#you can explore the character and change their personality and play with them in fanfic sure that's what we all do

[dreamingaboutsakuratrees]

Dear God how I fucking hate when people dismiss s character's traits because "that's just a facade! you as the reader have to see underneath it!!" like yeah no fucking shit Sherlock, a well written character has more than one (1) defining trait but that doesn't mean their most prominent one or the one most recognized by fandom ISN'T there

yes this is about people thinking dick grayson isn't actually a ray of sunshine, that it's just a mask. he's much more than the happy one, of fucking course, all batfam members (when written well) are, but that doesn't mean that being happy and bright is not a crucial part of his personality. he brings light to people's lives, he's a beacon of hope, that's what Robin was born for, as a light to Batman's darkness. That's what Nightwing is. He can be serious, sure. He's smart, an amazing strategist, incredibly good at fighting, he can be manipulative and morally gray and sometimes an objectively bad person. But he's ALSO funny and quippy and bright and sunshine. BECAUSE HE'S WELL WRITTEN.

Like Jesus stop making him so sad and wrong all the time just because you want so bad to go against "fanon". It's not fanon if it's literally his core trait. It's not fanon if it's what the character was BORN AS. God.

[zenkindoflove]

Thank you <3

Now that Pull Me in Deeper is over, I wanted to take some time to thank a lot of people. Writing and posting this fic has been an amazing experience for me. It has changed me as a writer in so many ways, and I couldn't have done any of it without the support of so many people along the way.

(warning: overly emotional sappy rambling. I'm sorry if I forgot someone!!! to be honest, so many people have been supportive of me and popped in and out of this experience and you all have left an impression)

First, I wanted to tell you guys a little bit about my experience writing this fic.

I had never written Canon x OC before I created Alexius in Summer Heat. I've primarily been an OTP fic writer, focusing on one couple per fandom that I would fixate on. When I started Summer Heat, I really wanted to explore as a side story of Eris in a relationship, and for me, the only person who kept popping up was someone like Alexius. Summer Heat was a safe zone to play around because I got to develop him and his relationship with Eris while still focusing on Elucien. When Summer Heat was over, I got the idea to write Pull Me in Deeper because I wanted to explore whether Eris x Alexius would be able to carry their own story on their own, and I wanted to challenge myself by writing a fic that mostly contained original characters.

There was a lot about this experience that was new and challenging. Writing only Canon x Canon ships and those that were really popular in fandoms did not prepare me for some of the trials and tribulations that come with writing Canon x OC fics. You often feel like you are on your own island, separate but adjacent to the fandom. You hope that people on their boats passing by will stop and visit you. Maybe stay a while. Sometimes, I will admit, I felt lonely, especially in the early days of writing this story. I went from a very built in community of shippers who loved the ship for the ship and we could squee together about how adorable our OTP was - to basically trying to convince people that Alexius was a worthy partner for Eris and worth taking a chance on reading about him. So I gained a whole new respect for the Canon x OC parts of the fandom, and I'm happy I can count myself among you now.

To say it frankly, I've grown so attached to Alexius and his relationship with Eris over these last several months. He is very real for me now. You really can't spend this much time living inside of a character's head and being committed to their HEA and not adore them. Not only is he a representation of so many people in this world that I love, but he also has given me so much confidence in my ability to create original characters. In the past, when I have sat down and tried to writing original fiction instead of fanfiction, what always held me back was creating characters that felt like real people. After Alexius, I feel sure now I know how to do that, and for that, Alexius will always be my baby. Please know, as long as I'm writing ACOTAR fanfics, Alexius will be in them and there will be more in store in the future for Eris x Alexius centered fics (more than there already are lol). Eris x Alexius is my Eris OTP and now that I have the Eris bug, I won't be stopping.

Okay now to shoutout some specific people:

@crazy-ache - You have always been there for me in every stage of my ACOTAR fanfic writing process. Thank you for telling me early on, when I felt guilty for this fic expanding so much and taking so much of my focus, that it was okay for me to branch off in this direction and leave Elucien on the shelf for a while. I really needed to hear that then. And thank you for always being up for reading my first drafts, brainstorming through scenarios and plot, and just being my cheerleader. I love you, and I really cannot ask for a better writing partner and friend.

@lucienarcheron - The very first time I ever had the instinct to write Eris with an OC, I ran to you for advice. You trekked this path long before many, many people, and you have been instrumental in me taking a chance. Especially seeing all the hard work and focus you've put into Spirit Meets the Bones really inspired me to want to write an Eris x Alexius solo fic. So thank you so much for being an Eris x OC mentor of mine.

@thrumbolt, @works-of-heart, @bonecarversbestie, @little-fierling - Thank you so much for creating fanart either of Eris x Alexius or inspo from this fic. You all have also been such amazing commenters on the fic itself, leaving insightful, smart, and hilarious feedback. It's so rewarding to have readers who are driven to create based on something you made. And it really helped me in times when I've been down or unsure of myself, that there were people out there who thought enough about my fic that it inspired creativity in them.

@olenvasynyt - your long comments and even longer voice notes that you've left me in DMs have been such a treasure. I especially love the head canons and little snippets you have shared with me about your own Male OC that you have created for Eris. It's such a small community that we are in, and I really can't wait to meet him too. I love that we both have such a strong love for the Autumn Court and creating OCs.

There was quite a few people who started reading PMID because they were familiar with my Elucien fics and got to know Erixius in Summer Heat. I really appreciate all of you who migrated over and decided to go on this adventure with me!

I also had a group of people who really surprised me joining on and reading this fic, and that is the Azris shippers. @the-darkestminds, @jules-writes-stories, @mistandmemories, @constantsins I have ] always enjoyed your expressive, thoughtful, and analytical comments and words of encouragement you have given me. I especially want to shout out @the-darkestminds because I really do think that you helped my audience grow. If you weren't reblogging my chapter updates, a lot of people who are interested in reading about gay Eris wouldn't have seen my fics at all. In my head, Azris shippers only gave this a try because they love you and your work so much. They trust your tastes so they felt if you liked this fic, maybe they would like it too. You have always been such a good friend to me (especially tolerating me even though I don't like Azriel lmao) and I can't thank you enough.

I also want to thank a lot of people who have been with me throughout this entire journey, reblogging my fic and leaving amazingly thoughtful and inspiring comments on my chapters: @clockwork-ashes, @what-about-elvenis, @lovely-vanserra-sunshine, @teddyhoneybear, and all of the people on AO3 who I don't know if you're on tumblr! Comments are everything to a writer, and please know that anytime I received a comment from you, it made me want to write the next chapter so see what you would think about the rest of the story.

There have a lot been a lot of people who have liked/reblogged/or occasionally stopped by to chat with me about this fic or Alexius as a character. While I can't list everyone, please know if you reached out to me, I was always so moved and excited to talk to you. And anytime you want to talk to me about these characters, please do not hesitate!

