#EDIT: new anon - added some clarifying bits in here to answer your question

[r5h]

Howdy. I see you're the author of Backstage Passes and saw your post about changing things in the story. Did that include Akko calling out Amanda for basically sexually harassing and touching her without her consent, even when she got very clearly angry? No one calling out Amanda's scummy behavior gave me flashbacks of assholes doing similar things to me, and made me stop reading it. So if Akko firmly told Amanda to fuck off with her bullshit in the new version, I might read it again.

The spoiler-free answer to this question is, two of the people who commented with criticism about Amanda's and Akko's actions in the story have since come back and said that they liked the changes. So I think that the changes have helped in that regard!

More in-depth answer after the read-more.

So, to provide a little background for anyone reading this: I've got a Little Witch Academia fanfiction called Backstage Passes. It's an AU story with no magic where the characters are all musicians, and it focuses on Akko, Diana, and Amanda meeting up by chance at a bar after a concert they all performed at. Diana is meeting Akko and Amanda for the first time, whereas Akko and Amanda have prior history. Akko and Diana hit it off right away: Diana and Amanda do not like each other (well, mostly Amanda does not like Diana), and they get in verbal fights about it.

A few weeks ago, I got several comments in quick succession from different people, with pretty consistent criticism across each comment. The criticism was that Amanda's actions toward Diana felt way over the line, verging into sexual harassment or negging, and meanwhile Akko was acting weirdly oblivious about it and doing little to stop it, despite being right there and liking Diana.

I think the criticism was fair and justified, and I've since edited the story to try to address that criticism. There's a bunch of little changes here and there, as well as some larger ones, but broadly speaking the edits can be grouped into three categories.

Clarifying Amanda's actions and intent. In the previous version of the story, I think it's fair to say that Amanda seemed to be tearing into Diana for no reason, or at least not enough of a reason. I hadn't made her intentions clear in all her actions, and I think that led to people getting a way different idea of her than what I was going for (ie, people thinking she was negging Diana). One way I've tried to address this is by having her say outright that she is not interested in having sex with Diana. And as for touching Diana without consent like you mentioned, anon, I did change that too - now, as soon as Diana indicates her displeasure at Amanda touching her, Amanda lets go. Besides that, I've tried to make it clearer why she doesn't like Diana in general - she thinks Diana is a self-important snob with popularity but no substance, and that Diana is looking down on Akko. (For instance, I added a little moment where Diana insults Akko a little bit, and Amanda immediately tells her to stop.) Hopefully this changes Amanda's vibes enough to where she doesn't come across so much as a sexual harasser.

Making Akko more responsive to Amanda's actions. Some of that is outright calling her out: for instance, there's a section near the beginning of the story where Akko leaves Amanda and Diana alone for a minute, and previously she sarcastically said "You two have fun" before leaving. That wasn't really fair, though, since at that point Amanda was the only one being antagonistic. So I've changed that to have Akko telling only Amanda to behave. Besides that, she talks a little bit about Amanda's aggressive attitude when Diana asks, as well as a couple of other moments where she tries to keep things from getting too heated between them. I may go back and tweak this more, actually: it's hard to do, though, because I can't actually have Akko keep things from getting too heated or Else there's no conflict and thus no story.

Changing Diana's responses to Amanda's actions. In the previous version, Diana responded very negatively to some of Amanda's more suggestive jibes, and I think that that contributed to making Amanda feel kind of predatory. So with the edits, I've made her a lot cooler in her responses, and a lot more capable of handling herself. Hopefully this will help the overall situation feel less uncomfortable to readers like you, anon.

Like I said before, a couple of the people who previously gave negative feedback have since left new comments, saying that they liked the edits I made. And I certainly think that the edits have helped get the story a lot closer to what I was originally going for.

I hope that answers your question, anon. Obviously I can't say for sure that you'll like this version of the story, but I hope that what I've written here is enough to convince you to give it another try.

[blorbologist]

Hello! How do you get over writer's block? i'm writing for a poetry competition and the deadline is at the end of the month. The poem I'm working on now is halfway done but for some reason I'm hitting a wall when it comes to the part I really want to write if that makes sense? I feel like I have no inspiration to finish even though I know how I want it to go, and the worst part of it is that I want to start another project T^T how do I do this??

Hi anon!

