#I don't really want to tag all the characters ;-;

[tofixtheshadows]

You guys really need to stop and consider the ways you're talking about Kabru I am dead fucking serious. Like I know that flattening characters is just what fandom does to a certain extent, but Kabru's actual personality is getting lost to the fandom hivemind insisting that he's aggressive/cruel/sociopathic/hateful, and these are particularly concerning takes to see leveled at the only brown character in the main cast day after day. "My poor sweet golden child Laios needs to be protected from this scary brown man" is not a good look! Like, it's very telling that the bulk of the hate and bad faith readings are reserved for Toshiro and Kabru. Everyone else's flaws get to be discussed and validated and forgiven (or erased), meanwhile people are straight making up things to be mad about with Toshiro and Kabru but patting themselves on the back for being smart.

The worst part is how undeserved it all is. I'm trying to lay off anime-onlys because we're still kind of in the red herring stage of getting to know Kabru, but I would still like to gently suggest that even if you think Kabru is up to something, you don't gave to get in the tags of every fan creator's post and bring up how you hate him or You Can Tell he's totally evil. Sometimes I think Kabru's blue eyes give people license to say things about his appearance that they know would sound completely racist otherwise, but referring to his blue eyes acts as a get-out-of-racism free card. The jokes about the dog with brown contacts are getting old, by the way.

For people who have read the manga, it's disappointing. Kabru is one of the most complex and important characters in the story, and if you base your interpretation of him and all your fandom interactions on shallow first impressions you are completely missing out.

I know part of this is because Dungeon Meshi is a comedy, but the story also wants to be taken seriously. For example, it's admittedly really funny when Chilchuck calls Laios "sick in the head", but that doesn't change the fact that the way Chilchuck casually belittles Laios caused him to hide the fact that he was "hallucinating" from his friends for weeks. Those feelings matter.

Like, this

is funny.

But this?

Is not. This is just a very clear example of a brown boy with PTSD. As someone else with PTSD, just looking at this fucking sucks, man.

The only reason why Kabru thinks about killing Laios is because he is in the middle of a flashback. He's struggling through a panic attack. If he truly wanted to kill Laios because he's violent or because he finds Laios inherently annoying, he wouldn't otherwise talk with Laios normally. Notice how he doesn't act this way at any other point in the story- it's just because he's triggered by monsters. Even when he's thinking about his plans to "deal with" Laios later, he's reluctant to actually kill him and only considers it to prevent another tragedy. Despite his deadly skills, Kabru relies far more on "soft" power- insight, persuasion, diplomacy. He's a rare example of a character who absolutely is, or at least can be, manipulative, but seems to use his abilities for good. He's not a pathological liar, he isn't looking down on everyone behind a smile. He's someone who is extremely emotionally intelligent, and he's willing to put aside all his own basic wants and needs to stop the cycle of dungeons devouring humans.

I'm going to cut a potential thesis on his character short and just give some examples of things that fandom should consider about his personality more:

Racism in fandom isn't just about whitewashing in fan art, or using racial slurs. The insidiousness of bad faith readings, reductions to racist tropes, lack of fan content for characters of color, and dismissal of a character's complexity are far more common. You can believe yourself to be completely neutral or even positive about a character and still churn out low-grade bile about them into fandom's collective unconscious. Fandom reflects real life.

And I have been around fandom long enough to see how these behaviors (mostly from my fellow white fans) affect fans of color, how it makes a fandom feel hostile and unwelcome to them. It's fun to make jokes and memes, I'm absolutely not saying that everything needs to be a deeply nuanced take, but we need to be careful that it doesn't veer into toxicity. Please think about how our contributions to fandom come across, and what sort of vibes they cultivate in this communal space.

[yandere-sins]

I got some hateful replies on some of my stories the last few days and they've been really discouraging even if I delete them and try to move on. So, I want to appeal to y'all's maturity to stop commenting your shitty opinions on things. Not everything needs to be said out loud and "freedom of speech" doesn't cut it as an argument to post every thought. Nobody wants to hear that you dislike something/were stupid enough to consume things you didn't like even though they have warnings and were tagged. It has no impact and you don't feel better sharing these things either.

If you have nothing nice or constructive to say, cut your losses and move on.

Of course that doesn't count for actual crimes and actual awful things, by all means, shame those criminals. But yelling about how awful you think that in a story you read e.g. two brothers fuck the same person (and not even each other) or e.g. how you think some characters shouldn't be portrayed as yandere because they are too wholesome (character in question is a murderer and not an uwu baby) does nothing for anyone. The artist doesn't feel better, people reading the comment don't feel better, and you as the commenter also don't feel better.

I implore you once again that if you don't like something, don't look/read it and live your best life away from it. It actually is that easy.

[digi-lov]

Alright guys here's my spoiler free opinion on Digimon Liberator Episode 0 and 1, and with spoilers under the cut.

Also starting next week I will also reblog Digimon Liberator stuff with the tag #Digimon Liberator spoilers, so make sure to blacklist/filter that if you want!

Ok, so I feel like the series had a good start! (besides the technical issues, but they fixed them within the first day)

To me, the main characters felt likable from the start! Both of them being passionate about Digimon (and the card game), and being in their late teens, makes them more relatable to the current audience of Digimon.