I know this is very extra - but I really felt it was appropriate to get this sentimental about this fic compared to others. I really put a lot of myself into this story, and the emotional journey and growth as a writer I went on felt like I needed to give back to all of the people who were there encouraging me to not give up. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

[honeydewsour]

The Quibbler but as monthly shoujo magazine cover parody with wizarding world fanfic titles

(made this while ago to play around with fonts and giggles so pardon the messiness)

might become a series hopefully getting all the titles covered as the cover art or/and adding new titles …uuuh let’s see, any idea what bonus gift for the next parody?chocolate frogs?snitch keychain?? also can anyone guess which shoujo magazine i used for reference?

warning all of the titles mentioned are 18+ read the tags!

a bit of review me gushing out/screaming about the fanfics mentioned, under the cut;

A Good Man Is Hard To Find by cloniccouer

Sebastian Sallow x Player Character | completed | post canon 7th year au | re-read worthy | characterization 10/10 | cinema | easter eggs type of writing | the more you re-read the better | banter between the characters is one of the best part | filling the hole in the canon hp universe | this is probably the 3rd time i mentioned this fic in my blog | that’s your sign to read it! |

Lace, Letters, and Lectures: Professor Sallow by mahoushoujo_m

Sebastian Sallow x Player Character | ongoing | post hogwarts au | professor!seb au obv | i’m letting this one marinate to 100k words | will come back to edit |

Lost Connection by AsphodelRose87

Harry Potter x OFC | completed | Post Hogwarts Battle au | questionable harry | questionable character(s) | questionable decisions | messy, just messy | the kind of messy i like | auror!harry au | right person wrong time and place or right place and time wrong person? |

break a sweat by @shadowtriovibes

Sebastian Sallow x OFC | ongoing | 7th year au | but iirc there is also a tumblr completed ver? if you want to read it | sports & sweats yeah | seeker!seb au | imelda best captain you can ask | inappropriate use of the room of requirement ahem |

Post War by @josiecarioca

Severus Snape x OFC | ongoing | EVELYN BLACK IS SO MOTHER | this one is masterpiece | cinema | Post Hogwarts Battle au | Snape lives au | i still read Al-Andalus part A LOT | better writing than some of tv series out there | exploring more about hogwarts founders | characterization 10/10 | especially the OCs | even the villains | altering the chemicals in my brain | prepare yourself | for this life changing event |

Unraveling of Fates by @aesopsharpstuff

Aesop Sharp x OFC | ongoing | pre canon au | ex auror OFC | werewolves | trauma | i can feel nina’s pain through the screen or am i just dramatic | unreliable ministry & headmaster black what’s new?? | 1880s hogwarts staff are baddass | not talking about a certain headmaster obv |

In The Shadow of Us by @slytherizz

Sebastian Sallow x Player Character | completed | post hogwarts au | #sebastiansallowgettingoutfromazkabanparty /jk uuuh not really but that’s the vibe | post azkaban | enemies to lovers mmm slurrp | was it a misunderstanding or was it betrayal? |

To Frame the King (of Cats) by heartsof_theround

Ominis Gaunt x OFC | ongoing | OMINIS IS A CAT PERSON CONFIRMED | nostalgic shoujo manga vibes except the 18+ part | sigh…teenagers | emotionally constipated ominis | lowkey stalkish OFC | cute cats | lot of cats | slow burrnnnn | character development | this fic might be the next art cover i will draw |

Of Paper Planes and Wildflowers by @eggymf-archived

Ominis Gaunt x OFC | ongoing? | filthy in the beginning | wholesome heartwarming vibe after that | pen pals | the letters is the best parts i still re-read them a lot | this fic lives rent free in my head | you don’t know me but eggy i miss you | idk why but i’m always getting hungry reading this | prepare snacks | sorry for the typo TT |

[shysublimecoffee]

Look this is just an opinion not a fact don't get into such a tussle over a stanger opinion on a book of all things which are meant for entertainment. How I view this doesn't effect you nor do you take it as fact in fact youre free to disagree don't care.

It fucking says a lot about Shen Jiu as a character and the fandom as a whole in fanfics when the majority of them make him in fanfics having a better turn around in his life is always when a respected man is attached to hip usually( Liu Qingge) or acts as a voucher for people to even see him past his shell or his lies about the true reason he goes to the brothel goes out the window because otherwise he's a liar, a no-good and lecher and scum villain and because he's so emotional and volatile people do not respect him as a peakleader at all. He doesn't have a voice like it's telling me he's so female-coded cause ladies knows how dangerous people giving character assassination at your person could do tons of damage to your future prospects in future life and honestly I really like even though the ficwriters don't outright say it cause it subtle how majority every man and person in his life have taken away his autonomy and I find the most egregious example SY not actually giving a fuck about the person of the body he's inhabited and him not emoting at all when he saw the OG being abused and still validating LBG like if even the modern man from another era doesn't give a shit either someone who has to have sensible morals in society and even he doesn't care . This dynamic reflects a lot how society often undermines individuals who don't fit its norms, stripping them of their autonomy and dignity. SJ's struggle for respect and recognition in the story mirrors real-world issues of power and validation.

Everyone prefers SY. I'm not going to act as if I'm better though in real-life same I'd like him more too but his martial siblings barley tried. If they dislike him whatevs, but you guys are not at all suspicious about the 180 change in behavior how the kid he used to hurt and abuse is now being loved and pampered wtf??? Don't you guys owe him that much to investigate.

They could have tried to dig deeper aside from the one time they test him for possession but they didn't because they prefer the new and improved him". It actually so telling how the author chose someone of such a rich and idle pampered background to be transmigrated to the villain who's origin the very opposite of that and yet seemingly integrated himself better and incorporate better relationship with them then SJ.

The cultivation world, as well as the characters within it, reflect deep-seated classist attitudes. SJ's rough background and survival tactics make him an outsider, whereas SY, coming from a more privileged background, can navigate and be accepted more easily.

What does that actually say exactly that someone of a better background get along with the peaklords but not SJ because with our SJ he's a fighter and biter, he plays dirty to win in their eyes, he a lecher every inconceivable things is literally placed onto him just based on their perception of him. Is it that unconsciously they could tell SJ is not of of them or am I looking to deep haha??? The cultivation world is very classist is not news to anyone and that being the exploration in MXTX next book and how WWX background being how he literally met his end because of it says an actually lot how she took the things from this story and incorporate it into her next book.

The entire story had me retrospectively think hard how SJ voice is silent and yet to me at least he stills haunts the narrative because of it then when you get to the reveal about his backstory it makes you fucking think of him as an actual person and not just an object as a vehicle for the main character to just insert himself in because no matter the nature of a person it stills their body.

Like i've seen some fans even reflect this saying it not his fault that he transmigrated or he deserved it's technically his body and that he's a better person than SJ. At first, I agreed but then I took some time to process this. I don't care about SJ actions and his nature if it at the expense of his fucking body. SY can live for many many years but he's not SQQ unless he reincarnated like Airplane like it makes me want to me want to debates about transmigration. SY is his own person an adult with memories he has his own thoughts and feelings so when he transmigrated he took over the manual controls but that doesn't mean he's actually SQQ because he's not he's a pampered millennial.

In Otome Isekai (OI) stories, the original souls often face bad endings, while the transmigrators, who are modern characters inhabiting and thriving in these disliked bodies, desperately try to avoid such fates. They manage to charm the original male leads and are so focused on changing the story's trajectory that they can't accept its original path. This comparison to OI highlights how these characters' actions mirror Shen Yuan's (SY) predicament. The original person's identity and struggles are dismissed for the sake of the new character's journey, leading to the erasure of the original identity.

I don't vibe much with Shen Yuan because he seems very indifferent. The world revolves around him and his bias, much like many other transmigration novels where the MCs are similar. I find it hard to connect with a MC whose actions, even bold, lack a genuine foundation with other characters because they continue to see them not as people but character roles they're supposed to fulfill. He does everything to save himself, not from the sincere intention. His reaction to the death of GXY was cold af.

I don't like transmigration stories for this reason. They're often treated more as reader-inserts for fix-it fanfiction. We rarely learn about the characters' past lives, so we end up thinking of them as the person they transmigrated into, rather than who they were before. All we know of before was he was cyber-bullying and harassing the author and a troll so an asshole, basically.

If you guys don't know about OtomeIsekai basically we have bunch of modern day Koreans jumping into european white women bodies and inhabiting their bodies and living vicariously through them basically wish-fufillment bullshit trash . 9/10 nobody notices because this is a person who is widely disliked and despised and because no-one cared for the OG soul it easier to just go under the radar hell even the MC don't give a shit to so we have another MC that become so beloved in the eyes of the ML and how she bewitched everyone into loving her.