It's a really, really tricky question to answer, especially due to the deadline. My usual advice would be related to not rushing it, which is... not great if you do have a timeline to adhere to.

Here's what I've got to offer:

Skip ahead. There's no hard rule that you have to write this bit before the next. Even if some of what is to come relies on it, you can make little notes and go back to edit it later.

Write an outline of the scene. No, really - you might know exactly how it goes, but writing it down both puts something on the blank document and might clarify bits you hadn't realized you were struggling with. Even better, there's often a natural inclination to just... dig a bit deeper, which might get you writing some dialog or paragraphs that occur to you that you don't want to forget. Breaking it down really helps!

Take a break. Yes, there's a deadline. No, stressing yourself silly won't help. If the muse just won't flow, be kind to yourself. If you've been bashing your head into a wall and are getting frustrated, take a break. Get away from a screen, or read a book, or take a walk.

Once that's done, though, if you aren't making headway, start brute forcing it. It's not nearly as gritty as it sounds: you just want to get words on a page, whatever way works best for you. I like to do speedwrites (short, timed writing with a friend where we just get as many words as possible onto a page and edit later), because the friend participating holds me accountable and makes me Competitive! And I'm forced to write without Overthinking, which sometimes takes the scene in a new and interesting direction! You can also set writing goals per day, like NaNoWriMo, or write it like a script with just the bare bones of what you want to happen. A little pressure helps some people stay on track.

Change your perspective. Write in a coffee shop or a quiet corner of the library, or make a nest in your closet. Switch up the environment!

Likewise, get yourself into work mode. For me that means a drink (water or coffee) and I must be wearing pants and socks to convince my brain that this is Not goofing off time.

Find ways to stay motivated. Do you have any friends you can share snippets with? The enthusiasm is a great way to keep muse flowing. Or if one part is giving you trouble, hashing it out with a kind listener is great. Reward yourself for reaching your goals! Snackies!! Reread what you've written before bed - I like to do it to catch typos and marvel at what I half-remember writing.

Break out a dictionary, or an old-ass book. Look for some weird but cool words. I compile ones that inspire me. Recently I've added grotto (from a tumblr post), ream of paper (from a fic) and appetite (from a paper) as far as words that Hit Me with some muse. Maybe you'll use them, or maybe they just give vibes. Collect them like flowers.

Finally... you know yourself best. Be honest about your goals, your comfort zone, what you know will motivate you... and then shove yourself just a bit past that. One of these ideas might be just what you need to get yourself where you want to go, but you'll never get there sticking in the same space that caused writer's block forever. Those tools clearly don't work - try out that jackhammer, even if it seems a little scary. Apparently they're really fun to work with!

I know most of this is focused on longer form writing, but I have limited experience with poetry, woop.

Please let me know if any of this helps, I'm cheering you on anon! <33

[mooncaps]

Okay, so shout-outs to the anon (or maybe multiple anons) who told me to read Marcy’s Super Secret Scrapbook. I freaking loved it! I’m also glad I read it at this point and didn’t wait until after the whole series. It makes such a good companion piece to the Stakes mini-series.

The Enchiridion was...not quite as exciting, but still had a couple of neat tidbits. Simon’s notes are nice. The Wizard section was fairly interesting. Some nice lore and world-building. I kind of wish the Bestiarum Vocabulum section had a bit more to it. And I must admit I was slightly disappointed that the Enchiridion did not, in fact, explicitly state that you should not strike a foe who’s raised their bottom to the sky. The Scrapbook is so in line with the mini-series; it would’ve been nice if the Enchiridion could’ve incorporated that as a little nod. They cover their bases with the explanation that there are multiple editions and even strongly imply that Finn’s was an earlier edition, but it still would’ve been neat.

A far more glaring omission is the Empress. Hierophant and the Vampire King are both mentioned in the Scrapbook, but the Empress isn’t. She knew both Marceline and Simon. Marcy had her power of invisibility so she must have staked and absorbed her at some point. My best guess is that the Empress enthralled Simon at a point when Simon was still writing the notes and it was on one of the pages he pulled out before he left. Or maybe Marceline just didn’t write it down for some reason. Or the writers just dropped the ball and didn’t catch this little continuity hiccup.

Those are my general thoughts. I’m also doing the whole images of my some of my favorite stuff interspersed with my reactions and commentary thing, but since this is gonna be an extra-extra long post, I’ve decided to actually use a read more cut this time.

