#snippets aren't in any particular order

[sakura-senju-au]

“I believe this is yours.” Madara held out little Sakura who only grinned clapping her hands and reaching out to Hashirama. “I told Tsunade to keep a closer eye on her.” For someone who could only crawl she certainly got about.

“And keep her away from Sasuke, I don't want her to be a bad influence on him.”

“...”

“She's a baby, what bad influence could she have on him?” All the while poor little Sasuke was crawling about in his home trying to find his new friend Itachi saved.

She was crawling about by herself outside so he thought he'd take her in so Sasuke could entertain her until he figured out a way to get hold of Hashirama. He didn't expect Madara to visit and take her away and now poor Sasuke was pouting looking for his new friend.

[suzukiblu]

Hello, I am back with more questions for wip snippets, this time focused on tags and organization, because you are very good at those

one distinction between the ways we do things is that I post full chapters on tumblr as well as on AO3, and I intend to do so.

Currently, I have a main tag per fic, which is on the masterpost, the chapter posts, and any fanart I reblog (which also has art-specific tags). For Wip Snippets, I am adding the tags #wip snippet for in general and #wip: [wip title here]. for specifically.

My dilemma is this: I am not sure how I want to connect the wip snippet posts to the chapter posts, in particular with ones which I have already written and posted a decent amount.

I think my end goals for things you can do with the tags is along the lines of 1. able to read all posted chapters without the wip snippets, 2. be able to read all the wip snippets and also see where a new chapter exists, and 3. when the snippets start mid-story, be easily able to start reading at the beginning, and then continue through the snippets

I don't think I want to put the snippet tag on the chapter posts, because then if someone wants to filter snips, they would miss the full chapters. (unless they're just filtering the general wip snippet tag... I wouldn't put that on the chapter posts, just the specific one)

I think I probably will put the wip tag on the story masterposts, to accomplish desire 3, and it's not like I'll be posting the masterpost more than once, and it's linked on all the chapter posts.

But what would you advise for goals 1 and 2 to coexist?

I would definitely prefer not to add a whole third tag to put on everything, because that just feels. overkill or something.

sorry for belated response and not sure if you solved this for yourself already, but in the event you didn't or still want an extra outside perspective from someone who does a lot of tag-sorting of their shit:

I think just having a story-specific WIP tag handles "read all WIP snippets and also see where new chapters update" pretty well, because personally I tag all my new chapters with their story's WIP tag too, since they are in fact a part of a larger WIP and that way people who're reading through the whole WIP tag can still get the full collected story-so-far in order if there's anything new in there. I also tag my AO3 updates with a specific tag I have for finished fic, so if anyone's just after my fully-edited stuff, there's info about what's been posted/updated lately and there's also direct links to any new chapters/stories right there for them. Obviously it's not a story-specific sorting method, but depending on how many WIPs you've got going and how often they all update, it's an option. Otherwise, though, I think including a link to a masterpost of all the chapters is probably your best alternative to adding another tag.

Though really, personal opinion, I don't think adding another tag would be overkill? A tag where the reader can read all of the finished chapters through smoothly without leaving the website/app is convenient said reader, plus at least for me personally I feel tags aren't disruptive to the flow of the post. Also going through a specific tag is actually a LOT less steps than clicking the masterpost link and then having to go back and forth from the masterpost to the chapter and then back-buttoning for the next chapter over and over and over, so if anything I think it makes for a more streamlined reading experience.

Also, obviously it all depends on your personal goals and preferences for the story and the way you're posting it, but literally no one has ever complained to me that I was TOO organized and I'd made it TOO easy for them to find the previous installments of a story, hahaha. So like, it's very unlikely anyone would be bothered in any significant way by an extra tag or two, in my experience.

[forever-will-last]

hellooo do you have recommendations for cadina fics? I love "a thousand pictures in my mind" and I'm also reading "mirror me back" and "get in, loser" but I want to start reading more!

I DO!!! I made a post about this a little while ago so I'm just gonna borrow that same list again I made. I admittedly haven't been reading too much lately (I have been working on the Cadina Week content NONSTOP since the last update of a thousand pics basically) but here is my list!!! Both get in loser and mirror me back are actually on it already but I'm just going to send the list as is!!!

cadina fic recs (first, some ones from my friends, and then many others i heavily recommend, in no particular order):

Get in, Loser! We're going... to fall in love? - SUPER cute slow burn made by the incredible amazing talented stunning @16sydd16. Genuinely one of my favorite Cadina fics of all time.

ANYTHING by the Cadina Captain herself, Chisamaya. Maya's been holding down the Cadina fort for YEARS and has 13 INCREDIBLE Cadina fics on her AO3. She's also on Tumblr @chisamayas and posts super cute fanart of Mean Girls and Cadina all the time! My personal favorite fic of hers is Collared (very smutty pet play fic) and I will live and die a Collared stan.

can i come and sweep you off your feet? - super adorable (and angsty at some points, especially for poor regina) fame AU by my very talented friend ninesixtheenths / @girlkisser-wieners on Tumblr! i absolutely also recommend her rugby fic, which is rejanis but is 10/10, as well as her regret indie band au fic.

(mean girls) series by anonymous - this is from another friend of mine who posts these anonymously instead of tying them to her account. there are SO MANY good ones in here including a soulmates au, a superhero au, and some GREAT character studies of both regina and cady. there are a few rejanis fics in this series too but they're all phenomenal.

okay onto fics that aren't from my friends but i heavily recommend, in no particular order:

Mirror Me Back - okay i know i said no particular order but this one's a lie. if you haven't read MMB yet, stop what you're doing and read it right now. it's very smut heavy, however, this is genuinely the fic that got me into writing for this fandom and it is one of the best fics i've ever read across any fandom. every day i perform rituals for an update /j

On Predators and Pack Dynamics - omegaverse fic that is genuinely incredible. obviously very smut heavy but i love the characterization of them here.

if i could tell her (how she's everything to me) - role reversal & arts high school AU from 2020 where cady is the popular one and regina is a little socially awkward. very cute, very sweet, very fun.

Pretty Girls - mean girls 2024 rewrite where cady and regina were anonymous pen pals before cady moved to evanston. really loved this one!! one of the first i read in the tag.

To You, I Can Admit That I'm Just Too Soft for All of It - grad school au that i absolutely LOVE. the chapters are unordered snippets but they are so cute and fun. the author also does some social media stuff with it, i believe on tumblr, so it's a cute little tie in!!

you would find her in a polaroid picture - SUPER good college au with gymnast!regina!! genuinely recommend anything this author writes tbh i adore their stuff!!

i choose you and me, religiously - once again recommending anything this author writes as well. SO talented. this one is a slow burn idiots in love au and it's just. chef's kiss. muah. i love it.

