#and why is the answer yes for 99% of the fandom

[m-3-ss]

do you guys think you check the conditions to be recruited by wymack

[inthelittlewood]

Questions about Eyes And Ears AU

I had somebody ask for a brief interview regarding my storytelling for their university project and thought I'd lend a hand.

I thought those of you that follow the story might like the insight too, so here ya go:

When you first introduced the Listeners in Evo SMP, did you have a broader narrative or concept in mind, or were they more of an atmospheric element at that point?

The honest answer is that I didn't want to write too much about somebody else's character(s), that being Grian's Watchers. If I could write the conflict from the side of the Listeners then we could continue the narrative with a pre-designed opposing force but have them be relatively mute for the most part. Partly to build anticipation of when they might act or retaliate but it also worked for behind the scenes purposes too. If the series hadn't slowed/stopped as suddenly as it did, I definitely would have poked Grian to pick his brain about what story elements fit his original imagining of the Watchers. So it was mostly narrative reasoning but they also served a mechanical behind the scenes purpose of transporting us to a new area which was necessary due to bugs we'd encountered with world gen etc.

What inspired you to flesh out the Eyes and Ears AU more in recent years? Was that mostly a personal creative decision, or was it influenced by fan interest?

Honestly I hadn't premeditated too much their reintroduction into anything that I was working on. Sure I'd seen a little chattering here and there about the Watchers but I honestly just wanted to write an individual story beat (albeit a tropey one) of c!Martyn snapping and turning on Ren but that never came to fruition due to Scar taking us out. The plan was always to backstab Ren then say a cool line like "Red Winter is over, Red Spring has begun" or something else punny. Seeing the fevered reaction of the audience though gave me some confidence that I could try my hand at some layered or entirely post-production storytelling, so heading into Last Life I was all guns blazing.

The Eyes and Ears AU is quite open-ended — do you intentionally approach it with the idea of leaving narrative space for fan interpretation?

It really is right? Yes, it's a very mindful decision to leave it open-ended but not so much for the audience's benefit or interpretations, but to give myself creative freedom to take the story wherever I'd like to. Committing to too many power scale, multiverse or narrative shackles early can really strangle stories I've noticed (from reading comics and manga) meaning back pedalling or aggressive retcons are required to explore certain paths, which is rarely a good experience for the reader. I do enjoy their versatility and capability to be applied to any Minecraft or adjacent story too. Some might call it too broad, I call it malleable.

How do you feel about fans expanding the lore through headcanons and theories? Have any fan interpretations stood out or surprised you?

I think it's brilliant! People inundate my inbox on Tumblr seeking permission to write stories or create characters / AUs but I've literally no authority on that. I suppose it might be a different conversation if they were profiting off of those works, but 99% of people simply want to write for fun which I highly encourage!! I'll be honest that I haven't read a great deal of AUs or headcanons, my exposure to them is mostly via chat messages during lore talk streams or questions that come through regarding the Eyes And Ears AU. As a general rule I try to avoid reading too much of other people's works on the topic because I worry I'll accidentally regurgitate it in some way then stumble into plagiarism, you know? It's why I focus more on digesting stories outside the fandom whether it's manga, Sanderson books, reading old Japanese folk tales and the like. I can source inspiration from those on how to weave narrative and execute plot twists without having to glance in my front yard.

Has fan content (art, theories, animatics, etc.) ever influenced how you think about or approach the AU?

Oh for sure they have. It's literally why after every season we'll do a sit down stream and talk about the lore in detail. Figure out the puzzle and potential trip wires of plot points from the episodes and how we can neatly pack them into the pre-existing story. A lot of people wouldn't do that as they'd be precious about their work and believe their opinion is th only correct one, but I looooove soundboarding with the audience on it. I also take that mindset in game and sometimes think about the scenery of an impactful moment whenever I'm able to control / design it. I'll have little quips or quotes cooked in my mind for how I'd ideally deliver a blow or plot twist, buuuuut given the nature of the Life series you very rarely get to execute things how you'd like haha! I definitely wouldn't have done as many of the poems had their not been such a positive reaction to those. I often see individual lines or entire passages make their way into art pieces as typography or highlighted in animatics which is really gratifying. It's why I also put such an emphasis and priority on audio production in my editing. If I can craft something that feels atmospheric, driving and punctuating with music, staggering vocals or sound effects then the auditory portion is already done, they can focus solely on the visual aspect of things. I try and be as cinematic / TV like as my skillset allows for that reason.

You’ve mentioned trying not to fully canonise the AU, but still referencing it consistently — how do you balance telling your own story effectively, while trying not to involve other creators, particularly on the Life Series, when a lot of your time is spent in a group?

The easiest way to do this, is to not do it. For the most part the only storytelling done with the AU is done in post-production. I never name drop the Watchers or Listeners in world (believe me, I was as surprised as all of you when I saw that Secret Keeper statue in Secret Life!!) and in recent seasons they haven't even reared their head as an influence whatsoever. They're on holiday, they deserve it. But when they do whisper in my ear, they're motivated decisions that I would likely make as a player/character anyway because the win objective is always the thing I'm striving towards. I can just pepper angst around it to make things seem more manipulated rather than selfish ha. I think that's why the open ended nature of the Watchers has served me well because as much as they have a singular motive which is to feed on negative emotions, that can be achieved in so many ways ranging from bloodlust to deception, heartbreak to panic. It's versatile for storytelling. It can be in your face, or a slow burn.

What do the Watchers and Listeners represent to you, symbolically or narratively? Do they serve a specific function in the stories you tell?

The Watchers used to represent the audience when Grian first introduced them, but after departing EVO I've definitely breathed more of an egotistical and sinister air into them. They're very much a unique entity / faction now, they in some ways represent gluttony, selfishness and neglect in achieving their goals. The Listeners on the other hand, are a lot of the opposite traits, but I'm still wanting to explore how being the hard end of most conflicts can be dangerous. I want to explore that at some point, whether it be with infighting or failures. They shouldn't be seen as simply bad/good, they're just, different. It shouldn't be too hard navigating that nuance but I want it to reflect elements and motives that we find in our own lives.