Marcy and Bonnie talking about Simon in the margins. Give me some of that in the show.

This is the kind of lore development I like to learn about.

Does that mean the writers have thoughts about more Shoko development in future episodes and didn’t want to burn up their ideas in the side material?

International crisis. I mean that was more-or-less implied by the irradiated world, but I like learning more info. Also, he’s already talking about going North. It fits that they paired this with the Scrapbook. The notes follow through for tracking Simon’s progression into madness.

Sure. Again, kind of vaguely implied already by the series, but nice to know.

Now all I can think of is “long ago the four nations lived together in harmony...” Thanks to whoever sent that ask.

I may wanna get these on buttons or patches for my coat to go with the Avatar symbols.

Not sure what to make of this. I feel like it’s some kind of lore for the show. Maybe something to do with Prismo?

Hoo boy. Here we go. The feels train is pulling into the station.

This relationship is just so moving. I’m a sucker for found families.

More world building. Bring it on.

Even if Simon’s story hadn’t been tied to Marcy’s, it would still be one of the most interesting parts of the show. And that first paragraph feels like something that should’ve come up in the show by now. They really haven’t explained quite enough about Betty for my liking. Learning that she has a history of studying these kinds of things helps clarify why she’s so willing and able to take the approach she’s been taking.

After Bonnie and Neddy, I can only assume that this is the Mother Gum in its early days.

Mmhm. Sure. Matter’s more pliable. I can dig it.

The vibrational talk reminded of that bag of miniature people that Magic Man planted on Finn that one time. And he had to shake them to speak to them on their vibrational plane or whatever. I wonder if that’s ever gonna come back with some kind of added significance.

Reminds me of when Life kissed Death.

Wonder if that was a deliberate nod or not.

This. Relationship.

Again, I’m glad I read this now. The thing I couldn’t quite puzzle out after Stakes was where Hunson Abadeer fit into things. This is filling in some of the blanks quite nicely.

You know, after seven seasons of Grob Gob Glob Grod, it was a little jarring to actually see the word “God” here. I’ve got a pretty good recall for character voices, so I could basically hear Tom Kenny saying it as I read it. Of course it makes sense that Simon would have God in his vernacular. Somehow, after the phrase being conspicuously absent for so long, it seems to punch up the impact.

She celebrates her birthday around the time Simon found her! This precious child!

Oh, I can hear it in her voice. My heart!

“I don’t think I’ll ever see him again. Ever.”

There’s no mention of her encountering him again in the scrapbook. I’ve already mentioned the Empress, conspicuous in her absence. And she alludes to other meet-ups in the episode “I Remember You.” I can only assume those meetings take place after the last page of the scrapbook.

I’d love to know more though. I’d love to see her first discovering that Simon’s still alive, but completely insane now. And I’d love to know how we get from this:

To this:

There’s so much of the story that’s still untold.

That moment in Bad Little Boy where Ice King was like “Gob, I’m sorry I doubted your power” kind of takes on a new dimension when you think about how Simon’s from a different time.

“I hope these bring you comfort now that I’m gone, and remind you that you are loved.”

Just fuck me up, why don’t you?

“I want to feel her holding me in her arms and hugging me again like that.”

JUST FUCK ME UP, WHY DON’T YOU?

Again, this ties in so well with the Stakes mini-series. This was exactly the right time to read this for maximum emotional resonance.

Oh, Marcy, you poor, sweet, confused, little angel.

Well, I wanted to know where Hunson fit into things. Should’ve known it would be bad times.

Yeah, I can kind of relate to not having a great father but still wondering how much of who you are is from him.

Deep. Especially at her age. Simon did say she was smart. And of course she had to grow up fast, given that world was a wreck.

“He didn’t deserve what happened to him.”

I concur.

I can also kind of relate to giving your not-so-great dad another chance and getting burned again. I suppose it’s not really a shock that I gravitate toward characters who have poor relationships with their fathers.

I never really gave any thought to how difficult it would’ve been to even find fries at that time. And the fact that it was the first time he stole something specifically from her also gives it a little more weight. Like I’ve said before, it’s hard to tell when something’s just a throwaway gag and when something’s gonna come back later with added perspective and significance. I have to wonder how much they thought about in advance and how much is just them looking back and saying “we can expand on that.”

There must be at least some of it that they knew they wanted to develop even from the very early stages.

