#... do will and LJ have a ship name?

[jeane-doe]

apparently, my favorite ship dynamic is Emotionally traumatized/stunted clowns and their semi-awkward boyfriends who they annoy the piss out of, but still love to bits.

[olderthannetfic]

Saw this person being sad that A fans were unwilling to talk to them, and basically said that A fans were close minded. As an A fan, I know that some of us are super extreme so I thought "Hey, I can make this person's experience better" and went to check their blog. Mistake. Their blog is like:

Post about why A sucks

Post about liking both A and B… but explaining that B is actually better than A

Post about why they enjoy making A suffer in fics

Post about liking AC in the past until the fans annoyed them too much

Post about why B deserves the love A is enjoying in fandom instead

BC ship post... with a dig at AC

Post about why A doesn't deserve forgiveness or fandom love

Post about how A's trauma isn't a good reason to sympathize with them because they did genuinely awful things due to trauma

Post about how A and B have similar trauma but B came out being a decent person (their trauma level is not the fucking same btw. B has a relatively realistic shitty life. A's backstory would sound cartoonishly angsty if I didn't know that it was based on a true story.)

Like wow... Nobody wants to interact with you? Why would they do that? That's crazy... *Block*

--

Heh. Someone I know was mad at me for saying that Tumblr was a good place for conversation instead of the usual oldschool LJ party line of Tumblr being the worst 5eva. They were like "People send you asks!!!" in that "You're popular and that just happened for no reason and you don't understand the little people" kind of way that is always so infuriating. I hadn't reblogged them either, boo hoo.

The funny part was that they had a different name here, so while I did remember seeing that screen name, I hadn't known it was someone I knew. I'd probably have paid more attention if I had!

And then I looked at what they'd said while reblogging me and at their tumblr in general, and it was all zero-to-sixty rage monster rants on posts where that made no sense and was not that appropriate. You know: newbies asking a question in good faith, but the answer involves things that make us mad. The prior answers had explained the facts but not spent too much time venting over how much such-and-such sucks, so my friend found it deeply necessary to add all that anger back in.

I'm not in the habit of reblogging things that are not only offputting but repetitive and boring. Of fucking course they weren't getting interactions from timid randos who don't know them!

Granted, this all went down much closer to lockdown, and a lot of us weren't doing well, so I get why they were a rage monster, but... people don't like talking to rage monsters. Sorry?

A lot of people have a hard time accepting that the problem might just be them themselves.

[rocksibblingsau]

We had several asks discussing and asking about Funk Branch/Lownote Jones, but never for the other Branchs... So, if you're to be so inclined, Branch/LJ (we need a better ship name tbh) dynamics for some of the different AUs? Pretty please *batting my eyelashes*?

Rock Branch: They meet during the "world tour" arc. I can't get into how they actually MEET but Lownote is intrigued by him. Branch isn't sure why this objectively cool guy is hanging around him but he's not about to complain. His friends are definitely going to tease him about it though.

Since Rock Trolls tend to not establish they're in a relationship, Lownote (trying to do things the Rock Troll way) decides that they're dating. He didn't exactly do it right, there's a lot of nuance, which Val calls him out on.

"No you didn't do it right, you suck at this."

Lownote's actually pretty good at adapting to the other tribes, so he's also popular with Rock Trolls, but in a 'Woah the prince's boyfriend is so cool' kind of way. The tabloids also agree that Lownote is Branch's boyfriend. Branch is still not aware of this.

Techno Branch: Laguna is discussing the Techno tribe's defenses and many of the Funk Trolls are interested in the Troll who made them. They go visit Techno Reef and Branch is in the middle of trying to make a portable rave.

It catches on fire.

Underwater.

Branch is thrilled that people want to see his defenses. He shows off all the traps and censors he has. While not nearly as advanced as what Funk has, they're impressed because they know the other tribes have less technology than them. Lownote invites Branch to a Funk lab.

Thing is, there's one huge difference between Techno labs and Funk labs, which is gravity. Branch is used to just setting things down in the water around him and after about five broken test tubes they catch on that it's a huge adjustment. Lownote thinks it's cute though.

Classical Branch: He's immediately charmed by Lownote the way most people are. He does what he never thought he'd have the courage to do and sends Lownote a wedding proposal. Lownote turns him down and Branch is of course a bit disappointed and embarrassed but he goes on about his day.

Thing is, Lownote gets proposed to a lot. To the point he forgot that's how Classical Trolls ask someone out.

(I imagine this somehow gets out to the Classical Trolls and it's QUITE outrageous to them that THE Branch Chrysostomus Trollzart sent Lownote a proposal and he turned HIM DOWN???!!! Does the man have no taste?! No one has EVER gotten such a letter before and it was WASTED on a Troll who does not understand what he is missing out on)

Lownote actually does think Branch is pretty cool, but he's not into the Trolls who are TOO big of fans of his. I can't blame him, dating a superfan would be very weird. I think he elects to talk to Dante about it, who has a lot to say. Lownote gets out that he's kinda interested in Branch before Dante interrupts him.

"Interested? My dear friend the only interesting thing is your absolutely heartless reply to Branch's proposal! And now you have the audacity to say you are interested in him? Does your heart secretly harbor only the most cruelest of desires?! The shame you have brought to him is only matched by the shame you brought to yourself in the same stroke of a pen!"

Lownote is very confused until Dante explains that Branch asked Lownote out in Classical and Lownote's reply, while very kind to anyone looking from the other 5 tribes, was the classical equivalent to going 'ew why would you think you had a chance', and it was ONLY because Branch has experience with other tribes that he didn't take it to mean that.

Lownote drafts another reply/apology, this time with Dante looking over his shoulder, where he explains that he misunderstood the proposal and he's actually very interested if Branch would have him.

