#ALSO DON'T BE AFRAID TO HELP THEM WITH WORLDBUILDING

[thenightwinggraveyard]

😂 Actually, do you have cool Naruto fic recs for someone who's never seen the show? I keep itching to start it so I can understand some of my friends' interests better but I would just rather... read things. And I know that the fics might not be accurate to personalities or plot, but if you have anything beginner-friendly or fun that might help my brain get more excited to make the effort and watch, I'll take it. I personally like relationship drama but I'm cool with whatever you've got.

i do!!! i watched naruto as a kid but i completely forgot most things so i got into it again by fanfiction. also as a side note; i apologize but i don't read from narutos point of view very often if at all as that is just a personal preference of mine, just a warning in case thats what you were looking for-- and my favourite character is sakura which you'll probably see lmao 😅

without further ado, here are some;

BEGINNER FRIENDLY NARUTO RECS

Pray My Name by Chancy_Lurking [G] [ONE-SHOT]

"Your name sounds like the kind of thing you say when you’re afraid,” Sakura finishes.  “A prayer,” Sasuke offers without looking away from the window.  (Team 7 takes a quiet moment to talk about what their names feel like.)

notes: there isn't much of a plot with this one but its a wonderful showcase of the bond that team 7 shares/could share. it floats beside canon not really connected but it could be, and i think its just a great introduction to the way team 7 should be imo!!

tdlr; team 7-centric, friendship/love, acceptance

Terror feeds the Soul by Pleasedial123 [ONE-SHOT]

Sakura is not an idiot. She was praised for her intelligence, reached Top Kunoichi at the Academy for her brains.  So it doesn't take her long after being placed on the powder keg that is Team Seven to realize she is going to die.  Kakashi, career shinobi since age-six, has no idea what the hell is going on with his little pink-haired student or why there is such fear in her eyes. So he gives her head-pats. That's what you do for scared puppies isn't it?

notes: some really good characterization with this one and a deeper look at the subtle hint of corruption/injustice in the shinobi world that canon already gives us.

tdlr; sakura-centric, sakura & kakashi, good characterization, worldbuilding

Just Killing Time by Elizabeth Culmer (edenfalling) [G] [ONE-SHOT]

After Wave Country and before the chuunin exam, Team 7 kills time while waiting for Kakashi to show up.

notes: an adorable small fic consisting of freindship and the idea of found family, they're just cute little kids in this and it makes me smile so hard.

tdlr; team 7-centric, friendship, found family, fluff

An Improper Apology Properly Backfires by rex101111 [G] [ONE-SHOT]

Sasuke Uchiha apologizes, or at least makes an attempt. Sakura thinks he could do better than THAT.

notes: its not every day i find a sasusaku fic that i genuinly enjoy, but this one both cracked me up and actually convinced me that they could work as a couple lmao, after some bad canon events, this fic shows a completely done sakura dealing with the fallout and it is gold. featuring naruto and kakashi as unwilling bystanders.

tdlr; sasuke/sakura(canon ship) and team 7-centric, anger issues, canon compliant(mostly), humour

Wildflowers and Incisors by Chancy_Lurking [T] [ONE-SHOT]

There’s a boy Sakura loves the way Naruto loves Sakura, in a shameless and open, but painfully unequal way. There’s a boy Sakura loves the way Hinata loves Naruto, in a way that feels no more like a choice than breathing. Neither of those boys need pretty girls. “We are all really pretty, though,” Ino assures her with a haughty sniff, crossing her leg the other way so her calf rests on Sakura’s shin. “They’re going to be strong, maybe even the strongest ever in the Hidden Leaf,” Sakura says and Hinata doesn’t need convincing, they both know it, so she doesn’t belabor the point. “So, we have to be stronger than them.” (The girls of Konoha band together as friends. Girlhood is easier in a group.)

notes: a wonderful look at the kunoichis in naruto, with friendship for once more important than love. gives them the character development and attention they deserve, but didn't quite fully get in canon.

tdlr; naruto girls-centric, girlhood and friendship, good character development

The Language of Faces by Empatheia [T] [ONE-SHOT]

Ino decides to help Sai learn to function in society. Sai does his best to keep up.

notes: now we're taking the focus off the main characters of naruto to focus on some great side characters-- ino and sai are both charecterized awesomely in this fic. they're awkward and don't really know how to function in society (being a ninja will do that to you) but they clearly grow to care and love for eachother dearly.

tdlr; sai/ino-centric(canon ship), great characterization, awkward first dates

Pushy and Loud and Brave and Proud by bluecatcups [M] [ONE-SHOT]

When Temari meets Shikamaru, she is twelve years old and she is everything she has ever been; pushy and loud and brave and proud. This is the story of who Temari becomes.

notes: thanks to this fic i fell in love with temari as a character. it is a character study at its heart and therefore it has SUPERB characterization, with believable romance and a theme of self-love. i adore this fic.

tdlr; temari/shikimaru-centric(canon ship), character study, romance, found family, self-love (TW for smut and suicidal thoughts)

NOT SO CANON COMPLIANT FUN

coming from afar & reaching for the stars by SafelyCapricious [G] [ONE-SHOT]

It had been two weeks since the trial. Two weeks since Sasuke had been given the choice of surrendering his eyes and being allowed to leave, or being stuck for five years without ever being allowed to leave the village. He had chosen the later. And Sakura isn't avoiding him on purpose, but it's still happening and she's kind of okay with it.

notes: a not so romantic retelling of sasuke coming back to konoha. i really enjoy the way sakura is characterized in this and the way all her friendships are potrayed (especially her and sai they are besties). instead of running into sasukes open arms, she decides she doesn't mind keeping to herself.

tdlr; sakura-centric, friendships, good charecterization, awkwardness, self-love

Rules Were Made to Be Broken by MotivationIsDead [T] [COMPLETED]

Kakashi wasn’t entirely sure he wasn’t hallucinating. Or suffering from heart failure. “I thought you were dead,” he said blankly. He might’ve been going into shock. Obito winced and rubbed the back of his head with a sheepish grin. “Yeah,” he said, tone stilted. “There’s actually quite the story behind that.” “I should hope so,” was Kakashi’s bland response.

notes: kakashi and obito if obito decided to not go through with his villainous plan. it is a ship, but the way the bond is potrayed just hits so good. something more than friendship and simple love and instead a deep trust, with banger characterization and development. a couple steps away from crack, i laughed so goddamn hard.

this entire fic can be summarized by;

kakashi and obito: fuck it we ball.

tdlr; kakashi/obito-centric(fanon ship), fix-it fic, humour, BAMF kakashi and obito (has an ongoing sequel!!)

Smiles in Spring by Kalira [T] [ONE-SHOT]

One spring day when they are very small, Ino meets a little girl with shy eyes, a beautiful smile, and pink hair, and immediately knows what she wants in her future. Ino's never had any qualms bending the force of her will on the universe to be sure she gets whatever she wants.

notes: ino and sakura are made for eachother in this fic and the progression of their relationship is adorable. some bonus friendship with shikamarau and choji.

tdlr; ino/sakura-centric(fanon ship), romance & friendship, fluff

Genuinely Delighted by Chancy_Lurking [T] [COMPLETED]

"Lee, in spite of how brash he might’ve seemed, still appeared to be incredibly considerate and Shino would feel wrong to just brush him off. His enthusiasm about asking Shino out was completely genuine, and that was enough to make Shino feel flattered. And anyway, Lee would probably prove to be much more pleasant company than some of the other guys Shino knew."

notes: just a fluffy post-canon fic about some more wonderful side characters, with romance and friendship. lee and shino are so unexpected but work so well in this fic.

tdlr; shino/rock lee-centric(fanon ship), romance & friendship, fluff

In The Forest by Senka Hitomi (LadyTegan) [T] [COMPLETED]

When the genius of Konoha returns from a mission in a catatonic state, it is up to his old teammate to delve into the depths of his mind and pull him back out. But the dangers of the mind are many, and the road to finding him may be more difficult than she could have imagined.

notes: god i could gush about this fic for so long. everything about it delights me, the characterizations, character development, relationships and just the careful way the plot was constructed. it comes together to form a very inrtiguing and engaging fic.

tdlr; shikimaru/ino-centric(fanon ship), romance & friendship, amazing plot, great characterization

On Qipao, Flirting, and Buying Drinks by needdl [M] [COMPLETED]

Tenten turned beautiful when she was nineteen.

notes: an if neji lived au done so well. the romance is both believable and beautiful.

tdlr; neji/tenten-centric(semi-canon ship), romance & friendship, fluff, coming of age (TW for smut)

About Face by wroth_and_ruin [T] [ONGOING]

A little yellow-haired boy saves Sakura from the bullies. And everything changes.

notes: one of my all time favourite fics it is full of character and life, and the friendship between sakura and naruto is so pure yet all-consuming. they are eachothers persons, eachothers sun, and the world that is being crafted is so engaging. featuring kakashi with teenage angst.

tdlr; naruto and sakura-centric, friendship, found family, fix-it fic, character and plot development, worldbuilding

HONOURARY MENTION

Retrograde Motion by Crunchysunrises [T] [ABANDONED]

From sixteen to eleven didn't feel like a big jump until she realized that she was now the best ninja in their class. And that tiny Sasuke hates her for it.

notes: the reason this is an honourary mention is because this is the fic that got me into naruto! the first one i read, and the first one that captivated me to read all 100k words (yikes..). so despite the fact that its abandoned im still gonna share it with you in case it interests you ;)

tdlr; time-travel, sakura-centric, great characterization, shit gets done

(i didn't even realize so many of my fav fics were done by chancy_lurking!!! huge shoutout to them they are awesome)

i have some more but i think i'll leave it at this; i hope you find at least one fic that enraptures you!!

[cripplecharacters]

My girlfriend is writing a story that, after meeting me and hearing my experiences, she realized was about a (fantastical) disability and she decided to intentionally lean into that. As someone with a (real) disability, I have been a sort of beta reader to make sure that she is using her work to amplify stories rather than talk over them - she's been doing a great job on her own, largely in part because she's been asking me the right questions before writing scenes.

However, yesterday she made a post asking for help with the event that caused this fantastical disability, because the most logical cause is something big and flashy, while she wanted it to be something kinda mundane. In her own words, "most disabilities don't have flashy origin stories, they come from everyday things."

In reading the replies to this post, it came to my attention that people who have inorganic internal parts - pacemakers, replacement hips, etc. - would not survive the flashpoint. This felt wrong to me, but not because of how gruesome the image was, but because the overwhelming majority of people who have such parts are disabled. Everyone affected by the event is disabled thereafter, but a large swath of what I've been referring to her as "pre-disabilities" just wouldn't exist.

Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't necessarily find this to be a bad thing per se. It's background details and the actual story is going to take place almost two decades later. It's worldbuilding that might not even see print, depending on how important that detail is to the story.

My issue is that, as she is writing a story intended to help talk about disability, it feels problematic to kill off a significant portion of pre-disabled characters in the background. I've brought this up to her and she does agree it sucks, the issue she has is that scientifically, it is more realistic.

I bring this question to you guys because the two of us are unsure how exactly to proceed. Do we just ignore internal inorganics entirely and let those with them survive even if it's not realistic? Is it okay to let them die for the story? Is there some middle-ground option that isn't coming to either of us?

(I can provide more detail if need be about the story.)

Hello

Basically, you have to be willing to use some Hail Mary complete and utter random caveat that you add in after the fact to keep a bunch of people from dying.

I don't know exactly how this "flashpoint" works but let's say it deactivates technology. Maybe things like a pacemaker, which is embedded inside of a human, can't be affected because the flashpoint couldn't affect it through the layer of biological matter. Maybe you make this a futuristic where all internal implants are made using biochemical engineering because, I don't know, maybe that gives them a longer life in the human body. Maybe the flashpoint is basically a giant magic put hey, lucky us, internal disability devices aren't made of magnetic metals, or maybe, again, they're made of modified biological tissue.

Basically, you need to completely bs it. It doesn't matter how realistic it is, the flashpoint is fake but disabled readers are real. You can do anything, it's your story, so if you want the disabled people to live, you can create a caveat that would let them live. And no one can say "that wouldn't work" because yeah, it would, because you said it would work in a world that you have complete and utter control of.

Don't be afraid to grasp at straws.

Mod Aaron

Thank you for your ask! Please don’t have people killed for having a specific disability! It’s hard to give more information without knowing what the ‘flashpoint’ is, but you could have the event target metals that aren’t used in humans if that’s the issue. You could also make the event something that wouldn’t target a specific group of people, you don’t have to change the whole story, just the side effects of the event. As mod Aaron said above, it’s your story and anything can go, so please don’t put an unnecessary mass extinction event.

I’d also say killing off a specific minority group for a story, whether or not the story is about that group, is a bad thing. People with implants should be allowed to see themselves in fantastical stories and not be told that they’d just be dead so don’t bother. As you said this happens in the background, this side effect isn’t integral to the story, so why add it? The readers are already suspending disbelief that this event happened in the book, so why not let them suspend disbelief that people with implants won’t be killed in this story?

Have a good day!

Mod Rot

[sweetteaanddragons]

And How Can Man Die Better: Director's Cut

I had lots of worldbuilding thoughts that didn't make it into the story for @saturniiids beautiful artwork, so have them here! (Spoilers ahead.)

"Thorin had never met a hacker quite so dedicated to pretending to be on the legal side of the fence as Master Baggins. It was reassuring, really; it spoke to a level of discretion he appreciated."

As you might have guessed, Bilbo is actually 100% sincere here. Thorin remains blissfully unaware of this throughout the entire story.

"They knew they had already been earmarked for Mahal; that he needed their service in his great foundries and machineries to make his constructs for the Last Great War. What would become of them all when the end days came and Dagor Dagorath struck if they had denied him the souls of centuries of dwarves? The government had not been impressed with this argument . . . " The government here is Sauron. Also his minions, but ultimately Sauron. The dwarves do not, of course, know this - he's switching between his personas as Annatar and the Necromancer - but unsurprisingly, Sauron was not impressed by the argument that the dwarves needed to be allowed to go to Mahal's Halls so they could create weapons to use against him and Morgoth at Dagor Dagorath. If the dwarves had realized, they would have tried a different argument.

"The government had not been impressed with this argument, any more than they had been impressed with the dwarves’ furious insistence that Mahal was not, of course, in any way connected with one of the Forbidden Ones. Who was this Aulë others spoke of? Certainly they knew him not. They followed Mahal and Mahal alone; surely they could not be faulted that his name and that of one of the Forbidden Ones rhymed." Sauron is genuinely unsure if the dwarves telling him this - perfectly straight faced - are as unaware of the truth behind this as they were with their previous argument or not. A lot of knowledge has been lost! (A lot of it has been deliberately suppressed.) They might not know - or they might, and they might be laughing at him.

Most of the dwarves genuinely don't know and are making this argument with indignant righteousness. There are a few (like Balin) who know better. Regardless, they end up having to follow Mahal in secret because all mention of any of the Valar, much less any devotion to them, is being violently suppressed by Sauron, who is violently afraid that the Valar are going to show up to topple his little house of cards. The Valar showed up because the mortals were penitent last time and because the mortals asked for help; he can't risk that happening again.

The Valar are, unbeknownst to him, very aware of what is going on and very eager to intervene, but toppling his house of cards is exactly what they're worried about; Mordor has so consumed everything that they aren't sure how to save people without accidentally destroying the planet in the process.

"Just as they were also faulted for just how many dwarves had been, tragically, dying in conflagrations so intense that no brain matter was left for Dol Guldur." Dol Guldur's brand of afterlife nastiness in this story was borrowed from the Mechanism's album, Ulysses Dies at Dawn. Like in that world, all brains are plugged into a horrible mass computer system after death; any attempt to render your brain unsuitable for this is punished horribly.

But if there's anything that could make a brain truly, entirely, unpunishably unsuitable, it seems like being consumed by fire would do the trick.

"The concrete didn’t switch to marble; there were no trumpet calls summoning them home. Still. He almost thought he could feel it, like a buzzing in his chest." And here we have the first mention of the buzzing that we will eventually learn is the madness-inducing tone coming from Smaug! This was also inspired by Ulysses; Erebor takes the place of Ilium. This seemed particularly appropriate to me given the gold madness that awaited Thorin in the original.

"In the old days, Balin had told him once, their people had buried their dead in stone. Fire had been too impermanent a monument . . . 'From the fires of Mahal’s forge we came,' Balin said quietly. 'And to them we pray to return,' the rest echoed." I thought a lot about the dwarves canonically having to burn their dead after the battle of Azanulbizar; how it was against their traditions, but they did it out of need and made it an honor.

In this AU, I imagine this necessity initially was deeply upsetting to the dwarves that took it up, but by the time the story takes place, they've successfully mythologized it to make it acceptable to themselves.

"The City had not always just been the City, of course; once, before it had conquered and bargained and slowly consumed all else, up to the top of the breathable atmosphere and down to the roots of the earth, once there had been other cities and so it had needed a name.

Once, it had been Mordor."

In this AU, Celebrimbor helps Annatar create a wonderful potion of immortality for their mortal friends. Why shouldn't they be able to delay the Gift of Men for awhile as the Numenorians already do?

The Numenorians, of course, are enchanted by it and use it to extend their own very live longs (and, like in Ulysses, this has unfortunate consequences for the world around them). There's the potion for those who can afford it . . . and Annatar's promise that eventually, even the very poorest will be guaranteed to live forever.

Hello, Dol Guldur.

Annatar uses the potion to seduce some countries into willingly joining his banner and sets out to conquer the rest.

Celebrimbor, once he realizes how it has all gone wrong tries - and fails - to stand against him.

Somewhere in this AU, Pharazon is very much still alive and enjoying his wealth and power.

“'Skulls are intact,' Fili said quietly. 'Most of them.' It was true, he saw. Some few were smashed, but that was easily enough explained, whatever they had been fighting. Most were intact. Which meant that even after the Necromancer had won, he had not sent in drones to collect minds for Dol Guldur. Not even from the bodies that had not been burned." So, in Ulysses, some people's minds are deemed unsuitable for harvesting due to insanity. To keep this from seeming like a preferable alternative that people might be tempted to feign or induce, these people are forcibly kept alive through immortality inducing drugs . . . but kept in absolutely horrible conditions. Presumably, though, this did not happen to the people of Ilium who were driven to kill each other through Ulysses's weapon.

 “Hobbit ears must not be as keen as their dwarven fellows.” Which Bilbo will have ample cause to be thankful for shortly.

"The next door was the one Thorin had been unable to find anyone qualified to open on his own; the one he had nearly despaired of until he had once again stumbled across Gandalf, who had hemmed and hawed over the danger of the journey before admitting it might be worth the risk and saying he knew just the man for the job." Gandalf is still one of the Istari in this AU; five undercover Maiar sent by the Valar to try to figure out a way to help. As per canon, Radagast has gotten sidetracked by his absolute horror over what has become of most of the plant and animal life in this world spanning city, Saruman is slowly being corrupted by fear and the promise of power, and the blue wizards are . . . somewhere. Gandalf has lost track of them.

He, however, is still desperately trying his best.

"'Of course outside of one of their terrarium blocks you haven’t got much of a prayer of getting anything to grow.'

'Not much of a prayer!' Master Baggins said indignantly. 'Why, all you have to do is - '"

As you might guess, there aren't any Ents left in this AU. There are, of course, still hobbits; they weren't particularly seduced by the lure of immortality, but they were conquered easily enough. Their knack for growing things has fewer opportunities by far, but they still grow what they can.

There was so much blood on his hands. Obviously, Thorin and his nephews ended up mortally wounding each other. Their brains are scrambled enough though that they can't remember who struck which blows. At this point, only Mahal could tell them - and he definitely has every intention of keeping that to himself.

“Thorin, are you - I promise it’s just me, totally harmless - “ The trap was calibrated for dwarves. Bilbo was totally unaffected except for having to run from everyone.

"Thorin, at least, would die sane. Surely Mahal would accept Thorin’s tribute at least, and if he did - surely Thorin could convince him. They had died in Mahal’s service; surely Mahal could find some purpose for them even if they had not died sane. Surely there must be something he could offer to convince -" Thorin is aware that Dol Guldur does not accept the insane, and he assumes that Mahal's Halls will be the same. The dwarves' understanding of their Maker has been corrupted over time; mostly, they assume that working in Mahal's Halls will be much like their current (horribly inhumane) factory jobs. This is still preferable to Dol Guldur, because Dol Guldur is awful, and also because they are genuinely convinced they are needed to prepare for the apocalypse.

The dwarves are, of course, very wrong. Mahal accepts them regardless of their condition - and in Fili and Kili's case, they were fine once the sound's ability to influence them ceased.

Dwalin was there, blood thick on his own hands, but Dwalin was there, and Dwalin understood. I regret to inform you that Balin was also a casualty of this AU. And probably some of the others.

Fili: . . . and with a productivity increase like that, you really can't afford not to assign the three of us together to whatever doomsday weapon you want worked on.