Transmigration is literal horror. " His Present" a short story I read from novel-updates where it literally based on this very concept where his loved ones preferred the imposter ugh made me bawl.

It makes me think about transmigration. Does it truly matter if the person who took over lived much longer than the original soul does that make them "THEM" ? I actually do appreciate SJ backstory being added but like now with transmigration just popping off on internet novels where the concept is everywhere where the original soul is discarded and the new one is celebrated, kinda adds a layer of tragedy and ethical dilemma to the narrative. It questions the validity of the new identity and the consequences of such an erasure. I'm always biased for the OG souls maybe that why a lot of SJ fics make him the character who is most suppressed by his role as scum villain succeed in making him heard to be listened to and mattered.

Imma nap lol this rant was loooong!!!

[lakesparkles]

MORE MR PEANUTBUTTER!! Can you tell I like him?? The worst part is that it's all very new art, I drew all of this in... 3 days? Idk

So, this one is very self indulgent. I wanted to explore his relationships with some characters in my AU (the one he dates both Diane and Guy, it all happens after the finale of the show). One of the reasons I love creating this AU (I even just finished writing a fanfic about it!!) is so I can develop PB more.

If you want an explanation about his relationships, it'll be under the cut!

Bojack: they spend way more time together now that they live together in California - PB has two houses, so he travels there to Houston all the time. His relationship with Bojack… Is improving, just like showed in the doodles. Some people even mistake them as a old married couple, but nah, they didn't even kiss once. Maybe once. Bojack doesn't want to talk about it. One day, years later, Mr Peanutbutter will make peace with his own sexuality, look back and realize that things make way more sense now.

Guy: talking about his sexuality, Guy plays a big role on it. I created a whole backstory for him, but it's a story for another day. He's way more comfortable about being bi than PB is - who is now having a lot of questions: "what if he's wrong about it?"; "what if he's too old for that?"; "what if all media reacts very badly about it?" It's a little easier when he's not alone. Their personalities go very well together and, other than that, PB is having the time of his life having a husband now <3 Guy usually calls him "dog" and PB isn't sure if he thinks it's cute or the opposite.

Pickles: I have a lot of thoughts about Pickles tbh. Some of her scenes made me think that she seemed so lonely. Years after dating and breaking up with PB, she realized that their relationship… Was kinda messed up, yes. But she was never angry, even being happy seeing how different his life is right now. When she meets PB again and finds out that, not only he felt guilty during all the time they dated, but also *still feels that way*, she thinks it's a little funny. She has a good life now, he didn't ruin anyone like he thought he did. They end up in good terms and message each other often enough.

Diane: PB calls her his "ex ex wife"! Coming back together has been a nostalgia trip for them and this comes with a bunch of complicated feelings. What makes all different is exactly what Diane herself said in the show: "if they met as the people they are now, things would be totally different". And they surely are different now, even more after spending so many years apart. But different doesn't mean perfect, this they would never be. They still have a couple of fights out of nowhere that Guy is confused about. What changes is that it's, in fact, better. And now they have hope. And they're enjoying finding out once again why they were in love in the first place. It's such an old feeling that they were tricked into believing it's new~

[orkbutch]

So I've been seeing A Viewpoint within the bg3 fandom occuring. And I gotta be honest. I disagree that the characters being bisexual in Baldur's Gate 3 means you cannot headcanon them as other sexualities for your own fandom content purposes. I think that's not reflective of how queer people and their sexual identities actually work, and its just antithetical to how fandom has always functioned, which is an exercise of imagination. I wanna clarify up front: I agree that someone saying that a character Can't or Shouldn't or Was Not Meant To Be bisexual because of whatever reason IS biphobic sentiment. The characters in Baldur's Gate 3 are canonically bi/pan, thats made pretty damn clear when you look through all their content. That's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about headcanons, au's; the kind of imaginitve play that is very much what fandom creativity is about. If you set a standard in fandom that depicting a character as a certain sexuality is Not Allowed, 1. you're kinda flattening sexuality in a weird way, like personally my sexuality is complicated as fuck and has changed over time, and 2. you're limiting creativity. And I think creativity in fandom is extremely important. It's the whole fun of fandom. Creativity is worth protecting and its worth establishing the nuance between Depicting A Version of Character who is X and Insisting That Character Should Be X in canon. Because like... we meddle with character's identities in fandom all the time. That's what headcanons ARE, they change appearance, social position, career, faith, species, traumatic experience, moral and political alignment, and SO much more. I think limiting what people can headcanon within fandom... is less fun! It's just less fun. Imaginative scope lets you do more, weird fun stuff. It lets you depict more complex interesting characters. Example: my Bad Nun AU. In that, Shadowheart identifies as a lesbian. Why is that? Because I wanted Shadowheart's experience within Bad Nun to specifically explore the history and context of lesbians within nunneries, especially how that manifested post Vatican II. These were also eras when 'lesbian' was more ubiquitos, had a different context and more flexibility; a lot of women that would probably consider themselves 'bisexual' now were identifying as lesbians, were in lesbian communities and events and spaces.

On that note: Flattening sexuality. You're gonna say people CANNOT depict these characters as ANYTHING but bisexual? That is not how most queer people's sexualities work. It simply isn't. I've identified as tons of different shit in my sexuality. I'm still not sure about it. For me half the time my "sexual identity" is just the words I use to communicate what I'm looking for, and that changes depends on What I Want at that time, what I'm looking to explore, my social context, ect. ect. like what. This isn't how sexuality works for real people. How are artists meant to be Creative and imaginatively depict real, complex, queer sexuality if they are restricted to depicting only what is within canon?? This is not how any other part of fandom works. Fandom art should work how all art works. If someone makes shit art, it gets dunked on and ignored for being bad or lazy or lame. If someone did Heterosexual Karlach fanfic, I would be like "what the fuck why" because they made Karlach less fucking cool. Het Karlach would be boring and thats More Egregious because they DECIDED to make her heterosexual DESPITE canon. But even then, EVEN THEN, I don't think that should be looked at as off limits shit, because I don't believe art should have many things off limits. Any limits must be very nuanced, because art and creativity is nuanced. Obviously my brain would go "het karlach? you deserve jail time and thats queerphobic", but I honestly believe creative license is more important than those feelings. I WOULD happily comment on their thing, "heterosexual karlach is boring, thats a shit idea" because I'm right

If you want good art and good writing, you need to protext creative license.

[lucdoodle]

1, 2, 4, 7, 12, 23 foe Adam!

1. Why do you like or dislike this character? Oh man! Where to begin!! I like his personality, design, concept, and the implications of what his story was/is off-screen and how it plays with the relationship he has with other characters that know him for a long time (read here: Lucifer, Lilith, Eve, Lute, Sera, and older angel in general.) As well as the implications of how his life in Heaven is like and how other angels sees him. All the implications who derives from the mere concept of his character are- !!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! a lot of fun to think about!!

2. Favorite canon thing about this character? 1- His relationship with Lute! 2- How he's genuinely an asshole lol (im very much not in the "adam did nothing wrong" group.) This dude is an apathetic asshole and an incredibly interesting character!

4. If you could put this character in any other media, be it a book, a movie, anything, what would you put them in? Oh boi, a series of shorts like the "Helluva shorts", except that they'd be about Adam's life in Heaven pre-canon!