[confession-of-the-heart]

LMFAO LMFAO LMFAO at ANYONE claiming the 2000s KH fandom was some kind of rainbows and sunshine niceys space where everyone held hands and left each other alone to do their own thing and nobody was ever judgmental or mean or anything like that

2000s-early 2010s KH fandom was a cliquey hellhole of ingroups who absolutely loved slinging shit at one another like rabid monkeys. People were extremely homophobic, exclusionary, and loved to dedicate entire fan spaces to taking others’ fic, fanart and OCs and viciously insulting them, directly, to their faces. You can still find several old blogs and livejournal pages that are still up and dedicated to doing this!

I specifically remember there being a ye olde Organization XIII themed OC fancharacter group on deviantart circa ~2008 that included and excluded people pretty much on a whim, and made it a point to put submitted characters they thought were cringe on blast and invite people to join them in pointing and laughing at them. They were far from the only fan space that did this, actually, this was the norm back then. (Anyone else remember “sporking”?) These people were mean as hell. Popularity was 100% the name of the game in the old popular fan spaces and if you weren’t with the “it girls” of dA or LJ you basically had zero chance of being noticed as a creator in the fandom at the time

Oh yeah, and god forbid you thought SA jokes were unfunny because if you were around for the 2000s organization fandom, you better have gotten used to them having only one joke! It’s molestation! FUNNY!! LAUGH!! DON’T YOU THINK TROPES FROM THE SHITTIEST ECCHI ANIME THE 2000S EVER SHAT OUT ARE PEAK COMEDY???

Also, shipping wars were rampant and totally unhinged, far moreso than they are now. The only thing that’s really changed is that people aren’t as tolerant of making light of SA and minor/adult stuff now, but the amount of open vitriol that people were constantly slinging at one another makes the current-day slapfights over that look downright polite by comparison.