The art is great, love the colors, the characters are very expressive— And I think they did a good job visualizing the card game play.

Even if you don't know how the game works, it's simple enough to follow, and there are basic explanations when needed. With the colors and expressions and everything, it just all looks fun and it is fun to read!

While I don't have a lot of experience reading webcomic, and thus can't really compare it, I felt the artist used the layout of the vertcial medium well! I also felt like Chapter 1 had a decent length, considering its bi-weekly release, it didin't feel like we didn't get enough content for the wait.

Maybe I'm just a little too excited about another Digimon series, but I'm very much looking forward to reading more!

Ok for those who read it or don't mind spoilers

Something that really stood out to me is that the Digimon themselves just look really great!

Like I said above, the visual representation of the card game mechanics is done really well, and looks great!

I am also curious if the characters will continue to have multiple partner digimon? I love Muchomon and Junkmon as partners, and I how Pteromon and Shoemon don't completely replace them!

They also set up a decent amount of intrigue- Owen seems to be famous and popular, but Zenith is a newcomer who quickly rose up! He also participated in the Liberator beta! What kind of person is he, and how did he get to play the beta if he is new to the game? Who is the pretty mystery girl? Looking at promotional material she appears to be partnered with a Sunalizamon.

What is going on with that rogue NPC? Why are they chasing Shoemon? What's up with Pteromon? What does it mean by "This is my Island!"?

I don't know what to say guys, I'm just happy for more Digimon content in my life

[thecrabbybarista]

Seeing lots of young ppl in the Hatchetfield fandom getting worried about what other ppl think of them so I want to tell you guys

- You don't have to justify liking a character

- You don't have to justify blocking someone or blocking a tag

- You don't need to tailor your blog to fit anyone's tastes. Post what you want, and if people don't like it, they won't follow you. And that is okay

- If someone doesn't like your takes or something you posted, that doesn't automatically mean you've done something wrong. If they don't provide a specific explanation as for what they're upset about, then they probably just don't vibe with your ideas and that's okay.

Please keep this all in mind, guys. I hate seeing you all beat yourselves up over ppl's opinions, opinions that rlly don't matter as much as you think they do.

Oh and the other side of the coin. Don't like confront or challenge ppl about what they post unless you think it is genuinely harmful, and approach people in good faith! And if someone's really pissing you off, just use that block button.

[olderthannetfic]

I just got a comment saying I should have tagged for dom/sub undertones and I'm a little confused. In canon, this guy always bosses his wife around re: doing shit that's healthy for her - napping, drinking water, remembering to eat more than once a day, getting more than 3 hours of sleep - and she lovingly calls him "Boss Man" as a nickname because of it. On some occasions where she's gone more than a day without eating he'll swipe her phone and order her to eat before she gets it back, something she always seems to find endearing. There's a lot of 'I didn't mean to worry you', 'you're worth worrying about, now here's your favorite homemade walnut bread' stuff, all there in canon, just lifted from canon and transplanted into my fic.

Is this dom/sub stuff? I'm aroace so I've never been in a relationship, but I assumed "take care of yourself" "I will but I will call you a silly nickname over it" was regular relationship stuff. Or is it that the frequency of it makes it dom/sub stuff, and I'm just not grasping that because my neurodivergency is making me not read the social cues correctly? I was only recently diagnosed but this has been a problem for a long time, the whole line between normal and abnormal behavior, so I thought I'd ask you. You're much more well-read than I am and know a lot more about shipping dynamics and how they're tagged. I feel like you're an expert whose opinion carries a lot of conclusions-informed-by-knowledge and so your take could help me figure this out.

People who are doms or subs or write them, if you have a guide on this stuff, that'd be cool, too. I want to educate myself more so I know if I should tag something. After all, I can't get my story to people who want to read it if it doesn't show up in the tags they're searching for. Readers aren't mindreaders. It's on me to make sure they can get ahold of the things they're looking for. I just need to work around my own ADHD-addled brain to do it.

--

I think this is the usual pattern of demanding silly tags that would only make sense in that reader's own bookmarks.

Yes, caretaking and food control of various kinds can be a part of BDSM. No, your description of canon does not make it sound like this has obvious undertones.

Readers are going to have different interpretations. It's possible that other readers would agree with this one. I have my doubts. I suspect they're projecting. But sure, maybe other people would think there was some of that vibe.

However, if you did not intend the fic to read this way, I would not add the tag. This is not what the fic is about.

--

As for what this kind of thing can look like when it is intended as a dom/sub activity, the movie Secretary has a bunch of examples. She calls him on the phone to tell him what her family's dinner looks like that night; he gives her instructions about which things she can eat how much of. The way she acts while making that phone call makes it clear it's an exciting game to her. Another time, he tells her she's not allowed to cut herself anymore: he will provide what she needs.

Even if the characters are being playful, just nagging someone to do basic self care doesn't really come across as this. It's more charged when it's an intentional power exchange thing.

It's more like... hmm... if you and a friend agreed to LARP as characters for a day. Even if you were acting fairly normal and doing things you'd often do anyway, there would be this added extra vibe to it that someone who knew you well could probably detect.

It's not so much about the specific behaviors: it's about the extra meaning those people ascribe to them. If it doesn't seem like the canon characters think of this caretaking any specific way and you, as the fic author, don't see it that way, then I don't think it will generally read as a dom/sub thing to most readers.