[acewitch-writes]

Since I privated all of my fics and all I have on my ao3 is a dark!Remus AU oneshot, I figured I would share a snippet of a fic that I was working on before I lost inspiration. I'm not sure if I'll ever return to this idea (maybe someday), but this idea features Slytherin!Sirius and was intended to be a rivals/enemies to lovers wolfstar (with background jegulus) that follows the marauders through each year at Hogwarts.

(When I said "idk I'm new here" I meant it, so idk if I'm doing this right but HERE WE GO)

...

Remus' worst subject is Potions. 

This is largely due to the fact that Professor Slughorn is the worst and seems to think it's a good idea to assign everyone a "potions partner." And since that's not horrible enough by itself, he decided to pair each Gryffindor with a Slytherin for a partner since they share the period. He calls it "a gesture of house unity."

Of course, Sirius is a masterful potioneer. It's honestly infuriating the way he doesn't even have to reference the textbook in order to brew a perfect potion. He always does a one-over of the ingredients and the instructions, closes his textbook and tucks it away, and never glances at it again as he proceeds to create a flawless potion.

So James ended up paired with Severus. Peter is paired with Mulciber. And Remus was lucky enough to be landed with Sirius Black.

Meanwhile, Remus always ends up making several trips to the ingredients storage cupboard because he keeps forgetting something and he has to reference each step in the potion-making process in the textbook about a million times before he's confident that he's doing it right. 

So naturally, Sirius is usually finished with his assignment early on while Remus is still frantically chopping ingredients or stirring the cauldron with immense concentration to make sure he gets the number of rotations exactly right. 

And Sirius gets bored. And when Sirius gets bored, he entertains himself with cruel taunts and pranks.

Today, they are attempting to brew sleeping draughts. It's a simple enough potion, Remus actually thinks he stands a shot at scraping through this particular lesson. But Sirius has other ideas.

"Those aren't asphodel petals."

Remus grits his teeth without looking up from the task of counting out exactly 13 dried petals. "Yes, they are."

Sirius likes to make Remus second-guess himself. He seems to think it a fun game to convince Remus that he's mucking up every assignment. Remus ended up ruining his potion and filling the entire classroom in a cloud of purple foam when he fell for it last time. He has found that his best chance at success is ignoring any advice from Sirius.

"Nope, those are hyacinth petals," Sirius says matter-of-factly, leaning against the table and eyeing the white petals coolly. "Trust me, you don't want to add hyacinth petals to this potion."

Remus almost falters. Either Sirius is very persuasive or Remus is very naive because he knows better than to fall for this. "I know what ingredients I have. The label said asphodel."

"Then it was mislabeled," Sirius quips back. "Because those are not asphodel petals."

Remus can't help it. He pauses for a moment to peer at the white petals, frowning uncertainly. He glances at the picture in the textbook, and it doesn't really help to clear his self-doubt. They look like the same general shape and color, but it's hard to tell since they're all dried and shriveled.

He decides to stick to his gut this time and pointedly begins the task of grinding the flowers into a fine powder. Because even if he's wrong, at least it'll be an honest mistake and not the result of childlike gullibility.

Sirius shrugs and pushes off the edge of the table. "Fine. Don't say I didn't warn you." 

Remus looks up at him. Sirius smirks back. He's bluffing. He's just trying to trick Remus into fucking up his potion. 

Remus defiantly tips the powdered petals into the cauldron, and right as he does so, Sirius backs away from the table. And Remus has about 1 second to realize that he was, in fact, not bluffing this time before the world goes dark.

Waking up is humiliating. Remus finds himself blinking back into consciousness lying on the floor of the dungeon. His vision is all hazy and his mouth tastes funny and he is surrounded by a crowd of onlookers. Professor Slughorn is leaning over him, lightly slapping the side of his face to rouse him.

"Come on, my boy, up, up. You're alright, just a small mishap," he says, nudging Remus until he sits upright. "It appears you've mistakenly used hyacinth petals instead of asphodel, it's a common error, the fumes from such a concoction will knock a Hippogriff unconscious upon contact." To the class, he raises his voice to add, "Do be sure to double check the labels in the store room so we can avoid incidents such as this one in the future!"

James comes forward to help Remus to his feet, and Remus can't help swaying a little once he's standing. His head feels terribly woozy and he thinks he might vomit.

"I tried to warn him, Professor Slughorn," Sirius pipes up, expression perfectly innocent. "I told him he had hyacinth petals, but he wouldn't listen to me."

Remus shoots a glare at Sirius, but there's no use trying to defend himself. Slughorn adores Sirius, he's one of his most favorite "Slug Club" pupils, and he can do no wrong in Slughorn's mind.

Slughorn lets out a huff of disappointment, shaking his head. To the class, he declares, "Well, then, let this be a valuable lesson! We should not allow pride to close our minds. We should always be willing to accept genuine advice from others, even those we don't necessarily get along with." He directs that last part to Remus with a stern look. Then, he gestures at Sirius. "Sirius, m'boy, since you have already completed today's assignment, would you be a lad and escort Mr. Lupin to the hospital wing? Simply a precaution, I'm sure there is nothing to worry about, but Poppy may wish to administer a Pepperup potion to counter the effects of the sleeping gas."

Sirius starts to agree when James cuts in. "Sir, I've finished my potion, too, so I could escort Remus to the hospital wing. If that's alright?"

Remus doesn't have a chance to feel grateful to James because Slughorn immediately turns him down. He goes on one of his ruddy "house unity" spiels and insists that Sirius be the one to accompany Remus. So Remus resigns himself to the ongoing humiliation of trailing out of the classroom behind Sirius fucking Black.

Remus is still a little unsteady on his feet and he has the unyielding desire to just lie down and sleep on the floor. But when Sirius offers out his arm to steady him, Remus ignores him and pointedly staggers ahead.

Sirius just shrugs and follows after him. "Hey, it's not like I didn't try to warn you."

"Yeah, you're such a bloody saint," Remus mutters. "Slughorn certainly seems to believe your act."

"Aww, have we still got our knickers in a twist over the girding potion last month?"

"You swapped my doxy eggs for fairy eggs!"

"Or maybe you're just really bad at Potions," Sirius snarks back. "The only resemblance between the two is the size. Doxy eggs are black, fairy eggs are brightly coloured. It's your own fault you didn't notice."

"Yeah, I'm bad at Potions," Remus grumbles. "Which means I am perfectly capable of mucking it up all on my own, without any help from you. Can't you just let me fail in peace?"

"Where's the fun in that?" Sirius laughs. "I've never met anyone as hopelessly gullible as you, Loopy, you make it too easy."

Remus clenches his jaw and falls silent for the rest of the walk. When they reach the hospital wing, Sirius turns on his "innocent-good-boy" act for Madame Pomfrey and informs her of what happened before Remus has a chance to open his mouth. 

She thanks Sirius for being so bloody chivalrous for taking the time to escort Remus here and tells him that he is free to leave as she bustles off to fetch some Pepperup potion from the storage room. Sirius departs with a charming smile, but he pauses in the doorway once Pomfrey is gone.

