#Especially because they'll all be in that fanfic I keep on talking about that I SWEAR I'M THINKING ABOUT

[solenstelluna]

Besides Mace and Suzy, do you have any other PMD characters?

I do, yeah! I was actually thinking about posting about them before I realized it was heropartnerweek, as a matter of fact! So after I finish these next two drawings, I'll be stepping away from Mace and Suzy and drawing and introducing my others!

[olderthannetfic]

Update on the Bridgerton stuff: the online fandom is so homophobic and horrible, and the mods of stuff like the main subreddit refuse to do anything about it (but will remove comments by people upset about the homophobia for "generalizing") that LGBTQ+ fans have had to make their own spaces. There's a whole separate subreddit that bans homophobia called r/bridgertonlgbt, and of course the ones from the main one keep trying to get it banned with false reports by accusing them of "heterophobia" and "doxxing" (re: complaining about their homophobic comments in their own spaces). Assholes who are mad about them making a straight romance from the books lesbian in the show are also doing petitions and flooding like every Instagram post including one by the original author about how she was initially skeptical about such a big change from her books but she's had lots of talks with the showrunners and she trusts them, and has always supported greater diversity in the series. People keep misusing that stupid fucking George R.R. Martin quote (about how creators these days don't do anything original but just warp other people's existing works) when he himself has condemned "the show must be exactly like the books" fan attitudes, especially the racist tantrums around House of the Dragon casting a couple years ago. And on a post by the author HERSELF where she explains why she gave the go-ahead, supports these changes, and condemns homophobia in the fandom! How is she "warping" her own work???

I've heard about this all secondhand from my friend and it just makes me so glad I don't go on Insta or Reddit and instead keep my fandom activities to Tumblr or AO3. Where for all the drama over other things, at least this kind of rancid homophobia you get in spaces where everyone is cis and straight feels entitled to only ever consume straight and cis romance stories (they'll claim they "are okay with gay characters but new ones!" but their example is always like a side character who has an unhappy ending, can you really not get why queer fans are not satisfied with that?) at least that's not so much a thing here. Instead I'll be happily writing Francesca/Michaela and Benedict/male characters slash and ignoring and blocking the haters. And remembering that that show has way more fans than use social media and everyone involved is continuing to refuse to listen to the loud idiots online. Like everyone I talk to about it who isn't super online, most of whom are straight women, think the change is really cool and can't wait to see what they do with it. Some of them have read the books, but most have not.

But god, it just seems like toxicity from top to bottom over there. I really wish a lot of the straight women fans would just admit they don't like a lesbian romance because there's no one for them to find hot. And maybe consider why it's not a big fucking ask to "find something relatable" in gay romances, like gay people have had to do with straight ones for all time. Why must we continue doing that but you're entitled to whatever you want all the time? It's just so weird to see these attitudes still and in fandom in 2024!

--

These attitudes never went away.

On the fanfic side of things, the slashers just happen to have built the currently-popular platform, so the haters have to deal.

[autumnslance]

Hey Aeryn, I was wondering what you recommend to get past FOMO and overthinking. I know I shouldn't feel this way but I can't shake it. I want to play all of the story but I start to feel anxious. I start overthinking and second-guessing and the cycle starts again. I have a WOL I'm enjoying writing but I can't get her to translate in-game. Any advice?

I admit, I don't often get FOMO, but when I do, I stop and ask myself: is this something I actually want to do? A place I actually want to go? An experience I need? An item I want? Or am I just reacting to others, especially friends, having fun and talking about a thing together, so it's pinging a social desire/need?

Cuz I can interact and talk with my friends in other ways and places. I don't have to do all the things they do, play the games they play, etc. I use in built filters and blacklists on my social media to not see things about games/shows/etc that I don't want hear about, and I stop following a lot of (usually sideblogs) accounts that deal with those topics. When I left WoW behind, I dropped a lot of those blogs, for instance.

(I think some people would be happier if they put down media they don't actually enjoy but only watch/play because the people in their lives do.)

What about playing the game is making you anxious? Is it doing the content? Most can be done solo now, but friends can help with the stuff that can't be, or there's always duty finder. Is it story and character direction? Afraid things will happen to your faves, or they'll grown and change in ways you don't care for? That's a risk in any ongoing media, and up to an individual where their "I'm done" point is where they don't enjoy that lore and canon anymore, and then make the decision to change it in fanfiction or drop the story altogether.

With everyone talking about new content right now, even trying to keep spoilers under wraps, it can be rough for sure. Everyone has opinions! And screenshots! And there's new fanfic!

Is the anxiety because of the WoL you started writing, and how she doesn't "translate" in game, and afraid the lore will continue to make that harder?

In that case, look at what the character is, what you've written...and what the character (your subconscious, really) is telling you they actually are, or need. If they don't fit the canon lore...It's OK. Change the story to fit as needed. Or....play through it and see what ends up working after all, with the benefit of knowledge.

You can't lock a character in stone; a story happens because characters want something (large or small), and in the course of the story they are changed in some way (large or small). WoL is an anime protagonist with plotstrong abilities and gifts that give players a lot of leeway in any direction. Some people don't play WoLs at all. Their OC is a person they roleplay and write about in the setting, the plot happens to someone else, and they just play the video game with that avatar.

So what isn't "translating"? Is it appearance related that can't be done without mods and artwork? Disabilities that likewise are tricky to show in game (which assumes a mostly able-bodied WoL)? A backstory that seems to not fit (the world's bigger than what we see)? A lot of detailed backstory and supporting cast that now make you feel boxed into a corner?

It can be hard, seeing people with deeply developed stories and characters and supporting cast, but you also have to remember: a lot of that is built over time. Aeryn didn't have nearly the detailed list of relatives to start, didn't have the "dad was a secret heretic" backstory until 4 years into playing her. I still haven't named all of Dark's siblings. I've seen some folks entirely rewrite their characters cuz something in an expansion spoke to them and it made more sense and made them happier than what they did before.

When I start overthinking a character story, I put the backstory away, and just play them for a bit. I keep a vague idea of what I think their personality might be, what reactions would seem right. And then I let "them" guide me as I play. And sometimes what a character tells me ends up far more interesting. Or I find the stuff I was anxious about adding to them...ends up being canon, or at least working out, anyway.