[wikiangela]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

tagged by @dangerpronebuddie @diazsdimples thank you <33

How many works do you have on ao3?

right now it's 90! (57 of these are 911 lol)

What's your total ao3 word count?

535,450

What fandoms do you write for?

currently just 911, but I have some destiel and sambucky fics and who knows, I might get back to them at some point haha

Top 5 fics by kudos:

For a holiday (and forevermore)

I can't love you any more (than I do now)

I'd marry you with paper rings

the next best thing

There’s no way that it’s not going there (with the way that we’re looking at each other)

(they're all buddie and I just noticed that the top 4 are all over 1k kudos?? when did that happen lmao)

Do you respond to comments?

I do! sometimes it takes me a while bc i get lowkey overwhelmed lol but I always do!

What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

there's not a lot bc I prefer happy or hopeful endings, but I guess by post 6x10 fics? Fine and don't know what I'd do if your tomorrow never came idk lol

What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

most of my fics have happy endings, but I guess I'd say For a holiday (and forevermore) 

Do you get hate on fics?

not really? got like one or two not very nice comments but generally no haha

Do you write smut?

yes I do 😁 not often and it always takes me forever but I do have two smut fics in the works (one buddie, one bucktommy lol)

Craziest crossover?

don't have any

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

no, as far as I know

Have you ever had a fic translated?

nope

Have you co-written a fic before?

no

All time favorite ship?

buddie

(ngl, bucktommy is a veeeeery close second rn🙈)

What's a wip you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

there's two that have been fighting me for so long they're lowkey abandoned now and tbh I don't know if I still want to finish them? one is a 5+1 nicknames, and the other just a silly idea about eddie flirting with buck since they met but buck being veeeery oblivious lol

What are your writing strengths?

I think (usually) I'm pretty good at staying true to the characters and not making them too ooc (and I know when it's ooc, okay, I have one wip rn where I just don't give a fuck, I'm writing it anyway lol), and I can get into their heads pretty well. Also I think I'm good at the cute fluffy stuff lol idk

What are your writing weaknesses?

there's probably a lot lol - rn the one that comes to mind is descriptions probably, which is why writing fanfic where we have established characters and settings is so much easier than og stuff haha

Thoughts on dialogue in another language?

I don't mind it but I don't do it a lot aside from a pet name here and there bc I just don't wanna get anything wrong lol

First fandom you wrote in?

for tv shows supernatural, but before that I did write rpf which i just wanna forget about lol

Favorite fic you've written?

rn it's three:

we don't know where this is going now (don't be afraid of heights, let me open your heart wide) - my tommy pov fic <3

I'm comin' back, don't let me go - buck driving/breakdown fic

baby, you drive me wild - car smut - might not be my best but it's my fave smut lol

tags: @elvensorceress @eddiebabygirldiaz @watchyourbuck @loserdiaz @evanbegins

@wildlife4life @lover-of-mine @monsterrae1 @weewootruck @loveyouanyway

@spagheddiediaz @rainbow-nerdss @epicbuddieficrecs @pirrusstuff @spotsandsocks

@rogerzsteven @hippolotamus @sunshinediaz @honestlydarkprincess @exhuastedpigeon

@jesuisici33 @steadfastsaturnsrings @buddieswhvre @theotherbuckley @daffi-990

@hoodie-buck @tizniz @bidisasterevankinard

[ackrmwf]

LEVI ACKERMAN. | «But for me you are the best painkiller.»

Levi x reader

tags: comfort, care, relationship, wound treatment, fluff

Darkness filled the room because of the deep and quiet night. Despite the fact that the moon tried to launch its weak lighting into the room, it did not manage, the curtains on the window interfered greatly. And only the dim light from the lamp somehow illuminated the corners of the room.

And again, the appearance of these wounds, the smell of blood and wound treatment products, bandages that have become something necessary. You're already used to all this and even fell in love with it.

You were upset that Levi received all these wounds, every time fighting these nasty monsters, whether it's a titan or a man. You both realised that you couldn't do anything about it, but you still continued to stick together. Despite the character of Levi, which he is trying to correct for you, for example, to open up to you more and trust you. Even if he doesn't always succeed, he can be rude and laconic. But it hasn't pushed you away in a long time. After all, Levi is absolutely the same person as everyone else. He also needs care, love, tenderness, affection and understanding. He really wants it, though he doesn't show it well.

And at the moment you could show your sincere feelings. Taking bandages and a treatment, you put the guy on the bed to take good care of him.

"I'm fine, you don't have to do it" Levi muttered calmly, hinting that you shouldn't worry, because the wounds will somehow pass by themselves, it's already a common thing.

"Remember, when I asked you for permission to take care of you?"

Levi was like a street kitten, detached, but requiring affection and care. He may try to dissuade you, but in his heart, on the contrary, he wants this warmth from you.

Dropping the treatment agent on the cotton swab, you touched the guy's wound on his shoulder with all your tenderness. Levi, in turn, does not resist, does not say anything, does not even make painful sighs, so much he is used to these wounds on his body. He looks at your face, then at your wrists. And in a couple of seconds he grabs your wrist.