Kili, in iglishmek, from where he's currently smushed against Mahal's shoulder: Do you think it's working?

Fili, from the other shoulder: I don't know. I've never had to give this speech to a supervisor that was hugging me and crying before.

Mahal is just. So happy. Whenever any of his children manage to find their way home.

[magic-is-something-we-create]

Writeblr Re(rere)intro that's a year late!

Hi! I'm Pax, and I write Big Books that keep getting darker and darker in subject matter 🎉🎉

Basics about me:

he/him or they/them, Mid 20s

Favorite genres: Fantasy, SciFi, Horror, Mystery

Favorite authors: N. K. Jemisin, Tamsyn Muir, Brandon Sanderson, Pierce Brown, Samantha Shannon

Other things I do: Digital art (including commissions!), Twitch streams (usually art or writing sprints, occasionally video games), digital art assets and fonts (PWYW on Ko-Fi!)

Basics about my WIPs:

THE MILLENNIUM SAGA

High fantasy/Steampunk epic, 8 books planned. Book one: Firebreathers (160k words; ~700 pages) Book two: Echoseers (148k words; ~600 pages) Book three: Goddess-Touched (15k as of posting; 3rd attempt at drafting) First person, Multi POV What starts as a simple rebellion against their local Citylord becomes a flight - and fight - for their lives, as Ember Timber, their family, and their newfound friends are forced to flee overseas from the vengeful general who will stop at nothing to earn her Eternal King's favor, and will in fact relish hunting her own son and grandchildren for sport. But along the way, the crew learns that the Eternal King's immortality was not granted in return for his success as the Chosen One long ago, as they have always been told - and the sacrifice for such a thing is not only paid dearly in blood, but on its way to being repeated.

WHISPERS

Dark fantasy Noir. Currently with beta readers. 172k words; ~750 pages. First person, Dual POV. Set in the same world as Millennium Saga, ~5 years after the series concludes. Marika Swiftfoot owes her life to the Shadow of Fowden, the sorceress leader of a terroristic crime syndicate based in the north pole. When the man she once loved finally comes to collect on that life debt ten years later, she plans to kill him the moment it's safe. Too soon, after all, and everyone else she's ever loved will join him beyond the Veil. But hate isn't the only feeling that lingers between them, and when they're offered another way out of their debts, the lives of a few innocents looks like a bargain compared to the life of cruelty ahead of them. Lorelei has been hunting the Shadow for twenty years, and looking for the sister who disappeared for thirty. And here, names are legacies: she wants to earn Hopebringer before her legs give out for good, to erase the stain her father's name has left with Vowbreaker. And for that, she sees one way forward: she must never break her vows, no matter how small. The Shadow must die, and the Whispers with her. Her sister must be found, even if all that's left to find is a story. She must find answers for every case she takes on, even if she doesn't know so much as the name of the man who's gone missing.

THE LOST

Space opera webcomic. First scene fully illustrated; will release once the first chapter is complete, a week after Patrons receive the final scene. In the far reaches of space, the term "Media Empire" is quite literal; the Watchers have extended their influence throughout their galaxy filament with the help of their beloved Coliseum, and the Champion therein. After all, having a shapeshifter capable of replicating anything leads to some gruesome, spectacular fights, made all the more heartrending when they are the last of their kind, trapped in the ship molded from their kin's corpse. But while the Watchers have total control over what happens in the pit, they cannot predict the audience. And they certainly cannot predict the malfunctioning psychic implant of an assassin in the front row, and the loss of both opponents and a long-time prisoner of war to the escape.

I also post art of all of these semi-regularly, including in-progress stuff, as well as excerpts and rambling braindumps!! I'm also a huge worldbuilding nerd, so if you ever want to learn more about the worlds I'm writing, don't be afraid to ask!! I love talking about them :D

Boosts are appreciated <3 tell me about your own WIPs in the tags/replies/wherever!! I love learning about what people are working on!

[eldritchamy]

Hi, its the former Feralist again.

The worldbuilding just really struck a raw nerve on first glance? On second glance it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought but it STILL infuriates me on a couple of points, mostly in implications that people failed to think through. I've calmed down about it, because it IS just kink, but there are parts of the worldbuilding that I still cannot touch without being viscerally upset.

(I could get into depth if you want, but once again, it is just kink; I don't expect kink writers to think about every last implication of their worldbuilding.)

Anyway, I am currently reading my way through Abscission, which is helping somewhat with certain things that upset me wrt disability and stuff. I'm really excited to read your suggestions!

Signed, A (Formerly) Committed Feralist

(P.S. *specific* things... What appeals to me wrt inevitability in D/s is less "I can MAKE you submit whether you want to or not" and more "We both know you'll submit, because we both know that you *want* me to dominate you", which is not always the vibe in HDG. Sometimes it is, though! And that's why I'm still here! Also that little bit near the end of Grand Folia where Celosia says something along the lines of "Its not that I'm an Affini and you're a terran and I'm better and you're lesser. Its that I would ALWAYS find you - in any time, in any place, in any form - because you ARE mine" really REALLY fucking got me.)

(P.P.S. I may have written a few hundred words of a fic about an Affini playing a convoluted game of cat and mouse with a cute, awkward, evasive little terran who may or may not be a feralist spy. The Affini can't make up her mind, because every time she catches her at something suspicious, there's always a perfectly plausible explanation! Its gonna drive her absolutely NUTS.)

It sounds like you're more into dubcon than noncon. On one hand, this is the noncon intox kink petplay bdsm scifi setting, so a certain amount of noncon is pretty baked into the world at a systematic level that you're either okay with or you aren't.

But on the bright side, there ARE fluffier options that skew more in the direction of what I think you're looking for, because the setting ALSO heavily features things like hurt/comfort, recovering from trauma, learning how to love yourself, and accepting that you deserve to BE loved and cared for by others.

Abscission is a really good one for a protagonist that consistently and very insistently reaffirms their consent at all times. Autumn is very sure about what she wants and frankly spends a lot of time bullying Solanum about not being afraid to give it to her.

From what you're saying, I think you would really like a newer story that's only 3 chapters in called Good Sensory. The tl;dr is that there's an independent human who's too ace and autistic to feel comfortable around most Affini (who tend to be very flirty and touchy and she can't stand a lot of their textures), and an Affini who is ALSO really ace and autistic instantly wants to give her the world. The Affini is VERY sensitive, patient, and accommodating with her neurodivergence and goes out of her way to be very direct about her feelings and intentions.

Marsha (the affini) literally has this internal monologue about Sally (the human): "I admittedly could twist her mind and dull her dislike of certain sensations, but it would be far more satisfying to simply alter her life such that she never experienced them in the first place."

The story was written basically in honor of how much the author (a very autistic woman) loves her very autistic partners, and the joy of giving them experiences that are comfortable for them.

In particular, I think you will REALLY like their first date in chapter 2, which is one of the most gentle and accommodating scenes I have read for all of HDG so far. It's SO sweet.

Someone in the server actually just collected a list of recommended fics that skew much more on the consensual side. NOTE THAT I HAVE NOT READ MOST OF THESE AND CANNOT PERSONALLY VOUCH FOR THEM.

Intake Interview Wild and Domestic Child of the Wilderness How To Tame A Polycule Fermata Art Exhibition Flotsam Heart Cross Pollination Surrogate Bloom Sycanthe Lantana Alone in the Dark, Together Germination Reading the Leaves Nurture and Acquisitions Perturbance A Normal Grocery Run During Which No Domestication Occurs No Gods No Masters (the primary storyline anyway) Hers to Have, Hers to Hold Petals and Vines Weeklong Stay at a J-Cafe (edited)

I AM currently about halfway through Petals and Vines and can absolutely confirm it's one of the cutest stories in the setting so far. I'm loving every minute of it. 500/10 adorable. Millie is everything, she is the light of my life and I would die for her. She's approaching DAWN levels of cute. DAWN LEVELS.

I would also add to this list:

Inosculate by SapphicSounds (the affini refuses to do ANYTHING with the protagonist until she explicitly asks for it)

Through The Looking Glass by PyxxieStyxx and TheMothCourt (the protagonist does get embarrassed/humiliated quite a bit, but she is VERY INTO IT and is given ample opportunity to back out or revoke her consent at any time, which she never does because she is having the time of her newly lesbian life right now)

I WOULD caution you against writing for the setting if you have mixed feelings about the worldbuilding, and especially if you haven't read some of the most foundational works of the setting like the original, Abscission, Divaricated, For A Better Universe, and a couple others. You should also familiarize yourself with the Rules and Axioms for the setting, as they're important for how the community functions as a creative space.

(The point is not taking things we like OUT of the sandbox to play with, it's bringing something of our own INTO the sandbox so we can play TOGETHER. But we play NICE in that sandbox, because we want the people who play in it after us to have that same joy we did. If your goal is to CHANGE something about the setting, then you're not playing the same game as everyone else in the sandbox.)

I'm pretty confident at this point that I have a good feel for the lore, vibe, and mechanics of the setting to comfortably start writing for it, but even I'm still holding off because there are some other Big Foundational Stories (Divaricated, Wellness Check, No Gods No Masters, probably Nurture and Acquisitions) that I want to experience and understand first, because when I'm ready to start contributing, I want to make sure I do it right.

Also, there actually IS a story literally CALLED Cat And Mouse, and it's one of the top 10 stories in the setting (sorted for Kudos on AO3). I cannot personally vouch for it because I haven't read it and don't know anything about it beyond that it's a Predator/Prey dynamic, but it has the same author as Good Sensory and her stories (though incredibly varied, tone wise) haven't let me down yet. Sheepwave is a very evocative writer and whatever kind of mood she's going for her in her stories, you're gonna REALLY feel that mood.

Sweet Poppy (one of her more famous stories) is a blood curdling psychological horror story. I am terrified of Poppy. She's easily the scariest Affini I've read yet. That's a HARD story to read if you can't stomach it, but it's very well done. It's the kind of story that you can't stop reading and ALSO it makes you sick to your stomach.

The only other story I've read from the setting so far that filled me with anywhere near that kind of nauseating dread was Independence Is Easy by SapphicSounds. If you're REALLY into doll kink, you might love it, but if you're not, it's absolutely a horror story. I don't regret reading it, but I was definitely way more into the first half than the second half. The protagonist DEFINITELY needed to be domesticated, but not by this specific Affini. I've seen lots of people be REALLY obsessed with it, but based on what I can gather from your tastes, I would NOT recommend this one to you.

