#I should have done this thing on my actual fic writer blog lmao | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

trashlie · 1 year

Text

Manifesting Stalkyoo~

Just to get it out of the way: PLEASE KNOW THIS IS ALL IN GOOD FUN! I don’t want anyone to take this in a weird way or like it’s some ridiculous demand I’m making lmao. I’ve just been having a delightful time talking to other Stalkyoo shippers and just romanticizing silly things we want to see so again: THIS IS JUST FOR FUN! I know fandom has been weird about shipping stuff because of the... ugly past lol so I feel a weird need to remind people that my shipping is just secondary enjoyment of ILY and that I will continue to love and read ILY wherever it goes.

With that out of the way lol please also note there are spoilers all the way up to 224, so if you don’t FP episodes, this post is not safe for you! (unless you like spoilers. i don’t judge people, I like spoilers, too)

Look, I’m not good at writing fanfiction. I’d love to, but I always feel like it’s difficult for me to portray characters the way the original writer does. I think about it, every now and then, dabble in a little idea, something I might like to see, before the storyline plays out in a different way, but I just never trust myself, so this is about the closest I ever get to that. And even still, I think of these little musings, these silly little “oh I’d love to see ______” very inline with fanfiction, wherein I acknowledge that what I’m hoping for or imagining is very likely to not happen. It’s just the fun of exploring story and the what-if’s and little AU tangents where ONE little thing tweaks.

For me, the fun of shipping is just playing with those character dynamics, which is another reason fic is so difficult for me - I enjoy my pairings, my characters, within their circumstances. That’s not to say AU fics are unfathomable to me (I LOVE THEM), but more so that it’s hard to write something knowing that I don’t know everything, that quimchee will pull out a surprise and I’ll be like oh my god I should have realized! And again, I guess that’s where musing is fun. You get to play out those little what if’s for yourself, get to imagine a scenario that probably will never come to pass. That’s the fun of fic + canon, to me! Not once has quimchee done something with her characters and their story that really surprised me in an “oh i don’t like this” kind of way. I can say “Oh I’d love to see xyz scenario play out” but when instead abc plays out, I’m not mad.

I also fully admit that I tend to compartmentalize my shipping thoughts and whims separately from my general commentary, and I guess for the previously mentioned reasons: this fandom has an ugly, nasty past with shipping and even still, there are a lot of people who demand romance from ILY and don’t seem to care about the actual story at play or even weirder, seem to think that it detracts from the romance they think should be happening???? (”when is she going to choose one of the brothers it’s been so many years and episodes waaaah) And I guess, yeah, I get a little self-conscious, because (and this is feels so embarrassing to actually word) I acknowledge a lot of people read my commentary and my opinions! And I’m so happy for that, I love being so communal with everyone! But I do get worried someone is going to take something out of context and be like “omg can you believe she’s one of those weirdo romance demanders” or something lmao, hence this weird long useless diatribe. But yeah, basically, I’ve been talking with people lately and god just thinking about my shippy feels and how much I love the current story - one step forward, three steps back; the struggles to open up; the struggles to deal with feelings in the face of much heavier, scarier elements; etc. etc.

Sometimes you just wake up and you’re like: I WANNA SCREAM ABOUT STALKYOO so you do it because you have a birdbrain and you know is screaming afljkfkjafkjakfjaf LMAO

If you’re reading this, chances are you aren’t new to my blog so you’ve probably read the likes of my Foundations of Stalkyoo, Why I Ship Stalkyoo, and Further Thoughts on Stalkyoo (I just never shut up huh) posts, so I’ll try not to like, completely repeat everything but if it happens well. It can’t helped, can it? lol

Anyway something I’ve been talking and thus thinking a lot about is where we stand with Stalkyoo, now that we are getting more confirmation of actual budding feelings. I always reiterate that anything can change, but I also like to remind myself that something quimchee has said in the past (and this is loosely paraphrased) is that whenever it does come to a pairing, it will be made obvious before it gets there, because this is NOT a primarily romance-focused story which means there aren’t as many storylines that deal with just the will-they/won’t-they and the likes, and I think likewise, there won’t be a real love triangle the way most fans tend to think of them. So often a love triangle gets boiled down to someone being torn between two people for whatever reason and i just don’t get the sense we’ll be seeing that? Thus, I do feel like we might well be moving into a territory where we will see some kinds of scenes setting up, or maybe better put, enabling the possibility of a relationship between Shinae and Nol?

But first. I always say I don’t really try to predict things because I’m always proven wrong, but I still like to try for fun lol, just because that’s part of the joy of reading an on-going story, I think! I’ve waffled a lot on it, but I still feel like when we reach our big time skip (not the first one taking us to graduation, but rather the one that jumps us a few years ahead), there has to be a REASON. Narratively it’s hard to imagine what that reason might be beyond the likelihood that we’ll see our three main characters on separate paths. It’s the only thing that makes sense, because otherwise you end up with a lot of story happening off page, right? If Shinae were to go to Japan with Kousuke, we’d end up missing their reconciliation and Kousuke earning her trust (or if it were to go the opposite, becoming cold acquaintances). Thus, I think Kousuke will go to Japan, but Shinae will take Rand’s advice begrudgingly and take up Yui on her “offer, while Nol will probably go to college abroad. He wasn’t denied admission to Oxford - it’s just not guaranteed there will be a spot for him.

I know people take umbrage with the idea of Shinae taking up Yui’s offer, but hear me out. I don’t think it’s meant to turn Shinae into some kind of conniving, cunning person in the likes of Yui, as much as just introduce her to this world, give her a better understanding of how people in this society and business work and thus, start to get an idea of how Yui works. While I don’t think it’s easy to ever be one step ahead of Yui, I do think developing an understanding of her world helps to at least defend herself from Yui - start to see traps in advance and how to avoid them, find ways to evade her clutches, that kind of thing. I do think the idea of Yui holding that over Shinae’s head is terrifying and it’s feels more dangerous than going to Japan with Kousuke, BUT again, the idea is that she would become better equipped to defend herself and fight back.

Of course, I don’t think Shinae in this moment is prepared to make that choice, and it may be a choice that comes after Yujing’s big scoop is revealed. Perhaps realizing how much more dangerous and powerful Yui (and the Kims) is would make her see what Rand was trying to tell her. I think she hasn’t fully figured out just what is going on with Yui and Rand, either - why would he be pushing her against his wife? But I think the information Yujing has compiled could help her see that bigger picture. If someone like Rand has spent twenty-five years struggling in this battle with her, how could Shinae ever hope to stand against her with even less understanding, with no sense of WHO Yui is or what makes her tick.

The thing about this that I always struggle with is: how would Nol regard that? We know he feels vehemently about Alyssa idolizing Yui and taking advantage of her connection to the Hiraharas - and yet he stayed with her, knowing that she benefits from him (but that he does, as well). Would he feel the same, if he found out who was enabling Shinae to go to school? Would they talk about it, since Shinae knows how he feels about it? Would he be able to understand, when even he himself doesn’t seem to realize that his father finds himself trapped by the Hiraharas? That’s... stuff I can’t try to predict, because I think everything is possible.

I promise I’ll get to that a little more.

The narrative benefit of separating the main characters is, of course, that first off, no major development happens where we can’t watch it. Sure, they’ll go about their lives and things will happen, but I don’t expect it to be major things that would make us go WAIT WHAT?! Otherwise, what brings us back itnto the story after time passes? For a long time my idea was that they’d all go their separate ways and maybe even their relationships would be a little damaged, so that when they come back into each others’ lives, part of the story is recovering that, reconciling with the past and maybe finding new futures together.