He looks at Remus and smirks wickedly. "I swapped the labels."

[magistralucis]

tell me about morelikethestars or vitanuova!

(Two people asked this, you and @cyberkn1fe. I'll put the overall description here.)

More Like the Stars is the working title for my very first Warhammer 40K fic, which I've been scribbling off and on for the past year 😅 we live on archipelagos is the first one I put online, but it's not the first one I began writing, oh no... I've been working on this one since I first read The Infinite and the Divine in June 2023.

The plot is lengthy. After I&D Orikan drops all pretenses, and sets out on the path towards godhood, except literally everyone has an opinion on his doings and tries to be an obstacle in this endeavour. This is not helped by the fact that the one person he expected would stop him (Trazyn) has gone AWOL, and Orikan is forced to confront just how difficult it has become to exist without Trazyn, not just emotionally but politically/socially/philosophically. Trazyn has his own reasons for declining to be in Orikan's presence, and is not interested (or tries very hard to be not interested) in solving Orikan's problems. The Imotekh vs Szarekh situation rages in the background, as well as third parties who have no faith in either of their approaches, although they aren't the focus of the story. It's a huge mess and no one is happy about the situation, but at least there is angst, which I believe to be the foundation of all good WH40K fics 😂 Here's a snippet from before Trazyn goes AWOL, where Orikan still retains his I&D era bitterness, and doesn't realize this will be one of the last times he sees Trazyn.

Orikan left after that. He stormed straight back into the Zodiac's Fury and left the planet in his dust. Trazyn neither bid him farewell nor acknowledged his departure - didn't care, it seemed, where Orikan ended up, as long as it was not at Solemnace. Orikan was, perhaps, unreasonably mad about it, but he knew not how to explain this to himself nor the archaeovist. So he stayed in Mandragora, fuming away the years, until the twenty-first such solar turn brought Trazyn into his orbit again. This meeting was not intended. Orikan did not even realize it would happen until Trazyn was well on his way, and he was bewildered to hear of it at all, since he happened to be on Gidrim at the time. "Coming to meet Nemesor Zahndrekh, did you say?" He demanded of the general's long-suffering vargard. "And he… the nemesor… allowed it? He personally issued him permission to land?" Not just any land, Sautekh territory, the dynasty most inclined towards vaporizing Trazyn instantly. The idea he'd be invited anywhere near this part of the galaxy was absurd - so much that Orikan hadn't even thought to pluck that particular thread of time, else he'd have nipped it in the bud. "That is correct, Master Orikan." Obyron replied evenly, and Orikan hissed as he flicked his tail. "My lord was glad to hear of his coming. He has not received many visitors in Gidrim recently." "But to receive him for the lack of others? No, that cannot be." Nevertheless, it was what it was. Orikan stared sullenly up at the sky as the inevitable truth of Trazyn's arrival solidified within him. "I am concerned he will harm the nemesor. I say you'd be best off engaging the planetary defenses, blow up his ship on sight."

I don't know if this one will ever be finished or published. I'm okay with it either way, because sometimes you scribble in order to have a figurative sketchpad for other, more complete ideas. There's a lot of worldbuilding in More Like the Stars that I used for my other stories instead - descriptions of the Nephrekh in Viridian were originally developed here, for example. Like with many other things, we'll see.

[inbalanceofpower]

hc + ❓

❓ for a headcanon of the receiver's choice: feminism

to put it very simply, tay is the most tradwife non-tradwife to ever tradwife. she's a terrible feminist, in the sense that for her feminism mostly begins and ends with other people. there are certain things (au-wise) she won't budge on: she works— she could never let someone else provide everything; household bills are a 50/50 split— again, that's the guilt complex. unsurprisingly, they're finance-related! growing up, she didn't have a lot of money and whilst she doesn't have any real reason to worry about it now, she refuses to take it for granted. those are quite literally her only redeeming elements where modern feminism is concerned, and they aren't much to do with it. strike one!

now, tay used to liken herself to an independent #girlboss. she was making her own money, sure. but in the customer service industry... i shall say no more. for a period of time, she swore off love, slept with who she wanted, when she wanted. she was the pinnacle of men can do it; why can't i? there are things that disprove her girlbossery in her affectionately named tinder-era, in particular that being that she quickly relented to the desires of her sexual partners (primarily men during this time; her relationship/sexual dynamic with women differs⋆). of course, there's an element of people-pleasing— that's just how she is. but there's also an element of enjoying being controlled, and with a male partner majority, yikes. strike two!

as for being independent... 💀 she can be, and she is in certain aspects— financially, literally just financially, and i've made that point already. tay is quite reliant on other people, and by other people, i mean men and by that i mean klaus. and she likes it! big no-no for modern feminism. (this is also applicable to hybrid verse, where she isn't just reliant but indebted eternally. you can imagine how that looks.) strike three!

in relationships (or "relationships" for klaus-related inclusion) with men, she can be very traditional. obviously, this is dependent on their worldview and their skillset. tay is not a good cook; she doesn't belong in the kitchen. but! she'll insist on doing the rest, the clean-up is hers, as is the responsibility of fixing a drink afterwards. the menial chores, as well, she views as her responsibility. she won't always refuse the offer of help, but know that she feels bad for it afterwards. she feels safe around most men, she seeks the comfort of men, she loves the safety that most men provide. she's an all-around man-enjoyer.

most controversially, despite it not being her reality, tay would very much enjoy being controlled by a long-term partner. when it comes to how, there are obvious exceptions to this; she would still like to work (the crowd boos), but that would be her only condition. it isn't a fantasy she'd share. she doesn't often talk about the things she wants, and above that, it's not realistic. but it's still there! she allows herself snippets of it— asking that she be told what to wear, asking to be ordered for at a restaurant, asking for permission to go out (it comes across more-so as do you need me here). you get the picture. she likes possession, she likes dominance. she'd love more of it.

⋆ quite simply, tay would not receive any satisfaction from a woman treating her in this way. strike four, i think!

as i said, her feminism begins and ends with other people. tay, to other women: do as i say, not as i do! and that is to say, if other women behaved as she did, she'd encourage the opposite. she's a hypocrite, and not so naïve that she thinks how she feels is right. she wants better for every woman out there, just leave her out of it.

bonus:

[springsaladgaming]

The Best Medicine

Hey, all! I have for you all today a snippet! This was written for @grapecaseschoices as her prize for the Interactive Fiction Raffle for Palestine. Thank you so much for donating to a good cause! And thank you also for giving me permission to post your prize for everyone to enjoy! 🧡

This is a non-spoilery snippet featuring @grapecaseschoices's MC, Bianca, and Ansel.

The Best Medicine

July—the middle of summer. The perfect time for short sleeves, outdoor sports, and, apparently, one killer heatwave.