7. What's something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you like? Exploring the implications!!! Taking the crumbs of informations we know about him and making whole cakes with it!! Also im a big fan of any fanfics that explores (even if briefly!) the relationship between Adam and Sera (in a platonic way, i mean.) I particularly love both the interpretations of 1- Sera thinking about the lost potential, and how Adam evolved and changed, did he changed or was he always like that? Was it the apple and thus Lucifer's fault? Or was he always like that? Since we know Sera was in heaven before Adam died, do you think she's the one that taught him how to fly? Do you think she's the one that taught him how to live in Heaven? Do you think she's the one that was put in charge of taking care of the first human soul? And what does Sera means to Adam? (stuff like that!) And interpretation 2- Sera thinking smt like "Oh not this guy again..." as Adam kicks the doors opens with a loud "WASSUP BITCHES, Adam the man himself is here!! NOW we can start the meeting or whatever" like a "that one coworker you hate" relationship XD Both are good XD auihznkjiuhgernikjulko

12. What's a headcanon you have for this character? OHOHOH!!! Lemme pull out my list! * a comically long - seemingly endless scroll proceed to fall on the ground and gets all over the place * (Erm, but huh, more seriously i actually have a list of my headcanons for Adam so, uh, ANYWAY, here!) XD 1- his favorite food (that is not meat) is apple pie! (and he hates that it's apple pie of all things, so he doesn't eat it often at all) 2- he considers Lute "one of the boys" 3- Adam and Lute have movie nights 4- when he's in a really weird mood/feeling weird he eats apples 5- adam and lucifer were friends back in Eden 6- he's very unconfortable showing skin (which is why he wears a mask and clothes that don't show any skin) 7- his mask was originally a gift from Sera as she notived Adam didn't like being the only human in heaven in the early days where there was nothing else but angels up there 8- lucifer taught adam swear words, and told him to blame michael if Sera asked who taught him. Lucifer did it because he wanted to see the look on sera's face as he thought it'd be a funny prank 9- adam feels most comfortable sleeping on sand and dust and such since he was created from The Dust 10- emily genuinely thinks adam's mask is his face, this is a extremely popular misconception among angels 11- extremely few persons have seen adam without his mask 12- it took adam A LOT of time before he managed to eat another apple after what happened in Eden 13- he has an extremely good memory, but he only use it for things he likes or that involve him directly 14- he hates being alone 15- he adored being with and hanging out with Lucifer back in Eden, they were good friends and Lucifer taught Adam about a lot of things 16- lucifer taught adam what music was 17- adam is a very "monkey see monkey do" kind of person 18- when confused he makes a head tilt like animals do when they're confused, and he picked the way he hold his wings from watching birds 19- sera is the one that was put in charge of kicking adam and eve out of eden 20- sera will never forget the cries and begs from them and it still haunts her, meanwhile adam completely forgot that it was Sera that kicked him out of Eden

23. Favorite picture of this character? This one! simply because it shows how utterly TOL Adam is XD

But also this whole bit! For a character so self-centred, it was so cool to see him taking a support role!

[writing-for-life]

Keeping Them In Character...

It’s so interesting what you wrote about fixing Morpheus in the other post, @rriavian. I didn't want to take that one too off topic, hence I made a new one. I hope this is okay, because I love talking about these things, especially with other writers (everyone who reads this, writer or not, feel free to join in). I think I’ve said this somewhere else before (can’t remember where): If we keep him in character, there is no fixing him anyway.

But fanfic wouldn’t be fanfic without those attempts, and I totally get why. I want a different ending for him, too, alas, not in canon, even if that might sound contradictory. If they touched the ending in the show, I’d honestly be pissed off, but that’s my personal problem, and Neil can do with it whatever he wants—it’s his story. So I guess every fic that sees him alive at the end starts with the premise that we have to bend him into shape ever so slightly to make it possible. To me though, there’s a world of a difference between that and basically turning him into an OC with no resemblance to Morpheus bar name and looks (not saying that isn’t fair, it’s just not for me because if I wanted that, I’d write an OC, because that’s what he would be to me).

Morpheus is not weak. I even get why some people who mainly came to the Sandman via the show might be drawn into that direction initially, because we obviously see him very low at the beginning (I’m hesitant to say “at his lowest”). But after that, he pretty much stands in his power again (with ups and down obvs)—a power that burdens him for a multitude of reasons I don’t want to go into now, otherwise I’ll still sit here tomorrow. Wrote about it a million times though.

I think the fundamental misunderstanding is that anyone can fix him. So whoever we pair up with him can only walk with him, but he’ll need to take the steps himself, and more importantly: He would need a reason to want to do that. And yes, that’s exactly what my OC tells him at some point because she suffers, and she’s done with it despite understanding him on a deep level and accepting who and what he is—I think you're right when you say there’s a tendency in fandom to turn one half of the relationship into some kind of martyr and/or “void filler” to save someone. And the tricky thing about Morpheus is: He actually is looking for something to fill a void (which, to stress that again, doesn't mean he isn't powerful, so it's not to be mistaken for general weakness). And both in The Sandman and in real life, that never leads to anything good, but I can see why it's tempting to fall into that trap because his character lends itself particularly well to that type of trope (and I even play around with that in the first part of my fic, but it was also clear to me that it won't end there).

Now, this obviously isn’t real life, a story doesn’t necessarily have to lead to something good, but the most important question, to me, was always: What would make him take said steps himself, and above all: WANT to take them? Because truly, that’s where it all falls down in canon. And there is enough scope to explore that in quite a few different ways in my view.

For me, it was always clear that it can never be through wanting to change who or what he is on a fundamental level (that’s why I’m not into retired!Dream AUs, because they would fundamentally change who he is. Again, totally fine if people want to explore that, it's just not for me). I honestly believe he would bristle at that and recoil/retreat. Because it would just add to what is at the core of his very dilemma: If you want to change who and what he is, you basically admit you don’t truly understand him (not even those closest to him truly do), and that’s part of what breaks him (I say “part”, because there are more things in the mix than one can shake a stick at). And there is a clear difference between his being capable of change (we all know he is) and wanting to change him. They are not one and the same, but sometimes, fandom treats them as if they were.

Misunderstanding him, misinterpreting him is inherent to his being: He is Dream—forever out of reach, forever nebulous and unreal and weird and prone to be misunderstood/misinterpreted unless you stop trying and just trust the process/intuition--otherwise, it wouldn’t be (a) D/dream. It truly applies to all that he is. And you see what happens when he tries to rationalise things himself: Although he understands the boundaries between dreams and reality and keeps them in place, he is UNreality, and forever will be. And the way that gets ignored in fandom sometimes baffles me. Although it also doesn’t, because of course we’re human, and we want things to be real.

Back to those steps: I personally think he would never take them for himself because he doesn’t believe he has a story, and outright centring himself as the main character who is in charge of his own story is something he will always deny himself. But I think that’s also the way in? Because if he could perceive, at least initially, that he is part of someone else’s story and that they WANT him in that story (all that he is and isn’t, including all that is broken) with full acceptance but without complete self-denial. That they don’t try to change him, because they understand what the unreal is (and that requires a very particular type of person). That he would want to try because the love he has for them weighs heavier than how little he loves himself (was it you, @stellerssong who recently also wrote something along those lines, or am I making that up?). And that by doing that, he gradually learns to see himself through someone else's eyes. And once on that path, he would maybe, just maybe, start to understand that indeed he has a story of his own, and that he might be able if not to entirely rewrite, but at least to keep on writing it from this moment onward. Like everyone who believes (because believing something is possible means trusting in it despite it not being real, and trusting in the process rather than the result. He knows the power this wields over everyone but himself--not because it’s not true for him but because he won’t allow it. But maybe he could get himself to a stage where he allows it). That it's not about fixing anything really, but growing enough around what's broken and always will be, instead of trying to make it smaller or go away.