Especially regarding Nol and Shinae, I’d wondered if we would see him leave without reconciling with his friends, and that we’d see him and Shinae meet again after some years and Shinae would have to contend with their unresolved past, with feelings she never had a chance to really identify, let alone explore, and the aching beauty of having to figure out who each other after now that they’ve grown and changed, and if there is room in each others’ lives for one another, if they fit in with who they’ve become. And don’t get me wrong - i do like that kind of bittersweet ache, haunted by the ghosts of what never came to be, having to relearn each other. But the more I’ve talked about this (especially a lot with @bittrbuttr, the more I realized that’s not exactly what I want with them.

Like, it’s good and achey, it really pulls at your heartstrings. But I think that better suits an actual romance story, where the focus of the story and plot is on those feelings and untangling them, on finding their ways back to each other. I don’t think that’s the story of ILY, though.

I keep dancing around my point and I apologize, but we all know I’m nothing if not circuitous and I promise we’ll get there!

Here’s the thing: we know that Nol and Shinae are not in the space to become romantically involved. The feelings are there. They are drawn to each other, we know Nol finds comfort and peace in Shinae and that he always struggles to really push her away. We know that Shinae cares so deeply about him that no matter how much he hurts her, she still wants to try, she still wants to be there for him. I find the hope-tinged pain of 223 really poignant in that way - she wanted to SEE HIM, in a moment that was so special, she wanted to share that joy and get a glimpse at who he REALLY is, and he was unable to do that for her. But still she hopes for the best, still she intends to keep trying, to be as persistent as he was, even if she has to find a different approach.

They are so important to each other, and I’m hoping that might be a catalyst?

I understand what Nol’s struggle is. It isn’t easy to be vulnerable, to feel weak, especially when those parts of him have been used against him the last 6 years of his life. He is full of so much self-loathing and isn’t comfortable with his own weakness and vulnerability, thus he can’t show it to Shinae, he doesn’t want her to see him like that. He’d rather let her think he just doesn’t need to see what exists between them, that he doesn’t need to see her indulging because it’s enough to just bring her joy - and that itself hurts enough! But I want him to at least be honest about it - tell her that you don’t want her to see that part of you. Will it change things? Probably not significantly, but it puts her one step closer to understanding doesn’t it?

And so the thinking is - or rather, the hope - is that maybe Nol will realize this?

We see some of it in 224. Upon Dieter’s arrival, instead of a hey welcome back or anything, it’s an immediate “Did you bump into Yoo?” and when Dieter reassures him that she’s fine, it’s just stuffy, he knows a. it’s not fine and b. he feels bad. I think he felt that regret immediately, when he noted that she’s angry and he took off the blindfold and she wasn’t there. Nol is so used to pushing people away, it’s his first line of defense, but when it works? When he succeeds at driving that wedge? Again it’s that battle of will vs want - he thinks that pushing her away is the right thing to do for her sake, but he doesn’t ACTUALLY want it.

It’s so difficult to go back to how things used to be having gotten a taste of something better. It’s so difficult to push out everyone when you’ve allowed yourself to indulge in being loved and cared about, and and I think that’s what Nol’s biggest hurdle is.

Don’t get me wrong; there’s a lot of hurdles with him lol and clearing one doesn’t exactly make the others any easier to clear. But something we’ve seen from Shinae and that I think the story has tried to impress upon is that things are easier when we aren’t alone. Burdens shared are burdens that weigh a little less. We’ve Shinae and her father talking about being a team - about sharing that burden so it’s not so hard for just one of them and distributing that burden more easily. We’ve seen it in Shinae opening up about her problems with her friends, her insecurities that made her doubt her friendships. Her realization that as scary as situation as her sister breaking into her home was, it was made more bearable with a ragtag group of goofs who will protect her.

Nol needs to learn to share that burden. He’s spent so long treating himself like an island, he hasn’t had the opportunity to remember that it’s easier to endure something when you aren’t exhausted from shouldering that burden all by yourself. There is strength in numbers. He’s been so run ragged from just trying to endure, trying to get by, trying to survive and how is he to ever fight back against Yui when he’s exhausted just from treading waters?

I mean, ultimately Nol needs to learn to love himself, but I think it’s easier to tackle allowing others to love him, first. Allowing himself to share the burden, to show those weaknesses and let people have his back. Be able to slump over and know that someone will help keep you standing, you know? And maybe through that, he can find it in him to start loving himself. Of course, he has other problems he needs to address; in order to love himself, he has to forgive himself, and I hope that Yujing’s article can help in that area. I’m sure he carries the guilt of his mother’s alleged suicide, and maybe he was even made to believe that. It wouldn’t surprise me if the time he spent in the mental facility only served to make him feel worse about his existence, made him believe he was the root cause of the bad. Maybe even, like Nana, he had an argument with his mother before he death and felt that if they hadn’t argued, maybe she would never have made that choice?

Clearly that’s still a little complicated for us to fully dig into, but as horrible as learning that maybe her death was not a choice she made is to learn (I cannot imagine having made this peace with someone I loved reaching a point so dark they made that choice, only to find out that it was, possibly, murder. How do you deal with that? What do you do with all that new grief, that new anguish?), I think maybe, if he learned that she didn’t choose that, it might help free him from his shackles of guilt.

But I think until he can learn to forgive himself, until he can make that peace, couldn’t letting people love him help? Wouldn’t it be better for him to move forward knowing that he has people who will not only defend him, but who can ease the weight of his burdens?

As dramatic as Nol and Shinae separating on these rocky grounds, unable to fully reconcile, makes for a good, dramatic romance, I think it’s much better for Nol to move on as a team. To let himself rely on others isn’t something he can learn over night, of course, but isn’t it better for him to enter a scary phase of his life knowing that there ARE people who he can talk to about it? There ARE people he can eventually let see those weak parts of him?

So my ultimate hope for Nol’s extension is that in that time, he and Shinae find that peace after all. I still can’t help but feel like the three-day-extension is significant, because why else include it, if it was to pass without event? Especially because, depending on how it works (is it 3 additional days INCLUDING the 22nd or 3 days extra, beginning the 23rd?) we’ll hit the holidays. That just feels... too significant, right?

I want Nol to grapple with his feelings, let his fear take over a little. Is he really as ready to lose Shinae as he tries to be? He seemed to regret hurting her, hanging his head after Dieter reassured him she was fine, even though she refuses to come back in to the room. And I can’t help but feel like it’s significant that she’s still lingering in the waiting room. My thinking is that Nana will get involved - she knows that Nol is upset about someone, she knows other friends have been watching over him, she knows there’s a friend who isn’t coming back in. She can read him well, so it’s not like it’s difficult to read that maybe they had a fight, that he was brusque and brushed her off the way he tries to do even to Nana. Will she go out there to see who this friend is? Will they talk? I feel like they HAVE to - not just because the fandom has waited for it, but because I think Nana can probably glean that Shinae (”Yoo” lol) must be someone important, if he’s acting like that.

And look. Did Nana see the blush? *I* saw the blush, I’m not getting over that. I’m sorry but he lmao pushed her away, regretted hurting her, and he’s still getting flustered because he pictured her mouth. BUDDYYYYYYYYYYYY. YOU’RE A MESS.

I don’t expect her to fully intervene in like, trying to make things happen way lmao I think it’s more like... Nana knows better than anyone that Nol is a difficult person to love. I say this with affection, because it’s true. He pushes people away, he deflects from himself, he never opens up, it’s hard to read what’s going on in his head. And Nana also knows of the darkness that looms. She was right there when he pleaded guilty, concerned about his reasoning. She’s listened to him talk about how maybe everything would be better if he didn’t exist. She knows that the darkness has a strong grip on him. So who better than her to encourage Shinae, to thank her for her patience and tenacity, for sticking with Nol even with the way he acts? I’d like to see a little bit of that comfort between them, some reassurance that Shinae is, in fact, making the right choice. She oscillates so wildly between her extreme emotions; sadness and melancholy that caring is not enough and how it sometimes comes out as anger when she can’t find a better way to channel it. We know she doesn’t really regret planning that birthday celebration - she’s just hurt. And I think it would be a big help to have Nana tell her how much it means to see Nol with friends who care about him despite how prickly and difficult he is, how she worries about him and is glad there are people who care about him. I think it would really encourage Shinae that her resolve is right - that she just has to find another way to approach him, that it’s worth the effort.