In regards to the worldbuilding, the main thing to remember is that HDG is at its core a WILDLY SELF-INDULGENT kink setting where the most immutable aspect is that everyone deserves to be loved and cared for and given a better life. It was made by gay auDHD trans women FOR gay auDHD trans women, and the real fantasy is just that there will always be someone there who loves us unconditionally while accepting us for our truest selves and telling us that we deserve to not hurt anymore. All of the scifi worldbuilding exists to supplement that. The Affini are overpowered by design.

It's not intended to be realistic, it's intended to be wish fulfilment where inevitability is coming for you, and that inevitability is kind, and loving, and PROFOUNDLY horny.

[writingquestionsanswered]

I think my ego is getting in the way of my writing. It's confusing, because I doubt my ideas and writing, but I still feel competitive in a way. I don't like reading about others' WIPs, I avoid reading the genre I want to write, and I automatically dislike authors who's already published a book similar to any of my WIPs. I quit the ACOTAR series because the themes were too similar, and I'm scared of Priory of the Orange Tree because the worldbuilding has intense good praise. I need an egodeath.

Case of Strong Ego or Low Self-Confidence?

If you're doubting your ideas and writing, I would question whether it's actually your ego getting in the way and maybe not just good old-fashioned low self-confidence. The reason I wonder is because your dislikes and aversions all sound fear-based to me. For example, if your ego were an issue, you probably wouldn't dislike or avoid authors who did something similar... you'd more likely scoff at their relative inferiority and boast that you did it better. You wouldn't be afraid of a book because its world building received good praise... you'd roll your eyes and say you don't know what people are going on about, because your world building is so much better.

Dislike and aversion instead seem to indicate jealousy and self-doubt. The good news, however, is that low self-confidence is actually pretty typical for writers and it's something that gets better with time.

Here are some things I hope will help boost your confidence, or at least give you hope that it will get better:

1 - Writers with big egos probably aren't as great as they think they are. In reality, storytelling is a craft no one can truly master, because reader appetites, story material, and even mechanics to a degree all evolve over time. What makes a good story is also very, very subjective. There are people who consider Jane Austen one of the best writers to ever grace the Earth, and there are people who think she's one of the worst. I think truly good writers can know that they're good without thinking everyone else is beneath them.

2 - You can't doubt your ideas and writing without understanding where you want your ideas and writing to be. In other words, you know what good ideas and good writing sound like to you, which means your taste and style are intact... you just have a little bit further to go to get your own ideas and writing where you want it to be, but that's okay. Going back to #1 a bit, writers don't hit some magical peak early on and level off at greatness. There's a lifelong upward trajectory with each book being a little bit better than the last. And sure, it's not a perfect upward trajectory. You can have periods of leveling out or even dropping off, but most writers will continue to get better over time. So, again, it's okay that your writing isn't quite where you want it to be, because it's that feeling that drives us to get better and better and better. This shows you're on the right track!

3 - Those similarities aren't the big deal you think they are... I've been at this a long time, and I'm going to tell you right now: stop worrying about "similarities" in other books. I've posted about this a lot because it's a common concern, but similarities are a dime a dozen in fiction. For every book about a high school girl who falls in love with a vampire, there are a dozen more. For every book about a woman who quits her big city job after a divorce, moves home to her small town, and falls in love with her childhood nemesis, there are at least twenty others. There are countless stories about young women getting wrapped up with fae princes, sad boys/men whose lives are invigorated by a Manic Pixie Dream Girl, murder mysteries set in quiet fishing villages, horror stories set in dilapidated old mansions someone just inherited from a long lost aunt, kids or adult who learn they've secretly been magic all along and get roped into fighting a Big Magical Bad. There are over 100 million books in existence, and that number increases by hundreds of thousands every year. You're never going to write a book that doesn't have similarities with dozens of other books, so stop worrying about it. Remember, it's not the similarities that matter... it's everything else... all the things that only you can do.

4 - Similarities are actually a good thing. The truth of the matter is, similarities are actually a good thing. That's why you can look back through cinematic history and see major trends... monsters, westerns, musicals, disasters, sci-fi, action, epic adventures, rom coms, superheroes... It's why when a book about a young woman toppling a dystopian regime becomes massively popular, dozens of other dystopian books hit the shelves the following year. It's why we gravitate toward favorite genres and tropes and comfort shows. Its why we go to the same restaurants and stores over and over again instead of going to a brand new one every time. Humans like a bit of repetition, and if your book has similar world building to Priory of the Orange Tree, that's a bunch of readers who are going to gravitate toward your book.

5 - There's only so much material to go around. I was interested in the fact that your concern about ACOTAR was that the "themes were too similar," but I promise you, those themes are in a million other stories. When it comes to tropes and themes and character arcs and magic systems and settings and... all of it... there's only so much material. Themes aren't something that are created from nothing. You can't make up an original theme that no one else has explored. Themes are inherent to human existence. They're truths about humanity that beg to be examined and explored. It's not the themes that matter so much as how they're explored and what you say about them, and even if there were similarities there, odds are there were far more differences.

I hope this resonates and helps. I hope I was right that it's more of a self-confidence issue than an ego issue. And if I was wrong, maybe something here will still resonate. You might spend some time in the "writing-related fears" section of my Motivation master list to see if anything there resonates, too. ♥

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

I’ve been writing seriously for over 30 years and love to share what I’ve learned. Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!

♦ Questions that violate my ask policies will be deleted! ♦ Please see my master list of top posts before asking ♦ Learn more about WQA here

[benchspkmnirlhub]

How I make characters, blogs, and plots: A guide by Bench

Hello! Due to popular demand, I'm making a post about my development process for making Pokemon IRL-related stuff.

I should note, this is my methods. You're fully free to use your own methods for making Pokemon IRL stuff! Don't feel pressured to copy me.

With that out of the way, I hope you all find this useful!

Part 1: Initial Ideas

Usually, the first thing I do when creating something new for Pokemon IRL, whether that be a character, blog, plot, or something else, is ask myself, "What would be a fun thing for other people's characters to bounce off of?"

@wingsofachampion, all the way back in late 2022, I introduced to the Pokemon IRL community because I saw all these blogs for regular trainers, and thought, "I wonder what'd happen if I threw a PMD character into the mix, how would everyone interact with them?"

For @goldenrodchef, I thought, "How would people interact with someone who isn't physically human, but is trying to appear human online?" (Back when I started his blog, he was trying to hide the fact that he got turned into a Pokemon.)

For @zoruascanbetrainerstoo, my process was a little different. I was trying to find a way to keep myself focused on my mainline marathon, and decided to make a blog about it. But I couldn't figure out a protagonist for it, until I had the idea, "What if this trainer isn't human? How would people interact with a Pokemon trying to be a trainer?" And so I brought back my concept for Illanero from back in 2021, and made xem the protagonist of the blog.

For @interregionalgyminspections, I asked myself, "How would people interact with a gym inspector?" For @askthelonelyninetales, I asked myself, "How would people interact with an immortal non-legendary being?" For @amewwayofliving, I asked myself, "How would people interact with a legendary trying to live among humans?" And for @obletadetective, I asked myself, "How would people interact with a detective character?"

Of course, this is leaving out the fact that many of these characters are ones I had made (or canon characters I modified) long before making their blogs, and simply ported over to Pokemon IRL. @interregionalgyminspections and @amewwayofliving are the only active characters I have so far that I made for Pokemon IRL first.

Still, asking the "What would be a fun thing for other people's characters to bounce off of" question helped me figure out which characters to port over. And it helped me come up with those two brand-new characters, too.

It's a similar story for making plots. Tropius' whole plot with her special name derives from my PMD worldbuilding, yes, but also from the question "How would people interact with someone being afraid to say their name?"

Think of plots as sorta a variation of Muse Mixup Madness. A time period where stuff happens to your characters, except instead of being variations of your characters, it's the main versions, and has lasting impact. Muse Mixup Madness lets you get as wild as you'd like with the variations. So get as wild as you'd like with your plots! Have your character catch that legendary, or undergo that mental breakdown, or travel to another region, or anything! Ask that question of "What would be something interesting to happen to my characters, and how would people interact with that?", and once you have an idea, you have the seeds of a plot!

Part 2: Development and Planning

Once you have that initial idea, it's time to develop it! There's lots of ways to do it, and I even use multiple ways myself! But the method I use the most is improv.

The details of the pantheon of Mew's world, and a lot of Breve's advice about gyms, all entirely improv, created on the spot.

I know, this answer is probably disappointing. But improv is a powerful tool. "Yes, and" can create masterpieces, it's what this community was first built on. Make up things on the fly to make your characters and blogs more detailed! It's how I first came up with the idea of Gen being an aspiring chef.

If that's not good enough for you (which is perfectly understandable), @paldean-ranger-brandy has made this lovely post about a bunch of questions to develop your characters. I highly recommend checking it out!

Besides that, you can also plot things out, planning for the future of your blogs. For example, I plan on revealing Tropius' special name eventually, but that's a long ways away.

For planning ahead, I like to ask myself three questions. "How do I want things to end up?" "What will cause things to end up that way?" "How do I build up to that cause?" I then fill in the gaps between these three questions, and I have a character arc!

Part 3: Staying Committed

I've heard from several people that they have trouble keeping their Pokemon IRL blogs active, which is completely understandable. I myself struggle with that sometimes.

My main advice for staying committed is to keep throwing interesting stuff at your characters. Things like plots, events, and relations with other blogs.

One of the biggest things that has helped me keep Gen's blog active is that I keep having him form new connections with people. Almost every time a new eeby pops up, I have him reach out to try to help.

For Illanero's blog, what keeps me committed is the amount of stuff in the mainline Pokemon games for xem to react to. Every time that something major happens in a mainline Pokemon game I'm playing, that's a potential new post for xyr blog.

And for Tropius, when I come up with new PMD worldbuilding tidbits, I usually can have her making posts talking about it. There's also just looking around my home to see if there's something she might not understand, like dressers, and making a post about her being confused by that thing.

One of my favorite methods of staying focused on a character is to have them play a game, or read a book, or watch a show, and liveblog it! I've done this with Tropius reading book 1 of Warrior Skitties, and Gen playing A Hat in Time.

Bonus points if the story has things that will emotionally impact your characters. Like a good media leaves us thinking about it for long after we finish it, have your characters think about the media they've experienced. Have them write analyses on it, or rant about it, or even make a fanfic about it!

Keep throwing things at your characters! It's enrichment for them, and for you.

Part 4: Taking Breaks and Letting Go

Not every blog is going to keep your attention indefinitely. Some you might lose interest in for a while, or even entirely. It's a necessary skill to know when it's time to stop, whether that be temporarily, or permanently.