It’s interesting to figure out where Hunson comes into the picture, but I still don’t fully understand all of it. Primarily: How could a human woman see enough merit in Hunson Abadeer that she would want to sleep with him? What stopped him from immediately sucking out her soul? Why was he even on Earth shortly before or during the Great Mushroom War? There’s still a lot of room to grow on here.

Oh, honey, you’re the most interesting person in this universe.

“I still hope for a living friend.”

I was kind of hoping I might get the story of how she met Bonnibel, but I guess they’re saving that for the show. Must be after the events in the scrapbook.

Gimme all the lore. And Marcy wandering through an abandoned sunken mall full of skeletons shouting for Simon is an absolutely heartbreaking thought.

This angel child deserves nothing but happiness.

THIS. RELATIONSHIP.

She found a puppy! Ahhh! They’re so precious!

Yas, Queen!

This poor girl can just never catch a break.

This backstory is fantastic.

RIP, my dude.

Rise, Marcy the Vampire Slayer.

Let’s go!

Oh no, what’s wrong with Schwabl?

Marcy defending the last of the life on Earth against the scourge of the vampires. I’d seriously watch a whole series of this.

“Staking vampires, protecting the last remaining humans. It felt like I was protecting you. It was the only thing that brought me happiness during those years.”

Fascinating.

It’s rough watching a character who’s so good go through so much pain.

No, not the puppy!

Save the puppy!

Also, that time she almost went feral on Jake was probably really terrible for her because it would have stirred up these memories.

Another good reason to pair the Enchiridion - and particularly Simon’s notes - with this. Who would’ve thought that Marcy owned it for a time?

Thank goodness something turned out okay in all of this.

Wild. So is this Simon and the Crown, or some other force causing it? Does it affect the whole planet, or just the continent Marcy’s on? What about all the humans who were leaving on the boat? Can they survive an ice age? Is it a full “400 really boring years” like in Finn’s wish world? Longer? Shorter? This side material raises at least as many questions as it answers.

So Simon found the Enchiridion and took notes on it for a while before finally sending it to a museum in Scandinavia just was the international crisis that would become known as the Great Mushroom War was ramping up. Then some wizards found it. Then Marcy found the wizards and took it from them. Now the Enchiridion is with Marcy in hibernation. Then somehow it ends up with a minotaur later and Bubblegum is the one who tells Finn where to get it. There’s another chapter in between there and I feel like it involves both Marceline and Bubblegum. Marcy’s life after the ice age could probably fill another book or two.

Precious angel child.

Oh snap, it’s actually written by the people who play Marceline and Hunson.

That was a trip and a half to read. I love the backstory and world building so much. Even in the early episodes I suspected that there must be some kind of substance to this universe for the show to go on for as long as it did. Based on the early stuff though I had lowered my expectations and never imagined that this universe would gain so much depth, complexity, and (above all else) tragedy.

Marceline seems so carefree, but she’s been through SO. MUCH. Most of it while she was still a small child. The people of Ooo are absolutely blessed to have someone like Marceline in their world. And they’re also quite fortunate that her trauma didn’t push her to the full-on dark side. Even after a thousand years of so much confusion and loss, however chaotic she may get, she still has such a good heart.

And wow does reading this ever reinforce my desire for them to figure out a way to save Simon. “He didn’t deserve what happened to him” is so right. Although if it hadn’t happened to him, he never would’ve been able to protect Marcy. He probably would’ve died in the Great Mushroom War like almost everyone else, and Betty would’ve died too. Maybe you could chalk it up to Marcy’s mother’s last prayer being answered or the universe working in mysterious ways or possibly even retrocausality that Simon was able to survive and care for Marcy. Even so, I’m about four seasons beyond ready for the heroes and protagonists to help this poor old man get back the sanity that was stolen from him.

I feel like Finn’s the key somehow. The Crown seems to be possessed by a ghost or spirit. Gunther’s unfinished ghostly business was Evergreen and Evergreen’s unfinished ghostly business was the Catalyst Comet and Finn’s the reincarnation of the Catalyst Comet and all of that’s tied up with the Ice Crown. It seems like there’s some kind of puzzle taking shape there. Betty’s studying psychometric energy, magic, and Glob’s freaking helmet...Glob who was last seen facing off against, once again, the Catalyst Comet.