And at that same time, yes, I want Nol’s fear to kick his ass. I want him to realize he faces the very real reality of losing someone who cares so much about him, who is willing to put up with him because of how much she cares and how special she is to him - and that she wants him to see it, too. I want him to fear losing the comfort and peace she brings him. I want him to have to finally face head on his want vs what he thinks he deserves, and see what a future without someone like her is like. Can he bear to return to that kind of loneliness? Can he bear losing her concern? How it feels for her to take notice of him, to probe, to listen?

Like, at the risk of getting really corny and dramatic, that’s what it comes down to. I don’t want Nol to come back in a few years and decide he’s ready to face all of that. I want him to move on from this point knowing he’s not alone. I want him to be able to face prison knowing that he’s not so alone, that there is someone who will always be there to support him. I think that’s what makes the most sense. Leaving on their current circumstances works great if it’s a romance and that’s the main story - but making up, talking, being honest? That makes more sense for THIS story, where Nol starts to grow NOW, where he starts to make those important steps that will help him find his way to healing, and more important, that will help him face the forces that taunt and haunt him.

He doesn’t have to be completely honest with Shinae, because I don’t think he’s ready. I don’t think he’ll tell her that his mother took her life, and that he believes it’s his fault. But I think it would be enough to tell her the truth he couldn’t stay to her face - that he doesn’t want her to see him like that, that it’s still hard for him to open up that way, that it’s still SCARY - but that he doesn’t want to push her away, that he’s sorry he keeps hurting her. We could even go more dramatic with a callback to the hospital scene - that he’s sorry he isn’t good enough and is undeserving of her (AND LET HER REASSURE HIM THAT’S NOT TRUE THAT HE IS). BUT JUST. IDK I WANT HIM TO FACE IT. ADMIT IT.

He doesn’t have to tell her he likes her. That’s fine. Just reiterate what she means to him! One moment he’s telling her she’s special to him, that he cares about her, next moment he’s telling her it’s okay he doesn’t have to look he’s fine like this. STOP JERKING HER AROUND ;~; lmao like don’t get me wrong. I GET IT. I UNDERSTAND HIM!!!!!!!!!!!

But I also want to see them move into our time skips with a sense of understanding and peace, you know? I don’t want want Nol to face his fears alone anymore. I want him to let someone stand by his side. I want him to accept how good it feels to rest on her shoulder and know that it’s okay, she’s there.

I HAVE FEELINGS OKAY I JUST. I WANT THEM TO BE ABLE TO FIND T HAT STRENGTH IN EACH OTHER, TO BE STRONGER TOGETHER.

And to call back to my earlier point lmao I like to think if they get to that point, then maybe he would understand, if Shinae accepts Yui’s offer. Maybe he would see how it’s different from Alyssa, that Shinae made a choice to protect herself, that it’s not about the idolatry, it’s not a self-serving choice, but one that protects her and enables her to fight back. Knowing that they are on the same side, that Shinae isn’t a doe-eyed naïve girl about to be taken advantage of again, but one who wants to fight back against the people who hurt her and others like her.

We’re about halfway to 3/5 of the way into this story, and I think that’s a good point for Shinae and Nol to join forces.

AndlookthisiscompletelydaydreamingbutiftherewasaChristmaskissIwouldcertainlynotobject

PLEASE I JUUUUUUUUUST i want to see them on the same page, I want to see them moving forward TOGETHER. I don’t want Nol to keep walking on his own. I don’t want him to just accept Shinae at his side, either; I want him to CHOOSE to let her choose his side. ;A;

GOD. PLS. BARKS AT THE MOON I’m just ready for them to bE A TEAM I’M READY FOR NOL TO BE SELFISH AND TO GO AFTER WHAT HE WANTS I WANT HIM TO CHOOSE COMFORT AND SECURITY OVER PUNISHMENT I WANT HIM TO REALIZE THERE IS STRENGTH IN COMPANIONSHIP. I know being close to him puts her at risk - but he needs to see that no matter what, she’s at risk, and isn’t it better if she’s in danger with someone who can help, than to be all alone with it? I WANT HIM TO FACE THAT FEAR OF HIS AND FIND THAT MAYBE HIS DESIRE, HIS WANT, HIS NEEDS ARE EVEN BIGGER. That it’s better to find peace with her than spend the whole time afraid. Isn’t that the thing? He’s always afraid - afraid of someone else getting hurt, afraid of another opportunity being stolen away, afraid of the next time Yui will find a way to hurt him. BUT TO BE ABLE TO FIND COMFORT WITH SHINAE?

Please. Just open up - be honest!!!!!!! But most importantly APOLOGIZE. Apologize for hurting her, apologize for pushing her away.

I realize, based on what she said on the hospital roof, that maybe he won’t make that choice, that maybe her persistence has to be a long game, that she does have to wait for him to forget to put the mask back on.

But wouldn’t it be so nice if he chose to move forward with her, instead of alone, to face their nightmare and battles together? ;~;

#I Love Yoo #ILY Brainrot #ILY FP #ILY Spoilers #Stalkyoo #Aegi #Shinae Yoo #Nol #Nolan Oliver T. Lochlainn #LMFAO THIS IS SO LONG-WINDED but i think no one is surprised anymore?#I just!!!!!!!!!#i have this very specific want in mind and if it doesn't happen that's okay because i'm sure it will lead to a better story lmao #BUT I CAN'T HELP BUT LIKE. WANT THIS PARTICULAR THING TO PLAY OUT for the sake of the story #for the sake of the second season #for the sake of what it means to fight against those who harm others just for joy #i'm such a firm believer of shinae and nol being a team and i want to see them be a team together FOR REAL #i want to see nol find it in himself to lean on shinae and find how much stronger he can be if he doesn't have to shoulder a burden alone #it's so much easier to share the weight together when you aren't the only one to carry it right?#and when you aren't run ragged just from sturviving #when you have the time to rest and recharge knowing you are safe #aren't you able to become even stronger?#to face even more?#I JUST WANT THEM TO BE A TEAM ;A;

47 notes · View notes

ofmermaidstories · 1 year

Note

About blocked anon. In general i agree with merms. Howevre. Ok im a silent reaer too for the most part. Tried a sideblog, but i get sidetracked and end up not using it. If the writer has an ao3 i try to leave a comment there but i have more trouble reblogging and interacting on tumblr fro some reason. I have been blocked too for not reblogging fics! But honestly I don't feel particularly bad about it cause I feel like I can't really blame a writer for blocking ppl who don't support their fics.

Like, it's not about talking to the writer, it's about reblogging their fics and show appreciation to the work they put in them and posting them for others. If that's important to that particular writer and they don't feel good with ppl who just lurk (like me) then it's their right to deal with it however they see fit.

I still look at their blog thoughthey just don't show on my dash. If anon wants to put the work and reblog and comment fics on a side blog if they don't want to do so on their main, and ask the writer to unblock them i'm sure they will (unless there's a different reason, like maybe the writer saw soemthign on anon's blog and was like "hmm don't like that". Can't do anything about that.)

You’re allowed to disagree with me, Anon, LOL, I promise don’t mind it—a difference of opinion (on inane things, and I would consider anything that happens on tumblr dot com short of harassment to be inane) is good! Healthy. 😌 Mix things up a bit. But—okay, let’s talk about the reblog debate.