Anyone saying otherwise was either not there, or too young to know better. 2000s KH fandom made today’s most atrocious fanbases look like utopias.

~~~

[mylittleredgirl]

Hello friend! A friend of mine is doing a Stargate SG-1 rewatch and lamenting the slim pickings of fic on AO3. Do you know where she can find fic that perhaps is still on some old archive of yore? Or have any recs? She's mostly interested in Jack/Daniel and Jack/Sam. Ty!!

oh my. with all the love in the world to your friend visiting us from a very different fandom tax bracket than i have ever had the fortune to participate in (those two pairings have well over 6k fics each on ao3), i'll see what i can do!

[several hours of looking around later] bad news!! not much!

most of vintage sg-1 fandom was wiped out by expired domains, struck-through livejournals, ff.net's porn ban, yahoo lists, etc. some pages are still preserved in the wayback machine for heliopolis, the massive het-and-gen archive, and area52, the slash counterpart, but with the search and directory functions pretty much toast, they're almost impossible to navigate.

fanlore has an old list of archives (including plenty of jack/daniel ones). some smaller archives might yield wayback paydirt, especially if they were hand-coded. samandjack.net is still alive!

and, hate to say it, this was peak era for ff.net and they have like 30k fics over there... but all the explicit fic is gone.

i recently learned some people are still doing het-reccers (user-submitted fanfic recommendations, LJ archive is here). i don't know if any slash equivalents are still around (and i haven't looked at this site for genuinely fifteen years, so i can't speak to the quality of recs).

some sam/jack recs of mine; some of these authors multi-ship:

nanda: her resolution series especially should not be missed and i can't stress that enough. smut and action. fics great fics across the board.

it's kind of difficult to express how popular Salr323's fics were (under a different name) back in the day. i'm told that archive servers would crash when she posted something new. low on smut, high on PINING. rec: it was admittedly 1 am but as i recall this one made me feel like i'd just seen the fanfiction mona lisa

there are quite a few multifandom wonders who cut their teeth in this fandom, including missparker (rec: a small crime)

this cassandra fraiser fic dealt me some damage: nobody dies tonight by isawet

someone who's still in touch with her please harass splash_the_cat for writing 99 sg-1 fics and then walking away without cracking 100. lots of fun little snacks in there including this one

everything anr touches is gold <3

starting to get stressed out about who i'm missing!!!!

if your friend likes D/s this one is fun by tremontaine

lol read my stuff (i never wrote smut for sg-1 though)

hey everyone, please add recs in the notes/reblogs, especially jack/daniel recs because that's out of my wheelhouse but we aim to serve

[bendrownedzblog]

bendrownedzblog intro

• name: u can refer to me as Ben, but I usually go by Ester (⁠ ⁠╹⁠▽⁠╹⁠ ⁠)

• pronouns: He/Him

• interests: I very much LOVE creepypastas it's one of my FAVORITES !! But a few of my other interests are fnaf + atsv + itsv + tlou + tlou2 + rdr2 ummm..... I dunno anything else rn (⁠─⁠.⁠─⁠|⁠||)

What you will see on this blog

I will post art of ben and other creepypastas :3 also ships, maybe hcs, and more !

Disclaimer

!! This ISN'T a roleplay account !! I just really like Ben a normal amount. (It's not normal) (I'm obsessed)

More important disclaimer, my posts will have ships not many people like, ex. jeff and ben, ej and lj, and maybe nina clockwork and toby (Stolen from @jeffthekillerzblog) If you're not interested in any of these ships, DNI

On the other hand, if you DO like any of these ships, id suggest you'd drop a follow! ^⁠_⁠^

quick sketch of Ben that I did :3 sorry it's not much, I was too lazy to render it..

[pigtailedgirl]

Now I'm curious how you got into due south originally, if you feel like explaining :)

Sure! It's nothing too exciting I guess, but my Dueser origins begin as a wee girl. I know my family must have vaguely watched it because I remember the image of All The Queen's Horses mountie chase pre-dates my series watch beginnings. I know my grandma later confessed as I had it on tv one summer that she watched it. Cause cute Benton Fraser lol.

But real seeing and watch began with a random catch of Free Willie one morning on the Showcase Network. Thank you kindly Showcase.

Yeah, I caught it one morning and stayed to watch because I think I vaguely recognized it, and just fell in love with it's charm and wit and Fraser and Ray. It was the first episode so great timing too. And they had it schedule set to air one episode in the morning, the same at night, five days a week. Perfect for catching up.

Promos were hilarious too. I should see if any are online.

Oh, and it was original edit, so it had extra scenes like the different Victoria's Secret ones.

So I caught up on the series quick. Also, what I think really cemented my season 1 and 2 love was they played that set for months at least before switching to the 3/4 season. That highlighted the difference in tone to my POV too I think, and it's why I kinda view them apart still.

But I really got to experience show first this way.

I think I found fandom when starting Livejournal same time the show hit resurgence there. And I happily caught the tail end of Yahoo Groups so got to back read fan stuff there. Missed most of Ray Wars. Yay. There was the 2000's snippets, but everyone was so fun at content creation and love, that was the best take-aways. It made for a great time. I participated in a watch-along! A big highlight of fannishness for me! That's when I saw The Pilot. Or my fav was squeeing about Pizza and Promises.

Just, some of the many wonderful fans like Nina_DS and movies_michelle and duenorthlaurie for episode discussion, and Sdwolfpup, Belmanoir, Aingeal8C as content creators, or Scotchsour, and Lozenger8 who made some banging icons....Truly, there were so many wonderful people, I couldn't even name them all. Due South provided so many wonderful glimpses of other fans to share with. LJ friends were so lovely.

I fell out in LJ world strangely cause I felt kinda outside the fandom wave as it crested I think, not shipping F/K or really loving those seasons as much. And just personally felt not into fannishness as whole after awhile. It's a me thing across everything, not just Due South. I took an internet break for a long time. I still watched the series on tv, with Showcase and TV Tropolis and DejaView lol, and by then DVD often. Along with new TV of course, although not much cause Tumblr me is not too different from old LJ me. Still kept an eye of forums, sometimes, or such, cause I love discussion as you can see by my screeds versus tech/creative skills, but not actively or with comment.

I return cause, I don't know, seeing people express love for the series again is hitting a happy place of nostaglia I think. I had a rough bout with real-life and comfort fannish stuff is reminding life was full of small good moments. The joy of the endearing nature of the show and the spirit of love for it in the fandom is proof of stuff enduring. Joy that it's still on rebranded Showcase here on the weekends lol, even if you never know which season.

And a new vidder made a wonderful F/V fanvid that, timing again as I hit Tumblr, I stumbled into, and just had me crying when I watched at the beauty and love I remembered in the pair. It spoke to my love of them so hard I think it jolted me into thinking hell yea that love deserves happy expression, I can do it too maybe. Sadly they took it down, but yeah, that was the spark, and that's me fannish story.