That last one is a particular kind of torture that has you seeking out the shelter of Undercover as the early afternoon rears its head. You aren't the only one; patrons, both new and returning alike, have decided to spend their day within the air-conditioned confines of the café. The place is busier than usual, enough that Teagan has stepped in to help Cherry manage the workload, even though he doesn't actually work here.

Strangely enough, Ansel, who would normally jump at the chance to help Cherry through her shift, is nowhere to be seen. You catch eyes with Teagan as he passes off a drink to a customer. The two of you have an easy understanding that rarely requires any words to pass between you; he nods toward Ansel's office, guessing at the question in your eyes before you have to speak it.

You step toward the back of the café, dodging and avoiding the clusters of people around you. The area around the door to Ansel's office, unassuming enough to escape the attention of visiting patrons, is secluded and quiet. As you lean you ear to the door, however, the sounds coming from within are less so. Even with an inch or two of solid wood between you, you can hear Ansel's grumbles clear as day.

The two of you are past the point of you needing to announce your presence, but you do anyway, giving the door a slight knock before you open it and step inside. Ansel is sitting at his desk, one hand against his temple, while the other clicks away on his computer. He looks up and smiles when he sees you, but not quickly enough to mask the furrow between his brows.

"Bianca. Good morning," he says. There's a slight strain in his voice that he's trying to hide, but you know him well enough by now to recognize it.

"It's past noon," you mutter as you continue studying Ansel and his surroundings. His hand isn't just resting on his temple; it's held against it with some pressure. And the lamp on his desk, which normally serves to illuminate its surface, is angled away.

"Is it?" Ansel removes the hand from his head to check his watch, wincing as he does so. "I hadn't even realized." He stands and shuffles about with some urgency, clicking a few more things on his computer and organizing some scattered papers.

Even knowing the answer he'll probably give you, you say, "Are you okay?"

"Fine," he says, and you can't help but roll your eyes at the obvious lie even as he keeps speaking. "I just need to check on Cherry. Lucia should be here soon to relieve her for lunch, but I should make sure everything is okay."

You step over to Ansel and put a tentative hand on his arm. "Teagan is helping her. And you're obviously not fine."

Ansel places a hand, soft and warm, over yours. "I am," he says, putting on a forced smile that somehow makes his wincing all the more apparent.

"You have a migraine," you accuse.

His smile falters. "I'm fine," he says again. "I've just been dealing with this shipping company all morning that lost several orders and—"

"And now you have a migraine."

Ansel sighs and smiles—wryly this time. "Is it so obvious?"

"It is to me," you say. "You should take it easy and get some rest."

"Work isn't going to do itself," Ansel mutters.

You raise a brow and give him a reprimanding look. "It will still be there tomorrow. Come on, let's go." You shift your hand to grab his and tug him toward the stairs. He hangs his head slightly and fidgets with your fingers between his, as if embarrassed to be caught in this state by you. To his credit, though, he follows without more fuss.

Once out of his office and inside his home proper, you lead him to the sitting room, which is thankfully draped in curtains thick enough to block out the blazing sun outside. Your hands only part when you sit him down and leave to get him some water. When you come back, Ansel is already lying boneless against the back of the sofa, rubbing small circles against his forehead with his fingers.

You sit down next to him and offer him the glass. He takes it gazes at you sweetly before taking a few sips. He seems to have left behind any pretense of being "fine," and now you can see the fatigue around his eyes and in his expression. "Thank you. I suppose trying to power through a migraine wasn't one of my better ideas."

You can't help but smirk at him. "That's assuming any of your ideas are good ones."

He laughs, though lightly enough so as not to jostle his brain. "Do you mind if I lay down against you?"

You shake your head and seamlessly take the half-full glass from his hands to place on the coffee table as he lays his head on your lap and gets comfortable. He's tall enough that he has to prop his feet on the arm rest to stretch out, even with you scooted as far as possible to the other side, but he doesn't seem to mind. He even kicks off his shoes over the edge of the sofa as he adjusts. Ansel closes his eyes, and a contented sight leaves his lips once he's settled.

You take the liberty of sliding his glasses gently off his face and setting those down as well before asking, "Comfortable?"

He nods, at least as much as he can with his head in your lap. "I didn't realize how much I needed to be horizontal until this very moment," he mumbles, his voice still slightly strained.

Rather than add to his migraine with more noise or discussion, you slip your fingers into his hair and rub gently at his scalp, which earns you something from him that sounds almost like a purr. The sight of an untroubled smile falling across his lips makes your heart flutter in your chest. You almost can't believe sometimes that he's this comfortable around you now, not when he used to keep such a polite and reserved distance—always kind, but never close.

He must be thinking something similar, even through the encroaching fog of his migraine, because he mumbles, "Love that. Love you."

You continue running your fingers gently through his hair, smiling even though his eyes aren't open to see it. "Love you, too."

[deadgirlwalking91]

For the 40 questions ask: 8, 13, 17 👀☺️

Hello Sloane! <3

Thank you so much for the ask! Answers below the cut...

8. Share a snippet from one of your favorite dialogue scenes you’ve written and explain why you’re proud of it.

Here's a snippet from Thank You for the Venom where Adam propositions Lute. This particular scene was a blast to write, mostly because they're both at a point where they feel something for each other beneath their dislike but aren't quite aware of the extent of it. I like to think I did an okay job at showing Adam being his usual awful, dick self mixed with an element of genuine desire for Lute—and then subsequently her vocalising her disgust for him but her body language suggesting otherwise.

(apologies for length, it's hard to cut it down without losing the context of the scene)

“Is that what you want, Lutey?”

“Don’t call me that.”

“Why not?” he murmured, thoroughly enjoying himself. Mostly because he had control of the situation, and when it came to the two of them trading verbal blows, her sharp tongue usually held the upper hand whenever they were at odds. Which was most of the time.

Right now, though? He had her right where he wanted her, and he planned to relish it. 

“You’re a pain in the ass. Go annoy someone else.”

“Where’s the fun in that? None of them give me lip like you do. They’re all so boring.” he rose from his seat, keeping one arm wrapped around her waist. He took a quick sip from the glass that the bartender had left on the counter for him and shuffled Lute’s stool forward so he could stand behind her. He bent down, his free hand coming to rest on her bare thigh, chin hovering just above her shoulder.

“But you’re not boring, are you, Lute?” he whispered, rubbing her leg, taking in the firmness of her quad muscle, his fingers catching on the faint, golden scars that decorated her skin. “You could never be boring. Not with a filthy mouth like yours.” 

“Someone is going to fucking see you.”

“You’re not asking me to stop though, are you babe? Feel free to say the word, though, and I’ll back off. Besides, they’re too busy socialising to notice our little chat. I could take you right here, on the counter and nobody would notice a thing.”

He felt her exhale, her hand now holding his so tightly to her body he was sure she’d break his fingers. 

“Don’t worry, they’re not looking in our direction at all. See them having fun?”

