#All my blorbos in one bookmark

[acewithapaintbrush]

I had some One Piece trading cards double so I cut them up, got my resin, and made myself some bookmarks because why not

[000marie198]

Suddenly having a favorite character who is also a fandom favorite to a massive extent feels so incredible like where was this feeling my whole life?!

[olderthannetfic]

Nearly 75% of fic on AO3 has less than 5 reader comments. Can we please acknowledge that lack of engagement in a positive fashion is the norm in fandom and that writers are expected to work for nothing in return yet readers are allowed to be entitled?

The source of my number

https://www.tumblr.com/transholmes/738776926733336576/and-even-those-numbers-on-the-lower-end-are

--

Hahahahaha.

Oh, anon.

Okay, first of all, I just posted a bunch of graphs showing exactly this, so not only am I well aware of it, but you also clearly don't read my tumblr much and are just here because some friend of yours is upset that I responded negatively to them about their dumb bookmarking opinions.

Second and more importantly...

No, no one is expected to do anything.

That's crazypants influencer talk where you think your hobbies are jobs that you have no choice about doing.

I suppose I do expect fans to have something at least marginally worthwhile to say—or else I'll block them for being whiny little bitches who make my day dumber as well as less amusing.

But mostly, what I expect is that people will do hobbies because they are fun. If I ever decide that writing fic is too boring, I will stop.

I write because it's fun.

I write original work for money too, and if you want to read that, you're going to have to pay Amazon your cold, hard cash. But I still do it because I enjoy the actual act of writing... at least a lot of the time.

What I see in the bookmark boo-hooing is a bunch of people who haven't noticed the last eighty thousand rounds of this same dumb wank and who not only expect to get the last word but expect that somehow I'm going to signal boost it on my tumblr as that... a tumblr known for contentious debates and nobody ever getting the last word till everyone's exhausted and never wants to hear about paper plates or beans again.

I also see that some of the thinnest-skinned people have fic patreons.

Now, I chose not to bring this up before because it sounds a bit below the belt in that "And thus you're morally impure and thus I can ignore your argument" way... But it's a consistent pattern in these conversations over time, and I do think it's relevant. The biggest sensitive babies are always the ones most afraid of bad reviews but also low engagement, and I think it's because they're caught in some half-pro, half-not limbo where they want the best of both worlds but keep getting the worst of both.

If you behave like a professional who is owed compensation, you can expect a more professional style of response to your work.

And what does the pro world look like? Radio silence. The occasional harsh review. Nobody caring why you wanted to write X or why you couldn't finish Y on time.

If you're here to socialize, you should look for a beta or a couple of good friends who like your blorbos and your style of fic, and then you can squee together about what you've written. It may not come in the form of visible AO3 comments. It may be in private chat.

In some cases, it may just be friends you can talk to about your writing but who aren't actually going to read it. I have plenty of friends who read different things than what I write.

That's what socializing and hobbies look like, dude.

It's fine to point out that many writers do get discouraged by low comment counts and then stop, so if I, as a reader in a fandom, want more, it behooves me to befriend writers and make them feel good.

But at the same time, writers get discouraged or move on to the next fandom all the time for all kinds of reasons. If the critical mass and the zeitgeist aren't there, then they aren't.

Do your hobbies for reasons internal to you.

If the main point is external validation, get into BDSM and find someone excited to indulge your praise kink. It will work a lot better than chasing fame via art.

[ahopefulbromantic]

JONATHAN SIMS?

BRILLIANT GENIUS FREAKING JONATHAN SIMS GOD BLESSED INTELLECTUAL STORIES WRITING AWE INSPIRING WONDERFUL HUMAN BEING AWESOME WISE GUY AVATAR OF THE BEST WRITING SKILLS EVER SHARPEST TOOL IN THE SHED WELCOMED WHEREVER HE APPEARS COOL SPACE PIRATE FREAKING JONATHAN SIMS. STOP PINNING ME WHEN I TALK ABOUT JONATHAN SIMS I LOVE HIM SO MUCH WHY DOES HE HAVE SO MANY AWESOME IDEAS WHY DID HE DECIDE TO MESS AROUND AND CREATE A MASTERPIECE JUST SET IT LOOSE IS HE ALIVE IS HE THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME MAN HAS SUCH A PROFOUND EFFECT ON ME NOT EVEN IN THE ROOM NEVER SEEN THIS MANS FACE AND I KNOW HE HAS THE WORLDS CUTEST SMILE GET AWAY FROM ME.

if i wanted to get into heaven and God said jonathan sims not waiting inside i would fistfight every single demon for the sole purpose of getting him sent back up. if i have to deal with jonathan sims speaking one word in person on voice in podcast not only will i reopen the tab i will save all my bookmarks out of admiration and want to watch the entire series again for the experience of being able to relish in all the times he is mentioned or alive. i dont even know why i love him so much. he writes stories but i am just grateful because i am HAPPI. he better have some awesome backstory to explain this if hes just some underdog whos a fan of good storytelling and wanted the irl version ill be smitten. BETTER have had an idea make him bring a blorbo to life cuz if he didnt Im going to make him.

paypal.com/IFreakingLoveJonathanSims

episode's not even about him. vaguely mentioned what is supposed to maybe be his reading of a statement and I'm sold. where the heck is jonathan sims if hes still alive im going to so deeply wish he lived a thousand more years.

beautiful man. ill kiss jonathan sims and his beautiful strong hunky cheeks will simply blush under my humble loving meat lips and he will be appreciated until all thats left is one final award he kept on him at all times simply titled You Made It Yay! in ancient yiddish. im not breathing im hyperventilating at this point. i hope theres a date given to when jonathan sims has birthday or will have birthday so i can make it a reminder on my phone, and everyday once a year i will see it and do everything to pay respect to the man who created so many brilliant if true stories

[tarabyte3]

Top 5 favourite fanfic tropes?