[seas1mping]

Edit: issue resolved but post not going away. Please be respectful and nice to everybody involved.

TW for self harm, suicide, other triggering themes.

Reece is a grown man. He's 25. The fact that I know minors who he's complained to about his mental health struggles when there's a FOUR TO SEVEN YEAR AGE GAP. Why are we as a community continuing to give somebody a platform who isn't directly harming minors, but is especially close and friends with a number of them.

I sent him a private message saying that his LJ "relationship" was harmful to himself and others because he was talking about Jack being shipped with male characters as Jack CHEATING ON HIM. And how he trauma–dumped at someone telling him that him saying that was incorrect. He responded to my message NOT on discord, but by making a PUBLIC VENT POST. On his tumblr. Here's the screenshots!! The first two are my message on discord to him (the timestamp is messed up because I screenshotted it right after I sent it) and the last is the vent post he made in retaliation instead of being mature and talking to me.

Not that I owe anybody any kind of explanation for why I reacted the way i did, but throughout the last 4 years I've had several friends fake their suicides just to come back on the next day like nothing happened. Seeing Reece say that he is going to do it right there triggered me so bad that when someone pointed out that it sounded manipulative (albeit to them) it caused my fear to turn to anger, which led to Reeces blocking.

Reece has not stopped posting about me in vents, not by name, but in general, since this incident. His most recent one (or one about self-harm) is the first one in which he has physical put a name to who he is talking about. This has nothing to do with my friend, the other account mentioned, and everything to do with the fact that I told him he was wrong for trying to chase sympathy from other people because of something I, NOT THEM, I, did.

I'm trying to let him go and let him do his own thing, but he's in a Fandom that is very popular in the younger crowd, and other kids/teens (LIKE ME) do not need to be bending over backwards and trying to care for his mental health. And then coming to me and asking me what I did to hurt him.

In his grown age, and my young age, I shouldn't have to be the bigger person in this and constantly correct his behavior so that it doesn't come back to bite some other kid in the ass.

DMs are open if you need anything (questions, comments, concerns). Any and all hate, anon hate (anon questions are fine), or messages/asks trying to attack me or my friend will be deleted.

-Max

[tfw-no-tennis]

SLAWBO MANIFESTO

Have you considered Sabo/Law? Would You Like To? 👀

so. slawbo. which is the best possible ship name for Law x Sabo 

it all started in 2018 when Ruth drew Sabo and was like “hey his hair looks messed up here bc I didn’t look at a reference and drew it from memory… what if it’s because somebody stole his conditioner?” (see below - and note the date!)

then it popped into her head, “what if it was Law who stole his conditioner?”

rebloggable here!

and thus, slawbo was founded B)

we took the idea and ran with it, and now it’s become its own thing 

the more we thought about it, the more we were like, “this is actually a super funny and entertaining ship idea that would work well” 

but also we have a pretty weird take on it so we made it into our own, basically. 

because of its foundation on Law stealing Sabo’s conditioner (which remains an integral part of slawbo to this day), it’s pretty easily established that Law is The Annoying One and Sabo is The Annoyed One. 

which is kind of opposite of how you would imagine their dynamic, if you know them as separate characters in canon – Law is generally ‘the straight man,’ especially around the Straw Hats, and Sabo seems like a mix between the responsible one (w/his brothers, sometimes, and as a Revolutionary) and the not-so-serious one – so therefore it would be the most interesting for their made-up dynamic if their typical canon attitudes were swapped

now over to Ruth for a POKEMON METAPHOR: 

hey gang, Ruth here! as the resident Pokémon expert, I thought it might be fun to explain our slawbo dynamic using type effectiveness! per my illustration, Luffy’s personality is super-effective against Law, naturally (and unintentionally) irritating him. similarly, Law’s personality is super-effective against Sabo, who finds him super annoying (though Law exacerbates this on purpose, unlike Luffy towards Law). then, Luffy and Sabo don’t naturally annoy each other, because they’re brothers! when they annoy each other, it’s on purpose lol. hope this helped! alright, back to LJ

so in OUR slawbo dynamic, Law is the annoyer and Sabo is the annoyee. which is super fun! 

it also allows for deeper exploration of their characters – what is it about Law that makes Sabo so reactionary? what is it about Sabo that makes Law want to press him for reactions? there’s a lot of potential in two characters having a dynamic with each other that they don’t have with anybody else 

to be clear when we came up with slawbo, and this dynamic, we were NOT thinking deeply about it at all. we literally were just like “ok how funny would this be.”

so, to use an antiquated term: this is pretty much a crack ship 

also, Ruth wanted me to mention that this is NOT something we do a lot. we aren’t really “crack shippers” and pretty much stick to canon/fanon (when applicable – we can be picky). we share a single brain cell so we usually have similar taste 

so slawbo is special <3 

back in 2018 when slawbo first came to be, I started writing what I now refer to as my “pilot slawbo fic.” it’s called “make me burn the candle right down” and it is based on the original slawbo dynamic we came up with at this time

now it’s a bit out of date characterization-wise (also writing-wise bc I wrote it over 5 years ago) but it still holds a special place in my heart, and in our slawbo canon 

so then we have the series of fics I started writing in summer 2021. this is the “main verse” slawbo, the more polished version from the pilot version of 2018. the series is appropriately named slawboverse.

this verse chronicles them meeting and establishing a relationship. pretty straightforward.

it’s worth saying that this isn’t canon divergent or an AU – this takes place within the scope of canon, and we’re not changing any canon events (sorry Ace)

Ruth coined the term “canon enhancement”

there’s going to be a fic series written by both of us (mainly me, with a series of one-shots and a few supplementary fics by Ruth plus beta’ing), and art by Ruth posted to her art blog thirteenth-sword

currently slawbo can be divided into 3 major eras: pre-Marineford, post-Marineford/timeskip, and post-Dressrosa. 

these mark major character moments for both Law and Sabo, and would thus shake up their relationship (like Sabo having amnesia at the beginning vs getting his memory back after Marineford, and Law planning his suicide mission to take down Doflamingo vs after Dressrosa when Law’s mission is over and he didn’t die) 

so the series starts when Sabo is 18-19 and Law is 23-24 – pre-canon (and therefore pre-Marineford) 

so Sabo is not as high up in the Revolutionary Army as he ends up being later, and Law is not as notorious and well-known as a pirate 

this means Sabo has amnesia and an attitude problem, and Law has a plan for vengeance and also an attitude problem 

