice of shower curtains and towels

Mosaic by Heartsfightforyourwrite

In an odd way, they found each other once more after falling apart. It wasn’t a matter of starting again on the holy grounds of their past, but rather, picking up the pieces of their broken devotion and hoping that an artist, or someone, could create some sort of mosaic masterpiece out of the mess.

A good look at how messy TimSteph got towards the end before Flashpoint, but also how that messiness means they fit so well together and with no-one else.  

**Sorry That I Bruced You by quipquipquip**

He tied a purple ribbon around a brick and left it on her windowsill with a note that said: Want to catch a movie on Friday? - Alvin. Post Batgirl #24, Tim/Steph fluff.

The best TimSteph fic bar none.  A totally believable and adorable way of getting the two back together after the end of their batgirl/red robin solo runs.  The fic is chock a block with references to earlier issues and fan theories, such as the Dr Midnight actually being Red Robin that saved Steph from the Black Mercy, their date in Robin #111 and their first date ever to the cinema.  It’s just...really good.  

Countdown to a Bad Idea by Nimravidae

Stephanie has that feeling in her gut that says she's either about thirty seconds away from making a bad decision. It's the feeling she gets right before she jumps off a rooftop or into a den of criminals. Or when Tim Drake is standing too close.

Anther fic depicting them getting back together after their solos, but this time a little less smoothly.  This one is explicit again, so be mindful when reading.  

Slick by Merit

Why stop at one?

Just smut.  Just pure absolute smut.  

Hallways by fightforyourwrite

Things would be a lot less awkward if Stephanie wasn't wearing a dress shirt and shorts.

Steph tries to sneak around Wayne Manor after staying the night.  This being Wayne Manor, she fails.  Just adorable really.

Photograph by redbirb

A lazy morning with Tim & Steph

I am weak for bed snuggles you hear me!  Weak! I confess it!  Also a sweet callback to when Tim had actual hobbies, like photography.

Don't Wake by MeRascalJoy (DarkQuill)

*Spoilers for Detective Comics #940* This. THIS was Tim. Solid, warm, breathing, alive. Not disintegrated on some clocktower's roof.Just a dream. It had only been a dream. (A nightmare.)(Pre-52 Steph and Tim's "death." Alternatively, Steph has a nightmare and Tim comforts her in his own awkward way.)

Written just after Tim ‘kicked the bucket’ and has the gut punchiest ending.  Thankfully as of the end of Tynion’s run the two have got their happily ever after (for now grumblegrumble) but at the time this was 100% pure ooOWWWww??!?!

Spoiled Again by WanderingJane

Tim would like everyone to know that he really hates catchphrases. (Please make her stop.)

Written during Batman Eternal and details what could have been the first meeting between Spoiler and Red Robin in the New52.  Sweet as candy floss ending and to be honest my headcanon of their relationship before they got together proper by the beginning of Rebirth.  Afterall, Red Robin met Steph in Batman Eternal, Spoiler and Red Robin may have met at a different time...

**Bird all Sing (as if they knew) by anonymous**

"How do you spell 'engagement'?"   "Who are you texting?"   "Tim."

Bruce get it into his head that Tim is going to propose to Stephanie at aged 19 after finding an big ass ring in his closet.  Not quite a TimSteph focus fic, as Stephanie only appears through one text conversation with Bruce (and it is a golden conversation).  The fic is more about Bruce’s inability to let Tim live his own life, pushing him to move back to the manor or go to college, whilst Tim is quite content to continue working at WE, getting joint tattoos with Steph and preparing to move from an apartment to a townhouse.  Miscommunication leads to hilarity and arguments.  Seriously this is one of the funniest batfam fics I have ever read, but also one of the more heartbreaking.  Bruce means well, but can’t bring himself to actually ask about the ring, leading to him belittling everything about Tim’s existence in an effort to prove that he’s too young ‘to be making such big decisions’.  Cass and Damian also make quick (hilarious) cameos.  Not complete yet, but patiently waiting for the ending hinted at in the tags (no rush though anon, it’s glorious as is) 

Midnight Talks, Chapter Six by ShariDeschain

Damian's family loves him. Sometimes they even say it (or come really, really, really close to say it, at least).

Like above, this is a fic less where TimSteph is the main focus, but rather this time it is Stephanie and Damian. Set during the Batman Reborn era, it takes a really good look at what a good influence Stephanie is on Damian.  I’ve included this in this list a)because it is very good, and b) Damian’s attitude to Tim can be softened through Stephanie.  There’s a fantastic conversation at the end regarding how Stephanie is viewed by Damian, and how Tim can be useful in this one (1) regard: if Tim marries Stephanie, then Damian can safely claim her as his sister.  After that Tim is fair game for murder but-

Heroes and Thieves by starspatter

A story about second chances, healing, and having hope.

One of my fave things about the DCAU is the hints that Tim’s wife is Stephanie Brown (blonde, wears purple, knows all about his past adventures...yeah it’s Steph) and that they do get their happy ending. Set in the DCAU this covers Tim’s efforts to get on with his life after the Return of the Joker film, and how Stephanie plays a major role in this.  A WIP, and only five chapters in, this story updates slowly but is well worth the wait, as it is already nearly 25,000 words long.  Long TimSteph fics are a rare find, and this is shaping up to be the best of the bunch.  

EDIT CAUSE I’M A FOOL A GODDAMN FOOL.  Brick to the Face tumblr page.  

Drabbles after drabbles of pure gold.  Sweet through to humour to angst to a bit smutty, something for everyone there.

Thanks to Tynions efforts on Tec there are more TimSteph being written, especially ones where they aren’t the main focus, but are present in the background, which I am pleased to see more and more of.  Where Tim and Steph appears, it’s a given that they are either together or love one another, or at the very least are each others closest friend.   No more sweeping Steph under the rug because she’s inconvenient you hear me! 

[thundrpilot]

Cam’s Star Wars Rec 3/∞

Star Wars Fic Recs:  [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] Here’s a Fic Masterlist for my other fandoms. ( ** =  favorites )

    we wore the jacket for the longest time by pearwaldorf

Word count:  4,384 (1/1)

Summary:  Rey steals Finn’s clothes. So in some way she’s stealing his clothes.