And if the concern is what other people will think about one's WoL....well, you can't control what others think. And trying to please everyone leaves you with a milquetoast bland sop who isn't interesting at all. Care about the character you want to write, even if that changes, and make them as interesting as you want.

I was saying in a convo yesterday that the shrieking about "Mary Sue and how to not be one" caused lasting societal trauma and people are still afraid of giving characters interesting traits and stories. A person was anxious about giving their WoL traits that might make them 'too much' or 'too special' but they're traits WoL canonically has. We're in an anime story as anime protagonists, be wild and weird. Not everyone will like it, and that's good, actually. Cuz others will love it, and it means you gave your writing and characters personality.

Final Fantasy XIV is a game that 90% of the time, the content isn't going anywhere. You go at your pace, you enjoy the story and side content. There's a lot, after 11 years. Do what you gotta to avoid spoilers, gushing, complaining, or otherwise talk about content you're not in yet to reduce the worry everyone else is having fun while you're spinning wheels a few expacs back. Figure out what you enjoy and love about the game, and focus on that for awhile. Let your WoL breathe, and just play without plotting out how they translate or fit, and remember stories aren't set in stone; they have to be malleable. Especially when trying to write/roleplay in someone else's world!

You should be in this for yourself. Because you find it fun, relaxing, enjoyable to experience. Because you want to tell a character's story even if it takes a hard left turn from canon lore. And if you have to mute and filter out and block some things and people on social media or chat or whatever, do what works for you. But when overthinking, turn that around and interrogate yourself: "OK, why do I feel this way? Why would this be bad? Do I want this or am I trying to follow the crowd?" Make lists, pros and cons. Figure out if it's actually FOMO and anxiety...or if you're trying to tell yourself something and you're just not listening.

Give yourself grace. This game is just one piece of our life's tapestry, and while there's probably friends who want to see you clear content, the world won't end if you don't catch up to the current patch right away, or write a 200k fic about your WoL's life by year's end, either. Go at your pace.

[bivicennial]

One of the little bits of worldbuilding lore I really appreciate in the NW is how both vampires and witches have very distinct cultures around raising children.

Like, Thea and Blaise lose their parents and are immediately taken in by an increasingly long list of relatives, because witches (especially Harman witches) do not let their children be abandoned. It's a very village-centric society. Everybody pitches in to make sure the kids are looked after and cared for, all 90s matriarchal commune style. Even when Blaise is actively causing like, mayhem and destruction, the Crone of All Witches decides to take her granddaughters on full time despite being ninety years old and running half the goddamn Night World.

Comparatively, the vampires have a very... aloof style of parenting. It's quite business-like, and focused mostly on monetary support rather than emotional care. Vampire kids are expected to teach themselves most of their survival skills basically on the streets. Darwinist, y'know? Because vampire children are given a lot of what humans (and witches, it seems) would consider very adult freedoms, and are treated as functional members of Night World society quite young. It seems to be expected that most vampire kids who aren't kept in an enclave will learn how to defend themselves or they'll get fucked up. And if they can't defend themselves, well. Weakness gets culled, and all that.

There's a lot of examples of it, too. Vampiric parenting is pretty consistent across the books. James's parents support him financially, but he lives in an apartment by himself at the age of, what, sixteen? Probably younger, considering he was living there for a while by the time Secret Vampire starts. And Ash doesn't seem to have any consistency in his life, but he does spend all his time partying in Las Vegas, while it's implied both his parents are living on the east coast in an enclave. He goes to fetch his sisters when his father tells him to, but he never gives the impression that he especially likes his father, and in fact suggests that if Quinn hadn't been around when his father called, he might have ignored him. There doesn't seem to be much love lost there. And we don't even have to get into Delos's relationship with his father, the guy who treats him like a living weapon at best.

Actually, the closest thing to a loving, functional parental vampire relationship seems to be Jez and Bracken, and they only have like one scene together. Even then, he let her run around San Francisco without supervision from the age of five onward, and that's never treated as being especially outside of the norm. He makes sure she has a place to stay and goes to school, but he doesn't seem to keep track of her daily activities at all, or he does and doesn't care what she gets into so long as he doesn't personally have to deal with it.

And unlike the witches, there doesn't seem to be as big of a push to take on extra kids. That's Morgead's whole thing, that he's got a bone to pick with all the elder vampires that just ignored him when he was abandoned by his mom. Even if they do take in the kids without parents (like Bracken does), vampire parents don't provide much attention anyway. With Thea, she sees a whole future surrounded by other witches and continuing her education under the tutelage of her family. She was eighteen and would have continued to be monitored and cared for for years. Whereas Ash got attacked at the age of twelve, killed a much bigger vampire, and every single person who could have watched out for him was like "yep he's good give him a credit card and let him go do whatever" and he just does.

Honestly, I could talk about each of the characters' childhoods in depth individually, but maybe I'll have to save that for later. Or fanfics or something.

[shouts-into-the-void]

One of my most hated fanfic trends is where that pre-Despair treatment by his classmates is depicted as totally okay and not them being unreasonable. It's especially noticeable in RP blogs or Hinanami fics. They'll often depict his behavior in the second half of Chapter 4 as his default characterization, and have him spend every waking second going after the Reserve Course students and doing nothing else.

Which not only ignores the context of him having been mindwiped, having his first impression of the Reserve Course being the discovery that they apparently destroyed Hope's Peak, and the real source of his anger and depression being the discovery that the class are all terrorists (while being left in the dark about the brainwashing). But it kind of misses the entire point of the whole "talented vs non-talented" theme to have the locally mentally ill kid be the sole cause of the conflict.

Like I'm not against the idea of going against canon, and depicting the rest of the class trying to give him a fair shake. I think there's plenty of friendship interaction potential between him and a number of the class (e.g. Sonia, Imposter, Mahiru, etc.). But to retroactively pretend like they were being completely fair to him and he just brought the ostracism on himself is bullshit.

I think a lot of people also miss the fact that the reason Nagito is so outright antagonistic to Hajime about being a Reserve Course Student is because he feels betrayed. He feels a kinship with Hajime due to their mutual love of Hopes Peak, the two were the closest before everyone turned on him, and he's canonically in love with him. So to find out that Hajime is actually not only talentless, but responsible for destroying the academy they both love and plunging the world into despair?