For my follow up I will allow you a light cheat:

✨️ Top 5 fics (any fandom/pairing)

and (if you would like)

✨️ Top 5 Andy blorbo fics

You know, those ones that live rent free in your mind and you find yourself coming back to even years later (also your choices don't have to specifically follow your trope picks!).

😘

Before I start, I want you to know I only saw the first bit in the preview and was like, "Oh that's fun!" And then got sneak attacked by the rest when I opened it 😂😭 Anon, I respect tf out of you for this, but also I'm going to have an existential crisis lmaoooo

✨Top 5 fanfiction tropes

- Mutual pining/"un"requited love

Especially if it's paired with angst 🤌 want them longing. Yearning, even. Throw in something like forbidden love to kick it up a notch, and, baby, you've got yourself a stew.

- Sex pollen

Particularly if they aren't in a relationship yet to add extra pining and angst. This is a sacrifice (I shouldn't want this). I would do this for you (please let me). I can't stand to watch you suffer (this will break me, but for you it's worth it). That and the smut of it all 😌

- Hanahaki

Being so in love with someone it's literally killing you. It's love made manifest so violently you choke on it. The pain and suffering would end if only you could let the words out, but the thought of rejection—of having to live with that instead—is worse than death. Plus, there's something a little beautiful and poetic about combining pain and suffering with love and flowers. Doom and bloom. Life and death. The Japanese were so real for this.

- Fake dating

I love it when they're both fuckin dying the entire time because they've caught a glimpse of the thing they want more than anything and it isn't real. It's bliss. It's torture. They don't want it to end, but it will destroy them to keep having it just out of reach.

- Getting together

A simple classic, but there's just something about two people falling in love and coming together in spite of everything. And if it's a slow burn? With constant missed opportunities and misunderstandings?! Staple crop of tropes.

✨ Top 5 Fics

I'm going to go with Qui-Gon x Obi-Wan (shocking, I know) because that is the bulk of what I have been reading non-stop so it's at the forefront of my brain. It was difficult to narrow down my 100+ bookmarks because there are SO many incredible works and writers in that fandom that inspire me, and some of them make me want to eat dirt. (I mean that as an exceptional compliment.)

- Shorelines by outpastthemoat

This is what Qui-Gon has done each morning for the past three days, returning to Obi-Wan with handfuls of treasures he has found: Bits of broken glass, polished by the waves, or intricately spiraled shells, a broken piece of chain; perhaps a stone as wide and flat as his hand. But he always returns to the shoreline the following day, and begins his search anew.

This is one of my favorite QuiObi writers (I would highly recommend ANY of her other works at the drop of a hat as well), and I have reread this fic at least once a week for months. Like, I have it open in a tab and think about it constantly. It's an introspective piece—an exploration of a connection and the peeling back of layers to try to understand what waits underneath. There's a beautiful sort of simple yearning, melancholy, and poetry to her writing that makes my brain go brrrrrr. So much is said in all of the things left unsaid. It's two parts of a series and they're both incredible.

- Malalignment by Tohje

The first time is a pure coincidence, all parties could swear it on their deathbeds. The pelta frigate GRS-20 - informally Generosity - is a huge, maze-like, rusting piece of a stronghold with multiple medical wards and cantinas. It is a sheer stroke of luck that 212th and the River Company are accommodated in the adjacent, overstuffed compartments and share the same cantina for their short recuperation periods. There is no thing such as luck, or coincidence, only war (and the Force, according to the Jedi).

Another writer that I adore who has multiple bangers. This one is an AU where QuiGon lives and is part of the Clone War, but in the most Qui-Gon way possible. Combined with Obi-Wan's lingering hurt from the situation with Anakin, the war, and a several year estrangement and by god it's delicious angst. Plus, I love self-sacrificing depictions of General Kenobi. (The smut is also very good)

- That Cold Affliction by Orphan Account

Obi-Wan tries to surprise his Master on a mission with few comforts by making Qui-Gon's favorite tea. Or trying to, at least. As it turns out, tea is a . . . complicated affair. (A little bit like love.)

Short and bittersweet. Forbidden love. Beautiful angst. I'm so sad I don't know the original author because I've seen several of their works pop up that are also orphaned (they have a very specific summary style) and they're all so good and full of similar themes, but I have no way of seeing if I've missed one or not 😭

- Taking Root by sanerontheinside

Obi-Wan thought he was terribly obvious, really. Qui-Gon thought it was Obi-Wan’s secret to share or keep, as he wished.

*banging pots and pans together* QUIOBI HANAHAKI!! This author does a deep dive into the affliction and combines it beautifully with Star Wars world building, plot, and characterization. It's everything I could want from the trope AND the pairing. They're also another one of my favorite writers. And if you're looking for an abundance of excellent smut, you'll absolutely find it in their body of work.

