#zombiedadtalks

[kangaracha]

i was tagged by @magical-ashley and @kokinu09, thanks besties

Top 3 Ships: this is such a cop-out i've been thinking about this for hours and i just don't know. i can't read suddenly. i don't know.

First ever ship: i asked keeps what the answer was and she said 'i feel like it's a you problem if you can't remember what your first ship was, i remember mine'

Last song I listened to: Connected by Stray Kids (Bang Chan)

Last movie I watched: i'm watchin matilda the musical as we speak

Currently Reading: red rising by pierce brown, ledge by stacey mcewin, S by doug durst

Currently Watching: upright (please watch this piano show and get back to me it's gotta be a new australian classic also they ALMOST WENT TO MY HOME TOWN but didn't)

Currently Consuming: bizkits.

Currently Craving: time. a release from my prison. a nap.

please @keepswingin, @rainfallingfromthesky, @gogoseabrook, @vicapuleti, mystery friends of the future i haven't tagged (that's you, person reading this)

[kangaracha]

today, for the first time in my life, i saw blood thicker than silver at the top of the archive

2 and a half years later @keepswingin gets the sequel to blood thicker than silver written and it’s fucking incredible. Update will come soon 🤩

[kangaracha]

death to the long hair

😏

[kangaracha]

9. If you had to assign a theme song to “Pretty”, which would you assign?

this ask got me fucked up it's been driving me nuts. i definitely had a particular song on repeat when i was writing pretty but do you think i can remember which song now? nope. absolutely not. that would be convenient.

anyway, here's a playlist:

i don't do drugs - doja cat starving - hailee steinfeld don't go yet - camila cabello leave before you love me - jonas brothers cruel summer - taylor swift

[kangaracha]

we’re like the two fandom idiots and yet you keep serving so really lower the bar so i can catch up

if we're the idiots why am i sitting on the throne

[kangaracha]

i thought the costumes for both of these movies showed great understanding of the universes they are used to portray and use of colour to distinct between characters/groups of people. i also love that they found such a good balance between being bright and colourful and easily distinguishable for kids, but keeping it thoughtful enough for adults to still engage, and not be left blinded by the sheer amount of pastel.

they both bring you very clearly divided worlds and cultures, and they both choose colour to do this. descendants has their princesses and princes, their ‘good’ characters, in pretty and uniform pastels, a crowd that don’t want to be seen as different, that all want to be good like their parents. this crowd doesn’t need to stick out from one another, their world in auradon is a picture perfect medieval paradise with a few modern luxuries and the only thing allowed to sit outside of this aesthetic is the isle, a big dark blot on the horizon that you just try not to see, in case you remember all the people you’ve left rotting away over there and start to develop a conscience.

the isle is a slum, it’s a city built out of a trash heap, but it would be boring to just leave it in shades of browns and greys, and offensive to the big personalities that can be found there, so instead it is colour, bright and clashing and ridiculous. and it’s a place where you want to stand out, if you’re aiming to be any kind of top dog, if you don’t want to have to run and hide, so the characters here are outrageously colourful too, they have their brand and they’re willing to build it. when you see purple coming down the street, you run and hide, because it’s maleficent or maleficent’s daughter, and you don’t fuck with them, y’know? and this colour then helps during the movie to accentuate the point that the VKs stick out like a sore thumb in auradon. in D2, mal tries being a little more pastel, just like she’s trying to change/hide who she is personality wise; the use of colours and costume matches what the character is going through. in the end, she goes back to her purple, her signature colour and style. she goes back to being who she is. in D3, she finds a balance between the two, a way that her signature style fits into a changing auradon, just as she learns to be a queen, and to rule with both of her people’s interests at heart.

i’ve seen plenty of complaints and joke posts about how zombies is just ‘humans/cheerleaders, zombies, werewolves’, but the overarching themes of the movies are racism, colonisation, acceptance, etc. and so this i think is an appropriate distinction for these movies to make. they’re also movies that are attempting to present complicated and real-world issues to kids, and so the clear-cut distinctions between groups are actually a very good way to go, easy to understand while not destroying the fantasy that the story creates, the aesthetic of the universe they’re placed in or the ‘mood’ of the piece. it fits the story just the way it should to have these super divided and wildly different groups.