That's not to say all the rudeness is only because of anger, Nagito's actual personality is actually kind of just like that because he has a God Complex and is more intelligent than all of his peers. Any time he breaks character or looks down on someone, he is kind of a bitch, but more in a "I'm smarter than you, please stop arguing with me when you have no idea what you're talking about" way.

I really do wish people would lean into the potential relationships he has with the rest of the cast more. I don't think there's any way Chisa would have let them keep mistreating him, and I was annoyed that her attempt to explain his actions to the class (which actually did get through to them!) got glossed over in favor of the "Everybody hates Nagito" gag.

Some thoughts on potential relationships:

I personally hc him as besties with Sonia post-canon. Not only because she's the most forgiving, because I feel like the fandom makes her do a lot of emotional labor, but I think they would have similar tastes in novels and I think Sonia's own eccentricities would mean that she isn't as off-put by his weird behavior.

I don't think he would be close with Mahiru, because as much as she's caring and doesn't want him hurt, she's also just very judgemental and I think her tendency to verbally attack people would negatively impact his recovery. I think they would get along, but until she learns how to get past her trauma with her dad and stop letting her friends commit crimes, I think it's at a respectful distance.

While Mikan and Nagito are MLM/WLW Hostility™ I do also think they're friends. They like to bitch at each other, but if anyone dares insult the other they Will Destroy Them. I have always thought of them as working quite closely together during the tragedy for whatever reason, it just seems right in my brain?

I also feel like people miss the wild potential of Nagito just adopting Monica. Like, he raises her from like 10 years old until she's a teenager (I'm assuming she's like 14-15 in the anime?), Monica finally gets someone to actually take care of her instead of abusing and abandoning her, and I'm supposed to believe that they just never speak again? Also Nagito saving and caring for this child after spending his childhood an orphan who was put into dangerous situations a lot is a really great parallel.

I like to think he and Akane do a lot of their recovery at the same time because they're both pretty wasted away by the time they wake up, and they bond little by little. They celebrate when one of them moves up a weight class, but Akane recovers faster so by the end Nagito has to remind her not to break his ribs when she hugs him in joy.

Nekomaru is very helpful in coaching him through his physical recovery due to understanding the limitations of a severe health condition and his experience as a team manager. There's definitely a lot of encouragement on Nekomaru's end because a lot of physical therapy can be embarrassing when things that theoretically should be easy aren't. Basically: Akane, Nekomaru, and Nagito all end up as unlikely gym buddies?

Those are just some of my thoughts and headcanons, absolutely take or leave any of that.

[davekat-sucks]

Vriska is my favorite character in homestuck because she did nothing wrong. Jokes aside, the real reason is because I find her to be a pretty interesting character, and its not even because shes particularly complicated. Its the fact that she feels like a real troll. One of my biggest criticisms of Homestuck and Hussie himself is that he went to great lengths to create an entire fictional species with its own culture, way of reproduction, relationships, etc. All as a joke to make fun of shippers and then completely fucking abandon this golden ticket of world building. Literally all of the surviving trolls are human-lite at this point and most have been ret-conned to not even really liking the troll way of doing things anyway. All except Vriska. Shes the only one who felt in-between worlds. She was constantly on the verge of leaning one side or the other, especially because of the influences of John and Terezi, and even her own death. The "You dont have to be a good person to be a hero" is one of the best speeches of homestuck and a phenomenal characterization point for Vriska, so naturally in a later update, that same Vriska trash talked it because Hussie cant hold a serious idea for a fucking second.

It speaks to how Vriska has to adapt from being, as Dave so eloquently puts it "hell murder world" to playing nice and not murdering people on a whim like she was conditioned to, and would be expected of, on Alternia. Vriska and Eridan were really the only two highbloods that acted as highbloods were characterized to act. Feferi was a weirdo, Gamzee was high, and Equius was a pussy. Eridan was a side character turned brief villain who was then killed and never mentioned again. But then we had Vriska, who stuck around for awhile, and was relevant as a ghost then came back to life and we all had to deal with her. I feel like Vriska's journey of dealing with troll shit combined with human sensibilities should have been what all of them went through, but Karkat, Terezi and Kanaya really had no fucking problem going with the human ways of romance. Oh sure, Terezi tries to do a blackrom with John but he himself admits he doesnt really feel that way about her, since its not in humans to feel that way. The quadrants are dead, and its unlikely they'll make a return. Oh, sure there were spades in Vrissy's eyes when Tavros kissed her cheek (Or was it harry? I dont fucking care) but its not going to go anywhere.

Trolls as an alien species whose moral views are fucked up compared to humans, is way more interesting when it first started. It what makes them ALIENS. Foreign. That's what people loved about them. Now, people just make grey humans and slap troll horns on it and call it a day. Sure there is the whole rebellion this and that, but what about trolls that embrace being bad and awful people? Where are the gold diggers? Where are the cannibalists? What about a troll scientist that raises the dead and experiments body parts for their interest in science? Because in Alternia, that type of shit is seen as normal thing to do and justified. Vriska was interesting that she was like "yeah, I'm 8ad and DAMN proud!" I don't remember if she knew that Doc Scratch was the being that made trolls violent in nature. If she did, I would bet you she would be happy it happened because she wouldn't be where she was. And people who abandon that kind of nature don't deserve to be as awesome as her. Would have been interesting to see that kind of narrative of trolls that knowing their origins are fucked up, but damn proud. Whether they take time to change or don't as they use it to their advantage to keep rising up, would be interesting to explore in fanventures or fanfics. Part of me wants the latter since change is hard and I like my trolls being bad people. But that's just me. And if people say that the violent nature was only there because Doc Scratch made it so, doesn't that apply to quadrants? So there is no reason for anyone on Earth C to commit it. Not trolls, humans, or Carapacians. So Vrissy and Tavros should not be in one. I also mentioned before that Vrissy and Tavros are technically cousins in some way. So not only they are kismesis, but incest? So incest is fine on Earth C? Or only if one party is a troll? Earth C makes it vague what troll customs are allowed that isn't the caste system.