He doesn't say anything, only wraps your hand around with his hand, and then applies it to his cheek, leaving a light and gentle kiss on the back of the palm.

"Levi, it will be difficult for me to treat your wounds with one hand" A light blush spread on your cheeks.

"That's enough." the guy still calmly answered, rubbing his cheek against her palm.

"What do you mean? I'm not done"

There was no answer from the man, only subsequent tactility. Levi draws you closer to him, sits you on his knees and sticks his nose into your neck.

"I am grateful to you for your excessive care for me, but for me you are the best painkiller"

[tommykinard6]

I don't mean to pile onto your bad day but I've been seeing a lot of creators on tiktok complain/compare the bucktommy and henren tags/fic count on ao3 because there's almost more bucktommy fics then there are henren fics. The number one claim is always that bucktommy writers are racist because we don't write for henren. But like, that's not correct at all? People can write fanfiction for whatever they want to. If they want to see more henren stuff then they can write it on their own.

We can coexist without fighting each other. I'm just tired of people screaming about how bucktommy is anti this or anti that, when we're just vibing by ourselves and don't want the drama but the drama finds us anyway because Sucky People are loud and get heard the most.

You’re good, anon. It actually gave me something to think about during work.

As a quick disclaimer, before we begin, I’m not a POC. I am not speaking for anyone in the Black community and am not attempting to speak over them. My following thoughts are as a queer woman-ish who is also a writer.

I think it must be noted that Hen and Karen have been overlooked since day one. The fact that Buck coming out made it the “gay firefighter show” when we’ve had a beautiful canonical lesbian couple since the very beginning? Is only proof. Is this proof of racism in the fandom? Maybe. Quite possibly. I would argue that it comes from a misogynistic point as well.

If you look in any fandom, regardless of the color of their skin, any wlw ship is horribly overlooked. I’ve done some tag searching on ao3. Straight and mlm ships battle for dominance while there are canonical and fanonical wlw ships that have a drastic difference in numbers. This isn’t a good thing. But it’s an experience that spans fandoms.

I find it sad that BuckTommy has almost more fics, with only two episodes under their belt, than Henren with 7 seasons. However, this isn’t a reason to hate on BuckTommy. The ship didn’t do anything wrong. Comparison is the thief of joy and it’s also rage bait. I think that some creators simply are using anything they can to hate on BuckTommy. Which that makes it sadder, that they aren’t concerned about Henren other than pushing their own agenda.

This isn’t to say all creators who are speaking about this are doing this, but I guarantee some are.

Now, let me speak as a writer.

As someone with 62 published fics on ao3, I write almost exclusively mlm ships. This isn’t because I hate women. And as a queer woman-ish, don’t even start about homophobia. But for some reason, I find it so much easier to write men than I do to write women. This is true for straight and wlw ships and also just in general. I love Henren, but I don’t have the faintest idea about how to write them.

It’s hard enough to write as it is and I’m already writing on ships that are easy for me. I try to write women and it just hasn’t come out right. I want to challenge myself, branch out, and maybe I’ll write for Henren to do that. But I say all this to point out that for some people like me, writing some ships and demographics of ships are just a little more difficult.

That leads me into something else.

I, as a white person, worry about accidentally writing non-white characters wrong. And this was reinforced not too long ago when we had that whole thing on ao3 with deliberate racism in 9-1-1 fics. If anyone has resources or advice for writing non-white characters, I would love to hear that! The last thing I want to do is cause any harm.

I feel like I’ve spoken a lot about me, but that’s because I can’t really speak for anyone else. I can only speak from my experience.

We already have a ship war between BuckTommy and Buddie. We don’t need to pit more people against each other. I think we can love BuckTommy while agreeing that Henren needs to be seen and appreciated and treated equally.

End note to say: I tried to speak as delicately and as sensitively as I could, but if anything came out wrong, please feel free to point it out (kindly). Again, I speak for no one but my very little section of the world. I’m interested to hear what people of other backgrounds have to add!

[bluejaysandblackbats]

Phantom Grin

Fandom: DC Comics, Batfam

Summary: Bruce Wayne visits his son's grave on the night of his resurrection. Will it change Jason's fate, or is it all simply inevitable?

Chapters: 6/?

Characters: Jason Todd, Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson, Alfred Pennyworth, Barbara Gordon, Tim Drake, Cassandra Cain

Relationship(s): Jason Todd/Original Character

Additional Tags: Canon Divergent AU, Jason Todd Has Chronic Pain, Jason Todd is Disabled, Barbara Gordon is Oracle, Resurrected Jason Todd, Bruce Wayne is Bad at Communicating, Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne Get Along

Chapter Six: Storybook

Later that night, he crept downstairs and ran into Dick. Dick smiled at him, and as he opened his mouth to speak, Jason gestured for him to stay silent. He waved his hands, with fear written all over his face, and Dick took him by the arm, and they went back upstairs. "What's-." Jason gestured for Dick to keep his voice down. Dick nodded and looked at Jason's backpack. "What's wrong?" Dick asked.

"Not safe," Jason whispered, "Help me."

"Help you leave?" Dick asked. Jason nodded. "Why? What happened?"

"Dad... Don't trust Dad," Jason whispered.