Back in around March of 2023, I was getting a bit exhausted with Pokemon IRL. It was getting really tiring to keep up with. So I took a break, until June 30th. And when I returned, I felt reinvigorated, with fresh motivation! If you're started to get tired with a blog, or Pokemon IRL as a whole, a break might help a lot!

But sometimes, a break isn't enough. You might come back, and still feel disinterested. In those cases, it's sometimes best to say goodbye.

Take my old self-insert faller blog, for instance. I had taken a break from it when I started receiving anon hate on it. But even after I tried posting on it again, it still felt uncomfortable and unfun. So I decided to completely convert the blog into something entirely different, and stop writing my self-insert faller.

It might be scary to say goodbye, but sometimes, it's what's best.

Part 5: Conclusion

That's about all I can think of right now. I might make another part to this eventually, with answers to any questions any of you might have.

By the way, feel free to ask questions about any of this! I'd be happy to answer!

And feel free to reblog this, too, to spread it around! Don't feel pressured to, though.

Thank you for reading through this all!

[misc-obeyme]

something i haven't understood in obey me so far playing is what year it's set in? did I miss the amount of years stated somewhere?

like we have the D.D.D. which is like a cell phone. But then we get sent back in Nightbringer and we still have D.D.D. And anime. And heavy metal, probably. What year is it again?

No way it's been like centuries, which is how they make it sound. I'm not even sure it's been a whole decade into the past. How long does it take to get a school up and running, Diavolo?

-a confused player

Dear A Confused Player,

Don't worry. You are all of us.

You didn't miss anything about what the years are because they've never stated anything about that.

They kinda explain everything away with the "time soup" but even that isn't really an explanation at all. They mostly just don't talk about it.

It's generally accepted that the Devildom is behind the human world technology-wise. There's proof of this in season three of the OG where the brothers don't know how to use some pretty basic kitchen appliances. The idea is that in the Devildom, they have magic to supplement their tech needs, so they don't need as much tech. This is pretty standard for fantasy worldbuilding. It's the idea that magic essentially does a lot of the stuff we use technology for.

But then yeah, Nightbringer happened. And that's supposedly thousands (millions? they don't state specifics) of years in the past. So presumably, the technology wouldn't be as advanced as it is in OG. Which would mean we wouldn't have things like D.D.D.s and there was also the wasted potential of old school outfits.

Since things seem to be about the same in Nightbringer tech-wise, the question becomes why?

Either Nightbringer is set in a timeline that's so drastically different that this tech was developed a lot earlier than in the OG timeline OR it's always been that way and the OG timeline was actually taking place far into the future for us. Another possibility is that the Devildom actually developed all their tech before the human world developed theirs, but at some point their development just stagnated. Meaning it stayed at about the same level from Nightbringer to OG.

And then there's the RAD founding discrepancy. In OG, they make it sound like RAD has been around since way before Lucifer & co fell, but this was mostly portrayed through old Devilgrams. So they just straight up retconned that. I think RAD's development has only been happening for a few years in Nightbringer and then it's established before MC leaves.

All of this is to say, the time is wonky and makes no sense. You can speculate about it for hours and still come up with ??? because any of these options could work. Due to them fucking around with time travel, timelines, and "time soup," anything goes at this point.

Time travel is a risky thing to include in a story for many reasons. And this right here is one of them.

We might've been able to suspend our disbelief on the time frame of the OG, but now that they've tossed in this time travel to the supposedly distant past, it's a lot harder to just go well, it's a fantasy story so I'm not gonna worry about it!

Just one of my many complaints about the writing of this game lol.

Anyway, that's the best I can do, I'm afraid. I might have gotten some details wrong because I forget things sometimes, but this is how I've always interpreted things. I hope that helps a little, but in the end it's kinda up to you to headcanon whatever you like!

[wuntrum]

Oooh I just started rewatching Twin Peaks yesterday! The last time I saw it was around 4 or 5 years ago. Just putting on the first episode again made me realize how much like home this weird little show feels like to me. It’s been nice to see your enthusiasm for it on my dash :)

may I ask what you enjoy most about the show, or why it appeals to you, if anything comes to mind? I find it’s a bit of an odd one to try recommending to people - I love it, of course, but my taste is a little strange, and I don’t find other fans out in the wild that often.

oooh, that's an interesting question! i think theres a lot of aspects that appeal to me about twin peaks...on a very surface level i love the aesthetics of the show, as someone who lives in new england (pacific northwest and new england are connected pacman-map-style in my mind), the settings and fashion are all excellent. i also love its absurdity, i love the fact that no one talks like a real person and theres people with such weird and distinct archetypes and over the top emotions all colliding with each other---that, and the way it approaches the sort of worldbuilding going on, plus the importance of dreams in the narrative contribute to such an interesting and dreamy atmosphere. i think what makes twin peaks special compared to things that were made after it and were inspired by parts of it is that even when its confusing and strange on a literal level, its always emotionally resonant--you don't need to understand it, because you feel it. the way they're able to set up all the people and relationships in this town so quickly, you really feel like you're a fly on the wall in this living and breathing place, even when its strange. you rarely see how buildings and places connect, but you don't need to because its all so convincing as a woven together location (and of course thats for like logistical/filming purposes, but it creates an interesting effect lol). it uses the familiarity of americana tropes (and even television tropes) and distorts them to create meaning, while still keeping parts of their signifiers intact. even watching it for the first time in 2021 was shocking throughout, so i genuinely can't imagine how it felt catching it live when it was airing, like there was nothing else like it! the fact that david lynch helped to make a prime time television show is something that like logically should never have happened, but i'm so glad it did. i also think on a production/creative level, its so interesting to see how it sort of morphed and developed as the original run and fire walk with me and the return unfolded, like what themes were dropped versus what (at first) insignificant details were given meaning and expanded upon.

i do think it can be a hard sell to convince people to give it a chance--i've had a friend or two try to watch it and say its too slow for them, or it just wasn't clicking. but i've also had more friends really get into it, probably because i have a lot of weirdo artsy friends (i say that with love of course). but i think it's a great gateway into other weird and absurd stuff, or at least it was for me. i also enjoy a good ol "weird thing happening in small town" story, and so it was interesting watching twin peaks and then revisiting stuff that was clearly inspired by it, or at least partially (welcome to night vale, s1 of stranger things...s1 of riverdale. but also i think the return has its own sort of inspiration fuel, like season 4 of barry and beau is afraid struck me in the same way that the return did)

[gcantread]

July 2024 reads

[loved liked ok nope dnf bookclub*]

^borrowing this format from @ofliterarynature—hope that's ok!

The Blue Castle • The Metamorphosis • A Reaper at the Gates • And Then There Were None • I'm Afraid You've Got Dragons • To Be Taught, If Fortunate • The Mysterious Affair at Styles • Till We Have Faces • This Ravenous Fate • Here Lies a Vengeful Bitch • Dragonhaven • [title withheld; SMP] • The Name of the Wind • Better Left Buried • The Body in the Library • Rose Daughter

My biggest reading month so far in terms of quantity, though only third-biggest in terms of "pages" (which I think is a bad metric anyhow—you can typeset them so differently! I wish every book told me its word count.) I read a lot of books in order to see if they're worth reading in @bellasbookclub for the 2024-2025 season, plus I was doing the BBC summer reading challenge! I also devoured my way through several ARCs coming out in August.

The Blue Castle ★★★★★ - I reread this once or twice per year at this point. This time around I read it to @flowerslut and we had a blast! Still the ultimate comfort read.

The Metamorphosis ★★★☆☆ - Also with Shannon (we listened to the audiobook on the way to and from San Diego!) Figured it was high time I actually read this if I was gonna go around calling things "kafkaesque." Somehow exactly what I expected.

And Then There Were None ★★★★☆ - Pre-screened for book club! So I don't wanna say too much other than "I liked it."

I'm Afraid You've Got Dragons ★★★☆☆ - Disappointing. Plot was a bit all over the place and it was difficult to sympathize with the main characters. A shame, because I like the premise!

To Be Taught, If Fortunate ★★★★☆ - Read for the BBC 2024 Summer Reading Challenge. Fun and reflective! This was my first time reading Becky Chambers, and I liked the writing style and themes.

The Mysterious Affair at Styles ★★★1/2☆ - Another book club pre-screen. A solid mystery.

Till We Have Faces ★★★★☆ - Yet another book club pre-screen. My best friend's favorite book and now I can totally see why.

This Ravenous Fate ★★★☆☆ - An ARC I got signed by the author after seeing her speak on a panel about YA and romance. Unfortunately a huge letdown, possibly because I had such high hopes for the premise of "queer Black 1920s vampire x human." Alas, it had some cool vampire lore but was overall a convoluted mess and not nearly 1920s-enough!

Here Lies a Vengeful Bitch ★★★★☆ - Another ARC I got from the same event and liked much better. Cool Jennifer's Body-esque premise, snappy voice, and a fun protagonist in the murdered and vengeful Annie. Perfect Halloween vibes!

Dragonhaven ★★★★☆ - Also pre-screened for book club so I shouldn't talk too much about it but I can't help myself (@ book club LOOK AWAY) I wasn't expecting much from this book because I've heard Robin McKinley fans voice their disappointment in it, but it turns out I'm the exact niche target audience for this. National Park politics and conservation science struggles and zookeeping?? I'm seated. I can see why others didn't like the pacing, but I was nodding along like "Yes, the difficulty of procuring grad students to come study dragons, of course. Do go on"

[title withheld; SMP] - I didn't realize this was an SMP book until I was halfway through it. Oops. A shame they still don't have their act together, because I'd love to talk about this one.

The Name of the Wind ★★★★★ - A title I've heard raved about a million times by a zillion people, so naturally I picked it as one of my BBC 2024 summer reading challenge books to see if it lived up to the hype. IMO it does! Fun, poetic writing style, cool framing device, and interesting worldbuilding and magic system. Curious to read the sequel.

Better Left Buried ★★★☆☆ - Another ARC. Cute queer YA murder mystery that I honestly don't have much to say about other than "it was cute."

The Body in the Library ★★★1/2☆ - And another book club pre-screen book. My first Miss Marple! Mostly elevated by having an interesting ending twist and class themes.

Rose Daughter ★★★☆☆ - And to no one's surprise, my final book of the month was also pre-screening for Bella's Book Club. Very pretty writing and it was fun to read while wearing a bit of rose oil (smell-o-vision!) but I didn't loooove the pacing and overall prefer Robin McKinley's other Beauty and the Beast retelling, Beauty.