the first movie is about zombies trying to teach the humans of seabrook to accept them and see that they are not so different and have a lot to bring. it’s told within the limitations of a love story, focusing on these few specific characters, but it’s a story of race versus race, culture versus culture. therefore, the character design doesn’t need to be obviously individual or super diverse - humans are pink and blue, zombies are green and red and brown, muted and darker tones set against the pretty pastels of seabrook. reasons are given in canon for these colours too, good, solid reasons that expand the lore of the world; seabrook is heavily policed to ensure it is the ‘perfect’ town, down to the things they wear and the colours they use, and zombies are only permitted to wear ‘government-issued coveralls’, which we can reasonably assume are mass produced and uniform in cut and choice of colour.

i also think there is actually a great difference in the costuming for each character, on the zombies side at least (it is reasonable for the seabrook characters to all wear the same styles and colours, by the laws of the town), the differences are just far more subtle than the overt costume choices of descendants. @unusual-ly​ covered this pretty well i think.

Z2 is much of the same narrative in terms of colour and costume choices; racism abounds, acceptance is key, zombies are still wearing what the government gives them and seabrook is yet to relax its colour laws. in this world that’s been built, with its clear distinctions between styles and races, it would only be a disservice to the movies to make the werewolves greatly varied and different to each other - it only makes sense for them to also have their own distinct colours and style, and for the costumes to conform to this style. and again, there are great differences in every character’s costumes, even the background werewolves, they are just subtle differences. most of these choices, for jewellery and tattoos, were made by the actors - which i think adds plenty of individuality without needing to break the world.

and if we want to come up with reasons for why the werewolves would all wear similar clothing...well, they live in the woods. are they making their own clothing? the materials and dye colours they have at their disposal, and the techniques available for creating the clothes, are likely to be limited, plus the clothes must be practical and useful. don’t ask me how the prom clothes fit into this scenario. someone must have wanted to experiment with human styles. anyway.

the zombies costumes may have made the characters somewhat forgettable and not permitted them to be unique, but these qualities are actually credits to the costume designer, as they add to and compliment the plot and overarching themes of the movie; seabrook do not allow anyone from either side of the wall to be unique, and so they are forced to meld into one crowd of sameness; humans and zombies. zed and addison break this mold not through the things they wear, but their strength of character and their actions, and the use of colours against them only makes their narrative stronger.

Do you think Descendants or Zombies have better costumes. I prefer Descendants (not that all their costumes are good but I like how most of the characters have signature colors). I feel like Zombies are somewhat forgettable. Like they could’ve worn the same outfits in both movies cause nothing makes them different. I like the zombie costumes but they all look the same. I get why humans wear pink and blue only but it limits how unique they can look. sorry I kinda went on a rant.

Honestly while I find the Descendants costumes outrageous and bizarre they were, at least, memorable and distinct. All the costumes in ZOMBIES fall into the three categories of “human, Zombie, and Werewolf” and although those three categories are easy to differentiate, the individual characters are not. Literally Addison’s first Werewolf outfit looks like all the others (maybe that’s why they changed her up and gave her purple fur in the second one). Meanwhile you can show me like any random outfit from Descendants and I would probably be able to tell you what character it was for (given, of course, we’re talking about named characters and not random extras).

So yes, even though I think that the quality of Descendants costuming decreased significantly with each passing movie, at least they maintained a distinction between the characters instead of just going “happy light pastel people” and “dark grungy edgy people.” 

Thank you for the ask!

[kangaracha]

hihiiii i recently stumbled across your works on ffn & i fell in love with your writing !! i'm not sure if you're still taking prompts or if you write polyamory, but if you do, could i request zeddiza? (zed/addison/eliza)

as for the prompt: eliza and zed were a thing of the past. they were thirteen and confused, she'd say, their impulsive romance as spontaneous and explosive as the hormones that fueled their adolescent stages. now they're fifteen, and eliza's long accepted the fact that her relationship with zed was never meant to cross the boundary beyond best-friendship, that the natural laxness without pressure of something more was vastly preferable — so she ignores the way her chest burns hot when zed throws it all away for a girl he barely knows, when they sing and dance and laugh with an airy flutter that she never got to see. (and she ignores the butterflies that bloom in her stomach when that very same girl melts her distant walls with a single compliment, her smile light and pretty.)

oh my god thankyou so much 😭😭 you've actually made my week.