Yes, I do believe that might be possible, although there's much more to it than I've written here because it's incredibly complex, and it requires a lot of give and take, compromise and yes, pain along the way. And maybe it might not work at all (I never really 100% know where I end up when I write because my characters always, always make those decisions for me, and despite setting out with a plan, I almost never end up where I had initially intended to go. So if you asked me today, I couldn’t promise that I truly know where my current WiP is going and who will be where at its end, and it is very frustrating at times because I’m not always happy with what these guys are doing. At the moment, I'm truly not). But I believe he would at least try if someone who allowed for those dynamics were around. And that’s why I wrote an OC, because while I can see one or two canon characters that get fairly close to what I'd envision (and none of them are one half of the bigger ships), I ultimately couldn’t do it with them because there was something in their established dynamics that threw it off for me. Unless I would have pulled at least one of them (probably both) OOC to a degree that felt too much for me. But I'm always super interested in other people's process and line of thinking.

But yeah, that’s the precarious dance between trying to keep him in character while also working towards a different ending (that's obviously far less of a problem in one-shots). If that will ever work—who knows…

[chocfrog-enjoyer]

Things I hate in Harry Potter Fanfictions

This are the tropes I found multiple times in lots of different fanfictions and I got fed up with how illogical, overused and badly written they are :/

Completely changing the story to the point where I’m starting to wonder if it’s even Harry Potter because the only thing that stayed the same are the names.

( If it’s ships ) When one or both sides are already in love with each other ( in this cringy “I always loved him/her ) especially on what normally would be considered enemies to lovers. If I’m reading a story especially with a non canon ship I’d want to know how they’ve came to be, how the love blossomed. Or at least a reasonable explanation of why the character loves the other from the start of the story.

( If it’s Dark Harry ) The: One morning Harry wakes up and decides ah fuck it I’m changing sides “I care not for your good side anymore, now I’m going to be evil” and Voldemort is like “Oh well- guess I won’t kill him then, never mind that it was my obsession for the last decade and more, It changed today”

Evil-Good Harry…? Honestly I hate this trope soooo much. The: Voldemort was good from the start and it was Dumbledore that was truly evil and he manipulated Harry and/or he was the one who killed Harry’s parents. “Yeah, no like Voldemort is a pretty good guy. He can even be considered as a role model of being good if we ignore all of his other/earlier victims and people he tortured. I mean- I don’t see any evil right?”

Ron, Ginny and Hermione bashing because why not ( this happens especially often with Slytherin Harry fanfics). I don’t mind if some characters get their negative traits explored but make it real people, I can’t read a story where those characters act so bad and OOC for no actual reason. And no Harry being in Slytherin isn’t a reason because those characters never bullied and harassed anyone purely because they were a Slytherin. Yes they did not like this house ( for a good reason might I say ) but they never even acted out on Malfoy who was openly bullying them, the only situations we get where Malfoy and his friends got attacked by Ron and/or Hermione were deserved, and were responses to his provocations.

( If it’s not in order to hide his identity ) Changing Harry’s name. I can understand using Hadrian or Harris as the elongated versions of Harry but when someone straight up changes his name and now I’m reading a story about Daniel or Bob or something for no apparent reason then the whole thing seems stupid and illogical for me.

When Draco and Snape liked Harry from the start. Draco was a narcissistic, spoiled little child and he wasn’t nice to Harry both when he knew who he was ( train ride ) and when he didn’t ( Madam Malkin - their first meeting ). He expected admiration and friendship from Harry like if he had earned it. Making him be like a best friend from the very start is non sense, those boys would need time to come together, and with Harry’s personality I bet they’d still have a silly rivalry if they were in the same house. Same with Snape, like there’s no way he would tolerate Harry let alone like him. He hated Harry from the moment he saw him in the great hall and even before the boy went to Hogwarts. For Snape and Harry to like each other there would need to be a very good reason and it wouldn’t come immediately, but with lots of time and more interactions between each other.

Too much muggle stuff in the magical world. I don’t mind it if a lot of the story plays out in the muggle world or some muggle stuff is crucial for the story point but when I read a fan fiction where Harry was in St.Mungos and he was being treated the muggle way I lost it and dropped the fic. Like are you really going to put full on muggle medical equipment in a gigantic wizard hospital and make your healers use almost only muggle diagnostic methods? Most Wizards barely have any proper knowledge on muggles, and even muggleborns don’t know that much since they are introduced into wizarding world at a young age and basically spend the rest of their life in it. They have a lot more knowledge about muggles than pureblood wizards but it’s still not THAT much.

Overpowered Harry. The „Lord Potter; Black; Peverel; Gryfindor; Slytherin; etc… etc.. :/ nothing wrong with powerful Harry. I like powerful Harry. But it’s ridiculous that a child, a 11-15 yo boy would just instantly have more magical power than Merlin himself, and he would immediately know what to do with it

Gringotts knows everything about you. The „heritage tests” and all. Making a good use of Gringotts is amazing in fanfiction and I love exploring ideas people have on it but this trope is not only overused but also dumb. I’m not talking about simple family linking that people use or like blood checking. I mean the young Harry goes to Gringotts and just with a drop of his blood it is instantly known that he is meant to be a lord of this and that and he owns such and such properties and he is hella rich because of all the vaults that were left to him. And also goblins being friendly. These creatures do not like wizards.

Know it all Hermione. But like literally. Hermione being so overglorified and being literally smarter than Dumbledore and basically all Hogwarts staff often at age 11-16. She’s smart but let’s be real this is not possible. Like her being able to do anything in the world after “reading a book/going to the library for a bit”

Harry being the most handsome, ripped and freaking amazing Hogwarts student while literally being like 14 or 15.

Harem… Nothing bad with Harry having a flock of girls that are attracted to him ( this is canon ) but oversexualizing women in order to make Harry the girl-magnet that has 7 girlfriends and like all the „conventionaly attractive” witches around him - Hermione, Ginny, Fleur, Daphne etc.”

Harry hating Dumbledore from the beginning, blaming everything on the poor old man, being annoyed by the most stupid thing like: “Dumbledore smiled at him, and Harry went utterly furious” :// and generally Dumbledore bashing

Child Harry behaving like an adult and teenage/mature Harry behaving like a child. Why would a 11 yo go to Hogwarts and suddenly be a master manipulator, know exactly what to say to get out of difficult situation and can outsmart his peers and/or adults to show „how much better he is”. And the other situation: Harry being completely clueless, using childish language, being referred to by others as “little one, pup etc.”

All Slytherins are misunderstood angels. No they aren’t! As a Slyhetin myself I can recognize Draco’s ( and his friends ) bullshit when I see it! Yes stop the stereotype of “All Slytherins are bad” but do not excuse actually bad Slytherins.

Fics gloryfing toxic pureblood culture. Exploring different aspects of the culture, the better and worse ones is cool and creative but I’ve seen a lot of fics gloryfing what is just abusive and toxic and romanticizing it in the name of “pureblood customs/traditions”

Guns… just no… like what? It’s like how to tell you’re American without telling you’re American. I hate seeing guns in HP and the wizarding world, and the often following glorification of this weapon

Excessive American English. I don’t mind it much if it’s just some words but please all the slang and common words from American English are annoying. It’s not that hard to do a little bit of reaserch of the common differences in some words. The story is played ( mainly ) in the United Kingdom, the language used by characters should be British English ( like Harry & Hermione ) and Scottish English ( like McGonagall )

Excessive ( and especially if heavily described ) abuse from Dursleys that would have killed Harry at least 5 times before he would be 10. Like heavy beating, breaking bones, stabbing. I do not like reading such things and I found this in fanfics quite a lot….