Comments:  Jedistormpilot, or FinnPoeRey. What it says on the tin. Also this fic is Part 1 of the series a Laplace resonance, should you want to continue this story of the OT3 and The Travelling Jacket lol.

  I (didn’t) believe them when they called you a hurricane by ExtremeEvil95 (distant-solar-systems on tumblr)

Word count:  9,866 (1/1)

Summary:  After the Resistance's narrow escape from Crait and The First Order, the Millennium Falcon seeks refuge in one of the old rebellion's abandoned bases while they wait for an old friend to help them out.

Poe tries to come to terms with everything that's happened; all of the people they've lost, and how he's supposed to lead when he's barely able to hold on to what little hope there's left.

He gravitates towards Finn.

Finn, who could've died but didn't.

Finn, who he loves.

Two unstoppable forces set to collide.

Comments:  Stormpilot/FinnPoe. A little heartbreaking and a lot of heartwarming.

  Something as True by SugarSpiceandCurseWords

Word count:  13,466 (1/1)

Summary:  An illness knocks Poe out of commission for a few days and helps both him and Finn come to some significant conclusions about their relationship.

Comments:  Stormpilot/FinnPoe. I like how Kalonia gets a nice part in this one.

  This is Called Falling by Cartopathy

Word count:  24,136 (13/13)

Summary:  Poe stood and he walked, remembering suddenly his only friend on the planet was gone and there was little hope of finding a town, much less hospitality.

And yet he walked in hope.There was a stormtrooper—he needed to find the stormtrooper. ________________________________

“Was Poe important to you? You were close in the Resistance?” Rey asked.

Finn cleared his throat. “Yes, because I’m in the Resistance and he was in the Resistance so we've known each other for a while. He was important to me, yes.”

Comments:  Stormpilot. Part 1 of the series Surrounding Those Million Stars. Angst, PTSD, panic attacks, the whole shebang. Despite the war and all its drama, love prevails.

  Broken Glass by celeste9

Word count:  1,254 (1/1)

Summary:  Rey doesn’t dream of the past, like Poe does. She dreams of the future. She dreams that she is happy.

When she wakes, she always knows it wasn’t true.

Comments:  JediPilot(PoeRey) & DarkJediPilot(Kylo/Rey/Poe) idk the ship names I'm just making this up. VERY INTERESTING STORY. The odd pairings drew me in by curiosity and I’m glad that happened. Reads like a breath of fresh air.

  **Head Cannon by shadydave

Word count:  2,259 (1/1)

Summary:  You take responsibility for your actions if you’re in the Resistance, even if those actions are, you know, mutiny. “There’s—”

Okay, There’s nothing wrong with me is clearly not accurate.

Comments:  Aftermath of Crait, a conversation between the Leia and Poe.

  **From Tiny Acorns by scififan27

Word count:  299 (1/1)

Summary:  Sometimes, you just need your dad.

Comments:  Poe-centric, packed full of angst. Part 1 in a the Aftermath series, which is now on its third installment Far Orbit, with a total series word count of 9,901.

  His Mother’s Eyes by DestielsDestiny

Word count:  966 (1/1)

Summary:  Poe's eyes are bright, warm, and soft. And utterly forgettable.

Comments:  Part 1 of the He Got That From Them series, a series of loosely connected one shots about the interactions between Poe and the Skywalker twins.

  **Oh Yes, Sweet Darling (So Glad You Are A Child Of Mine) by iamnotacommittee

Word count:  38,181 (8/?)

Summary:  “You’re Han Solo’s kid, aren’t you?” he asks.

Poe has no idea how to answer that, on a foreign planet no less. There are two types of people in the galaxy - those who hear yes and want to buy him a drink, and those who hear yes and want to kill him. He doesn’t feel like finding out which type this guy is, but then again does he really have a choice?

Comments:  Part 1 of the Poe Organa-Solo series. Poe is adopted by Han and Leia and its super great. This one and its just so full of familial love and bonding balanced out by some wrenching angst. One of my favorite fanfics and, honestly, it needs more love.

  Troublemaker by imaginary_golux

Word count:  6,284 (1/1)

Summary:  Poe gets a second chance.

Comments:  Time-travel fix-it! Normally time-travel fics aren’t my thing, but this one has singlehandedly changed my mind! Poe deserves a second chance, and here he gets it. It’s nice because obviously he can’t fix everything and this story isn’t trying to, it stays realistic.

  How do you say goodbye by DestielsDestiny

Word count:  530 (1/1)

Summary:  Somebody later tells Poe that he holds on for 81 hours. It felt like 81 seconds.

Comments:  I cried. This was written as a tribute to Carrie Fisher and its perfect and makes me want to die. Poor Poe.

  Miscommunication by Sildominarin

Word count:  2,855 (2/2)

Summary:  When Poe Dameron does not return from his mission on Jaku, Leia is faced with the crushing task of informing his father. But no one should underestimate a Resistance pilot, and all of this nonsense is going to give Kes a heart attack one of these days.

Comments:  What it says on the tin. Not as angsty as it seems.

  **Wicked Game by Lafayette1777

Word count:  3,362 (1/1)

Summary:  Healing is the space between being alive and being better.

Comments:  Set after TFA, Finn is recovering from his spinal injury and Poe is dealing with the lasting effects of an old TBI, with the help of BB-8 of course. Poe has epilepsy and BB-8 doubles as his service droid. Stormpilot.

  Star Wars Fic Recs:  [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] Here’s a Fic Masterlist for my other fandoms.

[thelocalrebel]

Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (2017)

Call me a Star Wars nerd: my childhood was literally me speeding to the library every week to borrow the Jedi Apprentice novels, before I graduated to the Expanded Universe (now called Legends) of the Thrawn Trilogy and the New Jedi Order, to name a few. Not just novels, but comics too! Unsurprisingly, games that have a special place in my heart include both Knights of the Old Republic games (not The Old Republic MMORPG) and years on, I still write fic about that era and get emotional over a 13 year old game.