[jakesullysleftnipple]

A Mission With Miles

Chapter 1 ( First encounter)

Summary: You've recently been added to quaritchs squad for an upcoming Pandora mission. You usually work behind the scenes but for this mission you have to retrieve some samples from Pandora. Quaritch agrees to train you one on one but isn't a fan at first but as time passes his interest in you grows.

Contains: fluff, teasing, cursing, possessiveness, brat taming, slight nsfw and nsfw scenes, enemies to lovers, overprotectiveness, sir kink, dominant/switch, degradation

A/n: This is my first time posting any fanfic I've written so enjoy! This is the first of many chapters!! ☺️

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It's like any other day at the office, behind a computer all day, filling out paperwork, you know the basics. Watching the squads come back and forth from their missions. As much fun as it is watching and hearing the stories of Pandora, it's a goal of mine to go out there myself. Seeing and hearing is one thing but to experience is a dream of mine.

"Y/n!!"

Your boss (Parker Selfridge) bursts through your office doors with an urgent look on his face. You almost jump out of your chair from the sudden noise but you catch yourself.

"Ahh! Was that really necessary?"

You say with an annoyed expression on your face. You hate being interrupted while you work especially when he does it.

"You're assigned to a new project, you know about Pandora plants and life well enough right?"

"I-"

Before finishing your sentence he cuts you off to finish the rest of his statement.

"Great, you'll need to go down to Pandora and collect some samples we sent to your tablet. Since this is your first time down there we have someone to help you train. Now get your ass up and follow me."

Without hesitation he leaves the room and bolts off somewhere. You frantically grab your tablet along with other supplies and quickly try and follow him. As much as you hate him he still is your boss. Last time you talked back you almost got fired but thankfully you convinced him not to. You speed walk down the hallways trying to keep up with him. "Why the hell is he so fast?!" You think to yourself as you finally make it to your destination. You run into the room and bump into something. You instantly fall backwards and drop all your things.

"!!Ouch...what the heck is that?"

You looked up and your eyes met the one and only Miles Quaritch. His Na'vi form towered over you as you sat stunned on the ground. Your face flushed bright red realizing what just happened as you try and gather your things.

"S-sorry sir! My apologies, I had no idea what I was doing! I was in a hurry! I-"

You start anxiously rambling hoping parker wouldn't yell at you. While gathering your things together you still ramble but you're cut off by the colonel.

"quit your yapping and stand up already. You're wasting my time already."

"Sorry sir."

You apologize again and quickly stand up. The Colonel rolled his eyes at you and Parker sighed with disappointment.

"Sorry about them but trust me they'll be more useful after some training. Isn't that right y/n?"

You nod frantically while trying to keeping your cool. You were pretty embarrassed from making a scene moments ago.

"Alright now what exactly do I need to train this small fry for?"

Quaritch says as he makes eye contact with. He leans up against the wall opposite of you and counties to eye you with an annoyed expression on his face still. You look back at him but in a slightly amazed way. You can't help but to be captivated by the Navi's appearance. You eye him up and down looking at all of his Navi features, comparing them to actual Navi looks. You zone out while looking at him but Parker starts talking to Quaritch.

"I need you to train y/n to use the weapons and basic combat skills. We need them to go to Pandora and retrieve a few samples from Forrest."

"And why don't you just have us do it? We don't need to drag along someone like them around."

"because they know the land almost as well as the damn natives that live there. They haven't seen much of Pandora but they study the land from the tapes and information we have. You knuckle heads don't know much, all you guys know is fight, kill, and shoot. Look. Teach them how to not die and you're off the hook. Got it?"

Once again he leaves the room in a quick fashion but you still were looking at Quaritch. He looks at still watching him a hawk but walks over in your direction. Once he's only inches away from you he bends down and lifts your chin up harshly.

"!! What the hell??"

You jump back into reality after he harshly grabs your face to look at him.

"That's the same thing I should be asking you for a small fry. Got a staring problem?"

"No, seems like you do though."

You push his hand away and back up from him. He looks shocked and stands back up. He crosses his arms and he ears perk backwards.

"I'm supposed to be training you. You know me and I could care less about who you are. Meet me outside in the court for 7:00 sharp. We'll see if you're good enough to survive out there."

You roll your eyes and look up at him.

"Yes sirrrrr"

You say sarcastically as you turn to leave. But right before you go you turn back to the tall and quite rude blue man.

"My name is y/n so use it. I might not know much about combat but I am a fast learner."

You turn around and leave quickly. Your face now bright red again realizing how smart of a response that was. "Oh shit he's gonna break me tomorrow!" You think to yourself as you basically run back to your room hoping he doesn't follow you. He was still in the room, ears now perked up with a slight smirk on his face.

"my my, we got a snappy one on your hands miles."

He says to himself while grazing his tongue across his fangs. He chuckled to himself and walked off to find his squad members. Maybe training you wasn't such a bad idea to him. We'll soon see how it is for him.

[the-bloody-sadist]

In my twitter I like to post fanarts and also give fic recs for my fav non canon mlm ships. And somehow someone tweet me this :

"I'm starting to think maybe people should read actual BL manga. perhaps considering manga written with actual gay characters in it in addition to shipping m x m from whatever battle shounen you're into."

I was confused af.... Do you think I should reply or just keep silent ?

Thanks for sharing your fanfics and fanarts. Your writing style and art style is not what I usually love at first sight. But wow your arts are beautiful and your writings are amazing (especially on how you wrote the characters, none of them are ooc). And your answers to same anon asks on fandom and shippings, WOW. Some of them are what I often feels but I just can't voice them....

I also love your fics recs, some I don't even know yet....

NEVER. RESPOND. TO THOSE KINDS OF COMMENTS. NEVER. I'M HAPPY YOU'RE AKSING FOR MY ADVICE SO I CAN TELL YOU THAT!! If you're a creator, especially in the BL space nowadays, you're going to hear from these shitheads at some point or another. Their arguments mean NOTHING. They are irrational and ridiculous and will change their logic the moment you interact with them, so no matter how well you present your opposing argument, they'll find some other way to cause trouble. I REPEAT: YOU CANNOT WIN NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO. Plus, there's no need to, because the levelheaded people already agree with you and that's what matters.