“Yes,” she breathed. He noticed that her free hand was gripping the edge of her bar stool so hard that her knuckles were straining, the taught flesh around them white against her already pale skin. 

“You’re so tense, babe. Take a leaf out of their book, Lutey. I could help you relax,” he murmured into her shoulder, the hand on her leg now fingering the hem of her dress. “Imagine it, just one night where everything between us is off the table. I’ll fuck you senseless until your eyes are rolling into the back of your head. You won’t be able to walk for a week by the time I’m done with you.” 

13. What's the best writing advice you've ever come across?

Write a little every day! I find dedicating even just a little bit of time helps chip away at my progress and makes me feel like I'm getting closer and closer to my goal (whether that be finishing a fic or chapter). I do have a daily word count I try to hit, but honestly any progress is good progress.

17. Do you write your story from start to finish, or do you write the scenes out of order?

Out of order, haha. Some chapters I can write in chronological order, but others I jump between scenes depending on vibes. I have some draft scenes already written for the final TYFTV chapter, and the prologue for The Ghost of You and part of the first chapter is already written as well.

40 Questions List

[squarebracket-trickster]

Writer Q&A Tag Game

Thank you @sunset-a-story for ALSO tagging me way back in August. I AM SO SORRY

1. What motivates you to write?

It itchy, itchy urge to create something. I NEED it OUT. I MUST make sense of it ALL. The thoughts need ordering and putting together to maximize the happy chemicals. I see something I like that someone else made and I get jealous so I must do something like that, but MY way, and BETTER. It all makes me very itchy (restless).

2. A line/short snippet of your writing that you are most proud/happy of. If not maybe share a line of someone else's work you love (just please credit them)

I skimmed my entire 3rd draft (so far) to pick a line. There are a lot of good ones but none I liked more than the rest - I couldn't choose. So... I know I've already shared this one but dammit. It is a kickass line. It's also the first line of WIPVII - and you do not know what devils I sold my soul to to escape THAT writer's block.

I will live, I tell myself through the salt water in my eyes and the sting of the south wind on my face. This will make for a good story one day.

5. What part of writing do you think you are the best at? (Yes stroke your own ego it's okay)

Banter and wit. Which is funny because I always thought that was the thing I would struggle most with - I was the academic overachiever who took herself too seriously in school. But when I reread my drafts there is something that makes me laugh in nearly every scene. Most of my highlighted lines are banter or retorts.

6. What do you enjoy most about the Writeblr community?

I love seeing writeblr content on my dash and I looooove getting interactions when I liveblog my writing. It is so nice to be able to share this with people who love it too (rather than inflicting it on my poor irl friends who are not writers). I just love all you Writeblr friends so much!

7. A writing tool/device you use that helps you with writing? (It could be speech to text, a writing program etc)

A 2x3.5' and a 3x5.5' whiteboard with a rainbow's worth of whiteboard markers in different thicknesses for brainstorming, family trees, timelines. My sketchbook, a mechanical pencil, and YouTube drawing tutorials for my maps and concept art. MS Word, dark mode, Times New Roman pt 11, with comments enabled for my manuscripts, outlines (bullet points), and worldbuilding notes. Subfolders within subfolders stored on my PC to organize all my Word docs. Two separate USBs which my completed manuscripts are saved to (in case something happens to my computer AND one of the USBs).

I have yet to find any worldbuilding or map making software (and it hasn't been for lack of looking) that gives me enough flexibility. I have yet to find any writing software that has features Word doesn't but that would actually help my process rather than overwhelm me.

I do want to write out a draft of WIPVII by hand at some point (though with my penchant for writing hand cramps this might be doomed). I also want to try an electric typewriter.

8. A piece of worldbuilding that you like in your own story? (It could be the magic system, a particular place in the story, a law etc)

WIPVII doesn't have very complex worldbuilding (there is no magic and most of it is ripped from real world history) but I do always love it when authors tell us what way the wind is coming, what smells it carries, what the view is in the distance, whose lands those are... that kind of stuff. Really creates a sense of place. I spent a lot of time mapping all this out in my own novel and I am very happy with it! The description feels so rich!

9. What piece of advice would you say to encourage others to write if they are having a rough patch?

Learn more about the craft. Writing is problem solving. If you aren't happy with something figure out why - the mechanics and technique behind writing. If you're still stuck learn even more. There are so many great, free resources on tumblr, youtube, blogs, pinterest (though it is most stolen from tumblr) even twitter and tiktok.

Also, learn how to filter out what advice is helpful now versus what should wait for later so you don't get overwhelmed. If you haven't even written a first draft yet don't bother with pacing, exposition, line editing, or let alone how to query. Just focus on the macro-stuff like plot and character arcs.

Tagging with the lightest brush on the shoulder these nine alleged humans: @cheeto-flavoured-pasta, @alnaperera, @bluberimufim, @daisywords, @boundedsea, @full-on-sam, @writernopal, @ashen-crest, @surroundedbypearls

[sakura-senju-au]

She had found her in a village in the middle of a mission, there was no one left so Tsunade took the little one with her. She had never imagined herself having kids but life had it's way of throwing surprises. A series of drabbles, snippets and one-shots of Tsunade and Dan being Sakura's parents.

Hearing the word ‘Mama’ was strange for Tsunade.

~~~

“Mama!” Sakura giggled waving her hands about as Tsunade fed her. Since she started speaking her favourite word to say was ‘mama’ which she regretted immediately. Naturally, it was an easy word for her at first, but Tsunade was hoping to teach her to say aunty or sister even.

Figuring it be easier down the line to explain that they weren't related.

“No not mama, aunty. Can you say, aunty?”

“Mama!”

“Aunty, aunty. I’m not your mother.”

“No mama?” Sakura’s eyes brimmed with tears, she didn’t understand.

“…”

“Fine, you can call me mama.”

“Mama!” She smirked patting her head.

“I guess that means I’ll have to start calling you my daughter now too.”

~~~

“So… I’m her mother now.”

It wasn’t part of the plan, but neither was having Sakura. She would just have to explain sometime in the future.

Besides, she’ll most likely begin asking questions at a certain age. Considering neither looked alike and villagers will start talking.

“Does this mean she’s, our great-grandchild?” Hashirama asked excitedly. “That’s what you got from this?” Whatever happens in the future, Tsunade will do her best to support her.

[velvetglow]

Alright! So here's Part 2 of my Classic Macintosh Screencap series! Beginning in order of left to right beginning from top to bottom:

The contents of a report about the Anglo Saxons that I wrote.

I wrote this back in 2008! I refuse to believe that 2008 was almost 16 years ago. I was in high school at the time, so please excuse my atrocious writing. Honestly, doing my schoolwork in this emulator (full-screen) was actually quite nice, it served as a pleasant environment for some distraction-free writing.

Artwork by my niece who was around 8 at the time. I'd let her use the emulator environment from time to time to play games or in this case, draw. Crazy that she's in college now, time sure flies.