But I couldn't love The Last Jedi (TLJ) no matter how hard I tried. Sure, there's space battles and blowing-things-up that's iconically Star Wars, but one thing (amongst others) ruined it for me. Despite the franchise crowing “diversity” and being “progressive”, TLJ falls back on tropes that should belong in the Stone Age. If I listed everything skeevy about TLJ like the lore and plot inconsistencies, I’d be writing a thesis, so here’s four points to consider. Spoilers abound.

1) For Some Reason, The Narrative Now Centers On Kylo.

This was my absolute biggest issue with TLJ. Here, we see Kylo being woobified and treated like a boy in the narrative despite him being a grown-ass 29 year old adult. In numerous instances, Kylo’s Tragic Backstory™ is emphasised: being neglected by his parents, his Uncle Luke wanting to murder him, Snoke grooming him to join the Dark Side, him struggling with his insecurities ft. his explosive tantrums - all of which subtly nudging us to empathise with him. Aka, highlight that despite him being involved in the Star Wars equivalent of a militaristic fascist organisation carrying out genocide and literal slavery AND being the one responsible for murdering Jedi students at Luke’s Jedi Academy, we must feel sorry for him. That he just needs to be understood. So he can be redeemed.

Seriously. If Luke “There Is Still Good In [Vader]” Skywalker thinks Kylo is irredeemable, I’m tempted to believe him.

But back to my point. Kylo’s story is suddenly the crux in TLJ moreso because other characters have been mangled - character-wise - simply to prop him up. Most damning is how Rey, of all people, suddenly decides that Kylo is worth saving despite him murdering the first father figure she had and ever wanted (Han), mortally wounding the first person who saw her worth coming back for (Finn), and mind-raping her in their first interaction in a torture room - in the span of, what, two weeks? Fine, perhaps this is Rey being flawed - tying in to how we shouldn’t hold representations to perfect standards, especially for marginalised identities. But really? Even with all such instances imply? Because to me, this simply reinforces that stereotype where a “Virtuous But Naive (White) Woman Saves Angsty (White) Boi From Himself”; a norm that reflects real-world instances of women doing tons of unpaid emotional labour while absolving men of the responsibility to improve themselves or even take responsibility for their own actions. So yes, it’s misogynistic. In TLJ, Rey exists solely to redeem Kylo. And that doesn’t sound like the Rey from The Force Awakens (TFA): you know, the Rey with an arc not revolving around a man? (I don’t want to discuss the implications of the Reylo pairing and what it normalises - there’s too much, and this isn’t the place). In that, Rey stops being angry; an essential character trait she displays when faced with danger and the unknown, because women can’t be angry, right? Otherwise, “they’re dangerous”. Hence, Rey’s character is watered-down for Kylo’s benefit.

As if mischaracterising Rey wasn’t enough, they had to brutalise Luke’s character too. Luke Skywalker, the compassionate pacifist who believed that even the vilest of individuals could be redeemed, suddenly decides that the best way to deal at all with Kylo is to kill him? Seriously????? (It’s not just canon that disputes this characterisation of Luke - even the Legends books dispute this. And Luke changing his mind last minute doesn’t count). Sure, the bitter, jaded, and depressed Luke we see in TLJ is believable, given recent events and him self-flagellating over such events - but his decisions prior? Inconsistent. Or, just to fuel Kylo’s Tragic Backstory™ (which wasn’t even elaborated much. How did he fall? How was Snoke responsible? Where did Snoke come from? Just marvel at the wealth of lore that could’ve been explored). In the process, the Luke who used love and forgiveness instead of violence (i.e. toxic masculinity) to be a compelling hero, was sacrificed.

But hey, all’s fair in propping up white male characters and their manpain, right?

2) Fake (White) Feminism

What riles me up more is hypocrisy. Because once you peel off TLJ’s supposed “progressivism”, you realise that diversity is actually horrible representation built on racism galore. So feminism here is just performative.

Generally, Vice-Admiral Holdo’s scene with Poe is seen as a case of a Strong Woman™ shutting down Mansplaining directed at her, where Poe is supposed to learn how to trust his superiors and become more “level-headed”. (Star Wars advocating for “blindly trusting authority”? Gosh. Wonder what the Rebellion was doing in the Original Trilogy then). Plot hole aside, it works, if you can ignore how Poe is mischaracterised using racist tropes of the irrational, hotheaded, misogynistic Latino; which, incidentally, is not the Poe depicted in the comics and TFA. (Same thing with the Leia scene at TLJ’s beginning - TFA Poe wouldn’t blatantly ignore orders and kill off most of his squadron just to destroy a capital ship; TFA Poe would be deathly afraid of sending his squadron to their deaths.) On the other hand, if we consider how Poe wasn’t mischaracterised, then this scene is a case of how people of colour tend not to believe white women in positions of authority due to a history of racism, or how Poe wouldn’t easily trust someone he was unfamiliar with. So, what’s going on here? Simple - A male character of colour is demonised just to prop up a white woman. “Feminism”, y’all.  

Okay, you might think: as his commanding officer, Holdo’s not obligated to tell Poe anything. But if Poe manages to mutiny with a number of Resistance personnel, then perhaps this is a case of Holdo not leading effectively? Hm? Anyway, miscommunication without sufficient buildup as a plot device is contrived and does a disservice to the characters involved. It’s not representation when it’s done at the expense of someone else, especially another marginalised identity. (Holdo deserved so much better).

Also, you’ll notice how most - if not all - of the leading ladies in TLJ are white. Pretty intersectional film, don’t you think? This is compounded by how TLJ barely passes the most basic of feminist tests - like Bechdel and Mako Mori - despite the quantity of non-white male characters and calefare abound. Ladies only ever talk about male characters, save that brief conversation between Leia and Holdo when they weren’t being condescending about Poe, and unfortunately exist just to further another male character’s arc (Rose, Rey, Holdo, Phasma…).

Plus, notice how Luke’s Caretaker aliens on Ahch-To are femme-coded...a la cis-heteronormative gender roles, thus assuming that aliens conform to a gender binary, or even have genders. I’m not lying - it was intended. How...colonial.

3) Just. Racist. Bullshit.