[lunarriviera]

How do i watch dmbj/the lost tomb? In order...they are so many....are they remakes...i know zhu yilong was in one...? I see different actors every time....Pls help if you watched it.

oh ho ho have i watched it. i have watched it alright. not only have i watched it but just yesterday i made my UNDERGRADS watch it (okay just one clip of xiao yuliang, bc i was teaching them about wirework) (bc i also made them watch house of flying daggers, yes it was my favorite day in film class: wuxia day!). NB however that surprisingly little of this is actually wirework—it's just xiao yuliang flipping himself around like a little pancake, bc that's what he DOES.

[yes this guy is huang junjie, not xiao yuliang; but they both play the same character, xiaoge. yes we all know it makes no sense. shhhhh just roll with it, don’t fight it, it’ll be easier if you just accept that your favorite characters will never ever be played by the same actors, except for all the times when they are. why? because of c-ent. go home, c-ent, you’re drunk. also because it’s funnier this way.]

FORTUNATELY you don’t need me to explain bc smarter people than i have already made beautiful guides to watching dmbj. the main thing to remember is that you literally can’t do it wrong bc the entire franchise is, as we say in the american south, a dog’s breakfast. everything is made up and the points don’t matter. you can start with any of the dramas and it still won’t make sense, but that’s okay because that’s what fandom wikis and tumblr and all of us are for.

it’s all because of this guy, 南派三叔 = nanpai sanshu = npss, whose real name is 徐磊, Xu Lei. he never finishes anything he starts unless they force him to, probably by threatening to take away his alcohol. so if you read any of the novels, please don’t expect them to have endings, because half the time they just sort of. stop. (i’m still upset about sha hai. i will always be upset about sha hai. i'm in THERAPY about sha hai.) (and i suppose you could in theory read the novels, in order, first, before watching the dramas? i know exactly one (1) person who did this but they have an exquisitely nerdy doctorate and i really don’t advise it for the faint of heart, you’re gonna suffer through a lot of fart jokes and really super gross insects. sadly i know this because i too have read the novels, because i also have a doctorate and apparently way too much fucking time on my hands. which is why it’s 1 am and i’m answering another ask instead of grading the last half dozen papers on antigone and the popol vuh, okay where were we.) RIGHT, so—definitely read @foxofninetales’s wonderful guide to “possible entry points to dmbj” (or @laireshi’s guide to the novels, if those still interest you.) @laireshi also has an excellent guide to starting with ultimate note, which i think is a fine drama to start with! the cast is great. (just be prepared for a cliffhanger) (which can be resolved, anomalously, by reading the novel). @thelaithlyworm also has a good guide here, and @dramas-vs-novels has a guide to all the major characters. and you will love all of the characters, very quickly, with a degree of intensity that can and probably should alarm you. you will especially love the iron triangle. these idiots. them. yes.

so you can try to be logical about it!…OR you can do what i did, which was, knowing absolutely fucking nothing, just faceplant into reboot (because ofc i was obsessed with zhu yilong, who was my gateway drug, just like 99% of western dmbj rookies who fell in love with guardian), and then stare in horror as dmbj devoured my brain over the next two years and i couldn’t think about anything or anyone but xiaoge. you know. like that. isn’t fandom great.

just think, someday soon you’ll even be able to appreciate this absolutely idiotic in-joke. there are about a squillion more where this one came from, too.

but the main thing is, nonny: whatever you do, have fun! lost tomb is completely unhinged and that’s the best thing about it. it is also, as i repeatedly warn my students, the star wars of china, and you will never ever reach the end of its vast expanses. not least because npss keeps starting and not finishing things.

(but none of them are really…remakes…exactly? they're all mostly maddeningly different and cover different parts of the story, with a few…bizarre, difficult-to-describe…overlaps, and a few parts which don't fit anywhere, e.g. misty creed/conjuring curse.…you'll see.)

[jules-ln]

In Arcane fandom, you can’t call Mel Medarda “manipulative” EVER because you’re “villainizing” her (even though manipulation, despite the negative connotations associated with the word, on its own is not an inherently evil thing and can actually be a crucial survival tactic — for example, look at real life cases of kidnapping victims befriending their kidnappers to gain their trust that later escaped because of it. That’s technically manipulation, but you don’t see anyone calling those people “evil”...and no, piss on the poor website, i’m not villainizing those kids by pointing this out jfc get a grip. Given Mel’s background, it wouldn’t surprise me if she picked up this tactic at a young age to try and appease her mother, which is common in abusive households just as well — and yes, abusive parents can still love and care deeply for their children) and her later having this wild thing happen called character development that wouldn’t work if she was perfect and earnest from the beginning like people insist. I do think Mel gets a lot of unwanted shit from this fandom too, and I don’t agree with interpretations painting her as this wanting jezebel who only exists to get in the way of the gays, but apparently That and “Mel did some sketchy stuff too and was still manipulative towards Jayce and wasn’t a 100% perfect, innocent angel” are two ideas that can’t mutually co-exist.

Analyze and critique all the other characters, their behaviors and how it ties into their backgrounds, but touching Mel condemns you to hell, apparently. “‘we need more complex female characters!’ you can’t even handle [x]” people when you point out said complex female character’s complexities that aren’t wholly positive or shower her with praise as a girlboss supreme:

That's what I've been saying!

Manipulating isn't necessarily bad per se, it can even be done for good, like I put the example of Silco manipulating Jayce for the independence of Zaun, was Silco a good person? No, but he was using manipulation towards a good goal (though, in the end it didn't work)

And I do agree with saying that Mel using manipulation could be a trauma response because of her childhood, like look, Mel can be such an interesting character but her fans keep insisting to flatten her

Like I do genuinely wonder if some of these people actually like her character or just like her because she's pretty. Because at some point the fact that when people are asked about why Mel is so good and they only answer with that she's beautiful starts to feel objectifying tbh

Would those fans still like her if she was "ugly"? Would they like her if she was fat or disabled? Because where is this energy to defend Sevika, another brown woman who gets a lot of shit from the fandom but doesn't fit the conventional beauty standards like Mel does (love Sevika BTW, she doesn't deserves half the shit the fandom gives her)

Also, unpopular opinion, I don't think the Jayvik fandom at large demonizes Mel or portrays her as "getting in the way" of Jayvik. Like I've read a lot of fics and 99% of them Mel either isn't there or she's portrayed in a positive light. The problem; once again, it's that a lot of people on this fandom are very young, and they don't remember how it used to be, but I've been in fandom spaces since 2009 or so, not so much compared to other people. But! When I see Mel fans saying "it's fujoshis demonizing female characters again" I can tell they are just regurgitating talking points they've heard elsewhere, because do not cite the deep magic to me witch. I was there when it was written