more specifically, Law, when we meet him in Sabaody in canon, is a smirky, rude bastard. he’s not as serious, and doesn’t have that “straight man” quality that we see post-timeskip. we view this change in character as a combination of him being closer to the zenith of his suicide mission and being around a bunch of insane idiots who defy all logic (the Straw Hats). 

put that together…BAM. magic. ultimate game of gay chicken

also we love and respect aroace relationships but these two fuck nasty. btw.

after Marineford, their dynamic definitely shifts. Sabo suddenly remembers his past, and also Law saved Luffy’s life, which adds a whole layer onto everything. and the fact that Law was THERE, and Sabo wasn’t… oof

a similar dynamic shift occurs after Dressrosa – Law basically planned to die taking Doflamingo down (not in an angsty way, just in a matter-of-fact sense – he essentially thinks he was supposed to die of Amber Lead when he was younger, but Corazon saved his life, so now he’s alive in order to avenge Corazon by killing Doflamingo – which is going to be so difficult that he’s just accounting for his inevitable demise to occur here. so when he survives, Law is like “oh damn this wasn’t really in the plan”) 

so a big part of their pre-Dressrosa dynamic is based on Law being like “fuck it we ball, who cares if I mess with this guy and flirt with him and stuff, I’m probably gonna die in the next few years, yolo.” which is an attitude he doesn’t have towards a lot of other things bc he has to Keep It Together in order to fulfil his vengeance mission, but his relationship with Sabo doesn’t really have any overlap w/said vengeance mission, sooo…

bonus note: Rule Of Cool may not apply to The Slawboverse, but Rule Of Funny absolutely does. if something if funny, regardless of whether or not it might be inaccurate, we will include it (within reason, obviously)

some small details to establish!!

Sabo is taller than Law. fuck canon. imo Law’s growth was stunted a bit from the Amber Lead and Sabo is a beanpole

Sabo has more extensive scarring than in canon, all on his left side (see art for details)

Law has skeleton-patterned vitiligo BUT it’s on purpose lmao. I like to think that he had extensive depigmentation from Amber Lead even after it was cured, so he used his Devil Fruit to move the affected patches of skin around so he’d have a cool skull pattern, because he’s a dweeb

Law also has Raynaud’s and Celiac disease

Sabo has blue eyes (left one is slightly paler from the explosion damage) and Law has golden eyes like in manga canon

Law wears black nail polish always because. gestures to him. also he wears Converse, despite the brand not existing in the One Piece universe. doesn’t matter, he’s so Converse-coded that somehow the multiverse warped and found a way to get them to him

they are both Schrodiner’s Transgendered: are they trans?? perhaps. both have dicks and could have transitioned via Iva (Sabo) or Ope-Ope surgery shenanigans (Law). we’re leaving it open/ambiguous bc it's not really a focus of the series

Sabo defs went through a phase when he was a younger teen where he was hyper aware of his amnesia and would often jump to conclusions about strangers like, looking at him slightly longer than socially acceptable bc he’d be like “do they know me? Did they know me?” He’d be overly fixated on what his life was beforehand and do a lot of research on Dawn Island and would spend hours imagining what it would be like to meet somebody from his past. This stops rather abruptly – after a while he comes to the sudden and stark realization that every time he thinks “hey, this person might know me, which would fill some unnameable void inside of me because they could tell me who I am so I don’t have to figure it out for myself!” it never ends up being the case, so he quickly forces himself to stop thinking like this at all, which results in him slingshotting the other way for a while – where he refuses to even acknowledge his amnesia or the possibility that he might have people out there who knew him or cared about him before. So that is something we plan to explore in his relationship w Law!

another aspect of him kinda ignoring his amnesia would be that he feels like he’s exactly where he needs to be with the Revolutionaries – so even if he did have a life before his amnesia, it can’t be something better than where he is now.

so, that’s it for now! we want to leave some of the ~mystery~ intact to encourage interest in the fics/art, but always feel free to message either of us to chat about slawbo lol. and ENJOY!

[the-blind-assassin-12]

So Darkness I Became

1200 words for 1200 followers #7

A/N: Hi friends! Welcome to the 12-A-Palooza! This event is my way of saying thank you for sticking with me. Your support and kindness toward me and my writing is out of this world and I’m grateful for every last one of you! The idea for this one jumped up and bit me on the nose almost immediately, and I know it’s a little out there, but I hope you still enjoy it! This takes place in the time before Din rejoins the covert, when he’s still just going from bounty to bounty to pass the time without Grogu and trying to figure out what the heck to do with the damn Darksaber. I have two more requests for Din for this event, and right now I *think* one of them might be a follow up to this... but we’ll see.  💚

Warnings: not much, honestly. mild angst and canon-typical danger. 

Requested By: @prolix-yuy​ Song: Cosmic Love Character Choice: LJ gave me the options of Din or Ezra, correctly asserting that this song is perfect for both of the space boys - and to my surprise, being an Ezra girl, I decided to go with Dinjamin. Thank you for sending this one in, darling! I hope you enjoy where I took it! 

Summary: You and Din have been working together for a while now, but there are still more things that you don’t know about each other than you do. That doesn’t stop you from feeling how you feel, though. When Din follows a lead that he hopes will yield information on the Darksaber’s previous owners, you find out if those feelings are enough to make you risk everything to help him. 

“Stay with the ship.” 

Those were his last words to you before disappearing through the door. The hefty metal plate slammed shut behind him, the sound echoing in the empty hull and resonating through your bones. Watching him go felt wrong - cold and final. Though you tried, you couldn’t stave off the thought that he wouldn’t return. 

No. You swallowed hard. He will. He always does. 

The two of you had been working together for a year. It had been a partnership of desperation at first - you out of ammo and on the run from the brothers of some Klatooinian capo you’d turned in, and Din armed to the teeth but without a ride off-world. He’d helped you dispatch the brothers, and you’d taken him where he needed to go, and then you had meant to part ways. But before you could refuel, he had shown back up at the spaceport with a handful of bounty pucks and the proposition of teaming up and splitting the profits on them. 

It was only supposed to be until he saved up enough for his own ship. But that mark had come and gone and you were still a team of two, and though neither of you had opened up, neither of you seemed eager to suggest that you split up, the unspoken threat of loneliness enough to keep you tethered. 

Even when the types of jobs you took became more personal than profitable, like the one that you were currently on. On Dathomir. 

The name alone was enough to chill you. You had never set foot there, and you never intended to. Dathomir was dangerous, its landscape as unforgiving as the creatures that inhabited it. But its history of malevolence left the planet scarred in ways that terrified you. You’d heard rumors of a vergence there, a well of Dark side energy that was powerful enough to corrupt anyone who fell prey to it, especially those who were in tune with the Force.