As mentioned, TLJ’s progressivism masks a deluge of racism. Though I’m neither Latinx nor Black, watching certain TLJ scenes left me thoroughly uncomfortable.

Did Hux and Leia really need to slap Finn and Poe respectively? Did TLJ really need to make their male characters of colour (MoC) comic relief and recipients of violence - with Leia stunning and slapping Poe, Rose tazing Finn, Phasma/Hux wanting to behead Rose and Finn (with Phasma and Hux being literal space nazis)? All of that despite Poe and Finn having recently recovered from either torture or mortal injuries? And Finn himself dealing with the trauma of being a First Order stormtrooper, emotional abuse being one such after-effect? Clearly, the pain of non-white characters is acceptable fodder for jokes, but not that of white characters - Kylo’s scenes certainly weren’t. Some of them actually had plot. Interesting contrast.

Furthermore, did TLJ have to sideline their PoC characters, least of all their MoC leads? As mentioned, Poe was mischaracterised to prop up a white woman and Finn used as comedic relief and generally denied narrative attention despite being a lead...because Kylo apparently deserved more screen time. Yeah, Finn went with Rose to Canto Bight to find Maz’s master codebreaker, which, if I’m not wrong, are called slicers. Personally, I liked the subplot - it’s a nice allegory to reality, where the military industrial complex, capitalism, and the rich go hand in hand in slowly destroying the world, aside the message of how rebelling isn’t just about fighting baddies, but fighting for people. Like inspiring the “little people”; civilians and those uninvolved in the fighting. And in the process, exploring how war affects them. (One thing though: freeing/focusing on the Fathiers instead of the child slaves on Canto Bight?)  

Then you realise that apparently, Rose Tico was created not because they needed a Rose Tico in TLJ - rather, having Finn and Poe pull a buddy-cop act on Canto Bight didn’t have the conflict that introducing a female character would. Sigh. Rose Tico, plot device. Just like Paige Tico - her death, albeit heroic, used to drive Rose into Finn’s path. Therein lies the anti-Blackness and anti-Asian aspects of the Canto Bight arc. Arguably, through their detour, Finn learns who exactly the Resistance fights for and moves past his “selfishness” of looking out only for himself and Rey - thanks to Rose’s guidance throughout their trip, which, as TLJ panned out, was eventually unnecessary and contributed little to the overall plot of “Will Kylo Finally Forsake The Dark Side?”. It’s Rose’s educating of Finn that simultaneously makes her a racist portrayal and a plot device as a Wise Asian Walking Encyclopedia to help teach a Naive Black Character about the Grim Realities of Life that Finn survived and escaped from - was he not a former stormtrooper captured by the First Order when he was a child? Perhaps Finn wasn’t adequately socialised to civilian life, thus his wide-eyed reaction to Canto’s glitz, but why wouldn’t Finn, who grew up in a traumatic and manipulative environment and recognised it for what it is, not see through Canto’s facade? Plus, Finn’s supposed development isn’t about himself; it’s about making him prioritise the needs of others over himself as if he hasn’t been doing that an entire movie ago.

Don’t know ‘bout you, but that sounds like bad writing. Bad, racist writing.

4) Centrist Reasoning

Finally! One last section to discuss. Hope everyone’s still here.

In keeping with the times, one of TLJ’s messages that stuck out was cynicism, moral ambiguity and that absolutes don’t exist. I agree, because life is never so clear-cut - but TLJ somehow simplistically portrays that. On Canto Bight, Rose tells us to “save what you love, not fight what you hate” (...despite saying she wanted to “put a fist through [the town]” just a while ago). When DJ mentions how weapons merchants sold to both the First Order and the Resistance, it’s said in a manner to somehow excuse them, or even give them a pat on the back; as if playing both sides somehow cancels the obvious self-interest driving their business decisions - but that’s assuming it’s a valid comparison in the first place. How is the Resistance, in any way, comparable to the First Order? Personally, this is just shoddy reasoning that conjures up nonexistent ambiguity. A reasoning that, when extrapolated to today’s socio-political climate, fails to clarify the power disparities between various groups in society by assuming a false equivalence. In other words, an erroneous comparison. Because however appealing it sounds, we can’t equate a fascist military organisation responsible for genocide and other inhumane practices with an organisation dedicated to thwarting it, for the sake of everyone.

You know what’s a better idea? Using Canto Bight or the First Order, through Finn’s past, to contrast between righteous anger versus mindlessly lashing out, often via violence (which, incidentally, adds nuance to the Light vs Dark Side of the Force debate). Because righteous anger, given its origins in a history of marginalisation and trauma, would be a way of ‘righting’ such wrongs despite the ‘wrongness’ associated with violence as a method. It’ll introduce moral complexity and gray-area dilemmas that TLJ craves without disregarding the sociopolitical implications of social movements and resistance. (Like, they could’ve explored the fact that the Resistance was essentially killing brainwashed First Order soldiers forced into fighting, but oh well).

So, four points to consider. But honestly? I'm only just scratching the surface. There's more nitpicking/meta online if you wish to delve. But honestly, TLJ could’ve been so much more. They had rich source material and endless ways to spin off the buildup that TFA created. And yet.

That’s why I’ll remain bitter about TLJ, and what it could’ve been.

tl;dr if you’re looking for a film that isn’t fake-deep on diversity, doesn’t contain senseless cynicism, or fulfills its narrative potential by avoiding copious plot holes and general bad writing, TLJ is not it. (psst, Rogue One did it better).

Further Reading

[midnightmooncatcher]

Hello do you have an advice on writing an angsty fic or sick fic? I'm terrible at writing dialogue do you have any tip's?

Hello! Thank you for your question! So angst in and of itself is a huuuuge category and sick fic kinda falls under it a lot. I will do my best at keeping to a few main points on angst that I hope help and if you have more questions related specifically to sick fic let me know!