I just don’t vibe with it, LOL. I don’t vibe with sniping people for being lurkers. 💅🏽✨ I don’t respect it, actually, if we’re going to get serious—yes, people can (and should!) curate their followings as they need to. If someone decides to deny you access to their online space then, no, you can’t do anything about it. I just also happen to think it’s one of the more stupid reasons you can block someone lmfao.

I know that the general (touted) thought process behind blocking lurkers is generally a parroted, “it’s about supporting writers”. And to be honest, I would respect the push more if people just admitted they wanted more comments LMAO. Because!!! I think that’s perfectly fine!!! It’s okay to be like, “hey I worked hard on this, and I would like to see a big fat number of notes or to have people in my inbox”. We are real people—real people taking the time and effort to create fun things for free, and it can be bitterly disappointing to have that met with silence or entitlement.

The solution to that though isn’t blocking people for being silent readers. Because that’s turning around and doing to them exactly want we don’t want done to us, as writers—it reduces them from being living human beings to numbers who are measured by how they can best serve (or “support”) you.

I can hear the “Merms this isn’t this serious, we just want more people to reblog fics” already but tbh… it is. I think it is because it lets the worst of us get away with treating each other really, really appallingly. You are absolutely allowed to deny someone access to your online space. But if you’re denying them that access and also making them feel bad (“you haven’t reblogged enough fics/you haven’t liked enough of my posts to fill the weekly quota/you’re not doing enough for me to be allowed to see this content I provide online publicly and for free”) then idk… sounds like ur the problem to me.

And look, I don’t say that easily. Tumblr has always been a site where mass hysteria breeds like mould; it tends to happen when online spaces become our Third Place for socialising. We don’t have the normal, social safety-rails that like, actual real-world Places like work or school have for us—we’re unleashed here in our downtime and feel protected by the anonymity of a screen. By the fact that we can’t see each other’s faces when we say things like, “you don’t do enough for me” to random strangers. I don’t like that! So I don’t police it on my own blog. 🫡

Fandom is one of the precious few spaces we have where anything goes. You can create whatever you want, however you want, and it’s all done purely for the love of it. It’s indulgent and silly and fun. So to come into this space and then directly make demands of the other people in it (“reblog x number of fics or else you’re not a real member of the community”) goes against the spirit of why we’re all in this shared space in the first place.

We can absolutely have a conversation about how to support each other—writers and readers—without fear mongering about lurkers being why “omg the community is dying”. I think the community is falling into a lull because people get obsessed with new things; a new show or game. New technology, like ChatGPT for instance, which gives maybe otherwise passive readers a chance to create their own fiction or pocket boyfriend, instantly. Maybe it’s even a generational thing—a change in how people socialise. We are in constant contact with each other, with constant availability—controlling what little we can, what we spend our energy on or how we engage with things in our third space is sometimes only control we have. I’m sure we could even dig digger about like, the consumerist behaviour and entitlements so many of us subconciously take on now—wanting instant updates or reading completed fics only or taking it for granted that we’ll be given an entire season to binge in one go.

I appreciate that writers want to push back against the audience entitlement that can come with creating readily available smut about popular characters. And yeah, reblogging does help showcase art and writing! But it can’t be demanded. It just can’t. Just how no-one has the right to demand you write how they want you to, or upload when they want you to, you don’t have a right to dictate how engage with your work (beyond not being dicks to it!!!!!! underscore!!!!!!).

Should we try and support each other, even through a small act like a reblog? Yes!!! It’s so so so good!!! Despite the essay I’ve just written, I am all for support being shown in whatever small way it can be!!!! But—there’s no entry fee, to being in a fandom. Not for lurkers, not for active readers, not for writers and not for artists. Demanding a fee like that just pushes people away and feeds them into traps like ChatGPT, which, while I understand and emphasise with it’s popularity (especially for younger readers), I will never support it. It’s using it’s current popularity as free training and when it’s learnt enough it will be monetised, but only after it’s stolen so much from all of us. And this is why we should protect the freedom of things like fanfic, and why we should say no to trying to turn each other into numbers or updates—we’re already products that are being sold, in so many other aspects of our lives. We desperately need spaces where we are free to be unhinged about little kissy stories and the characters they’re attached to.

I’m sorry Anon, I know you were just offering a counterpoint to blocked anon lmao, and I didn’t mean to unleash—but I am actually incredibly passionate about this topic, and the broader implications for the community a debate like this brings.

#ofmermaidstories-asks #‘it’s not that serious’ i say—before taking it perfectly and utterly seriously #the reblog thing—discourse

45 notes · View notes

galaxythreads · 1 year

Note

All your ideas for fics are like, genius. You are insanely creative. I wanna be able to write like you some day, but I never have any ideas. Is there anything you do to figure out your ideas? Like taking some stuff from other fics or just spending a lot of time thinking or something? Or do the ideas just pop into your mind?

Great question! Thanks for asking, and the compliment. It's very sweet. <3

I remember being roadblocked by this a lot when I first got started, too, so you're not weird. This is pretty normal from what I've seen.

Here's where I get my ideas most of the time:

Reading fics in and out of the fandom (Right now, it's really, really rare for me to read MCU fics that aren't for Tony and Peter.)

Watching TV/movies

reading books

tumblr posts

my headcanons

music

That fic idea that blows up that everyone does 200 times

Not being able to find the fic I want to read (this is pretty rare though)

Want to see a character destroyed

Re-watching something and then being annoyed the actual writers didn't address this THING

I really, really enjoy the challenge of writing a fic that everyone has done 300 times and then doing it different. I have read so many fics where Aunt May has an abusive boyfriend to Peter. Like so many. And then I got done with that and I was like "you know what? Tony punched the abusive guy and that was like. It. Peter was fine? What happens after." And then I wrote Vertigo and Not One for Chocolate Anymore.

Then we have You Screamed for So Long I Forgot To Care Anymore. Pretty much every fic in existence about Loki and the Avengers, there's always this big section about Loki explaining to the Avengers about how he was mind controlled and I was like. Wait. What if the Avengers had to explain that to Loki?

Taking a fandom trope and then twisting it enough so you can still recognize the trope for what it is is one of my favorite things. Everyone loves reading tropes, okay? Everyone. But one of the most enjoyable things is a fresh take on the trope. I had never seen anyone do that before.

Sometimes I get requests, though not as much recently. (I used to get them every couple of weeks. I don't think I've actually accepted a fic request since the Blodig Skog.)

Here's an ask where I answered how my writing process works

Here's an ask where I talk about how to stay motivated

I kept trying to find a post where I talked about how I plan, but it's gone, so. Sorry. lmao. XD It's somewhere on my blog.

Basically. I just kind of keep an eye out for ideas all the time and then I write them down. I may use them tomorrow or never, but I keep a document all the same.

Here's some ideas from my planning doc:

^ me being annoyed they didn't address that Diana, for as much as she loves Spencer, was extremely neglectful to him in Criminal Minds. Also that scene in s12 where she hit him, Spencer reacted like it wasn't the first time. He barely seemed to think about it. Why? Diana has probably hit him before. <- Headcanon, + me being annoyed with canon.

^ had this one for years. Never done anything. This fic would actually massively deconstruction of Loki and Thor's relationship and I have a feeling that @thot-son-of-odin would kill for it. XD Writers didn't address something, so I'm annoyed + the fic I want to read.

See look, I have another summery of that fic later in the doc:

^I think about this a lot.

^ subverting fandom tropes, tumblr, + personal headcanons about Frigga. Basis of YSFSLWFTCA.

^subverting fandom trope. The time travel fics always go back and fix everything. I want to destroy Thor. This fic would not be happy. It would do nothing BUT destroy Thor.

^ this is for ML, but Marinette is usually cursed with bad luck in fics and it annoys me. I need Adrien to get destroyed. Every bad thing that could happen to him, should. Subverting fandom tropes. Not being able to find the fic I want to read. Also based off the original basis for ML which is that the ring would curse Adrien with bad luck and he couldn't remove it, but the only way it would be reversed is if Marinette gave him a kiss.