Also they have no idea what they're talking about and don't even believe what they're saying, much less follow that logic for their own entertainment choices. They're hypocrites. They'll say that to feel like a social justice warrior and then turn right back to the fanfic about battle shounen boys that they felt guilty about reading. They're projecting at best, moral grandstanding for their friends' approval at worst.

Whenever I see people like this, I snicker with my friends about it, make sure my view of the comment is correct by discussing opinions with them, and then block the person so they don't have to see my work anymore (since they can't make the decision for themselves!). It's a strategy that works wonders and makes sure I deal with the least hate possible in my day-to-day posting experience. And it builds me up with the right audience who actually loves me and my work!

Thank you for being one of those people and for looking up to me for answers, I'm deeply flattered! If given the chance, I will always try to be the voice for anyone who needs it, so you can link to my posts and ramblings when someone says something stupid and have me explain why you think the way you do (and why it's NOT WRONG AT ALL).

Much love! I hope you enjoy those fic recs!!

[vacantgodling]

HIII hi i'm (mostly) normal again now and i'm gonna yap about sunbringer's song to you. specifically the fanfic version bc that's what's on the brain right now. though the specific thing i wanna yap about is also just a fact about eden as a character that means a lot to me. and that's his huge soft spot for children.

(off the top of my head i don't remember how much bg3 lore you're familiar with so. if any of this is confusing pls feel free to ask for clarification fjasld;kjf i love to yap about it. anyway)

SO ANYWAY! eden is a very selfish and logical character, and ESPECIALLY at the start of sunbringer's song, his main goal is to figure out what the fuck happened to him and save himself from the fuckin Parasite shit he's got going on.

he decides to let the other major characters travel with him because they're working towards the same goal, and he reasons that having more people working towards the same goal means that they'll get shit done faster. he doesn't have much interest in them as people, but he's helping them because he expects them to help him in return. everyone wins. and this is his approach to most interactions early in the story.

(side-note, but god i'm also so excited for eden to slowly become attached to the group. he thinks he's doing suuuuch a good job keeping them at arm's length and that this is all just to cure his fuckin brain worm, but before he realizes it he's decided that he would gladly die for any of them. they're his best friends. found family but he's the last one to figure that out.)

(and that but twofold for the romance shit he's gonna have going on with gale and wyll,,,,, i wanna talk so much about the romance arc i have in mind for those three and the slowburnnnnn but i'm nervous for no gd reason)

BUT ANYWAY. AN EXCEPTION TO THAT IS CHILDREN. there's a few instances in the early arcs of this story where eden is presented with a situation where a child is in danger, and without fail every time, he drops everything to help. eden has a HUGE soft spot for kids and their safety is important to him, even kids he doesn't know.

with adults, it's gonna depend on the circumstances whether or not he does anything to help. with a kid, he's going to help.

and a lot of this comes from his upbringing. eden basically had to raise himself and his younger brother, and he easily falls into an older sibling role when interacting with kids. that, and he remembers all too well how the adults in his life when he was a child didn't do shit for him... so, much of the time, he assumes that no one else is going to help, and it is up to him to protect the child.

one of my favorite examples from this in the first proper arc of the story is with a little tiefling boy who wandered away from his parents, and ended up being lured to the edge of a cliff by a flock of harpies that wanted to fucking kill and eat him. eden sees what's going on, figures out what's about to happen, and decides *absolutely the fuck not.* he takes charge and grabs the boy, taking him away from the danger and handing him off to another member of the group. and then he turns to take care of the harpies.

another example is with another tiefling kid being threatened by a powerful druid. eden knows logically that he should be working with this druid because she has a lot of power and influence in this area, and if he wants to be healed, he's probably gonna wanna stay on her good side.

but when he sees her threatening to fucking kill an innocent child, all of that goes out the window, and now the only thing stopping eden from attempting to gore this woman with his horns is knowing that this is a fight he won't win.

idk i'm not sure how much sense this is making but it's something that makes me super emotional to think about. all bets are off when it comes to kids, especially younger kids. eden sees a kid on their own and goes "is anyone gonna be their new brother?" and doesn't wait for an answer.

okay thank u for your time

1. i don’t know much about bg3 tbh my only knowledge of it is other people’s ocs, mainly eden tho HFJDJRJ so in my mind its just the eden game where eden is the mc and im sure thats not good for his ego PFF—

2. eden being a big brother makes me HMM EMOTIONAL and the instinctual way he just looks after any kiddo he comes across: wEH

3. i can’t wait until eden has the realization that welp he’s stuck with these guys they are his family now and he’s stuck it’s gonna be both sweet and really funny FJEJRJA

[antimony-medusa]

once again thank you for putting into words some of the worst problems i've seen/found in mcyt fandom that i just could not put my finger on. ever since i was first getting into dsmp & especially sbi, it always felt so baffling to try and talk about fanfic in the fandom because it was like people (vague hand wavey reference to twt fandom) were just picking and choosing at random which things were and weren't okay with NO basis. but like yeah oh my god its because of kink things. it's because they don't realize it's all kink things, but they'll latch onto and condemn the ones that "stick out" as objectively horny and make call out posts for it. without realizing they're writing the same exact things and just not realizing it's kink. like I'm remembering when sbi twt went to war about petnames and if using them in fic was okay or if it was creepy and it genuinely just boiled down to "it's okay when /I/ do it because I know I'm writing it in an affectionate/platonic way but when YOU do it it's weird because it reads as creepy/sexual!!" meanwhile the fics in question were written in the exact same manner and using the exact same words. LIKE ??

Yeah and like, I'm taking a bit of a different stance than Twitter, because I do think a lot of stuff being written in the SBI tags is kinky, but most of the time the authors are also trying to keep it legitimately platonic, and yeah, the streamers shouldn't see that, but my stance on stuff that the streamers shouldn't see is that we should keep it away from streamers, not that we should harass the people writing it off the internet. Just keep it on Ao3 and tag it and you're fine.

Like, my intent with all of this is not to shame people for having kinks. Almost everybody has at least one kink of some kind or another, and that's fine, whether you get especially into mind control or you find the idea of someone powerful being condescending and mean to you being compelling, or again, you just want someone in a parental role to take care of you and tell you you're good. That's fine. I can't overemphasize how fine that is. Lots of people have that. You can be super ace and also super kinky, even.