1. What’s the Sitch? a.k.a. Know Your Story

I know this sounds stupid and self evident since you’re the one writing, but you have to think about what kind of angst situation your characters are in. Angst is caused in different ways and by different things. Sometimes it’s an outside factor affecting the relationship like a chronic illness* or a character being fired and sometimes it’s an inside factor like a character withholding information from the other or a miscommunication. Characters will respond differently to their significant other having cancer than to there being miscommunication between them. Hell, sometimes it’s a combination. Maybe one of them lost their job and isn’t telling their partner. But as an author knowing exactly what the problem is stemming from and how each character feels about it is very important. Which leads to the next tip.

*If you decide to go with something like an injury or chronic illness, do your research. The better informed you are about how people in real life in these situations feel, the problems they face, and how people who support them keep going the more realistic your story is. 

2. Feels? What feels? a.k.a. Know Your Characters 

Another “Of course I know my characters, it’s my story.” But just take a second. This is important for dialogue (or lack there of). Think about what kind of character you have. You’ve now fully mapped out your situation, how does each character react in that situation with what they know? Are they anxious? Are they suspicious? Are they the type to accuse? Do they try to console? Do they try to block everything out and ignore the problem? There are so many different feelings that can contribute to angst in a story, especially when miscommunicated or gone unnoticed. Angst tends to be an emotional cocktail. Figure out what each of your characters is feeling and how this makes them act. This influences dialogue. Some characters when emotional may spill their guts while others may not say anything at all. One character might say everything when they’re nervous, but nothing if they’re depressed. Are your characters yelling at each other? Or is only one character yelling at the other? 

3. Build it Up  

Yes, feelings can happen split second, but angst isn’t one. It’s a slow building feeling of anxiety and fear. It’s tension. A rubber band being pulled and pulled, stretching, getting more taught until it snaps. You pull the rubber band with characters’ actions. There’s usually something not being said, or some underlying truth that both characters don’t want to talk about or that one character does, while the other doesn’t. The feelings build and that makes the moment when the tension snaps that much more powerful. 

4. Describe

Describe, describe, describe. In angst describing feelings goes a really long way. Words caught in someone’s throat that they can’t get out hurt more than ones that would completely resolve the situation. Also describing the characters emotional state helps. Is one stuck in their head so much that they talk themselves out of what is actually the case? Describe that. Is a character second guessing themselves at every turn? Describe it. Does a character have tells on their anxiety that the other doesn’t notice, or does notice? DESCRIBE IT! Even if you’re in the other characters POV give the reader body language clues to what’s going on in the others head. They could be saying the opposite of what they feel, but the reader should have a clue that they are even if the character that they’re talking to doesn’t. Dialogue with double meaning where one character is trying to say something but the other misinterprets requires this. 

5. Don’t make it overly dramatic

Yes, angst is dramatic and it makes for high tensions sometimes, but remember that you don’t have to have people gasping and yelling and fainting left and right. Sometimes really soft subtle things make you feel far more than the big ones. For example if a couple is having a communication problem and one tries to reach out but the other dismisses it, it hurts more if your character withdraws (unless they’re the type to lash out). Just remember that little things hurt, not just big things.

On the note of dialogue, I think something very important to think about is why is your character saying what they’re saying? What’s the purpose of it? What is your end goal? Even casual conversations are important, they give pieces of information away about characters, setting, and story. Also think about how people talk. Read your dialogue out loud if it helps. Is it natural sounding or are you tripping up on the words? What kind of slang do your characters use? And let the dialogue speak for itself, your readers are smart. they can draw connections, you don’t have to go into their heads and describe exactly why they say things.

Sorry, that turned into a monster, hehe. I hope that in some way, shape, or form helped. Thank you so much for the ask!

[whopooh]

Miss Fisher and the plight of miscommunication – February’s trope challenge

Does this whisky glass imply drinks, or something else, Miss Fisher?

You remember I couldn’t help but write a post about the soulmate trope of January, because it was so much fun and gave food for so much thought. The same really proved to be true for the miscommunication trope, so I decided to write about that one too. I remember that when the trope was announced, @quiltingmom was not the happiest in the fandom, fearing all the angst that would come up with this trope. She even taught me that “smh” means “shaking my head”. So, I decided to do the organisation of this post in a @quiltingmom proof way, by ordering them after their amount of angst, starting with the lightest and going to @ladyroxie. (I’d love some feedback from you about where you draw the line between nicely angsty and too angsty in this line!)

This is actually a very reasonable way to structure the stories. The nice thing with miscommunication -- apart from it fitting Phryne and Jack and their way of behaving rather well -- is that it can take turns in very different directions. The plot itself is usually one of comedy – in that classic sense of the word, which means the ending is happy – since miscommunication really needs to be cleared up for the story to feel completed. But that gives ample opportunity for different roads to be taken -- and very different length of fic -- between the start and the happy ending; I have made a division into humour; humour with an angsty part; angst light; and angst. (Here is the full collection.)

I am delighted that the February fic covered all of these possibilities, and in so many different ways. The wonderful humour part saw @olderbynow’s “Across Frayed Wires,” where Jack gets a message from Hugh over a very bad line. We are given the internal view of a delightfully overthinking Jack that tries very hard to not think about a certain lady detective, but when the message says “alarm” and “Fisher” he cannot help but associate this to Phryne. The message 

made no damn sense at all, but still had Jack’s heart climbing into his throat as his mind helpfully supplied filler words that essentially translated the sentence into “Miss Fisher has done something reckless again and is in danger.” It was the sort of phone call he spent half his days expecting, of course. 

Unfortunately for Jack, when he stumbles into Wardlow he instead disturbs Phryne in the middle of a tryst with a lover, and the mortification of Jack and all his awkwardness and thought-processes are adorable.

More humour and teasing with regard to their sexual relationship is present in @loopyhoopyfrood’s “Mistaken”. This is an original take, set before the timeline of the episodes, and gives us a sweet and fun and mistakenly heated encounter that is completely packed with misunderstandings, and poor Jack gets pushed into doors no less than two times by a very insistent Miss Fisher. A third teasing with the sexual theme is sassasam/@phrynesboudoir's “Miss Communication” that is set after the last episode. Phryne writes from England a rather juicy letter to Jack, that also quotes some of his own not completely innocent phrases from an earlier letter, but puts it in the wrong envelope. The exact look on Aunt P’s face when she reads that scandolous letter we are left to imagine from the line “with eyes almost bulging from their sockets.” Jack, poor duck, on the other hand, receives a letter that talks about embroidery.