Lemme tell you about an old fic I remember reading years ago about another yaoi ship, in that fic a female character forces herself on one of the gays to get pregnant, then she has a child to try to get one of the gays to marry her, but when that doesn't work, she kills the baby lmao. That was what people meant when they say that fujos used to demonize women! Having Jayce and Mel break up in friendly terms isn't "Mel getting in the way" it's simply not centering her character. And I don't understand why people have a problem with that, If I were to go to a MJ fic and ask for Viktor to be centered, people would call me an asshole, and rightly so

But anyway, at this point I'm just rambling lmao

I will die mad about the fact that Mel has been reduced by her fans to this pretty doll for people to project on instead of being a complex woman who isn't 100% good or 100% bad

[fifteenloove]

omg yes can we pls stop treating Jannik like he is 5 years old and start treating him like the adult he is 🙏

writing think pieces about his choice of training partners, analysing all his press conference answers to the utmost degree, making up rumours of him having hickeys, sharing every single picture that is taken of him with a girl in his periphery, sometimes acting like every player has to be his friend and that’s what I’ve seen the last couple of days

he seems to have a good head on his shoulders; he knows what he’s doing/ what is best for his career and he actually knows his colleagues

pls can we have a little more faith in him as an athlete and a little more respect for his privacy (and this is not directed at you or anyone on tumblr really, but I keep seeing people be annoyed about invasive questions by journalists while at the same time publicly obsessing over his private life)

Exactly, he's not 5 years old, he knows what to do. I think that he wants to leave this whole thing behind him, and he will keep his friends close with no one's help. And like you said, only he can know his own relationship with other players

And about his private life, if he says there is no girlfriend, there probably is no girlfriend, no need to go further than that imo. And that isn't to say that he is a benedictine monk, ffs. But there are a lot of degrees between chastity vow and public girlfriend and honestly I don't get why it's such a big deal ONLY in this fandom😭🙏 99% of tennis players and sportsmen in general go to Ibiza Bali Mykonos etc etc every other week do you think they go there to admire the nice seaview. Genuinely guys💀 can we stop acting like this

(I do think the "I'm single" bit is very funny tho I hope they ask him at every tournament)

[midnight--sadness]

can you talk more about how gi hun and jun ho are seen as the villians/horrible people for the few bad decisions they’ve made? id like you hear what you have to say

omg yes i can! i have so many thoughts 😭

i think it comes from the idea that if you are a good person, you have no space to be anything other than that. we have this idea that being good is easy but ultimately unfulfilling or fruitless. there are no advantages to being good... but we still expect people who are good to only be good. they can't deviate from the norm, they can't be selfish or proud or arrogant, they can't break the status quo.

and this happens all the time with characters. if you are 99% good and 1% bad, then you are bad and irredemable. but if you are 99% and 1% good, then you can have all of the opportunities in the world.

for gihun and junho, i think this happens because people are used to characters turning bad. there a million stories about the hero's downfall, about how he became corrupted by power and heartless due to betrayal and ultimately fell.

gihun and junho show time and time again that they will not fall. and i think that annoys people because if they were in these men's place, they would have fallen already. they would have become the bad guy, so to speak.

people will criticize everything junho and gihun do - gihun didn't personally go outside to help the homeless man during his conversation with ilnam, despite the fact that gihun definitely deserved to have answers to his questions. junho didn't immediately distrust captain park, despite the fact that for all he knows this man was literally just fishing in his boat and happened to catch him adrift at sea. gihun didn't try to stop the fight between thanos and namgyu and myunggi, despite the fact that he also didn't stop the fight between deoksu and that player in s1 and the fact that no one else tried to stop them either aside from inho. junho should have told gihun that inho was the front man, despite the fact that junho had no idea gihun was going to join the games or that inho was going to go undercover.

in a way, it's victim blaming. people are asking "why did gihun not see that inho was manipulating him?" instead of wondering "why did inho feel the need to manipulate gihun to this extent?"

gihun and junho are good, trusting, capable men with a high capacity for forgiveness and compassion. they make mistakes but they are human. and their mistakes are never done out of maliciousness.

but they are held to an insane standard in this fandom that other "bad" characters are not. i think some people believe evilness to be the norm and goodness to be an outlier. it's easy to be a bad person because everyone else is a bad person. it's a pessimistic way of thinking and the reason why we should celebrate characters like junho and gihun.

i personally hope neither of them forgive inho in s3. i have a feeling junho will because inho is his brother, but i hope gihun doesn't. i think it'd be a good way to illustrate how far gone inho is if gihun, a man who can forgive basically anyone, doesn't think he is worthy of said forgiveness.

[willowwindss]

Apparently this was “too negative” for the severance community so I’ll just post it here then!

As a burned Lost ex-fan and longtime tv viewer, I’ve learned over the years that 99% of showrunners do whatever the loudest audience group wants, to not cause mass abandonment. It’ll be Mark/Helly endgame most likely in some form unless Gemma explodes in popularity next season. I also feel like the creators are taking a similar Lost approach by jam packing random symbolism and imagery into every episode, while having no intention of answering or solving every last thing. It’s simply a way for them to pick and choose what they build on, everything else never mattered. Fans will keep engagement going by arguing online about what means what (though most fandoms tire out from that around season 5).

All of this is part of the reason why the goats as a concept kinda annoyed me. They were originally in S1 as a throwaway joke. Ok…why? Why pack your show with images, clues, mystery, symbols, themes motifs etc then be like haha goats. Then act shocked when the audience attaches to the goats and wants to know more? Simultaneously telling you to look deeper, but also don’t. You’re silly for looking into this, but not that. Isn’t it clear this isn’t exactly a series to put throwaway images into, if you don’t want people theorising about it? So upon seeing the reaction to the goats, the creators built a story around them. To me that means they…never had a specific story or plan for Lumon from the start. If the goats can go from intentionally meaning nothing to randomly becoming Lumon lore in the space of a season then…they’re just making it all up as they go along.