I do sometimes feel bad when I see writers who have obvious kinks who are very afraid of exploring any element of sex with that— like I am sorry but vore is not normally a platonic kink, omegaverse being fun for you is fine but it's not normally platonic, but they're desperately toeing that line and attacking anyone who comes close to implying that they've crossed it.

Cause most of what I've read, I don't think the authors are conciously shipping it. You do get the rare person in the tag where I'm like "if kissing wasn't illegal, would this scene have ended in this specific way, huh 🤨", but most of the time I think people intend to be keeping it platonic. But uhhhhhh the fandom tropes that we're all working with now go along with ship and sex in any other fandom, even if everybody's pants stay on in this one. So the people who wrote it know that THEY very intentionally kept it platonic, so THEY are in the clear, but YOU are obviously using a shipping trope so YOU have to be called out— and then the twitter cancellation mill grinds through another cycle, which is not helpful to anyone. What are you gonna do, shrug emoji.

[mmx-code-crimpphire]

Headcanon: how X and Zero's Promise turned into a Proposal

I'm sure a lot of you have seen the chapter in the fanfic I wrote, right here.

Since it'll be similar yet not, I suggest you read the story here before continuing further. It is also a big spoiler, but not as big as some of my other ones I'm saving for later. So if you don't want spoilers on how I think I wanna write this for the main story, then you can keep going.

But I don't mind if you keep going, that's fine too~.

NEW CHAPTER ON AO3!!

Of course, you already know about the headcanon of X and Zero's Important Promise, right?

Well, what if I told you that the promise turns into a half proposal? Lemme explain.

X and Zero get a chance to be alone on the cliffside, the one where Zero found to be one of their favorite spots to be alone. It's a heartfelt moment between the two and Zero pops the question. He still kneels on one knee but Xev is sitting down instead of standing up (compared to the chapter I write in the XZero 2023 fic anyways).

Zero thought about this for months. Thinking about this even before being sent out to the shuttle to destroy the Eurasia Colony when the Enigma failed. He thought if he couldn't do this now, he'd never have much of a chance. At least that's what he felt at that time. Especially carrying the baggage of trauma that came with coming back a second time. So, Zero wanted to get this out in the best opportunity he possibly thought it could be.

They are actually alone this time, and they extend the promise to marry whenever they get the chance peace is finally being achieved. They can't wait for it to completely die down, because that was too unrealistic, especially for Zero. Knowing how much they'd still have to fight down or any villain that may try to rise up against them. But they know they'll be ready when it happens.

They don't make it known until someone notices Xev's ring is on his ring finger instead of his pinky finger. Alia or Iris, honestly, but if they had to keep it a secret, Iris would definitely keep it under wraps. Whilst Alia probably wouldn't but keep it vague that no one would know what she was talking about. She's a bit of a gossiper but with something like this, with Xev and Midnight being her close friends, she knows how secrets like this are important to them. Especially if they wanted to have a wedding that's pretty selective with friends and a few hunters that won't out them as badly.

I'll still make a post/chapter briefly on how their wedding will go. It'll be more in detail in the domestic fanfic I wanna make, starting with the wedding. It'll be a couple chapters long. The wedding will have a short recap in the main story and I'm excited to make it all detailed in the separate fanfic still connected to the AU. It'll be in the short stories series, even if it won't be a short story, technically, cuz it'll have chapters but YEAH!

That's pretty much it and I can't wait to touch upon the moment it happens!!

[entrancedsnow70]

Talk about their backstory!!!!

I'll have you know I had planned to do a self-reblog @ing you to come ask a question but you took the bait before I even cast the line.

So! The titan in white with the Burning Maul is Ember, my Young Wolf. She has a good deal of the YW's canon personality, with my personal headcanons and grudges. They have some Issues caused by a lot of the Everything, like not being all that Okay after the Black Heart incident, the Red War, Cayde's death, seeing their own grave in the Corridors of Time (side note too many people seem to forget this happened because no one seems to capitalize on the Potential here), nearly getting Spark, her Ghost, killed like twice now. She really wants to stop being the Vanguard's first solution but dammit no one else can do it so she'll keep going til she falls, and she knows they'll fall eventually. My fanfics generally try to keep the YW as close to canon as possible to allow for personal interpretations, but Ember is who I envision when I write them. For the most part, the people around Ember and Spark do not know they have names for Reasons (that I will gladly elaborate on if you want to know more). She's also my main.

Now we get to talk about Fireteam Varanus! Buckle the fuck up!

They consist of Morinovus-20, the blue titan with the Banner Shield, Rosie, the pink hunter with the Golden Gun, and Syrja, the green hunter with the knives and the Monte Carlo. They met and formed their fireteam during the Great Ahamkara hunt and quickly became close friends. Syrja met Rosie not long after she was risen, having accidentally gotten mixed up with an Ahamkara Rosie was hunting. Syrja did well for a New Light and Rosie started mentoring her. Rosie already knew Mori from a previous hunt and they decided to stick together. Rosie was the Bad Influence who always took an almost child-like joy in the thrill of battle. Syrja was the nervous one, but she relaxed easily around her fireteam and was easily dared into reckless acts by Rosie. Mori was the responsible one of the group, doing his best to be the voice of reason in contrast with Rosie's impulsiveness. While he may not always have agreed with Rosie's ideas, he was the protector of the group and he'd be damned if they got hurt when he could've done something, so he always tagged along and had more fun than he'd ever admit.

Anyways then the Great Disaster happened. Mori literally exploded into void Light protecting Rosie and Syrja as they tried to retreat, and Rosie got mortally wounded being reckless while trying to both cover Syrja and heal herself. Syrja took up Rosie's cloak and is forever mournful that she has nothing from Mori's armor, what with there being nothing left of him after he gave everything to protect his friends.

Syrja went on a Hive killing spree on Earth after that, becoming much more subdued than she ever was previously. Unless she was angry. Then she was slaughtering anything vaguely Hive-like when she couldn't take revenge on the Hive that killed Fireteam Varanus (Syrja always believed a part of her died that day as well). Until she could. She was brought onto the mission to kill Crota, meeting Ember in the process, and when that wasn't enough she volunteered for the Oryx mission as well. When that still didn't bring peace she kept wandering around the Cosmodrome killing Hive.