The Stickies application that we've known and loved in macOS is a lot older than you think. It debuted in Macintosh System 7.5 in 1994!

The contents of the main drive and also the System Folder where the System Software resides. A neat thing about the System Folder: You can move it anywhere even while the system is running, you can stuff it in a folder elsewhere, and the Mac will still find the System Folder and be able to boot from it! It is no longer possible to do this trick starting with the first release of Mac OS X/macOS back in 2001 and the folder is simply called 'System' ever since.

System related settings were in the form of Control Panels, they were essentially little program snippets and you can freely move them in and out of the Control Panels folder. Third party applications would sometimes include their own Control Panels for better system integration. An example would be a Control Panel for your graphics card. Starting with Mac OS X the Control Panels were replaced by System Preferences/System Settings and the panels are fixed. They cannot be removed or moved around.

A simple maze game called Baby Labyrinth.

SimCity Classic is one of my favorite vintage games to play. It doesn't like running on any color setting other than black & white, even telling you to set it to this color setting, then quits. Much older software that was written without color displays in mind might not work and might even crash until you change the color settings. However not all vintage Macs supported setting the color to black and white.

Ok so the disk image is actually a tad bit older than I thought. This saved game was from 2007!

The disk image format style of installing applications by opening a DMG file, and dragging it into an Applications icon in the present day? It's been around since the early days of Macs. It was originally used to preserve the resource fork of files as it couldn't be easily transferred and preserved over networks. Even though resource forks aren't really being used any longer, this method of software distribution has been standard and preferred ever since.

An error message. Nothing serious, the application just couldn't find a particular piece of software.

A game of Risk!

Some wallpapers that came bundled with the system. Hmm... yes purple.

Before Spotlight, this is what you'd use to look for files. Since indexing wasn't a thing that was built into the system, it would take a considerable amount of time to find a document. I tried searching for that Anglo Saxon document that I wrote and about 5 mins later it was still searching. I gave up.

Another feature that has existed for quite a while: The ability to select a startup disk in the Control Panel. Drives that contain a valid System Folder will show up in this panel. Once you select a drive, the system will then boot up from that drive moving forward, until you return to the same Startup Disk control panel then specify a different drive.

I have an actual Mac stashed away in storage that I'd like to share more pics and screen caps, but sadly I'm out of state at the moment and not sure when I'll have a chance to revisit it.

[forever-will-last]

HEY!! what're your fav cadina fanfics? and do you have any suggestions for new fanfic writers 😭

omg okay so i saw this morning while i was at work and knew this had to wait until i got home to get my FULL attention and then i had to stay at work late so here we go!!! this is LONG so i put it all under the cut!

cadina fic recs (first, some ones from my friends, and then many others i heavily recommend, in no particular order):

Get in, Loser! We're going... to fall in love? - SUPER cute slow burn made by the incredible amazing talented stunning 16Sydd16. Genuinely one of my favorite Cadina fics of all time.

ANYTHING by the Cadina Captain herself, Chisamaya. Maya's been holding down the Cadina fort for YEARS and has 13 INCREDIBLE Cadina fics on her AO3. She's also on Tumblr @chisamayas and posts super cute fanart of Mean Girls and Cadina all the time! My personal favorite fic of hers is Collared (very smutty pet play fic) and I will live and die a Collared stan.

can i come and sweep you off your feet? - super adorable (and angsty at some points, especially for poor regina) fame AU by my very talented friend ninesixtheenths / @girlkisser-wieners on Tumblr! i absolutely also recommend her rugby fic, which is rejanis but is 10/10.

(mean girls) series by anonymous - this is from another friend of mine who posts these anonymously instead of tying them to her account. there are SO MANY good ones in here (12 at time of writing this) including a soulmates au, a superhero au, and some GREAT character studies of both regina and cady. there are a few rejanis fics in this series too but they're all phenomenal.

okay onto fics that aren't from my friends but i heavily recommend, in no particular order:

Mirror Me Back - okay i know i said no particular order but this one's a lie. if you haven't read MMB yet, stop what you're doing and read it right now. it's very smut heavy, however, this is genuinely the fic that got me into writing for this fandom and it is one of the best fics i've ever read across any fandom. every day i perform rituals for an update /j

On Predators and Pack Dynamics - omegaverse fic that is genuinely incredible. obviously very smut heavy but i love the characterization of them here and i also often pray for updates on this one.

if i could tell her (how she's everything to me) - role reversal & arts high school AU from 2020 where cady is the popular one and regina is a little socially awkward. very cute, very sweet, very fun.

Pretty Girls - mean girls 2024 rewrite where cady and regina were anonymous pen pals before cady moved to evanston. really loved this one!! one of the first i read in the tag.

To You, I Can Admit That I'm Just Too Soft for All of It - grad school au that i absolutely LOVE. the chapters are unordered snippets but they are so cute and fun. the author also does some social media stuff with it, i believe on tumblr, so it's a cute little tie in!!

you would find her in a polaroid picture - SUPER good college au!! genuinely recommend anything this author writes tbh i adore their stuff!!

i choose you and me, religiously - once again recommending anything this author writes as well. SO talented. this one is a slow burn idiots in love au and it's just. chef's kiss. muah. i love it.

to answer the other part of your question, about the writing advice, my genuine main piece of advice is to just keep writing. even if it's stuff you don't intend to publish, or a half-baked idea. write drabbles for yourself and just let the words get on the page. i used to publish in a different fandom circa 2017-2019 and hadn't published in YEARS until i started writing a thousand pictures (well, really, don't look for me, but ya know, this all REALLY took off with a thousand pictures). despite the fact that i haven't published in a very long time i never really stopped writing. my google drive is full of folders of assorted drabbles of self indulgent bullshit. snippets from other fandoms, self insert scenarios, some original ideas that with a lot more cooking, could potentially be novel worthy one day. (i am a LONG ways off from that though lol)

my point is, publishing fic can be daunting. even writing coherent or long enough fic to make a cohesive story can be daunting at first. it's better to write for yourself and get the practice of writing even just singular or small series of scenes if you aren't ready for a full fic yet. writing should be fun! make sure you're having fun doing it and trying not to stress the details too much!

if you have any other questions about writing please feel free to ask!! i love talking about my process and stuff and am always willing to share gjsnkgng

[great-master-airplane]

WIP Ask Game

I was tagged by @xlillyle and @sensitiveheartless! Thank you both so much <3

RULES: make a new post with the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them, and then post a little snippet or tell them something about it! and then tag as many people as you have WIPs.