Like me. 

You shuddered, recalling what you’d said to convince him not to chase whatever knowledge he sought, careful not to reveal your secret. “Dathomir’s a one-way ticket, Djarin. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to die in a bog.” 

You’d always hidden your abilities, knowing that it was your best chance at survival - and that meant that despite spending the last year with him, Din didn’t know. You weren’t sure how he would react to learning that you were Force-sensitive, but if it meant losing him you weren’t willing to risk it. Just like you weren’t sure how he’d react to learning that you had started to develop feelings for him. You kept those to yourself, too. 

He’d answered with a tilt of his helmet. “I won’t ask you to follow me. But if there’s something I can learn there about this?” He gestured to the hilt at his waist. “I have to go. This is the Way.” 

You knew as soon as he used that phrase there was no changing his mind. All you could hope for was an urgent call to pull him away before you reached the Quelli sector. It never came. 

So you waited, eyes glued to the monitor that tracked his location. You held your breath as you watched the little throb of light descend into a cave. That same cold feeling you had when he left slithered through every fiber of your being as the beacon on the screen blinked - and then blacked out. 

Your heart lurched. With shaking hands you smacked the monitor, hoping it was a glitch, but the beacon was gone. No! 

You were half-way down the ladder before the comm link on your wrist crackled, his voice coming through speaking your name. “You – right. – shouldn’t have – here. You – – go!“ 

“Din!” Your pulse smashed against your eardrums as you responded. “ I’m not leaving you. I’m…” You choked on tears you didn’t know were falling. “I’m coming.” 

“No.” More interference bled through the speaker. Beneath it you could hear him groan in pain. “You – “ He let out another distressed sound. “Go!” 

And then the comm cut out, too. 

In that instant, you made the choice that you realized never was one. Nothing could keep you from going after him, not even your fear of the Dark side. You didn’t even stop to arm yourself, bypassing the weapons locker and heading straight for the door, leaping from the ship. Without turning back, you raised your right hand across your body and over your shoulder, swiveling your wrist so that your palm faced the sky, and then clenching your fist and bringing it back down, the door of the ship slamming shut. 

Without the beacon or the comms you would have to focus to find him. You silenced your thoughts as you ran, concentrating on Din - on the way his solid presence felt beside you, on the way you could feel his heartbeat when you reached across the cockpit with the Force. You followed your instincts until you were at the mouth of the cave he had disappeared into, and then it wasn’t just a feeling. 

You could hear his heart beating in the dark. 

It was slow and weak, but the rhythm was unmistakably his. You pushed further into the cave until the air was thick and you couldn’t see beyond your nose. The relief you felt was fleeting, though, as suddenly the space was lit with an eerie green light… reflecting off Beskar armor. 

At the far end of the cave, near what appeared to be an altar, you saw him slumped against the stone, glowing green tendrils coiled around his chest. 

“He is ours.” A disembodied voice hissed.

“He has brought it back to us. The Darksaber.” 

“And now he is our soldier.” 

To your horror, the visor on Din’s helmet glowed the same green as he hovered to his feet, and you knew there was only one thing you could do to save him - the thing you feared the most. But you didn’t hesitate. Reaching far beyond your limits, you tapped into the Darkness, harnessing it instead of pushing it away. 

“No.” You growled, slowly shaking your head and reaching out with your right hand. Curling your fingers and twisting your wrist in the air, you ripped the hilt of the obsidian blade from Din’s belt. “You will not use him. You will not take him.” The sword flew to your grasp and you ignited it instantly. “You will release him, or I will destroy this cave and you along with it.” 

It felt like crumbling, letting that much power flow through you. But you fought it, focusing on the faint sound of his heartbeat. The voices shrieked and wailed, retreating into the Darkness. Just as you thought you would break, Din was released from his trance. 

As soon as he was free you dropped to your knees, panting and dizzy, but before you lost consciousness you felt his gloved hands land on your shoulders. At his touch you felt a wave of calm wash over you, your name the last thing you heard before you fell into his arms. 

Safe. We’re safe now, Din. 

.

.

Thank you for reading! If you’d like to be added to or removed from the tag list, please feel free to let me know. You can also fill out the form on my Masterlist! :)

tags: @something-tofightfor​ @gollyderek​​ @pheedraws​​ @beautifuldesastre​​ @alraedesigns​ @valkblue​  @fific7​  @commanderlola​  @cannedsoupsucks​ @dihra-vesa​ @marauderskeeper​ @disgruntledspacedad​ @littlemisspascal​ @mishasminion360​ @stevie75​ @nyctophiliiiiaaa​ @practicalghost​ @tanzthompson​ @harriedandharassed​ @woodlandmouth​ @thescarletfang​ @trickstersp8​ @princessxkenobi​ @imtryingmybeskar​ @WildMoonFlower @mswarriorbabe80​ @hp-hogwartsexpress​ @theredwritingwitch​ @silverstarsandsuns​ @competentpotato​ @pedro-pedrito-pascalito​ @jedi-in-crocs​ @hannahkatharine​ @anoverwhelmingdin​ @chiyo13​ @myloveistoolittle​ @spishsstuff @noisynightmarepoetry 

[caitylove]

20 questions for fic writers

I was tagged by @holy-ships-x-red-lips! Thank you so much for the tags. You have given me a lovely way to procrastinate right now. :)

1. How many works do you have on Ao3? Only 16, but there are also fics out there on LJ that I was too lazy (or were just too bad) to find on the group events I posted on and port over. There are also some other ff.net fics on another account that I forgot about, but were from when I was in high school so totally not bringing those over either.

2. What's your total Ao3 word count? 78,839. I expect that to drastically change once I start publishing my one long wip...

3. What fandoms do you write for? Currently I mostly write Battlestar Galactica (spaceparents ftw) and some The Closer/Major Crimes (I'm a Brenda/Sharon heathen. ) But in the past I wrote for Rizzoli and Isles and Grey's Anatomy. There's also some X-files fic out there and a CSI one somewhere.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

Caffeine (Rizzoli & Isles): What happens when Maura consumes an excessive amount of caffeine?

So major note this fic is literally like 12 years old. And super short. And honestly not good lol.

Break All The Rules For You (The Closer/Major Crimes): Sharon Raydor has a list of rules she lives her life by. But Brenda Leigh Johnson very might be the catalyst for her to break each and every one.

This is actually my current active posting WIP. I'm amused it got so many kudos so fast. Guess I'm not the only heathen out there. :)

Frak Me Red (Battlestar Galactica): Wanting Laura to feel good about herself, Bill finds her the perfect gift and they spend an exciting weekend away on shore leave aboard Cloud 9.

Part of my Cosmetics Series. This was a blast and like 70% pure smut.

Pain Management (Battlestar Galactica): Dealing with pain during her cancer treatments, Laura is suggested an unorthodox treatment plan.

This was actually my first fic back after a ten year writing hiatus... :) Never let anyone tell you that you can't return after a long time away.