Then the Red War hits, and Syrja is about ready to come to terms with the whole "welp guess the world's ending" when she stumbles across a New Light. The New Light was rezzed mere minutes before Ghaul caged the Traveler and so doesn't really have a way to defend herself. Syrja takes pity and decides to help her. This New Light is Sylvia, the Nova Warp warlock with no helmet. As the two get acquainted Syrja comes to the conclusion that Sylvia reminds her a lot of Rosie, lacking the experience to back up any carelessness, but still possessing that same carefree attitude Rosie always had, especially when she probably shouldn't have. Sylvia suggests that its because she knows Syrja will have her back and she's not sure how to feel about that. After all, with Varanus it was always her and Rosie who could rely on Mori having their backs. Syrja doesn't tell her this though.

Then they get their Light back when the Traveler is freed and the first time Sylvia uses her Light she explodes into Void and Syrja about has a full-panic attack about it, laughing about what a sick joke the universe is playing. She wants to abandon Sylvia then and there but dammit she's Attached now and doesn't stay away for long enough for Sylvia to get herself hurt. Syrja opens up about Varanus and the two eventually become closer, and Syrja finally starts to work through the whole 'grieving process' or whatever

Anyways feel free to ask more about them. Can't flesh them out too much otherwise!

[olderthannetfic]

ok yeah so I don't give a shit about RPF. I did watch some vids by content creators on youtube about fans overstepping some real bad ways though so maybe this'll be interesting.

So ppl here are talking a lot about the fanfics. But it seems like most content creators don't even know about those, at least in the West it ain't that big? (I watched the vid from the anon about how it's in China and just yikes.)

But what I see being a much bigger issue, and something the creators I watched talking about and taking legal steps ain't the fics; it's pictures. Photoshopped nude pics, or AI.

Yeah fics definitely can be something they talk about, but often beyond a comment about it being cringe, they don't seem to care at all.

Meanwhile fake pics? Or even real nude pics? Looking at these vids, those are the real issue, and the ones they're going after hard. Especially the female content creators have been going up against hosting sites for allowing the uploads of these nudes. The one I watched going in depth also explained that these pics that are "indistinguishable" from real pictures also might fall under the revenge porn laws.

Especially for underage content creators, or obviously pictures of them when they were underage being used to create lifelike nude and porn pictures.

I feel fanfics are just held up more because it feels like more effort? but in the end the photos is what's actually the big thing. No matter how gross or cringe a fic is, it's not really gonna ever be as bad or invasive as faked nudes or even pornographic content. Someone writing a shitty fic is more going to reflect on the authors, but a fake nude hurts the creator and their privacy.

Just keep your #nasty writing to yourself and leave the content creators alone, and they'll not know. But "keep to yourself" with faked nude pics? If that stuff even just whiffs out into the circles of the content creators, there's going to be a much more real and high chance for legal repercussions.

--

[keyh0use]

Your SOA/OBX fanfic is my Roman Empire! And I love your writing, and I can't wait for you to update it!

But I gotta ask what made you come up with the idea? Like just watching both shows around the same time? Or, like, did you have other SOA fanfic ideas in mind? I gotta know your inspiration for it!

Also, thank you for the follow back! ❤️

Sorry, I spam like your posts, too! 😭

oh wow that's so sweet 🥺

SOA is my favorite show and I'm constantly re-watching it, and rafebarry is my favourite ship so they just naturally overlapped in my mind when I was writing about Rafe, Topper and Kelce's dynamic. In fanfiction it's whatever we make it, but he's pretty alone in canon, besides Barry.

So I started imagining what it would be like if he had people all his own, not ones that wanted to get with his sister or wanted his money or wanted his compliance, etc. that he would constantly have to worry about losing. My original rafebarry SOA AU was about Rafe running away to the south side to hide from Ward and being picked up by the scruff of the neck like the lost little kitten he is by Gemma, who loses her shit at a boy a couple years younger than her own being mistreated and well, Clay goes to have a chat with Ward. I never finished it but the idea was Rafe would grow straight into SAMCRO alongside Jax, who was like a big brother. I think under Gemma and Clay he would've been a completely different person, I mean imagine how far Rafe could go with a father (figure) telling him how proud he is of him. In this scenario I wasn't sure which direction to take Barry, though.. I considered making him a Mayan but they aren't as lax with their rules as the Sons, so I don't think that would work. Like I think the Sons would allow Rafe to live quietly with his roommate Barry but other MCs wouldn't. Just my piece.

I gave up on that story and started working on Delicate after listening to White Buffalo - House of the Rising Son from season 4, which screamed SOA Rafe to me. I won't bore you by picking apart all the lyrics but "my sweetheart, he's a rambler. Lord, he rides an old machine." stuck with me, especially because it's sung by another man.

I wasn't sure about the story at first but it was exciting thinking about Barry and Rafe seeing eachother after all those years, so much tension between them that they have no choice but to keep distance or they'll lose it, end up fighting or whatever. They haven't even bumped shoulders or brushed hands or knocked knees. But then Barry's on break getting lunch at some hole in the wall sandwich shop and there's Rafe and some big, scary-ass biker talking and then biker guy leans in and kisses Rafe's temple?! Cradles Rafe's face?! And then all the scenarios I could throw them into; lockdown at the clubhouse is my fav!! just the idea of Barry being holed up with all the Sons families, having no clue what's going on but not being allowed to leave is so 😋😋 like he gets bossed around by rafe a lot in delicate and I actually love it where usually I prefer it the other way around, badass biker Rafe is just different. but also a fundraiser at Barry's garage because his coworkers mom needs treatment and Rafe has the Sons show out for it, which is all fine and cool but there's a girl all over Barry, so Rafe stands off to the side with a scowl while Happy & Tiggy talk about how they'd love to help solve the problem. There were so many outlandish positions I felt comfortable writing them into in this AU which was so fun and refreshing.

It was also a way to work out my own feelings towards Barry's betrayal and the alternative route the show could've taken, where Rafe does time for his crime (despite getting out early, obviously, but that's solely based off being in the MC) and has to deal with how he feels afterwards, about what happened between them and about Barry in general, dodging his father and his past at the same time. While also working out my feelings for SOA, putting my observations into Rafe so I can flesh them out properly, like how significant some of the losses were or how unfair their lives are or the downfall of certain characters.