- How to Grow Vegetables and Alienate People by Meggory

Why had Obi-Wan agreed to this? He had exactly no experience growing anything—hell, he'd killed a cactus once, and he'd heard someone say that was impossible—but now he was taking over Bant's community garden share so she didn't feel she had wasted $150 on the plot? He had $150. He should have just given it to her and told her to get blitzed on the plane.

Cute modern AU with a funny af meet cute, excellent characterization, humor, and a simple, lovely plot of two idiots falling in love. Oh, plus gardening. 😌 AND Qui-Gon has a dog. It's the soul comfort food of fics. This author does an incredible job with AUs (pssst you like time loops?) that are great stories so it was very difficult to pick just one!

✨I both adore and dislike this last part. Because on one hand, it gives me the chance to brag about and hype up my friends, who are not only kind, wonderful people, but also very talented writers that deserve it and more. So I truly appreciate you so much for that. On the other hand, there are more than 5 of them that have written Andy Blorbo fics, and some of them have multiple stories and blorbos. And we've all gushed over or discussed many of them at length with each other, so they hold a particular fondness in my heart. Choosing only 5 from that feels like an impossible task.

So I WON'T be narrowing down my top 5 (I'm so sorry, anon, I'm not god's strongest soldier), but I will be taking the opportunity to drop their Masterlists/AO3 accounts 💖😌😇

afogocado | Alfred Pennyworth

amywritesthings | Kino Loy

citrus-moonlight | Ulysses Klaue

eupheme | Alfred Pennyworth, Ulysses Klaue

squidlywiddly87 | Kino Loy, Ulysses Klaue, Liam Black

stargirlfics | Alfred Pennyworth (+ lots of Alfred and Klaue headcanons and blurbs!)

tarrenterror | Alfred Pennyworth, Ulysses Klaue (+ Alfred, David Robey, and Kino headcanons, blurbs, and edits)

viceofdionysus : Alfred Pennyworth, Ulysses Klaue

[storiesofsvu]

Holiday Bingo 2023

That's right besties! It's that time of year again! And in an attempt to keep y'all entertained with your favourite blorbos, I'm hosting this bingo so we can all share our creations and you have something to fixate on while I'm busy as hell at work!

As per usual:

Submissions can be anything! A mood board, a ficlet, headcanons, drabble, gif sets, one shots, social media au's, make it a mini series following the holiday journey of the same two characters! literally whatever you want!

Prompts are all winter/holiday themed. If it specifically says "Christmas" it does not need to be Christmas, it can be whatever holiday this time of year that you want!

Read the rest of the rules under the cut!

Prompts can be made into any genre, make it super spicy, make it tooth rottingly sweet, make it angsty as all hell and break our hearts, make it a wild AU, do whatever you want with them as long as they are what inspired your story. (aka "first snowfall" could be the first time character a is seeing snow, it could be the first snow of the year, it could be the characters baby's/dog's first time seeing snow. It can be cute, catching snow flakes on tongues or sad, bringing back memories with a friend who has passed. Literally whatever you want.) Just make sure to include any and all appropriate warnings/tags at the TOP of the post and I don't want to see any TikTok censoring of words!

Fics can be a ship, a reader insert, an OC, or any kind of crossover! Mix and match, stick with one, try out a new character or fandom!

Accepted Fandoms:

Literally everything and everyone. This is wide open to any and every fandom/show/movie that you want, it's free game besties! It doesn't matter if I write/read that fandom, do what you would like!

Some Inspiration:

-Law and Order (OG, OC, SVU)

-Criminal Minds

-Marvel

-NCIS

-One Chicago

-Abbott Elementary

-Mayans

-Grey's Anatomy/Private Practice

-911/Lonestar

-OUAT

-The L Word

-Wednesday

Rules:

You MUST tag me @storiesofsvu and use the hashtag #storiesofsvuholidaybingo2023 on each creation and I'll put together the masterlist.

Bingo begins on November 25th and will run all the way to January 20th.

You may only post/submit ONE creation per day!

Only one bingo square per creation

No underage characters involved in relations.

Tag all and every warning appropriately at the top of the fic

Anything over 1000 words must be under a readmore!

Everyone is welcomed and encouraged to participate! You do not need to be following me, we don't need to be mutuals, if you see this post and want to play, let's go!

If anyone has questions, feel free to comment or send me a message/ask!

Some playlists to get us in the mood:

________________

tagging some people who might be interested? (if you got tagged and have no idea who i am/where this came from it is likely that i have read your stuff and loved it/have some bookmarked on my to bed read lol. feel free to ignore.)

@prentiss-theorem @swimmingstudentchaos891 @rustyzebra @plaidbooks @thatesqcrush @adarafaelbarba @detective-giggles @mickey-gomez @alexusonfire @bumblebear30 @tropes-and-tales @unitchiefs-blackbirdphoenix @beccabarba @prurientpuddlejumper @fighterkimburgess @baubeautyandthegeek @melk917 @blackbird-brewster @virescent-v @leftoverenvy @iamnotoriginalphil @happenstnces @daddy-heather-dunbar @just-a-torn-up-masterpiece @five-bi-five-main @thehauntingofbasingse @supercriminalbean @h0tch-r0cket @bullet-prooflove @boldlyvoid @astrophileous @slutforsilverfoxes @cissyenthusiast010155 @hotchs-bitch @honeypiehotchner @whiteberryx @v3nusxsky