Which doesn’t necessarily guarantee the show will go off the rails, but there’s a higher chance of it than if this was a story the creators had intention for telling. (Yes I am bitter because when I was 19 I had to read Damon Lindelof gloating about how bad he intentionally made Lost as of season 3 to try get it cancelled as quick as possible. He said the frozen donkey wheel in season 4 was intentionally the stupidest thing he could think of, assuming that’d be the thing that made everyone tune out so he could be free of Lost but instead the fandom went crazy with theories about it, and the show continued…shit like that burns when you think the showrunners are lovers of art and storytelling like you but they really just want to get their sweet network pay check and go home….)

Also keep in mind shows are picked up in the US solely based on the first episode by itself, then the rest of the first season is filmed months later once a season has been greenlit. So again, severance is a strong, interesting concept to build upon - obviously Apple TV recognised that, as did Ben Stiller - but whether a great story is planned or they’re just going to see how much material they can get out of a conveniently ambiguous and vague concept, remains to be seen.

I’ve been burned far too many times by too many mystery series, and the showrunners that grew to hate/feel trapped by their most successful creations, to not keep this all in mind as the show goes on.

[rhonuscorner]

20 questions for writers

@sandcastlekings tagged me, thank yooouuuu <3 Let's see how well I can answer this while dealing with a migraine yaaaaay.

Tagging @certified-handler @scarredlove @driftingmoonmenace @justyourawkwardghost and whoever else wants to, consider yourselves tagged. No pressure of course.

1) How many works do you have on AO3?

Only 5 right now. There used to be more but I got rid of them, and what I have uploaded is only a small fraction of what I have written over the last 20+ years as most of it is kept between myself and friends.

2) What’s your total AO3 word count?

As of right now 480,939 but again, I don't consider this to be accurate in terms of how much I have truly written. We're talking millions of words.

3) What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Considering I only have 5 works online right now and the one with the most kudos only has art in it, this is a weird one to answer lol.

4) What fandoms do you write for?

I've written for sooooo many fandoms but right now I only write for the DCA fandom. But I have also written for, just to name a few, Dragon Age, Dishonored, Cyberpunk 2077, Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Pokemon and MCU. I feel like I should also mention that before recently all of my writing was RP based because I love writing stories with someone else and some of those stories found their way onto AO3.

5) Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Always!!! I you take a moment to leave me a comment, you bet I will personally thank you for it in a reply!

6) What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

None, I love me some good ol' angst but never at the very end. Happy endings only.

7) What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Uuuuuhhhhhhhh... that's assuming I actually finish my fics lol.

8) Do you get hate on fics?

I've gotten some. Mostly from trolls bitching about the copious amounts of gay in my fics lmao.

9) Do you write smut?

Yes though I don't write it too often.

10) Do you write crossovers?

I've written a few, yes. The most notable ones were Dishonored/Assassin's Creed and Dishonored/Dragon Age. That latter one actually worked out really really well, it was a lot of fun to write.

11) Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Kiiiinda. I found my biggest Assassin's Creed fic on a Russian site once, translated into Russian, but I was credited with a link back to the original so I wasn't too upset about it. I also translated the comments underneath and people liked it, so yeah, I left it like that.

12) Have you ever had a fic translated?

One of my earlier RPs was translated into English by a friend, back when I still wrote exclusively in Dutch, and that same Assassin's Creed fic from the previous question was also translated into Chinese (but unlike question 11, this person asked for permission first).

13) Have you ever co-written a fic before?

That's like 99% of my stories lmao. RP makes for some of the best storytelling in my opinion and I really really REALLY love writing stories that way, but finding someone to write with, someone who shares a similar style and enjoys the same kind of tropes isn't all that easy. I'm always on the lookout though! Aaaaaand the ever amazing @scarredlove is hella indulging me right now lmao, writing out scenes with me involving our DCA OCs~

14) What’s your all-time favorite ship?

Yeah no, this is impossible to answer lol.

15) What’s the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

*nervous chuckle*

16) What are your writing strengths?

Dialogue, especially inner dialogue, a character's thoughts and observations.

17) What are your writing weaknesses?

Descriptions, particularly of environments. It's kinda boring to me so I struggle with it a lot.

18) Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in a fic?

Sometimes, only when it makes sense for it to be part of the story.

19) First fandom you wrote for?

Lord of the Rings

20) Favorite fic you’ve ever written?

That was hands-down a very lengthy RP I wrote with a friend back in 2014 that was unfortunately never finished. It was very dark, very gritty, akin to a zombie apocalypse but instead of zombies we had crazed humanoid robots, in a world where humans and sapient robots co-existed and all the troubles that came with it. The character I wrote for this story is still my favorite character to write, ever and I would honestly would love nothing more but to rewrite this story with the same basic premise with someone. Because sometimes a plot just works, y'know?

Perhaps one day. Keeping my fingers crossed.

[celevrian]

You can answer or ignore these as you like.

Have you ever developed a ship based on writing with a certain other character / mun? Have you ever started to ship a rare-pair? What are rare-pairs that you’re passionate about? Do you ship someone’s muses on your dash? What people make you happy when you see them on the dash? What are things you wish people would tag so you can block it?

MUNDAY QUESTIONS

ignore these? Never.

Have you ever developed a ship based on writing with a certain other character / mun?

Yes. All the time. Specifically I'd say @sorrowssinger 's Maglor, who spoiled me very early on by doing me the honor of falling in love with Aredhel ( and still is in love with her as of the other night.) Since then we've developed so many dang ships. we had an armada at one point. Crossovers, canon characters--i think we only have like two canon ships which are turgon/elenwe & hades/persephone ... right, Andy? 👀👀👀

Have you ever started to ship a rare-pair?

babes i got news for you. ALL I SHIP ARE RAREPAIRS. LITERALLY. ALL I SHIP. I AM NOT A FAN OF POPULAR SHIPS FOR ABOUT 99 REASONS. *breathes* okay okay I'm okay. Always and forever though. Rarepairs are my bread and butter. I love them. I hate that no one ships it but me tho.

What are rare-pairs that you’re passionate about?