i don't write poly ships, but i will put this b e a u t i f u l l y written prompt out there for anyone else to grab if they want it (seriously, you've put so much thought into this ask, and i'm so terrible to waste it).

if you want more of my writing in general however, please go and find me on ao3 as I don't actually post on ff.net anymore so there's actually about 70k worth of work that you're missing! i'm under the same name there as on ff.net, apocalyvse :)

[kangaracha]

Fic asks: 11 10 16 20 33 :D

11. How would you describe your style? (Character/emotion/action-driven, etc)

I place a lot of importance on character/I find it hard to be captured by stories that don't have good characters, so I hope that's what shines through and pulls people into mine too. I think my style is very pretty/aesthetically pleasing too, there's a certain way i like things to be and way to phrase things. idk what i'm really talking about here i don't go this deep about it lmao

10. What is the line you’re proudest of from [Fanfic Name]? 

from the unpublished zelda fic:

His path down has landed him in yet more ruins – that’s all the world seems to be, ruins, and woodlands, and the mountain behind him and the mountain before him and no living people except the ghosts of days gone past.

16. What fanfic tropes do you avoid writing for?

honestly i don't think there's anything i specifically avoid writing except smut, and i guess anything that i don't find aesthetically pleasing lmfao no gross stuff here. anyway i don't even think about like, tropes and whatever i can't name a single one off the top of my head.

20. What feedback makes you the happiest to hear?

um like all of it? i like when people pull out their favourite lines and especially when they tell me why. also the blank screaming about plot twists is great too.

33. Have you ever stopped yourself from writing something? Why?

very occasionally i will toy with an idea but know i'm not going to stay in the fandom long enough to finish it and refrain from starting, but my rule for myself is that i'm allowed to write whatever i want as long as i write something, so usually if i'm in the mood i will write something even if it's almost guarenteed to never see the light of day. i'm also getting a lot better at finishing things so

[kangaracha]

Also I love you and I'm about to throw myself into your Marvel fics please and thank youuuu <3

you've said NOTHING SINCE THIS and i am. dying. dying of curiousity. what happened. where's the follow up. give me the DETAILS.

[kangaracha]

i'm not Good at. Writing.

anyway it's called 'the king walks the tower'. check it out soon.

..............7k

anyways read roo’s new 7k story which was supposed to be under 5k last we talked; date to be announced!!!

[kangaracha]

📥 🖊 🏅 😈 📚 💭 👩‍🏭 let’s gooooo

📥 What is your fave fic to receive comments/messages on?

HMMMMM my instant reaction was the pokemon fic but the more i think about it the more i think the answer is actually the bucky fic

🖊 Post a snippet from a current WIP.

damn well i've been meaning to send you a valleys sneak peek anyway so birds, stone.

A song finds its way into his head as rain begins to mist down again.

It comes to him from long ago, some winter he's forgotten, and it consists only of a clear, high voice, sharp as the bitter cold. Lover, come to find me in the dark, it croons in the back of his mind.

Nothing comes to him in the night, nothing but the whistle of the wind between buildings and cold water stinging his cheeks as it blows in under the eaves. He huddles down into his collar and bunches his sleeves around his fingers, drawing his cloak tighter. His breath heaves precious warmth into the air like steam rising from a kettle, but his body doesn't feel like it is boiling.

🏅 What is something you recently felt proud of in regard to your writing (finished a fic, actually planned for once, etc).

i've had to step back for a couple weeks while i finish my job and transition back into my horse stuff and all that, so just this week i've been really proud of the quality of writing that i'm producing. the hawkeye fic is a real solid fluff piece, and the one scene of valleys i've written has come out way better than i actually thought it would.

i'm also proud of myself for stepping away from valleys and coming back again. generally when i step away from my multichaps i end up accidentally leaving them for like two years.

😈 Is there anything you enjoy doing that you think your readers hate?

sad endings? hopelessness? mostly i guess because i personally hate that in books and fics....and yet i keep goddamn doing it lmfao. anyway there was a 'people roo made cry' club once so uh...sorry babes.

📚 Do you read your own fic?

haha. yeah i do. guilty. my bucky fic is a work of goddamn art and if you guys aren't gonna read it i'll do it myself. i also reread my pokemon fic a LOT it's my therapy fic lmfao.