[cyclopsandphoenix]

RULES: answer all questions, add one question of your own, and tag as many people as there are questions

thank you @good-enemy for the tag <3

coke or pepsi: coke

disney or dreamworks: sorry but i prefer disney i could name maybe like two dreamworks movies off the top of my head

coffee or tea: tea because coffee tastes burnt

books or movies: books

windows or mac: windows

dc or marvel: unfortunately i am a marvel fan

x-box or playstation: i havent used either of these in years

dragon age or mass effect: what

night owl or early riser: night owl

cards or chess: cards

chocolate or vanilla: depends on the food but usually vanilla

vans or converse: docs

lavellan, trevelyan, cadash, or adaar: ⁉️

fluff or angst: angst. hurt that blorbo you know you want to

beach or forest: beach

dogs or cats: dogs by default because im allergic to cats

clear skies or rain: clear skies but like the kind of clear skies when its sunny with no clouds in the sky but its chilly out

cooking or eating out: depends on the food

spicy food or mild food: mild food bc im a picky eater and also white

halloween/samhain or solstice/yule/christmas: hanukkah

would you rather forever be a little too cold or a little too hot: a little too cold

if you could have a superpower what would it be: telekinesis but that might just be because im a jean grey girlie

animation or live action: live action

paragon or renegade: ⁉️

baths or showers: baths but unfortunately showers are more convenient

team cap or team iron man: i hate both of them

fantasy or sci-fi: anyone who knows me knows i am the biggest fantasy lover out there

do you have three or four favorite quotes, if so what are they: idk i have a lot but i couldnt name them off the top of my head

youtube or netflix: youtube

harry potter or percy jackson: percy jackson obviously. he'd also kick harry potter's ass but thats a whole other conversation

when do you feel accomplished: when i succeed

star wars or star trek: ive seen bits of star wars so that one

paperback books or hardcover books: hardcover books because they have built in bookmarks and also theyre pretty

live in a world without literature or music: nice try but no

who was the last person to make you laugh: i dont know probably my dad

city or countryside: city i love the city i am a big city person (i dont live in a big city)

favorite chips: baked lays

pants or dresses: pants

libraries or museums: museums we have no good libraries here

character driven stories or plot driven stories: oh thats hard. probably plot but i do love a good character driven story

bookmarks or folding pages: bookmarks

dream job: music therapist

what gives you comfort: my dog. also music

what are you currently having brain rot levels of interest over: the once upon a broken heart series by stephanie garber and also maisie peters's music

what is your current favorite song: coming of age by maisie peters

(added question) how many books have you read this year?

tagging @henwilsons @napollya @thegoosewitch and whoever else is interested

[fell-the-aristocracy]

Hi im breaking into ur house bc i see u are also! Unwell about moshang!! I got halfway thru the /first book/ of svsss, got obsessed with fanfiction and now shang qinghua/airplane is my special little blorbo who deserves everything/can do no wrong/is a wet pathetic miaow miaow/but also deserves to be a bamf-

Anyway ive bookmarked an unhealthy amount of moshang fanfic on ao3 if ur interested anf ALSO im so obsessed with the 'transmigration into ur own novel to being fated to die by ur fav characters hands (lichrally) and accidentally falling in stupid love with them by being a cringefail babygirl whos also like. A super competent spy n liar. And mobei is sooooo into is little cultivator guy. Like hes just some guy of all time and mbj is so heart eyes about it (and the TRUST- etc) but also he is literally gods fav. Like. Hello? Yes?

No i love airplane sm pls i am holding out my hand. Pls gnaw on the bars of OUR enclosure homie <3

i am. shaking and clawing at the bars.

i cannot explain how Specifically designed they are for me. i fuckin love demons, i love writing unnecessarily complex demon lore and having them be just lil weirdos w different sets of morals and customs from humans so naturally that means they're All Evil.

i got this weird thing about like. clerical work? logistics and secretary work. or honestly just in general the idea of like. 'the woman behind the man' energy lmaoo any time there's a couple where one is front facing and tanks all the diplomacy shit and the other is a lil paperwork freak, i Lose It. esp for demons.. love a demon/human pairing, i'm Weak. esp if the demon is like super hot and scary and all sure but their lil human is hyper competent and knows it. or in this case, is wildly pathetic and shameless, which honestly just adds an extra layer i was not expecting xD

of my own characters, one of my All Time Babiest Girls is a demon who. just. does all the spy and paperwork for their lord- who Definitely Is Not super duper soft and mushy every time he looks at them, nu uh, he's a big scary high ranked demon he's totally not head over heels for his secretary. and they are Unfailingly devoted. i've drawn them so many times. they were my pfp on twitter for years. they're not as pathetic but they still hit the Vibes. the Mood. the Energy.

anyway my lock screen is moshang now and i Just finished book 4 last night, this is ridiculous.

pls pls send me fic recs i'm gonna combust

[lgbtlunaverse]

I think i need to explain why this line makes me go so feral

I think the "fine! I'll kill myself after I kill you" line from nie mingjue in chapter 49 permanently altered my brain chemistry and it has something to do with precisely how i got into the mdzs fandom space in the first place.

I've mentioned it a few times but i started watching the untamed in late 2019 right as it was blowing up everywhere and, likely due to a combination of undiagnosed adhd wrecking my ability to be interested in anything for longer than 4 seconds and me very much not being used to the specific style of acting, especially during fightscenes, i never finished it. The only concrete memory i have of it is seeing wen qing's face and meng ziyi completely short circuiting my little gay brain. I remember more of staring endlessly at pictures of her than I remember of the plot. Press F to pay respects.