A final predominantly humourous fic is @ollyjayonline’s “Nine times out of ten”. It is a delightful story of Phryne deciding to play match-maker and implicating Jack in that, while on the boat back home to Australia. It is rather emma-esque in the way her plan goes rather wrong, the girl Jack was meant to pay attention to suddenly interested in him and not in the original beau she was aiming to make jealous. Suddenly they find themselves in a situation where Jack has to play the role of not wanting Phryne, and Phryne the role of trying to get him – all while they secretly have an established relationship, that is still a bit shaken by the roles they play. It’s a wonderful way of contrasting their true relationship with the fake one and with what the people around them are believing about them. Above all there is a delicious tension – her decision forcing Jack to play a part, and then she herself not being sure when he is playing and when he’s sincere. Phryne faces emotional turmoil and realisations, while the humourous aspect is still the main one.

From this, the step is not far to @flashofthefuse’s “Mistaken relations”, that I decided to label as the first humour with an angsty part. The fic introduces an embarrassing moment when Phryne thinks Jack has asked her to come over, and while she has decided to surprise him with hardly any clothes on, he comes home with another woman. Awkwardness ensues and Phryne is thrown off-kilter a little bit, feeling unsure and a little bit jealous, but at the same time knowing she has no right to be jealous. And incredibly sweetly, what really annoys her is that “he was laughing, Mac. Before he opened the door, I could hear him laughing.” Phryne and Jack are so acutely aware of not pressuring the other that they completely fail in communicating what they want. Jack’s sister – because that’s the mysterious woman – asks him:

“So, you’re not worried about her?” “Because of this? No. I worry about her getting herself arrested, or possibly shot, but this kind of thing? No.

Of course, the readers just want to tackle Jack at this point, but he perseveres, and it’s probably lucky he has a clever sister. She has the same no-nonsense take on things as her brother, at least: “I hope I get another chance to meet her while I’m here, preferably fully clothed.”

In @firesign23’s “As stimulating as black coffee”, Jack has followed Phryne to England just for them to realise that they aren’t working, sexually: 

It’s fine,” he said. “You just surprised me.”  “I’m aiming higher than fine, Jack.”  The man actually pouted. “Well, I certainly wasn’t achieving it.” 

They have a wonderfully ridiculous argument and part ways, which is a very fun turn of the reunion in England -- of course that’s not the end of it though. 

@promisesarepiecrust “Maybe more?” is a lovely short take on the question of Phryne and marriage, as she wakes to a note left by Jack that seems to say “marry me?” Phryne is rattled: “When she’d first read it, she couldn’t help the words that left her mouth: first a curse, followed by “Oh, Jack, no— why would you do that?!”” As the trope is what it is, maybe he didn’t exactly – and it plays out in a lovely way.

Phryne is Very Angry.

The final humourous fic is @jeneenp/collingwoodgirl’s “Licence to Thrill” and its theme of overhearing. Without him noticing, Phryne overhears Jack talking with colleagues, and is appalled as she realises he is talking rather demeaningly about her. Everything she ever thought about him crashes down completely, the betrayal is enormous, and she walks into his office and hits him hard in the face. Jack’s reaction is wonderful – without taking his eyes off her, he asks the other policemen to leave them alone:                                        

For nearly a full minute, there was nothing but silence. All three men appeared to have been turned to stone by the furious goddess that stood before them. It was only when Jack reached up and, unbelievingly, dabbed at his cheek that she was reminded he was still flesh and blood. “Collins—” Jack growled, his eyes never leaving hers. When Hugh didn’t move, Jack barked again. “Both of you! Out. Now.”

And Phryne “found it largely reminiscent of a hostage negotiation. It was immensely satisfying.” What follows is a delicious conversation where he tries to understand her fury, she slowly realises that they had actually been talking about something completely different from what she’d gathered, and an equally delicious making up.

In the category angst light I place three fics. @suigeneris221b‘s “Someone is waiting” gives us Jack finding out through the newspaper’s gossip column that Phryne has married in London. He decides to immediately repress all his feelings until he can go home and have a breakdown in peace. It’s both humorous and angsty, and Mac’s telegrams to Phryne asking what the heck she is doing are great. As the trope is miscommunication, we probably shouldn’t take the newspaper’s story at face value, and we get truly wonderful interactions between the triad of Phryne, Jack and Mac while trying to make it all right again. Something similar can be said about @whopooh’s “I’d know you anywhere,” where the slightly angsty misunderstanding instead stems from Jack being feverish after a knife wound, mistaking people for each other. Again, Mac is a solid rock for her BFF Phryne. In @missingmissfisher’s “A thousand times over”, the misunderstanding evolves from Phryne having received a faulty message, which makes her walk in on Jack having dinner with and comforting Rosie, and this then leads to several disastrous attempts at contact between the two. Finally, in a lovely turn, Jack manages to communicate through the flower language, but it wouldn’t have worked out without the translation help from her solid friend Mac, educated in the natural sciences.

Finally, the end of the spectre: the angst proper of miscommunication, which obviously can be rather heavy. In @rositalg’s “Old Habits Die Hard Holding On” Phryne and Jack have just about started a relationship, and in a clever twist the fic in one single scene explores three things: Jack’s fear of Phryne wanting other men, the fear belonging to the threat of a serial killer in a case, and Phryne’s fear that goes back to her backstory with René. There is a flinch in the fic that is really devastating. Two fics deal with mistaken news of death: comeaftermejackrobinson’s “The tell-tale heart” explores a possible parallel to “Blood at the Wheel” – if it was instead Phryne who at that moment in time would receive a message that Jack had died, and also discovering that he had put her down as ‘next of kin’: “He had listed her as his next of kin and had never said a word about it. She could have killed him for putting her through this, really, had he not been already dead”. @omgimsarahtoo’s “In the Next Breath” explores the Phryne receiving mistaken news of Jack’s death when they are already in an established relationship -- the feeling of loss is acute:

Her head swam, and when she dropped her hand from her eyes, she could see Dot’s concerned face, black spots swimming through her field of vision. Ha, dots on Dot. The thought made her huff out a laugh, and she clapped a hand over her mouth, horrified.