I have an utterly ridiculous amount of WIPs, so I'll only include the things that are either fully plotted or partially written. Also not including any of the requests that I have yet to finish. These aren't in any particular order~

WIPS:

Fukumori vet au chapter 3

Painted Wings (Fyosiglai Anastasia AU)

Fyodor ship week 1 (Fyosiglai and a stray cat)

BSD fluff week 1 (Soukoku sleepover)

BSD fluff week 2 (Soukoku caught in the rain)

BSD fluff week 3 (Sigskk and cooking together)

Fyodor ship week 5 (Fyosiglai and vampires)

BSD Fluff week 5 (Domestic Soukoku)

Fyodor ship week 7 (Fyolai fake dating. or fyozai fake dating. Still undecided)

Fyosiglai modeling au

Unfinished SKK holiday fic

Fyolai sickfic

I never really know who to tag, and that's entirely too many people anyways ><;;;; so I'm tagging @fyodorkitkat @frankenjoly and anybody else who sees this and might want to do it!

[16naughts]

Dev Log June 13

In a previous place I worked, one of our lead testers also published Friday updates, but usually theirs was a witty snippet, a subtly applicable Dilbert comic (before any of the controversy, mind you), and then a quick report on bug count and performance changes. I guess I'm 0 for 3. Anyway. The current development focus is on getting that long-awaited Campaign up and running. Which is mostly just menu and asset work at this point. Speaking of menus:

(It's not exactly final - the Streak and High Score are missing, the other stage sets aren't in there yet, and there will need to be a way to switch between different campaign "worlds", but you get the gist) Campaign levels are a bunch of re-mixes of stages from Main Course, just with additional modifiers in place that change the way the game is played. You play a randomized order, and as you get farther, the time added to complete the stage gets smaller and more modifiers get piled on at once, but the multiplier on how much cash you earn grows too. The Menu design for a lot of these is a little tricky. I subscribe to Masahiro Sakurai's and other designer's ideals of the fewest button presses to gameplay as possible, but have to play it extra careful with keeping the game well-suited to Controller, Mouse, and Touch all at the same time. We could, of course, had the left panel show first, and then whenever you select a stage set, the right panel would pop up. However, the requirements section throws a wrench in this a bit. In order to play the remixed versions of the stages, you first need to clear the recipes that it uses without any modifiers in the standard Main Course mode that already exists in the game. You can click the little button there, and it'll bring up the stage select to give it a go. There's also this idea of 'crumbs' that you can earn for beating specific recipe stages (in a later update, not this one), so checking that has to be extremely streamlined for whenever somebody is searching for one particular type they need. So side-by-side it is. However, this side-to-side panel has a slightly different issue now. How do you switch between the two with the Controller? You can select your world with A, I suppose, but that would imply that pressing B would bring you back, and the hotkey is already in the top-left to go back an entire menu screen. We already hit this issue when attempting to design the Cookie Jar menu, and opted to just make it so that you have to press Start to being the stage with no way to normally highlight it. Which you can already see the hotkey here. So, what I'm thinking (and this is not entirely final), is to do away with the per-recipe shortcut buttons, and just have a single button for the entire set that opens up the Main Course selection menu modified to only show those specific sets. It's one more interaction, but one that everyone will perform a lot less often, as eventually, you'll have all of the recipes unlocked, but will still keep unlocking new Campaign level sets that use them. The standard Main Course menu will still exist to be able to pick out from any of the sets to do time trials. I suppose this in itself is kind of a warning for a lot of aspiring developers - UX is going to eat up more than 50%, maybe even closer to 75% of your development time, and if you screw it up, it'll turn people off of the game despite how wonderful everything else around it may be. Any time I hear complaints about Zelda TotK, it's always about the materials selection list. Never mind you can literally glue a rocket to a sheet of plywood and use that to launch a horse into orbit - it's clunky to pull out that plywood, so a lot of players dropped it and missed out on the joys of the impromptu equestrian space program.

[carriesthewind]

I'm coming back to this b/c I've been thinking about it all day. In no particular order:

The witch hunt of it all. Yes, it sucks that so much stuff is getting deluged in ai bs. Yes, I don't want to consume or promote or share anything produced with or by so-called ai. But, for a certain small but loud & impactful section of people, instead of focusing on the actual problem (the huge volume of bs and the companies/powerful actors producing and promoting it), or even just pointing out specific examples of the failures or harm, it has become the new Tool of Entertaining Witchhunts. Let's find the Bad Person producing the Bad Content, and attack them.

Part of the alleged proof is snippets of writing that are similar. This is an inherently flawed test. The plagiarism bot produces chunks of text that are very similar, but slightly different, than writing it has consumed. It is very good at this, especially if producing discreet chunks - *especially* if it is something that is something for which their is an existing large amount of texts that are very similar, but slightly different, like, say, an extremely common topey moment in an extremely common tropey story. (Also the "writing pattern" isn't identical. Just. Learn how to read. Sorry, that's mean, but I have little patience.)

Maybe you think these metaphors are bad - that's fine! The author of that post certainly does! Real authors use bad metaphors all the time! One of my current most-read fandom authors writes metaphors that are so bad they loop back around to charming. I love this author's work and wait for it eagerly. In fact, this accusation cuts against the claim that it is ai - the bot works by putting words next to each other that are likely to be next to each other - it doesn't know that its "generating descriptions". If having the works "embers" and "pool" near each other in its training data is statistically unlikely, that's an argument against your thesis, not for it, you nitwit. (Doesn't mean it means that it's "proof" that the writer of the fic didn't use a llm! Just that the author of post didn't prove it!)

Trust in the reporter. "Aren't all these coincidences odd? It proves AI." "Well, isn't it odd that you never show the prompt in your screenshots, just the alleged result of your alleged prompt? It proves you are faking it!" <- I do not believe that last sentence. I would need actual proof to believe it. (I also don't believe whether or not their screenshots are actually real results from a prompt to a chatbot - I think they very likely are! - has any effect on whether or not I believe they have evidenced their conclusion - see above.) But the point I want to make is that everyone reblogging that post is trusting that the poster is being honest that they used a chatbot to produce the results, with no proof. Doesn't that seem strange? Shouldn't that be strange?

Also the repeated unevidenced assertions that a certain writing characteristic is a "tell" for ai - where are they getting this from? Like, maybe that's true - but it's not something I've seen shown before, so maybe provide me something other than "trust me bro"???

Maybe I'm just a bit oversensitive to this now, but how is a writer - or an artist - supposed to unprove an accusation once it has been made? I scrolled down just a bit on the author of that posts feed to see that the original fic writer had been unpersoned, and the reasons are not more convincing proof, but that by questioning the author of the post, you are siding with a bot which has "stolen from real authors." I've said it before and I'll say it again - I have no idea if the fic in question was produced by ai or not. Maybe it was. But what about the next fic to be accused like this, because of shoddy "proof" like this? What avenues to authors have to argue their personhood? Why should they *have* to prove their personhood - should that not be the default assumption? Yes, "real authors" have had their work stolen - and a fuck ton of "real authors" have been harassed out of fandom too. Accusations of being "ai" are just the latest in a long history. I'm being really careful here about not knowing whether or not the original fic author used an LLM, because it doesn't matter to my points, and hey, baseless accusations sometimes turn out to accidentally match some element of reality all the time, but it really grosses me out that I have to leave that space when this is literally baseless accusations.