Flash forward a few years and a friend recommends me a fic writer for an fma fic (the fic riter in question is metisket) and i like their stlye so much i decide to read other stuf they've written. Here we get to our prime suspect: "the one body problem" a genuinely hilarious fic where jingyi gets posessed by wei wuxian like a year before the plot happens and they become awkward brain buddies. 10/10 i loved it (and still do) even though i remember huasiang showing up in my first reading and I, having fully forgotten his name, had no fucking clue what was going on. (Little did i know...)

Anyway flash forward ANOTHER year and I decide to reread that fic, and then the other untamed fic metisket wrote, a wen qing time travel fix it that's also real fun. And then i'm like. huh. that's fun. wonder if there's anything in their bookmarks.

And then, within 20 days, I had read approximately 350 fics. Many of them 100k+ words. I cannot stress enough how much this CONSUMED my brain's ability to do or think about anything else. I now think back to the early days of getting my adhd diagnosis and insisted that while i had pretty much all other symptoms, I did not get hyperfixations. Lol. Lmao, even.

I am mainly focused on wangxian and the junior quartet becuase they are my baby ducklings and i love them. I do come across some 3zun fics and I think huh... this is interesting. But the 3zun brainrot is LIGHT at this point.

The thing about reading more than 350 fanfics is that at some point you kind of piece the plot of the source material back together backwards. Especially because my favorite genre was time travel fix its, where characters relive the whole plot and like to make allusions to all the ways everything went wrong last time.

Because I'm still squarely in my wangxian + juniors (plus a heavy dosis of yunmeng sibling reconciliation) corner here... the feelings on jin guangyao in my fandom corner are. different from where I'd end up soon after. He is my special little guy though, so I do kind of immediatley develop a fondness for him, and I approach my 3zun and early nieyao thoughts specifcially from the assumption that the widespread opinion is that nie mingjue is a fine good guy and jgy is the evil one (I have not seen the bad nmj takes yet. well... I am seeing DIFFERENT bad nmj takes but they're nice to him. In, like, the wrong way. With no solid undertanding of the inherent tragedy at the heart of him that makes him so blorbo to me. But still.) major reactions to the stairs scene as I see them on twitter are "girlboss! He should've kicked him harder 💅"

And the baby jgy apologist in me goes :/ me no likey. And at this point I am also actively seeking out metas and analysis posts so i'm seeing some better opinions than that and getting a halfway solid graps on the themes. wwx and jgy being foils becomes very obvious to me very quickly. So, with my curent understanding of the plot, I go... you know all you people who are like "god i wish nmj would have killed jgy sooner" it uhh... kinda sounds like he'd have died if he did that. If he'd killed him before meng yao had gone off to spy there is a very big chance they'd have lost the sunshot campaign and most of the main cast would be dead. If he'd killed him at the stairs that's... well that's killing your sworn brother, which by the canon's own admission is a universally reviled crime, and jin guangshan could easily take advantage of this by demanding nmj's head in retribution, since he already wanted to get rid of him anyway. He doesn't give a fuck about a-yao of course but he could pretend well enough that he does. And what leg would nmj have to stand on? The jin clan is canonically both willing and able to slaughter entire clans for the murder or attempted murder of the leader or his family, and nie mingjue is the kinda guy who'd immediately offer himself up if it meant the rest of his clan would be spared.

This combined with jin guangyao specifcally dying for his murder of nie mingjue, with huaisang basically not caring much about everything else he does and wanting to get revenge only for his brother, it gives nieyao a sort of mutual doomed soulmates feel. For either of them, killing the other would spell death for themselves. They either both die or they both live, one cannot live on without the order. That's crunchy. I like it.

The fire palace though? well, on meng yao's part there is a real argument that if he'd let nmj get killed immediatly instead of dragging it out he wouldn't have been able to get wrh alone and distracted enough to assasinate him, so that's one half of the mutual doom coin, and if nmj had killed him during their fight there he's also done for. But after? Right before Xichen intervenes? I had no answer for that yet.

(You know what's coming. I did not)

It is at this point that i realize that if this is gonna keep being A Thing then i need to read the source material before I catch fatal fanon poisoning. Yes, I can piece together the plot and themes from seeing what stays consistent across fics and what are the author's own opinons. But I know just as well that sometimes fanon just agrees on shit that didn't happen and treats it like canon, and I have no way of knowing which is which. So I start reading the novel.

And of course, eventually I get to the empathy sequence. And remember, my "nieyao both live or both die" theory is heavy on my mind at this point, and the only stickler is that nmj could sort of have killed meng yao after the confrontation with wrh, still believing meng yao was actually working for him, and not a spy, and get off... not scott-free, Xichen won't be happy, but it's not gonna cost him his life.

And then I read THIS.

Please Imagine dropping a whole block of pure elemental sodium into water. Except the sodium is this quote and the water is my poor little delicate brain. Not only is my theory right, it is ten times more unhinged than i thought it was.