As you can see, the ideas are usually really simple. They're kind of supposed to be? I think writing is at its best when it's simple. If it's getting too complicated to follow, you enjoy it a lot less. Sorry. long answer. Um. Okay.

I get my ideas from interacting with the fandom on all fronts. I've kind of learned to see everything in life as a creative opportunity. Did this answer your question? You can say no, that's fine. Please come bother me again, always, I'll try to wander less. And also, my DMs are always open if you want someone to throw ideas at and plot with.

#writing questions #my writing #anon answered #one time I wrote a fic because I learned straitjackets can destroy your arms #and I was like oh! perfect! we're putting sherlock in a straitjacket then #writers are so weird

14 notes · View notes

sapphire-weapon · 1 year

Note

I used to draw for other small/rare ships (apparently I'm drawn to those kind of ships lol), only one of them got huge enough after they were given some time alone in the manga which got the ship more talented and known creators and amazing fan art.

Unfortunately it also got more hate on since it was a ship that "got in the way" of other huge popular ships and going through the tag got annoying bc the haters tagged every post shitting on the previously rare pairing, plus if you reblogged or made content for it they would harass you. I just blocked everyone sending me hate lmao.

Lots of people now hate Leon/Ashley but I think this increased hatred also shows how the haters can see that it is a thing now unlike before. They see it as a real threat. You can see the insecurity in some of those antis, it's too obvious and also just sad imo. I don't get why antis take shipping too seriously like they're not even having fun anymore and that's supposed to be the point, no?

Truth is I've seen so many Leon/Ashley fans online and even irl, Reddit for example loves it and Remake Ashley is a fan favorite now. A lot of them are more casual fans that maybe don't engage that deeply with fanon (which tbh is the smart thing to do).

Finally I have to say your blog and the amazing fic writers have inspired me to go back to drawing fan art and just creating content for Ashley/Leon or EagleOne. :)

Since this is my new otp and the only thing I love shipping rn I'm also just creating a new blog for that purpose. I'm not an amazing artist I'm just an amateur but I'll try to do something soon when I'm less busy. I'll absolutely tag it as EagleOne. Hopefully I can motivate others to do the same.

anon what the fuCK i got all emotional reading this wyd 😭

i know that the antis are coming from a place of insecurity, which is why their arguments are so disingenuous (i finally found the "the devs went out of their way to make sure that leon and ashley weren't seen as romantic" tweet and hoo boy the desperation is stinky) -- and that's also why i don't engage with them. as easy and perhaps fun as it would be to just QRT it and be like "oh it makes sense now, you're all using text to speech because you don't actually know how to read" there's no point in doing that.

i said it a while ago, but i want to say it again for good measure -- i don't want us to become them. my humble goal for eagleone fandom is to be a haven for ppl. we've been the black sheep of this fandom for so long, and aeons are still accusing us of being predators or someshit (idk i'm only semi-fluent in delusional) that i feel like we all have an obligation to stay humble now that capcom's given us a fairy tale version of RE4 where our ship is the front-and-center romance and people are finally actually being drawn to the ship. no one knows how bad this fandom can get better than eagleone folk, so it's on us to not do unto others what has been done unto us.

idk maybe that's just my whole jewish "because you were slaves in egypt..." mindset coming out but

i want us to be a place where people can just come and hang out and make friends over our shared love for resident evil. i know that i have serennedy and cleon and chreon and metaltango people all following me, and i love all of them dearly and i'm happy that we've all found each other. i feel like that's what fandom should be.

that's why i don't fight with aeons out in the open. i don't want to become them. i'll swing back if they ever come here (though i hope valuable lessons were learned the last time someone tried to come in here swinging and i took them out in exactly two responses LMAO), but i don't want to go out picking fights and i don't want any of y'all to do it either.

so it makes me feel really warm and fuzzy and happy to hear that i've inspired you in some way. i know that our little corner of the fandom over here on tumblr is small, and i know that i don't exactly have the kind of welcoming personality that will give me any sort of real platform in this fandom (at least, not like the one i had back in the day when i was a fake ass bitch LMAO), but to know that i've made at least a little difference is everything for me.

#if this ship is to be my legacy #then i would have this ship be the best version of us as RE fans that it can be

10 notes · View notes

erikatsu · 7 months

Text

hello. i know i made an announcement that i moved blogs, but i didn’t give an explanation rip. this post is gonna be long, sorry.

so i’ve been in the habit of archiving and or deactivating blogs around 1k followers (comfort zone) and i didn’t do that this time around. but it got to the point where i was just simply not having a good time bc of how i conditioned myself 💀 instead of deactivating and reposting everything again, i decided to just leave this blog up and make a side blog for anime fic reposts + new content. im not very active on either currently (my new job + family related things), but i will try my best to be more active even if its a few rbs here and there. i’ve been working on a few things for mha even though its pretty dead rn from what ive seen LMAO. but im not working at a good pace rip. i do still plan on posting genshin + hsr works there, or at least what i have in my wips. but, i’ve always been a slow writer so it will take time.

mutuals, since i have more followers here, i’ll use this blog for boosting fics, and my writing blog to keep track of my tbrs. and i want to say thank you to those who decided to come with me and continue to support me and my writing (or just me in general)– mutuals and followers alike. it genuinely means so much to me that you guys are willing to see me hop fandoms and 2d men like im a crazed frog and keep up with it. that being said you can tag me in stuff on either blog too, but i wanna try to keep some organization so i may rb with whichever one i feel is best.

i do not have asks open on this blog, only on my writing blog so unfortunately all asks will have to be sent there. i’d be willing to talk more in depth about what’s going on in the chaotic life i live where there are (way) less people too. eventually, i will go through my following more here and slim it down to make this an actual main which goes back to not interacting bc i don’t think i should be using this blog to boost fics from my writing one. i can’t explain that, but that’s just how i feel. i’ve not done that before and i don’t think i should start now.

if you took the time to read this post, thank you. ily. i hope you are all doing well and that life is treating you kindly. no tldr bc im here to be seen and heard /j.

unrelated but, ill be switching my theme here to my side bc i CANT stop staring at it LMFAO. its too cool to me

#❤️.updates

5 notes · View notes

wander-over-the-words · 2 years

Note

1, 5, 6, 10, 13, 22, and 35 for the weird writing ask game!

Weird Questions for Writers (because writers are weird)

(under cut cause lots of numbers and I got a little rambly a couple of times lmao)

1. What font do you write in? Do you actually care or is that just the default setting?

Times New Roman, size 12. Nothing else is acceptable to mine eyes lmao

5. Do you have any writing superstitions? What are they and why are they 100% true?

Scratches chin

I don't think I do, no. I am a huge perfectionist when it comes to writing (especially if it deals with an actual canon and such), but I don't think I have any superstitions about it.

6. What is your darkest fear about writing?

Pretty much all the fears I have regarding writing are, in the moment, pretty severe, but in hindsight, are probably quite trivial. The sort of things writing blogs make posts about, like how "we should write for ourselves so who cares about notes" and whatnot. How a fic might not get attention even after the amount of time I've spent on it (though, to be fair, that's sometimes just Tumblr's fault for locking me out of tags huff puff).

The only real dark fears I've had about writing are intrusive thoughts about like. which fic will be my last. In that, which fic will be the last posted before something happens to me or some such. My greatest fear in life is dying before I get to do everything I want to do, and sharing the millions of stories in my head is part of that.

But like I said, those are just dumb intrusive thoughts that my brain likes to shove in my mind every so often. Keeps me on my toes, I guess.