Dick looked at Jason, and it was obvious that Jason was planning to leave with or without his help. "Okay, listen to me... Jason, we can get out of here tonight if you don't feel safe," Dick whispered, "But as far as I know, Bruce would never hurt you—."

"Not safe, Dick," Jason interrupted.

"Okay, after we leave, will you help me understand what you mean?" Dick asked. Jason nodded. They crept back downstairs, and Dick took Jason out to the car. Jason felt a tingling pain like electricity, running from Jason's head to his shoulders. Nerve pain. After nearly a month of tests for his persistent headaches, his doctors realized that was the cause of Jason's near-constant pain. He slumped down in the seat and closed his eyes.

"Pain?" Dick asked. Jason nodded. "Is it bad?" He started driving away from the manor, and Jason shook his head. A lie, but he didn't want to risk Dick taking him back to the hospital. "Jason? What did you remember about Bruce that's so bad you wanted to run away?"

"Hitting me..."

"Are you sure it wasn't your birth father? I know Willis—." Jason pressed his palms against his eyelids. "Jason, you never really talked about Willis, but he hurt you..."

Jason lay his head back. Dick sighed. "Jason, do you trust me?" Dick asked.

"Don't know," Jason replied honestly. Dick nodded.

Dick didn't know what to say. He couldn't stop Jason's pain, and he couldn't fix his memories. There was nothing he could do, and Jason needed help. The boys drove outside of town, and as soon as Jason drifted off to sleep, Dick stopped at a hotel and checked in. He didn't do so because he believed Jason's memory. Dick did it because there was no use in stressing Jason out any more than Jason already was. He came back to the car and woke Jason. "Jason, wake up," Dick whispered. Jason sat up and followed Dick up to their room. Jason climbed into bed, and Dick sat on the other bed, watching the tv. Jason lay curled up. Bruce called Dick and Dick sent a text in reply. Dick deleted the message immediately after sending it.

Dick sat awake the whole night, trying to figure out how to help Jason. When Jason awakened, he curled up in a ball facing Dick and mumbled, "Help?" Dick nodded.

"Yeah... Help," Dick replied, "How'd you and Cassie get along?"

Jason gave Dick a thumb's up. "I feel like you two would've gotten along either way. Jason, do you trust me now?" Dick asked.

Jason didn't answer. He wondered if he could trust anyone. Jason felt lost and alone in his own mind as he thought about Dick's question. An answer wouldn't have meant anything. He could've lied if he wanted to. "Who's Robin?" Jason asked.

Dick lay on his side facing Jason. "Robin's who I used to be, who you used to be, and now there's another. Jason, I could tell you everything I know, but it's up to you to decide whether or not you believe me," Dick whispered, "I'm not going to lie to you."

"Tell me?" Jason asked.

"I'm going to tell you a story... This story's true. It's yours, and I want you to pay attention," Dick whispered, "When Jason Peter Todd was twelve years old, he stole the tires off of the Batmobile and made Batman laugh. Jason, at first glance, was rough around the edges, he was temperamental, impulsive, and some would even say he was impatient. Batman didn't care. He saw something in Jason, and he took him home.

There, Jason got to know Bruce Wayne, the man behind the mask. With every passing day, Bruce grew to love Jason more and more, and Jason started to love him. Bruce made Jason feel safe. When Jason felt safe, he showed his true self. He was compassionate, warm, and some would even say charming, but I wouldn't go that far.

Jason became Bruce's Robin. They were nearly inseparable... Then came Dick. He could've been far more understanding when he met Jason, but he was upset with Bruce. Dick felt he'd been replaced, but things eventually smoothed out between the three. As Jason got older, Bruce started noticing how strong Jason's emotions were. Jason's compassion was often paired off with rage. He was harsh in his dealings with wrongdoers, and it frightened Bruce. He couldn't control Jason, so he asked Jason to take a step back for a while, not realizing there was much more going on.

Jason was looking for his mother. He ran away from home searching for her, and Bruce came around and tried to help. Jason found her. In the process, he crossed a horrible man, a man that would later kill Jason.

When Jason died, Bruce's heart broke. He put Jason's costume up and tried desperately to pack away the hurt that came with it. Bruce never wanted to live in a world without Jason... But he had to go on because his city needed him to." Dick took a deep breath, and Jason closed his eyes. Pieces of the story came together for him, and they felt real, but he wasn't sure. Jason couldn't cry. He didn't have the words to explain his tears. He lay there, staring at Dick, who stared back at him.

Dick sat in silence with Jason like that for what felt like hours. "Jason?" Dick whispered. Jason nodded. "We love you. I know you don't know that for sure, but we do. None of us want to lose you again."

"Dad?" Jason asked. Dick nodded.

"Yeah, especially Bruce. Jason, I'm gonna ask you one more time, and then I won't ask you again. Do you trust me?" Dick questioned. Jason nodded. "Then let's call Bruce and let him know you're okay."

Jason nodded. "Mor-ning?" Jason whispered. The word felt unnatural on his tongue, and the corners of his mouth twitched. He knew he didn't get the word right. Dick smiled and nodded.

"You had it... And yeah, we'll call in the morning," Dick replied, "Go back to bed. I'll be here if you need me."

[rainyfirecollection2]

out of curiosity what's the moment being a hardcore Ruben stan really clicked for you

Really good question, thank you for asking.