Only minutes after the news, Jack comes home to a devastated household, and acutely heightened from the thought of the loss are Phryne's emotions and the feeling of making love to him.

The last fic is the most angsty one, @ladyroxie’s “Between the Shadow and the Soul”. In this multi-chapter case fic, Jack disappears on his way to England without a trace, and as Phryne doesn’t even know he decided to follow her, it takes time before anyone starts to miss him -- a nightmare in itself. Jack has been badly injured by a person who steals his identity to travel, and when Phryne finally realises he’s gone missing, she investigates, takes help from an old friend in England, and goes to Egypt to try and find him. It is very suspenseful and the question is if she’ll manage to find him, and in time. Jack’s injuries here were so brutal that @221aubrina in “The Library” – which here can serve as a sweet appendix to the trope – wrote a wonderful meta story about the librarians that take care of all the ‘Jacks’ that have been out in circulation among the fanfic writers and have been damaged. After @ladyroxie’s fic, the librarians check the injuries and note:

“Yeah... he'll need a good deal of extra time and care in The Restoration Lab." Norton shook his head. "Huh. Pretty bad then, eh?" Harris nodded to his colleague. "We might have to bring a couple of the other copies out before this edition's fit to be checked out again, if it ever is." "Think he might have to go to the Special Collections Wing?" Norton queried.

Thus we can, even in this journey towards more and more angst, end on a humorous note.

This was the February trope, and I look very much forward to reading stories of March’s trope, “Bottle episode”. 

[inevitably-johnlocked]

hello! i saw that ure recommending fics for johnlock i really wanted to read a fluff or angst johnlock if you have. thank you 🤗💗

Hey Nonny!

Ah, I rec fics all the time! And you’re in luck! I not only have a tonne of lists to give to ya, but I’m using your ask as an excuse to publish a Pt. 2 list, LOL.

First off, some past lists:

All Fluff Fics (Masterpost Dec 2020)

John Realizes How Important Sherlock is To Him

John Marries and Sherlock Admits his Feelings

Kidnapping, Hostage, & Stalking

Kidnapping, Hostage & Stalking Pt. 2

Kidnapping, Hostage & Stalking Pt. 3

Angst With a Happy Ending

Angst With a Happy Ending Pt. 2

Angst With a Happy Ending Pt. 3

Letters from Sherlock After the Fall

Loneliness

Arguments Lead to Confessions 

Arguments Lead to Confessions Pt 2.

Hurt / Comfort Pt. 1: Under 5K Words

Hurt / Comfort Pt. 2: 5K to 10K Words

Loss of a Child

Capture and Torture

Suicidal Ideation

And now, I’m gonna give you the best of both: How about Angsty Fluff??

‘Cause I have a small list of those! <3

I hope you enjoy what I have for you, and feel free, everyone to add more! <3

ANGSTY FLUFF Pt. 2

See also: Angsty Fluff

Hallucinations can't open doors by Bespectacled dreamer (K+, 1,330 w., 1 Ch. || Reunion, Hurt / Comfort, Friendship, Hallucinations, John’s Wedding, Light Humour) – In which John gets married and Sherlock gets a broken nose.

Study in Sherlock by chappysmom (K+, 3,790 w., 1 Ch. || ASiP, Friendship, Introspection, Anxious Sherlock, POV Sherlock, Caring Sherlock, Stroppy Sherlock) – Sherlock's thoughts and feelings during A Study in Pink. What DID he think of John, and why was he being so NICE?

A Study in Linguistics by rizandace (T, 12,425 w., 1 Ch. || S1 Canon Compliant/S2 Divergence, Friendship, Slices of Life, Communication, Cranky Sherlock, Hospitals, Sherlock Whump, Pet Cat, Jealous John, Sherlock’s Violin, Anxious Sherlock, John Whump) – Sherlock Holmes and John Watson had their own language. It was a language of few words and minute facial expressions, and John had learned that it was nearly the only way to have an honest conversation with his eccentric flat mate.

Division by MrsNoggin (E, 19,542 w., 11 Ch. || Coffee Shop AU || First Kiss/Time, Fluff, Barista Sherlock, Clingy Sherlock, POV John, John’s Limp, Bed Sharing, Fluff, Sleepy Cuddles, Sensuality, Touching, Virgin Sherlock, Insecure John) – John likes mysteries. And every morning he dips into the local independent coffee bar with his newspaper and ponders another... one Sherlock Holmes.

Insanity in the Middle by DotyTakeThisDown (E, 28,010 w., 8 Ch. || Equestrian Sports AU || Alternate First Meeting, POV John, Pining John, Bottomlock, Clueless Sherlock, First Kiss/Time, Passionate Kisses, Hand Holding, Caught Making Out, Bed Sharing, Spooning, Blow Job) – John is a world-class eventing rider with a gold medal and several four-star wins to his credit, but he's never won at Rolex. Sherlock is an up-and-coming rider taking the sport by storm.

Isosceles by SilentAuror (E, 56,609 w., 7 Ch. || Post-S4, POV John, Original Male Character / Sherlock Dates Another Man, Love Triangle, Jealous John, Virgin Sherlock, Sexual Coaching, Angst, Romance, Domesticity, Unrequited Feelings, Miscommunication, First Kiss/Time, For a Case, Friends With Benefits, Bottomlock, Love Confessions, Spooning) – After solving a case for a major celebrity, Sherlock gets himself asked out. When John asks, he discovers that Sherlock has no intention of going, at least not until John agrees to coach him through whatever he might need to know for his date...

[wolfie-dragon-rider]

Hi! 2,3 and 13 on the Meme for Fic Writers? :D

Thank you so much for asking! Questions are from here.

2) Is there a trope you’ve yet to try your hand at, but really want to?