Oversexualization of children 11-15. While exploring the sexual side of romance/life is okay in a teenager, it is a part of life, I hate seeing fics that oversexualize ships that at the time have characters aged 11-15 - literal children, especially oversexualizing young Hermione, in some Harmony fics ( where she was 14 ), or Ginny, with fics calling her a slut/whore because she had a crush on Harry, or when she’s a bit older because she dated a few boys.

Illogical use of Parseltongue. First of all Parseltongue is a language and Parselmouth is the speaker ( pls I beg don’t describe Harry as a Parseltongue ). But suddenly this language being like all powerful, and you can do wandless magic with it and basically perform any spell without ever using it before.

Luna being bullied by every Ravenclaw, ( like most of those ppl - especially the older ones or younger ones - do not actually care ) and her being like a super mega seer that knows all about the future and is actually super mega smart in her weirdness.

Feel free to add your points to this list!

[hezenkoss]

genuinely interested in knowing more about your ocs! I am waiting with interest for that link on your pinned post to go live!

WELL I GOT NEWS FOR YOUUUUUU

afhiri's page already exists on this blog! it's right here. :3c I WOULD LIKE TO EDIT IT A BIT cuz some things have changed a little and been expanded on a little however...

for my other ocs you can hop straight back to my old blog's oc page right here. this one also includes their commissioned lil chibi heads heheheheh not everyone has their own page .. unfortunately. and only afhiri's is finished. and it's the same as the one moved to this blog i think... candor, amity and eden have some parts filled out. cirok too i think. i'm just kind of lazy ok. and my chronic pain puts me off cuz it's in my arms. BUT WE MAKE DO!

here's one/two different pages that are wip for my morrowind ocs. they didn't get on any of the big pages. i don't know. they fit in at weird times i wasn't even on tumblr really when i made them. yes they have tumblr pages that contradict this shhhhhhhh. i actually mentioned dreyla a bit in my morrowind screenshots i posted recently. she's also in the gifset i made uwu

now.. if we wanna go even further........... i have other more filled out oc pages with custom themes with a WHOLE LIST of ocs that i have not touched or developed in a long time, but some of them are my most explored and fleshed out ocs. like afhiri is not my only babie. some are just old now.

so if we go back to my oldest blog (it's not but for all you guys know. it is) and go to the oc page there.... you are gonna see A LOT of characters. there are no pages. unfortunately. it was also not finished. BUT THAT'S NOT ALL!

THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!! is a link to an oc page on an even older blog!!!! see i lied. none of yall knew me on this blog. i have never shared it before. i am feeling like sharing it now for some reason. this is my most "complete" oc page ever. i worked on it all the time for months. it's barely a thing for how long i worked on it. the ONLY character here with more info is my darling faire. you can view it by clicking her Box. but even then! it's not much.

i focused way too much on aesthetic over filling out information in these old pages you'll notice. nowadays i like filling out information like it's a wiki page. but i just struggle to write as much as i need... i get tired man.

this got long. if u ever wanna ask about an oc u can. i got. i got guys man. in my head. and idk. thinking about sharing them again is almost difficult. i dunno why. not cuz i'm shy or anything. not cuz i'm scared to be open about it cuz i don't wanna be judged or nothing. i'm just kind of lazy and tired or something idk. it's a lot of effort to make pages and fill them out. i am a busy bitch. i wanna play a video game or read a book or write a fanfic or watch a movie. i am not the same person i was when i could spend WEEKS nonstop doing this stuff. maybe one day i will get a kick and this new oc page will come to life.... but no idea when.

might add control and ghost bird to it and claim them as mine even though they're canon characters in the southern reach. they're mine now actually sorry jeff

[the-bitter-ocean]

mira and isa qpr for the ship ask game heart emoji

Hi hi! An anon asked the exact same question but I lost their ask going through their inbox so I’m glad you sent this!! Anywho I’m gonna start off and say yes!! I love the idea of Mirabelle and Isabeau being in a QPR. )In case anyone who’s following me and unaware of this I really enjoy the idea of Mirabelle, Siffrin and Isabeau as a trio being in a QPR! )

Not only that but I personally like focusing on as well as just Mira/sif QPR , Isa/sif QPR or Mira/Isa as a QPR. Any variants of it makes me extremely happy!

1. What made you ship it?

I think I’ve always liked it back when I played Start again Start again Start again: A prologue, but it definitely increased once I played in stars and time since ISAT expanded on all of the characters personalities / backstories in more detail. Adrienne’s writing and art of them hanging out endeared me to them a ton so I just ended up liking it a lot too. It also helps that there are some cool fanart and fanfic of the two bonding which is very sweet, makes my heart warm 🥺💖

2. What are your favorite things about the ship?

I love love love their banter! The way Adrienne writes the two of them hanging out and draws them really helps emphasize that they are close friends and became tight knit on the journey. I think there’s a lot of interesting things to explore regarding their dynamic because a lot of it was formed pre canon/ before the start of ISAT. Isa was the *first* person to help her on her journey!! It clearly means the world to her and their friendship is near and dear to my heart. Isa and Mira are both the emotional (core) of the group and they both have each others back and want to make sure neither party is overworking or abandoning their own needs to help someone else. It’s fascinating. It makes me go WAAAAAAA !

3. Is there any unpopular opinion you have on your ship?

From my knowledge no? I think for the most part the fandom is pretty respectful regarding the canonical romantic / sexual orientations of both those characters so thankfully I don’t have to worry about any bad takes? I think my only complaint is that I wish to see more art and writing exploring their dynamic but I can be the change I wish to see in the world regarding that aha ^_^

Thanks for asking @basilpaste !

[starghost-fics]

fanfic master post

this is new era only; anything not listed here is likely on my AO3 as a historical curiosity from the olden days.

sometimes i use the actual summary from AO3, sometimes that's too long or I don't want to use it here. no rules, only fic

under the cut: OCTOPATH TRAVELER OUR FLAG MEANS DEATH TED LASSO DEEP SPACE NINE

OCTOPATH TRAVELER

As a preface, I would personally like to invite you to play this video game because I found it delightful, but also because I'm inordinately proud of some of this fic, and it's a little fandom.

in the near-dark

AO3

length: 3 chapters, 9100 words

summary: The group travels through Orsterra, and Therion is bad at sleeping, except when he isn't.

my favorite tag: oh no tenderness

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a little sleight of hand

AO3

length: 1 chapter, 1500 words

summary: Therion has a strange habit of squirreling away food when he thinks no one is looking. Tressa worries about it.

my favorite tag: even my fluff has class issues

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the stars above

AO3

length: 4 chapters, 9100 words

summary: After their journeys are complete, Therion moves to Atlasdam, and discovers Cyrus's new (and dangerous) avenue of study.

my favorite tag: someone is pining

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untitled octopath fanfic

AO3

length: 1 chapter, 900 words

summary: It is a wretched day in Bolderfall, and Therion is a horrible goose. (of course it's a crossover with untitled goose game!)

my favorite tag: no beta we honk like geese

tumblr post - to come?

series: divine intervention (god shit)

series summary: in which I spend nearly 100k words exploring Cyrus and Therion's relationship, among other things.

if the gods should touch you

AO3

length: 13 chapters, 60,000 words

summary: Spanning roughly from various chapter 2s to chapter 4s, the group travels, changes partners, faces fears, gets blessed, and oh also the scholar and the thief kiss.

my favorite tag: get in loser we're healing from past trauma and changing our negative coping mechanisms

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as shadows gather and gods move

AO3

length: 7 chapters, 32,000 words

summary: time loop? time loop. time loop!!! only Cyrus is aware and the solution is not what he thinks it is.