DNF

A Reaper at the Gates (50%) - I sprinted through book 1 and walked sedately through book 2 of the Ember in the Ashes series, but this one (book 3) was taking me forever to read (and is almost 700 pages), and I was impatient to move on and read other stuff. Reaper at the Gates was decently interesting and I still care about the characters, but the timing just wasn't right. Will probably pick this series back up later.

July superlatives

[amethystfairy1]

Hihi! I just wanted to say I absolutely adore both of your fics sooooo much! The way you write all the characters is amazing :D. I was just wondering do you have any advice or tips for people looking to get into fic writing? And quick q about travelling thieves! We know that mumbo has met pearl but if Grian and Pearl were to meet would they even recognise one another? Anyway your work is incredible and I cant wait to see what you do for the rest of febuwhump!

Hello, hello! ✨

I'm so glad you enjoy my fics and characters!

Tips to get into fic writing? Hmm...I mean, I know it's probably said a lot, but my biggest advice is don't be afraid to start. The first fic you ever write won't be perfect, it'll be far from that, and you've just gotta be ok with that. The best thing you can do is start, write something and post it, see what people think, see what you liked and didn't like about it...then do it again!

As far as like...actual advice, I'd say participate in a writing challenge! Like Febuwhump which is going on right now! 😆 It'll force you to take a prompt, make something of it, post it quickly and then move on. You'll end up with a big chunk of fics and feedback on at least some of them I'm sure, and you can go from there! Also you'd be surprised what sort of storylines might accidentally form during a writing challenge...Traveling Thieves came out of my Whumptober prompts from last year, after all!

My last bit of advice would be to not start with a long fic. By that what I mean is don't try to write some huge overarching narrative...start with something smaller.

Your favorite ship needs to get together, who asks who out? How did that go? What was their first date like? What about their first kiss? How long did it take for them to say 'I love you'? That's like four or five short fics right there. 😛

The reason I write my AU's the way I do is because of stuff like this. It's scary writing a long fic (trust me I've done it a ton of times) because once you bypass a certain point in the story, you can never go back. The fun thing about my AU's being a series of short stories is that I can always bounce up and down the timeline! If you've been keeping up with TTSBC you can see it! I wrote Flower Husbands all the way up to Scott knowing about Jimmy's wings and consistently spending the night at his apartment. They've fought, they've said 'I love you', Scott has been to the under-city and met Jimmy's parents...but I suddenly felt like writing more details about their early game relationship! Before Scott know Jimmy's big secret, before they'd said 'I love you' or anything like that...so guess what? I did just that! I wrote 'Karma Witch' and 'Lovestruck Baby' after I'd written fics like 'Gutterline Sunshine' because that's the greatest part of this set up! I can bounce around! I never get bored or stuck on one plot point because if I don't feel like working on it, then I don't have too! So if you're into worldbuilding and wanna create an AU to have your characters all exist in, I'd super super super recommend using the 'shorter stories in an interconnected series' format.

BONUS TRAVELING THIEVES QUESTION 🏃‍♀️

Pearl and Grian last saw each other when they were sold away form their colony at fifteen years old. It's been seven years since then, but considering they're twins and they were both already mostly grown before they were sold away? Yes. They would definitely recognize each other if they saw each other again. The problem would be if they'd allow themselves to admit they recognized each other...cut ties and forgotten names and all. 😭

I hope my rambling advice helped at least a little bit!

Thanks for coming by! 💖

[thatonekreachur]

hhhhh finally I have time to now post this hshshshshhshs

anyways au

so um, yeah, so um uh...

Some days ago I decided to listen to a song for the first time, Symbiotic by Starset, and then i thought "wow. this is absolute broppy material." until it came to me.

guys, hear me out... in this au the trolls have glowy markings all over their body, and the bergans are giant machines that feed on their energy.

Also, the colors of the glowy bits on the pop trolls are like the colors of stars... they can be blue, like a hot blue star, or red, like a cool red star, or yellow, like our sun (even though it's kinda white...). Just a little detail of think is cool, and it's gonna be overall space and glowy themed and such!

And it will of course focus on our famous duo over there! Some things under the cut

The perks of this au includes:

Space and glowy themed ofc

Adding in to the worldbuilding

It will cover all three movies, and I will rewrite the story of each

More interaction between characters

Extra action and suspense and violence

So I am like torn between turning this au into a ao3 fanfic or a comic, or maybe both... idk... let me explain.

So, for comic, which is what I am really leaning into more, my art would look a little... flat at the start, and I would improve and advance as I work on it a little more. One disadvantage is how long the comic will take to complete. One other comic that I read on Deviantart literally took ten fucking years to complete, and for something that's going to cover three whole movies, I don't really think it's gonna be plausible.

Like, the comic will have an introduction chapter, and will be divided into three parts, each representing the three movies, with more being added with future installments. Like, if it will take ten fucking years to complete one part, then I will literally grow old and die before I even start one that will cover the potential fifth or sixth movie, not to mention the high chance of hitting artist's block. So my solution is to keep this short, but not too short to not make the plot feel rushed, and not too long so it won't literally take more than 2 years to complete...

So, for fanfic, it will take a lot less time to complete, and I get to learn how to write, but not how to draw. And for doing both, I get to learn how to draw and write but then I might overstimulate myself doing a buncha things at the same time.

But one thing for both of them is that I have to overcome the fear of writing the characters names on there, so you guys have to help me out on this one. I have no idea why I am afraid of putting the names on there, like its a bunch a words... what harm can they do?

I might've made the conclusion, I will do the comic one better. Guys if this feels a little rushed and the grammar feels broken is because I am writing this at the point where I need to go asleep and the melatonin is kicking in. so, yeah goodbye

[jaimebluesq]

For the Nie Mingjue prompt: He's not everyone's Da-ge, he's everyone's didi!

And if you're not feeling the age swap situation, then maybe canonverse NMJ loses his memory somehow (curse? qi deviation unusual effects?) and needs everyone's help to remember who he is (but specially Huaisang’s 🥺)

Damn, how did this prompt go over 2k?! *Ahem*.

Thank you so much for this prompt! I very much enjoy reverse Nie bros! I got to write then once before and decided to turn this prompt into a sequel (but you don't need to have read Maybe if the stars align, maybe if our worlds collide to follow the worldbuilding!)

So, on to the prompt fill - I hope you enjoy :D

~ ~ ~

Nie Huaisang bit his lip in thought, and a little frustration. He’d been to the rooms assigned to the Lan sect, and hadn’t found his brother anywhere – normally Lan Qiren would have absconded Nie Mingjue somewhere to discuss night hunts, or Lan Xichen would have dragged him away somewhere for tea, but neither had seen him since the banquet that evening. Nor was Nie Mingjue among the Jin – they were in Koi Tower, after all, and the sects had been invited for a grand celebration on Jin Zixuan’s birthday, and though the boy was vain and snobbish at times, he often came out of his shell to take Nie Mingjue under his wing and show him around the grounds or take him to spar on the training field. Nie Mingjue had certainly not been among the Wen – even after Wen Ruohan’s ‘mysterious’ death two years ago, the Nie and the Wen were far from friendly, even if Wen Xu’s reign was nowhere near as contentious as his father’s (Nie Huaisang was quite thankful that he, rather than Wen Chao, had come out on top when the two brothers fought for dominion over their sect).

He was finishing looking around the smaller sects’ delegations, intending to head for the Jiangs’ quarters next, when he was stopped by a feminine voice nearby. “Oh, Nie-zongzhu? It’s quite fortunate that I found you!”

He lifted his fan to cover his frown and sighed. It was Sect Leader Yao’s sister, of course it was. She was nowhere as unpleasant as her brother, thankfully, but she did have a habit of making a nuisance of herself. Particularly to him.

“Ah, Yao-guniang, I hope you’ve been enjoying the birthday celebrations. How may I assist you?”

She fluttered her eyelashes coquettishly and waved her round fan over her chest – her neckline showing far more cleavage than was proper. Normally he would not mind – he did have a reputation for enjoying the company of women (and men), after all – but he knew she’d had particular designs on him for two years now.

“I heard that the matchmakers have been a great bother to Nie-zongzhu of late,” she offered with an attractive pout. “So disrespectful to hound such a great man, no doubt still grieving the late Madame Nie. I would be more than happy to have a word or two with them, if it would help.”

Yes, the matchmakers had been on his case of late to petition for various women wishing to be the next Madame Nie. He knew he would have to accept one eventually, but he had yet to decide upon what alliance would be most advantageous. Most believed he was still mourning the ‘accidental’ death of his wife during a night hunt – the better that they did not think further upon the timing of her death with that of Wen Ruohan. While they had not been a love match, Yu Jinzhu and he had developed an affection for one another, and he knew she would not want her sacrifice in pursuit of assassinating Wen Ruohan to put his sect in danger.

He also knew that Yao YuFeng’s offer was far from altruistic – she’d had designs on becoming the next Madame Nie since the day of the funeral.

“That is very kind of Yao-guniang,” he said with a charming smile that prompted her fan to move a little faster, “but this one is not afraid of the matchmakers. When I am ready to marry again, only then will I have need of them. But until that time, I have a sect to run, and a brother to find.”

“Is your Didi lost again?” Her smile and chuckle were now far more genuine. “He’s grown to be such a handsome boy, and a great cultivator even at his age! And I have yet to meet a girl who can resist the temptation to pinch his cheeks when his dimples show.”

“Yes, that’s the very reason why I lose him so often. He’s far too happy to help anyone who asks, and is often led astray.” He gave a long-suffering sigh. “If I allowed him, he would go weeks without seeing his Da-ge and spend all of his time helping people in need. My Didi forgets me so!”

“Such a thing is impossible,” she replied. “Everyone knows Nie Mingjue adores his brother and threatens anyone who even thinks of questioning the way you run your sect. He is a credit to Qinghe Nie, and to his Da-ge.”

He tilted his head in thanks at her kind words. “Your kindness does your sect credit, Yao-guniang. Now if you’ll forgive me, a process of elimination is leading me to the Jiang sect’s quarters – hopefully I’ll find my misplaced Didi there.”

“I wish you the best of luck, Nie-zongzhu,” she offered with a short bow, that he echoed.

Thankfully, she had the grace to leave his side, allowing him to continue on his way.

He took a path through the gardens outside on his way to the Jiang delegation’s rooms, enjoying the cool night air, and he spotted a pair of figures sitting outside in the lantern-light. The two boys seemed to be pouting – well, one looked positively grumpy, while the other one pouted only a little as he bumped his shoulder into the other’s. But the moment Nie Huaisang came close enough to be lit by the lanterns, both boys jumped up onto their feet and made proper bows.

“Nie-zongzhu!” they chorused.