There's a post going around about a specific alleged AI fanfic. The author of the post lists a lot of reasons why they believe the fic is AI. Not linking to the post and not commenting on its conclusion, but.

But.

People.

These???? Are all ABSOLUTELY VALID analogies/expressions???

"her nimble fingers worked with quiet precision"

"his grip firm but tender"

"her gown pooling around her like embers"

But the post says that:

fingers don't make sound, so what does quiet precision mean? as opposed to what? her joints cracking with every movement? how is a grip firm but tender? what does that mean? since when do embers pool? the entire fic is littered with these adjectives that contradict each other or just straight up do not make sense, because all an ai does is generate descriptive language with no understanding of what the words it's spitting out actually mean

Come on, man. These are perfectly serviceable! Quiet precision and firm but tender are bog standard fictional expressions. Granted, I've never seen the simile of a dress pooling like embers, but I like it! It evokes!

They are absolutely something that an actual living breathing person would write! (In fact they're so serviceable that if the fic is AI they're probably plagiarised) (although firm but tender is SO common I'm not sure it can be plagiarised? It's like 'toeing off his shoes').

Like, yeah, AI sucks. I agree it sucks.

But analogies or expressions that aren't a one to one match for truth (reality? observable fact? whatever, you get what I mean) are not bad?? They don't mean a fic was written with AI?? They're what makes writing GOOD. Makes it interesting.

Sure, 'her nimble fingers moved like bones and tendons covered by skin because they were bones and tendons covered in skin, but her movements were so expertly precise that no one noticed just how super precise they were' might be entertaining. briefly.

But the whole POINT of metaphor and simile is to evoke a reaction. An emotion.

There's a post by silentwalrus that I cannot find (thanks tumblr search), and it's pissing me off, because they perfectly talked about this! About metaphor and how to write original and effective ones (something they're VERY good at). The example was something like 'he did a thing like a scorpion hidden under a bush' and pointing out that if you looked at it too close it didn't make sense, but it evoked a reaction.*

A clever or strange or evocative analogy or expression does not mean it was written by AI.

____________________________

*I may be misremembering the details, and if so I apologise; it was a long time ago, but I'm positive it involved a scorpion.

[smzeszikorova]

Some context for the peeps who've never done my art games before:

Once again, I am tagging literally everyone for thoroughness's sake. @clairelsonao3, @sheepbitch, @lovely-ashes09, @j-1173, @nanashi23, @penspiration-writing, @late-to-the-fandom, @rexxles, @royal1asset-if, @bardic-tales, @souplover96, @kiraofthewind, @wearfinethingsalltoowell, @kiirpich, @saiwestfield, @thepixiediaries, @marinesocks, @lvckyrabbit, @alwaysastrophel, @burr-burr, @dogmomwrites, @daisywords, @angelasscribbles, @common-grackle, @redmoonrises, @aether-wasteland-s, @the-stray-storyteller, @thatonecrowguy, @kyofsonder, @isabellebissonrouthier, @moonandris, @harinawa, @sockscosyquarters, @thegreatfallcomic, @adrielcastlyre (again. Do with this what you will.) @yellowikeadog, @ghostface3100, @fragrant-stars, @birdsbats-madness, @waterfire1848, @dallystrings, @nicdrawssometimes, @ruhrohherewego.

So the way I've done these games in the past has basically been me just seeing what my mutuals can gather about my characters from their bios and the information I've posted about them in my snippets. However, as I have many more posts to sort through now than I did the first time I did one of these, I'm gonna add a little guide to my guessing games here for anyone who might find it useful.

In the past I haven't put up any kind of hints or guides for these games. The effect of this is that I get to force my mutuals to scrape their way through my blog in search of information about my OCs. I've basically been Goncharoving my whole universe from the get-go, so that's what everyone's got to work with.

Think of it like a writeblr scavenger hunt.

And then in drawing your OCs, I also have to go through your blogs to learn about your characters so I can draw 'em.

So Some Basics :

All the quotes come from characters I have both mentioned and called by name. In all but one case, I have pictures of them, which you can find under my #art tag. You might also find information relevant to the characters' personalities in their #oc: [insert name] tags. Most of the main cast has these, and in this particular game, all the quotes come from characters with oc tags.

Rules are: limit yourself to one guess unless you want to guess the bonus question, too.

Usually, I don't get a lot of responses, so most of the time I'll draw your guys whether you guess right or not.

This time, I'm gonna wait a bit before I tell you whether you guessed correctly or not. We'll say you have until July 30 to guess or revise your guesses before I do the big reveal.

Names For Reference:

Here is a complete list of every character I have ever mentioned on my blog in order of appearance (excluding the ones who no longer exist in canon, the ones who I've only mentioned for the first time after I put up my Guessing Game post, and the names that are technically pseudonyms for characters I've already told you about):

King Levi Niacera

Alan Winson

General Darion Adrona

Aorin Khozlova

Catherine Leures

Sverlyn Kjovra

Adriel Castlyre

Lyn Leures

Captain Sera Selney

Victoria Leures

Petra Leures

Eva Leures

General Kasia Arkhonieva

General Yono Aamitok

Jan Lekzej

Nikolaj Sonej

Rolyn Czeres

Sergei Kjovra

James Blightwood

Theodore Swan

Bhaanai Sochilyen

Lviszki Nezjety

Ernest Wolbert

Queen Rolova of Aleon

Lennox Graaf

Hugh Oliver Castlyre

General Paul Firesky

King John Niacera

Lieutenant Charles Curtis

Hero Santel

Nicholas Leao

Lots of people, right? But lucky you, I like to make sure these guessing games aren't so ridiculously hard that nobody could possibly guess right. A safe bet's that if I haven't mentioned a character in at least 5 posts, they won't appear in my guessing games.

If you're planning on looking through the oc tags, the name I use is always first and last. And for convenience's sake, I should warn you that a lot of these characters don't have oc tags, so if you want to find them, it might be easier to scroll straight to the bottom of my blog and do a Ctrl+F than use the search function.

But like I said, for all except the bonus question, you'll be fine limiting yourself to the cast I have drawings for.

Now here's where we start getting into hinty territory, so if you don't want that, quit reading.

In the case of the first three quotes, they make for easy-ish guesses (in my opinion, but that opinion may very well be incorrect.) They're pretty consistent with how their respective characters act most of the time.

The second three are a little tougher because they might be misleading. I imagine people are gonna be a tad more surprised when they figure out where they came from.

The bonus round is gonna be hard. I think. And I doubt anybody's gonna get it right, but if you do, congrats. And if you want a massive hint for the bonus round, it's under the cut:

I've already given you the bonus quote. It's in one of my posted snippets. You just need to figure out who says it.