my favorite tag: the powers of a god are inexplicable but also annoying

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OUR FLAG MEANS DEATH

not a fic: a two-part essay/analysis on character weakness and desire

part one: stede bonnet and self-doubt

part two: edward teach and self-loathing and also applying this to writing

not made of glass but flesh and bone, which is worse

AO3

length: 6 chapters, 10,000 words

summary: Post s01e05, in which we diverge from canon so that Ed and Stede can go spend a night on a deserted island.

my favorite tag: a little light blasphemy

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what's a stab wound good for, anyway

AO3

length: 1 chapter, 1500 words

summary: After the (s1) duel, Ed has several thoughts, then ignores most of them.

my favorite tag: love a stabbing

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TED LASSO

And the Songbirds Keep Singing

AO3

length: 1 chapter, 4700 words

summary: Trent has a bad day and then Ted makes him dinner and they listen to records.

my favorite tag: Princess Grim Reaper (the cat)

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The Closest You Can Get to Flying

AO3

length: 1 chapter, 3600 words

summary: Trent learns to ride a bike, then he scrapes his knee and definitely needs someone to play doctor.

my favorite tag: biking is so great

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someday soon we all will be together

AO3

length: 2500 words

summary: Everyone is at Rebecca's Christmas party, and I do mean everyone. Also: heavily influenced by that one scene in The West Wing when Danny comes back.

my favorite tag: fancy pens as flirting

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real long distance

AO3

length: tk words (6 chapters total)

summary: Ted gets a land line, calls Trent more than anyone else. All-dialog, all the time.

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SERIES: a work excuse

in which i overwrote the main fic and felt like posting the other bits.

Lafayette Comes to America

AO3

length: 24 chapters, 53,000 words

summary: Trent goes to America with a tenuous work excuse and has a lot of Tension with Ted Lasso. Then he goes home and has a lot of moping, before everyone comes to their senses.

my favorite tag: warning: i love a loooooong paragraph

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beverages and conversation

AO3

length: 3 chapters, 3900 words

summary: Ted has one or two conversations that he is not entirely prepared for over a beverage. (Ted's side of things during a few of the later chapters.)

my favorite tag: give me the slightest provocation and i WILL sketch out a midwestern life for you

the intolerable evocation of emotion via art

AO3

length: 1 chapter, 363 words

summary: Texts between Trent and his ex-wife about a playlist she made him. (Makes no sense divorced from Chapter 18 of Lafayette Comes to America, probably.)

DEEP SPACE NINE

keep a bower quiet for us

AO3

length: 11 chapters, 20,000 words

summary: Julian Bashir goes on vacation, and ends up stuck on Earth, in the past, with Elim Garak. Things could be worse, probably.

my favorite tag: we run on vibes not plot

tumblr commentary: to come!?!

[barricadescon]

BarricadesCon Panel Descriptions: Highlights of Track 1, Saturday, July 13

Reflecting on Directing Les Mis by Pieces Of Cait

Cait directed an amateur production of Les Mis at the end of last year, and would love to talk about how that went and share snippets from the show and behind the scenes. This will include talking about adapting Les Mis for the space and budget, approaches to certain scenes, dual casting lead roles, and probably raving about the lovely cast.��

2. What Horizon: Tragedies, Time Loops, and the Hopefulness of Les Amis by Percy

In this presentation, Percy will discuss the ideas of tragedy and hope with reference to Hugo’s original text and the ways in which rebellion has been changed in adaptation, as well as other works of inspiration for this staged play adaptation of Hugo’s work (namely Hadestown and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead). The presentation will detail choices made in the adaptation process, show clips from the staged reading, and touch on the different characters, setting, and overarching themes with which Percy engaged while creating the play. 

3. Cosette: A Novel — The (Fanmade) Sequel to Les Misérables by Imiserabili

This presentation is  a deep-dive into the 1995 fanfiction “Cosette” by Laura Kalpakian. It will include a short background on the author and the publication, a summary of the plot, an analysis of represented historical events in the work, character analyses and comparisons to the source material and other Les Mis adaptations, and memorable quotes.

4. Barricades as a Tactic: How Do They Work? by Lem

This session will explore the tactical and strategic uses of barricades, with an eye towards what to consider when writing both canon-era fanfiction and modern AUs. After all, the strategic goals towards which the barricades were used in canon-era urban warfare were often quite different from the strategic goals of similar-looking tactics in contemporary protest movements. Core components of the session will be a map-based analysis of July 1830, a comparison with June 1832 highlighting strategic goals and considerations canon-era characters would have, and an exploration of various parallels among contemporary protest tactics (which may or may not *look* like barricades).

5. Why is there a Roller Coaster in Les Mis? The Strange History of the Russian Mountains by Peyton Parker (Mellow)

In Les Miserables there is an actual canon scene where Fantine rides a roller coaster. How did a roller coaster end up in Paris in 1817? And why did this ride, one of the worlds first Roller Coasters, make a cameo in Les Mis? It’s “Les Mis Meets Defunctland.”

We’re going talk about the earliest origins of the Russian Mountains, the fascinating history behind how they came to France, their many connections to the political turmoil of the time period, what they felt like to ride, why they were shut down, how they fell into obscurity, and why Victor Hugo included them in Les Mis.

6. Obscure(-ish) Les Mis Adaptations To Watch by PureAnon

Les Mis has been adapted many times over the years, and this means there’s a lot of adaptations to enjoy. Because of this, a lot of adaptations are underviewed or underappreciated. This panel will discuss 1925, 1948, 1967, and 1995. These adaptations are all very different and are fascinating looks at how different countries and different time periods will adapt this story. Clips of each adaptation will be shown so the audience can get a taste of what each adaptation is like. 

7. Recovery: A Fanfic Live Read by Eli (Thecandlesticksfromlesmis)

A full cast will live read a Les Mis fanfic written specifically for the con.

8. Preliminary Gaieties by Barri Cade, Percy, and Rare

In keeping with personal tradition, Rare, Percy, and ShitpostingFromTheBarricade will bring you a second year of our dramatic reading of the “Preliminary Gayeties” chapter of the brick, following specified drinking game rules (including classics such as “brick quotes that appear commonly in fanfiction,” “pretentious classical references,” and “drink/eat when characters drink/eat”), and enjoying snacks mentioned in the chapter as they are mentioned. Everyone is invited to participate by reading, eating, and drinking along with this activity!

[avelera]

Archetypes are fine and originality isn't as important as you think

I think one of the most shocking things I learned in my writing class when we brought in a professional agent to lecture was that they really, really don't want your original story idea.

Agents and publishers want to know where to put your book on the shelf. They want to know which recent books it resembles, not super-hits like Game of Thrones. When they ask "What two books is this book like?" they want recent, practical examples of which non-Bestselling authors' work your work most resembles. Nothing turns them off faster than "This is totally original" / "This is like nothing you've ever seen."

Similarly, most audiences don't want totally original. I don't mean that pejoratively. We joke in the fanfic world that everyone just wants to read their favorite ship falling in love over and over but... that is actually true. That is an engaged audience. That said, fatigue does set in when all the fics or books begin to sound exactly the same, so what's the deal there, huh?

The deal is: agents, publishers, and audiences want the familiar thing they know they love with your unique spin on it that only you as a writer can create.

Now, my theory on how to achieve this, as a pre-pro who thinks about this a lot but doesn't claim to have a solution, is that this is what, "Write what you know," really refers to. Not that garbage your high school English teacher told you that you shouldn't set a story in a fantasy world because you've never lived there.

No, what "write what you know" means in fanfic is: take these characters and filter them through your personal experience and/or your interests. Which are also things you know. That can mean "I put them in a Coffeeshop AU because I've actually worked in a coffee shop and I want to show y'all what it's really like there" to "I'm personally interested in explorations of grief so I want to do hurt/comfort for these two around grief," or any other number of variations. It's why a weird concept written passionately is 10x more interesting than trying to chase what's "popular" in fandom, people want to see the uniqueness brought by the simple fact that you are writing it. You can give 10 authors the same prompt and they'll end up with 10 wildly different fics, I guarantee you, that's why no one gets tired of the same tropes being played over and over.