“You’ve been enjoying the celebrations, I hope!” Wei Wuxian crowed with a charming grin.

“Are you here to get Nie-xiong?” Jiang Cheng added, a little too much hope in his voice.

Nie Huaisang did his best not to let a smirk creep upon his face.

“I have been searching for him,” he replied, “and this was my next stop. I do hope my Didi hasn’t been too much of a nuisance.”

“Nie-xiong is never a bother,” Jiang Cheng replied – unsurprising, since he and Nie Mingjue had been close since they were young, and Jiang Cheng had yet to refuse an invitation to come to Qinghe and visit with Jasmine, Princess, and Love.

“Not a bother – but he is a thief,” Wei Wuxian countered unapologetically.

Nie Huaisang lifted his fan to cover his silent chuckle. “Well, would you be so kind as to escort me to my thieving Didi?”

“Of course! Right this way, Nie-zongzhu,” Wei Wuxian offered in a way that was almost flirtatious – ah, to be fifteen again.

As the three of them walked, Nie Huaisang was reminded of how fast these young cultivators grew up. When he’d first taken over as sect leader, he’d been their age, and they had been but children playing at being cultivators. And now they were all grown, and already taller than he was. At times he felt like an ant wandering among trees.

Jiang Cheng knocked on a door and opened it, calling out: “Jiejie! We have a visitor!”

Inside the luxuriously appointed guest rooms, Jiang Yanli had set up a table with tea and many kinds of food – and across from her, shyly accepting an affectionate pat on the head, was Nie Huaisang’s missing Didi. The two looked up at their entrance and Nie Mingjue’s face lit up.

“Da-ge!”

“So this is where you’ve been hiding, A-Jue,” he teased. He knew his brother and that his absences were rarely purposeful – he had simply been ‘adopted’ by so many older disciples that constantly sought him out, wanting to spoil him or teach him or drag him out on night hunts. “I’ve been looking for you for nearly an hour.”

Nie Mingjue looked sheepish; he stood up and bowed to his brother. “This one apologizes to Nie-zongzhu.”

“No apologies necessary, something simply came up at the last minute.” Nie Huaisang turned to Jiang Yanli. “I hope Jiang-guniang does not mind me stealing back my brother.”

“Of course, Nie-zongzhu,” she replied kindly with an elegant bow. “Had I known he was missing, I would have sent him back to your delegation’s rooms.”

“No harm is done – and there are few I trust with my brother’s welfare as much as you and your family.” She tilted her head in thanks, her cheeks flushing brightly. Not for the first time did he think she would make an excellent wife – but not only was she betrothed to Jin Zixuan, but Yu Ziyuan had told him in no uncertain terms that her daughter (and son, for that matter) were off-limits to his wandering eyes.

But a man could still look and appreciate.

Everyone wished each other farewell for the night, and Nie Huaisang and his brother were finally en route to their rooms.

“Is something the matter, Da-ge?” Nie Mingjue asked quietly when they were finally alone.

“Nothing is wrong,” he replied, keeping his eyes ahead of him. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to look at his brother, but with how he had to crane his head up to look at him since his last growth spurt, it hurt his neck a lot less to keep his eyes on the path ahead. “But there is someone I want you to meet. Someone I believe has some potential in our sect, but who will require some time to adjust to our ways.” He paused as they passed a servant, and only continued once they were long past them. “Furthermore, I want to get your impression of them.”

“Of course,” Nie Mingjue replied. “Whatever I can do to help.”

He smiled to himself – this was why everyone wished Nie Mingjue were their little brother.

When they reached the Nie delegation’s quarters, one of their disciples held the door open for them as they entered. The healer within stood up and bowed in greeting.

“How is he?” Nie Huaisang asked her, glancing over to where a young man sat by the window. When he saw Nie Huaisang had returned, he stood up and lowered into a gracious bow of his own.

“Nothing that cannot be healed,” she replied reassuringly. “I’m more concerned at his malnourishment than I am the few scrapes and bruises he acquired today.”

He nodded and dismissed her with a wave of his fan. He stepped further into the room once the door clicked shut behind him. “Didi, I would like to introduce you to a young man I met earlier today. This is Meng Yao, and I have invited him to come back to Qinghe with us. He wishes to become a cultivator, and I believe we may have a place for him in the Unclean Realm.”

“It is an honour to meet you,” Meng Yao said in a practised tone of voice, the same one that had impressed Nie Huaisang upon their first meeting outside when the young man had stood up from the bottom of Koi Tower’s steps. He’d seen something in him immediately that he recognized – someone who did not have the same strength and skill with weapons that were the basis of many cultivators’ training, but instead he saw someone adept at the more subtle arts that Nie Huaisang called his own, that his father had brought in teachers from Meishan Yu to teach him many years ago.

In Meng Yao, he had seen himself.

“What happened to you?” Nie Mingjue asked bluntly, as was his way.

Meng Yao lifted a hand to self-sonsciously touch the darkened bruise on his cheek, and when he smiled, his lower lip showed red from where it had been split. “It is nothing, Nie-gongzi.”

“Was it a night hunt?” Nie Mingjue asked – Nie Huaisang said nothing, merely standing back and watching his brother. “Or bandits?”

The response was a wince, and Meng Yao shook his head. “It is nothing-”

Nie Mingjue's eyes narrowed. “Who hurt you? Only a coward hurts someone who can’t or won’t fight back.” He reached for his saber, strapped securely to his back, but he stopped when Meng Yao reached out a hand to stop him. “Point me their way and I’ll-”

“It’s all right, young master. I will be fine.” Meng Yao’s eyes softened noticeably the way so many others did when they thought Nie Mingjue’s righteousness adorable, and Nie Huaisang found nothing to indicate it was an act. “You need not worry about this one. I merely wish to do what I can to thank Nie-zongzhu for his kindness.”

“It’s almost time for bed,” Nie Huaisang announced. “Meng Yao, why don’t you escort my brother to his room and help him take his hair down for the night? It will give you a chance to better see some of his braids – they’re typical for our sect, and you may wish to wear some of your own one day.”

“It would be an honour, Nie-zongzhu,” Meng Yao replied.

Nie Mingjue snorted. “Right this way,” he mumbled, “and you can tell me how you got hurt.”

“As I told your brother, Nie-gongzi, it was but a simple tumble down the stairs...”

Nie Huaisang watched his brother and Meng Yao walk away. It was going to be interesting having one of Jin Guangshan’s bastards around – not that he’d revealed to the young man that he’d overheard that part of the encounter on the stairs – particularly one that, like everyone else, fell under the sway of Nie Huaisang’s Didi’s charm.

That night, when Nie Huaisang slipped into his empty bed, he allowed himself a moment of true weakness. Wen Ruohan was dead, but there would always be sect politics, and people needing his attention, and yao and ghosts to fight. At times he was overwhelmed by it all, truly overwhelmed in a way the Headshaker never was. But he had a duty to fulfill, a sect to lead, and a brother to protect – and if he could do what he could to make certain Nie Mingjue never had to worry about anything in life, then it would all be worth it – just like what it had secretly cost them all to take down Wen Ruohan.

He sent a silent prayer to Jinzhu – he really did miss her at times, political though their marriage had been – and one to his and Nie Mingjue’s parents as well. Then, pushing his anxiety aside, he rolled over and allowed sleep to claim him.

The End

[bluegekk0]

do you think the kids would have any specific hobbies? or maybe travel with grimm every once in a while when they're grown?

I'll answer the last part first since I have a lot of thoughts on the topic.

I've considered the possibility of the family occasionally joining Grimm when he travels, especially as I've explored more worldbuilding (for example, an aspect I want to tackle at some point is travel between different lands/kingdoms, the Silt Striders from Morrowind gave me a lot of inspiration for that). Not to mention, as Hallownest rises from the dead and becomes a much more popular point of interest for those living outside of it, the roads leading to it would become more frequently used and thus likely much safer. So Grimm wouldn't feel as afraid taking his family on his travels as he perhaps would in the past.

That being said, Vyrm still lacks the courage to do so, though he does want to, it's a topic that gets brought up every once in a while as they chat before sleep, Grimm wants to show his love a lot of places at some point, and Vyrm is admittedly very curious and wishes he could join him. But the thing keeping him from doing so is that he's scared. He finally found happiness, he finally belongs in a community which accepts him for who he is. The thought of leaving that behind, even if temporarily, terrifies him. What if something happens to it while he's gone? What if something happens to him and his family while they're traveling? All those paranoid thoughts cloud his mind the moment he gets anywhere close to maybe considering it.

And because of that, he's also paranoid about letting his kids leave without him. He even wishes that Grimm would stay in Dirtmouth at all times, but unfortunately Grimm's ritual cycle gets in the way. Plus Grimm is a god, even if something happens, he can get a new form and eventually come back, so that thought calms him down a bit. But his children, even if they stop aging past a certain point, don't have that ability. And if he stayed behind, he would be deathly afraid that something might happen to them and he wouldn't be there to do anything.

Perhaps as they're all grown up, he would also stop being as paranoid - maybe by then he would gain the courage to join Grimm himself, and that would certainly make him more open to the idea of taking the kids as well. It's hard to tell at this point, since I haven't really thought that much beyond the current point in the timeline. The reason for that being, the AU is kind of "frozen" at that point. Things happen constantly but at the same time the timeline doesn't move past the "10 years after hibernation" point. It's not something that actually is a thing in the AU, there is no stasis or anything, it's just how I view it as the writer. It is primarily slice of life, after all. But thinking about different possibilities can be fun, and in some cases helps me develop the characters and their personalities in the present (with the kids especially, thinking about the hypothetical paths they could take as they grow older helps me pick up themes and ideas for their characters in general).

---

Anyway, back to the topic of the ask. They kids would definitely pick up some hobbies. I'll start with Lewk since he already has one he found interest in, cooking. He grew up watching Hornet prepare meals in the kitchen since this is something she also enjoys doing, and after Grimm and Vyrm took him to Ogrim's diner for a family dinner one day, he became extremely interested in more professional cooking, even if he was but a small pup at the time. Now that he's a little older, he loves visiting Ogrim to get a behind the scenes look at his cooking, and even helping him with some easier tasks. As he grows up, I envision him becoming Ogrim's apprentice, and then eventually the cook. Maybe he'd even inherit the whole place, after all, Ogrim isn't immortal (even if he does age slower, which is a result of some bs soul magic Vyrm pulled back when he was a king to keep his knights alive). But that's thinking way too far into the future.