I enjoyed when he was onscreen, even on first watch, but that's not exceptional. Brennan does great voices etc, he's a very funny presence, but all this can apply to Gertie, or a billion other NPCs. His art is so huggable, but that wouldn't be it on its own.

He kept growing on me slowly every time I went back through scenes to fact check and he was there. Even when we actually had the episode where we found out about Jace's involvement in his life and the confrontation with Henry, I got more engaged with his character but I wouldn't say I reached my full tipping point quite yet.

But what happened was, there were a couple posts where people thought it might be a trick, and that Henry was being inappropriate. Jace snapped because he was under stress, but ultimately he wasn't wrong in telling Henry to butt out, kind of thing.

I don't want to shame anyone for having that idea, it's a mystery season and I think it's normal and fine to reach for possibilities that stretch what's likely sometimes. But ya know, I went back through the scene to double-check my memories, and get the quote about Jace saying that he didn't even read all of Henry's concerns. (Which I feel like made Jace pretty clearly Wrong in that scene, even if he had turned out to just be a shitty teacher/administrator and not Ankarna-connected.)

And as I was again going back through his scenes and he kept growing on me, I was making more posts about him and realizing how few other people were posting about him in the tag. I got to thinking about it, like

"well hang on, we have this character with a great design. he's presented a lot like the emo equivalent of Zayn's caricature of gothness in season one. they've already investigated and found out he doesn't have a history of being toxic to anyone even though he's famous now and has the opportunities. and we just got huge evidence that the 'maybe some of the RGs are being manipulated and actually fine' that people wanted for Oisin in particular might actually be true for him."

and my first instinct was to check myself and go like "well remember just bc you're super invested in small NPCs doesn't mean anyone else would be, he's actually very minor and has little screentime-HANG ON A MINUTE. he's had more screentime than any other Rat Grinder! So then why-ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh" And idk something about this kid who had more people going "maybe his uncle is evil for trying to protect him" than "oh damn we just found out he needs to be protected" made me go you know what. if nobody else is gonna take this corner of fandom than somebody gotta

And I rolled up my sleeves.

[katnissdoesnotfollowback]

kdnfb's Ten Years of Fanfiction Mania

Featuring: Unmasked

Summary: Written under an Anonymous pseudonym ~M~ to fill the following prompt ~ Historical Katniss and Peeta hate each other. They attend a masquerade ball and for some reason end up kissing each other. Sparks fly everywhere. Katniss tries to find the man behind the mask but Peeta knows it was Katniss though he doesnt say anything. They end up bethrothed even if they 'despise' each other. How they fall in love is up to u and how katniss figured out it was peeta is up to u

Rating: E for explicit sexual content, explicit language, implied/referenced rape/nonconsensual (not everlark), implied/referenced child abuse, implied/referenced suicide, implied/referenced miscarriage, discussions of illness, war, and injury in a historical setting, ptsd, minor character death. They worst of these tags happens offscreen and is merely discussed and dealt with rather than shown here.

A/N: ~Unmasked~ is my longest fic in terms of word count (around 234k), although Outside Chance and Spellbound are not too far behind and are both incomplete. Unmasked started as something meant to be fun and cathartic, then turned into a ridiculously long and self indulgent fic that I still, to this day, have no idea if the anonymous person who submitted the prompt to @everlarkficexchange even read, let alone whether or not they liked it. But I love what I produced for this fic.

Why write it anonymously and only reveal myself later? A couple reasons. 1) Historical is not my wheel house. At least not writing it. I am a shameless consumer of historical romances. I did some research for this fic but not nearly the level I would've liked to have done. Eventually, I said screw it, it's about the vibes not the accuracy. 2) I had a pile of unfinished wips when I started this, to include Outside Chance and Spellbound (both of which are still unfinished hmmmmm) and I really didn't want a lot of questions about when I was going to get back to those while I was working on this because 3) I'd just gone through a small slice of writerly hell to the point that I seriously considered deleting my entire tumblr and all of my fanfic. Details are not important right now, the result is. That's probably the closest I've ever come to calling myself done with fandom.

Then this prompt posted to EFE and wouldn't leave me alone. Eventually, I decided that if I was going to write it, I wanted to write it with as little pressure as possible. So I chose to write and post it as ~M~ until it was finished. Plus, I thought it might make it fun for people other than me if there was a bit of mystery behind it. And I don't regret doing that.

Writing behind a mask allowed me to be as long winded and self-indulgent as I wanted to without worrying about how tight the storyline was or how accurate the historical details were, or wondering if I'd be walking into my tumblr and a barrage of the kind of messages I'd come to dread receiving. The only thing I worried about, really was if the amount and kind of smut I included gave me away prematurely lmao.

While this was my first real foray into the realm of historical fics, I am hoping it's not the last. I've got too many ideas and half started pieces to back out of it now. But those, like this one, will probably remain untethered to a specific real place, and a specific time, mainly because I just don't have that kind of time for research if I'm not getting paid to do it lol. They will be works of love if not works of accuracy.

Unmasked on AO3

[happiness-of-the-pursuit]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

Thanks to @kiwiana-writes for the tag!! I did this back in like... October, and a LOT has changed since then lol

How many works do you have on ao3?

29

What's your total ao3 word count?