... buckle up, bitches, you're about to go for a ride.

first and foremost is thranduil/aredhel that i shipped a very very long time ago with @elvxnkingthranduil ... who is sadly no longer in the fandom ( and i mourn their absence regularly ). I can't say they were the first trigger to my shipping it because I shipped it before they came along, hence why they're here instead of up above. But this pairing in my mind is absolute gold. There's a meeting of spirits and minds i cannot ever get over. The forest lord Aredhel should've actually met in the first age. You will pry this ship from my cold, dead hands. Thranduil is literally her dream guy I'm not even kidding. Why? I think it's the... wildness, the danger without harm, the staying power, the fact he's so 'you're all idiots' it makes her want to bite him , and hug him, and steal his clothes and braid his hair. It's very hard to describe in a blurb but fucking hell am I on my knees for it, and miss the dynamic. It was literal perfection.

Another one is Celebrían/Gil-Galad which I found while looking for Celrond fics ( and being so terribly disappointed ), the dynamic I already knew was fantastic but there's this one author that ships it and there's like 3 fics and they're just simply sublime. Literally didn't know I needed it until that set of reading, it's lovely, like if I had to pick another elf for Celebrían that wasn't Elrond, it would be Gil-Galad, that's how awesome these fics were. Though even unromanced version, they're such great friends, in my mind, and the dynamic is still utterly superb. The balance of dutiful king and in the shadows lady is just *chefs kiss* love it.

Third I found randomly one day while looking for Finduilas fics was Finduilas/Maeglin. That one was out of left field but honestly I dig it. You've got sun/night going on. She's golden af he's shadows. You have the angst of the fact that she's the Idril of her own story but she was also Maeglin in her own story. Involved but pining after someone she couldn't have. I think they could both learn a lot about each other and work very well together, that she'd notice more about him than everyone else. As a result actually, I've internally shipped them with my muses for when Maeglin is referring to a wife in later verses with characters like Elrond ( because my Maeglins main ship is @sungsilver so given he and Elrond cannot both be with Celebrían, Finduilas has filled in ).

Fourth rarepair I'd say is Aredhel/happiness. "Wait what?" You say. I SAY AREDHEL/HAPPINESS BECAUSE FUCKING HELL DO YOU REALIZE HOW SAD SHE IS??? I'll be a little more normal and say AREDHEL/GONDOLINDRIM. Why? Because SOMEHOW SHE'S NEVER SHIPPED WITH ONE OF THE 9 DUDES WHO ARE AROUND HER THE MOST. ( I'm excluding Maeglin, salgant & tuor for obvious reasons). Like I don't understand that, how are her only ships in this fandom Eöl, Elenwë & Celegorm? We could have Aredhel/Glorfindel, Aredhel/Ecthelion, Aredhel/Egalmoth, Aredhel/Rog--- ARE YOU CATCHING MY DRIFT??? SOMEHOW IT DOESN'T EXIST and that's a tragedy in my opinion. Seriously. Not one. NOT ONE. How? Fandom you've failed her honestly. You can only ship her with her abusive husband, her sister in law, or the guy who burned the boats, abandoned her, and never went looking for her when he found out she visited and didn't come back. Y'all are nuts. I'm disappointed in you.

Another one: Luthien/Maedhros. Another one you'll pry from my cold dead hands. Not only is he totally her type, but you could fix half the silmarillion with this pairing. Luthien helps him steal the silmarils from angband through subterfuge. Solved. No more silm problems. Mae and luthien having the most adorable babies known to elvendom aaand the most terrifying. They got together to end sindarin/noldor conflict. Thingol didn't like it but she married him anyway. He never jumps because why would he. She never dies because he's not mortal. Another variation with Maedhros is Maedhros/Aredhel ( less power couple more comfort ) and if you want a write up on that I'll dm you.

last one: Finrod/Amarië. "But that's canon!' You say. Bitch do you realize how RARE CANON PAIRINGS ARE????? Good luck getting a guy to love and fuck his canon lover in this economy. Finrod is mostly paired with Curufin, Turgon, Bëor etc BUT AMARIE IS LITERALLY RIGHT THERE ( @ofthevanyar *smooches* ) AAAND Y'ALL JUST SLEEPING ON IT. you know who else? FINDUILAS/GWINDOR. ELROND/CELEBRÍAN. GALADRIEL/CELEBORN. ETC ETC ETC. this fandom would do anything other than ship the actual couples. Heaven forfend! How dare we?? And oh by the way, oc versions of wives are also abhorred for some reason. Y'all be hamlet with ophelia and the "get thee to a nunnery" shit. Absolutely killing me. 😳😳😳 a'ight I'll shut up now.

Do you ship someone’s muses on your dash?

... no... actually. It sounds awful but I just don't ship anybody, I'm happy y'all are having fun tho.

What people make you happy when you see them on the dash?

Ohhhhhh boy here we go. LET THE TAGS BEGIN. @tidalhaired ( darliiing ❤❤❤ ) @saltuary ( kissing you on the cheeks ) @sungsilver ( again babes I'm tagging you forevaaah😘 ), @scion-of-kings ( on my knees. On MY FUCKING KNEES ) @putrefacerem ( *waggly brows* ) @worthyheir ( we have really gotta work on a verse hon ) @gatheringrust ( and gwindor of course ) @pxnxply ( what did you think I forgot you? ) @lvscinvs ( *goes to my inbox to write up those memes ) @dcviline ( we really need to find some characters who click, this is intolerable ) @springsdawn ( moth vc: wifeeeeeeeeee ) @heirtoharrenhal (who I've never said hi to but still like seeing on my dash they're like a staple) @quentafeanorians (darliiiinggg *mwah mwah mwah*) @sorrowssinger ( who isn't around as much so it's like seeing a rare bird ) @fallensmith ( i have GOT to start poking toby again ) @ofthevanyar ( finrod says 'WIFEEEY' even louder ) @ienemy ( *on my knees* dolllllll come baackkk 😭😭😭 ) & @realmsdelite ( again i don't interact much but love seeing them. I really need to get a got verse gosh )

whew

What are things you wish people would tag so you can block it?

Nothing. I'm good. I just wish tumblr would LET ME FUCKING NOT SEE THE SHIT THAT *IS* BLOCKED LIKE PLS TUMBLR I'M BEGGING. I DON'T WANNA SEE CERTAIN THINGS LET ME NOT.

[foibles-fables]

another fic tag game!!

Thanks for the tag, @dazzleyourmindseye!!!!

How many works do you have on ao3?

91!