10. Has a piece of writing ever “haunted” you? Has your own writing haunted you? What does that mean to you?

I've certainly read things in the past that stuck with me for a long time! Been a while since I've read a fanfic that's done that, but I read a mystery/psychological sort of novel toward the beginning of the year that had a helluva twist, where I just kinda went "woah" and then immediately went to my mama like "YOU HAVE TO READ THIS" lmao

As for my own writing - ehhhh. Sort of. My own writing 'haunting' me is more like. I put too many expectations on myself for things. So I guess it's not 'haunting' so much as 'taunting', heh. The current one is Part 3 of Wherever Life Takes You and whether or not it'll be a satisfying sequel to a fic that I. did not expect to get as popular as it did. It's got bigger shoes to fill than I thought would be the case and so it's on my mind more than I'd like.

13. What is a subject matter that is incredibly difficult for you write about? What is easy?

Eeehhh. Death, mostly (or rather, the aftermath of somebody's death). Hits too close to home. And obviously any sort of discrimination stuff, especially any I relate to. Makes me feel disgusting afterwards. I have to put myself in a specific mood to write about either of those things, and sometimes it just leads to me accidentally unlocking a depression episode cause my brain becomes too loud.

One that's kind of both easy and difficult is the topic of guilt. Like, it's hard because I relate a little too much to it (thanks to a high level of empathy and a guilt complex), but it means I can just fly through descriptions of it cause. I get it. I understand why a character's doing something out of guilt. I've been there.

One that's easy is - funnily enough - violence lmao. I don't get to write fight scenes often, but I tend to fly through them when I do.

22. How organized are you with your writing? Describe to me your organization method, if it exists. What tools do you use? Notebooks? Binders? Apps? The Cloud?

Not as organised as I'd like lmao

I have a shit ton of notes on my phone of random bits of dialogue and facts to remember. If I'm in bed and can't be bothered to roll over and grab my phone, I write said thing on the back of my hand and just have to remember to write it down properly the next day lmao.

Recently, I did move the notes from my phone to my Google Docs, where everything else is (shoutout to the BioShock fic notes that came out at over two hundred pages! y'all were slowing my fuckin phone down). Different drafts of things get different documents (and are usually just named [fic name] and (whatever number of draft it is)), I have a 'graveyard' document dedicated to having bits I deleted that I might be able to use later or that I just liked a lot. Multi-chap fics tend to have a doc dedicated to just their plans. That kind of thing.

35. What’s your favorite writing rule to smash into smithereens?

Favourite has got to be my little trick of removing (most) punctuation from scenes where the character(s) is panicking, in order to make the reader's 'reading voice' speed up and match the character's racing thoughts (think the most recent time I did it was Here Comes Frankenstein, with Delta in That Scene; in posted stuff, anyway). I know doing that would probably piss off most of my old English teachers, but hey. it does what I want it to do so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I'm usually a wee bit of a snob when it comes to grammar, but there are some rules that I just. don't care about. Like. I know there're specific rules on how to structure a sentence when somebody's speech is interrupted, like whether the - goes before or after the speech marks, and I'm sure I've done it wrong pretty much every time, but it's because I just. don't give a fuck nrnrng Like maybe I'll care when I actually publish something but like. y'all know they were interrupted, and that's all I need you to know.

My English teachers used to tell me I should never 'list' during descriptions in writing (e.g. don't have a paragraph dedicated to what a character looks like), but like. how the fuck are y'all supposed to know this shit otherwise? I'd much rather a writer just give me some list of what their character or setting looks like rather than pick up clues along the way, like my old teachers used to make me do (they would have me do shit like "instead of just saying she has blonde hair, just mention it when she eventually touches her hair" or some shit. or I'd have to implant a scene where a character happens to see their reflection just to give me an excuse to be like "LOOK HERE'S WHAT THEY LOOK LIKE. THEY'RE THINKING ABOUT IT SO THIS IS JUSTIFIED."). I'd rather have something to consult in case I forget rather than have to fine-tooth-comb the text to find out if this gal is blonde or not. fuckin wait for her to touch her damn hair just so I can know what colour it is. Obviously, yes, don't be too rambly with it, and show, don't tell their personality, but what they look like? Yes, please, just fuckin tell me. Let me have a picture in my mind rather than a bunch of puzzle pieces that I have put together over the span of reading this entire book.

Also, I’m aware some people don’t like it when writers actually write out accents, but fuck that (except if it makes the text legit hard to read). Y’all can pry especially Southern accents from my cold dead hands.

And hey, yeah, sometimes I structure stuff more on how it looks rather than writing rules, or how easily I think it reads. I'm in no way perfect ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

#answering #reply #long post #thanks for sending this in!#Sorry for rambling too much haha ^^'

5 notes · View notes

hwalilac · 2 years

Note

Hello dear! I saw your post before you deleted your original blog and wanted to write this up, because as someone who writes on this platform as well, I definitely have spent way too much time on here and have put way too much thoughts into the things you also wonder about. I know how it’s like when you feel like you have done everything right but still aren't getting the results that you want. It’s very frustrating, I would understand, because too many of my days have gone into constantly checking my notifications and being met with absolute disappointments.

But I think I’ve been here long enough? For me to get somewhat of a good grasp of how things work. So allow me to ramble on about a topic I definitely should have not spent that much time dissecting, but will do anyway.

Let’s establish some points here:

I don’t think it’s a secret to anyone that writing smut is the fastest and easiest way to gain followers. And no, that is not a jab at smut writers. I, myself, also write smuts. You will see that most fics with lots of notes contain smuts or is pwp. Why is that? Well, the obvious answer is that us humans are horny creatures lmao. Most of us want something quick and fulfilling, and usually, smut does that. Which is why 1k-2k word fics with smut will always get more notes than a 10k-20k fic with an actual story with some smut. This is significant for my next point.

That leads to the thought of, how come some authors, despite having less followers, have more/about the same interactions? Again, this is not a jab toward you, but is more of a base and theory that can potentially give you more ideas of your situation. I notice that you write a lot of short fics with smut which relates back to my first point--so that results in a large following gain. The problem is like you said, these people that follow you do not interact. Because good chances are, they just see you as another person who writes about sex, follow you, then go on their day. And although we should be grateful for all of our followers, in retrospect, these are not the ideal readers you want lol. What you want are loyal readers.

That’s why authors with less followers have more interactions. Because although they don’t have the notes or the numbers, they have a small group of people who are genuinely interested in their past, present, and future works. And I guarantee that any authors you can think of at the top of your head who have a group of loyal readers probably write series and they probably average in length about 50k-150k words, and each chapter word counts anywhere in between 5k to 20k. And I would say their works are usually a combination of smut and other kinds of genre that blends in just right. If not, most of their fics have a high word count with a lot of things going on.

These authors get the interactions because there’s a lot to discuss, especially with the word count (also if they update very often at least once every week or two). And I think that may also be what is preventing you from getting regular interactions, though if that’s what you’re comfortable writing you shouldn’t change anything to get a little validation in return.

But my point is, there will just be some authors who hits right in all areas. From the word count, to the genre, to the actual writing, and sometimes, it really is what it is. You should still always write what you want to write, because what’s the point if there’s no fun in it? Keep going and you may find your own little niche.

I have so many more little extra points or other contributing factors I can make, but this is already getting long enough. So have a good day!

I agree with what you said about how it’s just a quick read. Yeah I honestly don’t know what to reply with, but I’ll take these points into consideration for the future. I’m already planning on releasing my fics on AO3 as well, but I might try some other stuff.

#thx #ask

2 notes · View notes

kadoodles-on-ao3 · 1 year

Text

General Update/Proof I'm Not Dead

Hello once again, and sorry (times 10^10000000000) once again! Life events plus family issues plus holidays, all of which involved a lot of traveling, kept me extremely busy, but now that things have settled down I think I owe everyone (anyone? are you out there?) an update of some kind!