Not really. I like my hurt/comfort angsty things I write. Though maybe there is something, but I’m not sure if there’s a name for this. But I once considered writing a silly lighthearted Modern AU Hiccstrid fic, with them being in college, and I was planning to basically have Hiccup do a Computer Science major, and then have every chapter start off with a... term or concept from CS, as it relates to his relationship woes. Such as “Complexity theory is about determining the complexity of problems. The more time or effort it takes to find a solution to a problem, the higher its complexity. Much research in CS is about finding faster algorithms for problems, and thus reducing their complexity. 

Hiccup considered the problem 'Figuring out what girls think' to have an extremely high complexity, requiring an amount of research generally rewarded with a Nobel Prize.” 

I once read a fic (unfortunately I can’t remember what it was called) which did such a thing for physics terms, and I thought it was cute and funny. Maybe one day I’ll write it.

3) Is there a trope you wouldn’t touch with a ten foot pole?

There are of course always the problematic tropes that I don’t want to get involved with, but one that is common in the HTTYD fandom that I hate, is the “Name kid after dead relative/lover/friend/pet/whatever” trope. I know, I know, sacrilege, but I just don’t like Hiccstrid naming their kid Finn or Stoick or something like that. I personally feel it’s a bit creepy. The kid is unique, a new person. It shouldn’t be a... replacement of the dead person. And I know it’s typically not meant to be, but to me that’s what it feels like. “We lost Stoick but we have a new Stoick now”. The baby is not a new Stoick, he’s a new person who is different from Stoick. 

13) What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever come across?

I think I benefited a lot from Kurt Vonnegut’s 8 rules of writing. This is probably getting a bit long, so I’ll post them all here and write down my thoughts about them below the cut:

Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted.I tend to interpret this in two ways. One, keep it short. Don’t waste the reader’s time with endless description of things that don’t matter, sideplots that go nowhere, or strange observations. Two, be upfront with your intentions. Don’t start a story that appears to start as a fluffy coffeeshop AU but halfway through suddenly turns into some kind of Hunger Games horror dystopia. The reader who probably followed the story for fluff will feel cheated, and the horror fan has to slog through chapters of other stuff, and you’ve wasted their time. 

Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for.The worst thing a reader can feel towards your characters is not hate or disgust. It’s indifference. It’s “I don’t care what happens to any of these people, so why should I keep reading?” Make sure the audience wants the protagonist to succeed. Wants them to overcome their troubles. Make sure the audience feels like the character has not been treated right, and deserves justice.  

Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water.I find this incredibly good advice to keep in mind when writing side or background characters. Let’s say your characters are taking a cab. Remember that the cab driver is a person too. They have a name, and goals. They want to go home on time. They want to listen to their favorite radio channel. They want the characters to not be so loud. They want their kids to go to a school as good as the protagonist is going through. And sure, the audience doesn’t need to know their life story, far from it. But it can make your world feel so much more alive if the characters’ loud conversation is interrupted by the driver turning the volume of his music up. It allows you to show how your protagonist will react to this. Are they empathetic? Insulted? Maybe they love the music and start a conversation with the driver. Another point where this rule applies is for villains. Keep in mind that even though your villains do horrible things, they do them because they want to accomplish something. 

Every sentence must do one of two things — reveal character or advance the action.I used to have my own addendum to this rule: Worldbuilding should also be a valid use for a sentence, I thought. But slowly I realized that it’s already in the other two things. Worldbuilding is cool, but I think that ultimately it should be subservient to the plot and characters. Especially when you’re looking through the eyes of a character, every sentence you write is what the character sees. And what the see, how they see it, how they respond, that shows character. What you show and how you show it reveals more about the plot and character than the world itself. 

Start as close to the end as possible.A remarkably simple rule, yet incredibly right. When starting a story, or editing it, always ask for the first couple of chapters “Are these necessary?” Interesting stories, no matter their genre, tend to start the same way: There is a status quo that is broken. Frodo’s calm life in the Shire is interrupted by his uncle’s birthday party and the magical ring he gets after it. The Dursleys’ perfectly normal life is interrupted when a magical boy is left on their doorstep. A friend disappears. A lover is murdered. Status Quo is broken: The world is not as it should be anymore, and the protagonist has to set it right. Another way to rephrase this rule is to say: Begin at the very start of your story, then simply throw everything away until something happens that the reader has to know. Delete until you’re forced to summarize the deleted events in the rest of your story. Because if the reader didn’t need to know it, they shouldn’t have to read it. 

Be a sadist. Now matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them — in order that the reader may see what they are made of.I love this rule. Not because I’m a sadist personally, heck, it hurts me when I write such horrible things. But because indeed, we don’t see the true strength of a character until they’re in their lowest point and they still don’t give up. Throw them over the edge of the cliff, and only then can you see them truly soar. You want your readers to wonder how in the world the character could ever overcome these hurdles. This quote from Lord of the Rings seems appropriate: It's like in the great stories Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were, and sometimes you didn't want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad happened? And then, when the reader is wondering that, you make your character soar. They get back up, keep on fighting, and your audience will cheer and yell and cry in relief. 

Write to please just one person. If you open a window and make love to the world, so to speak, your story will get pneumonia.This rule pretty much speaks for itself. There will always always always be people who don’t like what you write. Who don’t like the genre you write. Who don’t like the character you write. Screw those people. 

Give your readers as much information as possible as soon as possible. To heck with suspense. Readers should have such complete understanding of what is going on, where and why, that they could finish the story themselves, should cockroaches eat the last few pages.I should emphasize here that these are rules originally intended for short stories, but I agree with the rule in general regardless. I hate it when stories do this thing, which I call ‘the 4th wall censor’, where something important is referred to vaguely even though everybody in the room knows about it, simply because the audience doesn’t know. This is also the hallmark of a good detective or thriller story. Your twist or reveal shouldn’t depend on keeping something hidden from the audience. The signs should be there all along, in foreshadowing and offhand remarks that combine into a great picture once you realize it. Not the “Haha, turns out that the crime scene contained this vital clue that wasn’t mentioned before!”. Of course, there are circumstances where you want suspence or unreliable narration, but always ask yourself if it’s actually necessary. If the entire suspense is born from intentional miscommunication between you and the reader, then maybe the book wasn’t that clever to begin with.Probably way more than you wanted to know, but I hope you learned something!