What's your total ao3 word count?

297,344

Your Top 5 stories by kudos

I'm gonna approach this one a little differently, since Warrior Nun skews the results, lmao. Here are my top stories by kudos for all of my contemporary fandoms, starting from the one with my most works to fewest:

rest like you belong here (Horizon, Aloy/Talanah)

The Weight of Us (Legend of the Seeker, Cara/Kahlan)

Because the Light Is Close (Warrior Nun, Avatrice)

leave the horror here (ATLA, Rangshi)

the veins grow in slow (Critical Role, Imodna)

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

99% of them, yes! I cherish each and every one, and always just wanna express my sincere gratitude!

Do you write crossovers?

Not really my forte, but more power to the folks who can make them work.

Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

It's among my favorite things to write! I love a good smut as character study moment, because most of my faves end up having some pretty interesting quirks to their psyche that can be teased out during sex.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of!

Have you ever had a fic translated?

A couple of them, and it's a huge honor.

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Not in the true nitty-gritty sense of the sentiment, but @meg-noel-art's input was pretty crucial to scripting Talanah's path of Focus on the Heart.

What's your favorite all time ship?

the million dollar question. I do think Cara/Kahlan will always win here, being the awakening it was. without them, there would be no others. But Hawk and Thrush is an obvious close second.

Whats a WIP that you want to finish but probably never will?

avoiding the question by saying that sometimes I get a hankering to completely rewrite The Weight of Us

What are your writing strengths?

Emotional immediacy. Close POV. Syntax and diction. Figurative language.

What are your writing weaknesses?

My speed. Iterative perfectionism.

What's a fandom/ship you haven't written for yet, but want to?

Yangvik and Tyzula. I'm also dying to write some Morrigan/Leliana, should the right idea hit.

What's your favorite fic you've written?

oh man this is a tough question with a very mercurial answer. it changes day by day. in scrolling over my works, today, gray areas and expectations (Horizon, Aloy/Talanah) is speaking to me.

no-pressure tags: @mehoymalloy @http-mandy @chocochipbiscuit @askweisswolf @melikochan and anyone else who wants to snag this from me!

[littencloud9]

20 questions for fic writers!

tagged by @chrysofightme hehe thank youu <3

how many works do you have on ao3?

publicly, 107. i think i have... 2 on anon?

what's your total ao3 word count?

572,470

what fandoms do you write for?

right now i've been on an alnst and haikyuu kick, but bsd is my most written for fandom. also have the occasional jjk, link click, blue lock and hopefully more to come hehe

what are your top five fics by kudos?

SIGHS. none of these are my best work stop reading them guys /lh 1. [G] you're the one that never lets me roam || voltron, klance, 5k 2. [T] in the heat of your electric touch || bsd, sskk, 2.6k 3. [T] move fast, keep quiet || bsd, sskk, 8.4k 4. [G] mortal body, timeless souls || voltron, klance, 3.4k 5. [T] smoke in the summer rain || atla, zukka, 5.1k

do you respond to comments? why or why not?

yesss bc community and engagement is fun!! :) i lovbe comment

what's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

scratches head. maybe my most recent one bc it's hurt no comfort but also i don't usually write angst so it might be a weak answer skjfkd - [T] love me right to the edge again || blue lock, hiorin, 3.8k

what's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

like 99% of my fics have a happy ending so just throw a dart at my profile and see /silly

do you get hate on fics?

i sure hope not

do you write smut?

yess, after the initial shame of the first few i've been tossing out a few smut fics. shoutout to 🐶.txt

do you write crossovers?

i've written an itafushi blue lock AU and a souheki alien stage AU!! they're fun

have you ever had a fic stolen?

again, i sure hope not skdjkfj

have you ever had a fic translated?

yes!! here

have you ever cowritten a fic before?

nopee. would love to some day :')

what's your all time favourite ship?

CAN WE NOT... okay i think i answered itafushi last time bc they are very special to me. but i'm on a big oisuga and hyuluka kick rn

what's the wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

head in hands. so many... i have a bachisagi fic written in 2nd person POV that i hope to finish one day,, i lovbe them

what are your writing strengths?

hmm i'd say fluff and group dynamics maybe

what are your writing weaknesses?

SCENERY. every time i need to describe a scene i start fistfighting the doc (i'm losing)

thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

love seeing it, am personally terrified of doing it, even if it's my mother tongue. what if they kill me with knives

first fandom you wrote for?

on ao3 it's pkmn. but i used to be DEEP in the jelsa trenches. i hope that explains why i am the shipper that i am now

favourite fic you've ever written?

any of my oisuga or alien stage fics as of now, but i think thats just the brainrot talking 😭 i'm also very fond of some of my bsd fics,, today i will promote these - [T] your name in the headlines || bsd, souheki, 17.7k - [G] flash the camera || bsd, higulucy, 9.6k

tagging (no pressure) @frankenjoly @just-a-dinosaur-i-guess @zukkaoru @ryuvnosuke and anyone else who wants to join <3

[inevitablestars]

writer interview game

thanks for the tags @messrsrarchives @angel-daydreams @pretentiouswreckingball

how many works do you have on ao3?

18! a few more are hidden and one isnt posted yet so like 21 technically

what's your total ao3 word count?

825,035

your top 5 stories by kudos?

you're the only good thing in my life

i regret you all the time

the stars that bind us

look what you made me do (rip she's hidden 4ever)

touch

do you respond to comments?

yes <3 like 99% of the time

what's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending?

ha ha ha why am i actually unable to answer this... i regret you all the time so far. um the stars that bind us eventually when i get there

do you write crossovers?

no!

have you ever received hate on a fic?

yeah :/

do you write smut?

occassionally

have you ever had a fic stolen?

no!

have you ever had a fic translated?

no!

have you ever co-written a fic before?

yeah

what's your all-time favorite ship?

all time i feel like i cant say anything other than wolfstar...

what's a wip that you want to finish but don't think you ever will?

my drarry wip! i really would love to and i have a lot of it still planned in my head but i dont know that ill ever get back to it

what are your writing strengths?

i like to think im good with internal monologue and prose! specifically when it is angsty.

what are your writing weaknesses?

i ramble a lot and im not good at feeling confident in it either

what are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

i dont do it much and i think sometimes it can add something if it fits but overall neutral

what's a fandom/ship you haven't written for yet but want to?

been thinking about writing timebomb lately...

what's your favorite fic you've ever written?