299,988 (though this includes 110,000 from the co-written PJO AU and 2,000 words from Manu's fic that I podficced to)

What fandoms do you write for?

Only RWRB for now, though never say never to others. I recently read Check, Please! and I've had some thoughts, but I have far too many WIPs for RWRB to write them rn. Also I have some ideas for The Pairing, but again, I have... so many RWRB wips...

Top five fics by kudos:

Longer Than Most | 26K, trans Henry accidental pregnancy (also this is how I found out it had become my top kudos-ed fic AH)

The Super Six Take a Lie Detector Test | Vanity Fair | 7K, YouTube interview

Let Me inside (I Want to Get to Know You) | 6K, epistolary roommates

Claremont 2008 | 28K, canon divergence where Ellen gets elected in 2008, childhood friends to lovers

(Dil)Do It Yourself | 17K, meet cute at a DIY dildo workshop

Do you respond to comments?

I really try to. But. I have gotten quite behind recently. I would love to catch up but it's just a bit overwhelming at the moment.

What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I don't really have any angsty endings?? but a fic @affectionatelyrs and I are working on is going to have an ambiguous ending and my joke is that someone should the version of it where things take the angsty route

What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

I mostly write happy endings, but I am going to say that Let Me inside (I Want to Get to Know You) is the happiest because it's kinda the tropiest

Do you get hate on fics?

Not hate, but I've gotten one or two weird comments, or comments asking about updates.

Do you write smut?

I do! (this is one of the things that's changed since the fall)

Craziest crossover:

The closest I've gotten to a crossover is the PJO AU, but that's not even an actual crossover.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Nope.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope.

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Yes!! Super Six and the Siren's Call with @inexplicablymine and @read-and-write- was the first, and then I wrote Let Me inside (I Want to Get to Know You) with @affectionatelyrs. I also did the podficcing of the voice notes for love has a voice (and it's yours) by Manu. I've also got a couple more projects coming up with Jamie also.

All time favorite ship?

Well that I've written for, FirstPrince :)

What's a wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Unfortunately I don't know if I'll ever finish Baby's First Pride because I've grown a ton as a writer since then and I would want to redo the old chapters and that just isn't all the compelling to me anymore...

What are your writing strengths?

I fucking hate this question. But I am going with dialogue and humor (and humorous dialogue) which has been co-signed by others so I feel less weird about saying this.

What are your writing weaknesses?

I would like to be able to keep smut more concise at times, because it always turns into a Big Scene but it doesn't always need to be a Big Scene. And I've been trying to work on a particular style of writing which is a bit more uhhh snappy? I don't know how to describe it. But that's still a huge work in progress, because I always get more rambly than I want.

Thoughts on dialogue in another language?

I definitely try to include it for the characters in RWRB who speak other languages, and when I do I lean on my friends who speak those languages as a native speaker.

First fandom you wrote in?

Officially: RWRB. For myself: HP.

Favorite fic you've written?

Honestly it's always whatever I'm working on at the moment, which is a couple of WIPs: Fire Island WIP, Parasocial Relationship AU with @affectionatelyrs, and my Big Bang fic come to mind.

But really I want to know what y'all's favorite fic of mine is!!!!

I'll tag 20 people, sorry if anyone's done this recently, but in case anyone wants to go again: @mainstreamelectricalparade @14carrotghoul @anincompletelist @littlemisskittentoes @gay-flyboys

and @songliili @gayrootvegetable @leojfitz @welcometololaland @rmd-writes

and @bigassbowlingballhead @eusuntgratie @captainjunglegym @cactusdragon517 @cricketnationrise

and @violetbaudelaire-quagmire @bribumblebee @nocoastposts @magicandarchery @itsmaybitheway!!!

[cal-daisies-and-briars]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

Thank you to @tizniz @diazsdimples @alliaskisthepossibilityoflove for tagging me!

How many works do you have on ao3?

31! (almost 32)

What's your total ao3 word count?

1,103,627

What fandoms do you write for?

9-1-1

Top five fics by kudos:

Batting a Buck & Change 

Nothing Left But You 

Appetency 

Got Weird

and here, too, am i

Do you respond to comments?

Absolutely!

What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Spinning Out FOR SURE

What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

They almost always have happy endings, but probably august 

Do you get hate on fics?

Twice maybe? But it was less about me and more about Eddie?

Do you write smut?

I am TRYING (not really)

Craziest crossover:

I wrote a Fallout 4 inspired fic called Don't They Know It's the End of the World? 

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I sure hope not.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Idk!

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Nope!

All time favourite ship?

Buddie. And then maybe Glimbow? Guess best friends with a divorce era is my shit.

What's a wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I finish everything.

What are your writing strengths?

I think I try to be empathetic to every single character, even the ones I don't like.

What are your writing weaknesses?

My rush to post without editing properly.

Thoughts on dialogue in another language?

I try not to, because I'm not confident. I could maybe touch a little German without feeling like an idiot but that's it.

First fandom you wrote in?

An unpublished Finnick Odair fanfic from when I was like 13

Favourite fic you've written?

Both Blade and Branch 

---

Tagging @pantsaretherealheroes @jeeyuns @aroeddiediaz @exhuastedpigeon @theotherbuckley @steadfastsaturnsrings

[herearedragons]

Fan Work Friday

Hey look, I'm actually doing this on a Friday! Tagged by @bragganhyl.