And considering that Nie Mingjue does not seem like the kind of guy who'd consider something like a life debt to have an expiration date, and because after this he will link himself legally and socially to jin guangyao as family and declare that one among their brotherhood turning against the others is to be met with a painful death, I can no longer read the scene at the stairscase in jinlintai without the impression that he is still planning to die afterwards. Which, if you wanted to make that scene even more painful, this is a very efficient way of losing all your remaining hinges.

I think I'd have gone crazy about this line no matter what context I heard it in, but this one specifically? where I'm already obsessed with idea of nieyao's deaths being connected by the narrative and missing just this one piece and having it confirmed? out loud? from one of the characters himself? It's like giving cocaine to a baby.

[levitatingbiscuits]

Do you hve any fav superbat fic recs? Any fics with the trope u talked about recently (bruce tryna charm a slightly bewildered clark)

that particular dynamic is kind of rare, but i just checked my bookmarks and i have a LOT more fic recs that kind of sort of have it than initially anticipated lmao

first up, anything by mithen on ao3 is god tier. they are the definitive superbat writer and have been for over a decade. they wrote both the first superbat fic i ever read (interview with a batman) as well as my favorite superbat fic of all time (heroes of the squared circle). but all of their superbat fics are great, and there are a lot to choose from!

I also really like susiecarter's superbat stuff because she is fantastic at writing "awkwardly trying to make friends" bruce (who is often also pining for clark), which i deeply enjoy.

takes one to know one (the love square) by soetry is a SUPER adorable, very funny fic where supes and bats are besties but (unbeknownst to them) each nursing an embarrassing crush on each other's civilian identities. seeing batman stiltedly interact with cheeky intrepid reporter clark, who is totally unintimidated by him, was great.

The Salmon Incident by CoffioCake is another hilarious love square where batman gets very jealous of superman's growing crush on his new boss, which he whines to his bff about often and at length. of course, he doesn't know that clark's new boss is bruce wayne.

Satisfaction Brought It Back is an adorable fic where bruce gets magically turned into a cat, and who do we know who rescues cats out of trees? initially, bruce does not like supes at all, so it's great to watch him slowly warm up despite himself due to clark's inherent lovability. of course, once he turns human again, clark is not as fond of bruce as bruce is of him, but bruce is gonna make sure it doesn't stay that way for long ;)

Favorite Strangers is set in the DCU before Superman's resurrection. Batman is tortured by guilt and regret, naturally, and ends up dimension hopping to a lighter and softer comic setting where the Justice League is in its heyday and Superman and Batman are best friends (and maybe more). Lots of great angst as Bruce grapples with this vision of how things should have been, falls ever harder for Clark, and deals with his alternate self, who is PISSED that a version of himself hurt Superman.

Learning to Fly is a superbat beauty and the beast au where Clark wanders into a horrific bat monster's mansion in an attempt to escape his odious bald suitor. then the bat monster starts trying to woo him.

On the Half Shell is probably the closest to the dynamic I was talking about. Lois dumps Clark, Bruce jumps at the chance to seduce him Brucie-style, but things go wrong when Clark assumes they're having casual rebound sex and Bruce gets utterly thrown off his rhythm and predictably reacts in the worst way possible because he sucks at communication. Then he has to try to make amends for acting like, well, himself lmao

There are tons of other enjoyable superbat fics in my bookmarks as well, if you're willing to brave them! They don't even slightly have the specific dynamic you're looking for but they're still great. Of the two of them, Clark is my blorbo, so most of my bookmarks have dynamics that are not the typical "superman is in love with batman and tries to win him over" that you often see for this ship. at the very least, they tend to go in depth on clark as a character, which is unfortunately rare :(

[oxventurequotes]

hi yeah oxventure commenters rant under the cut <3 disclaimer i am very stressed and very ill and Love To Hate <3

okay fuck it i'm taking a diss break because i'm so fucking fed up of this "all media needs to be groundbreaking/purposeful/life-changing" Bullshit YES i went to bookmark the oxventure premiere for friday and ALSO YES i saw that one motherfucking commenter going "oh i used to like oxventure but it got same-y and there aren't any high stakes etc.etc.etc." like. first of all - girl is your life so empty that you feel the need to bitch under the fucking premiere page holy shit get a hobby. secondly oh my god why can't you just have fun!!! newsflash playing a ttrpg is supposed to be fun!!! what is so wrong with just something being light-hearted and silly and people just having a good fucking time with a campaign that started as Literally A One-Shot. like. oxventure d&d has never been high-stakes, it doesn't need to be high-stakes. i don't want to feel Genuine Anxiety watching my blorbos are you fucking daft. ofc it's gonna repeat shit it's the same people playing the same game with the same characters for years. oh my god let people have fun for fuck's sake. FUCK!

[thana-topsy]

1,6,8,11,17 for the ask thing!

Answered #6 in this post, and #8 in this post!

A fanon characterisation that you love

Oh, this took some thought. I went scrolling through my AO3 bookmarks for this one. But at the end of the day I have to go with my good friend @nientedenada's interpretations of Elenwen and Ondolemar in her Q&A style fic: "The Dominion is Here and They're Answering Your Questions" - her take deeply influenced the way I wrote both of these characters in "Hollow Men" as well as just helped to shape the Thalmor into people in my mind, as opposed to stick man villains.