GOD don't make me pick. im not picking. no no no. i want to say so many (negative space or bite the hand i could talk about these two until i literally run out of air)

no pressure tagging (alo sorry if youve been tagged or already did it etc etc): @calamitoustide @starsworth @otrtbs @mayescapade @itsjaywalkers @static-radio-ao3 or open tag anyone who wants to!

[whumpbby]

I think people don’t understand why WWX saved the Wen remnants. I don’t think he would have stepped up to defend them had WQ and WN not helped him give his core to JC. I think he might have felt uncomfortable with the way the Wen’s were treated but he would not have stuck his neck out for them if he didn’t feel indebted to WQ. I think he grew to care for them in the time he was with them, but he didn’t save them because it was a noble thing to do. He was quite happy to murder and torture any Wen’s he came across during the war, and I see people claim it’s different in a war but I’m of the opinion that torture is bad no matter what circumstances it happens under. I wouldn’t feel the need to harp on this if people didn’t try and use this as another stone to hang on JC’s neck.

Okay, this is going to be long and rambling, and I apologise for that.

I think the whole thing with the Wen Remnants was a conclusion of a bunch of issues coming together that parts of the fandom looking for a clean distribution of blame are not willing/eager to admit. And how could they? This is not a problem with a simple answer.

But, in the simplest way I can look at the situation, would Wei Wuxian have cared for their fates if the core transfer didn't happen?

Yes, I think he would, for the reasons below:

Before Wen Qing performed the op, Wei Wuxian befriended Wen Ning.

Wei Wuxian was always a bit feral about the people he liked.

Wei Wuxian is a compassionate and righteous person with high moral standards. It’s just the foresight and empathy that he lacks.

So, if the core transfer didn't take place – but everything else went as it did? Wei Wuxian would still rage at the injustice done to his friend. If he was smacked in the face with what was done to the Wen Remnants, he would still probably rush into trying to rip Jin sect a new one over the inhuman treatment of the prisoners. Anyone with their morals intact would. It’s just that no one else from the main cast had the ability to act on their morals at that point in time. (and that’s another discussion right there).

That was kinda the point of Wei Wuxian befriending WN in the novel, imho - it prepared him (and us) to see the Wen as something else than just the enemies, to see that not everyone is the same under one sect banner. It’s not an accident JC was unconscious for the 99% of their stay in the Yiling Office. WWX was the only one who couldn’t ignore the things done by the Jin with clear conscience, because he was already personally invested.

Concerning his wartime madness - I'm going to risk saying that this isn't just 'war is different'. What happened to him wasn't just joining the war effort. Wei Wuxian was taking revenge for what was done to his home, his brother, himself. He was cruel and heartless, and he was absolutely consumed by his trauma. But that wasn't him. Neither him nor Jiang Cheng were themselves while the Sunshot was ongoing - that's why, while I find WWX's cruelty and JC's acceptance of it horrifying, I don't hold it against them later in life. I don't think anyone would go through what they went through and manage to hold on to their morals for a long time afterwards.

I understand this may not be the answer you are after, but it's hard for me to speculate that would happen if the core transfer didn't take place - because this is the central point of the story. Nothing would happen if it didn't take place. I'd say that Wanxian wouldn't happen if not for the core transfer - LWJ would forever suffer his blue balls in dignified silence and WWX would live busy with his sect, never able to clarify what his weird teenage feelings about LWJ were. Now, concerning the way Wen Remnants are treated as a got'cha card against one or other character? Yeah, that is annoying. I also think parts of the fandom put a bit too much worth on the whole Debt idea. WWX had a Debt towards WQ. He had a Debt towards the Jiang. JC had a Debt towards WQ and WN for saving him. WQ had a Debt towards JC for not arresting her. WN had a Debt towards WWX for reviving him… etc, etc. Trying to figure out whose Debt is bigger and more important, as if that gives them the freedom to ignore context.

Life doesn't really work like that, no one is keeping the score, and grinding this story down to something so simplistic kinda takes away from it. The novel is about a complex net of human relationships that result in no clear answers and no easy solutions. We get to experience it thought the limited pov of the protagonist, but the author still makes an important point of drawing the wider scenery for us that doesn’t necessarily reflect protagonist’s understanding or biases.

Is Lan Zhan better than Jiang Cheng, because he condemned the sects for killing Wei Wuxian? Does agreeing with WWX’s morals make him a better person even though he did nothing of worth when the things were going down? Does it make him a hypocrite, or a man that finally understood something about the world and himself? Is JC to blame for not caring about the strangers when he had so little to offer and so much to lose? Does it make him a coward or just someone placed in a situation with no exits? Are the Wen Remnants (mostly cultivators, regardless of what the cql wants us to believe) worth anyone sticking their necks out for them if they took part in the war all the same? Are they to be punished for their leader’s decisions? Is anyone morally obliged to step into this mess? Is Wei Wuxian doing this out of obligation, or is it a debt he’s paying off, or an expression of friendship – or is this the only way he can find himself in the empty nightmare his life has become? The only way he can feel like himself when what he was, has been taken away form him? Is he a hero to these people, because this is the only way he can be a hero anymore? Or is he the only righteous person amongst the sinners? But then why would his ties be more important than anyone else’s? How much blame lies on Jin Guangyao, if he was doing the bidding of his father? Can he be blamed for everything, just because he was scarily good at his job?

It’s not one over the other, because each answer leads to more questions, and so on.

[olderthannetfic]

Okay first as a disclaimer... Yeah I guess my first disclaimer was unnecessary I'm just paranoid and stuff

But on to the follow up I might not have explained myself properly or given enough context or my question was incoherent? But for context while I do like plenty of canon ships, my favorite ships tend to be MxM ships of characters who don't have canon female love interests. My fandoms tend to be fujobait/card game anime plus video games. (Honestly I kind of feel like the guy you called 'some fuck' in your answer tbh lol (Hopefully I'm not as obnoxious and arrogant as them though)).