And just from the Doylist perspective, the writers have been spinning out this tragic tale of Simon Petrikov for a long time and it would be emotionally unsatisfying if they never save this poor man’s mind. I’m worried they might make me wait until the end of the show to fully resolve it though. I was worried for a while that getting his mind back would kill him, but after the events of the episode “Betty” I don’t expect them to take that route.

Simon and Marcy are such tragic characters and I feel for them both. I love learning more about them, even when most of what I learn breaks my heart. The two of them embody so much of what gives this universe its heart and brings it to life.

[justabookworm39]

Hello! It's your Super Smash Bros. Secret Santa!! Can you explain about Breath of the Wild and what's is so different about it? (Yes, I am quite new to Zelda games... 😅). And what is crackship? Need a good ol' help please? Thank you. ~Super Smash Bros. Secret Santa

Okokok, I THINK I did a somewhat-decent job answering all your questions under the cut, but for a writer, I am REALLY bad at explaining things, so hopefully it's alright!

Also, I want to clarify for ya, Anon-you can disregard any or all of the stuff I ramble about down here. In general, I added a LOT of super-specific stuff to my list to give whoever plenty of options, but frankly, you could give me a crayon doodle of one of my mains and I'd be happy. I don't want you to feel obligated make anything specific-whatever you think you can make, and whatever sounds fun to you!

#1: Okay, in the interest of not going on for FOREVER, the main reason I listed BotW specifically is because I like the Zelda series in theory, but I am very bad at puzzles and have too poor a memory to keep track of long quest lines, so I am Very Very Bad at most Zelda games.

But! Putting that aside, I also just really love the aesthetics of BotW, both the magic-tech-fusion and the beautiful wilderness and small settlements. Plus, the events of all the past games are so far off in the past that they're only seen in the form of old ruins and myths and it's just SUCH a neat mystery element, especially since they also throw in stuff that ISN'T related to anything else in the series just to throw you off your rhythm.

I also apparently have a soft spot for amnesiac protagonists? Which I didn't notice until my friend teased me over it, but yeah, I love BotW!Link but he makes me sad.

So, short version: I like the LoZ series as a whole; but I'm too dumb for traditional Zelda games and can only really handle wandering around lost in the middle of nowhere, and BotW is a really good take on wandering around lost in the middle of nowhere. #2: Crackship is basically shorthand for any particularly bonkers and weird ship. It could be weird because they wouldn't be a good couple, because they don't have any chemistry, or (in the case of basically EVERY Smash Bros ship.) because they're from straight up different times or universes. In the case of my Smash Bros. pairings-both romantic and platonic-there's basically no interaction between them even in the context of Smash, but it's fun to think about, and based on their personalities, I feel like they'd get along. #3: Playlists-how you go about it is really up to you! Usually, in this case it's a set of songs inspired by a certain series, character, ship, etc., based off of lyrics, or sometimes just the Vibes. That's what I've been doing for the SSB Secret Santa in the past.

(Example 1) (Example 2) (Example 3)

They tend to be a bit of an eclectic collection of songs, at least when I make 'em, since I both try to make them at least 15 songs long and have no regard for genres. The Kirby and Inkling one was mostly just 'action-y music that has the right energy,' the Pit one was more character-specific, and the Sheik one was somewhere in between. With Smash Bros., when in doubt, just adding upbeat music that feels like it fits the energy of that specific character is always a good option.

Of course, it's all up to you. If you're more comfortable writing, drawing, editing, whatever, that's awesome too! I just don't see a lotta folks doing fanmixes, and I think they're neat, so I thought I'd signal that it's an option.

#4: I was gonna say 'Oh, thanks for asking for one per volume, I'm bad at decisions,' but THAT'S NOT HELPING AS MUCH AS I'D THOUGHT, especially in some cases. *glares at Volumes 2, 4 and 7* So, some of these are doubled-up, sorry!

I Burn (full version, not the Yellow trailer version)

Either Caffeine or Sacrifice

I'm The One

Either Armed and Ready or This Life Is Mine

All Things Must Die

Big Metal Shoe

Either Hero or Brand New Day

Honorable mentions: I May Fall Die, It's My Turn, Lusus Naturae, Ignite, One Thing, War.

*shakes out hands* Now, my laptop battery is dying and I need to cook dinner, so lemme know if you need anything else, and I'll get ot it later/tomorrow!