Spray and Stay (Battlestar Galactica): Laura has a secret addiction that is slowly running out and she can't help but show off her addiction to Bill.

The first part of my Cosmetics Series. Also 50% smut. :)

5. Do you respond to comments? Absolutely. So, I work from home and like responding to them instead of working sometimes.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? So I don't have a ton of angst honestly. So I guess the ending of Auburn Sunsets, Starlit Nights (Battlestar Galactica) is the angstiest? (Or meanest?)

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? So like 80% of my stuff is smut... so they all have HAPPY ENDINGS. *snicker*. But I guess I'll go with Frak Me Red ?

8. Do you get hate on fics? Not really. Probably did on some of my old FF.net stuff but don't care enough to go back and look.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? Yes. Like thats half of what I write. :)

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written? Not in a long time. But once upon a time I wrote a Grey's Anatomy Zombie fic that had a Doctor House appearance. Its somewhere on LJ. It was BAD, but I am so tempted to find it now for my own amusement.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not that I am aware of

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? Nope. Feel free to reach out if you want to tho.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? No, but definitely open to it.

14. What's your all time favorite ship? So probably Bill/Laura(Spaceparents) from BSG. But Also have a soft spot for Sharon/Brenda (The Closer), MSR (The X-Files), Swan Queen, Janeway/Chakotay, Femshep/Garrus, to name a few.

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? Love Games. My 12 year old the Closer fic I never finished. May rewrite it one day but I will never just finish it as it exists today.

16. What are your writing strengths? I like to think I do a lot of emotional introspection well. And Smut. I can do smut.

17. What are your writing weaknesses? Honestly, I struggle with dialogue.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? As long as its translated or explained, I'm fine with it. Probs would never do it, cause my language skills suck, but wouldn't mind reading.

19. First fandom you wrote for? CSI! I wrote a Grissom/Sara fic back in the day. I was in like High School.

20. Favorite fic you've written?

Thats like asking me my favorite children! My favorite is one I am still writing and haven't published yet, The Symposium of the Stars. One day it'll make an appearance.

But for published? I really loved Auburn Sunsets, Starlit Nights. I have a soft spot for it.

Tagging: @lavenderknivess, @mimine666, @madelineusherspearls. @ofhouseusher, @cryscal, @fracktastic, and anyone else who feels like it :)

[olderthannetfic]

I found AO3 pretty intuitive. Took me like 5 minutes to realize how all the little buttons work. They're pretty straightforward. Apart from the AND filters - took me a while to realize what type of filters AO3 used. Beyond that, I'm not sure why people have a hard time? Wattpad and FFnet are way more of a pain in the ass.

--

It's all about familiarity.

I mean, look, AO3 works how my brain works. When we first set it up, it was what we were all used to, more or less, but an upgrade. It was hard to even see how it could ever be unintuitive because this was just How Things Were. From the style of trope tags to the fact that there's an index of fandoms by media type, it was all familiar.

But that thinking is a trap.

It's easy to say "Oh, well, that person's just an idiot", and sometimes, the problem really is laziness or sleep deprivation, but a lot of the time, it's different cultural context.

By the time we were designing AO3, I'd had many rounds of formal instruction in how to use library catalogues of various sorts, familiarity with Delicious, years in LJ slash fandom whose assumptions form the metadata structures of AO3, etc.

There's nothing strange about going "Why are ship types a top level system of organization?" or "How do I search for genre X in any anime fandom but not in non-anime fandoms?"

It's strange to me, but it's not strange in the context of people who read fanfic overall.

It's not just about learning the search features that do exist: it's about unconscious assumptions about what metadata must exist.

If you don't know to look for something and you aren't coming from a culture where poking buttons is encouraged, you're going to take a lot longer to find things than if you already have a good idea of what's probably there somewhere.

To pick two very obvious examples:

If I were designing a gen-focused archive, I'd make genre a top-level organization system, like on FFN.

If I were designing a more x-reader-focused or One True Character-focused archive, I'd make the ship searches work like Character X/Anyone instead of having to click on each ship of your blorbo or each ship with Reader.

If someone has years of experience searching for some bullshit 'trickyfish' style nonsense ship name because they're on sites with garbage searches, they'll go to AO3, plug some words into the search bar at the top, and then feel like they can't find any relevant results because everything that turns up is just that word in author's notes on an irrelevant fic. They might even go to advanced search...

...and then totally miss that the sidebar filters are the best part of AO3, and they don't appear when you do a search search as opposed to starting from a tag.

Isn't Advanced Search the most... well... advanced search? On every other website, it is, but not on AO3.

--

Each new site/technology/culture/etc. a person has to learn takes time and attention. If you're exhausted and burnt out, that's hard. Even if you're not, it takes at least some effort. It doesn't Just Happen, not for every person and every new thing.

We should tell people to read the damn FAQ, yes.

But I can't say I always do that myself on every site unless I'm both having a problem and invested enough to care about solving it.

--

On an average day, most of us don't need to care why some people have a hard time figuring out AO3.

But if anyone is planning to design a site or needs to teach a bunch of kids how to use the library or something, it's worth keeping in mind just how many unconscious assumptions are hiding behind the idea of something—literally anything—being "intuitive".

[potterpromptmeme]

Round #1: 14 August - 30 September

Welcome! We are hoping to bring this fandom classic back. Styled after iterations in other fandoms (Inception/Supernatural/Marvel/etc), this is an anon prompt meme. (Or not. You do not need to stay anon. 😏) We are unaffiliated with the LJ community of the same name.

Check out the Fanlore entry, if you are unfamiliar with the concept. Here are some examples from other fandoms: Inception, Supernatural, the original Harry Potter iteration.

Round #1 will start on Monday, August 14th. Check out the 2023 schedule here. It will run on Dreamwidth. You do not need to have a Dreamwidth account to submit prompts/fill a prompt/comment.

Rules & Guidelines can be found here and here.

We follow fandom rules around here: YKINMKBYKIO, DLDR and SALS.

All eras, genres, ships, characters, associated media and then some are allowed.

Prompts will be updated on Airtable with the link to the comment. This is for easy sorting.

Round #1 Fill List (submit the link to your fill here) Prompts on Airtable Fill Masterlist

Do read and follow ALL the rules.

And let's have a great time! <3

[rocksibblingsau]