Putting this under a cut because I have not yet decided to figure out how to stop talking so much haha, but tl;dr I'll be trying to get back on the writing horse (get it? because "writing" sounds like "riding"? eh? ...I'm sorry), I plan on releasing my voice line documentation project on June 10th this year, I have a FFXIV crossover project in the works, and I will also do my best to update this blog's Shulkelia content archive as well!

Writing-wise I unfortunately haven't made any progress on my drafts, but I do still have a very (**very**) huge backlog of ideas that I am ever wanting to bring to fruition: of course updating the collab fic (Darklions and I haven't talked for a while unfortunately as he's also been very busy, but rest assured even if he can't work on the fic I definitely can and will finish it myself if I have to!), a rewrite of my first attempt at a fanfic (maybe I should also post the original, as a way to see how much I've improved as a writer since then if at all?), and most of all a series of longfics that will be very dramatic and emotional and deep and most importantly will have titles based on some of my favorite songs I discovered in high school, so look forward to that sometime! Although maybe I'll first try getting one of my shorter and/or goofier ideas done just to practice getting back on track... which would you guys rather read first, a bit of ~intimacy~ from The Two Nerds or a comedic crackfic-I-only-call-a-crackfic-because-it's-wacky-but-I-take-it-wholeheartedly-seriously with the whole gang involved (including the Villain Squad and a little bit of Alvis too)?

Voice-line-project-wise I have slowed down on updating the actual document as I'm working on renaming the audio files in the drive to fully match their transcriptions so as to make them functionally searchable by their filenames (it's explained more in the actual doc haha), but two things of note:

1) I've been considering this for a while, and I've now decided I for sure would like to release it on this year's anniversary of Xenoblade 1, **June 10th**. This is partially for the sentiment of it, partially because there are still audio files missing in the only rip I can find and I'm holding out for the ripper to respond to my DM about finding the others (either themself or teaching me how to find them), partially because after the release of 3 (which I unfortunately still have yet to play!) I think 1's anniversary will be the best time for people to be talking about it and interested in it and therefore actually take a look at the thing I made haha, partially because I still have quite a bit of work left to do until it'll be in a state that perfectionist me would consider acceptable for others to see... and partially because I *may* have set the Google account for the project's birthday to the exact Japanese release date of 1 for fun, and so because the game is at the time of writing only 12 years old, the account is considered a minor's account which means it has restricted access to things (including Youtube. Every time I wanted to listen to music or a video essay I had to do it in an incognito window because my project account is blocked from Youtube outside of Youtube Kids lmao) and it affects what I want the document to look like (specifically with how hyperlinks work), meaning on June 10th both the game and the account will turn 13 and Google allows 13-year-olds to get their accounts upgraded to full accounts so I can finally be free of the curse on that day.

2) I've also been wondering for a while whether or not I should publish a link to it on here so that people can take a look before it's done and give me feedback (which I would very much appreciate!) The Title section is nowhere near finished in places but the vast majority of the thing is done and it feels weird just to keep it locked away like that haha. But also I know hardly anyone reads my blog anyway so it's not like it would matter all that much to share a link. Still, if anyone (anyone?????) out there is reading this, let me know if you want to see it and are willing to critique it!

Other-project-wise I've begun something else because I just cannot help myself haha. But it is Xenoblade-related! Specifically, it's a recreation of the full main cast using Final Fantasy XIV's character creator, down to combing through every piece of armor in the game to find which ones look the most like their clothing *and* are equippable by the jobs/classes I think suit each of them most, ***and*** designing characters based on what I think the XC cast would make if they made their own characters in the game! FFXIV is a wonderful game that is one of the main, *massive* monopolizers of my free time haha (especially since I decided in my insanity to level every combat job to 80, now 90, and I've also been doing high-end raiding with a static) and I love it for a lot of the same reasons I love XC, they just really feel like they go together! Not to mention the fact that *SO* many of XC's voice cast are in FFXIV (Shulk, Fiora, Dunban, Alvis, Egil, and even Colonel Vangarre and Maxis from FC are all in the game, usually voicing major characters!) and so many details in the job design fit with the playstyles of the XC cast, it just feels meant to be haha. Plus the fucking Allagan technology oh my GOD it literally looks fucking EXACTLY like the Monado down to the bright red color and computer chip lines, it is absolutely absurd, there is no way it's not a reference of some kind I refuse to believe otherwise. Pls Square make the next raid tier a XC crossover you know you want to everyone wants it even people who don't know what a Xenoblade is okay got it thank you in advance. So anyway, expect pics of that project to show up sometime in the future! (Oh and I also have had/developed a XC crossover idea for a different game over a very long time as well so I'll be working on thay sometime too but it's more involved since it'd be an actual mod/"dlc" that needs testing and balancing and new assets to be made and such I have too many ideas and not enough time it's a problem)

Oh and this blog! It's supposed to be an archive of Shulkelia content from other people! Yeah! Cool idea, maybe I should actually do that! In all seriousness, I do plan on archiving everything I have on here at some point (there's surprisingly quite a bit of stuff out there! I looked everywhere for hours searching every tag and every website every way I could! But that's absurd and no one should have to do that so that's why the blog is here!) so look forward to that as well!

So I think that's about it! Again I have no idea if anyone is reading this (if so I'm sorry I talk too much haha) but thank you as always for your patience with me, and keep on loving Shulkelia!

#aside #xenoblade #ffxiv #ff14

0 notes

sorikkung · 3 years

Note

Hey, so I read your post about including more gender neutral reader insert fics on writing blogs, and the only reason I haven't done so is because I have no idea how to write smut for a gender neutral reader. Because obviously they don't identify as either gender, but their body has either male or female genitalia, but if I write them as having female genitalia, then people will think it's a female reader insert fic. I was hoping you could help me out here.

i can absolutely help, thank you for reaching out to me! it's really nice to see people consciously making an effort to include everyone <3

so here's my comprehensive guide to writing gender neutral reader insert smut!

for the record, i invite people to add anything if you think i've missed something helpful! reblog to save a writer's life <3

smut is tricky to do gender neutral, so it is entirely acceptable to say gender neutral reader and specify their genitalia, as gender =/= sex. you'd want to label that at the start though, so like [member] x gn!afab!reader or gn!amab!reader depending on which parts you choose.

in case you don't know, afab means Assigned Female At Birth and amab means Assigned Male At Birth, so it specifies the biology without necessarily implying a gender identity. agab = Assigned Gender At Birth.

if you don't want to specify the reader's assigned gender at birth, that's doable too! it'll be a little more vague, but everyone has a hole and a part that's sensitive when touched, so it can be worked with. if the reader is bottoming, just maybe cut out the descriptors of being wet from being worked up and replace them with some actual prep with lube. instead of pressing circles on their clit, something vague like slipping a hand down or putting their mouth on their pants/between their legs works too. when the reader tops, you can just describe a dick and the reader can imagine if it's a real one or a strap-on, so long as you don't describe it hardening vs going soft or actually ejaculating.

that'd be my number one tip for writing gn smut without a specified agab - don't be afraid to leave it up to the reader's imagination! if they're old enough to be reading smut, they should be able to put two and two together. you don't need to specify the details of every individual action. something as simple as "he sank down between your legs and put his mouth to work, obscene sounds filling the air" or idk maybe less lame sounding than that but like point is. you can omit a lot of specific vocab by giving enough context clues.

alternatively, if everything is strictly anal that's always gender neutral. LMAO.

cleanup scenes are also important and imo not written enough tbh. if ur not specifying the readers agab its even More important bc if a reader was imagining it with a dick, there'd probably be cum somewhere, and even if not, there's always some kind of fluid alright just get a wet wipes in there or smth like it only needs to be a sentence or two but thats a personal pet peeve of mine, lmao.