11. Recommend a fic with an unusual/original headcanon or characterisation that you loved

Accidental Double Thalmor Post, but I'm going to have to recommend "Evil is Made of Us" by LeviathansEyes on AO3 for their masterful interpretation of the Thalmor. It's a purely OC-driven fic that's technically a sequel to a much longer fic, but I think it can be enjoyed on it's own easily enough. I had already finished up my own Thalmor-centric fic (Hollow Men) by the time I was reading their work, but I was still SHOOKETH by the end of that story. It was an unflinching look at how "evil" manifests itself, but also how, at the end of the day, people are just people. "Evil" is a concept within the framework of an institution.

17. Something you love that you don’t often share because you’re worried what others will think

Hmm... well, for the most part I'm pretty shameless with most of the stuff I share. I put myself out there in good faith, and generally expect that my work will be taked in good faith in return.

I think, maybe, if I want to be vulnerable for a minute, I'll admit that I tend to meme on Neloth publicly a lot to cover up just how deeply I've been impacted by writing his character. More below the cut, because this turned into a bit of a ramble...

I write Neloth as a low-empathy individual who arguably has a personality disorder (I won't throw around specific labels, as I don't think there is a specific one that I had in mind when going into his stories). My love for Neloth runs incredibly deep because I've been working with this fatally flawed, deeply damaged character who has built his own defences up so impossibly high over hundreds of years that even he is unsure of where his own walls end and the core of himself begins.

And then, to pair him with Teldryn, (which I think most people who only see the ship art or the memes think I just picked two characters and smashed them together for fun or because Hee Hoo Gay, which... isn't a lie, but it isn't the whole truth either). I write Teldryn as an endlessly compassionate person beneath the armor he's been forced to wear (literally and figuratively) over the years. The Nerevarine Prophecy left him questioning his own place in the world with a terrible case of impostor syndrome, and then the Red Year absolutely ripped out his heart (no pun intended??) and left him feeling that everything he did amounted to nothing. So he's cynical and jaded, he's hiring himself out as a merc, he has every reason to hate the gods and the life that's been thrust upon him. And then, for whatever reason, when I put him and Neloth in a room together for long enough, they somehow managed to crack through each others' shells. And it wasn't pretty at first, and, hell, it wasn't even romantic. But it happened. And sometimes, writing can be magic like that.

So here's Teldryn, a literal hero, giving this (by all accounts) terrible person a chance to show that he's capable of both receiving and giving love, actually. And that love can look a little different in everyone. And augH GOD, I HAVE A FUCKING CHARACTER TYPE, OK???

Anyways, tl;dr -- Neloth is actually more than just my special little meow meow babygirl blorbo, he is my shadow self, my darkest reflection, the opposite of everything I strive to be and everything I fear becoming. And I think, by writing him as still being worthy of love and companionship and joy, I'm writing to let myself know that I am also worthy of such things.

[grayintogreen]

Happy birthday! Ask game: 3,8,22,30,36,41

3. Tell me about one of your fics you think is underrated/underappreciated.

Answered this one, but I will say that honestly any of my Lucien fics are underappreciated for virtue of focusing on characters that barely anyone likes. Which is FIIIINE. I've attracted the attention of a dedicated following of Lucien fans... And people willing to appreciate him in the right hands.

8. Who are some of your favourite authors in your fandom?

Aw jeez. Okay, in Hazbin Hotel fandom it's easier because the fandom itself is SO HUGE that I tend to stick to a few authors: magpienear, @birdsaretoddlers @prince-liest @spoondrifts have definitely been my focus, but shoutout to @winekita for writing hilarious fic in BOTH of my fandoms.

In CR fandom, @fruitzbat writes the fics I would write if Kingsley were my blorbo and I was super smart and I'm glad he's here doing the Lord's work in this fandom. @mareastrorum is also out there writing "let's take CR2 and BREAK IT" AU fic and doing fucking amazing at it. @operafloozy writes amazing character work and character studies. @professor-rye is so so great and a fellow friend in the longfic trenches. Um. Honestly, look at my bookmarks and you will probably find a lot of repeat offenders.

22. Do you reply to comments?

Yes, and I will also never shut up if you point out something you found cool. I'm like HERE'S AN ADDITIONAL FIVE HUNDRED WORDS ABOUT WHY I DID THAT.

30. What do you struggle with most when writing?

Description and atmosphere, but mainly because I'm always comparing myself to people who are like... god-tier at it. Like I know my strengths are in character work/voice, but god I ALSO want to be good at invoking peerless imagery. Genuinely all of the writers I linked up there are way better at describing things than I am.

36. What's your fic with the happiest ending?

Honestly... of like the genuinely long fics with an actual conflict that isn't just a simple scene or a fic based on vibes (because I have a lot of happy fics that are just vibes), I'd have to go with shattered stage, because even when Molly, Lucien, and King separate and go back to their own timelines, it ends with them being brought back together to see each other again and that gets my heart so good.

41. Have you ever written a reader insert fic?

No and I never will. Not for me.

FANFIC ASK GAME.

[courtana]

I'm so glad you're saying the quiet part out loud game fandoms need to start gate keeping again because across the board all video game fandoms have seen a surge of garbage ooc content because the locals only engagement with it is a 3 second thirst cam on tik tok, then they apply the same ol leather dom daddy or uwu baby girl on the sexy white man of the moment rinse and repeat. Or they all come over here declare themselves king shitlord over a blorbo and pump out shittakes and headcanons that feed into an audience that's equally as uninformed or doesn't engage with the medium.