Anyway the stuff I was mostly thinking about was stuff like the Ike/Soren defenses and the Ash Ketchum shipping wars. (Although I only read that instead of participating) But from your answer and thinking over it I realized that I had actually seen a good amount of Hassel/Brassius hint finding etc but I didn't realize it was the kind of stuff I was thinking of (probably because they weren't being defensive or worried about homophobic attacks). So yeah the kind of stuff I was asking about does exist but I just didn't realize it.

Anyway on the anti stuff... I feared that people interested in this stuff disappeared because they became antis but fortunately it seems that's not true.

Anyway thank you for the answer and apologies for any inconveniences and vagueness in my asks.

--

Ahaha. Really, anon? Your whole preamble was pure canon het shipper from big US TV circa 2005 in its tone.

Now I'm even more confused about why on earth you think you and I have beef.

--

I think the basic answer to some of your questions may be that:

Yes, people who like all kinds of things exist.

But if you're looking for shippers of something very specific, 99% of media and ships never generate A Fandom™ in the Destiel/Sterek/Drarry/etc. sense. Canon, not canon, slash, het: doesn't matter, most are small.

Have a look at that other recent post about what percentage of AO3 fandoms are what size.

--

Guys from "fujobait" who don't have canon female love interests seem like... not actually canon ships?

This just seems like the same speculation and looking for confirmation that all the other m/m shippers are doing unless they're into MDZS or Jordan L. Hawk novels something.

I'm not clear on what sets what you're talking about apart from... just the average shipper on tumblr.

I don't know much about the social dynamics of Pokemon or Fire Emblem fandoms except for a vague sense that FE has the usual modern fandom full of young idiots harassing each other problems.

People do move on from particularly unpleasant fandoms... but... mostly, people just move on from everything and usually quite quickly.

The only fandoms people stay and stay and stay for are those that are generating a huge volume of new material, usually fan-made, often in the form of novel-length fic. And even then, it takes a specific fannish personality type to stick to one particular ship or fandom for ages. There are people still shipping those two dudes from The Professionals and nobody else, but they're a rare breed.

--

I still don't understand what you were asking in the first place.

Someone who knows these fandoms, explain????

[azaharinflames]

Hi there non 911 watcher here, I only follow through social media because i find this shows fandom fascinating but I have no intention of actually watching it, I know it would probably not be for me

so I wanted to ask, and I know you aren't a buddy shipper and thats exactly why I wanna ask, cuz if I asked any of them their answere would be fully unbiased, so question is do you think there is any remote possibility that buddy would be canonised in the last ep of this season? their fandom seems hell bent on thinking that yes they will and the reason I believe due to comments Bucks actor made in the past week: GMA, podcasts and maybe something else and from how the story seems to progress

again not a watcher but idk if from what I saw they have been dragging this for 7 seasons? and nothing happend even after the network change between them, like if they actually wanted them to be more than friends shouldn't there have been more hints about it than just stuff that is a lot up for interpretation and maybe more jelousy for the actual love interest that Buck got in the show? idk feels a little baity to me especially if nothing happens for buddy

I expect hell on earth if they aren't made canon btw twitter is full on locked on it(a little scary)

anyway thanks for entertaining me if you respond I am just very fascinated by the discorse surrounding this show not the show itself

You’re good, Nonnie! And you were right to not go to them lmao

My advice is to double check what you see in a Buddie blog, because 99% of the times they will have twisted the information so it fits them better.

But, to be quite clear: no, I don’t think there is a single chance Buddie happens in the last episode of the season. The show has seemingly been closing on Buddie on screen and, as much as now we know Bucktommy won’t have resolution just yet, we know that’s the LI Buck has on screen, not Eddie.

As for Buck’s actor (his name is Oliver)’s comments…? Yeah they twisted those once more. They pretend he said Eddie’s sexuality was up to question, when that’s not what he said. He said that Eddie is a straight character in the show. He stated that. He added that people can have their own interpretations, but in the show? He made pretty clear Eddie is straight. Eddie’s actor (his name is Ryan) has been insisting on Eddie being straight for a long time now. He calls Buck and Eddie brothers every chance he gets. He’s even called Buck Eddie’s second child.

So. No. Buddie isn’t going canon next ep, and it won’t ever be canon (not anytime soon, anyway)

[cappulcino]

I put your writing in an ai detector and it said it was 87% ai written

I write fanfiction and I'm ADHD-autistic. What did you expect?

80% of the world-building isn't mine. 99% of the characters aren't mine. And I always make sure I don't stray too far from the source plot so I reference/quote a lot of things I didn't write.

If you take my first fanfic on here, it has so many references or direct quotes from the Bible, other myths, and works such as Paradise Lost, Penny Dreadful, or even Good Omens, and some parts have been rewritten word for word. Of course it's not going to be interpreted as original.

It's like my thesis director in college who wondered why his AI and plagiarism detector said we weren't writing our own essays when literally 75% of our writing was based on other people's works and direct quotes.

And I know I write like a robot sometimes. My sentences are always too long, the rhythm is often the same, sometimes I struggle writing certain emotions... I'm working on it. Add to that the fact that I use en-dashes and "OH mY GoD!!! OnLy AI UsEs ThOse!!!" Fuck no. Use dahes.

I'm trying to work on certain things, but it's also my style: pedantic, with strict grammar, precise ponctuation, and little room for improvisation. What should I do then? Re-craft my entire style?

(Also, let me remind you that, so far, most of what I've written called for such a style, according to me. You don't write about noble supernatural beings or knights in the medieval era with your usual, day-to-day speech –at least I don't.)

I'm wondering if this is the same anon again and again, just trying to make some sort of point after the whole ordeal the other day. Your obsession with me is starting to get weird, and I am starting to get tired of answering your idiotic comments. If at least you showed yourself... but you even hide in anon, like you're ashamed.

Nobody is forcing you to like my style –or even me. You've made very clear that AI was a perfect alternative to fandom writers, and I could not care less if you think ChatGPT or CharacterAI are capable enough. It says more about you than it does about anything else.

And you know what? After writing all this, I was curious to see what caused this extraordinarily high number of AI-generated content. So I ran 3 chapters of Seven Days Til Fall, Where the Wild Things Rest, The Shape of Us, and even the fic I'm writing right now through an AI detector, too. And guess what? The highest I got was a 10 % likelihood (yes, because that's all it measures: likelihood), and it was, unsurprisingly, on the longest text.

So next time you want to drag me through mud or something, find a better lie. I'm petty as fuck.