other things to consider would be replacing any mentions of breasts or boobs with just chest - amab folk can still like their nipples played with, so that's safe and fine, but no bras or binders mentioned ideally as that can be implied when the reader undresses anyway. even if you are writing an afab reader, if they're still gender neutral, it's safer not to write abt boobs since most afab non-women get chest dysphoria and its not fun. lmao.

as for dialogue, this is the easy part. there's plenty of gender neutral pet names like baby, sweetheart, love, angel, kitten, etc, that you can utilise, but you'll want to be careful if you're going into the explicit dirty talk kind of dialogue. we'd want to avoid things like "you're so wet/hard for me" if you're not specifying an agab, alternatives could include "you're so sensitive/responsive for me" or if you want to be real vague, a simple "aww, all this, for me?" gets the job done as well.

if you are specifying their agab, it's still totally okay to include that in the dialogue, too, as its not inherently gendering them to talk about their parts. i'll reiterate that sex =/= gender, men and nb folk can have a pretty little pussy and women n nb folk can have a massive veiny cock too, or whatever else tickles your fancy. just avoid calling them a good girl/boy or anything like that, alternatives could be like... idk good pet, or just simply "that's my baby."

lmk if you guys want and i'll write up a gender-neutral smut dialogue prompt list for yall, that could be fun. or if you have any questions, whether that be for writing specific scenes you dont know how to word or if you want tips on writing gender neutral reader inserts outside of smut, my inbox/dms are always open for that too <3

#idk what to tag this as uhhh #kpop smut #gender neutral reader

9 notes · View notes

sukirichi · 3 years

Note

heeeey do you have any advice for newbie writers?

writing advice for newbies!

disclaimer: the advice i’m going to give (funnily enough) is not something that i always personally do. i’ve been writing both fiction and non-fiction for years, i only came to tumblr because i wasn’t satisfied with how i kept pressuring myself to write “high literature” after gaining awards and recognition for my stories. my fanfiction here in this blog...it’s unrefined, definitely not what i used to write before because i’m a lot less serious about it and i’m just writing freely. but the advice i’ll list below is personally some stuff that has helped me a lot in my entire writing journey! Some are technical, some are personal! down below will also list some tumblr related writing advice!

1. Keep writing! No one is born a great writer. Before I actually started publishing/posting my stories, I remember I spent at least five years writing the most random crap just so I can get a feel for what my style is. Plus, the more you do things repeatedly, it’ll come eventually like second nature to you and you’ll find the words are flowing. Keep writing, keep writing, keep writing! Even if you’re not satisfied with your first work, that’s okay, just keep going on!

2. Be mindful of what tense you’re using. NOW I KNOW I DON’T REALLY FOLLOW THIS BUT THAT’S BECAUSE I DON’T EDIT MY FICS LMAO, but you could totally do this! So in writing, we have “voices.” The narration will always use tenses of whether the entire story will be past tense or present tense and it’s important this remains consistent in your entire story. This one is TECHNICAL, this just help improves the flow and formality of your story. As for me though, I don’t really care about the tenses anymore because like I said, I just write freely with no regards for “creative writing techniques.” an example of past tense is: Suki jumped to Naoya’s arms. “My love!” she called, wrapping her arms around him. (RIP EXAMPLES) and present tense is: Suki jumps to Naoya’s arms. “My love!” she calls and wraps her arms around him. (this could be real flexible tho, this is just an example ehehehe)

3. Be mindful of dialogue tags! There’s a huge difference between putting periods and commas after dialogues. Like for example, “Suki loves Naoya,” she declared. If it’s followed by an action, the comma is best. Or example, Suki said, “I really love Naoya.” If the statement can stand alone, then it can be “Suki really loves Naoya./I really love Naoya.” There’s better explanations here! And one more thing, you should put the commas/periods inside the quotation marks. There’s more variations/explanations here but generally, this way of writing,,,example: “Suki really loves Naoya”, LIKE??? if it’s a dialogue, put the commas/periods inside the quotation marks.

4. PARAGRAPH BREAKS. I cannot stress this enough. There should be a variety in the sizes of your paragraphs. Long paragraphs should be followed by smaller ones, varied with medium paragraphs and then so and so forth. There’s no formal sequence that it should be LONG – MEDIUM – SHORT – MEDIUM – LONG, writing is flexible, just make sure you’re varying the lengths because reading long, chunky paragraphs with no end is equally annoying as reading paragraphs that are always 1-2 sentences and then a paragraph break.

5. Outline, outline, outline! Whether it’s long fics or short ones (excluding drabbles, I don’t think you need them that much) outlines will help you have a more solid feel of your story, and you can easily track your story flow when you have your ideas plotted out. or me, my outlines is in the form of Dialogue Outline, where I write out all the dialogues first so my pages will be just conversations then I’ll add the monologues/actions later. That’s personally what works for me, you can discover your own writing style <3

6. Research! Now this is pretty funny for me to say this because I don’t really do research, at least not the “how to effectively write this type of role” or whatever. Of course it’s better if you try to learn more about the concept you’re going to write about (like if you wanna do a vampire AU then read Twiligh – JK THAT’S A BAD REFERENCE, SORRY NOT SORRY, love the memes tho!) or you can do my own way of researching, which is reading other people’s fanfics! Not only do you get a vibe of how this character is like, but you also get to support other content creators!

7. You don’t need verbs all the time. Sometimes I see stories wherein ALL dialogues have “said” “screamed” “explained” on EACH line and here’s the key: as long as the readers can understand which character is speaking, you don’t need dialogue cues all the time.

8. PUT THE KEEP READING TAB. I cannot stress this enough, but please put the keep reading tab. Drabbles are fine without them, but if it exceeds maybe 400 words then you’re going to need that. Sure, it’s easy to scroll past a long text, but some fics are super long and without the keep reading tab that it can be quite a hassle to whoever sees it.

9. Have your own writing safe space. Now this could be more personal than technical, but I absolutely cannot write or focus when I’m in a public space or when I’m being bothered. So if you want to write, SHUT THE WORLD OUT and dive deep into your imaginations, let the noise of your fantasies be louder than distractions.

10. Take your time! I guess that would be my best advice. You don’t have to rush anything at all, and one more thing, DO NOT OVERTHINK! Maybe this is just me but I honestly don’t really try to dive too deep in the technicalities anymore :// I’ve been in Creative Writing class for years and it stressed me out that my writing teachers always told me “not to use big words because no one will understand that” or “don’t try to paint the picture too clearly because not everyone has that big of an imagination” and I was like ISN’T THAT THE POINT THOUGH, TO MAKE PEOPLE IMAGINE THINGS? but yeah anyways, maybe this is just me again, but I find that I write better when I’m not overthinking too much on how to write a “perfect” story. I don’t always have the prettiest words to use. I don’t always have the most intricate plot. I don’t always have the most poetic content that is “inspiring” or “moving.” Sometimes I write stupid shit that has no plot at all, and that’s okay. Just write whatever you want tbh, I’d say my biggest advice is to not worry too much about having the “perfect” story. It’s still great to do research and want to improve your writing skills, but hmm...I guess I’d say the most important thing is that you enjoy what you do!

11. “There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.” – Ernest Hemingway. This is one of my favourite quotes because it’s true, writing is both complicated and simple, but as for me, writing is something that I don’t want to stress too much about. There isn’t really an actual right or wrong, there isn’t a law, just some techniques that could help you improve, but at the end of the day, it should be about the steady state of progress or the “creation flow” that matters the most. Just write, that’s it. You’ll get there eventually and you’ll start creating magic before you know it. Just let the words flow and build, worry about quality later when you edit it. Or you know, if you’re lazy like me, just post it when you’re done LMAO. really though the BEST advice is to enjoy the process and not stress too much about it!

here is a previous ask i answered that may be of help too!

#asks with naoya's trophy wife #suki: writing advice

40 notes · View notes