Rules: if you're tagged, make a new post and show off one piece of fanart and one fanfic you like!

Fic: The Dunryd Archives (Pillars of Eternity) by dragonologist_phd (@dragonologist-phd on tumblr)

My mother once told me those names are the people who were cremated in those fireplaces. It’s not as common a practice these days, but back when the Citadel was new and people still worshipped the old gods, it was apparently custom for Magranites to dispose of their dead in that manner. To tell the truth, that always freaked me out a bit. I knew the bodies were already dead and it didn’t matter, but I still had this awful idea that they could still feel it; the flames eating at you, peeling away at your skin, consuming you until just a handful of dust remained. My great-grandparents were cremated, you know- I guess we had some Magranites in the family at some point, and the traditions stuck. Mom showed me the urns when she told me all this, and it just seemed so strange to me. I remembered the time I burned my hand on the stovetop, and how the skin on my fingers and palms blistered off at the heat. How much more heat would it take to reduce a whole person into something that was so easily scooped into a jar?

...so I've never listened to The Magnus Archives. However, AUs that remix canon in a fun way while keeping as much of the lore as possible are My Jam, and this is exactly that. I've been meaning to keep reading this for a while and ended up reading chapters 3 and 4 to make this post specifically, and hooo boy I'm glad I did because apparently I stopped just before the fun stuff started happening.

Fanartist: @ritelli-main

Honestly I just wanted an excuse to show off this art blog? ritelli's art style is really cool and she draws a lot of fun dnd-related characters and environments. This one is Legend of Drizzt fanart (I think), and, while I haven't read the books so I don't have the full context, the colors and shapes are just. Really Cool to me.

tagging: @solas-backpack-mug @curiouslavellan @layalu @ndostairlyrium @apeirotilio if any of you feel like it!

[cha-melodius]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

Thanks to @ninzied for the tag!

How many works do you have on ao3?

120!

What's your total ao3 word count?

1,371,932

What fandoms do you write for?

RWRB, TMFU, Lokius

Top five fics by kudos:

Please Don't Let Me Be So Understood

Nova, Baby

Class(room) Warfare

All the Old Showstoppers

Always Where I Need To Be

Do you respond to comments?

I try. I used to be very good at responding but my backlog has gotten extreme (1491 unanswered comments as of right now, if you're curious) so at this point I pretty much only answer if it's a chapter in an ongoing multichap, or someone asks a question.

What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I have a caradin fic that's straight up a break-up fic with no resolution, but I still feel like my angstiest is probably Black Moon (napollya), because they're in love but the situation is so fucking bleak. Sorry guys.

What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Any of them that end with a proposal lol? I've got a lot of fluffy fics and all of my long fics end with pure fluff, so I don't think I could pick out one.

Do you get hate on fics?

I have been lucky not to really get any, at least lately. I've gotten... less than polite comments, of course, but no outright hate (knock on wood).

Do you write smut?

Yes, although I would not say it's an integral part of my writing tbh.

Craziest crossover:

Craziest might be Maybe, This Time, which is a Mandalorian/BSG crossover that involves dimension-hopping lol.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes! I've had a few of my TMFU works translated and now there's someone in the RWRB fandom that translates most (!!) of my fics into Mandarin, which is mind blowing and flattering and I'm so grateful because I've gotten comments from people who have read them translated and loved them.

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Not yet!

All time favorite ship?

I don't think I can pick one; some of my past ships are just that—past—but there are a few I will carry in my heart forever.

What's a wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

If I want to finish it, I will, even if it takes a long time. I might stop wanting to finish a wip, but that's not the question is it?

What are your writing strengths?

Banter/dialogue, action, pacing, plots. People have told me that they can picture my scenes like a movie because of the description and that makes me feel good.

What are your writing weaknesses?

Although I have my moments, I don't really tend to think of my writing as beautiful. I'm just not that poetic/lyrical.

Thoughts on dialogue in another language?

Sure! If it's in my own fic I usually have a native speaker look over it (I haven't done this lately but I have gotten Russian consults for TMFU fics).

First fandom you wrote in?

Xena: Warrior Princess, back when that show was airing. Fanfic primarily distributed over internet mailing lists and posted on your own website.

Favorite fic you've written?

Stealing Nina's idea and doing one in each of my main fandoms I've written in because it's hard to pick (even then this was rough).

Nova, Baby Series—Spy AU, Firstprince

Love is a Losing Game—Chess AU, Napollya (SHOCKER I KNOW)

What Makes a Good Man Series—Spy AU, Lokius

Here It Goes Again—The Mandalorian (Caradin but mostly Din character study in a time loop)

I'm not sure who's been tagged and who hasn't or even everyone who has done this, but a few tags below the cut. If you'd like to do it, jump in!

@kiwiana-writes, @rmd-writes, @three-drink-amy, @cricketnationrise, @14carrotghoul

@leaves-of-laurelin, @tintagel-or-cockleshells, @inexplicablymine, @firenati0n, @liminalmemories21

@orchidscript, @sparklepocalypse, @loki-is-my-kink-awakening, @mirilyawrites, @heytheredeann

@nicijones, @justabigoldnerd, @myheartalivewrites