💭 What is a headcanon you have about your own work?

uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. that it's the best body of work by any author in the zombies fandom. lmfaooooo.

no i guess. there's a running theme in my zombies future fics that are canon compliant of things going downhill a bit after school; tightening restrictions again, protests, etc etc. so i guess that's my headcanon in all my universes. things get hard for them again after high school. and no, i haven't published the fic that actually explores this yet.

👩‍🏭 If one of your fics was going to get you arrested, which one and why?

i mean any of the disney ones, right. they're going to copyright strike us into the ground one day aren't they.

[kangaracha]

hey give me the full list tho i wanna know all the author behind the scenes

the braincell resides with you today huh. good, good, good. i can't actually remember what happens in some fics so i'll leave those out but we'll give it a good diggy damn try.

(this is in response to this post)

everything published on this list can be read on my AO3

--

PUBLISHED THINGS

to go beyond your borders is about cancel culture, and young athletes/celebrities, and the pressure we put on these people to be perfect. pushing your boundaries and fighting mental illness and also friendship, and good endings.

sparrow and flicker are about identity, and growing up, and learning to open up to the world around you.

the slaughter of the lambs is about religion in a way i guess, for lack of a better word, and living the life you've been given, and the balance between loyalty and doubt.

if only we knew and and the chasm grows are about coming to terms with the end of your life; dying hope and endless grief and finding peace in your ending.

river cold, mountain wild is about knowing when to let go, and finding your place in the world, and how relationships are a choice, not something pre-determined by the universe.

to what your heart once was is about being ostracised, seperate and Other, and about breaking out of that box.

(stay low, stay low, stay low) is about humans clinging to life even when there's no hope left, just for the sake of living.

all the things left unsaid is about trauma and loss of identity, and learning to love the person that comes out the other side.

linger is about embracing the things that make you unique, and the power of love, in all its forms.

(when the sun comes up) is about recognising an abusive relationship, and the emptiness of depression and an absence of self-worth.

two lonely hearts meet in the dark is about endings, and beginnings, and the millions of chances we miss every day.

the king walks the tower is about standing up against injustice, and devotion to family.

---

OTHER THINGS

heart is about free will, found family, and making your own destiny; second chances, standing up when no one else will, and discovering your own power, even when you feel powerless.

goldmine, goldmine (landmine) is about the children of war, and the effect war has on the individual. it's about reaching for a future never promised to you, and about lives wasted in search of someone else's goal.

my hand in yours is about fear, and depression, and using someone to hide from your own reality; reconciling differences, and growing stronger together and relationships, beginning and ending.

the gone and the gathered is about belonging and autonomy, and the search for missing pieces in a broken past, the urge to know who you are and where you came from. it's about connection and reconciliation and family - born and made.

where the river bends is about loss of reality, not being able to tell what's real and what's not, and about sacrifice, doing something unthinkable in service to a greater cause.

the waltz of matilda is about places and people, and holding onto them and, sometimes, letting them go. it's about war and journeys and the bravery it takes to step into the unknown.

for the world is hollow is about loneliness and loss, and questions whether it is worth going on when everything around you is already dead.

[kangaracha]

shoulda just threw a bucky torture fic on the waitlist for ya 😂

are you saying you're gonna write me a bucky barnes torture fic or that i should add a bucky barnes torture fic to my list of things to write.

reaction pending.

[kangaracha]

'it's an uprising against you' is fucking funny considering my next 'emotionally destroy everyone that reads it' fic is literally about a failed uprising 😂😂😂

HAS THIS PERSON'S FICS EVER MADE YOU SAD?????

Then join the We're Sad at Roo club

Activitities include

Yelling at Roo

Being sad about Roo's fics

And other fun activities

Who's not allowed?

Roo

People who enjoy suffering

For more questions or membership contact me or copresident @lykenbcrn

And remember

We'll yell at Roo...later, but we will yell at Roo

[kangaracha]

when i see @gayce-ventura online for the first time in months:

[kangaracha]

Spotify wrapped ask - 16, 85, 96, 1, 100

numbers out of order? you heathen

16 is Redemption by Dermot Kennedy (❤❤ sorry for not giving you more listens will do better next time)

85 is False Confidence by Noah Kahan

96 is Fear Of The Water by SYML

1 is Graveyard by Halsey (completely undeserved no i don't want to talk about it :C)

100 is Freaking Me Out by Ava Max