Thanks for this ask!! I loved getting to talk about this <3 and don't apologize about the spam, I don't mind (:

[marquisguyun]

Happy Fall from your Fall in Langya partner! It is a new year for the event, a new year in fandom. Do you have any headcanons for the next lifes of the characters? (If not, any that you are thinking of now? Do you think Lin Shu can fulfill his promise and be ordinary people with his loved ones?)

Oh hello! What a great question!

Hmm I'm not sure if I have any specific headcanons for their next lives! I think part of that is that I haven't gotten around to watching NIF2 yet, and while I am very happy to ignore later canon if I decide I don't like it, I do like to keep an open mind about it to start with. So I would want to know what happened to all of the characters that we have that information for (altho of course some like Mei Changsu are dead by the end of NIF.)

I do have a vague "I hope they'll be happy" type wish for them, after everything...

(And then of course all of this is separate from what I may or may not be interested in reading if someone wrote a fanfic about their next lives or something, because 1. I'm willing to explore different headcanons and stories even if I wouldn't say that they're *my* headcanon per se and 2. mostly reincarnation stories post-canon interest me where either the characters remember their previous lives or there's a lot of dramatic irony for the reader, neither of which necessarily involve uncomplicated happiness for the characters.)

Also now that I'm thinking about it, my headcanons for next lives would also depend on how far into the future we're talking about with these lives + what characters I may be shipping... Like I thought Lin Shu/Mu Nihuang was great while watching the show, and I am still fond of that ship, but when I dived into the fandom I also got converted to shipping Jingsu (wasn't hard to convert me tbh) and just like,, Logistically if we're talking about Lin Shu and Xiao Jingyan as friends/cousins vs all that and lovers my headcanons/hopes for their future lives would be different, especially in modern day with the cousin thing. Are any of these characters likely to have the exact same relationships in a new life as in an old one? No, of course not, but I have thought about that since I've occasionally read modern AU fics that kept relationships intact to various degrees

I think I kinda got off of the question but hopefully some of that made sense 😂

Happy Fall!

[hoarding-niffler]

Thanks, I really appreciate it. I'll try leaving politics out. I really have nowhere else on the internet to socialize anymore since breaking from tumblr, and rn in my life situation the only chance I have of making friends is online. Sorry this is so long, I hope this much text isn't off-putting. In any case I appreciate seeing bloggers like you who keep on enjoying the game and hp universe despite all of this.

I'm nonbinary, nonwhite, studying to convert to Judaism, and I've been obsessed with hogwarts since I read the books as a child. I can't not interact with this world I love so much, not just as an escape to real life. I'm autistic and had a bad childhood and the books were the only thing that helped me deal, and now I mainly interact via fanfiction that essentially 'fixes' things from the books, and watch the movies. At this point I feel I can't live without the HP universe in my life, it is a core part of me. It bothers me that people in my own communities would essentially cast me out, because I play the game and have wanted something like this since I was a kid, that I'd be considered a bad person and cut off from necessary support. As if being accused of bigotry and hurt feelings is the only consequence I could face.

I already deal with a mild fear that toxic ex friends from on here will find my new blog, because of the way they went about ending our friendship. I'm afraid if they find my blog, which is loosely connected through a few old friends, they'll see it and put me on blast/ screenshot my blog/ talk about me with their friends like they used to. Like I used to (which I regret) because that's behavior that people in my 'community' encouraged when someone 'needed calling out' even if it was a mistake, or a well intentioned attempt at conversing and understanding someone else's pov to learn. I'm afraid to post screenshots on my main, or attach my HL sideblog to my main, in case it gets me hateful interactions which I have no heart to deal with anymore. It seems like hating this game and anyone who plays it is the stance of the majority of online LGBT spaces rn. I don't wanna hide it, but also need support from online spaces. I even feel bad playing and haven't gotten very far because this has all cast a negative feeling on the game for me.

I'm so sorry you're struggling with this and it honestly shouldn't be like that, but I'm well aware that things are nearly never black and white. There's a whole lot of grey in the world and most people do not know how to deal with it. That's how you get bullies, haters, scapegoats, and the list goes on.

I did not grow up with the books but I did grow up with the movies and I rewatch them regularly. I also love to read tons of fix-it fanfics (my favourite character is snape, of course, I need alternate universe fics where he survives lmao). I feel like most people hate so much on others enjoying the world of Harry Potter and therefore now Hogwarts Legacy because they are notoriously online and forgot what life is like in the real world. Things are not as simple as "Oh, you play this? Then you're EVIL". A lot of times, just like in your case, franchises give us support and strength, because life is fucking hard sometimes. Most times. Especially as a minority, I can't even imagine what fears you must face. And instead of realising that NOTHING we consume is pure and that people should look closer whether a person uses a franchise to gain strength from it or to spread hate, people rather point with their fingers and gatekeep their own communities, not realising how much damage they do on a broader scale. It's not only the people they keep out, it's also the people who listen in on this infighting and either get turned off from ever engaging with those communities (in positive ways) or the wrong people use exactly that to fuel their own hateful agendas. It's damaging all around, all because people prefer to take the easy route and accuse rather than discuss and understand.

Honestly, I get why you in your specific situation can't really say "fuck it" and ignore any possible consequences but I also think you shouldn't deprive yourself of what brings you genuine enjoyment. My suggestion would be to create a completely new main Tumblr blog with a second mail address and then a sideblog for your HP needs. And considering how you can look through the Hogwarts Legacy tag and finds SO MANY active players and defenders of the game who are, at the same time, completely against JK Terfling's insane views, shows that you can have your cake and eat it too. So far I experienced this community as very supportive and you just block everyone who gets aggressive. It makes your online experience so much more enjoyable, believe me.

You will not be able to stop people from talking about you. But you can stop it from affecting you as much as it does and seek out people who wouldn't do that to you in the first place.

Man, this got long and rambly and I don't know if anything of what I wrote makes sense BUT

you're always welcome in my asks and I bet the same goes for other Hogwarts Legacy fans on here. We got each other's back.