"J-da1 gave me a stroke" anon, while I do not retract my accusation of the attempt on my life via shitpost. They (forgor their pronouns sorry /gen) did inspire me to become a fan of Rock Lowbranch bcz yes when you do think about it's pretty cute, so here is a song that I think fits them really well (was originally send it as a Rock Bremo song but thought it didn't fit them well enough, so I was saving it for another ship)

Solar Solar System - Lady Lamb

Don’t tell me your name, I’m okay, just seeing you from where I’m standing

Don’t tell me your name, I’m okay, just seeing you from where I am standing

Do you ever feel like there’s a solar system under your skin?

All of your organs suspended and doing strange things

Is there a piano where you live?

I don’t have a piano where I live but I wish I did

And you don’t have to answer me

No you don’t have to entertain me

No you don’t have to answer me

No you don’t have to

Entertain me

But the person in your bed, oh they want, you

Even when you’re angry, oh they want, you

Even when you’re quiet, oh they want, you

But the only thing that matters is whether you want them too

Does your bed feel big and boring sometimes?

Do you stay up all night?

Are you exhausted in the morning?

You don’t have to

Answer me, no, you don’t have to

Entertain me

You don’t have to answer me

No you don’t have to entertain me but I’m afraid

From where I’m standing and I’ll still be afraid

To take a step

In your direction

Cause there’s this solar, solar system

And it is doing, the strangest things to me

And do you cry?

At the movies

Do you write?

In the margins of your books

Yeah you don’t have to look

Look my way, no

You don’t have to stay

But I want you

Even when you’re angry

Oh I want, you

Even when you’re quiet

Oh I want, you

Oh I want you, oh I want you

("The person in your bed" is just a metaphor for LJ's million of fans and who he could theoretically have anyone in his bed at a moments notice. Branch isn't going for a taken man, don't worry)

"And you don’t have to answer me

No you don’t have to entertain me"

Feels like Branch saying he doesn't expect Lownote to reciprocate (especially because Lownote has so many admirers).

[thedailyjcs]

Thrifted Treasures: LJ's Journey in Sustainable Fashion Entrepreneurship

by Jerraine Sy and Jose Carlos Morata

Leila Jazel Madelar, who goes by the name LJ, is a student at National University Fairview pursuing BS Tourism. LJ is the proud owner of Madie's Wardrobe, where she sells curated thrifted clothes through her Facebook page and ships them out via Shopee Checkout. LJ's commitment to sustainability and supporting local businesses is an appropriate match for our theme, which emphasizes the advantages that thrifted clothing has for the economy and the environment. 

In the vibrant world of ukay-ukay, LJ encountered unpredictable situations as an entrepreneur. This is not new to the business world, especially in the ukay-ukay culture. Although she handpicked these items rather than buying in bulk, sometimes they do not appeal to people's tastes or align with current trends. The importance of adaptability in overcoming obstacles is truly essential, as mismanaging this aspect could result in profit loss. 

She discusses the diverse attitudes of customers and the challenges in ensuring they follow instructions. Despite that, she employs patience and takes the time to educate customers on the checkout process, maintaining a high level of customer satisfaction. True success lies in maximizing profitability. When she receives the profit, it marks the culmination of her efforts as a dedicated businesswoman. 

LJ sets herself apart by focusing on offering affordable sets, steering away from the trend of overpricing items observed in similar shops. This strategy has contributed to the success of Madie's Wardrobe. She handpicks each item from various thrift stores, personally fitting them and curating a collection through meticulous examination. This attention to detail ensures a curated and quality inventory. She observes the thrift clothes market trends and notes the enduring popularity of items like crop tops and pants. She also stays attuned to customer preferences, adapting her inventory to meet the ongoing demands of the market. 

The virtue of patience is the most significant lesson that she teaches. Managing several projects at once is part of being a lone owner, and even with diligent attention to detail, problems can still occur. Maintaining a high standard of customer satisfaction requires flexibility and responsiveness to any issues that might arise. LJ advises aspiring thrift clothes sellers to embrace hard work and be prepared to take risks. She emphasizes the importance of having a backup plan to avoid losses and ensure success. Aspiring thrift store vendors should accept hard labor and be willing to take calculated chances, according to Leila. She strongly expresses that to prevent losses and guarantee success, a backup plan is essential. The importance of preparedness for potential challenges cannot be overstated; it forms the backbone of a resilient business strategy. It's important to have a backup plan within a backup plan, as this provides greater control in uncertain situations. 

To sum up, LJ's experience selling used clothing is proof of her tenacity, enthusiasm, and steadfast dedication to her clients' needs. Madie's Wardrobe is a source of inspiration for aspiring businesses that want to enter the realm of online thrifted clothes sales in addition to providing reasonably priced apparel. 

[shastafirecracker]

Writers Truth & Dare Ask Game

🍓🍄🥐

🍓 ⇢ how did you get into writing fanfiction? - Since I answered this from another ask, I'll add how I got into internet fandom: alas, Harry Potter. Welp! A whole lot of us out there have to own complicated relationships with some fandoms, unfortunately. But yeah, I went hunting for where the fans of Remus Lupin lived, and discovered FF.N and LJ that way, where I lurked in Wolfstar shipping spaces for a long, long time. With hindsight I'm pretty glad that I was just consuming fic at that time and not trying to write for the ship. I moved on to various anime fandoms at the start of high school, and then LJ peaked and died while I was in college. I miss it.

🍄 ⇢ share a head canon for one of your favourite ships or pairings - I answered one for Kalluzeb but I'll do another! I have various false starts on my hard drive for a clothes-swap Vashwood fic, because I really want to explore how both of them definitely have fucked up sensory processing but in opposite directions. I think Wolfwood's insane-for-the-open-desert style (open collar, open cuffs and hems where sand can get in, no gloves, no socks) must at least be in part because being restricted by clothing is Very Bad(tm) for Reasons(tm). Same for Vash, reversed: he needs compression garments, needs as little skin to be exposed as possible, just enough to pretend he's normal (face; big smile!), and then he needs no one to see the compression clothes (big coat) because there's also vulnerability in showing others how much support his fucked-up body needs. As someone who gets tactile sensory overload, both of these clothing approaches make so much sense to me, and I'd like to poke the boys with a stick about it someday when the inspiration hits properly.

🥐 ⇢ name one internet reference that will always make you laugh - oh lord there are too many. My vocabulary and syntax are completely broken by internet humor and pidgin. The amount of times I am stuck in an unwanted conversation at work and am just imagining myself shoving Olive Garden breadsticks into my purse before I run away is really. A problem. Sometimes when there's nothing else in my head I just start thinking "aeiou aeiou aeiou john madden aaaaaaaa."