Now, for original fiction, at which I have less practice but which I think about a lot because I want to change that, I think again people get too hung up on being totally original and in this case I want to talk about a tendency to design an "original character" by focusing all the little details of their character before they start writing. The thing is, a lot of those little details don't matter. (It's better to start with an archetype and layer on those details, but we'll get to that.) There's danger in that, in part because your character needs to have an arc where they change between the beginning and the end, more than we need to know details like their favorite foods. Their favorite food should be whatever is most thematically relevant in the moment.

IE, when writing a story about losing a parent, whatever the parent made for them is their favorite food. When writing about someone who needs to reconnect with their inner child, greasy Pizza Hut pizza might be their favorite food because it's about something that gives the character pleasure that doesn't play to adult expectations on them. See? Knowing they like Pop Tarts jus because they like Pop Tarts is utterly meaningless, unless for example, you the author loves Pop Tarts and you know you can write a stirring monologue about how amazing Pop Tarts are that will make the audience feel your characters adoration of Pop Tarts. But you can substitute literally any food and write the same monologue, it has to either have emotional resonance or plot relevance, otherwise it doesn't matter what the food is.

But going back to characters, I think just starting with an archetype, adding a few details from your own life that you know you can write authentically, and then kicking this character through the mousetrap maze of your plot, really goes a lot further in making them unique than any amount of pre-planning of details that get you bogged down. And most popular characters reduce down to Archetype + Story-Relevant Details pretty damn quickly when you look at them.

Here's an example:

Last of Us = is a Lone Wolf and Cub archetype, ie, grizzled man takes a dependent child on a dangerous journey. That it's a post-apocalyptic landscape riddled by zombies tweaks the necessities of what skills the characters like Joel and Ellie need to survive. Add some author relevant details - he's from Texas but he lives in Boston now, he had a daughter who died (relevant to the plot, which is him adopting a "new" daughter), and he is former military and a blue-collar worker who therefore has the skills to survive in this setting, and you've got a pretty solid character that people grasp and people love right away, especially the more humanizing moments you throw in there, like the moment we see him break down when his daughter dies.

It should also be remembered: passion is what is needed here. You don't pick a trope you hate unless you're setting out to subvert it. You pick details that you care about and that you want to write about. Everything needs to be things you authentically care about writing and innovating on because you're gonna spend a lot of time with this story, more than anyone else. But the idea that one needs to start whole cloth, rather than focusing on the tropes, stories, archetypes, and personal experience that you care about, is utter nonsense and in fact does not actually sell.

[asidian]

B and R for the fanfic writer asks game please!

B: Any of your stories inspired by personal experience?

I wouldn't go so far as to say that there's anything in its entirety that's inspired by my experience, but I do like to add in little nods to things that are personal to me. There are themes and motifs in my writing that surface a lot because they're near to my heart; when I write original characters, I'll often find that when I go back and take a closer look at them, there's something I can relate to in each of them.

And there is a particular story that I wrote, some years ago now, when I was going through a very, very difficult time in my life. I'd intended to keep it short, a chapter or two, and let it stand where canon had stood: tragically. But I was tired of hopeless endings, so it grew something like seventeen more chapters, and by god I gave those characters the ending they deserved.

Sometimes you can't change things in life, but I can change whatever I want to change in fiction.

R: Are there any writers (fanfic or otherwise) you consider an influence?

My prose used to be super flowery and dense. I was the kind of writer who spent four paragraphs describing a snowy day before anything happened. Even then, though, the things that were important to me in writing were the same. A piece of writing ought to make you feel something, whatever that something is.

Then I read Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut.

It was, I think, the first book that ever made me sit up and go: "I want to be able to do that."

The language isn't flowery. The writing style is simple, almost. But it lands these absolutely devastating emotional gutpunches, not with the words themselves but with the content of what's being said.

After that, I started playing around with paring back my writing. What if I didn't use fifty-cent words in the narration, just for the hell of it? What if I didn't describe every room, and every minor character, and every branch on every tree, and instead focused only on the things that are really needed to set the scene in the reader's mind?

It's been some decades since then. I think the journey that book set me on in exploring my own style allowed me to come up with a written voice that's much stronger for having been stripped down. While I wouldn't say I ever set out to imitate Vonnegut, he definitely opened my eyes to the possibility of what can be done with simple language, and how powerful it can be.

[chaos-creature-on-the-roof]

Because I've seen this asked in fandom spaces a lot, I'd like to share a prompt-and-response I wrote for English class.

The Prompt:

We learned that Shakespeare used source material when writing his plays. We also know that modern day artists, in turn, use Shakespeare’s works as an influence and inspiration when creating new works.  In today’s age of reboots and remakes, do you think that using elements of an existing source (or completely rebooting a classic) makes the artist/creator less creative?  Do you think it affects the quality of the new work?  Include specific examples in your response. You can use literature, music, motion pictures, TV, or any medium you feel fits the prompt. 

The Answer:

In my opinion, I do not think that using an existing source, in most areas, makes someone less creative. There are many instances where using someone else’s work is uncreative and sometimes illegal, such as plagiarizing an article or script, or copying another artist’s work without permission or violating the copyright. However, in most cases, using another work as a base for your own is not less creative than making one yourself. Sometimes, having a base to work off, such as another work or creation, makes being creative easier and less daunting, because the creator of the new work has more room to play around with their art or creation, and they have less to worry about in terms of detail or thinking up explanations or backstories for the work they are basing their own off. Using a pre-existing source does not make the creator less creative, and if they don’t plagiarize or claim someone else’s work as their own, and remember to give credit to the original creators, is fine. For some people, using another’s work as a base is the only way they can be creative without getting overwhelmed, so using a pre-existing source is what allows them to be creative in the first place.

One large example of this is fandom. A fandom is a community of people with an interest in the same work, such as a show, book, comic, movie, song, or other type of creation. Often times, fandoms create a lot of new work based on the canon, or the work they are interested in. For example, the show Gravity Falls, created by Alex Hirsch, has a large fandom that, while smaller than when the show was still airing on TV, creates works based on the show. There are fanfics; stories written based off the characters and settings, AUs; Alternate Universes based on if a small or large detail of the original work was changed, Fanart; art of the characters or settings in the show by fans of the show, Fan-created music; both sheet music for music in the show itself and songs made based on characters (Such as Want To Make A Deal, by Kyle Allen, about the main antagonist in the show Bill Cypher), and much more, like textile work, fanmail, memes, animations, and music video animatics.

I do not think that using a pre-existing source as a base for your own work affects the quality of the work itself. The main influence on the quality of work is practice, not resources or references. If someone uses a creation by another person to do their own work, then their skill will be what determines the quality of the new piece. The only part of the original work that may affect the new one would be the detail put into the original. If the original has more detail, then the new, based on the original work will have more room to explore and tinker with these details. If the original has less detail, the new work will most likely be less detailed and of a lesser quality. In the above paragraph. all of the people who create these works and arts based off the show are incredibly creative, especially the animators in my opinion, and they often end up inspiring others to make their own fan-based creations. There have been Tumblr posts that inspired fanfictions, fanfictions that inspired memes, memes that inspired songs, and songs that inspired Tumblr posts. For my final answer, using a pre-existing source to base your own work off of is not less creative, nor does it negatively impact the quality.

-Me, 5/24/2024

TL;DR: No. Using a pre-existing source is not less creative than making up your own work, and I highly encourage it, especially if the alternative is not making anything at all.