Asta, as I mentioned before, would definitely grow up to be very forward and confident, in the jobs ask I mentioned that she would try working at the Dirtmouth farm since she has the physical strength and the compassion to look after beasts of all sizes. Perhaps this is something she would find interest in, beasts (as in, animals). Of course, like her dads, she still eats them - Grimm may have a fondness for fruits but he still enjoys meat, and Vyrm hunts and eats animals raw on a regular basis, so the kids would be no different. But I don't think that would get in the way of her finding certain beast species fascinating. Maybe she would travel into the wilderness of Hallownest to study them, it would be a great bonding moment with Hornet, and her knowledge would be useful for Vyrm as well as the hunters of Dirtmouth.

Milo would keep things significantly more lowkey. He wouldn't be the type to go out much, not ever being able to keep up would discourage him from trying. Instead, he'd stay at home and find enjoyment in more introverted hobbies, without much interaction. I mentioned that he would help Vyrm in the workshop, and that would definitely be something of interest for him. I like the idea of him taking after Vyrm's passion in mechanical engineering, or maybe even different aspects of his workshop inventions (for instance, there are Charged Lumaflies, maybe they could be used for some primitive electricity?). But aside from that, another idea I just had is that perhaps he'd also try his hand at designing clothes. I'm imagining a scenario where he, still as a little baby, becomes really fascinated watching Divine and her crew working on costumes for the Troupe, whenever Grimm asks her to babysit the twins. This would then develop into actual interest, though perhaps one he would keep to himself for a long time (maybe some kids in Dirtmouth would tease him about having such a "girly" hobby, and he'd grow self-conscious about it). But he'd absolutely be encouraged to do it by his dads and Divine as soon as she found out, so he'd eventually have the chance to explore it. And I think he'd end up really enjoying it, plus Divine would certainly like having a little helper.

Those are just some ideas I had, hope this answers your questions! Thank you a lot for the ask :)

[an-inspired-eternity]

👀

ok full transparency this is infact. an au i still really want to write. but you know how it is the 2020s urge to just have no joy or motivation to make creative fan products

ANYWAY my wxs* focused fantasy au!! i have a couple rp blogs for it but that's the closest i get to making content for it rn..

*other characters involved but wxs has the most developed and involved

ANYWAY let me go sicko mode under the cut hehe. taking a bit from my rui blog bc i dont wanna retype all dat

worldbuilding

there is a big magical forest at the center of the region, it's considered dangerous and somewhat risky to travel through, as the inhabitants (which are primarily either magic users/"witches" or other inhuman beings. but there's also some standard like. fantasy jrpg monsters yk how it is) consider it their safe home and may not take kindly to outsiders or anyone trying to harm the forest.

magic users have varying reputations in the kingdoms outside of the forest, some don't mind and maybe even are welcoming towards them, others frown upon it but ultimately don't care, but some might even consider it taboo or forbidden to dabble in. it's for this reason that magic users born in the kingdoms may ultimately leave their homes to live in the safety of the forest instead

virtual singers (theyre the only ones to come up in story, but not the only ones) are among many of the guardians of the region, originating from the forest.

miku is basically the god of the world (likely under another name- or the goddess's name is known only as hatsune but not miku), but can't physically interfere in her primary state (think the law of cycles from pmmm), and so sends "fragments" of herself (sekai mikus) to help people and in the case of this au its the prsk characters

wxs :)

the otori family are the rulers of one of the kingdoms (the kingdoms do not have names. do not look at me), rakunosuke, the original king of the otori kingdom before emu's father kounosuke took over, was a lot more of open to magic users and other fantastical beings, and taught his son and grandchildren accordingly. when he passed, however, kounosuke and his elder sons would teach the younger children to be more fearful and wary- that not every being they'd encounter would be friendly

tsukasa & saki grew up in a small town with their parents, but fell on unexpected hard times, this resulted in them having to leave the town and it's inhabitants behind, the two ended up on their own, later joined by a semi amnesiac toya, where they were later adopted and raised by the otoris, being raised as royalty accordingly. (tsukasa trained to be a knight however, and toya felt very strongly about not wanting to be a heir unless absolutely necessary, resolving to use his smarts to tutor the other kids)

hinata helps emu and saki do their hair btw they r the sisters ever

rui is a natutal born magic user who grew up in a town that was not quite favorable to them- atleast not to magic users who don't restrain themselvesm rui wanted to experiment with his magic to see what he could do- all for the sake of helping people- be it healing, or doing visual tricks to make others smile, but the other villagers were afraid and/or distrusting of him. fearful of the villagers turning that hatred towards his parents, rui fled the village one night without telling his parents (at best leaving a note explaining why he left) to go stay in the forest.

nene is a friend of rui's- a mermaid from said forest, rui would visit when he was younger, coming to see her at the lake she stayed at. there, alongside their third companion (mizuki), the kids would discuss all sorts of things- magic, nature, society, the world.. nene doesn't know much of the world outside the forest, but wants to see the ocean someday.

tsukasa went out on a patrol to scout the areas of the region a bit further out from where the kingdom was situated- it's there he comes across rui and his "familiars" (kaito and wxs!miku) and the story begins! but tsukasa's big adventure also inspires emu to go on one of her own and play catch up ✨️

[cloud-somersault]

Your fic "The constellations within us" was so perfect, and exactly what I wanted and needed for since I joined the fandom. I wish I had eloquent words but english is not my native language, and I'm struggling with the translator now, but this fic is probably one of the most high quality ones I’ve ever read so i've finally worked up the energy to leave a solid comment.

I love your prose, the descriptions and internal monologues are so immersive and emotional that I need to reread over and over again. The worldbuilding scratches my brain real nice, all contribute to make a really cohesive image that canon still doesn't quite achieve in my opinion. And you did a good job capturing the mood and humor of the show with every little detail but at the same time you’ve added a whole new dimension to the plot and characters. Keep cooking, I beg you but also have mercy on me. I imagine you saying something like: I am going to create an situation that is so emotionally fucked up before writing any chapter.

I really love the way shadowpeach interact in this story. From trying to kill each other to sharing the food. It's kinda crazy that people genuinely thought shadowpeach was a one sided crush until s4.

To be honest, I'm not a fan how the fandom treats shadowpeach but you have successfully kept the characterization of mystical monkeys to perfection while setting up a realistic shadowpeach plotline. I read this quote in another fic but it applies very well to them: "They really embody the pain/comfort thing, except that comfort is understanding and trust."

Sun Wukong is canonically a latent danger that not even the most powerful entities in celestial realm or underworld could subdue him, but he has no self preservation skills whatsoever. He's a bleeding heart. He's the one who sacrifices everything possible to protect the few he loves because, god, he has lost so much. The immortality he achieved with peaches, wine, pills, among many other things, may have made him indestructible on the outside, but inside they made him emotionally vulnerable, lonely and afraid of attachment. This monkey can fit so much trauma and he's holding a lot close to his chest even from the audience. The fandom villainizes him unfairly, but sometimes they also put him on some kind of pedestal, which is also incorrect.

The same happens with Macaque. He's the walking mystery who may or may not realize how much of a prickly capricious hypocrite he is in some things. For example, he feels an apparent resentment at being relegated to being a mere shadow of someone much brighter, but at the same time he seems unwilling to step out of that role. In s1 and s3, he clings so much to the past that he pushes Wukong, the only constant of him in a modern world after his resurrection, to be the version he remembered. Where Wukong advanced, Macaque retreated.

Nonetheless, the motives behind every action of his are more nuanced than him just being evil. He did once he was free from LBD's control was immediately start helping everyone even until s4, as if it were a tacit way of apologizing because he was just trapped under incredibly shitty circumstances, let's remember the part where LBD said she'd kill him if he didn't do what she wanted. Although I don't think he didn’t have fun knocking everyone around a bit (to his ex-husband especially).

It's little funny because I consider that before the perigranation trip, Wukong is a self-proclaimed hero with destructive or villainous tendencies (depending on which side you look at, celestial Realm definitely sees it that way still) while in the current timeline, Macaque is a self-proclaimed villain with heroic tendencies.

I wont keep rambling, but thank you again for pouring your time and talent into this beautifully painful read. I can't wait to chew on the next chapter like a hungry dog ​​with a good steak and also I'll be keeping an eye out for your future works, in case you continue writing about queer monkeys with emotional constipation, but if not, it's such a treat to read what you've already gifted us. Have a good week! and sorry for any translation errors again.

AAAAAH i'm sorry i've taken so long to respond to this. this ask is SO SWEET and i loved just rereading it over and over to suck all the serotonin out of it. Filled me with gleee!!

Thank you so much for taking the time to translate and write out this message! There weren't any errors, it's okay! I'm so glad you liked my story sm and read it and ENJOYED IT YAAAAAY!!!

honestly, I only cackle evilly before posting chapters sometimes. Only sometimes, when I remember. I usually cackle while writing, but then, by the time I've posted it, I've read it so much, it doesn't have that emotional impact on me anymore LOL

I think that's a great way to sum up shadowpeach! It's about understanding and trust. No matter what, that trust has to be rebuilt, and that process is so painful and hard and time-consuming that...it takes such a great amount of effort on both their parts. It's the choice to persevere in spite of that amount of hardship that makes them beautiful, even if what they create together isn't inherently beautiful. What's beautiful is that, in spite of tragedy, these two monkeys want to be together in whatever way they can.

I think with any fandom, people are going to misinterpret characters. I've kind of gotten used to it, but there's definitely a lot of missed nuance and character depth that the fandom chooses to not see or doesn't except. Maybe they like to keep it surface level, but i think critically thinking about the plot and characters is where you can find depth or make depth of your own that's not present in the show.

Wukong is either a trickster villain or a precious soul who has done no wrong and needs to be protected. Macaque is usually a mustache-twirling villain or a sweet, bashful monkey who was just pretending all that time! and has never done anything bad.

A lot of the fandom sees things in a clear black and white way, which is dangerous for several reasons, but it means that their interpretations lack that depth or understanding that people crave. Because no one is black and white. The world doesn't work that way, so it's kind of worrying that they think that's...normal. It's not normal. I see it as a lack of life experience and maturity, but I also don't know these people. Maybe they like their fictional worlds to be black and white, I dunno.

Aaaanyway, you're not the first person to speak about this topic with shadowpeach and how, through constellations, they found some understanding or were pleased with how shadowpeach interacted. and to that I say, thanks! I just like some realism and three dimensional...ness to my characters, please and thanks. Don't even get me started on MK.

But wow! Yes! I'm so honored you'll keep reading whatever I write next. I have no fucking clue what I'm doing, and I'm just smashing my dolls together, but I'm happy to have you here in Constellations AU land! Welcome! Enjoy your stay 💕