Meanwhile the folks who understand character and story nuances and have played or actually interacted with the games are left with surface level ooc BS to wade through so its very frustrating to see someone proudly admit they skipped out on something as character driven as Mgs and worse still that they have an audience consuming it.

Oh my gosh, yes, the damage that TikTok has done to these games is fucking horrific. They think if they watch 5 fan edits they can call themselves a fan, lol. Literally, they do not care about the games or the character's stories, despite what they say when they're defending themselves from gamers who call them out on their BS. They're just a bunch of brain-dead horny weirdos who invade fandom spaces, not to learn about the material but to force everyone to have to see their NSFW comments all the time (e.g., spamming the tags with smut and spamming people's gifs with their horny fantasies), but then don't produce anything else. No character analysis posts, no meta posts, no actual critiques of the gameplay/structure. Just smut and brain-dead bullshit. And when I say character analysis posts, I mean like actually dissecting the character, not just a fucking screenshot of fandom wiki and people going "uwu guys I didn't know this!" even though it was mentioned in the first 5 minutes of the campaign that they didn't play and/or watch. And then they think they're an authority on the game or a major name in the fandom, or that they even have an equal footing in this fandom, just because they have a couple of gross TikToks w/ a sped up song about some white dude bookmarked.

And yup! I haven't played MGS, but any one who has played video games for more than 2 weeks and has been a part of the subculture can tell you how historically and culturally important that game series is for all video games. And then they're like, not bothering to even play the games or understand the character lore. Just write smut about another blorbo you actually know nothing about and you're too lazy to learn about! Fucking pathetic. And the fact that we have to deal with it all the time, too, like you said? Fucking annoying.

It's also such an insult to the game developers who work countless hours on the games they claim they don't care about, but they're still writing pages upon pages of unrealistic porn about these developers' IP. Like, come on.

[lumiereandcogsworth]

lydia’s 2023 ao3 wrapped!

works published: 46!! 🥳

word count: 45,757 - i love that i average to about 1k per fic. y’all know i love a little 1k moment!!!

bookmarks: 122 - WOW!! i’m so honored

shortest fic: my new little new year’s eve drabble :) 100 words!

longest fic: macarons, my fic set when adam is a little kiddo 🥺🥺 very angst but has a soft ending 🥲 2,841 words!

gifts: none!

collabs: none!

events: none!

most popular by kudos: a kiss for every sorrow ! emotional hurt/comfort MY BELOVED🥺

most popular by hits: same as above!!

most popular by comments: a tie between the the same as above (i’m so glad that one was so appreciated!!😭) and autumn love !!! a most beloved family fluff time

fic that made me smile: i gotta give this to @roberrtphilip. like just in general???? all your fics make me SMILE!!!! make me twirl my hair and giggle and kick my feet!!!! they’re so in LOVE!!!! go read all of alex’s fics right now

fic that made me cry: i mean alex has definitely made me cry. but i don’t think anything makes me cry as much as my own gosh dang writing does. the empathy i have for my blorbos is frankly unmatched. i have SOBBED my eyes out over scenarios i completely made up. thanks autism!

overall thoughts: this year was interesting. i didn’t have any particular goals, i was kinda just letting myself write & publish whenever the mood took me, and not worrying so much about trying to post at least once a month like i did last year. i also didn’t write anything exceptionally long (for me that’s like, over 5k) which is okay! i love my little moments! but i did sort of miss having a slightly bigger project to work on. i wrote like 99% of my fics this year each in one sitting. just a burst of AHHH I NEED TO GET THIS DOWN, followed by some re-reading and editing, and it was all pretty much signed, sealed, and delivered within a couple hours. which is FUN and WONDERFUL. i just mean that i also enjoy working on a longer project, but no idea ever struck me. but! i’m still incredibly proud of myself and i love writing so much. i love these guys!!!!!! here’s to many more lovely little moments with my sweet sillies 💙💛💙💛

tagging: @gayassbenaffleck @freakwiththeknifecollection @roberrtphilip @gavotteangel @blorbologist @katia-dreamer @romeoandjulietyouwish @misscrazyfangirl321 @autumnrose11 + any other writers can say i tagged them!!

[agentrouka-blog]

What are your favorites jonsa fanfics? I'm not asking bc I want a rec or something, I'm just curious about what kind of dynamic and plot you usually like when reading fic about them

This is my AO3 bookmark list, so those would be the ones I definitely enjoy rereading on occasion.

I like bookverse romances, AUs of every flavor, some few show-verse explorations that deviate from the latter two seasons sufficiently. Intricate plot is nice, short snippets are nice, hilariously low-stakes modern AUs are nice. I strongly prefer a happy or generally positive resolution. I also strongly prefer to avoid my squicks, which broadly center around unequal dynamics or general bleakness.

Sansa is my blorbo, so if a story allows her strengths to shine, I'm happy. She's dutiful but also pleasure-seeking, traumatized but also hopeful, romantic but also analytical. Stories that don't deprive her of her confidence, sensuality, intelligence, creativity and dignity are fantastic. It's sometimes easy to tell when an author is privileging one part of the pairing over the other, in terms of which character is afforded meaningful relationships, independent experiences, alternative options, sexual autonomy, and my preference is usually for when that's not so noticable. Give me two people meeting on an even playing field and getting together because of how well they fit each other's desires. I don't mind angst but I don't need it at all.

Ultimately, it's what I read for easy escapism, and that's going to inform what I stick in my little bookmark list.